Belle was utterly taken aback by the sudden outburst. "I... Uh? .... Um..." Was all she could manage in reply. It took a precious minute for her to pull herself back, get back into her normal frame of mind. "Wait, look, Taz... I wasn't snooping on a friend, we weren't exactly friends back then. I was running a background check on someone who was being foisted on me against my will. We became friends, more than friends, in between me asking for the report and getting it. And you know what? I'm glad I did, because it told me what a wonderful person you really are...!"<br/><br/>She stood, staring at the young woman who had filled a hole in her life that she hadn't even known existed. "Don't go... Please?" The words were barely more than a whisper, even as she knew there was no hope.<br/><br/>Later that night as she lay in bed, knowing she would probably never see Taz again, the tears she shed were from self-loathing. She had fallen in love with a teenage girl, at a time of her life when she was old enough to be the girl's grandmother, and she had carefully kept her feelings to herself, until last week when something had betrayed her... No, that wasn't it. She had fallen in love, yes, but she had been flirting with the kid from the word go, she realised. Right from the moment when she had first seen her on the doorstep with that bitch of a social worker or probation officer or whatever she was, and had deliberately pretended to mistake them for each other. It hadn't been deliberate at first, but after a while it had been, if she were honest with herself.  She was in love and more than a little in lust. She needed this girl, had needed her without realising how badly. And now she was gone.<br/><br/>Belle cried herself to sleep.