..a couple of days later

Tina dived for the phone when it rang. Hey wassup? Tina mumbled.

Youve been hanging around with Kit too long said Alice laughing What do you mean wassup..

Tina laughed half-heartedly in response She has been around a lot recently..but its good .. Bette and her finally have a relationship.. Tina was silent for a moment but when Alice didnt continue she prompted her so ..why did you call?

I need some help..Ive run out of top 10s said Alice.

Well I can help you with the top 10 things couples no longer do when they have a baby, the top 10 things that occur to you when youre feeding youre child at 3am and youve hardly had any sleep..and believe me some of them are bizarre..or..

OK..OK..I get it I should have realized I wasnt going to get any sympathy. Alice interrupted not really wanting to hear any more of the list cant you think back to before you were a boring old mother?

Al, a little less of the old and boring stuff OK?

Cmon dont you feel a little sorry for me? Ive got a deadline in 24 hours and still havent thought up any ideas.

Al, Id muster up a shred of sympathy if I wasnt so tired. Rosie woke at 1 am and wanted to play, when I put her in her bassinette she screamed so I rocked her until 6am when she finally went back to sleep. She woke again at 7, threw up all over Bette so she was forced to change and was late for work..and Im supposed to be writing a passionate love scene for the L-words resident couple and all I can think about it how nice it would be for them to be able to go to bed together and sleep all through the night.

Okyou win.. when did we get into this competition about whose life sucked the most? Just remember it was you two who really wanted a child.. Alice laughed.

Al, I wouldnt swap it for anything in the world bit it doesnt mean Im not tired.. Tina thought for a moment, realized Alice very rarely asked for help and had always been there for her when she really needed her OK .. give me a moment she paused searched her brain through the fog How about looking at the blockbuster movies? I read somewhere recently that every time a ***** was in a movie she ended up tragically dying. Maybe you could look at the top 10 ***** movie deaths?

Alice thought about this for a moment Sounds promising but it may take some research..maybe I should just rehash one of my old top 10s or do a top 10 of top 10s ..or..

Al interrupted Tina do I need to be here for this discussion?

Alice laughed.

Al, I gotta go..Rosies crying again..ring back if you need help with the top 10 fantasies of a sleep deprived mother..OKSe ya..

Tina walked into the bedroom; checked Rosie didnt need changing or feeding. This was one of those rare days when Rosie was inconsolable. Tina picked Rosie up and brought her back into the lounge room with her. She sat down almost sobbing with fatigue.

She thought about how shed tried to be more independent since her and Bette got back together. Then she thought about Alice and how rarely she asked for help. She picked up the phone and dialed Bettes number, when she didnt answer she left a message Babe.. I need help.

She knew Bette would come home as soon as she could..and that the love scene would just have to wait for another day.

TBC