Unfortunately, that historical note probably won’t include the fact that soon after, the new head writer tore the couple apart with a horrific rape and subsequent pregnancy storyline that effectively desexualized the lesbians, as Bianca turned to her best friend Maggie for support and Lena was left to wonder why she’d suddenly been frozen out by the love of her life.

A small amount of progress has been made in the last couple of months as we have seen Lena and Bianca slowly making their way back to each other; resulting in the couple spending a romantic New Year’s Eve dancing the night away and celebrating the clock striking Twelve with a kiss, just like everyone else at the party. Which is really how it should be--as Olga Sosnovska has said of her storyline, “I look forward to the day a gay storyline is no more and no less important than any other.”

No drama, no hype, no adult content warning, no media blitz. Does this mean that we really have taken a step forward? I congratulate AMC for the sly way they slipped in that little kiss; what a treat for fans of the couple! The spoilers didn’t even go near the idea that the women would be spending New Year’s Eve together on a real, honest-to-goodness, date. In fact, most of the recent spoilers bear little-to-no mention of Lena and lean heavily on the much talked about possible triangle between Lena, Bianca, and Maggie.

The wave of euphoria that swept through the growing Lianca (a shortened version of Lena-and-Bianca) fan base on December 31st, was very welcome and also very short-lived. You might think that after waiting nearly 8 months for the couple to be reunited, viewers would be jumping for joy for days on end. Our patience having finally paid off with scenes of the two women dancing closely and kissing passionately to ring in the New Year just like the heterosexual couples!

Twenty-four hours. That was about how long it lasted. Why, you might ask? The dance and kiss were too soon and incredibly rushed. The viewers were cheated out of the meaningful dialog that must have occurred for Bianca to get from telling Maggie that she and Lena “haven’t even kissed” to the scene on the 31st. After all, aren’t soaps all about the drama that is beloved couples being pulled apart and having to fight their way back to each other? We saw the obstacles, where was the fight?

Instead, it feels like we're being played. We’ve been thrown a bone and a few scraps so that we’ll hopefully be quiet for awhile. AMC reunites Soap’s Hottest couple for November sweeps only to have Lena disappear again for weeks on end. And when she does reappear it is only for a handful of lines that we are supposed to accept as a substitute for the dialogue the couple should be having. As one too many characters on AMC have uttered, “how stupid do you think I am?”

Are we to believe that the magical, mystical trip that Bianca had on Christmas Eve suddenly made everything right? It did feel like a major turning point, marked by Myrtle’s comment that the light had returned to Bianca’s eyes, coupled with the beeline Bianca made for Lena once she stepped in the door. She couldn’t cross the room fast enough, and the way she looked at Lena! Even while turning to hug Maggie, the look she had in her eyes seemed to say that the Bianca we love is back. I swear, Eden deserves an Emmy this year. Her heartfelt portrayal of Bianca is one of the main reasons I’m still watching the show.

But ABC and the writers and producers of All My Children have squandered a wonderful opportunity. There is a huge hole in continuity that spans miles of distance between the two women. It wouldn't have taken pages of dialogue or grand gestures (thanks to the talent and chemistry of Eden and Olga) to overcome Bianca's reticence now that the healing of their relationship is well under way. How did she manage to suddenly seem comfortable dancing very intimately with Lena in a public place, no less, when the last time she danced was with her rapist? And let’s not forget all the nasty things he said about her girlfriend while they were dancing. All it would have taken was a look or gesture showing us Bianca’s hesitation when asked to dance and a reciprocal response showing Lena’s unwavering support, which allows Bianca to overcome her fear and step into Lena's arms on the dance floor.

It would have been the perfect, emotion-laden soap opera moment, and a chance to add depth and dimension to Lena and Bianca's relationship with relatively little effort. It also would have shown an important part of Bianca’s recovery process as a victim of sexual abuse: she’s regaining her sense of self as a sexual being, and having a loving and supportive partner is key to her success.

AMC ran hotline numbers when Bianca was raped, yet they devalue the whole story line by virtually dismissing Bianca's recovery with a couple of lines about her seeing a therapist? Ok, so maybe I’m a little over-the-top, but a realistic depiction of her recovery is equally as important as truthfully showing the effects of rape. She has had a few scenes with Maria, Maggie, and even Lena, which give us some idea that Bianca is heading in the right direction; but it could have been so much more.

Even with all the comments and constructive criticism I’ve made, I am still giddy and overjoyed to have seen Lena and Bianca happy, together, for the New Year. I especially loved that they were given the same respect as all the other couples on screen at Midnight and allowed to celebrate with a kiss. I sincerely hope that AMC will continue to be the entertaining, ground-breaking, socially-relevant daytime television that Agnes Nixon envisioned, and make 2004 the year that sees Lena and Bianca as a not-so-ordinary lesbian couple dealing with their relationship, their families, and raising their child in Pine Valley.