"Having a drink does sound nice," Bette points out.

"You see. That should be more of a reason for you to stay. You’ve had one hell of an adventure and I’ve had almost a whole bottle of brandy," Tina burps. "Sorry."

"It’s ok."

Tina grew impatient and asked, "Bette, will you stay the night with me?"

Bette’s eyes lit up. "Does that mean–"

"Slow down, babe, ok? Lets see how this friendship thing works out and we’ll go from there." Tina saw the sadness in Bette’s eyes and body language. The blond-haired woman sat down next to her wife. She took Bette’s hand in hers and rubbed. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Bette replies.

"What happened to us, Bette? How did we end up like this? Did we start wrong so we had to end wrong?" Tina asked.

Bette held her hand tighter. "You didn’t do anything wrong. I did, but it’s nothing we can’t fix."

"You sound so sure."

Bette pulled her close since she seemed to be in the mood to accept her touch. "I’m sure because I love you," Bette replies.

Tina looked up at her. "I love you too, Bette," she said, reciting the words she’d wondered if she’d ever hear from her lips again. "I love you so much. I always have, but I don’t know if it’s enough."

"It’s enough,"Bette said. "It has to be enough."

Tina pulled away from her and wiped her eyes. "It still hurts, Bette. It hurts as much as it did when I first found out. Shouldn’t I feel the pain less each day? Why does it still hurt so much?"

Each of her words worked its way into Bette’s heart, and she felt Tina’s pain and her own. "I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t have any answers. I’m willing to try counseling if you are. Maybe that’ll help." Bette suggested.

Tina shook her head. "I don’t know, Bette. I can’t."

"We have to do something, Tina. e can’t go on like we are forever,"Bette replies.

"I know," Tina says.

"Tina, I need you to consider the counseling. I don’t know what we’re going to do if you don’t. Every day I feel you pulling farther and farther away from me. I’m afraid you’re going to get so far awat that we’ll never be able to get back together. It’s not what I want to happen, but it’s what I fear will happen if we don’t fight for what we had. You have to decide how much you want this marriage. I know how much I want it," Bette replies.

"That’s easy for you to say."

Bette shook her head. "No, it’s not. Everyday I have to wake up, look at myself, and know that I caused all of our problems. Some days it’s hard to even get out of bed, but I do, and I do it because I still have hope for us, hope in us."

Tina chuckled, a dry chuckle, but a chuckle no less.

"What’s funny?"

"I was just thinking how we drove ourselves crazy. So crazy we’re off to counseling."

"Don’t say that," Bette commanded. "You’re not crazy. I broke our marriage vows. You didn’t. If anybody is crazy, it’s me. If I could fix this by myself, I would, but I can’t. I need your help. I need you to trust me, or at least, to want to trust me again. Until you get to that point, I don’t think there’s anywhere else for us to go."

A quiver of what felt like fear flared up in her as she looked up at Bette. "Are you telling me you’re tired of waiting?" Tina asked.

Bette cupped Tina’s face in her hands and stared deeply into her eyes. "No, I’m not telling you that. I’m telling you that I’m afraid you’re walking so far away from me that we won’t be able to reconnect. That’s what I’m saying and that’s all I’m saying. I slept in the bed with you two days ago, and I’ve never felt so alone. I know you have to feel the distance."

Tina felt it all right. "Believe it or not, I don’t like it either. I just don’t seem to be able to do anything to change it."

"That’s why we need the counseling."

Tina looked away and Bette’s hands fell from her face. The thought of listening to Bette talk to another person about her relationship with Candace was too much to bear. "I’ll think about it, Bette. That’s all I can do at this point."

Bette pressed a kiss against her forehead. "It’s a start, baby. It’s a start."