Three tense weeks had passed. Alex was staying at Nicky's house. Polly and Nicky were stuck in the middle, shuffling Jack between their friends so they could continue avoiding each other.
Polly's phone rang in the middle of the night.
"Hello?"
"Pol, it's me," Piper said. She sounded like she was on the verge of tears.
Polly sat up in bed when she heard Piper's tone, "What's wrong?"
"I'm spotting. My appointment at the fertility clinic isn't for a few more days, but I'm scared."
"I'm on my way."
Polly rushed out of bed and out the door.
x
"I'll stay with Jack, you need to go to the ER."
"I can wait until it's morning and see my regular doctor..."
"Don't be stupid, Piper. You wouldn't have called me if you weren't worried. Go."
"I don't want to go alone," she had tears in her eyes.
Polly hugged her, "You need to call Alex."
x
Piper sat in the waiting room waiting to be seen when she saw Alex run by.
"Alex!"
Her attention shifted to Piper and she slid to a stop, running back towards her wife.
"You okay?"
"I don't know, I'm waiting still."
Alex sat in the chair opposite Piper, breathing heavily. She didn't know if it was nerves or the run from the parking lot, but she was out of breath.
"I'm surprised to see you," Piper said, then cringed at her foot in mouth disorder when she saw the frown on Alex's face.
"Really? Are we gonna do this here?"
"I just mean... We haven't talked since our fight. I didn't know if you'd want to see me. We've obviously gone out of our way to avoid each other."
"If you're pregnant, it's my kid too. I'd like to know if there's something wrong with it," Alex said, crossing her arms and still frowning.
"Oh."
Piper slumped back in her chair. She looked tired. Alex could see the tear stains on her cheeks, it made her heart ache.
"And you," she added quietly.
Piper looked up, confused.
"If there's something wrong with you, I want to know."
"I thought you hate me."
"Pipes..." she sighed, but couldn't finish her train of thought before a nurse came out.
"Piper Vause?"
They stood up and followed her to an exam room.
"Please undress and put this gown on. A doctor will be right in."
Piper's hands were shaking and she struggled pulling her arms out of her shirt. She felt Alex's cool fingertips against her skin, helping remove the fabric from around her.
She closed her eyes at the touch, it was instantly calming. Alex unzipped her jeans and pulled them off her hips. Piper stepped out of them and Alex helped her in the hospital gown.
Piper's eyes were closed again. She was savoring being so close to Alex again, breathing in her scent. She jumped when she felt Alex's hands on her shoulders.
"It's gonna be okay," Alex whispered.
Another tear fell from Piper's eyes and Alex slowly wiped it away.
x
The doctor came back in the room after taking a blood and urine sample.
"Well, the good news is you're pregnant."
Piper exhaled the breath she didn't know she was holding in.
"Has anything abnormal been going on at home?"
Piper spoke quietly, "I've been stressed."
"What's the bad news?" Alex prodded.
"The bad news is we don't see any explanation for the bleeding. You appear to be perfectly healthy, maybe the stress could be the reason behind it. We can't run an ultrasound to check on your baby until you're 6-10 weeks, says here you're 3?"
Piper nodded.
"I would check-in with your normal doctor and OBGYN in the morning, see if they want to do any additional tests."
"There's nothing else you can do?" Alex asked, annoyed.
"I'm sorry, I'm afraid not. You'll have to wait a few more weeks for the ultrasound."
He got up and walked out. When the door closed Piper was overcome with sadness and started to sob.
Alex rushed to her side and held her, "We don't know anything yet, Pipes. You're healthy, it could be normal. Spotting after IVF is normal."
Piper started to calm.
"And you're pregnant," Alex continued. She stroked Piper's face, wiping away the tears and caressing her gently. "We're gonna have another baby." She pulled Piper's face up, drawing her eyes to focus on her. A small smile was on her lips even though her eyes were brimming with tears as well. "We're gonna have another baby, Pipes."
"How are you so sure? What if..."
Alex leaned forward and cut Piper off with her lips. They kissed slowly, savoring each other after being apart for so long. Piper could feel Alex pouring her love out through their kiss and she wondered how she could have ever doubted this woman.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled against Alex's lips, starting to cry again.
Alex shushed her, "It's okay, babe. Calm down, we'll talk later."
Alex helped her change back into her clothes so they could leave.
"Did you take a cab?" Alex asked.
"No, I drove."
Alex frowned, "You shouldn't drive when you're upset."
Piper looked down at her hands, fiddling with them nervously.
"Give me your keys, I'll drive you home."
Piper fished them out of her purse and handed them to her wife. Alex followed her out to the parking spot she'd left it in. She started the car and pulled onto the highway.
"You should take tomorrow off. I'll take a cab back to Nicky's so you can keep the car."
Piper turned to her, saddened.
"You're not staying?"
"Do you want me to?"
"Yes! I've been stupid and stubborn. This should have ended a long time ago. I'm sorry... Please come home."
Alex nodded but didn't reply. After a few moments of silence she held her hand out, palm up, signaling she wanted Piper to hold it.
When she felt her wife's fingers entwine with her own she stroked her with her thumb and held Piper's hand up to kiss the back of it.
"I'm sorry too."
x
When they got back to the apartment Alex opened the door quietly.
Polly looked up from the couch, "He's asleep still. Everything okay?"
"I'm pregnant," Piper started with a small smile.
"Oh my god!"
Polly's arms flew around her. She hugged Piper then grabbed Alex and hugged her too, to Alex and Piper's surprise. She stiffened under Polly's grip, then allowed herself to relax, placing her arm around the smaller woman's back, embracing her in return.
Polly stepped back and turned her focus back to Piper, "Is it okay?"
"We won't know anything until I can get an ultrasound at 6-10 weeks."
"She's taking tomorrow off," Alex spoke up.
"Yeah, of course. You need to relax." She put her hand on Piper's stomach, "I never thought the lesbians would have more kids than me," she laughed grimly, trying to lighten the mood.
Alex smirked and Piper chuckled lightly.
"Go back to bed, Pipes. I know you haven't been sleeping well." Polly looked nervously at Alex before continuing, "Are you staying with her?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, I'll give you a chance to rest. Let me know if you need anything."
She squeezed Piper's arm and nodded to Alex before leaving.
"Let's get you in bed," Alex said quietly.
They walked to their bedroom. Alex missed her wife, their bed. She stood in the doorway for a moment, taking in the sight.
"Can you help me?" Piper asked shyly.
Her hands were no longer shaking, she just wanted to feel Alex brush against her skin again. Alex helped her change into pajamas and pulled the blankets back. Piper climbed into bed and Alex sat on the edge next to her. She stroked Piper's hair, then stood up to head to the living room.
"Alex?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you stay with me? Please?"
Piper felt the bed dip as Alex climbed into it. She didn't feel her wife's warmth against her though. She rolled over and looked at Alex who was laying on her back looking up at the ceiling, deep in thought.
"Talk to me."
Alex sighed and closed her eyes but didn't move to face Piper, "The reason I was confident to tell you I wanted a second child was because of what you told me here in this bed."
Piper placed her hand on Alex's chest and felt her heart pounding. Alex entwined their fingers and kept her eyes shut as she continued speaking.
"When you saw Fahri here, you didn't wait for an explanation, you immediately assumed I had said yes to his offer. I'll admit, it was tempting. A lot more money, traveling all over the world again, the adventure, the rush..." she shook her head trying to refocus, "it was tempting. But I said no."
She opened her eyes and rolled over to look deeply into Piper's.
"I know I should have given you the chance to explain..."
Alex held up her hand, "That's not even why I'm mad. I can deal with explaining."
"Then why are you mad?"
Alex glared at her before answering, "Because you had so little faith in me that you assumed I would go back to that life. Because you thought I could ever leave this family."
Guilt had been plaguing her since their fight and she knew she had said things she didn't mean out of anger, but she didn't realize how deeply it had effected Alex.
"I'm sorry, Al."
"You and Jack are everything to me. Every reason I have to get up in the morning, to stay clean, to stay on the right side of the law... I don't do it for myself, I do it for you and that boy. I thought you knew that... I believed you knew that when you told me you had faith in me to have another baby."
"I do believe it," Piper said and started to cry again.
"Then how could you ever doubt me?"
Piper could see Alex's broken heart conveyed through her eyes. They weren't their usual green color, they looked dead. Piper took a moment to observe her wife completely, unguarded.
She was paler and looked thinner than usual. Her eyes were dull and there were dark bags around them. She looked exhausted and heart broken.
The pang of guilt intensified.
"I'm so sorry... I saw him and panicked and every bad thought I could have popped into my head and fear took over. I'm just so scared to lose you to that life again," she sobbed and Alex pulled her close. "I know you loved what you did..."
She buried her head in Alex's neck and continued to cry.
Alex ran her fingers through Piper's hair and whispered in her ear, "I have never loved anything as much as I love you."
Piper's body shook with sobs. Alex cupped her face and pulled her mouth up to her, kissing her again. It was soft, gentle, and slow like the kiss they shared in the ER. Alex wanted Piper to feel her love.
The kiss intensified and Alex rolled on top of Piper. The blonde's lips parted, allowing Alex's tongue inside.
Piper pulled away to mutter 'I love you too' quickly before Alex recaptured her lips.
Their tongues battled against each other before Alex bit Piper's lower lip, making her moan. Alex kissed across her jaw and sucked on her pulse point.
"I love you so much," Alex whispered.
She pulled Piper's arms over her head and held them down firmly with one hand while she slipped her hand under the band of her sweat pants and underwear with the other. Piper's back arched instantly, her skin buzzing under Alex's touch.
Alex ran her fingers along Piper's opening, feeling how wet she was already.
"Did you miss me?"
"Yes," Piper moaned breathlessly.
Alex slipped a finger inside Piper and slowly withdrew it, "Don't ever doubt me again."
"I won't, baby. I promise," Piper tried to release her arms from Alex's grasp but Alex held her down firmly.
"I'm lost without you," Alex's voice was deep and ragged and her eyes burned into Piper's.
She pushed her finger roughly back inside Piper making her arch her back off the bed. Alex pushed her back down and kissed her neck while she fucked Piper hard.
"I don't want to lose you," Piper whimpered shakily.
Alex withdrew her fingers and began rubbing Piper's clit, "You're never gonna lose me, Pipes."
"That feels so good... I missed you so much..."
Alex let go of Piper's arms and ripped her sweat pants and underwear off in one quick motion. She needed to taste her now. She didn't tease Piper or kiss down her stomach, she went straight to the blonde's center running her tongue along it roughly.
"Please don't stop," Piper pleaded while tangling her fingers in Alex's dark hair.
Alex flicked her tongue across Piper's clit and didn't slow down or stop until she felt the blonde's body start to shake. She continued the movements with her mouth and added two fingers inside her, knowing exactly how to move her fingers to make Piper lose control.
She felt Piper's body tremor beneath her and her pussy tighten around her fingers. She slowly withdrew them, feeling Piper shake again when she did. She lazily ran her tongue up Piper's pussy, enjoying her taste and the sound of her moan. She kissed up her stomach murmuring 'I love you' against her skin as she went.
When she reached Piper's lips she kissed them gently and her eyes closed, savoring the sensation she missed. She rested against Piper, their foreheads touching.
"Please don't ever go away again," Piper whispered.