Tackle that paperwork

You head back down to your station, and attempt to fill out the paperwork. Not surprisingly, your mind is elsewhere, so it isn't easy going. Part of you wants to rush back to Doe's cell, although you aren't sure for what. You also aren't sure that you'd like what you found when you got there. So you **** yourself through the paperwork and the rest of your duties, although this isn't exactly your best work recently.

When you do check on your charges, Doe is asleep, or at least putting on a good show of it. You can tell that there is no sign of anything in her cell that she shouldn't have, so apparently she did attend to that before taking a nap. You want to talk to her, but can't really justify waking her, and there isn't much time left in your shift anyway. You wonder how Doe will react to the other guards working the other shifts, although you aren't particularly worried about them developing the same relationship with her. The guy on the next shift puts on a good show of it, but is actually happily gay, and even introduced you to his partner once. The guard on the other shift is a matronly, but no-nonsense, older woman, who probably doesn't have any idea who Doe is, let alone to be swayed by her beauty.

So the shift heads to a close, and the next guard shows up. You fill him in on the situation with the new prisoner. Well, at least all of the stuff safe to tell him. He's interested when he finds out who it is, but his interest is merely at the novelty of having someone famous in his area, although his first thought is being able to share the news with his partner at the end of his shift.

You go home, and go through the paces of the rest of your day. The tv is on, and there is some food in there somewhere, but neither is particularly memorable. You're running on autopilot; your body is at home, but your mind is still at work, in that cell with Doe. When you finally go to bed, you awaken to your alarm with the vague recollection that she was in your dreams.

You take extra time in the shower, and in grooming yourself for work. You **** yourself to eat some breakfast, out of simple acknowledgement that you have to eat, even if you aren't really interested in food. Driving to work, you arrive early, then sit out in the car until your normal time, because that's when you always arrive. Looking too anxious to show up to work might not be smart.

You finally go inside, check yourself in, and make your way to your station. The overnight guard, "Grandma", as the other guards and some of the prisoners have come to call her, is sitting at the station, idly drinking some coffee when you arrive.

"Little bitch," she mutters as you approach her.

"The new prisoner?" You ask, not sure whether to be relieved or concerned. You don't want other guards getting too friendly with Doe, but you don't want to see her getting into any trouble, either. Especially if it means being transferred to another part of the jail.

"Yeah. She's a spoiled little princess. Bitched about lights out, and just about anything else she could think of." Grandma kills her coffee. "I hope she's better on your shift."

"We'll see," you muse, listening as she updates you on the rest of the prisoners, although there is really nothing new to report there. She seems anxious to leave though, perhaps to escape her newest prisoner, and you aren't inclined to delay her departure.

To your credit, you wait half an hour before you check on Doe, making yourself attend to the start of shift paperwork and rounds of the other prisoners, saving her for last. When you do finally go to her cell, she is sitting on the edge of her bed, and a smile breaks out across your face as you stop in front of her door. She gets up and stands on the other side of the door.

"I was worried you had the day off," Doe says, and you can actually feel the concern in her voice. "The other guards here aren't nearly as nice as you are." She smiles shyly at you. "Not that they really matter at all, since I have you."

You feel your heart melt again, and you want to open the door, rush into the cell, and just hold on to Doe with all your might. But the cameras are on you here, and it will be breakfast time soon anyway, when you lead all of the prisoners to the lunchroom, and there are any number of other things you have to take care of before then.

"I missed you," you admit. "I'm hoping we can talk later, but I don't want to get either of us in trouble by making people suspicious. We've got breakfast soon, and then it looks like you have visitor coming in to talk to you, so someone will come and get you for that. But maybe after lunch or something?" As always, you aren't sure how she is going to react.

"After lunch will be fine," she says, still smiling. "We can... talk." She winks at you.