Hello, All. Kris here :) I apologize for the Hiatus with this one! I'm not dead I promise! ive just been very very very busy. I got a full time job recently that just started along with my part time job, so ive been at work pretty much 12 hours a day, 5-6 days a week. It's rough. Im saving up money, trying to get myself in order and my life on track, and since I usually write when im feeling down and out, its almost a good sign that I havent been around. Not for you guys, but for me. I was thinking a lot about this story, and I had abandoned it once. I got it back on track, and with one chapter left, I didnt want to leave you guys hanging again. So here we go! chapter 11. The end. Thank you all for taking this journey with me. It feels so amazing to complete a piece of art, even if it's a writing piece. I love you all dearly and your support means the absolute world to me. Thank you for the kind words and for believing in me. Thank you for commenting every now and then, reminding me that this story was waiting to be finished, and I had a job to do. It motivated me to get off my ass and do it.

With everything else being said, I have a bit of sad news. Due to my very busy new schedule, im gonna be taking a break from fanfiction for awhile. I wont be gone forever, not at all, but it's gonna be awhile before you guys read another one of these bold blurbs again. I need time to find me, to get my shit together, and to really focus on what I want and how to get there. The passion just isnt in me right now, and I had just enough left to churn out this last chapter which I owe you guys. I'm not really sure when ill be back, but I hope I can return soon enough to make you guys happy again. With all that out of the way, Enjoy the last chapter!

Alex sat in a small rec room with Red, Nicky, and Frieda. Frieda and Red were playing cards amongst themselves, and Nicky was trying her best to crack jokes and alleviate some of the tension in the room. It wasn't working too well. Alex had been staring through the TV since they took a seat. The line of communication between Red and Caputo had gone quiet since last night, and that alone was scaring the shit out of her.

"Give Chapman some more credit, huh?" Nicky said, pushing Alex's arm gently. "I'm sure everything is fine. Caputo cant talk to us every day… right, ma?" She looked to Red for help. Red nodded.

"She's right. He's risking a lot by even involving so many of us in this mess…"

"Something isn't right." Alex said, her stomach doing flips as she spoke. "I just… I know it…"

"No news is good news." Frieda stated, putting a card down on the table. "Leave it at that and shut up."

Alex glared at the older woman for a long time before she got to her feet. She pushed her chair in forcefully, and was about to leave the rec room when suddenly, the sound of the TV blaring a little louder stopped her in her tracks. One of the inmates had changed it to the news for a second.

"That's right bill, and this just in from Chicago, bloodshed behind bars." Alex stopped dead in her tracks. Nicky caught her eyes cautiously, and they both turned their attention to the screen. "Late last night authorities reported a death of a female inmate. No names have been recorded at this time-" Suddenly, the CO in charge of the break room shut off the TV quickly, ignoring the jeers and shouts of disapproval coming from the masses.

"Hey!" Alex yelled. "Put that back on!" the CO glared at her.

"How'd you like a shot?" she continued their staring contest until Nicky grabbed her arm.

"Vause…" she warned.

"You don't think…?" Red whispered, looking at Freida with worry.

"I dunno, but I wouldn't put all your eggs in one basket. People get killed in prison all the time… could be anybody."

"I knew this was a bad idea… and this fucking moron wont put the TV on so I can find out what happened!" hissed Alex, moving for the remote. The CO finally lost her patience, and grabbed Alex's arm roughly.

"I said TV time was over! Now unless you want three shots, no dinner, and to be scrubbing toilets for the rest of your sentence, get lost."

Nicky began to pull her away, nodding.

"No thank you, we'll take the get lost option…" she lowered her voice into a growl as she tugged Alex out of the room. "Are you fuckin crazy!? Drop it!" Red and Freida followed them out slowly.

"What the fuck was that about? What happened?" Alex pressed once they were out of earshot, almost backing Red into a wall. The Russian showed no fear, keeping her gaze level.

"I know as much as you, Vause. Caputo cut our lines last night. I'm not to contact him until he contacts us." Her eyes were sad. "There is nothing I have for you."

"We don't know it's her, yet." Freida said. "There could have been a riot, someone stole someone else's snickers bar… bitches in prison are in prison for a reason. Everyone is batshit."

"Yeah, thanks… that's gonna help me sleep tonight." Alex said with a smirk, rolling her eyes. "Who else could it be? A woman just so happens to die the night we send my crazy ex-drug lord boss in for a set up?" she turned around. "Forget it. Obviously i'm crazy again, right?" she stormed off. Red watched her go, and Nicky stepped forward.

"I'll take care of it, Ma." she answered, running off in the direction Alex went.

"I hope to god it isn't her…" Red whispered, shaking her head. "This prison has taken one too many of my children… my family."

"If it is… I hope she put up a hell of a fight." Freida responded.

Piper wasn't sure when her vision stopped swimming or the world stopped being dark. When she came to, still covered in Stella's blood, she was handcuffed tightly, and she was… rattling?

She tried harder to focus. She heard a variety of noises, voices, sounds, thumps, a roar of an engine. The shaking of the glass pane. Bus. She was on a bus. She slowly sat up with a groan, the rattling stopping once she removed her temple from the window. It was night time, and hard to tell where she was, or what was going on, but she felt as if she'd been out for awhile.

She was suddenly aware of a presence beside her, and a chubby spanish woman sat a few inches from her, giving her a weird look.

"Oh, you ain't dead?" Piper sighed, trying to figure out how to talk, how to be a person. The past few hours had been a nightmare. Her heart ached for Stella. She wouldnt get a proper funeral, or get to live the life she wanted. It was all her fault.

"Unfortunately, no…" she looked back out at the fast moving world around them. "Where are we headed?"

"New York… to the max facility I think? Not too sure but the guards have some loud voices." Piper felt herself get three times lighter. Max? She was going to max? Alex was in max! Caputo had kept his promise after all. She felt like she was going to cry.

"Thank god…" she whispered, her eyes welling up. "Thank god… Thank god… Thank god…"

"What are you, a jesus freak? Damn…" the spanish woman said, turning away in disgust. Piper snorted with laughter, not even caring. The sight of the approaching airport made her cry even harder. It was happening. She was going back to her Alex. She was going home.

The next day, Alex and Nicky sat across from each other in the library. They read silently, but yesterday after Alex had run off, Nicky had tried to talk to her with no avail. Alex had chased her away, demanding space, but after feeling guilty, she promised to meet Nicky in the library to talk things out.

"You gonna tell me what's going on in that pretty head of yours?"

"Are you hitting on me?"

"You wish." Nicky said, winking. They shared a laugh before her face turned solemn. "No, but… for real… you okay, kid?" Alex sighed, pushing her glasses up to the top of her head.

"I'm worried, Nicky." her eyes were wet. "I haven't been this afraid since that christmas play… all that blood… not knowing… I know I haven't heard enough to make assumptions yet but right now my brain is going a hundred miles an hour and i'm trying to catch it."

"You gotta give her more credit, Vause…" Nicky replied, wrapping her arms around her best friend. "Maybe gangsta Piper kicked in and she was able to sort shit out in time." Alex snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Gangsta Piper… don't even get me fucking started…"

"Piper Pussy riot Chapman strikes again…" they laughed some more. "Listen, im just saying, let's not make any crazy assumptions until we get that call from Caputo… he's probably under a massive storm of shit trying to keep us from getting caught in the Kubra business."

"Good point." Alex said, and Nicky got to her feet.

"I always make good points. Now come on… lets get some food and try to get through the day, huh? I'm worried sick too, but it's nothing a meal won't fix."

"You trying to make me feel worse? The food? Here?" they continued on towards the cafeteria. The rest of the day passed by without any incident. Nicky and Alex spent most of the day playing cards, talking, and passing time. Around dinner time, they walked towards the kitchen where Red was holed up to find her office empty.

"Where's she at? She knows it's time to eat, right?" Nicky questioned, and Alex looked around. Suddenly, the small Russian woman burst around the corner, out of breath.

"Alex!" she yelled. "Nicky! Quickly!" Nicky ran over to her, grabbing her arms.

"Easy, Ma… easy… what's wrong? What happened?"

"Chapman!" she cried. "Chapman! Hallway!" Alex felt her face break into a huge smile, and the weight lift from her shoulders. Without another word, she took off running down the corridor, turning a corner, and barreling right into Piper, who seemed just as excited and eager to see her.

"Alex!" Piper cried, grabbing a hold of her fiance and yanking her into her arms, beginning to laugh and cry at the same time. "Alex, Alex…" she gasped, sobbing into her shoulder. Alex returned the hold, kissing her head, her face, her neck, and squeezing her tight.

"Pipes…" she whispered, choking up. "You're okay… you're alive… we saw the news… we thought…"

"It was Stella…" Piper whimpered, shaking her head. "She was gonna be on our side, but they wouldn't reduce her sentence… they wouldn't give her anything out of it… she picked a battle with an angry guard and lost…"

"Holy shit…" Nicky said, looking kind of lost. "You're fucking kidding me, right?" Red moved beside her, pulling her into a hug. Nicky let out a small sigh, resting her head on her mother's shoulder. "I just talked to her… she wasnt the best but she didn't deserve to die…"

"Nobody does." Red replied, stroking her back. "This place takes one too many."

"Im so happy to see you…" Piper said to Alex in a hushed voice, resting their foreheads together. "I missed you so much… im so glad youre okay…"

"Me too, kid…" Alex murmured, her voice tight. "You have no idea how worried I was…" Piper kissed her hands, smiling at her lovingly. Alex reached up, grabbing a hold of her face, and capturing her lips in a deep kiss. They stayed that way for a few seconds before breaking, looking as lovesick and as happy as ever.

"How's your arm?" Piper asked, reaching for it and checking it over. Alex smiled a little.

"Sore, but better. I had to have it reset because it wasnt healing right at first… a cast gets you the wrong kind of attention in here."

"Who was bothering you? Give me names… ill crack some bitches open."

"Easy there, gagsta Piper…" Nicky joked, still leaning on Red. "We're together now but we aint no panty party."

"Ass doctor and soup, right?" Alex whispered, wrapping her arms around Piper's waist and pulling her close. Piper leaned into her touch, giving a tearful nod.

"Always and forever, with my wife…" Alex smiled.

"Sounds perfect."

Our ladies got a happy ending. With that, I bid you all farewell for now. See you soon enough. Kris signing off. xoxox.