Jake walked into C block, accidentally bumping into a couple of women as he made his way through the halls, completely distracted and not paying attention to his environment. He finally made it to C3, stepping inside and relieving the current officer of his duty. This wasn't Jake's shift, but being the head of Ferguson's 24/7 watch team, he knew he only had a few minutes before the actual guard on duty was set to arrive. Jake watched the current officer leave as he looked around the empty unit before stepping into Ferguson's room and closing the door behind him.
Ferguson sat on her bed, breathing heavily as she stared blankly ahead. At first Jake didn't think she had noticed him, but as he opened his mouth to speak, Ferguson interrupted him.

"Smith is back," Ferguson quietly announced.

Jake opened his mouth to speak again, but words escaped him.

"Jake… Why is Smith back?"

"I… I'm sorry, Joan, I think there was a… mistake and… they took Allie instead."

"How is that possible, Jake?" Ferguson asked, rising from her bed and walking to stand directly in front of him.

"I… I don't know… I just… I'm not sure what happened but…"

Suddenly and without warning, Ferguson struck Jake across his face. Jake fell back against the door from the force of her hit, grabbing his cheek as he turned to look back at Ferguson.

"Do you know why I entrusted you with this task, Jake?" Ferguson asked as she stepped closer to him. "After losing Kaz's support, I still saw potential in you. I believed you to be capable, clever, and… crafty. Yet here we are, here Bea Smith is, ready and willing to challenge me one last time, and I can admit that if I do not do something drastic, she will be my downfall. However, Jake, you should be aware that now, she will be yours as well."

Jake clenched his fists, looking around the room as he tried to think of what he could possibly do now. Ferguson was right. All he wanted to do was help with her exoneration, help her rise back to the top, so he could rise with her. At this point, he was in too deep, and if she fell, he would go down with her.

"What are you planning to do to rectify this fatal error?"

"Joan, I… I'm sorry, but I don't know."

"Where did your men take her?"

"I don't…I think… They operate out of a warehouse not too far from the docks."

"Near the port?"

"Yes… Being close to the bay makes for easy… disposal… But, but that doesn't matter anymore. I'll get your money back, Joan, I promise. Allie wasn't your problem, she was mine."

"She is a shared problem."

"…Whatever the case may be, I'm done, Joan. I only agreed to help you take care of Bea, but I can't have Allie killed. She hasn't done anything. I have to let her go. And… And I'm done with all of this afterwards. I'll take whatever punishment I have to, but I can't keep doing this. It isn't worth it anymore. I'm sorry."

"Excuse me?"

"Joan, I can't… I can't keep helping you anymore. Let's face it. Bea won. You're under constant watch now. They won't let Bea anywhere near you, and if anything does happen to her, you'll be the only suspect at this point. I don't know, maybe she's made a pact with the devil to keep getting away, but I'm done with her and…"

A radio call interrupted Jake, as Vera requested for an officer to bring Bea to her office.

"That very well may explain how Smith keeps coming back…" Ferguson began as she looked at his radio. "However, Allie is another story."

"…What?"

Ferguson smirked as she reached into Jake's pockets, pulling out his phone from his right one. She walked away from him and towards the window as she began to use it. Jake walked up to the sink, turned the water on, and splashed his face three times before running his wet hands through his hair. He leaned over the sink and turned his head to face Ferguson, upset with himself and terrified for having gotten so deeply involved with her schemes in order to exonerate her and help him rise through the ranks along her side.

Jake turned to look at himself in the mirror, unable to recognize the person who looked back at him. He gritted his teeth as his breathing quickened, as his eyes reddened, the sound of Ferguson clicking away on his phone's keyboard further infuriating him. Suddenly, Jake lifted his right hand, clenched his fist, and punched the mirror, shattering it into pieces with his force. Ferguson looked up at him and scoffed before going back to the phone, ignoring Jake's pain as he sat down on her bed, holding his right hand as he bled out from it and onto the floor.

…

Bea threw the door to the governor's office open. Vera looked up at the clock before turning towards the detective standing next to her.

"That was fast…" Vera muttered as she rose from her chair.

"What's going on?" Bea asked as she moved closer to the desk.

"Bea Smith?" asked the detective.

"What's going on with Allie? What happened?"

"I was about to ask you the same question."

Bea looked from the detective to Vera.

"…The fuck is this? Governor, I just talked to Kaz, and she told me…"

"Smith, Detective Deacon here would like to ask you some questions regarding Novak."

"Okay, and I would like to know what's…"

"You two are romantically involved, correct?" Deacon interrupted, leaning against Vera's desk.

Bea took a deep breath, rolling her eyes and realizing she had to answer his questions in order to get more information on Allie.

"…Yes."

"And you knew she was going to be released from the hospital today, correct?"

"Yes. This afternoon during my physical therapy session… Why are you asking me all of this?"

"Ms. Smith, I just want to get to the bottom of all this."

Bea looked from him to Vera again, who stared Bea down. Bea scoffed as she realized what was going on.

"I don't know anything about it, okay?" Bea stated, looking directly at Vera. "I deeply care for her, and I would never, ever do anything to risk her safety."

"While that may be true, I'm familiar with your past… stunts. You deliberately harmed yourself to end up in the hospital without handcuffs so you could escape, correct?" Deacon asked, moving to stand next to Bea and looking down at her.

"Look… That was a long time ago, and…"

"And Ms. Novak was in the hospital with similar injuries, correct?"

Bea didn't respond.

"So you can understand how it's within the realm of possibility that you would have Ms. Novak intentionally hurt in order to divert attention away from you as a suspect?"

Bea's eyebrows furrowed as she quickly shook her head.

"I would never do that. If I wanted to escape with her, don't you think, I don't know, that I would've maybe escaped with her?" Bea responded, annoyed and frustrated.

"You're… unable to at the moment. I don't know, maybe you wanted to give her a head start? From what I've heard you're going to be walking again any day now, correct? Are you telling me Ms. Novak didn't mention anything to you about wanting to escape? It's certainly easier for you to do once on the outside, isn't it?"

Bea couldn't help but laugh. She brought her hands up to her face and massaged it, unsure of what to say as it seemed the detective was clearly set on obtaining a confession that would never come.

"Ms. Smith, here are the facts we are currently working with. This afternoon, Ms. Novak was released from the hospital after having shared a private room with you for several days. As she was being transported back to Wentworth, the van was crashed into, and the officer was shot in the head, had his throat slit, and had the letters RRH painted across his chest. Ms. Novak's blood was found in the back of the van, but there was no trace of her or the vehicle that hit the van. Now, I know you have been the poster child of the Red Right Hand, and it cannot be a coincidence that Ms. Novak was the right hand of their leader. I've already spoken with Ms. Proctor, and she let me know that the reason Ms. Novak was in the hospital in the first place was for a failed suicide attempt brought on by the belief that you were dead. I can't begin to imagine the thrill she must have felt to learn that you were in fact alive, much less the ensuing anxiety she must have felt knowing that she would have to be separated from you again when she was informed she would be released from the hospital."

As Bea thought back to the time she spent with Allie in the hospital, she remembered Allie asking her to run away with her, but Bea knew Allie would never do that without telling her, much less without her at Allie's side. Then her mind raced back to what Allie told her had happened between her and Jake.

"Stewart! He must have something to do with this!" Bea cried out.

"Who is Stewart?" Deacon asked, looking from Bea to Vera.

"Smith, he has nothing…"

"No, no, no, no, listen to me! Kaz wrote a letter to Allie letting her know everything she told you about that fucking article and his alliance with her and Ferguson to get you out of Wentworth. I don't know how, but he got ahold of the letter, and, and he came to the hospital to threaten Allie because he thought she was the person behind Kaz betraying him!"

"Smith, Proctor lied about his involvement with…"

"No, no, no, I have the letter in my room and I brought the… I brought the syringe with me that he used to threaten her."

"You brought a syringe into the prison?!"

"Yes, by all means focus on the contraband aspect, because that's what's important here. For fuck's sake, Governor!"

"Again, who is Stewart?"

"He, he's an officer here who was working with two inmates to oust the governor, and…"

"Mr. Stewart was at work when this all occurred, and he was the one to drive me out to the scene. He has nothing to do with this, and I don't know why you and Proctor are so intent on…"

"Would you just listen to me?!"

"That's enough, Smith!" Vera yelled.

Bea and Vera glared at each other, both women upset with one another. Deacon observed both of their reactions, finally choosing to break the silence when he realized neither woman was going to speak again.

"I'll speak with Mr. Stewart," Deacon said.

"Thank you," Bea quickly nodded. "I have… I have the letter and the syringe in my room. They're in the bag I took to the hospital."

Deacon nodded, turning towards Vera who took a deep breath before picking up her radio and calling on Miles to retrieve Bea's bag of personal belongings from her room. Miles hesitated at first, but ultimately confirmed she would bring the bag in soon.

…

The cackling and the shouting were loud enough to cause Allie to begin to slowly open her eyes. Even though she did so, she saw nothing but complete darkness, as a hood had been placed over her head that covered her entire face and prevented her from seeing anything. The pain from the crash hit her all at once, her entire body sore, her head throbbing. Unaware of what was happening, unsure of where she was, unable to process the situation, Allie tried to scream, something she realized was impossible to do as her lips had been glued shut. Allie winced from the pain of trying to open her mouth before ultimately giving up. She felt dizzy, nauseated, and struggled to remember how she ended up in her current position.

Allie began to breathe heavily as she tried to stand, but the leg cuffs she still had on prevented her from doing so, as did the ropes around her chest and stomach that bound her to a beam. Her arms were tied behind her, making it difficult to even breathe each time she tried to pull away, making her recent injuries ache horribly each time she tugged forwards and hit the beam with her arms. Despite the pain in her entire body, Allie began to thrash, desperately trying to free herself, hopelessly trying to open her mouth to call for help.

Allie stopped moving when she heard the steps of someone approaching her. She pulled her legs up, bending her knees and bringing them up to her chest as the steps came closer, and she could feel someone standing directly in front of her.

"Hey, she's finally awake!" the man called out as he looked down at Allie.

Allie could hear how close the man was to her, could feel his eyes on her.

"What?"

"She's up! How long are we supposed to wait here?"

"As long as it takes for the boss to come claim his package," the other man responded, coming close to Allie as well.

"Well… You and I both know his fruity ass doesn't want her to enjoy her, so… what do you say? Can we have a little fun before he gets here now that she's awake?"

"What, you couldn't do that before we fucking tied her up?"

"Shit no, if I wanted to fuck a woman who was out cold, I'd just go home to my wife."

The two men laughed as Allie felt her racing heart sink.

"Well, I'm good. Brunettes, redheads, sure, but honestly, pale blondes just bore the shit out of me. Help yourself though. Give her one last good ride before she goes to hell."

One man began to walk away, as the other stepped closer to Allie and crouched down in front of her. He took her hood off, as her eyes adjusted to her surroundings in the barely lit area. Her vision was still a bit blurry, but she could make out that the man in front of her was muscular and had tattoos over his face and on his bald head, and had a scar running down the right side of his jawline. Allie looked past him towards the other man, a tall but bulky figure with short jet-black hair who was twirling a metal baseball bat.

The tattooed man brought his fingers up to Allie's face, smiling as he stroked her cheek. Allie's muffled screams did nothing to deter him from running his hands down her body, despite the ropes shielding most of her from his touch. As he brought his face down to her, aiming to kiss her neck, Allie ripped her lips apart, brought her head down, and bit his ear with all her might. The man howled in pain as he punched her in the stomach, pushed back against her chest, but he was unable to break away until Allie had torn part of his ear off. The man brought his hand up to his hemorrhaging ear, screaming in agony, as the other man ran back over. Allie spit out the chunk of the ear, her mouth covered in his and her blood.

"HELP! HELP! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME! HELP ME! PLEASE HELP!"

Allie screamed as she began to thrash again, trying to somehow break free but failing to loosen the ropes at all. The other man raised his baseball bat and brought it down full force on Allie, striking her in her left temple.

"Help… Please… Help me… Bea…" Allie whispered as she drifted in and out of consciousness.

The man raised the bat again, this time striking Allie in her right temple and knocking her out.

…

Bea poured out the contents of her bag onto Vera's desk, desperately rifling through her clothes, her toiletries, and her snacks before picking up the one page she could find, not Kaz's letter, but the game she and Allie had played as Deacon and Vera watched her. Bea folded the page and set it aside before going back to look through her scattered items.

"I swear… Someone must have taken them," Bea claimed, evidently distraught.

"Smith, no one took anything from you…"

"Miles! Go get her, she must have…"

"Smith, that's enough. Get back to your unit. If we have more questions, I'll send for you."

"Someone took them from my bag!"

Vera slammed her fists down on the desk.

"ENOUGH!"

Vera walked around the desk and snatched the bag from Bea, throwing all her items back inside of it before handing it back to her, save for the contraband. As Vera reached for the page, Bea grabbed it and held it away from her, taking her bag and carefully placing it inside so as not to crumple it.

"Go. Now."

Bea looked at Deacon, who only closed his eyes and nodded his head. Vera looked out the glass of her office and motioned for Miles to come back inside. Bea stared at the floor, unwilling to move. Miles approached her from behind and grabbed the handles of her wheelchair, pulling her away from Vera and Deacon and pushing her out of the office.

"Is Mr. Stewart around?" Deacon asked.

"His shift recently ended," Vera replied.

"May I get his address?"

Vera stared at Deacon before nodding her head. She walked over to the computer and pulled up Jake's file. Deacon took his phone out and jotted down the information before nodding in Vera's direction and heading out of the office.

As Bea and Miles headed back into the hallways of the general population blocks, Bea let go of her bag and placed her hands on the wheels of her chair to stop Miles. She turned her chair around to look up at her.

"Come on, Smith, no offense, but I'm still freaked out by you, and I'd like to get you back to H1 as soon as…"

"Were you the one to retrieve my bag?"

"Yeah, of course I was. I didn't want to, but…"

"Miles, I'm serious."

"Yes! I grabbed your bag."

"Miles!"

"Yes, it was me! It was in your room on your bed…"

"You're lying to me."

"No, I'm not!"

"I didn't leave the bag on my bed. I left it next to the sink."

Bea glared at Miles, who looked up and down the hallway before looking down at the floor and sighing.

"Fine! Fine, I ran into Jake, and I asked him to go get it because… I'm fucking terrified that you might be a hallucination or ghost or… Satan at this point and…"

"FOR FUCK'S SAKE, MILES!"

Miles jumped back, frightened by Bea's glare and demeanor. Bea wanted to grab Miles and choke her, but she held back, knowing that Miles most likely meant no harm but was simply being stupid. She rubbed her eyes then looked up and down the hallway.

"Where is Ferguson?"

"Oh hell no, I'm not about to…"

"Miles, I swear to Lucifer, if you don't tell me where she is, I will conjure up the most blood-curdling demons to come terrorize you in your…"

"Okay! Shut up! Just shut up! Just stop please! Fine! She's in C3… Just… Just fucking stop creeping me out already!"

Bea continued to stare down Miles before turning her chair around and heading back towards H1. Miles shook and squirmed, trying to get rid of the chills Bea gave her just by being near her.

By the time Bea returned to H1, Kaz had already spread the word about Allie's disappearance. As Bea headed towards her room, Liz, Sonia, and Maxine all stood up from the seats in the common area, wanting to talk to Bea and ask if she needed anything, but Bea didn't give them the chance to speak, as she entered her room and threw the door shut behind her.
Bea moved to sit next to her bed, throwing her bag onto it as she began to cry into her hands. As she massaged her face and ran her fingers through her hair, Bea noticed her sketchpad lying on her pillow. She reached for it and flipped it open to the drawing of Allie, staring at it as the tears continued to stream down her face. She ran her finger over the image, before setting the sketchpad down on her bed and reaching into her bag to pull out the page of the game they had played in the hospital.

Bea unfolded the page and went from looking at it to looking at the image of Allie. She wiped the tears from her eyes before she reached into her pocket and took out the lighter Franky had bought for her to light Allie's candle. Bea stared at it, turning it over in her fingers before grabbing the page of their game and placing it inside of her sketchpad, caressing Allie's image one last time before she closed the sketchbook. She left the sketchpad on her bed but hid the lighter underneath her mattress. Bea pushed herself towards the window and turned her wheelchair to face the door, locking it in place.

…

Jake walked towards the warehouse, unable to stop looking around to make sure no one was following or watching him. He had parked his car a bit of a walk away, paranoid that he would somehow be caught in the deserted location. He ran his left hand over his bandaged right hand, trying to massage the pain away from the fragments of glass that had cut him open. Jake pulled out his phone to read the message sent to him from his henchmen describing the location of the warehouse. He made it to the dilapidated building, checking around to make sure no one else was in the area, before loudly banging on the door.

"Hey, Vic," Jake quietly greeted as the man opened the door.

"About time my favorite screw got here," Vic replied as he stepped back to let Jake in. "No need to knock, no one knows about this place but us."

Jake stepped inside, looking around the warehouse. Boxes upon boxes were stacked to the ceiling on shelves that ran up and down the area. Only a few dim lights lit up the warehouse, the rest of it being illuminated by the moonlight that poured in through the windows near the rafters.

"Where's Turk?" Jake asked as he followed Vic.

"Uh… He, uh, had a little accident and had to go… But I wanted to talk to you about your order… We're gonna need you to pay a little more for your package."

"Excuse me?" Jake asked.

Vic stopped in front of a door, bringing the bat above his head in his two hands and stretching before bringing it back down again. He shrugged while grinning.

"Pay you more? You fuckers got the wrong girl!"

"What?"

"You got the wrong girl!"

Vic threw open the door that led into the separate area where an unconscious Allie sat bound to a beam. Jake flinched, a look of horror coming over his face as he saw the beaten, bruised, and bleeding girl who showed no signs of life.

"Are you telling me this isn't…"

"What did you fuckers do to her?!" Jake asked, running over to Allie.

Jake crouched down in front of Allie and reached his bandaged hand out to touch her face, streams of blood running down either side of it. He gently grabbed her by her chin and lifted her head up before softly patting her face. Jake pulled her eyelids apart, trying to find some sign of life before letting them shut again. He brought his finger underneath her nose, trying to feel any sign of breathing, before running his thumb over her torn and bleeding lips.

"She got rough with Turk and bit his fucking ear off," Vic said as he walked over to stand behind Jake. "We had to calm her down somehow."

"This isn't… I told you assholes to get the woman in the wheelchair." Jake gritted his teeth, slowly lowering Allie's head back down and rising back up to stare down Vic.

"This was the bitch who came out of that room in a wheelchair!"

Jake grabbed Vic by his collar and shook him.

"DO YOU SEE A FUCKING WHEELCHAIR ANYWHERE?!"

"She was taken out of the room in a wheelchair and we followed her out to the lot where they left it behind! We figured she was done with it!"

Jake shoved Vic, running his hands through his hair as he looked back down at Allie. He began to shake his head and pointed at her.

"I'm not paying for this. You got the wrong woman and then you still did this to her?!"

"Yeah, shockingly, people are pretty upset about being kidnapped so you'll excuse us if we have to do things a bit rougher than your ass is used to."

"This isn't who I wanted!" Jake yelled.

"You should've been fucking clearer! We tracked the bitch in the wheelchair from room 412, crashed into the van transporting her, killed the guard, did your little red finger-painting, brought her here, waited way too long for you, Turk got his ear bitten off… Fuck it, Jake, you were fun to work with at Walford, but I think too much bitch has rubbed off on you at Wentworth. Our job is done. You're not getting jack shit back."

Vic turned to leave, but was stopped by Jake, who grabbed his shoulder and spun him around before punching him in his face with his left hand. Vic absorbed the blow before shoving the end of his baseball bat into Jake's stomach, causing him to bend over in pain, as Vic brought the bat down on Jake's back and knocked him to the floor. Vic alternated between hitting Jake with the bat and kicking him in his sides and his face before tiring himself out. He crouched down next to Jake and yanked him by his hair, pulling his head up off the floor.

"She's your problem now. This is the last time we do business, and if I ever see you again I'll shove this fucking bat so far up your ass it'll make you straight again, ya hear?"

Vic shoved Jake's head down against the concrete before standing and walking away. Jake was bleeding from his face, blood spewing from his mouth as well, as he tried to roll over, grabbing his stomach in pain. His breathing was heavy as he opened his eyes to look at Allie. Jake stared at her before he forced himself to stand up. His eyes scanned the area for a few seconds before turning back towards Allie. Jake took his phone out of his pocket, crouched down in front of Allie, and snapped a couple of pictures of her before locking the phone and putting it away. Jake wiped his eyes with the back of his hand before standing back up and walking towards the door, stopping to look at Allie one last time before flipping off the light switch, walking out, and shutting the door behind him.

…

It was three in the morning, but Bea was wide-awake in her room, doing her best to stand. She was capable of rising from her chair, but was unable to fully straighten her legs to stand, only managing to make them move now and again before falling on the floor each time she tried. Bea climbed back into her chair, inhaling and exhaling deeply, as she thought of a new method of trying to stand. She reached down and straightened out her legs, letting her feet touch the floor, before she began to push herself upwards in her chair. As she rose from the chair, hoping her knees would bend to her will, her sweaty palms caused her to slip and she fell to the floor on her back, grabbing her head after it hit one of the chair's footrests.
Bea clenched her fists and slammed them down against the floor before bringing her hands up to her face and rubbing it. Bea crossed her arms over her face, as she tried to find the strength to sit up and continue attempting to stand on her own after having tried for so long in her room, after having tried for so long in the hospital. Bea heard the door to her room open but kept her arms crossed over her face.

"Please go," Bea quietly requested, not wanting to wake any of the other women in H1.

Maxine and Boomer stepped into the room, each woman taking one of Bea's arms and pulling her up off the floor. Boomer turned towards Bea and grabbed her by her waist, easily picking the woman up and tossing her over her shoulder as she walked out of the room.

"What the fuck?! Boomer, put me down!"

Maxine sat down on the sofa in the common area between Sonia and Liz. As Bea pushed against Boomer to let her go, Boomer stopped in front of Maxine and set her down in her lap. Maxine immediately wrapped her arms around Bea's stomach, pulling her close as Bea still struggled to break free, unaware of what was going on, but not appreciating the handling she was undergoing.

"Bea, Bea, sweetheart, stop struggling or you'll hurt me, okay?" Maxine asked.

"Look, I'm sorry I was making so much noise and keeping you all up, but I'm trying to… Please just let me go back to my room. I'll be quiet, I swear," Bea begged as she slowly stopped struggling.
"It's okay, love," Liz said as she placed a hand on the top of Bea's head.

After seeing her fully calm down, Sonia and Liz knelt down on the floor and took off Bea's shoes before they began to bind Bea's legs to Maxine's legs with ropes they had fashioned by cutting and stripping various pairs of their pants. Bea looked down at Liz and Sonia, confused by what they were doing.

"What the hell are you…"

"Beatrice, just shut your damn mouth and let us help you," Sonia ordered.

Not wanting to be scolded again by Sonia, Bea stopped questioning what was happening as she watched Sonia and Liz tie her legs to Maxine's above and below their knees. Once they finished, Sonia checked all the knots, before nodding to Liz and standing back up again. Liz and Sonia leaned over to hug Bea and Maxine from the sides and hold them together as Maxine let go of Bea and reached her hands out for Boomer to pull them up, while Sonia and Liz helped push their weight off the sofa to stand. Maxine let go of Boomer and hugged Bea again before Sonia and Liz let go of them.

"Now," Sonia began as she stood in front of Bea and placed both her hands on her face. "We know it's not the same as proper physical therapy equipment, but it's certainly better than having you further hurt yourself. For now, think of Maxine's legs as your legs."

"Your weight is on her feet, but if you make any kind of movement, you'll be pulling Maxine with you, okay?" Liz added.

"I'll only move if I feel you move, okay?" Maxine softly spoke, placing a kiss on the back of Bea's head.

"Maxine, you're going to get hurt," Bea whispered.

"I'm here to catch ya both, Bea," Boomer smiled.

"See? It's okay. Don't worry about me. Just try your best to move forward, okay? Ready?"

Bea nodded, a sad smile appearing on her face as she looked around at all her friends. Sonia and Liz stepped to the side, as Boomer stood next to Bea and Maxine, ready to support them should they need it. Bea placed her hands over Maxine's arms and did her best to try to move her legs, any small motion that would cause Maxine to move with her. She forced herself, and even though Maxine was able to feel a bit of a twitch in Bea's left leg, she refused to go forward, knowing that Bea would need to pull much harder in order to make her move. After attempting to move for a long time, Bea brought her hands to her eyes, running them over her face and through her hair.

"I'm sorry, I can't."

"It's okay. Just try to go towards the cell gate," Maxine spoke.

"Take it slow, Bea. We're here for you, hun" Liz remarked.

Bea tried again, feeling nothing physical beyond slight twitching despite the mental stress she was putting herself under just to make her legs move. Again, she was unaware of how much time had passed, as she realized the clock had been taken down from the common area.

"Just stop please. I can't do this."

Maxine hugged Bea with all the strength she could muster.

"Keep trying," Boomer insisted.

"I'm trying, but I can't."

"Just try," Liz added.

"Maxine, let go of me."

"I'm not letting go," Maxine responded.

"Maxine…"

"Try," Sonia urged.

Bea's breathing quickened as her eyes began to water, distraught that she was a broken woman incapable of standing on her own. She knew Maxine was helping hold her up, that she wasn't actually standing, just bound to a support system, but the sight of her legs straightened once again, being able to feel as if she were on her own two feet devastated her. Bea gripped Maxine's arms tightly before dropping her head forward and beginning to quietly cry.

"Bea… look who's here, " Maxine whispered in Bea's ear.

Bea looked up at the closed cell gate, not seeing anyone.

"…What?"

"Look, Bea, don't you see?"

Bea shook her head, confused by what Maxine was saying, as her eyes scanned the empty space behind the bars.

"It's Allie," Maxine whispered.

"…Maxine… Maxine, please…"

"Come on. She wants to give you a hug, Bea," Boomer said as she nudged her.

"Boomer…"

"Go on, Bea," Liz added, gesturing towards the gate with her head.

Bea stared at the entrance to the unit, immediately going from quietly crying to uncontrollably sobbing.

"I can't lose her!" Bea cried.

"Then go get her," Sonia whispered.

Bea squeezed her eyes shut tight and gritted her teeth as she dropped her head forwards, opening her eyes again to look down at her feet on top of Maxine's. Tears fell down onto her socks, and Bea wondered how long Maxine could keep her off her feet as she realized it was morning when the sunlight began to peek in through the windows. Bea looked around at Liz, Sonia, and Boomer, none of them showing a hint of fatigue despite none of them having sat down since Maxine had stood up hours ago. She looked back at the unit entrance, closing her eyes as she envisioned Allie standing on the other side of the bars.

Maxine smiled as she felt a strong tug beyond a twitch on her right leg. Wanting to push her further, Maxine waited for the pull to become stronger before she had no choice but to move her leg as Bea pulled her forward.