They walked in looking for Nicky's trademark rat's nest hair.

"You see her?"

"No."

"Not like you could miss that mess. Or her voice."

Alex smirked as Piper smacked her forearm.

"Here," she said, passing Jack to Piper, "take this kid if you're gonna be swatting at me. He's heavy as shit."

He had fallen asleep leaning against Alex's arm while she cradled him on her hip.

"He's a precious gift," Piper kissed his head, "and he's gonna be mad as shit when he wakes up and sees you put him down."

"He survives at night."

"Look at this face," she stroked his cheek, "how could you ever disappoint this boy?"

"I couldn't." Alex wiggled dramatically, shaking off the cramp in her arm, making her wife giggle.

The brunette took her son back from Piper's arms, nestling him over her shoulder, against her neck, and breathed in his baby scent.

"Jesus, you get softer every time I see you," Nicky spoke behind them. She'd come out from the bathroom a moment earlier and had heard Alex's comment. She knew she wouldn't have to wait long to return the sarcasm.

Alex smirked again and Piper looked at her wife, her eyes full of adoration.

"You two are gonna make me sick."

"Was your surprise this delightful banter? Because I can get this from you any day," Alex drawled.

"Don't get your panties twisted, Vause."

Nicky's dismissive look turned into a warm smile when she saw Jack. She ruffled his hair and his face scrunched up the way Piper's did when she was being pulled from her sleep. He nestled his face closer into Alex's neck and clung to her. She shushed him while she rubbed his back. He settled at his mother's voice and touch like he had since the day he was born.

Nicky rolled her eyes.

"So soft you're malleable," she said before waving them forward, leading the group to a private room in the back of the pub.

They could hear Lorna's excited chatter as they got closer, "He's adorable, you're gonna love him."

They stopped walking.

"Red?" Piper stammered.

Alex's mouth dropped open, "Holy fuck."

"When did you..."

Alex stepped to the closest chair and sat down, rubbing Jack's back to calm her nerves.

"I can't take any more surprises today. At least this one is pleasant," she laughed.

"Good to see you girls too," Red smiled.

Piper rushed over to her, hugging her close.

"I haven't seen you since..."

"Before my slocking?" Red offered.

"Yeah," Piper said quietly, looking down.

"I asked for the transfer, I wanted to keep my girls safe."

"No one would tell us where you'd gone."

"And you didn't write," Alex added gruffly. She'd spent a long time hearing heart break over Red from Piper, Morello, and especially Nicky.

Red nodded her head sadly, "Things were a little crazy before..."

Alex huffed.

"And..." she hesitated, twisting a handkerchief in her hands nervously, "And, I wanted to go straight before I was around my family again. Give you all a chance to move on with your lives, the right way. And look," she took in the group around her.

Nicky had her arm draped over Lorna's shoulders. Piper sat next to Alex, their baby was in Alex's lap. He was once again resting chest to chest with his mother, sleeping peacefully against her.

"I was right. Look how far you've all come. You're families now. Real families. And you have careers. Successful lives. Legitimate businesses. No drugs. No crime. It was worth it," tears started running from her once wet eyes.

"Hey," Nicky wiped a tear away, "we're not mad. We were just worried about you. And we missed you."

She looked around the table nodding her head, encouraging the others to agree.

"Yeah, Red," Lorna caught on quickly, "we missed you terribly, but you're here now." She squeezed her hand.

Piper, Nicky, and Lorna all took turns hugging Red again. Alex sat back, watching them.

"You were always a real family," she said. "Sure, you tried to starve Piper out, and you took away my dinner and made me rub your feet for giving her some bread," she cringed, then laughed at the memory, "but her mom might still be worse."

"She's not exaggerating," Piper laughed.

"I wasn't ever really part of this family," Alex continued "but I know you two got close when she took over your bunk," Alex motioned at Piper with her head, unable to talk with her hands holding Jack, "and I always wanted to tell you thank you. You were there for my wife when I wasn't, and I might not have my family if it wasn't for yours."

Red smiled and nodded her head in respect.

"Ok, enough with this mushy shit," Nicky wiped her eyes, "wake that baby up so Red can meet him."

"Let the boy sleep," Red looked at him lovingly.

"You want to hold him?" Piper asked.

"Once he's awake and gotten used to me. I don't think it would do him much good to wake up in a stranger's arms," she laughed. They could see her face sober as she thought, "I've missed the feel of a rebenok in my arms."

Alex curled one of his golden locks around her finger, "Moya lyubov."

"What's that?" Lorna looked around confused.

"I've missed holding a baby," Red explained.

Nicky sat back in her chair, "And you? What the fuck did you say? And when in the fuck did you learn Russian?"

Alex shrugged.

"Miss modesty all of a sudden," Piper rolled her eyes. "It doesn't phase me anymore. I'm not even sure how many languages she knows. Honestly, I don't think she does either."

"We traveled a bit," Alex smirked. "You pick up bits here and there."

"You think she ever makes some of that shit up? Or starts blabbering in Klingon just to impress you?" Nicky said.

They all laughed and his mother's booming chuckle started stirring Jack once again from his sleep.

Piper studied Alex closely, as if inspecting her would reveal some answer, "At first, I kind of did." She looked around her conspiratorially, then her eyes landed back on Alex's smug, smirking face, "But one day I realized you're just frustratingly brilliant, my love."

Piper stroked her hair and Alex winked at her.

Lorna's confused look came back. "Well?" She held her hands out to Alex, as if asking for an explanation to be placed in them.

Alex's eyebrows raised, "Well, what?"

"Frustratingly brilliant at times, and a regular dolt at others," it was Nicky's turn to smirk. She knew what her girlfriend was trying to ask, "What did you say, Sir Isaac Newton?"

"My love," Piper said, holding Alex's gaze, "she called him 'my love.'"

Alex smiled and nodded her head in approval. Piper looked back at the women sitting around them and saw Red looking proud, Lorna satisfied with her answer, and Nicky shocked.

"I'm gonna have to take some fucking night classes or something," she shook her head. "Being around these two," she shook her finger between Alex and Piper, "is like being at a Mensa meeting. They've gotten even more annoying since you saw them last."

Jack was starting to wake up from all the noise around him. His face scrunched up like his mother's again.

"Like that blonde hair's not enough to let you know they didn't buy him from somebody," Nicky rolled her eyes. "That face look familiar, Ma?"

Red nodded, "Blondie made it any time this one would wake her up." She nodded at Alex as she said it, making her smile. "But then as soon as her eyes opened and she saw who it was..."

As if on cue, Jack opened his eyes slowly, looking up at the mother who was holding him close. As the sleep wore off, his eyes focused and her image became clearer.

Alex spoke in a low hum, not wanting to startle him from his rest, "Hey, Jacky boy."

His face broke into a grin that showed off his dimples and made his eyes sparkle.

Red held her hand to her mouth and drew in a breath, "It's like déjà vu. I feel like I'm going back in time. That's the exact face... And the eyes..."

Alex smiled warmly at her son, knowing the effect he had on the people in their life. She had been worried about having a mini Alex, but this boy was all Piper. Secretly she thought it made her love him even more.

"I told you he was adorable," Lorna said proudly.

He yawned and leaned against Alex's chest again, a small smirk on his face.

"See that shit eating grin though," Nicky pointed to his lips.

Piper nodded, "He knows he's cute. And he knows how to work the smirk. His last name's Vause for a reason."

Alex winked at her wife again, before pressing her lips to her son's head. "We got good genes, don't we Jacky?"

He nodded his head against her. She picked him up and sat him in front of her on the edge of the table, smoothing his wavy hair down and unzipping his jacket. As Alex was straightening out his shirt Jack's thumb went back in his mouth.

Piper pulled it out before she spoke to him, "Can you say hi to Lorna, Jack?"

He looked over at her, "Hi Orna."

"Well hello there, Mr. Handsome."

"And what about Nicky?" Piper continued.

He turned his head so he could see her, "Hi Ninny."

Alex cackled manically at this. His baby pronunciation was often a great source of amusement to her, with Nicky's name being one of her favorites.

"Who's the dolt now, Ninny?" she said sarcastically with a wag of her eyebrows.

"Still you," Nicky said before turning her attention to Jack. "Yo! How's it hanging, Jack Sparrow?"

"I not Jack Speddow, my name's Jack Vause!" he laughed in his baby chuckle, then burst out into giggles when Nicky tickled his sides.

Alex repositioned him so his feet were pointed at Nicky and his back was to her, fully sitting on the table instead of sitting on the edge. She gently pushed his back, making him slide on his butt to Nicky. She held him how Alex had, her hands on his legs, feet hanging off the edge of the table.

He looked back over his shoulder at Piper, "Who's 'at, mommy?"

"That's Nicky's mom, baby."

He turned back to Nicky, asking for confirmation with his eyes.

"This is my mom, Red."

He looked at her closely, "She's not red, she's pink."

Piper put her head down on the table, "I guess he got my foot in mouth too," she said, her voice muffled.

"He's a baby, he'll grow out of that. You're a lost cause," Alex smiled, rubbing her back.

Nicky was still laughing, "No, her name is Red."

"Red is a color." He said, sounding very sure of himself. He looked back at Alex, confused. "Mama, red's a color." He turned to Nicky and pointed to her shirt, "Red."

Red looked at the group in front of her, her eyes staying on Alex's as she finally spoke, "You are all my daughters." She slowly held her hand out and gently brushed his hair back, tucking some loose waves around his ear, "You can call me Babushka, little one."

"Bushka," he said, testing it out.

"Better than I would have done, Sparrow," Nicky said smiling. "This is a special day," her eyes grew, mischief behind them, "you want ice cream for lunch?"

His face brightened again and his hands shot in the air, "Yes!"

"You need real food for lunch, Jack," Piper said, "then ice cream."

His face fell and Nicky whispered in his ear. She turned him so he was facing Piper and he leaned back against her, hanging his head sadly. A pout formed on his lips and Nicky mirrored him.

"P'ease, mommy," he whined, "p'eeeeeease."

Piper shot Nicky a dirty look while Alex bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"Please, mommy," Nicky said with a sad look on her face, speaking dramatically, "give the poor boy some ice cream." She held her hands up as if she was praying.

"P'ease, mommy," Jack started again, holding his hands out.

Nicky whispered in his ear again and he dropped his shoulders and looked at Piper sadly, like she'd broken his heart. His eyes were melting any resolve she had on not giving her son diabetes by the time he reached kindergarten.

"He's only a baby once," Alex repeated her earlier words in a whisper so Jack wouldn't hear he was winning this battle.

He continued with his performance and Red laughed seeing Piper conflicted, "Finally, she gets a taste of her own Bambi eyes."

"Ok," Piper relented, and Jacked cheered, "but you have to eat real food too, not just junk."

Jack continued hooting and climbed on the table, happily stomping his feet, "Ice cweam, ice cweam!"

Piper pulled him down and sat him in the high chair next to her she assumed Lorna had asked for, "Haven't even gotten sugar yet and you're already a Tasmanian Devil."

"He's got your moves, Pipes."

Red looked at him, her eyes full of affection, "There is no price too high to see your children smile."

Jack looked up at Piper. She saw her smile on her son's face, "Thank you, mommy."

"Tell Nicky thank you too, ya con artist."

"Thank you, Ninny."

"Yeah, thanks Ninny," Alex said. He was bound to be flying off the walls soon and he hadn't slept very long, a crash was imminent.

Nicky couldn't smile any bigger if she tried.

"So why'd you guys need to get out of work so fast?" Lorna asked.

Piper and Alex both groaned, reminded of the earlier drama.

"I think I need some wine," Piper said.

Alex laughed and put her arm around Piper's shoulders, hugging her. Maybe they'd just take the rest of the day off.