– 10 –

Piper couldn't remember how they finally had gotten into the cab. Alex was the core of her whole universe and everything else was just background. The only thing she could feel was Alex's touch all over her. Her hands on her bare abdomen, her lips on her neck leaving wet kisses and delicate bites. All she could hear were Alex's soft whispers. Piper loved how Alex pronounced her name over and over again. The countless "Pipes" before they had even reached the detective's apartment building. The thought that Alex was hers and hers only added greatly to the exhilarating rush of emotions tormenting Piper's body. She was shivering all over – that's how much she craved the brunette.

The younger woman quietly admired the fact that Alex was able to keep her composure intact (kind of...) despite their heavy make out session through the whole way to the brunette's apartment. It was only when they finally had approached Alex's door, Piper noticed that the taller beauty's hands were visibly shaking while she attempted to find the lock with her key. The blonde put her hand gently on Alex's while she continued to leave a trail of kisses up the detective's neck.

"I got this." She whispered into her ear and opened the door herself.

They shut the door behind them with a loud thump, evoking giggles from the both of them. Alex caught Piper's lower lip with her teeth and the blonde dove right back into Alex. Her hands traveled down the brunette's torso, finally settling themselves on her ass and Piper couldn't help herself and gripped Alex a little bit stronger. Those curves were making her go insane. She felt as if she was on fire and Alex's palms kneading her breasts weren't really helping.

Piper started to unbutton Alex's shirt but got stuck on the second button. After fumbling with it for a moment or two, she couldn't take it anymore and she simply tore the buttons down, sending them flying all over the place and Alex laughed out loud.

"Someone's pretty impatient here." She murmured still chuckling.

"Yes." Was all that Piper could utter before ravishing Alex's lips yet again. She helped the brunette get rid of what was left of her shirt. The moment Alex's hands were free again, she pulled Piper's blouse over her head and immediately freed the blonde of her bra. Before Piper had the chance to do the same with Alex's piece of underwear, the detective lifted her with her strong arms, making Piper circle her legs around the brunette's waist.

While she continued to kiss the blonde, Alex made their way to her bed which was standing in the corner of her small apartment. She lied Piper down, covering her with her own body. She didn't even notice that the younger woman had managed to get her out of her bra as well somewhere on their way to the bed and now they were lying down with their breasts pressed together, kissing feverishly.

Alex pushed Piper's trousers down slowly, helping her get out of them altogether before she undressed her own jeans and came back with the speed of light to the woman in her bed. She kissed Piper's chest all over before sucking one of her nipples into her warm mouth. At the same time she slid one of her hands into Piper's panties, grazing gently the soft path of hair she found there, making the blonde buckle into her hand a bit. When she tentatively moved her middle finger lower, she was met with a radiant heat and abundant slick moisture. This made her own arousal sky rocket suddenly.

"Dear God, Pipes..." She moaned into the blonde's mouth.

Piper squeezed Alex's butt cheek with one hand while she kneaded one of her breasts, twisting lightly Alex's nipple between her index finger and thumb. She sucked Alex's earlobe, gently biting it with her teeth.

"You feel so good, Al."

At this the detective kissed Piper passionately. She felt as if her life depended on it. Piper was her fountain of life. It was almost overwhelming. She had never been so heavenly aroused. She wished she could just melt into the blonde and become one. She had never felt anything like that before. Alex slid two of her fingers into the blonde's core and the way her muscles tried to grip her there, made Alex almost lose it. She continued to kiss Piper as if she was her lifeline while she started to pump into her. At first she was super gentle but gained in speed and force as the time passed. Piper spread her legs as much as her pantie allowed her in this position and Alex automatically straddled one of her thighs. She couldn't help seeking some kind of friction on her own and Piper seemed to notice the jerking movement of Alex's hips. She slowly slid her hand down Alex's panties and found her pulsing clit.

"Oh, fuck..." Alex moaned at the same time as Piper. She felt that she was reaching her peak embarrassingly fast but she couldn't help it so instead limiting herself she doubled her efforts in bringing Piper over the edge. She curled her fingers and before she knew it, she heard Piper moaning her name over and over again.

"Alex... Yesss..." Were the only sounds leaving Piper's lips. Even though the blonde was trying to withhold her impending orgasm a bit, she was unable to do so for long and when she felt Alex press her thumb delicately, yet purposefully, on her clit, she lost it.

"Al..." Was all that she managed to whisper breathlessly into the brunette's neck before falling over the edge into oblivion. Piper's fluttering muscles only pushed Alex higher and a few more trusts of her hips sent her also flying over the edge together with her girlfriend. Her orgasm was intense but short and it was over even before Piper's shaking body fully calmed down. Alex continued to kiss the blonde's lips leisurely. She gently withdrew her soaked fingers from Piper, swallowing her whimpers with her own lips. After a while she could feel Piper smiling into the kiss.

"Happy?" Alex murmured between the pecks that she kept leaving down the blonde's neck.

"Will be in a moment." This got Alex confused but before she could ask what the blonde meant, Piper flipped them over and now was straddling the brunette with a mischievous grin on her pretty face.

"What the...?"

"Shhh..." Piper put her forefinger on Alex's lips, silencing her. "Let me have my fun." She whispered just before she rolled her tongue around one of Alex's nipples and the brunette's voice caught in her throat. Piper continued her ministrations there for a while until she got Alex squirming under her once again.

"I love the way you smell." The blonde said as she continued her slow way down Alex's muscled abdomen. "My sweet Alex." She murmured before dipping her tongue lightly into Alex's navel.

"Oh, God... Pipes."

Piper grinned into Alex's belly. She marveled at the fact that she had Alex in such a state under her. Somehow, the fact that Alex had officially pronounced them a couple made Piper's confidence boost. With no worry creeping at the back of her head, all the blonde wanted to focus on was sending Alex flying as high as the brunette had made her just mere minutes before.

She slid Alex's damp panties down her long legs and the view that awaited her made Piper's mouth water.

"You." Kiss under the knee.

"Are." Kiss on the inner thigh.

"So." Kiss between the thigh and pussy.

"Beautiful." And at that Piper sucked Alex's clit gently into her mouth. The brunette's hands flew to Piper's hair while a string of profanities slipped her lips.

Piper continued to play with Alex's most sensitive part relentlessly and when she felt the detective's hips start to buckle more strongly, she pushed two of her fingers deep into her core. The sound of Alex's moans and breathless whispers encouraged her to go on. She pumped into her lover until she felt her body stiffen under her and for a wonderful while she could feel Alex's muscles flutter violently around her fingers. The hands buried deep into the blond locks tightened their grip, making Piper moan, which in turn sent extra vibrations down Alex's core. It took quite a while before Piper felt Alex's muscles relax. When she was sure her lover was completely spent, she slowly withdrew her fingers, placing the final kiss on Alex's still slightly twitching clit.

She made her slow way up Alex's torso, kissing her naval and breasts on the way. Alex was unable to say anything. She just kissed Piper's lips leisurely and it took the both of them a while before they calmed down from their shared high.

Piper looked at Alex's green eyes. She couldn't remember ever seeing them so bright and sparkling. Alex kissed her lips one more time before breaking in a huge grin.

"What?" Piper chuckled.

"Nothing." Alex said before kissing her again. After a few more kisses and whispers, they were lying peacefully, listening to each other's breathing.

"Can I ask you something?" Piper whispered.

"Sure." Alex was grazing her fingers lightly on Piper's bare back.

"Just don't laugh." And just this statement made Alex giggle.

"OK." She said after she calmed down a bit after receiving a slight hit into her ribs from Piper.

"How old are you?" Aaaan THIS question had Alex laughing out loud.

"You promised not to laugh, you asshole." Piper whined like a little girl.

"You're seriously asking that right now?" Alex chuckled.

"Honesty is our best policy. Didn't you say so?" Piper looked up at Alex. "Besides, it doesn't really matter. I'm just curious, that's all. And you do know my age, so it would be only fair if I knew yours as well." Piper's rambling was getting faster by the second.

"34."

"C'mon, Al. I asked for real." Piper's eye brows were furrowed when she sat up to face her girlfriend but when she saw her face expression, it dawned on her that the detective wasn't trying to pull her leg. She had known that Alex was a bit older than her but the brunette's answer did surprise her.

"I'm 22."

"I know." Alex chuckled again.

"Don't you think I'm just some kid?"

"Well... That would make me a some sort of pedophile right now,wouldn't it?" And it was Piper's turn to laugh out loud. She snuggled closer to the brunette, burying her nose into the crook of Alex's neck.

"You really don't mind this?" She asked, still unsure of herself.

"No, I don't." Alex looked down at her. "Do you?" She asked looking straight into Piper's eyes.

"No." The blonde grinned.

"You can ask me anything and yet you ask me about my age... It does sound as if it was actually bothering you." Alex sounded more serious this time.

"It isn't. Really." She looked up at Alex again and she could see that the brunette wasn't buying her simple answer. "I just thought for a second that you might be treating me as some kid toy, you know... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything." Piper made herself shut up before she would complicate things any further. She was mad at herself for even starting this stupid, useless conversation. The lack of confidence was suddenly oozing out of her and Alex saw that immediately. She made the blond sit up properly and she put both of her hands on Piper's cheeks, caressing her lightly while she started to speak slowly and patiently.

"Did anything that I said earlier today make you think like I intend on treating you just as some plaything?" Alex's eyes shone with pure concern and worry and it made Piper feel guilty. She didn't want to make Alex feel this way.

"Well... No." She whispered.

Alex kissed her gently on the lips. "You, Piper Elizabeth Chapman, are my partner now." Piper smiled a bit. "And I do not mean the police here, obviously. Just saying to make it painfully clear." She laughed after Piper's little 'hey'.

Alex made Piper snuggle even closer to her and she kissed the blonde's temple while she lied her head on her shoulder.

"Don't overthink things, Pipes."

"I don't do that." Piper sounded a bit annoyed.

"Yes, you do."

"But..."

"Shh..." Alex put her finger on Piper's lips, silencing her. "Yes, you do, so please, stop. OK?"

Piper lifted her head to look at Alex properly and all she could see in the brunette's eyes were affection and sincerity.

"Sometimes I can't help it." The blonde sounded small to Alex and she wished she could take all the uncertainties away. Yet, she somehow knew that this wouldn't be so easy. For some reason, Piper kept being unsure of so sure situations and Alex was determined to find a way to make the younger woman finally relax and let her guard down.

"I know." Alex brushed Piper's cheekbone with the pad of her thumb. "All I'm asking is to have some faith in us, OK?" She kissed Piper's lips gently.

"OK." The blonde's eyes were shining with happiness. She really was fighting with herself to believe Alex's words. She needed to trust her even though it wasn't easy for Piper. She'd learned not to trust anyone a 100% and now there was Alex, pleading with her to let it go. The way the brunette acted seemed so genuine that Piper decided to do everything she could to make this budding relationship work. Alex was the best that had happened to her in her short life.

Piper kissed Alex one more time. She loved her soft, yet sexy, lips. She swore she could live on just on the taste of them.

"I promise I'll try, OK? I'm sorry if I'm awkward sometimes." She whispered sheepishly and Alex looked down at her.

"You're not awkward. Cute? Yes. Awkward? Nope." She smiled warmly at the blonde. She kissed her temple again, inhaling Piper's smell that she was slowly growing familiar with. She hugged the blonde closer to her. Her eyes were getting heavier by the minute. Finally, all the tiredness of the previous days was catching up with her and sounding by Piper's evening delicate breathing, the blonde was also slowly drifting away.

"Let's get some sleep, baby." Piper mumbled into Alex's neck.

"Night, Pipes."

"Night." Piper placed a single kiss to Alex's neck and before she knew it, the heaviness of her eyelids won with her need to feel Alex's presence for a second longer.

– – –

Piper woke up first thing in the morning. When she looked at Alex's alarm clock sitting on the nightstand, it showed that it was nearly 9:30 am but the blonde figured that after the late night both of them could use a little longer moment in the bed sheets. Besides, the position that Piper had awoken in really didn't encourage her to move even an inch.

Alex's body was splayed across hers. The brunette's hand was gently cupping one of Piper's breasts, more in the need of closeness than desire. Alex's head was buried in Piper's neck and the younger woman felt a nice warm feeling crippling up her body. She felt safe, protected, at peace.

Piper waited another half an hour before placing a tentative kiss on Alex's forehead, trying to wake her lover up but obviously Alex was still gone to the world. The brunette must have been really exhausted recently. Yet, Piper had no other choice but to wake Alex up. She did remember clearly Alex telling her sometime during the party that she needed to be at the rehab centre around 12 o'clock. Piper didn't want Alex to oversleep since the whole issue had seemed to be quite important to her girlfriend… Yeah, girlfriend. Somehow this label still felt weird to the blonde. Yet, Alex was hers indeed. The brunette had stressed that enough times the previous night to make Piper truly start to realize that it wasn't just some beautiful dream.

"Baby…" She tried to gently shake Alex awake. "Al… Honey, I think we need to get up." Piper kissed the brunette's forehead one more time and stroked her arm lovingly. Soon, she felt Alex slowly returning to the land of living. The brunette brushed her fingers lightly over Piper's naked breast. It was more an absent-minded movement but it made Piper's voice quiver a bit when she told Alex the time. "It's almost 10, Al."

Alex smiled into the crook of Piper's neck. She hardly ever had found herself in such a position. Alex seeking warmth of the other's body? She actually couldn't place such a occasion in her mind. Yet, this felt so natural to her. Waking up with the blissful warmth of Piper's body all over her seemed to be enough to render the brunette speechless. She adored their small safe-heaven.

"Enough time." She whispered more to herself than to the blonde.

"What?" Piper seemed confused until Alex's palm squeezed Piper's breast lightly, evoking both a small moan from the blonde and a playful chuckle. "Now, now… Al, you probably can't be late today." She tried with Alex gently, even though she felt herself getting aroused from even the slightest of touches coming from Alex.

"Spoil sport." Retorted the detective. She lifter her head up to kiss Piper's jaw and the blonde giggled.

"This meeting seemed quite important yesterday."

"Yeah, I know and it is." Alex finally admitted. "Maybe you're right. We should start getting ready. Do you have any plans for today?" Alex asked as she got up from the warm bed. She was standing there in all her naked glory, self-consciousness was clearly not her problem. She opened her wardrobe to dig for some clothes for the upcoming day. Piper couldn't help the staring and it took her quite a while to register that there had actually been a question directed at her. When Alex didn't receive any answer, she turned around from the wardrobe to look at the blonde quizzically but when she noticed Piper's eyes widen in awe, she couldn't stop a big smirk from making its presence on her lips. "Staring much?"

Piper blushed slightly despite herself but didn't avert her sight. "You're so beautiful." She simply stated and it managed to catch Alex off guard once again. The brunette wasn't sure if she could ever get used to hearing that. Especially when Piper was saying this in such a way that it made her heart swell each damn time.

"You're not half bad, either." She couldn't help a silly joke. She really didn't know how to accept compliments like that. She threw a towel at Piper, making the young girl giggle. "Get your sexy ass out of my bed. We need a shower and a proper breakfast before we leave." She grinned.

– – –

Piper was sitting by the tiny kitchen bar table, observing Alex's confident movements while she was preparing the food for both of them. It was slowly starting to smell deliciously well and the blonde could feel her stomach grumbling lowly. She hadn't realized that she was so hungry until she saw what Alex had in mind for their breakfast. The omelets were almost ready and Piper couldn't wait to dig her teeth in them. It actually surprised her a bit to find out that Alex was so good at cooking. Somehow she had never imagined the brunette to be the housewife type. As it had turned out, the detective loved preparing various dishes. Cooking was her passion, in fact. Piper wondered what else she still has to find out about her now girlfriend.

She looked around Alex's apartment. There was no way to even compare it with Piper's place. It was very small and old but at the same time it had 'Alex' screaming all over it. There were tons of books scattered on almost every flat surface, obviously the vintage-looking bookshelf wasn't enough anymore. Posters from various old movies decorated most of the wall behind the bed. What also surprised Piper about Alex was the fact that the brunette also owned an electric guitar. Piper noticed it standing in the corner, next to the wardrobe. She would still have to ask about it, though. A smile crept onto the blonde's lips. There was so much she still had to discover, indeed.

"What are you smiling about?" Alex's question brought Piper back to the present reality.

"Food." Piper grinned.

"Is served." Alex grinned back and chuckled even a bit when she saw how eager Piper was to stuff her face with the omelet. "Somebody's hungry."

"Well, you did make me burn some calories, babe." Piper winked and continued to munch on her food, enjoying the taste and Alex's easy laughter.

"So… You didn't answer me earlier. What's your plan for today? You can stay here until I'm back but I can also drop you off somewhere if you want."

"I think I should go and visit my grandmother. I've promised her a while ago to have dinner with her sometime soon. You can drop me off at my place, if it's not a problem."

"Not at all. Actually, I might drop by Trish's place and get her. It's on the way from your apartment to the rehab centre."

"Sounds like a plan." Piper smiled and Alex squeezed her hand lightly.

– – –

A few hours later Alex and Tricia were sitting by the table at a local burger bar. The brunette was more than full after eating the biggest burger she had ever seen in her life. If Tricia hadn't helped her with the fries, Alex was sure she would have been with her head down in the toilet right now. She didn't remember who had been the first to come up with that stupid idea of a competition in eating burgers as fast as you can. Now, she felt like puking but she still had a blast with her younger friend. It was also true that she had lost two out of three chess games but it only made Tricia's mood better so Alex didn't really mind. It was good to see her friend laugh like a kid again because she still was truly just a kid.

"You're getting old, Vause." Tricia laughed, finishing yet another victorious part.

"Nah, you're just getting better." Alex smiled genuinely, which made Tricia turn a note more serious as well.

"Yeah, I am. Thanks to you."

"You're learning from an experienced player, pal."

"If you don't move your sexy ass and try harder next time, a student is going to surpass her master." Tricia laughed.

"I sure hope so." Alex really hoped that Tricia would fight with her demons and never, ever come back to drugs. Somehow the young girl meant a lot to her. Maybe because she could see herself in the lost eyes of the blond youngster.

"SO… About that thing that we talked about a while ago? That fucking sick son of a bitch?"

Suddenly, Alex felt nervous. She didn't want Tricia to get into that case. She asked her to ask around a bit but deep in her heart she hoped that the girl wouldn't put too much heart into it. She didn't want to put her in danger of getting in touch with her old friends. She was still pretty fragile and Alex worried that they might turn her back to her old habits. If that ever happened, Alex would never forgive herself.

"What about him?" She tried to stay indifferent but her tight voice made it clear that she was nervous about the whole thing.

"Well… Nothing much, yet. But tomorrow I might see one of my good old buddies. He's an often guest of various gay clubs around. I'll ask him. If anyone had a chance to notice something funny, that would be him."

"Listen. Please, be careful. You don't have to play detective, ok?"

"What if I want to be one someday?" This surprised Alex and Tricia could see it clearly in the brunette's eyes. "What? You don't think I could be a cop?" She sounded hurt a bit even though she was trying not to show it.

"I didn't say that." Alex stared blankly at her friend. "I just haven't realized that you might be interested in this type of job."

"Well… I might be."

Alex smile could light up a whole street, that's how energetic it was and it made Tricia laugh nervously.

"You OK with that?" She asked tentatively.

"Fuck sure I am!" Alex stood up to hug her tiny friend. "But first. Let's get you completely clean, OK?" She pinched the girls cheeks. "And let's make sure you gain some weight, alright? We don't want some bad guys to crush you with a single fist." She chuckled. "Want another burger?"

"I think I'm gonna vomit…"

Alex laughed out loud. She was really happy about Tricia talking about her future. The girl had never done that before. She had believed that nothing good was going to happen to her so she hadn't bothered to plan her future. Now, it seemed that the blonde was ready to take another step in her way to a better life. She started to plan ahead. This made Alex happy beyond any measure. She knew that it was a good sign and she was super proud of the young girl.

This weekend really couldn't be any better. She had her Piper. She had her Tricia on a good track. After a really long time, she felt as if she had her own life on a good track as well.