Note: I was going to leave the story to be another one-shot, but I've decided to continue. We'll see how it goes from here.

2014, New York

It was smaller than she remembered, prison. Somehow it was more gloomy. The Litchfield in her mind was awfully dull, but never gloomy.

Piper's fingers were wrapped around the iron bars. There was no one else there, she was all by herself. She heard footsteps approaching and instinctively knew it was Pennsatucky.
The place had changed; this time in her old cube, and Piper could make out Alex's figure. Her eyes empty and hollow, and she just stared ahead with a blank expression on her face. Piper screamed for her, but there was no sound coming out of her throat.

Doggett was inching closer and closer, and Piper felt a rising panic building up in her stomach. Her heart was pounding, beating faster and faster until it felt like she was about to combust. She could feel the terror creeping up on her body, but even though she'd channelled her energy to run, she couldn't.

She looked down.

Her legs weren't there.

Over in the corner, Alex just watched.

Piper's eyes jolted open.

It took her a couple seconds before she realized that she was in her bed, the TV still flickered flashes of blue and green.
It had all been a dream.
She exhaled as loud as she could, ran her hand through her hair, and turned on her bedside lamp out of habit.

Five months.
Five months since she's been out of Litchfield, and it still haunted her. Not just what happened at Christmas, but the whole thing altogether.
Piper had been learning to control her dreams and not have anything to read or watch before bed that might trigger the dreams, and she's certain she's almost got the hang of it. They would make her feel like she was going through the motion, or simply forced her to relive being in prison again. Most nights, walking to the fridge and getting something to drink would help ease her mind. Some nights she had to actually remind herself that she was no longer in prison. But it was nothing that she couldn't handle.

This one, though, was different.
This one is similar as the one she had in her nap, when Polly woke her up. She was glad for Polly. She wasn't sure what jolted her out of the sleep this time, but she's glad that it did.

"Fuck."

Piper hadn't thought about Alex since she got out. That's another thing that she's gotten good at. Forgetting Alex. The only memory she had of her was the little note she kept under her drawer. The whole thing was too painful for Piper to hold on to. And who knows where Alex is right now. She was still in prison, that much Piper knew. Or at least suspected. But she wasn't going to call every prison in New York and ask them if they happen to have an inmate by the name of Vause. Piper knew enough not to fool herself.

When she saw Alex in her dream, it was like she was reminded of her all at once.
Her dark, raven hair.
Her tall posture.
Her broad shoulders.
Her laugh.
All those things that Piper had so carefully, skillfully put away in the back of her mind came rushing back and forced her to admit that she missed Alex.

Piper shut her eyes tightly and shook her head. She was determined to stifle the emotion that was coming up. But as soon as she felt her tears running down her cheeks, she realized that it's a futile attempt.

2018, Litchfield

The wired fences looked different from the outside. Alex wasn't sure how it was possible and shook her head in disbelief for thinking like a cliché. But it does.

She had walked these territories before; much, much longer than she'd liked. She knew almost every nook and cranny there is to know about Litchfield, and she knew how it all works in the inside as well. A sense of familiarity hit her as she parked her car, but then she remembered that this is the first time she's been here as a visitor. For a split second, Alex felt her whole world was flipped on its feet, and it had made her a bit queasy. But she'll be damned if she bailed, so she shook it off, took a deep breath, and walked in.

Alex went over to the small booth and handed in a piece of paper.
"Hey, Wanda."
"Well, well, well. Vause." Wanda Bell gave her a chuckle. "Visiting someone today?"
"Yeah. Red."
Officer Bell checked her visitor's list and spotted Alex's name. She handed her the visitor badge and pointed towards the hall. "You know the drill. Wait here."

She sat down and looked around. This side of Litchefield really is different.
Her eyes sat on the "Smuggling" sign and Alex threw her head back, her booming laugh filled the waiting room.

After Alex had gotten out, she made a promise to herself to keep in touch with Red. They would write each other regularly. Nothing much, just tidbits of their lives and updating each other on how they're doing. But she was glad that she did. Alex knew full well how much she owed Red, although she never would have thought that she would end up being friends with Red. She was always quiet around Alex, and they never talked much when she was still in Litchfield. When they told Alex she was being transferred, Red approached her and asked if she'd like to leave a message. And she assured her that she'd keep a look out for Piper. Alex didn't need to say anything. Red took care of it.

"You look good, Kiddo." Red said as they both sat down.
"Thanks. You don't look half bad yourself."
"I get a lot of visits."
"I bet you do."
Red flashed Alex a smile and tapped her side of the desk twice.
"Piper says hello." Alex said while fixing her glasses. "She wanted to come, but you know. Cafes don't run themselves."
Red nodded and waved her hand. Alex saw a faint smile on Red's lips as she mentioned Piper.
Who knew she would be so fond of the person she once starved, Alex thought.

"She doing good?"
"Yeah."
"You both are good to each other?"
Alex smiled. "Yeah, we are."