Bianca's new dream
All the characters belong to AMC I only borrow them.
Bianca shares a moment with a long lost friend. Set at the end of episode 5th August 2011 so some SPOILERS if you haven't watched it yet.
(On the AE Bianca/ Marissa forum someone asked for a Leo/Bianca reunion. It woke up my muse, hope I got the characters right.)
Bianca was stressed; there was no other word for it. Today had been 'interesting' to put it mildly. The first upset was a phone call first thing, the insurance people were not hopeful about her car. She had then spent the morning with Marissa, staying by her side when she handed over the restraining order to JR. Marissa had hoped it would be the push JR needed to sober up for his son. If anything it had pushed him further the other way. Marissa had been devastated. Bianca felt terrible, her girlfriend (that idea still made her smile) was being so brave for her son, but they were beginning to lose hope in finding any way to get through to JR.
Then as if things couldn't get any more intense, her mother had escaped from Oak Haven and turned up on Kendall's doorstep with half the inmates in tow. Bianca didn't know what to think. If her mother was telling the truth and really had been replaced by a doppelganger that would mean she hadn't seen her own mother in months and hadn't even noticed. Strangely though, the idea really didn't seem all that crazy when long-dead Dixie had just moments ago been sat in Kendall's couch.
It had been a very interesting day indeed.
Bianca definitely needed a moment. She slipped away into Spike's room. She remembered an exercise recommended by her therapist for when she was feeling over whelmed. Bianca closed her eyes, slowed her breathing and took herself to her happy place.
…
Bianca found herself in the boathouse. It was a warm sunny evening and she dangled her feet in the water as she watched the sun slowly set. The moment was perfect, peaceful and serene.
"Room for a little one?"
Bianca spun round at the unexpected interruption.
"Leo!" she gasped.
"Bianca!" he said, smiling at her as if it were yesterday. "Mind if I join you?"
He had already taken his boots off and settled beside her, dipping his toes in the water.
"What are you doing here?" she asked confused.
"Oh I was in the area, thought I'd check in on my second favourite girl." He said giving her a broad grin. "So how's life treating you?"
Bianca stared at him open mouthed for a moment before remembering he had asked her a question.
"Life… um…It's a little hectic, but life is being very good to me at the moment." said Bianca, unable to keep the wide smile from her face.
Leo grasped her shoulders and examined her closely in mock seriousness.
"Are you in love?" he asked.
"I might be." said Bianca, playing coy. She'd forgotten how much fun this was. "God, it's so good to see you!" She couldn't stop staring at him and smiling. "You haven't changed."
"And look at you." said Leo, "You're all grown up. I almost didn't recognise you. Where is the skinny geek I know and love?"
"She's still in here." said Bianca, "It's just a lot happened since you… went away."
Bianca felt the pain and sorrow creep in as she remembered how much had happened after his death and how much she had wished he had been by her side through all of it.
"I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you." He said in all seriousness, "But look at you, just look at yourself…"
Leo tailed off distracted. Bianca looked down at her blue dress and back up at him.
"What is it?"
"I'm sorry." said Leo, gesturing towards her, amusement in his voice. "You just look so different. I remember jeans and sweaters. Now you just look so mature, Bianca, so respectable; like you should be married, with two kids and a mortgage."
Bianca smirked at the irony.
"You know it's funny you should say that. I was married, I'm now divorced, and I have two beautiful daughters, Miranda and Gabriella. And well I don't really need a mortgage…"
Leo looked suddenly confused.
"Wait, you got married? Does that mean you stopped "liking the ladies"?" he asked, adding the inverted commas with his fingers.
Bianca gave his knee a reassuring pat.
"No I still "like the ladies" very much." She said, mimicking his inverted commas. "Gay marriage is legal now, well in some States."
Leo nodded seriously and then suddenly gave her a big grin.
"And you're in love again…"
"I am." said Bianca, grinning back. "Her name's Marissa."
"And how did you meet?"
"We were friends." said Bianca. "I guess we started getting closer when I employed her as my divorce lawyer."
Leo burst out laughing.
"What?" cried Bianca.
"That's fast work." He said, still laughing. "Get divorced and start dating the lawyer."
Bianca gave him a nudge.
"It wasn't like that."
"Oh I'm sure it wasn't." he said returning the nudge.
Bianca pushed back a little harder.
"Tease." She said, laughing herself now as well.
"Bully." He replied, making a show of rubbing his shoulder, before pushing her back.
"You know that's really childish!" she said, feigning defeat before returning the shove only this time Leo went with it, right off the pier into the water.
As soon as he resurfaced he spat out a plume of water.
"You did that on purpose." said Bianca, stepping back from the water's edge and trying to brush the splashes off her dress. "I didn't push you that hard."
"So what if I did?" said Leo, idly floating on his back. "The water's lovely you should join me."
"I'm not sure that's such a great idea." said Bianca. "My dress…"
"You could always take it off." said Leo, waggling his eyebrows, "I won't mind."
"Maybe in your dreams." said Bianca.
"Are you scared." called Leo.
"No!"
"It's fun."
"I just think I'm a little too old for this kind of silliness."
"Then you've turned into a prude, Bianca. Shame on you!"
"Did you just call me a prude?" exclaimed Bianca.
"What are you going to do about it, Miss Prudence Prude?"
"Ooh, you'll see." said Bianca, hiking up her skirt slightly before lining up to jump in the lake. "On three…"
Leo started the count down. When he counted, two, Bianca threw herself into the water, catching him off guard. She was delighted to see Leo spluttering when she resurfaced.
"So who's a prude?" she asked, swimming gracefully towards him.
"I can't believe you did that." He exclaimed.
"I have my moments." said Bianca, smiling.
They floated in silence for a time.
"This water is really cold." said Leo after a while.
"It really is." agreed Bianca, laughing.
Leo pulled himself out and then offered his hand to Bianca. When they were both back on dry land, they sat back on their places on the pier, both dripping wet and both smiling.
"You look very happy." said Leo after a moment.
"I am." said Bianca, "It's nice to be happy."
"Well no one deserves it more." He said.
She sighed and turned to Leo, suddenly close to tears, "God I missed you so much, you just seem to know how to make me feel good."
"Like magic." He said, with a knowing smile.
Bianca smiled back, but she could feel that this dream was almost over.
"I don't want you to go." she whispered.
"I'm always here if you need me." He said, pulling her into bear hug. "But Bianca you have been amazing all on your own. You are incredible, my friend, never forget that. You're incredible. I'm so proud…"
"Thank you." sighed Bianca, hugging him back. "Thank you…"
…
"Binks, Binks!"
Bianca opened her eyes to find Kendall shaking her awake and realised she had her arms wrapped tightly around a dinosaur covered pillow. It took her a moment to get her bearings. She was still in Spike's room.
"You look like you were having one hell of a dream." said Kendall, "Although how you can sleep at a time like this!"
"I just needed a moment." admitted Bianca, "I didn't mean to fall asleep. Sorry."
Kendall nodded, accepting the apology but she seemed very distracted.
"Are you okay?" Bianca asked placing a hand on her sister's arm.
"I'm fine." insisted Kendall.
But Bianca wasn't convinced. She gave her sister the 'you're not fooling anyone' look, which worked every time.
Kendall sighed,
"Can we talk about this later?"
"Sure." said Bianca, giving Kendall a quick hug, "I guess it's just going to be one of those days."
Bianca got up and followed her sister. It was time to get back out there and face her mom, and all the rest of the craziness this day no doubt still had in store. But she took one last moment to smile at the memory of her dream. Although there was also a tinge of sorrow as she thought about Leo, one of the dearest friend's she had ever had.