February 27th
Patrick was well known for being prompt. Never once had he been late picking up a passenger, and was actually known for being early so he could ring your room at the precise moment he was supposed to retrieve you. On this morning though, he had to put his watch to his to ear to make sure it was still working.

It was 10:45 AM, and he was due to pick-up Ms. Stone at 11 to take her to the penthouse. However, upon pulling up he found his passenger standing in front of the hotel, looking anxious and ready to go. He barely had gotten out of the car before she had flung the back door open and shot into the limo.

He could tell she was anxious…tense…her jaw was locked, her hands resting on her knees. "I am sorry if I misunderstood the time I was to pick you up Ms. Stone." As he closed his door, "Ms. Montgomery had told me 11."

"Please call me Maggie, and no, you're fine. I just didn't want to waste any time. I'm sorry, I..I don't want to be rude, but could we just go…please?" she asked with a sense of urgency and a look of longing on her face.

Patrick nodded, and pulled the limo into the traffic of Avenue George V, heading across the Seine to Bianca Montgomery's penthouse.

Maggie lost herself in the images flying by the window of the car as they drove. She was tired as she had not slept much at all, if any, during the night. She had laid in that gorgeous canopied bed, staring at the bunched material that lined the underside of the top. She had tried counting the flowers…she tried counting the number of folds in the material…sheep were also a bust.

Finally, in a fit of exasperation, she had gotten up at 2 AM and gone to the 24 hour gym room to use the treadmill, making sure to take her new cell phone with her…just in case. She had set it in the cup holder on the control panel as she walked, staring at it…willing it to ring. Nothing.

After walking for an hour she went back to her room and showered again. Partially to clean herself, partially because she did her best thinking in the shower. It did her no good though. Due to the lack of sleep, she was barely even able to put two thoughts together, let alone come to any conclusions about them.

After the shower she had gone and sat at the dining room table. She laid her arms so her hands were on top of each other, and her chin rested atop them. Her phone lay in front of her and she stared at it. "Go ahead….call her…see how she is….she's probably asleep though…do you want her to think you are some big wuss who can't handle being on her own?" She had even picked up the phone and run her thumb over the buttons. "Speed dial 1, so easy, yet so hard."

She went back to bed and counted the flowers again….just in case any had grown while she was gone.

Bianca sat on one of the couches in her massive living room, with her body turned sideways to look out the window wall at the rain that softly pelted the glass surface. She had barely slept the night before, and her eyes showed it.

At first, she had tossed in bed due to her displeasure of Maggie not living with her. She had made the offer to her best friend to live at the Cambias suite as more of a gesture, not thinking she would actually take her up on it. Sure they had lived apart before, and she wasn't really that far away, but it seemed as far as Pine Valley to her last night.

At a little past 2 AM her phone had begun ringing. Her heart leapt, Maggie….it had to be Maggie. She let it ring twice so as not to seem anxious, and tried to make her voice sound as drowsy as possible like she had been woken by the call.

"Binks? It's Kendall." Bianca was thrilled to hear her sister's voice, but it also saddened her that it wasn't Maggie on the other end of the line. "I'm sorry for calling so late, but…..there are some things you should probably know that couldn't wait."

Bianca could feel her heart rising to her throat. No one in Pine Valley talked like that unless it was truly serious. Kendall went on to tell her that Edmund Gray was dead and Lily was…well no one could reach her for now. She had been caught in the stable fire after she had run there because of seeing Aidan kissing Anita, it was more than she could handle. No matter what anyone tried, they couldn't reach Lily. Everyone was just going to have to wait and let her come out of this on her own.

The younger sister didn't stay on the phone long as she could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. Kendall was concerned, and wanted to make sure Maggie was nearby to help her, but Bianca insisted she would be fine and just make sure to update her as soon as anything changed.

Bianca spent several hours sobbing on her bed. She had so many thoughts and emotions stirring in her. Her pain over the loss of a dear friend like Edmund…the sadness she felt for Lily who must have been traumatized on so many levels…and the desire to have Maggie there to talk to.

She had thought about calling Maggie, she knew Mags would have hopped in a cab and rushed over. The last thing Bianca wanted to do was wake her and make her think that she couldn't get through even one night on her own, even if it was due to painful news such as this.

Bianca snapped out of her thoughts as she heard the buzzer that someone was at the outer door. She looked at her watch and saw it was 11:00, it must be Maggie, even though she thought Patrick should just now be picking her up. She got up from her seat on the couch and walked to the front door to open it for her friend. As she heard the elevator rising to her floor, she made a mental note to get Maggie a key for the actual apartment door. The outer door was opened by a keypad, so she already had the code for that.

She stood there waiting for Maggie to exit the elevator, anxious to see her though it had only been half a day. The doors opened and she could immediately see the circles under Maggie's eyes like beacons in the night signaling she had also spent a sleepless evening.

It didn't take Maggie long to notice Bianca hadn't slept, but she could also see the red puffiness that indicated Bianca had been doing some serious crying. "What the…." she walked over swiftly to Bianca and grabbed her shoulders. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Bianca's tears started to flow again before even the first word left her lips, "Edmund…..Edmund Gray is dead…and Lily is…Lily is…"

"What? Lily is what?" Maggie asked, fearing the worst.

"She's gone somewhere and no one seems to be able to get to her."

Maggie turned and put her arm around Bianca's shoulders and motioned to go back into the apartment. She closed the door behind her and escorted Bianca to one of the couches in the living room and sat her down. Maggie sat down next to Bianca and pulled her to where she could rest her head on her shoulder. The shorter girl then rested her head on Bianca's and asked her softly, "When did all this happen?"

Bianca continued to sob. "I'm…I'm not sure…Kendall called me late last night and told me most of the details, but I was in no shape to get all the specifics."

Maggie's heart sank as she pondered why Bianca hadn't called her to come over, but she pushed that aside for now. "Do you need to go back?"

"I want to…I really want to…but how would that look if I missed my first day at Cambias?"

"There's no one that can fire you B, if you need to go, you go."

"I know, but…I'll think on it, but I just don't think I can."

Maggie dropped the subject and just sat there in silence holding on to her friend, damning herself for not having the guts to call Bianca during the night to check on her.

They sat like this for a half-hour, neither speaking, just quiet sniffles coming from Bianca and Maggie alternately stroking her friend's shoulder and hair. Finally stirring noises and little cries could be heard coming from the baby monitor sitting on the coffee table in front of them. Bianca made to get up, but Maggie just placed a hand on her shoulder that silently conveyed all would be taken care of.

Bianca gave a weak smile as Maggie rose to go and check on Miranda. As her friend walked away, Bianca leaned her head back on the couch, rested her eyes and thought of how lucky she was to have Maggie here with her. If she hadn't come with her, she would have been here all on her own for this news. She slowly realized closing her eyes hadn't been the wisest idea.

When Maggie came down the stairs with Miranda in her arms, she could tell by the position of Bianca's head that she had fallen asleep. Not wanting to wake her up, she sat on the opposing couch with Miranda in her lap.

The child hadn't been quite ready to fully wake up yet, but she thought that Bianca could use some of the special healing power Miranda had. Though Maggie hadn't gotten a wink of sleep herself, she was too wound up to sleep herself, so she sat there quietly rocking Miranda in her lap…and watching Bianca sleep.

The past few days had been such a rush with leaving for Paris…the flight…trying to settle in…and now the news of Edmund and Lily. It was a lot to digest in a short period of time. Somehow though, watching Bianca sleep, and holding Miranda in her lap, it made the world seem a little less horrible.

She owed Bianca so much, in so many ways. Through the whole Jonathon incident, Bianca had fought for her, even after all those ghastly things she had said. Even now, Maggie could feel tears welling up in her eyes when she thought of some of the things she had said to her, to hurt her and drive her away. In reality she realized only now, she was pushing her away not for Jonathon, but to protect herself from the feelings she still had for Bianca.

Sniffling she reached up and wiped her nose. Just like everything else in her life, it seemed since she moved to Pine Valley, it really was all about her feelings for Bianca. And now here they were, this penthouse, their own little island it felt like, separated off from the rest of the world for the most part, but she had been banished to a smaller island known as the Cambias suite….possibly for all the things she had said in the name of protecting herself.

"Are you ok?" came Bianca's voice timidly from across the coffee table.

"Huh? Oh…yeah…yeah…I'm fine…just thinking about Edmund and Lily." While in her head she was thinking, "Liar…just tell her you want to move in here."

Bianca sighed and threw her head back. "Sorry I drifted off, I am just drained."

"It's ok, I don't think either of us got much sleep last night….." Maggie's voice trailed off.

"I know why I didn't, why didn't you?"

"Oh…just overwhelmed by being in a country I don't speak the language I guess." she laughed nervously. "Hey I know….why don't we go for a walk! Maybe some fresh air will do us all good."

"That's not a bad idea actually. I've been here 48 hours and I have barely seen my own neighborhood."

Maggie laughed and nodded her head in the direction of the Eiffel Tower. "And what a neighborhood it is!"

The girls strapped Miranda in her stroller after wrapping her up for the chill February air. They decided a walk through Champ De Mars park sounded like a pleasant idea and strolled the two short blocks to get there.

It was long and tree lined, though the leaves were gone for the winter it was still a nice walk. Also, there weren't too many places where you would have this impressive of a straight on look at the Eiffel Tower.

Once they had finished staring at the impressive structure, they began walking the length of the park heading away. Maggie desperately wanted to talk to Bianca about all the news that she had received, but she could tell from the sunken nature of her eyes that she was lost deep in thought, so they walked in silence. Maggie pushing Miranda's stroller, Bianca's arms folded in front of her at chest level.

It wasn't until they reached the very end of the park and were standing along Avenue de La Motte Picquet, that Bianca even seemed to take note of her surroundings, and only then because the trees had come to an end. She looked up and spotted a small café named Café Max and asked Maggie if she would mind if they just dined there since it was almost dinner time.

"Of course not, I don't think either of us are in any shape for cooking tonight." was Maggie's response.

After they had been seated and placed their orders, Bianca went back to staring off into space, not seeming to notice anything around her. Maggie thought to herself, "Alright, enough is enough." She finally spoke up, trying to bring Bianca back. "So, what time do we have to be at the Cambia offices tomorrow?"

"I'm sorry…what did you say?" Bianca asked as she came out of her fog.

"I asked what time do we have to be at the Cambias offices tomorrow? And how are we going to coordinate this since I will be over at the suite?" she said, hoping her disappointment at her location was not to evident.

"We have to be there by 9:30, so I guess Patrick can pick you up, and then come get Miranda and I since the offices are on my side of the river. So…plan on 8:15 to get you I would say."

"8:15…got it." Maggie said, making a mental note that she would actually have to find some way to get some sleep tonight.

Their food arrived and the silence descended over the table again. Maggie was lost, she had things she wanted to talk to Bianca about, but all of them seemed insignificant and petty compared to the tragedies that had transpired. It wasn't until after the meal, and the bill arrived did she have a pressing matter to discuss.

"Um…Binks, I just realized I don't have any Euros to my name yet. Do you?"

"Yeah, I got some before I left Pine Valley because I knew it would be difficult to get them until Monday." She reached into her purse, fetched her wallet and paid for the meal.

"Thanks Bianca…just keep a running tab of what I owe you ok?"

"I think I can afford to pay for a sandwich and a bowl of soup Maggie."

"Principle of the matter B…principle of the matter." Maggie noticed that she had finally gotten Bianca to crack a smile. "Aha! Success!" she thought to herself.

The girls gathered their belongings and started the walk back to the penthouse, this time Bianca pushing the stroller and actually seeming to be a little bit more aware. Maggie was amazed at how food and a simple smile could rejuvenate someone so much.

Maggie followed the girls back up the apartment to wait for Patrick, since Bianca had to call for him. They were chatting away happily until Bianca fished her keys of her purse, and then the silence returned suddenly. Maggie couldn't figure out why until she saw the keychain. It was the life jacket keychain Lily had given Bianca at her going away party. Bianca's eyes were transfixed on the replica of the life saving device, and again, she went into her own thoughts.

"Here….let me." said Maggie as she took the keys from Bianca and unlocked the door.

"What if they can't get through to her this time Maggie?" Bianca finally blurted out.

"Not get through to Lily? They will Bianca…I promise. Lily is a lot stronger than people give her credit for." Maggie said pushing the door open and guiding in the stroller that Bianca had let go of.

Bianca continued to just stand in the hallway. "I know she's strong….but to get your heart broken is bad enough for anyone, but for her it must have been devastating. Add on top of that being trapped in a fire…all those sounds, all that red…" her voice trailed off and tears began to roll down her cheeks.

"Hey, hey, hey….none of that." Maggie admonished wrapping her arms around Bianca and holding her to her chest. "You have to think positive thoughts! Lily will be fine, I know it doesn't make up for losing Edmund, but Lily will be fine…I promise you." Bianca's sobs kept coming. "Think of it this way, do you really think Reggie isn't going to do everything in his power to get Lily back? Heck, he's probably sitting there reading her Trigonometry book to her right now." That caused a snorting laugh to emit from Bianca's buried face

"See." Maggie continued, "With a support system like that, how can she not come back?"

The girls stood in the doorway in silence for several moments. Maggie's arms wrapped around Bianca, her head pressed against the taller girls' hair. She gently rocked back and forth trying to comfort her friend.

Finally, Bianca spoke. "Ma…Maggie…can I ask you for a favor?"

"I'm disappointed you think you have to ask permission."

Bianca chuckled. "I…I don't want you to think I am some big cry baby…"

Maggie smiled "That would be the pot calling the kettle black I believe."

"Could…could you stay here tonight? Please? I just don't want to be alone."

Maggie's heart skipped a beat and jumped to her throat in that millisecond. "Of….of course." She paused and then continued, "I tell you what…let's go ahead and call Patrick. I'll run back to the suite and grab my clothes for tomorrow, and that way we can even get a little bit more sleep and not drive ourselves crazy in the morning."

"That sounds like a really good idea…..thank you Maggie." Bianca said, pulling away from the hug and looking into her friends eyes.

Maggie smiled and put her right hand to Bianca's left cheek. "Anytime B."

The buzzer went off signaling that Patrick had arrived to chauffer Maggie to and from the suite to get her clothes. The girls had spent the time since calling for him, to get Miranda ready for bed.

"I'll be back in like 30 minutes ok?" Maggie said grabbing her purse and heading for the door.

"Take my key so you can let yourself back in….I will get you one made tomorrow!" Bianca called down the stairs after her.

Maggie grabbed the key from the table in the hallway, exited the apartment and pushed the button for the elevator. As she waited for it to come to her she took a deep breath and slumped her shoulders. "One night is better than nothing Stone." she thought to herself.

"Have I thanked you yet for driving my butt back and forth like this Patrick?" Maggie said as the driver handed her the items from the trunk.

"Yes Ms. Stone…I think about 20 times now." he said with a smile and a wink.

"Say it with me Patrick……Maaaaaag-gieeeeeeee…Maggie."

"Whatever you request Ms. Stone." he said with a chuckle.

"Men….you're all impossible." she said with an exasperated tone. "Did Bianca tell you a time to be here in the morning?"

"Yes, Ms. Montgomery said I should pick all of you up at 8:30." he said as he closed the trunk.

"Alrighty, good night Patrick….and in case I didn't say it…thanks!" she said with a little smile and nod of the head.

"Good night Ms……good night Maggie."

Maggie, her arms full, did a little victory dance and let out a whoop right there on the sidewalks of Paris.

Maggie used the key Bianca had loaned her to open the door and called out "B…I'm back…and I got Patrick to stop calling me 'Ms. Stone'!"

There was no reply, just silence. Maggie looked around and no lights were on in the lower half of the apartment. She went through and carried her clothes up the second floor and could see no light on there either. She cracked open the door to Bianca's room and peeked inside. The lump in the bed told her Bianca was asleep on top of the covers.

She walked over and quietly grabbed a comforter from the foot of the bed and pulled it up over Bianca. She stared down at her friend who was laying on her right side and smiled, she looked peaceful for the first time all day. Leaning over, she brushed the brunette's hair back and planted the lightest of kisses on her temple. Bianca stirred at the touch, but Maggie just placed her hand lightly on the brunette's shoulder and made a soft "shh" sound to indicate to her just to go back to sleep.

Maggie walked back out into the hall to fetch her robe and nightgown that she had hastily thrown into a bag at the suite. She left her other items sitting there and walked into Miranda's room to check on her. All was well. "Wow, not so hard being a nanny when you have an Angel to take care of." she thought as she looked down at the peaceful little girl.

She was too tired to even think of showering and just used the master bath to change. Once done, she walked back into Bianca's bedroom, and as quietly as possible moved a chair and ottoman next to the side of the bed. She then retrieved another comforter from the spare bedroom and made herself a make shift chair bed. She sat down and covered herself and turned somewhat to her left side so she could look at the sleeping Bianca.

Uncomfortable position or not, there was nowhere else in the world Maggie wanted to be at that moment, than to be watching over her best friend in a moment of need. She finally closed her eyes after several minutes of Bianca watching, and drifted off to some much needed sleep.