Lara made love to Dana with all the intensity, longing and desire that she’d always felt for this incredible woman. She gave her the assurance that nothing had changed in the way she felt about her body or the deep emotional love she had for her. With that in mind, she brought Dana to one of the most intense orgasms they’d ever experienced together.

Dana’s sexual release was orgasmic and cathartic. She weeps; then cries, then bawls, then wails finally falling back onto the bed exhausted. Lara crawled up Dana’s body and pulls her into an all-encompassing full body embrace. She holds her lover as closely as their bodies will allow. Dana finally falls asleep. Now it’s Lara who has the sleepless night.

***

It was an hour before Bette put away the papers she’d been reading and left the study to return to the bedroom she shared with Tina. She glanced in the bassinet to see that Angelica was sleeping soundly. Everyone always said how much Angie looked like Bette even though there was no blood relation. However when Bette looked at her beautiful daughter she only saw the resemblance to her beautiful birth mother.

Bette hadn’t even known that Tina had conceived this baby when she did. Tina was already four months pregnant when Bette found out. They were separated at the time and Tina was already showing interest in Helena Peabody. Bette didn’t think she stood a chance at reconciliation but she knew she wanted a place in the baby’s life. She wouldn’t give that up. She knew there was no legal precedence but as soon as she’d learned of the baby’s existence she claimed it in her heart.

Though she was angry at the mother for keeping something so life-changing hidden from her she loved the child instantly without thought or reservation. Even though she’d been reckless with Tina’s heart and her body had betrayed her when she had the affair with Candace all Bette ever wanted was a family. She knew that she was the one responsible for breaking them up. She’d almost given up the hope that her dream would ever be reality but then Tina had come home to her and her hope was restored.

“Bette … I’m having a home birth.”

“I think it’s great that Dr. Wilson thinks it’s safe. I mean, the baby’s healthy, and you’re in great shape.”

“What I mean is, I’m having a home birth. And I want to have it in my home”

“No. I want … to move back into our house. And I want to have our baby in our home. I want all of us to have a home together.”

Bette came out of her reverie realizing now what Tina had actually said in that nostalgic moment. She never said she wanted to ‘get back together’ nor did she say she wanted them to be a ‘family together’. She had said she wanted them to have a ‘home together with their daughter’ and that is exactly what they had.

Even though they were in the same room, at the same time, having the same conversation each had walked away with a different interpretation and expectation. Was it any wonder that they could not meet each others needs now?

Bette’s thoughts were interrupted when she heard Tina’s voice coming from the bed. “I have something … I have to tell you.”

She thought Tina was asleep so it startled her momentarily but the fear she felt wasn’t caused by the unexpected voice it was caused by the tone. She had a foreboding that whatever Tina was about to say would bring about another life-changing event. She braced herself as she went to sit on her side of the bed and turned on the bedside lamp.

“What?”

“I fucked Josh Becker.”