Chapter Text
Prolgue
The rope around her neck was getting tighter and tighter. She grabbed it with her hands and desperately tried to loosen it but only made it worse. The filthy prisoners were standing nearby. They were screaming and cheering and the prison officers watched the whole scene with some sort of sadistic satisfaction. No one would help her, they all were watching her while she was dying. She has failed. Once this place had been her empire, she had been the one in charge, the governor, and everybody had to bend to her will. Now she was just an inmate, although she was so much better than all of them, the other prisoners, the officers, even the new governor who used to be the one person within these walls who owned a piece of her respect and trust. But the new governor had betrayed her and taken everything away from her and as a result of that she had taken revenge on her.
To her great surprise it was just this woman who fought her way through the raging prisoners and pushed some of them away despite her petite figure. Joan couldn’t believe it. After all that had happened between Vera and her, out of all the people nearby, Vera was the only one who turned against them all just to save her life. The last thing that Joan saw when Vera was about to cut the rope were her beautiful blue eyes that were looking up to her. Then everything turned black.
When Joan recovered her consciousness those blue eyes were even closer to her own and Vera’s lips were on hers. Since she had met her on her first day as governor, Joan had imagined how those full lips would feel on her own, but under completely different circumstances and clearly not with the intention to revive her. She was too dizzy to understand what was happening but wondered why Vera didn’t pull away immediately after giving her CPR. Instead, she gently stroked Joan’s cheek and looked at her with a worried expression, as if she cared about her. Finally Vera turned around and barked: “Bring her into medical and slot Gambarro.“
Gambarro muttered some obscenities and was walked away by two officers and while two other officers helped Joan up, she realized that something was very wrong. Why was Gambarro still here and the more important question, why was she able to speak without her tongue?
In medical Joan was sitting on the bed while nurse Atkins was examining her. Joan was still feeling dizzy after being dead for a short while but she knew that Atkins wasn’t working at Wentworth anymore. Why was she here and not Radcliffe? When Joan looked down onto her own hands she noticed two things. Her hand wasn’t injured anymore and she was wearing one of Wentworth’s uniforms instead of the teal tracksuit. But instead of the trousers she wore when she was governor, she was wearing a skirt like the one Vera wore, when she was her deputy.
“A doctor should check on you. I have already informed the governor. She will be here, soon to bring you to the hospital.“ The nurse said and then left the room and a very confused Joan behind. Why would Vera bring her to hospital herself? What was going on here? Had her brain been too long without oxygen and Joan was hallucinating now? Was she dead and this was some sort of hell? So many why’s…
Then Vera entered the room, closed the door behind her and shut the curtains. Joan worried what Vera would do with her. She was a little bit afraid, that Vera already regretted that she had saved her and that she would correct this mistake. But then Vera closed the distance between her and Joan and sat onto her bed and hugged her tightly.
“I was so afraid, that I would lose you.“ She sobbed and kissed Joan’s cheek, before burying her face into her hair. “Are you okay? Please tell me that you are okay.“ She said while slightly pulling away from Joan to look into her eyes.
Joan wanted to make a sarcastic remark. She wanted to shout at Vera but all of this confused her so much and she still felt affected by all that had happened within the last hour and she was only able to nod.
“I’m glad. Now let us go to the hospital and after that we’ll go home and I will take care of you.“ Vera said and pecked Joan on the lips.
’I must really have lost my mind.’ Was all that Joan could think while Vera led her out of the prison and to her car.