A/N: Thanks again for continuing to read, review, and follow! I appreciate it and all of you. I hope you all had a Happy New Year, and welcome to 2016! I'm sorry for the late post. The holidays got in the way of writing somewhat. I noticed that some of the later reviews are not posting on this site, but I am getting an email notification for them and am able to read them that way. Hopefully, they will fix whatever bug is causing this. I would like to formally thank Jen for the question that led to this storyline. You just never know what's going to send my brain down a particular path. Now, I have to travel for work this coming week. In fact, I have a 6:30am flight in the morning. I don't know how much writing I will be able to do so there may not be an update next week. I'm sorry, but I wanted to give you a heads up now. This chapter picks up where the last one left off. Hope you enjoy this update!

/

Miranda yawned before she spoke. "Gabby and I had something we wanted to ask you, and didn't wanna do it around AJ."

Marissa pulled Gabby onto her lap as she wondered what her daughters could possibly have on their minds that they didn't want their brother to know about. "Okay. What do you want to know?"

"Should we call Krystal 'grandma'?"

Jessica choked on her coffee while Marissa looked like a deer caught in the headlights. The redhead definitely did not see that question coming, and any remnants of sleep had instantly vanished. She was kicking herself for getting up early and for letting Bianca sleep in because she could sure as hell use her now. When she thought about it, Marissa supposed she shouldn't be surprised but damn if she wasn't. It also made sense to her now why they didn't want to have this conversation with AJ around.

"Ma?"

Marissa shook her head not realizing she had been lost in her own thoughts. "Huh? Oh, I'm sorry. Why … Why do you ask? What brought this on?"

"I've thought about asking you this for a while but just never did. At the wedding though, well do you remember Nikki?"

"Nikki?" Marissa searched her memory. "Oh, she's one of Aya's cousins, right?"

Miranda nodded. "Uh huh. Gabby and I were talking to her. And she's just like us."

"What do you mean?"

"Her mom's divorced, but she got married again a couple of years ago. Not only did she get a new dad, but she also got a new brother. So, she has another grandma because of that. It's kind of like us with Krystal. She calls her 'grandma'. It got us to thinking if we should do the same with Krystal."

"Huh." Marissa could definitely see the logic behind Miranda's question. At the same time, the redhead was pretty damn sure that their family's situation was nothing like that of Miranda's new friend. When she thought about it, Marissa couldn't think of anyone else whose situation was exactly like theirs. Marissa knew she needed to come up with answer for her daughters, but she didn't want to have this discussion without Bianca. It was too important. Thankfully, she was about to get a reprieve in the form of her oldest son.

"Mornin'."

Marissa chuckled. AJ had some serious bedhead going on. "Morning, Buddy. You're up early."

"My stomach woke me up."

"It did, huh?"

"Yep. It was growling."

Jessica grinned at the boy's response. She also could see the relief in Marissa's eyes knowing that AJ's entrance had bought her some time. "I think someone's hungry."

"I think you're right. How does pancakes sound to everyone?"

Eyes lit up at the redhead's question, and all three kids nodded happily.

"Pancakes it is then. Go wash up, and I'll get started on them." As the kids started to leave the kitchen, Marissa called out to the girls. "We'll finish our talk later, okay?"

"Okay, Ma." Miranda smiled glad that it hadn't been forgotten.

When the women were alone, Jessica glanced at the redhead. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not sure. I wasn't expecting that question from them. I guess I probably should've been at some point, but I wasn't. That was a hell of a wakeup call. I'm going to have to talk to Bianca before the girls corner me again."

"Well, I can help keep them distracted for you." Jessica offered.

"That would be great. Thank you."

/

Zach stumbled into the kitchen and couldn't hide his surprise at seeing Greenlee there that early in the morning. The man could tell he had walked in on an intense conversation but had no idea what they were the discussing. He gave Kendall a questioning look, and she shook her head in reply. Getting the hint, Zach poured himself a cup of coffee and left the two friends alone to talk with his wife giving him a grateful smile before he left.

"How long have you been thinking about this?" Kendall asked.

"For a while."

"And you've talked with Ryan?"

"Not yet."

"Greenlee."

"I know. Trust me, I know I need to talk to him, but I needed to think it through myself before I brought it up with him. It's big, and I wanted to be sure of it myself first. I knew I could talk to you and get your honest opinion. So, what do you think? Am I completely nuts?" Greenlee asked as she bit her lip nervously.

"Not completely nuts." Kendall smiled. Her words having the desired effect and getting a smile from her friend. "I think you really need to talk to Ryan, but I also think it's one of your better ideas."

"Really? You're not just saying that?"

"Really, and I'm not just saying that. I think it's great and so are you. There's one other person that you might want to talk to after you talk with Ryan."

"Who?"

"Marissa. I think she could give you some insight that no one else could. Plus, this is right up her alley, and I'm guessing you don't want to bring Jack in on this."

Greenlee thought for a moment. "Not yet. I know he would be more than willing to help, but I don't want him involved, at least not yet. You're right about Marissa. It is kind of her specialty. Do you think she would help?"

Kendall nodded. "Red? Do you really have to ask? Of course she would, in a heartbeat."

"Okay. I'll talk to her in a couple of days, after I talk with Ryan. Thank you for listening." Greenlee said gratefully.

"Any time." Kendall squeezed her best friend's hand.

/

"What?" Bianca wasn't sure she had heard her wife correctly. After they had finished breakfast, the couple headed back to their bedroom under the guise of changing their clothes. Once they were alone behind closed doors, Marissa dropped the bombshell of a question from their daughters on Bianca.

"Miranda and Gabby asked if they should call Krystal 'grandma'."

"That's what I thought you said. Damn." Bianca sat back on their bed.

Marissa sat next to her wife. "I know. Woke me up."

"I'm sure it did." Bianca glanced at her wife. "I think I know what my response is, but I want to know yours."

"My initial thoughts?" Marissa paused. She had been thinking of nothing else since Miranda asked her that question and had had a hard time keeping her focus during breakfast. "No, I don't think they should call her that. I know that Krystal has been very supportive of us, and that she helped get us together."

"I'm sensing a 'but'."

Marissa smiled. "But it just doesn't feel right to me to have them call her that. She put you through hell when she helped keep Miranda from you and let you believe that she was dead. I know you have forgiven her which is beyond amazing to me, and I'm trying to do the same, still. To have Miranda call Krystal 'grandma' after that? No. No, I can't encourage that. I won't encourage that. It's just wrong to me. And your Mom? Oh my gosh, can you imagine how Erica would feel? I know they get along better than they used to, and I know Erica does it for our sake. She would lose her mind though, and I can't blame her. I also couldn't do that to Erica, couldn't hurt her like that. Your Mom has been nothing short of wonderful to me. I just can't support something that I know will hurt her. More than anything else though, I have a feeling that this could bring up some painful memories for you, and I will simply not allow for that to happen."

Bianca squeezed her wife's hand. "I know you won't. I had a feeling that you would feel that way."

"You know me pretty well. How do you feel?"

"I don't want the girls to call her that either. You're right about it hurting Mom. I know she says she doesn't want to be called 'grandma', but I think that she might be changing her mind about that."

"You think so too, huh?" Marissa asked with a smile. She had noticed some changes in her mother-in-law, and the diva's resolve to not have the moniker of 'grandma' seemed to have weakened considerably since Danny's birth.

"Yeah, I really do. Mom does tolerate Krystal for us, but she wouldn't be able to tolerate Miranda and Gabby calling her that. I know it's how she would feel, and I wouldn't be able to fault her for that either. For as much as Krystal did to me though, I am grateful to her."

"Grateful? For what?" Marissa asked in disbelief.

"Well, if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have you, AJ, or Danny, and I can't imagine my life without any of you." Bianca kissed her wife sweetly.

"Ditto. But …"

"But for as grateful as I am for the three of you, I have to admit that it wouldn't feel quite right for me to have the girls, especially Miranda, call her that. You may be right that it could open up some old wounds for me. It was an extremely painful time for me."

There wasn't anything Marissa could say to that. To say 'I know' wouldn't be right because she hadn't gone through what Bianca had so she didn't truly know. However, the redhead could feel and see the depth of her wife's pain. Marissa did the only thing she knew to do when moments like this happened, she simply pulled Bianca into her arms and held her as tight as she could. Miranda and Gabby had no idea how what they thought was a simple question would affect Bianca. If they did, they wouldn't have asked because they wouldn't purposefully hurt her for the world.

After a few minutes, Bianca broke the silence. "I'm okay. Thank you."

"Are you sure?"

Bianca nodded. "I am, really."

"Okay. You know you don't need to thank me, but you're welcome."

The brunette rested her head on Marissa's shoulder and sighed. Bianca hated when those memories would rear their ugly head, but she was grateful she had Marissa to help her through them. Without telling her, her wife seemed to know what Bianca needed when that happened. She didn't coddle her or tell her she knew what Bianca was going through. That was something the brunette was grateful for because no one knew, and Bianca wouldn't wish that pain on anyone, particularly her wife. No, Marissa listened when she needed her to and more often than not, held her, giving her that extra strength to not let those memories consume her. Bianca never knew what might set off those dark memories. This time, it happened to be an innocent question from her daughters that was the cause. Bianca didn't blame them however because she knew that they no idea of its ramifications. What she and Marissa needed to do now was figure out what to say to their daughters while not letting them know the pain it had caused. "So, what do we say to the girls?"

/

"Girls, your Ma told me what you asked her this morning." Bianca and Marissa had settled down next to each other in the family room with Miranda and Gabby later that afternoon while Jessica and AJ took Max for a nice long walk. The couple agreed that it didn't feel right to them for the girls to call Krystal 'grandma', but they didn't want to influence Miranda's and Gabby's decision. The girls needed to be comfortable with what they decided, and if it meant they started calling her 'grandma', they would deal with it somehow. Seeing the matching expressions on her daughters' faces, Bianca rushed to reassure them. "We just wanted to talk about it. That's all."

"Okay." Both girls nodded.

"I guess your Mom and I have two questions for you. Do you want to call Krystal that or do you think you should?" Marissa asked.

Gabby looked to her big sister to answer for them. Truth be told, she was okay either way.

Miranda thought for a moment. "Well, I'm not really sure."

"All right. Maybe your Ma and I can help you figure it out. Sound good?"

Miranda nodded. "Yeah, it does. Okay. Well, AJ calls her grandma. Sometimes, it feels like we should too. I mean, he also calls Aunt Kendall the same that we do. So, maybe we should because of that. But …"

"But what, Mimo?" Marissa asked when Miranda stopped talking.

"Well, you don't call her 'mom'."

"No, I don't."

"Why?" Gabby asked.

"Well, Monkey, she didn't raise me. My Mom and Dad, Roy and Lydia, did. I didn't meet Krystal until just a few years ago, and I was an adult then. When I stop and think about it, it just doesn't feel right to me if I call her that."

"She gave you up when you were a baby. That bothers you some still, doesn't it?" Miranda asked.

Marissa sighed and glanced at Bianca. Their oldest daughter was very perceptive and had a long memory. The redhead remembered a conversation she and Miranda had a couple of years ago when Reese was in town. That visit brought up some painful memories and doubts in the girl. It left her wondering if something was wrong with her and that maybe she wasn't good enough for Reese to want to stay in her life. This was, sadly, something the redhead could relate to, and Marissa and Miranda had a heart to heart during which she assured the girl that there was nothing wrong with her. Marissa knew better than to lie to Miranda.

"Yeah, it does sometimes but not as much as it used to."

"Do you think you'll ever call her that?"

"I don't know for sure, but probably not. Krystal understands and hasn't pushed me to do so."

Bianca could see her oldest daughter was processing what Marissa said and decided to wait.

Miranda nodded and continued. "I can tell Krystal and Grandma Erica don't really like each other. They act like they do sometimes though and try and get along at Christmas and our birthdays and other things like that, but I can tell it's hard for them to do."

The mothers glanced at each other. Neither knew what to say to that. Miranda was dead on in her assessment of the two older women's relationship. The couple also made a mental note of how she addressed Erica. All of the kids had taken to calling the diva 'Grandma Erica' when she wasn't around. To date, none of them had slipped in front of her, although Ian had come close once.

"Why is that?"

There was not a chance in hell of Bianca telling her daughter the complete reason so she decided to go with a vague answer. "Something happened a long time ago between them, and it makes it hard for them to get along sometimes. That is between them though. You're right that they're trying, and the reason for that is you guys."

"She's right. You're making them grow up and learn to behave themselves." Marissa added with a smile, and her comment made the girls giggle which is exactly what the redhead had hoped for because she felt the mood needed to be lightened a little.

"So, should we call her grandma or not?" Gabby asked her mothers.

"We can't tell you that, sweetie. What feels right to you?" Bianca wanted nothing more than to tell them what to do, and she knew Marissa felt the same way. They couldn't though, as much as they wanted to.

Gabby looked to her big sister. "Mimo?"

Miranda sat back and thought. She knew there was more to the story of what was going on between Erica and Krystal than what her mothers had told them. Something told her that she wasn't going to get it from either any time soon though. Miranda may have been young, but she had been through a lot in her short life. In that time, the young brunette had become sensitive to things that concerned Bianca. Something was telling her that her Mom wasn't okay with calling Krystal that for some reason, that something had happened there. It had to have been pretty big too because Bianca was the most caring person that she knew. If Miranda had learned anything from Marissa in the time they had known each other, it was to trust her instincts or go with her gut. Not only were her instincts telling her that Bianca didn't like it and had good reasons to feel that way, they were also telling her that it didn't sit well with Marissa either. While Miranda didn't know exactly what was going on with Bianca, she did know a little about what had happened to Marissa, and she didn't like it, not one bit. Miranda couldn't wrap her head around the fact that Krystal gave Marissa up but kept her other daughter. She knew that still hurt her redheaded mother some no matter what she said, and again, Miranda was anything but okay with that. Finally, there was her Grandma Erica whom the young brunette adored. She had heard what some people said about the diva, but Erica doted on her grandchildren and would do anything for them including fighting tooth and nail for them. No one messed with Erica Kane's family, no one. Taking all of that into account, Miranda made up her mind. Krystal was always nice to her and Gabby, and she was their brothers' biological grandma. The young brunette would continue to be nice to her and would encourage Gabby to as well because their mothers would tell them that was the right thing to do, and she agreed with that. Miranda decided, however, to go with her gut.

"I don't think we should call her 'grandma', Gabby." Miranda turned to her mothers. "Is that okay with you?"

Marissa saw the relief in Bianca's eyes as she squeezed her hand. "If that's what you think, we're good with it."

Bianca nodded. "She's right, we are. Is that okay with you, Gabby?"

Gabby just nodded. She trusted Miranda's opinion. If her sister thought that was for the best, then so did she. "Yeah."

"Okay then. What do the two of you say to a movie?" Bianca asked. Seeing both girls nod, the brunette continued. "Mimo, you get to pick."

It was a no-brainer for Miranda. "Let's watch 'Inside Out'."

"Sounds good to me. We can watch it as soon as Jessica and AJ get back from their walk with Max."

"Ma, could you make us some popcorn?"

Marissa chuckled. "Of course, I can. B, would check on Danny while I get started on that? He should be ready to get up from his nap."

"I will be more than happy to. Don't forget the butter."

"Like I ever would." Marissa gave her wife a quick kiss while the girls hunted for the DVD in question.

Bianca smiled as she headed upstairs. She was beyond relieved with Miranda's decision and that the mini crisis had been averted.

/

Greenlee checked the time, again. She didn't know why exactly. If she had to guess, she would say it was because she was anxious. It had been several days since her conversation with Kendall. In that time, she and Ryan had had an intense heart to heart talk. It was that discussion that led her to where she was today, at the Bistro and waiting for Marissa.

"Hey. Am I late?"

"No, I'm just really early. Thanks for agreeing to meet me here." Greenlee said gratefully.

"It's no problem. It's been a while since we've been able to get together." Marissa reassured her friend.

A server appeared and took their drink orders.

Not sure of where or how to start, Greenlee opted for what she thought would be small talk to ease her way into the topic she really wanted to discuss. "How is everyone? The kids doing okay?"

"Everyone's good. Bianca and I had a surprise the other day. Miranda and Gabby asked us if they should call Krystal 'grandma'."

"Seriously? Where did that come from?"

"A new friend they made at Aya and Kate's wedding had them thinking about it."

"Wow. How's Bianca? That couldn't have been an easy conversation for either of you."

"Luckily, they asked me first, and I was able to talk with her before the girls. It was hard for her and brought up some painful memories for her, but you know Bianca. She's was one of the strongest people I know."

"That she is. What about you?"

"What about me?"

"It couldn't have been easy for you either." Greenlee said.

Marissa sighed. "It wasn't, but I'm okay."

"So, how did it go, talking to the girls?"

"It actually went pretty well. As much as we didn't want to, we left it up to them since they needed to be comfortable with it. I think Gabby would've been okay with whatever was decided. Miranda was the one who needed to talk things through, and the one who made the final decision."

"Which was?" Greenlee asked.

"To keep things as they are now."

"So no Grandma Krystal for the girls."

"Nope. I can't tell you how relieved we were."

"I'm sure. Ooh, I can only imagine how Erica would've reacted to hearing the girls, especially Miranda, call Krystal 'grandma'."

"Yeah, that makes two of us. You know it wouldn't have been pretty."

The server returned with their drinks and informed them of the day's lunch specials before leaving to give them a few minutes to decide.

Marissa looked up from her menu to Greenlee. She could tell there was something on her friend's mind. "So, when are you going to tell me what's up? What's on your mind?"

Greenlee sighed and put the menu she had been studying down. "There is something I want to talk to you about."

"As a friend or a lawyer?"

"I'm thinking both. We could've met at your office, but the odds are good that …"

"Jack would see you and start asking questions that you maybe don't want to answer at least just yet."

"Yeah, pretty much." Greenlee took a deep breath and was just about to start when Marissa's cellphone interrupted her.

Marissa did a quick glance at the device to see who it was. "Go ahead. It's just Brooke. I can talk to her later."

"No, go ahead and answer."

"Are you sure?"

Greenlee nodded. "Positive."

"Okay." Marissa answered the call. "Hi, Brooke. Wait. What?"

/

A/N: Okay, I just didn't feel that Krystal, given everything she had done to Bianca and Miranda, deserved to be called 'grandma' by the girls. It just feels wrong to me so they're not going to call her that. See you soon!