Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last chapter, even if it was just the original version. You are all wonderful. This chapter is also very different than the original. So I would love your feedback.

Chapter 20: Still Going Downhill

Monique was not having a good day or a good week for that matter. The teenager throwing up during the middle of the night was only making it a little worse. Monique always knew this week would be emotionally rough on her. That is why she scheduled the wedding to coincide with the anniversary of Molly's death. If she was busy she wouldn't think about it, but she wasn't expecting to be this busy.

Of course, when she set the date for the wedding, she wasn't expecting to be the EIC of Mode US, but that's just the way it happened. Monique is starting to wonder if doing a major photo shoot in D.C. the week of her wedding was a clever idea. Maybe she should have kept more of what Daniel and Wilhelmina did before taking over. The September issue could've been her big debut. But no, she just had to do it the hard way which was fine. Monique was good at her job and she had a good team. She would get through this and so would Mode.

Unfortunately, certain members of her team that she considers friends have been canceling due to vicious rumors on the Internet. Which of course means they were never actually her friends in the first place. But whatever. Of course, in Amanda's case, the vicious rumors were about her, but it still counted. She wanted to say the baby sickness wasn't the only reason why Amanda was staying in New York. Monique was almost happy Matt was willing to take over intern babysitting duty, almost.

"Did I tell you how much I hate you right now?" Monique yelled when the idiot showed up at her apartment a little before 7:00 AM as instructed.

Justin was already there with his two suitcases for the three-day trip, Bobby dropping him off 20 minutes earlier. They were going to have a lengthy conversation about business packing, even when you're a fashionista. He had more luggage than both she and Antonella combined. It was okay, this time, mostly because she was planning to make Matt carry all of it. She's still pissed off at him for yesterday's behavior.

"Several times yesterday, but not today. Not unless you count your email, but I stopped reading after your demand that I come here" Matt said as he was allowed into her apartment, reluctantly.

"Have you been in contact with Amanda today?" Matt asked Monique. "I tried to talk to her, but she threw up on my shoes. She also threw a shoe at me." Monique suppressed a smirk at that.

"Apparently she's doing better. She's only breaking into tears every other minute, according to Marc." Monique said as she and the other two were still laughing about Amanda throwing up on Matt. "Too bad, he didn't send me footage of that. I may be willing to forgive you for the current situation after I post that to the company web site." And yes, she would totally have done that. You don't fuck with her friends. Matt should be thankful they never ended up at the same prep school.

"You did way too much damage yesterday. It will take a crowbar to get her away from Marc right now. She's currently terrorizing Wilhelmina for her unwilling role in what happened yesterday. Now it's time for your punishment." Monique said with a vicious smirk. She was not here to play. Again, never fuck with her friend.

"I don't understand why you're so upset about what happened." Matt whined.

"Your girlfriend, and my assistant/sort of wedding planner is driving everybody crazy because you wouldn't be an adult and handle your own business, namely your child and your mother. My wedding is days away along with the one-year anniversary of my best friend's death. I don't need this." Monique said obviously stressed out.

"That's not what happened, and you know it." Matt said defensively.

"I know what happened. Tyler sent me the video." Matt winced at her words. "Is DNA really that important to you? If you loved her for everything she is, it wouldn't be." Monique told him as she grabbed her garment bag from a couch.

"Can we talk about this later when I don't have a million things to do and teenagers are watching?" Matt asked to change the subject.

"Fine, whatever. You have a train to catch in less than 2 hours and you must pick up one more person. Great, I have no idea where my keys are. I hate driving." Monique said as she started looking for her keys. They were so getting a key tree.

"Why do I have to pick someone up?" Matt asked in confusion.

"Because of doctor's orders, Amanda is not going to DC. Therefore, her duty as a babysitter for the underage interns falls to you and that includes fulfilling transportation needs. You need to pick up Justin's boy toy and assure Mrs. Williams that her baby boy will be fine. Just make sure you keep our favorite teenage lovebirds from making out on the train or joining the Amtrak version of the 'mile high club'."

"I wouldn't recommend it unless you're on a cross-country trip and have a room. The bathrooms are only slightly bigger than planes." Matt remarked, and Monique just sighed. Really, she shouldn't be surprised.

"Just make sure you are all at the State Department by 6:00 PM. We're doing the shoot after hours, so as not to be disruptive." She had to suck up to allow the government officials to pull this off, especially after daddy dearest had so many problems.

"I got to go." Monique started just as she finally found her keys. "I have to squeeze in an 8:00 AM wedding meeting with my mother to talk about who's now walking me down the aisle before I head up to a very jailhouse wedding: Wilhelmina edition. Also, one of the hair stylists canceled, so I need you to get a replacement." Note to self never ever should she have hired fake friends. Like she believes the flu excuse at all.

"I can do that." Matt told her, but she didn't believe him. Maybe Justin's mom would agree to do it. She does have some fashion shoot experience.

"I packed ginger ale and extra medicine in your bag, Antonella. Are you sure you don't want to stay with your brother? Maybe you should see Dr. Kim." Monique asked turning to Antonella. She was worried about her kid. Throwing up all night and she still wanted to go to DC.

"Of course, I'm going. I'm not missing the Spy Museum and getting out of the last week of school because of some stupid stomach bug that won't go away. Besides, I feel better now than last night." Monique raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'm sure that's the only reason you're going and I'm willing to do anything to get you away from your boyfriend for a few days." Monique mumbled under her breath before leaving out the door.

"Don't worry we broke up." Antonello called as she was literally walking out the door.

Okay she wanted to ask more questions about that, but Vivienne West was already texting. Mother daughter relationships are complicated.

"This is Suzuki St Pierre with your daily fashion update. We are just four days away from the fashion event of the wedding season and everybody is waiting with bated breath to see who the bride is wearing. On June 12, the newly named Mode EIC Monique Osborn will be marrying her deli boy boyfriend in a lavish ceremony that will make Chelsea Clinton green with envy at a location so exclusive we can't tell you yet." The voice of Suzuki St. Pierre played in the background of Wilhelmina's apartment as Marc helped her get ready for her own wedding. She would change the channel, but she couldn't move now.

"According to an unnamed source, guests will receive a text message with the exact location an hour before the ceremony." The original venue canceled allegedly because daddy dearest made an ass of himself, Wilhelmina thought to herself. She found out that tidbit from a nauseous Amanda that morning.

"Of course, her father won't be one of them. Apparently, he's in Russia on business through the weekend. Whether that's because he chose not to attend or was not invited, no one knows." It looks like neither of them will have their father at their wedding. Wilhelmina is not surprised.

"Although it's not much of a loss because rumor also has it that not only will the wedding dress be designed by recluse designer Brianna West-Hartley, who hasn't done a wedding dress since before her daughter was born, but West-Hartley will be in attendance with her baby's daddy turn mother Alexis Meade.

"According to another unnamed source, West-Hartley is a longstanding friend of Monique Osborn, since her Wedding Belldays. Even the designer's daughter, Alexis West-Hartley-Meade, will be in the bridal party as the flower girl, most likely wearing a creation that her mother designed just for her. It looks like Monique Osborn is going to be upstaged at her own wedding by her guests." Suzuki laughed as he spoke.

Then the screen showed a recent photo of one of Wilhelmina's worst enemies, fashion designer to the chunky, Brianna West-Hartley with her other worst enemy Alexis 'the attempted baby killer' Meade in London complete with both of their children. They almost looked like a perfectly normal family, if it was perfectly normal for your father to disappear for the first five years of your childhood to have gender reassignment surgery.

"Serves her right." Wilhelmina mumbled as she stood several feet away from the television in her ivory wedding dress wearing her normal expression of annoyance. Her outfit was much less ostentatious than the Vera Wang creation she wore for her ill-fated wedding to Bradford, but it was still tasteful in its simplistic elegance. She's searching, I will love it.

"Why are you upset? I thought you were going to her wedding." Marc asked giving her a strange look as he adjusted her cream Rosette Del Nore hat. Nothing but the best for her wedding to the real love of her life, despite everything, she could say that she really did love him. Other than Marc, Connor was one of the few people that really knew her.

Connor knew things that Wilhelmina was not ready to tell Marc yet, including that they have more in common than Marc knew. Let's just say that something happened during her teenage years that was a closely guarded secret for the sake of her father's political career, that left some long-term scars, some more tangible than others. Connor knew what set her on the path of becoming the person she is now and what role her stepmother played. Connor knew her underneath the Botox and plastic surgery. That's why she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, despite the circumstances.

"Actually, she is invited to your wedding. She would be here right now, but Monique is dealing with an ill teenager and a million other things for her wedding, along with terrorizing Matt." Marc smirked, wickedly. "We were up until midnight, redoing the seating chart as we simultaneously reworked the plans for the National Zoo."

Apparently, Matt Hartley was Marc's personal Daniel Meade, except apparently, he had a more personal reason for his hatred other than Matt buying his place at Meade with daddy's money.

"Monique is going to meet us at the prison by 11 AM. Also, you're sitting between Monique's father's sister that sometimes forgets Monique even exists and Matt's mother." Marc told her that last part almost sheepishly.

Apparently, the new queen of Mode decided to put all the people she hated at one table. If Wilhelmina didn't have to sit with Monique's mother, she could deal with it.

"Lovely." Wilhelmina said sarcastically.

"Jody will also be at your table because Monique couldn't uninvite her. She does a lot of work with the Wyndham-West charities. Feel free to spit in her drink." Wilhelmina was planning to do much more than that. She almost saw this as an opportunity to get back at the woman for hurting Marc.

"How did yesterday go?" Wilhelmina asked with genuine concern.

"Wonderful, mostly because of the lawyers and Hilda being there to referee. But Jade is perfect. For her mother I'm okay if you really do something to her at the wedding. I'll show you pictures on the ride over to your wedding which apparently include someone you despise."

"Although not as hated as your baby's mama. Monique is Connor's friend or rather frenemy, not mine. I had no choice but to invite her." Marc just glared at her for a moment.

"Why do I need a reason to dislike Monique? I have always disliked Monique since our first meeting at Fashion Week years ago where she managed to deck me at a Ralph Lauren show."

That was not entirely true, but she was not going to tell Marc everything. The animosity goes back to when the Senator almost married Monique's mother and started treating his almost future stepdaughter better than he has ever treated any of his actual children. Wilhelmina was still bitter over the fact Monique was able to get her father to arrange things so that Connor would get out early in exchange for Wilhelmina leaving Mode behind.

Wilhelmina wondered if the Senator would do that for her if she asked. It would probably be bad for his tough on crime image she thought bitterly. She did not even bother inviting him partially for that reason as she told Connor the last time she saw him before the wedding. It looks like both her and Monique would not be having their dads at their wedding. She didn't shed a tear because it was impossible for her to cry about this and it had nothing to do with her most recent Botox. She cried her last tears over her father a long time ago.

"Was that the same year as the cat fight with that second-rate Paris Hilton Want to Be? I don't even remember her name. There was a rumor about it when I was at Vogue, but it never made the Gossip Report. I'm surprised that didn't go viral." Marc asked her.

"I have never been involved in a cat fight of any type with anyone." Wilhelmina said in annoyance. "That's sort of behavior is beneath me."

"Other than mommy Meade." Marc mumbled under his breath before continuing. "I meant Monique and the pseudo celebrity."

"I have no idea which fight you are talking about. They never liked each other, but it got worse after she received a slap on the wrist for killing her husband because she was too stupid to take a cab home. I'm sure mommy Wyndom West purposely kept it out of the press or maybe they all felt sorry for the fashionista widow." Wilhelmina remarked.

"That explains why it never made the fashion report."

"Everyone was giving Monique a free pass that year, even me. She would have been hospitalized otherwise or I would have had one of my friends take care of it."

She wouldn't do that now, but she was halfway tempted to take out Marc's baby's mama. How dare she take advantage of Marc like she did? You don't force someone to have sex with you ever. She may have manipulated Bradford into marrying her, but the sex was consensual. Oh well, she will just have to satisfy herself with having one of her "friends" dig up some dirt on Jody to make sure Marc received full custody of Jade.

"I just don't want to hear about Miss Mary sunshine's wedding." She said putting murderous thoughts out of her mind. "She is not the only one getting married to the love of her life this week. Yet, that is all that annoying fake queen talks about. If I hear one more detail about her perfect wedding, I'm going to throw up." Wilhelmina motioned to the television where Suzuki's overly cheery lackey was conducting an interview with the catering staff, who were being completely mum about the menu.

Betty's father and his overly pompous celebrity chef boss were part of the group. Said boss was promoting his new restaurant in Beverly Hills for most of the interview instead of discussing the wedding. The two were currently going on about how in love the couple are. It was just nauseating. Of course, at that moment Wilhelmina heard retching in the master bathroom followed by the sound of flushing. Apparently, someone else agreed with her.

"It looks like somebody already did." Marc said as he put the finishing touches on her hair as he ignored his little friend in the bathroom.

"Perfect. You are going to be the most fashionable bride that prison has ever seen." Marc said with considerable amounts of flattery.

"Marc, did you bring any more of the ginger ale I like?" A scream from the bathroom from the nauseous one cut off her snappy retort before she could make one.

"Sorry Betty, I had to take a throwing up break. I'm sorry I didn't call you back and that Daniel was worried about me losing the baby until you talk to Breanna and her dick of a nephew. Although, I guess it's babies now. Apparently, the doctor missed a heartbeat and a second placenta the first time around." Amanda remarked. She's sure Betty said something, but unfortunately the phone call was on speaker, so Wilhelmina couldn't hear the other half of the conversation.

"Whatever. Did he say that he missed me? Never mind I don't care what Matt thinks. Unlike Matt, Daniel cares about something other than himself now. You are so lucky that Daniel loves you. Matt is a giant self-centered prick and I had to turn off my phone to avoid his calls." Marc's pregnant little friend said, as she emerged from the facilities.

Just like Faye, it seems like the loud one will be spending most of her pregnancy hunched over a toilet. At least she was not crying like 45 minutes earlier when Marc showed up at her apartment to get ready for the ceremony with his unexpected visitor.

"I think Mo packed a few bottles in your baby prep bag along with some extra mouthwash. Please use it. Go ahead and use the entire bottle. You need it." Marc called out to the blonde with a disgusted expression on his face.

"Also, tell Betty to stop doing inappropriate things with her boy toy in public. I threw up a little in my mouth this morning, when I saw the security camera footage of Daniel, most likely trying to give her a hand job in an elevator on the net. Why couldn't he do that to me?" Marc said, with complete disgust before mumbling the last part.

She couldn't blame him, the description alone made her extremely sick. One would think by now that Daniel learned to keep his hands to himself in an elevator. Then again, Betty was probably more receptive.

"Betty says that actually did not happen and the press are making up most of that because the video file was so grainy. I don't actually believe that excuse, but I have to relay it."

"Why is she here again? You know how I hate sharing you with other people." Wilhelmina asked in annoyance as she sat down on her couch gently so as not to damage her dress. Even if her wedding pictures will be taken in a prison rec-room, they will be fabulous. Connor tried to talk her into waiting until he was out to have the wedding, but she didn't want to wait. She was worried that he would try to change his mind again, in some misguided attempt to do what he thought was best for her. Wilhelmina learned a long time ago when someone decides like that, it's always about what's best for the other person.

"You do remember I have Jade now?" Marc asked.

"Well, I completely expect you to put your child first." Because she wanted Marc to be better than her, she wasn't going to let him make the same mistake she did. "But I'm next."

"I have other friends too." Marc started with a sigh of annoyance. "Amanda is a little needy right now because she broke up with Matt yesterday, I think. I'm not sure, because she can't talk about it without breaking into tears." Wilhelmina rolled her eyes at that.

"There is also the twins thing that's adding to her panic. The thought of raising two kids, most likely by herself, has her more terrified than Betty in front of a scale. The fact that I'm going to be busy with my own child means I'm not going to step in as much as before, and that also has her worried as well as made her very clingy. Mandy won't go anywhere without me, Monique, or Claire Meade." That doesn't surprise Wilhelmina.

"The way I see it, spending the morning with her is your punishment, according to a fashion editor who will not be named, for triggering this situation." Wilhelmina swore she almost heard irritation in Marc's words, but she couldn't be sure over the sound of the continuing pointless conversation between Faye's daughter and Daniel's lover.

They were currently talking about Betty being a bridesmaid in the ceremony, because, almost all of Monique's original bridal party were backing out for assorted reasons. So many people have backed out of the wedding that at this point, Daniel was one defection from escorting his flower girl niece down the aisle unless Betty agreed to be in the wedding. This made Wilhelmina unbelievably happy. She hoped the wedding would be a complete disaster.

"I assume that you're referring to the vodka sucking geriatric vampire, but I'm not sure because she's not an editor of anything except that insert for the post-menopausal set. Amanda's baby's daddy running away is not my fault regardless of what I told Victoria." Some men are just born to run away from their responsibilities and Matt Hartley seem like one of them.

"I currently believe she only agreed to play with me again to get as much dirt on Amanda as possible. It doesn't matter anyway. Some individuals tend to do anything for the sake of image. Matt, like his mother and father, is the type of person who only cares about appearance. She's better off without him if he is completely unwilling to stand up to his mother." Wilhelmina said, as she tried to suppress the thoughts of a comparable situation from her past. It wasn't the same thing though.

"I did fine raising my daughter by myself and I didn't have you until the teenage years. Amanda will be fine and so will you. You can be a postmodern family together." Wilhelmina said reassuring Marc realizing that he was worried about the situation. Since she almost died, Wilhelmina was trying to be a better friend to Marc. It was a lot easier when she just considered him her servant.

Wilhelmina thought she heard Marc whisper, "She turned out great, except for the fact that she tried to blackmail you. Then again, maybe that was what you were going for. Oh God, what if I make Jade hate me."

However, she was obviously hearing things, because Marc would never have the spine to say something like that out loud, except for that last part. She trained him well. Then again, he was working with Osborn now, so who knows. Osborn has the uncanny ability to speak the truth even when Wilhelmina didn't want to hear it. Maybe Marc was picking up on this.

"You're the one who told Matt's mother about the doctor's appointment. The wicked witch of the Upper East Side decided to show up with her goon lawyers to force me to have a DNA test. My dick of a former boyfriend pretty much told me that he couldn't deal with the fact that my kids could be Daniel's." Amanda yelled as she approached Wilhelmina without fear before becoming almost Betty like, complete with overly sugary voice. "It doesn't matter that he was fucking Daniel's chubby lover at the time, hypocritical asshole." She blamed the pregnancy hormones for the woman's bad judgment.

"Sorry, Betty, I didn't mean it in a bad way." Amanda backpedaled. "You know that I love you like the sister that I never had because my mother chose her career over me. Even if the babies are Daniel's, I'm not going to ask him to leave you. It would be fruitless to try. Daniel wouldn't hurt you like that because you are his other half. By the way, the footage from the hotel elevator was hot. I can't believe you two are not sleeping together yet. Then again, I do consider a hand job sex." Marc started making gagging noises as his friend spoke.

"Well that's what it looked like? What are you waiting for? If you don't tickle his ginger soon, I swear I'm going to lock you two in a room with a box of condoms. Please use them."

Wilhelmina was half-tempted to smack Amanda upside the head for her earlier comments. Unfortunately, she is pregnant, and Wilhelmina does have some morals. Fortunately, the baby sickness kicked in before Wilhelmina did something that even she found morally irreprehensible.

"I think I have to throw up again. I'll call after the ceremony and I'll send pictures." She said, just before throwing her cell phone on the floor as she ran out of the room as fast as a woman in her condition in high heels could.

"Just not on the carpet again." Marc called out with disgust.

"Marc, will you please tell your little friend to back off before I hurt her?" Wilhelmina told him in a clipped voice.

"I'll take care of it. She didn't mean it. It's the baby hormones." Marc said, walking off to the bathroom leaving Wilhelmina with only the company of Suzuki St Pierre's ramblings. She sincerely hoped that by this point he was done talking about Osborne's wedding.

"Another Fashion Wedding is apparently in the works, but it will be significantly more low-key." Thank God they were talking about something other than Monique.

"Rumor has it that a former Mode editor is getting married this week. Unfortunately, it's not the dashing Daniel, now officially of Mode UK, marrying his former assistant and current London Hub EIC Betsy Sanchez." Suzuki said onscreen as they showed an image of Betty from her first year at Mode complete with braces and loud miss matching patterns, that could induce a seizure followed by the leaked footage of Daniel doing inappropriate things to his girlfriend in an elevator. The image did induce nausea.

"The idiot cannot even remember her name. Did he really have to use that picture or the footage from the elevator?" Wilhelmina groused to herself as she started looking for the remote.

"An unnamed source has confirmed that Wilhelmina Slater will be marrying her jailhouse boyfriend Connor Owens today, in a private ceremony courtesy of the Federal Corrections Services. For those of you who only remember the latest styles, Connor Owens was the former CFO of Meade publishing who robbed the company blind before kicking off the sexiest international manhunt since the Fugitive, the Harrison Ford version." And yes, a picture of Harrison Ford was shown on screen.

"Either love is truly blind, or this is the most fashionable case of Stockholm Syndrome we have ever encountered. That certainly does explain the jailhouse chic last fall." And of course, the idiot flashed a picture of her in that ridiculous jumpsuit. She's still mad that it set off a trend for a few weeks.

"I'm sure the people at Mode would not be happy about this union. Could that be why Wilhelmina Slater was bought out? The answer to that is unknown, but it seems highly possible according to a close personal acquaintance of Monique Osborn." Wilhelmina wondered which made up source that was. "However, I'm sure whatever the case is, the groom will look stunning in a nice blue jumpsuit designed by the prison jumpsuit company." You could easily hear the condescension in his voice as he spun the story for the sake of ratings. Suzuki was a judgmental prick.

How dare he speculate about why she left Mode? Wilhelmina wanted to do something different. Isabella would be different even if she would be running a fashion magazine again. At least that's what she told herself. Was it really that different? When she and Connor talked on the phone about everything she uncovered recently, he suggested that she sincerely considered other options. Wilhelmina wondered if he was right. Could she really do something else? She wasn't sure.

"Asshole," Wilhelmina mumbled under her breath as she pointed the remote control at the television.

"However, everything won't be perfect for the former queen of Mode. Apparently, daddy dearest won't be there to give his eldest daughter away for the second time. Fashion TV has just secured exclusive rights to cell phone video of Wilhelmina Slater's former assistant and New Junior Creative Director of Mode, Marc St. James, telling the good senator off during what looks to be a fashion shoot in the middle of the U.S. Capitol Building." There on the screen was a shaky image of Marc and the Senator exchanging tense words with each other before Mark's ex-boyfriend had the good sense to get Marc out of there. She always liked that boy.

Wilhelmina was almost positive that Marc was yelling at her father because he didn't want to be there at her wedding. If she was a different person she would be touched by this display, but she was Wilhelmina Slater. She didn't do 'touched'.

"Marc!" Wilhelmina screamed just as the screen change to a touching scene of Marc and Cliff together.

"Not only does this clip prove that Marc St. James is still loyal to Slater unconditionally. We also have the answer to who got a certain New York review EIC pregnant last year. I guess some people will do anything for a promotion." Wilhelmina is going to kill him.

To be continued