5 comments/ 3467 views/ 15 favorites Rod's Quest Ch. 03 By: GrandTeton Day 49 All three woke early, Rod, Amy and June. Even so, they could hear Joan, Rod and June's mother, rattling around in the kitchen. At least they could save a little time, since no one had nightclothes that needed shedding. Amy was a little embarrassed at her nakedness in front of her friends. June had none at all. Rod felt like Baby Bear; he was not in the least embarrassed in front of June but he was sort of embarrassed in front of Amy. Get over it, he heard his mother's voice in his head. Somehow, he didn't think this was what she had meant. Amy thought it was to save time and Rod thought it was to save hot water, but June knew it was for fun and for therapy, when the three of them squeezed into the shower. Lots of hands helped various bodies to get clean. Some of the hands tended to linger where they ought not, at least if the objective was a fast wash. June was a harsh task mistress. Everyone was out drying off by the time Joan yelled up the stairs that breakfast was ready in five minutes, and everyone was at the table on time. Amy had a shine to her that hadn't been there the day before. There was no sign of the depression that sometimes clouded Rod's days. June was brighter than Joan had seen her in weeks. They're incredibly good for each other, Joan thought. Breakfast was over and June herded Amy and Rod out to the car. Rod was allowed to come today. Joan knew they would need his strength if the doctor was right and Amy had problems afterward. At the hospital, Amy reiterated her intention to go ahead. The surgeon insisted on this last minute check up with every one of her patients. It was the last chance to back out, even though all the consents were on record and witnessed. The legalities were one thing, apparently. She treated her patients as people, though, and made sure there were no cold feet. Joan and her children were sent to the lounge to wait. The doctor had wanted them to stay at the hospital even though there was no possibility Amy would be awake or able to leave for several hours. The doctor felt that knowing they were right there would be good for Amy. It was no hardship. Wherever they might be they were each of them going to be distracted worrying about Amy even though there was little risk. Well, little physical risk, the doctor had said. The mental side was different, especially since Amy was still on the edge. Two o'clock, the promised time of release, eventually came. The three of them were, by that time, bored stiff. Being a hospital, nothing happened. Rod checked with the nursing staff, who simply said things had been running behind. About an hour later Amy was wheeled out still groggy from the anesthetic. "Love you guys," she murmured. She was frail and wan. She did smile a little. "Thankfully, that's over. I feel like my own person again." Rod got her into the car safely and they were away. That night the three young adults, to use Charlie's determination, crawled into June's bed together without hesitation. Their arms and legs intertwined, they fell asleep. All of them had been too tired for further explorations. They just needed the comfort their presence gave each other. ********** Day 53 Rod was working on supper preparations. June and Amy had chosen to go for a walk on a bright day. The sun was shining but it was not too hot to move. The windows were open and a warm breeze wafted through them. Amy had complained of being bored, and asserted she was healthy enough to go outside for a bit. June had seized on the opportunity to get some exercise. Sun and air would do them both good. Rod was just sliding his homemade lasagna into the oven when he detected a change in the sounds outside. Instead of a lazy day's noises he heard traces of an angry chanting. June and Amy were out in that. Maybe there was nothing wrong. Maybe there was. He was going to check. He moved fast to get outside and aimed towards where the noise, which now seemed more like jeering and catcalls than chanting, was coming from. A block over and a block down, Rod could see a half dozen late teen males, perhaps high school seniors, circled around two girls. It had to be Amy and June. It looked more like a standoff than a friendly meeting. There were a couple more high school guys coming down on the other side of the street. Looked like football team members, from the size of them. Rod watched the confrontation develop as he raced towards his sister and their friend. Both of those beautiful women had been curled up naked with him in his bed this morning. Now it looked like they were in harm's way. "Sluts! Murderers! Whores!" The pointless insults rang out with a disturbing harshness in the mild suburban air. The teens were only a year or so younger than the two women. They started crowding them. They were perhaps a threat because there were so many - six to two. Fortunately, they did not have the killer aura about them that the attackers had exhibited in the rape, or that Rod had seen once in a downtown mob at university. Amy and June were, naturally enough, getting pretty nervous. They had not recovered from being assaulted. Does anyone, ever? Then one of the leaders pushed June, just palmed her shoulder to stop her. Oh, oh, Rod thought. Bad move. June had always been a bit claustrophobic. She could not stand to be confined. She was easily as strong as the guy who'd pushed her. Rod shuddered as he saw it coming. June did not tend to shrink in on herself when she was confined. She tended to strike out. The dumb idiot who had disrespectfully blocked her way got a knee in the nuts and an elbow in the ear. She grabbed the guy next to him, who had invaded her personal space, and smacked her forearm across his throat. Amy, who everyone overlooked, used her toned gymnast's muscles to haul one guy down and knee another. This wasn't New York. The two footballers had dealt with the last of the offenders before June or Amy could turn their attention to them. Rod rode up on his white charger to find everything under control. He at least knew what to do next. "Brenda," he called the police station. "Who's on garbage duty? We have half a dozen, corner of Maple and Smith, and you'll need the van. . . . No one's hurt enough to need a doctor. . . . We'll watch them for you. . . . Tell Mom the girls are fine. . . . See you in five." Rod was going to thank the two footballers, but they were busily being kissed by Amy and June. He doubted his thanks were important enough to interrupt that. He also thought that precedent would probably start up an unofficial bodyguard for the two of them. He'd do anything for a kiss like that. Probably any male would, even gay ones. He wondered whether he was imagining the steam. When they got home June was glorious, an avenging valkyrie. The chance to strike out and feel her fists land on someone who deserved it had brought her full-fledged out of the traces of depression that had haunted her since the assault. For the first time after the assault, she grinned. She demonstrated exactly what had been done, to whom, by whom. She had regained her confidence that she could handle herself in most situations. She was not going to walk around scared any more. "Poor Roddie," she exclaimed. "Here he was ready to deal out death and dismemberment, and everything was fully under control. It was so awfully sweet of him." She leaned in for a kiss, and not a particularly chaste one. Amy, though, had been affected differently. She wasn't nearly as far along the road to recovery as June had been. In spite of her competence in dealing with their hecklers, she somehow felt she was to blame for having attracted them. June lauded her with praise for her ability. Amy thought it was feigned. It did not occur to her that what she'd done - barely five feet tall, maybe ninety pounds soaking wet - taking out two guys almost her own age, maybe five nine or ten, certainly 140 - 150 pounds each, was in any way remarkable. That was just the way she was. She focussed on the fact of the attack or hustle itself, not her supremely competent way of handling it. Rod cried inside for her. After supper, which was late because Rod had forgotten to turn the oven on before he went out, Amy's mother called. "My mother wants me to come home, again, where they can protect me," she reported afterwards. "I said I'd go. Even though she's been a pain, I can tell she worries about me. She is my mother. So I said I'd go home with her. They'll be over in about an hour to pick me up." "You know this is as much your home as anywhere, Amy" Joan reassured her. "If you want to go, you should go. If you decide you want to come back, all three of us will be here for you." Amy struggled down the stairs with her suitcase half an hour later. "Rod, can you get the other one? Mrs. Ransom, can I leave the third one here for a while?" "Sure." "Of course." "Amy, you aren't doing this to protect us, are you?" June asked. "Maybe a little, but mostly because I can tell my mother is beginning to get frantic. I've been gone a week and who knows what's happened to me? It's not fair to her to stay away any longer." That night Rod and June took Amy's advice and just started out in bed with each other. There wasn't much point to pretending they wouldn't end up there. Their naked bodies were twined sensuously together. They clutched each other for comfort. "Roddie, Amy scares me. I'm so afraid for her." "Me, too. What can we do for her, though?" "Just be here, I guess." ********** Day 62 June's memories faded away again as she continued to hold Rod tightly. He was still agonizing about what could never be changed. About what could never be minimized. About what was no fault of his. She was still seeing her attackers in nightmares that left her screaming, too. About the only good thing was they almost never had the nightmare the same night, so they were there for each other. Mom had been upset at first that she couldn't bring either of them out of their nightmares. Then she conceded that the two needed each other more. As June and Rod lay pressed together in Rod's bed, Rod slowly roused from the nightmare, calming bit by bit as the warmth and comfort of June's body, her caring, and the love expressed by her presence, soothed his self-loathing, stopped his shivers and shakes, lured him into the waking world where he was still loved and respected. "Oho," June thought as she felt Rod stiffening beside her. Well, a part of Rod, she supposed. Now that hadn't happened before in all the nights she'd comforted him, or he'd comforted her. About bloody time, too. She realized her nightshirt had ridden up when she felt a hand clasp her butt. "Beautiful butt," Rod murmured, still mostly asleep. His hand wandered comfortingly across the curves of her firm rump. June backed ever so slightly into the hand. Two can play at that game, she thought. She grasped Rod's penis. She pulled it slowly out of its clothes, feeling it harden more as she slowly stroked it from tip to root, and back. It grew larger still. Somehow a hand, and it wasn't hers, had snaked under her top and was massaging her nipple. She wriggled a moment and the hand touched her other breast, sliding over the soft flesh to her other nipple. She could get used to this, she thought muzzily. June decided she wanted to see what was going on and threw off the covers. Rod's instrument in her hands stared up at her. It might not have been the biggest cock she'd ever seen, she thought, but it sure was the prettiest. She kept stroking to see how much larger she could get it. Another hand (how many did he have?) eased down to her labia, fingers fluttering happily about, stroking her labia, teasing her clitoris. "Ooooo," she groaned happily. One of the playing fingers sought entry. "Rod no," she hissed. "I'm not ready for that." He backed off, his magic fingers returning to stroke her labia and flick her clitoris. Up and down and around. He was driving her crazy then she came, spurts of semen shooting between her fingers - no that was him, and his hand wet with her juices - they had both come. "June," he muttered. "We can't do this - we're siblings." "Well, brother," June retorted. "We just did. We both needed it, it's part of healing, and I'll be damned if there's anyone else I'd rather do it with." Rod replied gathered her into his arms. "Maybe you're my sister, but you're my best friend, too." ********** Day 79 June woke up in Rod's bed. Her nightshirt was somewhere on the floor. Her breasts were mashed into Rod's bare back. Her pelvis pushed into his bare buttocks. Her arms gripped his. They were spooned together. She felt warm, comforted, loved and safe. It had become their custom when they ended up in bed together to take the comfort skin gave. They had worked up to mutual oral sex. They usually indulged. Nothing like a good orgasm to settle your nerves, June thought. There had been no more talk about brother-sister or wrong since that first night. They were good friends who happened to love each other. People who love each other have sex. June was not going to borrow trouble. She had no idea how long it would last. She wanted it to, but whether it would was not up to just her. Take what you've got, June, she told herself over and over. That's pretty damn good. This morning June had another plan. She'd become much more settled with Rod and the idea of sex. After the first few nights on the incest train (she giggled to herself at the thought) Rod had convinced her to let him put a finger in when he was manipulating her privates. It felt so much better that she soon allowed him two, and for the last couple of times he'd tried three. She thought that had been a bit greedy, though, and had reduced his ration. Sex was for fun, not milestones. Rod had been really wonderful about not pressing her for penis penetration. Of course, he was a pretty wonderful guy. Given what they'd already done it couldn't be any reluctance to take her to bed. As far as she could tell, Rod was a tit man. He never seemed to be able to get enough of her breasts. He always looked. June was proud of her body, but his unabashed admiration made her feel really good. Perhaps Rod was an ass man. He always grabbed or patted her ass when there was a chance. He just loved to caress it, and that felt just great. Now she thought about it, maybe Rod was a leg man. He was always ogling her legs, stroking them when he could, drawing his fingers over her calves or her thighs. "Roddie, I can't decide whether you are a tit man, an ass man or a leg man." Rod knew a good thing when he had it. "I'm a June man, sweetheart." He rolled over and swept her into a fierce hug. His lips found hers, and their tongues caressed, seeking out the intimate depths of each other's mouths. His hands roamed up and down the smooth planes of her strong back. Her hands absorbed the strength of his arms and wandered happily over the strong muscles of his back. She dropped her grip to the hard muscles of his buttocks, caressing hungrily. June's hands swept around the tops of his thighs and attacked his manhood from both sides. Rod gasped. "Are you insatiable, woman," he laughed. "You haven't seen insatiable, yet, Rod." Their hands continued to engage in the mutual exploration of what was rapidly becoming a familiar and beloved landscape. They were not overtly sexual. A flick of a finger here, a slow caress of a secret part there contributed to their increasing arousal. Mostly, though, their shared touching was a reaffirmation of their love, confirmation of their joining on some higher level, revelling in their mutual strengths, sharing their weaknesses and trading help for them. "Rod, please make me a woman again." "Are you sure, June? I want to, but you know that even more I don't want to hurt you." "Yes, Rod. It's time. I have to get over the scars. And, Roddie, I do so want you inside me, washing away the filth, loving me, letting me love you all the way." Rod continued his successful efforts to rouse June. Her juices were soon flowing freely, the result of at least two climaxes by Rod's count. June had been no less diligent. Rod felt his balls were about to explode. A quick twist of her hand and he relaxed. Pain can do that even to a roaring erection. Rod slid June over onto her back again and positioned himself carefully between her legs. "June," he said again, "you are in charge now. If you say stop, I'll stop. I won't want to, but I promise I will. If we can't do this today, we'll do it another day, soon. I won't hurt you." June took the rigid penis hovering over her genitals and slowly, gently slipped it between her lower lips. It slid freely. She hissed at the contact, fighting a mental battle, not a physical one. She moved slowly up on his penis, guiding it always with her hand, ready to pull it away. She tugged slightly, signalling Rod for a little more length. She pushed her hips down into the mattress, backing off, then gradually raised herself again, and then a little higher still. Accepting a bit more of him each time. She wondered if it would be better to just face the agony and get it all over at once? Right now, though, there was no pain. Actually, it was beginning to feel pretty good. She repeated the cycle, gaining a little more length and a great deal of pleasure each time. She repeated the cycle again. Rod was sweating with the effort to hold back, to let June be absolutely in control. He could ruin a life, here, he thought in an effort to be strong for her. After what seemed like hours, June had succeeded and Rod was all the way into the marvellous tightness and warmth and security and love that was June. They lay there together, one sheathed in the other, getting used to the feeling of each other. Rod knew he would never forget the first time he and his sister joined. "Hurt?" "No, it feels marvellous." "Let's try a little movement. Stop me if it starts to hurt or feel bad or if you just want to." Rod pulled out a little. June hissed. "Is it hurting?" "No, I just don't want you to go." "I'll be back." Rod started a simple rhythm, moving just a couple of inches at a time. June went along happily. He started pulling out a little farther each time. He continued until he had established a pattern of pulling out almost until the head of his penis was kissed by June's labia, then thrusting steadily, not fiercely, back in until he bottomed out. The walls of June's vagina clasped him like warm, wet velvet. It was a loving, secure, wonderful feeling. In and out, he continued, hearing June's breathing start to speed up, enjoying the feeling. "This is so wonderful, Roddie." The feelings continued to build up in Rod as he enjoyed the feel of his sister, her lips attached to his, her breasts under his chest and hands, her vagina holding his cock, her legs mingled with his. With virtually no warning these feelings culminated in an intense climax. Rod was spurting into June. Oh hell, he hadn't been able to wait for her. "Sorry, June. I meant to wait for you. It's just that you feel so damn good." "Roddie, don't be an asshole. I've never come with a guy in me yet. I've come three times this morning as it is. I've been cock-teasing you for weeks. I started out scared shitless. This has been the most wonderful sexual experience of my life. Don't be sorry that you've made me the happiest woman around. Not just because I didn't come this time." "OK, sweetheart. I just wanted it to be perfect for you this time." "Bloody good is enough for me, Roddie. It was fantastic. I have never been loved like that, never. Roddie, I don't think I'm going to be able to ever give you up." "Won't that be a little hard on Amy?" "We agreed to share a long time ago." Rod's Quest Ch. 03 "Oh. Do I have a say?" "No." "Good. Now about this not climaxing when you have sex. I think we can get around that. It's just a matter of practice. A lot of practice. What do you say?" "Oh, good." ********** "Roddie, did I tell you I loved you?" "Yes, June. Several times. Did I tell you I loved you? "Yes, dear, you did." Their practising continued. "June, I'm going to come." "Hold on, Roddie, I'm right with you." They climaxed nearly together. June was a little sorry they'd succeeded so quickly. It had only taken four tries. Each one felt better than the last. Rod thought his penis would fall off. Strange, it started up again when June whispered that maybe they'd better be sure. Turned out they had the trick of it now. "Does this mean we don't need to practise anymore?" "Hell, no. It takes a lot of practice to keep your edge." "Oh good." ******** Day 87 "Junie?" Joan asked. "Are you giving any thought to what you are doing to your brother?" "What do you mean, Mom?" "Well, I know you two are going at it like crazed rabbits, Junie." She held up a hand. "Please don't try to deny it. I know there are reasons, and they're good ones. You've brought your brother out of his depression. He's been a happy guy lately. He's had a pretty good effect on you, too." "Oh Mom, it's been marvellous. He's such a good lover. No one else ever treated me like that. I never enjoyed it so much with anyone else. It's making love, Mom, not just fucking or having carnal relations." "I suppose it doesn't hurt that he's a cutie pie, either." Rod, being a modest kind of guy, would have been pretty embarrassed by what they got into next. He would probably have been pretty surprised at how much June thought of him, too. "You're a very pretty woman, too, June. It's hard to be fair to yourself. It's too easy to be too proud, or too modest. Take it from me, though. You can have plenty of choice should you decide that's what you want." "I don't think there's anybody out there who can compete with Roddie, Mom. He's handsome, buff, and so damned caring." "You may be right about that, Junie, at least in your age bracket." Joan's face took on a dreamy look. "Trust me, though, there are a few more out there like that." "Mom," June laughed. "The only other one I know of is taken. By you." "Well, there is that. . . . Back to the point of this interview. You and your brother are having a wonderful sexual orgy, and I have to live with that. I won't pretend that I'm all gooey about it, because I'm not. On the other hand, I've made no effort to interfere because it was what was needed. You give each other more than I can give either of you. The two of you mean far more to me than a set of rules, cop that I am. "What I am getting at, Junie, is consequences. Have you given any thought to what happens next? Is this a fling? Is it forever? I agree that you probably couldn't do better than Roddie for forever, but is it what you are planning? "Are you forcing Roddie to choose between you and Amy? I've known she has been deeply in love with him since she was sixteen, maybe younger." "Four, Mom, same as me," June offered softly. "You've got advantages. You're first in with a sexual relationship. You're here, Amy is at her place. You can make Roddie choose you. Are you going to do that?" "Oh Mom," June giggled. "You're so serious. You're worrying about the wrong things. This is all decided. Amy and I agreed when we were ten that we'd share Roddie and raise a fine crop of little girls between us. And that's what we're going to do!" Joan sat at the table and held her head. June was serious! ********** Day 93 June rolled over. It had been her turn for the nightmare last night. She still felt parts of it in her muddled brain. She also luxuriated in the last of Rod's warmth. She felt the wet traces between her legs and stretched lazily, like a cat, remembering the pleasure he had given her. Truth to tell, she was looking forward to a repetition of that pleasure as soon as she could drag Rod back to bed. Mom was on duty today, so there would be lots of time to cuddle and make love. She hadn't felt this good since she didn't know when. Long before that disastrous night, anyway. "Thank heavens!" That was her mother's voice, downstairs. Why was she home? It was an office meeting day, June was sure. Another fight over parking spots, she suspected. Something about as important, anyway. "I'll take care of that, don't you worry. The law's on our side this time even without a complaint from . . . ." The voice faded away. There were some murmurings she couldn't make out. Probably Rod, she thought with pleasure. Then her mother's voice rose again: "Yeah, Brenda, you take Corporal Goff and check it out. . . . . Get her out of there, or him, more likely. Whichever works. . . . It's a real complaint, eyewitness, scared as hell. Look, you got her out earlier, you know. I've got her under cover. . . . Have Cooper take the other car and the long gun. The perp's usually chicken, but who knows in a domestic. You'll be happier for the cover. . . . Yeah, the parking tickets can wait this morning. . . . Okay, move it out. . . . I'm known there, I have to stay out of it. Call me when you get there." June stumbled into shorts and a top and wandered downstairs. There was Amy, large as life (and twice as pretty) clinging to Rod as June's mother served up breakfast. "Woke the living dead, did we?" Joan joked. "Rod, go get Amy's other bag." The third, with Amy's winter things, had been up in the spare room for weeks. "I'll bring June up to date so she can close her mouth and stop catching flies." June suddenly saw how worried her mother had been, and how relieved she now was. She hadn't paid much attention to it before. June herself was now far too involved in hugging and kissing Amy, holding her out at arm's length for inspection and then hugging her again to pay much attention to anything else. The two inseparables had not been apart for so long since Amy first moved to town when Rod was four. "Mom, what's going on. I'm so happy to see you, Amy, I'm over the moon." This time Amy started the hugs, and it was a while before things settled down enough for June to ask her questions. Not that she minded. Hugging Amy was next to hugging Rod on her list of priorities. Right beside it, in fact. Maybe ahead of it. "Amy, please let go of enough of June that she can eat," Joan instructed. "That will leave a little I can hug, too." June's mother and Amy curled up, embracing happily, as June started on her breakfast, feeling one of Amy's arms around her even so. "So what's happening?" June got out between bites. Boy, she was hungry this morning. Is that what sex does to you? Making love to Rod in the evening and the morning, and now Amy was here, to stay, looked like. June beamed. Things were looking up, big time. "I'll get Amy to fill you in on the details, June. The bones of it is that her stepfather threatened her, and her mother, when Livia came to her senses and tried to intervene. May have hit Livia from what Amy saw." Amy nodded. "Amy managed to get away from him, gather her things, got Carl to tote them out to her car when our people showed up - all they had was an out-of-town call, so they weren't too sure how real it was - and then got over here. I was in the kitchen making breakfast before getting ready for work. "Such a lost little voice when Rod answered the door. 'Roddie, can I come in while I figure out what I'm going to do now.' Your brother just grabbed her, the way I would have if it had been me at the door, and you, too, I know, and told her 'You're going to stay here, of course, sweetheart. Can't think what else you could be considering.' Then I couldn't pry them apart until you showed up." Joan laughed. "And is that a load off my mind. Amy, we worried so much about you. Here's Rod, now, he has both of the bags upstairs for you." "So what happened, Amy." The siblings could tell Amy had had another difficult time with her parents. This time, though, she wasn't crying. She was angry. Madder than they had ever seen her. They figured any minute now she'd begin to spit nickels. Joan, their mother, hovered comfortingly. She wanted to hear just what had happened as well, and not just as a concerned parent. "Don't push Amy if she doesn't want to talk, kids," she offered. "I want to tell you. I want you to know what a sick fuck my poor mother is saddled with. This morning . . . ********** Amy's Tale - Day 93 I woke up this morning pretty much as usual. Exhausted from lack of sleep, my throat sore from screaming, bed clothes in a knot. I'm not easy to live with, these days. Anyway, for a change my stepfather opened my door before I was out of bed and started to come in. He didn't look to be in a comforting mood. I yelled at him to stop, he had no business in my room, get out. He staggered in my direction. He must have been into the hooch awfully early this morning. He stopped for a minute when I yelled, then his false courage must have kicked in again. "You've kept me up late screaming for the last time. What you need, you little whore, is to be fucked by a real man." He lunged for me and tore off my nightshirt, leaving me nude and scrambling for the corner. "You need it to calm you down, sweetheart. Besides, you're the only reason I've been hanging around here for the last couple of years. I figure it's time I got some of my own at last. C'mere and give your daddy a big kiss. Say, you've got small tits. Betcha you got a tight snatch. Oooh I can just feel my big cock in your tight little snatch." I was trying to keep out of reach, right on the verge of hysterics and maybe ready to just faint dead away. My mother, of all people, was pulling at him, trying to get him out. "Robert," she screamed, "Stop that. She's hurt and you're her stepfather. Don't do this." All I could see from where I was, was his arm sweeping back and knocking her to the floor. You know my stepfather is a big guy. He knocked Mom right back into the hall. Free of interference for the moment, at least, he dropped his pants. Just undid his belt and dropped them, kicked them off his ankles, his cock hanging loose, swelling as he became more aroused. "Look at it, sweetheart, it's growing for you. Don't you want a lovely big cock like this in your little insides. I'll give it to you, right now, and you'll thank me for it." I screamed. Mom yelled. As I backed away, looking for an escape that didn't seem to be there, my hand came up with my phone. I hit speed dial 7. I hoped it was 911. It turned out better than that, smartest mistake I ever made. "Behan, here, Miss Amy. May I be of service?" "Behan, do you do vengeance? I think this son of a bitch is going to kill me, and my mom, or, worse, make us wish we were dead. I want you to make his life hell if he does." I backed further, coming up against the wall. My stepfather had his arms spread, preventing escape in either direction. He'd smashed my mother again when she tried to interfere. She lay moaning on the floor. "I am unfortunately a few hours away, Miss Amy. Perhaps you had better put me on speaker." I didn't know what good it could do, but I pressed the speaker button. "Are you feeling lucky - I mean thousand to one lucky, chump." It was a perfect Clint Eastwood impersonation. Dirty Harry was there in the room with us. I doubt anything else would have brought my father up short in his drunken rage. "You listen to me." That was the coldest, iciest voice I'd ever heard. I swear the temperature of my room dropped ten degrees. I started to shiver, and that voice wasn't even aimed at me. "Miss Amy is of my employer's family. More to the point, sir, she is of my family. If you put one finger on her, one finger, I say, I will personally and with great pleasure rip the fingers off your hands, one at a time. I will then pull your arms out of their sockets. I will crush your toes. I will leave you to non-existent charity, for I will ruin you but I will not kill you. If you hurt any of my family or their loved ones I will destroy you. I will cause you to feel agony all the days of what I hope will be a very long life. "The code of vengeance is an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, but that is not my code. My code is different. My code is whatever you do unto mine shall be returned tenfold and an hundredfold to those who offend me. If you don't understand, it means your life will be hell. You have met me. You know what I promise will be delivered. Even if you should by incredibly good luck manage to evade me for a time, others will also pursue you. A great many others. Equally determined to hurt you. Do you understand?" I was starting to cringe away from the phone by that time, my stepfather, frozen by that voice, almost forgotten. My stepfather gurgled something. "Speak up! Or are you planning on searing, exquisite, perpetual agony, pain so bad you'll scream for release, and not get it." "I heard. Don't touch Amy. All right, but I'm going to throw that bitch out. No more screaming under my roof. No more tantalizing me either, swinging that fancy ass with the don't touch sign on it." "Amy will be leaving your home. She will not be coming back. You will not injure her mother. There will be police coming shortly to be sure Miss Amy has no difficulty leaving. You will not interfere." He hung up. My stepfather glared at me. "You heard, bitch," he said. "Get the fuck out. Get your things and get out. Go screw that cold hearted bastard. Only thing a rag like you is good for." He staggered back into the hall. I threw his pants after him and locked the door from my side, for whatever good it might do. After a few minutes my stepfather regained his courage. I think he'd had another drink. He was staggering and none too well coordinated from what I saw. He'd managed to blot out that cold voice. I was almost dressed and had finished packing. When I saw him coming I retreated back into my room. My mom called out that a couple of police officers were here to help. It was Brenda and Carl. My stepfather backed out of the way again. Brenda looked to be on a very short fuse. He started forward as Carl was bringing my second bag down. "Hey . . . " he started. "Go ahead, make my day." Brenda's rendition wasn't nearly as good as Behan's, but it did have the virtue of sincerity. Her hand hovered over her gun, just waiting for the opportunity. This reminder of Behan's threats rocked my stepfather back on his heels, and he turned away. "Coming, Missus," Cal asked Mom. "No, I think I'd better stay with him. He will need me when he sobers up. He's all I have now." "We're just a call away, ma'am, if you need us." "Thank you, officer. Amy, I haven't been much help lately. Take my phone." "But Mom . . ." "Check the video when you get out," she whispered vehemently. And so I came here - nowhere else to go. "Nowhere else you need to go," Rod, June and Joan growled in chorus. ********** Joan took Amy's mother's phone, making sure Rod and June could both tell she was not changing anything. She started the video playback. They could hear Amy screaming and her mother crying and her stepfather growling. "What have you got there, Mom?" "Fourteen years at least. I've got to get this copied and verified. I'll be back in an hour. This is going to get at least one sicko off the streets for a very long time." The phone rang again before Joan could get out the door. "It's for you, Mom. You want to get it. It's Dad." "Hello, that you Charlie? . . . No, it's OK, the kids are fine, Amy, too . . . No, she's not going back there, I'm not going to let that happen even if she can pry herself free of Rod and June, which doesn't seem too likely . . . Actually, it's all under control, now. Somebody is going to make a lengthy acquaintance with the prison system. Somebody who should be scared shitless he might meet Behan again. Please let him know it was most effective and gave enough time for my people to get there and put a lid on it. . . . I've sent a team over to pick that man up. It's ironclad - poor Livia had enough smarts to get the worst of it on video. Two minutes worth of assault, sexual assault, threats. Good for a very long time away. . . . I'll let the kids know . . . Yeah, love you, too. See you whenever." "Your father wants you to know he called. Which you know anyway. He asked me to tell you how relieved he is that things didn't get worse. Amy, Charlie asked me to tell you specially that if you would like to call him Dad now, he would be very proud. Think on it, honey." "Now I've really got to get a move on." "Phone again, Mom. You want to take this call, too. It's Brenda." "Chief Ransom. . . . You've got him now, though? . . . OK, lock him up. . . . Well, get the doctor to have a look at him, then. . . . Fell in the parking lot, must have skidded on the gravel, eh? . . . Beats falling down stairs, I suppose. I don't know of anybody who's going to cry about it. . . . All right, I'll tell the kids. Is there someone staying with her? . . . Good. I'll drop by a little later and see if anything more needs doing about that. . . . See you shortly. And Brenda? . . . Well done." "All right, guys. My people have picked up that scum. He's in a cell now. Had an accident along the way, I hear. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. Your mother is holding on, Amy. The neighbour is keeping her company while she settles down. It's been a harrowing day for her. From what Brenda says, your mother has decided that even though it was a horrible act, at least it opened her eyes, and she's never going to see that dirtbag again. "It was not a neat take down. My people were good. Your stepfather wasn't, Amy. When the team got there, not very long after you got here, they thought maybe your mother would still want to stay with him and would obstruct the pickup. As soon as they got in - reminds me, we'll have to take care of that broken doorjamb - they found the idiot still pounding on your mother. As soon as he saw cops in the room he scooted out to a back room and came back with a gun." "I never knew there was a gun in the house," Amy interjected. "Didn't think so. We'll find out about it. Anyway, he was starting to point it towards our people when your mother grabbed his arm and dragged it down. The gun went off, but very luckily no one was hit. I gather that was when your stepfather had his first accident. All I know for absolutely certain is that Brenda said Carl had nothing to do with it. After that, they took him in, looked out for your mother, took care of things. So at least that much is settled. . . . Resisting arrest with a firearm, that man is never going to see the light of day." Joan opened the door and waited a moment. The phone did not ring. She scooted out and into the patrol car before anyone else had a chance to stop her. ********** The girls (Rod knew he should think of them as young women, but that was kind of hard given he'd known them both since he was four) were figuring out living arrangements. Amy was being too polite, as usual, not wanting to intrude or cause difficulty. "June, I told you I scream at night. I still have terrible nightmares. I'm scared and jumpy and short-tempered and ought to be locked away." "Bullshit." June had a way of dealing with objections. "You can keep your stuff in the spare room. There's not really enough space in my room for both of us. I'll make room for some of your things, so you'll have at least the basics." "You don't need to do that. I'll be in the other room. There's plenty of space there." "No, you won't. You'll sleep in here with me. The bed's big enough. Sometimes Rod fits when I have nightmares, so that's how I know. We'll keep the bogies away from both of us." Rod's Quest Ch. 03 "Oh, June, that's so intrusive. I couldn't do that to you again." "That's the way it's going to be. Which of those cases did you want Rod to bring in?" ********** Joan reported at suppertime. Amy's stepfather was in a cell and was going to stay there. He had managed to contact a lawyer and even managed a bail hearing. When the judge heard about defying the police with an unregistered handgun, the question of bail evaporated. "Mr. Sancton, you are entitled to a full bail hearing for your client in the next ten days or so if you wish it. I won't be presiding over it. Let me give you some advice. Don't waste the court's time or your client's money. Given what he is accused of, bail is out of the question." ********** That night June and Amy curled up together. For the first time, no one had nightmares. Rod slept soundly alone. Amy and June took comfort from each other's presence, and although both of them woke from time to time, they simply hugged and drifted off again. Amy did not scream once. ********** Day 98 "Mom," Rod opened what he expected to be a difficult conversation with his mother. "You know about me and . . . " "Look," Mom interrupted. "I'm an officer of the law. If I had any reason to believe relations between you and your sister were other than they appear to be on the surface I would have to report it or give up my job. Maybe it would cost me my job anyway. Maybe I'm just blind, since I don't want to know. Maybe I know and I just don't want to admit it." "But we're adults!" "In this jurisdiction 'adults' doesn't matter. Adults can commit incest too. I know you and June are close, you always have been. And you're close as anyone can be with Amy. Thank heaven she finally got out of that home. It's been hard for poor Livia, too, finding out just what a scumbag she married the second time around. Makes me glad I've never had the urge. "After that disaster how could you three not be close. But close friends is as much as it can be so far as anyone knows. Well, not with Amy, that would be all right, though how you'd break through that poor girl's shell I wouldn't know. Remember, I've got enemies, too, who'd love to use you - my children - to bring me down. Don't let them, Rod. "June's still seriously hurt, even if she won't let you or anyone else see it. We can't depend on her - she can't depend on herself. We have to help her. And Amy, too, of course. But it's you and June who are running risks for all of us. Amy's stepfather hates all of us for what we have done already to help her, and for what we're going to do. And for what I'm going to see happens to him. Some of that may be fear. It ought to be. There may be others in this community who would love to bring me, and all of us, down as well. People who are envious of our position, people who don't think a woman should be a cop, much less chief, people who just want to create mischief. Be strong for June. Do you hear me, Rod?" "Yes, Mom. I never thought of it that way. There's more cess out there than just in the villains, isn't there." "Being a police officer can make you cynical, I know. I wish it weren't so. But I can't do my job and protect my family if I ignore the risks and assume everyone has as good a heart as you do, Roddie." "It's hard, Mom. June is more than my sister. She's my best friend." Rod turned to go upstairs. "How's Amy, Rod?" "Not good, not as bad, I guess. She's crying less, talking a little more, mostly with June. It's been a lot better since she moved back with us." "I'm here for her, too, Rod. We all are. Let her know for me, will you?" "Sure, Mom. I think she knows and relies on it. She knows you fought for her once. She knows you'll fight for her again if she needs it. I'll tell her again, can't hurt. Love you, Mom." ********** Day 103 "Amy, your mother is here," June called up the stairs. "What? Tell her to go away. Call the police!" "Isn't that overkill, Amy?" Joan laughed at her. She was still in her chief's uniform. "I guess so, since the chief's already here," Amy muttered. "Go on down and be polite and let's see what this is about." Amy reluctantly went down to the hallway. Her mother stood nervously at the door. Her stepfather was nowhere to be seen. He was still in jail. He was going to be in jail for a very long time. "Amy, can we talk, just for a few minutes? I know I haven't been a good mother, or any sort of a mother for you since that terrible time. Please let me have a few minutes." "Momma Joan says to be polite. Will you come in? We can go in the den." "If it's all the same, I'd like to talk to you in the living room, where the others can hear, too. What I have to say is for you, and for them, too." Livia took one armchair. Amy took the other. Joan and Rod and June took seats on the couch. "Baby," Livia was almost crying. "I've been so bad. I'm awfully sorry for that. You had to leave that house. It was no home. I'm not trying to get you back. I'd love it if you would come home, but I can't expect that. That awful man is gone and won't be back. What I want to say is simply that I think you made the right decision. I wasn't there when you needed me, and I'm so sorry for that. I can't ask you to forgive me. "Staying here with Rod and June and their mother is what is best for you. Even these few days have been so good for you. I can see that now. I'm so pleased you could do that. "I wanted to thank Joan and Rod and June for being here for you. For making up for what a rotten person I've been. I feel so guilty about that. I don't know why I did it. I was so upset that I wasn't there when you had that awful experience. Maybe I turned against you because if you were worth less, not being there for you wasn't the failure I thought it was. A stupid reason, Amy. "Amy, all I want to ask is if you'll talk to me sometimes. I know I can't expect any more. I'm lonely there in that house. I know it's not your home any more. Please visit sometime." Livia's tears were flowing freely, now. "That's all I wanted to say, that and to thank the wonderful people who took you into their home. Thank you for listening." Livia rose to leave. Amy leaped out of her chair and hugged her tightly. After a few moments she got out "Thanks, Mom. I'll be over in a few days, maybe. It's going to take a while to get all this sorted out in my head. Thank you for apologizing, and making me feel welcome in my home again. I won't come back, but I'll visit. You were always there when I was younger. I owe you for that." "Thank you, Amy. That's all I can ask for." ********** "Amy", Rod asked. "It's been more than a week, this time. Are you going home again?" "I thought I finally was home, Rod. Do you want me to go?" "No, I enjoy you too much for that. I just didn't want to get too attached to you. Having you around all the time has been wonderful. If you're going to go back to your mother again, I have to prepare for it. Having you here is a hard habit to break, you know. I was just wondering if I should be getting back into the 'giving up Amy' mode again. I sure don`t want to." "Oh, Roddie, you're just saying that to make me feel better." "Sorry, princess, that's the way I feel." Rod hadn`t counted on small people having arms that clutched just as tightly as bigger ones. He wasn't able to pry Amy off for ages. Mind you, he wasn't trying very hard. "Roddie, you say the nicest things. My home is here, now, as long as you'll have me. I'll go see Mom, but I'm not moving back. Three times I've had to come here. Roddie, I may be a little slow, but I`m not completely stupid. Since I have to come here to find people I trust, I'm going to stay here until someone boots me out." "That's forever, sweetheart. No one here is ever going to tell you to leave." * To be concluded Reposted by request. Voting is disabled; comment if you choose.