A/N: OK – so this is a little Christmas gift from me, to all the lovely people who have taken to reading my fanfic stories that I have created over these last few months. It was meant to be a really big ass, Christmas one-shot, but time and words ran away with me, so you lucky peeps will get at least a second part sometime after Christmas! ('cos I'm allowed a day off from writing when it's Christmas…right?!)

I'd also like to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed, followed and messaged me in relation to any of my stories, but especially to the following awesome people (in no particular order – you are all equally awesome!) that have offered help, support and general fanfic love, WB79, Liggycow, Chelle234, brennan8319, Vausemaniac, reverse-swing, JayJamie, JenSurname, Budda1127, and ejm137. It's been a weird few months for me – going from writing nothing at the start of August – to four months later, posting a chapter that will take me over 100K of words. I'm truly amazed that people like what I have written, actually want more (and check that I am OK when I don't post for a while…you guys know who you are!)

So – lets get started - stick with it, I know it seems a little 'bah-humbug' to begin with, but have no fear, Alex and Nicky will help set that right as it carries on…


Piper hated Christmas.

Well. That was untrue. It was only recently she hated it. Growing up, Christmas was her favourite time of the year, the build up, the excitement, the buying and the giving of presents, having your family around you. Just the feeling of happiness and contentment that had surrounded her.

Then she grew up. She realised the pretence of it all - how her mother and father were just being civil, played happy families for that one day, ignoring the fact Bill was having an affair, and Carol's drinking was tearing the Chapman family apart.

Fake smiles for a fake day of happiness.

It got worse when Danny left. The first chance her older brother got, he took it. He never came back for the holidays, first claiming there was too much course work for him at college, as he progressed, becoming the doctor their parents always knew he would, it was then that he was too busy with work, he was needed at the hospital. Of course, the honour of having a doctor in the family just kept up the pretence of the perfect Chapman family. Carol didn't mind Danny wasn't there. He was important now, a pillar of the community, someone to be respected, admired.

Piper simply just missed her older brother.

After Danny left - the responsibility of being the perfect Chapman fell to Piper. Her parents had all but given up on her younger brother Cal so focused their attention, their desires, their expectations, on Piper.

She tried, she really did, to be the perfect daughter, the perfect student. The track star, the honour student, the crowning glory of her school. Piper tried everything to make her parents proud, but it never seemed enough, she was always told to work harder, give more, dedicate herself more, to continually better herself. She was a Chapman, she needed to excel, and she was expected to be the best.

It didn't matter she wasn't happy, that was something that could be dealt with. That much she was good at, hiding her feelings, burying her own desires and wants deep down, ignoring the fact she wasn't content with her life, perfecting the fake smile she knew so well.

Her mother wore one everyday.

If she was truthful, she had long forgotten what it was like to be just Piper.

Piper often admired her younger brother's attitude towards life, he once told her he was a 'free spirit' not caring what others, especially their parents, thought of him, and for the first time in her life, Piper had been jealous of her little brother.

There were so many times she wanted to not care what others thought, but the drive to succeed, to be better, had been drilled into her, she couldn't escape.

It therefore didn't come as a surprise two years ago when Cal brought his girlfriend to the family Christmas dinner. He stood nervously, knocking his fork against Carols best crystal wine glass to gain everyone's attention, before taking his girlfriends hand in his own, puffing out his chest proudly, then announcing, just before Bill carved the turkey, that he and Neri were in love and were to be married in the spring.

Their parents had eaten the meal in silence, whilst Cal and Neri talked happily amongst themselves, protected from the glares of Bill and Carol by the love that radiated from them.

That was the second time that Piper recalled she had been jealous of her younger brother. He had escaped from the Chapman family expectations, if indeed he had ever taken heed of them, but better still, he was in love. With someone who accepted him for who he was, who loved him unconditionally.

Piper wanted that. To love and be loved. To be accepted for what she wanted to be, not what she was expected to be.

It was last Christmas, when Piper was forced to attend the family meal that she finally snapped.

Piper had openly laughed when Carol had phoned her at the start of December to tell her to attend the meal. It wasn't even an invite with the option to attend or not, it was an instruction; one more attempt for Carol to pretend the Chapman name lived up to the façade they all wore.

It hadn't been a family meal for years. Piper hadn't seen Danny in their family home for several years now. Cal, who had suffered with her in those years after Danny left, was now happily married and expecting his first child, so was staying firmly put in their cabin in the woods; not venturing near anything that had to do with the 'capitalist ideals of the holiday season'.

As the day drew nearer, the buzz of Christmas around her grew, the twinkling lights, the surge of people around her; for Piper it was too much, reminders of what the season should represent, instead of what it meant to her. She wished she could go back to her younger self, hide her from the moment she realised that the Chapman Christmas was just a show. That the perfect life she thought she had was just smoke and mirrors.

As she had arrived home, she had stood on the porch, focusing her breathing, willing herself to get through this. As she pushed open the front door to her parents home, she heard unfamiliar voices, followed by the cascade of fake laughter that she recognised as her mother.

Piper had walked into the front room of the house, to be greeted by her mother, uncharacteristically hugging her, air kisses either side of her cheeks.

Well practiced affectations of the perfect Chapman life to keep up the show in front of the guests.

The guests, Piper learned over pre-dinner drinks, were the Blooms. She had heard her mother rambling on about their son, Larry, at various other points throughout the year. How handsome he was, how well mannered, what a good family he came from, what a good name they had at the country club. How such a catch was still single, her mother really couldn't fathom.

If she had paid more attention she probably would have seen this coming, but now, she found herself sat next to Larry who, as she glanced at him, was OK looking, but the curly hair and knitted Christmas jumper with a reindeer really wasn't her thing.

Piper was pretty sure he was well mannered, not doubting for a second that the Blooms were just as high up in the WASPy echelons as the Chapman's, but she couldn't care less and she was more than pissed off at her mother attempt at match making. Clearly no longer happy with controlling how she lead her life, Carol now also seemed to be taking control of who she shared her life with as well.

And so the anger bubbled inside of Piper as she made pleasant conversation around the dinner table, performing the age old Chapman ritual of pantomime, of mimicry and deceit.

Piper thought she would make it, that she would get through the day with her fake smile, burying her emotions away, letting her mother control how she should think and act, until she could leave and put this behind her for another year.

But she couldn't do it. It was the not so obvious remarks about 'well, you're certainly not getting any younger Piper,' teamed with "even Polly has managed to find herself a husband, even if he is Australian‚" that slowly started to grate on her, breaking her resolve one harsh word at a time.

As her mother continued to belittle her, Piper kept thinking back to the year before when Cal had stood, telling their parents what he was going to do, caring not if it was what Carol and Bill wanted. He had done it for himself, for his girlfriend, for the life he wanted to have.

As Bill rose to carve the turkey, was when Carol hit home with a final scathing remark of "Really Piper, you need to think about what you want out of life, you need to stop dilly-dallying around and settle down‚" Piper could feel her chest getting tighter, as if the air in her lungs was burning her from the inside.

She stood abruptly from her seat, the legs of the chair screeching on the wooden floor, five pairs of eyes on her as she had her chance, her moment to say all those words of hurt, of anguish, of torment and pain she'd kept bottled up inside of her for all these years.

"What I want out of life? What I want? Are you sure you can allow me to make such a momentous decision on my own mother? Surely you have the rest of my life mapped out for me? You did it whilst I was growing up - why stop now?" Piper ignored the imploring looks, the slight hand movements insisting she sat down, and carried on, years worth of bottled up emotion pouring out of her.

"I did everything you asked of me, but it was never enough. I got A's on my homework, but they needed to be A-plus. I would win every track event I was entered in, but I could have always improved on my time. You set your standards so high I could never reach your expectations, but I never stopped trying. Never stopped trying to be the Piper you wanted me to be. More fool me - it just meant I was just moving further away from the person I wanted to be."

Piper paused for a moment, looking down to her hands, noticing the slight tremble to them before she balled them up into a fist, her knuckles whitening as she steeled her self as she spoken once more.

"So whatever this is, whatever you are trying to set up between Larry and I, whatever aspirations you have for me - I'm done.

I'm through pretending to be the person you want me to be. For once I want to do something for myself - whether it works out or not, whether I'm good at it or not. But, right now, all this, the pretending, the lies, and the deceit, all of it.

I'm done."

Her father had stood, carving knife in hand, mouth open as she walked away. Her mother had chased behind her, screaming about how she was throwing away everything she'd worked for, the education they had paid for, all for nothing. As Piper had reached the front door, laid her hand on the cool metal of the handle – she knew what stood between her and the life she so desperately wanted to live, and it wasn't the solid wood in front of her.

Piper turned the handle, opened the door and never looked back.


Nearly a year later, Piper was attempting to make a living with Polly and their bath product range, PoPi – but it was slow and steady progress. It brought in some money, but she still needs an extra job to help make ends meet. With no intention of spending Christmas at home, or plans to spend the time at Polly's, since she was spending the time with Pete's parents, Piper took all the overtime she could, the shifts no one wanted as the festive period loomed.

So that is how Piper came to be sat on a checkout in a grocery store, wearing a santa hat with flashing lights in the trim, and a name badge which read-

"Happy to help? You look anything but! Christmas spirit up and left you Blondie?"

Piper shook herself from her thoughts, looking at the wild haired woman who was standing opposite her, arms folded across her body, a shit eating grin on her face, a pile of alcohol and snacks on the conveyor in front of her.

"Sorry. Just not feeling festive at the moment…this any better?" She asked sarcastically, plastering on the fake smile she'd learnt so well from her mother.

"Shit - no! I think I preferred the tormented elf look, at least I could tell you were miserable, that's just some weird ass fake smile you got there, not sure whether you're going to hug me or kill me."

Piper relaxed, the fake smile disappearing, the edges of her mouth turning slightly as a smile tugged at the corners at the words of the stranger in front of her, the first person to actually see through her fake smile in years.

"See - now that's a little better. Not quite miserable, not quite psycho store employee...What you reckon Vause? Think Blondie here could win employee of the week or what?!"

The loud woman was leaning back slightly, trying to catch the attention of another woman, who had her back to the checkout as she added another bag of chips to her already laden arm full, her body shifting as she tried to balance everything she had hold of, and also turn to face the woman who called her.

The motion was too quick and the contents of her arms shifted, and began their descent to the floor. Piper guessed it was going to happen, but rather than watching, she jumped out of her chair, leaving the till, reaching the woman in time to help prevent the groceries in her arms hitting the deck.

Piper now found herself with her arms essentially round the waist of a tall, dark haired woman, who's green eyes blazed at her from behind thick, dark rimmed glasses. The action earned her a half smile from the woman, who now looked directly at Piper, staring at her for a moment before muttering a quiet 'thanks, but I got this'. Piper shifted her arms, allowing the woman to rebalance the groceries long enough to get them to the checkout line, and onto the conveyor belt.

Piper dipped her head, moving quickly back to her seat before her absence from her post was noticed by the manager and was reprimanded for leaving her seat.

"Fuck! Now that's what I call customer service! Getting felt up by hot store employees – that's on my bucket list for certain! Whaddya say Blondie? You and me over in aisle three? Who knows what I might drop, I can be pretty clumsy when I want to be...could just do with a helping hand, if you get what I mean..." The loud woman had a large smile on her face, punctuating her laughter with a wink as Piper caught her eye, a smile touching the edge of her own lips again, as for the first time in weeks she relished some genuine human interaction.

"Leave the kid alone Nicky, not everyone wants to fondle your goods, you fuckin' hussy..." The deep, rasping voice caught Pipers attention, looking to the dark haired woman as she spoke as she finished placing the contents of her arms on the checkout in front of Piper. The voice was low, and firm as she spoke to her friend, but there was a lightness to it that made Piper smile. Piper saw her give her a quick glance, casting her eyes over to her just long enough to allow her green eyes to linger on Piper for a moment before looking away again.

"Hey! You're just jealous you've never had the option to check out these goods for yourself, Vause!" Nicky grabbed at her chest, turning to face Alex, wiggling her boobs for emphasis, winking as her friend sighed and shook her head next to her.

"It really defies logic how you and Lorna are still together if you act like this in public..." Alex then looked to Piper, who had her head down, trying to contain a chuckle as she scanned the items through her till. "I apologise for my friend, she doesn't filter her thoughts well before speaking. I'm hoping there's a cure, but I'm pretty certain she defies the rules of medicine knowledge sometimes…"

Piper looked up, it was hard not to acknowledge that voice as it spoke directly to her, hard and rasping, but at the same time so sensual, it seemed to reach to every corner of her body, stirring something within her that had laid dormant for so long. Those green eyes were still staring at her, drilling into her like they were trying to work her out, trying to see beyond the front Piper put on every day, and without meaning to, Piper let her.

"It's OK, really. To be fair it's the best offer I've had...usually its sad old men wanting to know what time I finish my shift. Honestly, your friend here – best line I've had for quite some time..."

Piper smiled as she spoke, a true, genuine smile, her voice concealing a chuckle as she joked with the woman in front of her; noticing how her green eyes seemed to brighten as Pipers mood lightened, how the corners of her mouth started to turn into a smile as she considered the words to say next, how everything about her seemed insanely beautiful. Not wanting to be caught staring, Piper lowered her eyes, focusing back on her task, packing the brown paper bag, wishing she was bold enough to say something more to her.

"Told you Vause, I'm a hit with the ladies!" Nicky nudged Alex with her elbow, connecting with her ribs a little harder than she intended, whilst winking at Piper, not having missed the staring that had gone on between the two. "So," Nicky leaned over the checkout, closing the distance between her and Piper, a wicked grin on her face, eyebrows wiggling as she spoke, "I'm already taken, but my friend here, well, Vause could use a little customer service if you-hey!" Nicky flipped her head back, glaring at Alex and rubbing where a sharp punch had just been delivered to her upper arm " Fuck! Vause! What is wrong with you? Can I not be your wing woman for once?"

"Leave it Nicky, stop bothering…"

"Piper, my name is Piper. Piper Chapman."

"Well, Piper Chapman, I'm Alex, this socially inept creature I keep as my friend is Nicky, and the pleasure, well, that has been all mine. Now, if you excuse me and my friend here, we'd best be going before she causes me any more issues that can't be dealt with this copious amount of alcohol and ridiculous amount of snack based items I seem to be purchasing for just the two of us…"

"Well, Alex, if that is all I can help you with this evening, I guess that will be fifty-four dollars and twenty cents…" Piper longed to be able to follow this woman out the store and into the night, but despite the desire to do something reckless, she needed the job, she just hoped that Alex would come into the store again.

As Alex handed over three twenty-dollar bills, there was a glint in her eye as she worked out exactly what her parting response to Piper would be. She waited as the blonde handed her the change, both looking to one another as their hands brushed in the small exchange, both feeling the charge between them.

"Enjoy your night – Alex, nice to meet you too Nicky…" Piper smiled again, enjoying the sound of Alex's name as it tumbled so easily from her lips, missing how the green eyes opposite darkened slightly as Alex heard her name spoken by the blonde cashier that had surprised her this evening.

Alex smiled, picked up one of the brown bags shoving it into the arms of Nicky as she then picked up the last two bags, winking at Piper as she walked away, not saying a word. As they reached the sliding doors, she paused, turning slowly, happy to see Piper was watching her walk out, and took a step back towards the blonde,

"Hey Pipes…what time does your shift finish?" She couldn't help herself, the grin was wide and her heart raced as she saw a similar smile spread across Pipers face, lighting her up, Alex seeing how truly beautiful Piper was behind that mask she seemed to wear to everyone around her.

Piper paused, considering whether it was worth the risk, worth the chance. There was barely a moment before she spoke,

"Two. I finish at two."

She didn't regret her choice; seeing those green eyes flash at her response, seeing that seductive smile cross those lips, Piper knew it was worth a chance, worth trying and failing, than wondering what might have been if she had let this opportunity go.

"See you then, kid!"

Alex stepped out of the store, receiving a hearty clap on the back from Nicky, "I knew you had it in you, you ol' dog you – but fuck, man, you aren't half a cheesy fucker when you want to be!" She didn't respond, just smiled to herself as they walked away, looking forward to seeing Piper again in five more hours.


Happy Holidays everyone!