A/N: Thanks, as always, for continuing to read, review and follow! I can't tell you how much it means to still have your support. We're going to skip ahead a little bit in this chapter. Hope you enjoy this update!

/

Things had returned to normal, or what passed for normal, in Pine Valley in the days following the incident at the grade school. Jo and Jessica arrived as promised, and the doctor had spoken with AJ, Miranda and Gabby and was satisfied they truly were okay. Jo told Bianca and Marissa to keep doing what they were doing, and if they noticed any changes in the kids' behaviors to let her know. The positive diagnosis was a huge weight lifted off of the couple's shoulders. While Jo spent time with the children, Jessica met up with a real estate agent that Marissa helped her find to aid with the search for a new home for the Sheltons.

The redhead was the agent's favorite former client. Not only had she referred her to Jo and Jessica, but she had also sent a certain Brazilian supermodel her way. Rafaela was tired of staying at the Yacht Club. She wanted some place more permanent, but she and Maura were not quite ready to move in together just yet. That's not to say it wasn't in their future because it was something they both saw and wanted. They were just taking it a little slow. Rafaela decided instead of buying a place right now that she would rent. That's where Christina, the real estate agent Marissa recommended, came in. The agent was working hard and had several places lined up for both of her new clients to view. To show her gratitude, Christina sent a very nice and expensive bottle of wine to the redhead. Marissa and Bianca decided to save it for their upcoming first wedding anniversary.

/

"Hey, Red. Mind if I join you?"

"Hi, Kendall. Sure. Have a seat." Marissa gestured to an empty chair at her table. The lawyer had stopped by Krystal's for a quick bite for lunch. Bianca wasn't sure if she would be able join her wife so Marissa was happy to have Kendall's company.

Noting the legal pad in front of her sister-in-law, Kendall's curiosity was piqued. "What are you working on? Some big new case?"

Marissa chuckled. "Hardly. I'm trying to come up with ideas for our anniversary."

"Oh yeah! You and Binx have been married for almost one year! Seems just like yesterday. It was a beautiful wedding."

"Yes, it was. One of the best days of my life."

Kendall saw the redhead's smile. It was the same one that appeared on her face every time she talked about Bianca. "What do you have so far?"

"As you can see, I've got nothing." Marissa held up the legal pad to show it was blank.

"Well, you do still have a little time to come up with something. Lucky for you, you have the world's greatest sister-in-law to help you." Kendall grinned.

Marissa laughed. "I suppose I do. How did I ever get so lucky?"

Kendall shrugged. "Beats me. Somebody up there must like you an awful lot to give you me."

"And so modest too."

"Yep. So, is Binx coming today?"

"She wasn't sure if she'd be able to make it."

"Okay. That just gives us a chance to brainstorm." Kendall noted a tiredness around her sister-in-law's eyes. "Is everything okay, Marissa?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired. The partners have been pulling some long hours the last few days."

"Why? I thought partners dumped extra work on the associates." Kendall smirked.

"Funny. I heard that's what company owners did."

Kendall chuckled. "Busted. So, why have you been working late?"

"The firm is trying to land this really big client so we've been working on our presentation for him."

"How big is really big?"

Marissa glanced around to make sure no one was listening. "You can't tell anyone."

"You have my word."

"Brady Meyers."

"Seriously? Brady Meyers? As in the tech genius, the guy they're calling the next Steve Jobs?"

"That would be him."

"You've got to be kidding me. No offense, but why would he need you guys? I mean, doesn't he have his own legal team?"

"No offense taken. Yes, he does, but who he's dealing with doesn't particularly like corporate giants and the huge firms that represent them."

"Ah, that's where you guys come in. You're not one of those huge, faceless entities. Plus, you have an impeccable reputation."

"Pretty much."

"Good luck."

"Thanks. If we could land him, it would be huge."

"Excuse me, Marissa?"

Hearing her name, the redhead glanced up. To say she was surprised at who she saw would be an understatement. "Doug?"

"Hi."

"Hello. You remember my sister-in-law Kendall Slater, don't you? Kendall, this is Amber's dad Doug Baldwin."

Kendall raised an eyebrow. "Hello, Doug."

"Hi, Kendall." The man seemed nervous. "Marissa, could I … could I talk to you in private? It would just be for a few minutes."

Marissa glanced at her sister-in-law.

"I'm good." Kendall assured the redhead.

"Sure. Let's go over there."

/

"First, I want to apologize again for what Tammy did. She was way off base. There's just no excuse for it. I mean, AJ and Miranda are good kids and have been really good friends to Amber. It's pretty amazing when you think about it."

"Yes, it is. They've come a long way. Amber is a sweet girl. Bianca and I are very glad about the way things have changed. We're good. Apology accepted."

"Thank you. Please let Bianca know as well."

"I will, and I know she'll accept your apology as well. You didn't do anything wrong."

"I know it was Tammy. That leads me to the second thing I wanted to talk with you about." Doug rubbed his jaw. "You know, she didn't used to be this bad. She used to be more tolerant."

"What happened?"

"Did you know my wife is a twin?"

Marissa was surprised by this snippet of information. "I did not."

"Tammy has a twin sister named Kara. You know what people say about twins having that special connection is true. Tammy and Kara were like that. They finished each other's sentences and could sense when the other was hurt. All of that. That changed about five years ago. Kara came out. She told us that she had struggled with her sexual orientation all of her life. It wasn't until she met Tracy that she was able to admit she was gay. Tracy's her partner. Kara told us she was in love with her and probably the happiest she had ever been. I believed it. I'd never seen her smile like that before. There was always some sadness in Kara's eyes. When she talked about Tracy though, it was gone, and her eyes lit up. She was truly happy, probably for the first time since I've known her, and I was happy for her. She deserved it. Kara was the first one to accept me and my relationship with Tammy. Their parents were less than thrilled when Tammy brought me home to meet them and likewise with my parents when they met her. Race was definitely an issue for all four of them. Kara though? She saw past all of that and accepted me, accepted us. I owed her the same support. Kara appreciated it, but what she wanted most was Tammy's support. You see their parents weren't exactly happy when Kara came out. It was hard for them. So, Kara was really counting on Tammy."

Doug shook his head. "Tammy couldn't do it. She couldn't accept the fact that her twin sister was gay. I think a big part of her problem with it is that she was hurt that Kara kept this huge secret from her for pretty much all of their lives. Tammy felt betrayed too, like everything was a lie. Well, things got really bad. Tammy told Kara that she was just confused. She wasn't really gay. She just thought she was. It was impossible. She just needed to pray about it and ask for forgiveness. She would see the light then. As you can imagine, that didn't go over well at all. So, Tammy tried another argument. She said that Tracy was taking advantage of Kara when she was lonely and vulnerable. Tracy was just trying to turn her for some unknown gay agenda."

"Ah yes, the gay agenda. I'm familiar with that argument of the evil lesbian trying to corrupt the straight woman." A lot of things were starting to make sense to Marissa. She didn't need to be a psychologist like Jo to figure out the root cause of Tammy's issues with her and Bianca. It didn't justify anything that she'd done, but it did shed light on the reasons behind her actions.

"Pretty much. It finally got to the point that Tammy told Kara she had to choose. It was either her family or Tracy."

"Kara chose Tracy."

"Eventually, yes, she did. Kara didn't want to have to choose though. She was in an impossible situation. Tracy didn't want her to have to choose either, and told her the last thing she wanted was to get in between Kara and her family. Kara knew then that she had to follow her heart, and that was Tracy."

"That had to be pretty hard on their parents."

"It was. By the time Tammy forced Kara's hand, their parents had actually come around. Of course Tammy pulled the grandchild card then which makes it even harder on them. So, Kara sees their parents in private and celebrates the holidays after the fact with them. As for Amber, she really doesn't have a relationship with her aunt. I'd like to be able to put all of the blame on Tammy for that, but I can't. It's my fault too. With all of the fighting, I disengaged. I stopped fighting for Kara. I let her down. I let myself down, and worst of all, I let my daughter down. I became apathetic, all just to avoid another fight with Tammy. It was easier for me, but it was cowardly. By doing that, I let Tammy fill Amber's head with hate, and as a result, she bullied AJ and Miranda. I can't tell you how sorry I am for that. If I could back and change that, I would. I hope you believe me. You know, I don't think Tammy was expecting you and Bianca to fight back like you did. She was so used to having her way, being able to bully others into getting them to do what she wanted. You and Bianca pushed back and stood your ground, and man, she hates that. By pushing back though, you helped save Amber. That counseling she had to take? It was the best thing that ever happened to her. It opened her eyes and her heart. Two things I failed to do."

/

Bianca walked into Krystal's and was surprised to see her sister and not her wife sitting at the couple's table. The older brunette was writing away on a legal pad, the kind Marissa usually had. "Hi, Kendall."

"Oh hey, Binx." Kendall quickly flipped the pad over.

"Did Rissa leave already?"

"Nope. She's still here, and you can still have lunch with her." Seeing her sister's confusion, Kendall pointed across the room to where the redhead was. "He came in and asked to speak with her. They've been talking for a few minutes."

Bianca saw her wife huddled at a table with Doug Baldwin. It looked to be an intense conversation, but Marissa didn't seem upset. She was nodding every once in a while as well as commenting on whatever Doug said, but for the most part, it looked like the man was doing most of the talking. "I wonder what he wants."

"No idea, but you know Red will tell you later. So, you might as well wait."

The younger sister simply shrugged and joined Kendall.

"So, your anniversary is coming up."

"I know. It's been a pretty good year." Bianca said with a smile.

"Got any ideas as to how you're going to celebrate?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. Are you okay if I run a few things by you?"

Kendall grinned. "Are you kidding? Of course I am. Spill."

/

"When Amber got back from AJ and Miranda's birthday party, she was so happy. Then, it changed later that night. Amber couldn't tell Tammy about it because her mother had pretty much forbid her to go so she knew she would lose it. Amber felt like she couldn't tell me either. I had closed myself off from her for so long that she felt like I didn't care, and I hate that I did that, hate that I made her feel that way. I found out about that a week later by accident when I overheard her talking to my mom. I realized I'd failed as a father, and knew I had to change. It's been slow, but we have made some progress and have gotten closer. When the incident at school happened, I don't know that I've ever been so scared in my life. I have this amazing daughter, and I've been wasting time that I'll never get back. Then, I saw Tammy yell at your kids, and something snapped. I can't keep living this way and neither can Amber."

Marissa had a very good idea of where this was going and knew she had to tread lightly. She did not want to be pulled into the middle of this drama if she had anything to say about it. "What do you mean exactly?"

"I've heard you are a very good lawyer, that you have a stellar reputation. I'm going to need someone like that if I decide to go through with my plans." Doug took a deep breath. "I'm seriously considering filing for divorce and seeking custody of Amber."

"Before we go any further, have you pursued counseling?"

Doug shook his head. "No, and I honestly don't think Tammy would agree to it."

"You won't know until you ask. I consider divorce the last course of action. You obviously loved Tammy at one time. I'd even hazard to say you loved her very much if you stood up to your families."

"I did, and part of me still loves her. I'm just so tired of fighting with her."

"And a counselor could help you with that as long as both parties are willing to try. I also strongly advise you have Amber see someone. Being around all of that fighting isn't good for her."

"Yeah, you're probably right. It's a little funny a lawyer recommending counseling first."

"If it's possible, I always do. If, however, someone's safety is at risk, I won't." Marissa paused. "Am I wrong in assuming you wish to have me represent you?"

"No, you're not wrong. I would like that very much. If I do this, I want the best because I'll be honest with you, it could be one hell of a fight. And from what I hear, you're the best."

"While Bianca may agree with you, I don't know that I would go that far. I can't, in good conscience, represent you though. Given my history, along with Bianca's, with Tammy, it could be seen as a conflict of interest."

"How so?"

"They might see it as if I have some sort of vendetta against Tammy. While I don't, because the only thing I want from her is for her to leave us alone, it could be misconstrued by others as having something more behind it other than me representing a client."

"I guess you're right."

"Now, if you're serious, you could talk with someone on my team. I can assure you that they are very good at their jobs. I wouldn't recommend them if they weren't."

Doug thought for a moment and then nodded. "Okay. I'd appreciate that."

"My cards are back at the table. I'll get you one. Take some time and really think about this. If you're sure this is what you want to do, call me, and I'll give you the name of an associate that I feel will do the best job for you."

/

"Seriously, Brady Meyers is like a rock star in the tech industry, and hot. I mean he's like Ryan Gosling hot. He's also a big time playa."

Kendall looked at her best friend. "Greenlee, I need you to do me a favor, and never, and I do mean never say 'playa' again. It's wrong on so many levels."

Greenlee rolled her eyes. "Anyway. He has a reputation with the ladies and can be relentless in his pursuit if he finds one that he's interested in." Greenlee pulled out her cellphone and did a quick search to find a photo of the mogul in question. "Damn. He is sexy as hell."

"She's right. He really is." Kendall nodded as carefully studied the photo.

"Yeah, he really doesn't do anything for me." Bianca deadpanned.

"I suppose I can give you that one." Greenlee smirked. "If the firm can sign Brady Meyers, it would be a huge get for them."

Marissa stopped at the table and saw there were now three where there had just been one minutes ago. Hearing Meyers' name, she raised an eyebrow towards her sister-in-law.

Kendall raised her hands in defense. "I didn't say a word. It was Greenlee. She already knew. Jack told her."

The redhead shrugged as if to say of course he did. Marissa gave Bianca a quick kiss, took a seat and reached for her purse.

"So, what did Doug want?" Greenlee asked as she eyed the man standing at the counter waiting for an order.

While Doug was not a client of hers or of the firm's at this time and hadn't said anything about keeping their conversation private, Marissa didn't feel right disclosing what they talked about to anyone but Bianca. "It's really not my place to say."

"Lawyer/client privilege?"

Marissa smiled as she shook her head. "Nope, just don't think I should."

Greenlee narrowed her eyes and scowled. She could tell she wasn't going to get anything out of the lawyer. "Fine, be that way."

"Hello, Bianca, Greenlee."

Bianca gave the man an easy smile. "Hi, Doug."

"Doug."

Marissa handed him a card. "Here you go."

Doug nodded. "Thanks. I'll think about what you said. Have a good day."

"You too."

Bianca glanced at her wife with an unasked question to which Marissa answered with a simple shake of her head.

It was killing the other two women as to what it all meant, Greenlee more so than Kendall which was not all that unusual.

Greenlee decided to let it go for now and ask about something else. "So, what's going on with the possible new client?"

"To be honest, you probably know as much as I do."

"Jack said he'll be in town this week."

"Yes, he will. We'll get to finally meet the infamous Brady Meyers on Thursday."

/

A/N: I'm honestly not sure how I feel about how I ended this chapter, but I'm pretty distracted today. I found out this morning that a friend from college lost her long battle with cancer leaving behind her husband and two sons. It made it hard to focus and write after that so I left it here rather than push myself when my heart just wasn't in it today. I hope you understand. See you soon.