Chapter Twenty Five

Piper woke to Alex bringing her breakfast in bed. She couldn't keep the huge grin off her face. She had toasted a bagel, added cream cheese and made her a great cup of coffee. She bit into the plain bagel and smiled. The cream cheese had pimento and olives in it. It was Piper's favorite. Alex had to have diced them up and added them to the cream cheese. It made her happy to know her love cared so much to make her happy.

Piper told her that she had a few errands to run...one was to get her license renewed so she wasn't sure how long it was going to take her. "You know the lines there. I should be home though in time for dinner. Didn't you say you wanted Roger to come by? Maybe we can have him and Chris over for dinner," Piper observed.

"You can give him a call but who knows with him. They are so busy and travel so much. I have three new hires to check out and I need to do the window display," Alex said after finishing her bagel and thinking about it for a moment.

"You want help carrying the books up here before I leave?" Piper asked. Alex always carried the books upstairs and arranged them in their big window first before carrying them back down to do the display. Piper knew it was just so she could look like she knew exactly what she was doing when standing in the front window case. Alex liked everything planned out.

Alex pushed her shirt back and flexed her bicep. It bulged up and Piper's mouth when dry. Alex was in better shape now than at any other point in her life. It was terribly attractive. She was drooling over the arm porn when Alex snickered and said, "No, Pipes, I think I can handle a box of books. This is my last one though, I'm going to give Taystee that job. She always tries to rearrange my stuff anyways. Besides...I need more free time to travel with my muy importante esposa." Piper winced at her terrible Spanish. When they traveled She always translated in Spanish and Alex's French was way better than hers.

Piper pulled her up and into their bathroom. She was ready for a hot shower with her hot wife. Alex removed Piper's T-shirt and boxers. Piper reached for hers but Alex stepped back and slowly took off her shirt, teasing Piper. She bit her lip and made a small whimpering sound. It wasn't fair. Her wife was fucking gorgeous and could just flex a muscle and Piper was wet. Alex practically carried her into the hot shower. Piper was shivering as she washed her, eyes wide as she held her wife's gaze. Alex washed her shoulders and kissed each place she rinsed.

" I told you, a thousand kisses...covered in them daily. I'm behind with all the stress. I need to make it up to your body," Alex murmured in her ear. Piper felt her legs weaken as she spoke. Biting her lip, Piper turned in her arms and started to kiss her neck...she washed Alex's body as she did so. They held each other under the steaming water. Piper started down first, she kissed down her belly and darted her tongue into her belly button just to hear Alex squeal when it tickled. She smiled and sat Alex back against the rock wall on the seat that was perfectly placed there just for this activity. With both shower heads pelting her with a drum of hot water, Piper ducked her head in and kissed Alex's labia. Each time she did this in the shower she remembered the disgusting showers at Litchfield. Alex had their maid scrub the bathrooms twice when she cleaned. Piper never complained because filth like that shower curtain can stay with a person.

Piper lifted her leg once she felt Alex press her hand to her head. She needed more...Alex needed her to flick her clit and suck it in hard. Alex needed her wife to please her and Piper was more than ready to give it to her. Her wife's hand in her hair trying to urge her to move her head this way or to fuck her with her tongue more, made Piper come to ecstasy kneeling there before her. It always did. It wasn't a huge satisfying release but a small ripple of pleasure that radiated out from her clit and made her sex swell as if it had been pumped by Alex's talented fingers. Alex started to moan loudly and toss her head side to side. Piper knew it wasn't long now so she flattened her tongue out and pressed it to her nub, then slammed two fingers deep in her lover. Alex made a keening sound that had Piper humming with pleasure.

After Alex rode her pleasure out, Piper slowly licked up her sex, then reached for the lower shower head and sprayed her sensitive clit with the hot water. She jumped but then moaned as it made her come again. Piper washed it all away and then kissed her sex. Alex pulled her up and clung to her. It was a good embrace...one where Piper felt strong. They got out of the shower and toweled off. Alex wanted to treat Piper to the same lovemaking but they had a therapy session soon.

"Okay kid, but that means you're on the Sybian tonight and I want to tie your hand over your head...I fucking love it when you beg me to turn it on...then beg me to turn it off because you can't stop cumming," Alex observed. Piper was putting on her shirt and got all tangled after she heard her words. Alex had to move closer and help her dress herself because Piper was all twitterpated at the pictures Alex painted.

"No fair, I got to sit in the DMV today while your words play havoc with libido!" Piper whined. Alex just looked at her in that evil way and then walked out of their bedroom to call their cab.

Piper didn't get nervous about Dr. Speer usually, but today she was nervous. What if she said they needed to take a break and work on their individual problems? What is she felt their having make up sex to get over a serious fight was a huge problem? They got out of the cab and walked up the desk but had to wait. She looked over at her wife leaf through a magazine while really watching everyone in the lobby.

Piper remembered when Alex showed her how to tell who was a mule in an airport. They were in Brussels, after hear ill fated money smuggling.

"See that girl over there? She has a sloppy runner. She is sweating like crazy and clutching her bag like it is a life line. If I was with security I'd nail her," Alex observed. Piper saw the girl in question and was taken aback by how similar they were. She wondered if Alex approached her that first night to groom her to be a mule. Piper didn't want to know but sometimes she did. She had already smuggled money for her...so what was the harm in asking.

"Al, did you approach me that first night at the bar because you wanted another mule?" Piper asked softly. Alex looked over at her and pushed up her glasses. She took Piper's hand in hers and held it for a moment.

"At first, yeah...then you looked at me with those eyes and asked me who I was like I hung the moon. I guess I..." she didn't finish, she just shrugged. Piper felt her mouth go dry when she realized that Alex was trying to say she fell for her then. But Alex doesn't use the L word much...and Piper was afraid of scaring her off with this conversation.

So she leaned over and kissed Alex. She smiled at Piper and her expression was curious. Piper just shrugged and whispered, " Good answer," in a sultry voice. They heard their flight called and stood up together. Piper liked how Alex held her hand until they got on the plane.

"What are you thinking about?" Alex asked her. She was asking Piper that more lately and Piper realized it must have come from her therapy. She always tried to answer her directly.

"I was remembering our flight out of Brussells when you showed me how to spot a mule," Piper answered honestly.

Alex laughed some and looked at her in the same curious way she did long ago, "Why are you thinking about that time now?" Alex was laughing but Piper felt her grab her hand.

Piper shrugged then forced herself to articulate the reason. "At first it was just the way you looked around the room all curious, then I remembered how you ALMOST told me you loved me at first sight," Piper grinned as she said it. "I freely admit that I fell flat fuck in love with you right from the start. I even stalked you to that burlesque show because I wanted to see you again." Alex snorted recalling her friend Rachael and that dummy. She had always suspected Piper just used the show as an excuse to see her. She had been happy so it all worked out. She stared at Piper with that look in her eyes that makes Piper lose her breath. They looked in to each others eyes and got lost as they do. She searched for any pain she may be missing but all she could see was Alex's loved reflected back to her.

They must have been doing it for awhile because their name was called and neither of them heard it. "Ms. Vause, Ms Chapman the doctor can see you for your couple's session now," the proper receptionist said in a loud voice. Piper blushed and Alex laughed.

"Oh sorry, I got lost in my wife's eyes again...I mean have you seen them? " Alex said with a low wolf whistle. She laughed but pulled Alex towards the door of her office. She heard one lady say that if they needed couples help, she should get a divorce because her husband hasn't ever looked at her that way.

Alex laughed some more as they came in and that bright sound was the first thing Dr. Speer heard from them that day. It really seemed to delight her. They sat in the seats in front of her desk and she had them move so they were sitting across from one another. Piper knew it was to help with communication but she hated to let go of Alex's hand. Her wife seemed to sense it so she brought Piper's hand to her lips and brushed her lips across her knuckles. It made Piper smile. She hated to rehash their week's drama but she knew it would come up.

"I'm thrilled to see you two here together. I've met with Piper a few times after her accident but all three of us haven't really talked. So, Alex let me start with you. How are things going?" Dr. Speer leaned back in her chair and listened the way she does. Piper really liked this woman and she couldn't thank her enough for all of her help. She was worth every penny.

"Well, I had a few hard weeks with Piper sick. I got really scared and then mad at her for pushing herself. She is just now cleared to run again but she has been doing it for a week. I want her to take better care of herself but I know how she gets when it comes to running. She used to overdo it at Litchfield when she was upset. I shared with her that I do want kids...and even maybe to have it myself. I've really been exploring that in my own therapy because of the miscarriage. I told her family as well and it was really cool. But...things didn't stay that way. Um...well we've been going through some stress at work. Our partner and good friend, Nicky, had to work with the Feds on a case. It brought up...well all of our anxieties. We don't trust them. Piper was confident though and she was my rock. But then..." Alex looked down and shifted in her seat. She looked at her hands in a way that gave Piper a glimpse at the insecure teenager she had to be.

"But then?" the doctor prompted. Piper had to fight the urge not to answer for Alex. Both of them had a tendency to try and speak for their partner when things get tough in the conversation. The doctor called it a form of caring but it was enabling as well. She bit her lip and tried really hard to just sit and listen to her wife.

"But Nicky didn't take it so well and we were convinced she'd fallen off the wagon. She disappeared all day and I thought, she'd lost it. I kept seeing her in a ditch of flop house with a nasty needle and bad H. From the moment I read Lorna's text about her disappearing...where she begged me to find her girl...all I pictured was Nicky high as a kite. I...was afraid if I found her I'd do the same thing," Alex admitted in a small voice. Suddenly Piper understood their fight so much more. Alex was freaking in the car, not only about Nicky but her own sobriety. She had needed that meeting and Becca had recognized it and offered her support.

Alex went on to tell her how she bit Piper's head off and alienated her when she was stressed. She admitted how hard she'd worked on not doing that with Piper and how upset she was with herself when it was happening. "It was like I was in a movie watching myself be hateful but not really able to stop it."

Dr. Speer nodded softly and wrote something down. "You know we often give those we love most, the worst parts of ourselves because we trust them not to use it against us. You've got issues letting Piper know when you are feeling the pull of the drugs. She may not be a junky, but trust me, Piper knows how to fight addiction." Piper blinked at that statement and looked over at the doctor.

"Piper drank too much and was totally addicted to you when you were away and you were writing. She lived for word from you and fought everyday to keep her mind sane. She drank...too much and from what I know about her time after you disappeared, it just got worse. She didn't do it the way you did...no AA for Piper. But she did work on it until she could stand to breathe without hearing from you daily," the doctor said gently. Piper looked down and when she looked up she saw Alex was crying.

"Now you Piper...how did you feel about Nicky? What happened when Alex was negative with you?" Dr. Speer offered Alex some tissue but her head was turned to Piper. Piper couldn't stay still so she got up and moved around the room. It used to bother Alex that she moved in their sessions but it was how Piper processed things. She sat on a shelf by the window. It was just the right level and Piper could fit on it with her legs cris-crossed.

" I got mad. I felt like I could never understand her and...I was angry at her for being addicted to something that could kill her...could pull her away from us. I was worried about Nicky too but she downplayed that like I was an idiot. I just didn't assume Nicky had fallen off the wagon," Piper shrugged like it was nothing. She didn't look over at Alex though. She didn't want to admit the next part. "She went to a meeting that Nicky liked to frequent...to look for her ya know...and Becca was there. She walked Alex out and they hugged. It was an intimate hug and Alex turned her head some and placed her face in her hair...like she does..." Piper swallowed. She felt like she might throw up.

"Are you okay, Piper?" the doctor asked. She nodded but she didn't look up. " Did you get angry and cause a scene?" The doctor prompted her with the exact fear Piper held in her heart when she saw them hug. Fear she would attack and be taken away.

"No. I got really, really pissed and hailed a cab. I left Alex standing on the street and went to find Nicky," Piper said so softly that the Doctor had to ask her to say it again. She did and she started to chew her bottom lip.

"Did you call her and tell her you needed to get away from that situation?" she asked Piper that because it was a strategy they had talked about using. Piper shook her head and told her she cut off her phone.

" I didn't want to deal with it. I just focused on Nicky. I found her...talked to her and we settled some things. I had not told Alex about a phone call I took earlier in the day, I was going to...I swear but stuff came up. So I told Nicky and she reamed me out about it but we talked it over. I think it was for the best...especially for Nicky." Piper didn't elaborate...it wasn't important really. She then told her about going to the brownstone and trying to leave early for New Orleans.

" I take it that didn't happen since you made this meeting. I remember we rescheduled this once because of your trip. So what happened to change your mind?"

"Alex happened. She came over in the middle of the night...and um we had really hot, really hard sex. It was frantic and painful at times. She told me to use my nails to make her pay for hugging her and then she showed me how much I belong to her," Piper spoke in a thick voice. Just remembering Saturday night made her wet. She looked over at Alex and she was looking at her strangely. Piper dropped her eyes.

"So you two used sex to settle this fight?" the doctor made a small note as she said it.

"Yeah we did and ya know what? It was the right thing to do. Sometimes Doc, the only way Pipes and I can actually cut through our own bullshit and get to the heart of who we are and how we love is with sex. I'm not ashamed of it. We're a married couple that had make up sex. We've been doing great ever since," Alex said in such a way that Piper looked up and smiled. Piper had been afraid the doctor would say it had been a bad thing but she couldn't or wouldn't let anyone say that. Alex was right...it was a turning point for them.

"Piper, when you were having the rough sex, did your fear of triggering Alex's rape kick in?" Dr. Speer asked her directly. Piper shook her head no. She had been so angry at Alex that it hadn't mattered and that had freed her to be herself in bed. It reawakened something in her that had been long dormant since she learned of how her love had been brutalized. Dr. Speer made a note and then looked at both of them for a moment.

" Truthfully, you both have grown leaps and bounds since we first started. Alex...go ahead you can go to her," she said and Alex stood up then moved to Piper. She smiled and started to stand but Alex just pressed her body to Piper. She opened her legs and let her wife inside her warmth. They held each other as the doctor continued. "I think you should cut your couples therapy to once a month, then we will revisit the need after a few months."

Piper was flabbergasted. "Really?" Alex looked back as well with a quizzical look. Piper leaned in to her and felt connected and whole.

"Yes...all couples could use some help but both of you are in therapy to deal with what happened to you in prison. You are very self aware and work hard at communicating with each other. Your major issues...are gone...or you are aware of them enough to deal with them when they happened. Six months ago, a fight like that over Nicky and Becca would have sent Piper running further and Alex would have retreated into her workshop. Instead, you found each other and did whatever you had to do to be able to speak to one another again. That is marriage. You're right about that Alex. Okay, so schedule your next appointment with Janice and keep up the good work," Dr. Speer said as she rose. She wasn't much of a hugger really but she hugged them both as they left.

Piper told Janice that Raven or Alex would be in touch about the date. Once in the hallway, Piper couldn't help but laugh. They were doing something right!

" I feel like I was called in to the principal's office but it was for some award rather than my usual suspension," Alex observed. Piper laughed at the analogy but she had to agree. She had to go run her errands and prepare the surprise she had for Alex. So they kissed on the sidewalk, said goodbye and Alex got into a cab. Piper couldn't help but whistle happily as she took the stairs down to the train.

*****OOOOH such great reviews! I love them all. Please give me more! I am really pushing it to get my story OUT In time and it is a hard row to hoe. I will finish this baby on June 5th before 12:01...I promise! Peace, Fae***