So there it was then. The doctors were busy making the baby that would go inside her mama. They'd talked about her being worried about her mama getting sick like her birth mother because her Aunt Casey had a big mouth. They told her that when a mommy is having a baby her body changes, and sometimes after the baby is born it takes time for her body to go back to normal so she acts a little different. Mama said she could be moody while she was pregnant and after the baby was born, she said it was due to hormones and stuff, that she might be a little more moody then she is when she's on her period. That of course made Allie want to stop the conversation right then and there, she didn't like talking about all that girly stuff and was hoping it would never happen to her because it sounded gross and uncomfortable.

Her mothers also told her that her birth mother was sick before Allie was ever born, and that she didn't have to worry about that happening to her mama. That made her feel a little better, she didn't want her mama to get sick in her head too. She didn't want her to leave her baby the way her own birth mother had left her. But there was the problem, the baby would be her mothers real baby, it was going to be part of her mommy and her mama was going to carry it and give birth to it. A real kid would be more important then a fake one right? Besides, this one would be a baby, they'd get to start from the beginning with it and it wouldn't have all the messed up stuff that Allie had, it wouldn't have to see Dr. Olivet, or hide in closets when it got scared. It would end up being a better kid for her mothers anyway, so it was good that her mama was going to have a baby, at least for them.

Where did she fit now? She wasn't their real kid, she was fake, she was just adopted. Maybe they won't want her around now that they're going to have a real baby, Allie thought as she sat on her bed clutching her teddy bear and scratching Arthur's ear. Or maybe she should have talked to her mothers when they asked her what she was feeling, but she couldn't put it into words so she got mad, yelled at her mama after trying to stab a brussel sprout that slipped and went flying across the table, and got sent to her room.

She'd been pouting ever since, wouldn't talk to her mothers, wouldn't even look at them when they came in to talk to her. She was scared and angry and lost and not being able to say all of that was really pissing her off. Being angry had lead to her current thoughts, if they wanted their own real baby fine, she'd just leave so she wouldn't be in the way. After her mothers had come in to say goodnight she put some stuff in her backpack and in her gym bag then hide them under her bed. She knew her mothers always looked in on her before going to bed so she waited for that to happen.

In her bare feet she slipped out of her room and walked carefully to the front door. She very carefully unlocked the door, hugged Max, petted Arthur, then opened the door and slipped into the hallway.

Olivia couldn't sleep. Her mind was working over time trying to sort through everything. Her own emotions were all over the place, then there was Allie and what she was feeling, and she had to think about taking care of Alex and about everything that would be happening within the next few weeks. As she laid there, her arm around Alex who she didn't think was any closer to sleep then she was, something suddenly didn't feel right. She was about to get up when Max started barking.

"If he's barking at another pigeon on the ledge outside the window I'm getting him a muzzle." Alex groaned as she sat up. "He's gonna wake up Allie."

That was not a pigeon on the ledge bark, that was an alarm. "Stay here." Olivia said firmly as she got out of bed. She paused for only a second to consider getting her gun, but it wasn't that kind of bark and the feeling in the pit of her stomach wasn't giving off that kind of warning. Slipping out of the room she crept down the hall, she could see Max standing by the door but before she could get to him she noticed Allie's bedroom door was wide open. Glancing inside she saw that the room was empty and a kind of fear she'd never felt before suddenly gripped every molecule of her body. She went in and checked the closet to find that Allie wasn't in there either, that's when she yelled out, "Alex!"

Alex came running and when she saw Allie's empty room she grabbed Olivia's arm so tightly her nails dug in. "Where is she?!"

Olivia scanned the room, taking note of what was missing and then headed for the front door. "She couldn't have left more then a few minutes ago."

"Left?" Alex asked in disbelief as she followed her wife without hesitation. "Why would she runaway?"

Olivia didn't know and before she could even think of an answer she was out the door and heading for the elevator. She'd only barely registered the phone ringing before she'd left and Alex picking it up.

"Yes," Alex said, the panic clear in her voice and then came the sigh of relief. "Thank you, yes, we'll be right down."

By the time the elevator doors opened and she'd stepped inside Alex was at her side.

"She asked Frank to call her a cab." Alex said as she they rode down to the lobby.

"Why?" Olivia asked as she ran a hand through her messy hair.

Alex pinched the bridge of her nose. "We missed something."

Olivia bit back the 'ya think?' comment that dangled on the tip of her tongue. As soon as the doors opened she headed for the front doors. Sure enough there stood Allie with Frank the night doormen. She had her backpack on her back and her gym bag at her feet. As her heart restarted she tried to figure out which she wanted to do more, hug the girl or spank her. "Allison!"

Allie jumped. She looked over at her mothers who were coming towards her and then up at Frank. "You didn't call me a cab you called my moms!"

Frank just smirked, "Whatever it is kid, it ain't worth running away from."

Before Allie could replied she was swept up in her mommy's arms and hugged tight. She could feel her mommy's heart pounding and she was shaking a little bit. When she felt her mama's hand on her head just before she felt the kiss, she could tell it had been shaking too. For the first time since she'd come up with this brilliant plan she actually thought about how her mothers would feel. They must have been really scared when she wasn't in her room.

With her arms still wrapped tightly around her daughter Olivia looked at Frank and said, "Thank you so much."

"Not a problem Detective." The almost elderly man replied. "Little Miss. Cabot wouldn't be the first kid who's tried to run away. Though I have to admit she's the first one to politely ask me to call her a cab." He smiled at the two women and tipped his hat. "Good night Detective, Ms. Cabot, little Miss. Cabot."

Olivia didn't let go of Allie until they were back in the apartment. Then she sat on the couch and stood the girl right in front of her. She placed her hands on Allie's upper arms and looked the girl right in the eye as she asked, "What the hell did you think you were doing?"

Allie swallowed. Her mommy was really mad and from the way her mama was standing, she was too. "Leaving."

"Why?" Olivia asked. When Allie tried to look away she made the girl look at her again. "Allison, I asked you a question. Why were you leaving?"

Allie was somewhere between feeling guiltily for scaring her mothers, scared about getting in trouble, and oddly enough still really pissed off. "Because."

Alex moved so she was sitting next to Olivia. Her heart was still racing and for a few moments she'd actually felt dizzy form the adrenaline rush. "No," Alex scolded. "we're done with games and tip toeing around what's bothering you. Do you have any idea how scared we were when we saw you were gone?"

"I didn't mean to scare you." Allie said as tears welled in her eyes and her cheeks flushed.

"Then what did you mean to do?" Alex asked a little more sharply then she'd meant too, but the idea of Allie actually making it into Manhattan at midnight alone scared the hell out of her. "Why on Earth were you running away?"

Allie was feeling flustered, her emotions doing that dizzy dance in her head. She wanted to tell her mothers how she was feeling but she couldn't figure out how, so she just said whatever would come out. "Because you're gonna have a real baby and you won't want me anymore!"

"Allie," Alex said as she reached out to cup her daughter's face. "You are our real baby."

"No I'm not!" Allie yelled then jerked hard to get out of her mommy's grip and away from her mama's touch. "I'm just adopted!"

It was like the planets had just come into perfect alignment and both women felt the sudden urge to smack themselves in the head. How could they have missed something this huge? They never once thought about how an adopted child would feel about a new biological child because they never thought of Allie as being adopted, she was simply their daughter end of story.

"Oh Allie." Olivia said as she reached out for the crying girl but Allie pulled away from her again. "Allie-Cat," She tried again as she got up and then knelt down in front of the girl. "Baby, being adopted doesn't make you any less our baby then the baby Mama and I are trying to have. You're still going to be our little girl, we're still going to love you as much as we do now, nothing can ever change that."

"But this baby will be a part of you and Mama." Allie said softly.

Alex got down to wrap her arms around Allie. "You're apart of us too, baby girl. We're not a family because of how we got here, but because we love each other."

"You're our daughter, Allie." Olivia added. "Forever and always and nothing and no one can ever change that."

"Not even a real baby?" Allie asked.

"There isn't a real versus fake here baby." Olivia said. "When the new baby comes it will share half of my genetics which simply means I'll be it's biological mother. Mama will be it's birth mother because she's gonna carry it and then have it when it's ready to be born. What's gonna make us it's mommy and mama are the same things that make us yours; we're going to love it and take care of it and raise it to be a good strong person just like we are with you."

Alex watched the emotion play out in Allie's eyes and waited to see if the girl understood. "Baby girl, the reason we didn't know this was bothering you so much is because Mommy and I don't think about you being adopted."

"You don't?" Allie asked as she let her mommy wipe tears off her cheeks.

"No, we don't." Alex replied. "Because Allison Naomi Benson-Cabot was born in our hearts, and that's all that matters to us, that we love you very very much."

Allie had to think about it for a little while but finally it made sense and she suddenly felt like someone had just taken something very heavy off her shoulders. She started to cry again as she wrapped her arms around Olivia's neck first and then Alex's. "I'm sorry I tried to runaway."

Alex pulled the girl over to the couch and set her between her and Olivia. "Baby girl, you have to come to us about how you're feeling even if you don't understand it, or know how to express it. I promise we'll do our best to help you try and understand and we'll work through it together. Alright?"

"Alright." Allie said softly. They simply sat there for a little while letting everything even out and settle. Emotions had been running high and everyone's thoughts were racing. Allie was snuggled between her mothers on the couch, both seemed reluctant to let her go which was fine with her, but then she yawned.

"It's really late Allie-Cat." Olivia said when she saw the yawn. "Lets get you back to bed."

Allie nodded and reached out for the hand her mommy was offering her. Then she looked up at her mommy and asked, "Am I in trouble?"

Olivia nodded. "Oh yeah, big time trouble, bigger then T.J's second back eye trouble."

"But we'll deal with that in the morning." Alex added as she helped Allie change back into her night gown. "Right now we all need to get some sleep."

Back in their own room Alex and Olivia spent the rest of the night taking shifts. One would sleep while the other one kept checking on Allie. They were both going to be tired as hell, but neither felt secure enough to sleep.