A/N:

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters.

I don't really know how I feel about this chapter, so just be the judge of it, and hopefully you don't think that it sucks. Haha. But this is the longest chapter (8500 words) I've ever written and I hope you don't mind it that much. Thank you! =)

21

"Is there a chance, a fragment of light at the end of the tunnel, a reason to fight?

Is there a chance you may change your mind? Or are we ashes and wine?"

-o-o-o-

The last two weeks with Cal and Danny had been two of the best weeks Piper's had in a long time. It had been great having to go home finding them on her couch just talking about random things, a lot of times things they never really agreed about, but still, they talked anyway. The three of them used to be so much alike, liking the same things or thinking the same way, but somehow time had changed them into three different people.

Danny grew up to be the most serious of the three of them. Piper wasn't sure if it had anything to do with him being a doctor or life had just really made him that way, but she was okay with it. Cal, on the other hand, was on the other end of the spectrum. He didn't take things seriously and would laugh at every possible thing, and again Piper wasn't sure how he turned out that way despite everything they'd been through. And it made her really proud that he turned out the way he was. Piper liked to think she was at the middle, could be serious when needed be, and could laugh her ass off at the silliest things.

They were different. But they balanced each other out and it was perfect for Piper. They were no longer those three kids who would rarely argue because there was really nothing to argue about, but she liked this version of them. And even though time has passed and they really did not know each other that much anymore, she knew they were still the brothers she loved so dearly and it was all that really mattered.

But now they had to go back home and live their lives again. Piper couldn't help but feel sad about it but they made a pact to visit each other as much as they could and to always keep in touch so maybe it wasn't really that bad after all.

They had just gone out of the house and Piper was ready to say goodbye when both of them faced her with that look. "Why are you both looking at me like that?"

Danny started to inhale deeply to at least prepare Piper for what they were about to say but of course, Cal had other plans. "Alex."

Piper immediately rolled her eyes at the sight, Danny glaring at Cal while the youngest Chapman just shrugged his shoulders. "Guys, we've talked about this," she said as she exhaled a little exasperatedly. Danny, and most especially Cal, have been nagging her about Alex for days and she was getting a little tired of it.

"You gotta give her a chance, man. I really like her!" Cal said, again beating Danny to what he was about to say.

"What, because she's hot?" asked Piper, raising an eyebrow at her younger brother. Alex was hot.

"No, well yeah, but... I mean, no! It's because she really likes you, too."

Piper shook her head at Cal but couldn't help the smile that formed on her lips. She then faced Danny as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "And you? Do you think my ex-girlfriend is hot, too?" The word ex-girlfriend sounded foreign to Piper and somehow, she didn't like it. It just didn't sound right. But that was Alex to her now, and she should have really gotten used to it a long time ago.

Danny sighed as he shook his head, a small smile on his lips. "That's not our point, Piper, which Cal here seems to have missed. What we're trying to say is that we want you to be happy. You can do what it is that you want with that, just know that whatever you decide to do, not just about Alex, about everything, we got your back. No more turning our backs on each other this time."

Piper was now smiling fully, thankful that her relationship with both her brothers got back quickly to how it was before everything fell apart for them. "Thank you. And yeah, whatever makes me happy. Both of you, too. I'll really miss you."

"We'll miss you, too, Pipes," said Cal who has now turned serious, as serious as he could be, before pulling Piper into one big bear hug. Piper chuckled at the surprise but hugged Cal back anyway and they stayed like that for a while before Cal pulled away. "So, are you gonna talk to Alex now?"

"Oh, for Christ's sakes, Cal."

"What? I just wanna know!"

"I don't know, maybe. Give me a break here, okay? Yes, her reason for leaving may be... reasonable... or whatever. But I still spent months trying to live through the pain of going through that. I can't just throw those away and act as if nothing happened."

"Piper, whether you forgive her or not, those months are not going to be thrown away, or whatever you think is gonna happen," Danny said, holding Piper lightly on her arm. "Those months you just didn't spend crying and trying to get over her, you spent them becoming better. And look at you now. Not a lot of people overcome addiction. Not a lot of people get back up after falling so hard, but you did. Shouldn't that be what's supposed to matter right now?"

"I know," Piper nodded solemnly. "I just need a little more time."

Danny and Cal then looked at each other, before nodding at the same time. They seemed to have accepted Piper's reason for now. "All right then. We should really get going. Take care, okay?" Danny then proceeded to hug Piper this time.

"I will. Call me as soon as you get home."

"We will," answered Cal, who was now starting to walk. "Bye, Pipes!"

They then said one final goodbye, or a see you soon before Piper went back inside her apartment. When she was out of her two brothers' sight, Cal looked at the older Chapman. "So, time to go to our last stop."

A few minutes later, they were both standing at Alex's doorway, waiting for the door to open after knocking a few times. To their surprise, it was Nicky who welcomed them. "Oh Chapmans!" she greeted enthusiastically, and a little surprisingly, too. She then saw their bags as she came to realization of what today was. "Oh, you're leaving today?"

"Yeah, we just wanted to say goodbye to Alex before we left," answered Danny.

Nicky suddenly grimaced slightly. "Oh, yeah, she's inside. She's kind of sick, though. That's why I'm here, baby-sitting duties. I was just about to grab her breakfast."

"Oh, is she okay?" asked Danny worriedly. Somehow, he couldn't imagine a sick Alex. During those days that he was with her, Alex had only exuded confidence and strength and it was hard to think of her as other than that. He actually admired her for it.

"Danny's a doctor!" Cal interjected, a little more excited than he was supposed to be at the moment.

"He likes to throw that out every now and then," explained Danny.

Nicky chuckled lightly. "Well, I would, too, if I had a brother who's a doctor. Anyway, I gotta go. You can just go in. She's in her bedroom, you can find it as soon as you go inside."

"Okay, thank you, Nicky."

"No problem. And hey, you don't need to worry about Piper. We'll take care of her."

Danny nodded curtly before Nicky stepped out of the house. When she was out of their sight, Danny and Cal slowly got inside, not wanting to startle Alex in case she was asleep. "Alex?" called out Danny softly, not wanting to barge in her room without permission. "It's Danny and Cal, are you up?" They heard a soft mumbling, and taking that as a yes from Alex, they slowly opened her door before peeking. And there Alex was, trying to sit upright, obviously sicker than Nicky made it seem.

"Holy shit, you don't look good, man," exclaimed Cal.

Alex chuckled, although it was obvious how that simple action strained her a bit. She looked very pale, even paler than her normal color and her eyes looked puffy. "Thanks, I guess." She finally managed to sit with her back and head against the headboard. Her body was aching all over but didn't want to show it.

"No, I didn't mean it like that. I mean, you look good. Just not now. I mean—Oh for crying out loud, I should know when to stop talking. I'm sorry," Cal said, exasperated. "Are you okay?"

"Don't worry about it. Uh no, not at the moment. But I'll be fine, thanks."

"Are you sure?" asked Danny, a little skeptic seeing Alex this way. "Do you want me to take a look at you or—"

"No, no." Alex said immediately. "Really, I'm gonna be fine. Although I probably don't look like it right now. I haven't drunk in so long and apparently my body reacts this way to alcohol now. I'll be fine, thank you."

Danny nodded in understanding. "That sucks, huh?"

"It does," Alex chuckled. "So, anyway. What brought you guys here? Is, uhm, is P-Piper okay?" Alex asked as worry flashed across her face.

"Oh yeah, yeah she's totally fine. We just came by to say that we're leaving." Alex only nodded and it was obvious how she was trying hard to stay upright. "Anyway, we really shouldn't be staying much longer seeing that you need to rest."

"Yeah, I'm sorry you didn't catch me on a better day," Alex apologized, rubbing her face.

"Don't worry. We'll see each other again one day," Cal shrugged. "I really hope you and Piper work things out." Alex only smiled at this and Cal, and probably even Danny, could see Alex' reluctance to say anything about it.

"Thank you, again, for doing this for us. I could never thank you enough," Danny said sincerely.

"I just wanted Piper to be happy," Alex answered, her smile faltering a bit before she closed her eyes.

"Okay, we should really go now," Danny then said, tapping Cal on his shoulder. Alex opened her eyes back up before nodding her head at the two Chapmans.

"Take care," she added softly as she watched Danny and Cal walk towards her door.

But before going out, Cal looked back at her again. "Hey, Alex?"

"Yeah?"

"I really like you for my sister. Please don't give up on her just yet?"

Alex smiled again before shaking her head. "Never."

-o-o-o-

Nicky was about to walk out of Red's, holding her take out for Alex, when Piper approached her. "Yo, Chapman! I didn't know your brothers were leaving today."

"Yeah, well they had to. Danny had to go back saving lives while Cal, well, Cal isn't doing much but he can't live too long away from the woods so." It was then that Piper noticed what Nicky was holding. "Oh, two sets of breakfast? I thought Lorna won't be back til Wednesday?"

"Oh no, yeah. She's still at her parents' house. This other one is for Vause," Nicky replied holding up one bag.

Piper looked at Nicky with surprise etched on her face. Why wouldn't Alex just come by herself? Was she avoiding her? Piper couldn't help but feel disappointed at this but masked the disappointment with mockery. "So you're her errand girl now?"

Nicky smirked at this as she nodded her head. "Today, yes. I have to."

"Why?"

"Well, you just have to find out yourself. Look, I have to go. Have a great day, Chapman!" Nicky then said as she patted Piper on the back, grinning to herself knowing how much Piper would want to know what was going on now.

It was difficult for Nicky, and everyone who cared about them, seeing Alex and Piper go through whatever they have gone through before. At one point, she had even convinced herself that they weren't good for each other, that they were going to be better off with someone else. But seven months later and she could still see how Alex's face light up every time they talked about Piper, or how Piper was awfully failing at acting as if she was still mad at Alex when it was obvious that she still cared.

So maybe, they just needed a little push to go back to the way they were again. And maybe their second try would be much better. Nicky knew that it might not be easy. But with Alex and Piper and the kind of love they had for each other, maybe it could be easier than Nicky thought it would be.

-o-o-o-

Piper had been standing in front of Alex's front door for ten minutes now, probably even longer than that, but she still couldn't bring herself to announce her presence. She also contemplated on just leaving but she couldn't shake off her feeling that something was off. She hadn't seen Nicky bring Alex food before and she also knew how much Alex preferred making her own breakfast.

So she stayed put, pacing back and forth not knowing what to do. But then after a short while, the decision had been made for her when Nicky opened the door, her face suddenly adorned with a shit-eating grin as she saw her.

"Chapman! What on earth brought you to this place?"

Piper suddenly felt uncomfortable as she looked at Nicky, wanting to wipe the smirk off her face. "Uhhh..." Think, Piper. Think! "I, uh, I just... I needed to talk to you about something."

"Yeah? Why didn't you just give me a call?" Nicky has shifted her weight to her other foot, eyeing Piper intensely while still grinning like she's just won the lottery.

"I... left my phone... at home," answered Piper before shifting her gaze away from Nicky.

"Oh. So if I call you now," Nicky slowly said as she brought out her phone, "I won't hear your phone's ugly ass ring tone?" She was about to dial Piper's number when suddenly the blonde snatched her phone away from her causing Nicky to laugh out loud.

"Fine!" Piper said gritting her teeth. "I came here to know what's going on with Alex, okay? Are you happy now?!"

Nicky was still laughing as she nodded her head, taking her phone back from Piper. "As a matter of fact, I am. Vause is really sick but Red needs me so I gotta run for a while—"

"Alex is sick?" Piper cut Nicky off as worry flashed through her face. But only a few seconds later, it turned into a slight annoyed look. "And you were gonna leave her alone?!"

"Whoah, hey!" Nicky raised her arms skyward at Piper's sudden outburst. "I was gonna come back, okay? And she's asleep anyway so I figured I could leave for a while." She paused, looking at Piper with her raised eyebrows. "You seem pretty concerned for someone who's claiming to still be mad at her." Piper immediately opened her mouth to say something but then closed it again. "Yeah, I thought so. Don't worry, it'll be our little secret," Nicky added as she winked at Piper. She then walked past Piper leaving Alex's door open.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

"Leaving. I told you, Red needs me. And besides, you're here now. You can look after Vause for a while until I come back."

"What? No!"

Nicky stared at Piper for a while before shrugging her shoulders. She then went back to Alex's door to close it. "Fine, then I'll just leave her there. Hopefully, she doesn't wake up before I get back. Poor girl can barely move!" Her tone was obviously mocking now and she had to stop herself from laughing at the deathly look Piper was giving her.

"I really hate you, you know?"

Nicky had let out her laugh by now. "I know. All right, I gotta get going. Bye, Chapman! Take care of Alex!"

And before Piper could even say a word, it was too late to back out. "Fuck."

It took Piper a while before she could finally convince herself to walk inside Alex's house. And when she finally did, she had to compose herself before she could take another step.

She hasn't been here in almost eight months and she knew that coming back here wasn't going to be easy. But still, she wasn't prepared for the rush of emotions and memories at the sight of the place she never thought she'd be able to set foot again.

Looking around, she noticed how nothing had changed. It still looked the same as it was the last time she was here and for a while, she just stood there, trying to even her breathing. She even considered going back out but the thought of Alex sick and alone stopped her. Alex had been sick and alone for months and Piper wasn't letting that happen again now, no matter how hard this was for her.

So she took another step, and her feet had then led her to the most dangerous place of all, Alex's room. But she had no time to assess her feelings about being in this place again as she went in because all she could see at that point was Alex. Alex who was curled up in her bed with a blanket strewn all over her, her forehead creased, face obscured with a few strands of her hair.

Slowly and quietly, Piper approached her, her heart feeling as if it was going to come out of her chest as her breathing increased pace as well. At first, Piper was reluctant to move any closer but Alex looking so pale and vulnerable was like a magnet that pulled at her until she found herself already sitting on the side of the bed, beside Alex, very gently so as not to wake her up.

Piper's heart was now beating so fast she wasn't sure if it was because of her nerves or the fact that it was the first time in a really long time that she was this close to Alex again. Sure, she had been with her in an enclosed space a couple of times since she was back but this time was different. Her brain wasn't being clouded by her emotions and there was only their close proximity that she could pay attention to.

Piper probably had every reason to forgive Alex. She said it herself, she found Alex's reason for leaving reasonable. But there was a part of her that just wasn't ready to forgive just yet, a part of her that kept telling her she needed more time, they needed more time.

And yet, when she was this close to her, she couldn't help but think to herself, what if they've already had that time they needed to become the better versions of themselves to make this actually work? What if asking for much more time would only do bad than good? What if it was the right time to try again?

Even if she really didn't even know if it was what Alex wanted, for them to try again. Since all she's every really asked of her was to understand why she had to do what she did.

But this was still Alex, her Alex. The woman who rocked her world, the woman who made her life just a little bit more worth living, the woman she had fallen head over heels in love with. They may have gone through so much crap, but this was a person she knew would always matter in her life no matter what.

So maybe she could keep dodging what's in front of her right now, but she couldn't run away from this. Not from something, someone, so inevitable.

Suddenly, Piper was already brushing the strands of hair away from Alex's face, tucking them behind her ear, making sure she didn't wake her up in the process. For a moment, she let her hand stay where it was, her fingertips brushing lightly against Alex's face, and she was surprised by how calming touching Alex still was. And so before she even had time to think about what she was doing, she had already leaned down, her lips touching Alex's forehead ever so lightly.

And then she realized that yes, maybe she did not know what Alex wanted. But she knew what she did. And it was sleeping right in front of her.

-o-o-o-

Alex woke up feeling much better than she did this morning, although she could still feel her head pounding a little, her whole body aching everywhere as if she's been made a punching bag the night before. She looked at the clock beside her and it read 12:37PM, which had then explained the grumbling of her stomach. She was about to stand up to prepare herself some food but as soon as she tried sitting upright, nausea hit her that she had to immediately lie back down, a loud groan escaping her lips. She hated being sick.

Suddenly, she heard frantic footsteps coming from outside her room but thinking it was just Nicky, she chose to ignore it and decided to put a pillow all over her face. But her body became rigid as soon as she did because she then heard the last person she was expecting to be here right now.

"Alex?" Piper's tone was laced with worry and it was only proven more by the look on her face. She quickly rushed to the side of Alex's bed, apparently waiting for Alex to say anything.

"Piper? What are you doing here?"

Piper seemed surprised by the question but answered it anyway. "Uh, there was something Nicky had to do so she asked me if I could look after you for a while. What happened? Are you okay?" The worry in her tone was back again as she pressed the back of her palm on Alex's forehead. After she did, relief was evident on her face. "Your temperature's subsided. How are you feeling?"

Alex couldn't seem to find words at the moment as all she could think about was the fact that Piper was here. And she wasn't mad. Or so she looked, anyway. "I'm okay. Just a little dizzy. But I'm fine." She's really here, Alex thought as she kept looking at Piper, wanting to convince herself that her eyes weren't just playing tricks on her. "You're mad at me. But you're here. Does this mean you're not mad at me anymore?"

Piper smiled slightly at this, and Alex thought it was the second most beautiful thing she's seen today. Piper was the first. She'd always be the most beautiful.

"It means I'm not holding any grudges today." Piper's smile did not until Alex had already smiled back at her, too. "I cooked. It's probably not that good but you have to eat so you have no other choice. I'll be right back, okay?"

Alex simply nodded but before Piper could walk out of her room, "Piper?" Piper looked back at her as soon as she called out to her. "I'm really happy to see you."

Piper just smiled at this before walking out, and for Alex, that was more than enough.

-o-o-o-

It was Monday and Piper was supposed to be going to Red's now but she wanted to see Alex first and make sure she was already okay. They spent almost the whole day yesterday and somehow the tension between them had slowly dissipated. They had managed to joke around each other again and Piper felt lighter than she's ever been in eight months, or probably even longer than that. If Nicky had not arrived, Piper knew she would have chosen to stay at Alex's until she was sure she was fine.

So today, it did not come as a surprise that she felt extra cheerful at the prospect of seeing Alex again. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of too much excitement, but not without the nagging feeling that today was going to be a great day.

But maybe fate had other plans for her today because that's when she saw a woman go inside Alex's house.

She couldn't see much of her face so all she noticed was her long red hair. Something horrible instantly settled at the pit of Piper's stomach at the thought of that woman having her own key at Alex's house (because how in the hell could she have gotten inside that quickly? Piper didn't even see her knock.), and who in the world she was in Alex's life.

So as Piper wondered who that woman was, she shifted the direction of her steps and instead of going to see Alex, she just decided to make her way to the diner, the jealousy gnawing at her chest unpleasantly. Today may not turn out to be as great as she was expecting after all.

When she arrived at the diner, she immediately threw herself to work, her irritation towards the red head and even Alex getting projected to all of Red's employees. She realized that being out here would not do anybody good so she just stayed inside her office to do some paperwork, which wasn't really much, so she ended up with thoughts that just made her wanna pull all her hair out.

She was jealous, that much she knew. And it was creating such an unpleasant feeling at the pit of her stomach, the prospect of Alex moving on from her too much for her to bear.

She didn't know how much time had passed when urgent, loud knocks brought her back to reality. She already knew who the person behind the door was so she just waited for the door to open, the knocks not really asking for permission to enter but rather a warning that someone was about to enter.

True enough, Nicky was all of a sudden standing right in front of her table, arms folded in front of her chest. "Do you have plans of coming out to actually eat? It's almost 12. Everybody said you've locked yourself in here since early this morning. What happened?"

"Nothing," Piper shrugged, not really in the mood to tell Nicky anything. "Come on, I'm starving." Thankfully, Nicky didn't say anything and just followed her out. Piper then signalled for one of the waitresses to get her and Nicky something to eat when she heard Nicky groan. "What?"

"I was kind of hoping we'd eat somewhere else."

Piper was about to say something to Nicky when she heard a chime, meaning a new customer. She was ready to put on her smile and her this-is-the-nicest-diner-with-the-most-pleasant-people act when she was frozen to her spot by who just entered the diner.

It was the redhead. That freaking woman who had just ruined her supposedly good day. "Hi," she said, a smile adorning her face. Piper already hated her.

Piper didn't wanna return the pleasantry but then she remembered she had no choice so she faked a smile as she greeted her. "Hi, welcome to Red's."

"I'm, uh, I'm a friend of Alex." Piper noticed that this had caught Nicky's attention, too, and soon enough, she was looking at Piper and the redhead back and forth and Piper knew what was already going on in her mind that time. "I just wanted to buy her lunch."

Do you think I care? Piper thought, only to be contradicted by her own self. Of course you do, you idiot. "Oh yeah, hi. Uhm. Okay," said Piper who unfortunately glanced at Nicky. She had a shit-eating grin and when Piper glared at her, her smirk only grew wider. "Janae?" Alex called for one of the waitresses and motioned for her to take care of the new customer. She waited for Janae to take the redhead's order before she turned her back towards them.

"I'm Janis," she announced, her tone a little too friendly for Piper's liking, apparently not getting Piper's hint that she didn't wanna talk to her.

Who in the world gives a fuck? Piper thought again. Alex does, that's who. "Hi, I'm Piper. This is Nicky," she said emotionlessly, gesturing towards Nicky. Nicky just waved.

"You're Piper?" asked Janis incredulously, a small chuckle escaping her lips. "Holy shit."

Her reaction wasn't something that Piper was expecting, so she looked at Nicky again who only shrugged back at her. She knows me? "You know me?"

"Yeah, of course! Alex talks about you all the time."

She does? "Oh. Well, we go way back," Piper answered nonchalantly, as if what the woman just revealed didn't cause her heart to somersault inside her chest. Okay, that was probably over exaggerating.

"Way, way back," added Nicky.

"I know," answered Janis, not missing a heartbeat.

You do? "Really?"

"Yeah, Alex loves talking about you," she smiled, and it was so genuine Piper realized that she actually didn't hate her because she was a bitch, but because she was the exact opposite of that. Janis' order then came and as she grabbed it, she looked at Piper once again. "It's nice to have finally met you, Piper. See you around."

Piper forced a smile before nodding. "Nice to meet you, too. And yeah, see you around." Or not.

Piper and Nicky watched Janis walk out of the diner and when she was out of sight, Nicky spoke up, her tone mocking, "Alex loves talking about you."

"Shut up."

As Nicky laughed out loud, all Piper could think about was what this Janis woman had just revealed. Alex loves talking about me.

-o-o-o-

It was almost six in the evening, Piper had just gotten out of her office and was about to leave Red's when she saw a familiar figure standing on the counter and suddenly her heart started racing. She hated feeling this way, like she was some teenage schoolgirl who blushed like an idiot every time her crush approached, but she couldn't help it.

Alex still had that effect on her and try as she might, Piper had no way of stopping it.

She considered going back to her office until Alex left but before she could even turn around, Alex was already smiling at her, as if waiting for her to come closer.

"Hey," Alex greeted cheerfully, and Piper found a sense of relief in this seeing that Alex looked so much better than she was yesterday. "Are you leaving?"

"Uhm, yeah. How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling great, thanks to you." Alex's smile grew even wider but then her order came and Piper couldn't help but notice that she ordered two set of meals. Suddenly, she was reminded of the woman who had gotten inside her house earlier, the woman who came by and brought Alex lunch, the woman who had just caused Piper to feel like a jealous girlfriend when she really had no right to feel that anymore. Fucking Janis.

To make matters worse, Alex ordered their favourite. And it pissed Piper off immensely, because that was supposed to be their meal. It was their go-to-meal when Alex wasn't feeling like cooking. That was what they always ordered every time Piper could convince Alex to eat at Red's. It was supposed to be their thing but now that woman was taking it away from them by having Alex order it so they could eat it together.

That truly stung and Piper had a sudden urge to get out of there, her chest constricting in a not so good way. She was jealous and she hated it. That woman may not even mean anything to Alex and yet, here she was taking away something that was important in her and Alex's relationship. Maybe it was just food but—

"Piper?"

Piper jerked slightly at being taken back to reality by Alex's voice. She then looked at Alex and the taller woman looked a little worried, and maybe slightly confused, at her reaction. "Yeah? Uhm, look I gotta go. I have this thing I need to... uh..." She then started walking away without looking at Alex again because those green eyes still had the power to melt her resolve. And her resolve couldn't be melted right this fucking moment. She had to get out of there now.

"Pipes?"

Piper was frozen to her spot at Alex's use of her nickname, and ever so slowly, she turned back around and looked at her. "Yeah?"

"Have you had dinner?"

"What?"

"Dinner. Uh, I haven't... and I would really love it if you joined me?" Alex said apprehensively, lifting the food she just ordered to show Piper what she was trying to say.

Wait, what? That dinner was for me? Piper thought, not trusting the way her mind was working right now.

"If it's okay?"

Alex looked so nervous and Piper found it so adorable that before she could even use words, she found herself nodding at Alex, a small smile forming on her lips. "S-sure, yeah."

They then proceeded to sit at a corner table, Alex waiting for Piper to sit before taking the seat right across her. As Alex set the food on the table, Piper couldn't help but study her for a bit, the way her eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, or the way she bit her bottom lip. Absentmindedly, Piper's eyes travelled further down. Alex was wearing a white v-neck shirt that showed just the right amount of cleavage and Piper's gaze stayed there a little longer than she was supposed to.

And then catching her by surprise, she suddenly felt a different sensation that settled at the pit of her stomach, going further down towards her center, a surge of heat that she hasn't felt in a really long time, almost eight months if she was being particular.

After realizing what she just felt, she shook her head profusely, thankful that Alex didn't seem to notice it, before clearing her throat. "So, quick question. You bought me dinner before you asked me?"

"Yeah," Alex chuckled.

"What if I said no?"

"Were you gonna say no?" Alex immediately asked back, cocking an eyebrow at Piper, her lips tugged upward in a smirk.

"I mean..." Piper looked away for a while, not being able to hold Alex's gaze for much longer, especially because she's looking at her like that, "...no," she then added, so soft she wasn't sure Alex even heard her. But then she looked back at Alex and by the look on her face, Piper knew she heard her.

They stayed quiet for a while, just enjoying their dinner, and probably even more each other's presence, until Alex spoke. "Anyway, thank you for taking care of me yesterday. I know you didn't have to but you did anyway so... thank you," she said sincerely, a small smile planted on her face. Piper only nodded at this in acknowledgment. "I was gonna pick another place other than Red's... for dinner I mean. If only I can move for ten straight minutes without having the need to pass out."

Piper's smile had grown wider this time as she shook her head. "No, this is okay. It's uhm, it's great, thank you. So you're feeling okay now? I mean, aside from the wanting to pass out every ten minutes or so."

Again, Alex laughed at Piper's joke and Piper swore she could just stay right there listening to Alex laugh. "Yes, much better. I can go back to work tomorrow. Janis won't be happy if I miss work another day."

Piper's smile had faltered a bit at the mention of Janis and she had to take a sip of water to distract herself from the jealousy that again plagued her the minute Alex mentioned her.

"She told me you've met earlier?" Alex asked again, and Piper wished she would just drop the topic and move on to other things.

"Uh, yeah. She came by. She bought your lunch."

Alex chuckled. "Yeah, that was nice of her."

Piper wasn't gonna say anything. She was supposed to just leave it at that but she didn't know what suddenly overcome her when she next opened her mouth to say something. "So... you and Janis..."

"Yeah?"

"Uh, are you two...?" Piper let the last word hang, hoping that Alex would get what she meant. She couldn't say the words because she was afraid of what emotions it was gonna cause her.

"Together?" Alex asked, a little surprised. She then shook her head as her eyebrows furrowed. "No. She's my boss."

Piper nodded, but that answer was not yet enough. "But were you..."

"No, we were never."

"So you haven't..."

"We haven't." The questions and answers between the two were already going so fast by then. "There's been no one else, Pipes."

At Alex's last line, Piper found herself breathing a sigh of relief before she could even stop it. She felt warmth on her cheeks at the possibility that Alex might have seen her reaction. But the fact that Alex said they aren't, never were, and never did it, was good enough for her to not really care whether Alex saw her or not. "Oh. Well, it's... I mean, there's really no need to explain. I was just asking."

"For Science?"

Alex was again wearing that shit-eating grin and Piper knew by then that she's been caught. "What?"

Alex shook her head, the smile on her lips only growing wider by the second. "Nothing. Are you ready to go?"

"Uhm, yeah!" Piper said as she stood up. Soon enough, she was walking side by side with Alex, the cool breeze of the night sending shivers down her spine. At least that's what she wanted to think was the reason, and not the fact that her shoulder was brushing slightly against Alex's, their bodies too close for Piper to think about anything but the warmth that was spreading right from her chest towards her center. "I'm going to walk you home, make sure you're okay."

"Okay," Alex said softly, smiling at her before her gaze went back to the path they were taking. They then reached her place in complete silence, but for the first time since she came back, it wasn't uncomfortable. "Thanks again, for yesterday, and for agreeing to dinner, and for walking me home," she then told Piper, a soft chuckle escaping her lips.

"No problem. Thanks for dinner."

Then they just stood there, facing each other with only a few inches apart. Piper was looking straight into Alex's beautiful green eyes and none of them seemed to be able to look away. Alex was looking at her intensely with that kind of look that she's always given her, her eyes saying a lot more than words probably could and Piper looked back at her the same way.

Time stopped as it reduced everything else into background, leaving only the two of them to deal with the onslaught of emotions that their eyes were screaming towards each other.

Piper didn't know who moved closer to whom, but then she could feel Alex's warm breath tickling her face and she was suddenly thrown back to reality. She took two steps backwards, her gaze shifting anywhere but Alex. "I should, uh... I should probably go."

"R-right." Alex seemed to be feeling exactly what Piper was feeling at the moment as she adjusted her glasses, her other hand going inside her jean's pocket.

"Good night, Alex." Piper managed to give Alex a small smile as Alex smiled back.

"Good night, Piper."

And then Piper was walking away, wondering what would have happened if she stayed just a little bit longer. She could still feel Alex's warmth against her, could still feel her heart racing, and just like that, she's realized that she didn't want her evening with Alex to end just yet. So before she had time to convince herself otherwise, she was walking back towards Alex's place.

There she saw her sitting right on the steps of her front porch, hands clasped together with her arms stretched forward resting on her knees. When she spotted her, Piper could see the surprise in her eyes. "Piper? Did you forget anything?"

"No. I just realized that Danny and Cal aren't home anymore and I don't think I want to arrive to an empty apartment just yet. Uh, is it okay if I... stay for while?"

"Yes," Alex answered quickly, much to Piper's liking. "Yeah, of course." She then scooted over giving Piper room to sit beside her. "So, how are things gonna go with you and your brothers from now on anyway?"

"Honestly, I don't know. But we promised to stay in touch so I guess that's gonna have to do for now," Piper smiled before giving Alex a quick glance.

"I'm really happy for you, Pipes. I'm glad you're with them again."

Piper's smile widened even more at this and this time, she looked at Alex just a little bit longer. "Yeah well, you made it happen. Thanks again... Alex."

Alex just shrugged at this but not without beaming back at her. "Your brothers are really awesome. I mean, Cal... he's fucking hilarious."

Piper chuckled at this, and not for long had Alex joined her. She loved hearing Alex laugh and it made her chest flutter in a really good way. "He's crazy. They both are. And they actually like you very much."

"Yeah?" Alex raised her eyebrows at Piper.

"Yeah," Piper didn't bother looking away now, the sight of Alex leaning slightly on both her hands stretched behind her giving her a sense of happiness she's never felt in quite a while.

"That's nice," Alex responded with a slight nod. "I hope their sister likes me as much."

This time, Piper couldn't help but look away, only because she had to hide the blush on her cheeks that she was pretty sure was very obvious right now. Another thing she couldn't stop was her smile that probably reached her ears by now. "I'm sure she does." A lot, lot more, actually.

Again, they've fallen into a comfortable silence, with Piper not daring to look back at Alex again. So instead, she focused on the stars right above them, and the moon that seemed to be shining brighter than Piper had ever seen it.

But only a few seconds later, Piper was getting distracted at the sight that the corner of her eye was catching. "You're staring." And it was already out of impulse, but she dared look back at Alex and true enough, she was giving her that look again.

"It's just..." Alex said softly, without breaking her eye contact with Piper. "I really missed you."

Piper just smiled at this, not knowing how to really respond to that. She looked back up at the sky hoping that Alex wasn't too disappointed at her silence. But Alex didn't seem to mind the lack of response, though, as she had mimicked Piper's action of looking up.

They stayed like that for a while, and both of them seemed to take comfort at the silence. Piper didn't know about Alex but she was enjoying this immensely, and how she wished the night could just go on forever.

But forever may be stretching it a bit as soon enough, she realized that the night was getting deep and it was maybe time for her to head home. "I think I'm ready to go home now."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Thanks for keeping me company," answered Piper as she stood up, followed by Alex who walked behind her. When they reached the side of the road, both said another set of good nights before Alex turned her back on Piper and started walking back to her house. "Hey, Alex?"

Alex immediately looked back at her. "Yeah?"

"I really missed you, too." Piper gave Alex one last smile and before seeing Alex's reaction, she had already turned her back on her, as she made her way back to her own place.

Suddenly, the night seemed to have just gotten so much better for Piper.

-o-o-o-

SHOUTOUTS:

RANVEER, Hi, I'm glad to see you back on my story's review section! Thank you very much, it means a lot that you've left reviews on this despite it not being really your thing. =)

Guest (speechless), Your review honestly made me smile like an idiot. Thank you! =)

RJVause, Yes, we may be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel now. Thank you so much for that wonderful review. *happy smiley face* right back at you!

izzielg, Yes, probably! Haha. Here's a new post hope you like it more than I did. Haha. =)

Guest (Walk Away), Hi! I listened to the song you mentioned and it really does fit a part of the story. Thank you for sharing it with me. It's a beautiful song =) And thank you for the review as well!

vausegasm, I could see that your hormones were in full swing the last time you reviewed. Hopefully they're a little tamer now. Haha! I hate making people cry (or not) and I tried my best not to do it again with this chapter. Thank you for your review, even if it made me wanna hide inside my closet for a very long while. =))

ManveerlovesVauseman, Thank you so much! I'm glad that you liked the previous chapter. That was a wonderful review, keep'em coming! Haha. =)

WB79, Oh my gosh, thank you! I'm glad that you agree with how the story turned out. And I couldn't agree more about the Alex part. She's Alex! Haha. =)

vausemanoitnb, Hm, they are gonna try to work things out soon. Hopefully. Haha. I hope you love this chapter as well, thank you! =)

Z-Tea, Hahahahaha oh my god, I'm speechless with your review. Thank you! =)

Yooooooo, I'm sorry! I didn't know the last chapter was gonna hurt that bad. Maybe I've just been immuned to pain, huh? But I tried to make it up with you guys with this chapter, so hopefully all would be well. Haha! Thank you for your review, it was awesome! =)

klaudiasurg, Yes, indeed. It wouldn't be easy to forgive someone who has hurt you so bad no matter how much you love that person. But maybe eventually, it'll happen. Thank you for the review! =)

sara lance, I love Clarity, too, and I totall agree about it fitting Vauseman so well! There's this Vauseman video on Youtube and the song used was Clarity (I'm sure you know that, haha) and I've seen it a million times it's just so perfect! And yeah, I love putting in a little canon on here every now and then coz I know I've gone too far from that. And no one can resist Alex Vause, certainly not me. I'll let you guys know when it's already about to end (maybe, haha)

Budda1127, That was one of my favourite reviews so far, it was beautiful. Thank you very much! You are also amazing and thank you for almost making me cry. Haha. =)

amciotola1, Hm, now they've gotten a little closer again. But still they have a long way to go. Thank you for the review! =)

rach5878, Wow, that was such an amazing compliment! I can't even thank you enough. That was really sweet of you to say. Thank you so much! I hope this chapter hasn't left you emo. Haha. =)

Guest (such a good update), I'm glad you like my own version of Vauseman even if they've probably become OOC and that they're really problematic. Haha! And oh my gosh, they way you spelled luv reminds me of Laura Prepon so much. Please tell me you're her. Hahaha. =) But anyway, thank you! =)

schillingarmy, I love Clarity, too, and I totall agree about it fitting Vauseman so well! There's this Vauseman video on Youtube and the song used was Clarity (I'm sure you know that, haha) and I've seen it a million times it's just so perfect! (I wrote this for sara lance, too, but I thought I'd say the same to you) Thank you very much for such wonderful review. Have an amazing day as well! =)

Guest (Great chapter!), I'm glad I've made you happy with the previous chapter. All I've seemed to manage to do so far is make people cry. Haha! Thank you for that awesome review, and you're even as awesome! =)

Marauder-Lu, Oh geez, you calling the previous chapter a "masterpiece" may have just become the highlight of my day. Thank you so much, that really, really means a lot. You're welcome but I also wanna thank you... over and over again. =)

jomichael3, Hello! I feel like I'm a different person whenever I'm replying to you through here. Haha. But anyway, thanks again! And looking forward to talking to you again soon. Hugs and kisses! =)

Guest (loved that I used lyrics to Clarity), Clarity is indeed a perfect song for Vauseman, it just fits them really well. Thank you! =)

FFChik, Haha, I guess I've made a name as that one who likes to write heavy things for Vauseman, huh? Anyway thank you! Glad to know your insight on my version of Vauseman and it was amazing. =)

Guest (who wants to squeeze me), Haha, you can totally squeeze me! But only if you let me squeeze you back! Thank you! And hopefully since you love cute and awkward Vauseman, you'd love this chapter as well. =)

Guest (3), I don't know what this was supposed to mean, but thank you anyway! Haha.

Sheri, Girl, your reviews are "award" enough for me. And it's even better! So thank you very much! I can't express enough how much I love you guys for it. =)

moanzs, Yey, I'm really glad you loved it. And I really do think that there's probably an 80% chance of things only going up from here. The other 20% is still owned by the devil inside of me so beware. Haha! Thank you! =)

huggerguest, Hahaha yes, Piper indeed has that temper. Hot and sweet Vauseman may make an appearance soon, I think. But not making any promises! Haha.

Vausemaniac, Hi! Hey no problem about the late review, you reviewed and that's really all that matters. Anyway, thank you for mentioning that scene when canon Vauseman broke up for the first time. The "This doesn't change anything" part. That was just really an amazing coincidence but I'm really glad you pointed it out to me, so thank you! And I'm also happy to know the "bright spots" you found in the previous chapter. You always leave one of the most amazing reviews and I can't thank you enough. I heart you, kind person! =)