After three rewrites I hope this all makes sense.

... and I know for some of you this has been a long time coming.

...

Erica was having restless nights; so much so that Jackson had to ask what was wrong.

"I'm fine." Erica lied as she rolled over into her side. "Go back to sleep."

Her thoughts were filled with Bianca and Marissa… Scott and Madison…

As she lay in the dark Erica was finally able to accept the truth… she was wrong… there was no affair. The evidence was piling up and all of it proving her a liar! She had only been jealous that someone could so easily take her place with Bianca …and mad that it was the daughter of trailer trash like Krystal Carey that was making her daughter and granddaughters so happy.

And now a new sense of regret had crept in; for the suspicions she had planted in Madison's mind. It couldn't have helped with her depression. When she had turn up on Bianca and Marissa's doorstep that night with Camilla and Randi, it had mostly been to see Marissa squirm with guilt over what she and Scott were doing to poor Madison… Only she now realised the only person who should be feeling guilty was her... for dragging Madison into her own personal vendetta.

Was she really that bad a person; feeling more remorse for the distress that her accusations had caused to a vulnerable Madison, than from upsetting her own daughter?

Whatever the reasons she knew she had to stop. She wasn't fooling anyone but herself.

…

Erica had come up with the idea of an affair because for most couples in Pine Valley, affairs were something expected in a relationship right alongside marriage and divorce. It was an easy crime to choose.

Only nothing was happening, was it?

Scott loved Madison and had been devastated when he found out about her illness. She saw for herself how he was doing everything he could to help take care of Madison and the baby.

And Marissa… Marissa loved her daughter… Apparently everyone could see it but her! But if Erica was honest of course she could see it too! She just didn't want to.

It had been easier to accept Marissa when she had her amnesia; there was no baggage… Now Marissa knew that she was straight and had just escaped from an unhappy marriage. It wasn't hard for Erica to see this Marissa's attraction to her daughter as a woman simply reaching out to the first kind person who came her way! She never expected it to last… but it was lasting! With every trouble that had come their way, it had been Marissa being by Bianca's side that got her through and not Erica. It started with Ricky's tying them up together and it never stopped. She had been usurped by a woman she still couldn't be sure of.

Now the question keeping her awake was, if she could accept this as the truth, what was she going to do?

She could keep trying to break Marissa and Bianca up… but all her attempts so far had only driven her daughter further away …or she could accept that Marissa was here to stay… and she would have to live with the fact there was now a Carey in the family!

Well she was Erica Kane… she could rise to anything! She could be as gracious in defeat as she was in victory!

She just had to hope she hadn't left it too late.

…

Wednesday morning, at the Courtland Offices, a meeting had been called to discuss the Chandler buy-out in more depth. Erica used her position as part owner to invite herself along. She had a plan to try and begin to fix what her own stubbornness had broken.

She sat in on the board meeting alongside Caleb and Liza while Marissa went through her presentation again.

The young lawyer finished with a brief plan of the negotiations with Mr Joossen in New York.

"I want to come too." said Erica suddenly. "I have just as much riding on this as you Caleb and I want to keep an eye on my investment."

"I'm sure Marissa can handle it." said Caleb. "Joossen won't be as hard a nut as Adam to crack. By the end of that meeting Marissa had Chandler senior wrapped around her little finger…"

"I wouldn't go that far." said Marissa modestly.

"But if the future of this company and the future of Palmer's legacy is resting in the shoulders of just one women, I want to see her in action," said Erica, her back stiff, her tone professional, "Get to know the person who is working to keep this company standing. And I have a lot of negotiation experience which I'm sure will be useful."

Marissa blinked, not quite believing what she was hearing.

Did Erica just compliment her? And did she just suggest in a round-about way that she wanted to make peace with her… even help her? Erica looked uncomfortable when she said it which probably indicated that she meant it. Marissa was willing to accept any olive branch if it meant Bianca could patch up her relationship with her mother.

Caleb clearly caught Erica's intentions as well and made no further objections.

"So we make sure the flight is booked for four people," said Caleb, making notes as he spoke, "And hotel rooms for Saturday night… The meeting is arranged for four o'clock Saturday evening… I know Joossen is leaving late on Sunday morning so we need to make sure you'll be around in the morning as well in case there are any issues that need ironing out from the first meeting... We'll book your departure flight for after Joossen leaves…"

Erica interrupted his flow.

"There are four people going?"

"You are now going with Marissa for Courtland, and Brooke and Scott are going to represent Chandler."

"Scott's going?" said Erica genuinely surprised.

Marissa nodded.

"I know." she said, recognising Erica's surprise, only not the reason. "Madison is insisting that he go. She said she doesn't want her illness disrupting his work – 'She's got us all as her support network so she can manage one night without him'. I think Adam is putting the pressure on as well for Scott to represent them…"

Now Erica was thoroughly confused. Why would Madison do that? If she still believed that Scott was having an affair wouldn't she want to keep him close and as far away from Marissa as possible!? Unless she too had realised the truth… that there was no affair… that Scott loved her and the baby and that everything was going to be okay.

Erica sighed as she realised not only did she need to find a way to accept Marissa into her family; she needed to find a way to make amends to Madison as well.

…