Fan Fiction
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The Thawing of the Ice – Chapter Twenty-Five
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Bette felt her heart beat quicken and she struggled to figure out where the conversation was heading. After a moment of silence, she responded quietly. “Well, I hope you realize you can’t start off like that and expect me not to want to hear the rest.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to bait you.”
“Well, I’m baited. What’s on your mind?”
Helena swallowed thickly. “Bette, do you realize Tina is still in love with you?”
Though she knew Helena’s words to be true, Bette’s automatic response was to protest. “No, I don’t think so. Tina and I are just getting back on speaking terms.”
She put her paint brush down and the two friends shared a gaze. “She’s in love with you.”
“She is not!”
“She is. Why do you think she was so upset this morning? She thinks there’s something going on between us and she’s insane with jealousy.”
Bette rolled her eyes. “I don’t think so.”
“Well I do. I’ve known many a jealous lover and believe me, she’s acting like one.”
“If she’s in love with me, then why doesn’t she just say something?”
Helena shook her head. “Are you really this naïve or are you just playing along for kicks?”
“Humor me.”
“Bette, she can’t tell you. She’s afraid she’s lost you. A woman does not show up at your house in the wee hours of the morning with a basket of goodies because she wants to co-parent. Tina knew that she’d upset you and she wanted to comfort you. She’s a comforter. That’s her thing. She’s in love with you and my guess is that she’s trying to take it slow.”
A chuckle escaped from Bette’s lips. “This is preposterous. She’s not in love with me, Helena.”
“Well, laugh all you want. The reality is that she wants you back, Bette.”
Bette turned her gaze back to the nearly completed portrait of Angelica. “This has turned out really great. I want to frame it. It’ll go great in my bedroom.”
“Denial.”
“Yep. Really great in my bedroom.”
Helena smiled. “Just wait till you see the painting I’m going to do of her mother.
When night fell, Bette crawled into bed and sat up against her pillows. She had framed Helena’s mother and daughter portraits and they hung against the wall which faced the bed. The image Helena had painted of her was captivating and as her eyes studied the brush strokes, she wondered if she was as beautiful as the face staring back at her. The portraits were more than paint and paper. There was a depth to both faces that drew in the observer.
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Great author’s notes – I agree about growth. Great chapter. I hope to see the Bette that Bette wants to be. Thanks for the post. :)
Maturing was never an easy process. Great chapter even if it’s short to my liking.
I love your development of Bette and Helena. They are so analytical and intellectual. I never got that feeling on the show. IC had them make flippant, cavalier comments w/o deep thought. IC’s dialogue was always so superficial and vague that you never had a definite direction that the story was moving in. She never had the characters take much of a thoughtful stand. Her characters seemed to move rashly and off the cuff.
I love Belena’s dvp they rae so in tune with each other. Helena’s right, time heal and may be see the light after a while. I’m sorry for Tina, but in this story I really do think that Bette should move on from her and get right on track on her life.
Thought your notes were great…we should all strive for maturity…and hopefully many will allow us to grow from past mistakes…love B & H’s friendship
Your AN’s explained just what and where you are taking the ladies in this story and I couldn’t agree more. IC never let us see them in full bloom, just short skecthes, no depth and we were left in the dark. I’m glad to see that you will be fleshing them out and them maybe we will see the women they were meant to be. I have read many stories on this site in the last five almost six years and I have never seen as many lengthy comments on one chapter as I’ve seen on this story. This story has drawn very heated debate about what is going on with the ladies, me included. This chapter however, and the last page of this chapter has given me more hope for their reconciliation in the end that any thing I’ve read so far. I still maintain that Tina needs to apologize to Bette very soon and she should have done it when Bette brought Angie back home. Since she didn’t she doesn’t need to let another day go past without apologizing. I’m glad that Helen continued her conversation with Bette by telling her that Tina is still in love with her. I understand that Bette is trying to protect her heart by not admitting out loud that she knows Tina is still in love with her. And what she is not saying is that, she too, is still in love with Tina. Her doubt showing in her conversation with Helena is what makes me believe that and her subsequent conversation with Helena, and Helena telling her that she has time to figure it out and given time Tina will come to her. So true. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful story with us.
You got me confused with this chap!!! But agrww on geowth and you said it well – actually Bette did: I don’t trust her nymore. Although we all enjoy eternal love stories in real life, once the trust is broken, badly and on sooo many level like Tinad did it’s very hard to repair ir. I really believe that part of the love die. And it’s a very very long road to follow, which I hope you won’t in this story:)) But you’re the author;) so tnx for great chapter!
MTS, Your AN made me realize that I need to drop my preconceptions of the characters and let the author decide where she wants to take the story. This Bette and Tina are a bit unrecognizable to me, but I realize that I need to see them as new/evolved characters instead of the ones fixed in my imagination. Thanks for taking the time to explain. I am sorry if my comments were a bit harsh. That was not my intent at all, even though I now realize that thats exactly how the comments sounded. Your incredible talent brings us so much pleasure. Thank you.
In my opinion Helena is exactly the friend Bette needs right now. She has no problem voicing her honest opinion to Bette and she does it without sugarcoating it, but by throwing in some flirting she avoids their conversations to get too serious. Bette on the other hand is not yet ready to accept that Tina still loves her and vice versa for that matter, because that would make her vulnerable to Tina, so she has to deny that fact not only to Helena but to herself as well. She lost her trust in Tina and her actions and before that trust is not re-established, she will not allow herself to let Tina back into her life. Also was very impressed by your AN and how you explained the character development in your story, its perfectly comprehensible for me. Thank you very much for yet another great chapter.
I love the depth to your story and I agree with you that the characters here need to grow and mature. Thank you for allowing them to do that in your story. We didn’t get to see this happen in the show. Keep up the good work!
i think that’s what Bette needs right now: a friend who can see both sides of the picture without taking sides…i hope Helena is right in every aspect