From this point forward, BOLD print will be someone else's work. It may be poetry or it may be AMC original dialogue. Italics will be internal thoughts. Flashbacks will be separated from the rest of the story by a break like this o*o*00*o*o

Hope you are all still liking it.

Bianca woke to a beam of light shining in her eyes. She stretched her arms out with a yawn and then rubbed her weary eyes. When she regained focus, she looked over to see Frankie's sleepy form wrapped snuggly around her pillow. Bianca turned to her side and just watched Frankie in awe. She listened to the steady flow of her breath as she inhaled and exhaled. She softly brushed a strand of hair from Frankie's forehead then lightly traced her fingertip across a tender cheek. She moved along a defined jawline and then across two plump lips. Frankie reacted by swatting away at the tickle of her lips. She fussed and grunted a little then returned to the pillow slack-jawed and snoring.

Bianca fought to suppress a giggle and just smiled. She is exceptional. I never would have guessed on finding someone like her last night. I could see my life here being quite interesting. Frankie and I could have so much fun. Gosh, why couldn't I have met her before? Bianca's phone vibrated on the side table and she reached for it. Oh Sarah…I can't deal with this right now. Bianca hit silent and then glanced over at Frankie's sleepy form. She slowly eased out of the bed and began to look around the room. She almost laughed aloud and picked up the tattered remnants of her lingerie. She felt a warm tickle in her belly at the memory of Frankie's touch from the night before. She threw the garment into a nearby trashcan and walked over to admire a picture on the dresser.

The picture was dark and rather damaged, despite being housed in a frame. It appeared to be the image of a bar, judging from the dark mahogany counter. There was a blurry backdrop of neon signs advertising a variety of beer brands. She made out the image of Frankie, sitting on a barstool, with her arm around a taller young man. They both were decked out in Green Bay jerseys and jeans. Frankie had her blond hair tucked behind her ears and was sporting a ball cap backwards. Bianca admired the young man again. He was very handsome with gleaming eyes and a brilliant smile. Must be Jamie, if I had to guess. She thought.

Upon further inspection, she noticed that both of the pair seemed to be genuinely happy. Maybe it has something to do with the handful of scantily clad Bud Girls that are surrounding them? Bianca giggled. She touched her finger to the smiling girl looking back at her and then back at the sleeping counterpart in the bed behind her. Bianca set the frame down and looked at the contents of the dresser. A hairbrush, some loose change, a couple of sticks of gum, a rolled up crossword and a matchbook were scattered about. She turned to the bookshelf she had looked at the night before and remembered a moment they had shared last night.

o*o*00*o*o

Music filled the room as Bianca laid across the corner of the king size bed. She thumbed through a magazine about guitars as Frankie read through the liner notes of the CD that they were listening to. Frankie's hand lazily stroked Bianca's calf. She would edge, ever so slightly, upward with every stroke. Bianca had absentmindedly reached down beside her and picked up her water bottle from beside the bed. She took a sip as Frankie's hand caressed further and grazed the exposed flesh of a cheek. Bianca startled and choked a little on the drink.

"Frankie! My, my…I am going to have to keep my eyes on you. I thought we were taking a time out to rest up." Frankie held her hands up in the air defensively.

Bianca sat up and crawled closer to Frankie, placing a soft kiss on her lips. "Am I going to have to get dressed to remove temptation?"

Frankie chuckled. "No, please don't do that. I promise to be good. Would you like to hear another poem? Maybe some Shakespeare?"

"Ooo, yes!" Bianca exclaimed and hurried into a sitting position, like a small child waiting to hear a story.

"Okay." Frankie said and then she scratched at her scalp. "Shakespeare…Shakespeare…" She muttered under her breath. She then took Bianca's hand in her own, kissed it and began to speak:

Two loves I have of comfort and despair, Which like two spirits do suggest me still:

The better angel is a man right fair, The worser spirit a woman colour'd ill.

To win me soon to hell, my female evil Tempteth my better angel from my side,

And would corrupt my saint to be a devil, Wooing his purity with her foul pride.

And whether that my angel be turn'd fiend Suspect I may, but not directly tell;

But being both from me, both to each friend, I guess one angel in another's hell:

Yet this shall I ne'er know, but live in doubt, Till my bad angel fire my good one out.

o*o*00*o*o

Bianca came out of the memory and smiled. She ran her fingers along the texts and leather bound editions. There is so much to know about you, Frankie. Where you come from? Why you have about a hundred crossword magazines scattered about? So many little things I will love to discover. She glanced over to a desk on Frankie's side of the bed and saw a small worn book. She carefully approached it and picked it up with care. This book must be special, because it looks like it has been through the ringer. The cover was cracked and marred. There were dozens of page markers protruding as well as dog-eared corners. Bianca opened the book to a page that had been marked and scanned over a Sonnet.

Through the smudges and highlighted annotations, Bianca read Sonnet X' by E.B. Browning

Yet, love, mere love, is beautiful indeed

And worthy of acceptation. Fire is bright,

Let temple burn, or flax; and equal light

Leaps in the flame from cedar-plank or weed:

And love is fire. And when I say at need

I love thee ... mark! ... I love thee-in thy sight

I stand transfigured, glorified aright,

With conscience of the new rays that proceed

Out of my face toward thine. There's nothing low

In love, when love the lowest: meanest creatures

Who love God, God acceps while loving so.

And what I feel, across the inferior features

Of what I am, doth flash itself, and show

How that great work of Love enhances Nature's.

Bianca sighed and pondered the meaning of the sonnet. I wonder what made her mark this one? I know this must have been from Sonnets From the Portugese. The whole collection is about love and desire…I wonder what it is about this one that she wanted to go back to it. Maybe there is more love inside her hard shell than she will admit to? She flipped through the book and a small photo caught her eye. She recognized the photo as one of the vending machine variety. This is much like one of those that would normally come in strips, but here it sits…alone…stuck in this book. Hmm?

Bianca examined the faces in the photo. Two small girls sat wedged into the tiny frame of the pic. There was the standard bright blue background behind them as they smiled brightly at the camera. These girls could not have been any older than six and as far as Bianca could tell, were identical twins. This was not easy to determine at first glance. One child had a shaggy mess of long blond hair and the other, which was just as blond, was done up in pig-tails. The pig-tailed girl had the widest grin possible, with a very obvious gap where two of her front teeth should have been. The other twin, however, was smiling at the camera, but her eyes where shifted in a mischievous glare at her sister to the right.

Bianca laughed at the image and wondered who these girls were to Frankie? Sisters? Cousins? They are obviously of some importance. She looked at the page the picture marked and was not surprised to find a poem called The Sisters by Rainer Maria Rilke.

Look how the same possibilities

unfold in their opposite demeanors,

as though one saw different ages

passing through two identical rooms.

Each thinks that she props up the other,

while resting wearily on her support;

and they can't make use of one another,

for they cause blood to rest on blood,

when as in the former times they softly touch

and try, along the tree-lined walks,

to feel themselves conducted and to lead;

ah, the ways they go are not the same.

Bianca felt that she might have taken too many liberties of making herself at home while Frankie snoozed. Her curiosities were getting the better of her, and she found it hard to not be a snoop. She decided to cease her exploration and was putting the small photo back in place when she saw writing on the back of the photo: Mary-Frances & Mary-Margaret -Navy Pier- age 6.

Holy Crap! Bianca thought to herself, her eyes as wide as saucers. Frankie has a twin sister! Bianca returned the book to its place and walked back to her side of the bed. She saw a robe hanging on a hook and put it on. She had not heard any sounds during her stay there to lead her to believe that anyone else was home, so she quietly opened the door and stepped out into the hall. She made her way to the kitchen and opened the fridge to procure herself another bottle of water. She felt a little hungry, but did not want to wake Frankie before she was ready.

On the counter, she noticed there was a small pile of club crackers wrapped in plastic. They appeared to be like the ones you would find at a salad bar. Bianca grabbed a couple and figured that would be enough to tie her over until they could have a proper meal. She turned on her heels and exited the kitchen. As she rounded the corner, she plowed smack into a rather muscular chested man that was now standing in the hallway between the kitchen and Frankie's room. Bianca let out a slight shriek of shock and then collected herself. She tugged on the tie to the robe to be sure she was decent and then picked up the bottle of water she had dropped on the impact.

"I am so sorry." Bianca spoke nervously. Upon further examination, Bianca realized that this had to be none other than Jamie, the roommate. He was tall with brown hair and had a very muscular build, which was very evident since he was standing there in nothing but a pair of Batman boxers. She realized he must have come out of the room across from the kitchen. He looked exhausted with huge dark circles under his eyes. He seemed to size her up and down and then produced a beaming smile that she immediately recognized from the picture in Frankie's room.

"You must be Jamie, I am guessing?" Bianca smiled back as she put her hand out to shake. " I'm Bianca…a friend of Frankie's."

Jamie's smile grew wider and he cocked an eyebrow. "A friend, huh?" He made an obvious glance at the robe that he surely recognized as Frankie's and smiled even wider still. "Oh…okay. Yep, I am Jamie, or James Martin, at your service. It is very nice to meet you, Bianca." Jamie looked at the water and cracker packets in Bianca's hands and chuckled. "You know, we have food in there? We don't make a habit of starving our guests."

Bianca looked down at her hands and laughed at Jamie's humor. "Oh…well, Franks is still asleep and I was a little thirsty. Well, obviously a little hungry too, but I didn't want to wake her yet. I figured I would just grab a snack to tie me over." Bianca grinned sheepishly. Jamie shook his head in disgust and took the water and crackers from Bianca. "Nonsense! Just because my dear roomie ain't got no manners at all…doesn't mean that I don't. Sit right there on the bar stool Miss and I'm gonna make you some of my famous French toast."

Bianca smiled at the gesture. "You really don't have to go through all that. I would be fine waiting. I…"

"I said nonsense…sit." Jamie said with a smirk and dimples that could almost rival that of Frankie's devilish grin any day. Almost, Bianca thought.

Bianca obliged and sat while she watched Jamie begin to whip up his culinary masterpiece. She made small talk as she noticed his charming demeanor and easy way about him. He was extremely likeable and Bianca could see why he and Frankie were friends. He was good looking, funny and was proving to be quite capable in the kitchen. What is the deal? How are these two sexy and charming people still single? Bianca thought to herself, but was brought to the present by the sound of a door opening down the hall.

Frankie ambled around the corner rubbing at her eyes and seeming to be searching for something. She was dressed in a white tank and had a pair of sleep pants with a print on them that Bianca recognized as The Punisher's skull. When she rounded the corner she stopped in her tracks at the sight of Jamie and Bianca engaged in conversation. She shuffled around to the bar area, before Jamie had really noticed her presence. She came up behind Bianca and wrapped her arms around her waist, kissing her neck. "Mornin." Frankie mumbled.

This move was something that Jamie did turn in time to notice and he cocked an eyebrow with a quizzical look at Frankie. She returned his look with a glare that went unnoticed by Bianca and clearly cut off whatever he was thinking of saying. Jamie turned back around and tended to his French toast. He cleared his throat and spoke without turning back. "Why Good Morning, sleepyhead! So nice of you to come out of your cave and join your guest. Don't you worry 'Franks'…I took care of her for you."

Jamie had a ridiculous grin spreading across his face and Bianca could feel Frankie tense a little beside her when Jamie mocked the nickname. She felt awful for letting it slip. Jamie just stood there grinning like an idiot and peering out of the corner of his eye as if waiting for some reaction. Then it came. Frankie picked up a foam Koozie from off of the bar and chucked it at Jamie's head. Jamie ducked, it hit the fridge and fell to the floor. "Hey, hey, hey! There will be no tomfoolery or you will get a time-out, Stone." Jamie said mockingly. He seemed to read something in Frankie's expression that shut him up, and turned to plate up some toast for Bianca. He served it to her and whispered "Careful, some people are touchy in the mornings" He winked at her and went about making plates for Frankie and himself.

Bianca finished her breakfast first and noticed that Frankie seemed a little more relaxed. She squeezed her hand and turned to Jamie. "Your French toast is awesome, Jamie. Thank you." Jamie grinned as he finished up and picked up their plates. "Why thank you, Ma'am. It's an old Martin family secret." Jamie mocked tipping a hat. Frankie laughed. "I was pretty sure you got it out of that cookbook over there."

Jamie shot her a dirty look and Bianca just laughed. "Well, technically it is my Grandma Martin's cookbook, and she is old…so it is, in fact, an Old…Martin family recipe." He grinned widely, popped a leftover strawberry in his mouth and walked into the living area. "So what all do you have planned today, Frankie? How long do we have the pleasure of Bianca's company?"

Frankie shrugged. I have no idea, James. We haven't really gotten that far. Gosh. I know she is here for the weekend, but how do I ask her to stay? "I'm off, so I was just figuring on hanging around here today. Bianca, what did you have in mind? Did you need me to take you to your hotel? Is there anything else you would like to see?"

Bianca was messing with the string on the robe. "I don't have any set plans. Reggie and I were just gonna play it by ear. I am gonna go call him. I will be back." Frankie and Jamie nodded in response and the second she was out of sight, Jamie received a swift kick in the butt. "You know my name, smart guy…watch it with the teasing." Jamie fell to the couch laughing and Frankie's grimace softened. "Isn't she just incredible? Have you ever met anyone like her?"

Jamie grew solemn. "Yeah, yeah, I have. But it is awesome that you found someone that seems to be able to put up with you."

"What the hell does that mean ?" Frankie slapped at him and then noticed his change in mood. "Dude, I'm sorry. Is it Bella? What happened now? Is that why I couldn't find you last night?"

"Yeah…it is always Bella, but I don't want to talk about it. Just be careful. Take it easy. You seem a little out of sorts…you've got to protect yourself." Jamie warned.

"I am good man, I assure you." Frankie replied. The door opened and Bianca re-entered the room, so the conversation stopped. "Hey!" Bianca squealed as she wrapped her arms around Frankie. "Turns out that Reggie had a pretty good night with Dani and her Dad wanted him to come for a visit. He cancelled the hotel this morning. He figured we would just stay with the Fryes. I told him that I had other plans and would talk to him later. So looks like I am free to hang out, if that is cool with you two?"

Frankie grinned. "Sure is. Let's go pick out something you can borrow, while we wash your clothes. We can lay low today, watch a movie and maybe we can go by my store later…see where I work…what do you think?" Bianca nodded and Frankie took her by the hand leading her back to the bedroom. Jamie noticed the skip in her step and sighed to himself. "Aww, Frankie…you're falling fast. Shit."