Marissa sank into the water with a sigh. After a long day, Bianca's suggestion of a soak in the bath was the perfect way to unwind.

…

Marissa was had a lot of worries on her mind at the moment…

She was worried about how she was really going to solve the Chandler/Courtland conflict. She was full of ideas but they weren't coming together the way she had hoped. Erica's contact in Paris still hadn't returned her calls. Marissa wondered if she should go back to Erica to get her help with moving this along… but would that inflame the conflict between Erica and Bianca?

Her other worry was Scott. Trying to hold Chandler together was clearly making him ill and Adam was still quite frail so it was unlikely that he would be taking the responsibility from Scott's shoulders any time soon. She hoped he would take her advice and look to talk to a professional. It would be a way for him to vent his concerns... And maybe then he would feel more comfortable about talking to Madison, because she deserved to know how much this was affecting him.

Finally there was the question of her family. Miranda was still quiet and withdrawn. The effects of seeing that violent clip continued to affect her at times, although AJ was doing his best to look out for her. Bianca was also clearly still mad at her mom for her attempt to break up their relationship. She wasn't talking much about it and Marissa didn't want to push, especially as she was the focus of Erica's insane accusations… Her and Scott!? Why on earth would she do that when she had Bianca in her life!?

And she could hardly allay Erica's suspicions and ease the tension by staying away from Scott right now; not only was he her main contact while negotiating the Chandler deal, he was also a friend and he needed her!

Marissa sighed again.

All her problems seemed to be bundled up in a great big circle each one feeding the other and there was no easy way to fix any of them.

…

There was a knock at the bathroom door and Bianca entered, awkwardly carrying a glass of wine, while balanced on one crutch.

"I thought you could use this." she said.

Marissa smiled at the romantic gesture and sat up to take the glass from Bianca's hand.

"Perfect!" she said, glad of the interruption.

"And I just wanted to add this for free." said Bianca, bending down to give Marissa a quick kiss.

"Even better." said Marissa happily.

Bianca took a seat on the edge of the toilet.

"So do you want to talk about it?" Bianca asked.

Marissa took a sip of wine and closed her eyes.

"Not really." She said, leaning closer to Bianca, hanging her arms over the side of the bath. "What I could really use is something to think about other than work."

"Well then this is probably a good time to bring up the question of costumes for Halloween. I thought I could do some on-line shopping with the kids tomorrow. We can get the basics and then they can embellish them as much as they want to make them more monstrous."

"That sounds like a great idea." said Marissa. "They all love getting creative."

Bianca nodded.

"And it will make them more bespoke… So my question to you is, do you still want to be a vampire? And if so how traditional do you want me to go with the costume?"

Marissa was about to suggest they see what was in offer together but then she remembered she had a late meeting tomorrow with a new client and wouldn't be back until quite late…

…

That was a new worry to add to the list - Missing family time because of her new job.

She knew work was the main thing that killed Bianca's relationship with Reese and she didn't want that to happen to them. That is one of the reason's they'd planned in the fortnightly family fun day… so that she would always have time set aside for her family. It just annoyed her that she now had to schedule in time to be with the kids…

…

"Earth to Marissa..?" Bianca called, waving her hand in front of her girlfriend's face. "You zoned out there for a minute."

"Sorry, what was the question?" Marissa asked with a laugh; embarrassed about getting caught out.

"Do you want to go with the traditional vampire or a more contemporary look?" Bianca asked.

"What like a puffy shirt vs. a leather jacket?"

"Exactly – personally I vote for the leather."

"Well you would!" teased Marissa with a smirk. "You watched too much Buffy as a kid! But yeah, I'd be up for a modern vampire look if you can find anything you like."

"I'll definitely try." said Bianca.

"And have you decided what you are wearing?" asked Marissa. Bianca still wasn't sure about coming as her vampire queen.

"You missed a very animated discussion over dinner tonight and I have now had a suggestion from AJ and Miranda that if he is a werewolf I could be a cat woman. Not the Cat Woman, you understand, but at cat version of a werewolf because according to Miranda if there isn't one there should be!"

"I'd vote for that!" said Marissa with a waggle of her eyebrows.

"I thought you would." said Bianca, smiling warmly back in return.

Marissa reached out to take Bianca's hand.

"I love you." she said, unable to resist the urge of dropping her three favourite words into the conversation.

Bianca's smile widened.

"And I love you too."

"…You always know how to cheer me up!"

Bianca's eyes drifted downward.

"I do have other ideas." Bianca said, a hint of seduction entering her voice.

Marissa's own eyes lit up at the suggestion.

"Well you are welcome to join me..!" she said patting the water with a splash.

Bianca's smile turned downwards for a moment.

"I'd never get out again..." she sighed.

Marissa knew that Bianca had high hopes for enjoying the luxury of their large Victorian roll-top bath on its little stage in their vast bathroom, but needing someone to come and haul you out again afterwards rather took the romance out of it for her.

Marissa noticed, however, that Bianca was bending down to unfasten her leg brace, but her undressing went no further than that.

Instead she moved to kneel beside the bath and cupped Marissa's cheek, drawing her in to a long, slow, sensual kiss.

Bianca pulled back far enough to rest her forehead against Marissa's, gazing into her eyes with a perfect smile on her lips.

"...But I'm sure I could make this work." she whispered, her hand slowly sliding under the water.

What came next was probably the most erotic thing that had happened to Marissa in quite a while…

…