A/N: I'd like to point out that my understanding on Catholicism is minimal and so was my research. I thank the internet and frakkingblerg for all the help with this.

Thanks HepburnJunkie22.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

It's All Very Catholic

Brenda sat at the table, fingers clinking against the glass, glasses perched on the bridge of her nose, and a stack of papers in front of her. She was finally cutting that last string that connected her to Fritz and it felt great. She just wished there wasn't so much to look over. At least she had Sharon helping her; that, she was thankful for.

Sharon put the steaming cup of coffee on the table; the mug clicked with the glass and made Brenda look up with a tired smile on her broad mouth. Sharon leaned down and kissed her temple and moved Brenda's hair off her shoulders. Brenda leaned back to rest her head against Sharon's stomach, sighing softly as Sharon's fingers slowly raked through her hair. She reached for her mug and brought it to her mouth, blowing it slowly before she took a slow sip from it.

"How did you get through all of this after your marriage?" Brenda mumbled into her coffee.

Sharon stopped running her fingers through Brenda's hair and looked down at her for a long moment, not saying anything as Brenda drank from her mug and waited for her to say something. Sharon started running her fingers through the slightly tangled blonde hair again and licked her lips. "Rich and I, well, we never got a divorce."

Brenda nearly spat her coffee out of her mouth. "What?" The question was one of shock. She and Sharon had only been dating for a month, but surely a husband was something she should know about. It's not like she was in any position to judge since she was still working on her divorce. "How are you still married? I mean... What?"

Sharon sighed and moved away, sitting down at the table with the other woman. "We decided not to get a divorce, but we've been separated for nearly twenty years now."

"If you're going to be separated, then why not just get the divorce?" Brenda asked as she took off her glasses and then rubbed the bridge of her nose. More times than not, Sharon would say things that simply confused and shocked her. There were still many things she didn't know about the woman, which was not something she liked; Brenda hated going into things, especially relationships, without knowing all the information that she considered important.

Sharon hated these conversations about her marriage. It was always much easier to brush it off and go on with her day when it came up. "Well," she shrugged lightly. "Because... I guess it's because-" Sharon sighed and rubbed at her temple. "It's all... It's all very... Catholic." Brenda raised an eyebrow and Sharon knew she wasn't going to be able to just brush this off with Brenda. "I come from a very religious family," she started and Brenda nodded as she drank from her mug. "Initially when I told my mother that I wanted to divorce Richard, she dismissed the idea completely."

Brenda nodded her head.

Sharon took a deep breath and ran her fingers through her hair. "We tried counseling with the priest for a while we thought it was working. We stayed together for another year before everything fell apart again."

Brenda put her mug down and looked at the divorce papers in front of her. Her situation was different from Sharon's. She knew Sharon and her husband had a rocky marriage; she had told her about his gambling and drinking problem. Richard also had anger issues. Fritz and her just didn't work, that's all it was between them. They reached a point where they realized they were together because they were used to the idea of being together. She couldn't compare her marriage to Sharon's.

"If I were to go through with the divorce like I wanted, a lot would have had to change. I wouldn't have been able to stay connected to my faith. I would have lost the connection to the people I'd grown up with." Sharon looked up at Brenda. "I would have had to leave my church, the one I spent my entire life in," she explained. "My parents didn't understand. My mother-" Sharon shook her head.

"I get it," Brenda said. They didn't need to speak about this. Sure, she was surprised to find out Sharon was still married, but she didn't think they really needed to discuss it. "We don't need to worry about this," she added and brought her mug to her mouth.

Sharon crossed her legs and pursed her lips for a moment before she looked up at Brenda. "I would've told you, you know," she told her. "I wasn't hiding that I'm married. I just don't look at it that way."

Brenda smiled and hummed. "I know."

"I'm not nearly as religious as my parents. I never looked at divorce and marriage the same way they did. Sometimes I still think the only real reason the last few decades of my life happened the way they did was because of the kids. Richard may have been a horrible husband, but once he straightened up, he was a great father to the kids."

Brenda didn't know what to say. She looked at Sharon as the older woman pursed her lips again, looking towards the wall, but she couldn't think of any words to say. Brenda got up from her seat and sat on Sharon's lap, resting her head on her shoulder. She still couldn't understand why Sharon wouldn't just go through with the divorce, but she wasn't a religious person – unless you counted the times her parents made her go to church when she was back home. She kissed Sharon's cheek and sighed. None of this mattered, though. As long as Sharon understood that Brenda wasn't going anywhere, then Brenda was okay with everything.

The End.

I don't know if I covered it like you wanted me to or not.