Bonnie dropped into a chair with a sigh of relief, then took a long sip from her overpriced airport coffee. A glance at the nearby signboard showed that they'd be calling her flight to Atlanta in about thirty minutes. Hopefully the caffeine would help her fight off sleep until she made it back to Huntsville. I don't want to doze on the plane, and then not be able to sleep tonight.

A yawn welled up, apparently not quelled by the coffee. Bonnie stifled it with her fist, then rubbed at her eyes. Maybe checking email will help me stay awake. She fished her phone from her bag and went through the inboxes of both her personal accounts. The address she used when registering for websites had its usual collection of daily specials, weekly updates, and 'important' announcements. Bonnie deleted most of them out of hand, reading only a couple. The address she used with friends had only two messages.

The first email was from Andy. As expected, it contained effusive wishes for a fabulous weekend, and a sly suggestion as to the best brand of anti-chafing cream, should it be required. Bonnie rolled her eyes.

"Weekend was wonderful." She muttered as she typed her response. "And you're a dirty old man. Which at the tender age of 26 must be some kind of record."

The second email was from Tara. Bonnie was just about to open it when her phone rang.

"Hey Joss." The brunette smiled. "What's up?"

"Hey." From the slightly breathy quality of the Montanan's voice, she was walking as she talked. "I just got back from Middleton. Thought I'd give you a call and see if you wanted ta do dinner t'night, since we missed our usual Wednesday get together."

Bonnie paused, biting her lip. She hadn't mentioned her trip to Joss, not wanting to face the questions that would follow. But that was before I decided I was done with hiding. "I'd love to get dinner, but I'm not actually in town, right now. I'm ... I'm in Las Vegas."

"Vegas?" Joss's surprised was evident. "I didn't know ya were the gamblin' type."

"I'm not."

"Huh." Joss digested this for a moment. "Ya didn't get married, did ya?"

"What?" Bonnie blinked. "Why would you ask that?"

The Montanan chuckled. "Gamblin' and quickie weddings ... ain't they pretty much the only two reasons to go to Vegas?"

"I'm sure there must be others." The brunette said blithely. "They have that 'Space Passages' thing here, don't they?"

"If ya were one of the NASA guys, I'd buy that as yer reason." Joss admitted. Then her tone turned speculative. "But since ya ain't ... I'd say that there's another explanation. Ya gonna share with the class, teacher lady?"

"Now, Joss. You know the rule: what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."

To Bonnie's pleasure, that comment got another chuckle. "Now I know ya had a better reason t' be there than 'Space Passages'."

"I did indeed." The brunette smiled as memories of the weekend whirled through her head. "But I don't intend to share them while sitting in the middle of the airport."

"I guess that makes sense." Joss allowed. "Do ya need a ride home from the airport tonight? I'd be happy t' pick ya up."

Bonnie laughed. "I don't get in until late, so it's probably best if I just take a taxi. Plus if you pick me up I suspect you'll interrogate me in the car on the way home."

"The thought never crossed my mind." Joss did not make even a token effort at sincerity. Then she continued in a more serious tone. "Ya know ya don't have to tell me anythin' if ya don't want to, right?"

"It's okay, I do want to tell you. Wednesday night, at dinner. I'll make lasagna."

"Lasagna." The Montanan gave a soft moan. "Beauty, brains and ya can cook, too. If only you were gay, ya'd be the perfect woman."

Bonnie managed an uneasy chuckle. "It's easy to see why women fall for that Montanan charm."

"Oh yeah, I'm so smooth." Joss laugh. "Listen, I just gotta sign off – no cell phones while drivin'. Drop me a message when you get home so I know you made it back safe, okay?"

"Okay." Bonnie smiled at the request, then said her goodbyes and ended the call. After hanging up, she stared pensively at the phone's blank screen. Hopefully Joss wouldn't be too upset when she learned that Bonnie met her criteria for 'perfection', after all.

Of course, she probably couldn't be any more freaked out than Chahna was when I suggested our 'date'.

"Relax." Bonnie had not been able to resist chuckling at Chahna's stricken expression. She laid her hand on top of Chahna's. "I'm not saying I want a relationship."

"Oh." The Indian woman's look of alarm faded to mere uncertainty. "Then I do not understand what it is you are suggesting."

Bonnie took a moment to collect her thoughts. "I've always hidden my sexuality. I knew my family would never accept it. I knew that people would judge me for it. How I've hidden it has changed over time; but the fact that I was hiding never has." She paused. "I don't want to hide any more. But ... do I have the courage to stop? Can I walk down the street, holding another woman's hand, and not spend all my time worrying about what people will say? Can I take a woman to dinner, and not spend the entire meal wondering if our waiter's a homophobe who spat in the food?"

Chahna gave a half-smile. "So I am to be a trial run, is that it?"

"That's not a bad way to put it." Bonnie admitted, with a soft laugh. "I'd like to know I can cope with the consequences, before I ask someone for a date. At least with you, if I have a panic attack and ruin the evening, I know I can make up for it later with some great sex."

That prompted a laugh from Chahna, as well. "I hope the offer of great sex still applies if the date does well."

"That's certainly a promise I don't mind making." Bonnie smiled.

"You realize that holding hands with me in Las Vegas, and doing it in your own home town, are very different things. Feeling the judgment of strangers, and of neighbors ... it is not the same." Chahna's observation was more statement than question, but Bonnie still gave it an answering nod.

"I know it's much less intense ... if it wasn't, I wouldn't have asked you to do this for me. That wouldn't have been fair. But I have to start somewhere, and this might help me prepare for the real thing." Bonnie paused as a thought occurred to her. "Does this mean you'll do it?"

Chahna nodded. "I will."

Bonnie smiled as she remembered the evening that followed. Chahna had purchased tickets for a show, then they'd walked along the strip, holding hands while they watched the various shows and displays outside the casinos. At first, Bonnie had been acutely aware of everyone who took a second look at them, each instance giving her a small flutter of nervousness. But each time she'd been less worried than the time before, and eventually she'd stopped even noticing. For the final show, she'd stood with Chahna leaning back against her, her hands clasped over the Indian woman's stomach. She'd even found the courage to nuzzle Chahna's neck, a couple of times.

Dinner had followed, relaxed and intimate. Bonnie had insisted on paying for that, since Chahna had got the tickets. Her checkbook wouldn't thank her for the decision, but she had her pride.

Then they'd gone to the show. The brunette colored slightly at the memory. When Chahna had suggested some options, Bonnie's only criteria had been 'something with dancing'. Chahna had delivered on that: there had been lots of dancing. Very good dancing, in fact. What there hadn't been lots of, was clothing.

Bonnie knew that topless – or even more revealing – shows were common in Las Vegas. It just hadn't occurred to her that Chahna would get tickets to one.

"I can't believe you did this." She'd hissed into the other woman's ear. Chahna had simply chuckled.

"Are you saying you do not appreciate the female form?"

"I do." Bonnie admitted. Certainly these women – a few silicone enhancements aside – had fantastic bodies. "I just find it hard to appreciate them and the dancing, at the same time."

"Just pick one or the other."

"Oh? And which have you picked."

"The dancing, definitely." Chahna's dark eyes had been warm as they raked over Bonnie. "These women are attractive, but the woman I am going home with is much more beautiful."

"Flatterer."

"Absolutely. Is it working?"

"You'll find out later."

The boarding announcement for her flight interrupted Bonnie's pleasant recollections. The journey home – flying first to Atlanta, then to Huntsville in a small turbo-prop – passed reasonably quickly, as Bonnie buried herself in work. All her class preparation had been ready for weeks, of course, but there were always notes to be made for her aides, or student documents to be addressed.

Once home, she finally opened and read Tara's email. It was full of warm chatter about life in Middleton: old high school friends (well, acquaintances), the latest adventures of Kim and Shego (though of course she'd already been up to date with those), and an update on Tara's pregnancy. Bonnie looked over the attached ultrasound images, and managed to recognize some of the body parts Tara mentioned. The thought that she herself would be going through this process in a few years suddenly struck her, and she seriously considered going to bed right then and there.

Instead, she read to the end of the email, then hit reply.

"Hi, T." She muttered to herself as she typed. "Just a quick note because it's late and I need to go to bed. I know you're keen to hear all about Vegas. It was a great trip. Don't worry – I'll give you all the details later this week. Thanks for inviting me to come up and see you guys after the baby is born. How does late April sound? We have a state holiday here then, so I can get a long weekend, and it will give you a couple of months to adjust to the newcomer. Love, B."

Twelve hours later, Bonnie sat in her office, nursing a green tea and typing production notes for a dance recital into her computer. She glanced up as the office door swung open and Lorraine slipped inside. There was a furtiveness to the older woman's movements that made Bonnie feel instantly wary. Man trouble, again? No, that means tears and histrionics, not ... whatever this is.

"Good morning." The greeting was mundane enough, but Lorraine's strained, almost formal tone, and her stiff posture merely served to escalate the brunette's disquiet.

"Hi Lorraine." Doing her best to look relaxed, Bonnie set down her tea. "How was your weekend?"

"I think you need to read this." Rather than answer the question, the older woman thrust a pamphlet at her. "I did warn you about that Possible woman, but you wouldn't listen. Still; it's not too late for you."

"'Finding the True Path'?" The former cheerleader looked blankly at the sheet for a moment, until her confused gaze fell on the image of a smiling, happy man and woman holding each other's hands. A horrible weight pressed down on her chest. "What's this about, Lorraine?" The words came out inexorably, even though Bonnie suspected she already knew.

"My boyfriend, Frank ..." So there is a new man in the picture. The incongruous thought floated into Bonnie's disordered mind. "Frank took me to Vegas for the weekend. I saw you. You and that ... other woman. You were ..." Lorraine brushed at the side of her neck.

"Lorraine –"

"Don't try to tell me it's not what I thought it was!" The older woman's face was white and pinched. "I know what I saw!"

"I wasn't going to deny it." Bonnie said, surprised by how calm she sounded, even as her inner monologue descended into an endless loop of oh shit oh shit oh shit. This certainly wasn't how she'd planned on coming out. "Wait ... what does Joss have to do with this?"

Lorraine snorted. "I'm sure she's behind this! You were a perfectly nice young lady, and then for some reason you started associating with that ... that person ... and now you're cavorting with other women! In public!"

"It was hardly 'cavorting'." Bonnie took a deep breath to calm herself, then slowly and deliberately crumpled up the pamphlet and threw it in the trash. "And Joss bears no responsibility for my sexuality. I was gay long before I met her. So if you have a problem with me, then keep it with me. Not her."

This brought another snort of derision. "I can see she's got you so turned around you don't even realize what she's done. Well, I'm not fooled. She's the cause of all this, and I've already told her exactly what I think about it!"

Author's Note: Yeah, I suck :)