She had however proved them all wrong and taken to it like a duck to water.  For the first time she had a normal job which despite its perceived limitations also came with the perk of being able to walk away from the office at the end of the day without an over-riding feeling of responsibility.  It was that which had crippled Helena previously and caused her to rebel against both her mother and the foundation.  Being given the opportunity to prove her own worth based solely on her talents allowed Helena to flourish.  She was living in a normal apartment driving a normal car and it had allowed her to become a part of the group in a much more normal capacity.  They saw her as one of them, an acceptance she had been trying to find since she first met Tina.

The fact that she was now expecting Tina at a given time gave Helena the impetus to open Dana’s letter.  If truth be told she was touched and a little surprised that she had been included in Dana’s thoughts.  At that time her relationship with Tina was still a touchy subject with all of Bette and Tina’s friends and it had prevented Helena from ever really having the opportunity to know Dana as much as she would have liked.  Sure they had spent a little more time together as a group during Dana’s illness but Helena never knew what to make of that.  Dana had far more important things to be worrying about then whether or not she and Helena were becoming friends but that was definitely how Helena had felt- that they were friends. Had Dana survived Helena suspected she would be pleased to see the new improved Helena much in the same way that the rest of the gang seemed to be.

Helena,

To be honest, writing to you seems a little bit weird.  Despite the fact that we have known each other for a while it has not always been easy and we haven’t had that much of a chance to really get to know one another. 

What I can be sure of though, is that you are somebody who if I am given a reprieve from this insidious disease I would very much like to take the time to get to know better.  If you wonder how I can be sure of that it’s simple.  Although some of my actions over the past year might contradict it Alice is without question the most important person in my life and her opinion is one that I value even above my own.