A/N: Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter, especially those Guest reviewers who gave me some food for thought on the Nicky/Piper (Picky? Chaples?) dynamic and how Alex is coming across so far. I've been trying to prevent the 'love at first sight' storyline with a reunited Vauseman as I like the drama of them clashing and being drawn back together more than 20 chapters of 'I love you more'. I want to show that apart they remember mostly good things about their time together, but as soon as they meet, the bitterness of the reasons they broke up is still raw. We are already seeing them work through some of the big issues, so once we get over that, we will see some reconciliation I think. You will see how Piper is stronger as a result of her time in prison as we progress the story as well. Alex has to accept a new version of Piper and I'm sure we will get to have some jealous Alex in there - a jealous Alex is an impassioned one ;-) Hope you enjoy the next instalment and stick with me!

Steve sat in the ambulance holding Piper's cold hand with both of his. He was watching the EMT like a hawk, mentally noting every check they were doing, frequency and any drug they administered as they travelled to the hospital. Piper was unconscious, but bloody as she lay on her back, covered with a red blanket to keep her warm.

Her hair was matted with blood on the left side of her head and her eye was closed over as the swelling increased, the purple bruising started to colour her face. She had a split lip and the blood had started to dry over it, smudges of blood over her chin as though she had tried to wipe it away. He could see hand prints around her neck above the blanket as she laid completely still, only the movements of the vehicle on the road causing her body to vibrate as they moved along the city streets.

He ran his thumb over her knuckles and realised they were all scraped and rough from the struggle. The lump that had been in his throat since he helped her into the ambulance grew to the point he couldn't breathe and he felt nauseous. These were all signs she had put up a prolonged fight. This little girl he had grown up with and loved had been hurt by a God damned monster he had brought into her life tonight.

They arrived at the hospital and the emergency crew was ready and waiting for them to open the doors. He jumped out and tried to keep up as the stretcher was put on a gurney and wheeled into the emergency room. The EMT relayed the important facts to the Doctor as they moved "Piper Chapman 27 year old female, found unconscious on the ground outside a bar having sustained a grievous physical attack by a male. Has consumed a significant amount of alcohol, been unconscious since we picked her up….. "

The medical conversations went on and Steve tried to concentrate on them, but hearing the hard facts listed in such a business fashion was a shock to him. He's had these conversations himself as a Doctor, but it all sounded so cold and clinical right now.

He was stopped at the door as they took Piper in for treatment. "I'm sorry Sir, we'll need you to give us some details here while Ms Chapman is seen by the Doctor. Did you say you are a friend of Ms Chapman's?"

Steve answered the questions as best he could and he knew he needed to call Piper's family to tell them she's in hospital. Where was he supposed to start with that conversation? He called Cal to try and explain and found himself struggling to get the words out between sobs. Cal didn't say much on the phone, but was setting off straight away for the hospital. Steve suspected Cal was going to rip him apart with his bare hands when he arrived and he would willingly take all of that.

The nurse came back over and said the police were here to speak to him and take a statement. He nodded his head and went to talk to them in a quiet room. "Mr Lockhart, please take a seat. I'm DI Singer and this is DI Curtis. Thanks for agreeing to speak with us, I'm sure you're very worried about your friend at the moment so we'll try not to keep you. We just need to ask you some questions about what happened tonight and take a brief statement while things are fresh in your mind."

Steve sat down and nodded his head, waiting for the questions to start.

"From the beginning, can you tell us who you were out with that night and how you came to be at Sandy's bar?" Steve explained about the conference and how the 5 of them had met in another bar first before moving to Sandy's, then explained that they'd become separated after Piper went to the restroom and that was the last time he saw her conscious.

"So, when did you leave Ms Chapman alone with Darryl Santos?"

"Er, maybe around 10pm. Piper went to the restroom and Darryl said John and Cindy were looking for me outside the bar. He said he'd wait for Piper, so I went to find them. I couldn't see them so I came back inside."

"You said Ms Chapman drank all of her margarita drink before she went to the restroom?"

"Yes, she downed the whole thing as soon as I passed it to her at the bar and went straight to the restroom."

"OK, It's just that we found a smashed glass at the crime scene that could be important to the investigation. It seems that Ms Chapman got another drink when she returned from the restroom and took this outside with her for some reason. She was drinking some strong cocktails very quickly…"

"She wasn't drunk though. I mean, she was buzzed you know, but she was walking and talking just fine. Don't think for a second that she is to blame for any of this!"

"Of course not Mr Lockhart. We just want to establish the timeline and understand what happened is all. Nobody is making any judgements here. There seems to be evidence of a spilled alcoholic drink on the shirt Mr Santos was wearing, so we will be getting that tested." She paused to take some notes for a moment and then continued.

"Mr Lockhart, I know this is going to be very difficult for you and I'm sorry but I have to ask you for as much detail as you can give me here. Can you tell us what happened when you found Ms Chapman outside the bar tonight?"

Steve swallowed hard and sat on his balled up fists, looking at the table as he tried to compose himself and think logically about it all. It was a series of flashbacks in his mind and the police were looking for a chronological order of events.

"I went outside and heard a noise coming from behind the recycling container around the back. I walked around to try and see if I could see what it was, but it was so dark I couldn't see anything. As I got closer, it sounded like someone was struggling on the floor and I heard….well…like someone breathing heavily…like they were struggling…grunting I guess you could call it…"The lump in Steve's throat got so big he couldn't get any words out.

DI Curtis poured him a glass of water and they waited patiently for him to be able to continue.

I shouted to get their attention as I ran over to see what was happening. When I got around the container, the guy was standing up and fastening his trousers. Without turning around, he said "Nothing to see here buddy." Can you fucking believe that?!"

"Then what happened Mr Lockhart?"

"I…I looked past him and noticed a woman's legs at a funny angle lying on the floor behind him…I'm sorry, can we just stop for a second? "

"Sure. Take your time. I'm sorry we have to do this tonight."

Gulping down the rest of the water, Steve flexed his hands by his sides and took some deep breaths to try and regulate his breathing.

"I got close enough to grab a hold of the guy and saw it was Darryl leaning over Piper…."

He stood up quickly and vomited into the waste paper basket in the corner. He wiped his mouth as DI Curtis poured him some more water.

"So I grabbed a hold of him and, well, you saw the rest."

"We need you to tell us Mr Lockhart, for the record."

"I pulled him away from her and punched him. Repeatedly. Until someone pulled me off him."

"And could you see Ms Chapman at this point? What was she doing?"

"…She wasn't moving. She was lying on the floor and bleeding."

"Was she fully clothed at this point Mr Lockhart?"

Silent tears started to fall down Steve's face as he remembered seeing Piper lying there on the ground, her dignity lost to a growing crowd of helpers as he was restrained from going to her by a couple of guys who thought he was going to carry on beating the shit out of Darryl.

"Her dress was pulled up and her panties were pulled down to her ankles." He looked at the wall as he spoke quietly.

"Thank you Mr Lockhart. I know that was difficult for you. We will need to take a full statement from you tomorrow, where you may choose to have legal representation with you. We'll let you get back to see how Ms Chapman is now, but of course, we need you to stay in the city until we have formal charges prepared."

Steve left the room immediately and went to the nurse's station to ask for an update. The two DI's came by and asked the nurses to ensure that a rape kit was part of Piper's examination and to keep all of her clothes for evidence.

The nurse took him to one side to treat his hands. His knuckles were sore and cut and he had fractured one of them and not even noticed. He felt numb and completely useless as he couldn't see Piper yet. As he sat outside for some air, Cal came running in from the car park closely followed by Piper's Mother and Father. He stood and braced himself for what possible reaction he might get. Cal was out of breath and asked him where Piper was and to tell him what happened. Steve explained it with as few of the details as he could for the moment and Piper's mother slapped him squarely across the cheek before they walked inside.