A/N: Thanks for continuing to read, review, and follow! I really appreciate it. I apologize for the delay in updating. I didn't realize it had been as long as it has been. Life has gotten in the way of writing, and I've updated "Kegs & Eggs" a couple of times since I've worked on this story. Thanks for staying with me! This chapter picks back up with our group in Shamokin, and I copied the last section from that chapter to refresh everyone's memory (especially mine) and have it in italics. Hope you enjoy this update! Happy New Years! I hope you all have a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2020!

/

"Hello, everyone! Welcome back to Shamokin! I can't tell you how happy I am that you made it for the ceremony." Terri greeted the group.

Bianca hugged their friend. "Hi, Terri. We're happy to be here. It's a big day for your little brother."

"Yes, it is, and I couldn't be prouder. It's good that this worked out with Jo's bachelorette party. Speaking of, congratulations, Jo!"

"Thanks, Terri! I owe this getaway to Bianca and Marissa. They saved me and the wedding."

Marissa waved her friend off as she stepped forward to hug Terri. "We didn't do anything that you wouldn't have done for us. Besides, the real hero is Erica."

"What did she do?" Terri asked.

"She replaced Jo's wedding dress within days. I have to admit that that was something even for my Mom." Kendall said.

"Wow. I'm going to need details later."

"Definitely. Oh, Terri, I'd like to introduce you to the newest member of our group. Terri Long, I'd like you to meet Maura Abbott also known as Rafaela's better half. Maura, this is Terri Long. Terri has saved our butts a few times."

"It's nice to meet you. Wait. Aren't you Dr. Abbott? I remember Rafaela talking about you the last time she was here."

"It's nice to meet you too. Yes, I am, but please call me Maura. As for Ela's better half, I don't know about that."

"Oh, no. I know, and I agree with Marissa 100%. You are definitely my better half." Rafaela smiled and kissed her girlfriend's cheek.

"Well, I can't wait to talk more tonight. You all are going to Shamokin Joe's later, right?"

"Like we would ever miss going there. We do have a reputation to uphold after all." Greenlee smirked.

Terri laughed. "Yes, you do, and from my experience, you do it quite well and have never disappointed. Oh, it looks like they are ready to get started. I need to get up there. See you all later."

Bianca's eyes followed Terri's gaze and saw Sean, his wife Heather, and their daughter taking their seats on the stage. "See you later."

"Want to get a little closer?" Randi asked.

Gail nodded. "Definitely."

The group moved closer to the stage along with the rest of the crowd that had assembled in the park. Unbeknownst to most of those in attendance who turned their attention to the stage, other eyes were focused on the visitors from Pine Valley.

/

After Sean was sworn in as Shamokin's new Chief of Police, the festivities kicked off, and the group from Pine Valley took part in all of the activities that were offered to the town. They started off with some of the carnival rides and then went on to play some of the games. Jan and Randi signed up for the pie eating contest and were cheered on by the rest of their crew. To the surprise and delight of everyone, Jan ended up coming in second while Randi came in a close third. After the two women cleaned up, they and the others sampled some of the offerings from the various food booths while they did a little shopping at the booths of several craft makers. The Pine Valley crew finished up doing a little dancing to the local band that was performing. When things started to wrap up in the park, the group headed back to their hotel to drop off their purchases and freshen up for the evening. They, like many of the others in the town, would be finishing up the day's festivities at Shamokin Joe's.

/

Bianca's eyes grew wide with delight when she saw a sign as they entered Shamokin Joe's. "Rissa, there's a karaoke contest! You need to sign up for it!"

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Please, for me."

Marissa sighed when she saw the puppy dog eyes her wife gave her. "Now, that's just not fair. You know damn well how hard it is for me to tell you 'no' when you give me that look."

Bianca grinned. "I know. Is it working?"

"Yes, it's working. I'll sign up."

Greenlee and Kendall laughed when they overheard the conversation.

"She sure as hell knows how to get you to do what she wants, Rocky." Greenlee teased as she passed by the couple and made a whip sound.

Marissa simply shrugged and then grinned. "Maybe so, but the reward is totally worth it."

Kendall groaned. "That's it. I'm separating you and Greenlee. I really don't want to hear these types of comments all night."

"That's too bad. You're just going to have to suck it up, Buttercup!" Greenlee smirked as she walked past her friend and into Shamokin Joe's.

As soon as some of the regulars saw the group of women as well as Bruce (who had once again been tapped to drive the group to Shamokin), they cheered, clapped, and whistled in greeting. It was never boring when the crew from Pine Valley came to town, and the regulars wouldn't have it any other way. The group from Pine Valley loved coming to Shamokin. It had become a second home to them. Rafaela, in particular, loved it there. No one fawned over her because of how famous she was. To the residents there, she was just one of crowd and was treated like everyone else which was a nice break for her.

The group was shown to the large table that Terri had reserved for them which they were grateful for. After taking their seats, they ordered a round of drinks and chatted with some of the regulars. A few minutes later, the man of the hour, the newly minted Chief Sean Bray, appeared with his wife Heather and their daughter. Terri and her husband Eddie followed her brother and his family in. She was bursting with pride. Sean made the rounds and received congratulations, handshakes, hugs and slaps on the back. Heather stopped at a few tables as well with her daughter stealing the show. Terri started to head behind the bar to get some drinks but was shooed away by Bob. There was no way that he was going to have her work and insisted that she just enjoy the night. Eddie gave him a huge grin and gently pulled his wife away from the bar.

"You heard the man, honey. You're off tonight. You're going to enjoy yourself, and you owe me a dance later!"

Terri chuckled and gave her husband a kiss. "Okay. I give up. I promise to enjoy myself tonight, and more importantly, I will be more than happy to dance with you. Oh, there are some people I want you to meet."

"Lead on. You know that I'll follow you anywhere."

With a roll of her eyes, Terri led her husband over to the tables where the group from Pine Valley was sitting.

"Everyone, there is someone that I want you to meet. This is Eddie." Terri was happy to finally be introducing her husband to her friends. She had wanted to introduce them before now but his work schedule and their previous visits never synched up.

Kendall immediately recognized the name as well as the man from a picture Terri had shown them previously and jumped up to greet him. "Eddie! We've heard all about you. It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Kendall."

Eddie shook her hand and smiled. "Oh, I know who you are. Terri's shown me a group picture of all of you and pointed each one of you out. It's nice to meet you too. And you are Greenlee."

"I am. It's nice to meet you, Eddie. Terri's only told you good stuff about us, right?"

"Something like that." Eddie laughed. "No, it's all good and very entertaining." He then proceeded to make the rounds among the others before he stopped in front of Bianca and Marissa.

"Hi, Eddie."

"Hi, Marissa. So, you're the lawyer. I bet that crew keeps you busy."

"Yes, they do. Very busy, especially Kendall and Greenlee." Marissa smirked. "It's good to finally meet you. I don't think I have to tell you how lucky you are to be married to this one." Marissa nodded towards Terri.

"No, you do not. I'm very lucky and even more thankful that she said yes."

"I can definitely relate."

"Ah, you must be talking about your wife." Eddie turned and shook Bianca's hand. "It's nice to finally meet you, Bianca. My beautiful niece is named after you and Marissa."

"It's nice to finally meet you too, Eddie. Trust me, it's an honor for her to be named after us."

"Well, you both helped Sean and Heather find a place that could help them when no one else was able to. It meant a great deal to all of us." Terri said earnestly in a lowered tone.

"Rissa and I were more than happy to help in the way that we could."

"Hi, everyone!" Heather smiled brightly as she and baby Bianca finally made their way over to the group.

Bianca lit up when she saw her namesake who had blonde hair and blue eyes like her parents. The baby smiled when she saw the brunette and reached for her. Marissa and Bianca had been in Shamokin a few more times than the others and had made a point to catch up with their friends during those visits.

Heather chuckled and handed her daughter over to her friend. "She saw you earlier in the park, Bianca, and started jabbering away. She couldn't wait to get to you again."

"Well, the feeling is most definitely mutual." Bianca smiled as she started making faces at the baby and making her laugh.

"If it isn't my favorite troublemakers!"

"Chief Bray!" The women shouted as they greeted the man of the hour.

"How is everyone doing?"

Marissa hugged Sean. "We're doing good. It's good to be back in our home away from home. Congratulations, Chief!"

"Thank you. It means a lot that you were all able to come today. I also hear that congratulations are in order for you, Jo!"

"Thanks! Right back at you, Sean. Just goes to show you that the folks from Shamokin are smart making you their new Chief."

"Well, it's definitely my honor to serve them." He smiled when he saw his daughter laughing in Bianca's arms. "I see my daughter didn't waste any time in finding one of her favorite people. Hi, Bianca."

"Hi, Sean. Congratulations on your well-deserved new position. As for your daughter, she's beautiful and looks like both of you. I have a feeling she's going to keep you very busy as she grows up."

Sean laughed. "I have no doubt about that. Especially if she takes after either her mother or her aunt."

Heather and Terri looked at him and rolled their eyes in tandem.

"Oh, my dear little brother, you're wrong on that one. Trust me on me this. You were the true handful. It wasn't until you met Heather that you settled down. You were lucky she saw something in you and agreed to go out with you."

"Thank you, Terri." Heather smiled at her sister-in-law.

"You're welcome."

"I can't argue with most of what you said, Terri. I was very lucky, like winning the lottery kind of lucky, when Heather decided to take pity on me and agreed to go out on a date. Even more so when she agreed to marry me."

Heather chuckled and kissed her husband. "If being chief doesn't work out, you can always go into sales."

As a round of drinks were served to everyone in the establishment, Bob got the patrons' attention. "If I could have everyone's attention for a minute, I'd like you to raise your glass and toast our new Chief of Police. We're proud of you, Sean. You'll do a great job. Congratulations to you, Heather, and your daughter! To Chief Sean Bray!"

The crowd readily joined in the toast. "Chief Bray!"

Sean nodded and took a drink. "Thank you, thank you all. My promise to each and every one of you is that I will do my absolute best to make sure you haven't misplaced your faith and trust in me. To Shamokin!"

"To Shamokin!"

/

The celebration began in earnest after Sean's toast, and sometime later, Heather's parents took little Bianca home with them to stay overnight so Sean and Heather could stay and enjoy themselves while they spoiled their granddaughter a little.

"I can't get over how crowded it is here. Is it always like this?" Maura asked.

"Not quite but it does get busy. I think since it's 'Shamokin Days' there's a slightly larger crowd." Gail said. It was no coincidence that Sean's swearing in ceremony had taken place during the town's festival. The town was celebrating two birds with one stone.

As Kendall took a drink, someone caught her eye. She lowered her voice and leaned in to ask Lisa, who was sitting next to her, a question. "Does that guy at the end of the bar look familiar to you? I could swear I've seen him a few times today. It's almost like he's following us. I just can't be sure though because there's so many people here today. I could be paranoid, but I really don't think I am."

Lisa glanced over her shoulder and managed to get a quick look at the man in question. It was enough of one however to confirm Kendall's suspicion. "You're right. He is following us. I saw him a couple of times earlier myself, both here and in Pine Valley."

/

A/N: It's a short update, but the next one will be longer. Oh, you know that I had to leave a cliffhanger. See you soon!