Yo! Thank you all so so much for your continued interest in my story, it's what keeps me going. Also, I attempted to make the changes in POV a little more clear, as was suggested. Once again, let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions in your reviews or in my inbox. I hope you enjoy!
-Price
Silence hung in the air as Figueroa finished attending to her nail beds. It was killing Piper mentally. She knew that this conversation would heavily impact the duration of her stay at Litchfield. Or even if she stayed at Litchfield. Perhaps the difference between a few more months and a few more years. Or worse. The difference between here, the SHU or Maximum Security Prison with Miss Claudette. Her heart was fluttering as she found her eyes flitting about the office as she tried to find something, anything to settle her nerves. She was sinking fast but she took deep breaths even as a thin sheen of sweat started to form on her brow. She was a new Piper now, right? Not easily intimidated. Confrontational, even. She had nearly beaten a woman to death for petes sake. Summoning the boldness that came with her temper/righteous indignation she dug her heels and into the ground and let a mask of agitated indifference show on her visage. She took one final swallow for courage before pursing her lips.
"Ahem." The blonde said it clearly and made a show of raising her eyebrows impatiently. The warden blinked and looked up at her with a fake smile plastered on her face that died at the corners of her lips and didn't nearly reach her eyes.
"Ah, yes. Good to see you, Ms. Chapman." She leaned forward at her desk and clasped her hands together. The obvious insincerity in her welcome was off putting to say the least. There was a pause where Piper supposed would have been where she returned the sentiment, but it couldn't have been farther from the truth. Whether she had been waiting for a response or not was not evident when the brunette had continued. "The reason why you're here is that obviously all the men working at this facility are moronic dick-for-brains and I thought, between us smart girls, we could actually come to a resolution to some of the problems at hand." Her finger drew invisible, tight little circles onto the wood of her desk.
Piper simply blinked, saying nothing, though she found herself drawn to the insignificant gesture.
"So?" Fig opened her hands. "How was the SHU?"
Piper frowned but was once again silent, storing up her annoyance.
"Not too bad I hope. You seem well enough. I don't believe you're as tiny as I remember, even." The woman smirked as she got up from her chair and walked around to the front of her desk. "But I guess I couldn't expect the now infamous Piper Chapman to be the scared little thing that you were when you first got here." The aforementioned woman cringed at her use of the word 'infamous.' Was what had gone on between her and Doggett that big of a deal? She could only imagine the rumors...and if Healy had anything to do with it, she had probably been depicted as some kind of murderous lesbian belligerent... She felt the urge to rub her temples but she remembered her hands were cuffed behind her back.
The somewhat menacing brunette sauntered slowly over towards Chapman as she twiddled her thumbs. The blonde woman did her best to look disinterested more so than agitated as she stood in front of her. Figueroa circled about her at a painstakingly slow pace, seeming to scrutinize every detail about her before stopping when they were face to face. Piper had been staring straight ahead trying to imagine what the other woman was seeing, not letting her predatory little shark circle get to her, but took the opportunity to glare into Figueroa's eyes. The woman smirked but looked away before Piper did. It was a small victory.
Just as Piper was beginning to relax into the situation though, she felt the slightly older woman's hand grab onto the hem of her shirt.
"In fact if your arms are any indication, it seems that you were very busy in the SHU weren't you? Have you been working out?" While the lack of proper nutrition in the SHU had kept her from really gaining any mass, her body had become more taut and lithe with her muscles quite well defined. Figueroa looked at Chapman in the eyes again briefly before taking the bottom of the shirt in both hands and lifting it up so that her midriff was fully exposed. The cold air in itself was almost enough to make Piper gasp, but she bit it back. Drawing even closer to the cuffed woman who was now shifting a bit on her feet, the taller woman gently raked her freshly filed fingernails up the blonde's abdomen, appreciating the view. Though she was no longer looking at Piper she was only inches from her face, their lips lined up almost perfectly.
The situation was very bizarre and threatened to unsettle Piper permanently as she tried in vain to her keep her body from reacting to the only gentle human interaction she had received in what felt like forever. Her heart had already been beating faster than usual due to her anxiety and agitation and the last thing she needed was to add arousal to the explosive chemical equation. The sudden intrusion of her personal space and the helplessness of her situation began to make Piper feel embarrassed and violated even as her body heated up. It was also making her very angry.
She screwed her eyes shut. She had to remain cool.
"Gee, Fig. I didn't think you swung this way." It came out slowly through gritted teeth as Piper fought through a cloud of feelings.
The woman snorted. "It seems you and I are not so different." Her hand came to rest on Piper's toned stomach for a moment, her fingers drumming over the base of her torso as she met Piper's steely gaze with a look of perfect self-assurance, searching her guest's eyes for weakness. Piper picked up on this and narrowed her eyes before taking a step back from the woman.
"Hmm." Figueroa stroked her chin, looking amused as she sized up her opponent. Seeming satisfied for the time being, she nodded her head and turned to walk back to the desk, her hips swaying all the way. Piper rolled her shoulders. It was one thing to deal with the decidedly attractive woman when she was in her personal space, touching her body, but as far as she was concerned only one woman in this facility could make her feel some type of way just by the way she walked, and she was not in the room.
"So it seems you were indeed working out in the SHU." Figueroa crossed her arms as she leaned back on her desk again, half sitting on it, as she faced Piper. "You seem to be an opportunist, Miss Chapman."
Piper shrugged. "I guess you could say that."
Fig smiled. "I like that."
Piper sighed. "Will you please get to the point?" This "meeting" was beginning to tax on her very delicate nerves.
Figueroa was undeterred. "I'm getting to it, darling. You see, I too am an opportunist, and that's what makes me successful here at Litchfield. It is why I have a beautiful home and a beautiful car despite what could otherwise be a bleak and unfulfilling work environment."
Piper tilted her head slightly. What did she mean by that? What opportunity could she possibly have taken advantage of here?
"You and me," The warden gestured between the two of them. "We are the kind of people who thrive in stifling environments.
Piper nodded slowly. "And...you think we can help each other."
"Precisely." The woman features spread slowly into a grin before she reached behind her and picked up a folder that was sitting on her desk, holding it in her hands. Piper leaned forward slightly and squinted to get a good look. It had her name on it.
"This folder right here is your file Ms. Chapman." She opened it and began to read the contents. "We have one citation for attempted rape..." Piper's face contorted at the mention of it and she opened her mouth to speak, a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. "It also says here that you were responsible for Inmate Doggett's assault of a handicapped young girl during our scared straight program..which, if I remember correctly, got her sent to the psych unit..." Shifting uncomfortably, Piper attempted to ignore the tinge of guilt that gnawed at her. She shouldn't have let that psycho loose on Dina. Furthermore, she couldn't help but wonder that perhaps if she hadn't felt the need to get her little revenge on Doggett that she might not be in her current situation. "And of course most recently, your little altercation with Inmate Doggett that put her in the hospital for weeks."
Piper's ears perked up. "So she's out now?"
The woman hesitated. "Yes." She tilted her head. "Is that good news or bad news?"
This elicited another shrug from Piper. Truthfully though, she wasn't sure. But she did hope she didn't have to see her any time soon, though she knew that was unlikely. Whether she would feel satisfied or guilty when she finally laid eyes on the little imp was something she'd find out soon enough.
"Hardly the model inmate, are we?" Fig smirked. Piper's eyes narrowed at the suggestion and she found herself wanting to explain her motives, to get the warden to see that she wasn't really some kind of loose cannon or even worse, a calculating psychopath. As her eyes seemed to buzz with frustration she even thought she could cry. But as she looked at the brunette who was staring down her nose at her, she noticed something flicker behind her eyes. Did Figueroa...like that she seemed like a crazy violent person? It also occurred to her that the other woman didn't usually take a hands-on approach there at the prison when it came to dealing with inmates, usually leaving it up to Healy and Caputo. All she knew about Piper had to have been hearsay or based on the contents of her file. Silently, the cuffed woman contemplated this as she began to plan her next move.
"I do not think that this would not hold up very well in court, if you were to go on trial concerning the um...Christmas incident." Her fingers shot up in air quotes as she finished, smugly.
Piper's brows furrowed. She was trying to intimidate her, same as Caputo. But when she did it it was much more convincing. As the warden, she actually had some power. But that also meant that she might actually be worth trying to bargain with. Only time would tell. Then suddenly, the blonde processed what Fig had just said.
"If?"
The woman glanced down at the floor, taking a breath before speaking. "Caputo told me what you said about going to court and meeting with your lawyer and all of that nastiness. And here we have written and physical evidence that might severely hurt your attempt to plea out in self defense. It will be messy both ways, Chapman. You could end up getting a longer sentence if it doesn't work out...or be sent to Max...be stuck down in the SHU again...but of course there is the chance that you'll get your pretty little way and Litchfield becomes the object of many investigations. Which could be problematic still..." Inspecting her nails, she continued nonchalantly. "Those types of situations often times end with the inmates of the facility being dispersed and crowded into other prisons until the investigation is over. Often times, there isn't much room to spare in minimum security prisons...meaning some of your little friends may end up in Max which would be very unfortunate. But of course, there is no way of knowing how it will all turn out of course." She threw a hand up and shrugged her shoulders.
Piper was frowning now. It hadn't crossed her mind that anything like that might happen if Litchfield was incriminated in some way. She couldn't imagine any of the people she had met being sent away...much less to Max...she couldn't let that happen. She couldn't let anyone else get hurt because of her.
"Something wrong?"
Piper's eyes flashed with agitation as she met Fig's gaze again. "I'm just not sure what it is..." She chuckled lowly, shaking her head "...that makes you think I care what happens to these bitches." That's right, Piper thought. Play it cool. Play the selfish psycho. Shouldn't be too hard.
Figueroa seemed pleased, almost delighted at her response. "But of course you care about yourself, right? I hear you have quite the life to get back to." Piper could have laughed at the woman's ignorance but winced as she glanced down at the floor.
"...What are you proposing?"
There was a pause as Figueroa seemed to be considering what she was about to say. Finally, she smacked a hand down on the desk behind her, causing Piper to flinch.
"I think Doggett made this whole thing up." Figueroa said it matter-of-factly, as if she had just read title of a magazine. As if it was obvious. As if it was true.
Her eyes locked squarely onto Piper's. "No one actually saw her out there. They only saw you. And you said was that she attacked you. Right? There are no witnesses to prove you beat the shit out of that other inmate. And seeing as how you guys have such a wonderful history, it wouldn't be hard to believe that she would lie. And so unless you wanted to press charges...I don't see any reason to take this to court.
Piper could only vaguely hide the bewilderment on her face. No trial? How would that even work? Doggett was still alive after all and she was probably very angry. And not to brag but she had put quite a hurting on the little pain in the ass. It wasn't as if that would be easy to cover up. Fig was clearly out of her ever-loving mind.
"I... don't think... Doggett would be willing to go along with that." Her confusion was evident in her tone.
"So we put her back in the psych ward. No one will hardly be able to take a testimony from her while she's in there much less take her seriously. And then, after a while, we offer to take her out... if she adheres to our demands. We might even take some time off her sentence. In the end everyone wins." She clapped her hands together with the first genuine smile on her face, seemingly quite satisfied with her plan.
"You must really want to avoid an investigation." Piper finally replied with a mix of bemusement and suspicion.
Figueroa's smile quickly dissolved into a frown as her hands dropped slowly to her sides. Piper broke out into a grin.
"Instead of being concerned about what it is I want, why don't we do what we both do best." The woman said it curtly as she approached Piper again with her hands folded in front of her.
"What's that?" Chapman found herself wanting to step backwards but once again stood her ground.
"Looking out for number 1." Fig smiled again, in as self-indulgent sort of way. Piper imagined that if they had been out in the real world, they would be sitting across from each other at a table, clinking glasses as they laughed at others misfortune. Well. As Fig laughed at other's misfortune and as Piper side-eyed her the same way she was now. Instead of clinking their glasses though, Figueroa unlocked Piper's handcuffs, much to the blonde's relief. She rubbed her wrists subconsciously as her eyes narrowed warily at the warden.
"Oh, don't look at me like that." Her shoulders shrugged almost imperceptibly. "It's up to you, inmate. Take it or leave it. If you decide to handle this my way, I will certainly find a way to sweeten the deal for you."
Piper just stared at her, holding her wrist. This was far from what she had expected and it was a lot to consider.
Fig turned her back towards her as she scanned her desk for something. "It's a no brainer if you ask me; but I suppose if you were really all that smart you wouldn't be in here over a bullshit charge, huh?" The woman chuckled.
The comment pushed Pipe over the edge of what little self control she had mustered and she found herself approaching the woman, with the intention of giving her a piece of her mind but slipped on a shoe lace that had come untied while she had been dragged to the office. Instead of stopping in front of her like she'd planned she had run right into the woman, placing a hand on either side of her on the desk to catch herself. Fig gasped and tensed up. Piper was flipping out inwardly as her eyes grew wide as saucers. An apology was on her lips but she noticed that the other woman had not moved to turn around or call for the guards or anything...in fact it seemed as if she had relaxed some. The woman pulled her long brown hair back to one side and leaned back into Chapman, placing a hand on hers. Piper's face was the picture of alarm as her eyes darted back and forth, trying to assess the situation. Fig was the first to speak.
"Inmate Chapman..." The woman said it with feigned surprise as she turned her head to look at her from the corner of her eye. Piper rushed to relax her facial expression though inside she was still panicking. She could feel herself freezing up. 'What would Alex do?' was her last thought before she grabbed Fig's hair and leaned into the woman's ear, trying her best to sound hoarse and menacing.
"Don't ever insult me like that again. Ever." She had breathed it huskily into the other woman's ear. The woman didn't coherently respond but merely grunted as she shifted against Piper's body. It made Piper cringe to do what was honestly a terrible impromptu Alex Vause impersonation and she bit her lip, hoping that Fig had bought it. Her grip on the woman's hair slackened as she awkwardly removed her hand and backed away from the her. Silently wishing she had just apologized, she watched as Fig took a moment to straighten herself back out. When she finally turned around she had a lighter and Piper's folder in her hand.
She flipped her hair back before holding them both out to the awaiting blonde, still a bit flustered. "I won't have a reason to. If you accept my offer."
Piper side-eyed the woman as she cautiously took the two items. She had bought her act. In her heart she felt gratitude towards her ex-girlfriend even though it was irrational.
"You have three days to make your choice."
"I'm assuming I won't be going back to the SHU." It was more of a question than a statement, but Piper was beginning to feel as though she had the leeway to make such declarations.
Fig seemed to hesitate for a moment before answering, "No. You'll be back with the general population." She stepped around Chapman and put her hands on her shoulders.
"Well? You know what to do don't you?"
Piper nodded slowly before setting the file ablaze in front of them. The flame danced in their eyes as they watched it consume the manila folder and its contents.
"Just imagine all of your problems just going away."
/
Alex realized with an aggravated sigh that she had reread the same lines in her book at least 5 times and she still wasn't quite sure what they said. Nicky's words to her were echoing loudly in her head, and she felt very guilty about what she had said to her. The red head was the closest thing she had to a best friend and she had been nothing less of an asshole to her when all she was trying to do was help. It wasn't the first time she had messed up a relationship because of her pride and stubbornness but that didn't make it sting any less. Her pride had caused her to push away the only two people at Litchfield that she really cared about. Nicky. And Piper. She buried her face in her book. If she had had it to do all over again she knew she would have listened more. She had always called Piper a narcissist and she was damn right but... it was beginning to occur to her that she might have been one too. Just a little. And when had she started thinking about Piper? She groaned aloud, it was too late to block thoughts of her out of her mind.
Too often had she used people. Everyone was only as useful to her as they allowed her to live her life the way she wanted. She wondered if she had ever really seen Piper as a partner or had cared about her hopes and dreams. It scared her to realize that she either directly or indirectly would have sabotaged anything Piper might have done that would have taken her away from her. And she had. Was she only capable of being with people if it best suited her interests?
God, she really wished she could talk to someone.
As if on cue, Nicky strolled into the burbs, whistling to herself. Alex adjusted her glasses and exhaled before hopping off her bed and walking towards her.
"Nicky."
The shorter woman looked up at her and smirked. "What's up, stretch?"
Alex felt relieved that the woman didn't seem upset. "I wanted to talk to you."
Nicky's smirk became even more smug as she began to walk towards her bed. "What you want advice on, coke or pussy?"
Alex's relief shriveled up inside of her. "Nicky-"
The woman lifted a hand up to stop her. "Just listen for a second, Vause. You know, I used to think you and me were a lot alike. But I'm starting to think that you're more like Chapman than you think. You like to use people too. Now that you've thought about it and you wanna talk, here you are right in fuckin' front of me." Alex just glanced at the ground. "We don't even really talk anymore. You just fuck me, and I fuck you. I'm not just some fucking distraction! I'm a real fucking person, and if we're gonna be friends, you're gonna have to take all the parts of me. The parts you like and the parts you don't." Nicky turned away from her. "I'm sick of being used. Like I ain't got feelings." She shook her head and repeated herself lowly, "I am a real fucking person." Nicky's shoulders began to shake and her hand went up to her face.
"Fuck." Alex frowned as she turned the woman towards her and hugged her. She rocked her in her arms a bit as she patted her head. "I'm sorry, man."
"Fuck you for making me cry, you fucking sasquatch." Nicky's voice was muffled as she spoke into Vause's chest but Alex could hear her smiling.
They stayed like that for a moment before Nicky gently put firmly pushed her off and wiped at her eyes with her sleeve. "Ah, god, between you and Morello I'm gonna destroy my reputation."
Alex nudged her. "Big flaming lesbians cry too." Nicky made a face.
"Once again, you would know."
They smiled at each other.
Alex sat down on the other woman's bed and ran her fingers through her hair. "I don't remember when I became such an asshole."
Nicky snorted. "Yeah well, most people don't have memories from the womb."
Alex was about to respond when they heard a commotion coming from the ghetto. Nicky looked at her dark haired counterpart briefly before heading towards it. Alex groaned but got up and followed her.
Several inmates surrounded a particular dorm as two women argued fiercely over something. Alex's heart began to race. It was Piper's old dorm.
As she got closer, she saw that Taystee was yelling at Leanne, Pensatucky's right hand man, who had what was once Miss Claudette's blanket in her fist.
"Don't think you can just sneak your little behind over here and take what doesn't belong to you. Your ass ain't slick. Now get your little grubby hands OFF." She said the last word definitively and grabbed onto one end of the quilted fabric and pulled. Two more disciples held onto the first one's shoulders, keeping her from falling forward. Poussey and Black Cindy also stepped in, not wanting to be outdone.
"Chapman is a heathen and now she's rottin' down below us for her horrible crimes. We're gonna put her shit to good use!"
"Yeah!" Another chimed in. "You should be thanking us for removing your dorm of her demonic influence."
Poussey looked at them with a look on her face in-between bewilderment, confusion, and amusement as she put her hands on her hips. "Do you actually hear yourself when you talk?"
"She's been down there for a while now and nobodies seen her." Another disciple piped up as she joined the fray. "What makes you so sure she's even coming back?"
Alex swallowed fearfully at the thought. The thought had crossed her mind that she might not. Sure she wasn't sure what she wanted to say or if she would say anything the next time she saw the blonde, but she sure as hell didn't want her to be down there in that box any longer than she had been.
Taystee rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. "I don't care if she don't come back till Jesus do; I'll keep her shit before I give it to your nasty ass."
"You can't stop us. You got to sleep sometime! She deserves worse than this for what she did to Tiffany. They won't even tell us how she's doing! For all we know she could be dead!"
Murmuring sprouted up amongst all the inmates. Alex coolly looked over the people gathered as they gossiped. It wasn't a new rumor. Everyone was beginning to think that Piper had killed the crazy Jesus freak. Alex hadn't believed that Piper could do something like that at first, but for Piper to still be in the SHU and for no one to have heard anything from or about Doggett...
"Yeah, I said it." The stringy haired woman looked wildly at everyone. "All of ya'll have been thinkin' it! Taking her shit will help settle things, and I'll be damned if anyone can stop us."
"I'll bet I can."
Everyone shut up as they looked up towards the voice.
Piper walked down the corridor at an unhurried pace. Her pants were half tucked into the heavy winter boots that she had been unable to change out for the lighter shoes, and she wore a tight ribbed tanktop that alluded to her new physique. The tone in her muscles showed as she lifted her arms to pull her hair back into a messy bun. Alex's mouth gaped open as Nicky nudged her in the ribs even though she was already looking. It was evident that there was something different about her. She had a certain...swagger? It didn't even sound right in her head.
"Thanks, Taystee. You can let go now." She said as she waved her hand dismissively.
The woman glanced between her blonde roommate and the angry meth heads and shrugged. "Alright." She let go of the blanket that was being strained between them and the three women holding onto it fell onto their backs in a comedic fashion. Suzanne erupted with laughter from her side of the room as Piper smirked before letting her face fall solemn. Leanne scrambled to get up with the blanket still in her hands. Piper approached her slowly, and placed a boot onto the thing causing it to slip from her grip before crouchiing down onto the ground in front of her and resting her arms on her knees.
"Do not ever. Touch my things. Ever again."
The woman in front of her sneered as she leaned up towards her. "Tiffany wasn't scared 'a you and I ain't either!
Piper raised her eyebrows as high as they could go before beginning to chuckle, lowly at first but then increasing in volume as she stood up and spread her arms. She turned, looking about the room. "And where is Tiffany? Hm?" She made eye contact with several of the inmates as they looked back at her silently with a myriad of expressions, her eyes purposely missing a particular grey pair. "No one knows?" She laughed again before leaning over and raising up her hands in the now downcast woman's face. "Oh that's right, no one's seen Pensatucky since I beat her face in so hard and so badly that they had to stitch up my hands. She flipped her hands so that the scars riddling the back of her hands and knuckles were clearly evident.
Watson leaned over from where she had walked up. "Damn!"
"So I repeat." She drew nearer to her. "Don't. Touch. My. Shit." Piper stared at her before reaching out and and grasping some of Leanne's hair in her fingers as the woman flinched away from her touch. She rubbed it between her thumb and pointer thoughtfully,. "Or I will fuck you up."
At that, Piper put her hands on her knees as she slowly pushed herself upright, turning away from the woman momentarily before abruptly turning back and moving as if she were going to kick her in the stomach. Leanne squealed and curled up into a ball as Piper put her foot back down on the floor.
"Pathetic."
The crowd began murmuring again, much louder this time as they watched Piper snatch up her blanket and walk over to her bed where she plopped down heavily.
Black Cindy looked between her friends, shaking her head as she readjusted the pick that was in her hair. "Told ya'll she was the stone cold lesbian."
Alex stood dumbfounded as the other inmates filed past her going about their business. Nicky was looking up at her with a shit eating grin.
"Good luck ignoring that."
Alex's mouth opened and then closed as she looked at the blonde woman who seemed happy but tired as her black friends hyped her up. She adjusted her glasses and hesitated before turning away from the scene and walking back towards their block. Nicky glanced at Alex's back before looking back at Piper. She was surprised to see her staring back at her. Before she could react though, another group of inmates passed in front of her, and by the time she could see her again Piper had looked away.
The next installment will focus more on Vauseman again as everyone begins to deal with these new developments. It'll be pretty dramatic.
See you next week!