Disclaimer - Not mine which is so unfair, I treat them with the utmost respect. Instead, they're ABC's and AMC's. I love Bianca and Maggie but have no money, don't sue, it wouldn't be worth your while...
For some reason, after the last chapter, I started giving my chapter headers lyrics to Classic Rock songs that I thought spoke of BAM and the tone of the chapter. I created a How to Achieve Balance soundtrack, too, because I'm a dork...
Enjoy this chapter...
Paris, Fall 2005
Have I told you lately that I love you
Have I told you there's no one above you
Fill my heart with gladness
Take away my sadness
Ease my troubles, that's what you do
-Van Morrison Have I Told You Lately
Chapter 14 - Is That a Ring in Your Pocket…?
Bianca's eyes fluttered open as she slowly came awake. It couldn't have been later than 5:30 a.m., as evidenced by room still enveloped in darkness and stillness throughout the house. Bianca shifted her head, then stopped suddenly. The kitten was sitting on her pillow, its nose practically touching hers. Maggie was spooned up behind her, arms wrapped snugly around her shoulders, face pressed into the crook of her neck. The feel of Maggie's warmth all around her was wonderful. Fishy kitty breath on her face was not.
"Shoo, kitty," Bianca whispered. Moving was not an option as Maggie's pajama-clad leg was tossed over Bianca's hip and when Bianca had shifted, Maggie's arms tightened reflexively around her. Bianca grimaced. The cat's whiskers were tickling her nose. "Shoo. Go. Jump down."
"Shoo, go," Maggie mumbled.
"Maggie?"
"Maggie... s'me..." Maggie mumbled. "Bianca..."
"What, honey?"
"Bianca...?" Maggie sing-songed. "Love you..."
"I love you, too, Mags."
Then Maggie chuckled. Very sexily. "C'mere..." Her arms tightened again and she nuzzled closer to Bianca's ear. "Good..." She gently bit Bianca's neck, nibbling her way down her shoulder. "Mmm... Sooo sexy..."
Oh, God, Bianca thought, she's dreaming. About us. Having sex.
"Mm-hmm," Maggie murmured, nibbling at Bianca's earlobe. "Binky... Binky..."
"Binky?" Bianca whispered curiously. "Hey, Maggie..."
"Sexy Binky... sexy... yeah..."
"There is something sooo not right here."
"Love my Binky..." Maggie nuzzled close to Bianca's neck, pressing a wet, open-mouthed kiss on her neck. "Mmm..."
"Oh, good Lord." Bianca's eyes shot open as Maggie's hands started to roam. "Oh, no, you did not." When Maggie moaned softly in her ear, Bianca shot off the bed as though fired from a cannon, practically pulling Maggie out with her. The cat took off like a rocket, mewling in surprise as it raced back into the nursery and Miranda. "Eeewww!" Bianca exclaimed, shuddering from her head to her toes. "Gross!"
"Bianca?" Maggie muttered, pushing her hair out of her eyes. Why am I hanging half off the bed? she thought. "What's going on?"
"You were copping a feel! In your sleep!"
That made Maggie grin, suddenly wide awake. "I was? Really?"
"Don't you laugh! Don't you dare laugh!"
Too late, Maggie was cracking up. "I was having the best dream!" Maggie told her, still laughing. "And you were certainly enjoying it!"
"In your dream, maybe. But what part of me leaping out of bed made you think I was enjoying it while awake?!" Bianca shuddered again, then took a step back when Maggie reached for her. "Not until you're fully awake," she warned, holding up a hand. She used both hands to brush her hair back off her face. "God, you shocked me. I don't think I've ever moved that fast before in my life."
"What the hell was that noise?"
Bianca gave her a look. "The cat. Didn't you hear her? She let out a frightening screech and raced into Miranda's room. I'm sure she's pretty traumatized now."
Maggie's eyes lit up. "Hey-."
"No, we're not naming the cat Screech."
Maggie shrugged. "Come on back to bed, honey," she finally said, holding out a hand to Bianca. "No more groping, I promise."
Bianca shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest. "I don't believe you."
"Fine," Maggie sighed, rolling over and presenting her back to the brunette. She nuzzled down into the warm, soft covers. "You go ahead and stand there for three more hours, I'm going back to sleep."
Bianca stood there for a moment longer, then scurried back into bed. She moved behind Maggie, pulling her back into her arms and pressing a kiss to her cheek. "I love you, Mags."
"Yeah, yeah. I love you, too." Maggie clasped Bianca's hands in hers. "You know, if you weren't so damned sexy, you wouldn't have to worry about me groping you in my sleep."
"Yeah, well, you'd think with the amount of sex you were getting, you wouldn't need to dream about groping me in your sleep."
"Ah, sweet dreams, Binks. Sweet dreams..." After a long moment, when they finally found the perfect positions, Maggie sighed. "This should have been a sign, you know."
"What? You groping me in your sleep?"
They both chuckled. "No. How perfectly we fit together. Like we were made for each other. I should have noticed this a long time ago."
"I did notice this a long time ago. Why do you think I had so many crises that required you to hold me while I slept?" Maggie turned her head to say something, but Bianca kissed her quickly on the lips before she could speak. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding." Then she sighed softly, pressing her cheek to Maggie's, pulling her arms tighter around the blonde. "We do fit, though. And I do think we were made for each other. And I'd be willing to bet that anyone who knows us would agree. Even my mother."
Maggie grinned. "Your mother... yeah, you may be right, but I don't know how she'd take the whole groping thing."
Now Bianca grinned. "Oh, baby, you'd be surprised."
They were quiet for a long time, both walking the fine line between sleep and wakefulness. The calm of the house lulled them both back toward dreamland, resting comfortably, and completely, in each others arms. Bianca sighed deeply as Maggie shifted in her arms. Dreamily, Bianca pressed her lips to Maggie's shoulder, as Maggie had done in her sleep earlier.
"Bianca?" Maggie whispered sleepily.
"Yeah?"
"Is that your hand?"
"Ssshhh, you're dreaming..."
Bianca was in the kitchen feeding Miranda when Maggie came bursting into the apartment. She did that a lot lately as classes became more focused and she got completely back into schoolwork, studying and the joy in knowing she was working toward a personal goal. Bianca loved listening to Maggie tell her about her classes, her labs, things Bianca had absolutely no clue about. Now, if they wanted to talk about the Cambias budget projections...
"Hey, B!" Maggie called out. "Where are my girls?"
"In the kitchen," Bianca replied. She smiled at Miranda. "Here comes Maggie!"
The kitchen door swung open and Maggie appeared, her face flush with excitement. "Hey!"
"'Aggie!" Miranda shrieked, clapping her hands and giggling. She immediately reached for Maggie, her arms outstretched. "Pick!"
"Hi there, Munchkin!" She quickly picked the child up out of her high-chair. "How's my precious girl?" Miranda just giggled more, patting Maggie on the cheek and planting a sloppy kiss on her nose. "I love you, little girl."
"'Aggie..." Miranda said again, nuzzling her head onto Maggie's shoulder. Her breathing slowed and became regular and in an instant, she was asleep.
Bianca sat there amazed. "I don't know how you do it, but you can get her to sleep when no one else can. She ate lunch two hours ago."
"What are you doing now?"
"Well, I was hoping a snack and some juice would make her sleepy and she'd take a nap. Apparently, all she needed was a Maggie pill."
"A 'Maggie pill', huh?" Maggie went to Bianca, slipped an arm around the brunette's waist and leaned in for a kiss. "Nice to know I'm good for something."
Before Maggie could back out of the embrace, Bianca tightened her arms around her and kissed her again. "Oh, you're good for a lot of things," she whispered against Maggie's lips.
"Yeah, I've heard that before." Grinning at Bianca, Maggie headed out of the kitchen to the den, gently placing Miranda on the blanket by the sofa. The cat appeared out of nowhere and settled down right beside the sleeping toddler. Maggie scratched grey and white ears for a moment, then turned to Bianca. "You're just using me for sex, I know."
"Well," Bianca agreed, dropping onto the sofa next to Maggie. "That has been a pretty good bonus..."
Maggie slid an arm around Bianca's shoulders, pulling her down into her embrace. Bianca settled in, resting her head on Maggie's shoulder, slipping an arm across her waist. They sat in silence for a long time, watching their baby girl sleeping so contentedly on her baby blanket, a small yet fierce kitten standing guard over her.
"B?"
"Yeah?"
"You, uh, wanna go out tonight?"
Bianca grinned into Maggie's shoulder. "Why? What have you got in mind?"
"Well, the kids from school, the kids from the US and England? They're having a party and Cody asked me if we wanted to come."
"Cody?"
"Yeah, he's from Oklahoma. You think me in France is strange, you need to see this kid. Jeans, boots, he's 100 cowboy."
"Sounds like fun. When?"
"Eight-thirty I think. Now, Binks, this ain't no wine and cheese get-together."
Bianca laughed. "College kids having a party. No, I wouldn't think wine and cheese, either. I was thinking more like a kegger." She leaned back and smiled at Maggie. "Wow, a college party, just like back at good ol' PVU."
"Oh, God, that was so long ago. Why do I feel older than a normal college student?"
"Well, we've certainly lived through more than a normal college student."
"Huh, ya think?"
Bianca chuckled. "And I'll bet we're the only ones there with an 18-month-old daughter."
"Maybe, maybe not, but I'll bet we're the only ones with an 18-month-old daughter who was stolen at birth, raised by someone claiming to be your best friend, returned after Momma almost died from a vault off the balcony and is worth more than you and me put together."
"Well, yeah..." Bianca rolled her eyes. "Duh."
Kendall and Jean-Paul were going out to dinner so Bianca called Martine to come watch Miranda that evening. The older woman, who was growing to love the out-going, laughing child, readily agreed and arrived at eight o'clock on the dot.
Maggie, dressed casually in a pair of jeans, white tank and a denim jacket, was playing with the baby until Bianca finished getting ready. They sat on the floor in the den, playing catch with Miranda's Elmo plush-toy. The kitten sat diligently by Miranda's side, attacking the toy when it got too close to the baby, causing Miranda to giggle with glee.
"Wow," Bianca said from the doorway. Maggie was on her hands and knees on Miranda's blanket, her dark blue jeans stretched snugly over her behind. Thank God she's not wearing the Levi's, Bianca thought, or we'd never leave the house. She cleared her throat. "Hey, you ready?"
Maggie glanced over her shoulder and saw where Bianca's gaze was directed. "Stop looking at my behind," she sang, turning back to Miranda to kiss the baby on the forehead.
"Please," Bianca replied, coming into the room to say good-night to their daughter. "You've named mine." She picked Miranda up and gave her a squeeze, getting a giggle and a kiss from the little girl. "You be good for Martine, honey. Momma and 'Aggie will be home later."
"Binks?"
"Yeah?"
Taking in Bianca's red scoop neck T-shirt with dark jeans and black jacket, Maggie grinned. "'Wow' back at ya."
After kissing Miranda good-night, Maggie took Bianca's hand and led her to the door. They bid a good-night to Martine and were gone, taking the Cambias BMW X5 over to the Left Bank and the apartment building where the party was being held. Maggie found a parking spot on a tight little back street, causing Bianca no small amount of anxiety, and locked the car, coming around to take Bianca's hand, lacing their fingers together.
"I'm just saying," she stated, leading the brunette up a flight of stairs to the second-floor apartment Cody had told her about. "If she can get the 'm' out for Momma, what's so hard about the 'm' in Maggie?"
Bianca laughed. "I think it's cute."
Maggie gave her a look. "I think I sound like a football school in Texas..."
The apartment door was wide open, people spilling in and out. Good old American hip-hop blared out of the stereo and there were some people dancing but mostly they were standing around talking over the music, beers in hand. Maggie kept hold of Bianca's hand, looking for someone, anyone, she recognized.
"Holy shit!"
Cody spun around at the exclamation. "What?"
Riordan McTigh had his tongue hanging out of his mouth. "Two of the most gorgeous women I have ever seen in my life just walked in the door!"
Now Cody grinned. "That's Maggie from my Genetics class," he said, catching sight of Maggie looking around for a friendly face. She was holding tightly to the hand of an amazingly beautiful brunette.
"Which one? Which one is Maggie?"
"The blonde. That must be her girlfriend, Bianca."
"Girlfriend?" Riordan gave Cody a look. "Girlfriend as in, her friend who's a girl? Or girlfriend as in, maybe they'll let me watch?"
Cody shook his head. "McTigh, you're a pig." He headed over to the two women. "Maggie!"
Maggie heard her name being called and saw both Cody and Kathleen making their way over. She pulled Bianca closer to her, smiling at her classmates. "Hey, guys."
"Glad you could make it," Cody drawled, handing Maggie a bottle of beer.
She smiled at the tall blond kid from Oklahoma, accepting the bottle while maintaining her hold on Bianca. "This is my girlfriend, Bianca Montgomery. B, this is Cody Shepard and Kathleen, um..."
The Scottish redhead laughed. "Believe it or not, it's Montgomery."
"Really?" Bianca asked. She took the beer Kathleen held out to her.
"It's a pretty common name in Scotland. Do you have relatives there?" And with that, the two of them drifted off to talk about a possible family connection.
Maggie watched them go, then glanced up at Cody. He was grinning from ear-to-ear. "What?" she asked.
"You are my hero," the kid said. Maggie just rolled her eyes. "No, really, you are my hero. I can only dream about a woman like that."
Rolling her eyes again, Maggie turned toward the kitchen and the snacks, Cody on her heels.
As the evening progressed, Maggie got to know her classmates a little bit better. She now knew that Riordan McTigh was from Wales and a complete hound. He kept asking about her and Bianca. Pretty personal questions, which got him nasty looks from the others. He was hoping for a career in the bio-chemistry field. Ian O'Connell was from England and seemed rather shy. He was the one who would elbow Riordan whenever he made an inappropriate comment. Kathleen was from Scotland, a genetics major, and a warm out-going girl who had things in common with Bianca, like family, style and a larger-than-life mother. Lisa Hernandez was from California, a Rhodes Scholar interested in genetic engineering. Cody was from Shawnee, Oklahoma, an out-cast in his family for going to Kansas University instead of the University of Oklahoma. He may have seemed like a good ol' boy, but he was bright and quick and well ahead of his classmates. His dream was clinical research and Maggie was sure he'd be the one to cure several diseases.
"So, Mary Margaret," Ian said jokingly. "How different is this from back home?"
Maggie gave Ian a look. "A, only one person gets away with calling me Mary Margaret, and you ain't her. And two, this looks like a lot of college parties I went to back home." Then she grinned mischievously, her eyes finding Bianca from across the room. "Actually, it's a lot calmer here in Paris than it was back home."
"Really?"
"You have no idea."
Bianca must have felt Maggie's gaze because she looked up and met her eyes. She smiled at her girlfriend, a soft blush washing along her cheeks before turning back to the two girls she was talking to. Maggie grinned again.
Just then, Riordan came over and handed Maggie a wad of bills. "Here," he smirked. "You win."
"Win?" Maggie asked. "Win what?" She looked at the money in her hand. "Jeez, there's almost 200 Euro here!"
"All the guys put some money into the kitty to see who'd arrive with the hottest date." Now, he shrugged, looking over to where Bianca stood with Jennifer and Kathleen. "It was no contest. You did."
Maggie stuffed the money into her pocket. "Yeah, I did," she agreed, following his gaze with a smile.
They got home a little after 2 a.m., a little tipsy and a lot frisky. As they climbed into bed, already a tangle of arms and legs and lips and hands, Maggie realized that the combination of alcohol and Bianca made her giggly and ticklish, and ever-so aggressive. Bianca realized that the combination of alcohol and Maggie made her serious yet extremely handsy, and possibly a little emotional.
It also made her musical. She started by singing I Will Always Love You, which made Maggie giggle more, then she quickly slid into a complete Whitney Houston retrospective. By the third rendition of I Wanna Dance With Somebody, Maggie was in hysterics and Bianca was near tears.
They woke up the next morning wrapped in the duvet cover and each other, the kitten sitting on top of them, regarding them quizzically, wondering why they were on the floor between the bed and the wall.
The following Monday, Maggie had an early class while Bianca had to be in the office before noon. Kendall took Miranda to the park in the morning, but was home before Maggie returned.
It had been another fascinating day in class and Maggie rushed into the apartment. She wanted to share everything she'd seen and done today with Bianca, but she wouldn't be home until later. That deflated Maggie a little until she saw Kendall in the den, watching a poorly dubbed episode of 'Hunter' on TV while Miranda and the kitten slept on the blanket on the floor.
"Hey, K!" Maggie called, throwing herself onto the sofa next to Bianca's sister.
"Shit, Mags!" Kendall shrieked, holding her bottle of water up to keep from spilling it. "What did you call me?"
"'K'. You're the only one around here without a nickname."
Kendall gave her a look. "My name is Kendall, Maggie. That's nickname enough."
"Hey, you're talking to Mary Margaret here. I sound like a nun." Kendall choked on her water. "Okay, probably not a good comparison..." Maggie admitted, patting a coughing Kendall on the back. "You okay?"
"Sorry, it just popped into my head, Sister Mary Margaret and Les-Bianca."
Maggie looked at Kendall then slid a few feet away from her on the sofa. "I don't want to be too close when the lightening strikes," she explained at Kendall's questioning glance.
"Eh," Kendall scoffed with a wave of her hand. "Trust me, if I were going to be hit by lightening over something I said, I would have been fried a long time ago."
"Well, that's true." Suddenly, Maggie thought of something. "Hey, you know, I should be thanking you."
Kendall choked on her water again. "Dammit, Maggie, warn a gal, would ya?"
"Sorry."
"Yeah, that sounded sincere." Kendall looked at Maggie. "So, why should you be thanking me?"
Maggie gave Kendall her trademark lopsided grin. "For setting us up."
"What?"
"When I first got to Pine Valley. You set me and Bianca up to meet at SOS."
Kendall flushed with embarrassment. "Not my finest hour."
"Maybe not at the time, but it turned out okay in the end."
"Thank God. I was so vindictive at the time, I just wanted to cause Binks a little more pain. Why shouldn't she suffer, too? Why did she get to be Erica's angel? Man, I was such a bitch." Kendall shook her head sadly. "She'd been through so much but I just had to pile on more."
Maggie smiled at Kendall. "You know, after the initial shock, I think she adjusted pretty well."
"Yeah. I think you'd be surprised how quickly she stopped thinking of Frankie when she looked at you. I think she fell for Maggie pretty quickly." Then Kendall smiled a little sheepishly. "Your friendship hasn't exactly been a stroll down the primrose path, has it?"
"We hit a few rough patches along the way."
"A few? Ha! That's like saying Erica Kane's been married a time or two."
Maggie chuckled. "For every hard time, there have been just as many good times."
Kendall seemed skeptical. "Maybe, maybe not. You've just been able to overcome the hard times. You two have been incredibly blessed."
"Yeah, I know. We've been the lucky ones."
Kendall shifted on the sofa so that she was facing Maggie. "Did I ever thank you?" she said softly.
Maggie's brow knitted in confusion. "For what?" she asked.
"For taking care of my sister. For always loving her and being there for her. You know, when I go back and think about it, you've been taking care of her, looking out for her, since the moment you met her. And I mean that literally."
"Can I tell you something honestly, Kendall?" Maggie sighed. "I've wanted to take care of her from the moment I first met her. I've never met a more pure soul in my life."
"Yeah, that's our Binks. But I mean it, Maggie. Thank you. You've saved her life more than once and I can only say thank you."
Maggie waved it off, not feeling comfortable with an emotional Kendall. It picked at barely healed wounds that she didn't want to think about and while she appreciated what Bianca's sister was saying, she didn't want to dwell on the bad times. She wanted to focus on and enjoy the good times. "Had to," she finally replied. "Erica would have killed me if I hadn't."
"You know, I envy you two."
"Us? Why?"
Kendall gave Maggie a smile. "I can only imagine what it must be like to love someone, and be loved by someone, as completely as you two do. I've never seen anything like it before."
Maggie shrugged ashamedly. "God knows I didn't make it easy for her, especially after we thought she lost Miranda."
"Come on, Mags, you know the old saying. 'Nothing worth having comes easy'."
"If that's true, then this is the only thing worth having."
Kendall laughed. "It is, Maggie. I only hope someday someone loves me like you love Bianca."
Now Maggie smiled. "I hope so, too, Kendall. And I hope they don't take near as long to figure it out as I did."
"Well, yeah..."
Suddenly, both women were extremely ill-at-ease. Had they ever had a conversation with each other that lasted more than a few minutes? Okay, maybe, but had they ever had a conversation with each other that didn't involve a loved one or family member in crisis? As they sat quietly, they both actually had to wonder if they'd ever had a conversation just to talk to each other.
Suddenly, Kendall grinned. "Thanks for hating Lena as much as I did, too," she said.
Maggie laughed. "Hey, that was my pleasure," she assured Kendall, holding up a hand. "You know, I realize she made Bianca happy, but I- I- well, I don't know if hate is a strong enough word for how I felt about Lena. How I still feel about Lena. God, I hate that accent!"
"And she was, what, in her mid to late 60's?"
They both laughed at that. "Well, she was too old for Bianca, that's for sure." Maggie considered Kendall for a moment. "I think we're more alike than we're willing to admit, Kendall."
One more time, Kendall choked on her water. "What? Are you trying to kill me?!"
"Not intentionally." Maggie ducked as Kendall smacked her on the arm. "I just mean that we're both more than willing to do whatever is necessary for Bianca. We were both ready to kill for her. I think we're both willing to die for her. And I think we're both honest enough to admit she's the best thing in our lives." Then Maggie looked at the still sleeping Miranda. "Along with the Munchkin."
Kendall smiled. "Yes. To all of that. Maybe we are a lot alike."
Maggie shook her head as she held up a finger. "I never said a lot alike. Don't push your luck, Hart."
"Maggie? Always remember something for me, okay?"
"What?"
"You're the best thing in Bianca's life. Along with the Munchkin."
After a long moment, Maggie got up and headed for the door. "Hey," she said softly, waiting for Kendall to look up. "Thanks a lot... K."
Kendall shook her head, but grinned anyway. "Don't call me 'K'."
Maggie turned, walking backwards out the door. "Oh, hey, Kendall? You know that deal you made with Bianca about the kitchen? Not gonna happen, so maybe you could wear a bell or something?" She ducked out before the pillow hit her in the head.
"I am not a cat!" Kendall yelled.
Pine Valley, PA, USA
Enchantment International Headquarters
Erica's direct line was ringing. That means only one of 2 things, Erica thought. Bianca's calling or something weird is happening again in this damn town. Or 3 things, maybe Kendall is calling. Okay, 4 things, it could be Jack, but Jack never calls, he just shows up. Maybe 5 things-
"Crap, just answer the phone!" Erica said to herself, then reached for the handset. Pine Valley was really starting to get to her. "Erica Kane."
Paris, France
Montgomery-Stone Apartment
Maggie fingered the business card of Erica's that Bianca had given her years ago. She really needed to call the woman and tell her what she was planning. Shouldn't you tell the mother of the woman you love you plan on giving her a ring? Maggie thought. Your giving the woman you love a ring, not the mother. She is all the way across the ocean, she can't come through the phone line and strangle me-
"Shit, Maggie, just call already." She dialed the number on the card and waited for Erica to answer.
"Erica Kane."
Hang up, hang up, hang up!!!! "Um, Erica? Hi, it's Maggie."
Okay, 5 things, maybe Maggie was calling her, on her direct line- oh, my God, something happened to Bianca! "Maggie? What is it? What's wrong?"
"What? Nothing's wrong- oh, ha ha, you're probably wondering why I'm calling on your private line." Gonna faint, I'm gonna faint. I need to lie down.
"Oh, Maggie, you scared me." If my daughter didn't love you so much, I'd bitch-slap you for scaring the life out of me. I know how it's done, I am the Queen of the bitch-slap...
Maggie was lying on the bedroom floor, her feet up on the edge of the bed, trying to get the blood back into her brain. "I'm sorry, Erica. Bianca gave me your card a long time ago, she said if I ever needed to contact you immediately, your private line was the best way. Well, I kinda needed to talk to you-." Rambling, I'm rambling. Ramble On by Led Zeppelin, great song- or is it Rambling Man by the Allman Brothers? No, they're both great songs...
She's rambling. She's nervous about something. If she's changed her mind again, I'll kill her with my bare- yet beautifully manicured- hands. How long before the jet can be ready? "Maggie?" Note to self, schedule manicure and pedicure...
"Yes? Oh, sorry." Deep breath, Stone. Ooh, not too deep, you almost blacked out there. "Um, Erica..." Hyperventilating, I'm hyperventilating. Is the emergency number in France also 9-1-1? Or is it Neuf-Un-Un?
"Yes, Maggie?" This is torture. Spit it out, girl! And you want to be a doctor? You need to be able to communicate better than this. "I'm here."
"Okay, well, the thing is..." Maggie closed her eyes and tried to relax. Suddenly, words gushed out of her mouth: "IboughtBiancaaringandIthoughtyoushouldknowsoIcalledtotellyoubutIreallygottagonowbye."
And she hung up. "Oh, my God! What did I just do?! I hung up on Erica Kane! Dead. I'm dead!" Maggie jumped to her feet. "If I start packing now, I can be in Tibet by tomorrow. She wouldn't look for me in Tibet. No one would look for me in Tibet. Tibet. Man, that's a weird word. Say it a bunch of times and it sounds even weirder. Tibet. Tibet. Tibet..." Maggie threw herself on the bed, covering her head with a pillow. "Oh, man, I've gone completely around the bend. I'm nuts. Certifiably insane." The phone rang. "And now I'm dead..." She picked up the phone. "Hello, Erica."
"Maggie Stone!" Erica exclaimed. "Did you say you bought my daughter a ring?"
"Um, yeah?" Maggie cringed, awaiting the eruption of Mount Kane.
There was a pause. "Tell me."
Maggie pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it for a full minute. Finally, she put the phone back to her ear. "It's nothing fancy, Erica," she began. "I'm still a humble, i.e. poor, med student."
In Pine Valley, Erica sat back in her chair, regally crossed her legs and grinned from ear to ear. "Tell me anyway."
Well, Maggie was still alive and Erica hadn't come flying across the Atlantic to strangle her. In all honesty, Maggie had been surprised at Erica's quick acceptance and apparent happiness at Maggie's declaration. Although she did seem a little too relieved that there were no diamonds of large carat-weight involved...
So Maggie made plans to eventually give Bianca the ring. She wanted the moment to be right. To be able to express what she was feeling at the time she bought the rings, how she's felt for Bianca for so long. And to hopefully bring some closure to the entire Jonathan Lavery fiasco. Because she had so much to apologize for where that asshole was concerned.
They had spent a mild October day at Place de la Madeleine, a square just north of the Tuileries filled with gourmet supermarkets and shops. They laughed and ate a baguette and cheese and sipped some wine while Miranda attacked a giant croissant aux chocolat with both hands. They strolled along the gardens at the Tuileries and the Place de la Concorde, watching the tourists hustling by, giving directions when English-speaking travelers heard them talk and decided to approach. They got into a friendly argument with each other over which was the Gare de Lyon and which was the Gare St. Lazare until the couple they'd been helping handed over a map. They had dinner at a sidewalk café just off the Champs Elysees, then took an exhausted Miranda home.
"I'll put her to bed," Bianca whispered as they entered the apartment.
Maggie nodded and kissed the baby on the forehead. "I'm going to change real quick. Meet me in the den when you're done."
"Okay."
While Bianca got Miranda settled down, Maggie changed clothes, deciding the faded, worn Levi's and the Rangers jersey were probably her best bet. They seemed to have the desired affect on Bianca and that's what Maggie was, in the end, looking for. She grabbed the jewelry box on her way out of the bedroom and hurried down to the den, tossing a blanket on the floor, lighting a few candles and turning on the CD player.
When the opening guitar riff of Whole Lotta Love filled the room, Maggie quickly ejected the Zeppelin disc and replaced it with Nat King Cole. Then she double-checked all the discs to make sure there wouldn't be any surprises later in the evening. They'd been on a classic rock kick lately, but she wasn't sure she wanted to be making out to Teenage Wasteland or Sympathy for the Devil.
Bianca arrived a few minutes later with a bottle of wine and two glasses. "Oh, God," she whispered. "You're wearing your sexy clothes. You know, I won't be responsible for my actions when I tear those jeans off you later."
Maggie grinned. "Yeah, promises, promises." She held out her hand. "Come over here and join me."
Bianca settle down onto the blanket, pouring them each a glass of wine. "Miranda is still sound asleep and the cat is standing guard. All is well in the nursery."
"Good, good." Maggie sipped her wine, then leaned in to kiss Bianca, tasting the tart wine on her lips. "I love you, you know," she whispered when they finally came up for air.
"I've got a pretty good idea." Then she kissed Maggie again. "I love you, too."
"Binks, we need to talk."
Bianca gave Maggie a look. "You're not breaking up with me are you?"
Maggie laughed. "Not a chance, Montgomery." She took their glasses and set them aside. "I'm staying."
"Whew..."
They sat on the blanket facing each other, hip to hip, pressing against each other, holding hands.
"I have some things I need to say to you, Bianca. Things I have to say. I know we've talked about Jonathan before, I wouldn't have been able to heal without you listening to me talk about him and when we were together. But I have more I need to say, things I need you to hear. Okay?"
Bianca looked worriedly into Maggie's eyes. "Okay, sweetie. Are you going to be okay?"
Maggie smiled. "As long as I'm with you I will be."
"Well, I'm not going anywhere." Bianca brushed a gentle hand along Maggie's cheek. "Go ahead, honey, I'm listening."
Maggie took a deep breath. "When I think of the things I said to you when I was with Jonathan," she whispered, pain lacing her voice. "I am so ashamed. I can never say 'I'm sorry' enough for the things I said and the things I did. It doesn't seem like enough to say 'I'm sorry', it seems... weak. Superficial. Hell, it seems pretty sorry."
"Maggie..."
"No, let me talk."
"Okay."
Maggie scooted a little closer, she needed the contact with Bianca as she said what she had to say. She looked down at the slender hand in hers and smiled a bit, enjoying the feel of their fingers lacing together. "I am so in love with you, Bianca. I have always been in love with you."
"I've always been in love with you, too-."
"Man, will you shut up for one second?" There was no anger in the words and both Maggie and Bianca smiled. "Let's start with January."
"Wow, you want to deal with a whole month?"
"We could go all the way back to November or October, probably even September and work our way forward, but the month of January was... well, it was without a doubt the most strange, weird, confusing, screwed-up month of my life."
"Huh, you and me both."
"You know, I really don't have any excuse for what I did to you. For the mean, hurtful, terrible things I said. I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive myself for that. I don't know how you can ever forgive me."
"I can forgive you because I love you. And I know it was Jonathan, not you, who made you say those things. It was his influence."
Maggie sighed, unable to meet Bianca's eyes. "You know, when you came to me in January, I loved you then. I loved you so much, just seeing you broke my heart. Being close to you hurt so badly. I knew I was wrong and I stubbornly refused to do anything about it and that just about killed me. When you kissed me, I wanted to throw myself in your arms and kiss you again. And again and again." She paused and took a deep breath. "There was this war going on in my head and my heart, do I push you away or do I pull you back into my arms? But I had said and done so many stupid things up to that point that I just reacted in the same old patented Stone way. I pushed. And I pushed hard."
Bianca interrupted. "Maggie, I pushed, too."
"Not in the same way, Bianca, you know that." Bianca shrugged but didn't speak, so Maggie continued. "When I think about how I told you- how I screamed at you- to get out of my life, how it sounded so hateful and so angry... when I think that you might have actually done it and I would have never seen you again..." She swallowed the lump in her throat. "The fact that you did vanish from my life for a time..."
"I had to, Maggie. It killed me to see you like that. I couldn't see you like that. And you couldn't see me, either." Bianca laughed sadly. "Man, I just wanted to shake some sense into you," she whispered, her voice cracking. "I wanted to hold you so tight. But I couldn't make you see things my way. That would have been wrong. That would have been a barrier in our friendship, too... You needed to make those decisions on your own."
"When I think about it, I think I fought you so hard because I knew you were right. I needed to hear it, so I'd pick a fight with you so you'd have to yell it at me. Then I'd get mad because I knew what I was hearing was the truth and I'd get... nasty. Mean. Hateful. God, Bianca, when I think that we may never have had the chance to not only just be friends again, but to be together..." Maggie took a deep breath that ended in a sob. "You know, Jonathan had gotten control over me, made me think his way, do things his way, but he never had all of me. Deep down in my heart there was you. There was always you. I knew this. And I think even Jonathan knew this." Maggie looked into Bianca's eyes for a moment then her gaze skittered away again. "When I finally kicked him out, I needed to be with you so badly. But I was so afraid I'd destroyed our friendship completely and you'd never want to see me. I was going to let you go, Bianca. I couldn't face you. I thank God that Greenlee and Reggie came over and told me what had happened. I might have never seen you again if they hadn't."
There was silence, only the sound of shuddering breaths as both women tried to control their emotions.
"Are you done?" Bianca asked softly. "Is it my turn now?"
Maggie swallowed hard and nodded. "Yeah, go ahead."
"You hated me, Maggie, and there was nothing I could do about it."
"No," Maggie argued. "I never hated you."
"Okay, maybe not, maybe hate is too strong a word. Maybe it's better to say that Jonathan worked hard to turn you against me. But I didn't make it easy for you to make your own decisions. Getting in your face day after day and beating you over the head with what I thought was best for you didn't help. And if you want me to be totally honest, it was for selfish reasons. Totally and completely selfish reasons on my part." Bianca reached up with a hand and caressed Maggie's cheek. "Do you know how hard it was to stay away from you? To not see this beautiful face every day? To not hear your voice and your laugh? To not be able to touch you? I'll be honest with you, Maggie, I was jealous. I was jealous as hell. I hated Jonathan with a passion, and not just because he hit you. Although, I could have killed the bastard for that. But because he had succeeded in doing the one thing that no one else in that town had been able to accomplish. He took you away from me. Completely. In four years, no one had been able to come between us like that. Not even Babe."
Maggie smiled a little bit. "You know, that's a whole other story, because when all that was going down, I should have been there for you. So, let's not discuss Babe."
"Deal." Bianca wiped a tear off her cheek, then did the same for Maggie, kissing her quickly on the lips. "The thought of you not in my life, ever, was impossible to bear. God, Maggie, for the last four years, you were my life. Even when I was pregnant with Miranda, you were always there. And even with all that crazy family of mine hanging around, you were my life. Even when Lena came back, you were my life."
"Okay, Lena goes into the same category with Babe."
Bianca chuckled. "Got it." She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "You know how you keep saying that your 'I'm into guys' line was the stupidest thing you've ever said?" Maggie nodded ashamedly. "Hey, it's okay. Maybe that was too soon for us, but you want to know something? Remember that day when you told me you still thought about the time you kissed me, how it never left you, how you thought about doing it again? That you thought you loved me?"
"Yeah..."
"What if I hadn't been the stupid one that day? What if I had told you the truth, that I loved you, too? Instead of hiding behind some stupid excuse, 'oh, I'm committed to Lena'. Man, that was crap, that was me being the scared one. You were brave enough to tell me the truth. I should have done the same. I should have told you that I loved you, too. Maybe if I had, we wouldn't have wasted all this time. Maybe we wouldn't have had to suffer all this pain."
Maggie actually laughed. "Jeez, I guess we were both pretty stupid, weren't we?"
"We could probably argue over who was more stupid, but I bet it would all come out pretty even in the end."
"About Jonathan-."
"No, Maggie, he falls into the Babe/Lena folder."
"Let me just say this, okay?" Maggie whispered. After a moment, Bianca nodded. "I'm sorry that I was the one who brought him into our lives and wasn't smart enough-."
Bianca held up a hand. "Okay, stop right there." She took Maggie's face gently in her hands, not allowing her to avoid eye contact. Maggie needed to hear this. "Jonathan was a sociopath. He was a sociopath, Maggie. It doesn't matter how smart you are, he knew what he was doing. It's what sociopath's do, it's why they get away with it for so long, because even the smartest people are taken in by them. Jonathan knew how to play the game."
"You weren't taken in by him."
"That's only because I hated him. He had the one thing I wanted most in the world, so maybe I could see through him, I don't know..." Bianca leaned in and pressed a reassuring kiss to Maggie's lips. "None of this was your fault, Maggie. Someday you'll believe that."
"Oh, yeah? When?"
"I can't answer that, it's up to you." Bianca paused. "Did you ever stop to think that maybe it's all my fault that Jonathan screwed us up?"
"What?! No!"
"Think about it, Maggie. If I had just told you what Babe and I were planning to do that night, you would have known. You wouldn't have walked in on us in bed together and thought the worst. In essence, I made you run right into Jonathan's arms. It's all my fault."
Maggie shook her head furiously. "No, no I don't believe that."
"Well, I don't believe that it's your fault, either. Things happen for a reason, Mags. As much as I wish we'd had these past four years together, everything happened for a reason. We were meant to be together now. Maybe all this was preparing us for our future together." Bianca shrugged a shoulder and smiled. "Maybe this is what's going to make you and me together so strong. And strong for a very long time."
"Well..." Maggie whispered. The moment had finally shown itself, the time was now. "I've got something that might help."
Bianca gave her a look. "Oh, yeah?" she asked, pushing some hair behind her ear. Her eyebrows knitted a little in confusion. "Like what?"
God, Maggie loved that unconscious move with the hair. That's when Bianca looked carefree again, almost the sweet innocent 17-year-old she'd first met. "Well, the other day when I was late getting home from my lecture, it's because I was over in the Marais, wandering around."
"Yeah, you told me, you had coffee with Cody and the others."
"Yeah. But when we were done, I walked around for a while, looking in some of the shops and stuff. I, well, I found something I wanted to get for you."
"Maggie. What did you get?"
Suddenly, Maggie's heart was thundering like a runaway freight train. Could she be this nervous and still survive? Her heart felt like it would beat its way out of her chest. Taking a few calming breaths, she reached up to the sofa and found the spot where she'd hidden the box right after they got home.
"I ended up outside this jewelry store and... well... I saw... there were... I found... these rings..."
"A jewelry store, huh?"
"Well, it wasn't your typical jewelry store."
Bianca grinned. "So, it wasn't Tiffany's?"
Maggie matched Bianca's grin with one of her own. "Tiffany Goldberg's maybe."
"What?"
"While I was wandering around, I found myself in the Jewish Quarter. That's where all those great pastries came from." She waved that off, knowing she would start rambling if she didn't slow down. "Anyway, the store had all kinds of jewelry from Israel, beautiful stuff really, and, well, I saw these rings."
She opened the box, showing Bianca the two rings. They were two-toned white and yellow gold, very simple yet beautifully intricate bands with delicate engraving circling the entire ring. Bianca couldn't read what the rings said, recognizing it as a foreign language, but they both were the same. She looked up into Maggie's eyes.
"What do they say?" she asked breathlessly.
"It's Hebrew," Maggie told her. "It says, Ani l'dodi v'dodi li. It means I am my beloved's; my beloved is mine." Suddenly, she blushed, extremely embarrassed that she'd done something like this. "Oh, God, I'm a dork, aren't I? This was a very dorky thing to do." She tried to close the box.
"No, Maggie," Bianca exclaimed, stopping her with a hand over hers. "I think it's beautiful. The rings are absolutely gorgeous." She took one of the rings out of the box, turning it to read the engraving. "I love them."
"Not too sentimental? It's okay? I didn't go completely, ridiculously over the top?"
Bianca smiled. "You remember that infamous day at the boathouse? You asked me what Bianca wants?"
Maggie returned Bianca's smile with a sheepish one of her own. "Yeah. You said Bianca wants what every girl wants. Romance. A lover."
"This, Maggie. This is what Bianca wants." With that, she handed one of the rings to Maggie. "This is all Bianca has ever wanted. You. And me. Together."
"I may have some really dumb things in my life," Maggie said softly, holding the ring in one hand, while taking Bianca's hand in the other, "and I will without a doubt do dumb things in the future, because, well, I'm Maggie Stone and apparently that's the way I've been written. And I'm going to have these days when I'm still insecure and I'll find it impossible to believe that someone like you can really love, and be in love with, someone like me. But I promise you, Bianca Montgomery, that I will never willingly turn my back on you and walk away. Never." Maggie's voice broke and she felt a tear tracking down her cheek. "This is my promise to you. I will be by your side forever." She slipped the ring on Bianca's finger then pressed a kiss to it. "I love you, Bianca. I will love you until the end of time."
"Wow," Bianca whispered. "I'm actually speechless." She quickly gave Maggie a look. "Don't say a word." Maggie shut her mouth. "I don't know what to say, I don't have anything prepared."
"I'm sorry, are you accepting an Emmy here? You don't have to give me a speech, Bianca, just talk to me."
Quiet for a moment, Bianca felt a tear on her cheek. Wiping it away, she took the second ring out of the box and grasped Maggie's hand in hers. "You know, I think I've loved you my entire life," she finally said, her voice husky with emotion. "It feels like I've known you that long. Sometimes I can't seem to remember a time in my life when you weren't with me. When you weren't a part of me. You came into my life and moved right into my heart and you've owned it ever since. Heart, mind, body and soul, you own me, Maggie Stone. All that I am and all that I have are yours. No more of the 'someone like you' and 'someone like me'. Someday you're going to realize that loving 'someone like you' is the best thing that's ever happened to me. And that will never, ever change." Then Bianca slid the ring onto Maggie's finger and, as Maggie had done to her, pressed a kiss to it. "I love you, Maggie. Just like you, until the end of time."
Their eyes met and they came together in a tender kiss. Bianca kissed Maggie again, deeper this time, imprinting the feel and taste of her in her memory. That kiss led to another and another, until they were lying in each others arms, one searing kiss blending into the next, tongues dancing back and forth, hearts pounding, lungs aching.
Maggie tugged the hem of Bianca's t-shirt free of her jeans and slid a hand up the silken skin of her back. She kissed her way to Bianca's throat, nuzzling her face into the crook of her neck, breathing in Bianca's unique scent, sweet yet spicy, innocent yet not. Enchantment perfume or Angel?
Bianca tangled one hand in Maggie's hair, holding her lips to her throat. The other hand slipped down Maggie's back, over the soft mesh of the jersey, the satiny feel of the numerals stitched there. She found the hem and, as Maggie pulled back to look in her eyes, slid both hands underneath.
They kissed again, longingly, deeply, hungrily. Have I Told You Lately by Van Morrison filled the room. Bianca fingered the waistband of Maggie's Levi's. No matter how good they looked on her, they needed to be gone.
The door to the den swung open and Kendall entered, Jean-Paul on her heels, the two of them laughing. "Oh. My. GOD!" Kendall shrieked, coming to a dead stop. The girls leapt apart as though hit by an electronic cattle prod. "Is nothing sacred in this house?!?"
"Hey, hey, hey!" Maggie shouted back, pulling Bianca into her arms protectively. "This ain't the kitchen!!"
"That does it," Bianca said, her voice muffled against Maggie's neck. "She gets a bell."
TBC-