Marissa came home to be greeted by the kids.

"Mom!" exclaimed AJ running up for a hug.

"Hey buddy." said Marissa ruffling his hair, making him duck away. She grinned at the girls who had also rushed out to greet her and then noticed someone was missing. "Is Bianca around?"

"She's having a lie down." said Miranda, a little sadly.

"She was feeling yucky." explained Gabby.

"Oh." said Marissa, suddenly concerned. "I'll go and check on her." She gave her kids another big grin though to cheer them up. "And then guys, you can tell all about your day!"

…

Marissa found Bianca dozing in bed. Not wanting to disturb her Marissa tried to back silently out of the room but caught her foot on a chair and there was a loud thud.

"Hey you…" said Bianca, sleepily opening her eyes.

"Hey." said Marissa. "I was trying not to disturb you."

"You failed." said Bianca sitting up slightly. "But I'm glad you did. How was your first day back at work?."

"I'm not sure I should go back if it leaves you like this."

Marissa frowned and moved to sit on the bed beside her girlfriend. Bianca looked pale. Marissa felt her brow, it was a little warm.

"You really don't look that hot." she said.

"Thanks for that." joked Bianca. "I'm a little nauseous. Mom decided to cook lunch rather than order it in, in honour of Kendall's visit…"

"Poor you." said Marissa, taking a moment to steal a kiss. "But Kendall came over?"

"Yeah, mom was showing us the designs for the bridesmaid's dresses. They're actually quite nice."

"Really?" asked Marissa. Was Bianca finally showing an interest in her mother's wedding?

"Yeah." said Bianca, well aware of what Marissa was thinking. "The girls will look adorable! But how was your first day at work?"

Marissa pulled a face. Bianca was clearly keen to change the subject. The trouble was Marissa was not quite sure how she wanted to say this.

"I think eventful would be the best word to describe it." she said eventually.

Bianca sat up a little straighter, concern in her eyes.

"Why? What happened?"

"I've… um… got a new job. Or at least a new boss."

"What? I'm sorry?" Bianca asked, still confused.

"Chandler have head-hunted me. I get a raise and it's a good offer." said Marissa trying to sound keen but not really succeeding.

Bianca looked into Marissa eyes. She could see there was more to this story.

"Maybe you could say that with more feeling next time." she said knowingly. "What's really happened?"

Marissa sighed and began to explain.

"Adam wants me to work for the company for AJ's sake. He made it a condition of the sale. If I don't work for Chandler everything that we've done for these last few months would be for nothing."

"So blackmail..?"

"It's not that bad." said Marissa. "Like I said, I get raise and my hours won't change and it would be nice to see this Joossen business right through to the end. It'll be good."

"Hmmm." sighed Bianca; gazing at Marissa, not sure she should believe her. "If you say so."

"It will be." insisted Marissa. "I'm sure of it!"

Bianca still looked unconvinced.

"I'm more worried about you." said Marissa, feeling Bianca's warm brow again. "Do we need to call a doctor?"

"No I'll be fine. It's just a little headache and little nausea. It'll pass."

Now it was Marissa turn to look unconvinced.

"Look, just lie back and rest up. And if you are still feeling rough later, I'm calling David! No argument!"

"Okay." said Bianca falling back into her pillow and closing her eyes. It had to be bad if Bianca wasn't protesting.

Marissa tucked her in and kissed her brow.

"I love you. Feel better soon." she whispered.

"…love you." mumbled Bianca, already drifting off to sleep. "We'll talk about the rest later…"

…