Marissa was very quiet after the kids went to bed that night. The kids had gone down quietly, the ice-cream and the bedtime story enough to distract them from their worries, at least for the moment.

…

Bianca was sitting up, waiting in bed when Marissa emerged from the bathroom. Marissa climbed in beside her and settled onto her pillow without a word, a worried frown on her face.

Bianca tried to improve her girlfriend's mood with a little humour. She lay her head on her own pillow and smiled at Marissa.

"You do know if the wind changes you will stay like that." she teased, leaning closer so that their noses were almost touches.

Marissa found a small smile for Bianca's line but the worry was still plain to see.

"What will happen next?" Marissa asked. "The press camped on our doorstep, around the kid's school…"

Bianca sighed, reaching out to stroke Marissa's cheek.

"We are flavour of the moment." said Bianca, looking back at her own experience with the press. "Tomorrow is a new day. They may forget us or they may start finding a new angle. But the thing we mustn't do is worry about what they say. If we have to worry about anything it is JR and the trial. This is nothing but a distraction, what happens in court will affect all our futures."

Marissa nodded her head. Bianca was right; the trial was the important thing. Marissa had a feeling in her gut that things were going to work out; she hoped that was her lawyer savvy coming to the surface because every memory of being an actual lawyer or even going to court was still a distant blur. In fact any memory that wasn't connected to Bianca, AJ or her parents was fuzzy and disjointed. She remembered desperately wanting to be a lawyer but she didn't know why it was so important to her. She remembered how nervous she felt awaiting the results from the bar exam but couldn't remember a thing about the exam itself. Her memory was like a jigsaw without it's box. Thanks to Bianca and the kids Marissa felt like she had filled in most of the edges but the 'everything else' that went on in-between was still a mystery.

"Penny for your thoughts." said Bianca, softly, stirring Marissa from her reflections.

"I was thinking how I still don't have all that many… memories I guess… not thoughts." said Marissa trying to bring in her own humour. "And you are probably right about the trial." she added trying to brush over her last statement after seeing the troubled look in Bianca's eyes; she hadn't said it to worry her. "It's just not nice that people feel they have the right to write about us… about me like that…"

"It's not." said Bianca. "It's never nice."

Marissa groaned and rolled back to stare up at the ceiling.

"The most annoying part is I don't want to worry about it. I don't want to give it a second thought… and yet…"

Marissa felt Bianca's hand reach out to rub her belly.

Marissa sighed at the comforting gesture.

"What can I do?" Bianca asked.

Marissa could clearly see the concern still clouding her girlfriend's eyes, that's not what she wanted.

Marissa took a deep breath and gave Bianca a small smile.

"Distract me." she said.

Bianca smiled warmed at the invite, and the hand rubbing her belly snaked to her waist to pulled Marissa closer. Bianca nuzzled her cheek and planted soft kisses on her eyelids, her nose, her chin; before grazing her lips.

Marissa responded to the kisses, closing her eyes and enjoying the escape. This was what was important, their love and their life together. The words in the newspapers didn't matter… all that mattered was their family and their home.

Marissa wrapped her arms around Bianca's neck and deepened the kiss; pressing closer, tangling her fingers into Bianca's chestnut hair…

Right now she didn't want to think about anything but the woman she loved.

…