Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They belong to AMC and Prospect Park. I am simply borrowing them and taking them for another spin.

A/N: With no AMC and no Minx, I've turned back to writing to deal with withdrawal. For this round, I decided to go back to a time before there were ugly rants and threats by ex's (along with guns). Back to a time where Bianca and Marissa don't realize that they are a couple, yet.

/

Reading the deposition of yet another failed marriage was starting to get to Marissa. She needed a break. As she put the paperwork down, she looked up and saw Bianca enter Krystal's. A smile immediately crossed her face. Just as quickly, the smile started to fade when she got a good look at Bianca. Her friend looked every bit as frustrated and tired as she felt. Bianca walked over to her table, sat down and proceeded to put her head down on the table letting out a groan.

"Uh, Bianca, I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess something's wrong."

"You are a master of deduction, counselor. Did you pick that up in one of your classes in law school?"

Marissa smirked. "Actually, the professors were amazed by my mad people reading skills. They called me a natural. I was actually able to test out of that class as a result."

Bianca couldn't hold back a laugh and looked up. "Thanks! I needed that."

"Glad to be of service. Now, do you want to tell me what's wrong?"

It had been a rough day, and Bianca knew two things. One, she needed to find Marissa because she knew that her friend would make her feel better, and two, she somehow knew where to find her. She wasn't sure how that happened, but she just knew where to find her whenever she needed her. She smiled slightly and sighed. "Well, The Miranda Center has a fundraiser coming up soon, and we are completely out of ideas for a theme."

"Seriously? You don't have any ideas? None?"

"Nothing that will work with the budget we have for it. With the economy being the way it is, we decided to keep it simple and low scale. All of the ideas we currently have are neither."

"I'm sure if we put our heads together that we can come up with something." Marissa's phone started to ring. She took one look at the caller id, and let out her own groan.

"Let me guess. JR again?"

"The man is relentless and knows no shame. You know what his latest stunt is?"

"Knowing him, it could be anything."

"It's using AJ to guilt me back into the mansion. He keeps saying it's the best thing for our son. It would make him happy. Doesn't he deserve to have both of his parents together under the same roof? He even told me that AJ asked why everyone keeps leaving them."

"Whoa! That's low even for JR. You left him and not your son. I guess he forgot about joint custody and how you fought for that. You are an amazing mother, and would do anything for AJ." Bianca was started to get really ticked off by JR.

"You know that, and I know that. Do you think for one minute that JR would ever make that distinction to AJ?"

"Not when it's easier to shift the blame to you."

"Exactly! I think he's incapable of accepting responsibility. Then, out of nowhere, he switches gears, apologizes and is pouring on the charm, sending flowers, stuffed animals and other gifts. I tell him to back off. I need space, but he just will not take 'no' for answer."

"And you want him to?"

"Oh God, yes! I've been there, done that, and don't want to go there again! There is no way I could ever trust him again after everything that happened with Annie. Hey, I need you to promise to do me a favor."

"Anything. Just name it."

"If you ever see me falling for his lines again, promise me you will smack some sense into me."

Bianca laughed. "Could I get something in writing to that effect?"

Marissa started laughing as well. "Covering yourself for any liabilities, huh? I could have something drawn up for you if you want."

"Well, my best friend is a pretty kick ass lawyer so I'm sure she would advise me that it would be in my best interest to have it in writing."

Marissa smirked and pulled out a legal pad quickly writing, "I, Marissa Tasker, hereby give Bianca Montgomery permission to smack some sense into me if she ever sees me falling for JR Chandler and his lines and/or games again." Their server stopped by to take their order as Marissa was finishing the document. For good measure, she had her witness it as the lawyer signed and dated it before having Bianca place her signature at the bottom. She then tore the paper from the pad, folded it and handed it to Bianca. "For you! It's the best I could do under these circumstances, but it should hold up in any court if the need arises."

Bianca was laughing so hard she snorted.

"Did you actually snort?" Marissa couldn't help but laugh when Bianca snorted again in response. She felt the tension that had built up talking about JR melt away as she looked at Bianca. The brunette had a way of doing that. She knew what to say and do to make her feel better.

When Bianca finally was able to stop laughing, Marissa reached across the table and took her hand. "Okay. Enough about me. I believe we were talking about you before my ex so rudely interrupted us. So, your turn. How can I help you?"

"You already have. I haven't laughed like that in a long time. I really needed that. Thank you!"

Marissa knew what Bianca was doing, and she was having none of it. Her friend didn't like to bother others with her problems and would deflect any offers of help if given the opportunity. Marissa had argued that it was actually a good thing to let others help sometimes. It allowed them to forget about their own problems for a while. So in effect, Bianca was actually helping others by letting them help her. The brunette couldn't come up with an answer for that line of logic, and the lawyer considered that something of a major victory. "You're welcome, but seriously, what can I do to help you out with The Miranda Center?"

Bianca started to protest but stopped herself. She really didn't like laying her problems off on anyone else, but she saw the determined look in Marissa's eyes and knew she wasn't going to let it go. Once her mind was made up about something, that was pretty much it. Bianca had learned it was easier to just accept that as a fact of life and go with it. Her head still hurt a little when she remembered the logic the lawyer had used to allow her to help Bianca out before. She had to admit that it did make her feel better talking about what was bothering her with Marissa. Just talking to the redhead in general made her feel … She couldn't find quite the right word for how it made her feel. Bianca shook her head and sighed. "Well, I could use some help coming up with a theme for the next fundraiser. The staff is exhausted, and a fresh perspective would be nice."

Their server returned with their orders, and the women, forgetting they were still holding hands, had to release them to make room for their food. Marissa offered a brilliant smile as she said, "See! It wasn't that hard to ask, now was it?"

Bianca couldn't hold back her own smile. "No. You're right, again. It wasn't. Now, let's get that brain of your's thinking."