A/N: Thanks for continuing to read, review, and follow! I appreciate it and all of you. Happy New Year! I hope this year finds all of you happy and healthy. Another year and some more Minx! You all are pretty good at guessing who was on the other end of the line. Although, I will admit that it was kind of a softball cliffhanger. This chapter picks up where the last one left off. Hope you enjoy this update!

/

Marissa walked into the master bedroom and smiled when she heard Bianca singing Christmas carols in the shower. The redhead had returned from her trip up their driveway to the main road. She had been surprised to find that their driveway had been plowed, and she had no idea by whom. As a result, Marissa had easily made it to the main road and found it to be in good condition as well. It looked like their open house was on as long as everyone felt comfortable venturing out later that day. Marissa checked the time and knew that she and Bianca would need to contact their guests shortly to give them an update. The redhead quickly changed and brushed her hair.

As she was making the couple's bed, Marissa heard Bianca's cellphone ringing. The device was still plugged into its charger from when her wife had gotten home earlier that morning. The battery was almost dead by that time so it definitely needed to be charged. Not knowing how much longer Bianca would be in the shower, Marissa decided to answer it. The couple would answer each other's cellphones if the other wasn't around.

"Merry Christmas!"

"Oh, Merry Christmas! Bianca?"

Marissa didn't recognize the woman's voice on the other end of the line, and she had to admit she was a little curious as to who was calling her wife. "No, Bianca can't come to the phone right now. This is her wife. Can I help you?"

"Oh, Marissa!"

"Yes. I'm sorry, but who is this?"

"Where are my manners? I should introduce myself. My name is Eileen McFadden."

Marissa searched her memory, and it finally hit her who the other woman was. "Eileen! Of course! How are you?"

"Actually, I'm very good. And you?"

"With Bianca safely home, I'm wonderful. I need to thank you."

"Thank me? Whatever for?"

"Keeping Bianca company on the drive from Philadelphia. She said you helped her stay awake, and she told me that she really enjoyed talking to you."

"I enjoyed talking to her as well. She is a very good listener and a lovely woman. But, I should be thanking her. In fact, that's the reason for this call. If it wasn't for Bianca, I might still very well be at the airport. Instead, thanks to Bianca, I'm spending Christmas with my granddaughter, her partner, and my exceptional great-granddaughters."

"Spoken like a true grandparent." Marissa chuckled.

"Indeed. Were your children happy to see her?"

"Oh my goodness, they were thrilled, especially Danny. He's our youngest."

"Bianca mentioned him. It's his first Christmas."

"Yes, it is. Neither one of us wanted to miss it. Thankfully, everyone was home to share it."

"How is Bianca? She has to be exhausted. I made her promise to text me when she made it home, and according to when she sent it, it was quite late."

"Yes, it was pretty late, and the kids were up early, naturally. She did manage to sleep for a few hours though. Right now, she's getting a shower. We have a few hours before people start to drop by. So, I'm hoping to convince her to take it easy until then."

"I hope that you are able to do that too. Bianca was a true godsend to me yesterday. Not only did she offer me a ride, but she listened to me and gave me some truly sage advice. She is a very special person."

"Yes, she is." Marissa responded proudly. "I'm glad she was able to help."

"She definitely did. Did she have any problems getting home after she dropped me off? Her text just said that she made it home."

Marissa didn't want to worry the other woman or make her feel guilty. "No, she didn't. She ended up following a plow truck from the exit to our house which helped her a lot with her final leg."

"Oh, that was very lucky. I can't tell you how relieved I am to hear that. I was worried that her detour taking me to my granddaughter's might have had her driving in even worse conditions. She didn't have to do that."

"Yes, she did. There was no way Bianca would have left you stranded at the airport. She did the right thing, and I'm very proud of her for doing it."

Bianca exited the bathroom as she towel-dried her hair and glanced at Marissa with a questioning look. She wondered who her wife was talking to.

"Ah, there's Bianca now. I'll give you to her. It was very nice talking to you, and thank you again."

"It was nice talking to you as well and thank you."

Marissa crossed the room and handed the cellphone to Bianca. "It's Eileen. I'm not sure who did it or when, but our driveway is plowed, and the main road looks good. So, I'm thinking we're a go for later. I'm going to check on the kids and then start making some calls. Take your time." The redhead gave her wife a quick kiss before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

Bianca briefly wondered about their driveway before she focused on her phone call. "Eileen, Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas to you as well, Bianca! I have to say that Marissa is as lovely as you said."

"Thank you! I'm definitely keeping her."

"Hmmm, I somehow don't think that was ever in question."

Bianca laughed. "You're right. It's not. How is Christmas going with your granddaughter and her family?"

"It couldn't be going any better. Lauren and Ashley have welcomed me into their home with open arms. We stayed up a little while when I got here last night and talked some, and we plan on doing that some more today. They've both said that I'm welcome to stay to as long as I want."

"I'm glad to hear that. How are your great-granddaughters?"

"Oh my, they are just the sweetest little girls. Ava is a little more outgoing than Ella, but they've both warmed up to me. I'm officially 'Nana' to them! They were just so excited to see what Santa brought them when they woke up. What about your children? Your youngest?"

"They were excited as well, especially Gabby. As for Danny, he was crawling around and seemed to be very interested in the wrapping paper, bows, and ribbon. Not that I didn't expect that. Although, he did seem to show some interest in the stuffed baby tiger we got him."

The two women continued to chat for several minutes and shared what their Christmas mornings had been like. They ended the call when Ava came looking for Nana Eileen.

"Please stay in touch, and let me know how things are going."

"I will. I haven't decided if I'm going to take Lauren and Ashley up on their offer, but I'll let you know when I do. Thank you again for rescuing me yesterday and driving me here. I will never be able to repay you. Oh, I almost forgot. Lauren wanted me to give you her thanks as well."

"You are both more than welcome. I'm glad I was able to help. And thank you for keeping me company. It really helped having you there with me. I know that the drive would've been tough if you weren't there to keep me focused and awake. Merry Christmas, Eileen!"

"Merry Christmas, Bianca!"

/

After Bianca finished her call with Eileen, she got dressed and then joined her family. When she entered the family room, the brunette found AJ, Miranda, and Gabby lobbying Marissa to go outside and check out the snow for a little while.

"You know we have people coming over soon."

Ever the negotiator, Miranda pleaded their case. "We know, but we won't be out there that long. We also promise not to get wet or dirty. That way, we won't have to clean up and change our clothes. It's Christmas snow, and everybody knows that's the best snow. So, we pretty much have to check it out."

"You're saying it's an obligation then." Marissa smirked. The redhead was fine with them going outside as long as they made sure to bundle up. In fact, she and Bianca couldn't wait to take Danny outside to explore a little himself. Marissa just liked to see what argument Miranda would come up with in her effort to persuade them.

"Yes! It's an obligation! When you get a white Christmas and you're a kid, you're obligated to go play in it."

For her part, Bianca struggled not to burst out laughing and was impressed that her wife was able to keep a straight face. It was a no-brainer that they were going to go outside so having the kids attempt to convince them was pretty amusing.

Marissa glanced up at her wife when she saw her join them out of the corner of her eye. "I don't know. What do you think, B? They are obligated."

"Well, Miranda does have a very valid point, and they promise not to get dirty. I say we let them."

"You're right, and we can take Danny outside. Plus, Max will like it too. All right, you can go."

"Yes!" AJ pumped his fist while Gabby jumped up and down excitedly and Miranda beamed.

"Bundle up, and take Max. Your Ma and I will be out in a few minutes with Danny."

AJ and Gabby ran to get their grab their coats.

Miranda turned to join her brother and sister but stopped and looked back at her mothers. The girl scrunched her face when she was struck by a thought. "You were going to let us go anyway, weren't you?"

Marissa simply shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. You'll never know for sure."

Bianca nodded towards the door. "You better go, or there won't be any untouched snow for you to get to first."

Miranda realized her Mom was right, and she grabbed her coat and hurried to catch up with her brother and sister.

Once they were alone, the couple cracked up laughing.

"That was an interesting argument."

Marissa grinned proudly. "Yes, it was. She's getting better."

Bianca shook her head. "Yeah, she is. Who do we still need to call about today?"

"No one. I made a few strategic calls and texts, and they offered to pass on the word for us."

"Wow. Okay. Um, do we need to shovel? I know you said the driveway was plowed."

"It is, and I'm not really sure who did it for us. I'm really grateful to whoever did it though. As for shoveling the walkway, I did it when I came back from checking out the road. I put some salt down as well so we shouldn't have any slick spots. We're good, and you know what that means."

"It means we can play in the snow for a little while ourselves!"

"Yep!" Marissa grinned.

Bianca laughed. "Let's go!"

/

The sound of laughter coming from around the side of the house stopped Jessica from knocking on the front door of Minx Manor. A moment later, Marissa appeared, laughing and out of breath.

"Oh, hi! Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!" Jessica chuckled.

"What time is it?"

"It's a little after two o'clock."

"Wow! Seriously?! We've been out here longer than I thought. Bianca!"

The brunette in question answered from the backyard. "What's up, Rissa?"

"It's after two o'clock. Jo, Jessica, Greg, and Caleb are here."

"Oh my gosh! Kids we need to go back inside. Our guests are starting to arrive. I'll go unlock the front door, Rissa."

Jo laughed at her friend. Her cheeks were rosy from a combination of the cold and the exertion of playing in the snow with her family. "Merry Christmas, Marissa! It looks like you're having fun."

"Merry Christmas, Jo! I am having fun. Merry Christmas, Greg, Caleb!" Hugs were exchanged between the group and Marissa.

"I was glad to hear that Bianca made it home safely. Have you heard anything from Junior?" Caleb asked.

Marissa shook her head. "No. Nothing from him or Reese. I have mixed feelings about that. Neither have attempted to contact the kids in quite some time, and I will never understand that. The kids seem okay about it though, and that's the important thing. Let's talk about something else. Oh, you'll appreciate this, Caleb. Miranda was trying to convince us earlier to let her, AJ, and Gabby come outside and play in the snow."

Jo snorted. "Like you would ever need convincing of that."

"I know, right?! Anyway, her argument was that they had an obligation to come out here because they were kids and it was Christmas snow, and everybody knows that's the best there is."

Caleb laughed. "That's an interesting and compelling argument. I believe she's going to make an excellent lawyer someday, just like her mother."

Bianca opened the door before Marissa could respond. "Merry Christmas, everyone! Come in. Sorry, we lost track of time." The brunette hugged each of their guests as they entered the home.

"Don't worry. We heard you were obligated to play in the snow." Greg grinned.

"Ah, Rissa told you about Miranda's argument."

"Yes, she did, and she seemed pretty proud too."

"That's because I am." Marissa stated proudly as she gathered everyone's coats before she padded down the hallway to deposit them in the couple's bedroom.

Jessica hugged Bianca again. "It is so good to see you, and I am so glad you made it home. She won't admit it to everyone, but Marissa was worried."

Bianca winced. "I know, and I hate that she was. There really was nothing I could do."

"Oh, I know that, and so does she. I also know that you were worried too."

"Yeah, I was, and thank you for helping and keeping Rissa and the kids occupied. I really appreciate that."

Jo stepped forward and hugged Bianca again. "We were more than happy to help. Marissa really had things under control though. I will say I had fun making cookies."

"And I had fun eating them when you brought them home." Greg grinned and then held up a large shopping bag stuffed with presents. "Where should we put these?"

"Oh, you can put those under the tree. Could I get anyone something to drink?"

"Mom! Danny's zipper on his snowsuit is stuck." Miranda called out from upstairs. She and the other kids had gone upstairs to get ready for their guests.

"You go help them. We'll get the drinks." Jo waved Bianca off.

"Thanks. I'll be back." Bianca said before she headed upstairs.

Marissa appeared just after her wife was out of sight. "Where's Bianca?"

"Helping Miranda with Danny's snowsuit. We were just going to get something to drink."

Before Marissa could answer, there was a knock on the front door. "I'll get the door. Help yourself. You know where everything is."

/

"Merry Christmas, Aunt Marissa!" Spike and Ian shouted as they rushed forward to hug their aunt.

"Merry Christmas, Spike! Merry Christmas, Ian! Did Santa bring you what you wanted?"

"Yep!" The boys nodded excitedly as they removed their coats and handed them over to the redhead.

"Excellent! You guys were pretty good this year. AJ, Miranda, and Gabby are upstairs." With a look at their parents and a nod received from them, the boys headed upstairs to find their cousins.

Marissa glanced at Zach, Kendall, and Lexie. "Merry Christmas! What about you? Did you get what you wanted from Santa?"

Zach nodded as he set shopping bags loaded with presents by the Christmas tree. "I did. Although, some more sleep would've been nice."

"I hear you on that." Marissa held out her arms for her niece while Kendall removed her coat.

"Thanks, and Merry Christmas. Where's my sister?"

"Upstairs."

"How is she?"

"Tired. Yesterday was a long day for her, and then, it was an early morning. She's okay though. I promise."

"Good. Thanks for letting me know when she got home. Do you need anything?" Kendall asked as she took her daughter back.

"Actually, I was wondering if I could get your help with something tomorrow, Zach. I'll understand if you say 'no' though."

Zach shook his head clearly amused that Marissa thought he would ever say 'no' to either her or Bianca. "What do you need?"

"We need to drop the SUV Bianca rented off at the rental car place at the airport and pick up her car."

"That is no problem at all. I can do that today if you want. It's one less thing for you to worry about, and this way you can just relax tomorrow. The roads are fine now, and it won't take me long. I'll be back before you know it."

"Are you sure? You don't need to go today. Tomorrow is more than fine."

"Hey, guys. Leaving already, Zach?" Greg asked as he came back into the family room.

"I'm just going to the airport to return Bianca's rental and pick up her car."

"I can do it if you want. Jessica left a recipe she was going to give to Rafaela back at the house. I was just going to go and pick it up."

"Why don't you just come with me, and we'll stop at your place along the way."

"Sounds good. I'll just go get my coat." Greg disappeared down the hallway.

"I just need Bianca's car keys and to know where she's parked."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive, Red. Like I said, it's not a problem at all."

Kendall nodded. "Let him do it. You know he's right. If anyone deserves a day in tomorrow when you don't have to think about anything, it's you and Binx."

"Okay." Marissa quickly retrieved her set of keys to Bianca's car and handed them over to her brother-in-law. "I'll text you where she's parked. The rental is in the garage. I moved it in there this morning. I put a spare garage door opener in it. Don't forget to bring that back."

"You got it. Oh, you better take this." Zach handed over the dish Kendall had made for today's potluck.

"Thank you. I really appreciate this. There will be extra cookies for you when you get back, and I'll also have a beer waiting for you."

"This is why I really like you. You know exactly what I want." Zach smiled.

Greg returned a moment later, and the two men headed out.

"Let me drop this off in the kitchen and then we'll put your coats and Lexie's diaper bag back in our bedroom."

/

As soon as Danny saw his redheaded mother, he squealed and reached out for her.

"There's my big boy."

"Sure, go to her now that you have a fresh diaper and are happy again." Bianca smirked as she handed Danny over to Marissa.

"Not like he hasn't pulled that on me with you."

"True." Bianca smiled when she saw her sister. She knew the Slaters were there when she heard Spike and Ian join their kids upstairs. "Merry Christmas, Kendall. Ow! What was that for?" Bianca rubbed her arm after Kendall smacked her.

Marissa decided to leave the sisters alone so they could talk in private.

"Oh please, that didn't hurt, and you know it. That was just a tap. I didn't hit you that hard, not nearly as hard as I should have at least. And that was for worrying me to death yesterday." Kendall then hugged her little sister tightly. "Don't do that again."

"I'm sorry. I'll try my best not to. Where's Zach?"

"Marissa asked if he wouldn't mind returning your rental and picking up your car tomorrow. Zach agreed because, let's be honest, he adores both of you and would do anything for you. He decided to go ahead and do it today to get it out of the way for you. Plus, he figured traffic would be lighter which I think he's right about that. You know a lot of people will be flying in and out tomorrow. Greg went with him because Jessica forgot something at their house."

"He didn't need to do that."

"I know, but he wanted to. Like I said before, Zach adores you. Now, you can relax tomorrow and not think about it. You can just stay home and spend the day with your family. I think that's something both you and them can use and deserve."

"Thank you. I have to admit that does sound wonderful. Remind me to hook him up with some extra cookies."

"Red is already on it. She's promised him a beer as well when he gets back." Kendall chuckled and then turned serious. "How are you doing, really?"

Bianca sighed. "I'm okay, now. There were a couple of white knuckled moments last night, but nothing I couldn't handle."

"We Kane women are formidable."

"Yes, we are, Kendall." Erica said as she arrived. The diva hugged her youngest daughter. "Bianca, sweetheart, I am so relieved and happy that you are home safely."

"Me too, Mom. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." Erica turned to her oldest daughter and hugged her as well. "Merry Christmas, Kendall."

"Bianca, Merry Christmas. You're okay?" Jack asked after the pair exchanged a hug.

"Merry Christmas, Uncle Jack. I'm good."

Jack nodded. "Good. I can't tell you how happy I am to hear to that. Now, where should I put these?" Jack indicated two large shopping bags filled with gifts.

"By the Christmas tree. We're just waiting for Greenlee, Ryan, and Emma to get here and for Zach and Greg to get back to open up gifts."

/

The Tasker-Montgomery's were having their family Christmas with Erica, Jack, the Slaters, the Laverys and the Sheltons before their friends arrived in a few hours. These were the people they considered family. Krystal and her family would be over later, before the family's friends arrived, and they would exchange gifts at that time.

A short while later, Greenlee, Ryan, and Emma arrived and were followed not long after by the return of Zach and Greg. Once everyone was settled, they all exchanged gifts.

Zach enjoyed his gifts from the Tasker-Montgomery family probably more than anyone else enjoyed theirs. He couldn't stop smiling when he pulled out the vintage Philadelphia Flyers jersey they had gotten him, and his smile grew even more when he saw they had also gotten him vouchers to a few games. "If I only knew you were getting me this, I would've driven to Philadelphia myself yesterday to pick you up, Bianca. This is … I can't tell you how much I love this. Thank you, both of you!"

"You're welcome."

"Oh my god! You did not! Thank you! I love you both so much!" Jo exclaimed as she opened up her gift from the family. Like Zach, the other Flyers fanatic, the doctor had a vintage jersey and tickets. She immediately put the jersey on, and Zach followed suit. The two shared a fist bump and smiled brightly for a picture together. Zach pulled up the team's schedule on his cellphone, and the two started looking for games they could attend and drag Kendall and Greg to with them.

After all of the presents were opened, everything was cleaned up and drinks were refreshed. Everyone sat back, relaxed, and talked before they were joined by the others.

/

Friends started arriving not long after gifts had been exchanged with Krystal, Tad, Opal, and the girls. Food and drinks were served up. Everyone had a great time, and they were all relieved that Bianca had made it home.

Miranda approached Bianca after they had finished eating with a request. "Mom, would it be okay if we went outside. We all kind of want to build some snowmen." The younger brunette motioned to all of the kids.

"You do, huh?"

Brian's eyes lit up. "Can anyone get in on that?"

Stef rolled her eyes. "He's been wanting to do that all day, and we just haven't had the chance."

"I want in. I'm an excellent builder of snowmen." Lisa said.

"Why don't we have a contest?" Marissa suggested.

"Works for me. How does that sound, Miranda?" Bianca asked.

"I like it!"

Everyone bundled up and headed outside. It was decided that Erica, Jessica, and Carol would be the judges, and that there would be two categories, one for kids and the other for adults. After the participants were done building their snowmen and snowwomen, the judging took place with Aya and Kate winning in the adult category and AJ, Miranda, and Gabby winning in the kids' category. AJ's attention to detail, Miranda's ability to delegate and organize, and Gabby's sense of whimsy made their snowman a hands down winner. Only two people knew who was behind what happened next, and the one would never rat the other one out. Bianca picked up a handful of snow and packed it tight before she took aim and hit Tad. Only Marissa saw what her wife her done, and she quickly covered for her as Tad tried to figure out who threw it. After that, it became a free for all, and a huge snowball fight took place. Adults and kids alike were laughing, dodging snowballs, and scrambling for cover.

Marissa had ducked behind their grill when she heard her cellphone ring. She didn't recognize the number, but answered it.

"Hello."

"Is this Marissa Tasker?"

"Yes, it is."

"This is Jackie Henderson. I'm sorry to interrupt your holiday, but I have some news for you."

"Could you hold on one minute? I just want to step inside. It's hard for me to hear right now."

"Of course."

The redhead saw an opening and dashed into the house to finish her call. She hoped this was the call she had been waiting for. Marissa was greeted by Carol in the kitchen. After judging the snowmen and snowwomen and just before the snowball fight began, Carol, Erica, and Jessica had gone inside with Danny and Lexie to warm up.

"Hi, Carol. I'm going to be back in my office for a few minutes."

"Okay. I'm headed back to the family room if you want to stay here."

"No, I really need to take this in private and don't want to take the chance of someone walking in here."

"I'll try and direct people away from there."

"Thanks." With that, Marissa headed down the hallway to the couple's home office.

/

As soon as Marissa had set foot inside the house, she took a deep breath. The conversation she was about to have with the woman was one that definitely needed to be held in private. Once inside the home office, the redhead closed the door and settled behind the desk with a pen and a yellow legal pad.

"Hello, Ms. Henderson. I apologize for the delay. I was outside when you called."

There was a chuckle on the other end of the line. "Snowmen or snowballs, Marissa?"

The redhead laughed at the other woman's quip. The two women knew each other and were friendly. Marissa felt she could relax a little now that the professional walls were lowered a little bit. "Both, Jackie. I hope you're having a good Christmas."

"I am. Some work came up though. It sounds like you are having a good Christmas as well."

"We are. So, am I safe in assuming this call has to do with the work that popped up?"

"You are."

"Are you calling about what I hope you're calling about?"

"I am. We have a baby in need of a good home."

Marissa breathed a sigh of relief at this news. "Greenlee and Ryan will be thrilled."

"I hope so. Are they there?" Jackie knew Marissa and the couple were good friends.

"Yes, they are outside participating in Pine Valley's largest snowball fight. I can go get them now."

"Before you do, I have to give you some background which you will want to pass on to the Laverys before we go any further."

Marissa sat back and braced herself. "I understand. Go ahead."

/

A/N: Yeah, I left it there. What happens next came to me late last night or early this morning, I suppose. Luckily, I remembered it when I woke up and was able to jot down some notes. See you soon!