A/N: Thanks for everyone's reviews, especially the regulars. You push me to keep writing - slave drivers! ;-) Firefrog - yes, we will find out more about Alex and the cartel in time. For now, we look at the after effects of the hot make-out session and Christmas Day. Will it be hearts and flowers for Vauseman today? Read on...

Alex laid against Piper's chest, watching the snow fall steadily outside. Her body was still aflame from Piper's touch and her heart was still thumping from the orgasm that she'd just had. She was used to being the one to take control and dictate the pace and the course of their lovemaking and never had she seen Piper take control like that before. Yes, Piper had grown in confidence during the course of their relationship and had taken charge sometimes, but that was really Alex allowing her to do that. It was almost tongue in cheek that Alex would pretend to relinquish control, and Piper had never done anything like that before with her. It made Alex wonder where Piper had gained this sudden confidence and dominance from since they parted all those years ago. Had she been seeing someone else who had changed her attitude to sex? The thought made Alex's stomach churn, but she was certain Piper wouldn't have been celibate for 4 years, certainly Alex hadn't.

She had been expecting, no planning, a slow seduction of Piper when the time came for them to be together. She had wanted to take her time, re-mapping every part of the blonde woman's body with her own, remembering every touch and taste sensation as they discovered one another all over again. Her body had surrendered to Piper immediately, both with the surprise of Piper taking charge and also because she was overcome with the need to feel Piper touch her. It overpowered every other feeling she had to take things slowly and she had greedily lapped up Piper's attentions, even now needing more. But Piper seemed content to sit and hold her by the window and Alex was enjoying the closeness of being nearly naked in Piper's arms while the blonde sat still fully clothed barring her hoodie. It was a vulnerability that Alex wasn't used to, and it felt strange that their roles had seemingly been reversed right now. She was suddenly aware of how exposed she had allowed herself to be with Piper, forgetting to be cautious with the woman who broke her heart and allowing her to take control over her body so willingly. She had never done that before and a sense of panic started to rise inside her as she fought to calm herself.

Piper kissed her hair, stroking her fingers up and down the brunette's back and inhaling the scent that was uniquely Alex. Feeling her shiver beneath her fingers, Piper leaned over to pick up Alex's shirt to drape it over her shoulders.

"You OK Al? Are you getting cold?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm gonna take a shower though." She started to stand up and kissed Piper on the forehead quickly before walking to the bathroom and closing the door behind her. She ran the water while stripping out of her chocolate covered underwear. Smiling to herself as she remembered how hot it had been to have Piper doing that to her, she felt her stomach flip. It had been sexy as Hell, but maybe a bit soon in their reconciliation for Alex to relinquish control. Alex had been caring for Piper and being in charge of things ever since they found each other again, so this was new territory for both of them.

She got under the hot water and started to wash her body of the stickiness from earlier. It had been hot as Hell, but it was a version of Piper that she had never seen before and she couldn't help but wonder where this version came from and if the old Piper still co-existed.

XXXXX

Piper got up off the floor and gathered the clothes up from around the room, putting them at the end of the dining table and looking down the corridor to see that Alex had closed the bathroom door while she showered. She considered following her in there, taking off her clothes and joining Alex under the water. It was something that they had done many times before and Piper yearned to feel their skin touching again, but she sensed that Alex had closed the door for a reason and resigned herself to tidy up the dining room and wash the mugs in the sink. She took her last meds of the night and put her gifts around the little Christmas tree in the lounge. She was leaning against the bookshelf in the dark, looking out of the lounge window when Alex came back through. She was wearing some grey sweatpants and a black camisole top and towelling her hair when Piper turned to see her in the light from the hallway.

"Well, it's getting kinda late and we've got a lot to do tomorrow. We should probably call it a night I think." Alex said while emptying the dishwasher with her back to Piper.

"Um, yeah. I guess…..Is it OK if I take a shower first?"

"Sure, towels are in the rack next to the door as you walk in. Just help yourself." Alex waved towards the bathroom and carried on putting the dishes away.

"Right."

Piper picked up her overnight bag and walked to the bedroom with it to get her things out before heading towards the bathroom. She looked down the corridor to find Alex busily tidying up in the kitchen still and headed into the bathroom, closing the door.

XXXXX

Alex heard the door close and stood with her arms leaning onto the breakfast bar, closing her eyes and lifting her glasses into her hair. Fuck. Too much and too fucking soon. Now it was back to awkwardness and she didn't know whether to give Piper the option of sleeping in the guest room alone so they gave each other some space again. Was that worse than sleeping together in the same bed? How can she be walking on eggshells around someone who just did that to her?

She was about to turn the lights off in the kitchen when she noticed the gifts under the Christmas tree. Alex smiled at the prospect of waking on Christmas Day with an excited Piper. The first time they had spent Christmas Day together ever, and she decided that they had to get over the awkwardness tonight so tomorrow could be special for her. Alex put the clothes they had both been wearing into the wash, hopefully the chocolate would come out of her cream underwear but at least it would have been ruined by some awesome sex if it didn't she chuckled to herself. She had put her own gifts under the tree when Piper came out of the bathroom and went straight into the bedroom at the end of the hallway. She turned off the fire and the lights, making sure the door was locked before walking to the doorway. She leaned against the door frame as Piper turned the covers back and climbed into the bed wearing silky red boy shorts and a matching camisole top. She matched the bed covers beautifully thought Alex.

"You know, you can sleep in the spare room if you want. You don't have to share with me..., I just thought-"

"Oh. Sorry Alex. I didn't…I thought this was...Sorry, I didn't realise you had a spare room. I'll get my stuff. Yeah, spare room is great, thanks." Piper was already up and out of the bed, gathering her things from the room before she stopped rambling long enough for Alex to get a word in.

Alex took her by the shoulders to stop her from shuffling out of the room and waited for Piper to meet her eyes.

"Pipes. This is the spare room. You're in it already-"

"Oh. Right. Sorry." Piper turned to start heading back into the room with her things, blushing at the confusion as she though there was only one bedroom. She'd been foolish to assume that they might be sleeping in the same bed after what happened earlier and now she didn't know where the fuck she was supposed to put her stuff and sleep.

Alex followed behind her and put her hands on Piper's hips as she spoke from behind her.

"I'm saying I want you to sleep with me, in my room. In my bed….With me. If you want that too?" She moved her arms to circle Piper's waist and kissed her neck. "My room is upstairs."

"But you can sleep in here, if that is what you want. I'm just glad you're staying and I get to see you on Christmas morning." She kissed Piper's cheek now before releasing her and walking to the door.

Piper seemed to be thinking about it some and Alex couldn't help but feel a little hurt by Piper not being sure about them sleeping in the same bed, but she didn't want to push anything.

"Goodnight Pipes." She smiled as Piper turned to her and walked to the door that led to her room.

"Night Alex."

XXXXX

Piper sat for a long time considering whether she should just go and find Alex, but she was already exhausted from a busy day and actually she really wanted to sleep. She wanted to lie with Alex, but she might want to talk or have sex again and Piper thought it best that they just get a good night's sleep. She crawled into the guest bed and turned the light out, waiting only seconds before falling into a deep sleep.

XXXXX

The brunette had walked to the door to the stairway very slowly, hoping Piper would make a decision to join her and they could walk together. When she heard no movement from the guest room, she decided to open the door and go to her room. Piper would find it if she wanted to she figured. She took off her sweatpants and placed her glasses by the bed before climbing into the black satin sheets and staring up at the glass ceiling. She lay for a long time, half in hope that Piper might join her before finally falling asleep in the early hours of the morning.

XXXXX

Alex's alarm went off at 7am so she could get up and make a start with the preparations for the day. She got ready and pulled on some sweatpants and a Rolling Stones t-shirt before walking downstairs and putting some coffee on. She made some boiled eggs and toast soldiers, putting them on a tray with the coffee and made her way towards the guest bedroom. Nudging the door open with her hip, she had enough light to put the tray on the bottom of the bed. She could see that Piper was still laid on her front in the middle of the bed, clutching the pillow as she snored softly. Alex leaned over and kissed her forehead to see if she would wake, but there was no movement from beneath the sheets. She couldn't resist lying on the bed next to her to watch her sleep for a few moments, her face on the pillow next to Piper's.

They were both startled when Piper's phone started ringing by the bed, Piper waking up and wondering where on earth she was and shocked to find Alex on the pillow next to her. The phone rang a couple more times as she tried to get her bearings before stopping.

"Good Morning." Alex smiled at her as she stroked her hair away from the confused blonde's face.

"Hey, good morning yourself." Piper smiled back before leaning over to kiss Alex on the lips.

"I brought you breakfast." Alex got up to bring the tray to Piper and laid it down when Piper had adjusted herself to sit up against the pillows. "Merry Christmas." She leaned down and kissed Piper more slowly this time, lingering as long as she could lean over the tray without crashing into it.

"Mmmmm. Merry Christmas to me! Thanks Alex, this is really nice." Piper beamed as she set about taking the top off her egg. Alex had drawn a little Santa face on the front of it as it sat in the egg cup and she was slicing his Santa hat off with her spoon."Awwwww, I almost don't want to eat him now! He's so cute!"

Alex laughed and sipped her coffee, before standing up to leave. "I just need to put the turkey in and it can be cooking while we relax for a bit before all the mayhem starts." She smiled and left Piper eating her breakfast.

Piper reached over for her phone and saw it was Polly calling her. She pressed to return the call and took a slurp of coffee as she waited for her to pick up.

"Merry Christmas P! I hope you're already up and slaving over a hot stove for me?"

"Hey, Merry Christmas Pol! I'm going to do that soon. Alex just brought me breakfast so I'm having that first and then I promise I will commence my maid duties."

"Good. The pressure is on now. How did it go last night? You and SuperCunt get any sleep last night?" Piper could hear Polly sniggering on the end of the line.

"Yes we did actually. Her place is totally amazing Pol, it's really nice. I need to text you the address yet don't I?"

"Unless I'm supposed to follow a breadcrumb trail to a gingerbread house?"

"Alright, I'll do that when we hang up. Have you opened your presents yet?"

"No. Pete is making us some breakfast first and I'm not allowed to help. So I'm expecting him back from McDonalds any second. What time shall we come over?"

"Let me ask Alex, hang on." She shouted through to Alex and came back to the phone. "Any time after 12 is fine. We're not eating until 2pm, so have a good breakfast. See you soon!"

"OK, see you in a bit. Bye."

Piper finished her breakfast and was just setting the tray aside when Alex came back.

"You want another coffee? The turkey is in now, so we can take our time with the veggies."

"Another coffee would be great thanks. Can you text Polly your address please? Here, use my phone." Piper got up and took her tray out to the kitchen before coming back into the bedroom and putting her arms around Alex as she finished the text.

"That was the best Christmas Day wake up ever, thank you." She kissed Alex on the cheek before leaning into a tight hug. Alex hugged her back a little less tightly because of Piper's ribs.

"You're welcome." She leaned back and caressed Piper's sides, ruffling up the silky camisole top. "I can think of a way it could be better…." Alex leaned in to gently kiss Piper's collarbone.

"Oh really? And…how is that then?" Piper leaned her head to the side, giving Alex better access to continue kissing up her neck and towards her ear.

"Well, I haven't eaten my breakfast yet…..so I'm pretty ravenous to be honest…" She sucked gently at Piper's neck now. "I was wondering if there was anything I could eat…" She gently licked around Piper's ear now. "….in here….." She moved her hands over the top of the red camisole and up to squeeze Piper's breasts in her palms. "I'd really…..really….like to see the menu…." Piper moaned as Alex moved her fingers roughly over her nipple. "….and see what…..on offer….." Alex moved her mouth over Piper's open lips now and pushed her tongue inside to taste her mouth. Piper sucked at her tongue and drew her in closer, their mouths crashing together breathlessly. Alex began to snake her hands beneath Piper's top.

Piper stopped her hands and broke the kiss suddenly.

"Well, you're in the wrong room for breakfast. You need to be in the kitchen. "Piper began to turn Alex around and push her towards the door. Just before whispering in her ear "Nobody is opening presents until later, so no unwrapping yours until I tell you to."

With that, she got washed and dressed into a pair of skinny blue jeans and a grey t-shirt and tied her hair up into a high pony tail before going out into the kitchen to see Alex.

"Aw, the tree looks so cute with all the presents around it! Can I give you a hand with anything here?" She kissed Alex on the cheek as she started to peel the veg that was on the chopping board.

"If you can peel and chop everything on there for me, I'm going to mash these and roast the potatoes later. If we prepare it now, there'll be less to do when Nicky and Polly get here."

"Yep, leave it with me. What time is Nicky coming?"

"Don't know. She'll be late no matter what time I tell her, so I told her we were eating at 1, let's see what time she gets up."

They worked together and the preparation was done in no time, the veg all ready for cooking later today. Piper called her parents to wish them Merry Christmas while Alex laid the table and the brunette could overhear part of the call as she went between the rooms to get the cutlery and napkins.

"….Oh good…Yeah…Polly is just getting everything ready now…..We'll be eating later this afternoon I think….yeah just a quiet one…just the three of us…." Piper glanced up and saw Alex looking back at her with a raised eyebrow. She turned away, as if facing the opposite wall would make her conversation unheard."…. Well have a nice day and I'll see you next week with your presents…..OK, Bye."

She walked into the dining room after Alex.

"Sorry. I can't tell them I'm spending Christmas with you, they'd flip."

"Of course. I'm the invisible woman after all." Alex said curtly.

"Don't be like that. You know it's difficult with my parents." Piper walked to her and stroked her arms, trying to reason with her to avoid this argument right now.

"Like what Piper? Do they know I've been looking after you this last week or do they think somehow Polly cloned herself to look after you at the same time as running the store?" Alex faced her now, arms crossed over her chest as she spoke.

Piper looked away. "No, I guess they do think Polly is managing it on her own. But is there any point in telling them otherwise? They'll only come over here and drag me back home…..If I'm lucky."

"If you're lucky?! What the fuck does that mean?" Alex was annoyed that Piper was still pretending she didn't exist to her parents after all this time.

"It doesn't matter. Forget I said anything will you." Piper waved her hand and started to walk to the kitchen. She was determined not to ruin this day and it had started so well with the two of them.

Alex grabbed her wrist on the way past.

"How are we ever going to make a go of things if you don't tell your parents about me, about us Piper?"

"Us Alex? Is there an us? I thought we were just seeing how things went, putting no pressure or labels on it?"

"We are. But I don't understand why you have to constantly lie to your parents about the fact that I even exist!"

Piper whipped her head around, boiling with anger now.

"Because Alex, my parents do know about you! They know you were my girlfriend 4 years ago. They know I travelled all over the world with you. They know I was infatuated with you. They know Alex fucking Vause is the whole reason their Smith grad daughter from a respectable family home went to prison 2 fucking years ago! Believe me Alex, it wasn't the dream introduction I had planned when the police put me in handcuffs!" Piper glared at a dumbfounded Alex for a few seconds before storming off to the bedroom and slamming the door.