A/N: A big thank you to everybody who has reviewed, favourited and followed this story thus far. I cannot thank you enough. This chapter isn't spectacular but it's important for what is yet to come. Once again, I apologise for any typos or mistakes. I hope I've done the characters justice. Thank you for reading!

"Their words mostly noises
Ghosts with just voices
Your words in my memory
Are like music to me"

Piper Chapman

Lounging against the silk-cushioned chair, Piper sat staring out the French doors at the incessant rain. The pounding resembled the sound of a million arrows drumming against the resilient ground; daunting, yet so admirably beautiful.

Only just noticing the soggy oatmeal slowly swaying towards the brim of her bowl, Piper swiftly brought her dry lips to the porcelain tip, hungrily gulping down the cereal as if it were her last meal. The coolness of the bowl brought a slight chill, as she precipitously licked the excess milk off her cracked lips.

The sound of footsteps suddenly engulfed her thoughts, as she impatiently spun around to see a desolate hallway. It had been five saturnine days since Alex's departure for Afghanistan. The waterworks had erupted as soon as they entered the bleak Wheeler-Sack Army Airfield. However, the whole day was a blur. All she remembered was Alex – dressed to the nines in her US Army garb – melancholically waving goodbye as she made her way to the unsightly military tanker. It was as if she was walking in slow motion, the humid wind in her hair as tiny spits of rain trickled down her pale face. Or were they tears? She felt as if she would never know.

Piper was suddenly transported out of her reverie with a sudden burst as her phone droned from across the room. Instinctively, she jumped over to her iPhone sitting on the coffee table hoping for the caller ID to reveal Alex Vause. To her disappointment, it was her mother. She felt her heart drop into the pit of her stomach. She reluctantly answered.

"What's up, Mom?" Piper asked, attempting to conceal the quiver in her voice.

"Darling, I've just started this amazing workout. Oh god, the name's escaped me. It's yoga but in a hot room—"

"—Bikram yoga? Yeah, what does this have to do with me?" Piper grumbled, rolling her eyes.

"That's it! It's ludicrous that they don't change the name to something more … American! But that's beside the point, I've put your name down for the class tomorrow—"

"You've done what?" she gaped, her mouth agape.

"Oh, Piper. You've been moping around like a sad puppy; I'm just trying to help now that Ally has gone. Plus, you get 25% off your membership when you refer somebody."

"It's Alex," Piper mumbled, her nails digging into the thick corduroy couch's arm pillows.

Piper went silent as her hands went to her head, rubbing at her temples. Her mother had yet to come to terms with her being a lesbian, yet alone her engagement to another woman. Carol Chapman's constant reassertion's that it was simply 'a phase' and that once the right man came along, she would realise the massive mistake she's made continued to drive her crazy.

Secretly, Carol Chapman was relieved to hear the news of Alex's deployment. The public display of affection both women expressed during their visits repulsed her. From the moment Piper was born, she knew she was destined for success – and with that came a husband and children. She imagined her only daughter pursuing a career in a distinguished field – like law or politics –earning international recognition for her intelligence, and stunning aesthetics, of course. The first big blow came when Piper dropped out of college. She claimed that studying wasn't her forte, and she'd be better off plunging headfirst into the workforce. Three days later she was employed as an administration assistant with the United States Army. To Carol's dismay, Piper actually enjoyed the job. However, the biggest blow came when Piper brought a woman home for dinner. When Carol found out about Piper's intimate relationship with a colleague, she was expecting a high-ranking army executive with muscles as big as the Pacific Ocean. But, most of all, she was anticipating a handsome male. When Alex Vause walked into the Chapman residency, Carol automatically assumed that this was one of Piper's new friends – until Piper fervently took her by the hand and introduced her. The world seemed to stop – the wind, time, sound and even her heart seemed to exponentially slow down and fall out from underneath her entirely. But, once again, she maintained the stance that Piper was simply going through a rough patch in her life – a 'phase'.

"Piper, are you there?" Carol asked, attempting to sound concerned.

"Yeah, what? I'm honestly not in the mood for this," mumbled Piper in protest.

"Now that she's gone, we should spend more time together."

"She? –" Piper angrily seethed through her teeth " – She is my fiancé not just a piece of – of goddamn rubbish!"

Carol gasped. "Language, Piper."

"Oh, mother. We have to talk about my relationship sometime and—and don't give me that 'phase' bullshit," Piper stuttered, angrily. "Alex is the love of my life. If that makes me a lesbian, then woopie doo I'm a fully-fledged lesbian and proud of it!"

For once in Piper's life, her mother was legitimately speechless. Piper was simply fed up of her mother's ardent attempts at avoiding the topic of Alex. For years, Alex had begged Piper to have the 'sexuality discussion' with her mother, but to no avail. She had always backed off like a scared little rabbit while Carol changed topics as fast as she changed clothes – which was a lot!

"Well, then" Carol swallowed, her tone changing. "I'll see you tomorrow at 6pm. It's a 45 minute class but it goes so incredibly fast. Oh, and I'll get your father to email you the details. I'm still not up-to-date with the latest gadget, techy magingy thing," she laughed.

Piper shook her head, her arm draped over her eyes, her body splayed out on the couch.

"Fine," she whispered, giving into her mother's persistent requests that would follow if she declined. "I'll go, but then we have to talk about my relationship with Alex, yeah?"

"Fantastic. I'll see you then," Carol blurted, hanging up.

Piper threw her phone on the couch, and picked up random objects laying beside her, sending them flying, her internal pain too strong to bare. But, she wouldn't give up. She'd tell the world about her and Alex if it were possible. Why should she keep her relationship private? While lesbianism was taboo in her family, it was something they had to accept. She was not going to risk her relationship for their approval. She loved Alex more than anything in the world and couldn't wait for her to be back home, holding her tight in her arms. Maybe this Bikram yoga would be a tolerable distraction from the headache she felt from being so far away from the woman she adored.

Instinctively, Piper precipitously retrieved her phone comfortably shoved between the cushions of her plus sofa and scrolled down her contacts until Alex appeared. She pressed call and shakily the phone to her ear desperate for her lover to pick up.

She waited for what seemed like hours as the phone carried on ringing until eventually reaching Alex's voicemail. She ended the call, opening up the message application.

"I miss you, baby," she texted. "I miss you like crazy. I love you so much. I can't wait to have you in my arms again. I love you." Her delicate hands shook as she pressed the 'send' button.

What am I supposed to do now? She thought to herself, fresh tears trickling down her face as she slid down the sofa, tucking her knees close to her chest.

After a deep breath and a glance of the embarrassing photo hanging on the wall of the two in Bali, her focus returned to the message application.

What would Alex do?

With a loud exhale, she closed her eyes, reopening them to write the first thought that popped into her head; an activity Alex encouraged Piper to do more often.
Her hands willingly touched the keys, her fingers pressing the letters mechanically.

"… Oh, and have you tried Bikram yoga?"