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Lockdown
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'Hey, Chapman.'

After staring at her sandwich for the past half an hour, Piper wasn't sure she could stomach it. Over two hours ago she had been stuck in the boiler room with Nicky, and if they hadn't been rescued, it was unlikely the two would have survived. It was still snowing, and there wasn't a doubt in Piper's mind that the boiler room was covered in snow once again. The shock, added to chill of the prison, ruined Piper's appetite completely. Plus, knowing that Alex was amongst the few who rescued them didn't help Piper's depressive state at all. She wasn't sure why exactly. But it bothered her.

Nicky and Piper had been granted temporary privacy. The kitchen was abandoned, and until the two had recovered and were warmed up again, they were to stay in there. Frankly, Nicky was fine. She had endured worse situations, but Piper wasn't pale, wide eyed, and tense. She wasn't entirely sure what had happened, and if it was really as severe as she thought. It certainly seemed to be. Even Nicky was accepting their inevitable fate a few hours before Alex whammed herself into the door.

Slowly, she levelled her gaze with the other woman. Nicky was grinning crookedly, and at first Piper thought she was amused with her. If she was mocking her slow recovery. Piper frowned when Nicky held up her slice of sandwich. 'Wanna play a game? First person to eat their meals wins.'

Piper inhaled. 'I'm not hungry.'

'Fine.' Nicky stuffed the sandwich into her mouth, 'Guess I automatically win.'

The blonde stared at her for a moment, then suddenly snapped into action. Piper snatched her sandwich off the plate and shoved the bread between her lips, glancing at Nicky every now and again to see how she was progressing. Frantically, Piper took the glass of water, and attempted to use the liquid as a way of downing the sandwich faster. Instead, it only made her choke, and a few bread crumbs went flying in Nicky's direction. Nicky didn't notice. Somehow, she managed to swallow her first slice and was now onto her second.

So engrossed in their competition, they didn't hear the approaching footsteps. Lorna Morello had recently returned from SHU due to the fatal weather outside. The COs had agreed that keeping the majority of inmates together was a good way of maintaining order. With everyone in sight, it would make life a lot easier. Nicky and Lorna had already exchanged pleasantries, until Nicky was dragged into the kitchen with a stunned Piper at her heel. Happy to see her two friends acting like idiots again, Lorna grabbed a seat beside Piper and watched the two women try and engorge their meals.

It was disgusting.

'Don't make yourselves sick,' she warned, a tad concerned the blonde would start regurgitating. Piper was wincing by now, and Nicky had resorted to pushing the ball of dough inside her mouth with her fingers.

Piper made the mistake of looking up. To her horror, she saw Alex leaning against the doorframe, watching her with raised brows. Piper slowed down her chewing, which was difficult, considering her mouth was so full. Nicky realised the problem and laughed, causing her to choke. Annoyed Alex was observing her, Piper chewed harder on her sandwich, glaring at the table. This could not be more humiliating. Apparently, Lorna was pretty entertained by her pain as well, and sat there grinning for a good three minutes until Piper swallowed the whole damn thing.

Instantly she shot to her feet, fists raised, 'I win!'

Nicky shook her head, pointing towards a small slice of sandwich. She had too much food in her mouth to speak, but Piper quickly caught the message. Before she managed to finish her meal, Nicky was already done. She clapped her hands in victory, bread crumbs around her lips, 'Eat shit, Chapman.'

Groaning, Piper forced the remaining piece down her throat, gasped and took her glass of water. Lorna patted her shoulder in sympathy, 'You were close, Chapman. Mind, Nichols could eat a whale in less than five minutes, so you did a pretty good job.'

'Yeah, I eat a lot, but not that much,' Nicky replied.

'I beg to differ,' Alex spoke from behind.

Nicky whirled around to look at her. 'If it isn't our Prince Charming. I swear, Chapman was gushing over you by the time we got back.' She was aware of Piper stiffening, and an odd noise came from her. 'To be honest, I was nearly head over heels for you myself. Not so smooth on the entrance, though, man. Sorry about your glasses.'

'A tragic loss,' Alex said.

'How many of me are there?'

'Six?'

Nicky laughed. 'I'd let you borrow mine if I had any.'

Wisely, Piper was quiet. She kept her head low, and pretended Alex wasn't in the room. Despite their previous conversation over the phone, things were still awkward between them. She needed to tell Alex the truth sooner or later, but with Alex looking at her as if she'd crawled out of the gutter, Piper couldn't even look her in the eye. She would get back at Nicky about the gushing issue. Piper hadn't actually said anything about Alex since their return. She avoided her altogether.

Fiddling with her empty plate, Piper heard Lorna speak next. 'They're saying all the phone lines are out. So I don't think you'll be able to contact anyone from the outside for a prescription. You going to be okay with seeing double?'

'Considering we have to rely on torch and candlelight as well, it is gonna be tricky.' Alex glanced at the blurry yellow light in the centre of Nicky and Piper's table. It was obviously a torch, but from where Alex was standing, it might as well be a glowing orb.

'If we find a microscope lens, we could figure something out,' Lorna suggested.

Nicky gave her a look. 'Oh, yeah, that's gonna do it. Could have Vause sniffing around holding a microscope to her eye everywhere she goes. Ha, you'll look like some shitty detective. Chapman, here, can be your shitty sidekick.' She laughed at her own joke, and Lorna grinned. Just to push it, Nicky lowered her voice in an attempt to sound like Alex, 'Oi, Chapman, when I'm done inspecting this murder mystery, maybe we could go back to my place, and inspect you next?'

Piper blushed so hard she was surprised her face didn't catch fire. Lorna and Nicky were in hysterics, and Alex just stood there, rolling her eyes. 'It's wonderful how you can still make jokes, despite nearly dying a couple of hours ago.'

'I would have been fine,' Nicky said, smirking. 'Chapman was good company. I wouldn't have minded dying in her arms –– it was cosy business.'

The only person who found Nicky's comment amusing was Lorna, but, out of respect, she didn't laugh. Instead, the brunette glanced between Piper and Alex, and an uncomfortable silence ensued. Piper was still watching the table, whereas Alex's smile had disappeared completely. If she glared any harder at the blonde, she would have shot lasers into her head. Nicky realised her mistake, but that didn't wipe the smirk off her face. She knew she had made Alex jealous.

As much as she liked her, Nicky couldn't resist the temptation to cause more drama. It was too damn good. 'We got very close, me and Chapman. Spoke about a lot of shit we'd been bottling up these past few days. Despite the fact we could have died and all, I kinda enjoyed it.' She was glad when Piper gingerly looked at her. 'Ain't that right, Blondie?'

To Nicky's surprise, Piper responded at once. 'Right. I wasn't expecting you to be such a good cuddler.'

Oh. Oh. It was going to be like that. The corner of Nicky's lips twitched upwards. 'I'm good at other things too, kid.' There was a squeak of Alex's shoes turning on the polished floor, and, afterwards, her footsteps fading away. As soon as she was gone, Nicky laughed, 'Oh, my God, Chapman. You've really dug yourself a hole now.' She flicked her eyes to Lorna who wasn't smiling anymore. There was a mixture of concern and confusion in her expression as she studied Piper's relatively guilty face.

In a way, Piper had wanted Alex to react. She wanted to see her envious, mad at her for reminding Alex she wasn't there when Piper was in trouble. Without realising, Piper had wanted to hurt Alex. Hurt her even more for fucking her around in Chicago. Damn it. Piper pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned. Right now, she couldn't handle drama with Alex. There was a lot going on already.

Nicky's smile dropped. She trailed her finger over the rim of her dish. 'Maybe you should just talk to her, man.'

Maybe she should. Piper glanced away. The wind was thunderous outside, scary. Lorna broke the silence, 'The weather's gonna get worse. People are sayin' there's already been a few deaths, it's so cold. People trapped inside their houses. It's getting really bad out there and if we stay in here any longer, we're probably not gonna last either. I don't think it's ever been this bad before.'

The mood had darkened, it was heavier. Nicky wasn't smiling at all now. She looked at Lorna and tried to sound reassuring, 'Weather usually fucks around. It'll be over soon. And if it does get severe, then we'll be transported elsewhere.' A pause. 'If the roads are clear enough for that sort of thing.' She glanced at Piper. 'Hey, man, don't look so glum. You're freaking me out.'

Piper didn't believe Nicky. Before, when they were trapped in the boiler room, she would have done. Just for the sake of surviving. Now, though, Piper was able to see things more clearly. The weather was fatal. The snowflakes were more like sharp glass, or large balls of white powder. Every second, the snow was rising, and if no one came along sooner to help the prisoners out, they may be stuck here.

She had a horrible feeling that no one would help them. They were prisoners. People would forget about their existence. Everyone stuck in this grotty building was scum to society. No one thought about them, no one cared about them. They had been kicked out, unwanted. They had all committed crimes which made their lives disposable. If they died, it didn't matter. They were waste.

That shook her. Because Piper never considered herself as waste, especially before coming here. Before Alex, even. She was a successful woman, had studied english literature for a degree, and would have married the love of her life if Alex didn't name her in court. If Alex didn't drag her to prison, she would be okay. She would still be with Larry, and Larry would still be with her, and they wouldn't be trapped in some building. They would have fled before the snow got worse.

Yet Larry was just some guy she once knew. He had cheated on her with her best friend, Polly, and that was disgusting and unforgivable. Piper couldn't look either of them in the eye. She felt betrayed, hurt and abandoned. Everyone was like a ghost; a remnant of the past. Irrelevant pieces of memory she didn't want to remember. No one –– not even her family –– seemed to matter much anymore. Everyone was distant, unrecognisable, figures behind a veil she couldn't wipe away.

The only people she considered were the scum trapped in prison with her. She cared about Nicky, Lorna, Red –– who hadn't returned from hospital yet –– and others she didn't even converse with much, like Taystee, Poussey and even Crazy Eyes. Well, not so much Crazy Eyes, but Piper was glad they had managed to form a sort of truce. Heck, the bizarre relationship she had with Crazy Eyes was far more eventful than what she now had with Larry. Everything was such a mess. Prison life had destroyed everything she held dear, everything good for her.

Piper didn't know if she was changing, or if she was beginning to find herself in this hell hole. Whatever the case, she didn't feel steady. She didn't know who she was anymore, and she didn't know what she wanted either. She didn't know if she wanted her family to come get her out, if she wanted Larry to dump Polly and go back to her. Or, if she just wanted Polly back. Just wanted her best friend back who cared about her properly. Fuck Larry. Fuck Larry for the shit he'd caused.

Really, though, it wasn't Larry she should be scowling at. Or Polly. Or her family. Alex Vause was the trigger. The catalyst. She had thrown the stone into the pond, and let the ripples spread –– she caused the damage, and turned away, allowing the effects, the repercussions, to affect Piper and only Piper. And yet, Piper couldn't hate her. Because whenever she so much as looked at her, Piper couldn't breathe. She had brought Alex back here out of concern, out of fear. Piper was terrified Alex might get hurt or, worse, killed and so had her sent back to prison, the one place she knew she was safe.

It was unlikely Alex would understand, though.

Sitting around in the kitchen was getting dire. The three women abandoned the table, and Nicky took the torch with them as they returned to the ghetto. Inmates crowded the area, and there was so much loud chatter, the trio couldn't hear each other over the noise. Nicky approached one of the cubes where Poussey, Taystee and Black Cindy were sitting, and asked what was happening. Piper turned away –– she didn't want to hear. If anything, those three women knew better than anyone what was happening outside, and she wasn't prepared to find out.

She saw there was a small hustle of people around one of the cubes. As she came closer, she realised a radio had been placed in the centre. One of the inmates was trying to get a good enough signal to hear the news. It was a miracle she even found a radio that was working. Piper was sure every piece of technology was busted. When the inmate received something, she ordered the small crowd to be quiet. Instantly everyone went silent, and Piper leaned in closer to hear what was being said.

It was a man. A typical news reporter, with a smooth voice, '––more than five fire departments have been sent to various homes to help families escape. Several rescues have been unsuccessful, and it doesn't look as if the snow will be ceasing anytime soon, and there are threats of storms approaching as well. Apparently, the devastation in New York from two hurricanes has left half the population either wounded or dead.'

Then a woman spoke, 'Most roads have been blocked, and hundreds of civilians are trying to flee the city, stuck in jams and unable to proceed further. There has even been several fights breaking out in––' The radio crackled, and the voice was gone. Some of the inmates groaned in frustration, but Piper waited patiently for the technician to fix the problem. Soon, the radio came back to life. '––but, yes, it doesn't look as if the weather will be improving. In fact, there have been several claims that this is just the beginning of something much worse.'

'For the moment, nothing yet has been confirmed but be sure to––'

The radio went out again, but Piper had heard enough. She inhaled deeply, straightened and turned back around, only to nearly bump into Crazy Eyes. The woman wasn't looking at her. Her eyes were larger than usual, and Piper noticed a hint of fear. There was mostly excitement, though. The blonde considered walking away, but when she took a step forward, Crazy Eyes grabbed her by the wrist.

'Can't run far here, Dandelion.' Piper frowned. 'Can't run far.'

She yanked her wrist out of her grip, but Crazy Eyes was silent. She now stared at the radio the inmates were fussing over. Admittedly, Piper felt a tad concerned for the other woman, but knew better than to hang around. Heart in her mouth, she searched for a CO she could talk to. She needed to know what was happening, if they intended to keep the inmates stuck in here like rats, or actually help them. It was silly to wait around. What if they all got snowed in? For sure, there wasn't enough supplies to go around.

Unfortunately, Piper couldn't spot a CO. There were too many people. Piper barged her way through and over towards one of the windows. The night had really settled in now, and it was pitch black. She couldn't see what was happening outside. She couldn't tell how deep the snow was, if it was still snowing. But the noise was enough to confirm nothing had changed. Flakes battered against the windows so hard, she was surprised the glass didn't shatter from the impact.

The inmate was desperate for information, and honestly felt offended that the COs had kept everything from them. They were living, breathing people, too. They deserved to know. Even if there were murderers, thieves and what-have-you wandering these hallways, they still deserved to know if they were going to die. Nothing like this had happened before. Piper knew that.

She jumped in surprise when Nicky spoke from over her shoulder, 'Dude, you need to chill. What's got into you?' Piper couldn't speak. A lot of things were bothering her. Slowly, the blonde sat down and leaned against the window. 'You're freaking out, man.' Nicky folded her arms. 'It's just snow.'

'Is it?' Piper challenged.

No response. Lorna appeared soon afterwards, and looked equally as frightened as Piper. 'Have you heard the radio?' Piper nodded. 'There's been hurricanes in New York and tidalwaves in––'

'The media will do anything to make people shit themselves,' Nicky interceded. Her expression had softened, though. She wasn't angry with the news. In fact, she believed it, too. But knowing what was happening when they were stuck in prison was unpleasant. Unnerving. A chill shot up Piper's spine. 'The weather is acting up, all right? But there's no need to lose our shit. Chapman, get a grip.'

Piper ran her hands through her hair. 'I want to contact my family. That's all.' She looked up at her. 'Is that a crime now?'

'We all want to contact our fucking family, man, but we can't. No point crying over something which can't be fixed.'

Nicky was annoying her now. A lot. But she was only behaving this way out of stress. Piper turned away, wanting to be left alone. She hugged her knees, and dipped her chin. They were stuck here. Probably forever. Lorna approached the window, pressing her forehead against it to try and see what was happening outside. Nicky must have realised the tone of her voice, for she now looked a little guilty, but she didn't apologise. Piper didn't expect her to, either. There wasn't time for apologies.

Two COs were walking past, and Piper instantly spoke up, 'Excuse me?' One of them stopped, and the other reluctantly paused. 'Can someone tell us––' She scrambled to her feet, '––what's going on? Are we getting out of here?'

Both COs exchanged glances. Piper didn't recognise either of them. The younger one answered, 'Hopefully. A van should be arriving soon to pick all of you up.'

'Where are we going?' Lorna queried.

The CO shrugged. 'Fuck knows. Fuck I care. Out of here.'

Knowing they were getting out was enough for Piper to feel relief. She smiled a little, and let the two COs go. Thank God. They were getting out; they weren't stuck here. Piper turned to Nicky, but was miffed to see her not sharing her enthusiasm. In fact, Nicky's brows were furrowed, and she seemed lost in thought. Lorna, on the other hand, was smiling too and said, 'We're gonna be okay, after all.'

Nicky looked at her sharply. 'Yeah, man, but where are they taking us?'

'It doesn't matter.' Who the fuck cares? Piper added, 'We're leaving here. We won't be snowed in. That's what's important.' Nicky wasn't convinced. Piper ignored her. 'There are going to be places where the weather isn't so bad –– that's where they'll be taking us. And, hopefully, there will be electricity too. I mean, there has to be. You wouldn't keep inmates stuck in prison if it had no security measures.' She looked between both women. 'Right?' Lorna smiled, but said nothing. Nicky cocked a brow. 'Am I the only one here who's thrilled to be leaving?' Piper asked, confused at the responses.

'I'll be jumping with joy when we do get out,' Nicky said. 'I wish we brought back that bottle of Scotch, man.' She exhaled. 'I really wouldn't mind some right now.'

'It was gross.'

'You liked it at the time.'

'At the time. I thought we were dying.' Piper sighed. 'I hope that van gets here soon.'

'If.'

Piper turned on Nicky, impatient. 'What is your problem? There's no harm in having a little optimism.'

'There's a fine line between optimism and naïvety, mate. Didn't you hear what was on the fucking radio? Road's are blocked. You really think a van is going to get to us? Not unless it had a huge motherfucking snowplough in front of it, it won't. Chances are slim they'll go to such lengths to help us out anyway. In case you've forgotten, Chapman, we ain't exactly society's favourites.'

Scowling, Piper pressed her back against the wall. 'We're still people. They should remember that, so they should go to such lengths.' Lowering her gaze, Piper ignored the doubt flooding through her. While Nicky spoke sense, she only made Piper's mood worse. 'You know what, forget I said anything.' She didn't want to cause an argument, and she didn't want Nicky crushing her hopes. So, she closed the subject.

Neither Lorna or Nicky pressed the matter further. In fact, from that point on there was an uncomfortable tension between them all which Piper found upsetting. She had formed a good bond with Nicky over the past few months. The last thing she wanted was for their friendship to end here and now. She already had Alex giving her hassle. Speaking of, Piper hadn't seen her since the scene in the kitchen.

About fifteen minutes passed until they heard a loud banging from the ghetto. It was Caputo slamming his baseball bat against something in order to catch the attention of the inmates. Once he had achieved silence, he spoke up. Piper tried her best to listen, but only managed to catch the odd sentence. The gist was that a van should be coming over soon to pick them all up and transport them to a detention hall Piper had never heard of. Apparently, it was a good two hours drive away, but they should all be there by tomorrow night.

Nicky and Lorna retreated to one of the cubes, and Piper returned to the radio which an inmate was still trying to fix. By this point, barely anything could be deciphered, and most women had given up trying to listen. The lack of a radio cast a sense of loneliness around the ghetto, and Piper was desperate for the van to arrive. Unfortunately, not all the inmates could be dispatched at once, so they had to go in ten at a time. The van should be here in the next couple of hours.

With no destination in mind, Piper walked passed several cubes, and considered joining Lorna and Nicky, when she spotted Alex sitting on one of the beds, book in hand. It was impressive she could still read without glasses, but it occurred to Piper she wasn't reading at all. It was always obvious to Piper when Alex was reading –– she would wear a faint smile, and have a light expression. It was one of few times in which Alex looked younger than she was –– getting lost in her novels brought out a rather innocent side to her. To Piper, she always looked cute reading. But, right now, she was frowning slightly, and her eyes weren't necessarily focussed on the pages. She let them drift off the edge occasionally.

Alex wasn't reading. She was thinking. She only had the book up to her nose so no one would disturb her. Piper should have continued walking, ignored her, but she decided to nab this opportunity to talk. She hovered in the entrance to the cube, and Alex watched her out of the corner of her eye. Neither said anything, and Piper could see Alex's body go rigid. She didn't want Piper here, or anywhere near here.

Bravely, Piper stepped further in. 'I was wondering if we could talk.' Alex didn't reply. She pretended to go back to reading her book. 'Would that be possible, Alex, or are you just going to ignore me?' Nothing. Alex was trying so hard now to block out Piper's voice, she was attempting to read. This proved tricky without the glasses, so she squinted harshly, levelling the words with her eyes. 'Fine. Act like a child. Don't say I didn't try, though.' She waited a moment in case Alex might change her mind, then walked away.

Alex lowered the novel, and looked in the direction Piper had gone. She was annoyed, angry, and outraged Piper had the audacity to call her a child. Fuck, maybe she was acting like one, but Piper had no right to criticise her behaviour. She closed her book. Exhaled. There was too much noise. Everyone was panicking, everyone was excited, everyone was so obsessed in the weather it was driving her crazy.

'I think you should give her another chance.' Turning to the source of the voice, Alex was mildly surprised to see Lorna peering over the wall of the cube. 'Talk things out, y'know? I think she'd like that.'

'Piper would like a lot of things she can't have.' Alex raised a brow. 'She's not used to being told "no".'

Lorna lowered her gaze, shrugged. 'Whatever you say, Vause.' Then she dropped down to return to sitting on the bed. Alex fiddled with the pages of her novel, rolled her eyes. It was hard to stay mad at Piper, and it was hard to constantly give her silent treatment. She couldn't believe Piper had sent her back here, but she had a hunch there was a reason. A reason Piper wanted to tell.

At the moment, Alex didn't want to listen. Piper didn't deserve to be forgiven so easily, and so quickly too.

For the next few hours, nothing happened. The chatter continued, the inmates were still trying to fix the radio, and the COs continued to guard each exit. A couple of torches had stopped working, but the ghetto was getting brighter now that day was approaching. However, the sun was shy. It didn't appear once, and it was colder than ever. By the time the van was supposed to be here, Alex was shivering. White puffs of smoke escaped her lips every time she exhaled, and she wrapped her jacket tighter around herself.

Two inmates had apparently lost conscious from the chill. Things were starting to get nasty. Alex kept to herself. She couldn't see a damn thing, so wouldn't be of any use to anyone. The lack of sight was humiliating and made her angry. She hated sitting around waiting. She wanted to be up and moving or, at least, reading a book. This was just cruel.

Yet when another hour passed, panic started to stir.

The van hadn't arrived.

Alex's interest perked when she overheard an inmate suggesting the van was stuck in snow somewhere. This wouldn't be surprising. God knew how awful the weather was out there. After another thirty minutes, Alex slipped off the bed, and carefully searched for someone to talk to. She heard Nicky sniggering behind her. 'Dude.' Alex turned to see her, but just saw a blur with a lot of smudged hair. 'You're screwed.'

'Where's our chariot?'

'Dunno,' Nicky shrugged. 'Feel bad for Chapman. She had stars in her eyes at the idea we were getting out. You don't think they called it quits, do you?'

Alex didn't reply. She had a feeling Piper would try and stay optimistic. She always did, and she was always left disappointed. It was how she handled their relationship, before. Constantly staying positive about it all, believing Alex was worth all of the trouble. Until, finally, she just had enough and walked away. Alex disappointed her.

'If you spot any glasses, hand them over.'

'Sure thing, man.'

And Alex began her search. It was more of a wild goose chase than anything. She didn't expect to find any missing glasses, but it was worth a try. In the midst of her search, she heard Caputo whamming his baseball bat. The inmates hushed down immediately and looked over at him, some hopeful, some depressed, some just pissed off.

It was bad news.

The van hadn't arrived. It never would arrive, either.

Alex's worst fears had been realised. She heard someone, and recognised it as Poussey's voice. 'You mean we've been left behind?' That was what it was. The van didn't even try to reach them. They were simply forgotten. Deliberately. Alex didn't know. The prison was abandoned. All the inmates, and even the staff, had been left here in order to wait the weather out.

Or die. Either one.

'Shit,' Taystee muttered.

'Guess we're not gonna be rescued after all, Chapman.'

That was harsh, even Alex had to admit. She turned, squinted her eyes, but couldn't see Piper or Nicky anywhere. Most of the inmates had started rioting now, shouting and cursing at Caputo and at each other. Everyone was terrified. They had been left behind, and had to rely on each other to get out now. Caputo hammered the bat against the wall repeatedly, until finally the inmates stopped yelling.

Caputo was furious, but not at the women. 'All of you are to wait here until we decide on something!' Honesty. It was a little precarious. None of the women appreciated the fact he didn't have a plan B. He said something else, on the lines of staying quiet, but Alex had stopped listening. She had gone back to searching for a pair of glasses she could use. There was so much happening, someone must have undoubtedly left their specs somewhere.

'I suggest we make a break for it,' an inmate spoke. 'Get the fuck out of here. If we can take down that CO over there, we could be free.'

'Then let the freeze have us? Sounds gold.'

'If we stay in here, then we're gonna die anyway!'

Alex widened her eyes when she spotted a pair of glasses resting against a cube wall. She picked them up and turned to a small crowd, 'Are these anybody's?' She asked.

Someone looked at her. Short, angry-looking. 'Those are mine.'

'Can I borrow them?'

'No point in asking –– we're all gonna die anyway.'

'I'll take that as a "yes",' Alex murmured, slipping the glasses on. They were not as strong as she would have liked, and they caused a little strain on her eyes, but she could see a lot better. Behind the woman she was speaking to was Nicky, who was giving her a funny grin. Lorna sat a few inches away, and Piper was staring at the floor, avoiding Alex's gaze altogether. There was a mix of humiliation and anger in her expression. She wasn't happy that the van never arrived; that she had been made to look like a fool.

Nicky straightened. 'Smithy, here, was suggesting we break out. You in for that, Vause?'

'It's Smith,' the woman replied, glaring at her. 'Also, I don't want anyone coming along who is visually challenged.'

'Weren't these glasses originally yours?' Alex asked.

'For reading,' Smith snapped. 'Anyway, I'm not hanging around. I know the CO over there goes for a leak every twenty minutes. Got a bladder the size of a pea. Next time he leaves, we can get out.'

Alex narrowed her brows. She had to admit, this plan sounded too simple. Apparently she wasn't the only person who had the same doubts, either. Piper lifted her head, and looked over at Smith. 'There's more than one CO blocking that exit, and there will be more outside too. What if we get caught escaping? We could be sent down to SHU.'

'Fine. Whatever. You can stay here. Don't have time for fucking cowards.'

'Actually, she's just being rational,' Alex defended, avoiding Piper's shocked look. 'You go right ahead, but I'm sticking around. No point running out there when the snow's so violent. You wouldn't survive.'

'We should wait it out. Stay inside,' Piper suggested. 'Until the weather improves, at least.'

Nicky looked between the two in mild amusement, but she nodded. 'I agree with Vause and Chapman.'

'What if we get snowed in?' Lorna asked.

It was a reasonable question, and Piper dropped her gaze, uncertain. 'I guess it's a risk,' she said. 'But we can't run out there when we don't have any form of transport or shelter. Or food or water, for that matter.'

Sneering, Smith walked away, and began searching for other inmates who would join in her escape. Alex looked over at Piper, then quickly glanced in the other direction when they caught each other's eye. She didn't know if she should have bothered defending Piper, but she didn't appreciate the short inmate criticising her when she had made a decent point.

Alex pushed the glasses further up the bridge of her nose. Nicky had turned to Lorna to talk, and Alex hesitantly looked over at Piper again. The blonde was watching her, and her expression was illegible. Yet Alex spotted a little longing, a little hope still that everything would be oaky. It was the sort of hope Alex loved about her when they were a couple, the sort of hope which made her hope as well.

She didn't wait. She didn't talk. Alex left.

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author's note: Thank you Wardicus, isallgleektome, garganta, FaeCym, ladylace616, cmc49abc, [ lj ], Hope6968, ejm137, ToTheBarricades, Defensive, shrub-skinz, DarkestGayMoon and the two [ Guest ] reviewers for leaving feedback on the prior chapter. Until next time!