A/N: The idea popped into my head weeks ago and it wouldn't leave. I actually considered passing it on to another author if they were interested but instead decided to give it a shot. This is pretty AU and different from what I've written before. I literally just wrote this today and don't have much more of it done but if there's an interest, I'll start writing again tomorrow. Hopefully you'll like the premise as much as I do. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Alex chewed on the inside of her lip nervously as she walked into the smaller meeting room. She should've been used to walking into rooms like this with lawyers who are about to give her important news but she's not. She's not used to places like this with men dressed in suits like that and sad smiles from front desk attendants. She isn't used to women and men crying in waiting rooms, children looking bewildered as they cling to their parents—or maybe a relative, waiting to hear the worst news of their young lives.

She sat with her back to the door, facing the window because then she could zone out when the lawyer started to tell her everything she never wanted to hear. She thought she had already heard the worst of it when the police officer called her from the hospital, confirming that she was written down as an emergency contact.

Her mind wandered back to the day that she sat across from her pseudo brother, a man that she had practically grown up with her entire life. They were laughing about something or another, something that she beat herself for not remembering now. She could hardly remember the way he smiled and cursed herself for not taking a picture of him that day. She remembered him sliding over his opened wallet, a small plastic stack flopping in the wind.

Alex had grinned wider than she ever had before as her fingertips ran across the plastic covered photos, flipping through the more familiar ones. She smiled at the picture of her 'nephew' who was a little over one at the time. And when she managed to flip past photos of the grinning brown-haired boy, her eyes widened as she landed on a picture of the ultrasound.

"It's a girl," He had told her, grinning as wide as she was. "You're going to be an Auntie again, Allie." Alex almost cried right there. While she was never particularly fond of children, she was honored to be so close to someone and be considered family despite no blood ties.

She almost couldn't believe it so she whispered it again to herself. "Auntie."

He had nodded in response before telling her that he wanted her to be more for his kids. She didn't understand at first, shaking her head in confusion. "Alex, I talked with Claire, we both agree that if anything were to happen to us, we want you to be our children's godmother."

She couldn't speak. Her mouth was agape and her eyes brimming with tears but she couldn't speak. She had never wanted children of her own; she had never considered adopting either. But to have the responsibility to be a mother at the flip of a dime if something tragic were to happen to her friend—brother?

"I don't need an answer from you now Alex, just give it some thought, okay? Ben already loves you with everything he has and I see the way you look at him. You love him too just like you love me and I love you."

Alex finally managed to shake her head, narrowly avoiding a tear from falling. "Oh Adam," She had whispered, his name lingering on his tongue. "I love Ben so much, I really do, and I'm sure I'll love…" She paused, unsure if they had picked a name for their unborn daughter yet.

"Little Lexie. We're going to name her Alexandra, Lexie for short." And then she couldn't stop the tears. One spilled over onto her cheek and she quickly brushed it away, glancing around at the small café and wondering if anyone knew that her life was changing in that exact moment.

"We wanted to name her after you because you've done so much for us, Allie. You got Claire's abusive ex-boyfriend arrested, you convinced her to restart her life, you introduced us, and you saved our marriage more than once. We both agreed that we wanted our little girl to be named after you. Maybe one day she can grow up to be as wonderful of a woman as you are."

"Adam…" She covered her mouth, hoping that her voice wouldn't break. She could merely nod, another tear falling down her cheek. "Yes."

"Does that mean…?" Adam questioned, grinning as he grabbed onto Alex's hand, squeezing it gently.

"I would be honored to Ben and little Lexie's godmother. God, Adam why'd you have to ask me in a public place?" She furiously wiped away her tears, earning a laugh from him.

She was painfully snapped back into reality when the door opened up, the sound of footsteps behind her. She didn't turn around. She didn't want to see the fake sorrow on his face as he pretended to understand what she just lost. Nobody's condolences meant anything to her at this point.

She just wanted them to hand her the paperwork so that she could scribble her name across it and gather her niece and nephew up in her arms, never to let them go again because now she knew how cruel the world could really be.

"Ms. Cabot, thank you for coming," The lawyer, Paul, stated as he entered the room and slid a chair next to her before taking a seat across from her. She wanted to snap at him, tell him that of course she was here to claim guardianship of her niece and nephew but she bit her tongue. "We'll start momentarily. We're just waiting for one last person."

Alex looked up at him in confusion, wondering if he meant they were waiting for the children. She couldn't imagine how horrified they must be right now, little Lexie only six months old and Ben two years old now. Did they understand what was going on? Who were they currently in the hands of? As far as she knew, Claire and Adam had no close family.

Claire had been raised through the foster system which is why she was so insistent on having a godmother and Adam's parents were on the older side, his mother already gone and his father in a home.

Before she could question who they were waiting for, the door creaked once more and this time she couldn't keep her eyes toward the window. She turned and froze when her eyes landed on a sturdy set brunette with short hair. Her fists were clenched together, set firmly at her side, and her jaw tightened as she stopped just before the table. She was wearing a pair of black slacks, which had a faded dirt stain on both knees, a white undershirt, and a black leather jacket which rested perfectly on her shoulders.

Alex had never seen this woman before and couldn't help but wonder why she was here. She didn't fit in with the rest of the suits in the law office, her skin was naturally tanned from the sun and her brown eyes revealed genuine distress and sadness, unlike others she had encountered on her way to this room.