"Polly," Alex rose, forcing herself to speak calmly. "Look, I know you don't know me And I don't know you either.. At all. But you do know Piper and she thinks the world of you. So I'm asking for her, not for me...Please don't do this. You can't give her an ultimatum like that."

"You're right," Polly countered harshly, "You don't know me. You also don't know about Piper and Larry. He stood by her through everything; her depression, her music career ..he's the one who convinced her to audition for your band...and then she goes and makes the shitty decision to fall for you. Where does that leave him? Do you think it's OK for them to get married without him knowing? Even if you guys end it, and who knows if or when that'll happen, the fact is you cheated, Piper." She looked over at her friend. "Nothing will change that and Larry deserves the truth."

"And you shouldn't be the one to tell him," She understood where the woman was coming from and she knew that she'd saved Piper's life and for that, she was extremely grateful, but there was where it ended. She was getting sick of the blantant assumptions and Polly's holier than thou attitude. "Piper is the one who should decide how and when. Not you. Not me." The guitarist stood toe to toe with her, rising up to her full 5'9" height. She definitely wasn't someone who ever got violent but she knew how to be intimidating if the situation called for it.

Polly barely blinked. "I'm Larry's friend too. And I won't let him be made an asshole of."

"Oh, so you'll throw Piper under the bus? That sounds ike a pretty shitty fucking friend to me." By now, Alex was seething. Her temper, which she ususally managed to keep tightly in check, was bubbling over the surface, and she wanted nothing more than to wipe the smug expression off of Polly's face.

"It's OK, Alex." The blonde stood, her arms crossed over her chest, her face a mask of emotion. "You don't have to defend me. She's pissed and she's got every right to be. "Hey," she said to Polly, "I know I fucked up. I cheated. I lied. I'm still being dishonest. Not that you believe me, but I never wanted to hurt him. And whether you tell him or I tell him, he's going to get hurt. And I'm so sorry for that," Piper's voice broke. "But I'm not sorry for Alex...for meeting her or for falling for her. I'm not. And I know you can't understand that...but it's the truth."

"Pipe," Her friend softened slightly, "If you're not in love with him anymore, that's one thing. I mean, I don't get it, but I can accept it. I can even accept if you want to be with her," Her disdain was evident and Alex looked away. "But letting him just go on thinking everything is fine..." Pausing, she exhaled, forcing Piper to meet her unrelenting gaze. "What are you going to do? Once you tell him, I mean?"

"I don't know," She admitted, glancing at Alex. "I have to get through telling him first. He'll probably hate me."

"What about you?" Polly asked the other woman. "I mean, you can't be happy being the secret, can you? Or is Piper not the first taken girl you've lured in?"

"That's enough, Polly." Piper's eyes flashed angrily and Alex was momentarily surprised. She had gotten small glimpses of Piper's short fuse (as she had described it to Alex), but never direct anger. A small swell of pride crept into the center of her chest. Unaccustomed to having another person (aside from her mom and Nicky) stand up for her, she felt strangely happy listening to Piper defend her to Polly.

"OK, OK, I know I'm being a bitch...but this is an upsetting situation, Piper, you have to give me that. I'm still in shock here. Alex...I don't know you and I don't know the situation and I need to shut up about it. Piper...please, please tell him. As soon as possible. If you value our friendship at all..."

"I'll tell him after the concert tomorrow night," She blurted. "I promise. I just need us to get through the first show, alright? Right after that, I'll tell him everything, I swear."

"Are you sure?" Alex said lowly near her ear. "Don't let her pressure you into doing something you aren't ready for. I want you to be sure, OK?"

"It's time, Al," Piper took a deep breath, "I need to do this. Please understand."

"You ladies OK out here?" Pete popped his head out the door. "Thought we lost you. We've nearly finished a whole pitcher of sangria," He grinned. "You coming back in? Crisis averted?"

His wife nodded with a tight lipped smile. "Crisis averted. C'mon, Piper...Alex." They wordlessly followed Pete back into the restaurant.

"All good?" Nicky murmured as Alex slid into the seat next to her.

"Not really. I'll fill you in later."

"Here," She pushed a full glass of sangria toward her. "You clearly need this. Drink up."

The bassist didn't have to ask twice. Picking up the glass, Alex downed it in four large gulps, almost missing Larry asking if she was okay, realizing at the last minute, it wss directed toward her.

"Uh, yeah, thanks. I'm fine."

"We were worried about you. Then Piper never came back either so Polly volunteerd to check on you guys." Larry draped his arm across Piper's shoulder. "This one is a good friend, huh? One the like, three million reasons I'm marrying her."

Polly snorted and Pete gave her a strange look. "Sorry, something was in my throat. Um, what do we want to eat?"

Across from her, Alex noticed Poussey grimace before she quickly covered, "Ya'll were takin' too damn long. We went ahead and got a bunch of stuff. It'll be a surprise."

"We all know how much I love fucking suprises," Polly replied dryly, sipping her water.

"You OK, Pol?" Larry asked, "You look a little upset."

"No, no. I'm good. Just a little tired, that's all. Work has been super stressful lately." Polly ran her own handmade soap business and although she had people who worked for her, she always ended up taking a large amount of the orders herself, leaving her exhausted. She had tried to persuade Piper many times to work for her but her friend had had her eye on the prize.

"I keep telling her she needs to take it easy," Pete kissed her forehead. "She works too hard for her own good."

"Oh, Pipe too, right, honey? She's a total workacholic with this music thing." Larry chimed in.

"It's not a "thing", Larry." Annoyance dripped into her voice. "And it's hardly work...it's my everything. And you of all people should know that."

The table grew silent. "That's not-I didn't mean anything-" He stuttered, "God, Piper...you know I didn't mean it like that. Of course it's everything to you. I know how important this is."

If Alex hadn't been directly involved in the whole situation, she might have felt sorry for Larry who seemed to have the uncanny talent of sticking his foot into his mouth one too many times Then again, she had definitely told a person or two to fuck off in her day when they made an asinine comment about music not being a real career.

"I'm sorry," She rubbed her eyes. "I'm just really tired. And cranky. Once we eat, I think we should just head back, if that's OK."

"Sure, honey. Whatever you wanna do."

Their dishes arrived shortly after Alex was immensely grateful for the distraction as she immersed herself in eating empanadas and palmeritos. As long as her mouth was full and her head was down near her plate, she didn't have to answer Larry's inane, dopey questions or meet Polly's judgemental glares or witness Piper sucking the sangria from the orange slices at the bottom of her glass in such a way Alex wanted to leap across the table and rip her clothes off.

Nicky and Poussey both made light conversation but they were obviously just being polite and it was quite clear to Alex there was only one thing to do to salvage the disastrous evening. She finished her dinner, left money for the bill, bid good-bye to Larry and Piper and fucking Polly and her husband and dragged Nicky and P to a bar that served real shit.

She got drunk. Very drunk. She got so drunk that her friends had to support her on both sides to walk out from the bar and haul her ass into a cab back to the hotel.

Alex stumbled into Nicky's room and swan dove onto the bed. "S'bad," she mumbled, her dark hair a inky land mass on the stark white pillows. "So, so bad."

"What's bad, dude?" Gently, the curly haired bassist helped her up into a sitting position and handed her a bottle of water, unscrewing the cap and putting it to her lips. "Drink," she ordered.

"Always so fucking bossy," She did as told and slumped back down. "Everything sucks right now."

"I know," Her friend's voice was sympathetic. "You had to see her strut around with Bloom all fuckin' day with him looking like the cat who ate the canary...that had to be so hard."

"Not to mention dinner," Poussey sat down carefully next to her, placing a cool washcloth over her eyes. "Member when I said it was gonna be awkward as fuck? Yeah, well, it was 700 times more awkward than that."

"Hell yeah it was," Nicky agreed. "Like painfully. And what was up with that chick Polly, man? She kept giving you fuckin' death stares and shit."

"Cuz she knows." Alex managed to reply slurredly. "About Piper and me." She struggled to find a comfortable position but the room was beginning to spin.

"Oh fuck..how'd she find out? Chapman didn't say nothin' to her, did she?" Poussey re -positioned the pillow for her.

"Fucking guessed." The guitarist moaned. "She's gonna tell him."

"Who? Polly is?"

"Piper." Suddenly her stomach twisted painfully and she managed to pull herself out of bed and stumble to the bathroom just in time to throw up.

In an instant, she felt Nicky's hands holding her hair back. "Hey, hey..." She said quietly, "It's OK...you're all good, man. Get it all out."

She vomited again and Poussey rubbed her back comfortingly until her stomach was completely empty. When she finished, they handed her the bottle of water again and somehow helped her into the shower. Fuzzily, she didn't protest as Nick washed her hair and together they got her into sweats and back into bed again.

"Shit, I'm sorry," Her tongue felt like it weighed a hundred pounds and it was difficult to form coherent words through the thickness.

"Shhh, just rest, OK?" Nicky leamed over her. "You don't have to apologize for shit, Al. You know that. How many years have you put up with me now, huh?"

"This fucking sucks.. Like so bad." She half sobbed, turning into the pillow. "I love her so much, Nick."

"I know you do, kiddo. But there's not anything else you can do. Trust me, I get it. But you got me, ya know? And P. We're not going anywhere, understand?" Her friend smoothed an errant strand of hair that had fallen into her eyes, with a gentleness that Alex hadn't seen come out very often in the sixteen years she had known the curly haired bassist, signaling that this was indeed the shittest of situations.

"I'm tired," Alex whispered, closing her eyes. It hurt to think and it hurt to feel and all she wanted to do was wipe the entire evening completely from her memory.

"Sleep. We're here."

True to her word, Nicky was still there the next morning as light filtered through the blinds, making Alex groan at the sudden intrusion.

"Sorry." She rose to shut the offending shades further. "Thought I closed them all the way."

"What time is it?" Alex lifted her head up, only to put it right back down. "Ugh. I feel like shit."

"It's called a hangover, sweetheart," Nicky grinned, sitting down in the chair across from her. "You kinda got completely fucked up last night."

"Uh uh, no way. I don't get hangovers."

"Uh huh. Tell that to yourself when you try to get out of bed." She laughed as Alex did just that and moaned as her equilibrium refused to allow her to even attempt to swing her legs over the side and she slumped back against the pillows. "Anyway, It's almost nine thirty."

"I puked, didn't I?" She put her hand over her eyes. "This could not get any fucking worse."

"Yeah..I don't know about that. You remember telling us that Polly figured out what was going on with you and Chapman? And that Chapman decided to tell Larry?"

"Fuck...goddammit. Well, I was gonna tell you guys anyway."

"What the hell happened?"

"She just guessed and then she basically manipulated Piper into telling Larry by saying if she didn't, then she was going to."

"Shit."

"Yeah, that just about sums it up." Alex sighed. "Piper's going to do it tonight after the show."

"Well, at least you're getting it over with. I mean, she was gonna tell him eventually, right?" Nicky reasoned. "She's just ripping off the band-aid faster."

"I guess. But I still don't know where that leaves us."

"Well, you need to fucking ask her, don't you? Let her fill him in and then ask her where you stand. Obviously, you want to be with her. If she feels the same, problem solved. Stop bein' a fucking pussy and ask."

"I need coffee and a bottle of Motrin before I can even think straight," Alex exhaled painfully, noting how each and every bone and organ in her entire body ached. She was most definitely staying away from booze for a very long time to come.

"P is getting both. Should be back any minute." There was a loud rap on the door and Nicky got up to peer through the peep hole. "Speaking of..."

"Hey," Poussey strode in, setting down the cup holder with three steaming cups of coffee and a white paper bag. "For you," She handed one of the cups to Nicky, "And for you, girl. How you doin' now? You had a rough night."

Alex accepted the black coffee thankfully, pulling herself uptight so that she could drink it. "Thanks. Uh, better. Sorry about the drunkenness...and the puking."

The drummer shrugged. "Nah, man, we all have our ways of copin'. It's all good." She took a bagel out of the bag and handed one to Nicky. "Bagel?" She asked Alex, waving the bag in her direction.

"No thanks," She shuddered. The mere thought of eating made her stomach turn. "Gonna head to my room and shower."

"Here." Nicky tossed her a bottle of ibuprofen. "You'll need this."

"Thanks. Gotta get ready for tonight, right?" She lamented, "Whatever it's about to bring."

"Don't I know it," Nicky said through a mouthful of bagel. "Morello's coming to the show."

"What?"

"Texted me last night," She confirmed. "Said she heard good things about Piper. I think she's fuckin' jealous."

"Wish you'd let me come with you," Poussey said with a slight edge to her voice. "I wouldn't get in the way or nothin'. Just for moral support and shit."

"Dude, I told you, I'll be fine." Nicky was nonchalant but she put her hand on the other woman's shoulder, looking into her eyes, the gesture speaking more than her words. It was such a private moment, Alex almost wanted to glance away as if not to intrude. "It's just something I gotta do on my own."

"Well, we can't let anything distract us. Got a big show tonight, another radio interview tomorrow and then the second concert." Alex rubbed her eyes and reached for her glasses on the nightstand. "I'm heading up," She got herself out of bed slowly. "Thanks for everything, guys, seriously. I know I was a real asshole last night-"

"Enough," Nicky waved her away. "You're being dumb. We love you, you moron. Don't you know that by now? Go."

"Love you both too."

"Hey, wait...I'm throwing away your nasty clothes. Do you still love me now?" Nicky called as she was opening the door and had one foot in the hall way.

"Bye," She said pointedly, more for her own benefit and chuckled a little as she headed into the elevator. Glancing down at her phone, she saw Piper had texted hours before.

I'm so sorry for the shit show tonight. I'm sorry for all of it. This sucks. I never wanted to hurt anybody and now, either way, I'm hurting someone.

Stepping out of the elevator and onto her floor, she read a second text. We'll be there early tonight. Having dinner down the street. Told Larry I needed to go over some things with you. Will you meet me backstage at 4:30? I need to see you. Not being able to hold you is killing me.

Alex opened the door to her room, her heart thudding uuncontrollably as she texted back. Yes. I'll be there. And I miss you too, kid. Too much.

She managed to busy herself for the rest of the afternoon by shopping with Poussey and Nicky, going to the art museum and having a peaceful solo lunch in Boston Common. She was ususally too ansty to sight see much on tour (though they had been to amazing places), but she figured she could use any distraction possible to keep her mind off what was to come afterward. Not only was the notion of Piper telling Larry the truth enough to make her want to jump out of her skin, the fact Lorna was coming to the show was making her anxious.

Finally she was able to jump on the T and head over to The Blue Hills Pavilion where they were playing. She waved hello to the doorman and walked into the dressing room.

Piper sat on a small sofa, strumming her guitar, eyes closed, playing the opening chords of "You and Me," one of Alex's favorites but one they rarely performed live.

"We're not singing that tonight," She teased and instantly Piper's eyes flew open and putting down the guitar, she practically jumped into Alex's arms.

"God, it feels good to hug you again," Piper murmured into her hair, breathing her in." You still smell the same too."

"It hasn't been that long, Pipes. I saw you last night."

"Not the same," She squeezed her close, "I didn't get to touch you. Big difference."

"C'mere," Breaking away, Alex took her hand and led her to sit back on the couch. "You OK? I mean, relatively speaking. You look tired."

Piper appeared far from put together and Alex's heart lurched at the sight of her. Her hair was tossed into a messy ponytail and she wore a long sleeved Smith t-shirt and Addias shorts. Her face was pale and dark circles lined her eyes. She assumed she hadn't gone out to dinner after all.

"I haven't been sleeping well," She admitted, curling into Alex's side. "I keep having to make excuses for not having sex with him. I know, I know. I'm cheating on him with you and I feel weird cheating on you with him. It's all sorts of fucked up. But I think sleeping together would just make things even more complicated than they already are."

"If you had, I would've understood," Alex said quietly. "I wouldn't have liked it, but I would've understood. You guys still have a connection. It's not like it just goes away."

"He saw the tattoo the other day. Asked me what it meant. I said it was just the way my life was going...the possibilities seem infintite."

"Nice answer," The guitarist smiled. "What'd he say?"

"At first he seemed a little surprised but then he told me he figured I'd end with one eventually being in a band. He said he liked yours."

"Oh yeah?," Her eyes gleamed. "And what did you say to that?"

She lay a kiss on Alex's rose. "I said, "Me too "

"Piper," Alex lifted her chin, stroking her cheekbone gingerly, "Not waking up with you these past two morings, It's killing me too."

"I'm scared."

Her voice wavered and Alex nodded. "I know. Look, you don't have to do this tonight. You can wait until after the last show. It might be easier."

"No, I do. The longer I wait, the worse it's gonna be. I owe him that at least. I owe you that. What happens next, I don't know." She played with her engagement ring, spinning it around her finger, once, then twice, then twice again. "And I really want it to come from me, you know?"

"Do you think she really would've told him?" It fucking angered her to think that someone who called themselves Piper's best friend could go behind her back, or at least threaten her with the possibility.

The blonde shrugged. "I don't know. Polly's great, she really is, and she's done so much for me, but when she's pissed, she's pissed and-this isn't something she'll get over anytime soon."

"Neither will Larry."

They sat in silence. "This is going to be a long night," Piper said finally, touching Alex's fingertips to hers. "Larry's grabbing me a salad but I'm not even hungry. I feel like I have fucking rocks in my stomach.

"All we can do is go out there and play. Put it all out there, OK?" She caressed Piper's cheek. "Everything else...we'll worry about later." Searching Piper's eyes with her own, Alex took her face in her hands again. "Trust me?"

The singer's expression softened with her words and she practically melted with relief. "I trust you." And with that, she craned up to kiss the other woman sweetly, a kiss filled with promise, not lacking their usual fire, but more controlled, both knowing they needed to keep their emotions in check.

"Come on," Alex said , pulling her from the sofa, when they finally broke away, "Let's go out there and get used to the space. I know you've seen shows here but I haven't, so let's check it out before Larry comes back."

They headed out the open door and ran almost smack into Larry in the hall, who was carrying a brown paper bag, his face pale and drawn.

"Hey," She said to him, concern etched in her features. "You OK?"

"Uh yeah," He said, not quite meeting her eyes. "Fine. I uh, brought your salad. No tomatoes, extra cucumbers and fat free ranch on the side." He handed it to her.

"Thanks. Alex and I were about to practice a little. Why don't you come with us and tell us how we sound?"

"Sorry...suddenly, I don't feel that great. I'll see you after the show, OK?" He pecked her cheek quickly and headed toward the stage door.

"Well, that was weird." Piper watched him walk away. "Wasn't just me, right?"

"You don't think Polly said something..."

Piper shook her head. "Not without mentioning it to me first. She knows I'm tellling him tonight. No, it's something else. I'll find out later, I guess."

"Pipes...depending on what it is do you think it'll be a good idea to say something about us? What if he got bad news or something?"

"He would've told me. I still have to tell him the truth, Alex. No matter what the problem is. I can't keep making excuses."

"OK," She squuezed her shoulder. "Good. Let's do this then."

They managed to go over some things before the others arrived for sound check and Alex fell a little in love with the outdoor concert venue with the covered roof. It was absolutely beautiful and she let that feeling settle into the pocket where her nerves were as the cool early evening air filled her lungs. It fortified her enough to sneak a few deep breaths before returning to the dressing room to get ready.

"You good?" She briefly checked in with Nicky as they put on make-up. Sound check had gone smoothly but the general atmosphere in the room was tense. The show was being reviewed by the music reviewer from The Globe so Red was up in arms, Piper was questioning Larry's odd behavior (he still hadn't come back) and Nicky and Poussey were keenly aware Morello would be in the audience.

"I'm hanging in...you?"

Alex put down her eyeliner. "Trying to focus. Larry's acting weird, even for him, and it's making Piper nervous."

"She's still gonna tell him after, rignt?"

"Keep your voice down, man. Yes. She was pretty adamant about it, actually. Anyway, we can't worry about any of that now...we have a show to do. This crowd is big."

"Good. Means unless she's sitting in the front row, I won't be able to see her." Nicky frowned into the make-up mirror. "What kinda sick fuck invented eyelash curlers, huh? Shit is torture."

Once they were dressed and ten minutes away from show time, Piper touched Alex's shoulder. "Nick doing OK?", she asked, careful to keep her voice low.

"She's anxious as hell. Morello asked her to put her name on the backstage list so Nick will come bring her here after we're done."

"Oh great...more to worry about. Especially since I don't expect her to think very highly of me, being her replacement and all."

"Please, you have nothing to worry about, Piper," Alex laughed. "She's not even in the same league as you. She's good...but you're something special. And I'm saying this completely objectively."

"I don't know about all that, but thank you." Kissing her cheek, the other woman gave her a brief, tight hug. "Have a good show, OK?"

"You too, Pipes. And remember what I said, OK? Don't think about anything else out there. Give it everything you've got."

"I will," She vowed, giving her finges a gentle squeeze, before disappearing into the hall.

"Let's do this," Alex muttered to herself as her bandmates followed behind her.

In spite of being on edge, they had never sounded better. Alex guessed it was because every one of them chose to immerse themselves completely in the music and the crowd was loving it.

Piper's voice always blew her away, no matter how many times she opened her mouth, but that night, there was almost an ereathral quality to it. The audience adored her and they were cheering before she had even begun the next song. Every so often, she would catch Alex's eye and smile, and the guitarist's heart would leap. Alex loved her off of stage, of course, but listening to the woman she adored sing a song she'd written, focused and passionate, made her fall that much deeper.

Two hours went by in a blur and they were done, leaving the stage to thunderous applause, sweaty and exhausted but jubilant, exchanging high fives and compliments while heading to the dressing room where they began to change.

"Geat show," A heavily accented voice rang out. A petite brunette stood in the center of the room, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Christ, Morello," You scared the ever loving shit out of me." Nicky must have junped a mile at the unexpected intrusion. "What the hell are you doing here? I thought you were gonna wait at the stagedoor till I got you in."

"Good to see you too, Nicky," She laughed awkwardly. "I spoke to the doornan and showed him my pass...convinced him to let me wait in here."

"Huh. Not much has changed, I see." The bassist made no move to come closer to her and Alex was glad for small favors.

"I could say the same for you," She eyed her appreciativly, "Ya look good."

"You look the same. How's Jeffrey?" Nicky zoned in on her ring finger. "Nice rock."

" It's Jonathan actually, but he's great. We're tyin' the knot in ten days!" She flittered her small hands nervously. "Still so much to do...Oh, God, I'm bein' so rude." Lorna looked to the other band members. "Alex, Poussey, how are you girls doin'?" Before they could answer, she turned to Piper. "Hi, I'm Lorna. The original singer. Ya sounded great out there."

"Uh, thanks," Piper replied, removing her eyeliner with a make-up wipe. "You're a tough act to follow."

"Ah, you're too sweet!" She put a hand on her shoulder. "I don't sing much these days. Jonathan doesn't want me working once we're married..I'm gonna stay home and keep up the house. And we're gonna try for a baby right away."

"Oh, how very 1950's of him," Nicky rolled her eyes and Poussey, who had been too busy stewing in her anger at the make-up mirror to say anything, let out a snort.

"Anyway, I thought we could go for a nice little drink and catch up, what do ya say? It's been awhile, huh? Lorna said to Nicky, shooting the drummer a dirty look.

"Two and a half months, but who's counting?

"We certainly have alot to discuss. Shall we?"

"Wait," Nicky put up her hand, "I'm not going anywhere with you alone."

" My God, Nicky..I can see you're still as dramatic as ever. What," The tiny woman said, "Don't you trust me?"

The bassist looked her squarely in the eye. "No. I don't. P is coming. Wherever we go, isn't that right, P?"

Poussey's expression quickly morphed from disgust and rage into one of suprise before she gathered herself. "Damn straight I am."

Lorna sighed deeply. "Really?" There hadn't been much love lost between them in the first place and Poussey's dislike of the former singer hung in the air.

"Poussey comes with me or I don't go," Nicky was resolute.

"Fine. There's a place next door. Alex, it was nice seeing you again, Piper, amazing show, again. See you all soon, I hope." The three of them headed out of the room.

"Well, fuck," Alex collapsed onto the sofa. "That was..."

"Awkward?" Piper supplied.

"To say the least. Thank God she changed her mind about bringing Poussey. Nick can hold her own, obviously, but that woman is a snake. Don't let her sweetness fool you...she is fucking calculated."

"I hope Nicky can get what she needs from meeting with her," Piper put her hair into a loose ponytail. "OK...this isn't entirely on topic here, but where is Larry? I haven't seen or heard from him in hours. I don't even know if he was at the show at all." She picked up her phone. "I'm gonna try calling."

"Good idea."

No sooner had she picked up the phone, Larry walked into the room and Piper jumped up from her seat to fling her arms around his neck.

"Oh, thank God. You had me worried." She said, relieved. "Wait," Her nose wrinkled, "Have you been drinking?"

He laughed but it was a hallow one. "Next door. I didnt really know what else to do."

"OK, now you're scaring me. What's going on?"

"Do you really need me to spell it out for you, Pipe?"

"I'm just gonna head back," Alex waved, picking up her bag. "Piper, see you tomorrow for the radio interview...Larry, I'll see you-"

"No." He said, the manner in which he spoke, making Alex's blood run cold. "Stay."

"Uh...okay." She sat back down on the sofa. "What's up?"

"You tell me. How long have you been preying on my fiance, huh?"

"What?"

"Larry, what the fuck...what are you talking about?"

"Don't try to fucking deny it, either." His eyes bore into Piper's, ignoring the fact Alex was even in the room, that he had asked her to stay. "I saw you."

"What? When?" All the color drained from Piper's face and she slumped in her chair.

"When I was going to drop off your salad. The door was open. I saw you there," He pointed to the couch, "Kissing."

"Oh, Larry.." Piper whispered, her arm poised to touch him, but he shook his head.

"Tell me it was a one time thing. That there's absolutely nothing more to what I just saw. Tell me, Piper," Larry demanded, clenching his jaw. "Because that I could maybe understand..."

For a minute, no one spoke. "I wish I could." Piper's eyes were bright with tears.

"Fuck, Piper." He let his own tears fall. "Fuck..."

"I'm so sorry. I never intended..." The blonde wiped her face with the back of her hand. "I didn't plan on any of this."

Larry searched her eyes, his expression darkening instantly as he saw in their depths, wordless explanations and startled, he took a step back.

"You love her."

It was not a question and Alex, who was frozen to the spot, watched as Piper nodded, unable to speak.

"How the hell could you do this to me-to us? God, Piper, who are you? I feel like I don't even know you anymore."

"I know, I know..please, Larry...can we just go home? Can we go home and talk there? I know how upset you must be."

"Upset doesn't even begin to cover it, Piper." His tears had ceased and in their place was an anger that shook Alex to her very core. "I need to leave. Right now." Turning without another word, he strode out of the room.

"I'm so fucking sorry," The blonde managed to tell Alex, choking back a sob, before she ran after him.

And just like that, Alex was completely and totally alone.