Jackson Montgomery was sitting at his desk going through the final details of Adam's Will when his phone rung.

He was surprised that it was Erica at the end of the line; he thought she was going to the house to talk to Bianca. She was probably calling to ask him for legal advice.

"Hello my dear." he said, "What can I do for you?"

"Jack, could you meet us at Krystal's. We want to ask your advice about the best way forward for the press conference."

Jackson looked at his watch; it was almost lunch time.

"I can be with you in twenty minutes." he said.

Just then there was a knock on the door and Henry, the new corporate lawyer, poked his head in.

"Do you have a moment to go through these papers?" he asked, a file in his hand.

"Can we postpone until after lunch?" asked Jackson, before turning his attention back to Erica at the other end of the phone. "I am leaving right now. I shall see you soon. I love you…"

Jackson hung up the phone and tidied his desk, locking Adam's Will safely in the drawer.

"I should be back by two." he said to the young lawyer, who was still waiting in his doorway.

"Of course, no problem." said Henry, "Have a good lunch."

Jackson nodded his thanks and slipped the desk key on his pocket as he headed out of the door.

…

Jackson arrived at Krystal's Bistro to find Erica and Krystal sat together at a table, deep in conversation. He almost did a double-take.

Erica smiled warmly up at him when she noticed his presence in the doorway. She patted the seat beside her.

"Just the person." she said, "We need a second opinion."

Jackson frowned.

"You said something about planning a press conference?" he asked.

"We have volunteered to speak to the press on Marissa and Bianca's behalf." explained Krystal. "But we can't decide the best way forward."

"And the girls have agreed this?" Jackson asked as he finally settled into the chair Erica had indicated to; the shock having worn off a little.

Erica ducked her head to speak quietly, eyeing up the restaurant patrons as she did so, in case one proved to be a reporter.

"They are leaving the country for a while." she whispered, "They want to take the children out of this mess before they get too affected by it."

Jackson nodded,

"That makes sense. As long they are back for the trial, that shouldn't be an issue…" he looked from Erica to Krystal. "And you are both working together on this." he asked unable to mask the edge of incredulity from his voice.

"We both love our daughters." said Krystal.

"Although I would never abandon mine." muttered Erica quietly, in a snippy aside.

It wasn't quiet enough. Krystal heard it, and turned back to glare at Erica.

"Tell that to Kendal!" she retorted.

"It wasn't the same… I was a child myself… and I didn't sell her!" protested Erica

"You never know how you will behave in a desperate situation. And you will never know what a terrible choice that was… but I found her a good family… she knew she was loved…"

"Ladies, ladies." called Jackson waving his hands between then, calling for a time out. Jackson smirked, "… as I asked before… You are working together on this?"

Both women shifted in their chairs, embarrassed by their mini battle - old habits die hard.

"We are working together." said Erica finally.

"Well if you wanted me to umpire your disagreements… I'm sorry, you only have me for an hour." he said half-jokingly.

Erica laughed,

"That's not why we wanted you here." she said, "We both agree on the way forward. We just want advice on what we can and cannot say about JR at a press conference... legally."

"We thought that maybe, as the press is focusing on JR's right as a natural parent over Marissa's as an adopted one, that maybe we should bring in Babe." said Krystal, "Talk about how she had always wanted AJ and Miranda to grow up together. How she and Bianca always talked about it even before the kids were born." Krystal licked her lips and nervously looked in Erica's direction. "Although the mention of Babe risks unearthing the whole baby swap scandal."

Erica sniffed, but was making a concerted effort not to comment.

Jackson sighed and spread his hands on the table in front of him. He had his own ideas about how to move forward.

"Ladies, I think we don't want to be playing Carol Robinson's game… She is making a huge fuss in the press about parental rights and child welfare, but JR isn't going to court for a custody hearing. He is going on trial for the attempted murder of his ex-wife… That is what you need to be telling every reporter you see. Don't get drawn into the endless sticky argument about child custody, which is what Carol wants. That is the distraction she is counting on. She will probably be trying exactly the same trick in court." Jackson began punctuation each statement by stabbing his pointed finger determinedly on the table-top. "Tell the press about JRs drinking, his drunk driving, his violent behaviour, his neglect, his attempts at blackmail, his breaking of restraining orders, his breakdown after the shooting… I say you point the finger at him for all the reasons he should be plastered on the front page of every paper in the country. That is how you win this! That is how we make sure that man goes down for good!"

Jackson hadn't realised how passionate he was gettingon the subject, until he noticed both women watching him, with awe in their eyes.

"And you wonder why I love you." sighed Erica with a smile.

…

Jackson came back to his office a wide grin on his face. It would be interesting to see if Erica and Krystal really could work together. Personally he hoped so, those two women together would be indomitable and god help JR, Carol Robinson and anyone else who got in their way!

Jackson found Henry waiting in his office when he returned from lunch, the file still in his hands.

"You said after two." said the young lawyer hopefully.

"I sure did." said Jackson, sitting back at his desk, "What can I do for you?"

…