Author's Note: Someone mentioned missing my author's notes, so I'm happy to write one for this chapter. I thought these little notes would just clog things up before you continue reading the story, but I'm pleased to know at least one of you likes an author's note...Writing "The Christmas Drive" has been thoroughly enjoyable! Sometimes I get to a point in the story where I don't know where to go next, but that's not the case for any of my Christmas fics. Not sure if I've mentioned this before, but when I write fanfiction, I can picture the scenes as clear as day. I see Alex's expressions or hear Piper's musings, and it makes it easier to write what I see. So please enjoy the next four chapters and thank you SO MUCH for the feedback!


The rest of the afternoon, we lounge around the cabin, drinking beer and sharing stories about our favorite Christmas memories. There are a number of stories about prison Christmases, and I learn that Poussey and Sylvie (who departed an hour ago) didn't serve time—only Alex, Nicky and Lorna. Although I have a million questions about Alex's time in prison, she does little things throughout the day to reassure me that answers will come eventually. It's nothing she says; rather, it's a look or a touch, and as far-fetched as it seems, I understand the meaning behind her non-verbal cues.

Poussey does a good job of breaking up the prison stories when they become too singularly focused, and I wonder how long she's been part of this group. She stands her ground and enjoys being included, and they seem to respect her for that. For my part, I enjoy listening to everyone's stories, and of course, being near Alex. Occasionally she rests her hand on the inside of my thigh or strings her arm over my shoulders, and it sends waves of exhilaration throughout my body.

As dusk approaches, we decide to build a fire outside and switch from beer to wine or cocktails. There are very few mixers, so I stick with red wine, while Alex chooses Bourbon on the rocks.

Poussey carries an armful of logs to the fire pit, dropping them in. "Who has the matches?"

"Got 'em." Nicky rolls up pieces of newspaper under the wood and lights the edges.

Lorna and Alex shovel the snow away from the small area, and then carry three cushions from the outdoor furniture for us to sit on, while I grab as many blankets as I can from inside.

Nicky points at each of us. "Does everyone have their beverage of choice?"

"I'm missing something," Lorna states.

"A few brain cells," Nicky replies, kissing the top of her head. "Be right back."

Alex stands next to me and asks in a soft voice, "Are you good?"

I nod and flash a smile.

She kisses the side of my mouth, and then holds my hand while reaching for her drink that's perched on the ledge. She sits on one of the loveseat cushions, leaning her back against the ledge and motions for me to sit between her legs.

I get a tingly sensation when she touches me and sitting in this position makes the feeling more pronounced. Part of me wants to go to the bedroom and fuck her senseless, but I know how important it is for Alex to be with her friends tonight. Just the thought of fucking her later is enough to make me wet.

"We haven't been the best hostesses," Lorna announces. "This whole afternoon, we've been talking about ourselves and haven't included Piper in our conversations."

"It's not a big deal." I make a shoo'ing motion with my hand.

"We want to know more about you," she continues.

"We Googled her yesterday." Nicky hands her a glass of clear liquid with a slice of lime that I can only assume is vodka or gin on the rocks. "What more do we need to know?"

"You Googled me?"

"Of course we did," Nicky adds. "We didn't know if our friend was traveling with a psychopath, so we did a little bit of Internet digging of our own."

I feel Alex's chest move behind me, and it's evident she's trying to stifle a laugh.

"Technically, we used Safari not Google," Poussey chimes in. "But yeah."

"I'm sure you didn't find much," I comment, wondering what elicited this level of prying. Has Alex dated crazy women before, and her friends are trying to protect her?

"You've led a pretty boring fucking life," Nicky replies.

That makes everyone laugh, including me.

"Well…" I raise my glass. "Here's hoping it gets more exciting."

There are shouts of agreement and cheers.

"I still think we should learn more about Piper though. Stuff the Internet can't tell us," Lorna continues. "Like what's your favorite color?"

Poussey leans forward. "Do you know my favorite color?"

"Uh, blue?" Lorna tries.

Poussey tosses a pebble at her leg. "It's purple, fool!"

"Maybe we should open it up to the whole group then," Lorna suggests with outspread arms.

"A little game of truth or dare?" Nicky wiggles her eyebrows.

"I'm a grown ass woman," Alex says through laughter. "I'm not playing truth or dare."

Poussey raises her hand. "I'm in."

"Me, too," Lorna responds with fervor.

Nicky nods in my direction. "Chapman?"

I take a slow sip of wine, wondering what I might get myself into, but then acquiesce. "Fine, I'll play."

"I guess that means you have to play by default, Vause."

Alex playfully shoves me. "Why'd you agree to this?"

"I like games." I shrug.

Nicky lays out the rules, and it seems like this group takes rules seriously. If someone refuses to do the dare or answer a question, she has to take a shot of tequila. That might not sound like a punishment but considering the amount we've already consumed and what we'll likely drink over the course of the night, it would be punishment by way of puking all night.

"Piper, since you're the newest member of our group, you go first."

"Ok." I tap my chin. "Lorna, truth or dare?"

"I'll do a dare."

"Hmm…" I think for a moment. "I dare you to take off your shoes and socks and stand in the pond for a full minute."

Poussey gets a kick out of my dare, and Lorna protests. Nicky pushes her towards the pond, telling her she has to do it. I feel pleased with my choice.

"The water is freezing!" Lorna comes back shivering and places her bare feet as close to the fire as possible. "I thought you liked me, Piper?"

"I do!" I rub her leg. "You're a good sport."

"My turn." She clears her throat. "Poussey, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Have you and Sylvie ever hooked up?" Lorna waits with bated breath.

Poussey throws her whole body back and gives Lorna an are you crazy look. "Fuck, no!"

The game goes on like this for another 30 minutes, but no dare has been too outlandish, and no truth has been too personal up until this point.

"Alright, Vause, truth or dare?" Nicky asks, rubbing her hands together after having revealed a truth about her first orgasm.

"I'll go with truth this time."

(Her last dare was to karaoke to Santa Baby, apparently her least favorite Christmas song, in front of all of us. That led to the iPod speaker coming outside so we could listen to more Christmas music.)

"Truth, huh?" Nicky swirls the last bit of alcohol in her glass as she thinks. "I know we've given you shit about it, and we were only half-joking at first," Nicky starts. "But have you and Chapman fucked?"

My eyes widen as I stare at Alex, wondering if she'll confess.

Poussey points at me, laughing. "The look on your face!"

"We did," Alex admits, squeezing my arm. "Last night."

Since she fessed up, I don't see a reason to keep quiet, so I boldly add, "And it was spectacular."

They all hoot and holler, and Poussey gives me a high five.

Nicky looks a little surprised. "Have you been secretly dating for months and are only just telling us about it now?"

"No." I raise one hand as if swearing the truth. "We really just met at the airport three days ago."

"And let me tell you, it's a miracle we ended up here," Alex offers with a chuckle. She shares a short version of these past few days, and Lorna places her hand over her heart.

"That's so sweet!"

"Alright, alright…" Alex kisses me, and then returns to the game, giving Lorna another dare that involves a hula hoop.

Lorna sits back down, leaning forward. "I want to know more about the two of you meeting, so Alex, I'm going back to you. Truth or dare?"

She rolls her eyes. "I'm assuming you want me to choose truth?"

"Yes, perfect!" Lorna claps. "When did you know you wanted to fuck Chapman?"

Nicky and Poussey raise their eyebrows and listen closely. "Do tell."

"To fuck her?" Alex scrunches her lips to the side and taps a finger on my leg. "The moment I saw her."

They continue laughing, and I stare at Alex, curious to hear more and wondering if that's also when I became attracted to her. Despite being furious with her for 'stealing' my seat, I couldn't deny she was a beautiful woman. But as far as my desire to have sex with her, I think that came the next day.

"But it probably wasn't until she started searching for bed bugs in the motel when I thought more than just about fucking her—I began liking her." She glances at me with the hint of a blush on her cheeks. "It took me by surprise."

"Really?" I ask.

"You were so determined to save us from potential bed bugs—it was endearing." She chuckles. "Everything fell into place after that."

I cup her face and lean in for a kiss.

"Take that crap to the bedroom!" Nicky shoves Alex, toppling us both over.

Alex steadies us and laughs. "As much as I hate to cut this party short, Piper and I need to get dinner started if we want to eat before midnight."

"Screw that!" Poussey says, followed by the others encouraging us to stay.

I extend a hand to help Alex stand. "I'll refill everyone's drink."

"Now we're talking," Nicky says, offering her empty glass to me.

Although my arms are full with drinking glasses, the moment we get inside, Alex shoves me against the wall and kisses me hard. She uses one hand to untuck my three layers of shirts while the other cradles my face. Her hips buck against me, and I drop one of the glasses and it crashes to the floor.

"Shit!"

"Don't worry about it." She laughs against my mouth. "I'm sure the owners won't miss one glass."

I stare at the pieces on the floor, and the good news is that it broke into four big chunks rather than shards of glass all over the ground.

"I've been wanting to do that all day," she says between kisses.

"Break a glass?" I ask with a smirk.

Poussey knocks on the sliding door. "Everything alright in here? I heard something break."

"They're probably fucking," Nicky adds.

"These walls are thin," I comment in a hushed voice.

"We're not fucking," Alex shouts back at them. Then she turns to me with a gleam in her eye. "Hopefully the bedroom walls are thicker."

"God, I hope so." I kiss her one more time, longer and harder than the original kiss, leaving no doubt in her mind: I want this.

I pull out of her grasp and set the glasses on the counter, and Alex finds a broom to clean up the mess.

"I'm going to refill these drinks, and then I'll help you with dinner," I say.

"You really don't need to help." She opens the refrigerator, pulling out a few items. "Go outside. Enjoy playing 20 questions with my friends."

"I don't mind helping," I reply. "I'm not good at cooking, but I can try."

"Tell you what." She sets the ingredients on the counter. "I'll call you when I need help, but until then, go drink and be merry." She kisses my forehead.

"If you insist."

It takes me two trips to bring everyone a refilled glass, but at least that earns me a kiss each time I go back inside.

Nicky sips her cocktail. "So, you two met in the airport?"

"Yes." I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear as I take my place where Alex was sitting earlier. "I never imagined this would happen."

"You're a lucky woman."

I eye the other women. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"Alex is a hot commodity in the Manhattan lesbian circle," Nicky continues.

I raise my brows. "Are you saying I should watch my back?"

She gets up to stoke the fire. "No, but if the two of you become a thing, you're going to have some competition."

"Does she have a wandering eye?"

"Don't listen to her!" Poussey swats at Nicky. "It's true, the ladies are attracted Alex, I mean look at her…God made her right," she continues with a snap. "But she's not promiscuous and shit. I mean, she dates a few times a month, but it ain't like Nicky's making it out to be."

Lorna nods. "Alex is a very loyal person."

I sip my wine, but I don't feel settled. "I'm going to take things one day at a time and see where this goes."

"That's a good plan." Nicky sits next to me, putting a hand on my knee. "But between you and me, I think she likes you…a lot."

"So do I." Lorna puts her hand over her heart. "I haven't seen her smile this much since the day she got out of prison."

I decide to turn the conversation away from my budding relationship with Alex. "Were either of you her cell mate?"

"No, and that's not what we call them—it's bunk mate or Bunkie."

"I don't think it would be proper if I asked why you were in prison or how much time you served," I lob out there.

Nicky chuckles. "But you're asking anyway?"

Lorna is the first to tell me her story, and as it turns out, she and Nicky have an on again/off again relationship, which is currently "on" over this holiday. (Something about the body needing human connection, but Lorna really wants to find a husband.) Nicky shares her story next, but neither divulges any information about Alex. It's just as well because I want to hear directly from her. Poussey shares that she and Sylvie were roommates during the time Alex and Sylvie were together, and that's how she got connected with this group of friends.

From what I can tell, these women don't take their time in prison lightly and have no intention of committing crimes in the future. There's no laughing or joking when they talk about what prison can do to a person's psyche. Of course, they find humor in some of the situations they were in, but as a whole, prison wasn't fun or educational. Even though they were in a minimum security facility, it was still, as Nicky put it, "hell on earth."

Alex opens the sliding door and peeks out. "I'm ready for some help."

"Are you looking for someone to help locate your tonsils or actual food prep?" Nicky chides.

I dust off my butt and glance in Nicky's direction. "I'm happy to do both."

Alex opens the door wider for me. "Were you having fun out there?"

"Yeah." I turn around and look at the women laughing around the fire. "They're a good group of friends."

"They are." She gives me a peck on the lips, and then pushes six small potatoes in my direction. "Would you mind quartering these?" She demonstrates. "Like this."

"Got it." I wash my hands and start chopping, and Alex continues the conversation.

"I don't know if I would've survived without them." She rubs butter on the chicken thighs. "Being with other women in prison is how you make it through—that's why segregation is so fucking brutal."

"Were you ever segregated?"

"Twice." She spreads rosemary and salt on the chicken.

I push two quartered potatoes aside. "What did you do?"

"Almost anything can get you sent to Ad Seg," she states. "It depends on the guard's mood that day or the severity of the infraction."

I stop chopping and look at her. "If you don't want to share the details, I understand."

"You're a curious person." A tiny grin touches the corners of her mouth. "I expected you'd ask questions."

"If I ever cross the line—"

"I'll tell you." She shrugs, and then returns her attention to the chicken. "The first time I was sent to the hole was apparently for my protection, which is total bullshit. They claimed there was a prison gang who wanted to murder me, but there was no indication of that being true. I was only in there for two days." She tosses the potatoes into a pot. "When you're done with those, follow the directions on this box to make biscuits."

"What about the second time?"

"They found my shiv." She pours broth into the pot. "There was no getting out of that one."

"You made a shiv?"

"Yeah." She takes bacon out of the microwave and crumbles it. "I melted a razor blade into a toothbrush. Almost everyone had some kind of weapon at Litchfield. Our bunks were wide open, so wasn't like the prison cells you see on tv where there are bars and a locked gate that only a guard can open." Alex dumps a bag of frozen peas into another pot. "Anyone could walk into your area and fucking slice your throat right open."

I swallow hard. "Did that happen to anyone while you were there?"

She stops and stares at me. "No, but the threat was always there."

"It sounds awful." I push the last pieces of potatoes aside.

"Take the worst situation you've ever been in, multiply it by 100, and that just about sums it up." She dumps the last of the potatoes into the large pot and covers it. "I'm happy to answer your questions about prison, but for the rest of tonight, let's focus on having a nice Christmas evening."

I hug her. "Let's."


Half an hour later, it starts snowing, and the women gather back inside.

"I didn't think it was supposed to snow today," Lorna says, brushing flakes off her coat.

"Mother Nature had other plans." Poussey carries some wood inside and tosses it into the fireplace. "No problem though; we'll bring the party inside."

"The soup is ready, so if we want to start with that…" Alex trails off, grabbing five bowls from the cupboard. "And someone can set the table."

"I'll do that," Lorna replies. "I love folding napkins all pretty. I can make it look like a swan."

"A what?" Nicky asks.

"A swan," she repeats. "You know, like a big, white duck with a long neck?"

"Swan? Oh, got it." Nicky laughs. "I'll open more wine."

I wash the cutting board, knives and a pot, enjoying the interactions among these women.

Poussey brings the iPod and speaker inside and continues playing Christmas music. "What's for dinner?"

"We'll start with potato and corn chowder." Alex ladles the soup into small bowls. "You can top it with bacon bits and chives." She sets the filled bowls on the counter. "And for dinner, we're having baked rosemary chicken, orange glazed carrots, cheddar-scallion drop biscuits, and peas with mint."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Nicky chuckles. "There's no way we had all those ingredients here. Piper, tell us the truth, did you stop at a grocery store on the drive up this morning?"

I dry my hands. "We didn't stop for anything."

"How'd you come up with this shit, Vause?"

"It wasn't that difficult." She shrugs. "Grab a bowl of soup and sit at the table. The chicken will be done in another 30 minutes."

We all sit down as Nicky fills glasses with white or red wine.

"Although I haven't said grace since I was like five, I'd like to make a toast." Alex raises her glass. "To Nicky on her very special birthday. We're all better people because of her love and laughter." Everyone taps glasses. "And to meeting new people in unexpected places." She stares right at me with a gorgeous smile. "Merry Christmas."

Once again everyone says their words of cheers and thank you before digging into the hot soup and praising Alex for her cooking skills. I can't stop grinning at Alex who looks as happy as I'm sure I do. I reach under the table, placing my hand on her thigh, and she grabs my hand, squeezing it.

She leans towards me and says in a voice loud enough for only me to hear, "I'm glad you're here."

"Me, too." I release her hand and dive into the soup, echoing everyone else's praise.

Over the next two hours we eat dinner, taking our time savoring every bite of food and drinking another bottle of wine. I feel like I've known these women for years and have to remind myself that we only met today.

Alex scoots her chair back. "Hope you saved room for dessert."

"What could you have possibly pulled together?" Nicky asks.

She takes five ramakins out of the freezer. "Homemade vanilla custard with a Bourbon-cherry syrup."

"You're killing me," Nicky replies in an astonished half-laugh. "Hey, I'd like to raise a glass to our talented chef who pulled this delicious shit out of her ass. Cheers to Alex!"

"I don't think you should call it 'delicious shit'," Lorna complains. "It's delicious food."

Poussey, Lorna and I clean the kitchen and wash the dishes, and when we're done, we join Alex and Nicky in the living room. Alex lifts her arm, indicating she wants me to scoot in next to her, and I eagerly oblige. I'm drunk and tired, so there's a good chance I'll fall asleep right here.

"It's tradition that we watch a Christmas movie together, so I've chosen two. The one with the most votes wins." Nicky holds up two DVDs. "We've got Scrooged with Bill Murray and the 2003 Classic, Bad Santa."

"Those are terrible choices," I comment.

Poussey chimes in, "Let me guess, those were the options in prison?"

"Bingo!" Nicky shouts. "So they're classics to the three of us."

"They are horrible movies." Alex laughs. "Do we really want to relive prison Christmases?"

"Sounds like it's a tie, so I'll go with Scrooged." She slides the DVD into the player. "Enjoy this cinematic classic."

That makes it much easier for me to drift off to sleep in Alex's arms.