Red's eyes searched Nicky's looking for any sign of something that she couldn't handle on her own, seeing nothing too concerning, Red shoved her into the corner of the office and stepped out slamming the office door shut behind her.

She looked at Piscatella. He was much taller than her, it'd be suicidal for her to try to take him on physically, although she fought that urge anyway.

"You raped my daughter." She pronounced each word slowly, as if they were individual sentences. She looked murderous.

"So, she told you about the fun we had." Piscatella smirked.

"You know; I wouldn't consider that fun if I were you. But what I'll do to you, that is what is going to be fun." Red remarked so coldly, she noticed Piscatella lean back ever so slightly.

"Is that a threat inmate?" He stepped closer to her, she did step back noticeably. "it sounded like a threat to me."

He raised his arm and grabbed her throat, lifted her up in the air so her feet were suspended off the floor.

"This is what I did to your so-called daughter." He said without emotion.

Nicky heard choking and despite her fear, she cracked the door open so that she could squint her eye and see what was happening. She took one look and saw that her mother was not standing on the ground, but being held up in the air by Piscatella's grasp.

It took everything she had to continue to watch, preparing to force herself to intervene if she absolutely had to. If she wasn't so terrified of this man she would've knocked him down the second he took a step closer to her mother. But she couldn't will herself to do it, not after that night. She shuddered.

She caught a glimpse of her mother's face; it was turning blue. She didn't know what to do.

Red looked at Piscatella, her eyes betraying her feelings, pleading with him to let her go. She was light headed and she felt her head pulsing, it seemed the rest of her body was paralyzed from fear. If she died, she just hoped he would get punished and wasn't able to mess with her Nicky anymore. That was it, her dying wish: that her Nicky stay safe.

Nicky felt a water droplet on her hand and looked down at it. She then wiped her cheeks and didn't even realize she had been crying this entire time.

"What do you have to say, Reznikov? You want your daughter don't you? You want to tell her how much she means to you? How much you love her? Should that be the last words I grant you? Well, I didn't give her the chance for last words, so I guess I'll do the same for you." He squeezed so much harder that Red felt her eyes bulge a bit from her skull.

Nicky's heart shattered, as if it could any more than it already was.

Out of nowhere, the siren rang out throughout the prison and scared Piscatella so badly that he dropped Red right onto the floor. She landed with a hard smack and Nicky hoped she didn't break anything.

"We are nowhere near done." He whispered in Red's ear, he himself not knowing whether or not she was conscience. He walked out.

Knowing he couldn't hear her, Nicky whispered, "You're absolutely right about that."

She busted open the office door and ran over to Red.

"Oh my God. Red! Red! Say something! Anything!" Nicky propped up her mother's head into her lap.

Red tried to speak but could do nothing but wheeze.

"No, shh. Don't say anything."

Again Red tried to speak.

"Ma, don't try to talk. I know what this feels like. You'll get your normal breathes back in a few minutes." Nicky tried to calm her down.

A couple of wheezing, struggling breathes later, Red was able to utter some words.

"You did good, Nicky."

Nicky shook her head no.

"Really, you did. You stayed exactly where I would've wanted-" Red coughed, trying to catch her breath. "where I would've wanted you to."

"Stop talking." Nicky demanded but Red knew her intentions were sincere so she paid no mind to the command.

Nicky looked at Red's neck.

"I know what it feels like." Nicky repeated, unconsciously put her hand round her own neck, remembering the pain, reliving the pain.

"Ma, I don't want anything like that to happen to you again. There is no need for it not to mention the fact that it kills me."

Red reached a shaky hand up to Nicky's and pulled it away from her neck and put it on her heart.

"You feel your heart beating?" Red asked softly.

"Yes." Nicky replied.

Red nodded. "That's what matters now."

Red moved her hand with Nicky's still inside of hers to her own heart. "You feel my heart beat?"

"Yes."

"When you can't feel mine anymore is when I will stop being your mother. But until then my sweet girl, I'll be risking my life left and right if it means you'll stay safe. It isn't a choice."

Nicky didn't know what to say she just hoped her eyes showed Red how she felt as each word came out of Red's mouth.

"But if anything positive can come out of this, we have ourselves a different story." Red stated as she slowly stood up with the help of Nicky.

"What do you mean?" Nicky was a little confused.

"Well instead of people wondering where you have been and what happened to you, we can shift their attention to the marks that will clearly be around my neck for a couple of days. A distraction really, so no one finds out about what happened to you. Unless you did want to tell people of course." Red explained.

"No, no, I don't want anyone to know what happened out there in those woods." Nicky spoke slowly.

"Then they won't." Red put her hands on her knees, sitting down and sighing.

"But what are you going to say happened to you? You can't tell them he tried to strangle you."

"Sure I can. That'll spread like wildfire around here. He will be out before the week is over, it'll all work out, honey." Red reassured her.

"Ok. Well, how are you feeling?"

"I'll manage. More importantly, how are you feeling?" Red walked over to Nicky and put he hands on her shoulders, looking into her eyes and seeing something so blank and empty, Red feared for her daughter's fragile mind.

"Well, I just witnessed you being strangled, very close to death by the man who strangled me and also raped me in some woods behind the prison. So I would say considering the circumstances I'm-" her sentenced remained unspoken but her actions completed it. Nicky burst into tears. She couldn't take it anymore.

"Ma, it keeps happening. Over and over again. I try not to but I remember details I hadn't remembered before each time. Over and over and… It's got to go away… Make it go away…" Nicky cried and Red took her into her arms and rubbed circles on her back.

"The only that will make this get better is time, Nicky. Now I can be here for you, support you, love you, care for you, and comfort you until you get tired of me, but you're only going to heal through time. It's just the way things like this goes." Red's heart hurt in way that it wasn't meant to when she thought about how her daughter must be feeling.

"How are you supposed to kill him if there isn't a way for you to even defend yourself in a scary situation?" Nicky sobbed.

Red pulled away from their embrace and leaned back so she could look Nicky in the eyes; her beautiful brown eyes.

"You're the one that is hurt, yes?"

Nicky nodded.

"Who am I?"

"Red."

"Who am I to you?"

"Mommy."

Red kissed Nicky's forehead.

"Now isn't that a deadly combination for him."