A/N- So here we are at the very end. It's been a long trip (a lot longer than my first story in every sense of the word), but I hope you've all enjoyed it. Huge giant thanks to everyone who's stuck with me through this entire thing (it's gotten a lot more sprawling than I'd originally intended lol) and faved, followed, reviewed, lurked quietly, etc. I appreciate every one of you. And finally a huge, giant fucking thanks to The Person Who Read This. If I dedicated things to people this'd be dedicated to them. They've read every single god damn word of this beast and without their input and encouragement I'm pretty sure I would've probably stalled out around halfway through Chapter 2. They're an incredible writer in their own right (one of the best even though I'd know they'd deny it) and a good friend, and I appreciate everything they've done for me & this story. So... thanks, dude you're the absolute best, seriously. :) All right... let's get to it... (oh and it's rated M-ish again... you can blame you know who, they encouraged this nonsense...)
Epilogue- A Spring Wedding
Nine Months Later
Brook had brought them the package one Sunday afternoon in Spring, when they'd been sitting at the saloon eating lunch.
The girl was still a little skittish around everyone, knowing that what she'd done had played a large part in bringing Kubra's wrath down on them. It had been near on nine months since it happened, and Haven was, as everyone always insisted, all about forgiveness. It had just taken a little longer to find kindness in some people's hearts in this instance. However, they'd had a rough winter (it was always a rough winter it seemed), and everyone had had more pressing concerns than being rude to Soso for something that really didn't matter anymore. They banded together as usual to make sure they all survived, and by the end even the most stubborn were treating her at least cordial. (the fact that she'd spent months looking disheveled and depressed and obviously felt so fucking bad about it helped garner forgiveness).
These days it barely ever really came up, and really she was more anxious about it than most everyone else was. It was hard to heap contempt on the girl when she clearly had so much for herself. At some point, Poussey from the livery had taken to checking up on her, bringing her books and such, and Brook had seemed a little less depressed of late, but she still wasn't entirely comfortable around Alex and Piper.
Piper smiled with her best Boston blandness at her as she accepted the package and Brook scurried off back to the store. Alex, for her part, didn't even look up (she liked to think she didn't hold grudges anymore, but she was absolutely slow to forgive anyone who had ever put Piper in danger, intentionally or not. Brook's mistake had been innocent enough, but the result for Alex had been a new set of scars and a face that had taken nearly two months to fully heal, not to mention she had almost died (again), as had Piper, which as far as Alex was concerned was far worse).
The blonde looked down at the box. The address ("Miss Piper Elizabeth Chapman, General Delivery, New Litchfield") was written in her brother Cal's scrawl. She exchanged letters with him once a month or thereabouts, so she recognized it instantly. She frowned. Generally he wasn't one for packages, unless it was a holiday.
Alex was reading a two week old Saint Louis newspaper Ford had brought back from his last run to New Litchfield (Alex had not been able to part herself from Piper for longer than a few hours since Kubra had come calling... not for anything. Certainly not for something so mundane as the monthly supply run, so now they paid Ford a little extra to pick their supplies up along with his own when he went to town) and looked up as Piper began unwrapping the package with precision and care.
She chuckled and Piper frowned at her, "What?"
"Nothin'. Just you're openin' that like you're expectin' a bag of vipers to jump out of it."
"There's nothing wrong with taking some care with things!"
"Oh I ain't arguing with you there, darlin'. I take a whole passel of 'care' with things worth taking 'care' of. But I ain't sure a brown paper wrapped package is one of those things."
"I do this with all my packages."
"Know that too," Alex said grinning, "s'why it takes four hours to open your Christmas presents."
Piper gave her a look, "You like it when I take time and care to unwrap some things..."
Alex cocked an eyebrow, "You keep talkin' like that, darlin', I ain't gonna be inclined towards mendin' the fence when we get back home..."
"If you continue to criticize my package opening technique, I won't give you the option..."
The brunette laughed heartily, holding up her hands in surrender, "All right, all right... you win, Pipes... you unwrap that fuckin' thing as slow as you want..."
"I was almost done anyway..." Piper said, primly. She finished opened the package and found two envelopes inside. One was a very expensive envelope. Made of very expensive paper. With no address or name on it. The other was a more pedestrian envelope with her name written on it, once again in Cal's hand. She opened that one first. It was dated two weeks ago.
Dear Piper,
I thought I should let you know, I am getting married. You might recall in my last letter I mentioned a girl I had met at one of my clubs. We have fallen in love and I proposed. Mother and father are delighted, of course, as they are by all the things that I do. When I told them, mother screamed (with joy, naturally) and father gave me his least disapproving scowl. The wedding is on the second Sunday in May. There will be the standard soirees thrown in the weeks leading up to it, and I would love for you to be there for what you can of it. Everyone should experience our happiness at such formalities being observed. Mother and father are sparing no expense because it is clearly important to them that everyone appears fine with everything always.
I hope this reaches you in time to come. I apologize for the unaddressed invitation. Mother and father neglected to have one engraved for you (I have no idea why, I cannot understand why they might not wish to see you). Please come and join in our joyous occasion...
Most sincerely and with much love, your brother, Calvin William Chapman
PS Neri is pregnant and was when I proposed to her. See you soon!
Piper laughed out loud at this last. Alex, who had been turning the fancy envelope over in her hands, raised an eyebrow at her, "Piper?"
"Cal is getting married."
"Your brother? The one who isn't an asshole?"
"Yes. It appears he got a woman pregnant and proposed to her. From what I gather, my parents are going along with it so that they can avoid the appearance of anything untoward. I don't gather they wish us to be there, but Cal does."
She looked at the envelope in Alex's hands. Alex looked at it too, then opened it. She cleared her throat and sat up straight in her chair, affecting an extremely convincing version of Piper's most haughty tone of voice (one that never failed to astonish Piper with its accuracy), "Mr and Mrs. William Daniel Chapman would like to request the pleasure of your company at the wedding of their son, Mr. Calvin William Chapman to Miss Neri Ruth Feldman..."
"Oh Lord in heaven she's Jewish too..." muttered Piper, half smiling at what her mother's face must have looked like when she had to order those invitations.
Alex chuckled and continued reading, "... daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Herschel Jakob Feldman on Sunday May 14 at the Old North Church, Boston, Massachusetts."
"My god, they must have been mortified," Piper shook her head, "Well I suppose we ought to accept. I think they'll likely understand if we don't RSVP. The way the mail service is it might get there after the event anyway."
"So your parents won't be expectin' you?'
"If Cal sent us this, it was because he was planning on telling them after it was gone. My mother has certain things deeply ingrained in her. If an invitation is extended, she can't deny it when we show up."
"Even if she don't want you there?"
"Even then."
Alex tilted her head, examining Piper carefully, "You want to go?"
"I don't... I don't really know. I don't know what it would be like now. It's not my life anymore... but if Cal wants me there, then... I feel I should attend." Piper frowned. It was possible Cal was the only person she would return there for...
Alex nodded, "Al'right..." she frowned.
Piper noted her tone, "Alex... what's wrong?"
"Well, I suppose you'll be gone for awhile...?" Alex's eyes were focused on the newspaper, her voice determinedly casual, "I'll just have to get Ford down more often to take care of..."
"What?"
"I mean, I've left you to take care of things plenty of times, s'pose it's your turn..."
"Alex... stop being foolish..."
Alex looked up, brow furrowed, "What?"
"If you think I'm leaving you for a month after what we just went through last year, you don't know me as well as I thought..." Piper smiled, expecting Alex's anxiety to fade at these words. Instead, she looked even more unnerved. Piper looking at her quizzically, the smile fading to half strength, "Al... didn't you want to go?"
Alex pursed her lips, tilted her head to the side, "Well, I don't want to be away from you for that long, that's for fuckin' sure... but... I won't exactly be in my damned element there will I...?"
"No... but I'm not entirely sure I will be either... and perhaps I don't care how 'in our element' we are... I'm not going there to make anyone else happy, I'm going there for my brother..." she said these words with conviction, infusing them with a belief that, deep down she wasn't sure she truly possessed... yes, it had been a very long time. She had come out here, made a life, proven herself capable of everything that her parents had thought she would fail at, fallen in love... it wasn't an easy life (never had been, likely never would be) but it was her own, and like almost all the women in Haven, that was what she had truly been searching for when she came here: something that was truly hers.
But as much as she rejected so much of what her parents were and what they'd taught her, there was a part of her that was still that little girl who craved their approval. It still prowled in the back of her mind. Usually she kept it contained, but now, confronted with the prospect of going back, she could feel it trying to make its way to the forefront... to make her collapse with self doubt. She pushed it back. She could not allow even just the thought of them to discourage her...
Alex seemed to be turning Piper's words over in her head, even as Piper herself felt the doubts creep up. Finally, Alex nodded, "All right... I suppose I ain't never been anywhere fancy before... might be interestin' to see what the fuck the big deal is..."
Piper smiled, trying to hide just how breathlessly relieved she was, "Good... I suppose we ought to go soon. It will take us time to get there..."
Two days later they were preparing to leave. Alex stood in front of the mirror in their bedroom, fiddling with the buttons on her shirt as she adjusted her collar and grimaced as it pinched her neck. She never fucking wore collars at all (wasn't like she was planning to wear a neck tie), let alone starched collars. She fucking hated starched collars. But Piper had insisted. "I know you won't wear a dress, and I wouldn't ask you to, but please. At least for when we first meet them..."
"Your parents are assholes."
"Alex…"
"They are… and you know they are. They aren't gonna like me anyhow no matter what I'm wearin' cause it won't be like what you're wearin' so why's it matter?"
Piper sighed, gave her the wide eyed blue gaze, the one that she knew Alex couldn't say no to. "Alex..." she said, adding that lilt to her tone. Alex knew exactly what she was doing, but somehow she still couldn't resist.
She groaned, "Fine..." she muttered, fastening the collar and then pulling on the vest and buttoning it as well, "I'm gonna try to be polite to them for your sake and your brother's, but if they say anything…"
"That's all I ask," Piper said, putting her hands on Alex's arms, "that you make an effort..." She smiled, "And you look very nice."
"I look ridiculous," muttered Alex, "Like Hades would if he put on your fanciest fuckin' dress... I ain't foolin' anyone..." But she trailed off when she saw the look in Piper's eyes. Piper was keeping up a good front, being businesslike and brisk, making all their travel arrangements and making sure they kept on schedule, but Alex could see the anxiety running below the surface of it all. No matter what she said, this was worrying her. In the end, Alex's own worries about putting up with assholes were minimal compared to what Piper was feeling. She sighed, and smiled, slipping her arms around Piper's waist as the blonde slid hers up and around Alex's shoulders, melting gratefully into her embrace.
"And you look beautiful, darlin'..." Alex said, smiling and kissing her on the cheek, "Are you doin' all right?"
Piper took a deep breath, head resting in the crook of Alex's neck, "Yes... I am. And I will be as long as you're there with me."
"Even if we have t'act like we're just 'traveling companions'?" Alex put on her fancy tone, over-enunciating every syllable.
"Yes, even then..."
"Travelin' companions who don't get to sleep in the same room..." Alex muttered, with a disgruntled scowl.
Piper drew back, raising an eyebrow, mischief in her eyes, "Well... it's not as though they're going to be posting sentries outside my room..."
Alex laughed, "Well then, I guess maybe this shit might not be so bad after all..." she leaned down and kissed Piper. After a second, Piper's hand slid up into Alex's hair and she angled the kiss deeper. Alex grinned and pulled her closer... Piper's hands were moving slowly and steadily towards the buttons of the vest Alex had just fastened... when Nicky's voice rang out from below.
"HEY! Lovebirds! Where are ya...?"
They broke apart, Alex sighed, shaking her head, "That girl..."
Piper, flushed and slightly breathless, grimaced, "Well... we probably ought to go if we're to stay on our itinerary."
"You didn't seem too concerned with that a few seconds ago..."
"Yes well..." the blonde said, grinning sardonically, "I would also rather prefer Nicky didn't come up here and walk in on us... again... she's damnably good at choosing her moments..."
"It may be her only talent," Alex chuckled, as she kissed Piper once more on the cheek and then went to grab her suitcase...
Nicky was waiting eagerly at the bottom of the stairs. "Ahh, damn it, I was 'bout to go on up there..."
Alex raised an eyebrow, "Remind me again why I keep you around?"
"My inimitable charm, o'course..."
Ford was standing behind Nicky. Piper smiled at him, "Thank you for looking after things while we're gone, James. I hope it won't put too big a burden on your family."
"No ma'am. We'll be just fine."
Nicky gave her a look of mock disappointment, "I'm hurt you didn't ask me to look after things!"
"I would prefer that the place still be standing by the time we return," said Piper frowning at her reflection once more in the looking glass hung by the door. She looked just fine for Haven (fancy as anyone could expect). But not so much for Boston. She sighed. Enough worries. It wasn't as though she would be staying forever.
"I'm sure parts of it would be!" Nicky was saying as she opened the door for Alex, who was carrying a suitcase in each hand.
Maxim was sitting in Red's wagon . He slid down off the bench and walked over to grab the suitcases from Alex as Alex returned back for the steamer trunk. They settled the luggage in the wagon, then Piper shook Ford's hand. She didn't need to go over details of how to run the place. He already knew. They got into the wagon, and Nicky slid up next to Maxim on the bench. She had insisted on seeing them off (and of course Maxim had to come because Nicky couldn't drive the fucking wagon to save her life, although Bugsy was one of the two horses hitched to the front of it).
They set off from the ranch at a brisk trot, Piper settling into Alex as the brunette put an arm around her shoulders. As they crested the rise back into town, Piper looked back towards the ranch one last time and sighed. This was the first time she had left the ranch and Haven for longer than a few days since she had come here five years ago and she felt a melancholy tug in her heart as she watched it disappear. She burrowed even more securely into Alex's side.
Alex, who had been about to drift off to sleep (how the woman managed to sleep no matter where or what was going on, even on a bumpy wagon ride, was quite beyond Piper), glanced over at her, "You all right?"
Piper sighed, smiling, "As long as you're with me I am."
Alex grinned at that, kissing her on the top of the head, "Always, darlin'..."
And Piper thought this might not be so bad after all.
It's clear her parents have no idea what to make of Alex. When they step into the foyer of the house (Piper momentarily struck dumb by how little the place has changed in the last five years… like it's been stuck in time), William and Carol Chapman are standing stiffly waiting to greet them.
They look at Piper first. Her mother's eyes narrow and her mouth pulls into a straight line as she examines her daughter. Piper's dress is fine (having been ordered from New York just a month ago), and her hair was done in the latest style (some things she kept up with) but the rest of her… She looks more substantial now. Not delicate and shy and retiring. It's in the way she holds herself, the way her shoulders have broadened out slightly, the way the muscles in her arms are more defined, the way her hands are clearly calloused and rough even from a distance. And her formerly milky white skin is now two shades darker, freckles visible on her face and exposed shoulders.
When her mother leans forward to give her a perfunctory hug, she nearly gasps aloud at the… solidity of her, the hardness. When she pulled back, she raised a haughtily disapproving eyebrow, "Well, you've certainly… filled out…"
"Thank you, mother," Piper said, frowning.
But if their reaction to Piper was surprised disapproval, their reaction to Alex was open dismay. After much talk, Alex had finally consented to leave her irons in the steamer trunk they'd brought with them ("this isn't Haven, Al, or even New Litchfield. Wearing a gun on one's hip is not socially acceptable… and I don't want you to change yourself for them, but I would also rather you not be arrested on sight"), but that was about the only concession she'd made.
She was dressed as formally as she ever got. Her boots were shined to a high gloss, and her clothes were new (if it'd been up to her, she would've just worn the same formal outfit she'd been wearing once a week for Sunday dinner since she and Piper first got together, but she could see how anxious it was making the blonde, so she'd conceded to splurging). Flaca had made her some shirts and couple pairs of pants, and the new vest she'd made was the same blue as the dress Piper was wearing.
(Her hat was the same as it ever had been, but the hat was lucky, and she wasn't going to be giving it up anytime soon. It'd been the hat she was wearing when she first met Piper, when she first kissed Piper, and more recently, when she and Piper had survived the fight in Haven. She had pounded the dust out of it before she left though).
The hat was currently held in her hands, which were clasped in front of her. Her long duster wasn't necessary here. It was too warm for a coat, anyway. William was just looking at her with narrowed eyes. Carol frowned, "And who is this, Piper?"
"This is my… friend. Alexandra Vause. Her mother worked for grandmother." Alex had to physically stop herself wincing at her full name. No one ever used it. Even her mother had only fired it off when she was sore at her.
Carol raised a haughty eyebrow, taking in Alex in her pants and her shirt and vest, basically her distinct lack of a skirt or dress. Moving to her hands (so calloused that she could probably hold them over a fire and not feel anything), which made Piper's toughened fingers look smooth as silk. Then up to her face, the battered spectacles, the scar tissue that covered most of the right side…"You said you weren't bringing any servants with you."
Alex went totally still, her mouth folding into a flat line, teeth clenching. Piper could see the muscle twitching in her jaw, the general calm of her expression betrayed by storm clouds rolling in behind her eyes. Alex had been on edge pretty much since the moment they'd gotten on the train in New Litchfield. People had been looking at her as though she were a zoo exhibit since they got East of St. Louis, and while she had taken it all in stride, Piper could tell the effort of not reacting was beginning to wear on her. People out West knew when a person was not to be fucked with. People here had no idea, and while Alex could take a little bullshit, everyone had their limits.
Carol was, as usual, completely oblivious to the change in atmosphere, although her father was looking at Alex with a much more practiced eye than his wife. He seemed to know there was something dangerous about her, and there was an appraising look to him that Piper liked even less than the arrogant contempt Carol was projecting.
Deciding to head things off before Alex grabbed their heads and smashed them together, Piper said, "Al… Miss Vause isn't my servant, Mother, she's my… friend…" Alex's eyes flicked from Carol over to Piper, eyebrow raising, "… you always said you preferred when I didn't travel alone."
"Yes… of course… but do you really think someone so… Western is suited for a trip here?"
"Oh I'm more'n suited to accompany your daughter, ma'am," Alex said, her drawl smooth and calm as a pleasant country lake, "I'm head hand on the ranch, y'see, and I know how to take care of all her needs. Fine lady such as her should never have to take care of her own needs wouldn't you agree?"
Carol was oblivious to the innuendo. Piper thought her father might not be, but if he noted the double meaning, he gave no outward indication. Piper herself was trying very hard to keep herself in check. She could school her reactions fairly well, but she had never been able to entirely stop the blush that always accompanied this type of talk, even after all these years. Carol frowned, "Hmmm… well I suppose…" she raised an eyebrow, "As you didn't tell us you were bringing someone with you, I didn't prepare the guest room in full. I'll have Sally look to it after luncheon."
"Thank you mother."
Before things could get even more awkward, someone cried, "Piper!" from the top of the staircase leading to the upper floor.
A bright, genuine smile (the first one to appear since they'd walked in) spread across Piper's face and she looked up to see her brother Cal, somewhat portly, appearance amiably disheveled (as though his clothing and red hair had at one time been attempting to look neat and proper, but had simply given up), coming down the stairs wearing his own huge grin. When he got to the bottom he grabbed Piper in a huge bear hug and practically lifted her off the ground. "It's so good to see you!"
Piper returned the bone crushing hug and stepped back to look at him. When she'd left he'd been only 15, short and awkward, wildly unhappy to be seeing her go. Now he was 20, taller, fatter, and looking completely at ease with himself and his surroundings. She'd seen pictures of course, he'd sent her his portrait when he'd graduated prep school, but nothing could've prepared her for just how contented he was. He was casually ignoring the looks their parents were giving him (exasperated for Carol, disappointed for William), concentrating solely on his sister. "You too! It's been too long."
"I don't blame you. I wouldn't come back here either, if I didn't have to." (their parents' expressions intensified). His blue eyes (the same shade as Piper's) slid over to Alex and his laconic grin widened even more, "And you must be Alex..." he stuck out his hand. Alex shook it firmly, unable to keep a bemused smile off her face at Cal and his general demeanor, "... so good to meet you. Piper talks about you all the time in her letters," he raised one eyebrow and grinned.
Alex knew that Cal was aware of the true nature of her relationship with Piper. She'd been wary when Piper had said she was going to tell him, but she'd assured Alex that Cal was entirely trustworthy and would never judge them. Alex had still been concerned, but now it was more than clear they had nothing to be worried about. "She talks about you all the time too," Alex said, still trying to keep the refinement in her voice. She knew Cal wouldn't care, but she was determined not to give Piper's parents more reasons to make the blonde feel like shit. The assholes. "Nice to meet you too..."
Cal released her hand, but kept the grin, "Sorry Neri isn't here... Mother and Father thought this should just be immediate family. Didn't want to shock you too much all at once with my unacceptable bride."
"Calvin!" snapped Carol.
"Of course, Daniel couldn't make it so that in itself makes it less than a family affair, but... well, if anything he's become more insufferable since you left, so it isn't much of a loss. You'd probably just punch him in the face again anyway..."
"Calvin!" she said again, this time even louder.
Cal turned to her as if he'd just now heard her, "Yes mother?" he asked, smile and tone sweetly polite in a blatantly false way.
"Don't you have that appointment at the tailor in half an hour?"
Cal shrugged, "I suppose."
"Then don't you think you ought to dress and get along?"
He grinned at Piper, "What she's saying is I should get out before luncheon so I stop taxing her so badly..."
"You have to get measured!"
"Of course, mother... so much to do before the wedding!" he said, still looking at Piper. He hugged her again, spoke quietly, close to her ear, "I'll see you at dinner, Piper. And Neri will be coming too. Mother's usually had just enough 'medicine' by then that she can tolerate us..."
And then he disappeared up the stairs. Leaving Carol to shoo them all into the dining room while she gestured to the servants to take Piper and Alex's luggage. As they walked through, trailing a few steps behind Piper's parents, Alex leaned over and whispered, "Well, at least that kid I can stand..."
Luncheon was awkward, as expected. Alex spent most of the meal remembering to sit up straight and chew with her mouth closed and keep her elbows off the table. Everything was entirely foreign to her. She'd grown up on the ranch. Soon as she was big enough to walk, she'd had to do her fair share during mealtimes, cooking and serving and cleaning up after herself. She hadn't always done it willingly (and had ducked it if she thought she could get away with it), but she'd done it. She'd never just sat at the fucking table and let a bunch of other folks come and put food on her plate, leastways not at home. And even at the saloon Red was more likely to slide the food up to the bar and make you come fetch it. She kept having to stop herself telling the servants could damn well reach over and refill her own glass.
She was more worried about Piper than she was herself. It was clear the Chapmans already thought Alex was some sort of freak show escapee (her mother was rather ostentatiously not looking at her; her father was looking at her in a way that made Alex think he was going to recruit her to kill some people), so any toe she set out of line was unlikely to do much more than give Carol one more thing to nearly faint over as she recounted it at her next society club meeting. But Piper... Piper was their perfect princess gone wrong, and Alex could tell from the second they walked in how disappointed they were in everything she was doing or saying. The way her mother had eyed Piper when she'd first walked had made Alex want to punch her (Piper looked just fine, thank you very much... like she'd done a little honest work...).
Piper had put on her blandly polite society face once luncheon started, and was doing a fair job of keeping it up but Alex could see from the set of her shoulders that the whole thing was taxing her. She'd been living away from all of this for so long, she'd probably forgotten how fucking awful it could make her feel. Alex wished she could do something to comfort her, but she was seated too far away and touching her was out of the fucking question anyway. She had to be content with simply catching the blonde's eye when she could and giving her a reassuring smirk, which didn't fail to make Piper's eyes brighten a little.
Her parents had stayed silent for most of the meal, seeming not quite to know how to speak to her anymore. Halfway through the meal, her mother said, "So have any of the... gentlemen... there caught your eye?"
"No mother. Sadly not."
"So your... virtue is still intact is it?" Carol said, raising an eyebrow.
"Mother!" Piper's head snapped up as Alex suddenly started having a coughing fit.
Carol ignored them both, "Well... it's an important question. It's very wild out there. It would be a pity if you ruined your prospects by being unwise."
Piper huffed an exasperated sigh, giving her a decidedly sour look, "No mother. I have not let any men touch me inappropriately. I'm sure you'll be pleased to know I haven't even let one court me or even touch me at all really."
"Ah good. Well, I suppose it helps having someone so... western... as Miss Vause to keep you safe..."
"Yes ma'am," said Alex, giving Carol a polite, sincere smile, "I've been keeping a real close eye on her virtue. No man's gettin' anywhere near it while I'm around. I'd go so far as to say I'd likely shoot 'em if they tried..."
Carol tilted her head, "Well, that seems somewhat extreme, but..." she frowned at Piper, who had nearly choked on her drink. "Piper... get a hold of yourself."
Piper took a deep heaving breath and shot Alex a look that was supposed to be stern, but nearly had them both laughing out loud instead. Well, thought Alex, it was uncomfortable as fuck, but at least it didn't look like it was going to be entirely dull...
After luncheon, their rooms were ready. Their suitcases were already upstairs. There wasn't enough time between luncheon and the afternoon visitors Carol had invited over to do anything except freshen up a bit, especially since Carol insisted on accompanying them upstairs, and standing in Piper's room making inane conversation about every one of the families they were friends with.
By the time they got downstairs, the first round of boring guests had arrived. The torturous post-luncheon visitations lasted for three hours before Cal showed back up, this time with his fiancee in tow and Alex felt like she could release a breath.
Neri had a huge grin on her face and wore a fancy dress that looked brand new and was, Alex imagined, probably something Carol and William had paid for to keep her looking respectable. She was also, quite obviously, pregnant. It wasn't like Alex had a lot of experience with such things, but she the bump was at least noticeable. Neri was everything the Chapmans weren't and she wasn't even attempting to be. Alex would've liked to drop the pretense as well, but she knew Piper was nervous enough without her adding to it.
From what Alex could tell, Cal had always been the forgotten man. Daniel was the perfect son, had done exactly as he was supposed to. Piper was supposed to be the paragon of womanhood and virtue and had turned out a disappointment, and Cal had just fallen by the wayside, his parents too busy promoting Daniel and being appalled at Piper to notice what he was up to. He knew that they were too interested what everyone else thought to really chastise him as long as he didn't go too far out of bounds. Piper, even after all this time, still cared about what her parents thought. Alex didn't understand it (having never been disapproved of that way), but she wouldn't do anything to make it worse.
They sat and ate dinner and it would've felt normal if the Chapmans weren't glowering down from the ends of the table, looking wildly disapproving of everything that came out of Cal's mouth for near on two hours. By the end of it all, Piper was looking exhausted and Alex near vibrating with the effort of keeping herself from comforting her. It was a blessed relief when they were finally allowed to go upstairs... so that they might rest before their next day of uncomfortable awkwardness...
To Piper's great relief, Alex was placed in the guest room just down the hall from her own room (which her mother had kept in pristine condition), instead of in one of the visiting servant's rooms downstairs. It made the whole matter of Alex slipping out of her room and into Piper's as soon as the rest of the house was asleep much easier.
Alex had slipped into Piper's bed and kissed her without preamble.
"Alex…"
"No… no talkin'," Alex breathed between increasingly heated kisses, tugging at Piper's nightshirt, "I haven't so much as touched you since we got off that fuckin' train twelve hours ago, and it's been drivin' me fuckin crazy…"
Piper, who had been feeling much the same thing, shut up and lost herself to the sensation of Alex's hands and Alex's mouth, letting them soothe away all the tension of the most uncomfortable day she'd suffered in near on five years...
Afterwards, she lay looking at her left hand. The space between her thumb and forefinger bore rather vivid proof of her attempts to keep herself quiet. "My mother will probably notice this," she said quietly…
Alex was lying with her head tucked into Piper's neck, her hand tracing lazy patterns on the blonde's stomach, while Piper's right hand tangled in her hair, "I ain't sure your ma notices anything she don't want to notice… 'long as we don't actually start up while she's lookin' right at us, I'd bet she'd ignore whatever she didn't want t'believe."
Piper frowned, "I suppose you're correct…" she trailed off, still staring at her hand, though her eyes went slightly unfocused, far away.
Alex kissed her neck, "You've gone all quiet, darlin'… what're you thinkin'?"
"I can't be quiet unless I'm thinking?"
"Well, you can," Alex smirked, "But you usually aren't…"
Piper smacked the hand Alex still had on her midsection lightly, then instead of withdrawing, she took the hand in her own, tangling their fingers together, watching them as she spoke. "It's just… I expected to feel something when I came back. This place was my life for near twenty years. Not all of them were miserable. There were still people here that I loved, Cal. My friend Polly. But the only thing I feel is…" she shrugged a little, "out of place, I suppose. As though I don't belong here anymore."
"I could've told you that the second I saw you walk into this fuckin' mausoleum of a house, Pipes."
Piper chuckled a little, "I suppose in the back of my mind I knew it. I just didn't… think the feeling would be so strong. And so sudden," she sighed, looking down at Alex, "Nothing I ever had here was my own choice. It was all something that was thrust upon me by someone else. Even the drinking, the anger… it was forced on me… because I was trying so hard to forget what this place was making me into. And now I know what it's like to have something of my own… someone of my own… now that I know what the alternative is, I find I barely wish to be here…"
Alex shifted so that she was hovering over Piper, her hands braced on either side of her head. "I'm here with you, darlin', I'm by your side, whether these stuck up fancy asses like it or not…"
Piper laughed, "I know you are…" Alex leaned down and kissed her. The kiss intensified quickly, and Piper muttered, "We should probably sleep at some point, Al…"
"We got a few hours yet… we need to store up some… seein' how we ain't gonna be able to touch each other tomorrow either…'
Piper groaned, "Damn it…"
"Don't worry, Pipes, I'll give you somethin' to hold you over…"
Of course her mother had the days planned out meticulously. And of course, her mother had not accounted for Alex's presence, but her sense of proper manners and decorum wouldn't allow her to be "rude" to a guest, and so she rearranged things to allow for another seat at whatever ladies' club or luncheon they were off to.
Alex did her best to be polite and smile blandly and eat the odd food she was being served without acting "uncouth", unwilling to give Piper's mother the satisfaction. But being false and polite wasn't the hardest part of this (Alex could be about anything she wanted to be given enough motivation; and getting Piper through this as smoothly as possible was good motivation), the hardest part of it was being so near to Piper all the fucking time and not being able to lay a single hand on her. She didn't even allow herself very many casual touches, the kind that would've been considered socially acceptable, because she didn't trust herself not to take things further.
Her entire day was spent in a state of steadily increasing agitation and frustration until the shackles were finally taken off and she slipped into Piper's room after the rest of the house was asleep and made up for lost time.
It didn't help that all the ladies they were eating with or drinking tea with or taking "in the air" with were asking her inane questions or staring at her openly, something she had hoped would fade off after the first day but had not. It was getting more and more difficult to be nice to these women.
Worse, Piper's mother kept bringing "suitable gentlemen" around for her to meet. "You're only 24 Piper… there's hope for you yet… at least so long as you get over your adventurous phase soon…"
"It's not a phase, mother. I live in Haven. I run Celeste's ranch…"
Her mother waved a hand dismissively, "I suppose, but one day you'll have to have children and how can you properly run such a place without a man…"
Alex snorted loudly and covered it by pulling out her battered white handkerchief and sneezing ostentatiously into it.
"Mother… Alex and I do just fine and have done for five years now. She's a very capable ranch hand… we don't…"
"Piper darling, a woman needs a husband, it's her natural condition, what she's meant for. And surely you want children…"
"My children wouldn't carry on our family name anyway. Why should you be concerned?"
Carol looked scandalized, "I'm concerned about your well being, darling!"
They were walking from the foyer of the house into the sitting room where William and their three luncheon guests were already seated, daintily eating tiny sandwiches (Alex had nearly laughed when she'd seen these the first time… "tiny fuckin' food like that ain't practical, Pipes, it's all just pretense…"). Alex was trailing after them, trying not to get so blasted bored that she fell asleep. She stood up a little straighter and started paying attention when the Chapman's guests stood up.
William introduced some business associate of his whose name Alex didn't bother to remember. Then he introduced their son as though he was telling them about the main event at a circus or some such, "And this is Bradley Forester Lawrence III. He's a rising star at Billings Bank… really going places."
Bradley Forester Lawrence III probably thought he was quite a god damn specimen. Over six foot, broad shouldered. He had a strong chin and had a mustache his fuckin' manservant probably spent about two hours a day keeping maintained. His black hair was oiled to within an inch of its life, and carefully combed and parted to one side. He had cool blue eyes, carefully calibrated to show just the right amount of polite interest. His suit was impeccably tailored, and he stood ramrod straight, smiling politely as he nodded first to Carol, then to Piper.
After introducing Piper and Carol, William grimaced almost imperceptibly and then, as an afterthought, swept his hand towards Alex, "And this is Piper's traveling companion, Miss Alexandra Vause."
Bradley and his parents looked at her, assessed her and just how out of place she looked, nodded, and then proceeded to pretend she didn't exist, although Bradley kept looking at her out of the corner of his eye in a way he probably thought subtle. Alex was keeping her expression neutral, but she almost smirked when, about the fourth time he did it, she could read something in his eyes other than amused astonishment at her appearance. His eyes when they looked at her were screaming "I wonder what it'd be like to fuck her…"
Alex had found that many of the "respectable young gentlemen" Piper were introduced to were like this. All polite and well-mannered on the surface, but really just assessing women they encountered to see which ones they wanted to fuck. The daughters of their parents' friends were for marrying and impregnating. Everyone else was exclusively for sex…
Piper was sitting next to the man on the sofa. Alex remained standing behind her, a plate full of the tiny fucking sandwiches keeping her hands busy so she would less inclined to want to touch the blonde (she had no idea how much time they spent touching one another until it wasn't allowed… a hundred times a day, she'd brush a hand down Piper's arm, or put her arm around her, or run her fingers through her hair, even if they were just working, even if there was no chance anything might come of it; it was instinct, and not being able to do it made it feel like one of her limbs was missing).
She listened to them make inane small talk, and got irritated any time Bradley laid a chaste hand on Piper's arm or leg or when Piper smiled and laughed at anything he said. Alex could tell that Piper was being entirely false. She knew Piper well enough to know when she was putting on a front, and the girl had been putting on a front pretty much since the moment they'd gotten here. But that didn't make it sting less.
Alex wasn't jealous, exactly, even though she knew Piper had an eye for the fellas as well (something she'd never understood but…). She knew she had nothing to worry about from any of these simpering idiots who probably wouldn't survive two days on the ranch before running for the train with their tail tucked between their legs cause they got a fuckin' splinter. Hell, she knew she had nothing to worry about from anyone. She and Piper had been through way too much for another person (no matter how handsome) to ruin them. But that didn't mean it didn't rankle her badly to see someone acting like her girl was going to be theirs (Piper didn't like the feeling any better than she did… one of Red's girls had gotten a little too forward one night a few years ago and Piper had quite neatly knocked her on her ass… that had put a stop to anyone making a move on Alex real quick).
The luncheon lasted three god damn hours.
They moved from the sitting room into the dining room where (because etiquette was nonsensical), they sat in some fool way that had William between her and Piper and Bradley on Piper's other side, still being charming as fuck.
After the luncheon, Piper's mother wanted her for something in the sitting room, and Alex, worn out from the effort of being polite to people she couldn't stand (it always began to wear her down by mid afternoon), opted not to accompany them. Piper might have insisted, but she could see that the effort of staying on good behavior was wearing on Alex. She hadn't grown up like this. Piper had lost some of her patience with it as well, but it was still something she'd been raised for. Alex knew how to deceive, how to act like something she wasn't, but she wasn't prepared for it on this scale, and the pretension was killing her.
Alex wandered aimlessly around the house for a while and ended up in the kitchen. The servants had been as wary of her as the Chapmans at first, but eventually they'd all settled down in her presence, realizing she wasn't like the others. The housekeeper still wasn't fond of her, but the younger girls found her fascinating and she'd found that their interest wasn't nearly so condescending and irritating as that of Piper's family and their social circle (she couldn't call them friends necessarily... they sure as shit didn't act like she did around her friends...)
The Chapmans had a cook and a kitchen maid, both of whom Alex had met on the second day here when she'd come looking for something to tide her over between lunch and supper. She literally ate like a ranch hand, and the petite portions they were served here were absurd. They'd taken to her immediately.
She leaned on the counter, eating an apple the cook had handed her with a smile, telling the kitchen maid tales about Haven and the life out West. The two of them were about done with the first phase of preparations for supper. They'd be taking a short break, perhaps twenty minutes, before they needed to start the next. Alex was thinking about what she might do if Piper took too much longer, when the blonde walked into the kitchen.
She smiled when she saw Alex, "There you are."
The cook and the kitchen maid excused themselves to enjoy a few minutes of blissful leisure. Piper glanced behind her, then swept the rest of the kitchen with her eyes before approaching Alex and putting her arms around her neck. Alex let out a long, relieved breath. Holding Piper was the best feeling she'd had all day. Especially after that fucking Bradley'd had his hands all over her.
Alex leaned forward and kissed Piper hard. Piper responded for a moment before pulling back, flustered, "Alex… we have to…"
"Wanna fuck in the pantry?"
Piper frowned, "What?"
"You heard me, Pipes," Alex leaned down and traced the tip of her tongue ever so lightly from the base of Piper's neck to her earlobe, "I had to watch that ass touch you for three hours when I couldn't so much as brush your hand… I want you…"
She heard Piper's breath hitch, could practically see her eyes fluttering shut at the thought. Piper's arms tightened around her neck, almost unthinking, trying to pull Alex even closer.
"We're supposed to be in the foyer to greet our dinner guests in a half hour," Piper breathed, Alex couldn't tell if she was objecting or simply giving her a time limit, "And Miss Forsythe and Kate will be back in perhaps fifteen…"
Alex tried to move her hands down Piper's back to her rear, but was stymied by the fuckin' dress. She grimaced in frustration, "God damn dresses…" she breathed, now nipping at Piper's earlobe with her teeth. Piper hadn't spoken for the last minute, her breath getting shorter and sharper. She gasped when Alex's right hand came up to her chest, "Fuckin' corsets…"
Piper's hands slid down from around Alex's neck, and Alex drew back to look at her, concerned she might have gone too far (at home this would've been fine… the beginnings of a leisurely afternoon spent completely ignoring their work, but this god damn place wasn't home). However, the look on Piper's face told a different story (her pupils so huge there was barely any blue around them, her face flushed…). Piper grabbed the hand that was threatening to ruin her dress and dragged Alex through the kitchen to the huge pantry in back, her stride determined. She slammed the door behind them. The only light was coming from the crack around the door. Alex couldn't properly see Piper, but she barely had a chance to ask what they were doing there when Piper backed her up against the door and kissed her hard. Evidently she had decided that if her get up was going to be a problem, there were other ways to release a little tension..
Piper's kiss is firm and heated and clearly communicating her intent. She's usually content with allowing Alex to control these sorts of encounters, but every so often, particularly when it had been awhile, she would surprise Alex by asserting herself. Alex would usually push back a little, just to spur her on, but she found it undeniably fucking amazing when Piper took control.
Piper broke their kiss and moved to Alex's neck, mirroring Alex's movements earlier, drawing a line down the column of her throat to her collarbone where she began laying a series of heated kisses as her hands unbuttoned first the vest and then the shirt.
The buttons on this shirt were fancy shiny pearl ones not the usual simple ones that Flaca usually used. They were a little tougher to undo and halfway down Piper growled in frustration
Alex, who'd been losing herself to the sensation of Piper's lips on her skin and the anticipation of what was coming, one hand swimming through Piper's hair, the other one grasping the door handle behind her for leverage, managed a huff of amusement, "Only brought so many fancy ass shirts, honey... can't rip em..."
"Fuck these buttons," growled Piper, but she knew she couldn't just tear the fucking shirt off like she might have if they were at home. She finally managed to get them undone, triumphantly slipping the shirt, suspenders and vest off Alex's shoulders in one fluid, practiced movement.
Underneath Alex was wearing a modified version of a corset that was designed only to keep the ladies from running wild when she was riding. Piper pushed it down with a huff of frustration. Alex was about to chuckle at her eagerness when piper's hot mouth closed over her right nipple and she couldn't stop a moan from escaping.
"Fuck, Pipes..." she muttered.
Piper undid her belt and slid her pants and drawers down. Her movements were quick but not frantic. She knew she had to hurry but she was obviously determined to draw things out as much as she could.
They both groaned as Piper drew a finger through her warmth. So god damn wet.
Piper drifted south, leaving a trail of warm wet kisses down Alex's stomach. Before she reached her destination. Without hesitation Piper leaned forward and Alex gasped, "Fucking hell."
Alex's mind quickly clouded over, lost in the feeling of Piper's tongue on her, and it got even more so when she felt Piper grin against her and slide two fingers inside. Alex let out a long low pleasurable groan. Fuck she missed this. It wasn't like they weren't making up for lost time at night but she was used to them doing something like this at least once every couple days and it was a blessed relief.
She was thinking vaguely about how good the blonde had gotten at this. Not that she'd ever been bad at it of course, but practice made perfect and experience was invaluable. She knew everything to do, every note to hit to play Alex like a finely tuned instrument, but somehow it never felt boring or routine. Every time with Piper felt like a revelation. Alex's hand was tangled in her blonde hair as she got closer to the edge. Piper drew the flat of her tongue over Alex's sensitive spot just as she thrust in one more time. Alex tumbled over the edge, trying her damndest to keep quiet as she felt Piper put an arm around her waist to keep her still. After she'd worked Alex through the very last of her orgasm, Piper tugged Alex's pants back up, buckled her belt, planted a kiss on her stomach right above the belt buckle and made her way back up, taking her time, fingers trailing over sensitive skin of Alex's right arm (a habitual gesture) up to her shoulder.
She couldn't quite resist sweeping her tongue over Alex's left nipple once before adjusting her shirt and undergarments, pulling them up over her shoulders again.
Alex suppressed a frustrated groan, "Fuck, pipes, you tryin' to kill me?"
Piper grinned, all innocence, "I just didn't want the left one to feel neglected."
Alex was fumbling slightly with her buttons her limbs feeling sated and boneless (even as Piper's proximity and the lingering scent of arousal in the enclosed space was making her want more). Piper stilled her hands and took over, slowly fastening each button with care. When she was done she adjusted Alex's suspenders over her shoulders and straightened her vest before leaning forward (with her shoes on she was as tall as Alex) and kissing her again.
It was tender and affectionate rather than heated and frantic, even though Alex could taste herself on Piper's tongue and felt the heat rising in her belly.
When they parted, Piper rested her head in the crook of Alex's neck, eyes closed, breathing in her scent, just enjoying the quiet closeness, as Alex adjusted her watch chain, running a hand through her hair and straightening up her glasses.
"We ought to go darlin'," she said quietly.
"I know," Piper kissed her neck softly, "that was a good suggestion."
Alex chuckled, kissing her temple, "Well, if I would've known what'd happen I would've suggested it sooner."
"I didn't realize how arousing you found dry goods..."
"Wasn't nothin' dry about my goods just then, honey."
"No," Piper smiled, "no there wasn't."
By halfway through the second week, Piper was completely done with the pretense. While she wasn't fool enough to believe that she and Alex could parade about the streets of Boston arm in arm, she was absolutely finished with the cavalcade of fools her mother was trotting in front of her like cattle at an auction. It was exhausting to feign any sort of interest, especially with Alex usually either sitting or standing less than six feet away at any given time, watching whichever man she was speaking to as though she wanted to smash his face in with the butt of her pistol. She loathed forcing Alex to be something she wasn't, and she found that the mask she had so successfully worn for so many years was just as difficult to bear now as it had been the last year before she'd left.
The entertaining was reaching a fever pitch as Cal and Neri's wedding got closer, and her mother was redoubling her efforts. Finally, one night when the ladies retired to the sitting room after dinner, instead of sitting on the couch next to Alex six inches away her hands primly in her lap, she sat down and (while not going so far as to fold herself into Alex's side as she did when they were at home, reading in the evening), took Alex's hand and held it firmly between hers. Alex glanced over at her in mild surprise before unfurling a grin. On her other side, Neri noticed the gesture and grinned.
Carol, sitting across from the younger women in the armchair looked at Piper and Alex's joined hands, her mouth hanging open, her eyes unblinking, struck dumb. Piper almost laughed out loud. This was literally the least offensive gesture that they could possibly have made. For a moment she had to tamp down the mad impulse to simply throw her arms around Alex's neck and kiss her full on the mouth. But that might have actually given Carol a heart attack. And Piper had no interest in ruining Cal's wedding.
The wedding had been immense, the reception was even more so, full of essentially every sort of person Piper found couldn't stand (including the good Reverend Healy, who she smiled at politely as he stayed well away from her). Piper had carefully been keeping to the corner of the room where Alex was sitting with Cal and Neri, who seemed almost an afterthought at their own gathering. None of their friends were here (too uncouth and unrefined for Carol and William), so they were sitting at the gorgeously appointed table set up for them in front of the room, smiling and laughing. Alex was as relaxed and in her element as Piper had seen since they got here, at least when they weren't alone, her top two buttons undone, her vest unbuttoned entirely.
Piper had gotten up to fetch another plate of food and had been stopped halfway back by some associate of her mother's who she couldn't quite bring herself to be completely rude to.
The woman asked the standard set of questions about where Piper had been and what she'd been doing. Piper gave the same set of bland, generic answers, stripping all the harshness off of the truth, making into something that would be easily digestible by the average monied Bostonian socialite. Answers that hopefully wouldn't invite excessive numbers of follow up questions. After two and a half weeks here, they all came quite easily.
She watched as the woman's face turned into the standard expression of mild shock, as she tried to keep the fact that she was absolutely appalled that Piper would choose such a life off her face. Finally, as Piper finished answering her last question, the woman said, eyebrow raised, genuine confusion and mild concern in her expression, "But surely you're looking forward to coming back?"
Piper frowned, thinking that she might say some empty thing, but she found she couldn't. She looked back over her shoulder and saw that Neri and Cal had gotten up and were on the dance floor, standing close and swaying completely off the beat of whatever stiff waltz the hired string quartet was playing, grinning merrily and completely absorbed in one another. Alex was sitting at their table, grinning at the happy couple. As Piper watched, Alex's eyes slid to hers. Her whole face softened and she gave Piper an affectionate grin, raising her glass.
Piper smiled back at Alex and turned back to her mother's friend, "As a matter of fact, I truly am not..."
They left the day after the wedding and were glad of it. William and Carol, standing stiffly on the front steps of the house, watching them depart for the station, were almost as relieved to see them go as they were to leave. Piper had given each of them a perfunctory half hearted embrace before Cal and Neri had both swept her up into huge bear hugs of their own, promising Piper they would write as often as they could. Then they'd gotten into the hired carriage and pulled away from the house that no longer seemed anything like her home.
Alex sank bonelessly into the cushion of the private compartment they'd gotten for the trip back, exhaling in relief as she unbuttoned the top three buttons on her shirt and muttered, "Thank fucking Christ that's over with..."
Piper smiled over at her before fussing around the compartment for a few moments, making sure their luggage was properly stowed (the porter had stowed it, but Piper always liked to double check). She pulled a book out of one of her suitcases and then sat down next to Alex, who was settled next to the window on one bench with her long legs stretched out and resting on the opposite bench, her hat pulled down over her eyes, hands folded across her stomach.
As soon as she sensed was settled, one of Alex's arms wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her closer. The rest of Alex stayed exactly as she was, and Piper couldn't see her eyes, but she saw her lips curl slowly into a lazy grin as she huffed a satisfied sort of sigh. Piper smiled at the sight. Even after they'd made clear to her mother that they were together, they still weren't exactly free to express themselves like they would back at home. Carol wouldn't dare expose them for fear of bringing shame on the family, but others might not be so understanding, so they hadn't really been able to entirely relax all the time. This was as relaxed as she'd seen Alex for awhile. Of course, they weren't entirely in safe territory yet, they still had to make it back West, but the fact that they were on their way had obviously lightened Alex's heart, just as seeing Alex this happy lightened Piper's.
She glanced out the still-open door of the compartment (it would remain so until the train began moving so that the conductor could come by and make a count when it was necessary). There was no one about. Piper couldn't resist leaning over and kissing the brunette. Alex's grin widened, and the arm around her shoulders tightened its grip.
"Alex…"
"Hmmmm…"
"The door…"
"Yeah?"
"It's open…"
"Let 'em watch…"
"Alex…."
Before Alex could respond, a harsh male voice rang out from the open doorway, "No touching!"
Piper sprang back as though she'd had a hot brand applied to her ass. Alex merely growled in frustration and pushed her hat up so her eyes were uncovered, turning her glare on the open doorway, readying to tear whoever had interrupted them a new one. However, when she saw who it was, she grinned and sat up instead.
Piper, after recovering from her initial shock, looked over as well, and smiled, "Cal! What are you doing here?"
Cal and Neri stood in the doorway, suitcases in hand. "Honeymoon, Pipes!" he said as Piper stood and hugged him tightly, then moved to Neri. Alex stayed where she was, but Cal stepped forward to shake her hand heartily.
"But I thought Mother and Father paid for you to go to the cabin in Naragansett…"
"Yeah, well, as much fun as it sounded, spending a month with Bill's banking associates drinking tea and trying not to die of boredom, we kind of told them we'd rather enjoy ourselves. Figured the untamed West sounded like it'd be much more interesting… plus there's a couple of ladies we're pretty fond of headed in that direction…"
Alex smiled, "Well, it sure as hell don't lack for excitement, that's for sure. But I ain't sure I would say it's a honeymoon spot…"
"Anything's better than Naragansett, believe me…" Cal clapped Piper on the shoulder, "I had no idea how much I missed you until you got here. And I look at you and you're so damned happy, I figure maybe getting way from mother and father might be the key to a long and fulfilling life..."
"It's not an easy life, Cal," Piper said, looking him eye seriously.
"Ah, I know that Piper. You've been writing me for five years. But no one said we were going to live there forever. It'll just be nice to experience something different..."
Piper smiled, "Then we'd be honored to have you stay with us."
"Excellent!" Cal said, "Always wanted to see old Granny Chapman's ranch with my own two eyes..." he pulled his pocket watch out and glanced at it, "Well, we've got to get to our compartment. It's just two down from this one I think. Join us for dinner?"
"Of course," Piper hugged him again, then they watched as they left the cabin. "Well," Piper said, sitting back down again, "That was unexpected. You don't mind me asking them to stay do you?"
"'Course not, darlin'... always be nice to have someone else around... and we can teach 'em to work around the place... never have too many folks shoveling up horse shit..."
Piper settled into Alex's side again as the brunette pulled her hat back over her eyes. Piper looked past her, out the window as the train pulled out of the station. As she watched, first the station, and then Boston itself began to fade into the distance, and as the city got smaller and smaller, she suddenly knew with absolute certainty that she would never return... and that there was no reason to mourn this decision. The experience had been, for the most part, an ordeal. She had been happy to be there for Cal, but almost every other thing that had transpired had been unbelievably challenging. She couldn't be the person she truly was here, not for herself and not for Alex.
Before she had left Haven, she'd wondered whether or not there would be anything here she would have nostalgia for, anything she would find it hard to leave again. But it turned out the only thing she would truly miss was Cal, and since he was coming with them, to stay for at least the time being, there was nothing more to link them here. Her parents had merely proven themselves to be the same as they had always been: foreboding and full of expectations, all of which she had soundly failed to meet. At first she had felt the weight of all of this on her, as though no time had passed, but as the visit had progressed and she was forced through the rituals of the class she had been born into (the status obsessed false politeness, the forced smiles and strained pleasantries), she had begun to understand there was not one part of any of it that she felt any connection to.
Not one part of it was her anymore, and, perhaps more importantly, she found that this fact didn't bother her in the least. She had everything she needed in Haven. The moment she had looked her mother in the eye as she had taken Alex's hand, she had known deep within herself, that her parents' opinion of her no longer mattered, that it had no connection to her life, to her identity, to anything to do with who she was. Her life was in Haven... the ranch, the pride she took in maintaining it, her friends... and Alex (Alex, who had saved her life in every possible sense of the word; Alex, who loved her in spite, or perhaps because of, every one of her flaws; Alex, scarred and rough and unrefined, who she loved more than it was possible for her to fully comprehend) . All of these things were hers and all of these things that were her choice.
In the end, there was nothing else that she wanted, and nothing else she needed. Without a thought to who might be walking by, who might see them, she picked up Alex's hand from where it was resting lightly on her stomach and laced her own fingers through it, sighing deeply and closing her own eyes as a feeling of absolute contentment washed over her.
They were headed home.
FIVE YEARS LATER
"Why isn't it my turn yet, auntie?"
Alex turned to look down at the red headed four year old girl tugging at her belt and gave her a grin, "Cause we just started, and your brother gets to go first this time, Lizzie. Next time you'll be first…"
Lizzie frowned, "Not fair!"
"It's the definition of fair, honey," said Piper, walking up to the corral fence. "That was the point of the arrangement in the first place."
"But I want to be first…" the little girl's face was the picture of dissatisfaction.
Alex reached down and heaved the girl up, grimacing a little at how heavy she'd gotten, giving her a very serious look, "How about you get to brush Hades when we're done, hmmm? Xander wanted to do it but, well, since you're bein' so patient here, I think maybe you ought to instead, don't you...?"
Lizzie frowned thoughtfully, thinking this offer over… she didn't like Xander getting anything first, on the other hand, she did enjoy brushing Hades. The big horse was nearly 15 now, enjoying his old age, and about as placid as you could hope. He put up with the girl brushing the ever loving shit out of him for what felt like hours. Finally, she nodded once, "Okay."
"Good girl," said Alex smiling. She pecked the girl on the cheek then handed her over the fence to Piper, "You stay here with your Aunt Piper and you can watch. That way you'll know what to do…"
"I already know what to do, auntie…" Lizzie said, mortally offended that Alex would think she didn't know how to ride a horse (having had extensive experience watching everyone else ride horses).
Alex tamped down a laugh, leaning forward, "Well I know you do," she said, near the girl's ear, lowering her voice, "But Xander don't, and we wouldn't want him to feel bad, would we?"
Another moment of consideration, then a magnanimous sort of head shake, "Nope, I guess not…"
Alex gave her long red braid a gentle tug, then leaned forward to kiss Piper softly, habitually, before heading back to where Ford was holding the pony that he'd brought down for the children to ride. Alex had lifted Xander onto the gentle white pony (which Lizzie had immediately and creatively dubbed "Pony") before Lizzie started up, and he was still waiting patiently (somehow even at four, the boy had the patience of a saint. He was as easygoing as any child any of them had ever seen, even moreso than his father had been at that age… though it may have been because he had to endure Lizzie nearly constantly, one had to have the forbearance of a saint or they'd go insane…)
"How you feelin' Xander?" Alex asked as she moved around the front and took the reins from Ford.
"Good…" the boy said, smiling in a way that reminded Alex heavily of his father. He had the same ginger hair as Lizzie, which his mother kept cut short. Somehow, however, he'd managed to get Piper's eyes, cobalt blue, big and earnest. Maybe that's why, as much as she loved all of Cal and Neri's children, Alex had particular affection for the boy (certainly nothing to do with him being named after her... not at all)
"That's good. You ready?"
"Yes ma'am…"
"I ain't a ma'am, kid…" she said, with mock sternness.
He laughed a little, "Sorry… Alex…"
"That's better… alright… now let's get started."
Piper had her niece perched on the corral fence, her arms around the girl from behind to keep her from falling, patiently answering her never ending stream of questions. (once she'd made the mistake of making an offhand comment about how many questions Lizzie asked, and Alex had laughed for about fifteen minutes and then given her a look that said "really? you're complainin' about someone asking questions?")
Her eyes followed Alex as she explained things to Xander carefully and then held onto the reins as they walked a little around the corral.
Piper thought back to when she'd first seen Alex, near ten years ago now. Piper had just been a girl then really, but had felt so much older than she was. She had had both too much experience and not enough… and she surely had no idea what love was supposed to feel like. Alex had been broken into pieces, both physically and mentally, but was slowly trying to put herself back together… she'd been like nothing Piper had ever seen before.
They'd both been so damaged then, even if they hadn't realized just how damaged. Piper had thought she might never be normal again, might never be able to live with the things she'd done, that she might be haunted always by the thing that lived inside her, always trying to escape its bonds, to make her lose control. They were both lost then.
But they had found one another and healed together, made a life together, and had run their ranch with hard work and hard won experience. And now she was blessed to be watching Alex pass on all the things she had once taught Piper (all the things that Diane and Celeste and Big Dan had taught her) to the next generation of Chapmans... so that maybe they would run this place themselves one day, so that Celeste's legacy might never be lost.
Her only true regret was that Celeste (who had loved both she and Alex so damn much) hadn't lived to see this. But she had sacrificed her life to save Piper's and made her quite determined not to waste it, or to take for granted any of the blessings life (that merciless bitch) had chosen to bestow on her: a family, a future, a home with someone she loved. Maybe it wasn't always perfect, but it was hers and it always would be.
A/N- Well, there ya go, pardners. Phew, that came out longer than anything ever lol. Sorry this took a little longer to get out than usual. I was blocked for a little bit and had to get my butt kicked. Hope you enjoyed it... thanks again for sticking with me. And shout outs to NightsLightss, reverse-swing (it's a cricket term!), Vausemaniac, and Khaki is the New Black... for various and sundry reasons. (I'm so vague and enigmatic... ;)