Chapter One

The alarms kept sounding and Piper crouched down in her bunk. She read over that one letter that Alex sent. She sent lots of them actually. Piper had been so angry she threw the first few out, but then she just put them up. She opened that one...that one weakness...which led to her seeing Alex again.

What if she hadn't given in to it? Alex would have given up and left. She would have disappeared. Would that have been so bad? How many times is she going to let this woman...no. That wasn't fair to Alex and it made her seem like a punk ass in her own life.

She would let Alex ruin her life any number of times if it meant that she was safe. Ever since she said she slept with a gun, Piper couldn't sleep. She just kept imagining Cubra having men hold her down and Alex begging him. Sometimes, she shot him but it always ended bad for Alex. She said they'd done that O'Henry crap. The Gift of the Magi, had always seemed like a prime example of poor communication to Piper. Granted, they did have to communicate through lunch tray notes, panty exchange and while shackled in transport.

She filtered through the letters and made sure they were in the correct order. Piper bit her lip and closed her eyes. She re-read the last one again.

Dear Piper,

I always talk to you in my head but when I sit down to write to you I have the hardest time writing the sentence that follows "Dear Piper". We always seem to do better face to face. I want to see you Piper, to explain in person but at this point I am struggling to believe you're even reading these.

I'm struggling to do everything. I'm not just talking about the crappy apartment or the struggle for work. I'm struggling to function daily without worrying myself sick about you. I know you are rolling your eyes because I am too selfish to sit around worrying about someone. But I do.

First, I heard you were beat up by that fucking Hillbilly and you were going to the SHU. I suffered through updates on her...when no one said a damn thing about you. Nicky told me about the SHU, I asked her for details. I tried to imagine you in there...no one giving you meds...fuck Piper, I dropped five pounds the first two weeks you were in there.

Then my lawyer told me I was being shipped to Chicago in a week to testify. I was so fucking scared Piper. He told me they had a strong case against him and I should testify but I knew he'd find a way out of it. I was right.

It's complicated...what happened in Chicago. Just know what I said about being happy to see you was the truth. Oh Pipes, seeing you in the rec yard and hearing you call my name was like waking up from a coma. What happened that day at the court... I want to tell you more about it in person. I have to see your face. Fuck, the only joy I have is remembering your face. I remember how you looked the first time I made you cum. I remember how you look when I wussed out and said "I heart you". You know, that is twice now I've said it first.

Thinking of you and hoping to see you is all I have going for me now. Oh Kid, please...please put me on your list and let me come see you. Please.

I'm going to stop asking now before I get even more pathetic.

I fucking heart you,

Alex Vause

Piper was amazed at the feelings she actually put down on paper. She looked over all the other ones. The paper was different colors. She bought different envelops hoping that Piper would open it without realizing...or at least not throw it out immediately because it was her. Alex is pragmatic but there is nothing pragmatic about this situation. She kept writing and hoping. She had to see Piper because...she wanted to say goodbye.

Piper clutched her letters to her chest and swallowed down her pain. She closed her eyes and remembered how she looked when she saw her in the visiting room. She smelled so good. She knew to wear something that smelled nice. She remembers what it is like not to have those scents that remind you of the outside. Her sweater...it was so soft under her fingertips.

Piper ran her fingertips over the sleeve of her own shirt. It was scratchy and stiff. She imagined how much Alex hates doing her own laundry now but how she splurges for extra softener.

Random thoughts ran through her head. She remembered how Alex looked when she told her she hated her in the kitchen. She told her that again in the visitation room but Alex didn't even blink when she told her it wasn't true. Piper closed her blue eyes and tried so hard not to cry.

What if Alex is hurt when the parole officer went to check? What if she already left and Cubra had her? Piper felt the tears start to fall. She couldn't think about what if Alex was caught as she wished and just returned here. She'd hate Piper.

But she'd be safe. Piper could handle her hate as long as she was breathing and where she could see her. No running or hiding...no sleeping with a gun anymore. She may be in prison but at least she will be semi-safe.

Alex said she couldn't protect Piper unless she lied. In reality, Piper guessed Alex needed her to lie so she didn't get the deal but Alex did. She wanted to believe otherwise but she wasn't as stupid as she used to be. But it didn't matter. She made terrible choices for reasons less appealing than her freedom. Piper also believed that Alex thought she told the truth.

She cut her hair to by the watch chain. They were so fucked up but...so completely and utterly in love. Piper was jerked out of her head by another call for count. She stood again for the count and wondered where the missing person actually was...she knew something was going down in Ghetto dorm. She actually missed that place at times. It was different now though with Vee around. Piper didn't do drugs or smoke but she saw what that type of contraband did to people in here. It was harsh.

Donaldson barked out that they were still on lockdown but would let them have their last bathroom break one cube at a time. She had awhile to wait. She went back in and put up her letters. She didn't read more than the last one. It was all she could handle. Piper listened to the sounds of prison and her heart jumped in her chest again as she thought about Alex trying to sleep. Was she still in her apartment or had the parole officer done his job already? Was she in those terrible holding cells at processing? She could be in Canada by now. Piper doubted that Alex left yet. She was probably going to wait until the roads were more passable.

She'd hate her and know it was Piper that set it up. She wasn't sure...if Alex returned to Litchfield, if she'd admit to setting her up. She was inclined to feign innocence like Alex did with her. Piper laughed under her breath when she remembered how she'd bit off Alex's head when she said she lied because she wanted Piper to like her. Maybe she could just rename herself Piper Hypocrite Elizabeth Chapman. Nicky made a noise toward her at the wall.

"Hey, it's Vee ya know...Parker is missing. She's gone but if she wasn't she'd be on her way to Max for what she did to Red. Taystee told me it was going down and that Healy stepped up for Crazy- um Suzanne," she whispered.

"That's good...sometimes when he isn't being homicidally neglectful, he does a damn fine job," Piper admitted. She didn't really tell anyone about Healy's roll in Pensatucky's beat down. It didn't seem to serve a purpose. Piper looked over to see Soso eyeing her again. She didn't feel much regret when it came to her. She had helped her once or twice but her annoyance factor counteracted much of Piper's empathy. She wasn't sure when the fact that someone annoyed her meant she couldn't empathize with her but she just filed it away in another grey area of her personality that she'd try to deal with and understand once she survived prison.

"Yeah well...I don't see that but whatever. I hope we get off lockdown soon or we'll not be going to work tomorrow," she mumbled. Piper wasn't sure why Nicky was all jazzed up to go out and about tomorrow. She agreed with her though on principal and then was ushered out by an impatient Donaldson towards the bathroom. He wasn't a bad sort. He never took liberties while frisking her and that made him one of the better ones. She pissed and washed up. He timed her so it was very fast. Once back in her cube they took the last ones and told them it was early lights out. Everyone grumbled and complained but they gave in to the men with the keys.

Piper got on her bed and pulled up her blanket. She still missed Miss Claudette's blanket but she was done fighting Boo for it. She didn't want it now anyway after she'd soiled it with her bodily fluids. Piper closed her eyes and as always Alex's face flashed before her. She wasn't smiling but she looked at Piper with deep love.

That was something.

***Okay so here is a start. Season 2 just blew my mind. It didn't feature our girls that much, but we knew that. It did set them up for more major crap later on in season 3, which they are filming now. That cast is the most talented group of performers I've ever seen. So...maybe a lil fan fic about our girls wouldn't be that bad. Just don't expect 100 chapters ;) Please Review. Peace Fae***