Principal Officer Jim Fenner was taking purposeful strides up and down the hallway of Larkhall's G Wing as he came to the end of a long shift. One by one, he looked the women up and down as he passed them, visualising the attractive ones without their clothes. Of course, half of the women didn't fit in with his tastes. Too old, too fat….or just too damn dykey. But there were plenty of young women to keep his fantasies alive. Oh yes, Jim Fenner loved his job.
"Mr Fenner?" a posh accent interrupted his visualisations.
He turned and rolled his eyes.
"What is it Peabody?" he asked witheringly.
"I just wanted you to know that I'm going to be making a complaint about you"
"Oh really?" Fenner folded his arms "And what exactly is it that you're going to be complaining about?"
"Taking an advantage of a vulnerable inmate" Helena too folded her arms and glared back at him.
"Pull the other one Peabody. I'm not interested" Fenner turned and started to walk away.
"Oi Fenner!"
Jim turned to find Alice Pieszecki marching up to him. He indiscretely looked her up and down, thinking that she could be quite attractive if she didn't have such a mouth on her. Oh well, there were always ways to shut a woman up.
"What do you want?" he asked her.
"I want a word with you"
"Go on…"
"You think you're the big man just coz you hold the keys to this place? You think you can just treat women like shit and get away with it?" she raged at him.
"I have no idea what you're talking about Pieszecki" he turned to walk away.
"Don't turn your back on me Fenner. I know what you get up to. And you're not going to get away with it"
"Listen love" Fenner hissed, grabbing Alice by the upper arm "I suggest you back off"
"Touched a nerve have I?" Alice raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"Get in here" Fenner shoved Alice roughly into the nearest empty cell.
"What do you think you're doing? This isn't my cell!" Alice protested.
"Now listen here, you little bitch….you haven't got a clue what you're talking about, so I suggest you shut your mouth"
"I know your game, Fenner. You prey on vulnerable inmates, promise that you'll take care of them, and then you abuse them"
"This is all a load of bollocks" Fenner gripped her arm tightly.
"Get your hands off me" Alice warned.
"You're just a stupid little girl"
"In that case, if I know what's going on, it must be blindingly obvious to everyone else" Alice smirked.
Fenner leant in, his face centimetres from Alice's "You have no idea what you're talking about"
"You see, I think you'll find I do. I know all about Bette, and how you attacked her"
"That dyke bitch had it coming. She needed someone to put her in her place" Fenner hissed.
"And I suppose you were the one to do it"
"Exactly. So you just better watch your back"
"Is that a threat Mr Fenner?"
"Think of it as a promise Pieszecki"
"One of these days you're gonna get what's coming to you"
Fenner laughed "Love, you don't stand a chance"
And with that he was gone. Alice left the cell quickly and walked over to Nikki, who raised an eyebrow at her. Alice just nodded and no more words were needed before the women were taken to their cells for the night. Most of the women found sleep easy that night, for their own reasons. Some, such as Alice, were satisfied with the day. Others, such as Bette and Nikki, were able to slip into dreams about a happier place where they were free to be with the women of their dreams.
The next morning, as she had every morning since she first fell for Tina, Bette was up, washed and dressed by the time her cell door was unlocked. She was always eager to get out onto the wing, as nothing quite compared to her first sight of the blonde officer each day. That first glimpse never failed to take her breath away. And no matter how bad her situation got, she knew that seeing Tina would always brighten her day. On this day in particular, her happiness was heightened by the fact that it was Tina herself who unlocked the cell door.
"Good morning" Tina smiled.
Bette's grin stretched from ear to ear "Good morning to you too"
"Did you sleep ok?"
"Of course I did. I had you to dream about"
Tina smiled shyly.
"So, do I get a good morning kiss?"
"Well, it's not strictly on my list of duties, but I suppose I can make an exception"
"I sincerely hope I am the exception" Bette raised her eyebrows.
"You know you are" Tina replied softly.
The blonde moved towards Bette and they met in the middle of the room. Their arms wrapped around one another and their lips met in a seering kiss.
"Wow" Tina breathed as they broke away.
"Can I get a greeting like that every morning?" Bette asked with a smile.
"I'll see what I can do"
They stood in silence for a moment, and Tina's expression grew more serious.
"Tina, what's wrong?" Bette asked, concerned.
"Bette…" Tina paused while she worked out how to phrase her question "What happened with your girlfriend?"
"My ex girlfriend" Bette corrected "It's over, I promise. We were never going to be long term. It was just….convenient, I guess, until the right person came along"
"And have they?"
"I hope so"
"So you broke up….because of me?" Tina looked up at Bette with an element of fear in her eyes.
"I'm not going to lie. Meeting you helped to reaffirm my belief that there was no point carrying on with Jodie. But in truth, it hadn't been working for a long time"
"Ok" Tina didn't sound entirely convinced.
"Trust me T" Bette pulled the blonde into an embrace "You have nothing to worry about"
Tina wrapped her arms tightly around Bette and the brunette kissed the top of her head tenderly.
"You know if you need to talk to someone about your feelings following this break up, I can always arrange something…" Tina said slowly.
"Really T, I'm fine. I'm happier now, in fact"
Tina pulled back and looked into her eyes "You know, personal officers can arrange for some private time to discuss an inmates feelings with them and make sure they're ok"
"Oh…." the realisation dawned on Bette "In that case, I'm absolutely devastated and will need many hours of consoling"
Tina smiled "I'll see what I can do. Now, let's get you out on the wing before anyone notices that I've been in here too long"
"Ok" Bette squeezed Tina's hand before the two women stepped apart and left the cell.
For the rest of the day the two continued to steal glances at one another at every opportunity. After lunch, Tina had arranged to see Helen in her office. She liked the wing governor, and the feeling was mutual.
"You see Ma'am, I'm not sure how Bette is taking this break up. She likes to give off this image that she's really tough, but underneath I think she could really be hurting" Tina explained.
"And you think if you get the chance to sit down and talk to her properly she might open up?" Helen asked.
"I think so. And I think she really needs to do that so that she can deal with her issues and move on to make the most of her time here"
"Well Tina, I'll trust your judgment. You can have the private visiting room this afternoon for as long as it takes"
"Thanks Ma'am. And I'm sure Bette will thank you too"
"No problem. Keep me up to date with any issues that arise"
"I will"
"Is there anything else?" Helen asked.
"No, that's all"
"Well, good luck"
"Thanks" Tina smiled at her boss as she left the office.
Walking back to the wing, she tried hard to suppress the smile on her face. Her eyes scanned the room, eager to tell Bette the good news. Today was going to be their day.
