After showering and dressing, the two friends adjourned to a nearby cafeteria and continued their reminiscences over a coffee.

"You dress pretty light for the middle of January",said a wondering Angela, studying Katies bare midriff, long suntanned legs and bare feet. "You might as well not bother, for all the protection that gear is giving you.  Where did you get that all over tan at this time of the year?"

"Out in the Indian Ocean on some lovely island, where I was sent to cover a meeting.  Useless assignment, the security was watertight and we were brought home after five days, which I mostly spent swimming and sunbathing with a couple of the other journos.  Been back a week and the tan is fading fast."

Angie's face took on a petulant expression. "You certainly get a few glamour assignments in your boring old financial reporting"

Katie smiled at her friend  "It's mostly a pretty dreary treadmill, keeping up with reams of company reports, and government statistics , getting out and about in the City.  I think I'm going cross-eyed sometimes."

"Any way, you find plenty of time to keep your hand in at the old fighting.  You're well marked all over and I didn't do THAT much damage to that sweet little nose" and Angie leant across the table and kissed it. "You must get loads of bouts, some pretty hard.  You want to be careful, Katie!  Don't go and lose those lovely looks. It'd break my heart!"

"I sustained all this damage - and it's almost gone now, thank Heaven - in one bout and that was the first since I left college and the last until today.  And you're so right, this is no sport for a lady. I'm retiring from it"  The hell I am!, she thought.

And Katie proceeded to tell her friend all that had happened starting with the full details of her captivity in Central Asia, which had not been revealed in the news.

"Golly, Katie, you can't face all this alone.  And you won't have to from now on.  I'm moving in with you  - DON'T ARGUE and we're in this together until it's all finished."

"I warn you, I live a Spartan life nowadays.  You'd better bring plenty of warm clothing - lots of woolly jumpers and leg warmers.  You'll need them"

"I'll be round in a couple of hours.  Just give me time to get a few things together.  Bye for now darling" and Angie hugged her dear friend and scampered off.

Katie went on to finish her weekend shopping and drove home to await the arrival of dear old Angie.  It was such a relief to be alone no longer.

Angie's face dropped when Katie let her in to the freezing cold house and she saw her friend's nudity. "Golly, Kate, it's positively Arctic in here.  How can you stand it!"

She continued to stare in an amazed way at  Katie for a few minutes, obviously thinking long and hard.  And then.   "Well, if you can do it my sweet, lovely, mad, darling friend and past and future adversary in the ring, then I certainly can - here goes!  Lock these up so I can't change my mind and don't listen to me if I do"

It took Angie only a few seconds to undress and now there were two naked girls in the house, one smooth-skinned and comfortable and the other covered with goose-pimples and beginning to shiver even after a few seconds.

"Come on Angie, we'd better get a nice hot drink and some food inside you.  I've had over two months to acclimatize myself to this  and you're taking a crash course!"

"Good idea, I'm starving.  I can always warm up in that  little gym of yours on the exercise bike if I need and there's always that nice body of yours to hug once in a while!"

After eating, the two girls lay stretched out on the deep and comfortable living-room rug,  in front of the television, clasped in each others arms, exchanging the odd kiss and settled down to catch up with the weekend news. Katie felt the other girl shivering beneath her comforting embrace and whispered, "I'm just glad to have you with me, Angie.  You don't have to give yourself pneumonia to prove yourself my friend.  I'm going to put the heating on - either that or you get dressed"

Angie leapt to her feet and aimed a kick at Katies unprotected and unprepared stomach, leaving her gasping and in agony.  She then resumed her position next to her companion.

"You keep the bloody heating OFF and I stay  f*cking well NAKED - OK!! We're in this together - all the bloody way!!   I'm as good as you any day.  Just don't f*cking patronise me!"

"That's put ME in my place - I won't mention it again.  But I owe you after that kick. Next fight, I'm going to knock you senseless and we won't have a silly referee or any stupid rules.  I know just the spot.  We'll have to do it at low tide, so we can fight on the sand - that shingle was murder on my feet last time.  Then we can can call on John and Bozo and his family and patch you up"

"Patch YOU up, darling, there won't be a mark on ME" murmured Angie, briefly taking her tongue out of Katie's ear. "It's a date"

And so they concentrated on watching the evening news, and there was one item which was of particular interest.

ANGIE IS INTRODUCED TO WINTER SWIMMING AND IS A VERY BAD GIRL!

Sunday morning saw two underdressed ladies and three well wrapped-up ones entering the bathing pond
on London's Hampstead Heath (I won't give false place names in future - author).  One was Katie, barefoot and displaying her magnifent bronzed belly and fine, well, muscled, though feminine, bare arms, legs  and shoulders and the other was Angie also barefoot and displaying her attractive body, blue with cold and shivering

"I see that you have found another iron maiden to join our ranks, said Lady de Burgh, the plummy voiced woman who had been the first to speak to Katie back in November.  We don't need men to defend this country any more.  Not with women like you around!   A few more bruises , I see,  Katie,  and your friend's been knocked about a bit in the last twenty four hours."

Katie and Angie laughed together.

"We're best friends, but we fight like cats once in a while.  You should see us!" This from Angie, who was introduced to all the others.

Despite her resolute determination to keep up with Katie, even to the extent of wearing a similar tiny bikini, Angie was forced to get out of the pond after only a couple of minutes, but steeled herself to remain on the diving platform dripping and freezing cold and watch her friend swim  all the way to the end of the pond and back.  They went into the shower together.

"Let's get you back to the car", said a worried Katie.

"I bloody told you not to f*cking  patronise  me",  screeched Angie.  How many more times do I have to repeat myself  before it sinks in to that thick head of yours?   Watch this!"  and she dashed out naked onto the duckboard, threw herself back into the pond and swam to the end and back just like Katie had done.

"There, you superior patronising bloody  cow, that showed you!"

"Another exhibition like that from you, young woman and you will be barred", shouted the lifeguard , her face purple with rage,

"And just where do you think you are going?   Stand where you are until I say otherwise, if you want to continue coming here!  If you weren't Katie's friend, you wouldn't even get this chance!"

Katie came out of the changing room in her little bikini and stood with her friend until the guard allowed Angie to leave.

And so Angie, feeling like a naughty girl back at school again was forced to stand naked and shivering with Katie at her side for twenty long minutes, before being allowed to get dried and dressed.

"See, I'm just as tough as you", she said to Katie as they settled into the car.

"Almost", laughed Katie,  and kissed that dear sweet ice cold face.  "Let's get back for some breakfast.  I don't care what you say - you are my friend and I love you and I'm entitled to worry about you - so there!"