A/N…sorry for leaving you guys in the middle of the riot…I'll do better on updating because this story deserves better but I digress…on with it…also POV change.

You sit with your back to the wall, biting your lip to keep from screaming in frustration as sweat beads build on your forehead. Your eyes can do nothing but absorb the copious amounts of blood on your jumper….soaked into the arms your long sleeve thermal underneath….there may even be some on your boots. The grip on the screw never falters as you rock with anxiety, mind swirling….more sirens…more inmates race past. You were just going to have to find a way to reason with Boo, you didn't kill her plain and simple….now if you could just stay alive long enough to tell her was really your main concern. You glance at the opening of your cell….desperate to peek out…paralyzed with fear. You have to slow down your breathing….you drop your head down on your forearms and close your eyes….as it evens out, you make your decision and begin to crawl to the bars. That's when you see the Warden come in.

You see the angry set of his brow as Caputo barks out, "I'm not really sure what to say to you…ladies…I try to give you the benefit of the doubt and treat you with respect….unlike some of my CO's"….he made a pointed glance at Mendez….."I go to bat for you guys and this is how you repay me?" He ran his hand over his head and face in frustration. He had no idea yet how many causalities…

He slammed his fist against the plexi-glass of the guards' unit, you watch his face redden as he bellows, "48 hour lockdown- no showers, no food, no visitation…. If you wanna act like animals….I'll treat you like animals then…I strongly suggest that you ladies learn how to get along, whatever it is…fix it….or the next incident like this and we'll go on lockdown for a week!"

The guards stood straighter as he passed by….and looked as angry as hell at all of you….they'd be looking for any reason to write us up now…. you wished you could wipe the smirk off Mendez's face if only there were a dump-truck handy.

You go back inside and sit down again. Time to re-group and continue forward with the plan. You take the screw and begin to grind its' edges against the concrete floor, sliding it with your fingers forward and backward….over and over, applying more pressure until the grooves began to wear down. You think an hour has passed but you're not sure. You pull the screw up to your eyes for a closer inspection, grabbing your frames from the desk. It is smooth all the way around now.

You close your eyes thinking back to the floor plans for the cells. The layout had been simple, beds against the wall nothing in the cell but the toilet and the sink. The toilet was sealed into the floor and the sink was manufactured by Schweitzer company, it was bolted into the wall with two Allen screws 7/16th. Allen Schweitzer had never been a name of an enemy as Mendez had thought, it was your key out of this cell. As you bare your forearm, you measure the screw you've whittled down and place it on the black circle the size of the end of your pinkie that sat inside the tattoo of the scroll that held the name, it was perfect size.

You dare one more look around the bars of your cell….the quiet after the storm you suppose…all clear. Rushing back to the sink on the right side is a single hollow hole, you put metal to metal and your screw fits in precisely. You let a breath that you hadn't known you were holding and begin to turn clockwise quickly and the silver lug-nut pops out. It takes both hands and some considerable muscle, but you begin to edge the corner of the sink away from the cement wall and you dip your head inside….peering into the darkness ….a maze of metal sheets and wires…..it worked….you hear a shuffle of footsteps and your heart drops. You quickly shove the sink back to its original position of three inches to the right just as Taystee pops in your cell.

She grins at you, but you're wary…."Hey, snowflake, why you hiding now?", as she sees you crouched down by the sink.

"Nah, just tired of the cot…" No idea how to explain what you're doing…..as you sit down on the floor, head back against the wall…..your adrenaline is still pumping…

She approaches you, she reaches out to fist bump you….."Look, I misjudged you….ok….You did real good out there"…she eyes the blood on your jumper with respect rather than the disgust you know that you can never wash off.….Taystee grabs your hand and you feel the glory of the smooth capsules slide into your palm. "We're all good…me and you….and don't worry about Vee, word travels fast…first the fistfight and now a good showing in the riot will earn you some rep around here."

She claps you on the back . "Fabulous", you whisper as you nod in relief not trusting yourself to say much. Taystee turns without another word creeps to the bars, peeking out and disappears.

You hid the 24 pills in a sock under your mattress and slide two pills down with a handful of water from the sink. You eye the Allen screw tucked inside a random book on your desk that you'd borrowed from the library….it's still safe….you worried about the next cell check….exactly fifteen minutes passed before Guard O'Neil appears at your cell.

"Vause, A wing…. Infirmary"

You don't know how you manage to keep your face blank as you realize that this is the moment that could very well end any and all hope of getting out here…. You don't know how many seconds pass before you know that you have to get up, so you do…

Dragging your heels for any more seconds for the pills to dissolve into the hydrochloric acid in your stomach…out the pyloris to be pushed through the duodenum, into your intestines ,and absorbed into your bloodstream setting off hormonal changes within the blood transport system so that the sample of blood that the doctor was about to draw would have a higher insulin level than normal….the opposite of what Piper had drawn two days before.

Now that you thought the entire process out ….as your steps fell to the doom that waited past the infirmary doors…you realized the chances were slim…probably need thirty minutes or more.

You had never wanted to not see Piper since you had laid eyes on her picture so many months ago….drawn to her softness…her eyes…the curve of her mouth…and it was even harder in person to be so close to her and know that every single minute is a lie…..a lie….and when you and Red were on the other side of those Prison walls….she would know and she would hate you.

Hate you for every time you used your good looks and charm to make her trust you….to make her feel for you….feel something….pity…curious…to care…she needed to trust you and you needed to lie to her, and you couldn't hate yourself for that. You will not let anyone or anything get in the way of the mission. You steeled your jaw as he rapped on the small glass pane of her office door.

Another nurse unlocks it and you're left staring at her file cabinet again while she is getting supplies. You rake your eyes down her profile, despite the uselessness of it, and draw in the light that shines off her blonde locks that frame her chin…you wonder what she'd do if you tucked it back behind her ear for her…..nonsense thoughts….

"Oh my God, Alex…", Piper rushes at you grabbing your arms pulling your sleeves up….you realize she thinks that blood is yours…not seeing any cuts she raises the hem of your jumper….her eyes linger on the exposed flesh of your abdomen for maybe ten seconds…your pulse is racing and her expression is unreadable…

"No…don't worry…its not mine….the riot"…..you fumble you can't even say the words…so you don't ….you fall silent.

"Well, it's my job to worry about the health of all my patients", she huffs as you pull your shirt away briskly….though you know you thought you saw a flash of something more than a professional concern in her eyes ...and just as quickly she had dropped her bare hands from your skin and spun around on her stool, putting on her blue exam gloves and grabs a glucose kit.

She won't meet your eyes as she sometimes does ,as she grabs your index finger and gives it a quick poke with a white cylinder pen….blood drops form quickly, she dabs it with a single white strip of paper.

"How long does this take", you ask, grateful that she has the gloves on now so she can't feel your palms sweat with anxiety

She mumbles," Oh it used to take hours but…"…She continues to hold your hand as she reaches over you for another machine lying on the silver tray attached to your exam chair….her high ponytail brushes along your face…..the scent of vanilla burns its way into your brain….why oh why did she have to smell good too….

"Now all I have to do is put this strip in and we'll know in minutes." Her grin was so nonchalant that you almost smile back except she had no idea the severity of the consequences of the next 120 seconds were to the next twenty years of your life.

She puts the reader down as it processes and you can't see the screen….

Your heart pounds in your teeth and you think you might throw up ...but you keep your face blank ….as sweat starts to bead on your forehead again. You wipe it away quickly with a cocky smirk….45 seconds down….

"So, as I'm sure you know this, but the average glucose level for a non-diabetic person is about 100 milligrams per deciliter so if we see a number like that pop up….then we'll know you'll been misdiagnosed."

You wring your hands slightly as suddenly you don't know what to do with them and you wipe them nervously on your pants….wipe your forehead again….stare at the grate….your paper swans hopefully still where they needed to be to mark the spot, just like an X marks the treasure on a pirate map….one minute and counting….

Her voice breaks through your mania, "You seem nervous."

"Huh….no, do I? ...You question with your least defensive tone

Her blue eyes are like lasers sweeping over you….assessing you….digging at you….you sweat more beneath your jumper….damn Taystee for waiting for so long to give you the damn pills….

"You're sweating", her voice was firm…..minute and thirty seconds….

You can't think of any logical thing to say…."The needles…..you clear your throat….I still never really liked them is all…"

She eyes you warily…."Somehow with the lifelong diabetes and those detailed sleeves….I highly doubt that's the truth…."

You don't even argue back…you just hang your head…two minutes…. and the single beep from the machine is like a bullet in your brain.

You don't even look up as she reads the machine like a judge reading a death sentence….the words tumble out her mouth and you can't barely make them out over the rushing in your ears…..

"Bad news….I'm afraid.."

Did she mean for her, or for you, or what was bad news to her….which one….just say it…..say the number you wanted to shout out loud... but that would be a cause for more concern than she already had…..she turned the machine towards you…

"200 milligrams per deciliter….you are definitely a diabetic", her voice washes over you.

You're glad that hadn't raised your head, as your eyes begin to water with joy…you squeeze them shut and blink hard to meet her eyes with a glee that rivaled a lottery win….Piper could do nothing but smile back.

You live another day...Red lives another day, but one day closer to execution... or now you had your cell key and the pills were the two of you one day closer to escape?

"So we're done for today?", you ask as casually as the frog in your throat will allow

"Yep, just need an arm to stick a needle in come Wednesday", she eyes you again as you leave, nearly skipping out the door.

Piper watches you as go down the hall, mumbling again….the charge nurse is looking at her funny.

"What's a matter now?"

"Something is up with Vause"

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, when I gave her the blood test results for diabetes check...there was this look...like relief...it was weird."

"Probably just shook up from the riot is all..." She smiled at Piper leaving her still sifting through your chart...unfortunately when or if she ever figured you out...you'd be long gone.