Author's Notes: It's been such a joy reading your reviews! I've noticed some new names of reviewers for this story, and I want to let you know that I see you and I thank you. As for the OG readers, thank you very much for continuing to follow and support me.

It sounds like most of us agree that the actual show didn't give us the Vauseman we deserved in S7, and I'm glad I have the chance to rectify that. This is a rather lengthy chapter that I think will please you-at least I hope you find it insightful and entertaining. As a reminder I won't post over the weekend, so I hope you have a good one. Vauseman will return on Monday.

Four days pass, and I can't stop thinking about Piper. That's not anything is new—I thought about her all the fucking time long before I thought she'd show up at Marysville. But now that I know she lives a few miles away, it's hard to focus on anything else. It's also difficult knowing she's so close but not getting to be with her. There are times when I wish she'd get thrown back in here with me, but when destructive thoughts like those surface, I quickly banish them.

Truth is, I want to be on the other side with her. I want these next three years to zip by so we can be together. I haven't the faintest idea what I'm qualified to do after prison, which has always been a sticking point. I remember joking with Piper about moving to Vermont. That doesn't sound so bad right now; I wouldn't mind a boring, simple life with her by my side.

There was also a time when I thought I'd take business classes in prison. Maybe that's something I could explore again, and this time instead of ripping up the application, send it in and roll the dice.

I walk into the electrical room and greet Officer Creighton. "Last night I noticed one of the flood lights on the West fence in the yard flickering."

He makes a sound something between acknowledgement and a grunt.

"Want me to go check it out?"

Creighton pops a Taki into his mouth and it's not lost on me that it's before 9 a.m. "Fine. Whatever."

"I'll probably need a ladder."

"You know how to get stuff around here, inmate," he complains. "Use your fucking chit and get to work! We're not paying you the big bucks to stand around blabbering."

Three months ago, I would've mouthed off. Now, I clench my jaw and get the supplies I need to pretend to work on a flood light in the yard. If Boo is correct, they should be out here in two minutes. I walk slowly to the furthest flood light I can find and hear a bell ding in the distance. I'm guessing that's the other unit's release time. I set up the ladder and climb to the third rung in order to survey the yard as inmates come pouring out. A minute later, I spot Gina and Norma walking with Yoga Jones not far behind. I lift my hand to wave, then think better of it. Instead, I unscrew the socket and pretend to work on the light.

"Vause!" Gina calls as she jogs my way.

Norma swats at her, and I can't help smiling at their once familiar antics.

"Slow down, bitches!" Boo calls as she waddles behind them.

"Hey." I climb down the ladder and reach for a new light bulb. "I never thought it would be so good to see all of you."

Yoga Jones tilts her head. "I'm so glad you're here; that you're alright."

"I'm fine." I'm still smiling.

"When did you get here?" Gina asks.

"Two weeks ago." I stick the screwdriver into the hole. "You?"

"We've been here for the past few months," Boo answers.

Janae approaches us. "What's up, Vause? Boo mentioned you were transferred to Marysville."

"Hi, Janae. Good to see you."

She lunges into a deep stretch. "Why aren't you locked up with us?"

"I have no idea." I look around to make sure none of the guards are paying attention to us. "I'm going to try to get over there. What's your cell block called?"

"Unit 3B," Boo replies.

"This is the largest female penitentiary in the Midwest," Yoga Jones offers. "They've transferred a bunch of us from all over the country. I don't know how successful you'll be with a transfer."

"I can try." I climb the ladder and begin to screw in the fixture. "As you can see, I'm working in electrical. What do you guys do?"

They each rattle off their jobs, none of which sound appealing. Then again, no prison job is appealing.

"Brooke Soso works in laundry in our unit," Gina chimes in. "Maybe try that angle since you already have experience."

"Good idea."

"Are you and Chapman still a thing?" Boo asks.

"She just moved to Columbus." I can't help smiling as those words proudly leave my mouth. "So, yeah, I guess."

Norma touches my arm and smiles.

"Good for you," Yoga says. "I've always thought you'd end up together."

"Not me," Boo confesses. "But I'm glad you're giving it another shot."

A guard walks over. "Inmates, what's going on over here?"

I step off the ladder. "I'm showing them how to change a light bulb."

"This isn't ITT Tech," he scowls. "Disburse at once!"

They wave goodbye to me as they back away.

"Relax, I'm done." I fold the ladder, then hoist it over one shoulder.

Even though my back is to him, I feel his eyes boring through me. I walk briskly back to the electrical room with my head down and don't take a single breath until I'm inside. Now I just have to figure out a way to get to the other unit. Maybe I can shock myself without really getting hurt so I can potentially transfer to the former Litchfield inmates' wing.

After a long shift, I make my way to the cafeteria. The inmates are more animated than usual, making me wonder what's going on.

Teeny checks me with her hip. "Did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

She does a little dance. "We eatin' McRibs tonight!"

"McRibs? Isn't that a McDonald's thing from like 20 years ago?"

"Mickey D's brought it back for a short time, and people didn't really like it the way they used to I guess, so the prison got they hands on all that meat before it was wasted!"

"I got mine!" Lakeisha struts up with her tray. "Y'all better hurry before they run out."

Teeny gasps. "They might run out?"

"I'm just sayin…" Lakeisha weaves through the crowd to find an open seat.

"Inmate 667552?" Officer Gellar approaches me. "I have a message that your commissary money has come through."

"It has?"

She nods. "You can go down to your CO's office to find out more."

I step out of line and haul ass to CO Eastman's office. I peek inside and see he's on the phone, so I loiter outside, making sure he can see me.

Two minutes later he calls, "Inmate, are you waiting for me?"

I step in the doorway. "I heard my commissary money has been deposited."

"What's your badge number?"

I tell him the number.

"I don't see anything for you…" He shuffles some papers on his desk.

"Officer Gellar just pulled me from the cafeteria line." I take a step closer. "It has to be here…Maybe look on the computer or something."

He eyes me over his wire rimmed glasses. "You telling me how to do my job?"

"No, sir." I look away. "It's just that I know money was deposited a while ago, and I haven't had access to it yet."

He pecks on the computer. "Badge number one more time."

"667552," I sigh.

"Ah, there it is," he says. "Looks like it came through yesterday. I'm not sure what the delay was in notifying you."

I could've called Piper 24 hours ago? These fucking loser guards and COs are going to make me lose my shit. I breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth and try not to curse at his inefficiency.

"You have $250, inmate."

I didn't expect her to give me that much. "Can I use it immediately?"

He nods.

"I need to call someone."

Just then, his phone rings, but before he picks it up, he tells me, "Instructions are posted on the wall near the phone bank."

I hustle down the hallway to the phone area. Then it dawns on me that I don't have Piper's number. Shit. I massage my temples as I try to remember it; I can't afford to lose money on wrong numbers. I lift the receiver and read the instructions posted above the phone. I think this is it…I close my eyes and pray she picks up.

An inmate from Marysville Federal Penitentiary is calling. Do you accept the call?

"Yes."

"Piper?"

"Alex!?"

"Oh my God." I smile as I turn around and rest my back against the wall. "I can't believe I'm finally talking to you."

"Your commissary must've come through."

I smile from ear to ear. "It did, thank you."

"It's so good to hear your voice." I can almost hear her beaming.

"You, too." I close my eyes. "I have so many questions, I don't know where to start."

"I wrote a letter the other day and dropped it in the mail," Piper begins. "It has information about how I got here, but it's already outdated."

"I can't wait to read it."

"I got a job!"

"Congratulations!" I'm so happy for her my words come out as a half-laugh. "Where?"

"You're talking to a new Starbucks barista in training," she proudly states.

"A barista, huh? Sounds exciting."

"I haven't made any coffee drinks yet," she says. "Right now I'm on janitorial and re-stocking duty, but I've only worked two shifts."

"I'm guessing they're paying you more than my whopping 12 cents an hour."

"I still find that appalling," she reports. "I'm attending my first Women's Prison Association webinar tomorrow, so hopefully I'll be able to do something about prison wages soon."

That's my righteously indignant girl, I think.

"What are your hours?"

"I'm on the closing shift Friday through Sunday, and on Mondays and Tuesdays, I open the store."

"Tough turn around on Mondays," I note.

"I don't care," she replies. "It's a job. I'm making money so I can support myself, and you, of course."

It's disturbing that Piper has to support me, but the truth is that without her financial backing, I wouldn't have enough money to talk to her more than once a week.

"Tell me about you," she eagerly requests.

"Not much to say other than I got a job in electrical," I share.

"Electrical? That's not your strength."

"Beggars, choosers and all that," I respond.

"I was more the electrically gifted one."

I laugh. "Like the time you tried to hot glue our toaster?"

"These things are like $15 at Target." I unplugged the toaster. "I'll pick up a new one tomorrow."

"That's not the point." Piper turned it upside down, spilling breadcrumbs onto the counter. "It's the principle."

I bit into an apple and walked away. "Suit yourself."

"Hey, Al?"

I turned on the television to catch the end of Meet the Press. "Yeah?"

Piper stepped into the living room with hands on her hips. "Have you seen the hot glue gun?"

"We own a hot glue gun?"

She huffed and started ransacking the place. Ignoring her, I sat down and paid attention to Chuck Todd while finishing my apple.

"Ah ha!" She held the glue gun up, then returned to the kitchen. "I knew we had one."

"What are you planning to do with that thing?"

"Fix the toaster," she said matter-of-factly.

"What?" I chuckled and got to my feet. "I don't think that's going to work."

She blew air out of her mouth, presumably to keep her bangs from obscuring her view. "I don't see you trying to fix it." She plugged the glue gun into the socket. "It needs to heat up."

"Let me get this right," I began. "You're going to attempt to glue this metal piece onto that one?"

She shrugged. "Yeah."

"And you think that's better than just, I don't know, finding a new screw?"

"You barely have a screwdriver," she retorted. "Am I supposed to hope you have a spare screw lying around?"

I sauntered up to her with a raised brow. "Speaking of screwing."

"Not now." She shooed me away, but I was undeterred.

I tugged at the silk belt of her robe and pushed her hair aside to kiss her neck. "Have I told you lately how much I love your neck?"

"No," she giggled but didn't pull away. She picked up the glue gun and dabbed it onto one piece of metal, and then shoved the other one down. "If I hold it together like this, that should do the trick."

My kisses intensified as I moved just below her ear, which earned me a low moan that I'm sure she tried to hide.

"There." She released the toaster, then plugged it into the socket. "Let's try it."

With one arm wrapped around her waist, I handed her a slice of wheat bread. "If this works, I'm going to reward you with sex."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Same thing, but I'll look at it more as a consolation prize."

Piper snorted. "Here we go…" She pressed the lever down and waited.

Meanwhile, my lips traveled back down her neck to her collarbone. She leaned further against me, one hand snaking around my thigh, tugging me closer.

I sniffed the air. "What's that smell?"

She looked down at the toaster, which was bubbling where she'd just glued it. "Fuck!"

Within seconds, it smelled like burnt rubber. "I'll give you an A for effort."

She frowned. "I really thought that was going to work."

"Don't worry, I'm prepared to reward you with your consolation prize."

Piper turned in my arms and we fucked against the counter.

"You might recall my first job at Litchfield was in electrical," Piper replies. "I learned a lot back then."

"Well, I'm hoping to get transferred."

"Why?"

"There are some other people from Litchfield here," I start. "Big Boo, Gina, Norma, Janae…even Yoga Jones."

I picture her eyes widening. "Really?"

"I had no idea." I nod. "But when I was finishing up my shift yesterday, I saw Boo on the other side of the fence."

"How could you not have run into any of them in two weeks?"

"Apparently this place is sprawling."

I hear her typing something, and I assume she's Googling how many prisoners are at Marysville.

"There are three different housing units," I continue. "All the women from Litchfield are in 3B; I'm in 2D."

"Can you still hear me?" I think she put me on speaker phone.

"Yeah."

"Looks like there are 1,300 inmates there," Piper begins. "It's the largest female penitentiary in the Midwest. It's no wonder you haven't run into them."

"That's what I heard."

You have one minute left on this call.

"Fuck, time is almost up."

"Is there a line for the phone?"

I peak around the corner. "No. No one is in here except me."

"That's weird."

I think about what's happening in prison right now, then it hits me. "I gave up McRib night for you."

"You what?"

"McRib night," I reply with a smile. "Apparently it's a huge treat."

"Alex, go get your McRib. We can talk tomorrow."

I rest my forehead against the wall. "I don't want to stop talking to you."

"I don't either, but I have to get to work in 20 minutes anyway."

"Did you find a place to live?" I ask.

You have ten seconds left.

"I'll fill you in tomorrow. I love you, Alex."

"Love you, too."

The phone goes dead, and my heart sinks. I stay there for another minute, eyes closed and trying to picture what Piper was wearing. I also try to imagine where she is, but I have no idea if she's staying in a motel or has a place of her own. I hate that I can't get the answers now, but she's right—I should eat.

This whole Starbucks thing isn't so bad. It's better than the fucking Thai place I worked when I got out of prison. Sure, every employee is at least ten years younger than me, but they have great stories to share during slow times and breaks.

"Morning." Zodiac breezes in just before 5 a.m. "Sorry I'm a little late."

"I haven't been waiting long."

He unlocks the door. "I had to sneak out of this girl's house."

"Ah."

"I told her I was a banker, so it might've seemed weird if she'd woken up and questioned why I had to get to work so early."

"A banker?" Don't these kids know how to tell a believable lie?

He flicks on the lights. "You think she bought it?"

"Well, that depends." I step inside. "What were you wearing when you met?"

"Uh…" He looks down at his faded jeans and wrinkled shirt. "This."

"Then, no," I offer politely. "I don't think she believed you."

"Damn it!" He turns on the espresso machine. "I knew I should've stuck with the truth."

"The truth is always your best option." I don't have Alex here to remind me that I shouldn't be all sanctimonious, but her voice is in my head.

"I like her, too. Maybe I'll call her later and tell her I'm a barista." He goes into the back room, and I follow. "Being a shift manager at Starbucks isn't a shitty job, right?"

"It's impressive." I tie my apron. "Especially because you're still in college. When you're my age, not so much."

"If you keep working as hard as you have and pitching in when we need you…" He pats my shoulder. "You might just become an entire store manager. That comes with benefits and stuff plus you get to set your own hours."

"If only I could be so fortunate."

Zodiac smiles, then walks through the swinging door.

I don't aspire to be a Starbucks manager. I mean, it would be nice for now, but I want more than that. I want to make money—lots and lots of money, but I also want to help people. Not just any people but inmates specifically. It's true that I complained often about our living conditions at Litchfield, but I can't wrap my brain around why no one has fixed such inequities. It's absurd to know inmates make 12 to 25 cents an hour, especially when a phone call costs 20 cents a minute. I vowed to do something about that when I was behind bars, and I intend to keep my promise.

My father always told me I'd make a great attorney. Back then, I did the opposite of what he wanted just to piss him off, but now I think he was right. I would make a good attorney. After my shift today, I'm going to look up free or reduced price LSAT classes.

Zodiac breezes back in with his head bowed.

I unpack a box of coffee beans and begin lining the lower shelf.

"Kristy just called in sick," he sighs. "I guess it's just you and me."

"But I don't know how to make coffee drinks," I reply. "I can prepare the cold ones and get the pastries out of the case, but that's about it."

He shrugs. "Trial by fire, Chapman."

Fahri rubbed his hands together. "Trial by fire, Chapman."

"I can't do it." I shook my head and peered down the 150-foot cliff. "The highest thing I've ever jumped from was the high dive at my parents' country club."

He made a ticking sound. "Alex is down there, waiting for you."

I heard her shriek with joy from the ocean below. We were supposed to jump together, but I released her hand at the last second, sending her plummeting down to the water alone.

"I'm not going before you," Fahri said. "You don't jump; I don't jump."

If I didn't know better, I'd think that was a threat.

I peer over the ledge. "It's so far down."

"It is." He stuck his hands on his hips. "So, Chapman, what's it going to be—jump into the water or walk down the hill?"

I took two steadying breaths and nodded. "Ok."

"On the count of three…" he began. "One, two, three."

I took a running leap and jumped, screaming the whole way down. When I splashed into the water, I immediately sunk and almost forgot that I was supposed to swim to the surface.

Alex's voice was the first thing I heard. "You did it!"

"I did," I repeated, swimming over to her. "I'm sorry I didn't jump with you."

She wrapped her dripping arms around my shoulders. "You're a fucking pussy."

"I am."

"Speaking of pussies…" Alex dipped her hand in the water and cupped my center. "Should we swim to that bank over there?"

"Yes."

After fucking up four lattes and two Frappacinos, I finally get the hang of things. The espresso machine is more complicated than it looks. If he would've just given me the manual, I could've fared far better.

Zodiac wipes his forehead. "I think the morning rush is finally over."

"Thank God." I dip my chin. "Sorry about those first few drinks."

"Don't sweat it." He punches his code into the register. "I won't even deduct them from your paycheck."

I can't afford to lose even a single dollar. "Is that a thing?"

He flashes his pearly whites. "When you fuck up that many drinks, it can be. But don't worry—it was your first time."

"No one trained me on the—"

"Relax, Chapman. It's fine." He counts the till. "Any chance you're willing to pull a double shift?"

I wipe the counter with a damp rag. "Any other day, I'd be up for it, but not on Tuesdays or Thursdays."

"What's so important about those days?"

I debate whether to tell my 22-year-old shift manager the truth. What harm could come of it? Starbucks knows I'm a felon and they still hired me. I have no reason to believe he's anti-gay. In fact, I heard him talking about his lesbian friends yesterday as if it was no big deal.

"I get to visit my wife in prison." I pause mid-wipe to judge his reaction.

"Cool." He doesn't miss a beat. "Josie should be here any minute. You can go as soon as she shows up."

"That's it?" I move around the counter and stand in front of him. "No follow up questions?"

Zodiac tucks the cash into a green pouch. "Like what?"

"I don't know." I raise my shoulders. "Aren't you curious about how I became involved with someone in prison?"

"Involved with?" he asks. "I thought you said she was your wife?"

"She is."

He closes the register. "That's a little more than involved with."

"Ok, so no questions about that?"

"Look, Piper." He leans against the counter. "If you want to talk about your wife, I'm here for that. But I don't generally go around asking my co-workers about their personal lives."

"Oh." I stand up straight, reflecting on his words. I believe him—this entire generation has a new way of looking at things. Sure, they're as self-absorbed as I was at that age, perhaps even more, but they don't care how someone identifies as long as they get the pronoun correct. "In that case, I'll refrain from talking about her."

"Come on…" He playfully shoves me and flashes his perfect teeth. "What's her name?"

"Alex." I feel a blush coming on. "Alex Vause."

"I dated a girl named Alex a couple years back. You don't suppose they're the same person?"

I snort. "I don't believe so, no."

"Hi, guys." Josie breezes in. "Busy morning?"

"Insane," Zodiac responds. "Kristy called in sick so it was balls out. We were slammed for like four hours."

"You should've called me." She ties her apron. "I pulled an all-nighter, studying for my physics exam."

"I think we managed ok," I offer.

"Chapman really stepped up," he replies. "Maybe next time you guys work together you could give her a tutorial on the espresso machine."

Josie smiles. "Definitely."

"You can clock out as soon as you're finished unpacking the other two boxes of coffee," he says.

I place my hand on the swinging door. "Ok."

"Oh, hey, Chapman?" Zodiac calls before I walk out. "My fraternity is hosting a party on Saturday. You should stop by."

"Thank you." I grin as I head to the back room, finding it downright comical that I've been invited to my first party in Columbus, which happens to be a frat-sponsored kegger. Alex will eat this up.