Author's Note: There is a two year time jump to start this chapter. Think of it as everything was status quo in Piper and Alex's world after Mrs. Rankin's death. Thanks for the reviews and feedback so far! Please keep it coming.

By Piper's 20th birthday, she was ready for her final year to begin at Barnard. She and Alex were still doing fine in their cramped studio, but the blonde had put a bug in her ear about moving into a bigger space, using her family's money. Alex had reminded her girlfriend of their conversation on the way home from Smith two years ago, about Piper not wanting to be dependent on her parents for anything, including money. It was hard for Piper, Alex assumed, to let go of wealth—a burden she considered heftier than poverty.

Alex enjoyed her job at the publishing company a great deal, and she was learning the ins and outs of writing textbooks from some serious pros in the league. In fact, she had recently begun teaming up with her former mentor, Jeff Byers, to come up with "new and improved" language for the 12th edition of a high school English textbook. If the president of the company liked what he saw once they completed a draft of the first five chapters, Alex was gunning for a major promotion and a hefty salary increase.

There was one woman at Peter Lang Publishing whom the brunette tried to avoid at every turn. Shelia Pittman was a managing editor in a different division, but she seemed to be very fond of Alex. She was short and overweight and prone to acne despite her older age. The brunette had to put up with her idle chatter for months, and one day Shelia blatantly asked her out.

"Thank you for the offer, Shelia, but I'm going to be frank with you." She licked her lips before proceeding. "I'm off the market, and I don't see that changing any time soon."

Shelia bowed her head. "What about in the future?"

"You're a nice woman, and I'm sure there's somebody out there for you. Unfortunately, that woman is not me."

"I wish it was," Shelia whispered.

The woman had no clue how utterly impossible it would be for Alex to leave Piper, but the brunette decided against putting it in those terms. She was as gentle as she could be, while still getting the message across.

"Well, maybe we could have lunch tomorrow?" Shelia tried.

"Thank you, but no. We're not going to have lunch together. Or drinks, or coffee, or dinner. Ever." Alex huffed. "I really need to get some work done."

Shelia left, presumably feeling rejected, and Alex felt badly for only a moment. She heard a knock on the door, and whipped around to yell at her admirer. "Seriously, Shelia…"

"Expecting someone else?" A man asked as he entered the office.

He looked familiar, but Alex couldn't place him. "Do I know you?"

"Bill Chapman," he announced.

"Mr. Chapman, hi." She stood to greet him, holding her hand out to shake his, but he shoved his hands into his pockets. Alex looked down for a moment, and then back up at the man in front of her. "How did you find me?"

"A little thing called the internet." He gave her a devilish smirk.

She crossed her arms, ignoring his wisecrack. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"There is, actually." He proceeded to a high countertop in the office and pulled something out of his suit breast pocket. "I want you to stay away from my daughter, and I'm prepared to make it worth your while."

Alex realized that he was writing a check. "Excuse me?"

"I'm buying her an apartment on the Upper West Side so that she can have the space she needs to complete her senior year at Barnard," he began, tearing the checkout of the book. "I don't want you to be a distraction."

"I can assure you, Mr. Chapman, I am not a distraction," she tried. "Piper is as committed to her education as I am to my job, and…"

He held up his hand and interrupted, "Save it, Ms. Vause. I think you'll find this amount will make you very comfortable for the next couple of years."

Alex was taken aback. "I don't want your money," she said like it was the most ludicrous offer in the world.

"You haven't even looked at the amount," he replied with a conceited chuckle.

"It doesn't matter if it's 100 dollars or 100 million dollars," she raised her voice and ripped up the check. "There is nothing you or anyone else could give me that would make me leave Piper!"

"I don't make second offers," he stated, once again putting his hands in his pockets.

"Fuck you." She took a step closer, raising her chin. "Fuck you for thinking there's a price tag on your daughter's happiness." Alex shook her head, not backing down. "You know, all she wants is a family who loves her, not some rich asshole of a father who thinks that money can buy everything. Piper would rather be poor than to have to answer to you and your homophobic wife!"

Bill flexed his jaw and looked away.

"Don't you dare come at me like that! Your money is worth nothing to me." She blinked back angry tears. "I love your daughter because of who she is, not where she's from or how much money she has. And I don't plan on walking away from her—at least not in this lifetime."

Bill turned around, a hand shooting up to rub his chin. Alex didn't know if he was going to take a swing at her or dash out of the room. She stood there, heart beating out of control.

"I miss my daughter," he whispered with a tremble to his voice. "I miss her so much," he said in a more steady tone, turning back to face her. "I don't want to lose her, and I'm afraid I already have."

That was the last thing Alex expected to hear. The two remained silent for a moment as Alex tried to wrap her head around the shift in conversation.

"You're going to lose her," she began. "If you don't accept her for who she is, and quite frankly, who she loves."

He shook his head. "You have no idea how hard this is…to watch her fall in love with a…a woman."

"I'm not the spokesperson for PFLAG, and I don't give a rat's ass who people love—gay or straight," Alex said, shaking her head. "But I can tell you that your daughter is so completely filled with love that she has enough to spare for both of us. She loves me for me, not because I'm a woman or because of some fucked up idea that you might have that she's doing this to spite you. She craves your approval, and I think a part of her will always be broken without it."

Bill lowered his head. "I don't know if I can accept her with a woman. I was brought up in a very different time."

"Then you will lose her." She shrugged. "I can only imagine what it would be like to have Piper in your life, and then have her taken away. That's not something I could handle."

Bill regarded her. "The only thing I can do is try."

A dim smile crossed her lips. "I'm sure Piper would like to hear that."

"This…attempt isn't going to happen overnight," he sighed.

"No one expects that." She crossed her arms again. "Take the time you need, and if you have questions or want to yell at someone, come to me, not her. Piper wouldn't want to see you at your lowest, most pathetic point."

"You really love her," he stated with raised eyebrows.

"More than you or anyone will ever comprehend," she admitted.

He nodded, and then walked out.

Alex shut the door behind him and blinked several times until tears ran down her face. She didn't know whether to keep that little conversation to herself or to tell her girlfriend about it. Either way, she knew that she was going to bear the brunt of Bill Chapman's homophobia for the foreseeable future.

Alex couldn't remember a day that was worse than the one she'd experienced three days ago. Then she recalled the time when she and Piper broke up the summer after Piper had graduated from high school, and realized that as bad days went, the one she recently had wasn't near the top of the list.

She came home to find Piper already there, snacking on a vanilla pudding cup. "I have some good news!"

The brunette threw her bag on the side table and removed her sunglasses. "Yeah? What's that?"

"I officially declared a double major," she said with enthusiasm. "English and education."

"That's great, babe." She hugged her girlfriend. "I can't say I'm surprised. You've been hinting at the possibility of teaching someday."

"I have to start my student teaching this semester," Piper responded.

"Yeah, you're probably behind on that," Alex said.

She shrugged. "If I teach this semester and next, I'll still be able to graduate in May. It's just going to be a ton of work."

"It is," Alex replied, kissing her on the lips and grinning. "But if anyone is up for the challenge, it's you."

"True." Piper returned Alex's kiss and began lifting her shirt over her head.

They hadn't had sex in four days, and that had everything to do with Alex.

"Wait." The brunette held up a hand.

"What's wrong?"

She pulled Piper's shirt back down. "There's something I need to tell you."

"Is it about that Shelia woman again? Did she ask you out?" Piper raised her eyebrows.

That was the furthest thing from Alex's mind, but she'd forgotten that had happened.

"Actually, yes," she started. "But that's not what this is about."

The blonde stepped back. "Please tell me you turned her down."

"Of course, I turned her down! Seriously, babe, you think I'd go out with someone else?" Alex questioned.

"No," she pouted.

"Come on, you're not the jealous type." She kissed her cheek.

"I'm not jealous…I just think it's time that I meet her so she knows she's dealing with a real person, and you didn't just, I don't know, imagine me to shut her down," Piper offered.

Alex laughed. "You've given some thought to this, haven't you?"

She shrugged. "I was bored in psychology class today."

The brunette knew Piper was just being silly; if she really was jealous, it would be a far more serious confrontation.

"Come have lunch with me on Thursday when you have that chunk of free time," Alex said. "I can't wait to show you off."

"Good," Piper said with a satisfied smirk.

"Anyway, that wasn't what I wanted to talk to you about." She ran a hand through her hair and paused. "Your dad came to see me a few days ago."

The blonde's eyes shot open. "My dad? How did he even know where to find you?"

Alex ignored her questions and dove right in, "He offered to pay me to break up with you." She waited for Piper's reaction.

"Pay you? As in a bribe?" Her eyebrows nearly touched her hairline.

The brunette nodded.

"Are you kidding me?" Piper stood and paced in the small room. "I hope you told him to fuck off!"

"Actually, things kind of turned around," she began. "I told him that he couldn't 'buy' you and that we loved each other. I also said that if he didn't change his attitude, he was going to lose you."

"He has already fucking lost me," she shouted.

Alex stood in front of her girlfriend. "I think he's trying to accept your life for what it is. At least he told me he was going to try."

Piper's eyes filled with tears. "He's never going to accept that I'm with a woman…that I'm with you."

It was Alex's turn to raise her brows. "He will if he wants you in his life."

The blonde shook her head. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

She looked at her feet. "I didn't want to hurt you."

"It's not you doing the hurting, Alex," she said, wiping a tear off her face. "I need to go for a walk or something."

"Take your time," the brunette offered. "I know this is a lot to process."

Piper changed into sweats and put her running shoes on, and Alex pretended to read a book. Both women were silent for several minutes.

Before she exited, Piper stood in the doorway and twisted her head around. "Will you come with me?" She asked in a small voice.

Alex smiled tenderly. "Yeah."

The women walked for two hours around Central Park and up Amsterdam Avenue. They mostly made small talk, but then Piper brought up her father's visit. Alex answered the questions she could and tried to make suggestions on how she'd deal with the issue if the positions were reversed.

"It needs to be on him," the blonde stated firmly.

"I agree, but you could reach out, you know, throw him a bone."

Piper chewed on that for a moment. "What if I invite him to dinner, telling him that it's on one condition: you're join us?"

"I don't know." She scratched her head. "Maybe it should just be the two of you before folding me into the equation."

"You're already part of the equation, Alex," the blonde said. "Besides, if he doesn't accept you, I don't want anything to do with him. We're a package deal."

She smiled and put an arm around her lover's shoulders, bringing her closer to kiss her head. "As my mom would say, 'You're something else, kid.'"