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Morello stared a hole into Alex for a moment before snapping out of it and lifting her head to look at her once more, still enveloped in Nicky's hug.

"I don't know."

She couldn't even recall why she had gone out there in the first place after seeing Piper like that.

Before Alex or any of the others could reply in any way, they were roughly shoved aside by guards passing to get outside to the scene. Mendez barked at them to get back to their dorms but none of them moved. They were frozen in the spot. Bell and O'Neill rushed by them a few seconds after Mendez and the group around Piper was soon heard talking quietly. Bennett hadn't managed to stop the blood flow completely but it had died down a little, buying Piper time until the ambulance would get to them. It shouldn't take too long now.

Minutes that felt like hours later, the sirens of the ambulance could be heard at the prison entrance and everyone let out a sigh of relief. Fischer guided the men through the prison to where Piper was, stopping at the door and letting them pass. She turned her attention to the small gathering of people around the door, Alex up front. By now, word had somehow spread that something was wrong and more inmates had come together there, murmurs and whispers filling the otherwise silent hallway.

"Please go back to your dorms." Fischer asked.

None moved. She sighed a little and stepped closer to them, not finding it in herself to be as strict as she should be given the situation they found themselves in.

"I'm really sorry but they need a clear path to bring Chapman back to the ambulance. Please. You shouldn't be here in the first place."

Alex stared at her for a moment before nodding and taking a few steps back so they could pass without any problems. Everyone else followed her example but they were still reluctant to leave the place. Curiosity had gotten the better of them and they wanted to know what had happened. By now every inmate around knew who was lying out there, at last after what Fischer had just said and as much as it was curiosity that brought them there, it was mostly worry that kept them there now. Most inmates got along just fine with Piper and they genuinely liked her.

Taystee peeked up when she noticed movements and the clear sounds of hurried footsteps in the snow. They got clearer the closer they got and everyone fell silent once more, eyes on the gurney that passed by them mere seconds later. Bell was with the paramedics, showing them the way back but barely anyone paid her any attention.

Piper's shirt was soaked in blood, her skin paler than Alex could ever remember seeing and she looked more like a dead body than being alive. The cross was still impaled into her. The paramedics hadn't needed long to make that decision. It would be safest to take it out in the hospital during surgery. There were a few gasps and shocked expressions whenever someone caught a glimpse of Piper and once she was out of sight, most eyes fell onto Alex. She looked like she was going to be sick herself and she quickly excused herself to Nicky and the girls before rushing off to the bathroom.

Fischer looked after her, worried but waited until the other CO's came back out. She didn't need to wait long. Mendez was about to say something when he saw everyone but he was interrupted by Kaputo´who just now joined the crowd.

"Inmates, back to your dorms."

"What about Chapman?" Nicky asked, finally letting go of Morello.

He turned his head to look at her, his expression sympathetic.

"We will inquire about her condition. Now, go back to your dorms, there is nothing you can do right now. The CO's will make sure you will all get back."

Mendez, Bennett and O'Neill each took a dorm and made sure every inmate that was out now went back to the ones they belong to. Nicky didn't have the chance to go after Alex so she asked Fischer to do so for her. She trusted her more than any other guard in there and she was currently also the only woman around.

Fischer went after Alex to the bathroom, knocking when she heard noises coming from the toilet. She made a face when she found her. She wasn't good at handling people who were vomiting. She knelt down next to her anyway, keeping her hair out of her face for her and only then did Alex notice the new presence. She dry heaved a few more times and shifted to lean back against the wall of the stall.

"When you're feeling up to it, I'll walk you back to your dorm."

Alex just nodded absently, teary-eyed. She put her glasses up into her hair and looked at her.

"Is she gonna be alright?"

"I don't know. I'm sorry."

Alex got up again and after washing her face, they left the bathroom to get back to her dorm. Her minds went back to Piper's rather lifeless body and the cross and something snapped inside of her.

"Pennsatucky..." She mumbled to herself, angry.

Fischer paid it no attention and let her off once at her bunk. Alex dropped down, so tense her knuckles turned white. Over the worry and Morello's scream she had actually forgotten that they had been looking for Pennsatucky as well. She had forgotten about the threats Piper had gotten too. After seeing the cross, however, it had all come back to her with a vengeance and now she was just pissed. She would make Pennsatucky pay for what she did to Piper when she saw her the next time. No matter the cost.