DISCLAIMER: I don't own Orange is the New Black, though I do owe a great deal to the creative minds behind the series. Further to this, I would like to do my due diligence and state for the record that I also do not own or license any of the characters mentioned henceforth. All ideas contained within these chapters are my own and any likeness to any other story / media is completely coincidental. If, for whatever reason, you should consider anything I have written to be a breach of creative licensing, please let me know. Else wise, enjoy and please leave comments as you see fit. I will update with more chapters as soon as I can!

Dear Alex,

Piper stared down at the yellow stationary she was scribbling on, completely at a loss for words. What would she - or could she - even say after all this time? All of her previous attempts at reaching Alex in prison over the past year had gone mostly unanswered, save for the one time Alex wrote back asking for her to leave her alone, that she wasn't interested in playing into Piper's games anymore, that she had to find a way to move on because her heart couldn't take it anymore...that she wouldn't be writing back again. Piper remembered everything about that letter, from her uncontrollable shaking when she first pulled it from her mail box, to the overwhelming sadness and frustration that had washed over her upon reading Alex's final words: I can't anymore, Pipes. Drained and weak, Piper was awash in contrition, swearing to stop writing Alex and vowing to move on. And yet, months later...

I...

"Fuck!" she snapped, throwing her pen down. A million frustrated thoughts surged through her head like a broken dam. I fucking miss you, you fucking psycho! I fucking miss the shit out of you! I fucking miss you...

Tears welling, Piper spun around in her chair, half-heartedly attempting to put some distance between herself and the notepad on her desk whose empty lines and bare spaces seemed to be viciously taunting her. The view from her office was vast and expansive – the perfect remedy for the occasional bout of writer's block or a tough case which required thinking outside of the box. Piper grimaced and absent-mindedly hugged herself as she tried to turn her focus instead to the horizon, taking notice of a particularly menacing storm of clouds threatening to take over the Conneticut skyline. She found her mind slipping back to that cold, overcast Chicago morning when she had glimpsed raven hair, instantly relieved to find Alex in jail with her. Screaming her name, all Piper could do was succumb to thoughts of being with her again, the security of her touch, the freedom from prisons both real and imaginary…

"Hey, chief, we almost done here?"

Piper jumped in her seat. Hal stood in the doorway, his kindly weathered face piercing through the bleak office like a lighthouse in the fog. Piper feigned a smile back.

"Uh...yeah...soon...just thinking about a case..."

"Yeah yeah yeah, I've seen that look before,' Hal smirked. 'You're like a dog with a bone with some of these murder trials. Just don't forget to take care of yourself, ok bud?"

Piper winced at the word 'murder', her mind drifting back to Alex, wishing she could just hold her again, run her fingers through her hair, breathe her in, tell her everything was going to be okay...

"Well, uh...' Hal started, slightly taken aback by Piper's silence. 'Good..."

"Hey, Hal, listen, I have to take tomorrow off. I need to go...see a client...tomorrow..."

"Oh yeah? Where?"

"Litchfield..." Piper trailed off, looking away again. She had avoided this move until now, not wanting Alex to think she had used her prowess as a lawyer to manipulate her way into prison to see her...I mean, if she didn't want to see me, why should I force her to? But...

"Okidoke,' Hal winked, noting her dour mood. 'I won't pry. You take the day, get some work done, report to me by the end of the week on your progress..." He smiled, tapped on her doorframe, and walked off whistling.

Piper leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling, exhaling with relief that Hal had left her alone in her thoughts. Hal was a nice guy, a great boss, one of the country's best legal prosecutors...but right now, she was in no mood to be putting on a facade for him, the cool and strong Piper who had won trial after trial and garnered his firm a reputation for excellence. Right now, she was broken Piper, Piper with a broken heart, Piper who wanted nothing more than to...

"FUCK!" Piper lamented.