Finally, they came to a glass-paneled door, a blind pulled down to prevent people from looking inside. "Where the fuck am I?" Alex searched her surroundings for clues as the guard pulled her to a halt and began to unlock her handcuffs. "Is this max? This can't be the schu. This is psych, right? You brought me to the psych ward. Nice." It had been an hour since her tumultuous meeting with Caputo, who amidst the tangle of raised voices and furious accusations, had summoned a guard to escort Alex out of the room and roughly bundle her out of the building.
"Vause, stop talking." The stocky, bald headed guard sighed, slipping the empty cuffs through a hook on his belt and taking hold of the silver door handle. Alex's heart stopped. "You didn't answer any of my questions. Is this psych?" She could feel her teeth beginning to chatter, her palms growing moist.
"Go ahead. Find out." Although not exactly friendly, there was a definite warmth to the guard's voice as he pushed the door open and signaled for Alex to enter. "You have half an hour. I'll be right here when you come out."
"No peeking!" Piper cried as she came up behind Alex and covered the brunette's hands with her own, replacing the trademark glasses and making a double-layered blindfold against her eyes.
"Hey!" Alex laughed. "I wasn't looking! I swear."
"Alex, you're are the world's biggest cheat. I saw you staring between the gap in your fingers. Jerk."
"I have to object: I never cheat at anything that requires any real skill. Patience, yes….I admit I am slightly compromised in that area."
"Stop talking and walk, jackass." Piper guided Alex through the door frame into her living room, negotiating her past the sofa and into the centre of the polished, wooden floor. It was December, cold enough outside for snow and near enough to Christmas for decorations. Not usually sentimental, Alex had decided, like she did every year, not to bother decking out her apartment with anything festive. Mostly, she blamed her lack of Christmas spirit on a pact of solidarity that she had made with her mother at eight years old, when she had discovered that despite the relentless working, scrimping and saving, they couldn't afford the lavish Christmas that everyone automatically expected. Since then, Christmas had been something designed for everyone else; on the big day itself, Alex prided herself on never eating turkey and drinking too much beer.
"Ok, a little closer…" Piper gently guided her forward, the cool touch of her hands sending little shocks of excited electricity up and down Alex's skin.
"Open your eyes!"
The tree was beautiful, of course. Piper had spent hours decorating it with white, twinkling fairy lights, silver tinsel, painted pinecones and tiny jingling bells. The door frame and windowsill were trimmed with festive holly, the shiny green leaves bejeweled with deep red berries. A row of small tea light candles that had been placed on the mantelpiece glowed like stars in the night sky, bathing the room in a honey coloured light. It was beautiful. But what was more beautiful, in Alex's opinion, was Piper's excitement. She was just so goddamn cute when she was happy. Like the Christmas tree, her face was alight with pleasure, her eyes sparkling with satisfaction as she watched Alex take in the view.
"So you like it?" the blonde chewed her bottom lip as she grinned.
"Piper, come here." Through hooded green eyes, Alex shot her a look of pure admiration, before she grabbed her with both hands around the waist, sinking her fingers into the grey wool of her jumper and holding her close, breathing in the smell of her hair.
Like a child Piper squirmed in her arms until she had loosened her grip and turned to face her. "But wait, I'm not finished, you didn't look under the tree!"
"Pretty sure it's against the law to open any presents before the big day Pipes. I genuinely can't think of anything worse than getting in trouble with an old bearded man who has an obsession with his own sack and other people's stockings."
"Pervert." Piper took her by the hand and pulled her to her knees to a spot in the floor, next to the tree's lowest branches. Before Alex could protest, a shimmering, perfectly wrapped package was thrust into her arms.
"What's this?" the solid weight of the object felt expensive as Alex shook it gently for clues.
Cocking her head playfully, Piper locked her shimmering eyes on her own. Blonde hair cascaded in soft waves down her shoulders, surrounding her face with an almost angelic golden frame.
"Go ahead," she murmured, a smile dancing on her lips as she spoke, "find out!"
Once she had stepped fully inside the small artificially lit room, Alex gasped. Both hands flew to her mouth in shock, her eyes spilling over with tears. Like a fly caught in a spiders' web, the person in the bed in front of her was caught in a tangle of tubes which were hooked up to a myriad of machines, The person in the bed in front of her had their eyes closed; they lay still, peaceful looking, oblivious to the room around them.
The person in the bed of front of her was Piper.
"You can get closer you know." A pony-tailed, smiling surgeon entered the room, wearing a pristine white coat and carrying a clipboard. "She hasn't spoken yet, but she sometimes opens her eyes. She'll probably be able to tell that you're here."
Looking at the smart professional behind her, Alex felt hideously out of place, ashamed of her grubby criminal uniform and standard issue shoes. Caught between nervousness and embarrassment, she was suddenly unsure where to move to. "Here." The surgeon walked past her and placed a chair at Piper's bedside, right next to her head so that they would be positioned face to face.
Alex cleared her throat, "Thank you."
"No problem. But you be kind to this one. She's so strong, a real fighter. We're all really proud of her." With one final check of the monitors surrounding her patient, the surgeon exited the room.
"Suck up!" Alex joked, more out of habit than for effect, looking wistfully at Piper's bruised face as she sat down. Gently, she ran her fingers over the scratched skin of Piper's cheek, stopping when she came to the deep row of stitches, which stretched from the blonde's hairline to the middle of her scalp. " Piper, I am so SO glad to see you. I thought…I thought…" fighting back tears, Alex lifted Piper's hand from the blue wool blanket that was tucked neatly into the mattress and cradled it in her own.
"You should have just listened to me, you idiot." Alex's voice was husky as she grappled with a tidal wave of emotion. Piper showed no response, but she was present. She could be touched, she felt real beneath the fingertips. In that moment, that was more than enough.
"Jesus Christ, Piper." A ragged breath escaped Alex's mouth as she wiped tears from her eyes with the back of her shaking hands. Overwhelmed with relief, she stretched forward towards Piper's motionless face to kiss her lips. The realness of Piper's mouth beneath her own almost took her breath away. Something that she thought had died inside of her stirred earnestly and she closed her eyes with relief. She'd never been a religious person, never for a second believed in God, but if there was someone up there who was responsible for this, she was sure as hell going to send them a silent prayer of thanks.
When she eventually raised her eyelids, wet and heavy with emotion, Alex found that she was staring straight into a pair of the most familiar, beautiful blue eyes that she had ever seen.