o.o.O.O.o.o

J.R's POV

It's not always easy having to admit you're wrong. But I was. I always was. I always thought I could blame my dad for that. But I'm my own person. What I do is my choice and no one else's and no one makes me do anything. That's what I failed to learn growing up. However, I'm not saying that I wasn't easily influenced. Adam Chandler was my father. He was influential, very persuasive and when he said something, you listened. He instilled this fear in you that you thought you'd die if you didn't do what he demanded of you. His temper was…abominable. And when he started something, he made a mess. He was the tornado that tore down people's houses and that gusty wind that carried them off to God knows where.

But the calm that came after the storm passed?

The aftermath?

Would you say that looking at the wreckage served as a reminder of how weak we truly are?

Or…is it that by looking at ruins we're reminded of what we had beforehand, appreciate it and then look at how we can better it; what we can do differently to come out stronger the next time that damn storm comes our way?

The aftermath…what's it really about?

-x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x-

"So, uh, I guess this looks pretty bad, eh Chief?" J.R asked as he sat on a nearby chair in Pine Valley Hospital with Brot. The two of them were going over the details of what had happened earlier that evening.

"Well, Ms. Hendersen is in custody, even though she needed surgery. One of those bullets is lodged in an artery in her right leg. She's definitely going to go to trial-"

"I, uh," J.R released a chuckle. "I was talking about me."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm in violation of my parole, aren't I? I mean a fired a gun…well two and each one twice-"

"Aiding the police department, Mr. Chandler. I'm sure the state will see reason."

"I'm not so sure. I mean, it was my idea-"

"Which I supported…"

"Look, I don't mean to be disrespectful, but are you sure that you searched everywhere in that house?"

"You sound like you're certain they're there J.R," Kendall voiced.

"I'm not certain, I'm just saying. Assuming it's this Tammy person you all claim it might be. She's gone three years without being suspected of anything other than breaking a nail. That means she's gotta be somewhat intelligent with the way she covered her tracks. Okay, a moron can't exactly get away with something like this."

"What's your point Mr. Chandler?" Brot asked.

"My point is if she's behind Marissa and Bianca's absence, then chances are they are still in that house. She has two people to look after and no help. There are neighbours around, right Chief? That means someone would have noticed the three of them leave. Now, an unconscious person is easier to deal with than not. There are two of them. They could take her if she didn't knock them out, no problem. Even with a weapon, it would be too difficult to threaten them if they were awake. And it's too difficult to drag two bodies out of a house without going unnoticed. She knows there's a warrant out for her arrest and she can't access any of her accounts can she?"

Brot shook his head.

"No, she definitely can't. We'd find her instantly."

"Exactly." J.R continued. "So she can't exactly hire anyone to help her now, could she? They're still in that house. She's been on the run, she knew you'd probably check the house – no alarms, lots of hiding places. It's still under construction so she could add her own modifications easily with plenty of tools around without her having to bring her own. If she really wanted to hide them, it would only be too easy."

"You sound like you know what you're talking about J.R." Kendall said.

J.R's patience was wearing thin, but he kept a level head as he turned to the brunette.

"Psychologists have to think like criminals on a daily basis, Kendall. Does that make them criminal masterminds?"

"Oh, so you're a psychologist now, are you?"

"That's enough!" Brot said forcefully.

"Sorry Brot, but I'm not convinced. What if they left the house and Tammy picked them up somewhere along the way?"

Brot took a deep breath and turned to Kendall.

"We have to start somewhere Mrs. Slater. If they aren't at the house, then we'll know to move on. It's a start." He said. He turned to J.R and crossed his arms. "I assume you have a plan Mr. Chandler?"

J.R lifted his head into the air as if he were thinking.

"Actually… I think I might…"

"Care to share with the rest of us Mr. Chandler?" Brot asked after what felt like several minutes of silence.

J.R looked to the people he was surrounded by and simply began to speak without thinking about what the consequences of these actions would be.

"You send me in there as bait."

"Bait?" Laughed Kendall. "Bait for what?"

"To get them out of there." J.R said as if it were an obvious factoid.

"Elaborate, Mr. Chandler."

J.R took a deep breath before he spoke again.

"Remember how I said that she has no one to help her out. If she still had Bianca and Marissa at the house, chances are she's going to kill either one or both of them because she won't be able to control both of them. If she's going to get them out of there alive then she's going to need help. If I go in there and…try to convince her that I'm on her side, give her some…'hope' that she'll actually get out of this mess she's created for herself, then we just might be able to save Marissa and Bianca."

"'We'?" Kendall asked.

"Well, I'm assuming you don't trust me to go in there alone."

"No, you're damn right I don't, but better you die than any of us."

"Aunt Kendall, enough!" AJ said. It was forceful enough to make a point, but he didn't come across as angry or overbearing. "What would the plan be, Dad?" He directed to J.R.

"Surround the place, send me in. If I'm right, she'll be in there and I'll be able to persuade her that I'm on her side. I'm a felon and someone who will be easy for her to believe that wants Bianca and Marissa dead. And if that's not enough I could always tell her that me being the one to kill them is her best shot at escaping." J.R noticed that Kendall was about to say something, but he stopped her from speaking. "And I know, Kendall. You're wondering how you can trust me, but the truth is, no matter what I say, you won't."

J.R could see Brot looking through the intense air between him and Kendall. He had a contemplative look on his face, as if he were debating everything and what it would mean doing something that J.R recommended. The older blonde knew that the Chief of Police wasn't stupid or arrogant. But he also knew that Brot was someone who covered every angle and any help he could get, he would if it meant a straight lead. J.R knew he was right in his reasoning. He had had a lot of practice being the insane one.

"Okay, Mr. Chandler. You go in, protected-"

"P-Protected?" J.R asked. "What does that mean?"

"It means you'll be wired with an ear piece and a microphone. It's basically a small chip that gets placed on your tooth and something like an earplug that goes in your ear. We can hear you and everything around you and you can hear us."

"Okay."

"And you'll have a firearm with you."

"'A firearm'? I can't carry a gun!"

"Sure you can."

"But that violates-"

"No! What violates your parole is if you fire it."

"Don't you think I may have to Chief?"

"If it comes down to that. Try not to."

"J.R?"

His head shot up at the sound of a woman's voice, only to find two of them standing, looking down at him. Kendall had called for him and with her stood Gabby. He stood and wiped his hands on his pants before giving each of them a small smirk and a nod. The silence was a little bit awkward for him and as he held the gazes of the two women before him, he felt so small. But then something happened that he never thought would.

One of them threw their arms around him in a grateful hug.

Gabby.

"Thank you, J.R," she whispered. Her embrace didn't last long, but she did what she felt was best in her position. The shocked look on Kendall's face told J.R that not even she was expectant of such a response. When she released the blonde, he didn't know what to do and he certainly didn't anticipate the same reaction from Kendall, which was why he simply nodded.

"Don't thank me. I didn't do anything."

"No," Kendall finally spoke. "She's right. Thank you, J.R. Were it not for you and your…psychological analysis…God only knows where Bianca and Marissa would be right now… Thank you."

J.R took a deep breath.

"Don't thank me. I don't deserve it. I have a lot to do still before I can be thanked. It's time I make things right and trying to get Bianca and Marissa out of there was the right thing to do… Speaking of which, they're right through that door," J.R pointed to the door directly behind the two ladies as he finished.

-x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x-

"Are you sure you're okay?" Bianca asked Marissa. The two ladies were sitting on the hospital bed as their legs hug off the side. The laughing redhead took a hold of the worried brunette's hand and squeezed it tightly. Bianca smiled and brought the hand that had a death grip on hers and brought it to her dry lips to press a soft kiss to it.

"Yes, you nervous woman! I'm more concerned about you. You're the one who got whacked over the head."

"Yeah, well that seems to be a popular recurrence when it comes to crazy blonde women…actually just the one crazy blonde woman. But still, I don't see why I have to get my head scanned. I feel fine! No dizziness and I passed all those stupid eyeball movement and pupil dilation tests. I just wanna go home." Bianca said as she looked to Marissa who was watching her intently. "What?" Bianca asked.

Marissa's gaze turned into a lighthearted glow with a grin to match.

"You're different…"

The brunette scrunched her eyebrows and chuckled nervously.

"What…do you mean?"

Marissa shook her head.

"I don't know. I just…I feel that there's something different about you… Like…you're more comfortable and less afraid to speak."

Bianca smiled brightly.

"And you're smiling like that."

"Well, I've got a lot to be comfortable with, talk about and smile about," Bianca said as she leaned forward, connecting her lips to Marissa's and let them linger for a few seconds before she pulled away. As she was about to, a thought entered her mind and instead of releasing her wife's mouth, she latched on even more and the hand that was free, she brought it up to the back of Marissa's neck and grazed her nails along Marissa's hairline, like she used to.

Do it now.

"So, uh, was there anything different about that kiss?" She asked as she pulled away. Looking at her wife, Bianca could see that her eyes were still closed and her eyebrows were raised. "…Marissa?"

"Heh?" She asked, opening her eyes slowly. There was an amused smirk on Bianca's face when the world finally came into focus again. "Oh! Uh…" Marissa gulped lightly. "Actually…yeah…"

Bianca moved her face closer to Marissa's as her playful smirk became more and more spirited.

"Good," she whispered. "'Cause, uh, there's something you should know."

"Whoa!" Kendall exclaimed as she and Gabby entered the room. "Sorry! Is this a bad time?"

Bianca and Marissa sniggered and shook their heads as their gazes shifted from Kendall to Gabby who wore a wide smile as she gazed at her mothers.

"No!"

"Absolutely not!"

"Good, because I wasn't going to leave even if you told me to," Gabby stated before she nearly ran across the hospital room to the two of them.

Noticing their daughter's excitement, they smiled and extended their arms, waiting for her embrace. She felt like a kid again, unable to help, but want to be close to her moms and hug them because of what they stood for; no fear, no pain, and happiness. They made the monsters under her bed go away…well, they checked for them, even when they explained to her that they didn't truly exist. If she fell and scraped her knees, they picked her up and sat her down, cleaning her wounds and calming her down. They kept her from crying and the stinging sensation would become numb. And the smiles. She could never forget the smiles and the laughter they could bring to her. All it took was either of them hiding behind one of her stuffed animals and giving them a voice or even something as simple as tickling her. Those…those would always cover the fear and pain and make her forget about them.

"Hey you," Marissa whispered into Gabby's ear when she felt her daughter's arms tightened their grip around her neck.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Yes. I'm fine." Marissa began to tear up a bit. "Welcome Home, Monster."

Gabby chuckled lightly as she pulled away from Marissa's embrace. As she shifted her gaze to Bianca, she noticed that her other mother was already weeping.

"And you?" Gabby asked. "Are you okay, Mom?"

Bianca could barely speak through her tears, but she managed to nod.

"Yeah?" Gabby asked.

"Y-yeah," Bianca replied as she reached out for her. Gabby moved into her mother's arm only too quickly, but not quick enough in Bianca's opinion. She had been waiting so long for this moment, the one where she'd finally be able to hold her baby girl the way she remembered. When Gabby's head hit Bianca's chest, the older brunette couldn't help but cry harder, but she smiled fully. Placing a kiss to her daughter's temple, Bianca held her ever closer and cradled her head in her hands. She rested her cheek against the parietal region of Gabby's head.

"Good," Gabby said, even though it came out muffled. "Because if you weren't…if you had 'died' again, I-"

"Gabby, you don't have to worry about that," Bianca said as she pulled away, holding her daughter's face in her hands. "I'm here now. And I'm never leaving any of you ever again; by choice or by force. I'm home…"

Marissa looked at Kendall standing there with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face. The redhead flashed a smile to match her sister-in-law's and as she looked back and forth between Kendall and the two women to her right, she began to speak to the former.

"So, how did you guys find us? Know where we were?"

"That is the shocking bit, actually." Kendall said as she walked further into the room, uncrossing her arms.

"Really?" Bianca asked, releasing Gabby's face.

"Really." Gabby said. "J.R remembered your conversation from earlier and put two and two together. He argued a lot with Aunt Kendall about the brain of a psychopath and how it works…in only so much detail."

"And as my bad luck would have it, he was right." Kendall said. "And I can't believe I'm going to say this, but he really was a hero. He and Brot devised a plan after J.R had come up with the idea that he should go in as a decoy to persuade Tammy that he was on her side… He's not allowed to fire a gun as part of his parole agreement with the state, but when he thought your lives were threatened, he didn't think twice about himself." Kendall admitted.

Bianca looked from her sister to her wife and sighed.

"Looks like we better thank him."

Marissa nodded.

"Yeah, but first! You need to be taken for a head CT."

"Head CT?" Gabby asked as she looked at her mother worriedly. "Ma, why a head CT?" She directed at Marissa.

"Because people like to hit your mother upside the head and it's happened so many times these last couple of years that they want to make sure that there's nothing wrong up here," Marissa said as she leaned over and patted Bianca's head.

"I already told you and them, I'm fine! Besides, I just wanna be with my family right now. Speaking of which, where are the rest of them?"

"Nah, nah, nah, don't change the subject Binx," Kendall said. She turned to Marissa. "Have you been looked at already?" She asked.

"Yup!"

"They why haven't they checked her out and gotten on with these head CT's?"

"Because the lab is backed up." Bianca said. "It's the midnight shift and there's only one person operating the scanners.

"That means we could be here for a while." Gabby said. "And to answer your question form before Mom, Miranda and AJ are staying with Nathan and Sofia tonight. Miranda and AJ thought that you'd want to see me more than them anyways because I've missed out on so much since you've been home… Plus, with me and my kickass lawyer skills, and by lawyer skills I mean debating skills, I won the battle on who gets to come here and be with you guys until we can all go home."

Bianca and Marissa snickered at Gabby's response.

"Well, we may be here a while, Sweetie." Bianca stated.

"I know and I'm good… Not gonna lie, I'm kinda hungry though… Not to mention I'm going to be in need of a serious caffeine fix soon."

"So go down to the cafeteria. Marissa hasn't eaten yet and she should."

"Babe, what about-"

"I'll be here," Kendall said. "Besides, you should spend time with your daughter. She did just get home after all. Not to mention, she and I had plenty of excitement this evening to hold us over for a while." She finished with a playful leer.

"Okay," Marissa said.

Gabby kissed Bianca's cheek before she moved away from the bed.

As Marissa hopped off of the bed, she turned to Bianca and cupped her face in her hands.

"We'll be right back," She whispered and pecked her wife's lips. "And there better not be anything wrong with you."

Bianca chuckled.

"There won't be." She said as kissed Marissa quickly. "Now go. Don't keep our daughter waiting."

-x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x-

When Gabby and Marissa entered the Pine Valley Hospital cafeteria, it was deserted. There were a total of two people sitting at the wooden tables, sipping from Styrofoam cups. The two of them walked up to the counter and glazed over the menu quickly before being approached by a worker.

"What can I get you?" A tired voice said to them.

"Uh…I'll take the turkey sandwich and a large coffee. The biggest cup you have please." Gabby said.

"And I'll just have a coffee," Marissa said. "Same size as hers. Thank you."

Gabby pulled out a 20-dollar bill and handed it over the counter.

"No, Gabby-"

"Ma, please. You've done enough for me. It's time I start paying you back, little by little."

"Pay me back? Gabby-"

"Stop it," she said with a tired grin. "Do you know how many women would have kept Miranda and I around were they in your position when Mom disappeared? 'Cause I can tell you… None! None of them would have. And if me saying 'I love you' or 'Thank you' or 'I miss you' everyday doesn't get the point of how grateful I am for you or how much I really do love you…or even how much I consider you my mother as opposed to any other woman other than my actual biological mother, isn't enough then at least let me buy you a damn cup of coffee and my own dinner."

Marissa laughed whole-heartedly, or at least as much as she could.

"Sentimental, but intelligent and you do it with flare… Just like your mother."

Gabby smiled proudly at Marissa's declaration.

"Yeah… Although, since she's lost her memories, she seemed…quieter and less…spunky, you know? I mean with us, she was always herself. Spoke without thinking and smiled like there was nothing wrong with the world."

"She was comfortable."

"Yeah, she was. Then there were those little quirks you spoke of, which I never understood."

The smile on Marissa's face fell into a look of disturbance as she came to realize something.

Bianca opened Marissa's hand and kissed her palm.

"I uh…have to tell you something."

"It's both or neither of us! We're a packaged deal, remember?"

"Don't you dare make me walk away from you! I almost did that twice and I'll be damned if I let that happen again!"

"I've taken a bullet before."

"C'mon Marissa. You know J.R better than anyone. There's something different about him…isn't there?"

"I mean…I really love you."

"Oh my God…" Marissa whispered. "Oh my God!"

-x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x-

"Wow Binx." Kendall said surprised.

"What?"

"You uh…you seemed pretty eager to get Marissa out of here. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Kendall." Bianca said. "I was just worried about her. She seemed so weak after everything. I just don't want her to faint."

"You sure?" Kendall regarded her little sister with a suspicious eye.

"Yes." She said, a small bit of fear rising within her when she noticed the way Kendall looked at her.

"Then why can't I shake this feeling that you're not telling me something? I know you Binx. Something is tearing you apart and you wanna say something-"

"Yes, I do. But I-"

"What?" Kendal interrupted. "What is it?"

Bianca sighed. She wanted to tell Marissa first, but she couldn't keep it in anymore. The danger was gone and there was no need for her to keep it a secret from anyone, least of all, her family.

"Okay, fine. I'll tell. But you can't freak out okay?"

"When have I ever freaked out?"

Bianca looked at her sister with a grin that defied her sister's question.

"Okay, fine! You're right. Okay, lay it on me."

"Well… After I got whacked in the head for the thousandth time, I had these…visions when I was passed out."

"Visions?" Kendall inquired.

"Yeah, and they were so vivid Kendall! I…I think I got my memories back."

"Wh-what?" She asked. "R…really?"

"Yeah, I…I could see everything in flashes and they kept coming to me even after I woke up. It was so bizarre! Like I remember how I, I turned to David after Michael Cambias, how Mom tried to get me to talk about what was bothering me when I hadn't told anyone about him yet, us playing tag the year Reese and I got divorced-"

"What-what about Marissa?"

"Marissa? …Oh God, I can't not remember her now. The way she waited for me on our wedding night because I needed air and she saw that, the morning after our…first time, that huge fight we had after J.R threatened me and the girls, making that collage that should've been on our family room wall, taking photos on our honeymoon-"

"Oh God, I don't wanna know!"

Bianca chuckled.

"Not those kinds of photos Kendall."

The curly haired brunette grinned and grabbed her little sister's hands.

"This is amazing Binx. So uh, what other ones about Marissa? How you proposed to her?"

Bianca's facial expression of happiness dropped and she turned pale.

She was drawing a blank.

She couldn't remember.

Kendall noticed the change and tried something else.

"Okay let's try something smaller. Uh…your…first date? Do you remember that?"

Blank again.

"No! Oh God, Kendall!"

"No, no, Binx, don't worry. It's not a bad thing."

"No, but those are the only things I can't remember!"

"Binx-"

The door burst open and startled Bianca and Kendall as Marissa plowed into the room at high speeds, nearly falling over. She looked to Bianca with hope. She took a deep breath and let the tears in her eyes flow.

"You remember?"

-x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x-

LOOOOTSA dialogue. Hope you enjoyed!

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MUAH!

o.o.O.O.o.o