Piper was stood in her theatre attire; wearing fresh scrubs, a light blue surgical cap and her facemask was tied securely and fitted comfortably. She stood in front of one of the large industrial sized chrome sinks, there was a glass panel up above, a window into the operating room. It was already populated with people; surgical nurses, assisting doctors, the patient was already prepped and lying on the table, and then of course there was Doctor Vause, all ready to go. Piper's eyes immediately fell on her and she watched her for a moment before she proceeded to start the process of scrubbing in. She then distinctly chose to use the clear/pink antiseptic solution out of the three available, she liked the colour. Turning the taps on, she removed the nail pick and brush from the sterile pack and began washing, starting at her hands and working upwards whilst carefully rinsing the soap off in the same direction. She couldn't help but look up whilst doing so to purposefully catch the odd glimpse of Alex. Finally, after just under five minutes she was finished her first proper surgical scrub and then cautiously turned the taps off using her elbows, careful not to infect her hands or she would have to start the whole process all over again. Piper was nervous, she was going in there as an intern, not as a medical student, therefore, she felt needed this time and certainly didn't want to fuck up, not in front of Alex. She had done her research on this case, knew the steps of the complicated surgery and so walked into the operating room with as much confidence as she could muster.

"Nice of you to join us, Doctor Chapman. We were just getting started." Doctor Vause said smugly as Piper was helped into a gown and gloves by one of the surgical staff. Piper nodded shyly and walked over to join her at the table, facing opposite her.

Alex's growing smile was hidden by her facemask, which she was grateful for, she couldn't help but light up at the sight of the young blonde. Alex was wearing her favourite scrub cap, because she was an attending she got to choose her own design and didn't have to wear a basic light blue one like all the interns and residents had to wear. Today Alex's cap was black, her favourite colour, with the detail of small red roses patterned sparingly over. The dark colour of the cap contrasted against her porcelain complexion and further highlighted her beautiful yet piercing green eyes.

This surgery was long, all Piper had done thus far was correctly answer numerous questions about the procedure which were fired at her from her teacher. She was having a great time though; watching, observing Alex's skill, learning. The rush from being there was overwhelming as it was. But then, nearing the end of the procedure Alex looked up at her and slyly said;

"Would you?" indicating towards the heart.

"What?" Piper dubiously asked

"Pick up the heart, I need it in a better angle so I can finish the sutures." She said it so calmly as if she was asking Piper to pass her the television remote or something. Piper's blue eyes shot widely open, her dark eyebrows rising up her forehead, totally working the deer in the headlights look, she just couldn't quite believe what Alex was asking her.

"You want me to hold her heart, what if it slips or I squeeze it too hard or…" she nervously stuttered off.

"Piper, calm down. Stop being so dramatic." Alex gently teased, a slight laugh escaping her lips. Piper looked up and their eyes met and clicked in tune with one another. Alex calling her by her first name totally relaxed her and she forgot about the other people in the room watching the procedure, and them.

"Okay." she softly said. Piper turned into the confident girl she said she would be when she walked into the operating room hours ago, she was there to be helpful and so helpful was what she was going to be. And after all, Doctor Vause was the surgeon in charge, and she trusted her intern to slightly lift her patients heart. She could do it.

Omg this is really happening… A smile working onto Piper's lips as she held her gloved hand firmly around the muscle. All the immense work and effort in medical school was put in for incredible moments like this, Piper Chapman was holding a human heart in her very hands. Meanwhile, Doctor Vause was busy suturing, repairing the damage of the broken organ. In those minutes, it was just them intensely working together and chemistry building, a connection almost tangible. Piper steadied her breathing and held the heart focusing carefully, but also watching Alex, mesmerized, when she looked at her amongst the assemblage of people in the room, everything just seemed to blur around her, they didn't matter, like everything else was just… background.

Her thoughts of wonder were broken when Alex looked up and carefully spoke;

"Okay I'm done, you can release the heart now, but very slowly.. very gently."

"Now let's start warming her up, let's get her heart beating on its own again!" Doctor Vause looked around and instructed the room.

She then turned her attention back to Piper; "Good job, kid." A proud smile curling her full lips, seemingly hidden by her mask. But Piper saw Alex's smile, it met her sparkling jade-coloured eyes and in that moment she felt so grateful to her. For this experience. Seeing the speechless Piper, Alex understandingly continued;

"I know. It's an amazing feeling, I'll never forget my first time. So much adrenaline pumping through your body and so much responsibility for holding the workings of another human being in your very hand."

"Thank you so much. You're an incredible teacher." And Piper meant it, she felt different once leaving the operating room that day, like this whole experience was real, she was really training to be a surgeon. And she was going to be a great one.

Her first day was over and it went better than she could ever of imagined, she headed home feeling pleased and couldn't wait to tell her best friend Polly all about it. Omg, she was going to laugh so hard when she told her about who their houseguest this morning turned out to be.

Polly had been her best friend since they met in high school and they have been totally inseparable ever since. Polly was about two inches smaller than Piper, pale skin with dark brown just past shoulder length hair, matched with deep brown eyes. Piper and Polly kind of came as a pair. Even choosing to live together once out of college. Polly had went to college too but then dropped out, it just wasn't for her. Now she made a living off of selling homemade soap bars and lotions in little boutique stores. Piper was pretty pleased about this though because it made their home smell so fucking good all the time. They lived in a little house within walking distance to the hospital and more importantly there was a bar on the corner of the street, which Piper was a regular visitor too, especially recently. That's where she had met Alex, sitting at the bar on her lonesome, and subsequently took the raven-haired girl home with her after having one too many tequila shots.

Piper didn't care much for style, she hated shopping and had far better things to do than go round home-wear stores to make her house look pretty. However, Polly predictably liked doing things like that so she kept their house looking modern and nicely furnished, all be it to her unique taste. They had a spacious living room despite it being a small house, with colourful artwork gracing the light greyish walls, glossy hardwood flooring, two immaculately clean off-white leather couches equipped with teal cushions, and a fluffy white rug -oh so Polly- underneath their glass coffee table. There was also a book shelf containing Piper's vast collection of books, she was a voracious reader, and totally proud of that, a small flat screen television situated in the corner, and finally the odd luscious green house plant.

"Hey Pipes! How'd your first day go?" Polly called to her from the living room as she heard her clambering through the front door.

Whilst taking her navy blue jacket off she yelled back; "Oh just wait till I grab a couple of beers before telling this story…"

The next day at work Alex's interns sat around together in the social room, a room provided to them for times when they were on a break or not working. The space was fitted out with lockers on the outside walls: one assigned to each of the new interns, two brown fabric couches in the centre forming an L-shape, a small television and most importantly a vital coffee machine. They were hanging out there waiting for Doctor Vause to appear to take them on rounds, and soon their idle chit-chat turned to what their first day had been like yesterday, for which Piper had obvious bragging rights…

"She really let you hold the heart up. Wow." Tasha admiringly said in reply to Piper's elaborate story.

"Oh please, a monkey could hold a heart." John's jealousy evidently not well hidden. John Bennett was quite frankly a loud mouth, he always thought he was right and wrongly believed he was the best at everything. He had real drive to be a surgeon and definitely would be competition for Piper. He wasn't bad-looking either; with short dark brown hair, freshly shaven creamy toned skin and two deep brown eyes, so dark his pupils got lost amongst the colour.

They were soon interrupted when a resonant voice, all too recognisable to Piper, came from the doorway; "Rounds! Let's Go!"

This morning Alex had her black locks down, her hair gently wavy and it fell to just over where her breasts were. Piper regarded just how beautiful and shiny her long hair was. Alex also had her black-framed signature glasses on, adding to her smug faced character whilst highlighting her black eyeliner which flicked out at the sides of each eye. She had come carrying a bunch of patients medical charts with her and waited with a smirk in the doorway after summoning her five awaiting interns.

Piper rather enjoyed going on rounds, she thought it was quite fun going to different wards, seeing how her and her peers current patients were doing, whilst also meeting new patients whom she would be treating today. It made her feel like a proper doctor. Rounds were soon over and Doctor Vause dismissed them to get on with the plenty of new cases she had assigned to each of them. The others has hurried off and just as Piper was about to leave too, Alex reached out and gently touched her left shoulder, causing her to instantly turn around, Alex then, slightly nervously, asked her;

"Hey Piper, fancy going out for drinks after work later."

Piper was surprised, caught off guard, yes she could feel the undeniable chemistry growing between them but watching Alex lead rounds reminded her that she was indeed her teacher, her superior! and anything more than a friendship between them would be inappropriate, not strictly against hospital rules, but it was totally frowned upon. This understandably caused her to be hesitant, before uttering her totally inevitable reply;

"um.. Yeah sure."

Alex regarded Piper's reserve, slightly disheartened, she added; "Okay, I mean you don't have too?" She raised her eyebrow, before finishing.. "If you decide later you want to, just meet me in my office after you've finished work."

Piper realised she had unintentionally damped Alex's spirit with her reply that had come out a lot drier than intended, because she really did want to go out with her. To try and rectify the situation, in the sweetest voice she could muster she reassuringly said;

"No, it's not that.. I do want to go out. You know what.. It's a date!" finishing with a wide toothy grin for clarity.

Piper walked away with flushed cheeks, It's a date… did I really just say that.. Oh god..

Seeing Piper's change in demeanour Alex laughed smugly to herself and walked briskly off to get on with her busy day, pleased that the had gotten the blonde to agree to go out with her. She could just tell that this was going to be an interesting date.

Authors Note: Thank you to shrub-skinz, patalano, DA15Y, derekjeter2, b3rlin, Sc2ud, Bullfrog21, endofeverything and the 6 guest reviewers for taking the time to leave a review, I really appreciate it :)