This time it was Tina who lost it, “Bette, I don’t know if you knew, or would ever know, just how exposed I felt!  I had just been hit hard by the whole thing with Eric, but the major thing was, before I realized what had happened,  I was falling in love with you.  We spent a miraculous day together, absolutely perfect, and I woke up after a night of passion like nothing we each had ever experienced, thinking we were both committed to building something out of whatever it was that we were experiencing with one another.  I really thought that this was the beginning of the rest of our lives.  Like some kind of magic carpet ride.”

“But minutes later, I had three goons in my face, threatening me, and threatening you. I knew I had to put up a tough front, and get in their faces, too, but inside, I was lost, Bette!”

She continued, as Bette began to tear up, “Over the weeks that followed I knew you were trying to send me signals here and there, but you know what?! I would lie awake almost every night, unable to fall asleep, even if I’d drank enough alcohol to put a horse down, if a day or few days went by without those signals. I had a million questions. Were you dead?  How would I know?  If you were alive, where were you?  Could you be hurt or in pain somewhere?  Just so many possible scenarios, but precious little information….”

They both fell silent. They were facing each other, both red-faced, and frustrated.

They simultaneously decided to take a step back, and each one took deep breaths and blew out.

Then Tina reached out to Bette, opening her arms, wanting to be drawn into a warm embrace with the brunette.  Bette moved into the embrace, feeling Tina’s head rest against her, enjoying the warm contact with the blonde.

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A month after Tina had resumed her own therapy sessions with Dan, she was relaxing in the couch, with her feet up, while Logan sat on the carpet on the opposite side of the low slung table.  He had begun to visit Tina regularly, particularly after she let slip during a follow-up phone call he had made with her a week after she and Bette had shown up during the party at his place, that Bette had “taken a break.”  Tina hadn’t known where, and had found an excuse to hang up when the subject came up during the call.