A/N: It's been like 5 Billion years since I last updated it. But I didn't have it in me to leave this one without an ending. So, here you are. A new chapter. I have to warn you, this one is quite sad. I hope you enjoy :)
Piper drove like a maniac, ignoring red lights and almost hitting pedestrians. Other drivers shouted curse words at her, but every sound was muffled, as if she was underwater. Diane… Kind and loving Diane was one step away from death. Piper knew that her death would break Alex. Alex who was all alone, in terrible agony over the fate of her mother.
"Fuck!" Piper shouted, hating herself for being weak enough to give in to Healy's blackmail. She had broken Alex's heart and the brunette would never forgive her.
She half-ran into the hospital, trying to make the best out of the signs and quickly found her way in the ER. The first thing she saw was a young girl with raven black hair sitting in a chair, hugging her knees. "Alex!" She exclaimed, relief flooding through her.
The brunette's head immediately went up at the sound of the familiar voice. Piper was heading towards her at a fast pace. Her first thought was how much she wished to be comforted by the older woman, how nice it would be to be tucked in her warm embrace. No, she told herself. She broke up with you. She doesn't want you. She never did.
"They must be paying you real good if you agree to work overtime, Ms. Chapman." Alex told her, in a fatigued voice. Piper seemed to be hurt by her words. Good.
"Alex… I am so sorry." Piper reached to touch her arm, but the student moved it out of reach. "Is Diane going to be okay?"
"I don't know." The brunette was quiet. She started blankly at a closed door and said, "She is in there right now. Her doctor tried to explain to me what they will be doing to her, but I think I am either not smart enough to understand it, or just too depressed to try to."
"I'm sure she is going to be okay, Alex. She is a fighter. Just like her daughter."
"What are you doing here?" The younger woman asked, meeting Piper's stare. "The school obviously doesn't care enough to send you." She paused. "Wait- how did you know what happened and in which hospital we would be?"
"Nicky told me."
"Fucking traitor…" Alex murmured. "Did she ask you to come, or was it your idea?"
"She asked me to since she wouldn't be able to due to detention, but I would have come either way."
"Well, too bad, because I don't want you here." The younger woman said coldly, wondering if it was too evident that she was lying.
"Alex…" Piper said softly, moving closer to the brunette.
"Seriously, Piper. Go home."
"No."
Alex almost laughed. "What do you mean no."
With determination, the blonde sat down in the chair next to Alex's and said, "I'm going to sit in this chair, right next to you. You can talk to me, or you can ignore me." Alex had opened her mouth, ready to say something, but Piper didn't give her that chance. "I am not leaving you, kid. Not again."
…
The hours went by agonizingly slow. Nicky had texted her friend informing her that her parents were being major assholes and had grounded her. She said that she wouldn't be able to sneak out, not tonight at least.
Alex hadn't uttered a single word besides a quiet thank you when Piper had handed her a cup of hot coffee. We both need some energy, the blonde had said after Alex initially denied to take it. After that, it was just silence again.
It was around 4 in the morning when Alex whispered, "I can't lose her."
Piper reached for her hand. The brunette let her take it. "You won't." She repeated it a few times, running her thumb up and down Alex's palm soothingly.
Alex rested her head on Piper's shoulder, too tired to think it through, and closed her eyes. The blonde smiled and without letting go of her hand, she closed her eyes as well.
….
At the sound of her name, Alex woke up. She realized how close she was to the blonde, who was peacefully sleeping in the uncomfortable hospital seat next to her, and moved away. "Yes?" She asked, rubbing her eyes. When her sight stopped being blurry and she recognized the person standing in front of her as her mother doctor, she immediately got up. "What happened, doctor? Is she alright?"
The doctor smiled. "Your mother is going to live."
Alex sighed with relief. Suddenly she couldn't stop smiling. "C-can I see her?"
"I'm afraid not, love. She needs to rest." The doctor patted her on the shoulder. "And so do you. Go home, eat something, sleep properly and then come back tomorrow."
The brunette didn't want to go home. She wanted to see her mother. But she knew there was no point in arguing with the doctor so she simply said, "Okay. Thanks for saving my mother's life, doc." He smiled at her and left, saying that he had to go save more lives.
Alex looked at Piper, who, to her surprise, hadn't woken up yet. She looks so beautiful, she thought and immediately chastised herself. "Wake up." She said softly, shaking the blonde.
"Mmmm… What..?" Piper asked sleepily, not bothering to open her eyes.
"My mum is okay." She repeated it one more time as if trying to convince herself that it was true and not just something in her imagination.
Remembering where she was, the older woman sobered up. "Oh my god, Alex. This is great news." She smiled, resisting the urge to hug the brunette. "Can you see her?"
Alex shook her head. "No. Not yet… The doctor wants me to go home and rest."
"You should listen to him. You are exhausted. We both are." Piper put her hand in her pocket, searching for her car keys. "I'll drive you."
"Oh, no. You really don't have to, I mean I could easily-"
"I'm not discussing this."
…..
"Thanks again." Alex said for what felt like the tenth million time, as she unlocked her apartment's door.
"Don't mention it, kid. It was the least I could do."
That made the brunette pause. "You don't owe me anything, Piper. And I sure as hell don't want your pity."
"I didn't mean it that way."
"Whatever." Alex opened the door and stepped in her apartment. "Goodbye, Piper."
She was ready to close the door behind her when the blonde spoke, "We need to talk, Alex."
"We have nothing to say." She replied coldly and slammed the door.
Piper was faster. She used her hand to prevent it from closing and said, "Yes. Yes, we do."
The brunette scoffed. "Okay, Piper. Go ahead and try to defend your actions. Try and convince me that you didn't mess around with me, got me to care about you and then disposed of me like a used tissue."
"You have every right to be mad and hurt. What I did… I don't think that words are enough to describe how awfully I treated you." The younger woman remained silent, listening, waiting for her next sentence. "I was selfish and a coward and I lied to you." She sat down in the chair next to Alex and continued, "Healy saw us, Alex. He saw us on the field trip, kissing."
Alex's eyes softened. "It's impossible. I had chosen a spot so far into the woods to make sure we weren't spotted by anyone." She said quietly. "The old creep must have followed you or something."
"I don't regret that night. In fact, it is one of my favorite memories." By the look on the younger woman's face, she had the same opinion. "What I regret, is the way I handled the situation with Healy."
"What did he threaten to do to you? What did he try to take away from you that was so valuable?"
"Your future." Two simple words. Something Piper had been fighting for from the moment she met Alex. "He would fail you and you would have to repeat high school."
Alex laughed bitterly. "You are right. You are selfish, Piper. You made this choice for me, even when you knew that I would choose differently. That I would choose you."
"Yes, Alex. You made it crystal clear that you put me, us, above your future and honestly it angered me so much." Lowering her voice to a whisper she said, "Because this is the wrong choice, sweetheart." With tears in her eyes she added, "And I love you too much to let you destroy yourself." Piper noticed how the younger woman's face softened. So, she looked straight into those hurtful eyes and said, "I love you, Alex. So much it hurts."
Alex didn't know what to do, how to respond to that. Tears were now running down her own cheeks. "Well, I hate you." She should. She had every right to hate the blonde after everything that she had done to her. But she didn't.
"No, you don't."
She closed her eyes. "No, I don't." She agreed. "But it doesn't change anything."
"It's okay." Piper said weakly. "I just wanted you to hear me say it. Just once."
Without giving Alex a chance to reply, Piper walked to the elevator and pressed the button. She thought she heard the younger woman call out her name after the doors closed, but it didn't matter. It was too late anyway.
…
If Piper was being honest with herself, she hadn't expected the brunette's reaction. But then again, how could she expect her to forgive everything just because of three simple little words? Alex skipped school for the remaining days of the week, and frankly, nobody blamed her. Piper even managed to connivance Caputo to overlook them.
It was Saturday morning and the blonde was laying on her couch, finishing her coffee while channel surfing. Nothing extraordinary. What she didn't expect was a knock on her door. For a moment she though it was Polly, but then she remembered that she was out of town. Maybe Larry decided to pay a visit, she thought and grimaced. She wasn't in the mood to deal with him right now. With a sigh, Piper opened the door.
"Hello."
"A-alex?" The blonde's brows knitted together in surprise. Out of all the possible people that could have decided to pay her a visit, the student was on the bottom of that list. "Um… Come in?" She hadn't meant for it to sound like a question. Alex smiled and stepped in. "Can I get you something?"
The brunette shook her head. "I wanted to thank you for the flowers. My mother is very grateful for everything."
Piper was unsure if Alex would appreciate her presence at the hospital, but she wanted to show Diane that she was thinking of her. So she chose the old-fashioned way and sent a bouquet of flowers. "I'm really glad that she is okay. Diane is one of the greatest people I know." She leaned against the wall and asked, "You didn't come all the way here just to thank me, right?"
Alex laughed and the blonde thought how much she missed that careless, raspy laugh. "No, there is another reason." She cleared her throat. "Um… I really thought about everything you said the other day and I decided that I was very harsh on you. You are right, Piper. My future should be the most important thing for me right now." Piper couldn't talk even if she wanted to. "Thank you for helping me understand that, for helping me make the right choice." She let out a chuckle. "I mean, if I hadn't met you, I would have been okay with being a drug dealer for the rest of my life. You changed my life, Piper."
Piper knew she should be happy. That was her goal all along. But then, why did she feel like crying? Alex's words implied that they would have to remain broken up, because as Piper herself had made clear, that was the right thing to do. Right when she was about to speak, Alex opened her mouth again.
"I love you. And it will be my biggest fucking regret that you didn't get to hear it from me the first time" Piper was at a loss for words. She couldn't find the right words to respond. "I just wanted you to hear me say it. Just once." The brunette said, repeating what Piper had told her that night.
Before she knew what she was doing, Piper took Alex's face in her hands and crushed their lips together. The kiss was slow, but it did not lack passion. "One last time?" She murmured against the student's lips.
"One last time." Alex replied with sadness and longing in her voice.
The two women easily found their way to Piper's bedroom. They got naked quickly, not able to wait to feel each other's bare skin after so long. They made out, getting familiar with each other's body before Piper got on top of Alex. She started by planting kisses on her neck but with each one she got lower and lower. When she had reached her cunt, Piper looked up and said, "I love you, Al." She stared licking her pussy lips and then moved on to circle her clit with her tongue. She had missed the brunette's sweet and unique taste.
"I love you too, Pipes." Alex managed in between moans. "Together. This last time, I want us to cum together."
It had always been fucking between them. Rough, sometimes kinky sex. But this time, what they both wanted, what they needed, was love making.
Piper planted a kiss on the younger woman's clit before traveling back up again to kiss her on the lips. "Together." She said, positioning herself so her thigh was in between Alex's legs while she was able to grind on the brunette's thigh.
They started slow, kissing and moving their hips in a sweet rhythm. There was a continuous flow of moans, grunts and I love yous. The pace quickened as the got closer to the edge, to that sweet relief.
"I'm close." Alex moaned, closing her eyes and throwing her head back, exposing her neck.
Piper couldn't resist and started placing kisses there. "Me too, Al." She replied breathlessly.
All it took was a few more thrust and both women, one shortly after the other, were climaxing, screaming each other's name. They fell on the bed, both lying on their backs, trying to catch their breath. Piper looked at the brunette, naked and satisfied just a few inches away from her. It was the last time she would be seeing her like this. "Come be my little spoon."
Without making a snarky comment on the blonde's invite, she shifted and let Piper wrap her arms around her.
…..
They had stayed there like this, silent, listening to each other's steady heartbeat and breathing, trying to postpone that inevitable goodbye as much as possible.
Alex was fully dressed now, while Piper had only bothered to put on her shirt and panties. "God, this is awkward." The brunette pointed out with a chuckle.
Piper embraced her so tightly that Alex had trouble breathing. When they pulled away, she kissed the student's forehead and then lips for one last time. "I'll see you at school?"
"Oh, definitely, Ms. Chapman. Your counseling made me a better person, but there are still a few imperfections we could work on." She joked, with her usual lopsided grin.
"Oh, Alex… You are perfect." She couldn't fight the tears that now rolled down her cheek.
Not wanting to cry in front of the blonde, Alex forced out a goodbye and walked out the apartment closing the door behind her. She hoped she would have at least managed to get in the elevator before she couldn't keep it in any more, but she was wrong. Letting out shaky, ugly sobs she leaned against the wall of the hallway. She had let the love of her life walk away so she could have a chance at a normal life. At that thought, the crying only got louder.
A/N: Don't worry, I'm not that cruel to have it end like that. I will write an epilogue to this, so stay tuned. I really loved writing this story and I can't possibly begin to express how grateful I am that you guys read and like it. I love you so much 3 I will be continuing my other story, but I was thinking that maybe I could start a new one? Honestly, I'm not sure but I had in mind a teen supernatural theme. What do you think? Would you be interested in reading it? Please let me know. Also, share your thoughts on this chapter.