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

So this is just a little one shot that came to me while re-watching the final episode of season one.

Enjoy!

Silent Night

Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright

The snow continued to fall, hours after all hell had broken loose at Litchfield. The entire prison was still talking about it. No one was sure what had gone down but they knew it hadn't been good.

There had been screaming and shouting from the grounds. The sounds of sirens going off in the distance as they came up the road, approaching the prison. The pageant had just ended when the alarm had gone off. That ear piercing noise had caused everyone to go silent and drop to the floor. The excitement and joy felt minutes earlier faded, replaced with confusion and fear amongst the others.

Pennsatucky and Chapman bunks lay empty as the women of Litchfield turned in for the night. However, everyone was wide awake. Like Children, a waiting Santa Clause, no one was going to be sleeping that night. They were all too wired up to sleep.

Voices buzzed and hummed like bees around the Suburbs Dorm. Everyone was talking about what had happened between Pennsatucky and Chapman. No one knew for sure but everyone had their opinions.

Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace

Red let out a deep sigh as she sat slowly up in her bunk. Her back was bothering her again. The cream that Chapman had made her, was running out. She had meant to talk to the blonde, asking her to make her another bottle of it. However, she hadn't gotten her chance too. And now, she wasn't sure if she ever would with the current absence of the blonde.

The Russian cook rubbed her eyes, before lifting her head and appearing over the walls of her bunk. Her girls were all awake that night. The news of Chapman and Pennsatucky had hit them rough. She wanted to go check up on them. But knew the guard would be back soon to do count. Plus her back was hurting too much to move from the comforts of her bed.

Another sigh, escaped from the older woman lips as a wave of pain erupted through her lower back and slowly up her spin.

Red hadn't been at the pageant that night. She had been seated where she was now. In her bunk, eating her cup of noodles and reading the letters her sons had sent her. She had attend the pageant the years passed. But this year, she didn't have the heart to go. Ever since she had lost her kitchen. She didn't feel like herself, much. She wasn't in the Christmas spirit this year. Galina Reznikov had always been fond of the holiday season. And had tried to look forward to the holidays while at Litchfield but over the years, it dulled her spirits. It just made her more sad in away. On any other day, she could forget about the life she had once had outside of prison walls. But at Christmas time, it made her realized how much she was truly missing.

Her two sons were both grown now and had families of their own. Families, she would never get to meet. She just got sent pictures and long letters. They had always made a point to visit her the first couples of years of her sentence but that had been ten years ago. She hadn't had a visit, in a while.

Silent night, holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight

But she had a new family in away at Litchfield. She had her girls. She liked to think that she was the mother figure of the suburbs. That everyone was special to her in someway or another. However, there was only a handful of a few, that she would really call her daughters. Nicky being the first of them. There was then, Norma and Gina. Those three, were her three main girls that she would move heaven and earth to protect. But over the years, she had accepted others into her nest to see them fly away again. This year was no different with the arrival of both Alex and Piper. She had given them both strikes within the first few weeks of being there but the two girls had grown on the Russian woman. She figured it had to do with them being close to Nicky. But also, they needed a family too.

Red, saw a younger version of herself in away in Alex. Both were business savvy women. Who had made their ways up in the ranks. Red with the Russian mob. And Alex in the drug cartel. They were from different circles but similar in so many ways. Both like to be in control and didn't let people walk over them. But underneath their tough, rough exterior, they were both vulnerable.

Like Nicky, Alex needed a mother. After Alex had insulted her by going passed her and giving Piper the cornbread, Red had thought she would be like all the rest of the girls in Litchfield. But Alex Vause had surprised her. She learnt her lesson quickly. And after she saw her befriend a close relationship with Nicky, Red had taken the girl under her wing.

And then there was Chapman. That girl was something else all together.

Glories stream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!
Christ, the Saviour is born
Christ, the Saviour is born

Red couldn't help but laugh to herself at this. Piper Chapman was filled with surprises it seemed. The blonde never stopped surprising the Russian woman. When she had first met Piper, she had thought she was just another blonde yuppie who had gotten into trouble. She had the younger woman pegged as she lay eyes on her the first time in the cafeteria when Nicky had introduced the two of them.

However, that had quickly changed; when Piper had insulted her food. Red, had then made it her mission to teach this yuppie girl a lesson. Starve her out. But after two failed attempts of apologizing to her, Piper had surprised the cook with showing how she could be resourceful. Red had been impressed to say the least at the cream that the blonde had made just out of peppers and cocoa butter.

And now with the recent events concerning Chapman and Pennsatucky, Red was once again left in awe of the girl.

Chapman had arrived at Litchfield like they all had at one point, scared and unsure of prison life. She had thought that she could be everyone friend. However, Piper's view on things had quickly changed and reality set in for her. Red had seen Piper grown from being that naive yuppie she had arrived as. And the recent events, proved that Chapman was not what she came across as.

She was a fighter.

Pennsatucky had pushed Piper into a corner to the point that she finally fought back and stood her ground.

Piper Chapman was not to be messed with.

Red had never thought that Chapman had it in her. She didn't know the full truth what had gone down between the two women. But she knew that Pennsatucky had been causing trouble with Chapman. She didn't know the full details of the situation, just that the little meth head had it out for the blonde since she arrived. And Red, didn't care about the details. She had a point to stay out of the other girls' drama.

It wasn't her concern.

However, some of the other girls had caught word of what had happened from one of the guards and had been spreading rumors that Chapman had beaten Pennsatucky to a pulp. There was also word that Chapman had been carrying around a screwdriver. And had been planning on stabbing Pennsatucky with it over the passed few days since she had confronted her in the shower. Red knew that this last rumor was not true. Big Boo had told everyone she had given Piper the screwdriver earlier that day as her Secret Santa gift.

There was no real news though on where Chapman was now. Some of the inmates had a bet going if she was in the hospital, SHU or psych. Whoever got it right, won a Snickers bar.

Red knew that where ever Chapman ended up, the changes of her returning soon where slim to say the least.

She had heard about the break up between Alex and Piper. That Piper had chosen that fiancé of hers over Alex. And Alex, being like her, was extremely upset by this. And had pushed Chapman away when she had come running into the dorm earlier this afternoon. Red had overheard the whole thing. Everyone had in the subs. Red had felt bad for both of her girls at that moment. Both were heartbroken and hurting.

Over the whispers of the other intimates, Red could make out the quiet sobbing of Alex. Since returning back to the dorm after count, Alex hadn't spoken a word to anyone. Red had watched as Alex had pushed Nicky away when she had tried to make a joke of the situation. Her daughter wasn't good dealing with emotional traumas. Nicky always tried to make a joke and laugh, instead of having to deal with sadness or pain. It was her way of copping with things. Red, understood this well. Nicky had grown up that way.

But Alex, unlike her daughter, she wore her heart on her sleeve. And with this recent event, Alex was an emotional mess. Red could sense that she blamed herself for what had happened to Chapman. That somehow, her pushing her away had made the blonde snap and lose control of her sanity. She figured that Alex was feeling guilty and hatred for herself at the moment.

Just like Red had when Tricia had died.

Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face

At this thought, Red let out a deep sigh. She was suppose to protect her girls. But she felt like she didn't know how to do that anymore. Tricia had died when she had taken the young girl under her wing, shortly after her arrival. She had lost her kitchen and had tried to get revenge. Only to hurt Gina in the process. And now with this Chapman thing, Red couldn't help but feel she was losing her control, slowly.

She closed her eyes slightly before looking over to her bunkmate. Norma, like everyone else was wide awake. The woman lifted her head off of the pillow and smiled a gentle smile towards the Russian Cook.

Norma had been mad at Red, after Gina had been hurt in the kitchens. But the two women had made up since then. In all the years that Red had known Norma, she had never heard her voice. She had heard about the woman, stealing the show at the pageant. About how Norma had broken out into song. Bringing everyone in the prison to a standstill as her voice sang out over the crowd.

Red was curious to hear it now.

She needed a sliver of peace, of hope.

They all needed it.

The two women continued to look at one another for a moment longer before Red spoke.

"Sing my girls to sleep, Norma," she whispered.

Red had always believed in the power of song. And she knew that is what her girls needed now. A gentle lullaby to sing them to sleep. To give them some peace that Christmas Eve night.

Norma's eyes widened slightly at this before softening in understanding. She then slowly sat up in her bunk and opened her mouth. Her voice started off in a slow, soft tremble but soon gained strength. Her voice rang out over the dorm room; making everyone come to a standstill once again.

Not a word was spoken as Norma continued to sing. Her voice was gentle and soft like a mother's touch as she sang the inmates to sleep.

With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth

Thanks for reading and leave a review if you like!

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas!

Julie