After another few minutes, she asked guiltily,“T, are you sure I didn’t wake you?”

“Nah… I’m still on Paris time, I guess, and it’s 9:30 over there right now.  I would have been looking for my next cappuccino in about 30 minutes, to be honest.”   She chuckled, then kissed Bette’s chin, again, to reassure her.

She switched topics.  “Are you waking at this odd hour in the morning, these days?”  she asked Bette, worriedly.

“Sometimes.”   Bette nodded. She couldn’t help the tremble in her voice.

“Baby… what’s wrong?” Tina reached out to stroke her chin softly with the back of her fingers.

“I’ve been worried. Or I was worried, that’s all,” Bette answered, haltingly.

“Worried?”

“Yeah,” Bette couldn’t help the tears streaming down her face now.

Tina gently wiped the tears away with her fingers, stroking Bette’s cheek, kissing her softly.

“About me?  You were worried about me?” the blonde asked her quietly.

Bette nodded wordlessly, then turned to Tina and buried her head on her hair, continuing to sob quietly.

“Shhhh…. Shhh…. I’ve been okay, Bette.  I’ve been ok,” Tina stroked the brunette’s hair, holding her close, consoling her.

“Well, I didn’t know how you were, T. Didn’t know if you understood what I wrote to you, whether the pink roses got to you…”

“I got it, Bette.  I got all of it,” Tina said, cutting softly into the brunette’s litany, stroking her hair, her back, her arms, kissing the top of her head.

“I gave you the code word to use, remember?” she reminded Bette gently.

She continued, “You did what you could, Bette, under such trying circumstances.  The use of a code word like that between us was just a brilliant idea.  It let me know you were safe…. and all those pink roses that kept popping up told me you were keeping me safe, also.”

“It’s just that I love you T.  I love you so much.  And I couldn’t get to you, couldn’t communicate with you, to make sure you were kept out of it,” Bette said, after a few minutes, her head still buried in Tina’s neck, her sobs had subsided, and she was calmer now.

“I know.  I know, baby.”

“I didn’t…really, really didn’t mean to hurt you.”  She was sitting up now, looking directly into Tina’s eyes.