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| Fruits of our Labours; Bad Girls Judge John Deed crossover fic | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Sep 20 2009, 05:31 PM (7,176 Views) | |
| richard | Sep 20 2009, 05:31 PM Post #1 |
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Enhanced
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This fic is the fourth of a series of Bad Girls / Judge John Deed crossover fics ( ‘Cleanup Time, ‘Sisters under the Skin’, ‘Unfinished Business.’) which are linked but self sufficient - Apologies for being away from this part of the board for quite a while but here it is. Shed Productions made the original Bad Girl element of the characters, wrote the stories, and have full copyright to them. I am using these characters simply for non-profit, entertainment value. Likewise I am giving credits to G F Newman who wrote the Judge John Deed copyrighted characters and storylines via BBC Productions in this cross over fiction. I am happy to accept constructive feedback openly as it will improve the quality of my writing. FRUITS OF OUR LABOURS by Richard Scene One Nikki Wade nervously picked up the slim document headed “An Investigation into HMP Larkhall - its implications for women’s prisons,” by Nikki Wade of the Howard League for Penal Reform. She turned to her boss, Paul Williams for reassurance. She had written an internal report last September but since then, Paul had developed her thoughts on how best to use it. It was apparent that his bright and hard working subordinate had uncovered material that cut deeper than he had first considered. It seemed symptomatic of the state of the deteriorating state of the prison service in general. Nikki had been both flattered and nervous when she was asked to expand on her original findings. Now she was going into print with a full-scale publication designed for wider consumption outside her organization. “Is this really my work? It looks different when it’s been committed to print.” “You underestimate yourself, Nikki. I’ve never wanted someone immersed in all the standard clichés to do this report. I wanted someone clear thinking, fair-minded and above all else someone who had been there. Even after all this time, you still have this lingering feeling that you need to apologies for your time spent at Larkhall Prison, don’t you. You must remember that it is a unique grounding experience.” Paul Williams’ clear penetrating eyes went right through Nikki. Of course he’d got it right. He was a guy in a million. “You don’t miss a thing. OK Paul, I promise to write that down as my mantra and repeat it to myself in moments of self doubt,” she answered with that note of gentle irony. Paul knew that Nikki had listened very closely to him and was totally sincere in her thanks. “This organization has so much to thank you for just being here. I see my role in giving you any helpful pointers and letting you fly by yourself. When this publication hits the streets, my job is to take the heat from the press and the political establishment. Just remember that I’m here to take the heat as I’m paid more than you and also, well, I like to think I’m a mate of yours.” “Thanks a million, Paul,” Nikki replied, flushing with warm affection for the guy. ”This feels strange and I’m still not too used to being treated this kindly.” “Don’t mention it Nikki,” was his casual reply, which neatly understated his feelings. “I suppose the right wing press and the apparatchiks in the Home Office will be after our blood,” mused Nikki aloud after a pause for reflection, neatly deploying her favourite John Deed phrase. Her sharp ear savoured the sharpness of the meaning so much that she had made the word hers. “I’ve gone through it with a fine tooth comb and there aren’t any cracks in it. We are truth seekers, unafraid of what we might find. We are armed with it. At least that’s what I was brought up to believe. They’ve got much more reason to be shit scared as, deep down, they have that sneaking suspicion that someone, somewhere is holding out on them. To be top of the shit heap in their institutions doesn’t necessarily make them strong. In our organization, we look after everyone, including the filing clerk ” Nikki returned to examine the preface with which she had started the report. She recalled how Helen had been incredibly helpful and supportive and that Paul Williams had rigorously tested the report, that no conclusion remained unsupported by evidence. When she was done, it had been committed to print and, finally after months of slaving over the report, here it was. “………There is a willful reluctance by the medical unit attached to the prison in abandoning the previous system of deploying freely available NHS medical records. It is difficult to understand why it ignores the obvious truth that prisoners have past lives in society. Instead, it operates by a biased and judgmental approach that categories and stigmatizes, especially where it cannot understand what is before it. Regrettably, this same mindset tends to permeate the wing I chose to select for study with the result that far too many prison officers are inducted into this culture when they are young and impressionable. Where the one part of the prison service could have enlightened and assisted the other, both sides end up confirming mutually shared prejudices. There are honourable exceptions, of course, but these officers are far too often marginalized and made to feel so. The lynchpin of this system is the Principal Officer who is a vital source of information and guidance - in both directions - between prison management and ordinary prison officers. Regrettably, this potential has been flagrantly abused in controlling and manipulating information for personal advantage, as I shall later demonstrate in more detail. The management style is heavily focused on currently fashionable commercial ideas of profit, even after one attempt to privatize the prison most fortunately fell through. This was no coincidence. Publicity for a charitable presentation of a wheelchair for the disabled son of a prisoner was hijacked by Lynfords Security to boost their profile for the takeover only to be hijacked in turn by the spirited resistance of a group of prisoners whose only demand was that Lynfords should drop their bid. From this writer’s background research on other privatized prisons, conditions for both prison officers and prisons have substantially deteriorated, as the humanizing side of the prison service is seen as a needless expense to be cut back on. Instead, it relies on the heavy use of surveillance cameras whose intrusiveness negates the attempt to create a secure environment. Even now, it pervades the management ethos- examples being the educational facilities which are not encouraged beyond the minimum, the disbandment of the ‘lifer’s unit’ of which this writer has direct knowledge of. Most disturbing is the ‘weekly spends’ system, which should run on ‘nil profit’ basis; is run on a profit basis for no clear reason. There is a critical period in the run up to release date when prisoners should be enabled to be prepared to find their way in the world outside prison and no resources are put into this area. This matches, in a disjointed fashion the cynical expectation amongst prison officers that discharged prisoners are expected to return there sooner or later. Consequently, both management style and the dominant prison officer culture are therefore at best irrelevant to the needs of a modern prison system. Consequently, there are a multiple set of problems which each feed off each other in the prison organization – before this writer even starts to describe the plight of the prisoners.” She looked at it and thought, yeah, it’s pretty fluent and smiled at the final sentence, which combined her analytical style with her sense of irony. She shrugged her shoulders and concluded that if Paul was so enthusiastic, it must be good. All the same, she had that strange feeling that she’d assembled together a stash of dynamite, and that the force of the explosion would surprise her more than anyone else. ******** “So here you are at last, sweetheart. Your first publication and I would bet, not your last,” Helen said, in tones of glowing pride for her partner. She felt as positive about it as much as if she had written the report. “I could never have done it without your encouragement. It feels a bit off in taking all the credit.” “Nonsense,” pronounced Helen.” I’m not greedy for the spotlight. Let’s face it; I would have extreme difficulty in writing about the prison service, which dumped on me from day one. I wonder how you can contemplate it and be so objective after what you’ve been through. I’m happy to cheer you on from the sidelines.” Instantly, the dark haired woman’s thoughts slid into a parallel dimension. The time they had lived together had been such that life before that date seemed unreal and had slid into another dimension. True, Nikki thought, her life with Trisha had had its special flavour but it didn’t interfere with the here and now, especially as they were such good friends. It wasn’t even the case that the first period of living together was one of lustful sex that had gradually diminished over time. Instead, their love and friendship had become more intimate and had explored depths of shared experience while the feelings of sexual desire had become more knowing. She could never believe that Helen had, had any reservations about her sexuality, which fitted over her like a glove. When Nikki had laboured long and hard over her work, she felt Helen’s presence always nearby and this spurred her on to elaborate or revise parts she’d been doubtful about. For a reason Helen couldn’t put her finger on, she had refrained from directly intruding on her partner’s efforts. “A penny for your thoughts, babes,” Helen said into her lover’s faraway expression.. “You can have them for free, darling. I was just thinking about how you’re always there for me,” pronounced Nikki, veering round to give the smaller woman a lingering kiss on her lips before carrying on in a more reflective tone of voice. “Thinking about it, I got to know much more about the prison system than the average prisoner. I’m not sure where my own observations stopped and where conversations with you began. Still, it’s only the icing on the cake.” “So that is all my expertise is worth, Ms Wade? You have a lot of making up to do for that remark,” Helen protested, her arms linked around Nikki’s waist and grinning from ear to ear as she mischievously teased her partner. “And won’t I know it? I know just how long making up can take. My tongue gets tired and I get a crick in my neck, ” groaned Nikki. “Ah, but there is a reward at the end of it. Come on, admit it, babes you love it.” “Is this a punishment or a proposition?” Nikki asked, carefully setting the slim document down out of harms way. They had eaten and cleared away the dishes when that feeling of desire started to rise up in her…the evening was theirs for the asking. “Whichever way you want to take me,” came the sultry answer as the smaller woman fixed her lover with her green eyes. Immediately her pulse started racing. Helen had that turn of tone and phrase-that look in her eye; that never failed to rouse her, especially when her lover was now delicately caressing her curves. Nikki reached towards the smaller woman and wrapped her arms round her neck with a blissful smile on her face. They were in paradise. They were both feeling especially bonded by the good news of Nikki’s publication. The act of making love flowed naturally with their passion. Helen pulled the taller woman towards her. As her soft lips meet Nikki’s she eagerly sought the taste of her passionate lover. They tumbled sideways onto the large, comfortable reddish patterned sofa, Helen on top of her lover. The taller woman sighed blissfully as their mouths met and her fingers stroked the well-known contours of her face. It was as if she could so easily sculpt an image of Helen, so well did she physically know her. In the meantime, Helen’s fingers expertly unbuttoned her shirt with smooth facility and those lips tasted the smooth silky skin that her senses desired. In the meantime, Nikki expertly unzipped her lover’s top and felt her hands guided to her lover’s gorgeous breasts. A rush of desire swept through Helen as she felt how physically and mentally attuned they were to each other. We could wait until we got to our bedroom, Helen considered, as she let Nikki unclip her black lacy bra but that would be just too much. In no time at all, their clothes were strewn on the floor in an untidy heap and Helen ran her lips and fingers all over Nikki’s body. They whispered sweet endearments to each other, the sort of stray thoughts that had lingered in the backs of their memories and now naturally coming out of their mouths. Finally, Helen’s fingers slid down Nikki’s flat stomach and edged their way into where her desires were concentrated while Nikki’s arms cradled her lover. The taller woman writhed her way finally to a climax and was dizzy with happiness. They were at one in their joy and inner peace. They were finally free and able to express their love for each other. They finally slid off the sofa and Nikki landed on top of the brown haired woman. As they lay on the soft carpet desires continued to overflow as she caressed and kissed Helen. |
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| yankeelady | Sep 20 2009, 11:50 PM Post #2 |
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G3 Curtain and Duvet!
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I have a slight inkling as to where you're taking this one, Richard. I'm happy to get on at the first stop, climb aboard, and go along for the ride. Cheers.
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| Nikki...Don't get jealous... | |
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| maxi | Sep 21 2009, 03:14 AM Post #3 |
Up to Basic
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Great start. Always love a new story. |
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| stealthgirl | Sep 21 2009, 03:06 PM Post #4 |
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Out of Dorm
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Lovely beginning, Richard! I love your post-Larkhall Nikki. She's lost so much of her anger and effectively channeled her resentment into reforming the system that attempted to dehumanize her. Her loving (and calm) interactions with Helen are touching. It's a shame we never got to see much of that side of Nikki onscreen. Thank you for writing her that way for us now.
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| Bad Girls Riot - Fanfiction, Friends and Fun! | |
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| richard | Sep 26 2009, 12:15 PM Post #5 |
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Enhanced
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Great feedback here and you’re certainly due for quite a journey, Yankeelady and thanks also, Maxi. Thanks for your post, Stealthgirl as you’ve precisely picked out a theme I’ve been aiming at. This next scene is a nice domestic scene. In the encounter between Karen and unwelcome company, I’ve taken Ritchie Atkins Series 4 and put a new spin on it. Enjoy. ............................................................................................................. Scene Two Karen couldn’t believe herself as she woke up to realize that she had such a personal purpose in her life. She wondered with astonishment just how she had slipped through that invisible barrier that had held her back from being herself. Some random event had taken her feet to that magical club and she had slipped into a fast moving river that hurried her away. Life as she knew it had changed. She might have felt angst that she was losing control of her life, but strangely enough she didn’t. She felt that she had gladly surrendered that part of her destiny as she realised parts of herself that she had not recognized. Now she couldn’t wait to see what the future held for her. She was more certain than of anything in her life that whatever fate had overtaken her, this was really what she wanted. She now woke in anticipation of what the day may bring as oppose to what a merciless fate had in store for her. She reclined luxuriously in bed as the winter sunshine shimmered in through her bedroom window. It was strange that in all this time she had never noticed it but her heightened sensibilities felt alive within her. Welling energy within her drove her to slip a pair of jeans and pullover on, make an early morning cup of coffee and light up a cigarette. Her vow to cut back on cigarettes and booze was easy enough for her as she could indulge herself in a more pleasurable alternative. In the past, she’d used them to blot out the grim threatening walls of reality that had been closing in on her and, yes, to put some distance between herself and loneliness. It was in a quiet contemplative moment that the phone rang. “Hiya, Karen. I thought I’d find out how you’re keeping these days,” came Nikki’s friendly tones,” you know, you’re not too much at a loose end.” Karen saw through the other woman’s oh so innocent concern for her welfare at once. Nikki was genuinely good hearted but even if she wasn’t inquisitive, Karen knew for sure that Helen was dying to know the news. “Do you mean to ask, am I still dating that gorgeous dark haired woman who I got off with at Chix? The answer to that one is a definite yes. If you want all the lurid details, the answer is that I had the most fantastic night of pure sex that I’ve ever had in my life. I don’t think Beth was complaining either,” came Karen’s emphatic reply with a hint of self-satisfaction at the end. “It’s good to hear that you had a good time. During the run up to the trial, Helen and I were getting seriously worried about you,” Nikki answered with an undertone of polite concern in her voice. “Can I ask you one question? Did you and that matchmaking partner of yours set me up on a blind date? I can distinctly remember Helen saying,’ Oh but you must come with us, Karen. Better this than back to your flat on your own.’ I have to hand it to her, she really pulled out all the stops,” Karen demanded, a forceful note in her voice which couldn’t betray a lurking undertone of affection for these two minxes. “Do you really believe that we could think that we could lure you, Karen Betts, with all your straight credentials, away from men? In any case, are you really complaining?” replied Nikki, smoothly bouncing back with India rubber rapidity. Helen’s loud laughter was clearly audible in the background as she got the drift of the conversation. “Well, er no,” confessed Karen lamely,” but it’s the principle at stake.” “So when are you seeing Beth again?” persisted Nikki impishly. “As it happens, I’ve got a date with her in a few hours time. I’m sure we’ll pick up where we left off last time. You get the picture?” Karen said in her silkiest tone of voice. “We’re really pleased for you, Karen. From what we know of Beth you’ll be good for each other. I don’t mean in just the obvious sense.” “I must admit, my senses tell me that life is looking up even though the other part of me feels I’m taking a step into the unknown.” “I can relate to that from what Helen said when we first started out together…..Err, Karen, we didn’t really set out to match-make just to get the record straight. We just knew very well that if you’d gone home to your flat, everything would have felt like an anticlimax. We wanted you to have a good time in whatever form it happened to take.” “I know you did. You’re both friends in a million,” Karen said, with real natural warmth in her voice before it edged into desire”…..and now, I admit to tingling all over at seeing that woman of mine very soon.” “See you around and…good luck,” concluded Nikki. Karen put the phone down, a broad smile spreading across her face. It felt good to be validated in her choice of lover. It felt strange talking naturally and easily to Nikki. Whoever would have thought that she was once paid to lock her up for a living, certainly not Karen. She drifted off to shower and then pick out the best of her wardrobe. Beth liked to see her in above the knee dresses and, come to think of it, so did Karen. Once she’d possessed an extensive collection of makeup but in the past few months, it had lasted better than she might have expected. Only when she’s appeared in court or seen her friends had she even thought in such terms. Now, she busied herself in making herself look attractive and, ready for the world. She smiled as she set off down the street. Half an hour later, she strolled nonchalantly into the local ‘Starbucks’ and ran her eye expectantly over the people but there was no sign of Beth. Her spirits dropped sharply and left her feeling at a loss as to what to do next. Long dormant memories of dates in her adolescence prompted her to get a coffee and a table for herself and see what happened next. She lit a cigarette and became uncomfortably aware that casual public gaze would see her as a single attractive woman and all that it entailed. After all, she didn’t have ‘L’ stamped on her forehead. A few minutes later, she realized that she had made a mistake. She was getting the sort of company she absolutely didn’t want. “I was going to see my mates at the pub but as soon as I saw you, I prefer feminine company.” “I wish I had a quid for every time I’ve heard that old line and the joke is, I’m no longer in the market for this sort of crap.” “What about, you’ve got nice legs as well?” The man was young, clean cut, and his carefully applied smile and smoothly assertive manner coaxed her to just the sort of dangerous entanglement that had once enticed her. For a split second, she hovered on the edge before a sudden access of anger drove her to give this man the brush off. The fact that she was confronting a man not too dissimilar to Ritchie Atkins struck her as very symbolic right now. The chat up line was identical. This time, it would be different because her response was that critical bit different and, above all else, she had changed. “What you don’t know is that I prefer feminine company these days and she’s got nice legs as well.” “You’re joking a good looking woman like you… come off it, you don’t know what you’re missing.” “Why can’t you take a direct ‘no, I’m definitely not interested.’ I don’t want you in my space,” Karen exploded with frustration. All her hopes and dreams were with Beth, and not this arrogant upstart. Just at that moment, a familiar hand placed itself over hers. Karen’s heart leapt inside her as deliverance came at last. She immediately stood up and turned towards her lover who looked totally ravishing. Karen swooned inside at her beauty. This was what she wanted. “Darling, I’m so glad you’ve come. You’ve come not a moment too soon,” she exclaimed. She sank into the other woman’s arms and planted little kisses on the other woman’s cheek before pressing her lips firmly against her, as long as she dared to in a busy café. She moved slightly away but linked her hand with those slim fingers and leaned against the dark haired woman. “You better go and join your drinking mates after all. As you can see, you’re wasting your time trying to chat me up,” she said scornfully. The man finally got the message, turned red in the face and shot off before his public humiliation could get any worse than it already was. “I’m terribly sorry for being late, sweetheart. I feel guilty at letting you in for being hit on like that,” Beth said in an apologetic tone of voice. She had been shocked to turn the corner into the alcove and saw her lover being accosted in this way and had resolved to intervene only Karen had said everything that needed saying. “Never mind, sweetheart, he’s gone and you’re here now,” said Karen, her practical nature coming to the fore.” Let’s sit here for a while as I feel pretty shaken.” All at once, the lonely corner of the café became a place of shelter, where their surroundings faded into the distance as did the background murmuring conversations. The regular customers returned to their private business after the sudden commotion and studiously tried to avoid looking at the two women. Neither woman paid them any mind. Karen felt herself enfolded by the aura of love radiating from Beth who continued to caress her hand. Both knew that this was a token of the feelings between them as they smiled warmly at each other. They felt as private as ever they needed to be in public. In a dreamlike state, the second coffee appeared on their table and both mugs of coffee seemed to last a long time. They were busy drinking in each other’s eyes. “You always give the impression of being very strong, sweetheart.” “Yeah, well, I used to be a wing governor in a prison…. I paid enough dues…. God, that sounds a long time ago. I’m strong enough except that sometimes I need saving from myself,” came the meditative, slightly disconsolate reply.” That’s been my big problem outside of being framed for hit and run murders.” “You were putting up enough of a fight giving that creep the brush off.” “Only because of you, darling,” came the dreamy response as Karen propped her chin up with her free hand and turned her warm smile on to the dark haired woman who felt so deliciously good about herself. “What about you? You’ve not talked much about yourself. I need to know everything about you.” “I’ve had a comfortable enough life, done all the conventional things that are expected of a woman except who I fell in love with. I came to the big city to find myself and I’ve been trying to find myself since then.” “What do you do for a living if I might ask?” “As a matter of fact, I’m a journalist,” Beth confessed to Karen’s idle question. Karen’s eyes opened wide with shock and horror as she sat up bolt upright with shock. Only paralysis left her hand clasped in Beth’s. ”Hey, don’t get the wrong idea. I’m a junior writer on the Independent and get onto page twelve, if I’m lucky. I’m not one of those monsters in the tabloids that butcher innocent people in print and laugh about it afterwards. I could tell you some stories about their kind.” “You’re sure?” Karen asked with beseeching eyes, clearly wanting to believe. “The reason I’m dating you is not what I can exploit you for but because I’m in love with you. That’s the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Come here honey,” Beth urged soothingly, reaching out to take Karen in her arms. As they stood embracing each other, Beth kissed the other woman softly on her neck and cheek and she felt Karen’s tension as it eased out of her body. There was nothing to fear now, her perfumed aura was telling Karen as the winter sunlight streamed through the restaurant windows. It felt as if they were both in a waking dream as life flowed on all around them. It was when Beth paid for the coffees and they finally left this sanctuary that she looked questioningly at Karen. For that split second, there was the question that they might both wake up out of the dream. They were about to walk down the public street so how would Karen react? With great determination, the blond haired woman slipped her arm round Beth’s waist and felt the curve of her hip. With a sigh of relief, the dark haired draped her arm round Karen’s shoulders. In her mind’s eye, this dreamy atmosphere was reality. |
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| stealthgirl | Oct 4 2009, 01:51 PM Post #6 |
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Out of Dorm
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Lovely scene, Richard! I love Nikki and Helen's playful concern/curiosity with Karen's new status. I can just imagine the conversation afterwards! Karen seems to have arrived on the other side of the fence with confidence and optimism in her decision. Her handling of the cocky young man with great aplomb is classic Karen assertiveness, but her underlying vulnerability is obviously still there. Thanks, Richard. I'm looking forward to more.
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| Bad Girls Riot - Fanfiction, Friends and Fun! | |
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| richard | Oct 4 2009, 06:32 PM Post #7 |
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Enhanced
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Your wish is my command, Stealthgirl, especially for that very neat summary of the scene. You’ll like this next scene where Jo Mills reenters the picture and has found that so much has changed. Her old rivalry with George is given an amusing spin. Enjoy. ........................................................................................................................ Scene Three Jo Mills’ eyes opened wide as she returned to London and took in the atmosphere with fresh insight.. She had worked away from London for the past six months to see pastures anew and to gain fresh experience. She had accustomed herself to the smaller scale of judicial life in what was still dismissively called the Provinces. Jo now realized how narrow the point of view was that the North didn’t start at Hatfield but expanded to all points. The English Language was accented in widely different directions in contrast with what she, as an obvious Southerner, was accustomed to. Nevertheless, she revelled in the smaller scale bustle of human scale cities and the goings on of the Metropolis seemed at one remove. She had to accustom herself to the reduced scale of culture and that she couldn’t automatically take in the latest arts gallery on the South Bank. Jo had had to think small and appreciate what was there. Then, there came the time when the attractions of what she’d been accustomed to proved too much for her. After all, this was where she had been at home for so many years. Working up north was an interesting experiment, which had added to her stock of knowledge of the world but wasn’t going to become a permanent part of her lifestyle. She made all the arrangements to secure her place in chambers as before and said goodbye to those she had got to know. She made all the necessary transport arrangements and was speeding off down the motorway, her foot pressing the accelerator to the floor as her car ate up the miles. The numbers of miles to London gradually dwindled down until she came off the motorway and headed back to her flat. When she saw her old home, Jo felt delirious with joy as her surroundings were just as she’d remembered it. She packed her belongings carefully away, just the way she wanted it and, when she was finished, hurried off down to old surroundings. The Old Bailey came into sight and with feelings of affection, she entered the doors where ushers recognized her and chattered to her. She flushed with pleasure as she set out on her tour of exploration and rediscovery. It took her only a few days to meet old faces and caught up with what had happened while she’d been away. Most striking of all was the discovery that John had unaccountably broken with his tendency to hit some emotional crisis and act disgracefully. Instead of the brethren wondering whether or not to excommunicate him, John had become a solid citizen, especially after leading the successful rebellion against the attempt by the Home Office to limit the powers of the judiciary. The stories of that rebellion were being affectionately recounted, gaining flavour in their retelling. It was on her fourth day back in London that the neat, shoulder length blond hair and familiar smart suit came into view. It could only be Georgia Channing. She called out to her and was delighted to see her turn round and wave at her. George even made her way over to her. It was surely an omen of how her return to London would shape up. “Hi Jo. It’s lovely to see you again. Where have you been hibernating all this time?” George asked in the friendliest tone of voice and giving her a quick hug and kiss. This was the first glimpse of how things had changed as the two women once had a long track record of bitter enmity. George’s manner seemed subtly different that Jo couldn’t put her finger on. For a start, she seemed totally sincere, even if she was as mannered. “I had sublet my flat and was practicing up north. I’ve seen a lot of municipal County Court buildings and seen part of the other side of life.” “The usual social rounds of the legal profession can be pretty restricting. All the same faces you see in court day after day can be too much of a good thing when you want variety.” “The last time I saw you was right after you won the Crown versus Sally Anne Howe case. You had put up a good performance. If I remember rightly, you were heading off to some lesbian club or the other,” Jo recalled. “Yes, and I remember you gave the totally spurious pretext of having to prepare for your court case. It’s either that or you have no staying power these days,” George surmised. “My reason was totally genuine. I hate being half prepared and being made a fool of in court,” Jo shot back a bit curtly. She was prepared at any time for hostilities to be recommenced. “Darling, forgive my teasing. Whatever reasons you didn’t go are entirely your business. I really am glad to see you again.” Jo was completely nonplussed at George’s reaction. For a start, George had never called her ‘darling’ in her life and for another, she hadn’t flared back at Jo as she’d expected and actually made a gracious apology. A third point crossed her mind. George had had free access to John for months and ought to have resented Jo’s reentry into the London world but there wasn’t a trace of this reaction. “That’s very kind of you, George. It’s nice renewing past acquaintances,” came the stiff-necked reply. “I’ve learnt to value real relationships much more than I ever did,” George responded without a trace of any masked attitude. “Have you seen much of John recently?” Jo asked in a definitely over- casual manner. “I come across him from time to time. We are good friends, certainly much more since I got rid of that fearful ex of mine who seriously wants to rule the world. Of course, that’s why I drove Daddy, John and Morag to their outrageously headline-grabbing protest demonstration. They did frightfully well so I can’t sneer at them.” “I was wondering if you see me as a threat, coming between you and John?” Jo said, finally plucking up the courage to ask the question that had been nagging at her. She wanted to be sure of the ground rules between them both. “Good heavens, no,” laughed George.” Whatever the barriers there were between the two of us, they are well and truly out of the way. Besides, my interests are in an entirely different direction.” “The last time we talked, you sounded far less money minded and materialistic than I’ve ever known you. In fact, I would go as far as to say that we’re more or less in the same club.” “I wouldn’t go as far as that, Jo. My new partner is certainly a vast improvement on Neil Haughton. I wouldn’t even think of them being part of the same human race.” “So long as he’s a decent caring man and has a completely different temperament than Neil Haughton, George,” Jo advised her earnestly.” There aren’t enough of them around these days, believe you me.” A smile curved George’s lips. She couldn’t believe how touchingly innocent and misguided Jo Mills was. She had been dropping one hint after another to Jo and she’d totally missed the plot. “So what’s this new man like, George? I’m intrigued.” “Well, my new partner is tall, dark haired, sensitive, compassionate and has really got me to soften up and not be too domineering. I mean this is a real love match, living with a social worker.” “Wow, I’m truly impressed. Where did you meet him?” “At ‘Chix’, that lesbian club you saw me heading off to.” Jo’s face was a picture of incomprehension. What was a man doing at a lesbian club, Jo’s mind was thinking and hitting a brick wall? “I don’t understand, George. You’ve totally lost me.” “I mean my partner is called Alice.” “You mean that…….” “I’m a lesbian. Great, isn’t it?" George realized that she’d put this card carrying liberal, defender of all minorities in an awkward dilemma. Worse still, she’d suddenly dropped on Jo a situation, which was further away from her imaginings as it was possible to get. Jo probably didn’t know how she should feel about the situation. “A lesbian! … You? … After all these years? I don’t understand.” “It’s perfectly simple, Jo. I must have absorbed the way that Sally Anne and her partner Trisha were with each other while I handled her case. On a sheer whim, I joined the party at Chix and saw Alice from the other side of the dance floor and we connected. It answered a lot of questions in my life. It’s where I belong. I socialize regularly there these days.” “Are you sure you’re a lesbian?” Jo Mills heard herself blurt out. She instantly felt totally foolish at the stupidity of her question. To her intense relief, George covered for her very kind-heartedly. “If you’re wondering how I was married to John, bore his child, had affairs with very well placed men and at my time in life fell in love with a woman, well you might well wonder. The simple truth was that it happened. You must remember Nikki Wade and her partner Helen. Well, the truth was that Helen had had a string of boyfriends until she met Nikki and found out what love was really about. The same happened to me only it happened further on down the line. Alice is such a darling and so good for me. I only hope that she gets as much in return.” “I hear what you’re saying, George. I’m having trouble in getting my head round this,” Jo frankly confessed. “I don’t wonder, Jo. Just sleep on it and give it time. You also have to remember that I’m not in competition with you anymore for John so you don’t have to feel insecure about me.” “So how is John these days?” Jo asked quickly, eager to get onto neutral ground. “You remember the protest demonstration over Neil Haughton’s stupid decision to get judges to be ciphers of the Home Office? Well, John is well set up with the brethren. The good news is that he handles his insecurities a lot better. Instead of going out and seducing the worst choice of woman imaginable, he goes over to Nikki and Helen, and talks to them. They help keep him on the straight and narrow and, in return, he has quite a following amongst the lesbian community. They know that he’s such a stickler for justice in Nikki’s reappeal and Sally’s case.” “There’s a lot that’s changed since I’ve been away,” Jo found herself saying on automatic pilot in a dazed kind of way. “Hasn’t it just,” grinned George mischievously.” What matters most of all is that we can be friends these days. You must understand that I don’t entertain a collection of frightful, callous, greedy minded men these days. My company these days are with very caring women who I actually want to be with. Alice and I are bound up with them. We really look after each other. It’s not just the sex, please believe me.” Jo was much moved by the gentleness of George’s manner but the core of her feeling was how she’d betrayed her best friend, Mel so many years ago. She could have been the bass player in her band but the only problem was that Mel had fallen in love with her. Her abstract sense of social justice supported George all the way and she could see the ultimate logic of George’s position. The problem was that too much emotional baggage was dragging her down. “Don’t worry, George. I’ll see you around. We can’t possibly have the kind of rows inside and outside court we used to have.” George wasn’t fooled by the friendly, joking tone of Jo’s remarks. She sensed an undertone, which Jo wasn’t revealing. As someone who had worn her own mask so successfully for years, she knew the signs a mile away. ****** “Jo. I’m delighted to see you. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back? Why don’t you come up to my chambers for a chat.” beamed John. Despite her long-standing reservations, she allowed her feet to take her up the familiar path to his chambers. Jo heaved a sigh of relief. At least everything here was exactly as she remembered and so did John. Coope turned her back briefly to her from the work she had been engrossed with and smiled slightly at her. Her alert eyes were scanning Jo with minute accuracy and cross-referencing it with her comprehensive knowledge of all the comings and goings in court life. She allowed herself to accept a drink and started chatting about her experiences, as the sensation of traveling through the miles was still fresh in her mind. All the time, she cast an acute eye on John. The question in her mind was how much had John changed since she’d been away, especially after what George had told her. She was not to be disappointed in his responses. “I thought you’d ask about George sooner or later,” John chuckled dryly as he sipped a glass of mineral water.” She told you about her new partner, didn’t she? I haven’t actually met Alice but Joseph has. She is said to be very sweet and womanly and a good influence on George. You seem startled? I can read you like a book.” Jo was startled at John’s stark directness. This wasn’t the John Deed she had known who was so skilled in covering up his feelings and moving obliquely in personal manners. “I’m interested in how accepting you are of the situation, John.” “I wasn’t as cool, calm and collected about the matter as you see right now. I heard this right at the point when the barriers between George and I were coming down, political and personal. It disturbed me but I had the sense to handle it the right way.” “That’s a new one for you, John,” Jo said in amused tones. To her surprise, John wasn’t provoked into meaningless verbal fencing but stuck to the point. “Instead of behaving in a self destructive fashion, I went round to Nikki and Helen’s flat and talked it over with them. They’ve got my number all right. They dealt with my feelings of rejection and suspicion that my card-carrying liberalism didn’t stand up to close scrutiny. They let me sleep on the sofa which was a most fortunate move.” “What?” Jo said incredulously. John was rapidly putting her through changes in perspectives that were hurting my head. “You wouldn’t normally be safe in a woman’s flat.” “They’re true friends of mine, Jo. There are limits in what I can talk to friends like Monty. Nikki and Helen are really good in matters of the heart. They’re lesbians and therefore untouchable to me. Besides, it would be a gross betrayal of myself, of all my beliefs. Don’t you see; I put myself in the hands of the two women with whom nothing could possibly happen untoward? It sounds strange but it works. I just hope that I can give back to them in the same coin. I know that they and their friends were in the crowd that witnessed my protest so I must have some kind of credibility with them.” A clear light was shining out of John’s eyes to Jo. She began to realize that this was a different man to the one she had known. All the old rules were obsolete. She did wonder if her deep rooted feelings and memories could adjust to this. |
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| richard | Oct 13 2009, 04:08 PM Post #8 |
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Scene Four All right…someone has to be bossy around here,” George proclaimed in her most forceful tones.” It’s been two weeks and as no one’s come up with some scintillating, poetic words to do justice to the Tori Amos concert, I thought I’d bully you all into doing it here and now.” The other woman looked nervously as the power dressing, high-heeled George fixed each of them with her steely blue gaze in turn and they shuffled their feet. They were sitting down in the comfortable armchairs and sofas of George’s when she dropped this bombshell on them. They had all thought that they had come to have a lazy Sunday morning get together. “Jesus, I thought you were a bossy git as governing Governor but this beats everything,” Nikki whispered out of the corner of her mouth to Helen who grinned back at her. Like two naughty schoolgirls at the back of the class Trisha whispered, “Say, Alice, is she always like this?” “You know that we have got to do justice to the fabulous concert we all saw. You remember all the promises we made at the time. Well, now’s the time to deliver on them,” George said sternly, staring Nikki right in the eye. The taller woman winced at the words, not because of the force of personality but the way George had mercilessly connected with Nikki’s most profoundly held convictions. The smirk on the blond haired woman’s face told her that George was only too aware of what she was doing. “All right, all right, George. I can’t deny the point you’re making. I’ve tried writing something but everything I’ve come up with has been utter crap, as if I’m some pathetic teenager cribbing from some celebrity magazine.” Helen couldn’t help grinning at Nikki’s whining tone of voice though she had to hand it to her for being the first to speak and take it on the chin for all of them. That was Nikki all over. “Point taken, Nikki,” George answered kindly,” so that’s why I’ve called us all together so we can brainstorm this one. We owe it to ourselves to come up with a suitable group letter.” “Which means you haven’t come up with one?” came Karen’s grinning question. “Naturally,” George said with total aplomb” I’m as clueless as the rest of you. I just thought that if we got together, we could come up with something.” “I’ll make us the coffees,” volunteered Alice.” I find it easier thinking when I’m doing something else,” she added to Beth’s look of understanding of such methods. “Do you want some help?” offered Sally Anne to the other woman. “You’re all right, Sally. I know where everything is.” “Which means she has to face the inquisition along with the rest of us,” muttered Helen under her breath,” What a sneaky move.” Unfortunately, she had never mastered the knack of the whispered aside. “I heard that, Helen. I’m not being domineering, just being practical.” “George, have you ever lost an argument in all your life?” Helen said challengingly, a wide grin spread across her face. “No, never. It goes against my principles,” came the instant pert retort leaving an uncertain pause in the conversation, which made George feel uncomfortable, feeling that she’d overstepped the mark. ”Helen, you know I’m only playacting. Living with Alice has really softened me up. She’s such a darling and she’s so diplomatic. I just feel strongly that we ought to make good on our promise so that’s why I’m being bossy………..” continued George talking quietly to Helen before taking the stage again. “Thinking off the top of my head, I’d say that my memory is of all of us being taken into her own magic world. That’s the way the concert felt to me. This feels like a good starting point.” Sounds of approval covered up the awkward moment while the sounds of a boiling kettle announced the onset of coffee. “Great line, George. I see a writing pad and paper. Do you mind if I scribble down anything we come up with? I’m used to writing at speed,” exclaimed Sally-Anne while the other women’s faces brightened as they felt this event start to take shape. “That whole evening felt spiritual. It wasn’t some sexy woman strutting her stuff thought I must admit she is certainly attractive, especially in that floaty turquoise outfit,” Nikki interjected, her brain cells starting to tick over. “Hang on a minute, oughtn’t we do some sort of explanation why we’re writing to her,” asked Trisha, the eternal business manager. “What about saying that we’re composing this letter together as we’re not up to expressing the depths of our feelings on our own. Let’s face it, we’re a bit beyond the age group of screaming over our favourite pop star,” hazarded Nikki, formulating ideas off the hoof to nods of appreciation. “Hmmm, if any of us are pinned down, we’ve all got our guilty secrets lurking in their backgrounds, you know, the tape or CD lurking around at home,” grinned Helen. “You know, babes, that’s a good line. We should use that,” chimed in Nikki approvingly. “What do you think, Karen? You used to be the organizing bossy one, well second to me,” Helen asked. “Oh, sorry, what did you say? My attention must have been slipping,” Karen said in a distracted fashion and blushing slightly. She had been playing footsie with Beth under the dining room table and fondly holding hands with her girlfriend, exchanging loving glances. “Young lovers,” George said with mock condescension and barefaced cheek. Her own relationship with Alice was only months old but George, being George, successfully slipped this past the massed assembly of female observation. “Hey, don’t worry, Karen,” Nikki said, grinning understandingly at the other woman and at George’s humour. ”Helen and I both know what it feels like.” “Not so much the ‘young love’, Nik,” Trisha corrected firmly.” The world isn’t neatly divided between teenage lovers lusting over each other and ten years down the line, wearing slippers, taking their Sanatogen every night and worrying about backache. You should know that.” “I agree, Trisha. You just get more experienced as time goes on,” pronounced Helen with airy self assurance,” even though I was a bit of a late starter. It’s one of life’s rare instances of justice. Karen will find that out sooner or later.” “What’s that I’m supposed to be finding out?” interjected Karen with no obvious cue as to the background context of the conversation to date. “We’re talking about lesbian sex, Karen,” retorted Helen loudly, to general laughter. “Ladies, enough. Fascinated though we might all be with sexual acrobatics with our partners between the sheets, we have a serious purpose here. We’re supposed to be composing this letter to Tori Amos,” George interrupted with crushing finality. “Yes, we could say we are all lesbians but don’t let that bother her,” joked Nikki nervously. “She might be straight for all you know, Nik,” Trisha retorted. “Straight? She can’t be,” came Nikki’s wide-eyed incredulity until George’s formidably piercing eye reduced her to silence. Helen grinned to herself how the one-time ‘hard case’ con whose rapier verbal fencing which could strike back with lethal power was reduced to polite, apologetic silence. ”All right miss, I promise to behave,” she finally said. “Here’s what I’ve got so far,” intervened Sally Anne, the peacemaker,” Not sure what the rest of you think but it seems like a good start to me.” After contributions were chipped in at random, Alice finally entered the room with eight cups of coffees on two servers, an ornate silver milk jug and sugar bowl, complete with tongs. The smell of freshly ground coffee had wafted through for some time now. “This smells great Alice,” declared Helen enthusiastically, backing up Sally Anne before going into chief executive mode of functioning.” Let’s sit back and take a break and then we’ll talk about Sally Anne’s draft. Of course, I’m concerned if feel left out of the discussions.” “No problems, Helen. I’ve overheard the conversation and I’ll catch up as best I can.” “Coffee first, talk afterwards,” decided George for all of them. Trisha’s sharp eye sensed Karen and Beth’s bashful smiles and their way of moving as if they were joined together at the hips. She had seen it all before and drew the obvious conclusions. “You two lovebirds have the manner of having an announcement to make. Come on, I’m curious. Just put it down to my nosiness.” “As it happens, we wanted you all to be the first to know,” Beth started to say, linking hands with Karen who shyly looked at her feet.” It’s the best news in both of our lives. Karen’s moving in with me.” Helen let out a great yell of triumph and the rest of the women cheered and clapped their hands. They came over to hug them, each which gave Karen especially an incredible sense of being personally validated. It wasn’t till now that Karen experienced the full flowering of sisterhood, which gave her an almost unbearable sense of pleasure and belonging. All the strenuous efforts made to keep her stable in the run up to the trial only foreshadowed this most perfect day. “We’re really pleased for you, Karen,” George said quietly.” We’ve noticed Beth around Chix for some time only she seemed very quiet. She is of course totally gorgeous.” “You look really radiant, Karen,” Helen gushed, “There’s a glow about you. I can see why Beth is so taken with you. Just don’t underestimate your own very obvious charms.” “She’s certainly taken me in hand. I used to get up late, slob about unwashed, and count down the minutes to the next shot of whisky. I feel like a million dollars now. It’s all down to the way you all never lost faith in me and that gorgeous woman of mine.” The blond haired woman’s natural turn of phrase expressing her Sapphic love so naturally made Helen think back down the years and smile at the changes. She would never have believed it possible. Come to think of it, she’d been through a few changes herself. “Karen, you’ve changed a lot since when I first met you at Larkhall.” “Don’t we both know it,” came the murmured reply as the tinkling sounds of conversation echoed softly round their ears. “I’m trying to get Karen to tell me more about her past but she doesn’t talk much. She does talk a lot about you and Nikki,” put in Beth, slipping her slim arm affectionately through her lover’s. “Aye, that’s more to do with our more recent past, Beth,” laughed Helen.” Thanks to someone who shall remain nameless, we didn’t become the good friends that we should have been. Now that nameless person is out of the picture, we can be who we want to be. Anything Nikki and I can do for you both, don’t hesitate to call…..Oh, I’d better grab my coffee as I sense we are being called to order,” Helen added, shifting verbal gear to that sense of haste as she glanced sideways at George laying down her cup of coffee on the side and preparing to get them all back to business. . “Let’s see what Sally-Anne has come up with. She’d got down everyone’s contributions down.” “This is what I written so far. I must admit it looks good.” Sooner or later, we’ve all come to visit your magic world and be entranced by your music and words which somehow takes us all to a better, more spiritual place. It gives us that priceless joy in our lives of which there is far too little these days. Seeing you in concert, was one of those unbelievable experiences of music that is so hard to put into words but we’ll try. We thought we’d get together and compose this letter for you as each of us have felt inadequate to express the depths of our feelings on our own. We’re a bit beyond the age group in screaming over our favourite popstar- though everyone has their guilty secrets lurking in their backgrounds. We know that we are faceless, nameless fans you won’t get to see or know but you have made a difference to our lives, perhaps more than you realise. Even though our number include a barrister, two club owners, prison rights activist, social worker, journalist, nurse, and a mid level executive, we still felt far too shy to try to meet you backstage after the concert. We’re writing to you now to make up for that mistake.” “I got stuck on this point. We need something to finish this off,” admitted Sally-Anne. “We need to offer her our sororal greetings,” Karen offered tentatively, feeling as she spoke that her words were a bit off the mark. They sounded too official, like a prison officer official report. It was extraordinary how tenacious that form of phraseology was on her thinking. “Why not make it sisterly encouragement instead?” Beth said softly and Karen’s face brightened. She much preferred that way of putting it. “We need to tell her how much her work matters to us out here and we offer distant love and emotional riches,” Alice chimed in. Instantly, the room fell quiet. Alice had hit the nail on the head in her levelheaded perceptive fashion. George felt incredibly proud of her lover- this was Alice all over. She had provided the final spark to the letter. “That’s brilliant, Alice. Let me write the final bit which has to come at the end and you look it over.” “I really like that. It tells me at any rate that I am not a teenage fan after all and lets me off the hook,” added Nikki to soft laughter. They knew what she meant. Typical Nik, thought Trisha affectionately. Sally finally put her pen down, placed the letter on the dining room table and everyone clustered round, Alice being the tallest and standing at the back and holding (incomplete sentence) “Above all else, we want you to know that what you’re doing matters so much, perhaps more than you know and we offer you what we can and that is sisterly encouragement, distant love and wish you emotional riches in your own life.” “I love this letter,” breathed Helen.” It treats her as real, not some fantasy projection and defines us pretty well.” “Let’s face it,” Trisha said in judicious tones,” Whatever we can feel, she’ll be that much further ahead of us. She’s sure to get it right.” Nikki looked sharply at Trisha and patted her on her shoulder. Her friend always tended to play things cool and have a businesslike approach to matters. This was a blinding piece of emotional intuition. “I like it too,” George pronounced.” This is a good morning’s work. I knew we would manage it. It just needed a bit of directing,” teased George impishly. In the meantime, Alice sat at the dining table and copied out the letter on George’s best writing paper as her writing hand was the neatest. It all looked good when she had finished and they queued up to sign their names at the bottom. “Hey, what about a bit of artwork to brighten it up and illustrate it?” suggested Nikki. “You leave that one to Karen and I,” Beth suggested to Helen and Nikki’s amazement. This was an unknown quality of their old friend. Sure enough, they added decorative swirls to the letter, which made it worthy of their thoughts. It gained substance before their very eyes and gave all of them a worthy glow inside them of the thought of giving back to this very special artist. All their efforts felt worthwhile. “Does anyone fancy anything more alcoholic than coffee?” George suddenly asked out of nowhere. “I thought you’d never ask,” sighed Trisha with much gentle amusement, whose sororality enfolded the women together. |
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| richard | Oct 18 2009, 07:08 PM Post #9 |
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Scene Five In these days of enchantment, Karen’s world was shiny new and sparkling and Beth’s flat took on a magical aura of its own. The blond-haired woman was falling in love with all her lover’s surroundings in a way that she might have once cynically dismissed as teenage romanticism. Listening to music, she found that even the tritest love-songs on the radio had qualities she’d somehow overlooked all these years. Both of them knew their waltz-like courtship dance meant that they took things slowly and when the time was right and, once Beth had time off work, they would finally share their world full-time. Each came to trust the others sensibilities as they had, after all, betrothed themselves in front of all their friends. ******** One evening, Beth came round for Karen who was whisked her off in her silver grey Audi. Karen lay back blissfully in the inclined passenger seat as she was swooshed down the street. She looked sideways at her lover who was wearing a bright purple mini-dress and high heels. She couldn’t help admiring Beth’s shapely legs and the sideways smirk showed that she was very much aware how good she looked and how permissible it was for her to be ogled in this way. Soon they arrived at the quiet restaurant of her choice with the dim, sparkling overhead lights and high ceiling. The couple were greeted by the host and shown to a discreet alcove. They were in a mysterious wonderland, where the flickering glow of a candlelit table showed each others’ looks off to the best advantage, with only the space of the table between them. With great calm and aplomb, they chose from the wine list and, as the meal was carefully served, very lightweight and tasty, they were sealed inside a comfortable bubble of their own. Nothing and no one could touch or distract them while the delicate background music only tinted their mood with that sense of perfection of the world around them. Both women felt that they could look but not touch and this heightened the desirability of the other. As their conversation sinuously wound each other, Karen got to realize that it was up to each of them to charm the other in their best flirtatious manner. She knew that her high cheekbones and full lips were shown to her best advantage. Karen couldn’t resist it as she slipped off her own shoe and gently stroked the other woman’s slim ankles. “Is this a new experience for you, darling, playing footsie under the table with another woman?” Beth asked as a lazy smile spread across her face and she slid off her shoe and felt for her lover’s ankles. “I’ve had such a lot of new experiences recently, babes, and all of them feel incredible,” Karen replied in her huskiest voice that caused feelings of desire to radiate round the dark haired woman’s nervous system. Playing flirtatiously with a lock of her hair, Karen placed a morsel of food slowly and carefully into her mouth and was excited by the look of smouldering desire in the blue eyes of that fair-haired woman who had so captured her heart. When she had finally finished her meal, she found that she had both hands free, which was fatal to her precarious self-control. Suddenly, Karen felt slim fingers gently caressing her knee and she had to stop herself from shouting out in ecstacy. “I think I’m perfectly full, babes. Shall we order the bill?” “I thought you’d never ask,” Beth murmured as she feverishly gestured to the waiter. It seemed moments later that they were back in Beth’s car and heading for her flat. This time, it seemed to be ages until they finally arrived at their destiny. Barely had they clattered up the stairs and got through the front door when they started kissing and caressing each other passionately. The fevered thought that ran through Karen’s dazzled mind was that, as she pulled down the zip of Beth’s gorgeous purple dress, she didn’t want to jam the zip. Beth reached for the clip of Karen’s lacy black bra as she feverishly kissed her neck. They stumbled in the direction of the bed, leaving a trail of clothes behind. Striped of all their superfluous clothes and on the way to their first frenzied orgasm. ******** An hour or so later, when they were lying coiled up round each other, Karen noticed a thoughtful expression on her lover’s eyes. It was as if she was thinking of something but wasn’t sure whether or not to come out with the idea. The blond haired woman smoothed a lock of Beth’s dark hair into that characteristic neat bob before she spoke. “You’ve something on your mind, darling? I can tell.” “I’m not sure how you’ll react to this, especially when you see it.” “Try me, Beth. So far, I have surprised you with just how adventurous I can be,” drawled Karen, stroking the smooth sides of her lover, her fingertips running up to the nipple. “You mean versatile?” Karen looked thoughtful, digesting the thoughts and nodded her head decisively. “Yeah, that sounds like me. I’m not butch, as they call it but I’m pretty strong and I don’t expect to lie back and let you do all the hard work,” she said, finishing with a soft laugh. “That’s the way I see it as well. There are so many possibilities if you let yourself be open to them…” came the reply which trailed off into silence. It made Karen look quizzically at the dark-haired woman as she turned over vague thoughts in her mind. “Is there anything more you want to show me, darling? You’ve got me really curious.” Beth hesitated, being unsure what to do. With the air of suddenly making a decision, she finally leaned sideways and over Karen and opened the little bedside cupboard on which perched the table lamp. From that, she brought forward an object that caused Karen’s eyes to open wide with surprise. “Oh my…is this what they call a dildo?” Karen asked slowly, as if talking about a foreign language. She carefully adjusted her tone of voice as she spoke, not wanting to sound discouraging, as at least part of her didn’t want Beth to back off in embarrassment. Beth’s mind worked like lightning. It was obvious that her lover was caught in two minds about her obvious suggestion. She decided to take the risk, putting her thoughts into words. “It depends on how you want to think of it, babes. Some call it a strap-on. I think of it as something lovers share… that it’s the other woman’s orgasm that really matters. Words don’t really matter if they don’t interfere with what it really means.” “In that case, I’m very curious, darling and it’s…” “Enticing?” “It looks complicated but you never know.” “Not to the woman whose gift it is. You go with the flow.” Beth didn’t disturb her silence. Karen felt grateful for her respect in not trying to pressurize her in her own very obvious eagerness. Karen’s blue eyes were thoughtful till finally a half smile started to spread across her face. Her reservations began to fade away and she finally dared to speak. “I’m intrigued but I’m not brave enough to take the initiative. I’d sooner you showed me the way.” The dark haired woman smiled warmly, wound her arms round her lover’s neck and kissed her deeply and eagerly. Karen could feel the grateful pressure of her hug and her feelings of relief at her response. It made Karen feel all the more certain that she would be looked after in every way; whatever happened between them. “You lie back, darling and I’ll be ready for you in a minute.” Beth clicked on the dim sidelight and was ready in no time. Somehow, her femininity was transformed in Karen’s eyes whose curiosity was heightened and her feeling of certain was enhanced. This was her lover sidling up to their bed, Karen thought, her breath coming in shallow gasps. With a wide smile, Beth slid on top of her and started slowly kissing Karen’s nipples, one after the other and licking them with her tongue. Immediately the blond haired woman felt lustful and stroked Beth’s face, hair and back. This thrilling feeling pulsed through her body that the unfamiliar would be more right than she knew. “Are you feeling better now, babes?” Beth asked in a gentle, caring tone of voice. “Never better darling,” came the reply in that husky tone, which sent shivers of pleasure through the dark haired woman. Beth gradually moved along her lover’s desired body licking her shoulders and neck while Karen eagerly caressed her back and shoulders in return. Suddenly Karen was aware that her center was being ever so gently pressed where she was most sensitive. She knew what it must be but it felt good to her. Gradually her hips started to move slowly in rhythm and her desires started to flow. She sighed deeply with a feeling of deep satisfaction as Beth whispered sweet endearments into her ear. Karen’s spread her thighs wide in an involuntary reaction. She twined one ankle around her lover’s slim legs, she was ecstacy and a deep groan escaped her mouth. Very considerately, Beth started to ease herself very slowly inside her lover, while her own hips started to move of their own accord. This was new territory and like nothing she had ever experienced before in her life. She felt the dark haired woman’s breasts pressed up against her own, both of their nipples hard with desire for each other. Finally, their hips met and their rhythms pushed and pulled back perfectly in tune with each other. Karen’s mouth opened wide as Beth’s tongue searched deep inside and mingled with her own. She caressed the silky skin of her lover’s back in gratitude for being made love to with such exquisite care and growing desire for her. Beth’s unselfish giving meant the world to Karen. “You feel so good inside me, darling. Keep doing it to me,” her hoarse, increasingly out of breath voice spoke in Beth’s ear. The feel of her lover inside of her was so real to Karen and feelings of intense emotion swept through the dark haired woman who vowed to finally drive her lover to the peak of her orgasm. Finally, Karen’s spirits soared inside her, her hips frantically moving as her desires poured from her. It took ages for both of them to come down from that high of ecstacy as they lay back in a delicious haze, catching their breath. Beth was touched how Karen was unwilling to let go this precious part of her lover for such a long time. Time passed very dreamily as both women had the feeling that something else was going to happen but they weren’t quite sure what. This was one more intriguing possibility in the game of life as Karen stroked her lover’s delicately sculptured back as something precious to her. |
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| stealthgirl | Oct 20 2009, 10:52 PM Post #10 |
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Out of Dorm
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Wow, Richard, I had a ton to catch up on! I'm sure Jo was surprised at the latest developments in George's life. George seems to be a changed woman and much less high-strung than in her previous life. Finding yourself can make you more relaxed; you portray this nicely in Karen's comfort in her new situation. Thanks so much for your updates. ![]() |
| Bad Girls Riot - Fanfiction, Friends and Fun! | |
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| richard | Oct 28 2009, 10:57 AM Post #11 |
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Enhanced
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This is great feedback, Stealthgirl, and this is a really succinct take on the last scenes which gets to the bottom of them. I have been very remiss in posting scenes so I have a double scene to offer, one being the sequel to the Karen Beth scene and the other being Nikki's press conference with worthy help from Helen and Paul. Enjoy. ........................................................................................................................ Scene Six “I think I know what I’m doing now, sweetheart. Just you wait and see what I can do for you, babes,” murmured Karen in a sultry tone of voice whose sexiness roused Beth’s passions immediately. A thrill ran through her as the moment of decision was made. Her desires were mixed with the wonderful certainty that she could trust her very psyche to Karen’s good word. It was a priceless quality that she adored so much about Karen. She planted soft kisses on her blond-haired lover lips many times with delighted affection before she finally slid sideways off her. Beth lay back, draped over the bed with a ‘come hither’ smile on her face while Karen took possession and strapped on the tangible expression of her sexual confidence. It made the blond haired woman feel surprisingly good about herself as it shifted her character around in subtle ways. Visibly confident, she moved on top of Beth, her eyes never leaving the other woman who started running her fingers through Karen’s long hair. It felt so natural to kiss and caress her lover; with no need to rush as they had all the time in the world. Karen could tell that the expression of her controlled desires only made Beth more aroused, as she had also felt what her lover was now feeling. She felt on top of the world, that she could lustfully dominate her lover and yet be lovingly caring of her sexual needs. She felt her own passion start to flow while they stroked and caressed each other and murmured sweet endearments to each other. A feeling of overwhelming joy ran through her as she started to ever so gently press against Beth and felt the answer from her body. Everything between them was smooth and moist as their growing rhythms were together and finally Karen started to thrust down on her lover. At last, their skins meshed together and both women gloried in their increasingly frantic lovemaking. Nothing else in the world existed outside their bed. A few tears of gratitude ran down Beth’s cheeks as she marvelled at the utter confidence with which she was being made love to- she had never expected that Karen’s nervousness could turn round so utterly to so pleasurably dominate her. Throw her a challenge, she thought, as her lover touched her inside so perfectly, and she would catch it and run with it. That above else was why she loved Karen so much, she thought to herself as her lover’s tongue penetrated deep into her mouth and tears of joy pricked her eyes. It felt so good that another part of Karen thrust deep inside her. Her hips pumped back rapidly at Karen as she wound her legs round her. She had to search for her breath as that glorious face hovered about her. Finally, with a loud high-pitched exclamation of total abandonment, Beth let herself go and desires poured from her in abundance. “You’re unbelievable darling. I never expected to be laid so lovingly,” gasped Beth as they lay together, legs tangled round each other “I’m a fast learner, babes,” came that incredibly sexual response. “I must admit to being nervous. I didn’t want you thinking that I was into kinky sex or something.” “Darling,” Karen’s soothing voice answered, laying a slim forefinger on the other woman’s lower lip,” I know you well enough to trust that you aren’t into anything unfeeling or brutal and you always mean well for both of us. To begin with, I wasn’t sure what I was letting myself in for but very soon, well, I feel very normal and natural living like this.” “You really don’t want to let go of that strap on,’ laughed Beth into Karen’s shoulder. “It makes me feel very sexy and free,” came the cool and assured reply, accompanied by a gentle move of her hips and that sliding pressure inside Beth that felt so good.” I’m not that possessive about it, as I love what you can do for me also. Like we both said earlier on, we’re both versatile. The only thing I ask is that if you’re hiding any other sexual secrets up your sleeve, for God’s sake tell me about it.” Beth laughed softly as her hands reached down her lover’s back and reached out for those soft curves she loved so much. The blond haired woman felt an incredible tenderness for her lover’s ability to touch her just right and they kissed slowly and lovingly. The experiences of that evening had drawn the two women closer together. They both intensely realized that Karen was making up fast for all the lost time in her life and she had at last found a lover she could be open with. “You don’t still have any lingering suspicion that sometime I’d go back to men?” Karen suddenly said out of nowhere in this atmosphere of emotional nakedness. Beth’s downcast eyes betrayed the truth and she eventually forced out her reply in deliberately flat tones. “It’s nothing to do with you, babes, but it’s happened before….let’s face it, you’ve lived more than twenty odd years as a straight woman,” the dark-haired woman answered in a flat ,emotionless tone of voice “Darling… if you don’t mind me asking, …do you feel insecure about sleeping with a woman whose only experience has been of men?” “Only in my more stupid negative moments…and I don’t like myself when I occasionally feel this way.” “Sweetheart, let’s put it this way, I’d be lying if I said that I’d been always been unsatisfied in my past but in bed, it’s a hit or miss from the woman’s point of view and nine times out of ten, he’ll turn over and go to sleep with a few token endearments. It’s mainly about his orgasm. Because I had a lousy choice in men, I’d choose the smooth talking bastards for reasons which are still a mystery to me,” answered Karen, conjuring up all the warmth in her nature to comfort her lover before continuing in a more discursive tone of voice about her experience of men that wouldn’t hurt Beth. “When I’m with you,” Karen continued, her voice took on a melting, tender note,” and you’re making love to me, it’s about my orgasm and my feelings and I realized straight off that I had to do the same for you. I’ve finally broken the mould of my self-destructive nature and actually fallen in love with a mature, loving human being. This is a whole new world for me and that’s why I’m so thrilled and excited to be with you. You have to believe me.” Karen stroked her lover’s hair and cheek with her free hand and fixed her lover’s gaze with her blue eyes. She received a gentle hug in return. “OK, babes, I’ll write down twenty times that I’m a fantastic lover…..,”Beth answered with a shaky laugh and tears in her eyes.” I ought to add that I got messed around by a woman who used me for some sick game she played on her supposedly ex-boyfriend and dumped me when she went back to him. That hurt.” “God, that’s horrible. I’ll never ever do anything like that to you,” answered Karen in shocked tones before giving voice to her passions more nakedly than she had ever done before in her life.” I love you, Beth,” Don’t I know what risks you felt you were taking earlier on in talking me into this strap-on? You must know that it’s been so fantastic for the both of us, darling. You’re the answer to all the crap that’s gone on in my life. It’s not just the stress of the run up to the trial and drinking more booze than is good for me. If I had been cleared of that murder and hadn’t happened on the lesbian scene, I might have wandered into the next destructive relationship. You must forgive me my sometimes-flip manner, as it’s an old habit that’s hard to break. You’re gorgeous. You’ve shown me what freedom is really worth. I’m yours forever and ever. I love the sound of your voice, the way you move, the perfume that you wear, everything about you.” Beth felt tears in her eyes and she clasped her arms around her lover so that Karen could feel the trembling of her body. She was incredibly moved by Karen’s declaration of passionate love. She knew that Karen didn’t normally find such words easy to come by. All this time Beth had wondered at the back of her mind just how committed a lesbian Karen was and the blond-haired woman had known it all along. These words blew away these lingering doubts. She leaned her forehead against Karen’s, looked into her deep blue eyes and softly kissed her. “Sweetheart, you’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever met. You’re witty, good company, mature and caring. What more could a woman want? I want you to stay in my life more passionately than I could ever say. I want you far more than any woman I’ve ever come across in my life,” answered the dark haired woman in a mixture of alluring tones and emotional passion. Everything she’d said came straight from the heart yet this was a fraction of what she felt for this woman of hers. Beth could feel the heat in her body starting to rise up in her and she knew that Karen felt the same. By unspoken consent, Karen eased herself out of inside her lover and gladly let Beth take her place. Karen lay down on their bed and looked up at her lover who moved over to her, looking so beautiful in the faint light from outside. “Darling, I’m so, so ready for you,” her husky voice called softly out to Beth as Karen’s fingers reached up and started to tenderly touch the other woman’s breasts. If there was one part of this dark haired woman that Karen couldn’t keep her hands off, it was these. She felt weak all over and leaned her head backwards as Karen gently caressed her body. She couldn’t believe how unbelievably lucky she was. As Beth looked down at her lover, she lay down on her ample breasts and slid her arms around her lover. In turn, Karen pressed her lover’s head against her and spasms ran through her as Beth’s lips and tongue caressed her nipples. This was how love should be, she breathed into the air, confessing openly her joy. Finally, Beth’s desires flowed over as she moved on top of her lover, knowing that the blond haired woman couldn’t wait for the delights that were certainly in store. They eased comfortably into their lovemaking, which was of a more intensely emotional level than their physical expression of it earlier on. Beth was overjoyed how smoothly she slipped inside her lover and soon their hips started moving together. To Karen, the feel of Beth thrusting inside her was something that felt so good. The two women were of one mind as much as their bodies were as one, Karen’s slim legs and arms wrapped around her lover. Viewed from one side, the two women looked like a rhythmically moving sculpture, where Beth’s neat black bob and fine profile was moulded to Karen’s high cheekbones and her long fair hair, spread out on the pillow. It was many hours later when the two women had finally used up so much fierce energy and that part of both Karen and Beth was finally shut away in the drawer. Beth lay on her side and rested her arm across Karen’s breasts; who lay partly on her back and part facing her lover. Karen linked her shapely hand through her lover’s slim fingers. They both felt sleepy and gentle with each other as they carried on talking in spurts of conversation. There were tears of joy in Karen’s eyes, as she knew that Beth’s words of love for her were for real and that it was safe to express feelings, which she’d long, hidden under wraps. At last after all these years, she’d found the lover who was worthy of these feelings. The touch of Beth’s fingers told her how deeply her lover was attuned to these thoughts. It was later on when the two women drifted off to sleep, wrapped up in each other’s arms. ...................................................................................................................... Scene Seven It wasn’t lost on Helen that Nikki was wearing her smartest dark suit and insisted on driving them to work that day. She felt Nikki’s tension immediately as they wended their way through the traffic to Hackney and put two and two together. She maintained a tactful silence when her partner tore impatiently past the red double-decker London bus and into the narrow gap left by the oncoming car on the wrong side of the road. Nikki knew that she’d saved them from being delayed but felt rather than after she saw Helen’s raised eyebrows enquiring the purpose of her fanatical devotion to timekeeping. Nikki’s gear changing was rougher on the car than was normal yet Helen sat through the experience imperturbably enough. Finally the dark haired woman swung the car to a halt just beyond her place of work and Helen gave voice to her thoughts. “Nikki, I know exactly why you’re feeling particularly stressed today. You’ve got this press launch today on your publication and you’re worrying just how it will go.” “How on earth do you know about this? I’ve never said a word,” Nikki exclaimed, taken aback by her lover’s very effective crystal ball. “That’s the point. You weren’t talking. As for the rest, can you really imagine that all the time I’ve lived with you that I couldn’t work out what’s been on your mind?” Nikki felt instantly remorseful and decided that no matter what her insides felt like; she had to talk. “I’m really sorry for my crap driving and being guilty of physical cruelty to our car. I know you’ll always be supportive of me but it got to me that you wouldn’t be physically there when the press starts hounding me. That was really messed up, insecure thinking. That’s the downside of being a crusading researcher,” Nikki said, visibly expelling all the tension that had built up inside her and finishing on a shakily ironic touch of humour. Helen leaned over, took the taller woman’s face between her hands and kissed her lover deeply. This wasn’t a passionate, lustful kiss as they had exchanged at night but a caring gift just before her dearest friend was about to go through an ordeal on her own. After a moment, Nikki froze unresponsively, she then relaxed into her lover’s kiss. “Boy, I needed that. Thanks, darling for being here….as always,” she whispered into her lover’s shoulder. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Paul Williams looking in her direction. Her first instinct was to pull back from her embrace with Helen but, as he drew nearer, she could see his smiling approval of them. This wasn’t some guy; this was Paul. By the time he reached the car, Nikki had got out, followed by Helen, and politely greeted him. “Hi Paul. Were you waiting for me by any chance?” “I was going to do my inadequate best to offer you comfort, but Helen has done far better than I could ever do in psyching you up to deal with this press event.” Nikki smiled gratefully at this man’s sensitivity while Helen turned her full attention to the man. “Hiya, Paul. I remember you very well from that conference and you trying unsuccessfully to drink me under the table.” Paul chuckled appreciatively at her memory before speaking, “That’s one for the books Helen. It’s great seeing you again ,” he said as he shook her hand and he took his mind back to the conference. Somehow Helen had that sparkle about her that made him seek out her friendship. "We had some good conversations that night amidst all the drinking. You had the knack of making a guy feel really comfortable about himself." Helen smiled graciously at the interesting choice of words which was a testament to his good nature.As he focussed on both women together, he spoke the first thoughts that came out of his mouth "You really look so good together. It's only right that it should be so." "It's nice to have a male ally to the lesbian sorority to which we belong,"she said in sprightly tones." Immediately, Helen realised from the man's raised eyebrows that her flip remark was mistimed. It was only her nervousness for Nikki that caused the words to come out all wrong. “What I’m asking of you is please look after Nikki for me,” she added earnestly. It was her expression of her deep trust in the guy. “You can take that as read, Helen,” Paul replied with as much certainty of tone that he could summon up. Her knew he would do his damnedness in this direction. “I gotta go, Nikki. Phone me up when you’ve done as I want to know how you’ve got on,” Helen said softly, giving her lover a quick hug and a kiss.” It was nice meeting you again Paul. I’ve heard such good stories about you from Nikki.” With that, Helen slid into the driving seat, clipped on her seat belt and moved off purposefully into the works traffic. Nikki gazed at the car as it shrank in size and was finally absorbed into the traffic flow. Paul held back and waited for Nikki to be ready. “It’s very kind of you to look out for me, Paul,” Nikki said in gentle tones. “I wouldn’t think of letting you do this without any backup. Come with me and I’ll show you the press room and, when you’ve got the feel of the place, we’ll talk tactics in the canteen.” Nikki instinctively went along with Paul’s quiet direction as it chimed in with her ideas of preparation. Above all else, the way he demonstrated the physical setup enabled her to get a feel for the situation in the same way that, in the canteen, he explained how they would handle the press conference two-handed. “You know, Paul, you really are an intuitive guy. I feel as comfortable you being around as if Helen were here,” Nikki said, a touch of emotion in her voice which drew an appreciative smile from him. “Just remember, Nikki, I’ve seen you doing a great job on TV handling the press over your own appeals. Matters coming close to home are hardest of all to handle. I remember you telling me about giving evidence in court. This won’t be any tougher, believe me. It’s like an actor going through stage fright before going out on stage. Once you’re into the situation, I guarantee you’ll be fine.” Nikki nodded her head at these calming words in his best soothing tones but was only half convinced. They carried on idly chatting until it was time to go. ****** “OK, my name is Paul Williams and I’m here to explain any questions on the background perspective of the Howard League for Penal Reform while my friend and colleague, Nikki Wade will deal with specifics on her report. However we can deal with questions outside these boundaries if it seems right. Above all else, I want you all to understand that this is a cooperative effort and everything in the report is one hundred percent endorsed by this organization. You’ll have had a chance to read this report which presents a pretty damning picture but, in these days of public relations and spin doctoring, it tells the truth, however unpalatable it might seem.” Paul’s confident cultured voice had that knack of spreading a comforting emotional blanket over Nikki. Her nerves gave place to a state of keyed up rapidity of hearing, thinking and speaking. “Don’t you think that this report can be taken out of context and provide a misleading impression of the prison service? Even if what you say is true, one rotten apple doesn’t mean that the barrel is basically tainted,” a reporter asked. “I’ll handle this one. I’ll leave on one side the comparison with the apple and the barrel. This report sets out to target one particular prison which we have long had concerns about, even before Nikki joined the organization. This report goes for the detail, rather than adopt a scattergun approach which tries to see everything and fails. This organization has limited resources or otherwise we would go round every prison in turn.” “Nikki, aren’t you bound to be biased in your report as a one time prisoner? Surely, it might be argued that you are unconsciously working a sense of revenge against prison officers who may or may not have treated you unfairly?” “When I did my initial investigation, I admit I was horrified at what I saw and wrote on an initial report… in the heat of the moment. But this organization in which I am proud to serve considered that the wider community deserved to hear about a part of life for which the taxpayer pays his or her whack. The condition for this report going public was that it was scrutinized from start to finish. Every phrase was checked for accuracy by Paul to see if it stood up to scrutiny as being fair-minded. My university degree taught me the value of scholastic research as much as this organization is an ideal vehicle for my caring instincts. I ought to make clear that this report is designed to encourage those fair-minded prison officers to stand up and be counted. It isn’t designed to smack everyone in the teeth.” “How do you deal with the fact that public opinion is not sympathetic to well-meaning liberal ideas about being kind to prisoners? There are poor run-down council estates which are blighted by street corner crime and out of control teenagers, and won’t thank you for what they see as ‘do gooding’ behaviour at the expense of the victims of crime.” “I’ve never said that all prisoners are saints. Any reasonable person ought to see that I’ve got unusual advantages of three years being locked up in a woman’s prison. I don’t deny that inner city problems deserve investigation with real depth and clout. My point is that don’t you think that the proper use of educational resources will achieve more than shutting up prisoners twenty four seven and dumping them back on those very same streets again?” “Nikki Wade, you are obviously an educated, highly motivated woman and untypical of the average prisoner. Don’t you think that your well meaning ideas are likely to fall flat on their face?” “I was part of a ‘lifer’s project’ to improve the lot of prisoners so I can speak with some authority of prison education. One particular complaint of mine is that it was closed down after I left for no good reason. Don’t you think that improving prisoner’s education pays off down the line? It improves self esteem no end so surely ex-prisoners won’t kick off in society just as they did inside prison.” “Mr. Williams, I have studied the work of the founder of your organization, John Howard, one of the first prison reformers. Elizabeth Fry was a noted campaigner whose credentials are beyond dispute. Surely, Nikki Wade’s report is deliberately confrontational and is at odds with the history of your organisation?” Nikki had been cool as cucumber; her replies batted out firmly against the falsely familiar woman whose psychological thrust had been so neatly turned aside, the obvious sympathiser with the Sun leader writer whom she’d bitten off her reply in naming and shaming and finally, the cleverly placed attack which she’d just managed to deflect. She had barely noticed the constant flash of photographers as she concentrated on essentials. Her anger rose at the calculated attempt to split her off from the organisation of which she was so proud. Her rage was in danger of blinding her but Paul Williams saw that this was the point where he intervened. He had been highly impressed at seeing Nikki being let off the leash but this question was what a boss was paid to deal with. He pressed Nikki’s hand firmly and charged into the fray in measured terms. “I’m speaking on this one. The central plank of the Howard League for Penal Reform is in its faith in the power of human reason. The publication of Nikki’s study is firmly in that tradition. To think that previous reforms were carried out in a genteel fashion and Nikki’s study is at odds with this is a patently false historical analysis. Nothing could be further from the truth. What might be seen as controversial is truthful criticism of an unpleasant situation. What you make of it is something else. I charge your organisations with the responsibility of reporting this fairly and accurately.” There was a dead silence as the two of them had run the questioners out of arguments. Paul let this continue before stepping in to wind up the event. “Well, this has been a frank and interesting discussion. I am grateful at the intense interest you have shown in the report. I hope you have thought about what we have said. At this point, I’ll wind up the meeting if that is OK by you.” Sullenly, the questioners made their exits with as much good grace as they could and suddenly Paul and Nikki were aware of the dead silence around them as they realized that their throats were dry. Nikki was so psyched up that she could have carried on the argument for hours. In her mind, she could hear the Julies and Yvonne murmuring their appreciation and cheering her on. That mattered more than these self-important representatives of the press whose importance was vastly overrated. The trouble was the damage they could do in influencing the gullible and the prejudiced. “I enjoyed that,” Nikki said at last with a deep heartfelt sigh. “I could tell,” said Paul, which made Nikki laugh out loud. “How do you think we did?” “Well, the reactionaries will rubbish us but their articles have been written in advance. We made some difference amongst some of them. The Home Office will hate us but that’s a compliment. We did far better than I thought possible and a lot of that was down to you, Nikki.” “I’ve always been gobby and opinionated,” Nikki said in self-deprecating tones. “Thank God for that. In case you don’t know, you did brilliantly. We definitely need more of your sort. ” Nikki shook Paul firmly by the hand and briefly put her arm round his shoulder. Her feelings for him were deeply comradely. She felt as if she were coming down off the clouds, off some incredible high. She wondered now what on earth she had ever been worrying about. That feeling of deep self-satisfaction kept her floating up on high. “You deserve a rest, Nikki. You take yourself to a phone and tell Helen all about it. She’s bound to have been worrying about you.” “Thank you, Paul,” Nikki said, her eyes and emotions; brimming over. He was dead right in thinking that she had to tell Helen all about it. She strode ahead back to her office, feeling ten feet tall and reached for her phone. “Helen Stewart here,” the familiar Scottish accented voice sounded down the phone in normal business tones. “Hi Helen,” began Nikki, in a confident assured tone which Helen’s sharp ears picked up on the tone in her voice. It spelt good news. “How did it go, babes? Tell me all about it as I’ve been on tenterhooks all morning. Don’t leave anything out, now.” Tears came to Nikki’s eyes. Her good fortune was Helen’s good fortune as well. Nikki settled back in her chair and spilled the good news as a warm glow radiated through her system. |
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| richard | Nov 4 2009, 06:19 PM Post #12 |
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Enhanced
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Scene Eight A/N Credits - Ernest Dowson for the poem,'Cynara' Sir Ian stonily unfolded his copy of the ‘Independent’ and cursed aloud as he got to page eight. So far from trying to tidy over the situation, some impudent upstart called Elizabeth Pritchard had slashed the good name of the prison service to pieces. The opening paragraph set the tone of the article to come. Sir Ian set his face grimly. He hadn’t a clue who this woman was but he wouldn’t forget her name in a hurry. There are a multiple set of problems which feed off each other in the prison organization – before this writer even starts to describe the plight of the prisoners,” Ms Wade from the Howard League of Penal Reform said in her scathingly critical review of Larkhall Prison. “As a former inmate of the same prison, Ms Wade has deployed her unique knowledge with sufficient academic know-how and treats her subject material even-handedly. It takes the reader to the other side of the prison bars with insightful observation. It paints an unhappy picture of a system out of sync, like a car whose engine changes gear smoothly according to the blueprint but is not engaged with the drive shaft which points in an entirely unrelated direction- rather like some of the less well-run government departments. She makes her case strongly that covert favouritism operates in an oppressive negative culture where the effective job description is that of jailor. Buzzword driven management at a higher level is hopelessly divorced from the realities of lives, prison officer or prisoner. It makes clear that a bird’s eye view of the situation cannot be more accurate than the worm’s eye view unless there is clear and definite evidence that is so. This is a must for urgent reading by the Home Office to take clear, coherent reforms, unafraid of what the mythical ‘public opinion’ might think. For too long, the Home Office has operated according to ‘management by eye catching headline’ at the expense of any kind of thought out strategy With evident distaste, Sir Ian picked up a copy of The Sun and read the screaming headlines with distaste. It was bad news for the government of all options , even if it put the boot into that wretched woman. The trouble was that it gave her her free publicity. They could have ignored the damn report and featured some narcissistic ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ celebrity. Surely, the Home Office could have phoned that Neanderthal of an editor and told him to keep quiet. Carry on this way and she’ll end up on a prime time chat show which is the last thing that is needed right now. With friends like these, who needs enemies he reasoned gloomily. Ex-con tells the Home Office how to run its prisons. What a cheek. Nikki Wade, notorious lesbian cop killer, has sneaked her way into a ‘Do Gooding’ profession to tell the Prison Service how to run its own affairs. Her ivory tower outlook might be acceptable if there weren’t a sinister agenda of getting revenge on the hard-working prison officers. Her hard-core political beliefs are there behind every so-called reasonable word whose whole purpose is to make prisons ungovernable. Public opinion doesn’t take kindly to street corner crime and out of control teenagers and ‘do gooding’ behaviour at the expense of the victims of crime. Surely, prisons aren’t there to be a Butlin’s Holiday Camp but to make criminals pay for their crimes and deter them from ever setting foot in prison. Get real, Nikki Wade.” He searched his extensive memory and when he thought about it, realized that he and Lawrence James had sat through trials involving Nikki Wade in some shape or form or other. He remembered that tall, very composed woman who had misused her education and background to become a dangerous troublemaker. He conjured up the image of a small, very distinctive woman with bold features and neat straight hair, sitting in the gallery. All at once, his memory slotted neatly into place that prison governor at Larkhall who had been charged for the hit and run accident. He recalled that both women had given evidence in favour of the defendant. They had declared their relationship as bold as brass and offended his delicacies as his upbringing had taught him that there were certain matters, if they happened at all, that should be kept under wraps. He remembered regretting that a disciplinary investigation was an obvious non-starter as she had upped and gone by then. As he sat back in thought, he had that sneaking feeling that the report was accurate at all levels. Ms Wade could quite easily have talked to her cronies amongst the prisoners who would have dished the dirt but what intrigued him as how on earth she could speak so confidently about prison management. At first, he couldn’t understand it. An ex-con who’d landed up in these professional troublemakers could have read a few reports but that wouldn’t have given her that convincing grasp of the system. He looked more closely at the report in detail and the obvious answer came to him. Her partner must have given her inside information. He sat back and an unpleasant smile spread across his face. Time after time, his department had taken a bruising from every Larkhall Prison related trial. Apparently safe trials had taken an unpleasantly perverse direction and had turned round to bite him. Either Deed got his hands on the trial or supposedly dependable judges had been infected by an insidious plague of radical thinking. Worst of all, Neil Haughton had got the bit between his teeth and had come up with this idiotic plan to clamp down on the judges so they had finally banded together and inflicted total humiliation. His own department had taken the fallout by association and Sir Alan Peasemarsh, the Attorney General was starting to take a frosty attitude to him. He knew very well that the upper reaches of the administration had no use for successive mistakes or for failure in general. Now he could see a way to retrieve his reputation. Over the years, the Official Secrets Act had been a good friend to government officials….…. ***** Nikki’s report exploded like a bombshell within the hallowed walls of the Home Office Neil Houghton’s secretary peeked in briefly at the red-faced man, verbally exploding in all directions and kicking the furniture. “What the hell’s going on around here? Criminals are locked-up to be punished or am I missing something? I’ll have someone’s head on a platter if it’s the last thing I do. This country is getting seriously out of control and needs bringing into line. If I’m not the man for the job, I don’t know who is? There are those whose purpose is to bring this government down, like Deed and his liberal cronies, always plotting, always conspiring. I suppose next thing is that striking militants are waiting in the wings, just itching to bring the country to a halt, three-day week and all that. I thought that after years of education in free market philosophy, people would get to know what’s expected of them at all levels…….” Neil Haughton’s secretary knew better than to ask him if he was thinking of the previous government, which was now supposedly the opposition but she knew better than that. The man was beyond control. The best thing was to let himself wear himself out but the trouble was that her experience of politicians was their capacity for incessant talking was way in excess of the ordinary person. It was their one faculty that would carry on more or less indefinitely, given the chance. Fortunately, her tenuous situation was saved by the entry of Sir Ian who, from her perspective, strode bravely through the door to be greeted by a continuation of the same rant as before. “It’s all Deed’s doing. I am absolutely convinced that he has put this Ms Wade up to the whole thing. He’s in the background pulling the strings while she does the dirty work. It’s all a conspiracy, I tell you.” “With respect, Neil, I can’t see how Deed and this Ms Wade have anything in common except their politics. She’s a lesbian and that means that Deed’s normal way of influencing women has to be discounted.” “Hmm, I take your point but there’s more than this than meets the eye, Ian. These two trouble makers are connected in some way, you mark my words.” Sir Ian gave up being the voice of reason. The trouble with politicians was that they projected the conspiratorial way they operated onto the demons inside their heads of what they most feared. “Have it your way, Neil. The point I was going to mention is that this gives us a good opportunity of getting back at them.” “How do you mean?” Neil Haughton asked, looking at Sir Ian with dawning hope. It was the one and only way of stopping him ranting on forever. “You may or may not know that Ms Wade’s partner is a certain Ms Stewart, one time wing governor at Larkhall Prison. It’s obvious from the report that there has been a certain amount of indiscreet pillow talk. She couldn’t obviously have found out all she did either as an ordinary prisoner or from she’s picked up in her present job.” “Can we prove it? I mean. I know how you must abide by the tiresomely high level of proof you need. There’s also the choice of judge.” “Of course, we need to make certain of our position before we make our move but my guess is that they’ll run for cover. They’ll all act the hero so long as it doesn’t come too close to home. They’ve let themselves get far too close to them so that they’ll duck away. We won’t see their heels for dust. It will be a fitting punishment for the pair of them,” Sir Ian spoke with cold disdain. Neil Haughton’s face split in two with an evil grin and a nasty hacking laugh resounded through the air. There wasn’t a trace of humanity, only that cruel desire for revenge on someone who had thwarted his wishes. He never even knew the woman but then again, he would ensure that his hands were kept clean of any dirty deeds. This was the man unmasked in private, stripped of all his long-winded statesmanlike utterances for public consumption. ****** Quite ignorant of the first hint of danger to his close friends, John’s mood was sombre and introspective. He had returned to the digs early in the morning after being in a strange bed the previous night. Physically, he had to admit that the night was everything he could want and Lady Rochester was a superbly skilled lover. He had got a kick out of the secret assignation to a discreet hotel under Sir Ian’s very nose. What brought him down was waking up the next day. He knew very well that she felt no kinship with him and he felt the same about her. The way that both of them sneaked out of the hotel and exchanged a perfunctory kiss brought it home that there was something missing from his life. As he turned the matter over in his mind, he realized how Nikki and Helen’s relationship was filled with vibrant colour in contrast. He could tell that as a relative outside without being in the slightest way jealous of them. His thoughts slipped elegantly in Jo Mills’ direction and how his spirits had soared when he met her. For that one moment, he felt as wise and insightful in his personal life as he was in his public life. He knew that Jo Mills felt deep ties with him that went a long way back but there was too much history of discord between them. He knew very well that the blame lay fairly and squarely with him and it didn’t do his self of self-esteem any good. I have forgot much, Cynara! Gone with the wind Flung roses, roses, riotously with the throng Dancing, to put thy pale, lost lilies out of mind; But I was desolate and sick of an old passion, Yea, all the time, because the dance was long- I have been faithful to thee, Cynara, in my fashion. These words from his youth came back to him and he gloomily agreed with them. The problem was that it posed the problem but it gave him no answers. Listlessly, he read the morning papers with a similar sense of lack of engagement. Looking idly through the Independent, his sharp eye caught the trenchant criticisms of the prison service and that gave his spirits a lift. Mentally, he took his hat off to Nikki Wade and the sympathetic journalist who had sensitively got the feel of the matter. He smiled warmly, a faint stirring of good feeling spreading within him as he passively accepted the terms of the article. He only wished that he felt in better spirits to acknowledge this splendid coup, which would help keep their political opponents on the run. |
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| richard | Nov 11 2009, 05:40 PM Post #13 |
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Enhanced
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Scene Nine “You don’t mind giving up your freedom, darling?” Beth asked as they went over to Karen’s flat where the last of her belongings were finally packed away. The blond-haired woman shrugged her shoulders as she brushed the hair back from her face with her fingers. She had made many mistakes in past relationships, each of which she had entered with progressively guarded enthusiasm. Now she felt as if she had combined the difficult trick of combining the passion of youth and the wisdom of experience. “There’s little to give up. I’ll be saying goodbye to too many memories of blotting out my thought with booze. The only good associations I have of this dump is of Helen and Nikki shining a light into my darkness so I could be good and ready when you came on the scene. Besides, I was wondering if you were worried about what you’ll be taking on with me,” she replied with a wry grin. “Don’t underrate yourself love. This time, I know I’m doing it right,” she said softly. When Karen moved her belongings into Beth’s flat, she ended a chapter in her life, the terraced flat inside which she had retreated with her whisky bottle and cigarettes from the horrors that were closing in on her. She slipped the front door keys through the letterbox of the door on which hateful neighbours had scrawled ‘murderer’, and smiled maliciously at those who would now have to eat their words. As the last of her belongings were packed away to move to Beth’s flat, she said hello to their brightly lit future. Hours later, Beth looked on with fond satisfaction as Karen slotted the last of her clothes neatly into her side of what was now their wardrobe. She turned round to smile excitedly at her lover whose arms stretched out to greet her. In the days that followed, Karen knew that Beth would be coming home to her and they had all the time in the world to work out where their future lay. It was an understood thing that Karen needed a little time and space to recover from the stresses and strains of the last months. As Karen contemplated past, present and future in the light, airy surroundings of their flat, she came to realize that her life had been hard slog for a very long time. Karen knew now that she needn’t be a pack mule, a heavy load forever on her back, not as her future was unfolding in such a delightful way. Always, there were nights of passion with the very energetic and insatiable Beth and she was up for anything that dark-haired wonder, cared to show her. She had fallen deeply in love for the first time in her life and she had allowed herself the luxury of few weeks to mentally realign herself, and to date this gorgeous woman who had suddenly entered her life. For someone who had become cynical and wary of commitments, she had done a complete U-turn. She was certain in her mind where her relationship with Beth was heading, with no reservations now that recent events had blown out of her system all that paralysis of action, which had held her back for months. She wouldn’t normally have let the grass grow under her feet in getting back into a work routine but she had needed a little time to take stock of her life. Now that her court case was out of the way, Karen’s perspectives had altered dramatically in more ways than one. She wasn’t planning to be an out- of- work- woman for any length of time; as it had been Monday August 22nd 2001 when she had been arrested at Larkhall prison and that was two months ago. It felt like a long time since she’d worked and she didn’t care to count the number of bottles of spirits she had gone through. She’d been stuck down a big black hole in that period of time, only lightened her dear friends who had helped her so much. Her lover now made her invigoratingly complete. Although she’d invested so much of her energies on her prison service career, her sensibilities revolted at going through the obsequious interview routine to return to it. She didn’t think that she would be welcome anyway. In a flash of a thought, that left nursing. She dismissed that promise she had once sworn never to return to that profession after all those she’d nursed that had died on her. That was then and this is now, she reasoned as she took control of her life once again. Karen resolved on a two-prong strategy, to enrol as an agency nurse (a ‘bank’ nurse). She reasoned that they would snap up any ex nurse of fifteen years experience whose nursing qualifications had providentially been kept up to date who had had a bit of ‘hands on’ experience in delivering Crystal’s baby with no backup facilities except the Julies. It would mean returning to the bottom of the pile but so would stacking shelves at Tesco’s, so she coolly reasoned. The other prong was a permanent post at Larkhall Hospital but their recruitment procedures would take time, hence the fill in work. She’d sorted everything out and given their flat a spring clean while Beth was at work. As she wiped her brow, she thought that a hot mug of coffee would go down well. Just at that moment, Karen’s mobile suddenly bleeped out a warning and Helen’s name appeared in the frame. With a warm smile, she clicked on the connection. “Hiya, Karen. How’s everything going?” asked that lively, friendly voice loudly in her ear. “Pretty good right now. It’s great to hear your friendly voice.” “You wouldn’t mind if I pop over on my lunch break? I’m mobile and in your area.” “Sure, Helen. I’ve got free time today but starting from tomorrow, I probably won’t.” “You mean you’ve got a job?” exclaimed Helen excitedly sensing Karen’s satisfaction. “As from tomorrow, I’ll be Nurse Betts, back in uniform. I’ve just finished getting sorted out so I’d love to spend some time with you.” “As a matter of fact, I’ve just recently moved into Beth’s flat,” Karen replied coyly as if abashed at this miraculous accomplishment. Helen’s unashamed pleasure in this good news felt so good to her. Sure enough, there came the clattering sounds of shoes on the staircase and a knock on the door. Karen welcomed Helen with opened arms, then a hug and a kiss on her cheek. Though the blond haired woman was dressed in jeans and a jumper, her appearance and manner was glowing. She looked so thoroughly alive in contrast to before the trial and the flat looked sparklingly modern. She gestured Helen to a sofa and disappeared briefly in the kitchen to emerge with two mugs full of coffee and rattled away at quick speed. “So how’s life treating you these days, Karen or need I ask?” “You mean my love life?” counter questioned Karen as bold as brass. “Only if you don’t mind telling me,” Helen said with a poor attempt at innocent reticence. “Liar, Helen,” the blond haired woman pronounced, sticking her tongue out and flicking a lock of hair out of her eyes.” Well, just to satisfy your curiosity, I never realized how lesbian sex could be so ….so overwhelming, physically and emotionally. There’s a feeling of total freedom that nothing stands between us. I’ve never had that before in my life. Is that how you feel with Nikki?” “Yeah, that’s just how it is,” Helen said dreamily.” It gets better as time goes on.” “That’s great for you both,” Karen replied generously.” Well, once I start my new job, I’ll feel that I can put in my fair share into the relationship. We both wanted us to get settled in and Beth knows I don’t want to feel like a ‘kept woman.’ I start work tomorrow. Want to see me in my nurse’s uniform?” Helen sat back sipping her coffee as Karen whished into the front room and did a quick change. She almost choked on her coffee as she saw a woman appear wearing the identical mid-blue nurses uniform and loose fitting top that she had last seen landing on her doorstep at the dead of night; only Karen’s face replacing Nikki’s. She had tucked her hair back away from her cheeks and up on top instead of loosely falling on either side of her face. “Something wrong, Helen?” Karen asked, sensing something wrong behind Helen’s lopsided smile. “No, you look fine and very professional. It’s the last time I saw a woman in a nurse’s uniform, it was Nikki knocking on my front door begging for admission to make up for the quarrel we’d had.” “But I’m not Nikki,” Karen responded, not wanting to pry into Helen’s personal affairs as the words poured out in no discernable order. “You’ve made the right decision, Karen. I’m absolutely sure that it won’t take you long to run the bloody ward.” Karen smiled warmly at Helen’s unselfish declaration of confidence in her; it brought out good feelings within her. “This is just like the old days. The days that should have been.” “Let’s drink a toast to the days of friendship that are to come. There’s so much more time for all of us,” answered Helen cheerfully, raising her coffee mug and clinking it against Karen’s. ***** That feeling of warm support remained in Karen when she started work at St Mary’s Hospital Trust at Larkhall. There was a curious feel about it as she walked into the spacious foyer. The nurse’s uniform she wore was starting to feel part of her skin rather than a costume that she had displayed for Helen. Of course, she had been there not so long ago when she had been to visit Snowball Merriman after she had deliberately made herself ill to be where Ritchie Atkins was….and she’d accompanied Yvonne Atkins when Ritchie Atkins had lain in his hospital bed after being accidentally shot and crippled for life by the same Snowball Merriman. Then, she was a prison governor giving a nod to her past in seeing consultants. Now, she was catching up with her more distant past, which had become her present. It was all that training that started to come alive in her mind. I am now a working functionary in this hospital and I have to prove myself two hundred per cent, as this is my advertisement for a permanent post, she told herself. All her instincts of awareness of her surroundings that had lain dormant for months now kicked in and she meekly absorbed what the ward-sister told her in her very abbreviated introduction. Her eyes and ears took in the multiplicity of details and somehow, her memories of who she used to be centred her. She did a score of fairly menial duties competently enough until suddenly she came to the end of her shift. “You’ll be back tomorrow, Karen?” the ward-sister asked her, paying more attention to her this time. “Nothing’s going to keep me away,” Karen said in a tired but satisfied tone of voice. ”You’ve been in nursing long?” “Fifteen years,” Karen said with pride.” I’ve had a six-year break. It’s all coming back to me….I think.” “I can tell you’re old school. We don’t normally get agency nurses with that much sense of commitment. Be seeing you tomorrow then.” Karen was definitely getting the feel of this sense of understatement. That means that she would bat for her to be taken on permanently as she’d skivvied away at every job that had been put her way. She’d not glamorously assisted at some life or death operation but her recalled experience was that it was the thorough routine tasks that mattered. “We’ve had good feedback of you from St Mary’s,” the hard boiled agency boss told Karen after the fifth day and the nurse she’d covered for had come back to work after being off sick. “So what more work have you got for me?” Karen asked her. The other woman rapidly flicked through her computer records and her manner had softened slightly since Karen first registered with them. “I’ve got a vacancy for another five days but it is unusual. It’s not everyone’s choice,” came the laconic reply. Karen thought that it must be an old people’s home or mental hospital. Well, she thought, she had vowed to stick with it. “It’s Larkhall Prison,” came the voice from behind the computer. Karen’s face turned pale at the thought but said nothing. “Hey, it’s not that bad. If you were a male nurse let loose around sex-starved convicts, you’d need to worry. You’ll be working on the medical wing. It’s the same as any place, just a lot more bolts and bars, that’s all.” Karen stared at the woman who knew nothing of the world of tabloid exposures and trials. All she knew was about placing a stream of nurses in one vacant slot after another. It now crossed Karen’s mind that this was a positive advantage and, furthermore, she was employed by the agency. If Grayling saw her round Larkhall and kicked up a fuss, he could stuff it. A slow smile started to spread across her face. “You give me the details and leave me to do the rest.” The agency boss had to hand it to this nurse. She got over her obvious reservations fast. The problem was that she wouldn’t stay with the agency long. One hospital or another was bound to snap her up. With a grim smile on her face, Karen parked her green MG sports car at some distance from the main gates and strode purposefully towards the gates, her papers folded under her arm. She was looking forward to this. Ken’s face dropped a mile as soon as he caught sight of her. No matter what her reduced status, nothing and no one could detract from her strength of personality. “Always knew you were innocent, Miss,” he stammered, a foolish smile on his face.” Some of us always believed in you.” “Aren’t you going to take me through the procedures and check over my papers. I could be a foreign terrorist for all you know,” came the frosty reply. “I’ll do as you say and tell Dr Nicholson that the agency nurse has arrived,” Ken stammered apologetically. Inwardly, Karen was grinning. She had forgotten how formidable she could be. As she was taken briefly through the wing, Julie Saunders spotted her and her face lit up. She waved enthusiastically and Karen grinned back and managed a regal wave. She knew that word would run round the wing like wildfire. Sure enough, she came to the medical wing and Dr Nicholson’s face immediately darkened with anger the second he saw her. “You can go straight back to where you came from, Ms Betts. I don’t want your sort here.” “Fine,” snapped Karen, her blue eyes flashing fire and her hands on her hips.” You try picking up the phone and tell that to the agency. I’ll be billed for the four days I’m contracted to be here and for another, you piss the agency round like this and you can forget about them bailing you out next time you’re short of a nurse. You’re SMO and it will be your head on the block.” The man’s face froze and Karen knew that his cowardice would hold him back. She could hear his mind trying to devise some face saving formula. Just then, the phone rang and his cold, scornful voice enabled Karen to piece the story together. “You mean that our favourite resident slasher has been at work? It’s a shame she doesn’t do a proper job of it. She’s picked the worst possible moment to do this. You want me to go over?” “Pass the phone over, Dr Nicholson,” Karen said coldly, a sense of powerful resolve and dual professional instincts kicking in.” I’ll deal with it.” “You take the first aid kit and report to me when you’ve done. Try not to take up valuable hospital space. Self inflicted injury doesn’t deserve my valuable time to be wasted.” Karen kept a straight face. The man was as useless and as ineffective as she had remembered. In a second, she threaded herself along the familiar corridors, and clattered up the stairs to the 2s where a grave faced Selena Geeson was waiting for her. “You’re the agency nurse? Come this way as we certainly need your help.” “That’s what I’m here for.” Karen strode inside the cell where a horrified looking Julie Saunders greeted her, accompanied by a mute Julie Johnson, too overcome to find words to speak. “Thank Gawd you’re here, Miss Betts. It’s dead serious as far as I can see.” Karen caught her breath as an ugly series of deep parallel gashes marked the woman’s upper and lower left arm and blood stained the bedclothes of the unconscious woman. Karen caught her breath in horror and immediately set to work to try and clean up the worst of the wounds. She checked the woman’s pulse on a patch of skin that was left unharmed. Not good. “I’d called for Dr Nicholson as well but he didn’t think it was that important,” added Selena doubtfully. “He’s got to be joking. Look here, you call up for a stretcher and tell the medical team to stand by for a blood transfusion.” “I’ll do it but it needs Dr Nicholson’s say so,” Selena said doubtfully. “If he causes any trouble, pass your mobile to me and I’ll deal with him,” Karen snapped sternly, visibly slipping into wing governor’s mode of thinking. Selena Geeson looked wide eyed at the way this fill-in nurse exerted such strength of personality and wondered how the hell the Julies were on such familiar terms with this total stranger to Larkhall. “She’ll sort him out if you’re having trouble, Miss Geeson. She’s the expert,” added Julie Johnson helpfully as the fair-haired prison officer got through on the phone and spoke more forcefully to the man who she hated as much as she had hated Fenner. “Can someone tell me what the hell’s going on here,” called out a harsh voice from behind them. The tall slim woman with long, dark hair pulled back from her forehead was the new successor of Di Barker as wing governor. Karen guessed as much in seconds. “I’m Nurse Betts from the agency and this is an emergency. This is serious and if we don’t work fast, you’ll have a corpse on your hands. Julies, I may need you to help me out till the stretcher comes.” “Just like old times, eh miss?” the two women answered in chorus to Frances Myers’ considerable amazement. Still, she couldn’t help respecting the presence of mind of this nurse who clearly knew what she was doing. She wasn’t that touchy about her authority if those around her got their fingers out and did the right thing. “When the nurse and the stretcher crew have done their business, I want words with Sylvia Hollamby at once. That bone idle battleaxe has a lot to account for.” Karen knew at once that her old enemy was this unfortunate woman’s personal officer. She exchanged knowing glances at the Julies and smiled wryly to herself. While she was near the bottom of the official pecking order, it did permit her to openly express her feelings. After all, this dump wasn’t her responsibility any more. |
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| yankeelady | Nov 11 2009, 09:49 PM Post #14 |
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G3 Curtain and Duvet!
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Nice one, Richard! I'm enjoying the story immensely... Cheers...
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| Nikki...Don't get jealous... | |
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| richard | Nov 18 2009, 05:29 PM Post #15 |
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Enhanced
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Thanks, Yankeelady, for following this fic. I've got plenty more to come as in this next scene, ........................................................................................................................ Scene Ten It hadn’t taken Trisha and Sally-Anne long to adjust to each other in running Chix but by then they had got past a lot of their problems in establishing a loving relationship for the long run. Trisha and Nikki had built up the club together and their differing talents had made the division of duties perfectly natural. Trisha had the natural business head while Nikki had organized the practical duties, including hiring and firing staff. Since Nikki had been taken out of the picture, Trisha had found out the painful way, how limited were her girlfriends’ sense of commitment as they came across Trisha’s devotion to running Chix. It was a third element in their relationship and, to put it politely, these had not coexisted very smoothly. It hadn’t taken long before the token efforts of participation had tailed off and Trisha had come to learn how it had infallibly helped cause their relationships to fall apart acrimoniously. She had come to feel from bitter experience that love and business could never be as conjoined as when she had been with Nikki. She had tried to resolve that sense of confusion by employing Gill when she had come on their scene. It had been almost gratifying to know that her apparent willingness to help wasn’t permeated with any kind of sexual undertone. Trisha had thought that she could be objective with her until, with Helen’s help, she found how badly she had been financially ripped off. She’d finally sacked Gill and had been forced to borrow several thousand pounds from her bank to plug the financial hole. Trisha remembered feeling especially bitter when monthly payments had been made out of her hard won enterprise and this had only ceased when Sally Anne had generously paid off the debt out of her compensation money. Now that Sally Anne had stepped into the breach, Trisha hadn’t realized how she might have been driven to become a control freak for the best of reasons. All her instincts had been to resist handing over any control after this succession of disasters. She had to make a conscious effort to let Sally Anne get involved bit by bit and step backwards from total control. She kept reminding herself that this wasn’t Sally Anne taking over her empire but her own insecurities at work. She knew that physical intimacy came easily to her but getting over Gill violating something precious to her wasn’t easy. Trisha blessed her good fortune that Sally’s natural imperturbability and understanding soothed these fears and how remarkably Sally had managed to turn her own life around after all the trauma she’d been through. Sally didn’t comment, she just knew and made a determined effort to reassure Trisha in what she did rather than give her flowery bullshit. All this gentle effort made Trisha feel very emotional and glad to be feeling right about herself. “After all, an honest ex-copper who has fallen in love for the first time in her life with another woman will do right by me,” she silently mouthed against Sally Anne’s bare skin while the dark-haired woman slept peacefully in her arms one Sunday morning. Saturday evening and Sunday morning were incredibly important to them both. After witnessing women coming together and finding themselves in each other, it was their turn. Both women had that sense of freedom that when they got back home, they could express their ardent love for each other and that their arms and limbs could be gloriously intertwined with each other. They made love with a passion that never seemed to die down as each roused in the other molten desires that could not be denied to themselves or to each other. It was early in the morning when Trisha opened one bleary eye and felt her arm lie across her lover’s breasts. Trisha looked fondly down on her lover who had a blissful, contented smile across her face. On this day, she could alternate between semi-wakefulness and dreamless contentment. Finally, Trisha followed a whim of hers, slipped out of bed and took herself to the bedroom dressing table and sat in front of the large mirror, slowly brushing her long fair hair. Sally Anne lay lazily sideways in bed looking at her lover. She admired the slender lines of her lover’s back that reflected in the mirror, she could see that half smile on Trisha’s face. It was absolute paradise to feel with calm serenity that she was immersed in the love of this blond haired woman. Sally Anne could watch her all day and life seemed timeless in its perfection as a dreamy feeling of warmth spread through her. As her thoughts took shape, she realized that she presented an equally delightful spectacle as she made no attempt at maidenly modesty in draping their white duvet round her, exposing her breasts to Trisha’s gaze at her through the mirror. Trisha laid her hairbrush on the side as Sally Anne silently slipped out of bed and planted several soft kisses on her back. “Mmmm,” murmured Trisha with a sense of deep self satisfaction.” I thought you’d never come over.” “Well, I’m here now, babes,” Sally Anne replied with a husky tone to her voice, revealing her own growing desires.” Ready and waiting for you,” She planted another soft kiss on her lover’s back and slid her arms round her lover, her fingers gently caressing Trisha’s breasts. She had that delicious sense in having no need to hurry as she leaned up against her lover and kissed the side of her neck. Trisha reached upwards and backwards to touch Sally as she looked into the mirror and feasted her eyes on the dark haired woman. Finally, a sigh of satisfaction breathed out from them both as Sally’s fingertips gently stroked her lover’s nipples. They knew that this was the payoff from all the hard slog over the last week, validated by this preliminary to their slow lovemaking just as they had passionately made love the night before. Trisha felt a surge of desire rise up inside her as those exquisitely slim fingers of Sally’s right hand started to slide against the inside of her thigh. A wave of emotion spread through her as she thought about everything of Sally’s presence. “How good it is, darling to wake up next to you. I wouldn’t like to think where I’d be without you.” “Sweetheart, you’ve done so much for you,” Sally whispered as she kissed the other woman’s ear. A wave of emotion swept through Sally Anne as she felt Trisha’s feelings. This was so far away from the cool, calm and collected Trisha that it had to be totally real. Trisha turned away from the mirrored reflection of her lover towards the real woman who settled on her lap, she flung her arms around the dark haired woman and both knew what they wanted. After kissing deeply and passionately, they moved interlocked onto their rumpled bed, Sally Anne on top and they joyously celebrated the dawning of a new day. ***** Several hours later, they were curled up together on their settee, Trisha’s black trousered leg draped over Sally, a hot steaming mug of coffee on a side table and her lover’s left hand clasped in hers. While grey skies swirled low over London’s rooftops, their cosy living-room shut out the winter’s gloom outside. They fell to talking companionably and reflecting on the present. They loved the feel of lying next to each other while music played softly around them. Both women had noticed how the club was becoming more and more successful and they were attracting a younger crowd besides the thirty something women who had grown up with Trisha. It meant that they needed another barmaid and no longer could one of them be there on their own as in the old days. “The whole scene is changing,” Trisha said as her right hand outlined the direction of her thoughts.” It’s becoming much more over-ground. We’re getting regular adverts in Diva naturally but even some of the average glossies feature us.” ”That’s really good news for us. It means that more women can feel free to be as they are,” murmured Sally against the other woman’s cheek. “It’s not that simple, babes. Years ago, any lesbian bar that started up drew in women who were grateful for their very existence. It was all spread by word of mouth on the underground grapevine.” “We’re bound to get more commercialized. After all, we’re operating a business. It’s bound to work for our benefit.” “I’m beginning to think like Nikki,” Trisha smiled wryly and gently disagreeing. Sally was saying what she had used to tell Nikki. ”She was always the idealist and I was the money head.” “How do you mean, babes?” Sally Anne asked with absolutely no hint of insecurity. She simply wanted to know what her lover meant by the remark as she respected Nikki’s opinions. “The trouble is that a lot of the younger women are taking for granted what took us years to build up. I’m not asking for abject gratitude and for women to kiss our feet but just a little respect. Some of them are getting too pushy and rowdy for my liking. They’re just coming to get obliterated. I’ve recently had to calm one or two of them down a bit and they’ve got argumentative. I get the feeling that they treat us like any other club owners.” “You’re looking to me to provide expertise, babes? The problem is that I’ve not been into straight clubs for years. You know, the time long ago when I thought I was straight. They were like meat markets. I remember having to watch out for the drunks, the men I mean,” Sally Anne pursued with her mouth slightly open. She hadn’t noticed anything untoward but maybe Trisha had noticed intangibles going on under her eyes that she hadn’t. “So how far different are these clubs? You’re the only woman I know with any inside information.” Trisha had pondered this problem for some time but only accident of fate had prompted her to ask for Sally Anne’s input. “Well, for a start, we don’t have tanked up testosterone men on the loose, my ex colleagues in the police force being prime examples. They were the worst culprits when let off the leash after supposedly upholding law and order on duty,” shuddered Sally Anne at the memory. “Some of these young kids are verging that way, I mean without the testosterone obviously,” observed Trisha dryly.” I mean what do we do? I mean do we hire proper bouncers or go membership only? All this is bound to eat into our profits,” Trisha said doubtfully, casting around for ideas. “Do we really want some butch lesbian bouncer lurking around, looking menacing? It might put off some of our regulars who want to chill out,” added Sally Anne, equally uncertain.” I wouldn’t dismiss anything out of hand but I can’t think of an alternative that grabs my inspiration.” Both women were certain of their love as they pressed each other’s hands and leaned into each other. They were equally uncertain of how to resolve this conundrum or just let this go. Anyway, the rest of the Sunday was their treat for the taking. ***** “I’m only too delighted to write you a reference,” exclaimed Helen.” I’ve known you for a few years now I come to think about it. Let me loose with the form and I’ll get composing.” “I was wondering who else to use,” Karen asked in puzzled tones.” I wouldn’t touch anyone now within the prison service with a bargepole and I’m sure their feelings are likewise. That leaves me with the women from Chix who know me best in reality but it doesn’t go back a long way. Nikki’s a possibility but let’s face it that goes back to when she was behind bars. Let’s face it, to the average outside world, that doesn’t look good.” “Of course I understand Karen,” Helen said warmly, picking up on Karen’s hesitant tone of voice.” She told me that last night.” “So that leaves George,” “I don’t see that as a problem. They’re bound to know about the trial case. If they don’t, they’re bound to ask you what you’ve been doing with yourself since you last worked at Larkhall. You might as well get in first and George’s credentials get turned around in your favour. Sure, you were her client but you’ve gone on to become friends. She’ll have seen you at a time when your character ‘shone forth’ as they say. That goes back before you met the rest of the gang so who better else to pick?” Karen was left open mouthed and speechless at the striking way Helen had cut through her confusion of thought. It reminded her just why she had once been her boss and made her wonder just how she pulled these answers out of nowhere. |
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8:47 AM Jul 11