You knew who Shane McCutcheon was when you met her, and you damned sure knew who she was when you married her. She’d always been the play girl who had slept with over a thousand women and could charm the pants off anyone. Back then, only Papi had her beat when it came to women. (What ever happened to Papi anyway? Sometimes, you wondered.) But, you’d still married her. Why? Because you had faith in her.

From 2004 to 2009, you and Shane chased each other in an endless cycle. She messed up - badly - you did something crazy in response, and then you forgave each other. It was toxic, sure, but it was you. You would rather fight with Shane every day than to lose her. (Or at least, that’s what you’d thought back then.) You hated to think of your friend as an obstacle, but when Jenny tragically left this world, it was like there was nothing in your way anymore. Jenny’s death changed Shane. She finally grew up, stopped chasing skirts, and she proposed to you. Of course, you said yes.

Now, here you were ten years later, still happily married. Or at least… it used to be happily. You and Shane started having problems in New York, so you returned to Los Angeles where it all began. It was crazy to think your circle used to be so big, but now it was so small. Out of the original group of friends, the only ones left were you, Shane, Bette Porter, and Alice Pieszecki. Bette’s ex-wife, Tina Kennard, was still around sometimes when she was in town, but she was engaged to a new woman, Carrie. Everyone had moved on, but it would never be the same. It certainly didn’t feel the same. But what could you do? Life was fast. It moved on, whether you wanted it to or not.

People liked to say that time healed all wounds, but you disagreed. Time itself was the wound. The more time passed, the further away you got from the point in your life when you were truly happy. And as it stood, that had never been more true than it was right now.

When you returned to Los Angeles, Shane sold all of her salons and the hair care line that went with them was shelved. You were a bit confused by that, because you thought that hair styling was Shane’s passion, but you supported her. Besides, with your savings, the money from the sales, and your job as a doctor, you had more than enough to stay afloat.

Then, you discovered that one of the lesbian bars you frequented back in the day was turned into a trashy sports bar. Shane wanted to buy it, and, once again, you blindly supported her. A lot of work went into transforming that bar into something Shane could be proud of, but you’d gladly helped. Bette and Alice came by too, sometimes. Shane decided to name the bar Dana’s, after your dear mutual friend and Alice’s ex-girlfriend. You missed Dana. It wasn’t fair that breast cancer took such a bright light so soon. She probably would have been a bright star in the tennis world had she still been around. The fact of the matter is, you always looked after Shane. You supported her every whim.

So, why, why, did she repay you like this?

You had a really long day. You’d had double surgeries, and an emergency surgery from the trauma ward. You were beyond exhausted, and the only thing you wanted to do was peel off your scrubs and cuddle with your wife. But that certainly wasn’t what you got when you got home. Instead, you were greeted with very loud, very real sounds. “Oh, hell no”, you muttered to yourself, storming up the stairs. You’d loved the million dollar house for its modern style and glass walls. Right now, though, it just felt like hell.

When you got to your bedroom, you found Shane with some girl bent over your bed. You felt sick. But once again, you knew who Shane was. So why did this hurt so bad? You knew you were having problems, but you didn’t think she would revert to her old ways. And yet, all you could do was laugh. “Un-fucking-believable!”

Shane immediately pulled away from the girl, her hair a mess, her chest heaving, eyes wide. “Baby, I swear, this- this means nothing. It’s not-“