“How can you be so sure, Alice?” Tina turned around and glared at her friend with her swollen eyes filled with tears.

Alice knew that Tina wasn’t angry with her. She was in that stage of grieving when nothing made any sense and no answers would bring the reassurance or clarity she needed.

“I don’t know what the future holds but I know one thing. Bette loves you more than anything. She’ll get her closure with Christina and she’ll come back to you.”

“I concur,” Shane’s sleepy voice came from under the blanket. She stretched slowly and sat up, rubbing Carmen’s back to wake her up. “Bette is in love with you, Tina. She wouldn’t leave you unless she was convinced that it was absolutely necessary.”

“See…if Yoda concurs with me then it’s the truth,” Alice smiled. “I smell coffee…who wants one?” Shane and Carmen both raised their hands and Alice went to get it.

“How are you, Tina?” Shane asked as she got up and gave Tina a hug.

“I feel like I’m dying a little each minute, and I’m so scared that I’d lost Bette…forever.”  

“Why are you scared about that? Bette clearly intends to come back.”

Tina raised her eyebrow and Shane shrugged, “Alice let us read Bette’s letter, sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’d let you read it anyway because I need everyone’s input and support or I’ll go crazy.”

“So why are you scared?”

“Tell them, Alice.”

Alice signed. “We don’t know if the portal is still open or if Bette’s return to the past had sealed it for good.”

Carmen gasped, “Are you serious?”

“That’s the thing. I don’t really know how many times the portal stays open. Professor Kroll knew only that it was a limited number but he didn’t get as far as to calculate the actual number. What I had found during my research was mainly an assumption.”

Tina buried her face in her hands in a desperate attempt to hide how miserable and scared she felt. Alice sighed, unable to watch her friend suffer when a thought occurred to her. She snapped her fingers with excitement.

“The last time I saw Professor Kroll was nine months ago. I’m sure he made some progress by now. Do you want me to find out what he discovered since?”