Stef came home from the hospital to a full house, after only a few hours she felt drained and frustrated. She didn't enjoy being catered by the entire family. She knew what limits she could go to but everyone kept rushing to her needs. They acted like Stef was weak and fragile. She tried not to take her frustration out on them; she knew she would be behaving the same way if it was one of her loved ones that got hurt. By the end of the night she accepted Lena's help up the stairs, refusing to sleep on the couch. "I want to sleep in my own bed."
"I swear my knee hurts more than my stomach." Stef said wincing in pain as she tried to get out of bed.
"Do you want some ice for it babe?" Lena said rolling over to watch her wife hobble around their room.
"No, but I think I might need to go get it checked out."
Lena walked with Stef down the stairs. "I'm fine love." Stef said using the railing for support with each step she took.
It was a quiet morning; everyone slowly trickled down stairs for breakfast. Lena made coffee for the both of them as each of their teenagers helped themselves to oatmeal or cereal.
"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Lena asked again. "Yes babe, I'm going to enjoy this quite house.. Once you guys are gone." Stef said with a smile. "Please call the doctor today to make an appointment for your knee." Lena said leaning in to give Stef a kiss goodbye.
Stef called the clinic half an hour later. She told the receptionist she needed an appointment as soon as possible. After explaining why, she was put on hold just as the door bell rang. She slowly hobbled to the answer the front door, phone to her ear waiting for the receptionist. Monte was standing on the porch, even though her back was too her, she recognized her immediately. "Monte?" Stef said. Monte turned around. "I'm sorry, is this a bad time?"
"No, come in." Stef said waving the brunette inside.
"Yes, today would be great, that's perfect." Stef said into the phone as she closed the front door. "Okay, Okay, thank you." Stef put her phone in her pocket and turned to Monte. "Would you like some coffee or tea?"
"Tea, if you don't mind." The brunette replied.
Monte followed the slow moving Stef into the kitchen. "Are you okay?" The she asked as Stef put the tea kettle on the stove. "I think I injured my knee when I fell. I hadn't moved around until I came home or I would have had them look at it at the hospital." Stef hesitated, feeling uncomfortable, "So what brings you here?" The blonde said taking a seat at the kitchen table. Monte sat down, she fidgeted with the place mat in front of her trying to find the words for a proper answer. "I really don't know." She said after a while.
"Are you still staying at that hotel?"
"Yes, but they are supposed to be cleaning my apartment today, I'm not sure if I want to go back."
Stef sighed and reached out for Monte's hand.
Truthfully Stef felt uncomfortable. She was conflicted. A part of her felt sorry for Monte. She understood Monte went through a lot and may suffer from it. Another part of her felt angry and bitter; just imagining both Lena and Monte in the same room made her stomach turn. Images of Lena's hands on the brunette's body flashed through her mind making her blood boil. At the same time she felt extremely gully for telling Monte to go home that night. Her mind kept shifting back to those images of that man with a fist full of Monte's hair and a gun jammed into her throat. The sheer panic and terror that flooded the younger girls face. It haunted her.
"I'm sorry." Monte whispered as tear slowly fell down her cheek. "I'm sorry for everything." She added as brown eyes met blue.
Monte searched Stef's eyes. "I crossed the line with Lena, it was my fault. I was selfish." She paused searching for words. Stef hadn't moved her hand, Monte put her other hand on top of Stef's lightly squeezing it. "Looking back now I didn't realize I was taking advantage at the time, but I did. I was curious and I took advantage." She paused again. She couldn't read the blonde so she continued. "Then you saved my life." She squeezed Stef's hand again. "You saved my life Stef; you did the most selfless thing, after everything I put you through. You're such a good person." Monte said as tears started streaming down her face.
"I shouldn't have told you to go home." Stef whispered looking away from Monte. "I should have made you stay where you were. I told you to go home and he followed you."
"He was following me anyway Stef."
"I feel like I put you in danger, I should have told you to drive to the station, anywhere public at least-"
"Stef," Monte said leaning forward slightly. "He had intentions, he was determined, what happened at home could have happened anywhere."
Stef nodded slightly.
"I don't think you could ever forgive me, I don't blame you if you never do but I need you to know that I am truly sorry Stef. I also need you to know how grateful I am that you came to me when I was in danger. You saved my life and I thank you for it." Monte said as her voice started to crack.
The blonde looked to the brunette, the younger woman was sincere she had tears streaming down her face Stef could tell she was trying to hold herself together. Monte moved her hands from the table to wipe her damp face, her hands were shaking.
"How 'bout that tea?" Stef said standing up quickly hiding a wince from the searing pain in her knee. She walked the short distance to the stove and removed the kettle from the heat. She took a deep breath trying to collect her emotions. She grabbed two mugs and two tea bags. She took another deep slow breath as she poured the hot water into the each mug over the tea bags. She busied herself while letting the tea steep. She rummaged through the cabinet pulling out a small box of pastries; she transferred the sweets to a small plate and placed it on the table. She turned around and grabbed the mugs of tea setting hers down first. She set the other mug down in front of the younger woman. Monte grabbed Stef's wrist and pulled her in, still sitting she wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist.
Stef didn't know what to do; she was slow to accept the embrace. Her heart ached for Monte, but it also ached because of Monte. She hesitated before she wrapped her arms around the brunette. Monte was trembling as she started to cry into Stef's chest. Stef petted Monte's hair. "Hey," she whispered as Monte cried harder. She rested her chin on the top of Monte's head still petting the brunette's hair. "Everything's okay. You're going to be okay." She whispered into her hair.
A.N.: I hope you guys enjoyed this story! Thank you for all of the comments!