TWO: YVONNE ATKINS

Prison Officer Colin Hedges shifted awkwardly as he kept watch over the woman who'd been trusted into his care. He'd taken the cuffs off from around their wrists as they'd got out of the car, and he knew that the likelihood of Yvonne trying to run was slim to none. The purpose of the outing was to attend Yvonne's only son's funeral, and there was no chance of the woman missing it.

He'd watched as her daughter had greeted her, and had seen the look of hurt on Yvonne's face as whatever Lauren Atkins had said pierced at her already wounded heart. He couldn't help but want to comfort her, despite knowing how inappropriate it would be.

He wished that there was someone standing beside her, who could genuinely give her the comfort she needed, as it seemed that Lauren wasn't interested in supporting her mother.

Hedges attention shifted as he watched a tall, striking black-haired woman approach him. She stopped beside him, and her eyes flickered down to his name badge.

"Mr Hedges," she greeted quietly. She looked to Yvonne. "May I?"

Colin couldn't help but wonder how this woman seemed to know that she needed permission to approach a prisoner, but he supposed that the many and varied people that the Atkins knew had probably been through this procedure several times.

"Keep your hands were I can see them, and we'll have no problems," he said.

"No worries."

She gave him a quick nod and stepped forward towards Yvonne. The grieving prisoner stared at the newcomer in mute shock, before grabbing hold of the woman, and gripping her in a rib-crushing hug.

"Nikki!" Yvonne gasped.

Nikki held her friend tightly, gripping her as fiercely as she dared.

"I'm so sorry, 'Von," Nikki whispered.

Yvonne held on to her friend, feeling her emotions beginning to hit the breaking point. She'd raged and screamed when she'd first heard about Ritchie's death, but she hadn't managed to simply grieve for his loss.

"My boy," she whispered. "My beautiful boy."

"Let it out," Nikki whispered soothingly. "Let it all out."

Yvonne sobbed, pouring out all the tears she'd tried to keep at bay inside Larkhall Prison.

They stood locked together until the minister finally caught their attention and began the ceremony. Yvonne reluctantly pulled away from Nikki, but gripped her hand tightly. Nikki returned the fierce pressure, glad that she could give some sort of support to the best friend she'd had inside of Larkhall.

Yvonne tired to concentrate on the minister's words, but found that she barely understood any of them. She wanted to make him stop talking about Ritchie, knowing that the minister knew nothing about her precious son. But she stood there mutely, taking in the comfort of having a friend standing beside her.

She managed to make it through the ceremony without breaking down any further, and she endured the sympathies of the well-meaning people who'd attended the funeral. As the last of the mourners left the cemetery, she was nearly numb with grief. She let herself be led to a nearby bench, and felt her legs nearly collapse beneath her.

"He's too young to be burying," Yvonne whispered. "This was all my fault."

"No it wasn't," Nikki said fiercely. "You had nothing to do with it."

Yvonne shook her head sadly. "You've got no idea, Nik."

"So tell me," Nikki replied. "Tell me about Ritchie."

Yvonne's breath hitched in her throat, and her hands began shaking violently. She stared at them incomprehensively, and saw steadier hands reach out to engulf her own.

"Tell me about your son," Nikki said softly.

Yvonne felt the words being to spill from her lips with no further prompting. Stories from Ritchie's youth, of the young soccer-playing imp that she'd nicknamed 'angel'. Memories of her husband Charlie beginning to take more of an interest in Ritchie as he got older. Tales of Ritchie learning to shoot a gun, learning to hide his crimes, learning to get away with murder.

Eventually Yvonne got to the recent past. "He met that tart Snowball Merriman, and they...they destroyed the Larkhall library. Nearly got half my mates killed. Shaz died. And then Merriman escaped with Betts in tow, and Ritchie...Ritchie took a bullet for Betts. He was paralysed. And then they made a pact. A suicide pact," Yvonne whispered.

Nikki gripped Yvonne's hand even more tightly as he friend poured her heart out.

"He swallowed god knows how many pills. He died, and Snowball's still around, the little bitch."

Yvonne's features hardened, and her eyes grew cold. She looked up at her friend, anger shining through her eyes.

"I'll see her swing for this, I swear it," Yvonne vowed.

Nikki had no doubt to the truth of her words. There was nothing that she would be able to say that would convince Yvonne to change her mind. She knew that things in prison could get incredibly twisted, and that to an outsider, the idea of killing someone was horrific. To a prisoner, it meant little, and Nikki knew that Yvonne had managed to make another prisoner's death look like a horrible accident once before. Nikki had no doubt that Reenie Williams death by peanut allergy had been orchestrated by Yvonne.

Killing Snowball Merriman however, would take a lot more finesse.

"You'll let things quiet down on the wing first, though," Nikki said. "The screws will be expecting it if you do it too soon."

Yvonne considered the idea thoughtfully, and nodded her agreement. "You're right," she said softly. "I'll have to wait at least a few weeks. Let her think I don't want to kill her. And then..."

If time was all Nikki could get Yvonne to agree to, then at least it was better than nothing. She knew that she would need to get in contact with some of her old friend on the wing to keep an eye on Yvonne. If she could get Barbara and the two Julies to keep watch over the woman, then she would be able to sleep easier at night. She may not ever be able to change Yvonne's mind, but perhaps it would at least make things harder for Yvonne to try and kill the other woman.

It wasn't much, but Nikki would take her victories wherever she could get them.

The sound of approaching footsteps brought them out of their conversation, and Nikki glanced over Yvonne's shoulder to see the Prison Officer standing behind them.

"I'm sorry, Atkins, but we have to be getting back," Hedges said.

Yvonne sighed but nodded. She stood, and pulled Nikki into a tight hug.

"Thanks for coming, Nik," Yvonne said. "I couldn't have done this without you."

Nikki pressed a kiss to Yvonne cheek. "Look after yourself, yeah?"

Yvonne managed to a half smile. "You too. And say hello to Miss Stewart for us, would you?"

Nikki's eyes widened in surprise, and Yvonne smile genuinely for the first time since her son's death.

"Who do you think found Miss Stewart's address for Betts last year?" Yvonne asked. "You didn't think she managed to find you all by herself, did you?"

Nikki shook her head in wonder. She'd never really thought about how Karen had found their address when she'd shown up early one morning after being raped by Jim Fenner.

"You musta found the only decent screw in the place," Yvonne continued. "It's been what, nearly two years?"

"Eighteen months," Nikki replied.

"Well, I'm glad for you, Nik," Yvonne said.

Nikki smiled. "Thanks. You'll let me know if there's anything I can do for you, won't you?"

Yvonne nodded. "I'll definitely think of you if I need any favours."

"Stay out of trouble," Nikki advised as Hedges replaced the cuffs on Yvonne's wrist.

Yvonne gave another half-hearted smile and nodded to Nikki.

"Thanks, Nikki. Really."

With that, Hedges led Yvonne away to the awaiting car, and Nikki watched as her friend was ushered into the secure car, and driven away. She could only imagine the thought of having to return to prison after watching your eldest child be buried in the ground.

Nikki sighed sadly and took out her mobile phone, and redialling the last number she'd called.

"Nikki," a soft voice greeted her.

"Hiya Helen," she replied.

"How'd it go?"

"She's devastated," Nikki said. "I felt totally useless."

"You were there for her, sweetheart," Helen said. "That's the best kind of comfort you can give right now."

Nikki sighed. "I suppose. I just...I can't believe I never even knew she had a son until I read the funeral notice in the papers."

"Well, she's always been a very private woman," Helen said. "You two were friends for years, but I doubt you ever scratched the surface really."

"I know," Nikki said, resigned by the truth of Helen's insightfulness, but still upset that such a large part of her friend's life had been kept a total secret. "She said to say hello to you, by the way."

Helen fell silent, and Nikki couldn't help but smile at the mental picture her mind brought up. She could imagine her partner gaping like a fish and staring at the phone in sheer disbelief.

"I didn't know you'd told her about us," Helen finally managed to reply.

"I didn't," Nikki said. "She's the one who gave Karen our address way back, and she found out we were living together."

Helen couldn't help but laugh a little. "She always has been extremely intuitive."

"You can say that again," Nikki said. There was a short silent pause and Nikki sighed tiredly. Funerals had always been an emotional drain on her, and having sat through this one had been no exception.

"Will you be home soon?" Nikki asked.

"I begged off early, sweetheart," Helen replied. "So, if you were to head home right now, you might just find me totally naked and extremely wet."

Nikki's blood rushed south, and she felt her head spin a little. Eighteen months on, and Helen could still make her feel like a hormonal teenager.

"H-Helen?"

"I'm about to run a bath," Helen explained with a smile that Nikki could hear. "Are you up for joining me?"

Nikki nodded incoherently before remembering that she was on the phone, and Helen couldn't actually see her.

"I'll be there in ten," Nikki said.

"Don't speed!" Helen scolded.

Nikki sighed. "Fine. Fifteen then."

"Better."

Nikki managed to work out how to walk again and she made her way quickly to the car park.

"How'd you manage to get off work so early on a Thursday anyway?" Nikki asked.

Helen coughed dramatically. "I'm not feeling so well," she explained cheekily. "So, I'm afraid you're just going to have to come and take care of me."

Nikki smiled. "I'll take good care of you darling."

"Excellent. Because my boss doesn't want to see me until Monday at the earliest. So I'm afraid you're stuck with me tomorrow as well."

"You know I've got to work tonight, right?" Nikki asked.

"Actually, you don't," Helen replied. "I called Trish, told her where you'd be for the day. She said she didn't want you at Chix tonight. Told me to cheer you up before you go in tomorrow night."

Nikki smiled. "I'll be home soon. Keep the water hot for me."

"I promise."

Nikki unlocked her car and settled herself inside. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to compose herself. Her thoughts were torn in two, between feeling grief for Yvonne's loss, and feeling the joy of her own life outside of Larkhall. She silently vowed to get a visiting order to see Yvonne in the next few days, but for now, her thoughts turned to Helen, and the very thought of seeing her partner lifted her spirits considerably. Yvonne would be supported by her friends in Larkhall, and Nikki knew that they would rise to the task admirably. She started the car and turned away from the cemetery, and back towards the home she'd made with Helen.

BAD GIRLS VERSION: Ritchie and Merriman concoct a plan t trick Yvonne out of quite a bit of money. Snowball had arranged to build a bomb inside Larkhall prison, and injures many of our favourites characters, and kills Shaz. Denny is devastated, and barely managed to keep her promise to Yvonne not to kill Merriman. Snowball later escapes when the bomb plan falls to pieces thanks to Karen. Ritchie was confined to a wheelchair, after taking a bullet that was meant for Karen. Ritchie and Snowball have a suicide pact, but Snowball gets caught swallowing pills. Ritchie, however, dies. At the funeral, Yvonne's daughter Lauren tells Yvonne that she doesn't care Ritchie is dead, and wonders why Yvonne even cares at all. After the funeral, Snowball is hellbent on killing herself, and Yvonne helps her get time away from the screws so she can hang herself.