Chapter Sixteen

Bianca couldn't believe what Miranda had just blurted out. "You had sex with AJ?" she said as she glanced over at AJ with a look of astonishment. "Miranda, I won't tell you that you shouldn't be having sex at your age, because obviously, you and AJ have gone beyond the friendship stage and have developed feelings for one another, BUT I do want to know one thing. Did the two of you use a condom?"

"Mom!" Miranda gasped when she heard her mom's question. "Why do you...?"

"Because Miranda, if you're old enough to be having sex, then you need to be responsible. An unplanned pregnancy could result," Reese spoke up.

"So, were the two of you responsible?" Bianca asked.

The sheepish look on AJ's face answered the question. It was evident that he and Miranda hadn't been cautious when swept up in a moment of passion.

"Ohhh Miranda," Bianca said with a heavy sigh.

"Mom, please. Let's not do this now," Miranda begged. She didn't want to have this intense conversation with her mothers in a crowded hospital waiting room. People were staring at them which made Miranda feel uneasy.

"We'll discuss this later. Right now, our main concern is Gabrielle," Reese agreed.

"I just want to say one thing," AJ spoke up. "I promise to be careful from now on. I care about Miranda with all my heart... and I would never hurt her." AJ put his arm around Miranda, pulling her in closer for an affectionate hug.

No one had realized it, but it wasn't just strangers in the waiting room that had overheard the conversation; Erica had arrived at the hospital and she had heard an earful. "WHAT?! Ohhh my gosh! First my grandson Spike receives oral sex in my boat house and now this - THIS - my teenage granddaughter is also having sex! What in the world?!"

Bianca tried to soothe her worried mother. "Mom, try to calm down. We have to concentrate on Gabrielle. She's been through hell and she really needs her family right now."

"Yes... Gabrielle," said Erica. "Who is with her now?"

"Zach," Bianca began to explain, but before she could go into further detail, Zach came out and joined them in the waiting room. He was still emotional from his conversation with Gabrielle. His eyes were red-rimmed. He appeared tired and frazzled.

"I need to get home to Kendall," he said, but before he left, he hugged Bianca and then Reese extra tight.

As they embraced, Zach could feel Reese's swollen stomach between them. Their gazes held as she left his arms. ""Are you and the baby okay?" he asked with concern.

Reese nodded. "Thank you for being there for Gabrielle as well as for me and Bianca."

"Always," he promised, pressing a tender kiss to Reese's forehead before he left.

After Zach's departure, Miranda spoke up. "I'm going in to see Gabrielle," Miranda said and started in the direction of the hospital room of her sister.

"Where do you think you're going?" Erica demanded, stopping her granddaughter in the center of the room.

Miranda glanced over her shoulder at her grandmother. "I told you. I'm going in. We are allowed to see her one at a time," she reminded.

"I'm her grandmother. As the matriarch of this family, I am going in to see her," Erica said firmly.

"MOM! Can you believe this? Gabby is my sister, and I have the right to see her first!" Miranda huffed indignantly.

Her anger was rising to the surface from the conversation. Apparently, Erica Kane had to be on top for everything, including a hospital visit. She loved her grandmother, but it was this side of her that Miranda didn't really like much, let alone love.

"Mom, Miranda has been waiting to see Gabby all this time," said Bianca as she tried to ease the tension between them.

"You know what? I don't care; I'm going in!" Miranda announced.

"HEY! Hold on just a minute!" Erica tried to reach out to stop Miranda again, but her granddaughter slipped past her and headed down the hallway toward Gabrielle's room.

"Can you believe what she just did?" Erica said in exasperation to Bianca.

"There will be time for you to see Gabrielle, too," Bianca stated.

Erica then laid her gaze onto AJ. "Okay, young man," Erica spoke in a huffy voice. "Just exactly what are your intentions regarding my granddaughter?"

When AJ didn't respond, Erica rushed him. "Come on now. Speak up," Erica encouraged.

"Ohhh Mom, give the poor kid a break," Bianca said, rolling her eyes at her mother. "He's Miranda's best friend and a really good guy. He cares about Miranda."

"Well, I care about her, too, you know," Erica said defensively.

AJ cleared his throat, then he bravely spoke. "I have nothing but good intentions toward Miranda. She means the world to me."

Erica looked perplexed, as though she wanted to say something else, but unable to find the words. "I need to make an important phone call," she stated before she hastily left the waiting room.

"Listen, AJ, I'm sorry about my mom," Bianca said.

"No need to apologize," AJ said as he sunk down into the nearest chair.

Bianca wrapped her arm around her wife. "Reese, it's been a long time since you've had anything to eat. You need to sit down and rest for awhile. Let's go to the cafeteria," Bianca urged.

"Okay," Reese agreed.

~*~o~*~

Meanwhile, Miranda was doing her best to comfort her tearful sister. "Ohhh sis, I am so glad you're here," Gabrielle said in a sad little whisper. "It was awful - just awful... what they- they did to me. The rapists taunted me because our moms are gay. They hurt me so much and all the while, there was this woman laughing in the front seat while she drove the van. How could anyone do that?"

"I- I don't know," Miranda responded. "Gabby, I am so - SO sorry. I should have been there when you needed me."

Miranda began to sob. "It's all my fault! When you called, I should have joined you at the game. If I had came right away -."

"No, Miranda. It was not your fault. I don't blame you... and you shouldn't blame yourself."

"I would do anything for you, Gabrielle. Anything! I promise from now on, I'm always going to be there for you... all you need to do is ask. I love you," Miranda stated as she gazed into her sister's eyes. As Miranda held Gabby's hand in hers, the two sisters bonded.

"I love you so much," Gabrielle said as she gave Miranda's hand a little squeeze.

~*~o~*~

Downstairs in the cafeteria, Bianca was also blaming herself. Sitting at the table, Bianca stared at a muffin on her plate. She wasn't feeling very well; she couldn't believe what had happened to her baby. Gabby didn't deserve to be the target of a vicious hate crime, just because she and Reese were a openly gay couple. It wasn't acceptable that Gabrielle should have to suffer due to the sexual orientation of her parents.

"Binks, what's wrong?" Reese asked as she sat across from Bianca at the table.

"They did this because of our relationship," Bianca stated, lifting her head to look at her loving wife.

"You mean, because we are two women who are married and very much in love?"

"Yes, why else would they hurt Gabrielle?" she murmured as tears came to her eyes.

"Oh no. Bianca you're my everything and you're also a wonderful loving mother to our girls. They adore you and you always do the right thing for them," Reese said gently, reaching across the table to take her wife's hand.

"I just can't stand to see my baby girl in such terrible pain."

"You are not to blame for her suffering. WE are not to blame. The ones who are at fault are the rapists who hurt her as well as their accomplice. I hope that the police find them and they are punished for their crimes. Our daughter deserves justice."

~*~o~*~

Zach arrived home where Kendall was waiting for him. He went into her arms. "Zach, I was so worried," Kendall said. "I woke up...and you were gone."

As Zach held his wife, he told her that he had gone to the hospital to see Gabrielle. "How is she?" Kendall asked with concern.

Zach couldn't even speak as he quietly sobbed. Embracing him tightly, Kendall hoped that in time, her husband would open up to her about his feelings. For now, all she could do was hold him and love him.

"I'm here, Zach. I am here," she said to him gently.

~*~o~*~

Miranda returned to the waiting room to find AJ sitting all alone. He jumped up out of his seat when he saw the tears rushing from her eyes. "Come on," he said as he wrapped his arm around her. "I'll take you home. You need to get some rest."

"Will you stay with me, AJ?' she asked as her lower lip trembled.

"Of course," he promised.