A/N: As always, thank you for the reviews! I'm really glad you all are enjoying this little journey because I'm having a hell of a good time writing it. For me, I will have to split my off time this week between writing the next chapter and filling out my bracket for March Madness. What can I, when you're born and raised in Kentucky, a love of basketball is almost engrained in you from birth! That being said, I'm still laying some ground work for what I have planned for our girls. This chapter starts later the same night as the previous one. I hope you enjoy it!
/
Bianca finally arrived back home around 2:30 in the morning. There was still so much to do in the way of cleanup at the center, but she was exhausted. She knew that if she had stayed any longer that she wouldn't have been in any condition to drive home, and she had promised Marissa that she would be careful. If Bianca was anything, she was a woman of her word, especially when it came to her girlfriend. More importantly, Bianca wanted and needed to see Marissa before she left. At this point, what little time they spent together would probably be with one or both of them being asleep, but the brunette would take what she could get. Bianca reset the alarm for the house and turned off the downstairs lights that had been left on for her. She headed upstairs and silently checked the children giving each a soft kiss on their forehead.
Next, Bianca quietly entered her and Marissa's bedroom. She smiled when she saw her girlfriend propped up in bed with a book on her lap and sound asleep, and knew immediately that Marissa had stayed up waiting for her to get home. She's beautiful. God, I love her so much, and how lucky am I that she loves me too? It looks like I finally got it right this time. Bianca grabbed her pajamas and ducked into the bathroom to wash off the grime from the evening's cleanup activities and change. When she reentered the bedroom, the brunette turned off the lights and carefully climbed into bed, hoping she wouldn't disturb Marissa. She gently brushed a stray lock of silky copper hair from her girlfriend's face before taking her book and placing it on her nightstand.
Marissa stirred as she felt Bianca's gentle, loving touch. She opened her eyes and smiled seeing Bianca just as she was turning back to face her. "Hey, you're home. What time is it?"
"Hey. I didn't mean to wake you up. It's almost 3:00. Go back to sleep."
Looking at Bianca, Marissa could see how tired she was and knew how upset she was by the break-in as well. Attacking the center was the same as attacking Bianca, and Marissa felt a white hot flash of anger at whoever had done it. Knowing that wouldn't help at this moment, she gave the brunette a loving kiss, and as they shifted to lie down, Marissa took Bianca in her arms and simply held her. The redhead could feel the tension in Bianca begin to ease as she started to relax.
Bianca sighed deeply as she felt Marissa's arms enfold her. She had wanted to spend a quiet evening at home tonight with Marissa, but it wasn't meant to be. Instead, she had spent the evening away from her cleaning up the damage to the Miranda Center and trying to understand how someone could do something like that. She was now drained physically and emotionally. Lying in Marissa's arms, she could feel the tension leave her as it was replaced by the love of her girlfriend. I really didn't want her to wake up, but I'm glad she did. I know I wouldn't be handling this nearly as well without her here. The next three nights are going to be hell without her.
Both women soon drifted off to sleep, happy and content to be in each other's arms.
/
Marissa heard a distant buzzing sound that pulled her reluctantly away from her peaceful slumber. She checked the time as she turned off the alarm and groaned quietly seeing it was 4:30. It was time for her to get up and begin to get ready. Having fallen asleep shortly before Bianca arrived back home, Marissa wasn't sure how much good the 2 ½ hours of sleep that she had gotten would do her today. I might have been better off if I had been able to just stay awake. Marissa smiled as she gazed at Bianca sleeping peacefully. Breathtaking, absolutely breathtaking. God, I wish I didn't have to go to this conference. Marissa sighed and gave Bianca a soft kiss before slowly and carefully getting out of bed, not wanting to wake her up. The redhead gathered her things and ducked into the bathroom to get ready.
A short while later, Bianca woke to the sound of the low hum of the hairdryer coming from the bathroom. She checked the time and saw that Marissa would be leaving in less than an hour. The brunette grabbed her robe and headed downstairs.
When Marissa reentered the bedroom, she immediately noticed that Bianca was no longer in bed. She smiled when she detected the smell of coffee making its way upstairs from the kitchen. The redhead shook her head at Bianca's thoughtfulness. She is unbelievable! Marissa ducked into the children's bedrooms to give them each a kiss goodbye before grabbing her suitcase and heading downstairs.
Marissa was greeted by a sleepy smile as she entered the kitchen and saw Bianca sitting at the table with her arm propped up and her head resting in her hand. She leaned in giving her a quick kiss before sitting down next to her. "Good morning, beautiful. Why are you up? You should be in bed asleep. I know you have to be exhausted."
"I wanted to spend some time with you before you head out since I didn't get to last night. I made you some coffee." Bianca handed her a mug of freshly brewed coffee.
Marissa took and a drink and smiled appreciatively. "Thank you. I have a feeling I'm going to need a lot of this today and so will you. What's in the bag?"
Bianca smiled and handed the small paper bag sitting on the table in front of her to Marissa. "Breakfast for you on the plane. When we stopped at Krystal's to pick up our picnic last night, I picked you up something."
"You did?" Marissa smiled as she opened the bag. "You got me one of her blueberry muffins, my favorite. You are too good to me." She rewarded Bianca with a tender kiss.
"That's not possible. I can never be too good to you. What time did you go sleep?"
"I'm not sure. I think it was a little before you got home. I'm sorry. I wanted to stay awake for you."
"Don't apologize. I wanted you to get some sleep. No sense in both of us being awake all night."
"So, tell me what happened at the center. What do the police say?"
"They took our security tapes and are going through them. Hopefully, they will be able to see something on them. They also got a lot of fingerprints off the computers, file cabinets and a bunch of other things which will be compared against the staff's to rule them out."
"They don't think any of them did this, do they?"
"No, they think it was someone looking for a client."
"How much damage is there?"
"There's enough that we're going to have to spend the next couple of days cleaning up and reorganizing things. It's also enough to make me add additional security. I'm going to meet with Zach and get his input on upgrading it."
"What about the client files, the things you had stored on the servers?"
"Nick was able to determine that the files weren't hacked. They tried, but his security measures stopped them."
"It's good to have an IT whiz on staff."
"Yes, it is. Which reminds me, I'll have him check out your laptop after things have calmed down."
"Don't worry about that. It can wait. Dealing with the break-in is much more important." Marissa sensed Bianca wanted to change the subject and focus on the quiet time they had together right now. Taking her cue from the current topic, she couldn't resist the urge to tease the brunette, knowing it would do the trick for her and break some of her girlfriend's tension. "You know that he has a crush on you."
Bianca rolled her eyes. "No, he doesn't."
"Oh yes, he does. He looks at you with those big puppy dog eyes of his all the time."
"Well, I'm not sure why he would, but if he does, it's just too bad. I'm taken by a certain stunning, fiery redhead who is absolutely incredible in every way."
Marissa grinned. "How do you not know how utterly gorgeous you are? How charming, irresistible, amazing and awe-inspiring you are?"
Bianca blushed at the sting of compliments. "I think you're a little over the top there, counselor, and maybe a little biased."
Marissa loved the fact that she could make her girlfriend blush and marveled at how much more beautiful it made her. "Damn straight I'm biased, but I'm also being completely honest."
Bianca saw the look in Marissa's eyes and knew she meant every work she said causing her to blush even more. She pulled the redhead to her and kissed her deeply wishing that they had more time together this morning. Bianca grinned mischievously when they separated. "Sorry about that. I guess I shouldn't be starting something I can't finish right now."
Marissa cleared her throat and smiled brightly. "How in the hell am I supposed to concentrate the rest of the day now?"
"You're not. I want you thinking about me the entire time you're gone." Bianca smiled brightly.
"Well, I already planned on that, like I had any choice in the matter."
"What are your plans for today?"
"You mean besides thinking about you? I'll be meeting up with Brian, Tim and Vicki after I get checked in at the hotel, registered at the conference and before we hit the first workshop." The redhead smirked at the expression on Bianca's face at the mention of the last two names. "You'd be a lousy poker player, you know that, B?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." She relented seeing the amused look on Marissa's face. "Okay, I like Brian. He's a sweetheart. When's the baby due?"
"Stefanie's due at the end of the month. Brian and I have agreed to help each other while we're away from the two of you, kind of our own support group."
"Well, I'll do my part here and check on Stefanie." The smirk was still evident on Marissa's face. "You know that you're enjoying this way too much, Rissa."
"Can I help it if I find you being just the tiniest bit jealous …"
"Don't say adorable!"
Marissa did her best to suppress a smile but was failing miserably. "I won't, but you are. I'll just say appealing and very good for my ego."
Bianca rolled her eyes. "You really are impossible sometimes."
"Yeah, I guess I am sometimes, but only where you're concerned. You know that you have nothing to worry about. I am completely captivated by a gorgeous and amazing brunette who is so thoughtful she gets up after less than two hours sleep to make me coffee, spend time with me and make sure I have breakfast for the road even though I know she is exhausted. I'd say I'm the luckiest person in the world."
"It's a tie on the luckiest person, and I know I don't have to worry about you. I just don't like the way they both look at you, and I've heard they have a bet between them about you. I just don't like that at all. I mean, who the hell does that? They know that we're together. It's just not something anyone should do especially when they're talking about someone that's …" Bianca stopped herself from completing her last sentence, slightly embarrassed by how she sounded.
"I believe you were going to say someone that's your's, and you're right. I am your's just like you are mine." Marissa kissed Bianca sweetly. "I've heard about their ridiculous bet. I asked Brian to see if they would let him place a competing bet on neither one of them winning, but they wouldn't take it. If you ask me, I think they know they don't stand a snowball's chance in hell against you. Who would?"
Bianca sighed happily and leaned in for a lingering kiss. "Yep, I definitely got it right this time!"
"That makes two of us!" Marissa felt herself drawn yet again to Bianca's intoxicating lips. She found her girlfriend thoroughly irresistible, and Marissa wanted nothing more than to stay here with her.
The faint honk of a car horn in the distance caused both women to groan and reluctantly pull apart from each other.
"Your taxi's here." Bianca sighed.
"I know. A couple of more minutes, and I'd be in no position to leave right now, B. I'd have to be taking a later flight." Marissa grinned as she got up pulling Bianca with her and headed towards the front door.
"A couple of more minutes, Rissa, and I wouldn't be letting you walk out that door. Damn taxi." Bianca smirked.
Marissa turned off the alarm and opened the door. The taxi driver walked up. "Ms. Tasker, I'm taking you to Pine Valley International Airport this morning, correct?"
"That's correct."
He saw the women standing with their arms around each other. "We've got a little extra time since traffic is light. Why don't the two of you take a more few minutes to say goodbye? Let me take your bag, ma'am." He smiled and shook his head as he headed back to his cab. It's always like this when people in love have to say goodbye for a trip.
"Thank you." Marissa turned to Bianca. "I want you to get some rest before you go back to the center today. I don't want to hear that you're running yourself ragged and trying to do it all yourself. I will find out if that happens."
"Are you saying you have spies in place?"
"I prefer to call them confidential informants. Besides, you'll need the rest. I have plans for you when I get home, like finishing what was started in the kitchen." Marissa gave the brunette the mischievous grin she loved so much.
Bianca's happy sigh was followed by the goofy grin that the redhead loved in equal measure. "Talk about a coincidence! I have the same plans for you when you get home." She pulled Marissa to her again.
They heard someone clear their throat. "I'm sorry, ladies, but Ms. Tasker, we need to leave if you want to make your flight."
"I'll be right there. Don't forget to reset the alarm. I'll call you as soon as I able to."
"I'll be waiting. Don't forget your breakfast. I love you."
"Thank you. I love you too." Marissa gave her another lingering kiss before heading to the waiting taxi.
Bianca sighed as she watched Marissa drive off. Yep, I'm whipped. I miss her already.
/
After Marissa left, Bianca was only able to catch maybe a half hour more of sleep. She tried for more, but it was useless. The bed was just too empty now and sleep was eluding her. She picked up the book Marissa had been reading and headed downstairs. After reading for a little while, she checked the time and started making breakfast for the kids. After getting them up, she felt a little less at loose ends, a little less lonely, but there was still an ache inside of her caused by missing Marissa. She couldn't help but feel a little silly for feeling this way. The redhead had only been gone for just a couple of hours. If she was like this now, Bianca wondered what she'd be like by Friday afternoon when Marissa got back home. She got the kids to school and daycare and was back in her office at the Miranda Center by late morning going over a list of the items that needed to be replaced or repaired that her assistant Jan had created.
"I hear you could you use an extra set of hands around here."
Bianca looked up and smiled. "Scott! We can use all of the help we can get."
"Well, point me to where you need me. Madison will be over later. She's covering a meeting for Kendall and Greenlee who I see are hard at work here."
"Yeah, they've been here all morning. Come with me, and I'll get you to work. How did you find out what happened?"
"I got a call a little while ago from …"
"You got a call from Marissa too, I see."
"Tad, what are you doing here?" Bianca asked.
"I'm here to offer my services. I may not be as handy with a hammer as Scott, but I'm a whiz with a broom."
Scott smiled. "Marissa called you too, huh? She was busy this morning."
"Yes, my daughter sure was. I've got a van full of food for everyone, Bianca. Where do you want me to set it up?"
"Krystal, thank you! I don't know what to say. Jan will help you find the best place. So wait, Marissa called the three of you? When did she find the time to do that? I mean she had a flight early this morning and had to rush to get settled once she got to New York."
"I'm not sure, but she called more than just the three of us. It looks like she called the whole cavalry." Tad pointed out the group of people entering the center at that moment. Jesse, Angie and the rest of the Hubbard family was followed by Jake and Caleb and several others.
"I can't believe she did all of this." Bianca watched as her friends started working on repairs.
"Come on, Binx. You can't really be surprised that Red arranged all of this for you. You should know by now that there is nothing she wouldn't do for you." Kendall smiled at her sister.
Bianca nodded and smiled broadly. "You're right, I'm not surprised. Marissa is amazing. I'm so incredibly lucky to have her in my life." I so got it right this time.
"Bianca, sweetheart, how are you doing?"
The young brunette turned to see Erica enter. "Hi, mom. I'm actually doing pretty good, surprisingly enough."
"You should have called me last night. Fortunately, Marissa thought to call me this morning to let me know what happened."
"I'm sorry. I should've called, but it was late by the time things settled down here and the police left."
"You weren't here that late by yourself, were you?"
"Don't worry, mom. Binx wasn't here alone. Red called me to ask Zach for help in setting up some additional security."
Finally! Someone is putting my daughter first, and making sure she is safe and protected. "I have to say I like that young woman more and more all the time. Marissa really does look out for you, doesn't she?"
Bianca nodded. Her love for Marissa was clearly evident on her face. "She really does. She called all of these people to come down and help."
"Impressive. Now, where would you like me and Jack?"
"Uncle Jack's here?"
"Of course, he is. He's helping Greenlee, Ryan and Zach bring in food right now. I may detest the woman with every fiber of my being, but I will admit that it is nice of Krystal to donate all of that food. It would appear that Marissa is a good influence on her. Maybe you can teach a trampy dog new tricks, maybe."
Bianca and Kendall exchanged a look that let them know that they were sharing the same thought. Talk about a backhanded compliment. "How about you check with Jan on where to go? I really need to make a call."
"I'll help you track her down, mom. Tell Red I said 'hi'." Kendall smiled and headed off with Erica.
Bianca headed back to the privacy of her office after checking the time. She had committed Marissa's schedule to memory and knew she would just be breaking from a workshop right about now.
"Hey you! I was just getting ready to call you."
Bianca could hear the smile in Marissa's voice and an equally bright smile of her own graced her face. "Hey, I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"
"Nope, you have perfect timing, as usual. We're just breaking now. So, tell me you went back to bed and got some more sleep."
"I don't suppose you would consider a half hour your idea of more sleep, huh?"
"No, I don't, Bianca. You need more than that. You've got to be dead on your feet."
"I tried. I really did, but I couldn't sleep. Our bed is just too big and lonely without you. Don't worry though. I didn't go on a cleaning spree or anything like that. I read some of your book, and before I knew it, it was time to start breakfast and get the kids ready. I'm catching a second wind right now."
Marissa fought the emotions swirling inside of her along with every instinct that was screaming at her to take the next flight back home. "How did it go? They didn't give you a hard time, did they?"
"No, they were great. Breakfast was quieter than usual though. It just confirms my suspicions that you are a big kid sometimes and are indeed the instigator for most of the mischief they get into."
"If that's not the pot calling the kettle black, I don't know what is! You are just as bad as me, Montgomery! Miranda and Gabby are mini you's, inside and out, and don't think for one second I don't see your influence on AJ." Marissa smirked.
Bianca laughed. "I suppose I'm guilty as charged, counselor. We don't stand a chance against the three of them when they get older, do we? How are you doing? You have to be exhausted yourself."
"No, we don't stand a chance. I'm doing okay. You'll be happy to know that I'll be with Brian all day. Those other two that shall remain nameless are attending other things."
Bianca couldn't help but smile. "You didn't have to do that or tell me that, Rissa."
"I know I didn't, but I wanted to. They asked last week which seminars and workshops I was going to attend. I told them I wasn't sure yet, even though I knew exactly which ones I wanted to attend. I didn't feel like dealing with them and their crap. Plus, I know how you feel about them. I did tell Brian though, and that's when we came up with our support group. By the way, he told me to tell you 'hi' and to thank you for checking on Stefanie for him. He told her what happened at the center, and she's going to stop by to help you out. I told him that wasn't necessary, but he said she wanted to. She figured she could at least answer phones for you."
"Tell him thanks for me, and I'll make sure she doesn't overdo anything. Speaking of phones, I'm told you were burning up the phone lines this morning."
"It won't do me any good to say otherwise, will it? Who ratted me out?"
"No, it won't, and it's a tie between Tad and Scott. They both got here at the same time quickly followed by Krystal with enough food to feed an army. You even called my mom. Rissa, you're too much."
"I didn't do that much. I just made a couple of phone calls. Since I can't be there myself helping you out, I did the next best thing I could think of. And yes, I called Erica. Someone had to tell her. You didn't want her finding out about it on the news or from someone else. So, I took one for the team and called her."
"A couple of phone calls? I'd say half of Pine Valley is here now. With all of this help, we should have things cleaned up in no time at all. I can't believe the number of people that have come out today to help."
"I don't know why you're surprised. They all know how important the Miranda Center is and not just to Pine Valley but the entire region and the center's other locations as well. It provides a vital service to individuals in desperate need of assistance. It's imperative that the center's offices reopen as soon as possible, and whoever the lowlifes are that broke in need to know that the center's work will continue, no matter what."
One of the many things Bianca loved about Marissa was the fact that she understood the importance of the center to not just her but to those it served. "You're absolutely right. The sooner we get the center's offices reopened, the better. And judging by the turnout, they should be reopened tomorrow."
"Good, I'm very happy to hear that. One other thing, you seem to forget just how much everyone in Pine Valley loves you. No one more than me though. There's not much they wouldn't do for you. All I had to do was say that you needed some help, and every single person was immediately on board asking what they could do. So, I really didn't that much."
Bianca sighed happily. "You did so much more than you will ever know."
"You've got that goofy grin on your face, don't you?"
Bianca laughed. "Yeah, I do. Do you have any idea how much I love you, Rissa?"
"Just as much as I love you, B." Marissa checked the time. "Dammit, I have to get back. You have more than enough people there to help so try and get a little rest. I'll call you later. Love you."
"Talk to you later. Love you too." Bianca looked out her office window and saw her family and friends working side by side with her staff and other members of the community. Whoever was responsible for the damage to the offices hadn't planned on the outpouring of support she was receiving. They also hadn't planned on Marissa. The fact that she had arranged most of this while on her flight this morning was nothing short of incredible. There really isn't anything she can't do. Bianca smiled and headed out to get back to work.
/
"When's Marissa supposed to call, mom?"
Bianca looked down at her oldest daughter and smiled as she opened the door. "Well, Miranda, let's check her schedule and see what it says."
AJ, Miranda and Gabby raced into the kitchen ahead of Bianca.
"Mom has a break in half an hour." AJ said excitedly.
"If we start on our homework now, we should be pretty close to having it done by the time she calls." Miranda added.
AJ nodded in agreement, and the two older children went straight to the dining room to start their homework.
"That was easy, wasn't it, Gabby?"
Her youngest daughter nodded. "Rissa asked us to be extra good for you while she's gone. She told AJ and Mimo to do their homework as soon as they got home and for us to help you out."
"She did, huh? What else did she ask you guys to do?"
"Rissa wanted us to keep an eye out on you for her."
Of course, she did. "Well, you all are doing a great job. How about some juice before you go play? Then, I'll start dinner for us."
Gabby nodded taking her cup of juice into the family room.
I am so tired. What am I going to make for dinner? Maybe, we can just order a pizza. Bianca opened the refrigerator back up to get some iced tea for her. Caffeine was definitely her friend today. She noticed a casserole dish inside that she hadn't seen just a minute ago and a salad behind it. Bianca pulled out the dish seeing that it was lasagna and read the note attached to the foil covering it. "I thought you might be tired when you got home so I made this for you. Love, Marissa." Bianca smiled and followed the baking instructions included on the note. Marissa is still taking care of us even though she's a couple hundred miles away. Of course, she wouldn't say anything about doing this or make a big deal about it either. Since dinner's taken care of, I guess I'll go change. She should be calling soon.
/
Bianca was headed downstairs when she heard the phone ring quickly followed by the excited voices of AJ and Miranda.
"It's mom!"
"Gabby, hurry up and come here! It's Marissa!"
Bianca saw the excited look on her youngest daughter's face as she darted into the dining room. It took every ounce of strength the brunette had not to follow suit. Be the grown up here. You talked to Marissa earlier, and they haven't talked to her since last night. Ah, screw it. Bianca raced down the stairs and to the dining room stopping just outside the doorway. The kids had activated the speakerphone so everyone could hear each other at the same time.
"Hi, mom!"
"Hi, Marissa!"
"Hey, you guys! How are you all doing?"
The kids started talking over each other so Bianca stepped forward to restore order. "Whoa! We need to do this one at a time. Hey, Rissa."
"Hey, B. Bianca's right. I've got an idea. I'm thinking of a number between one and ten. Whoever's closest starts first and then we'll go in order. Sound good?"
"Okay!"
"Are you going to guess, Bianca?"
"I'll talk to Marissa after each of you have had a turn, buddy."
Miranda guessed the exact number so she began to relate her day to Marissa, followed by AJ and then Gabby. Bianca sat at the table and smiled listening to each child as they excitedly took their turn. Almost perfect, almost. It'd be perfect if Marissa was here.