"Alex," Stef whispered, poking her roughly on the arm. "Alex," she tried again. "Alex wake up."

Alex sighed, but reluctantly opened her eyes to see a manically grinning Stef standing over her. "What?" she asked, nowhere near as enthusiastic as her counterpart.

"Guess what," Stef singsonged, still tapping her on the shoulder.

"What?" Alex asked again with impatience.

"You have to guess," Stef prodded.

Alex covered her face with her hands. "Stef, do you realize that it is literally," she glanced at her clock, "midnight. It is twelve o'clock and I have been up since six for work. I am tired. I would like to sleep," she said desperately.

"Oh I'm sorry, what was that?" Stef put a hand to her ear. "What time was it again?"

Alex sighed but sat up, knowing that her attempts at sleep would be fruitless until she played along. She was still slightly groggy from her short doze before it was rudely interrupted by Stef, but she was alert enough to know there would be no more rest until she did what she could to convince the persistent blonde to leave. Her stubbornness was no match for the older woman's, so she submitted to her irritating will and humored her.

"It is midnight. I just told you that," she deadpanned.

"Yes," Stef smiled, holding a finger up, signaling that Alex was onto something. "More specifically, it is midnight on September tenth," she said excitedly.

"Awesome?" Alex said slowly, shrugging in confusion.

"September tenth is exactly three months away from June tenth," Stef informed her.

"Oh," Alex broke out into a smile, Stef's reasoning finally clicking. "I'm not grounded anymore."

"Ding ding ding," Stef put her hands in the air. "We have a winner."

"Well," Alex said, letting out a breath. "This is exciting," she said, the smile still on her face.

Looking back, it hadn't been that bad, really, being confined for those three months. Mariana had somehow convinced the moms to squeeze in two more family outings in addition to the Italian and arcade night. She'd been busy enough with work and studying that she didn't find herself with a lot of free time and having nothing to do to fill it with. After the first month she'd at least gotten her phone back and been able to talk to Andy more often, sometimes about subjects that weren't so deep like sports and movies and their relationship - their budding relationship that was starting to become a little more than just friends.

It hadn't been terrible. Sure, it had dragged at times, but she'd survived it. However, knowing that it was over was a relief. It was like that part of her life was finally behind her. This was a fresh start. And it felt nice.

"Very exciting," Stef agreed. "And you know what we're going to do to commemorate such an occasion?"

"Um, leave me alone so I can go back to sleep and dream peacefully about all the awesome stuff I'm going to do since I'm allowed to leave the house now?" Alex suggested hopefully. She'd been sleeping better lately. Therapy actually had helped, much to Alex's surprise, and it wasn't nearly as bad as what her mind made it out to be. She still had the occasional sleepless night plagued by night terrors, but those were few and far between, and she was relishing every moment of sleep she could successfully get nowadays.

"Nope."

"I figured just as much," Alex sighed, rolling her eyes. "But shouldn't I be able to decide? Can't that be my prize and celebration?" she tried one last time.

"Hm," Stef pretended to ponder this, tapping her chin. "Nope," she said again.

Alex threw her head back but kicked the covers off of her, standing up. "All right," she said in submission. "What are we doing?"

Stef's face twitched into a mischievous smile. "Come on," she said, grabbing Alex's hand and leading her out of the room.

"Wait, where are we going?" she asked in confusion.

"A place," Stef replied.

"Wow how very specific," Alex said sarcastically.

"Just come on, it's a surprise," she said, leading her out of the living room and to the front door.

"Wait, we're leaving the house? Do I need shoes?" Alex wrinkled her eyebrows in confusion.

"No, you'll be fine," Stef waved her off, opening the door.

"Where are we going to go in the middle of the night that doesn't require-" Alex stopped short when they arrived on the front steps. "What's this?" she asked, surveying the decked-out porch.

"We're sisters," Stef said instead of answering her question.

"True," Alex said slowly, raising an eyebrow as she looked at Stef suspiciously. "Biologically this is 100% correct."

"So let's be sisters for a second," Stef shrugged, taking a seat on the porch swing and motioning for Alex to do the same. She pulled the small table she'd dragged out of the garage closer to them that was currently covered in various bowls filled with junk food - m&m's, pretzels, popcorn, you name it.

"Classic slumber party food," Alex smiled, grabbing a handful of chips to munch on. "Nice."

"I thought so," Stef said proudly, nabbing a fistful of chocolate.

"May I ask why we're eating all this on the front porch though? I mean, not that it's not a beautiful night, but why here?" Alex asked.

"Why, symbolism of course. It's our first meeting place."

"Oh my god, you're right," Alex said quietly in realization, looking around. This porch seemed so big the first time she stepped foot on it, the front door so foreign and intimidating. Now she couldn't imagine her life without stepping on it everyday. Nowhere else was safer. This was home.

"Do you remember what our first conversation was like?" Stef questioned.

"Um, awkward," Alex said with a laugh.

"Extremely," Stef joined in. "If I remember correctly I called you a girl scout. Oh, and speaking of that, look what I got just for the occasion," she reached under the table and lifted up a green box.

"Thin mints?" Alex asked, her face lighting up.

"Milk's favorite cookie," Stef replied, tearing the top of the cardboard apart and sliding a sleeve of cookies out, ripping the plastic.

"That's Oreos," Alex corrected.

"Shh," Stef said, fixing her with a mock-stern look and placing her hands on either side of the box as if covering its ears. "Don't you tell them that, they are right here. God, Alex, have some respect."

Alex snorted and rolled her eyes. "You're seriously such a dork."

"Yes, I know. You tell me every day."

"It's okay though," Alex reassured her. "I still love you."

Stef smiled, pausing to look at her sincerely. "Yeah? Well I love you too."

Alex looked down at her lap, a blush creeping into her cheeks. "I remember when you didn't," she joked. "I remember a time when you flat-out hated me."

"I never hated you," Stef clarified. "I was suspicious of you, of course. Hell, I didn't even know you existed," she nudged her teasingly, her face dropping when Alex didn't quip back.

"Do you think he did?" she asked quietly.

Stef opened her mouth to speak, trying to choose her words carefully before Alex cut her off.

"I mean I know I've asked you before but honestly…do you think our dad knew about me?" she questioned, looking up at Stef almost desperately, searching for any semblance of an answer. It broke Stef's heart to know that she would most likely never get a definitive one.

"I don't know, honey," Stef said, growing more serious. "Honestly, I have absolutely no idea. I wish I had an answer for you, babe, but I don't," she said sadly.

Alex nodded, biting her cheek and growing silent before Stef spoke up again.

"But, you know what? I bet he knows about you now," she reassured her, absentmindedly running a hand through her hair. "You know I'm not big on religion or any of that but uh, I have a feeling," Stef said, confident despite her weariness on the subject of church and faith. "I have a feeling that he's looking down on you, watching over you, and I bet he is so proud."

Alex's mouth twitched up into a small smile, relaxing a bit at Stef's words. Though they weren't the answers she wanted, in a way it was better. Knowing was ideal, though she knew it would hurt finding out for sure either way. Stef's words healed some of the pain of living in question, numbed the aching of wanting to know.

"I bet he's proud of you too," Alex replied.

Stef smiled back at her, thankful for her words, though she couldn't bring herself to believe them. Her dad had made somewhat of an effort at the end of his life, but she couldn't bring herself to believe he would've ever truly accepted her. But maybe, just maybe, he could have learned to. And maybe in his last moments he had. And she would cling to that wishful thinking, despite her doubts. "I hope so," she replied softly.

"But," Stef said after a moment of silence, "no use dwelling on the past. We should be looking to the future instead, yes?"

"Right," Alex agreed, eager to change the subject though she'd been the one to bring it up.

"All right, so tell me, Ms. Alexandra Elizabeth," Stef said in a professional tone, using her full name. "What do you see happening in your future?"

"Well," Alex laughed, "that's a pretty broad question. What do you mean, like near future or far future?"

"I don't know," Stef shrugged. "Both, either, I don't care. Just tell me what you're looking forward to, what you want to do."

"Okay," Alex said slowly. "Well as for the near future I guess I'm pretty excited about Andy coming down to visit," she bit her lip.

"Ah," Stef smiling cheekily. "Yes, I'm excited about that too."

"Again, thank you for agreeing to let him come."

"No problem," Stef said, refusing to get sidetracked by her gratitude. "So why are you so excited about Andy coming?" she asked, the expectant, amused expression still plastered on her face.

"Because we're good friends," Alex said vaguely.

"He your boyfriend?" Stef questioned without missing a beat.

"Stef, please," Alex said, exasperated.

"Well is he?" she asked, her gaze unbending.

Alex sighed as she made eye contact with Stef, but couldn't help the small grin that emerged a moment later. "I don't know, maybe? Kind of, I guess. We want to see how the visit goes before making anything official."

"So yes?" Stef asked straightforwardly.

"Yes," Alex admitted. "Pretty much."

"Hm," Stef mumbled, slinging her hand over the back of the bench, calculated but casually.

"What?" Alex questioned. "Is that a problem? Do you not like Andy?"

"No, no," Stef shook her head. "No, I like Andy. I'm just going to warn you now that he'll be getting the 'if you hurt her I'll cut your balls off speech' while I polish my gun when he comes down."

"Please tell me you're exaggerating," Alex pleaded.

"Eh, we'll see. I may have to modify it a little. Lena doesn't like it when I say the word balls."

"Well this should be fun."

"Oh, and I'm still giving him hell for sneaking into the database," Stef informed her.

"Stef, seriously? You're still hung up on that? That's was literally months ago. And plus, I never would've found you had it not been for that."

"Still illegal. He'll be hearing about it," Stef replied mercilessly.

"So basically your plan is to put the fear of god into him," Alex rolled her eyes.

"Basically."

"Excellent. Should be fun," she replied sarcastically, looking forward to the visit, but dreading Stef's endless teasing when he did.

Stef smirked. "All right, so we got the near future thing all figured out, talk mo be about the farther away future. Life goals, ultimate career plans, have you been thinking about any of that? With those fabulous test results, the world is your oyster."

Alex smiled. After almost two long months, she'd finally received her GED test results back and, like Lena had promised, she'd aced it. They'd celebrated it, Stef had went out and bought a cake after work, Jude had used his skills to make some makeshift decorations strung up in the kitchen, but as nice as the celebration was, it was nowhere near as great as the feeling she got. She'd finally accomplished something, finished something she'd started. She'd worked for it and it had worked out for her. She felt a sense of pride and accomplishment she'd never had before, and she craved more of it.

"I have been thinking about that actually, and I think I've come up with a plan," Alex said a bit shyly. She'd been considering this for awhile, but she hadn't ever told anybody. She figured now was as good a time as any to run it by Stef and reveal what she'd been thinking about.

"Oh really?" Stef asked interestedly.

"Yup," Alex nodded, trying to get the courage and confidence to continue. "Of course, plans change, so this might not be what actually happens."

"Sure, of course, but what are you thinking now?"

"Well," she started, "I was thinking that maybe next fall I could sign up for some community college classes. That gives me almost a year to save up more money and I'll be eighteen by then so I'll be the same age as a lot of the students that go there."

"Mhm," Stef nodded.

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Alex snapped her head over to Stef to gauge her reaction. "Like, do you think that I'd be smart enough?" she asked nervously.

Stef blew out an obvious breath. "Duh. I know you're smart enough," she said, throwing an arm around her shoulders in comforting reassurance. "And I think that's an excellent idea. I know Lena will be especially thrilled."

"Yeah," Alex nodded, curling up closer into the blonde, "I think it would be good."

"Do you know what you want to do? Do you have any areas in mind, what classes you'd want to take or what you'd want to major in?"

"Yeah, actually," Alex bit her lip, bracing herself. This was going to be the hardest part. Proposing college in general wasn't what made her nervous, it was what she wanted to do in and after college.

"Really?" Stef asked curiously. She was a bit surprised. She'd never heard Alex talk about anything she was especially interested in going forward after the basic degree. "And what would that be?"

"Uh, law enforcement," Alex said, trying to sound nonchalant.

Stef pulled back slightly from the embrace in order to look at her face. "Law enforcement?" she repeated, wondering if - and almost hoping - she'd misheard her.

"Yeah," Alex said back, attempting a casual shrug.

"So you want to be a cop?" Stef questioned.

"Maybe," Alex shrugged again. "I mean, nothing's set in stone, obviously, I've just been considering it for awhile and that's my plan as of right now," she bit her lip when Stef remained quiet. "So…what do you think?" she asked, wanting some reassurance and approval, wanting her blessing.

Stef narrowed her eyes. "Cop, huh? Where'd you get that idea?"

Alex smiled shyly, "I think you know."

Stef snapped her gaze back down to the girl, her heart warming and breath catching a little at the thought that she'd inspired this, even a little bit. She squeezed the girl closer to her, kissing her forehead. "It's a noble profession," Stef admitted.

"I know," Alex nodded.

"Our dad was a cop too, you know," Stef informed her, absentmindedly stroking her hair.

"Really?" Alex asked, looking up at her.

"Yup," Stef nodded in confirmation.

"I didn't know that," Alex said quietly, the revelation making her heart skip.

"Must be hereditary," Stef said, causing Alex to smile.

"Runs in the family, I guess," Alex agreed, snuggling closer to Stef but preparing herself for the inevitable turn of conversation.

"But it is dangerous," Stef warned, her mind flipping to the other side of the double-edged sword. As happy and proud as she was that Alex wanted to follow in her footsteps and go into a field of service, she was also terrified. She didn't want this kid - her kid, practically - out on the front lines, especially since she'd experienced firsthand the kind of situations police sometimes had to encounter. She swallowed thickly, already anxious at the mere idea of Alex out there in some of those places, having to do some of the things and see some of the sights she had in her time on the force.

"I know," Alex replied, stifling a laugh at Stef's obvious statement.

"Very dangerous, at times. You have to be extremely careful and alert. You can never lose focus," she warned. "It's important that you always-" she began to rant.

"Stef," Alex cut her off.

"What?" Stef asked.

"I'm not a cop yet. I still have about four years to go for that," she informed.

"Right," Stef shook her head. "Sorry."

"It's okay," Alex said, an amused giggle slipping before the two were overtaken by a comfortable silence.

Stef sighed. "A cop, kid? Seriously?" she asked after a few minutes. "Why couldn't you have had a passion for a safer job? Why couldn't you have wanted to follow in Lena's footsteps, huh?" she asked, poking Alex's side.

"I don't know. I'm sorry," she breathed out a laugh.

"Mhm," Stef muttered. "It's like you're hellbent on trying to give us a heart attack. Speaking of which, you know, you've just done the easy part. Telling Lena about your little plan, now that's going to be the real challenge."

Alex sucked in a breath through her teeth. She'd forgotten that little detail. "Oh god," she turned her face into Stef's shoulder, hiding her face and groaning.

Stef chuckled, rubbing her arm. "You know she'll support you in whatever you decide to do," she reassured her. "But she isn't going to be thrilled at the prospect, I'm warning you right now. She still hates the thought of me going out there. You have it bad, kid."

"But you'll be there when I tell her, right? You'll be there so you can maybe calm her down and talk some sense into her?" she asked desperately.

"Yeah," Stef smiled amusedly at Alex's fears, though they were legitimate. Lena would be proud, but Lena would also freak out. Stef was already banking on some sleepless nights in both their futures, along with some proud tears.

"Good," Alex said, relieved. "Because I need you with me," she said more quietly, and Stef knew she wasn't just talking about during this one conversation anymore.

"I'll always be with you, baby," Stef said softly, brushing her hair back and placing another kiss on her forehead.

"Always."

The End.

Wow. It feels so weird saying that. This is so bittersweet. As always, thank you so much for reading and reviewing. I can't possibly thank you all enough, and I definitely could not have done this without you. Writing this story has been such an incredible journey, one I am so glad to have been able to share with you all. (I'm crying a little bit as I type this, but I'm just going to pretend it's allergies.) But honestly, thank you, thank you, thank you from the very bottom of my heart for being the best readers ever. Give yourself a high-five. And a hug. And some chocolate. You deserve it.

I'll be posting a little bonus deleted scene/chapter for this story (it's a bit of a shorter fun one focusing around Alex and Stef) within the next couple days, so be on the lookout for that as well! I think I'll post it as a new story so if I ever write more one shots with Alex (which is definitely a possibility in the future!), I can have them all separate from this main story and grouped together. And of course I would love for you to tell me what you thought of this last chapter too!

Thanks Liz and Grace for all their awesome help. And, once again, thank you to every single one of you.

Much love,

Taylor.