This chapter just seems cumbersome to me, but I'll let you guys be the judge of that.

Enjoy!

For Better or For Worse

Chapter 11

Early February…

"Mommy?"

"Yes, baby?"

"Where we going?"

Piper giggled to herself as she glanced into the review mirror to look at her daughter. The toddler was bundled up to the point the blonde could barely see her daughter's face. This winter had been one of the coldest the mother had seen in years. It was only mid-February and Conner had already had two bad weather days, leaving him home with his family instead of going to school.

"We're gonna go eat lunch with your brother at his school, and then after that we're going to go see Momma at work."

"I go to school?" Ellie asked curiously.

"Not yet." Piper laughed as she pulled into a parking space right in front of Conner's school. "You still have a little while before you even start pre-school."

The mother heard her toddler huff and couldn't help but turn and look at the small girl. She had the exact same mannerisms as her brother at that age, and she had the determination like Conner did. Since her pediatrician had given the family the news that Ellie had caught up to children her age, it was like the little girl had completely come out of her shell. It seemed as if her usage of verbal communication had been an overnight ordeal because one day the parents struggled to get the girl to use her words, and the next she was a chatterbox. Watching Ellie discover herself and the world was a treat for the family, and each day her own distinct personality bled through a little bit more. It was hard for both Piper and Alex to believe that in two months she would be three.

Just as Piper was about to exit the warmth of the car, a text message from her wife lit up her phone.

From Alex: Well?

Piper sighed to herself and typed out a reply.

To Alex: Negative. Bloodwork showed nothing.

She had learned the hard way when they were trying for Ellie that working yourself up over a negative pregnancy test only made things worse. This time she was more prepared and motivated to keep trying.

The blonde had already suspected that this one would be negative due to Mother Nature making her appearance, but she was instructed to still take the tests, and sure enough she had three negatives on three different tests.

Another text message from Alex alerted Piper.

From Alex: Well, that's what we figured anyway, but now we know for sure. We'll just try again next month. Nothing we haven't been through before, babe.

Piper smiled to herself as she reread the message. Alex had been disappointed when Piper trudged into the living room and plopped down next to her with a negative pregnancy test and news that her monthly gift had arrived, but she encouraged the blonde to take a few more earlier this morning due to hCG levels being higher in the mornings. Those pregnancy tests had also come out negative.

To Alex: You're completely right! Ellie and I will drop by after we have lunch with Conner. Love you, Al.

From Alex: I love you too, Pipes. See you soon.

Piper slipped her phone into her jacket pocket before turning back around to look at her daughter, finding her staring at a dog being walked by its owner.

"See the puppy, babe?"

Ellie nodded, never taking her eyes off of the hound. It amazed Piper how much her daughter had changed over the past year, it was as if she was a completely different person.

"Ready to go see your brother?"

This caught Ellie's attention as she eagerly began to pull at the straps of her car seat. She never passed up an opportunity to be with her big brother. Piper only hoped that the toddler was that enthusiastic about a younger sibling if they were to eventually get pregnant with a third child.

…

"Hi, Mom!" Conner's bright and smiling face bounded towards her and wrapped her up in a large hug as the pair entered the cafeteria. "Hi, Ellie." The boy immediately bent down to hug his sister as soon as he let go of Piper.

"Hi, bud."

Before Piper could utter another word, she and her daughter were already being drug across the small cafeteria and through the lunch line just like the rest of the parents that had attended. There were some parents and students that Piper recognized and said hello to as Conner showed his mother and sister off in the sweetest fashion. Most of the class was infatuated in Ellie considering she was the only sibling in attendance. As they waited in line for their food, Conner's teacher Mrs. Scott came over to say hello.

"Hi Mrs. Vause…Nice to see you again…I see you brought a visitor with you."

The young red-haired woman motioned to Ellie and smiled.

"Say, hello." Piper whispered, but the little girl played shy and buried her face into her mother's neck. Both women laughed at the gesture. "She's a little shy today."

"She's a cutie, looks just like her brother." Mrs. Scott smiled warmly, and glanced at her class as they continued to eat from their lunch trays.

"How old is she?"

"She'll be three in April."

"How neat!" Conner's teacher smiled and moved on to the next set of parents she needed to great.

"Mom, we got a new student today! His name is Michael, and he likes Legos just like I do!"

"That's so cool, babe. Maybe one day we can have him over and you two can build something." Piper smiled at her son as she moved Ellie to her other hip. It was getting later in the day, and drawing near to her the little girls nap time, and Piper wouldn't doubt that Ellie would be asleep by the end of the lunch.

"I'd like that a lot!"

Once Piper had gotten a simple lunch of chicken nuggets, applesauce, mashed potatoes, and a roll, she allowed her son to lead her to his table of friends that she had met before, but there was one student that she didn't recognize and she concluded that this student was Michael. She hadn't even realized Michael was in a wheelchair until he had moved a little closer to Piper so he could introduce himself.

A feeling of pride washed over the mother as she looked over at her son.

…

"Hey you guys." Kelly smiled at the pair as she spotted Piper setting Ellie down on the floor, and grab her hand to continue walking. "Alex is in her office."

"Hey Kelly! Congratulations on finding a house, that's awesome!"

"Thanks! Hayden and I love our apartment, but it's just not big enough to raise a family in." The shorter woman shrugged.

"I understand, sometimes I don't think we have enough room either, but we make it work." Piper laughed as she saw Alex appear at top of the balcony peering over. Ellie automatically started pointing and pulling her mother towards the staircase. "We'll talk soon, Kelly."

The younger woman laughed and waved before walking into a section of books to help a customer that had just walked through the front door. Ellie had already let go of Piper's hand and had gotten halfway up the stairs to where Alex was waiting for her at the top, when the blonde finally started up the stairs.

"What did Mommy dress you in this morning?" Alex joked as she removed the hood from her daughter's jacket and pulled off her beanie. "I can barely see your pretty face…Can I have a kiss? I didn't get to see you this morning because of my meeting."

Ellie kissed her momma and raced off towards where her mother's office was. The brunette couldn't help but laugh as she watched Ellie run as best she could in all her winter gear. Alex knew she was looking for Nicky.

"Hi, Al." Piper was slightly breathless as she reached the top of the steps. Alex automatically reached out for her blonde and drew her into a lingering kiss. "Where's Nicky? She wasn't downstairs."

"Hi…She took a later lunch today…How was lunch with Conner?"

"Great, really great. His classmates are the sweetest and he's made a new friend, Michael…He's in a wheelchair, but is the sweetest thing."

"It didn't even phase Conner that his friend is in a wheelchair did it?"

Alex pulled Piper into her office and shut the door, finding their daughter touching a fake plant in the corner of the room.

"Not one bit…All of those kids were so welcoming to him." Piper smiled as she sat down in the chair across from Alex. "How did we get so lucky with him?"

"Well he's in a pretty awesome school first of all, and I think he has a pretty great set of parents who don't' tolerate any kind of judgement and have taught him to accept everyone for who they are." Piper smiled and nodded. She couldn't help but feel thankful that their son had turned out to be such a loving and caring human being. It showed in everything he did.

"Everything okay after this morning?" Alex asked while lifting Ellie up onto her lap and cuddling her close.

"Yeah…Just a little disappointed but, like you said, we've done this before. It worked the second time with Ellie, so we can just hope for the same with this one."

A few weeks later, mid- March…

"Where's Ellie?" Alex searched the living room and kitchen but heard no trace of her daughter anywhere. She had just come in from dropping Conner off at school, and had full intentions on spending some one on one time with her youngest on her day off.

"Well, first off we had a frustrating morning on the potty training front." Piper laughed from where she stood next to the coffee pot lightly stirring her spoon around the mug as she watched it slowly dissolve. "And then she decided that her oatmeal was too warm halfway through eating it and decided to throw a fit about it, so we came to the agreement that she needed a nap."

The older woman tried to hold in her chuckle as she walked further into the kitchen. "The life of a two-almost-three year old is so hard."

The terrible twos had definitely been more prevalent in Ellie than they had Conner. Ellie wasn't terrible, and most days she was perfect, but Piper and Alex handled the more stressful days with ease. It was just a phase that almost every toddler goes through, and most of the time, the parents found what Ellie was throwing a tantrum about funny because of how simple the conflict was. Patience had been the key to how they handled the tantrums, but slowly the two women could see them becoming far and few between.

"Here." Piper dropped the spoon in the sink and handed the cup of coffee to her wife, hopping up to sit on the counter. "You'll need to pour the creamer in yourself, because I didn't know how much you wanted."

"You're being awfully nice this morning." Alex teased as she took the mug and leaned in to place a chaste kiss to her blonde's cheek. Walking over to the refrigerator and opening it, the brunette reached for the creamer on the top shelf and stopped. When Piper had handed her the coffee, she noticed it wasn't filled to the brim like it usually was, and when she looked a little closer, she found a message written around the inside of the brim in Piper's handwriting.

"One is great, two is fun, hope you're ready for another one."

Alex's eyes were full of love and adoration as she turned around and looked towards the woman perched on the counter and back down to the inner brim of the coffee mug where the message was written.

"Are you serious?"

Piper blushed as she slowly nodded her head, a proud grin spreading across her face.

As Alex's face broke out into a wide smile, she watched her wife remove her hand from the pocket of her hoodie clutching two pregnancy tests, each revealing a pair of distinct, pink lines.

It took Alex two large steps to cover the ground between where she was leaning against the counter next to the refrigerator steadying herself from this monumental news to where Piper was sitting on the counter to take the tests from the blonde's hand and wrap her wife in tight embrace.

"Number three, Al…" Piper's voice was muffled due to being buried so far in her wife's neck.

"Did you take these this morning?" Alex looked over Piper's shoulder at the tests and there were definitely two lines noticeable on each test. She could automatically feel Piper nodding her head up and down.

"Did you already call and make the appointment to get the bloodwork done to confirm it?"

She could feel Piper nod her head again.

"I had to take advantage of Ellie taking a nap and called as soon as I left her room…My appointment is tomorrow afternoon…When I called my doctor, they had already suspected this time had worked because the weekly blood tests have shown a major increase in my hCG. They were gonna call us if I hadn't of called them."

"Second times the charm I guess." Alex smiled to herself.

"Thank you for all of this."

"You don't have to thank me, Pipes." Alex muttered against her lover's ear, her forehead resting against the blonde's temple. "You're doing all the work, so thank you for putting your body through this."

"I guess it's an early birthday gift for you."

The brunette woman had speculated for quite a while now that this attempt had been successful. It was a feeling she had deep down inside of her and she had had felt the exact same way with Elliott.

"I guess so." The older woman chortled lightly. "But this is the only gift I want because if I hear the word forty come from anyone's mouth…"

Piper giggled close to that sensitive spot on Alex's neck causing goosebumps to erupt all over her body and her stomach flutter at the sweet sound. The brunette's birthday was two days away, but Piper couldn't bring it upon herself to wait the extra two days to reveal the big news.

The two woman stood tightly hugging each other, with Piper's legs wrapped around Alex's hips for quite some time as they relished in this heartwarming feeling. Alex loved this woman and their growing family without any doubts and they had truly been her saving grace when she thought there was nothing left to live for. It took someone special to accept her and all her baggage and Piper had done exactly that. For Piper to step up, devote herself, and put Alex before herself to help her wife ward her way through the demons she had been at war with for so long and not once judge her, Piper knew Alex was her someone special and vice versa. There had been multiple times Alex had been ready to throw in the towel and allow those demons full access to her thoughts, but like every other decision she made, the brunette thought about her family and how it would affect them. No other feeling made Alex feel as good as she felt when she thought about her family and all the joy they gave her.

Alex closed her eyes as she rested her forehead against her wife's once again as she continued to savor the intense feelings of joy that were coursing through her body. Pulling her head back to look at Piper, she found the woman staring right back up at her in deep thought. Searching the blue eyes, Alex found her usual tough exterior melting a little bit faster.

Looking to Piper's pink lips and back up to those blue orbs, Alex gently leaned her head down to come in contact with those intoxicating lips. The kiss started out as soft and gentle as they explored the territory that both women had committed to memory over the years. There wasn't a place that hadn't been discovered. Something about Alex's mouth was addicting to Piper and even after six years together, she had yet to figure out what made them so addicting. Alex's mouth was consistently warm and always tasted of mints and vanilla no matter what she put in it.

The anticipation Piper started to feel as the kiss began to grow more frantic only excited her further as she began to realize that the reality of their situation was beginning to set in. They had done exactly this right after the blonde had told her wife she was expecting Ellie, and she couldn't contain how big her smile was. Alex's hands had started to roam as Piper readjusted herself to get impossibly closer to her wife, but closer was never enough for the two women. Piper's hands had found Alex's cheeks as she found herself smiling into the ravaging kisses that her wife was delivering, practically bathing her in affection.

A small gasp came out of Piper's mouth as Alex suddenly broke the lip lock, leaving her panting and breathless. The older woman's hands began to tug at the bottom of Piper's hoodie as she began to trail firm kisses across her wife's jaw, and the younger woman responded by silently lifting her arms to help rid herself of the offending item, leaving her in a black, Nike sports bra and a pair of matching black sweats.

The older woman smirked and maintained eye contact with her wife as she wrapped one hand around each of Piper's thighs. The younger woman quickly regained access to Alex's mouth as they quietly walked down the hallway towards their bedroom.

Alex reluctantly broke the heated kiss and let Piper down gently. Her hands automatically running up the length of her wife's legs and beginning to tug the pair of sweatpants and simple cotton panties down at the same time.

"How long do you think we have?"

"Enough if you'd move a little faster."

Piper sat up slightly to remove her own sports bra and adjusted herself to where her shoulders were resting on the pillows at the head of the bed.

The older woman laid her glasses down on her bedside table, and shed every layer of clothing in a hurried fashion, leaving her stark naked. Just as she knelt down to crawl over to her wife, she paused. The image of Piper laying completely naked, yet her body was already changing so rapidly was something that the brunette found so interesting. Seeing her wife's body change was something she had thoroughly enjoyed when her blonde was pregnant with Ellie, and she knew this time would be no different.

Alex's eyes traced every extremity as she got caught up in her thoughts. Piper's runner's thighs were on display and the further north the brunette scanned, she felt her mouth begin to water. The blonde's toned torso and small, yet supple breasts could be seen rising and falling in anticipation, the rays from the sun casting a soft glow on her skin. When the older woman reached her face, she found the younger woman's eyes were already hooded with desire. Her irises close to being fully dilated.

Biting her lip in just the way she knew that drove Alex crazy, Piper attained eye contact with her lover and very slowly brought her hand up to beckon her wife closer. Alex smirked and allowed herself to slowly crawl up the bed towards her wife and just before she straddled her small hips, she dipped her head down to place the gentlest of kisses right above her wife's belly button.

Smiling softly to herself, Piper's hands automatically ran through Alex's long, black hair. She felt herself growing impatient. She needed this woman, and she knew the other woman needed her. It wasn't often that they had the time during the day to have this intimate moment, but Piper was sure to take advantage of this opportunity.

The raven haired woman could've swore she heard Piper growl as she adjusted herself to press her weight fully into her lover. Feeling Piper's breasts pressed into hers and her damp center on her thigh, Alex felt her heart rate quicken. The amount of want and need she was feeling course through her body was enough to make her want to pass out. She couldn't fathom how such a simple touch from this woman could allow her to feel so many emotions.

Alex dipped her head down and began kissing and nipping at each of her wife's collar bones. When she moved her mouth to trace a trail up each side of Piper's neck to her ear with her tongue, Alex more felt Piper's gasps than heard them as she physically saw her lover shudder underneath her. The blonde was already attempting to squeeze her thighs together as the suspense of what was to come grew heavier.

The heat that Alex was radiating from all over her body was causing Piper to feel her adrenaline flow through her body. When she felt her lover sucking on that particularly sensitive spot behind her ear while slightly grinding on her thigh, Piper began to beg. The fact that Ellie could wake up at any moment was only adding to the desperate need to find that release she so desperately ached for.

"Please, Alex…I need you."

The older woman groaned in agreement. It was often that she had her wife begging this early on, but she understood that they were pressed for time. She hadn't even intended to be doing exactly this so early on in the day, but the brunette couldn't contain herself after the news her wife had just given her.

Placing soft, wet kisses from her wife's collar bone down the valley of her breasts and back up, Alex felt her blonde cup her neck with both hands as she ghosted her lips over the swell of her wife's breast. It wasn't until Alex began to tease the tip of her tongue gently around the nipple that she heard and audible change in Piper's breathing. When the brunette finally sealed her lips around the stiff bud, the intensity of the moan Piper let out was enough to make Alex's thighs clench together in search of some sort of friction.

Effortlessly gliding her hands up Piper's torso, the older woman took the neglected breast in her hand and began to skillfully knead, tugging and pulling the nipple just hard enough to evoke a small moan. Electricity coursed through Piper's body as she felt herself starting to drown in pleasure. By now, Piper could feel her already present wetness slowly continue to build and gather on her thighs.

Lightly trailing her fingers of the free hand down Piper's body, she allowed her fingertips to move in circular motions around her abdomen. She immediately felt Piper quiver underneath her, and more so when she raked her finger nails down her side. Moving her attention to the neglected breast, Alex bathed Piper's other breast with her tongue , moaning at the feeling of Piper trailing her fingernails up her back in attempts to get her to move faster. It astounded the older woman that the simplest touches from her wife could send her rocketing towards the edge.

Letting Piper's breast go with a slight pop, Alex trailed her tongue back up her wife's neck to tenderly kiss her lover. The kisses were heated and filled with endless passion as the amount of pants and moans coming from both women echoed around the spacious room.

Never leaving her wife's intoxicating mouth, the blonde tangled her hand in the hair at the base of Alex's neck and skimmed her other hand down Alex's back gave her ass a rough squeeze. Alex couldn't help but break away and moan against Piper's mouth as she absentmindedly ground herself down into her wife's core.

The beginning rumbles of an impending orgasm was already starting to make its presence known, and to see Alex's head thrown back in a moan caused Piper to thrust upwards towards her lover in attempts to find her release. The younger woman pulled her wife back down and found herself a few mere centimeters away from Alex's mouth. The blonde took initiative and plunged herself forward into a teeth clicking, rough yet passionate kiss. Tongues delved deeper into depths looking for places that hadn't been thoroughly explored.

As the two women continued to grind into each other, searching for that rhythm that was sure to send them both shooting over the edge, Alex felt her body start to surge with adrenaline and need to make love to Piper. Making her way down Piper's jaw once again, Alex nipped and sucked at the sensitive skin. Feeling Piper's body being to writhe underneath her just fueled her desire even more.

Piper's senses were in overload as she felt her lover everywhere. The older woman's free hand fell straight to Piper's hips as she felt the younger woman trying to buck up into her. With the loud moans now freely emanating from the blonde's mouth, Alex began a trail of wet kisses and nips down Piper's toned stomach and abs.

Both women's hearts were pounding as they could hear the blood rushing in their ears. Alex allowed her tongue to swirl into Piper's belly button, causing a slight mewing sound to come from up above. The closer the brunette got to Piper's sex, the more she could smell Piper's sweet scent.

Alex couldn't contain the small moan she let out as she looked down at Piper's perfectly waxed mound. Her lips were already spread open and glistening with wetness. The younger woman's clit was completely exposed from beneath its protective hood, practically begging for Alex's attention.

Settling herself between Piper's legs, Alex looked up at Piper and all of her beauty one last time. Piper chest was heavily heaving as she reached for Alex's hand. Entwining their fingers, Alex began to nip and suck around the area that Piper's thighs met her center. Involuntarily, Piper had started to whimper and moan as she attempted to clench her thighs, but Alex pushed them apart.

Not wanting to tease further, Alex squeezed Piper's hand as she gave Piper one broad lick from her dripping center to her pulsing clit. Piper's juices seemed even more intoxicating each time they made love, causing the raven-haired woman to moan and send vibrations through the younger woman's body. The older woman's free hand began to leave behind a trail of fire on Piper's stomach as she began to gently knead Piper's breast and rub her erect nipple in between the pads of her fingers. Placing a soft kiss on Piper's engorged clit, causing the woman beneath her to jerk and cry out, Alex wrapped her lips around the sensitive nub and began to suck lightly.

Piper already felt as if she could combust right there on the spot. When she felt Alex start to tease her opening with two fingers, she couldn't help but start to pant Alex's name consistently. She needed this woman and she needed this. Weaving her free hand through Alex's soft, silky locks, Piper felt waves of pleasure radiate throughout her body as Alex continued her ministrations on her clit.

With the blonde's constant moans, Alex took this as her sign to go further. Letting Piper's clit go, much to her dismay, Alex slowly inserted two long, dexterous fingers into Piper's opening and started pumping at a slow pace, knowing how much it teased her wife. Instantly, Alex heard Piper encouraging her to thrust harder. Smiling to herself, Alex did exactly that.

Plunging deeper into the warm, soaking depths of Piper's sex, Alex could feel her arousal shooting towards her core. Twisting and curling her fingers with every other thrust, the brunette felt Piper growing closer to her release. Piper's moans were getting breathier and her breathing had gone strained and ragged. Dipping her head back down, Alex began to lavish attention back on Piper's clit.

Thighs were trembling and her hold in Alex's hair was tightening. With Alex literally stimulating every single spot she could at once, the once familiar coil in her stomach began to increase at an alarming rate. The little noises Alex was making only intensified that coil in her stomach even more. Piper's moans had become uncontrollable as grew closer to the edge.

Without warning, the Earth had seemed to stop spinning and she could hear nothing. Piper's body tensed for a few seconds before an explosion of pleasure erupted from her core and radiated throughout her body. A new flood of wetness greeted Alex as she removed her fingers from Piper's opening and delved her tongue in as far as she could to draw out as much sweetness as Piper's body gave her. Alex moaned at the taste of Piper and the moans of Piper's release filling her ears. Piper's jerks had been close to violent as Alex drew out as much pleasure as she could from the young blonde woman. Never once did their hand connection break as Alex took her on an erotic ride of pleasure.

As time slowed down, and Piper's trembles had lessened, Alex placed one last kiss on top of Piper's mound and one to the spot just above her belly button before making her way back up towards the head of the bed. As she settled her weight back on top of Piper, she found her wife still panting with her eyes closed.

Surprisingly, no sound was coming from the baby monitor and Alex made a mental note that they only had nine more months of that peaceful quietness.

A/N: Is it safe to crawl out of this hole now? I stayed here an extra week for good measure.

Happy Holidays.