Tina continued to be attended to by the other doctors, discussing what to do regarding the continued loss of blood.  The process of “cleaning” her up had been excruciatingly painful for the blonde again, and morphine had to be administered.  Shortly after doctors determined her bleeding had stopped, Tina was wheeled to another private room, with Sarah and Claudia trailing behind, nerves frayed.

They weren’t out of the woods yet.  Angelica was still in ICU, being monitored.  And later that evening, Tina went into shock, in reaction to the physical toll the birth had taken on her, and sustained pain that accompanied.  Her body started to spasm, shaking so hard her bed was violently rattling, and her teeth were chattering.  She woke and complained of feeling extremely cold.  Sarah rang the emergency button, and ran out into the hall shouting.  Nurses scurried in, carrying blankets.  They wrapped her in blankets, holding her down, until she settled.

As they left, and Tina fell back to sleep, Sarah and Claudia looked at each other, both sobbing now.  They stood at either side of Tina’s bed, Sarah was stroking the blonde’s hair, while Claudia was wiping her face and limbs down with a soft cotton washcloth she had purchased and that she’d soaked in a mixture of water and the cologne that Tina liked.  They despaired of the situation of their friend, the traumatic events of the past 8 or so months, and now, the difficult birth of Angelica.

After a few minutes, Sarah whispered that she’d check into what was happening to Angelica; Claudia nodded, and said she’d stay with Tina.

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Now here they were: all together, sitting in a New York tea house, many months removed from the scene.

Sarah offered Bette a half-smile, tears beginning to form at remembering the scene at the hospital. Tina smiled back, tears in her eyes also, and reached out to hold one of Sarah’s hands, while Bette reached to grasp the other. “You saved my family Sarah,” Bette said, with deep fervor, “We can never thank you enough for that, and for your continued friendship to us, from the start.”

Sarah nodded, tears flowing now.  Yes, something indeed, had happened to Tina.  And clearly, something had happened to Bette.  And perhaps, something had happened to her, too.