Chapter Eight

Piper Loves Alex

Piper didn't like not working but she was able to keep a better eye on certain guards. She was very thorough and listed all the staff she could in a notebook. She used a code she made up as a kid so it looked like gibberish. Piper did all of it with her left hand. She ranked them by how lethal or mean they seemed. She probed for some details and discovered a few of the guards were abusive but in a subversive way. She could wander about during the day and see the staff in different positions. They rotated duty but some jobs were set. She noticed that Maritza didn't like riding with this one guard, Coates, but she had to because she drove the van. Piper knew she was being fucked with but really couldn't prove it. She thought about how Tiffany left the driving gig when it fed her narcissism so well. She wasn't as empathetic as Morello but driving around made her feel important. Piper watched her talk with Boo and it didn't seem so strange anymore once Piper realized she probably helped her with getting out of the job of driver.

She watched the angry ones and listened to the guards talk by their lounge door. Three new guards weren't well liked or received. One only worked the night shift but was trying to get someone to switch shifts all the time. The other one was the one Donaldson warned her about. He liked to snoop and seemed overly curious about the prisoners. The other was the female officer that hurt Piper. Bell seemed to have it in for her and there was a bet over how long it would take for Bell to get her written up or fired. She regularly thought all guards were assholes but she did appreciate the straightforward nature of the older guards like Ford, O'Neil and Jefferson.

Piper tried to spend her time with her and keep her eye on Alex the entire time she was inside from work. She asked Nicky to keep an eye on her while she was outside. There was no way she was going to go back to work in Electrical so they put her outside on lawn duty. Nicky didn't mind the assignment and she was glad to agree to keep an eye on Vause while outside. Alex got some books in and she was reading All the Light We Cannot See out loud to her. Alex didn't like how her voice sounded when she read out loud but she would do it for Piper. They would hide in the quiet of Piper's bunk and she'd read to her for about an hour each afternoon. Piper would prepare some hot tea or a prison cheesecake. Alex ate over half of it when she made it for her. She finished her last bite when she leaned over and kissed Piper.

It was so sweet and spontaneous that it was actually beautiful. It made her smile a goofy smile and get flushed all over her face. This amused Alex immensely. "You'd do anything to get out of reading to me but this book is getting good...so read on, Al." Piper teased her into continuing. Piper enjoyed her husky voice as she continued to read. The kiss made her feel giddy and light. It was stupid how juvenile it all was and later Alex commented on it.

"We're like fucking high schoolers," Alex said when she put up the book. She sat down beside Piper and took her hand.

"We are starting over really...so I guess that is normal," Piper responded. Alex nodded and held her hand for a longer time.

"I like this because it helps me not to focus on...or just be afraid," she admitted. Piper nodded and then told her how she was using her time off of work to scope out the guards. She told Alex she had it all worked out and promised to keep her safe.

"It's not your job to keep me safe," Alex began but Piper put her finger on her lips as she spoke. The touch made Alex go immediately silent.

Piper leaned in close to her ear, as the dorm was more active as everyone was getting back from the phone and commissary line. "Oh Al, I love you and that is by definition my job. I will keep you as safe by being alert and proactive. We are forewarned now and can see it coming," she whispered.

Alex pulled back and told her so cruelly, "Truthfully, we both know you can't keep me safe either way." Piper winced as her own words were thrown back at her. She felt a rise in panic and cursed herself for telling Alex what she was doing. She didn't need Alex to cooperate with her but it would make things much easier if she did.

Alex reached out and pushed her hair back, tucking it gently behind her ear, "I was so scared in Chicago when you went in to testify. I just knew you were in there telling them everything you knew about him. All I could think of was making myself a bigger target and hopefully he'd pick me...and I wouldn't be responsible for getting the woman I love killed. So, I completely understand how you feel. I was desperate for you to listen to me afterwards, I wrote you over and over, hoping you'd read just one and call me." Her words washed over Piper and she leaned over to rest her head on Alex's shoulder.

"I did call but I'm stubborn. I got my heart smashed to pieces and I realized as always, the only thing I have left in my heart...when everything else I used to distract me from the truth is gone...is Piper loves Alex," she whispered.

"That is like from a movie I swear...I'll think of the title," Nicky snarked as she stood by the door to their cube holding a bag of cheese puffs and a magazine. Piper got up from the bunk and moved to her desk. She had to wipe her face. There wasn't ever enough privacy for her liking. Alex started bugging Nicky about being a romantic moron and before long they were up for count.

Piper had napped during the day so she could stay awake longer but that night one of the new guards had the dorm. She didn't tell Alex because she hadn't responded well to Piper's efforts to keep her safe. It was a bit of paranoia. She remembered how they had joked about paranoia the destroy-a...and now it didn't seem so funny. His name was Price and he was a big guy. He looked at each girl as he counted and Piper noticed many of them automatically didn't like him. She was relieved somewhat by the fact that Donaldson was on duty with him. She knew enough to know that he had to have switched with someone else. Piper had figured it should have been Coates and Price on duty that night. Somehow, she felt better and thought perhaps she could doze some in the night Donaldson there. Piper dozed around three AM but woke up when she felt a presence in the cube. She saw a guard shine a light on the bunks and rest it on Alex's top bunk. She slept with her feet towards the door of the cube but he let his light go down there entire length of her body.

"Excuse me officer, is everything alright?" Piper asked. She felt Nicky jerk awake and heard some mumbling from the girls next to her.

"Keep it down inmate or you can start your day cleaning toilets," a gruff voice responded. She knew immediately that it wasn't Donaldson.

"My morning starts in a little under an hour and I'd like to get a bit more sleep," Red said in a clear loud voice. He turned on his heel and exited their cube. Piper was scared and sat up in her bunk. "Calm down blondie...he won't come back tonight. Some of them are perverts...they like to watch us sleep. He was caught so he will stay away for a few shifts." Red said in a way that almost had Piper believing that was all he wanted.

Alex had slept through the entire exchange and said nothing about it the next morning. Piper on the other hand could think of little else. She ate her breakfast fast and then watched for him to check out of his shift. He basically worked 7 to 7 four nights a week. They rotated from yard and perimeter duty to night time on each dorm. She watched him leave but by the time she got to the door by the chapel that overlooks part of the employee parking, he had already pulled out of the prison.

Piper went back to her bunk and was perturbed to find the other sketchy guard on duty. This time he was with one of the newer guards and pretty much spent his time, going in and out of the prisoner bunks. He never searched for contraband really, just read their book titles and personal stuff.

"May I help you officer?"

He looked over at her then around the cube. "Nope, just looking around...one of your bunkmates is the head cook...two gardeners and you work at the factory job." Piper nodded. All of that was known but she wasn't sure what he was getting at by asking her to confirm.

"You've named our job assignments accurately," she responded. Piper made herself stay seated at her small desk area. She turned her body towards him but kept her hands flat on her legs.

"Is a very interesting group...and you're all old prisoners...I mean before they added all the new ones and added the bunk beds. You're a prison family group," he probed.

"We are inmates. May I ask why you are so fascinated by my bunkmates?" Piper probed further. He just shrugged and started to whistle. He moved on and up to the officer bubble. She knew the other one would walk the length of the corridor, check the bathrooms and basically do his rounds now. Piper sat at her desk and then took out some shoe strings and started to measure a few things. She made notes in her book and placed one of Alex's drawing presents under her pillow. She felt the edge of the pillow and thought about what she would have to do to make sure her love was safe.

Alex and Nicky ate a picnic lunch. She envied them because lunch was this awful spaghetti that no amount of spice packet could improve. Piper had saved up some stuff from the commissary and after stealing some butter pats from the cafe, she was going to try and make a Mexican dish with corn chips and processed cheese. Maritza told her the recipe for it while she cleaned up. Red ran her out of the kitchen when she saw her distracting her worker. It was one of the days that she didn't have to drive and Piper didn't want to get her in trouble. It was like everyone knew those were her favorite days and maybe she would smile and be happy. She'd have to drive the van that afternoon, bringing in new prisoners or transferring people back from the SHU. Maureen, Suzanne's girlfriend is coming back from there. She got caught with one of the forbidden erotica books stuffed in her pants. Caputo sent her to the SHU for a few days and Suzanne had nearly been sent to psyche. Taystee had interfered and kept her out of trouble.

Alex came in and went straight to her bunk to read and nap. Piper steered Nicky away to talk to her in the bathroom. "I need your help with something...a...just in case kind of thing," Piper began. She explained to her that someone may be after Alex. She knew the background and though she cracked more than a few jokes, she agreed to help her if they needed it to happen. When Alex went to wash up before dinner, Piper got Gina to go with her and keep an eye out and to do the appropriate measuring. She felt better that there was a plan in place. Piper went to the Rec room and attempted her meal. Suzanne actually helped her by having her add another paper plate because the plate got limp as they cooked it and the oil seeped into the paper. She was waiting impatiently for her girlfriend to return. Piper wished her the best as she took out her dinner. It smelled good so she covered it up and carried it back.

She laid out one of her jackets on the bed and made a little picnic. Alex came back from the shower with a smile on her face. Gina nodded as she passed and Piper made a mental note to get her some of her favorite candy. "I love the drawing...it's that fish on your neck, but in its habitat. Who did you get to draw it?" Piper smiled and told her it was one of a three part piece and she had to guess the artist. She did so in three tries. Daya was very talented.

" I showed her my neck and then told her about the dive. It...distracted her I think and that was a good thing. Anyway, she drew that afterwards," Piper grinned. Alex loved it and she could tell. They ate in silence, but shared a bottle of water together.

"I haven't got you anything-"

"No you gave me a wonderful mix tape for my non birthday and you're reading to me...plus you're giving me another chance. Trust me, I'm blessed," Piper answered. Alex seemed to really enjoy that answer. After she has eaten, Piper thought now it would be a good time to give her the information from her lawyer.

"I want you to add this person as a contact for you and to your visitor's list. She is my lawyer. You know the insurance policy I spoke about? Well...this individual would do that for us. So...please do this for me. She will not visit you unless she has to..." Piper gave her the paper and Alex looked at it for a long while.

"You've not contacted him have you?"

Piper took her by both of her hands and shook her head. "I have kept my promise baby. Just do this for me and I'll let it all drop." Alex agreed and she told Piper she'd do it the next day. Piper walked with her down to her counselor's office. She even waited and it didn't take too long. The new counselor was this old man named Jessup. He was a bit hard of hearing but seemed to be a nice enough guy. Piper felt so much better now. She had a plan and this time off of work was just what she needed to get it all worked out. She was scared...but not all the time. She felt like maybe she could do more than fly by the seat of her pants from one disaster to another. She found some blessing in the end of a sewing needle.

**thanks for the few reviews last chapter, I hope you enjoy the progression- please review Fae***