Alice leaned in and brushed her lips against Kerry’s check before pulling away to greet her guest. Bette, Tina, Jenny, Shane and Carmen circled around the writer, each one giving Alice a big hug and wishing her a happy birthday. The blonde had her arms wrapped around Shane when she spotted Dana standing a few feet away from the tiny crowd. Alice released her grip on the hairstylist and carefully stepped around her friends. After a few tiny steps she was standing in front of Dana.

Alice allowed her eyes to roam the length of the tennis player’s body, slowly bringing her gaze to Dana’s face. Without a second thought the writer opened her arms and waited for Dana to accept her invitation for a long overdue embrace.

The smile that danced across Alice’s lips when she entered the front door was more radiant then Dana had remembered, and the twinkle that gleamed in the writer’s eyes was more beautiful then staring into a night sky sprinkled with a million shining stars. Dana instantly felt the need to approach Alice, and take the blonde into her arms, but instead she stepped back into the few shadows the room provided. When the writer walked over to her and then opened her arms, Dana felt the world melt into a puddle of color, leaving her and Alice as the only solid objects remaining. Without hesitation, Dana took the single step that would allow Alice’s arms to surround her.

Home, was the only word she could find to describe the emotion currently flowing through her heart. Alice’s embrace was the one place where Dana felt whole, and no matter how cliché it sounded, the tennis player knew it was the one truth she could count on.

Fighting the urge to hold on, Dana loosened her grip and slightly pulled away, so she could look into the writer’s eyes, “Happy birthday, Alice.”

Alice leaned forward and pressed her lips gently against Dana’s cheek, pulling away slightly the writer whispered into the brunette’s ear. “Thank you for being here.”

Alice looked Dana in the eye one last time before completely releasing the tennis player. She then turned around and made her way to Kerry. Dana watched as the blonde wrapped her arm around the doctor’s waist as they stood talking to Bette and Tina. Her heart immediately sank at the sight, and when she was sure she could no longer hold in her emotions, she walked to the back door and let herself out. With a defeated sigh, Dana sat on the cement stair that led to the backyard. The moon that hung in the cloudless night sky captured the tennis player’s attention. The fullness of the bright orb only caused her to remember the gapping hole her heart carried. Dana took a deep breath and tried, unsuccessfully, to push back the tears that were forcing their way onto her cheeks. Finally giving into her emotions, she rested her head on top of her knees and cried softly into the rough texture of her jeans.