The Christmas Gift

by Bette0Porter

Hello guys! I finally managed to complete this Xmas story. This is a kind of 'remake', inspired by the 90's movie 'Borrowed Hearts'. It's pretty cute. Some scenes are similar to the original ones, except for the ones of my own creation. p.s.: as always I wanted to let you know that english is not my native language; I apologize in advance. Merry Christmas y'all! Xoxo

The Christmas Gift

Borrowed 'Lez'

1
Chapter

Everyoneseems to be nicer at Christmas time…

There were only ten more days until Christmas. The candid and soft snow was slowly covering New York. Despite the climatic conditions, the long and large roads of the Big Apple were full of people. Women and men running back and forth, with bags full of presents in their hands. Cars and busses stuck in the traffic. New York had always been a city full of life and movement and during this period of the year the chaos was multiplied.

The malls filled with latecomer parents that due to their working life hadn't been able to buy presents for their children earlier and it - every now and then - always ended up with some sort of fight between two or more of them. "Hey! Drop it, that's mine" they would say; fortunately the security always managed to put out the fire.

Christmas days in Manhattan were a bustle of people and Tina Kennard was one of them. Except for the fact that she was one of the employees at the mall and she was going back and forth to provide customers the items they wanted to buy.
"Thanks for choosing us, Merry Christmas."

This sentence was starting to cause her nausea. They were the only words that come out of her mouth, at the moment. She was too busy she didn't even have the time to talk to someone. Really talk to someone. She was starting to feel lonely. You're probably asking if she had some friends… Friends? Ha, she didn't have the time to look at herself in the mirror, let alone being able to make some friends. She, sometimes, spent the time hanging out with some of her colleagues but it was nothing particular, they were not so close. Family? Her parents were dead. Her sister and she hadn't talk to each other, like... in a life time. Husband? She had one. He left her for that bitch: his assistant. He was a very powerful lawyer. She hadn't hear from him since then. Well, maybe it was a positive thing... They didn't get along, actually. The only thing left was the most important in her life. Her little angel: Angelica. Yes, she was an angel by name and by fact. The only thing that bothered her was the fact that when people looked at them, they automatically asked her if she was adopted. Her ex-husband was African American. And since no one had seen her with him the logical conclusion - in their opinion - was that she adopted her. Well, fuck that, it wasn't a big deal. What that mattered was the fact that she knew she belonged to her. She was beautiful. She had this amazing mocha skin, curly black hair and two black holes as eyes. She was her life. She was an eight-years-old girl and she was really smart. She was so proud of her.

Finally, her turn at the mall came to an end. She was exhausted and she couldn't wait to go back home and cuddle with her baby girl. She started the engine and quickly made her way to her little apartment. She lived in a little condo, situated on the corner of Madison Ave and 65th street, in Manhattan. It was the only thing she could afford at the moment. She would've liked to give her daughter the world, but right now, it wasn't possible. Sometimes the kid noticed when she was feeling down, and she always tried to make her mother feel better. She never asked her to buy her something. Kids of today are too spoiled and pretentious. Her little one was not like that. "Mommy, it's okay. Don't worry. What that matters is the fact that we are here, together". She would say, every time the mother said she was sorry she couldn't be much as a mother and she couldn't - unlike other parents - buy her the popular toy of the current year.
"I'm home!" she yelled, opening the door.
"Mom!" she ran forward her and hugged her.
"How's your day been, boo?"
"It's been okay, Maggie and I played chess. I won!"
"Did you? My little girl, you're so smart"
"She really is!" Maggie said smiling and approaching her.

Maggie was a cute old woman, she lived next door. Sometimes she asked her the favor to babysit Angie, since she couldn't afford a real babysitter. She was always happy to do it. This woman was like a mother to her, and Tina was like a daughter to her. She really loved each other. This was the only closest person in her life. She saw her in the worst days of her life after the divorce and she'd always been there for her. Comforting her.
"Hi, Maggie. Thanks so much for looking after Angie, I know I've been asking for help too often, lately, but the mall at Christmas time, in New York, is a nightmare"
"Oh, don't worry Tina, you know I love this little angel and I am happy to help. I have made some lasagna, it's still warm. Please honey, eat and then go to bed. I can see by looking into your eyes that you're very tired and you need some good rest."
"God, thank you Maggie, I don't know what I would do without you" she hugged her.

And that's it. This was her typical day. Going to work, coming back home, having dinner with her daughter and as you may see, sometimes she got the privilege to enjoy some of Maggie's tasty dishes. It was not too much, but that was her life. And she loved it.

2
Chapter

…Well, maybe not everyone is nicer at Christmas time

Another day was starting and the blonde was on her way to the mall. She would've liked to spend the day at home with her daughter but the bills did not pay by themselves. It was a busy day, as always. And today, the director was visiting the center. She'd never been able to see her. Since she'd been working there for a short time. She just knew her name: Bette Porter. She heard a lot of things about her. Several of them weren't really good. People usually said she was a fucking bitch - that's how they called her that morning. But she would've preferred to wait and see it with her own eyes. She didn't like to judge without first learning the truth about someone. The only thing she knew, was that she was the director and owner of a large number of centers in the USA, the Maxx Shopping Centers chain. This one she worked at, was one of the smallest; it was huge, so you can imagine how big the others were.
"Hi, Tina" Dana greeted her. She was the closest of her colleagues. They, usually, shared a cup of coffee and talk. They were not as close as best friends are, but it was okay.
"Morning, Dana! So, today is the day, huh?"
"Yes! The vixen is going to come here."
She had to laugh at that comment, "Is she really that bad?"
She didn't reply, she just made a face that says 'You have no idea' and walked away. She snorted and wore her saleswoman uniform she brought with her in her bag. She was ready for another day full of receipts, gift cards, wrapping paper and tours around the shelves - God, have mercy!

The traffic that morning was unbearable. The only things you could hear were the horns and people yelling and cursing. Someone once said: people are nicer at Christmas time. Well, it's a little too difficult believing that when you are stuck in the traffic in NY. Especially when you are one of the richest and most self-centered persons in the United States.
"Jesus Christ, I'm going to be late! That's fucking ridiculous. I hate Christmas. What the hell is good about this stupid festivity?" the brunette murmured to no one. Sitting in the back of her limo.
Another honk, suddenly made her jump off her sit. "Shit! And that's only the beginning of the day"
It was 10 a.m. She only woke up one hour before. Ate her abundant breakfast - cooked by her personal cook - and then left, without bothering to salute anyone or clean up the table. It's awful, isn't it?

Bette Porter, just like someone said, she was a fucking bitch, who didn't bothered to be concerned about the other. She wasn't able to see what was right in front of her. A woman pretty wrapped in her own world; a lonely and dark world, you would say. However, the description people always tried to give about her, wasn't really exact. Despite the fact that she really was a self-centered, somehow bitch, woman, she also was an intelligent and ambitious one. A high-powered businesswoman. Who inherited the chain of shopping centers from Melvin Porter her, now dead, father. She knew what she was doing and she always managed to make people understand her own convictions. There were no chances she was going to surrender when it came to win a discussion. Any type of discussion. Even the most insignificant one: Why the sky is blue and not red, for example. In addition to that, she was a workaholic but she never lost the chance to take some time off to enjoy the company of beautiful. No matter what, she always had at least two of them by her side. Just meaningless relationships - usually night stands - but to her it was okay that way.

When the limousine stopped, the woman waited for the driver to open the door and exited the vehicle. She found herself in front of the center, at the doorway. She inhaled a large amount of air and entered the building; despite the fact that she loved her job and being surrounded by people, being there, among those shelves, salesgirls, and clients was like living hell. No matter what, every time she had been there something happened. She couldn't forget when, a few years before, a kid ran into her and made her slam against a huge mountain of tins of paint, making it fall down. The consequences are obvious: the woman immediately found herself covered with paint. Her, once black suite, was now multicolored and you can imagine the fear on the staff's faces when they saw Bette's. She was practically fighting with the urge to strangle the kid's parents, whom were now in front of her, for not teaching their son to behave in public places; God knows how she managed not to do that. But this is just one of the billions things happened during the years, and she couldn't help but fear that something was going to happen today as well. Let's call it a tradition, by then.

The mall was crowded, more than ever and the brunette could feel a sense of claustrophobia from being surrounded by men and women running back and forth, competing for being able to earn the perfect gift to give to their friends, or member of family.

"Bah! What a worthless thing. What a waste of money and time" she murmured to herself.

"Hello, Miss Porter!" a blonde woman yelled, running toward her.

"Alice" the brunette rolled her eyes at her, "Hi"

Alice was a friend of her; she met her in college. Furthermore, she was her business partner. They had been friends since they started their studies and Bette didn't trust anyone but her. Actually, that wasn't a vast number of choices, since she wasn't a very 'friendly' person, and the only closest friend was Alice. It may sounds strange, actually, given the divergences in their personalities. One was a happy, lovely and sometime too nosey woman; the other one was a serious, stubborn and always so secretive one. But still, they were very good friends, and they loved each other, even though Bette didn't show it.

"Oh, wow. That's so nice to see how happy you are to see me" she said, sarcastically.

"Come on, you know how I hate these things"

"Yeh, yeh, I know" the woman uttered, reaching the brunette's side. She started walking with her. "So, what brings you here?"

"It's just a routine check-up. You know, wishing a 'Merry Christmas' to the employees and blah-blah all that bullshit" she said, still walking through the shelves. Looking around. "I can't believe how people immerse themselves into this foolishness. Christmas, what a waste of money!"

"Oh, come on, girl! That's not only about that"

"Don't give me that 'it's about people getting together' bullshit"

"Why? Well, it's true. I mean, it's cute when people spend the Christmas Eve together, having a good time. Exchange presents, in the shade of a giant Christmas tree, warmed by the love they feel for each other"

"The only thing that can warm you in this period of the year is a huge glass of Scotch!" the woman interjected. "Oh, and maybe lighting the fire may be a good thing as well"

"Are you talking about chimneys or something else?" the blonde gave her a playful look, noticing the slight innuendo.

The brunette just smirked.

"You are incorrigible!" the blonde shook her head and chuckled.

3
Chapter

When two paths cross. Or better… crash

Tina was busy, trying to arrange the merchandise on the shelves. Everything was placed with cure, following a precise order. She loved doing those kind of things. Her attention to beauty was omnipresent, even in the simplest of things. Her daughter was always fascinated by the way her mother could, for example, turn an old lamp into a piece of modern art. Her deepest dream was to become a painter. That was her childhood dream, but she had to renounce it, since she divorced Marcus and had Angelica to care about.

The woman started whistling, loosing herself into a cute Christmas melody, and almost forgot she was at her workplace. She climbed a small ladder and started to fill up the highest section of the shelves. Holding a giant white bear shaped plush, she lost her balance and fell down. Right at that moment, Alice and Bette Porter were walking across the toys department and, in a twinkling of an eye, the blonde woman fell right on top of the brunette. Making a loud 'thud', both women found themselves awkwardly holding each other. With Bette laying with her back on the floor and Tina covering her whole body, and the giant plush above their heads.
"Jesus Christ!" Bette yelled. Still holding the blonde woman, she couldn't still realize what just happened.

"Oh God, I'm sorry" Tina started to talk, still laying on top of her "I fell down and, well, I didn't know you— God, I am so sorry" stammered.

"Yeah," the brunette murmured, rolling her eyes, "Would you please?" letting her know they were still on the floor. Both of them stood up and Bette started to cleanse her beautiful and – expensive – suit. "Goddamit! My black suit just became… white! Do people know they need to clean this place? God, the floor is covered with dust"

"Well, actually we do that, but you know, as soon as people come in, the floor gets pretty dirty" Tina explained. Still recovering from the fall. "Are you okay, anyway?"

"Yeah, well, despite the fact that a clumsy woman dashed on me, I am pretty fine yes"

"Excuse me?" the saleswoman was flabbergasted. 'Who did she think she was to call her clumsy?'

"What?" she asked, nonchalantly.

"You just referred to me as a 'clumsy woman'. Well beside the fact that you don't know me and you (pointing at Bette) don't have the right to call me that, this (pointing to herself) woman is doing her job and sometimes, accidents happen!" she snapped. Her hair messed up.

"You should do something with that hair, you have very rebel locks" avoiding Tina's outburst. Well actually, she didn't hear anything she said, at all.

"You—" the younger woman was starting to answer back but one of her colleagues, who happened to be just passing, saluted the woman in front of her, "Hello, Miss Porter", and taken aback she closed her mouth. Her eyes wide open.

"Oh" that's the only thing she managed to say.

"You were saying?" Bette said, lifting an eyebrow.

The nerve that woman had was unbearable, and she was almost going to reply at the provocation but then decided she'd better avoid to snap at her own boss. She just uttered a polite, but cold, 'Nothing, I'd better get back to work', giving her a stern look.

"Good idea, we don't pay people for doing nothing" the brunette added.

Without giving her the time to reply, she walked away. Leaving behind a stunned and furious Tina.

"What a fucking bitch!" she murmured.

"I understand you just met our boss" the other woman said.

"I'd rather met a serial killer" she admitted as she resumed her work.

Walking down the main hall, Bette and Alice started to talk about business and the new financier who was going to finance the malls chain. Bette was listened to her attentively and almost faint from happiness when Alice said the woman's name.

"Peggy Peabody? You mean, that Peggy Peabody?" a shocked and amused Bette said.

"The one and only!" Alice said with a twinkle in her eyes. Peggy was the richest woman in the United States, and well, a help from her was a kind of bless. A Godsend, in simple terms. Expecially since the financial status of the malls chain, wasn't that good, at the moment.

"God, Alice! That's great, how did you convince her to finance us?"

"Well, let's say I convinced her that you are a very-very lovely woman and…" she started saying but the stopped and looked at her, trying to continue her sentence, but something was restraining her from finishing it.

"And?" a now quasi-scared Bette asked.

"And wife and mother" a super-scared Alice replied, shutting her eyes closed, fearing Bette's reaction.

"WHAT?!" well, at least she didn't kill her… yet.

"Yes, well, she… she started talking about her daughter and her grandchildren. And she said that her daughter wasn't that good when it comes to family and things like that, she's a workaholic, money lover… Let's say she's just like… you. BUT, seeing that Mrs. Peabody isn't really amused by that kind of behavior, I decided that a little white lie couldn't kill someone. So, I started to tell her how wonderful you are with your child and wife and how much you love to spend the time with them…"

"Well, as long as I'm not going to demonstrate her that, it may had been a good idea, yeah…" she stopped and gazed at her friend, "Why do I sense that there is something else?"

"Yeah, well, um" Alice stammered, "It was a good idea, until she proposed to come visit you, and your family, and spend Christmas Holidays here, with all of you"

"I'm going to kill you!"

"Okay, you will kill me later… I just need to tell you that there is one more little thing"

"What else? You told her something else about my life I didn't know?"

"Nope, she wants to move this mall, the one in Manhattan, to somewhere else. She said, since there are plenty of them here, it's not good for the business. That's why we're losing customers. Concurrency is a bitch, and she thought that moving the mall may be a good idea. Especially if we move it to a place where there aren't plenty of them"

"But, that means that a lot of employees, here, will lose their jobs"

"Since when do you care about others?"

"Alice, I'm not a monster!"

"Let's see if this will make you change your mind" Alice got closer, she brought her mouth to Bette's ear and whispered something to her.

"That much?!" she said shocked, referring to the amount of money Peggy was willing to give.

"That much" the blonde fierily smiled.

4
Chapter

Anything for business

The next day was as busy as always, and something else was increasing the stress among the employees. Apparently, Bette Porter was going to move the mall and it will cost most of them their jobs. The word spread quickly between the workers, and Tina was one of them.

"What the hell? Are you serious?" an incredulous Tina said.

"Apparently that's the truth" Dana replied. She sighed, "What are we going to do?"

"That's unfair. They can't do that!"

"I wish I could rip that bitch head's off"

"I would help you, happily" Tina added, "God, I can't lose the job; I have a daughter. Fuck!"

"I know honey, some people really don't know what it means to have someone to care about"

"They only care about themselves, such hypocrites"

Tina decided to leave work earlier, after learning the news she was too upset to work and she was worried she was going to do something wrong and mess things up; she almost sold a very rare porcelain doll, at 4$ instead of 400$. And this talks for itself. She got back home to her wonderful baby girl and decided to spend the rest of the day with her. Going out, just mother and daughter. Enjoying the company of one another. But the blonde woman's mind was still taken by the news learnt earlier that morning, and Angelica knew, by seeing at the look on her mother's face that she was struggling with something.

"Mommy are you okay?" the little girl asked concerned.

"Yes, baby. It just had been a rough day at work" she smiled, "Don't worry"

"Oh look! There's a puppy" the kid started to follow the little dog and almost forgot about her mother.

In the meantime, at the other side of the road, in a large and Victorian house, there were Bette and her friend Alice trying to build up a plan. The brunette needed a family. A wife and a child, as soon as possible, since Peggy Peabody was going to be in town in two days. And the fact is, you can't find things like that in stores… even if you are one of the richest woman in the US. That's not something you gain overnight.

"This is absurd, Alice! Please, remind me why I am your friend?"

"Because I am cool, and funny, and…"

"And an idiot!"

"Well, thanks" the blonde commented.

"How are we supposed to make it? She won't fall for that, I am absolutely sure, she won't! I can't find a woman and pretend her to be my wife, let alone convince a child, and make them act like they are my family. This is fucking ridiculous" the brunette started pacing.

"Oh come on, Bette! You can't miss this occasion! We are talking about a lot of money. You know what it means. It means building bigger malls; bigger malls mean more clients; more clients mean more money"

"Damn it!" the brunette approached the front door. "Listen, I need to go out and get some fresh air. I will be right back and will talk about that" she said, putting her coat on.

The child kept chasing the little dog, and her mother followed her, "Angie! Angie stop!" she called for her, breathless. She kept running, until both of them found themselves in front of an augustly house. That was amazing. It was expensive even only dreaming about it, let alone being able to live in one of those. The door opened and the doggie quickly made its way inside the house. Angelica, without thinking twice entered the place, making the person who opened the door fall on the floor.

"Angelica!" Tina called again, entering the house as well. "Angelica, what—" she stopped at the sight of what was happening right before her eyes. Laying on the floor, again, was Bette Porter.

"What the hell is happening these days, people keep crashing against me!" the brunette stood up and lifted her eyes and found herself staring at the blonde. "You? Don't tell me you did this, again"

"Well, actually it has been this little girl" Alice interrupted. With her hands on the child's shoulders. Angelica was holding the doggie.

"He was scared and I needed to take care of him" the child coyly said.

"But you still entered a stranger's house, that's not a good thing, little girl!" Tina admonished.

"I am sorry, mommy" the girl looked down.

"Well, like mother like daughter" the brunette rolled her eyes.

"What?!" the blonde asked, clearly pissed off by the tone of Bette's voice.

"I mean, you two have something in common. Apparently you like to crash into people"

"It was an accident! It happens!" Tina hated the woman's arrogance. Then turned to her daughter "Come on Angie, let's go home", she said pulling her by her hand.

The two of them were going to make their way out of the house, when Alice whispered something to Bette. "What?! Are you kidding? That's a terrible idea, Alice"

Bette's loud voice made mother and daughter to turn around. The brunette turned her eyes to them, then back to Alice. "No way!"

"I'm sorry to insist, but YES!" Alice said, nodding and smirking.

"What's happening here?" Tina uttered, giving them a puzzled look.

"Ask her" Alice nudged her.

"Ouch, fuck" she whispered, "Um, would you two be my wife and daughter?"

The blonde stared at her, shocked, she lifted a brow "Are you drunk?"

"Bette, what the hell?" Alice said, "She meant, would you like to give us a hand and improvise a little 'family recital' for a week? It's a business thing and well, Bette needs a wife and a child - a daughter is perfect, and well we were wonder if you would—"

"No way!" she cut her off.

"She'll pay" Alice added, ignoring Bette's evil look. The brunette mouthed a 'what?' and she ignored it as well.

"I'm not a lesbian"

"You won't kiss her or do the nasty things with her, don't worry"

"ALICE!" Bette pinched her friend.

"Jeez! I was kidding" she said rubbing her sore arm, "Please, help us, it's important. I assure you it's just an 'appearance thing', you just have to act like a family when this person is with you guys. We'll pay you 10.000, you won't even need to go to work" Alice said at the same time. Ignoring, again, Bette's 'what?!'

"So all we have to do is to pretend to be your family?" the both of them nodded yes, then continued, chuckling. "You really think you can pull us off?"

"Oh, absolutely" Alice replied.

"13.000" the blonde smirked. Some money could be useful, after all.

"Out of the question!" Bette snapped.

Tina gave them a sympathetic look, clearly mocking them "I wish you luck" and turned around to leave the house.

"No, wait! Okay" Alice quickly said, "Deal" the brunette gave her another 'what?!' look, but her friend totally ignored her.

"Perfect" Tina turned to face them.

"I now pronounce you wife and wife" Alice said proudly.

Bette just left the room and huffed.

5
Chapter

Porter + Kennard= Family Porter-Kennard

They spent the whole evening and night studying their roles, to make sure the little recital would appear as real as possible. They started with their date of birth, then continued to learn about every detail of each other's lives. The more they knew about one another, the more real the thing would look. Bette learnt about Angelica's and Tina's hobbies, gifts and flaws. And so Angie and Tina did about Bette's. They did the same thing with the servitude just to make sure everyone knew just one version of the 'story', without spill something and ruin the plan. Everything was going on smoothly, despite the fact that sometimes Bette would lose her patience, and getting up from the couch she would say: 'I am tired of this bullshit'. But, fortunately Alice had always been able to convince her to go on and that everything would be over soon.

"Alright, so, where were we?" Alice said.

"We were talking about Angie's birth" Tina replied.

"Oh, right. Um, this one is difficult…" Alice said, tapping her chin with her fingertips.

"What if we say that we decided to use an African-American donor, that way she would looked like our child and that I am the birth mother?" Tina suggested.

"Great! Bette, your wife is a genius!" Alice said, making the brunette to roll her eyes. "What else do we need to do?"

"I think that's all" Tina added. "Oh, wait. Where will we sleep?"

"Angelica will have her own room. And you, um, you should sleep in the main bedroom with Bette"

"What?!" both women screamed.

"No way! I'm not sleeping with her" Tina protested.

"Me neither" the brunette nodded.

"I said you two should sleep in the main bedroom, I didn't say 'on the same bed'. You can't sleep in separate rooms. We can't risk Peggy to see you two entering two different rooms. I mean, Tina can sleep on the bed and Bette would sleep on the floor"

"And why do I have to be the one who's sleeping on the floor?"

"Because you are a gentle woman" Alice smirked; Tina snorted.

"What?" Bette asked Tina, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh nothing" the blonde kept giggling.

"Fine, you will sleep on the bed"

"Great! Now, since everything is ready, why don't we go and see Angelica's room?"

"Yes, yes, yes! Mommy, can I? Please?" Angelica asked excited.

After going upstairs, the four of them crossed the long hall until they got to what it was going to be Angelica's room. Tina and the kid gasped at the view in front of them.

"Oh my God, I love it!" Angelica yelled. "I never had a room this big"

"It's huge" Tina added, "But, um"

"But?" Bette and Alice asked.

"Well, it doesn't look like an 8-years-old's room. I mean, it's a little too… dull. There are no toys; no posters; no stuffed animals. And other things like that"

"Bette, again, your wife is a genius!"

"Alice, stop it!" the brunette snapped.

"Come on, we have to get used to it. I am just exercising"

With Tina's help, the servants quickly managed to turn the old and - as the blonde said 'dull room -, into a beautiful and colorful one. There were now lots of cute pictures on the walls and stuffed animals all around. On the right there was a beautiful dolls house and a big bed placed right in the middle. Angelica was excited to be able to have a room like that for herself. And Tina couldn't help but feel a warmth crossing her body as she saw her baby so happy; sadly it wasn't going to last long, since that wasn't their real life. But they were going to enjoy every bit of it. Finally everything looked perfect, but, "Oh my God!" Tina cried out, looking around the house.

Bette and Alice, surprised by Tina's sudden burst: "What?!"

"Um, there aren't any pictures of us, together!"

"Jesus, she's right! You are supposed to be a family… Families have plenty of pictures together!" Alice confirmed. They totally needed to figure out how to fix that little hiccup.

Fortunately Alice had the brilliant idea of contacting one of her friends, who was a very talented graphic designer. He helped them manipulating some pictures they quickly made together, in a photographic studio. Alice brought lots of different clothes, so they could change every time they had to take another picture. They managed to simulate some vacancies such as a visit to the coliseum whilst in Rome, or a weekend at Bahamas and so on; the background was green, that way the graphic designer could be able to replace it with a fake one.

"Jesus Christ! I almost froze taking those pictures. Was it necessary to simulate a day at the beach? It's December for God's sake, we are not supposed to wear those tiny bikinis at this time of the year" Bette protested. All of them were finally making their way back to the house.

"Oh come on, it's over now. You can go back wearing your expensive jackets" Alice joked.

"That was so funny!" Angelica added. "I've never had such a great time, in my entire life"

"See, Bette? That's the right spirit!" Alice said, patting the kid's head.

After a long and busy day, Tina was enjoying the ride to the house and couldn't help but chuckle; Alice was so different she couldn't believe she was her boss' best friend. Well, actually she couldn't believe her boss could have a best friend at all.

The fatal day was getting closer; Peggy Peabody was going to arrive the next afternoon and the women were doing their best to try to get everything ready and perfect for her arrival. Bette and Alice were starting to think about some plans to make the business go on smoothly; hopefully Peggy was going to accept their proposal.

"I suggest you not to talk about this with Tina, you know, she's one of the employees and well, she may not be happy to help you making people to lose their jobs" Alice suggested.

"Yeah, yeah, you're right" Bette said, huffing and puffing. The woman was clearly nervous, "God this is going to be so fucked up, I am sure about that!"

"No, it's not. You'll see everything will end just greatly"

"I really hope so" she said absentmindedly, "Um, so, you were saying?"

"Oh yeah, I was thinking about telling her about the places in which we should start building other centers. If we let her be at the helm maybe she will be happier to help us"

"Uh-uh, right. And what about the financing? Are you sure the amount is exact? That's a lot of money"

"I am, my friend. She's been crystal clear when she told me about it"

In the meantime Tina and Angelica spent the last day in their apartment since the blonde woman had something to care about. They spoke about the 'little-recital' with Maggie and the old woman couldn't help but feel a little concerned about the whole story, but didn't push things further. She decided to support Tina and just gave her some advice.

"Honey, are you sure this is a good thing?" Maggie asked.

"Yeah, I mean it won't kill anyone, right? It's just a little white lie and plus they're going to pay me. I usually am that kind of woman that give money such credit, but my boss is a real a-s-s and well, I want to make her pay - literally -" she smirked.

The old woman had to chuckle at that. She loved Tina's enthusiasm, she always put her whole self in anything she was going to do. But, sometimes, being too much impulsive could carry a lot of troubles. "Alright, just be careful, okay?"

"I will, I promise!" Tina smiled and hugged her dear friend.

"Mommy" Angie entered the kitchen.

"What baby?"

"Um, I was thinking… I mean, Mrs. Porter told us that, that woman was going to be with us during the whole Christmas holidays and well, I noticed that her house looks like everything but Christmas-proof"

"Sweetie, you're completely right. I didn't think about that. Let's go to her house and let's see what we can do, shall we?" the mother suggested. She couldn't believe how smart her daughter was.

"Great! I love that house. God how I wish we could live there permanently" she said jumping up and down.

"Come on kiddo, let's go!" she said giggling, she loved her little girl's excitement.

6
Chapter

We're glad to welcome you to the Porter-Kennard's mansion

Following Angelica suggestion, the blonde decided to talk to Alice about the house and the fact that it felt cold and empty despite the expensive and antique furniture. It was beautiful, there was no doubt about that. But it didn't feel like home. Since it was Christmas time, it even felt colder without any kind of thing that had a little bit of Christmas in it. Bette wasn't at the house but it wasn't a big deal. She was going to act like a real wife and surprise the other one. Alright, Kennard. You can do this.

Alice, as always allowed her to do anything she thought was good for the house and the 'recital' they were going to accomplish together. She trusted Tina and knew that she was going to do nothing that could possibly ruin their plan. So she just gave her carte blanche and let her deal with it alone. She left the house so Tina and her daughter were alone; well, the servants were there too. And thank God they were there, since Tina needed someone to go buy lot of Christmas decorations and - most important thing - a Christmas tree.

Within three hours Tina managed to decorate the whole house and, at last, turned it into a real home. She started changing some furniture position, then continued with the decorations; there were, now, garlands, angels, hollies and lights all over the place. Toys and stuffed animals all over the place, just to show the fact that a kid was leaving there. And in the middle of the living room there it was, a giant and beautiful tree. It was adorned with multicolored balls and candy canes. On the top you could see a beautiful and bright star. Everything looked perfect. Christmas finally made its way into Bette Porter's house as well. Tina was awkwardly feeling happy to make this for someone, she didn't recall the last time she put her whole self into something like that. It felt good. At least, until Bette entered the house.

"What the fuck happened here?!" she yelled as she opened the door.

Alice was right behind her, "Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you that your wife was going to make you house look like a real one, since yours looked like a kind of museum of ancient art, you know"

The only thing Bette could do was to stare at her, stunned. "You know I hate Christmas!"

"But we're having a guest and she is supposed to spend Christmas holidays here, and we don't want to make her think that we're not a happy and sweet family that love to spread the warmth of Christmas, do we, my dear wife?" Tina said, smirking, as she turned the corner to approach them.

"Wha— wait, you lady, you can't talk to me like that, I am your boss" the brunette said, clearly taken aback.

"A boss who needs me to be able to fix a little mess I don't even care what is about, as long as I'm going to be paid" Tina smirked, again. She was enjoying to tease her and she was going to take advantage of the situation, since she knew Bette needed her. "So, my wife, I would appreciate you showing me some kind of estimation for what I'm doing for you"

"I…" she wanted to respond but she just didn't know what to say, her jaw just dropped "I'm going to take a hot bath" and went upstairs.

"You're awesome, this is the first time I saw Bette left speechless by someone" Alice commented, turning to face Tina and laughing out loud. Tina couldn't help but let her smirk get even brighter.

This was going to be fun.

The next day was finally arrived. Tina and Angelica were getting ready for leaving their little apartment and spending the holidays at Bette's huge house. The kid was excited beyond belief; the thought of spending Christmas in a real house was making her happier than ever. Tina, on the other hand, was glad her little one was enjoying herself. She was starting to feel good about the whole thing; though this was a pretty unusual thing, this was also a positive thing since her daughter was on cloud nine. The two of them got at the house a little after lunch time and Alice and Bette were there ready to welcome them to their 'new-temporary-home'. Tina was carrying two huge bags, when Alice stopped her, "Wait, wait, wait, what's that?"

"Um, this is our stuff, you know, clothes, belongings…" the blonde explained.

"Oh, you don't need that. I bought you and Angelica new clothes. They are in your rooms"

"You what?!" Bette interrupted.

"Yeah, well, let's call it a way to say 'thank you' to your lovely wife, for giving this place some brightness"

The brunette rolled her eyes, "I'll end up on the street"

"God, Alice you didn't have to—" Tina started to say.

"Exactly" Bette cut her off. Alice gave her a dirty look and nudged her in the ribs. "Ouch!"

"But I really appreciate it, we're surely going to enjoy them" Tina added, smirking. She was keep the little teasing going.

"Oh and just one more thing" Alice took two little boxes from her purse, "I bought these"

Tina was stunned, those were two amazing rings, and they were supposed to be their wedding rings. "Oh my God, they are beautiful" the blonde immediately put one of them on and stared at it, blinking twice making sure she wasn't dreaming.

"Awesome, so let's go decide what to wear, shall we?" Alice proposed.

Mother and daughter followed the brunette's friend, making small talk and giggling, leaving an upset and annoyed Bette behind "This is the beginning of a tragedy" she said to herself, shaking her head.

After showing Tina and Angelica their new stuff, Alice went back to the living room and let them get ready for Peggy's arrival. Bette was still pissed off and didn't bother to talk with her or do anything to keep herself busy, while Alice kept talking about random things, however Bette didn't listen to anything she was saying. Alice was starting to talk about something about their work when suddenly Tina and Angelica made her way downstairs. The chatterbox immediately stopped talking and blinked twice, making sure she wasn't having some kind of heavenly vision. She tapped Bette's shoulder, making her look up and Bette's jaw dropped; she was left speechless, again, but this time it was because she was looking at the most beautiful woman in the world.

"Oh my God" Alice uttered.

Bette just gulped and kept staring at her, following every movement of the blonde. Her eyes didn't leave her, but snapped out from the trance as soon as the blonde reached the last step and said: "Cat got your tongues?"

"Uh, um, ah" Bette mumbled.

Alice nudged her again, "Ouch! For Christ's sake, Alice, you're going to dislocate my ribs if you don't stop doing that!"

"Stop acting like an idiot, then, and go to your wife" Alice retorted.

Bette slowly stood up and approached 'her family'. She couldn't believe how beautiful and different Tina looked. She had seen her wearing casual clothes, with her hair messed up and without any make-up; actually she already noticed she was a beautiful woman, but right now, she was absolutely gorgeous. She was wearing a red knee leg spaghetti strap dress, which showed a beautiful needlework right below the part that covered her cleavage; it was making her look even sexier. Bette couldn't stop staring at her, but somehow managed to compose herself and tried to act like anything was happening "You look nice". That poor statement made Alice roll her eyes and, strangely, made Tina feel a little annoyed. She didn't know why, but she wanted to impress her. Too bad it didn't seem to work - actually it did, and Bette knew that -. Tina was going to say something, when suddenly one of the servants, Kit, rushed into the living room announcing that Peggy Peabody was there.

"Oh my God, she's early!" Alice stood up from the couch as fast as she could.

"Jesus!" Bette murmured.

Tina almost panicked, but tried to calm down making some breathing exercises. Alright, Kennard. Breathe!

"Okay, everything's set. You know your roles, right?" Alice asked the three of them. They nodded, even if they weren't. Bette started to pray, hoping in some kind of miracle, even if she didn't believe in anything related to God and things like that. The 'family' put themselves right before the front door and waited for Peggy to enter the house. Tina and Bette side by side, with Angelica standing on the front, with Tina's hands on her shoulders. The mother squeezed them, trying to reassure her. The doorbell rang and the butler opened the door. Or all or nothing.

And there she was, Peggy Peabody in all her glory, "Oh, what a nice family we have here!"

7
Chapter

Let's play family together

Peggy Peabody was finally there and the little family seemed to have a good impression on her. The rich woman showed a bright smile as soon as she saw them, standing in front of her. Bette didn't seem to be able to utter a word, but Tina - thank God - started to introduce herself and her family.

"Welcome to our house, Mrs. Peabody. I'm Tina Kennard and, as you may already know, this is my dear wife" she pointed at the brunette "Bette Porter. We hope you'll enjoy your stay here with us"

"Oh, thank you dear, but please call me Peggy" the old woman approached her and kissed her on both the cheeks "And who's this little lady?" she said, handing her coat to one of the servants.

"I am Angelica Porter-Kennard. I'm pleased to meet you" the kid bowed.

"Darling, your daughter is such a little princess, you both did a very good job with her"

"Thanks Peggy, shall we go sit in the living room?" Tina offered. Bette just looked at them and enjoyed the little words-exchange between the three of them.

"That's a really good idea, my old legs are a little sore"

The group of women quickly made its way to the living room and Alice and Bette gave each other a curious glare, "God, she's good!" Alice whispered, talking about Tina. Bette just rolled her eyes. Peggy sat on the couch with Alice, Tina and Angelica, while Bette was sitting on the chair right in front of them. The brunette called one her housemaid, "Kit! May you come here, please?"

"Yes, ma'am?" the woman politely asked as she entered the room.

"We'd like some coffee"

"Sure ma'am" she replied, and quickly left.

Tina didn't like this give-orders-thing and she was clearly going to do something about that, but she would think about that later.

The first stage had been reached and Bette - despite some concerns - was starting to believe that they could easily fool Peggy and finally conclude the business deal. After a light small talk in the living room, the rich woman excused herself and made her way into her room, because she needed some rest; the flight had been too tiring for her. Taking advantage of the fact that she wasn't there, Tina decided to talk to Bette and Alice about some of the things she didn't like. "I don't want them to cook for us or doing anything for us, I'm capable of doing it myself"

"Why the hell do you think I hired them?" Bette replied.

"Hey, stop talking to me like that!" Tina answered back.

"Ladies!" Alice snapped, making them stop. "What?!" both of them asked still looking at each other.

"Please, calm down. Tina, can you explain why you're not happy about the idea of someone else cooking or doing stuff for you?"

"Yes," Tina exhaled, "I think it's not a fair thing to give orders to someone, it's degrading for them"

"But that's their job!" Bette said trying to show her point.

"But still, I find it unfair" Tina added.

"And I don't care what you think" the brunette said again.

"Jesus! You're such a piece of work!"

"Oh God, you two! Would you stop it?" Alice snapped again.

"Fine" Tina and Bette said, crossing their arms, glaring at one another.

They spent five minutes without saying anything; Alice couldn't believe her eyes and broke the silence "You two actually look like wife and wife" she chuckled, "And you're driving me insane. Now, I know they say: never interfere between wife and wife, but since you are not a real couple, I'm going to say something. Let's make a deal, or better, let's compromise. What if you help the servants? That way they won't lose their job but you won't exploit them" she suggested, talking to Tina.

"Yeah, okay" she replied, glaring at her wife and slowly left the living room, without taking her eyes off Bette's; still giving her the dirty look. The brunette, on the other hand, kept staring at her with a blank expression. Then slowly turned to face Alice, "This'd better work. That woman is going to make me lose my mind"

"But she's hot, you can't deny that" she smirked.

It was dinner time now and Tina spent the whole evening cooking dinner and almost doing the entire job, letting the chef - her name was Lara - doing just the minor things. She opted for making some lasagna and a light, but very delicious dessert. Thank God for Maggie teachings! She thought to herself. Spending lot of years with her old friend made her improve in that department and she was happy she was going to demonstrate it that night. The whole family was now sitting at the table with Peggy and Alice. The dinner went smoothly and it was dessert time.

"Oh, I have to say dinner was delicious" Peggy admitted with awe.

"My lovely wife cooked it" Bette said, trying to act as proud as she could.

"Well, you are a lucky woman, Bette" Tina couldn't help but smile widely at that statement.

"So, how long have you two been married?" the old woman suddenly asked.

"Ten" "Twelve" both Bette and Tina replied. Then an awkward silence fell above them. The couple glared at each other but Bette quickly fixed the upcoming mess, "Ha! Twelve, she's right. Twelve" she repeated, letting out a nervous laugh. "Sometime I just can't believe how fast time goes" she said, patting Tina's hand. Both of them looked at each other and Bette could have sworn she saw Tina blush lightly.

"So," Peggy said, continuing the conversation, "Tell me more about you two, how did you meet and fall in love?" she turned to look between Bette and Tina. Both of them, taken aback started to stammer.

"Um, ah, Tina is better than me at this, why don't you tell our story, darling?" Bette suggested.

"Oh, come on, baby. You're being modest" she laughed nervously, "She's the best at telling our story"

The two of them continued this exchange until Angelica finally decided to interrupt them, "An angel got them together!" she said, almost yelling. The adults stopped and looked at her, Bette and Tina chuckled. Then a silence fell above them. "So, an angel, right?" Peggy said, intrigued by the kid's response. "Tell me more"

"Um, well, one night mama B was working really hard. It was very late and she was so stressed. She totally needed a break. She was all alone and no one was there, even her assistant was home that night. Suddenly she heard a strange sound, it was like the sound wind chimes usually do. And someone told me that when you hear that sound, it means that an angel is right there, in the same room with you. Then someone opened the door of the office: it was my mama T. She wasn't supposed to be there. She was supposed to be in the building near mama B's work place but someone gave her the wrong address. And so they met. It had been love at first sight. Oh and that's why they named me Angelica, just to remember the day that angel brought them together"

"That's a very wonderful story, Miss Angelica. Did it really happened like that?" the rich woman said amused, turning to see Bette and Tina. Both women were totally mesmerized by Angelica's fantasy and were also totally grateful for her sharpness.

"Oh yeah, it is. That's what really happened. We always tell her our story when she goes to bed. She knows it by heart" Bette admitted, and let out a slight huff, trying to relax herself.

"And speaking of bed, I think it's time for you to say…" Tina started to say to her daughter.

"Goodnight!" Bette completed her sentence. "That's a good idea"

"Typical married couple" Alice commented chuckling, "Always completing each other's sentences"

"Come on, honey. Say goodnight to Mrs. Peabody and to mama B"

"Good night Mrs. Peabody" she smiled, then with just a little hesitation, she approached the brunette and gave her a little peck on the cheek, "Good night mom". Bette, slightly taken aback by the gesture, quickly recovered by the shock and replied, "Good night sweetie" then smiled. She almost couldn't believe she actually said that. After that, Angie took Tina's hand and together they headed to her bedroom.

The rest of the night went pretty smoothly, and after dinner everyone was ready to go to bed. Alice just before leaving the house, hugged Bette and said: "Those two are perfect, if she wasn't straight I would think about actually marry her". Bette, as usual, rolled her eyes "Shut up" she whispered and smirked. The couple and Peggy made their way upstairs. Bette, trying to make everything more real, put her arm around Tina's waist and the feeling of closeness was kind of right, but she decided to ignore it. Tina felt it too, but did the same. They wished Peggy a goodnight and quickly entered their bedroom, making sure that Peggy saw them entering the room together. As they went in, Bette didn't realize what she was doing until Tina broke the silence.

"Um, you can, um take your arm off my waist now"

"Oh, right, sorry!" Bette quickly pulled out. "So, you can have the bed, I'll sleep right here, on the floor"

"No" Tina quickly said.

"What?"

"It makes me uncomfortable knowing that someone I barely know is sleeping near the bed I'm sleeping in"

"And where am I supposed to sleep?" Bette raised an eyebrow.

"There?" Tina pointed to the right side of the room.

"The walk-in closet?"

"Yep, well, if you want, you can always sleep on the couch in the living room, my dear wife, and let Mrs. Peabody think we had a fight" the blonde smirked.

"Fine, that's fine" Bette made her way to the closet. Tina glared at her, following her with her own eyes. Suddenly she turned around and looking at Tina, "May I, at least, have my pillow?"

"Oh" Tina approached the bed and took a pillow "Here" she handed it to her wife.

"That's not my pillow" she took hers. "THIS is my pillow" she was acting annoyed, but Tina couldn't help but find it amusing and, mostly, pretty cute. She giggled to herself and made her way toward the bathroom. But as she was approaching it, Bette quickly ran toward the door, almost making the blonde lose her balance. "I'll go first!" she turned around and smirked. Tina just rolled her eyes, "Ugh! Whatever"

It was finally time to sleep. Tina was enjoying the warmth of the giant and soft duvet, whilst Bette was trying to win a struggle with the blanket, in the walk-in closet. She didn't seem to be able to cover her whole body with it. Every time she pulled it on her shoulders her feet were immediately exposed to the cold air. Tina could hear her cursing, and couldn't help but laugh. After Bette's millionth "Fuck!" the younger woman asked: "Is everything alright?" trying to suppress her giggles.

"Yeah, yeah" Bette quickly answered. "Are you comfortable in my bed?"

"Very!" she answered, teasing her. "Well, good night" then added.

"Yeah" the brunette sighed after emerging victorious from the struggle with the blanket. The blonde just smiled; a strange feeling was crossing her body. Maybe her bitchy boss wasn't that bad, but she still wanted to keep the little banter going. She wanted to teach her a little lesson.

8
Chapter

Playing family? Not my thing

The next morning, Bette woke up early and slowly made her way to the bathroom. Walking across the bedroom, she didn't noticed that the blonde who was supposed to be her wife wasn't in bed; actually she totally forgot she was there, in the same room. Opening the door the brunette found herself staring at two pairs of full and perky breasts, "Holy fuck!" her mouth fell open.

"Oh my God! Get out!" Tina quickly pushed her out from the bathroom. And slammed the door.

Bette, still shaken by what just happened, slowly approached the bed and sat down. Staring to nothing in particular she tried to shake the view off her brain. "Whoa, those were two nice tits" she thought to herself. "Oh fuck, stop it!" she then admonished herself. The woman spent a bunch of minutes talking to her own self, carrying on a debate between her brain - which didn't seem to stop thinking about what she had just seen - and her self-control. The flow of thoughts was soon interrupted by Tina exiting the bathroom.

The blonde looked at her and blushed slightly, "Um, uh, well, the bathroom is available now" then she rushed out of the room.

"Fuck" the brunette whispered, shaking her head and as soon as she entered the shower she thought she'd better had a cold shower; needless to say Tina had unconsciously fed her libido. "Oh my fucking God it's freezing!" she yelled.

Bette and Alice that morning were going to bring Peggy to the mall, just to show her how things work there and decide what to do with some of the stores (which one was going to be removed or replaced). The rich woman was pretty amazed by the size of it. She knew that this was going to be a good deal, for both Bette and her. Unlike her, the employees couldn't say the same thing, since most of them were going to lose their jobs.

"So, this is the mall, Peggy. What do you think? We were thinking about letting you make all the important decisions. We know you have a great business acumen" Alice asked.

"I think that's great. I'm pretty sure we're going to do great things together and I'm flattered you two are giving me such credit"

"Oh, you absolutely deserve it, Peggy. We are honored to ask you to be our partner" Alice said. She looked at Bette, waiting for her to say something more, but the brunette was pretty silent that morning. Actually she looked frozen. She just smiled and nodded, just before being caught off guard by a strong sneeze; fortunately she had been able to catch it in time with a tissue. "Shit" she murmured and sniffed.

"Oh poor thing, you seem to have caught a cold" Peggy patted her shoulder.

"What, the cute wife let you sleep out of the bed, last night?" Alice giggled.

The brunette didn't need to say a word, her look spoke loudly and it said: "Fuck you, Alice".

After spending the whole morning out, at the mall, the three of them made their way back at the house and they were soon welcomed by a nice smell; Tina was in the kitchen with some of the servants, cooking a very yummy lunch. "Oh, that wife of yours is amazing, dear" Peggy uttered. Bette couldn't help but think "Her body too" but quickly regained herself. She was pretty taken aback by the thoughts she was having.

The family and Peggy had lunch together, but something seemed to bother both Tina and Bette, and Peggy noticed it, "You two seem a little too silent, today"

"Um? Uh…" Bette stammered, looking at Tina. Both women blushed. "Well"

Alice couldn't help but snort, making the other three women look at her. Then Peggy added, "Oh, I see"

"W-what?" Tina asked curiously.

"You two are a married couple, and married couples do… well" she waved her hands while talking, trying to explain herself, without saying it with her own mouth, since there was a kid there with them. "You two look like you did it just that, last night. I heard some noises coming from your room. I can understand if you feel a little embarrassed by the fact that a stranger heard you. But that's not a big deal, really"

Bette chocked on her own wine and Tina almost spat it, but fortunately avoided the disaster. Alice, instead, burst out laughing and slammed her hand on the table. Angelica just stood quiet, not fully understanding what they were talking about, and decided not to bother to ask what it was. She just kept eating, enjoying her fettuccine.

After lunch, the brunette decided it was time to go back to her office trying to work on some of the changes Peggy and she decided to make to the mall. But Angelica drew her attention. She was going back and forth across the hall, driving a little scooter, "Oh God, no, no, no" she quickly approached the kid. "Look, this is a really big toy. And big toys break things"

"I'm not gonna break anything" the young girl said with assurance and quickly restarted the scooter, making one of the tires crush the brunette's foot, "Ouch!" she muttered and clenched her jaw. "Come on, Bette, you can do it. You just need to be a little patient, that's all." Then Tina entered the hall and approached her. "Where's Mrs. Peabody?"

"Oh, she's in the living room. You can keep her company while I'm in my office" she said and showed a nervous smile.

"Sure, Miss Porter"

"Okay" she turned around, then faced her again "Um, call me Bette"

Tina looked at her and smirked, then went past her and entered the living room. The brunette went in the opposite direction and made her way upstairs, toward her office.

Bette was trying to get some work done when suddenly she could hear Angelica's and Peggy's laughter. She huffed and trying to avoid them, she just went back reading some paperwork, but the voices were slowly starting to get too loud. The business woman grunted and tossing the pieces of paper on the table, made her way to the hall. She approached the loft railing and looked down. The view quickly made her anger subsist and her body was quickly crossed by a sense of warmth that she didn't feel in a while. She turned her head to the left and saw the big tree. On the other side there were Peggy and Angelica playing Wii. In the middle of the room there was Tina; she was sitting near the fireplace. Her eyes slowly rested on her face and couldn't help but think how beautiful she was. Her trance was interrupted by Angelica's voice "Come play with us!"

"Oh no, I don't think so" Bette replied, turning around, thinking about going back to her office.

"Why not?" Tina asked raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not good at games"

"It's not about skills, it's about fun" she said teasing her.

"Come on! You can't deny some little fun to you little girl. You work too much" Peggy added.

As Bette made her way down stairs, Angelica said: "Mom, you play. I'll stay with Mrs. Peggy" she sat on the couch.

"Ah, I don't think so" the blonde said chuckling.

"What's the matter? Afraid of having a little fun?" Bette teased.

Tina looked at her and let out a throaty laugh the brunette immediately smirked. She unbuttoned her shirt cuffs and rolled her sleeves up, showing her very-toned and tanned arms. Tina couldn't help but stare and think about how wonderful it could be have them around her; it was strange. She didn't look at a woman before, not in that kind of way.

The two of them were soon absorbed in the game. It was one of those games where the two opponents have to reach the finish line before the other one. Taken by the heat, the two of them would unconsciously make physical contact, every now and then. Leg against leg, arm against arm. When Tina's hand suddenly made contact with Bette's thigh the brunette's heart almost skipped a beat but quickly regained herself. The two of them continued playing and laughing. It was almost the end of the race when Tina mistakenly bumped into Bette, making both of them fall down on the carpet. Angelica and Peggy burst out laughing, and so did Bette and Tina. They were still on the floor, when Bette took the controller and reached the finish line. "I won! I won!" she said still laughing.

The next evening Bette was coming home from a rough day at work, as she went upstairs she noticed Angelica sitting at her desk, in her office. The kid was playing with some of her block notes and creating a kind of sculpture with paper clips. Bette sighed and, putting down her briefcase on a chair, and cleared her throat, drawing her attention.

"Oh, hi" Angie said lifting her head.

The brunette approached her, "Look, could you do me a big favor and not touch anything?" the kid quickly stood up from the chair, "Thanks" then she said, sitting down and putting the clips away.

"You don't like kids, do you?" Angelica asked, frowning.

"There's nothing wrong with kids. It's just like broccoli; some people have a taste for it, some people don't" she said, trying to put the desk in order.

"Do you like broccoli?"

The woman took a moment to respond, "No".

"Me neither" the curly kid said. Then she approached a cabinet and started playing with one of Bette's toy model planes, just as Tina made her way into the office, "Dinner is almost ready" she said smiling, "Where's Mrs. Peabody"

"Oh she is out with Alice, they needed to work on something" she said trying to keep her fury a bay "Could you keep her from running in here. This is not a play room…" approached Angelica "And this is not a toy" she took the 'toy' from her hands.

"She won't bother or anything" Tina assured her.

"Yeah, but just… could you please?"

Tina sighed, "Angelica, from now on this room is off limits" the child nodded.

"See? It's not that hard" the blonde woman said.

"Thank you" the brunette uttered, just before closing her cigars box. But something drew her attention, "You cut all my cigars" she said as she took a bunch of the pieces of cigars in her hand.

"They're bad for you, my teacher told me" the kid said matter of factly.

"These are Cuban cigars!" the brunette raised her voice.

"Don't yell at her!" the blonde defended her daughter.

"Do you, do you know how much this cost?" she yelled again, tossing the remains of cigars on the floor, "Put that down!" she admonished Angie who was playing with a bottle, which was once placed on a liquor cart. The kid, panicked and the object fell on the desk. It immediately broke and liquor started spilling all over the furniture.

"Shi— that's great. Why is it that everything you touch gets broken?" the woman said sternly.

"You are not my mommy!" the child yelled and ran away.

Tina, clearly upset, approached Bette "This little arrangement does not give you the right to yell at my daughter"

"Well, if you taught her some boundaries, maybe she'd know better"

"Oh, that's a great advice coming from a woman who needed to rent her family"

"Would you please just leave me alone now?"

"Sure! I'll do even better than that!" the blonde approached the desk, placing her 'wedding ring' on it, "We're over!"

9
Chapter

Baby steps

It was time for Angelica to go to bed; they were back to their little apartment and as Tina approached her to kiss her goodnight the child spoke: "Is it my fault that we had to leave?"

"None of this is your fault, sweetie" the mother assured her kid. Just as she was going to kiss her she heart the doorbell, "I'll be right back" she whispered, smiling.

She made her way toward the front door and opened it. It was Bette… it took her one second to close the door again, leaving a stunned Bette starting at the closed door. The brunette knocked again. And Tina, since she's a nice woman, didn't have the courage to let her stand like an idiot out there. She opened the door.

"Listen, I know I was a jerk" Bette admitted. "Just please, give me the chance to apologize"

"I'm not the one you have to apologize to"

"Okay"

The two of them made their way to Angie's room. Tina entered it and sweetly talked to her daughter "Baby, Miss Porter is here and she has something to say to you. Would you talk to her?" the little girl just nodded and turn onto her side, giving her back to the door, so she could not see Bette.

The brunette entered the room and started her apology, "I'm sorry Angelica" she waited for the kid to say something, but she didn't so she continued "What can I do to make you forgive me?"

"A pony would be nice"

"A pony?" Bette raised her brows; Tina just smiled. Then trying to drive away the tension, "Look, I'm really sorry, Angie. I was…"

"Stupid?" Angelica finished her sentence.

Tina snorted; Bette looked at her stunned "Yeah… yes, really stupid" she took a deep breath, "Can you forgive me?"

"I guess so. I didn't mean to mess up your desk" the child said.

"Oh, don't… Don't worry about that, it's not important" Bette admitted, swallowing. She couldn't believe how nervous she was feeling. No one ever did that to her. She was asking a child to forgive her and she really meant it. The kid turned around to face her mother and Bette, "Can we go back to the house now?" Bette looked at Tina, waiting for a response.

"We can, yeah" the blonde smiled. Bette raised her head to the ceiling thanking God, even if she wasn't that much of a believer.

"Great! I'll get dressed" the child ran to the closet to pick up some clothes.

Bette looked at Tina and handed her the ring. Tina smirked and raised an eyebrow and took it from her hand. The contact gave them a strange feeling. It was a kind of electric shock. The two of them stared at each other for a bunch of minutes, but then Bette left the room. Tina followed her and they found themselves in the living room.

"That was really nice of you, Bette" Tina admitted.

"Yeah, well, don't say it to anyone. I don't want it to ruin my reputation" she said jokingly, making Tina laugh. The brunette was soon captivated by a painting, placed above the fireplace. "Are you the artist?"

Tina nodded.

"Wow, that's good. I mean it's amazing. You ever thought to make it a profession?" she said, walking across the room, looking around, admiring others artworks.

"I wanted to. I also started the academy, but then I got married. I had Angie. Some years later my husband left me and well… I had to find a job to be able to take care of her. Everything is for Angie now" she said, smiling weakly. Bette just looked at her, "It must've been really hard" Tina lifted her eyes to look at her, when Angelica came running to them, "I'm ready, let's go home!"

At the word 'home', Bette turned around and stared at the kid. A little while later she turned to face the blonde who just shrugged.

On their way back at the house, they seemed like one of those cute families that have just been out and enjoyed some time together. As Bette pulled into the driveway she exited the car and went to the back side of the car and pulled out Tina's and Angelica's suitcases. "Oh, don't forget Hamlet!" Bette said in a cute voice to Angie, as she handed her the teddy bear. "How cute!" Tina thought to herself. Then they entered the house together. They really look like a real family. And "They really look like a real family" was exactly what a man thought, while hidden in his car. He'd been there, surveying the whole scene from afar. The man, earlier that day knocked at Tina's door apartment when Maggie saw him. He asked her where Tina and Angelica were and since she knew who it was, she decided it was safe to tell him the truth. He was Angelica's father and, in Maggie opinion, he should've known where his child was.

The next day, the same man approached one of the servants, Kit. "Excuse me, ma'am" he said, making her jump. She was just arrived at the house and he popped out from nowhere, near the garage.

"Oh God! You scared me!"

"Sorry, ma'am, do you live here?"

"I work here" the woman explained, "What do you want?"

"I just need some information about the occupants"

"You're not from the police, are you?"

The man waited a bit, then replied "Yes, ma'am"

"I knew this was gonna happen" the woman sighed.

"What do you mean?"

"All those lies. About the woman and the little girl being her wife and child"

"Tell me about your employer" the man asked.

"Miss Porter? She's a business woman. She owns a lot of mall chain stores"

"Mall chain stores, uh?" the man smirked.

Later that afternoon, the family decided to spend some time out with Peggy; Alice was with them too. They headed to Central Park, where an ice rink had been set just for the Christmas holidays and Angelica was beyond excited to go there. Everything screamed 'Christmas'. The tree were covered with snow and there were lights and garlands everywhere. You could also see a bunch of snowmen and Santa's walking around the park, wishing everybody 'happy holidays'. The kid was playing with a mechanical reindeer when Alice approached her

"Oh, look, I bet that's dander" said Alice.

"It's Donder!" the kid corrected her.

"Dander" Alice said again, trying to win the fight with the girl.

"It's Donder! Dander means anger. That's what I learnt at school"

Alice snorted, "Yeah, like you know better than me"

"I'm right!"

"No, you're not"

"Yes"

"No"

"Yes times infinity!" Angelica blurted out.

"No times double infinity"

"Infinity is forever, you can't count double forever" she said with a serious expression. The kid had a point. In fact, Alice didn't know how to reply. She just stood there, with her mouth open. The kid cracked a smile and stepped away as Bette approached Alice, "She's right, you know? It's Donder"

"Mph! That kid is evil" Alice said.

"You rented her, remember?" Bette smirked, teasing her friend, as she adjusted her gloves. Then the brunette approached Mrs. Peabody "Enjoying yourself? I know it's colder than what you are used to, here"

"It's okay. I'm enjoying watching your wife and daughter having so much fun together" she said, pointing to mother and daughter. They were chasing after each other, running around a giant Christmas tree. Bette couldn't help but smile as she stared at them. She nodded, "Yeah". It was so good watching at them, Peggy was right.

After a while, Angelica started to skate all across the rink and Peggy approached her "Are you good to skate, Angie?" the kid nodded and smiled proudly.

"Well, I think your mother needs a little help" she turned to look at Bette, who was standing outside the rink, with arms crossed, and lightly bored. Every now and then she would keep herself from falling, because of the skates. Angelica smiled shyly and then decided to approach the brunette.

"Mrs. Peabody told me to help you"

"Oh she did?" she said laughing nervously. "I can't skate"

"That's not a big deal, I'm teaching you. Come on!" Angie took her hand.

"Uh, no, I'd better stay here"

"Sure you can. My mommy taught me, and now I'm going to teach you"

"No, listen. I couldn't do it when I was a kid and I won't now either"

"There's no need to be afraid!" she said, pulling Bette on the rink with her.

"Oh God, Angie. That's not a good idea" she tried to grab the railing but she failed miserably "Angie!" Bette panicked, finding herself in the middle of the rink. "Uh oh! God, if I fall down I'm going to make a complete fool of myself" she said, grabbing Angelica's arms, to steady herself.

"I get you, I promise" Angie reassured her. And Bette couldn't help but smile at her. She was starting to love that kid. She was just so cute, she just needed to look at her and every sense of anxiety and nervousness was gone in a second. "Promise?"

Angelica smiled, "Cross my heart, hope to die. Stick a needle in my eye" she exclaimed, drawing an imaginary cross on her chest, making Bette chuckle. The child got to Bette's side and took her hand. "Now, keep your ankles straight" she started her little lesson. Bette did as she said. "That's good, now skate" Angelica uttered, slowly dragging Bette. Both of them started to move.

Tina and Peggy was looking at the scene from afar, "Your wife is very impressive. She achieved a new goal"

"Bette is a very ambitious woman, she would do anything to get ahead" Tina said, staring at Bette.

"Shall we?" Peggy offered her arm to Tina.

"Sure!" the blonde smiled. Then both of them made their way to the rink and started to skate together.

"You're an excellent skater" Peggy admitted. "So sure and in control"

"Yeah, well, I must admit I am good at it. I was on this ice since I was a little kid. Angie can't believe that I never fell down" she chucked.

"Really?" the rich woman said, "Amazing"

Before knowing it, the blonde suddenly found herself sitting on the ground: she fell. Needless to say how shocked she was when she realized what'd just happened. She looked at Peggy who said: "Perhaps it's better not to be so self-assured" she laughed.

In the meanwhile Angelica and Bette were still busy learning how to skate. "Come on, you can do it" the little girl uttered to Bette, who was standing a bunch of feet away from her.

Taking a deep breath, the brunette looked around and then with a quick boost she reached Angelica. She kneeled down and placed her hands on the baby's shoulders.

"You did it!" she said excited.

"Yeah, I did!" Bette replied back. "Didn't I?" she showed her 1000 watt smile.

"Watch me" the kid said, before skating away.

The brunette stood up and slowly started to skate by herself, when a woman approached her, "Excuse me?" making Bette turn around. "Would you like to skate with me?"

"Uh, um" Bette was taken aback by the request. Well, actually she was used to it; she wasn't used to be in a committed relationship, and didn't know how she was supposed to behave. Tina, on the other hand was in front of them, hoping in a negative response. Bette looked at the woman who just asked her to skate and took off her own gloves in order to show her wedding ring.

"Oh, I'm sorry" the woman quickly excused herself.

The brunette was now sitting on a bench, and Tina decided to approach her, "I think we're cramping your style" the blonde smirked, sitting on the bench.

"Why? Why you say that?" Bette said, lifting a brow.

"Oh come on. I could see how badly you wanted to skate with that girl. Tell me you didn't want to"

Bette glanced at the woman who was now talking with Alice, "She's not my type"

Tina laughed, "Not your type" raising a brow.

"Not really" she looked back at Tina.

The blonde just looked at her and smirked, "You don't trust people, do you?" Bette said.

"I used to" Tina admitted.

"Mom! Come skate with me"

Tina excused herself and approached her daughter. Bette in the meanwhile couldn't take her eyes off the beautiful blonde. She watched how cute mother and daughter look and couldn't stop smiling. She turned her head to look at Alice and the woman, and felt absolutely nothing. Not even lust. Maybe she was falling for Tina… she looked back at her and the smile came back. Tina looked back at her and smiled as well. "That smile" Yes, she was totally falling for her.

It was time to go to sleep and Angelica was happy for spending the night out at the park, "I taught Bette to skate!" she said, as she was climbing into bed.

"I saw! Very impressive" the mother smiled, she handed Hamlet to her "Good night, baby" and gave her a peck on the forehead. As she was going to turn off the light, Angie whispered something into her ear. She wanted to wish a goodnight to Bette. The brunette was standing at the door frame; Tina approached her and told her about Angie's request. Slightly taken aback, the brunette entered the room and sat on Angie's bed, "Who's that?" Bette asked, pointing to a photograph on the bedside table.

"That's my dad" Angelica replied.

"Oh, where is he?"

"He's a very busy man. He's a lawyer and he went away because he needed to work and he had to go so far away to do it"

"I see, did you daddy give you that toy?" the brunette asked, pointing at Hamlet.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Angelica said.

"Sure"

"Promise me you won't tell mom"

"Cross my heart I hope to die" Bette uttered. In the meanwhile Tina was still in the door frame, listening to them.

"My mom gave me this at my birthday. She said he sent it. But I know he didn't"

"How do you know that?"

"I may be a kid, but I'm not stupid" she said in a serious tone. "Don't tell her I know, because it will make her feel bad. Okay?"

Bette swallowed the lump that formed in her throat, "Okay" she whispered.

"I don't care about presents, I just wish he could be here for Christmas. I don't know what I did that was so bad that he didn't want me anymore" at this statement, Tina couldn't help but feel a hurtful grip in her chest. Tears were now falling down her cheeks. Then the kid continued, "I know I'm clumsy and I drop stuff, but I'm not bad. Do you think if I wasn't so clumsy he would be here with me?"

"Oh, oh no, Angie. It isn't a big deal if you drop stuff. Everybody drops stuff" she smiled.

The baby showed her pout and said: "Maybe I'm just not lovable" and it totally broke Bette's heart.

She swallowed again and spoke with a cracked voice "Angie, of course you are". Her eyes filled with tears. Her mother was now sobbing silently.

Then Bette continued, "Angie, some people are just really good at loving other people. You know? And some people don't know how. Nobody ever showed them"

"Like I showed you how to skate?"

"Yeah, sort of" Bette giggled.

"Did your dad love you?" Angelica asked, suddenly.

"It didn't seem like he did" Bette admitted after some time.

"Why not? Were you bad?"

"I wasn't good enough… at tennis. It was important to him. He was a tennis coach. A star, actually" she explained.

"He was your dad. He should've loved you even if you couldn't do stuff perfect"

Bette looked at her, with a small voice, she said: "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Sure"

"I remember one time, I was about your age. And my dad was trying to teach me how to perform a serve. And I kept trying, and trying but I've never been able to hit the ball with the racket. It was too heavy and it made it difficult for me to hit the ball in time. So I kept missing it and the ball just fell on the ground. And he kept looking more and more mad"

"What did he do?"

"He just looked at me; he didn't say anything and then he just walked away"

"It wasn't your fault, it was that stupid racket. It was too heavy! He should've got you a racket that was less heavy" the kid said, trying to defend her.

Bette smiled and looking at her, "You know, I never told anyone about this"

"Oh, don't worry, I won't tell. Cross my heart, I hope to die—"she started to say, when Bette finished her sentence "Stick a needle in my eye, yeh, yeh, blah blah blah!" and started tickling her, making her laugh. "I think you'd better get some sleep, what do you think?"

The kid nodded, "Okay" and pulled the brunette into a hug. Bette was shocked at first, but then hugged her back, "Good night, Bette"

"Good night, sweetie" Bette smiled.

10
Chapter

It's a little bit funny, this feeling inside

Tina, in the meanwhile, after listening to Angie's and Bette's stories, made her way to the balcony. She was starting to feel a little overwhelmed and she couldn't really say why. It was a strange feeling. Could she be having some kind of feelings for Bette? But she was a woman, and she was straight, right? It was starting to scare her. Even because Angelica was starting to feel attached to Bette and she didn't want her to be hurt by all this. It was just a momentary thing and once the business with Peggy was concluded everything was going back to normal. She could feel the cold wind caressing her skin; it was when she realized she forgot to bring a coat with her. Just as she was starting to go inside, Bette popped out and put a blanket on her shoulders, "It's cold, you should cover yourself" as she pulled it on her shoulders, she squeezed them gently. Tina could feel the electricity at that touch.

"Thanks" Tina turned around and smiled at her.

The brunette huffed and crossed her arms, "Angie's a good kid"

"Yeah, she is" the blonde smiled again.

"Hope you don't mind me asking but… Where's her father?"

"Who knows" she shrugged, "Marcus had been having an affair for a couple of years. He left some month ago, without saying goodbye to Angie, so she keeps thinking he'll come back"

"Does he ever see her?" Bette asked, frowning. She couldn't believe someone could be able to leave that cute little girl.

"He phones… every now and then" she snorted. "Last time was a few months ago. He promised Angie he was going to come back"

"And did he?"

"Nope. She fell asleep waiting by the window"

Bette stared at her, Tina could see the fury in her eyes, "Fuck! He seriously needs to learn some lessons"

"You can't make someone to be a parent and you of all people should understand"

The brunette frowned, somehow she felt hurt by those words. "I just didn't meet the right person, that's all" she felt like giving her some explanations.

"Look Bette, I don't if you realize… she's becoming very fond of you. I… I wouldn't encourage it"

Bette's head snapped as she turned to look at her, "Because…?"

"Because you're just passing through her life too" she said matter of factly, "I feel bad enough for putting her in this position, so please just let us do us job and leave, when it's finished, with no hurt feelings. Alright?" she was almost pleading.

Bette cleared her throat, "Yeah, okay"

Tina looked at her, opened her mouth, she seemed to want to say something else but no words were uttered. She just made her way inside, leaving Bette there, thinking about what had been just said.

A couple of days later, Bette and Alice were having a business dinner with Peggy. A waiter approached the table and handed the brunette a note. On the paper was written the name of who wanted to meet her as soon as possible, and she immediately knew who it was. She made her way to the bar and here he was a tall black man who she could surely define as Marcus Allenwood. The man smirked smugly and extended his hand. Bette shook it, without breaking eye contact. God knows who or what kept her from slapping him.

"Does Angie know you're here?"

"No, but I'm going to tell her, but first I need to know what you are up to" he smirked.

"I don't know what you're talking about"

"Let me help you. What about Tina and Angelica being at your house?"

"It's a business thing and I don't think it's your concern"

"Well, since we're talking about my wife and child, of course it is"

"Ex-wife" the brunette corrected him.

"Still, what if Mrs. Peabody discovers that, that's not your real family and that you've been fooling her for the whole time?" he smirked again, and Bette was starting to feel the want to beat him.

Bette let out one of her fakest laugh ever, "How much do you want, Marcus?"

"Well, let's see. Not too much, twenty?"

"Twenty it is. I'll sign a check after Christmas holidays" she said looking into his eyes, "At one condition"

"Shoot"

"You won't contact Tina or Angie until Christmas holidays are over"

"They're my family, if I want to I will"

"Then there will be no deal" this time Bette was the one to smirk. She stood up and made her way to the table, but Marcus stopped her. "Okay, okay"

"Contact my office. Give my assistant your number and address" she handed him her card.

"It was nice to deal with you, Bette" he stood and walked away.

It was a few days before Christmas and Bette and Alice were talking with Peggy about the last details in order to conclude the business. Tina approached the three of them and offered the tree women some delicious dessert, "Cookies, ladies?"

"Mm-mm! Those cookies are delicious" Peggy uttered.

"Well, where were we?" then Alice added. "Oh yes, the contract to move"

Tina stopped dead as she was going back to the kitchen "Move?" she asked.

"Don't worry about it, darling. It's business you wouldn't understand" Bette laughed nervously.

"Oh I think even my little brain can understand what it means 'to move'. Will the mall move to somewhere else?" she asked Peggy.

"Oh yes, of course. And that means that most of your employees will lose their jobs. But you said that's not a problem" the rich woman said, turning to Bette. The brunette stammered but Alice came to the rescue "No, there's no problem at all. Because we have already a plan, it will be just fine"

"That will be just fine?" Tina asked, raised her eyebrows. Clearly stunned by the news just learned. She couldn't believe that Bette was using her for that fucking deal. She knew about it already, but she didn't know that Peggy was the one who was going to help Bette do it, and she - herself - was part of that.

"Yes, that will be just fine" Alice repeated.

"Could you ask Kit to bring us some coffee, dear?" Bette asked, trying to change the subject.

"Sure… dear!" Tina said, giving her the evil look.

As she was crossing the hall, she bumped into Kit, "Hey Kit, the ladies would like some coffee. Make sure to put some arsenic in Miss Porter's" she said as she placed her hands on her hips. She then smirked. She got an idea. She was going to show Bette how bad that decision was.

Later that night, both women didn't share a word. There was too much tension between the two of them, even Peggy noticed it. They would exchange some glances every now and then but no words escaped both their mouths. Bette was lightly taken aback by Tina's behavior, but she knew she couldn't blame her, since she, somehow, lied to her. And something was telling her she needed to apologize. But how? Tina, on the other end was feeling a little guilty for giving her the silence treatment, but the brunette totally deserved it. Alice, instead, couldn't help but grin for the whole time thinking how 'real' they looked. They looked like an old married couple who fought for some reasons and were now acting like teenagers.

As soon as time to go to bed arrived, both women were walking upstairs when Tina accidentally tripped the brunette causing her to fall down. But before she knew it, Bette managed to pull the blonde with her. A loud thud could be heard; they were now laying on the floor, on the top the stairs. Tina on the top of her, her mouths a few inches apart. They could feel each other's hot breathes.

"You can't help it, can you?" Bette said smirking and teasing her "You just love being on top"

"The nerve you have!" Tina replied back.

Right at that moment Peggy was heading to her bedroom, as she saw the two women on the floor she immediately let out a chuckle, "Ow, so cute. I remember make up sex. My husband and I couldn't wait to do it, we never managed to reach the bedroom" then she entered her room.

The two of them looked at each other and blushed, "Make up sex, huh?" Bette said, raising a brow.

"Shut up!" Tina uttered as she stood up.

"What?" the brunette did the same.

"Fuck you"

"Whoa!" she said stunned, but she couldn't help the laugh that escaped her mouth.

"It's not funny!" her wife said, approaching the bedroom. As she opened it and entered the room, she closed the door with force. Bette, who was a few steps back, found herself banging against the closed door and let out a loud "Ouch! God, my nose!"

"Oh my God, sorry!" Tina said as she opened the door, she was clearly feigning concern, since she was trying to suppress a laugh.

"You did it on purpose" the brunette said, rubbing her poor nose.

"I did not"

"Yes, you did"

"Come on, let me see it" the blonde said, rolling her eyes.

"I think it's broken" Bette commented, with tears in her eyes from the impact.

"What, your ego?" she raised her two brows.

"You are a smartass"

"And you are an ass" she said with nonchalance.

"Aren't you too flippant tonight?" she mocked shock.

"I'm just stating the obvious" she said, squeezing her nose lightly.

"Ouch! It hurts!" the brunette jumped away.

"Oops!" she smirked, "Don't worry, it will be okay tomorrow. It's not broken"

"Still, it's your fault"

"Oh, sorry my fair lady, how can I make you forgive me for what I did?" she kept teasing her.

"Kiss it better?" she said showing her 1000 watt smile.

"Never gonna happen" she smirked.

"Well, can't blame a woman for trying…" the brunette murmured as she approached the bathroom.

Tina shook her head and chuckled. Somehow she was finding it amusing and sweet. But she didn't forget what happened earlier that night, and she wanted to make her pay a little more.

11
Chapter

Oh, my… Tina…

That morning none of them said anything to each other. Tina was still mad and Bette was, strangely, hesitant to speak to her, afraid of saying something wrong that may get things worse. Both women left earlier that morning, while Angelica stayed home with Peggy. Bette was in one of the offices, at the mall Tina worked at, talking to one of the staff. After a while a woman approached her.

"Um, Miss Porter, sorry for bothering you but… um, well I think you should come see it with your eyes" the woman said politely, trying not to annoy her boss. The brunette frowned and followed her. They made their way to the warehouse and a cute Christmas song could be heard, along with light laughs and chatters. Turning the corner of one of the shelves, Bette saw a huge table with beverages, plates, cookies and sweets on it. As soon as the people saw her, a woman yelled: "Oh, she's here!" and started singing "For she's a jolly good person" with the others. As soon as the ditty ended, all of them clapped their hands and thanked her. Needless to say the look of shock on Bette's face. She turned her head and saw Tina, who was smirking. The blonde approached her and Bette, grabbing her hand, pulled her with her and hid behind one of the shelves.

"What the fuck is going on?" she whispered.

"Um, I thought that the good Bette Porter should have done something for her good employees. You know it's Christmas… so I, um, let's put it like this: I gave you a hand" the blonde smiled broadly.

"But, wha— How, I mean… how did you—" the brunette stammered.

"Oh, I told them this is you Christmas present for them" she kept smiling.

"What?!"

"Yeah, well" Tina ignored her and then pointed to the people that were now laughing and enjoying the little party, "See those people? You are shattering their lives" Bette opened her mouth, trying to say something but Tina stopped her "They're going to lose their jobs and God knows how and when they're going to find another one" she waved her hand "See that woman? Her name is Molly. She's due in a month, she's having a little boy and her husband left her… She has no one. She needs a job in order to take care of her child"

Bette silently heard Tina's words, she shook her head and turned to face her "Listen, I don't think who you think you are for doing this. I'm a business woman for God's sake, I'm tired of these silly games of yours! These are not your fucking business"

"I tell you what business woman, this is not a silly game. I am a mother; I am going to lose my job as soon as this fucking mall is going to be moved to another country. This is my fucking business!" she shoot back. Her cheeks red from fury.

"I can't fucking believe you've done this. You're making me waste my time! I have a job to take care of"

"And those people!" she pointed at them, looking at Bette into her eyes, "Those people NEED their jobs"

"Oh, please spare me this shit! I've not always been this rich, you know? I know how it feels, been there done that. They're going to find another one, if they want. It's all about willpower, Tina. Sometimes we need to do something to accomplish our dreams, otherwise we're going to end up in a tiny apartment and live a fucking mediocre life!" she was almost yelling.

"You're a fucking selfish woman! No wonder why you're alone"

"Oh, I'm not alone, dear. I can have plenty of women, I'm just a woman who doesn't do commitment. You are the one who's alone; no wonder why you're husband left you!" she said those words without thinking. And truth be told, she didn't mean them. She regretted them as soon as they left her mouth but it was too late. The look of hurt on the blonde's face was heartbreaking. She opened her mouth again, trying to apologize, but Tina raised her hand inviting her to stop, "Don't… Just don't!" she whispered as she walked away, without looking Bette in the eyes. Bette stood there, wanting to literally kick her own butt, "Fuck". She was about to leave the warehouse when the pregnant woman approached her.

"Miss Porter, I wanted to thank you for all this. I have to admit I never thought you would be this kind… no offence, I just, well this is something that took all of us by surprise and we're very happy for what you just did" the woman said with tears in her eyes and, before Bette knew, she found herself hugged tightly but the woman. The brunette was taken aback but she couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. The love and warmth in the eyes of that woman was so deep, Bette almost thought she could break down crying. The knot in her throat was huge and she couldn't utter a word, she just smiled and, finally, understood what Tina meant.

Bette made her way back home, and spent the whole drive at the house silently cursing herself. She couldn't believe the hurtful words that escaped her mouth earlier that day. She shut her eyes closed and took a deep breath. She got out the limo and approached the front door. As she entered the house, she realize it was empty. She noticed Kit and asked her where everyone was and the kind woman explained Angie wanted to go out so Peggy suggested to go to the park, "And where's Tina?"

"Oh, I think she's in the bedroom, she was pretty flushed when she entered the house, I hope she's okay" Kit said with concern.

"Okay, um, thanks Kit" she walked away as she gave the woman a last glance and smiled.

"Oh my God she thanked me and smiled" Kit told to herself, stunned. Her boss never did such a thing. She always managed to treat her and all the other servants as they didn't mean anything. She shook her head and made her way to the kitchen. In the meantime, Bette went upstairs and approached the bedroom door. She didn't know whether to enter the room or not; she was struggling, trying to take the courage to face Tina and hoped she could accept her apology. She knocked gently, but Tina didn't reply. She knocked again, this time more forceful, but she was met with silence once again, "Um, Tina?" she said with a smile voice, "Tina, please, can I talk to you? Please, listen I'm sorry. Come on, let me in and we'll talk. Tina, please, I know…I—" she stopped when she felt someone tapping on her shoulder. She turned around and found herself facing Tina.

"Why are you talking to the door?" she raised a brow.

"I, um, I thought you were in the room and… well… uh" she stammered and talked quickly almost forgetting to breathe. She was talking, but she was looking down at the floor.

"Bette…" Tina interrupted her.

"Yes?" she lifted her eyes so she could look at her.

"Breathe" she smirked.

Bette exhaled loudly and as both of them entered the room, she sat down on the bed, "Listen, I'm sorry"

Tina looked at her and didn't say anything, her silence was a sign to go ahead. Bette continued, "I over reacted. I shouldn't have said those things. They were uncalled for"

"They were hurtful" Tina said matter of factly.

"I know… I, fuck, I'm sorry" she rubbed her forehead. She looked at the ceiling and sighed, "I'm sorry". She couldn't think about other words she could tell her. But then something popped out in her mind, "Look, I'll make sure everyone is going to have a new job, okay? I promise. I won't let them down. I give you my word. Please, believe me. I, when Alice told me about Peggy, my first thought were those people that were going to lose their jobs. It may sounds strange, but I actually care about people you know? I'm not a monster, I mean… I'm just sorry"

Tina could see the honesty in her brown eyes, she almost felt like hugging her and tell her it was okay, but she decided to just sit beside her, she gazed in her eyes and smiled "Thank you". They were two simple words but they meant everything to Bette. The blonde accepted her apology and Bette thought it was the most beautiful thing in the world. She let out a deep amount of air from her mouth and smiled wildly. She didn't know why, but she felt the urge to hug her and she did just that. Pulling Tina in a tight hug, she couldn't believe how right it felt. She filled her own lunges with the blonde's scent, placing her head on her shoulder, "You smell good" she whispered, as she leaned her head closer to her neck. Tina tingled when she felt Bette's hot breath on her neck. Without thinking twice, the brunette placed a small and gentle kiss on the spot between her ear and the neck. Tina pulled out and looked at her in the eyes. Both women swallowed; their eyes were glued. With both their hands still on each other's hips they stood like that for several minutes. Admiring one another's eyes, their mouths were mere inches apart… "Mommy!" both women were soon brought to reality when they heard Angelica's voice coming from downstairs, and quickly pulled out, breaking the contact. You would call it: great timing.

12
Chapter

I think I may have fallen in love

The almost-kiss kept haunting Bette, that night. It was something she never experienced before. She could actually feel the connection between her and Tina. That beautiful hazel eyes, her scent… She couldn't stop thinking about her. It was a completely new feeling for her. She never found herself this taken by another person. She spent the last years of her life waking up in strangers' beds. But now, the only person she craved to wake up with was the beautiful blonde. It was happening: she was falling in love.

The same thing was surely happening to Tina. And for the blonde was a completely new thing, since she never had those kind of feelings toward a woman. But she couldn't help but imagine how soft those lips could be. Or how perfect she could fit in her arms. Those deep and brown eyes were like magnets. She could stare at them for her whole life. She was scared though, she didn't want Angie to get hurt if this wasn't going to work. But it was just too strong; that feeling was too strong and she knew she needed to do something about it.

The blonde woke up to the sound of Angelica's laughter. It immediately brought a smile on her face. There was nothing more beautiful than hearing to her daughter laughing. She got up and, after putting a robe on, made her way to downstairs. As she approached the living room she couldn't believe her eyes. That was the most beautiful sight ever. Bette and Angelica were chasing each other around the couch and the kid didn't stop laughing and yelling: "You're never going to catch me!"

"Oh I wouldn't be so sure, little lady! I'm going to catch you and tickle you until you're begging me to stop, MWAHA!" the brunette yelled back, faking an evil laugh. Tina couldn't help but laugh as well. That was just so cute. As predicted, Bette managed to capture the little girl, and pulled her on her shoulder, "Gotcha!"

"Please, put me down! Please!" the kid couldn't stop laughing and waving her legs in the air.

"No, I'm going to punish you with my tickles, now!" she said as she sat the girl on the couch, and just as she said, she started tickling her.

"Nooo! Stop, stop, ahhh!" Angelica kept laughing and wiggling.

Tina who was now laying against the door frame, had tears in her eyes. It'd been a while since she saw her daughter laugh like that with someone else. The smile on Tina's face was priceless. Angelica's "Mommy, help me!" brought her to reality and without thinking twice the blonde approached them.

"Oh, your princess charming is not going to beat me!" the brunette said growling.

"Of course I am!" Tina replied as she started tickling Bette.

"Oh my God! She got me" Bette yelled, finally releasing the kid. She was laughing hard now, "Oh my God, please stop" and collapsed on the other side of the couch.

"You don't mess with Angelica and her protector!" Tina uttered, "Come on, Angie, let's destroy Maleficent!"

"What?!" Bette faked to be hurt by her words, but failed miserably, she burst out laughing harder, as soon as Angelica started tickling her as well. They kept tickling her, until Bette was begging them to stop "Okay, okay, okay. Please, you win, please, stop". Tina and Angelica quickly stopped; Bette was breathless and Tina couldn't stop giggling and as soon as she let her guard down, Bette pulled the blonde closer grabbing her wrist. Bette was now laying with her back on the couch, and Tina's body was partially covering the brunette's. "You really can't help it, can you?" Bette teased her.

"It's your fault this time!" the blonde admonished.

Both women looked into each other's eyes, momentarily forgetting about Angelica. Her mouths a few inches apart; they were almost replaying what happened the night before. But they were soon interrupted, "Now that's what I like to see!" it was Peggy.

Both women got up with a start and giggled nervously. The old woman smirked at them, "I love seeing families play like that. You have so much love; this is amazing"

Tina turned and faced the brunette, who smiled at her. Their eyes spoke volumes, "I'll make breakfast" the blonde whispered and got closer, placing a sweet peck on her cheek. Needless to say Bette was stunned by that action. She blushed and cleared her throat as she glanced at Peggy who smiled.

It was the night before Christmas Eve and Bette could finally see how wonderful being surrounded by laughter and joy. Angelica was talking with Peggy, telling her stories about dragons and princesses and the brunette couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the sight. And she understood now; she wasn't falling in love with her mother only, but with her as well. She felt two eyes on her and she turned to face Tina, who was looking at her with so much love in her eyes. The two women exchanged two loving smiles and silently thanked God for making them meet each other.

In the bedroom, that night there was something new; the feeling of awkwardness was replaced by a sense of peace and warmth. Even though it was a routine and they were doing it just because they had to, it finally was feeling right for the two of them. The brunette was caring and sweet and Tina found herself blushing every now and then, after Bette's acts of gentleness. After the two of them were ready to bed, Tina sat down on the bed and looked at the brunette, who asked her: "What?"

"Nothing" she smiled, "I've been really good today. It was sweet"

"Yeah, it was" she smiled back, "I've never had so much fun in my house"

"Really?" the blonde asked curiously.

"Yeah, really. I mean, I never invited people to stay this long. I've always been here alone"

"But it was your choice, right?"

"It was, yes. But I guess I was wrong"

"What do you mean?"

"Being surrounded by this, you know. You, Angie, Peggy. The house seems to have a new life. It's… it feels—"

"It feels complete" the blonde finished her sentence, hanging her head to one side, to look at Bette in the eyes, who was now looking at the floor.

The brunette lifted her head, "Yeah, it… it feels complete" she sighed.

"What's wrong?" the blonde frowned.

"Nothing…" she shook her head, "Nothing. I think we'd better go to sleep, yeah"

"Okay" Tina smiled, "Goodnight"

"Goodnight, T"

"T?" the brunette asked to herself. "Where the hell did it come from? T, I found her a nickname… God, I hope it didn't bother her" she kept talking to herself as she walked into the walking closet.

"T?" Tina asked to herself as well, "How cute! She found me a nickname!" she couldn't help the smile on her face. Both women, fell asleep with a new sense of warmth, that night.

13
Chapter

O Holy Night

Christmas Eve was finally arrived and people were now getting ready to spend the night together, surrounded by their beloved ones. The streets were covered with candid and soft snow and small and slow snowflakes were floating in the air. The atmosphere was amazing and, strangely, Bette could feel it too. She was in her limo, heading to her office and the look her face was something no one had been able to see on her. The driver realized it too and he was pretty taken aback when Bette talked to him, "It's a wonderful day, Tim, isn't it?"

"Uh, yeah, yeah it is Miss Porter" he didn't know how to reply. He was afraid of giving her the wrong response. But, truth be told, he was feeling at ease. Bette was relaxed like never before and he was happy to see her boss like that. He was struggling with the urge to ask her something, but he didn't know how, "Um, uh, Miss Porter I don't know how, um… May I…"

"Sure, Tim, you can have the day off" the brunette smiled.

"Oh, thank you Miss Porter, really. But, please let me at least take you back at the house" he said as he pulled in the driveway. They were arrived.

"Don't worry Tim. I'll take a cab when I'm done with my paperwork" she assured him, "Oh and if you want, you can take the whole week off"

"God bless you, Miss Porter. Merry Christmas" he couldn't help the big smile.

"Thanks Tim. A merry Christmas to you too"

Tina on the other end was at the apartment, with Angelica. She wanted to wish a Merry Christmas to her dear friend, Maggie. They hadn't seen each other for a long time and Maggie could've sworn she saw something new in Tina's eyes, "Dear, you seen very happy, today. I guess Miss Porter is treating you well?"

"Oh she is, Maggie. It's strange you now, I've never thought she could be so… so" she raised her head, looking at the ceiling. Her expression was priceless; she was daydreaming and almost forgot about her old friend.

"So?" the woman brought Tina back to reality.

"Oh, right. She's so cute, Maggie. So caring and sweet" she admitted and blushed, "My God"

"It seems you're falling for her, am I right?" the old woman smirked.

"God, Maggie, I don't know. I just… it feels so right with her, you know?" she smiled, but somehow Maggie could see that something was bothering her.

"So why are you afraid?"

"I don't know, Maggie. I mean… she's a woman, I've never been with a woman before. What if this is just a momentary thing? I don't want to bring Angelica too much pain. It already happened with Marcus" she said with sorrow in her eyes.

"I can see where you're coming from, baby girl. But, listen to this old woman, don't ever deny yourself of happiness because of your fears" she patted her knee. She thought about telling her about Marcus and that he was there just a few days before, but decided not to bring him in the conversation, since she realized Tina didn't know he was in town.

The blonde took a deep breath, "Yeah, I think you're right", then Angelica interrupted them as she entered the room, "Mommy, I want to buy Bette something for Christmas, can I?"

"Sure, baby" Tina's eyes spurting sparks of joy, "Let's go!"

It was eight o'clock, and Bette was still sitting at her desk, working at something when James, her assistant entered the office, "Uh, sorry Miss Porter, I wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas, I'm going home"

"Sure, James" she smiled tiredly, "Merry Christmas"

The woman leaned back in the chair and whispered to herself, "Merry Christmas". Then something occurred to her… "Oh my fucking God. Presents! I need to buy presents!" she quickly grabbed her suitcase and rushed out her office. After accomplishing her mission, she was finally home. It was late and she was sitting on the living room floor, trying to assemble a dinosaur skeleton model, when she sensed someone looking at her. It was Tina, who was now standing by the door frame with a smile on her face, "Hey there, Santa"

"Hey!" she smiled back, as she was trying to match two pieces of the skeleton.

"Here, let me do it" she took them from Bette's hands and matched them with ease.

"Oh, see? Now that looks like a real dinosaur skeleton" she rested her hands on her crossed legs. Tina was now sitting next to her, "It looks nice" she said, looking around. She was loving the atmosphere around them and the fireplace was making it even better.

"It does, yeah" she swallowed and looked down, "I've never spent Christmas here at the house, I found it useless. I remember when I was little, my dad and mom always found a way to ruin it. I hated it"

The blonde gave her a sympathetic smile and stood up. She walked toward the tree and playing with one of the balls started talking, "I haven't always lived here. I'm from the South. And I never saw snow… I remember my dad bought one of those things that make fake snow and he made it possible for me to finally see snow. It was the best Christmas I've ever had" she turned around, "What's yours?"

The brunette found it difficult to reply due to the knot formed in her throat, "This one" she whispered.

Tina couldn't help but feel the urge to hug her tightly. And she did just that… she sat down again, and without thinking twice she pulled Bette in her arms. Both women stood like that, savoring the moment. Tina was transferring all the love and care in that tight hug. Then she slightly pulled out so she could look at her in the eyes; she could see a little sparkle in them, sign she was close to crying. She brought her right hand on her cheek and draw an imaginary line from her brow to her chin. Bette quivered at the touch. Her hand was so warm and her caress was so gentle. Bette thanked her silently, just giving her a smile. She leaned closer; their lips inches apart. They could feel the electricity of the anticipation, "Mommy!" both women pulled apart, quickly, almost startled by the voice of the child coming from her room upstairs.

"She's got a very good timing" Bette giggled.

"She does!" the blonde giggled as well, "I'll go check on her" she smiled kindly and winked. She couldn't help the laugh when she saw Bette's cheeks turn into a shade of red.

14
Chapter

The greatest gift ever

The long-awaited day was finally there. It was Christmas and Angelica woke up with a start. The kid jumped out the bed and quickly made her way to the main bedroom, jumping on the bed and yelling, "It's Christmas! Mommy it's Christmas! Come on wake up!" bringing a huge smile on Tina's face. Then she made her way to the walking closet where Bette was sleeping in and yelled again, "It's Christmas!" right in her ears, making her jump, scaring the bejesus out of her, "Oh fuck!" she whispered as soon as the little girl ran to the living room.

The two women, after putting on their robes, followed the child and smiled at the sight of Angelica's happy face. It was the most beautiful thing ever. She was on cloud nine and Bette turned to look at Tina, who was teary eyed. She loved seeing how happy her baby was. Peggy soon joined them, wishing everybody a Merry Christmas, "So, who's the first that's going to unwrap their present?"

"Here, here, you open it" Angelica approached Bette, handing her a big package.

"For me?" the brunette smirked.

"Yes, go on, come on. Open it!" she was so excited.

Bette opened it and she gasped at what she saw. Her eyes quickly filled with tears. It was a tennis racket.

"See? It's not too heavy now. You can maneuver it"

"This… this is the best present I've ever had" the brunette admitted. She hugged Angelica tightly, "Thank you, sweetie". Tina, who was admiring the scene in front of her, was so proud of her baby girl. And so happy to see Bette finally capable to share her feelings with someone else. She could finally see the real Bette Porter and she was a completely different person. A better person.

They let Angelica enjoy her presents for about an hour; now was time for Tina to unwrap her present. The blonde was pretty surprised, "Oh, my God Bette!" she looked at her. It was a huge case with brushes, oil paints and other tools. It surely cost a fortune. The brunette couldn't help the smile when she saw Tina's reaction. She totally nailed it. The younger woman felt overwhelmed, "Bette, it's… it's beautiful, but I c—"

"Of course you can" Bette smiled and tilted her hand on one side. She looked almost shy.

"Thank you" the blonde whispered and hugged her tightly.

"Merry, merry Christmas!" the heard a voice coming from the front door; it was Alice. She entered the house waving her hands and smiling broadly, "This is for you, Mrs. Peabody" she handed her a rectangular box. There was an expensive fountain pen in it.

"Oh, that's amazing, Miss Pieszecki. Really, thank you so much"

Bette raised a brow and looked at her friend, she knew something was swirling around in her head, Alice quickly answered her silent question, pulling an envelope out her pocket, "I think we should use this beautiful pen for this" it was the contract for the moving of the mall. Tina quickly looked at Bette, who was clenching her jaws, trying to hold herself from killing Alice. Mrs. Peabody, instead, was pretty willing to do that, "Oh, that's a good idea, my dear" and signed it.

"Bette?" Alice said, smirking, handing her the pen and the piece of paper.

Bette hesitated and after glancing at Tina, she replied: "Uh, you know, Alice, I don't really work at Christmas day. Let's do it another time, shall we?" earning a broad smile from Tina. What a beautiful sight, she thought.

"Alright! Let's enjoy our Christmas day, then!" the older woman uttered, turning to face Bette, who was standing on Tina's left side. Peggy cleared her throat and pointed at something above her heads, "Don't you two think you should do something?" both women lifted her heads and realized what it was… mistletoe. The two of them glanced at each other; Tina blushed and Bette kept looking at her. She slowly got closer and Tina shivered at the anticipation of the touch. Their lips were a mere inches apart, then it happened. They touched. It was a gentle and chaste kiss, but the electricity in it was something beyond reality. They stood like that for several minutes; they pulled out at the sound of the doorbell. Alice was the one to open the door… she went back to the living room, followed by a tall man, "Um, this man told me he wanted to talk to you" she said to Bette.

"Daddy!" Angelica ran toward him. The expression of shock on Tina's face was something Bette never saw and she was afraid of what she was thinking. Marcus, pulling his daughter up in her arms, looked at the brunette and smirked, "Merry Christmas, Bette" the business woman didn't do anything but tighten her fists. She was hoping she could just beat the hell out of him. But what was concerning her now, was the fact that she could lose Tina and Angelica.

"What's happening here?" Peggy asked, clearly sensing the tension between them.

Bette looked at her, she wasn't going to do it anymore. She needed to come clean about it and she was going to do it right now, "I think we should talk about something"

"Bette" Alice whispered, grabbing her by the arm.

"Stop it, Alice. I knew it was going to end like this. Just stop it, that's not right, okay? That's totally wrong. And I'm feeling like a fucking asshole for doing this"

Tina, who was silently looking at the scene in front of her, approached Bette "Bette, um, I'd like to talk to you" her eyes glued with hers; the brunette couldn't read her feelings. She just nodded and excusing herself she went to the bedroom with Tina.

"Would you like to tell me what the fuck is happening downstairs?" her look stern, her voice deep and low.

"I fucked up, okay? I… no matter what I do, I always end up fucking up" she started pacing back and forth across the room, "He met me at the restaurant some days ago"

"And why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know"

Tina snorted, "Ha! I know why. You didn't want Peggy to find out, did you?"

"No, that's not—"

"Oh, fuck you, Bette. I should have known why you kept acting like that. All those kind words and gestures. You were holding something from me and you were trying to hide it by treating me well" Tina's words came bursting out. Bette almost felt like trapped in a storm.

Bette stopped pacing and looked at her, "That's not why I did it!" she yelled, making Tina stop talking. The blonde looked at her, clearly taken aback by the sudden burst. She stood there quiet, waiting for her to explain what she meant.

"I… I didn't want him near Angie"

"He's her father" she said matter of factly.

"Still, he didn't show his fucking face for months!" Bette tighten her fists again, holding her tears, "He can't tell his daughter he's going to come back and then go away without telling her good-bye. That's not how fathers should treat their own children" she sat down on the bed and pulled her head in her hands.

Tina approached her and sat down, placing a hand on her back "I know, it unnerves me too. But I can't keep him away from Angelica. She loves him…"

"He doesn't deserve her love!" she whined. The woman was on the verge of crying.

"Bette, tell me… tell me why you're acting like this"

"I don't want him near her"

"Jesus, Bette! You're not her mother, you cannot decide what—" she immediately stopped as she saw Bette's expression. She was completely hurt.

Bette looked down, "You're right" she whispered. Taking a deep breath she stood up and pulled herself together. "Let's go downstairs, shall we?" the brunette exited the room, leaving behind herself a shocked Tina.

They made her way downstairs, where they met Peggy half-way who asked Bette who that man with Angelica was, "He's Angie's father" Bette answered without showing any emotion. "I think there's something I need to tell you" she added, "Um, this has been a total farce. I've never been married and I've never had a daughter. That's it. I said it"

"And why are you telling me this? You could wait until our deal was concluded"

"I don't know"

"I think you know" Peggy said, looking at Tina. Bette did the same and lowered her head.

"Sometimes it took us just a little thing to make us realize what's really important" the old woman explained. And the answer is here; she placed a hand on Bette's heart, "And I think you just realize that" The brunette looked at Tina, again. Peggy smiled and added: "Exactly, I think you got it. So, I think there's no need for me to stay here anymore" she woman went to her room. She was going away.

"What? Mrs. Peabody! Mrs. Peabody!" Alice tried to follow the woman, but Bette stopped her.

"Let her go"

"But, Bette?" she showed her the contract.

"Just let her go!" she smiled as she grabbed the piece of paper from Alice's hand and ripped it. She looked at Tina who smiled back. Bette approached her and pulled an arm around her waist, as they made their way toward the couch, where Angie and Marcus were sitting together.

"So, for how long are you staying?" Tina asked him.

"Um, actually, I'm leaving tonight?"

"Tonight?" the kid whined. Tina just shook her head; Bette could've slapped him. The little girl stood up and sat on the chair opposite the couch. Giving his father her back.

"I really hope you're going to tell her good-bye, this time" Tina said in a stern tone, looking at the man, who just nodded and approached his daughter.

"Listen baby cakes, daddy really needs to go away, I just can't stay"

"But you never stay!" she cried.

"I know, baby. That's why I'm telling you this. I'm not good at this, you deserve someone who no matter what will stay with you and give you all the love you deserve. And I think you already found that person" he sighed. Tina looked at Bette, who swallowed and looked down at the floor.

"You will always be my favorite girl" his voice cracked, "I love you, good-bye" he said as he gave her a little peck on her forehead. He quickly approached the door, without looking back. Bette and Tina silently cursing him for hurting their little girl once more time. Angelica was there, crying and calling for her dad and without giving Tina or Bette the time to react, she rushed out the house, trying to reach Marcus. The two women quickly followed her and a huge sense of fear crossed Tina's body, "Oh my God she's following the car!"

"Angie!" Bette called her name, "Angie, please stop!" she ran as fast as she could in order to get to her. Tina was right behind her; hoping that nothing was going to happen to her little girl. Then she heard a deafening noise, the noise tires do when you press the brake. She closed her eyes, fearing for the worse. Then silence… she opened them and she looked at Marcus' car turn away, and Bette sat on the ground holding Angelica. A car right next to them which its own driver managed to stop.

They were safe.

Tina let out a sigh of relief and quickly approached them, "Oh my God, thank you. Thank you, thank you" she hugged them both. She pulled out and Bette looked at her, smiling. And before they knew both their mouths collided in a sweet and loveful kiss as a promise to never let go of one another. They stood up and with Angie between them, holding their hands, they made their way to the house that was soon to be their home.

Later that night, after tucking Angelica in, Bette and Tina made their way to the main bedroom. It had been a rough day, but something important happened that day: Bette finally found someone who loved her for what she really was. Someone who had been able to see her real soul. Tina managed to see through the hard shell Bette built over the years and the brunette easily let her in. They slept together, that night. After spending hours getting acquaintance with one another bodies. It was the first time for Tina to make love with a woman. And Bette, on the other hand, learnt something new: making love. She made love for the first time and she sworn to herself that she was going to cherish every second lived with her Christmas Gift: Tina.

The Epilogue

It was the night before Christmas; just a year after the day Bette Porter, the almighty and bitchy business woman learnt the biggest lesson ever. She was now living with her family: her beautiful wife, their daughter and their little boy: Stephan. Bette was still a powerful business woman, but more loving and caring. Tina, on the other hand, thanks to Bette had managed to become an established painter. Both of them were happier than ever and their love kept growing stronger every passing day.

"Oh yeah, baby, don't stop" the blonde squirmed under Bette's body. The brunette was ravishing her mouth with her own, letting their tongues dance together as she kept grinding her center against Tina's. She let out a growl as she pulled out, "I love you"

"I love you too" the blonde smiled. The smile quickly turned into a playful smirk as she quickly rolled their bodies so now she was on top of the brunette. Bette let out a throaty laugh and pulled her wife into an open mouthed kiss. They kissed for minutes, transmitting all their love in that kiss. As soon as the kiss ended, the blonde made her way to Bette's breasts, letting her tongue play with the already hardened nipples. She sucked on one of them, while her hand kept teasing the other one. She licked the valley between her beautiful breasts and looked in her eyes before tracing wet kisses down her abdomen, finally reaching her favorite spot. She could see the glisten caused by her wetness, and smelled her beautiful scent. It was a total turn on. She blow some air on it and the contrast with the warmth between Bette's legs, made the brunette jerk her hips, "God, babe, I need you" without any hesitation, the younger woman started teasing her entrance with the tip of her tongue, guiding it toward the hard nub. She gently sucked on it, making Bette hiss and bury her head into the pillow. She quickened her laps and sucked every now and then, driving her crazy. The moans Bette was letting out were getting Tina even wetter, she couldn't take it anymore. She pulled out and pulled her upper body on Bette's, she replaced her tongue with her fingers and kept rubbing her clit, while she started grinding her own center against Bette's thigh. Both women moaned at the electricity gushing between them. Tina kept nibbling and sucking on Bette's neck, until the brunette grabbed her face and pulled her in another deep kiss, this time it was even more ferocious. She pulled them in a sitting position and guided her hand toward Tina's center, "You're so wet"

"It's you baby, it's all for you"

"Let's come together, sweetie" she whispered in Tina's ear, as she easily slid two fingers inside of her, starting with a slow pace. Tina did the same and both their bodies started rocking. It was like a dance. Their bodies moving, guided by the force of their strong love. With the thumb pressing on Tina's clit, Bette fastened the pace and thrust her fingers deeper. Tina just mirrored her movement and when both of them felt their own climaxes building up, both of them curled their fingers in order to touch their miraculous spots and quickly reached their orgasms.

As their bodies stopped shivering and their breaths slowed down, they let themselves fall down on the mattress and held each other, "I'm so happy" Bette admitted. Caressing Tina's hair, as she rested her head on her chest.

"I'm so happy too, babe" she said, as she let herself being lulled by Bette's heartbeat, "Are you ready for the big day, tomorrow? You know our two monkeys are going to give us a really hard time"

Bette couldn't help but laugh a heartfelt laugh; Tina's loved that sound, "Oh God, we're going to drown in a sea of wrapping paper!"

"Let's drown in a sea of passion, as long as we can" Tina smirked and gave a start to a sex-marathon that lasted almost the whole night.

"It's Christmas!" Angelica yelled, running across the hall and throwing open the bedroom door, "Mommies is Christmas!" she ran downstairs. "Oh my God, there are so many!"

Both women opened their eyes and smiled at each other, "Merry Christmas, baby" Tina said.

"Merry Christmas, my beautiful gift"

The End