"Oh."

"What's going on?"

"Nothing."

"Come on, Toni. You trusted me with the shrink thing, why not this?"

Pausing for a moment, Toni said, "Laura and I had a talk last night."

"About?"

"I told her how I feel. I told her I love her."

"What? Oh, Toni, that's great! " Kris said, giving her a hug. Glancing at the bedroom door, she said, "So, should I assume that last night you two...um..."

Following Krista's line of sight, Toni's eyes went wide. "No, of course not!"

"Why not?"

"Laura wasn't lying, you know. I was sick," Toni said, slouching into the cushions. "Besides, I'm not ready for anything else. I'm not sure I'll ever be ready."

"I thought you said your sessions with Abby were helping."

"They are, but Laura knows it's not something that's going to change overnight."

"Wait? Does Laura know about you seeing Abby?"

"Yes. She actually found out by accident, but she's okay with it."

"I told you she would be."

"I know. I just have a hard time believing she's willing to wait."

"It's called love, Toni," Kris said. "And it's wonderful."

"Yeah, I'm starting to figure that part out," Toni said quietly.

"So what now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you told her that you love her, and I'm assuming she feels the same. So where do you go from here?"

"That's a question I've been asking myself since last night."

"Maybe you should ask Laura what she wants."

"I did. We talked about it, and we agreed we'll just take it day-by-day, like we've been doing. Nothing's really going to change."

"You don't think so?"

"No. Why should it?"

Kris sucked in her cheeks, successfully swallowing the laugh that tried to escape. "They're called hormones, Toni...in case you forgot."

"You sure I can't convince you to eat anything else?" Laura asked, walking into the lounge with a cup of coffee.

"No, I'm fine."

"You only had soup."

"I'm just not that hungry."

Snuggling into her corner of the sofa, Laura kept one eye on Toni. "This doesn't have anything to do with your eating issue, does it?"

With a snort, Toni said, "No, it doesn't. I just don't think my appetite's back yet. I'm fine."

"Okay," Laura said, gazing back at Toni. "You know, I was thinking. How would you feel if we invited Kris and Robin over one night for dinner?"

"That's a great idea, but I know they're both really busy right now."

"It's doesn't have to be tomorrow. I just thought it'd be nice if I could get to know them a little better."

"Well, I can guarantee that Krista will jump at the chance to spend an evening with us."

Cocking her head to the side, Laura asked, "Why's that?"

"Hormones."

"Excuse me?"

"I hope you don't mind, but I told her about our chat the other night."

"Of course, I don't mind, but what's that got to do with hormones?"

"Kris is having a hard time believing that we can...I mean, that we agreed to just take things day-by-day. Something about hormones getting in the way."

"I see," Laura said, trying to keep a straight face. "Well, they can be quite annoying at times."

"My friends or hormones?"

Letting out a laugh, Laura said, "Hormones, sweetheart. I like Kris and Robin."

"Just checking."

The room grew quiet and as Laura sipped her coffee, Toni reached for a book on the coffee table. Stopping mid-stretch, she said, "It's been almost seven years since I've been with a woman."

Raising her eyes, Laura said, "I've got you beat."

It took a split-second for Toni to get Laura's meaning, and forgetting about her book, she sat back and asked, "Does it frighten you?"

"What?"

"The possibility of you and I-"

"No, of course not," Laura said, placing her cup on the table. "I'll admit to being a bit nervous, but not frightened." Thinking for a moment, she said, "Actually, that's not entirely true."

"No?"

"When I first realized I was having feelings for you, I was terrified. No, I'll take that back. I was angry."

"Angry?"

"Oh, yeah," Laura said, nodding. "Until I met you, I had never even glanced at another woman in that way, and all of a sudden I wasn't just glancing. I was looking. Talk about confused!"

"So what happened?"

"Are you asking me when I fell in love with you?"

"No. Um...well, maybe."

Smiling, Laura thought about the question. "I don't know. One day I was telling myself I was daft and the next day...the next day it just felt right, and it still does."

"Good to know."

"How about you?"

"How about me what?"

"When did you know you were gay?"

"Oh, um...I was about thirteen, I think."

"And you didn't tell your parents until you were-"

"Nineteen, and you know what happened next."

"But a lot of time has passed and-"

"Don't go there, Laura. There's no point."

"People change."

"I'm living proof of that."

"That's not what I'm talking about. Somewhere out there you have a mother and a sister. I'm just saying maybe you should give them another chance."

Taking a deep breath, Toni let it out slowly. "You know, I actually think I would if it wasn't for the fact that they never gave me another chance. They never tried to understand what I was going through. They never understood that I didn't have a choice. It's just who I was...who I am."

"Well, it's their loss if you ask me."

"You're biased."

"Sue me."

With a laugh, Toni tucked her legs under her as she gazed back at Laura. "Speaking of family, is that offer still good?"

"What offer?"

"The one involving you teaching me how to bake a biscuit."

Tilting her head, it took a few moments before Laura realized what Toni was talking about, and when she did, her face lit up. "Well, technically, you can't bake just one."

"I wouldn't know."

"Are you saying...are you saying that you want to go to my mum's for Christmas?"

"Yes, I think I do."

"You think?"

"What I mean is, I want to go, but I'm assuming the visit is going to involve more than just you, me and your mum, or am I wrong?"

Laura wished there was some way for her to temper the truth, but the trust Toni had in her was far more important than a visit to Scotland at Christmas. "No, you're right," she said softly. "We usually gather at my aunt's house. She has three daughters, all of whom are married with children, plus my father will be there, and I'm sure some friends and neighbors will be stopping by."

"Sounds like quite a crowd."

"Yeah," Laura said, unable to hide her frown.

Playing with an invisible speck on the sofa, Toni raised her eyes. "Well, I guess I'd best schedule more sessions with Abby then, huh?"

"When you see a man, what's the first thing you think?"

"I wonder what kind of belt he's wearing."

Wincing at Toni's honesty, Abby asked, "How about your co-workers? Some of them are men."

"True, and at first, I didn't trust any of them...except for John."

"Why John? He's your boss, yes?"

"Technically, Laura's my boss, but yeah, John runs Calloway."

"Why did you trust him?"