She brought her thoughts to the current time, as Claudia gave her a hug, “Tina, give her time.  I believe you and she will have a chance to work this out – you just have to be ready for when that time comes.  That is, be ready for the time when Bette feels ready to talk.  Please know that we’ll be here, ready to help the two of you in whatever way we can, when that happens – please also tell Bette that.”

Dan was noting down the salient points of events Tina was describing.  He prompted the blonde, “Tina why don’t you walk me through what happened after you and Bette left after our third session?,” Dan asked.

Tina explained that she and Bette had arrived at Dan’s for the third appointment much more prepared, having agreed between themselves to be more open with him.  They had accepted that they could only begin to be able to explore, together, what it was they both wanted if they were more open with him.  And with each other.  Dan nodded, “Uh, huh, so this is why when I asked about what the initial pressure point seemed to be, things descended quickly to that, um, argument.”

“Yeah,” Tina responded, shaking her head at the memory.

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(The scene is set during Bette and Tina’s third couples therapy session with Dan in late January) 

Bette lost her temper first.  It was as if the lid she had kept over her stress and anxieties about moving to New York from LA, and about whether she and Tina were somehow hitting a wall had finally exploded, “Tina, I don’t know what else to say!  Yes, I understand that I hadn’t given you any warning about what I was involved in, and what it would mean if the case broke in just the way that it did!  But there were just so many scenarios…”

Tina cut in, “Bette, the point is I didn’t know!!  You knew, but I didn’t.  I was left hanging out there!  I was worried sick about you.  I was worried about whether those men were after you, who was protecting you if they were.  I was scared to death, Bette!”

Bette tried a gentler approach, “T, I know it was hard… it was hard for me, too…”