Slight change, the family dinner is the night before Alex leaves for Paris for her talk with Kubra. I figured it would hold a little more meaning, having one more dinner with Alex before she finds out Kubra's decision.

Last Piece of the Puzzle

"Parker." Piper hummed as she searched her closet for an outfit to wear for dinner. "What are you doing, babe?" The toddler was being extra quiet, usually meaning he was getting into something he wasn't supposed to.

The blonde woman had tried on multiple outfits for the simple at home, family dinner she had invited Alex to earlier that morning. She wasn't sure if she was nervous about being around her ex-wife in a normal setting rather than the pediatric ward of a hospital, or excited that Alex could insert that crucial piece of the puzzle after hearing her phone conversation with Kubra.

The past few days had proven to both women that their love for each other was still there but in order to rekindle that love, they needed to have a sit down and lay all of their cards on the table. Piper had spent a lot of time blaming herself for causing her family such a destructive year, but without this year, where would her family be now? Just thinking of how much more damaged her family would be if she hadn't of filed for divorce, Piper shuddered.

Piper settled on a simple black v-neck and jean shorts. Nothing too flashy but not too dull. Stepping out of the closet, Piper's eyes immediately fell on Parker's feet sticking out from under the bed. It was apparent from his grunts and his little feet kicking that he was trying to grab something.

Giggling to herself, Piper asked,

"What are you doing, sir?"

She could barely hear Parker's muffled babble from under the bed.

Grabbing him by the ankles, Piper carefully drug him out and noticed he was clutching one of Alex's old Def Leppard t-shirts.

"Mama!" Parker squealed as he ruffled the shirt.

"I'm excited to see mama too." Piper whispered into her son's ear as she picked him up from the floor.

Piper was excited but hesitant to see Alex, but she knew she had to take this first step to get where she wanted, and that was to be a family again.

As soon as Parker heard the doorbell signifying that his mother was there, he ran from the kitchen where he was clinging to Piper's leg as she hovered over the stove and started to whine when he couldn't reach the doorknob to let Alex in. Piper picked up the small boy, situated herself before opening the door, and when she did she was greeted with a smiling Alex holding a bouquet of roses. Trying to break the ice, Piper grinned right back.

"You know you have a key right?"

Alex threw Piper a knowing smirk.

"You invited me, I didn't just want to barge in."

Piper took the roses from Alex so she could take their son who was practically begging for her attention and followed the pair into the kitchen. The blonde woman knew that Parker missed Alex, you could see it by the way he would light up anytime the front door opened or when Piper walked in his room to retrieve him in the mornings. His tiny façade would falter just a little bit when he saw that it wasn't Alex.

Watching Alex with their son was so heartwarming to Piper. You could see the love she had for him clearly in her emerald green eyes. Ever since the little boy was born, she always made she he was okay. Even when she was thousands of miles away, she constantly asked how he was and if he was behaving. Piper had never thought Alex would be a mother, or a wife for that matter. The blonde woman had eventually convinced herself around their three year anniversary that she was basically going to be Alex's girlfriend for the rest of her life, but that all changed on that one Christmas morning.

Halfway through the family dinner, that was going exceptionally well, Parker fell asleep in his high chair, leaving the two women without their buffer. Parker served as the reason to not get angry with each other or bring up topics that could potentially cause havoc. Piper internally cursed herself for not making the boy take a nap, but decided she was mature enough to handle having her ex-wife over for dinner without their two year old son as a safety net. She knew she would eventually be in multiple situations without her son if she chose to continue rekindling her marriage, and she never doubted that decision for a second.

After their conversation on how Polly and Pete were doing, Piper asked Alex what her plans were for the week even though she already knew. Piper was trying to gauge the response, trying to see if Alex really was trying to get her life prioritized.

"I'm actually leaving for Paris again on tomorrow, and hopefully if all goes well, I'll be back by Thursday at the latest."

Alex was avoiding making eye contact with the blonde woman, and busied herself by standing up and grabbing Piper's plate to take to the sink. Piper smirked, knowing she was on to something.

"That's a short trip compared to others you've taken. Is it just a failed drop off or a meeting?"

Right as Piper started her sentence, Alex had turned on the sink faucet.

"What did you say, Pipes?"

Noting that the older woman had called her by her nickname for the first time, Piper smiled to herself forgetting what she was even talking to the brunette about. It was crazy to her that a simple nickname, a certain look, or a brush of the arm against her skin from the tall woman could cause her senses to go into overdrive. The rush of adrenaline was so intoxicating, it was like Piper forgot she even divorced this woman.

Piper replied when Alex turned off the faucet and was drying her hands.

"I said thank you for coming. Maybe we could make it a weekly thing?"

Piper really wanted to say nightly, but the time for that would come soon enough if she had her way. In some ways, the blonde woman felt stupid for trying to reassemble her relationship with Alex such a short time after the divorce was finalized, but every day she reminded herself that if it wasn't for the divorce, she would probably be sitting in this dining room with Parker by herself while Alex was flying around the world without a clue of the emotional state Piper was in.

Alex fidgeted with her glasses, hoping it would cover the blush she felt explode over her cheeks. It blew her away that a simple sentence from the younger woman had that effect on her.

Alex shrugged while taking a step towards the blonde who was now sitting on the island directly behind the sink. "I care about you guys."

Feeling the smile grow on her face, Piper reached out for Alex's hand, pulled the woman between her legs, and wrapped her arms around Alex's neck. Alex automatically wrapped her arms around Piper and looked her dead in the face.

"We care about you too."

The two women fiercely hugged until Alex noted that their son should be taken to bed, yet he looked so cute slumped over to the side with his thumb hanging out of the side of his mouth. Piper happily obliged to let Alex put Parker to bed.

When Piper came out of the master bedroom where she had gone to brush her teeth, Alex was coming out of Parker's room. The two women smiled at each other and began the descent down the stairs, side by side. Halfway down, Piper missed a step causing her arms to flail. Luckily, Alex caught her hand and kept her from plowing down the rest of the stairs. When Piper regained her balance, she noticed that Alex was trying hard not to laugh and was still clutching her hand tightly as they walked down the rest of the stairs, breaking the connection once they reached the bottom.

At the door, Alex brought Piper in for one more hug and faintly heard Piper whisper for her to be safe in Paris this week and she would see her once she got back. Nodding, Alex broke the hug and left the house. Alex knew that if she kept holding on to Piper, she would never leave. Looking back at Piper who was standing outside the door making sure Alex got off safely, she waved and backed out of the drive with one thing on her mind; Convince Kubra to let her off nicely.

The next day at Popi, Piper couldn't keep her mind off of Alex and the impending decision that Kubra was going to make. She internally berated herself for not coming clean that she knew why the trip was so short, but she wanted to let Alex handle this herself. Piper kept tabs on all the flights to Paris that left all morning that day and kept a watchful eye on the tracker all afternoon, releasing a large breath once all the planes to Paris had landed. Polly asked her constantly why she was so on edge, but Piper used the excuse that Parker had been acting funny that morning. The blonde woman didn't want to hear her best friend's opinion on how she didn't think Alex was worthy, but Piper knew she was, and she was all that Piper wanted.

As soon as Alex walked through the doors into the JFK airport, her nerves were all over the place. They were the same way after the plane had left the runway. Usually flying calmed her nerves, but this time was the exact opposite. The whole eight hour plane ride, her mind was filled with memories of Parker, Piper, the three of them together, and then there were the horrible thoughts that crossed her mind if something were to happen to her.

The night before she was scheduled to leave for Paris, Nicky had come over to have a beer and discuss what was going on, but little did Alex know that Nicky saw right through her. Nicky knew that the raven haired woman was scared shitless on how the next few days were to play out but assured Alex that everything would be alright. Alex had even told Nicky that if she hadn't heard from her by Friday, to tell Piper and go from there.

When Alex finally got to her hotel room, she pulled out the picture frame she had kept by her bed in the apartment and set on the night stand next to the king sized bed. She wished nothing more than to be happy with her family once again but in the back of her mind, she felt this wasn't going to be easy. Especially after seeing some of the things Kubra had done before when someone attempted to leave the cartel, but she would do anything in the world to have her family back together once more.

The night before the meeting, Alex didn't even eat anything because she was so nervous.

She laid motionless on the bed staring at the ceiling trying to get some sleep, but sleep never came.

Alex felt horrible for not even texting Piper or facetiming her son, but the thought of it possibly being the last time she saw them, was heart wrenching.

Even when the wakeup call she had scheduled for that morning came through she jumped because she was so apprehensive.

Every little movement or sound made Alex that much more on edge.

She kept a close eye on the cab driver in case Kubra had planned something but when they pulled up to Kubra's apartment, he asked for the money, wished her a good afternoon, and sped away.

Only one person got onto the elevator with Alex and she knew that could potentially be her life or death moment, but the person kept staring at their phone, not even acknowledging that Alex was in the elevator. Once the person had gotten on off on a floor below, Alex's mind began to muster up new ways Kubra might torture her such as turning off the electricity in the elevator or cutting the wire sending her on a twenty story fall to the ground floor. But none of those ideas ever happened. The elevator dinged and she was faced with Kubra's door.

Every small step towards Kubra's penthouse door, Alex felt the bile rising in her throat and her legs getting heavy as if they were two thousand pounds each.

Raising her arm to knock on the door was almost impossible, but she finally did it.

Kubra opened the door with a warm smile and a hug and Alex stepped further into the apartment, her heart feeling like it was going to beat out of her chest.

On the Wednesday that Alex was to have her meeting with Kubra, Piper called in sick to stay home with Parker. With her being so on edge about the outcome, she knew Polly would be able to detect what was going on and she felt she wouldn't even be able to focus on anything knowing her Alex could be in danger. Following Parker around the many rooms of the house and the backyard was a small distraction, but her mind was still cloudy as she thought about Alex and how things were going.

When Parker had finally fell asleep for his afternoon nap, in some ways Piper didn't want him to fall asleep because he was what was keeping her sane. Instead of laying him down in his crib, Piper held him while sitting in the rocker in his room just staring at his innocent face as he slept. His mouth pursing every so often and his eyes fluttering behind his eyelids. She thought when she met Alex in that small Manhattan bar that she had experienced the maximum amount of love any person could endure, but this little boy had proved that theory wrong. Being his mommy wasn't a task but a privilege and she wouldn't give that up for anything in the world.

A knock at the front door broke Piper from gazing at her mini me. Wondering who it could be, Piper gently pressed multiple kisses to Parker's temple and laid him in his crib. With every step down the stairs was a thought of who it could be or something that had happened to Alex. Once she reached the front door, she took a deep breath, readying herself for whatever was about to be thrown at her and opened the door.

"Chapman!"

Piper was staring at Nicky and her wild blonde hair. The woman had the same Cheshire grin she wore when Piper met her ten years ago. She hadn't seen the short, wild haired woman in months. Nicky used to come over to the house multiple times a week when Alex wasn't working but as soon as Piper filed for divorce that was quickly stopped. Piper knew Alex still talked to Nicky, and she was grateful for that. Nicky had been nothing but loyal to Alex and her family, and her love for Parker was contagious.

"Hi, Nicky! What are you doing here?"

Nicky stepped inside the house, removing the dark sunglasses she was wearing.

"We need to have a little chat."

Alex could feel the sweating running down her back from the nervousness she was feeling. She knew that Kubra could sense her anxiety, but kept the same smug look on his face as he handed Alex a glass of water.

"So, Alex. You'd like to resign? Is that right?"

In all honesty, Alex was surprised he wasn't yelling already.

"Y-Yes." Cursing herself for stuttering, Alex continued. "I would. This business has ruined my family, and it's taken such a toll on me-."

Kubra cut her off. Alex knew this was the end. Silently exhaling, Alex blinked slowly as she watched the man stand up. Fidgeting, Alex began to think of all the happy moments she had with her family, something to take her mind off of the potentially dangerous situation before her.

Once Kubra's hand landed on the small drawer of a desk, Alex felt like she could feel her heart beating in the back of her throat.

Kubra took out a file folder of papers, stuck it under his arm, and returned to the arm chair in front of Alex.

Taking a deep breath, Alex relaxed a little knowing that he wasn't pulling out a weapon.

"Alex." Kubra paused. "You have been faithful to me and for that I am grateful. When Fahri recruited you, I had my doubts because you were so young, but look where you are now, you're at the top. Essentially, there is no more promotions just higher raises and a few extra bonuses. The only way you could have a promotion were if I were to pass the business on to you and I don't see myself doing that."

Alex nodded. It was all she could do to keep from vomiting on Kubra's coffee table.

Reaching for the file of papers, Kubra continued.

"I have never once in the history of this business, had an employee fill out these papers. I don't even know why I had this papers drawn up, because everyone knows getting out of this business is impossible. Are you okay? You aren't saying much?"

Kubra had a look of concern, something Alex had only seen a few times over the past fifteen years.

"Just a little jet-lagged. That's all."

The husky man nodded.

"I know what you are thinking. You are thinking that I'm going to have someone follow you out of here and kill you." His thick accent was still the same tone of voice he had used from the beginning of the meeting. "Alex, you brought too much success for me to do that. I went to your wedding for Christ's sake. Have I done that for anyone else in this business?"

Alex shook her head.

"I kind of like that blonde woman. She tamed you. You used to run wild and fuck girls that had no potential to be mules. But that woman that you married, she helped you get to the top. Your mind wasn't focused on your fuck buddies, you were more focused on being successful, and that's what I wanted."

Taking a pen from his pocket, Kubra flipped open the file and turned it towards Alex.

"Sign the bottom."

"What?" Alex asked as she read the top of the page that said "Resignation Form."

"Just sign the damn paper before I change my mind."

Alex quickly read what she was signing and signed her name as if it was the last thing she would ever do.

"I've seen how devoted you are to your family, but I could also see that Piper needed you. I could see that from when you brought her on those few trips after your son was born."

The brunette didn't know how to respond.

"Losing you from this business, is going to cost me a fortune, but you've always been my favorite. You have a level head. These other fuckers, not so much."

Taking a deep breath, Kubra signed the approval on the bottom of the resignation form. Alex's exhale could be heard from around the world.

"Thank you, so much Kubra."

Alex was speechless. In her fifteen year career with this business, this was the first time she had ever witnessed Kubra be so sincere.

"Keep in touch. Let me know if you have another child. The least you could do is name it after me."

Kubra had Alex escorted out by one of his men, which Alex thought was odd. Her now former boss had even scheduled a car back to her hotel for her.

Alex noticed her heart start to beat a little faster at how weird this all was.

As she thanked the man for the ride, the whole walk to her hotel room, he nerves built back up to the point they were in Kubra's penthouse. By the time she made it to her door, she was sweating again and constantly looking over her shoulder.

The reality of the situation was setting in. Kubra was never nice, so why would he start now?

The moment Alex was in her room and she had made sure no one was stowed away anywhere she sunk down the back of the front door and cried in fear that she had just made the worst decision of her life. The thought of her being killed any second was slowly taking over her mind.

"Her flight lands at eleven forty-five in the morning. You better be there blondie. She needs you, and I know you need her. Everyone can see it."

"I'll be there Nicky. That's my woman."

With a quick hug over the car window, Nicky backed out of the drive and sped off down the street.

The past hour had been a whirlwind, one moment Piper had been explaining to Nicky every emotion she had felt over the past two years to Nicky telling Piper that if they didn't work things out, she would work things out for them.

Every person around Piper and Alex saw this as a rough patch, not a divorce.

As Piper walked into the house, she walked straight up to Parker's bedroom and resumed her position cradling him, because she knew once Alex got home, that's all she would do for a while.

As Alex left the hotel she hoped her blood shot eyes were hidden from her glasses. She was so worn out that she didn't even look over her shoulder to see if anyone was following her.

The whole cab ride to the Heathrow, Alex had her head pressed against the window. She couldn't wait to be back home at her apartment. The brunette needed a few days to decompress from the emotional chaos that was wrecking her mind, and then she would start the reconstruction of her family. It was no question now, that Piper wanted the same that Alex did, but she knew it would be a process. Things wouldn't automatically go back to normal.

Once Alex was finally sitting in her first class seat on the plan, her nerves settled a bit knowing that someone would have to be extra fucking sneaky to kill her on the plane.

Alex slept the whole way back to New York. The emotional stress had calmed down enough to allow her to get those eight hours of restless sleep. It helped keep her mind off of Kubra and how devious he could be.

When the flight attendant woke her, she was the last person on the plane. This had never happened to her before. Grabbing her carry-on, Alex rubbed her sleep filled eyes and began the walk into the airport.

As she walked towards the escalator to go towards the baggage claim, she thought she saw Piper from the top, but she quickly remembered she had never even told the blonde woman what was going on.

The further down she got, the more clear things were and the more this blonde woman picked up her pace towards the escalator.

Once Piper got within twenty yards of Alex, Alex realized that it was her blonde. Stopping in front of the escalator, Alex put a hand over her mouth to muffle a cry and by the time the first tear fell, Piper was there to catch it. Piper wrapped her arms so tight around Alex's frame, she thought she was going to suffocate but she didn't care. All she cared about was having Piper back in her arms. Piper turned her head that was buried slightly in Alex's neck to softly kiss her jaw.

"I'm so, so, so, proud of you."

Alex pulled back and slightly nodded. Piper automatically noticed that Alex's eyes were bloodshot and there were dark bags under eyes. The blonde woman's main concern was Alex's mental state. She knew she would be on edge but so was she.

"Thank you for being here."

The tall woman didn't need an explanation as to why Piper was here. She had a pretty good guess as to how Piper found out all the information and she made a note to tell Nicky thank you.

"I'll always be here, Al."

Piper broke the hug but not without placing a chaste kiss on Alex's cheek. Grabbing Alex's hand Piper took her luggage in the other and walked out of the airport hand in hand.

The two women didn't break their hand connection until they got out of the car at Alex's building but quickly resumed the gesture on the way up to the apartment.

Once Alex was inside the apartment, she realized their son was not with them.

"Where's Parker?"

Piper smiled, "He's at daycare. I thought we could go get him together later after you've had some time to unwind."

"I've missed you guys." Alex wrapped Piper in another hug.

"We've missed you too, babe."

Smiling at the nickname, Alex bent down to kiss Piper's cheek. Alex could see the love in Piper's eyes as she down at her. She knew that they had a long road ahead of them, but she had hope that things would work out without any issues. She knew they would.

A/N: I apologize for messing up the daily update routine and it has now been almost a week, but life started to throw things at me that had to be taken care of. I'll try to get back on a routine.

This is the longest chapter to date.

I realize I probably messed up greatly by painting Kubra as a good guy and letting Alex off the hook without any grudges, but too many times in other fics Kubra is violent and hostile towards Alex and or her family after she escapes the cartel and I have no desire to write violence towards this family, especially since there is a small child in the picture. Yes, I know, that could make for some great action filled chapters but like I said, I don't wish to write violence with a small child in the picture, or any child for that matter. I hope you guys can understand that.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'd love to hear your input!