A/N: Thanks as always for reading, reviewing and following! You all are awesome, and I truly appreciate you. This chapter picks up later the same day as the previous one. It turned out differently than I had planned and also longer. I just got caught up in the Minx family which happens sometimes with this story. Hope you enjoy this update!

/

"Honey, I'm home!" Marissa smiled as she entered Minx Manor. She knew it was a cheesy greeting, but both she and Bianca loved saying it to the other when they got home.

Instead of Bianca greeting her though, it was Gabby who rushed from her spot at the kitchen table to greet her redheaded mother. "Mommy!"

"Hey, Monkey!" After depositing her purse and laptop bag on the counter, Marissa scooped up her youngest, already feeling the tension from her workday easing. "What are you doing over there?"

"I'm writing down what we gotta see tomorrow at the zoo!"

Marissa chuckled lightly at her daughter. The little girl's excitement was infectious. "Oh really?"

Gabby nodded happily. "Uh huh! Wanna see?"

"Of course I do!" Marissa carried Gabby over to table and set her down. As soon as the redhead was seated, Gabby climbed up and settled herself on Marissa's lap. "Okay, Monkey, what do gotta see tomorrow? Oh wait. Let me guess one of them, okay?"

"Okay."

"We gotta see the monkeys, don't we?"

A huge grin with dimples fully on display appeared on Gabby's face. "Yep! We just gotta see them, Mommy!"

"I think that can be arranged. What else do you have on your list?"

"AJ likes lions, and Mimo likes giraffes so we gotta see them too."

"Yeah, you're right. We gotta see them too. You know what else we gotta see?"

Gabby shook her head. "What?"

"The manatees because your Mommy really likes those and the petting zoo because I know how much all of you like seeing the animals there."

"Ooh yeah! We gotta see them too! What do you wanna see, Mommy?"

"I like all the different kinds of bears, especially the panda bears the zoo just got."

Gabby nodded and put her head down to get back to work on her list.

Marissa watched as Gabby wrote down the new animals. She was adorable as she concentrated on what she was writing, biting her lip slightly just like Bianca did from time to time. Gabby asked her how to spell manatee for her which the redhead did happily.

"Where is everybody else, Monkey?"

"Mommy's outside. She's workin' in her garden a little before she starts dinner. We're grillin' out tonight. AJ and Mimo are outside too playin' on the jungle gym and with Max."

"Why are you in here then and not outside with them? It's a really nice day outside."

Gabby scowled, clearly irritated by something. "I was, but the wind kept blowin' my paper away."

Marissa had to bite her lip not to bust out laughing. In that moment, Gabby looked exactly like Erica. She could just see her mother-in-law flicking her hair and saying, How dare the wind blow and disrupt my plans?! "Well, I tell you what, let me change my clothes and then I'll help you get something set up so you can sit outside and work on your list without the wind bothering you. Does that sound good?"

Gabby beamed. "I like that, Mommy!"

"Good, I'll be right back."

/

After Marissa changed, she and Gabby went outside where the redhead set the little brunette up at the patio table. Marissa had found an old clipboard and attached Gabby's papers to it. This handled the wind problem quite nicely.

"Thanks, Mommy!"

"You're welcome, Monkey. I'm going to go check on your brother and sister before I go find your Mommy. If you need anything else, just give me a holler, okay?"

"K."

Marissa dropped a kiss on Gabby's head before walking over to the jungle gym. She laughed seeing AJ hanging upside down on the monkey bar. "Hey, Buddy."

"Hi, Ma."

"How was your day?"

"Good. I got an 'A' on my math test!"

Marissa smiled proudly at her son. "That's great, AJ! I'm very proud of you. You studied really hard."

The boy smiled back. "Thanks, Ma!"

Marissa saw Miranda heading her way as she chased after Max.

The golden retriever dropped a tennis ball at the redhead's feet and wagged his tail as he sat waiting patiently to be acknowledged.

Marissa scratched behind the dog's ears, causing his tail to thump wildly against the ground. "Hey, Max. Are you playing keep away from Mimo?"

The dog's tail thumped even faster and barked in way of a response.

Miranda rolled her eyes. "Yeah, he is. I think that's his favorite game." She glared playfully at the dog who licked her hand.

"How are you, Mimo? How was school?"

"It was good. I got an 'A' on my math test and my book report." While AJ and Miranda had the same math class, they had different teachers for English so they didn't always have the same homework.

"That is great! I told you not to worry about your book report. I'm proud of you. We definitely have the smartest kids around. I'm glad you all live up to all of our bragging."

Miranda giggled. "We try." The girl had no doubt her moms bragged about them and was happy she made them proud.

Marissa gave her oldest daughter a quick hug. "Well, you definitely succeed." The redhead addressed their dog. "Max, I want you to play nice with Mimo, okay?"

The dog barked once and then nudged the ball closer to Marissa.

"Okay, I get the hint." The redhead picked the ball up and flung it a pretty good distance. Max galloped after it happily.

"Whoa, Ma. Nice throw!" AJ said as he dismounted from the monkey bar and landed upright.

Marissa ruffled her son's hair. "Thanks, Buddy. Nice landing."

"Thanks! Can we play catch later?"

"Definitely. We'll do it after dinner."

"Sounds good. I'll get our gloves ready."

"Miranda, I want to take your measurements later. If we don't get to the fabric store tomorrow, we'll definitely go on Sunday. I want to start on your robe soon so it will be ready in plenty of time before Halloween."

The girl nodded and smiled brightly. She had decided to go as Hermione from Harry Potter for Halloween. Miranda had seen a Hogwarts' robe in a gift shop when they were at Universal when they were on vacation this summer and loved it. The problem was that it was pretty expensive and the quality wasn't worth the price. Marissa volunteered to make her one, and Miranda happily jumped at the offer having seen the redhead's sewing prowess on other things. She knew her Ma would do a great job for her. "Okay, I can't wait to get started on it. Could I help? I know I don't know how to sew, but maybe, you could teach me?"

"I would love to teach you." Marissa grinned, touched that Miranda wanted to learn from her.

Max returned and dropped his tennis ball at Miranda's feet before nudging her hand wanting to play with her again.

Miranda smiled at her redheaded mother. "Thanks, Ma!" She picked up the ball. "Come on, Max. Let's see what you got."

/

Marissa walked slowly down the path to Bianca's garden with a smile on her face. This was everything she had always wanted. She had a family, and it meant everything to her. She paused briefly and glanced over her shoulder and watched the kids. Gabby had finished her list and was now playing keep away from Max along with AJ and Miranda. Both Marissa and Bianca made sure to make time for each child. The couple felt it was important to have that one on one time with them so they didn't feel lost in the shuffle. It would be even more important after their little one arrived. After one last look, the redhead turned and continued on her way. Marissa's breath hitched when she reached the edge of the garden. The sun was shining on Bianca as she hummed happily as she worked on a flower bed, lost in her own world. The redhead definitely believed herself to be the luckiest person on the planet to have Bianca as her wife.

"Hey."

Bianca glanced up and smiled brightly. "Hey, yourself. When did you get home?"

Marissa offered a hand to the brunette who took it happily after removing her work gloves and stood. Bianca brushed her jeans off once she was upright. The couple then shared a tender kiss before the redhead answered. "Not long. I would've been here sooner, but Gabby had to share her list of exhibits we gotta see at the zoo tomorrow."

The brunette chuckled. "I knew she was working on something earlier. Let me guess, we gotta see the monkeys."

"How did you ever guess?" Marissa feigned surprise.

"Just lucky, I suppose."

"We also have to see the lions, giraffes, manatees, panda bears and the petting zoo."

"You know I love manatees."

"Yep, that's why I told her to add them. I know, I'm awesome."

Bianca laughed. "And modest too. I have to agree with you though, you are kind of awesome."

"Thank you! I have to be to keep up with you. Oh, we have to stop at the fabric store this weekend so I can get material for the girls' costumes. I want to get started on them."

"That shouldn't be a problem. Are you sure you're up for making them? I don't want you to push yourself."

"I'll be just fine. You know that sewing relaxes me like gardening does you. Besides, neither costume looks to be that difficult. Making Gabby's minion costume is pretty straight forward, and we've watched the Harry Potter movies enough times for me to have Hermione's robe memorized."

"You're not upset that AJ didn't want you to make his?"

"Nah, I'm good. Captain America would've been a little harder to make. Plus, some of the ones they have online are pretty cool looking."

"Yeah, they are. He asked me earlier if we could order it tonight. I told him we could."

"You could do that while I'm getting the girls' measurements."

"That sounds like a plan."

"Oh, Miranda wants me to teach her how to sew."

"Really?! That's great, Rissa. I know you have to love that."

Marissa grinned. "I really do. I was a little surprised by it, but yeah, I love that she asked me."

Bianca noted her wife's thoughtful expression. "What's on your mind?

"I was thinking about earlier, you know with my cravings and other things about my pregnancy."

"Yeah?"

"Well, I was thinking about talking to Krystal and seeing what her pregnancies were like. I know it's different from woman to woman, but she is my biological mother. There might be some similarities between us. It could maybe help me plan for what I might go through the further along I get and when I go into labor. What do you think?"

Bianca thought for a moment and squeezed her wife's hand to reassure her. She could see Marissa was nervous about the idea. "It makes sense. Are you sure you're up for that kind of conversation with her?"

Marissa sighed. "That's an excellent question, and one I've been thinking about since this idea popped into my head. I know I could be opening up a can of worms, revisiting a subject that is still a little painful for me, but I think I need to do this. I just have a lot of questions. Did she have any health problems when she was pregnant like high blood pressure or preeclampsia or gestational diabetes? What was her labor like? Was it normal or did she have complications? What about post-partum depression? Did she have any weird cravings? I know that it tasted awesome, but smashing up Cheez-It's and adding them to strawberry ice cream is not something I would've thought to have done prior to this little one."

"Kind of like onion rings dipped in a chocolate shake?" Bianca teased.

"Yeah, like that. Again, it tasted awesome, but not something that was my radar before. Seriously, what do you think? I want your honest opinion."

"I honestly think that's a good idea and makes a lot of sense. You have important questions, and she's the only one who'll have the answers. Just please be careful and make sure you don't get too upset. I know you want and need answers, but I also know that there are a lot of feelings there regarding Krystal and everything that happened. I could come with you, if you want."

Marissa quirked a smile and squeezed Bianca's hand back. Her wife knew that she was nervous but that she also needed to do this. While her presence would always be welcome, this was something she needed to do on her own. "Thank you, but I think I need to do this by myself."

"You don't need to thank me. I'm happy to do it, and I'll do anything to make sure you and our little one are safe. I understand about you wanting to do this on your own though. If you change your mind, just let me know, and I'll be there."

"I will. I promise." The redhead leaned in for a loving kiss and rested her forehead against Bianca's when they separated. "Best wife ever."

A grin spread across Bianca's face. "I know you are, but what am I?"

Marissa burst out laughing, her wife's quip serving its intended purpose and breaking the tension that had crept in. "Wow, your maturity astounds me sometimes. I can see where the kids get theirs from."

"After your dramatics at lunch, I think it's safe to say that they get it from both of us."

The redhead rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Bianca chuckled and gave her wife a quick kiss before standing. "Come on. I need to start on dinner, and we need to make sure the kids aren't running amuck."

The couple headed back to the house smiling and swinging their hands happily.

"How did the rest of the interviews go?"

Before Marissa had a chance to answer, they were met by the squeals and laughter of their children. The game of keep away had changed, and Max now had the ball and was running around with the kids chasing after him. He would stop and drop the ball. Just when the kids thought they had him within their grasp, he'd grab the ball and dash off again.

"Why don't you help them while I get the grill fired up?"

"No, I'll help you." Marissa shook her head.

"I don't have much left to do. I got everything ready when the kids and I got home. I just need to throw it on the grill. Besides, I think they can use your help. Max has them running in circles."

"That could work to our advantage, you know? He can wear them out, and they'll have to go to bed early which means …"

Bianca chuckled. "We can go to bed early. You are an evil genius, Counselor."

Marissa shivered feeling a delightful tingle run down her spine with the dip in Bianca's voice. "God, I love when you do that to your voice and call me that."

"I know." Bianca gave her wife a quick kiss and winked as she walked away with a distinct sway to her hips as she did. "Why do you think I did it?"

"And you call me an evil genius." Marissa laughed, enjoying the show her wife was putting on for her. "Damn." The redhead shook herself of the thoughts of how an early bedtime could be spent and turned her attention to their kids.

/

The family was in winding down mode. They had enjoyed dinner opting to eat it outside since it was such a nice evening out. After everything was cleaned up and the dishwasher loaded, Marissa and AJ played catch while Bianca and Miranda kicked a soccer ball back and forth. Gabby floated between both pairs, sometimes playing with Marissa and AJ and other times playing with Bianca and Miranda. After about an hour, it was starting to get dark out so the family headed inside. The kids got their baths and changed into their pajamas.

The kids were settled on the sofa and watching a show on the Disney channel. Bianca pulled a step stool over by coffee table while Marissa went back to their office and got her sewing basket.

"Alright, Gabby, you're up first. I need you to take off your slippers and climb up on the coffee table for me. I'm going to take your measurements."

"Okay, Mommy!"

"Miranda, would you do me a favor and write down her numbers for me?"

The young brunette nodded and took the pad and pencil from her redheaded mother. "Sure, Ma."

"Thank you." Marissa took out her measuring tape and began to measure Gabby's arms, legs, waist and height with Miranda carefully jotting down the numbers down as Marissa read them off to her. The redhead explained what she was doing and why as she went along while Miranda listened and watched closely.

/

Bianca and AJ watched the scene for a couple of minutes before she pulled out her laptop.

"Okay, Buddy. Let's look up those Captain America costumes for you."

AJ smiled happily and joined his brunette mother on the loveseat. "Okay, Mom! Could I get the stealthfire shield? It's really cool."

"Well then we have to get it then, don't we?"

The blonde nodded. "Yep."

/

"Okay, Monkey. You're all done." Marissa lifted Gabby and set her back on the floor. "Miranda, you're up next."

Miranda set down the pad and pencil down by Marissa before carefully climbing up onto the coffee table. Marissa made a couple of notes and called Gabby over to her.

"Would you like to help me, Monkey?"

"Really, Mommy?"

"Yep, I really need your help."

"Okay!"

Marissa showed Gabby where to write the numbers that she would read off to her. Gabby settled herself on the sofa and anxiously waited to start.

The redhead turned to Miranda and started measuring. "I was thinking that we might want to get you another wand for the costume and not use the nice one you got at Universal. I know you're a little nervous about something happening to it. What do you think?"

"Really? I can get another one? That would really be good because I really don't want to break it on accident or anything."

"We'll get you another one then. It won't be as fancy as the other though."

"That's okay. I wouldn't want it to be 'cause I would worry about it too."

"Good. We'll add it to the list. We have to get goggles and a few other accessories for your sister's costume. We'll look for that stuff after we get the material for your costumes."

/

"Which one do you like best, Buddy?"

AJ thought for a moment and carefully reviewed his choices. "I like this one best, Mom, but it doesn't come with the shield."

Bianca looked at her son's choice and nodded. "It's pretty cool. Don't worry about the shield. We can order that separately."

"Really?"

"Yeah, Captain America needs his shield." Bianca tapped a few keys and pulled up some shields. "What do you think of this one?"

AJ's eyes grew wide. "That one is awesome! I can really get that one?"

"Sure."

"Thanks, Mom!"

"You're welcome."

"Can I see, Mommy?"

Bianca smiled at Gabby who had finished helping Marissa and Miranda. "Of course you can, Sweetie."

"Hey, Mom, do you think they might have goggles for Gabby's costume on this site and maybe another for Miranda?"

"They might. Would you like to see if they do, Gabby?"

The little guy nodded enthusiastically. "Uh huh!"

As Gabby got herself settled in between her brother and her brunette mother, Bianca glanced over at Marissa and Miranda. The two were fully engaged in conversation with each other. Miranda was peppering Marissa with questions, and the redhead was answering them all as she always did. Marissa then asked Miranda a couple of questions with the young brunette answering them in reply and adding her own input. Bianca had only caught bits and pieces of their conversation over AJ's and Gabby's discussion but could tell both were enjoying it. The brunette couldn't help but smile at the two of them and briefly locked eyes with Marissa before turning her attention back to AJ and Gabby.

/

"Ma, you really like sewing, huh?"

"I do. It's one of my favorite things I learned from my Mom. She was so good and she always looked so peaceful when she was sewing. Mom said it helped her relax and put things into perspective."

"Does it do the same for you?"

"Yeah, it does. It's like gardening for your Mom. When we do stuff like that, it helps us focus on something else which then helps us figure other things out we might have on our minds. Plus, we're creating something and that really feels good."

"Are you gonna make something for the baby?"

Marissa paused for a moment. "I honestly hadn't really thought of it, but now that you mention it, that's a wonderful idea, Mimo. What do you think I should make?"

Miranda smiled proudly at her idea. "You could make them a blanket, kinda like the ones you made us but only smaller."

The redhead grinned. It had taken her some time, but she had made the three kids their own blankets which they loved. They not only coordinated with their rooms but also reflected their personalities. "I like it! You're right about the size. It will have to be smaller. You guys are going to be bigger than this little one for a while. We'll have to keep the colors neutral since we don't know if our little one is a girl or a boy. Plus, we don't know their favorite colors yet like we do yours."

Miranda giggled. "Guess not. What colors could we use?"

"Well, there's green and yellow. Those are the standard neutral colors for babies. Some think orange, brown or white are neutral too."

The girl scrunched her face at the mention of the last colors. "I really don't think it should be brown or white. Those don't seem like baby colors to me. Babies need real colors."

"I agree. What do you think of green?"

"What color green?"

Marissa glanced around for an example. "How about the green on the cover of that book?"

"Ooh, I like that! I think that'll work for either a girl or a boy."

There's the Kane woman style shining through. Marissa smiled to herself. "Would you like to help me make it?"

Miranda's eyes grew wide with a combination of excitement and surprise shining in them. "Really, Ma?! You want me to help?"

"Yes, I do. It's your idea after all, and I could use the help. What do you think? Do you want to help?"

Miranda beamed and hugged Marissa. "I do! Thanks, Ma! I'd really like that!"

Marissa glanced over Miranda's head and locked eyes with Bianca with both sharing a smile.

/

Gabby rubbed her eyes and yawned as Bianca pulled her covers around her youngest. "What time are we going to the zoo, Mommy?"

"After we all have a good night's sleep. It's been a long week for everyone, and we all need some sleep. We've got all day to enjoy ourselves at the zoo. Don't worry, we'll see everything on your list."

"Especially the monkeys." Marissa added as she placed a kiss on Gabby's forehead.

The young girl nodded sleepily. "'K. Night, Mommy."

"Goodnight, Monkey."

Bianca also left a kiss on her daughter's forehead. "Goodnight, Sweetie."

"Night, Mommy."

/

"Mom helped me find the most awesome Captain America costume, Ma. It's really cool."

"I have no doubt that it is. You'll have to show it to me on the website tomorrow."

"Okay. What time are we going tomorrow? We don't have to get up early, do we?"

The older they got, the more AJ and Miranda appreciated sleeping late on weekends and days off from school. This was something Gabby still needed to learn. She was definitely an early riser.

Marissa chuckled and gave her son a kiss. "No, Buddy. We don't."

"We get to sleep in this weekend." Bianca ruffled her son's hair and smiled seeing the relief in his eyes.

"Good. Thanks for helping me find my costume, Mom."

"You're welcome, Buddy. Get some sleep, and we'll see you tomorrow." Bianca kissed the blonde goodnight.

"Night, Mom. Night, Ma."

"Goodnight, AJ."

/

"I can't wait to get started on my costume, Ma."

"Me too. Thanks for coming up with the idea for our other project."

"What other project?" Bianca asked.

"We're going to make the baby a blanket like Ma made for us."

"And it was all Miranda's idea."

Bianca smiled brightly. "That's a terrific idea. I love it. With the two of you working on it, I know it's going to be great. You're such an amazing young woman, Mimo, and I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks, Mom." Miranda smiled proudly before a yawn escaped.

"Get some sleep, Mimo. We'll start on things tomorrow night. And thanks again for the awesome idea." Marissa kissed Miranda's cheek.

"You're welcome. Goodnight, Ma. Goodnight, Mom."

"Goodnight, Mimo." Bianca kissed her oldest daughter.

/

With their kids tucked in for the night, the couple settled themselves on the sofa in the family room to catch up on the latest episode of 'Rizzoli and Isles' they had recorded on their DVR.

"I told you the first suspect was a red herring." Marissa grinned.

Bianca rolled her eyes. "Yes, you did. How did you know she didn't do it?"

"I didn't buy her motive completely. There were a couple of holes there. Besides, there was like half an hour left to fill. Way too much time left for it to be her."

Bianca took one of the pillows on the sofa and tossed it at her wife. "Cute."

Marissa laughed. "Sorry, but I couldn't help it."

"Whatever. I like all the subtext between Maura and Jane. They really are a couple."

"Definitely, they just haven't acknowledged it yet. I guess it just takes some couples longer to realize their feelings than others." Marissa offered with a cheeky grin.

Bianca gave her wife a quick kiss. "Very true. Alright, tell me what's going on with Sam."

The couple hadn't had much of a chance to talk privately since their brief conversation earlier in the garden.

Marissa sighed. "Like I said earlier, we found someone who looks to be a blood relative. Sam's paternal grandfather was named Kurt Robinson. He was married before Sam's grandmother. He and his first wife had a son."

"Making this man Sam's uncle.

"Exactly. His name is Russell Payne. He goes by his mother's maiden name. From what we've found, his mother, her name's Jackie by the way, was a real piece of work. She had a history of cheating on him and did a real number on his finances, and this was before she left him which she did when he was deployed overseas while he was in the Marines. When she did leave, she left him deeply in debt after cleaning out his accounts. She also neglected to tell Kurt she was pregnant at the time she filed for divorce. He tried to stay in the boy's and paid child support. This lasted for a little while until she decided to leave again, this time permanently. Kurt tried to find them but couldn't. Eventually, he met and married Rose, Sam's grandmother. He never gave up trying to find his son though."

Bianca was quiet as she absorbed this information. The brunette could most definitely empathize with the man. There was nothing worse than losing a child. Even though she eventually got Miranda back, the pain was still there. She doubted it would ever truly go away.

Marissa sensed where Bianca's mind had wandered and squeezed her hand gently.

Bianca glanced at her wife and smiled softly. "Sorry."

"Don't ever be sorry, especially about that."

"Thank you. Did you ever find out what led to her aunt's addiction?"

"It all goes back to her being seriously injured in a car accident. She broke her back and was prescribed oxycontin, and unfortunately, she got addicted. When she couldn't get any more legally from her doctor, she branched out and tried heroin. From there, well you know the story."

"God, that's so sad."

"Yes, it is."

"What does all of this mean for Sam and the Walkers? What's this man like?"

"He's married but no kids. Mitch said he doesn't appear to have any interest in Sam, but …"

Bianca could tell something about this was nagging her wife. "But you think something else is going on."

"He has a record, mostly for fraud. Given that, I can't but help feel there's more there than we know so Mitch is going to keep digging. I don't know. Maybe I'm being paranoid."

Bianca shook her head. "No, trust your instincts. I don't know anyone else with better instincts than you. You were right about Reese. If it wasn't for you and your instincts, I could've lost the girls. So, trust them."

Marissa nodded. "I will. We are obligated to inform the court about finding him which will immediately put the adoption on hold until this can be investigated further. I'm also going to petition the court to have Sam remain in the Walkers' care during this time."

"What do you think your chances are of that happening?"

"I think we've got a good chance given her age, the stability she has with the Walkers and her history in the foster care system. I spoke with Mike this afternoon, and he's agreed to speak on our behalf."

"Having the district attorney in your corner should help."

"That's what I'm hoping. I may need you to testify as well."

"I will be more than happy to. Whatever you need."

"Thank you, and because of that, I've asked Claudia to help on this case."

"You don't want to give the appearance of impropriety by questioning your wife on the stand."

Marissa grinned. "Look at you with the lawyer speak."

"Well, not only is my wife a kickass lawyer, she's a pretty good teacher. So, I've managed to pick up a few things over time."

"You definitely have." The redhead turned serious again. "Claudia's agreed. I talked to Sam for a few minutes earlier. She's … hanging in there. She's a little depressed but told me she set up an appointment to talk with one of the Center's counselors which I'm happy she's doing."

"Good. I'm happy about that too. Gail mentioned they were thinking about it yesterday. I reassured her the counselors at the Center would keep whatever was discussed private."

"Which they obviously did if you haven't heard anything about it."

"Exactly. Plus, they know Sam and adore her. They'll take especially good care of her."

Marissa nodded, knowing it was true. "I'm going to fight tooth and nail for her. She loves the Walkers and wants to stay with them so I'm going to do everything I can to see that that happens."

"I know, and Sam and the Walkers know too. From everything you've told me about her, Claudia is the best person to help you so please let her. I need you to make sure you take care of yourself when I'm not there to do it myself."

"I promise I will."

"Good. Now, tell me about the rest of your interviews. How'd they go?"

"They went okay. I now know for sure who I want. That's why I was a little late getting home. I ran into Stuart Thompson and wanted to discuss the offer I want to make."

Bianca understood her wife's text from earlier now. "He's the managing partner, right?"

"Yes, he is. I want to offer the position to Ellie."

Bianca grinned. "I knew it!"

"Yeah, you did. We ended up pulling in someone from Human Resources to get their approval."

"What's so special about the offer?"

"Well first of all, they'll need to post for a receptionist if Ellie accepts. Obviously, they'll need training, and Ellie is the best person for that since she currently holds that position."

"That makes since, but what about you? You can't be expected to wait until a new person's hired and trained to have Ellie start working for you."

"No, I can't. I need someone and soon. That's what we were talking about. They are going to make up a schedule and have the other secretaries take turns on covering the receptionist desk. It's something they've had to do in the past, of course they really weren't happy about doing it before. As you can guess, some see it as far beneath them."

"You mean some like Meredith."

"Precisely like Meredith. I'm definitely going to have to keep you away from her for her safety." Marissa chuckled at seeing the gleam in Bianca's eyes. "Anyway, I came up with a solution. It's not much, but while they're covering, they will be compensated for the extra work."

"That should keep morale up."

"That's the goal. So, that was one topic we discussed. The other was the actual offer to Ellie. Obviously, salary and other benefits were discussed. The big thing we talked about was tuition reimbursement."

"Ellie wants to go back to school?"

"I think she does. She has an associate's degree in social work. She was going for her bachelor's degree but had to stop to help with the family when her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer."

"Is she alright?"

"Yes, she is. Ellie told me that she's been cancer free for two years."

"That's really good to hear."

"Yeah, it is. I have a feeling that money is preventing Ellie from going back to school now. To have your tuition reimbursed, you have to study a subject related to your position. Social work isn't related to what she did as a receptionist. HR wasn't really buying that it related to a secretarial position either. I saw it otherwise."

"And you argued for it."

"I wouldn't call it arguing, per se. I consider it more of a debate." Marissa grinned.

Bianca shook her head clearly amused by her wife. She loved a good debate. "Of course you do. Let me guess. You showed them the error of their ways."

The redhead smiled proudly. "Yes, I did. When you think about it, it only makes sense. It's a family law department. The secretary is the first person the client sees. You need someone that will be able to handle them in what is a very stressful situation. Plus, children are involved in a majority of the cases we handle. You need someone who has an idea of what to do in those situations until they can speak with a lawyer and we can understand what they need and what needs to be done to help them."

"You don't have to convince me. I'm sold on it and agree with you completely."

"Sorry, I was …"

"Going over what you told HR. They didn't stand a chance."

"Stuart said the same thing after we were done."

Bianca laughed. "Stuart's a smart man. You, however, are brilliant."

Marissa rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't say brilliant, Babe. I'm far from it."

"I would and did because you are brilliant."

"I think you're a little biased."

"I'm a lot biased, but I'm also right. Give it up, Counselor. This is one argument you're not going to win."

A wicked grin spread across Marissa's face. Challenge accepted. "I think I can."

Bianca raised an eyebrow. "Oh really and just what do you have in mind?"

Marissa slid over to her wife and began to slowly trail kisses along Bianca's bare shoulder and neck. The redhead smiled feeling her wife's pulse quicken. "Oh, a little of this and a little of that and a lot of something else."

Bianca shivered as her wife's soft lips continued their delicious torture. The brunette wasn't going down with a fight of her own though. "Bring it, Counselor." Bianca quickly got up from the sofa and darted back to their bedroom.

"Babe, it is so on." Marissa smiled brightly as she took off after Bianca. No matter how the debate ended, both women knew they would be winners tonight.

/

A/N: Okay, I mentioned 'Rizzoli and Isles' in this chapter. I don't own it or the show's characters. I just really like the show and happened to have been watching it while working on this chapter. I also had read a recap on the show that was on the 'After Ellen' site (which was hysterical). I highly recommend checking that out along with the recaps they do for 'Grey's Anatomy'. Anyway, with both of those things, I couldn't help myself and had to put in the bit about 'Rizzoli and Isles'. This chapter definitely ended up on the fluffy side. The next one will get back to a couple of the other storylines going on. See you soon!