A/N: Hey, Happy Easter! I've hatched a little Easter present for you here, so hope you enjoy the double update this weekend :-)
Piper drove to the hospital on Wednesday morning feeling quite nervous. Although she was certain that she would get a green light, there was a niggling feeling that everything had appeared to be going too well with the VSU appointment and she wondered if she had misread the situation. She parked the car and made her way to the ward where she had been staying before Christmas with the gift boxes. There were three nurses who had taken care of her in shirts while she stayed there and she was able to thank the only one of them who was on duty at the time. Nurse Jones had been delighted with the gift, although she was adamant that no thanks were necessary and promised to pass them on to her colleagues as they switched shifts later.
She made her way to Dr Shetty's office and waited to be called in. Her knee was bouncing up and down as the minutes ticked by and she tried to force herself to relax as it might raise her readings for her blood pressure.
"Good Morning Piper. Would you like to come inside?" Dr Shetty came to find her in the waiting area and she made her way into his office. He closed the door behind her and gestured for her to take a seat on the examination bed.
"So, how have you been Piper? Did you have a nice New Year?"
"Fine, fine. New Year was quiet, but that's the way I prefer it actually."
"Good. Can you lift your top up for me so I can see how those ribs are healing?"
Piper winced as he pressed various areas of her ribs and he pulled her tee shirt back down.
"They're healing nicely, but it does take a long time for ribs to get back to the way they were. It's going to be a while before you're running yet I'm afraid."
"I figured as much….Did you….um, get a report back from the VSU? I had two appointments like you asked…"
"I did. I got two reports back from Ms Phillips and she seems pleased with the progress you're making. Do you find the sessions are helping?"
"Yes, yes, definitely."
Dr Shetty started to take her blood pressure and she was trying to will her blood to give the right measurements as this seemed like the last hurdle.
"Hmmm, still a little high…but-"
"Well that will be the coffee. I had a strong espresso before I came here this morning, so it will be that. I feel fine though, much better even than last week."
"I was going to say, but it isn't as high as it was before."
"Oh. OK, well that's good then isn't it? Good enough for me to be signed off as fit and well enough to work again right?"
Dr Shetty was writing his notes and didn't speak for what felt like an eternity before he raised his head and smiled. "Yes, I'm pleased to say you have a clean bill of health from me now. If you do feel any change though, please don't hesitate to call in and see me and we can get you checked over. Always best to be safe."
"Yes! Yes, thank you so much! You have no idea what it means to get my independence back!" Piper was already putting her coat back on as Dr Shetty laughed and waved her out of the door, shaking his head at her.
XXXXX
Piper drove to the store with a grin she couldn't dampen down. It felt so good to be in charge of her own life again and she could do a lot more at the store now to give Polly a break. She breezed through the front door and Polly could see immediately that the news from the hospital was good.
"You weren't this happy when you left Litchfield prison you know."
"Well that's probably because you brought my Mother with you on that occasion. I generally find more happiness for all life events when she isn't there."
"A bit harsh?"
"Brutally honest. I'm free though Pol! Which means I insist you take tomorrow off from working here and have a break. I won't take no for an answer." Piper moved to hug her friend now. "You've been amazing to keep the store going and look after me these last few weeks, the least I can do it let you have a lie in."
"Well, if you're sure you'll be OK on your own, I'm definitely not going to turn that down. I think I'm growing bunions from all the standing up in this place."
"Are you going to celebrate then?"
"Well…..I have a date tonight." Piper grinned. "With Alex."
"A date. Like, you're officially dating now?"
"I don't think it's technically called dating until you've gone on more than one."
"So who is taking who out?"
"Um, I asked so I guess it's me taking Alex out. I was thinking about that Italian place that you went to with Pete. What do you think? The Pavarotti impersonator puts me off a bit actually."
"Might be a bit too corny for Alex. There's guys walking around selling roses at the tables."
"Ugh, a definite no to that then."
"There's a new place opened up in Hell's Kitchen that does some sort of a taster menu with lots of small courses that's getting a lot of hype. Not sure if you'd get a table at such short notice though."
"God, I wish I'd have thought about this more before choosing tonight."
XXXXX
Alex had made good progress on the documents she was working on. She had her headphones in while she worked so there were no distractions and she double checked on all of the figures before mailing them off. She was finished by 3pm and had time to head out and post hard copies of the documents before she would start getting ready for tonight. Piper hadn't told her anything about where they were going, so it was difficult to know what to wear for the occasion. She knew Piper was picking her up from her apartment at 7, so at least she could quickly change if she got it wrong. It was kind of exciting to be going out on an official date with someone that she already knew she had a connection with. Nicky had set her up a few times with pretty dire results in the past, so she found it easier to meet and hook up with people she met in bars. The results had never been anything lasting with either route though.
She returned home from mailing the documents and ran a bath while she mentally flicked through her wardrobe. She opted for a simple black dress which stopped at the knee and was cut low above her cleavage, matching it with some strappy heels she had recently bought to go with it. Her hair was pinned up, with a few loose tendrils around her face which were lightly curled and of course she put on her winged eyeliner and red lipstick to finish the look. She was ready sooner than she thought, so she sat by the door and waited for Piper to call and let her know she was there.
XXXXX
Piper had been so worried about getting there on time and all of the possible reasons for traffic delaying her that she'd been in the parking lot at Alex's apartment since 6:15. This turned out to be far too long to sit and over analyse what she should say and how she should act around the brunette. On the one hand, she convinced herself that she already knew Alex and what she liked and that they already had plenty in common and that this was obviously going to make everything much easier as far as dates go. Then she would counter that by wondering if Alex would think her plans were cliché and that she didn't have any imagination. 6:30. But Alex already knew Piper and she probably knew what kind of date Piper would organise and she wanted to come anyway. She checked her phone – no messages to cancel so far. Piper checked her hair in the mirror again and smoothed down the wrinkles in her pants. What if they ended up fighting over something? They were bound to talk about old times and there were a few things they might get a little heated over….No, they would not talk about old times. It was a date, a first date in fact. Like a clean slate. She glanced over at the small bunch of flowers she had picked up from the florist earlier. Just as she had at the point of ordering them, she was suddenly wracked with indecision over whether Alex would think it was weird to give her flowers. 6:45. Jesus Piper, its' YOUR date. You can play it out however the Hell you like. She put her jacket on and leaned over to pick the flowers off the passenger seat before getting out of the car. Checking her face one last time in the car mirror, she took a deep breath and decided to be bold.
XXXXX
It was only another 10 minutes of checking and rechecking herself in the mirror that Piper knocked on her door. Alex jumped as she was expecting a text and grabbed her leather jacket to leave straight away. On opening the door, she was greeted by Piper holding a bunch of red roses.
"Hi. I um, got you these because, well it's a date and I want to do it right. And the colour reminded me of the lipstick you wear, like tonight…..You, um, look amazing." Piper blushed to the same colour as the roses as Alex stood in the doorway wearing a surprised expression.
"Is it too much? It's corny isn't it? I knew-"
"They're beautiful Pipes and it's cute, thank you." She held her hand out to take the flowers and leaned in to kiss Piper on the cheek, before wiping away the lipstick mark. "I'll just quickly put them in some water and we can go….." She walked over to the sink and quickly filled a vase as she shouted over her shoulder to Piper, who stepped inside the doorway slightly now.
"I wasn't sure what to wear, so I hope this is OK?"
"Yeah, you look gorgeous Alex. It's perfect." Piper grinned as Alex came back to her at the doorway.
"So do you Pipes." Alex took her hand and squeezed it slightly before they set off to the car. Piper was wearing shiny black leggings that hugged the full length of her legs down to a pair of sparkly back heels and Alex admired her curves as she walked slightly behind her into the elevator. Piper had a blue silk halter neck top on that exposed her toned shoulders where her hair was curled and barely touching them. They nervously glanced at each other as the elevator descended towards where the car was parked, both of them feeling like this was a significant event.
When they got into the car, Piper put the radio on low so there was some background noise to help relax them both.
"So, what do you have in store for me tonight then?"
"Well, I thought we'd go somewhere nice for dinner to start with. I know you like Asian food, so I've booked us a table at an Asian Fusion restaurant in the city. Are you hungry?"
"Starving. That sounds perfect. I've been working at home today and I had a snack at 5, so I'm ready for some real food and no washing dishes for a change."
"I know what you mean. It's kinda depressing washing one knife and fork and a plate after every meal."
"Hey, if your washing up is lonely, I'll save mine up for you to keep it company." Alex chuckled.
"No way, you have a dishwasher. I'll send mine over to you and then neither of us has to do any washing up!"
"Either that or we just eat out every night."
"That sounds kind of expensive for a soap entrepreneur to maintain. Besides, you're a good cook so you shouldn't mind making your own dinner once in a while."
"I've got better. My portion sizes suck cooking for one though so I end up cooking more than I need and eating the same thing for a couple of nights in a row….Life in the fast lane huh?"
They relaxed a little more as the conversation continued all the way to where Piper parked on the street beside the restaurant. She had managed to get a table at the new place in Hell's Kitchen for the taster menu and hoped that Alex would like it. Alex was already out of the car on the sidewalk when Piper got around to her side so Piper took her hand and walked to the door of the restaurant to give her name to the front desk. They were seated in a nice booth in the corner of the room, where the lighting was low and the candle on the table flickered as a reflection in both of their eyes'.
"Wow, this place is awesome Pipes! Where did you hear about this?"
"Polly mentioned it actually, said it was getting great reviews. Pete knows one of the sous chefs and he managed to get us a table last minute. I think you're normally expected to book a couple of weeks in advance, so I'm really pleased we got in. I owe him some beers I think."
The waiter came over to take their drinks orders and Piper ordered water while Alex had a glass of white wine.
"You're not going to join me with a drink then?"
"Not tonight. I'm abstaining for the moment. I'm not going tee total or anything, just didn't fancy alcohol tonight. Plus I'm driving anyway, so it's easy to not have any at all. I'm not ruining you having a drink am I?"
"Not at all. It means I can keep track of how much I've had if I'm the only one emptying the bottle."
"Good, you can have whatever you like. I thought we'd try the taster menu though. 8 small courses and they match your wine to your food at each point so you get the best possible taste from the food. Not sure how well that works with water, but hopefully you can taste the difference."
"Sounds perfect. You're pretty good at this setting up a date thing…I'm wondering how much practice you've had?"
Piper blushed and looked away, suddenly feeling self-conscious about whether she'd been on a lot of dates or not many at all compared to Alex. It was a question they were both curious about – what boyfriends / girlfriends each of them had since they were together. They'd managed to avoid talking about it until now and Piper was nervous about answering first so she deflected the question instead.
"Wow, that's a real stereotypical first date question right there. Is this where we tell each other about our crazy exes ?"
"Ah, yes. I guess we don't need a full history at this point as we already covered that ground on the first first date we had didn't we?" Alex smiled before the waiter put her wine down in front of her.
"Yeah, I seem to remember I had first-hand experience of one of your crazy exes then too. Remember Slyvie punching me in the face?" Piper smiled.
"How could I forget? I'm pleased to say I haven't manged to get involved with any more psychos since her."
"But you have been involved with other women, like in relationships?"
"Yeah. Well, as you know, I never really did relationships. I've had regular hook ups with people over a period of time, some of them for months even. But nothing that involved meeting the family over Thanksgiving dinner or grocery shopping on a weekend."
"We didn't do that in 4 years of being together though Alex. Are you saying that wasn't a relationship either?" Piper raised her eyebrows.
"That was different. What we had was different. We did have a relationship and you know I was faithful to you for all that time. It's the only time in my life I've done that and I've never wanted that with anyone since."
"It wasn't exactly settled at any point though. That might have made all the difference to me…." Piper spoke quietly, suddenly aware that they were on the subject of their break up while on another first date.
"I know that now. I'm sorry I couldn't see it at the time, but it gave me the kick up the ass I needed to change things in my life. You know the rest of the story already. Our story probably couldn't have gone any other way and I'm glad we found each other again and can do this now."
The waiter came back to take their order and Piper ordered the taster menu for both of them with only water for her drinks.
"So, what about you? Have you been involved with anyone recently?" Alex asked, though she wasn't sure if she really wanted to know the answer. Thinking of Piper with someone else made her stomach turn. She hated to think that anyone else's hands had touched the beautiful woman sitting in front of her.
"Not really. I mean, Polly set me up on some blind dates with guys when I came back from Paris. She figured you were a phase and I'd somehow go back to being straight again."
"Oh really?" Alex laughed. "How'd that work out for you?"
"I agreed to it because I saw it as a way to get over you. It was easier to do that with a man because it's comparing apples with oranges. I did try a couple of dates with women from a dating web site but they were truly awful."
"Oh my God, you tried a dating website?"
"Don't say it like that! Yes. I didn't think Polly would hang out in gay bars with me, so it was the only way I could think of to meet other women, lesbians, bisexuals, whatever."
"Really? I think Polly could have been totally into that. So why were these dates so awful?"
"I guess I was instantly comparing them to you and they were never going to match up." Piper shrugged her shoulders as though to dismiss the honesty of her feelings back then.
The first course arrived and they ate in silence for a moment before Piper spoke again.
"So, to answer your question. They were dates that sometimes led to something else, most times not. I was drinking a lot back then and I wasn't exactly girlfriend material at that point. Then of course, prison put my dating plans on hold and I found it difficult to deal with intimacy when I was released. You know, it's strange how much you crave the touch of someone else when you're in prison. The simplest of things like holding hands or a hug when you're feeling down aren't there and you miss it massively. Then you get released and people touching you freaks you out like everyone is invading your personal space."
"I'm sorry Piper. I really am."
"Let's not talk about that tonight."
"OK, it's off the table. This food is divine! How's your starter?"
"Really nice actually, even with water."
They talked about Alex's plans to expand the logistics business with new contracts as the next courses arrived and Piper told Alex about the potential for online sales if they could get a website sorted out. Alex said she might have some contacts they could talk to about pricing a website and online marketing and she would send the details through.
It was 10pm by the time they were on the last course of decaf coffees and they'd been chatting easily over the food, relaxing in each other's familiar company.
Piper asked for the bill and they had a small argument over splitting it, with Piper insisting she covered the whole thing as it was her date. Alex finally relented, seeing that Piper was not going to back down on this. It was so strange for Alex not to pick up the bill as she usually did when they were together 4 years ago and it showed how much more even things were in terms of power in their dynamic. The waiter brought their coats back and Piper insisted on helping Alex into her leather jacket and then opening the doors for her until she was sitting in the car.
They were driving back to Alex's place when the brunette reached over and took Piper's hand in hers.
"I've had such a great night tonight Pipes."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it. I was kind of nervous about what to do and if you'd think it was cheesy. But it's actually so good that we already know so much about each other. When does that ever happen on a first date? Normally, there would be a lot of painstaking small talk about our families and what we do for a living, but it's been nice to just talk with you." Piper interlaced her fingers with Alex's hand as she drove them back into the parking compound at Alex's apartment. She parked up and ran around to help Alex out of the car before taking her hand again and they walked together without speaking to the elevator. Suddenly the nerves were back and they held hands, but only glanced at each other and smiled as the elevator rose to the penthouse.
When they arrived at Alex's door, Piper dropped her hand now and stuffed it into her pocket.
"Um, do you want to come in for a drink or something?" Alex asked.
"Well, I'm well hydrated from all that water already. Maybe a decaf coffee?"
Alex smiled, relieved that Piper wouldn't be leaving straight away and she opened the door for them both to step inside.
"Make yourself at home, it won't take me long to do these." She smiled and took Piper's coat before heading to put the coffee on and taking her own jacket off.
Piper stood at the window, looking out over the city lights as Alex brewed their coffee behind her. Alex put their coffees down on the table by the window and came up behind Piper, snaking her arms around her waist and resting her chin on Piper's shoulder.
"I never get tired of this view."
Piper put her hands over the top of Alex's and rested her head against the brunettes as the pair stood together looking out of the window for a while.
"I can see why. You're so lucky to have this." Alex lifted her head and looked at Piper, stroking her fingers down Piper's cheek as she turned to meet Alex's eyes.
"I am." Alex leaned closer to kiss Piper and was stopped by the blonde's finger on her lips.
"Ah-ah. Date etiquette says you, as the person being taken on a date, should wait for your date to kiss you. Of course, that depends on how well the date has gone too."
"Date etiquette hey? Well, please excuse my being presumptuous in that case. I was kind of hoping that-." She was cut off by Piper's lips pressing against hers and they both smiled into the chaste kiss on the lips. Piper pulled back slightly before Alex pulled her back into the kiss, tangling her fingers in blonde hair as she sought to keep their lips connected for as long as possible. Piper parted her lips and gently sucked Alex's lower lip briefly, causing the brunette to let out a soft moan, before releasing her and breaking the kiss.
"Coffee. I came in for coffee remember?"
"I remember why you came in. Doesn't mean it has to be the only reason you stay though…."
"I'm drinking my coffee now." She picked up her mug and sat down on the sofa, taking a gulp as she did.
Alex followed her and took the mug off her. "You can't kiss me like that and walk away. I've gotten a taste for you now…" Alex leaned in for another kiss and Piper pressed her palm to Alex's chest.
"That means you'd like to have another date with me then does it?"
"Yes. Does that mean we're dating now?" Alex asked grinning.