A/N: Thanks for continuing to read, review, and follow! I appreciate it. There have been a couple of reviews that have recently come in for "Kegs & Eggs" so I thought I would address it here. That story was originally meant to be a one shot and was marked 'complete'. Given the response to it, however, I've been convinced to write a little more for it. I don't know when I'll get to it, but there will be more. Back to this story. This chapter picks up where the last one left off. Hope you enjoy this update!
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Greenlee broke the silence and asked the one question they all had. "Why the … heck is Tammy on the news?" Greenlee had just managed to censor herself and not curse in front of the kids.
"Who the … heck knows. Turn up the volume, Binx."
Bianca did as asked, and everyone's attention was soon focused on the small screen. What they saw was Tammy being interviewed by a local reporter outside of the Pine Valley Police Station.
"This is Sydney Mendoza, and I'm here with Tammy Baldwin. Ms. Baldwin was one of the innocent bystanders who became trapped inside the courthouse yesterday when a suspected armed gunman by the name of Wesley Clayton stormed inside looking for Sierra Clayton who is his estranged wife and was at the courthouse to file a protective order against him amid claims of repeated abuse suffered at his hands."
Tammy interrupted the reporter. "I didn't know that, Sydney. That's just terrible. I know exactly how she feels. My husband is awful."
"Holy crap! She did not just say that, did she?" Greenlee exclaimed.
Marissa was already on her cellphone and calling Sofia. "Morning, Sofia. I'm sorry if I woke you up. You need to turn on Channel 12 right now. Tammy's on, and she basically just said that Doug has abused her." She heard Sofia curse on the other end of the line and then thank her before the call was disconnected so Sofia could do what was suggested. Marissa knew this claim would be a game-changer in the couple's divorce proceedings, and as such, she knew Sofia needed to be aware of it immediately. She then turned her attention back to the interview. Something in the background caught Marissa's eye, actually someone – two someones to be precise. She recognized two figures standing off to the side and listening to the interview.
"So, Ms. Baldwin, what happened inside the courthouse?" The reporter made the split second decision not to pursue any questions regarding Tammy's personal life and attempted to stay on point.
"Well, I was there for a hearing in my divorce. My husband is being completely unreasonable and doing everything in his power to harass me and make my life unbearable. I understand exactly where Ms. Clayton is coming from. It's so hard to live in constant in fear, and when you have a child, it's even worse."
After several attempts, the reporter was finally able to stop Tammy from airing her supposed grievances and actually get back to the point of the interview which was about the armed man and not Tammy. The more she talked with the other woman, the more Sydney's gut instinct was telling her something about the other woman was slightly off. "I'm told a siren sounded inside which told everyone they needed to shelter in place. Is that correct?"
"Yes, it is. I was in a group with some lawyers by a conference room. I would've thought they would have known what to do, but they seemed to freeze. So, I started directing people into the room so we could be safe."
Marissa just shook her head as she listened to Tammy twist the events so she looked like a hero. The redhead knew the other woman was digging a hole so deep that it would take a long time to climb out of it once she was called on it, and Marissa had no doubt that someone would be calling her out on it.
"It really was surprising that none of the lawyers or the courthouse staff seemed to know what to do so I jumped in and took charge. It was a good thing I did too because one of the lawyers tried to run out of there and leave the courthouse. I probably saved her when I stopped her from doing that."
"I hadn't heard about that incident. Who was that?"
Tammy paused. "I don't want to say a name and embarrass her."
"Wow. She did not just say that."
"I can't even believe her."
"What a total … witch."
Bianca looked at her wife and saw that her jaw was clenched. She knew Marissa was showing a great deal of restraint at the moment. "She knew better than to say a name."
Marissa nodded. "She did."
"Why is she lying, Ma?" Miranda asked.
"I really don't know, Mimo. She needs to tread lightly though."
"Once I got everyone in the conference room, things actually got scarier." Tammy continued to weave her tale.
"How so?"
"One of the women realized her daughter wasn't in there with us. It turns out the girl had gone to the ladies room right before the siren sounded. The woman was hysterical, and no one seemed to know what to do to calm her down. I stepped up yet again and volunteered to go get her. I know I probably should have stayed in the room because it was safer, but I just couldn't stand by and do nothing. The mother was frantic, and I could easily put myself in her shoes. So, I left and spent the remaining time with her. She was terrified. Her name was Lauren, and she reminded me of my daughter."
"That's amazing and truly brave of you. Not many people would do something like that."
"It's also a complete lie. Every word out of her mouth is a lie. Rissa was the one who did that." Bianca was furious. She wanted to reach through the screen and beat that lying bitch to within an inch of her life.
Marissa felt all eyes in the room on her, but she remained focused on the television. That's when she saw something interesting happen. The two figures that had been standing off to the side listening to the interview stepped forward.
"Excuse me."
The reporter and Tammy turned to the teenage girl who had approached them.
"Hi, I'm Sydney Mendoza with Channel 12 News."
"I know. We watch you all the time and are big fans." The girl smiled.
"That's always nice to hear. Can I help you?"
Tammy sighed loudly, like she was being put out by the interruption. "We're in the middle of an interview if you couldn't tell."
"Oh, I could tell. That's why we, my mom and me, had to say something."
"Were you at the courthouse today?" Sydney asked. Her curiosity was piqued by the girl and her mother.
"We were." The older woman who had been silent until that moment said.
"And what are your names?"
"I'm Ruth Sanders, and this is my daughter Lauren."
"Lauren? Are you the mother and daughter who were separated?"
"Yes, we are."
"Oh, that explains the interruption then. You must be happy to see this woman again."
"Not really." Lauren looked at Tammy. "I don't know who you are. I've never seen you before."
Tammy attempted to laugh off the girl's comments, but it was clear to see she was beginning to get nervous. This change did not sit well with her.
"Really? You don't remember her? This is Tammy Baldwin. She just told me that she was in the ladies room with you during the courthouse incident."
"No, she wasn't."
"Of course I was. It's just the strain of yesterday has gotten to her. She's just a little confused." Tammy tried to convince the reporter.
"I'm not confused. The woman who kept me safe is Marissa Tasker. She's a lawyer and has red hair."
"As you can tell, my daughter is not confused, and while she may not know you, I most certainly do because I was trapped in that conference room with you for roughly four hours. And, Ms. Mendoza, almost every word that has come out of her mouth has been a lie." Ruth stated calmly.
"Hot damn! I like this woman. Her name's Ruth, right? I like her. I like her a lot." Kendall laughed. She couldn't even begin to describe how relieved and happy she was that someone had called Tammy out on her lies and did it on live television.
"I couldn't agree with you more on that. I really like her daughter Lauren too. It's good to know that there are some people willing to tell us everything that happened." Jo glanced pointedly in Marissa's direction.
"Oh please. I was going to get to that part, but we got interrupted before I could."
"Would you be quiet please? I want to hear the rest of this." Erica said.
"You can't say that to me! I've been telling the truth! I demand an apology right now, and I'll sue if I don't get it!"
"That is a pretty strong claim to make, Ms. Sanders. Do you have something to back that up?" Sydney asked.
"Well, like I said before, I was in the conference room with her. What she said about taking charge and everyone else freezing? That simply didn't happen. The lawyers and court staff took charge of the situation immediately. They were the ones who directed us to safety, not her. Also, it wasn't a lawyer that tried to get out of there. It was her, and when Ms. Tasker stopped her for her own good, Ms. Baldwin pushed her to the ground. That's how Ms. Tasker got hurt."
"I wondered about that. I even asked her about it, but she didn't say." Lauren offered.
Ruth nodded. "When I looked around in the room for my daughter and didn't see her, I was so scared. It was Ms. Tasker who volunteered to find Lauren. She knew I wasn't familiar with the layout and said it would be quicker if she went. It was another lawyer, I think her name is Sofia Jackson, who stayed with me and did her best to keep me calm. I'm really grateful to her. Ms. Baldwin tried to block the door after Ms. Tasker left, and she said that no one was allowed in. Someone pointed out that Lauren and Ms. Tasker were still out there, but she said she didn't care. She said we didn't need to worry about my daughter, that she would be fine, even though she would be all by herself. As for Ms. Tasker, Ms. Baldwin said some awful things about her. I really don't want to repeat them."
"I … I … I don't need to stand here and listen to this!" Tammy stormed away.
"Well, this is certainly an interesting turn of events. What happened next?"
"Another lawyer by the name of Jordan set her straight and told her to be quiet. Everyone else agreed and didn't let her anywhere near the door."
"Lauren, what happened where you were?"
"Well, I was really scared. Marissa was great. She let me use her cellphone to text my mom since I didn't have mine with me. While I was doing that, Marissa barricaded the door so no one could get in. She did that even though I could tell something was wrong with her wrist. Now, I know what. Then, we talked. She was really easy to talk to and really helped me not be so scared."
"What did you talk about?"
"School, our families, stuff like that. I really hope I get to see her again. I want to thank her."
"I hope to see her and thank her as well. I owe her so much for keeping my daughter safe." Ruth added.
"It sounds like we have a real hero." Sydney stated and didn't receive any arguments from the mother and daughter.
"She really is." Lauren agreed with a smile.
"How are you both doing?"
"Okay. It was scary, but I'm lucky. I got my mom to help me through all of this."
"And I have my daughter. She's quite the young woman. I'm very proud of her."
"As you should be."
The interview was wrapped up, and as Ruth and Lauren began to walk away, viewers could see a police officer step forward and speak to them. They nodded and followed him back inside the police station.
"Quite an interesting turn of events. We'll be sure to follow up and keep you updated. For Channel 12 News, this is Sydney Mendoza. Back to you, Cammy." Sydney threw it back to the anchorwoman in the news studio.
/
Back at Minx Manor, everyone sat back in their seats and replayed the interview.
"What do you think Brot wanted with them?" Jo asked the others. She had recognized him as he spoke to Ruth and Lauren.
"If I had to guess, I would say that Jesse most likely caught part of Tammy's interview as well as theirs and found the differences quite interesting." Erica said.
Marissa nodded. "Yeah, I think that's it too. If Tammy talked to Jesse and told him the same story that she told Sydney, she could be in some trouble. I also have a feeling that Jesse's going to be asking me about it." The redhead was interrupted by the family's home phone ringing.
"Care to take any bets on who that is and what they want?" Greenlee asked knowingly.
Jessica sighed. She, like the others, knew it was the press and that they were wanting a comment from Marissa. "That didn't take them very long, now did it?"
"Who is it, Mom?" Gabby asked.
Bianca looked at the caller id and verified that it was one of the local television stations. "It's reporters. They want to talk your Ma."
"Because of what that woman and her daughter said?"
"Yep." Bianca hit the talk button on the phone when it stopped ringing and left it on so whoever called would either get sent directly to voicemail or get a busy signal.
"Ma, did you really do what they said you did?"
Marissa nodded. "I did, Miranda. I had to help. When Ruth told me her daughter was all by herself, I had to do something. You see, her mom wasn't familiar with the courthouse so she didn't know where the ladies room was. It was quicker for me to go find her because it would've taken too long to tell her how to get there. I had to go because I couldn't leave her by herself. It was the right thing to do. I also thought about the three of you. If any of you were in that situation, I hope that someone would do the same thing and help you."
"They're right. You are a hero, Ma." AJ said proudly and hugged Marissa.
Gabby nodded and hugged her redheaded mother too. "I'm proud of you, Ma."
"So am I. You did the right thing." Miranda added and hugged Marissa as well.
"Thank you. I'm pretty lucky to have the three of you in my corner."
Bianca wiped away a few of the tears that had escaped as she watched her wife and children. She was pulled away from her thoughts by the ringing of her cellphone. A small smile formed when she read the caller id. "Good morning, Jesse."
The call only lasted a few minutes, and the others listened to Bianca's end of the conversation with the chief of police.
"We'll be there soon." Bianca disconnected the call and looked at her wife. "Jesse is hoping to talk to you sooner rather than later."
Marissa sighed. "I'm not surprised after that interview. I need to get a shower."
"Let me get something to wrap your cast so it doesn't get wet, and I'll be right back." Bianca turned to her family. "Could …"
"Don't worry, sweetheart, we'll watch the children." Erica assured her daughter.
"Thanks, Mom."
/
Not long after Bianca and Marissa had left for the police station, Jessica sent the kids upstairs to get dressed. Before she left the kitchen with Danny to change his clothes, she made it clear to her daughter to keep her informed of anything that was discussed and/or decided on. Jo, not wanting to keep her mother out of the loop or make her angry by not being a part of any plans, promised Jessica she would tell her everything.
Greenlee shook her head. "Just when I thought Tammy couldn't outdo herself, she goes ahead and surprises me like she did today with her latest stunt."
"Yeah, her trying to take credit for what Marissa did so she could make herself look good is a new low for the Tamster." Kendall noted.
"So, the question is what are we going to do about it?" Jo asked.
"Do you think Marissa will press assault charges against Tammy?" Erica asked. "That is something to keep in mind for whatever we decide."
"I'm not sure." Krystal paused for a moment. "What about slander? Could she sue Tammy for slander?"
"Ma said she wasn't going to press charges because it would be hard to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mrs. Baldwin meant to hurt her. She could always say that she was too scared to know what she was doing, and if she did that, it could make Mrs. Baldwin sympathetic to a jury and also make Ma look bad. As for suing her for slander, I doubt it because Mrs. Baldwin never said Ma's name." Miranda finished. She was pretty proud of herself for remembering her earlier conversation with her Ma and what she had explained to the girl about reasonable doubt.
Kendal nodded as she listened to her oldest niece. Miranda had slipped back into the kitchen unnoticed. "Miranda's right. Tammy never said Marissa's name." It took her a beat to realize it was niece providing the legal explanations and not her sister-in-law. Once she did, Kendall couldn't help but smile.
Erica chuckled at her oldest daughter's reaction and motioned for Miranda to join her, which the girl did. "You're getting much too smart for all of us. Your mothers, Marissa in particular, would be very proud of you."
"Someone has definitely been paying attention to our resident legal eagle." Greenlee smiled.
Miranda beamed proudly and then quickly turned serious. "I have a question for all of you. It's actually two questions. Who is Sarah, and what are we going to do about her?"
/
A/N: I hope this read okay for everyone. The site wasn't letting upload my Word document for some bizarre reason so I did a cut and paste.