"How are things going Bea?" Bridget asked as the inmate entered her office and relaxed in her usual chair, making herself comfortable for their session.
"Yeah good. I can't swear that there aren't things I still have to regain, but I feel like I have my whole memory back now. Frankie seems to have the case under control. Allie is handling the situation with her Mum as well as she can and as you know she is battling her demons with the drugs and doing everything she can to stay off them. Things inside are pretty quiet at the moment, Kaz seems to be doing a good job as top dog and Vera has been implementing new program's and social activities which seem to be occupying peoples time and giving them something to focus on rather than picking fights over nothing… I think everything is as good as it can be" Bea smiled.
"That's right, will you be participating in this afternoon's basketball playoffs?" Bridget smiled, glad that for the first time since her incident, Bea seemed to have no weight on her shoulders.
"Yeah, we're all playing, apart from Boom's. Maxine made her sit it out so she couldn't get hurt, which she was pretty pissed about until we elected her as our team coach. She has been taking it pretty seriously too. We have all been forced to train daily and she has had us doing drills in the unit. Poor Liz is about ready to collapse from exhaustion" Bea laughed softly.
"Poor Liz" Bridget mused.
"Yeah, I think she has realized how out of shape she is; she has been asking lots of questions about weight training and the best way to lose weight and tone up at the same time. I wouldn't be surprised if she starts joining us for exercise soon" Bea smirked.
"Well that will be great for her, I'm assuming she hasn't had any more slips with alcohol?" Bridget enquired.
"No nothing… I think if she was faced with drinking, she would knock it back, you saw her at Frankie's celebration she wasn't interested" Bea smiled.
"Well that's great news" Bridget smiled at the thought of Frankie's adoptive mother doing so well.
"Yeah it is, she's due for re-parole soon. How are you and Frankie?" Bea smiled.
"Never better. I don't see her much at the moment, she's busy setting things up after her big promotion, getting the new people up to scratch. She's been spending a lot of time with my Mum lately making plans for our engagement party… it's quite lovely to see" Bridget confided.
"That's great, Frankie deserves to have some role models in her life that look like mother figures. I'm glad she sees that in your Mum and is behaving herself and getting on with her. After everything she has been through, it's about time she had things work out for her" Bea grinned.
"I couldn't agree more, my family adore her. She gets on with my brothers like she has known them her whole life and my nieces hang off her like she is the best thing ever. It's funny but sometimes I just sit and watch her as she talks to my family and I try to remember that she is an ex inmate but it's just so hard to imagine. She's really getting her life together. I'm so proud of her" Bridget smiled dreamily.
"That's so good to hear, you know... not long after you arrived, she started changing, I'm so happy that she is succeeding in every avenue out there. She's an inspiration to a lot of the women in here" Bea mused.
"In all honesty she is an inspiration to me too. To see her transform from this angry guarded person into this loving, selfless, dedicated women is just amazing. When I look back on everything she has endured, and see where she is now, I'm just so proud of her, she really is so strong and so incredible. I saw her in court last week working a case. It was so beautiful to see, the way she spoke to the judge... the way she argued with the opposition, it was hard to imagine that two years ago she was inside and would have been fighting with her fists and a shiv instead. She's really taken her second chance and made the most she can of it"
"I'm glad. At least one of us has the opportunity of a second chance. I'm glad she's making the most of it and keeping her nose clean" Bea smiled sadly.
"You know Bea, if there is any way to get your sentence reduced, Frankie will find it. She is determined that she will do whatever it takes to get you a chance to get out of this place. We were looking at destinations for our first holiday the other day, and we have decided to stay in Australia because we can both only take a few days off. And she was telling me about how one day she plans on taking the whole gang to the Gold Coast. She was talking about it like the whole thing was getting booked then and there. About what we would all do, about the antics we would all get up to. There is no doubt in her mind that you will be a part of that. You know as well as I do how stubborn she is. And if Frankie wants it, Frankie gets it" Bridget laughed as Bea nodded her agreement.
"I just hope that I'm not old enough to be in a wheelchair when we finally make it there" Bea sighed.
*
Boomer entered Maxine's cell and made herself comfortable as she climbed on the edge of Maxine's bed. She smiled warmly at the other woman, patting her leg lovingly.
"You ok Hun?" Maxine asked curiously.
"Never better" Boomer grinned. She was now a week or two into her second trimester and had still avoided any morning sickness. She was thanking her lucky stars that so far this baby had been as good as gold and had given her no problems.
"Did you just pop in for a social call then?" Maxine smiled, watching as Boomer stroked her stomach absentmindedly, something she was doing more often as now these days.
"I just had a call from Frankie" Boomer spat nervously, inspecting Maxine's response.
"And what did the fire cracker have to say?" Maxine asked warmly, stretching her legs out so that they draped over Boomer's legs, who put her spare hand on the nearest leg and rubbed it soothingly. Maxine watched as her friend took a few deep breaths, clearly trying to organise the words in her mind.
"Boom's spit it out, whatever it is, we will work it out" Maxine coaxed.
"She had one of her lackeys look into my file... they found a loop hole, and Frankie approached a judge who agreed to look at my case at trial, Frankie said there is a good chance I could get out. But I told her not to bother" Boomer confessed guiltily.
"Boom's why would you tell her to not go ahead with it?" Maxine furrowed her brow in concern.
"Coz we have Rugrat to think about now. We agreed to do this together" Boomer stated dumbly.
"Oh your such a beautiful soul Boom's. If you have a chance to get out of this place, you grab it with both hands and don't let go" Maxine sat up, taking the other woman's hands in her own and squeezing them reassuringly.
"But what about you Maxi... Rugrat needs both of us" Boomer sighed.
"And Rugrat will have both of us. You can do a far better job of looking after and raising him or her on the outside. As long as I get a weekly visit so I can see the little one growing up and they can know who I am and know how much I love them... Boom's you have to take this chance. For you, for Rugrat and for me. Please don't throw this chance away" Maxine pleaded
"I don't know if I can do it on my own" Boomer confessed
"Oh honey, you won't be on your own. You will have Frankie and Bridget to help. And Liz will be getting her parole soon. And you can bring Rugrat in to visit me every week, and Bea, Allie and Doreen when you can. But you won't be on your own. Never. We may not be a couple, but I promise to always be by your side in any way I can, you're the mother of my child and my best friend" Maxine smiled sweetly.
"I love you Maxi... I wish things were different, I wish we lived in a world where you and me could be together. We would be so good together" Boomer smiled sadly
"Yeah we would" Maxine agreed. "But all we have is what we have been given. And although we will never love each other in that way. We love each other in every other way... in every way that matters. But I want you to call Frankie and tell her to go ahead with the trial, if you have a chance to get out of this place, I want you to take it... you go out there, you get your shit together, and you give this little one the best life they could wish for " Maxine laid her hand on Boomer's slightly showing bump and smiled warmly into her the large brunettes eyes.
"I love you Maxi" Boomer grinned, pulling the tall woman into a loving hug.
"Oh I love you too Boom's, and I'm so happy for you to get this chance" Maxine smiled into the embrace.
"You ok Maxi?" Bea asked as she walked past her friend who was sat at the table in the centre of the unit, staring into her tea like it held the answers to the universe. Maxine looked up to see Bea and Allie walking hand in hand towards her before they pulled up chairs opposite her and sat in silence, waiting for her to answer.
"Boom's might be getting out" Maxine smiled sadly.
"Oh Hun" Bea grimaced, instantly reaching over to pluck Maxine's left hand from the cup and holding it softly between both of her own hands.
"I'm happy for her" Maxine continued. "Really happy, and let's be honest, it's the best thing for her and Rugrat. Rugrat deserves to be born in a normal hospital and raised in the outside world. I'm really happy for them both" Maxine forced trying to fight back the tears that had been threatening to surface since Boomer's announcement.
"But your also heartbroken on what you're going to be missing out on" Allie summarized, smiling sadly at her friend who just nodded in agreement.
"You know that Boom's will be bringing Rugrat in all the time to see you though. And Vinegar Tits is so laid back these days she will do everything she can to make sure you get as much time and visits as possible" Bea soothed.
"Oh I know... I know I will be getting weekly visits from them both, and truly I am so happy for Boom's, I just need to get over my heartbreak" Maxine confided.
Their conversation was interrupted as Officer Miles entered the unit, seeing the deep conversation between the three women, she cleared her throat to announce her arrival.
"Maxi, your legal representative is here and is requesting a visit" Miles smiled kindly once the three women around the table had turned towards her. With a heavy sigh, Maxine squeezed Bea's hand in a silent thanks for the support, threw a smile to Allie and followed the petite blonde officer towards the interview rooms where she was escorted into a room to a smirking Frankie.
"You look like the cat that got the cream" Maxi forced a smile at her friend as she pulled out the chair and fell heavily into it.
"Oh I am" Frankie grinned. "So I need to talk to you. I took the liberty of looking further into your case. It seems the judge that sentenced you was a bit of a dodgy character, he was arrested recently for an attack on a transgender man. I wasn't privy to all the details, but from what information I could get, he got into a verbal altercation in the restaurant and was quoted to have said some pretty disgusting things... and now thanks to our Prime Minister, illegal things. One thing led to another and apparently he assaulted the guy. So I did some digging and looked at his past cases and there were some clear signs of homophobia" Frankie smiled.
"That's terrible... why are you smiling about it?" Maxine asked warily.
"My smile is because you have two months to serve of your new sentence and then you'll be free to leave this shithole" Frankie grinned widely.
"What do you mean? What new sentence? I don't understand" Maxine stuttered as she studied Frankie's face for the answers.
"Well see after I had gathered ample evidence of the honourable Judge Drenary's blatant harsh ruling of LGBT cases, I approached the commission of Judges, and requested for all cases which had been ruled by Judge Drenary to be re-examined. They looked over the court transcripts from your trial. Read over the jurors notes and votes. They liaised with the opposing counsel in your case and determined that he did in fact sentence you harshly because of your 'situation' so they decided to get a new judge to look over the case, who ruled and altered your sentence to something that was more fitting to the crime" Frankie grinned as she pushed a piece of paper across the desk.
"I just need you to sign to say that you accept the new sentencing. The original seven years was reduced to three... which you have already served two years and ten months of, leaving you with just under two months to serve before your released" Frankie smirked proudly.
"Am I dreaming?" Maxine asked, searching Frankie's eyes for the truth.
"If you are, that would make your guardian angel one hell of a sexy hot lawyer" Frankie beamed.
"Oh you're an angel alright. Frankie... you don't know what this means to me, God I could kiss you right now" Maxine beamed.
"I will take a pass on that, but I will definitely let you buy me a drink in two months" Frankie laughed.
"A drink? I think in two months I will be taking you and Bridge out for a meal and drinks on me" Maxine giggled.
"Well I definitely won't complain at that! Now as for living arrangements. I looked over your file and I could see that prior to your arrest you lived with your ex. I'm assuming that you won't be able to stay there after your release?" Frankie asked, returning to business.
"No definitely not. I guess I will have to organize a bedsit or something. Boom's told me about her case so I guess if that goes ahead, I will have to discuss with her what her plans are and go from there" Maxine answered absentmindedly, her brain was buzzing with a thousand thoughts from the news Frankie had just given her.
"Well that settles it then. Gidge and I have two spare rooms. One is currently being used as my office. I have already put down our address for Boom's parole. I didn't want her in some scummy bedsit with Rugrat on her own. I can rearrange the office and stick a bed in there for you, that way you and Boom's will have a bit of time to get your shit together and sort out a place of your own" Frankie grinned confidently.
"You would do that... and Bridget doesn't mind?" Maxine asked around the tears welling in her eyes.
"Of course we would do that, Gidge and I have already talked about it and agreed. You, Boomer and Rugrat are family. We are more than happy to help you get back on your feet" Frankie told her seriously.
"You really are my guardian angel" Maxine cooed. "I promise I will get my shit together the second I get out and we will be out of your hair before Rugrat comes. I can't imagine you trying to do your job, and Bridget for that matter, with a screaming baby in the house" Maxine laughed softly, still feeling like she was experiencing some kind of wonderful dream.
"Oh don't worry about that. It's all practise for when our turn comes around. Just focus on getting your life together and getting sorted. It will take as long as it takes. And I'll be there to help in every way I can until then... well after then as well, but you know what I mean" Frankie chuckled.
"Francesca Doyle, you are a beautiful, amazing and incredible woman and I love you from the bottom of my heart. Choosing you to be Rugrat's emergency carer was the best choice ever" Maxine stood from her chair and rushed around the table, pulling Frankie into a tight hug and kissing her cheek.
"Less of that... if Gidge see's you all over me she won't let you stay; she doesn't like to share!" Frankie winked with a laugh.