Prologue

"Vause, you have 5 minutes to get your perfect ass home before the fucking time bomb drop...", Nicky growled on the phone as soon as Alex picked it up. Confused, Alex crossed her eyebrows, returning the pocket of tea she was holding to the container on the table. She was currently on her tea break after a raid downtown.

"Wha...What do you..."

"The kid's on her way to your cute little apartment...I sent her...", Nicky snapped making Alex dropped the cup she's pouring hot water with.

"What...What the fuck Nicky! Why the hell would you do that!", chills and panic was immediately sent running through Alex's nerves hearing what Nicky just said. "I'm at work! Piper's going to be home any minute now and it's not the fucking time for you to let me deal with this shit! I wasn't fucking ready! H-How am I supposed to tell Piper! Nicky what the fuck!", Alex grabbed some napkin on the counter and wiped the messed of hot water on the floor. She tossed the used napkin on the bin and proceeded to grab her jacket.

"That's not my problem now, is it?", Nicky growled back at her. "Look, Lorna found out and she's on her way out to god knows where to leave me and I'm so fucking baked right now! Lorna left me, Vause! Lorna left me! So step the fuck up Vause! Grow a pair and tell Chapman about your dirty little secret!"

"Nicky! Look! I'm sorry that you have to go through with this shit, but please...please don't do this to me...please Nicky...not now...I'm not fucking ready!", Alex walked out the canteen to her desk. She tried to pack up whatever she could and went to her locker to unload. "And how about Diana? What'd she have to say about this? What'd you tell her? 'Thanks for the seventeen years of service and go live your life now?' Man! I mean...what the fuck!"

"Right! It's been 17 fucking years! Vause! I thought you should be ready by now!", Nicky paused and took some air to calm a little. "And the bitch doesn't have a say in anything. She doesn't have anything to do with the kid. Except she's your whore who you played doctor for awhile and decided to implant science with." A paused. "Listen...I cannot do anything about it Vause. I'm about to lose Lorna because of this shit...I wanted to help you...believe me, I do, but I can't lose Lorna. Not again...I don't know what's gonna happen to me...", Alex heard Nicky's voice cracked. Her friend was lost, in panic and stress like her. Alex felt bad.

"She's not my whore...I didn't fuck her..." A pause. "Nicky...I'm sorry..."

"Is that so? And yeah well...It's fine Vause. Just...handle your shit together and I will handle mine...", Alex nodded as if Nicky could see her. A worried sob escaped from her lips. "The kid wasn't informed. So good luck with that Vause...", then Nicky hung up.

Alex finished her errands and grabbed her bag from her locker. She closed it after and went out rather rushed almost knocking off her colleague.

"Vause! We gotta run. You ready?"

"Listen Gonzales, I gotta go home, family stuffs...I'll be back soon as I can", Alex said dismissively and ran to the hallway of the cop shop. She heard Gonzales calling her but she ignored him and headed to the parking. Alex started her truck and skilfully drove out of the station.

The used to be 20-minute drive to their apartment was cut short, thanks to her honking and screaming. Alex parked her truck in the driveway and took her time calming herself. She fidgeted to get her keys on the ignition and got out of her truck shaking. She stood by her truck door and spotted a dark-brown haired teenage girl in black leather jacket with two huge bags in tow standing outside her apartment. Alex hesitated to walk to the doorway turning to her truck, fishing out her phone in her jacket pocket to call Nicky. The other line rang twice but was sent to voicemail.

"Fuck! Nichols!"

"Alex!"

Alex turned to the voice that called her and saw the teenager with the toothy grin, obviously happy to see her. Now she felt bad for acting...bad. No matter what state she had been, the low husky voice that belonged to the porcelain-skinned dark-brown haired girl would always calm her nerves. Alex made eye contact and slowly, a smile creep up her face.

"Hey kid...It's so good to see you..."

"So how's your mom?"

Alex handed out a cold bottle of beer to the teenager now sitting on the sofa. She took a swig of her own beer and sat across her.

"H-How'd you know I drink?", the teenager hesitated to take the offered drink and looked at Alex.

"I don't. I guess...", Alex took another gulp.

"You're always the cool one...", the teenager smiled and took a swig of her own drink. "And...mom's fine...I guess...She left me..."

"Yeah...Figured that one too...", Alex eyed the two bags on the floor.

"I thought Nichols told you..."

"Yes...she did. So did your mom told you where she's heading?", Alex put down the beer on the coffee table and focus on the teenager.

"No, but she left a note on the fridge telling she's going to live her life now...", the teenager tightened her grip on the bottle and Alex noticed. Alex sighed and took the bottle from her.

"Ofcourse...", Alex sighed remembering what Nicky said awhile ago. "So...where do you plan to stay?", Alex put down the bottle next to hers. The teenager looked at her confused.

"And I thought when you said you talked to Nichols, you mean she told you that I was gonna crash here for awhile..."

"Yeah...Yeah...I mean...", Alex stammered and watched the teenager stood, grabbing her bags. "H-Hey..."

"You know what, Alex...It's fine...If you don't want to—"

"Hey! Hey...Of course I want to...", Alex stood in front of her trying to get her to sit down while grabbing her bags.

"No...Alex...It's fine..."

"No...sit down...we can talk about this..."

They stubbornly fought for the bags while Alex was trying to get the teenager to sit down. It became forceful knocking the couch and then the bottles on the coffee table which fell on the carpeted floor, that's when the front door opened revealing a blonde. Alex turned to look at who entered and cursed as she saw Piper took a step back eyes wide at the scene happening before her. The teenager finally got her bags from Alex's grip and bounced a look at the two.

"P-Pipes...", Alex nervously stammered looking at her wife standing at the front door shocked.

"W-What's happening?", Piper asked bewildered as the teenager slowly raised her hands and pointed at Alex.

"I-It's her fault...", The teenager said."I-I'm Max...by the way..."