This story is an AU tale of two enemy families, told in the past as well as present. It will be the Kane/Montgomerys versus the Stones/Du Pres/ Bennets (I think that was Gwen Stones maiden name so...).
I am doing a BAM pairing. BAM is definitely the primary pairing of this fic, however some Zendall, Greenleo, Jerica and other stuff might appear as well. I'll see how the story goes.
It will be flashback heavy I think. This is kind of a big undertaking for me and I want to put out the best out the best story possible for you guys.
This chapter has some overt sexual references, but nothing graphic. I'll let you know ahead of time if it ever gets to that point.
"Amor Vincit Omnia"
Disclaimer: I do not own All My Children, its dialogue, storylines or any of its characters.
Chapter 1
A pair of shrouded figures walked along several back alleys in the rain. One struggled to carry a few soaking wet grocery bags and the shorter one was flipping through a newspaper. The headline read Fusion's New Eye Candy Line Rises to the Top. The person with the newspaper shook their head and let out a sigh.
"Figures." Frankie Stone said. "Leo, why is it the rich only seem to get richer? They don't deserve it."
"Yeah and we do?" Leo asked with a smirk. "We're criminals Frankie."
"Hardworking criminals." Frankie said, defensively. She and Leo shared a look and broke out laughing. "Okay. I'm sorry. I just get so aggravated with some of these trust fund babies who get away with everything with zero effort."
"You can be mad if you want to Frankie. I'm just glad to be reading in English again." Leo said, glancing at the paper in Frankie's hands. "I mean I love Europe. Don't get me wrong, but Pine Valley is sort of home." Leo said with a genuine smile at finally making it back to Pine Valley after a decade.
"Yes. Though your happiness wouldn't happen to have anything to do with a certain psycho babe, you're pathetically in love with, named Greenlee Smythe?" Frankie asked smugly.
"It... It might." Leo stammered.
"Well tough luck for you buddy, because until Aunt Vanessa says we can go back into society, no one can even know we're back in town. Speaking of which, has David made initial contact yet?"
"Not that I know of, but he seems to have a plan. He's been researching the coming and goings of Pine Valley for the last month. He'll make sure we're ready to make our presence known. Everything will be ok. Just don't do anything rash ok?" Leo warned Frankie. He knew she was prone to erratic behavior when she felt backed into a corner.
"Don't worry Du Pres. I know better than to go against Aunt Vanessa. She is just looking out for the family. I just can't wait to get out into the world. I have some things I wanna know." Frankie said, staring off into the distance.
"Like what things?" Leo asked as they turned onto the block of the run down apartment their family was staying at. They stopped in the middle of the sidewalk.
"I want to know if Maggie is still here." Frankie said. Frankie loved her family. In fact they were almost the only people in the world she cared about despite the fact they were con artists. If she didn't love them she wouldn't have spent the last ten years traveling around the world with them, running cons. She had some amazing experiences and formed a magnificent bond with her family through that time, but there was one relationship she missed.
Frankie and Maggie were opposites in almost every way except for their looks. Even their appearances were very different as Frankie was somewhat of a tomboy and she felt that Maggie was a "girly girl." However, even though Frankie did not have the courage to say it at the time, she loved her sister very much and even though her sister never said it back, Frankie knew Maggie felt the same. At least at the time. When Frankie decided to leave Pine Valley with the rest of their family, Maggie refused to go with them. She had a 4.0 GPA and dozens of extracurriculars. She was so close to her dream of being a doctor, she wasn't about to leave to "cheat" people with her family. So, their family left and Frankie left with them, leaving Maggie completely alone. They did not speak since that night ten years ago.
"I hadn't thought about it." Leo said, bringing Frankie out of her thoughts. "I mean she was always running away from home when we were all here. I didn't see a reason for her to stay once we were all gone."
"When she was running away, she wasn't running away from Pine Valley, she was running away from Mom." Frankie said solemnly.
Leo nodded his head. It was widely known that Gwen Stone was an alcoholic the entire duration of the twins childhood and that Maggie detested her for it. Frankie may have been seen as the rebel, but she would never leave home. She loved her Mother too much and wanted her Mom to love her back. Maggie did not have the same problem.
"Well, yeah maybe. If she is here, David will tell us. I'm sure she'll be thrilled to see you again." Leo said, knocking shoulders with her as they continued their walk to the apartment. Frankie responded with a punch to his arm, before immediately covering her face to shield herself from the spray of Leo shaking his wet hair at her.
'There are advantages to not bringing an umbrella.' Leo thought smugly.
"Yeah, yeah you're probably right." Frankie said, thinking of Maggie. The pair ran up the steps of the seemingly abandoned building. Frankie checked behind them to make sure they were not being watched and followed Leo inside.
"Mom." Frankie ran up to her mother and placed a kiss on her cheek.
"Darling." Gwen said affectionately. They shared a smile.
Leo put the food down on the table and observed the pair. Their relationship had improved since Gwen finally stopped drinking five years before. Though her alcoholism had aged her quite a bit opposed to her daughter who seemed to have barely aged since she was fifteen, Gwen seemed decades younger and happier when Frankie was around. Leo was shaken out of his pondering when his mother Vanessa cleared her throat, obviously wanting some attention similar to her sister.
"Mother." Leo practically sighed, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Ben." He added with a nod to his brother. Ben gave a slight wave as he wordlessly took the paper Frankie had been reading and went back to his chair in the main room to look through the soggy contents.
"Be careful Leo, someone might actually think you care." Vanessa teased.
"I do care Mother, I do." Leo admitted.
Frankie and Gwen looked on with knowing eyes. Leo and Vanessa had a somewhat strained relationship. They knew that Leo felt he never got to live the life he wanted because he always had to protect his Mother and protect people from his Mother. He loved her but he wanted his own life, just the same.
"It's good to be home." Leo added, changing the subject. The rest of the table nodded along.
"What are we going to do now that we are here?" Gwen asked.
"We are going to settle down, lay down some roots, rebuild some connections." Vanessa said vaguely.
"Yes Mother. We do that everywhere we run a con. What's the end game?" Leo asked. Vanessa smiled.
"Nothing too big..." Vanessa stated, causing the others to look at her incredulously. "Just planning to take control of Fusion, Chandler Enterprises and I didn't tell you the best part. When we were leaving Russia I heard that the current CEO of Cambius Industries has been living in Pine Valley for over a year."
"The head of that big company lives here now? Who is it?" Frankie asked.
"I have no idea." Vanessa admitted, biting her lip. "I'm sure David has figured it out by now though."
"Mom? Are you sure about this? I mean we lived in Pine Valley for years. They know us here and the way we left ten years ago they definitely found out by now that we're con artists." Leo said warily.
"The only person we've been in contact with in the last ten years is your brother David, who has been running the cons with us. For all they know we have been out turning over a new leaf. At least that's what we're going to tell them when they ask. All we have to do is wait for David to contact us and tell us what everyone has been up to in the last ten years." Vanessa said happily.
"I'm afraid things aren't that simple." David said, appearing in the doorway.
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Maggie sighed in relief as she finally pulled her Porsche in the driveway. She turned off the ignition and looked to the passengers seat at the now wilting white roses she brought home. Some would say be proud that she was the kind of person who brought home flowers for no reason, but she was a little ashamed of herself for getting home so late. She had no control of it, not really, but Bianca worked so hard to make their schedules work, Maggie felt she should at least be able to do the same.
Relationships were hard for any medical intern, but she was married with kids. Bianca had been amazing though. She had been willing to move home from Paris when Maggie wanted to do her internship at Pine Valley Hospital. Not only that, she donated money to the hospital and helped build a new wing on the hospital. She moved her office into the new wing and set up a daycare center so Miranda and Gabrielle would be near as well. Maggie's whole family in one place. It was pretty nice, except for all the ribbing she received for the special privileges that come with a rich wife. Maggie was fine with it. Everyone knew what she and Bianca truly had.
Still Maggie felt guilty that after all the work Bianca did to make sure they had time together that Maggie could not even make it home before the kids were already in bed. She had managed to get out of the hospital at a reasonable time, but then Erica called complaining that one of her chefs cut their hand and she had to have Maggie come over and tend to it immediately. Maggie could still hear Erica's voice in her head.
"Sure Maggie, just go right on home, but don't come crying to me tomorrow when you don't get a plate at tomorrow's dinner party, because you were too busy to check on my poor chef's hand and there was no one to make enough food for you."
Maggie knew Erica was probably overreacting, but she knew better than to argue, especially if Erica was planning a party. She took the long drive back and forth from Erica and Jack's mansion and discovered what she suspected; the cook did not even draw blood. In fact the cook herself did not want any medical attention, but she also knew better than to argue with Mrs. Kane. Erica was exhausting, but she was also Maggie's family.
Maggie decided it was time to finally get in the house and face what she missed. She grabbed the bouquet and tried to make it look more presentable before finally entering the house. As Maggie walked in she was immediately reacquainted at how creepy their home looked at night, particularly because Portia once again adorned their walls. Maggie did not understand what anyone saw in that painting, but they had a family vote and Maggie could deny her girls nothing. She saw a light on the second floor and eagerly ran up the stairs. She walked into the nursery, and smiled as she spotted her wife still trying to rock their youngest daughter Gabrielle to sleep.
"Hey." Maggie whispered, making her way into the room. Bianca turned and offered a bright smile.
"Hey, you're home." Bianca said sweetly.
"I'm home." Maggie said, pressing a quick kiss to her wife's lips. She stretched out her hands, offering up the bouquet. "These are for you."
"Why thank you." Bianca smiled, moving Gabrielle into Maggie's arms, and taking the flowers. "What can I ever do to repay you?" Bianca teased, bringing them up to her nose.
"I'm sure you'll think of something." Maggie replied before looking down at Gabrielle. "How are my girls?"
"Miranda went to sleep easy enough, but tomorrow she gets to tell you all about her camping trip. Gabrielle on the other hand, refuses to go to sleep... until now." Bianca said, noticing the baby that was fussing a moment ago, had started to quiet in Maggie's arms.
"You hang out with her a few more minutes. I'll put these in water and meet you in the bedroom." Bianca said. Maggie nodded absently, already focused on their baby girl. Bianca pressed a kiss to her cheek and exited.
"How's my angel?" Maggie asked the now sleeping infant. "Miranda's my baby and you're my angel. Angels are special, that's how I know you're going to be okay." Maggie said, rocking the young girl in her arms. It made Maggie happy that they moved back to Pine Valley before Bianca became pregnant again. Gabrielle was a surprisingly hard pregnancy for Bianca and born premature. It also worried Maggie that after her birth, Gabrielle got sick more frequently than Miranda ever did.
Maggie would not let this fear ruin her time with her family. Maggie just watched her all the more carefully and loved her boundlessly. Maggie knew all of her girls inside and out and how to take care of them. Bianca, Miranda, and Gabrielle were the young doctor's whole world.
After sitting with her daughter a few moments longer to make sure she was sleeping soundly and happily, she pressed a kiss to her forehead and laid her down in her crib. She walked across the hall and whispered a good night and gave a kiss to the sleeping Miranda before making her way to the master bedroom. She rubbed her eyes and tried to stretch out her muscles. She was aching and exhausted and glad to be home. She rounded the corner and crossed the threshold to her bedroom, her eyes widening in surprise.
There on the bed was her beautiful wife in the sheerest lingerie Maggie had ever seen. The room was dark, but Maggie could still make out a blush on her wife's features. Maggie smiled lovingly to reassure her. Even after all their years together Bianca was still a little insecure about her appearance, especially after giving birth only a few months ago. Bianca tucked a lock of hair behind her ears, and smiled sheepishly.
"Well, are you just gonna stand there or what?" Bianca asked. Maggie snapped into action and started removing her clothing as fast as she could while running for the bed.
"If you're too tired..." Bianca teased.
"No, not tired." Maggie said, tossing off more clothes. It was true. Maggie forgot all about her exhaustion the minute she entered the bedroom. She climbed on top of the bed and just stared at Bianca for a minute, committing every detail to memory. She had known Bianca almost her whole life and she still could not get enough of her. She knew every arch of her brow, every emotion that flashed in her chocolate eyes, every inch of skin and every lock of hair. It amazed Maggie how Bianca did not seem to know how beautiful she was.
It amazed her even more to know that Bianca felt the same way about her. She still could not believe times when she would catch Bianca just staring at her with the same rapt fascination that Maggie had for her now. Many people would say they were like one entity, however that was not the case to them. They had a silent agreement never to leave each other, because they just could not function without each other. It was not something they would ever voice, because that would just be tempting fate in Pine Valley. It was nevertheless true and real.
"Maggie." Bianca breathed. "Make love to me."
Maggie offered a lopsided grin and lowered Bianca on the bed.
"I love you, I love you so much Bianca." Maggie said, staring at her intently, trying to convey all the love she felt, but she knew it was impossible.
"I love you too." Bianca said with a smile before the distance between them was closed with a kiss.