A/N: This is for my friend JD. She asked for a OUaT graphic and fic about Ashley/Sean, Mr. Herman, and Alexandra. And both are now done. I hope she likes it! And that you guys do too! I worked very hard on this. This is my first OUaT fanfiction and it's always challenging to break in a new fandom. Enjoy!

Happy reading!

angellwings

PS - I tried to do something fun with this one and hopefully a lot of you will recognize the quotes I threw in. ;)

For Lexi

By angellwings

Lexi was a beautiful baby girl. She was totally healthy (fully developed, properly functioning, and the appropriate size and weight) and yet she never stopped crying. Not once since Ashley had left the hospital. She and Sean had moved into his father's pool house. Mr. Herman had been against it at first but Sean stood his ground. He and Ashley were going to live in the pool house until they could find their own place, and Mr. Herman could deal with it. Ashley felt awkward about the whole thing, but she had to admit that there was nothing better than hearing Sean stand up to his father ("I am not abandoning the woman I love and my child ever again. You either let us stay here till we can get out of your hair or your granddaughter spends the first few weeks of her life living in the backseat of Ruby's car.")

It had been a week since Lexi had been born and Ashley had been stuck in the house all week. She hadn't spoken to anyone her own age since. She was going insane. She loved her little Lexi with all of her heart, but if she didn't get a break from her soon she was going to have a breakdown. Just when Ashley thought she'd gotten Lexi to sleep the little baby stirred and immediately started to scream again.

"Oh, baby," Ashley said with a sad sigh. "Please stop crying? Please?"

Ashley stood up from her rocking chair and cradled the baby in her arms. She gently swung her body from side to side in attempt to sooth Lexi. She softly hummed a melody. It wasn't a song she really knew and she couldn't even remember where she heard it but the more she hummed it the more Lexi became accustomed to it. And the more the baby heard it the more it soothed her. ("In my own little corner, in my own little chair, I can be whatever I want to be. On the wings of my fancy I can fly anywhere, and the world will open its arms to me.")

Lexi was still crying. Nothing was working. She had hoped the song would help. She stopped swinging the baby and decided to try bouncing instead. The crying stopped for a second and Ashley nearly celebrated until she felt a wet spot on her shirt. Ashley sighed and shook her head. Nope, just stopped to spit up a little bit. Lexi resumed screaming and Ashley shut her eyes very tightly. This was difficult. Being a mother was difficult. She knew it would be, but she didn't imagine she'd be this tired.

There was a knock on the door and Ashley looked up to see Mr. Herman walking through the door. She sucked in a breath and looked up at him nervously. She always hated seeing his disapproving looks, but this time his face was blank. ("What's the good of being good if everyone is blind and you're always left behind?")

"Is someone a little fussy?" He asked as he glanced at his granddaughter.

"She won't stop," Ashley said with a sigh. "I've done everything I know to do, and by that I mean everything the parenting books suggested I do, and it's not working. And I'm so tired. I'm exhausted, and I know Sean's out there looking for a job and an apartment but I just wish he were here to help, you know? I'm not complaining I swear I'm not. I get it. I just—"

He interrupted her with a nod and then outstretched his arms. "Here, let Grandpa try."

"Oh, no, you don't have to—"

"I want to," He said as his blank expression gave way to a soft smile.

"Oh, okay," Ashley said with a gulp as she gently laid Lexi in his arms.

He gently bounced Lexi and rocked her from side to side. As he smiled at his granddaughter Ashley could have sworn she heard something like words spoken by a faraway voice. ("My dear, Ella. What a thrill to have you join our family, and I hope our family will soon be growing.")

The crying slowly faded as Mr. Herman continued to sooth the baby girl. Ashley smiled warmly at him. "You're a miracle worker."

He chuckled and shook his head. "No, just a father of a former fussy baby."

Ashley laughed quietly and looked at him questioningly. "Sean?"

"Oh yes," Mr. Herman said with a grin. "Strongest lungs I've ever heard on a baby."

"Well," Ashley said with a smile. "I guess she got it honest, huh?"

Mr. Herman laughed. "She certainly did. I think I'll go put her down in her crib now. She's passed out."

Ashley nodded. "Thank you so much."

Mr. Herman gave her a small smile before he walked away toward the baby's room. She'd been wanting to talk to him for days now. She knew she'd made mistakes, and she wasn't from the best family situation. She was aware that before Lexi she'd given off this air of instability and irresponsibility, but she was different now. She'd changed, and she wanted him to know that. ("All you did was show that anyone can change her life. I'm proud of you.")

He came back and Ashley immediately smiled at him. "Would you like some coffee, Mr. Herman?"

"Can you have coffee?" He asked curiously.

"The doctor said I'm allowed one cup a day," Ashley said with a grin. "It shouldn't hurt me too much."

"Then, yes, I'd like some coffee," He told her.

She quickly poured them both a cup and slid his toward him. She took a deep breath before she spoke again. "Mr. Herman, I realize we didn't have the best start, and I know our situation isn't ideal, but I want you to know that I love your son and I love our baby with all of my heart. I would never do anything to hurt him. I'm different now. I want to change things. I want to be the best version of myself, and I want you to know that I appreciate you letting us stay here. I'm very grateful for your help, and I know Sean is too. Anyway, I just…I wanted to say thank you, and tell you that I hope things will be different between us from now on." ("Impossible things are happening every day.")

He watched her carefully for a moment as she sipped her coffee and then spoke up. "I assumed that because you were a troubled girl you would get Sean into trouble. I see now that that may have been wrong of me. I'll admit the idea of my son having a child so young worries me and I'm not looking forward to facing the gossip around town due to this, but after seeing you with Alexandra and spending time with her myself I can't imagine her not being around. Instead of trying to separate the three of you I should have been supporting you. You're young, but raising a baby and starting a family isn't impossible for young people who have a proper support system. I could have been that for you, but I couldn't see past your family connections to give you a real chance. I'm sorry for that. No one's given you much of a chance in your life, have they?"

Ashley looked down at her mug and shook her head. "No." ("I've been good and I've been kind, Mother, doing only what I learned from you. Why, then, am I left behind, Mother? Is there something more that I should do? What is wrong with me Mother? Something must be wrong!")

"Then let's start over," Mr. Herman said as he held out a hand toward her. "We both forget the past and give each other another chance…for Lexi." She nodded and he smiled pleasantly. "Shake on it?"

She accepted his handshake. "Deal."

"Good," He said. "Let's start with this: call me Mitchell."

"Mitchell?" She asked.

He nodded. "Mitchell."

The door to the pool house opened and Sean stepped through. He paused with wide eyes once the sight of Ashley and his father having coffee came into view. "Whoa. How long was I gone? Did the world end?"

Ashley chuckled. "No, Mitchell and I were just talking."

Sean quirked a brow at his father. "Mitchell?"

"We're turning over a new leaf," Mitchell Herman told his son with a small smile. "For Lexi's sake."

Sean smiled brightly at the both of them. "You have no idea how happy I am to hear that." He paused as the silence in the house hit his ears. "Wait, is she actually asleep?" ("A dream is a wish your heart makes when you're fast asleep.")

Ashley laughed softly and nodded. "He managed to get her to sleep."

"Dad," Sean said as he high fived his father. "You are a miracle worker. Can you come back every time she cries?"

"I'll do you one better," Mitchell said with a chuckle. "You two should move back into the main house. That way I can help you out a bit more."

Ashley smiled brightly and hugged Mr. Herman excitedly. "That would be amazing!"

"Are you saying you want us to try to be a family?" Sean asked.

Mitchell Herman nodded. "We all deserve to give it a chance."

Family. It was all she'd ever wanted, and all she'd ever dreamed about. Now she had a real chance at being a part of one. She was going to do all she could to make this wish come true. She was not going to let this go. Not by a long shot. ("No matter how your heart is grieving if you keep on believing the dream that you wish will come true.")

A/N: In case you didn't recognize the quotes they're from: Into the Woods, Walt Disney's Cinderella, and Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella. I also used some quotes from the OUaT episode "The Price of Gold".