Deliverance

Vera had to cancel her appointment with her wife. She started losing control over the prison and had to spend extra hours in there, trying to prevent future problems. She ate less, slept less and had less time to think about Joan. On Saturday, she returned home at normal hour to get more time to rest for the next day. She was going to go to sleep when her door bell rang. She rushed downstairs and opened the door.

"Hi, Vera! I brought some Chinese. I thought..." Andy said as she was looking at very tired Vera. She received a small nod from the shorter woman. She was quickly invited inside. Vera went to grab the plates.

The two women were seated in the living room. Vera was playing with her food, what caught Andy's attention. The taller brunette put her hand on Vera's arm and rubbed it reassuringly. "What is bothering you?" She asked. Her warm gaze was met with an exhausted one.

"It's the prison." She replied and looked away. She grabbed a wine glass that was standing on the coffee table and downed it.

Andy leaned back on the couch and cocked her head to the side. She raised her eyebrow. "It's always been the prison. Now the truth."

"Andy..."

"I know. I don't get to ask. I shouldn't have come." She said and stood up from the couch. She was stopped by Vera, who pulled her back down.

The new governor took her hand away shortly after. "Andy, I'm really glad you came. And, ever since I got this governorship... Look, there was someone..."

There was a smirk painted on Andy's face. "So, after I left you had your fun, huh?"

"No! It's... It's not what you think. That person offered to be my mentor to help me get promoted in future. They seemed to like me at first but later they turned out to be just like mum. No, even worse than her." Vera let out a quiet sigh.

Andy got closer and put her arm around Vera. She received a questioning expression from the smaller woman. "It's not like I'm moving back in with you. Unless you'd like... Uh. What I'm trying to say, did you talk to someone about it? A specialist, I mean."

"Andrea, if you want to psychoanalyze me, just don't." She pulled away from the embrace.

Andy refilled two glasses and took hers. "I wouldn't do any of that. We can just talk. It can work miracles."

"Fine. At first, they were asking me about things in Wentworth."

"You're still working there?"

"Don't interrupt. They invited me for a drink one time. As it turned out, only to get me drunk to tell them things. Later it got only worse. They began telling me that I'm useless or something like that. So, I changed. I tried to be that person who would never fail them. I did my best but... They accused me of treason when I didn't do anything. I was framed but they refused to believe that. In the end, they took me off the position of the deputy, whom I was until a few months ago. It was supposed to end when she was gone but now it's all in my head."

Andy was sitting silently for a moment. "You said she." Vera looked at her. "What's so special about her that you wanted to please her so badly?" The governor looked down. "Oh man, don't tell me you fell for her."

Vera didn't seem to want to say anything else. She cleaned the plates and stayed in the kitchen until Andy decided to leave. When she exited the home, she went to get in her car. She felt as if someone was watching her.