From the Top Shelf - The Naughty Nurse, Part 1

Here is a modern and imaginative tale by James Bartlett, set in a private hospital that has a reputation for high standards and rigid discipline. A young nurse is taken in hand by her supervisor after some inappropriate behaviour at a party. Hospital standards must be maintained, even after hours!

The staff party at St. Mary's hospital was in full swing. It had already been going for some two hours, and had now reached the stage where the senior medical and nursing officers and senior management had made their 'duty' appearances and departed, leaving the field to the youngsters. The lights had been turned down low, the music from the disco had become progressively louder... and the alcohol was effectively removing every one's inhibitions.

Junior Staff Nurse Pam Grey was in the arms of her boyfriend, John, a medical student in his final year of training before, hopefully, he qualified as a doctor. Pam was 22 years old, and had passed her state nursing finals earlier that year. Of average height and build with a pleasing and well proportioned figure, she was attractive (an attractiveness which came in no small measure from the personality within), rather than obviously pretty or beautiful; the sort of girl one might pass in the street without a second glance, but whose attraction improved and increased considerably on closer acquaintance - as John had discovered...

She was a happy, fun-loving girl who loved a good time, yet at the same time she had the dedication and the deep, responsible personal values typical of her profession, and was capable of great loyalty and affection. A good and conscientious nurse who was popular with patients and colleagues alike, she had already impressed her superiors as one who might one day rise to the most senior grades of her profession. To have earned such recognition so early was no mean feat, especially at St. Mary's which was no ordinary hospital.

St. Mary's was a very old-established private hospital with an international clientele and reputation. It offered in its own field the ultimate in 'state-of-the-art' standards and facilities, and to be accepted as a member of its staff was, in itself, a considerable accolade. At the same time it jealously guarded and nurtured its own customs, traditions and practices. One such was its long tradition of corporal punishment for student and basic-grade staff nurses, all of whom had freely accepted liability to such discipline as part of their contractual terms of employment. Should a young nurse subsequently refuse such punishment, the only alternative was instant dismissal for breach of contract, which no nurse holding such a proud and prized post would ever contemplate, so strong was their loyalty and esprit de corps.

In a dark corner of the crowded dance floor Pam and John danced slowly, cheek to cheek, in time to the band's dreamy waltz. They pressed and held each other tightly, their bodies moving as one, and both beginning to feel another influence besides that of the music. It was a hot night, and on this informal occasion they were only lightly dressed. John was wearing a thin, short-sleeved open neck shirt. Pam was looking - and feeling - very sexy in a clinging white silk blouse worn over her bare body, through which John could clearly see, and feel, her hard, firm and perfectly formed breasts as he held her close. It was a source of pride to Pam that she did not need a bra and rarely, if ever, wore one. The white silk was a perfect contrast to her just-off-the-collar length (as uniform regulations required), neatly styled rich warm black hair. Superbly and erotically teamed with the blouse, Pam was wearing her figure-hugging, skin-tight black leather trousers, fitted neatly into high-heeled, mid-calf length black polished boots.

Their desire for each mounted rapidly as their searching hands ran more urgently over one another's bodies. Pam lifted her face to her boyfriend invitingly, her mouth open ready to be kissed... His appreciative hand ran, fondling and searching, all over her full, round and high, tight bottom, clad in its drum tight leather skin. Then, all inhibitions rapidly disappearing, they began to feel for the buttons of each others tops, and to undo them. John had eased her partially unbuttoned blouse off one shoulder, and was just bending his mouth towards the erect nipple of Pam's lovely firm breast thus exposed, each of them completely lost in the passionate bliss of the other's attentions and oblivious to what was going on around them, when they were brought, suddenly and abruptly, back into the real world.

"Doctor! Nurse Grey! What is the meaning of this disgusting public exhibition?"

To their horror and confusion, Sister Roddam stood, stern and accusing, before them, taking in the situation at a glance. Oh hell, Pam thought to herself, her heart pounding, what's SHE doing here? I thought she'd gone hours ago!

In fact Sister Roddam had left earlier, but had popped back again just to make sure the party was not getting too out of hand - this being part of her responsibilities as Duty Sister. Thirty-three years of age and an attractive woman with many admirers of her own, she was at once respected and feared by the younger nurses as a firm and strict disciplinarian... Behaviour as wanton and blatant as that which she had just witnessed, in a public forum, she simply could not overlook. To do so would be ruinous for discipline, would reflect adversely on her own authority. Worst of all it would condone a breach of standards quite beyond the pale in a St. Mary's nurse.

It was, moreover, in the long term interests of Nurse Grey herself that, at this early and still impressionable stage of a promising career, she should receive an exemplary lesson as to the unacceptability of such conduct in public, and the error of her ways. Only then, her decision thus made on irreproachable objective grounds, did Sister Roddam admit to herself that she would also enjoy giving that cheekily flaunted bottom a damn good strapping!

"I shall report your part in this disgraceful incident to the hospital management, Doctor!" she said, coldly, eyeing John. "As for you, Nurse, make yourself decent at once!" Shamefaced, Pam tidied and adjusted her blouse, and refastened the buttons, as quickly as her confusion and trembling fingers would allow.

"Right!" Sister continued grimly, "Now go and wait outside my room at once!"

"Yes, Sister," Pam answered meekly, knowing only too well what was coming to her as she swiftly left the party to the gloating grins of the men and the sympathetic glances of the girls who were close enough to be aware of what had happened.

Upstairs in the corridor of the Sister's quarters and still in her party clothes, Pam stood waiting in disgrace, head bowed and hands behind her back, outside Sister Roddam's door. Her anticipatory discomfort was aggravated by the public humiliation of having to endure the curious stares of those passing along the corridor - a part of her punishment fully intended by Sister, and one reason why Pam's executioner was not hurrying herself unduly. She had, however, felt the need to consult Matron, feeling that her own powers of summary punishment were not sufficient in this case. Matron had agreed with her; the offence of public indecency was serious enough to justify reporting Nurse Grey's conduct to the hospital Administrator for such further action as he deemed fit.

At last, Sister arrived. After a few further moments of anxious waiting, the pale and trembling Pam was summoned into the room. As she closed the door behind her, Pam took in the comfortably furnished and spacious sitting room, in the centre of which had been placed the traditional St. Mary's two foot high, eighteen inch square padded leather punishment stool. Made to a traditional design and specification by an old, established specialist firm which had supplied the hospital discreetly for as long as anyone could remember, an identical stool together with its accompanying approved punishment strap was issued to every female nursing officer in the hospital of the rank of Sister and above.

At this moment Sister Roddam was holding and flexing the well-oiled punishment strap purposefully in her hand, as she confronted the delinquent girl standing nervously before her. The approved strap had a single plain blade of hard, springy, hide leather, the edges rounded and smoothed, ten inches long, two inches wide and a quarter of an inch thick. This fitted securely into a comfortable handle covered in matching leather. Its relatively heavy weight was partly due to its having been designed to be used over the culprit's clothing—additional penetrating power therefore being required—and partly because punishments at St. Mary's were, in any case, traditionally and intentionally memorable. Senior officers always punished over clothing for bare bottom punishments were reserved for the Administrator to apply; in those exceptionally serious cases which came to his attention.

The strap was designed to hurt like hell, but without causing injury or leaving lasting marks, and it was ideally suited to its purpose. Its fearsome appearance also contributed effectively to the psychological dimension of the punishment.

At the sight of the strap, Pam was almost tempted to consider that there were other hospitals she might apply to where corporal punishment was not practised and where a St. Mary's nurse would be made very welcome, but it was merely fleeting. She was too proud of her post.

"I must say, I am surprised at your behaviour, Nurse Grey," said Sister sternly, as she finished lecturing the wretched and quaking Pam. "Right, girl, you know the drill; face-down over the stool now, bottom right up high!"

"Yes, Sister," Pam responded in a voice strangely muted to little more than a whisper. She moved dutifully to present herself in the approved position over the stool with her arms and legs down at full stretch and her lovely, tightly leather-sheathed posterior held high and ready to receive the strap.

Sister slowly walked around her from behind, all the while thoughtfully contemplating the delectable target mounted for her attention. Finally she completed her circle and stood just to the left of Pam's rear. It was unfortunate that the girl's leather pants might give her more protection than she deserved, Sister thought. On the other hand, they were so gloriously smooth and tight as she lay bent over the stool that their insulating property might almost be cancelled out by their strong control of the buttocks which they held taut, firm and still. At all events, she would apply the strokes of the strap without mercy; there was no need to hold back. She measured the feared corrective instrument carefully across poor Pam's waiting bottom, precisely calculating her range and aiming point.

"Eighteen strokes, Nurse!" she announced crisply. "Prepare to receive your punishment!"

Oh Lord, the maximum! thought Pam, as she gritted her teeth and waited for the leather to strike. Sister, grim-faced and concentrating hard, her eyes never leaving her aiming point, raised her powerful arm to its full extent above her shoulder. A momentary pause then, Swoosh... Thwaaaack!!

Sister Roddam was a strong athletic woman in the prime of her life, and she put every last ounce of her not inconsiderable strength into the delivery of that first stroke. The strap whistled down with tremendous force and deadly accuracy, to land squarely across the crown of Pam's proffered posterior with the indescribably thrilling sound which only leather brought down hard on leather can make. If Pam's trousers gave her any relief at all, it was certainly not noticeable either to herself or to her chastiser. She tried to be brave and quiet, as befitted a St. Mary's nurse undergoing correction, but in her pain she could not stifle cries of 'Ohhhhhh' and 'Aaaaaahh'.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Sister knew how to use that strap and she continued to ply it with cold, clinical, clockwork regularity and precision, working at full power systematically over the whole target area, and completely ignoring Pam's involuntary moaning and wriggling, try as she might to suppress her reactions. Thwack! "Keep still, girl!" Thwack!  "This will teach you not to behave like a slut in public!" Thwack! "Well, what have you got to say?" Thwack!

"Oh yes, Sister, yes... OWWWWWWW!" Pam cried even louder as a particularly effective stroke found its mark.

"Be quiet, girl! Don't be such a baby. You know why you are being punished and you know you deserve it, don't you!"

It was a statement of affirmation, rather than a question.

"It's high time this arrogant, cocky backside of yours felt some real discipline!"

For the next thirty seconds or so the room fell silent except for the regular, remorseless swish and crack of the leather punishment strap, and the delinquent girl's anguished panting. Somehow she managed not to emit any more sounds. Nine more times the tough springy hide slashed down onto tightly-stretched leather pants in well spaced, evenly placed, strokes. The last stroke of all was a real tour de force, applied with ultimate effort, diagonally across from the top of the right cheek to the bottom of the left so as to overlay all the others. Pam's bottom jerked violently and her hips rose clear of the stool before she slumped down again to lie still, moaning quietly. Sister noted the effect with grim but pleasurable satisfaction as she finally lowered her whipping arm. She had really enjoyed that!

"On your feet, Nurse! Quickly now!" she rapped. Poor Pam was to be allowed no time to recuperate.

"Now - pay attention to what I have to say."

Pam stood obediently, fidgeting and rubbing her burning bottom, her face red and tear-stained as Sister continued:

"I know that hurt, but don't think your punishment is over. Matron has accepted my recommendation that my powers of summary punishment are insufficient to deal with the nature of your disgusting behaviour this evening. You will therefore be placed on the Administrator's disciplinary report. Ah, I can see in your face that you know exactly what that means! I advise you to read the relevant staff instructions and begin preparation for your visit to the Administrator now. That is all, Nurse Grey. You may go."

"Thank you, Sister," gulped Pam, humbly if somewhat hypocritically, as she turned and left the room.

She desperately needed John to comfort her, and she found him sitting disconsolately at the bar of the party which was still in progress. Noting her obvious embarrassment and discomfort the moment she appeared, he rose and gently took her aside. "I'm so sorry, darling," he said, holding her close and softly stroking her hair, "How many did you get?"

"Eighteen," Pam replied tearfully, still shaking, "and reported to the Administrator! Roddam's strap was absolute hell, and the bitch really laid it on - she loves it! But that strap is nothing compared to that terrible thin cane I'm going to get across my bare bottom and that caning will go down on my service record. Oh it's so unfair! I just can't believe it!"

It was indeed a fact that summary punishments on their own wiped the slate clean and were treated as water under the bridge, but to be put on Administrator's disciplinary report also entailed a permanent endorsement on the errant nurse's conduct record. In extreme circumstances this could adversely affect her promotion and career prospects and she would have to watch her step from now on.

"Oh to hell with it!" exclaimed Pam, her spirits rising now she was secure in her lover's arms, her well-tanned backside now feeling a very sore but erotically warm and stimulating glow. "Now you have an excuse to take my trousers down and give me your medical opinion, Doctor, as well as gloating over the state of my poor bottie. I know you're just dying to, you sadist. Then you can take me to bed and screw me to oblivion, you wonderful, gorgeous brute of a man!"

"Certainly, Madam!" John grinned and slapped her leather-clad bottom hard on both cheeks.

"Ooooooo you swine!" she said happily, laying her head on his shoulder as he led her gently but firmly up to his bedroom; this time successfully avoiding the detection which otherwise have earned him a severe censure and her another immediate, and well merited, thrashing.

As you have noticed, there is more to come, but I'll save that for next week.