A/N: My deepest apologies for taking so long to update. Real life sequestered the muse and Ive been too tired to even attempt to turn on the computer. My sincerest thanks to everyone who has been kind enough to review this story so far.

A/N2: One of the reasons for the delay is that I just spent 4 days in NYC for the first time ever! Yay!!

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Lindsay stared at Stella open mouthed. She couldnt bring herself to believe that she had said... what she had said. Whan on Earth was Stella thinking??? A "fuck me" type of dress? What would the NYPD department think? What would DANNY think, for that matter? And why the hell was she worried about Danny in the first place?

"Stel, I really don't think..." Lindsay wasn't really sure how to aproach the issue without making an utter fool of herself.

"Shhh... bebe... no thinking here. This isn't about logic. It's about feeling. Feeling good about yourself, feeling confident about how you look, feeling... "appreciated" by that special young man that keeps you awake at night."

Lindsay opened her mouth and tried to deny everything. She slowly closed it. What was she going to deny? Any woman in her right man wants to look her absolute best and feel great about her accomplishing it. As for feeling appreciated... she refused to go THERE with Stef... specially in front of Stella. Although she was pretty sure Stella knew pretty much everything about her crush on Danny there was to know... and there was a good chance she understood it better than Lindsay herself did.

"Ok, bebes, now that we have that settled, let's get down to our dirty business. Stel, bebe, I'll start with you as I already know what's best for you." Noticing Lindsay's slight out, the designer was quick to add, "And that way I'll have some time to make up my mind as to which of the two dresses I have in mind for you will work best... fear nothing, bebe, he'll never know what hit him."

And without so much of a galnce directed her way, Stefen turned, grabbed Stella's hand, and lead her to the left side of the room, leaving Lindsay open mouthed and shocked for the third time that day. The man was definitively setting some sort of new world record.

Stella looked back at Lindsay with a knowing smile. She had been the target of Stefen's blunt, albeit charming, barbed darts more often than she cared to remember and she understood perfectly how the young woman was feeling right then and there, and Stella had to repress her motherly intincts and fight the urge to console her. She knew that, in the end. Lindsay would come to thank Stefen for all the pain he was inflicting upon her just then.

"Lindy, bebe, as you seem a really nice girl who can keep really really quiet I'm willing to let you watch. Take that chair over there and learn all you can"

Lindsay Monroe had sworn, some 20 years ago, that if someone ever called her any variation of herself outside Linds that person would face excruciating torture and permanent injury. And yet, here she was obeying a man who had dared call her a country pumpkin, a bebe AND Lindy. And all to get just a mere three square feet piece of fabric that had the power to change lives.

"Ok bebe… let's get some things straight. You want a "take that bitch" kinda dress, right? Am I right to assume its the same bitch, the same playground, just a different date?" Stefen's deep blue eyes seemed to pierce Stella, who only managed to nod. "Good, good. Hmmm... I know. The black one with rhinestones and a plunging neckline... No. Wait." Stefen seemed to take a closer look at Stella, staring deep into her eyes as if he wanted to learn the deepest darkest secrets of her heart.

"I knew it! You wicked witch, when where you planning to tell me? How dare you keep something as juicy as that hidden from me??? Forget the black dress, that's not good enough now..."

Stefen began moving dresses around in different racks, murmuring to himself, throwing dagger-like galnces at Stella. The later was looking slightly pleased with herself, and yet, she managed to look completely guilty and ashamed at the same time and she kept her eyes fixed on her hands.

Lindsay had watched the exchange with great curiosity. Stella Bonasera had a secret so dark and juicy it changed the whole perspective on her life? Lindsay wasn't really sure what was goign on, but she bet that it was good gossip material... leverage, too, come to think of it.

"I should not give you this dress, bad woman. But you know I have a real soft spot for you. So in order for me to forgive you, you have to promise to tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth or else I'll make you wear a potato sack! Not that you wouldn't look kinda cute in one of those... so... spill."

"There isn't really much to tell..." Stella began, trying to find a way out of this mess.

"Yeah, right. And Im just a bloody taylor and not a divine designer! You can't fool me, bebe, you ought to know that. Shall I fill in the blanks for you?"

Stella stared at the man with her eyes wide open, threw a sidelong glance at Lindsay and raised her hands in defeat. She knew she couldn't keep something like this secret for a long time.

"One of these days, bebe, you'll finally realize that, no matter what's happened in the past, you're every ounce worthy of love. Personally, I find it divine that he's a younger guy... handsome too, from the twinkle in your eyes. Do you really think you were going to keep it a secret for long? Don't you ever listen to me? How many times have I told you that there are three things in life you can't hide?"

"Really?"

The words were out of her mouth before Lindsay realized it, and she childishly clamped her hands over her mouth to show her remorse. "Sorry", she mumbled thorugh her fingers.

"You can't hide that you're in love, you can't hide that you have or don't have money and you can't hide a pregnancy for long, no matter how much you try."

"And speaking of which..." Stefen grabbed a measuring tape and menacingly approached Stella, "Let's see how mugh fun you've been having with your boy toy, bebe."

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A/N: I'm writing this as fast as I can, trust me. I plan to finish at lest another chapter before tackling the Xmas turkey, so keep yur fingers crossed!