Hey guys, I promise I'll try to post more regularly. I plan to get this story finished then resume my other two stories. Thank you for being patient and for the lovely reviews. I had almost given up with writing but reading your reviews gave me the motivation I needed. So, thank you for sticking with me, it really means a lot. I wanted to get this posted before my birthday on Friday. I know that what Piper said to Alex in the last chapter was harsh, but it was mostly her own words in the season 1 bathroom encounter with Alex, with just a few tweaks. Now they can make up again, or will they? Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 12:

Piper stood motionless in the kitchen as a wave of guilt washed over her. 'Fuck! What have I done!?' Piper thought to herself.

''Jesus, Piper! That was a bit harsh!'' Polly scolded as she reached for her forgotten coffee and handed the blonde hers.

''You don't think I already know that, Polly!? I couldn't help it, once I said it, I just couldn't stop… Damn foot in the mouth disease!'' Piper said as she took a sip of her almost cold coffee.

''I know it was something you were worried about, so was I but you need to make this right. You can't leave it like this, Pipe.'' Polly explained as she downed her coffee and grabbed another bear claw for the road.

''I feel like such an asshole. I mean, she hasn't even talked to the cops yet and here I am accusing her.'' Piper replied as she downed her cold coffee and emptied Alex's forgotten cup into the sink.

''I'll leave you to it. Make this right, Pipe. Call me later or if you need anything!'' Polly said as she gathered her things and hugged her best friend.

''Thanks for everything, Pol. I'll make it up to you!'' Piper replied as she hugged her back.

''Make it up to Alex first. I'll see myself out.'' Polly said then left the apartment.

Piper busied herself by tidying up the counter and storing some food in the refrigerator then she poured two steaming cups of coffee and grabbed a glazed donut (Alex's favourite) as a peace offering. The blonde stood outside the bedroom door as she took a deep breath preparing for the inevitable fallout before knocking.

The apartment was deadly silent as the younger woman waited for the sounds of movement, a voice, any sort of noise but there was nothing.

''Alex!'' Piper called as she knocked the door again, slightly louder this time.

''…''

''Alex?'' The blonde asked as she quietly opened the door and peaked into the dark room.

Alex was sat on the edge of the bed crying, when she noticed the younger woman, she quickly wiped away her tears with the back of her hand.

Piper timidly walked over to the brunette and handed her a cup of coffee and a donut.

''Thanks.'' Alex said as she accepted the cup of coffee and set the donut aside.

''Alex, I'm so sorry! I never meant to…'' Piper started to explain but was abruptly cut off by the brunette.

''Piper, you don't have to do any of this! No matter what you or Polly thinks of me, I'd never do anything to put you in danger. I never had any intention of naming you and if someone else does I'll deny even knowing you. As for the authorities or anyone else who asks; I never had a relationship with Piper Chapman, neither business related, personal or romantic! So, you're off the hook. You can leave now, go back to your boyfriend and your perfect life! Thanks for breakfast, grab a few hundred-dollar bills on your way out, they're in the same place as always. That should cover the cost.'' Alex said coldly and void of any emotion as she avoided eye contact with her ex-girlfriend.

''Alex!'' Piper whined as her eyes filled with tears.

''What, Piper?'' Alex asked as she tried to avoid looking into watery eyes.

''You can't… We can't leave it like this!'' Piper said through sobs.

''Leave it like what? It's not like we were on great terms before a few days ago. Once you leave, we'll never see each other again… It doesn't matter.'' Alex explained as she stared into her coffee cup, trying to hold back her own tears.

''Don't say that! It does matter… It matters to me!'' Piper shouted as she burst into tears and began sobbing.

Alex had thought that her heart was broke beyond repair when she had watched her ex-girlfriend walk away for a second time on Friday night, but that was nothing compared to watching her cry like this.

The brunette set her coffee on the bedside table and wrapped her arms around the blonde. Piper sobbed into her ex's shoulder for what felt like hours. When the sobs had subsided, they quietly held the other. Afraid to break apart for fear that it would be the end and burst their blissful little bubble.

A while later the ex-couple were still cuddling, only now they were laying horizontal on the bed instead of upright. The room was dark with the curtains still drawn and only a bedside lamp on for light, it made the bedroom feel almost cosy. As Piper lay with her head in the crook of Alex's neck, she felt the brunette shivering.

''Are you okay, Al?'' Piper asked as she lifted her head for the first time in hours.

''I'll be fine… It's just the withdrawal kicking in.'' Alex stated as she suddenly broke into a sweat.

''What can I do to help?'' Piper asked worriedly.

''Can you give me a bump?'' Alex joked half serious.

''A bump? You want more heroin?!'' Piper questioned, slightly angry.

''I'm an addict, Pipes. What do you expect?'' Alex replied, unable to look the blonde in the eyes as she was ashamed of herself.

''You're a heroin addict! Since when? I thought this was like a one-time thing!'' Piper asked completely in shock.

''Since the day I buried my mom! I've been clean for the past year, until yesterday when I fell off the wagon. I messed up… But then I figured what's the point, you know? What am I staying sober for, prison?'' Alex explained, leaving out the part about how it was the only thing that made the loneliness from her ex-girlfriend's departure bearable. Alex didn't want that weighing on the blonde's conscious.

''Ohh, Alex!'' Piper said filled with guilt as she realised the consequences of her past and present actions. ''I'm so sorry!'' Piper said with tears in her eyes as she ran a hand through raven hair.

''It's not your fault, Pipes. None of it is! It was my stupid decision. I caused this mess…All of it!'' Alex explained as she leaned into the blonde's soft touch.

''I messed up too, Al. I should have stayed. I should have said goodbye to Diane and made sure you were okay! I wanted to, believe me I really wanted to. A few times I almost asked the cab driver to turn around and take me back to our apartment. But I knew if I went back, I wouldn't be able to gather the strength to leave again. It wasn't you I was running from; it was your job. I was scared. I loved you, I still do, Alex. Leaving you that day is my biggest regret in life. I came back to the states and cried on Polly's couch for months. I used to visit Diane's grave every few days and talk to her for hours, then it became weekly, then monthly and now it's every few months. I never forgot about her…or you.'' Piper confessed as tears streamed her cheeks.

''You were right to leave, Piper. I know that now. Things got scarier after you left. Wait… It was you!'' Alex said coming to a sudden realisation.

''What was me?'' Piper asked confused as she wiped her tears.

''The flowers! Every time I visited my mom's grave it was well maintained and had fresh flowers, her favourites. Even when I was out of the country for months, I came back and there were always fresh flowers. Never a card so I couldn't figure out who left them, but it was you!'' Alex explained with a new wave of tears.

''Yeah. Red roses, her favourites. When we were travelling for weeks or months, every time when we came home and visited her you always brought red roses. I knew you were probably out of town a lot and I never wanted her to be without.'' Piper told the brunette with a warm smile.

A rush of emotions washed over the brunette and before her brain could register what was happening, their lips connected. Piper happily returned the kiss.

The kiss started soft and gently but it soon turned passionate. Alex deepened the kiss and ran her tongue along the blonde's lower lip, begging for entry, which the younger woman happily granted. Piper's hands were all over the brunette's body as Alex nipped at her bottom lip. Hands were travelling along the other's body as their kiss deepened and tongues were battling for dominance. When the need for air became vital, they parted their lips just enough to remove a few pieces of clothing then resumed their frantic kissing.

An hour later the ex-couple were both completely satisfied and spent after several rounds of passionate sex that turned into love making. Alex and Piper were cuddling naked, limbs intertwined in a tangle of sheets in the brunette's bed.

''Pipes?'' Alex said, suddenly breaking their blissful silence.

''Yeah, Al?'' Piper responded in her slightly husky just fucked voice.

''I lied to you the other night.'' Alex said as she looked into ocean blue eyes.

''What do you mean? Lied about what?'' Piper asked as she sat upright.

''I told you that this was a mistake, and I didn't love you… It was a lie. This is all I've wanted since the day you left. I never stopped loving you, Pipes.'' Alex said sincerely as she stared into her ex-girlfriend's eyes.

''I love you too, Al. I don't want to be apart again… Ever!'' Piper replied full of love.

''But we will be apart again. I'm going to prison, it's only a matter of time. That's the problem, kid. That's why I lied. You deserve to have a life. With someone holding you in their arms every night, have mind-blowing sex, have kids if you wanted, in a big house with a white picket fence and huge backyard and even a dog that greets you at the front door. I can't give you that wearing an orange jumpsuit behind bulletproof glass. I can't take your life away from you! You deserve to be free and happy!'' Alex explained as she gently caressed the blonde's tearstained cheek.

''It's my life, I should get to choose who I spend it with. And I choose you! Even if it is across the table from you with glass between us in a smelly room with other people and prison guards! I want you! It's always been you, Alex!'' Piper demanded as her tears fell.

''I want you too, babe. You're the one for me! But this isn't a life I'd wish on anyone. Birthdays, Christmas, holidays, we'll never get to celebrate them together…not properly. We'll never get to fall asleep together, not for at least twenty years and that's if I'm lucky. Twenty years is a lot of lonely nights. You know that there's no conjugal visits in a woman's prison? You should take time and think this through, Pipes. It's a life changing decision.'' Alex said trying to explain how hard this would be to the blonde.

''I've already spent three years without you, Al... Three Christmas', three of my birthdays and three of yours, I missed your thirtieth birthday! At least I could visit you and we could talk on the phone! It would be better than the three years that I've spent without you. What do you mean no conjugal visits? Just because we're not married or none at all? I don't need time; I would rather spend twenty years alone waiting on you than another three in bed with someone else!'' Piper replied, determined to fight for their love this time.

''I don't want to spend any more time without you either, babe. And if it makes you feel any better, I was so high on my thirtieth birthday that I can't remember a thing about it. None at all, women aren't allowed conjugals, probably to cut down on pregnancies behind bars. Okay, if you're sure about this. But you can back out at any time if it's too much for you, I'll understand, babe.'' Alex said as she grabbed and squeezed her ex-girlfriend's hand tightly.

''I want to be with you, no matter what. So, what's our options?'' Piper asked as she placed a soft kiss on their joined hands.

''What do you mean, kid?'' Alex asked confused as she raised an eyebrow.

''You said in the coffee shop that you had three options… What were they?'' Piper replied feeling optimistic.

''Option 1; Go on the run. Leave everything and everyone behind. Option 2; When I get arrested, give names for reduced time but that will get me killed. Option 3; Do my time, keep my mouth shut and hope for the best. None of them sound too appealing, but I think option 3 is the best.'' Alex explained to her blonde possible girlfriend.

''Why don't we just go on the run together? We used to love travelling together. It will be like the old days!'' Piper questioned innocently.

''It's not that simple, Pipes. I'll be a wanted woman. If we're seen together then you'll become my accomplice and you'll be a wanted woman. I've got no friends or family to leave behind, but you do, you'll never get to see or talk to any of them again. We'll be on national news, your friends and family will be questioned and interviewed. It would be a circus!'' Alex tried to explain with a caring smile.

''I never thought of it like that! Fuck! Option one's a bust. How will option two get you killed? Won't you be safe in prison?'' Piper asked with such innocence.

''Safe in prison? Are you kidding me? Kubra would send someone to get locked up just to kill me! You didn't know him like I did. I never let you see the bad side, just his fun partying side. Towards the end Fahri started getting sloppy and stopped using burner phones and made a few easy mistakes, so Kubra had him killed. Aiden, Fahri and I rented a hotel room to come down off a bender, we order room service and when they showed up with our food, they handed Aiden a note. They leave and Aiden shoots Fahri in the head, in the middle of our fucking hotel room, right in front of me! Next thing I know I'm being dragged into this warehouse basement with Kubra and his goons where Kubra informs me that I was unfocused on my work and that was affecting his business, and he was sending me to rehab to dry out. And in not so many words that if I didn't, I would have a similar fate as Fahri. Still think I'll be safe in prison?'' Alex told the blonde with a feeling of sickness in the pit of her stomach. Many nights the brunette has woke up in a pool of sweat after reliving that nightmare.

''Oh my god, Alex! I had no idea! I don't even know what to say! That must have been awful, Fahri was your friend!'' Piper rambled nervously as she tried to comfort the older woman.

''You're the only person that I've told that story to. It still gives me nightmares! Revenge is Kubra's motto. This is why option three it the safest.'' Alex explained to the younger woman.

''Option two and three both involve you getting arrested. We already know it's coming so why don't we skip the middleman? Wouldn't that benefit you in the long run? Show the judge that you're co-operating.'' Piper suggested with a hopeful look.

''You want me to turn myself in? Voluntarily go to prison! What happens when they start asking questions, like who's my boss? Who do I work with? What am I supposed to say then? It's only co-operating if I give names.'' Alex answered with a look of fear that the blonde has never seen before.

''What if we spoke to a lawyer about this? Get you a deal with witness protection and around the clock police protection before you spill any information. If you co-operate and help to bring down an international drug cartel surely that will half your time or something!'' Piper responded feeling optimistic for the future.

''I guess? I never really gave this option much thought, I automatically ruled it out.'' Alex answered feeling unsure.

''Do you have a lawyer? One that's not linked to the cartel?'' Piper questioned as she pulled out her phone, ready to tap google.

''Yeah, I've had a lawyer for years. He handles everything for me and it's not one of the cartel's guys. This guy is one of the best in the business. I hired him just in case this situation arose.'' Alex replied with a tiny bit of hope.

'Maybe I could be out of the cartel for good… Maybe I'll have my prison sentence done and be out in less than twenty years! Maybe Piper and I could finally have a future together!' Alex thought to herself with a smile as she let herself feel a little hope for the upcoming future.

What did you think? Was it what you expected? Hoped for? Let me know what you thought! We're getting closer to the end. Another chapter, maybe two then Drunk Dial will be complete. I apologise for any mistakes. Again, sorry for taking so long to update. With Vauseman fan fics far and few between these days I hope I haven't left it too long and lost my audience. I miss the days when there was new stories and updates almost daily! I'll update again soon, stay safe, guys!