>
>As such, it was an even more deeply disoriented Bruce Banner than
>usual who sat up and looked around the room, trying in vain to piece
>together what in the world had happened to him in the previous 24 to
>48 hours. He was, in fact, so disoriented that it did not immediately
>occur to him to be surprised that there was a woman in bed with him.
>
...
>Barney said it first:
>
>"What side of whose bed did he wake up on this morning?"
>
>"I don't know," Fairchild said; then, after a moment's thought, she
>added judiciously, "but we should give her a medal."
>

At first, I'd had a bit of an issue with that side plot of this; flashing back to Liza and Azlynn's conversation on B-6 "I'd like to think that the problem is more than 'What that girl needs is a good sound Rodging'." The more I've thought about it, though... I've had to admit to myself that I might have been projecting personal perceptions into my interpretations. After all its never actually SAID that Betty and Hulk do anything more than collapse into bed tired and least slightly drunk; my subconscious did insist on perceiving that perhaps, something 'more' happened.

That said, I also have to admit that the more analytical part of my brain then bit flopped and said "So what if they did?" Nor is it implied that the 'physical' side of the relationship between Hulk and Bathilda is anything more than two people finding someone they can be themselves with without fear of hurting the other; most certainly it manages to be well developed that they form an emotional connection, and that on a non physical level they enjoy the fact that they can be who they are without fear of hurting the other.

And that's really part of the point, isn't it? Not just Banner finding a balance between his two halves, but the Hulk himself finding a bit of balance of his own, of finding that maybe there is more to life than just "HULK SMASH!!!!