The Only Gift That I Need
By Misty Flores
Email: mistiec_flores@yahoo.com

Fandom: All My Children
Pairing/characters: Bianca/Maggie
Rating: Hard R - maybe NC-17Playing card URL (will be supplied): http://invisible-cities.net/images/gsc/femslash/02.jpg

Summary: Bianca's plans for a perfect first Christmas in Paris with Maggie are thwarted a surprise visit home, and the return of some old ghosts.

--

CHAPTER THREE

The heated warmth of another body slid her slowly from her dreamless sleep. Unwilling to give in, Maggie only sunk further into the downy mattress, mumbling unintelligible grumpy sounds, eyes shutting tighter. The warmth was tantalizing, but Maggie's exhausted body was stubborn, and it was only when the soft brush of a kiss against her shoulder was accompanied by a gentle, loving bite, did her eyes shut tighter in a more aware response.

Her response was a pleading whine. "Bianca, I'm tired..."

"Sweetie, you slept all night."

"No, I dreamt all night," she muttered raggedly, fingers tightening around her pillow, an automatic response when soft fingers brushed her long dark hair away from her neck, hot breath against her sensitive skin. "There's a difference. Come on, I only get a few days of vacation from class."

"Hmm... but then you'll sleep all morning and get super grumpy when you've realized you've wasted the entire day. I know you."

A firm tongue traced her ear lobe, making her arch slightly. "Then you also know that as much as I love to make love to you, if you keep doing that to me, I'm going to hurt you."

"As strong as you are for a midget, Maggie," Bianca responded, splayed across her, digging her face further into the pillow, as Maggie's eyes shut even tighter, determined to lie still, even as Bianca's palms curled under her to cup her breasts playfully. "I'm bigger. I'm stronger. And I think that might just turn me on more."

Hmm. One eye creaked open. "Interesting."

Behind her was a low, throaty laugh. A strong grip grabbed hold of her shoulder, and Maggie resigned herself to a morning of hot sex, as she fell onto her back, straddled by her beautiful, horny lover.

She couldn't help her smile, when Bianca brushed the bangs that fell forward away from her face and pressed a gentle, firm kiss on her lips. She responded with a lazy sigh, curling an arm around slender shoulders, drawing Bianca in further, breaking away from the tender kiss to trail a path down Bianca's cheek with her mouth, stopping to linger in the sweet scent of Bianca's neck. Murmuring in appreciation, she sighed at the feel of the weight on top of her, lingering against the pulse of Bianca's blood, laving the spot with attention.

Bianca's ragged breathing was hot against her ear, and she felt the soft body squirm against her, causing all sorts of welcome, delicious reactions.

And then Bianca pulled away.

Blinking in surprise, Maggie took in the arched eyebrow, the amused, soft expression.

"If you woke me up just be a tease, we're breaking up."

Another smile, wider this time, and Bianca gave her another quick kiss, reaching over her to slip her hand under her pillow, pulling out a small package wrapped in silver cellophane. Pressing it into her palm, Bianca nuzzled her cheek before once again brushing her lips against hers.

Rising up to settle herself back against Maggie's stomach, she smiled proudly. "Merry Christmas."

A small wave of confusion fell over her, and still fighting the vestiges of sleep, Maggie glanced at the clock, then back at her girlfriend, and down at the little package sitting in her hand. "What?" she asked dumbly.

"Merry Christmas," Bianca said again.

She frowned, scratching her head, unsure how the hell she had missed the three days she thought were still to come before Christmas Eve. "How long was I asleep for?!"

"No, silly." Taking the package from her hand, Bianca held it up, grabbed hold of her fingers, bringing them to chest to kiss her fingers gently. "This is our Christmas morning. Today is our Christmas. We're going to go ice skating, and we're going to have Christmas dinner and we're going to sit out there in front of the fire and open presents, and we're going to get Miranda good and tired and then make love in front of it."

Her girlfriend was almost giddy. Maggie couldn't help a wary frown. "Are you high?"

"On the prospect of spending Christmas with the woman I love and my daughter, yes."

Scratching at her head, Maggie let the words sink in, staring up at Bianca's hopeful face.

"Baby, I realize you're still half asleep, but if you don’t process this, open your first present, and tell me it's the most thoughtful and loving thing that's ever happened to you I swear I'm going to hit you. Hard."

The note of frustration was what finally made her smile, as the realization of what Bianca had planned finally dawned on her. Her sweet Bianca had made Christmas come early - so they wouldn't spend it apart.

Maggie wondered how it was possible to be more in love every single day. It had never happened like this, and she swallowed down the small bit of fear that was still within her - the one that would always tell her, there was no way she could deserve this.

Screw that Maggie. It was Christmas.

"Is this where we finally start getting kinky?"

"Maggie!" She was slapped against the shoulder, and burst into laughter, catching Bianca's hand and pulling down hard, to capture her lover's lips with a passionate kiss, interrupting Bianca's beginning tirade with a tongue plunging into her mouth, kissing her senseless.

"You're amazing," she whispered against those lips. "You're the most beautiful woman in the world," she added, pressing another deep kiss against her mouth, "And I've never loved anyone, ever, the way I love you." Bianca's head lifted, eyes a dark, twinkling brown. "Thank you."

Gently, she wiped away the tear that sparkled on her girlfriend's cheek, as Bianca's mouth trembled slightly, and that beautiful grin came back, until their lips met again, and knees pressed between hers, urging them apart.

"Um... excuse me?" she whispered, jerking away from the insistent passionate pull of Bianca's lips, trying to keep Bianca's hands from slipping under her shirt. "I believe I have a present to open?"

"Yes, well, I get to open mine first," Bianca whispered haggardly, and slipped out of her grip, smoothing against her stomach and sliding up, taking her shirt with her.

"Really?" Maggie sighed, back arching as Bianca's mouth descended lower. "If I knew you were that easy I wouldn't have bothered with actually buying anything."

"Maggie," Bianca mumbled from between her cleavage. "Shut up."

--

An hour later, with Miranda bobbing between them, Maggie opened what Bianca insisted was her 'first present'.

Nestled inside a small silver box was a dog tag that read 'Noel'.

Arching an eyebrow as Miranda took the little bright tag and tried to stick it in her mouth, Maggie grinned in confusion. "Is this some kind of statement of ownership or something?"

"Try 'or something'," Bianca said, before she grabbed hold of Miranda's hands before she could swallow the tag. "You ready to show Maggie, baby?"

"CHIEN!" Miranda added with a squeal, and Maggie blinked, eyes widening when Miranda nearly careened off the bed, captured only by her mother's quick hands, as they both ran for the door of the bedroom.

Sitting up, Maggie was still in disbelief, as a squeal, some hushed sounds, and a thump later, Bianca opened the door for Miranda, who toddled into the room, holding on tightly to a very small, very squirmy, and very much alive, toy poodle puppy.

"Oh my God."

"CHIEN!" Miranda announced again, losing her grip, and trying again, so that she now held the dog by it's rump and legs, letting it dangle down. It yelped, paws swinging towards the floor.

"When in Paris..." Bianca said, grinning widely, righting the dog again in Miranda's arms.

Maggie laughed, falling off the bed, and crawling towards Miranda and the puppy, receiving in return an armful of child and a puppy licking furiously at her face.

"Bianca... you said-"

"Well, believe it or not, sometimes you're right," she responded, ignoring Maggie's sudden glare to smooth her palm down Miranda's head. "Miranda needs to learn responsibility, and I've always wanted a dog. Between the two of us, I think we can handle it."

The little black puppy barked again, soft fluff against her throat, hind legs digging into her chest, squirming.

Maggie was overcome.

"I never had a dog," she said quietly, eyes suddenly stinging. "I always wanted one."

Bianca's look was soft, loving, and Maggie swallowed hard, distracted when Miranda squealed, tackling her and the puppy.

--

"I can't believe there are sequins on them." Bianca sighed, pausing her lacing up of Miranda's special made-to-order little skating boots to give her girlfriend a good glare.

"I'm just saying!" Maggie said, shivering and clanking her much less spectacular rented skates together, plopping down on the bench beside them. "She's going to outgrow them in like, a minute."

"And that's why I have two more pairs in escalating sizes," Bianca muttered, a sing song tone.

"Weird," Maggie commented, reaching over to help steady Miranda when Bianca once again made sure the skates were solidly and properly on her baby's feet before Miranda could teeter off the bench.

"Oh, like you're one to talk," Bianca snapped, smile easing the bite off the tone. "Miss 'She can have 5 more éclairs before bedtime'."

"Hey, I'm buttering her up!" Maggie said, on her knees, jerking down Miranda's puffy little warm jacket, making sure the hat was over her ears.

"For what, exactly?"

"For the days when she's old enough to start screeching, 'Shut up! You're not my real mom!'"

The line was throwaway, almost a joke, but it still caught her breath, freezing her smile and creating a heated look that lasted just a little too long, broken only when Maggie broke the gaze in favor of getting trepidly to her feet.

"You know who taught me to skate?" Maggie asked Bianca's daughter, who looked like a miniature over stuffed cabbage patch kid in her winter jacket and mittens and hat. "Your mommy did! I think I should return the favor, yes I should!" Digging her hands into the pocket of her jacket, Bianca watched as Maggie carefully led Miranda onto the ice, winking at her. "Coming?"

"In a sec," she said, biting her lip as they skated toward the kiddie part, towards the middle of the ice, Miranda holding into Maggie with both hands.

In her pocket, she fingered the little Tiffany's box, sucking in her breath. She and Maggie rarely talked about the future, what being together could mean. Both had resolved to take it one day at a time, because there was so much history, so much fear, and so much to lose if this relationship fell apart.

Bianca understood the heavy cost of the future. They were young and both broken in their own ways. She had committed herself to Lena, it seemed years ago, and had meant it at the time. Whose to say that Maggie trusted her commitment now?

But there was a kid and a dog, and Maggie making jokes about the future, and Bianca had to admit, despite their promises that they were going to take it one day at a time, not to think of what it all could mean, she had begun to hope.

Still, that little Tiffany's box burning a hole in her pocket could have been just too much, too soon, and Bianca wondered if things were just going too well, to scare Maggie off with it now.

"BIANCA! COME ON! I'm not the Olympic caliber skater, here!" Maggie yelped as Miranda grabbed hold of her knees and hugged them tight, throwing her off balance and tangling her legs under her.

Smiling, she pulled her hands out of her pockets and skidded onto the ice.

--

"I think we're spoiling her," Bianca muttered matter-of-factly, legs swinging lazily as she watched Miranda teeter crazily back and forth on her new wooden horsey.

"Nooo..." Maggie responded dryly, fingers buried in the puppy's fur, the little seven pound lump a dead weight on her lap. It felt like a living hot water bottle. "You think?"

The fire was crackling behind them, and Bianca had set the tray of marshmallows and empty mugs away from it. Maggie was warm all over.

It felt like the best day of her life.

"There's no need for sarcasm," Bianca said airily, curling from her position on the floor to fix her with a droll stare. "She's a gazillionaire, didn't you know?"

Maggie grinned, rolling her eyes at her girlfriend's playful mood. "She's going to drive her boyfriends, or girlfriends," she amended, when Bianca arched an odd eyebrow, "crazy, ya know. You try shopping for the girls who have everything."

Bianca smiled humbly. "I already told you what I wanted," she said simply.

"Yeah, and it doesn't look like we're going to get it," Maggie said, and immediately winced at the small cloud that floated over Bianca's face, before she glanced away. "Hey," she said softly, apology in her tone. "This was amazing. Seriously. I couldn't want anything more."

Bianca's head shifted back, held her gaze.

"And I promise," she added. "When you come back after fixing Kendall and being the amazing person you are, we'll go to that cabin and we'll do the white wine and the roaring fire."

"I wish you were coming with me," Bianca said softly, so gently that Maggie wondered how she had it in her to refuse.

"I know." Licking her lips, she knew if it wasn't for the plans already set, she'd have probably caved, failing out of school be damned. "But Anna's coming, and you know with me around the focus won't be on Kendall."

"Maybe that's a good thing."

"Oh, right. Because a week of your mom choking every time you and I accidentally hold hands is really going to destress the situation."

Miranda jumped off the horsey, and crawled towards the puppy, waking him up with a not too gentle pull. "Careful," Bianca told her immediately. "He's a baby, sweetie."

"Baby chien," Miranda repeated, obediently letting Maggie reposition her hands to provide a more gentle hold on the doggie.

There was a moment of silence, before Maggie glanced up. "So... have you told your mom? You know - about us?"

She watched carefully, as Bianca's lips pressed together, tongue darting out to moisten them. "No," Bianca said finally. "And not because I haven't wanted to, but because I ... haven't... wanted to."

She saw a moment of fear in Bianca's eyes, and surprised herself when she laughed softly in response. "If it helps, I'm a little relieved." Bianca's head jerked up. "Not that I don't like your mom, but really... I've kinda liked not being in her radar."

Bianca's mouth curled up, a disarmingly timid smile. "I know."

Miranda squealed, distracting them both, as the puppy crawled all over her, little stubby tail wagging, yipping with his new playmate.

"You know, you probably shouldn't call me as much, when you're over there." Bianca blinked, confused, but Maggie only shrugged, suddenly more sincere than she'd been in a while. "You need to concentrate on your family, and... I think I'd only miss you more." Before Bianca could respond, she crawled over to the tree, and produced a small little bag, wrapped neatly with a bow. Presenting it to her girlfriend, she offered a gentle grin. "Maybe you can wear this and think of me - you know - an unconscious support system for when you're dealing with all that craziness."

Bianca's surprised face was breathtaking to see, and Maggie waited with her heart in her throat, as trembling fingers pulled on the ribbon and Bianca produced her purchase, shimmering in the light of the fire, delicate necklace sliding through her fingers like satin.

Without a word, Maggie carefully untangled the chain, and placed it over Bianca's neck, letting the bauble take its place, nestled against Bianca's cleavage, beside her heart, where Maggie knew it belonged.

end chapter