Lana at Her Best (Or Her Worst)

The two women eyed each other up for what seemed like an eternity. Bridget wondered what happened at the hospital and why Willow returned to her former home. Did she walk right in? Harvey's a fairly lenient guy when it comes to his homes, but this seems off.

Standing only a few feet away, Willow appraised the respected doctor. She had always thought Bridget to be the one Fallon sister not involved with Harvey, but those recent articles kept on racing to the forefront of her mind. She's walking around my old home as if it's hers! My ass that she was merely at the cabin for a gathering of old friends. I bet she's--no, keep calm, Willow. You're here to keep the peace...for now.

"I wanted to apologize for my actions earlier, Bridget. I was upset over Whitney's accident and took it out on your son," Willow admitted reluctantly.

"Well, apologizing seems like the appropriate course of action," Bridget replied irritably. She had picked up on the other woman's **** attitude. And she already had enough on her plate to deal with. "You should've been thanking my son, not throwing food at him. You are the adult, you know."

"Excuse you? Your son threw his food first."

"My son is under the influence of medication due to injuries that occurred rescuing Whitney," Bridget pointed out, growing visibly annoyed. "You know what? I don't have time for this crap."

Willow's plan to make a brief appearance and apologize fell apart as Bridget's dismissive attitude rubbed her the wrong way. When the other woman turned to walk away, Willow found herself unable to hold back her anger.

"Too busy measuring the drapes, Bridget?"

Slowly stopping, Bridget turned back around. "Shouldn't you move along with your life, Willow? Obsessing over what your ex-husband does can't be healthy. Especially with a man like Harvey."

"That wasn't a no, Bridget. I don't miss Harvey's lifestyle, but perhaps you crave it," the ex-wife chuckled. "Those articles had some obscure details about your sister. Did you provide them?"

"Paranoia doesn't suit you well," Bridget replied acidly. "It's not my fault that you couldn't keep Harvey happy. Maybe if you had been a better wife..."

"Is that what you tell your sister?"

"My sister was in a long-distance relationship when he cheated. You slept in the bed next to him--or didn't you? I bet that bed was awfully crowded."

"How dare you, bitch?!" Willow stepped forward, hand ready.

"Don't you people have homes?"

Freezing, both angry blondes turned to see Valeria at the end of the main staircase. The majordomo marched up to them, her eyes blazing. Then, jabbing a finger in the air, she issued a threat.

"If either of you dirty this house--even a speck--I will shove your face into it. You got that?"

"You can't speak to me like that! This was once my home," Willow pointed out.

"I will speak to you whatever way I wish. The only owner of this home has entrusted its operations and upkeep to me. I never had any issues with Shenai. At least she was respectful."

"I'm sorry, Valeria. I apologize for my son's behavior," a chagrined Bridget said. "I've already informed Frida that I would replace your clothes. Just let me know the cost."

"What? No, no, no. I'll pay to replace your clothes. I WAS the adult in the room," Willow proclaimed, shooting a sneer at Bridget. "And the boy did save Whitney."

"I honor my debts. I shouldn't have left Sean here in his condition."

"Are you implying that I don't pay my debts?!"

"I wasn't implying anything."

"It's a fucking shame that you weren't here to get the food shoved in your face!"

Down the hallway, an exasperated woman swore to herself as she found the owners of the loud voices. Mumbling to herself at her grandmother's choices in life, Frida nearly jogged over to stop the argument before it turned violent.

"Alright, children! Let's break it up," she ordered, stepping in between the two furious mothers. "You both had a rough couple of days. Let's remember that and calm down."

"You can deal with this. I'm going shopping," Valeria announced, turning on her heel and heading toward the garage.

"Willow, I just found Spencer wandering around the manor lost. The poor guy doesn't know what he's doing here," Frida revealed.

"Oh, right, sorry. And I'm sorry about what happened earlier today," Willow said humbly, a remarkable shift in attitude. "I lost my composure."

Bridget held her tongue. She badly wanted to reply but knew better. Instead, she found a distraction in the real reason she found herself in this section of the mansion. Peyton walked toward her with an arm around JoJo.

"Excuse me," she said to Frida before walking away. Meeting the two girls, she immediately wrapped the upset teenager up in a hug. "Jo, I told you not to let this bother you."

"I know, Mrs. Tarver. I...I'm better now. Peyton helped me realize that everything will be fine," JoJo reassured the older woman.

Bridget caught her daughter's attention over JoJo's shoulder and mouthed her thanks. The younger Tarver shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal, but her mother appreciated how her daughter treated the Gibble girls as if they were her little sisters. She's going to be a wonderful mom someday to my grandchildren.

"We better get back to Sean. Lana's been all alone with him and Chastity for far too long," Peyton remarked, putting her arm over JoJo's shoulder again. "He needs his bestie to protect him from my poorly chosen bestie."

JoJo chuckled at the comment. Heading back, they noticed that Frida and Willow had disappeared. Peyton inquired to her mother over what she had been arguing about with Ms. Rycroft. Bridget brushed off the question, not wanting to tell her daughter that she had been basically accused of cheating with Harvey.

"I think that now would be a good time to get Sean and head back to the cabin. I would've preferred taking him home to rest in his bed, but he refused," Bridget informed them, changing the subject.

Re-entering the study, they discovered where the other two women had gone. Under the watchful eye of Frida, Willow stood in front of Chastity as she finished apologizing for her actions and words. The sweet, honey blonde sat glumly as she listened to the apology.

"I hope you can forgive me, Chastity. It's been a few years since I've seen you in person, but that's no excuse for not recognizing you. I hear your voice on the phone often enough."

"You called me the W-word. That's a very bad thing to say," she pouted.

"I know, and from the bottom of my heart, I'm sorry. If you can't forgive me, then I'll understand."

"Heavens to Besty! Of course, I forgive you," Chastity responded. "I love the Diamond family and everyone at Diamond Corp. You'll always be a Diamond to me!"

"Th-that's very kind of you. Thank you," a stunned Willow replied. Not sure how to follow that up, she glanced over at Frida. "Are there any books or magazines that Whitney's into right now? I would like to bring her a few items to help with her boredom."

"She usually keeps a stack of stuff she wants to read upstairs. I'll go check," Frida stated.

"Oh, that's okay. I can go get them."

"I'll come with you."

"I'm getting the impression that you don't trust me," Willow remarked to Frida in a much politer tone than earlier.

"I simply don't want to deal with the fallout when Whitney finds out that her mother rummaged through her room. This lessens her tantrum later," Frida answered. The manor's chef surveyed the room before as she prepared to leave. Sean still snored softly on Chastity's lap while Lana blatantly flirted with the newly arrived Spencer. She noticed that Bridget had reappeared with the two girls and walked over.

"Hey, Pey, get over here," Lana ordered.

Rolling her eyes, Peyton did as ordered, primarily out of curiosity over the blond-haired young man at her friend's side. Who's he? If I didn't know better, I'd say Chastity's brother, but that's not him. He's certainly handsome, very much so...and he looks familiar. It's been a long day, but still, I...no way!

"Do you remember Spencer?" the busty redhead asked her friend. "Sloane Vine's brother."

"Spence?" a stunned Peyton asked. Her whole body tensed as her old classmate's brother moved forward to hug her.

"It's great to see you again, Peyton," Spencer greeted the frozen woman. "It's been about three years, but you still look the same."

"Uh, you look even better--I mean, you look even more sophisticated than before. Not that you weren't before...I just mean you look very professional. And your hair is different," the blushing blonde rambled.

"Yes, it seems like ages since we last saw you. It's almost a dream come true," Lana commented, winking at her best friend. "I blame Sloane for that. She goes off to college out east and never seems to return."

"I know. My parents complain about that all the time. Sloane only came home for two days this holiday before rushing off to spend time with her boyfriend's family," the blond relayed, shaking his head. "I guess I did it occasionally, too, while in college."

"What are you up to these days? Living somewhere fancy or exotic?" Lana inquired as Peyton seemed to have swallowed her tongue.

"Is Honey Hollow considered a chic spot these days?" Spencer questioned with a laugh. "I'm back living here. I'm work--"

"You're back?!" Peyton blurted out.

"Yes, I've been back for about a year and a half. I'm working at Diamond Corp. That's been my dream for years."

"Hmmm, perhaps dreams do come true. Do you have any special dreams, Pey?" Lana teased.

"I can't believe I--we haven't seen you," Peyton said, too frazzled to deal with her BFF at the moment.

"Are you girls still in town?"

"We're up at Zurbrugg College, but we come home from time to time," Lana explained.

"Hey, we should hang out sometime. I haven't seen many of Sloane's friends since I've been back. You still friends with Finn Singer?" Peyton could only nod. "That's cool. You should all stop by my parents' house. I know they would love to see all of you."

"Are you still living there?" Lana asked.

"Yeah, I'm back in my boyhood room," Spencer admitted sheepishly. "I keep on meaning to find my own place, but I'm too busy with work to find the time."

Across the room, Bridget finished informing Frida that they planned to head back to the cabin. The two women hugged as Frida profusely thanked Sean's mother again for his saving Whitney's life.

"That son of yours deserves all the hero's rewards that he gets," Frida stated. A slight blush crept in as she could only imagine how a girl such as Whitney would reward her rescuer. "Spencer, could you be a dear and give Mrs. Tarver a hand again with Sean?"

"Sure. I'll...Tarver? Wait, that's your mom and brother, Peyton?" Spencer questioned in disbelief. "Now, I feel like an idiot. Nobody said their last name when I was here earlier, but I should've figured it out.

"That's okay, Spence. I'm sure you can make it up to Peyton in some way," Lana remarked, loving the opportunity to tease her friend. "Hey, we better check in with Finn."

"Oh, right! I'll call him," Peyton stated, snapping out of her funk. Leaving the room, she remembered her manners. "I'll meet you out by the car."

Frida pushed the wheelchair closer to Sean's spot on the couch. Noticing that Willow had vanished, she hastily made her farewells and hurried off to ensure that Whitney's mother didn't search her bedroom. Chastity and Bridget attempted to wake Sean from his deep sleep so that he could help them move him to the chair.

"What's wrong with Peyton?" JoJo asked Lana from where they stood on the other side of the room.

"See that guy? He's the older brother of our friend Sloane. We weren't super close, but she was in our circle of friends. You probably remember her." JoJo thought back and nodded as she remembered a blonde with that name. "Well, Peyton used to have a crush on Spencer. Just last year, during a drinking game, she finally admitted that if she could have a do-over, then she would jump his bones."

"Peyton said that?!"

"Our uptight little Peyton said that," Lana confirmed brightly. "She needs a good, hard fucking. Maybe even some regular fucking. Ever since she and Trevor broke up, she's been getting crabbier by the day."

"Do you think Peyton still wants him?"

"Girl, didn't you see what I saw? Of course, she still wants him!" Lana decided it was time to join the others and motioned for JoJo to join her.

They had perfect timing. Or at least perfect timing for Lana. A groggy Sean opened his eyes and flinched away from Spencer's help.

"Who the fuck are you?!" he challenged, entirely forgetting Spencer from earlier in the day. "Ahh, I'm being kidnapped!"

"He's Peyton's new boyfriend!"

"Lana," Bridget growled.

"I mean an old guy friend."

"Listen, buddy," Sean told Spencer, ignoring Lana's clarification. "You got some questions to answer about your intentions. My sister might be hot, but she isn't easy."

"Hush, honey. Go back to sleep," Bridget instructed once her son had been placed onto the wheelchair.

"It's alright, Mrs. Tarver, I can handle it," Spencer told her when she went to push the wheelchair. His face showed a touch of embarrassment over Lana's description of him.

Deciding to let the stronger young man push her son, Bridget pulled out her phone. Not one message from Leo. He's getting a piece of my mind tomorrow night in person! Sending a few text messages to Rachel and Gabby, Bridget swiftly realized her mistake. They likely were back at the cabin by now, and with the spotty phone reception, might not get the texts. Walking ahead of the rest of the group, she dialed the cabin's landline.

Finishing up her own phone call, Peyton rejoined the group as they opened the door to head outside. She halted in shock and disbelief.

"--not just a fantastic ass to play with, you got that."

"Sean!" JoJo exclaimed, her face blushing bright red.

"Uh, yeah, I got that," Spencer agreed, his face now also burning red.

"You need to pay attention to her tits as well. They might not be as big as Lana's, but they're nice and perkier."

"Sean Seamus...shut up!" Peyton screeched.

"Yeah, shut up, Sean. Peyton's tits are certainly not perkier than mine," Lana argued facetiously.

"Shut it, Stratton, or you're getting a fat lip!"

"Geez, what hasn't been up her butt lately," Lana whispered to JoJo. Deathly afraid of responding, the brunette stared straight ahead to where Mrs. Tarver stood by the black SUV.

"What the problem now?" Bridget called out, holding her hand over the phone.

"Nothing!" Peyton denied, clearly hoping her mother didn't get wind of the conversation's content. Then, turning to Spencer, she apologized. "I'm truly sorry that you have to deal with this, Spence. I swear it's not usually this bad."

"Oh, that's okay. I know your brother's doped up. I saw it earlier when Mr. Diamond first dropped him off."

"No, I was talking about Lana's behavior," Peyton said, attempting a joke to laugh off Sean's inappropriate comments.

"Hardy har har, Tarver," Lana enunciated her sarcastic laugh.

"I love Lana's behavior!"

"I know you do, Seanie," the busty redhead remarked, leaning down to kiss his cheek.

"Uh-oh! I got a woody!"

Groans came from everyone within ear range except for Chastity. In her mind, one didn't comment on private parts in public. Instead, she nervously bit her lip and hoped the conversation would change.

"Okay, see you in a couple of hours or so," Bridget said, hanging up. She stared at the phone for a moment before sliding it into his pants pocket.

"What's wrong, Mom?" Peyton questioned, praying that Sean would keep quiet.

"Rachel sounded a little funny on the phone, but she's probably tired. It's been a long day. Did you get a hold of Finn?"

"Yeah, he's still with Prof. Lufflutz. No sign of his dad yet," Peyton divulged. "We're going to leave his car here. I assume there's room for Lana and me."

"Yes, but Sean needs his leg propped up. So one you will need to help hold--"

"I got shotgun!" Peyton declared, opening the passenger door. Before hopping in, she turned to her friend's older brother. "Great to see you, Spencer. We'll have to catch up while we're still on our semester break."

"Yeah, we'll have to--"

"I got my eyes on you, buddy," Sean warned, pointing to his eye and then at the other guy.

"Honey, be nice. Thank you for all your help, Spencer," Bridget said, hugging him. "Which of you girls wants to hold Sean's leg?"

"Don't look at me; that's the best friend's job," Lana stated, climbing into the SUV after saying goodbye to Spencer and Chastity.

"Bye, Seanie." Chastity leaned over to wrap her arms around her neck. "You've been a delight to babysit."

After Bridget, JoJo, and Spencer all managed to get the squirming Sean into the backseat, the grateful mother thanked the Diamond Corp receptionist for all her help. She also added in another apology.

"Shuzzbutt! Seanie didn't start a fire in his bedroom, eat the pet fish, or call 911 on me. He's been adorable. " Chastity waved away the concern, but her comments brought new questions. "I'll gladly help out tomorrow night too."

"You're coming to the charity ball?" Bridget asked.

"Do toads tickle? I can't wait to help the little kids read."

"Wear a boobtastic dress!" Sean cried from inside the SUV.

"Shut the damn door, JoJo!" Peyton commanded.