DUTY BOUND
By Tracie L
Chapter Seven
Nikki Wade shuddered as consciousness returned, through a haze of pain and confusion, she tried to move but found herself tightly restrained. Her mouth was dry and her eyes wouldn't open. She tried to organize her thoughts. Where was she? What had happened? She couldn't think clearly, she moaned, some part of her aware of the sound as it left her parched throat.
"Help me" She managed to string the words together although she dimly realized how faint her voice sounded.
"Please…" She tried to struggle against her bindings but could barely move.
She was dimly aware of another presence in the room.
"Help…..Please" Nikki almost chocked on the words as she pleaded.
She struggled to peel away the layers of sodden mush that seemed to smother her mind. Where was she?
What had happened? Was there any body there?
"Please…" Her body shuddered as she passed out again.
Helen Stewart felt embarrassed, a feeling not altogether unusual for her. Her drunken sexual encounter with Thomas played on her mind and she had been avoiding the good Doctor for several days, making do with a phone call to explain her unavailability. Truth be told, Helen was horrified that she may have done something incredibly embarrassing and she couldn't bring herself to look Thomas in the face. God why on earth did she get so bloody pissed.
Obviously something had happened, Thomas had seemed odd and a little aloof on the phone, she just hoped whatever she had done or said that the damage wasn't irreparable. Helen placed her hot cheeks in her hands and cursed herself. Shaking it off she smirked ruefully and sighed, well she would just have to deal with the consequences of whatever actions may have occurred and hoped the good Doctor was mature enough to laugh it off with her.
Helen shook herself and forced her mind back to the stack of paper work on her desktop, she was giving each sheet a cusory glance and signing her name as requested, in her distracted frame of mind she didn't notice the name on the transfer form. She signed with a hurried flourish, Karen Betts request to have a prisoner removed from G wing and placed in the Psychiatric wing. Maybe she should swallow her pride and call Thomas again, she mused uncomfortably, as she tossed the form into her out tray.
Doctor Thomas Waugh watched Nikki Wade struggling in and out of consciousness for several moments before adding his signature to her chart, he passed it on to the attendant on duty.
"She will need to be medicated whether conscious or not, her treatment necessitates regular administration, intravenously, understood?"
The attendant nodded.
"Excellent, let me know if there is any change in her condition." Dr Waugh smiled as he turned and left the cell.
He whistled a little tunelessly as he made his way back to his office, he was feeling much better today, his anger with Helen was dissipating and he was looking forward to seeing her again.
Now that he had the lesso bitch under control and out of the way he was feeling confidant again and felt sure that he could get Helen to forget Nikki Wade had ever existed.
He would call Helen tonight and see if she would have dinner at his place tomorrow. She had suffered enough and Thomas was feeling generous again.
Barbara Hunt glanced pensively towards Nikki's empty bunk and not for the first time felt a pang of guilt. She chewed on her bottom lip fretfully as she replayed her conversation with Doctor Waugh. She couldn't think of anything she may have said that could have caused Nikki to be committed.
Barbara shuddered at the thought. Locked up on the muppit wing, poor Nikki, Barbara couldn't quite believe it.
But that's what had happened. Body Bag had gleefully imparted that piece of gossip to the two Julies, Nikki had gone mad and attacked Dr Waugh. Why? What had happened? Barbara felt sure that something was very wrong, some important piece of information was missing. She had tried to get more information out of Sylvia but had ended up having to listen to a stream of rhetoric denouncing 'unnatural acts' and the consequences thereof.
"Hey Bab's any news?" Barbara looked up as Yvonne Atkins entered her cell. Barbara removed her glasses and went through the motions of cleaning her lenses.
"No, I've heard nothing. Miss Betts won't talk to me about Nikki. I can't get anything out of anyone, accept body bag and frankly I don't think I could bare asking her again."
Yvonne frowned. "There must be some way to get more info"
"I agree, but how?" Barbara asked feeling frustrated.
Yvonne's frown suddenly disappeared and her eyes glinted oddly for a moment.
"Hang on, I may be able to do something after all." She winked at Barbara and left the cell as suddenly as she appeared.
Barbara sighed and returned her glasses to her head, trying not to focus on the empty bunk opposite and the books lying untouched and unread beside it.
Carol Smyth placed the back of her hand against Nikki Wade's forehead and frowned. It was cold and clammy to touch, she wasn't happy about having an inmate hooked up to intravenous medication in a cell. It was all-wrong, she wasn't a nurse, non of the officers attending were. This girl should be in hospital, under observation, not locked up on the psych wing. Carol had been at Larkhall for 6 weeks, having transferred from another prison. She was hoping to move from her current assignment to a general wing soon, she didn't enjoy working with mental cases at all. Carol shuddered suddenly as an image of Tessa Spawl flashed into her mind.
"Ugggghhh" She tried to repress her disgust but didn't succeed. It was her desire to get away from the likes of mad Tessa that had made her shut up when she was briefed by the Doctor concerning Nikki Wade.
She didn't want to make any enemies here, she wanted off this wing ASAP. Nevertheless Carol new there was something not right about what was happening with Nikki Wade and she felt uncomfortable about the whole situation.
Nikki felt a touch to her skin as if through layers of wool, she tried to claw her way toward the touch, that human contact, so far away from where she now was. She struggled desperately trying to break through the layers of muck that separated her from consciousness.
'Help Me' her mind screamed again and again, 'don't leave me please'. Her voice was silent, she couldn't reach the surface, the touch ended and Nikki was lost again.
With a concerned backward glance Carol closed the cell door on Nikki Wade and returned to the office, maybe she could talk to one of the district nurses when they came in, just to be on the safe side.
Helen Stewart woke suddenly from a nightmare, she had been smothered, chocked, gasping for air. She fumbled for the light switch and sat up, looking around her bedroom quickly, trying to orient herself.
"Shit" she mumbled, getting out of bed and donning her dressing gown, she made her way to the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of water and went into the lounge room, she collapsed onto her couch, feeling exhausted and traumatized. She tried to remember the dream but there were no details, just sensations, uncomfortable and frightening.
She felt like calling someone and was suddenly struck with a desire to talk to Nikki. Helen frowned at the urge and debated about dissecting it. Then she had another thought, even more disturbing, there was no one else she wanted to talk to.
She slowly analysed the desire, she hadn't spoken with Nikki in weeks, it had been too uncomfortable and unpleasant, and why would she need to or want to now?
Helen felt oddly unnerved, she had thought she had succeeded in exorcising Nikki Wade from her psyche, obviously she had failed.
Why now? She mused.
Why hadn't she wanted to call Thomas?
She was going to give herself a headache, worrying about this.
"Residual Flotsam" she smiled to herself, that's what it is, just a glitch in an otherwise perfectly functioning mindset.
She no longer wanted or needed Nikki Wade, she proved that, hadn't she?
Yes of course she had.
Her confidence somewhat restored, Helen returned to bed, convinced all she needed was a good night sleep. She was seeing Thomas tomorrow night, she had been happily surprised when he had called her, and obviously she hadn't done anything too embarrassing after all. He had been his usual charming, playful self, without a hint of disapproval or hesitancy.
She smiled to herself as she dispelled all thoughts of Nikki Wade and relaxed into a pleasant sleep.
Barbara Hunt, was chewing her bottom lip nervously as she waited for Yvonne to return. She was as nervous as she was dubious of Yvonne's plan to find out what was happening with Nikki. Yvonne was apparently trying to wangle a duty shift for Barbara at the Hospital Wing, her theory being, once there, Barbara could do some snooping to discover Nikki's condition.
All well and good, thought Barbara, but how on earth was Yvonne going to get her such a lucrative assignment.
"Stop looking so bloody worried" Barbara started as Yvonne stuck her head into the cell, "someone might think you've got something to hide." Yvonne smirked as she entered the cell, flopping onto Nikki's bunk.
"Well?" Barbara snapped after enduring several moments of Yvonne's smug silence.
"You're in, my love." Yvonne smiled.
"How?" Barbara asked disbelievingly.
"Ah a good operator never reveals her sources" Yvonne rose from Nikki's bed and swaggered across the cell. "If I tell you I might have to kill you."
"Rubbish, you're being deliberately perverse." Barbara couldn't help but smile at Yvonne's obvious self-satisfaction, it oozed with every step. "Stop it and tell me how?"
"Babs, you don't need to know, I've just pulled in a couple of favours that's all, easy stuff, honestly. Trust me, you start work Monday at 8.00 am, so don't be late." Yvonne smiled as she left the cell.
"Oh and while you're in there," Yvonne suddenly reappeared at the cell door, "I might have a few um, errands for you as well."
As she looked up into the now empty doorway, Barbara resumed nervously chewing her bottom lip.
To Be Continued