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

This is just a little idea that came to me, which lead to this.

Piper left Alex when she needed her the most, eight years ago. What happens when the same thing happens to Piper, will Alex be there to see her through it? Or will she give her a taste of her own medicine?

Set sometime after season 1. Piper and Alex aren't together.

It was breakfast time at Litchfield as Piper waved good morning to Red behind the counter and retrieved her food tray from the Russian cook. Red just nodded her head in greeting to the blonde. It wasn't a very friendly greeting but it had become their routine. Both women had a deep respect for one another, now. They had a understanding.

Piper bit down on her lower lip as she turned her attention away from Red and scanned the already crowded cafeteria. She couldn't help but feel like a freshman in high school, who was trying to figure out where to sit.

Every morning it was the same, it seemed. She would stand off to the side, waiting until someone would call her name to join them. This morning was no different. Ever since returning from SHU, six months ago, she didn't know who she was or what to do with herself. She had always sat at the Suburbs' table. But since everything with Alex, she didn't go there anymore. She made sure to steer away from her. Respecting her former lover wishes to stay away.

"DANDELION!" called out Suzanne suddenly towards her from the table closest to the door.

Piper's eyes immediately shifted towards the call and smiled. Since returning to Litchfield, her and Suzanne had been on good terms. Crazy Eyes could see that Piper was trying to be a better person. Piper no longer wanted to be that mean person that Suzanne described her as being in their encounter in the washroom. Ever since, everything that had gone down with Pennsatucky, she had been trying to grow as a person. And not to only think about herself but others. She was trying to change and be a good person.

Suzanne was her only friend it seemed like sometimes to Piper. She still talked to Nicky and Morello. But it still felt awkward to her. Especially when she knew that Nicky and Alex where now involved with one another. She was still close with her old gang from the ghetto. Taystee, Poussey and Black Cindy would always have her back if there was trouble. Which now a days she tried to avoid whenever possible. She didn't go looking for it. She kept her head down or tried too at least. But no matter where Piper went, trouble just seemed to follow.

"Good morning Dandelion," greeted Suzanne warmly to Piper as she took the seat across from her. Her brown eyes gleamed with joy to see the woman.

"Good Morning Suzanne," greeted back Piper, returning the smile. The two women then began to eat their breakfast in silence, making conversation here and there. Their table was soon joined with Taystee and Black Cindy, who greeted both women warmly.

There was a half an hour left in breakfast when someone once again called out her name. This time it was a CO. "CHAPMAN, IN MY OFFICE NOW!" cried out Caputo as he appeared suddenly in the threshold of the cafeteria and locked eyes with Piper.

All conversation came to a stand still as everyone drew their attention to Piper and Caputo.

Piper did not argue with the officer as she nodded her head firmly in response before rising to her feet, her now empty food tray in her hands. She could feel everyone's eyes on her. Watching her every move as she disposed of her tray and made her way out of the room. She knew what everyone was thinking as she followed Caputo down the hallway.

What had Chapman done now? What sort of trouble had she gotten herself into?

Ever since she had attacked Pennsatucky on Christmas and spent sometime in the SHU, everyone thought of her as trouble. People were scared of her and her wild temper. It amazed her at times how people walked on egg shells around her, afraid to get on her bad side. She'd tired to tell people she was changed but no one seemed to take her serious. She had given up trying to convince people two weeks after her return to the prison. She figured they would believe what they wanted to believe. She didn't really mind however. It allowed her to keep to herself most of the day and do her own thing without having to worry about others bothering her.

Piper was silent as she took a seat across from Caputo's desk. Her blue eyes continued to stare at the officer in curiosity as to why she was here. He was her counsellor now. But she didn't need counselling at the moment. She was fine.

"How are you doing Chapman?" asked Caputo, a genuine concern in his voice, as his hazel eyes studied Piper's face.

"I'm good, Sir," she answered back in a soft but firm voice.

"Good. Good, glade to hear it," replied the CO after a brief moment had silence had passed between them. The office licked his lips slightly as he leaned back briefly in his chair. His eyes falling onto the surface of the desk before quickly looking back up at Piper.

"Why am I here sir?" asked Piper towards the older man. She was curious has to why he had called her into his office. She hadn't gotten into any recent trouble that she knew of.

Caputo's face soften slightly as he looked on at her with worry. He didn't know how to tell her the news. This wasn't in his job description, he thought to himself as he continued to think of how he should break the news to the blonde. He didn't usually do this for inmates. But Chapman was different. She was one of the good ones. Even after her time in the SHU. She was still one of the better inmates in the place or so he thought. Not that he had favourites or anything.

Letting out a sigh, he leaned into the desk. He thought about reaching out and taking her hand but decided against it and instead placed his hands firmly on top of the desk. "Chapman, I'm sorry I have to be the one to tell you this, but your father called this morning. Your mother has died," he delivered the news in one fluid motion like ripping off a bandage.

Piper felt weak in the knees as she stepped out of Caputo's office and leaned against the door. She could feel the tears in her eyes but she didn't dare to let them fall. Not yet that was. She hadn't said anything as Caputo had gone on to explain how her father had called just at the beginning of breakfast, asking to speak to her. However, that was against the rules. So he had taken a message instead for the inmate. Her father had explained to the CO that Piper's mother, Carol had died the previous night in a car crash. She had been hit head on by a drunk driver going the wrong way. Died instantly.

Caputo had gone on to explain how he would do his best to try to get her released temporarily from the prison to go to the funeral, which was suppose to be held in the next couple of days. But couldn't make any promises on the matter. Due to her previous stays in SHU, it was very unlikely she would be granted permission.

As she continued to lean against the door, trying to keep her emotion in tack, she didn't notice the sudden crowd of people spilling out from the cafeteria. Breakfast was now over and everyone was heading off to work. She could feel the questioning looks of her fellow inmates on her as they passed. Everyone was wondering what Caputo had wanted.

However, she ignored the looks as she suddenly lifted her head and rolled her shoulders back, immediately sticking of her chest a little.

"Everything okay, Dandelion?" came Suzanne's voice suddenly in her ear. The woman's usual wild eyes were calm and filled with compassion towards Piper. Piper wanted to smile and tell her it was. But she couldn't find her words. Everything was not okay. Piper just held Suzanne's gaze for a moment before looking away. She closed her eyes tightly, trying to prevent the hot tears from falling. She then felt the warmth of another on her hand.

Suzanne was holding her hand.

Suzanne squeezed Piper's hand with comfort for a moment before letting it go. "I will see you later, Dandelion," she whispered softly into Piper's ear before walking away. She could tell that Piper wanted to be alone.

Piper opened her eyes and watched as Suzanne walked down the remainder of the hallway before stepping into the utility closet to retrieve her mop and bucket. She hated to see her go. She prayed that Suzanne would come back to her and hold her hand again. She didn't want the woman's company in a romantic way but in a friendly way. She suddenly didn't want to be alone, anymore as reality came crashing down on her. Her mother had just died and she had no one to turn to for support. To help her through the mess of feelings she was suddenly overwhelmed with. Blinking her eyes rapidly, she continued to stare in the direction that Suzanne had gone in for a moment before heading in the opposite direction.

Piper should be headed to the library, where she now worked along side Taystee and Poussey. But she didn't. She couldn't face either of them at the moment. She couldn't face anyone for that matter. Her need to be alone once again returning as she walked down the now empty hallway towards her dorm, the suburbs. She hated her new dorm. After returning from the SHU, she'd had to re-enter the system once again. She'd hoped she would be placed back in her old dwellings, the ghetto. However, she hadn't been that fortunate.

She was grateful though that her bunk was across the room from Alex's, so she could easily avoid the dark haired woman on most days. They did have their run-ins every now and then but it was manageable. Both would just avert their eyes usually and keep on walking. Neither spoke a word. It was all coldness on either end. It was easier that way.

The dorm room was quiet and empty as Piper made her way to her bunk. It was there she kicked off her boots before curling up into a ball on the mattress. She slid one hand underneath the pillow, as the other reached for the flannel blanket, she had folded neatly just over an hour ago when she had a woken that morning. She pulled the blanket over her entire body, closing herself off to the world.

It was then and there she finally allowed herself to cry. The tears immediately began to fall down her cheeks and into the fabric of her uniform. Her body shook as she sobbed into the pillow.

She'd never had a close relationship with her mother. But at that moment it didn't seem to matter as the tears continued to come. She had still been her mother. The woman who had raised her. Fed her. Gave her a roof over her head. Growing up with Carol Chapman as her mother had been hard at times with her WASPy, judgmental ways. But there had been good times to. Summer's spent on the beach, building sand- castles on the cape. Friday Night Dinner's with the whole family around the table, well into her twenties. Carol had been a hard mother to please at times. But Piper loved her all the same. No matter how much she complained about the older woman at times. She loved her. And she knew, Carol had loved her too. Through the judgment and nick-picking of Piper's choses in life, her mother had loved her. And one way she had shown this love was by criticising her daughter. She had just wanted her to make the most of her life and not to waste it away, for you only live once. Carol Chapman had just wanted to see her children succeed in life.

Piper now knew that as she cried for her mother.

Yet another person had slipped through her fingers and out of her life for good.

Piper didn't know how long she had been there in her bunk but she assumed it had been a couple of hours as she felt someone place a hand on her shoulder and shake her gently. "Chapman," squeaked Lorna in a whisper towards her.

Piper pulled down the blanket from her face at the same time as she rolled onto her back and looked up at Morello.

"I just wanted to tell you, it's lunch time," continued on Lorna as she looked on at Piper with concern. The smaller woman had just stopped by the dorms to change her uniform shirt after spilling gravy on it, when she noticed Chapman lying in her bunk. She had been helping Red out in the kitchens. "Are you okay hun?" she asked, as she took in the redness of Piper's eyes. It was obvious she had been crying.

Piper just continued to stare at the other woman for a moment before breaking her face into a small smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Morello. Just..." her voice trailed off as she tried to find the right words. "I'm fine." she stated again. Her voice was firmer this time as Morello continued to look on at her with worry. Piper was not only trying to convince Lorna but herself as well.

"Yeah, sure. " replied Morello, a brief smile appearing on her face before she removed her hand which was still on Piper's shoulder and walked out of the bunk. She still needed to change her shirt and assumed that whatever Piper was dealing with, wanted sometime to make herself presentable before going to lunch.

Piper just lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling. She was counting backwards from 100. She was waiting until Morello was out of the room for good before going back to her cave underneath the blankets. She had no intention of getting up and going to lunch. She rather stay in her cave by herself.

"See yah there?" squeaked Morello, who had suddenly returned once again to Piper's bunk.

Piper sat immediately up at this and smiled warmly at her. "Yeah," she murmured as she made an attempt for one of her boots.

Morello gave Piper a long look before once again leaving her to be. Piper counted to ten, listening to Morello's footsteps walk down the row of bunks and out to the hallway. She then once again abandoned her boots on the floor and curled herself back onto the mattress. Her thoughts once again leaving Litchfield and wishing she was back home in Connecticut.

"Morello, why do you keep on watching the door?" asked Nicky towards her former lover. "Who are you looking for?" She was asking out of curiosity.

"Chapman," whispered Morello, her eyes looking into Nicky's for a second before drifting to the front of the cafeteria again.

"Why?" asked Nicky.

Morello just shrugged her shoulders in reply as she looked one last time at the door before dropping her attention onto her tray of food.

Nicky frowned slightly at Morello's sudden silence. But she knew why she had quickly dropped the topic of Chapman. Alex had just arrived at their table and was now seated beside Nicky.

"What did I miss?" asked Alex in her raspy voice. Her green eyes looking between Nicky and Morello and back. She could sense the two of them had been talking about something before she arrived. She was intrigued to hear what it was.

Nicky's brown eyes continued to bore into Morello, who's eyes were pleading with her not to say anything. However, Nicky still wanted to hear about Chapman. Nicky shifted her attention onto Alex for a second, "Well, before you arrived Vause, Morello here was watching out for Chapman's arrival." She held Alex's eye for a second before looking back over at Morello, who was blushing slightly. Ever since Christmas, Chapman had been a tough topic around Alex.

"Why?" asked Alex, who too was now staring upon Morello, waiting for an answer.

"My words exactly," commented Nicky, "Why are you so eager to see Chapman?"

A panicked look appeared on Lorna's face at that moment as she nervously looked into her mash potatoes on her tray.

"Look, Lorna, If you want to be friend with Pip... I mean Chapman, that's fine with me," spoke Alex as she continued to look on at Morello, who still avoiding her. Her voice was soft and gentle. She didn't want anyone to have to take sides on the matter. There was no Team Alex or Team Piper.

Morello cleared her throat as she once again looked up and met Alex's eye. She smiled slightly at her before looking over at Nicky, who was still waiting for an answer. "Look, Chapman's a nice girl. I'm just concerned about her, that's all," squeaked Morello, as she nervously began to play with her hands in her lap. "When I went in to the suburbs just before lunch to change my shirt, Chapman was there in her bunk. She looked like she had been crying or something. Her eyes were all red and puffy!" To get her point across, Morello lifted her hands and gestured to her own eyes. "I asked her if she was okay. She said she was fine but I don't think she was. She said I would see her at lunch."

Nicky nodded her head at Morello, before turning her attention to over her shoulder. She looked around the crowded cafeteria for any signs of the familiar blonde head. However, she came up empty. "Well, looks like she lied to ya. There is no sign of Chapman here," observed Nicky as she looked between Alex and Lorna before turning her attention to her food.

Alex, too a peered over her shoulder to see if Piper had shown up for lunch. She had long stopped carrying about her ex lover or so she tried to convince not only everyone else but herself too. A part of her would always care about Piper Chapman. They had too much history together, not too care.

"I wonder what she was so upset about," continued on Nicky in between mouthful of food.

"Caputo had called her into his office earlier today," pointed out Morello, her spirits some what uplifting. "Maybe she getting sent back to the SHU."

"Nah, if that as the case, she would be there by now. Probably has something to do with that fiance of her, Garry?" Nicky was now looking over at Alex, to confirm the name of Piper's fiance.

"Larry," corrected Alex to Nicky, giving her a brief look before rolling her eyes and turning her attention to untouched food tray. She was done talking about Piper and that stupid fiance of hers.

However, Nicky and Morello weren't done discussing it yet. As Alex continued to eat her lunch in silence, the two other women spent the remainder of the lunch period discussing possible ideas of why Piper would be crying in her bunk.

Piper felt both emotionally and physically exhausted as she sat up in her bunk. She figured she must had drifted off to sleep for a bit because it was much later in the day now as the others were returning back to the dorms from work. Rubbing the sleep away from her eyes, she let out a sigh. She slowly swung her legs over the side of the bed and reached for her boots. She figured she should at least make some sort of appearance that day.

Her legs felt weak as she stood up and began to leave the comforts of her bunk. She nervously bit down on her lower lip as she began to walk down the long row of bunks towards the door. She could hear the laughter of Nicky and Alex to her right but she didn't dare to look over at them. She could hear their conversation stop midway as she passed them but once again she kept on walking. She knew if she looked over at Alex she would surely lose it.

Piper kept her head down the whole time as she escaped through the doorway of the dorms and into the bathroom. She figured it must be around 5pm due to the emptiness of the bathroom as she stepped into it. She headed straight towards the nearest stall. She was glad that she was alone so that she could pee in privacy for once.

After Piper finished her business she flushed the toilet and headed towards the sinks. Her eyes briefly took in her appearance in the mirror. She looked like shit, she thought to herself as she took in the puffiness of her eyes. Her skin was red and patchy in places. Turning on the faucet, she splashed cold water onto her face. Washing away the tear tracks on her cheeks. She hoped that this would make her look some what decent and normal looking in front of everyone else for dinner was soon.

"Girl, we missed ya at work today. What happened to ya?" asked Poussey towards Piper as she took a seat across from her in the cafeteria. It was dinner time now.

Piper just shrugged her shoulders and made up some excuse that she hadn't been feeling well after breakfast.

Both Taystee and Poussey exchanged a look with one another at this. They didn't believe her. "Girl come on. Tell us the truth. What really happened? What did Caputo want?" asked Taystee as she leaned forward on the table and locked eyes with Piper. There was a look of genuine concern for Piper in the woman's eyes.

Piper held Taystee's look for a second before looking away. She could feel the tears returning. It felt like forever since she had someone looking out for her like Taystee and Poussey were now. They really did care about her well-being. "It's..." her voice trailed off as she tried to find her wording. She hadn't planned on telling anyone about her mom passing. She hadn't wanted the pity looks. But she found herself blurting out the words anyways, "My mom died."

And with that the flood gates had been opened once again. Piper found herself pushing away her tray as she leaned her elbows onto the table and buried her face into her hands. She felt someone wrap their arm around her shoulder and another place a comforting hand on her arm. She heard both Taystee and Poussey murmur smoothing words to her but she didn't bother to look up. She didn't want to see the pity looks on their faces, which she knew would be there.

"Dandelion, what's wrong?" asked Suzanne as she arrived at the table.

Piper could hear briefly what Taystee was saying to Suzanne in reply but once again she did not lift her head to see.

So this was originally suppose to be a one-shot but it's gotten to long. So there will be a 2nd part. Thanks for reading and leave a review!

Julie