Chapter 18

"Say Goodbye"

Two weeks before Piper's departure, a routine was established for the couple. They worked in the morning, Alex went to therapy and Piper had phone calls or visitation with her lawyer, and whenever they had the chance, the lovers met and did everything to comfort each other in the face of what was coming. They never got a chance to meet somewhere as comfortable and quiet as the greenhouse though. Most of their interludes were in a supply closet or in the shower. If they were lucky, Fisher was on duty, and they could snuggle on Alex's mattress-less bunk, discussing their future together outside prison stealing a kiss or two.

Sometimes Piper asked her fiancée to read to her. Alex's was so eloquent and articulate, which Piper admired a lot, and she still wondered to this day why Alex had never went to college since she was so smart and cultured and had this thirst for knowledge. She was going to miss that voice so much. Of course she didn't need to wait until the end of Alex's sentence until she'd hear it again, but it wasn't going to be the same. Talking on the phone or during visitation was short, and thus only the essential was spoken. Essential wasn't bad, but it wasn't fun either.

On the last week Alex read The Glass Castle to Piper. She'd had read it a few months ago, but it was the kind of book she couldn't get tired of. Plus, she could discuss it with Piper and share their opinions on various topics discussed in the book. The memoir was about a young girl with dysfunctional parents, who despite her upbringing, had succeeded pretty well. They both were able to relate with it a lot, although in different ways, and they enjoyed drawing out the parallels with their own lives. Alex shared with Piper that she wished she do something meaningful with her life too, despite her troubled past.

Piper's last day was coming and it wasn't easy for Alex and everyone that was close to her knew that. She talked about it in therapy almost everyday, learned ways to cope with it, but it didn't change the fact that seeing her lover go and be free was inevitably painful. Alex tried to tell herself that she had made it without Piper for a long period, remembering the all those years she had spent away from the blonde, but it just made her think about how miserable she was at that time. Sometimes she got really angry, sometimes she got really sad, but it was all the same—painful.

On Piper's last day at Litchfield, Piper and Alex had hot morning sex in the shower before breakfast. They didn't expect to find some more alone time, but they jumped on the occasion.

"I'm gonna miss that," Piper breathed in the crook of her fiancée's neck as they held each other in their afterglow.

"Me too kid, me too," Alex sighed. "Promise me you will touch yourself as you imagine us somewhere nice on vacation having mind-blowing sex."

"Only if you do too," Piper laughed. "Seriously, I don't want you to worry that I'll sleep with someone else while I'm out there. I'd rather masturbate for the rest of my life thinking about you then sleeping with anyone else." She wanted to say that she simply couldn't since the assault, but it was better this way and it didn't make her statement any less true.

Alex kissed her deeply. "I'm glad to hear that, and I don't want you to worry either. Though I might ask Big Boo for the screwdriver," Alex joked.

Piper slapped her arm. "Ew!" Although the thought of Alex touching herself was very arousing, she loathed that screwdriver for so many reasons. "That's gross babe."

Alex giggled. "Very yes. Turn around I'll wash your back." Alex poured some soap in her hands and spread it on Piper's back in the most romantic way possible, massaging the tensed muscles on her back at the same time. Alex was definitely going to miss that kind of non-sexual intimacy that made them feel both so whole, but at this point it was just one other thing among many others that she was going to miss.

When they were done rinsing and drying themselves, they went to the cafeteria only to find out they were too late for breakfast. They sat with Nicky and Lorna who amiably offered them each their respective blueberry muffin. "It's the least we can do for our fellow snatch sisters right," Nicky said. "Gotta eat it when you get the chance, and I'm not talking about the muffin." Nicky's banter made Piper realized how much she was going to miss Nicky and everyone of her friends at Litchfield.

"What do you say Vause, you and me and our girls somewhere nice like Bora Bora when we're all out of this shit-hole," Nicky proposed.

"Bora Bora Bora," Lorna corrected. Nicky rolled her eyes.

"Sounds like a plan Nichols," Alex joyfully accepted. She turned to Piper who was staring at her food, lost in her thoughts. "You okay babe?" She whispered and trailed her hand on the length of the blonde's thigh.

Piper nodded. "I just can't believe this is my last prison meal. I just can't."

"What time you're getting out, Chapman?" Lorna asked after she over heard their conversation.

"At 3pm, a white van is coming to get me and the guard will escort me to freedom," Piper answered with enthusiasm. Alex forced a smile when her gaze met Piper's.

"What's the first thing you're going to eat when you're out in the real world?" Nicky asked.

Piper hadn't really thought about that until now. "Well either something deliciously greasy and fattening or some expansive organic, vegan meal somewhere. I haven't decided yet."

Nicky furrowed her brows. "It's only black or white with you blondie. Jeez."

Later in the afternoon, Piper was asked to report to the recreation room. She found it odd that an inmate would be called there. When she arrived, a few dozen inmates welcomed Piper by throwing confetti.

"You didn't we'd miss a chance for a party, did ya?" Big Boo hollered, raising her cup of juice. Piper had never thought she would get a goodbye party, then again her focused had only been on Alex. Everything else was just background. She scanned the room for her favorite tattooed, dark-haired girlfriend. No sign of her. Had no one tell her there was a party?

Piper was suddenly brought out her thoughts when Sophia approached her and brought her into a hug. "You better take care of those roots when you are out there. I can give you the number of my friend who used to do my hair. He has this nice little salon in Queens."

"Yeah that'd be great. Thanks." Piper said and searched for Alex again. She had 2 hours left and she couldn't leave without saying goodbye.

Therapy had taken longer than Alex expected, and she almost got a shot running through the halls to Piper going away party. She was almost there, when turning the corner she heard a muffled scream from Mr. Healy's old office. She decided to take a look. She knocked a few times and it was silent until she heard the voice scream for help. She recognized that voice.

She burst into the room so quickly that the door hit the wall with a loud 'bang'. The replacement for Mr. Healy, Mr. Williams, had his pants around his ankles, holding forcefully officer Fischer against the desk, a hand over her mouth and the other on her hips as he trusted into her behind. Nothing about this was consensual and Alex knew it. Mr. Williams was around 6 foot tall and 250 pounds. No way the young officer could have fought him off.

"What the fuck! Get out of her, you're hurting her!" Alex shouted, seeing how uncomfortable she was.

"Fuck!" The man growled, he withdrew his dick from the girl, and just when Alex thought this was going to be over, with his free hand he got out his teaser and shocked her until she passed out on the floor, and then put his pants back on.

"Are you fucking cra-" Alex yelled, but stopped when she realized the man was approaching her with the teaser.

"Shhh," he said with a finger over his mouth and stepped toward Alex. He put the teaser back on his belt.

"You stupid cunt just couldn't let me finish what I started huh," he said, and then grabbed Alex's wrist and spun her so that she faced the wall with her hands behind her back, completely defenseless and scared. He pressed himself completely against her, and she could feel his boner on her ass.

She wanted to puke and she almost wished he had used the teaser on her instead. "Please don't do anything, please," Alex begged. She feared the worse. She was convinced he was going to rape her, maybe even kill her, and she would never get the chance to say goodbye to Piper. She closed her eyes and waited.

Suddenly he backed away from her, still holding her wrists. "You're trespassing inmate. To the SHU." He said as he cuffed her.

Alex was crying, but she sighed a sigh of relief. He hadn't touched her sexually, and for now that was all that mattered.

Mr. Williams brought her out of his office, warily locking the door behind him and escorted her to segregation. They came across no one as they went to the confinements. Of course not, they were all at Piper's party. Alex couldn't scream or tell anyone.

The man threw her in the box with so much force that she stumbled and fell on the floor. "If you talk about this to anyone I'll make sure you spend the rest of your miserable life rotting in here and you'll be begging me to suck my dick just to be able to eat, you hear me whore?"

Alex nodded through her sobs and let her body collapse against the cold floor. "Piper…" she whimpered. Piper was not here. Piper was leaving her behind in this hell and she wondered how she'd make it now.

The girls were all busy dancing and Piper took this opportunity to sneak off and go try and find Alex. The halls were desolate and quiet, Alex was no where in sigh, and by the time she came back the party room a guard asked her to come with him.

"But I still have 30 minutes left!" Piper protested.

The guard frowned. "I've been working here for 15 years and never in my career I heard someone say that. Come on inmate, we got to get you change and sign some paper work," he ordered.

Piper couldn't believe it. Where the fuck was Alex?

A/N: Sorry if this was a little hard to read. Good thing is that Alex is fine, right? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed. Please review, it always makes me write faster! ;)