Nic in the Nick

"You too." Andy said, surprised.

Nicole and Andy looked at Joel.

"Sorry guys," Joel said apologetically, "I went right through college without getting in trouble at all." He smiled, and whispered secretively. "Just between us, I might have been a bit of a nerd."

They all laughed.

Andy was relaxing a bit. This is good to be able to just swap stories, he thought, and no matter how famous Nicole is, she's really just like us. He smiled contentedly.

Nicole was relaxing too. This might have been awful, she thought, but it really is a bit of fun to get back to the real world and real people who don't just fawn and slobber all the time. There was still one thing that bothered her so she turned to Joel.

Chapter 16 – Unshackled.

"Does he have to be tied up like that?" Nicole asked, indicating the cuffs.

"No." he replied smiling. Joel looked at Andy. "Do you promise to be a good boy if I take them off?"

Andy smiled appreciatively. "I sure will, the only thing in danger here is the itch on my nose that is trying to drive me crazy." He said.

"Do you request I take the restraints off?" Joel asked Nicole seriously.

"Yes I do." Nicole replied positively.

Joel picked up the phone. "Visitor has requested restraints removed," he said without dialing, "video security, no audio."

There was a gap, and then Joel nodded and put the phone back in its cradle. He pointed at the camera, behind Joel and Nicole and facing Andy.

"That will be on, and monitored but not taping, and there will be no audio in the control room." He explained.

"Fine." Nicole said.

"Hi Mom." Andy said, looking at the blank lens.

Joel went to the door and it opened. Someone outside, probably Tom, thought Nicole, handed him a key. He then walked around to Andy and undid the restraints. Andy scratched his nose and moaned in ecstasy.

"Thanks." Andy said in relief. "Both of you."

Joel pocketed the key, went back around to his chair and sat down.

Andy massaged his wrists, slowly relieving the cramps.

"What's wrong with his wrists?" Nicole asked Joel, slightly accusingly. "Were they too tight?"

Joel smiled quietly knowing that wasn't the case and he let Andy answer the question.

"No," Andy said in a reassuring tone, "it's just that the lack of movement can bring on some cramps and it feels good to let the blood flow again."

"Let me help you." Nicole said, reaching across the table. She suddenly stopped half way and turned to Joel. "Am I allowed to?" She asked nervously.

"Certainly." Joel answered smiling.

Nicole reached over to Andy who slowly moved his hands toward her. Nicole massaged his wrists for him and Andy closed his eyes in pleasure and pain. The pleasure was the relief he was feeling, the pain was knowing that this was the first woman to touch him tenderly since Amanda. And she looked so much like Amanda he could just imagine it was her."

"Mmmm." Andy moaned appreciatively, smiling.

Joel said, "We get all sorts of visits here, so no matter what happens in here, if the visitor is not threatened, it is ignored."

Nicole looked at utilitarian table and chairs.

"Do people actually...?" Her voice trailed off, unsure of how to ask the question.

"They could, but they don't have to." Joel said, guessing what she was asking. "Through there," Joel continued, indicating the door behind Andy, "is another room. It has a smaller table, and two chairs, as well as good sized bed. There are no cameras in there either, so if people want more privacy, or if they want to touch they usually go in there."

Andy's hands felt fine now, but Nicole continued massaging and he didn't stop her. Her touch was light and sensitive and by looking through half closed eyes he was seeing Amanda, back with him again.

"So how do you monitor security in those cases?" Amanda asked stroking Andy's strong hands gently.

"The camera out here stays on, but the visitor has to accept that once they go through that door we cannot do anything, unless they hit the alarm button." Joel answered. Nicole looked at him quizzically. "There is an alarm button in case things get out of control but no one has ever had to use it." He said, smiling.

"How do you know it works then?" Nicole asked absently, concentrating more on the hands she was massaging than the conversation.

Andy was also only half listening, submerged in a moment of fantasy, in which it was Amanda here with him, and he smiled, thinking about the room behind him and what he would do if it were Amanda.

Joel was a little offended by the question. "All our security measures are tested regularly, and as you have seen they are very thorough. That button will have been checked immediately before Andy was brought in." He answered tersely.

"I'm sorry Joel," Nicole said smiling sweetly, "I didn't mean to question your efficiency, it's just I have never thought about how security works in a place like this before."

Nicole was now massaging Andy's hands, stroking the fingers gently and working the knuckles. She suddenly realized that she had gone far beyond her intention of relieving his cramps.

"Oh, sorry Andy," Nicole said, placing his hands on the table and slowly pulling hers away. His moved a fraction to follow before he took control, "I was just supposed to help your cramps." She sounded embarrassed.

"Don't be sorry," Andy said smiling his charming smile, "I was enjoying myself pretending it was Amanda with me one last time."

Nicole frowned. "Oh dear, I didn't mean to..."

"No," Andy interrupted, "it was really good, and made me happy."

Nicole was embarrassed, she had managed to offend Joel and lead Andy on all at once. She didn't want to upset Joel and certainly did not want to lead Andy on, what was the point of a relationship with someone who was going to be executed in a matter of hours? Nicole stopped and listened to her thoughts. How selfish am I she asked herself?

Nicole composed herself. "You say you had to pretend I was Amanda, Andy," she said, "do I really look like her and how would you have been able to tell us apart?"

Andy had to stop to consider the question. He was still a bit shaken by the resemblance, but he was not suffering too much thinking about her, why would it be worse talking about her?

"Physically," he said quietly, "you could be identical twins."

Nicole and Joel were both surprised, having expected at least some differences.

"To tell you apart I would have to say posture, voice and touch." Andy continued.

"OK," Nicole said, "one at a time, what is the difference in my voice?"

"You speak posh," Andy replied, "Amanda was more working class, sort of."

"So she was more like this then?" Nicole asked in a Brooklyn accent.

"No," Andy was having trouble describing it, "more southern states, but Daisy Duke, not Scarlet O'Hara."

Joel watched in silent amazement as Nicole asked questions, and spoke to Andy, adjusting the way she spoke subtly each time. For about fifteen minutes they made tiny changes and went over and over the same words until Andy, smiling and with his eyes closed said, "That's it, you now sound just like Amanda."

"Right," said Nicole, staying in her Amanda voice with the ease of an exceptional actor, "what was next, posture? How am I different."

"I, um... you..." Andy was momentarily taken aback. He had actually thought that he was talking to Amanda again. "She walked less like a model and more like a normal person," he hesitated again realizing what he had said, "oops, sorry, I mean..."

Nicole interrupted Andy, "Don't be sorry, I know just what you mean."

Andy raised an eyebrow, wondering if she did.

Nicole looked at Joel. "Can I walk around in here without summoning the cavalry?" She asked.

"Certainly." Joel replied, a hint of a smile showing he realized she was apologizing for the questioning of the security earlier.

Nicole stood up and turned to Andy again. "You mean less like this," she said and walked to the door as if she was on a catwalk, "and more like this?" She finished, returning to her chair in a manner that screamed of normal. Her hips no longer had the exaggerated sway, her shoulders were slightly more stooped and she looked slightly down now, not up.

"Amazing." Joel breathed, stunned by the sudden change.

"That's pretty close," Andy replied, "but she was a bit less forward in the uh, chest."

Nicole looked at him with genuine sympathy, not for Andy but for Amanda.

"She tried pretty hard not to look like me didn't she?" Nicole said tenderly.

Andy gulped and swallowed, then nodded.

Just then the phone on the table rang once, making them all jump. Joel picked it up and listened. He said, "OK" and put the phone back down.

"I have to go and take an important call," he said to Nicole, "you can come out with me and I will bring you back, if you want, when I finish."

Andy's face fell, he was really starting to enjoy this visit, and was getting a really strong feeling of Amanda from Nicole.

Nicole didn't see that, she was looking at Joel, but she was disappointed too. They were making headway, developing a character, one of her favorite parts of her job.

"Do I have to?" Nicole asked Joel, "I'd really prefer to stay in here."

Joel smiled and opened his mouth to speak but Nicole beat him to it.

"I feel very safe with Andy and I am prepared to take responsibility for my own safety in here."

Joel was in a hurry and didn't want to argue, it was the Governor on the line to him.

"Fine." He said, earning two bright smiles. "When I finish I will take over the monitoring OK?"

Chapter 17 – And then there were two.

Two positive answers and Joel left the room. Nicole looked at Andy, Andy looked at Nicole.

"Where were we?" Nicole asked cheerfully.

"Her walk." Andy replied.

"OK," Nicole said, "like this?" One walk on the way to the door, slightly more stooped than the previous attempt. "Or like this?" Coming back she was almost slouching as she walked.

"The first one." Andy said in wonder. "That's amazing, how do you do it?"

"I'm an actress," Nicole replied, "I take on characters for a living."

Andy just nodded.

"Now let's try something." Nicole said.

"What?" Andy asked, curious.

Nicole walked her Nicole walk to the door again, without saying anything. Then she turned and assumed the Amanda character. She walked to the table as Amanda, and looked at Andy.

"Honey," Nicole said in her Amanda voice, "you have just got no idea how hard it is to get in here, how are you?"

Andy gulped. "You are Amanda." He finally managed to whisper.

"Not quite yet." Nicole said, still in the Amanda voice. "How is my touch different?"

"You are a bit lighter in touch." Andy replied, thinking about Nicole rubbing his hands earlier. "Amanda was strong and sometimes quite forceful."

Nicole took one of his hands and pulled it toward her. She applied more pressure as she rubbed the back of his hand. "Like this?" She asked.

"Longer strokes," Andy replied, concentrating, "but no more pressure."

Nicole corrected and asked again, and again until she got it right. They then went through a full rehearsal, discussing how Amanda sat, stood, turned and moved. They spoke of places she knew, people she and Andy knew, work situations and the history of Amanda and Andy's relationship.

"Pet names?" Nicole asked.

"I called her Manda most of the time," Andy answered, "and she called me Andy." He smiled. "If I wanted to, um, make love," Andy said, blushing a little, "I called her Sandy." He smiled, remembering their first time in the sand dunes at a party. It was that experience that had given him that name.

Nicole smiled and waited. This was going well, she thought, and he was certainly opening up to her. She lifted an eyebrow at Andy and he blushed some more.

"If she was wanting loving she would call me Superman." Andy said, knowing this was because of his ability to last a very long time and stay rock hard.

Nicole giggled. "Birthdays?" She asked.

"Her, June nineteen," he said, "me December five."

"Hobbies?" Nicole asked.

"We both loved the beach," Andy replied, "usually a surf break. We often went body surfing together, and stayed in a cottage near the beach we chose for a week each year around our anniversary." He looked at Nicole who looked quizzical. "July twenty two." He said, wondering how much of this Nicole would remember.

Nicole waited.

"We also went to a lot of car shows," Andy said, "Amanda had a MGTC that I had restored for her as a daily driver, and I had a '34 Ford with a flathead and lots of retro hot rod gear."

"Pets?"

"We had a dog, Spike," Andy said, "a bit of a ruffian with a fair amount of bull terrier in him." He smiled as thought of Spike's love for the lady dogs, even after he had been to the vet. "He died last year and we just couldn't go out and replace him, he had too much character."

Nicole smiled and nodded. "Was he strong?" She asked.

"Very." Andy replied, also smiling. "He tried to take us for a walk for the first few hundred yards after we went out, but we managed to keep him in check."

"Authors?" Nicole asked.

"I've never been much of a reader," said Andy, "a bit of Desmond Bagley, or Arthur Hailey, even some Robert Crais." He smiled. "Amanda liked that Stephanie Plum series."

"Janet Evanovich." Nicole said helpfully.

"That's right." Andy said. "She also got a lot of romance books, but didn't like most of them." He thought for a short time. "She wanted the world to be perfect, and the good guy to always win," Andy said, "but she could not stand the books that made their heroes superhuman, and hated the dark and negative books."

I would have liked Amanda, thought Nicole, she was a lot like me, and not just physically. Nicole absently looked at her watch, and then gasped.

"What's the matter?" Asked Andy, concerned.

"We've been in here two hours since Joel left." Nicole said.

"Shit. Oh sorry..." Andy was flustered. He hadn't wanted this visit, but now it was happening he didn't want it to suddenly end either.

"No," Nicole said, "I thought the same."

She wondered what to do, then turned, looked into the camera, and pointed at the phone. A few seconds later it rang.

Nicole picked the phone up.

"Yes?" Joel's voice asked.

"I'm sorry Joel, we lost track of the time." Nicole said. "You must be overdue to go home?"

"No," Joel said with a hollow laugh, "I'm doing the overnighter tonight."

"But you must have work to do then." Nicole said.

"I'm being here in case the phone rings." Joel said, "It's part of the deal. You guys can take as long as you like, it's good that you are both enjoying the visit."

"So how long do we have?" Nicole asked.

Andy smiled hopefully. It sounded like she wanted to stay longer.

"To be blunt, I need Andy to be getting ready in six hours," Joel said, "oh five hundred hours. Up until then there's no restriction at all."

"I don't like to make you sit there watching all the time, Joel." Nicole said. "Would it be easier if we turned the video off?"

Joel chuckled. "Not allowed, I'm afraid," He said, "but if you go into the other room the monitor will go into sleep mode without movement and will only pop back up when you come back in the room. It sounds a buzzer when that happens. If we do it that way I can work on a couple of reports without compromising security."

"We just go in?" Nicole asked.

"Yep." Joel replied.

"We'll do that then," Nicole said, then "hang on." She turned to Andy. "Joel can work on some stuff if we go in the other room as he then doesn't have to watch the camera all the time." She said, "is that OK with you?"

Andy smiled. "Fine," he said, "I really appreciate you taking the time for this."

"I'm enjoying this too." Nicole said. Then she spoke into the phone. "Thanks Joel we'll move inside. Are you sure...?"

"Take all the time you want," Joel interrupted, "I'm glad it's working out."

Nicole heard the click as Joel put the phone down. She smiled at the camera and then turned to Andy.

"Care to explore?" She asked lightly.

"Absolutely." He replied, smiling broadly.

Chapter 18 – The other room.

Andy was closest to the door so he stood up and opened it. The door opened into the room they were in and was held shut by a closer, but there was no latch. Looking in Andy saw the room was quite tiny. There was a very small table with a chair each side against the left wall and a small, maybe three quarter size, double bed against the right wall. The bed was made with a light blue cover and matching pillowcases. Andy looked at the bed and felt guilty. He had said to Joel he wanted to spend the night with Nicole, because she looked like Amanda, he remembered. But the visit was not romantic at all and he did not want to change that. One way or another he would be with Amanda soon and his body could wait. He went to the seat farthest away and sat down. Nicole appeared in the doorway and looked in. She stopped momentarily when she saw the bed.

Nicole also took in the tiny room and the simple furnishings. The bed was a worry, as she didn't want Andy to get the wrong idea about the visit. The alarm button was mounted on the wall right next to the table.

"We'll just use the table," Andy said, answering her unspoken concerns, "the only reason we are not still out there is so Joel can do some work." He was rewarded with another bright smile. Nicole came in and sat at the other chair.

I'm glad he understands, she thought, it's not like he isn't attractive, he is. Also it has been a while for you a little voice in her head said, and it had. But the reason I'm here is to comfort him, not have sex to satisfy my own urges she answered the voice.

"Well?" Andy asked, startling her out of her reverie.

"Well what?" Nicole asked, not sure what he was asking.

"What's next?" Andy asked. "We've covered authors, pets, hometowns and a lot of other topics, what do we talk about next?"

Nicole thought for a minute. "Let's avoid religion, politics, sports teams and race relations." She said, not wanting the discussion to get too heavy or polarized. "How about music?"

"Good choice," Andy replied. "I like it all from rock and roll, flower power, surf music and glam through to grunge. I'm not a lot into disco or punk, and raps not my thing either."

Nicole smiled her encouragement.

"Amanda liked The Eagles, particularly Desperado," Andy swallowed, thinking the song was much more relevant to him now, "and Elton John, a lot of the new romantic stuff too." He thought, but didn't say that she had often used the tender and romantic songs of Jeff Buckley as the soundtrack to their lovemaking. Another bad moment as he thought of the relevance of the song "Last Goodbye" and how sad he was that they hadn't got to have one. "How about you?"

"Songs sort of stopped being important to me when my marriage broke up." Nicole said bluntly, thinking of their songs, those that had been used as the love themes of the movies they had been in together. "But some of the classics like Beethoven, Straus and Mozart can help me to relax after a hard day."

There was an uncomfortable pause and they both suddenly realized they were finally running out of things to say, and this was starting to get a bit uncomfortable.

Andy summoned up the courage to ask for one thing that had been on his mind since Nicole had started to imitate Amanda.

"Nicole?" He asked nervously.

"Yes Andy?" She replied.

"Can you, um..." he paused, not knowing how to put this, "can you be Amanda so I can talk to her about what happened?" Andy finally blurted out.

"I don't know if..." Nicole started.

"I know her," Andy kept talking, the dam now broken, "she would have felt guilty about something she could not change, I want to tell her I don't blame her and I don't think less of her."