Helena was at a loss. Bette was utterly silent, staring at her.

“I’m glad you’re ok.” She said at last.

“Thank you.” Helena nodded politely.

They were quiet again.  Bette stood awkwardly, wearing an expensive black dress—Armani was Helena’s guess. Helena’s own outfit, a pair of designer jeans and a black tank top, made her look almost butch to Bette’s femme. She snickered.

“What’s so funny?” Bette asked with a bright smile. She genuinely was happy to see her former nemesis safe and sound in the outside world.  She’d taken a fucking hour and a half just to pick her outfit for the night. 

“Nothing. Just playing with labels. Let me…uhhhh…let Alice buy you a drink and pretend it’s on me.” Helena sighed when she said this.  Why on earth would she buy Bette a drink anyway. Oh, right, this was some kind of party. Jesus, she was in a funk.

“No worries, drinks are on the house for y’all tonite.” Kit waved away their protests, handing Bette a glass of wine, and bringing another for Helena.  Bette and Alice sat side by side, chattering away about work, while Helena downed her wine in a hurry next to them.  They weren’t surprised when she was half drunk within an hour.

Thankfully, the wine seemed to loosen Helena up.  She finally began to see the beauty of her circumstances—she was free, if nothing else.  The lights seemed brighter, all at once.  And she sat back, her eyes closed, realizing that she had truly missed hearing her friends’ laughter.

Tina surprised her, once again, with a show of affection.  Helena was jarred from her happy reverie when Tina pressed her lips to her forehead.

“Oh. Hey.” Helena reached behind her, handing Tina a spare glass of wine. “Couldn’t finish four in such a short time..this one’s for you. Cheers.”

“Cheers. Hey everyone.” Tina made the rounds, hugging Bette for a heartbeat longer than she normally would have. Jenny, Max and Shane came over, and the clamor intensified. They quickly grabbed beer from Kit, and the Planet’s owner joined them in a toast.

“Welcome to the love in.” Alice grinned, raising her glass. “We’ve got our English muffin back amongst us…and…our basketball team is back ON mothafuckas!”