Do not own Orange Is the New Black or any of the characters.

This chapter has been reposted.

Thanks to everyone for the support still on this story.

Thanks to fig-aruna for being an angel.

We Found Love

angel...

"Can we get one?"

Alex's eyebrows flew up. She couldn't help but stare stupidly at Piper. She knew this would happen, Piper asking to get a puppy -now-, but she was at a loss at how to process the situation, let alone how to respond. She knew that she was helpless seeing that look on Piper's face though. She loved to make her happy. And she knew that getting a puppy would make her happy very much. Still...

"Seriously?" asked Alex as she looked over the rims of her glasses at the blonde and cocked a concerned eyebrow.

"Please!" whined Piper like a four-year-old.

"Seriously?"

"How can you not want one? Look at this face... How can you say no to this face?" Piper held out the pug puppy she'd just been cuddling towards her girlfriend.

Alex couldn't help but laugh as she looked down at the black pug's tiny squished face. It was cute, she admitted hesitantly. "Piper!" she warned, trying to find her voice again. "A dog is a big step..."

Piper frowned as she cradled the dog towards her chest and looked away from Alex. "I know," she murmured softly. That sadness she had been feeling earlier suddenly returned in the pit of her stomach. Alex probably thought she was a child at the moment with her pouting. But she really did want one, she couldn't help it.

Alex let out a loud sigh and she studied Piper and the dog for a moment. The blonde's attention had shifted back to the puppy, laughing as the little pug squirmed in her arms and tried to lick her face. Alex had never been a pet person, but she knew, instinctively, that Piper was. She licked her lips as she tried to think of what to do. She knew that Piper was upset about Polly being pregnant, and even though they hadn't had the "kid talk" yet, she knew it was on Piper's mind. But Alex didn't want to discuss it... She knew they would at some point, but she really wasn't sure what the future held for her and Piper.

Only that she wanted Piper in it.

Alex pushed her glasses up onto her head and off of her face as she continued to observe Piper, who was currently and adorably oblivious to her girlfriend's perusal.

She looked so happy with that puppy, Alex had to admit. She really did want to make Piper happy, but she didn't want to rush into anything... A dog was a big step. Yes, she and Piper were already living together, but things were still new between them, and they still had a lot to work through regardless of how good they were right now. But at the same time, maybe they were ready...? It wasn't like they hadn't been in a relationship before. Them being together was new, but not completely new. She liked to think that they knew each other pretty well, despite the eight long years of being apart. She had once told Piper that if you had a connection with someone, it never really went away. You snapped back to being important to each other because you still were. Her mother had been the first person to tell her that, and she knew that her words had held truth even back then. Despite Piper breaking her heart and abandoning her like she had, Alex loved her. She fucking loved her and would ultimately do anything for her. Maybe they were ready, she mused. It would be another adventure together, and if there was anything Alex was certain of, it was that both of them loved adventures.

"Okay."

Piper slowly turned her attention back onto Alex at this.

"Okay," stated Alex again. "We can think about it."

Piper's face immediately broke out into a smile at this. She couldn't help but squeal loudly as she suddenly threw an arm around Alex and kissed her on the cheek.

Alex laughed as she wrapped her arms tightly around Piper's waist. She then felt something wet on her face. She pulled slightly away from Piper and looked down at a pair of big brown bulging eyes staring back at her.

"See, he likes you," chimed Piper in her ear.

"He's cute," Alex admitted as she reached out to pet the dog's head. "But he's way too small."

"But look at his little face!" Piper lifted the dog up higher at this and pouted out her lower lip.

"Compromise, Chapman!" teased Alex lightly as she cocked an eyebrow. "Compromise!"

The couple continued to walk around the tented area, looking at the various dogs and other animals on display for the next couple of hours. Alex wandered a little off on her own before coming across a shy, sad-looking dog in a crate. He was an older dog compared to most of the others. Most of the animals they had seen so far had been very young, only a couple of months old up to a year maybe, but this guy was not a puppy by far. He was a full grown boxer-pitbull mix, probably two or three years old or so, but there was just something about him that drew Alex immediately to him.

"Hey, buddy," whispered Alex softly as she kneeled down in front of the crate he was in. The dog immediately whined and moved a little away from Alex.

He was scared.

"I won't hurt you," Alex whispered as she held out her hand between the bars of the crate, trying to get him to sniff her scent.

Piper was engrossed in cuddling another puppy in the main area of the tent while Alex was off to the side on her own at the moment, trying to coax this fellow who seemed to be all alone.

The dog continued to stare at Alex with its dark brown eyes. He was a little standoffish towards Alex.

"Oh, you've found old Angie," said one of the volunteers of the shelter to Alex.

Alex immediately turned her attention away from the dog and looked up at the person suddenly standing over her.

"He's our newest addition. Poor guy was abandoned by his family just over a week ago. Was tied up in front of the shelter with no note or anything like that," explained the middle-aged woman to Alex.

Alex adjusted her glasses on her nose as she nodded her head at the woman, who had just opened the crate that Angie was in.

"We assume he's around three years old or so," explained the woman as she tried to get the dog to come towards her, but he remained seated. His tail was wagging slightly at seeing the volunteer, but he was still a little unsure of Alex's presence. "We call him Angel, Angie for short."

Alex then watched as the dog slowly got up and came towards the volunteer. He was a big boy, she thought to herself. He was of medium height but had a slight stocky build to him. He had a beautiful dark brindle coat and a white underbelly. He reminded Alex of a tiger in a way with his white socks on all four of his feet and the strip of white on his face. She watched as the dog sniffed at the volunteer's hand before licking at it. His tail was suddenly going a mile a minute. He seemed to be happy to see the volunteer, she thought.

"You can go ahead and pet him if you want," said the volunteer as she continued to pet Angie. "He's a little shy around new people, but he's really a sweet dog. Some people get put off by the pitbull part of him. But he's not aggressive at all, are you, boy?"

Alex studied the dog for a second before once again sticking out her hand towards him. Angie seemed to be calmer now with the volunteer around. He tilted his head slightly as he looked at Alex for a moment before nodding towards her hand. He sniffed at her hand for a good moment before licking the top of it.

Alex couldn't help but smile widely at this. "Hey there, Angie," she whispered as she moved slightly closer to the dog. Angie nuzzled at her hand with his nose.

"He likes you," noted the volunteer with a warm smile.

Alex found herself grinning as she began to run her hand along the soft fur of Angie's coat. She never thought that she would fall in love with a dog so quickly as she had with this guy here.

"Is he available for adoption?" Alex found herself asking the volunteer as she continued to pet the dog.

Piper and Alex left the shelter with nothing that day. Despite how much Piper wanted a dog and Alex's heart was torn with leaving Angie behind, they both acknowledged that getting and caring for a pet was a big step and that they needed to think about it at length before doing anything.

But even as a few days passed, Alex couldn't get Angie out of her mind. Something about the mild-mannered dog just stuck with her.

"I can't stop thinking about him," admitted Alex one night as she and Piper readied for bed.

Piper smiled cheekily at this. "You're in love," stated the blonde.

Alex frowned at this. She didn't want to admit it, but Piper was right. She was in love with that dog.

"We should go back tomorrow and see if he's still there," continued Piper as she climbed into bed beside her girlfriend.

Alex shook her head slightly. Piper had met Angie too, and she liked him as well. Despite how much she wanted him, she was still torn about getting him. The volunteer had said he was up for adoption and was fully housetrained and such, but it was still a huge step in her and Piper's relationship.

"Oh come on, Vause," said Piper, grinning. "You want him. Let's go get him."

Alex didn't say anything as she took off her glasses before moving closer to Piper. She was very tempted to go back to the shelter and get the dog, but at the same time, she figured someone had already adopted him.

"Come here," whispered Alex as she reached out for Piper. She didn't want to talk about dogs anymore.

Piper smiled as Alex pushed her down onto the mattress and towered over her. The two women held each others' gaze for a second before their lips crashed passionately together.

"He's not going to be here, Pipes," whispered Alex as Piper pushed open the shelter doors.

"You don't know that," replied Piper as she began to walk ahead of Alex and towards the receptionist's area of the shelter.

Alex just sighed and stood off to the side, watching as Piper talked to a woman behind the desk. She hadn't really wanted to come, but Piper had insisted they come to just see.

"You came back!" exclaimed a voice behind Alex.

She turned around at this to see the same volunteer again. "Hi...yeah, I did," replied Alex, awkwardly. "Is he...?"

"He's still here," interjected the volunteer warmly to Alex.

Despite her previous reservations, Alex couldn't help but smile at this. She hadn't allowed herself to get too caught up on the idea that he would be here, getting her hopes up in case he'd gotten adopted.

"Do you want to see him?" asked the volunteer, as if reading Alex's thoughts.

Alex nodded her head slowly before looking over in Piper's direction. "Babe," she called, drawing the blonde's attention.

Piper turned to look over at Alex in confusion. "Yeah?"

"He's here. Come on," she stated as she held out her hand for Piper to take.

Piper grinned as she quickly closed the space between them and took Alex's outstretched hand into her own. "See, I told you," whispered the blonde into Alex's ear as they began to follow the volunteer down a hallway towards where Angie was.

"Welcome home," stated Piper as she opened the door of the apartment for Angie who was being held on a leash by Alex. Angie was no longer shy it seemed around Alex and Piper. He seemed to remember them from when they had first seen him. He was a very happy dog at the moment as he wagged his tail and barked. He jumped excitedly up onto Piper for a moment before he began to pull Alex into the apartment.

Alex couldn't help but laugh at this. She soon let go of the leash, allowing Angie to go free in the apartment and explore his new home.

"He seems to like it," stated Piper as she closed the door and came to stand beside Alex.

"Yeah, he does," replied Alex as she wrapped an arm around Piper's waist and watched Angie sniff at the couch in the middle of the living room. He seemed like a very happy dog at the moment, she thought with a smile. And she couldn't help but admit that she was very happy as well.

When she had first given into Piper's desire to seriously look into getting a dog from the adoption center, she had only done it to make her girlfriend happy. She had never thought about herself or considered what reaction she'd have to having a dog.

Piper turned her head and met Alex's eye. The two women smiled intimately at one another. Alex wrapped her arm tighter around Piper, pulling her girlfriend closer to her, their lips meeting in a soft kiss.

However, before the kiss could deepen, Angie let out a loud bark and came running towards the couple. Piper couldn't help but laugh as the dog jumped up onto Alex.

It seemed that Angie didn't want to share.

Alex couldn't help but grin as she looked down at Angie. She scratched the dog behind the ears with her free hand as she continued to hold Piper close to her side.

This story won't be update for a while, just a heads up.

Thanks for reading!

Julie