"Um, okay", Bette said. "I’ll go get her a t-shirt to sleep in." As Bette left, Richard helped Tina walk Cora to her room. It did not escape Bette’s attention that he managed to slip his arm around Tina’s waist in that all too familiar way that made her shudder. Her teeth clenched as she quickly went to the room to fetch a shirt for the young woman to sleep in.

When she came back to the room Cora was in bed with a light blanket over her. Sobbing. Tina was sitting in a wooden chair next to her, and Richard was standing over them both with a hand on Tina’s shoulder. "Here. She can wear this", Bette whispered, handing Tina an old Yale shirt. She spoke all the while never taking her eye from Richard’s offending hand. "Thanks", Tina said softly with tired eyes. Too tired to notice the bridled frustration rising in Bette.

"Maybe we should take her to a doctor", Bette suggested. "No", Tina said. "Richard caught her, she didn’t hit her head. I think she just needs some rest. I’ll stay here and sit with her."

Richard removed his hand from Tina as Bette neared. "Are you sure, T?", Bette asked.

"Yeah. We’ll be fine", Tina said turning her attention back to the sobbing Cora. Richard waited outside the door in the hallway as Bette leaned down and softly kissed the top of Tina’s head. Tina closed her eyes and smiled at her lover’s touch. "Love you, babe", she whispered.

"You too, T."

Bette walked to the hallway, staring down the awaiting Richard, and closed the door behind her. "We need to talk", she said coldly. Richard’s face paled a few shades at those words. In his line of work he had learned to quickly assess various situations. His current predicament showed all the signs of an imminent physical confrontation. Although he’d never been on the business end of a Bette Porter ass kicking he was fairly certain he wanted no part of it. He had the distinct impression that Bette could do infinitely more damage to him than a bar full of angry lesbians. He backed into the opposite wall as she stepped toward him.

She whispered so as not to disturb Cora and Tina but her fury could not be restrained. "What the fuck do you think you’re doing?" she demanded through clenched teeth.

"What do you-"