Title: Lady Love at Melrose Place.

Show: Melrose Place(2009)

Pairing: Ella/Riley and others.

Rating. M

Summary: This is going to be a Femslash version of Melrose Place. I started writing it after the first episode and waited until episode 2 had aired before I posted anything just in case there were any character development that I could use. Basically this story is not going to follow the TV shows storyline. I feel that if it's going to be a femslash story then it's pretty much going to go in a different direction anyway. So, I will use the first two episodes as a starting point, but after that this will be a completely different story. A working knowledge of the original Melrose Place will help with the story but it's not a necessity, however I will be bringing in a few of the original characters as the story dictates. I won't be dealing the murder investigation; I think that should be something the show takes care of. Once the killer is revealed I will make a decision on whether to use that information in my story or not. I have about 7 very long chapters written already and hope to do at least 13, but feedback will decide if the number grows or not.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. The characters belong to the CW, Darren Star, CBS Paramount Network Television.

Chapter 1

Ella waited for Jonah to go back outside before she slipped back into his apartment, closing the door behind her as she walked slowly towards Riley, "We need to talk."

"Not now Ella." Riley said, turning away from the pretty blonde so she could take a long sip of vodka straight up.

Grabbing the glass from Riley, "This is no time to get drunk."

"Must you be such a bitch all the time?"

"Yes, I must, but you know I'm right." Ella said with a slight smile, slowly stepping forward and sliding her arm around Riley's waist, "If Jonah finds out what we did with Sydney we are going to be the prime suspects."

Riley pushed Ella away, "What do you care, you already have your alibi locked up. You always could think five steps ahead of everyone else."

"That's not going to matter one bit if someone can place David here the night Sydney was killed. I know he didn't do it so I didn't have much of a choice."

"I agree, but someone killed her and sooner or later they are going to find out about us."

"Why are you so worried about that? I thought you said you were going to say no to his marriage proposal?" Ella asked, her annoyance clearly visible in her tone.

"He just made it hard." Riley said with a guilty sigh, "I should want to marry him. Instead I'm screwing his best friend and now I'm a murder suspect. Could life get any worse?"

Once again Ella moved in close to Riley, leaning in and kissing Riley's soft delicious neck, "If you'd let me help I can make you feel a whole lot better right now."

"Sex isn't going to make this go away." Riley snapped, "Why can't things be simple again?"

"They will be, but we need to decide what we are going to say to the police if they ask about our connection to Sydney."

"Well Ella, as usual it wasn't my idea to get back at her. God knows why I let you talk me into to such a stupid idea."

"Because you love me." Ella said with a big smile, "Come on, you know I love you and I'll figure out a way to get us out of this mess."

"Ever since you kissed me my life has been turned upside down."

Ella shook her head and put her finger over Riley's lips, "No, even since we kissed your life has been amazing. You told me that. You said you've never felt so alive, you've never felt so in love and that's real. Don't let Sydney's death ruin what we have."

"What do we have Ella?" Riley asked with an exasperated sigh, "I was happy with Jonah and you are still his best friend. Now tell me how we can possibly live happily ever after when Jonah is going to be devastated when he finds out about us. God, I can't do this to him. I can't."

"Shh." Ella whispered into Riley's ear, "You know I don't want to hurt him. He's like the perfect example of what a guy should be like, well except for his video game habit and his horribly memory and surprising lack of confidence, but I know he loves you and I hate that I'm going to ruin is life, but I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I have never felt that way about anyone before and I never thought I ever would. We have to tell him."

Jonah opened the door causing the two women to pull apart from each other, "Are you two coming outside? The police want to talk to everyone. I'm sure it's just a formality though."

Riley glanced over at Ella and then ran towards Jonah and put her arms around him, "I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

Ella followed, gritting her teeth at the sight of Riley draped all over Jonah, even though she used to be happy for them.

David pulled Ella away from Riley and Jonah and pulled her back inside Jonah's apartment, "I think our alibi is about to come crashing down on us. One of the neighbors is giving me this strange look. I swear she saw me last night. If she tells the police then I'm back to being the prime suspect and you're going to be right there with me since you gave me the alibi. What should we do?"

"Calm down. What woman? Show me." Ella said calmly, leading David back outside. "Point her out."

David looked around and finally spotted the woman waiting in line to talk to the police, "Okay over there, the brunette with the long curls."

"Oh, that's Kelly. I like her. Let me have a talk with her."

"What are you going to do? She's married."

"And your point is?" Ella asked with a shrug.

"You can't just seduce everyone. I have a better chance than you do."

"If you had Jonah's awkward charm then maybe, but you're still a bit wet behind ears when it comes to such things. If by chance she isn't into your boyish looks, that's pretty much the end of it, but hey, if you want to give it a shot, go for it."

"You sure don't give me much credit." David said, even more determined to prove himself.

"Show me I'm wrong." Ella said, stepping to the side, "Go talk her out of her clothes, because I'm guessing that's what you'll need to do to keep her mouth shut."

"I think it's time you saw that there's a bit more to me than just meets the eye. I know how to charm the ladies."

Ella smiled, "I'm ready to take notes. Go for it big guy."

David brushed back his air, checked his breath and began walking towards the woman. He stopped as he got close and began walking even slower, doing his best to act nonchalant. As he got up close to her, he smiled, looked into her eyes and held out his hand, "Kelly isn't it?"

"Yes, who are you?" Kelly said, barely acknowledging him at all.

"Did you say who am I? You don't recognize me?"

Kelly took another look at David, but shook her head, "No, are you the pool boy?"

David tried to ignore the pool boy comment, "Um no, but I was friends with Sydney and this is a real tragedy. Did you know her well?"

"No, I'm just here to talk to the police about that stupid dog in the apartment complex next to ours. It does nothing but bark all night long. I'm surprised Sydney put it up with it, because she usually didn't put up with crap like that."

"That's very true, she was a very good landlord. Anyway, thank you for your time." David said politely and then rushed back over to Ella with a big smile on his face, "Well you don't have to seduce her after all."

"Oh, well, that's a bit sad, but I guess I'll live. I guess you're safe for another day then."

"Have you talked to Riley about the whole Sydney fiasco? I don't trust her to keep her mouth shut."

"I should never have told you about that, but Riley is fine. She is not going to say anything." Ella said, sounding anything but convincing, "They might not even find out. Just because Sydney said she taped us doesn't mean she did. The woman is known for her lies as much as anything."

"Do you want to risk everything on that belief?" David asked, puzzled by Ella's strangely calm attitude, "She was also very meticulous, especially when it came to you. If she thought she could use that tape to squash you a little more, she would."

"But she can't can she?" Ella asked with a confident smile, "Not just because she's dead, but because that tape would do as much damage to her as it would to us. She did things on that tape that are illegal in most every state."

"Then maybe you should be looking into getting it back before the police find it and someone else gets a hold of it. Do you want that tape getting in the hands of your boss?"

"Like he'd care."

"I don't mean so he can get off on it, I mean because he might fire you on the spot."

"Why, sex isn't illegal. If it was I'd be in prison for a very long time." Ella said with a cute grin, "Hmm, prison, I always had a fantasy about prison."

"Ella, snap out of it." David said, snapping his fingers in front of her face, "Do you not take anything seriously?"

"Yes, death and taxes and I've paid my taxes and I'm not dead, so if that's all, I need to get back to work. You should to."

David just smiled as Ella flipped her sunglasses down and marched out of the complex.

Jonah walked Riley back to their apartment, staring at his girlfriend with a confused look on his face, "What just happened there? You lied to the police."

"What? I did not." Riley said, totally caught off guard by Jonah's comment.

"He asked how well you knew Sydney and you said you only knew her as your landlord. Why would you say that?" Jonah asked before continuing on, "She was at all our parties, she invited us to her parties. She may not like Ella now, but before their falling out those two were very close and you were close to both of them."

"It's not a big deal. I was nervous and I wasn't thinking straight. Do you think I killed her or something?"

"No, of course not, but I don't understand why you said that. It looks like you're hiding something. Are you?"

"Would you just leave me alone." Riley yelled, glaring at Jonah like he was the enemy, "I did not kill her and I don't appreciate the third degree. Now I'm going to lie down, I have a headache."

Ella's Office.

Ella sat in her big comfy chair, her feet up on her desk holding a damp cloth on her forehead. Normally she could handle the heat, but heat and stress were never a good combination for her. Just as she was getting comfortable and feeling here body temperature get back to normal the door to her office flew open.

Ella's personal assistant rushed in behind the woman, looking horrified, "I'm so sorry Miss Simms. I tried to stop her, but she just pushed her way in."

"That's alright Casey. I'll handle things from here. But, no more unexpected visitors please."

"Yes Miss Simms." Casey said with a nod and smile, happily closing the doors behind her as she left.

"Well, I didn't expect to see you here." Ella said as she walked towards the woman, "I'm so sorry about Sydney."

Jane hugged Ella warmly, "Thank you. I still can't believe she's gone, murdered no less. That's just so crazy. I know she wasn't a saint, but I never dreamed it would come to this."

"I'm sure the police will find who did this." Ella pulled away from the hug and got down to business, "So what brings you here really? We haven't talked in almost a year, but you do look beautiful as always.

"Save the sweet talk Ella, I'm not here for fun and games." Jane brushed past Ella and sat down across from her desk, "I got a package in the mail the other day and I took a few days to think over all my options before I finally made a decision. Your reaction makes me think that you're not responsible, but I need to know for sure."

Ella sat back down, "I thought we left things on good terms, so I'm stunned by your rather dramatic entrance."

"Ella you told me you used to tape your sexual encounters, that's why I thought you must've done this."

"Done what? I have no idea what you're talking about?"

Jane tossed a DVD onto Ella's desk, "This is what I'm talking about."

Ella grabbed it, put it into her computer and sat back and watched.

The tape opened with a shot of an outdoor swimming pool and soon panned to the left where Ella is seen kissing Jane passionately. Moments later their clothes begin to fly off and they happily walk towards two large towels waiting for them on the perfectly cut grass above the pool.

Ella FF'd through the very long sex until she came to the end of it. That's where some writing appears. "Jane, this is a very erotic tape and I loved it a lot, but I wonder if your husband would find it as hot. I really don't think your husband deserves to see Ella naked like this, although he may have already, since she is a slut, but the point is, I need money or you can look forward to seeing your naked body posted on every website in the world for years and years. I will contact you with the more details in the future. Thanks for the show."

"I resent being a called a slut by whoever that is." Ella growled and then refocused on Jane, "Anyway, why would I blackmail you when I'm on the tape to?"

"Because you don't care who sees you naked, you parade around naked in your apartment all the time." Jane said in a huff, "If not you then who? This was taken at my home. You had access to it."

"I haven't seen you in three years. As you can tell I'm doing just fine." Ella motioned around her lavishly furnished office, "I have money. I don't need your money. I did not do this so I don't see how it's my problem."

Jane shot her ex lover with a disapproving stare, "That's the Ella I remember. You never did care about anyone but yourself."

"What do you want from me?" Ella questioned loudly, "I'm not a PI, I can't just snap my fingers and tell you who did it, but chances are it's someone close to you, it usually is."

"My friends would not do this to me. I have a family now. I can't have this getting out." Jane said, growing more frantic with every word, "I don't care if I have to pay them, I want to make sure there are no other copies. You must have some connections. You can't want this online either."

"I admit that now is not a good time for a tape like this to surface, but this happened three years ago, so it's not like I cheated on anyone."

"Like that ever stopped you before." Jane shot back before catching the gist of Ella's comment, "Wait a minute, don't tell me you've actually met someone you care about?"

"That kind of sarcasm is not going to get you any help."

Jane smiled a guilty smile and continued, "Okay, but have you met someone?"

"Maybe, but let's stick to the problem at hand." Ella said, deftly avoiding Jane's question again, "If I'm going to help you I'm going to need a list of your friends. All of them, not just the ones you don't trust, because I bet anything it's someone you'd never expect. I'm going to need some cash as well because I may have to pay for information."

"Just send me a bill. I'll get you a list by tonight." Jane sat back in her chair, looking Ella over again, remembering just what it was like to be with her, "I'm a little jealous that you finally met someone special. At one point I thought I might be the one."

"No you didn't." Ella said with a laugh, "You would never give up your perfect little life anymore than I would back then. What we had was a very long fling that we both loved. It only worked because we just wanted the sex."

"I never thought you'd give that up. So who is the lucky girl?"

"I'm the lucky one. She's amazing, but that's all I'm going to say about it." Ella had to keep herself from going on about Riley, but knew it had to be that way, for now, "I'll look into this but I can't promise you anything."

"I want you to fix this."

"I'm not your employee so you better stop treating me like one."

"I'm sorry. It's habit." Jane said in an apologetic tone, "I appreciate you doing this more than you'll ever know. I don't have any friends I trust enough to talk to about this, so I will do anything you ask and I will answer any questions you have. I just want this over."

Ella got up from her desk and took Jane by the hand and led her towards the door, "I will do what I can to get to the bottom of this. You need to go home and act like everything is fine. I will have more questions once I get that list."

Jane smiled and moved in close and kissed Ella on the lips. Ella kissed her back briefly but pulled away much to the dismay of Jane, "Sorry, I couldn't resist. You still have the most amazing lips I've ever tasted."

"I'll call you later." Ella said with a smile as she opened the door for Jane.

End of Chapter 1

Feedback and comments are always welcome and appreciated.