Kit had finally caught up to Tina and put her arm around her shoulder trying to be the rock she knew Tina would need all the while the realness of the moment was becoming too much for Kit to fathom. She felt her legs weaken and suddenly Tina became her pillar. It was evident”they would all need each other to get through this.

Shane joined them as soon as she made the call to Alice and Dana. She heard Alice scream as Dana shared the news. It appears Alice maybe the only one who felt anything other than numbness and worry. Shane wished she could scream. So far, only the anger towards Simone had evoked any raw emotion. She was too afraid to think about losing Bette. How could they lose Bette? Its Bette”she is a fighter. She didnt need the paramedic to tell her that. Bette had endured so much and come out stronger”***** better than before. Maybe this wouldnt be any different, right? Shane got up and peered around the corner hoping for a glimpse of her beautiful friend. She wanted Bette to know they were there and hoping, rooting, pulling, and praying shed be ok. She of course didnt see Bette; and wondered not if, but how Bette was pulling through.

Bette lay still and almost powerless as she felt doctors and nurses pulling and pushing on her. Her only thoughts were getting to Tina. The sleep that she once thought would give her comfort now she realized was her enemy she would not sleep regardless of how tired she was”she refused to allow herself to drift. The pull of sleep and the pain”God the pain in her chest was immense these two allies the pain and impending slumber were fighting against her resolve. She rebuffed any attempts to succumb to a slumber she knew would be her last. She fought back with images of the things she was fighting for. She saw Tinas smile, imagined her laughter, and remembered the scent of her hair and the softness of her touch. She began to think of Tinas home-cooked meals and them lying languidly around the pool. Then she saw an image of Kit and flashes of her childhood. Images of her parents and meeting Alice and a flash of Tinas earring from when they met at her gallery and later flashes of Peggy Peabody and Franklin and the CAC invaded her mind. These WERE NOT the thoughts she wanted to have. Bette didnt realized she was slipping away and her thoughts had become flashes of her life, the flashes right before the end.