Two hours later she was home again. David was dosing but awoke when she went in. "I need the loo Steph but the lads pushed those chairs too close together for me to get through with my crutches." She cleared the way for him. Fortunately they had a toilet downstairs as well as one next to the bedroom but they only had an upstairs bathroom. "I'll have to wash him later," she told herself as she guided him along the passageway and helped him lower his tracksuit enough to pee. "Good job he has these baggy old pants otherwise we'd have difficulty in getting his other trousers over the cast." For another hour or so she fussed over him and made dinner and by the time she'd cleared things away and washed up she felt utterly tired. David noticed. "Get undressed slave and get into bed with me. I need to feel your body again."

Hardly had she cuddled up to him her eyes closed. David decided to let her sleep but only minutes later the phone rang. Stephanie woke and went to answer it. "It's your mother. She's just got back from Cyprus and picked up my message on her answerphone." She handed David the phone.

Even Stephanie could hear his mother's sharp voice going on for a considerable time with David interspersing only an occasional yes or no� "Yes mother, I'm fine now and I am being well looked after�She is a girl who works for me�She's been living here for over a month�No mother, there is no need for you to come down here�Steph's perfectly capable of looking�Yes, she is�In any case mother, I'm going back to work tomorrow." His mother's conversation continued for a while longer until David said, "Sorry mother, got to finish now. My battleaxe of a nurse is telling me it's time for my bath."

"There's no way you're going to work tomorrow," Stephanie told him firmly.

"Stop giving me orders slave," David laughed, "Now pull out the phone plug and get into bed alongside me. You need some rest too. It's only eight o'clock but we can lie here for a bit and when you're ready you can go upstairs to your own bed."

"Sorry I'm late Kelly. Had to wash and see to the big baby before I came and I'll have to pop back again in a couple of hours to see that he isn't getting into mischief."

Kelly laughed, "And I bet he isn't the easiest baby to handle. It must be frustrating for him�and you too."

Her morning had started with her getting him sat on the toilet, then fixing breakfast and giving him an all over wash. That was actually a laugh because she seemed to find the places where he was most ticklish. And then of course he had an erection that needed attention. "Suck it slave," David ordered. Stephanie did and after nearly a fortnight of forced abstention, David came quickly. By the time she'd finished seeing to him and getting herself ready, it was gone nine and she already felt as though she'd done a days work.

"You are going to take me into work in the morning slave. If not I'll get a taxi and tan your arse later; I'm not spending another day cooped up here with nothing to do and no one around. At least in the hospital there were other patients to talk to and nurses to chat up. I can sit in my wheelchair and do my bit to help." David gave her his instructions forcibly and she knew she'd have to comply and in any case, provided he didn't try to overdo it, it would keep his mind occupied.

"You only want to come in to check we're all working and not sitting around drinking coffee all day. You want to be back in your slave master role again," Stephanie kidded him.

"Yes, and it sounds as if I may have to bring my whip to keep my discourteous slave in line."

Everyone seemed pleased to see him and wanted to sign his plaster cast. His presence did ease their workload a little. He could answer the phone and put the orders through but it was Stephanie that had to go out and meet a client. A job that David would normally have done.

"Where's my son?" The woman's strident voice reverberated around the office, almost drowning the noise of the machines.

"I'll tell him you're here Mrs. Benson," Tracy answered.

"No need girl, I can see him." She marched through to David's office. "Oh my God, you poor baby. What did you do to yourself? Who's looking after you? Where is that nurse you spoke of? Why are you back at work and not resting in bed? Never mind I'm here now. I can take care of you properly�"

"Mother, stop!" Mrs. Benson paused for a moment and David didn't give her the chance to continue. "Mother, I'm here because I ordered my nurse to bring me because I couldn't stand being at home alone�"

"But you won't be there alone. I'm here to look after you darling. Where's your nurse. I want to give her a piece of my mind and get you ready to go home."

"Steph's seeing a client. She'll be back in half an hour or so."

"She should be here. You're injured and she should be looking after you properly." Jennifer Benson's voice was heard, with some amusement, throughout the workplace. Fortunately the phone rang and David spent longer than really necessary answering it.

When Stephanie arrived back, Kelly whispered, "Tread carefully, his mum is here."

"Mother this is Stephanie." David started to introduce her.

"So you're the so-called nurse who is supposed to be looking after my son and yet you go off gallivanting around and leaving him on his own to look after himself and do the work you are supposed to do. No doubt you're only with him to get into his pants when no one else will have you. You've not much in the way of assets by the looks of things. Now if you are his nurse, get him ready to go home so I can look after him. You're obviously hopeless at your job and don't know the first thing about caring for injured people."

Stephanie could feel some of her old anger rising within her but managed to suppress it. "I do what my boss tells me, ma'am. He pays my wages. If he orders me to take him home, then I will. Sir?" She gave David a quizzical look.

"Leave us for a few moments please Steph and close the door when you go out please." The ladies could hear the elderly woman's voice getting angrier even through the closed door and above the noise of the printer but they could only make out a few words.

"How did it go with the client?" Kelly asked trying to take Stephanie's mind off the woman in the next room and then knew she wouldn't succeed. "You've got problems with her Steph. She causes chaos even when David's fit. I think they had a row after she came last time and fortunately hasn't been back since. Try and keep calm but don't give in to her. She still thinks of David as a five-year-old baby boy and not a grown man of 38. She still thinks he should be married to Lisa. Lisa was a glamorous woman and more of a socialite."

Finally the office door flung open. "Bring him home when he's ready," Jennifer snapped angrily at Stephanie, "And make sure you take good care of him. At least you could make some effort at being a decent nurse however incompetent you are. I shall be looking after him from now on. Your services will not be required."

"I'm not a nursemaid! I'm only a bloody slave! A slave to him, not a bitch like you!" Stephanie burst out and turned and went into the staff toilet.

"Slave, in here now please!" David had to order her into his office before she would return. Jennifer had left but her case was still in the reception area. "You know I shall have to put you over my knee when I'm fit enough. I had thought you'd got yourself under control."

"I had thought that by now you wouldn't have allowed your mother to control you!�����Sir"

"Okay, okay Steph, get us a coffee and tell me about the meeting." David could see the fury in her eyes and knew that any further conversation on the subject would end with a row. He'd had enough of that with his mother and he'd begun to feel very tired. An hour later he asked Stephanie to take him home. It was 4:30 and it was fairly quiet so Kelly said they could manage.

Polly helped her get David into the car and lifted his mother's case into the boot. "From the weight of this, she intends to stay for some time Steph. Don't let her get you down. And don't let her take him away from you," Polly warned.

Jennifer arrived by taxi at 5:30 and immediately began carping about everything Stephanie did. She complained about the way David was being looked after, the way the food was cooked, the state of the house, the lack of facilities in the guestroom. David unsuccessfully tried to curb his mother and by bedtime, Stephanie was in tears. She sat alone on her bed and went over the day's events. "Why can't he just tell her to piss off home? She is his mother but he's damn near forty years old. She seems to hate me for reasons I don't know of. Perhaps Kelly was right. She wants another Lisa for her son. Well I'm not married to him although it sometimes feels like it. I can leave if I want. He'd have to let me work on for a while until he's fit again or gets someone to replace me. Good job I kept the flat on. I've got some money in the bank now so I could look for another job."

"Stephanie!" Mrs. Benson pushed open the door without. "Get downstairs, David wants a word you, about your behaviour no doubt. I'm off to bed so make sure you see to him during the night. None of that getting into bed with him though. He needs his rest and a trollop like you should respect that. I know you are only doing it for the money you might get from him. You certainly wouldn't make him a suitable wife so don't get any ideas on that score." She went on for another five minutes before ordering Stephanie to hurry herself and get down and see to David.