"Alexis?" Ted called.
Alexis had disappeared nearly twenty minutes ago after hearing her phone ring, but Ted hadn't seen her since. He frowned- Alexis wasn't nearly as flaky as she had once been, and as a general rule, told him when she was leaving.
"Lex? Sweetie?"
He found her sitting on the floor behind the desk, her knees pulled up to her chest, face buried.
"Alexis!" he knelt down beside her, suddenly frantic. "Honey? Lex, talk to me, what happened?"
"David", Alexis croaked out. "Can you- David!"
"I'm gonna get David, sweetie", Ted soothed, and she curled further into herself, tears streaming down her face. He kissed the top of her head, wrapping one arm around her as he frantically texted David.
"Where is she? Alexis!"
His voice sounded far away, even though he was right in front of her. He took her by the shoulders, squeezing gently. "Alexis, what happened? Alexis!"
She collapsed into his arms, burying her head in his sweater. He rubbed her back gently, holding her tight. He didn't know what had happened, but his baby sister had asked for him, for the first time since long before they moved to Schitts Creek.
"What happened?" he repeated, looking at Patrick and Ted for answers. "Alexis, its okay. Breathe with me".
"She got a phone call", Ted explained. "And then just collapsed. She's been sitting there for like forty minutes now".
"It's okay", David whispered into her hair, pulling her closer. "It's okay, Alexis. Whatever it is, it's going to be okay".
It was what he'd said when Adelina had pulled her from the pool, wrapping her in David's jumper, tiny Alexis drowning in fabric. It was what he'd said when Alexis had climbed too high and he'd had to rescue her, despite his crippling fear of heights. It was what he'd said when she was twenty one and he was sending her money and contact lessons when she was escaping the Yakuza.
But right then, he didn't think it was the right thing to say.
"No, David!" she almost shouted. "No, it's not alright!"
"What happened?" he almost yelled at her. "Alexis!"
She pulled away from his chest, her cheeks tear streaked and tacky.
"Alexis", he said desperately.
"Adelina", she whispered, bursting into a fresh round of tears. "Adelina had a heart attack and David-" she hiccupped noisily, unable to finish her sentence.
She watched as the colour slowly drained from his face, and she fell back into his arms, David's grip on her suddenly not nearly as tight.
"How- how- was-" David choked out, tears pricking in his eyes.
"It was sudden", she whispered. "She didn't- suffer".
"Oh, honey", Patrick murmured.
"Adelina", Ted whispered. "Lex-"
"Leave them", Patrick advised, watching as Alexis wrapped her arms around her big brother. David buried his face in Alexis's neck and the siblings clung to each other, desperately trying to hold each other together.
David and Alexis frequently referenced Adelina, but neither Patrick or Ted realised how much the nanny had meant to them.
Half an hour later, both of their tears had dried, and the four of them were sitting on the floor, sharing memories and a bottle of wine that Alexis had stored in the fridge of the vet's office.
"David was her favourite", Alexis said, pouring an ample glass of wine.
"What?" David squawked. "I was not!"
"You so were, David!"
"What about the time she insisted that I be her date to your stupid recital because Mum and Dad were in Italy? How does that not make you the favourite?" David shot back. "She made us stop on the way there to get cheap grocery store flowers- and you were terrible, Alexis. You were the worst one on that stage".
"Stop David, that's so mean- I loved those flowers", she said sadly. "She- she never, ever missed our recitals or concerts or birthdays".
"When I got my tonsils out she stayed with me every single night", David remembered. "Even though she'd spent the whole day dealing with Alexis. Dad had to carry Alexis out because she wanted to stay too".
"That's not what happened, David! Remember when you and Mum tried to make Adelina's enchiladas? Even though Mum kept trying to take credit for them".
"She never made us enchiladas in her life", David scoffed. "Adelina, she knew what our favourites were. On our birthdays, she always cooked whatever we wanted".
"Even if David changed his mind halfway through her making his cake", Alexis added. "And remember when Worthington had that accident?"
"She put on scrubs to sew his leg back on", David chuckled. "Alexis insisted she dress up like a nurse to fix her stupid bear".
"I wish I got to meet her", Patrick said. "She sounds like an amazing woman".
"She raised two pretty great kids", Ted said, and Alexis entwined her fingers with his, not taking her head off David's shoulder.
David and Alexis exchanged a glance, her clear, aqua eyes meeting his dark brown. And they smiled, the same side smirk they couldn't pinpoint who they'd inherited from.