24 comments/ 50088 views/ 8 favorites Case of Compound Errors By: magmaman Sharon walked out of the grocery store carrying her meager purchases. She headed briskly to her car, opened the trunk and put the sacks inside. She was feeling better, the medicine the Doctor gave her earlier that morning was certainly helping. The depression had been deep, so deep She could very nearly not function. But she had to manage somehow, her little girl depended totally on her. The old Doctor had been kind, he went into the other room and returned with the bottle of pills, handing them to her with a smile. He knew very well her situation, with her husband gone, Sharon was down to nearly nothing left. Then she overheard the Doctor tell the office girl to not bother sending a bill. Sharon had hugged the Doctor for a moment, already feeling better due to the pill she had taken. Then on the way home, she stopped briefly to get some food for her daughter. It wasn't much, and took the last of her cash. In her hurry to get back to her house to save as much time as possible since she had to pay the baby sitter, he nearly missed the late model BMW pulling up until the man inside spoke to her. "Working, honey?" He asked. "What?" She turned to look at him. He was in his late forties, perhaps fifties, slightly balding. He had a pudgy looking face, and a big cigar stuck in his teeth. "Just curious if you are...working?" The man said again, leaning over to look at her. Sharon saw the man was leering at her breasts. "I don't understand....?" She began, then it hit her. "No! Go away!" She blushed furiously, then hopped into her car and locked the doors as the man sped away. My God! That man thought she might be...a prostitute? Sharon sat there shaking for a moment. Then she started the car and drove home. +++ It had been several long terrible months since that day the two men in uniform had appeared at her door. For a moment she was confused, opening the door only partially since all she had on was her bathrobe. The older man asked her name, then asked to come inside. Sharon carefully tied and tucked her robe together, opened the door. Already the tears were starting to come, she knew what they were going to tell her. The two men stood straight backed and the older man told her the terrible news. Ryan, the man she loved, the man she had given herself to on their wedding night was gone. That began the long spiral downward. Sharon had foregone going on to the local College, they figured that by the time Ryan finished his tour and was home permanently that they would be financially set. Meanwhile, the house they had purchased took nearly all of the money, the car was going to be paid for in just a year, then things would be easier. Having Beth did not help their plans one bit. Beth was an accident, on their wedding night the condom that Ryan used had failed. Part of that was his being at best inept, and having no idea at all about anything he had torn it trying to put it on. When the second one also broke, then the third, he gave up. The package he had purchased simply was not the size Ryan required, he certainly was not small in that department. In their eagerness, they just went ahead with the business at hand, both of them giggling and laughing. That was one of those wonderful times, all of the real learning about sex was handled in a couple of days. At one point the next early morning, Ryan was thrusting away and each time he pressed, Sharon would puff her cheeks out in mischief. He looked down at her doing that and it hit him, both of them broke down into hysterics. Sex. Desired by denied for so long while dating, not it was all right. It was wonderful, fun, such a delight to attempt to try everything all at once to see what would happen. Ryan even pressed her back on top of the bed with her legs pressed as widely as they could go without hurting. Then he grabbed a giant flashlight and and inspected every single inch of her, tickling her with his fingers as he opened her up so he could see clear inside. Later as he lay there sleeping, she carefully slid the cover back so she could see him lying there nude. It was an amazing thing, looking so big even limp like that. She reached down and touched him, watching as even in sleep it began to grow. For some reason she leaned down and sucked it into her mouth, she had no idea why, it just popped into her head. Perhaps she was thinking of how she felt when his wet tongue had slid up her slit. She had resisted that for just a moment, crying out "don't!" Then his tongue had touched her, and all resistance was gone. She ended up gripping Ryan's hair so firmly he yelped in pain for a second, so she came to her senses for a second and eased up. Ryan was almost fully erect when he woke up, looking down in surprise. Sharon kept on until he blasted off into her mouth, then she jumped up and ran for the sink. She spit out his seed as he lay there laughing at her, then she realized that it wasn't bad at all. The sensation of his growing larger right inside her mouth, then blasting his seed had caused something she had never felt. Even as she jumped up and ran for the sink, her loins were in the throes of an orgasm, it was completely different than when he was inside her. "Hey honey, if I get you pregnant that way the baby comes out feet first!" He laughed as she spit out his seed. That started some more giggling. Those first times were amazing, Sharon hoped it would always be like that. Over the next several months Sharon made a lot of effort to recapture that sensation, and she was often successful. She then discovered the other way to feel like that as Ryan one evening slipped downward and licked her, sliding his finger inside and stroking her at the same time. That was even more powerful, she liked that even more than when Ryan was inside her, although that made her feel so very warm and good. +++ Far too soon came the tearful time when Ryan had to report for duty. Sharon knew that it would be six long months before she saw him again. It was only two weeks later when she realized she had skipped her period, and the Doctor confirmed what she already knew. They were lucky in that Ryan was home when Beth decided to arrive, all 7 pounds of screaming fury. That was the most intense moment of his life. Ryan was sweating more than she was when it was finally over. The nurses teased him quite a bit, it was fairly obvious that they all really liked her fine hunk of a Marine. At 6 feet tall and 210 pounds, with not a single ounce of fat on his body, Sharon could understand their interest. But Ryan never even noticed those looks, he only had eyes for her. She watched as he held little Beth, looking like he was being so very careful, afraid of breaking her or something. She could not help herself, tears flowed down her cheeks. +++ At home, Sharon paid the neighbor girl, using the last of her cash. It was going to be over a week until the next check arrived from the government. She had already missed the last month's house payment, the large check that arrived had paid off all of the much higher interest credit card payments. Then she had paid off the car. At least that was hers, that and Beth. She knew she had no choice, she had to try and find work or she was going to lose the house. All of the money that she and Ryan had went for the down payment, it was a bit more than they needed at the time but they had talked it out, figuring income down to the dollar. Those dollars were now less, Ryan had been sending home nearly every dime. Sharon was now down to skipping some meals herself to make sure she had enough for Beth. +++ Why had that man in the parking lot thought she was one of those women? Then Sharon thought about it, she had worn just a simple pullover that day, and only her panties underneath. She often did not bother with a bra anyway, it just felt more comfortable and she never even gave that a thought. Besides, she was going to see her Doctor, and she knew he would ask her to undress and slip on one of those silly gowns anyway. The dress was thin and outlined her body, picking it up to look at it she realized that with the sunlight behind her, the man could probably see her breasts. At least in outline. She blushed furiously again when she realized that. Sharon was not overly modest, she had gone topless on the beaches many times, all of the other girls did. In fact, that was where she had met Ryan, she was sitting on a blanket drinking a bottle of cold vitamin water when his shadow fell over her. Looking up, she saw a heavy muscled chest with traces of curly hair, a rippling stomach. His body was brown, tanned from the Sun, a strip of white skin showed at his hips where his suit had slipped slightly. Amazingly handsome with rugged features and close cropped hair, her body had reacted. Sharon really liked looking at the young men on the beach, and she also liked the sidelong glances she got from some of them. They often looked her way, which made her tingle. But usually they kept their distance, tossing balls and running around like all young men do, although some of the older men wandered by a bit closer than they needed to. She didn't really mind that, let them have their fun. So many of the other girls had no tops on anyway, it wasn't any big deal. Now she was sitting bare breasted on a blanket with this amazing man standing there smiling at her, just feet away. Suddenly she felt a flash of shyness. "Yum yum!" He said with a silly disarming grin. "What?" She had asked, confused at that. "You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life!" He told her. Blushing at him being so forward, she lifted her arm to cover her bare breasts. "Don't do that!" He said, sitting down beside her on the blanket. "Don't do what?" Sharon asked him. "Don't cover yourself, you are too beautiful to try and hide." He said. "Wow, you are sure blunt." She said, keeping her forearm across her nipples that suddenly began to betray her. "If a man doesn't ask, he doesn't get!" He grinned at her. "Oh." She managed, not knowing what to say. "I'm Ryan." He stuck out his hand, she took it in her left, keeping her arm firmly acorss her bare breasts. "Sharon." "Good, now we know each other and are good friends, you can relax and let me look at you." He grinned. She stared at him for a moment, then grinned right back. Sharon let her arm drop, she didn't know why either. His eyes went instantly to her full breasts, causing her to blush again. "There is no reason to be shy, not when you look like you do right now." He told her. By the end of that day they were together, just like that. Within a week, Ryan had his big strong hands all over her bare breasts and Sharon found that she liked that attention. Only one other boy had ever touched her, his fumbling attempts had only caused her discomfort. With Ryan, he seemed so delighted that she looked forward to it. After a few months, Sharon made up her mind to give up her virginity to Ryan. She had expected him to try for that anyway, but he didn't. She was floored when he refused, insisting that they had to be married first. "Married? But...." She said. "Yes. I enlisted in the Marines, I want to marry you. I want you to be mine, and I want us both to be pure when we do." That is exactly what they did. She even mentioned what Ryan had told her to a couple of her girlfriends, not one of them believed her. +++ Sharon sat there staring out the window with her memories. Then she felt so sad, knowing she would never hold her man in her arms again, she felt a tear trickle down her cheek. She got up and took one of the pills, in just a few minutes she felt better. Then she sat down with the monthly bills, setting aside the ones she had no way to pay. When she was done, she fed Beth and put her to bed, then went in and sat down in the living room. The phone rang, it was someone from the bank asking about the monthly payment. She told them she would have it as soon as possible, which just got an answer about the late penalties and added interest. "We will be forced to start foreclosure proceedings if you don't catch this up!" The voice told her. She sighed. There was no answer, she had been checking the few job openings, all of them either required skills that exceeded hers or paid so little the sitter would cost more. Then one caught her eye. "Dancers, easy shifts, top pay!" The ad read. Sharon had a good idea what that entailed, but she also wasn't particularly shy. What was the difference between being bare breasted on a beach or up on a stage? She knew her body was very good, her waist was snug, almost completely recovered from the birth of her baby. She jumped up and went into the bedroom and stripped down. Turning, she looked at her behind, it was round, she wiggled a little bit, then giggled. Booty! She had that, she saw that in a movie, some black girls were shaking their bikini covered fannies in front of some men. "Your ass is way better than theirs are, babe!" Ryan had told her. Then he had reached for her and they had missed the rest of the movie. She smiled at the memory, then still naked she went into the living room and dialed the number. +++ Sharon looked at the seedy downtown office building, the man on the phone had told her his office was on the 3rd floor. She went in, looked around for an elevator. "Out of order." The sign read, after she found it. Sighing again, she climbed the stairs. The office door had a big sign that read "Knock first." So she knocked on the door. "Yea, come on in!" A man's voice called out. Sharon went in, a burly older man sat behind a cluttered desk. He looked to be fifty, balding with a day's growth of beard. He had a big black cigar stuck in the corner of his mouth. "Hi, babe. I'm Norman. You a Dancer? Looking for work, huh?" He asked. "Yes." Sharon suddenly felt uncomfortable as his eyes swept up and down her body. "How old are you? Ya gotta be at least eighteen." "I'm 21." She lied. She would be in just a couple of months. "Gimmee yer ID." He held out his hand. She dug in her purse and found her driver's license. He looked at it, then back at her. "Close enough. But ya don't look like no dancer I ever saw, what are you, a housewife or something?" "Yes, I..I was, but I know how to dance." "What the fuck, yer pretty enough." He pointedly looked her up and down again, then his eyes settled on her chest. "Yea, all the guys wanna do is look at yer tits and ass anyway. Ya got some nice jugs, it looks like. What the fuck, come on into the back." He got up and went through a side door, Sharon followed along nervously. The man went over and sat down on a couch, there was a square piece of carpet laying on the bare floor. He reached out and touched a button next to him and music began to play. "Well, come on honey, dance for me." He grinned at her, puffing out a huge cloud of smoke. "You mean...right here?" She asked. "Yea! I can't send you out to no club if you can't do it, it would piss them off. Hell, for all I know ya only got one tit or a dick or something!" He roared with laughter at his own wisecrack. Sharon blushed furiously. She had no idea how to handle this man's manner. "Hurry up, I ain't got all damned day here! Do ya want a fucking job or don't ya?" He growled. Sharon set down her purse, stepped on the carpet and started to dance. She tried to act as seductive as possible, but the man was frowning. Mercifully, the song ended. He just looked at her. "Well?" She asked, finally. "Jesus Christ! You look like you are at a fucking Church social or something. Perk it up, let's see yer tits, take some clothes off." "My..clothes?" "Yea! Damn, if ya wanna make any money at all then you gotta show it off, so let's go!" He started the music again. Sharon started to sway, this was a slower tune, then she unbuttoned her blouse and slid it off. She looked at the man, he was leaning forward on the couch now. Reaching back, she tripped the catch on her bra, then let if fall. She did her best to shake her breasts, then swing them back and forth. The man was looking at her with interest now. She was wondering if it excited him, she was all alone in this room with this strange man. She glanced at his crotch, he was sitting leaning back, his legs apart. There was no sign of any bulge that she could see. "Well, ya got a nice set of knockers, too bad ya can't fucking dance. Ya probably couldn't turn on an 18 year old virgin moving like that. Drop yer pants, let's see yer snatch." He said. "What?" Sharon hadn't bargained for that. "Your pussy! Let's see it. If you don't let the jerks see yer kitty now and then they won't tip you. The fucking club will call me up and tell me to quit sending them fucking Nuns!" He touched the button, another song started. Sharon took a deep breath, began to dance again. She tripped the catch on her slacks and let them drop to the floor, dancing for a few moments in her black panties. She saw the man impatiently wiggle his finger at her, so she took a deep breath and slid the panties off. He broke into a huge grin when he saw her large mass of pubic hair. "Man, you are the first broad to come in here with a hedge like that, usually I just tell them to go shave it all off but that's pretty interesting." He laughed. "Well, do I get a job, then?" Sharon asked, still standing there naked and completely uncomfortable. "Hold still a minute." He got up and walked over to her, it took all Sharon had in her to not just break into a run. She would have, too, but she was stark naked. The man reached out and bounced one of her breasts up and down, leaned down and looked at her crotch. "Real ones, I'll be damned. Nice pussy, too. Ya need to trim it just a little bit, it's kinda shaggy." Then he turned and sat back down. "Ya do look kinda bashful to me, that ain't so bad really 'cause the guys love that shit. But I gotta know if you will show it off. Lay down and spread yer legs, honey." Sharon just looked at him with shock. "I..I don't know if I can...." She began. "Jesus Christ, lady! This is fucking Oregon, the girls all dance naked! Guys have seen your gash before, so relax! I swear to God, are you sure you wanna do this?" "I..don't know..I suppose..." She almost felt like crying. Then she thought of Beth. She had to make money somehow. "Hey, every woman on the planet has a pussy, for Christ's sake. I gotta know ya will do it. I know ya got a kid 'cause you still got the marks on yer ass, so just pretend that is what you are doing. Lay down and spread it open, pretend they are all just fucking Doctors.!" He snorted, took another huge puff off his cigar. Sharon lay down and opened her legs. The man was now sitting on the edge of the couch, leaning forward. Sharon closed her eyes, and just lay there. "Pull up yer knees, spread it out, let's see the whole thing." He said, taking a puff off of his cigar. He was leaning even further forward on the couch now. Sharon pulled her knees back, reached down with both hands and spread herself open. She had never felt so completely naked, vulnerable, even in bed with her husband. It was a solid two minutes before the man spoke. "Man. What an ass! I like the way your snatch sticks out all puffy looking, we can sell that even if you can't dance. Get dressed. I will send you over to Sandy's Run, that's a hard bar and they want class. You are class, babe. Keep the bush too, when ya spread'em out like that those guys will throw piles of cash yer way for sure. You got one hell of a set of pussy lips on you!" Norman got up and went into the other room, not even looking back at her. Sharon sat up. A small tear trickled down her cheek, she dabbed at it, then got dressed. Case of Compound Errors The man sat at the outer desk, looking at a porn site on a computer. He barely glanced up when she came out. "Here's the address, honey. Just pretend you are getting fucked up there, the assholes all love that shit." +++ By the time Sharon had spent a week on the circuit, she was completely numb to being naked in front of people. She came out, did her three songs, each time ending up on her back with her legs as wide as she could get them. She quickly discovered that Oregon laws allowed far more than she ever would have dreamed, the other girls often reached down and spread themselves open, especially if some man was offering particularly large tips. Very quickly she also became numb to even doing that, and she discovered that if she rubbed her clitoris and made it stand out proudly, they tossed a lot more money up on the stage. She looked out at the sea of faces, felt nothing at all. Of course there were offers, but she turned each and every single one down, although she quickly learned to smile and tell them maybe later. The money was actually very good, sometimes she made over $300 in a single 3 hour shift. She also learned quickly to play up to the older men, often then the bill slipped onto the stage was a five, sometimes even a ten. But she did hate the taverns, the money was far less. She even complained to Norman about that, but he just shrugged. "Gotta take the good with the bad, babe. I already give you more of the hard bars than most. If I gave you any more, the other girls will get all bitchy on me." One perk she did get was a driver, Norman saw to that. She never really thought about why he did, she was grateful though. By the end of a few months she got the house payments caught up. Working until 2 AM each night meant she slept during the day, so she hired a housekeeper and baby sitter full time, and moved her into the spare bedroom. Her name was Maria, she was barely 25, and on the heavy set side. Sharon's life became settled, a ritual of one day bleeding into the next. The quiet times when she was home, sitting and holding Beth, or watching her learn to walk, then run kept her mostly sane. The pills the Doctor prescribed for her helped also. Then one day she came into the living room just in time to hear Beth call Maria "Mommy." That shocked her. She told Norman she would only work three days each week, and only two three hour shifts per night. He threw a fit but she held fast, explaining why. Norman stopped and looked at her, then he nodded. "OK, babe. Got it, some things is more important." For a moment, Sharon realized that Norman looked kind. She realized there was more to this harsh sounding man than met the eye. Money became tighter, but it was enough. Now she could spend more time with Beth. Sharon delighted in that. +++ The next change came when Norman called her one morning. He asked her to come into his office for a talk. She simply threw on her pullover dress since she seldom wore anything more and drove down to his office. "Hey!" He said when she walked in. He was puffing on his ever present cigar. "What's up, Norman?" She asked, sitting down. "Got a deal for ya, maybe you are interested?" "What kind of deal?" "Private show, private party, big bucks." He grinned. "I don't do the private shows, you know that." "Ten grand." He grinned. Sharon blinked at that. "Ten thousand dollars? Just for a show? Hell, why don't they just come into the club?" "You know why." He said. Sharon just looked at him. "They asked for you." He said. "Me? Why?" "Because yer special, is why." "Norman, those private parties...I know how they go, I don't know if I could do that." She told him. "These deals come up from time to time, you can make a week's pay in 3 or 4 hours. That would give you lots more time at home, I know ya wanna be with yer kid." "Sex? With men? Norman, I don't know....?" "Hey, ya been fucked before, what's the big deal?" "I...only by my husband, he is..was...." She stopped. "No shit? Really? Well, I kinda figured that part out from when I first saw you, but you sure don't act that way no more." "I..I was a...Ryan is the only man I ever..." She suddenly felt a shyness again, it had been a long time since she felt that way. "Honey, he is dead. Too damn bad too, but life throws shit at ya. Anyway, yer special, I kinda want ya myself." He looked directly at her. Sharon didn't know what to say. "I can take good care of ya, I got lots of money. I really do want ya, I wanted ya ever since I saw ya in that parking lot way back." "Parking lot?" Sharon was confused now. "Yea, you was wearing that same outfit ya got on right now. I was floored when ya walked in my door later." "You want me?" "Yea, I'll give you anything ya want." "Anything?" "Yep. Really, just be my woman." "What about that party? Wouldn't you be...?" Sharon asked. Norman broke up laughing. "Hey, it's ten grand! Half for you and half for me, whatever happens washes off." He grinned. Sharon shrugged, stood up. "All right." She said, tugging the simple house dress over her head. +++ Norman didn't last very long, and Sharon didn't care. He was also all done after just one time, she didn't care about that, either. His penis was less than half the size of her husband, she felt nothing but a warmness. Norman was kind, she actually did like him. "Not hurting ya, am I babe?" He asked while thrusting away the first time. "No, it's wonderful." She answered. She did the party that weekend, there were no other girls there. It had to do with some famous basketball team. She might as well have been painting her toenails, but none of them could tell. Norman handed her $5000 the next day, sticking the rest into his own account. Less than a week later, she knocked on a hotel room door, expecting to see several men, music, a party. The man that answered the door was a familiar face, she saw it on the news nearly every single night. Sharon understood perfectly, she quickly covered her surprise with a sweet smile. "Hello!" She said, pretending she had no idea at all who he was. After that, once every two or three days she took care of Norman. She gave him his half, but he spent most of that on things for her. One day a new BMW sat in her driveway, the older Ford she was driving was just gone. Sharon no longer had to dance, a couple of times each month there were the special parties. She became completely numb to all of that, she knew the job and all of the tricks by now, no one could tell that she was completely empty inside. There was just the one light in her life, and that was Beth. +++ Norman asked her to come and live with him, but she refused. He appeared to be saddened by that, but he understood. "I love ya, babe. I ain't never felt that or said that to no other woman, but I do love you. I guess if it's just sometimes then that's the was it is. Better than nothing." Norman blinked at her, she saw him struggling with emotion. She reached out and touched his cheek, then leaned in and kissed him. "Norman, I like you. But my life is my little girl." Norman just nodded, lit his ever present cigar, and went back to his office. +++ Saturday morning many long months later, Sharon was watching the news on cable. The man announcing was the same one she had visited, three times now. Beth was now nearly five years old, she would be starting school the next Fall. She missed most of the grainy video the first time, at the very end she got a glimpse of some men holding a knife. All of them wore masks and were screaming in some foreign language, huge guns hanging from their shoulders. She was trying to make out the words that scrolled across the bottom of the screen when she glanced up. The man standing up and screaming had the man he was holding by the hair down on his knees. He reached down and jerked off the blindfold covering the man's eyes. It was Ryan. She saw the face, knew at a glance. She passed out cold. +++ Sharon's eyes came open, two men and a woman were hovering over her. "Smart little girl you got there, lady. She called 911, told them her Mommy was sick." He said. Then she felt herself lifted and carried out on a stretcher. "Beth!" She called out. "We have her, she is fine. Now you just relax." Someone said. The world faded away. She opened her eyes again to lights, then finally she managed to focus. She was looking up at a white ceiling. "How are you feeling?" A nurse appeared almost instantly. "Beth!" Sharon cried out again. "Your daughter is just fine, she is here." "That man, on the TV. I saw that, he is my husband!" She cried out. "What man?" "The one those...terrorists have. Ryan Miller!" "What? The one that is all over the news? Are you sure?" "Yes! Yes, I am sure. I have to talk to someone!" She struggled to sit up but couldn't. +++ "Mrs. Miller? Can you hear me?" A voice was saying. "Yes, I hear you." Sharon opened her eyes, looked around. She had no idea where she was. "I am Doctor Khalil, you have been here for several weeks. How are you feeling?" He asked. "Weeks? What are you talking about?" "You have been hysterical, you wouldn't stop screaming. We have had to keep you medicated." "Where is Beth? My little girl?" "She is in foster care, she is fine." "No! Bring her to me,I want her, I want to see her!" Sharon demanded. "We don't think that is for the best right now. We need to get you stable." "What do you mean, stable? I am fine." "You have been way over medicated for a long time, that piles up on a person. We have your system cleared out now mostly, let's just take things a day at a time and see what happens, OK? You have had a major nervous breakdown, it was life threatening there for a while." "My husband! Did they kill him?" "No. There are some men coming to speak with you, I will call them. They asked me to call as soon as you were alert. I will go do that now." He smiled, patted her on the shoulder and left. A nurse came in a few minutes later. "Visitor for you, honey. He has been here every single day. I will send him in." Sharon looked up as Norman walked though the door. "How ya doing, babe?" He asked. "All right, I guess." "I heard." "Heard what?" "Yer old man, they got him loose. Guess that was a hell of a fight." Norman looked sad. "They did? He is all right?" "Yea, shot to shit and all banged up but still alive I guess. They got him someplace down in Texas. All over the news, it's all they wanna talk about. Guess yer guy is one hell of a hero, he jumped on one of his buddies there when all hell broke loose, saved his life. Then even with his legs all fucked up he got a gun away from one of them bastards and killed him and two others. Hey, are you gonna go back to him?" "I don't know. If he..wants me, I just don't know." "Well, I figured that. But I do love ya, babe. Ya do what ya want but if ya want to, I will always take care of you! Even if you don't really...." His voice trailed off. "Norman, we...that life..it isn't me." "Yea, I know. Yer a classy babe and I am just a guy. I wish to fuck I was born good looking with a big root but a guy gets what he gets. Still, if things don't...I will always be there for ya, no matter what..." Norman stopped, he got a tear in his eye. Then he stood up, leaned down and kissed her, and quickly left. +++ That afternoon two men in suits came by. They explained that Ryan had been held for a very long time by a crazy sounding fraction group. When the American military began to take apart their last stronghold, they had produced Ryan as a last gasp effort, threatening to publicly kill him. That didn't work, some special forces went in since they were dealing with one of their own. Ryan had been freed, but he was badly hurt in the fight. +++ Sharon listened carefully. Her husband Ryan was a National hero, she had missed all of that while under sedation. "They told me he was dead." She said finally. "The vehicle he was in was totally destroyed, everyone was killed. It was so bad they had troubles even identifying anyone, but now we know your husband was on top manning a gun. He was blown clear and captured." "But...they wear dog tags, there is DNA?" "Hot zone, Mrs. Miller. It was a long time before we managed to get to the site, there wasn't much left. Until that broadcast, we had no idea." "When can I see him?" "He is in Texas, they have him on an induced coma at the military hospital there." "How badly is he hurt?" She asked, her mind now felt clear. "When they took down the building, he was inside. Somehow he survived that, probably because of the brick cell they held him in. Then he fought, holding them off until the Special Forces got in and cleared the situation." The man's eyes went sad, he hesitated. "He lost both of his legs. Friendly fire. I am sorry about that." He added. Sharon put her face in her hands and sobbed. +++ Beth held Sharon's hand as they stood in line waiting for the airplane to board. Several very large men in uniform held back the army of reporters and cameramen. Sharon was dressed as nicely and conservatively as she could be, the media had already discovered her dancing profession and had a field day with that. What they had not yet discovered was the rest. She turned down every single request for the talk shows. Some of them offered a lot of money, but all she wanted to do was go back to her life, back with her man. She had gotten updates while she was still in the hospital herself, Ryan was stirring, the swelling was going down. He could wake up at any time. They would be at his side in just hours, where she and Beth belonged. There was a single military guard assigned to Ryan's door, that surprised Sharon. She went to his hospital room every single day, the man never spoke, only nodded. She did notice he was armed, and watched everyone carefully. She expected more media attention but life goes on, other stories crop up and finally the calls all stopped. Then the guard was also gone, life was becoming calm again. +++ It was over a dozen impossibly long weeks before Ryan opened his eyes. Sharon had spent every moment that they would allow by his side, talking to him. He looked around in confusion at first, then his eyes settled on her and he smiled. "Hi, honey." He said. "Hi." She answered, taking his hand in hers. "Where the hell are we?" He asked. "In a hospital. In Texas." "Sure beats that last place." He mumbled, then went back to sleep. +++ More days became weeks, weeks bled into Months. Sharon walked with him daily, pushing the wheelchair along. Then he was fitted with legs, he managed a couple of steps before falling over. But he got right back up and fell down again. A third time, he stubbornly got right back up, managing to stay upright that time. By the end of another week, he was walking the hallways and holding her hand. One afternoon, a nurse came in and asked her to leave, because she was going to give Ryan a bed bath. That had happened many times before. "Say, do you mind if I do that?" Sharon asked. "I am sorry, we can't allow...." Then it hit her, and she grinned. "Sure, honey. I will watch the door." She first drew the curtains, then went outside and shut the door. Some parts of Ryan had stayed exactly the same. +++ Sharon went around and opened the door in the new SUV she had bought. Ryan turned and slid his legs out, tipped up and then reached back for a suitcase. Her instinct was to help him, but he had no trouble at all. Beth hopped out of the back and started carrying things inside. Now six years old, she was excited at starting school. Ryan was home, Sharon was completely happy. All of those terrible months, years had happened to someone else. She did notice that he wasn't as funny as he had been. Before he always looked like he was up to something, or making some wisecrack. Now he spent many long hours resting, or just looking out the window at traffic going by. He also was constantly taking off his legs and fiddling with them, making tiny adjustments until he got them exactly right. But it was still all right. She had quickly learned that making love to a man with two steel legs is different than with a man with real legs. Then he tried taking them off, managing to scratch her with the long screws that stuck out of the remains of his stumps. He solved that with two padded cushions he made to put on at bedtime. The thrusts were different, it was more difficult. She solved that easily by often being on top, her hands on his chest. She found it to be impossible to not trace the many long lines of scars he had on his chest and torso with her fingertips. Ryan never seemed to mind that. Sometimes he looked at her oddly, she thought it was because it took him a few seconds to bring his left eye into focus. Sharon settled into her new life, it actually was her old life, just nearly completely different. +++ One warm afternoon, she heard voices. Walking out onto their patio to find out who Ryan was talking to was a complete shock to her system. Norman sat there across the table from Ryan! Steeling herself, and suddenly wishing she had simply told Ryan everything that had happened to her, she forced herself to walk out there. Ryan looked at her, she saw no anger, no emotion at all. "Just dropped by to see how ya was making out, babe. I miss seeing ya sometimes." Norman said. Then it was small talk, Norman probed Ryan about some of what happened to him overseas but got little result. Ryan never spoke about it much, not even to Sharon. Then Norman turned to Sharon with a grin. "Hey, if you ever need work again just let me know, OK?" He said. Sharon glanced at him, let the comment slide off by mumbling that she didn't want to work. Norman caught her look. "Oh! Hey, I'm sorry, I guess you didn't tell...I mean..." He glanced quickly at Ryan, who simply sat there. "Well, I should be going. Lots of things to do. You guys stop by the clubs anytime, I will spring for a drink!" He got up and looked Sharon up and down. Then he left. "I guess you have some questions, honey?" Sharon told Ryan, her face flaming. "No, not really." He answered. "Norman...and I? We...he helped me, I know it sounds strange, but I needed to take care of Beth. I let him...." Sharon looked down, she was ashamed. Her world was not numb any more, she knew what she had done. "I understand, honey. You thought I was..dead. I don't even want to know any of the details, they don't matter." "Really? You won't..hate me? I was a...a..." Tears slid down her cheeks. "I know. At least most of all of that. If I could have made things turn out different, I would have. But I couldn't, I can't." He looked at her. "Can you forgive me?" "Honey, there is nothing to forgive. We started again that day I woke up and you were sitting there." He smiled at her. Sharon went over and hugged him, they held each other for a very long time. +++ Later, she had to ask. "What did Norman tell you?" She said to him as they lay side by side in bed. "He told me I was the luckiest mother fucker on the face of the Earth!" Ryan laughed. "So I asked him why, hell, my legs are blown off, I got all shot to shit, years held in a little brick cell? No way will I ever really work again." "What did he say to that?" She asked. "Ya got that broad and she loves ya! Word for word." Ryan looked at Sharon with a smile. "I guess Norman isn't such a bad guy after all." She grinned. "You could have done worse, I guess." He answered. Sharon's mind wandered off to memories for a moment, she fell quiet. Case of Compound Errors "So what are you thinking, honey?" Ryan asked her, reaching over to fondle one of her breasts. "I am thinking we will be just fine." She smiled. "And all that other stuff, the things that happened..to both of us?" "That was just a story, it happened to someone else." Ryan grinned and leaned over and kissed her. "You are all mine, you know." He said. "Yep." She answered.