Date: Thu, 5 Jun 2014 17:52:12 -0400
From: numlfl C <numlfl@hotmail.com>
Subject: Winning Dana's Heart - Part Ten

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     Winning Dana's Heart
     Part Ten

By Chris


      "What are you doing? Why are we going to Washington?" Dana asked looking
at Raven and now understanding all the clues that Raven had been giving her this
past week with her nervous behavior that she had passed off at nothing to worry
about.

      "It's the only way I know to prove to you that you can trust me and trust
that it is really over between Connie and me," Dana said to her.

      "I do trust you but I'm not about to go meet that bitch!" Dana said a bit
louder than she realized as she began to unbuckle her seatbelt.

      "Wait give me a chance to explain... please..." Raven said softly and there was
something in Raven's eyes that made her relent plus the way Raven's hand was
holding onto her hands and the moist feel of those hands meaning that Raven was
scared and nervous about what she was doing.

      "You don't trust me, you think you do and you want to believe me but you
don't. I can see it in your eyes, I can see it when you see my cell phone and there is
this look in your eyes that desperately needs to check to see if I have called her
or she has called me," Raven said looking into her eyes.

      Dana so wanted to argue but she couldn't, Raven was right, she did want to
look at her phone just to see for herself, "I never looked... but I did want to..." was
all Dana could say.

      "I know you didn't, your honor wouldn't allow it, but you need to know for sure
that it is over and this is the only way I can prove it to you. I have to have you
believe in me like I believe in you," Raven told her.

      "I do believe in you," Dana tried to say but even as she said those words, she
knew they weren't the complete truth.

      "Then give this a chance and meet her, hear what she has to say," Raven
asked of her.

      "She's your friend, she'll lie for you, say what you want her to say," Dana
countered.

      "No she won't, she's my friend but she won't lie for me," Raven said in such a
way that Dana wanted to believe her but...

      "She's in politics, it's her business to lie, that's all they know how to do,"
Dana replied.

      "It's her bosses job to lie, he's the one in office not her and besides this is
her personal life and it's important to me." Raven said with her eyes almost
pleading for Dana to believe her.

      Dana sat silently for a moment thinking this over. She so wanted to believe
Raven she didn't know this woman and didn't ever want to know her but here she
going to see her. She really had no clue as to what she should do. About that time,
she felt the plane begin to move and she knew she was stuck with having to see
this through but she had to have the last word.

      "I don't think this is a good idea, and I'm more than a little angry with you
for tricking me like this" Dana said in defeat.

      "I don't know if it is the right thing to do either... but I'm desperate and I
felt I had to do something even if it was wrong." Raven said before pausing for a
moment, "I know you're mad and you have a right to be but just go see this
through..." Dana heard the desperation in Raven's voice that she felt all the way
down in her soul.

      Dana fell silent as the plane moved to the runway and lifted off. She didn't
know what to say to Raven, besides she was so pissed off at Raven right then. If
she said anything more right then, she feared it would be something that she
might regret. She became even more pissed at Raven who somehow managed to fall
asleep in her seat, something that Dana couldn't believe that she could do at this
moment. She didn't see how Raven could sleep when she was doing something as
devious as this, tricking her like she did.

      When the plane landed in Washington D. C., Dana decided that silence was
the way to go and she wasn't sure that she would even talk to the little devious
bitch beside of her for the rest of this weekend, if she spoke to her ever again.
Raven tried to get her to say something but Dana kept her lips pursed and Raven
eventually gave up as they got their luggage and headed out to catch a cab into the
city. Dana kept her eyes to the window looking at the buildings and monuments
that she had always hoped to visit one day but at this moment she hated those
things as much as she did Raven, just because they were in the same city of this
woman that Raven used to love or maybe still loved, she wasn't sure anymore. The
cab dropped them off at a large apartment building that was about twenty blocks
from the Capital Building. It appeared to be more than a few years old and not
anything fancy as what Dana thought this woman would live.

      Raven took her inside the old apartment building and on to the elevator; she
pressed the button for the twentieth floor. When the door opened, Raven led her
down the hallway to apartment at the end of the hallway. Dana then watched as
Raven got her keys out, putting one of them into the lock.

      "You still have her key!" Dana stated loudly breaking her silent treatment
that she had vowed to keep forever.

      "I broke it off with Connie by phone, I haven't been back to give it to her,"
Raven fired back.

      "You know that there is still a thing called the US Mail, you could have mailed
it to her!" Dana said disbelievingly as Raven opened the door.

      "You're right I could have and should have, I'll leave it here now!" Raven said
angrily. She then began to try to get it off the key ring.

      "Don't bother, you may need it," Dana said letting out the anger that she was
feeling.

      "You know you kept my key when you left me! No I mean when you set me
FREE!" Raven shouted as both of their angers rose.

      "Well you can have it now!" Dana said pulling out her own keys.

      "Please don't..." Raven said softly and the hurt in her voice showing. "When
we get home and you still feel the need to give my key back, do so then but not
right now and not here."

      Dana had tears in her eyes and she could barely focus on her keys much less
get Raven's key off so she stopped but she had every intention of giving it back to
Raven when they got home, never intending to return to Raven's place again.

      Raven went on into the apartment stopping a few feet inside, turning when
Dana didn't follow her in, "Are you coming in?" Raven asked.

      Dana wanted to say no but she knew it was stupid to just stand there and
besides she was curious about what type of place this woman lived in. So she
picked up her bag and slowly made her way inside. She looked around surprised by
what she saw. She had always imagined that this woman lived in some fancy
apartment with all new and expensive furniture. But the furniture looked old and
well used, not to mention that the pieces didn't match. However the apartment
looked comfortable and felt like a nice place to live.

      Raven took her on back to a small bedroom with a double bed with only one
dresser. Dana put her case down before going to the bathroom which was also
small with an old tub to the side. There was nothing fancy about this small
apartment. It was nice and very livable but nothing that Dana had expected to see.
When she came out, she saw that Raven had made them a pot of coffee to warm
themselves. Dana took hers to the living room sitting on the couch as Raven went
to the bathroom. When Raven came out, she came to the couch sitting beside of
Dana.

      Dana not wanting to be anywhere near Raven at that moment, immediately
got up to sit in the easy chair several feet away causing Raven to frown and show
the hurt in her eyes, which Dana wasn't all that unpleased to see... but yet the hurt
she saw caused her own heart to hurt.

      Raven made several attempts to talk but Dana was content to sit in silence.
She knew that she was acting childish but it was the only way to make Raven know
just how much she didn't want to be here or cared for the way that Raven had
tricked her into coming. So they sat in silence for the next hour which seemed like
several long hours to Dana before she heard a key in the door. This was the
moment that Dana dreaded the most, coming face to face with this "other woman"
in Raven's life.

      When Connie walked in, Dana received the third shock of the day and it was
probably the biggest. Dana had always pictured Connie as this blond bombshell
that turned every head when she entered the room but that wasn't what was
walking into the apartment at that moment. First off she wasn't blond but rather
had auburn hair, cut short but it did fit her face. Secondly, she wasn't built like a
brick shithouse but was rather plain with freckles on her face and had small
breasts, smaller than even what she had.

      She was dressed rather conservatively with a knee length dress and a suit
top. She didn't have heels on but rather comfortable flat dress shoes. The one
thing that Dana wasn't surprised to see was the big smile on the woman's face, one
would expect that of someone who worked for a politician and who wanted to be
one herself. However what she didn't expect to see was that the smile seemed to
be genuine, as much as she didn't want to believe her eyes, that was what they
were telling her and she was forced to believe them.

      Dana's shocks weren't over for the day as Connie didn't go to Raven and give
her a hug and maybe a kiss but she came directly to her. Southern manners that
were drilled into her by her mother forced her to get up and greet this woman she
had spent so much time hating and at this moment hated almost as much as she did
Raven who had very recently moved to the top of a rather short list.

      "So this is the woman who was able to steal Raven's heart, it's so nice to
finally get to meet you," Connie said with a bit of a southern accent, just before
giving her a heartfelt hug.

      As much as she didn't want to hug this woman back, again manners forced
her to do so. But while she hugged her, what Connie had said echoed through her
head. She didn't say "her Raven" of even "stole Raven's heart from her" she made
no mention of ownership of Raven or her heart.

      "It's nice to meet you too," Dana said as Connie let go of her. Again her
southern manners demanded her to say it and she cursed her mother drilling the
manners she was stuck with.

      "She's as beautiful and as nice as you said she was," Connie said to Raven as
she went to her giving her a hug that Dana noticed wasn't as long or as tight as
the one Connie had given to her. Dana wasn't sure if Connie did this for her
benefit but again Connie seemed to have this personality that forced you to
believe her.

      If Connie noticed the tension between her and Raven, she wasn't
acknowledging it, as she went on like they were all three good friends. "So how was
the trip, I hope the fight was calm, I've had a few bumpy flights in my travels,"
Connie asked as she took off the suit jacket that she was wearing.

      Dana so wanted to say that it was a horrible flight, just not the way that
Connie was talking about but Raven said, "Yes it was fine."

      "That's good," Connie said and Dana noticed that Connie was eying Raven and
she could see that the way Raven had told Connie that it was fine, meant that it
was anything but fine and that things weren't going as planned.

      "Well since Raven didn't tell me that you all were coming until this morning, I
was able to cancel most of my plans this weekend however I do have a fund raising
dinner tonight that I can't get out of," Connie said and Dana almost wanted to smile
as she could see that she wasn't the only one that Raven had caught by surprise.

      She could see from the look that Connie gave Raven that she wasn't pleased
by Raven doing this to her. Raven had obviously planned this but left the two
people most affected by it in the dark.

      "That's okay, we can stay here for the night," Dana said quickly before Raven
could answer and also she didn't mention catching an early flight home the next
morning that she was seriously considering.

      "Oh no, I wouldn't hear of such a thing; I'm bring you two along. That way you
can see how a member of our do nothing congress actually work." Connie said with a
laugh that was so genuine that Dana found herself feeling a bit of respect for this
woman but she held that in check.

      "No we wouldn't want to put you out, you have to work," Dana said. "Besides
we don't have anything to wear." She really didn't want to go however she really
didn't want to spend the evening with Raven, someone she currently no longer
speaking to.

      "You're about my size and Raven still has a few things here that she can
wear," Connie said and that earned Raven a look to kill from Dana.

      Connie saw this and she seemed to not want an argument, "You don't have to
go, you both can stay here."

      "Maybe we can go; it could be interesting to see one of our senators actually
working if only to get money so that he can buy another election." Raven suggested
as she looked to Dana.

      Dana saw how much Raven wanted her to give in one more time. She didn't
want to but yet something inside of her made her do so. "Okay we'll go," Dana said
giving in but it would be the last time she went along with anything either of
these women came up with.

      "Great, then let's see if we can't find up something nice to wear," Connie
said brightly trying hard to put a lighter side to the evening.

      Dana moved over close to Raven and whispered harshly, "I'm so pissed at
you."

      "I know," Raven said in a voice that told Dana that Raven was defeated and
knew that she had fucked up royally in bringing her there.

      That knowledge did lighten Dana's mood and enabled her to go along to the
stupid fundraiser. Connie meanwhile was telling them or rather her about what she
did and also why she was doing it. She hoped to one day run for office and she
wanted to see how things were run and also how they weren't being run. She knew
that it was a long shot to ever get elected and then do something but she wanted
to try.

      As the evening went along, she found that while she still disliked Connie, she
couldn't hate her; she really was a very nice woman. She was also a very sharp one;
she knew what she was talking about. She might have been a little idealistic about
what she could do to change things but yet she was realistic about that too. The
fundraiser wasn't all that grand, but Dana made sure that she took the opportunity
to bring up the importance of gay rights to the right wing of the Republican Party.
She could see that these comments weren't welcome in this far right wing group
but she didn't care. By noon on Saturday she would be heading back home and far
from this place. Not that South Carolina was any less conservative but at least she
was among friends at the hospital.

      By the time that they got back to Connie's apartment, all three were
exhausted, Connie from working all day and then working the fundraising dinner
with having to keep the donors to the senator happy while also trying to visit with
Raven and her. Raven and Dana were exhausted from working the night before and
the trip up to this place. However Dana wasn't too tired to let Raven know just
how pissed she still was.

      When they got to the spare bedroom, Dana got her bag along with a pillow
and the quilt folded at the foot of the bed. "I'm sleeping on the couch tonight."
She proclaimed.

      "Dana don't... please let us talk about this," Raven begged.

      "Raven..." Dana stopped to say and then she didn't know what she wanted to
say, it was all so confused in her head. "I don't want to say something here where
SHE can hear... besides I got to think things through... think them through alone..."
she added to make a point.

      "Okay..." Raven said with her voice showing just how defeated she must have
felt. "Just don't make any decisions until you let me talk to you."

      "Like you made a decision to bring me here without talking to me about it?"
Dana asked loudly wanting Connie to hear.

      "I'm sorry... I was wrong to do that to you," Raven said softly, "but please
don't make any permanent decisions, not yet, not now, not here."

      Dana stood there a moment looking at Raven and she just nodded her head,
she did owe Raven at least that. She just nodded her head before she took her
bag with the pillow and quilt out the bedroom door. As she passed by Connie's
bedroom, she saw Connie looking at her from inside of her bedroom and frowning
like this wasn't what she wanted to hear.

      This wasn't the response that she expected to see from Connie as Dana was
making it known that she was no longer going to sleep with Raven, thus Connie could
have her back if she so desired. But from Connie's reaction, Dana got the
impression that Connie wasn't after Raven, at least not anymore and that just
added to her confusion.

      She was able to see her way to the couch from the light of Connie's
bedroom. She put the quilt and pillow down before grabbing her pajamas and
heading to the bathroom to change. Once she had changed, she returned to the
couch, lying down with her head on the pillow and the quilt covering her. She waited
to see if her heard Raven and Connie talking but there was no sound from either
bedroom and a few minutes later she was in the dark staring up at the ceiling.
Even as tired as she was, she knew sleep wasn't going to come easily if at all. She
thought about Raven and how she ended up sleeping on the couch in Raven's old
girlfriend's apartment. That was about as fucked up a situation as Dana had ever
found herself in and she didn't believe that it had happened except here she was
laying on Connie's couch.

      She began to try to sort out her feelings and after a couple of hours of
doing that she came to two conclusions, she still loved Raven with all her heart
though she didn't like her very much at that moment. The second conclusion was
harder to swallow, she actually liked Connie. She seemed so real and up front about
things. Maybe things would have gone better and as Raven had planned if they
could have sat down and talked that evening but with Connie having that function
to attend, that didn't work out. All she knew was that she and Raven needed to talk
and that talk needed to occur at home and not here. Maybe one day she and Connie
could get to know each other but she wasn't ready for that and she didn't want
Raven anywhere near Connie until she knew that she could trust them both.

      Sometime in the wee hours of the morning, she did fall asleep however it
seemed like she had no more fallen asleep than her eyes popped open and she was
wide awake. She tried to make herself go back to sleep but that just wasn't going
to happen, her mind was awake and it wasn't going to allow her body to sleep any
more that night.

      She got on up, folded the quilt before silently walking to the bathroom to
pee. She made sure to close the door before turning on the light. When she looked
at herself in the mirror, she looked like she had been up for two days, which just
happened to have been about as long as she had been up. She peed, then brushed
out her hair and brushed her teeth with one of the spare toothbrushes that
Connie had laid out for them. She turned off the light before slipping out going to
the kitchen. She turned on the light and saw the coffee pot. She suddenly needed
a cup in the worst way but she didn't know where the coffee grounds were and she
definitely didn't want to start searching around for them. Still she went over to
the coffee pot and was standing there wondering if she should look for the coffee
grounds or not.

      "I could use a cup of that myself," Connie said quietly from the other side of
the kitchen.

      "Oh shit!" Dana said jumping around to see Connie standing on the other side
of the table.

      "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Connie said softly.

      "It's okay; I didn't realize that anyone else was up." Dana said wishing it was
Raven standing there and not Connie.

      "Old habit, I get up early every morning, even Saturdays and Sundays when I
want to sleep in," Connie told her.

      Dana tried to think of something to say but nothing was coming to her then
she realized that Connie was staring at her, not in a bad way but as if she was
trying to decide something. Dana was beginning to become uncomfortable and she
was about to ask where the coffee was when Connie seemed to have made her
decision.

      "You know there is an all night diner around the corner, how about you and I
go there and talk a little just girl to girl," Connie asked with a soft smile forming
on her lips.

      Dana was trying hard to think of a way to get out of this as the last thing
she wanted to do was talk to Connie without Raven there but then Connie said
something that stopped her from saying a word.

      "You know I thought that Raven was making a big mistake in bringing you
here; that the only thing I could do was to make things worse but maybe she
wasn't wrong after all," Connie said.

      "How so?" Dana had to ask as she didn't think of a single thing that this
woman could say that would make everything all right with her and Raven, not after
the way Raven had tricked her into coming here.

      "Come with me and let's have that cup of coffee and if I make things even
worse then we both can come back her and beat the shit out of Raven for putting
us both in a situation neither wanted to be in," Connie said in a way that Dana was
forced to believe her. Not that Connie could make things better but that just
maybe Connie was as uncomfortable with this situation as she was.

      "Well I do need a cup of coffee in the worse way," Dana said letting the
slightest of smiles come to her lips.

       "Let's get dressed and get that coffee," Connie said smiling.

      Dana went to her bag, getting her jeans and a sweater, taking them into the
bathroom to change as Connie went to her bedroom, closing the door behind her.
Dana was waiting for her in the living room when Connie came in wearing jeans and
also a sweater, very similar to hers. They grabbed their coats and as Dana went
out, she looked back into the apartment hoping that Raven would have woken up and
come to her rescue but that wasn't to be; she was stuck for the moment at least.
Connie talked about her work as they went down the elevator and out into the cold
morning predawn air.

      When they got to the diner which was a bit further away than just around
the corner, they both ordered coffee and it wasn't until they both had a sip did
Connie begin to talk.

      "I knew my days having Raven as a lover was over the moment she walked
into my apartment telling me about this cute nurse that she had met at the
hospital. She wouldn't stop talking about how well you performed with that patient
that had a heart attack. My only hope was that you were straight and had six kids
with one still on the tit," Connie said making Dana laugh which did ease the tension
that she was feeling sitting with a woman that she had always thought of as her
competition.

      "Afraid not," Dana said still smiling before taking a sip of her coffee.

      "Yea that balloon was busted when she called to say that she was pretty
sure that you were lesbian by that book that you were reading. Then I knew that I
had lost her, it was just a matter of time," Connie said and Dana could hear a bit of
sadness in Connie's voice.

      "I'm confused, why would you think I could take her away from you, you two
have been together for a long time and why didn't you tell her to not to pursue
me," Dana asked not understanding why Connie would just give up without a fight,
just concede the war before the first battle was ever fought.

      "I was never what Raven was looking for or needed for that manner, you
were both of those things, while you could give her what I couldn't ever give her."
Connie said.

      "Connie, you're not making sense," Dana said very much confused by what
Connie was telling her, it really wasn't making any sense from where she was
sitting.

      "Dana, I'm a bit of a free spirit, while I have to be discreet, I like having
different lovers and always have. Raven always believed that she was the same way
but I knew different. I mean we both have had different lovers while we were
seeing each other, living so far apart we almost have to. But you see that works
for me but Raven is different, she needs someone who will be there for her, to
hold her, to protect her, to take charge of things." Connie said. "She needs
someone to love her and only her. She needs someone who will accept her as she is
and not want to make her into some great woman, in charge of her world not
needing anyone or anything."

      "You mean her grandmother..." Dana asked starting to see where Connie was
going.

      "Yes her grandmother, she taught her everything about being a strong
independent woman, taking nothing from anyone and she did a great job of that,
she is a strong independent woman however she didn't give her the one thing Raven
needed more than anything else, the feeling of being loved for just being herself,"
Connie said.

      "Yes I was beginning to figure that one out," Dana replied surprised that
Connie could see what even when she didn't see for a long time and was now only
beginning to really understand about Raven.

      "So you see why Raven has been looking for you all her life, I wish I could
have been that person but that's not who I am. I have a career to build and I like
spending a weekend here and there with Raven, I love it but I also know that isn't
what's best for Raven. She the best friend that I have ever had and I love her
with all my heart and it's because I love her so much that I knew I had to let her
go when she found you or you found her. You're more like her than I could ever be,
you need that love and you need the person you love to be around all the time and
not just a weekend here and there." Connie said as a tear rolled down her cheek
making Dana want to cry too as she was feeling sorry for Connie.

      "You could give Raven what she needs too you know," Dana said but she was
asking it too.

      "Let me ask you something, if Raven got a job in another hospital out in
California, would you follow her?" Connie asked.

      "If you had asked me yesterday the answer would have been no," Dana said
trying to smile.

      "I didn't ask you that yesterday I'm asking now," Connie said
straightforward wanting an answer from Dana, an honest one.

      "Yes I would," Dana said not really having a desire to move across the
country but she knew in her heart that she'd follow Raven anywhere she went.

      "And if she asked you to do something that maybe you thought was
disgusting but she needed from you, would you do it?" Connie asked.

      Dana felt her face blush as she knew what Connie was asking about and she
was a bit pissed that Raven would have told her what they did or rather what she
had done for her. "Did she tell you?"

      "No she didn't have to; I knew it when she came up here one weekend and
she no longer looked longingly as I peed or even seemed to care," Connie told her.

      "You never answered my question, you can do that too, give Raven what she
needs," Dana told her just to see what Connie would say.

      "I had my chance to do that, I chose to come here and she went to
Wilmington," Connie told her.

      Dana sat back thinking about what Connie had said. It was a lot to take in
but it also explained some things too that is if Connie was telling the truth and the
tears that she was wiping from her eyes told Dana that Connie was being honest
with her, not just telling her what Raven wanted her to say. She truly believed
that Connie had never wanted to have this conversation with her but Raven had
put them together and it was happening.

      "I do owe you an apology though," Connie said after a few moments of silence
had passed.

      "What for?" Dana asked completely confused as what Connie could ever ask
her forgiveness for.

      "I should have let her go sooner, I should have told her to grab onto you and
hang on for dear life but I couldn't, I needed to hold onto her a bit longer, until I
had to let her go. But then you let her go before I did." Connie said.

      "Yea, I didn't think I could win against you, you knew her and she you for too
long," Dana said.

      "Yea well I told Raven that she had fucked up royally when she told me what
had happened. I told her to go back home and beg for you to take her back,"
Connie told her.

      "Why did you tell her that?" Dana asked more curious about Connie was
telling her and a bit surprised by it even after what all she had already said.

      "Because I knew more about what she needed than she did," Connie replied
confidently.

      "But she didn't take your advice," Dana countered, "did she?"

       "Dana, she needed some time to realize just what she had and just how
much she needed it. She was under the false illusion that she could find someone
else to replace you but that person doesn't exist, there's only one of you. She
thought that she was like me but she's" Connie was saying when Dana finished her
sentence.

      "Not a free sprit like you... as far as love goes," Dana said pausing in the
middle as she was coming to the belief that Connie wasn't a free spirit in the real
sense of the word.

      "No she's not, she needs you, please take her back and love her likes she
needs to be loved," Connie said almost begging her.

      "While I'm pissed at her, I've never stopped loving her, I didn't stop when I
let her go," Dana said with tears now running down her cheeks.

      "When you set her free, you mean," Connie said with a smile making Dana
laugh a little even with the tears still falling.

      "I don't think she got what I meant there," Dana said wiping the tears from
her cheeks.

      "She didn't, you're going to have to explain that old saying to her." Connie
said as she too wiped the tears from her cheeks.

      Dana thought for a moment on what Connie had been telling her and then her
bladder gave her a good excuse to take a moment to do just that. "Excuse me a
minute, I need to visit the restroom, where is it?" Dana asked as she started to
slide out from the booth.

      "It's over on the left," Connie said pointing in that direction.

      Now she had a moment more to think and take in what Connie had told her
and maybe figure out what Connie's angle was. But just from listening to her, she
couldn't think of any other angle other than Connie did love Raven and wanted what
was best for her even if that wasn't her. Dana wasn't sure that she could be so
kind, to give Raven to someone else because she loved her and wanted her to be
happy. But then that thought stuck in her head and she almost ran right into the
bathroom door. That was exactly what she had done, she had given Raven to Connie
because she thought Connie would make Raven happy, but then Connie gave her
back, rather pushed her back.

      She went on inside the bathroom still thinking and what else she wanted to
know from Connie. As she peed, she began to come to the conclusion that Connie
wasn't bullshitting her. Now she needed to figure out what else she wanted to ask
of Connie, since she was in such a talkative mood.

      When she got back, Connie said that she too needed to go, giving Dana a bit
more time to think of what to ask. As she slid from the booth, Connie got her
phone out of her purse, laying it upon the table. At first Dana thought that maybe
Connie was testing her to see if there had been any recent calls between her and
Raven and then she realized, she did it to show that she wasn't in the bathroom
telling Raven how it was going. When Connie came back, she seemed to have
something on her mind but was hesitate to say what that was.

      "What?" Dana finally asked putting her questions on hold for a moment to
see what was obviously on Connie's mind.

      "I have a request and if I was in your shoes I'm not sure that I would be
able to grand the wish but I'm going to ask anyway. Raven and I have been friends
for a long time and I don't want to lose that friendship, I want and need to
continue to have Raven as a friend that I can talk to..." Connie said and as she
paused a second before adding in a hopeful tone of voice, "...and maybe also
becoming friends with you." Connie asked.

      "She's an adult, she can be friends with anyone she wants," Dana stated
sidestepping the question.

      Connie just frowned at her, "You know I hear that type of answer every day
at work, politicians answering a question without actually answering it, I need a
real answer from you."

      "I didn't think you'd let me get away with that answer," Dana said with a
smile and to give her another moment to think. "I won't be jealous of her if she
calls you or you call her, I trust her. She told me about you in the beginning and if
there was something going on, she'd tell me."

      "And maybe you calling me a friend?" Connie asked pressing for more from
Dana.

      Dana had to think hard about giving an answer to that question, "I never
thought that I could ever like you or ever want to get to know you... but..." Dana
said pausing a little.

      "But I'm beginning to grow on you?" Connie asked with a grin that made Dana
grin too despite not wanting to.

      "Yea you are, I can see why Raven values your friendship and enjoys being
with you," Dana admitted.

      "Hey if you want to know any dirt on her, you know who to call," Connie said
with a laugh making Dana laugh with her.

      "I'll keep that in mind," Dana replied.

      "I will tell you something else but you have to promise not to tell Raven,"
Connie said.

      "I'm not sure I can keep that promise, I don't like to keep things from
someone I love," Dana told her honestly.

      Connie thought for a second before she spoke, "then I'll leave it in your
hands to decide. The first weekend that she came to see me after you had let her
go we made love that night..."

      "I'm not sure I want to hear this," Dana said feeling a lot of jealously rise
within her that hadn't been there through this whole conversation.

      "Yes you do," Connie said confidently, "It started like it always does but it
wasn't long before I realized that her mind or heart wasn't into it. She really tried
but a woman knows when the person they're with isn't really there in sprit, just
her body was there. That was the last time that we ever made love."

      "Oh," was all Dana could think to say at first but then she did think of
something. "Did she come back to see you after that?"

      "Yes she did and we had a great time visiting but while we slept in the same
bed, that is all we did. And before you think that maybe I wasn't giving up anything
since we weren't making love anymore, I was and am giving her up. I just told you
this to let you know where Raven's heart really was even if it took her a little
longer to figure that out." Connie told her.

      "I do appreciate you telling me, it does mean something. And I won't tell
Raven, that'll be our little secret." Dana said.

      "Thanks," Connie said with a smile. "So anything else you want to know before
Raven wakes up and figures out that we're not there?"

      Dana's lips were forming a question when her phone rang, "Too late, I believe
that Raven's awake," she said to Connie before answering the phone with "Hello
Raven."

      "Where are you? Please tell me you're not at the airport... please... I'm sorry
that I fucked up this weekend, I didn't mean too..." Raven said in a rush and Dana
heard the panic in her voice and also the fear there.

      "Raven! Calm down, I'm not going anywhere without you. I'm here..." She was
going to say "With Connie" when she saw Connie shaking her head violently so she
changed it to. "...I'm at Dante's Diner around the corner."

      "Wait there, don't go anywhere!" Raven said in a rush and then the phone
went dead as Raven had hung up on her.

      "I'll just disappear and let you two talk," Connie said as she started to slide
out from the booth.

      "Thanks," Dana said but then she changed her mind, "No wait, stay here,"
while reaching out and grabbing Connie's forearm.

      "No you both need to talk," Connie said though she did stay at the edge of
the booth seat.

      "Yes we do but that talk needs to occur when we get home without someone
there..." Dana said trying to put it kindly.

      "Okay besides I'm dying to see Raven's face when she sees us sitting here
together, that will be priceless," Connie said giving Dana a big grin.

      "Yea, even I can't believe it," Dana said laughing not believing it anymore
than Raven was going to.

      They only had about five minutes to talk before Raven appeared through the
door. Dana just happened to be facing that way so she raised her arm getting
Raven's attention. Dana could see the panic and fear in Raven's eyes as she quickly
maneuvered her way back to her in the diner that was rapidly filling up with early
morning workers.

      "What are you doing here? I was so afraid that you had left without telling
me!" Raven gushed out as she got to the booth.

      "Connie and I decided to get a cup of coffee," Dana said and only then did
Raven glance to the other side of the booth to see Connie sitting there innocently
sipping from her coffee cup.

      "What are you doing here?" Raven asked now really alarmed.

      "Having a cup of coffee with my new friend," Connie said giving Dana a
conspiratorially wink.

      "What?" Raven asked looking from Connie to Dana showing the confusion that
she was obviously feeling.

      "Sit down and have a cup of coffee," Dana said scooting over for Raven to sit
down.

      Raven slid in beside of Dana and before she could say anything the waitress
appeared with a cup, filling it for Raven and then refilling Connie's and Dana's cup
with fresh coffee.

      "Is everything okay?" Raven asked before the waitress had made a step
away.

      Dana couldn't resist messing with Raven as she said, "Well we've decided to
hold off the cat fight over you until noon, if that's what you're asking."

      Raven gave her a very confused look and then Connie piped in, "Yea it's going
to be in front of the Lincoln Memorial, we're setting tickets. I can get you a good
seat but it's going to cost you one hundred dollars."

      "I don't know, since she is the reason for the fight, we could let her have a
seat for half price," Dana said as Raven began to frown knowing that her leg was
being pulled but also showing her confusion as to why it was happening with how
the weekend had gone so far.

      "Well I guess we can," Connie said to Dana but then turned her head toward
Raven whispering like it was a big secret, "but you can't tell anyone or we'll have to
give everyone that price and we'll lose half of the prize money. I'm really
depending on that money to finance my campaign for the senate seat I'm eyeing."

      "Now you're making fun of me," Raven said frowning as she looked from
Connie to Dana.

      "Just a little but you deserve it," Dana said with a soft smile as she took
Raven's hand giving it a squeeze taking Raven by surprise but it also turned
Raven's frown into a smile.

      "Will you tell me what is really going on?" Raven asked returning to the
worried and fearful expression that she had at the door.

      Connie spoke before Dana could saying, "I woke up early as I ALWAYS do on
Saturdays and since Dana was awake, I decided to see if she would want to have a
cup of coffee with me."

      "You never wake up early on weekends, I always had to drag you out of bed,"
Raven replied and Dana then realized why Connie had emphasized the word 'always'
in her sentence.

      "Always?" Dana asked looking directly at Connie who looked like she was a
deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.

      "Oops," Connie said as she gave Raven a look to kill as she obviously didn't
catch on to what she was saying. "Okay I couldn't sleep and I heard someone get up
and when I saw it was you, I decided on taking a chance and see if you would be
willing to talk to me, I wanted to try and make things right with you two."

      "What did you say to her?" Raven asked of Connie with that still worried
expression.

      Connie didn't reply, instead she looked to Dana which caused Raven to turn to
look at her too. Dana wasn't sure what to say and what to tell Raven, if anything
right here, while she was going to tell her, she didn't want it to be here in front of
Connie. She wanted them to be away from Connie who while helping her, she feared
that whatever Connie said in front of Raven might strain their relationship and
Dana didn't want that to happen now.

      "She told me some things that I needed to know," Dana told her trying to
give Raven a reassuring smile that wasn't working from Raven's expression.

      "What things?" Raven practically demanded, showing the frustration that
she was obviously feeling with this conversation and the direction that it had
taken.

      "Things that you and I will talk about when we get home but what Connie
told me did help," Dana said again taking Raven's hand and giving it a reassuring
squeeze of she hoped that it was.

      Raven sat there a moment obviously trying to decide whether to push it or
not, "Is it really better; are we okay now?" Raven asked.

      "Well I'm still very pissed at you for lying to me about going to New York
and instead bringing me here, I'm not ready to forgive you for that and may not be
for a long, long time... but yes we're okay."  Dana said before adding with a serious
look on her face "However you're still owe me a trip to New York, a long weekend
with a couple of Broadway Plays and anything else I might come up with."

      "I'll take you there I promise, and anything you want to do, we'll do," Raven
said with relief on her face and obviously a trip to New York was a reasonable
price to pay.

      "You'd better," Dana said smiling still acting as if the trip was a very big
deal to her when it was really at the bottom of her list of concerns.

      "So what did you tell her?" Raven asked staring directly at Connie and clearly
expecting Connie to answer her.

      "Waitress we're ready to order now," Connie said to the waitress who just
happened to be walking by their table at that moment thus allowing Connie to get
out of answering her question at least for the moment.

      Raven let out a long loud frustrated sigh making Dana and Connie laugh which
only frustrated Raven more. So after they had told the waitress what they
wanted, Dana turned to Raven, "I promise that everything Connie and I discussed,
you'll know in full detail. I just need some time to process it and get things right in
my head." Dana told her.

      She then turned toward Connie, "I don't mean any disrespect but I need to
talk to Raven when we are home and not here with you when I tell her what was
said between us this morning."

      "None taken," Connie said raising up her hands to show that she understood,
but then she let out a sigh as she said, "But I am sorry that we're not having that
catfight over Raven in front of the Lincoln Memorial, I really could use the
campaign money."

      That took Dana off guard for a moment before she burst out laughing;
Connie did have a great sense of humor and great timing, another surprise that
Dana had to concede to this woman that she was gaining respect for.

      "Well you know, we could still do it. We could put Raven in front of Lincoln to
show everyone what we were fighting over." Dana said making Connie laugh.

      "Maybe dress her up in something risqu‚ so that everyone would see that
she did have a great body and worth fighting over," Connie countered.

      Raven meanwhile was pouting at being at the center of the joke that she
never thought was funny when so much was at stake. Dana saw this and she put her
arm around her, "You know we're just kidding with you." She told her.

      "I know but when I woke up this morning and you weren't there, I just know
that I had fucked up so badly and that I'd never get you back. I was worried."
Raven said seriously.

      Dana gave her a soft smile as she said, "Well you did royally fuck up but
somehow, you managed to do the right thing while doing it."

      "Yea when I screw up, it never turns out right," Connie said with a smile.

      "Me too," Dana added. Then she decided to change the subject to something
less serious.

      "Since we are in our Nation's capital, how about us Connie giving us the grand
tour," Thus putting Connie on the spot and she was glad to see that Connie didn't
mind.

      So when they left the diner, Connie did begin their tour of her city. She
was even able to get them a private tour of the White House and since the
president and his family weren't there, they got to see rooms that aren't on the
normal tour. From there they went to the National Mall and then to Arlington
Cemetery where Dana made them go to Kennedy's gravesite. Raven rolled her eyes
at this but Dana just smiled as she told Raven that she could proudly say that she
had visited Kennedy's gravesite. She even made Raven lay a rose near the grave.
Dana wasn't all that big of a fan of Kennedy but that wasn't the point, she just
wanted to get a dig in on the conservative Raven.

      However Connie and Raven got her back as they made sure that they had
dinner at a restaurant that catered to the conservative Republicans in the city.
Dana made a point to protest but she did so only in jest and to defend her liberal
core. Anyway by that time, she was hungry and worn out and didn't really care
where they ate as long as it was food and tasted good which it did.

      When they got home after dinner, Connie took her shower first putting on a
comfortable pair of pajamas. Raven went next as Dana helped Connie fix them some
snacks and open a bottle of wine. She and Connie sipped on it before it was her
turn to shower. Even those few sips Dana felt as she got under the spray of the
shower. She hoped that the water would revive her as her energy was running out
fast. The shower did help but not a lot.

      When she came out of the bathroom in her pajamas, she found Raven sitting
on one end of the couch with Connie on the opposite end. She had to smile at this
as Connie was making it obviously as to where she felt her place was now with
Raven. Dana came to Raven's side of the couch, taking the glass that Raven was
holding out for her after sitting beside of her. Raven and Connie was talking about
a party that they had attended while in college. Dana didn't mind that they were
talking about their past together, it was interesting to listen to and she didn't
have to add to the conversation as her mind was slowly becoming numb. She leaned
in closer to Raven and somewhere in her mind, she felt Raven taking her wine glass
from her hand.

      "What happened last night?" Dana asked as she and Raven were in the
bathroom getting ready to go out for a late breakfast with Connie before they
had to catch their noon flight home.

      "You mean before or after you had that glass of wine and zonked out on us,"
Raven said playing coy. "

      "After, you fool," Dana said looking at Raven through the mirror above the
sink, "I seem to remember you telling me to lay down and I sort of remember
putting my head on your lap or at least I hope it was your lap."

      "It was," Raven said with a grin.

      "And my feet were on Connie's lap... and she was rubbing them?" Dana asked
vaguely remembering that from the fog in her brain.

      "Yes she has a thing for feet," Raven said teasing her. "And she so loved
your feet, she said that they were even pettier than mine."

      "Oh god, what did she do?" Dana said now worried that something happened
that she didn't want to have happen.

      Raven laughed, "don't worry nothing happened," Raven told her.

      "Well except that Raven did sleep in my bed," Connie said appearing at the
bathroom door.

      "What?" Dana said loudly as she turned toward Connie who had a grin on her
face, matching the one on Raven's face from a moment ago. Meanwhile she face had
the shocked expression that Raven would do such a thing after all that they had
been through this weekend.

      Connie laughed, "She slept alone in my bed, while I slept in the spare
bedroom also very much alone. I just wanted her in my bed one last time even if I
wasn't there and I wasn't, I assure you."

      Dana looked into Connie's eyes and then Raven's seeing and believing that
they were telling the truth. She didn't like it but she'd give them a pass on that
one but never again. "And what if I had woke up and came into the bedroom,
crawling into bed with who I thought would be Raven?" She asked arching her
eyebrows at Connie but also Raven who had turned from the mirror and was facing
her.

      Connie thought that one through for a minute before replying, "Ahhh... I
didn't think about that." Then she had to laugh. "But then again... it might have
been fun..."

      "In your dreams bitch, she's all mine!" Raven said throwing a towel at Connie
who left laughing.

      "Oh yes Dana and I would have had a fine ole time," They heard from a
laughing Connie from somewhere down the hall.

      "Oh shut up!" Raven called out to her.

      "What would you have done if you found us in bed together?" Dana had to ask
curious as to what Raven would say.

      "Shot you both!" Raven said seriously.

      "Good answer," Dana said giving Raven a kiss.

      After breakfast, Connie took them to the airport for their trip home
having to go through Atlanta again. When they got to the security gate they
stopped to say their goodbyes.

      "May I give my old friend a hug?" Connie asked.

      "Of course," Dana said.

      Connie when to Raven and she did give her a long heartfelt hug but Dana
noticed that it was like old friends hugging and not lovers. She also noticed that
Connie whispered something into Raven's ear and Raven nodded agreement.

      Connie then came to her, giving her the same hug. "Give her what she needs
the most," Connie whispered into her ear.

      "I will," Dana said as they separated. She noticed the tears in Connie's eyes
and she had to hug her again.

      Connie hugged Raven again and as they began to walk toward the security
gate, Connie asked, "Will you come and visit me again?"

      "We will, I promise," Dana answered for both of them. Then she and Raven
went on through security. Dana gave one last look back to see Connie walking away
and she saw her shoulders slump a little and again she felt sorry for her. She was
now sure in her mind that Connie wasn't as much a free sprit as she proclaimed to
be.

      "What will you do?" Raven asked her once they got through security.

      "What?" Dana asked as if she had no idea as to what Raven was asking her
about.

      "You told Connie that you will, what did she ask you to do?" Raven asked.

      "She asked me to give you what you needed most," Dana told her.

      "Which is?" Raven asked.

      "My love," Dana said softly.

      "Oh," Raven said blushing a little.

      "What did she tell you?" Dana asked.

      "She told me that if I even let you leave again without a fight to keep you,
that she'd cut my tits off," Raven said grinning.

      "Ouch!" Dana replied with a grin.

      "She said it nicely though," Ravens said laughing a little.

      "Well it's the thought that counts, I guess," Dana said.

      "It is and I won't," Raven told her.

      "I know you won't," Dana said putting her arm around Raven's waist and
pulling her in against her.

      The trip back was pretty much uneventful as they both made a point of not
bringing up anything about Connie or what she might have told Dana. Instead they
talked about work and some of the work related gossip that was going around.
There was always enough of that to keep any conversation going for the long round
about flight home. With a three hour layover in Atlanta, it was early evening
before they got back to Raven's cottage.

      It wasn't until Dana had fixed them something to eat and they both had
showered and put on a long sleep shirts and panties, was Dana ready to talk about
the weekend and their relationship. They sat in the center of the bed with their
legs crossed in front of them facing each other. Dana thought of everything that
Connie had told her and she had so many questions but then she realized that she
only had one real question that she needed answered.

      End of Part Ten
      To be continued...


Please let me know what you think of my story. I welcome all comments
good or bad. You can email me at numlfl@hotmail.com