She looked in turn at the 3 women, Helena, they had forged an unlikely friendship one which Tina and Al teased her endlessly over Helena’s ulterior motives, regardless of that not once had she wavered in her generosity, her willingness to lend support whenever it was required. Bette acknowledged the smile Helena threw her way with one of her own.

A shriek from Al drew Bette’s attention towards the pain in the derrière extrondinaire, the merry band of 5′s source of amusement and the butt of her wrath on many occasions, Bette dug deep and admitted honestly to herself that she had grown quite fond of the bumbling idiot with a heart made of pure gold, that momentary feeling of appreciation was quickly dispelled as right on cue Al caught Bette staring at her “Grab Helena a double will ya Bette, it would appear she doesn’t put out until she’s well oiled, She’s fighting it but I know she’s dying for a piece of these” Al said squeezing her own boobs giggling them up an down”

Shane groaned “You fool” throwing a cushion that hit Al squarely in the face.

Bette laughed and not for the first time thankful that Shane had halted Al’s annoying shenanigans. Who would have thought the bedraggled teenager they had taken in a few short years ago would turn into the young woman she was today, Bette was proud of her and Tina’s achievement, it hadn’t happened overnight for Shane to trust they were not going to give up on her as everyone else had done when the going got tough, there had been times when Bette felt enough was enough the kid was damaged beyond repair, but she hadn’t, which made everything she had learned these last days even more unacceptable.

Tina arrived back in a more suitable attire, her one, her only, Tina, her heart never failed to swell whenever she took a moment just to take her in, Bette was sure she must have been a saint in a previous life to deserve Tina in this one. The brunette wasn’t blind Tina had her faults, her temper for one, the way she’d slip into adolescent mode whenever Al was around just like now she thought as she watched the pair squabbling, she could forgive her that, the truth being she would forgive her for just about anything, for wrapped within her external beauty was her reason that she had not collapsed when the foundations of her very existence were nothing more than a mass of rubble.

These women, her life, her love, her friends, were living proof that the theory that blood was thicker than water was nothing more than a fallacy, She removed the piece of paper from her back pocket, she held it between her fingers fully intent on tearing it in half, whoever the women behind this door was, Bette didn’t need her, she’d lived 29 years without her, she’d more than survived, she was more than happy with her lot. She must have been procrastinating longer than she thought.

“I’ll take that” Tina claimed the piece of paper from Bette’s grasp stuffing it in her own back pocket. “Now move your ass Porter and help me get these drinks”