Hi everyone. So this is probably just a one shot. I get these little ideas/scenes in my head and sometimes I just gotta get them out. This is pretty AU. And honestly, these characters probably could have been anyone, but I just love writing Vauseman. Enjoy.

It was almost 1:00 a.m. when she heard the knock on the door. Piper had been lying on the couch in her living room for the past hour occasionally dozing off in between old reruns of Friends; too tired to actually make it upstairs to her bed. She flipped on the front porch light as she made her way towards the front door and looked through the peep hole. On the other side of the door she recognized the familiar brunette. Alex and Piper had been friends for a little over a year, but only started dating about four months ago. Piper opened the door as soon as she saw who it was

"Al?"

Alex made no response. She simply stood quietly on Piper's porch with her head down. After a moment Piper tried again, her voice lower this time.

"Al?"

Alex shook her head and very quickly looked up to meet Piper's gaze before putting her head down again.

"Hey."

In that brief second Piper could see the enormous amount of pain Alex was in. Her usually bright green eyes were dim, almost gray. The whites of her eyes were blood shot. Her cheeks were red and puffy. It looked as though Alex hadn't stopped crying since she got the news yesterday morning.

"I don't know what I'm doing here," she said with her head still down.

"I'm glad you're here."

Piper could swear she saw the very corner of Alex's mouth curl upwards just slightly.

"Do you want to come in?"

Alex shook her head no.

"Okay."

In the silence that followed Piper realized that Alex had started to cry again. She took a step towards the brunette, but Alex immediately moved away from her. Piper stepped back into her doorway.

"I'm sorry." Alex's voice was hoarse and broken.

"It's okay, Al. You don't have anything to be sorry for."

It was true. Alex had done nothing wrong. Even after she had gotten the call yesterday morning and asked Piper to leave so she could be alone, Alex had done so in a way so as not to push the blonde away or cause a fight. Piper had of course wanted to stay, but Alex needed time to process everything her mom had just told her. She didn't even know where to start. How do you begin to understand the death of your best friend?

After a few deep, steadying breaths Alex had gotten her tears mostly under control.

Piper stood and watched how her beautifully strong and confident girlfriend looked so small and vulnerable. Piper's heart ached at seeing Alex in this state.

Piper couldn't take it any longer and walked towards Alex; thankful that the brunette didn't move away from her this time. Piper wanted nothing more than to take Alex in her arms. To hold her. To kiss her tears away. Not wanting to risk Alex retreating with such a large gesture, Piper settled for gently grabbing the hem of Alex's t-shirt; feeling the soft cotton with her fingers. Piper watched as a fresh tear rolled down Alex's cheek and landed on her hand clutching the t-shirt.

Nicky and Alex had been best friends since 8th grade. That year Alex and her mom had finally moved to a nicer neighborhood, but that meant Alex found herself in a brand new school in the middle of the school year without a friend in sight.

Enter Nicky Nichols.

Having been the only two people in detention that Thursday afternoon, their friendship was immediate. Nicky's constant brashness was the perfect balance to Alex's calm coolness. Their personalities complimented each other and as the best people in our lives often do, they made each other better.

Alex was watching Piper's hands play with the hem of her shirt. She wanted to let it all go so badly; to just fall into Piper's arms and hear the blonde tell her everything was going to be all right. But she couldn't. Something was holding her back. She felt this need to stay strong; to not break down. She needed to do this for Nicky. She needed to be strong for Nicky. She wanted Nicky to see that she was okay.

Piper looked down to again see fresh tears on Alex's cheeks. She leaned her forehead against Alex's.

Piper's voice was barely a whisper.

"It's okay. It's okay. It's okay, Al."

Overcome with emotion, Alex turned to leave, but Piper tightened her grip on Alex's t-shirt, halting her movement. Surprised by the resistance, Alex looked up at Piper and saw that she too was crying.

"It's okay," Piper whispered again and placed a hand on Alex's cheek.

That was it. Alex felt herself let go.

Their parents thought they were crazy when they moved to California together after high school. But too many Jersey winters had sunny California calling their names. It didn't hurt that they had both gotten into UCLA - something they had been planning and hoping for since sophomore year.

Roommates all through college and for a few years after, they were inseparable.

The day Alex told Nicky she had accepted an offer from a New York firm was the hardest day of her life. Nicky was so happy and proud of Alex, but the celebration was short lived as they both realized how difficult it was going to be to be apart from one another.

Alex had been living in New York for about three years now. She and Nicky talked every day. And they still visited one another often, never going more than a couple of months without seeing each other.

Alex was so happy that Nicky had gotten to meet Piper. Her only regret now was that they hadn't spent even more time together - Alex traveled to California more often than Nicky made her way back to the East Coast. Alex remembered how it was Nicky that she had confided in when she realized she wanted to pursue something more than friendship with the blonde. It was Nicky that encouraged Alex to eventually ask Piper out. Alex was so thankful that Nicky had been a part of Piper's life as well.

Alex threw her arms around Piper. She held her as tightly as she could.

"Pipes.."

"I'm here, Al. I'm right here."

Piper hugged Alex with everything she had. She could hear Alex sobbing as another wave of tears caused her entire body to shake. Piper stroked the back of Alex's head and rubbed her back, doing anything she could to soothe the other woman.

"Ssshhh. I've got you, baby. I'm here."

Alex felt her body relax and melt into Piper's. She felt so safe in Piper's arms.

Alex knew it would be a long time before she felt normal again. If she ever did. She could still hear Nicky's laugh. She could still hear how Nicky said her name. She could still hear the genuine happiness in Nicky's voice whenever she shared good news. No one could ever be the friend to Alex that Nicky was. Nicky's absence had left a hole in her heart that she didn't believe would ever heal.

The women remained on Piper's porch for several more minutes. Neither one wanted to let go of the other.

Piper pulled away first so she could look at Alex. She wiped the tears from Alex's cheeks.

"Let's go inside. Yeah?"

Alex nodded her head in agreement.

She moved closer to Piper and kissed her gently. She took her time and felt the softness of Piper's lips against hers as if it was their first kiss.

"I love you, Pipes. So much."

Piper placed her hand again on Alex's cheek. She stared into Alex's eyes for what felt like hours. Sometimes she wasn't sure if Alex was real. Standing in her arms was this amazing woman who needed someone and it was Piper she chose to go to. Piper's eyes welled up with tears at the thought of how much Alex meant to her and how much she wanted to take care of her.

"Piper? Hey, are you ok?" Alex gave a small laugh.

Piper continued to stare into Alex's eyes before kissing her once again.

"I love you. I love you, Alex."

Thanks for reading and indulging me my little scene. It always seems to be Diane that dies and causes emotional turmoil for Alex, so I wanted to switch it up. I also wanted it to be someone that maybe Piper wasn't as close to, so she could be more emotionally available for Alex.

Thanks again. Cheers.