Tear down this wall.

During the war, we became accustomed to the cloud of doom and gloom that followed quietly in the backdrop of life. It's dark, looming shadow threatening to strike its misery down at any moment. In the briefest of moments, a lovely afternoon could be ruined with a telegram. A fiancé could be missing in action. A son could be killed by friendly fire with only a month left in the war. A dear friend could be overseas and unheard from for months. These were the days that left their marks on the soul.

I guess over the years we forgot their toll. We moved on and lived our lives like those days never happened. We had to. Life demanded of it and there wasn't time to dwell on the past. Plus, there were plenty of happy days that followed to help ease the pain and scars of the tougher years. And there was plenty of alcohol to help erase the rest.

It's funny though. Those days were a lifetime ago, but I can still feel them. I can still smell the fragrance of amatol mixed together with hope and uncertainty. And I can still hear the sound of hearts stopping as a famously dropped canister clattered across the factory floor with a thunderous disruption.

Sometimes I wonder though if all the sadness and fear was worth it. Did the war years need to be so filled with such fret? You and I certainly did our fair share of stressing over the meaning of fate, didn't we?

But, maybe in the end, the point of those days was to prepare us for the days to come that weren't very happy. For those days when life seemed to be coming a part at the seams. And for the days when you felt like you were drowning on dry land…

June 1987

"On Friday, the American President challenged the Soviet leader to seek peace and prosperity with a bold statement…. 'Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall'… It was a historic moment for these two nations with a turbulent past…"

Betty turned away from the annoyingly chipper news anchor reporting the same news story that seemed to be on loop and blaring from the small gray television hanging from the corner of the room. With a roll of her eyes, she wondered who made the rule that every hospital waiting room must come equipped with a television set, set to the decimal of pain in the ass with no remote control in sight.

As she began her pace back towards the chairs, she focused on the rain tapping on the fogged over windowpanes of the narrow room. Somehow, Mother Nature seemed to be the only one on her level of thinking when it came to setting the appropriate mood for the day. All others were slow on the uptake…

"I think this will lead to great things for Central Europe," Gladys said. "It's about time change be demanded for that region. You wouldn't believe the intense effort it took for the occupations to settle on an agreement for Berlin after the War."

"Witham, it's been over 40 years and you're still dropping elusive hints of your time over there. Will we ever get to learn the juicy details of your oh so secretive years saving the world?" Vera quipped wryly.

Vera, Gladys, and Carol sat in the hard plastic bank of chairs against the wall. The crowded room didn't leave much room for them, so they sat closely together. Leaving one empty chair beside them for Betty.

Gladys simply smiled at Vera's teasing as they both watched Betty walk back and forth in front of the windows. The room was full with anxious strangers, but none seemed to be as restless as the woman before them. Her nerves were in full view as she stalked her worries with a hint of a clipped gait from years of hard work. Her greying hair was tangled from nervous fingers constantly fidgeting through it. Gladys knew her friend would also be feeling the effects of the weather in her bones, but knew Betty would never let it show.

"Betty, why don't you come and sit down? It will be hours before we hear anything on Kate. There is no need in straining your back by standing all day."

Betty could feel the others worried eyes on her. "I'm just fine where I am."

She heard a sigh behind her and could picture the "there's stubborn Betty" look exchanged between Gladys and Vera. She wondered how they could sit so calmly and talk as if they were having tea at the bakery down the street instead of sitting in a hospital waiting room.

"Well, I for one can feel the rainy weather. How can a simple weather front moving in make me feel so old?" Carol wondered out loud.

"Ladies, let's face it. We're no spring chickens anymore. Last week, I heard Eugene Corbett's grandson got his driver's license," Vera replied with a scoff and an unbelievable shake of her head.

"Well, there's a scary thought, I learned long ago to never trust a Corbett behind the wheel."

Vera and Carol both laughed at Gladys' joke while Betty fought the urge to roll her eyes again. They all turned to see if Betty would respond, but were only met with the steady pace she was determined to keep.

This time it was Vera who tried her hand at calming their friend.

"Betty, I've read pacemaker procedures are a pretty common surgeries these days. And you couldn't ask for a better place, last year Marco landed here after a flair up with kidney stones and received superb care."

"I read in Chatelaine that the Duchess of Kent toured this hospital on their last visit," Carol responded matter-of-factly.

"I heard it was more than just a tour after a rough bout with some bad oysters."

"Really, how fascinating!" Carol replied, turning to Gladys and clasping her hands together in excitement.

"And you'll note Betty, that sounds like a pretty common visit and treatment. It must be a legit place if the fancy titles come here to slum it with the regular folks for their ailments." Vera pointed out.

Betty whirled around with an incredulous look.

"Nothing about this is common for Kate. She's not here for some lousy kidney stones or for an insipid celebratory visit. Nothing about this is common. Nothing. Not the surgery. Not with how sick she's been lately. And certainly not with her care here."

Betty clinched her teeth and stopped herself from going on. She wanted to scream and cry and shake them until they understood that nothing common ever happened in hospitals. It wasn't common when her mother went to one for a persistent cough and came out dying of cancer so long ago now that she could barely remember the sound of her mother's voice and it sure as hell wasn't common for Betty to feel so helpless now. Not after all this time.

The others stayed silent as Betty tried to regain her composure by turning her back to them. They realized nothing could be said that would be calming to the former blonde. She was in full bloom "worried for Kate" mode and nothing would see her through except seeing that Kate was safe and sound with her own eyes.

Finally, Vera broke the silence with acceptance of the situation.

"Come on, Gladys, let's go get some coffee for everyone at the cafeteria. As bad as that muddy water is, there's something about hospital coffee that makes it the most comforting brew you've ever tasted."

Gladys nodded as she pulled herself up and made her way towards the door, on her way by she gave Betty's arm a small squeeze.

"Kate will make it through this like the champ we know she is and she'll be home for you to worry over before you know it."

Betty only nodded as she heard her two friends disappear down the hall. With a rub of the back of her neck, she resumed her march in front of the windows.

"Oh, good grief, not that again," Carol called out.

"What?"

"Come and sit down and give the stalk and worry parade a rest… you're making others more nervous than they already are."

For the first time that day, Betty looked at the other people around her. There were a few strangers staring at her anxiously. Tensions were high for all in that small room and her obvious anxiety wasn't helping the atmosphere of the cramped quarters. She sighed and made her way to the hard chair beside Carol.

They both sat in silence for a few moments before Carol's voice broke into Betty's thoughts.

"Did I ever tell you why I broke things off with Walter?"

Betty blinked at the extreme conversational turn that Carol had just taken. "Huh?"

"Walter… you know, why it never worked out between us."

Betty looked at Carol with her brow furrowed at the random absurdity of the conversation at hand, but after a moment, her shoulders slumped in defeat as she accepted that this was Carol sitting with her and random and absurd were her specialty.

"Walter the first or Walter the second?" Betty asked, reluctantly giving into the topic.

"The Second. The first Walter was only a War fling. The second Walter was different."

"No, I guess I don't know what happened, I just assumed he didn't meet the Carol Demers standards."

"Oh no, he was a dreamboat. Handsome, came from notable family, War hero, rising star in the banking business… he pretty much had high marks across the board when it came to marriage material."

"Well what happened to Mr. Dreamboat then?"

Carol turned forward in her chair as she thought back, staring off in front of her as if she were going back into time in her head.

"Remember my New Years Eve Party of '64? Oh what a party that was, the champagne was flowing, spirits were high, I had on that fantastic floral pants suit of mine… I think Walter was even going to pop the big question some time soon…"

"Yeah, yeah, I seem to recall that time period," Betty nodded, thinking back. "You were particularly abuzz about Walter asking the question."

"Well, Walter…" Carol sighed. "Let's just say he was a bit ornery when it came to people who weren't like him. I could ignore it for the most part, but then, well I guess he must of saw something…"

Betty stared at her blankly, still unsure where this was all going.

"Saw something with you and Kate, I mean. The rest of us knew you two use to sneak off to ring in the New Year in private, you both weren't exactly stealth-tastic by then, but Walter didn't know about the two of you and he must of seen something he didn't like. I'm sure it was innocent enough, but boy did I hear about it later."

Betty went still as Carol's story unfolded. It was a type of story she and Kate should be use to by now, but it still made her blood run cold to hear such things, even if it had happened decades before.

"He went into a tizzy, forbidding me from seeing you both, saying it wasn't normal and other unmentionable things. Well, that's when I knew; this bird wasn't putting up with all that nonsense. No siree, Walter the second had to go."

Betty couldn't believe her ears. She was never a big fan of Walter, he always seemed like a hoity toity type, but she had no idea how he felt about she and Kate.

"So wait, let me get this straight. You called things off because of how he felt about Kate and me?"

"Eh, that and because he wore socks to bed."

Betty's eyebrows rose again. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again, unsure what to say. Carol turned towards her and shook her head as if they were having the most normal conversation in the world.

"I mean, there's a lot of things that aren't normal about you, Betty… but what you have with Kate… the feelings you have for each other, it's normal. It's more than normal. You two make your relationship work better than any other couple I know."

Carol reached over and grabbed Betty's hand in her lap just as Betty's jaw tightened from desperately trying to keep her emotions in check.

"…It wasn't right back in '64 and it wasn't right this morning when the nurse gave you that look as you leaned down to kiss Kate goodbye. And then to have the nerve to tell you that you might not get to visit Kate after her surgery if you weren't family?"Carol shook her head in disgust."I'll tell you, that's what's not normal with this crazy world and it's not fair."

"Yeah, but those looks and sentiments aren't exactly uncommon for us."

"Not today and not in this place. That old bat won't keep you from seeing Kate after the surgery. We'll make sure of it."

"We will, huh?" Betty smirked.

"Sure, you know how persuasive Gladys can be. She'll charm the pants off of them and then have them ready to name a wing after her by the end of the night. And if that doesn't work, I'll fake a conniption while you sneak around back, you know, like they do in the movies."

Betty tilted her head and she regarded the woman beside her. "You'd do all that?"

"Well, I'm certainly not here for the coffee and pleasant atmosphere."

Betty nodded and swallowed the lump in her throat. She could hear what Carol wasn't saying. Somehow, during the 40 plus years of bickering and loathing and a whole lot of sarcasm, they'd become friends. She was more than just an acquaintance Betty played cards with every Wednesday, and more than the person who brought the disgusting fruit salad to their holiday parties, somewhere along the way Carol Demers had become the one who could keep her grounded on this no good day. Today, she was here for her, her friend.

They both sat in silence as the comfortable acceptance settled between them while Carol held tightly to Betty's hand, giving her the strength she needed to get through the day.

Finally, Carol's voice broke the moment.

"…But if anyone famous walks by, I'm throwing your hand down and pretending I don't know you," she said, giving Betty a small sideways smile to show she wasn't serious… completely.

"Happy to oblige, powder puff," Betty shot back, returning the same taunting smile.

It was the only real smile Betty was willing to give away that day. As the fate of the old German wall was declared for all the world to hear on the TV above them, Betty was just thankful for a hand to hold onto while sitting in the small waiting room of St. Michael's Hospital.

Betty sat in the darkened room and took in the small figure lying in the bed before her. Her eyes followed the path of each cord strung across Kate, taking note of how each held its own special purpose in keeping her comfortable. She could see the top of the white bandage poking through her hospital gown and knew not far below would soon lay a surgical scar. It had been decades since she had received such a purposely-placed scar across her body. Betty breathed in an idea that suddenly occurred to her. She had kept her word– she'd kept Kate safe after all these years.

Kate groaned softly and scrunched her nose as she began to stir for the first time since the nurses had brought her back from the surgery. Betty's breath caught in her throat as she scrambled to her feet. She was at Kate's side, ready to see those blue-green eyes flutter open again. As they did, Betty felt like she could breath again.

"Hey there, beautiful," Betty smiled softly and whispered as if she were afraid too much commotion would be too much for either of them to handle.

"You're here," Kate's slow smile and groggy eyes held Betty's as she reached out and squeezed her hand weakly.

"Of course, I am. No old crony nurse is going to stop me."

Kate only nodded as Betty's free hand came up to gently stroke back the hair fanning Kate's face.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I could run a marathon," Kate teased softly, her voice still raw from her deep sleep.

"Good, we'll sign you up for one then 'cause the doctor says everything went well and you'll be feeling much better soon."

Kate closed her eyes again and took comfort in Betty's voice and presence beside her. "And how about you?"

"I've had better days."

"I know the feeling. Did Gladys keep you calm and collected?"

Betty paused for a moment. Sensing something more, Kate opened her eyes.

"Actually, it was Carol. We had a moment. Turns out she's not so bad to have around during a personal crisis. She held my hand through it all."

Kate blinked hard at the statement her ears had just heard. "Carol and you?"

"Yeah."

There was a small pause again before Kate said the only thing she could think of…

"Good grief, how long was I out for?"

Betty let out a shaky breath she meant to be a laugh, but the tears pooling in her eyes gave her away.

"Too long… far too long," She said, her voice shaking.

Kate lifted her hand to wipe away the few tears that dared to break free. Betty sighed as she took Kate's hand and kissed the same palm she had kissed while sitting on a piano bench in the darkened bar 46 years before. Just as she had back then, she cautiously leaned over to kiss Kate on the lips, this time though the moment was met with love and acceptance.

Kate groaned as she inched her away over in the hospital bed and reached out to pull Betty up so that she could crawl into the bed with her. They had perfected the knack of lying comfortably in a small bed long ago. Betty was careful of Kate's bandages, laying her head on Kate's shoulder and interweaving their arms together so that she could slip her fingers through Kate's by her side.

"So tell me about this moment with Carol," Kate said weakly as the hum and pings of the machines droned on in the background, telling them that Kate had made it through.

Betty took comfort in this fact first hand by watching each rise and fall of Kate's chest as she lay beside her.

"Well, it all starts with the hope of tearing down a few walls."

A/N: I'm going to make a confession– I love Carol Demers. One of the many things I hated to see the show go was that we'd loose the possibility of more Carol scenes. And, even better, Carol and Betty scenes. That quirky, snobby little bird got to me and I miss her, along with the other girls, of course. I think even Carol would have been a Betty and Kate fan eventually. She called them a great team after all.