Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They belong to AMC, ABC and Prospect Park. I am simply borrowing them and taking them for a spin.

A/N: This is a follow up to Aftermath. The storyline picks up a little over two months after the shooting at the Chandler mansion so that would make it early December. For story purposes, I've added the minor character of the district attorney along with three others that are mentioned. While I would like nothing more than to go medieval on a certain character, I restrained myself in the interest of giving this a little bit of realism. I want to thank those on AE for serving as an unofficial jury. I made a story decision that some might not agree with, but hopefully, you can see why I did.

Confrontations

Bianca waited in the visitors' area of Statesville Prison for JR. She had thought about what she was going to say, what she needed to say, to her former friend throughout the restless evening and the long drive here. Dr. Bradford, the therapist she had started seeing when the nightmares of the shooting and the guilt she felt became too much to live with, had helped her realize the importance of confronting JR. She had helped Bianca translate her feelings into words, and Bianca had practiced her speech too many times to count in the last 24 hours. For the moment, she was putting the doctor's other piece of advice to the side. She knew she was going to have to have a long discussion with Marissa. It was something that was long overdue, and it would be done. It had to be done in order to save them, to save what they had started to build. For today though, she had to remain focused on this talk with JR. Would she be able to finally get through to him and make him see that accepting the D.A.'s plea deal and avoiding a long, ugly trial was best for all concerned, particularly AJ?

Bianca shook her head and took a deep breath. She knew she was taking a huge risk. She hated going behind Marissa's back like this, but she had to do something to protect her family. Her mind shifted back to Marissa. At first, things seemed okay after the shooting, but that changed. Before it happened, one knew exactly where the other was without being told; knew what the other was thinking and feeling without having to utter a single word. There was now strain and tension where before there had been laughter and comfort and ease. Where honesty had once thrived, secrets had now taken root and were being fed by doubt. She knew that Marissa was holding back, not telling her something. She just didn't know what it was or how to bridge the distance between them.

Bianca also knew she bore a large part of the responsibility for this distance. She started rebuilding walls that Marissa had brought down with a single kiss months before. These new walls had been built brick by brick by guilt. No matter how hard she tried, Bianca blamed herself for what had happened. If she hadn't agreed to help JR and given him false hope about Marissa and his chances of salvaging that relationship. If she had only remained silent about her own feelings regarding Marissa. If only she could have controlled her own heart and not fallen for her best friend. Not fall in love with Marissa? No, that was impossible. It would have been easier to stop the sun from rising in the East and setting in the West than to stop Bianca from falling in love with Marissa. Many things changed that day over two months ago, but one thing remained unchanged. It was her love for Marissa. That remained, and it was the one thing that Bianca was sure of; the one constant. It was why she was here today, fighting for Marissa, for their love, for them and their family.

"You're my visitor? What the hell do you want?" JR snarled as he approached his side of the table.

"JR. I've come to talk."

"Talk? What do we have to talk about? You're the reason I'm here, one of the reasons at least! Speaking of, how's your girlfriend? Is she in a lot of pain? I sure as hell hope so. That bitch deserves nothing but pain. Both of you. That's all you deserve."

Bianca took a breath to steady herself. "We're not the reason you're in here, JR. You know that. We didn't put that gun in your hand and make you shoot Marissa."

"The only thing I know is that you took my wife and then you both took my son! Poisoned him against me!"

"She isn't your wife, and she hasn't been for a long time. As for AJ, you only have yourself to blame for that as well. Marissa was more than willing to work with you. She wanted nothing more than for you to clean yourself up, get sober, so you could be the father AJ needed, the father he deserved. He didn't want to see you. You were scaring him."

"You think you know what my son needs? He needs to be in a normal home, not what he's in right now!"

"He is in a normal home, JR. It's loving and stable. He has a family."

"Family? He's not with family!"

"Enough, JR! The D.A. says he has offered you a deal. You really should take it."

"Why would I do that? What's in it for me?"

"What's in it for you? I don't know! How about saving your son the pain of a public trial! The pain of headlines blaring that his father tried to kill his mother!"

"She's not his mother!"

"The courts say otherwise!"

"I don't give a damn what the courts say! AJ is my son, not her's! I'm not going to let that bitch win!"

"This isn't about anyone winning. This is about you finally putting someone else first. This is about AJ and doing what's best for him."

"Screw you, her and any deal! I'll see you both in hell before I roll over and give up my son!"

"I see you're still only thinking about yourself, JR! Still blaming everyone else! Still wallowing in self pity! It's never your fault, is it?"

"Get the hell out of here!"

"I'll leave, but remember this, JR! If you ever come near Marissa again, near AJ again, you will neverbe able to run fast enough or far enough from me! I will hunt you down, and you will pay, dearly! You'll beg for the days of being in here where you were safe from me!"

"Is that a threat?"

Bianca stood and smiled coldly down at him. "That's not a threat, JR. That's a promise!"

As she sat in her car later, Bianca thought, What did I just do?

/

Marissa sat outside the Mike Jensen's office waiting. The district attorney was running late, and she was going to have to make arrangements for someone else to pick up the kids from school if he didn't see her soon. She supposed she could call Kendall to get them. She wasn't sure where Bianca was. Her girlfriend had left early that morning saying she would be late. Bianca, why won't you talk to me? What's wrong?

"Ms. Tasker? Mr. Jensen will see you now."

Marissa nodded and made her way back to an office that was fast becoming a second home. She could only imagine what the latest drama regarding her ex was.

"Marissa. Thank you for coming in. Have a seat. I have some news."

"Mike. I can only assume that it's bad if it's about JR."

"Well, I'm afraid it's not good. It looks like Bianca's visit with him did not go the way we hoped."

"What do you mean, Bianca's visit with JR? She saw him?"

"Yes, earlier today. I called to tell you both that Mr. Chandler was refusing the deal. You didn't know?"

Marissa shook her head.

"After the three of us talked last week with his attorney about a possible deal for him, she came up with the idea of being the one to try and talk him into accepting it. I thought you knew."

"No. I didn't know." Marissa exhaled slowly before continuing. "You said it didn't go the way you hoped. What happened?"

"It appears your ex-husband got quite nasty. Bianca told my assistant that she lost her temper and was afraid she made things worse."

Bianca what were you thinking? You know JR. How could you put yourself in that situation? No, I know how and why. You were doing it for me. You were doing it for AJ and the rest of our family. No matter what else you may be going through right now, you are still putting us first. That's one of the reason's I love you, and God knows that I love you.

"Marissa?"

"I'm sorry. You were saying?"

"It appears that he is still refusing a deal. He wants to go to trial."

Marissa thought about going to trial and what it would mean for AJ. What it would mean for Bianca and the girls. "Is there any way we can get in to see him today?"

"You want to see him? I suppose if that's what you want, I'm sure I can arrange something if we can reach his attorney."

"It is. While you're doing that, I need to make arrangements for our children." Marissa pulled out her cell and called Kendall. She wasn't surprised to find out that Bianca hadn't told Kendall about her road trip either. "I know why she did it, Kendall. I just don't know why she couldn't tell me."

"She's trying to fix things, to help you. I don't know exactly what's going on with her lately. She still hasn't opened up?"

"Not yet. I just keep hoping she will soon. Of course, I'm not one to talk."

"Marissa, I thought we agreed that you shouldn't tell her about not wanting to see her at the hospital."

"I know we agreed, but I have to tell her, Kendall. I can't keep this secret between us. It's tearing me up to hide it from her, and Dr. Andrews agrees."

"Hmmm. Well, I know she's your therapist and has been helping you with all of this, but I just don't know. It will hurt Bianca, and I don't want that."

"You think I want to hurt her? It's the last thing I want to do, but we have always been honest with each other. Look, Kendall, I have to go. You're sure it's not problem getting the kids?"

"It's no problem. Good luck."

"Thanks. I'm going to need it." Marissa disconnected the call and turned to the attorney. "Well?"

"If we leave now, we'll be able to see him."

"Good. Let's get this over with. I am tired of JR trying to run our lives."

/

The drive to the prison gave Marissa the time she needed to think about what she was going to say. She had absolutely had it with JR and his games. She was done. She wasn't going to have this hanging over their heads any longer. She was going to protect AJ and the rest of her family. Her family, Bianca, AJ, Miranda and Gabby. They were a family no matter what JR said or did. She could only imagine what he said to Bianca. Why did she come here on her own? Why did she feel she had to hide what she was doing? Bianca didn't need to fight this battle on her own. How did they get to this point? Ever since the shooting, things had not been quite right between them. Marissa knew that a large part of the problem was her. At first, she couldn't get past the guilt. She blamed herself for putting Bianca in danger, for almost getting her killed. Therapy had been helping her accept that it wasn't her fault. JR was the guilty one here; not her and certainly not Bianca. How was she going to get through to her girlfriend? She had to find a way. She was going to find away. First, she would deal with JR. This was going to end today.

"Are you ready, Marissa?"

She took a deep breath and braced herself. Time to pull out all the stops. Time to stop being a victim and show him exactly what you are capable of. Marissa nodded and entered the room with the lawyer. They both took their seats and nodded to each other. They had agreed that this was her show.

She nodded to the public defender handling JR's case. Adam still had the purse strings closed tightly. Marissa smiled inwardly. This was one time that the Chandler money wasn't going to buy his way out of trouble. "JR. You have a deal on the table. Are you going to accept it or not?"

"You call life in prison a deal?"

"Life with a possibility of parole in 35 years. Considering the list of charges against you includes three counts of attempted murder and one count of attempted kidnapping, yes, I'd call that deal. I'd call that a gift."

"Like I told your girlfriend earlier, screw you! No deal!"

"Really. You want to see our son"

"He's not your son! You're not his mother!"

"You want to see our son go through a trial?"

"It's not my fault."

"Yes, JR, it is your fault. All of this is your fault. You're the one who couldn't stay sober. You're the one who scared AJ so much that he didn't want to see you. You're the one who decided to try and kill Bianca and me. You're the one who is responsible for your actions."

"I want a better deal."

"A better deal? What would you call a better deal?"

"Five years."

"Five years? Are you serious?"

"Five years or no deal."

"No deal it is then." Marissa turned to the D.A. and said, "Let's go, Mike."

As they started to leave, JR shouted, "Wait! 10 years."

"No deal."

"What do you mean, no deal? I thought you wanted to spare AJ a trial!"

"I do but not at the expense of basically giving you a slap on the wrist."

"A slap on the wrist? Who the hell do you think you are?"

Marissa stared coldly at her ex. "I'm your worst nightmare, JR. I'm the one who's going to see that you finally get the punishment you deserve. I'm the one who's going to make sure you do time for trying to kill Bianca, for trying to take our son. I'm the one who's going to make sure you finally put someone else first in your miserable excuse for a life. I don't give a damn about you or what you want. This is about AJ. This is about protecting my family. This is about justice. Take a look around JR. I don't see anyone jumping to your side. Trust me, if it wasn't for AJ and trying to protect him from the ugliness of your trial, we wouldn't be talking. 35 years minimum and no contact with AJ or any of my family. Do you really think a jury is going to give you a better deal? Take it or leave it. What's your answer?"

JR looked at Marissa. He had never seen her like this, not even with the tape. She wasn't going to back down. He hung his head and mumbled.

"I didn't catch that."

"Deal."

Jensen addressed JR's lawyer. "I'll have my office send you the paperwork."

"This isn't over, Marissa! I'll be out of here someday!"

Marissa was about to follow the attorneys out of the door when she heard JR's pathetic parting shot. She turned and offered the coldest of smiles. "Maybe you'll get out of here one day, but I wouldn't count on that. When you do finally come up for parole 35 years from now, I'll be there to make sure the board knows exactly who and what you are, a sorry excuse of a human being who never took responsibility for anything in his miserable existence. Oh, and if that day ever comes and you do leave here, if you ever come near AJ, Bianca or the girls again, you'll deal with me, and this will seem like a picnic. That is a promise, and yeah, JR, it's over."