Note:

This is an unfinished chapter written by the author Fantasinner, who sadly passed away on December 11 after losing a battle with a recurrent brain condition. Her fiancé is posting this last bit of her story for her in deference to her zest and passion for writing. I know how much she enjoyed this and the feedback she received was truly appreciated, especially now. To that end, I also realize that this story is unfinished and will remain that way as this is the last bit I could find on this story. However, I believe it would have been important to her that it be posted. All feedback and reviews are appreciated, and thank you so much to all of her readers.

And as I believe she would say…

Onward.

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Something was buzzing. Bianca buried her face farther into her pillow and tried to block out the noise but it only seemed to grow louder. I'm not answering that, she thought dully, but then realized that the constant sound was completely different from that of her cell phone. She managed to peel an eye open far enough to check the clock on the nightstand and groaned when she saw it read 5:44 am. She still had another 45 minutes to sleep so what the hell was making so much noise?

She rolled over and draped her arm over the lump in the covers next to her, but as her hand sank down almost to the mattress she realized that it was Marissa's pillow she was snuggling. She opened her eyes and looked around her bedroom, blinking rapidly against the sleep that stuck to them, but Marissa was nowhere in sight. And still the buzzing continued. What is that? It sounds like a…

She sat bolt upright in the bed and felt her eyes grow in their sockets, her smirk impossible to tame as amused thoughts ran rampant. That totally sounds like a vibrator. And Marissa's missing. The bathroom door's closed and the light's on in there…

She climbed out of bed and wrapped a robe around herself as she tiptoed toward the door, squinting through the darkness in the room at the thin sliver of light that leaked out from under the bathroom door and as she approached the buzzing grew louder as did her smile. Oh my god Marissa has a vibrator! she thought wildly, a little torn about how she should react. We haven't exactly gotten to the point where we're using toys yet but if Marissa already had one why wouldn't she tell me? And why is she in there using it all alone? I was just lying in bed naked for Christ sakes.

But as she reached for the door handle she couldn't keep her grin from widening at the prospect of walking in on Marissa that way and she hesitated only briefly before silently gripping the handle and turning it. She inched the door open slowly and peeked around it, and what she saw made her stop dead in her tracks.

Marissa sat on the counter in a thin silk robe with her head reclined against the wall and her eyes closed. One leg was propped up on the counter while the other hung down over the cabinet and in her mouth was

"An electric toothbrush?" Bianca said aloud, and Marissa's eyes sprang open and she nearly choked on the toothpaste. She leaned forward quickly and spit into the sink. "I didn't know you used an electric toothbrush," Bianca told her as she crossed the room, laughing inwardly at her own shock.

Marissa wiped her mouth and grinned. "Just one of the many interesting components that make me who I am," she told her, but seeing the amused expression on Bianca's face she furrowed her eyebrows in question. "Why what did you think I was doing?"

"Oh I don't know…" Bianca began slowly. "I was just lying in bed and all of the sudden I hear this buzzing that was definitely not my cell phone and you weren't in bed and the bathroom door was closed…"

"Because I didn't want to wake you," Marissa told her, catching on. She slid off the counter and wrapped her arms around Bianca's waist. "And I didn't want you to wake up to morning breath."

"You don't have morning breath," Bianca defended her. "And if you did I probably wouldn't notice."

"Even so, I wanted to be minty fresh for you," she replied, leaning up to kiss her gently. "But don't worry – I only use the vibrator when flossing."

Bianca's eyes widened again in shock. "You…" she started, but Marissa busted out laughing.

"I don't have a vibrator!" she exclaimed. "But you should see the look on your face! Priceless!"

"Well can you blame me for thinking that's what that noise was?" Bianca asked, which only doubled Marissa's laughter and Bianca was forced to join in. After a moment Marissa recovered and wrapped the brunette in her arms again.

"Don't worry baby," she told her happily, kissing each cheek. "Now that I have you in my life I really really don't need one." Bianca grinned and kissed her again, but soon Marissa pulled back. "But if I do get one," she went on, her voice dropping an octave and Bianca swallowed, "you'll be the very first to know."

She dropped her arms and swished away from her, crossing the tile back to the door and Bianca stared after her, her jaw hanging down to the floor. "You would really consider…"

"If you play your cards right," Marissa said with a wink as she disappeared around the corner and Bianca watched the sway of her hips and realized she'd actually started drooling with her mouth hanging open and she bolted through the door after her.

/

"Bianca," Amanda's voice rang out from the intercom on her desk, jolting the brunette as she sat hunched over boring papers scattered across her desk. "I have Marissa Tasker on the line for you."

Bianca smiled and picked up the receiver. "Thanks Amanda I've got it," she told her as she connected the line.

"Well hello again beautiful," Marissa said before she could speak, and a wide smile immediately cut across her face. "How has your morning been?"

"Absolutely boring," Bianca told her with a heavy sigh, tossing her pen onto the largest pile of papers before her. "I've been scouring these legal claims for hours and now I've got a headache. There's just so much."

"Well bring them home with you and I'll have a look at them," Marissa suggested. "In fact you could even bring some with you to Krystal's for lunch…"

"Oh no," Bianca interrupted her. "The last thing I want to think about over lunch with you is work. I'll just bring them home later."

"Sounds like a plan," Marissa replied, and Bianca smiled as she pictured her girlfriend's grin on the other end of the line. "So other than that how's it going?"

"Uh well that's been pretty much my entire morning, unless of course you count watching the messenger boy hit on Amanda for about twenty minutes."

"Well it's about time something happened for her," Marissa started, but again Bianca cut her off.

"He was seventeen."

Marissa chuckled. "Oh well then maybe not. Still though, she ought to do something with herself you know."

"Preach it woman," Bianca agreed heartily. "I've been telling Amanda that ever since she started here but she's stubborn as a mule and too picky to be allowed. It's not my problem though. I have other things to worry about besides the romantic life of my assistant."

"Well speaking of other things to worry about, I actually have a little bit of news I thought you'd be interested to hear and I couldn't wait another hour until we met for lunch."

"Oh?"

"Um yeah," Marissa started, and Bianca heard the rustling of papers as she grew quiet and she sensed that her girlfriend was suddenly a bit nervous.

"Is it something to do with JR?" Bianca ventured cautiously. "Because I really thought he did okay last Friday when he came for dinner. Things were civil at the very least. He's not drinking again is he?"

"Oh no it has nothing to do with JR," Marissa told her slowly. "I um… well I was in the break room earlier and overheard a few of the attorneys talking and I'm pretty sure they were talking about Jack coming back into the office sometime this week. Have you heard from him or your mother since they left?"

Bianca thought for a minute. "No actually I haven't. I assumed they were just far too busy with their extravagant vacation to bother calling, although if Jack's coming back to the office then…"

"It would follow that Erica will be blowing back through town soon as well," Marissa finished for her, and Bianca knew exactly what she was thinking.

"Well if that's the case then I'm sure I'll hear from her soon, probably not until they're back in town though. If I know my mother then she'll want to set up some sort of grand entrance since they're coming back early. But don't worry babe – I'll tell her about us the first chance I get."

"I wasn't worried," Marissa told her confidently. "I just thought you might like a little heads up that your mom's on her way back."

"Uh huh," Bianca agreed, even though she knew that Marissa really had been worried, or at the very least apprehensive. "Look you don't have to worry baby, my mom loves you."

"Yeah now," Marissa fired back. "She loves the straight girl who's best friends with her daughter. When she finds out we're together then I'll likely become nothing more than the biological daughter of Krystal Carey and David Hayward and nothing will stop her from hating my guts on principle."

"Not true," Bianca assured her. "I'll make sure that doesn't happen."

Marissa laughed darkly. "Okay no offense but I don't think anyone, yourself included, really stands a chance against Erica Kane's opinions."

"Well then you're just not giving me enough credit," Bianca replied lightly. "Or yourself for that matter. Look – you're spectacular and I really think my mom will see that instead of the fact that your biological parents are two of the people she hates more than anyone. And besides, even if she does it won't matter – I'll still love you and her opinion be damned. This is kinda forever, remember?"

"Oh I definitely remember," Marissa told her with a soft sigh, and Bianca smiled widely. "You really think it'll be okay?"

"I think it will be just fine," Bianca tried to reassure her. "My mom hasn't liked any of my girlfriends in the past but then I've never been with anyone like you before. You'll hold your own against her if you have to, I'm positive of that."

"Thanks for the support baby," Marissa said quietly as she took a deep breath. "I guess I'm just really nervous. Dealing with the parents is never easy."

"Especially when you have a mom like mine," Bianca agreed with a chuckle. "But really I wouldn't worry about it. We'll tell her and then we'll move on. Whatever she says won't change anything, I swear."

"Well that makes me feel better even though I kind of already knew it. But still it's nice to hear."

"I'll tell you as many times as you need."

"Maybe just one more time then…"

Bianca drew in a deliberate breath. "Marissa I will be with you for the rest of my life regardless of my mother's opinion or anyone else's. This is absolutely forever and that's that."

"That's that," Marissa repeated, and Bianca heard her smile through the line.

"That's that."

/