Disclaimers: This is an alternative uber story and a sequel to my first story, "Into the Dark." I would definitely suggest that you read that one first and find out the background behind these characters; otherwise this won't make much sense. The characters are my own creations. They just look and sometimes act like characters that belong to RenPics.

General Disclaimer: This fiction is about professional musicians, so yes, there will be sex, drugs and maybe even some rock & roll every once in a while.

Love/Sex Disclaimer: This is Uber X/G, so yeah, it features a loving relationship between two adult women. Like the last one, there is a little mild BDSM thrown in, but not much. If this is illegal in the state you live, or you are under the age of 18- please don't bother reading any further.

Language: There are quite a few questionable words used here and there.

Hurt/Comfort: Yes, there will be some here.

Violence: Nothing much more than an angry drummer letting loose verbally.

Music Business knowledge: Again, I can't claim I know very much about the business, so if any of this seems terribly out there to you, it probably is. I do know how to play the drums though, so go ahead, ask me what a paradiddle is. <g>

My sincere thanks goes out to my beta readers, Yolanda, Keira, Dot and Giz. Thanks for your input and your patience with me on this. Thank you also, to Beth, for your friendship, the lesson on body art, and for the personal viewing! <vbg> You guys are the best! And without further interruption?

Learning to Climb

By Sharon Smith

The setting sun painted streaks of pink and orange across the walls of the hospital waiting room, reflecting slightly off of the glass on the lone southwestern print hanging on the wall of the cold and dull room. The doctor's last patient of the day sat quietly, her companion by her side, waiting to be called for her appointment.

A tall woman wearing a long white laboratory coat walked into the room and called out a last name. "Fox?"

Blue eyes looked up from the magazine she was reading when she heard her name being called. She stood up, stretched for a few seconds, and then followed the doctor's assistant down the hall, into an examining room. The assistant handed her a baby blue hospital gown. "Please remove your shirt and your bra, Ms. Fox, and put this on. You can leave your jeans on. Dr. Kessler will be with you momentarily."

"Thanks." The patient sat down on the examining table and pulled her sweatshirt up and over her head, revealing that she wasn't wearing a bra. She ran her hand through her long, messy, jet-black locks, and wrapped the small hospital gown around her 6-foot plus frame.

As she waited for the doctor, a smile grew on her face when she spotted a toy from across the room. She got up off of the table and walked over to a small shelf, picked up the mallet that was sitting on it, and brought it back to the table with her. She sat back down and whacked herself in the knee with the mallet, testing her reflexes. She chuckled out loud as she thought of a few men she was wishing were standing directly in front of her as her long leg kicked out when the mallet made contact with her knee.

The doctor walked in just as she started to test her other knee, and he couldn't help but break out into a smile at the sight. It had occurred to him, against his professional morals and judgment, that he was developing a small crush on his beautiful patient. The woman in the room with him was stirring up something he hadn't felt in a long time, especially after 20 years of marriage. 'I must be going through my mid-life crisis,' he thought, as he felt his heart begin to pound at the sight of the dark-haired woman.

She looked up and blushed when she realized that the doctor caught her playing with his tools. "Sorry, Doctor. Just amusing myself a little," she said, her lip quivering as she tried to hold in a smirk.

"I guess I don't need to ask you how you are feeling, Jordanna?"

Jordanna handed the doctor the mallet and answered his question. "I feel great, thanks."

"Why don't you lie down on the table and open the front of your gown so I can check out my handiwork," he suggested.

The thin layer of paper covering the table crackled as Jordanna lay her weight down on it. She pulled the front of her gown open so the doctor could take a look at the incision that he did on her stomach, when they had to operate to remove a bullet and her spleen.

Dr. Kessler's eyes caught sight of the two silver hoops that hung from his less-than-modest patient's nipples, remembering his first reaction when he saw them in the operating room. He remembered how quickly his childhood stuttering problem returned as he nervously asked the nurse that was on duty that day to remove them for sanitary reasons.

He wished he could have done it himself.

His wife didn't know what came over him that night, but she didn't complain at all when he made love to her with a passion and an intensity that had long since been ignited.

He shook his head to rid himself of the unprofessional thoughts, and he quickly closed the top of her gown to cover her. He then pulled the bottom of her gown up so that his view would only be of the incision that ran just under her ribcage.

Jordanna bit the inside of her lip to keep from laughing as she watched the prematurely graying doctor's eyes stray towards her chest, look away fast, and then quickly close her gown. "Doc? Is anything wrong?" God, I'm such a tease. I wonder if I'll ever stop finding pleasure in things like this?

The doctor cleared his throat. "Nope, looks great. I was just a little c?concerned about the stitches becoming infected, but it seems as though my concerns were for nothing." He walked over to the other side of the room and pressed on the intercom. "Rose? Could you come into exam room three for a few minutes, please?"

"Yes, Doctor, I'll be right there."

A minute later, the Physician's Assistant stepped into the room. She was petite in stature, but had a very deep voice. The doctor turned to her. "Rose, Ms. Fox's stitches can be removed today. Would you take care of that for me?"

The woman nodded. "Yes, Doctor."

Dr. Kessler stood by the door as Rose prepared to remove the stitches. "I'd like to see you in my office when you are done, Jordanna."

The drummer smiled and nodded and watched as the doctor left the room. "Sure."

Rose finished removing the last of the stitches and stepped away from Jordanna. "Okay, Ms. Fox, you can get dressed now. The doctor would like to see you in his office when you are done."

Jordanna waited for the woman to leave the room, then grabbed her shirt and put it on. She hopped off of the table and walked out the door, into the long hall corridor. As she passed by the waiting room, she poked her head in. "Rebecca?"

The small woman looked up from the book that she was reading and met the drummer's blue eyes with her own stunning green ones. She broke out into a smile and pushed a strand of her long, strawberry blonde hair out of her face. "You done?"

"Yep," the dark-haired woman answered. "Dr. Kessler would like to see us in his office."

Rebecca put her book in her purse and stood up. Jordanna waited for her to walk out into the hallway, and the two walked the short distance to the doctor's private office. They stood in front of his assistant's desk and waited. Her head was down and she was working on paperwork. She looked up and smiled at the two of them before speaking. "He's waiting for you, you can go right in."

Jordanna stood to the side and she let Rebecca enter the doctor's office first, following right behind her. The drummer cleared her throat. "Dr. Kessler?" The doctor was standing by the window, deep in thought. "Hmm? Oh, I'm sorry. Sit down, please."

They sat in the two matching chairs that were in front of his desk, and he sat down in his. "Hello, Rebecca? nice to see you again."

The small woman nodded at the man. "Nice to see you, too, Doctor."

"You have incredible healing abilities, Jordanna," he said right away. "I have never seen anyone heal as fast as you have. You can resume your normal activities immediately."

Rebecca let out a breath, thankful to hear the words that she was hoping to God he'd say. She found out very quickly how cranky and difficult Jordanna could be when she was told to rest and to take it easy. "Oh, thank you, God."

"You got that right, Rebecca," Jordanna said dryly. "This is the longest I've gone without sex in years."

The shocked doctor let out a hearty laugh. "I never said you couldn't have sex, Jordanna."

The dark-haired woman lifted a dark brow, turned and looked at the woman sitting next to her. "You could have just told me you had a headache, baby."

"What?" the exasperated blonde woman asked, and shrugged her shoulders. Having to tell a recovering sex addict that she couldn't have sex for an unknown amount of time was not something Rebecca enjoyed doing, and she couldn't get the way Jordanna responded to the conversation out of her mind either. The dark-haired woman acted as if her right arm had been cut off. "Dr. Kessler said you weren't supposed to participate in any strenuous activities when you got out of the hospital, Jordanna." She turned and looked at the doctor. "Am I right, Dr. Kessler?"

The doctor nodded. "Yes, you are correct."

"You wanna know what strenuous is?" Rebecca lifted her hands up in the air. "Sex with Jordanna is like running a full marathon!"

The doctor blushed at the words. He never ran a full marathon and didn't know what it felt like afterward, but thinking about Rebecca's words, and his reaction to the dark-haired woman's nipple rings, made him realize how much he'd really like to find out. It also made him realize how much he was going to miss the excitement that his famous patient caused around the normally mundane hospital, now that she was fully healed.

It was three weeks to the day that Jordanna Fox, drummer of Plenty of Nothing, one of the world's most popular rock bands, was rushed to the small hospital in Southampton, Long Island, turning the place into an instant media circus. She took two bullets, one in the stomach and the other in the shoulder, from the gun belonging to Linda Matthews, the band's rhythm guitarist. This same woman had stalked her unknowingly for years, seeking revenge for a violent act the drummer committed when she was young. Jordanna's brand new lover, Rebecca Hurley, the woman currently sitting at her side, saved Jordanna's life by taking Linda's own with a gunshot straight through her heart.

Violence was something Rebecca was always totally opposed to. She couldn't kill a bug without feeling it's loss, thinking about the insect family it left behind, and never in a million years did she think she could kill a human being. When her lover's life was in extreme danger, however, she found out just how quickly she could and would pull the trigger.

Rebecca and Jordanna met when Rebecca's boss at Tempo magazine assigned the young music journalist to write an article on the troubled drummer and her band. Plagued with bad press due to the drummer's wild behavior, the band's manager agreed that Rebecca join them on the last leg of their tour, hoping that the article Rebecca would write would rectify some of the mess that Jordanna made of her public image.

The two women felt a connection with each other at first sight, although neither of them would admit to it. Jordanna, a well-known womanizer, shamelessly attempted to seduce the young woman the way she seduced all of the other hundreds of women she bedded, but with no satisfaction. Rebecca was not the type of woman that was willing to sleep with her just because she had a pretty face and was a famous musician, like all of the others were.

After a few weeks of touring with the band, Jordanna began giving Rebecca small glimpses of her tender side; a side of her that she never allowed anyone to see before. Rebecca could no longer deny her puzzling attraction to the dark-haired drummer, and began to respond to Jordanna's flirtations.

The defining moment came when Jordanna talked the band's manager, against his better judgment, into arranging for Rebecca to stay at her house when they reached the last state of the tour, the band's hometown of New York. It was there that Rebecca saw the real Jordanna, and realized that she liked that woman very much, so much that she wanted to have a relationship with her.

What Jordanna didn't expect was to fall in love. As she got to know Rebecca, the door to her long locked heart began to open slightly, and she let the smaller woman in. She not only let her into her heart, but she asked a stunned Rebecca to move into her home with her, and the young blonde immediately accepted her offer.

That was right before Linda showed up on her doorstep, gun in hand, ready to take both women's lives to avenge the death of her fiancé and unborn child, something she blamed Jordanna for.

The doctor cleared his throat, reached across his desk and handed the drummer a slip of paper, snapping the two women out of their memories. "I want you to make an appointment to see your doctor in a week, Jordanna; just for a final check-up." He stood and the two women did the same, and started to follow him to the door. As he approached the door, he held out his hand to the drummer, and she gracefully accepted it. "It's been a pleasure meeting you, Jordanna," he said, hoping that what he was about to say wasn't out of line. "You are nothing like your reputation makes you out to be."

The dark-haired woman snorted. "Thanks for everything."

He turned to Rebecca and shook her hand. "Rebecca, its also been a pleasure. Take good care of your woman here, will you?" he teased the small woman, her comment about Jordanna's energy during sex erased any of the doubts in his mind about whether or not they truly were a couple. "Keep her out of trouble."

"Me? Get into trouble?" the drummer snorted in response, and raised an eyebrow. "Never!"

"Thank you. I will do just that," Rebecca answered with a blush, giving her lover a little nudge with her elbow. "Or should I say I'll at least try to do that."

Rebecca let out a relieved sigh as she finished unpacking the final box of her belongings, the one containing framed photos of her family, knick-knacks and the small keepsakes that she accumulated over the years. She looked around Jordanna's bedroom, and realized that her lover didn't have any family photos or anything personal of any kind in it.

She ran down the stairs and into the living room, where the drummer was resting on the couch, watching the 11 o'clock news. "Jor?"

The dark-haired woman looked up at Rebecca, who was standing in the doorway, and smiled. "Hmm?"

"I have some personal things. Photos of Cindy and my family. I don't know where to put them."

"Put them wherever you want, baby. It's your home now, too."

Rebecca sighed and ran her hands through her hair. "I know, it's just?"

The drummer knew the reason for Rebecca's reservations. "It bothers you that I don't have any family photos hanging around, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, a little."

Jordanna held her hand out to her lover. "C'mere." Rebecca sat down next to her on the couch and the dark-haired woman took her hands in her own. "Now I will have family photos hanging around," she whispered and then smiled. "You're my family? you and Cindy." Jordanna leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Rebecca's lips. "I love you, baby."

Rebecca cuddled closer to the dark-haired woman, and Jordanna wrapped an arm around her. "I love you, too, Jor."

They sat quietly in each other's arms, watching the news. When the loud sportscaster came on towards the end of the news, Rebecca picked up the color chart that was sitting on the end table next to the couch, handed it to Jordanna, and pointed to a pale pink color. "What do you think of this color for Cindy's room?"

Jordanna nodded her approval. "It looks like it will go well with the Barbie sheets and comforter that we bought for her."

Rebecca started to laugh when she thought of their rare trip to the store together and the image of her bad girl rock star lover, helping her pick out Cindy's Barbie sheets. "Are you sure about this?"

"Sure I'm sure, baby. I wouldn't have suggested it if I weren't. We'll ask Cindy to pick out which room she wants tomorrow when she gets here, okay?" Jordanna asked, hoping to reassure her lover that she was sincere. When Rebecca first moved into Jordanna's large oceanfront home, the drummer made the suggestion to redecorate one of the guestrooms in the house for Rebecca's 5-year-old daughter, Cindy, to use when she was there for a visit.

"I bet she'll want the room next to ours, what do you think?" the reporter asked.

Jordanna sighed. "I think? Rebecca? What are we going to tell her about us? I mean, she's 5, how much is she really going to understand?"

The reporter took Jordanna's hand and laced their fingers together. "The only thing I plan on telling her right now is that I live here. When she starts to ask questions about our relationship, we can deal with it then."

"Oh," the drummer said blankly. "Okay. I just wanted to find out how you wanted to handle it, baby. You know I don't have much experience in the parenting department."

"You'll be fine with her, love," Rebecca said, and ran her free hand through the drummer's inky black hair. "What time is the press conference tomorrow, Jor?"

The drummer frowned. She was not looking forward to having to deal face-to-face with the press for the first time since the shooting, but the record company and the band's management thought it was imperative for them to have it. "Ten in the morning," she answered with a sigh.

Rumors had been running rampant among the media that the band would be breaking up. That was the furthest thing from the truth, and the record company wanted to dispel that rumor immediately. Since Linda's death, Plenty of Nothing's current CD went from hanging around in different spots in the Top 10 since it's release to number one with a shot, and their last two CD's re-emerged on the Top 20 on Billboard's charts as well. 'Life after death- the Jim Morrison/Kurt Cobain syndrome,' the drummer thought. Linda was more popular than ever, now that she was gone. Her estate and the remaining members of the band were going to reap the benefits of that popularity.

"You don't have to go if you don't want to, Rebecca. I can pick Cindy up and bring her back myself." The drummer took their intertwined hands and brought them to her lips, kissing the back of Rebecca's. "The press conference might be painful for you; they can be animals sometimes."

The reporter started to laugh. "I'm going with you, love. Remember, I am a member of the press, also."

"I know you are, and you're the best in the field, baby. I don't want them to go after you because of their jealousy, you know?"

"I can handle it, Jordanna." Rebecca climbed into her lover's arms, placing a tender kiss on the dark-haired woman's lips. "Now, I believe we have two weeks of lovemaking to catch up on, don't we?"

"Oh, yeah." Jordanna jumped up and shut the television off, scooped Rebecca up into her arms and bolted up the stairs, kicking their bedroom door open. "That we do."

**********

Rebecca backed her Mitsubishi Eclipse into a spot in front of the Manhattan building that Plenty of Nothing's record company, Argo Records, calls home. She exited the car quickly; cursing silently when she saw the envoy of media camped out by the front door. She walked to the other side of the car and joined the waiting Jordanna, and the drummer took her hand as they made their way through the crowd of people calling questions out to them. The drummer put her hand in front of a camera that was pointed directly in her face. "I have no comment at this time."

Rebecca squeezed Jordanna's hand tight as the memories of the last time she felt this way flashed through her mind; when she was being led, in handcuffs, into the Suffolk County police station closest to Jordanna's home after the drummer had been shot. At least, though, she consoled herself with the comforting knowledge that this time her beautiful lover was by her side, and not lying on an operating room table.

The quiet lobby of the office building was a relief to both of them, as they walked through the revolving door, escaping the scene that they lived with day and night over the past few weeks. "You all right, baby?" a concerned Jordanna asked the reporter as they approached the guard on desk duty.

Rebecca took a deep breath. "Yeah, it just brings back the bad memories."

The drummer pulled Rebecca in for a hug. "I know it does? I know, baby. I'm so sorry for that," she said sincerely, running her hands through Rebecca's hair to comfort her. She turned to the guard, who recognized them both immediately. He just finished reading the cover story article that the National Enquirer did on the shooting; the issue with a photo of the two lovers kissing on a park bench on the front cover. "We're here for the Plenty of Nothing press conference- Rebecca Hurley and Jordanna Fox."

The guard checked his list quickly for show, nodded, and told them to see the woman at the front desk. They picked up their identification passes, clipped them on their shirts and walked down a long hall with pale gold carpeting and red and gold wallpaper on the walls. When they slipped through the door of the crowded conference room, a hush fell over the crowd as people recognized them, and then the sound of idle chatter began to build again as the crowd quickly resumed their conversations.

They made their way up to the front of the room, where two tables were set up to the left and right of a small podium. Cameras caught the two women on film, as Jordanna placed a gentle kiss on Rebecca's lips after the reporter sat down in a seat to the side of the main tables, and then the drummer walked over to greet the remaining members of the band.

Jerry Baker, the band's manager, stood up as Jordanna approached the table, and gave the dark-haired drummer a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Jordanna did the same with Kelly Savage, the band's lead guitarist, and also with their bassist, Rachel Simpson.

The band's publicist, Ann Marie Stefano, greeted her the same as the others. "You remember what we discussed on the phone last night?" she asked, after the emotional drummer sat down in the seat behind where her nameplate was on the table.

"Mm, yeah," Jordanna answered idly, and Ann Marie knew at that point, that the drummer would say and do whatever the hell she felt like doing, as she always did. It was just Jordanna's way, and she was used to it.

And very used to cleaning up after it.

At exactly 10 am, the owner of Argo Records, Edward R. Jackson, stood behind the small podium, and introduced Jerry to the crowd. Jerry stood up, and took Edward's place behind the podium and proceeded to tell the cameras how they were all shocked and saddened over the death of the band's rhythm guitarist, Linda Matthews. He assured the media that the events that happened over the past few weeks did not mean the end of the band. He then announced that the band would be taking a few well deserved weeks off before focusing on finding a replacement for Linda, and that the band would be accepting video submissions from rhythm guitarists/vocalists that were interested and more importantly, qualified for the position. He gave the band's management address out for the submissions, thanked the crowd and sat back down in his seat next to Rachel.

Jordanna began to feel sick to her stomach. She knew that they would be opening the floor up for questions from the hungry media, and that she was the chef's special of the day. She watched as a representative from the record company, a small man with beady eyes and a balding head, tried to keep some semblance of order as the media started screaming out their questions.

Rebecca's co-worker and representative from Tempo Magazine, Jake Rogers, stood up behind the microphone and asked the first question. "Jordanna- how are you feeling?"

The dark-haired woman looked Jake in the eye and smiled gently, remembering that Rebecca told her the man had a crush on her. She answered in a professional, relaxed tone of voice. "I feel fine, thank you for asking."

Another member of the press stood up and asked the next question. "Jordanna- is it true you have a history with Linda Matthews?"

The drummer pushed her long bangs out of her eyes, reminding herself that she needed to get her hair cut soon. "Yes, Linda and I were involved with each other years ago."

The next hungry member of the media stood behind the microphone, one that the drummer didn't recognize. "Jordanna- what kind of a relationship did you have with Linda?"

Jordanna sighed and looked over at Ann Marie, making it a point to lift her brow at their publicist. What a stupid question- this is me you are talking about. "I really don't think that is relevant at this point."

"Jordanna- is it true that she was stalking you?" the next member of the media asked.

"Yes," the drummer answered, and shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Jordanna- why do you think she was stalking you?"

The dark-haired woman rubbed her forehead, feeling that a headache was beginning to come on. "I guess she never quite got over me," she said with a small smirk, regretting her comment instantly as she heard a gasp come from the back of the room. She looked in the direction that the gasp came from, and realized that some members of Linda's grieving family were attending the press conference. "I honestly don't know what drove her to do what she did."

"Jordanna- how do you feel about the events that happened at your Long Island home?"

Jordanna cleared her throat and took a sip from a glass of water that was placed in front of her. "Obviously," she said and paused for effect. "I'm saddened over the loss of an old friend and band mate. I have to live with the guilt of knowing that it was my relationship with her that may have led her to her senseless death."

"Jordanna- is it true that your current girlfriend is the woman that shot her?"

Jordanna turned her head to the side to look at her lover, and caught the look of sadness and remorse in her usually sparkling emerald eyes. The shooting affected Rebecca more than she let on, and Jordanna tried to get the normally talkative woman to open up to her about her feelings, but was unsuccessful. Since Jordanna was released from the hospital, Rebecca would wake up screaming every night, and would only calm down when Jordanna would wrap her comforting arms around her. "Yes, my girlfriend is the woman who shot her," she confirmed quietly.

Jordanna looked up at the woman who was next in line for questioning and sighed. Shit? it's that pain in the ass bitch, Jervis.

Kathryn Jervis leaned into the microphone with a smug look on her face. Jordanna and Kathryn already had a few run-ins with each other over the years, and the drummer had absolutely no tolerance for the pushy woman from the magazine that would be considered Tempo Magazine's biggest competitor.

"Jordanna- your current lover is Rebecca Hurley, journalist from Tempo Magazine, right?" Kathryn asked, still sporting that smug look on her face.

Jordanna wanted nothing more than to slap it off of her, but instead she looked over at Rebecca again and the small blonde smiled at her. Jordanna winked and smiled back before turning to answer Kathryn's question. "Yes, Rebecca and I are in a serious relationship."

"Jordanna- how serious?"

"Jordanna- do you and Rebecca live together?"

"Jordanna- how serious can it be with your history of being a womanizer?"

All control was lost and the questions started coming at her at the same time. Okay, I've had enough of this shit. "Yes, we do live together," Jordanna said and paused. "And we are very serious about each other. Thank you all for coming." The drummer stood up, ignoring the questions that were still being thrown at her. She walked over to Rebecca, leaned down and whispered in her ear. "Ready to go?"

Rebecca nodded and stood up, taking Jordanna's hand as they walked toward the door together. Their path was blocked, however, as Linda's mother and father stood in front of the door. Jordanna squeezed Rebecca's hand tight, and swallowed the lump in her throat. The dark-haired woman looked into Linda's mother's eyes and noticed that they were the same hazel color as Linda's. "I'm very sorry for what happened, Mrs. Matthews." The drummer knew that Linda's family always hated her, even right from the beginning, before they knew of their relationship.

Linda's mother's lip twitched and her hand shook. Jordanna thought for sure that older woman was going to slap her and braced herself for the blow, but instead she pulled the tall drummer into her arms. "I'm sorry for what she did to you, Jordanna," Mrs. Matthews apologized. "We knew she was obsessed with you, but we didn't think she'd ever go that far."

Jordanna's mouth dropped open. "You knew?"

Linda's father cleared his throat and spoke for the first time. "Yes, we knew." He turned and looked at the reporter. "We just want you to know that we don't blame you, Rebecca. You did what any person would do to defend a loved one."

The drummer heard Rebecca sniffle, and noticed the tears streaming down her cheeks. She wiped the tears from the young reporter's face, put her arm around her lover and pulled her close. "Thank you," Jordanna said to the Matthews family, knowing that what they just said would make all of the difference in the world for Rebecca. "This means a lot," she said and looked at her silent lover. "To both of us."

Both Jordanna and Rebecca hugged each member of the Matthews family, and then made their way out the conference room doors. The whole scene was captured on tape.

Surprised that they weren't followed on their way out, Jordanna stopped and leaned against the wall. "I can't believe that just happened." She ran her hand along Rebecca's cheek, which was still damp from the tears she shed. "Are you all right, baby?"

"I'm fine, love."

The drummer sighed. "I really thought Linda's mother was going to slap me at first," Jordanna said with a relieved smile. "I'm very surprised they even came, and for them to approach me? us. Wow. I have never been one of their favorite people, Rebecca. Especially after they found out that Linda caught me in bed with another woman."

"Do you think they know about Dre and the baby?"

Jordanna shook her head. "No, I don't think so. Rebecca?"

"Yeah, love?"

"Do you think I blew the press conference by losing my temper and walking out like that?"

"No, I don't think so. You were very polite to everyone you spoke to."

"But I shouldn't have let that Jervis woman get to me like that," the drummer said with a sigh. "She just pisses me off. She really knows how to push my buttons. I knew she was going to bring you up, and I didn't want that to happen, Rebecca." She shook her head in disgust. "We've had quite a few altercations over the years. She's after me for some reason."

"She's a conniving bitch, Jordanna," Rebecca snorted. "She's always trying to top me in everything. This time she knows she can't. Unless?"

Jordanna scowled at the thought and wouldn't let Rebecca finish it. "Hell no, Rebecca. I wouldn't touch that bitch with a ten foot pole."

"Good to hear," Rebecca responded and then smiled. "This must be eating her up inside, then."

Jordanna looked at the clock on the wall. "Hey, we have a few hours before we have to pick up Cindy." The drummer pushed herself off of the wall and took Rebecca's hand again. "Why don't we go back to your apartment for a little while?"

"Mmm, whatever do you have in mind, love?" Rebecca grinned at the first thought that went through her mind, and knowing Jordanna's mood she figured she pretty much knew what she wanted to do. "And does it involve removing our clothing and handcuffs?"

Jordanna untied the zebra striped bandanna she used as a blindfold and pulled it away from her lover's eyes. She crawled on her knees and straddled the reporter's legs, leaned forward, and placed a tender kiss on her lips. "You are so very special to me, Rebecca."

Dancing green eyes laughed back at Jordanna. "And you are very aroused," Rebecca teased, feeling the drummer's wetness on her legs. "You have such a wild imagination. The chocolate covered food was a wonderful idea." The drummer melted chocolate in the microwave, getting the idea from the book she just finished reading, and fed anything she could think of covering with chocolate to her blindfolded lover. "Although, the chocolate covered cucumber left something to be desired."

"At least I peeled the skin off for you." Jordanna lifted a dark brow. "And you still ate it, didn't you?"

Rebecca laughed, knowing that she wasn't able to argue with Jordanna about that. "The best was, by far, the chocolate covered nipples you fed me."

"I couldn't agree with you more on that one, baby." The drummer's nipples were still red and tender from all of the attention Rebecca gave to them. There was still a little chocolate stuck on her nipple rings, and Rebecca noticed it right away. "Ooh, I see I missed a little." She leaned down and took the metal rings into her mouth one by one, sucking all of the delightful chocolate off of the metallic tasting hoops, making sure that she got another taste of Jordanna's flesh in with it, too. "Yummy."

Jordanna backed away from her lover, who was happily exploring the drummer's body with her tongue, knowing that if they didn't put an end to their explorations now, they would be late picking Cindy up. "As much as I hate to ask this right now, what time is it, baby?"

Rebecca stopped her exploration, craned her neck to look at the clock and then frowned. "Shit! Time to get up and take a quick shower; then we have to pick Cindy up." Rebecca jumped out of bed and looked at the sheets. "We made a little mess here, didn't we?"

The drummer snorted. "Yeah, it looks like?"

Rebecca frowned. "Ugh, Jordanna. You don't have to be so descriptive all of the time." She headed for her closet to pull out something to change into.

"It's the artist in me, Rebecca," the drummer argued, watching her naked lover's every move. Her eyes followed Rebecca as she walked into the bathroom, and then started to get up when the small woman poked her head back out the door after a minute. "Are you coming? We don't have time to shower separately."

"You have to ask?" Jordanna winked at her lover, and then followed her into the bathroom, closing the door behind them.

**********

David Hurley turned the television off, having just finished watching the televised Plenty of Nothing press conference, and then paced back and forth in front of the door of his apartment. "I really don't want Cindy staying there with them, Anna," he said to his live-in girlfriend. "What if they? you know, in front of her?"

Anna looked up at her pacing boyfriend and shook her head. "She's her mother, Dave. Give Rebecca more credit than that, will you?" She stood up and grabbed him by the arms. "And stop pacing! You're making me dizzy!"

"It's not Rebecca I'm worried about. It's Jordanna. You've read about her sexual escapades, Anna. The woman is a slut. She's fucked every woman from here to Los Angeles and back." He continued to pace the room. "You saw when they captured them kissing on camera. That's so damn disgusting!"

"You know, you sang Jordanna's praises big time before you found out she's been sleeping with your ex-wife," Anna pointed out. "What's the big deal? Cindy likes Jordanna."

"That's what my problem is."

"You don't think?" Anna started to ask, but the sound of the doorbell interrupted her.

David opened the door up, and instantly glared at the two women standing there. "Come in," he said gruffly. Rebecca and Jordanna slipped through the door, and walked into the living room. Rebecca was dressed in jeans and a denim shirt, and Jordanna had on the black suit that she wore at the press conference. David thought to himself that the drummer looked more like an average office manager in the suit she was wearing. Well, a gorgeous more than average office manager, than a drummer in a famous rock band. "Cindy's in her room."

"Nice seeing you again, Anna," Jordanna greeted the brunette woman sitting on the couch. She turned to Rebecca's ex-husband. "David." She felt the cool breeze coming from her lover's ex immediately.

Anna broke the ice. "How are you feeling, Jordanna?" She pointed to the couch. "Have a seat."

The drummer sat down on the couch, and faced Anna. "I'm fine, thanks for asking."

"We were shocked when we heard what happened with Linda. And that Rebecca was the one who shot her."

"It's been a rough few weeks for both Rebecca and me," the drummer admitted. "But we survived, and we're together."

"That's all that matters," Rebecca said from the other side of the room.

David groaned.

"What is your problem, David?" Rebecca snapped. "Does it still bother you that Jordanna and I are a couple?"

"Yes, it bothers me a lot. It's unnatural what you two do together in bed."

'Bet you would give your left testicle to watch what we do together in bed, wouldn't ya, Davey boy?' Jordanna thought immediately, but kept her comment to herself.

"Dave? you said you would behave," Anna scolded him.

"What we do in bed together is none of your fucking business." Rebecca was losing her temper, and losing it fast. Jordanna stood up and walked behind her lover, giving her a gentle rub on her back. "Calm down, baby," she whispered in her ear.

Rebecca turned around and glared at the tall woman. "Calm down? CALM DOWN? I am calm, Jordanna!"

Cindy walked out of her bedroom with her Pokemon backpack in her hand. "Mommy? Why are you yelling?"

All four adult heads turned to look at the young girl standing in the doorway. Rebecca ran over to her and picked her up, giving her a big hug. "I'm not yelling, sweetie. We just had a small disagreement, that's all."

"Oh," the young girl said, noticing Jordanna was there. "Jor!" she squealed, and jumped down from her mother's arms to run into Jordanna's. "Opfh..." the drummer grunted as the child launched herself at her, and then picked the smiling Cindy up. "Hey there, kiddo."

"Cindy, you gotta go easy with Jordanna, you know she just got out of the hospital," David reminded his daughter tenderly.

"I forgot," the young girl blushed shyly. "Sorry, Jor."

"I'm fine, kiddo, don't worry about it. Are you just about ready to go?" the drummer asked. She was beyond ready to get out of the tense apartment, and was sure, by the look on Rebecca's face, that her lover was, too.

"I'm ready."

Rebecca and Jordanna stood by the front door, Cindy's backpack in the drummer's hand, as the young girl said goodbye to her father and Anna. Cindy joined them at the door, and Rebecca put her arm around her daughter's shoulder as they walked out the apartment door. "We'll bring her back on Sunday, David."

**

"That's it, sweetie. You got it!" Jordanna said encouragingly, as she stood next to a floating Cindy in the shallow end of the heated indoor swimming pool. The young girl was all smiles when the drummer put her arms around her and lifted her out of the water, after an afternoon spent successfully teaching her how to swim.

Rivulets of water dripped off the drummer's toned body as she climbed the metal ladder out of the pool. Rebecca watched her do so with an appreciative eye, handing Jordanna her towel as she approached, and she wrapped Cindy's towel around her small body to dry her off. "I'm so proud of you, Cindy!" she said, and gave her daughter a hug and a kiss.

"Hey, what about me?" the drummer pouted.

"I'm very proud of you, too, Jor," the reporter said, and patted the drummer on her wet cheek, knowing that wasn't exactly what Jordanna was talking about.

"Gee, thanks, Rebecca." Jordanna frowned and toweled herself off quickly. She sat her still wet body down on a lounge chair next to Rebecca and Cindy. "How about we go out for cheeseburgers tonight to celebrate?"

Cindy nodded her head in agreement. "Okay."

Rebecca put her hand on the drummer's damp thigh and gave it a little squeeze. "Sounds good to me."

"Let me go hop in the shower then," the drummer said, and got up off of the lounge chair. Although not quite as sexy as her black thong, Rebecca admired the sleek, black, leopard print one-piece bathing suit that Jordanna had on. She especially admired the strategically placed cutout in the front that showed off her bare, muscled abdomen and sexy navel. "Then we'll go, okay?"

Rebecca was too busy admiring Jordanna's body and didn't answer her.

The drummer waved her hand in front of the reporter's face. "Rebecca?"

"Huh?"

"Will you be ready to go when I'm finished with my shower?" the drummer repeated.

"Shower? Uh, yeah, we'll be ready."

**********

After Rebecca put the tired, young girl to bed, Jordanna stood by the living room door looking at her lover, who was sitting on the couch deep in thought. She cleared her throat to announce her presence and then walked in the room. There was a bit of a chill in the air, so she walked over to the fireplace and started a fire, and then sat down on the couch next to Rebecca, putting her hand on her lover's knee for comfort. "Everything go okay?"

Rebecca nodded. "Yeah, love. She's such a good kid. Do you know what she said when I told her I was living here?"

The drummer pulled Rebecca into her arms, and kissed her on the top of her head. "No, what?"

"She said that she was glad that I wouldn't have to be lonely anymore." Tears began to fall from Rebecca's eyes. "I can't believe that I?"

Jordanna wiped the tears away with her thumb. "You can't believe that you what, baby?"

"I'm such a failure," Rebecca admitted. "David raised a really wonderful little girl."

"Rebecca, you are not a failure. She knows that you love her and want only what's best for her."

"But I chose my job over her, and left her with a man that is not her father, Jor," the reporter said, shaking her head.

"Baby, we've discussed this already. No matter what happened in the past, your daughter loves you? unconditionally. She loves you, Rebecca. It's so easy to see." Jordanna placed a soft kiss on Rebecca's lips. "Stop beating yourself up about this. If you feel you've failed her in the past, which you haven't, then do what you can to make it up to her now. I realize after what we've been through over the past few weeks that today is what matters the most. Live for today, and for the next 50 years of today's, Rebecca."

Rebecca ran her hands through Jordanna's long, dark hair and wrapped her hand around the back of her lover's neck, pulling her down for a passionate kiss. "Mmm, you're right, Jor. God, I love you." Jordanna slowly pushed Rebecca down onto the couch, easing her body in between Rebecca's legs. She began placing tender kisses on Rebecca's neck, feeling her pulse quicken immediately. She unbuttoned Rebecca's denim shirt slowly, placing a kiss on the bare skin revealed with each undone button, and finally pushed it away from her body, leaving a trail of kisses from her neck to her navel. "Let's go to bed, baby."

They never noticed the tiny person with curly dark hair and green eyes looking at them from the doorway.

It was still dark out, and the sound of a light rain was hitting against the bedroom windows when the drummer opened her eyes. 'Well, I guess I won't be running this morning,' Jordanna thought as she looked at the clock. Her lover's arm was lying across her stomach, and she was far too comfortable to get up. She closed her eyes again, hoping that she could get another hour or so of sleep.

When sleep wouldn't come, she slid out of the bed, put on a robe and made her way into the kitchen. As she walked by the living room, she noticed the television was still on. Thinking that they must have left it on in their haste to make it to the bedroom the night before, she went into the living room to turn it off.

As she walked through the door, she noticed that Cindy was curled up on the couch with her blanket wrapped around her, and her stuffed Eeyore in her lap, watching early morning cartoons. "You're up early, kiddo," Jordanna said, and sat down on the couch next to the young girl.

"Couldn't sleep."

"Why couldn't you sleep, sweetie?" the drummer asked, feeling a little self-conscious and not knowing what to do about it. "Do you want to change your room?"

"Jor?"

"Yeah, honey?"

"Why were you and Mommy kissing last night?"

"Um?"

Jordanna took a deep breath and looked into the child's eyes. "Cindy, your Mommy and I love each other, that's why we were kissing."

The child blinked at her and went back to the cartoon she was watching. "Oh, okay."

Whew, that was easy. "You hungry, kiddo?"

"Yeah."

Jordanna smiled. She realized that kids were really kind of easy to please, when she thought about it. "You wanna go out for pancakes?"

"YEAH!"

"Why don't you go wake your Mommy up then, and we will get ready and go, okay?"

"Okay," the young girl said, jumping up off of the couch and racing Eeyore up the stairs to go wake her mother. Jordanna, on the other hand, sat back on the couch and relaxed, giving herself time to let the nervous feeling inside her calm down. 'I'm really not cut out for this parenthood thing,' she thought, chuckling to herself.

Cindy burst through the bedroom door, and jumped onto the bed. "Mommy, wake up! We're going out for pancakes."

Rebecca groaned and opened her eyes, looking into the gentle green ones that mirrored her own. "We are, huh?" she said, grabbing her daughter by the waist, tickling her. "Who said?"

"Jor said!"

"She did, huh?"

"Yeah!"

The reporter slipped out from under the covers, thanking God that they decided to get dressed after their lovemaking session the night before. She went into the closet, grabbed her robe and slippers, and went into the bathroom.

Cindy went back down the stairs and found Jordanna in the kitchen making a pot of coffee. "Did you wake your Mom up?" she asked the young girl, who just sat down at the kitchen table.

"Yeah, I did."

Jordanna flashed a crooked grin. "And you lived to talk about it?"

Cindy giggled.

A half an hour later, the drummer went up to their bedroom to take a shower. Rebecca was in the bathroom blow-drying her hair. She ran her fingers through her long, silky strands, trying to give it some body. She felt strong arms wrap around her waist, and looked into the mirror at her lover, who was standing behind her.

"Are pancakes okay with you?"

Rebecca shut the blow dryer off and smiled. "Sounds great to me. Cindy loves them."

"Baby," the drummer said and sighed. "Cindy, um?"

"What's the matter, Jor?"

The dark-haired woman pulled Rebecca around so that they were facing each other. "Cindy saw us kissing on the couch last night. She asked me why we were kissing."

Rebecca blinked at her, relatively unconcerned. "So, what did you tell her?"

"I told her that we were kissing because we love each other."

"What did she say?"

Jordanna leaned her back against the wall and started to laugh, thinking about how nervous she was about the whole situation. "She said okay and then went back to watching her cartoons."

"That's it?"

The dark-haired woman nodded. "That's it. I guess we should be a little more careful around her, huh?"

Rebecca shrugged. "If you were a man, do you think I would think twice about kissing you in front of her?"

Jordanna's dark eyebrow rose. "I doubt it, why?"

"Well, I don't plan on us making love in front of her, Jor, but you are my partner and I don't think we should hide that fact from her."

"Yeah, I guess you are right." The drummer realized that she had a lot to learn about children. "I'm sorry, baby. I just don't want to say? or do? the wrong thing in front of her. I have no experience with kids; you know that," she commented, pulling her robe off, and hanging it on the back of the door.

Rebecca let her eyes travel up and down Jordanna's body, as the drummer started to step into the shower. The drummer noticed the reporter checking her out and snorted. "Rebecca, you are picking up more and more of my bad habits, you know that?"

"Yeah," Rebecca walked out of the bathroom door, turned around and chuckled at her lover. "So? You got a problem with that?"

"No," the drummer said as she turned the shower water on. "Not at all."

**********

The restaurant was crowded and noisy as the three women sat and ate their breakfast. Rebecca picked up a piece of bacon off of Jordanna's plate, broke it in half, and slipped it into her mouth.

The drummer shook her head and smirked at her lover. "I'm glad you're enjoying my breakfast, baby."

"Mmm," Rebecca moaned, still chewing on the bacon. "It's really good," she finally managed to get out, once she finished chewing. She looked over at her daughter, who was sitting in the booth next to Jordanna, munching away on her chocolate chip pancakes. "Everything okay, pipsqueak?"

The young girl continued chewing and nodded her head up and down.

Rebecca stole another piece of the drummer's bacon off of her plate. "Hey!" the dark-haired woman teased. "Eat your own breakfast."

"Yours tastes so much better, though," the reporter said in a seductive tone, resisting the urge to lean across the table and kiss her lover in front of her daughter and the rest of the breakfast crowd. "Jor, you remember that your appointment with Dr. Rosen has been rescheduled for this coming Monday, don't you?"

The first time the drummer saw Dr. Rosen, a therapist that specialized in addictions, a few days before the shooting. Since she was lying in a hospital bed recovering from her gunshot wounds the week after that, she had to cancel the appointment she made to continue on with her therapy to help her overcome her addiction to sex. She took a sip of her coffee and sighed. "Yeah, how could I forget?"

In all actuality, she wanted nothing more than to forget about it. She wanted to forget about the addiction that had driven her lonely existence along for so long. The addiction that had been her friend on those dark nights on the road when there was no one in her life to love her. The addiction that made her feel alive, and in control of the hundreds- maybe thousands, of women she seduced over the years. Those same women that let her do anything? anything?

Everything she wanted to do to their bodies. Touch them, taste them, bring them to the height of ecstasy, and show them the thin line between pleasure and pain that she wielded by her very experienced hands.

Jordanna could feel her breathing begin to increase as her dark side returned, making her mind race rapidly, and a insistent throbbing began to build between her legs at the thought of those women. Oh shit, Rebecca. Why did you have to bring this up, now? Here?

Rebecca looked at the perspiration on her lover's face and knew. She stretched her arm across the table, and put her hand on top of her shaking lover's hand. "God Jor, how stupid of me. I'm so sorry."

"No, I'm sorry," Jordanna said, looking at Rebecca. She got up out of the booth and ran to the bathroom, slamming the door open with the palms of her hands, hoping that no one was behind it.

'Control, Jordanna,' she thought to herself as she ran cold water in the sink, and splashed it all over her face.

"Focus," she said out loud, not caring if anyone heard her or not. "Dr. Rosen said you have to focus."

She didn't know how long she stood there in front of the mirror, except that she knew it was a long time. Thankfully, it allowed her breathing to come into control and her mind to relax. She knew that if Cindy weren't there with them, Rebecca would have been right behind her, chasing her into the bathroom.

Jordanna didn't know what would have happened had that been the case.

She took one last look at herself in the mirror, washed and dried her hands, sighed, and then walked out the door. Her eyes focused on two pairs of concerned looking green ones watching her as she walked down the aisle, making her way back to their booth.

"Sorry," she said, as she slid back in next to Cindy. Cindy looked at the dark-haired woman with inquisitive child eyes. "Are you okay, Jor?"

The drummer poked the tip of the young girl's nose with her finger and smiled for her. "I'm fine, kiddo."

She tried to do the same for her lover, but Rebecca could see right through her, knowing that the smile was only for show, and that things with her wasn't really okay.

**********

Shadows moved in the distance as a thick, late-morning fog hung in the air. The car inched forward on the private drive, it's headlights revealing that the moving shadows weren't really shadows at all, but a crowd of media camped by the newly installed security gates in front of Jordanna's oceanfront home.

"Can't they just leave us the hell alone?" Rebecca whispered, trying not to upset her daughter, who was sitting in the small back seat of the 3000GT. The reporter hoped beyond hope that the press conference would answer all of the questions they had, and would finally put an end to the media invasion that disrupted their lives since the shooting.

Apparently, it hadn't.

"Move out of my damn way," the drummer muttered quietly to the crowd that was standing in front of the gates, speaking the first words she'd said since leaving the diner. The group of reporters moved out of her way as she pulled up to the gates, realizing that she was going to drive through whether they were there or not.

She rolled down the driver's side window, and someone with a camera immediately began taking pictures. She leaned her elbow on the door and smiled blankly at them, her blue eyes shooting daggers. "For those of you who can't read the signs that are posted all over here, this is private property you're standing on. I will only ask you once to kindly remove yourselves from it, or I will remove your sorry asses from it myself," she warned, her voice a low growl, letting them all know that she meant business.

Five or six of the people that were standing there turned and went back to their vehicles, adhering to the drummer's words. She punched the security code on the remote inside the car and cursed silently knowing that when the gates opened, the few that didn't leave would slip onto her property. Maybe a good confrontation is just what I need right now.

"Mommy?" Cindy asked from the back seat. "Who are those people?"

Rebecca turned around to look at her daughter, and Jordanna looked at her in the rear-view mirror, noticing that the child looked petrified. Shit, now Cindy has to pay for something I did, too. Will this ever end?

"They want to take pictures of Jordanna and us, sweetie, because Jordanna is famous, that's all."

"I'm scared," the child admitted.

The drummer winced at Cindy's words, and watched the group of reporter's running along the side of the car, as she pulled the car to a stop in the driveway. "Cindy, everything is going to be fine." The drummer tried to reassure the young girl. "You go in the house with your Mommy and take care of her while I ask these people to leave, okay, kiddo?"

"Okay, I'll take care of Mommy," Cindy said, smiling bravely.

Jordanna ruffled the top of Cindy's hair and smiled back at her. She started to open her car door, but stopped suddenly, and turned to her lover. "Rebecca, please stay inside, no matter what."

The reporter nodded and put her hand on her lover's, just then getting a good look at the drummer's seemingly colorless eyes. "Please don't do anything you'll regret, love. It's not worth it," Rebecca whispered. She knew that when the color drained out of Jordanna's eyes, she was not a woman to be messed with.

"I won't," Jordanna said, and then leaned over and captured Rebecca's lips with a kiss. "They are going to follow you, baby. Just ignore them and go right into the house." Rebecca gave her lover a final kiss and got out of the car, pulling the seat forward so her daughter could get out of the back. Rebecca closed the car door, and then took the confused child's hand, trying to make their way through the crowd blocking their path. Cameras flashed in their faces, and questions about her involvement with the drummer and the shooting were thrown at the reporter, but she ignored them and walked proudly to the front door. She already had her keys handy, and she opened the door quickly, ushering Cindy and herself into the house. She slammed the door in their faces, and the crowd turned around to face six feet of angry drummer standing behind them.

"I asked you once to leave my property. I will not ask you again. Get the fuck outta here. NOW!"

"What are you going to do, Jordanna? Get your little girlfriend out here to shoot us?" one overly confident male photographer went back at her.

"No," she said, and grabbed him by the collar. She pushed him forcefully to the bottom of her driveway, and threw him out into the street, knocking him flat on his ass. "You work with Kathryn Jervis, don't you?" she asked as she grabbed the camera out of his hand, opened the back of it, and pulled the film out. The drummer proceeded to throw that and his camera on the ground, where it smashed into pieces.

"My camera!" he yelped, and picked up the broken pieces of equipment off of the road after he got up. "I'm calling the cops on you, Fox!"

"You just fucking go ahead and do that. Remember who trespassed on private property, asshole," she snarled at him. "Oh, and tell Kathryn I said hello," she quipped, and gave the man the finger as a final salute.

She turned around and walked through the gates, shutting them behind her. She smiled wickedly at the 3 reporters still remaining in front of her house and let out an evil laugh. "So, who wants to go next?"

"We just want?"

"What is it that you want?" Jordanna asked sarcastically, moving closer to them. She noticed the one man had his video camera rolling and pointed at her. "Everyone knows I'm gay and that I fuck women, so that's no big scoop for any of you. It's no secret Rebecca Hurley is my lover and lives here with me," she said with a shrug. "So what the hell more could you possibly fucking want from me? Blood?"

"Jordanna?"

"I just got out of the fucking hospital a week ago. A member of my band is dead. You got your pictures of Rebecca and I together. Can't you just please leave my family and me alone for a while? Am I asking for that much?" she asked, as her eyes started to mist and her voice became emotional.

She didn't know what was happening to her. In all these years she never let anyone, besides Rebecca, see her in such an emotional state before. Apparently, it touched something in these people, because they left the property without further harassment.

She shut the gates behind them and walked to the house, noticing both Rebecca and Cindy looking out the window, watching her every move. She walked into the house and both her lover and the young girl were by her side immediately. "Are you okay, love?" the reporter asked.

"Mmm, yeah, I'm fine, baby," the drummer answered, and pulled Rebecca into her arms.

"Hey, what about me?" Cindy said, feeling left out.

Jordanna picked her lover's daughter up into her arms, and the three of them enjoyed a group hug. The drummer felt surrounded by the love that radiated from the two most important people in her life, helping her to calm down immediately.

When they broke apart, Jordanna let Cindy down on the floor and Rebecca put her hand on her hip. "I enjoyed watching you knock Jervis' photographer on his ass," she said with a huge smile.

"That was him, then?" the drummer asked. "I asked him if he worked for Kathryn but he didn't answer me," she smirked. "I told him to tell her I said hello, then I gave him the finger."

Rebecca chuckled, and then nudged the drummer with her elbow. "I'm sure she'll see it cause that big guy from that show, Sling the Sleaze, got it all on tape."

"Exactly my intention, baby."

Rebecca put her arms around Jordanna's waist and leaned her head on her shoulder. "Oh, you are bad."

"And proud of it."

**

Rebecca sat at the kitchen table with her daughter sitting next to her, drinking a glass of chocolate milk. She ran her finger down the movie listings in the paper, looking for an appropriate movie that they could take Cindy to see, since it was a rainy day and they couldn't enjoy any outdoor activities.

"Mighty Joe Young!"

"We saw that already, sweetie."

"I wanna see it again, pleeeease?"

Rebecca looked at the theaters that the movie was playing at. Being new to the area, she knew the names of the surrounding towns, but didn't quite know where they were. "It's playing in West Hampton. Let's go ask Jor if she wants to see the movie and if she knows where the theater is."

"Okay," Cindy said, and put her chocolate milk down on the table. They walked out of the room in search of the drummer.

They found Jordanna sitting on the couch in the sunroom, staring blankly out the window. Rebecca could see the sadness written all over her lover's face, and knew that she was probably beating herself up over the events of the morning. She bent down and told her daughter that she needed to speak to Jordanna, and asked her if she would go in her room and color for a little while.

The young girl nodded, and then left the room. Rebecca watched as Cindy climbed up the stairs and went into her bedroom, which was visible from the ground floor of the house. She walked behind the couch and put her hand on Jordanna's shoulder. "Jor?"

The drummer shook her head. "I'm so pathetic, Rebecca."

Rebecca quickly walked around and sat down on the couch next to the drummer, so she could look into her eyes. "No, you're not, love." She ran her hand across Jordanna's wet cheek. "It's not going to happen overnight, you know that."

"But you mentioning my therapy shouldn't set me off, either. And right in the middle of breakfast, with your daughter sitting next to me," Jordanna sighed and looked down. "If that's not pathetic, I don't know what is," she added.

"Can I ask you something?"

Jordanna looked up at Rebecca through her long, dark bangs. "Mmm?"

"What do you miss the most?"

The drummer narrowed her eyes. "Miss the most?"

"Yeah, about your old lifestyle." Rebecca was slightly afraid of the answer she was going to hear. "When your mind starts thinking of sex, what are you thinking about?"

Jordanna's eyes looked everywhere but into Rebecca's. "The power," she answered, without hesitation.

"Power?"

"Yeah," the drummer confirmed, shaking her head. "Having a woman do anything I ask of her because I am who I am and they want to please me. Plus, the pleasure of causing someone else pain, and maybe just a little bit of humiliation during sex. I know that must sound awful to you, but it's always been a high for me, Rebecca. A real turn on."

"But, we co?"

Jordanna interrupted Rebecca, not allowing her to finish what she was going to say. "That I could never ask of you."

"I'm willing to give it a try."

The drummer shook her head adamantly. "No way."

Rebecca tried again relentlessly. "Why not?"

"I will not degrade you like that, Rebecca."

"You don't think it could be done lovingly, without humiliation?"

"I'm sure it could, but?" the drummer put her hands up. "I don't want you doing anything like that."

Rebecca smiled slightly; thinking about the night her lover took her after the show at Madison Square Garden and how much of a turn on it was to her. "What if I want to do it?"

"You don't know what you're saying." Jordanna ran her finger across her lover's chin. "Me blindfolding and handcuffing you to the bed is a lot different than what I'm talking about, baby."

"I know that. I'm naïve, but I'm not stupid," the reporter said with a smile. "Tomorrow night, after we drop Cindy off. You, me, handcuffs and that flogger thing have a date."

"But, Rebecca?"

"You'll be gentle, I know it."

"But?"

"But nothing, Jordanna. You, me?tomorrow night. Be there. End of discussion." Rebecca grabbed her lover's hands and pulled her off of the couch. "Do you know where the West Hampton Cinema is?"

"I sure do."

"Let's go get Cindy. We are going to see "Mighty Joe Young."

Jordanna groaned, but followed her lover into the kitchen to look at the times the movie was playing anyway.

It looked like a typical day at the Savage household. The television in the living room on and blasting loudly, with no one watching it. Millions of neighborhood children ran around their backyard screaming. Kelly stood in the kitchen, in front of the stove, making dinner. An esteemed chef, she loved to cook but didn't get to do it often, being on the road with Plenty of Nothing most of the year. She made it a point to take advantage of it during her off time, trying out new recipes.

Her husband, Joe, a man of small stature with dark hair and brown eyes, came up from behind, grabbed a spoon and then scooped some of what she was stirring up out of the pot and tasted it. He knew that she hated it when he did that. "Tastes fantastic, hon. What is it?"

I'll fix his ass?

"Stewed possum," she teased. "It's a brand new recipe."

"Ugh!" Joe gagged and ran to the garbage to spit what he had in his mouth out. "You're shittin' me, right, Kel?"

"No, I'm not joking. It's stewed possum, Joe. I got the recipe from someone when we played down in Kentucky. They said it's low in fat, and it tastes just like chicken." She broke out into a huge smile.

He sat down on the chair at the kitchen table. "My wife is trying to kill me." The phone rang and Joe got up to answer, and stood there listening to the person that was speaking on the other end of the phone. "I told you before, she has no comment, damn it! Stop calling here!" he said, and slammed the phone down.

Kelly rubbed her husband's back after he sat back down at the kitchen table. "Another reporter?"

"Yes, another reporter. I'm getting so tired of this, Kel." He rubbed his head. "We've already changed our phone number twice since the shooting. They come up to our kids in the yard and start asking them questions. Brandon asked me yesterday what a dyke is, Kelly! He's 7-years-old. Where could he have possibly heard that term? I just want to wring Jordanna's neck sometimes."

"It's not her fault, Joe. None of us knew that Linda was so fucked in the head."

"She had an affair with Linda, and then cheated on the woman, Kel. Had she kept her fucking legs shut in the first place we wouldn't be having this problem now, would we?" He sighed in frustration. "So don't tell me it's not her fault."

Kelly shook her head. She hated to argue with her husband, but she felt she had to defend Jordanna. "She's got a very serious problem, Joe. We all know that. I think, thanks to Rebecca, she's finally admitting it and accepting responsibility for it. Don't you dare knock her down for that! She wouldn't do it to you," she argued, and then walked out of the kitchen, leaving the beef stew she was cooking unattended.

Joe knew Kelly was right. Jordanna kept a secret of his for years. It wasn't an earth-shattering secret, but it would hurt Kelly if she ever found out, and he didn't want to do that, because when she hurts, he hurts.

Joe actually knew Jordanna, who then went by her birth name of Julia Smith, before he even met Kelly. Also a graduate of Hauppauge High School, Joe was a trumpet player in the school band with Jordanna when they were in Junior High. She was the only female drummer in the band, and that intrigued the young trumpet player. He hated how she took a lot of teasing from the male drummers, mostly because they knew she had more talent than they did, and she was quiet and would take it from them.

In their second year of band together, Joe began to develop a teenage crush on the tall, thin drummer, and one day he got his courage up enough to ask her out. Giving the excuse that her drum lessons, basketball, studying, and the other after-school activities she was involved in took up most of her time, she refused. Years later, he would find out the truth about her sexuality.

He met and started dating Kelly in the 9^th grade. Kelly picked up the guitar at the ripe old age of 8, and she and another Hauppauge schoolmate, Rachel Simpson, formed a band together. Between the two, they had the guitar and the bass section's covered. All they needed was a drummer. That's when Joe mentioned there was an excellent female drummer in the school band, and told Kelly that he could introduce them if they wanted.

The three women hit it off well, and began practicing in Rachel's basement, where her father, also a musician, had his equipment set up. They practiced popular songs from the 70's and 80's, and they were very tight. Jordanna took on the task of lead vocalist, which is difficult for a drummer, and it would wear her out by the end of their practice sessions. They needed a vocalist to help share with the singing duties, and take some of the strain off of Jordanna.

That's when Jordanna asked her best friend, Tracey Erickson, to join the band. Tracey wasn't trained vocally, but she had an excellent voice. They played at the school during the talent shows. They won best band at the school's Battle of the Bands contest. That got them the little bit of exposure that they needed, and they began to get invited to play at 18 and under shows at small bars in the area. Jordanna was most excited when they were asked to play at Sundance, a small, now defunct, club in Bay Shore where a lot of the popular bands were playing at the time. She saw some of her favorite heavy metal bands that were popular during the time play there. To play on the same stage that their idols did was a big thrill for the band.

That all came to a screeching halt, however, when Jordanna ran away from home in the 10^th grade, not to be seen or heard from again for another five years. Tracey left the band right after Jordanna ran away. Kelly and Rachel went on and found another drummer and vocalist, but things were just not the same.

The concerned women were left wondering where their friend was. Was she still on Long Island somewhere? Was she dead? Lying in one of the many crack houses in the area? Selling her body for money? They didn't know.

Joe proposed to Kelly when they both turned 20, in the spring of 1990. She accepted without hesitation, and they planned on having a summer wedding a year later, in 1991.

That same year, Joe was at a bachelor party held for one of his friends, Randy, at a strip club that was called The Dollhouse. Joe had never been there before, and was waiting to see what was considered the club's claim to fame- a tall, dark-haired, blue eyed stripper by the name of Blue. Because of her extreme popularity with the clientele of the club, Blue was always the last to hit the stage, keeping the men there and drinking throughout the night.

The alcohol was flowing, and things quickly got out of hand when one of the members of the wedding party found out that The Dollhouse also offered 'morally illegal activities' in the back rooms of the bar. They paid for the groom to have one last fling with one of the dancers, which he proudly did. When Randy returned from his encounter, with a blonde dancer named Ginger, he slapped the quiet Joe on the back, and told him that a session with one of the dancers was set up and paid for, and that he should just go back there.

Jordanna kept the promise she made to him in the back room of the strip club that night; never telling Kelly what happened between him and Brandi. He also, in all fairness to Jordanna, kept her secret that she was the silent owner of the Dollhouse. He wondered if, almost 10 years later, she still did own a part of the club, or if she sold it to someone else. She never said otherwise.

The smell of dinner burning brought Joe out of his memories. He got up from the chair quickly, grabbed the spoon and gave what was cooking a little stir. He scooped up another spoonful, brought it up to his nose and sniffed it. Nah?

He pulled the empty package of meat out of the garbage can and saw the word beef and sighed, letting a relieved chuckle come out at his wife's goofy sense of humor.

He went in the living room and found Kelly and the kids sitting in front of the television. He leaned down in front of her and gave her a quick kiss on the top of her head. "You were right about Jordanna, Kel. I'm sorry."

She smiled and kissed him back. "I trained you well, Joe. No matter what, I am always right. Don't ever forget that."

"You are always right," he repeated as he sat down on the couch next to her. "Oh, by the way, I think your stewed possum is burning."

She jumped up and ran into the kitchen. "Oh, shit!"

**********

The sound of thunder shook the house and it's occupants awake out of a dead sleep. The reporter snuggled closer into her lover's warm body. "Jor? You awake?"

The drummer let out a heavy sigh and shifted her body. "Mmm," she mumbled, as a flash of lightning lit up the room.

"Sweetheart, did I tell you that Cindy is afraid of thunderstorms?"

Jordanna pulled Rebecca closer to her. "No, you didn't," she responded sleepily.

"She's going to want to sleep with me."

The drummer rubbed her eyes and sat up, pulling the covers off of her. "Maybe I should go sleep in the guestroom then."

Rebecca grabbed her by the arm, pulling her back. "No, you stay here."

"Rebecca, I'm not comfortable with this."

"No."

"But what if she says something to D?"

They hadn't finished their small disagreement when they heard the quiet knock at the door. "Mommy, can I come in?"

Rebecca sat up, rubbed Jordanna on the back between her shoulder blades and turned on the lamp that was on the table next to the bed. "Too late now, love," she whispered to her lover and then shrugged. "Come on in, sweetie."

The door opened and the small body walked through. She stopped briefly at the foot of the bed to look up at her mother and the drummer, but then jumped onto the bed with them. "I'm scared. Can I sleep in here with you guys?"

Rebecca pulled the covers back and Cindy climbed in between the two of them. She turned and faced Jordanna after they were all settled. "Are you scared, too, Jor?" she asked innocently, and then wrapped her arms around the dark-haired woman.

Jordanna's eyes met Rebecca's, who gave her a big smile. Jordanna gently bumped heads with the young girl, and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight, kiddo."

"Night, Jor. I love you."

The drummer hugged the young girl tight and had to fight to hold in the tears that wanted to fall, as waves of new emotion washed over her. "I love you, too, Cindy."

**

Small fingers were tangled in her long, dark tresses when the drummer woke. Jordanna turned her head on the pillow slowly, finally meeting the soft green eyes that she knew would be looking back at her. "Hey there," she whispered to Cindy softly, so that she wouldn't wake her sleeping lover.

Cindy remained staring at Jordanna, as a child often does, making the drummer just a bit uncomfortable. "You're so pretty, Jor."

Jordanna twirled a finger in one of the young girl's dark curls, something she noticed Rebecca always did when Cindy was sitting near her. She now understood why Rebecca always did it. The child's hair was very soft, and nice to the touch, she mused. "Thank you. So are you, sweetie," she finally answered.

She sat up in bed and turned around slightly, popping a finger between two of the horizontal blinds covering the window behind their bed to check on the morning's weather. The storm that woke them up in the middle of the night since moved out to sea, and the sun was shining brightly. 'Looks like a nice morning for a run,' she thought, as the sun warmed her body through the window.

Jordanna let out a brief yawn and stretched her arms out wide, shaking the sleep out of her body. She watched and smiled as the young girl did the same. She pushed the blankets away from her body, and slid out of the comfortable bed, pulling the oversized Eeyore baseball jersey that she wore to bed down to cover up as much of her body as she possibly could.

She started to walk to the bathroom to wash up and get into her running clothes, when she heard Cindy slide out of bed behind her. She looked at her lover who was hidden under the covers, still in a deep sleep. She didn't look like she was going to be waking up any time soon.

She turned around and crouched down to Cindy's height, so they were level with each other. "Do you want to take a walk with me on the beach this morning?"

Cindy nodded her head up and down, answering the question without words. Jordanna thought of how much that reminded her of how her lover was in the morning. Rebecca didn't fully wake up until after her third cup of coffee.

"We should get you something to eat first, Cindy. Let's go downstairs and I'll make you some breakfast."

The young girl shook her head no.

Jordanna narrowed her eyes. "Why not?"

"Mommy told me you're a terrible cook, Jor."

The drummer snorted and looked at her peacefully sleeping lover. "Oh, she did now, did she?"

"Yeah, she did."

"How about some cereal and juice, then?" the drummer suggested and then broke out into a smile. "I can't ruin that too much. At least I don't think I can."

A muffled voice floated out from under the blankets. "You'll manage somehow."

The drummer's eyebrow edged its way upward slowly. "Hey, unless you get your lazy butt up and out of that bed and come out and walk with us, woman, I don't think you should have anything to say."

Rebecca flipped the covers off of her and sat up, revealing sleepy eyes and a serious case of blonde bed head. "Oh, yeah?" She got up from the bed, walked up to her lover, pressed her chest against Jordanna's in defiance and stood face-to-face with the Eeyore on her lover's nightshirt. "Is that a dare, Fox?"

Jordanna looked down at the reporter with a smirk. "It's a dare, Hurley."

Rebecca stood on the tips of her toes, and placed a quick kiss on Jordanna's cheek. She did the same with her daughter and then turned around and got back into the bed, deciding to give her lover and her daughter some time alone to get to know each other. "You win. I'm going back to bed. Have fun on the beach, you two."

**

Jordanna drank the last of her coffee, and placed the dirty mug in the dishwasher. She set up a fresh pot to be brewed on the coffee maker and set the timer, so there would be coffee waiting for her lover when she woke up. She made a quick trip to the bathroom, and urged Cindy to do the same before they hit the beach.

When the young girl joined her again in the kitchen, the drummer pulled her windbreaker over her head and opened the back door, feeling the cool morning breeze immediately. "Better zip this all the way up," she said, as she bent down and zipped up the small New York Yankees jacket that Cindy had on. "It's a little windy out there."

It was quite a bit later than Jordanna usually hit the beach for her morning run, and the sun was already high in the sky and shining brightly. The two silent ladies walked down the deck to the boardwalk that ran from the drummer's oceanfront home to the sand. They heard a crunching noise as their feet hit the hard sand that was damp from the night's rain, and it stuck to their sneakers.

Jordanna stopped and waited as Cindy spotted different bright colored rocks and shells that were on the ground, taking the time to examine them more closely. The little girl lifted a tiny shell, and handed it to the drummer, asking her if she could keep it.

"Oh, this is a pretty one, kiddo." The drummer examined the speckled shell, noticing that it was flawless in its features. "Of course you can keep it," the drummer said, and put it in the pouch of the fanny pack that she was wearing. "I'll hold it for you, okay?"

The little girl nodded, and they continued their walk down the beach. Jordanna's eyes caught sight of a stranded horseshoe crab on its back, it's millions of little crab legs moving a mile a minute as it desperately waited for the early morning tide to wash it back into it's ocean home.

"Jor, look!" Cindy noticed the crab and pointed to it. "Ewww!"

"I know, that poor thing is an ugly sucker, isn't it?" the drummer said, and then walked over to the crab, lifted it by it's hard tail and flung it back into the ocean.

Sea Funk?

The drummer closed her eyes as she thought back to her childhood, something that she realized she was doing much more frequently since meeting Rebecca, as her long gone sense of a family unit began to return. Seeing the horseshoe crab made her think back to when her father used to take her and her best friend, Tracey, to the beach at Robert Moses State Park during the summer. The two teenaged girls named the crab sea funk because of it's ugly, yet funky mask like appearance, and always wondered if it would actually sting them if they touched it's tail, like everyone around them said it would. The stupid things that adults wanted children to believe made her want to laugh.

"Jor?"

"Yeah, sweetie?"

Big green eyes looked up at the drummer. "Are you and Mommy going to get married?"

Gulp? Jordanna felt a lump growing in her throat, and tried to clear it. "Huh?"

"You and Mommy should get married, Jor."

'I want that more than anything I've ever wanted in my life,' the drummer thought to herself. Since the shooting, the thought of asking Rebecca to commit to her was constantly on her mind. She even went as far as to window shop for engagement rings on one of her short trips into the town of Montauk, but shrugged the idea off as her insecurities got the best of her. She narrowed her eyes and then smiled as the realization hit home. Cindy was offering her, in her own innocent way, her blessing and unconditional love by saying what she just said.

The drummer sat down on the moist sand, and Cindy sat down across from her. "Why do you think that, kiddo?"

Cindy shrugged her shoulders. "You make her smile."

"I make her smile?"

"Yeah, and you make her laugh."

"I make her laugh?"

"Mommy never used to smile very much."

God, Rebecca's right. This kid is bright. "She didn't?"

"No," Cindy said seriously, her curly hair blowing in the wind. "She didn't kiss anyone, either."

The drummer realized that she was repeating everything the child said and stifled a laugh. "No?"

"I want Mommy to be happy."

Jordanna ran her hand through her own wind-blown hair, pushing it out of her face. "I want that, too, sweetie." Sensing the conversation was over as far as Cindy was concerned, Jordanna pushed herself up off of the sand and stood up. "Ready to go back to the house? Your Mom should be up by now."

Cindy nodded and got up.

"Hop on." The drummer bent down, and let the young girl climb onto her back, giving her a ride the whole way back to the house. She walked up the sand to the boardwalk, stomped her feet to get a good chunk of the sand off of her sneakers, and then walked to the back door of the house. Her heart leapt when her lover, who was sitting at the kitchen table having breakfast, saw her and broke out into a huge smile.

As the drummer walked through the door, she decided that she wanted to wake up to that beautiful smile every day for the rest of her life and that a trip to the jewelry store was definitely the highest priority on her things to do list. She'd just have to find the time and a good excuse to slip out of the house without Rebecca coming with her.

**

Rebecca slowly made her way down the stairs and into the kitchen. She smiled when she saw the fresh pot of coffee waiting for her, and opened the refrigerator, pulling out a bagel to toast for breakfast.

She nearly drove herself crazy trying to think of a place to go to find something special to wear for the evening that she promised Jordanna they were going to have. "Think, Rebecca, think," she said out loud, hoping that maybe the refrigerator or the microwave would answer her.

She smacked herself on the forehead over her dense stupidity. "How could you forget the Village, you dummy?" She didn't know which electrical appliance gave her the idea, but she was thankful anyway. She took a bite of her bagel, and looked at the toaster. "It was you, wasn't it?"

The toaster didn't answer her.

'This is bad. I'm talking to electrical appliances,' she thought, and chuckled out loud.

She hadn't been to the West Village in a few years, but she remembered that there were quite a few places of that nature to go. Places that she, years ago, sort of rebuked as she walked by them. Now she was not only planning on going into them, but also planning on buying something there.

Will wonders ever cease?

She turned her head and saw her lover walking up the boardwalk towards the house. Cindy was on Jordanna's back, with her small arms wrapped around the drummer's neck to hold on. She smiled at the beautiful sight of her two ladies together and realized she had a problem.

The back door opened and Cindy walked through, with Jordanna right behind her. "Hi, Mommy."

Rebecca got up and gave her daughter a big hug and a kiss. "Good morning, pipsqueak, how was your walk?"

"I got you a pretty shell. Jor has it," the young girl answered, and then turned around and looked at the tall drummer, who was leaning against the kitchen counter. Jordanna opened her fanny pack, pulled the small shell out and handed it to Cindy, who, in turn, handed it to her mother.

Rebecca took the shell from her daughter's hand and examined it. "Thank you, sweetie. It's so pretty." She looked up at her lover. "Jor, I know you're busy, you don't have to come when I take Cindy back to David's," she said, trying to sound as subtle as she could. She was waiting for Jordanna to insist on going.

The drummer saw this as her opportunity to get to the jewelry store. "Are you sure, baby? You know I don't mind going with you."

Rebecca didn't know whether to be annoyed or joyous at her lover for not insisting on going. Oh well, as they say-- don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Continued in Part 2