Disclaimer: Shed Productions made the characters, wrote the original stories, and have full copyright to them. We are using these characters simply for non-profit, entertainment value. The same goes for any other known copyrighted character/storyline where a cross over fiction is written.

I am happy to accept feedback openly by readers. (BOARD NOTE we would recommend if any length i.e. more than a couple of points, it is done privately away from the story itself).


Many thanks to Lisa for being my Beta Reader for this story. Much appreciated.




PART 1

‘Life was sweet,’ I thought to myself. I was sitting on my new sofa in my new London flat. Everything had finally come together.

I was totally content in both my job and my love life.

How wrong had I been? I had thought my job in the prison service was what I wanted to do. The job I was meant to do, that was until two months ago. Now, working for an independently wealthy do-gooder as a youth councilor, I knew this was where I truly belonged; work wise. I now had the ability to change peoples’ lives, before they got so out of control that they ended up in prison.

In prison: where I had met Nikki. The love of my life. Until six months ago, I could not even admit my full love for Nikki to myself. I knew I cared deeply about her, to some extent I did love her. But to fully admit just how much I loved her. I couldn’t and I wouldn’t. That was until Thomas, my boyfriend at the time, made me take a good look at myself. My true self. He had told me that I had been lying to myself about how I felt. About who I was, about who I was in love with. That I was in love with Nikki. He told me he knew I was in love with her because I would not have risked the job that meant so much to me to be with her. ‘If only he knew how much I had risked’. But it had still taken me 12 hours, a bottle of vodka and Claire’s shoulder to cry on, to come to terms with what I wanted; what I needed.

I couldn’t face her in the court house that day. The day she had gained her freedom. The fear of not knowing was too great. Firstly, the fear of Nikki not winning her appeal. And secondly, the fear of not knowing if I had a future with Nikki. I had been there though, across the road, at one of Claire’s lunchtime hangouts: a local pub. Watching, waiting, for Nikki to emerge; either as a free women or in handcuffs being escorted away. By Jim Fenner of all people, and Di Barker. Small conciliation, I thought, at least it was Di and not Sylvia. Poor Nikki, she would have had problems holding her tongue if it had been those two together on escort duty.

Then, there she was, a free woman. Yes, a free woman. It was starting to come together. At last something was going right.

“Claire, is that you?” I answered my mobile phone through tears: tears of joy.

“Yes, Helen, it’s me. We did it, Helen; she’s free.”

“I know, I just watched it on the TV.”

“It’s brilliant isn’t it, Helen?”

“Yeah it is.”

“I told Nikki I was going to ring you.”

“Yeah…and what did she say?”

“She didn’t say anything, but I could tell she wanted to, by the look on her face. I just think at the time she didn’t know what to say.”

“Do you think so?” I asked, condescendingly.

“Yes, Helen. She didn’t say it then, but she sure as hell said it in her speech on the courthouse steps. She loves you, Helen. I know she does."

“But she’s with Trish, Claire. They were holding hands.”

“So what, Helen? God, you and I hold hands sometimes when we go out. What am I, gay as well?”

“No.”

“Well then. Go talk to her.”

“I can’t.”

“Helen, how will you know if you don’t ask her? She will be at her club. I am going there later, in about 2 hours. You are coming with me. I will meet you there and I won’t take no for an answer. Ok?”

“Ok.”

About an hour later, I found myself waiting outside the club waiting for Claire. I knew Nikki would be inside celebrating her release. But I couldn’t go in. I had already been standing outside for ten minutes. ‘Oh sod it’, I thought. I couldn’t wait for Claire to get there; I would just go in and ask her.

I couldn’t. I had seen her with Trish and I couldn’t ask her, so I just left. I went back outside to wait for Claire. Then I would go back inside with her. Maybe, just maybe, I would get another chance later. Whether it is tonight, tomorrow or next week. I would wait this time, as I knew now that this was what I truly wanted. I wanted Nikki; a woman. No one else, just Nikki.

Then my moment had come. Nikki came running out of the club, running into my arms. I knew what I wanted. I told her I wanted a woman: I wanted her.

We have been together now for six months. Six months of getting to know each other away from Larkhall. Six months of yelling at each other and six months of making up. And I wouldn’t change a thing.

I am totally in Love.

PART 2

“Hiya Babe.” Nikki walked into the lounge room, finding me sitting on the sofa reading today’s newspaper.

“Hi, Sweetheart, have a good sleep-in?”

“Yeah, but I hate working at the club. I’m meant to be a silent partner.” Nikki flopped onto the other end of the sofa.

“I know, but Trish deserves a weekend off every now and then. And until you can find someone you both trust to run the club…”

“I know; I’m the sucker that has to work.”

“Oh, Nikki. Come here, I’ll give you a hug. Will that cheer you up?”

“That’s a stupid question; of course it will cheer me up.” I shifted on the sofa so I could give Nikki a hug.

“Oh sweetheart. I love you so much.”

“Mmm, perfect fit.” Nikki shifted herself into my hug. Squeezing me softly at first then slowly tightening her hold.

Just then Nikki’s tummy growled and I couldn’t stop laughing.

“God, Nikki, when did you last eat?”

“Yesterday, before I went to the club.”

“Nikki, that was at 3PM, it’s now nearly midday.” I pulled away from the embrace we were in and started to get off the sofa.

“Where are you going? I still need to be hugged.” Nikki grabbed my arm and tried to pull me back down onto the sofa.

“No you don’t, you need food. Come on, I will make you a sandwich.” Nikki relented and let me lead her into the kitchen.

Life was perfect.

Even watching Nikki eat the sandwich I had made for her brought a smile to my face.

“Will you stop smiling at me like that while I’m trying to eat.”

“Like what?”

“You know. Don’t play all innocent with me and don’t do that thing…” But before she could get it out, I had done it. I smiled at her, placing my tongue on the back of my teeth. I knew it got her every time. I didn’t know I did it until Nikki had told me. Now I use it to my advantage.

“Helen, that’s not fare. Not while I’m eating. You know what that look does to me.”

“I know; that’s why I did it.”

“What? You cheeky little devil.”

“Well, you don’t have to be at the club till 5 tonight.” I smiled at her again and started to walk upstairs, undressing as I went.

In between Nikki eating her sandwich, I could hear her telling me I was a tease. But it didn’t take her long to join me upstairs.

Several hours later.

“Nikki, sweetheart, wake up.”

“Mmm…come back to bed.”

“I can’t, its 3.30, sweetheart, and you have to get up to go to work.”

“Oh, do I have to?”

“Yes, you’re as bad as me at getting out of bed; come on.”

“Oh, Babe.”

“How the hell did you get out of bed in prison, Nikki?” Nikki was wide awake now, leaning on her elbow.

“Well if you had the thought of Bodybag or Fenner walking in on you in bed, wouldn’t you be up and dressed?”

“Yeah, you’ve got a point there. Come on, I made you a coffee and a chicken salad. I don’t want to hear that stomach of yours tomorrow morning.”

“Are you coming into the club tonight?”

“Yeah later, probably about ten or eleven. Claire’s coming over for dinner first, then we will come in.”

“Lucky I’m not the jealous type, Babe. I could get very upset with you having dinner with a beautiful woman.”

“You; not the jealous type? Who told you that? They obviously don’t know you very well.”

“Ha ha ha.”

“Hurry up, I will see you downstairs.”

“Ok. I’m just going to have a quick shower first.”

Fifteen minutes later Nikki came downstairs, still towel drying her hair.

“You look beautiful, Nikki. Are you trying to impress someone at work?”

“Yeah actually, I am.”

“You are?”

“Yeah. She’s coming into the club around ten or eleven with her straight girlfriend. I want to see if I can still pull the girls.”

“Very funny. Now eat.”

“I love it when you’re bossy.”

“Stop it, Nikki, and eat or you will be late and I wont hear the end of it from Trish.”

“Ok ok.” Just then the heavens opened up. “Oh great. I hate it when it rains like this, the club is always slow.”

“It might stop by later tonight.”

“I hope so. I wouldn’t want my girl to not come to the club just because it’s raining.”

“Don’t worry; I’ll be there.”

“Good. I want a dance or two as well.”

“I’ll have to check my dance card when I get there. But I’m sure I could fit you in for one or two dances.”

“You’d better. What time’s Claire getting here?”

“She said 5.30, but with this rain, I don’t know. I should ring her and check.”

“Ok. I had better go or I’ll be late. Come here and give me a kiss.”

“I love you, Nikki.”

“I love you too, darling.”

We pulled each other into a soft, sweet, sensual kiss that lingered a little too long, and it was starting to evoke feelings that soon, we wouldn’t be able to control. I had to pull away.

“Go, Sweetheart, or you will be late for work.”

“Stuff work. I’m a boss, I can be late.”

“No, you can’t be late and Claire will be here soon.”

“Do you always have to be so sensible?”

“One of us has to be, now get going.”

“Only if you promise to continue this when I get home tonight… well, tomorrow morning.”

“I promise. Now go.”

“Bye, Babe.” Nikki yelled as she got into her car. I could barely hear her over the rain.

“Bye, Sweetheart.” I didn’t know if she had heard me or not.




PART 3


I went back inside to ring Claire.

“Claire? It’s Helen.”

“Hi, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Oh, I’m still coming over tonight, right?”

“Yeah, just Nikki had to go to work so it will just be the two of us for dinner.”

“Oh, ok. So why are you ringing me to tell me this? You could have told me when I got to your place.”

“I thought we might go to the club tonight.”

“Girl, you’ve got this love thing bad, haven’t you?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“Yeah you do. As long as I have known you, you couldn’t wait to have a night alone from your partner. Now you have to follow her to work.”

“I didn’t go in last night.”

“No. But I bet you wanted to.” I had to laugh at Claire as I knew she was telling the truth. Apart from Nikki, Claire was the only other person who could read me like a book. ”See. I told you so.”

“Yeah well.”

“I will be over in about 30 minutes. I was nearly ready anyway.”

“Great, use your key. I’m going up for a shower.”

I took a bit longer than usual, seeing as I had told Claire to let herself in. I knew she would have made herself at home. I got dressed and made my way down to the lounge room.

“Claire?” ‘That’s strange.’ I thought to myself. ‘She’s not here.’ I heard the front door opening behind me. “I was just about to ring you, what took you so long?” Pulling my head out from under the bath towel that I was still using to dry my hair, I had expected to see Claire standing in my hallway. Which I did, but she wasn’t alone. Accompanying her were two police officers.

“What’s wrong, Claire? What’s happened?” I could tell by the look on her face that she had been crying.

“I’m sorry, Helen. It’s Nikki.”

“Nikki? What’s happened?” I felt my legs go weak with fear. One of the police officers, who looked like he had just left the academy, moved quickly around Claire and grabbed me by the arm. He then helped me to a chair, just inside the lounge room.

The other officer, an older woman, followed us into the lounge room, helping Claire to a chair. “Miss Stewart?”

“What’s happened to Nikki?”

“Miss Stewart, Nikki Wade has been involved in a serious motor vehicle accident and has been taken to hospital.”

“She’s alive?”

“Yes, but I’m sorry to say that it was a very serious accident.”

“Oh, God, Claire.” Claire moved from where she was sitting and sat next to me, placing her arm around my shoulder.

“It’s ok, Helen. You go with these police offices and I’ll meet you there. Ok?”

I left with the two police officers, while Claire grabbed my purse, keys and phone. She was also going to make sure the house was locked. She promised me that she would only be 5 minutes behind us.

I sat in silence in the rear of the police car for several blocks. Then I noticed that we weren’t taking the direct route out of our local area. “Where did the accident happen?”

“Only a few blocks away, Miss Stewart.” The male officer said.

“Oh…How did it happen?”

“Well, from what the initial investigation states, it seems that Miss Wade was struck by a drunk driver who failed to give way. But I couldn’t tell you for sure. There’s a team of investigators attending the scene now.”

I just sat in silence for the remainder of the trip to the hospital.

Wow great writing,Poor Nikki always gets the mess. Can't wait for the next bit thx. :xmas3 :xmas3 :xmas3

Great update, hope everything is ok. Can't wait for the next part. :xmas1

Yay, I betaed this. If anyone finds any problems with the grammer or anything, blame me. This was my first attempt, and it was a pleasure because it's a great story so far.

this is a brilliant start!

very good i hope to read more soon

Any chance of an update, this has been so good. We must have more soon :D

I haven't beta-ed any more of this, so you'll have to wait for an update (that is if Liza even wants me to continue beta-ing!).

BGE any chance of an update?please.

I have the update and am in the middle of betaing it. So hold tight, it won't be too long.

Thanks ladies. :dazzler :dazzler :dazzler :dazzler

Okay Okay I get the hint!!!

No, thanks for the feedback i appreciate it.



PART 4

When they arrived at the hospital, they were ushered immediately into a private family waiting room.

‘This is bad. Where’s Claire? We have been here for over 30 minutes. She said she would be right behind us.’ Helen’s thoughts were running into overdrive.

“Officer could you please go and check on where my friend is, she said she would be right behind us.” Helen finally managed to put her thoughts into words.

“It’s ok, Miss Stewart. She told me she had to stop by her flat to pick up some paperwork first.”

“What? It’s not like Claire to be concerned with paperwork at a time like this. Where are the doctors? Can you please find out what’s happening?”

Upon seeing Helen’s upset state of mind, the officer agreed to find out anything he could.

“Yeah ok. Just stay here, I’ll be right back.”

As the police officer was leaving the room, Claire arrived with her briefcase.

“God, Claire, where have you been? They won’t tell me anything. I think it’s probably because, technically, we’re not related. I tried to tell them, but they still won’t tell me.”

“I know, Helen. That’s why I had to go home first.”

“I don’t understand, Claire.”

“Nikki made some legal arrangements with me…if something like this ever happened. Just in case, Helen.”

“What? What legal arrangements? Why didn’t she tell me about this?”

“Well, I don’t think she told you because she was afraid of what your reaction would be.”

“MY REACTION?” A sharp intake of air was heard throughout the room, which of course had been taken as a calming effect. “Why, what has she done?” Claire now knew Helen was willing to listen and that she could speak to her friend without the fear of being yelled at. Or of being eaten alive. She’d been the object of the Stewart temper on numerous occasions during their 15-year friendship.

“Nikki has made me her medical power of attorney.”

“Her what?”

“She has given me the legal right to make her medical decisions for her, if she can’t make them for herself.”

“Why? Why you and not me?”

“Because she knew you wouldn’t be thinking straight. Helen, your heart would be doing the thinking for you, instead of your head.”

“Oh.”

“And, Helen, Nikki has given strict instructions on what she wants to happen.”

“She has?”

“Yes, she has… Helen, say something.” Claire was starting to panic. What if Helen was not going to go along with Nikki’s wishes? Helen seemed intent on looking at a nonexistent object on the far wall in the waiting room.

“It’s ok, Claire.” A look of acceptance crossed Helen’s face for a fleeting moment, but it was there long enough for Claire to see it and register a sigh of relief. “If it’s what Nikki wanted. I know you won’t do anything stupid.”

“I won’t, you know that. And don’t worry, Helen, I will talk to you first if it’s a major decision. Ok?”

“Yeah, ok.”

“Now, let’s go and see if we can find out what’s happening.”

“Yes please.” They were nearly at the door when the young police officer returned.

“It’s ok, Miss Stewart. A doctor is on their way to see you now. I told them you were here too, Miss Walker. They said to just wait here.”

“Great. Sit down, Helen. I’ll get us a cup of coffee. The machines are just around the corner.” Helen nodded in agreement at Claire’s suggestion of coffee. What seemed like only moments later, Claire returned with hot coffees and a packet of crisps for them to share.

“After we talk to the doctor, I’m taking you downstairs to the café for something to eat, ok?”

“No, Claire. I have to stay here, just in case they need to find me. Or Nikki needs me.”

“Don’t be silly, Helen. Nikki will be too drugged up. And anyway, they will call us if we are needed.” Claire waved her mobile phone at Helen for added emphasis.

Seeing Claire’s mobile phone made Helen suddenly aware of where Nikki had been driving to when she had been involved in her accident.

“Call us? Claire, I have to ring Trish. Nikki was on her way to work.”

“Ok, ok, but not until we talk to the doctors. That way, we will know exactly what’s wrong and what to tell Trish.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Where is the doctor anyway? He said he was coming.”

“Drink your coffee. I’ll go and see if I can find him.” Claire left the room in search of the doctor. She didn’t get very far as Helen could hear them talking in the hallway, just outside the door. Helen got up and went to join them.

“Claire, is everything ok?” Helen looked from Claire, to the Doctor, and back again, trying to see if she could see if anything was written in the expressions on their face, but it was to no avail.

“Sorry, Helen, this is Doctor Forrest. Doctor this is Helen Stewart, she’s Nikki’s partner.”

“Hi, Helen.” His attention immediately turned back to Claire. “As I said, Miss Walker, I need you to sign this release straight away.” Claire looked at Helen and she knew, whatever the forms were, she had to sign them: it meant Nikki’s life. Claire took the forms from the doctor and signed them in all the places that the doctor had indicated. All the while, Helen was waiting in the wings to find out what was happening. Once the forms where signed, the doctor immediately took them from Claire and ran back down the hallway and back through to the emergency rooms. Both women stood in the hallway until he disappeared.

Claire broke the silence first. “It will be ok, Helen.”

“It’s not good though is it?”

“I won’t lie to you, Helen. At the moment, it’s not good.” She paused for a moment to let it sink in. “Come on, let’s go and get something to eat.” By this time, Claire had put her arm around Helen’s shoulder and was walking her down the hallway, away from the emergency department doors.

“But what about Nikki?”

“Nikki’s in good hands, Helen.”

“But what was that you signed?”

“It was a release to give the doctors permission to do whatever they need to do. To save Nikki’s life.”

‘Save Nikki’s life’ It was that bad. Nikki was fighting for her life. As realization set in, Helen started to cry.

Great update. :D Can't wait how this turns out for Helen and Nikki. :popcorn

Great stuff! I hope Nikki comes though in one piece. :cry2 :cry2 :cry2

Nikki must come through this, Liza! I'm not betaing anything that has the two words, "Nikki" and "dead" in the same sentence (unless there's a "not" in the middle!) Hehe ^_^

Oh come on Lisa don't be like that.

Now would I kill Nikki??? :rofl :rofl :rofl

You have a point. I don't think you'd put yourself through the trauma of writing it!!

This is really good! I hope Nikki's ok, don't let her die.
Can't wait to read the nxt part!

this is really brilliant!!!

I'm on pins & needles waiting for the next part. : :cry2 :cry2

Oh....the suspense is killing me!
Thanks for sharing. Update...soon?
Please.... :clap

bge is there an update soon please :dazzler

just caught this story, enjoying it but I feel like I'm sitting in the waiting room. I need an update! either from you or the Dr. :rolleyes: ;)

Hey guys, I've had the next part from Liza and will try and beta it this weekend. xx

thank you everyone for your encouragment to this story I hope you all enjoy this next update.

Thanks again to lisa for Beta reading it.




PART 5

Helen couldn’t remember what she ate in the cafeteria, but she definitely remembered bringing it back up twenty minutes later. When Helen had come back from the toilets, she found Claire sitting at the table with the doctor that had spoken to them earlier.

“What’s wrong? What’s happened to Nikki?” Helen asked as she ran towards their dinner table.

“It’s ok, Miss Stewart.” The doctor placed his hand on Helen’s forearm as a sign of reassurance. “Miss Wade is now in a stable condition in the ICU.”

“See? I told you everything would be ok.” Claire smiled halfheartedly at Helen.

“Well I didn’t say that, Miss Walker. What I said was that she is currently stable. The next 72 hours are extremely crucial. And Miss Wade hasn’t regained consciousness yet. It’s all a waiting game at the moment.”

Helen summoned up enough courage to ask the doctor the one question that she was dreading to know the answer to: “What exactly is wrong with her?”

“Well, like I said, she is currently stable. But she had to go into surgery and, to be honest; she has lost a lot of blood. The doctors had to remove her spleen, as it was ruptured due to the seat belt she was wearing. It’s nothing to worry about: it’s not a vital organ. She’ll just have to take daily medication. The doctors also had to repair her left lung, as it was damaged by her three broken ribs.”

“But? I can tell there is a ‘but’ coming.” Helen was starting to panic. Claire reached over and took hold of Helens hand.

“From the CT scan we took, it seems that Miss Wade has a small blood clot on the brain.”

“What? Well why aren’t you operating to remove it?” Claire beat Helen to the question. Helen looked at her approvingly and then at the doctor for his answer.

“The doctors, at this time, think it’s more prudent not to operate. They have opted to put Miss Wade on some blood thinners and to monitor her condition. The main reason for this is the position of the clot. If we can treat it with medication, it would be better in the long term than to go in and try to remove it surgically.”

“I want a second opinion, Doctor.” Helen demanded it, rather than requested it.

The doctor looked at Claire and was about to state the obvious: it was up to Nikki’s medical power of attorney, not Helen. But he soon got the reply he didn’t think would be forthcoming. “You heard her, Doc. She wants a second opinion. I will ring my father straight away and ask him to contact Henry Smith. See if he will look at Nikki’s charts.”

“You know Dr Henry Smith?” The doctor asked enthusiastically.

“Yes. My father and he went to university together. But my dad chose to carry on down the law path. And, well, you know what path Dr Smith chose.”

“Hey. And thank God he did. He’s one of the best. No, he is the best doctor in the country.”

“Well, good. Nothing but the best for Nikki, hey, Helen?”

Helen just nodded at Claire, and then spoke to the doctor. “Can we go and see her please?”

“Of course you can. Follow me.” Helen and Claire followed the doctor towards the ICU. Claire was trying to contact her Father on her phone. When they were outside the ICU, Claire turned her mobile off and reminded Helen to do the same. “I just need to warn you: Miss Wade has a lot of bruises and minor cuts from all the broken glass. But I promise you: they will all heal. She is also attached to numerous machines, it might seem a lot at first but I assure you, they are all needed at the moment. And a nurse will be monitoring her condition every 15 minutes.”

The Doctor opened the main door to the ICU unit and proceeded to walk to the nurses’ station. Checking the charts, he found the number to Nikki’s room and directed Helen and Claire to follow him through. Both women took an extra large breath before entering Nikki’s room. Helen took hold of Claire’s hand for extra support and strength. It still didn’t prepare her for what they were about to see. Nikki looked like a shadow of herself. She was pale, her newly acquired tan was gone, and replacing it was the ever-darkening bruises on her face, shoulder and arm. You could easily see which side of her body had taken the full impact of the accident. Helen walked over to stand beside Nikki’s bed, still holding Claire’s hand. She couldn’t take her eyes away from Nikki’s face. Claire though, was looking at all the machines, wondering what each of them was there for. She knew what some of them where for, but not all of them. At one stage, during secondary school, Claire had wanted to become a doctor, but she soon changed her mind when she found out that large amounts of someone else’s blood often made her pass out.

Claire let go of Helen’s hand and went to the far side of the room, from where she pulled two rather uncomfortable vinyl chairs over to Nikki’s bed for them to sit on. The doctor was busy reading Nikki’s chart when a nurse entered the room.

“Doctor?” She barely acknowledged the doctor, but turned her attention towards the women sitting by Nikki’s bedside. ‘Must be family’, she thought to herself. “Hi, my name’s Vanessa. I will be Nikki’s nurse for the next six hours. You will see a lot of me tonight.”

The doctor interjected and said his goodbyes, telling Helen and Claire that he would speak to them soon.

The nurse picked up Nikki’s chart and started doing her observations on Nikki, explaining as much as she could while she worked. She told Helen and Claire that Nikki would have four different nurses of her own. Each of them would be doing a six-hour shift, in a 24-hour day. That way, the same four people would monitor her, so they could notice the smallest of changes. Also, she would be monitored every 15 minutes. Vanessa listed some of the ICU rules, the main one being that no flowers were permitted on the ward, as it was environment controlled. Another rule being that only two visitors were allowed at a time. But she explained that this particular rule was often over looked, if you were ‘seen and not heard’, especially by the nurses that would be looking after Nikki. She told them that they were all flexible with this rule to a degree of course. Claire, in exchange, had introduced both herself and Helen, explaining how each of them was related to Nikki. Helen was still staring at Nikki and was quite oblivious to the goings on in the room.

Suddenly, Helen remembered. “Claire, the club. They were expecting Nikki tonight. Oh God, Trish. I have to ring Trish.”

“It’s ok, Helen. I’ll do it: you stay here with Nikki. Have you got a number for her?”

Helen quickly pulled out her mobile phone from her bag and handed it to Claire. The nurse took Claire to the nurses’ station and, after assuring her several times that it was safe to turn the phone on inside the room, Claire retrieved the number, switched the phone off and rang Trish from the hospital phone.

When Claire left the room, Helen started talking to Nikki. That talking had quickly led to pleading with her instead. “Please don’t do this to me, Nikki. I have only just found you. We’ve only just found each other. Please, Sweetheart, don’t leave me.” Of course, she then broke down and cried. This was when Claire returned to the room.

“Helen, it’s ok. It will be ok.”

“Will it, Claire? Look at her.”

“Nikki’s a fighter, Helen. She will be ok.”

“Did you get through to Trish?”

“Yes. She said she knew something was wrong. She’s been ringing both of your mobiles. Nikki’s just rings out and yours is switched off.”

“What’s she doing?”

“She’s going to finish up at the club and then she is coming up here, so you can go home and have a sleep.”

“No. I’m not going home. Don’t be stupid. I’m staying here with Nikki.”

“No you’re not, Helen. I’m taking you home. The doctors have said that she won’t be waking up for at least 12 hours. You won’t be any good to her if you don’t look after yourself.” Helen just acknowledged Claire’s statement with a sigh and a shake of her head.

“No, Claire, I need to be here.”

“Well then, Helen, I think it’s time I gave you this.”

“What’s this?”

“Read it while I go and get us a coffee. I’ll be back soon, ok?”

“Yeah ok.” Taking the envelope from Claire, Helen noticed the neatly written, unmistakable, handwriting of the woman she loved.

To my Dearest Helen
With all my Love Nikki xxx

With shaking hands and a sharp intake of breath, Helen ran her fingers affectionately over Nikki’s handwriting, before turning the envelope over and removing the letter that it contained. Helen steadied herself and wiped away tears from her face, for the expectation of what she was about to read.

My Dearest Helen,
The LOVE of my life, my HOPE, my SOULMATE.
I pray that Claire never has the occasion to give you this letter. Because I know, if she has given it to you, that something terrible has happened to me, and you, at this moment in time, are totally lost and alone. But, I also know, if Claire has given you this letter, there is still hope that I will pull through. And, Helen, you know with the love that I have for you, I will be fighting every inch of the way to get back to you. To be with you.
I know you are usually the sensible one, but I have made certain arrangements with Claire to make sure you are well looked after, should anything go wrong. Please don’t cry. I did this because I know you: you would be thinking with your heart and not with your head. Please forgive me for taking this from your hands. But please don’t take it out on Claire. She loves you too, you know? Do what she tells you to do because I know, at this moment in time, you will not be thinking about yourself. But I need you to do exactly that; I need you to be strong for me; for us. Remember, I Love you with all my heart, body and soul.
Nikki xxx

Whilst Helen was still reading Nikki’s letter, Claire had re-entered the room and was again seated in the chair next to Helen. She made no conversation; she just left Helen to think about Nikki’s letter.

After about ten minutes, Helen spoke to Claire but kept her eyes on Nikki. “Fine. But I’m not going anywhere until Trish gets here.”

“All right, we will wait until Trish gets here. Then I’m taking you home.”

Helen just nodded in agreement. She was too emotionally exhausted to argue with Claire at the moment. Plus, she knew, deep down, both Claire and Nikki were correct.

OMG!! what a wonderful story one of the best. you are doing a great job please don't make us wait to long for a update. love it :clap :clap :clap

I'm still weeping ,this is so good. can't wait for the next update. Wow!

Great update, am looking forward to more very soon.

can wait for the next very good i hope to read more soon

Wow, that was a great emotional update. Can't wait for this story to continue. Thanks :clap :clap

Yes, Liza, that was fast enough!! :lol1

This is soooo good! can't wait for the next part. :)

Whew! :huh:

I'm on needles and pins...waiting for update... :)

This is so sad. Please make it stop! Make Nikki better God damn you! x

BGE, How's the update coming i'm worried about Nikki.lol :cry2 :cry2 :cry2

Hiya guys,

As beta for this story, I know what's going on :) Liza has been really busy with the start of the football season with her sons. But she'll do some when she has the time :)

thx lisa,the story is well worth waiting for. :dazzler :dazzler :dazzler

Hi guys

Sorry about the delay. As Lisa said I have been really busy with the start of football season. As I am on the board of my sons local football club plus I am the director of all the team managers, plus I manager my sons under 9's team.

But you will be all happy to know I have just completed another part and have forward it onto Lisa, to be beta read. So it won't be far off.

Thanks for your patients.

Liza. :D

ooo can't wait to read it Liza :D

Right, I got the email today and will try and beta it tomorrow.