A/N: Hello dear people who reads this! Hope you had a nice day!

Here it is chapter 6. Hope you are ready for some Lux and Piper bond. I enjoyed writing their relationship in this one, so, happy reading!

Reviews:

Samb06: Hey! As always thank you for your kind words! Alex and Lux are adorable together, right? Let me know what you think of this one. On a side note I'm very anxious to read the second chapter of your story!

Hanna: Hope you enjoy this chapter. I like you liked Tasha ;) Thank you!

(Español) Guest: Tranquila! Lux vino para quedarse ;) Gracias por dejar un comentario. Luego me cuentas que te ha parecido este!

Vausemaniac: Hey there! You're right Tasha can be a way of knowing about what Lux thinks of her mothers. There is a little bit of Tasha tonight and I think it makes Piper realize of some important things. Who knew teenagers could be so mature, lol. As usually thank you for your continued support. Your reviews definitely keep me going with this story!

SheriLovey: Hi! Thank you for the kind words! I love that you love the story! Let me know what you think of this update!

(Notpatient) Guest: Aww I love your kind and positive reviews. They never fail to make me smile! You know, I used to ask myself the very same questions about how would Alex and Piper act as parents. Hope I'm doing them justice!

WB79: Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review! Hope you like the new chapter as well!

(Awesome update) Guest: I think you are gonna like this one because it does explore Piper and Lux relationship. And I'm with you when you said Lux still blames her for everything but hopefully they will get pass it. Thank you so much!

Disclaimer: I don't own any character. No copyright infringement intended.

Chapter 6: Everything Illuminated

"Hi. Sorry. We're so sorry to just show up like this. The front desk lady said that you'd be here" Alex approached Fern with Piper by her side.

"Right, we just… we really need to talk to you before you meet with the judge" Pursing her lips, Piper narrowed her eyes.

"Here's the paperwork you asked me for. T's crossed and I's dotted. It is all here" The brunette handed the caseworker lady a big yellow envelope.

"Look, an ambush is not the way to win your child back" Fern stated with a relentless tone in her voice but proceeded to check the envelope anyway.

"Before you say anything else, you have got to hear us out" Piper firmly spoke up. She looked Fern right in the eye and added "Okay, so, we are no soccer moms and we barely know what we are doing most of the time. But, yeah, we're here. And, we're just not gonna go anywhere until you approve us"

"Piper, listen, I…" Fern began to speak but the blonde one was far away from finishing what she wanted to say. "No, you listen. I gave her up 16 years ago because someone in your department promised me that there would be someone great to adopt her, and no one did. And if you would've left her with us 16 years ago, I mean, how can you not leave her with us now? She has been in seven foster homes, and she has hated every single one of them. Are they really that much better than our homes? Are we that much worse? Because we can make room for her"

"Get as many smoke alarms it's required, no bong-lamp, and no more fights on the front lawn" Alex cut in feeling the need to stress she was committed to her daughter too.

"Look, we don't have it all worked out yet, you know? But we can give her the one thing that no one else ever has: love" Piper spoke softly in a warm voice.

"At this point, I think I would recommend joint custody, but I can't. I just interviewed Lux. She has requested to return to Sunnyvale Home for Girls. I'm so sorry"

"What?" Both Alex and Piper asked in confusion.

Alex and Piper decided not to freak out YET and start looking for her young and without no doubt impulsive daughter. Yes, it was true they had screwed things up with all the bickering, the lying and the fighting that occurred most of the time but they thought Lux could see past it and appreciate the fact they both were trying. However, it was clear there was neither time nor place to just try. They had to start making some real progress. Everything was depending on it.

Piper had gone to her house hoping to find Lux there. She was not but all of her stuff was. After going through it she found and address. Having no idea where the young blonde could be, Piper decided to give it a shot. "Hi. I'm Piper one of Lux's mother. I found this address in her stuff. Is she here?"

"Oh. Which one are you? The one that is engaged or the one that went to prison?" An unimpressed brunette teen answered the door. It was Natasha, Lux's best friend. "If you're looking for Lux, she's not here. She took off with Bug"

"Bug?" Piper's eyebrows shot up with intrigue.

"Her boyfriend"

"Wow. Okay, um… well, then, when she gets back, have her call me. Please"

"Sorry. I've got one way ticket back to a foster's home. We don't all have a mom, oh, no, wait, TWO moms who are going to appear out of nowhere and save us, you know?" Sarcastic comments seemed to be a patron in Lux and Lux's circle of friends, Piper thought.

"She is going with you. We just talked to her caseworker and she said Lux had requested to go there" The blonde said looking really anxious. She desperately wanted to fix things up.

"Well, I don't know anything about that, so... you already know where the door is" Natasha answered with a shrug.

Piper was already walking out when she turned herself around and added "Can I ask you something? Do you think she's better off? You know, holding out for someone else?"

"You mean someone who doesn't deny her existence to her own mother because she is a coward?" Tasha angrily responded. She then sighed and continued talking in a much softer voice. "Lux and I, we've been friends since we were little, since we were eight. We met at Sunnyvale. We used to get in trouble. Well, I used to get in trouble for everything, getting sick, crying; they'd punish me by making me drink spoonfuls of Tabasco sauce. And Lux, she, uh, she collected change from under the couch in the lobby, and after, like, a month, she saved enough to replace the Tabasco with tomato sauce which was way less spicy. It was the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me to this day. We were going to get emancipated and move in together. Here. That was the plan"

Suddenly, they heard a car's horn coming from outside. The young brunette grabbed all of her things and said it was probably her social worker so they needed to go. Already inside the car, Tasha lowered the window and spoke directly to Piper. "Try the Avenue Park. She likes to go there when she feels she's in over her head. And for the record, the answer's no, okay? Lux, she's been with a lot of really crappy people, people way worse than you. And even if there was some great person out there who really wanted her, you still have one thing they don't. You're her mom. To people like us? That's everything"

Relief. That's what Piper felt when she saw Lux's form sitting on a bench on the Avenue Park. This park really was something else. She couldn't remember ever being there but it seemed to be clean, quiet and beautiful.

"Hey Lux! Are you okay? Oh my god. I'm so glad I found you" She quickly went to approach her. All of the things Natasha had told her were still echoing inside her head.

"What are you doing here? How did you find me?" Lux was astonished. This was her special place. Only few people knew she liked to go there.

"I'm here to take you home, if you let me. And your friend Natasha filled me in about this place. I can see why you like it. It's very peaceful" The older blonde said while sitting next to Lux on the bench.

"Listen Piper I've been doing a lot of thinking and I've decided the best thing to do is for me to go back to the Foster Care System and for you and Alex to keep going with your life as it was before you met me"

"Okay, I hear you but I think you're lying. I think you want to get to know us and be a family and even love us at some point but you're afraid we're going to abandon you again and turn our backs on you so you're bailing on us now before you get burnt. Believe me, I know the sensation of not feeling good enough which makes you wanna run away and don't even give it a chance. I used to do it all the time. I still do sometimes"

"Yeah, but can you blame me? I grew up alone thinking nobody wanted me. I used to think all the time that one day my moms were going to come and rescue me, regretting having given me up. Now, I know Alex didn't even know about me but you certainly did, and you never even checked. You never wondered what had happened? If I was okay?" Lux said between sobs.

"I didn't really think that I had to worry. You know, because they told me that you were gonna be adopted. That you were gonna have a better life. I really... I really thought that I was doing what was right for you" Piper tried to explain. But she couldn't exactly concentrate seeing her daughter shedding tears because of herself.

She then took a moment to compose and after wiping away her own tears of her face she spoke to Lux, fixing her eyes into hers "Listen, I know that you've been through a lot in your life, and I have a lot to learn about being with you. I'm not gonna be good at this overnight. In fact, it's probably gonna take a while. And I'm not gonna lie either. I'm also scared. Terrified, actually but I'm committed to you. Please, Lux you've to believe me when I say I'm not going anywhere this time. I swear"

"Okay"

"Okay?"

"Okay take me home" Piper couldn't help to burst into one big relieving laughter before going near Lux and hugging her really tight. She stepped back from the hug just one second to wipe her daughter tears away from her face and went to embrace her again. She was so happy. And almost without realizing it Piper was, finally, starting to feel and act as what she was. A mother. Lux's mother.

After they went back to Piper's house, together, they called Alex to let her know she was okay and then Fern to make the proper arrangements for the Court session that would be taking place tomorrow.

A new shiny day had come. The hearing had ended just a few minutes ago resulting in a positive outcome. They'd been granted with temporary joint custody. Temporary because at this point Lux was considered a warden of the state meaning they had to go through the process like any other foster parent. The passing of certain amount of time and series of meetings with the caseworker were some of the requirements they had to fill in before applying for a permanent custody.

"Everything will be written and made formal tomorrow" Already at the Court's front; Fern was explaining how this temporary custody thing will go down. "You've met the qualifications as foster parents and will be granted the joint custody of Lux"

Alex, Piper and Lux looked at each other with joy and content all over their faces.

"There is one condition tough. Piper, you will be Lux's primary caregiver" Fern stated.

"Oh, what… what does that mean?" Piper asked in confusion.

"That means you both will have to come up with a schedule for each one of you to spend a fair amount of time with your daughter but Lux is only allowed to live at Piper's. Now, maybe eventually, that can change, but for now, after what I've seen, it's my recommendation" After understanding what Fern meant Alex immediately shook her face and stared at the ground not wanting to expose her disappointment to everyone.

"Congratulations, all of you" Fern exclaimed.

"Thank you Fern. None of it would have been possible without your help" Lux ecstatically hugged her.

"Yes, thank you very much. We appreciate your support" It was Piper's turn to get all excited and hug the caseworker lady.

"Thank you" Alex stepped in and shook Fern's hand.

"You're welcome. Good luck and talk you soon"

It was quiet afternoon at Poppy's. Piper was making herself useful by organizing some of the products they had in stock at the back when she heard Polly speaking at her in a loud questioning voice.

"Hey, doesn't Lux go to Longfellow High School?"

"Yeah, why?" Piper replied while approaching her friend who was reading something on the internet.

"It's shut down. It's on the local AP here" Polly turned around the computer so her friend could read too.

"Oh, my God. A gang fight? That is crazy" A frenetic Piper exclaimed as she looked up for her car keys. "I've to go get her. Call you later!"

Already inside the car she connected her cell phone to the hands-free device and started to drive to Lux's school while making a thousand calls. She was freaking out over the whole situation and nobody answered her. She then remembered Alex had given her the bar's number because she usually spends a lot of time there either working or just hanging out at Nicky's loft, so she decided to give it a try.

"Open Bar. Hello" Lux sweet voice answered.

"Oh, my God, thank God you're there. We need to get you a cell phone. I heard what happened. I tried the school. I called Alex. I left her a zillion messages. She never called me back. Why are you at Nicky's bar? Wait… is it really called Open Bar" No one in their right minds would name a bar just 'Open Bar' but Piper knew Alex's friend was a little eccentric, for the lack of a better word.

"Piper, it's fine. Alex picked me up. This kind of thing happens all the time. I guess this time there was just more blood. We're at Nicky's playing cards. And yes it is called Open Bar"

"Look, I need to do something right now, okay? I'll pick you up from the bar later" Piper ended the phone conversation and turned the car around to another direction.

When she finally reached destination she took a moment to think about what she was going to do. Here she was acting by impulsiveness and deciding everything by herself. AGAIN. She was about to call Alex and ask for her opinion when she saw her old Principal walking right in front of her.

"Oh, Ms. Merman, hi! Oh, my God, it's been forever. I was actually, um, just coming into the main office to talk to you. I'm Piper Chapman, Class of '94. Valedictorian"

"Oh, Danny's sister" The Principal now remembered.

"Or that" Piper snorted back. Deep down, she'd always felt like her big 'does everything right' brother's shadow. "Yeah, um, I'm actually here to enroll a new student to start tomorrow"

"Well, sure. Come on" The Principal said and started to walk to her office with Piper following her. 'Alex will have to agree on this one with me, I guess' The blue-eyed blonde thought.

The blonde arrived to an already crowded bar a while later feeling like a proud mom because she's gotten her child a better education. She herself has gone to Westomonte. It was a great school known for the empowerment of the young minds. She knew Lux won't be happy at first but she'll get used to it eventually. Going back to a gang filled school wasn't an option.

Nicky, who was behind the bar told her Alex and Piper were upstairs at the loft. So she went that way.

"How could you just transfer me to Westmonte just like that? How?" The younger blonde definitely hadn't taken the change of schools very well.

"Um, well, because it's my alma mater, I have connections, so… We also live in the district"

"I meant, without even asking me" Lux couldn't believe she didn't have a say in all of this.

"Okay, look, I know that it's scary to think of a new school and new friends"

"I don't care about new friends. I care about Natasha. I'm the only reason she even goes to school. It's the only time I get to see her, now that she's at Sunnyvale and I'm across town"

"I know you do, but there really was not much of a choice. I promise you, I am just looking out for your best interests. And I got you this" Piper handed her a wrapped gift. Lux opened it without an ounce of enthusiasm. It was a cell phone.

"See? Now, the two of you, you guys can keep in touch" Piper shot her a big smile.

"Not really. She used to have a cell, but now she has to use the payphone at Sunnyvale if she wants to talk"

"Okay, well, then, it's It's not just for Natasha. It's for us, too. That way, we can, you know, text during the day, and I've already programmed my number in here and Alex's. Larry's. You can add Nicky's too"

"I'll be downstairs" And she proceeded to walk out the loft.

Piper quickly intended to go after her but she felt a hand grabbing her own. It was Alex's. "Let her get some air. Cool it down, you know?"
In all truth it took forever to Piper to answer because she could not stop thinking about the white palid hand that was touching hers right there. Memories of them laying in a bed hands intertwined flashed through her mind. She couldn't believe how much a small touch could provoke in a body if it comes from that right one person.

"You don't seem mad I didn't ask for your opinion tough" Piper said while staring at her ex's eyes, looking for a sign that showed she was feeling the same kind of thing as her right now.

"A heads-up would've been nice I guess but I wasn't fond of her previous school either. I was thinking to talk about it with you but I'm glad you went ahead of me and did everything 'cause now she is mad only at you" Alex teased with a goofy grin.

"Ha-Ha. You're welcome. Do you sometime feel like you can't get done even one thing right at this motherhood thing? I mean, come on, I know that she's a teenager, but is she supposed to hate me this fast?" Piper genuinely asked.

"You can't punish yourself over that. She is just grumpy because she thinks she isn't going to see her friend anymore. She'll get over it" Alex reassured her blond ex and added "She is very mature, you know. I even talked to her about the prison time"

"You talked to her about the Drug Cartel as well? Wow, you are brave"

"Yes, I did. I told her I'm not proud of my past and that I'm a different person now. And she understood me. She is very supportive. I think she inherited that from you"

"You've clicked so well. I was right back when we were together when I said you were gonna be the best mother ever" Piper said.

Alex smile grew wider while she remembered what the blonde had said back when they were contemplating the idea of having a child. Now that they did have the child it was tremendously comforting to hear those same words coming from Piper mouth. She also noticed a sweet look pass trough Piper's eyes which made her feel warm inside.

They were both brought back from their own thoughts when the door opened revealing a very attractive red-hair woman who approached Alex. "Hey! There you are! I was looking for you. Are we still on for tomorrow?"

"Hey. This is Piper. Piper this is Olivia. Um… She works at the bar as well" The brunette said awkwardly.

"Hello. Nice to meet you" Piper replied in a low voice. Who the hell was this Olivia girl and why was she talking about doing something with Alex tomorrow.

"Oh you are Lux's other mother? Nice to meet you too! She is a cool kid" The red-haired woman said while grabbing Alex's shoulder with one of her hands.

Seeing that gesture Piper could feel rage coming from her inside. Was this Alex's girlfriend or just a friend? Maybe this Olivia girl was just a very touchy-feely person? Either way she knew she had no right to get jealous. She had moved on too. She had Larry now. And Alex was entitled to have every woman on earth, right? "Well, I think I'm gonna get Lux and go home. Have fun you two tomorrow"

'Was that a sarcastic comment coming from pure jealousy?' Alex thought. She could remember how mad and jealous Piper got whenever she had to flirt with women to recruit mules for the cartel. In fact, the majority of their arguments around that time were about that. What Piper seemed not to get was that in reality Alex had only had eyes for her. She had only loved her.

After having dinner Lux was getting the couch ready to get some sleep.

"Lux. Come here, please. I've a surprise for you"

The girl sighed and reluctantly stood up to go meeting Piper. When she entered the room her eyes were mesmerized about the whole thing.

"Welcome to you new room. I hope you like it" Piper flashed one of her already known trade-mark perfect pearly white smile

Lux was wordless. She had never had her own room before. The walls were painted green her favorite color and there were posters of her favorite bands as well, there was a big bed, a wardrobe filled with new clothes, a desk, and something with made her smile grew even wider. A bong-lamp. Alex's bong-lamp was there on the bed table. The girl was thrilled with her new room.

"You like?" Piper softly asked.

"I LOVE it. Thank you!" Lux exclaimed.

"Could your liking your room so much mean you're a little less mad at me?" The older woman joked trying to lighten up the mood. "I'm sorry for not asking you about the change of schools but you have to understand I totally freaked out when I heard about the gang fight"

Lux nodded like she, at some point, understood where she was coming from. She then proceed to lie in the bed. Her bed. And Piper gently tucked her in.

"You know, I really like your name. Who gave it to you?" Piper had been meaning to ask about it since they had met.

"A nurse. It means light. It was because of the blonde hair I guess"

"I guess... Good night Lux" Piper replied while thinking this nurse had to be some kind of a visionary or something because since she had met Lux every little detail of her life had been, in fact, ILLUMINATED.

A/N 2: Please leave a review on your thoughts about the update or the story so far. Reviews are what keep me going with writing and uploading new chapters so I would really appreciate it.

And if there is something you would like to see, let me know so I can start thinking a way of making that happen.

See you soon :)