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    Another Left Turn – Chapter 4b

    ‘I’m good,’ Dani smiled tearfully. The mention of Sophie’s name brought her hurt feelings back to the surface. But then Bette’s text sounded its second alert and she felt a little squiggle of excitement too.

    Down at the car, Bette saw Dani approaching and got out to open the back. She was wearing midrise khaki capri pants, an orange linen shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and the Converse with the rainbow decal. Her hair was a mass of loose curls.

    ‘Hi!’ she waved.

    ‘Hi,’ Dani smiled. Her stomach fluttered at the sight of this very off-duty Bette Porter.

    ‘Thought I’d take the first shift, is that okay?’ Bette said.

    Dani looked at the car, a black Lexus NX hybrid. ‘Sure.’ She gave her bag to Bette, who handled it easily into the luggage space. Strong arms . . . Dani wondered again whether she was being naïve about the kind of trip this was – or the kind of trip she wanted it to be. She went round to the passenger side and got in. A minute later, Bette jumped in too, bringing the slightly sharp scent of clean sweat and grassy verbena shower gel.

    ‘You all set?’ she asked, slipping on a pair of gold Loewe aviators.

    ‘Yep,’ Dani said.

    They pulled their seat belts across, then Bette started the car and turned to face her.

    ‘Thank you for saying yes to this. I’m so glad to be getting out of the city right now. I feel like I’m walking around with a giant sign over my head saying “LOSER”,’ she laughed. ‘And if you don’t mind, there’s something I’d like to get out of the way before we even set off, just so there’s no awkwardness later on. Is that okay?’

    Keeping her voice very level, Dani said, ‘Yes.’

    Then Bette said: ‘Driver controls the music.’

    And as they pulled away, the car was engulfed in Vivaldi.

     

    ***

     

    ‘Tina! Darling!’

    Helena Moreland-Peabody scurried down the wide stone steps of the MP Alban Winery just as Tina stepped out of the car, and drew her dear, old friend into a warm hug.

    ‘Oh Helena,’ Tina said softly, closing her eyes.

    ‘It’s so wonderful to see you!’

    ‘And you . . . Thank you for doing this.’

    Comments

    1. This is a wonderful story which I enjoyed very much. It follows the current storyline very well. I only wish that the writers of the reboot would read this as well and would follow it. I like the idea you included Helena in it cuz we miss Rachel Shelley too. I have a feeling Tibette will return cuz of the demands by the fans. I am sure Laurel Holloman will not disappoint her fans. Thank you a million times for writing this????????????

      • Thanks, Jane – for reading and for commenting. I’m really pleased you’re enjoying the story. I wish the show writers could believe in the potential of these fantastic characters. The give them complex actions but facile consequences? I’m just fulfilling my own requirements for something meatier! And yes, if I miss someone – Helena – I can have her!

        Thank you again for reading x

    2. Sorry, but in this chapter i found hard to believe. I don’t understand why Bette would chose go somewhere with Dani if that nor work related or if she not want to sleep with her. They can’t be friends obviously, because age difference and life experience absolutely different. And frankly – about what they even can talk about – 25 and 55 years old besides work? First about club parties and second about children and menopause?
      I saw “hero crush” about Bette from Dani (no, i’m not saw sexual crush from her. I remember sex. crush on Bette from Nadia, but from Dani i don’t see similarity) but from Bette side i don’t saw nothing at all. So no, i can see Bette and Angie go somewhere together, but this voyage don’t see at all.
      And if i remember Bette now driving Tesla SUV, not Lexus. And by the way – very interesting question – where she got money on this staff – big house, Tesla for 100000 dollars? I doubt that working in human affairs can get such money.

      • Thanks, Zenhya. I don’t think Bette and Dani’s friendship is implausible in these circumstances. You said you don’t watch the show, so maybe that’s why you don’t see it, but they were developing a non-work comradeship too, I think. I’m Bette’s age and I have friends in their 20s. They don’t all go clubbing!

        The car isn’t a Tesla, btw. It’s a Lexus. And in my story Bette made a lot of money from sale of Wentworth Porter galleries.

        Thanks for reading. I appreciate your feedback :-)

        • Sorry don’t agree in both parts. I special saw all intersection between Bette and Dani to understand what some people talking. And i saw nothing close to friendship besides mommies hug from Bette. All others were only about work. And i don’t know about you – but i’m almost 40 and i really don’t know about what i can talk about with 25 years old)

          And about Bette’s car – it definitely Tesla
          https://dorothysurrenders.blogspot.com/2020/01/pre-l-labels.html – part 8

          • Sorry, I misunderstood you about the car. You’re saying it’s a Tesla in the show and you find that hard to believe? I haven’t seen GenQ properly, only clips and recaps, so I didn’t know what car she had and just gave her a nice hybrid! :-) My story is filling in some of what happened in the 10 years between L Word and Gen Q, so I’m inventing Bette’s wealth etc

            Thanks for commenting. Sorry if the story annoys you a bit. x

        • Sorry don’t agree in both parts. I special saw all intersection between Bette and Dani to understand what some people talking. And i saw nothing close to friendship besides mommies hug from Bette. All others were only about work. And i don’t know about you – but i’m almost 40 and i really don’t know about what i can talk about with 25 years old)

          And about Bette’s car – it definitely Tesla
          dorothysurrenders.blogspot.com/2020/01/pre-l-labels.html – part 8

          P.S. Sorry, must be double comment

    3. Thanks for continuing this story.
      I’m not convinced about a relationship between.
      Danni and Bette other than a friendship but could understand a trip away in the circumstances.
      Happy for Helena to return and would like to see her return in Season 2.

      Looking forward to more posts.
      SG

      • Thanks, SG! I’m glad to have you still on board. I thought the road trip made sense because Dani is the person whom Bette most shares the election defeat with. They’re both hurting professionally, and they clashed on strategy, so they’re each other’s best sounding board at this point. I know it’s contentious, but hey ho!

        Lots more Helena to come!
        Thank you so much for reading and commenting x

    4. Largo….. I like the arc you are taking with this story. Tina realizing that Bette intends to move on is the stimulus to reconsider her commitment to Carrie and then break it off. Then to go into serious therapy to get her head straight is probably the biggest surprise of all. This signals the assumption that Tina’s confessions in the police questioning around Jenny’s death are a part of the cannon of the story.

      I like that she has called on Helena to assist her with this therapy and I like that Helena is married to Dylan Moreland. The final scene where Helena is telling Dylan that she cannot trust her, she very affectionately caresses Dylan cheek. That to me meant they were not over as a couple. Then of course, their nemesis Jenny died and the show was over. Those two becoming a couple was where I thought they would end up.

      I think Bette sees Dani as a friend and as a potential adoptive daughter type relationship. I do not see her having a sexual relationship with her at all. I think this is reminiscence of the Bette/Peggy relationship. Bette is simply not ready for any kind of sexual relationship at moment. She had that opportunity last night with the very attractive Myra and decided against it. As to why she choose Dani for this road trip? Dani’s finance just left town with Finley and is in a state of emotional confusion. They both just lost the Mayoral race. So far, on this road trip, they have just talked about the race and what they could have done differently. And Bette has let her sound off about possible ex-girlfriend fiance. Bette was looking for someone who was detached and whom she was not emotionally involved to take a weekend trip to just get away. She is basically looking for just someone to be there with no expectations and no involvement. If she had any idea that Dani might have a crush on her, I think she would have taken Angie or she might have gone alone and flew to Oregon. When planning a trip like that which is spur of the moment, you don’t think about what your conversation is going to be, you just let the conversation happen as you go. No expectations – one goal – get out of town for a weekend and get away from all the pressures of whatever current things are going on in your life.

      Of course now that Tina has asked Bette to wait for her, I think that the trip is going to be a far more positive one for Bette. I think her happiness factor will lift and she will see and enjoy her trip more so than she would have. The reason is that there is hope for a future with Tina. I for one love it.

      Thank you for this wonderful story….

      One other thing…those people who text all the time need to know that many times messages can be misinterpreted. There is often a lack of punctuation, a misunderstanding of words. In this case Micah thinks that when someone say ” I enjoy your company” that means more than Bette’s intent. But if I had been Dani, and I had any questions about what this text meant, I would have called Bette and discussed the trip and what the expectations were. And if I were uncomfortable with it, I would have politely declined the invitation.

      • Martha, thank you again for a wonderful comment. I love your analyses of all the stories you comment on. They’re so thoughtful and it really helps me to understand that because I know what I intend to do with this story, it’s only coming out bit by bit, so it’s different for you guys as readers – but that’s cool, that’s storytelling :-)

        So yes – I did decide to accept the interrogation tapes as canon. They annoy me a lot, and I am conflicted about the decision, but I also think that they help me to answer the biggest question of all that lies in the way of a credible Tibette ending: how can Bette possibly ever trust Tina again? What needs to be different this time? So confronting this aspect of her past was what I decided is needed to transform her/them enough. I know it’s off-putting to some people, but there we are.

        Helena and Dylan were/are a love match, to me. They had great chemistry and in my story they are very happy! Helena’s kids are like 20, 21 years old by now. :-)

        Your analogy of Bette/Dani being like Bette/Peggy is spot on. I always loved that dynamic on the L Word and PLEASE let JB get her way and have Holland Taylor make an appearance in GenQ. That would be fantastic!

        You’re also right about why Bette suggests the road trip to Dani. First off, Angie is still in school. It’s late March. They leave on a Saturday but they’re going to be gone till Tues/Weds (I think). Plus, Bette wants to work out what she does next for work, so a work associate is better. Dani is, as you say, ‘detached’ enough, even if there’s a wee crushette on her side… Bette doesn’t know that. And, again as you say, she’s in no mood for another sexual entanglement. In my world at least, she gets to leave that behaviour behind!

        Again, thank you so much for your comments. They really motivate me and I’m very pleased you enjoy the writing. x

    5. Another wonderful chapter. I really love this story. I could totally see Bette inviting Dani on a trip after the election loss – and not for romantic purposes but because she wanted to process the campaign (which they did) and because she knew Dani was hurting too. I loved this chapter because Tina is FINALLY waking up and taking ownership of her shit contribution to their problems. And Bette waiting for her? Yes ma’am. I can not wait to see how this plays out as Tina works with the therapist and continues talking to Bette. Giddy. Up.
      Keep writing your story Largo and I will keep reading. Thank you –
      BK

      • Hi BK! Thank you so much for reading and commenting again. I’m glad the road trip makes sense to you too. I think Bette needs to work out what she does next for work, so inviting Dani made sense. I think when you’ve spent so much time and invested so much emotional energy in a campaign like that, when you lose it feels really empty and you need to be around people who feel the same absence of purpose? Maybe I could have made that clearer, though.

        Tina…. well, Tina is on the cusp of something. I really like her. I think she’s a very loving person, and I want to see her get to do that properly. She’s been under a shadow that wasn’t her fault but she accepted it for too long.

        I like JB’s remarks about Bette – that for her, there’s only Tina. That’s how I see them. It’s romantic. It makes me smile.

        Thank you again for the encouragement to carry on with it. I’m going to some READING then get back to writing. x

      • TINA…. Bette’s Tee….
        She has been the biggest mystery to me all along. Her temperament, affectionate, hands-on sweetness and ease in attracting others has been a double-edged sword in all her relationships. She keeps ending up as the HEARTBREAKER.

        Largo, I loooove that u’ve endeavored to explore the devastation to Tina’s soul that the molestation by her sister has brought.

        The betrayal of trust of such an important childhood, developmental relationship is the “why” that has kept Tina in this endless loop of broken relationships.

        Like BK says, Tina has come to the stark revelation that her past is NOT past by any means!!! Her life is full of so much duplicity & deception and she clearly wants to deal with that hard truth

        For example, she has such a sweet relationship with Angie, but at this point, she will lie to anyone, even Angie and invites Bette to do the same.

        Really looking forward to what is revealed in the therapy sessions. I’m wondering what will surface when they get to the topic of Kit’s death and Tina excusing herself from going to the funeral. Kit was very accepting and protecting of Tina as a friend and Kit was the “sister” that protected Tina with unconditional love.

        I’m wondering how quickly she will invite Bette to see the girl that has been hiding in the abyss for so long. I think Tina will be surprised at how much compassion Bette will have for her.

        • Wow, what an amazing comment. Thank you so much. :-)
          Tina is so loving and warm, but not towards herself, so that’s what’s changing for her in my story. Bette has some of those traits too, but she’s been an open book for Tina for quite some time.
          Kit…. I really wish the writers hadn’t done what they did. But we writers have time-travel, in the form of flashbacks, don’t we??

          Loads of thanks for the great comment. I hope you enjoy the upcoming chapters.

    6. This story is fantastic.

      I think martha’s analysis of the Bette/Peggy and Bette/Dani parallels are pretty astute and I am gonna co-sign that theory.

      As for Tina slaying her own dragons, I think perhaps it has been a long time coming. But I am on the fence as to whether or not it is fair for her to ask Bette to wait for her given the grand gesture of returning the ring and letting her go and knowing that she had gone out on a date in an effort to move on with her life. Actually, no, it’s definitely not fair. And because Bette loves her so much, she will do it, but who knows how long it’s going to take for Tina to get her shit together.

      Either way, it was a delicious memory that Tina was re-living in this chapter. And I’m glad that Helena is still living stateside. Excited to watch this tale develop!

      • Hi meloveslu! Thank you for reading and commenting. :-)

        Martha is spot on, isn’t she? Great analysis of that parallel between B/D and B/P. And I agree Tina is asking a lot. In a way, that’s an amazing proof of growth by itself. She’s starting to ask for things from Bette outright. Less of that dynamic they spoke about in GenQ where T claimed B always put her timeline and her whatever first and B says ‘I never asked you to do that’.

        I’m glad you liked the memory. Their chemistry and intimacy with each other is great fun to play with! And Helena gave me a fun ten minutes on Google shopping for a Californian vineyard. What a beautiful part of the world that is, lol

        Thank you again for keeping up with the chapters. Another one next week, I think. I appreciate all the encouragement so much x

          • haha, cool – I like watching Grace & Frankie on netflix for the beautiful San Diego setting. I visited there once, for about three days with a friend who was at a conference. They went to meetings and I went on a bus tour of movie locations! Saw the Top Gun place. :-)

    7. I must admit I was surprised by the fact that Bette answered Tina that she’ll wait for her, and so enthusiastically :-) At this point she doesn’t know why Tina is in therapy again, or anything that happened between Tina and Carrie. I don’t think if I were in Bette’s shoes, that I would have been so willing to forgive, without knowing more.
      As for Tina, I must admit I’ve only watched the interrogation tapes like a month ago. I never really saw it as part of the show. But after watching Tina’s tape (although, I have no idea why a police officer investigating a murder will ask Tina about her family, Bette about what she felt as a let down from Tina, but whatever…) I’m so sad the show didn’t follow this story line instead of S3, for example… It explains so much about Tina, I think, and her inability to let herself be happy.

      • Hi Noa – yeah, the tapes are obviously highly controversial and I respect everyone’s right to view them as they wish. And Tina’s complete absence of ANY family is weird, any way you look at it.

        It doesn’t make any sense that a police officer would ask those things! Silly, really.

        As for Bette… I you’ll see a little later than she realises she did rather just jump in there. But it was because it’s Tee. She just adores her, has very little defences.

        Thanks for commenting x

      • Hi Ashley! Very pleased to see you here, reading this story. :-) I hope you will enjoy it as it goes along. I really loved writing it, spending time in my head with these two. Let me know what you think any time and thank you for taking the time to comment.
        Largo

        • Finished the story earlier today….south floridian here .. freezing in 50 degree weather. we arent used to this. so i just stayed around at home reading…

          i do as well love our Tina and bette. would have loved to get more of Angie’s thoughts on the whole “left turn” or “U turn”. with tina.. one writer approached it , but she was team Pibette.. so it didnt really make sense, so she( the writer) and i had some disagreements.. but we are cool now.- she even mentioned me in her Author notes on A03 site. ..

          I just think ep1.6 with angie and tina talking about why tina left would be good enough for me.. if i was angie. i would need more of an explanation.. and hoping if tina does come back around.. and bette does actually let her in.. there is going to have to be lots and lots of talking..

          Thanks for writing this story

          • Hi Ashley – thank you very much for finishing the story and commenting. :-) You’re right that Angie’s perspective is very seldom written about in any depth. One commenter said that, in my story, it was good to hear Angie’s observation of her mothers because she’s an independent witness to how they’re coming across as they edge towards reconciliation. I liked that.

            In your comment I think you might have a wee typo? When you say that the explanation in 0106 ‘would be good enough’, I think you meant ‘would not be good enough’? In any case, I agree that there needs to be a LOT of talking. I think that’s why it’s so difficult not to send them to therapists! You just have to! They have SO MANY issues!

            Anyway, I’m glad the unseasonable weather meant you were able to finish my story. I appreciate the feedback. I live in Scotland, so cold weather is normal for me! I’d probably. be staying indoors if it was too sunny, haha

            Thanks again
            Largo

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