A/N: Thanks for continuing to read, review, and follow! I appreciate it. I didn't realize it had been so long since I've updated this story.

I have to say that everything seems kind of surreal right now, like an episode of the Twilight Zone. I know I've never experienced anything like this in my lifetime and never thought I would. Fortunately, I have a job that allows me to work from home, and I plan on doing that for a bit. I'm also glad that I have a new governor because the one that was thankfully just voted out of office is a complete asshole and has been posting jokes about this situation online (he also pardoned many convicted felons, most of whom had families who donated to his re-election campaign, on his way out of office). I know he wouldn't be doing anything to calm and reassure people. My new governor is doing exactly that and showing tremendous leadership at this time. I know some people are panicking while others joke about it. Personally, I think I'm still a little in shock as to how fast things have been happening. I'm trying to get my bearings and accept what is the new norm (hopefully temporarily). I hope all of you are safe and healthy (and stay that way), and please listen to what the doctors say. We'll get through this together.

Since I can't really go anywhere because everything is closed or is closing, I will do my best to write more. If you have an idea for like a quick one-shot featuring Bianca and Marissa, let me know, and I'll see what I can do. Please know that I'm going to stick to lighter stuff because quite frankly I think we can all use the break from reality. In the meantime, I wanted to update this story since St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner, and this story started around that particular holiday. This chapter picks up where the last one left off. Hope you enjoy this update!

/

"Have you talked to Marissa today?" Kendall asked as she and Greenlee followed Bianca to Marissa's place.

Bianca shook her head. "No, I haven't, but we did share a couple of texts. She said that Fiona made it here safely and that she had a surprise for me."

Greenlee raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. Any idea as to what it could be? I mean, are we talking a good surprise or a bad surprise or maybe a surprise that Kendall and I shouldn't be present for? If you know what I mean." The last part was said as Greenlee waggled her eyebrows.

Kendall rolled her eyes. "We know exactly what you mean so quit it."

Bianca ignored the other two which was usually fairly easy because she was used to their banter. "None, and Rissa didn't give any hints. She just said that she would tell me when we saw each other."

"And she's good with us tagging along?"

"Yes, she said that Fiona couldn't wait to see both you and Greenlee." Bianca answered.

The trio stopped in front of Marissa's, and Bianca knocked on the door. They were surprised when another woman, one they didn't know, answered.

"Hi. Can I help you?"

The group looked at each in stunned silence at the sight of a beautiful African American woman greeting them with a smile from inside Marissa's condo.

"Uh … is … Marissa home?" Bianca managed to stammer out. She trusted Marissa but was definitely thrown by this other woman's appearance. Her mind was racing to try and figure out who this woman was.

"No, she's not, but she'll be back soon."

Kendall's heart ached for her sister in that moment. She knew Bianca was wondering who this other woman was and what she was doing at Marissa's when the redhead wasn't home. Kendall didn't think anything bad had happened, but she was definitely confused.

Greenlee's eyes shifted between Bianca and the other woman. She shared the others' confusion and was hoping everything could be easily explained.

"Oh. She was supposed to be here. We can come back."

"Marissa was expecting you? She didn't say anything about expecting anyone when I saw her earlier."

Before anyone could say anything else, they were interrupted.

"Bianca!" Fiona exclaimed as she raced towards the younger brunette and hugged her.

"Hi, Fi." Bianca managed to muster a smile even though her heart ached slightly, and her head was swirling. Doubt was trying to force its way into her mind, but she refused to listen to it and let it in. Bianca trusted Marissa. There was no way Marissa would betray her and hurt her by doing betraying her.

"Hi, Kendall! Hi, Greenlee!" Fiona happily greeted the other two and hugged them as well. She then looked at them with a confused expression. "Why are you all out here and not inside? Come on in. Rissa will be here in a minute. She's parking her car."

They all followed Fiona inside, Bianca a bit reluctantly.

"So, you're Bianca." The stranger shook her head and smiled. "Now, I know where I knew you from."

"You know me? How? We've never met, and I have no clue who you are or how you know Marissa."

"Hey, you guys are early!" Marissa said as she joined them and gave Bianca a quick kiss. "Oh. You've already met. I wanted to be the one to introduce you."

"Actually, we haven't officially met, and I seem to be at a disadvantage. Obviously, she knows you, and she also claims that she knows me. However, I haven't got a clue as to who she is or how she knows you." Bianca tried to hold in her frustration but was failing.

Marissa's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What? I'm sorry. I don't quite …" It was then that realization dawned on Marissa, especially when she saw Bianca's hurt expression, and she quickly turned to the stranger. "Josephine Lorraine Shelton, what did you do?!"

Fiona snickered. "You're in trouble! She used your full name."

Jo scowled and started to protest, but she changed her mind when she saw anger in her friend's eyes. "I'm sorry, Marissa. I didn't introduce myself, and I was kind of keeping that information to myself. Hey, in my defense, I just wanted to check her out."

Marissa shook her head and took Bianca's hand. "Could we talk privately for a minute? Please?"

Bianca couldn't refuse Marissa's plea and nodded. With that, Marissa pulled Bianca outside and closed the door behind them.

/

Once they were alone, Marissa sighed. "I know this looks a little bad, but I swear it's not what it seems."

"I believe you." Bianca was quick to reassure her girlfriend. "I trust you. I do. I guess I'm just a little confused. I wasn't expecting a strange woman to answer your door. One who apparently knows me somehow. Wait a minute. Josephine. Jo?! That's Jo, as in your best friend Jo?"

Marissa nodded. "Yeah. Although, I might have to rethink the best friend title."

Bianca laughed. "No, you don't. I'm guessing she didn't tell me who she was right away because she was trying to protect you and see how I would react. That's probably something Kendall or Greenlee would do. I'm okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am. I promise." Bianca said and kissed Marissa to reassure her that everything was good between them. "Can I ask why she's here though? If anything, I was expecting to see your Mom."

"First of all, she knows you because I might have talked about you a lot and sent her your picture. Kind of like how I've shown you hers. Although, she's changed her hair and the picture was a couple of years old."

"Now, that I know her name and you've said that, I remember her picture and can tell they are one and the same."

"Good. As for Mom, she had a migraine and couldn't make the drive. Jo was in Devon visiting her Mom."

"Jessica, right?" Bianca asked. Marissa considered Jo and her mother Jessica a part of her family and had told Bianca all about them.

"Yes. I told you that Jessica is Mom's best friend and so she was checking on Mom to see if she needed anything. Fi was anxious about getting here, and well, she was starting to get a little upset because she didn't know how she was going to get here since she can't drive. Jo has a couple of weeks off. So, she volunteered to drive Fi. It helped calm her down which allowed Mom to rest and get some sleep. That's the only thing that really helps her when she gets a migraine. Plus, Jo said she wanted to see me. It's been awhile since we've seen each other in person and not over Skype.

"That was very nice of her."

"I suppose."

Bianca chuckled and nudged the redhead. "Stop it. It was, and you know it was. Is your Mom okay?"

"Yeah, she's better, but she needs to rest and avoid any bright lights for a little bit. They tend to aggravate the migraine. Honestly, rest is the best thing for her right now. That and the medication she took. She can't drive after she's taken it. I texted her to let her know that Fi made it here safely and to check on her, and she said she felt a little better and that Jessica is babysitting her while Dad's at work."

"Good. I'm glad she has someone keeping an eye on her."

"Me too. It helps knowing that Mom is in the best possible hands with Jessica. She'll make sure that Mom actually takes care of herself. That helps especially since Dad doesn't know she's not feeling well. He had to go into work early and was gone before Mom and Fi were up."

"Will he be okay?"

"He'll feel bad that he wasn't there to take care of Mom, but he'll be relieved that Jessica was there."

"Good. So, are you calmed down enough to go back inside?" Bianca asked.

Marissa rolled her eyes. "Yes, I am. More importantly, how are you? And please, be honest."

Bianca paused and knew she had to be honest about how she felt. "I'm a lot better. I will admit that I was anxious and a little concerned at first. Then, I was frustrated that Jo said she knew me when I had no idea of who she was. The thing that stopped me from going over the edge though is that I trust you. You're not Reese, and I know that you wouldn't do what she did and wouldn't hurt me like that. The two of you are night and day. I trust you, and I love you."

"I can't tell you how much that means to me. I love you too."

The couple shared a loving kiss and rested their heads together for a few moments.

"Are you ready to go inside and formally meet Jo?"

"Maybe one more kiss?"

Marissa grinned. "As you wish."

/

Kendall eyed the other woman. "Josephine. Who are you? Why is that name vaguely familiar? Just so you know, if you hurt my little sister, I'll have to hurt you, severely."

"And I will be helping her." Greenlee added, deadly serious.

Fiona stepped in between the women to try and calm things down. "This is Jo. She's Rissa's best friend, and she's a really good friend of mine too. Mom wasn't feeling good and wasn't going to be able to drive me here today. Jo offered to drive me. She didn't mean to hurt Bianca. She was just looking out for Rissa. Kinda like how the two of you look out for Bianca."

Kendall took a breath and finally nodded. She knew Fiona absolutely adored Bianca and wouldn't hurt her. "Okay. I trust you, Fiona."

Greenlee reluctantly agreed. She could tell that Fiona was being honest. "So do I."

"Good! Jo, this is Kendall and Greenlee. Bianca's sister and cousin. Did I get that right, Greenlee?"

The connection between Greenlee and Bianca was still a little confusing for Fiona as well as anyone else really.

"Yes, you got it right, Fiona." Greenlee assured the younger woman.

"It's nice to meet the two of you. I've heard a lot about you from both Marissa and Fiona." Jo nodded towards Fiona. "This one told me all about the two of you and her working for you on the drive here. I think the campaign that you're working on is amazing. It's very admirable. I'm also sorry about before. I really was just looking out for Marissa. It hasn't always been easy for her, and I don't want to see her hurt again."

"I can appreciate that. I would do and pretty much have done the same thing. So, apology accepted. You're Jo, huh?" Kendall said.

"Marissa's told us about you. Don't worry, good things. Kendall's right. We would do the same thing."

Jo chuckled. Her relief was evident. "From what I can tell, those two kind of need someone to look out for them. They care more about others than themselves sometimes."

Kendall nodded. "I think you're right about that. If I remember correctly, you're a psychologist."

"Yes, I am."

/

"Well, it looks like you're all playing together nicely." Marissa said as she and Bianca rejoined the other women and found them laughing. "Why do I feel like I should be worried about this?"

"Because you probably should be, Red. You probably should be." Greenlee grinned mischievously.

"Great." Marissa deadpanned while the others laughed. "I need to make an important introduction. Bianca Montgomery, I'd like you to meet Jo Shelton. I'm sorry, Dr. Jo Shelton, my best friend, most of the time. Jo, this is Bianca. She's the woman I am absolutely head over heels in love with and one of the most amazing people I have ever met."

Bianca blushed profusely at the introduction. "Same with you, Rissa."

The couple shared a look that others knew they meant exactly what they said.

Jo smiled. She couldn't recall ever seeing her friend as happy as she was currently. "It's nice to meet you, Bianca. I've heard nothing but wonderful things about you from the entire Tasker family. I'm sorry about before. I …"

"It's okay. I understand. You were looking out for your friend and had to see for yourself?"

"Exactly."

"Apology accepted. It's nothing that those two wouldn't do or haven't done." Bianca glanced in Kendall's and Greenlee's direction. "It's nice to meet you, Jo. I've heard a lot of great things about you as well."

Marissa sighed in relief seeing her girlfriend and best friend shake hands.

Fiona could tell things were okay now. "Rissa, can we go get dinner now?"

Marissa laughed. "Let me guess. You're starving."

"Yeah, I am." Fiona's stomach rumbled.

"Nothing new there." Marissa smirked. "Okay. I have to admit that I'm really hungry too. Anyone else?"

"I could eat." Bianca chimed in.

"Same."

"Ditto."

"I'm in."

"How about we go to Krystal's? We can get something to eat, and Jo can see Krystal. I know it's been awhile." Marissa suggested.

"Oh, I'd love to see her again!" Jo said. Like with Marissa's parents, Jessica and Krystal were friends.

"It's settled then. Would you like to ride with me, Bianca?" Marissa asked. She didn't want to assume.

"I'd love to." Bianca smiled brightly. She appreciated the fact that Marissa always asked.

"Kendall and I call Fiona!" Greenlee winked.

Fiona fist pumped. She really liked Kendall and Greenlee. "Yes!"

"Um …"

Marissa rolled her eyes. "You're coming with us, Josephine."

"Would you stop calling that?!"

"I'll think about it. We'll see you guys there."

Kendall waved as she followed Fiona and Greenlee out. "See you there."

Jo pulled Marissa aside. "Are we okay?"

Marissa chuckled. "Yeah, we're okay. Besides, you're buying."

"Hey!" Jo said as a laughing Marissa nudged her out the door.

Bianca waited while Marissa locked up. When Marissa was done, she took Bianca's offered hand before the couple followed the others.