A/N: Bellacjh - yes, I made a minor change to the previous chapter so Alex hadn't arrived in London when the letter was read so the story was altered a little. Hope you're following!

Here's the second upload for the Bank Holiday, as promised. Thanks for the reviews already added for 72 and enjoy the rest of your weekend folks :-)

Alex called Piper on Wednesday night. She wanted to make sure they kept things platonic but figured Piper called her yesterday and it was her turn to check in.

"Hey, is now a good time to call?"

"Hi Alex. Yeah, I was just tidying the house so perfect timing to stop. What's up?"

"I just wanted to see how you're feeling after yesterday. Did you sleep alright last night?"

Piper sat on her sofa, tucking her legs beneath her and turning the volume down on the TV.

"I'm OK actually. Steve came around last night after the court thing, so he took my mind off things for a while."

"I bet he did."

"Not like that."

"And how is your number 1 fan? Still lighting a candle in front of your shrine every night?"

"He's doing great, thanks for asking. I'll be sure to tell him you did."

"You could write it in the message on your next autographed photo for him."

"I'm not autographing any photos Alex." Piper rolled her eyes

"Well, that IS disappointing. Steve-o's efforts all wasted."

"I'm sure he won't be too wounded."

"Shame."

"What's happening with your London trip? Are you still going?"

"That's one of the reasons I'm calling. I wanted to book flights, but I think we should talk before I go."

"That sounds ominous."

"In the interests of continuing peace talks between shout club sessions, I thought it would be good to have that conversation before I go anywhere. Then we both know where we stand. It's part of my 'being Alex' plan."

"There's a plan?"

"Of course there's a plan. I can rustle up some PowerPoint slides if that swings the deal?"

"When you put it into burn down graphs, how can I refuse?"

"Good. How are you fixed tomorrow night then?"

"Yeah, tomorrow night is fine."

"Let's meet at the pizza place on the corner of Georgetown and Ebeneezer at 7 then."

"OK."

"Good….well, goodnight then."

"Um, yeah. Ok. Night Alex."

XXXXX

Polly and Piper worked hard to focus on the business plan that they'd been fleshing out all week. They were putting figures against an itemised list of services and equipment that they wanted to invest in to be able to expand into online sales more. Piper was enjoying testing her brain with something a little more academic than the court case or her relationship, both of which had taxed her brain in all the worst ways of late.

"Pol, do you think we should split these up into must haves and nice to haves? It's starting to add up into some big figures that we'll need to spend."

"I don't know. I'm tempted to put the full wish list out there and get a reaction before we start paring it down." Polly chewed the end of her pen as she wrestled with the vagaries of formatting in Word. "Why the Hell does it keep putting a double line space after that paragraph just because I put a new subtitle in?" She banged on the track pad with her index.

"OK. How about I put it in order of importance and then we can talk quickly about what we could drop?"

"Sounds good to me."

Brooke pushed the office door open. "Customer."

Polly raised her head and glanced at Piper, who was obviously churning over how to respond as Polly replied.

"There is a customer in the store or there's a customer who needs serving?"

"Both." Brooke shrugged as she turned and walked back to her job of putting new pricing labels on the shelves.

"Did Alex say she was putting these two on the admin desk to answer customer calls?" Piper furrowed her brow in utter confusion at the role choice.

"I think she did. Which is possibly the very last place you'd want Little Miss Sunshine."

"Hmmm. I don't think Alex has actually interviewed these two. I just can't see her ever taking on someone with such an attitude."

"Mmm." Polly offered before going to find out what help she could offer the customer before Brooke offered any customer service.

XXXXX

Piper went home to change before heading out to meet Alex. She was trying not to anticipate what they might talk about too much, but it was clearly going to be a continuation of what they started on Monday. A part of her still wanted to avoid it and enjoy the ambiguity of where they were now. Alex was still around, she had her support system back and she didn't want to risk losing any of it. But she knew that avoidance of these issues is what caused them to be in this situation in the first place. If they were going to build trust, they had to learn to communicate.

She showered and struggled to decide what to wear. It wasn't a date, it was two friends meeting to talk…about important stuff. Settling on some ripped, grey skinny jeans and an off-shoulder chunky knit top with some light make up, she felt it was the right balance. She wore her hair down in loose curls and took a deep breath in the mirror.

"You need to do this. Technically, you're just friends now. It's safer like that."

Alex was already sitting in a corner booth, tapping out a message on her phone when Piper arrived.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself." Piper sat down and shrugged her coat off before picking up the menu. "Have you ordered?"

"Nope. I was waiting for you. I just ordered a pitcher of water."

"You're not drinking?"

"No. I need to drive home. I can drop you off if you wanted a drink though?"

"I'm OK. I'll have water as well."

They both looked down at the menus until the waitress interrupted them by placing the water in the middle of the table.

"Hey ladies, my name is Gloria and I'll be taking care of you tonight. Can I get you anything else to drink?"

"Er, no. We'll just have the water thanks Gloria." Alex answered with a smile.

"Sure, sure. Well, I'll give you a few minutes to look over the menu and if you have any questions please just wave and I'll be right over. The special tonight is seafood tagliatelle." Gloria flashed a mega watt smile before disappearing back into the kitchen.

Silence descended on them again as they both concentrated on the food options before Alex folded her menu and sat back into the red leather cushions. Piper felt green eyes on her as she went over the main courses for the tenth time, very aware that as soon as she dropped the menu there was an expectation to have 'the conversation' coming from Alex. Gloria came back and they gave their orders, losing the shield of plastic covered writing they had both been holding on to when she took them both away.

"So, how are you?" Alex ventured.

"Fine, I'm good. Polly and I made good progress on the new plan for expanding web sales today so we've nearly finished that now. We're really excited to show it to John. I hope it's what he was asking for."

"Great, that's really good to hear. Have you got another appointment?"

"No, we're waiting until we are happy with it until we book a date."

"OK. Well, I'm sure he won't be expecting it to be totally polished. Showing him a draft would probably be fine if you wanted some feedback."

"I don't want to waste his time revising draft copies though. He's already doing us a favour. I don't want to push it."

"The favour is for me, not you. You're a client as far as he's concerned, so use him as though you were paying for him."

Piper's face told Alex she was about to let her pride make a comment about the favour so Alex cut her off.

"But that's my opinion. You do it however you want to. It's your decision."

"It is. But thank you again for calling in that favour for us. He's been really great and Polly was really impressed with him when she presented our ideas."

"And how are you feeling about the court case?"

"Disappointed mostly. I really can't understand how he can say he's not guilty."

"That's understandable."

"He practically strutted into that court room when they called him front of the court. What a bastard…"

"There's probably a lot of bravado at this point. He'll change when the evidence gets discussed."

"I hope so. I don't know whether I feel worse because he is so smug and unaffected by it all while I'm seething about it."

"You can use that anger to nail your testimony though. If it gets that far." Alex was cautious about handing out any advice as she was all too aware of the fact that she'd never seen the inside of a court room like Piper had.

"But his Lawyer must feel like they can cut holes in that evidence. Why else would he have the balls to stand up and tell everyone in that court yesterday that he wasn't guilty?" Piper's voice started to get higher as her anxiety started to show through more.

"I don't know Pipes. I guess you're not going to find out until the evidence gets presented. Do you know what date that will be?"

"Not yet. Steve was talking to the Lawyers and they said it might be another 3 weeks until that starts."

Gloria arrived with their meals and broke the conversation up for a couple of minutes while she sprinkled pepper and shimmied parmesan in all the required places before wishing them well and leaving them. They tucked into their food for a while, making small talk about the quality of the food and why Alex suggested it.

"How long will you be gone for?" Piper put her fork onto her plate and sat back to wipe her mouth as she finished her food.

"A while. I want to set some firm foundations for these new contracts and make sure Bill has confidence with what we need to deliver as a bigger team."

"Is the job really that big?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you need to go? Or could Nicky go maybe?"

"You'd trust Nicky to go and meet the suits?!" Alex chuckled. "I need to go for the contracts…..and I need to go for me." She added finally.

Piper nodded in acceptance.

"It's been pretty intense lately hasn't it?"

"That's an understatement. It's not that I'm bailing on you Piper….it's just….I need a break to think about things and I want to come back with my shit together."

"Is thinking about us part of that shit?" Piper asked as she turned her tumbler on the coaster slowly.

"Of course it is. Isn't it for you?" Alex leaned forward onto the table with her palms.

"Yeah, it is. I guess, it's just different for me though isn't it?"

"How do you mean?"

"I feel like all of the focus has been on me and that hasn't been fair on you."

"With good reason though."

Gloria came back with her mega watt smile and asked them if they'd finished. Alex returned her smile again and gushed about how delicious the food had been, helping her to gather the plates together.

"Do you want dessert? I think they do a cheesecake…" Alex asked when Gloria was gone.

"How long Alex? How long do you need to think about things?"

"I can't put a date on it Piper, that's not fair. On either of us."

"Will you be back before the trial starts?"

"Well, since we don't even know what date that will be, also kind of hard to say right now I think." She shrugged. "Did you want me to be here for that?"

"I want you to be here if you want to be here with me."

"Well that's cryptic."

"So is saying you might be here and you might not. Will I be able to contact you while you're away or are you incommunicado? " Piper pressed for some boundaries.

"I'll have my phone, but calls will cost a fortune. Are you set up on Skype or FaceTime?"

"Neither, but I'm sure Polly can help me do that. So I can contact you?"

"Of course you can." Alex chuckled. "Don't forget the time difference, but it will be good to hear from you."

"OK, good. That's good."

"OK….Was there anything else you want to talk about?" Alex opened the door for Piper to say something, seeing if there was anything she wanted to ask. Before Piper could speak, Gloria was back to see if they wanted to order anything else. Piper quickly confirmed they only wanted the bill now to give them some time to talk before Alex left.

"Yeah…these two women we've got working at PoPi while your refurb work is done….Do you know much about them?"

"Like what?" Alex was surprised by the change of topic as much as the question.

"Well, like their background? Did you know tattoo girl was a drug addict for instance?"

"Yes, I know that."

"And you didn't think to tell me?!"

"I did, think about telling you. But I don't think it's fair to air someone's dirty laundry before you've even met them. I wanted you to treat her like a normal person. That's important for someone in her position."

"And you wonder why we have trust issues?!"

Alex rolled her eyes and leaned back away from the table. "You're judging them right now."

"Yes, because I just found out there is a drug addict in my store."

"Recovering drug addict."

"Don't split hairs…. The other one, Brooke. ….She's a completely different challenge. She obviously thinks she's above working in a shop. Her customer service skills suck, I mean there are ZERO redeeming features in her personal skills there. What is her background?"

Alex knew if they were ever going to heal the scars of their past, they had to learn to be more honest with each other and she couldn't hold things back because she expected a bad reaction from Piper. She was about to leave New York for a while and they would both have time to reflect later, but for now, Alex decided to stop holding back and revert back to being the straight shooter that Piper was used to.

"She's just been released from prison Piper. She served 12 months for something related to political activism. Tricia was serving 6 months for petty theft, but it was extended to 8 when she got involved in an altercation with another inmate near her release date." Alex held Piper's eyes as she spoke, determined to give her the truth plainly and see how she reacted.

"They've been in PRISON?! Fucking Hell Alex!" Piper's eyes burned into the emerald orbs that were holding them on the opposite side of the table. "What the fuck are you thinking? Do you want your business to go down the tubes? Do you want mine to?!" Piper was leaning over the table, glowering at the revelation Alex had just shared, but the brunette simply sat and listened, holding her eyes all the while. "These women don't know the first thing about working in a soap store or a logistics company. They don't know a thing about customer service either. There are a hundred better qualified people out there who you could have interviewed for those jobs. People who would be chomping at the bit to get an opportunity in a company like yours. People who've been to fucking College to study business, economics, logistics for God's sake. You can take your pick of them!" She threw her hands in the air, absolutely blown away by Alex choosing to take on people with no experience, probably no qualifications and certainly no customer service skills above College graduates. To top that, they were bloody criminals to boot.

"There are a ton of people out there desperate for work who have actual qualifications in logistics. You could use that experience to give them a first step on the ladder. It's so hard to find work these days." Piper shook her head and took a breath.

Alex remained tight-lipped and clenched her jaw as Piper's stream of consciousness finally drew to a close and the blonde looked at her expectantly for a response. She took a drink of water from her glass as she paused for thought to consider what Piper had said. It wasn't anything she hadn't heard before from her middle glass ex-girlfriend about the poor, entitled, educated collegiate group that she herself had graduated alongside. It was also a point of discussion where they shared opposing views back then and would again tonight. The main difference being Piper's striking omission of the fact that she didn't seem to include herself in the group of criminals seeking re-introduction to the workforce following payment of their debt to society for their crimes. Alex gently put her glass back down and leaned towards the table before speaking in an even tone.

"Do you think for a second that I don't already know that? I know there are people out there with fancy certificates and letters after their name for some fancy logistics governing body. I know that because I'm competing with those people every day for business. I know that because I'm pitching for contracts against companies who have fancy job titles attending the tender presentations, where they have a team of 10 suits schmoozing with their College stories. I see that when I'm waiting to walk in to deliver my own presentation where I am all 10 suits in one person with no College stories to compare."

Piper's tone softened. "Alex, I wasn't meaning that College grads are better qualified than anyone who didn't go to College. It wasn't aimed at you."

"Yes it was. It was aimed at me because that is exactly what you just said. You just forgot that I'm in that group too."

Piper rubbed her face as realisation dawned on her that Alex was right. "Sorry. I guess my middle class upbringing isn't as forgotten as I like to make out."

"Nope. It's right there and written all over your face." Alex raised her eyebrows for Piper to acknowledge it.

"OK. Foot in mouth disease aside. They're still criminals Alex. You should be able to do better than that."

"Really?" Alex sat back in her seat, shaking her head.

"Yes, really!"

"You do realise that you're in that group too don't you?"

"Yes, but I've made something of myself and am co-owner of my own store."

"Because your middle class background afforded you the opportunities of College, good credit and middle class friends with savings to help."

"You're making out like I haven't worked hard for this Alex and that's not fair."

"No. You're putting words in my mouth that aren't there. I didn't say you haven't worked hard for this. I'm saying you had people around you who could give you a chance when you were released. People who were working with you to make those plans while you were still inside. People who were looking out for you and giving you a reason to be positive about the future when you got out."

"Polly and I were already working together on this long before I ended up at Litchfield Alex. It wasn't her doing me a favour."

"Fine. My point is, what if you didn't have that? What if you didn't have friends and family who were willing and able to support you when you got out? Did all of those people you were inside with have the same rosy outlook?"

"No." Piper shrugged. "But there is no countering that there are better qualified logistics recruits out there who could progress your business."

"Progress my business? What is this a College debate club?" Alex laughed.

"I'm just saying -."

"You really ought to learn when to close those pretty pink lips Pipes." Alex smiled as she sensed Piper was coming around a bit now.

"Fine. But this isn't over."

"It never is with you." Alex smirked.

Piper fidgeted with her fingers in her lap for a moment as Alex watched her. "Alex…will you come back?"

The brunette threw her head back and laughed at the strange question. "I'm coming back Piper. It's a business trip. I'm not moving to Europe."

"When will you leave?"

She started to gather some cash from her purse in anticipation of the bill arriving. "Tomorrow. There's a flight tomorrow afternoon to Heathrow. I'm packing when I get in tonight. Another reason for staying sober." Alex smiled as she beckoned Gloria back over for the bill.

"Wow. That's quick."

"I've been putting it off since Friday. I need to go. Bill is already out there, so I need to make some introductions."

Gloria appeared with the bill and Alex switched to PR mode immediately thanking her for the great service and complimenting the food, with Piper murmuring agreement. Placing the bills in the wallet, Alex stood to leave.

"Come on, I'll drop you home."

They drove through the dark streets of New York and pulled up outside Piper's door in no time at all since she wasn't far from the restaurant. Alex left the engine running and turned to Piper.

"Got everything?"

"Yeah…Did you…want to come in for coffee maybe?"

"No, I'd better not. I've got to pack. Thanks though." Alex pushed her hands under her legs, at a loss for what to do with them right now.

"OK. I'd better let you go then…. Goodnight Alex." Piper smiled weakly and climbed out of the car before closing the door behind her and walking towards the house. As she fumbled for her key and fought the urge to turn around, she felt a lump growing in her throat and tears started to prick her eyes. The engine was still running in the background behind her and she wiped her eyes as she cursed the time it was taking her to find the keyhole.

"Need a little help there?" Piper hadn't heard the brunette getting out of the car and walking towards her. She turned and threw her arms around Alex's upper body, pulling her into a bone crushing hug. The relief at seeing the taller woman again and the need to feel the warmth of her body next to hers again before she was to leave for who knew how long was overwhelming. They stood quietly for a while, Alex lifting her arms to soothe her hands up and down Piper's back as much as she could while her limbs were still constricted by Piper's death grip.

"I'm glad you're OK." Alex kissed the top of her hair as Piper pressed the side of her face into the taller woman's shoulder. When they broke apart after a long time, there were tears in Piper's eyes and Alex brushed them away with her thumbs as they spilled over her eyes. "I'm coming back, I promise."