Thank you to everyone who continuously reviewed innocent! And i'm sorry for the long wait for the 1st chapter of this fic. It was supposed to be with you days ago but the website had other ideas and decided it didn't like me. So yh... hope you like this chapter. Please don't hate me... too much... lol... Please read and review and I will try to update ASAP (and that's what she said last time).

Love yu all

xxx Leanne xxx

Guilty?

Chapter One

"Guilty!" Sam felt her knees weaken beneath her and she thought she was going to faint. Out in the stands, the shock was etched in to many people's faces. Abi had tears, threatening to spill over and there was a smug grin on Stuart's mother's face. The judge began to speak. "Samantha Nixon you have been found guilty of the unlawful killing of Stuart Turner, for which there is a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. Having heard both the evidence from the prosecution and the defence we feel it is only fitting you serve at least 15 years before being eligible for parole… take her down!" When Abi saw the two cops on either side of Sam, leading her away, she burst into tears. Phil turned to her and wrapped her in his arms.

Sam felt numb as she followed the wing governor along the corridor to her cell. Guilty! She wouldn't allow herself to cry though… she wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of knowing how much she was hurting inside. The cell door swung open and Lou Stoke walked inside, Sam following in her wake. Someone looked down on Sam from the top bunk. "Pat, this is Samantha Nixon, she's your new cell mate. Samantha, this is Pat Kerrigan." Wing Governor Stoke said.

Sam eyed the brunette warily. "Hi!" She said, trying to smile but not quite managing it. If Pat was like any of the other women she'd met already then she was in for a pretty rough ride.

Pat gave her a brief smile before going back to the paper she was reading. "I guess you're a lifer then?"

Sam was about to reply when Lou spoke. "Well I'll leave you to get settled in…" She said. "I trust you'll make her feel welcome Pat…" Pat nodded. "Good, any problems Samantha, come and find me, okay?"

The usually self-assured blonde nodded, at a loss for how to play this one. Lou walked out and there was an awkward silence, which Pat eventually broke. "You never said what you're in for!"

"Murder," Sam said. She paused. "But it's not what you think!"

"That's what they all say!" Pat smirked. "So what's the story?"

"It was self defence, I told my husband I was leaving him, he got angry, threatened me with a knife…" She shrugged feeling tearful. "It was me or him!" She choked back her sobs, remembering what Phil had told her when she was first arrested. "The only thing I'm guilty for is wanting to protect myself and my daughter so badly that I was willing to do whatever it took!"

Pat moved over to comfort her. She wrapped her in a hug. " Hey, it's okay to cry you know! I won't tell anyone…"

"Thanks Pat," Sam gave her a weak grin. "It's just… I can't imagine spending the rest of my life within these four walls… only seeing my daughters for two hours a month… my boyfriend." Pat raised her eyebrows slightly at this but didn't say anything.

Sam began to cry softly and Pat pulled her closer. Before she could say anything else, someone poked their head around the cell door. "Oh what a surprise!" A voice said. "This must be a record, even for you Kerrigan!"

Pat broke out of the hug and turned towards the door. "Either explain what the hell you're on about or go away Buxton!" She said testily.

"The new girl!" Natalie Buxton said, jerking her head in Sam's direction. "She's only been here five minutes and already you're trying to do her!"

"Go away!" Pat said, advancing towards her, a steely glare in her eyes.

"Are you going to make me?" Natalie smirked. Pat bit her lip as she tried to control her temper. "I didn't think so!" She replied smugly.

"What do you want?" Pat asked irritably.

The blonde fixed her gaze on Sam. She stepped into the cell. "Just came to introduce myself." She said. She held out a hand for Sam to shake. "I'm Natalie." She told her. "Natalie Buxton!"

Pat walked out of the cell and Sam hesitated before taking the hand offered her. She smiled faintly. "Samantha Nixon!" She replied uneasily. There was something she didn't like about her, (apart from the fact that she was a criminal)… something she couldn't quite put her finger on but she knew it wasn't just her imagination – call it coppers instinct.

Natalie looked Sam up and down, making her feel uncomfortable. "You won't last five minutes in here!" She said, matter of factly.

Sam forced another smile. "Don't worry about me, I'm tougher than I look." She assured her.

Natalie moved closer. "Maybe…" She said thoughtfully. "If you like I can give you a little something to help ease the pain…" She tilted her head to the side slightly and smiled slyly. "Know what I mean?"

Pat chose this moment to reappear. "She's not interested!" She intervened. "So here's a suggestion… why don't you fuck off, and go shove your drugs where the sun doesn't shine!" Sam smirked.

Natalie spun round. "What business is it of yours dyke?"

Pat shrugged, not looking the least bit offended at her arch-enemy's words. "It's isn't…well not yet anyway!" She answered. " But be warned, if I find you're forcing Sam to do anything against her will, I'll make it my business."

"Is that a threat?"

Pat met Natalie's gaze unblinkingly. "No, it's a promise!" She said.

Natalie shot one last glare at Pat, glanced disdainfully at Sam, before stalking out of the cell, the metal door clanging shut behind her…

There was a momentary silence. "Thanks for that!" Sam said gratefully.

Pat shrugged. "No worries." She said.

"So the two of you don't get on then?"

"That's the understatement of the century," Pat laughed hollowly. "Natalie Buxton's a nasty piece of work…pure evil, it's better you find out sooner rather than later!"

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, making conversation.

"Come here!" Pat said. Sam did as she said, so she was standing in the doorway. "See over there!" She pointed to a petite blonde, who looked no more than a girl." That's Janine Nebeski!" Pat said.

"What happened to her?" Sam questioned, not wanting to pry, but overcome with curiosity.

"Buxton got her hooked on heroin, poor cow!" She said sympathetically. "She became totally dependant on it, and screwed up any chance of getting out of this hell hole!" She finished by way of explanation.

Sam looked at Janine; laughing with a group of other women "She doesn't look like a junkie!" She observed.

"Nah… you wouldn't believe how different she was a few months ago… she's been to rehab… turned her life around…and one of our wardens, Donny Kimber, has been taking a more than friendly interest in her, if you get my drift." Pat smirked.

"You mean, he and she are…?" Sam left her question unfinished as her cellmate nodded.

"That's what it looks like!" Pat said.

Sam turned back to her bag and began unpacking her personal belongings. She pulled out a photo of Chloe, and smiled through tear filled eyes, as she stood it on her nightstand.

"Are you okay?" Pat asked, coming to stand beside her. Sam couldn't speak. "Is that your daughter?"

She nodded. "One of them, that's Chloe… she's six!" She sniffed and wiped her eyes.

"Everything will turn out okay in the end!" Pat said reassuringly. "It just takes a bit of time!"

So there we have it... hope you liked it enough to leave a review xxx