Author's Note: And this is it, folks! For this fic, anyway. The sequel will be out soon, and it'll be named after another Tom Petty song in keeping with my theme, so be on the lookout! Thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting and following!

Breakdown

Healy stood in the doorway of the rec room, watching Nichols laughing as she tossed a roll of toilet paper up to Vause, who was perched on a ladder held by Chapman.

"Come on, Vause, get it straighter!" Nichols called up to the dark-haired woman, "We gotta make this look nice for Ma."

"She's not my 'ma,'" Vause corrected, trying to straighten the toilet paper garland anyway.

"Whatever; that doesn't mean you need to fuck up her going-away party decorations," the wild-haired girl shot back.

Healy suppressed a chuckle. Normally, he could only barely tolerate Alex Vause, though his dislike of her was, at this point, more a force of habit than anything else. At first, he had resented her because she was a lesbian and because she was leading Chapman off the straight and narrow path. But that was two years ago, and it seemed stupid to Healy at this point. His sessions with his therapist had forced him to explore why he hated lesbians so much, and had shown him that his homophobia was as pointless as it was petty and hateful. Furthermore, in their conversations, Red talked a lot about her 'girls,' many of whom were gay themselves, and Healy felt as though he had gotten to know them through her. Red didn't allow her daughters' sexuality to define how she saw them; she regarded them only as people, vulnerable young women who needed her help and who gave her their loyalty in return. Perhaps, Healy reflected, it was time to take a page out of her book and stop being such a damn dick.

In this spirit, he allowed himself to give Chapman a small smile and a raise of his coffee cup by way of greeting when she looked over and saw him in the doorway.

"You guys having a party for Red?" he asked. Vause ignored him, but Chapman smiled and Nichols nodded.

"Well, the decorations look real good. Good work," he said, before starting off down the hall to his office. He was stopped in his tracks when Morello rounded the corner, gesturing wildly at Red, who was rolling her eyes.

"Lorna, please," the Russian woman said in an exasperated tone, "I left my jacket in the kitchen, it's fucking freezing in the dorms, now let me be on my way. I won't look in the rec room when I pass it." Morello still persisted in her attempts to block Red's way. "I already know what they're doing in there anyway," Red said.

"Well you can borrow my jacket," Morello said. Red scoffed; she had twenty pounds on the slim girl easily; no way was any of Morello's clothing going to fit her. "Come on, let's go back to the bunks. I can help you pack up your stuff to give away tonight," the Jersey girl insisted.

Healy walked up to the two women. "Morello, Red," he greeted.

The younger woman greeted him warmly, as was her way, but Red simply nodded and said, "Healy." He thought he saw the beginnings of a smile on her face, but he had long ago given up expecting it when he met her outside of his office like this. She would never let her mask slide, which was probably for the best, even if it did disappoint him at times.

With a final nod to both women, Healy went into his office. Red turned to Morello, a scowl on her face but her eyes softer. "You want to help me pack my things?" she asked. Morello nodded eagerly. Anything to keep Red away from the rec room. "Fine then. Let's go back to the dorms." Morello squealed in delight and took Red's hand, practically pulling her down the hallway.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was late when Red knocked on Healy's office door, just minutes before lights out. She didn't even know if he would be there, but she did know that she would be devastated if he weren't. Starting tomorrow, she would have to wait five weeks to see him again, and if she didn't say goodbye to him now, then she wouldn't get another chance.

She wanted to go to him earlier, but her entire day had been taken up by her daughters (plus Chapman, whom she had never officially 'adopted' but who had, at some unidentifiable point, decided to shadow her anyway). Even outside of the party that they had thrown her, her girls had been all over her, all day. Red couldn't even take a step without tripping over one of them. She understood it; they were not only losing their mother figure, but also their staunchest defender. Healy had promised to look after them when she left, but it wouldn't be the same and, besides, they had no way of knowing this, because it wasn't like she could tell them. So they clung to her while they still had her. It had been annoying and had kept her away from the person she most wanted to be near, but she had also appreciated it.

Red turned the doorknob, elated to see that the door was unlocked. He was sitting at attention at his desk when she came in, waiting for her as he always did. When her eyes met his, Healy could see that her face was red and puffy, her eyes similarly reddened. She had been crying on and off all day. He stood up from his desk and came to her, putting a hand on her back and leading her to the small sofa, where she immediately melted into his embrace. For a few moments, they just sat in silence, listening to the radio, which was on and was playing "Breakdown" by Tom Petty. The song had always been one of Healy's favorites and, as he held Red and listened to the words, he realized was not an inaccurate description of how he had felt about her at the start of their relationship.

"So," he said, breaking the silence, "Tomorrow."

"Yeah," she replied, her voice thick with emotion, "It feels so stupid to admit that I'm going to miss this place."

"It's not stupid. You spent almost two decades of your life here."

"I know. And it's not even the place. I will definitely not miss this cinderblock shithole. It's the people. I'm going to miss my girls, my Nicky and Norma. And I'm going to miss you." That went without saying, but she knew that Healy needed to hear it.

"I'll miss you, too, solnyshka. But it won't be forever. Nicky will be out before you know it, and you can come visit Norma whenever you want. And as for me, well, I'll be waiting for you on the outside, whenever you want me." He was on the verge of asking her to re-think their agreement, begging her not to make him go more than a month without her, but he knew that it wouldn't work and would only make her feel bad. She was right; she needed that time on her own, to get her head back in the real world and try to make something for herself. Healy had made his peace with that, and he refused to torment her about it when she was already vulnerable.

One of her hands had landed on his chest, and her fingers were idly playing with the buttons on his shirt.

"I'm scared, Sam," she admitted, "More than that. I'm terrified."

"Don't be," he said, dropping a quick kiss on the top of her head and inhaling her scent, "You're going to be fine. You'll be more than fine. You're going to be magnificent."

"Well, I'm glad at least one of us thinks so," she said through the fresh tears that were threatening to fall. Suddenly, they both jumped as they were interrupted by Wanda Bell's voice over the PA system.

"Well you left them in the washer again and now they smell like mildew, Scott; it's disgusting," the CO said before realizing that she was on the intercom and then barking, "Lights out, ladies!"

Red couldn't help but snicker, and she felt Healy's chest rumbling beneath her cheek as he laughed, too.

"She's been here five fucking years; you'd think she'd realize when she's on speaker by now," Red said. Then she disengaged herself from Healy's arms and stood up, grabbing one of his hands and hauling him up with her. "I should go to my cube; my last night isn't the best time to get sent to SHU for breaking the rules."

"Probably not," he agreed, not letting go of her hand.

"Kiss me before I go," she demanded, "Give me something to hold me over until I see you again."

Healy obeyed gladly, pulling her in for a kiss that was soft and relatively tame, but still infused with all of the love and sorrow he felt in that moment.

"Remember, Galina," he said when they broke apart, "You have my phone number, you know how to find me. If you need anything, let me know."

She nodded and then pecked his lips again before leaving. Healy went to his window and watched her disappear down the hall. Tomorrow she would be free, and then all that Healy would have would be memories and an agonizing stretch of time spent waiting.