Maya didn't sleep the first two nights. She wasn't crying into her pillow, or talking to herself, she wasn't doing or feeling anything, really. She just lay in bed, eyes open wide, body and mind numb. The morning after the second sleepless night, Nicky intervened.

"Geez, kid, you look like a fuckin' zombie. Can't get any shut-eye?" she frowned as she walked over to Maya, gently running her thumbs across the dark circles under Maya's eyes. The contact made Maya's skin buzz. "I've been keeping an eye on you, unlike our beloved COs. You haven't eaten a thing since you got here. C'mon, I'm gonna see to it that you don't shrivel up your first week. Already not much to you." As she spoke, she urged the sitting Maya to stand. The girl was shaking ever so slightly and with an encouraging smile, Nicky urged her to follow.

"Now the first meal is always the worst. No gettin' around it. So you've just gotta choke it down, chase it with some water, and keep it in there," she tapped Maya's stomach. "Think you can do that for me?" She gave a crooked smile. Maya nodded.

"Yeah," she murmured, and Nicky's eyes widened.

"A real-life, honest to goodness, verbal response! I'm speechless!" The corners of Maya's lips twitching up formed the first smile she'd allowed herself at Litchfield.

In the dining room, Maya was hit with the unpleasant wave of nausea that was always lurking under her surface. Nicky placed her ahead of herself in line and as she was handed a tray, Nicky had to encourage her to take it. Behind the glass, a hispanic girl rolled her heavily lined eyes but it was lost on Maya. The girl walked to her usual empty table, but she stopped when she felt Nicky reach out and hold her arm.

"How about you sit with me today?" she wiggled her eyebrows and Maya smiled a little more than before.

"That would be nice, thanks." Nicky grinned and led her to the table. Maya was surprised to recognize the woman who'd driven the van, head in her hand as she hunched over her plate. She stabbed at her food with a plastic fork. There were a few other women seated at the table, but instead of paying attention to them Maya chose to focus on her food. She didn't pay any mind as Nicky explained.

"Luna. That is her last name! Yeah, I know she isn't. It is very weird. Oh, look, she's got her first bite going down! Just keep it there, sweetie, don't let it come back up at you. There you go," she rubbed Maya's back as the girl swallowed and lifted another bite. "See, it's not so bad!"

The rest of the meal went on similarly, Nicky alternating between explaining Maya and encouraging her. It was clear to see that this girl was the life of the place, or at least a very lively component. After breakfast, the inmates were to report to their jobs. Maya had yet to be assigned so she went back to her cell. She returned to her spot, curled up in bed, eyes wide open. She alternated staring at Nicky's side of the room, the ceiling, and the painted cinderblock wall, depending on how she was laying. Lunch time came and went, Maya stayed right where she was.

...

"Luna, babe, let's talk," Nicky said with a grin as she came bustling back into the room. Instead of going to her own bed, she made her way to Maya's and sat criss-cross at the foot. Maya, already curled into the top half of the bed, saw no point in arguing so she instead sat straight up. She waited for Nicky to go on.

"Alright, I've gotta know. What are you in here for? And I know someone's probably already told you you're not supposed to answer that. But that's bullshit. And I know me telling you that's bullshit probably seems like bullshit, but it's not. Just wanna get to know you better, and that's a pretty basic thing." Maya hesitated before speaking, a pause which Nicky utilized, "I mean, if you really don't wanna tell me I understand. I-"

"Possession, cultivation, intent to distribute, and a pending charge of involuntary criminal negligent manslaughter. Might have the wording wrong on that one." Her voice, Nicky noted, had a little tinge of a rasp to it. Not nearly of Nicky's degree, but it was there.

"Hold up, manslaughter?" Nicky looked her small frame over, "I guess you said involuntary. But shit." Maya just nodded. Nicky's eyes narrowed in thought. "Drugs, drugs... I'm gonna say weed. Was it weed?"

"Yeah, it was," she nodded again.

"You seem like you could be a bit of a hippy. Cultivating, eh? Got yourself a green thumb?" The smile that came to Maya's lips was the most sincere she'd had in a while.

"You could say that. I seemed to have a knack for it."

"Very cool. My friend Red's got a little greenhouse club going. Its members are mostly of the geriatric variety, but I'm sure they'd love to have you!"

"Maybe," Maya offered, not so sure she was ready to expand her social circle past this one person yet. A few moments of silence passed.

"Forgive me for being blunt, but do you like dudes or chicks?" Maya's brows lifted more out of amusement than anything else. "Hey, in my defense, a very relevant question for this, eh, situation. Incarceration can be a lonely business."

"Both, actually," she said, almost attempting a small laugh.

"Ah, so you like sex then, eh? I like it," she lowered her voice and grinned at the younger girl. Maya smiled and gave a shrug.

"No denying that, I guess."

"Well we don't get conjugal visits or any of that, but if you like pussy, there's a pretty big menu here. If you think to, consult me first. I've been around a few times, I can be your guide." She winked and Maya allowed herself a breathy laugh that time. The two made small talk for a while longer and suddenly it was dinner time. Nicky dragged Luna along and it played out much like breakfast had.

...

She had actually managed to sleep for a few hours that night, so she was feeling just a bit better the next morning. She decided she would shower today, and she followed Nicky to their section's assigned bathroom. Something felt just a bit off to Maya, but she couldn't place her finger on it. She kept the shower hot and short and was surprised at how good it felt. From that point until dinner, her fourth day at Litchfield was pretty much a repeat of the third.

The only difference at dinner was that instead of sharing more Luna trivia, Nicky and a tall straight-haired blonde were talking seriously of the impending return of someone named Alex. Maya sensed an uncharacteristic discomfort in Nicky, but didn't want to read too deeply into it. The group was headed to the recreation room for a game of cards, but Nicky dismissed herself to bed. Maya was already headed in that direction, so the two walked back to their cell block in without a word. Nicky's silence was deafening to Maya, and it was getting under her skin. She approached what she deemed as the root of the situation in what she knew to be true Nicky fashion: directly.

"Who's Alex?" Nicky's head full of hair bounced as she snapped her head over to Maya. She looked taken aback.

"A girl. Just a girl." She sighed and ran a hand through her mane. "She used to be an inmate. And Chapman says she's coming back. Violated her parole." More silence. Maya took another cue from the older girl and walked over to the opposite bed. She seated herself at the foot.

"But who is she?" She searched for Nicky's eyes. The sad orbs found her.

"Just another person's girl who I got myself hung up on, like I always seem to fuckin' do." Maya gave a sad sort of smile. Nicky scoffed. "Fuck! Look at me! I'm moping! I need to snap out of it, I always snap out of it."

"Well how do you usually do that? Maybe I can help?" Nicky gave Maya an unreadable look.

"I don't think you'd want to jump right into my normal means for coping in this place."

"Try me?" Maya challenged, without a clue as to what she was getting herself into. Nicky's face took on a look of determination.

"If you say so." She stood and motioned for the girl to follow. The two walked through the empty halls, going through multiple sets of doors and cells until they reached the final set of closed double doors. Nicky held one open for Maya, then slipped through and closed it silently. She grabbed Maya's hand and marched down the aisle, passed the empty rows, and headed straight for the stage. She jumped up and helped Maya do the same. She walked around to the podium and Maya silently followed. Then, much to her shock, Nicky's fingers found the waistband of Maya's pants and began to tug.

"Whoa, Nicky, I-" a finger came up to silence her.

"Look, I don't really care if I don't give you a lady boner. You wanted to help me deal, and this is how I deal. Trust me, I'll be doing you just as much of a favor." Maya's breath hitched. She had always been an impulsive person, and under different circumstances she would have agreed in a flash. Slowly she nodded, and Nicky pulled her pants down, underwear included, in one swift motion. She dropped to her knees, and Maya leaned back into the podium as Nicky's mouth found her.

...

Nicky told Maya to leave a few minutes after her, because it was getting late and there was a better chance of them getting stopped by a CO if they were together. Maya's head was dizzy in a blur of emotions. The release Nicky had given her was the first real feeling she'd let herself feel in the last month since this whole mess started. After what seemed like an appropriate amount of time, she left the chapel and made her way back through the hall. Her breathing became heavy, her lungs tight.

She caught sight of a bathroom and ran inside. It wasn't her normal bathroom, but her eyes began to blur and she couldn't tell a difference. She ran into a doorless stall and sat on the toilet, her elbows resting on her knees and her head in her hands. She gasped for breath and a lump formed in her throat. Her gasps turned to sobs. All of the tears she hadn't shed in the last month came flooding from her eyes as she sat in the stall. The footsteps of a stranger approaching were masked by Maya's grief.

"Hey, you okay?" If Maya had looked up she would have seen a tall, full-figured girl with dark, dark skin and big curls. She only cried harder. "Hey, now, it's okay." The girl hesitated before reaching down and gently smoothing Maya's hair. The movement was repeated as her breathing steadied, and she finally looked up at the girl. When the girl's hand found the bottom of her hair once more, Maya grasped it in her own and gave a weak squeeze. She looked up into big, deep brown eyes..

"Thanks," she breathed. The girl squeezed her hand back and smiled sadly.

I'm glad to see people are reading this! I've never put an OC into a fic before, so this is new territory for me. I'd love your feedback! Thanks for reading (: