Networking with XP Home and Pro and AOL 9

First, thanks for reading this and, if you can help, then even more thanks. I have the following set up. 2 PC's connected with a cross patch cable. The setup looks as follows:
AOL9-----HOME-----PRO I
'll break the problems down into manageable sections, that might help.

1) HOME The network places workgroup has both HOME and PRO listed, however there are permission issues when trying to access PRO. This is not limited to a particular drive or folder but the whole machine. I have changed the sharing and permissions on the C: drive. Do I have to do this on My Computer as well? This may sound like a monkey question but on my personal network (all PRO) I did not have to do this.

2) PRO When I run the network wizard it recognises that HOME is on the network and that it connects to the internet. But when I go into Network Places and click on the workgroup name it tells me that the machine does not have rights to the workgroup. I think, from having read and read that there is something that has to be setup on the HOME side. But as this is the PC that is working the best I am not sure what.

3) PRO and AOL. I hate AOL with an unrivalled bitter passion. How a company manages to build an empire based on uselessness is beyond me. That said, however, how do you share an AOL internet connection? I have searched the AOL site but have found nothing. The next port of call is their tech support.