She considered herself lucky in the since that she had found two separate careers in her lifetime which she enjoyed and they both paid well. The first career being a movie executive and the last in the medical field. Tina had many offers during the first years she was struggling after her move to North Carolina to return to the movie industry, but she had declined them all. She knew she could not keep her name linked to an industry that was so public and remain away from Bette. Yet she had managed to keep a few contacts with individuals in power positions who quiet often referred clients to her when they were on the verge of losing their acting careers due to public displays of their addictions and outrageous behaviors.

However the group of individuals who meant the most to her known as her adoptive family she had lost contact with years ago. Tina had placed that call to them after she became settled in North Carolina like she had promised herself she would to explain and apologize for not saying good-bye when she left L. A. But distance and secrets had strained the relationships to the point of breaking.

Although they had all been shocked at the discovery of her reason for leaving and empathized with her they still remained loyal to Bette as far as she knew. Why should she have expected any less they were all Bette’s friends in the beginning and she had been welcomed into the family as a result of their relationship.

As Tina opened the last case file in the stack for the day she spit a mouth full of coffee all over the pages in front of her. Her hand flew to her mouth as she drew in a loud breath in the form of a gasp. Grabbing a tissue from inside her desk drawer she begin to dab at the liquid on the pages that would surely now be stained with brown spatters. Her eyes could not believe the name she was reading at the top of the patient file…Elizabeth Ann Porter!

Quickly flipping to the back of the case file to locate a mug shot which is usually included in all pro bono cases she pulled the two photos from her first and last arrests loose from the paper clipped edge of the folder for closer inspection. Her eyes began to tear up to the point of having to remove her glasses and wipe them with another tissue from her desk drawer before she could clearly view the past and present photos of Bette.