Epilogue

That November….

The Marler children were encamped in their mother's living room, simultaneously tracking the results of their hometown's mayoral election while working their way through a Harry Potter marathon on ABC Family. Blake had insisted that they stay home instead of joining her and Doris at the Beacon, which had become their unofficial reelection headquarters over the last several months. It was close to midnight and they were all starting to get impatient.

"I still don't see why we couldn't go to the party," Clarissa sulked, grabbing another handful of popcorn.

"You heard Mom," Kevin reminded her. "It's a school night and you're already overexposed. If your picture makes the front page of the Springfield Patriot one more time I think Doris is probably going to kill someone."

"I thought I looked good last week! I'm glad they caught me wearing my new sweater…"

"Even though the editorial implied you were a pampered princess living in a den of sin?" Kevin teased.

"The Patriot is run by Tea Party Republicans – it's not even a real newspaper," Jason retorted, rolling his eyes. "We've got an update: she's at 58% of the vote with 80% of polling stations reporting," he informed them from behind the screen of his laptop.

"I told you!" Clarissa crowed. "There's no way she can lose!" A sophomore in high school, Clarissa had grown increasingly fond of the mayor over the last few months. The fact that most of her friends thought that having two moms was 'the coolest thing ever' was just an added bonus.

"Actually, she can," Jason corrected her. Having recently changed his major to political science, he was using Doris's election campaign as part of his senior thesis. "Don't they teach math at your school? The neighborhoods that are still reporting are mostly blue collar, working class people – the kind that love to vote for cops. En masse, they could sway the vote in Cooper's direction."

"That's the thing: Frank Cooper is a cop and that's all he's fit to do," Kevin scoffed. "And barely fit to do that, if we're being honest. How awesome was it when Doris destroyed him in that debate? If Dad was alive, he'd vote for her...well, he probably would…if she weren't dating Mom…" he finished awkwardly. "Anyway, you know what I mean."

"Oh, come on," Clarissa insisted. "Frank's a good man…"

Kevin held his ground. "He's a douche. The way he chased after mom like a sad little puppy? Embarrassing!"

"Or you're embarrassed because he always tried to pat you on the head and tell you what to do…." Jason pointed out.

"I'm a grown man!" Kevin said. "I didn't need him to remind me to do my chores and help Mom around the house."

"Doris reminds us to help Mom," Clarissa told him.

"That's different," Kevin argued.

"How so?" she countered

"She doesn't order. She asks, and she does it politely. 'Clarissa, can you please help set the table for breakfast?' or 'Kevin, could you please take out the garbage after dinner?' She has tact."

"She IS a politician. It's kinda her thing," Jason mentioned.

"Call it what you will, but Frank was trying to be our Dad and it was weird," Kevin growled.

"And Doris lets you drive the BMW…" Jason added smugly.

"At least I don't have a thing for her daughter," Kevin muttered under his breath.

"61% of the vote with 90% reporting," Jason interjected, ignoring his twin's snide comment.

"So, is it a done deal?" Clarissa asked, yawning.

Just then, the doorbell rang and Kevin sprang out of his seat to get it.

"Hello Marlers!" Ashlee Wolfe greeted them cheerily. "Who wants pizza?!"

"Ashlee!" Jason exclaimed, fumbling with his computer. "I didn't know you were in town." Rising to greet her, he quickly straightened his rumpled t-shirt and smoothed back his hair.

"Oh, didn't I mention Ashlee was coming over?" Clarissa bit her lip to keep from laughing. Everyone knew that Jason had a little crush on the blonde, dating back to the time when they went to high school together, even though she was older. The fact that their mothers were dating didn't seem to interfere with his infatuation.

"Just for a few days," Ashlee informed them, handing the pizza over to Kevin. "I like to be around to support Mom on election night. All this waiting can be very stressful and I hate to think of her having to deal with it on her own. Although," she gestured around at the Marler household, which she knew had become her mother's second home, "it looks like this year she won't be!"

Over at the Beacon, Olivia and Natalia stood near the back of a crowded ballroom, waiting for the guest of honor to arrive.

"They should be down soon, right?" Natalia asked.

"Yeah," Olivia agreed. "Hopefully…"

"She probably just wants to wait until it's official."

"Of course." Olivia nodded. "It would be awkward if she delivered her acceptance speech and it turned out she didn't win…"

"But…she's going to win, right?"

"Of course," Olivia repeated. "Unless they find out the voting booths were rigged or something… which they weren't!" the hotelier insisted when her wife's eyes went wide with alarm.

Natalia pursed her lips, squinting at Olivia. "They'd better not be." She knew her wife would do just about anything for Doris, but on this occasion the mayor appeared to be winning on her own merits.

"And…" Olivia added, eager to change the subject, "she's probably still tweaking that speech that Blake wrote – did you read it?"

Natalia's eyes softened. "I did! It's so beautiful. Thanking her friends and campaign staff and the city council and the unions for supporting her. Thanking the Republican voters who continued to back her even after she switched to Independent, because they recognize that she's good at her job and that's what's most important. Thanking us and Ashlee and Blake's kids…I couldn't get through the whole thing without crying!"

Olivia did her best not to roll her eyes. "It is nice," she agreed. "But you haven't even seen the whole thing."

"What do you mean?"

"Doris added a section – about Blake and how she helped Doris come out and how she's been there for her every step of the way. She told me she's going to give Blake a big kiss, right there on the stage. Pretty ballsy..."

"I'm not sure if 'ballsy' is really the right word since neither of them-."

"Point taken," Olivia chuckled.

"Wow!" Natalia exclaimed. "Things sure have changed over the last six months, haven't they?"

"They sure have," Olivia agreed. "It's nice to see her happy… after all that's happened."

"Both of them," Natalia added, covering a yawn. "But where are they?"

Upstairs in the suite that she and Doris had been using as a waiting area that day, Blake was doing her best to calm her raging libido. The fact that Doris had pulled up the hem of her gown and was lifting her onto a nearby console table did nothing to lessen her desires.

"Oh god," she moaned as Doris attacked her neck and décolletage with hungry bites and kisses. "Don't start something you can't finish, Mayor Wolfe," she warned.

"Have I ever?" Doris growled, reaching in between Blake's legs to stroke the delicate skin of her inner thighs.

"Doris," Blake panted weakly. "We should have been down there twenty minutes ago…"

"And whose fault is that?" Doris grinned, easing her hand out from between Blake's legs. She wrapped her arms happily around the woman she loved. "You didn't seem in much of a rush when you were kneeling between my legs an hour ago…."

"That's different," Blake pointed out, leaning forward to kiss the mayor's chin. "I was helping you take the edge off – it's what any good campaign manager would do."

Doris closed her eyes, making a face. "I love you," she whispered urgently.

"Hey…" Blake waited for Doris to open her eyes. "I love you too. Are you ready?"

Doris took a deep breath. "As I'll ever be. But are you?"

"For what?" Blake asked as Doris helped her down from the table. She reached up to straighten the lapels of the mayor's suit before fixing her own gown.

"To perhaps be the First Lady of Springfield...well technically, the first lady of Springfield again," Doris said, offering Blake her arm.

"Oh…as ready as I'll ever be, I suppose." Blake rolled her eyes – she'd been a politician's wife for most of her adult life. She watched as Doris checked her smartphone.

"And…?" Blake asked when she couldn't read the expression on Doris's face.

"61% of the vote with 90% reporting," she answered with a grin. "Doris Wolfe is being called the unofficial winner."

"Oh, Sweetheart," Blake cooed, pulling Doris into a slow kiss that became another and then another until they were interrupted by the ringing of the mayor's phone.

"I need to take this," Doris apologized after checking the caller id. "Hello?" she answered calmly. "Yes, I just saw that myself…I agree, Frank - it was a clean campaign and I meant what I said the other day – the chief position is yours if you want it…Okay…You too and thank you." Doris hung up and said, "Frank's going to give his concession speech in the next ten minutes."

"Then let me be the first to congratulate you Mayor Wolfe on your re-election," Blake said as she pulled Doris in for another kiss. She grabbed the newly reelected mayor by the waist and after a few seconds her hands migrated southward to Doris's ass.

Doris began to chuckle and pulled away from the lip lock. "You do that and we're going to end up in bed again," she warned.

"Hmm… As much fun as that sounds I have to admit… I can't wait to hear you read my speech!"

"Part of me can't believe this, you know? I never thought I could have…this."

"What do you mean?"

"You. The kids…A job." She laughed after the last word. "I really- I thought when I came out…" Doris let the sentence hang.

"The sky would fall?" Blake offered.

"In a way," Doris replied. "But… I have so much more than I ever expected." Doris paused and then exclaimed, "Ooops – that reminds me! Wait here a second, I'll be right back."

"Doris…" Blake warned.

"Just a second!" Doris insisted. Ducking into the bedroom, she quickly grabbed a small pouch from her overnight bag and tucked it into her jacket before returning to the entryway. "Okay, I'm ready now." She offered her arm to Blake again.

"What's going on?" the redhead asked suspiciously.

"Oh, I added a surprise or two to your speech," she teased, patting the engagement ring she'd stowed in her breast pocket. "Blake?"

"Yeah?" Blake wrapped her arms around Doris's neck for one last kiss.

"I couldn't have done this without you. These last six months…"

"Hush," Blake whispered against her lips. "I've got you."

THE END