Alice stirred cream into her coffee absently, and kept a wary eye on the toaster oven. She’d pulled butter and jam from the fridge and was attempting to prepare a very simple breakfast-in-bed for Lara. With a rueful smile she surveyed the eight pieces of burnt toast dumped unceremoniously into the trash bin.

As she waited, for the fifth time, for the toast to brown, she let her thoughts slide over the previous night. A smile tugged at her lips when she remembered Bette’s words, "The doctor said make sure she responds to stimuli, but you don’t have to wake her fully." Alice had leaned over Lara and kissed her gently on the lips at 3 a.m. She had allowed the contact to linger, and had applied a little more pressure as she felt Lara stir beneath her. With delight, she felt Lara’s mouth respond by opening to allow Alice’s tongue access. Lara moaned and stirred again, bringing her right arm up to lightly graze Alice’s back. Alice broke the kiss to gage Lara’s state of consciousness. Lara groaned in protest at the interruption and her blue eyes opened slowly with a questioning look.

"Alice?" she’d whispered thickly. Her eyes were an open invitation. With a sigh, Alice leaned in and kissed Lara deeply, her hand tracing the waistband of the pajama shorts. Lara immediately bucked at the sensitive touch. "God, Alice," she gasped, "you’re driving me crazy!" With her right hand, she took Alice’s and slid it into her panties. "Do you feel what you do to me?"

Alice suddenly felt as though she were on fire. With a frantic urgency, she tugged off Lara’s shorts and panties. Pushing Lara’s shirt up, she leaned down and began to explore Lara’s breasts, her tongue lightly flicking the hardened nipples as her hands took on a life of their own, one reaching down to grasp Lara’s ass, while the other began to gently stroke, eliciting murmurs of pleasure from Lara who was beginning to rock with a rhythm that Alice soon matched.

Lifting her head, Alice took a ragged breath, ready to fill her whole being with the heady scent of…….

burnt toast?

"Oh shit!" Alice broke from her reverie to see smoke billowing out from the toaster oven. Frantically, she opened the door and grabbed the two charred pieces of bread. "Hothothothothot!" She flung the bread into the bin and waved her hands at the smoke, trying to direct it out the window, which she’d thoughtfully opened after her third attempt at making toast.

With a sigh, she grabbed the loaf of bread and pulled two fresh pieces out. Why can’t Lara have a simple toaster like everyone else? Shaking her head, she arranged the pieces in the oven and once again shut the door. Leaning onto the counter, she pledged to watch the process this time.

She thought back again to the previous night. In fact, she had kissed Lara, who had mumbled Alice’s name. Opening her eyes briefly, she’d smiled and then promptly fallen back asleep. Alice had contented herself by holding Lara for the next few hours, immersed in variations of the fantasy that had just recently resulted in so much bread carnage. But not this time! Alice thought with feigned grim determination.

With a quiet whoop of victory, she opened the oven and pulled out two nicely browned slices of toast. As she buttered them, she recalled the last two hours of the evening with a frown.

She’d fallen asleep spooning Lara, but had rolled away from her as they slept. Around 6:00, she awoke to find Lara thrashing around mumbling in fearful undertones. She’d slid behind the redhead again, whispering assurances, and rubbing her back. Tears were rolling down Lara’s cheeks as she continued to mumble in short gasps. At Alice’s touch, she jerked. "Dana, nooooo!"

Alice pulled back, stunned to hear Dana’s name. Lara continued to fret, and Alice leaned in again, shushing and rubbing. At the second contact, Lara had begun to quiet and with Alice whispering "It’s okay, it’s okay, I’m here," her brow finally cleared, and her breathing evened into regular intervals. They’d spent the next two hours like that, Alice on guard, and Lara compulsively clutching Alice’s arm, as a little girl might hold a teddy bear.

With a deep breath, Alice shook herself back to the moment. She picked up the serving tray and headed to the bedroom.