And once again I must first begin by thanking you all for your overly thoughtful and generous feedback. The best part of writing this now is that I know how much it is enjoyed by other Minxbians such as myself and so I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You're really too kind, honestly.

And I apologize for the delay but this story is far from over – while I said that the exaggerated drama on the actual show would be absent that certainly doesn't mean that my version will be drama-free. Drama does live in this world, though in much smaller doses than it does in Pine Valley, and our girls' blissful bubble of the first night will have to be popped eventually. The real world awaits…

Real World: Pine Valley

"Do we really have to go back to the real world?" Marissa asked a few hours later. Both women had showered and changed, Bianca laying out a casual change of clothes for Marissa as she'd taken her turn in the bathroom, and as she descended the stairs into the living room and sighed happily at the sight of Bianca sitting on the couch waiting for her she caught a whiff of her perfume on the comfy t-shirt she wore.

Bianca smiled sideways at her as she sank down next to her. "I'm afraid so," she said regretfully, scooping the redhead into her arms as they reclined back together. "If not for the fact that I have to pick up the girls and we also need to go get AJ I might say otherwise, but as of today we're back on mom duty."

"And we also need to get my things out of the mansion," Marissa said, but she felt Bianca stiffen slightly behind her and she twisted around, meeting her suddenly concerned eyes. "What?"

"Riss are you sure you don't want to wait a few days for that?" she asked hesitantly. "I mean with everything that happened and…"

"No Bianca, I really don't want to wait," Marissa interrupted her, trying to convey that she was certain while also attempting to tame the intense anxiety that had taken hold of her stomach but it was really no use; she knew it wouldn't go away until her belongings were out of the mansion and JR was out of her life for good. "The longer I wait the worse it will be and I'm already dreading it enough. I just want to get it over with."

Bianca nodded. "I guess I understand but will you let me come with you? If we go now then we should have time before I have to pick up the girls later and I really don't want you facing JR alone."

Marissa's smile was answer enough, but she spoke up anyway. "I was actually just about to ask," she said, pecking Bianca's lips tenderly. "And besides your car's bigger. I'll need the space so I'm really just using you."

"Feel free," Bianca said, her playful grin matching Marissa's. "I also think I have some boxes that we could use too."

"See? That's why I'm going to keep you around," Marissa smiled impishly at her girlfriend. "You're dead useful, and practical too."

"Ah – that's the only reason huh?" Bianca played along. "And here I was thinking that it was because of my mad needlepoint skills."

"Well that can be reason number two," Marissa told her as she leaned in again, but someone's key in the front door interrupted them and she impulsively pulled away, distancing herself from Bianca slightly as Caleb walked in the house.

"Ahem – morning Caleb," Bianca said forced casually as she exchanged a tense glance with Marissa. "How was your trip to New York? You're back a little early – I wasn't expecting you until this evening."

"Yeah the meetings wound down early so I caught an earlier flight," he said gruffly, crossing the living room behind the couch and barely glancing at the two women sitting on it. "I'm beat though so I'm going to have a quick nap. You ladies enjoy your day," he said as he climbed the stairs. As soon as he was out of sight Marissa scooted toward Bianca again and grasped her hands in hers.

"Oh god Bianca I'm so sorry," she said quickly, but the brunette only smiled warmly at her.

"It's okay Marissa, it caught us both off guard," she tried to reassure her, but Marissa shook her head.

"No I shouldn't have jumped away from you like that."

"You didn't jump away from me."

"Well I didn't stay where I was so…"

"So what?" Bianca questioned her. "I wasn't too hot on the idea of being caught by Caleb either so don't worry about it. Really Riss – it's okay." And just to bring it home she leaned forward and kissed the redhead gently.

"You're really amazing, you know that?" Marissa asked after a peaceful moment spent simply grinning sunnily at the woman in front of her, and the blush that colored her face only made Marissa's smile widen. "You're like the most understanding woman I've ever met."

"I'm really not trying to be understanding here Marissa," Bianca admitted quietly, her expression suddenly hesitant and Marissa squeezed her hands gently to urge her forward.

"What's wrong Bee?" she asked, trying to read the uncertainty in her face. "Tell me."

"Well – we haven't really talked about how we're going to handle this," Bianca replied with a slight shake of her head. "Us I mean."

Marissa nodded and thought about it. "Well I assume that I'll probably tell AJ first, and then probably Krystal. I'm not sure when would be the best time to tell JR but we can deal with that after I'm safely out of the mansion."

Bianca squinted at her as she spoke, almost in disbelief of what she was hearing. "You mean… you mean you're going to start telling people already? You're really ready for that?" she asked, her voice catching slightly as she tried to comprehend it. Marissa smiled crookedly at her and cupped her cheek in her hand tenderly.

"Yes Bianca, I'm ready for all of it," she told her confidently. "I mean yeah – I understand that some people will scoff or have something shitty to say but I really don't care about them. The only people that really matter will only want me to be happy, and I would hope that my immeasurable happiness will be very apparent to anyone who knows me at all. And don't you remember what I said last night? As long as I have you by my side then I know I'll be just fine." Bianca could only smile as she felt tears sting the corners of her eyes and Marissa leaned forward and stole a lingering kiss. When they pulled away Marissa rested her forehead against Bianca's. "Is that okay?" she asked, and the brunette chuckled.

"That's perfect," she replied with a watery smile, wiping the last tears from her cheeks. "I have a feeling that you're only going to keep surprising me."

"That's what will keep this relationship exciting," Marissa grinned slyly, and Bianca nodded.

"Oh yes, that among other things I'm sure," she agreed as she stood up. "So now how about getting this field trip to the Chandler mansion over with so we can get our kids and come back here for a movie and junk food night?"

"I think that's exactly what we'll need after today," Marissa replied, taking Bianca's hand as they walked to the door. Our kids, she thought wildly as their fingers entwined and she allowed herself to be led to the car by her girlfriend. She said 'our kids.'

And the explosion of peaceful joy in her chest was indication enough that those words were exactly right.

/

"Are you ready for this?" Marissa asked as Bianca parked her car in front of the Chandler estate, sucking in a deep breath and holding it.

"Are you ready for this?" Bianca repeated, gripping Marissa's hand comfortingly.

The redhead exhaled slowly. "I'm as ready as I'm going to be," she said after a moment. "Let's just get in there and get everything packed as quickly as we can so we can get the hell out again, sound good?"

"Sounds good," Bianca replied. "What are you going to tell AJ?"

"Well first I guess I need to figure out what JR's told him. Then I assume I'm going to have to talk to JR and make sure he doesn't have something else up his sleeve."

"Be prepared for anything," Bianca told her with a reassuring smile. "If I know JR then it would surprise me if he didn't have some kind of game plan already."

"That's the truth," Marissa agreed, taking another steadying breath. Please god don't let that be the case…

"How about this – I'll head straight upstairs and pack like a madwoman while you go find the boys and see what's going on," Bianca suggested, and the redhead nodded.

"That'll probably be best, even though the last thing I want to do is see or talk to JR right now. But we're back in the real world so I guess it's inevitable."

"Sorry babe, but I think you're right."

Marissa's blush as Bianca called her "babe" for the first time put a smile on her face despite her increasing tension and she leaned across the console and kissed her cheek tenderly. "Thank you for being here with me," she said softly, and the brunette smiled happily back.

"Of course," she replied. "Now count of three we just charge in there and get this shit done. One, two, three, go!" And she bolted from the car as Marissa did the same, the two women walking side by side up to the immaculate front doors of the mansion. But before they made it to the front stoop the door swung inward and AJ appeared.

"Mom!" he cried as he sprinted forward and collided with Marissa's stomach, wrapping his arms around her tightly without letting go. "I'm so happy you came back!"

"Of course I came back buddy," Marissa told him as she hugged him just as tightly back. After a moment she bent down and looked him in the eye, and the tense expression on his face worried her terribly. "I'll always come back for you, you know that right?" AJ nodded and threw his arms around her neck, burying his face in her shoulder and Marissa looked anxiously at Bianca. "What's wrong AJ?" she asked gently. "Did something happen?"

"Daddy was really mad when you left last night," he told her, his voice muffled inside of Marissa's red hair. "When I came downstairs and you were gone daddy was in the living room screaming into his cell phone and when I asked him what was wrong he just yelled at me to leave him alone so I ran back up to my room."

"Oh AJ I'm so sorry," Marissa told him comfortingly, stroking his shiny blonde hair tenderly. "I upset your dad last night so he really wasn't mad at you, but I'm sorry he took it out on you. Are you okay?"

AJ nodded against Marissa's neck but didn't reply, and Bianca couldn't keep herself from reaching out and rubbing his back soothingly. "It's okay buddy, grown-ups just lose their tempers sometimes," she told him reassuringly, and he finally pulled back and smiled weakly at her.

"What's going on out here?" came a deep voice from behind them and they all turned in unison to see JR standing in the open doorway. "See AJ? I told you mommy would be back."

AJ nodded again but didn't leave Marissa's side, and the redhead kept an arm firmly around his shoulder. "JR," she said in greeting, nodding tensely at him. He grinned crookedly back.

"Hey AJ why don't you run on upstairs and play some video games," he said airily. "Your mommy and I have some things to talk about."

"That sounds like fun," Bianca replied, smiling brightly down at the blonde haired boy. "Would you mind if I came up with you buddy?"

"Sure!" he said before peeling away from his mother and dashing back inside, and after a meaningful look back at the redhead Bianca followed him. JR stepped aside to let them through and then motioned for Marissa to come inside as well.

Marissa charged through the foyer and into the parlor, wasting no time before wheeling on JR as soon as he'd followed her inside. "What the hell did you do to AJ last night?" she bellowed, working very hard to keep her rising temper in check as she glared at the man who she now very nearly hated. "He acted like he's scared to death of you!"

"What are you talking about? AJ's fine," JR replied with a casual wave of his hand, that pretentious gold watch flashing across the room.

"Bullshit JR – AJ said you screamed at him to leave him alone right after I left yesterday, and from the way he was clinging to me I'd say that he's still scared," she practically snarled at him, her fiery anger rising as the timid look on AJ's beautiful face filled her mind. "What the hell did you do to him?"

"I didn't do anything to him Marissa, quit attacking me," JR responded as he sat down in one of the plush chairs beside them. He gestured for Marissa to take the seat across from him but she knew better than to sit down when she was so worked up. JR sighed heavily and continued. "I realized that I scared AJ as soon as he ran off so I went up and talked to him. He's fine now, honestly. I apologized."

"He doesn't seem fine JR," Marissa told him forcefully, refusing to believe the confident smile he'd plastered on his face. "What happened after I left last night?"

"Oh you mean after you ran out of our family outing?" JR questioned her, but Marissa was having none of it.

"We're not a family JR," she said. "Not anymore. And especially not after the stunt you pulled yesterday. I'm only here to get my things. Starting today we can go back to our joint custody arrangement because I certainly won't be living here anymore."

"Come on Marissa, you're not thinking clearly," JR replied with a sneer. "You know you're going to forgive me eventually because you know that I'm what you really want. Me and AJ and all three of us as a family again."

"Quit telling me how I fell you smug jackass," Marissa told him, only vaguely aware that name calling probably wouldn't help matters but unable to keep her raging ire in check as she glared into his overconfident eyes. "You broke our family apart when you started sleeping around on me and you're lucky I've forgiven you as far as I have. But the three of us will never be a family again because I will never again want to be with you. Just looking at you now is making my skin crawl."

"Hey now – where's all this coming from?" JR asked her, spreading his arms wide in mock bewilderment. "You can't tell me that your attitude has changed that drastically just because of that little thing yesterday, and certainly not overnight. So what gives?"

"Okay first of all JR, you're the one who's been fooling yourself about us," she shot back at him. "You're the one who has refused to hear practically everything I've ever told you. And second of all while that stunt yesterday was relatively small in the grand scheme of things, it really only showed me once again that you're nothing but a conniving jerk who wants to get his way no matter the cost and that's not the kind of man I want in my life." In fact I don't want any man in my life…

"Marissa, come on," JR said, his voice low and pleading now, but once again Marissa saw right through his hurt act.

"No JR – I'm done," Marissa told him for the second time. "I'm going upstairs to pack my things and then I'm asking AJ if he wants to come with me tonight. And if he does I'm taking him and you can pick him up after school on Monday." She breezed out of the parlor and back into the foyer, and as she started up the steps she saw Bianca appear at the top.

"Uh Riss," she started, meeting the redhead halfway up the staircase. "We have a little problem…"

"What happened?"

"Well – I played a game with AJ because I didn't want him to get suspicious before you had a chance to talk to him but when I finally got away and went to your room to get your things the door was locked and I couldn't get in."

"Well did you try the study door?" she asked, and Bianca nodded.

"Both doors are locked Riss."

"Yeah we're having the west wing of the house redecorated and so all the suites have been sealed off until it's completed," JR said from behind them, and Marissa whirled around and fixed him with an evil glare as he stood there grinning smugly with his arms folded in front of his chest. "I guess you'll have to wait to collect your things until the renovations are through – I don't have the master key, sorry."

"Oh you are really a piece of work," Marissa seethed at him, descending a few steps but Bianca's hand on her shoulder made her stop and collect herself. "You have interesting timing."

"Well I've been putting it off for some time and since Scott is going to have Bruce's extra help I thought I'd just contract him to work on the mansion as well," JR replied smoothly, his white teeth glinting evilly at the two women on the stairs. "Hope there wasn't anything too important in there – the remodel could take a few months at the very least."

"You listen to me you manipulative scheming slimy sack of shit," Marissa said as she started forward and she was happy to know that Bianca was right behind her. "You can do whatever you want to me – you can steal my belongings…"

"I'm not stealing anything," JR tried to cut in but Marissa pressed forward.

"You can scheme and plan and pull out all your best tricks but I hope you understand one thing," Marissa fumed quietly as she approached the still smirking JR. "You will never break me. You will never again merit any respect from me at all and the only dealing I'll have with you is to talk about raising our son. And if you keep up your little games I'm not sure what kind of father I think you're turning out to be. This is not the kind of behavior I want modeled for AJ so you better think long and hard about how far you're willing to fuck with me because trust me – you have no idea who you're really dealing with. So just keep that in mind the next time you turn back to your tricks because I've got plenty of my own and I'm willing to play. I'm willing to play to protect myself and my son."

"Are you threatening me?" JR asked her, his voice eerily quiet as he squinted at the redhead who matched his gaze with an equal amount of malice.

"You bet your sorry ass I am," she replied evenly, now nearly nose to nose with the man. "I don't want this to get ugly JR but you've already started it, so either back down or get ready. The choice is yours."

JR merely raised his eyebrows and widened his smirk. "Don't have the master key, sorry."

Marissa took a deep, steadying breath and turned away. "AJ!" she called, bounding halfway up the stairs. Her son appeared immediately and she climbed up to him. "You want to come spend the rest of the weekend with me?" she asked, proud of herself that she was able to drop any hint of her simmering fury as she addressed her innocent son and he smiled broadly in reply. "I'm staying at Bianca's and we can have a slumber party with Miranda and Gabby."

"Yeah!" AJ exclaimed, immediately turning around and bolting back to his room to get his things. Marissa turned slowly around and descended the steps again, locking gazes with Bianca for a second and she felt some of the tension drain from her chest at her comforting reassurance. As she reached the bottom landing she turned once again toward JR, who hadn't moved from his place in front of the parlor doors but his face had tightened when AJ disappeared.

"I'll drop him at school on Monday and you can pick him up after," Marissa told him pointedly as she strolled to the front door. "And be sure and let me know when your 'remodel' is finished so I can I have my things picked up."

AJ reappeared and dashed down the stairs to his mother's side, throwing a slightly nervous glance at his father as he stopped in the doorway. "Bye daddy," he said timidly, clinging tighter to Marissa's hand at his furious expression but after a moment the man's face finally softened slightly as he addressed his son.

"Have fun AJ," he told him, but his attempt at fooling the boy didn't work nearly as well as Marissa's had. "I'll see you on Monday afternoon okay?"

"Okay," AJ replied as he spun around and sprinted toward Bianca's car. The two women merely shook their heads disgustedly at JR as they too turned away, and by the time they had joined AJ at the car JR had disappeared behind the Chandler mansion's closed front doors.