"Go on…" Tina urged.

"She’s been offered a deal. Her testimony against Franklin in return for no charges being brought against her" Claire explained.

"And she’s agreed?"

"She’s thinking it over as we speak. But the police are extremely hopeful that she’ll co-operate"

"What if she doesn’t?"

"We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now we have to keep our hopes up"

"What…" Tina paused, for a moment daring to dream "what happens if she does talk?"

"Jodie’s testimony would exonerate Bette"

Tina leant back and sighed. She hated the fact that Bette’s freedom lay in the hands of that women. It was hard enough that she was Bette’s former lover, let alone a lover who had betrayed her in the worst possible way. And a betrayal purely for financial gain at that. And she knew that she had to be the one to break the news of the betrayal to Bette. She just had no idea how she would react, and how Bette’s reaction would make her feel. She knew she had no reason to be jealous, but the thought of Bette getting upset over her ex-girlfriend still caused a twinge in her chest.

Pushing those thoughts aside she turned back to Claire "So what do we tell Bette?"

"I’d say that’s your call. How do you think she’d cope with waiting to find out what Jodie’s decided to do?"

Tina thought about it for a moment "I really don’t know. Maybe it would be easier for her to carry on as she is. At least until we know either way"

"I think that’s probably for the best"

"Claire, I can’t thank you enough for your help with this" Tina smiled gratefully.

"I’m just doing my job. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the right outcome. I’d best get going but as soon as I hear anything I’ll let you know" Claire got to her feet and gathered her belongings.

"Thank you again" Tina shook her hand and saw her out.

Once she was alone again Tina let herself get lost in her thoughts. Would this new state of limbo be harder for Bette than the one she was already in? After all, she had promised not to keep anything from her. But this was different. If she chose not to tell her, it was only for her own good. But did she have the right to make that decision? She knew that if she was face to face with her lover she wouldn’t be able to keep the secret. But she also knew that if she avoided her, Bette would know for sure that something was up. The next day at work was sure to be a struggle for her.