"Okay, so…that's a total of…let's see, carry the one…three places…"
Bea laughed as she moved closer on her bed to lean on Allie and read her sad list, amused that she felt compelled to write it. Bea gave her a small kiss on the cheek.
"Make it two," Bea objected, pointing towards the list. "There's no way I'd do anything with you in H3."
"Uhmm, I think your memory might be fading," Allie nudged Bea.
"Okay, that was a one-time deal. I'm not about to have Kaz shiv me when she gets out of the slot and finds me in your bed."
"Shit…" Allie groaned as she crossed out her room on the sheet of paper. "So… that just leaves the equipment room and your room as the sole locations for us to…You know…It just occurred to me that we're in your room already so…"
Allie threw the notebook on the floor and wrapped her arm around Bea, using her other hand to turn Bea's face and meet her lips. Bea placed her hand on Allie's thigh, as Allie slid her hand down to Bea's breast, massaging it through her shirt. Just then, the door to Bea's room opened. At the sound of the door opening, Bea looked up at the ceiling, while Allie buried her face in Bea's shoulder.
"For fuck's sake…" they muttered at the same time.
Allie moved away from Bea and leaned back against the wall as Bea lowered her head to look at the door.
"So's this why you've been such a shitty top dog lately? Too busy lezzing out with this one?" protested Doreen.
As Allie moved to stand, Bea grabbed her shoulder and held her back. Bea glared at Doreen, unwilling to respond to her.
"I need a word with you," demanded Doreen. "I lost my position as peer worker because of you."
"That's a shame. You can go now," replied Bea, completely uninterested in hearing another complaint from Doreen.
"Bea, look, I…"
"I said get out," Bea yelled.
"You think I'm getting played by Kaz, meanwhile you're in here getting fucked by her right hand!" shot back Doreen.
Bea jumped up from the bed and stormed towards Doreen. Right when Bea was about to hit her, Sonia poked her head through the doorway.
"Excuse me, ladies, these walls are incredibly thin, and I'm trying to rest, so if you could please keep it down, I would truly appreciate it."
Bea stopped in her tracks and looked at Sonia, who raised her eyebrows in her direction. Having developed respect for her after what Sonia had done, Bea wanted to listen to her. She turned back towards Doreen.
"Get out, now."
Doreen turned and stormed out of the room in anger. Sonia beamed in the direction of Bea and Allie as she shut the door. She followed and stopped Doreen as she was about to exit the cellblock.
"Doreen, a word…"
Doreen turned to face Sonia, who slapped her across the face with her right hand, her sharp nails raking the woman's skin. Doreen raised her hand to her cheek, her face full of shock.
"You may not appreciate Beatrice, but I will be damned if you do not respect her. If you ever speak to her that way again, you will have to answer to me, do you understand?"
Doreen was shaking, completely baffled at what had just occurred, as she began to bleed from the scratches on her face.
"Do you fucking understand me?" Sonia sternly asked.
Doreen simply nodded, unable to make a sound. Sonia grinned and nodded in return.
"Of course you do. Run along now," Sonia ordered as she motioned for Doreen to go, who then rushed out of the cellblock.
Sonia spun on her heels as she saw Bea and Allie, standing in the doorway of Bea's room, both staring at her in confusion.
"Had to be done," Sonia smiled, as she composed herself and returned to her room.
Bea and Allie turned to look at one another, neither entirely sure of what to say after what they had just witnessed, but both beginning to laugh at the same time at the ridiculousness of the situation.
…
"Sonia, can I talk to you?"
Sonia stopped filing her nails as she looked up to see Bea standing in her doorway.
"Now who in their right mind would deny the top dog any request?"
Sonia set the nail file down, as she patted the bed, inviting Bea to sit next to her. Bea shut the door behind her as she stepped inside and sat to the right of Sonia. As Bea opened her mouth to speak, Sonia interrupted her.
"How are you, dear?" Sonia asked, as she analyzed Bea's hand, her cast having been removed and now allowing her fresh scars to be visible.
"I'm fine, thank you…I wanted to talk to you about what happened in the laundry room."
"Oh well I do hope you're not here to, as you girls say, bash me for pressing the distress signal?" Sonia smirked.
"No, no, no of course not…I just wanted to thank you…You…You had no reason to stand up for me like that and…"
Sonia gently took Bea's burnt hand in her own, surprising Bea as she looked down at Sonia's hands covering hers.
"On the contrary, dear Beatrice," Sonia began. "I saw an injured woman in tremendous peril, and I was not about to abandon you in your time of need like the rest of those women did."
Bea looked away from Sonia as she bobbed her head, recalling how out of a group of over twenty women, the only ones to try to help her were Allie, Liz, and Sonia. Everyone else was fine with Kaz pushing her face into the steam press. No one else had an issue with Ferguson choking the life out of her. Unused to having a stranger come to her defense, Bea couldn't help but wonder if Sonia had ulterior motives.
"Well…Unfortunately for me, they all seemed to have turned their backs on me," Bea forced a laugh, the sadness she felt from this realization visible in her eyes.
"Fortunately for you, dear, you had Alison there to help," Sonia smiled as she ran her thumb up and down Bea's hand. "…Who seems to have developed quite a bit of fondness for you."
A smile appeared on Bea's face, the mere mention of Allie capable of warming her inside.
"Also, fortunately for you," Sonia let go of Bea's hand and reached under the mattress, pulling out a small notebook. "I made note of all those women who dared to enter the laundry room under the guise of civil politics."
Sonia opened the notebook, tore out a page, and handed it to Bea, whose astonishment became evident as she realized Sonia had listed twenty-three women by first and last name.
"How…How…" Bea stuttered, unable to formulate her question.
"That list is yours to keep. Should you need ideas for how to retaliate, I'd be more than delighted to brainstorm with you."
"Sonia, I… This is…I mean, I barely know half these women's first names, let alone their last."
"It's important to get to know those around you, Beatrice."
Sonia rose from the bed and made her way to her shelf, picking up a tiny jar of cream and turning back towards Bea.
"You never know who could be an ally," Sonia began as she handed the jar to Bea. "And you certainly never want to overlook an enemy."
Sonia handed the jar to Bea, who hesitated to take it.
"For your burns. Greatest healing and restorative properties of any product currently on the market, legal or otherwise," Sonia smiled.
Bea reached out for the cream, taking it from Sonia with her burnt hand.
…
Allie lifted a stack of three pots onto the top shelf, barely able to reach. She dusted her hands off, then began to undo her apron and remove it. As she folded it, she looked around the equipment room, unable to contain her smile as she remembered the list she made with Bea, who would arrive any minute now. Allie exited the equipment room and was taken by surprise when she saw Kaz, Doreen, and four other members of her former crew in the kitchen. Allie wasn't used to the crew staying behind this late after their kitchen duty, but she didn't expect Kaz to be out of the slot, and she especially didn't expect to see Doreen with her. Kaz glared at Allie, who couldn't help but feel a bit of sadness as she failed to say anything.
"So are the rumors true? Are you fucking Smith?" Kaz asked, in a manner that let Allie know she already knew the answer.
Allie inhaled and exhaled deeply, as she glanced at Doreen and each of the crewmembers. All she could do was shrug.
"Answer me, Allie."
"You know the answer, Kaz."
"How could you betray me like that?"
"Kaz, that was the last thing I wanted to do but…"
"Bullshit! You're such a fucking idiot. She's using you to get to me, and you fucking let her."
"Okay well, great, I didn't expect nor did I need your approval, so if you'll excuse me…"
Allie turned to leave but was grabbed by two of Kaz's crew and dragged into the equipment room.
"Let go of me!" Allie screamed.
The women threw Allie into the shelves with a force that caused some of the pots and pans to topple over onto the floor. They then grabbed Allie from each arm, holding her down as she wrestled to break free. Kaz approached her, gripping her face with her right hand.
"You betrayed me, Allie. And not for just anyone, but for Bea fucking Smith, the fucker who shopped you."
"Kaz, it wasn't Bea…"
"Allie, she's playing you. She wants to get to Kaz through you. I was there when Bea made the call. She was upset with what you all had been doing to Jackson and thought that would be the only way to…" lied Doreen.
"Oh fuck off, Doreen, you know that's not true. You're just pissed about your peer worker position," Allie interjected.
"Why won't you believe us? We're trying to help you!" Kaz yelled as she gripped Allie's face tighter.
"No, you're trying to get me away from Bea, and while the Freak is out, I'm guessing you're taking advice from this imbecile now," Allie looked at Doreen.
"She's using you. You're nothing but a fucking starved whore to her!"
"Shut up, Kaz!"
"Wake up, Allie!"
"Let go of me!"
Kaz released her hold on Allie's face and shook her head at her crewmembers. She stepped out of the way as the two women holding Allie threw her down to the floor. Allie rushed to stand back up, but one woman threw herself on top of Allie and pressed her head into the floor, the other held down her legs, another grabbed her left arm, and the last woman grabbed her right arm. Doreen took a short rope that had been crafted out of a sheet out of her pocket and proceeded to fashion a tourniquet out of it on Allie's arm, as Allie screamed and fought to break free. Kaz reached into her pocket and pulled out a needle, bringing it up to her face and flicking it before crouching down next to Allie.
"You won't believe me about Bea Smith…So I have no choice but to show you how that woman doesn't give a single fuck about you."
Kaz crouched down next to Allie and stroked her hair. Allie continued to struggle but was unable to overpower the four women forcing her down on the floor and holding her arm out.
"I'm sorry, Allie," Kaz whispered as she traced Allie's forearm with her fingers.
"Kaz, please, don't do this, please stop!" Allie implored.
Kaz brought the needle down to Allie's forearm, pricking her skin as she pushed on the head of the needle to allow the liquid to seep into her veins. Once Kaz emptied the needle, she ripped off the tourniquet and stood back up, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. As the drug travelled through Allie's veins, a calming peace overcame her, and she no longer struggled to break free.
…
Bea entered the kitchen, the biggest smile on her face. She strolled past the stoves and searched the area for Allie. Suddenly she heard a noise from the equipment room. Her eyes lit up as she headed for the equipment room and opened the door.
Allie had her back to her and was trying to pull herself up to stand using the counter, failing to do so and falling back down. She began to cackle as she rolled over to look at Bea, who stood horrified at the sight before her.
"Bea!" Allie called out. "You finally made it! I missed you so much!"
Allie reached out to grab Bea's leg. Bea stepped back, as Allie's hand continued to grasp at nothing, as Bea's leg was no longer within her reach. Bea looked around the room, pots and pans scattered, a needle on the floor. Bea walked inside and closed the door behind her, stepping over Allie to pick up the needle and the rope, as tears of grief and anger began to form in her eyes. Allie rolled back over and gripped Bea's leg and began to pull it.
"Come on, Bea, I'm ready, are you ready?" Allie yelled, as she tugged Bea, trying to get Bea to join her on the floor.
Bea pulled her leg away from Allie and looked down at the girl, who was completely dazed and unable to look at anything properly, the smile on her face empty and nothing like the one Bea had come to know and adore, the usual shine in her look now absent from her eyes. Tears escaped from Bea's eyes as she struggled to understand why Allie had succumbed when everything seemed to be going so well for the two of them. She couldn't speak, she didn't know what to say. Bea wrapped the needle in the rope and put it in her pocket, proceeding to rub her nose with the back of her hand. Allie struggled to sit up, and upon finally doing so, she grabbed Bea's legs and hugged her as she closed her eyes and dropped her head forward.
"I love you," Allie slurred.
Bea reached down, taking Allie's hands in her own and breaking the hold she had on her, before letting Allie fall to the floor as she walked out of the room.