Their Forever

No Need for Hurt Anymore

Piper ran her fingers through her messy blonde hair, trying her best to straighten it out after their rather peculiar subway ride. Her fingers got caught in the knotted pieces, and she groaned as she gave up. Her hair was a lost cause, but it had been worth it. She flashed a shy smile at her wife, who had a proud smirk plastered across her face, before raising a fist to knock on the red wooden door.

Before Piper even had the chance to, the apartment door swung wide open, sending the handcrafted wreath nearly flying off, and leaving her hand hanging in mid air. Before her was a gorgeous woman half her size with a wild mane of curls. If anyone had messier hair than Piper; it was Nicky. She was dressed in jeans, a button up shirt, and a sharp black blazer. They saw each other often, but sometimes Piper expected to see everyone dressed in ill-fitting khaki. Still, Nicky looked good.

"Hey, Chapman!" Nicky beamed, immediately pulling her in for a hug. "Vause." she nodded.

"Nicky, when are we gonna get off prison nicknames?" Alex chuckled, rolling her eyes as she wrapped her arms around her friend's neck. Nicky was so short that Alex was practically doubled over just to hug her.

"Oh fuck, kid. If you wanted prison nicknames, I should be calling you stretch." she shot back, kissing her cheek. Nicky smoothed her hands over her hands over her blazer, and nodded towards the blonde. "So uh, Pipes, nice hair." she smirked, raising a brow. "What'd you do, Vause? Fuck on the subway?"

Red made her way to the door, and gave Alex a swift smack to the back of the head. "Don't even answer that question." she said knowingly, before embracing her as well. "Merry Christmas, malishkas." Red smiled, pulling both of the girls in simultaneously for a hug.

The apartment was decorated in typical over-the-top Red fashion. The tiny living room was taken up by a Christmas tree nearly half the size of it. The tree was filled with handmade ornaments, pictures, and just about anything sentimental Red could find or had kept. There were nutcrackers and gifts everywhere you turned, and it seemed like she'd cleared out every stores supply of garland.

Alex's fixation on Red's decorating skills was quickling interrupted by a pitter patter of tiny feet racing towards her, followed by some heavier footsteps. She shook her head to stop from zoning out, to find little Lorenzo clinging to her leg, butt naked from the waist down.

"Sorry, we're potty training." Lorna beamed, standing on her toes of kiss Alex's cheek. "Lots of nudity, just like Christmas back home after the booze broke out, am I right?"

Quickly everyone settled in around the tree, and the apartment was filled with laughter. Lorenzo dug into his stack of presents, properly spoiled by his mothers, grandmother, and aunts. They couldn't help but go overboard on their first Christmas as a complete family.

Alex had missed so much stuck on the inside. While Piper had gotten lucky, not missing a milestone, Alex had watched her nephew grow up from the other side of a piece of glass. Her family never missed a visit, and it seemed like someone was there at every opportunity, but it had been incredibly difficult. This was her first Christmas with a real family in over 14 years. Even Christmases before had been just her and Diane, which she longed for now so desperately.

Red noticed her daughter's mind trailing off. She sat herself on the arm of the couch, and wrapped her arms around her shoulders, pulling her in for a tight motherly embrace. "What's going through your mind, malyshka?" She asked, planting a kiss on top of her tangled black hair. She weaved her fingers through it, trying her best to gently pull out the knots. Alex hadn't been comforted like this in far too long. She couldn't explain how thankful she was for Red, for another maternal figure.

"I- I just," Alex began, her voice breaking. Her emerald eyes welled with tears, flowing over the edges as Alex didn't even try to hold back. She felt safe there. The woman couldn't remember the last time she'd cried in front of so many people. Her walls were built up so very high, but this was her family. Piper slid in beside her wife, and intertwined their fingers in her lap. She smoothed her thumb back and forth over the back of her hand, and gently kissed her cheek. "I miss my mom," Alex admitted, "and I missed all of this. I missed so much."

Both Nicky and Lorna made their way towards the couch, towards their friend who had now become much more like their sister. Nicky nodded in agreement. She too had missed so much. The time added to her sentence meant that she had spent 3 years away from Lorna. She had missed being there for the birth of Lorenzo. She had comforted her girlfriend as they sat in prison, not knowing what was going on with the health of their baby boy; only updated by calls from Piper. She and Alex related on that often, on being apart from their loves, on being stuck in prison while life went on for their partners. It was part of the reason why they'd become so incredibly close over the years.

Piper sometimes felt separated from them, for no reason at all honestly. She too had missed out on life, she too had spent over a year in prison. But, while her family sat together inside of Litchfield, Piper spent her early days at the hospital, caring for, praying over Lorenzo. Her heart broke for Lorna, not being able to be there as her son went through such a difficult time. The guilt Piper felt often tore at her.

Lorenzo had been a fighter, that's for sure. He was so premature, and was born so underdeveloped, that he'd spent his first 7 months alone in an incubator, and then a crib, inside of the neonatal intensive care unit. Piper hadn't missed a second, though. Every single day without fail, Cal dropped Piper off there in the morning, and picked her up at night. She had watched Lorenzo grow up before her eyes, and had taken him home from the hospital the second he was released.

As thankful as Nicky and Lorna had been, Piper felt an intense guilt for this. She had seen so many milestones, experienced so many things that his mothers hadn't. It broke her heart deeply.

Piper had a right to be upset too, she had been all alone. She had spent the first holiday out of prison with her homophobic judgemental family. She had nobody to call when she had a bad night, no friends to spend time with. She had just as much a right to be upset as every one of them.

"Kid, we all missed so much." Nicky said, placing a hand on her back to reassure her. "All." She repeated firmly, raising a brow towards Piper. This was a tough holiday, and a beautiful holiday, all at the same time. While it brought back hurt, they were all together. They were gathered around a Christmas tree, drinking hot chocolate, opening presents. They were a real family. There was nothing to miss ever again.

Red opened up her embrace to all four of her girls, her young grandson's arms wrapped tightly around her leg. She took her time to lean over, and plant a kiss on each one of her girl's heads. "We're together, and we're a family. No need for hurt anymore."