Carmen took a step back, seeing the blood on her knuckles, wiping it off and shaking her head, “But.. she…,” began Carmen, not able to get angry again, just seeing the pleading look on Shane’s face, and the face of remorse on Sam’s.

            “There are no buts!” growled Sam.  “You have the opportunity of a lifetime, and you’re pissing it away…”

            “Carmen, please…,” began Shane, “I just want to talk to you, please?”

            “No, you are not going to rope me in again…  No, never…,” shook Carmen, wanting to disappear, wanting to slap Shane, wanting to scream at Sam for sleeping with Shane.  “You took advantage of Sam…,” feebly muttered Carmen.  

            A barking laugh from Sam, looking at Shane, whose hands had slipped into her pockets, assuming the sexy stance that Sam had taken a portrait of earlier, “Christ Carmen, do you think I’m some helpless chick?”

            “No… just, that’s her M.O.!”

            “We didn’t know that each of knew you, it just kinna happened…,” said Shane, not stepping closer to Carmen, seeing her anger was still to deep.

            “That’s how it always happens with you, Shane.  It just happened…,” said Carmen in a mocking tone. 

            “Look at her!” ordered Sam, grabbing Carmen’s face between her hands, leaving two finger prints of blood on Carmen’s dark cheeks, “Is this what you want?  To hate her?  You have her, right here, stop being mad and start getting over it, at least take the love you have for her and turn it into friendship…” Sam wiped the blood with the back of her hand off Carmen’s cheek.   

            “Sam, I’m so sorry…,” began Carmen.

            “Grow up, both of you,” groaned Sam, grabbing the film that she’d taken out of the camera earlier and stalked out of the building, leaving the equipment, not wanting anything to do with it.

            It took a few moments for Carmen to let sink in what Sam had been saying, it had been more about Sam than about herself.  Sam had lost the love of her life, and was raising that woman’s child as her own.  Sam didn’t have a second chance, not at friendship or at love with the one woman that had been her equal.

            Carmen slowly turned, rubbing her bruised knuckles against her stomach, and began to grab the rest of the lights an equipment that hadn’t yet been packed up.  She didn’t want to think about Shane, who was just a breath away, looking pitiful.

            “Let me help…,” began Shane quietly.  Both women silently began to put things away into their cases.  “I’m sorry, Carm,” whispered Shane as they snapped a large case down.

            “I know,” answered Carmen.  “I’m just not ready to forgive you, Shane.”

            “Will you ever be?” asked Shane, swallowing back her fear of the answer.

            “I don’t know, I just don’t know,” answered Carmen honestly, turning and walking away from Shane.  “I’ll get Nunez to pick up this stuff…”

            Shane nodded, not knowing who Nunez was, watching as Carmen left, walking away, but Shane felt just one glimmer of hope.