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unfinished business; Bad Girls / Judge John Deed trilogy
Topic Started: Jun 22 2008, 10:39 AM (19,821 Views)
richard
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This is all absolutely wonderful praise from all of you, empsue, axiegirl21, andliv2laf, and Emms. It reminds me how you have all been so responsive to the diverse range of characters who I have portrayed which speaks of an open mindedness which I admire and treasure wherever I find it.

In particular to you, Emms, feel free to make use of that Helen line which has that knack at looking at me and making me wonder' jesus, did I write that?'. You made a very interesting point about writing Helen and Nikki fic as I suspect that everyone identifies with one or other character in particularly and the trick is somehow to do justice to both characters- in my case to a whole range of characters. :D

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hopelessromantic
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Have the lab run a CBC with differential an a chem pro plus stat
Awesome update as always... great everything... a second and third reading and hey it is even more awesome. Great writing Richard. :tumbup

Cheers
HR
>>>>>> BGEnhanced <<<<<<

One cannot expect Congeniality when one does not exhibit Courtesy, Politenes and Impartiality.

Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart... Henry Clay
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richard
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Hi HR. As usual, this is a very generous post of yours which is certainly very appreciated. I'd belikewise interested in reading your next fic. :D
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JAM
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I've gotten caught up now and it was a pleasure as always. Keep em comming Richard. :hug2
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richard
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Hi JAM. Thanks for your very supportive feedback as always. I'll try and pace the pieces out as my temptation is not to resist putting up the next piece up in short order. I really couldn't resist writring this one as this is typically George in timing how and when to make a disclosure to her father and how she has mellowed out. Enjoy. :D


Scene Four


As George drove to her office, in her usual way, she was turning over the implications of what had happened to her. How could such an intensity of experience be constrained within the linear restrictions of time? It felt as if she had started living a second life as she reflected on how completely and passionately she’d fallen if love with Alice. She now realized what had been creeping up on her as she dealt with the practicalities of Sally Anne’s case. She was acutely aware that she’d gone into this life changing experience as one person and, inwardly, had emerged as another except that all the externals remained the same.

George smiled warmly to herself at the memories of the most fantastic couple of days. She recalled how she had worked so hard for Sally Anne’s trial and she had achieved a crushing triumph, which was up to anything Jo had delivered. She could understand what John had said over the years that achieving justice was a highly spiritual experience and she had scoffed at his words, closed her ears. Now she wasn’t ashamed to admit that she could see what he had been driving at. She had felt profoundly centred by the experience and she hadn’t been a theatrical actor playing a part. Her performance was that supreme expression of herself, given the legally forensic form of exposition. It was certainly a result by any standard. It had propelled her onwards to be so totally open to experiencing the party at Chix, being open and aware of Alice, making that magical connection and the night of passionate lovemaking that had ensued. Thursday off work with Alice had been like nothing on earth. They had both lived at the emotional height of human existence but on the Friday, both women had to return to work.

At the back of her mind, George had known all along that there would be the inevitable comedown after the glorious time she had spent over the last day or so. She would be back to the reality of her work and the life that surrounded it. As soon as Alice was headed off to her place of work and her to hers, George felt that ache of being separated and longing to be reunited, as soon as it was possible. It was as if she had fallen in love for the first time in her life. George knew that something had changed irretrievably in her life and she had to follow it wherever it led. The way she drove alone showed an indication that undoubtedly there was a different George, as she was now calm and leisurely in her driving rather than angry and frantic.

As George pulled up outside her office and sat in her car, she looked around at her surroundings. Her neatly appointed office, within a stones throw of the Oxford Street shops was as it had always been. She focused closer in the clothes that she wore. Her ‘power dressing’ suit looked the same as it always did and so did her shirt. It was she who had changed. Besides the massive change in her sexuality, she had definitely joined the ranks of the rebels and that was change enough. On the other hand, she had that peculiar feeling that she had changed profoundly inside but everyone else would see the same old George. It made her nervous and she seriously questioned whether she would manage to hold together the various pieces of ‘George as perceived.’ In herself, she was totally certain of herself. She had fallen in love with Alice and the most important goal of her life was not to let her slip through her fingers. She now felt that she had the emotional wherewithal not to make that mistake. She simply had to orientate the rest of her life round it.

As she looked down the street on that fine August day, the bright warm sunlight made everything look sharp, new minted or was it her heightened sensitivities? Whatever it was, this really did feel like the very start of the rest of her life and she felt good inside. Lingering longer than she was used to, she prepared herself to spend the best part of the day in the office clearing up two days of accumulated files that would be sitting in her in tray. Her high heels clicked their way up the open plan staircase and her long suffering secretary who had become hardened to George’s imperious nature was present. Although, ‘truth be told’, the woman had been surprised to see a more pleasant side of George when Claire Walker conferred with her on a case.
“Good morning, Barbara,” George greeted her as she swung into her office with a broad smile on her face.” There weren’t too many problems while I was off?”
“I took a few phone calls from your clients but nothing pressing … sorted out the routine correspondence. What I couldn’t handle I left for you,” Barbara said nervously, unaccustomed to such pleasantry.
“Excellent,” beamed George.” This will keep me nicely occupied. I could do with something quietly relaxing after the excitement of the past few days.”
“I understand from the papers that the Sally Anne Howe case was a total success. You’ll be sure to get other cases like that coming your way.”
“Yes……yes, it did go well,” George replied, a faraway look in her eyes as she spoke slowly in a peculiarly distanced fashion before becoming more animated in her manner. ”Yes, I went with Sally and Trisha to celebrate at a club afterwards and had a wonderful time of it.”
“I’m very pleased for you George.”
“Yes, so am I…. Oh, Barbara, if you get any really personal calls asking specifically for me, don’t hesitate in putting them through. Now, before I start the day, what say we share a cup of tea to start the day?”
“Sounds wonderful…I’ll make it,” Barbara said quickly, nipping to the small kitchen area while she put her puzzled thoughts together. Finally, she gave up and concluded that if it meant that her boss wouldn’t throw tantrums and her obnoxious boyfriend wouldn’t patronize her and demand George’s attention with a click of his fingers, life was looking up. She produced a tray with two cups of tea, a small milk jug and a teapot a little nervously, knowing how fussy George could be and was pleasantly surprised when George pronounced her first sip as excellent and chattered pleasantly to her.

When both had resumed their work later on, both were working quietly for a few hours when the phone rang. Barbara took the switchboard and intoned her usual greeting.

“Can I speak to George Channing, please?” a pleasant female voice called
“Who shall I say is calling?” Barbara enquired in her normal telephone manner.
“Oh yes,” came the hesitant voice, taken off guard by the question.” Tell her that it’s Alice. She’ll know who I am.”
Barbara put the call on hold and spoke to George, expecting a petulant answer if she was lucky, angry if she wasn’t.
“Definitely put the call through, Barbara,” George spoke eagerly, the words pouring out in a stream.” Make sure you don’t lose the call. I’ve been kind of expecting it.”

Barbara did as she was told and, again to her surprise, George’s voice did not carry through the thin walls. More to the point, the call was unusually long by her standards. Eventually when she finished the call, George made one outward call and half an hour later, popped her head round to Barbara.

“I’ve cleared everything up, Barbara and there aren’t any cases that will need my presence right now. I’m popping out to see my father. If you receive any phone calls, please will you take any messages? On Monday, I’m expecting Claire Walker first thing to call in about the Partridge compensation claim. Is that clear?” George said crisply, in a pleasant tone of voice.
“Are you expecting anyone in particular, George?” Barbara asked.
“Well, someone may call, you know, ” George said, her manner, as close to being school-girlish as it would ever be. Barbara could swear that her boss was dying to let her into some kind of secret that only she knew but just about stopped short. There was a faint flush of pleasure on her face as skipped down the staircase and headed out to her car.



Joseph Channing greeted his talented beautiful daughter with his upper class version of open arms and George graciously accepted his greeting. By now, she was in such a pent up state of dying to tell someone about the new love in her life that it overrode her caution about such matters.
“I want to congratulate you on the splendid performance in the Sally Anne Howe case. Monty was sure to give a blow by blow account of the trial and I’d say, considering that your line of work has primarily been civil cases, you have performed splendidly.”
“I must confess I had to do a lot of last minute swotting but once I started, I felt comfortable. What was a bit strange was putting that dreadful human resources woman through the hoop, where once I would have defended her.”
“It will add more strings to your bow and you’ll find that word gets around, George.”
The smile on George’s face felt very forced and artificial at that moment, as little did dear Daddy know what was to come. For a brief instant, she was tempted to back off from telling him her secret. The phrase ‘faint heart never won fair lady’ came back into her mind from long ago school lessons. The old fashioned phrase made her laugh inwardly at the delicious irony of the situation. Her spirits rallied but she opted not to drop this bombshell on her poor father too soon.

“It seems to me that I’ve been channeled by ‘that man’ in the sort of cases I had been taking on. I feel free to branch out a little and take the sort of work that I feel like doing. Jo Mills may have a rival in handling ‘crusading’ cases, even though the term embarrasses me.”
Joseph Channing alternately glared in sympathy at his daughter’s pointed reference to her ex and chuckled freely at her backhanded acceptance of herself in the same league as Jo Mills. He had often heard vitriolic denunciations of her rival so this was a step up in the world. Everything seemed to be coming together in the traditional finale of ‘it all ended happily ever after.’
“It’s strange the twists and turns that fate plays in our lives and how, after all the fury and uproar, John has turned out to be right all along. If the government wanted to have a judiciary united in thought and deed, it has succeeded admirably- in turning all and sundry against them, even traditional die hard Conservatives.”
George smiled dutifully at her father’s enthusiasm. Of course, she approved and agreed with the general sentiment. It was just that her boredom threshold kicked in at an early stage at intense and detailed political debates. “Everyone knew what needed to be done, for God’s sake, so we might as well get on with it.”
“You never know, the chain of recent events might even repair the rent in your relationship with John. I confess that I think of him in much kinder terms than I used to.”

At this point, George was seriously alarmed and felt duty bound to put a stop to this train of thought. Having lived a lie with Neil Houghton, she felt duty bound to intervene.
“Daddy, I hope you aren’t suffering the illusion that John and I will get back together. Even if both of us wanted it, it wouldn’t work out.”
“You haven’t got Jo Mills to come between you. You can put the past aside as all of us have recently learned to do.”
Nice try, Daddy. I admire your silver-tongued guile but it’s not good enough, thought George. Suddenly, out of nowhere, her own ploy popped into her own imagination.

“I am getting to be friends with John and we have a further tie through Charlie but that’s as far as it goes. The problem is that John is a womanizer and always will be so. It would come between us and spoil what we have………..especially as I have a new partner.”
Joseph looked at his daughter more closely. There was a glow that radiated from her and a feeling of tranquillity that was new. He fondly bathed in the satisfaction of being both eagle eyed father and court of appeal judge who had got to the bottom of the matter.
“Oh, tell me more, George.”
“I’ve realized that I’ve always gone for the smooth, debonair man who is self assured and basically self centred. Oh sure in his public life, John is dedicated to justice and all manner of worthy causes but in his private life, aside from his major contribution in bringing up Charlie, he does put himself first. The men I’ve gone out with since then haven’t even got John’s admirable sense of public values and as for that creep…..”
“Enough!” said Joseph. “ So what’s he like?”
“Well, the proverbial tall dark stranger swept me off my feet and is kind and gentle. It makes a change to have a partner that cares about you and who you care about.”
“That’s excellent news, George,” Joseph said enthusiastically.” Is he in the legal profession? We ought to ask him round one evening. I’d be delighted to meet him.”
“There’s a couple of catches. You wouldn’t be meeting a barrister or judge or solicitor but a social worker……” started George, her voice trailing off in an uncertain fashion now she was reaching the crux of the matter. Only that faint light bulb of hope kept shining.
“Well, that’s not too much trouble. He is in a caring profession.”
“The other catch is that her name is Alice. She’s a woman.”

“What!” exclaimed Joseph Channing. His mouth hung open and he collapsed back in his chair in shock. His breath came in and out in short sharp bursts for a little while. George dashed over for a glass of water and held it to his lips. She was seriously worried
for him.
“You can’t be serious. I mean, what’s brought all this on. I can’t believe what I’m hearing.”
“Daddy, please listen to me,” the blond haired woman said with as much sincerity that she could summon up in her voice and trying to engage his staring eyes. “I have succeeded after all these years in finding someone decent who wants me for who I am. I stumbled into this situation and so did she. It was the old romantic story about two pairs of eyes meeting across a crowded room, which I thought was absolute romantic drivel only I found it to be true. You, Monty and the others have taken the unheard of step of going on strike. This is my unheard of step in really falling in love for the first time.”
“You always were a heartbreaker,” Joseph whispered, ancient memories obscuring the unimaginable present.
“That was because I didn’t care about the harm I did. I know this is a shock for you but I want to be honest. Would you really want me to keep something important from my own father?”
“Fetch me a glass of whisky, not that miserable water,” Joseph said, his voice becoming more of its normal rumble. He drank deeply of the glass and the world appeared to become more normal and not spin crazily off its axis. At least it looked normally fuzzy as the potent spirits worked through his blood stream.
“You really are serious about this.”
“As serious as when I fought this last court case. I truly believe in both.”
Joseph squinted at George as he started to assimilate what George was saying. A nameless fear ran through him.
“You need to think seriously about what you’re taking on. I assume this woman is experienced in these ways and you are not.”
“I can be a quick learner, Daddy. I think I’m a better judge of character than I have been in the past.”
Ten out of ten for trying to bowl that tricky googly past my guard, Joseph Channing thought with feelings of respect for his daughter. She’s not getting away with it that easily though.
“This could be your professional ruination as I’m not sure your clients are even anything like the somewhat reformed died in the wool conservative as I am.”
“Would you rather I choose a more reputable partner and go back to Neil?” George fired back, saving that shot just when it could best be used. Joseph Channing’s face and mind went blank as the horrifying implications hit home. He knew that the worst of all worlds was his beloved daughter going back with that fearful weasel, with which he and the brethren had fought a bitter battle. All this time, he did not reply but chewed the matter over. Perhaps the devil he knew might not be the best. George ran her expert eye over his features and made her final move.
“Would it help to see her and for you to make your own mind up? We could perhaps meet somewhere on neutral territory.”
“I shall need to think it over, George. You cannot expect a snap answer tonight. You do know that you’ll have to tell John. He might not be particularly understanding and liberal minded either,” he rumbled at normal volume, subsiding with a suggestion of a chuckle.

George helped herself to a little of her father’s spirits, watered it down a touch and as she drank it, permitted herself a slight smile. She was pretty sure she had made a good start in winning her father over.
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hopelessromantic
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Have the lab run a CBC with differential an a chem pro plus stat
Another great Scene Richard. I totally enjoyed reading and was rather amused by Joseph Channings take on George's revelation.

This fic just becomes wholly absorbing and it's only the 4th Scene. Your narration is brilliant. :hat

Cheers
HR
>>>>>> BGEnhanced <<<<<<

One cannot expect Congeniality when one does not exhibit Courtesy, Politenes and Impartiality.

Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart... Henry Clay
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JAM
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Wow Richard, I had to laugh out loud when George dropped that bomb!! I chuckled at Barbara's nervous uncertainty as well...great stuff!! :lol1 :popcorn **JAM settles down to wait for more**
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emtsue
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GREAT,GREAT,GREAT!!! CAN'T WAIT FOR GEORGE TO DROP IT ON JOHN.George is just going to shoot :guns them all down isn't she?!
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Andliv2laf
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Richard, that was wonderful as usual. I so enjoy your writing style and I love this story; I'll be waiting for the next chapter as patiently as I can!
AND
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Axiegirl21
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:lol1 I could just see the old man blustering when George dropped the bomb. Still he has to see, when he meets Alice, that she's exactly what George needs. :hug2 Great stuff can't wait to read more.
The past is history.
The future a mystery.
And now is a gift thats why we call the present.



Larkhall Lovelies Rule
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Emms
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Yay! Update-y goodness!! Great chapter Richard! :clap
I registered at G Wing and all I got was this lousy tshirt.

“After my time at Larkhall, I deserve to take it easy for a long, long while. I’ve been there, done it, and worn the bloody T-shirt..."~ Helen in: Unfinished Business by Richard

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richard
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Wow, thank you everyone for the incredible feedback, HR, JAM, empsue, andliv2laf, axiegirl21 and Emms. This was one of those scenes where I couldn't imagine a better chance for George to tell her father and his total shock followed by his mean amusement that if he suffered, John has to suffer as much. I can tell that you've all followed all the nuances very closely.
There are a lot of twists and turns to come. :D
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Andliv2laf
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Thanks for the warning Richard!! Can't wait for more!!
AND
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richard
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Your wish is my command, Andliv2laf and this next piece is a sort of 'two parter' which enables the wide range of characters to be kept together. The John piece looks backward while the Helen Nikki piece points to the future. Enjoy.


..................................................................................................................


Scene Five

On the Thursday after the trial, John was up much later than that of his usual habit. He had enjoyed a celebration drink with Monty and Joseph Channing and was feeling somewhat the worse for wear. Fortunately, there were no pressing demands on his time so he took a leisurely stroll to the newsagents round the corner. Its display of newspapers was slanted more towards the Times and Telegraph thanks to its reliable readership.

John leafed quickly through the tabloids first. Seeing that they had featured the obvious page 1 world shattering importance of Posh and Becks, and ostentatiously relegated the trial to the sidelines in a cursory disgruntled ‘law and order’ tone of voice, he replaced them in their place with a visible expression of disgust. Carefully reading the Guardian, the Times and the Independent, he noticed that they devoted more attention to the case. He paid for the papers then strolled back to his digs.

He took his place in the deserted dining room then spread his papers on the white linen tablecloth. With a smile of satisfaction, he read the establishment’s gnashing its teeth at inconvenient justice. What gave him cause for concern was this wasn’t the Telegraph that wrote in this style but the Guardian, whose liberal credentials he had been accustomed to believing. He was beginning to suspect that there was too close a relationship between the leader writers and government politicians. He wasn’t sure if the Times or Telegraph would treat the case any more fairly.


“The recent case where the Metropolitan Police were successfully sued for negligence in apparently failing to be omniscient in stopping a rogue member of the police force from raping a colleague raises worrying questions. The general public is only too aware that social developments originating from other countries have a not altogether healthy effect on traditional freedoms. One of those is ‘compensation culture’ where blame is apportioned not only at the perpetrator of the injustice but at institutions only tangentially involved. It is all too evident that DC Gossard should have been brought to book and probably would have been, if it weren’t, for the fact that fate decided that he died in the course of his duties. There should be a measure of public sympathy for the poor unfortunate policewoman whose life was blighted but it must be remembered that money isn’t the panacea to all the problems of the world. She may well enjoy the good fortune that came her way but the losers are those who run our public bodies who will be inhibited from making the right decision in favour of what is safe and expedient. ”

He studied the Times and a broad smile split his face as he reached the near to middle page. He then laughed loudly as he read the highly entertaining article.

“The Home Secretary Neil Haughton has reconsidered his bill to restrict the powers of the judges in view of a run of judgments that were politically controversial. He has considered after due reflection that a voluntary code of conduct is more preferable and that judge’s ideas ought to be engaged for their input. ‘After all, peer pressure and self regulation are the surest guarantees of a legal system which will operate more harmoniously.”

This was running up the flag of surrender with a vengeance. He was sure that some nameless functionary, acting on direct orders, drafted the press release for Haughton to mouth to the press. This was a superb tonic to his spirits. After the past turbulence in his life, he was now in more tranquil waters. Professionally, things could not be better. He was set to live his life in perpetual battle with the establishment but they had recently been rebuffed by the strike. His mortal enemy Neil Haughton had suffered a clear blow to his prestige. All he needed was to get his personal life back on track. It crossed his mind that this was the most intractable problem of all.


*******

The weeks after Sally Anne’s trial were a particularly mellow period in Helen and Nikki’s lives. The summer days meant that they were able to sunbathe in their back garden or head out to Chix as they liked or to Claire and Peter’s house. Their social life was expanding, taking in Sally Anne and Trisha, and George and Alice, while their friendship with John was maintained more at a distance. Both women were now well established and happy in their jobs and savouring the more pleasant side of life.

One Thursday evening, they got home from work and Nikki suddenly turned to Helen almost as soon as they got through the front door.
“Why don’t we go out for a meal instead of spending time with all the cooking and washing up,” Nikki suggested.
“We could always leave it to Saturday when we don’t have to worry about getting up in the morning. We’ll have more of a chance of chilling out.”
“Not if we get going quickly enough,” urged Nikki. “I just feel like going out and spending a romantic evening with low lights, romantic music. We need to take ourselves out of ourselves from time to time if you know what I mean.”

Helen noticed the way that Nikki was virtually hopping about from one foot to another in excitement and went along with the taller woman’s idea. After the time they had lived together, Helen was still the one tending to plan events ahead methodically while Nikki was more inclined to come up with spur of the moment impulsive ideas. As with everything, each was inclined to explore the other’s point of view. Helen shelved her quiet night in idea and got on board Nikki’s plan.
“If it makes you happy, Nikki…” she started to say until she saw the other woman’s raised eyebrows and knew exactly what she was thinking.……“But come to think of it, I’m starving and I fancy the ideas as well.”
“I’ve had the ideal restaurant suggested to me at work for a change. It’s quiet and intimate and the food is excellent,” Nikki exclaimed excitedly.
“You book the meal, sweetheart. I trust to your judgment,” Helen said in her placid tones.

The quick beam of pleasure on Nikki’s face and the way she kissed her on her cheek told Helen that she’d done the right thing, not least by herself. Nikki led the way to their bedroom and immediately picked out her white suit from the Paris trip while Helen selected her floaty black dress. That cut down on some of the time and after showering and applying their makeup, they were soon ready to go.

Helen looked at Nikki as they paused to look at each other in wonder. They saw in each other everything they physically admired, To Helen, that suit gave Nikki that slightly androgynous look about her that was unmistakably attractive, offset by the pure femininity of her delicate makeup enhancing her suntanned skin and her exquisite perfume. By contrast, Helen’s strappy black dress showed off her generous breasts to best advantage the bodice clinging to the contours of her figure and falling away in folds to end above her knees, revealing her shapely legs, and all for Nikki’s admiring eyes. Helen gave that teasing half smile, placed her hands on her hips and turned to the side, raising her right high heel off the carpet.
“Will I do, darling?”
“Will you…..?” answered Nikki, her voice hoarse with desire.” My powers of self control are only just enough in restraining myself from ravishing you on the spot.”
“So later?”
“It’s a deal.”

In a state of high excitement, the two women zoomed off out of the street, Nikki behind the wheel. The sun was starting to set but the sunlight still streamed into the car, making the dark haired woman reach for her sunglasses. Helen lay back in the passenger seat, content to be driven along by her lover who had obviously worked out the directions. They twisted and turned down the back streets and ended up in a part of London that was off their beaten track. Nikki spun the car in a right hand turn and Helen saw the welcome sight of the restaurant, as she was getting very hungry indeed.

They floated down the street and entered the rarified atmosphere of the restaurant. The waiter politely indicated a quiet corner that gave a view both of the main street and of the length of the restaurant. Soft flamenco guitar music offered a lilting refrain to their thoughts. Instantly both women had the curious sensation. It feels as if we are out on our first date, or as it should have been if we had met normally, both women felt.

As normal, the waiter handed both women the wine list and the menus and they were nothing out of the ordinary and allowed to enjoy the simple pleasures of life.

********

The aftermath of the trial had set Sally Anne and Trisha on a completely different course altogether. The trial had cast a shadow over their lives that were only realized once it had been removed. Sally had seen the embodiment of the authority of the Metropolitan Police Force humbled and, better still; they owed her ninety thousand pounds. In the cold light of day, it sounded unbelievable, unreal and they knew they would have to bide their time until the administrative machine would turn that into hard cash. In the meantime, Sally Anne felt empowered and her newfound confidence shifted the balance between the two women. Trisha eagerly embraced this change, as this was what she had really wanted all along.

Thursday night, Sally-Anne and Trisha headed out on their first night together at Chix. Sally Anne had a curious feeling as this was a place that she associated with pleasure and now was going to become her place of work. She had started to learn from Trisha just what running the club entailed and was confident enough to hand in her notice at her job. She had spent the last few weeks getting a crash course in how to work a bar and had also immersed herself into some of the complexities of the business side. Sally had briefly shown a practical side to her personality when she had moved her belongings from her old flat into their present home but now she really came into her own.

The two women came early to the deserted club and opened up. Sally looked at Trisha wondering if she could make her first move and then moved to the switches to click on the flashing lights. In a deserted club and in the absence of music, it had an eerie feel about it. It seemed strange to her that the normal party atmosphere of the club could be put together or was it a spontaneous happening?
“You’ll have to get used to working strange hours, babes. The nine to five brigade are settling down to bed while here, the party is just warming up.”
“I’ll get used to it, Trisha. Working for the police force involved working funny hours sometimes… Here, at least I feel safe.”
Trisha gave her a quick kiss on her cheek and went behind the bar area to check out the stock. It gave her a feeling of starting out all over again but didn’t bring any regrets about Nikki. Life had moved on for both Trisha and Nikki and each of them had a new partner in their lives with no regrets.

********

Helen and Nikki sat back in the quiet intimacy of the restaurant amidst the chatter of the others who were enjoying their meal. They were peacefully savouring the flavours of the meal and sipping a glass of wine while the lights were turned down low.

During the meal, Helen, was enchanted by the sight of Nikki. Nikki had talked softly in her best conversational manner, meshing in with Helen’s observations. The sheer vitality of her manner mingled with the way the shadows and low light sculptured the contours of her face while her deep brown eyes were like pools of water into which Helen could gratefully immerse her whole being. The white Mandarin jacket with large buttons gave her a look of strangely alluring formality and brought out the best in her contours. In turn, Nikki was mesmerized by the smaller woman’s laughing flirtatious manner that was perfectly natural to her. It was her expression of the sheer joy of the present and a variety of expressions flitted over her expressive features. It was a strange treat for them both that they could look at each other and not touch. They could relax and take life easy.


“We’d better be making tracks, babes,” Nikki finally said as the gently soporific atmosphere of the restaurant and the effects of the meal made her feel sleepy.” You can drive us home if you want.”
“Suits me,’ Helen murmured. They smiled their appreciation at the waiter and paid for the meal. By now, the streets were quiet and dark as they strolled down the street. Everything felt perfectly calm and serene, just two women out for a quiet meal. They both made a mental note to come back here another time.
“At least we won’t have a sink full of washing to come home to,” murmured Nikki. They could get on home and settle down to bed.

Helen settled herself behind the wheel and smiled as Nikki clicked on her seat belt. She wasn’t feeling much better herself but she figured that she would be able to navigate them back home somehow. The red Peugeot moved from the side street and set off down the road.























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Axiegirl21
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Out of Dorm
:wub: Aww that was so sweet, it's great to see the all our couples and John are going forward from the trial with a fresh optimism. Sally Anne and Trish's first steps into the rest of their lives seem to be the most positive of them all :hug2 I raise a glass to their success :drinkies and to yours Richard, I love it when I come on this site and see a lovely update waiting for me. Your writing is amazing, keeping each person in the character that we know and still being able to pull us into their lives and surprise us now and again :h5
The past is history.
The future a mystery.
And now is a gift thats why we call the present.



Larkhall Lovelies Rule
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