"You guys know this is complete bullshit," Alex ran a hand hurriedly through her mass of dark hair, nudging the side railing with her toe. When she and Nicky had made it back to the hotel, they'd met up with Poussey who was smoking out on the balcony of her room. Alex had quickly caught her up on the details of the meeting and she informed them Red had told her she didn't need to be there. That had made Alex furious and she was ready to call the manager and tell her to go fuck herself but Poussey had merely shook her head and said she wasn't at all surprised Red wanted to replace Lorna as fast as possible or that she hadn't been asked to weigh in. "I ain't important," she had replied matter factly. "At least not to her."

"Of course it's bullshit," Nicky gestured for Poussey to hand her the cigarette and she took a long drag off of it before handing it back.

"Thought you quit," Poussey grinned.

"I did. Anyway," she focused on Alex, "You wanna be the one to fire her? Then we're fucked."

"We can find another manager in like, five seconds," Alex replied smugly, rolling her eyes.

"That's not what I mean. The woman has connections with the Russian mob. I for one, don't wanna be the one who pisses her off."

Alex laughed. "Oh come on, Nichols, you can't tell me you honestly believe that shit."

"Do you really wanna find out?"

"Shit," The drummer sank into the white deck chair."Ya'll keep arguing about Red. Me, I'm gonna mind my own fucking business. I'm gonna show up at that audition, keep my mouth shut..."

"That's all you ever want to do," Alex muttered under her breath.

"Yo, man, you wanna say that shit a little louder? Cuz I can't hear you," Poussey rose from her chair, eyes gleaming with a dare.

"Guys, guys, relax," Nicky tried to play peacemaker. "We're all-"

"You know what, Nick," Alex cut her off. "I'm all set. I'm going for a walk. See you at 2."

Seething, she turned on her heel and left the balcony.

Walking had always calmed her. Growing up having less than reliable cars that were constantly breaking down, she had had to take the bus alot or go out on foot. It still was her go to method for settling down a red hot temper, something she'd not quite outgrown.

"Fuck this," She pushed air out through her teeth as she walked further and further away from the hotel with absolutely no destination in mind. "Fuck Red and fuck Poussey and fuck Nicky for not having my back and fuck Lorna for leaving."

She knew she probably looked crazy to the people she passed, talking to herself like some schizophrenic and she was briefly thankful that she'd chosen to wear ripped jeans, no make up and sunglasses, totally unlike her onstage persona. No one as so much turned their head in her direction.

God, she needed to talk to the one person who was always on her side, no matter what, no questions asked. The only person she didn't need to explain herself to. Taking her phone out of her pocket, she quickly hit a button and put it up to her ear.

"Babe!" The familiar voice at the other end of the line made tears spring to the corners of her eyelids. It instantly made everything better.

"Mom, hey, hi. I was just calling to...you know, let you know how things are going." Alex struggled desperately to keep her voice neutral. Realistically she knew there was nothing Diane could do to help. She was hundreds of miles away and Alex should have had a handle on her own problems.

"Honey, you know I love to hear from you. I'm not complaining, really I'm not, but you don't sound good. Everything OK?"

"Yeah," she replied thickly, walking faster. "I just wanted to hear your voice, I guess."

"I miss you, baby," Diane said and Alex could almost imagine her sitting outside on the wrap around porch with her morning coffee and cigarette, her Saturday morning routine. "How's St. Louis? You guys get to see the city yet?"

"Not really."

"You're playing on Monday, right?"

"Yup. But I called to talk about you. How are you doing...what's been going on?"

"Oh, ya know...same shit, different day." Diane paused. "I really wanna know what's going on with my baby girl. It's been a couple of days since I've heard from you."

"Sorry," she mumbled guiltily. "I know I told you I'd call when I got here but with all the shit that's been going on..."

"Not trying to make you feel bad. I know you're busy. I miss you, that's all. So tellme what's goin' on. You guys gonna figure something out for Monday since Lorna's gone."

"Red figured something out alright," Alex's stride increased and she was breathless but she didn't slow down.

"What are ya doing? You're all out breath."

"Walking."

"Oh shit...you're pissed off at Red, right? Alright, let's here it, what'd she do this time?"

"How long do you have?" The brunette took in a big gasp of air and plunged on. "So she tells us we need to replace Lorna. Like now. So at two, we're auditioning the first girl and then someone else I guess if she sucks and then whoever we pick is singing with us at the show on Monday. Pretty fucked up, huh?"

"Jesus, I'd say. Whatta you gonna do?"

"It's out of my hands, Ma. Nicky and Poussey are gonna do whatever the fuck Red tells them. Nobody gives a shit about this band except me." Alex was aware she sounded like a petulant twelve year old but she didn't have to put on a brave face for her mom. Diane was used to her tendency toward melodrama at times.

"It's not out of your hands. Listen to me, Alex. You were born to be a musician. Look at who-never mind. Not gonna bring him up. Anyway, you're good. I'm not just sayin' that because I'm your mom. You know you're good. So here's what you're gonna do...you're gonna go that audition, pick the best singer and you're gonna teach her the music. You can teach anyone anything, Al. You're special, don't you know that? And then you're gonna call me on Tuesday and tell me how amazing the concert was, OK?"

"Yeah or what a shit show it was.'

"Alex," Diane started warningly, causing her daughter to roll her eyes. The woman had always had more faith in her than she did in herself.

"I'm gonna do my best," Alex sighed. "Listen, Mom, I'm gonna grab a coffee. The one they served at the restaurant this morning tasted like motor oil."

Diane laughed heartily and the sound canvassed across the miles through the phone, making a sharp pang of longing settle smack into the center of her chest. How pathetic am I? Thirty five years old and I'm freakin homesick, she thought, dabbing quickly at her eyes under her sunglasses.

"OK, baby. You keep that chin up, hear me? No feelin' sorry for yourself. That's your band. You're in control. Not Red. Not anybody but you. Got it?"

"Yeah, I got it." Alex's voice softened as she paused outside the Starbucks. "Love you."

"Love you too, baby girl. Talk to you soon."

Hanging up, Alex couldn't help but feel relieved. Finding the coffee chain had served two purposes. Not only was it chance to fuel up properly before whatever was to come in the afternoon, it was also a valid excuse to get off the phone with Diane before she started balling like the big pathetic baby she'd apparently turned into. Her mom's steadfast belief in her seemed like an awful lot to live up to and not for the first time, Alex wondered if the whole professional musican thing was a solid career choice.

"Fuck it," She muttered. If Diane was certain this could work, she had no choice but to believe her. Her mother was the strongest person she'd ever known and she wasn't about to disappoint her. She'd done enough of that when she was a teenager to last a lifetime.

Starbucks was quiet and she busied herself going over instrumentals of their music on her iPhone. It was almost guaranteed they'd have to fuck with the set list a bit to make sure whoever they picked could sing both their more well known stuff and material that was easy to learn fast. The time sped by and before Alex knew it, it was time to head back to the hotel.

After a quick shower, Alex debated on what to wear to the audition. She didn't want to go full out Bettie Page like she did for shows but she also wanted to look like she meant business. Wondering why she cared so much, she finally settled on black skinny jeans, a black crocheted shirt with a tank top underneath and ankle boots. She ran a brush briskly through her long hair, still damp from the shower, letting it hang loosely down her back. Thankfully no one had bothered to ask if she wanted to go with them. There was no way she was in any mood to be anything other than civil to anyone.

The Fabulous Fox, in all it's old school grandeur, was up there with one of the nicest venues Alex had been in and under normal circumstances, she would've been psyched to play there but as she strode backstage, giving her name to the security guard who answered the door, a huge lump formed in her throat. It was an awfully huge space to be made a fool of in.

"Hey, you made it, dude," Nicky strode up to her and wacked her on the shoulder. "Where the fuck did you go?"

"You look tense. You ok?" She couldn't stop the condensation from dripping into her tone and Nicky blinked once and then again.

"Fuck yeah, I'm tense. Wouldn't you be?" The other woman twirled a strand of unruly hair around her finger and pursed her lips. "This shit is alot of pressure."

"Nice place though," Poussey piped up from behind Nicky.

The dressing room was large and bright with huge floor to ceiling windows and roomy lit up make up stations. In the left corner of the room sat a large red crushed velvet sofa. It was a beautiful space and Alex immediately crashed onto to the sofa.

"Hey Vause...I just wanna say I'm sorry for being a dick earlier," Poussey sat down next to her. "I'm just nervous, man. This shit is nuts."

"Don't even worry about it," Alex replied dismissively. "Where the fuck is Red? She was supposed to meet us fifteen minutes ago. I'd really like to get this over with."

At that moment the manager burst through the door. "Hello ladies...I know, I know...I'm late. Tell me about it...Anyway. I have someone for you to meet."

Trailing slightly behind her was a tall blonde and a man with messy hair and a nervous smile. "Hey," the blonde waved slightly in greeting. She wore an white flowy blouse and blue jeans, her hair cut in stylish layers. Alex vaugely thought the girl looked like a walking Gap ad. A knockout to be sure but not in line with the punk look of the band at all.

"Girls, this is Piper Chapman and her manager, Larry."

"Uh, manager slash fiancee," he corrected with an lopsided grin, stepping forward.

Piper smiled. "What he said." Alex zoned in on her ring finger then and saw it, the huge, glittery diamond nestled on a thin gold band.

She shot Nicky a look from across the room where she was perched on a make up station and her friend cocked her head, indicating she'd seen the ring as well.

"Let me introduce you to the band and we'll get started, shall we?" Red took her by the arm and led her to Alex. "First and foremost, this is Solitary Confinement itself. Our fearless leader, Alex Vause."

The little show Red was putting on for Piper and her manager was making her want to vomit. Still, Diane's words ringing in her ears, she forced a smile. "Hey."

"I've listened to the album. you're an amazing guitarist. Like really amazing...and the songs. You write all the music too, right?"

"Well, me and Nick here."

"You guys are great." Piper extended her hand. "It's really nice to meet you."

Always a skeptic, Alex mulled over her words, wondering if the blonde was sincere in her praise. Larry said nothing, only stood awkwardly behind her. She took the proffered hand anyway.

As their fingers touched and enclosed around one another's, the spark made Alex jump. It was electric and instantaneous and as she glanced up at Piper, her blue eyes widening slightly, Alex knew she had felt it too.