Two days after the Tinas accident

Bette stood at the sink with a hand on each side trying to gather any strength she could. She was completely exhausted. She was determined that she was going to be with Tina when she regained consciousness. Even though the doctors told her it would be another day or so before they would decrease the coma inducing medication to a level that would allow Tina to regain conscious, Bette insisted on staying with her whenever possible. The only time she had left Tinas side was when Tina was in surgery for the necessary skin grafts or when the nurses kicked her out so that they could change the dressings on Tinas wounds and burns. Bette was comforted in the fact that Tinas condition had been upgraded from critical to stable. Even though she wasnt completely out of the woods, things looked better for Tina.

When Bette first saw Tina after the accident, it was all she could do to not collapse at the sight of her wife, battered and burned. A breathing tube assisting Tina with the oxygen that she needed to fight against the smoke that she had inhaled from the fire, a feeding tube providing her with the nutrients that she needed and several IVs providing the medication that she needed. Despite everything, Tina was still the most beautiful woman that Bette had ever seen and she was going to make sure that she never took her for granted ever again. If Tina would give her a second chance, she would spend the rest of her life making Tinas life as wonderful as possible.

The gang had all been by several times to check on Tina and Bette. They had tried unsuccessfully to get Bette to leave the hospital for even a short amount of time to get some rest. They had only been able to get her to go the cafeteria for short spurts to get Bette to eat something and drink something to try to keep up her strength. Even William Boyd, the man who had pulled Tina from the car had been by to check on Tina. Bette was surprised by his visit, but also grateful that she was able to once again thank him for what he had done for Tina that night.

Better prepared herself to go back into Tinas room by embarking on the usual cleaning routine necessary for her to be in the same room with Tina. She scrubbed up and dressed in a hospital gown, face mask and hairnet and made her way to Tinas room. She took a deep breath and entered the room.

Tina looked so peaceful lying in the bed despite all the bandages, tubes and machines that she was hooked up to. Bette looked past all of that and focused on seeing the woman that had been her partner, her lover and her best friend for more than 7 years. Bette was so desperate to talk to her, to see those beautiful eyes of her wife but she knew as long as Tina was in the coma, she was not in pain. Bette has caused her so much pain lately that she didnt want Tina to suffer at all. A small part of Bette was also relieved that Tina was not conscious because she didnt know what to expect from Tina when she did regain consciousness. Would Tina hate her? Would Tina forgive her? Would they have a future together? How would Tina react to the news that she could not longer have children? These questions and so many more continued to flood her thoughts. None of these questions would be answered right now, only time would tell.


She took a seat beside Tinas bed and held her hand and began to talk to her like she had done for the past two days. She paused a moment to just listen to Tina breath. Even though she was being assisted by the respirator, the fact that Tina was breathing had a calming affect on Bette.

Hey Babe .. Im back. Bette proclaims as she gently caresses Tinas undamaged arm

I didnt want to leave you but those nurses, you know how they are. They cant have me around getting in the way while they are trying to do their work. Baby, the doctor told me that tomorrow morning they would probably decrease the paralyzing medication they have been giving you. That means that I will hopefully get to see those beautiful eyes of yours real soon. Tina, I love you so much baby.

Tears once again started streaming down her face. Bette was trying not to cry but she was not being very successful. She was trying to be strong for Tina but was so overwhelmed by her emotions and her lack of sleep.

Come on Porter. Get yourself together.

Bette took a deep breath and wiped her face to try to compose herself. She started thinking about the happier times that she and Tina have shared. That kiss, their first date and the first time they made love. She chuckled to herself when she thought back to how Tina was so shy and afraid that she wouldnt be able to please Bette since she had never been with a woman. That first time was so incredible and the physical part played only a part in what made that night so special. Bette was so in love with Tina, that even if the ***** had not been that great that night, she was sure she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Tina. However, that was not an issue because making love with Tina was so incredible that night. She thought about the night that she had proposed to Tina, their wedding day, the honeymoon. The smile on Bettes face grew even wider when she remembered their honeymoon. At one point, there was a question as to whether or not they would even make it out of the room to see all the sites they had planned to see while in Europe. Neither one could get enough of the other. Somehow, they finally managed to separate their bodies from one another and did all the touristy things.

We have had some great times together havent we baby? As soon as you get better, I hope you will allow me to provide you with many more good times so they we can make many more great memories.

Bettes exhaustion took over her body and she laid her head down on Tinas bed still holding her hand. She gave in to her exhaustion and fell asleep. Her nap was cut short by a beeping sound coming from one of the many machines monitoring Tina. Bette jumped up thinking that something was wrong. She was relieved at the realization that it was just the IV machine indicating that the fluids where getting low. She sat back down and placed her head back on the bed as she waited for the nurse to come in the room to change the IV fluids. As expected the nurse appeared about 5 minutes later and busied herself replacing the almost empty bags with new bags.

You really should try and get some rest. The nurse said gently to Bette. She wont miss you if you are gone for a short time. They have rooms here on the floor that families can use

Yeah, I know about the rooms but I dont want to leave her if I dont have to. She might not miss me, but I will certainly miss her. I have spent too much time away from her lately and I wont ever do that again. Bette told the nurse trying to keep herself together.

Well you wont be any good to her if we have to admit you to the hospital. You know if you get sick, we wont be able to let you in the room at all. So what will be worse, not seeing her for a few hours or not seeing her for a few days?

Bette glared at the nurse as if she wanted to give her a piece of her mind. No one was going to keep her from Tinas side. She could feel the anger rising with her but she quickly squashed that feeling because she knew that the nurse was only trying to help. No one had really told her that she might not be able to see Tina at all and the idea of that was more than she even wanted to fathom. The nurse walked around to the side of the bed where Bette was and gently tried to help her to her feet.

Now come on .. Let me take you to a room so you can get some rest and something to eat. I promise, I will come get you if anything changes.

Bette slowly got up for her chair and then bent down and placed a soft kiss on Tina check. Even though she couldnt feel Tinas face through the mask, she was just so happy to be that close to her.

I love you baby and I will be back really soon ok

She gently ran her hand through Tinas hair and then turned and walked out of the room.

Bette followed the nurse out of the room and removed all the hospital clothes that she was wearing. The nurse then showed her to the area of the floor that had rooms set aside for family members if needed. Bette noticed a couple of the rooms were already occupied. She wondered what had brought these people to the hospital also. Her heart went out to those folks as she knew they were all in the same situation. Someone that they cared about deeply was sick or injured for some reason or another. The nurse pointed to a room and Bette thanked her and went in the room. In less than 5 minutes, mainly due to sheer exhaustion, Bette was asleep. As she was falling asleep, she continued to mumble, I love you Tina

Tbc