Alex woke up later than usual that morning, after the heavy emotions of the previous night's conversation had left her feeling like she'd been through the emotional wringer. She pulled one of Emily's sweaters on over her head and, with a yawn, went in search of her and the baby.

After searching the house and coming up empty, she checked by the front door, but the stroller remained, so they hadn't left the house. That only left the pool house...

They hadn't taken Noelle into the pool yet, but she loved the bathtub, so she could only imagine the baby would enjoy it. And, since she couldn't resist getting a little voyeuristic peek into Emily and Noelle's interactions, she made sure to be as quiet as she possibly could when she poked her head into the chlorine-scented building.

The scene she found, though, wasn't quite what she'd expected...

"Are you sure this is okay?" Emily asked hesitantly. She sat on the edge of the pool with Noelle in her lap.

"I'm sure," Elizabeth insisted. She stood in the shallow end of the pool, watching Emily with something like a smile playing about her lips.

Emily didn't seem convinced. "But..."

Elizabeth gave her a look that was at once both exasperated, but tender. "I promise you that I would never do anything to put the baby at risk," she said.

She chewed her lip for a moment longer, clearly still debating.

"Here..." Elizabeth said, extending her hands towards the baby.

Reluctantly, Emily passed the baby to her, but was clearly ready to snatch her back the moment she felt the baby was in distress.

For a few moments, Noelle seemed uncertain, but just as quickly her hesitation was gone and she was kicking her legs and splashing, shrieks and giggles bubbling up past her lips.

Emily couldn't help but laugh. "You're a little water baby, huh?" she said, tickling Noelle's tummy.

"See?" Elizabeth said, "What'd I tell you?"

"You should have seen Noelle this morning..." Emily said, entering the kitchen and drying her hair with a towel. "I think she might be part mermaid." She laughed, then caught sight of Alex who was currently sitting at the table nursing her coffee and sobbing quietly. "Oh, Al...what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Alex insisted, even as she sniffled, wiping tears away with the heel of her hand.

Emily raised a brow, settling in the seat next to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Come on, Arwen...you know I'm not buying that when you're literally in tears, right?"

She gave a small wet laugh at that. "They do kind of betray me, don't they?" She nodded, clearly not about to give up until Alex opened up to her. Alex sighed softly and confessed, "I guess I'm just missing Mom extra hard today..."

"How come?" Emily asked.

"I just... I saw you and your mother in the pool with Noelle and it hit me that I'll never get to introduce my mom to her granddaughter, never get to see the two of them interact, never get to ask her a million questions when I feel lost and confused and need her parenting advice." She shrugged slightly, as if it were a silly trivial thing.

Emily held her tighter. "I'm sorry, Al," she murmured, stroking her back tenderly. "I know it must be hard not to have her here to guide you..."

She nodded, sniffled again.

"But you know you're not alone, right?" Emily reminded her. "We're gonna figure this out. Together."

Alex smiled faintly. It helped, but it wasn't the same...

"Alexandra?" a clearly hesitant voice spoke up from the doorway to the nursery where Alex was changing Noelle's diaper.

Alex looked up sharply. There was only one person who was formal enough to call her by her full name. "What can I do for you, Ambassador?" she asked with a polite smile, even though she felt a cluster of anxiety settle in her stomach at the woman's presence.

"Please, call me Elizabeth," she said, entering the room more fully.

"Only if you'll call me Alex," she replied.

"Alright," she said slowly, as if it pained her to do so, "Alex..." She paused, cleared her throat. "I know you've probably heard many stories of my failings as a mother, but I hope you know that I'm trying to do better. As a mother and a grandmother. And seeing as Emily is committed to being a part of this child's life, I suppose that means I will be as well."

Alex nodded slowly. "Oh, umm... Okay. Thanks."

"Which also means, I suppose, that I'm going to be in your life as well," Elizabeth continued. "I know that your mother is no longer with us, so I'd like you and I to be friends. I know I can never replace your mother, but I hope that, in some small way, I can fill a small piece of that void."

Alex blinked a few times, stunned into silence. This was surprising behaviour from the woman she'd come to think of as being cold and unfeeling... "That, umm... That would be really nice," she said softly. "I'd like that." She felt tears welling up in her eyes, in spite of her attempts to keep reign over her emotions, and silently cursed her over-sensitivity.

Finishing snapping up the baby's onesie, Alex lifted her into her arms and turned to Elizabeth, surprised to find her closer than she had been a moment before.

Elizabeth smiled, though the expression seemed foreign to her. "Would it... Could I, perhaps, give you a hug?" she asked, though the words seemed just as uncomfortable to her as the smile.

"If... If you wanted to..." Alex stammered, surprised by the sudden attempts at affection. And, as Elizabeth wrapped her in an awkward embrace, Alex felt something shift inside that she hadn't known was out of place until that very moment. Something that, as best she could tell, was the yearning for maternal affection. Something that, though it wasn't the exact right puzzle piece, was close enough as to fit.