Kit, Angus, Alice, Shane, and Helena stood in silence as Faye Buckley walked into the Porter-Kennard household. The surrealism of the moment was astounding. Richard worked at once picking up two pieces of luggage and trotting them to the car parked on the curb. Faye tried to avoid the questioning eyes.

"Everybody", Bette began. "This is Faye. Faye, these are our friends. That’s Alice." Alice stood stone faced. Not quite knowing how to respond. She simply held up her right hand and waved it slightly back and forth. Faye nodded and smiled politely. "This is Shane", Bette continued. Shane walked up to Faye and offered her hand. She gave a warm smile and said, "Hi Faye. Nice to meet you." Faye’s eyes went wide with shock at the kind greeting. "It’s nice to meet you, Shane. Thank you." Shane nodded. "Good luck with your daughter. I hope you find her." Faye’s eyes began to water and her throat tightened. She could only manage a weak smile.

Bette made quick introductions to Helena, Angus and Kit. Bette glared at her sister in hopes of arresting the folded arms and shooting daggers that were aimed at Faye. To her credit, Faye accepted Kit’s daggers without trying to defend herself. Tina walked to Angie and picked her up. "And this", she said, making her way to Faye, "is Angelica." Angie smiled sweetly to Faye and reached out to grab her pearl necklace. Faye gave a gentle chuckle and stepped closer so that Angie could have an easier grasp. "Oops. Sorry." Tina smiled. "She loves jewelry."

"That’s quite alright. Hello Angelica", Faye cooed. Meeting Bette Porter’s child after all these years, after everything she’d said, was a bittersweet moment. She immediately recognized that Angie owned all the sweet. Her own bitter memories would haunt her for the rest of her life. Short as that may be.

Richard entered the house again after his third trip of luggage hauling. "Are we ready?", he asked. Faye nodded and walked out. "Let’s give them a few minutes to say goodbye", she said, leading him back to the car.

Tina hugged Angie and smothered her face with kisses. "Mommie’s gonna miss you. You be good for your Aunt Kit, ok? I love you sweetie." She heavy heartedly handed Angie to Bette. Holding the child in her arms, Bette looked into her daughter’s eyes and asked with a smile, "Who loves you to the moon and back?" "You do", Angie answered with a laugh. "That’s right, Boo. And don’t you forget it." Bette hugged Angie close and found the child’s tiny arms wrapped around her neck tightly. Quite literally squeezing the tears out of her. "Ok sweetie. We’ll be home soon. Ok?" Angie nodded excitedly as Bette set her down on the floor. Alice stood behind her and let her fingers play in Angie’s hair. Tickling her.

They made the rounds and hugged everybody else, begging them unnecessarily to look over their little girl. They forced themselves to the door and looked back one more time at Angie. Tina’s heart stopped when she saw her daughter looking at her with her arms crossed over her heart. She was signing ‘I love you’. Tina stood motionless. Wanting to respond. Not able to. Looking directly into a reminder of Bette’s last girlfriend. A reminder that another woman had been a part of Angie’s life. Had made an impact on her. Noticing the conflicted emotions showing on the blonde’s face, Bette took Tina’s hand and whispered into her ear. "Tina. That’s your daughter telling you that she loves you. That’s all it is. Ok?"

Tina nodded and held in her tears. She crossed her own arms against her heart and smiled widely to Angie. Angie clapped in satisfaction and ran to Tina. Tina scooped her up for a last hug and kiss. "I love you sweetie. Love you so much." Kit fetched Angie and held her as everybody waved goodbye to Bette and Tina. They walked to the car hand in hand trying to stave off the tears until they were out of sight. Richard held the door open for them and closed it after they stepped inside. Once hidden behind tinted windows they held each other and let their tears flow. The car moved down the street and on it’s way to the awaiting private jet.

Many minutes later, after they’d relieved themselves of many tears, a thought occurred to Bette. "You know, T. Angie is just… incredible. Both of her mama’s just walked out the door. She wasn’t afraid or sad. Just happy. A happy child. She was much more together than we were."

"I know", Tina agreed slowly, with a smile. "Would it have killed her to cry just a little bit?" They looked at each other and began to laugh softly as the road sped along swiftly underneath them.

TBC.