Maxine slowly entered H1, becoming a little disappointed to see that none of her friends were around the unit. She carried her bag of personal belongings into her room and sat down on her bed, setting the bag down on the floor next to her. Maxine placed her hands on her legs and rubbed them, before bringing them up to her chest and gently massaging, tearing up at the different feeling of her body. Maxine heard the voices of Liz and Sonia outside. She wiped the tears from her eyes and stood up to walk out of her unit, stopping at the door. Her forced smile quickly disappeared as she noticed the stitches on Liz's forehead. Both women called out each other's names as their eyes met. Sonia simply smiled, walking over to the kitchenette as she observed Liz and Maxine embrace each other softly, both women speaking at the same time as each questioned the well being of the other, while holding each other's faces and smiling and crying at the same time. Eventually, they sat down at the table, neither able to get in a word without the other interrupting with an equally caring inquiry.

"Okay, you first, how are you, love?" asked Liz, tightly holding onto Maxine's hand.

"I'm fine…The operation couldn't have gone better and… I'm back home now," added Maxine, forcing another smile as tears formed in her eyes. "But, what, what happened to you, Liz? Where is everyone?" she asked, looking around the H1 unit.

Liz forced a smile back as she stared at Maxine's hand and began to pat it, unsure of where to actually begin. Sonia brought over two cups of tea and set them on coasters in front of Maxine and Liz, who were grateful yet surprised by her act of kindness.

"During work duty two days ago, Elizabeth and I were struck by two of Karen's minions who had all assembled to depose Beatrice by steam pressing her face, but Alison intervened, causing Joan to switch tactics and attempt to strangle Beatrice, then I inserted myself into the situation, and now they are all either in the medical unit, the protection unit, or solitary confinement."

Maxine's mouth opened in horror, unable to formulate a question or a comment in response to Sonia's blunt, matter-of-fact statement. She turned to face Liz, maybe hoping for an addition that would help her process the events. All Liz could do was bob her head and continue to stroke Maxine's hand with her thumb.

"Biscuits?" asked Sonia, turning back towards the kitchenette.

"MAXINE!"

Sonia and Liz turned and rushed to stop Boomer from hugging Maxine, knowing the amount of pain it could cause the woman despite the tremendous amount of joy she would feel from it.

…

The images of the laundry room replayed in Vera's mind as she stared at her computer. She had gone through hours of surveillance footage, trying to piece together what could have possibly happened beyond the women all ending up at each other's throats, as she had failed to receive any useful information from any of the inmates involved and had still not spoken with the main victim of it all who had been unconscious since the incident. After discussing with Will, they came to the agreement to send Ferguson back into protection with medical supervision, place Kaz and Allie in the slot, and hold Bea in the medical unit as she had been the most harmed in the brutal assault. Liz and Sonia were presumed to solely have had the misfortune of being collateral damage. Officer Miles was suspended for having abandoned her position and leaving open a window of opportunity for the attack, a decision Vera was satisfied with, especially after Miles failed to give her a good reason as to why she left in the first place.

Vera reached for her computer mouse and replayed the clips she had gathered prior to the time the distress signal was pressed. A group of women led by Kaz headed for the laundry room, and upon arriving at the entrance, Miles exited the laundry room. The officer then joined up with Jake, who smiled and led her into a hallway and out of the view of the cameras. The ensuing clip was a combination of cuts from different cameras, all going dark on the final image of Bea bringing down the steam press on a sheet. The final clip was of women running from the laundry room.

Vera received an incoming radio call, letting her know that Bea was coming to. Vera rose from her chair and rushed out of her office, intent on finding out what had happened in the hopes that it would be ammunition against Ferguson.

…

Bea slowly opened her eyes, finally having been able to sleep after so many torturous nights of restlessness. Her feeling of repose quickly dissolved as the soreness and pangs brought on by her attack hit nearly every inch of her body. She groaned as she squeezed her eyes shut again and clenched her fists, only able to do it with her right fist as her left hand was completely covered by a cast that ran up her forearm.

"Well, well, look who's finally awake."

Bea turned to face Nurse Radcliffe who was looking down at her clipboard.

"You feeling good?" she asked walking over to stand next to Bea's bed.

Bea blinked twice as she looked at her, wondering if this nurse was seriously asking such a senseless and moronic question.

"Well…You look… great, so… hopefully we have you out of here by tomorrow, sound good?"

Bea glared at Nurse Radcliffe, who was forced to look away, a little scared by the look Bea was giving her. She cleared her throat to speak again, but was interrupted by the governor opening the door to the medical unit.

"Ah, Governor, glad you're here…" began Nurse Radcliffe.

"Give us a minute," cut in Vera, stepping over to Bea's bed.

Nurse Radcliffe's eyes shifted left and right as she walked away from Bea. Vera looked Bea up and down, recalling the last time she had ever seen her in such a horrible condition was after her fight with Franky. Bea had a blackened left eye with stitches right above it, a busted and swollen lip, bruises up and down her cheek and all over her neck, her left arm covered by a cast, her right arm and legs all splotched with discoloration.

"You're not looking well, Smith…How are you feeling?"

Bea groaned as she closed her eyes again, longing to go back to sleep.

"So, ready to tell me what happened?"

Bea opened her eyes again but stared at the ceiling, the blinding light above her forcing her to turn her gaze to the side.

"Smith, it would benefit the two of us tremendously if you talked to me."

Bea looked over at Nurse Radcliffe, standing at the counter on the other side of the room and looking through her clipboard again. Vera turned to see what had caught Bea's attention, becoming upset as she saw the nurse standing there.

"Did I not tell you to give us a minute?" Vera nearly shouted.

Nurse Radcliffe placed the clipboard on the counter behind her and exited the medical unit, closing the door behind her and walking out of sight.

"Employee of the month material," remarked Bea in a low and cracked voice.

Bea lightly chuckled but quickly stopped, as the pain in her chest and throat was too much to bear, only worsening as she began to cough. Vera couldn't help but feel pity as she watched the battered woman fight to suppress her coughs. Part of her was in shock at the recent bashing she had endured, part of her was in awe at the thought of how much violence and suffering the woman had undergone since even before she arrived at Wentworth, wondering how anyone could find the strength time and time again to even continue breathing. Vera walked over to the sink, grabbing a plastic cup and filling it with water. Vera brought it back to Bea as she placed her hand under Bea's head, helping raise her ever so slightly so she could drink, her coughing subsiding until it disappeared.

"Thank you," Bea uttered as she rested her head back on the pillow.

Vera placed the cup on the table next to Bea. She wanted to leave Bea and let her get much more rest, but she had to act now that this seemingly invincible woman was at her weakest.

"Bea, tell me what happened. Who did this to you, Proctor or Ferguson?"

Bea thought back to the assault she had endured and realized that she didn't even know the names of the women who started out bashing her and forced her into the steam press. Bea wanted to tell Vera it was Kaz and Ferguson and two other women from Kaz's crew, but as the never-ending cycle of threat and punishment loomed in her mind, the fear of repercussions kept her from saying anything. Bea was in no position to fight for herself anymore, and she was certainly in no position to fight for anyone else.

"Bea, if you tell me, you'll be safe," Vera added as if reading Bea's mind. "Ferguson is back in protection, and Proctor's in the slot. No one is going to do anything to you."

Safe. Safe in a prison where it seemed someone was trying to hurt her or kill her every other week since she arrived. Bea wondered if Vera honestly believed she could keep anyone safe, even herself while inside these suffocating walls.

"Where's Allie?" Bea asked looking Vera in the eyes.

Vera seemed confused by Bea's interest in Allie, as opposed to her asking about Liz or even Sonia first, but she answered her anyways.

"We had to slot her…"

"What? Why?" Bea asked, attempting to sit up in her bed but failing due to the pain any movement currently caused her.

Vera gently held Bea down by her shoulder, stopping her from trying to sit up, as she recalled Allie standing in the laundry room, looking down at Bea before she fell to her knees to hold her, as she coughed and bled on Allie.

"…When we found you all in the laundry room, she was standing over you and Proctor, blood all over her clothes and shoes, her hands, her face, and the imprint of her shoe on Proctor's face…pretty clear she played some part in the assault, but what I can't understand is if she just went after you or Proctor or Ferguson or managed to somehow take you all out."

Bea thought about her next words carefully. She wanted Allie out of the slot, but at the same time she didn't want to have to lag at the risk of it getting back to her, causing more problems for her or for Allie now after everything she had done in the laundry room. She remembered seeing Liz knocked unconscious by the folding table. She remembered seeing Sonia punched and hitting the floor. She remembered being beaten by Kaz's women. She remembered hearing Allie's scream and seeing her barrel into Kaz. She remembered having the steam press brought down on her arm. She remembered Allie burning herself as she pushed it open from the floor. She remembered trying to fend off the women as they attacked Allie. She remembered Ferguson's words as she choked her. She remembered seeing Sonia burying her nails into Ferguson's eyes and driving the woman into the steam press. She remembered Kaz beating Allie. She remembered Allie driving her foot through Kaz's face. She remembered Allie holding her and caressing her head and face. Bea had no strength, physical or mental, to confront anyone anymore after all of that.

"Allie was helping me… Liz, Sonia, and I were ambushed in the laundry room and Allie helped me."

"…Ambushed by who? Proctor and Ferguson?"

Bea breathed in deeply, the pain in her chest increasing.

"Bea, if you tell me what was going on with that whole…mob of women who showed up to the laundry room, I can help you, but you need to tell me what happened, who attacked you, because if it wasn't Novak then…"

"Why do you need me to say it?" Bea asked, closing her eyes. "You know about the mob, you saw Kaz and the Freak, so why keep asking me what you already know the answer to?"

Vera was confident that the attack had been orchestrated by Kaz and Ferguson, but Vera needed Bea to name Ferguson. As her trial neared, Vera wanted anything she could get on Ferguson to use against her and keep her from threatening her position at Wentworth. As Vera was about to begin speaking again, there was a knock on the door. Vera turned to see Maxine, Liz, and Boomer standing outside the door. Vera looked back at Bea who still had her eyes closed.

"Looks like you've got some visitors, Smith," smiled Vera as she made her way to the door and opened it, beckoning for all the women to come in.

"Give them a minute," ordered Vera as she walked past Nurse Radcliffe who only scoffed in response as she continued to wait outside the medical room.

…

Allie quickly opened her eyes at the sound of her door opening. She pushed herself up on her elbows to see who it was, but laid back down on her bed when she realized it was Vera.

"How are you, Novak?" asked Vera, coming into the room and closing the door behind her.

"Simply splendid. Five-star slot accommodations you have going here, Governor," Allie replied sarcastically.

"Any possibility you're up for finally talking to me about the events of the laundry room?"

Allie sat up again on her bed. She had her right hand bandaged from the burn she suffered pushing the steam press open to help Bea, a blackened eye, a cut lip, and stitches running down the right side of her forehead and ending just at the end of her eyebrow, her injuries reminding Vera of Bea's to a certain degree. Allie took a deep breath and looked down at her hand, before simply shrugging and pulling her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them.

"Where's Bea?"

Vera's eyebrows furrowed, realizing that Bea and Allie's expressed concern for one another could not have been coincidental.

"She's under observation right now…"

"She all right?" asked Allie, the legitimate worry visible in her eyes.

"…She'll be fine… Novak…"

Vera paused, unsure of what to actually say to Allie at this point. She believed Bea when she told her Allie had helped her, she knew Proctor and Ferguson were behind the attack, but what now seemed to slightly perplex her was why Allie would choose to defend Bea over Kaz.

"…Yes, Governor?" asked Allie.

"…Let's get you to medical for a checkup."

Vera knocked on the door as the officer outside opened it. Allie looked around the room, a little confused but not about to question the opportunity she was given to see Bea again. Allie rushed to put her hoodie on and practically ran out of the room, as Kaz stared out the door window and watched her leave the slot from the room across from hers.

…

"What, another visitor?" asked Nurse Radcliffe as Vera opened the door to let Allie walk into the medical unit.

"No, a patient for you, the supposed nurse of the prison," retorted Vera.

"Oh, sorry… what seems to be the problem?"

Allie ignored both of them as she went rigid at the sight of Bea. Never could she have imagined the extent of the damage that had been inflicted on her. Nurse Radcliffe turned to look at what Allie was staring at.

"Have a seat," stated Nurse Radcliffe, motioning to the empty bed next to Bea's.

Allie shook out of her state of shock as she walked over and sat down on the bed, unable to take her eyes off of Bea's seemingly lifeless body. Feelings of anger and grief and hatred built up inside of her, anger for Kaz, grief for Bea, and hatred for herself for not having intervened sooner to help Bea. Vera stood back against the wall as she quietly observed Allie's reactions. Nurse Radcliffe began to run some basic tests on Allie, since she was reluctant to speak and answer any of the nurse's questions. She checked her temperature, flashed a light in her eyes, tried to get Allie to follow her finger, then picked up her watch and placed her fingers on Allie's wrist, as she began to time her pulse rate.

"Your pulse is racing. Are you all right?" asked Nurse Radcliffe.

Allie's breathing began to quicken as she stared blankly past the nurse at Bea, whose eyes were closed and whose breathing was barely perceptible. Vera witnessed all she needed to and pushed herself off of the wall, motioning towards Nurse Radcliffe to follow her out of the medical unit. The nurse stood against the wall on the left side of the door, as Vera stood in front of her to discuss Allie's condition, watching Allie out of the corner of her eye as she rose from the bed to kneel next to Bea.

Allie reached her hand out, longing to touch Bea but terrified of hurting her, as she was unable to find one part of her body that was unharmed. Tears began to well in her eyes as she clenched both of her fists, burying her fingernails into her palms, hurting her burnt hand in the process.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered, folding her arms on the bed and bringing her face down into them as she began to cry.

"I'm so sorry."

Allie's head shot up to look at Bea, who warmly and lovingly looked back at her with bloodshot, tearful eyes. Allie practically jumped off the floor to come closer to Bea and bring her lips down to meet hers, gently and tenderly, not wanting to hurt her anymore. Allie brought her bandaged hand up to caress Bea's cheek as she stopped kissing her to look in her eyes, who was no longer capable of holding back her own tears as she struggled to speak.

"Allie, I'm so sorry, I never meant to hurt you, I just wanted you to be okay, and I thought that if you weren't near me…"

"Shh, shh, I know, I know, it's okay…" Allie insisted as she planted a small kiss on Bea's forehead. "…Are you okay?" Allie asked, stroking Bea's face.

"Yeah, I'm great," Bea's voice cracked as she forced a small, painful laugh. "I don't feel as bad as I look."

"You look beautiful as always…" Allie whispered.

As Allie leaned in to kiss Bea once again and closed her eyes, her tears fell, fusing with Bea's tears and running down her cheeks. Vera kept Nurse Radcliffe talking, no longer paying attention to what she was saying, as she glanced over now and again at Allie and Bea.