Ages 4 and 1 day

Alex Vause was 4 years old when she first met Piper Chapman.

Alex's mum, Diane, worked as a maid/nanny for the Chapmans but due to being tight on money Diane often had to bring in her only child to work as she couldn't afford the expense of daycare.

Danny, the oldest of the Chapman children, was five years older than Alex so he would rather play with his older friends than Alex so she was often left alone whilst her mother worked. Not that she minded. Alex would make up stories to pass her time alone.

When Carol, or rather Diane as Mrs Chapman decided a day at the spa after such a strenuous day was calling her much more than looking after a crying newborn, brought the baby home Alex was apprehensive. Didn't babies just cry? What if her mum liked this baby more than her? What if this baby didn't like her?

What was in this little ball of blankets that her mum was so preoccupied with?

"Allie," the older Vause said with a smile as she sat down on the couch, balancing the bundle against her chest with one arm and patting the seat next to her so that Alex would sit "This is Piper."

Alex peered into the blankets and saw a very red looking baby with white blonde hair. She wasn't exactly sure what to make of 'Piper' so instead of reacting she looked up at her mother with curiosity evident in her grey-green eyes.

"She was only born yesterday, but when you're older I'm sure you'll be good friends" Diane assured her daughter. She couldn't understand how either of her employers weren't cooing over their new addition and would rather work or relax. This child in her arms she knew would probably end up relying on her a lot if she kept this job as she had such absent parents. But Diane loved her Alex to pieces so surely she could love this child too, even if she weren't hers.

"So then kid, you gonna hold her?" The look of terror that passed over Alex's small features made Diane chuckle. "Come on, I'll show you how."

With that, Diane told Alex to sit back and showed her how to support little Piper Chapman's head as she held her. "What if I drop her, mummy? Will Miss Chapman be angry?"

The elder ruffled her daughter's hair at her concern "You won't love."

Just then the baby stirred in Alex's arms "Mum! She's opened her eyes" Alex squeaked in panic.

"She's just having a look at who's holding her."

Alex observed Piper's eyes as the younger seemed quite content with who was holding her, rather than crying as Alex thought she would have. The infant's bright blue eyes were unfocused on the face above her as the younger Vause decided this baby wasn't so bad. She wasn't crying, and she seemed to like her. Yes, Alex decided, she did like Piper, and they would be friends when they were older. She would make sure of it.

Just as Alex made this decision, Piper's face scrunched up, and she made a loud noise that sounded a lot like the ones her aunt's puppy once made when she stepped on his tail. "Mum!" Alex looked up terrified.

"Don't worry kid. She'll probably want her bottle" and with that, her mother patted Alex's head before scooping up the crying infant and heading towards the kitchen.

Even though Piper scared her Alex was fairly sure she missed her already.

Authors Notes:

I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this story, but it's been bugging me for ages so I started it. Please review and leave suggestions to where I take this story. Thanks for reading! -E