A/N: Thanks as always for reading, reviewing and following! It's appreciated, and I'm glad you're all still hanging in there with me. I have to admit that it was a little hard to get back in the writing groove after vacation which was awesome. Also, this was my first week back at work, and I was slammed. You end up paying for vacation in more ways than one. I made it through the week though and got this for you all. It's a little shorter than normal, but hopefully, you'll be good with that. We're moving forward a little bit in time with this chapter. Hope you enjoy this update!

/

Thanksgiving arrived and was held at Kendall and Zach's. Thankfully this year, there were no fires or other unexpected mishaps so it could take place as planned. More importantly, there were no fights, well no major ones at least. By Kane family standards, it was downright tame. No gravy or blood was spilled. It helped that Erica and Krystal didn't spend the day together. While their relationship had improved, especially after having had worked on their respective daughters' wedding a few months earlier, no one had the illusion that they would ever be BFF's. Instead of risking a repeat of last year's Thanksgiving, Bianca and Marissa decided to spend the day with Bianca's side of the family and stop over Krystal and Tad's that Saturday. This allowed Tad's family to spend the day with Joe and Ruth were visiting from out of town. The Tasker-Montgomery family spent a few hours that weekend with the Walkers as well. Bianca and Marissa were finally able to share their wedding pictures with everyone, and all loved them. Copies of certain photos were given to Erica & Jack, Kendall & Zach, Greenlee & Ryan, and Krystal as gifts. Sam loved the photo the couple gave her of Aya and her performing during the ceremony. Other photos would be ordered by the others as well, but they were all very happy with the ones they were given. That Sunday was quiet for the Tasker-Montgomery's and spent at home. Monday, everyone went back to work and school.

/

After the Thanksgiving holiday, plans for the Miranda Center's annual fundraising gala ramped up. Now in its third year, the gala had become quite the event in Pine Valley. The Center's agreement with the Yacht Club to hold the event there was extremely beneficial for all concerned, and it made the Yacht Club the place to ring in the New Year. Bianca had turned the main planning of the gala over to Aya and Jan. The pair had done a very good job with their duties last year regarding it and were more than ready and capable of taking on more responsibility for it this year. With everything Bianca had going on in her life right now, they were a godsend. Besides the day to day operations of the Pine Valley Center, the brunette was interviewing prospects for the soon to be vacated office manager position at the New York branch. The current one was leaving for an outside position, and her position needed to be filled as soon as possible. Bianca had also just finished her last paper for her class and turned it in the day before Thanksgiving. In addition to those things, she and Marissa had started discussing how they wanted to decorate the baby's room. They weren't going to actually decorate just yet because they didn't want to jinx anything, but they would be in a couple of months. She also had Christmas to plan for. By turning over the fundraiser to Aya and Jan, Bianca was practicing what she was preaching to Marissa about delegating and not taking too much on. This also gave her a chance to sit back and enjoy the pregnancy. Bianca hadn't had too much of a chance for some of that because of school. Now that that was off her plate, she could relax and really fully help around the house again, and she knew Marissa would need her around more the further along she got. Plus, the couple would be taking childbirth classes after the New Year. Bianca didn't want to overdo now and be exhausted by the time those classes started.

/

Today, Bianca had a follow up meeting with Kirsten Tanner. She had been living in a safe house since coming to Pine Valley. Her physical injuries had healed, and the Center's counselors reported that she had been doing well in therapy. Kirsten put her teaching skills to good use by volunteering time teaching some of the children that were staying in the safe house. It was a win-win situation. The kids loved her, she was helping the staff out, and it gave Kirsten something to do, a sense of purpose and helped her focus. Sometimes, it helped someone when they were helping others. All in all, Kirsten was making good progress, and everyone working with her was trying to determine if she was ready to take the next step and move out of the safe house. Meeting with Bianca was part of this process.

Bianca was reviewing Kirsten's file when Jan knocked on her office door. The brunette glanced up and saw her assistant.

"Hey, Jan."

"Hey, Bianca. Kirsten Tanner is here."

"Send her in please." Bianca closed the file and smiled when the woman in question entered.

"Kirsten, how are you?"

The blonde woman gave a small smile and shook Bianca's hand. "I'm … I'm doing okay. How are you?"

"I'm good. Please, have a seat, and let's talk." Once they were settled, Bianca started again. "Are you really okay? I need you to be honest with me."

Kirsten sighed. "Yeah, I think I really am. I know I'm better than I was when I first came here, and I'm not just talking physically. Trust me, I know I have a long way to go emotionally, but it's getting a little better for me each day."

"I'm very glad to hear that. Now, I know you haven't heard from Amelia, but what about your family? Have they heard from her?"

"No, they haven't. It seems a little weird to me that they haven't. I'm glad though, especially after she hurt Aunt Diana. It's just … I don't know. It's like Amelia dropped off the face of the earth, and to be honest, that kind of worries me a little. You don't know her. It's not like her to just give up. For example, one time we were out to dinner and were accidentally overcharged by $1. You should've seen her. She gave them so much hell that you would've thought it was $1,000. She read them the riot act, kept hammering them and was trying to get the poor server fired when it wasn't her fault at all. I thought they might call the police on her. It was really embarrassing and a complete overreaction. She did get them to give us our meal for free though. So this? It just doesn't feel right, doesn't feel like it's over."

Bianca had listened attentively and found she had to agree with Kirsten. Given what she had learned about Amelia from Kirsten, her aunt, and Viki Buchanan coupled with what she knew of abusers from her experience at the Miranda Center, Amelia's current behavior seemed off, out of character. It felt like they were waiting for the other shoe to drop, and Bianca could see Kirsten was anxious about it. "I have to admit that it does seem a little odd. I have to ask if you would feel more comfortable staying in the safe house for a little longer. There is no set time table for when someone is ready to leave. Everyone is different, and we're not going to rush you."

Kirsten gave this some thought. There definitely was some anxiety in leaving, but she also knew she couldn't stay there forever. She would have to leave eventually, but maybe staying a little longer might not be such a bad idea. "Maybe, I could stay another week. There's this feeling that I just can't shake that something is going to happen soon. Another week might help me figure out what it is."

"We can do that. Again, I want you to feel comfortable with your decision. We can meet again next week and talk some more. If you change your mind and want to stay longer, you can do that. If you decide to leave, you won't be left alone. The Center has programs to help you outside. There is no pressure either way."

"Good. Let's do that." Kirsten's relief was evident. She definitely felt better after talking with Bianca. The brunette had a way about her that put her at ease. Kirsten had a feeling there was a lot more to the Center's founder than met the eye. There were things she didn't reveal to them for obvious reasons, but she could relate to them. That meant a lot. It also was good to see that whatever she had been through didn't stop her from living and from giving love another chance. Kirsten could see she was happy with her life, and that gave the blonde hope which was something that had been missing from her life for far too long.

/

Amelia Mears sat in a diner just outside of Pine Valley waiting for the private detective her family had hired to track down her girlfriend. She'd had no word from Kirsten since she'd left Llanview. Amelia thought for sure Kirsten would've caved by now, come to her senses and come crawling back to her. That hadn't happened yet for some reason, and Amelia didn't like it one bit. She found herself having to come up with excuses to explain her girlfriend's absence to others, and her father was putting pressure on her to resolve this quickly. He had reluctantly accepted Amelia's sexual orientation when she came out to her parents several years ago. Despite his personal distain and misgivings with his daughter's lifestyle, Anthony Mears managed to spin it as a political asset for himself. He was as happy as he could be, which wasn't very happy at all, when Amelia brought Kirsten home to meet him and his wife, and now that she was gone, he was pissed. He'd given her direct orders to 'bring the girl back home and keep her in line'. Anthony was not going to be embarrassed by his daughter's inability to control her partner. This was why a private detective was hired. Her father believed the detective could do what his daughter had not been able to and find Kirsten.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Mears. I'm Doug Curtis."

"Mr. Curtis, have a seat."

A waitress walked over, took the detective's order of coffee and hurried away under Amelia's glare.

Amelia got straight down to business. "Have you found Kirsten?"

The detective shook his head. "I've had glimpses of her but haven't been able to track down where she's staying."

"I don't understand what you're saying. Why not? I thought you were supposed to be one of the best. Is that wrong, and you're just incompetent?"

Curtis paused, biting back the comment he really wanted to throw her way. He's dealt with the father before so it wasn't much of a surprise to him that the daughter was as much of a bitch as the father was a prick. "Considering I didn't have much to work with other than her probably being somewhere in Pine Valley, I'd say this is good."

Amelia glared at the man. "Go on. Where did you see her? Her parents' home? Her bitch of an aunt's home?"

The Mears weren't exactly forthcoming when it came to providing the detective with details regarding the true nature of their pressing need to find Kirsten. They had downplayed the entire situation. According to them, Amelia and Kirsten had had a minor lovers' quarrel, and that was the reason she had left Llanview and headed back to Pine Valley. In their version, Amelia, for her part, was desperate to apologize and work things out. She had tried any and every thing to get ahold of her girlfriend, but her efforts were being thwarted by Kirsten's family. The Mears' tale portrayed Amelia as the victim, and Kirsten's family were cast as the villains doing their best to keep the lovers apart. Curtis had been around long enough to know his employers were hiding something and that their story wasn't exactly kosher, but they were also paying him a lot so he would do his job and keep his reservations to himself.

"No, she's not staying with any of her family. I caught glimpses of her going into a place called the Miranda Center." When the detective researched the Center, he found out its purpose. Alarm bells went off for him again, but there wasn't any evidence pointing to whether Kirsten was a victim in need of the Center's services or simply a volunteer there. History had taught him not to cross Anthony Mears. So again, Curtis kept his mouth shut and his concerns to himself.

"Didn't you follow her? God, do I have to think of everything?"

Curtis took a deep breath. "Yes, I tried to follow her. She wasn't driving though. Someone else was, and they knew what they were doing. It seemed like whoever she was with did not want to be followed."

"So basically, you're useless. Remind me again why my father's paying you?"

"If you'd let me finish, I could give you some information."

"Fine. Enlighten me, please."

"From what I've seen, there is some sort of contact going on between the aunt and Kirsten, and it's happening at the Center."

"Gee, that really helps me a lot." Sarcasm dripped from the woman's lips yet again. "You know what, just go. I'll figure this out myself. And don't worry, you'll get paid for all of your help."

Curtis was about to reply but decided it wasn't worth it. He was glad to be done with this particular assignment. The sooner he got away from Amelia, the better because he couldn't stand to be around her any longer. He couldn't help but think that the girlfriend was lucky to be away from her and hoped that it stayed that way. Curtis simply nodded and took his leave.

Amelia watched him leave and started thinking. The detective was basically useless. How good was he really if he couldn't follow her girlfriend to see where she was living? It wasn't like Kirsten was an expert in defensive driving or could pick up a tail, and Amelia seriously doubted that whoever she was with would be able to as well. Dammit! I didn't ask him if she was with a man or a woman. She better not be cheating on me if she knows what's good for her. If she is, I swear to god she'll regret it. I already need to put her in her place for embarrassing me like she has. She's going to pay for that, big time. And if she's cheating on me, I swear I will hunt her down, and it will be one of the last things she does. I'll make it so no one else will want her ever. They won't even want to look at her. I need to find her. Hmm, maybe that idiot detective was on to something. Maybe, I should check out that center.

/

"So, Counselor, how would you feel about going on a date?"

"That could be fun. Do you have any one in particular in mind?"

Bianca could hear her wife smiling over the phone line. "You know you're real cute sometimes. How would feel about going out on a date with me tomorrow night?"

Marissa laughed. "I would love nothing better. What are the odds I might get lucky on this date?"

"I'd say they're pretty good."

"Just pretty good? What if I did that one thing where I take …"

"I'd say your chances just increased and are pretty damn good."

"Ooh, I like hearing that. Are we celebrating anything in particular?"

"Nope. I just feel like taking my gorgeous wife out for a romantic dinner."

"What did I do to deserve you?"

"Just lucky I guess." Bianca grinned. "Aya has volunteered to babysit."

"She has, has she?"

"Yes, I mentioned wanting to take you out, and she volunteered. Kate's out of town so …"

"Aya won't be missing her as much if she has the kids to keep her busy."

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Well, we know the kids love her and will be excited to have Aunt Aya watch them. Do I get to know where we're going?"

"Nope. It's a surprise."

"Hmmm. So let me get this straight. An incredibly smart, beautiful and sexy as all get out woman is taking me out for a romantic dinner and afterwards is going to have her way with me. Yep. I'm totally down with that!"

The brunette loved how Marissa summarized things. "So am I, especially that last part. Oh, I hate to say this, but I should go. I'm meeting with Diana Holmes in a few minutes."

"Yeah, I've got a new client coming in so it's probably a good idea to get off of here. Besides, I'm starting to get all kinds of ideas of how you can have your way with me and how I can have my way with you."

Bianca laughed so hard she snorted. The brunette could just picture her wife waggling her eyebrows. "You're so not right."

"You wouldn't change a thing, and you know it." Marissa grinned.

"No, I wouldn't, not for anything. Love you."

"Love you too."

/

Amelia followed Diana from the older woman's home to the Miranda Center. As expected, it was fairly easy for her to do which added to her belief that the private detective the family had hired was truly incompetent. Amelia would have to rethink her position on payment of his work on this case. Unknown to those outside of the Miranda Center staff and board members was the fact that those escorting safe house residents were actually trained in defensive driving, and they never drove directly from the Center to a safe house. They always took long routes with multiple turns designed to throw anyone that might be following them off their track and which also helped ensure the safety of the residents. Amelia now found herself sitting across the street from the Center waiting. She watched Diana enter the building. Thirty minutes later, there was still no sign of Kirsten. Amelia weighed her options and decided to go all in. She hadn't gotten to where she was now without making bold moves and taking chances. Surely she'd be able to bluff and charm her way into gaining the information she needed. Amelia started her car back up and drove into the parking lot. At the present time, there weren't any alerts out on her so the guards let her in. The woman parked and strode confidently into the building with a quickly conceived cover story in place.

You can do this. Just keep calm, smile and don't show any weakness.

"Hello, I'm Julie. Welcome to the Miranda Center. Can I help you?"

Amelia plastered a smile on her face and addressed the woman greeting her. "Hello, Julie. I'm a blogger, and one of my many followers suggested I do a story on the Center and all of the wonderful things you do here. I was hoping to speak to a current resident of your safe house, off the record of course, and get their story on what they're going through. You know what would really be good? If I could tour your safe house. You know, see how everyone lives and works together there. It would be great PR for this place."

Julie gave the woman a pleasant smile but was immediately on alert. A couple of things about her story seemed off to her. Chiefly among them was the fact that they had multiple safe houses. While their locations weren't know, the fact that there was more than one was. "I'm sorry I didn't catch your name."

"My name's Amy."

"Nice to meet you, Amy. I'm sorry, but the Miranda Center has policy of keeping the identity as well as the location of those seeking our assistance private. Their safety and privacy are our utmost concerns. I can give you some material that you can use for your blog though. Anything else, I'm sorry, but we'll have to decline your request."

"But the publicity."

"While that would be nice, it's not our priority. The safety of those needing our help always has been and always will be our first priority. If you have some general questions, I'll be happy to answer them for you."

Amelia was not expecting to be stonewalled like this. She was positive it would be simple for her to get the location of the safe house, but this twit was being difficult. It was then that she caught sight of Diana with a brunette. She needed to get out of there quickly to maintain her cover for future use.

Diana spotted Amelia across the room and pointed her out to Bianca. "Amelia's here."

Bianca turned and looked straight at the other woman. The brunette began to wave someone over, and Amelia reacted by rushing the women. Maybe, she could scare the information out of Diana.

"Where is she? Where is Kirsten? Where are you keeping her dammit?"

"Why the hell would you think I would tell you? You want to beat her up again? That's not going to happen. She's knows exactly who you are, and you are out of her life. She's safe, and she's going to stay that way."

"I've never hurt her. I love her. Why can't you understand that? Anything that I've ever done has been for her own good and to help her."

"Beating her is for own good?! Sending her to hospital with broken bones is for her own good?! Those things are helping her? Are you insane?"

"Diana, please calm down. Ms. Mears, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Bianca stated as calmly as possible. She could see two security guards making their way over to them after having been alerted by Jan. Bianca didn't want Amelia to know though because she thought it could spook her and who knows what the woman would do then.

"Who the hell are you?! I'm not going anywhere, not without Kirsten. Wait, you're sleeping with her, aren't you?! You whore. She's mine. You're not going to keep me away from her." Amelia could feel her rage bubble up and lunged at Bianca before anyone could react.

Bianca wasn't able to move quite fast enough to fend off the attack. She felt blinding pain and only had one thought before everything went black. Marissa.

/

A/N: Yeah, guess who's back? My evil side got back from vacation and was so well rested that I couldn't stop her from that ending. Like I said, she's really evil sometimes. See you soon!