Chapter Eighteen
Cal calmed Piper down and told her he'd tell her everything, "Okay, so I was with you at the hospital. Danny had just arrived and he was checking everything over. He just realized you were septic and he was trying to arrange for you to be moved to his hospital," Cal explained. Piper figured it had been at least a week and a half that she'd be gone from Litchfield at that point.
"What happened?"
Cal sat on her bed and held her hand. Piper didn't like that he did this because it made her stomach flip with dread. "Well, Neri wasn't feeling well. It seems she has some high blood pressure issues and the pregnancy is going to be a bit tougher than we had originally thought," he shared. She felt like a piece of shit for only asking about Alex and not even inquiring about Neri and the baby.
"I'm sorry Cal, is everything okay?" she tried to show she was sorry in the way she asked. He looked at her and smiled.
"Yes, just she is bed ridden when her pressure is up and I guess worrying about you had set her off that day so she had to stay home. She told me that around eleven that morning there was that authoritative knock on the door. You know the one," he demonstrated with his fist in the air and Piper had to smile. She could tell that pleased him because his face lit up.
"It was the Feds and they had a special someone in tow...cuffed like a...how was it that Neri put it...oh like a homicidal maniac rather than a drug importer," he offered. Piper's heart sped up at the mention of Alex. She didn't like that Alex was in cuffs but she knew from firsthand experience that prisoners are transported that way. "She let them in because they had a warrant-which she checked thoroughly before she let them step on foot inside. They told her that Alex was there to identify the item if they found it. Her lawyer was with her and Neri got the idea that they weren't pleased she was there...like maybe she had insisted on going to our apartment or she wouldn't cooperate."
Piper thought about this and knew it was Alex desperately trying to find out what happened to her. She was hoping to speak to a family member and get information on Piper's condition. She remembered being worried about Alex when she found out that Kubra got out of his charges after Chicago and when she was recouping from Aydin's attack. She knew Alex must have been going out of her mind with worry and devised this provision to find out what she had to know.
"My clever, clever girl," Piper said softly.
Cal nodded. " Yeah, Neri said she was instructed not to speak to the occupents of the apartment but Alex begged her to tell her how you were. Neri told her everything and then showed them where we put your stuff. She was so upset that she started to cry. Neri walked over and wiped her tears. She said Alex thanked her and told her to tell you that..what was it..oh "She hearts you". Neri tried to give her a hug but the Marshal wouldn't allow it. They brought out four different stuffed animals and Alex picked the-"
"Stuffed pink bear with the Eiffel Tower and I heart Paris on its T-shirt," Piper finished for her. Cal smiled and nodded. She started to cry. The relief she felt was overwhelming. Alex did it. She read the letter and did what she was supposed to do and go to the Feds.
"Okay tell me what was in that bear? I did what you asked on the phone and brought all your stuff from storage and put it in our apartment. I even made sure the box with the stuffed animals were in the closet...so explain what was so important about that one?" Cal asked.
Piper started to tell him but her doctor came in and told him that he had to leave. She told him they'd talk later and her doctor started her exam. Piper had lost some weight and they were weaning her off of the tubes. Her incisions were healing nicely though.
"You have a long way to go Ms. Chapman and will remain in intensive care until you're able to get up and go to the bathroom for yourself. You will recover completely though and as far as we can tell, your bowel function will be normal. Also, you have no damaged to your stomach or reproductive system. Dr. Chapman was very worried about that. He said you wanted children but didn't have any yet. You put your mind to rest about that, alright?" she said. Piper hadn't even thought about it. Her mind had been focused on Alex and Alex alone.
"Thank you, Doctor. Um...how long will my recovery take?"
She didn't seem to want to give Piper anything definite but she did get her to say it would be months, not weeks. "You were one very sick woman, Ms. Chapman. It will take your body a long while to heal from the original trauma of the stabbing, the trauma of two surgeries and the perforated bowel. I'll be by in the morning and maybe by the end of the day tomorrow, we can start to take you off of the meds that keep you so sleepy all the time," she offered as a way to try and cheer her up after giving her the answer that Piper didn't want. Before she left she had the nurse add some meds and Piper fell off to sleep almost immediately.
While she was in ICU, she only saw her Mom, Dad and brothers. Piper spent most of her time sleeping. Her dad didn't talk much when he sat with her and he was becoming her favorite visitor. He would read to her or just hold her hand. Piper would struggle to stay awake to try and talk to him but he'd smooth her hair back and she'd fall right off to sleep. She thought about Alex all the time. She wondered if Cal had more to say about it, but they never really got time alone to talk about it. She made a point to ask him about Neri and he'd light up telling her what strange and new thing was happening to her body. Piper couldn't help but feel a tug at her own heart. She recalled how much she desperately wanted to be pregnant before she went to prison. What was she thinking? She'd seen her fellow prisoners suffer through living without their child. She would have given birth in handcuffs. She couldn't help but think about Larry and wonder if she'd taken their child away from her once she was on the inside with Alex.
It was speculation but sometimes daydreaming about what could have been was the only thing that kept her from going out of her mind with worry. After a few weeks, she was moved to a private room. She was able to get up with assistance and walk to the bathroom. It felt wonderful.
"I'll give you some privacy," the nurse said. Piper was already peeing and had to laugh.
"Um, not necessary...I've gotten used to no privacy," she admitted. It was a bit embarrassing to have to have assistance wiping at first. She was in the room for two days when she got her first non-family visitors. It was Polly and Finn. Piper's mom entertained him outside while Polly went in to see if Piper was receptive to visitors. Piper darted her eyes to the door then remembered again that there were no guards. She sat up in her bed some and then remembered she could raise it. Polly stood by the door as Piper fiddled with the controls. Piper first hit the wrong button and her feet shot up. It hurt her but she didn't show it on her face. Her heart was racing and she realized she wasn't ready for Polly to see her this weak.
"Didn't you graduate from Smith? They say you got to be at least 10% smarter than the device you're trying to operate," Polly said in her usual snarky voice. Piper stopped and looked back at her.
"New bed...the one in ICU had the controls on the TV thingy...and Cal had that so I have to use the bed ones," Piper explained. Polly blanched when she realized Piper had just got out of ICU. She came over and helped her, Piper let her raise her up as high as she was when she tried to eat her oatmeal this morning. It wasn't near as bad as Litchfield's and the nurse said she could have fruit in it soon. Piper tried to think about those small things because the enormity of her health status mixed with her grief of missing Alex would make her feel even worse than she did.
She looked over at Polly and said honestly, " I don't think I can handle seeing you right now. I'm-"
"Don't, please don't...I miss you and I love you and I'm sorry. Piper, please...you almost died and I can't fucking take it. Please, I brought my son...I want you to meet him, but I left him with your mother outside in the germ riddled hallway- to make sure it was okay with you," Polly rambled.
Piper frowned. That wasn't fair. " Why didn't you just bring Larry and have him watch Finn? Low blow by the way, leaving Finn with my mom to tempt me to want to rescue him."
"He sees her once or twice a month. She eats lunch with me and I pick up Finn so they can visit. It's the only way I get news about you," Polly explained. Piper winced. She had shut her out even after she called the parole officer for her. She used Polly to do her dirty work. She didn't know how to talk to her after it. She was busy falling back in love with Alex, starting her criminal enterprise and then fighting for Alex's life. All of this, Polly couldn't understand.
"I'm sorry I didn't call you. I'm sorry I didn't answer your letter either. I heard things for Cal, he kept me up to date on how you got Larry all motivated and active. I'm sure you're a perfect couple," Piper felt her stomach turn saying it. She loved Larry. Piper had truly loved the man. She loved him in a different way than she loved Alex. It was real though. It had meant the world to her for the longest time. He helped Piper rebuild her life after her brush with the drug ring, he taught her that she could love someone else again after Alex.
Polly winced. "We're a couple, no one is perfect. You know the both of us, so you know we are flawed. He's a good step dad and partner. You're my best friend though and there is the gaping hole inside of me-"
"Well you did have a kid. I'm sure-"
"Piper! Come on, don't do that...please, we didn't plan on fucking you over we just fell in love. It was a mess for both of us as well. You told me you'd give me a chance if I did that-"
Piper held up her hand and put her other hand to her chest. Her heart squeezed when she thought of how Alex looked when she walked into the cafeteria. She remembered being so relieved to see her again and her next thought was " what have I done to the woman I love?"
"Do you need a nurse?" Polly asked leaning in to touch Piper's shoulder and she took her hand looking into her eyes. Piper jumped at the physical contact. Nurses touched her, maybe her immediate family but others did not. She hadn't hugged Polly in months.
"No...no...I don't need a nurse," she whispered. Polly didn't seem to want to let go of Piper's hand. She relaxed her grip and just let her hold it. "I know I told you I'd give you a chance and I was wrong to do it. I nearly got her killed. I have to live with that. I didn't want to talk to you afterwards because I didn't want to have to tell anyone what I did. You see, my dear Polly, you're my oldest friend and I will always love you. I am having a hard time forgiving you still and I'm also a vindictive bitch. It comes out of me and I've done some shit that would make your skin crawl. I don't know if you know the "me" I am now or not. Right now you see, I'm a little fucked up...more so than usual. I need time," Piper explained in a calm voice. She thought about Red and how she always told her to get to the point.
Polly looked her in the eye. " I want to get to know the new you...and I want you to be reminded that I know the old you as well. You had to do what you had to do to survive prison. Now...once you're feeling better, I'll help you integrate back into the life you had before- or a new one if you let me." Piper could tell she wanted to ask her about Alex. She knew that Polly wanted to know what was going on with her relationship. Piper didn't want to tell.
"Let me meet your son in person please, but not too long...they'll be by to give me my meds and well, I'm not too active after that," Piper admitted. Polly squeezed her hand and went out to get her son. Piper pushed her hair back and moaned that his first glimpse of her would be from the hospital bed.
He was open and sweet. She started to smile as soon as she saw him. He was dressed in a little sweater, brown pants with a bulge in the back from his diaper. He was playing with a plastic Elsa doll.
"He loves it. Pete's mom gave him a stuffed one...Pete says he just liked her blonde hair," Polly explained. Piper talked with him some while he sat on the bed beside her. He was so sweet. He pointed to her IV in her arm and seemed to know Piper was hurt. He even snuggled her some. He wasn't quite a year old yet and Piper could tell he had all of her friend's best qualities. Polly took him after about ten minutes and left promising to visit her again. Piper wasn't sure how she felt about it but nodded.
Her mother came in afterwards and asked Piper how it went. "Alright, but perhaps I could have some heads up next time Mom. I'm not really strong enough for that," Piper said as she sunk back in her bed. She expected her mother to complain and tell Piper she wasn't her social secretary. She just nodded though and used the controls to expertly move Piper back to a prone position. Piper was able to sleep on her side some now and she helped her move into position. Piper took her mom's hand and kissed it before she pulled away. She pressed her hand to her cheek and closed her eyes. Piper wanted to be okay with touch. She wanted to be back to some semblance of herself. She had to find the reserves to heal and move on with her life...and she had to do that without Alex. Piper was scared.
"It's okay, baby. I'm sorry I let her in now, I should have told her to come back another day. You rest now...it's all going to be fine Piper. You can do this," her mom murmured as she leaned over Piper and kissed her free cheek. Piper started to cry and her a long time her mom just stayed there stroking her hair until she fell off to sleep.
A family gets to know one another on a whole new intimate level when they are caring for a sick member. Her mother took the brunt of it but her father did his time as well. They insisted on being with Piper all the time. It was odd but so comforting. She wasn't used to sleeping alone, except when she was in the SHU. She missed the sound of other people breathing. Piper woke in the night many times when they stopped giving her sleeping aide. She would jerk awake and have moments of not knowing where she was...sometimes she would scream.
"ALEX!" Piper shot up in the bed after a vivid dream where Aydin strangled Alex and hung her up like Trisha was in the closet. Her heart was racing so that she didn't feel the pain from her incision site until after she had huddles her legs up in the bed.
"It's okay Piper, you're in the hospital. It's okay and Alex is okay...easy baby girl, just lie back for Daddy," her father said. He was suddenly by her bed and as Piper's mind tried to grapple with the reality that her dad was beside her bed.
"Daddy, don't, they'll catch you go...run, you can't be here," Piper mumbled.
"You're in the hospital Piper. You're no longer in prison. You're free baby...shhh now, listen to the monitors...hear the nurses outside," he calmly led her through getting in touch with her surroundings. Piper felt a flush of embarrassment.
She shuffled and stretched out her legs. Piper whimpered in pain and her Dad helped to ease her over. She was healing but sudden movements hurt and tore at her incision. "I had a dream, I'm sorry if I woke you." Her father seemed relieved she realized where she was and didn't think he was in her dorm.
"It's the second time tonight, sweety. You just didn't wake up fully the first time. It's okay Piper. It's all normal and part of the healing process. I'm here," he said to her in a comforting way. Her father wasn't that kind and patient of a man. Piper had a feeling that her brother Danny had made her parents talk with a psychologist. He told her the day before that he was going to refer one to her. She wasn't sure she wanted to talk to anyone but if she was helping her parents deal with the mess of a daughter they got back from Litchfield, she was thankful. Piper fell back to sleep and hoped she wouldn't wake again.
Over the next week Piper got stronger and slept more each night. She was learning to wake and not cry out. It took all three children to convince her parents that she could sleep all night by herself in her room.
"She is going to have to learn these skills. She'll be getting out as soon as her PT progresses to her doctor's liking," Danny explained and her parents agreed. Piper had a feeling it wasn't her doctor that was going to have final say. Danny wanted her to be recovered enough to live independently as possible. He also wanted Piper to benefit from the therapist that she saw once a day. Danny wanted to treat as much of her as he could and the hospital staff wanted to please him. Piper learned that much of her care was given freely by the hospital and the rest of her bills were being paid by her grandmother's estate. Her father promised to explain more about that once she was out of the hospital. There seemed to be some tension every time Piper's release date was brought up. She could tell that Cal was arguing with her parents over something and Danny was trying to stay neutral.
The first night alone was hard but at the same time, Piper felt free to cry about Alex. It was such a relief to just sob in her bed. She had done it so many night at Litchfield it felt good to do it again. She got her laptop and a new cell phone a few days passed. She kept scouring for information about Kubra. There was nothing she could find about his indictment. Piper knew the court systems take a long time. She also knew that Alex would be in protective custody someplace away from where he could get her. It was hard not knowing where she was and Piper had to laugh at the irony of it all. Had she not been so selfish, Alex would have ran off and lived pretty much the same way she is living now.
Piper was coming back from PT using her rolling walker like a champ when she heard her brother arguing with the rest of the family. " She can decide for herself once you tell her the whole story. Legally, you know you can't keep shielding her from it. Grandmother's will was very clear," he barked.
"Hey, I don't care if the whole floor knows my business, but I'm pretty sure Dad doesn't want that," Piper said as she smiled at the nurse but basically shut the door in her face. She turned to her family and waited for someone to explain.
It was Danny that spoke first. "Grandmother left you a sizeable fortune, her house in Connecticut and the Soho apartment she kept in the city. You pretty much got everything. However, she added a stipulation, once you were arrested that it would be held in trust by Dad until you were clear from all Legal issues with the State or Federal government. Your attack and early release, changed the plans the lawyers made and we were just arguing over when to tell you," he told her in an even tone. Piper stood there, holding on to her walker and started to laugh.
"What is so funny dear?" her mother asked in a tone that told her that she didn't think Piper's laughter was appropriate at that moment. Piper wiped her eyes. She was tired after her physical therapy but she was glad to be standing on her own two feet when she learned of her inheritance...and was hit with the intense relief.
"I'm sorry, I'm just..happy. I thought no one wanted me to live with them and you were fighting over where I should go," Piper explained.
"Aww damn Pipes, we all would like you to stay...well maybe not Danny but you know his-"
" Enough Cal, don't start in on your brother's family," their dad corrected him and Cal threw up his hands in disgust. He could say nothing right. It was a familiar gesture and Piper couldn't help but smile as she eased herself back in bed.
"You will be coming home with us of course," her father continued. He spoke as if the matter was settled.
"We'll see Daddy. I'm glad you all want me. I'm very blessed. Many of the girls I was incarcerated with didn't have a home to go home to...you think about home a lot in prison. My home was with Larry and when it wasn't...I got a little lost. Maybe, this inheritance just means it is time for me to make my own home. Maybe you could bring by the paperwork tomorrow and explain it all to me, Dad." He seemed to like the idea of helping her. They then started to argue about where they were going to get take out for dinner. Piper leaned back and watched them negotiate knowing full well they'd end up going with whatever Mom wanted. It was good to have family and she took a moment to be thankful for her many blessings before she chimed in asking for Chinese.
*** I hope this longer chapter was pleasing...lots happening to Piper. Not too many more chapters left in NGU. I know my pace has been slower on this story and I appreciate all my readers that stick with me. Please review, Peace-Fae***