Chapter 7

"It's a little cold out for a margarita, don't you think?"

Piper laughed as Alex delivered the line. Alex was trying to imitate the moment they first met at the bar. It was a joke they liked to tease each other. Piper couldn't believe how fast the months had gone.

Holding big grocery bags, they walked along the bridge, heading back to Alex's apartment.

Piper smiled so widely that her cheeks hurt, but she kept telling herself that it was the cold wind. "That's the worst pick-up line I've ever heard. And you're the worst girlfriend I've ever had."

"I'm hurt." Alex giggled. Her foggy breath clouded her glasses. Her cheeks were red. Her skin was pale and delicate like snow itself. She was wearing a navy-colored, bubble jacket, a black t-shirt underneath and a pair of worn jeans. No matter how simple the attires were, Piper always found Alex looking good in almost everything, especially when she was wearing nothing.

Piper took another long glance at her girlfriend. Even though they'd been spending a lot of time together, it never felt enough for her. She could watch Alex forever. "Please tell me you didn't always use that line, because that would be so lame." Piper lightly elbowed the woman.

"You'd be surprised." Alex chortled. "No, you're so not gonna get it out of me, Piper Chapman. I won't tell you how I picked them up, or I'd never hear the end of it. You're one jealous girlfriend."

"I am not. I don't care how many girls you've dated before. I never asked, remember?" Piper tried to keep her voice cool. Alex's seemingly being exclusive with her had appeased her somewhat, but Lord knew how curious she had been.

They had been together for five months (already much longer than she had first expected), but it was the first time in her life that she felt a deep bond with someone in such a short amount of time. A leisure walk in the park, or a wall of naughty texts. Holding hands, an innocent kiss. A hot, wild sex, or just simply lying in bed, cherishing the warmth from each other's body. It didn't matter what, how or why it was what it was with Alex, it couldn't have been better for her. She couldn't have wanted it more. She wouldn't want it with anyone else.

Alex smirked as if she had read Piper's mind. "I love you. I really do."

Piper bit her bottom lip, pretending to look away.

"I don't say that to everyone. You have to say it back." Alex nuzzled her nose at the blonde locks, and then nipped at Piper's neck.

"Hey, not fair!" Piper backed away, blushing at the ticklish feeling.

Alex's chuckle sounded soft and raspy at the same time, and Piper loved hearing it. She decided to keep quiet, yearning for more.

"Say it. Please?" Alex stepped in front of Piper, blocking her way. Their grocery bags maintained an undesirable space between them. Alex had that knowing smile, waiting.

Smiling like an idiot, Piper leaned closer to Alex, gazing into the deep, green eyes. Their foreheads touched, and she said, "I love you, too."

More than you'll ever know.

People say that love hurt—that it hurt like nothing else. Piper knew that all too well when she walked out of Alex's life. Unfortunately, four years later she still found herself at the exact same spot where she had been. To make matters worse, it seemed that she had trekked deep into the shit hole of this lost world of superheroes. Piper Chapman was in trouble, and she knew it.

Piper groaned, her eyelids fluttering open. Horrible pain reminded her that she was still alive, but definitely unwell.

"She's awake." Polly's voice rang at her right. "She's awake, nurse!"

"I'll call Ms. Claudette now. I'll get her friends here!" Daya said with an enthusiastic tone.

"I am her friend," Polly remarked, rolling her eyes. She then leaned over the bed, beaming at Piper. "Welcome back. How are you feeling?"

"Hey… ah—" Piper's throat was painfully dry, she could barely speak. Polly offered her a cup of water, and she sipped through the straw. "Thank you," she said as she lied back down on the bed.

Polly settled the cup on the bedside table again. "You were out for a whole week. We were worried sick, Piper. Mr. Bloom considered taking you back to the city, but Ms. Claudette insisted that you'd be safer here. The security is much tighter than ever. Everyone is afraid now after what happened to you. I knew it must be Vause and those shady people she was with. I never understood why Litchfield took her back."

Glancing left and right, Piper was aware that she was admitted to the infirmary. She could feel the left side of her face swollen and the nasty sting on her forehead. Her left arm was cast, and possibly she had suffered several broken ribs. Her head was heavy as she tried to register each pain on her body, where it hurt and how bad. Her legs were painful; they hurt so much that she wanted to scream. There must be horrible bruises and cuts everywhere. God, she felt like she had been run over by a truck a dozen times. After a few attempts to clear her mind, she eventually recollected some of the events that had happened.

The redhead… that night… the lizard and Alex… Alex!?

Piper shot up in panic, lifting her shoulders for a few seconds before falling back down.

"Jesus! Don't move!" Polly reluctantly pressed a hand on Piper's shoulder. "Stay still!"

That...sounds like a good idea. Fuck.

Piper inaudibly cried at the pain rippling through her torso. "Alex—" she breathed, "Where's…? What happened? She's… safe? Polly, is—"

"Slow down, Piper." When the blonde didn't try to move again, Polly sat back down. "Vause got it pretty bad. Not counting the injuries you and that freakin' lizard gave her, Ms. Claudette sucked out her life energy to stop her from all the madness she was causing. She's gonna need some serious recovery time if she were to get up and kick some butt again."

Piper froze. She had heard of Ms. Claudette's terrifying powers, and wasn't surprised why the old lady had always kept herself busy in a fairly vacant infirmary. "But… why did she hurt Alex?" Her voice was thin and dry.

"She's in the SHU along with the lizard guy. Well, she had it coming. She almost killed both Ms. Claudette and Jessica that night. She lost control again. She always crossed that fucking line." Polly shook her head exasperatedly. "I hope that Mr. Bloom will get rid of her for good this time. I really don't understand the golden treatment she's getting around here."

Piper found it ironic. 'Golden treatment' was janitorial duties Alex got after Piper beat her up and being sent to the SHU for fighting to save herself. "They put her there… with her conditions like that?" Piper found it difficult to breathe at the thought. It infuriated her. Alex might have lost control over her powers, posing threats to others. But if Alex belonged down there, Piper felt that she did too. "I need to see—ah—" She tried to get up, but her body wouldn't cooperate.

"Jeez, let her rot." Polly shrugged, taking the cup of hot coffee from the bedside table and taking a sip. "Dangerous people like her should be locked away for as long as needed. But knowing Mr. Bloom, he'd probably grow soft on her again. Remember what I told you about him and Vause's mother?"

Diane Vause. Piper had met her a few times before. A free-spirited woman with a strong sense of independence and a wild sense of love. Sometimes Piper had felt that Alex was a complete opposite to her mother. Alex had found encouragement in the shady group of people. Alex had hardly followed her heart like Diane had, more guarded and refused to commit. Alex had not believed in love. And it had hurt Piper so deeply that she had felt used in the end.

"Is it as bad as they say it is in the SHU?" Piper's thought was gloomy.

"It is. But don't worry. It's bearable as long as she's not fully conscious. Mr. Bloom will probably let her out soon, or you could talk to him. He's a family, right?" Polly then smirked over her coffee. "Why are you so concerned about her? Is she really just a stranger to you?"

Piper paused at the sudden question. "What—why would you ask—"

"Because you'd been calling out for her in your sleep." Polly laughed at Piper's widened blue eyes.

Piper diligently kept her gaze on the ceiling. "I—uh—we, yes, we were… old friends. We have a strong bond. Good, old friends."

"You beat her up on her first day back, but lied that it was just a misunderstanding. But now you two were good friends? You're a bad liar."

Piper simply sighed in defeat. "I never—no, I didn't expect to see her here or anywhere ever again. It's...complicated. God, it's still a little overwhelming for me. I need some times to let it all cool down."

"What did she do? Was she like a bitch that dated your brother and then dumped him heartlessly? Did she steal your boyfriend? Your money?" Polly's curious gaze was making Piper uncomfortable.

"We broke up four years ago. We were together for only a year, but it was really intense… It didn't end well." Piper decided to admit the truth because she suspected that Polly had already made the right guess.

"A violent reunion." Polly smirked, but quickly stopped. "No. Don't tell me that Nichols knew this before I do. Fuck. She did, didn't she? I'm your roommate, Piper."

"You were gone for two weeks, and Nicky was always around." Piper chortled, but stopped at the growing chest pain. "She's… really a nice... and fun person. You should really give her a chance."

"That's right, Molly. And it's great to see you again, Chapman!" Nicky walked in. She gave a pat on Polly's shoulder, earning a look from the brunette.

Lorna and Bennett followed Nicky in, and they greeted Piper with a warm smile.

Although Piper didn't know those two very well, she smiled back. She was in pain. She was exhausted by just holding a conversation, but she was also very grateful. "Hey... it's good to see you guys too." She was just glad to be alive.

Alex stabbed the cigarette into the ashtray, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "Is that all? Six names?" She looked over the files on her desk. The gaps between the curtains allowed little sunlight in, and the only source of light in the room was the desk lamp.

There were brief profiles on six people suspected of being 'gifted', but not yet identified and claimed by Litchfield. The targets were the people who acknowledged their powers rather late in life. Alex had learned of her powers' existence at 13, but her 'clients' mostly found it in their thirties or sometimes as late as fifties. They would have a much harder time to adjust to their new lives. They would need a lot of reassurances, a group they truly belonged. They would need a lot convincing and comforts. Alex was just fucking brilliant at her job. She always delivered the goods.

"Gloria Mendoza, 43, two children. Illegal immigrant… Oliver T. Cross, 52, single. An engineer. Liver problems. Ha... Piper Elizabeth Chapman, 23, Smith grad. Hmm. Isn't she cute?" Alex commented as she went over the files. Piper's age had caught her attention. The woman was too young to fit into her usual set of targets, but too old to catch Litchfield's eyes.

"Cute isn't what you're going to find about her. Her powers have been suspected as a telekinesis, a significant ability amongst us. It's even greater if it was channeled properly and for the right purposes."

Alex looked up at Fahri, an Arab man in his mid-forties. A mustached-man, Fahri always looked proper, always in his clean, neat shirt and a pair of slacks, his black shoes polished. "There have been several telekinetic bastards around," Alex commented, shrugging.

"Litchfield always gets to them first, and we never hear about them again."

Alex paused for a second. "What do you mean?"

"It's either they kept them hidden away, or they killed them. A powerful gift can be a dangerous weapon, or a self-destruct one." Fahri walked to the desk and lit up another cigarette for his favorite apprentice.

Alex sucked in a small breath, steadying the burning on the cigarette. She exhaled. "Thanks."

Fahri watched her with attentive eyes. "People don't like it when you become too powerful. Remember that."

Alex never forgot his words. Alex didn't fail to disappoint him.

Green eyes fought to open, but unlike how it usually failed a thousand times before, Alex could actually focus on the ceiling above this time around. The blueish-white lightbulbs on the dark-colored, plastic ceiling. The air was cold. The bed was hard. The thin blanket that was covering the lower half of her body provided so little warmth that she was shivering, her teeth chattering.

The SHU… Fuck…

It wasn't the first time Alex had been in the SHU, but the experiences weren't something she would like to repeat. The room was small, and after spending a few hours in here would make anyone goes claustrophobic. She had gone for weeks or months without interacting with another human being. The only positive thing she could think of at the moment was that whatever drugs they were giving her were doing their jobs fine, keeping the wall of pain at a distance.

Alex tried to move, but was startled to feel some restraints on her wrists. She glanced down to see the thick handcuffs chaining her to the bed. They had never put her under harsh restraints like this before. This looked really bad, and she didn't want to imagine how long they were planning to leave her here. She began to regret, cursing herself for coming back to Litchfield.

Alex breathed hard at the sight of the handcuffs, grunting as she fought against the restraint devices. Fears began to overwhelm her. The more she moved, pain started to come back faster, ripping her from the dreamy state she had been in. But she wanted to move. She needed to move away.

Now.

Her mind was a little clearer than it was a moment ago, and Alex took advantage of it. She forced every fiber of her being to act and react—to fight against it. Icy blue began to gloss over her eyes as electric current ran along the length of her arms. She wanted to destroy. She needed to be freed.

"Alex!"

Alex heard the call of her name, but she couldn't quite register where the voice came from. She was sure that she had been alone in this tiny, god-forsaken space. She tried harder to conjure her powers.

"No...! Alex, stop...! Stop it!"

Electric current grew fiercer as the cry for her name grew more desperate.

'Please, don't hurt me! Please!' Someone had begged for his life, kneeling before her in the rain. His desperate cries for mercy still echoed in her mind whenever she wasn't careful. But she had been merciless. She had left Litchfield to become someone new—someone competent. But it hadn't been what she had expected at all.

Shut up... Get out of my head! Just shut up!

"Alex…! Please, Al, it's me…!"

That voice.

Alex recognized that voice. Her body went stoic and cold. Her powers receded. She couldn't even see the ceiling now. Everything was a blur around her like she was locked behind the wall of thick clouds she had conjured up herself. However, the warmth on her cheek gradually pulled her back to reality. She lied flat on her back again, panting. She was exhausted already from the brief struggle, her whole body shaken.

Alex turned her head slightly, and saw the bluest shade of blue in the eyes she had dearly missed. She must be dreaming. Piper couldn't have been in here, could she? It must have been the drugs they had injected her. She had no complaints now if they would give her more.

"Jeez, I'll come back in a few minutes. I don't fancy being electrocuted in this tiny fucking room. Too close. Just too fucking close. Oh, and make it quick, all right? We'd get in so much trouble if they found out."

"Thanks so much, Nicky."

"You owe me one."

Piper… Nicky…?

Alex hadn't the best grasp on what was going on. She waited for a few more moments to compose herself. And, there it was, Piper was leaning over the bed, gazing down at her. The blonde looked pretty beaten up herself, bags under the dull eyes, pallid skin and a left arm cast. Piper could barely stand straight. The woman had to lean heavily against the bed.

Icy blue completely vanished, exposing Alex's true green. She smiled groggily. "It's… cold out… for a margarita…"

Piper chuckled. "Don't get cute with me. You almost electrocuted us just a moment ago."

"... weren't supposed... to... be here."

Piper looked serious, her eyes narrowed. "I know that I shouldn't have come." She paused for a moment, and then touched the handcuff around the thin wrist. "But I needed to see if you're all right."

Alex felt her body start to numb again, her mind dazed. It must have been the effects of the drugs. She must have been dreaming. There was no way Piper could be here.

It's just a dream—a nightmare.

Piper was leaning against the bed, looming over the raven-haired woman. Alex had stared at her, but then not. It was clear to her that Alex was still in a drug-induced state.

Alex stared off into the distance, and soon mumbled in her sleep. "Not here... can't..."

Piper gently brushed the dark, sweaty strands of hair away from the pale face. She couldn't believe that she had bothered, risking and breaking more rules, to seek for Alex either. Just three weeks ago, she would never have imagined herself wanting to have anything to do with Alex Vause ever again.

"Alex?" Piper watched as Alex twisted on the bed rather violently. "Hey... hey, I'm here... I'm here now," she cooed. She had to hold her hand tightly in reassurance, and only then that Alex seemed to relax.

Waiting for Alex to fall deeper into slumber exhausted Piper more than she had expected. Piper shifted uncomfortably. The pain on her right leg intensified, and she decided to sit properly along the edge of the bed. She had been moving around too much when she was advised not to leave her bed at all. Hearing from Daya how she got her ass kicked by Mendez, everyone was surprised that she managed to come out of it without life-threatening injuries. The only possible explanation was that Piper had tried to stop herself in the air during the fall from Mendez's grasp down to the roof. Even though she had failed to stop completely, it had helped slowing down the fall.

The thought sent chills down Piper's spine. The nightmare had happened before. It was just another souvenir from a terrible ex.

Damn you, Alex.

Piper glared down at the sleeping woman, wishing her all the horrible nightmares. After all that they had gone through, she couldn't believe that she still spared even a thought on Alex. And it exasperated her even more to realize that she couldn't stop herself, considering all the things she had done in the past weeks concerning the brunette. Even now that she was cursing Alex in her head, she kept pondering of ways to get the woman out of the SHU. It pained her to see Alex in this state even though she knew that it was for safety reasons, which she had witnessed it for the first time today.

Lightning. Piper wondered how Alex had always smelt like a cool breeze all the time. She loved breathing Alex, and now she only understood why. Shit, I really need to stop thinking..! Piper palmed her face. She felt feverish, her body aching badly. Tiredly she sighed and gazed down at Alex once more. What are you doing to me?

Then Piper looked up when she heard some movements a short distance away. Nicky? But she froze at the sight of the door slid open, revealing Howard and Red in the brightly lit corridor. The two were in black suits, staring back at her, unimpressed.

I'm fucked…