Hello, darlings. I am SO SORRY this took a while. Long story short, my (brand new) computer broke and it took way longer than expected to get it fixed. And this was after I was suffering from writer's block after hearing the news about Demi. It shook me to my core. It's hard writing about a character of hers being so happy when in reality it's so far from the truth.

Anyway, I'm back. The block is gone. Onward.

Thursday morning came too soon. Alex and Mitchie had been working on a list of rules all week, but to Alex it still didn't feel complete. She felt like there were a million things she and Mitchie were forgetting to add, and she would never forgive herself if something happened to Sam because she forgot to put something simple.

"What about washing his hands after he uses the bathroom?" Alex asked from the kitchen table, staring down at the list on her phone intently.

"Mom, I always do that," Sam said, rolling his eyes. He downed the rest of his orange juice and wiped his mouth with his shirtsleeve. "You're being crazy." He got up and went to put his dishes in the sink.

"You kind of are, babe," Mitchie agreed, placing her hand on Alex's arm, causing the Latina to meet her gaze. "Chill out."

The sound of the front door opening and closing caused T-Rex to stop his constant begging and bolt from the room, barking his head off. While he was concerned with who was coming into the home, the Torres-Russo clan was not. Tuesday morning they'd told Shane to just use his key instead of ringing the bell, since they knew he was coming. It saved them the trouble of stopping what they were doing to let him in.

Shane appeared in the doorway with T-Rex nipping at his heels. His sunglasses were hooked on the collar of his black v-neck, and he put his hands in his jean pockets as he leaned against the kitchen doorframe.

"Morning, everyone," he greeted.

"Hey," Alex said in a dismissive tone, eyes locked on her phone again. "I'm gonna text you the new additions to this list in a second."

"Alex, it's already so long," he said, rolling his eyes. "I'm not gonna kill him, my god."

"Not if I have anything to do with it." She shot the man a glare.

Mitchie shook her head and stood from the table. "Come on, honey, let's walk them out." She shoved Alex's shoulder, prompting her to stand.

The four walked to the front entrance together, where Sam's schoolbag and duffel bag for the weekend sat waiting by the door. T-Rex sniffed them anxiously, whining at the fear of his favorite human leaving him.

"Don't worry, T," Sam told him, bending over and scratching the dog's ears. "I'll be back Sunday." He picked up his schoolbag and shouldered it.

Shane grabbed the duffel and Sam's lunchbox from Alex's outstretched hand.

"He gets a sandwich, a drink, and a few snacks. Healthy ones," she told him. "He has an icepack in there to keep the sandwich fresh. Make sure you remember to freeze it overnight."

"Give me a hug, baby," Mitchie said to Sam, holding her arms open. He hugged her, and she squeezed him extra hard, knowing it would be a few days before she could do so again. "I love you so much. I'll miss you."

"You too," Sam said, next going to Alex and wrapping his arms around her waist. "And you, Mama."

Alex held Sam to her, biting her lip in an attempt not to show how much this tore her apart. She cleared her throat and let him go, putting on a smile for him.

"Love you," she said softly. "Behave."

Shane waved at them as the pair made their way outside. Alex had to grab T-Rex by the collar to keep him from chasing after them. Once the door was closed Alex released the dog and straightened, turning to her wife.

"I miss him already," she admitted with a pout.

Mitchie nodded, understanding. "I know, but Sunday's gonna be here before you know it." She smiled, reassuring her wife. "Plus, we have our appointment tomorrow. That's exciting."

"Yeah," Alex said with a sigh and chewed the inside of her cheek.

Mitchie could tell Alex wasn't convinced, that her mind was still clouded over with worry. She just needed to stop thinking about it.

"Ya know," Mitchie said, wrapping her arms around Alex's neck, "we don't have to be at the studio for hours." Her lips twitched into a smile. "Wanna go upstairs and fool around?"

Alex grinned, gripping Mitchie's waist. "You know I do."

"Race ya," Mitchie said with a devilish grin and released Alex, turning and taking off up the stairs. Alex shook her head and chased after her wife, already running through in her head the unspeakable things she wanted to do to Mitchie.

Early Friday morning Alex and Mitchie sat in an exam room of one of Hollywood's finest fertility clinics. Excitement and anxiety buzzed between them, each fidgeting under the soft overhead lighting. They were seated on the exam table side-by-side, each wearing a gown and a bandage on their arms from having blood taken. The nurse had been in earlier to give them physicals, and they were just waiting on their doctor to come in and talk to them. Alex chewed her thumbnail and bounced her legs, nerves overtaking her. Mitchie played with her own hair absentmindedly, twirling it around her fingers. Alex's movements, however, jarred her from her thoughts.

"Lex," Mitchie said softly, removing Alex's hand from her mouth and squeezing it, "you're biting again."

Alex blushed. "Sorry," she said sheepishly. "I can't help it."

"I know," Mitchie said with a nod. "But I'm right here." She offered a smile. "We're in great health, okay? Everything's gonna be fine."

Alex quickly nodded as well and kissed Mitchie briefly. She took a deep breath and stared at her wife. She was fine, they were fine, everything was fine.

The door opened, causing both women to jump slightly. Dr. Matthews stood before them, smiling warmly. Her white doctor's coat covered her neat, black slacks and powder-blue blouse. She adjusted her wire-rimmed glasses as she closed the door. A long, black pony tail swung behind her as she grabbed her rolling stool and took a seat.

"Good morning, ladies," she said to them. "How are we?"

"We're good," Mitchie said, answering for both of them. "Nervous and excited, but good."

Dr. Matthews nodded. "Everyone is," she gave them another lipstick-painted smile. "But today is the easy day. Just a general checkup, and now we're going to go over the fertilization process." She folded her hands in her lap, looking at the women. "Now, I understand you got the paperwork all taken care of from the sperm donor?"

"My brother, yes," Alex said. "We have a copy with our lawyer and your office."

"Great. Now, do we know when he'll be making his donation?"

Alex cringed a little, not wanting to think about that part.

"Probably closer to the actual fertilization," Mitchie answered. "We haven't fine-tuned that, but we'll talk to him soon."

"Great," Dr. Matthews said again. "In the meantime, the bloodwork should be back in the next day or so. Once that's all clear we can go ahead and start you both on the invitro medication."

"Wait, why Mitchie?" Alex asked. "I'm the one having the baby."

"True, that's why I said both," Dr. Matthews explained. "This is how it works… Basically this medication will help Mitchie to produce more eggs than she already does. That way when we go on in for retrieval we have more to work with. The egg retrieval procedure is really simple." She glanced back and forth between the women, their attention focused on her. "We will put Mitchie under anesthesia, and using ultrasound guidance, we will place a needle through the top of the vagina and remove the eggs."

"Will it hurt?" Mitchie asked, a twinge of fear in her gut.

"You might have some slight cramping afterward, but you won't feel anything while it's happening," Dr. Matthews assured her. "We'll monitor you for an hour, and then you can go home. I would suggest taking it easy for the rest of the day."

"Then what happens?" Alex asked, curious about the rest of the process. She'd tried to read about it online, but reading wasn't exactly her favorite, so she got bored after two sentences and quit.

"Then in the lab we combine the egg and sperm. The next day we check for fertilization," Dr. Matthews said. "We wait a couple more days, then we implant the fertilized embryo into you, Alex. You both keep taking the invitro medication, and two weeks later we check back to see if we get the results we want. And if not, we try again." She smiled at them. "You're both young, so you have a better chance at this working the first time around."

"Let's hope so," Mitchie said, reaching out to take Alex's hand again.

"Be optimistic," Dr. Matthews told them. "We have a very high success rate."

Alex and Mitchie nodded, then looked to each other. They shared a small smile, silently reassuring the other.

Shane stood over the stove in his kitchen, stirring a pot of macaroni and cheese while chicken sizzled in the pan next to it. He was so thankful Jason had taught him the basics of cooking on the road all those years ago. He was no Gordon Ramsey, but at least he could cook his son a meal without poisoning them both.

Sounds of blasts and booms could be heard from his living room, where Sam was enjoying a superhero video game on the PS4. He'd been glued to it since they got home, not having homework on account of the weekend. And thank god for that. Shane didn't think he could sit through another math worksheet. Alex hadn't been kidding. They really did go and fuck up math. The schoolboard did that.

"Sam, turn that off, it's time to eat," Shane called out to him, switching off the burners on the stove.

"In a minute," came the reply.

Shane sighed and rolled his eyes. He took plates from the cabinet and placed chicken and macaroni on each. Setting both on the table, he peeked into the living room. Sam's head rested on the back of the couch, and it appeared he hadn't moved once since they'd been home. Shane walked into the living room and grabbed the controller from his hand. Sam rounded on him.

"Hey," he said crossly, grabbing for the controller. Shane held it above his head. "Dad," Sam grumbled.

"You have been playing all day," Shane told him. "You need to eat."

Sam let out a heavy sigh. "Fine." He stood and stomped into the kitchen.

Relieved, Shane turned off the PS4 and the TV. When he got to the kitchen Sam was grabbing a Coke out of the fridge. He quirked an eyebrow at Shane, tempting him to object. Shane hesitated. What should he do? Mitchie and Alex said no soda whenever he wanted, but Sam was already annoyed at Shane for turning off the game. Maybe he should just let it go. It was Friday, after all. Sam could stay up a little later because it wasn't like he had school the next day. One little soda was no big deal.

"Go ahead," Shane said. "Get me one too."

Sam smiled at his victory and opened the fridge, grabbing another sugary, highly caffeinated drink for his dad. He brought them to the table and sat next to Shane, handing over the beverage. Together they cracked them open and touched the rims together, toasting their meal. Sam took a swig happily before diving into his mac'n cheese.

"Want to play with me after dinner?" Sam asked around a mouthful.

"Don't you think you've played enough?" Shane asked, stabbing his chicken with his fork. Sam shook his head; Shane sighed. "Okay, but tomorrow we have to go outside at some point. Do something. Maybe go to the park. I don't want your moms to think all I do is let you rot your brain with video games."

"I like the park," Sam said, eyes lighting up with excitement. "Can we go to the one with the big, twisty slide?"

"Sure, I'll just ask one of your moms where it is," Shane said with a smile. "Now, eat." He pointed at Sam's neglected plate, the boy having been too excited by the idea of their outing to remember to eat. Sam nodded and mimed zipping his lips. He took a bite of chicken and looked to Shane for approval. Shane laughed and returned to his own meal.

Since Shane had Sam, Alex and Mitchie didn't get into the studio until around four in the afternoon. And then they hammered away at another song, doing most of the instrumental stuff before Mitchie got into the booth to do the vocals. Alex had a hard time focusing on her part after their appointment, her mind still swimming with words like egg retrieval and invitro. Not to mention her arm hurt like hell every time she bent it, which was a lot when playing the drums. After what seemed like forever and many mess-ups they decided to call it a night and all head home.

By the time they showered and climbed into bed it was nearly three am. As Alex's head hit the pillow she thought about how happy she was about the fact that she could sleep in the next day without an eight-year-old jumping on her, asking her to play soccer or hide and seek or some other sort of physical activity before she'd even had a chance to wipe the crust out of her eyes. But then she felt guilty. She loved Sam, and she missed him. But, she had to admit it was nice to have a break.

She sighed and turned over, facing Mitchie, who was occupied with something on her phone. Alex scooted closer to her.

"Babe, turn off the light," she said and placed a kiss on Mitchie's shoulder. "Let's go to sleep."

"Gimme a sec," Mitchie said, her eyes not leaving the screen. "I'm reading something about invitro fertilization."

Alex groaned. "Who reads anymore?" She peeked at the phone. "Isn't there an informative video you catch watch or something?"

"I like reading," Mitchie defended with a laugh. "But fine." She locked her phone and placed it on the nightstand, then switched off the lamp.

She settled into Alex's side and nestled her head into the crook of her neck. Alex stroked Mitchie's hair with one hand and rubbed her back with the other.

"We have to talk to Justin about coming out for his… you know…" Mitchie muttered, absentmindedly tracing patterns on Alex's stomach with her fingers.

"Please don't talk about my brother's sperm when I'm holding you," Alex said. Mitchie couldn't see in the dark, but she knew Alex's face was probably screwed up in distaste.

"Sorry," Mitchie said with a chuckle. "But do I need to remind you that it was your idea to ask him to be the donor?"

"Who else were we supposed to ask?" Alex sighed. "I'd never let Shane knowingly father any of my children, and Justin's genes are basically mine. Not to mention, the whole wizard thing."

That was the deciding factor in asking Justin when it came down to it. Alex was proud of her wizard heritage, and if things were different magic could still very well be a part of her life. She still remembered all the spells and sometimes caught herself muttering them to herself under her breath when no one was around. She wanted deeply to pass that on to someone, to share and bond with her child as her father had with her. Wizard lessons were some of her favorite childhood memories. Plus, magic was just awesome.

"Have either of you told your parents yet?" Mitchie asked.

"No, but we also haven't told yours either, so there's that," Alex countered. "Plus, you know if we did you'd know, because there's no way I'm doing that without you."

"You're not doing any of this without me, stupid," Mitchie said with a laugh, poking Alex in the ribs.

Alex chuckled, and Mitchie felt it vibrate through her chest. Mitchie thought back to that night eight years earlier when she took a pregnancy test alone in her bathroom, her only comfort being Caitlyn on the other end of the phone. She'd never felt more scared or lonely in her life. But somehow, she'd managed to tell her parents and get through those agonizing nights when the tears wouldn't stop. Then she met Alex, and suddenly she wasn't alone anymore. She had someone to hold her hand and help her through the final hurdles. But at the beginning she hadn't. And that was tough. Mitchie didn't wish it on anyone, and she made a vow to herself that she would be there for Alex, through all of it. She would hold her hair during morning sickness, rub her feet when they ached, and whip up whatever crazy concoction Alex's pregnancy brain told her she wanted to eat. It would be Mitchie's way of repaying Alex for everything she'd ever done for her since they met. Because Alex had made her life so incredibly blessed, and Mitchie would never stop trying to show her how grateful she was.

Saturday morning Shane and Sam were up early so they could get to the park before the day got too unbearably hot. They stopped at Starbucks on the way and got pastries and drinks. Sam insisted that his moms let him get coffee, but Shane knew that was a lie because it was on the list. So in the end Shane got a latte and Sam begrudgingly got one of the Frappuccinos that didn't have coffee.

Shane put in the address for the park, which Mitchie had texted him that morning, and they were off. By the time they reached it Sam was chatting rapidly, on a sugar high despite Shane's best efforts at drink selection. He knew he was in trouble as soon as he saw the pink monstrosity that Sam had chosen. That thing was smothered in whipped cream.

As soon as Shane opened Sam's door Sam was off, making a dash for the big slide in the center of the playground. Shane sighed and followed, making sure he kept Sam in his line of sight. It wasn't even ten yet and the day was a scorcher. He scanned the sky in hopes of catching a cloud that would hopefully cover the sun but was disappointed to see none. Figured. California wasn't exactly known for its rain.

Sam reached the top of the slide and waved to Shane before going down, twirling and smiling all the way to the bottom. He jumped up ran around to the ladder, ready to go again. Shane watched him, a grin making its way to his face. Slides had always been his favorite, too.

He spotted a big tree closer to the swings, not far from the slide. Thank god. Shade. There was a blonde woman sitting on a blanket with a baby in her lap underneath. They both wore sun hats, the woman's eyes shielded by sunglasses. She watched a girl a little younger than Sam with dark brown curls push a baby doll in one of the kids' swings.

Shane didn't want to intrude on the woman, but he also desperately wanted to get out of the sun. Wiping sweat off his brow, he decided to just go over there. He crossed the park and hesitantly approached the tree. The woman never looked at him, her eyes only roaming from the girl at the swings to the infant in her arms, and back again. Shane cleared his throat to make his presence known. He didn't mean to startle her, but she jumped all the same. She froze when she looked at him, her mouth a thin white line.

Shane shifted under her gaze. "That your daughter?" Shane asked, nodding to the little girl with the doll, who was looking over curiously. When the woman didn't answer Shane realized how weird that sounded. "That's my son, over there," he said quickly, pointing to Sam, who was at the top of the slide once more.

The woman glanced over at the boy, staring at him for a moment. She looked back to Shane, her eyes still shaded behind dark designer sunglass frames, making her expression hard to read.

"I remember," the woman said finally, her voice somewhat strained. "He's gotten big."

Shane shook his head and looked at her curiously. "Excuse me?"

The woman sighed and finally removed her sunglasses. Shane nearly fainted.

"Hello, Shane," Tess Tyler said.

Bang.

What's funny is I forgot that Tess and Shane thing happened until I reread the story. Like, wow, I really did that. But at least it will serve a purpose moving forward.

Review if you wish (please?)

Until next time.

-DF