James and Bette begin walking shoulder to shoulder the few blocks to the meeting. "So Bette what did bingo want? It’s so not like him to come to you, usually it’s the other way around."

Bette chuckles at James observation. "Well for future reference it’s not a good thing when he shows up out of the blue."

"What!" James says stopping in his tracks which gets him almost run over by the woman behind him.

Bette turns to James, "Keep up, no harm done we weren’t expecting his support anyway. Maybe that’s why he came to me, he knows we don’t need him and we have every chance of making our dream a reality. Maybe he knows something we don’t. We might have more support then we have anticipated."

With that Bette charged ahead. She seemed focused and in command. It would be a growling day but she was up for it. At least that’s what it appeared to anyone watching her but what no one knew was the Tina Kennard was still lingering in the back of Bette’s thoughts. Not even Bette at this moment knew how much.

Bette and James walked the next three blocks to the convention center in relative silence.  James focused on the first of their scheduled meeting all of which were being held around the background of the general session agenda.  He knew it was his job to create the meeting in the mix of the chaos.

The weather was nice in an Indian summer way.  It reminded Bette of her first trip to Boston on another occasion much different from today’s events.   This was in the height of her stardom as a pediatric cardiac surgeon.  She had been called in to perform a surgery on a patient that was high risk.  There were no others who could perform the surgery he needed.  As such Bette got to pick her team who traveled with her.  This was the first time she had met Tina. 

Seven years prior

Bette walked into the room of the little guy she was going to operate on in less then an hour.  It is a busy time just prior to the surgery.  One last review of all that as going to take place in the OR was paramount in her mind but it was always her policy to meet her patients prior to the actual even.  She found that she had less questions post surgery and more acceptance of the outcomes however they may be if she took the time up front.