Alex quietly padded into the kitchen, taking great pains not to wake any of the house's other occupants with an errant footfall on a creaky floorboard. It was well after midnight and she found herself wide awake and starving, so she'd gone in search of her favourite late-night snack: the Lucky Charms she kept hidden from the kids.

When she got to the kitchen, though, she found that someone had beaten her to them...

"Emily?" she said in surprise, forgetting to keep her voice at a whisper.

Emily glanced over her shoulder, offering Alex a sheepish smile when she spotted her. "Did I wake you?" she asked.

She shook her head, approaching the kitchen island where Emily was seated. "I just... I thought I'd hidden the Lucky Charms better," she admitted with a playful wink.

Emily shrugged, returning the smirk around a mouthful of marshmallow cereal.

While Alex proceeded to pour herself a bowl, she asked, "What's keeping you awake so late?"

She didn't really have a good answer for that. It was part racing thoughts, part being in a different bed, part general insomnia...and more than a little sexual frustration, but she certainly wasn't about to admit that. What she did say was, "I guess I'm still running on London time."

Nodding slowly, Alex said, "You must be pretty anxious to get back there..."

Emily opened her mouth to respond with a vehement yes, but instead, she surprised herself by shrugging, nose crinkled in distaste. When Alex raised a brow at the surprising reaction, she was forced to find the words to explain herself. "Don't get me wrong, I like London...it just hasn't been, shall we say, everything I'd hoped."

She nodded sagely in response. "Things in life rarely are," she added, just quiet enough that Emily wasn't certain she was supposed to hear it. Then, seeming to realize she'd said that aloud, Alex added, "I think you'll find life on the ranch to be surprisingly rewarding. Don't get me wrong, it's hard work, but it's fulfilling."

Emily nodded, smiled softly, even if she wasn't entirely sold on the merits of ranch life. The two women ate their cereal in silence for a few moments before Emily worked up the courage to ask something that had been on her mind since yesterday. "Can I ask you a question?" she said quietly.

Alex nodded, brow raised expectantly.

"Yesterday, when we were writing our letters to Santa, one of Ethan's wishes was for you to get married and be happy..."

Alex's brows jumped up her forehead at that, but she didn't get the chance to speak.

"What happened to Ethan's father?" Emily finished her question.

She sighed softly, sadly.

Emily was struck with guilt then and she quickly backtracked, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to... I was just curious."

"It's okay," Alex insisted. "James and I were high school sweethearts, we got married the summer after graduation. He went to medical school, I joined the FBI...things were fine. But then I had Ethan and my career kind of imploded and James decided he wanted to go on a Doctors Without Borders trip." She pursed her lips for a moment, as if even reliving the memory were difficult. "While he was overseas, he fell in love with one of his nurses. He told me over the phone and asked for a divorce..."

Emily's mouth hung open for a few moments before she had the wherewithal to respond. "I'm so sorry, Alex," she whispered. She reached across the distance between them to rest a comforting hand on her upper arm.

She shook her head. "It's fine," she insisted. "It gets a little lonely, but at least I have Ethan."

"Well," Emily said, "I can safely say, even having known you a short time, that he's a fucking idiot for leaving you."

Alex barked out a short sharp laugh. "Thank you," she said with a grin.

In the next moment – and Emily couldn't have said quite how it happened or who had initiated it – they were kissing. Emily spread her legs, making room for Alex to get even closer as she tangled her hands in Emily's hair. Alex whimpered softly into the kiss as Emily's nails dug into the skin of her hip where her shirt rode up and the sound rushed straight to Emily's core, making her want more.

Before things could go any further, though, there was the sound of someone clearing their throat from the doorway. "That can't be very hygienic," Derek's voice drawled.

The two women pulled apart, startled.

"Derek..." Emily stammered, "What are you..."

Alex, for her part, was blushing furiously, too embarrassed to even speak.

Derek just grinned like the cat that got the cream. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked, though he knew full well that he was.

"I was just leaving," Alex said, uncharacteristically meek. Without another word, she rinsed out her bowl, put it in the dishwasher, then nearly ran from the room.

Once she was out of earshot, Emily rounded on Derek. "Thank you very much for that..." she nearly growled.

"What?" he said, holding his hands up in self-defence. "How was I supposed to know you were making out in the kitchen in the middle of the night like horny teenagers?"

She rolled her eyes. "Well, you didn't have to interrupt and embarrass her," she pointed out.

"I wasn't trying to embarrass," he insisted, "In fact, I'm proud. It's about time she finally got some..." He waggled his brows, grinned lasciviously.

Emily just huffed. "Yes, well, now I'll be lucky if she ever speaks to me again, judging by how quickly she ran out of here."

"That sounds like a you problem," Derek replied, pulling a jug of juice from the fridge and drinking right from the carton.

"Unless she's so mortified that she quits and leaves us without a baker," Emily muttered. She hopped down from the counter and stalked off. She thought about knocking on Alex's door to apologize, but then thought better of it...just in case she was, in fact, packing her things to leave. She wasn't sure she could face that.