“Babe?”

Bette and Angie were hunched over a bowl of green beans. Angie was happily, if clumsily, snapping off the ends and handing them to Bette, who was performing the same task, albeit much more efficiently, before tossing the beans into a bowl that sat between them.

Tina hung back tentatively, expecting Bette to look up with a scowl. She was surprised to find Bette looking at her with mild surprise and a welcoming smile.

“I thought you’d be asleep,” she said.

“Oh, no- No, I wanted to talk to you.”

Bette raised an eyebrow. “About what, T?”

Tina looked down shyly. “I couldn’t sleep feeling like you were upset with me, that’s all.”

“I’m not upset with you, T,” Bette said lightly. “I thought it was me who had been upsetting you. It seemed like everything I did today set you off,”

Tina sat down next to Bette, pulling her chair close to hers. “It’s not that, Bette. I appreciated everything you did for me today. It wasn’t what you did, it was the way you did it. How you did it. When you’re stressed out, it stresses me out, and that’s not good for the baby.”

“Okay,” Bette said.

Tina furrowed her brow suspiciously. “Wait, that’s it? Just ‘okay’? You aren’t going to argue with me?”

“Nope,” Bette said, smiling in a sincere expression of happiness for the first time that day.

“Oh. So you’re going to brood over this and throw it up at me during out next argument then?”

“No, not at all. This is part of my new stress-free approach to life, a philosophy I adopted just 5 minutes ago. “

“Uh huh,” Tina said, smiling herself. She wrapped one arm around Bette. “Thank you for everything you did for me today. It’s nice to be spoiled.”

“I know,” Bette said. “Next time I’ll let you tell me what you want.”

“Deal,” Tina murmured into Bette’s shoulder. She stretched over and kissed Bette on the neck, inhaling her scent before settling back into her chair. Angelica was right there, after all.

“I have an idea or two. For tonight,” she said pointedly. “Don’t think I’m going to neglect you with all this spoiling going on. You’re going to get more than your fair share.”

Bette gave her a crooked smile. “Alright then,” she said, and Tina was relieved to see no trace of guarded hurt in Bette’s eyes. She seemed mellow and relaxed, and even if she was consciously projecting a calm exterior instead of letting her naturally high-strung tendencies come to the fore, it was a step in the right direction. If Tina could get Bette to just chill out and stay that way for the next few months, her life would be a lot easier. Bette’s too.

“Alright, I’m going up for my nap now.”

“I’ll wake you when dinner’s ready,” Bette promised.

When Tina slid under the covers once more, she sighed contentedly. Finally. She was asleep within moments, a trace of a smile on her lips.