A/N: As always, thanks for reading and reviewing! I appreciate it and it feeds the creative beast. I'm glad everyone seemed pleased with what happened to a certain reporter. We're going to move forward in time just a little bit. It's time for a long awaited conversation between a couple of people. Enough from me for now. Hope you enjoy this update!

/

A happy sigh quietly escaped from Marissa as she woke up feeling the soft, warm body of the love of her life pressed into her own as Bianca was snuggled into her arms. Every inch of said warm body was etched into her memory, her heart and soul, and her very being. Marissa laid there in the dark relishing these quiet moments before their alarm would go off forcing them out of their cocoon and into the day that lie ahead. Getting the kids up, ready and off to school and daycare and work days filled with endless meetings were on the schedule for them. Yes, both women loved these quiet moments together.

Marissa was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't realize Bianca had turned and was now facing her until she felt soft lips trailing kisses along her neck. She hummed with delight.

Bianca smiled and whispered. "Good morning, beautiful."

"Good morning." Marissa instinctively began to softly caress the wondrous curves of Bianca, loving both the feel of her velvety soft skin and the reaction her lover's body had to her touch as she felt a shiver run through her. The redhead smiled when she heard a happy sigh escape from Bianca.

"Do we have to go into work today? Can't we just stay in our nice warm bed all day?"

Marissa chuckled. "You don't know how tempting that is, but what about the kids? They have school."

"They could stay home. I know they wouldn't mind sleeping in and playing with Max later."

"We've got work."

"I think we deserve a day off."

Marissa's resolve began to weaken as Bianca's lips began their assault on her neck again. Her eyes snapped open when she remembered her plans for today. She had already put her lunch meeting off once. She didn't dare put it off a second time. "This lax work ethic wouldn't have anything to do with your budget meeting would it?"

Of course Marissa would know what her schedule was for the day. Bianca scowled. "I really don't like them."

"I know you don't, but …"

Bianca sighed and rolled her eyes. "They're a necessary evil. Fine, I'll go to work. Just so you know, that's not the main reason I wanted to stay in bed today."

As much as she would love to spend the day in bed with her partner, Marissa was silently relieved that Bianca had relented. "You're killing me. The weekend's almost here, and we can sleep late then. I promise."

"I'm going to hold you to that."

"Promise?" Marissa grinned.

Bianca laughed. "I promise."

The couple lay in bed for a few more minutes before their alarm went off. Both groaned before getting out of bed to start their days.

/

"What are you doing for lunch today? I was thinking we could meet up." Bianca asked as put the family's breakfast dishes in the dishwasher.

Marissa paused momentarily as she let Max back into house. She hated lying to Bianca, but it was necessary in this case. "I'd love to, but I've got a lunch meeting. It's already been moved once so I don't think they would take very kindly to moving it again. Sorry."

"That's okay. I understand. You've got to keep the clients happy."

The redhead breathed a sigh of relief and didn't correct Bianca's assumption. "Speaking of clients, Paul and Sherry Westfeldt are stopping by today."

"Maybe they'll give you a play by play of Carmen's arraignment."

Marissa grinned. "That's what I'm hoping. Brian took over representing them since they no longer need my particular area of expertise. Since her arraignment was late yesterday, I didn't get the chance to catch up with him. Before you ask, you know darn well that I'll fill you in on everything."

Bianca chuckled. "Thank you, and you're right I do know. Did you see the paper this morning?"

"Not yet. Why?"

The brunette slid the paper over to Marissa. On the front page was a color photo of Carmen being led into court. Her nose was bandaged and both eyes were blackened. The redhead couldn't hide the smile of satisfaction that crossed her face seeing the woman looking like she did. "She looks kind of like a raccoon."

Bianca snorted. "I think you're right. She does. Is it wrong that I really like seeing her look like that?"

"Not at all." Marissa grinned and gave Bianca a quick kiss. "I've got to go. I'll give you a call later. Love you."

"Love you too."

/

Marissa stood outside the doors to the Yacht Club and took a deep breath. She had arrived early wanting to give herself a few minutes to calm her nerves and go over her carefully prepared arguments before Erica arrived. In her wildest dreams, Marissa could never have imagined her doing anything like she was about to do. Meeting Bianca and falling in love with her changed everything for her, turned her world upside down. Marissa closed her eyes and smiled as Bianca came to mind. She saw her warm chocolate eyes that reflected the beauty of her soul and her smile that managed to always brighten the darkest of days. No, Bianca didn't turn her life upside down. She turned it right-side up. With that single thought in mind, Marissa smiled and walked inside.

The redhead gave her name to the maître d', who recognized it immediately, and was led to a table in a private corner. When Marissa called to make her reservation a few days earlier, she personally spoke with the maître d' and informed him of who would be joining her and requested as private a table as possible. Marissa wanted as much privacy as she could get for this conversation. Hearing who her guest would be, the man was more than happy to accommodate her. Erica was the town's most famous citizen after all.

She settled into the seat offered to her and ordered something to drink. While she could use something stronger than iced tea to steel her nerves, Marissa needed to keep her wits about her. The redhead heard her cellphone notifying her of an incoming text message. She smiled brightly when she saw who was texting her.

"Hey. How's your day going? Meeting with client hasn't started yet, has it?"

"Hey, yourself. Waiting for them. Day is much better now hearing from you."

"Charmer."

"Just being honest. How's the budget meeting?"

"Boring and long, but we're actually making progress. We decided to do a working lunch and just plow through it all. We're on a break now. I needed a quick Rissa fix to get me through the rest of it."

"A 'Rissa fix', huh?"

"Yep! Best quick pick-me-up there is! They're calling for me. Gotta go. See you tonight. Love you!"

"Love you too!"

Marissa chuckled as she read over the texts.

"Good afternoon, Marissa."

The redhead's head snapped up hearing Erica's voice. She had been so engrossed with texting Bianca that she hadn't heard the other woman approach. "Erica, good afternoon."

Erica took her seat and smiled at the maître d' as he fawned over her personally taking her drink order. After the man scurried away, she turned her attention to Marissa. "I take it by the smile on your face when I got here that you were texting with my daughter."

"I was. She was on a break from a budget meeting."

"I know how much she dreads them."

"Yes, she does, but she is the only one who ever manages to get all sides to see reason and compromise."

"She does have a talent for that, doesn't she?"

"There's no one better."

"How have you been? I heard there was a bit of excitement a few days ago involving that detestable reporter."

Marissa cleared her throat seeing Erica's somewhat amused expression. Neither she nor Bianca were exactly sure how Erica would react to everything that had occurred. Erica had only arrived back in town late yesterday so they hadn't been able to speak with her directly about everything that had happened. Erica, however, seemed to know without them speaking with her, not that Marissa was really surprised. The woman seemed to have eyes and ears everywhere. "Yes, there was."

"I hear that you have quite the left hook."

The redhead sighed. Kendall, of course. "Is it safe to assume that your oldest daughter told you everything?"

Erica chuckled. "Yes, that would be a safe assumption. While I abhor violence in general, I have found that there are times when it is necessary. This was most definitely one of those times, and quite frankly, the woman got exactly what she deserved. After hearing her vile words, I would have done exactly the same thing as you did. I'm very proud of you, and I really liked the picture in today's paper." Erica laughed seeing Marissa's expression. "You look surprised, dear."

"I have to admit I am a little bit. I'm not 100% proud of what I did. I let her get to me and lost my temper. It's something Bianca and I have been teaching the kids not to do."

"You really are a great deal like my daughter. If your roles were reversed, I have no doubt that she would be feeling the same way as you do. No matter what you may think though, you did the right thing. What happened to the photographs and flash drive?"

"They've all been destroyed. And no, I never did see them."

Erica raised an eyebrow. She was curious about something. "May I ask why? You weren't tempted to see what the woman was trying to hold over Bianca's head?"

"No, I wasn't. I didn't want to see them and saw no need to because I know that whatever she came up with were lies. Seeing those photos would only cause pain for me and more importantly for Bianca. I'm not willing to do that."

The older woman nodded. "Again, that is something my daughter would do. She will do whatever she needs to do to spare others' feelings."

"I have to agree with you on that. She would and she has. Of course she might not admit that it did feel good hitting that woman."

The women were interrupted by a waiter returning with their orders. After he left, they picked up their conversation again.

"If you saw what I did, then you saw what Bianca did. She was very impressive."

"Yes, she was. She handled that extremely well. I'm very proud of her. I always am."

"That makes two of us."

"Am I to assume we've come to the reason for this meeting?"

"There has to be a reason for us to have lunch together other than us getting to know each other better?" Marissa grinned.

Erica laughed. "As much as I like you, dear, you and I both know there's more to this meeting than just getting to know each other better."

"You're right. There is." Marissa set her fork down and took a drink. "Erica, I love Bianca with all of my heart. I never thought it was possible to love someone as much as I love her, and I just fall more and more in love with her every day. She is the strongest person I know. She's also the most loving, caring and giving." Marissa couldn't stop the soft smile from spreading across her face as she thought and spoke about Bianca. "She's smart and funny too. Her smile lights up a room, and her eyes show you the beauty of her soul. She really is just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. Bianca is … Bianca is everything. I thank God and whatever other powers that are out there in the universe for the day that she walked into my life. I think back on my life before her and then after she came into it. It's like 'The Wizard of Oz'. When Dorothy was in Kansas, it was sepia tone. You know, it had that brown tint to it. Then, the tornado came and took her to Oz. Everything was bright and bold, full of life and color. That's the best analogy I have for you. Once I met Bianca and fell in love with her, it was like Oz. Falling in love with her opened up a whole other beautiful world for me. She showed me what love really was. I thought I knew what it was, but I was wrong. And I have to tell you that I've never been happier to be proven wrong."

Erica had never heard anyone speak so lovingly about her daughter. She could see the love in Marissa's eyes as she spoke about Bianca. The redhead seemed to glow as she thought about her. This was exactly what she had always wanted for Bianca, to have someone love her completely and effortlessly. Her daughter deserved no less. Of course, Erica was Erica and had a reputation to maintain. She couldn't let Marissa off easy. "You didn't feel this way about …"

Marissa shook her head. "No, I didn't. I did love him at one point, but at its very best, it was nothing like what I feel for Bianca. It pales in comparison. She makes it so easy to love her, and I want nothing more than to spend my life with her, making her happy, feeling loved, wanted, cherished and to protect her. I want us to raise our children and spoil our grandchildren. I want to grow old with her and love her every single day."

"You seem to have a good start on that now."

"You asked me a while ago what my intentions were for Bianca, and I told you. Now, I want more. I know I don't need a piece of paper to validate our relationship, but I guess I'm a little old fashioned after all." Marissa took a deep breath and plowed forward. "I want to marry Bianca. I want her to be my wife and I want to be her's."

"What do you want from me?"

"I'd like your blessing."

"You haven't proposed to her yet?"

"Not yet. I wanted to speak with you first."

To say Erica was surprised would be an understatement. She never imagined someone asking her for her blessing to marry Bianca. "What if I refuse to give it?"

"I'll be honest with you. I would really like your blessing. It would mean a great deal to me and to Bianca. I know how much she loves you and how much you love her. You have a special relationship so I would like nothing better than to have your blessing. If you refuse though, I'll still propose to her whether I have it or not. I love Bianca, our family and the life we've built together, and we will spend the rest of our lives together with or without your blessing. I can understand your reluctance given her past and my biological family. I'm not any of those people. I could never or would never hurt her that way. I could never or would never do what they did. There is nothing or no one more important to me than Bianca and our children, no amount of money or fame. They will always come first, always."

Erica studied the young woman for several moments. Marissa had literally laid her soul bare for Erica. She saw a steadiness and fierceness that none of the others that had been in Bianca's life before had ever shown. Erica could see Marissa was nervous about asking her, but she also saw the young woman's resolve and admired it.

For Marissa, time seemed to stand still as she held her breath waiting for Erica's response. She meant every word she had said. Marissa's cellphone rang just as Erica was about to reply. The redhead glanced at the caller id. "I'm sorry but I really need to take this."

Erica simply raised an eyebrow wondering what could be so important that Marissa would possibly jeopardize this moment.

"Marissa Tasker. Yes, I am. How is she? I understand. No, I'll contact her. I'll be right there. Thank you." Marissa disconnected the call. "I'm sorry, Erica, but I have to go."

"Was that a client?"

"No, it was the kids' school. Miranda's not feeling well, and Bianca's in meetings all day. So, I have to go pick her up." Marissa signaled to the waiter for the check.

"Is she alright?" Erica was on immediate alert.

"I'm sure Miranda will be fine. They said that her throat was sore and she couldn't eat lunch. Her teacher sent her to the school nurse and Miranda had a slight fever. I'll pick her up and take her home and see how she's doing. I'll make a doctor's appointment if she feels too bad." Marissa took out her wallet and paid the bill. "I promise I'll call you when I know something more."

"Thank you." Erica knew that Miranda was in good hands.

"You're welcome." Marissa nodded and got up to leave.

"And Marissa dear, you have my blessing. I cannot think of anyone I trust more with my daughter and granddaughters' happiness than you. It will be a pleasure to have you as a member of our family, officially. If you need anything, please let me know. Give my love to our girls and our boy."

Marissa smiled brightly. "Thank you, Erica! That means so much! Thank you! I'll let you know about Miranda."

/

Erica chuckled softly watching as Marissa hurried away. The older woman had no doubt that Marissa would propose to Bianca with or without her blessing, but the redhead's smile indicated just how much having it meant to her. She replayed their conversation and had to admit that Marissa never ceased to surprise and impress her.

"Mom?"

"Kendall dear, what a lovely surprise. What are you doing here?"

"I was meeting with a potential client. Did I just see Marissa leave?" Kendall saw Erica hesitate before answering and knew something was up. "I suppose I could always ask Bianca why the two of you were having lunch."

Erica shook her head. "No, please don't do that. Yes, Marissa and I were having lunch. She wished to discuss something with me and would prefer that your sister not know about it for now."

Kendall took a seat and moved the plate containing Marissa's half eaten lunch out of the way. "What did she want to talk about?"

"I'm not at liberty to say."

"Let me get this straight. Marissa wanted to talk with you alone and doesn't want Bianca to know about it. Judging by her plate, she didn't eat that much which meant she did a lot of talking which is usually an indication that she's talking about Bianca. She had a really big smile on her face when she left and you were smiling when I came over. And when I asked you what it was you talked about, you won't tell me because you're 'not at liberty to say'. Okay, give me a minute here." Kendall's eyes widened and a big smile broke out across her face. "Oh my god! Marissa asked you for Bianca's hand in marriage!" She knew she had guessed correctly seeing the astonished look on Erica's face. "She did! Ha! I knew it!"

"How on earth did you know?!"

"Red mentioned she's been thinking about popping the question, and given her biological family's past with us, her asking you for your blessing is something I can see her doing. She would want to make sure you were okay with it."

"You've gotten very close with her. I'm glad. Knowing her like you do, I don't think you'll be surprised when I tell you that she said she would still propose whether or not she had my blessing."

Kendall laughed. "That sounds like her! Judging by her smile though and the bounce in her step, her mission was a success and you gave it to her."

"Of course I did. You should have heard her talk about Bianca. She was gushing over her. Before Marissa, I'd never heard anyone do that over her, and it's about time that someone did. Marissa loves Bianca and would do anything for her. Taking all of that into account, I really couldn't refuse her especially when I know how happy she makes your sister and how perfect I believe she is for her."

"Well, you're right. She is perfect for Bianca." Kendall turned serious. "Given her family, you're really okay with this? I mean, they're going to be around you more, at least Krystal will. Who knows about David? We all know how Thanksgiving went."

"Marissa is not like them. I realized that quite some time ago, and it's something she's proven repeatedly. While I will never forgive Krystal, David and Babe for what they did, I know that Marissa had nothing to do with it. I honestly believe she's incapable of doing something like that. And it's obvious that she is completely devoted to Bianca and the girls. I have no doubt that she would walk through fire for them. As for David and Krystal, we both know that I'm more than capable of handling them." Erica added with her signature hair flip.

"Yes, we do. Bianca will really appreciate you doing this. It will mean a lot to her." Kendall shook her head and chuckled when she was struck by a thought.

Erica eyed her oldest daughter. "You know something I don't, Kendall, don't you?"

"I might, but I'm not at liberty to say." Kendall grinned.

"Bianca is thinking about proposing." It wasn't a question from Erica, merely a statement of fact given the phrasing of Kendall's answer.

"I can neither confirm nor deny that. Red didn't give you any idea when she's going to do it, did she?"

"No, she had to leave. The school called. Miranda's not feeling well. I don't suppose your sister gave you any idea of what she has in mind."

Kendall shook her head. "No, I only know that she's planning on doing it."

Erica chuckled. "Well, it would seem there is going to be a wedding in our future."