The flight from O'Hare to JFK was a little over two hours. Despite everyone having taking turns going to NYC for various reasons the past few months, nerves were still causing the team to be jumpy. Opening week was important. They not only had prepared for and were about execute not one grand opening, but five – over a span of three days. Each borough would be getting its own fanfare.

The original team was all there, even Lorna who had eased up on her schedule in Chicago. She had moved out of the employee apartments and was now living with Nicky. She insisted on working "to keep her honest" although everyone knew Nicky had enough money to make Lorna a well-kept woman. So they compromised and Lorna stayed at the warehouse working on bookkeeping and orientation of new employees.

The first two days would be spent with a team member at each site making sure the buses were in order. Amenity kits had to be properly stocked and linens in place. As with the Chicago opening, each borough had its own customized t-shirts to distribute at the grand opening.

Learning from their own grand openings, Alex had arranged for the fire department to come to the bus warehouse and show the road crews how to hook up their water supplies before the first day. Nothing was going to be left to chance for these events.

Of course, Manhattan was first as it would garner the most attention and most publicity. The Coalition for the Homeless was on Fulton Street in the business district close to the World Trade Center and Wall Street. The crowd was humongous. The number of speakers was endless. Everyone wanted a piece of the publicity. Of course they did, it was an election year.

One of New York's state representatives spoke about the issues of homelessness and what she was doing in her district to help the community. Marka made a few brief remarks as did the urban development representative from Manhattan. Together, the both cut the ribbon to represent the opening of the bus.

The other four openings went just as smoothly as the first. Flaca and Maritza were able to get a great deal of footage to splice together to make promotional videos for fund raising purposes. They had spent a lot of time virtually with the NYC PR team who would be responsible for the social media in the city. Those teams each held live events and filmed clips for YouTube videos. The big promo video would be used for some TV slots as well as at the glitzy fundraisers.

On Friday evening when all the work had been done, Marka had arranged for a private dinner at one of the city's premier restaurants in celebration of a job well done. Amazingly there had been few hiccups and this was accredited to the ungodly amount of planning Piper, Alex, and Nicky had put into the expansion project.

As dessert was being finished, Taystee pushed back from the table. "Damn I'm tired but still… sucks that we have to go home tomorrow. Back to the grindstone in Chicago." Everyone in the Chicago team nodded their heads in agreement.

Alex cocked her head sideways and raised her eyebrows at Nicky. Nicky shrugged her shoulders. Poussey caught the interchange between the two women. "What? What's going on?"

Piper laughed. "Don't let those two mess with your minds." Marka handed an envelope to each of the Chicago workers. The women ripped open the envelopes to find that each held a two-day New York Pass and a two-day subway pass.

"What the f…" Tricia caught herself. She's been trying extremely hard to clean up her mouth.

Piper continued. "You didn't think we could have satellite operations in the Big Apple without letting you be tourists some, did you? The pass is good for most of the attractions in the city. There's also a guide book so you guys can get together tonight if you want to plan what you want to see. You also have a 48-hour transit pass, everything you need for a down and dirty time in the City that Never Sleeps."

Smiling, Marka picked up where Piper left off. "Ladies, enjoy your time in New York. Our flight home leaves Monday afternoon. As long as you are packed and ready to go in the lobby by 11:30 Monday, the weekend is yours."

The hoots and hollers of the Chicago team deafened the rest of the group. They had been busting their asses for the last few months, so this was an incredible reward for them. Excitedly, they gathered their belongings and rushed to the hotel to begin planning for the weekend.

Piper and Alex retreated to their hotel and changed into some comfortable clothes. Pulling open the curtains in their room, they had the perfect view of the city. The Empire State Building was visible on the left and the World Trade Center could be seen in the distance on the right.

Alex came up behind Piper and wrapped her arms tightly around her waist. "They say the top of the Empire State Building is very romantic at night. Can I persuade you to accompany me there for a kiss, perhaps a slow dance?"

"Oh hell Al. No way. I'm exhausted. Can't we just hang out here in our jammies and just be?"

Alex chuckled at how fast her plans had been shot down by the blonde. "As you wish…" But what Piper wanted, Piper got.

Piper lounged on the couch while Alex popped the cork on a bottle of prosecco. She lovingly watched as Alex poured a flute for each of them and took a seat next to Piper on the couch. Piper smiled as she took a sip of the dry, chilled wine.

"I love you Piper." Alex tilted her head sideways as she stared at her girlfriend.

Piper laughed nervously. "I love you, too, Alex." She leaned over to kiss the dark-haired woman on the chin. "We are okay, aren't we Alex?"

A deep, throaty chuckle was followed by an, "I hope so Pipes. I sure hope so."

The couple sat in silence for a while enjoying each other's company.

"I'm glad you didn't leave Chicago, Piper."

"Me, too, Alex. I'm sorry I ever even put the thought in your mind."

More silence. Alex got up to pour another drink. Piper ignored a strange clinking noise. But she did find it odd that Alex stood in front of her this time rather than sitting next to her on the couch.

Piper laughed nervously. "You are staring babe."

Alex nodded. "I mean, I'm really glad you didn't leave Chicago." Alex handed Piper her freshly filled glass and Piper's eyes grew big as she looked at the narrow flute and the shiny, round object laying at the bottom of the glass.

Her eyes darted to Alex who had bent down on one knee. "Because if you had left Chicago, I couldn't do this."

A/N: A few nights ago, I was looking at the beginning date of this story. Wow! It's been going on a year. I know that I tried hard at posting on a weekly basis then life just went off the rails with some work issues and personal struggles. I never meant to drag it out this long, but finally – it's over.

I actually do have another Vauseman I'm working on. Sort of. It's absolutely ridiculous as hell. ha ha I think I'm going to try to get it finished before I start posting so I don't jack up things like I did with this one.

I can't believe I've been posting on here for over two years. Thanks for hanging in with me my friends.

Peace

JT