Series 1 Episode 6
(Scene 1)
Nikki's feelings for Helen had kept growing and the inmate had no idea what she was going to do nor whether Helen would admit the feelings the inmate knew the governor had for her.
It was a sunny day at Larkhall, not many of those these days, and Nikki was chilling in the garden enjoying the fresh air and sun whilst she can. She doesn't hear the familiar sound of those prisoner shoes until a familiar and welcome Scottish voice calls to her
"Hiya Nikki" Nikki looks up and smiles. The object of her affections was back from her holidays
"Miss Stewart" Nikki jumps up from the grass and wipes her hands on her overalls to rid her hands of any dirt
"How are you?" Helen knew Nikki's breakup had hit her hard and the inmate's fear of being alone inside had come true and she knew Nikki's outbursts against Shell had been a way of expressing her fear and anger her situation
"Surviving" Helen was pleased to see Nikki a little more cheery and calm rather than the fiery tempered inmate of three weeks ago "How was your holiday?" Nikki had missed Helen no matter how much she had tried to deny it. The young Scot had certainly caught Nikki's attentions
"Oh I don't know if I would call it a holiday exactly." Helen was pleased that Nikki was making an effort to be friendly. The young Scot had been struggling to break through the inmate's exterior and now she had she wasn't going to let Nikki close up again "Three weeks struggling with instructions to flat pack furniture"Helen chuckles at the images of her and Sean struggling to put up that new library and dining table
"No man around to help you?" Helen knew that she had maybe made a mistake letting Sean move in. They were drifting apart even if she didn't want to admit it.
"Call yourself a feminist?" Helen's joke made Nikki smile and herself chuckle. Helen knew that if Nikki knew about Sean that she could pull away and clam up "Sean's up to his eyes in work at the moment" Nikki knew that Helen would have to had a partner and now knowing it's a man made Nikki's chances with Helen slimmer than before "The longer we're together the less time we seem to spend with each other"Nikki couldn't tell if Helen was disappointed with the idea of spending less time with her partner or happier. The Scot wasn't really open when it came it down to her emotions "Mind I did catch up with a bit of reading" Finally a subject where Nikki didn't feel uncomfortable or a little hurt. Reading. One of the many things Nikki suspected she and Helen had in common "Have you read Sophie's World?"
"No. No I haven't" Nikki knew that Helen could be using her affections to try and get her own way when it came to the prisoners but it wasn't something Nikki wanted to think about
"Well I've got a copy at home I'll bring it in" Nikki was surprised that Helen was willing to break her own rules to keep the inmate happy but in truth Nikki was happy to see the Wing Governor living a little dangerously
"Isn't that against regulations?" Helen knew she was playing a dangerous game when it came to Nikki Wade but for whatever reason she didn't mind
"Well I won't tell if you won't" Nikki smiles raising an eyebrow at Helen's open flirting "Well I'll see you around"
"See you" Nikki walks Helen head into the prison before going back to her gardening knowing that things were about to take an interesting turn.
(Scene 2)
"You used to run your own business. What did that entail?" Helen's interest in Nikki Wade was beginning to become obsessive as Sean had pointed out to his partner but in her mind she was trying to help Nikki by pushing her to be more than she is
"Hiring, firing" Helen was interested in what Nikki's life had been like outside the prison walls. There was something about Nikki that was drawing Helen in and there was nothing she could do to stop it
"And what do you do to keep busy now?" Helen had a pretty good idea what Nikki was doing but she wanted the inmate to clarify it for her
"Gym, gardening, usual stuff you know" What else could you do in prison? Activities were limited and Nikki knew that was the reason drugs were such a big issue on the wing
Helen was pacing and she didn't know why so she moves to take a seat "You're not interested in education classes?"
Nikki looks at the Scot before speaking "Well there are only so many macramé plant hangers you in one lifetime" Nikki and Helen smile at the small joke
"I'm talking about the Open University" Nikki knew what Helen was trying to do but she also knew what she thought to be her reality
"Look, in ten years time, I'll be a 43 year old ex con with a general studies degree." Nikki's lack of ambitious was a downhearting for Helen to hear and she felt a little disappointed in Nikki "Companies will be crying out for that won't they?"
"I'd like you to think about it" Nikki smirks and looks at Helen like 'I know what you're gonna say' "Please. As a favour to me?" That was Nikki's undoing. One bat of the eyelashes and Nikki was a goner.
"Okay. For you" Nikki stands and heads for the door feeling Helen's eyes of her as she leaves. The inmate looks back briefly before leaving the office and Helen in a little bit of a daze
(Scene 3)
Helen heads up to see Nikki determined to get the inmate into education even if it took her ten years to do. She knocks on Nikki's door smiling
"Hi." Why she was so happy to see the inmate was confusing to Helen but for once it didn't matter
"Hiya"
"Brought you that prospectus" Nikki looks at Helen and shakes her head as she takes the prospectus from the young Scot
"Don't give up easily do you?" Helen was determined and wouldn't waiver from her path. She wanted to help Nikki see she wasn't the enemy, that she was trying to make G-Wing a better place
"There's an English course in there you might be interested in" Nikki smiles and rips off the plastic covering to remove the prospectus before taking a seat and sighing. In reality she was terrified she wouldn't be able to live up to the expectations Helen had set for her
"You really think I can do this?"
"Of course. What's stopping ye?" Helen was about to be surprised by an admission she never thought she'd hear from Nikki
"I'm scared" It was one thing for Nikki to know she was scared but it's a different kettle of fish altogether for Nikki to admit it
"Well I never thought I'd hear you say that" To know Nikki was human and that she felt fear was something Helen never thought she'd get to hear but she knew that with a little encouragement Nikki could do it "Look you can only do you're best. Give it a read"
Nikki was thankful that Helen was pushing her out of her comfortable zone and into a brave new world of higher education and university even if it was in HM Larkhall. Helen suddenly remembers she had brought Sophie's World in
"You'd thought I'd forget didn't ye?" She hands Nikki the book and they exchange flirtatious smiles before Helen leaves Nikki's cell
(Scene 4)
Helen had been doing some light reading and was returning a book to the library when she saw Nikki with a copy of Romeo and Juliet. First George Elliot now William Shakespeare
"Romeo and Juliet? I'm impressed" The old Nikki would have lashed out at someone sneaking up on her but she smiles when she hears the Scottish lilt. She looks at the book then up at Helen
"Juliet and Juliet would be more my cup of tea" Helen looks at Nikki and becomes curious as to Nikki's sexuality. She had questions and Nikki was the only one she could ask. Nikki moves to get another book from the shelf and Helen follows
"Have you never been interested in men?" Nikki chuckles as she struggles to find a new book to read
"Not my flavour no" Nikki sees a book that she hadn't seen in a while and takes from the shelf
"But I thought..." Oh Helen how naïve you are Nikki thought as she turns to Helen. Suddenly there was a realisation in Helen's eyes and in her mind that she was attracted to Nikki and that there was going to be little or nothing she can do about it except walk away
"I just hadn't met the right one. Nah they do nothing for me" Nikki saw Helen's eyes, the hidden feelings but said nothing
"How can you be sure?" Nikki knew Helen had just walked straight into a trap and decided to take full advantage
"The same way as you are" Nikki looks at Helen with a teasing gaze "If you are" Helen laughs and shakes her head. She knew she had walked straight into Nikki's sights
"I'm not interested in women" 'Liar' Nikki could see Helen was denying something deep inside. The lack of eye contact for one and nervousness for another. "Not in that way"
Helen brings her gaze back up to meet Nikki's and they stare at one another for a few seconds before Nikki speaks
"You should give it a go sometime. Don't know what you're missing" Nikki hands Helen the book she had been holding on to and leaves the library. 'Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit' Helen scoffs and puts the book back on the shelf. However there was something inside of Helen that wanted to find out what Nikki was getting at.