You might need tissues, I'm not sure. Enjoy.

Family Emergency

Alex sat in Kubra's extravagant penthouse apartment with the perfect view of the Eifel Tower, waiting for the boss himself to wrap up his phone call. This was the moment the raven haired woman had been mustering up the confidence for, for months. She wanted out. She wanted her wife back. But ultimately she wanted her family happily together again. Alex started to get where she couldn't deal with only seeing her son less than three times a month. On top of that, Alex rarely slept more six hours a night and found herself looking at the countless pictures and videos of what used to be her perfect little family. More importantly, only seeing Parker a limited amount of times meant there was less of a chance to try and begin a reconciliation process with Piper. If Piper even wanted that.

Alex was spinning her wedding band around and around on her finger, a nervous habit she had formed, when Kubra entered the living room.

"Alex!" The man greeted in his heavy accent with his arms stretched out beside him.

Alex nervously grinned up at the man.

Kubra leaned down to kiss both of Alex's cheeks before he sat down in the oversized chair directly across from her.

"How can I help you? Do you need more money or mules? I have no problem arranging something for you."

"Uh, no actually. Everything's great from that aspect."

Kubra nodded eagerly.

Alex could feel the bile rising in her throat from how nervous she was about telling the man she wanted out. This man could have her killed or make her life a living hell in an instant, but she was willing to risk her life to get her family whom she loved more than anyone else, back in her life. At least she would die knowing she did everything she could.

The once arrogant woman now felt like the smallest person in the world under the gaze of this man. She couldn't bring herself to tell this man that she desperately wanted to leave the cartel to attempt repair her broken family.

As Alex went to open her mouth, a vibrating sensation ran up her thigh. Realizing it was her phone ringing, Alex pulled out her phone and noticed that it was Piper. Piper never called unless it was the nightly Facetime with Parker. Noting that it wasn't time for the video call, Alex opted to take the phone call.

"I have to take this."

Kubra nodded his head once as Alex stepped out into the hall.

"Hello?"

"Alex, I'm sorry if I interrupted anything." Piper paused. "But it's Parker."

"What's going on? Is he okay?"

Alex's heart began to beat a little faster.

"Piper. Tell me what's going on."

Alex started fumbling around for her phone wanting to call a cab back to her hotel room but quickly remembered she was currently using it.

"I'm sitting in the ER with our son."

"Our", Piper hadn't used the word "our" in any conversation they had engaged in, in over ten months. It brought a small hint of joy to Alex's heart but it quickly dissipated as she comprehended what Piper had said.

"What? Why?"

Alex started to pace up and down the hallway that was adorned with pictures of Kubra's travels over the years. At the end of the hallway on a table, proudly on display for everyone who walked in the apartment, was a picture of herself, Kubra, Farhi, and Aydin at the last business party they had a year ago. They had just expanded the business to ten more countries and received healthy bonuses. Life was good. Alex thought her life was perfect. She had the perfect wife, the most adorable son, and a great job. Two weeks later was when Piper dropped the bomb.

"The antibiotics he's on for his strep throat had a negative reaction…"

Alex could practically hear Piper's tough, motherly façade fading.

"Can you come home please?" Piper began to cry. "They want to do surgery to remove his tonsils sometime tonight because they think they're blocking his airway."

Piper sniffled.

"He doesn't deserve this…He's so small, Al…"

Alex's heart felt like it dropped to the floor hearing the news of her son and hearing Piper cry. She didn't even register that her ex-wife had used her nickname for her.

"I'll be on the first flight out."

"And Piper." Alex continued. "It's gonna be okay."

Alex quickly left Kubra's apartment but not after filling him in on what was happening. Surprisingly, he insisted that Alex go be with her son. She wasn't sure if he was being nice because the cartel was booming or he was developing a soft side for her since he had seen how detrimental the past year had been on her. Alex was hoping it was the latter so telling him she wanted out would go a little more smoothly, but she had her doubts.

Making a mental note that the next time she was in Kubra's presence, she would address the conflict, but now her mind was set on getting to Parker and Piper.

Luckily, Alex was able to get a flight out an hour after she left Kubra's apartment. The flight back to New York felt just as it had when she was trying to make it home for Parker's arrival into the world, agonizingly long. She couldn't even eat the shitty airplane food because she was sick to her stomach thinking about the pain Parker must be in and how scared Piper must be. The airplane had to circle around the JFK airport for thirty minutes due to too many planes on the runway and this was enough for Alex to jump off the plane if it meant getting to her family faster.

Once the airplane had landed and she turned on her phone, she was greeted with three text messages from Piper.

From Piper: They're taking him back in an hour.

From Piper: Thirty minutes until they take him back..

From Piper: Please make it here…

Noting that Piper had sent the last two texts consecutively five minutes ago, Alex sprinted to find a cab.

It had all happened in an instant.

The moment Piper had arrived back at Popi with Polly after lunch, the daycare had called her saying that Parker was having trouble breathing and they were calling an ambulance.

Piper's mind went into overdrive. One moment she was running down the hall yelling at Polly that she had to go. She didn't even remember driving to the hospital to meet the ambulance, it all happened so fast.

Just that morning she had seen Parker, he was all smiles and giggles. He had seemed to be feeling much better than he had on Sunday. The small boy had even taken his medicine on the first try. Piper didn't have to bribe him.

On the way to daycare that morning he had been quiet and content as he watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the built in DVD player. Grinning wide as Piper would turn around and smile at him or reach back and jiggle his foot. There weren't even any tears as Piper kissed him goodbye. She watched him toddle to the blocks and begin to build with one of his classmates.

He seemed perfectly fine.

Parker was a mess screaming for his mommy and gasping for air when Piper got to the Emergency Room. Seeing her little boy so scared was terrifying but she willed herself to keep it together for him. After the nurses had successfully inserted his IV and confirmed he couldn't pull it out again, she was finally left alone with her boy. His sobs and cries had turned into little whimpers as she laid on the tiny stretcher stroking his face and holding him close.

Once the doctor had come in to confirm what he had suspected, Parker was wheeled to the Pediatric ward to be observed and would stay there until further notice. Nothing broke Piper's heart more than seeing how helpless and small Parker looked in that hospital bed.

How could a small antibiotic cause such a dramatic reaction?

Piper was dozing off to a restless sleep when the doctor came through to check on Parker before he clocked out for the night. He informed Piper that Parker was to have his tonsils taken out later that night to further help his breathing and so that it would hopefully reduce the amount of times Parker was sick per year. This information hit Piper like a bus. She automatically felt guilty even though freak things like this happen to children all the time. After discussing who would take out Parkers tonsils, Piper realized she couldn't do this on her own and needed to have Alex here. Piper decided that Parker would have his tonsils out later that night since the doctor was confident that he would be perfectly fine until then.

Her mind started to race as she began to scroll through her contacts until she fell on Alex's. Piper was hesitant in calling her because she knew how crazy the schedule could be for the cartel but quickly decided this was more important than drugs or drug money. This was her son.

Piper felt a wave of relief wash over her when Alex answered the phone. Quickly checking to make sure he son was still sleeping, Piper slipped out into the hall and cracked the door open just enough to where she could still see Parker.

Just as she suspected, Alex freaked out and this made Piper finally break down into the pile of mush she had been putting off for hours. She felt she had put Alex through so much already this year but she needed her right now. She couldn't deal with the situation her son was in by herself. Hearing Alex's voice was calming enough but Piper wouldn't be completely at ease until Alex was standing beside her in this hospital.

After getting off the phone with Alex, Piper dried her eyes with her sleeve and walked back into her son's room and resumed her position next to the bed clutching his tiny hand.

The hours in between when Piper had called Alex and the time the nurses came in to notify Piper that the doctor had arrived and would be ready to begin the operation in an hour, seemed to fly by. Piper looked at her phone and remembered she had called Alex a little under seven hours ago. Feeling her anxiety begin to build in her chest, she texted Alex the update on when Parker would go in and hoped to God she saw it when she got off the plane. Knowing her she would sprint through the airport to a cab and never look at her phone.

When the anesthesiologist came into have Piper fill out forms and educate her on what kind of anesthesia Parker would be given, she started to panic because she still hadn't seen or heard from Alex. After the anesthesiologist had left, Piper shot Alex another text and another one soon after that.

Piper's leg must have bounced up and down a million times as the time ticked down to when Parker went back to have his operation done. The blonde woman knew she was overreacting to such a simple surgery that would take less than half an hour, but the day as a whole obliterated her nerves.

There was no sign of Alex as the nurses came in to wheel Parker out. Piper began to gather the confidence to send her son off without any tears. If she could just hold on for five more minutes, she could go to restroom and cry it out.

As Piper stood up from kissing Parker's cheek she could faintly hear that husky voice down at the nurses station demanding to know where her son was. All it took was a glance down the hall to see Alex turn her head to scan the names on the rooms nearest to her. The pair automatically made eye contact. Alex was in a full on sprint before she stopped at Parker's side and quickly bent down to kiss him and tell him both of his mom's would be there when he woke up. Alex could see the tears welling up in his eyes. He didn't understand what was going on and Alex wished she could take his place.

Meanwhile, Piper stood on the other side of Parker staring at her ex-wife, mesmerized that she was there.

The moment the operating room door closed, Parker began to scream and it took all of Alex's strength to keep Piper from bursting through the door. Not a minute later Parker's screams had completely ceased. Piper was in a full on breakdown as she slumped into Alex and buried her head in to her shoulder. Alex was already counting down the minutes of this surgery so maybe Piper would ease up some.

The tall woman was whispering comfortingly into Piper's ear that everything would be okay as she held her as tight against her body as she could. Alex wasn't even thinking much of the hug, all she cared about was comforting Piper and being there for her. Alex knew that Piper held everything in and once she reached her breaking point, it all came out at once. There was another time and place for being happy that they hugged for the first time in ten months. Piper's cries were on the verge of violent. Alex could feel her gasping for air as she rubbed her back.

Piper was the one who broke the hug, but quickly grasped Alex's hand and led her to the waiting room. Never once did Piper let go of Alex's hand. Not even after the doctor had come out of the operating room to say that Parker did fantastic and that they could see him in thirty to forty five minutes.

Piper simply looked down at their intertwined fingers and up at Alex who was staring blankly at the wall in front of her and laid her head down on the raven haired woman's shoulder as a silent thank you.

Parker did alright through the night. Alex made many trips to the nurse's station requesting more ice cream. She had even gotten Parker to smile a time or two when he wasn't dozing from the anesthesia that hadn't worn off or pain medicine. Piper's mood had enhanced greatly after she was able to see her baby and cradle him in her arms.

Alex had opted to sleep on the hard, plastic couch so Piper could be close to her son. Alex knew she and Piper weren't going to sleep but she wasn't going to leave their side.

Sometime in the middle of the night after Parker had fallen asleep, Alex had whispered breaking Piper away from the mindless scrolling she was doing on her social media.

"Do you need anything? I'm going to get some coffee from the lounge."

"I'll take some coffee, please. Thanks."

Alex nodded and quietly left the room.

Piper sat down her phone on the rolling table and gently kissed Parker's forehead. She began to think about what she would have done if Alex wouldn't have been able to make it. Piper couldn't have done it alone.

Maybe what Polly said was true, Alex was trying to suck up, but Piper felt like this was something different. Something good.

"Here you go."

Alex's voice broke Piper from her thoughts.

Piper thanked her and watched Alex as she sat back down on the couch, pushed her glasses to the top of her head, and leaned her head back into the wall shutting her eyes.

The next morning when the doctor came by, he informed the pair that Parker was doing extremely well and would most likely be able to go home later that night but recommend that they stay close to the hospital for twenty fours hours if possible in case Parker had another reaction to something.

Piper started to search her brain for who she knew that lived near the hospital but Alex quickly responded.

"I live a few blocks from here on the Upper West Side."

Piper's eyes went wide as she looked at Alex. Alex shot her a look knowing all too well what she was thinking.

"That's perfect. I don't suspect anything is going to cause a reaction after running the tests we did, but it's better to be safe than sorry."

The doctor smiled and left the room.

"You don't need to be doing all of this by yourself. Let me help you. He's my son too."

"You were just on a plane for eight hours and you haven't even slept, Alex."

"Piper, please let me help you." Alex's face was drained and it was clear she didn't want to go around and around.

Piper opened her mouth to argue the statement but quickly realized that she also hadn't slept in thirty six hours, and desperately wanted a pair of extra hands. Sure this was probably going to be an awkward situation, but Piper reminded herself that it was only for twenty four hours and then she could take Parker home for a few days and if he was feeling okay, Alex could have him for a few days.

Piper simply nodded and slipped into the restroom.

Alex stroked Parker's hair as he looked up at her and placed his hand on her cheek. The brunette bent down to kiss his nose and then his forehead.

"I'm trying, buddy." Alex whispered.

A/N: I'm sorry if any of the medical part of this is incorrect. I'm not a medical student but I can assure you that a tonsillectomy is normal for young children. It's actually better to get them out when you're younger than when you are in your teens or older. Fun Fact.

Happy-ish Vauseman to come in the next chapter. That'll give you something to look forward to.

You guys give me the motivation to keep writing with all the wonderful reviews and PM's so thank you very much for that.

I'd love to hear your thoughts.