Thanks for all the reviews, follows, and favorites. I never expected this story to be so intriguing.

Specks of Hope

The drive to Alex's apartment was quiet and awkward to say the very least. Alex had opted to drive simply because she knew how to get to her apartment and she could tell by one look at Piper's face that she was exhausted and on the brink of losing her sanity. Piper's hands were fidgeting and Alex so desperately wanted to reach across the center console and grab it like she used to, but not knowing where Piper stood after her breakdown outside the operating room and never letting go of her hand in the waiting room, she refrained.

Alex glanced into the rear view mirror to check on their son. He was slumped to the side of his car seat looking so tired and helpless clutching his stuffed puppy that Alex had gotten him from the gift store that morning. The only thing that Alex wished for in that moment was to take away the pain Parker was in and put back the smile that was almost always on his face.

When they stopped at a stoplight Alex reached back to rub a hand up and down Parker's leg.

"Are you okay buddy? We're almost home."

Parker just looked at Alex with those puppy dog eyes that he surely inherited from Piper and slightly shook his head up and down.

Alex returned her attention back to the front and glanced over at Piper. She had been quiet the whole ride home, turning around every time she heard Parker move. The past twenty four hours had drained her emotionally and physically, and Alex knew that.

"What about you? Are you okay?"

Piper turned her head to look at Alex and smiled the smallest smile.

"Just tired."

Alex nodded as she pulled into the underground garage of her apartment.

"Me too."

The entire elevator ride up to Alex's apartment, Piper felt like she was going to be sick. This unsettling feeling of being in her ex-wife's apartment with their child, together, just felt so different. She hadn't shared anything with Alex in months. It was like she was going to have to relearn how to live with someone all over again. Yes, she was ecstatic that Alex had made it to the hospital and she was willing to help out with Parker, but there was something missing.

Billions of questions were swirling around Piper's head about how the next twenty four hours would go. Would she and Alex end up in a screaming match? Would Alex stay quiet and leave them be until Piper needed a break? Would they have an adult conversation that was about something other than Parker?

With Parker on her hip, Alex unlocked her door and moved aside to let Piper in first. The first thing Piper noticed was how homely it felt. Just being in the apartment lifted Piper's spirits a little higher.

Parker's toys were strung about the living room just like they were at the house. Alex had pictures of the three of them scattered about the living room and the hallway from what she could see. The sound of Alex's husky voice drew Piper from her observations.

"I'm gonna go lay him down in his room and I'll be back so we can sort out how this is gonna work. Okay?"

Piper leaned in to kiss Parker's temple and watched Alex carry their boy down the long hallway and disappear into his room. As she continued to look around the room, her eyes fell on a picture of just her and Alex. In the picture Piper's hair was much longer than it was now, and Alex still had the blue streaks in her. They were standing on the beach of Cambodia. The pair was standing with their fronts tightly pressed together and Piper was smiling into the camera as Alex planted a kiss on Piper's cheek. It was the very first time Alex had taken Piper on one of her business trips and Piper was on an adrenaline rush from how culturally beautiful Cambodia was. The picture was slightly hidden between two larger ones but the fact that Alex still had a picture of them up without Parker in it, spoke volumes.

Slowly Piper was beginning to piece the puzzle together but she knew that Alex held the piece that would complete it; leaving the cartel.

"I've always liked that picture for the sunset and the waves behind us."

Piper was caught. She hadn't even heard Alex come up behind her. The blonde woman didn't know if it was from how delirious she felt from the lack of sleep or the past twenty four hours as a whole, but what came out of her mouth surprised herself.

"You don't have to lie, Al. I've always liked that picture too. It's when we were happiest."

Alex's eyes went wide but a slight smirk formed as she could see the back of Piper's ears going red at her admission. She didn't even need Piper to turn around to know the exact shade of red her face was. Deciding to keep the banter at a minimum, Alex noted to add that to her list of breakthroughs with Piper.

"Okay, so I kind of didn't think this whole sleeping situation through."

Piper slowly turned around, hoping the blushing was now unnoticeable.

"Okay?"

"Parker has his room and I have my room. What's supposed to be the guest room is my office." Alex exhaled slowly as everything in her mind came tumbling down, finally realizing how awkward this was going to be. "I can sleep on the couch and you can take my room, or."

Piper cut Alex off.

"I'll just sleep on the couch, it's only for one night. I'll be fine."

"Piper, you haven't slept and you look exhausted. I know you're thinking this is awkward because we're divorced and all, but please take my bed."

There it was, Alex had said that word. Piper was indeed feeling the awkwardness of the situation but she knew if she even laid a finger on Alex's bed, her resolve would disintegrate that much more than it already was.

"You don't deserve to sleep on a couch after dealing with all of this."

"Alex, you've been on a plane more this week than you've been on level ground, I'm sure you want your own bed. I'll be okay."

Alex took a step closer to the shorter blonde woman. The way the moonlight from the balcony was reflecting off of Alex's face proved to Piper that Alex was just as exhausted as she was, and maybe even a little more.

"Please just take the bed. I'm probably not going to sleep anyways because I'm afraid he's gonna wake up in pain."

When Alex was home those three weeks after Parker was born, Piper was sure she slept an hour a night because every little move or noise Parker made, Alex rushed to make sure he was okay. This was convincing enough for Piper but she knew sleeping in Alex's bed would spark something she wasn't sure she was ready for.

Piper could find no feasible way around the situation so she finally gave in. She figured that if she could sleep for a few hours, then she could tell Alex to take a break and things would be well on their way. Pleased, Alex escorted her down the hallway into her bedroom and showed her where the towels were in the master bathroom if she wanted to shower. After a quick grab of the elbow and a simple goodnight from Alex as went to exit the room, Piper was left alone.

After a quick shower and checking on Parker, the blonde woman walked down the hallway and heard Alex quietly talking on the phone in her office. Figuring that it was a business call, Piper swiftly turned around to go back to Alex's bedroom but stopped dead in her tracks when she heard those three words come from her ex-wife's mouth, "I want out." Stepping a little bit further towards the door, Piper could see inside the room through the small gap from the door and the frame. Alex was sitting with her back to the door hovering over laptop. Her hair was up in a messy bun and her glasses were perched atop her head. Piper tried to listen carefully but all she could make out was the word family being used in practically every sentence.

The blonde woman knew Alex was trying, she wouldn't have made the effort to come back in time for Parker's surgery if she wasn't. From one aspect, Piper regretted putting Alex through the past ten months, but it was the only way Piper could think of to get the point across that Alex had to pick, the cartel or her family. Piper could have easily just taken Parker and left for a little while but that wasn't drastic enough to get the point through Alex's stubborn head. Alex had thought everything was perfect but Piper had blindsided Alex with the divorce. She tried for months to save her marriage from crumbling, but she'd had enough. She was seeing the gardener more than her wife but at the time, Alex didn't see the irony in that. Alex thought that if the gardener was there a lot, it meant that her house looked the best on the block.

Feeling hopeful, Piper walked back down the hall and gently shut Alex's bedroom door. Swallowing her pride, Piper walked around the side of the bed, glanced at the photo on Alex's bed side table, and climbed in. As soon as her head hit the pillow her senses were filled with Alex. It was like her senses were dead but brought back to life with one simple inhale. Piper buried her head in the pillows taking in the scent of Alex, one she had missed for ten months. Before she knew it, she was sleeping peacefully.

After making sure that Piper got settled in, Alex had one motive; Call Kubra. Yes, calling him was the easy way out instead of meeting him face to face, but the past twenty four hours had made her realize how much more her family was worth than the cartel. If she had to spend the next two years scrubbing his toilets, she would if it meant that her family was together and happy.

Realizing it was almost midnight, Alex knew that it would be morning in Paris so she checked on Parker one more time before going into her office to make the call. Her little boy hadn't moved from the position she laid him in when they got home, that's how tired he was. She could see his little chest slowly moving up and down as he slept. Bending down over the rails of the crib, Alex gently pressed her lips to his cheek and whispered that she loved him. Quietly shutting the door, Alex walked the few feet to her bedroom door and pressed her ear against it. Hearing the sound of the water running from the shower, Alex walked down the hall to her office.

Cracking the door enough to where she could hear if Parker cried out, Alex sat down at her desk and pulled up Kubra's contact in her phone. The raven haired woman had never been so nervous in her life. She hadn't even been this nervous when she and Piper got married. Not wanting to drag this out any longer, Alex took a looked at the photo of Parker she kept on her desk, took a deep breath and pressed the call icon.

It rang three times before Kubra finally picked up.

"Alex! How's your son? I was just thinking of calling you when it wasn't so late in New York."

Alex was surprised that Kubra even remembered why she had left so abruptly. Many times he would feign sympathy but then grow angry that his employees weren't making him money.

"He's doing alright…Just tired, I think."

"Good, good." Kubra paused for a moment. "Listen, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about."

The brunette began pulling up emails with drop off and pick up times along with the locations, worried she had fucked something up.

"Okay?"

Her eyes quickly scanned over the emails but found nothing. She had met all the deadlines for everything.

"I know this past year has been tough on you. You tell me constantly that you're okay, but I see it differently. You're not happy, and you haven't been for a while now."

Alex sighed into the phone, "No, I haven't been happy. I barely see my son and if there's even a chance at reconciliation with Piper, I have no time to devote to it."

"Tell me how you really feel, Alex." Kubra said in his thick accent.

Alex was thoroughly surprised that Kubra hadn't raised his voice and was letting Alex tell him her feelings. More often than not, Kubra had barely any sympathy. He wouldn't hesitate to take out someone who looked at him with an odd face. Perhaps he was being sympathetic because she had been loyal to him and always got what needed to be done, done.

With a lump in her throat, Alex whispered, "I want out, Kubra. I have been nothing but loyal to you and this business for the past fifteen years. I miss my family."

Alex held the phone away from her ear because she thought she heard a floorboard creak in the hall, but quickly dismissed it.

With a small sigh, Kubra replied, "Come back to my apartment next week, and we'll talk. For now, take care of your boy, and be nice to his mother. It'd be ashamed if she took him away."

Cringing at the sub meaning of Kubra's last sentence Alex quickly told him she would be there and hung up. She laid her head down in the crook of her arm on her desk and stayed that way until the wave of nausea left and her heart beat returned to normal.

After several minutes, Parker's cries could be heard and Alex stood up still feeling sick, but briskly walked to the toddler's room. When she opened his door, she found Parker standing up in his crib holding onto the railing as he cried for his mama. His blonde hair was ruffled in the back and his blue eyes were full of tears as he reached out for Alex.

"What is it, bud?" Alex asked him as she picked him up and set him on her hip. His cries automatically lessened as he rubbed his face into her shoulder. Remembering that it was probably time for another round of pain meds, she walked out of his room but not without noticing that Piper hadn't even woken up. Smirking, Alex took Parker to the kitchen.

Piper woke up to Alex brushing her teeth at the sink in the bathroom of the master suite. Looking to her right, the blonde haired woman made sure nothing had happened but found the bed the exact way it was when she fell asleep. Piper laid back and admired Alex from the back. Her silky black hair fell down to the middle of her back. Her back looked more muscular than usual in her white v-neck. Her long legs stretched for miles in her black sweats. Remembering what she had heard Alex say in the middle of the night, Piper got an overwhelming urge to hug Alex.

The moment she threw the covers back, Alex finished brushing her teeth and grabbed the mouthwash. Piper quickly removed herself from the bed and quietly tried to walk up behind Alex but the other woman saw the blondes' reflection in the mirror.

Quickly spitting the mouthwash out, Alex spoke up.

"Shit, did I wake you?"

Piper shook her head as she continued to walk across the room and into the bathroom.

"Parker would only take his medicine if I took it with him so I took some Nyquil so maybe I can sleep for a little bit and that shit is disgusting."

Closing in on Alex who still hadn't turned around, Piper chuckled.

"Is Parker asleep?"

"Yeah, he woke up once..."

Alex was cut off by Piper's arms wrapping around her from behind. She could feel Piper's head in between her shoulder blades. Not knowing where this random act of affection was coming from, Alex wanted to make the most of it and turned herself around in Piper's grasp. Wrapping her arms tightly around the shorter woman's frame, she felt Piper bury her head in her neck.

After a few seconds, Piper whispered, "Thank You."

"For what?" Alex asked placing her cheek on top of Piper's head.

"For being there."

Piper felt Alex nod her head and grip her a little tighter.

The rest of the stay went smoothly, Alex even found her and Piper laughing about small things with the occasional banter. Alex also noticed that Piper would innocently brush past her or place her hand on the small of her back as she passed by her. It felt as if this was a preview of what was to come if she successfully made it out of the cartel and fully settled the differences between herself and Piper.

Parker actually laughed at something Piper funny did in hopes to get him to laugh for the first time in nearly forty-eight hours and it was music to her and Alex's ears. His personality was even starting to reappear as the hours passed.

As Piper and Parker got ready to leave, as much as they both hated to after spending a successful day with Alex, Piper snuck in one more brief hug with Alex in the kitchen. Alex planted kisses all over Parker's face and watched the pair walk down the hallway to the elevator and didn't return back to her apartment until the elevator doors closed.

Alex had four days left in town before she was to return to Paris to talk to Kubra and she willed herself to stay busy so she could keep her mind off the subject.

Little did she know that Piper had heard part of her phone conversation with Kubra.

Two days later…

Polly had dropped by Piper's house Sunday morning to see Parker, but ultimately to hear about the stay with Alex. Piper and Polly were sitting in the living room watching a five year old Finn attempt to teach Parker Candy Land, but Parker was more interested in knocking over the place markers on the board. Piper had also been texting Alex, all morning but was trying to keep this hidden from Polly. The texts had started out about Piper but evolved into a casual conversation.

"So it wasn't awful? I would've figured you pulled each other's hair out."

"It's like I've told you before Pol, it wasn't like I fell out of love with her, I still do love her, it was just she thought working was more important than her family. Something had to change."

"I don't know Pipes. What if she knew you were standing outside the door and she said that just to see what would happen? She is manipulative you know."

Piper's phone went off, signaling another text from Alex. Noting that they're conversation was basically dead, Piper took a leap of faith.

To Alex: Will you join Parker and I for dinner at our house tonight before you take him back to your place?

Looking down at Parker who was starting to get fussy, Piper turned her head and looked Polly in the face.

"Polly, I want things to work."

Alex quickly responded.

From Alex: I'd love to.

A/N: I hope this twenty four hours was interesting enough!

There's still things that Piper and Alex need to hash out before we get to complete Happy Vauseman, but I promise it's coming soon.