Author's Note: I did a bit of reading pertaining to legal issues referenced in this chapter (and any forthcoming chapters), but overall, I'm just making it up as I go. So suspend your disbelief and just accept it. I just don't have time to delve deep into research for a SWAC fanfiction, especially legal research because, if any of you have tried it, you know it's a damn complicated mess of technicalities. My biggest issue with this sequel has been connecting the events of the last fic to the main events that will play out in this one. This chapter will be another slow one, still setting the stage I'm afraid, but next chapter I should be able to finally get into the main thrust of the story. These two have just been the necessary bridges between both stories.

Chapter Two: Grown Ups Know Best

"Cut, cut," Marshall yelled. "This sketch stinks on ice!"

So Random's executive producer had been crankier than usual over the course of the past week, fielding calls from the several different parties regarding his two leading ladies recent public statements.

First, their was his boss, the head of the studio, Mr. Condor. He wanted them both off the show- it was sketch comedy, after all, the characters were constantly changing and continuity wasn't an issue- but the legality of firing them at this time had proved tricky due to claims of discrimination. Even so, this was a children's program and though it wasn't yet reflected in the ratings, advertisers had already pulled their ads and parent groups were complaining incessantly. As a result, he had asked Marshall to keep an eye on Sonny and Tawni and watch closely for the slightest infraction- anything that he could fire them for. Marshall had called the girls to his office and informed them of this and told them to be on their best behavior so that he wouldn't have to lie and risk his own job. Sonny had been startled by the notion, and clearly worried by it. Tawni, on the other hand, was nonchalant and shrugged it off entirely.

In addition to Condor, there was a barrage of calls from the press and various activist groups wanting interviews with him and with the girls and their castmates, or statements on the politics behind the decision to 'come out', as if it had been a carefully contemplated choice, rather than Tawni being impulsively reactive and Sonny, being the milk of human kindness, as it were, simply unable to continue living a lie.

And on top of this, the man had to continue to produce the sketches, interacting with a much more assertive cast than he'd had in the past. Tawni remained every bit the demanding diva she'd always been and Sonny was still easy-going, and finally out of her brief depressive slump, but she was clearly paranoid about losing her job and her hyper-sensitivity to her own actions caused her to frequently mess up her lines. And Nico, Grady, and Zora had all felt empowered by their recent 'throw-down with authority', as Nico melodramatically put it, and were all much less willing to just accept Marshall's direction. Suddenly, they felt like they knew what was best in all things.

If the new-found know-it-all status wasn't enough, Nico was intensely focused on trying to walk in on Sonny and Tawni in the midst of... private interactions; Grady had somehow acquired a girlfriend of his own, a waitress from a local cafe; and Zora's parents were among the legions of disapproving adults.

"Earth to Marshall?" Nico said, waving a hand in front of his face."What's the problem now?"

He looked up. "It just needs something else."

"Well, I think it's great," Grady asked. "But we can keep practicing. The Prop Guy made like fifty pies and I don't object to sticking my face in them."

Marshall rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, we know what we're doing, man, " Nico replied.

"No, you don't, you're kids. Kids who keep making stupid decisions because you think you're adults!" he threw his script down on the floor and marched off the set.

"I don't get what's up with him lately," Nico said disinterestedly.

"I guess that means it's time for lunch," Zora shrugged.

"I'm off to The Patio!" Grady announced with a big grin. "My girlfriend works there."

"We know," Zora replied. "You tell us at every meal break."

Still beaming, Grady skipped off the set.

"I'm gonna go eat in my sarcophagus," Zora said, before disappearing behind a rack of costumes.

Nico turned to Sonny and Tawni. "So, to the commissary?"

"Sonny!" Connie appeared behind them on the stage. "Hey!"

"Hey, Mom," Sonny replied, hugging her in greeting. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I just thought I'd swing by and take you to lunch. I have a gift-card and we haven't had any mother-daughter bonding in awhile."

"Um, ok," she couldn't hide her surprise. "Sounds like fun."

"You don't have any special plans, right?" Connie asked, feigning concern and looking at Tawni. "I'm not interrupting anything?"

Tawni shook her head.

"We were just going to the cafeteria."

Connie nodded. "Well, ok then. We better hurry. You only have an hour free, right?"

"Yeah," Sonny nodded. She turned and quickly gave Tawni a kiss on the cheek. "See ya."

Tawni nodded a goodbye and eyed Connie wearily. As soon as the Munroes were out of earshot, she turned to Nico. "Sonny's mom has gotten really weird lately."

"Yeah, well," he replied, offering nothing useful before repeating his earlier question. "So, to the commissary? Or do you want to go eat somewhere fancier?"

"I can't," Tawni grumbled, her expression promptly turning sour. "My card isn't working."

"Huh?"

"This morning Sonny and I went to breakfast and I was going to pay, but my card got declined. Which makes no sense. I haven't had a chance to call the bank yet though."

"Well, then the commissary it is.

She shrugged and went with him.

"This is nice, isn't this nice?" Connie said, grinning across the table at her daughter.

"Yeah...?" Sonny responded, a little confused by her mother's behavior. She bit into her turkey club.

"We used to be so close, I miss that."

"We're still close. What are you talking about?"

"You're just growing up so fast. It seems like just yesterday you were in diapers."

"Mom..."

"Well, you used to actually listen to my advice. You valued my opinion, maybe more than anyone else's."

"I still listen to your advice."

"Selectively."

Sonny tilted her head to the side. "I don't understand why you have such a problem with Tawni, Mom."

"Because she's a completely self-absorbed princess who makes most people's lives miserable."

"She really isn't that bad once you get to know her," Sonny answered, taking another bite of her sandwich.

"I just don't want to see you hurt and I don't see this ending well at all," Connie said, crossing her hands. "I've been around the block, kiddo, and I've known plenty of Tawnis in my time."

"Mmhm," Sonny nodded.

"You aren't even listening to me," Connie clapped her hands down on her lap.

"Yes, I am, but you aren't giving Tawni a chance. I know she isn't the nicest, most generous person ever... but I wish you'd just trust my judgment on this one. You need to get to know her. You didn't like Lucy much when you first met her."

"And how did that turn out?" Connie raised her eyebrow. "I even warned you about Chad. You couldn't even pick a good guy for your fake boyfriend."

Sonny frowned. "Is this all you brought me out here for? So you could try and persuade me to break up-"

"I just want to talk with you, Sonny. And you've been hanging around with Tawni almost non-stop during your free time and I don't think she's good for you. Or good enough for you, for that matter."

Sonny just sighed and took another bite of her sandwich. If she was the sort of girl who thrived on parental disapproval, she could have just ignored this situation, but she wasn't and this was something she'd have to fix.

"That is not possible," Tawni repeated into the phone, her temper rising. "I had way too much money in that account to overdraw it, ok? I check it online every time I get a paycheck and there's no way that I've spent it all in the last two weeks."

"Are you able to look over your accounts online right now?" the woman on the other end of the line asked.

"No, I don't have a computer, or the time, look, there was almost a quarter of a million dollars in that account when I last checked it and I have not spent that-"

"You share this account with a Thomas Hart, yes?"

"Yeah, that's my dad."

"Is it possible then that he made the withdrawal?"

"He's never gone into this account. His name is on it because I'm a minor, but this has always been my personal spending account," Tawni explained.

"Well, it appears that he made a large withdrawal a few days ago," the woman replied. "I think perhaps you'll need to take this up with him. Since his name is on the account, he is legally entitled to the money in it."

"Can I transfer funds from somewhere else then?" the blonde asked, frustrated.

"The only other account in your name is your Coogan trust and you cannot access that until you're eighteen."

"Well, then what am I supposed to do?" Tawni snapped.

"Talk with your father, I guess. There's really nothing I can do for you, Miss Hart, I'm sorry."

Tawni hung up and tossed her phone on the vanity. Calling her father was the last thing she wanted to do.