A/N: I own nothing. More at the bottom of the page :)

Hump Day Blues (Part I)

The Do Not Disturb placard had been in place for hours now, yet someone seemed determined to ignore it. With every thump on the door, Taylor's head split a tiny bit more. She struggled to open her eyes, and when her eyelids finally separated, she struggled to keep them apart. It took nearly two minutes for her to finally be able to focus, and even then her stomach dropped a bit from just being awake. "What in the hell did I drink last night," she asked out loud and she finally sat up and glared at the clock beside the bed. Six forty-five! Ridiculous! There was that thumping again, and Taylor finally had the wherewithal to swing her feet to the edge of the bed and slide to the floor. She slowly, but steadily made her way across the room to the door.

She pulled the door open with less force than she had intended. "Lena," Taylor rolled her eyes, now understanding completely why her Do Not Disturb sign was being ignored. "It's before seven…"

"Where is she!" Lena asked, a bit breathless, a bit pushy as she moved her sister to the side and entered the room. Taylor was about to ask, who, but her question was overpowered by her sister's angry muttering. "I mean, how could you, Taylor…really, I thought you had outgrown this type of behavior," Lena chided. Taylor closed the door and leaned against it for a moment. Her head was beginning to pound and unexpectedly, she was ravenously hungry. "Are you listening to me, Taylor! Where is Monte?" she opened her eyes to watch her big sister search around the room almost frantically.

Taylor pushed off from the door and made her way to the second queen sized bed in the room and curled up on it for a few moments before actually giving Lena any of her attention. She rolled onto her back and looked up at the ceiling, "What in the hell are you talking about?" she asked. Her voice was gravelly and sounded foreign even to her. Her vocal cords felt swollen and strained and she didn't feel like talking. She had drank the night before…not enough to get stone-cold drunk, but definitely enough to upset her equilibrium.

"Monte! She is not at her house and Jenna is worried sick…" Lena said in a huff. Taylor lifted her neck and stared at her sister for a moment; she had never seen Lena frazzled or this upset about anything really, and although it was confusing and uncomfortable, Taylor began to laugh. "You find this funny?" Lena widened her eyes in disbelief.

"I find it utterly ridiculous," Taylor corrected her, "which is why all I can do is laugh." Lena plopped on the bed that Taylor had slept in and narrowed her eyes at her little sister. "You are not going to check the bathroom?" Taylor questioned pointing around the corner.

"Where is she, Taylor?" Lena took a deep breath and asked again.

"I assume at home…" Taylor closed her eyes, already bored with this conversation.

"She is not home, Taylor," Lena tried to keep her emotions in check. She watched as her little sister moved to the bed she sat on and got back under the covers. "You are not going back to sleep…" Lena said more sternly than she had said anything in her life.

"Well, I'm not listening to this shit," Taylor said evenly.

Lena sprang up, "You are like a petulant child," she gritted through clenched teeth. "Can you just give me a straight answer…where is Monte?"

Taylor scratched her matted curls and frowned. "She's obviously not here, Lena," she said becoming a little frustrated now. It was enough that her sleep, what sleep she had gotten, was interrupted, but the tone and mood of Lena was poised to piss her off. "What exactly do you think happened last night?"

"Let's see…you and Monte leave to have 'drinks,' and this morning, when Jenna tried to call her all morning, she doesn't answer. And then when Jenna checks her house, she isn't there…"

"So CRAZY JENNA can't find her girlfriend, calls you and your first thought was, 'my sister is probably screwing her'? That's the next logical step?"

"Well, you have been known to bed my friends, Taylor," Lena said quickly.

Now Taylor was becoming pissed. She laughed with no real humor and sat up again in bed. "How long have you been waiting to bring that shit up?" she asked seriously. "I slept with Rashida before I was ever married…or have you forgotten? I'm married, with a family Lena!"

"What does it matter to you? I mean, your family isn't here…"

"Whoa! So if my family isn't here…I may just do anything, right? Out of sight, out of mind?" Taylor didn't want to be hurt; hurt because her sister expected the worse from her, hurt that she was almost drunk and upset enough last night to do something stupid, but overall, just frustrated that she couldn't put her finger on what was really wrong with her. It seemed like everyone knew she was deficient and everyone, even Lena, her rock, was going to make sure she knew she was shit. "You should go, Lena," she said after a moment of silent concentration.

"Taylor…"

"No, get the hell out of my hotel room. I didn't screw your boss…so wherever she is…she wasn't with me this morning," she said slowly. "Now get the hell out."

The Night Before

"What would you like to drink?" Monte realized a little too late that Taylor was a bit more intimidating than she realized early on. The young woman had shed the jacket that accompanied her suit during the foundation event and was now lounging across from her with her legs crossed. They had decided on a hotel bar near where Taylor was staying and where Monte lived.

"You choose," Taylor said easily, eyeing Monte as she looked over the drink menu. She had been purposely quiet on the drive to the bar. Monte was far too bold, which Taylor could respect, but she needed to restore some balance. The quiet, aloof version of herself always worked. She could already see that it had shifted Monte a bit and now Taylor felt a little more at ease. "I trust your opinion," she finally smiled.

Monte bit down on her lower lip, "Grey Goose martini?" she asked leaning back. "Two Grey Goose martinis," she said to the server and handed the menus back to him. "So what made you accept my drink offer?" Monte asked after watching Taylor for a second.

"I wanted to antagonize Jenna," Taylor stated dryly. "She sees me as a threat."

The waiter returned with their drinks and Monte took a sip of hers. "Well that's honest…shouldn't I feel used?"

"Do you?" Taylor asked moving her drink to the side of the table.

"Not particularly," Monte admitted. She took a decent swallow of her drink before adding, "What would you have done if I did feel used?"

Taylor laughed throatily, a sound that Monte had to admit was pretty sexy. Taylor finally tasted her drink. She hated the taste of the vermouth mixing with the vodka, but the bitterness in her mouth was a distraction against the easy flirting that was taking place between she and Monte.

Monte shifted, "I feel like I should thank you again…Anchor Beach really appreciates what you did tonight."

"I didn't do anything," Taylor assured her.

"Well, Lucy…" Monte pretended to have to think of the name, "she seemed ready to write you a check personally."

"That's what Lena said," Taylor swallowed some more of her drink. She couldn't help, but notice the way Monte's posture changed when Lena's name was mentioned. She blinked a few times and decided to go ahead and polish off her first drink. She was going to need to be at least a little tipsy if she planned to carry on even a mild flirtation with someone who was likely lusting after her older sister. She signaled the waiter for another drink and then focused back on Monte. "But Lena has been known to be wrong," Taylor shrugged, determined to keep Lena's name in the rotation to see Monte's reaction.

"Lena was likely right then," Monte nodded in agreement. "What does your wife do when women come after you?"

"Women don't come after me," Taylor said quickly. She wasn't sure why her jaw tightened, but talking about Zoe wasn't in her plans for the evening. The waiter put another drink in front of her and she smiled at him. "I don't think my wife gives a damn," she stated honestly. She did with her drink what she had done before and moved it to the side of the table.

"That can't be true," Monte dismissed the answer. "I would be worried out of my mind if you were my wife…"

"Is that so?" Taylor liked Monte. She couldn't confirm it until that moment, but she genuinely liked the woman. It was something about her that was sincere, but at the same time, blatantly bold and sexual. She realized soberly that Monte didn't want her…well Monte did want her, but likely just to bait Lena or Jenna or both. "How long have you been seeing Jenna?"

"How long have you been married?" she countered quickly.

There it was again; Zoe coming to the forefront of Taylor's mind. She made a softly frustrated grunt and sipped her drink again. "Ten years."

"Less than ten weeks," Monte gave up easily. "We aren't serious."

"Does she know that?"

Monte grinned, excited by the way Taylor bantered with her. "Are you worried about Jenna's feelings?"

"No," Taylor said seriously. "But she's not the type of woman to casually date."

"You know people," Monte polished off her drink as she gave Taylor credit.

"I just know human nature," Taylor shrugged, "and someone who had been married as long as Jenna was doesn't want to just date now.

"So after ten years of marriage, you would never just want to be free and date?"

"No…my mind hasn't been on dating for years," Taylor frowned. "It was education, and work, and now kids…dating would seem terrible," Taylor continued to rattle off. She was so lost in thoughts that she failed to realize that Monte was quietly staring at her. She was quiet for far too long, thinking about what she had said. She didn't want to date, not particularly because she was lazy or didn't enjoy the chase and women all together; but she loved Zoe so much it hurt and her girls were her world.

"What's your wife like?" Monte hadn't wanted to ask; she hadn't wanted to make Taylor's spouse someone real in her mind; yet she needed to know about the woman who inspired such a look of beautiful chaos in Taylor's soft brown eyes. She had seen the same look in Lena's eyes when she spoke about Stef, even when Lena was complaining about something her wife had done, and not only had Monte been jealous, but also intrigued.

Taylor ran her finger along the rim of her glass before bottoming out the martini glass for a second time. "I'm not going to be able to drive," she said lightly, ignoring Monte's question. "How far is the hotel from here?"

"Two or three blocks," Monte answered. "You finished already?"

Taylor shook her head no. "But it's likely I'm going to have to walk to the hotel…"

"Which means I have to walk home," Monte laughed.

"We could stop now…" Taylor said, the slight burn in her chest from the liquor making her bolder. "Or we could do something seriously fun…"

"This is not fun?" Monte frowned. "You are beginning to hurt my feelings," she teased.

"Really…" Taylor laughed at the notion. "Fine…let's stay here…"

"Well…there is one thing, I've never done and kinda wanted to do…"

"Should I be afraid to ask?"

"How do you feel about strip clubs?" Monte motioned the waiter for the check. She took care of the check while Taylor thought about the answer. She had been to strip clubs before; numerous times and usually with people from work. For a while it was considered cool and risqué to conduct business gatherings at strip clubs, and there was always the occasional client core that found naked women a draw to doing business. "I've never been to one…" Monte said actually shyly, "but I've always kinda wanted to go to one; even since college," she said as if qualifying her desires. "But when I told Jenna this…she said it's disrespectful to women…"

Taylor closed one eye and let the heavy feeling of the alcohol wash over her. The two martinis that she had drank rapidly finally caught up with her, but she understood what Monte was explaining. "Well, let's go to a strip club," Taylor agreed, not really considering the eventual consequences of that decision.

"I thought it would be different," Monte whispered close to Taylor's ear nearly thirty minutes later. They had taken a cab to a close by "gentleman's club," and where now seated in a private room. There was no pole in the private room that she and Taylor ended up in after spending nearly an hour in the larger area with everyone else. There were a few men scattered throughout the open room, not many people seemed to make it to strip clubs on a Tuesday night, so when one of the women invited Taylor and Monte back to a private room, they gladly accepted.

Taylor's eyes travelled from the topless woman in front of her to Monte. "I mean, it's erotic," Monte whispered, "I thought it would be…" she didn't finished her sentence, only smiled at the fact that now Taylor's eyes were fixed on her.

"I should go home," Taylor said almost breathlessly.

"Why?" Monte asked innocently.

"Do you want another drink, sweetheart?" somehow the server had entered the private room unnoticed by both Taylor and Monte. Taylor had been slowly nursing a vodka tonic since she had arrived at club, but now the drink was watered down and needed replacing.

"Sure," was on the tip of Taylor's tongue, but she stopped herself. "No…I'll get the check…"

"You aren't really going to leave are you?" Monte pouted, placing her hand on Taylor's thigh and for once the alcohol totally cleared from Taylor's mind. Her eyes looked from Monte's eyes, back down to her hand.

She grimaced, "I think I'd better," she whispered her response.

"She's lying," Lena fumed, tossing her keys back in her purse. She rubbed her temples and waited for her wife to say something. When Stef said nothing, she turned and looked behind her, "Stef…Taylor is lying…"

"Why would she lie?" Stef questioned opening one eye. Stef had climbed back into bed after convincing Jenna to stop worrying about Monte and actually go to work. "Taylor has nothing to gain by sleeping with Monte," Stef added. "And plus, Taylor is married…"

"When has that ever stopped anyone?" Lena mumbled. "Geez, where in the hell is Monte?"

Stef realized that Lena was actually calling the woman right now. Stef rolled over and frowned; she understood why Jenna gave a damn, somewhat, but she couldn't, for the life of her, understand why her wife gave a damn about where Monte was right now. "Why do you care where she is?" Stef asked carefully.

Lena tossed her phone on the nightstand and looked at her wife. "What if something happened to her, Stef?"

"I thought this was about proving that Taylor wasn't with her…you drove to Taylor's hotel and upset her to prove that, love," Stef said evenly. "It's not your responsibly to locate a grown woman."

"Like it's not your responsibility to run after Mike…yet…"

"Wow!" Stef said sitting straight up, "how did I know we were going to bring up Mike?"

"I bring up Mike because last night instead of being with me, you were running Mike's life…"

"Lena, I'm not going to continue to have this argument with you…I've told you, I worry about Mike because of Brandon. You have NO reason at all to care about Monte's whereabouts. After you realized she wasn't with Taylor that should have been the end of it…" she said seriously.

"Don't tell me how to have friendships, Stef," Lena countered. Her phone ringing stopped her from continuing. Lena picked up her phone and answered it quickly, "Monte…where are you?"

Stef blew out a deep breath and sighed in frustration. She had never disliked a relationship that Lena was having as much as she disliked her "friendship," with Monte. It made her feel marginalized, like she wasn't Lena's primary focus and it hurt her to her core. She watched Lena smile as she got an explanation from Monte. Stef rolled her eyes and headed towards the bedroom door.

"Where are you going?" Lena asked quickly pulling the phone from her ear.

Stef shrugged, she didn't know but she knew anywhere was better than watching her wife gush over some other woman.

"Stef…" Lena tried to whisper, but something that Monte said caught her attention. "Wait…she took you to a strip club?" she asked in almost disbelief.

"More like I took her to a strip club," Monte corrected her friend, "and then she left early…so…I really expected your sister to be a bit more…fun," Monte admitted.

Lena didn't know what to say. "So…Jenna has been looking for you…I assumed you were with Taylor."

"What do you mean Jenna has been looking for me? I've been home all morning," Monte informed her.

"Your car wasn't there…" Lena slipped up, "I mean, Jenna said your car wasn't there…" which really didn't sound any better.

"I told Jenna that my car was getting towed to the mechanics last night…" Monte informed Lena. "That's why she and I rode together last night…did Jenna call you to check up on me?" A bit of anger rose up in Monte's tone. "She had no right, Lena…and you decided to listen to her…what did you think, that Taylor and I spent the night together?" Lena couldn't get her words together to answer. "Lena, I …I don't know what to say," the hurt was evident in Monte's voice. "Taylor and I hung out, had a pretty good time, but…to assume that we slept together…"

"Monte, I just …I was listening to Jenna and she was…"

"Yeah, I get that," Monte stopped her friend. "I think I'll talk to you later, Lena."

"Monte…" but the line was already dead. Lena placed her phone back on the nightstand and pinched the bridge of her nose. So, she had successfully pissed off three people this morning and it was just after eight.

"Stef," Lena said making her way into the kitchen. Stef was pouring herself another cup of coffee. She didn't take the bait and refused to make eye contact with Lena. "Stef, I'm sorry," she offered humbly. "This morning has been hell." She went and stood in front of Stef. "Stef, at least look at me…" when her wife didn't respond, Lena huffed. "Listen, we both said some things…"

"I didn't say anything I didn't mean," Stef said seriously. "When are you going to see that Monte does nothing but causes problems?"

"Monte has been home the entire time," Lena relayed, "So if anyone caused problems, it was Jenna…"

"Lena, you don't see how you are about Monte. You gush over her and …" Stef couldn't even finish her sentence. She stood and instead of finishing her coffee, put the nearly full cup into the sink. "You should at least call Taylor and apologize to her.

"Can we just talk, Stef?" Lena asked. "We can't even have a conversation lately."

"You didn't want to talk to me fifteen minutes ago."

"Stef, can you please be an adult about this…we were both awaken this morning…"

"Yeah, but I didn't freak out and go on a wild goose chase for my new girl crush," Stef said angrily. "I didn't offend my sister or make my wife feel like hell all morning! How do you think it makes me feel to see you chase after Monte all morning?"

"I don't know! The same way I feel when you take personal responsibility for your ex-husband," Lena said more evenly than she felt.

"Mom…" Jude said coming down the three stairs and rubbing his eyes.

Lena turned to look at her son, giving Stef just enough time to brush past her and head back upstairs.

"Mom, are you going to make breakfast?" Jude asked sliding onto a stool.

"Sure, sweetheart," she sighed, heading to the fridge. She was well into making breakfast when she heard the front door slam and Stef's car leave the driveway.

A/N: Hey all! I hope you enjoyed this chapter; it's broken into two parts because it was becoming extra long. I know everyone thinks that Taylor is poised to sleep with Monte, hell one of the Adams sisters has to fall to her right, but it won't be that easy :) Lena and Taylor are interesting because their motivations are very different, so what works on Lena, may not work so well on Taylor :) Just a warning, things are going to get a lot more bumpy for these couples before they get better...and just a shoutout to Sharod and ToughEnough, I love you guys and your reviews and comments. I definitely appreciate all your support! Thanks so much :)