“Baby there’s like a one in a million chance that could ever happen again.”

“Bette are you hearing yourself? Your heart can’t take another pregnancy, you were in that hospital for two whole months.”

“Babe we’ve been to so many specialists and multiple doctors they all say that I’m healthy and fit, my heart should be fine.”

“Should be… so we’re suppose to risk you’re life on a “should be”, are you serious?” Tina felt herself getting more and more upset and she saw the way Bette rolled her eyes as she turned away from her. Tina took Bette‘s hand and turned her head towards her with the other. “Babe listen to me, please; we cannot have more children. Ok, it’s just the way it is, I love you way to much to go into another pregnancy pretending to be blind to the fact that this could take you away from us.”

“Bette how do you feel about what Tina has decided?”

“Hurt and completely left out.” Bette looked at Tina as she spoke and she saw the surprise look cross her face.

“Do you want to explain why.”

Bette huffed and turned back to Tina “I love you unconditionally you know that, but when you say things like that I feel like you’re making a final decision for our entire family without considering me. I feel like I’ve been dismissed and you’ve completely shut the door on us having more children. I understand how you fell I really do, but you have to try and see it from my point of view, I want to have more children and I feel that I can provide more to this family but you only see things one-sidedly and have your mind set on that being the only way it is..”

“Tina how do you feel about what Bette just told you?”

“Shocked and offended.” It was now Bette’s turn to look at Tina’s eyes that were now staring hers with just as much shock.

“Explain why you feel this way.”

“When I hear Bette talk about this situation that way I feel like I’m being ignored and she becomes completely indignant to how I feel and she disregards the fact that we almost lost her. Her heart stopped beating for almost seven minutes and her lungs collapsed. I had to watch her in a coma for nearly three weeks,” Tina’s voice broke and she was having a hard time continuing. “There were nights when I’d hold Azi and he’d look up at me with her eyes and I know for a fact that I couldn’t handle not having her with me. I feel like she doesn’t care about how I feel about the situation either. For four years I buried these nightmares and it almost killed me, it almost ruined our family. I’m not trying to be mean or make it seem like I make all the decisions for this family, I’m only stating facts. I don’t want to go through another pregnancy and I refuse to face the grave statistics of risking her life again.” both Bette and Tina sat in their therapist’s office not really grasping the other’s feelings and feeling a bit frustrated and relieved all at once. They’d been holding in these feelings and passively arguing and ignoring the facts of the situation until Alice recommended they see a therapist. So here they sat finally hearing one another without interruptions or false walls to hide behind.