A/N: Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter guys. Welcome to allievamp - I love a new binge reader catching up with the story! Nice to see so many of you liking how Alex is adapting to support Piper in ways that don't result in a blow-up. Equally, Piper is realising that Alex has been her rock this last week especially. Aw, Vauseman...

Alex stayed up all night, wading through the brochures and internet information for vacant storage space, warehouses for sale or rent and google maps for possible locations and street view details of anything she could shortlist. Despite a few of the agents staying answering her calls quite late, past 10pm she knew it was all about making notes and educated guesses on some of the places she was shortlisting. It was 7am and she needed to freshen up before heading out to the appointments she'd arranged for that day, so she got into the shower and changed into clean clothes, towel drying her hair and leaving it loose while she made some breakfast. By 8am, she still hadn't heard Piper get up and was worried she might oversleep if she hadn't set an alarm last night. Making coffee and toast for breakfast for both of them, she gently pushed the bedroom door open and set the tray down on the bed beside Piper so she could wake her softly with a kiss on the forehead, stroking the arm resting above her head on the pillow.

"Morning sleeping beauty, I've nominated myself as your wake up call." Alex reached for her toast and took a bite while Piper was scrunching her face up and clearly conflicted about whether she had to open her eyes right now.

"Mmmm, can I smell coffee?" Piper turned onto her side, still with her eyes closed.

"Yes you can. It's right in front of you if want to taste it too. You know it's after 8 don't you?" Alex mumbled through a mouth full of toast.

"Shit!" Piper suddenly sat upright, nearly knocking over the tray with coffee on it.

"Ah, there she is." Alex grinned and picked up her own coffee, moving off the bed so Piper could jump up.

"Oh….ow… Piper winced as she stood too quickly and felt her head throbbing suddenly.

"Take those, then shower." Alex gestured towards the pain meds and water on her nightstand with her coffee mug before walking back to the lounge to call Lorna.

"You are a life saver!" Piper called after her, when her brain caught up.

Reappearing half an hour later and tying up her still wet hair with a piece of toast hanging from her mouth, Piper was pulling on her shoes when Alex already stood by the door with her bag.

"I don't suppose I could be really cheeky and ask if you can drop me off this morning could I?" She hopped to her other foot to pull on her other Converse.

Alex chuckled. "I kind of anticipated it, so yeah. Ready when you are."

Piper locked the door behind them and Alex clicked the trunk open for her bag as Piper climbed into the passenger side, scrolling her phone screen.

"Um, so can you take me to Queensboro, the corner of Smithson?" Piper asked without looking up.

"You're not going to the store?" Alex looked at her questioning the address as she pulled out into the street.

"Not until later, I've got an appointment first thing." Piper was looking straight ahead and being matter of fact as though it were a routine check with the optician she was attending.

"OK….." Alex didn't question it, but left a clear space in the conversation for Piper to fill with something more. The blonde was looking out of the side window, clearly avoiding Alex's sideways glances. Driving through the streets in silence, Alex bit back her natural reaction to enquire what the appointment was for, instead wishing that Piper would share what she was thinking without being pushed.

They were at a red light when Piper finally wrestled with conflicting thoughts and spoke for the first time since giving Alex the address.

"Sarah arranged an appointment with a specialist rape counsellor. It's my first meeting this morning." Her eyes remained fixed on the road in front of them, but she desperately wanted to see Alex's reaction through her peripheral vision. The brunette didn't speak straight away, letting the information sink in that her girlfriend was about to tackle this thing head on after years of denial and burying it.

"Do you want to call them and let them know you're going to be a few minutes late?"

"Yeah, I'd better do that now." Piper wasn't sure what to make of Alex's somewhat clinical reaction to what she just said, but she searched for the number and left a message on the reception voicemail when it went straight to answerphone.

"Are you OK?" Alex asked gently as the crossed through the underpass into Queensboro with the morning traffic.

"I think so. I'm nervous though." Piper caught her eye for the first time and Alex could see the fear in her blue eyes as a quick flash before she turned away again. Alex reached over to take Piper's hand in her own and squeezed it gently, rubbing her thumb over the top of her knuckles slowly. A couple of minutes passed before Alex interrupted Piper's whirling thoughts.

"Do you want me to come in with you? I mean, I don't think they'll let me into your meeting, but I could like wait in the reception area or something if you want?"

"No, I'll be fine. Thanks though. I probably won't be in there long anyway and I can get the subway back to the store straight afterwards."

"OK, if you're sure?"

"Honestly, I'll just be glad to get it over with. Polly doesn't know by the way. She thinks it's another appointment with Sarah because she changed it."

"Well, I haven't said a word to anyone. That's all in your control Pipes. You said the corner of Smithson, right? Is that the place there?" Alex pointed to a new high rise with lots of different company names on the board by the door.

"Er…..yeah, that's them. Dennison and Leigh. Just drop me on the side of the road here and you can get back into the traffic….Thanks Al, I'll call you later OK?"

"Yeah, call me as soon as you're done will you? I just want to know how it goes." Alex leaned over to give her a hug and a kiss on the lips before leaning back and holding her shoulders. "I'm really proud of you for doing this Pipes. Just try to be as honest as you can, OK?" Green eyes searched blue for confirmation and Piper's eyes got a little watery as she tried to push away from her girlfriend.

"I will. Thanks. See you." Her belt was unbuckled and she grabbed her bag to get out of the car quickly before she lost the nerve to go in at all. Alex waved her off and pulled back into the traffic to circle around the one way system and get back to the Manhattan side.

Piper stood in front of the board of business names, double checking this was the right place in case there was a last minute reprieve from going through this. There wasn't, so she sat on the bench outside the front door to compose herself a while, checking her watery eyes were clear and giving herself a mini pep talk about not being there against her will and she could leave at any point if it started to get too much. After 5 minutes, she stood and reported to the reception desk, where she got directions to the 10th floor and was greeted by another Receptionist.

"Good Morning. I'm Piper Chapman, I left a message saying I was running a little late?"

"Oh, hey! Yes, I got that, thanks Piper. I'll let Julie know you're here and she'll be out in a jiffy. Take a seat sweetheart." Piper smiled, though it felt a little weird being called 'sweetheart' by a boy of no more than 20, smartly dressed as he was. As she twisted the hem of her shirt between her fingertips nervously, she ran through potential scripts for how the conversation might go – the questions she might be asked and how she would go about answering them – either honestly of vaguely.

"Piper Chapman?" A short, stocky woman with cropped grey hair walked over to greet her, walking with a slight limp.

"Yes! Hi, that's me." Piper smiled.

"Hey Piper, I'm Julie Leigh. Can I get you a caffeine fix before we settle down for a chinwag?"

"I ought to put up some resistance, seeing as though I just had one, but actually I will have another thanks. White with no sugar for me." Piper said nervously, already conscious that she was starting to ramble on the first time of opening her mouth.

"Just the same as me, I like it when the orders are easy to remember. Here, let me show you into the office so you can get settled while I press the buttons on this machine." Julie smiled and gestured towards her office, guiding her to the comfy armchairs by the window before heading back out to the coffee machine. Piper stood by the chairs and looked at the view out of the window until Julie came back with their drinks.

"Nice day out there today isn't it? I like it when it's fresh and the sky is blue, especially from up here. It makes the day feel almost summery!" Julie smiled.

"Yeah, I feel like I've been hibernating for months already. How long have you been in these offices then, they seem quite new?"

"Here you go Piper." Julie handed her the coffee before continuing. "A couple of years now. We used to have a place over in Brooklyn but the building we were in wasn't getting renovated by the landlord, so we took out a good deal over here where the rents are much lower for office space as they want to encourage new businesses into the area."

"I know what you mean. We opened a soap store in Brooklyn last year and the rent is going to kill us when the new business deal runs out in the summer and we're paying full rates. I'm trying not to think about it at the moment." Piper shrugged and stared out of the window again.

"It's so stressful going self-employed, so I feel your pain! It's also a subject I could waffle on about all day and you're not here for that kind of advice, so I'm going to stop before you get me started on that subject." Julie laughed. "Do you want to take a seat and we'll get started on the real reason you're drinking coffee with me this morning?"

"Oh, yeah. Sure." Piper sat down nervously, gripping her coffee mug with both hands.

"So, let me start by telling you a little about me and what we can do for you. I'm a specialist counsellor for survivors of sexual violence and I've been doing this for about 10 years now in our own offices, before that working for a charity organisation in a similar role. I'm not here to judge or interview you on your experiences and I won't force you to tell me anything you're not ready to talk about. I'm primarily here to listen and help you to come to terms with what you've been through, help you understand your feelings at the time, your feelings now and how you might want to change those feelings in the future. There are lots of different ways we can help you here and you and I talking one on one is just one method, but there's group work, interactive workshops, all kinds of things if you want to look at other options as well. I'm kind of giving you the marketing blurb there, but basically, you set the agenda and the pace. I'm here to help you." Julie smiled and stopped talking for a while to drink some coffee while Piper thought about whether she was supposed to fill the gap with an acknowledgement of some sort. She opted to smile and sip her own coffee to avoid either rambling or saying something she didn't mean to.

"Now, Sarah has gotten you an appointment today with us, so I have your name and contact details and a very brief overview of your case. Can we start with why you agreed to come and see me today?"

Well, at least she didn't start with the big 'what happened?' question. That was something to be grateful for. Although the question she was expected to answer right now suddenly didn't feel as easy to answer as it should. To be honest, she hadn't really thought about why she had said yes to Sarah making this appointment. Was 'Sarah caught me at a bad time and I just wanted to get her off the phone' an answer? Probably not, though there was a dash of truth in it. Think…why would you say yes….?

"To be honest, I'm still 50/50 on whether I'm a yes or a no even while I'm sitting here." Piper moved the tip of her index around the rim of her mug in thought.

"I like honest. I'd be shocked if you were all in the yes camp on your first meeting anyway. So tell me about the 50 percent that says no."

"Well, um….The no is saying what is the point in dredging up the past I suppose? It's saying what will it actually change? What happened has happened and you can't change the past. It's saying I can screw the lid down tight and carry on living my life without…remembering. Without letting that event and the people involved taint the life that I have now." Piper stared out of the window for a second before looking back at Julie, signalling she wasn't going to offer any more excuses.

"Do you think it's possible to do that? Live your life without remembering that you have been sexually assaulted?"

When Piper heard those words 'sexually assaulted' it felt like Julie was talking about somebody else, like it was a conversation she was observing rather than participating in. It made her uncomfortable to think of them applying to her and she wanted to distance herself from the label.

"Well, I was coping with it….The attack. It's possible to carry on with your life as normal to the rest of the world when nobody here knows about what happened. Nobody judges you or feels sorry for you or treats you differently."

"Is that something that worries you Piper, that people might treat you differently?"

Piper shrugged and sipped her coffee while she thought about her answer. "Yeah, I think so….and I don't want that."

"Well, that's precisely the reason why this practise exists. To provide a comfortable and safe environment for you to talk about the assault and your feelings around that. It's something that is understandably difficult to discuss with other people, particularly those who are close to you. It remains entirely up to you how you choose to deal with the assault and your relationships outside of here, we just provide a forum for you to be open and honest to let those thoughts and feelings out with people who can help when you need it. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Is that all the no's you brought?"

"Er, yeah. You were expecting more?" Piper was puzzled.

"Not today. I know you'll think of more though." Julie smiled. "So, now tell me about the reasons you said yes. And Sarah's powers of persuasion are a given."

"Right, Ok. That was my first one actually." Piper knitted her eyebrows, trying to think of any other reasons.

"Well, I guess maybe I realise it's time to stop avoiding it and pretending it never happened. I've used liquor as a way of helping me forget shitty things and I'm increasingly aware of my friends trying to secretly babysit me because they think I'll drink too much. I guess it's not fair on them to worry like that for a grown woman." Julie nodded and made a couple of notes on her pad on the side table.

"And so do any of your friends know that you were sexually assaulted?"

"No. Well, yes. My girlfriend Alex does. I told her very recently. She was the first person I ever told and she persuaded me to tell Sarah about it on Monday. I don't want anyone else knowing though."

"That's perfectly normal Piper and completely understandable too. Alex must be very special to you for you to discuss this with her. Have you been together long?"

Piper laughed at how all of her answers that involved Alex were a mix of yes and no. "No, and also yes. She was my girlfriend a few years ago and we recently started dating again, so it's like finding your favourite albums from the happiest years of your life and playing them again when she's with me." Piper blushed. "Soppy right?"

"Definitely!" Julie laughed.

"She dropped me off this morning actually. And she came round last night I think because she could tell I was drinking to block out this meeting. Even though she's got a ton of important work to do."

"She sounds too good to be true."

"Oh, she's far from perfect. Believe me. But she's been pretty amazing while I've been going through this."

"So is Alex one of the reasons you came today? Apart from the door to door drop off?"

"Yeah, she is. She broke the seal really and said she would face the monster with me. When you know someone like that, someone who is a real force to be reckoned with and doesn't give up, it gives me strength I think. I have my own strength, but I also realised that I've got a lot of denial going on and Alex is probably tearing her hair out with me when I'm not looking. It's hard to trust people though, you know?"

Julie nodded and made some more notes on her pad.

"So, my next question might be the hardest of all…." Piper clenched her jaw, waiting for the 'what happened?' question to be vocalised.

"Would you like to book another appointment?" Julie grinned, knowing that Piper had become increasingly less guarded as their conversation had progressed. Seeing her visibly drop her shoulders and exhale caused Julie to chuckle a little.

"Maybe it's the hardest question because it means we can't carry on getting acquainted and also I can't help but get my hopes up that you'll say yes!"

"It's also a bit cruel! But, yes, I would like to book another appointment if you'll have me back?" Piper smiled and stood to smooth her jeans down again.

Julie walked over to her diary to check the available slots. "Do you want another next week? I've got the same time next Friday open….or….." She thumbed the pages over looking for a fortnightly option.

"Next Friday at the same time would be fine for me. Thank you."

"Great! You're all booked in then Piper. It's been really lovely meeting you today and I hope you've found it wasn't as bad as you had imagined it was going to be."

"No, it wasn't anything like I expected. Thank you Julie, I think I've actually enjoyed it today." Piper sounded surprised as she spoke the words.

"Well, take my card here and there are some numbers and a website on there for help and information if you do have a moment of panic before we meet again. I look forward to our next coffee together. Let me see you to the door."

XXXXX

Alex had circled the block to get back into the traffic in the opposite direction and saw Piper sitting on the bench outside the office building in Queensboro. She pulled into a side street to see if Piper would go inside and was relieved when she saw the blonde opening the door a couple of minutes later. It didn't stop the nagging urge Alex had to cancel her real estate appointments and sit in the waiting room for her, mindlessly thumbing through the top 10 denim fashion mistakes of the 90's in some ancient waiting room teen magazine she was bound to find there. She also considered trying to set up a skype viewing session from the McDonalds wi-fi connection around the corner so she could pick Piper up. Whatever way she tried to contrive to be there for when Piper came out, she knew she had to get inside those buildings to haggle on prices and push the deal through today. Piper would need some space to process all of this anyway she reasoned and she'd call her as soon as she could. She pulled out of the side street and headed back over towards the banks of the Hudson to hit a potential hot spot for warehouse space.

XXXXX

Piper emerged from the front door and sat back down on the bench for a moment while she checked the subway map for getting to Popi from here. She didn't often venture over this side of the tracks, so she needed to get her bearings a bit. Noticing a text from Alex, she opened it quickly.

'Hey gorgeous. Hope your meet and greet was OK today? Don't forget to call me with the gossip from the waiting room. I'm all ears! Unless I'm in a network blackspot in a dark and damp warehouse, in which case, leave a message about the must have loafers for this season. xxx'

Piper smiled as she called Alex from the bench outside the offices.

"Hi, how'd it go?" Alex answered within 2 rings, causing Piper to laugh when she got straight to business.

"Hey. It was good actually. I considered bailing when I was standing outside, but she was really nice and it was nothing like I was expecting."

"Great! So are you going back?"

"Yes. I booked another appointment for next week. Maybe she was luring me in gently, but it was very relaxed and….I don't know….like, she wasn't forcing anything you know?"

"She sounds nice, and I'm glad you wanted to make another appointment. You've done so much in a week already Pipes, so take your time with it babe."

"Thanks Al. Where are you? You sound like you're in an aircraft hangar!"

"A warehouse in Newark actually. It's no good though. The size is great, but the location sucks unless we move our offices down here completely and I don't want to drive over here every day if I can help it. I've got a couple more lined up for this afternoon closer to home though. They're a bit pricier, but it will make things simpler to be close to our current office. Are you going to work now?"

"Yeah, I told Polly I'd be in as soon as I could. I'm just heading for the subway now. Shall I come round to your place tonight? I can cook us something to eat if you've got a full day ahead."

"That would be nice. I don't know what time I'll get finished though, but maybe come round to the office after work and I can either give you the key or you can hang out until I'm done? I can only hope you don't get a better offer for the rest of the day on that basis can't I?" Alex chuckled.

"Yeah, I can do that. I might be able to help with something, you never know. OK, well, I need to get going. I'll call you when I'm home tonight to see where you are and we can take it from there. See you later."

"Bye Pipes."

Piper headed into PoPi armed with some coffees and salad boxes from the café on the corner of the street next to the subway. She felt a bit guilty lying to Polly about how her meeting with Sarah went this morning, but she wasn't ready to go through the alternative truth with her best friend. She had to take it one day at a time and today she was feeling good about her progress. While they ate lunch, she told Polly about Alex needing to look for new premises and the contract they were all working to prepare for and Polly suggested Piper offered her services.

"Don't you want me at the store Pol?"

"It's not that. We just don't need both of us to be here all day with the amount of customers there are to deal with and it sounds like Alex could use all the help she can get. Even if you just do it for a few days until she gets more staff in."

"You're very pro Alex at the moment. You're making me nervous. Have you been dipping in her lady pond Pol, because there are some things I just won't share…."

"Gross."