DISCLAIMER: All the characters and locations belong to Showtime and Ilene Chaiken. I am merely taking them out for a quick polish.
SERIES/SEQUEL: This is the third part of the WeHo Days series.
ARCHIVING: Only with the permission of the author.
WeHo Days
Collecting Angie
By halfofone
The Mercedes purred to a halt outside Bette's house. Helena scrolled down the window, and bipped her horn. After a few seconds the door opened and Bette Porter stepped into the sunlight. If another human being had ever looked that good in a white shirt, cutoffs and sandals then Helena wanted to meet her.
"Who's that Mummy," queried Wilson. "She looks very beautiful."
"Her name is Bette Porter. She's a friend. We are going to collect her daughter, Angelica, after this. You've met Angelica."
"Oh yes. She lives with her other Mummy. Like me and Juny."
Bette had made her way to the Mercedes by this time. She was carrying two bags and Helena scrambled to get out of the car to help her.
"Hi" said Helena, feeling oddly shy.
"Why have you sacked Tina?" queried the dark goddess abruptly. Helena eyed Bette warily. With her eyes hidden behind sun-glasses, Helena wasn't sure exactly what Bette was feeling. She didn't sound too friendly.
"Let's talk about it on the way."
"Are you sure that you are welcome at Tina's home today?"
"I didn't sack Tina. My mother did. Along with me and everyone else at Shaolin."
Bette exhaled and looked away. "So the decision to close the studio had nothing to do with our conversation the other day, because Helena, I distinctly remember you saying that you would fire Tina's ass and what do you know, scarcely four days later and Tina's on the breadline."
"Okay I would be lying if I didn't say it gave me some satisfaction and God knows I would find it hard to work with her after what she's done to you but Bette the writing was on the wall for Shaolin. We probably wouldn't have survived another year..."
"But you did ask Peggy to close the studio."
"Yes I did."
"Great. Just fucking great."
"Bette!" Helena gestured at the car where Wilson and Jun Ying were hanging out of the window staring curiously at their mother and her 'friend'.
"Sorry, sorry...you know that Tina will blame me."
"Not everything is about you and Tina," Helena snapped angrily. "Anyway I've spoken to Tina, gone through the figures with her. She knows what the situation is."
"Mummy! When are we going to the beach?"
Helena smiled at her impatient children. She opened the trunk and then took the bags from Bette's hands to place them in the car.
"Bette come on. I can fight and drive. Let's go get your daughter."
Bette hesitated.
"I wish you wouldn't wear those damned sunglasses," complained Helena. "I can't tell what you're thinking. Are you so angry with me that you're not going to see Angelica?"
"I'm thinking," said Bette slowly, "that I'm afraid."
"Mummy! Hurry up!" demanded Jun Ying.
"We are coming baby. Just as soon as I have convinced Auntie Bette here not to be so silly." Helena turned back to face Bette.
"Bette. Car. Now." She smiled gently, "before my children riot and destroy it."
Bette nodded at last and walked around to the passenger side while Helena supervised refastening of seat-belts. Bette opened the door and lowered herself into the leather seat. A blast of cold air gave her a jolt. She felt sick. Helena jumped in beside her and started the engine.
"Hood up? Hood down?" she bellowed.
"Down, down, down" yelled the children together. Helena laughed and pressed the button to lower the hood while the children cheered.
"Is it always this noisy?" asked Bette faintly, still experiencing nauseous panic.
"Except when they're asleep...get used to it." Helena accelerated gently away from the house. "Of course the main advantage of putting the hood down is that you can't hear them so much. Why are you scared Bette?"
"What if it all goes wrong today?"
"What can go wrong?"
"She may change her mind. Angelica might not recognise me. Or maybe she'll miss Tina and cry all day."
"Hold on Bette. You have been over-thinking this. I spoke to Tina this morning. She is not going to change her mind; Angelica will be fine; sometimes kids do get cranky but they get over it and so should you. Okay now stop worrying about that stuff. I'd rather you stayed angry with me."
"I am still angry with you."
"That's alright then," said Helena wrily. "Dare I ask why?"
"I still can't decide Helena whether your grand gesture was patronising interference, arrogant bullying or just plain stupid."
"I've already explained..."
"And I don't believe you. Alice told me that you were going to fight to keep Shaolin open; that you didn't want to close it and give Peggy the satisfaction of seeing you fail."
"We probably would have failed. At least this way Mother thinks I have an ulterior motive."
"How fine and dandy. And what are you going to do now? You don't have a job and Peggy has cut you off. You've never worked."
Helena made a face. "I've seen other people work. It didn't look that hard. Seriously I still have the Peabody name and a shedload of contacts. Some oil or steel company, probably more than one, will give me a directorship in the expectation that one day I'll be back in the Peabody fold. I won't starve or even have to lift a pen probably."
"Is that what you want from your life?"
"No of course not but without the Peabody billions, Shaolin would be just another small struggling studio having to compete with more commercial groups. I don't really want to make commercials and kung-foo knockoffs. That's what Shaolin used to do."
"Then use your 'shedload of contacts' to raise money for projects that you do want to do. And maybe you would have to do some commercial work ... not every exhibit at the CAC was 'Provocations'. We had to do our fair share of 'Impressions in Winter.' Even when I was starting as a gallerist..."
"...seducing artists away from other galleries..."
"...yes that too thank you Helena...for every artist that I truly believed in there would be five others whom I exhibited simply because they had a name or did stuff I knew would sell. It was worth it to support those artists whom I loved. As my gallery became better known I didn't have to compromise so much."
Helena smiled tiredly. "Thanks for the pep talk but it's too late Bette. We have already told the staff. Mother won't pull back now."
"It's your choice but ask her. I would."
"I know you would but I'm not you. Okay we're here."
The Mercedes drew up beside a small spanish style apartment block on a tree-lined avenue.
"Shaolin have a couple of apartments here for company use. I let Tina use one while her house deal went through. She's had to pull out of buying of course."
"Ouch," said Bette. Glancing over, Helena saw Bette's face transform from neutral interest to fearstruck wonder. Helena turned to follow Bette's gaze to where she could see Tina emerging from the courtyard carrying Angelica.
"Oh my God," Bette whispered.
"Breathe," Helena instructed fighting to keep down the lump in her own throat.
The moment was slightly ruined when a small sandal flew over from the back seat and caught Helena on the ear.
"Sorry Mum," called Wilson, giggling. "Juny was tickling me."
"Behave or we will go home," Helena said automatically. She was still watching Bette and both her children realised that it was an empty threat. The struggle in the back redoubled.
"Bette?"
"I'm okay."
"Go meet her. Go on."
Bette opened her door and pulled herself up. Helena heard her whisper "I can do this," before she walked from the car over to where Tina was standing.
"Bette."
"Tina."
"It's a nice day for the beach."
"Yeah."
"You look well, I mean you look great."
"Thanks. You too."
"I've put her things in here. Sun lotion, diapers, the usual. You shouldn't need to feed her but there's some pureed vegetables just in case." Tina lifted the large bag in her left hand and Bette took it quickly. Bette lost the bag just as quickly when Helena appeared behind her and relieved her of it.
"Hi Tina. We should get going. Wilson and Juny are about to combust."
"Sure," Tina agreed but she held tightly onto her daughter. "She's still a little sleepy."
Bette said nothing, her arms hung helplessly by her sides, not sure how to ask Tina to take that final step.
"We really need to go Tina," prompted Helena.
Tina and Bette stared at each other as the mess of emotions stewed unhappily in each of their hearts. Helena groaned as she saw Bette starting to look angry.
"Oh please. For once can you two meet and not make a hash. Tina, give Angelica to Bette. We will have her back here in two hours safe and sound."
Tina nodded finally and held out her daughter to Bette. Bette stepped closer and lifted the little girl into her arms. Angelica's eyes popped open and for a moment it looked as though she was going to scream until her big dark eyes focused on her Mama B's equally large brown eyes and the little girl broke out in a huge smile and held up her arms to be cuddled. Her mother's answering smile lit up the area. As Bette hugged and kissed her daughter, tears fell unregarded down her cheeks.
"Baby I've missed you so much," she whispered into the small ears.
Tina was still standing close to them. When Bette lifted her face to grin at her ex-partner in sheer joy, Tina could do nothing except smile right back reflecting the happiness shining on her. But when Bette withdrew her attention back to her daughter, Tina looked confused and lost, staring at the reunion that she had prevented for so long, knowing that the degree of happiness on display revealed the extent of the misery that she had inflicted on Bette.
"Let's go," Helena prompted gently.
Bette looked at her for a second, smiling through tears and Helena knew that her own heart was on her sleeve at that moment. However no-one was looking at Helena.
A harsh laugh interrupted the moment. Henry was walking towards them, holding an envelope in his hands. He looked unshaven and ill - it was clear that he was suffering. From the appalled look on Tina's face it was also obvious that this encounter had not been planned. Henry stopped and stared at Bette holding Angelica. His face twisted in an ugly sneer.
"No-one's going to ask her if Angie's adopted are they Tina darling?"
"How are you Henry?" Helena asked gently, placing herself between Henry and Bette. Henry took her in slowly and shook his head. He peered at her angrily from red-rimmed eyes and the whiff of alcohol caught her nostrils. Henry wasn't interested in exchanging pleasantries with Helena however. He took two steps towards Tina.
"Wow! Both your dyke lovers Teens. You must have been desperate for pussy."
Tina flinched.
"Stop it. Why are you here."
"I only called by to drop off these papers for you. I haven't signed them - I wanted to see you first - talk things over. I didn't realise I'd be interrupting a family outing." He emphasised the word family.
"Bette is taking Angie to the beach," Tina explained reasonably, hoping to calm things.
"By way of Mexico this time Bette?" He smirked.
"Get out of here," Bette growled.
"No. I want to see my little girl."
"She's not your little girl."
"She sure as hell isn't yours, dyke."
"Mum!" yelled Jun Ying from the front of the car where she had climbed and was now pretending to drive the Merc. "We're bored."
"Jesus," jeered Henry. "Two more fatherless bastards. Poor little..."
He didn't get a chance to finish spewing venom.
"Stop right there sir. On the floor please," said a calm male voice.
A man and woman, very sharp in dark suits and dark glasses, had emerged from a dark car parked across the road from the apartment, crossed the road, and were now aiming large handguns at Henry's chest.
"What the..."
"On the floor. Now!" reiterated the man rather more loudly.
Henry did as he was told. The female member of the team knelt down heavily on his back, ignoring the cry of protest and swiftly handcuffed and gagged him.
"Sorry we didn't intervene earlier Ms Peabody but we had identified him as a previous aquaintance of yours and Ms Kennard's. The back-up team will be here in forty seconds. We'll hold position until then."
"That's okay Mike," answered Helena, who was the only one of the three women not looking surprised or terrified.
Mike and his associate didn't say anything further. They marched Henry to the car across the road and pushed him in. As Mike had said, another similar dark car turned up a few seconds later and the first one drove off with Henry.
"What on earth...?" exclaimed Bette, who was clutching Angelica tightly and in turn being held protectively by Tina.
Helena shrugged. "Sorry about that. Wilson and Jun Ying are Peabodys. Kidnapping is a constant fear and any kind of threatening behaviour...well my mother has very firm views and so does her security chief."
"What will happen to Henry?" asked Tina.
"He'll be alright," Helena said not sounding at all interested. "Can we go now, preferably before Jun Ying learns to drive."
Bette glanced at Tina who was still clutching her around the waist. "I guess we can. Are you okay with that T? Will you be alright here?"
"I think so."
Tina released her hold on Bette and stepped back. She looked embarrassed and more than a little stressed.
Bette didn't hesitate. "Why don't you come with us. Spend the day with the family."
Tina wrinkled her nose doubtfully.
"The family...I don't think they want to see me Bette."
"T, as a fairly wise person recently pointed out to me, if you and I are going to bring up Angelica over the next twenty years then we have to find a way to work together. Why don't we make today the first day of our most important project?"
Tina was shifting uncomfortably. "I don't know Bette. It's a big step."
"T. It's a day at the beach." Bette smiled at her ex-partner and held out her free hand. "You can bring your car and then you're free to leave if you're not enjoying yourself."
Tina looked up at Bette Porter and not for the first time in her life found herself incapable of saying no to the woman who had been the centre of her universe.
"Okay," she said simply, taking the hand that was still on offer. She smiled not really knowing what else to do.
Helena turned away to stare up at the sun for a moment, trying to burn away the image of Bette, Tina and Angelica that had printed itself on her eyes.
The End