A/N: So this chapter is tying a few things together and setting up the next chapters. To the guest reviewer who suggested Vauseman would be apologetic and grateful to a man...well, let's see where the story goes before pre-empting any Hollywood stereotypes. Thanks to the usual reviewers too. Always good to hear from you guys. Have a great weekend everyone ;-)
Polly came to see Piper that night, bringing her a phone charger and the other things on her list as well as some celebrity gossip magazines to help pass the time.
"How are you feeling then?" Polly settled into the chair by the bed.
"I'm aching all over. I've got a busted rib which is making it hard to get comfortable in this bed and my head is aching between the meds. But not bad all in all." She shifted to get more comfortable to look at Polly.
"You look exhausted Pol. I'm so sorry you've had to run the store on your own this last few days. I don't know when I'll be out of here yet either. It sucks. Do you think we could get someone in to help you short term?"
"No, I'm OK. Honesty, I've managed to juggle everything around so far. It's only been like 3 days and Alex helped out on Saturday, so I got some rest."
"Alex helped?" Piper raised her eyebrows, checking she had heard her properly.
"Yeah, I called her on Saturday to ask her to run the store so I could come over and see you in here. She came straight away….She's been a Godsend actually…" Polly hadn't planned on singing Alex's praises, but she would be worn out if Alex hadn't looked after the store on Saturday and stayed with Piper last night.
"Well, just remember that when she comes calling for payback. Never thought I'd hear you call her anything other than SuperCunt, so 'Godsend' is a shock. Has she been using her super lesbian charm on you Pol?" Piper winked.
"You know I'm immune, so fuck off. It's you who needs a vaccine. The Vause Virus gets you every time." Polly raised an eyebrow to see if Piper would even try and dispute it.
"Yeah. Well like any virus, the body builds up immunity over time. My defences have got stronger in the last 4 years, so the Vause Virus would have to be damned strong to break down these defences." Piper said nonchalantly, folding her arms.
"Whatever you say. You keep telling yourself that. How long are your folks going to be staying in the city?"
"I don't know, but I hope they won't be here too long. I'm in here for observation and pain relief as far as I can tell, so I hope to be sleeping in my own bed again soon."
XXXXX
Piper plugged her phone in to charge when Polly left and rummaged around in her bedside cabinet for the chocolates she had left when she found an old iPod in the drawer. She pulled it out and turned it over to see the little yellow emoji sticker she had stuck on there when she and Alex were travelling in Europe. But how did that get into her room in the hospital? She thought she'd lost that years ago. She smiled as she ran her fingers over the sticker, looking at how old the technology suddenly seemed to be. Clicking the on button, she found it was nearly fully charged, so she put the earbuds in and had a look through the playlists that they created years ago. Piper found the one that she created specifically for relaxing on the beach and pressed play – Morcheeba. Perfect! She laid back and closed her eyes, transporting herself back to the beach.
XXXXX
The next morning, the nurses came to move Piper to a new ward with more people buzzing around. It was a general ward, but she still had her own room (no view though, her Mother wouldn't be pleased). The nursing staff insisted Piper sit in a wheelchair to be moved to a different room and she protested for a while, before realising how much her ribs hurt. Settling her things into the new cupboards and opting to sit in a tall backed chair by the bed for a while, Piper picked up her phone to read her messages. There were several from Nicky, the first teasing her about oversleeping on Saturday morning and a few updating her on the progress of her parrot from South Africa. She mustn't know about her being in hospital and probably thought Piper was being rude by not replying to her playful banter. She smiled as she read one that was sent this morning:
'Yo Blondie. I can't believe you suckered me into hunting down a South African parrot for you and just when it's going through passport control to get into the country, you go AWOL. Some Mother you're gonna be hey?'
Piper tapped out a reply.
'Well my lie in on Saturday overran so I only woke up yesterday. I hope you sent a welcoming party for my parrot ;-) '
Then there was a text from Steve on Monday night.
'Hey P, How are you? I don't really know what to say in a text other than I'm really sorry. That doesn't cut it I know. You probably won't want to see me after all of this, but I'd really like to talk to you and explain. I'm so sorry P, please forgive me.x'
Piper put her phone down for a moment, rubbing her forehead. She wasn't sure what her feelings were towards Steve. She was angry that he left her on her own with that fucking prick, but grateful that Steve had found her before he could do what he had planned. She also knew for certain that Steve would never deliberately put her in harms way. It was just too soon to be going over things and making a decision on a forgive and forget basis. The thought of it all made her weary itself. She needed to reply though.
'Hi Steve. I'm doing OK thanks. Yes, we should talk about what happened, but maybe not just yet. I'm still groggy and getting used to the whole being in hospital thing right now. I'll get in touch soon though. X'
It wasn't long before the Chapmans were bundling through the door, concerned that she might have escaped when they didn't find her in the ICU ward.
"There you are darling! Well it isn't exactly an improvement in your environment is it? It's even smaller than the first one they put you in!" Her Mother looked disdainfully at the laminated furniture and small window looking onto the fire escape. "How long are you going to be in here for then?"
"I don't know actually, they only moved me this morning. I'll ask the Doctor when he does his rounds later. It's not like I need a lot of space anyway as I'm only lying in bed or sitting in a chair. They could probably put me in a wardrobe for all I need." Seeing her Mother's mouth open to protest at the quality of accommodation they were paying for, she quickly cut her off. "I'll be back home very soon anyway, so I can't be bothered with all of the packing and unpacking."
Her Father smiled and walked over to put his arm over the top of Piper's chair. "Yes you will sweetheart. We just need to make sure your wheelchair will fit through the doorways in your old room or we will need to buy a slimmer one that will. I'll measure up while I'm here actually." He set to work asking for a tape measure at the nurses station as Piper looked wide-eyed at Cal.
"There's really no need. I'll be absolutely fine on my own. Really, you've done more than enough already. I couldn't possibly ask you to do that. No, I won't hear of it." Piper tried to be as assertive as possible to block this idea from ballooning.
The Doctor walked in to do his checks and Piper was grateful for the distraction from the building argument with her Mother. He was happy with her progress and they would likely be releasing her by the end of the week.
"Oh, that is great news. I'm so looking forward to getting back into my own bed."
"Yes, I bet you are. Your family have reassured me that you'll have round the clock care from them from the moment we let you out of here, so we're happy to agree to it on that basis and continue until we can sign you off and you are independent. Plus, you can spend Christmas at home together." He smiled, not realising the grenade he had just thrown into her escape plans.
"I can't go to my own home?"
"Of course you can. You just need to provide the names of the people who will be with you to provide that care 24 hours a day. Will that be your family here?"
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Polly had to look after the store during the day. Everyone she knew here had jobs and had to work so couldn't do it. Argh, this was so unfair!
"No. I guess I'm going to stay with my parents for a while then." She mumbled through gritted teeth.
"Good, we can make plans for the end of the week then." He left the charts on the bottom of her bed and left with his nurses, taking Piper's hopes of any peace and quiet with him.
XXXXX
Polly came to see her after work again and she told her how busy the store had been this last week. It was less than 2 weeks until Christmas and the gift packs were selling out as quickly as she could make them up. Piper was quiet and letting Polly ramble on about the sales figures before she stopped.
"What's eating you? You've barely uttered a word since I came in here."
Piper told her about her having a good chance of being discharged at the end of the week, the condition being that she had to stay with her parents.
"Wow. No wonder you're such a misery. How long for?"
"I don't know. Until I can tick all of the boxes on a form no doubt."
"How come you can't stay home?"
"Because I have to have someone with me 24 hours a day until they tell me otherwise."
"I could stay after work and I can stay overnight, but I need to be at the store during the day now. There's too much to do. Sorry."
"It's OK. I thought about it for a second and knew it would be too much. God this sucks."
"What about SuperCunt? She's the Boss so technically she could take the time –"
"No Pol. No way. I don't want her seeing me like this."
"Why? I don't think she'll care that you're wearing a bandage-"
"Absolutely not. I'm not having her controlling everything I do while I'm incapacitated like some Steven King movie"
"What are you talking about Piper? I'm sure she'd want to help you, not CONTROL you. Anyway, she's already seen you-"
"Promise me you won't let her see me like this? I don't want her pity. I couldn't stand to see her looking at me in that way. I know what she'll be thinking – she'll be thinking I'm a dumbass for letting this happen and not being more careful with the company I keep. Promise me Pol!" Piper glared at Polly until she got the answer she was waiting for.
"OK. Have it your way. I promise. For the record, I think you're being over dramatic about this, but it's your bedside manner you're choosing." Polly raised her hands in surrender.
"By the way, how did this iPod get into my drawer? Where did you find that? I thought I lost it years ago. Oh my God, there are some brilliant songs on here that I totally forgot about….Here, do you remember this one?" Piper handed her an earbud and Polly was grateful that she didn't have to answer the question in the end.
XXXXX
Popi had been open for all of 5 minutes on Wednesday morning before Alex walked through the door. Polly was on the phone when she saw the raven-haired woman walk purposefully to the counter and wait for Polly to finish her call.
Polly put the phone down and turned to see Alex glaring at her.
"Well Good Morning to you SuperCunt. To what do I owe the pleasure of a personal appointment today?"
"You know what. Why haven't you returned any of my calls? She woke up on Monday and I've had nothing from you since."
"Ah, yes. Well I've been very busy here and then with all the rushing to the hospital-"
"Don't bullshit me HOLLY. What happened to her? Has she got memory loss? Have they put her back into a coma because she didn't respond well when they woke her up? What the fuck is happening?!"
"She's OK. She's fine. Apart from the obvious – the head injury, the ribs and so on. She might even get out later this week."
"Good, well that's all good right. So why couldn't you tell me this on the phone instead of having me haul my worried ass over here to give you the third degree?"
"Well, like I said, I've been really busy. I was meaning to call but I forgot. Sorry, what can I say?"
Alex looked at Polly for a while. Long enough for Polly to feel uncomfortable under her gaze.
"She doesn't want to see me does she?" Alex sighed heavily and moved her glasses into her hair, leaning with the hands on the counter as she spoke.
"Can you blame her when you behave like such an ass?!" Polly glared at her for a moment, before remembering how tender Alex was with Piper the other night.
Polly sighed and raised her eyes to the ceiling for a moment, contemplating whether to send Alex packing or give her a break. She had been calling constantly for an update so it was clear she cared what was going on with Piper.
"She's stressing out Alex. Her family are swarming all over her and she can't get away from them. I think she feels a little trapped at the moment, with people surrounding her all the time. You know how she can be, she just goes off at the deep end without thinking." Polly let this sink in before continuing. "She is loving the iPod you left for her though. She has been listening to it everyday, so thank you for leaving that with her."
"Can you give me her number so I can at least try and talk to her?"
"At the moment, I think you need to give her a little space. Just let her calm down from the shock of all this will you before you go steaming in with any deep and meaningful shit or waving an angry fist? To be honest, I can never tell what you're going to do when you're together but I'm sure it can wait a few more days, right?"
"Can I have her number if I promise not to call it for a couple of days then?"
"No. I will give you the number when I think she is ready for lesbian drama and not before."
XXXXX
Alex arrived at the NY Logistics offices later in the morning and walked straight into her cave, closing the door behind her. She dropped into her chair and threw her keys onto the desk. There was no way Polly was going to give her Piper's number and she'd have to run the gauntlet of protective Chapmans who hated her to get anywhere near Piper, who didn't want to see her anyway. It was like a lesbian version of the Princess Bride, only the Bride wasn't going to let her in either even if she got that far. She hated waiting, especially waiting for other people to do something or decide something. It was always better to just sort it out there and then herself, unless she was the one making someone wait…well that was different.
Nicky knocked on her door and opened it a crack. "Hey, everything OK in here? You are sitting in the dark…."
"Darkness is my friend…. Did you come in here to offer to make me coffee?"
"Er, no. Actually I came to check you're still alive in here and see if you're coming out to play pool tonight at Sandy's…That was a question by the way. Are you coming to play pool tonight?"
Alex was staring at her computer even though it was only just booting up. "Er..I don't know yet. I'll see."
"You'll see? Geez, I know you're a commitment-phobe but it's only pool. We don't have to get married you know if you say yes. What's up Vause? You want to tell me instead of pretending that log in screen is the Da Vinci code you're working on?" Nicky sat on the sofa in the corner of Alex's office, indicating she wasn't leaving any time soon.
"You're nagging me plenty. Are you sure you're not trying out to be my wife?" Alex raised an eyebrow at her, trying to lighten up and deflect the questioning.
"In your dreams Sasquatch. You know I'm a free spirit that can't be tamed – even if you asked me on bended knee with your talented tongue." Nicky wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
"That would make us eye level then."
Nicky rolled her eyes. "You're OK then?"
"Yes, I'm fine. Honestly, just work stuff you know how it is." Alex turned and smiled at Nicky now, hoping this was going to close off the conversation.
"Fine, but I'll take that as a yes for tonight at Sandy's. We're meeting at 8, so don't be making any lame ass excuses later." Nicky got up to leave and was heading out of the door when Alex stopped her.
"Hey, before you go. Can you give me Piper Chapman's number?" Alex didn't look at Nicky as she spoke, trying to avoid suspicious eyes.
"Yeah, it's on the system you know – under PoPi, but I'll send you the contact card in an email when I get back to my desk." She started to leave again when Alex shouted after her.
"No, I was after her cell number actually….She was after an update on an order is all and I couldn't catch her on the store phone."
Nicky walked back to the doorway, leaning against it now. "Well, I'm sure Polly could answer it. What order are you updating her on?" Alex could feel Nicky's eyes watching her carefully now and was regretting starting this.
"Alright fine. There isn't an order. Can you just give me her number please?"
"Woah! There we go! Now I see what's been eating you!" Alex didn't need to look up to know that shit eating grin on Nicky's face and cursed her pale skin for flushing an obvious shade of red now she was on the back foot.
"The number Nicky. Just give me the number and I will not fire your ass or murder you."
"No fuckin' way Vause! If that hot chick wanted you to have her number, you'd already have it by now….Well Jesus frikking Christ…I never thought I'd see the day you lost your game." Nicky was practically dancing in the doorway at the ammo Alex just gave her.
"I haven't even asked her for it, so I haven't lost my game at all. I haven't started playing yet Nichols." Alex retorted, trying to gain some sort of self respect back. It wasn't working as Nicky walked over to her clasping her hands together.
"Uh-uh. I saw her first and I got her number – WITHOUT even asking her for it. She gave it to me, WILLINGY. That's my toy and you're not playing with her."
Alex was incensed by the complete lack of control she had in the situation as it played out the same as it did with Polly earlier. Both girls seemingly taunting her with the fact they had her number and could call or text her at any time, but neither willing to give it to Alex – who really, really needed to have it now.
"You didn't and she isn't a toy."