This final chapter is rated M for Mature.

After much deliberation and with sheer joy, Piper decided to take the teaching job at Gateway. She and Alex had determined that it was the best investment for Piper, and it was also a good decision for them as a couple. Alex admitted that she wasn't looking forward to a few nights a week without her lover next to her in bed, but that would give them the time they needed to focus on their jobs. She'd also promised Piper that she'd enquire about the possibility of working from home once a week since much of what she did for her job required reading and editing on a computer.

Diane was overjoyed at the prospect of her daughter and Piper moving back to Purchase—she might have even been happier than the couple involved. Piper had become like a second daughter to her, and she couldn't wait to see the blonde every day.

Henry had proposed to Diane three weeks after his heartfelt conversation with Alex, and they intended to tie the knot that December. He'd bought her a sapphire engagement ring instead of a diamond, explaining that it represented faithfulness and sincerity—two traits he promised Diane for as long as they were alive.

For Piper's 21st birthday, Alex whisked her away to the Chapman cottage as a surprise. Although she had to swallow her pride to ask Bill Chapman for permission to use their family home, Alex knew it would be worth it in the end.

She'd blindfolded Piper once they got out of the city, and promised that she'd appreciate where she was taking her, but Alex figured that her lover knew all along. They celebrated Piper's 21st birthday in very similar fashion to her 18th—Alex took her out for a nice dinner, they went for a dip in the pool, and they made love for hours on end. They reminisced about their first time together, and both women smiled at the memory.

One night Alex got Piper fairly drunk on Champagne since the young Chapman could now legally drink, and Piper went on and on about wanting a family with Alex. She apologized to her girlfriend the next morning, but Alex could tell that Piper wasn't fully sorry and guessed that there was some truth to her drunken wish.

There was one thing that Alex was determined to do before their move back to Purchase in late August. She checked her watch for the third time, noticing that her guest was 10 minutes late. For a moment, she thought maybe he was standing her up, but then he got out of a taxi in the rain and jogged over to meet Alex with a newspaper over his head as a substitute for an umbrella.

"Sorry I'm late," Bill Chapman said, shaking her hand as if this was some sort of business meeting. "Is Piper ok?"

She'd asked Piper's father to meet her without an explanation, so Alex understood his initial concern. "She's fine. I didn't mean to worry you."

Bill opened the door for her, and they were seated at a table near the window.

This was the first time the two of them had been alone since the man had tried to bribe Alex to leave Piper. The first few minutes were awkward, and Alex was thankful for the waiter's interruption. They placed their orders, and Alex dove in.

"You're probably wondering why I asked you to have lunch with me." She took a sip of water; her mouth was suddenly dry.

"Yes, you've piqued my curiosity."

"I've told you from the beginning that I love Piper more than I ever thought I could love anyone. She is everything to me." Alex hoped that her nerves weren't showing as she placed her clammy hands on her lap under the table. "Now that she's out of college, and we're both gainfully employed, I want to make it official." She watched Bill's entire body tense up. "I know you're fond of tradition, Bill, and my relationship with Piper is far from traditional," she continued. "But to honor your upbringing, I'm here to ask for your blessing to marry your daughter."

Bill's eyes opened wide. "I wasn't expecting that."

She watched him fidget in the chair and take a long sip of iced tea. "This isn't how I pictured being asked for my daughter's hand in marriage. I always thought it would be some handsome man, probably in finance on Wall Street, sitting in front of me a few years from now." Bill looked at his plate and was silent for a moment.

The brunette looked out of the window, cursing herself for her stupid idea to involve Piper's father. She didn't need Bill Chapman's blessing, and it didn't matter much to her if she received it or not—she intended to propose to Piper no matter what.

"All I've wanted for my daughter since the day she was born was for her to be happy and loved." He put both hands on the table, as if laying out all his cards. "And then you came along," he sighed.

She glanced out the window again and swallowed hard.

"Alex, your love for Piper blows me away."

To say that she was stunned at his remark was a severe understatement. Her head whipped around as she regarded the man in front of her.

"I've never admitted that out loud." He shook his head as if coming out of his reverie. "Every time my daughter talks about you, her face lights up. Even when we're on the phone, I can hear the pure joy in her voice." He let out a small huff, as if he couldn't believe he was saying these things aloud. "It's hard for me to fathom that kind of love, even though I don't necessarily agree with your…couplehood…but it's clear to me that you're both in this thing, waist deep, and there's no pulling you out."

"I think we're in a lot deeper than our waists." She smiled and felt the prickle of tears in her eyes. "Maybe up to our foreheads."

That earned her a genuine smile.

"I promise you, Mr. Chapman, that I will love and honor your daughter for the rest of my life." She didn't care that her voice was wavering. "Her happiness is my priority, and there's nothing on this earth that means more than that."

"I know…I can't believe I'm saying this, but you have my blessing." He pushed his chair back and walked over to her, holding his arms open.

Alex stood and accepted Bill's hug. She felt a tear drip down her cheek, and he pulled back and wiped it away.

"Thank you so much," she whispered.

"Thank you," he replied with damp eyes. He released her and proceeded back to his seat. "Now, what will we do about my wife?"

Alex was on top of the world—she'd gotten her future father-in-law's blessing to marry Piper, and she found the perfect antique 1930s platinum halo ring for her girlfriend. (She'd spent more money on the ring than she'd anticipated, but she knew that Piper would love it.) The only question left was when she should pop the question.

The day finally came when they got the keys to move into House 10, the one Alex had lived in for four months when she'd first met Piper. The women talked about how they planned to 'christen' every room, but for now, they'd settle for furnishing every room. The house came with bare bones essentials, but they still needed two dressers, an extra bed for the guest room, and a headboard for their room. Piper also wanted to get a new table and chairs as well as their own couch, but that would have to wait.

While the blonde was at a new employee retreat, Alex visited her mom, who was overjoyed at their new living arrangements. She'd promised her mom that if she and Henry wanted to spend an evening or a weekend in New York, they were welcome to use their studio apartment. Diane seemed eager to take her daughter up on the offer.

"Is Piper ready to start teaching?" Her mom asked as she made chicken salad.

Alex chopped a stalk of celery. "She's nervous, but yeah, I think she is."

"She'll be great," Diane offered. "The kids will love her."

"I think you're right." The brunette smiled. "There's something I'm a little nervous about though."

Her mom creased her brow and stopped stirring. "What, the commute? You did it before, and you can do it again; besides, it'll only be a couple days a week."

"No, I think the commute will be fine," Alex replied. She set down the knife and faced her mom. "I'm going to ask Piper to marry me."

Diane covered her heart with both hands and took in a sharp breath. "Oh, Al!"

The younger Vause blushed, but couldn't contain a shy yet radiant smile.

She enveloped her daughter in a bear hug. "I am so happy for you!"

"Thanks, mom," she said, pulling back. "I figured now is the right time, you know? We've come full circle."

"Ain't that the truth!" She put her hands on her hips and stood proudly before her daughter. "Who ever would've thought that you and me would be engaged at the same fucking time?"

Alex laughed. "Yeah, I guess that's kind of…bizarre."

"Double wedding?" Diane asked.

"Um, I don't think so, but yours will definitely be first, and I promise to give it my undivided attention."

Diane made a shooing motion with her hand. "We're just going to do a simple thing with the Justice of the Peace. Yours is probably going to be much more elaborate."

"I don't know about that." She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Whatever Piper wants. I think she's been secretly planning our wedding since she was in high school."

"That wouldn't surprise me one bit!" Her mother chuckled. "When are you going to pop the question?"

"I'm not sure yet." She shrugged. "But the ring is burning a hole in my pocket, and I keep thinking she's going to find it."

"Can I see it?" Her mom asked with hopeful eyes.

"Sorry, mom," Alex replied. "I want Piper to be the first to see it. There's something special about that, you know?"

"Well, I'm over the moon for you, Al." She hugged her daughter again.

"Thank you. Please don't say anything, not even to Henry."

She pretended to zip her mouth shut. "I won't say a word."

Alex decided to go to their new house, as strange as that sounded, to wait for Piper to return from the half-day retreat. She was feeling unusually horny for her lover, and hoped that Piper would be in the mood to christen one of the rooms as soon as she got home.

"Alex?" Piper called.

"I'm upstairs."

The brunette had just taken a shower and was wearing an old Bourbon Street, black t-shirt that barely covered her ass, panties and nothing else. She knew that "outfit" was Piper's weakness.

"Hi," the blonde announced when she stepped into the bedroom. "Unpacking?"

"Hey, babe." She unpacked a box of sweaters and shoved them into their dresser. "A little. How was the retreat?"

"It was good." Piper sat on the edge of the bed, and Alex watched her girlfriend's eyes look her up and down. "I'm the youngest new teacher by far."

"I remember that feeling," she replied, bending over to put the final contents of one box into the bottom drawer.

That caused the blonde to stand and put her hands on Alex's waist. "Any particular reason you don't have pants on?"

"I just got out of the shower," she replied, hoping not to tip Piper off that she'd intentionally dressed provocatively.

"Ah, I see." Piper rubbed her hands up and down the brunette's sides, making the t-shirt rise with every pass. She moved one hand under the shirt to Alex's stomach. "It wouldn't be to turn me on, right?"

She pursed her lips. "Why would you think that?"

Piper rested her chin on her girlfriend's shoulder and whispered. "Because you know what it does to me when you only wear a t-shirt and underwear."

She couldn't help the grin that had formed on her face as she turned around. "What does it do to you?"

The blonde's hands moved to her lover's back, inching up until the t-shirt was stuck on her wrists. "It makes me wet."

"Does it?" Alex couldn't hide her full-fledged smile any longer. "That's news to me."

"Mmm hmm." Piper captured Alex's lips with hers and walked them backwards until Alex's legs hit the bed.

She lifted one of the brunette's legs and placed her foot on the mattress, giving her access to her center. Piper shoved her hand down her girlfriend's underwear, cupping her center and dragging her middle finger through her folds. She seemed so eager to touch Alex that even sitting down wasn't an option.

"Piper," she moaned.

The blonde dropped to her knees and pushed the navy blue material aside, wasting no time in sinking her tongue into her lover's opening. Alex was balanced precariously with one foot on the ground, one on the bed, so she held Piper's head with both hands to steady herself.

"That feels good, babe." She thrust her head back and bit her lip. "Right there, Piper…oh, oh, ungh…fuck…yeah, Piper!"

The blonde kissed her way back up Alex's body, and her lover put the leg that was on the mattress back down on the floor. Both legs tingled as she stood more fully. "I need to sit down."

Piper's smirk was firmly in place. "That was unexpected."

Alex reached for her hand, pulling the blonde towards her until Piper fell gracelessly and her legs straddled the brunette's neck. Alex hadn't intended on taking her lover right there, but with her own position lying on the bed and Piper's center a few inches below her mouth, she couldn't pass up the opportunity. She could smell Piper's sex from that distance.

"Are you ready for your first day tomorrow?" The brunette asked as she raised the blonde's skirt, allowing the palms of her hands to caress her muscular thighs.

Piper instinctively bucked forward. "I'm a little nervous, but I guess so."

"You're going to be a fucking amazing teacher," she offered, pulling Piper's thong down, letting it dangle at the knee.

"I hope so…mmm." It was Piper's turn to throw her head back and push her hips forward. "I want your mouth on me."

"Like this?" Alex licked her lover's center.

"Yeah," she sucked in a breath.

"And this?" She licked her again and again.

It never took long for the younger woman to reach an orgasm. Before Alex knew it, Piper was cuming in her mouth, and Alex let her girlfriend ride her face. When the orgasm ran its course, the brunette placed a tender kiss on her upper thigh.

Piper wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. "Fuck, I didn't know that's what we'd be doing at 2 o'clock on a Sunday afternoon."

"Kind of fun, especially in this house."

The lovers laid on the bed, facing each other. Each woman had a hand on the other's body—it was almost impossible for them not to touch when they were in the same vicinity even after being a couple for more than four years.

"Do you ever regret not making love to me when you were my teacher?" Piper asked. "I mean, when I came over here those few times, did you ever think about sex?"

"Of course I thought about sex." Alex kissed her nose. "But I don't regret not going for it. You were my student, and if we did it, that might've scared you off."

"It would not have scared me," she replied, rubbing her thumb along Alex's jaw.

"It just wouldn't have been right," the brunette offered. "The way we did things was better. Don't you think?"

She shrugged. "Looking back on it, yeah. But I wanted to have sex with you pretty fucking badly back then. I wanted you to be my first."

Alex smirked. "I was your first."

"And you'll be my last," Piper whispered before leaning in for a proper kiss.

On Piper's first day of school, she got out of bed before Alex. She kissed her girlfriend on the cheek, and then hopped into the shower.

Alex rubbed her eyes and smiled. This was going to be a day they'd remember for the rest of their lives.

The brunette made eggs and bacon for breakfast, ensuring that her lover had enough energy to get through the morning. Piper walked downstairs dressed in a pale green dress with sensible brown sandals.

"You look nice." Alex smiled.

Piper looked down at her outfit. "Is it conservative enough?"

She nodded. "I remember my first day, hell, my first two weeks, I was worried I'd dress too casually or too provocatively." The brunette set both plates on the kitchen table. "You look perfect."

"This is so weird," the blonde admitted. "I feel like just yesterday I was a student here."

Alex considered her statement and tilted her head. "It is kind of weird, but I don't know, it seems natural. Like this is where we're supposed to be."

That earned her a smile.

The brunette quickly ate her breakfast, and then told Piper she needed to get ready for her day. Alex kissed her on the mouth, holding her head between her hands. "You're going to be great today, kid."

The blonde returned the smile. "I'm going to head over early, so I guess I'll see you tonight."

She nodded. "Sounds good."

Alex dressed in a black, vented pencil skirt and a green blouse and headed out the door 15 minutes after she heard Piper leave. She walked down the once familiar path, past the other faculty homes and the dormitory, and into the red-bricked classroom building. The smell of old books and freshly sharpened pencils instantly brought back memories from her time as a teacher.

She climbed the stairs and headed to her girlfriend's classroom, which also happened to be where she'd taught years ago, and before that, Mrs. Rankin's room.

"Knock, knock," Alex said as she tapped her knuckles on the opened door.

Piper whipped around. "Alex, what are you doing here? Is everything ok?"

She smiled and walked into the room. "I wanted to see you in action."

Piper stood in front of the teacher's desk and shuffled some papers. "There won't be any action for another 10 minutes when the kids start rolling in."

"So many memories in this room." The brunette scanned the classroom, noticing that not much had changed. "I fell in love with you in here."

Piper blushed. "It feels like just yesterday."

"I'm more in love with you now than I ever dreamed I could be." Alex took both hands in hers. "And I feel like we've come full circle, you know?" She squeezed Piper's hands, and then let go of one, digging in her skirt pocket for the ring.

Piper's eyes couldn't have opened any wider as it dawned on her what was happening. "Alex," she breathed.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Piper." Her eyes began to sting, and she could tell that her lover's were welling with tears, too. "I will love you, respect you, and have the fucking time of my life with you." She smiled and wiped a stray tear off of Piper's chin. "What do you say we make this official? Marry me, kid."

"Yes," she replied with a wet breath. "Yes, yes, yes, I will marry you." Piper threw her arms around her lover's neck, and Alex returned the gesture. She kissed the blonde's neck, and then pulled back, showing her the ring.

"Alex, it's gorgeous!" Piper kept her eyes focused on the motion of her lover slipping the ring onto her finger.

"It fits!" The brunette grinned proudly and admired the way the ring seemed to belong on her girlfriend's slender finger.

Piper held her hand up and stared at the sparkling diamond. "Wow, I never…" She put her hand down and looked at her lover. "I never thought this day would come. I mean, I hoped it would years from now, but this is…this is a dream come true." She hugged the brunette once more, and then placed a firm kiss on her lips. "I love you, Alex Vause."

She smiled. "I love you, too, Piper Chapman."

Three students walked in the room, and Alex heard one of them say, Whoa.

"To be continued," she said into the blonde's ear as she released her.

Piper nodded and wiped her damp cheeks.

Alex walked out of the room, but hovered inconspicuously near the door until 16 students were seated in the classroom. She watched Piper make small talk with a few of them, every once in a while, looking at the ring on her finger.

"Good morning," she announced to the class after the bell rang. "My name is Piper Chapman, and I'm excited to start this school year with you." She walked to the front of her desk. "Before we review the syllabus, you get to ask me two questions—anything you want to know. If the questions are appropriate, you'll get to ask two questions every day this semester." She leaned against the front of her desk, crossing her legs at the ankles. "If they're inappropriate, the questions end there and then."

Some students smiled and whispered to the person next to them, and others looked confused.

"My suggestion is to collaborate before someone asks something stupid and you lose your privilege." She pushed herself off the desk and walked around the oval shaped cluster of desks. "You're going to do a lot of collaboration this semester, because that's a big part of what happens in college." She paused by the row of windows. "You have five minutes to come up with your first two questions."

Alex shook her head and smiled with pride. "That's my girl."

The End

Author's Notes: Well, this is it! Thanks to all of you who have left reviews or private messaged me; it means everything! According to this site, there have been a total of 35,968 Views and 7,366 Visitors to this story, yet there are only 430 reviews by about 70 people. If you have read this story and have not left a comment, that's like going to the same restaurant 25 times and never leaving a tip. Please consider jotting down a note, even if it's "hated it," "wished you would have taken this in a different direction," or "great job." Much appreciated.

I don't have anything else on the burner right now other than the sequel to The Peril of Proximity, but I will take prompts. Please PM me if you'd like me to take a stab at something.