"Alex!" Piper screamed as Alex just stood here in shock. The sight was not what she thought it would be. Piper looked terrified and looking to the floor, Alex saw why. Joey was lying on the floor and wasn't moving.

"Piper, what happened?" Alex demanded. She crouched down and felt for his pulse which, fortunately, she found.

"I went to the bathroom and he followed me," Piper replied and Alex felt the anger surge through him. "He then told me that I shouldn't be gay and that he was the one who could 'straighten me out again and we could get it on again back where did before'." Alex understood that to mean that Piper had slept with Joey in her bedroom but she ignored that fact at that moment as it was irrelevant. "He then leant forward to kiss me and I pulled back and slapped him. He didn't like that at all and moved in again. That time I shoved him back and he lost his balance and fell and hit his head. Is he dead? Fuck, I'm going back to prison!"

"He's fine," Alex said quickly. "He's not dead, he'll be fine. We need to go, Cal wants to start his speech and we need to tell someone."

"Danny's a doctor!" Piper suddenly remembered. "He can help him." She then started to panic even more. "How are we supposed to do that without it looking like I've done something?"

"I have a plan."

Alex then stepped out of the bathroom and ran quickly back to the dining room looking terrified. "Joey has collapsed in the bathroom!" She cried and immediately, Danny stood and followed Alex back to the bathroom.

He asked no questions as he could guess what had actually happened as he had seen Joey follow Piper to the bathroom. He saw the fright on Piper's face and the fact Joey was on the floor, barely away from her and completely understood and agreed with her motives.

It took a few minutes, but Joey finally came round. Blinking a few times, he started to sit up.

"What happened?" He asked.

"You made a move on Piper so she pushed you and you fell," Alex replied tensely. "However, if you dare touch her again, in any way, I'll make it so you won't wake back up! Got that?"

"Alex," Piper warned in case Joey reported her for threatening him.

"Whatever, come on, Pipes." Alex then took Piper's hand and led her back to the dining room where everyone was looking either bored or worried. "Everything's okay," Alex assured everyone when they walked back in and the ones looking worried calmed down.

A few moments later Danny and Joey walked back in and sat down in their seats and looked at Cal to start the speeches. However, Alex wasn't really paying attention to what Cal was saying. Instead, she kept glancing over to Joey to make sure that he wasn't looking at Piper. He looked over once but was met by Alex's glare so he quickly turned away.

Soon enough, the speeches were all over and Piper was in tears at how sweet her brother was when he was talking about Neri and about their unborn baby. She was so happy that he'd finally manned up and was taking on responsibilities.

There wasn't going to be a party as such as it was such a small gathering. So instead, there was just a buffet and endless alcohol. Alex and Piper stayed for the majority of it but soon found themselves rather bored and both quite tense from what had happened so Alex suggested that they left. Piper knew it was so they could get back to New York before it got too late and she could pop in and see Nicky before the party tomorrow.

"Sure, you go get our things, I just want to say goodbyes," Piper said in return which was only half true. Alex walked off in the other direction to get their makeup and everything else they'd brought with them and Piper went to find her father.

She eventually found him in his study which wasn't unusual. He was sat at his desk nursing a whiskey and looking through a book but Piper couldn't tell what it was.

"Daddy, why are you in here?" Piper asked and moved in closer and she saw that Bill was looking through a family photo album of the three children. Looking over his shoulder, Piper saw that she looked around ten so Cal would have been eight and Danny thirteen.

"I just needed a few minutes to myself," Bill replied. "I feel like it was only a few days ago that I took these pictures."

"Oh Daddy, don't get soppy on me," Piper muttered with a laugh.

"I know, I'm going to be worse when it's your wedding!"

"Talking about my wedding, that isn't happening yet, I wondered if I could have grandmother's engagement ring," Piper said slowly. "I've been thinking about it for a while and I'd like Alex to have it as I'm thinking about proposing!"

"Piper, that's great," Bill said honestly and smiled knowing that Alex was thinking the exact same thing. However, he didn't let on that he knew anything. "I like Alex. She's perfect for you as you need someone to call out all of your bullshit. No offence meant, obviously," he added quickly when Piper look offended. He then opened the top draw of his desk and pulled out two boxes. Holding out the bigger one, "this is the necklace my father gave to your grandmother a few weeks before he asked her to marry him but I want you to have it. It would suit you more than Alex." He then opened the smaller box so Piper could see the ring. "Whereas this ring will look perfect on Alex's finger."

"Thank you," Piper then slipped both boxes into her handbag. "We're just leaving now though so this is goodbye for now. I'll be back soon though."

Bill then stood up and wrapped his arms tightly around Piper and held her close. He kissed her forehead as they pulled apart. "Bye, Piper."

Smiling, Piper turned and left the room to find her brothers and mother to bid them goodbye. She found her mother talking to Joey's parents which automatically made her cringe but she would never hear the end of it if she didn't say goodbye to her mother. Instead, she decided to say goodbye to Cal and Neri first.

When she found them, she saw that Alex was there already bidding them goodbye. Joining her girlfriend, she congratulated her brother and sister in law again and hugged them both before saying goodbye and finally headed towards where her mother was, bringing Alex with her.

"Mom, Alex and I are just leaving," Piper said to her mother.

"I always thought that you and Joey would marry before Cal," Said Joey's mother, Claudia, and Piper cringed. "You were such a lovely couple."

"I don't think I've introduced you to my girlfriend, have I?" Piper asked quickly and saw the shock on Claudia's face. "This is Alex, my girlfriend."

"Oh, I presumed she was a friend of yours," Claudia said nonchalantly.

"No, anyway we're leaving. Bye, Mom." Piper hugged her mother and walked away, dragging Alex with her as she was glaring at Claudia as if wanting to say something else.

When the two finally got to the car, Piper let go of Alex's hand. They put their things in the boot before going to the front of the car to get in. However, before Piper could open the door, Alex pulled Piper forward and kissed her deeply. Forgetting about the fact that they had left the front door open and that Claudia or Joey would have probably followed them, Piper pulled Alex closer to her and kissed her back with all she had.

"I've wanted to do that all day," Alex whispered against her lips before resealing them together.

Piper was the one who regretfully pulled away and saw that Joey and Claudia had indeed followed the two and saw their display. Claudia looked completely disgusted whereas Joey just looked heartbroken but Piper really didn't care. She and Joey had broken up well over fifteen years ago and he really needed to get over her.

"Let's go home."

oOoOo

The ride home was full of heated looks between the two of them and Piper drove much faster than she should have done in order to get them home quickly. She had barely parked the car in their new garaged before she was being kissed over the gear box.

Alex was the first out of the car and met Piper at her side to open her door. She threw open the door and pulled Piper from her seat and took the key out with her. Once Piper was out the car, Alex claimed her lips again. Soon, they were in the elevator and then in their apartment within what felt like seconds. Not wanting to waste time, Alex unzipped Piper's dressed and practically ripped it from her body but she knew that the blonde would not have been pleased if it had been ripped.

Once the dress was out of the way, Alex's dress and the underwear soon followed. Alex then pulled Piper through to their bedroom and pushed her onto the bed before climbing on top of her and kissing her. She then trailed kisses down Piper's body. Piper tried to pull Alex back up but Alex just growled and used one hand to trap both of Piper's before going back down.

Suddenly, she thrust three fingers into Piper roughly and started to attack her clit with her tongue. Within minutes, Piper was screaming. Alex replaced her mouth with her thumb and reach back up to kiss Piper but it was all tongue and teeth, gentle was out of the window at this point. As Alex felt Piper's oncoming climax, she pumped her fingers faster before growling, "You're mine!" into Piper's ear just as the blonde came.

As Piper calmed down, she noticed that Alex wasn't wearing her smirk as she usually did when she made Piper come like that. Instead, she was crying.

"Alex, sweetheart, what's the matter?" Piper asked sliding down the bed so she could hug her girlfriend.

"I thought we were away from people trying to get you to do things you didn't want to do," Alex muttered. "Joey almost forced himself on you and it just reminded me back to Victoria and…"

Piper quickly shut Alex up with a kiss, this one being much gentler than their previous kisses. It was soft, slow and full of love.

"I'm sorry I put you through that," Piper replied quietly. "I should have locked the door after me but I'm so used to not needing to in that house. I'm sorry but don't worry, I am yours. I don't want to be anyone else's." Then Piper decided that maybe now was the best moment to do what she'd told her father she was planning. "I'll be right back."

She slipped out of bed and headed back to other living room where she had left her bag. She got out the engagement ring and held it behind her back. It was probably far too soon but she just felt like it was the perfect time to do it. They were now living together and it was the next step. She knew that she never wanted to be with anyone else.

"Piper, what do you have?" Alex asked cautiously, eyeing up the fact that Piper was holding something behind her back. It seemed that for the first time ever, Alex wasn't distracted by Piper's naked body.

Due to the fact that they were a non-traditional couple in every sense of the word, Piper didn't want to do the romantic get down on one knee. It would also look a little odd as they were both completely naked. Instead, she crawled onto the bed and took Alex's hand.

"I love you, you know that right?" She asked and Alex nodded. "I don't want to spend the rest of my life with anyone else. You're my person, Alex." Piper then paused as all her emotions caught up with her and a tear slipped from her eye. "You're the best thing in my life. You make me laugh when I'm sad, you look after me when I'm poorly and you make my life complete.

"When we parted, there was never a day when I didn't think of you. I thought I was happy with Larry but I wasn't. I was just pretending. I've only ever been completely happy with you. The best part is that my dad also approves of you meaning that you must be special. He's hated every single one of my past lovers but even he knows you're the one for me." Piper then pulled the box from behind her back and opened it. She showed Alex the ring that had a gold band with a large diamond in the middle that had two small emeralds on either side that seemed to match perfectly with Alex's eyes. "I love you, Alexandra Vause. Will you marry me?"

At this, Piper finally let the nerves get to her and she started to panic and started to think too much. It was far too soon. Yeah, they'd been together well over a year since first getting together in prison but they'd been apart for six months of that while Alex was still inside. The tears started to fall more now and Piper had to look away from Alex's face as she hadn't moved since Piper had started talking to her. She was in complete shock but Piper started to read it as disgust.

"Yes," Alex whispered quietly making Piper turn back to look at her.

"What?" She asked nervously.

"I said yes, you moron," Alex repeated and smiled brightly. "I just can't believe you got there before me! I asked Bill for his permission today." Alex then sat up and walked to the draw at the side of her bed. She pulled out a box that was similar to what Piper had in her hand and opened it. Inside, there was a ring that was similar to what Piper was holding except instead of emeralds, it was sapphires which matched Piper's eyes. "I ordered this ages ago and picked it up when I went shopping the other day. I just hadn't figured out when I was going to ask you and now it seems that I don't need to."

"We're getting married?" Piper asked quietly.

"We're getting married, baby!" Alex confirmed and she let Piper slide her ring onto her finger and she slipped hers onto Piper's. "I love you, too!"

oOoOo

An hour later and the two finally climbed out of the bed and got redressed into something comfortable. Alex went for jeans and a jumper and Piper went for shorts and a tank top. They had decided that they would go and surprise Nicky before it got too late. It was around seven in the evening but food could wait for now.

The walk to Lorna's apartment was short as it was just across the road and they were soon knocking on the door. A few moments later, the door opened and Lorna was stood there looking thrilled.

"Nicky, come to the door!" She called and moments later, Nicky appeared behind Lorna. She still had her crazy hair and she looked a little thinner than when Alex had left her but all in all, she was Nicky.

"Vause!" Nicky cried and ran forward into Alex's arms, hugging her tightly. "I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow?"

"The wedding didn't go to plan and we had some news we wanted to share with you!" Alex replied excitedly.

"Come on in, we were just about to order Chinese," Lora said and the two couples headed in to the lounge.

Nicky showed Piper and Alex the sofas as if they'd never been there before and they sat on the one by the window. Nicky took the one closest to the door. When the order had been place, Lorna returned to the living room and automatically sat on Nicky's lap and Nicky wrapped her arm tightly around her.

"So what's this exciting news?" Nicky asked and in reply, Alex and Piper showed them their left hands.

"Piper asked me to marry her!" Alex cried happily. "Then I gave her the ring I've been hiding."

"Congrats guys!" Lorna replied and Nicky nodded eagerly beside her.

"Enough about us, tell us about you!" Piper requested and Nicky informed the two about her last few weeks at the prison.

At first, Nicky didn't know what was really going on choosing to keep to herself as she didn't have Alex to back her up anymore. Sure, she had Boo but Boo and Lovett were still as loved up as ever and it made Nicky miss Lorna more so she tended to avoid them. Since the problems she had with Alex, Russet tended to stay away from Nicky too but Nicky didn't care. She was simply walking down the corridor from electric when Healy called her into the office saying that he had a proposition for her. He said there were rumours of dealing again amongst the inmates. If she found who it was and reported her, then she'd get out earlier.

As with everything, Nicky spoke to Red about it and she agreed that Nicky had to do it so she could get out. Yes, Red was going to miss her but she wanted Nicky to get out and have her life back. Taking Red's advice, Nicky started to keep an eye out for any particularly strange behaviour and before long, she noticed that it was Russet who was actually dealing. She'd somehow set it up but Nicky had no idea how she did it but she realised that was why Russet didn't bother her with anymore as she knew that Nicky would run to Red about it.

Nicky ended up setting Russet up saying that she'd figured it out and wanted in on it. Russet instantly believed Nicky as she'd loved drugs in the past. Unfortunately for Russet, Nicky had Bennett not far behind her and he overheard the entire conversation. Russet was sent to maximum and Nicky was allowed to leave that weekend.

"You lucky fuck," Alex said after Nicky finished telling them about it.

"She is, isn't she?" Lorna said fondly.

"What are you doing job wise?" Piper asked knowing that she hadn't been asked to set up a position for Nicky in her business.

"Lorna has hooked me up with a local bar," Nicky replied, "I'm gonna be a barmaid. I have enough money as my mother has given me my trust fund back now that I'm out. However, I need something to do with my time."

"You're welcome to work with us if you want to," Piper said.

"For you, you mean," Nicky corrected her with a smirk and Piper couldn't help but blush.

It had been an interesting day to saw the least for Alex and Piper, they'd watch Piper's younger brother get married, Piper had almost accidently killed someone, they'd gotten engaged and Alex got to see her best friend again. It had been extremely interesting but for Alex, she couldn't think of a better day. She had Nicky back and she knew she had Piper forever. For now, everything was amazing.