Just to further clarify, Piper wasn't engaged to Jake.

Enjoy.

Chapter 26

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Piper! Happy Birthday to you!"

Piper was sitting at the head of the table with a pink frosted cake with white lettering in front her. The candles were infatuating Conner as he sat in Piper's lap. With her son's help, Piper blew out all thirty two candles on the cake. Alex had told him he needed practice for his upcoming birthday party in a few weeks that they hadn't even started to plan.

Barbara and Jim were sitting on one side of the table. Alex was standing beside Piper making sure Conner didn't go for the flames that were holding his attention. Alan and Hector had ended up having to leave early due to their surrogate having to go to the emergency room. Polly and Pete had also bailed due to Finn having bronchitis. If this was how Piper knew her birthday was going to turn out, she much rather would have stayed home and just gone out to dinner with Jim and Barbara.

To Piper, she should feel happy on her birthday, but with how the past twenty-four hours had been, she could barely muster to keep the forced smile on her face.

The Next Morning…

"Barb, Alex and I are gonna take Conner to the playground if you and Piper would like to accompany us?"

Conner was sitting atop his grandfather's shoulders as he played with the brim of Jim's baseball cap.

"I think Piper and I will stay here and prepare lunch. You three go."

"Okay, dear."

Jim smiled, gave a peck to his wife on her cheek, and turned to head towards the playground.

Piper knew what Barbara was doing, she was tired of the tension between her and Alex and she was going to try and alleviate it. Alex stared at Piper as she followed Jim out the door.

"Piper Chapman, you better tell me what's going on. You and Alex didn't even sleep in the same bed last night and every time I tried to bring up the wedding, Alex didn't even get a say. I already have a pretty good idea, but I'm gonna give you a chance to explain yourself."

Barbara's usual loving and caring tone was replaced with a stern one. Piper had only heard it once before, when she was having post-partum depression after Conner was born. The older woman had grown tired of seeing Piper so depressed and unlike herself. Barbara knew exactly what Piper was going through considering it was her son and Piper's boyfriend, but she was slowly starting to accept what had happened, and Piper was still drowning in sorrow. At that point, Barbara was concerned for her grandson, and she knew that she had to take action. If Conner wasn't around, Barbara would have let Piper mourn at her own pace, but her grandson was now in the picture and his well-being was more important.

Piper let it all out, she knew there was no way of getting around this situation. Barbara was going to get to the bottom of this whether Piper liked it or not. The blonde started from where they had started fighting in the closet and worked all the way up to this morning. By the look on her ex mother-in-law's face, she knew she was in trouble. She had seen it many times when she would get on to Jake even though he was a grown man.

"Piper, I know I'm not your mother, but damn it, I'm closer than your mother has been, so you listen to me…You're acting exactly like a child who isn't getting their way. This relationship isn't just about you, it's about you, Alex, and Conner. You have to take in their opinions…Piper, I know this is exciting for you, being engaged is such a fun thing, but you're rushing it and only thinking about the looks and not the emotions. You're trying to get married, have a baby, and go along your merry way."

Piper opened her mouth but Barbara cut her off.

"I'm not done…As for Alex bringing up Jake, yes, she was in the wrong, but dear, there's things you haven't opened up to her about and I think she deserves that…She went through two months without you and three without Conner, and she worked to get all of her conflicts on the table and be honest with you about her past that she struggled with for so long. Don't you think she deserves the whole truth from you too, Piper?"

The blonde was so overwhelmed from everything swirling around her mind that a stray tear fell onto the wooden table. She hadn't intended to cause so much stress for Alex, she was blinded by the love and excitement that comes with an engagement.

"Piper, I didn't mean to make you cry…" Barbara's tone had softened and she reached over to grab Piper's hand.

"No…"Piper shook her head. "It's okay, I needed to hear this. I just was so overwhelmed when she told me she wanted to keep looking for locations, and she had no idea on how to plan a wedding, she was just so nonchalant."

"Piper this isn't the blame game. Okay? You two are in a healthy, committed relationship. Arguments like this happen, but you can't sit here and blame, blame, blame. You take this and you learn from it. Take an hour or so apart to reflect and come back together and work through it, in an adult manner…I get it, dear, I was the exact same way. It's a learning process this family life, but it's worth it."

Piper nodded her head as she wiped another tear.

"Have you even started planning Conner's birthday party? Or have you been trying to plan the wedding instead?"

"The wedding."

Piper's tone was bleak and she couldn't stand to look at Barbara because she was horrified at herself for acting like this. Barbara wasn't her biological mother, but she was more of a mother to her than Carol was.

"That little boy comes before yourself and Alex, Piper. I get that you're so love drunk right now from the engagement and your grand plans, which are fantastic, but that little boy has to come first. You are a fantastic mother to that boy, and Alex is just as great, but don't let your personal life get in the way of him. I had to learn that the hard way with Jake, I was so young when I had him I still wanted a social life but I was spending less and less time with my baby when he needed me."

"I understand, Barbara."

"I know you dear, you just get a little caught up sometimes, but that's what I'm here for, to put you back on track…So talk to Alex, when she gets back, we'll watch Conner."

Jim and Alex had just walked through the front door from taking Conner to the playground down the street when Barbara finished her sentence. Alex could audibly hear Piper sniffling as she watched her lay her head down on the table. Barbara looked at Jim with a knowing look and he swiftly took Conner down to the basement.

Alex walked up behind Piper and rubbed both of her hands up and down her back in an attempt to soothe her. Piper automatically knew from the touch that it was Alex. A small part of her relaxed but another part was still so overwhelmed.

"I'm gonna give you two some space. Where did Jim go with Conner?"

Keeping the continuous rubbing motion up and down Piper's back, Alex replied.

"I think they went downstairs to the basement."

Barbara nodded and quietly made her way out of the kitchen, squeezing Alex's elbow as she walked past her.

Alex gave Piper another minute to attempt to calm down before softly speaking.

"Let's go take a walk on the beach, babe…Come on."

Piper slowly raised her head at Alex's gentle tone and pushed away from the table. Alex quickly grabbed Piper's hand, lacing their fingers together.

"Will you let me get a water first?"

The blonde was wiping her tears with the hem of her shirt showing off her slightly toned abs.

"Yeah, babe."

Not breaking their hand connection, Piper lead them to the refrigerator and Alex then lead them out the back door. Walking down the steps towards the roaring waves of the Atlantic Ocean, Alex debated on where to start, but it was Piper who broke the silence between them.

"Al, I don't deserve to wear this right now."

Piper's voice was a low murmur as she took off her engagement ring and handed it to Alex.

"Piper, stop."

"Alex, please. I'm not leaving you, I just don't deserve it right now."

Alex huffed, took the engagement ring, and put it in the front pocket of her jeans. The pair walked a little ways, still connected at the hand, observing the water rushing over their feet with every passing wave. Children could be heard squealing as they jumped over incoming waves.

"Pipes, we can't just keep avoiding it."

Piper pulled them over towards a park bench and sat down, their hands still entangled together. It took a minute for Piper to speak, but when she did, her tone was confident.

"I've only been engaged a week, and I've already turned into a bridezilla."

Alex had to turn her head to keep Piper from seeing the smirk that was trying to form on her face.

"Is that what Barbara said or did you conjure that assumption up on your own?"

"Barbara pretty much called me a brat and that I wasn't taking you or our son's opinion into this whole process." Piper's tone quickly cracked the longer she kept talking. "Alex, I haven't even planned Conner's birthday party because I've been so caught up in this. It's just slipped my mind."

Alex squeezed Piper's hand.

"Piper, maybe we just need to slow down…I know you want to get married this summer, but with everything going on, maybe we should just wait…Conner should be our priority at the moment."

Piper nodded.

"I feel like a horrible mom. We haven't even been stressing that his birthday is coming up. The poor thing's birthday is gonna be here and he's gonna be terrified."

"Piper you're not a horrible mom. Things can get messy and hectic, it happens. We just have to take it a day at a time. We'll get through Conner's birthday, and go from there. If we want to continue planning a wedding after that, we'll talk, but I think we need to focus on our son right now, Pipes."

"I agree…Can I ask you a question, Al?"

"Of course."

"Did you really just want to go to the courthouse?"

"Piper, we can have a real wedding, that's not a problem. I just want to do what makes you happiest. I will be just as happy as you are whether we go the whole nine yards with dresses and walking down the aisle, or if we go to the courthouse. I wasn't trying to take away an actual wedding from you. The whole point is that I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and our boy, maybe even have another in a year or so… I will stand in the fucking pouring rain or stand in a vineyard in front of our friends and family if it means that you and I will spend the rest of our lives together. I don't want anything less than that. What I want is you and the little family we have formed. "

Alex wiped a stray tear from Piper's face, and searched for a little bit of hope within her blue orbs.

"Alex, when I was talking to Barbara, I realized I don't need a fancy, dream wedding to prove that I love you." The blonde shook her head. "I also don't think it's fair that if we were to do this that your best friend wouldn't be able to attend and mine could. Al, she's your family. I think that it sucks that my parents won't be in attendance, but my happiness is worth so much more than arguing with them about getting married to a woman, whom I love unconditionally."

"I totally agree, it does fucking suck that Nicky won't be there, but we had this conversation on the phone earlier this week. She told me to marry you despite whether she was there or not. We've talked a lot about you, and she even wants to meet you, babe."

"Basically I'm saying that maybe we should just go down to the courthouse and then have a vow renewal at five years, in hopes that she'll be out by then…Wait…Did you say she wants to meet me?"

Alex grinned at her fiancé.

"Yes." She shook her head. "The Nicky Nichols wants to meet you in a few weeks."

Piper was utterly surprised. She had already settled on being content with Alex giving her the blessing to propose and she wasn't going to ask for anything more. This was a step in the right direction.

"I've never been to prison, before…"

"I'll be right there with you, babe." Alex chuckled as she looked out towards the waves and their natural beauty. "I do like the idea of the courthouse and the vow renewal though. I guess five years is a pretty monumental thing. I've always heard of them at like twenty-five years and so on."

"Alex this day is about us, we can do whatever the fuck we want. Who cares what everyone else thinks. It's our day."

"Are we really coming to an agreement about this that easily? There must be a catch."

Alex winked at Piper as the blonde snorted.

"No, this is what I want. I don't need some fancy, wedding to show our friends and family that we love each other to no end. What matters is that we know it."

"Courthouse when we're ready, and vow renewal when Nicky gets out." The older woman ran the idea through her head. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Alex."

Piper unclasped their hands and placed her palms on Alex's cheeks.

"I"

The blonde placed a kiss on her lover's left cheek.

"Am."

She placed another kiss on Alex's right cheek.

"Sure."

She finalized it with a long, tender kiss upon Alex's pink lips. It felt like she had burst through a wall when she finally kissed her fiancé. It had only been thirty six hours since the last one, but that felt like a life time.

Alex rested her forehead around Piper's and sighed in content.

"I apologize for bringing for bringing up Jake…That was uncalled for…"

"It's okay, babe. I think after that, it just opened my eyes on how much I'm still holding in even after almost two and a half years…We may have to resort to our walks in the park, so we can get our communication back to where it was."

"I will agree we've been slacking. Whatever makes you comfortable... We can take walks, we can lay in bed, or we can talk and fold laundry."

Piper laughed at Alex's suggestions.

"Will you please put this back on your finger now?"

The brunette's voice was softly pleading as she grabbed Piper's hand and slipped the shimmering diamond back in its place on the blonde's finger.

"I have to admit, I didn't like it not being there. Even if it was only off for half an hour."

Alex laughed and placed another sweet kiss upon Piper's lips, resuming their hand holding.

"I didn't want to come off in the first place."

"I love you, Alex. I really do."

Piper's sweet voice was a soft whisper.

"I love you, too Piper."

Saturday, July 2nd, Conner's Birthday

"How old are you today, bud?"

Alex peeked through the rear-view mirror of her new BMW X5 at her son who was clutching his sippy cup with a wide grin. The idea of getting a new vehicle had always been on her mind considering in her sports car she could only take one passenger and that one passenger couldn't be someone in a car seat. This new SUV allowed her more room and she didn't have to worry about switching vehicles with Piper if she was taking Conner with her somewhere.

The toddler had been so excited to go to breakfast with his momma for his birthday. Piper had wished she could've gone, but she and Polly were staying at the penthouse to decorate for Conner's Mickey Mouse themed birthday party later that morning.

"Two!"

Conner shot up two fingers as he replied.

"Really? I thought you were turning ten!" Alex joked.

The brunette peeked at the rear-view mirror once more before the light turned green as she saw Conner's face break into a giggle. The small boy was going through a stage where he thought everything anyone said was funny and it was music to Alex and Piper's ears to hear his innocent and genuine laugh.

"Momma, I two."

"Twenty-four?"

Alex had a wide grin plastered on her face as she continued to relish in Conner's sweet laughter.

"Two, momma!"

"You're such a big boy for two years old."

"I know."

The brunette laughed out loud at Conner's sass as she parked the SUV in the parking lot of the breakfast diner and turned off the vehicle. As she opened Conner's door to retrieve him from his car seat, she glanced across the street and saw the deli that she had first held Conner in. Two years ago, she formed an unbreakable bond with this little boy and his mother, and she couldn't be any more thankful for that.

As Alex and Conner sat and ate pancakes and drank milk, she couldn't stop staring across the street at the small deli. That was where she had started to be a mother, a girlfriend, and an all-around better person emotionally and physically.

When she glanced down at her toddler, she couldn't help but remember how tiny, and fragile he was when she first held him. Now he was a handful and loved to be thrown into a stack of pillows on Alex and Piper's bed. Alex missed the days where she and Conner would just sit in content or nap, but she loved even more that she could actually interact with him and watch all the emotions he exhibits and the words he says. He was learning new things every day and it infatuated Alex to see what all he picked up on. Perhaps Piper was right, maybe a second child wasn't a bad idea.

"Momma, love you. Love you, momma."

Conner reached over from where he was sitting in his booster seat next to her in the booth and placed a kiss on Alex's tribal band tattoo.

Alex smiled as she broke away from her thoughts and turned her attention towards the little boy.

"I love you too, babe. Can I have another kiss?"

Conner leaned forward with puckered lips as Alex faked him out, wrapping her arms around his tiny torso and blowing a raspberry into the side of his neck. The strong line of giggles emanating from Conner's mouth was contagious as Alex too started to laugh.

"Momma." Conner squealed.

Quickly wiping off his hands and face, Alex grinned and gave the small boy the kiss he was expecting. She loved one on one time like this with Conner, but she was missing her blonde.

When Alex took Conner back to the apartment, there were already guests and more two and three year olds running around. The apartment was decorated from head to toe in Mickey Mouse decorations and there was even a Mickey Mouse cake sitting proudly on display in the dining room surrounded by tons of gifts.

Piper had just came out of the kitchen with Finn on her hip when Alex walked out of the entry way.

"Hi, Al."

"Hey, babe."

Alex leaned in to place a chaste kiss to Piper's lips.

"How did breakfast go? I missed you guys."

"It was great. He was being so sweet this morning. Maybe the terrible twos skipped him and we'll have to deal with it with the next one."

The brunette winked as she felt a line of toddlers run past her into the living room.

All Piper could do is smile as she craned her neck up for another kiss before walking into the living room to open presents.

The rest of the morning and part of the afternoon was spent wrangling kids and handing out cake and ice cream until the mothers of the children had to tear their child away from it.

Three Weeks Later…

On Saturday, July 23rd, Alex and Piper tied the knot at the New York City courthouse. It had been a spur of the moment idea after a passionate night of adult wrestling when they were basking in the afterglow. Things were less stressful as Piper accompanied Alex to look at new locations for the expanding bookstore and Conner's birthday party was over and done with until the next one. Things were moving along at a comfortable pace for the both of them. It had been Alex who proposed the idea, and Piper admitted she was thinking the same thing.

Barbara, Jim, and Conner were all in attendance. Tears were shed, and lots of smiles were worn. The feelings and emotions were intense as both women slipped a wedding band on each other's fingers. It felt so surreal to both women. The two women were surrounded by their family and most importantly their son. Piper was wearing a short sleeved ivory dress that went just past her knees with a swooping neckline accented by a pair of nude pumps. Alex was also wearing nude pumps that matched Pipers, something that the blonde wanted, a black laced, three quarter sleeve dress that went to just above her knee and also had a swoop neckline, but the back formed a "V" exposing her back and part of her saltshaker tattoo. Both women had opted for long loose curls and a light coat of makeup.

Piper had given Alex the option of going with her to pick out her wedding ring, but told Piper that she would love whatever she picked out whether it be a small rubber washer or a diamond ring. With that the blonde analyzed each and every ring in the jeweler's glass case until she found the perfect one.

It was a white gold ring with five diamond stones sitting across it. The row of sparkling diamonds was slightly lifted, allowing more light in, and creating more brilliance in the wedding band. Piper also picked up her wedding band that Alex had ordered and had it confirmed that it fit snugly against her engagement ring. The smile that erupted over Piper's face as the jeweler slipped her wedding band up next to her engagement ring was big enough to light up the whole world.

After the short, but intimate ceremony, Jake and Barbara took Conner, leaving the two women to celebrate for the rest of the weekend.

A/N: Like RJVause said in last chapter's review, "it's a two way street…both need to give and take a little." Thanks for that.

This hasn't been my favorite chapter, I went from having pneumonia to having a raging kidney infection, all during Finals weeks. So I apologize if this chapter is crappy or things are moving along too quickly or you just don't like this fic. I don't like this fic somedays too so it's completely okay.

Right now I am to the point of just lying in bed and failing my classes.

Next chapter Nicky will meet Piper sooo, yeah.

Let me know what you think.