Though their pairing lasts fewer than six months, Soap Opera Digest readers continued to vote Fox and Theresa as their favorite Passions couple until Justin Hartley left the role in 2006.

The two believe that they have found true love when Fox is shot and killed in his bedroom by an unseen sniper on September 17, 2007; the murderer is eventually revealed to be Esme's fifteen-year-old niece, Viki.

Fox was raised as the third of four children — in 2001, his older brother, Ethan Crane (now Winthrop), approximately five to eight years his senior, was revealed to be the product of their mother's adulterous affair with now-police chief Sam Bennett.

While they were raised in the lap of luxury, the Crane siblings, excluding Ethan, had a dysfunctional childhood, with Ivy admitting that her youngest three children had a father who was "either absent or intoxicated" and a mother "who just didn't care".

[4] Ivy favored Ethan over her other children because he was the son of her "true love", Sam Bennett, and not her husband, whom she loathed, and Fox, as well as his sisters, came to resent their mother for this.

After graduating from boarding school, Fox went on to attend university, but eventually became bored with his studies and dropped out, taking up gambling to keep himself occupied.

Fox quickly gambled his trust fund away, however, and, upon seeing a news report regarding Ethan's marriage to Gwen Hotchkiss, he decides to finally return to Harmony.

Few, if any, members of Fox's family are happy to have the young man return to Harmony, and they are all even less thrilled when they learn that he has gambled his money away.

The only person not irritated by his presence is his new, young stepmother, Theresa, and Fox quickly becomes friends with her, mostly to annoy his family, who despise her.

The two eventually become lovers, and Fox supports Theresa when she loses custody of her son to Julian and Rebecca, who then allow Ethan and Gwen to adopt the boy.

Fox also continues to aid Theresa in her schemes to see her son and regain custody of him, including drugging Ethan and Gwen's surrogate and having herself implanted with their embryo.

Close to Whitney's due date, a mentally unstable Gwen kidnaps Ethan and Theresa's newborn daughter, Jane, and flees the country with her; when Fox sets off to find his sister-in-law and niece, Whitney convinces him to give her his power of attorney in the event that she needs to conduct any business on his behalf.

Fox tracks Gwen and Jane, along with his grandmother, Katherine, to Alistair's Crane compound in the North Atlantic, where he, Ethan, and Theresa rescue the three females.

Despite their nuptials, Kay continues to stand by Miguel's side when he is falsely charged and convicted of deliberately running Fox down with his car.