"Please, Luxy?" Emily begged.

Lux let out a shrill wail and stomped her little foot, batting the hairbrush out of Emily's hand. "Alex!" she demanded.

"Alex is very busy right now. Don't you want to look pretty for her? I promise to be very gentle and not pull your hair," she wheedled. Somehow, in the past few months since Alex had moved in (and Derek had moved out to live with his new girlfriend, Savannah), she'd become the preferred hair brusher...much to Emily's amazement.

Lux crossed her little arms firmly over her chest, shaking her head, tangled blonde curls tossed about with the movement.

Emily sighed wearily – she had to admit, the kid had gotten her stubbornness. "Fine," she conceded. "Alex can brush your hair when we get there." There was no winning when Lux was like this.

She tossed the brush and a handful of elastics and barrettes into her purse. "We're going to be late if we don't hustle," she warned her daughter as she smoothed out the wrinkles in her dress. Silently, she wished she'd taken the time to iron it, but it was too late now (and Alex already liked her anyway...). Lux, at least, was the perfect picture of adorable five year old...if it weren't for the bird's nest of her hair.

Emily just shook her head and smiled. "You look beautiful, Firefly," she murmured. "I'm sure Alex is very excited to see you all dressed up for her special day."

Lux, though, was already halfway out the door and wasn't listening.

When they arrived at the bookstore where they were hosting a release party for Alex's new book, Alex was surrounded by a small horde of children – many of them dressed up as Spencer – eagerly talking her ears off. Emily feared Lux's reaction, as she was none too fond of sharing Alex.

Alex caught sight of them almost immediately, her face lighting up in a smile. Once she carefully extracted herself from the tiny mob, she gravitated towards Lux who was bouncing in place with barely contained excitement. She shot Emily a raised brow over the girl's obviously unbrushed mop of curls; Emily just shrugged, tossing her the brush.

Garcia wandered over to Emily's side as Alex brushed Lux's hair, the two of them speaking in soft tones to each other, Lux occasionally glancing back at her with so much adoration. "They are so cute together," she effused in a stage whisper. "You guys make such a sweet little family. I totally ship it."

Emily rolled her eyes, but she was smiling...she couldn't help it because she was so damn happy in that moment. With her family...the one she never thought she'd be able to give her daughter, the one she never thought she deserved.

Once Lux's hair was braided in an immaculate plait down her back, Alex greeted Emily with a kiss. Emily wrapped her arms around her in a silent thank you for everything she'd given her. Alex returned the embrace, seeming to understand exactly.

"I fired Gideon," Alex announced in a hushed tone once Emily released her.

"What?" Emily asked, mouth hanging open a little in shock. She hadn't been expecting that announcement, though she couldn't say she was all that upset about it.

"I've been meaning to for awhile, considering how he overstepped his bounds by talking to you without my permission... But I crossed paths with David Rossi the other day, at that writer's workshop – he kind of implied that he'd known Gideon back in the day and said that if I ever wanted a change of pace, he'd hook me up with his agent."

"Good," Emily said firmly. "That guy was an ass," she added, a little too loudly for a store filled with children. Alex just laughed. "Are you nervous?" Emily asked, arm wrapped firmly around her hip. This was the first book release since Alex had essentially been forced to come out in a rather public fashion and Emily had spent many a sleepless night worried that she'd irreparably damaged Alex's reputation.

"I thought I would be...but now that it's here, I'm not," she said with a shrug. "The kids don't care who I date and they're the ones I'm trying to reach. Besides...I wouldn't give up you and Lux for all the critical acclaim in the world."

Emily blinked back joyful tears. "Let's revisit that when Lux is a teenager," she said ominously. If the girl was anything like her, they were in for a hell of a time...

When Alex approached the microphone to speak, Lux was steadfastly refusing to leave her arms. Emily suspected it's at least partly due to possessiveness over 'her Alex'. Alex, at least, seemed perfectly okay with the little interloper on her hip.

She spoke briefly about how she'd never expected her books to take off, never expected them to be anything more than a narrow niche selection. She spoke about the work she'd done with various autism organizations and the wonderful children she'd met, how each and every one of them inspired her. Then, she surprised Emily...

"I want to thank this little girl in my arms," she said, locking eyes with Emily and smiling. "She reminded my that I was overlooking all the autistic girls out there who often struggle to get an accurate diagnosis because their autism looks 'different'. That's why I've introduced a new character into the series – so I can hopefully help these girls, like my little Étoile, see themselves the hero the way Spencer has done for so many already."

Emily felt tears pricking at her eyes as she flashed Alex a significant smile. Lux seemed blissfully unaware of what Alex was saying, but she too was looking at her like she'd hung the moon. Emily said a prayer to a God she wasn't sure she believed in, thanking him for this moment.

Then, Alex read the book (Lux again in her lap like that very first night they'd crossed paths with one Alex Blake who would change both their lives) and Emily's tears were full-on streaming down her face because Maeve was everything Lux had gone through and Alex had captured everything that made Lux strong and capable and smart and woven it into a heroine.

And one day, when Lux was older, hopefully she would understand just how much Alex loved her, as evidenced by the dedication inside the cover: For Lux. The little star that lit up my darkened sky.