Helena turned and tossed, though it was 4am and she should have been tired.  She gave up finally, and flicked on the television.  Then she planned a dinner party, which was always a favorite way of dealing with insomnia, since it involved thinking about food.  She finally fell asleep when the sun rose, and had strange dreams with everyone she knew in them.

Four nights after the sex party, Helena gathered up her eclectic little family, and they ate dinner in her penthouse, watching the whole of LA from a panoramic view. The trickle of free booze and incredible food smoothed old factions and created a series of wonderfully chaotic conversations and interactions.  All in all, it was a success, but then four years of craziness with this bunch had open the way already.  The only glitch for Helena at least, came when Bette shot a series of puppy-eyed expressions at her.  The Brit ignored the looks for the most part—chatting with Shane, joking and performing with Alice, and flirting with Tucker distracted her well enough. Tina was beyond caring, happy as she was in the world as it unfolded for her and Bette.  She knew her girlfriend lusted after her ex, but it was a lesbian drama that had unfolded too many times to give two damns about.

Helena, however, worried that Bette’s behavior might stretch further beyond a few stammered words and tortured looks.  It continued all night, in fact.  Finally, when Bette had followed Helena into the penthouse’s kitchen on the premise of needing more wine, when her glass was still full, Helena addressed the problem.

“No, Bette.”

“No what?” Bette’s feigned innocence barely concealed annoyance. “Why not?” She said after a tremendous stare-down, Helena’s hands planted on the island between them, Bette standing awkwardly at the edge of the room. “Tina is ok with it…”

“But I am not.”

“Why not?”

“I’m nobody’s third wheel. I’m not a game, I don’t come with an expiry date, and I won’t go quietly when you dismiss me. Therefore, it is best not to start it in the first place.” Their positions had not changed, though Bette’s shoulders now slumped.  “It’s because I was with her after you…you want to contain her somehow by conquering me.”

“No.” Bette said honestly. She trailed her finger over the rim of her glass, suddenly feeling better, knowing that Helena believed her and that the urge to conquer had been quietly done away with in them both. “It’s not that.”

“You’re curious then. So go out and buy a few things and have some fun with one another.” Though, it was Helena who was now curious. What on earth did Bette want…

“I don’t think its just that…besides, Tina and I have experimented now…” Bette blushed deeply when Helena chuckled, but she continued on bravely. “Maybe I’m just attracted to you. You’re beautiful.”

“Hmm.” Helena nodded, shrugged, blushed in return, and finally leaned back against the counter behind her, crossing her arms and looking Bette curiously over. “That’s not all of it.”

“Who knows what it is.”

“It has to be something.”

“Does it?”

“Well…perhaps not.” Helena was no longer certain as to what kind of debate she was losing here. She decided to concede defeat while maintaining her original stance. “Still…let’s not and say we did. Deal?”

After a surprised moment, Bette started to laugh. “What kind of deal is that?”

“I dunno.” Americanisms were slipping into her language more and more these days.  Helena rolled her eyes and grinned wryly, continuing. “But if you stay my friend, I can hang out with you and Tina, and you can both come with me to London in the springtime. Otherwise, we’ll have drama and I hate drama. Deal?”

“Again…what deal…” Bette threw her hands up. “Ok, fine. You and your deals.” She walked away muttering while Helena chuckled to herself.  Ever the concerned host, she did wave Bette back and replace her wine glass with a fresh one, patting her friend on the back in a friendly sort of way and leaning back when Bette attempted to use her patented charms to pull her close and attempt to brush their lips together. “Fiiiiine.” Bette sighed, shot down again.