When a "New Guard" comes to Larkhall, he sets the Prison on fire in ways that even he couldn't imagine.

A new PO joined the ranks who was in his own way, a class by himself.

His name was Steven Willis whom everyone called "Stevie" for short who was actually from the US who came to England for a "new start" as he explained.

So after an intense bootcamp training process, he was hired and met the new PO's who were happy to have a new guy on the staff, because it meant less hours and more time to do what "they" wanted to do.

He learned the ranks from Domnic McCallister who had been in Larkhall for a little over a year who made his transition from a US Prison to a British one more easier to adjust to.

Yet, he still brought his "US Ways" with him. Especially in the morning, when he would tell the ladies:

"Awright, ladies beauty sleep is over, time to get up and get on the case, come on, chop chop.!" to which the ladies would sigh, groan and roll their eyes where he would reply

"Don't you be rolling your eyes at me girl, I ain't playing now!" which made some of of the others giggle.

However, the ladies loved his American Accent, and when he would deliver their mail, they would say: "Thank You Stevie!" in which he would sternly remind them that he was to be addressed as Mr. Willis.

Other things that he got adjusted to was the amount of Tea that the inmates and PO's drank, and their diverse personalities.

From the bullying ways of Jim Fenner to the laziness of Sylvia Hollamby, to the "other" PO's many of which he knew were "lesbians" with partners who were lucky because they had benefits.

However, the one person who impressed him the most was Helen Stewart, his Supervisor (He didn't like using the word "Boss"). A lady of Scottish descent who treated the inmates with the highest amout of respect.

As for the inmates, there were some who got on his last nerve like Shell Dockley who was doing life for burning and tortuing a girl to death, Denny Blood, an arsonist who was serving five years and Crystal Gordon who was a Bible Quoting Shoplifter and a couple of others.

Yet there were those whom he could "tolerate" anytime of the day. Whether it was "The Two Julies", ex-prostitutes and pickpockets, not to mention Monica Lindsay a Corporate Criminal in the eyes of the law, and last but not least was Nikki Wade who was doing life for murdering a cop who tried to rape her then girlfriend Trisha.

Unfortunately for Stevie, doing time in Reception was sometimes the most saddest. He saw women who made some horrible choices in life who were paying big time and although some new the drill, the first timers were the most terrified especially hearing such horrible stories about prison in the first place, so he did what he could to make the processing less humiliating.

However, he always knew how to have a good time, this was never more obvious when he had to attend a Party for Simon Stubberfield, the head cheese of Larkhall, a husky man with only few strands of hair on his head whose more interested in PR than in helping the prisoners.

Upon arriving in his new suit, he saw the ladies cheer and whoop for him in which he smiled and waved back.
However, nothing could have prepared him for when Helen got out of her car in the parking lot.

The ladies went absolutely nuts as if they were looking at their favorite singer, and the comments went something like this!

"Hey Miss, it's 8:25 and you're all the way live!
"Girl, you put a hurtin on my dick and I ain't got one!"
"I'd drink your bathwater if you asked me to!"
"You can catch a fish with no hook with that outfit on!"

She laughed and smiled and said thanks to the inmates.

As he arrived in the PO Hall where the reception was taking place, he noticed that quite a few of the prisoners were working as Waitresses.

Shell Dockley, Yvonne Atkins, The Two Julies, and another inmate named
Dawn were serving drinks and being on their best behavior, which surprised Stevie which made him wonder why they just couldn't "hire" people from the outside.

Even Nikki was helping out setting the tables for the Catered Dinner that was being provided for Simon.

So after getting a Coke since he was driving, he talked to a couple of the other PO's as well as other workers who had known Simon for a long time including Kevin Hawkins.

When it was time to eat, he found himself seated on Helen's left while Dominic was seated on Helen's right. They ate Shrimp Cocktail, Steak and Potatoes au Gratin sprinkled with Olive Oil, Rosemary & Thyme, and for dessert they ate everything from Cake, Pudding, and even Jello.

The two men sort of became rivals when they fussed over Helen asking her if she needed her wine glass filled, etc not knowing they were being "watched" by very observant indivduals.

The wine glasses were tapped so Simon could say a speech.

"Thank you everyone for coming out to tonight's festivities, when I look back at my years in the prison service, I feel so fortunate to have worked with some many outstanding people, and I still hope that will continue, so once again thank you for making my job so easy and satisfying."

As the guests applauded, Hollamby and Fenner acted as though Simon was thanking "them" personally without actually thanking them, while Kevin rolled his eyes.

A little while later the music came on, and the DJ played all kinds of stuff from the 60's music to the current. However, what Simon didn't know was that sometimes the Guards sometimes got carried away while dancing, doing steps that they wouldn't usually do in a "public place".

"Humph, I've never seen such vulgarity in my life!" retorted Hollamby.

"It shows honey." sneered Kevin. which made her very angry.

Although Di Barker, who had a major crush Dominic dragged him onto the dance floor, Stevie danced with Helen which was so much fun, who really knew how to dance and when the slow music came on, they held each other.

Somehow, the DJ found an old school song called "Stealing Love On The Side" by an obscure R & B Singer about two people who were married and having an affair with each other.

One of the things that Stevie loved about slow dancing was that things were kind of on the "quiet side" and as he and Helen moved around, Dominic was staring at him with blind rage and jealousy which didn't go unnoticed by Di.

The one person who looked like they were going to blow up was Nikki and when Fenner saw how upset she looked, he made a comment.

"Don't they just make a lovely couple." he grinned.

Nikki just rolled her eyes, ignored him and continued to collect dishes for washing in the kitchen.

Eventually, the party ended but since Helen drank too much, she obviously couldn't drive her own car, so Stevie drove her home. Now what Helen didn't know was that before he started his job, he got familiarized with the city and the streets thanks to a neighbor.

Once he pulled up in front of her flat, he hauled her up the stairs, found the keys and opened the door.

"We're home!" Helen sang happily.

"Miss Stewart shhh!" Stevie whispered frantically.

"We're not home?" asked Helen fearfully.

"No, you're home but you've had too much to drink, so I'm going to help you go to bed." he explained.

"Bed, you're taking me to bed?" she asked excitedly.

"Yeah, I'm taking you to bed so you can go to sleep." he replied patiently. "Now you have to be very quiet like a good girl okay?"

"Okay." she agreed happily.

So as he found some PJ's for her to wear, he decided to stay in case she got sick.

"You know Stevie, you're such a nice guy, most guys would take advantage of me." she slurred.

"Well, I'm not that kind of guy." he replied.

"Hmm, you know that Dominic has the hots for me?" she replied with a thick accent. "I told him that I wasn't interested cuz I got someone else, and you'll never guess who?" she replied with glee.

"Oh, really well why wasn't he with you this evening?" he asked.

"It's not a guy, it's a girl, Nikki Wade." she declared.

The minute he heard that, his jaw dropped. He heard about how Jim Fenner messed around with a inmate named Rachel Hicks before she killed herself, but Helen messing with an inmate, impossible.

"Helen, you're talking nonsense, it's the liquor, you shouldn't say things like that." he replied.

"But it's true, she escaped from the prison one night to be with me, and I convinced her to go back and she did." she explained.

"Dear God, if this ever got out, she'd be finished." he thought.

"Helen, I want you to promise me something, never, never, never, tell anyone what you told me, it could get you in some serious trouble okay." he replied.

"Okay." she replied like an obedient child.

He managed to find some Men's clothes that her ex-boyfriend left behind, and put them on and slept in the spare room.

The next day, Helen knocked at his door feeling like crap.

"Well, good morning, hung over huh?" he asked sympathetically.

"Yeah, thanks so much for helping me Stevie, I would have been a mess were it not for you." she replied softly.

"Oh, don't mention it, always happy to help a damsel in distress." he smiled.

"Would you like something to eat, I can fix you something." she offered.

"No, Coffee would be fine." he replied.

So after taking a quick wash, and brushing his teeth with a disposable toothbrush, he had that cup of coffee.

As they sat in Helen's kitchen Stevie told her what she said last night about her and Nikki.

"Now Helen, I know that you must have been lying because if you did such a thing, you'd get into so much trouble, and you wouldn't do that would you?" he reasoned.

When Helen bowed her head, Stevie was shocked because her silence said it all.

"Helen, what the hell is wrong with you, do you know that you could lose your reputation and career forever if this ever got out!" shouted Stevie.

"You think that I don't know that." reasoned Helen. "I never told you this, but I've been working overtime to get Nikki released, my friend Claire is her lawyer."

"Yeah, but Helen in Larkhall nothing is a secret, aren't you worried that this is going to get out?" he asked.

"Sometimes, but nobody knows, except Nikki & I and you, please don't tell, I'd die if I knew I cost Nikki her appeal." she pleaded.

As Stevie looked at her green eyes, he knew that he'd never stand in the way of someone in love.

"Sure, I'm not going to rat you out, I'm not that kind of a guy." he explained.

Later on, Helen drove him back to the Prison where he got his car and drove himself home.

What he didn't know was that both Di, Fenner, and even Nikki had watched the two of them, and since they recognized his clothes from the night before, two plus two was added and disaster was about to hit.

On Monday, he arrived with his Newspaper, A Cup Of Coffee, and a smile on his face. The other guards and staff members looked at him and gave him exaggerated smiles and when he did the morning count, quite a few of the inmates looked at him with grins on his faces.

"Did you have a nice time at the party Stevie!" some of the girls smirked.

"Yeah, well you were there, you know I did, what's with the questions?" he replied.

"You and Miss Stewart looked like you were having a good time together, I mean you did leave the party "together". retorted Yvonne Atkins, who was the current Top Dog at Larkhall.

As he looked at them, he realized that a nasty rumour was spread around G Wing that he and Helen "got it on", he started to blush.

"Hey, she just needed help getting home, I gave it to her, that's it, nothing more, nothing less." he explained.

"Yeah, so why did you come back to the Prison in the clothes that you wore from the party, when you got your car." Nikki asked.

He knew that he couldn't "answer" that question, it would have been to much of a conflict of interest and Nikki staring daggers at Stevie didn't make matters any easier.

"Hey, why don't you mind your business, huh I mean that's how gossip gets started in here you know." he replied as he stomped off.

As he left, Yvonne looked and said:

"Stevie's guilty as sin, he got it on with Miss Stewart."

"You think he would?" asked The Two Julies.

"Oh yeah, he's too shy to admit it." declared Yvonne.

Unfortunately, the day got worse, everytime he walked down the hall, someone would whisper, and would stop when he came into their proximity.

He tried to talk to Helen, but she had some adjudications and seminars for new inmates.

When he decided to get something to eat in the PO Cafeteria, he sat down where some of the fellas and ladies tried to get the 411 aka information out of him.

"So what really happened between you and Miss Stewart." asked Di Barker.

"What business is it of yours?" asked Stevie.

"Well, everyone's talking saying you slept with her and although you didn't exactly cross the line, it's something not encouraged at Larkhall." she explained.

"What do you do when you're not at Larkhall?" asked Stevie.

"What are you saying?" asked Di.

"Well, what do you do with your life when you're not worried about other people's lives." he asked. "Get one and stop butting in where you don't belong!" he retorted.

Later on that afternoon, as he finished his shift. One of the fellas tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey bro, I didn't know you had it in you, shagging Miss Stewart, I heard of wanting to go to the top, but this his ridiculous." he chortled.

He rolled his eyes in disgust, not realizing the mess was about to hit the fan.

He got called into Simon Stubberfield's Office and present was Helen Stewart, Hollamby and Fenner.

"Sit down Mr. Willis." Simon requested.

As Stevie sat down, he wondered "What the hell is going on?"

"It seems that in your brief time here at Larkhall, you've made quite a lot of outstanding progress, your work performance is up to par, you get along well with the inmates and you've taken quite a shine to Miss Stewart." Simon replied with an edge to his voice.

"Could you elaborate on that please?" he asked politely.

"Well, it's come to our attention that you "crossed the line" with Miss Stewart which is something that we don't encourage but we don't discourage." Simon explained.

As Stevie heard that, he looked at Helen, as if to say "What did you tell him?"

Yet Helen couldn't look at him, and then it dawned on him, she said that they "slept" together to get off the trail about her and Nikki.

"Well, I knew that he was quite a player, Simon." replied Jim Fenner adding in his two cents. "I mean after what Mrs. Hollamby told me about him and Crystal Gordon."

This was news to Helen so Stevie had to explain.

One evening during association he watched Crystal so she could use the Keyboard that he bought in secret so she could practice.

They were jamming on some Old School Songs when they heard footsteps, so they decided to pretend they were doing something else.

Stevie programmed the keyboard to regular piano music and played some old ragtime known as Honky Tonk (Pardon the Pun) and she started dancing kicking her legs up and Stevie pretended to be turned on.

Hollamby caught them and started screaming at them for their "bad behavior" and even went to say how "Musical You People Are And How Much You Love To Dance" but this is disgraceful.

"Look we were having fun, but I never crossed the line honestly, I wouldn't put my job in jeopardy like that." explained Stevie.

"Yeah, but if you didn't, Helen certainly did, in fact you've been spending alot of time with Nikki Wade haven't you Helen?" asked Jim.

The minute Helen heard that, the blood drained from her face. So as that accusation was put to the table. Helen began to speak.

"Now Simon I want you to know that I always tried to act in the best interest of Nikki like I do with the other inmates." replied Helen.

"Yes, but Helen, you've been doing so much with Nikki these past couple of months, putting her on Enhanced, getting her to go to the OE, you've done more for her than any of the others since you've gotten here." declared Jim with a glint in his eye.

"Okay, guys let's just cut to the chitlins and get down to the nitty gritty!" shouted Stevie. "Yes, I confess I did spend the night with Helen, and we were together all night, I didn't want to say anything because I was kind of embarassed, I've had a crush on her for some time, and I didn't want anyone to know."

As everyone heard that, they were dumbfounded including Simon but nobody was more dumbfounded than Helen. Stevie was willing to "lie" to protect Helen from an investigation.

"Will all of you leave now please?" asked Simon.

As they did, Simon sternly reprimanded Stevie for what he did. Although they couldn't fire him because what he did took place on the "outside" instead of the "inside" he was comparitively safe or so he thought.

Time went on and Stevie did everything in his power to ignore and avoid Helen. Maybe he was too mad or disgusted but he just wanted to do his work and move on.

It wasn't until he ran into Kevin Hawkins who told him about a new "opening" at Crow's Hall, the "Open Prison", he decided to take it.

He met with Helen privately and gave his resignation.

She was crushed and sad to lose such a great officer but she knew he had to do what was best for "him".

Needless to say, the word spread like wildfire that Mr. Willis was leaving, and the ladies all gave him a good bye card.

As he emptied his locker after his shift ended, Helen approached him about meeting for a drink to which he said.

"When I'm ready, I'll give you a ring okay." he replied.

His words weren't cruel but they weren't kind either.

So time went on. Stevie shined at Crow's Hall while Helen had to meet with Nikki and tell her the truth that "nothing" did happen between her and Stevie, he just said it did to protect them.

"What are you talking about?" asked Nikki.

"The night of the party, I let it slip about us." replied Helen sadly. "He gave his word that he wouldn't tell, and even when he got called in for a conference, he lied so I wouldn't get sacked."

"Dear God, and I was so nasty towards him like alot of ladies, he took alot of flak because of some filthy gossip, I wish I could tell him I'm sorry." sighed Nikki.

"Yeah, he said that one day, we'd meet for drinks and I'll tell him you said that." replied Helen.

Time went on, and they did meet where Stevie explained why he didn't tell.

"Where I come from, telling is the worst thing you can do." he explained. "Besides, I know that Fenner wanted you out, and he could have used this as ammunition against you."

"I know but because of my mistake, you're paying." she replied sadly.

"Hey better me than someone else, can you imagine if people found out about you and Nikki." he replied. "Your reputation would have been ruined beyond repair.

"Is there anything I can do to help you." asked Helen softly.

"Yeah, be careful from now on and watch your step, in Larkhall nothing goes unnoticed." he answered.

So after a couple of extra drinks, this time only Cokes, they went their separate ways.

Stevie worked at Crow's Hall and was citated for stopping a riot where as Helen still continued to work at Larkhall.

Yet the one thing they found out the hard way was "ALWAYS WATCH YOUR BACK!"