A/N: I know this isn't the best but I thought I would put some more Flaritza fanfiction out there seeing as there isn't enough! It's also a tiny bit AU as I've decided to keep Aleida in. Send me prompts and suggestions.

No matter how hard she tried, Maritza couldn't fall asleep. All she could think about was what CO Humphrey had forced her to do. All she could feel was the cold, hard, metal of the gun pressed against her head, the horrible sensation of the baby mouse's legs struggling down her throat, the ever present feeling of needing to vomit, and Hump's warm breath against her neck as he whispered threats in her ear if she didn't comply to his demands.

Maritza was doing the one thing she promised herself she would never do once she got to prison: cry. It was silent and her occasional whimpers were hard to hear, but the trails of tears were obvious on her face. She couldn't let anyone see her like this, see her so weak. But that was clearly too much to ask in jail as she heard the bed across from her creak slightly and a weary Flaca push herself up. She quickly turned to face the concrete wall in hopes of saving herself the embarrassment of someone seeing her cry, quietly cursing at the loud squeak that came from the bed frame.

Flaca wasn't sure what had woken her up, although she could've sworn she heard someone crying. Maybe it was a dream? Loud creaking caught her attention and she averted her gaze to Maritza's bed, who usually slept like a baby, so what was she doing up?

Shaking her head she lay back down, but kept her eyes on her best friend's bed. Just as she was about to be pulled back into the lulls of sleep she heard another whimper. Her eyes snapped open.

"Mari?" She whispered and the whimpers stopped immediately. Maybe she was hallucinating, or dreaming because Maritza never cries. They've been bunkmates since Maritza landed herself in here and best friends for just as long, but she's never seen Maritza cry, though Maritza puts that down to having buried her feelings so deep they only come out when she watches Stepmom. Flaca calls bullshit on that one as she gets up out of her bed and tiptoes her way over to Maritza's.

"Maritza?" She gets no response. "Are you crying?" She knows it's a stupid question, but she does get an answer in the form of a weakly whispered 'No' from her best friend. "¿Qué hay?"

"Nothing." Maritza huffs out, clearly frustrated at Flaca's insistence, but knowing that she cares so much warms her insides in a way she hasn't felt for years, and that's all it takes for her dam to break and to begin crying into her pillow to muffle her sobs.

Flaca stood shocked for a few seconds before laying down behind Maritza on her bed and wrapping an arm around her best friend, whispering comforts in her ear to hopefully calm her down.

"Todo estará bien."

Breakfast the next morning was a quiet affair to say the least at their usual table due to the lack of interaction between Maritza and Flaca, who are usually the two loudest Latinas at the table. Everyone else noticed and chalked it down to the two of them having an actual argument, though Gloria, being the most "motherly", noticed the worried glances Flaca would direct at Maritza, who hadn't touched her breakfast, since the duo sat down.

It was unlike Maritza to not interact with anyone, even if all she was talking about was why pizza was the best food ever and why everyone should love it. Gloria shared a look with Aleida, who just shrugged her shoulders even though she herself was slightly worried. The two of them had taken it upon themselves to keep an extra eye out on Maritza since she came even though she was a little Latin firecracker, emphasis on little. She could hold her own, but God, some of the other inmates were twice her size and weight and could crush her if she said the wrong thing, which she often did. She was smarter than she let on though, and wouldn't start anything with someone she couldn't handle. But even if she did, she always had Flaca by her side, they were practically inseparable.

Maritza finally looked up and shared a glance with Flaca before catching the interaction between Gloria and Aleida. Unable to take anymore of the staring and fretting over her she quickly rose from the table, dumped her tray, and practically ran out of the cafeteria. Gloria turned to Flaca.

"What's wrong with her?" Flaca shrugged her shoulders.

"No sé." She replied, getting up and dumping her tray before she left the cafeteria in search of her best friend.

Her first stop was their shared bunk space, though there was no sign of the shorter girl, she then tried the TV room, the bathroom, the showers, their usual hangout spot outside, she even tried the library but she couldn't find her anywhere. Deciding to stay where she was, she found a random book and began to read, hoping Maritza would turn up soon.

Maritza had never had a panic attack in her life, but she felt really close to one right now as she was cornered in an abandoned hallway by CO Humphreys, who was pressing his full body weight against her, making the gun in his waistband painfully noticeable. With her head turned to not meet his sadistic gaze she sees Flaca pass by and is about to call out for help when a hand forcefully presses against her mouth.

"If you shout I'll kill her, then I'll kill you, comprende?" He hisses, pushing his hips against her stomach, warning her of the gun. She nods as silent tears fall down her cheeks. "Now, why don't we go have some fun?" He smirks, pulling Maritza with him to an empty utility closet and locking the door behind him.

Flaca had long since vacated the library, had long since given up her search for her best friend, who was virtually impossible to find at the minute, and was now just lounging around in her bunk, hoping that Maritza will be back soon.

As she was laying down she decided to eavesdrop on the people next door to her, hoping for some new gossip.

"Okay, so like, something weird is going on in the showers."

"What do you mean?"

"I heard someone crying."

Flaca was up and out of her bed in record time, she just had a bad feeling about who was in the showers, though she was hoping it wasn't who she thought it was. On her way she ran into Gloria.

"What's got you in such a rush, Flaca?" The elder Latina asked, putting a hand on Flaca's shoulder to slow her down to a stop.

"I think Maritza's in trouble or something." Gloria nodded and followed Flaca to the showers.

When they arrived there was a small amount of people gathered in front of the mirrors, though it was obvious they were listening into the only shut shower stall where quiet crying could be heard over the running water. Gloria made quick work of emptying the bathroom and making sure no one else would come in whilst Flaca slowly made her way over to the stall.

When she pulled back the curtain she felt her heart drop at the sight of Maritza curled into a ball in just her underwear, looking smaller than ever, with her skin rubbed red raw with bruises and scrapes covering her arms, back, and legs.

It didn't take a genius to know what happened.

Slowly, Flaca turned the shower off and kneeled next to her best friend, who was shivering uncontrollably at this point. She reached for a towel that was strewn across the floor and used it to wrap around Maritza, holding her close as she continued to cry.

"Can you carry her?" Gloria, who had been hovering over the two young Latinas, asks.

"Por supuesto. I've carried bags of prison slop heavier than her." She tries to joke but it makes her gut feel heavy. She looks down at the girl in her arms. "She's tiny." She whispers.

"Vamos." Gloria urges as Flaca rises to her feet with Maritza in her arms and they make their way back to their block and to Gloria's room seeing as it is empty during the day, unlike Flaca and Maritza's.

Flaca sat down on Gloria's bunk with Maritza now curled on her lap as the eldest Latina rushed around to gather home remedies to ease the swelling of Maritza's cuts and bruises. When she'd gathered all that she needed she walked over to the injured girl and put a hand on her shoulder. Maritza shrugged the hand off and buried herself deeper into Flaca's embrace, muttering.

"Déjame." Gloria resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the girl's stubbornness and persisted to try to get the girl to face her.

"Mija, this will help, te prometo." Resigned, Maritza nodded and slipped off of Flaca's lap onto the bed next to her, taking the taller girl's hand for her own comfort as Gloria got to work treating her injuries.

As Gloria was looking at what seemed to be the beginning of a black eye, Aleida walked past flanked by Ruiz, and stopped in her tracks when she saw the state that Maritza was in.

"Who did this to you?" She demanded but Maritza kept silent. "No me hagas tener que repetirme." Aleida got closer to Maritza and bent down to be eye level with the younger Latina, her eyes softening ever so slightly at the terrified brown eyes in front of her. "Tell me and they'll never hurt you again okay, mija?" Maritza took a deep breath and held it while she closed her eyes and composed herself, exhaling slowly.

"It was Humps, that creepy new CO." She whispered, feeling Flaca's hand tightening around her own before she felt herself being pulled into a hug.

"What are you going to do?" Flaca asked a furious Aleida and a glowering Ruiz.

"I'm going to show that hijo de puta what happens when he messes with family. Ruiz, go get Flores and meet me outside in five." With that the two stalked off, probably planning something painful for the CO.

"See Mari? You're safe now." Flaca reassured, pressing a kiss to her best friend's forehead. "You're safe now."