Do not own Orange Is the New Black or any of the characters.

This is a super super sneak peek on something I have been planning for a while now.

Enjoy

Sunlight

Mornings

May 2024

It was early in the morning and the sunlight was just peeking through the crack in the curtains. It was going to be a beautiful spring day, she thought. Everyday was a beautiful day nowadays.

It had been two weeks since she had given birth to Tessa and three since Issy had come home. Her whole family was finally underneath the same roof. It brought a smile to her face to think that the storm had finally passed.

Her blue eyes fell onto the infant currently attached to her boob. She caressed the soft doughy flesh of Tessa's cheek as she continued to feed her. She loved the soft suckling sounds coming from her daughter.

Piper Chapman never would have through that she would have another baby, let alone Alex's. After Issy had been born, she thought that would be it for her. She would have her one little girl and she was happy with that. She always knew she wanted to have at least one child, but now that she held Tessa in her arms, two was really the perfect number.

The baby began to whimper as she pulled away from the nipple.

"You all full?" asked Piper as she looked down at Tessa. The baby's blue eyes looked up at Piper and stayed there. Tessa was only two weeks old, but was extremely alert already. Piper made a face at the baby before kissing her crown and lifting her up to her shoulder. She continued to kiss the baby's cheek as she rubbed circles along her back. Piper continued to whisper sweet nothings into Tessa's ear as she burped her. A few moments passed before she settled Tessa back into the crook of her arm and rose from her seat. She was currently in the nursery. She had come in here to feed the baby allowing Alex to sleep for a bit in peace.

Piper walked softly out of the room and head back towards the bedroom. Alex was still asleep as she pushed open the door and entered. She slowly walked across the bedroom floor towards the bassinette beside the bed. She kissed a now sleeping Tessa before putting her down in the bassinette.

Alex stirred as Piper climbed back into bed.

"Hi," whispered Alex, her voice heavy with sleep.

"Hi," whispered back Piper with a smile as she lay her head down onto the pillow and looked over at her wife. They didn't say anything for a moment as they continued to just enjoy the quietness that filled the room. Quietness was a rarity nowadays in their household.

"You look tired," stated Alex. "Where you up all night?"

"I slept for a bit."

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"Because you need to rest. You're still recovery from major surgery, Alex."

"Next time wake me," murmured Alex after a moment had passed.

"Okay," smiled Piper in agreement. "The next poopy diaper is yours my friend."

"That sounds better!" Alex never would had thought she would get happy to hearing about changing a diaper. But she really wanted to be more hands on in taking care of Tessa. Piper had been taking care of her mostly up until this point. The brunette was still recovering from surgery and needed to take things slowly, but that didn't meant she couldn't change a diaper or two.

The couple continued to look at each other before Alex was pulling Piper closer to her side. "You should sleep," she whispered in her ear. She knew that her wife was exhausted from being up all night feeding their daughter.

"Kay," murmured Piper, not arguing this time. Sleep sounded very good to her ears at the moment. She closed her eyes and immediatly began to drift off beside the warmth of her wife's body. Alex pressed a kiss to Piper's crown before drifting off herself.

However, the couple's peacefulness didn't last for too much longer before the loud wails of the baby filled the room.

"You're up Momma!" whispered Piper as she cracked opened an eye and looked at Alex.

Alex just rolled her eyes as she slowly moved into a seated position in the bed. She winced slightly as an ache of pain ran along her abdomen. She ignored it though as she reached for her glasses on the nightstand and shoved them up the bridge of her nose.

Tessa's cries continued to pierce the air as Alex slowly manoeuvred herself out of bed and made her way over to the bassinette.

"Hey."

She peered over the bassinette as stared down at the baby inside. Tessa's face was scrunched up like a bulldog's. Her small mouth hung open, showing off a two rows of pink gums. Her hands were curled up into two small fist, waving in the air as she kicked her legs, unravelling herself from the blanket, Piper had swaddled her in, earlier.

"Hey," whispered Alex again as she leaned forward and gently lifted the upset baby into the crook of her arm. "What's wrong?"

Tessa's cries settled down slightly at this.

"Huh, what's wrong?" asked Alex again in a soft voice towards the baby. "You're okay." She bounced the baby in her arms until her piercing cries faded into a whimper.

Tessa opened her eyes and stared intensely up at Alex.

A small curved of a smile spread across Alex's face at this. She felt her heart snag as those blue eyes continued to look deeply into her. She would never get use to this feeling, she thought. How her heart felt like it was going to burst with love each time those eyes looked up at her.

Alex brought Tessa up to her shoulder, supporting the back of her head as she kissed the baby's doughy cheek. She closed her eyes briefly, inhaling the sweet powdering scent of her skin. You always heard people talk about that baby smell or how good babies smelt but Alex never really believe it, just thinking it was something people made up. But she now knew it was true. Baby's did smell good.

She patted the baby's bottom, seeing if she was wet. The diaper was bone dry.

"You little..." her voice trailed off as she smirked at her daughter. "You aren't wet at all. You're bone dry. And here I thought I would have to deal with a stinky diaper. You just wanted to be held. Didn't you? You little stinker!"

"Did you just call our daughter a little stinker?" asked Piper from the bed.

"Yeah," replied Alex as she turned her attention to her wife. "She was crying for no reason. She just wanted our attention."

Piper smiled as she lifted herself up onto her elbows and continued to glaze on at Alex and their daughter.

"She knew exactly what she was doing," stated Alex as she made her way back to the bed, holding the baby still against her chest.

Piper just rolled her eyes before laying back down against the pillows. She watched as Alex slid back down beside her with a now sleeping Tessa with her. She automatically reached out and gently caressed the back of her head, feeling the feathery soft hairs that covered it.

"She manipulative this one," joked Alex as she looked down at the sleeping infant.

"She is a Vause," stated Piper as she met Alex's eye. "Those Vauses can be very manipulative."

"Well, you married one," whispered Alex as she leaned forward and captured her wife's lips in a kiss.

"I did," murmured back Piper. She smiled at her wife before once again laying her head back down on the pillow. She closed her eyes, listening to the soft cooing of the baby before falling asleep.

The blonde didn't get to catch up on too much sleep before the squeak of the bedroom door awoke her.

"Mommy?" whispered a small fairy like voice into the room. "Momma?"

"Hey! Did I tell you, you could get up?" cried out Alex from across the room as Issy poked her head inside the room.

Issy giggled in response to Alex's comment. "It's morning," replied the six year old as her feet began to walk across the hardwood floors of the bedroom and towards the end of the bed. "You get up in the mornings."

"Well, who says it's morning?" asked Alex in all seriousness as she peered over her glasses at her stepdaughter. "Maybe it's still night?"

Issy again giggled in response to what Alex had said. The little girl climbed up onto the bed and began to craw across it. "It's not night, silly. The sun's out. It's morning time!"

"I dunno," shrugged Alex as she rubbed Tessa's back. "If it's morning why is Mommy still sleeping?"

"Mommy isn't sleeping anymore," yawned Piper as she forced herself into a seated position.

"See! It is morning! Mommy's awake now!" replied Issy in a matter-of-fact tone towards Alex.

Alex just smirked at the little girl. Despite still recovering from the transplant surgery, Issy was in good spirits. Everything seemed to be going well for her. Her body had yet to reject the kidney that Alex had given her.

Piper motioned for Issy to come sit in her lap.

"Come here, Isa."

Issy smiled at Piper as she climbed into her lap.

Piper immediatly wrapped her arms around Issy's small frame, kissing the soft downy hairs that covered it. These were the moments that she loved and lived for nowadays. These quiet moments spent in bed with her family.

Her girls.

Thanks for reading.

Julie