Wooow, I always realised that fanfic writers must enjoy reviews and the like, but I hadn't realised quite how motivating that would be, so thank you to all those who have read, followed, favourited and reviewed this, because I wouldn't have carried on without - although I'm also probably posting these with less proofreading and care than I thought I would give to any story I wrote. I'm not sure that made sense. Here's the next chapter.

- "So now I just have to get her to understand that I want her, and not because Larry left me. That I genuinely made the wrong decision. She wants nothing to do with me now though... I don't know how I'm ever going to get her to forgive me for picking him."

Piper sat next to the vent in the SHU, finishing up her lengthy retelling of 'the story of Piper and Alex' to the disembodied voice that she still wasn't entirely sure she hadn't made up.

- "Voice? You still there?"

A few seconds elapsed before the raspy voice replied.

- "Yeah."

- "Not much of a talker, are you?"

- "I prefer to listen."

- "You know, you still haven't told me your name."

Another pause.

- "I think I like being your 'Voice'. So... what are you gonna do?"

- "I'm going to get her back."

Piper Chapman had finally made a decision. It may have taken thinking that she would get a life sentence in a maximum security prison to help her realise it, but she wanted to be with Alex Vause. She knew it now. She had tried so hard to convince herself that she was made for a cosy suburban life with Larry, for the picket fence and the lemon cleanses and the quinoa salads. And she felt that she still wanted some degree of nesting. But not with Larry.

When the monsoon hits in Goa, it hits hard. Only a few months after meeting Alex, Piper found herself having cocktails outside on a warm Indian evening, thousands of miles away from where she would've thought she would be before that chance encounter that changed her life.

Thunder suddenly reverberated all around them, giving barely a few seconds' warning before the hot rain started pouring down. Piper followed the squealing tourists to cover, turning around to find that Alex hadn't followed. There she was, arms up to welcome the downpour with the pure joy that characterised her attitude to life. Alex turned to her and laughed that ringing laugh that made her heart swell, her face full of excitement at life and the surprises it held, and extended her hand to invite Piper to share this moment with her.

And it was at that moment, as Piper grabbed Alex's hand to join her in her ridiculous, soaking dance of pure happiness, that Piper knew she was addicted. Sure, she was intrigued by this woman who took her to exotic places, and exhilarated at the idea of living her life to the fullest and having stories to tell to those who were still back home. But most importantly, she found that she had somehow ended up madly in love with Alex Vause.

She was a convicted criminal now. Twice over. Pennsatucky was recovering from the bleeding in her brain, after which she would be sent to max for attacking Piper.

But Piper got 4 more years for GBH, having gone quite a few punches past the point of self-defence after Doggett was lying defenceless underneath her. The video footage from the security cameras thankfully showed that she was attacked first – and how much of a twisted asshole Healey was. That wasn't quite the legal term, but in any case he was suspended (does anyone ever get properly fired in this place?), and Fig was willing to overlook the fact that Piper had a screwdriver in her possession for fear of bad publicity.

5 years. For crimes that she had, in fact, committed. Piper could no longer run away from the fact that her life was turning out distinctly different from how she had pictured it. She realised that a small part of her chose Larry because she thought that she was above all of this, and had somehow ended up in prison unfairly. And so she hung on to her life outside, to the neat yuppie life that she thought she aspired to.

She realised it probably hadn't quite hit her yet that she would be spending the next 5 years in prison. She was dragged straight from hospital through to her hearing and back down to the SHU. She could imagine her mother weeping for what her daughter's life had become, whilst struggling to find a way to explain how she had mothered a convict.

She knew Polly would still be there for her. Or at least she hoped. They were Polly and Piper, the inseparables, and their friendship managed to survive Piper's mad dash around the world with Alex and then the news of the 15-month sentence – surely Polly could continue being her anchor in the outside world. Although this wasn't how it was meant to be, this wasn't the plan. Piper was going to be mini-Polly's godmother. She would have been the cool 'aunt' who got to spoil the kid without the difficult parenting bits. She hoped Polly would forgive her for ruining that.

Actually, Piper knew she would. It might take a bit of time, but the two friends knew each other inside and out, and they were there for each other for the long haul. At the hospital, when Piper confessed to the fact that she wanted Alex, Polly had understood. Of course, Polly would have preferred it if Piper had chosen to marry Larry – and yes, the coincidental rhyming was a common target of late-night jokes – so that they could have all started this next stage of their life together.

But Polly had agreed to at least try and get over her dislike of Alex. Because she had rarely seen Piper so intense, so sure in her decision when she told her that that was who she wanted.

5 years. Piper had 5 years to get Alex back. Alex's sentence was officially 4 years longer than that, ignoring the possibility of early release. But what do 4 years matter, when for the past decade your whole life has worked out in a way that has made this one person, no matter how much you fought against it, the one thing that you really do want out of life?