Chapter 5

I know I'm giving out a lot of thank-yous, and that's not stopping anytime soon! But, this time, I'm thanking both MinervaSnape394, who, without fail, has posted a kind and thought-out review on every single chapter, and Johanna-002 (again) because a few lines from this chapter are literally copy-pasted from our chat.

Their talk, while brief, solved many problems for Red.

Boo wasn't the type to ask unnecessary questions - for that, she was grateful. She didn't want to be here any longer than needed.

Red stepped into Boo's cube without preamble - she was one of those people who didn't need to announce themselves when they walked into a room. She took the bag from her back pocket and held it out.

"I need you to get rid of this for me," she said frankly.

"What do I get out of it?"

"I'll owe you."

It was simple, it was easy, and most of all, it was something everyone wanted. Any inmate with a brain would do pretty much anything to be owed a favor by Red.

Boo nodded once and took it, returning immediately to her reading. Red slipped out as easily as she'd come in.

Nicky was still clean. There was no chance of that changing, at least for now. It gave Red a feeling of calm to know that.

She knew her daughter was strong in many senses. It was simply a chemical thing when it came to this.

Now that Red thought about it, Nicky could have been holding onto the heroin for much longer than she knew about. If that were true, her daughter had shown remarkable restraint. Again, Red loved that it had been because of her that the younger woman hadn't succumbed.

They were still growing closer every day. Some of Red's other daughters had made it no secret that they were jealous - Gina in particular.

But what Red and Nicky had was special, and if others refused to acknowledge that it wasn't Red's problem in the slightest. Though she'd never say it aloud, everyone knew Nicky was her favorite.

Without realizing it, she'd gone straight back home. Nicky looked to be asleep; as quietly as she could, Red went about her own nighttime routine. It was early yet, but she had nowhere else to be and wasn't getting much sleep anyway. Being tired as she was, Red hoped that would change tonight.

But, as she drifted off, Red found that it was not to be. She was only half-awake when she heard it.

Nicky had indeed been asleep, but it clearly wasn't peaceful. Red quickly returned to consciousness as she listened to her daughter's quiet speech. It was disjointed, and she couldn't really understand it, but the content didn't matter. From her tone, the poor girl was suffering.

In an instant, Red was up and stood over Nicky. She shook her shoulders.

"Nicky, you're dreaming," she whispered. "Nicky."

It took some doing, but slowly Nicky came out of her imaginings and back to reality. The first thing she saw was Red, a concerned expression on her face. Nicky fell into her open arms and cried, desperate for a physical connection.

She quieted in stages, and Red held her patiently through all of it. When she finally opened her eyes and looked into her mother's, Red smiled kindly and asked if she'd like to talk at all. Nicky nodded, and thought over her words.

"I got out," she began. "But the only thing I could think about was how I didn't have you anymore. I had to go live with Marka again. But…"

Red waited, knowing this couldn't have been enough to disturb Nicky as much as it did.

"But then Lorna called. She told me you were dead.

"I'd been hanging on to the hope that when you got out, we'd live together, or something. I think I'll always need you, and to hear that kind of broke me. I sort of fell into a depression… not that Marka gave a shit." the last was said bitterly, but most of it was with a hollow sadness.

"Oh, honey," Red said sympathetically. "I'm not going anywhere."

Nicky nodded. "I know, Ma. I know."

They sat quietly for a few moments, Nicky still needing assurance that Red was there and alive.

Though it was only a dream, and she resented it for doing so, it affected her deeply. She needed to know that they were both safe if she was even to hope for sleep tonight.

It was easier now that they were in the same cube. It wasn't hard for them to be together during the night like it was before.

"Stay with me?"

"As long as you need," Red promised.

And somehow, Nicky knew she didn't just mean now.

"Nichols, you've got a visitor today," Bell called over her shoulder. Nicky glanced up in surprise. No-one had ever come to visit before. She wondered who it could be.

She had been in Litchfield for almost a year now, the days blending into weeks and then months. The routine of life here had been good for her - she was one of few people who could say prison had actually changed her for the better. Her life was actually pretty good.

As Nicky made her way to the visitation room, the first thing she noticed was that Red was already there. She waved a hello, which Red returned with a smile. She was speaking to one of her boys - Nicky thought it was Vasily, but wasn't sure. Red gestured to her and Vasily turned, smiling as well. Nicky nodded in acknowledgement, then began to scan the room for who could possibly be there for her.

Her eyes immediately landed on the form seated next to Red's table. Why was she here? Nicky's walls immediately came up, and the smile vanished from her face. Slowly, she made her way across the room to Marka, thinking about how she needed to remove the woman from her visitation list.

Taking her seat, she watched coolly as Marka didn't even immediately realize she was there. She was too absorbed in whatever was on her phone to notice. Nicky cleared her throat. Marka jumped, guiltily putting the phone away. Nicky had to fight not to roll her eyes.

Instead, getting right to the point, she laced her fingers together on the table and asked, devoid of inflection, "Why are you here?"

"Why shouldn't I be, Nicole? You are my daughter, after all."

Nicky gave a harsh laugh.

"If I'm so special to you, why have you waited a year to come see me? Huh?"

"Nicole, I'm a very busy woman-"

"Too busy to visit your only daughter, who's in prison? If you were really my mother, you would have at least cared enough to check up on me. I needed you when I first got here, Marka, but I sure as hell don't need you now, " she hissed. Nicky refused to call this woman 'mom.' That in no way described her. Looking around the room in a desperate attempt to avoid the disdain on Marka's face, her eyes instead landed on Red.

The Russian was watching Marka with an expression akin to disgust. Vasily seemed mildly amused by his mother.

It warmed Nicky's heart to see Red so protective. This was what a mother looked like.

"Well, way to go Nicole. You've attracted an audience." Nicky glared at Marka.

"Why do you always blame me for these things," she asked, rolling her eyes.

"Because it is entirely your fault. Use some common sense."

"Oh, no. You don't get to do that," Nicky began, anger blazing, "You don't get to lecture me on common sense when you're the one who expects money to fix all your problems. You know what? I've been clean for a little more than a year now but five minutes with you has me ready to kill for a smoke."

She carefully fished the chip out from under her shirt - it was the one she'd gotten from AA when she'd hit the one year mark. Nicky was intensely proud of it, and she knew Red was too. They'd made it into a necklace from a spare piece of cord Nicky had found in electrical. Every time Nicky saw it, she thought of Red, and wore it all the time.

Now, she took it off and slapped it down on the table.

"See that? This place did more for me than you ever could. I have no idea why you're even here right now."

"I'm here because I love you, Nicole."

"Bullshit." Nicky was so past caring at this point.

"Language," Marka hissed. Nicky merely laughed.

"If you loved me, I wouldn't be in here. I would still be living with you, and I would never have taken drugs in the first place. The only reason I did it was because you never gave me the time of day, you know."

"I have a life, Nicole! You can't expect me to devote every minute of my time to you-"

"No, but I can expect you to give me at least one. You didn't even do that. You gave all that time to fucking Paulo, and left me to the wolves."

"I loved him."

"Yeah. More than you love me, clearly. Get out of here."

Marka picked up her bags and left without a backward glance. Only when the door closed behind her did Nicky stand, wiping at her eyes angrily as she stormed out. It wasn't until later that she realized she'd left behind her chip.

Red couldn't help but listen to the conversation that went on next to her. It was rather loud, after all, and Vasily wasn't doing anything to distract her.

Until now, Red hadn't any idea that Marka had never visited before. She'd been under the impression that Nicky and she had been talking.

Now that she thought about it, Red didn't know why she'd thought that at all. But it did make her even more irritated when she found out that it wasn't true.

What kind of mother leaves their daughter to survive in prison for an entire year without even speaking to them? She was beyond disgusted.

As she turned back to Vasily, Red noticed the amusement in his eyes. She glared at him, but joined in a quiet chuckle. He knew exactly what Nicky meant to her, and she suspected he was enjoying watching her in her element like this.

Red noticed Nicky called her 'Marka' instead of 'mom,' but wasn't surprised by this either. It did make her smile, though, to know that she was the only one Nicky used the term with.

The more Red listened, the further incensed she became, and by the time Nicky left Red was ready to slap Marka. She and Vasily tried to return to their earlier conversation, but he at least knew that it wasn't going to happen.

"Want to talk about it," he asked, and she wondered when he'd gotten to know her so well.

"I just can't believe that woman," she huffed, a string of Russian insults following.

"Wow, Ma," Vasily said with a chuckle.

"Sorry," she grumbled, but they both knew she didn't mean it.

"You know," he mused, after a time, "I've always wanted a sister."