DISCLAIMER: Dick Clair and Jenna McMahon created "The Facts of Life" fictional characters borrowed for this fan fiction. Dick Wolf created the "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit" fictional characters borrowed for this fan fiction. The author of this fan fiction does not profit, in any way, from the story and that all creative rights to the characters belong to their original creator(s).

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I have been fascinated with the theory of parallel timelines since I was a kid watching "Star Trek" and have wanted to write a piece with it playing an integral part.

Mirror, Mirror

Rude Awakenings

Officer Jo Bonner unwittingly chased the thief down a narrow alley, desperately trying to catch him, when a wall abruptly stopped her. Before she could turn around, she felt a blow to the back of her head and then everything went dark.

The next morning, she woke from the throbbing pain in her head. She felt as if she had been drinking all night and morning.

'Shit!' she thought as she covered her throbbing head with her hands, pressing on her temples, hoping to stop the pain.

She tried to sit up, but found herself held firmly to the mattress. Through her pain-induced haze, she smiled, leaned back into her husband Rick, and fell back to sleep. Several hours later, Jo woke up again, but this time the throbbing was not as severe. The arm around her waist tightened and Jo sighed.

"What time is it?" Jo asked.

"Eight, go back to sleep," the comforting familiar voice softly said.

Jo's eyes flew open and she quickly spun around.

"BLAIR! WHAT THE HELL?" Jo yelled.

"You were injured last night…I wanted to be here…in case you needed me," Blair softly stammered, "I apologize. I'll go back to my room," Blair quickly got out of Jo's bed and stood beside it.

"Your room? Where's Rick?" Jo asked confused, her head throbbing with pain.

"Across the hall and who's Rick?" Blair replied, now just as confused as Jo.

"Rick! Rick Bonner! My husband!" Jo demanded, the pain in her head increasing.

"Your WHAT?" Blair exclaimed, "Jo, this isn't Utah."

"Huh?" Jo paused, "I know that! This is New York, jeez!"

"New York?" Blair asked as she quickly gathered her scattered thoughts, "OH!"

"OH…what?" Jo warily asked.

"Jo," Blair steeled herself, "According to the doctor, you suffered a major head trauma last night. You were in emergency surgery for hours," Blair took a deep breath, "I…," tears began rolling down Blair's cheeks, "…almost lost you several times."

"Where's Rick? He must be frantic!" Jo demanded.

Jo covered her head with her arms, praying for the severe pain to stop. Seeing Jo in such pain was killing Blair, but she knew the stubborn woman well enough to keep her distance.

"Sweetie, we don't know anyone named Rick," Blair softly stated, "And you're certainly not married to him," Blair added, trying to keep the venom out of her voice.

From under her arm, she glanced at Blair's left hand and saw the wedding band, then she looked at her own left hand, but it was bare.

"Blair, where's my wedding ring?" Jo lifted her head and asked.

Blair bit her lower lip and took a deep breath before answering, "You took it off six months ago."

"Why?" Jo asked confused.

"You said…," Blair paused and took a deep breath, "…you found someone else," she finished and stared at the bedroom floor.

"WHAT?" Jo yelled.

"Jo, the doctor told me to expect some memory problems due to your injury. You must have lost part of your memory," Blair reasoned.

"SHIT!" Jo buried her face in her pillow.

"Sweetie, what is the last thing you remember?" Blair softly asked and sat down on the bed.

"I was chasin' a perp down an alley…," Jo paused, trying to remember, "…felt a sharp pain…and everything went black," Jo answered.

"Why were you chasing someone down an alley?" Blair asked.

"Cause it's my damn job!" Jo curtly replied.

Blair rolled her eyes and tried a different approach, "Were you wearing a uniform?"

"Yeah, of course," Jo looked at Blair as if she sprouted an extra head.

"Jo, you no longer wear a uniform or walk a beat. You're a Detective with Boston Homicide. Your partner told me you both were searching a suspect's residence when someone…," Blair paused and quoted Jo's partner, "…took a metal pipe to the back of your head."

"Yeah, right," Jo chuckled and quickly clenched her teeth, "I couldn't pass the damn exam!"

"You did," Blair smiled, "With the top score."

"Blair, stop messin' with me, 'kay? I know what I am," Jo growled.

"I don't know what you're talking about…," Blair said in a huff, "…but I have to be in court later today. I'll be home right after."

"Court? When did ya become a lawyer?" Jo asked.

Blair arched an eyebrow, "I've been an Assistant District Attorney for a few years now."

"An A.D.A!" Jo whistled, "DAMN! Guess you're not a airbrain after all," Jo laughed.

Blair puffed up indignantly, "Joanna Marie Polniaczek, you haven't called me that awful thing since we were at Eastland!"

"Bonner," Jo softly corrected and winced from the sudden sharp pain in her head.

"What?" Blair asked confused.

"It's Bonner now, not Polniaczek," Jo answered and tried to ignore the increasing pain.

"Not the last time I checked those documents hanging in our home office," Blair curtly stated and stormed out of the bedroom.

Jo lay back down and tried to get more sleep in hopes everything would be back to normal when she woke up.

Unfortunately, Jo was only able to sleep for another couple of hours. She got out of bed and headed for the kitchen. Next to the coffee maker, she found a note from Blair.

Jo,

I left the coffee maker on, since I know how much you enjoy your coffee "well-done." The documents are on your desk in the office. I will be back after court.

If you need anything or have any questions, please call me on my cell.

Blair

Jo poured herself a cup of coffee and decided to explore. Since she was already in the kitchen, she checked it out first. The front of the refrigerator was clean, unlike hers and Rick's, which had stupid magnets he brought back from his various trips and several well-worn take-out menus covering it. This kitchen was spotless. There were no food stains anywhere. As she left the kitchen, Jo shook her head and wondered if Blair ever used it.

She moved into the living room. A large flat-screen television, the type she and Rick always dreamed of having someday, was hanging on one wall with an extremely expensive entertainment center next to it. Jo huffed and shook her head.

"Warner would have stuff like this," Jo chuckled, "She's a Warner after all," Jo imitated Blair's haughty tone.

Taking up one entire bookshelf, Jo found several framed photographs. Of course, there was several of Blair's family. Jo was surprised to find several of her family. She searched for Rick's face among them, but came up empty. There were many of their friends Natalie and Tootie. Jo smiled brightly as she looked at the photograph of Mrs. Garrett taken somewhere in Africa. She hollered when she saw the photographs of Tootie holding up an Oscar and Natalie accepting a Pulitzer Prize. After Jo found hers and Blair's Eastland graduation photograph, she searched for their Langley graduation photograph, but could not find it. She wondered what Blair did with it.

As she wandered down the hall, she debated whether to check out Blair's bedroom or not. When she found herself in front of it, she decided to take a quick peek in. The first thing that hit her was the room felt somehow off to her; it just wasn't Blair. It looked more like a guest bedroom, than one for someone like Blair Warner. A single framed photo sat on the bedside nightstand. Jo's curiosity got the better of her and she entered the room to get a better look. Jo was shocked to find it was a photograph of her with her arms wrapped around Blair in what looked like Switzerland. Jo slipped the photograph out of the frame and read the back, 'Honeymoon.' Jo dropped the photograph and frame.

"What the hell?"

Once the initial shock wore off, she put the photograph back into the frame and put it back where she got it.

She entered the home office and nearly ran into the large antique double desk; the fronts of two smaller desks join facing each other, creating one large desk; in the middle of the room. Jo explored what looked like Blair's side of the office first. Adorning the walls were several framed documents and more photographs. Blair's diploma from the Eastland School for Girls was first. Next was her undergraduate degree from Oxford University. Next to that was her law degree from Harvard Law School.

"Oxford? Harvard? What the hell? Where's Langley?" Jo asked and ran her fingers through her hair in frustrated confusion.

There were several photographs of Blair with various important figures in the legal world. Jo took a deep breath and walked over to her side of the office. There was her diploma from Eastland. Next was her undergraduate degree from Smith College.

"Smith College?" Jo exclaimed.

Next to that was her certificate from the Boston Police Academy, and then her promotion to Detective.

"Detective Joanna Marie Polniaczek," Jo read aloud, letting the reality sink in.

Jo felt her knees about to buckle. She pulled out the leather chair pushed neatly under the desk and fell into it. She scanned the wall next to the desk. In the middle of the wall, she saw an official looking document and around it were ghosts of now missing photographs. Jo was about to lean in and read the official document, when a large manila envelope on her desk caught her eye. She picked it up and read the front. It was from a law firm with several names. She opened it and started to pull out the paperwork. The large bold print caught her eye.

"The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Divorce Decree? HUH?" Jo read and frowned.

She quickly pulled out the paperwork and read the front sheet.

"I filed for a divorce…," Jo took a deep breath to calm herself, "…from Blair? WHAT THE HELL? I'm married…to Blair?" Jo's heart pounded in her ears.

Jo sat slumped in her chair with the paperwork precariously hanging from her fingertips. She stared into space, trying to make some sense of everything.

"Am I dead?" Jo asked and pinched herself.

"No sweetie, you're still very much alive," Blair said from the office doorway.

Jo slowly looked up and met Blair's eyes.

"I thought you could use this," Blair said as she walked over to Jo's desk and placed a cup of coffee on it.

Jo looked around for the cup she poured this morning, but realized she must have left it somewhere.

"I found it in my bedroom," Blair softly answered Jo's unasked question.

All Jo could manage was a weak smile and nod. Blair placed her briefcase on her desk and stood next to it.

"Do you have any questions?" Blair asked.

Jo just stared through Blair, so she pulled out her leather chair, sat down, and opened her briefcase. She removed a few folders, closed her briefcase, and placed the case on the credenza behind her. Blair looked at Jo, who was still staring through her, before opening the top folder. She was just about to begin reading when Jo finally spoke.

"Blair?" Jo squeaked out.

Blair looked up at Jo and waited for her to continue.

"How? When? WHY?" Jo cryptically asked.

Seeing the paperwork in Jo's hands, Blair reasoned she wanted answers about their pending divorce.

"You filed the paperwork with your attorneys a few months ago," Blair answered, desperately trying to maintain her composure.

"Why?" Jo asked.

"You…," Blair took a deep breath, "…told me you found someone else."

"Why?" Jo repeated.

"You weren't happy," Blair sadly answered.

"Why?" Jo repeated.

Blair slammed both palms down on her desktop and yelled, "I don't know Jo!" trying desperately not to burst into tears.

Jo blinked and finally saw Blair. The distraught lawyer stood to leave.

"Blair…please stay," Jo softly asked, "You're the only one who can help me fill in the blanks."

Blair looked at the woman she never stopped loving. When she saw how lost Jo was, she sat down.

"Okay Jo," Blair weakly smiled.

"Oxford? What about Langley?" Jo asked.

The look broadcast on Blair's face told Jo she lost a good portion of her memories.

Blair took a deep breath and looked away from Jo, "We planned on attending Langley together after Eastland, but the day after graduation changed both our lives." Blair glanced at Jo who was still staring at her; "I…," Blair stiffened and stopped speaking.

Jo stared at Blair expectantly and waited for her to continue, but after several minutes of silence, she grew impatient.

"Blair? What did you do?" Jo asked.

Blair clenched her jaw and Jo could see Blair's internal strife on the lawyer's face.

"Blair?" Jo impatiently asked.

"Jo…," Blair started, "…the day after graduation, I finally told you how I felt about you…and us."

"Huh?" Jo asked, completely confused.

"I told you I was in love with you. You exploded. In all the years I'd known you, you never got that angry. It scared me, so I decided to stay with my parents until I could leave for Oxford."

Jo was the personification of confusion.

"When I finally decided to tell you how I felt, I applied to Oxford, as well as Langley, so I would have a backup plan, "Blair continued, "I knew if you didn't return my feelings, I couldn't be around you. I hoped being at Oxford would help me forget about you."

"Why didn't I attend Langley?" Jo asked, not really expecting Blair to know the answer.

"For two years, I thought you attended Langley as planned, but after Alex played matchmaker, I found out you went to Smith instead," Blair answered.

"Who's this Alex guy? Another one of your boy toys?" Jo growled.

Blair grabbed the small stuffed embroidered pink pillow on her desk and threw it at Jo. It hit her in the head and landed in the detective's lap.

Jo picked up the pillow and read aloud, "Princess?"

"Give it back. You won that for me on our second date," Blair held out her hand.

Jo tossed the pink pillow back to Blair.

"Second date, huh?" Jo smirked.

Blair rolled her eyes and continued, "Alex…Alexandra Cabot, was your roommate at Smith. Her family and mine have been friends for…ever. She and I have known each other all our lives,"

Blair opened the top drawer of her desk and pulled out a photograph. She looked at it and smiled, before handing it across their desks to Jo. Jo took it and her eyes widened in surprise.

"She's a knockout!" Jo whistled, "Where was this taken?"

Jo was so engrossed in the photograph; she didn't see Blair glaring at her. When Jo didn't receive an answer to her question, she finally looked up from the photograph. Surprised green eyes met jealous brown ones.

"Uh…sorry, but she is and…," Jo stammered.

"Hrumph!" Blair held out her hand, silently demanding the photograph's return.

"Where was that taken?" Jo asked again as she handed the photograph back to Blair.

Blair returned the photograph to the drawer, which currently housed all of the wedding photographs she pulled off the wall after Jo asked for the divorce. Blair closed the drawer and pointed to the official document still hanging on the wall. For some unknown reason, Blair couldn't bring herself to remove it.

Jo stood and read the document aloud, "The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Certificate of Marriage…Blair…," Jo paused to swallow the rather large lump that formed in her throat, "…Warner-Polniaczek…Joanna Marie Polniaczek-Warner…" Jo fell back into her chair and roughly wiped her eyes.

"You don't…," Blair paused to calm herself and softly asked, "…remember our wedding day, do you?"

With tears in her eyes, Jo looked at Blair and sadly shook her head. Blair opened the top drawer of her desk again and removed all their wedding photographs. She stood, walked over to Jo, and placed all the photographs on her desk. Jo slowly picked up the pile and placed it on her lap. She intensely looked at each photograph, trying desperately to remember the special day depicted in them. When she came to the photograph of the wedding party, she roughly wiped her eyes with her hand. Standing next to her was their childhood friend Natalie Green. Next to Natalie was Alexandra, and another blonde woman stood next to her. On Blair's side stood Blair's younger sister Bailey, their other childhood friend Tootie Ramsey, and then Mrs. Garrett.

"Mrs. Garrett?" Jo sadly asked, silently berating herself for missing Mrs. Garrett's funeral.

Tears choked Blair's throat, so she just nodded.

"Oh Blair…," Jo weakly smiled and tears ran down her cheeks, "I really wish I could remember."

"Mrs. Garrett really saved the day after my cousin Geri missed her flight," Blair smiled.

"How is Mrs. 'G'?" Jo asked hopeful.

Blair stared silently at Jo and the detective's heart sank into the pit of her stomach.

"You don't remember?" Blair asked.

Jo roughly wiped the tears from her eyes, "I…," she started.

"We had dinner with her and her husband last month," Blair smiled.

"WHAT?" Jo exclaimed, "She's not…"

"Dead?" Blair asked.

Jo nodded.

"Jo, I think your near-death experience has caused you to obsess about death a bit too much," Blair teased, "First you think you're dead and now Mrs. Garrett."

"Yeah…," Jo mumbled.

"Sweetie?" Blair bent down and took Jo's hand, "I'm sorry you lost your memory, but I promise to help you any way I can."

Jo deeply searched Blair's eyes, desperately reaching out in the only way she knew. Something in those caring brown eyes got through and obliterated Jo's defenses; the ones she carefully constructed over the decades to keep her heart cocooned from her real feelings for Blair. As Jo realized she was finally free to express her love for Blair openly and honestly, she was suddenly flooded with all of her repressed emotions and tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Blair?" Jo managed through her tears of happiness, "Would you do me a favor?"

Blair smiled, "Anything."

Jo handed Blair the divorce paperwork, "Burn this."