A/N: Thanks for continuing to read, review, and follow! I really appreciate it. I'm sorry for not posting last week. My friend's move was pushed back and ended up happening then. I also had a bit of a writer's block that I had to push through. I really hate those things. They can be a bitch. On the upside, I did push through it, and you all get a longer chapter as a result. This chapter picks up where the last one left off. Hope you enjoy this update! Oh, Happy Halloween, ghouls and goblins!

/

"I've never started anything with her! It's always been her! Marissa is the one that always does!"

"Marissa is the one that always does what?"

The three women turned around slowly.

Veronica's eyes grew wide with excitement. "Oh my god! It's Erica Kane!"

The diva smiled at the excited younger woman. "Hello. You seem to have me at a disadvantage. You know my name, but I don't know yours."

"You want to know my name?! Seriously? Oh my god! Uh … Veronica! My name is Veronica!"

"It is nice to meet you, Veronica."

"I … I'm … I'm a huge fan, Ms. Kane. I just think you're amazing."

"Thank you, and please, call me Erica. It's always lovely to hear from my fans. I wouldn't be where I am without all of you. And who are your friends?"

Veronica's eyes grew wide. She couldn't believe that not only was she meeting and talking to the Erica Kane, but the icon just told her to call her by her first name. It was almost too much for her to process. "Oh, I'm sorry. I completely forgot my manners. My mom won't let me hear the end of it if she finds that out. She is so going to freak out when I tell her I met you. Um, sorry. This is my best friend Carla."

Carla smiled at Veronica. Her friend was definitely awestruck, and she had to admit that she was a little herself. Erica Kane was famous, and not only was she the most famous person that had ever been to Devon, she was also the most famous person that Carla had ever met. "Hello, Ms. Kane. It's a pleasure to meet to you, and welcome to Devon."

"Thank you. And like I told Veronica, please, call me Erica."

Shelly stepped forward and abruptly cut Veronica off just as she was getting ready to introduce her. As she thrust herself towards Erica, she effectively shoved Carla out of the way. "Erica, hello. I'm Shelly Griffin Hines, grand marshal of Devon's Winterfest 2015, and on behalf of the citizens of Devon, I'd like to welcome you to our fair town."

Erica recognized the name immediately but gave no indication of doing so. On the outside, she kept her expression neutral, but on the inside, she began to size up the woman in front of her. The diva was all too familiar with individuals like Shelly. They were the kind that would smile to your face, but as soon as your back was turned, they would talk about you, spread lies, plot, and sharpen their knives as they prepared to stab you in the back. Erica was used to this, and ordinarily, she wouldn't give someone like Shelly a second thought. What made this time different however was the fact that the other woman had gone after Marissa. Erica knew all about what Shelly had said and done at the high school reunion. Bianca had told her, and she'd also told her what she had done in retaliation. Erica was both amused and proud of her daughter and the way she had handled things. With that said however, the diva hadn't forgotten what Shelly had done. Her memory was long, and slights, grudges, and attacks against her and her loved ones were never truly forgotten or forgiven. They were simply filed it away in case happenstance offered her the opportunity to rectify the situation. Opportunity was clearly knocking for Erica now.

"Yes, well, as I said to Carla when she welcomed me just a moment ago, thank you. You mentioned my daughter-in-law as I approached. What about Marissa?"

Shelly immediately started to stutter. "Uh … Uh … She … well, you see … Marissa is uh …"

Carla sighed and shook her head. She never had a problem with Marissa. In fact, she really like the redhead. Carla remembered how Marissa handed Shelly her ass during the trial their senior year as well as the way she stood up for Jo at the pool. She knew exactly what happened that day because she was just a few feet away from Shelly and Marissa when the redhead rightfully slugged the other woman. Carla couldn't believe the ugly things Shelly had said to Jo. Before she could say anything to her though, Marissa stepped forward, and without giving it a second thought, she defended her best friend and did what a lot of people had been wanting to do for quite some time. Once she got out of the pool, Shelly immediately ran to report what happened. Of course what she reported wasn't the entire truth. In her version, Shelly was completely innocent, and Marissa's attack was unprovoked. Carla, like everyone else there, knew that Marissa could be suspended or worse expelled if the administrators accepted Shelly's version. She, like everyone else there, couldn't, or more importantly wouldn't let that happen. Thus, their wall of silence was built. Shelly hadn't seen how close Carla was to her at the pool so she didn't push too hard to get her to back up her story. Plus, at that point in time, not that many people were talking to Shelly because not many could tolerate her. Time had mellowed Shelly out some, but that all changed when she saw Marissa at the reunion. Just when things calmed down again, Marissa and her family returned to Devon for Winterfest. Carla did not like confrontations and really didn't want to have one with Erica Kane while her own family was close by so she stepped in to hopefully distract the diva.

"I was a little surprised to see Marissa here for Winterfest. We really haven't had a chance to talk yet, but I heard the trip was a surprise for her. Your daughter arranged it?"

"Yes, she did."

"That was very thoughtful of her."

Veronica nodded. Like Carla, she really liked Marissa, and she was growing very tired of Shelly. "I got the feeling that she was like that at the reunion, when Marissa was pregnant. Bianca really doted on her. It was very sweet, and it was good to see Marissa so happy."

"It was. She deserves it." Carla agreed. "Cory has told us that Marissa is a very successful lawyer too. That really doesn't surprise me."

"Me either. She did a great job with our mock trial back in high school." Veronica ignored the glare Shelly shot her way. Frankly, she didn't care what Shelly thought anymore. High school was a lifetime ago, and she needed to get over it. Besides, Marissa really did kick Shelly's ass, and she did it fair and square.

As she witnessed the interplay between Carla and Veronica, Erica could tell the two women were being sincere. This was, in part, because the diva was an excellent judge of character. She could also easily see how much them talking about Marissa in such glowing terms bothered Shelly. "Thank you both. I couldn't agree with you more when it comes to my daughter and daughter-in-law. They really do make each other happy. As for Marissa, she is an excellent attorney. Oh, and Jo and Cory have told all of us about that trial and her first legal victory." Erica saw Shelly struggle to maintain her temper, and she smiled inwardly at the knowledge of just how easy it would be to provoke the other woman. The diva would definitely keep this in mind. "Is everything all right?"

Shelly cleared her throat and gritted her teeth. "Yes, it's fine. Everything is just fine."

"Good. Speaking of my daughter and daughter-in-law, have any of you seen them?"

"Oh, they're right over there by the skating rink." Carla offered and pointed to where Bianca and Marissa were with their kids. The family was laughing, and it was easy to see they were having a good time.

Erica actually already knew where they were. She and Jack had spotted them as soon as the skating rink had come into view. As they were headed over to them, Erica had overheard Marissa's name being bandied about by the trio of women before her now. This had the diva alter her direction while she sent Jack on ahead to their family. Her husband knew better than to question her, but he did elicit a promise from her to call out for assistance if it was needed

"Ah yes, there they are! Thank you. I suppose I should get over there before they send out a search party for me."

"It was an honor meeting you, Erica. I really enjoyed talking with you. Would it be too much to ask for a picture with you?" Veronica asked hopefully.

"I don't see why not."

"Could I be included?"

"Of course you can, Carla!"

"Excellent! Thank you!"

"Shelly, would you be a dear and take it?" Erica asked sweetly. She knew the other woman would hate it.

"Oh, good idea. Here's my cellphone, and it's all ready for you to take the picture." Carla handed her cellphone over to Shelly.

Veronica quickly handed her cellphone over as well. "Oh mine too! Thanks!"

Erica had to bite back a chuckle when she heard what could only be described as a growl come from Shelly. The sound fell on deaf ears however just as the glares she shot her friends went unnoticed or simply weren't acknowledged.

Shelly grit her teeth and took the pictures. She was absolutely seething on the inside.

Carla and Veronica were thrilled with the pictures and thanked Erica.

"You're very welcome. Perhaps we'll run into each other again before we leave."

"That would be awesome. I know my mom would love to meet you. She's an even bigger fan than me if you can believe it." Veronica said.

Erica patted the younger woman's arm. "Let's hope we can make that happen then. Have a lovely day." As the diva turned to walk away, she heard Shelly mutter something under her breath that she couldn't quite make out, but she knew that whatever it was that Shelly said wasn't the least bit nice. Erica quickly turned back. "I didn't quite catch that. What were you saying?"

Shelly flushed under the intensity of the diva's gaze. She didn't think there had been any way that Erica could have heard her. So like any bully when they were confronted, she backed down immediately. "Not … nothing. I … I was just clearing my throat. I think I might be coming down with something."

"Hmmm. You should have that checked." With that, Erica walked away.

/

"Uh, Bianca, what's your Mom up to?" Jo asked as she, like everyone else in their party, watched the conversation between Erica and Shelly.

"I'm not quite sure."

"Shelly's still breathing, for the moment." Kendall smirked.

Cory laughed. "True, but she is not looking happy. Oh my gosh! Carla and Veronica are having her take their picture with Erica! Shelly's got to be dying inside. This is too good."

"Have you talked to your Mom any today?" Marissa asked in a whisper.

Bianca shook her head. She knew what her wife was really asking. "No, I haven't talked to her since we left Pine Valley. I haven't told her anything about Fitz."

"All of you really need to relax. Erica has this." Jack said with a smile. He had decided not to tell the others that he and Erica had heard the trio of women mention Marissa by name. Jack trusted his wife, and if she said she had it under control, then she did. Besides, Erica had handled far bigger threats than this Shelly person. "See. Here she comes now, and everyone seems to be in one piece."

Erica greeted the group with a bright smile. "Good morning! How is everyone?"

"Good morning, Mom. Is everything okay?" Bianca asked as she hugged her mother.

"Of course it is, sweetheart. Why do you ask?"

Marissa wasn't buying Erica's nonchalant attitude. "She's asking because of who you were talking to over there."

"Oh them. Veronica and Carla are very lovely and had very nice things to say about you, dear."

"They've always been pretty nice to me, despite Shelly trying to convince them to be otherwise. Nice touch having Shelly take your picture. I'm sure she loved that."

"I'm quite sure she did." Erica smiled at the sarcasm in her daughter-in-law's voice.

Kendall shook her head and chuckled. "Mom is so toying with Shelly."

"Yes, she is, and we have a front row seat for it. We need some popcorn. Ooh, a booth over there has kettle corn! Even better! I'll be right back." Greenlee grinned as she headed over to the booth.

/

"I can't even believe the two of you!" Shelly glared at her two so-called friends before she stalked off.

Carla and Veronica looked at each other and shrugged.

"My mom is going to freak when she hears that I met Erica Kane!"

"Guess what my new profile picture on Facebook is going to be!"

"Oh my god! Yes! I'm so going to do that too!" Veronica shared her photo on Facebook and immediately started getting likes and comments. "So, do you think we should go talk to her?"

Carla checked the time and sighed. The parade would be starting shortly. "Yeah, we probably should. She's had a couple of minutes to cool down so it's hopefully safe by now. Come on. She was headed over to the ladies' room."

/

Marissa rocked a suddenly fussy Danny in attempt to calm him down. "What's wrong, Sparky?" A quick check of his diaper answered that question. "Wow. I think I'd be fussy too. I'm going to go change our little guy, B."

"Okay. We can go get some lunch when you get back."

"The parade will be starting soon so that sounds good."

"I'll come with you, Red. Lexie could use a change too." Kendall said as she approached with her daughter.

As the pair began to leave, Jo and Greenlee decided to join them.

/

With the exception of three stalls being occupied, the building where the public ladies' restrooms were housed was empty. When the small contingent entered, they noted that an ongoing conversation was taking place among those in the stalls. Marissa and Kendall shared the changing table and got straight to work on easing the discomfort of their youngest children. Jo and Greenlee each had their attention piqued by the conversation that was taking place. It was soon evident, at least to Marissa and Jo, who was talking, and the four women decided to keep their presence unknown, for the moment.

"I can't believe the two of you! What kind of friends are you? Oh, Erica, you're the best. I'm your biggest fan. You're simply amazing. My mom loves you. I love you. This is the best day of my life. Could I have your autograph? Could I get my picture taken with you?" Shelly mocked mercilessly.

The occupants of two of the stalls flushed, and when they exited, they were silently greeted by the other women. The group from Pine Valley had heard the pair's defense so they didn't have any quarrel with them. No, their quarrel was reserved for the woman in the other stall.

Carla and Veronica exchanged glances with their high school friends and finally decided that enough was enough. They had listened to Shelly rant and mock them for the last half an hour, and they were done. The pair washed their hands and started to leave. Carla stopped at the door and gave one last comment.

"As usual, you're exaggerating. I honestly don't see why you have a problem, Shelly. Erica Kane is probably the biggest celebrity that any of us will ever meet. And you know what's great about it? She's one of us. She's from Pennsylvania and didn't grow up with a lot of money."

"Carla's right. Erica is a self-made woman and a role model to women everywhere. She's an example of what you can achieve if you don't give up. I'm not ashamed to say that I'm a huge fan and so is my mom." Veronica added sincerely. "Erica was gracious and as nice as she could possibly be to us, and she didn't have to be. She didn't do or say anything negative to you so I don't understand why you're being like this, why you have a problem with her."

"You cannot be serious! She's Marissa's mother-in-law! That fact is reason enough!"

The two friends shook their heads and left Shelly to continue to dig her own grave.

"She has been a thorn in my side for years. I was finally rid of her and had some peace when she left town, but then, she just had to come back and bring all of those other people with her, including Jo. Now, they're parading around town like they own the damn place. I'm so sick of all of them. Oh and Erica Kane as a role model? Please! Give me a damn break! Erica Kane is not relevant anymore. She's washed up and is nothing but a has-been. She's a drunk and everybody knows it."

Marissa had finished changing Danny by this time and was planning her next move. Kendall finished with Lexie right after Marissa and exchanged a look with Greenlee. Both women were just aching to give Shelly a piece of their minds. Jo stood next to Marissa and glared at the stall door. That thin metal door was the only thing saving Shelly from being ripped to shreds at the moment. A plan quickly formed in the redhead's mind, and she steered the other three women towards the door. Once they were outside, she handed Danny to Greenlee.

/

"What are you doing?"

"I need you to take Danny, and then I need you and Kendall stay out here."

"No. That's not going to happen. We're not going to stand by and let her say all that crap." Greenlee whispered angrily.

"Damn straight we're not. We're going …"

"No, you're not, Kendall, and neither are you, Greenlee." Marissa took a breath. "Greenlee, you're trying to adopt a child. You get in any trouble, like I know you want to right now, and you can kiss those chances goodbye. As your lawyer and, more importantly, as your friend, I can't, in good conscience, let you do that. As for you, Kendall, you're still recovering from having Lexie and all of the recent issues you've had with your heart. I can't let you jeopardize your health."

Neither Kendall nor Greenlee could argue with her reasoning. They knew she was right, and they absolutely hated it.

"We can't do nothing. The way she's talking about Mom, about you, it's wrong, and we can't let her keep doing it."

"I know, and I'm not going to let her get away with it. Trust me. She doesn't get to talk about my family like that and get away with it. Let me handle this."

"Don't worry. Marissa won't be alone. I'm staying." Jo turned and looked her best friend in the eye as she spoke. "You would have to drag me away kicking and screaming. We got this."

Marissa shook her head and smiled. "Okay. You made your point. Jo and I will handle this. Don't forget, I owe Shelly from earlier this year."

"Fine, but we're staying right here. We'll be there in an instant if you need us." Greenlee said determined.

Kendall reluctantly agreed. "Deal. Now, go kick her ass."

After Marissa and Jo disappeared back inside, Kendall pulled out her cellphone.

"You're texting Bianca, right?"

"Yep."

/

Marissa and Jo quietly stepped back inside the ladies' restroom and saw that Shelly was still in one of the stalls and still ranting. The friends glanced at each other and rolled their eyes. Without exchanging a word, they moved into position. Marissa leaned against a sink while Jo stood by the door. While the doctor wanted nothing more than to rip into Shelly, she knew this was Marissa's show, and she was there to make sure they weren't interrupted. Her friend hadn't been able to let Shelly have it at the reunion because she was pregnant at the time, and Bianca had made her promise to control her temper in an effort to keep her blood pressure in check. They didn't want to jeopardize the baby's health. Now however, there was nothing to hold Marissa back.

"You know, I'm going to have to talk to Fitz and the city council. I think this outfit should become the standard for grand marshals from now on. It was a true stroke of genius on my part to come up with this. I'd like to see Erica Kane top this. I just don't get why people think she is a fashion icon. She really doesn't have a clue about what is truly in style. I'll admit that this might have cost a bit, but you have to spend the money to look good. And I do look good!" Shelly gloated as she unlocked the stall door. Her eyes grew wide, her face drained of all of its color, and her smug expression vanished the instant she saw Marissa.

"Hello, Shelly."

/

"Cory!"

The teacher turned to see Carla and Veronica running her way. "Hey, guys. What's up?"

Carla caught her breath first and began to speak for the pair. "We were in the ladies' room with Shelly trying to get her to calm down from earlier."

"What happened earlier?"

"Ginny told her that Marissa was pressuring Fitz to make her mother-in-law the parade's grand marshal."

"What? That's an outright lie. Fitz was trying to pressure Marissa to use her influence with Erica to get her to do it. She turned him down cold and said it wasn't right when someone else had already been promised the role. Marissa did that even after he told her that Shelly was the one who had already been asked to do it."

"We figured Ginny had it wrong and was just trying to stir up trouble. It didn't sound like something Marissa would do. You know Shelly though. There's no convincing her otherwise."

"Especially when Marissa may be involved, or there's even a hint of her involvement." Veronica added.

"So while Shelly was still in a stall changing into this ridiculous outfit she designed for the parade, she continued to rant not only about Marissa but also about Erica."

Bianca, who had just finished reading the text Kendall had sent her, had her attention drawn to the conversation between Cory and the other two women, as did several others from the Pine Valley crowd.

"During this rant, Marissa, Jo, and two other women came in and heard it. I think Marissa and one of the other women were changing their babies."

Cory nodded. "That would be her sister-in-law Kendall and one of their good friends Greenlee. So, that's when you left because you knew that Marissa would want you to?"

"Yeah, Veronica and I thought she would want to handle this by herself."

"Excuse me, but why are you telling us all of this then?" Bianca asked.

Carla winced. She hadn't noticed Marissa's wife was there. "Sorry, I didn't see you. We thought about it and figured there should probably be some witnesses. Neither of us would put it past Shelly to not make something up."

Cory agreed with Carla's assessment of the situation. "She's right, Bianca. With the whole town here, I wouldn't anything past Shelly. I could easily see her making something up to try and turn everyone against Marissa. She's tried it before."

"Well, that's not going to happen. Come on. We're going over there. Zach …"

"Don't worry. I've got the kids. You better go before Erica gets back."

With that, Bianca and Cory headed over to help Marissa. Veronica looked at Carla who nodded before they headed over as well. They were both done with Shelly and were officially switching sides.

/

Unbeknownst to the others, Erica, who had been standing off to the side with Jessica, had caught the majority of that exchange. She and Jessica had stopped in one of the shops to look at a few items and had returned just in time to overhear what was going on.

"Jessica, would you like to help me with something?"

With a smile as wicked as the one Erica was wearing, Jessica nodded. "I would love nothing more, Erica."

/

A/N: I had hoped to wrap this storyline up with this chapter, but I wouldn't have been able to post this week if I did that. Since I missed last week, I didn't want to keep you all waiting another week. One more chapter should do it. See you soon!