Tina grabbed Bette’s hand squeezing it tightly as she felt the plane start its descent into Raleigh Durham International Airport. She was always known for her calmness and steady hands in the operating room. Nothing could frazzle or shake her when she held a scalpel in her hand.  But now….as she returns back to her hometown for the first time since losing Jacob 15 years ago ….it was beginning to overwhelm her emotionally.  She wasn’t sure if she was ready face the most painful part of her life but it was something she needed to get closure on and the fact that Bette was with her she felt she could at least get through it without totally breaking down.

Bette felt Tina’s hand grip tightly around hers squeezing it as if she was stricken with fear.  She leaned over and whispered in her girlfriend’s ear.

“I’m here for you ok.  Whatever you need”

Tina brought her gaze from the window and looked gratefully at Bette. Her lips slightly curling into a gentle smile

“Thank you..You don’t know how happy I am that you are here with me.  I honestly don’t think I could do this without you” Tina says laying her head against Bette’s shoulder

Bette tenderly stroked the back of Tina’s hand with her thumb

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but here right by your side” she replies as the captain signals the flight attendants to prepare the cabin for landing……Bette sighed  “I’m glad you let me take care of all the reservations.  I didn’t want you to have to stress about that along with everything else”

“You are so good to me..I don’t know what I did to deserve you but I’m so grateful for whatever brought you into my life” Tina says snuggling into Bette’s shoulder

Bette chuckles “You know that goes both ways right?”

“Does it?” Tina giggled feeling a little less apprehensive at the moment

Bette gingerly shrugged “Of course.  The Heavens opened up and sent me my very own angel”

Tina shook her head into Bette’s shoulder and chuckled “You are laying it on kind of thick there aren’t you?”

Bette scoffed

“Nonsense..It’s Thanksgiving right?..So I’m very thankful for you” Bette replied kissing Tina softly on her forehead

Bette put her arm around Alice who had her face buried in her hands.  She couldn’t stand seeing Alice upset and was doing her best to console her but standing in the middle of the junkyard watching Myrtle being pancaked underneath the car crusher was not what Bette had in mind in spending her afternoon as she rubbed Alice’s back in comfort

“Come on Al….We should go….There is nothing more you can do now….Myrtle will now go on and do good things in the recycled world. They will use her steel to make all kinds of products and help out the environment in the process.  You should be proud” Bette tried making something positive out of the situation but Alice was really crushed—no pun intended.

Alice raised her head wiping tears from her eyes. “I don’t know if I can ever step foot behind the wheel of another car ever again” she said as Bette slowly pulled her away from the heart wrenching scene.

Bette pulled Alice into her body as they walked.

“Of course you will Al…No other vehicle will replace Myrtle inside your heart” Bette felt like an idiot when it came out of her mouth but if it made Alice feel any better it would be worth it

Alice sighs as they approach Bette’s car “I guess you are right.  It was just that Myrtle and Dana were bonding and we were like this happy little family.  You even stopped complaining about her and even Myrtle stopped hesitating and refusing to start when your name was mentioned.  It was like all was right with the world..And then she had to go and blow her engine parts out all over Ventura Blvd” Alice sighs as she plops down in the passenger seat and fastens her seatbelt

Bette slips in the driver’s seat buckling her seatbelt and starting the car.  She reaches behind her to the back seat picking up a box and handing it to Alice

“Here Al…I think you will want this”

Alice takes the box out of her hands setting it in her lap “What’s this?” She says looking at the box curiously before lifting the lid off to reveal the pink pair of fuzzy dice that had hung from the rearview mirror of Myrtle

“Ok everyone.  Great job.  Let’s close and get her in recovery. Dr. Miller please go and update the patient’s family of her status” Tina stated as she stepped away from the operating table and walked into the biohazard room to strip of her surgical ppe and dispose of it.  Dana followed right behind doing the same thing.

“Alright.  I have waited all morning. So how was the roof dinner last night?” she asked Tina eagerly who turned to give her the biggest smile she didn’t think she had ever seen Tina give before.

“Dana?  It was so sweet.  Bette is just…..She’s just so romantic and thoughtful.  I can’t believe she did all that for me….For us….She had this table set up with my favorite dish” she looks at Dana and winks “And thank you for telling her”

Dana chuckled “No problem.  She told Alice and me about doing that for you after you left the other night and was wanting to know what to cook” she said as they leave out of the biohazard room only to walk back into the scrub room for another operating room to get ready for their next surgery.

Tina took one faucet with Dana taking the one next to her

“She is just amazing Dana.  I wasn’t looking for a relationship at all and now that Bette is in my life I need to start making some serious changes.  I don’t want to lose her.. She could possibly become the best thing that has happened to me in a long time”

Dana blinked her eyes in shock as they both simultaneously scrubbed their hands up to their elbows

“Tina?  Are you saying what I think you are saying?”

Tina hesitated when two other members  of her surgical team entered the room to help her and Dana with their surgical ppe.

“Yes.  I can’t let her do everything to keep us going.  It’s not fair and as much as she says she can handle it for the both of us I know she will burn herself out and I will lose her. I can’t lose anyone special in my life again” she says waiting till they were fully adorned in their surgical attire complete with mask and alone before continuing

After singing Happy Birthday to Dana, and her embarrassingly blowing the candles out, Alice grabbed a knife and started slicing the cake.  Bette and Tina were standing back behind the crowd who had surrounded Dana and Alice eagerly grabbing at the plates as Alice served them

“Alice went all out for Dana didn’t she?” Tina said wrapping her arm around Bette’s waist pulling her close

“Yes she did.  She loves Dana.  I haven’t seen her this happy in a long time” Bette said leaning in to Tina’s embrace

“Well I know Dana loves her.  She talks about her all the time.  I feel like I’m a third wheel when it’s just her and I” Tina chuckles as Shane approaches them smiling with a beer in her hand

“Finally you two got over your stubbornness I see”

They both shrug their shoulders at the same time much to Shane’s amusement “Jesus you two are perfect for each other”. She says taking a sip of her beer

Bette looks at Shane pointedly

“Shane I want you to confirm something for me. And I’m not asking Alice or Dana because I’m not going to get a straight answer out of either one of them”.

“Ok.  Shoot” Shane nods at Bette to go ahead

“They knew about Tina living next door to the house I bought didn’t they?”

Shane nods “Yep. They cooked it up over their first date together.  Alice was scared you were going to go with the house on Montahue”

Tina chuckled “That’s so sweet though.  They were on their first date trying to plan that when they should have been concentrating on themselves”

Bette shakes her head at the thought “Yeah I know.  Alice spent all day cutting up every house until we looked at the one next to Tina.  I knew something was fishy when she didn’t bitch about anything while we were there. And she was so eager to come with me that day”

Shane nods “They were determined to get y’all close somehow.  They figured living next door would at least give you a chance to see each other with Tina being so busy at the hospital and”. Shane stopped when Tina’s pager went off”

Tina sighed “Shit.  Speaking of hospital.  I’m on call so let me check in ok” she says giving Bette a kiss on her cheek before stepping away

Bette arrived back at Alice’s apartment full of emotions.  Her sadness upon discovering her her dear friend Peggy had cancer to her overwhelming frustration with Tina who wanted to play ‘dangle the carrot’ was too much to deal with at the moment.

She sighed as she walked into the door to a waiting Alice who was furiously typing on her laptop.

“Hey Bette!” Alice greeted not looking up from her laptop “How was the Doc?”

“I don‘t want to talk about it right now Al” Bette replied solemnly setting her purse and keys down on the table by the door before walking into the kitchen.  She grabbed a beer out of the fridge twisting the cap off and tossing it in the trash.

Alice stopped typing and watched Bette walk out of the kitchen with beer in hand and sit down in the chair opposite from her.

Alice closed her laptop and sighed watching Bette stare off in thought as she steadily took sips of her beer.

“Ok” Alice simply replied not wanting to push Bette as she could tell her best friend was upset about something and the last thing she wanted to do was make her even more upset. She knew it had something to with the doctor but she would keep her nose out of it for once.

Alice got up from the sofa grabbing her laptop and walked over to Bette “I’m here if you want to talk ok..Goodnight” she says softly giving Bette a kiss on top of her head.  She turns to walk toward her bedroom and was stopped by Bette’s voice.   She turned to face her as she spoke

“We are going to the office in the morning Al…I’ve got furniture and supplies being delivered” Bette said dryly not acknowledging her as she continued to sip her beer.  Alice sighed

“Alright” was all she said before retreating down the hall leaving Bette to her thoughts

Bette on the other hand was shocked Alice didn’t press her for information.  She had prepared herself for an interrogation the CIA itself had probably never seen. But alas it never came and she was grateful to be able to sit and reflect in silence.

Her cat and mouse game with Tina, albeit frustrating, was minor to what she was feeling at the moment about Peggy.  Peggy had been a rock for her after losing both parents to cancer 8 years ago only three months apart from each other. Her father Marvin had advanced prostate cancer and her mother Maxine was battling stage IV breast cancer.  Peggy had been a close confidant of her father’s for years in business dealings and investments and she practically learned everything there was to know about investing from her father and from Peggy.  Although she didn’t grow close with Peggy until she came to her to design her commercial offices upon recommendation from her father.  She was fresh out of college and had just been hired on with Lewis and Fulton Architect firm in New York.  Peggy came in insisting she have Bette lead the design and if she did not get her way she would take her money and her business elsewhere.