"Oh. I'm sorry" Tina tensed up and buried her head in her arms.

"Wait. T, yes it's wrong because I'm supposed to be here protecting you. Yes, its wrong because you do have a boyfriend"

Tina grunted.

"And yes, its wrong, because in turning over you will most likely hurt your back even more"

Tina had to laugh.

"But then in so many ways its not wrong" Bette said softly.

"What?" Tina lifted her head slightly.

"When I touch you I get so caught up in the softness of your skin that I can't see anything else" Bette shifted so that she was sat next to Tina "I've never wanted to protect someone more in my life. And right now, I want nothing more than to do this"

Bette brushed aside the hair that had fallen over Tina's face and lay down next to her. Keeping her hand in Tina's hair she gently took her top lip between her own and gave her the softest of kisses. Pulling back slightly she took in the beautiful sight of Tina lying there, eyes still closed looking as though Bette had just taken her breath away. She laughed lightly and lifted Tina's hand to her lips, planting small kisses on her knuckles.

"There's no way that was wrong" said Tina breathlessly.

"Why's that?" Bette grinned at her.

"Because my God that felt right"

Bette laughed and sat up

"Where are you going?"

"I'm not going anywhere babe. I'm just carrying on with my job"

Tina's confusion only lasted a moment as she felt Bette sit astride her again, and she felt those amazing hands on her back again. Slowly Bette started to massage Tina's lower back, as she leant forward and kissed the sensitive spot between Tina's shoulder blades.

"Mmmm Bette…God you have no idea what you do to me"

Bette smiled into Tina's back. She slowly ran her tongue down her spine, feeling the woman below her shiver in pleasure.

"Bette…I have to tell you something"

"So ladies, what do we have?" Peggy faced Agents Fairbanks, Piezecki and Schecter.

"A never ending list of suspects" muttered Alice.

"Anything productive?" Peggy scowled at Alice.

"Well it seems like we can't rule anyone out. It seems that most people in Miss Kennard's life have a gun license, we're still waiting on ballistics from the car but until we have something to compare them to its not much of a lead. The chemicals in Ms Ferrer's apartment were all ones you can pick up in a supermarket. But when we start looking at some of the suspects bank accounts, things get a little interesting" Dana looked quite proud of herself.

"Tell me more" Peggy sat down.

"A Miss Lara Perkins made a significant cash deposit into her account not long after the scandal involving her obsession with Miss Kennard. Definitely a lot more than the government pays her."

"Interesting…" mused Peggy.

"And then we have the boyfriend, Eric Martin. It seems he got himself into some serious gambling debts. He owes a small fortune. And his city trading has done little to make up for it. As far as we can tell, Miss Kennard is unaware of his financial situation" Alice continued.

"How about Ms Ferrer's account?" Jenny piped up.

"Nothing out of the ordinary there. Its looking like suspicion may be better placed elsewhere" Alice told her.

"We can never be too sure. Has Agent McCutcheon discovered anything further?" Peggy asked.

"Not really. She says Miss Perkins keeps herself to herself, and noone seems to really know much about Ms Ferrer" Dana reported.

"I should let Bette know. Particularly about the boyfriend" Peggy decided.

"Bette…I have something to tell you…"

"What?" Bette lifted her head from Tina's back.

"I…I just feel like I don't want to keep anything from you, ok?"

"Ok…" Bette was a little nervous.

She moved so that she was sat next to Tina, who turned herself over and sat up, clutching the covers around her.

"You're not the first woman I've kissed"

"Ok. You're not the first woman I've kissed either" Bette tried to lighten the situation

"Bette" Tina said sternly "I had a fling with Lara Perkins"

"The girl from the admin department?" Bette asked, trying to pretend that she didn't already know more about Lara.

"Yes. It was nothing really, but she got kind of obsessive when I said I didn't want it to go any further"

"Meaning?"

"No, I never slept with her Bette. But I couldn't risk anyone finding out about it. So Eric paid her some money and I never filed any complaint, and in return she kept quiet and acted like it was just an unrequited obsession" Tina looked down at the bed.

"Eric knew about it?" Bette asked incredulously.

"Yes. He's always known that somethings been…missing…from our relationship"

"That you'd rather be with a woman"

"I think so, yes. The reason that I ended it with Lara isn't the fact that she was a woman, it was just that she wasn't the right woman. And what with work an everything…it just seemed easier to stick with Eric"

"Easier for who?" Bette lifted Tina's chin so that they were looking at each other.

"Me, or so I thought. I mean, Eric had just paid out all that money to save my ass, how could I leave him?"

"But you weren't happy"

"I guess not. But then you came along, and it was like I couldn't fight it anymore" Tina managed half a smile.

"You should never try and fight who you are. And you in particular happen to be an exceptionally wonderful person" Bette kissed her on the forehead.

"You're not mad at me?"

"For what? Everyone has a history T. You probably should have told me this before in case it has any bearing on the threat to your life…"

"You don't think Lara could be behind this?" Tina seemed genuinely shocked.

"We have no idea who's behind it. But we have to explore every possibility"

"Bette…I'm scared"

Bette pulled Tina into her arms and kissed the top of her head "Everythings going to be ok babe. I promise you, I won't rest until you're safe"

"I'm so glad I have you to protect me"

Tina lifted her head and brushed her lips softly against Bette's. Bette ran her fingers through Tina's hair and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. She smiled as she heard Tina make that noise in the back of her throat that only a woman can make. Nervously Tina moved her hands to cup Bette's face, letting the covers slip slightly from around her. Their tongues danced together as Bette ran her hands down to Tina's back, her thumbs slowly starting to move in a circular motion again.

And then the shrill noise of Bette's cell phone pierced the air from the next room.

"Shit" Bette cursed "I'd better get that"

"Don't be long"

Kissing Tina on the cheek, Bette got up and went to answer the phone.

"Peggy?"

"Sorry about the unsociable hour Bette, but I thought you'd want to be aware of any progress we were making"

"Yes, of course"

"Firstly, hows Miss Kennard?"

"She's…she's safe and doing well. There shouldn't be any long term damage to her back, and the doctors given her some pain killers for now"

"That's good news. Now for the not so good news"

And so Peggy informed her of the potential suspects that the other Agents had discovered.

"Well" said Bette as Peggy finished "That would seem to tie in with a lot of what Tina's told me"

Bette proceeded to fill Peggy in on the situation with Lara and Eric.

"So in conclusion, I need to try and keep her away from both of them without alerting them?" Bette suggested.

"Yes"

"Well, with Lara that shouldn't be hard. There's plenty of reason for them to avoid each other. But the boyfriend…"

"We could play on the fact that I need a lot of comforting as a friend. She already asked him not to stay here because she needed more bed space because of her injury"

"Wonderful. Sounds like you have the situation under control, Bette"

Wish I could say the same for my emotions, thought Bette to herself.

"Let me know as soon as you have any further information"

"Of course, Bette. Goodnight"

"Goodnight" Bette sighed as she hung up the phone and walked back into Tina's room with a heavy heart.

"T?" she stood, simply taking in the beauty of the blonde.

"Is everything ok?" Tina noticed the worry lines appearing on Bette's forehead.

"Not really. I have something to tell you. It's about Eric"