ring how the clock got so messed up on time."

She looked at it, puzzled. "It's the right time." She insisted. Then, she reached over and gently bit my ear as she realized what I was saying. Ah, so there was a difference between Cindi and Katie. Cindi would never have gotten that joke. After a little more hugging, she steered me over to the chair to sit down. She looked at me for a second, head tilted sideways slightly (I love it when they do that), then started to rub my shoulders. Sometimes there are advantages to having girls that can sense emotions. She made my back feel better. I didn't really care if it did or not, as long as she kept kissing my neck and kept those cute little hands on me. Then she slipped onto my lap and kissed me. That was good, too. She whispered in my ear how she would like to make something else feel good, too, but Amy would probably feel that emotion. Then she served and fed me breakfast.

By the time Amy stumbled in, I was eating my own breakfast; Katie was hungry and was eating her own instead of feeding me. Amy walked in, took one look at Katie, looked at me with a surprised but pleased look on her face, and then mouthed "thank you!" to me and went over to get her own breakfast. She sat down to eat, and Katie and she proceeded to have one of those teenage conversations where I wasn't even sure what language they were speaking, much less understand any of it. I could've bought a Porsche for what I spent sending them to school just so they could talk like that! Well, not really, but you get my point. After Katie left to get ready for school, Amy looked closely at me.

"Thank you, Daddy, for whatever you did last night to cheer up Katie. I can't stand to see her unhappy. I don't know how you do it; you always were able to do the same thing with Cindi." Brief jolt of sadness for both of us at the mention of Cindi.

"Well, Amy, if you got sad once in a while I could show you," I teased. Then I turned serious. "Of course, the one time you did I was a miserable failure."

"Daddy! That's not true. You were a big reason why I came back. We just needed a little help."

"Your Mom will be in town tomorrow," I reminded Amy. Katie walked back into the room as I said it.

"Really?" Katie asked.

"Yeah. It's their birthday. Nice hint, Dad." Amy the smart aleck. We told Katie about the whole weekend of festivities we usually had planned. She was excited. They never did anything fun like that in her family.

After dropping the girls off at school, I decided to see a lawyer friend of mine. I told him about Katie's situation, and asked him about adopting her. He said I would need a signed statement from her current "mother" releasing her. I thought that would be easy, even if I had to bribe her. He said statements from the real parents might or might not be necessary depending on the language of the judgment of the court. He would research that, and get back to me. In any case, unless someone fought it, it should be able to be done quickly, since she was already living with us. I told him to let me know if there were any problems and I would take care of it.

I checked in with Chief Haskin to see if there was any progress with the accident investigation, but he wasn't in. I told his secretary I would check back in later, and headed for work. I checked in with the Director of Microbiology about Amy's bug. He told me they had made some substantial progress, but he couldn't tell me anything yet. He'd let me know when he had something. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I had the feeling he knew more than he was saying and that he wasn't happy with what he knew.

After work, I stopped by a jewelry store to pick up Victoria's birthday present. I had put it on layaway a few weeks ago when I saw her admiring it. I'm sure I wouldn't surprise her, but she would enjoy it anyway. When I got home, Amy and Katie had supper ready again. I could get used to this.

After supper, Amy came down to talk to me. Must be serious, I thought, the 'twins' were not together.

"Dad," she started. Yep. Dad. Serious. "Can I ask you a question?" Really serious. She didn't sit down or cuddle.

"No, Amy, you are not allowed to ever talk to me again. Of course you can ask me a question."

"Well, it's just that I know you aren't going to answer it, so I don't know why I am bothering... Dad, do you have someone following us?"

Damn! Certifiable genius. I never expected her to notice that, though. Those guys are good.

"Why would I have anyone following you, honey?"

She rolled her eyes, gave me an 'Amy' look, and stamped her foot in frustration.

"Look, Dad, I know I'm just a kid, so I don't really expect you to tell me things that you haven't even told Mom about what you really do for a living, but don't treat me like an idiot, ok? I want to know if this is something I should be worried about, or if there is something I should know about. I guess I could just take him out next time I see him and ask him myself. You know I can do that.

Damn it. Why does she have to be so damn smart all the time? Why not just when I'm ready for it and think it is cute?

"Ok, Amy. I won't treat you like the idiot you are acting like. What did he look like, and how did he act?" She described him and his actions to me. Nothing to worry about; one of mine. Except a 13 year old girl had just made one of the best shadowers I had ever met. Maybe I should hire her!

"Don't worry about it, Amy. He's one of the good guys. Just a little added protection I arranged for my family."

"And your family would need added protection why?" Great. She wasn't going to let this go. I guess I was going to have to piss her off.

"Let me worry about that, ok sweetie? You just concentrate on being a teenager that doesn't irritate her parents too much. Ok?" That should just about do it.

She gave me another 'Amy' look.

"Strange, how someone who works in a hospital can arrange protection like that." She stomped off.

Well! That was fun. Wonder how long she would be mad at me about that?

I had trouble sleeping again that night, so I went down to the basement to watch TV again. Maybe the excitement about the upcoming weekend; I really did enjoy these times together. Maybe an uncomfortable feeling I had that I was not going to like the results of the investigations that were running. Maybe I was just secretly hoping Katie would come find me. Whatever the reason, I finally dozed off, only to wake up with Katie sitting on my lap kissing me.

"Hey, sleepy head. Couldn't stay awake waiting for me? If you are really tired, I can leave you alone tonight."

I put my arms around her and held her so she could not get away.

"You are not going anywhere, Little One. Now, what was this you were going to show me this morning that Amy would have picked up on?"

She grinned, giggled, and slowly took her clothes off. Not that she had a lot on anyway. The universal uniform, panties and a tee shirt. Then she just as slowly took my clothes off. I love it when she undresses me. Then she swallowed my cock all the way, and gave me one of the best blowjobs I had ever had. The things she does with her tongue, lips, hands and teeth had me filling her mouth within minutes. Then she sat down on me, taking me inside her before I could get soft, and proceeded to bring herself to an orgasm as I watched. I just love to watch her tremble and shake all over, with her head buried in my neck, kissing me and trying to keep from screaming her brains out.

We cuddled for a while, and then she started to cry. I instinctively knew this was not the usual happy cry. Something was wrong.

"What is it, pretty lady? Talk to me."

"You are going to hate me so much. I seduced you and started this whole thing and now I have to stop it. I'm so sorry!" she sobbed.

"Sweetheart, this has always been up to you, whenever you need it. We can stop whenever you feel the need to. But why do you have to stop it?"

"I don't want to! I love you so much, and you make me feel so good I cannot believe it. You and Victoria have been so nice to me, giving me a place to stay, and even talking about adopting me. And I repay Victoria for all her kindness by seducing her husband behind her back. The kids at school are right — I am just a slut." She sobbed brokenly against my chest.

This was going to be fun. I love problems this easy to solve. I lifted her head up, looked into her eyes, and wiped her tears away, kissing her gently.

"Katie... look at me. You are not a slut. Sluts sleep with multiple guys at once. You are not two-timing me are you? And you said you were seducing me behind Victoria's back. Would it help it I told her about it?" I teased, trying to get her to laugh.

She smiled shyly. "Well, I'm not sleeping with or making out with anyone else. I am dating someone, though." She looked at me nervously. "Is that ok?" Then what I said dawned on her. "No! Please don't tell Victoria! She would hate me! Not to mention she'd probably kill me and kick me out of the house!" She looked frantic. She did not seem to see the humor of being killed and then kicked out of the house.

"Of course it is ok. You should be dating boys your own age. Katie, you know I love Victoria very much. You said I was a nice, sweet guy. Did you ever wonder why I gave in to you so easily? Why I did these same things with Cindi?

"Well... because I seduced you and you couldn't resist, because I remind you of Cindi? Because you felt sorry for both of us? Because you get lonely and... you know... when Victoria is gone so much? I don't know."

I laughed. "You certainly are very pretty and sexy, Little One, and you would be hard to resist, but I think I could have managed it if I had wanted to." She blushed prettily. "The truth is, Katie, Cindi did seduce me the first time, but Victoria knew about it by the second time we made love. She approved of it, because of the good effects it was having on Cindi's recovery. She also told me in so many words that I was a fool and she would kick my butt if I did not make love to you. She has given me permission to be with you anytime she is out of town. Not only given permission, but strongly encouraged it."

"WHAT?!? Why would she do that? Why would she share someone like you with someone like me?" Katie looked stunned.

"Because she loves you. She knows I love you. She knows how much I miss Cindi and how much you remind me of her. She knows how hurt you have been, sexually and emotionally, and she knows I can help with that as I did with Cindi. Because we are grateful to you for saving Amy's life. We discussed things we could do for you in appreciation. She knew you were in love with me and the thing you wanted most in life was to make love to me. Was she right?" She blushed and looked down when I said that.

"Yes," she whispered shyly. "But, I would never try to take you away or make this a permanent arrangement or anything like that! I just want to enjoy you when I can."

"She knows that, Katie. No offence, pretty girl, but you could never take me away from Victoria. No one could. This is not meant to be permanent. You will someday fall in love with a wonderful man and you will not need this anymore. Until then, I am here anytime you need me. As long as Victoria is not in town. As long as you follow certain guidelines. Do not get pregnant. Do not bring diseases home from other guys. Do not tell anyone."

"I would never tell anyone! Those other things would all involve having sex with someone else, and I am just not interested in that. So, you really mean it is ok? She doesn't mind?"

"Yes. Now, shut up and make me happy, Little One!" I teased her.

Suddenly, I had 90 lbs of wiggly, squirmy Katie all over me, kissing, hugging, and sucking everything she could find to get her mouth on. Then she decided she wanted to do something special for me. First, she pretended she was Cindi. That was sad but nice also. Then she pretended she was Amy, giving herself to me for the first time. How hot was that?!? I do not even want to think about that anymore! By the time she left to go back to bed, I was exhausted. I was going to have to get some sleep one of these nights. It was not going to be tomorrow night, though, because Victoria was coming home. I told the girls they could sleep over at Rebecca's house if they wanted, but strangely, they both said no, they would just suffer through it. Giggle, giggle.

When I got home from work that evening and walked into the kitchen, I was greeted with the prettiest sight I could ever want to see. Victoria, Amy and Katie were all working together, cooking dinner. I just stood there and watched, and listened, before they knew I was there. Victoria was the essence of loveliness; at 37, she still looked no more than 25. Amy, looking so much like her, looked older than her 13, maybe 16. For some reason, I doubt it was accidental, they were wearing almost the same outfit. Finally, Katie, looking so different, yet so much like Cindi it took my breath away. The others looked happy, but Katie positively glowed. She was happier than I had ever seen her. I knew Victoria would be talking to me tonight! They were all mine for the whole weekend. Tonight was staying at home night. Tomorrow evening was dinner at Victoria's parents' house. Sunday was the birthday celebration at our house, with just us four.

As we were relaxing after dinner, teasing each other and just generally having a wonderful time, Victoria and I decided it was time to talk to them about Katie's future.

"Amy, Katie," Victoria said, "Your Dad and I have talked about it, and considering Katie's situation at home, we decided we would like to start proceedings to adopt Katie. Your Dad has looked into it and it should not be hard to do, and hopefully would not take that long. What do you girls think about that?"

Of course, Katie was excited. I had warned her not to let on that I had already mentioned it to her. Amy had a strange look on her face, one I could not read. Victoria noticed it too, and looked at me questioningly, but I did not know what was going on.

"Sure. That would be great," Amy said, then burst into tears, ran into her room, and closed the door. Victoria and I looked at each other in shock. We never would have even dreamed that Amy would have a problem with this. Katie started crying and looked devastated. I told Victoria I would talk to Amy and headed for her room. I knocked on the door.

"Amy. It's Daddy. Can I come in, sweetie?"

I heard a very tiny "yes". Amy was lying on her bed, sobbing her heart out. I have never been able to handle females crying. It just tears me up inside. Amy crying has always been particularly upsetting to me, maybe because she does it so seldom. This was several times in the last two months. Poor little thing. I sat down next to her on the bed, took her head and lay it in my lap, and just held her, stroking her hair. Finally, she calmed down a little.

"Want to tell me about it? A very upset little girl out there does not know why you do not want her to be your sister. Honey, how did we screw up? I honestly thought you would be happy about it; we wanted to surprise you. You and Katie seem to be so close..." I was thoroughly confused and upset that I had caused all this commotion. I could just imagine how Katie must feel.

Amy looked at me with big, sad eyes. What had I missed? I felt like I should know why she was crying. I braced myself for the chewing out I was going to get. Amy is not the most forgiving or diplomatic person when she is upset. Usually you did not have to guess what the problem was.

"God, Daddy, I am such a brat! Poor Katie, she must feel just awful. I really am happy for her, and I really think it is a great idea. I would love to have Katie as a sister. It just seems like... we are just forgetting about Cindi. I am so happy around Katie and it just feels like I should be missing Cindi and not being happy. When I heard we were going to adopt Katie, it just seemed we would not even need or remember Cindi anymore. I'm so sorry, I'm so silly, and now I've made a scene and Mom and Katie both probably hate me; Katie's so upset; I can feel how upset she is in my mind. And you have to listen to all this nonsense from me and I'm ruining your birthday weekend... Daddy, is this what they call a relapse? Am I having a relapse? I don't want to go back to the way I was before. Please help me, Daddy!" she cried as she started sobbing again.

I didn't know what to do. This was such a little thing, but it was so big to her.

"Honey, we don't have to adopt Katie right now. We don't have to adopt her at all. It was just an idea to help her. However, we can take our time and let you get used to it. She can still stay here just like she has been."

"No! I really don't mind. It's so important to her. She needs to belong to a family. I'm the idiot here, not her for wanting a family. I just need to calm down here for a while, and then go back out there and see if I can repair the damage I have just done. I hope it can be repaired. Tell them I'm ok and I'll be out in a little while."

"Amy, they love you. They will understand. Don't be so hard on yourself. I'll tell them."

I went back out to a sobbing, red, puffy eyed, almost hysterical Katie, with Victoria futilely trying to comfort her. I walked over, picked up Katie, and sat down on the couch with her in my lap. She buried her head in my chest and sobbed. Victoria looked lost, not knowing what to do. I smiled at her and told her it would be ok.

I finally got Katie to calm down. I sat her down between Victoria and me, so I could talk to them both.

"Katie, Amy thinks you hate her now."

"I don't hate her! I love her. I thought she hated me. I can find somewhere else to live. I don't want her to think I am pushing her out of her family. I can go somewhere else. I don't want to hurt her!"

"She doesn't want you to leave. She thinks it is wonderful that you would be her sister. She was just taken by surprise. She just thought we were all forgetting about Cindi." I cringed at the look of horror on Victoria's face. "She understands now how impossible that is. She's afraid she's having a relapse and she doesn't want to go back to how she was. We have to be gentle with her; she's a very hurt little girl. Just because she's been acting normal the last two weeks we tend to think everything is ok. Even though you have helped a lot, Katie, she still misses Cindi sometimes."

Amy finally came out of her room. She apologized to everyone, then took Katie by the hand and led her into her room, and closed the door. They came back out an hour later, laughing and joking and giggling as if nothing had ever happened. Teenagers! So resilient.

Later, when it was time to go to bed, I asked Amy if she needed to sleep with us tonight. She rolled her eyes and giggled.

"I don't think so! I would like to get some sleep! Besides, you might not be able to tell Mommy and me apart in the dark! Hmmm, on second thought..." Victoria swatted her on the butt for that. Both Katie and Amy hugged Victoria goodnight together, each whispering in an ear. Victoria blushed?!? I have to hear what they said!

Neither one of us bothered to wear any clothes to bed. We were both too excited for such unnecessary frills. Victoria was in a playful mood, however, as she proceeded to give me one of the best blowjobs in history. She kept bringing me right to the point of climaxing, then backing off and letting me calm down. I had a flashback of the first time Cindi had done that to me. Now I realized where she had gotten the idea. The little imp had been watching us! I looked over at the doorway and sure enough, two little wide-eyed faces were showing through the partially open door! They looked guilty and started to dive under cover until they heard me laugh. I smiled and mouthed "I love you!" to them as they watched. They mouthed it back as Victoria stopped long enough to ask me why I laughed. I told her it was because I loved her and she made me so happy. That was true. When she lowered herself down on me, taking me inside her, I understood why she had taken me so far with the blowjob. She was so wet! She exploded with her first orgasm as soon as I was inside her. Just in the short time it took me to peak, she had another orgasm. This was going to be a fun night! The two little faces looked stunned.

Later, as we were resting together, she looked at me and grinned. I knew that grin; I was in trouble.

"So," she whispered sexily, "how was Katie?" I looked to make sure our little voyeurs were no longer present.

"I thought she was fine tonight," I answered, deliberately misunderstanding her. "Once I explained why Amy... OW! What was that for?" I exclaimed, feigning hurt feelings after she punched me. I did not have to pretend it hurt physically.

"You know what I am talking about, smart aleck. How WAS she?"

"How do you know I did anything yet? I just said I would think about it."

"Are you kidding me? She was positively glowing tonight. Either you did, or she has been taken over by aliens." This was a fun game, but I decided I did not want to risk another punch, so I told her what she wanted to know.

"She was sweet, wonderful, very talented, not as good as you, but very enjoyable. She has also been very badly hurt, as you suspected." I told her the story Katie had told me. Katie had given me permission to tell Victoria. She had tears in her eyes, just as I did, when I first heard it. "Patrick John Phillips, you better tell me you made love to that poor girl after that story, or I'm going to beat you!"

"No, but I let her seduce me. Afterwards, she had a panic attack, thinking she was betraying you. I had to tell her that you knew." I heard Victoria laugh at that. I answered her unspoken question. "Yeah, she was freaked out, but once I convinced her it was true, she was happy." I told her all about that night. She insisted on the details.

"You make sure you keep that girl happy when I'm gone. She is way too precious to lose." Victoria ordered. Yes, ma'am!

"Since I told you about her, does that mean I can tell them all about our sex life?' I teased.

"What? You mean the stuff they didn't see tonight peeking through the door?" She giggled.

"You knew about that?" I asked, shocked.

"Hell, Cindi and Amy have been doing that for years. I figured with me gone so much, it was better than relying on you to give them the sex education talk!" This time I swatted her.

"Well, I did give them the talk." I told her about the experience with all the girls and the strip poker and sex talk. She was laughing hysterically by the time I was done.

"Damn! I'm going to have to watch it or I'm going to be sharing you with all those girls!" She didn't sound too distressed at the idea.

"Right. Just what they want. An old man and their friend's father to boot. They're not all like Katie, you know."

"Are you kidding? All of those girls would take you in a minute. Maybe at the same time, for all I know. Even the ones like Elizabeth and Emily who haven't the foggiest idea what sex is are hot for you, willing to learn." Great. I did not need to hear that! There is one good way to shut Victoria up. Well, from speaking, that is. She didn't say any coherent words for quite a while after that.

The next morning, we all had breakfast together. Amy and Katie looked tired, but then it was before noon. I asked them if they slept well last night.

"No," Amy complained. "Someone was torturing small animals all night long." Katie leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Oh! That was Mom and Dad? Who would have known? However, I think they deserve some recognition for their stamina, if nothing else." Smart-ass comedians. They both stood up and clapped long and loud. Both Victoria and I were blushing furiously. They finally got us good. Katie leaned over and whispered in a loud stage voice.

"I have some experience in these matters. They are really not very good. Your Dad climaxes way too soon and obviously does not care a wit about his partner's enjoyment. And your Mom shows an amazing lack of flexibility, inventiveness and interest. She just lays there like a bump on a log." She giggled and ducked as I threw a biscuit at her. Amy reached out nonchalantly and caught it without even looking. She caught me looking at her in surprise and she just smiled and shrugged her shoulders. Then Katie cringed in mock fear as I gave her a 'see if you get any more of my not very good technique' look. All of us were red now at Katie's crude remarks. I wondered how many other sides this girl has to her that we had not even seen yet.

The girls, including Victoria, decided they wanted to go shopping, so I decided to go with them for a change. I usually get bored very fast with shopping. They figured out that if they tried on sexy bathing suits occasionally, that would keep me attentive. Boy, did it! Then they had to try on panties and bras and they had to have my opinion on those. I told them I could not really tell unless I could see them as they were taken off, or took them off myself. Katie said "ok" and giggled, Amy turned red and got tongue tied, Victoria whispered "later". We had a fun time all day. They even let me look at some electronic stores. They rolled their eyes, but they smiled patiently while I played. Mainly because Victoria looked with me, since she is an electronics geek also. It also gave us a chance to neck and embarrass the girls.

We got home mid afternoon. The girls decided what they were going to wear to the dinner that night. Then we all decided to take a nap, since we would probably be up late. Of course, we all piled into the same bed to nap. I didn't actually sleep; I just watched three very beautiful females as they slept. I love to watch them sleep. When I got bored with that, I would tickle Amy or Katie's ear and watch them swat at it in their sleep. I tickled Victoria in another, more fun place. After the third time, I found out she wasn't as asleep as I thought; she whispered that if I kept that up, she was going to have to kick the girls out of the room. I suggested we go into Amy's room. One of these days when I really want to gross Amy out, I will have to tell her we made love in her bed!

Dinner that night was interesting. Victoria's parents are nice people. They adopted her when she was 16 years old. She had been living in foster homes from the time she was two years old until they adopted her. She was just elated when she finally found a permanent family. I understood exactly what she went through, as I had gone through a similar situation. She does not talk about it much, but I think she had a much tougher time of it than I did. As Amy said once, something happened that made her so frantic to protect her babies at all costs. I suspect there are things about her early teen years that we did not know and that she would love to forget.

I usually can't resist, when we get together with her parents, to take the opportunity to find out things about her past. This time I was checking up on something she told me after the incident at the fair. I was talking to her Father in the study, alone.

"By the way, I wanted to thank you for the self-defense courses that you let Victoria take when she was young. They have really helped out with teaching the girls some things they need to know." By now, I pretty much figured the response I was going to get.

"Well, I wish we could take credit for that, but we never had her in any such classes that I know of. Maybe it was before we adopted her. She always was pretty graceful, though." He proceeded to tell me several stories from her mid teens. I love to hear those stories. He got a brilliant idea just as the others came into the room.

"Would you like to see all her pictures in the family album? We found it the other day when we cleaning up." He pulled it out of a drawer.

"Dad... Patrick and the girls don't want to see all that old stuff." Victoria protested.

"Yes we do!" we all yelled in unison. Wow! It had been a long time since I had received a dirty look like that from Victoria. I try to avoid getting that look. I am scared of her, but Amy's not. She laughed at her. We spent quite some time looking at the pictures. It was remarkable how much she and Amy looked alike when Victoria was 13. You could literally mistake one for the other. Then he pulled out the real special picture.

"This is one we just found the other day. I hope this does not upset you, Victoria. This is the only picture we have of her from her original family. It shows her Mom, Dad, and brother with her when she was about two years old. Isn't she cute?" Unfortunately, there was no response, because it was at exactly that moment that Katie and I both had an attack of the clumsies and we both dropped our glasses on the floor, shattering them in a hundred pieces. After much apologies and helping to clean up the mess, the album was forgotten, to Victoria's relief.

Katie and I managed not to make any more messes the rest of the night. I noticed Amy giving us some curious looks periodically. I knew she was reading my emotions and I was upset about something. I was trying not to show it until I could check out something at home. Something was bothering Katie too; I did not need emotional reading ability to see that she could not sit still. I knew that nosey little Amy was not going to let the evening pass without bugging me about it. Sure enough, a few minutes later I felt her sidle up close to me.

"So... mister sure fingers, I don't think I have ever seen you drop a wine glass before. Waste of good wine. You seem somewhat upset. Want to talk about it?" She smiled at me so sweetly. Amy really is a sweetheart — she loves to help people. We have always been open with each other and pleasant to each other when we overstep the boundaries of privacy. I am sure knowing that made my answer even more confusing to her.

"No, Amy, I don't want to talk about it. If I wanted to talk about it with you, I would have come to you. Why don't you go bother your mother for a while?" I snapped at her, turned around and walked away. I don't know why I snapped at her like that. Something was bothering me, some feeling of doom or distress, and I was distracted. I would never have talked to Amy that way otherwise. When I looked at her later, she did not look like her feelings were hurt; she was just looking at me with a sad and worried look on her face. I need not have worried about hurting her feelings; Amy had a cause now. Daddy was upset about something, so she made it a point to stay as close to me as she could, touching me and holding my arm any chance she got. I wasn't so distracted that I didn't appreciate it. Just do not bug me about my emotions when I did not have them sorted out myself. I was trying desperately to figure out what it was that was bothering me. Something about Victoria's childhood just was not right. I could not put my finger on what it was that I saw or heard that was out of place, but whatever it was, it had triggered either some unpleasant memories or deep-seated concerns. Whatever it was, it was worrying me and I was scared since somehow I knew it involved Victoria.

The rest of the evening was pleasant enough, although I must admit I didn't remember much of it. Amy stuck to me all night like glue. It wasn't unpleasant, as she really is a very pleasant and very pretty young lady, and she did not bug me anymore about talking to her. Katie still seemed antsy about something, but it did not seem critical. Otherwise, everyone had a good time. The ride home was quiet. I really didn't feel like talking, and Victoria noticed that. Amy and Katie dozed in the backseat. As we prepared for bed, Amy gave me a big, close, special hug and kiss, and then looked at me with those marvelous eyes of hers, full of concern and worry. She laid her cheek against mine, her mouth to my ear.

"I love you, Daddy, so very much. No matter what, I love you. Remember that. No matter what," she whispered. Then she went to bed. Katie gave me a somewhat distracted hug, and headed for bed also. When Victoria and I went to bed, she just quietly held me close, letting me feel the love she had for me. She could sense something was wrong. She could also sense I couldn't talk about it yet. For the first time since as far back as I could remember, we didn't make love. Somehow she knew I couldn't. She knew I just needed her close. We held each other close all night long. Sometime during the night, Amy came in, and when I awoke the next morning, she was cuddled close to the other side of me. That was about the only joy I was to experience that day.

I was even worse after we got up Sunday. After I got out of bed with Victoria and Amy, I wandered around the house like a lost puppy. I just couldn't snap myself out of it. I yelled at Amy again. She just smiled sweetly at me and told me she loved me. Later that afternoon I yelled at Katie when she wanted to talk to me and she ran out of the room in tears. A few minutes later, Victoria came into the room. She took me by the hand and led me into our bedroom, and closed the door. She looked unhappy.

"Ok, you have yelled at Amy twice now. Katie is in tears, because her Daddy doesn't love her anymore. It is my turn now. Yell at me, get it over with, and then maybe you can tell me what this is all about." She looked really worried.

"I don't know what is wrong. If I knew, I would tell you. I just have this dreadful feeling that something is terribly wrong, that disaster is about to strike me. I wish I knew. I can't believe I yelled at Katie. And Amy. Please tell them I love them. I'm too ashamed to face them."

"I have an idea," Victoria said brightly, trying to cheer me up. "Let's exchange presents now instead of this evening." She called out to the girls, then took me by the hand and led me out to the living room.

I insisted that we give Victoria her presents first. I did not feel that I deserved any, the way I was acting. Suddenly, I understood how Amy was feeling after Cindi died. How she was acting out, knew she was doing it, felt awful about it, but just couldn't help herself.

I gave Victoria a bracelet she had wanted and that I loved too. It was a pearl string, with delicate gold chains on either side. It was beautiful. She was ecstatic. The girls got her things she was just as excited about. I don't even remember what they were. I was happier, laughing and having a good time. The darkness had receded for a while at least. Victoria gave me a new watch. Amy got me sweet little things that I would treasure later, but didn't remember what it was at the time. Even Katie got me something. Then, Amy said she had one more special present. As she went to get it, the phone rang. She answered it, and then came back to me.

"It's for you, Daddy."

"Tell them to call back later," Victoria snapped. It seemed my lousy mood of before was rubbing off.

"He said it was important. He needs to talk to Dad immediately." Amy sounded concerned.

I took the call in the office. I knew who it was before I even answered the phone.

"Patrick, it is John Haskin. Happy birthday to you and Victoria."

"Thank you, John. We appreciate the good wishes. But that is not why you called, is it?"

He sighed. "I'm afraid not. Patrick, I looked over all the information on Cindi's accident. I'm afraid we missed something very important in the original investigation. The truck driver was dead before the collision. He had a bullet wound in the head. Someone else steered that truck and set the fire before escaping out the passenger door. I'm afraid it was no accident."

"You're telling me Cindi was murdered?" I whispered. "How did you miss this on the original investigation?" Oh God, Cindi, forgive me for not protecting you!

"I'm afraid so. I don't know how it was missed. Parts of the autopsy report were inexplicitly left out of the police report. We're investigating that." What he didn't say was more important than what he said. "I'm also afraid I have some more bad news for you."

"What could you tell me worse than this?" I asked, my voice breaking. What could be worse than killing my little girl? I found out; trying to kill my other little girl.

"The Director of the Microbiology Laboratory at the hospital just called me. He hasn't been able to reach you. He has asked me to initiate an attempted murder investigation for Amy's illness. It seems the virus she was infected with was an engineered virus, the kind developed by Biological Warfare Laboratories. He says there is no way she could have been infected accidentally, especially since she was the only one infected. She was very lucky; that virus has a near 100% fatality rate, with the few survivors succumbing to a relapse within a week."

Suddenly I was calmer. I thought I knew what I had been dreading.

"We will be investigating both of these crimes. I assure you we will find those responsible and bring them to justice.

"Pull your people out, John. I will take care of this one," I whispered.

"Patrick... we have discussed this before. I have seen how you work in this type of situation before. I will not have the streets of my city filled with dead bodies. You and Victoria are dear friends, but I cannot let you do this."

"You can't stop it, John. It's going to happen whether I want it to or not. Get your people clear. I don't want any of them on my conscience." I hung up the phone.

I sat there, berating myself. I had failed Cindi. She had died because I didn't protect her. I had suspected what Victoria really did after San Francisco. I had known for sure after I had met Robert, after the incident at the Fair. I had stopped digging after that meeting because I had recognized Robert. He didn't know me, but I knew of him. Still, I had trusted them to protect my girls, instead of doing it myself. They had failed; I had failed. But for Cindi's strange powers, Amy would be dead too. Cindi saved Amy, I killed Cindi. How could I tell Victoria that her baby had been murdered? What would happen if — when — she found out that I had the ability to protect her babies and had failed not once, but twice? How could she continue to love me, live with me after that? How could Amy stand to look at me, her Dad, who had let her twin be killed, had put her through all her suffering? These thoughts continued to swirl and build in my head as I outwardly calmed myself to go out to face my family, for probably the last birthday I would ever spend with them.

I actually appeared calm and happy when I rejoined the family. I told Victoria the call was nothing important. Amy and Katie were not fooled. They could read my emotions, could see the intense turmoil in my mind. They had an almost scared look on their faces. Amy said she had one more special present for me. She handed me a four-inch cube box.

"This was Cindi's present for you, Daddy," she said almost fearfully. I opened it slowly. Inside was a crystal sphere. Inside the sphere were tendrils of bright green and bright blue, the colors of Amy and Cindi's eyes. Etched in the glass was an inscription. It said, "Love me. Trust me." Suddenly, images flooded my mind, showing me what had happened in that hospital room. I remembered it all. Suddenly, I couldn't take anymore. I got up from the chair and walked out to the patio, to gaze out over the landscape. Amy, Katie and Victoria watched me go with surprised looks on their faces. I heard Amy whisper.

"Mommy! He is not ok!" She said fearfully.

Just when I thought things could not possibly get worse, I suddenly realized what was not right with Victoria's childhood. I remembered a picture in an envelope in my bottom desk drawer, underneath all the papers. A picture I had only looked at once and nobody else had ever seen. I walked back into my office, and took out the envelope, removing the picture. The only picture I had of my original family. A picture of a Mom, Dad, and a little girl and a little boy. I turned it over and saw an inscription on the back, an inscription I had never seen before, with a date on it. It said:

"Mom, Dad and the two year old twins... Patrick and Victoria." It was exactly the same picture I had seen at Victoria's parents' house last night. With shaking hands, I put the picture back where I found it.

I felt the darkness closing in. I knew this meant I had lost Victoria forever. How could she stay married to me once she saw this picture? I could not hide it from her. How could any of them want to be around the one who had failed to protect Cindi, had failed to protect Amy? I didn't even want to live anymore. I felt my body, my mind closing down as my mind reeled under the multiple shocks it had received. As I felt myself sinking to the floor, tears running down my face, I dimly heard Amy and Katie scream as I saw Victoria walk through the doorway.

"Mommy! Daddy needs you! He is not ok!"

At the same time, I heard Victoria yell "Amy! Get in here and help me with your Dad! Now!" That was the last thing I remembered before I blacked out.

ould see why she was fighting with Amy. Unfair as it may be, she was blaming Amy for many of the things that had happened to her. She had to suck cock, and swallow cum to protect Amy. She had to rub balls, when she would rather have died than do all those things, to protect Amy from being raped. In her upset state of mind, she did not realize that a) she would have been raped anyway. They just would have raped Amy also, or if that was a bluff, just forced Cindi to do it anyway. I suspect threatening to take Amy was a bluff - they just were turned on by making her give in and do it of her "own free will". b) She made the choice to protect Amy. I will always have a special love for Cindi for protecting my little Amy like that, but it was not Amy's fault. She had nothing to do with it.

My problem now was what to do about the whole situation. Obviously, I felt we should go to the boys' parents and the police, but I felt that had to wait, since my wife was out of town (again!). God, there were times I hated her job, whatever it was! However, this had happened at least two weeks before, so another day or two was not going to matter. A bigger problem was how to go to the police about it and how to talk to Cindi about it without using the tape. She was traumatized enough - I really did not want her to know that her rape had been videotaped and god knows who had seen it. Even worse, her daddy had seen it. I could not do that to her, if I could possibly find another way. I suspected it had not been widely viewed by the boys at school, or some of her friends would have known. Some of those girls knew everything that happened - it was uncanny. However, someone other than the original boys had obviously seen it - it was unlikely they had delivered the tape to me. In addition, was this the original, or a copy? As good as the quality was, I suspected it was the original, but I did not know. I had to do something about that - I could not stand the thought of my baby finding out through some sick locker room gossip that her rape had been recorded

As often is the case when there seems to be no clear way to go, an opportunity presented itself the same day to deal with the situation with Cindi. That evening, Cindi and Amy had another fight. This one was bad enough that it finally even got to sweet, gentle Amy, who never got upset about anything. I heard the whole thing, and again it was Cindi that started it. That made sense to me now. Amy got so mad, she stomped out of the room, yelled, "Go to hell, bitch!", and slammed the door. I thought poor Amy was going to die when she stomped into the living room and saw me sitting there looking at her. What you have to understand about Amy is that she is the original goody two shoes. Except with her, it is all genuine. Until that day, I had never heard Amy say a bad word, even "damn" or "hell". I didn't even know she knew such words, much less "bitch". I doubt her mouth was capable of saying, "fuck", if she even knew the word. She stopped dead in her tracks, with a look of horror on her face, turned bright red, mumbled "I'm sorry, Daddy", and then announced she'd had enough and she was going over to Rebecca's house, three doors down. Then she very quietly walked out of the house, closing the door softly behind her.

I waited about 10 minutes for things to calm down, and then I called Cindi into the room to talk to her. She walked in belligerent, angry, snotty, with a chip on her shoulder, and said "WHAT?!?" She knew she was in trouble, as she was just as shocked by Amy's outburst as I had been. At first, I was mad, that she would act that way to me, but immediately I was sorry for that reaction, and my heart just melted for this poor little girl and what she had gone through. I called her over to me, and when she stomped close enough to me, I reached over, grabbed her hand, and pulled her onto my lap, wrapped my arms around her, and hugged her. I first saw the surprise in her eyes, as she was sure she was going to be chewed out, not hugged. Then she tried to pull out of my arms, but I would not let her go. She looked at me with moist eyes and said, "Please let go of me, Dad". I thought I would stop breathing when she said that, but I held on to her and asked her "What's wrong, Cindi?"

"Nothing", she replied. "Why do you think something is wrong?"

"Well", I replied, "it could be that you have been a total bitch to Amy tonight. It could be that you have been that way for about two weeks now, or it could be that you will not even let your daddy touch you, who loves you more than he can even tell you. Which one do you want to pick?"

"Dad (Oh god, when did I become dad instead of daddy?), Amy is such a snot, I am so tired of..."

"Cindi", I interrupted, "Cut the bullshit. I heard the whole thing tonight, as well as several over the last two weeks. You have started every one. Now, are you going to tell me what is going on?"

She gave me a glare that would have put me in the grave if looks could kill, and said nothing. I shrugged my shoulders, smiled, and said, "You know, Cindi, I haven't gotten to cuddle with you for two weeks, and I've really missed it. If you want to sit here on my lap all night, that is fine with me. I'm rather enjoying holding you, but I am not letting you go until you talk to me".

Suddenly, the dam broke. She laid her head on my shoulder, and cried, sobbing her little heart out. I held her, stroked her hair, and told her how much I loved her. I did not tell her it was going to be ok, because I knew it might never be ok for my little girl again. She sobbed her heart out for 15 minutes or so, not seeming to be able to stop. Finally, she wiped her tears on my shirt, looked at me, and wailed "Oh, god, daddy, I don't want to be a slut, I don't want to be a whore!" She started to cry again.

When she stopped crying again, I asked her what was wrong. What did she mean by what she said? She said, "Oh daddy, I'm so ashamed", and then, haltingly, began to tell me what had happened to her two weeks ago. I played ignorant, not letting on I knew all about it. That might seem cruel, making her relive it when I could have saved her the time, but I felt it was important to get her to talk. I still could not let her know I had seen her "shame". I might have lost her forever if I let her know that. She told it straight down the line, even about how she could not stop the orgasms. She cried as she told me how hard she had tried to keep her body from responding, but she just could not help it. As she talked, I began to realize that she thought she was a slut and a whore because her body had responded.

I explained very carefully how it was possible for a male who knew what they were doing to make a female have an orgasm whether she wanted to or not. I told her that did not make her a slut. I told her that she had been raped, and that nothing her body did after she said no changed that. I spent a lot of time holding her, letting her know she was loved, that not all men were like that, and that it was not her fault. After quite awhile, she began to believe me. Then I started to work on the other problem.

"Cindi, you need to stop blaming Amy for what happened to you".

"I'm not!"

"Yes, you are, honey. I am so proud of you for protecting her, and I will always love you in a special way for what you sacrificed to protect her, but she had nothing to do with it and it was not her fault. You have been being mean to her because they used threatening her to get you to cooperate, and you blame her for that. It's not fair". Her eyes got very big, and she said, "Am I really doing that?" We talked it out for a while, and then we just cuddled for quite awhile, with her on my lap, her head on my shoulder, and our arms around each other. I thought she had gone to sleep; she was so relaxed in my arms.

When the front door opened, Cindi immediately sat up as Amy walked in. I saw Amy's eyes open wide as she saw Cindi sitting in my lap, so obviously the opposite from the way she had been lately. Then Cindi jumped up, ran over to Amy, threw her arms around her in a tight hug, and started crying.

"Oh, god, Amy, I'm so sorry, I've been so mean to you, I love you so much, please forgive me, I know it wasn't your fault, I'm sorry". She kept asking her to forgive her and saying she was sorry. Amy looked at me over Cindi's shoulder, confusion in her eyes, and mouthed to me "what??" I mouthed back "just go with it", and she shrugged her shoulders and hugged Cindi back, telling her it was ok, she loved her too. Then they went into the other room together, and I slumped back down on the couch, breathing a big sigh of relief, totally exhausted. I knew we, and Cindi, were not out of the woods yet. One hour or two of talking was not going to solve all of Cindi's problems, but at least, for the first time since I saw that movie, I was beginning to have hope.

and athletic with a beautiful face and the most stunning green eyes you have ever seen. She has a personality as wonderful as her body - calm, laid back, sweet. She has only raised her voice to me once in all our time together - and that was in a crisis when one of our daughters was in grave danger. She also showed me at that time that she is not quite the pretty but helpless thing everyone always thought she was; that she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself and her loved ones. That is another story for another time. Although I have been told I am good looking, I never could understand how I ended up with her.

A few months after our wedding, Victoria announced she was pregnant. We were both delighted! The joy was compounded when the doctor announced a few months later that it was twins! Our joy overflowed on the day she gave birth to beautiful twin girls.

On the day in question, the girls were 13 years old. It was obvious when you saw them that they were not identical twins. In fact, it was hard to tell that they were twins at all. Cindi, the oldest by 15 minutes, was 5' 1", 90 lbs soaking wet, long blond hair, small breasts, and beautiful deep blue eyes. Amy is 5' 4", 108 lbs, and is the almost perfect image of her mother, with the same long black hair, small breasts and stunning green eyes. Their personalities were very different also. Both were so smart it was scary. Victoria and I are very smart, but we look like dummies next to these two. Cindi was quiet, very serious, and very emotional. She cried about everything. Weddings, funerals, birthdays, movies, happy, sad, didn't matter - she cried if it was emotional. Amy, on the other had, is happy go lucky, adventuresome, always cheerful. After babyhood, I do not think I ever saw her cry until she was 13 years old. Both girls were outgoing and popular, and even in their early teen years, were just the sweetest things you would ever want to be around. I would sit around wondering when they were going to turn into the monsters at 13 that all teens seem to become, but it still had not happened. They would help around the house without being asked, and generally took care of their dad very well. That is good because Victoria has always traveled a lot as part of her job. Many of our friends jokingly ask if we wanted to trade children, ours were so sweet.

As early as I can remember, both of the girls were adamant that they were going to be cheerleaders. And starting as soon as they could apply, they were. Both were very pretty, and being popular, it meant that there were always numerous very pretty and, for 13-14 years olds, very sexy young girls running around the house all the time, in various stages of dress and undress. For whatever reason, Victoria and I were the most popular parents of all the cheerleaders, and combined with the popularity of our girls, our house was always full. Not that we minded. We loved kids, and the girls were mostly very sweet and well behaved, with one big exception. They loved to try to embarrass me with their attitudes about dress. It was not unusual to walk into a room and find several pretty, young teenaged girls in tee shirts and panties (on a few occasions minus the tee shirts!) sitting on the floor talking. Of course, this always resulted in squeals (theirs, not mine!) and giggles as they ran for the bedroom. My two were not as bad or as obvious, but they often played along too. Of course, the next day they would do it again, so I knew it was a game. Or, when taking a shower, they would "forget" their clothes and have to run giggling through the house in their panties and, sometimes, bras. Again, since my wife traveled a lot, it was usually just me around. The times when it happened when Victoria was around, she thought it was cute and just as funny as the girls did. Then she would mock scold them about how it was not nice to tease me, all the while smiling at them. Predictably, they giggled.

Although I recognized that all of the girls were very pretty, their antics never really bothered me any. I knew my girls were stunningly beautiful, and their friends were almost as pretty. All right, as a dad, I am not exactly unbiased, but they really were. The point is that it never bothered me because I was just not into young girls sexually. Ok, I am not dead - some of the prettier and more developed of them I would notice and maybe get a hard-on at the time (boy, they really giggled at that and turned the prettiest shades of red) but there was never even a thought of being attracted to them. Cindi and Amy had always been very affectionate, and still were at 13. Hardly a day would go by that they did not sit in my lap or cuddle up next to me and tell me they loved me. They did the same with Victoria when she was around. Often they would fall asleep like that, watching a movie. After a while, some of their friends started cuddling with me also, particularly a little cutie named Katie. She had just moved into town about a year before. Her dad was not around, and I got the impression that she was never close to him anyway. Actually, I got the impression she hated his guts and was glad he was not around. I guess I was a substitute. The first time she cuddled with me and called me daddy surprised me, but I was very touched also. She was so embarrassed she turned bright red, but was relieved when I told her it was ok. I really got to like Katie a lot, and she became almost like another daughter to me. Of course, I was close to all the girls in the group, but Katie was special to me. For some reason, Cindi and Amy were never close to Katie, even though she was really sweet and nice, but they had no objection to her being close to me or calling me daddy. They just always seemed rather reserved around her. They once implied that Katie was rumored to be loose with boys, but clammed up when I tried to find out more and never referred to it again. She was about 5', 90 lbs, long blond hair, small breasts, and actually looked much more like Cindi's twin than Amy did. You could even mistake one for the other if you saw them from behind. People who had never met the group before and knew there was a set of twins in the group usually assumed it was Cindi and Katie.

One summer day, I was at home, having taken the day off work. I had been working a lot of long hours, and needed a break. Victoria was out of town (again!) and I thought it would be nice to have Cindi and Amy come home to a parent instead of an empty house once in awhile. At 13, they were old enough to take care of themselves (better than I could take care of myself!), but still, I should be around sometimes. Besides, something was going on with the girls that I was worried about, and I wanted to take some time to think about it.

Cindi and Amy had always been best friends as well as sisters. They seldom went anywhere without the other. They even had to be cheerleaders together. They seemed to always be in tune with what the other was thinking or feeling. Even when they were young, they never fought. They played together, shared things, and just got along great. Cindi, being the "oldest", was fiercely protective of Amy, and they always covered each other's backs in anything they did. Therefore, I was particularly concerned that the last two weeks they had been fighting quite often. Since they had always been so good about working things out, I had not been interfering, hoping it would resolve itself. I was petrified that my sweet, wonderful girls were finally turning into the teenage monsters so common among our acquaintances. Even the other girls had noticed the tension occasionally and seemed to be a little uncomfortable at times.

I had noticed that it was always Cindi that started the fights, and usually about stupid things that had never been a problem before. Ok, I will admit, and everyone knew, that if I had a favorite, it was Amy, because she looked so much like her mom. I loved Cindi dearly, and I do not think I ever showed favoritism, but we all knew it was there. No one, including Cindi, minded - they were treated equally; she just knew that Amy was special to me and Cindi thought it was cool. I say this to make the point that I was sure I was not just blaming it on Cindi - I had observed several times when they did not know I was listening to what was happening. Amy, being as laid back as she was, pretty much remained cool about it, but I could tell she was as confused as I was. I was also disturbed that over the last two weeks Cindi had stopped cuddling with me, was not sitting on my lap anymore and in fact seemed to be avoiding all physical contact with me. I had known that the degree of contact with the girls would inevitable begin to taper off as they got older, but I was not ready for it yet, and I assumed it would occur slowly, not to this radical degree. I was wondering if I had done something wrong, but neither of the girls had ever shown much reticence to bring it to my attention if I had done something stupid. Something was definitely wrong.

I was sitting in the living room thinking about all of this and wondering what to do about it, if anything, when I heard something drop through the mail slot. When I went to check on it, I found a package lying on the floor. Whoever had pushed it through was long gone by the time I went to look. When I opened it, I found a video tape. There was no title, no note, nothing indicating what it was or whom it was from. Being curious, bored, and at a dead end as to what to do about the girls, I turned on the TV, put the tape in, and started watching it. I was very shocked by what I saw, and my life changed forever in that moment. For what I saw was my pretty, sweet daughter Cindi, being gang date raped by three guys she knew, one of which was her boyfriend.

ring how the clock got so messed up on time."

She looked at it, puzzled. "It's the right time." She insisted. Then, she reached over and gently bit my ear as she realized what I was saying. Ah, so there was a difference between Cindi and Katie. Cindi would never have gotten that joke. After a little more hugging, she steered me over to the chair to sit down. She looked at me for a second, head tilted sideways slightly (I love it when they do that), then started to rub my shoulders. Sometimes there are advantages to having girls that can sense emotions. She made my back feel better. I didn't really care if it did or not, as long as she kept kissing my neck and kept those cute little hands on me. Then she slipped onto my lap and kissed me. That was good, too. She whispered in my ear how she would like to make something else feel good, too, but Amy would probably feel that emotion. Then she served and fed me breakfast.

By the time Amy stumbled in, I was eating my own breakfast; Katie was hungry and was eating her own instead of feeding me. Amy walked in, took one look at Katie, looked at me with a surprised but pleased look on her face, and then mouthed "thank you!" to me and went over to get her own breakfast. She sat down to eat, and Katie and she proceeded to have one of those teenage conversations where I wasn't even sure what language they were speaking, much less understand any of it. I could've bought a Porsche for what I spent sending them to school just so they could talk like that! Well, not really, but you get my point. After Katie left to get ready for school, Amy looked closely at me.

"Thank you, Daddy, for whatever you did last night to cheer up Katie. I can't stand to see her unhappy. I don't know how you do it; you always were able to do the same thing with Cindi." Brief jolt of sadness for both of us at the mention of Cindi.

"Well, Amy, if you got sad once in a while I could show you," I teased. Then I turned serious. "Of course, the one time you did I was a miserable failure."

"Daddy! That's not true. You were a big reason why I came back. We just needed a little help."

"Your Mom will be in town tomorrow," I reminded Amy. Katie walked back into the room as I said it.

"Really?" Katie asked.

"Yeah. It's their birthday. Nice hint, Dad." Amy the smart aleck. We told Katie about the whole weekend of festivities we usually had planned. She was excited. They never did anything fun like that in her family.

After dropping the girls off at school, I decided to see a lawyer friend of mine. I told him about Katie's situation, and asked him about adopting her. He said I would need a signed statement from her current "mother" releasing her. I thought that would be easy, even if I had to bribe her. He said statements from the real parents might or might not be necessary depending on the language of the judgment of the court. He would research that, and get back to me. In any case, unless someone fought it, it should be able to be done quickly, since she was already living with us. I told him to let me know if there were any problems and I would take care of it.

I checked in with Chief Haskin to see if there was any progress with the accident investigation, but he wasn't in. I told his secretary I would check back in later, and headed for work. I checked in with the Director of Microbiology about Amy's bug. He told me they had made some substantial progress, but he couldn't tell me anything yet. He'd let me know when he had something. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I had the feeling he knew more than he was saying and that he wasn't happy with what he knew.

After work, I stopped by a jewelry store to pick up Victoria's birthday present. I had put it on layaway a few weeks ago when I saw her admiring it. I'm sure I wouldn't surprise her, but she would enjoy it anyway. When I got home, Amy and Katie had supper ready again. I could get used to this.

After supper, Amy came down to talk to me. Must be serious, I thought, the 'twins' were not together.

"Dad," she started. Yep. Dad. Serious. "Can I ask you a question?" Really serious. She didn't sit down or cuddle.

"No, Amy, you are not allowed to ever talk to me again. Of course you can ask me a question."

"Well, it's just that I know you aren't going to answer it, so I don't know why I am bothering... Dad, do you have someone following us?"

Damn! Certifiable genius. I never expected her to notice that, though. Those guys are good.

"Why would I have anyone following you, honey?"

She rolled her eyes, gave me an 'Amy' look, and stamped her foot in frustration.

"Look, Dad, I know I'm just a kid, so I don't really expect you to tell me things that you haven't even told Mom about what you really do for a living, but don't treat me like an idiot, ok? I want to know if this is something I should be worried about, or if there is something I should know about. I guess I could just take him out next time I see him and ask him myself. You know I can do that.

Damn it. Why does she have to be so damn smart all the time? Why not just when I'm ready for it and think it is cute?

"Ok, Amy. I won't treat you like the idiot you are acting like. What did he look like, and how did he act?" She described him and his actions to me. Nothing to worry about; one of mine. Except a 13 year old girl had just made one of the best shadowers I had ever met. Maybe I should hire her!

"Don't worry about it, Amy. He's one of the good guys. Just a little added protection I arranged for my family."

"And your family would need added protection why?" Great. She wasn't going to let this go. I guess I was going to have to piss her off.

"Let me worry about that, ok sweetie? You just concentrate on being a teenager that doesn't irritate her parents too much. Ok?" That should just about do it.

She gave me another 'Amy' look.

"Strange, how someone who works in a hospital can arrange protection like that." She stomped off.

Well! That was fun. Wonder how long she would be mad at me about that?

I had trouble sleeping again that night, so I went down to the basement to watch TV again. Maybe the excitement about the upcoming weekend; I really did enjoy these times together. Maybe an uncomfortable feeling I had that I was not going to like the results of the investigations that were running. Maybe I was just secretly hoping Katie would come find me. Whatever the reason, I finally dozed off, only to wake up with Katie sitting on my lap kissing me.

"Hey, sleepy head. Couldn't stay awake waiting for me? If you are really tired, I can leave you alone tonight."

I put my arms around her and held her so she could not get away.

"You are not going anywhere, Little One. Now, what was this you were going to show me this morning that Amy would have picked up on?"

She grinned, giggled, and slowly took her clothes off. Not that she had a lot on anyway. The universal uniform, panties and a tee shirt. Then she just as slowly took my clothes off. I love it when she undresses me. Then she swallowed my cock all the way, and gave me one of the best blowjobs I had ever had. The things she does with her tongue, lips, hands and teeth had me filling her mouth within minutes. Then she sat down on me, taking me inside her before I could get soft, and proceeded to bring herself to an orgasm as I watched. I just love to watch her tremble and shake all over, with her head buried in my neck, kissing me and trying to keep from screaming her brains out.

We cuddled for a while, and then she started to cry. I instinctively knew this was not the usual happy cry. Something was wrong.

"What is it, pretty lady? Talk to me."

"You are going to hate me so much. I seduced you and started this whole thing and now I have to stop it. I'm so sorry!" she sobbed.

"Sweetheart, this has always been up to you, whenever you need it. We can stop whenever you feel the need to. But why do you have to stop it?"

"I don't want to! I love you so much, and you make me feel so good I cannot believe it. You and Victoria have been so nice to me, giving me a place to stay, and even talking about adopting me. And I repay Victoria for all her kindness by seducing her husband behind her back. The kids at school are right — I am just a slut." She sobbed brokenly against my chest.

This was going to be fun. I love problems this easy to solve. I lifted her head up, looked into her eyes, and wiped her tears away, kissing her gently.

"Katie... look at me. You are not a slut. Sluts sleep with multiple guys at once. You are not two-timing me are you? And you said you were seducing me behind Victoria's back. Would it help it I told her about it?" I teased, trying to get her to laugh.

She smiled shyly. "Well, I'm not sleeping with or making out with anyone else. I am dating someone, though." She looked at me nervously. "Is that ok?" Then what I said dawned on her. "No! Please don't tell Victoria! She would hate me! Not to mention she'd probably kill me and kick me out of the house!" She looked frantic. She did not seem to see the humor of being killed and then kicked out of the house.

"Of course it is ok. You should be dating boys your own age. Katie, you know I love Victoria very much. You said I was a nice, sweet guy. Did you ever wonder why I gave in to you so easily? Why I did these same things with Cindi?

"Well... because I seduced you and you couldn't resist, because I remind you of Cindi? Because you felt sorry for both of us? Because you get lonely and... you know... when Victoria is gone so much? I don't know."

I laughed. "You certainly are very pretty and sexy, Little One, and you would be hard to resist, but I think I could have managed it if I had wanted to." She blushed prettily. "The truth is, Katie, Cindi did seduce me the first time, but Victoria knew about it by the second time we made love. She approved of it, because of the good effects it was having on Cindi's recovery. She also told me in so many words that I was a fool and she would kick my butt if I did not make love to you. She has given me permission to be with you anytime she is out of town. Not only given permission, but strongly encouraged it."

"WHAT?!? Why would she do that? Why would she share someone like you with someone like me?" Katie looked stunned.

"Because she loves you. She knows I love you. She knows how much I miss Cindi and how much you remind me of her. She knows how hurt you have been, sexually and emotionally, and she knows I can help with that as I did with Cindi. Because we are grateful to you for saving Amy's life. We discussed things we could do for you in appreciation. She knew you were in love with me and the thing you wanted most in life was to make love to me. Was she right?" She blushed and looked down when I said that.

"Yes," she whispered shyly. "But, I would never try to take you away or make this a permanent arrangement or anything like that! I just want to enjoy you when I can."

"She knows that, Katie. No offence, pretty girl, but you could never take me away from Victoria. No one could. This is not meant to be permanent. You will someday fall in love with a wonderful man and you will not need this anymore. Until then, I am here anytime you need me. As long as Victoria is not in town. As long as you follow certain guidelines. Do not get pregnant. Do not bring diseases home from other guys. Do not tell anyone."

"I would never tell anyone! Those other things would all involve having sex with someone else, and I am just not interested in that. So, you really mean it is ok? She doesn't mind?"

"Yes. Now, shut up and make me happy, Little One!" I teased her.

Suddenly, I had 90 lbs of wiggly, squirmy Katie all over me, kissing, hugging, and sucking everything she could find to get her mouth on. Then she decided she wanted to do something special for me. First, she pretended she was Cindi. That was sad but nice also. Then she pretended she was Amy, giving herself to me for the first time. How hot was that?!? I do not even want to think about that anymore! By the time she left to go back to bed, I was exhausted. I was going to have to get some sleep one of these nights. It was not going to be tomorrow night, though, because Victoria was coming home. I told the girls they could sleep over at Rebecca's house if they wanted, but strangely, they both said no, they would just suffer through it. Giggle, giggle.

When I got home from work that evening and walked into the kitchen, I was greeted with the prettiest sight I could ever want to see. Victoria, Amy and Katie were all working together, cooking dinner. I just stood there and watched, and listened, before they knew I was there. Victoria was the essence of loveliness; at 37, she still looked no more than 25. Amy, looking so much like her, looked older than her 13, maybe 16. For some reason, I doubt it was accidental, they were wearing almost the same outfit. Finally, Katie, looking so different, yet so much like Cindi it took my breath away. The others looked happy, but Katie positively glowed. She was happier than I had ever seen her. I knew Victoria would be talking to me tonight! They were all mine for the whole weekend. Tonight was staying at home night. Tomorrow evening was dinner at Victoria's parents' house. Sunday was the birthday celebration at our house, with just us four.

As we were relaxing after dinner, teasing each other and just generally having a wonderful time, Victoria and I decided it was time to talk to them about Katie's future.

"Amy, Katie," Victoria said, "Your Dad and I have talked about it, and considering Katie's situation at home, we decided we would like to start proceedings to adopt Katie. Your Dad has looked into it and it should not be hard to do, and hopefully would not take that long. What do you girls think about that?"

Of course, Katie was excited. I had warned her not to let on that I had already mentioned it to her. Amy had a strange look on her face, one I could not read. Victoria noticed it too, and looked at me questioningly, but I did not know what was going on.

"Sure. That would be great," Amy said, then burst into tears, ran into her room, and closed the door. Victoria and I looked at each other in shock. We never would have even dreamed that Amy would have a problem with this. Katie started crying and looked devastated. I told Victoria I would talk to Amy and headed for her room. I knocked on the door.

"Amy. It's Daddy. Can I come in, sweetie?"

I heard a very tiny "yes". Amy was lying on her bed, sobbing her heart out. I have never been able to handle females crying. It just tears me up inside. Amy crying has always been particularly upsetting to me, maybe because she does it so seldom. This was several times in the last two months. Poor little thing. I sat down next to her on the bed, took her head and lay it in my lap, and just held her, stroking her hair. Finally, she calmed down a little.

"Want to tell me about it? A very upset little girl out there does not know why you do not want her to be your sister. Honey, how did we screw up? I honestly thought you would be happy about it; we wanted to surprise you. You and Katie seem to be so close..." I was thoroughly confused and upset that I had caused all this commotion. I could just imagine how Katie must feel.

Amy looked at me with big, sad eyes. What had I missed? I felt like I should know why she was crying. I braced myself for the chewing out I was going to get. Amy is not the most forgiving or diplomatic person when she is upset. Usually you did not have to guess what the problem was.

"God, Daddy, I am such a brat! Poor Katie, she must feel just awful. I really am happy for her, and I really think it is a great idea. I would love to have Katie as a sister. It just seems like... we are just forgetting about Cindi. I am so happy around Katie and it just feels like I should be missing Cindi and not being happy. When I heard we were going to adopt Katie, it just seemed we would not even need or remember Cindi anymore. I'm so sorry, I'm so silly, and now I've made a scene and Mom and Katie both probably hate me; Katie's so upset; I can feel how upset she is in my mind. And you have to listen to all this nonsense from me and I'm ruining your birthday weekend... Daddy, is this what they call a relapse? Am I having a relapse? I don't want to go back to the way I was before. Please help me, Daddy!" she cried as she started sobbing again.

I didn't know what to do. This was such a little thing, but it was so big to her.

"Honey, we don't have to adopt Katie right now. We don't have to adopt her at all. It was just an idea to help her. However, we can take our time and let you get used to it. She can still stay here just like she has been."

"No! I really don't mind. It's so important to her. She needs to belong to a family. I'm the idiot here, not her for wanting a family. I just need to calm down here for a while, and then go back out there and see if I can repair the damage I have just done. I hope it can be repaired. Tell them I'm ok and I'll be out in a little while."

"Amy, they love you. They will understand. Don't be so hard on yourself. I'll tell them."

I went back out to a sobbing, red, puffy eyed, almost hysterical Katie, with Victoria futilely trying to comfort her. I walked over, picked up Katie, and sat down on the couch with her in my lap. She buried her head in my chest and sobbed. Victoria looked lost, not knowing what to do. I smiled at her and told her it would be ok.

I finally got Katie to calm down. I sat her down between Victoria and me, so I could talk to them both.

"Katie, Amy thinks you hate her now."

"I don't hate her! I love her. I thought she hated me. I can find somewhere else to live. I don't want her to think I am pushing her out of her family. I can go somewhere else. I don't want to hurt her!"

"She doesn't want you to leave. She thinks it is wonderful that you would be her sister. She was just taken by surprise. She just thought we were all forgetting about Cindi." I cringed at the look of horror on Victoria's face. "She understands now how impossible that is. She's afraid she's having a relapse and she doesn't want to go back to how she was. We have to be gentle with her; she's a very hurt little girl. Just because she's been acting normal the last two weeks we tend to think everything is ok. Even though you have helped a lot, Katie, she still misses Cindi sometimes."

Amy finally came out of her room. She apologized to everyone, then took Katie by the hand and led her into her room, and closed the door. They came back out an hour later, laughing and joking and giggling as if nothing had ever happened. Teenagers! So resilient.

Later, when it was time to go to bed, I asked Amy if she needed to sleep with us tonight. She rolled her eyes and giggled.

"I don't think so! I would like to get some sleep! Besides, you might not be able to tell Mommy and me apart in the dark! Hmmm, on second thought..." Victoria swatted her on the butt for that. Both Katie and Amy hugged Victoria goodnight together, each whispering in an ear. Victoria blushed?!? I have to hear what they said!

Neither one of us bothered to wear any clothes to bed. We were both too excited for such unnecessary frills. Victoria was in a playful mood, however, as she proceeded to give me one of the best blowjobs in history. She kept bringing me right to the point of climaxing, then backing off and letting me calm down. I had a flashback of the first time Cindi had done that to me. Now I realized where she had gotten the idea. The little imp had been watching us! I looked over at the doorway and sure enough, two little wide-eyed faces were showing through the partially open door! They looked guilty and started to dive under cover until they heard me laugh. I smiled and mouthed "I love you!" to them as they watched. They mouthed it back as Victoria stopped long enough to ask me why I laughed. I told her it was because I loved her and she made me so happy. That was true. When she lowered herself down on me, taking me inside her, I understood why she had taken me so far with the blowjob. She was so wet! She exploded with her first orgasm as soon as I was inside her. Just in the short time it took me to peak, she had another orgasm. This was going to be a fun night! The two little faces looked stunned.

Later, as we were resting together, she looked at me and grinned. I knew that grin; I was in trouble.

"So," she whispered sexily, "how was Katie?" I looked to make sure our little voyeurs were no longer present.

"I thought she was fine tonight," I answered, deliberately misunderstanding her. "Once I explained why Amy... OW! What was that for?" I exclaimed, feigning hurt feelings after she punched me. I did not have to pretend it hurt physically.

"You know what I am talking about, smart aleck. How WAS she?"

"How do you know I did anything yet? I just said I would think about it."

"Are you kidding me? She was positively glowing tonight. Either you did, or she has been taken over by aliens." This was a fun game, but I decided I did not want to risk another punch, so I told her what she wanted to know.

"She was sweet, wonderful, very talented, not as good as you, but very enjoyable. She has also been very badly hurt, as you suspected." I told her the story Katie had told me. Katie had given me permission to tell Victoria. She had tears in her eyes, just as I did, when I first heard it. "Patrick John Phillips, you better tell me you made love to that poor girl after that story, or I'm going to beat you!"

"No, but I let her seduce me. Afterwards, she had a panic attack, thinking she was betraying you. I had to tell her that you knew." I heard Victoria laugh at that. I answered her unspoken question. "Yeah, she was freaked out, but once I convinced her it was true, she was happy." I told her all about that night. She insisted on the details.

"You make sure you keep that girl happy when I'm gone. She is way too precious to lose." Victoria ordered. Yes, ma'am!

"Since I told you about her, does that mean I can tell them all about our sex life?' I teased.

"What? You mean the stuff they didn't see tonight peeking through the door?" She giggled.

"You knew about that?" I asked, shocked.

"Hell, Cindi and Amy have been doing that for years. I figured with me gone so much, it was better than relying on you to give them the sex education talk!" This time I swatted her.

"Well, I did give them the talk." I told her about the experience with all the girls and the strip poker and sex talk. She was laughing hysterically by the time I was done.

"Damn! I'm going to have to watch it or I'm going to be sharing you with all those girls!" She didn't sound too distressed at the idea.

"Right. Just what they want. An old man and their friend's father to boot. They're not all like Katie, you know."

"Are you kidding? All of those girls would take you in a minute. Maybe at the same time, for all I know. Even the ones like Elizabeth and Emily who haven't the foggiest idea what sex is are hot for you, willing to learn." Great. I did not need to hear that! There is one good way to shut Victoria up. Well, from speaking, that is. She didn't say any coherent words for quite a while after that.

The next morning, we all had breakfast together. Amy and Katie looked tired, but then it was before noon. I asked them if they slept well last night.

"No," Amy complained. "Someone was torturing small animals all night long." Katie leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Oh! That was Mom and Dad? Who would have known? However, I think they deserve some recognition for their stamina, if nothing else." Smart-ass comedians. They both stood up and clapped long and loud. Both Victoria and I were blushing furiously. They finally got us good. Katie leaned over and whispered in a loud stage voice.

"I have some experience in these matters. They are really not very good. Your Dad climaxes way too soon and obviously does not care a wit about his partner's enjoyment. And your Mom shows an amazing lack of flexibility, inventiveness and interest. She just lays there like a bump on a log." She giggled and ducked as I threw a biscuit at her. Amy reached out nonchalantly and caught it without even looking. She caught me looking at her in surprise and she just smiled and shrugged her shoulders. Then Katie cringed in mock fear as I gave her a 'see if you get any more of my not very good technique' look. All of us were red now at Katie's crude remarks. I wondered how many other sides this girl has to her that we had not even seen yet.

The girls, including Victoria, decided they wanted to go shopping, so I decided to go with them for a change. I usually get bored very fast with shopping. They figured out that if they tried on sexy bathing suits occasionally, that would keep me attentive. Boy, did it! Then they had to try on panties and bras and they had to have my opinion on those. I told them I could not really tell unless I could see them as they were taken off, or took them off myself. Katie said "ok" and giggled, Amy turned red and got tongue tied, Victoria whispered "later". We had a fun time all day. They even let me look at some electronic stores. They rolled their eyes, but they smiled patiently while I played. Mainly because Victoria looked with me, since she is an electronics geek also. It also gave us a chance to neck and embarrass the girls.

We got home mid afternoon. The girls decided what they were going to wear to the dinner that night. Then we all decided to take a nap, since we would probably be up late. Of course, we all piled into the same bed to nap. I didn't actually sleep; I just watched three very beautiful females as they slept. I love to watch them sleep. When I got bored with that, I would tickle Amy or Katie's ear and watch them swat at it in their sleep. I tickled Victoria in another, more fun place. After the third time, I found out she wasn't as asleep as I thought; she whispered that if I kept that up, she was going to have to kick the girls out of the room. I suggested we go into Amy's room. One of these days when I really want to gross Amy out, I will have to tell her we made love in her bed!

Dinner that night was interesting. Victoria's parents are nice people. They adopted her when she was 16 years old. She had been living in foster homes from the time she was two years old until they adopted her. She was just elated when she finally found a permanent family. I understood exactly what she went through, as I had gone through a similar situation. She does not talk about it much, but I think she had a much tougher time of it than I did. As Amy said once, something happened that made her so frantic to protect her babies at all costs. I suspect there are things about her early teen years that we did not know and that she would love to forget.

I usually can't resist, when we get together with her parents, to take the opportunity to find out things about her past. This time I was checking up on something she told me after the incident at the fair. I was talking to her Father in the study, alone.

"By the way, I wanted to thank you for the self-defense courses that you let Victoria take when she was young. They have really helped out with teaching the girls some things they need to know." By now, I pretty much figured the response I was going to get.

"Well, I wish we could take credit for that, but we never had her in any such classes that I know of. Maybe it was before we adopted her. She always was pretty graceful, though." He proceeded to tell me several stories from her mid teens. I love to hear those stories. He got a brilliant idea just as the others came into the room.

"Would you like to see all her pictures in the family album? We found it the other day when we cleaning up." He pulled it out of a drawer.

"Dad... Patrick and the girls don't want to see all that old stuff." Victoria protested.

"Yes we do!" we all yelled in unison. Wow! It had been a long time since I had received a dirty look like that from Victoria. I try to avoid getting that look. I am scared of her, but Amy's not. She laughed at her. We spent quite some time looking at the pictures. It was remarkable how much she and Amy looked alike when Victoria was 13. You could literally mistake one for the other. Then he pulled out the real special picture.

"This is one we just found the other day. I hope this does not upset you, Victoria. This is the only picture we have of her from her original family. It shows her Mom, Dad, and brother with her when she was about two years old. Isn't she cute?" Unfortunately, there was no response, because it was at exactly that moment that Katie and I both had an attack of the clumsies and we both dropped our glasses on the floor, shattering them in a hundred pieces. After much apologies and helping to clean up the mess, the album was forgotten, to Victoria's relief.

Katie and I managed not to make any more messes the rest of the night. I noticed Amy giving us some curious looks periodically. I knew she was reading my emotions and I was upset about something. I was trying not to show it until I could check out something at home. Something was bothering Katie too; I did not need emotional reading ability to see that she could not sit still. I knew that nosey little Amy was not going to let the evening pass without bugging me about it. Sure enough, a few minutes later I felt her sidle up close to me.

"So... mister sure fingers, I don't think I have ever seen you drop a wine glass before. Waste of good wine. You seem somewhat upset. Want to talk about it?" She smiled at me so sweetly. Amy really is a sweetheart — she loves to help people. We have always been open with each other and pleasant to each other when we overstep the boundaries of privacy. I am sure knowing that made my answer even more confusing to her.

"No, Amy, I don't want to talk about it. If I wanted to talk about it with you, I would have come to you. Why don't you go bother your mother for a while?" I snapped at her, turned around and walked away. I don't know why I snapped at her like that. Something was bothering me, some feeling of doom or distress, and I was distracted. I would never have talked to Amy that way otherwise. When I looked at her later, she did not look like her feelings were hurt; she was just looking at me with a sad and worried look on her face. I need not have worried about hurting her feelings; Amy had a cause now. Daddy was upset about something, so she made it a point to stay as close to me as she could, touching me and holding my arm any chance she got. I wasn't so distracted that I didn't appreciate it. Just do not bug me about my emotions when I did not have them sorted out myself. I was trying desperately to figure out what it was that was bothering me. Something about Victoria's childhood just was not right. I could not put my finger on what it was that I saw or heard that was out of place, but whatever it was, it had triggered either some unpleasant memories or deep-seated concerns. Whatever it was, it was worrying me and I was scared since somehow I knew it involved Victoria.

The rest of the evening was pleasant enough, although I must admit I didn't remember much of it. Amy stuck to me all night like glue. It wasn't unpleasant, as she really is a very pleasant and very pretty young lady, and she did not bug me anymore about talking to her. Katie still seemed antsy about something, but it did not seem critical. Otherwise, everyone had a good time. The ride home was quiet. I really didn't feel like talking, and Victoria noticed that. Amy and Katie dozed in the backseat. As we prepared for bed, Amy gave me a big, close, special hug and kiss, and then looked at me with those marvelous eyes of hers, full of concern and worry. She laid her cheek against mine, her mouth to my ear.

"I love you, Daddy, so very much. No matter what, I love you. Remember that. No matter what," she whispered. Then she went to bed. Katie gave me a somewhat distracted hug, and headed for bed also. When Victoria and I went to bed, she just quietly held me close, letting me feel the love she had for me. She could sense something was wrong. She could also sense I couldn't talk about it yet. For the first time since as far back as I could remember, we didn't make love. Somehow she knew I couldn't. She knew I just needed her close. We held each other close all night long. Sometime during the night, Amy came in, and when I awoke the next morning, she was cuddled close to the other side of me. That was about the only joy I was to experience that day.

I was even worse after we got up Sunday. After I got out of bed with Victoria and Amy, I wandered around the house like a lost puppy. I just couldn't snap myself out of it. I yelled at Amy again. She just smiled sweetly at me and told me she loved me. Later that afternoon I yelled at Katie when she wanted to talk to me and she ran out of the room in tears. A few minutes later, Victoria came into the room. She took me by the hand and led me into our bedroom, and closed the door. She looked unhappy.

"Ok, you have yelled at Amy twice now. Katie is in tears, because her Daddy doesn't love her anymore. It is my turn now. Yell at me, get it over with, and then maybe you can tell me what this is all about." She looked really worried.

"I don't know what is wrong. If I knew, I would tell you. I just have this dreadful feeling that something is terribly wrong, that disaster is about to strike me. I wish I knew. I can't believe I yelled at Katie. And Amy. Please tell them I love them. I'm too ashamed to face them."

"I have an idea," Victoria said brightly, trying to cheer me up. "Let's exchange presents now instead of this evening." She called out to the girls, then took me by the hand and led me out to the living room.

I insisted that we give Victoria her presents first. I did not feel that I deserved any, the way I was acting. Suddenly, I understood how Amy was feeling after Cindi died. How she was acting out, knew she was doing it, felt awful about it, but just couldn't help herself.

I gave Victoria a bracelet she had wanted and that I loved too. It was a pearl string, with delicate gold chains on either side. It was beautiful. She was ecstatic. The girls got her things she was just as excited about. I don't even remember what they were. I was happier, laughing and having a good time. The darkness had receded for a while at least. Victoria gave me a new watch. Amy got me sweet little things that I would treasure later, but didn't remember what it was at the time. Even Katie got me something. Then, Amy said she had one more special present. As she went to get it, the phone rang. She answered it, and then came back to me.

"It's for you, Daddy."

"Tell them to call back later," Victoria snapped. It seemed my lousy mood of before was rubbing off.

"He said it was important. He needs to talk to Dad immediately." Amy sounded concerned.

I took the call in the office. I knew who it was before I even answered the phone.

"Patrick, it is John Haskin. Happy birthday to you and Victoria."

"Thank you, John. We appreciate the good wishes. But that is not why you called, is it?"

He sighed. "I'm afraid not. Patrick, I looked over all the information on Cindi's accident. I'm afraid we missed something very important in the original investigation. The truck driver was dead before the collision. He had a bullet wound in the head. Someone else steered that truck and set the fire before escaping out the passenger door. I'm afraid it was no accident."

"You're telling me Cindi was murdered?" I whispered. "How did you miss this on the original investigation?" Oh God, Cindi, forgive me for not protecting you!

"I'm afraid so. I don't know how it was missed. Parts of the autopsy report were inexplicitly left out of the police report. We're investigating that." What he didn't say was more important than what he said. "I'm also afraid I have some more bad news for you."

"What could you tell me worse than this?" I asked, my voice breaking. What could be worse than killing my little girl? I found out; trying to kill my other little girl.

"The Director of the Microbiology Laboratory at the hospital just called me. He hasn't been able to reach you. He has asked me to initiate an attempted murder investigation for Amy's illness. It seems the virus she was infected with was an engineered virus, the kind developed by Biological Warfare Laboratories. He says there is no way she could have been infected accidentally, especially since she was the only one infected. She was very lucky; that virus has a near 100% fatality rate, with the few survivors succumbing to a relapse within a week."

Suddenly I was calmer. I thought I knew what I had been dreading.

"We will be investigating both of these crimes. I assure you we will find those responsible and bring them to justice.

"Pull your people out, John. I will take care of this one," I whispered.

"Patrick... we have discussed this before. I have seen how you work in this type of situation before. I will not have the streets of my city filled with dead bodies. You and Victoria are dear friends, but I cannot let you do this."

"You can't stop it, John. It's going to happen whether I want it to or not. Get your people clear. I don't want any of them on my conscience." I hung up the phone.

I sat there, berating myself. I had failed Cindi. She had died because I didn't protect her. I had suspected what Victoria really did after San Francisco. I had known for sure after I had met Robert, after the incident at the Fair. I had stopped digging after that meeting because I had recognized Robert. He didn't know me, but I knew of him. Still, I had trusted them to protect my girls, instead of doing it myself. They had failed; I had failed. But for Cindi's strange powers, Amy would be dead too. Cindi saved Amy, I killed Cindi. How could I tell Victoria that her baby had been murdered? What would happen if — when — she found out that I had the ability to protect her babies and had failed not once, but twice? How could she continue to love me, live with me after that? How could Amy stand to look at me, her Dad, who had let her twin be killed, had put her through all her suffering? These thoughts continued to swirl and build in my head as I outwardly calmed myself to go out to face my family, for probably the last birthday I would ever spend with them.

I actually appeared calm and happy when I rejoined the family. I told Victoria the call was nothing important. Amy and Katie were not fooled. They could read my emotions, could see the intense turmoil in my mind. They had an almost scared look on their faces. Amy said she had one more special present for me. She handed me a four-inch cube box.

"This was Cindi's present for you, Daddy," she said almost fearfully. I opened it slowly. Inside was a crystal sphere. Inside the sphere were tendrils of bright green and bright blue, the colors of Amy and Cindi's eyes. Etched in the glass was an inscription. It said, "Love me. Trust me." Suddenly, images flooded my mind, showing me what had happened in that hospital room. I remembered it all. Suddenly, I couldn't take anymore. I got up from the chair and walked out to the patio, to gaze out over the landscape. Amy, Katie and Victoria watched me go with surprised looks on their faces. I heard Amy whisper.

"Mommy! He is not ok!" She said fearfully.

Just when I thought things could not possibly get worse, I suddenly realized what was not right with Victoria's childhood. I remembered a picture in an envelope in my bottom desk drawer, underneath all the papers. A picture I had only looked at once and nobody else had ever seen. I walked back into my office, and took out the envelope, removing the picture. The only picture I had of my original family. A picture of a Mom, Dad, and a little girl and a little boy. I turned it over and saw an inscription on the back, an inscription I had never seen before, with a date on it. It said:

"Mom, Dad and the two year old twins... Patrick and Victoria." It was exactly the same picture I had seen at Victoria's parents' house last night. With shaking hands, I put the picture back where I found it.

I felt the darkness closing in. I knew this meant I had lost Victoria forever. How could she stay married to me once she saw this picture? I could not hide it from her. How could any of them want to be around the one who had failed to protect Cindi, had failed to protect Amy? I didn't even want to live anymore. I felt my body, my mind closing down as my mind reeled under the multiple shocks it had received. As I felt myself sinking to the floor, tears running down my face, I dimly heard Amy and Katie scream as I saw Victoria walk through the doorway.

"Mommy! Daddy needs you! He is not ok!"

At the same time, I heard Victoria yell "Amy! Get in here and help me with your Dad! Now!" That was the last thing I remembered before I blacked out.

to say it. Please."

I squeezed her hand, and the memory of the time we had made love, with our climax being like a spring rainstorm, and the feeling as we basked in the joy and beauty afterwards came unbidden into my mind. I wanted to smile, but it was a little hard under the circumstances.

"I love you, Cindi. I think you know how much," I told her. She smiled at me, a special smile, squeezed my hand in return, and said "thank you" and I realized with a sense of shock and wonder that she had seen that image go through my mind.

"I love you too, Cindi, more than I have shown you and more than I can possibly tell you," Victoria answered. I saw the look on her face as she had the same experience I did; the realization in her mind that Cindi did know. We looked at each other in confusion; what was going on here? Cindi was speaking again.

"Mom, Dad, I know I'm not good at a lot of things, like Amy, she's like a superwoman or something, but please, Mom, Dad, please, would you trust me this time, please trust me, that I can do this? Please? For Amy's sake? Please?" She seemed calm now; there were tears in her eyes, but they were not tears of fear or rage now.

She looked so intense; I had to do what I could for her. Victoria looked at me, and she nodded slightly to me.

"We trust you, honey. Do what you can." I had no idea what I was telling her to do, or why, but if it helped her deal with what was coming, I would do it. I just was not sure how I was going to deal with what was coming.

She looked down, closed her eyes, and whispered, "One more time, Mom and Dad, and really believe it this time, for Amy's sake, you love me and you trust me." She seemed to be concentrating, and suddenly I felt a wash of love and trust pour through me. I heard Victoria gasp, and knew she felt the same.

Then Cindi led us over to Amy's bed. She took one of Amy's hands, and laid it in mine. I clasped it, and half felt, half hoped that I felt her squeeze back faintly. Cindi smiled at me.

"Yes, she knows you are here."

Then she took Amy's other hand, and laid it in Victoria's hand. Finally, she took each of our remaining hands in hers.

"Close you eyes. Think about nothing except how much you love me." I did as she asked. I did not know what was going on here, but my girls had always been special, and if this would help either one of them, I would do it. I thought again about the time like the spring rain. Cindi squeezed my hand. I thought about all the wonderful times I had had with her. As I continue to think of how much I loved her, I could sense a blue fog seeming to come over my eyes, in my mind. It was a deep blue. The same color as Cindi's eyes! It became deeper blue the more I thought of her. Suddenly images ran through my mind of the times I had enjoyed with Cindi. However, they were somehow different. I was seeing Cindi's memories of our love and wonderful times together in my mind! I could feel the love building up in me, higher and higher. I was so full it felt like I was going to burst. When I felt I just could not hold any more, Cindi spoke again.

"Now, think of how much you love Amy. Think of your baby. Give her all your love." Interesting. I could hear Cindi's voice in my head. I thought of spending Sunday together with Amy. Rubbing her temples, her stomach. I thought of running my fingers up the insides of her leg. Cindi squeezed my hand. I thought of all the times we cuddled in bed together. The haze in my mind turned green, beautiful deep green. Amy's eyes! My God! I could feel her! I basked in the joy of feeling at one with my girls. I could feel Victoria there, too. I was amazed at the depth of love I felt from her, for me and for her babies. And for the one that wasn't there. I didn't know what that meant. I felt the huge bubble of love slowing exiting me, colored bright green as it left. I wondered what it looked like in the room. Instantly, in my mind I saw Amy lying on the bed. I say green tendrils floating over to her body and disappearing inside. Cindi's voice in my mind said, "It looks like that", and she giggled. I had never seen anything so beautiful.

I heard Cindi in my mind again. "This is our secret, just for us. Even Amy doesn't know. Tell no one." The green faded.

Suddenly, we were standing there, by the bed, the three of us hugging each other, eyes open, a warm sense of calm, love, warmth filling us. It seemed like we had just walked over to the bed a minute ago, but a quick look at my watch showed a half hour had passed. I had only a vague remembrance of something too weird to be possible having happened.

"Hey. Don't I get a hug, too?" a weak voice asked. We turned quickly around, to see Amy, eyes open, smiling faintly. Amy looked awful, but she looked better. She had some color now.

Victoria and I ran over to her, hugging and kissing her, crying. Then, I saw a look of panic cross Amy's face.

"Cindi! Where is Cindi?"

I looked around. Cindi was sitting in a chair, leaning back against the wall. She looked really tired, and sick, eyes half closed, face pale. She looked old and sick.

"Dad! Bring her over here," Amy said.

We helped her walk over, and sat her on the bed next to Amy

"Cindi, what did you do?" They looked into each other's eyes, communicating with each other somehow.

"You goofball, what am I going to do with you? Thank you." Amy whispered.

Amy called me over close to her.

"Daddy, Cindi needs something from the nursing station. Can you get it for her, please?" She pulled me down and whispered into my ear.

I stared at her in surprise. "Are you sure, Amy? If you are wrong, things will get awful interesting real quick!"

"Trust me, Daddy."

Well, I had learned a lot about trust in the last few minutes. I kissed her forehead, and went out to the nursing station. I asked the nurse to prepare what I needed. She looked at me in astonishment. "Are you sure?" she asked, assuming it was for me. "If you have any digestive problems, suffer from migraines, have heart problems, or latent diabetes, things will get awful interesting real quick around here!" She didn't understand why I laughed. "Trust me," I winked. I got what I needed, and came back into the room, handing Cindi a glass of murky white, foul smelling liquid.

Cindi crinkled up her nose in disgust. "Are you sure about this, Amy? This stuff smells yucky!"

"Drink it all down. Good news. It tastes worse than it smells. Next time you'll think twice about saving my life," she teased.

After Cindi, complaining loudly and continuously about why this couldn't just be a pill, drank it all down, two things happened almost simultaneously. She immediately perked up, her color returned, and she suddenly had her energy level back. She looked her age again, and no longer looked ill. At the same time, the monitors hooked up to Amy went crazy. As I looked at them, her blood pressure spiked back to normal, her temperature dropped to normal, her pulse stabilized, her respiration deepened and dropped to normal, the irregularities in her EKG disappeared, and her rash faded almost away. Alarms that were set to sound with significant changes in either direction were beeping incessantly. I laughed. They all looked at me quizzically.

"Wait for it," I laughed.

Almost immediately, the door burst open and the nurse and doctor ran in. They only paused slightly when they saw Cindi, looking at her nervously, but she smiled sweetly at them.

"Come on in! I'm human again!" she quipped. Then she looked at us and winked. She ran over to Amy, hugged, and kissed her. "I'm so glad to see you again."

"Me too! What happened?"

"Don't know," Cindi answered. "We were standing here, and all of a sudden I felt sick and you started waking up. What did you do?" Cindi asked innocently.

Amy rolled her eyes and gave her the Amy look (YES, she is getting better!). "I'll talk to you later."

The doctor politely told the girls to quit gabbing and let him give Amy a checkup. Amy politely told him to talk to the finger (Poor Amy. So innocent. She doesn't know these things. She had no idea she held up the wrong finger!), and all of us, including the doctor, burst out laughing. She turned red and asked what was wrong. We told her she wouldn't understand.

They kept Amy two more days, trying to find out what had happened. They kept expecting her to suddenly get worse again. Finally, on the third day, Amy announced we would either take her home or she was walking out the front door and hitching a ride home with the first person that picked her up; if we liked this place so much, we could stay and eat that... food. Yep Amy was getting better. She was still weak as a kitten, however. We decided we wouldn't make her hitchhike home.

When we left, I refused the wheelchair and told them I would carry Amy out, and picked her up in my arms. She squealed in delight, wrapped her arms around my neck, and kissed me. She gave me a big kiss, not quite daughterly but not too scandalous and asked me quietly if I was going to give her another shower. I had not told anybody about that. I told her I was feeling a little weak myself, especially in the arms; I hoped I would not drop her on the way out. She said she was sure she could find a convenient handle to hold on to with her hands. I blushed and decided to quit while I was only way too far behind. She whispered "sorry Daddy" in my ear, while everyone else waited patiently to hear the story behind those comments, but I was not talking. It is hard to sound sorry when you are giggling.

Amy had lost some weight while she was sick, so she was ravenous. I dropped them all off at home and went to buy dinner. I got a sausage and pepperoni pizza for Amy and me and a special for Cindi and Victoria. I also bought a quart of Pistachio ice cream. For those with weak stomachs, you might want to skip to the next paragraph at this point. Ok, remember, I warned you. Amy likes to alternate bites of sausage and pepperoni pizza with pistachio ice cream. As Cindi says, sometimes she is just way too gross and disgusting! I told her if she ended up in the hospital again due to gross eating habits, the insurance company would not pay; it does not cover self-abuse. We left her in the kitchen eating alone, telling her we were going into the other room to eat with normal people before we got sick. When we sneaked back in and gave her a tickling attack, her mock sad face got happy and she just beamed. She just loves being teased. "I love you guys," she sighed happily.

Two days after getting home, Victoria had to leave town again. She looked so distraught trying to explain to Amy why she had to leave, but we all understood; all was well. I had as much time off as I needed from work until Amy was better. The next day, she told me I could go into work if I needed to. I flatly and curtly refused, and when I saw her eyes widen I turned and walked away. A few minutes later, a pair of teenage arms slipped around my waist and a pretty little girl snuggled up behind me. Then she gently turned me around and took my hands in hers.

"It wasn't your fault, Daddy," she said softly. "It still would have happened if you would have stayed home from work that day. I didn't feel really bad until shortly before you came home. It wouldn't have mattered". I looked down and felt silly for her having figured me out. The doctor had said the same thing. I was also glad she had not figured out the other reason I felt bad.

"I just don't know what I would do if I lost you", I whispered. She just hugged me.

"It would kind of ruin my whole day, too," she whispered back seriously.

The third day home, Amy announced that she felt dirty and disgusting and we needed to do something about that.

"I thought you were just kidding about giving you another shower," I said, feeling frantic.

"Not shower. Too weak. Bath. Now."

So, I carried her into the bathroom. She waited patiently for me to fill the tub and take her clothes off. Then I helped her into the tub. She sighed happily and soaked for a while. I got up to leave, but she put her hand on my arm and asked me to stay, then closed her eyes again. I think she just enjoys teasing me to death. She knew the lovely sight her beautiful body made lying naked in that tub. She asked me to wash her; she said she was too weak to do it right. I tried, but I was just making a big mess trying to do it with me outside the tub (washing her, I mean). Finally, she took the washcloth away from me.

"This just isn't going to work this way, Daddy. Get you clothes off and get in here and wash me right." I must have looked like a deer in the headlights, because she cracked up, and then put her hand on my arm affectionately. "I'm not drunk. I'm not going to seduce you. Well, probably not. Not while I'm this weak, anyway! Just kidding! We have already seen all there is to see of each other. Come on."

She lay back and closed her eyes, as I got undressed, so I wouldn't be embarrassed. She is such a sweetheart. Then I got in behind her and sat down. She snuggled back against me, closed her eyes, and sighed happily. I proceeded to wash her cute little body all over. I am sure she must have felt me against her butt, but for once in her life, Amy passed up the opportunity to tease. Once I got over my embarrassment, and assured myself that nothing was going to happen, I really enjoyed giving her a bath. She just turned boneless when I washed her hair. She enjoyed it so much she fell asleep. Drying her off was a hell of a lot easier than last time I was in the bathroom with her! We got dressed, and went into the living room, where she sat on the floor in front of me on the couch while I brushed her hair.

If any of you have never brushed female hair, you have to try it. Whether she is 6 or 37, (I've never tried it older than that) it is one of the most sensual (not the same as sexual) things you can do. Washing hair is tied for brushing hair on the sensual scale. They are both about a 15 on a scale of 10. Victoria loves it almost as much as a massage. It had been a long time since I had washed and brushed Amy's hair. I made a mental note to do it again soon. She purred like a kitten as I ran the brush through her long black hair. Not for the first time, I marveled at how much she was an almost exact duplicate copy of Victoria physically. Maybe I should take a bath with Victoria next time she came home.

We did the bath thing a few more times until she was strong enough to take care of herself. The next day I filled the tub before I carried her in and, unbeknownst to her, made it a bubble bath. She squealed with glee when she saw it, and I let her enjoy it for quite awhile, giggling and splashing and just generally making a total mess of the bathroom until we finally got around to getting her clean. Just watching her have such a good time made my heart melt, and I hugged her close, getting misty-eyed thinking how close I had come to losing her. She looked at me, head cocked to one side, curious as to what I was thinking, then her eyes softened as she seemed to figure it out. She wrapped her arms around my arms, which were around her waist, laid her head against my shoulder, and whispered "Me too."

It didn't take long before the girls in the cheerleader group found out that Amy had been in the hospital and that she was back home again. The house began to fill up everyday with her friends. I had to monitor the situation closely, to make sure they did not tire her out too much, so I had to spend a lot of time around cute, 13-14 year old cheerleaders. It's a terrible job, but somebody had to do it! Poor me! After the first day or so of me being around all the time, they completely lost all inhibitions they had. I was one of the girls. The standard mode of dress became tee shirt and panties. Bad enough with some of these cuties, but it took awhile to get used to it with Cindi and Amy. They had to fit in with the other girls, you see. I found out there is absolutely nothing teenage girls will not and do not talk about. Amy, of course, had to give a very detailed account of her drunken episode and, to my horror, a, thankfully somewhat sanitized, account of "the shower". Of course, she also told them how I was helping her bathe each day. I expected endless teasing, but I was startled to hear, and see in their eyes, expressions of envy and respect. Apparently, the consensus was that none of their dads would do those things for them. Were their dads really that stupid? Their loss. These girls were sweethearts, all of them.

Of course, after those revelations, it was not long before someone suggested that we all play strip poker, since we had a "neat, cool, good-looking guy” (Wow! Not a dad, but a guy) here to play (read: harass, embarrass, tease) with. I of course vetoed that immediately. Katie got a far away, dreamy look on her face, walked over to me, sat down on my lap, put her arms around my neck, and announced that she thought it was a wonderful idea! This caused everyone to crack up, giggling hysterically. Let's see - one dad, 7 teenager girls - who do you think won here?

After the game was over, it was decided that the one person who still had clothes on (no, it wasn't me) should take hers off too. After awhile, it wasn't hard (no pun intended, and not true besides!) at all. After the initial embarrassment by some, today's teenage girls, at least these cheerleaders who are adorned often in various stages of undress anyway, seemed very casual about nudity. The only real difficult part was Katie sitting in my lap most of the time, a fact that everyone seemed to expect. Apparently, Katie's crush on me, a fact I was blissfully unaware of until this time, was well known by all, and all thought it "cute." I was, however, somewhat unprepared for the sex talk.

Yep. Captive dad, 7 teenage girls, let's talk about sex. As a medical professional, I am used to giving talks about the subject, but I was not expecting it with girls I knew, while naked. Nevertheless, exhibit A and Bs were there in plain site, so why not. I was somewhat surprised at how little some of these girls knew. Therefore, I talked plainly and bluntly. I told them how it happened, where everything went, and what to expect. Hysterical giggling broke out when Katie suggested that we have a demonstration. She immediately volunteered, to catcalls. Someone else suggested that, since Amy spent so much time naked with me in the shower and bath, maybe she could be the moderator. This caused Amy to turn 39 different shades of red. Apparently, she had embarrassed one of the girls somehow in the past, and this was paybacks.

About that time, the phone rang. It was Victoria, telling me she was back in town and would be home in about 20 minutes. Oops. So, all the girls got dressed in jeans and sweatshirts, right? Nope. They put on panties and tee shirts, and sat back down in the living room floor to talk again. That is how they were when Victoria walked in. She looked around, and then smiled at everyone and said, "You didn't need to stop just on my account!" How do women always know what is going on?

Dinner was the four of us together again. I could get used to this. After dinner, Victoria announced her surprise - she was going to Florida next week and her schedule would allow her to take one of the girls. Cindi and Amy immediately pointed at each other.

"Take her!" They declared in unison. I love my girls!

"But it's your turn," Cindi protested.

"No, it's not," Amy declared. "The last one was supposed to be yours, but we both went, and so it's still your turn. Besides, I'm still not feeling well enough for something that intense. You can call me every day and let me know what you did. I know, I know, you get to go to Florida and I just get stuck here with Daddy, but I'll make do somehow!" She smiled brilliantly at me.

"But, Amy..."

"No buts." They were sitting next to each other on the couch. Amy leaned over, whispering into Cindi's ear. "You have saved me twice now; even though you deny involvement at the hospital, I know better. This is a pretty pitiful thank you for that, but at least it is something I can do for you."

Cindi lowered her eyes, looking embarrassed. We wondered what they were whispering about. She smiled shyly. "Thank you, Amy. You are so sweet. I love you." They hugged and kissed. Yep. She did. Cindi, I mean. Cried. Of course. Is the world round? Does a wild bear... never mind.

Once that was decided, the next logical step was announced. There was shopping to do! Of course. Cindi and Victoria headed off to begin the chore. Shopping is a nasty job, but someone has to do it, right?

Amy sat on my lap, facing me, put her arms around my neck, kissed my cheek, and looked into my eyes. I knew what this meant. Serious talk time.

"Daddy? What happened in that hospital room?"

"I don't know, honey. I was kind of hoping you could tell me. What do you remember?"

"I was feeling really bad. I could feel everything fading. I knew I was either losing consciousness or dying, and I was sure I was dying. I vaguely heard Cindi screaming at someone. Then it gets hazy. I had a dream that the room was filled with a deep blue light, and then a deep green light. I could feel you and Mommy, even stronger than ever. Then I woke up and you were all hugging by my bed. I have no idea how much time elapsed during all those events."

Sometimes in retrospect, I could just shoot myself. I had missed clues three times, twice when Amy said Victoria was OK, and once when Cindi said Amy was not OK, that these were not questions. I missed the significance of the clue that Cindi knew Amy was in the hospital. I even missed the significance of the clue during the police officer episode when Amy told Cindi to stop mom but her lips never moved. I forgot about the simultaneous "dream" they had in San Francisco when Victoria was in trouble. Now I missed another one. 'Then I could feel you and Mommy, even stronger than ever.' Later, I would regret for a long time the memory of the pain and anguish Amy would go through because I missed all those clues. Although it would not have affected the ultimate outcome, maybe I could have made it easier on her.

When she said the part about the blue and green light, I felt all the blood rush out of my face, as memories, dreams, or whatever they were flooded into my mind. I am sure I turned pale as a ghost. So, what do you think? Do you think a certifiable genius would notice? Is the world... ?

"Daddy! What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

This earned me an eye roll, an Amy look, and a little frustrated hop up and down on my lap.

"Tell me, Daddy!"

"No, Amy, I will not. I was warned in this dream, or whatever, that I was to tell no one. I do not know what the consequences of breaking that warning might be. I will not risk your health or life!" She did not like it, but she understood.

"Daddy, I know Cindi had something to do with this. The way she looked when I woke up. She will not tell me anything! She just acts innocent. I can't believe she is keeping secrets - not from me!"

"So, you tell me. How did you know about the concoction you asked me to get for Cindi?"

Amy thought for a minute, biting her bottom lip. I love that habit; she is so cute when she does that!

"I don't know. I just knew. Must have read it somewhere."

The next week went by quickly. The evening before they were to leave, Victoria announced she was taking Amy shopping. We were not invited. As she left, she made a point of telling me that they would catch a movie also and would not be home until 11:30 at the earliest. She whispered to me that she would call before they came home.

I was watching TV after they left. Cindi walked over, turned off the TV, sat down on my lap facing me, put her arms around my neck, and kissed me. Sound familiar? It was definitely not the same kiss Amy gave me. As she kissed me, passionately, she reached down and started unbuttoning my shirt. When she had it undone, she ran her hands across my chest.

"So, what's this about a shower you and Amy took that night she was drunk? You never took a shower with ME. I thought you loved me?" She giggled.

"I can't help what you think," I said as I picked her up and carried her into the bathroom. "Of course, when Amy and I did this, I had to put her in with her clothes on!"

"Daddy, no! You wouldn't dare! Not my sweater! This is my best one. I wore it just for you. Please, Daddy?" She asked in her best little girl voice.

I laughed. "So you wore it just for me, huh? So did Mom tell you about this little shopping trip?"

She blushed. "Well, I'm going to be away from you for a whole week and I'm going to miss you so much and I love you so much, and Mommy knows about us and how I feel and we couldn't do anything with Amy around and I just had to have some time with you before I left and Mommy said..."

I kissed her to shut her up. I did not think I wanted to know what Mommy said. Her acceptance of this whole situation still freaked me out sometimes.

I very slowly took Cindi's clothes off. Then she took mine off. I told her she was deviating from the Amy shower scene. She stuck her tongue out at me and told me to get over it.

I led her through everything Amy did in the shower. I did not fight nearly as much this time, though. I told her I did not want it to be that realistic.

After I carried her into bed, she wanted to try a 69. It was wonderful! She didn't even bite me when she came. I did bite her lightly in an especially sensitive place, but that was intentional. She didn't seem to mind, although she did make a lot of noise when I did it. Afterwards, we made sweet, gentle love, like the spring showers. She really loves that. She cries when we do that. Surprising, huh? Later, she really surprised me. She said she wanted to do anal with me.

"Are you sure, honey?" Knowing how much it had hurt her last time.

"Yes, Daddy. It is the only bad memory I have left. I want you to erase it. Please?"

I laid her on her stomach and put a pillow under her hips. I licked her little clit and pussy, getting her very wet again, and making her cum again. I wanted her really relaxed. I put Vaseline on my cock, and rubbed it on her little hole, pushing it in with my finger. She jerked at first, and sucked her breath in quickly. I waited until she relaxed again. Once I had my finger all the way inside, and had spread the Vaseline around well, I withdrew my finger and snuggled up behind her. I asked her again if she was sure.

"Yes, Daddy. Please," she whimpered.

I started to push up into her little hole. I reached down and rubbed her clit and played with her pussy, to try to keep her relaxed. I was surprised how easily I went all the way in. I knew I was not hurting her, as she was pushing back against me, trying to take it faster. Then I started very slowly, very gently to move in and out of her.

I was surprised that she seemed to enjoy it right from the start. As I thrust in, she pushed back, taking me in all the way. She is the one that stepped up the pace. After a little while, I was thrusting into her as fast as I was in her pussy. She was crying out in ecstasy, whimpering in pleasure.

"Don't stop! Oh, please, don't stop. Faster! Oh, that feels so good! I love you!" she cried out, as she exploded into an enormous orgasm. I was not quite ready yet, so I continued to thrust into her. I was really surprised when she came again as I poured myself into her. I collapsed on her and held her until I slipped out. Then I snuggled up to her.

"Thank you," she breathed softly.

She seemed to enjoy it. Anal is not my favorite, but it was fun. We fell asleep, cuddling in each other's arms, and didn't wake up until Victoria called and told me she would be home in 45 minutes. They were stopping at Baskin Robbins after the movie. Amy was tired but happy.

"Victoria... thank you, sweetie. I love you more than you can know."

"Sure I can. It's almost as much as I love you. Have fun sweetie."

I woke up Cindi. When she heard we had 45 minutes, her eyes lit up.

"Oh, goody, time for a quickie and then a shower! Or a quickie in the shower!" We decided on the former. So, we did.

When they got home, Cindi was in bed, "sound asleep", and I was reading. Amy ran over, sat down next to me, cuddled up, and told me all about her evening and the movie, gushing on endlessly. I smiled tolerantly. Victoria smiled impishly.

They left the following day. They would be gone a week. They were to get back the next Saturday. The timing on that day was going to be a little interesting, as the girls both wanted to go to a sleepover at Katie's house (yes, mom and the kids were out of town but she had her mother's permission and there would be good chaperones this time), so I would take Amy there and Victoria would drop off Cindi there on the way home from the airport. I was so excited - a whole night alone with Victoria just back from a trip!

After the incident in the hospital room, Cindi was a changed girl. She was so much more confident in herself. It was as if she now knew that she could do things right, and, even more important, Mommy and Daddy trusted her to do things. We always did; I do not know where she got the idea she was a mess up and we did not trust her. I guess it was just hard being under superwoman Amy's shadow all the time. However, she was so happy, confident, and joyful; it was a pleasure to behold.

On Saturday afternoon, I dropped Amy off just as planned. I went home, waiting for Victoria to get home. I felt as excited as a teenage boy did on a big date. She said she would be home by 5:00. By 5:45, I was a little nervous. When the phone rang at 6:00, I nearly jumped out of my skin. I really hate that damn phone.

"This is Officer Collins of the Highway Patrol. May I speak to Patrick Phillips, please?" We knew John Collins pretty well.

Oh, God, no, not again! Please, no!

"Speaking"

"Sir, your wife and daughter have been involved in an accident. You need to come to the hospital right away."

"Are they OK? How's my wife?"

"I wasn't involved with your wife at the scene, sir. I know she was taken to the hospital in an ambulance. I do not know her condition. They did not airlift her, so that may be a good sign. "

"How's my daughter?"

"Sir, you really need to come down to the hospital."

"Damn it, John, don't you do this to me! HOW'S MY DAUGHTER?!?"

He hesitated, and then I heard the break in his voice.

"I'm sorry, Patrick, your daughter did not survive. She was declared dead at the scene. She was killed instantly."

Oh, God, no! Please! Cindi! My brain cried as I sat down abruptly on the chair and dropped the phone.

y soon, or I was going to be in big trouble. It just felt way too good, raging guilt or not. The problem was, this poor girl had been majorly traumatized by the gang rape she had gone through. If I followed my first instincts and asked her what the FUCK she thought she was doing, she might never recover to lead a normal sex life again.

I reached down slowly, and gently pulled her hand out of my underwear, bringing it slowly up to my mouth, and kissed her fingertips. I knew kissing her fingertips might give her the impression I wanted to go farther (Oh god, did I?), but on the other hand, it would get her hand out of there without embarrassing or upsetting her. Hah! Sometimes we mere mortal adults win out over the brilliant teenagers; she smiled sweetly and did not seem too upset or embarrassed.

She had a nervous little smile on her face, though. She was not sure that she was not in big trouble, and I do not think she knew what she wanted to say next. She obviously had a plan, but I did not know what the hell it was!

Still keeping with the concept of not traumatizing the poor little girl any more than necessary, but also trying not to become the close, intimate friend of a large inmate named Bubba, I looked at Cindi and said:

"Hi." I can be downright wordy and eloquent when I want to be!

"Hi" she said back. Well, she is my daughter and I taught her well about effective, high level communicating!

"So, what's up?" I asked. Oh God! Brilliant! Please do not let her be the smart ass that I just know Amy would not resist being in these circumstances.

Her eyes only twinkled briefly before she had mercy on me, and said, "I couldn't sleep." Giggle.

"Great! Now I can't either".

"I'm sorry," she giggled nervously, sounding anything but.

"No, you're not. So, what's on your mind, honey?"

"Well, Daddy, remember when we talked and you said that a guy who... um... knew what he was... um... doing could make a girl... um... feel... um... things that she didn't want to, and she couldn't stop it and it wasn't her fault and it didn't mean that she was a slut or anything like that cause she really couldn't help it and she really, really tried to stop it but she just couldn't so it really didn't mean anything? Remember?"

I reached over and tickled her sides, making her squeal. "Wow! And you said all that in one breath? Yes, I remember".

"Well, I understood what you said, and I even agreed with it, but it just doesn't feel that way. I still feel dirty and awful. But I figured out why and what to do about it" she said proudly as her face brightened.

God, I hate it when these girls figure something out. It is never good news for me.

"See, it's because I had such a bad experience for my first time, which shouldn't have even happened yet, and I felt so guilty and it was just terrible and it's all I have to remember and I have nothing to compare it to and every time I remember it is just so icky and I just think EWWWW, and so I decided I just need to do it again with someone sweet and wonderful and who will be gentle and make me feel good and make it all right again and who loves me, and then I can just forget about icky and EWWW and just remember wonderful." She just looked at me brightly, nodding her head in agreement, as if she had just discovered the secrets of the universe and it was just so obvious. God, I loved that girl!

I was getting a headache. My only excuse for the next bit of stupidity was that I was still half-asleep and still in shock from feeling my 13-year-old daughter's hand on my cock.

"Cindi, dear, you know I feel that you are too young to be having sex. Just because it was forced on you the first time, doesn't mean you should continue down that road." I could see the sadness starting to take over. "But, on the other hand, I really can't watch over you 24 hours a day, and if you are determined to do this, I guess I can't really stop you." Here comes the aforementioned stupidity. "So, who's the lucky guy you have in mind?"

Hell, do not ask me what I was thinking or where my brain was. Here she is in bed with me, naked, had been kissing me, rubbing my chest, fondling and stroking my balls and cock until I stopped her and she says she wants to have sex with someone who loves her, and I brilliantly ask who she has in mind. Then I am shocked when she says, "It's you, Daddy." At least she did not roll her eyes at me as if I was the biggest dork in the world and say "duh"! There are some things Cindi will pass on that Amy would never be able to resist.

I am not sure how I kept from having a heart attack right there. Running in circles, screaming and shouting in panic sounded good right about then, too. But I kept my cool. This was my little girl's psyche we were dealing with here, and I had to be careful. I smiled sweetly at her, although I am sure the shock must have shown on my face. She DID have my undivided attention now.

"Cindi, that is just so sweet of you to say that, and believe me, I am so touched that you thought of me. But I cannot do that, honey. You are my daughter, not to mention 13 years old. I could never take advantage of you like that. I'm sorry."

Her eyes were instantly tear filled. "Don't you love me enough to do that? Am I not pretty enough? I know I'm not as pretty as Amy, but..."

"Cindi," I interrupted, "This has nothing to do with loving you or how pretty you are or Amy. You know you and Amy and your Mom are the most important things in life to me - I love you more than life itself. In addition, you and Amy are the most beautiful girls I have ever seen. However, it would not be right. In addition, I could get in a lot of trouble. You might think it would help, but it would just hurt you in the end. This isn't the answer, sweetie."

"I knew you would say that" she said sadly. "But it isn't taking advantage of me if I want it and am asking you for it and I promise I would never tell anyone, Daddy, not even Amy, I promise, honest, and we could just do it this one time, just to remove my bad memories, and I promise I would never ask you to do it again if you didn't want to, just this once, and you could even just lay there and I would do all the work so that you wouldn't have to feel guilty, it would be all me and I wouldn't tell anyone not ever, I promise Daddy, I just know this would make me feel so much better and help me so much."

Irrationally, in the middle of this crisis, my first thought was that someone really needed to teach this girl about sentence structure and run-on sentences. How had she ever gotten straight A's in English?

She looked at me with those big, sad, incredible blue eyes. I have never been able to resist that look, and she knew it, but I just had to this time - I could not do this.

"Cindi, I'm sorry, I just can't do this. Please, just drop it and go back to sleep."

"Ok. I love you, Daddy" She smiled shyly, "Can I still sleep here tonight?"

"Yes, you can, but you have to promise me you won't do anything more like you woke me up with. And put your tee shirt and panties back on!"

"Spoilsport", she giggled, as she got dressed, then cuddled up close, laid her head on my shoulder, closed her eyes and sighed contentedly. "Good night, Daddy" she whispered.

Too bad I did not notice at the time what you have undoubtedly already noticed; she did not promise!

About two hours later, I woke up, again to some incredible feelings. Cindi, naked again, was kneeling between my legs. My underwear had somehow been removed. She was softly, gently, slowly rubbing my cock and balls again. She looked up into my eyes with an innocent little smile, looking so happy and proud of herself, and said "Hi, Daddy!"

"Cindi! I thought we agreed that you wouldn't do that any more?!?"

"You agreed, Daddy, I didn't. I didn't promise," she giggled.

"But..."

She reached up and put her finger across my lips. "Oh, Daddy, shut up," she said sweetly.

Then she sucked my cock into her lovely, warm, moist mouth, and I was lost forever.

Continued in chapter 6

o tell me, if she does not even tell me whom she works for.

Even though Victoria and I had always been close, and had what I would call an ideal marriage, we had grown even closer in the last several months. Even though I had always known it, I was now completely confident that she would do anything for her family. She would always be there when she was really needed and it counted. It was crystal clear, even more so than before, that we were everything to her, the most important thing in her life. I had learned that we could be that, and she could still do her job. The two were not incompatible. I had also put aside the irritation I always felt about her job. She just couldn't tell me, and that was it. Not wouldn't - couldn't. She vowed not to lie to me anymore about anything. If she could not answer, she would just say she could not talk about it, and I vowed I would not pursue it anymore when she said that. I was touched the night she expressed to me how badly she had felt, even not being able to sleep at night, every time she lied to me. I think we loved each other more than we ever had, and that was saying a lot.

Cindi was getting better every day. She was getting more confident, although she was still leery about boys. I think that will continue until she falls in love with one, and finds out they are not all jerks. Probably someone a little older than her, more mature, more sensitive. That is what attracted her to me. One thing I am both happy and sad about - we are slowly phasing out our sexual relationship. Not deliberately, it just doesn't happen as often anymore; it isn't needed as much by her as it once was. We still get together occasionally and we still enjoy it tremendously, but it appears she really did just need it to get her over her bad memories. It just took much more than the one time she planned. I miss her that way - but we have also found that we are so close and love each other so much that just cuddling together on the couch or snuggling in bed is almost as good as sex. I have never been deprived, at least in quality if not in quantity, by my sex life with Victoria. Horniness or deprivation was never the reason for my actions with Cindi, but love and a desperate need on her part. In addition, it is doing wonders for the lingering guilty feeling I have always had. We have made no plans to stop completely, and may never, but it may also just stop all of its own accord. I think Cindi recognizes she is just not ready for a recurrent sexual relationship with anybody - she has come to agree with me that she is just too young.

I had always been a little closer to Amy that Cindi - no, that's not quite right. I was closer in a different way. That is still true, because as Cindi and I have gotten closer this summer, so have Amy and I. I have an even more profound respect and admiration for Amy since her performance during the episode with the cops. There is nothing like someone saving your life to make you trust them completely. Amy has a maturity, understanding, and wisdom well beyond her years, that Victoria, Cindi and I have come to trust explicitly. Yet she still maintains her ability to be a cute, giggly, wiggly 13 year old. She flicks back and forth like flipping a switch when it is needed, and it is obvious immediately when she changes hats. Her capacity to read and understand a situation, adapt to it, and read other peoples emotions and parts in it is uncanny. I sometimes wonder if she can read minds. But then, I decide she can't, or there are times I would be in big trouble!

Both the girls and I still enjoy immensely snuggling together in bed at night. Except for the occasional trysts with Cindi, there is little sexual content there, although there are times I wonder about Amy, but if it is there, neither of us dares to act on it. Somehow, the girls have concocted some kind of system of who is going to snuggle on what night. The nights that they both come in, it is obviously deliberate. There is no hiding of it as if it was wrong - they do it just as often when Victoria is around as not.

The girls are really heavily into cheerleading now, so that means, even more than before, constant presence of cute 13-14 year olds around all the time. They are all enjoyable - the one I enjoy the presence of most is Katie. She is almost as sweet as my girls are. Probably is as sweet, but I always give my girls the first place. She is around quite often, even staying overnight on a regular basis. She and her mother just do not have that much in common, and her mother has five other younger kids to raise, so it isn't really minded that much if she isn't around at home. Although Cindi and Amy are not all that close to her, she really likes Victoria and me, and the feeling is mutual. When I stay up late at night, and she is staying over, she will often come downstairs and snuggle up to me on the couch, or lie on the couch with her head in my lap, and watch TV. Or we will stay up for hours, just talking about anything and everything. Many nights she falls asleep with her head on my lap and I carry her into the spare bedroom to put her in bed. She and the girls are very good about somehow scheduling the time so that there is never a conflict with Katie when Amy or Cindi wants to cuddle or talk. I have never understood how females do that, seemingly without ever talking about it. She hasn't quite gotten to the point of talking about her father yet. The poor girl has been hurt very badly, and since she does not talk about that or her father, I sense they are related. I see some of the same signs in her as what Cindi went through. I hope I am wrong.

One interesting situation occurred over the summer with Amy that I found nerve wracking at the time it occurred about midway through the summer. The cheerleaders decided to host a get-together for all the girls and guys they knew, kind of like an informal party and dance. We really do not let Cindi or Amy formally date yet, but if it is an informal group with chaperones, etc, we will let them go. This one was not at our house, but was hosted at Laura's house, one of the 15-year-old cheerleaders. We debated on letting the girls go, since Laura's parents are not the best chaperones in the world, but we finally figured there would be enough other people there that it should be ok. They're not bad, just not as watchful sometimes as we are about the things teenagers will always try to get away with. We were not worried about our girls - just the idea they could be caught up in something if anything went wrong. Amy was excited about going; Cindi made it clear that she would not be there, for exactly the reasons we had questioned, and because she just was not ready for that much contact with boys yet. She decided to go to Elizabeth's house for the night, where a bunch of girls were gathering whose parents wouldn't let them go to the other gathering.

Amy had an 11:00 PM curfew time to be home. At 11:00 PM, the doorbell rang. Thinking Amy had forgotten her key, I answered the door to find Amy, drunk as a skunk, being held up by Cindi and Elizabeth's college age sister. Cindi quickly asked me to hear out what happened before I got mad and grounded Amy until her 40^th birthday. They helped me get her in, and I laid her down on the couch and turned around to hear from the two girls why I should let her live! As I calmed down, I remembered that Amy never drank, did not like the taste of the stuff, so I knew there was some kind of story here. It turns out that someone had spiked one of the bowls of punch, and Amy did not know it. Amy loves punch. By the time anyone figured out what was going on, she could not walk by herself. It would be hard to tell if Amy is drunk till she starts losing motor control, since she's so outgoing in a group and acts drunk half the time anyway. Finally, someone called Cindi pick her up, since nobody dared to bring her home. Cindi said she would stay to take care of her, but I told her to go back to Elizabeth's house. There was no sense in ruining her night; I would take care of Amy.

The first thing I noticed was that she stunk! Sorry, Amy, but it's true. She or someone had spilled various drinks on her clothes, and, yuck, she had also apparently thrown up at least once and did not have her head in the ideal position, if you get my drift. Do you know what happens when you throw up in a toilet bowl with long hair? Sorry, maybe too graphic, huh? I decided the first thing was to get her cleaned up. It was too much for a washcloth and sink - it was in her hair and everything. In the shower you go, little girl. Since she was too unstable to go in alone, it looked like she was going to take a shower with Dad.

A drunk Amy loses all the maturity that people are so impressed with her about and just becomes a constantly giggling 13 year old that says and does bizarre things. Moreover, much to my consternation, she becomes much more interested in sexually oriented subjects. Can you tell this is an embarrassed father trying to talk about his daughter? She found it great fun, as I was holding her up and washing her, to play with the hair on my chest. Of course, this was hilariously funny and necessitated much giggling. Sigh. Then she discovered that if she ran her soapy fingers over my nipples, they would get hard, just like hers. Giggle, giggle, giggle. Lord, give me patience. Good thing I love this girl. Then, did you know that if you kiss Daddy, when he is not expecting it, you can stick your tongue in his mouth and he gasps in shock? That deserved a full fledge laugh. It also rated a slap on the butt for her by me, and a retaliatory turning off the hot water for a few seconds. Little drunk Amys shriek very loud in a cold shower. Hee hee. Then came the worst of all - she discovered that Daddy has a cock and balls (giggle, giggle), that (gasp) gets really big when it gets hard (she's never seen one before, so what does she know about big), as it does really quickly when you put cute soft little Amy hands on his cock and balls and rub them (yep, you guessed it - giggle, giggle, giggle, giggle etc.). I could not believe this! Sweet, innocent little Amy? I was going to have nightmares about this for years to come. I had to get her out of here quick, but it takes time to wash her long hair when she has vomit in it. I slapped her hands and told her to behave. Oh boy, telling a drunk Amy she can't have something she thinks is fun to play with. Not good even when she is sober, useless when she is drunk. Victoria! There are times when I hate your job! This should be you doing this.

I finally got her out. Then we had more fun. Drying off a drunk Amy. Oh goody! Since I am drying off her hair and upper body with both my hands, well of course that means she can play with Daddy's privates again, since he has no hands to stop her, right? That's the way things go in Amy's (drunk) world. Then, when I moved my hands down to her lower body to dry her, that means if you are Amy you are free to throw your hands around Daddy's neck and try that tongue kissing thing again. Finally, I said the hell with drying her, she can just sleep on wet sheets, so I picked her up and carried her into bed, laid her down, covered her up, kissed her cheek, moving fast before she decided to do the tongue thing again, and started to leave the room.

"Daddy? Would you sleep with me? I want to cuddle, I can't go to sleep."

Damn. How do you know? You have only tried for 7 seconds! Did I say she was my favorite? I think she just slipped two points below the jerk, cop #1! Just kidding.

I crawled into bed and snuggled up behind her, with my arm around her waist. Go to sleep, Amy.

Then, after a few minutes, she started crying.

"Amy, what's wrong?"

"Why did they do all those awful things to Cindi, Daddy? It was terrible. And she saved me, Daddy. She let them do it to save me. Why did she do that, Daddy? It wasn't fair. She is so sweet and never was mean to anyone and they made her do those awful things, and it hurt her so much. And it was all because of me. I tease her all the time and called her a bitch when she was hurting so bad and I did not even know she sucked cocks to save me. How can I ever make that up to her?" she sobbed.

"Amy, honey, did you watch that movie when you found it?"

"Y... y... yes. Please don't be mad at me." Damn. Why did I forget about that thing? I wish I had remembered to throw it out like I meant to.

"Honey, she did those things because she loves you. I think you would have done the same for her if you had to. They did it because they were bad boys. And they paid the price for it. You make it up to Cindi by loving her, and being nice to her, just as you always do. Honey, Cindi likes your teasing, just as we all do. Her fun is in not letting you know that."

"Daddy, will you make love to me tonight?"

"No, honey, I won't. You're drunk, and you don't know what you are asking."

"Daddy, did Mommy kill those boys, because they hurt one of her babies?"

Before I could answer, I heard her snoring gently. "I don't know, Amy" I lied, whispering, and got up and went into the living room.

The next day was Saturday, so, fortunately, Amy could sleep late. She slept so late that she missed cheerleader practice for the first time in her life. Cindi went anyway. She woke up a little after noon, and came looking for me. Since I had given up on drying her off, she had slept in wet hair, and it was frightful looking, sticking out everywhere. When she came into the room, I took one look at her, and screamed "Monster, Monster!" and jumped behind the couch, peering out around the edge. She did not think it was funny at all. She gave me a dirty look and said "Very funny, DAD!"

I asked her how she was feeling. I will not repeat her answer. Amazing how she can give a non-repeatable answer and not say a single bad word. Then she climbed up into my lap, and hid her face in my shirt.

"I'm so sorry, Daddy. I'm so embarrassed."

"You didn't know the punch was spiked, honey."

"I don't mean for that. I mean for last night in the shower, and in bed." She was red now. "I'm sorry for the things I said and did, Daddy".

"It's ok, sweetie. Everybody does embarrassing things when they are drunk. Remember that."

She hid her head in my neck, looking the other way in acute embarrassment.

"Daddy, did I really ask you to make love to me last night?" She whispered softly.

I moved her head, holding it between my hands, and made her look at me.

"Amy, you and your Mom are the two most beautiful women I know. If I were 20 years younger and not your dad, I would have been proud last night to be the first one to make love to you. Make that just not being your Dad. I wouldn't care about the age difference."

I must have said something right, because she just beamed, lighting up the whole room. Then the true Amy came back. She grinned at me.

"Who said you would have been my first?"

Brat! She said it just as I was drinking, and I spit my drink all over the place. She laughed hysterically.

"You are just too easy!" I tickled her until her head hurt. Serves her right. Suddenly I was embarrassed. That does not happen often with me.

"Would I... would I have been your first?" I asked quietly. Why are you asking this? Do you really want to know?

She looked at me shyly for a second, then reached out and touched my cheek softly. "Poor Daddy. Its hard being a parent, isn't it? Especially to a smart-assed, genius kid like me." She smiled at me sweetly. "You know me, Daddy. You already know the answer to that. Yes, it is the answer you are hoping for. But thank you for asking. I love you, Daddy."

Of course, my little smart-assed genius kid always has to have the last laugh. She grinned impishly.

"But, of course, the day is yet young! And you may not know me as well as you think you do!" Snot. I tickled her until she cried for mercy.

Amy spent the entire day cuddled on the couch with me. Snuggling, or lying with her head on my lap, dozing. Just about every position she could think of to try to get comfortable. It was a nice day. I bet she has learned her lesson about drinking. Poor little thing. It was a wonderful day, one of the best I'd had. She did get sick one more time during the day. You do not realize how much you love someone, or how much he or she trusts and loves you, until you hold their head, holding their hair out of the way, while they puke their guts out. Afterwards, she lay on my lap, sighing contentedly and dozing as I softly rubbed her stomach, then her temples, trying to make her feel better. The smiles she lit up the room with as I stroked her were well worth holding her head while she puked. I did not even ask what the impish little grin was about. I did not think I wanted to know! I wondered if it had anything to do with the soft, gentle trailing of my fingertips up the inside of her leg. Once. I did not dare do it again. Amy slept with me that night. I don't think either of us moved or stopped cuddling all night long.

Sunday, Amy stayed home from practice again. When Cindi told me she was going alone again, I went in to check on Amy again. She said she still felt "yucky". I love these scientific terms, just loaded with hard data that makes it all clear what she means. She threw up again, and seemed to have a mild fever, and felt weak all over. Hmm. Seemed to be more than a hangover. Monday I offered to stay home with her, as she was still sick; had a sore throat now, too, but she said to go on, she would be fine. I called her several times during the day; she said she was ok, but it wasn't the perky Amy I normally talk to. I called her just before I left for home, but she did not answer. Asleep, I guess.

When I got home, I went to see how she was, not wanting to call out and disturb her if she was asleep. I found her on her bed, lying on her back, she and the bed soaked in sweat. She was tossing fitfully in her sleep, mumbling incoherently. I went in and touched her forehead. She was burning up. I thought I would change her out of her sweaty nightclothes; see if I could make her more comfortable. When I unbuttoned her top, and opened it up to take it off, I saw the red rash on her chest and stomach, and my blood ran cold. I checked her pulse - rapid and thready. Respiration shallow. This was not good. I quickly got a cold washrag and put it on her forehead, then went into the living room and dialed the emergency room at the hospital. Because they knew who I am, I would get better service by calling the ED rather than 911. When they answered the emergency line, I identified myself.

"I need an ambulance immediately, this is a medical emergency. I have a case of suspected severe systemic septicemia. Please hurry." I gave them my address; they said one would be there in less than five minutes and they would notify the doctors that we were coming in.

I then called Rebecca's house, and asked her mom to take Cindi over to her house when she picked her and Rebecca up after practice. I would call her later. She could tell by my voice that something was wrong, but she could also tell that now was not the time to ask.

Almost immediately after I hung up, the ambulance arrived. The paramedics looked at her, stuck a thermometer in her mouth, started an IV, and moved her to the ambulance. We were at the hospital in five minutes.

Hospital emergency rooms are not designed for the comfort of visitors. They are designed for treating patients. They are variably effective at that. However, they are really designed to treat critically ill patients, and when that patient is a particularly well liked child of a staff member, they excel beyond all expectations. They wheeled her in, checked her vital signs, and immediately carted her off to MICU. I did not even know she had gone upstairs, until I was finished talking to the ER staff.

"Can I see her now?" I asked.

"I'm sorry; she has been moved to MICU already." She gave me the doctor's name.

When I got up to the ICU, I looked up the doctor.

"How is she?"

"We will know better once we have some test results back. We started her on some wide spectrum antibiotics and some medicines to try to stabilize her heartbeat, blood pressure and respiration, and are trying to bring her fever down a little. She's a very sick girl." I asked to see her chart He showed me what they had so far, and I'm sure my face must have turned pale.

"Are you all right?"

"Can I see her?"

"Yes. Try to stay out of the way. I can't guarantee she will know you are there, though."

I went in to see her. She looked awful. She had IV's in both arms, monitors hooked up everywhere, and I could tell they would soon be putting her on a ventilator. I went over to her bed, took her hand, and held it.

She squeezed my hand! I bent down, and kissed her forehead, and she opened her eyes.

"Hi Daddy," she said weakly. "I'm sorry I am so much trouble and scared you. You know me, I will do anything for attention and to get out of school, "she teased.

"Bah! You'll have to try harder than that to get my attention," I said bravely. "A little touch of the flu, you'll be back home tomorrow."

"Liar," she whispered. "Have you called Mommy yet? You had better get her here. Cindi too." The nurse appeared and said she needed to put the ventilator mask on. "I love you, Daddy," she breathed.

"I love you too, Sweetie", I said, and left the room.

I went out into the waiting room, and then went to the nursing station. I asked to use a phone. One of the nurses, looked up, recognized me, took one look at my face, and led me to the nurses' private room. She asked the two nurses in there to please go use the conference room, set a phone in front of me, told me to buzz her if I needed anything, and left, shutting the door. I put my head down, wiped a few tears out of my eyes, and made a phone call. Then I called Victoria.

"Hello?"

"Hi."

"Hi!" She said happily. "This is a pleasant surprise! How are you?"

"Ok."

Pause. "What's wrong?" she asked concern in her voice.

"Amy's sick"

"Is she ok?"

"Victoria, you need to come home right now. Immediately."

She did not ask unnecessary questions. "I don't know how soon I can get a flight out of here."

"Don't worry about that. Where are you?" She told me where she was staying. Good. Right where I thought she would be. I already knew, without looking that up, where the nearest base was.

"There is a helicopter waiting at the hospital across the street from you. Go to the Emergency room, and ask for the director. Identify yourself. They will fly you to the base outside town. When you get there, identify yourself to Captain Jensen. He will meet you at the pad. They have a jet waiting for you. Do not bring any luggage with you; there will not be room for anything else. There will be a helicopter waiting at the Base here for you, to bring you to the hospital. Oh, and Victoria, if you have eaten, better ask for an airsick bag if you get sick on high speed military jets."

"Honey - what's going on? You're scaring me." The tremor in her voice verified that.

"Just get here, Victoria. Get going now. We will talk when you get here," I said, my voice breaking.

"Bye. I love you," she said, and hung up.

Next, I called Rebecca's house. Cindi answered the phone on the first ring.

"Daddy" she said, as soon as she knew it was me. "What's wrong with Amy? She is not home, and you are not home. She's sick and in the hospital, isn't she?" She sounded really upset.

"Cindi, how do you know Amy is sick and in the hospital?"

"I can just feel it. Rebecca's mom will drive me down there. Amy wants to see me and I want to see her, too". She sounded like she would be crying any minute.

"Honey, why don't you get a good night's sleep, and I will pick you up in the morning and bring you down here to see her".

"No! I am coming tonight. Daddy, she's not ok," she whispered. "I'll be there as soon as I can," she said and she hung up. I sat there listening to a dial tone. What a strange conversation.

I went in and checked on Amy again. She squeezed my hand when I held hers, but could not talk well because of the ventilator. She looked scared. I squeezed her hand and told her I loved her. She smiled and looked a little better. I just sat there with her for about an hour, holding her hand and talking to her. About an hour and a half after I talked to Victoria, I heard what sounded like a sonic boom. Amy opened her eyes and looked up at me. Victoria's here, I thought.

"That's Mommy. She'll be here in a few minutes." Amy smiled and mouthed thank you. I told her Cindi should be here shortly, too. She smiled more at that.

About 15 minutes later, I saw Victoria and Cindi walk into the ICU. They had apparently seen each other in the lobby as they walked in. I went out to meet them. A nurse was moving to intercept them, probably to tell Victoria that Cindi could not come in to visit - there were minimum age restrictions in the ICU. She was a new nurse that did not know any of us. I walked up to her to try to head off a scene. I really did not want someone telling Victoria she could not bring Cindi in. The way Cindi looked, I was not sure who would explode first.

"It's ok. She can come in. She's her twin sister."

"I'm sorry, but..."

"We're going in", I interrupted her. "Go get the hospital administrator. If he wants to throw her out, tell him to come see me." We turned around and walked towards Amy's room. Victoria looked at me with a strange look on her face.

"I've never been in an F-15, flying on afterburners across the country before. In flight refueling is a little scary".

I ignored her, and took them in to see Amy. They ran up to her, and hugged and kissed. Cindi looked briefly shocked at how Amy looked, and then she blanked her facial expression. The nurse said she would take off the ventilator mask for a while, and put a nose clip on instead.

Amy smiled weakly at Cindi.

"It's ok, I know I look terrible."

They all hugged, cried and kissed for a while, and then the doctor and nurse came in.

"I have the test results. Let's go somewhere where we can talk."

"No. I want to hear what you have to say," Amy said.

"I'm staying too," said Cindi. The doctor looked at Victoria and I, and we just shrugged. We were going to tell them what he said, anyway.

"And tell it to me straight; I don't want any BS. I understand your jargon," Amy stated emphatically.

"Ok", he sighed. "Your daughter is a very critically ill girl. She has a systemic infection throughout her whole body. So far, the antibiotics have not made much headway. It may be viral, in which case the antibiotics are not going to do any good anyway. There are signs the infection may be starting to affect many of her organs. Her blood pressure is beginning to fluctuate, her urine output is dropping, and her liver enzymes are showing a mild increase, along with her heart enzymes. If we cannot get it under control, her organs will begin to shut down. We will know more in the next 12 hours. We can do little else. If we don't get some improvement in the next 12 hours, the chances of survival are not good."

Well, she wanted it straight. Cindi and Victoria look like they were in shock. I was marginally better, but only because I knew this was what I was going to hear. Amy, surprisingly, looked calmer than she was before.

"What is causing this?" Victoria asked.

"About one in a million times, a relatively harmless virus, influenza or a cold virus, something like that, suddenly goes out of control. We don't know why it happens." As we talked, Amy seemed to drift off to sleep. I looked at the monitors and realized she was probably unconscious. I could see the nurse and doctor recognized it too.

"That's it?" Cindi finally exploded. "All this modern medicine and drugs, and you're telling us that you can't do anything and unless something changes all by itself, she is going to die?" She was yelling now, tears pouring down her face. "That's it?"

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Sorry, my ass! If you cannot do anything, then get the fuck out of here! Both of you! GET OUT! NOW!" she screamed.

"Cindi!" I started. Victoria tried to hug her, but she refused to be held. She just looked at the doctor and nurse, and pointed her finger at the door. They stood there, stunned, and when they didn't move, she shoved them towards the door. "GET OUT!" she screamed again.

"I think maybe we should leave for awhile. We will be back later." They headed for the door.

Victoria and I stood there, in shock. At Amy's prognosis. At Cindi's outburst. At everything. We were openly crying ourselves. Amy was fortunately oblivious to it all.

Cindi walked over to us, and held our hands in hers.

"Mom? Dad? Do you love me?" she whispered.

st said. I assumed they got it when the room lit up green and yellow with their smiles and they launched themselves at me. Whoa! That's the first time I had seen their auras shine through like that!

"Oh Daddy!" They bubbled. They were both trying to hug me and kiss me at the same time. That doesn't work very well when you only have one mouth. I pushed them both away and made them stand still.

"Close your eyes. Hands at your side. Don't move unless I tell you to. Turn your sensors on fully."

They looked nervous, but excited too. They could sense this was going to be good. I didn't really have to tell them to turn their senses on. They had been pinging me ever since I had walked out of the computer room. I continued slowly unbuttoning Katie's blouse. When she felt my hands touch her, she moaned softly and trembled all over. As I unbuttoned each button, I spread the blouse apart and kissed her, from her throat all the way down to the top of the next button. She cried out softly each time I kissed her. When I got to the last button and spread her blouse apart, I proceeded to lick and kiss her all the way from her throat to her navel, sticking my tongue into her navel. She squealed, and I felt her knees start to buckle. I slipped my tongue as far into the waistband of her shorts as I could, and just licked from right to left across her stomach. She whimpered, then she cried out and a burst of yellow joy leapt from her mind to mine. I felt it wander softly and happily around my mind. Then I noticed there was a little of the orange glow with it, separate but intermingled. I reached out and touched it with some of my green. It was definitely not harmful. It seemed cautious, but liked my green. However, it still preferred the yellow and flowed back over to the yellow. I called it back again. The orange flowed back over to my green, and wrapped itself around my green. Suddenly, I felt my senses change. It was not alarming, but I knew that my outgoing senses to Amy and Katie were in a loop, just sending the same thing repeatedly, but I was not sending them real time anymore. It was then that the orange wrapped around me and I would have fainted from the shock of the realization of what this was, if the orange had not sustained me. I saw and faintly heard the words in my head, so faint that I could not recognize the voice.

'"This is our secret, just for us. Even Amy doesn't know. Tell no one."' Oh my God! Oh my God! How could this be?!? Cindi?!? Cindi?!? But Cindi had never been orange. The words formed again, but no voice this time. I felt that the voice transmission was too hard for it to sustain.

'I'm sorry, no. Not Cindi. Those were never her words. They were mine, just delivered by her. Do not be afraid. I have isolated you from Amy and Katie so your thoughts do not give away our secret. They have not noticed you are not there.' I saw an image of me continuing to lick and suck Katie's pretty little belly, holding her up as her knees tried to give out. 'I will not harm you. I would die first. Think again. I will help you.' A flood of unrecognized images entered my mind. It coalesced into a realization. Oh. My. God. Oh my God! How could this be?!? This was not possible! The orange words interrupted before I cried out the name that appeared in my mind.

'Remember, this is our secret, just for us. Even Amy doesn't know. Tell no one. They mustn't know my name. Not until the time is right. I have hidden all these thoughts behind a wall in your mind. You can access them anytime you want.' I felt a shy little smile. 'I hope you will think of me often, just as I do you. But the thoughts will be protected from their sensing. When the time is right, the thoughts will be released. Some things you need to know. Your wonderful wife is not ok. Her mind has been seriously hurt by what they did to her, the guilt she carries for what they made her do. Ask Katie. She knows what they did. It will be painful for you to hear, but you must know. Do not have Katie show you the images. It will be more than you can bear. I can help you with her, with Katie's help. But you must go avenge her first. When you get back, you must ask for Katie's and my help with your wife. Neither Katie nor I can ever help you at anything unless you ask.' Ah, the reason for the statements "all you have to do is ask." 'Do not delay your trip, no matter what happens. Take care of your girls tonight. They need you. But go tomorrow. Do not indiscriminately destroy the building. You must search it well before you destroy it. There is something there, something very valuable, that you must find. You will recognize it when you see it.' Then I heard a merry little giggle, and the orange tendrils danced in front of me enticingly. 'I have to go now. This takes so much energy. I have saved up a long time to break out for you like this. I must go before they notice. Don't forget me. You are my only hope.' I felt the orange tendrils give me a 'kiss', and then they flowed back out of my mind with Katie's yellow. Except for a tiny bit of orange that remained, encircling a small area of my mind.

I returned to Katie as if I had never left. I slipped my finger just inside the waistband of her shorts and slid it slowly from side to side. She whimpered and cried out each time I moved it. Then I heard Amy.

"Please. Can I at least watch? I'm going crazy over here listening to all this and not being touched," she whispered, her voice husky with desire.

I kissed Katie on her cute little bellybutton and told her I would be right back. She gave a little whimper of frustration. I moved over to Amy and started doing the same thing I had done to Katie. Being new to these feelings, and not having the control Katie has, she was soon breathing heavily and raggedly and crying out almost continuously as I touched her pretty little body all over. It was so hot listening to her cry out like that. I undid her shorts and started to slowly slip them down her hips. Then her panties. She was gasping she was so turned on. I slowly stood up, running my hands over her body, and kissed her neck, whispering in her ear.

"Move over and take the rest of Katie's clothes off." I whispered. Amy shivered.

"Do you like to see Katie and me play with each other?" she whispered back. "We talked about it, Daddy. We can't lick or... do each other down there. But we can snuggle, kiss, play with each other's breasts, stroke, and rub each other if you like that. Just not... down there. Would you like to see that?" She giggled.

I kissed her. "If you want to. I would never ask you to do what you don't feel comfortable with." Amy moved over and slowly started sliding Katie's blouse off her shoulders, then kissed her neck. Finally, she kissed her on the mouth. I saw Katie react with surprise and she started to open her eyes in surprise. But she was dealing with probably the fastest human on the earth. Before she could open them, Amy laid her fingers over Katie's eyes.

"Eyes closed, Little One," she said in an almost perfect imitation of my voice. I looked shocked. She gave me an "oops!" look, as if she didn't mean to let me know that, and just shrugged her shoulders. She proceeded to play with Katie. She licked her neck, kissed her. When she sucked a nipple into her mouth, Katie screeched softly and trembled all over. I could tell she was so confused. The voice was mine, but it didn't feel like me. She and Amy haven't done enough to recognize her feel. Finally, I took both their hands and led them over to the bed.

I knew I had to do Katie first. She was so turned on she couldn't stand it. Her aura was leaking slightly she was so turned on. It seemed like the girls have changed again, with their auras showing now and then. I was so turned on I didn't want to delay either. Amy lay down next to Katie, and slid one arm under her head, holding her close. Then she put her other arm around her and softly rubbed her chest, whispering in her ear how much she loved her little Katie. I dropped my head down between Katie's legs and before she even knew I was there, I sucked her clit hard into my mouth and ran my tongue very quickly over it, back and forth. Just then Amy kissed her, and Katie screamed her lungs out into Amy's mouth. We kept this up, with the addition of me sliding a finger up into Katie and running my thumb over her other little hole until she finally collapsed, dead to the world. Amy looked at me and giggled. I just lay there, looking at the two prettiest girls I have ever seen. Amy blushed under my stare.

"What?" She was getting embarrassed, self-conscious, and shy. Amy?

"Just thinking how beautiful you are. I love you so much. How do you move so fast? And when did you learn to imitate my voice?"

She looked embarrassed. "I don't know. It just happens. Sorry about the voice. If I had realized I could do that, I would have thought before doing it in front of you." She looked at me, serious concern in her eyes. "Can we talk while Katie sleeps?" I followed her out to the other room. I sat down on the couch and she curled up on my lap. She had tears in her eyes.

"Daddy, how come I am crying so much these days? I never cry. Sometimes I feel like such a freak. How do I know how to use a gun? How can I shoot someone without even looking at him? How can I shoot someone... period? I'm Amy, the nicest girl in the world, and tomorrow I am going to go with you to kill people. I am insisting on going, I forced you to let me go. Who am I? I do so many weird things. How can I talk in your voice? How did I know what to tell Captain Jensen? What the hell is an Angels 2, anyway? And why are there orange tendrils in your mind that you are trying to hide from me? I know they won't hurt us, but why are they there? What are they? Why are Katie and I not supposed to know about them? Why were you sending a fake endless loop before? What was in that file, Daddy? It's even worse than I think, isn't it? What other freaky things can I do? It must be bad or Katie wouldn't keep it from me." She was sobbing now. "Daddy, I just want to be a normal little girl. I'm only 13 years old. I want to sit on my Daddy's lap and tell him about my day at school. I want to be a cheerleader. I want to tease boys. I want to go shopping with Mommy. Is she going to be all right? Will I ever be normal again? Oh God, I WANT MY CINDI BACK!" I was crying too, watching my little girl go to pieces in front of me. I didn't know what to do. I hugged her. I wished I could console her, make her feel better. I saw the little orange tendrils in my mind. They formed little figures that jumped up and down and clapped their 'hands'. Then the words spelled out "All you had to do is ask". What did that mean? You are weird, little orange person. I distinctly heard a little teenage giggle in my mind. I saw the words "Wow. She is a genius, isn't she? I didn't expect her see through my camouflage that fast." I recognized the giggle as little orange person, but I didn't recognize it as anyone I knew.

I hugged Amy, and then I kissed her. She clung to me desperately, sobbing almost hysterically. I picked her up and carried her back into the bedroom. I took her clothes off as she clung to me, sobbing. She tried to stop me, and stamped her little foot in frustration as I continued to strip her. I laid her on the bed. By this time, Katie was awake and was looking at Amy in alarm. I whispered to her to help me love Amy. She wrapped her arms around her and kissed her, trying to comfort her. I was worried. Amy looked like she was slipping back into a relapse. Then I noticed that my control over the orange tendrils in Katie's mind stopped, and Katie was suddenly in intense pain from a tremendous headache. I watched her and Amy both go "off line", Katie from pain, Amy from hysteria. Oh no, all my girls were going to pieces at once! Then I saw little orange tendrils reach out to Amy. They wrapped themselves lovingly around her mind, and soothed her. It held her agitated green aura, and calmed it down. Then it fled back to my mind, locking itself up again. I knew it had taken them off line so they wouldn't detect it. My control over the orange pieces in Katie's mind returned and I suddenly had two calm girls on my hands. I kissed Amy passionately, and she kissed me back. She pulled me over on top of her, and wrapped her arms and legs around me, holding me tight.

"Sorry, Daddy. Even geniuses go to pieces occasionally. I'm ok now. Those little orange... pills really work wonders, don't they? It's ok, I know you don't want anyone to know you take them sometimes. I won't tell anyone their name." She looked at the shocked look on my face, gave me an Amy 'just how stupid do you think I am' look, rolled her eyes, and then laughed at me. A delightful, happy laugh. I could understand that. I was pretty ecstatic also, since I 'met' Little Orange Person. She looked at me in mock disgust. "What is with all this clothes on stuff? Are you going to take them off, or are we going to watch the 'Orange Bowl' all night?" She giggled helplessly. Very funny, Amy smart-ass. I gave her a warning glance and looked at Katie. I felt Amy in my mind. 'Oops! Sorry. I will behave if you make love to me. Deal? Hi Little Orange Person! Thank you! Love you! Bye.' She giggled hysterically as she started taking my clothes off. Katie looked confused, wondering what the joke was. Then she decided she would just kiss Amy instead.

I sucked Amy to three orgasms while Katie kissed her to keep from waking up the whole house with her screams. Then I went inside her and we both climaxed together. I rolled over on my back and held her as she fell asleep with me still inside her. Katie nudged me.

"Hey! That's supposed to be my sleeping position! What happened to her? She hasn't been that bad in a long time. Maybe we should all have those orange pills for emergencies." Poor Katie! She was so gullible sometimes. Codes worked so well with her, because to Katie everything was up front. It never occurred to her that anyone would hide something from her. That was why she was so upset that she couldn't let Amy read the file.

"She was upset because she thinks she's a freak. She keeps doing these things that she doesn't know she can do. She just wants to be a normal little girl. I'm really glad she didn't see the file or the 'videos'. Katie, what about the 'video' you didn't show me? If we are going in together tomorrow, I need to know everything about what she can do." I wasn't sure I wanted to see it, though.

"I will show it to you if you want. It's not pretty. You may regret this." It was the one where she was locked, unarmed, in a room with ten armed men. I watched in horror but fascinated as she took them all out. Katie miscalculated. It wasn't even three minutes. Then I noticed something odd. I asked Katie to run it again. Then again. Then I sat back and thought about what I had seen.

"What is it, Daddy? You've seen something I missed. Tell me." Katie was poking me impatiently.

"Two things. Amy didn't kill anyone in that scene. Only one of those men was real. He was one of the survivors. The others were computer-generated holograms. She wouldn't even notice the difference on the drugs she was on. It actually makes it even more impressive, as those holograms are even faster and better than most humans are. It may help you to know that little Amy is not a killer. Thanks to her Daddy, she will be by tomorrow night, but she is not yet," I stated bitterly. Katie hugged me and told me to stop being an ass. "The second thing is that I know the doctor that ran that test. He didn't disappear because they didn't like the test. They didn't care, as it was holograms. Amy was never in real danger. That doesn't lessen what she did — they never touched her, hologram or not. She really dodged all those bullets, computer generated or not. That doctor ran afoul of one of my agents on a child abuse case "24" was working on. The agent was the one that walked away; the doctor didn't. In light of what I know now about you kids, it may not have been child abuse. They may have been working on more subjects." Katie looked at me in horror.

We finally went to sleep. Katie relented and let Amy continue to sleep on top of me. We had never done that before. It felt really good, being that close to her. She smiles in her sleep when you kiss her forehead. When I woke up the next morning, Katie had reclaimed her place. Spoiled little brat!

For once, I didn't have a hard time getting the girls up. Amy was ready to go. She came into the living room dressed in a black jump suit, her hair in a ponytail. I didn't see any guns, but she assured me she had two. There were various bulges in various other pockets that I didn't even want to ask what they were. Man, she looked sexy! I'm good at all this, but I know when the student has surpassed the teacher. If she didn't know what to do, if she couldn't handle herself, we were both dead anyway. I left her to get ready and went in to check on Victoria.

She was still asleep, or unconscious. I asked the doctor how she was.

"I am keeping her sedated until you get back. I want you here and not about to go anywhere when she comes out of it. I don't know what we are going to find when she does wake up. She may be an emotional wreck. She will need you full time to come out of it."

"When I get back, I will be here for her. First, I have to make sure she is safe." I kissed her on the forehead and left.

I stopped to talk to Captain Jensen on the way out. We reviewed the plans for the security of the house while I was gone.

"The FAA and all the military branches have been advised to keep all planes out of this area. They have been warned that anything that flies within 20 miles of here will be warned once and then shot down. We have a perimeter around the area. No one gets in unless you, Amy or Katie, personally advise me of his or her arrival. I have two fighters in the air at all times, one with Phoenix missiles with an effective range of 150 miles. We should be ok until you get back." Captain Jensen tried to reassure me. "I have two fighters escorting you to the air field near your location. They will await your departure there. I have two AH-64 Apache Longbows escorting you in to the target zone. They will stay out of sight but will available on 15 seconds notice. There is an extraction group 2 minutes away if you need help. Don't be shy — holler if you get lonely. I don't care about you - I want to see that pretty little girl again." We hugged, and I went to pick up Amy.

Amy and Katie were standing side by side, holding hands and talking. Katie saw me and started crying. She ran over to me and literally leaped up into my arms. I hugged her and kissed her as she clung to me.

"Hey, Little One. That's a lot of tears for a no brainer cleansing mission. Do you know something I don't?"

"Patrick, you get your ass back here to us in one piece, you hear me? Don't you take any chances. Don't play tough guy. Let Amy take care of you. Unless they have the USS Missouri, they aren't going to hurt her. You bring my Daddy and my Sister back to me in one piece or I'm going to kick your ass."

"I'm never going to get out of here if you don't quit soaking my shirt so I have to keep changing it," I teased her. "I will be back. I wouldn't want to miss a night of you sleeping on top of me. Take care of your Mom."

We finally got out of there, about an hour before dawn. We flew there almost without incident. There was one plane that approached us, but apparently he didn't like F-15's because he veered off when they challenged him. It was comforting to see two F-15's on our wing all the way in. Then we helicoptered into the target area. Someone was not taking changes. Apache's are uglier than hell and fly like a brick, but they sure are comforting as an escort. Anyone tries anything with those around, they had better be perfect in their execution. You make one little mistake and they will ruin your whole day. We rested for a few hours just a couple of miles from the target. I figured Amy was tired, and needed some rest. Nope... she wanted to fool around for a while before we went to kill bad guys, as she put it. Teenagers!

Finally, we approached the complex about 4 PM. Our information was that would be right after guard change, when things would be somewhat confused. There should be about 10 guards in the facility, with the big guys being in the underground complex part. As we walked up to the front door, we talked casually to each other, to try to sound innocent, and to calm our nerves.

"I think we should try the pretty young girl soft touch approach again this time, to disarm them. That seemed to work well last time," Amy giggled. Was she enjoying this?

"Yeah, I like that approach — just shoot everything and make me the bad guy. Real subtle, genius girl. But you took way too long and moved too slow last time. Can you maybe not take so long this time picking out where you want to hit them in the knee and just do it, huh? Good help is so hard to find these days," I complained.

"Too slow? You hadn't even closed your mouth yet when I was done! What a jerk! I should have left you at home and let Katie soak all your shirts. I don't know why she was so worried about getting you home again anyway. I'm her sister; two cute girls can always find another washed out old guy for a Daddy!" She giggled hysterically. And so it went, back and forth, keeping each other loose. Finally, we walked in the front door.

There were four bodyguard types sitting at a table playing cards when we walked in. Shoulder holsters. Suspenders. Bottles of whiskey on the table. Poker chips scattered about. Good grief! Did we wander into a bad detective western movie? These guys weren't even subtle. One of them looked up as we approached, and then they all looked at us. Then one of them whistled.

"Hey babe, want to join us? Lose the old man and we'll show you a good time!" I saw Amy's eyes flash. Well, there wasn't any doubt now as to whether or not they would live. Amy hates macho assholes. I was betting he got the first bullet. Amy batted her eyes and gave them her best southern drawl, acting like a dumb lost blond... er brunette.

"Can you-all tell me where I can find the boss? I have a delivery for him," she drawled, batting her eyes again. I rolled my eyes at her. I hoped she didn't have aspirations as an actress.

"You have to have an appointment to see the boss. He don't see nobody without an appointment, little lady." Yep. He's definitely getting the first bullet. Little lady?

"Sure is a good thing I got an appointment then," she drawled. Her hand moving so fast it was almost a blur, she drew her gun and shot all four of them before they even started to move. I don't know why I even came along on this trip. We checked each body for useful info, keys etc.

"Damn, girl, could I at least get to do something once in awhile!" I joked. Inwardly, I was amazed. Seeing it on a replay in your mind and seeing it in person are two entirely different things.

"Can't help it if you're so slow. Here, you can reload my gun if you want!" She laughed at me. Without even turning, or looking, she pointed her gun behind and to the left and shot the guy entering the door on that wall. She smiled at me, and gave me that Amy 'what! You mean you can't do that' look.

"I'm going to paddle your butt when I get you home!" I warned her. She grinned and blew the smoke out of the barrel of her gun. I laughed at her. "Amy, honey, you have been watching way too much bad TV!"

We opened the next door. This was a room with a closed patio sliding glass door on one wall. They were waiting for us here. I actually shot two while Amy shot three. Then I saw Amy make what will probably be one of the few mistakes she ever makes. Unfortunately, it was when I was making the same one. She relaxed before she checked behind the door.

The man behind the door shoved the door closed and chopped his hand across her wrist, knocking her gun out of her hand. He brought the submachine gun he was holding up in an arc and pulled the trigger on full automatic. I was turning my gun towards him to blow him away when he fired. I saw Amy diving to the right of him, but there was no way he was going to miss her with the first several bullets. And he didn't miss.

I saw, as in slow motion, the first six bullets heading for Amy. I saw her diving. As fast as she was, I knew she couldn't make it. As the bullets reached a point six inches from her, they shattered into little pieces as sparkly deep, bright blue energy flashed all over in a vertical sheet. Kind of looked like hitting a Star Trek shield with a phaser. One extra chance is all Amy would ever need. She rolled as she hit the floor, bounced up, and chopped him across the larynx with the edge of her open hand, crushing it. As he started choking, she grabbed him and threw him through the glass patio doors. I hate being left out, so I shot him as he went though the glass.

Amy looked around carefully this time, to be sure no one was around, then closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath. Then she walked over to me, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed me.

"I don't know how you did that sparkly pretty blue thing, but thank you. I owe you one." She gave me a shaky little smile. I think it just lost some of the fun for her.

"Sorry, Amy, but you can't blame that one on me. That wasn't my shield." She looked at me, confused, but I was no help; I was confused too. So, now that we had our screw up, everything was ok, right? Nope. We went into the next room, and as we entered, we realized that we were well and truly screwed. There were at least 20 guys in this room, a large ballroom, and they were all waiting for us. They knew we were coming.

The only good thing I could think of all this was that I would die too and I wouldn't have to tell Victoria or Katie that I had gotten Amy killed. That advantage was not worth watching my darling little girl die in front of me though. But we were not going down easy.

Amy had a gun in each hand, firing as fast as she could. She wasn't even looking at her targets, but she wasn't missing, either. I grabbed an Uzi from one of the dead guy's hands and was firing it with one hand and my pistol with the other. Between the two of us we dropped 10 guys in the first 5 seconds or so. But it wasn't enough. We weren't going to make it. Besides, another five or six guys entered the room from the side door. Amy looked at me with a huge grin on her face. How the hell could she find humor in this? Then she pulled two grenades out of one of the pockets of that natty little suit of hers, pulled the pins, and threw them into the room. Great idea Amy! Except... we were in the fucking room too, genius girl! Well, if we were going to die, we might as well take them with us. "Fire in the hole!" Amy whispered to me, giggling, as she grabbed me and pulled me in close to her. This girl was nuts!

Then the fun started. Amy and I were surrounded in a bright, deep green glow. Then we and the perimeter of the room were surrounded in a bright orange glow. Finally, Amy and I were suddenly surrounded with a bright, deep blue glow. We looked like a bloody Christmas tree. As the grenades exploded, the room near where we were standing exploded into shimmers and sparkles of orange, blue and green light, as the energy was deflected by the glowing shields or whatever they were. It was hard to see, there were so many colored fuzzies floating around. As it cleared, we saw dead bodies lying all over the place. The room was empty of all life except Amy and me.

We closed and locked all the doors in the room. We needed a break. Amy laid her head against my chest and gave a tiny little sob. Then she looked up at me, her eyes bright.

"Someone really likes us," she whispered in a tiny voice. "Thank you, Little Orange Person!" She said fervently. "I really do love you now!"

'You're welcome, ' appeared in words in my mind. 'I love you two also. Now would you get your asses in gear and come rescue me?' Then it printed the word 'giggle!' You are too cute for words, Little Orange Person! I told Amy what Little Orange Person said. She looked at me as if I was nuts. I don't know that I had ever told her we were talking back and forth. I also told her, a little belatedly, not to just blow everything up, as there was something very valuable to find here.

Should be easy from here. Find the big boss, kill his guards, kill him, rescue Little Orange Person, and leave. Wonder what we were going to find for Amy to do to keep from being bored?

After checking all the doors and verifying this level was now clear, we opened the door that led downstairs. We went down several stairs, turned a corner, and stopped at a big, thick, steel door. We tried the keys we had picked up off the bodies. Course not. That would be too easy. I stood there, wondering what we were going to do. I hadn't brought my bazooka. Amy smiled, waiting patiently.

"Any good ideas, big guy? I don't want you whining that you don't get to do anything again. I've done all the work so far while you sat back eating bonbons. Time for you to earn that overly inflated salary of yours!" She smiled to show me she was just kidding. I shrugged my shoulders. "Ok, you had your chance." She pulled a glob of plastic explosives out of another pocket, and a detonator out of a third one. Good grief! I hoped she had lunch in there too; I was getting hungry. She grinned.

"I have lunch all planned out. You'll like it!" I bet I would! She rigged the charge, we stepped around the corner, and she blew the door. What a disappointment. Almost no bang; it just fell in. The disappointment continued as we stepped in the door. Twelve men dressed in black pajamas were standing there, each holding a gun on us. Even Amy was going to have a problem here. Then one of them stepped forward.

"Amy. Nice to see you again." She looked confused. "Oh, that's right, you don't remember me. What a shame. You were the best fuck I ever had. Well, maybe next to your Mom. I really enjoyed her yesterday. She really enjoyed it too. Kept begging for more." Bad move, asshole. Amy's eyes went flat, devoid of expression, empty. I noticed my vision changed slightly. So, that's what it felt like when my eyes did the same thing. I suddenly was cold, emotionless. This was going to be fun. "Tell you what. Make you a deal," he continued. "We drop all the guns, and do this the fun way. You win, you get to go on. We win, you're mine again. I might let you keep the old man to clean out your cage." He sure had an evil grin.

Was this guy stupid? Or was he just that good and wanted a challenge? I was sensing Amy. He couldn't have done a better job at preparing her for combat if he had tried. She smiled at me as she flipped her gun over into the corner. 'You were my first.' She assured me. I smiled at her in reassurance.

"Since he is only good for cleaning cages, you won't mind if the old man helps me. Sometimes my back itches when I fight and he's an excellent back scratcher," she giggled. I tossed my guns over in the corner also. They tossed theirs into the other corner.

"This is going to be fun! Are you ready, old man?" Amy giggled, grinning at me. "Shall we dance?"

Suddenly, there were bodies moving everywhere. The first man that approached Amy tried to jump kick her. She stepped aside, and flung him into the nearest wall, snapping his neck. She spun around, grabbed the arm of the next man as he tried to hit her, broke his arm, and flung him back to me. I punched him in the chest, stopping his heart, and broke his neck as he went past. Then I moved up next to her. She smiled at me, and was so confident, she reached over and squeezed my hand briefly as the next several men approached. I saw loudmouthed man notice the action so far and the hand squeeze and he started to look like he had made a mistake. He started to back away.

The next several attacked all at once. Amy spun kicked the first one, while chopping two more with open hand strikes at the same time. What a wimp. Couldn't you get the other foot in there too? I had never seen anyone do three hits simultaneously before. 'Are you going to help or just stand back and admire me?' She giggled in her mind. 'I can give you something better to admire later!' She giggled again. It was as if our minds were on a completely different plane than our bodies. Our bodies were just reacting on their own. I suddenly realized that, much as I hated what they had done to my little girl, she was in her element. She was made for this. She was enjoying it. These were not people, they were scum. Who cared if they died? I decided to leave the rest of the philosophy lesson for later.

Amy grabbed the one she had kicked, slammed his head down into her knee, and smacked both open hands across his ears. Ouch! He went down like a sack of potatoes. The one she had chopped on her right I kicked on the knee, and as he went down, I chopped him across the back of his neck. I thought I felt something break as I hit him. I saw Amy run and take a leap in the air, twisting as she soared, legs spread wide apart. What was she doing? As she spun in the air, she kicked one man in the head with one leg, and a second one in the head with the other leg. As she began to come down, twisting again to face them, she shoved her stiffened fingers into each of their solar plexus' (plexi?), doubling them over. As she slid over to the side, recovering her balance, I leaped into the air, kicking both of them in the head. They both went down. 'Are you satisfied now?' she quipped. 'Not bad for an old man!' She giggled. The third man that she had chopped, now behind her, was reaching out to grab her. As he came near to her, she turned and he punched her in the stomach. What? Someone hit Amy? I had never seen that before. Mark it on your calendar. As I moved to help her, as she doubled over, I realized what I had seen. He had never touched her, through the deep, bright green glow that covered her stomach. I realized she was faking it. Apparently, the keepers of the orange and blue glow knew it too, as they didn't even bother to help. As he moved closer to her doubled over form, reaching out to grab or hit her, she stood up, arms together, and spread her arms out quickly, separating his arms. Then she punched him in the chest and kicked him in the head simultaneously. Usually in a double shot like that, the hand goes higher than the leg, as it is higher on the body. I had never seen a cross like that. She grinned at me. I think she was showing off!

There were only five left, including loudmouth. They didn't look quite as confident as before. I really didn't like the way they seemed to be thinking. Sure enough, I saw them run towards their guns. I dived towards ours as I saw Amy flying through the air towards me. As I got to our guns, I grabbed Amy's two and hurled them towards her. I grabbed mine and turned, just in time to see Amy put on the show of the day.

As she soared through the air, she reached out and grabbed the guns flying towards her. She deftly caught each one by the grip, sliding her finger onto the trigger, twisted in mid air, and started firing with both hands. About the same time, I started firing also. Loudmouth got one shot off before they all fell to the ground. Unfortunately, that one shot hit me.

Damn it! I'm fighting alongside a 13-year-old cheerleader that had never even seen a gun in her life before as far as I knew and I get shot? I'm too old for this shit. I knew it was bad. I could feel the energy sliding out of me. Amy was kneeling beside me, and even if I didn't feel it, I could tell from the way Amy looked. She was crying and holding me.

"Oh God, Daddy, I'm so sorry! I tried to get him before he fired. I even tried to get in the way and take the bullet. Please, Daddy, don't leave me!" She sobbed.

"Amy, if you had taken that bullet I would have kicked you butt. You take care of your Mom, hear? She's going to need a lot of help and love," I whispered, and coughed. God, I loved this girl. I couldn't stand the thought of the pain I was going to bring her. I will never know why I did what I did at that moment. It made no sense. With what I knew had to be my dying breath. I whispered, "Cindi. Little Orange Person. Help her." It made no sense. I mean, Cindi was dead. And I didn't even know who Little Orange Person was. Then I was above, looking down at the scene, watching Amy cry. A very sexy shaped orange energy form hugged me, holding me close. 'All you had to do is ask, ' it said. Have you ever been kissed by pure energy? I never thought I would say this, but it is better than Amy's kisses. Don't tell her I said that!

I watched Amy's head tilt slightly to the side. Then she leaned down to 'me', and whispered.

"Daddy. Do you love me?"

:"I love you, Amy," I whispered back.

"Do you trust me, Daddy?" She whispered again, tears streaming down her face.

"Amy, I love you and trust you so much I will gladly die here if it will keep you safe and happy," I whispered back.

"Hold my hand, Daddy. Love me. Trust me." She took my hand and closed her eyes, putting her other hand over the wound in my chest. Too bad, she missed it. Three things happened simultaneously. First, an orange and bright, deep blue glow filled the whole room. Then, a bright, deep blue lightning bolt came from the ceiling and at the same time, an orange bolt came from the room next door. Finally, a golden yellow bolt shot in from the ceiling. All three joined together, and then slammed into my body, right in my chest in the middle of the green glow where her hand was, with enough force that I lost consciousness. The last thing I heard was Amy whispering, "I love you, Daddy."

I don't know how long I had been out when I woke up. Long enough that Amy had called in the support group that we would never need. They were cleaning up the area. I could hear isolated shots periodically. My head was lying in Amy's lap, and she was stroking my hair, holding me. She was crying her eyes out, but was looking at me with a beautiful smile on her face. She gave me a wonderful kiss.

"Hey sleepyhead. Some people will do anything for a nap. Do you feel up to getting up and doing some work for a change?" Her smile was the sweetest thing I had ever seen.

"Can't you guys do anything without me?" I asked grumpily, and then kissed her nose. She giggled.

"It seems there is someone who says her name is Little Orange Person who won't talk to anyone but you. She refuses to come out of her room until she sees you. Do you have girls everywhere? I thought you said you loved me. And Katie? And Victoria? And Cindi? And... ?" She laughed. She helped me up and let me lean on her on the way into the next room. "Good grief, you're heavy! I'm just a little girl, you know!" She reached over and kissed my cheek.

"Yeah. Right. A little girl that throws grown men around the room. Katie told me to lean on you. I am. She gets mad when I don't do what she says. Ever seen a mad Katie?"

"Yeah. Once. Here, lean on me some more," she said, giving me a look of mock horror.

When we got to the room in question, I went in alone, asking Amy to stay outside. I don't get the chance to get back at her often, and I wanted to fully savor this moment. I walked into the dark room. As soon as I entered, a pretty young thing wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me. We held each other tightly, basking in all the good feelings that we had missed from each other for so long. She asked me if I loved her. Always and forever, I told her, as I had so many times before. She giggled happily and kissed me again. Then I asked her to stay behind for a minute while I talked to Amy. I asked Little Orange Person if she was blocking all of our senses to the others. She said Amy and I were on an infinite loop. She giggled merrily and said nobody would be paying attention anyway, as the loop she was sending out was of Amy and me making love. I laughed and told her she was a bad, bad girl. She giggled again. I walked out to talk to Amy.

"Daddy, why are we on playback loop again? Not that I'm not enjoying watching what we're supposedly doing, but..."

"Because, Amy honey, I wanted privacy when you get to meet Little Orange Person. Are you ready?" I smiled real big at her.

"I'm ready, Daddy. I don't know why you guys are being so mysterious about this. You know we will accept anybody into our family that you want there." I grinned real big at her.

She watched as a young girl walked out of the room. As she walked closer, Amy appeared more and more confused. She turned to me.

"Is this a joke on me, Daddy? How did Katie get here ahead of us? I don't understand..." Then I could hear the click all the way over here as it registered. All the blood drained from her face. She looked at me with her mouth open, hand over her mouth in shock, and her eyes were as big as saucers. I finally pulled one over on the teenage genius! Daddy 4,937,422, Amy 0! I walked over to her.

"Close your mouth dear, bugs will fly in. Amy, allow me to introduce you to... Becky Thompson. Katie's twin sister. Identical twin sister, I might add." Poor Amy. I'm so mean to her. I felt bad for... oh, 0.27 seconds. Then Becky walked up to Amy and put her arms around her, and hugged her. Amy hugged her back.

"My goodness, you are beautiful. And so sweet." Becky told her. "And, so dangerous, too," she whispered. Amy blushed but said nothing. "I'm so glad to meet you. Although Katie doesn't know it, she has told me so much about you the last few days." Amy still hadn't said anything; she just stared. Becky turned to me. "She can talk, can't she?" She teased gently.

'Shh." I whispered loudly. "You don't know what a blessing this is; Amy speechless. You will soon wish you had more of these days!" That snapped her out of it. She glared at me with fire in her eyes.

"I do not talk too much! And you are mean! How could you do this to me?" Oops. I think she was really mad. Becky put her arms around her and hugged her.

"Don't be mad at him. It was my doing. I asked him to keep it a secret. In fact." She looked at me guiltily, "he would not have been able to tell you if he tried. I'm sorry, Amy, but I know Katie can read you and I couldn't take the chance of her finding out through your mind. This is going to be a real shock to her. It has to be done in person. I'm sorry," she said.

They both came over to hug me.

"You're not off the hook yet, buster! Just wait and see how long it is before I let you..." She stopped, embarrassed, realizing what she had almost said in front of Becky. Becky smiled at her.

"It's ok, Amy. I know about that. I felt it the other day. After seeing him, I understand completely," she giggled. "There's so much I have to catch up on, being out of contact for so long. There is one thing I am really confused about, though. When I finally was able to get free a little from here, I tried to insert myself into Katie's mind where I always was, but I couldn't. There seemed to be someone there. I know she thought I was dead, but who did she find to replace me with?" Uh oh, I thought I knew what was coming, and this was not going to be pleasant. I moved over and put my arms around Amy from behind, and held her close, kissing her neck and whispering in her ear that I loved her. Amy seemed confused too.

"I'm there. We found each other," Amy explained. I could tell by the quivering of her lower lip that she knew what was coming, too.

"But... What does Cindi think of that? What does she do? Where..." Becky was beginning to realize that there was something she didn't know.

Amy turned to me, hid her face in my chest, and started crying. Becky looked really confused.

"I'm sorry. What have I done to make her cry? What did I say? I'm sorry." Becky looked like she was going to cry, too.

"I'm sorry, Becky, Cindi is dead." I explained to her what happened. She and Amy cried together for quite awhile, Becky apologizing profusely. We were interrupted by the leader of the extraction force.

"I'm sorry, sir, but we need to get going. The police are likely to be showing up soon. We also have some unidentified blips showing up on radar that I don't like. It could be reinforcements." I convinced Amy to withhold questions to Becky until we got back home, so she didn't have to tell it multiple times.

We got out to the helicopter and got back into the air. Something must have been happening, because one of the Apache's peeled off and disappeared. We heard explosions shortly after. I didn't pay much attention, as I had a very cute petite blond girl cuddled up to me in my lap. We got to the plane, without incident, and took off. Again, one of the escorts left us and shortly after, the sky lit up a few miles away. Amy sat next to me on the plane, holding my hand and sleeping with her head on my shoulder. Becky slept in my lap, arms around my neck. If they weren't both so pretty, I would have been bored.

We finally got back to the house. I asked Becky to give me 30 seconds or so before she came in, I needed to get into position so that Katie didn't hurt herself when what I knew was going to happen happened. Everyone hugged and kissed us. Katie was standing at the bar getting me a drink, wisecracking all the way. I stood behind her, arms around her waist.

"What? Daddy, you're losing your touch. We send you out somewhere almost alone and you come back with no more beautiful girls that you left with?" She giggled. Amy giggled too as she saw Becky walk up behind us.

"Hi Katie," Becky said softly. I felt all of Katie's muscles stiffen. She turned very slowly in my arms, looking past my shoulder, eyes big as saucers, big tears suddenly running down her face. Her mouth was open in shock.

"B... Becky?" she whispered softly, disbelief on her face. It was a good thing I was holding her, because that is when she fainted.

you! Oh, Patrick, I am so sorry! I love you and Amy so much, and I have screwed up so bad. I have lied to you so much, and now I am going to die and never see you two again!" She was openly sobbing now. "I want to see you so badly again, I love you two so much! And I can't, because they are coming to kill me and I can't stop them. I'm so sorry! Please forgive me and take good care of Amy and Katie!" She dissolved into sobs.

I was terrified. Victoria doesn't panic, and doesn't cry. I couldn't imagine what could be happening that she could not handle. I did two things at once. First, I screamed in my mind.

'KATIE! AMY!' If they were listening with their ears, they would have been deafened.

'Daddy?' Amy.

'What is it, Daddy?' Katie. Thank God! I wasn't sure this would work.

Meanwhile, I was trying to talk to Victoria.

"Victoria, tell me what is the matter? Where are you, honey?"

"Oh, God, I am locked in an abandoned warehouse. I can't get out. They are going to burn it down around me. Oh, God, I love you so much! I wanted for so long to die when I was younger, and now I have you, Amy and Katie, and I don't want to die anymore! Now I'm going to die because I'm stupid! I'm so sorry! They've hurt me so bad, done so much to me, and now they are going to kill me! Tell Amy I'm sorry!

'Katie! Can you hook up with Victoria? She's in trouble!' I yelled in my mind.

'Already got her, sir. What do you need? All you have to do is ask, sir.'

'Can you tell where she is?'

'635 Wharf Street, San Francisco

, sir. She is in an abandoned warehouse. The warehouse is filled with gas fumes and gas is soaked everywhere. They have done really bad things to her, sir, ' Katie responded sadly.

I wondered what was going on with the 'sir' stuff, but I would worry about it later.

Meanwhile, I was trying to calm Victoria down. She was full blown hysterical. Something was seriously wrong to get her like this.

"Victoria, honey, calm down for me, ok? Is anyone there with you now? Exactly where are you?" I tried to sound calm and reassuring, even though I was dying inside.

"I'm locked in a room in the warehouse. There is gas everywhere. They said they were coming back to burn me alive. Please don't let Amy know how I died!" She begged. "Oh, God, I don't deserve to live with what I've done!" She sobbed.

Meanwhile, I was talking to the girls in my mind at the same time.

'Katie. I don't have time for the phones. Can you hook into Captain Jensen's mind?'

'I don't know him. I have no frame of reference to find him, sir," Katie replied.

'I know him!' Amy yelled. 'Katie, hook me in to him. Your connections are stronger. Daddy, you take care of Mommy. I will handle this.'

'I have to let you know what instructions to give him, Amy, ' I reminded her.

'If I need your help, I'll holler, ' she assured me.

Meanwhile, I had to calm Victoria down. I decided to try shock treatment.

"VICKIE! CALM DOWN AND LISTEN TO ME!"

Miraculously, it worked. She was quiet for a second, and then said calmly, with only a trace of hysteria in her voice, "Ok, talk to me."

"Sweetheart, I'm going to get the police there, just hang on."

"It's too late," she half sobbed. "I'm going to die!"

"Ok, so you're going to die. I don't want my last conversation with you to be this way. Tell me how much you love Amy. Tell me how much you love me. What do you want to do tonight? Tell me what you have always wanted to do that we haven't done yet. Talk to me, sweetheart." It worked! She began to calmly talk to me.

'Daddy! I have Captain Jensen. You can hear both of us, but he will not be able to hear you, ' Amy notified me.

'Captain Jensen, sir. This is Amy Phillips. This is an emergency. Victoria is in critical trouble. Please do not waste time asking me how I am talking to you. I am in contact with my Dad. Do I need to give you authorization codes, sir?'

'No, Amy. Tell me what you need.' Apparently, he remembered her.

'Ok, Amy, tell him... ‘I stopped and listened as I heard Amy begin to talk to Captain Jensen without even waiting for my instructions.

'Sir, I need you to scramble Angels 1 and Angels 2 immediately with full air-to-air capability. Twenty miles north and south of I heard her talk on the side to Katie. 'Katie, the airlines! Take down the air traffic control computers. Ground everything. All flights already in the air reroute to Los Angeles immediately! Send the reroute commands directly to their onboard computers. It's faster that way. We'll clean up the mess later. Get them out of there! Clear out at least 20 miles in all directions!' Then she continued with Captain Jensen. 'Scramble Extraction 1 and Support 1 immediately to that address. Be advised that there are massive explosive fumes and liquids in the area. Use only no flash weapons. Get Angels 3 up as soon as possible with a full load of air-to-surface missiles. Scramble Firebird 1 and Firebird 2 for close in support to the same location. Nothing except Victoria Phillips and your men come out of that warehouse alive, sir. As soon as she is out of the area, I want that warehouse to be a hole in the ground. You have less than five minutes to extract her.' I heard Katie give her an airlines report. 'As of now, Captain, you have total control of the skies over San Francisco. If anything approaches closer than 10 miles to that warehouse, shoot it down. You have authorization for all weapons short of nuclear. Do you need me to shut up so you can get all this done, sir?' I listened to her, stunned. How did she know all of this?

Captain Jensen chuckled. 'No, Amy, all those units except Angels 3 were already scrambled. When our tail on Victoria lost contact, we scrambled them as a precaution. Extraction 1 is less than two minutes from the building now. We will have her in a few minutes.'

As all this was going on, I was continuing to keep Victoria occupied. She was calm now, probably because she knew she was going to die.

"Victoria, the police will be there in five minutes or less. Can you hold out that long, sweetheart?" I was so scared for her.

"I'll try, Patrick. The fumes are getting really bad. They will be back any minute. Once they light this building, there will be no chance. I'm sorry, Patrick. I wanted to grow old with you. Oh, shit. Someone is here! Goodbye, sweetheart, I love you." I listened in shock as her cell phone went dead. There was just silence. I sat there stunned. My mind couldn't even grasp the concept of losing Victoria. I understood perfectly Amy's wail now when she knew Cindi was dead. "Oh god, Daddy, what am I going to do now?" Then I heard Captain Jensen.

'We have her, Amy. She is alive. She has some injuries, and I don't know what all they have done to her, but she will live. Tell your Dad.'

I don't know if he said anything else or not. Between Amy and Katie's screaming for joy in my head, and my own dizziness, I couldn't hear. Then he continued.

'Amy, the warehouse is gone. It's a spectacular fire. We are moving out of the area before the police show up. We killed ten of the enemy, and captured one alive. I thought that maybe Patrick might want to say hi to him. Where do you want him and Victoria?' I finally found my 'voice'.

'Amy, have him get Victoria here on the fastest jet he can get. I want a fully armed fighter escort for her jet. I want her here yesterday. Get that scumbag here on a different jet, fast, well guarded. I do indeed want to pay him my respects.'

Amy passed that on. Then I heard her final conversation with Captain Jensen.

'It was a pleasure talking to you again, sir. Please accept my apology for my behavior last time we talked. You are a good man, Paul.'

He laughed. 'I would be delighted to work with you anytime, sweetheart. You are a delightful young lady. Don't you think Paul is a little informal, though?' He teased her.

'Normally, yes, I would. But in this case, no, since I know who you really are.' Amy giggled.

There was a long silence.

'Let's just save that conversation for another time, shall we, young lady, ' he stated sternly.

'Yes, sir! Anything you say, sir!' I could picture Amy saluting to him. I heard him chuckle. I smiled. Smart-ass teenager genius. How I loved them!

By this time, Amy and Katie were walking in the door. They had arranged for Rebecca's mother to bring them home. They ran up to me and hugged me fiercely. I couldn't tell which one of them was crying, but my shirt was wet. Hell, it could have been me.

I don't know what Captain Jensen got for a plane, but Victoria arrived 70 minutes later at our house, in a fully equipped ambulance, with an entire medical crew taking care of her. We set them up in our bedroom. Victoria was unconscious. I went out to talk to the doctors.

"How is she?" I asked.

"Patrick Phillips, I assume? I am so delighted to finally meet you, sir. She will live. She has some relatively minor internal injuries, and a few bruises and scrapes. Two broken ribs. Some minor temporary lung problems from the fumes. I have her sedated right now to give her a chance to rest and heal. Frankly, sir, I am more concerned with her mental condition. She... well, sir, it seems she was used rather extensively... shall we say sexually?" I closed my eyes for a second. Amy was standing next to me. When I opened them again, I saw her face had turned white. Then I saw her eyes. Flat, devoid of expression, empty. She looked at my eyes, and nodded slightly. I'm sure mine looked the same. Amy turned to Captain Jensen.

"Where is our guest?" She asked sweetly. Captain Jensen led her into the room where he was being held, as I followed. She turned to me.

"Let me try interrogating him first, sir. Sometimes a pretty girl with a soft touch can get much farther than a man." I should have been suspicious, with the eyes and calling me sir. But I was worried about Victoria, disgusted with what they may have done, and frankly didn't really care what happened to him as long as I got the information I needed.

Amy walked towards the suspect, smiling sweetly. I wondered what a soft touch entailed. Then I found out. As she was looking at me, smiling and talking, she suddenly moved faster than I had ever seen anybody move. Faster than Victoria at the Fair. Before anyone could react, she reached out and took Captain Jensen's gun out of his holster. She nonchalantly pulled back the slide, cocked the hammer, and took off the safety all in one smooth motion. Without even looking at the man in the chair, looking at me and talking to me, she fired two shots almost simultaneously. I heard the prisoner scream, and he grabbed both of his knees. Before he could fall to the floor, she moved smoothly to his side. My little 108 lb Amy then picked him up out of the chair by the front of his shirt, held him about a foot off the ground, and slammed him against the wall, hard, holding him there. She held the gun under his chin and then she smiled sweetly at him again.

"You have ten seconds to start talking about what happened today. After that, I am going to turn you over to that man over there." She gestured at me. "He's not nice like I am. He's mean." She leaned forward and smiled encouragingly at him. "And I don't think he likes you very much," she whispered in his ear.

She was right. The soft touch from a pretty girl indeed worked very well. He started talking immediately. Amy dropped him to the floor and fired a shot into the wall, nicking his ear, and then looked at him, encouraging him to go on. He could hardly get the words out fast enough. We had names, addresses, locations of the main people responsible. He was even able to provide us with floor plan layouts and the number of guards. I left the room when he started to talk about what had happened with Victoria. I felt sick. I didn't want to know. The girls could fill me in on anything I needed to know. Then I saw Katie run out of the room, sobbing, face green, and heard her throwing up in the bathroom. I went in and held her head, stroking her hair, as she dissolved into a puddle of sobs.

While he was talking, Amy walked over to Captain Jensen and handed him his gun back. She smiled prettily and said thank you. He looked at the gun as if he thought it would bite him. He looked at her with unabashed admiration, and maybe a little fear.

Later, we all gathered in the living room. Everyone was introduced to each other. It seems the doctor was so glad to meet me because he worked for me. When I introduced Amy to Captain Jensen, she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him an affectionate kiss. He didn't seem displeased.

"Thank you, sweetheart. Be careful, though, you could give an old man a heart attack." Her merry giggle lightened the mood considerably. "Kind of intimate for an old Captain you've never met before, though, isn't it?"

"For an old captain, yes. But not for you." She whispered the next word so that only he and I could hear. "Grandfather."

He looked at her in shock. Then he looked at me. I was just as shocked.

"Don't look at me! I didn't tell her!" I protested. Amy laughed at us. Between her and Katie, I didn't know which way was up anymore. I had a feeling these two cute little girls were much more than we ever suspected; I was almost afraid to find out what they could really do. Little did I know I would find out sooner than I thought. I also suspected they knew much more about what was going on than they let on.

I had a private conference with Captain Jensen about what support I would need. Well, as private as it could be. Amy and Katie just followed me into the room and refused to leave. I needed to have a talk with them. Me Dad, you bratty teenage daughter, I make decisions, you obey. Yeah. Right. I told him to order a fast jet for tomorrow morning to take me to San Francisco. Amy said to make sure it would carry two. It took me a few seconds to realize what she was saying.

"You are not going, young lady!" I was scared and mad.

"Cut the crap, Dad. You need me. I can take care of myself. And if I were you, I would also talk to Captain Jensen about how well calling me young lady works!"

"Amy. You are a 13-year-old girl. A very unusual one, but still. I am not taking you into a situation like this." When did I lose control over this little... whatever she was? That was unfair. She was Amy, my precious little daughter.

"Dad. Do you really think you can stop me? You can either enjoy my company on the trip there, or I will just have Katie ground your plane and I will beat you there and do it all myself." I looked at Katie; she looked guilty, then giggled and nodded her head. "But, tell you what. Let's make it fair. Hand to hand combat or target practice at a range. If you can beat me at either one, I won't go."

My way out. I tend to downplay my abilities. It is wise when you are supposed to be a medical professional. The truth is, I am one of the best in the world at both hand to hand combat and shooting a gun. There was no way little Amy could beat me at either one of those. Although her performance with the gun in the prisoner room was impressive. Katie interrupted in my mind before I could embarrass myself.

'It's a sucker bet, Daddy. Might as well let her go. If anyone could beat her, it would be you. But you will lose. It will be close, but you will lose.' I was offended.

'You don't know what I can do, Little One, ' I said. I tried to keep my hurt feelings out of my thoughts. She noticed it though, and smiled apologetically.

'I'm sorry, Daddy. Don't be offended. Actually, I know exactly what you can do, and exactly how good you are at it. But you don't know what she can do. I do. I have seen her in action. Trust me. Besides, you really do need her for this.'

'Do you know what it would do to Victoria and me if she gets hurt?' I pleaded my case.

'Do you know what it would do to Victoria, Amy, and me if you get killed?' She countered. 'You said you trusted me with your life. Trust me now. Let her go. Do you want me to completely destroy your ego and show you in your mind what she can do?'

'It would help if I knew I didn't have to worry about her being able to take care of herself."

Katie sighed. 'One of these days you are going to learn just to take my word. Remember, you asked for it.' I watched two 'videos' run through my mind.

'Katie, can I see that again? I can't have seen that right.' I was startled. No one could do that!

'You saw it right. Here you go again.' She snickered at me as I watched it again. 'Look any different this time? Sorry, Daddy, I shouldn't tease you. It was just as hard for me to see the first time. I didn't show you the really interesting one. You've had enough shocks for the day.'

'Ok. She can go. But we are going to sit down and have a long talk when I get back. I am going to get some answers or you two are going to have some really sore little butts!' I suddenly thought of something. 'Did Amy see what you just showed me?'

'Oooh! Do we get a vote as to which one? Answers or spankings?' She giggled. 'No, Dad. Amy knows nothing about what I just showed you. She has no memory of it. We should keep it that way. At least as long as we can. She deserves to be a normal little girl.' I turned back to Amy.

"Ok, Amy, Katie has convinced me that you are going." Amy smiled gratefully at Katie. I could see it in her eyes — thank you, I didn't want to have to hurt him. "But you get yourself killed and I will never talk to you again!"

We talked about exactly what was going to happen. Amy wanted to make sure I knew where she was coming from on this.

"Dad. As far as I am concerned, this is the same as someone messing with Mommy's babies. I am going in there to kill them. Period. If that is a problem with you, tell me now so we can work something out. We will not have time to discuss this when things start happening." I felt like crying. My poor little baby. I couldn't forget those 'videos' I had seen in my mind. And Katie said she didn't show me the worst one. What had they done to my little girl? When this was all over, that issue was going to be addressed too. Right now, I was glad she was the way she was — I was going to need her.

"Amy, we are on the same page. The only conflict we are going to have is who gets to kill more of them."

I was very cold and clinical about this. They had fucked with Victoria, maybe literally as well as figuratively. They would die. The best they could hope for was a quick death. Depending on what shape Victoria was in when she woke up, they might not get that.

I arranged with Captain Jensen for everything we would need on sight. We were going in hot and the only thing that would be left would be a smoking hole. He would take care of notifying the various authorities that something would be going down and to stay out of the way. He finally convinced me to let him have a support group nearby on standby in case we ran into trouble. I let him only because, as I remembered again those 'videos' in my mind, I knew we would never need them. This was personal; we would do it ourselves.

Just before we were ready to go to bed, Katie came in. She was disheveled and looked really bad. She looked like she had a bad headache. Both Amy and I went to her, and sat her down on the couch between us.

"Katie! What's wrong, Little One?" I was shocked at how she looked.

"I don't know. I have an awful headache. I have so much interference in my mind. I think someone or something is trying to contact me. I can't think." She sounded desperate. "I can't block them."

We hugged her. Amy tried to patch in with her to try to help block them, but it didn't help. I decided to try something to help. I had no idea what I was doing. I blanked my mind, then thought of Katie as hard as I could. I blocked everything else out. I felt her confusion, her pain, her distraction. Then I saw some orange tendrils flowing in from the side. When I focused on them, I heard static, confusion. I somehow knew this was what was causing her problem. I also somehow knew it was not trying to hurt her. It was as if the tendrils were lost, looking for the right place to go. But I had to stop it. I focused on it as hard as I could, then commanded "STOP" as 'loud' as I could. I could sense surprise; it was startled. Then, I swear, the tendrils formed into the shape of words. It spelled out "yes sir." This was too freaky for words. The tendrils turned a softer orange, and just swirled around, still in her mind, but not focusing anymore.

Katie visibly relaxed and started to look better immediately. Both Amy and Katie looked at me in amazement.

"It went away! What did you do?" They asked in unison. They both were staring at me.

"I don't know. Did it work?" I had no idea what I was doing, but Katie looked better.

"I think so. It's still there, but it's behaving. I feel I should know what this is, but I can't place it." Katie seemed truly puzzled. Then she bit her lower lip. I knew what that meant. Confession time.

"Daddy. I think we had better have that talk now, before you go. I have a really bad feeling about this. Something is wrong, terribly wrong. There is something I have missed, or that I am not seeing. It doesn't add up; it doesn't make sense. I cannot send you out there without you knowing everything I know." She turned to Amy, tears in her eyes.

"Amy, you know I love you more than I can tell you, don't you?" She seemed really concerned. Amy nodded. "Do you trust me, Amy? Really, really trust me?" Amy looked concerned, but nodded her head again. "I'm so sorry, Amy, but you cannot hear what I have to say to Patrick." Patrick, not Daddy. This was going to be serious. Especially to cut Amy out. "Please, Amy, please, don't be mad at me. Don't hate me. You know I don't keep secrets from you. But you can't know this. Not yet. Please?" She was crying now.

Amy is such a sweetheart. She will do anything, especially for Katie. I know it cost her dearly, being a genius and as curious as she is, but she smiled tenderly at Katie.

"It's ok. If you say it is necessary, I believe you. You've saved my life, Katie. At least I can give you this. Why don't I ever get to save someone's life? I seem to always be the one that needs saving!" She smiled teasingly. "As long as you are not pulling another scam on me, like when you blocked me from your mind while I was asleep when you were seducing my Daddy in the basement!" She smiled to show her she was not really mad. Katie blushed and gasped. I gulped. "You two think you are so smart, don't you? What really hurts is that you would think I would be fooled by such an amateur ploy." She laughed to show us she really wasn't offended.

"You knew?" Katie whispered. "Amy, I am so sorry!" Amy grinned at her. She always gets you back! Katie turned to me.

"In five minutes, an icon will appear on your computer desktop. It will remain there for one hour, and then will disappear forever. As soon as you open it, the icon will disappear forever. The file can only be opened once. Once it is opened, it will remain for one hour. Then it will disappear forever. It cannot be recovered. If anyone else but you tries to open it, it will disappear forever. If anyone is in the room with you when you open it, it will disappear forever. When you click on the icon, a password will appear in your mind. Type it in. That password will never work again. Do not type it in wrong. Are you getting the impression that I want only you to read this file?" She giggled. Then she turned serious again. "Please, Daddy, please, keep loving us after you read it. Please? Remember, we want nothing more than to be your little girls. Remember that Victoria loves you so much it hurts. We didn't ask for this. Remember, tell no one what you read. I shouldn't even be sharing this with you. I have no idea what ramifications this might have. But I am afraid of what is out there, and I can't let you go without knowing about all of us."

"Are you sure I don't need this information to be prepared too?" Amy asked. Katie smiled at her.

"Nice try, Amy. The last thing I am concerned about is you being prepared."

I kissed the two girls, and went into my office. It was exactly as Katie said it would be. I opened the file, and started to read.

Katie's File:

My name is Katie Thompson. I am 13 years old. I, like Amy and Victoria (Mommy) ran across this file while Patrick (Daddy) was unconscious. I did not write in it then, as I figured two was enough. Besides, they were being computer pigs! However, Daddy is out of town for a few days at a medical conference, so I have access to this now. No, they did not leave us here alone. We are staying at Rebecca's house, three doors down, but we have access to the house. Although I consider myself a good, moral and trustworthy person, I guess I must be a little lower in moral fiber than Amy and Victoria, because, unlike Amy and Victoria, I could not resist reading this file. And their additions. I did, however, tell Daddy that I had read it when I talked to him on the phone yesterday. He laughed and said he wondered who would find it and read it first. He had already seen the stuff Amy and Victoria had written. It seems that Victoria was planning to erase much of her writings, but she must have forgotten.

I have Daddy's permission to write this account of our family. It was necessary to get his permission because of some of the things that will be revealed here that pertain to all the members of my family (you don't know how good that feels to say — my family!). We had a big long fight about this. I think this story has to be written in case anything happens to us. Daddy thinks it is dangerous, and he also just hates to be the object of attention, as he will be in this story. He doesn't know what is in here until he reads it; he just knows enough to know he is not going to like it. We compromised; I am writing the story, but it will be password encrypted with a code that is unbreakable. The code to open that encryption is buried in the minds of Patrick, Amy and Victoria. They do not know it is there. I will explain as we go along how I can do that. The code will become available to their memory at any time that any one of them is the only surviving member left of our family. I have access to the code at all times, and can change it at will. That change will automatically update to everyone's mind. There are safeguards in my mind that will inactivate the current code, change it to another code, and transfer that code to Patrick's mind and erase it from my mind if a serious attempt that I can't handle is made to access it in my mind by anyone other than me. Patrick can also change the code, but he doesn't know that. Under certain conditions, this knowledge will become available to him. So, if you reading this file it means a) I am dead (that will really ruin my day!), b) I am captured and incommunicado, or c) I have released it or transferred it to Patrick's mind for some reason. I really hope it is c).

I guess I have your attention now! Let me begin again.

My name is Katie Marie Thompson. I am 13 years old. I am 5' nothing, 90 lbs, long blond hair, and eyes that used to be blue but now are blue with yellow flecks in them. Let me say right off the bat, as I am sure you are wondering; I do not know what Amy, Victoria, Patrick, Cindi, Becky or I am (or were, in Becky and Cindi's case). I do not think we are aliens (I hope not; I want to be human) but I do not know that for sure. I think we are, shall I say, governmentally manipulated humans. I have some reasons for believing that that I will share as I go along. I cannot prove that, however. I also want to reiterate that I am a normal 13-year-old kid. I am going to tell you many things here that will make it seem like I am much older, that I know what is going to happen, that I know why things happen. Some of that is true. But, I giggle like all teenagers, I panic when my Daddy is hurt. I cry every night in my bed because I miss my twin sister Becky. At least two nights a week, Amy crawls into bed with me and I hold her as she cries about missing Cindi. And I cry with her. Do you know what it does to you to watch and listen to someone who never cries, one of the toughest, strongest people you know, as they cry? I know Cindi had to die, but I still cry for her. I still wish she had not. I would still give up my life to bring her back. I am still a mixed up kid, even though part of me knows things no one else knows.

If you have read Patrick's file, you know most of my story. My lousy family life. My father raping me for six months when I was 11 years old. How he raped Becky. Her death in the fire. My guilt in deserting her and my responsibility for her death. Cindi's death. My connection mentally with Amy. My love for Patrick and our relationship. It is all there. Read it if you haven't already. It tells everything about me. Everything worth knowing. Which isn't much. I wish I were as interesting as Amy is or Cindi was.

If I could be anyone in the world, I would want to be Amy. I envy her. She is my hero, along with Patrick. Patrick because he saved my life. He doesn't realize that. He is so clueless sometimes! Victoria knows. Amy is the smartest person I know. She was correct in what she wrote — Cindi was smarter, although at the level both of them are / were it is a moot point. Amy is able to use that intelligence better than anyone I know, except possibly Patrick. She is beautiful. She can do anything. She is sweet. But the real reason I envy her is that she is the only person in our family that has led a somewhat normal life. Cindi is dead. I would not wish on my worst enemy the life that Victoria and I have led. Well, maybe on those that killed Cindi. They have no idea the mistake they made there. They will. If they had just left her alone, we might all be dead now and they would be safe. I'm so glad they are ignorant fools. Patrick's life has been better than Victoria's or mine, but still not wonderful. Amy is so lucky.

I guess I should explain how I know all of this. All of us kids have a power that is special and peculiar to them. Mine (and Becky's) is /was the power of the mind. I think there were two of those in case something happened to one of us. Or maybe because we were identical twins. So identical powers. Get it? Sorry. I am a tutor at school and I am used to explaining things to those boobs. I lied when I told Patrick I did not know how I inserted myself into Amy's mind to replace Cindi. I know exactly how I did it. The tricky part was to find who could replace Becky in my mind. It appears that could only be Amy. I had no problems inserting the codes for this file in each of their minds. I know more about this family than anyone else does. That is because their minds are open to me. I am a mind reader. Before you decide that is neat, know that I only recently have learned how to somewhat decide when and with whom I want to do it. I have also learned to a certain extent to ignore it to keep myself from going crazy, but that control is tenuous at best. If this discourse seems somewhat disjointed, that is likely the reason. It is sometimes hard to concentrate with the constant interruptions. I am getting better, however. I am the only person, besides Captain Jensen, that knows what Patrick really does. Even his enemies are in for a rude surprise; they don't know the half of it. I will explain later. I can also patch into and manipulate computers. I can to a limited extent implant things into minds. I cannot force things they would not have there.

Cindi's ability was to heal, and to manipulate events. Cindi might have been able to change the outcome of that car accident had it been anybody else that was in it. She could never change events that directly affected only her. That is why our enemies had to kill her. Unbeknownst to the other members of the family, except me, including herself, Cindi had already saved us several times. The act of manipulating events erases the memory of the old event from everyone's mind. Except... yep, you guessed it... mine. Lucky me. NOT! Little did anyone know that Cindi's death, as sad as it was, had to happen and started a chain of events that are very necessary and cannot be stopped. If Cindi didn't die, our family wouldn't continue to live. I think that at some level she knew that. She didn't know how or when, but she knew it would happen. I don't know how her death saves us, but I know it will. Don't ask me how I know this. I don't know. I know without a doubt that it is true, however. I think we will know it when it happens. I suspected that Cindi had some of Amy's abilities in a lighter dose, but I never saw any proof of that.

Amy's ability is physical ability. Her control of her body and ability to use it is unbelievable. I have seen the replay in Patrick's mind of Victoria's actions at the Fair. I know what she can do. It is truly an experience to see Victoria and Amy spar and watch Amy kick Victoria's ass 10 out of 10 times without even breaking a sweat. Victoria finally fully understood on the day that Amy did it blindfolded. To her credit, Victoria laughed and thought it was neat. Then she was really, really nice to Amy the rest of the day! I have seen Amy blindfolded, spun around until she is dizzy, then watched her put a bullet in the center of six different targets spread around the room in 3.5 seconds. While still blindfolded. With either hand. She has no problems fighting hand to hand and shooting at the same time. I doubt there is anything she cannot do. Do not fuck with that girl (figuratively, not literally! With her body control, I'm sure she will be really fun literally!). You will be dead before you realize you are in trouble. You might say it might be different if it was real combat. I once watched them give Victoria a mind control drug and then ordered her to kill Amy. She had no idea what she was doing. Amy had no idea what was going on. It made no difference. Amy still kicked Victoria's butt. What kind of low life makes a mother try to kill her own daughter just to see what would happen? We never saw the doctor running that experiment, and the one with the ten armed men, again. I think the handlers realized how stupid that was too. All of us have special duties. Some of us don't realize what we are to do yet. Amy has known her reason for existence since she was a little girl. It is to protect her Daddy, Patrick. Ever seen a small thermonuclear explosion on TV? That is almost as bad as what you will see if anyone ever tries to harm Patrick when Amy is around. I saw it once, at the camp. They gave her a mind-controlling drug, put her, unarmed, in a room with ten armed men, and convinced her that Patrick was there and in danger of being killed. It was the most terrible thing I have ever seen. In three minutes, she was the only one left standing in that room. The men had guns, and they used them. They could not hit her. She dodged their bullets. Yes, dodged them! She had one small bullet crease on her arm because four of them fired at her at once from different directions and she just couldn't avoid all of them. Only two of the men survived. Afterwards, she found me, took my hand, and led me to the cafeteria to eat lunch, as if nothing happened. She scared the hell out of our handlers at the camp that day. They never again tested Amy on anything physical. They had seen as much as they ever wanted to see. She didn't fool me, however. I held her, cuddled her, whispered to her for the next four nights, trying to undo what those assholes had done to her, as she sobbed her little heart out all night long for what she did to those men. She is so sweet and they made her into a killing machine. There are times when it is a good thing that they wipe our memories when we leave camp. I fervently wish I did not have that memory anymore.

Victoria and Patrick's special talents, if they have them, have not manifested themselves yet. Since they have the same lineage as I do, I think they will. Patrick's power may be a lesser combination of all our powers, plus the power of command. I think command will be his main power. Victoria's power, at least one of them, seems to be similar to Amy's only a little less. Therefore, I think she should have some other powers. Especially after all the power that was slamming around the room when Patrick was brought out of his coma. There are already some effects of that release of power that are showing up in some of us, although we are not all aware of it just yet. This is partially my fault, if fault is the right word. I was not supposed to enter into the power stream. Actually, I didn't know I could do that. But it appeared Amy was having trouble and Patrick had to be saved.

Your first question will be: how do I know all this stuff? I have seen it during our periodic visits to "the camps." If each of us, except Patrick and me, were to examine their memories carefully, they would find gaps in them periodically where they have no memory. These are the camp visits. Their memory of them is wiped out before they are brought back home. That wipe does not work on me. I don't think the people who run the camps know that. I think they have no idea of my access to all this data. My mind cannot be wiped — I cannot forget anything. Don't ever think that is not a curse! If I could have any wish granted in the world, other than to be Amy, it would be to be able to forget or change my past life. The only exception to this memory wipe for the others is some memory of Amy's. For some reason she remembers one of the sparring episodes with Victoria. Not the blindfolded one. Victoria does not remember them. Amy has some idea what she can do physically, but she has no idea to what extent. Often, our powers only reveal themselves when needed. Cindi had no idea how to cure Amy until it was needed. Amy had no idea she could take out those kids at school until it happened. I had no idea I could add my power stream to Amy's. I didn't even know I had a power stream. I have no idea who the people at the camps are. Is this making any sense? I have been especially distracted lately. It is almost as if something, or someone, is trying to contact me.

Victoria has already stated in her write up what she does. She has no idea that some of the trips she takes are not to where she thinks they are. They are to the camps. The job she does for the government is not part of the plan of the camp people, but they have not interfered with it. They cannot change her need to do it without seriously damaging her. She also understates the danger of what she does. She is uniquely suited to do what she does. I will not state here why she does what she does. It is an intensely personal reason that has to come from her. I have been to that part of her mind once. That is enough. I will never go back there again if I have a choice. I was afraid I would not survive. How she deals with that is beyond me. Somehow, her relationship with Patrick has helped her deal with it; wall it off into a black area. It occasionally breaks out, when someone tries to hurt her babies. She actually was rather controlled at the Fair. Let's just say if you have her, Amy and Patrick together, you don't need an army. All those guys would just get in the way. Do you get the idea I just adore Amy? Giggle!

Patrick is unique. He is the only one that does not go to the camps, at least since he was a little boy. They are not pleased with him. They cannot do anything with him. He only survives because of the necessity of his breeding stock for the lineage. They have made a huge mistake in leaving him alive. Now they cannot kill him. Would you want to try that with Amy around? They know what she is capable of; they dare not incur her wrath.

Patrick belongs to an international organization known simply as "24". He refers to it in his mind more often as 'two- four'. Actually, he is the founder and leader of the organization. It is a conglomerate of ex-intelligence, ex-law enforcement, and ex-military personnel. It is the most elite private investigation firm in existence today, if PI is the right term. Although most law enforcement firms, intelligence organizations, and military leaders have heard of "24", they know little about it. They have the full cooperation of all governments. It wouldn't matter if they didn't, as most of the time, they don't involve the governments anyway, but act at a much lower level. There is nothing that Patrick could request that he would not have immediately. Having the cooperation of the governments only makes it easier to clean up later. "24" is the most nonpolitical, incorruptible entity in existence. They only accept jobs that help people or organizations that are in trouble. That and anything that protects Patrick's loved ones. They only work for good. Patrick will not let them do anything else. No job is too little or too big if it will help a person or organization that is being taken advantage of or unfairly hurt. Although most everyone that has dealings with "24" knows that Patrick is associated with it, I don't believe anyone knows his true involvement in it. The organization grew out of a disastrous experience Patrick had as a young teen with a young girl named Julie that he was extremely close to. It was not a sexual relationship of any kind; she was only six years old. Her life ended one day very badly. He swore that no one would ever hurt one of his loved ones again if he could help it. Once he was old enough, he set up "24" to accomplish that purpose. In some way that I don't understand, Victoria was also impacted by that same situation, even though Patrick and Victoria did not know each other then. I strongly suspect the memory of that experience resides in that black area of her brain. It is responsible for her response when someone tries to mess with her babies. Somehow, the experience of the young girl is connected with her relationship with the older man that taught her about love and saved her life when she was in her early teens. Patrick stepped away from "24" a number of years ago after an operation that somehow went wrong and resulted in the death of his high school sweetheart. After he personally killed everyone that caused her death, he left the business. He felt he did not like what he had become, that he wanted to save lives, not take them. The organization stipulated that he was able to assume command anytime on a moment's notice. He occasionally used their organization, like when he arranged Victoria's flight home when Amy was sick.

As I stated earlier, I have no idea who the camp people are. Our association with them has always been as teacher and student. I would assume since they periodically bring us to the camps that they still have some plans for us. It should be interesting to see how that will change if Patrick reads this and finds out that some of the cheerleader camps his girls went to were not that at all.

I guess it is obvious here that some of what I have told my new family was not exactly true. Like not knowing them until I moved to town last year. I have known them most of my life. From the camps. They just don't remember me. Although Amy and Cindi might have had some indistinct memories — that would explain why they were always rather distant with me. Like pretending I didn't know how I saved Amy. Most everything else is true. I am Patrick and Victoria's sister. My twin sister, Becky, did die in a fire. All of that is true.

There is a big fight coming. I don't know with whom. Someone killed Cindi, and tried to kill Amy and Victoria. Patrick has stepped on their toes big time in protecting his family. I almost hope they go after him. That will end it really quickly when they run into Amy. I think that is going to happen anyway. Several pieces of this whole puzzle just don't make sense to me, though. I can't put my finger on it. I wonder why they have never gone after me. Surely, they must know about me. Surely, someone must know how much of this I have figured out. Why do they think they don't have to worry about me?

I wish I knew who is trying to contact me. Their color is orange. It is getting increasingly annoying and distracting. It is distorted somehow. I hope the enemy doesn't have others like us. I really don't want to see two Amy's fight.

Our family is driven by love. That is the source of all our power. That is why we seem to be normal people until something or someone threatens someone we love. That, and self-defense, activates everything. Amy could not walk into a bar and start a fight. It wouldn't work. She would get her butt kicked. If someone attacks her, or even insults someone she loves, such as the kids at school making disparaging remarks about Cindi, their world can change very quickly. She controls it pretty well though. We have discovered we each have an aura connected with us. It is often connected with eye color. I am yellow — that was not connected with my eye color, but my eyes are changing to that color. Amy is bright, deep green. Cindi was bright, deep blue. Both of those match the eye color. Becky died before we started exhibiting auras, so we don't know what hers would have been. Patrick and Victoria have not exhibited an aura yet, but both their eye colors are the same as Amy's, bright, deep green.

Our family has some unusual ideas about love and sex. It is difficult to form a relationship with someone that does not know or understand what you are or what you can do. Keeping a huge secret like that from your partner can really affect a relationship. Somehow, Patrick and Victoria have managed with their secrets, maybe because it is the same secret. We tend to form our relationships within our own family and fellow manipulated beings. It seems that is our own brothers and sisters, parents and children. Incest means nothing to us. It is as if we are a different species with a very small gene pool to pick from. That may be why Amy and Cindi had so much power — Patrick and Victoria being twin brother and sister, they got a double dose of the genes that control these powers. There are no feelings of taboo with any of us. Well, maybe Patrick, but that is more concern about causing harm, not a taboo per se. I feel like I am really rambling here. I just cannot concentrate well with all the interference in my mind.

I am writing this so that someday someone will know what they have done to us. Amy, Cindi, myself, Becky, we are / were just kids, damn it! Amy should be enjoying herself, learning about life and love from boys, going to dances. She shouldn't be a well-polished killing machine. She is the sweetest person you would ever want to meet, yet she has to live with the guilt of killing people. No one should have to live through what has been done to Victoria. I have never experienced so much pain, sadness and suffering in one person. She shouldn't have to live with the guilt of what she has done to survive. It is not fair! This must never happen again. I will update this account as we come across more information as to who is responsible for all this.

I hope I am still alive if you are reading this. I wanted to die so badly after Becky died. I even tried to kill myself. But after I have met Amy, Victoria, Patrick I want to live. I hope I'm not dead. If you are reading this, Patrick, please don't think your little girls are monsters. If you could see into Amy's mind as I can, you would see how wonderful she is. Of course, I see how you look at her, so you already know. Who wouldn't love her? Please keep loving us. We love you, and always will.

Tears were flowing down my cheeks as I finished reading the file. It only made me love my girls more. They really were special. I walked out into the room where Amy and Katie were waiting for me. They both had nervous looks on their faces. They looked so pretty, so vulnerable, so helpless standing there, afraid I would condemn them. They just looked like scared little girls. There must be some mistake. That pretty little girl called Amy that I saw standing in front of me, biting her lower lip, could not be the same girl I saw in the 'video'. But I knew it was. My heart just melted. I still had tears on my face. I hugged and kissed both of them. Then I took them by the hand and led them into the bedroom where we were staying.

635 Wharf Street

, at 10,000 feet.'

ady said. If there are contradictions, I'm right and he's wrong. Giggle! Has he told you I'm a genius? Giggle! I have other talents too. Some of which he doesn't know about yet. He hates it when I say that; he envisions awful teenager things that he would just as soon not think about. So I would say it even if it weren't true, just to drive him crazy. Giggle! Actually, my twin sister Cindi, who was killed in a car accident two months ago (sad face), was smarter than I am. No one knew that except her and me. She tried her best to hide it. She would do anything to make people happy. One time I noticed she missed questions on an exam that I knew she knew the answer to. She told me later, after much probing, that she did it so I could stay number one in class ranking. She knew how important it was to me. She never wanted people, even Mom and Dad, to know how smart she was. Sometimes she would deliberately do dumb things just to hide it. I miss her so much! Katie, my best friend now, helps a lot, but I still really miss Cindi. Katie's a lot like Cindi, even looks like her, so that helps a lot. I think that really hurts Daddy sometimes when he looks at her. Mom and Dad are talking about adopting Katie. That would be so neat!

My Dad and Mom are just the greatest parents in the world. All my friends are in love with my Daddy (so am I! Giggle!), and have adopted Mom as their Mom away from home. Mom is not around much — she travels a lot. She's a computer troubleshooter; just ask her, that's what she'll tell you. Dad and I know better. She thought she was pulling the wool over Dad's eyes for a long time, but he wasn't as fooled as she thinks he was. He's pretty smart. He has his own secrets too. I haven't figured it all out yet, but I think it's pretty much the same as Mom's secret. I think the whole thing is hilarious. Here all these years they've been keeping these big secrets from each other and eventually they're going to find out it's essentially the same secret! Parents! What's wrong with just telling each other? And me! I'm going to find it out anyway — I always figure these things out myself. Did I tell you I'm a genius?

I've been worried about Daddy for a while. I don't think he's ever dealt with Cindi's death. Not that I'm doing so well, but at least I have had a good cry (several of them actually — poor Daddy). I think he's just transferred those feelings for Cindi to Katie. I knew that one of these days this was all going to come around and bite him. I think it finally did Sunday.

I guess I should tell you something important about me. I hope Daddy doesn't mind me telling this, but I doubt he has in mind just anyone reading this. You see, Cindi and I, and now Katie, have always had this special thing. We could read emotions really well. I always knew how she was feeling, and she always knew how I was feeling. We could do it with our parents also. We can also tell where the other one is, no matter how far away. The location thing works with Mom and Dad also but not as well. We could just feel it in our minds. They think we could just do the emotion thing with them sometimes; we've never told them how well we could do it with them. We didn't want to freak them out. It gets somewhat interesting sometimes when they are... um... fooling around. Those emotions can be pretty overwhelming for a 13-year-old girl! Maybe one of these days I'll gross Daddy out by letting him know how... excited... Cindi and I would get sometimes! Giggle! Course, maybe it wouldn't gross him out. Maybe I won't think about that. I don't know how I'd feel about that (yes I do, I just don't want to think about it! Giggle!). Not that we knew what it all meant. We used to sneak over to the door of their bedroom and watch. Why not? If we're going to feel the emotions, we might as well watch! Dad caught Katie and me the other day, but he didn't tell Mom. He is so cool! What would really make them freak out is if they knew that I'm getting better at this. Sometimes I swear I can read their minds. I know what they are thinking before they say it. I try to control that. The way Daddy looks at Katie sometimes, I do not think I want to know what he is thinking! Giggle!

Anyway, where I was going with this is that Daddy has never dealt with Cindi's death. I can see the pain in his eyes sometimes, even often, and I can read in his emotions that he still hurts. I think that's what's going on now. His mind is so mixed up and confused, I can hardly make sense out of his emotions. I can feel tremendous guilt, and I know that somehow it seems to be connected with Cindi and me. I don't know why. Cindi's death was an accident. How could that be his fault? I don't know what he has to feel guilty about with me. Somehow, Mom is involved in his concerns too. That one has to do with fear. Is he afraid she's in danger? Surely, he can't be afraid she would leave him, no matter what the problem is. That would never happen. Even with my reading him, I have no answers.

Whatever happened to him started Saturday night when we were at my grandparent's house for the birthday celebrations. Up to that time, he was fine. I noticed all of a sudden that he was upset about something. I teased him about dropping his wineglass and asked him why he was upset. Boy, did he take my head off! He has never talked to me like that before. I would've been really mad and hurt if I hadn't been able to feel that he was really hurting. The next day he was even worse. He yelled at me again, but I was determined not to let it get to me. Then he yelled at Katie! That really got Mom worried. Daddy would never be mean to Katie. We decided to give them our presents to try to cheer him up and then he had to take a phone call. He said it wasn't important, but he was lying. Then he just got really upset when I gave him Cindi's present. Maybe I shouldn't have done that, but I know she wanted him to have it. She spent a lot of time getting it just right. He went into the office, and that's when the emotions coming out of his mind got really scary. About then is when he collapsed. Mom and I got him to the bed. When he still hadn't responded by the next day, Mom got worried.

"Amy, I think we should call a doctor. I don't like this," she said. I didn't think it was a good idea to call just a regular doctor. I don't know what Dad's secret is, but if it's like Mom's, as I suspect, he would not want to see just a regular doctor.

"Mom, I'll take care of that. You stay here with him. I think he would want you to be close to him." That wasn't much of a risk; I knew she didn't want to leave him anyway. She and Katie could tend to him while I could figure something out. As I left the room, I picked up a fountain pen that was in his shirt. Nobody paid any attention to me.

I had noticed something odd about that pen. He had only been carrying it the last few weeks. Suddenly it appeared along with his favorite one. And it looked different. On a hunch, I picked it up, went into the other room, and started playing with it. It didn't take me long to figure out this was not just a fountain pen. It did some other things too. It seemed to be a cell phone of some kind. I punched speed dial one and it vibrated in my hand. Ok, that was Daddy's number. I managed to get into an address book of some kind. The entries seemed to be coded, but it didn't take me long to find one that looked like my number. I set my cell phone on vibrate, and then hit that speed dial number. Yep, my phone went off. Ok. I could tell then that Dad was number one, Mom was number three, I was number four, and Katie was number five. So, who was number two? He started carrying this after Cindi died, so it couldn't be her. So, if Dad was number one, and he was out of commission, and I needed to get him a doctor, who else better to go to than whoever was number two? Did I tell you I was a genius? Giggle! Here goes nothing. I dialed number two. I hope I was doing the right thing. I heard the phone being answered.

"Yes?" a soft-spoken polite female voice spoke.

"Please don't hang up. My name is Amy Phillips..."

"Please hold on," she interrupted. I heard a series of clicks, and then a male voice answered.

"This is Captain Jensen. How may I help you?"

"Please," I repeated, "don't hang up. I found this number and my Dad needs help." I was getting a little flustered now and didn't give them all the information I should have.

"How did you get this number, young lady?" He asked firmly.

"I found it listed in a fountain pen phone like thingy that my Dad had. He's unconscious and needs a doctor."

"How did you figure out how to use it, and why did you dial this number, young lady?" I wish he would quit calling me that!

"It was pretty easy to figure out, and I figured out all the other numbers, and since he was number one, I figured out I wanted to talk to the number two guy. That's you. And don't you dare call me young lady again! And how come you've never asked me who my Dad is?" I was beginning to wonder about this guy.

He chuckled softly. "You must be Amy. I don't have to ask who your Dad is. The fact that you dialed this number means he could only be one person. Patrick told me you were very smart. So far, you're doing fine. We have a problem, though. An authorization code is normally used. Since I have never talked to you before, I don't know your voice. I'm not sure if you are who you really say you are.

"Fine. If you insist on going by the book, the authorization code is Alpha Tango seven three four six X-ray. I believe you now would repeat that back to me. However, let's cut the crap and I'll tell you that your authorization code is Delta four seven three Charley. Can we get on with the business of getting help for my Dad now?"

There was a long silence.

"How do you know those codes, young... er, Amy?" He sounded surprised.

"I don't know. I've never heard them before. I just knew them now. I guess they're right, huh?" I felt a little sorry for him. He didn't know how to deal with a smart-ass 13-year-old genius. I wondered if it would make him feel better that I don't know how to deal with me most of the time either!

"Are you at home right now? Maybe I should speak to Victoria." He still was not comfortable dealing with a teenager. I felt a little better that he knew Mom's name.

"I wouldn't suggest that. Mom doesn't know anything about this part of Dad's life. I don't think Dad wants her too, either. She probably won't believe you."

"And what do you know about 'this part of your Dad's life', Amy?" He asked.

"I know enough to figure out this isn't a normal pen. I know enough to figure out how to use it. I know enough to not call a regular doctor. I know enough to figure out you're the one to call and how to do it. I'm afraid you are stuck with the teenage smart-ass kid. Sorry."

For the first time, he laughed. "You are amazing, Amy. No wonder your father is so proud of you. There will be a doctor there in 15 minutes. And Amy... forget all about this number and conversation."

"Darn. I sure wish I could get this stupid number to work. All I get is a busy signal!" I giggled.

He laughed and hung up. I had done what I could. I hoped Captain Jensen was one of the good guys. Now it was time to go back and see if I could help Daddy.

Victoria:

My name is Victoria Phillips. Patrick Phillips is my husband of 15 years. Like Amy, I haven't read what Patrick has written. Amy and I have also agreed not to read what each one of us has written. At least, that is the plan. I wouldn't put it past Amy to sneak in and read what I wrote later. She is trustworthy, just too curious for her own good sometimes. So, Amy, if you're reading this, I love you honey, and you're a brat! <I am not! Oops!>

Amy:

The doctor arrived right on time. He was an older gentleman and seemed to know my Dad, and his history, very well. After checking him out, he ran some kind of portable scanning device over his head. I have never seen one of those on TV. He compared it to some scan tracings he brought with him. Previous brain scans? Daddy, what do you do for a living, really? Later, he sat down with Mom and me to talk to us about Dad. He wouldn't let Katie sit in because she is not listed officially as a member of the family. Wow! Was she mad! I have never seen Katie that mad before. Remind me never to get her mad at me! The doctor said that as far as he could tell, Dad had suffered multiple emotional, traumatic events very close together and he had just emotionally shut down. He would probably just stay that way until his brain sorted them out and figured out how to deal with them. That is what scares me. His brain is so messed up right now, emotionally, that I wasn't sure how that was going to happen. He didn't seem to be working on it right now. I tried to act cool about what he said, to keep from scaring Mom, but I'm not a good actor and Mom is pretty smart. I'm so glad Katie was not in there. Now we have to calm down and then figure out something to tell her. Right. Like she hasn't already read our emotions. I think I'm learning what Daddy has known for a little while now — trying to lie to someone who reads your emotions is pretty useless. Rats! It's not much fun being on the receiving end of problems with this reading stuff!

I asked Mom to go talk to Katie. I told her Katie would be able to read my face too well. I just wanted her out of the room. I decided to try something I swore I would never do; try to read my Daddy's mind without him being able to tell I was doing it. I wasn't sure I wanted to know what was there, but if I could help him, I would take his pain. I will write more later.

Well, that was a big waste of time. I'm not very good at this mind-reading stuff anyway, at least not yet. His mind was so jumbled up and confused, I couldn't tell much more than I already knew from the emotions. For some reason he is overcome with guilt about Cindi and me. Why Cindi? It was a car accident... wasn't it? Could Cindi's accident have been not an accident? Why would the police not know that? Wait — the phone call Sunday! That voice could have been Chief Haskin! I know Daddy was lying when he said it wasn't important. But why would Daddy feel responsible / guilty? Ah, because of his big secret. Maybe he felt he should have /could have protected us. He did say he had people following us. He thinks he is so smart with that 'make Amy mad so she will stop asking questions and go away' act. Like I can't see through that! Ok, let's assume that is it with Cindi. God, I hope I'm wrong! That will really tear Mom and Dad up. Not to mention the bloodbath that is going to follow if I know them the way I do. They had better not even try to keep me out of it. That was my Cindi! Ok, calm down. This is still just speculation. Ok, so we go with that for now. Then why would he feel guilty about me. What has happened with me? Oh, shit! Oops! Daddy thinks I don't know or say those words. I meant shucky durn golly gee willikers! My illness? Surely not! Can't think of anything else. Now where does Mom fit in? It doesn't feel like he is scared for Mom's life. More like just scared for them. Why? She's crazy about him, and he about her. I can't even think of anything that could break them apart. When did all this start? Saturday night when we were looking at the pictures of Mom. And he's scared about Mom. I first noticed he was upset when he dropped his wineglass. He dropped his wineglass when looking at the pictures. Which picture? Let's see... The original picture of Mom and her... brother??? Same birthday? Holy shit! And I ain't apologizing this time! That's not possible! Is it? Oh, man, if that's it, I have GOT to be there when he tells Mom to see the look on her face! That would be priceless. But... surely he doesn't think that after 17 years Mom would leave him just due to a little thing like she is married to her... twin... brother? She wouldn't. Even if she would, she'd have to deal with me first! But he may not realize that in his state of mind. I really like being a genius, but I really hope I'm wrong on this. God, Cindi... I know dead is dead, but man, I hope you didn't go like that. If Dad thinks Mom goes crazy when someone hurts her babies, he ain't seen what a smart-ass 13 year old genius who just happens to be able to kick her Mom's ass in a fight (he doesn't know about that yet; and we have seen what she can do!) is going to do about someone murdering her twin sister! Wonderful. The genius figures it out — maybe. So, how does that help Daddy? I'm going to bed. I wish Cindi were here. She figured out how to save me when I was dying. I'm sure she would have been able to help Daddy.

No change in Daddy's condition today. I'm really getting worried. I love you Daddy, please don't leave me! I have to go — I have to go cry, and everyone knows Amy does not cry, so I got to go hide. Oh, God, Mommy and me and Katie can't survive without Daddy!

I'm back. Mom is becoming a basket case. I actually saw her cry this morning. Mom never cries. I have to find a way to help her and Daddy. I had the weirdest dream last night. It was very clear and realistic. Daddy and Cindi were there. Daddy was in the same condition he's in now. Cindi gave me very detailed instructions on how to wake him up. I just wish it were that simple. The instructions were rather embarrassing. Especially with your Daddy! Giggle! Not that I have not thought about that! Giggle! Cindi said something really weird in the dream. She said, "All you had to do is ask." What does that mean? Oh well; it's just a dream, right?

Ok, something weird is going on here. I had the same dream again last night. About Daddy and Cindi and how to wake him up. It was so realistic. At one point in the dream, Cindi and I were cuddled up on the bed together, naked. How embarrassing! I mean, it's not as if Cindi and I were never cuddled together naked. Sometimes when Mom and Dad would get us so... um... you know. I mean, it's not like Cindi and I ever actually did anything together. I mean, we just couldn't. It would be too much like doing it with yourself, you know? But... well, sometimes we would... um... do ourselves... you know what I mean... right next to each other. It was better that way. But not with our Daddy and Mommy watching and naked too like in the dream, for heavens sake! I just have this really strong feeling that this is the way to help Daddy. But how can Cindi be showing me this? She's, like, dead, you know? I know she could do things we didn't know about. Could she have planted this in my brain for use sometime when I needed it?

Ok, three nights in a row, more real each time. I've got to talk to Mom about this. Oh, God, this is way too weird! I am really uncomfortable with this. But if it will help Daddy...

I slowly woke up, feeling disoriented. I was having a wonderful dream, about Victoria, Cindi, Amy, and Katie, all wrapped together in wonderful love. I wondered if my heart could take it! I realized, as I came more awake, that I was indeed wrapped up in love, having just had an orgasm. I sighed, then opened my eyes and found myself cuddled up to Victoria. Heavenly! Then I realized that Amy was cuddled up to my other side, smiling at me. Naked. Oh no! Please! Not Amy!

"Amy, I'm sorry! I am so sorry!" Amy put her finger across my lips.

"Shh Daddy, it's ok. It was necessary. It's ok," she reassured me.

"Did I... did we... ?" I asked, panic-stricken.

"No, Daddy, we didn't," She assured me. Then she gave me a teasing 'Amy' grin. "Not yet!" She whispered. "But the night is still young!" Victoria, Amy and Katie all laughed at me as I blushed.

"I love you all," I whispered. Then I remembered everything that had happened before I blacked out. Oh, God! I couldn't help it. I started crying.

They all looked at me, concerned, and cuddled up to me, holding me close. I couldn't help it. I sobbed brokenly against them for what seemed like hours. All the pain, the sadness, the sorrow that I had never dealt with after the death of Cindi; it all came pouring out. I couldn't stop it. Amy held me, whispering in my ear "I know, Daddy. I know. Let it go Daddy. I understand. I love you. Always. Remember. No matter what. I love you."

"Oh, Amy, I only wish that would be true! You have no idea what I have to tell you, my precious little girl." I sobbed. She just held me.

"Victoria, I love you so much! I'm going to miss you so much, I don't know if I can stand it!" I cried.

"Patrick, my love, why would you miss me? I am not going anywhere, now or ever. I love you, now and forever!"

"I only wish that were true, my love. The things I must tell you. You will hate me!" My heart was breaking.

"Mom. Katie. Can you give me a few minutes alone with Daddy? Please. Trust me." Amy looked at them, her eyes begging them.

After they left the room, Amy looked at me, smiling gently.

"Ok, Dad, what is so awful that we will stop loving you? Do you really think that would ever happen?" She smiled encouragingly.

"Oh, Amy, you have no idea." I had no idea how or where to begin. She sensed my confusion.

"Ok, Dad, you are upset and confused. Let me help you. I will tell you. First, Captain Jensen sends his regards. You are going to have to deal with him soon. I think he is rather... upset about a conversation I had with him. I'm afraid I didn't follow protocol." She giggled as she held up her hand to stop me. "Don't worry; your secret is safe with me. Mom knows nothing. Ok, let's see what is so terrible. First, Cindi's accident was no accident. She was murdered. I am sure you will tell me how. My illness was not an accident. That was attempted murder. You feel responsible for not stopping either one. Daddy, I know this is going to destroy your image of me, but that is bullshit!" She smiled at my shock at her use of a bad word. "Yeah, I just learned that word ten minutes ago. I don't know what it means, but maybe you can explain it to me!" She smiled as I laughed at her. "Both of those incidents happened before you activated your protection of us, Alpha Tango seven three four six X-ray, so why would you be responsible?" She smiled at my shocked look. "Yeah, that was about Captain Jensen's reaction too. I think he wants to talk to you about that. Don't ask me how I know that — I have no idea. I needed to know it, so I did. Don't bother to change it; I know I will not recall it after today. Did you know Mom feels just as guilty as you do about Cindi's death — that she should have protected her? She feels that even though she doesn't know yet it wasn't an accident. You're going to have to help her through that. Bear in mind you're going to have to figure out an explanation for your guilt for her; how a hospital employee should have been able to protect his daughter. Not saying you shouldn't tell her; you need to get this stupid guilt out of your system. Ok, now the biggie. Do you really think Mom is going to stop loving you or divorce you just because you tell her she's married to her own twin brother? Something neither of you knew, nor anybody outside this room has to ever know? Does it change your love for each other? I know it doesn't mean anything to me. I am, however, really looking forward to seeing the look on her face when you tell her!" She giggled. "So, Daddy, how am I doing so far?" She smiled at my stunned look. "I thought I had it about right. Daddy," she said seriously, "despite my trying to cheer you up, I am very upset about Cindi. You are going to have to move fast if you plan to kill the people responsible for that before Mom or myself, or even Katie gets to them first. Don't even think about excluding us from what you're going to do. We're a family, albeit a rather strange one, and they have messed with my — our - family. Heads will roll."

"Amy," I whispered in shock, "how do you know all this? How can you know?"

"Hey," she said with a cheerfulness I knew she did not feel, "I'm a genius, remember? Now, you had better get yourself together, because you have a very upset, very loving wife, and a very upset, very scared little girl out there to deal with. Call us when you are ready to talk." She got up and walked out of the room.

Did I wake up in some type of time warp? When did my little girl grow up so much? Was she 13, going on 30? If nothing else, these people would pay for taking my little girls childhood away from her. She shouldn't have to be playing the parent at 13 to her messed up Dad. Somehow, I would figure a way to make it up to this remarkable girl.

After I pulled myself together, I called all three of them in to talk. I told them how Cindi's accident was not an accident, how she had been murdered. I held them, and cried with them as they dealt with that. Then I told them about the attempted murder of Amy. That actually did not seem to surprise Victoria as much, although she tried to hide it. With her connections with anti-terrorism and what they had to know about Bioterrorism (of course, I was not supposed to know anything about those connections!), she had recognized the unusual nature of Amy's illness. I think she just had not carried it out that far yet. I was glad I was on her list of loved ones. I really did not like the look in her eyes as I told her all this. The look in Amy's eyes, now that she didn't have to cheer me up or worry about making me go nuts again, scared me as much if not more. Katie just looked plain pissed off. I had never noticed the flecks of yellow in her eyes before. I didn't know enough about her yet to read her expressions, but with everything she had been through in her life, I'm sure she was just looking for an excuse to kick some major ass. For not the first time, I decided these three were going to give me some real trouble in the future. Then I saw Amy grin as I started to dance around the subject of Victoria's and my relationship.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Dad, just get to it, will you? Good grief, she's a big girl; she can take it. Besides, I can't stand the suspense anymore!" She giggled. Thanks, Amy. Get me in trouble.

"So, how is it Amy knows what you have to tell me before I do?" Victoria raised her eyebrows and looked at me dangerously.

"Hey, it's not my fault. The little smart-ass genius figured it out herself. Would you do something about getting some control of your daughter?" I demanded.

So, I told her. Amy was right. It was priceless to watch. Victoria's eyes got real big. She put her hand up to her open mouth in shock. Then she started laughing. She laughed so hard she cried. Finally, she got serious.

"Patrick, you goofball, did you really think I would leave you, divorce you over that? No wonder we get along so well. Hell, I just wish we had known before. Think of all the extra excitement we could have had if we'd known we were having kinky, perverted sex!" She giggled like a teenager. Not her too!

"Mom!" Amy was shocked. Then she got an impish look on her face. "Since you and Daddy are committing incest, does that mean he and I can fool around too? Hey. Brother / sister, father / daughter, what's the difference?" She squealed as we both swatted her butt. "And does this mean I am my own first cousin? And what does that make Katie when we adopt her?" She could hardly talk, she was giggling so hard. I noticed that Katie was the only one not laughing. I pulled her over on my lap.

"Hey, Little One, I'm sorry I yelled at you when you came to talk to me the other day. You have something to tell us, don't you?" I smiled at her warmly, trying to put her at ease. She was shaking like a leaf. I did not know what she was going to say, but what ever it was, it was very serious to her.

"Um... Mom? Dad? I don't know how to say this..."

"Just spit it out, Little One. That is usually the best way. We will clean it up later if you say it wrong. We love you, Katie. Nothing you say is going to change that." Amy reached over and held her hand.

She sighed. "You know that picture we saw the other day, of you and Mom when you were little?" We all nodded. "Well... the man and woman in that picture... well... I'm almost sure they are mine and Becky's mom and dad."

Well! Leave it to Katie to capture an audience! We certainly did not expect that. Even the little genius was taken by surprise. Everyone started talking at once.

"Are you sure, honey? That picture was taken 35 years ago."

"That's not possible! You are 37 and she is 13. How can you be siblings?"

"Well," I said, "it is possible. If they were, say, 18 when they had Victoria and me, and there is 24 years difference between Katie and us, then they would only be 42 when they had Katie. That is possible. Twins run in families, so it would make sense there, too. Katie, how old did your parents appear to you to be when you were taken away?"

"Oh, they were really old. I would say at least in their 40's." Poor Katie, she did not even understand why Victoria and I both smacked her!

"I never noticed the yellow flecks in your eyes before," I whispered in her ear. "Very sexy!" She blushed prettily.

"I did it just for you, Daddy," She giggled. What did that mean?

"So, Dad, do we have to adopt Katie if she is your sister? Of course, we cannot tell anybody that without letting everybody know that you and Mom are perverts! And that means that after we adopt Katie, she will be both my sister and my aunt." Amy was having way too much fun with this, practically rolling on the floor laughing. This was just the type of stuff that really appealed to her twisted sense of humor.

"Well, it's been a long day. I am going to bed. Coming with me, Auntie Katie?" Amy shrieked as Katie chased her into the bedroom. I smiled at Victoria. Teenagers!

"So, sister of mine, I think I have some making up to do for the other night. Want to have some kinky, perverted sex?"

"Ooh, kinky sex! Let's go. Race you to the bedroom, brother!"

As we headed to the bedroom, we heard Amy call out to us.

"Goodnight, Aunt Victoria, Uncle Patrick!" Amy giggled helplessly.

"Would you get some control over your niece," I snapped irritably to Victoria.

or more of them with me all the time. They babied and pampered me like I was some kind of royalty. I guess they had been really scared and were determined that I was never going to be in doubt as to how much I was truly loved. Not that that had ever been the problem anyway, but I guess they were not in the mood for taking chances. I sure wasn't complaining!

I was rather surprised the first night when it came time to go to sleep that I ended up sandwiched between Victoria and Amy for the night. I thought after me being out for several days that Victoria would want a night of passion to make up for the time we had missed. Besides, I knew she would be on the road again soon. It was not that I was disappointed; being cuddled by Victoria and Amy was almost as good as sex any day anyway. After a while of cuddling and whispering by these two almost identical twin beauties, Amy went to sleep. I was just starting to doze off when I felt Victoria turn around to face me in the bed. I wasn't too surprised when she started kissing me, nudging my mouth open and playing with my tongue. When she slipped her hand down into my underwear, I was suddenly wide awake. This was interesting! How far was she going to go with our daughter lying right beside me, cuddled up as close as she could possibly get?

Victoria answered the question of how far she was planning to go when she began to slowly work my underwear down my legs, finally getting them off without waking up Amy. Then she started slowly jacking me off, while moving my hand over to show me exactly where she wanted me to touch her. Ok, a little weird, but nice. I started to panic a little, however, when she scooted right up to me, front to front, and slipped my cock right up inside her.

"Um... honey, did you forget that Amy is cuddled up sleeping right next to me?" I whispered desperately. She raised herself up on her elbow, looked across me at Amy, and giggled softly.

"Nope!" She declared softly but emphatically. "I didn't forget. She's still there! Why? Did you want me to wake her up?" She giggled again.

Had she gone crazy?!? This was Amy we were talking about — sweet, innocent Amy! I was definitely not ready for this!

"No! Are you crazy?!? That's what I am afraid of, that she is going to wake up! What are we going to do if she wakes up?" I was panicking! This was Amy we were talking about, for heaven's sake!

"Well," she giggled again," I guess you are just going to have to be careful not to make any noise, aren't you? Hmm. That will be an interesting game. How noisy can I make you be?" What was with all these giggles?

She began to play the game in earnest. First, she kissed me while she rubbed my chest and my balls and cock softly, all at the same time. Then she started to kiss her way down my body, scrunching herself down in the bed to reach me. Finally, she got far enough down that she took me into her mouth, continuing to rub my balls as she swallowed me all the way. I tried my best to keep quiet, but I could not suppress completely a little moan.

"Victoria! Please!" I whispered.

"Ah! Good! He's begging! He wants more!" She chuckled. What a brat! She knew full well that was not what I was saying 'please' for. Well, not exactly. I mean... by this time, I wasn't sure I knew what I meant.

"Honey, please, I am going to be so embarrassed if she wakes up!"

"Wouldn't that be fun, if she woke up? Maybe she would want to help! Just think about it honey, Amy's cute little hands on you, rubbing you, her soft little mouth sucking on your nipples and then playing with your tongue as she kisses you. Maybe I would even let her help me rub your cock and balls. Can you imagine what her warm, soft, wet little mouth would feel like, engulfing your cock, licking your balls? Do you think she could take you all the way inside, like I can? Can you imagine how wet she would be? What her little clit would feel like? Pretend I am her, sweetheart. Make love to your little girl for her first time. Please, Daddy, I want you so bad!" She was laughing softly as she moved back up and took me up inside her again, as she knew she was driving me crazy. She could feel how hard I was inside her. I knew I was not going to last very long! "Come on, Daddy, come inside me. Please Daddy. Your little girl is going to come for you. Come with me, Daddy!" Victoria and I exploded together, trying our best to keep quiet as she slowly pumped me inside her, milking me with walls of her canal.

I guess we didn't sound like a thunderstorm, because Amy did not wake up. We both lay there, trying to remember how to breathe, basking in the afterglow of tremendous orgasms. Finally, I got up enough strength to smack her butt softly.

"What has gotten into you? That was mean! I never knew you were so kinky!" I laughed softly.

"Are you complaining? You seemed to have a good time. So, how long have you been fantasizing about little Amy?" She grinned impishly.

"Victoria! Please! This is too embarrassing to talk about!"

"Ok. Poor baby! I'll behave. Well, mostly. Think you can handle being by yourself for a while? I have to go to the bathroom. Try not to ravage poor Amy while I am gone!"

"You are incorrigible! What am I going to do with you?" I groaned.

"Fuck me again?" She giggled, as she got out of the bed.

I lay there, after she left, trying to calm myself down. That had been hot. Somewhat uncomfortable, embarrassing, but hot. That was when I felt a soft little kiss on my neck and a little, soft hand very lightly brush across my cock and balls! Oh no! Amy!

"Shh. It's ok. Turn around and face me." She whispered, her breathe hot on my ear.

I turned slowly around. I'm sure my face was bright red.

"Amy, sweetheart, how long have you been awake? I am so sorry, honey!" I was chagrined.

"I was awake all the time. I'm not sorry." She kissed me, softly, passionately, slipping her little tongue into my mouth. She continued to slowly, softly run her fingertips across my cock and balls. "Does this feel good? Am I doing it right?"

"Honey, please stop. If you keep that up any longer, I don't know that I will be able to stop." I begged her.

"I know," she whispered. "I just wanted to tease you a little bit. You two got me so hot." She looked at me with a little grin. "What will you do if I sneak into your bed some night and rape you?"

Oh God! I love her so much! Such a brat, just like her mother!

"What will you do if I sneak into your bed some night and take you?" I whispered back. I couldn't believe I said that! I ran my fingers lightly between her legs, and grinned when she gasped.

"I guess you'll just have to try it and find out!" She giggled, nervously. "Seriously, Daddy, I don't know how I feel about this. I just know I love you so much, more than anyone else in the world." She bit her lower lip in frustration.

"I know, sweetie. Me too. But if you don't stop what you are doing, we are going to find out before either of us is ready to. Besides, I hear your mother coming back. I'm going to turn over now and act innocent!"

I turned over the other way. She giggled, as she ran her hand softly over me one more time.

"Yeah. Right! As if you could look innocent with that sticking out!"

Victoria came into the room, and slipped into the bed next to me, cuddling up facing me. She looked at me, and then her eyes widened briefly. She kissed me, and then whispered softly into my ear.

"I can leave the room again for a while if you want. I'm sure Katie would love to snuggle with Mommy tonight." She smiled softly. How does she always know these things?

"No. Please don't go. Stay here and protect me."

She started to laugh, and then realized I was serious. She kissed me softly.

"It's ok. Really. I'll behave. Go to sleep sweetie." She leaned away from me, to arrange the covers. I felt a soft little hand gently slide up my cock and balls one more time, and I felt a soft little kiss on my neck and heard a quiet, nervous little giggle in my ear as we all settled down to go to sleep. It took me a long time to get to sleep that night.

The next morning I woke up with two pretty, identical looking young ladies cuddled up to me, one on each side. I kissed their foreheads softly, and left the room before they started teasing me again. Amy spent a lot of time that day sitting on my lap, cuddling with me, smiling and giggling at me. I think the others just thought she was so happy to have me back. That too. I caught Katie several times looking at us, head tilted slightly to the side, a curious look on her face. Later, Katie and I were alone together. I walked up to her and gave her a big kiss. She sighed happily and put her arms around my neck, holding me close.

"I understand I have you to thank for my recovery, Golden Girl," I teased, referring to her yellow glow. She blushed and smiled shyly, looking down at her toes.

"No, it was really Amy. She knew what to do, and did most of it. I just joined in to make sure. She really wasn't expecting that. I really mainly caused some other, unforeseen effects."

"What unforeseen effects are you referring to?" I asked. Other than the yellow flecks in her eyes, which seemed to have grown and gotten more numerous in just two days, I had not noticed any effects. Except being awake of course. I wondered if her eyes would turn completely yellow eventually. That would be so cool! My little kitten. Katie looked at me hesitantly, biting her lower lip as she apparently debated whether to tell me or not.

"Well, I guess you are going to have to know eventually." She tilted her head slightly, and seemed to be concentrating briefly. I always assumed this was when they were communicating. Suddenly I heard two giggling teenage voices echo in my mind.

'Hi Daddy!' Katie.

'Hi Daddy!' Amy. What? Amy wasn't even in the room! And I heard them only in my mind. I was stunned.

"Hi girls. How did you do that? When did this start?"

'No, Daddy. Answer us in your mind. Just think of us, and then think what you want to say.'

I tried it. 'Hi girls.' It worked. But I heard a lot of other things, too. I'm sure Amy was deliberately thinking nasty thoughts just to embarrass me. Katie seemed to notice.

'Daddy, I can show you how to selectively receive or transmit thoughts, so Amy can't tease you like that, ' she giggled. 'Also, I was helping you there a little. I can help you do it by yourself, but I have to have your permission to do that. I think we should sit down and talk.'

The next two hours was an enlightening period. Apparently Katie's joining in had magnified things, to where some powers that we all had, some of us latently, were beginning to express themselves, or strengthen themselves in some cases where they already existed. We now had some thought transfer abilities (slightly different than mind reading). Then Katie dropped the real bombshell.

"Daddy, I can help you do this, clean it up, show you how. But I have to have permission to go into your mind. I won't do it if you say no."

"I don't understand, Katie. You can actually change my mind?" I was flabbergasted.

"Not exactly. I can't put anything there that was not at least latently there before. I can modify or improve what is there. Like giving you more control. I can't make you do or implant anything that would be against what you would choose to do."

"How do you know it will work on me?" I asked.

"It will work on anyone." She looked really embarrassed. "Besides, I already know it will work on you, because I have already done it once. I'm sorry, Daddy, I had to. It was really necessary. I hope you know I would never hurt you." She looked about ready to cry.

'Katie, honey, I trust you with my life. I believe you when you say it was necessary. You may do whatever you need to. Will this allow me to communicate with anyone?" I tried to set her at ease. She looked relieved.

"No, it doesn't work that way. You can only communicate with people you have talked to or have communicated with you," Katie explained. "We noticed this morning that you were 'on line', so to speak. We would not be sharing this with you if we hadn't figured out how to filter and somewhat control it. Believe me, this ability is not nice if you can't control it; I know."

"Does Victoria know about this?" I asked. Katie looked uncomfortable again.

"Not yet. We're not sure yet that we can teach her to control it. If we can't, I don't think it's fair to open it up to her and enhance it. It would cause pain. I'm sure we can do it — we just have to figure it out. There are some... peculiar and dangerous areas in her mind we have to figure a way around." Katie explained.

I was amazed! I had no idea that what Amy and Katie could do could be taught, or somehow acquired. They did not seem to be aware that previously it could be either. Or indeed, if it even could be. Maybe we all already had it and she was just waking it up, refining it. The question was, previous to what? I felt the answer was previous to Katie. I wasn't sure we had any idea yet what this wonderful little girl could do. How long had she been carrying this knowledge, this ability around, unable to tell anyone except Becky? Then Becky was gone. No wonder Katie had wanted to kill herself. Or was she just learning herself? No wonder she cried so much! She concentrated for a few minutes, and then said she was done. I didn't feel any different. She had reduced my sensitivity. It could mean that sometimes it wouldn't work. But I didn't have to listen to anybody I didn't want to now. I could now block sending if I wanted to, for any reason. I hoped nobody noticed Katie blushing. I asked them if that was how Cindi had blocked some emotions. They said they didn't know but it was likely.

It was just Victoria and me in bed that night. I guess the girls were finally convinced that I wasn't going to disappear or anything like that. That also could mean she was leaving town again.

We had a wonderful night. I took it slow and gentle with her, to make it last. After kissing her and paying attention to her nipples, I began to slowly lick her pussy, suck on, and lick her clit. I concentrated on going very slow, moving my tongue around in little small circles, very slowly. She really likes that, but it also drives her crazy. I kept it up slowly, until her hips were gyrating all over the place. Then, I decided to tease her, as she has so often to me, and stopped. She whimpered in frustration as I turned my attention to her breasts and then kissed her deeply. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore.

"Please! Do it some more! It felt so good!" She begged.

I never could resist her begging. I went back to working on her clit and pussy some more, alternating this time between fast and slow circles, and back and forth. Finally, she exploded in her first orgasm of the night. Then, I simply kept working on her without stopping. Now she was begging me to stop, as I continued to stimulate her, holding her to keep her from moving away. Eventually, she just lay there, not responding anymore. That is when I moved up, and inserted myself up inside her.

Victoria always responds well to sex, sometimes very vocally. On rare occasions, she simply goes crazy. This was one of those times. She reacted so well that I noticed the girls peeking in the door to make sure everything was ok. I thrust up into her deeply and slowly, pulling almost all the way out before thrusting again. This was a new sensation from the previous tongue action, and so she quickly became very alert and active again. She was so excited she didn't know what she wanted. She would beg me to stop, yet thrust up against me when I slowed down or stopped. Finally, we both exploded together, and collapsed, falling asleep.

When I woke up in the morning, the bed was crowded. The girls had joined us during the night. Katie was, of course, sleeping stretched out on top of me. Both Cindi and she loved to do that. I liked it too. Amy and Victoria were cuddled up together, arms around each other. It was hard to tell where one stopped and the other started. I felt a little sad, because I knew the girls, joining us in bed, meant Victoria was leaving town that day. Somehow, they always knew, and slept with us the last night. Sure enough, she left that afternoon.

We had an interesting little teenage crisis that evening. Katie, Amy and I were sitting on the couch, watching TV and cuddling, as usual. Katie received a phone call on her cell phone, and left the room to take it. She was gone for quite a while. When she came back, she was crying her eyes out, big sobs wracking her little body. Both Amy and I were very concerned.

"What's wrong, Katie?" we both asked at the same time. We set her down on the couch between us and tried to find out what the problem was.

"H... h... he left m... m... me. He b... b... broke up with me." She sobbed.

"Who?" We asked.

"My b... b... boyfriend. He doesn't want to go out with me anymore. Some crap about us being too young. He just doesn't want to go out anymore because I don't want to be the school slut anymore. I'm only good enough for sex, not for love!" She sobbed.

Amy and I did our best to console her. We assured her that she was a very sweet, wonderful, pretty young girl that anyone would be lucky to have. I told her that if he dumped her, it was his loss. Neither Amy nor I felt we were getting anywhere with her.

When it was time to go to bed, Amy and Katie went into the same room. Good. Amy would be good for her. I went to bed alone for a change. Had the whole bed to myself. No fighting over covers. I should have been happy, but I missed the little twerps.

I was not quite asleep yet when I felt Amy slide into bed with me, and cuddle up. You know how a guy can always tell when a female wants something? Well, Amy is not even very subtle most of the time. She wanted something.

"Daddy?" Yep. The Amy 'I am just too cute for words and you can't resist giving me anything I ask for' voice. The pity is, she's right!

"Hmmm?" Maybe if I act asleep, she'll go away and leave me alone.

"Daddy. I know you're not asleep. Please, Daddy, it's important."

I sighed. If Amy said it was important, it was. She didn't (usually) dramatize things.

"Ok. Hell, I'm too old to need sleep anyway. What is it, pretty girl?"

"Flattering me is not going to get you out of this!" she teased. Then she turned serious.

"Daddy. Katie needs your help. She really liked this guy. He was Becky and her friend for years. She's really hurting bad. Daddy, could you go in with her and sleep with her tonight? I know you can make her feel better. She's just crazy about you. Please? I can't stand to see her miserable."

"Amy, honey, you know how Katie feels about me. You know I love her to pieces too. You know how I react to crying girls. Amy, can you live with what might happen if I go in there tonight?" Amy didn't know that Katie and I had already been together that way.

"Daddy, Katie needs you tonight. If that is what she needs, then give it to her. It will be our secret; I won't tell Mom." Her eyes widened briefly. "Although it wouldn't make any difference, would it? Mom has already given her permission, hasn't she?" She whispered.

Damn! Certifiable genius. How could she know that?

"Ok, Amy, you have to tell me where you came up with that wild conclusion."

"Dad, you are a lousy actor, especially when you are trying to act shocked. It's easy. You wouldn't even be asking me if I could live with it if you didn't already know that it was ok with Mom. The idea of you cheating on Mom is an idea that even my genius mind can't fathom." She giggled impishly. "So, has she given you permission for me too yet?"

"AMY! You are such a brat! I refuse to even respond to such a ludicrous question!"

"Good! That means yes! Now all we have to do is decide if we want to!" Can a teenager die of excess giggling?

"Amy! You are a bad girl. Are you sure you want me to go in with Katie?" I asked, changing the subject delicately. I'm sure I just fooled her so bad with that one.

"Yes. Please. She needs you. If it happens, Daddy, it happens. I will turn off my sensing, so you don't have to worry about corrupting your precious, innocent, virginal daughter. Whatever she needs, Daddy. She is too precious to be hurting like this." Amy said seriously.

"Hmmm. I'm going to have to ask Victoria where she is hiding this other daughter of ours." Amy looked at me, confused. "You know, the precious, innocent, virginal one!" I dived out of bed to avoid her punch. I reached over and kissed her. "Amy, you are just so precious. Katie is so lucky to have a friend like you. I love you, sweetie." Wow! Amy blushed!

When I walked into Katie/Cindi's room, Katie was laying on the bed, crying softly. I quietly walked up to her, reached over, and kissed her softly on the neck, while running a hand softly up her pretty little leg. She jumped, and looked up at me as I slid into bed beside her and kissed her again, this time much more passionately. I slowly slid my hand inside her nightgown and softly rubbed her cute little breast. She looked at me in shock.

"Patrick!" She whispered. "We can't do this now! Amy is going to catch us!"

"Who do you think sent me in here to make you happy, Little One? She has turned off her sensing and told me I am to do whatever I need to make you happy again. And yes, she knows what the possibilities are." I loved the look on her face.

"She... she knows about us?" She stammered.

"No. She is just expecting it tonight. And it does not bother her."

"Oh boy! This is going to be a fun night! I guess I should get back to crying and being upset so you can console me, huh?" She smiled sadly.

"Well, it would help, so I don't waste my time. Seriously, Katie, I know how this has upset you. If you want to just cuddle, that's ok too. We just love you and don't want to see you hurting." I kissed her gently.

So, we cuddled. Naked. For a long time. Eventually, I knew we would go to other things, and we did. We made love like a spring shower. It felt just like with Cindi. It was so sad and so wonderful. Katie understood completely, and held me as I cried afterwards. As we were cuddling, I heard a soft noise at the door. We watched as Amy came in, naked, and stretched out on the bed with us. She cuddled up to me on the other side from Katie.

"I'm sorry, Daddy. I just couldn't take it anymore. I had to come in." She noticed I was crying. "What's wrong, Daddy? I thought you were consoling Katie?" She looked concerned.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. She just looks so much like Cindi. It just was too much." I lay my head on her chest and had a good cry. They both held me.

"It's ok, Daddy. Let it out. We understand. We do it too, almost every night. You can always come in and cry with us if you need to." Amy stoked my hair as she held me.

I kissed her. It was not a daughterly kiss. She kissed me back, as we played with each other's tongues. I gasped as she ran her hand lightly down my stomach, trailing her fingers lightly across my cock and balls. She gasped as I played with her sparse pubic hair. We played lightly with each other, driving each other crazy, as Katie looked on, grinning. Finally, we stopped and hugged and cuddled, knowing we could go no farther without losing control.

"I'm sorry, Daddy." Amy half sobbed. "I'm just not ready for this yet." I saw Katie roll her eyes. She didn't understand what the big deal was. To her, it was a no brainer — we were made for each other.

"It's ok, Amy. You don't ever have to be ready for me. I love you anyway. Besides, if we ever go all the way, I want it to be when you are ready and willing and have no doubts. I couldn't stand the thought of hurting you."

"You could never hurt me, Daddy. Someday, maybe... I can't promise. However, I could never think of anyone better than you. If we never do it, I think I will always wish we had. I just don't know."

"There's no hurry, honey. You are young. Don't rush it. I'll be here in any way you want me, whenever."

We all cuddled together in a big glob and went to sleep. All the hands and legs looked like a nest of snakes.

The next day, we decided to plan a camping and float trip for the following weekend. The girls called Victoria to see if she could come with us. I was hoping she could, as she was the one that really knew about floating on a raft. The girls leaped into planning the event with their usual efficiency. As the big day approached, we got more and more excited. Finally, it was Thursday evening. We were going to leave Friday evening so we could start early Saturday. Just before bedtime Thursday evening, we got a phone call from Victoria. I answered the phone. After exchanging pleasantries, she got to the point.

"I'm sorry, honey, I just am not going to be able to make the float trip. I am just not going to be able to make it out of here on time. Maybe I could join you Sunday, but that may not even be worth it for one day."

"Well, I am going to let you tell the girls. They are going to be disappointed. They were really looking forward to it."

"I know. I'm really sorry. Are you mad at me?" She sounded concerned.

"No. I understand. We knew it was only 50:50 that you could make it anyway. I just hope we don't all drown without your rafting ability. Here, talk to the girls."

The girls were disappointed, of course, but it was not the first time this had happened, so they dealt with it pretty well. Besides, we were still going. We just would be minus one.

The float part turned out to be a disaster all the way around. None of us knew what we were doing. Towards the end of the first day, we tipped the raft over, and we all ended up in the water. We were all soaked, and the girls lost their sleeping bags and change of clothes. Fortunately, I did not lose mine. We decided to make camp early, to try to dry things out.

We found a good place to camp, set up the tent, and made a fire. By this time, the girls were shivering. I t was warm, but they were soaked. We decided to camp out under the stars instead of in the tent, but first I had to take care of the wet clothes problem.

"Ok, girls, strip. Get those wet clothes off," I ordered.

Katie grinned real big, and proceeded to take them off. Katie was always ready to take her clothes off; this was a great excuse. Amy was not so happy about it. She turned red and looked at me as if I was kidding.

"C'mon, Amy. Get them off. I'm not going to explain to your mother how you caught pneumonia."

"Dad! I can't take my clothes off. I don't have anything to wear. I can't go naked!" Amy was horrified.

"C'mon, Amy. This isn't the first time I've seen you naked. Shuck 'em." I was enjoying this. The teenage smart-ass genius embarrassed about something. Poor little thing!

"But Dad! This is in public! Someone could come by and see us! I can't do that!"

"Amy. Take them off, or I'll take them off for you." I started to move towards her. That got her moving. She slowly took all her clothes off except her bra and underwear, casting dagger-like looks at me the whole time. I don't think she was very happy with me! Too bad, little girl. She stopped at her undergarments. I guess she thought I didn't mean those.

"All of it, Amy. Don't make me come over there, or I will take them off and paddle your cute little butt too." I grinned at her.

She glared at me as she took them off.

"Sometimes, I just don't like you very much," she stated emphatically.

"I'm a parent. You're not supposed to like me all that much anyway. Be happy we get along as well as we do." I smiled sweetly at her. I was trying to get as much fun out of this as I could, because I knew I was going to pay for it later.

We put a foam mattress and the sleeping bag on the ground for a soft mattress, and had a light blanket for a cover if needed. I lay down in the middle, with a pretty little girl on either side of me, cuddling up close to keep warm. It wasn't long before Katie decided things were not even.

"How come you have clothes on and we're naked?" Katie whined. "That's not fair!"

"Because I have a dry change of clothes. Hey, life isn't fair, Katie. What are you going to do?"

You have to get up pretty early in the morning (figuratively; noon is early enough literally) to get ahead of Katie. She had figured out by this time that I was having fun messing with them. So, she showed me what she was going to do. She started unbuttoning my shirt, and started taking my clothes off.

Amy was staring at her with huge eyes. Giving me her ok to do things to help her depressed best friend was one thing; having that same best friend apparently seducing her father in front of her was apparently another thing altogether. She continued to stare as Katie took all my clothes off, but didn't say anything. That ended when Katie got them all off, lay down next to me, and proceeded to begin kissing me. And boy, do I mean kissing me!

"Katie! What are you doing?!" Poor Amy was in danger of hyperventilating. This was the first time she had ever had direct experience with the wild Katie.

"Duh! I'm taking his clothes off. Now I'm kissing him. I thought you were the smart one!" Katie decided she was going to have some fun with Amy too.

"But... but... he's my Daddy!" Amy was shocked.

"Well, he's not MY Daddy. Not yet, anyway." Katie was trying to keep from giggling. She was not very successful at it.

"You know, Katie, I could get in a lot of trouble if anyone found out about this," I deadpanned. Like I wouldn't be in trouble before this!

"Well, I'm not going to tell. Amy, are you going to tell anyone?" We were having so much fun with her!

Amy paused as if thinking really hard.

"Let's see. I'm laying here naked, cuddled up against my Daddy, who is naked also, with my best naked friend making out with him... Duh! I don't think I am going to be telling anyone about this!" She rolled her eyes at us.

"See? You're safe," Katie giggled, as she continued to kiss me.

Amy became increasingly alarmed as Katie worked her way down my body. She softly kissed my face, then my neck, then kissed, licked and sucked on my nipples. Amy didn't know what to do. She was getting cold, so she snuggled up close to me. She watched with big eyes as Katie kissed her way down my stomach. Her eyes about popped out of her head when Katie started playing with me cock and balls.

"Katie!" She whispered.

"Oh shush. Close your eyes if you want to." Katie was not about to give up on a great chance like this. Amy kept her eyes open.

I put my arm around Amy and pulled her in tighter to snuggle with me. She was trembling all over. I didn't think it was due to cold, but I wasn't taking any chances. She laid her head on my shoulder and watched everything Katie did. She didn't even notice that she had put her hand on my chest and was softly rubbing it. Occasionally she would snuggle closer and softly kiss my neck; I don't think she realized she was doing that either. My little girl was getting turned on!

I think Katie got tired of watching Amy and I dance around each other on the subject of sex. She decided that we were right for each other, and she was going to bring it about, with or without our help. When Katie decides she wants something, she usually gets her way. She reached up, took Amy's hand in hers, and started moving it down my chest towards my cock.

"Amy, you have just GOT to feel this. It is just so neat you won't believe it!" Amy tried to pull her hand back.

"No! He's my Daddy! I can't do that!" She resisted half-heartedly. She apparently didn't remember she had touched me there before. Katie was having none of that.

"Amy, stop being a big baby and give me your hand!" She grabbed her hand, and put it on my cock, laying her hand on top of Amy's to guide her and keep her from moving it away. Poor Amy's face was beet red as she rubbed her Daddy's cock and balls. She buried her face in my shoulder.

"I cannot believe I am doing this! I am so embarrassed!" After a few minutes, Katie removed her hand. Amy left hers on me, rubbing and stroking gently. I couldn't believe it! It was so hot!

Since Amy was taking care of the rubbing part, quite well in fact, Katie decided to move on to more interesting things. She slid down a little farther, and sucked my cock into her mouth. I thought Amy was going to freak out.

"Daddy! She's... she's putting it in her mouth. And sucking on it!" She stared at Katie for a while. Then she cuddled up to me again, trying to hide her face. "Does it feel good?" she whispered in a tiny voice. Then, so softly I almost didn't hear it, she said, "I wish I could do that!"

I put my arm around her, pulled her close, and with my other hand, I raised up her chin and kissed her. Her eyes flew open when I did that, and she almost pulled away for a second, then she gave a little whimper and kissed me back. She was the one that opened her mouth first. We played with each other's tongues as she melted against me. I stroked her hair and kissed her, as she touched my face with her hand, and rubbed my chest. When we finally broke our kiss, she hid her face in my neck again. All this time she was still rubbing my balls, having moved her hand down there to give Katie room to suck me. I heard her whisper softly.

"I can't believe I'm touching you down there. Oh, Daddy, I've wanted to for so long." Then she quickly moved her head up and started kissing me again. Her kisses were getting hotter by the minute, as she whimpered softly into my mouth.

Katie stopped working on me, and moved up above me. She gave Amy a little smile, and then slowly lowered herself down onto me, taking me all the way up inside her. I thought poor Amy was going to pass out; her eyes were huge and she seemed to be having breathing problems!

"Daddy! She's got you inside her!" She gasped. "Does it feel good? Is Katie good?" She was talking in a whisper. I don't know who she thought was going to hear us!

"Katie is very good, honey. She feels wonderful." Amy sighed softly, and started kissing my neck softly. I whispered softly to her. "It's ok, Amy. We don't have to do anything you don't want to. It's ok."

"She is so lucky!" She whispered. Katie decided it was time to have some more fun.

"Amy... I want you to do something. You will love it, I promise. Move up here and kneel down over your Daddy's face. Just like that. Now, lower yourself down onto his face."

"EWWWW! He's not going to like that!" Amy exclaimed, reluctant to do what Katie told her.

"Yes, he will. I guarantee it. Go ahead, you'll really like it, and so will he." She reached up and pushed Amy down onto me at the same time I reached up and put my hands on her hips, pulling her down on me. I reached up and ran my tongue quickly all the way up her little slit, ending on her little clit. She shrieked, and all resistance suddenly ended.

I proceeded to introduce little Amy to the pleasures of oral sex. I licked her pussy, then sucked her clit into my mouth and started tonguing it. I alternated speeds, directions, and moved periodically to her pussy and to her cute little asshole. At first, she resisted that, moaning that it was gross and dirty, but after a few seconds of me tonguing it, she quickly forgot those ideas and just cried out softly every time I touched it. Her breathing was becoming very rapid and ragged. When I moved back to her clit, she cried out and started to tremble all over.

"Oh, God, Daddy! What are you doing to me? Please stop! No, please don't stop! I feel funny, Daddy! I feel like I am going to pee! Oh, God!" My little girl tipped over into her first real orgasm as I pushed one finger up into her tight little pussy and fingered her little asshole. Katie and I held her down on me as she tried to pull away, and I just continued to work on her clit, licking and sucking it. She started to scream. Katie pulled her back against her, and started to rub her nipples. I don't think Amy even realized she was doing that. I remembered Victoria holding Cindi in a similar way long time ago. That thought brought me to my own peak as I began to empty myself up into Katie. She began to come also as we all cried out together.

We all just lay against each other as we recovered. Katie and Amy leaned against each other, holding each other up. Poor Amy was just a boneless mass as she was barely conscious from the intensity of her first orgasm. Katie and I gently moved her onto her back on the sleeping bag. We lay down next to her and cuddled with her. I could feel her use all her energy to wrap her arms loosely around me. Occasionally she would barely move her fingers against my back as she rested. Finally, she started to revive.

"Hey sleepyhead. You ok?" I teased her.

She whimpered weakly as she replied to me.

"Is it always like that? That was so incredible." Obviously, Amy had a good time.

"Not always, although it may be with you, you are so sexy!" She smiled sweetly at me.

I moved closer to her, and leaned over her, kissing her. She found the energy to open her mouth and kiss me back. She gasped as I ran my hand slowly down her body, across her stomach, and down the insides of her legs. Then I slowly ran it back up, and gently stroked her wet pussy and clit. She cried out softly every time I touched her, she was so sensitive. Her eyes opened when I moved over on top of her, holding my weight up off her.

"Are we going to make love now, Daddy?" She asked in a tiny little voice. I could see excitement and a little fear in her eyes.

"We're not going to do anything you don't want to do, sweetheart. Do you want to make love?" I kissed her tenderly as I awaited her answer. Katie jumped in to help.

"Oh, Amy, say yes! You will love it! I promise!" She was so excited; you would have thought it was her first time.

"Will it really be better than what we just did, Daddy? I don't know that I could stand anything more intense than that!" She giggled softly. Then she looked serious. "Will it hurt?"

"It will be different, honey, but yes, it is better in some ways." I tried to reassure her.

"It will hurt a little at first, but then it will be wonderful!" Katie was trying to help again.

"It's whatever you want, Amy; you don't have to." I wanted it to be just perfect for her.

"I want to. I do." She wrapped her arms around me. "Make love to me, Daddy. Please."

I was mean. I couldn't help it. Before I entered her, I ate her out again and made her scream again. I thought it would help with the hurt.

Finally, I slowly pushed my cock up inside her. I heard a sharp intake of breathe, so I stopped for a little while. When I felt her legs wrap around my waist and try to pull me in, and her hips pushing up against me, I started moving in again. I kept pushing in slowly, waiting for the pain, but it never came. I don't know why, but the random thought entered my mind that maybe she had done this before. Amy smacked my butt playfully and grinned.

"No, I haven't. You are the first. I saved myself for you. I've never even kissed anybody but you before." Before I could say anything, she kissed me. Then she reassured me it was ok, she wasn't mad for me thinking that.

Finally, I was all the way in. I just lay there, enjoying the incredible feeling of being inside her. I had dreamed of this.

"Me too," she said. Finally, she must have been ready, because she wrapped her legs and arms tight around me, holding me close. She kissed my neck, and then whispered in my ear.

"Make love to me. Fuck me, Daddy!" She giggled as I gasped when she said that. I didn't know she knew that word. For some reason it really turned me on to hear sweet little Amy, who never said bad words, asking me to fuck her. "Katie taught me that word. She's a bad, bad influence on me. She didn't tech me what it means. You'll have to do that!" Gladly, sweet Amy!

As I started to move inside her, Katie moved up and lay beside us. She held Amy, whispering in her ear how much she was going to love it, and that it was ok. She stroked her hair, and kissed her cheek.

"I love you, Becky." She whispered.

"I love you too, Cindi." Amy whispered back. I got a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes at the sweetness of that. That was the last coherent words Amy said for quite some time.

I took my time with her, making it last, making her enjoy it fully. When I finally came inside her, she had her head buried in my shoulder, trying to keep from screaming her brains out again. We came together, with Katie holding us both. I felt like we were all together in one mind; I could feel them with me. It is hard to explain, but it was an incredible feeling.

We didn't get much sleep that night. Amy had dreamed about this so much, so long, that she didn't want to stop. Every time she woke up, she wanted to do it again. She rode me while Katie sat on my face, the opposite positions as the first time. Katie showed her how to suck cock. She is really good at that!

When I finally woke up the next morning, I had two cute little nymphs draped all over me. I just held them and kissed them, making them smile and whimper in their sleep, as I just looked at how pretty they were, and thought of how much I loved them. When Amy woke up, she wanted to start all over. She stuck her tongue out at me and pouted when I stopped her. I convinced them that we should just cancel the rest of the float trip, and go to a motel where we could get cleaned up. Their clothes were dry, but they kind of stunk (the clothes, not the girls. I liked the girls' smell!)

When we walked into the room, Amy and Katie immediately started arguing over who got the shower first. I settled that argument.

"Why don't we just all take a bath together?" I asked. Katie immediately started jumping up and down, clapping her hands. Amy looked horrified.

"We can't do that! You're my Daddy!" I just rolled my eyes at Katie. She couldn't be serious! I wasn't even going to get into how many times I had seen her in the tub, or everything we had done last night. I just picked her up and carried her, squealing, into the bathroom. I held her over my shoulder, with her beating her little fists on my back, as Katie ran the water. We were having fun. If Amy really wanted loose, I would be on the floor by now. Probably bleeding. While the tub was filling, Katie helped me strip Amy's clothes off, while I still held her. After making her promise to be a good girl, I let her down. Apparently, her idea of being a good girl was to strip Katie's and my clothes off. Guess I can't argue with that.

I got into the tub. Amy got in, her back to my front, between my legs, and snuggled as close as she could. Then Katie got between Amy's legs, and we all lay back and relaxed. For a while. It didn't take too long, however, before I started playing with Amy's cute little body. She sighed happily and snuggled into me, closing her eyes. They popped back open briefly, however, when I started rubbing her little nipples gently. Then I slid a hand down her stomach. I could feel it quivering. She screeched softly when I put my hand in between her legs and started rubbing her. It didn't take too long before she shuddered in another orgasm. Katie had turned around to watch. Then I lifted Amy up, slid her up and onto my lap, and inserted myself inside her.

"Again? Don't you ever get tired?" She said with mock resignation.

"I can stop if you want," I teased her.

"No. Please don't. I love you inside me. Why did I wait so long for this?"

Then Katie surprised me. She had been watching Amy and me. She had a dreamy look on her face. Then she leaned forward, and kissed Amy. On the lips. And put her tongue in her mouth. Amy's eyes flew open. She had a scared and confused look on her face.

"No, Katie. Please don't." Katie kissed her again. Amy sighed and closed her eyes, and hesitatingly kissed her back. All the while, I was stroking slowly in and out of Amy. Amy cried out softly when Katie moved down and sucked a nipple in her mouth. "Katie? What are you doing?"

Amy really freaked when Katie moved down even farther and sucked her clit into her mouth. She shrieked, and started to tremble.

"Please, Katie, don't do this. Please. Oh, God, it feels so good. Katie? Please?" She finally had to stop talking. I put my hand over her mouth as she screamed out her orgasm. I didn't want the neighbors to think someone was being killed. Katie continued licking and sucking her until she finally collapsed in my arms, unable to move. Katie moved back and started behaving herself again, while I gently stroked her hair and kissed her neck.

"Why did you do that, Katie?" Amy asked when she rejoined the living.

"I don't know. I've never done that before. I guess I just wanted to all of a sudden." She looked as confused as Amy did.

"So, how was it, Katie?" I asked. I was really curious. I am not a big fan of girl-girl action, but I had to admit that was hot!

"It was ok. I like guys better," she said, leering at me. "It was fun watching Amy get off from what I was doing to her, but" she turned to look at Amy, "I don't think you have to worry about it." Amy relaxed visibly.

After a little while, we exchanged positions. I put Katie on my lap, and inserted myself up inside her. She whimpered softly as I stroked slowly in and out of her. I saw Amy give me an impish grin, and then she leaned forward and kissed Katie. Katie just melted into me. When Amy moved down and sucked Katie's clit into her mouth, Katie came immediately, screeching softly. Amy kept sucking on her until she seemed to pass out. We all lay there together, resting. Finally, Katie looked at Amy.

"That wasn't nice! You're a bad girl, Amy!" She didn't look too displeased.

"So, what did you think, Amy?" I asked. She had really surprised me when she did that.

"I agree with Katie. Fun to watch her go crazy, but I prefer you. Kind of like... I don't know, licking myself sort of. Kind of like EWWWW. I'm sorry Katie."

Katie laughed. "It's ok. You're right; it was kind of like licking myself. EWWWW! I love you, Amy, but I don't want to make love to you." They both giggled and hugged each other.

We spent the rest of the day in the bed, wearing each other out. Katie asked me to take her in the ass. Not my favorite, but I like Katie any way I can get her. She tried to talk Amy into doing anal too, but Amy had had enough new things for the weekend. She did hold Katie, and kissed her while we were doing it. They repeated the touching little scene from before.

"I love you, Becky." "I love you too, Cindi." It brought tears to my eyes. I wished I had known Becky.

We finally made it home late Sunday night. Victoria was home when we came in. We unloaded the car, and collapsed on the couch in the living room. Victoria watched us for a minute, and then her eyes opened a little wider as she looked at us. She gave me a smile that would have lit up New York for a day. Then she took me by the hand, pulled me up, and started walking towards the bedroom.

"Come on. I want to hear all about your... float trip!" She giggled, then smiled lovingly at Amy and me. Amy blushed. I gulped. It was going to be a long night. How does she always know these things?

The next few days were uneventful. Tuesday Victoria left again. Wednesday and Thursday were normal days. It had been some time since I started looking into Cindi's death and Amy's attempted murder. So far, nothing had turned up, but I knew these things sometimes took a while. It was just a matter of time. I was a little surprised however, when Thursday evening all hell broke loose.

my arm around her, and she laid her head on my shoulder. We watched some nonsense for a while. It was obvious neither one of us wanted to watch TV.

"So. You want to talk, tell me about it?" I asked.

"Talk about what?" she stalled, with that 'deer in the headlights' look.

"Oh, I don't know. About why you hate your dad, and would never go back to him again. About why you would kill yourself before you would move away from Amy. About why you almost came unglued when you found out about Cindi's rape. All those would be nice. But, let's start with this one, the one I really want to know — about how you inserted yourself into and filled up the empty space in Amy's mind that Cindi used to occupy." I smiled gently, trying to insert all the love I could into that smile and my eyes.

I expected a reaction. That was the idea. I did not expect the one I got. Katie turned white as all the blood left her face, and the look in her eyes was now the 'deer in the crosshairs' look. She tried to talk twice, but could not. Finally, she tried to act dumb.

"What... I don't know what you are talking about." She swallowed hard. She really was not a very good actor.

"Really? Then let me tell you what I know. Amy and Cindi had a mental connection since birth. They possessed certain mental abilities that brought them much closer than two normal sisters. They could sense each other's presence and emotional states. They could sometimes communicate with each other. Victoria and I never knew this was going on, even though there were many clues. Then, Cindi is killed. Amy becomes pathologically depressed and loses the desire to live, to the point that Victoria and I fear suicide. Amy has this area in her mind where she could always sense Cindi, and now it is empty. When I picked her up at your house that night, she already knew something was wrong. There is no possibility that anyone could have told her. You came running out of the house, said 'I'm sorry, is there anything I can do', and never once asked what the problem was. Why? Because you already knew. After two weeks of Amy falling apart, you walk into our house one day; walk into Amy's room, and six hours later Amy is back to her old self. There is only one way that could happen; someone filled up that empty place in her mind. She treats you just like Cindi now, loves you just as she loved Cindi, even though neither she nor Cindi were close to you before. Only one thing causes that, Katie; you occupy the place that Cindi once occupied. I just cannot figure out how you did it. Most importantly, how you did it without being a twin. This mind connection exists almost exclusively in twins." I smiled at her and kissed her cheek.

Katie looked at me in panic. She was so scared she forgot to lie.

"Who are you? How can you know these things?" she whispered, her voice trembling.

"How am I doing so far, sweetheart?" I asked softly. She gave up trying to deny it.

"Please," she begged. "You can't tell anyone about this. How do you know all of this? They will take me away, I will be a freak, and I will live in a government facility for the rest of my life. Please, I don't have much in my life, but I don't want to lose what little I have!" Tears poured down her cheek.

My heart melted. Perhaps I had been too hard on her. However, after the way she acted tonight, I had to do something to shake her up, make her talk. It was clear to me she could not go back to how she was after tonight. It was either uphill or downhill from here on. I was not going to lose another daughter, or soon to be daughter, if I could help it.

"Katie. Calm down. Think about it. Amy is the same way. Do you think I am going to do something that will hurt her? Not to mention the fact that I wouldn't do anything to hurt you anyway."

For the first time tonight, I saw the first glimmer of hope in her eyes. Maybe she could trust me. I watched as she visibly forced herself to be calm. Finally, she looked up and smiled at me tentatively.

"Ok. What do you want to know?" she asked.

"How did you do it? And how can you do this without being a twin?"

She looked at me solemnly.

"You know, for being a really smart person, and the father of the smartest person I've ever known, you can be pretty stupid sometimes."

"What do you mean?" I somehow sensed something traumatic was coming.

"You said only twins can do this?" She asked.

"That's what I understand."

"Well... ?" She sobbed, her voice trembling, tears running down her face, her lip quivering.

Suddenly it hit me! How could I be so stupid and blind?

"You're a twin!" I said softly.

"Was," she sobbed, and buried her face in my chest.

I held her, stroked her hair, tried to calm her down. I felt even stronger now that she had to talk about what was eating her up, but what had I done to this special girl? I felt so bad for her. When she calmed down some, I asked her if she wanted to talk.

"I'm not sure I want to," she said sadly.

"Katie, you have to. This is killing you. You are dying inside. If you can't talk to me, find someone else you trust to talk to, but you can't go on like this."

"You are the only one I can talk to, the only one I trust, except Amy, and I can't dump this on her," she smiled tiredly at me. I waited.

"My twin's name was Becky. We were identical twins. Becky was the sweetest person I have ever met. She existed only to make others happy. To make me happy. There was not a mean bone in her body."

"Like Amy and Cindi, we had a connection from birth. Ours was probably stronger, because we were identical twins. We didn't have the close, wonderful family that you have here. Dad was probably an alcoholic, and Mom was dependent on him and unable to leave. Things were not good."

"I was eleven when Dad raped me the first time. I fought him as hard as I could, but I was even smaller then. For six months, he raped me almost every night, at least several times each week. He was not a good, kind man as you are. All of us cheerleaders would gladly let you make love to us if you wanted to. He was not a nice man. For six months, I fought him as hard as I could, every time. I never gave in, never! Not once did I ever even come close to enjoying it. I hated him.

"One night, I just couldn't take it anymore. Not that night. I had told Mom repeatedly what was happening, but she didn't believe me, or didn't care; didn't want to fight him. I had to leave. Becky told me to go spend the night at our friend's house. She would have gone with me, but she had the flu and had to stay home. But she saw how desperate I was, and she told me to go on."

"I was so mad, so upset that night that it interfered with my ability to read Becky. I didn't think anything about not reading her; that sometimes happened when she was asleep. I knew she had gone to bed before I left. Consequently, I never felt it when he, not finding me, went in to Becky and did to her what he had done to me so many times." Katie was openly weeping now, her eyes wild.

"She fought him, just as I did. She fought him so hard, he knocked her out and broke her leg. She also had internal injuries. I don't think he knew he had injured her that badly. He wouldn't have cared anyway. He was drunk. After he was done with her, he left her there and went down to the bar to drink."

"No one knows what happened after that. Somehow, the house caught on fire. By the time Becky regained consciousness, she was almost overcome by smoke. She couldn't move anyway. She called out to me in her mind. It was the only time we ever were able to actually talk mind to mind. She told me to stay calm and call the fire department. She knew they wouldn't get there in time. I called, and then I panicked anyway. I started running back home. Becky, that sweet sister of mine, in her last moments alive, spent all her time staying calm, telling me how much she loved me. Never once did she panic or express any fear for her life. She made sure that the last thoughts I ever had from her were of love. I was responsible for her death and she told me how much she loved me. I swear to God, I never would have left her there had I known that might happen!" Katie couldn't talk anymore. She buried her head in my chest and cried her little eyes out. My heart ached for her. After awhile, she started talking again.

"During the investigation, it was revealed what my father had done to Becky and what he had been doing to me for six months. My father left town one night and disappeared just before they were going to arrest him. They took me away from my mother. My mother's sister took in foster children for the state. They placed me as a foster child with her. That is the "mother" I was with until a few days ago. She has five other children; her husband is never around. They just take the children in for the money. He shows up when the state comes to visit. When they come next time, they will probably just tell them I ran away."

"If you can imagine what Amy went through, mine was ten times worse. I walked off and left my sister in the same house with that monster. He wouldn't have hurt her if I was there. Also, imagine what it was like to talk to your sister in your mind, knowing she was dying. I had the same black, empty space Amy had. After two weeks of enduring the emptiness, the no home life, the guilt of being responsible for her death, I decided it wasn't worth living anymore. I decided to end it all."

"I planned it well. I stole the sleeping pills from my "mother". I waited until no one was around. I had them in my hand, ready to swallow them, when the voice stopped me."

"I swear I heard a real voice talk to me that day. Not just in my head, but aloud, in the room. I could see no one there. It told me I couldn't kill myself yet. It told me that if I killed myself now, someone like Becky would die, because I wouldn't be there to save her. The voice was so convincing that I stopped myself from taking the pills. I begged the voice to tell me where, when, who, but it never talked to me again."

"A year ago, we moved to this town. The first time I met the cheerleader group, I knew that Cindi and Amy were twins and connected. Even though they did not look like twins, I knew. I could sense them. I had never been around another pair, so I did not know I could do that. I think that is why they were always uncomfortable around me and we were never close. At some deep unconscious level, I think they knew I was like them and that I could sense them."

"When Cindi died, I felt her extinguished from that place in Amy's mind, just as she did. I knew before you got there that she had died. Remember, I had felt a mind die before; Amy wasn't sure what it was, but I knew. I realized the next day the mistake I made when I came out and talked to you, not asking the right questions. I just hoped you wouldn't notice."

"After a few days, I knew Amy was the one I was supposed to help. I didn't know what I was supposed to do, but somehow I knew I would know when the right time came. That Sunday, I woke up and knew the time was right." She looked at me solemnly. "Did you know that Amy was planning on killing herself after you went to bed that night? She didn't know that, but I did. I recognized it. She could take no more. Even then, Amy was sweet and loved you two. She was sad at how much she was hurting you, how much more she knew she was going to hurt you."

"When I went into her room, we sat and talked. She was in so much pain. When you knocked on the door, and she yelled at you, it gave me the opening I needed." She stopped talking for a while, eyes closed. I thought she had gone to sleep.

"How did you do it?" I asked, tears in my eyes. This poor girl. I swore then that I would make it up to her, somehow. She was way too sweet and nice to suffer like she had.

"I don't know. I took her hand in mine, and we looked into each other's eyes. She has the most beautiful, deep green eyes." She looked up at me, and smiled. "Just like yours. I just looked into them for a long time. I could feel her. Then I just felt something... like little tendrils flow from me to her. Then, after awhile, I felt some flow back from her to me. That was it. I was in her mind, where Cindi used to be, and she was in mine, where Becky used to be. The relief and joy of being whole again overwhelmed us. We didn't know what had happened, but we knew what the result was."

"That's about it. Before you ask, no, I am not Cindi. I am Amy's Cindi and she is my Becky, but I am not Cindi. I wish I were Cindi, for you." She smiled warmly at me.

After cuddling for a long time, Katie sat up, turned slightly, and in one athletic move, swung herself over onto my lap, facing me. Before I could react, she wrapped her arms around my neck, leaned in, and kissed me.

When she broke the kiss, I started to speak.

"Katie..."

She shushed me with her finger, and kissed me again. Longer. Softer. A wonderful kiss. If I was going to stop this, I had to do it soon. She was too good a kisser. Then, while kissing me, she started unbuttoning my shirt. Working the buttons with one hand while she softly rubbed each new exposed area of my skin with her other hand.

This time I broke the kiss. I had to speak. This sweet little girl had been abused, taken advantage of so often. I could not do the same thing to her.

"Katie... no, we can't do this. You are vulnerable right now. I can't take advantage of you like this, like everyone else has."

She laughed, her voice a merry tinkle that made my toes curl.

"Do you think this is something new I just decided I wanted because you were nice to me tonight? Patrick... Daddy... this is something I have wanted since almost the first time I met you. I may be taking advantage of you, but you could never take advantage of me." She eyes filled with tears, as she turned serious. "Please, Patrick. Let me give myself finally to someone I really want to give myself to. I have been taken so many times. I have given myself to so many boys, so many older men in search of one that would make me feel loved. Please, give me this tonight, even if it is the only time, let me enjoy it for once because I want it. I love you so much." She whispered softly, tears in her eyes.

Then she laid her head on my shoulder, and whispered in my ear.

"It's ok, I know," she whispered. "I know you love Victoria. I know I can never have you that way. I know I am too young. However, in some ways I am too old. I stake no claim on you. Just love me when you can. It will be our little secret. No one will know. Please. Don't be the only one to ever refuse me, the only one I have ever freely wanted."

I love my wife so much! I was so glad she had already given me permission to do this, because there was no way I could refuse the plea this sweet thing was making to me. I felt this was a mistake, just as I felt it had been with Cindi. I was wrong then; I hoped I would be wrong now. Please do not let me hurt this sweet girl more. I could not stand bringing her more pain.

She looked at me, hope on her face. She squealed with delight when I kissed her. She whimpered as she leaned me forward and took my shirt off the rest of the way. Then she leaned back and pulled her tee shirt over her head, taking it off. She started kissing me again, slowly running her hands across my chest. She gasped as I cupped her breasts, softly stroking her little nipples. We sat there for a long time, her hands around my neck, kissing me, kissing my neck, whispering sweet little things into my ear. I stroked her hair, and kissed her neck too. I bent my head down and sucked one of her nipples into my mouth, making her moan.

She broke her contact with me, stood up, and took her shorts and panties off. Then she slipped my shorts off. She smiled as she sat back down on my lap. She smiled even more when she lowered herself down on me, taking me all the way up inside her. She slowly rocked herself back and forth. My goodness, this girl was good! It only took a few minutes before both of us were exhausted, cuddled together with Katie still sitting on my lap. Katie lit up the whole room with her beautiful smile as she looked up at me.

"Oh my, I had no idea it could be like that!" she gasped.

"Katie, is that the first time you've ever... enjoyed it that much?" For some reason, I was suddenly embarrassed.

She smiled at me shyly and nodded her head yes.

"Oh dear, you are you in for a delightful time, young lady. This was nothing."

She blushed prettily. "Oh, goody! I hope I survive!" She smiled shyly. "So, am I a good substitute for Cindi?" Giggle. I froze in panic. I knew, as I looked at her that I could not bluff my way out of this one.

"How... how did you know about that?"

"I didn't," she giggled. "You just told me. I just figured that Cindi probably received comfort from you after her rape just as I just did. It was a good guess, though. I could tell by the way you two acted the last few weeks that she was around. Don't worry; I don't think anyone else caught it. I'm sure Amy doesn't know." She bit her lower lip, trying to decide if she should tell me something. "Except, I'm pretty sure Victoria knows."

I kissed her. "I love you, Katie Marie."

I was taken by surprise when she started crying.

"I'm sorry, sweetie, I shouldn't have said that."

"No! Don't you dare take that back. You just don't know how long I've wanted to hear you say that." She touched my cheek tenderly. "It's ok, I know you don't mean it the way I would, but I'll take love anyway I can. I love you too."

Katie and I made love several times that night, before she went to her room at 5:00, before Amy woke up. The last time, we were lying there in each other's arms, resting.

"Can I tell you something, without you getting upset?" she asked tentatively. I hate questions like that from females! It is a no win position. I nodded my head yes.

"You really love Amy a lot, don't you?" I nodded again; how was that going to upset me? "I know; the last time you had an orgasm you called me Amy. It's ok, I don't mind." She chewed her bottom lip again. "You know, you could have Amy if you wanted her."

Oh God, I did not need to know that!

"Yeah, right. And how would you know that, Little One?"

"She told me. We were playing truth or dare and I dared her to tell me her deepest, darkest, most exciting fantasy. She turned red and said no. I told her she could not change the game in midstream, she had to tell me. She finally told me that she wanted you to be the first one to make love to her." Katie smiled at me impishly. "Want me to tell her you're interested? I could tell her you called out her name when you were making love to me," she giggled.

"Katie! You promised you wouldn't tell anyone! I would get in big trouble. And then Victoria and I wouldn't be able to adopt you."

"I was just kidding. I wouldn't..." her voice tapered off. "What did you say?"

"I said I would get in big trouble."

"Not that, you dope! Did you say... adopt me?? Would you guys... really do that?" She looked at me with watery eyes and quivering lips.

"Yes. Now get your butt upstairs before Amy catches us and kills us both. We will talk about it this weekend." She kissed me and scampered upstairs.

I lay on the couch for a while, feeling happy. Victoria, what did you get me into? Amy wanted me? I was afraid to even think about that one. Why does my life always get so complicated?

ld just disappear - no, wait, this was real life, not fantasy. I could pretend I was asleep, but that would just postpone whatever was going to happen. I felt the tears in my eyes as I realized that my decision to help my daughter, no matter how misguided, might in the next few minutes cost me everything I held dear in life.

It was dark in the room and Victoria was too far away for me to see her eyes, to see if they were the flat and devoid of all expression eyes I had seen twice before. If they were, it would mean that my life would probably end in the next few minutes, maybe literally. There was no outward indication of what she was feeling or thinking, but I just could not see any way it would be good.

Victoria walked into the room. She moved over to the bed, and just stood there, obviously waiting for me to say something, for me to explain what the HELL was going on before she killed me. Even at this time, my love and sympathy for Cindi won out over my fear and I just knew I had to protect her.

"Victoria, please don't blame Cindi for this. I'm the adult here, I'm responsible, and I should have stopped it. It's not her fault. She's a hurt little girl trying to find her way, trying to find love anyway she can. Blame me, but please do not blame her; please don't hurt her any more than she already has been by others and me. Although not intentionally, I took advantage of her and I cannot tell you how sorry I am".

I said all of this in a whisper, hoping not to wake up Cindi and have her face this any sooner than she had to. I could finally see Victoria's eyes, although not well through my tears. They did not look flat and devoid of all expression; maybe I would live through this yet. She sat down on the edge of the bed. Then, she bent down and kissed me!

I was stunned! I could not think. Her first kiss was just a gentle kiss, too quick for my numbed mind to even respond. Then she kissed me again, and this time her mouth opened and she slipped her tongue into my mouth. I automatically responded, as my brain tried to figure out what was going on.

After she broke the kiss, she sat up and looked at me. Her eyes were solemn, with a little twinkle.

"Surprised you didn't I?" she asked, and smiled gently. I could only nod my head yes.

"Look", she said, "I know you well. You would never take advantage of anyone. I doubt very much this was your idea, or that you gave up easily. I've seen the change in Cindi the last few weeks; I'm not entirely surprised by this. Whatever you are doing with her, it seems to be working, she seems to be getting better, and that's all I care about. If I thought you were just taking advantage of our daughter to get some teenage nookie, we would not be talking right now. However, be careful - Amy must not know about this, and for heaven's sake close the bedroom door! I'll call from now on before I come home."

Before I could even respond, Cindi started to wake up, apparently awakened by our voices. When she opened her eyes, she was looking at me and obviously didn't know someone else was in the room yet. She smiled at me brightly, and then noticed the direction I was looking, turned her head, and saw her mother sitting on the bed. The look of fear on her face broke my heart.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Mommy, I'm so sorry, it was all my fault, please don't hate Daddy, I made him do it, he tried to stop me, but I tricked him while he was asleep, please Mommy, don't hate him, he loves you so much, I'll go away and live somewhere else, please don't divorce him... Please Mommy" she begged in a little girl voice and started crying.

Victoria tried to look stern and mad for a minute - she is Amy's mother, after all and cannot resist teasing people - but she quickly stopped when she realized how upset Cindi was. She reached out and took Cindi into her arms, and held her and kissed her.

"It's alright, honey, I know. I understand. I'm not mad... well, I might be a little if you've worn him out!"

Cindi's eyes were as big as saucers as she tried to understand what she was being told.

"You know you can't let anyone know about this. Not even Amy. Especially not Amy. If any one finds out, your dad would go to jail and they would take you two away. You have to be very careful."

Uh oh. Cindi had been practicing Amy's eye rolls. She was not as good at it as Amy was, but this one was not too bad. "I know, Mom. I'm not stupid, you know. I won't tell anyone." Then I could see it in her eyes. Victoria could too; we both smiled a little as Cindi decided that maybe she shouldn't be so snippy with her Mom considering the current circumstances.

"So, you're really not mad at me?"

"Well, I'm a little upset about this and there is one thing we need to resolve right now, young lady."

I could see the look in Victoria's eyes, so I knew this was going to be good - she was playing with Cindi. You are so bad, Victoria, I thought. The fear was back in Cindi's eyes.

"Oh, God, Mom, anything, I promise I'll do anything to make it better, please tell me what I can do!"

"Well, it's my turn and you are in the way. Could you move over, please?"

I could see the wheels turning in Cindi's head as she tried to understand what her Mom was saying. Then her eyes opened very wide, she blushed bright red clear down to her chest, she gave a nervous little laugh, and jumped over to the other side of the bed as if she had been shot. She watched, fascinated, as Victoria stood up and started to undress. "MOM!!"

Although I was surprised, I was not very shocked as she undressed in front of us. Victoria had shown a flash of inventiveness in the past, although not what would be called kinky now days. There had been an interesting girlfriend swap with us and my roommate and his girlfriend in college. Victoria had gone with my roommate before me, and I had always been madly in love with his girlfriend, so it worked out well. Only thing was, everyone had been in on the plans except me. I did not learn until years later that while I thought Samantha was seducing me one weekend, Robert and Victoria had been off having one last fling. A month and a half later, Robert announced he and Samantha were getting married, as she was pregnant. I always wondered whose baby it was...

As Victoria finished getting undressed, she got up on the bed. When she gets home after a long trip, she usually likes to take me inside her right away the first time, without any foreplay. She is usually so horny she is ready to go right away. Then we play around later. As she lowered herself down on me, I thought Cindi was going to die. She was so embarrassed, and yes, there was a little bit of "EWWWW" as she watched her parents make love, but she was also riveted in place, fascinated; she could not have moved if she had wanted to.

Victoria reached over, took her hand, and pulled her over close to us again.

"Cindi, honey, climb up on Daddy's face and show me what he does to you that has made you so much better." Victoria looked over at me and smiled.

"MOM!!"

"It's ok, honey, Mom won't mind." I said.

"DAD!!!"

As Victoria put her arms around Cindi and moved her over, helping her get into position, Cindi covered her face with her hands. I think her whole body was bright red. "I cannot believe I am doing this," she moaned. "I am so embarrassed".

I put my hands on her hips, and lowered her down on my face, licking her pussy and sucking her clit into my mouth. She jerked, trembled and screeched quietly, and then seemed to forget all about her embarrassment. Amazing how that works, isn't it?

I was quickly getting overwhelmed. Two of my favorite four females in the whole world were making love to me. I was really pushing it with Cindi, as I wanted to make sure she had an orgasm before Victoria finished me off, but it was going to be close. Cindi was having problems sitting upright she was so turned on, and she leaned back against her Mom for support. Victoria put her arms around her waist and held on to her, whispering in her ear, asking her how it was, as she stroked her hair.

"Oh, God, Mom, you have no idea how good this feels!" Then she giggled. "Oops, yeah I guess you do!"

Cindi cried out as I pushed my finger up into her, as her orgasm overtook her. That, plus the sight of the two of them cuddled together, and the sound of Victoria's orgasm, was enough to set me off.

After we all calmed down a little and could almost breathe again, Cindi became aware again of where she was and what condition she was in. She turned beet red again, jumped off the bed and me saying, "I am SO embarrassed, I can't believe I did this, I got to go!" and ran out of the room. Victoria and I looked at each other and laughed.

"I'll go talk to her. She'll be ok," she said, as she got dressed and left the room. Later, she came back and said Cindi was ok, she was just really embarrassed, but they had a nice long talk and she would get over it. Victoria got undressed, climbed back in bed, and we proceeded to have our usual day of fun when she got home. Funny thing, the next day, it was always Amy that brought us food in the room. Cindi always seemed to be busy.

Nothing like that ever happened again. Neither Victoria nor Cindi did anything sexual with each other during that one time, nor did Victoria ever participate in any other sexual activities with Cindi and me again. Neither of them ever mentioned it again, nor did I. Cindi did, however, always blush so prettily anytime Victoria and I ever kissed, cuddled, or did anything even remotely sexual. I started paying more attention to when Victoria was coming home, and Cindi and I had a rule that we never did anything when Victoria was home or coming home.

Victoria and I had a long talk the next evening when the girls were out. She agreed that what was happening was good for Cindi and should continue. She did, however, formally express some ground rules, all of which I was following anyway. Her ground rules were a) this could only be with full consent of all parties involved. If at any time Cindi was to say no or express any doubts about continuing the relationship, I was to never touch her sexually again, nor was I to try to change her mind; b) there were to be no babies c) be careful, no diseases d) Cindi was to be encouraged to date when she felt comfortable and the time was right - this was not meant to be a permanent relationship e) unless she specifically asked, Victoria did not want to know any of the details, unless it was necessary for Cindi's well being, and f) Cindi was not meant as a replacement for Victoria. If Victoria ever felt that she was being neglected sexually or emotionally because of the relationship with Cindi, we would pull the plug on the whole deal, regardless of the circumstances. I agreed whole-heartedly to all the conditions, as she knew I would. There was never any jealousy between the two, Cindi managed to hide it from Amy (quite an amazing feat as we discovered later), and the situation continued until circumstances beyond anyone's control caused it to stop about six months later.

, and said they had tried culturing it in several mice. All of them died so quickly they were not able to find much out yet. No offense intended, he said, but he could not understand how Amy had survived, and so dramatically. This thing had quickly killed everything they had exposed it to. They had yet to identify it as anything they knew. He quickly reassured me that that did not mean it was unknown, new, or even mysterious; they just did not have a handle on it yet. I asked him if it could be something that had escaped culture, like a mutated or synthesized virus or bacteria. You mean like biological warfare agents, he asked, laughing. I laughed also and said it was just a far-fetched idea. We had a good laugh, but he had a faraway look in his eye when I left. He assured me he would let me know whatever he found out.

Next, I went to see Chief Haskin. After chatting for a while and catching up on our families, I asked him how the investigation was going on the accident. He looked at me strangely, and said the driver was drunk and ran a red light. I asked him if he had checked carefully for other causes. What was the cause of death? Usually dump truck drivers did not die from hitting cars. He looked at me in silence for a minute.

"Is there something you know that I don't?"

"No, I just have an uncomfortable feeling. Just being thorough. Do me a favor, will you? Look at it again. Yourself, personally. You know how paranoid Victoria is. I just want to be able to tell her we are sure."

He agreed he would check it out and let me know.

When I got back to the office, there was a small package waiting for me. It was a ballpoint pen. One of those fancy gel ones. This one was really fancy, though. It contained a cellular phone and a two-way paging radio. The Nextel type that paged anywhere in the country for instant two way talking. And network wide paging. A codebook listed various quick dial numbers. I was #1. Captain Jensen was #2. There were various other numbers listed. Amy and Victoria's cell phone numbers were listed, as was Katie's. However, Katie did not have a cell phone. Oops, yes she did, it was in the package also, nationwide service paid up for two years. She would be excited. Incidentally, the pen really did write also.

I changed my mind about letting "Victoria's people" know that I was providing security for my family now. I knew if I did that, Victoria would find out about it. I did not want that. It could put her in an uncomfortable light with her people. Also, I did not want her to know for her own protection. And... I just did not want her to know. Period. I wasn't so sure there was not a leak somewhere in her organization. I would just depend on the people I was working with to keep things under control. They were the ultimate professionals. Chances are "Victoria's people" would not even know they were there.

When I got home, I discovered a message on the answering machine from Victoria saying she would be home this weekend. Good. It was going to be a special time, because it was our birthday.

Yes, our birthday. One of the odd things about Victoria and I was that we shared the same birthday. We thought it was neat when we first started going together. Just another one of those similarities that attracted us from the beginning. Like both of us being shy growing up... Both of us being number one in our class in high school. Both of us being kind of nerds and computer geeks. Both of us being adopted. It was as if we were made for each other. We still felt that way. However, it made for really fun birthdays. It became a big family event, usually lasting for the whole weekend. We would go see her parents over the weekend also, almost like Christmas. It did help a lot in not forgetting her birthday. I guess it really wasn't that weird. There were four people in my grade school class that had the same birthday as me. I guess I could have married any one of them. Well, three of them, anyway. I would have had to change my sexual preference to marry the fourth one. Anyway, Victoria always managed to get home over that time. It was the one time she never failed to get off.

When I got home, Amy and Katie were already home. Katie was sitting there, all puffy eyed from crying, and Amy had her arm around her, looking serious. She had that 'do something, fix it daddy' look on her face. Uh oh. Another crisis. I hoped it was a silly teenage one, not something serious.

Well, I had plenty of experience with things like this with Cindi. Would I ever stop being sad when I thought about her? I went over, sat next to Katie, and put my arm around her. She dived into my chest and started sobbing. Katie is not as emotional as Cindi was, but she was not far off. She did know how to cry. I looked over at Amy. She just looked at me with big serious eyes and said nothing. Soon the waterworks dried up a little.

"Hey, pretty girl, want to tell me what the matter is?"

She shook her head no. I tickled her a little, getting a little smile.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded her head. So I tickled her some more. She started giggling. I kept tickling her until she was laughing and trying to get away. I held her down.

"Please, stop!" she giggled.

"What will you give me if I stop?"

"Anything!"

"Anything?" I smirked.

She giggled. "Well, almost anything. I lost that a long time ago!" Giggle.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to settle for you telling me what the matter is, then."

Her lip quivered. "You cheated! That's not fair!"

"It can't be that bad, Katie. We will figure it out. Let me help you. That's what Daddy's are for."

"My mom kicked me out of the house!" she sobbed. "What am I going to do? I don't have anywhere to go, I have no money, and I can't even get a job." I kept myself from smiling. This was serious to her. But a 13-year-old even thinking she could get a job?

"Is there any other relative you could live with?" I asked.

"No one cares about me. Who cares about a foster child? Even my mother and father never really cared. I won't go live with my father! I won't! I won't! I will run away first! Even if there were someone that wanted me, I would have to move and not see Amy anymore. She is the only friend I have... I cannot go back to that empty place again...

"I'll kill myself first." She whispered in a tiny voice.

Amy looked terrified. My heart turned over. I lost it. I grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her.

"You will not! You will never do that! I won't allow it! You understand me!" I yelled at her. "I won't lose another daughter," I whispered, tears running down my face.

"I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt you. You've been so nice to me. But, I will not go back to my father. And I won't leave Amy. I can't go back there... I can't. You have no idea what it's like... I would die."

She was serious. I could see it in her face. She was more upset than I had ever seen her, but at the same time, she was icy calm about what she said. She hugged Amy, sobbing.

"Well, it seems to me this is easy to fix. You can just stay here. You are here most of the time anyway. You can just move into... Cindi's room."

"I couldn't do that."

"Why? You don't like us?" I teased.

She missed the teasing. "Oh, no! It's not that! I love you people! I just couldn't impose on you."

"Cindi, you would not be imposing. I love you like a daughter. You are rapidly filling an empty place in me that I thought would never be filled again. You are more than welcome here as long as you want," I assured her.

She looked at me shyly, with tears in her eyes. "You called me Cindi," she said in a soft voice.

I looked at her, shocked. I thought back to what I had said. I had. She looked like her. She was taking her place in my heart. I had been afraid I would make that mistake and call her that someday.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not," she said, fervently. "I would love you to think of me as Cindi. I will gladly be your Cindi any day." We hugged each other and cried. I wondered if she would say that if she knew everything Cindi had been to me. Whom was I kidding? She probably would in a heartbeat. I was the one that had a problem with it. Even my wife did not mind.

Finally, I booted them off the couch.

"Go make supper, you two freeloaders. I have some work to do"

"Freeloaders! How dare you!" Amy giggled. Zing! I got out of there before the next pillow flew.

I went into the other room and called Victoria.

"Hello?"

"Hi!"

"Hi. Is everything ok? The last time you called me like this..."

"No," I reassured her. "Everything is fine."

"In that case, Hi! This is a pleasant surprise. I love hearing from you!"

"I have a question to ask you. Katie was kicked out of her house today. Can she stay here?"

Victoria squealed in delight. "Of course she can! You didn't even need to ask. Wait... there's more, isn't there?"

"Well... yeah. Promise you won't yell at me? And you'll tell me honestly what you really think?"

"Ok. What did you do? I am going to yell at you if you don't tell me pretty quick!"

"Well," I stalled, "I just found out that Katie is a foster child. What would you think about us... adopting her?"

There was a long pause. My heart was in my throat. Then I heard Victoria sniffle.

"Are you crying?"

"God, I love you so much!" she said firmly but quietly. "You are so sweet. I think that is the most wonderful idea I have ever heard. You really love her, don't you?"

"I can't explain it, Victoria. I miss Cindi so much, but when Katie is around, it is a little easier to take. I know she's not Cindi, but she just fits in there so well. She needs to have a family so bad, and she wants it to be us. Are you sure you don't mind?"

"Mind? I think it is a wonderful idea. We can talk about it with her this weekend. We will need to talk to her mother. She can move into Cindi's room. Even some of her clothes..." Victoria was off and running. Being a Mom. I told her I had to go eat dinner and I would talk to her later.

When I went back into the kitchen, I remembered Katie's cell phone. I brought it into the kitchen.

"Here, Katie, I got this for you today."

Her mouth fell open. She looked at it as if I had just given her a new car. Amy ran over to look at it. They both jumped up and down in the middle of the floor, giggling. Dinner was forgotten for a while as they sat down and did those things that only teenagers know how to do with electronics. Did you know Amy can actually program the VCR we have? Certifiable genius. We do not use it much anymore, but she still programs it whenever it needs it, making sure I am in the room when she does it, just to irritate me. I finally took the phone away from them so we could eat. They looked like I had just taken their puppy to the pound.

"You can have it back after supper. Don't cry, Amy!" She stuck out her tongue at me.

"You must carry that with you everywhere you go, you understand, Katie?" She nodded. "Amy, do you carry yours with you all the time?"

"Usually."

"All the time, Amy. Without fail," I told her. Amy looked at me, head cocked to one side slightly. Then she gave me an imperceptible nod of her head, a serious look on her face.

"Yes, Daddy." I could see the question in her eyes.

Later that night, as I tried to go to sleep, I felt Amy slide into bed and snuggle up to me.

"Are you awake, Daddy?"

"Of course. How could I be asleep with a pretty girl cuddled up to me?"

"Flatterer!" she giggled. There was a pause. "Do you really think I'm pretty?" she asked shyly.

What was this? Lack of confidence from Amy?

I turned over to face her. "Amy, you are just about the prettiest girl I have ever seen. You have to know you're pretty."

"Just about? I know. It's just... you're my Dad. I wasn't sure you would think so."

"It works the other way, pretty lady. Dad's always think their babies are pretty."

"So, do you think I'm as pretty as you did the last time I was in bed with you?" she giggled. I knew right away what she was referring to — the time her hand had accidentally brushed against me. She reached over slowly, and laid her hand against me. "Oh my goodness! I guess so!" She removed her hand. "Thank you, Daddy."

Then, she got to why she really came to see me.

"What's wrong, Daddy? Why do you seem so sad tonight?"

"I'm sorry, honey. I have just been... really missing Cindi today. Some days are worse than others... this has been a bad one." I confessed.

"I know. If you could have anything, Daddy, other than having her back — that's a given — what would you want?"

"I think I would just like to talk to her one more time. Just hear her voice one more time."

"Close your eyes, Daddy," Amy said softly.

As I lay there with my eyes closed, wondering what was going to happen, knowing if Amy was involved it would be good and not boring, I felt a soft kiss on my cheek.

"I'm so glad to be here with you, Daddy, I just love you so much and I know that you love me too and I just miss you so much Daddy and you know I would be here with you if I could, please don't be sad for me Daddy I can't stand to see you sad you know I love you and take good care of Mommy and Amy and Katie for me, ok Daddy?"

My God! Cindi! It was her voice, her way of speaking! I missed those run on sentences. Before I could open my eyes in shock, Amy put her hands gently on my eyelids.

"Uh uh. Keep those eyes closed, or she will go away. Wait here." I felt her leave my side.

A minute later, I swear I felt Cindi's body snuggle up to me. I continued to hear Cindi speaking softly to me, telling me how much she loved me, holding me, kissing me gently on my neck and cheek. Then she said goodbye and left me.

When Amy told me, I opened my eyes. Katie was snuggled up to me, smiling shyly, eyes bright and moist. Amy was smiling gently.

"Ok, I understand the body, which was Katie — she looks and feels so much like Cindi. Thank you, dear." I said, as I kissed her. She blushed. "But where did the voice come from, the manner of speaking?"

Amy laughed. "Daddy, I have lived with Cindi for 13 years. We went everywhere together. We shared thoughts, good times and bad. I know her maybe better than she knew herself. I am Cindi and she is me. I can be Cindi for you anytime you want. All you had to do was ask. I wasn't sure I wouldn't make you sadder if I was her for you, so I didn't dare." She bit her lower lip, a sign she was thinking of asking something. "Have you been dreaming of her?" she asked softly. She noticed my look of surprise. "Me too. Very realistic dreams." She tilted her head to the side. "I don't know what it means. Go to sleep now, Daddy."

Katie started to get up off the bed.

"Oh, no, little girl. After that performance, you have to play Cindi all night tonight. You're sleeping here with me." I said as I held her hands. Amy looked at Cindi's face and laughed. "Not like that, dear. Just to snuggle." I told her.

"Darn!" Katie said sheepishly. She and Amy snuggled with me all night long, one on each side. It was the best night's sleep I had had in awhile. It was the first time I went all night without missing Cindi, feeling sad about her. I love my girls!

I woke up the next morning feeling as well loved as a man could be. Katie was laying on top of me (God, she reminds me of Cindi more every day!) and Amy was snuggled as close to me as she could get without being on top of me, with her head on my shoulder and her arm and one leg thrown over me. Man, I have cuddly girls! Since both of them have really long hair, one blond and the other black, there was hair scattered all over the bed, making a pretty two-tone collage. I just lay there for a while, enjoying the view, with a lump in my throat.

Finally, I decided it was time to begin the arduous task of getting these pretty, sleepy little teenagers up for the day. What is it with these kids, anyway? They are the most impressive bundles of energy all day long, never tiring out; but as soon as they hit the bed, waking them up is like waking up the dead. Maybe I should just make thunder noises in Amy's ear — that would wake her up! Maybe not — she was already in daddy's bed, where she runs to be safe! They moaned and groaned, whined and whimpered as I tried to convince them to get out of bed. Finally, I had to use the nuclear option; the threat of a glass of ice water over their heads. Their eyes flew open immediately when I threatened that; "You wouldn't dare!" they protested, with this 'would you?' look in their eyes. What would adults ever do for fun without teenagers to tease?

I got the girls bundled off to school and then went to work. There was nothing new on either the hospital or the police front as far as the investigations. Everything was fine until about 11:30, when I received a call from the school to come pick up my daughter. The school assured me that she was fine, but I needed to take her home. Puzzled, I arrived to find Amy and Katie in the waiting room of the principal's office. Both looked somewhat disheveled. Amy was mad! Katie looked scared. Before I could talk to them, the principal called me into his office. After introducing himself and exchanging pleasantries, we got down to business.

"We had an altercation here at the school involving your daughter Amy and, as I understand it, another young lady that is in your care, Katie. I brought you in here before you talked to them to let you know that all the eyewitness accounts, and my investigation has verified that neither your daughter nor Katie were to blame for the situation that developed. They did not start it. Your daughter did, however, finish it in rather spectacular fashion. If it were not for Katie's calming influence on Amy, things could have gotten out of hand."

"What happened? How did it all start?" I asked.

"There is a group of girls and boys here who have never liked, nor gotten along with the group of cheerleaders your daughter and Katie are a part of. They have never gotten along well, but there has never been a problem before. Apparently that changed today, due to some emotional stress you daughter has been under?"

"Amy has been under a lot of stress. In the last two months, she has almost died herself from a very serious illness and her twin sister was killed in an automobile accident. She has made remarkable progress in the last couple of weeks, but she is still a little fragile and unstable at times. So, what did the unfortunate "victims" make the mistake of saying or doing to Amy?" I enquired.

"I really hate to even go into what happened, as it was rather crude, but you have a right to know. Apparently, Katie has never been very popular with the crowd outside her immediate circle of friends, and she has been teased a lot. She also apparently has at least a reputation among the gossip crowd of being more sexually active than most of the other girls. We have seen no proof of that, but the rumor is there. Apparently, one of the boys that she has refused to date called her a slut. Several of the girls friendly with him joined in. This has happened before, but this is the first time Amy heard it. Amy calmly informed them that if they wished to continue living in the manner they had become accustomed, they would not refer to her friend that way. Apparently the two of them have gotten quite close." He stopped speaking at this point.

"Yes, they have. But so far you haven't told me anything that would account for my daughter and her friend being in the principal's office." I looked at him questioningly.

"That's true. This part is painful for me to relate to you. Apparently, the group in question then turned their attention to Amy, and... um... asked her if she was going to defend this slut since her own slut sister wasn't around anymore."

I gasped and turned white, I am sure. The principal looked very upset and concerned.

"I guess I should ask at this point how many of those children are still in the hospital."

"It was over pretty quickly. Your daughter seems to have had some good teachers in the art of self-defense. All four of the offending students were on the ground in very short order. By that time, Katie was over her shock and removed Amy from the scene. Fortunately, none of the students were seriously hurt. I think once the parents understand what happened and the ramifications of the nature of the teasing, it will all blow over quickly. I would, however, encourage you to talk to your daughter about over reacting to unpleasant stimuli."

I thanked the principal for his time and understanding, and went out to collect my little juvenile delinquents. Amy appeared to be more scared than angry now; Katie, not knowing how I dealt with such situations, was very scared. I took them out to the car, put them in, and headed for home, without saying a word.

"Daddy..." Amy started.

"Not now, Amy. We will talk when we get home." Both of them looked unhappy.

When we got inside the house, we all sat down on the couch.

"First of all, are either of you hurt?" I asked calmly.

They both shook their heads no.

"Ok. Good. Now, suppose you two explain to me why I had to go down to the school today to pick up my daughter, my sweet gentle daughter who is the apple of my eye, who has never been in trouble in her life, to take her home, because of fighting. Fighting??? What got into you, Amy? I never thought I would be disappointed in you." I looked at Katie. "I'm glad at least someone had enough sense to do the smart thing." I sighed in frustration. I saw Amy's eyes fill with tears. Since she had been a little girl, the most effective way to discipline her was to show disappointment in her.

"Daddy..." Tears flowed down her face as her lower lip trembled and her voice shook. She covered her face with her hands and sobbed.

I pulled her over onto my lap and hugged her close, as she put her arms around my neck and cried. After a few minutes, she calmed down. I wiped her tears, held a Kleenex to her nose, and told her to blow. She gave me an 'I'm not a baby' look, and then blew her nose.

I kissed her forehead. "Tell me, honey, what happened."

"We were minding our own b... b... business and they started c... c... calling Katie a slut and I told them to s... s... stop, and then they called Cindi a slut," she sobbed. "Cindi wasn't a slut, Daddy, she was r... r... raped! She wasn't a slut!" She cried softly, tears rolling down her face. Katie was looking at us, eyes wide in horror, as she started crying also. She obviously had never heard about what Amy was referring to. She looked terrified; I really did not like the look on her face. 'Please, do not let this mean what I think it means' I prayed.

"And so you beat them up. Amy, both the principal and I were impressed how you handled yourself, but what were you trying to accomplish?

"I was protecting Cindi!" she whispered. She looked at me, confused.

"From what, Amy? Amy, honey, I am so sorry, but Cindi is dead. How did it help her by what you did? How would she have been hurt if you had walked away? Amy, honey, you risked getting hurt, and hurting others, being kicked out of school, and maybe even spending time in juvenile detention had someone been severely hurt. You also risked Katie getting hurt had the fight gone differently. Did you think of that? Did you think that if you get kicked out of school you would have to go to another school different from Katie?"

Amy was crying again, her eyes wide in shock as she looked at Katie. Katie was not paying attention to us; she had a dazed look on her face, as if she was in another world. I was afraid the world her mind was in right now was not a very pleasant place. I was worried about her. Something was going on here.

"What would you have done, Daddy?" Amy asked in a tiny voice.

I sighed. I knew we were going to get here eventually. All I could do was be honest with her.

"Amy, I would probably have kicked their asses, just like you did. And I would have been just as wrong as you were. Reactions like what you had in that situation must be reserved for situations where life is in danger, or protecting the well-being of others, or even defense of property. But you must pick the times very carefully when such actions are used."

"I'm so sorry, Daddy! I didn't think. I just got so mad. Please don't be mad at me."

"I'm not mad at you, honey. I understand. You have been through some hard times lately. I probably would have done the same thing had someone said those things about Cindi, especially now. I am not so upset at what you did, honey. I just want you to think next time, that this does not become a habit in how you react to these situations. By the way, honey, where did you learn how to fight like that?"

"I didn't. I just knew what to do. I don't know how."

I turned to Katie.

"Katie, honey, why don't you go take a shower and get ready for bed?" She pulled herself away from her thoughts and went into the bathroom.

"Ok, Amy, I've gotten Katie out of here so she doesn't hear things she shouldn't. Now, ask what I can see in your eyes you want to ask."

"What about Mommy, Daddy? How do the things she does fit into this? What about the time at the fair?"

"The fair was a different situation. Both you and your Mother's well-being, if not your life were in danger. They meant to at least rape the two of you. Maybe your Mother over-reacted, but she had reason to be worried and that is how she has been trained. Amy, your Mother is an adult. All adults have to make decisions to do the things they feel are right. Your Mother's job requires her to do things that in other situations or for other people would be wrong. I know she only uses her abilities in situations where she has to, in self-defense or in defense of her family. I have talked to others in her organization and verified that. Even though she is totally committed to what she does, there are many times when she comes home after being out of town that she cries at night when she thinks I am asleep. Don't ever tell her I know that. She pays a price for what she feels has to be done. I respect her greatly for that."

"I understand, Daddy. So you do know what Mommy's job is?"

"Yes, sweetie, I know what she does; I just let her think I don't. I have told you that, too. It is sometimes better to not broadcast everything you know."

Amy looked at me thoughtfully. "Like not telling us everything you do also, right Dad?"

I reached over and kissed her on the cheek. "I think it's time for you to go to bed, Amy. Go kick Katie out of the shower before she uses all the hot water."

After everything that went on that day, and the long talk with Amy, I could not sleep that night. I went down into the basement and watched TV, hoping to fall asleep on the couch. But all I could think of was that look on Katie's face and in her eyes. I hoped she was ok.

und him alone?" She cocked an eyebrow in mock severity.

Amy's sense of humor takes a little getting used to, and Victoria is not around as often as I am. Besides, who would have expected humor out of the Wicked Bitch of the West that we had seen over the last two weeks?

"Oh, honey it's just that Daddy is special to me too and I don't want him to get hurt. I know he wouldn't defend himself... Oh, you! You're teasing me, aren't you?" Victoria said accusingly.

Amy giggled, a decidedly welcome sound, especially of late. "I'm sorry, Mom. I just couldn't resist. I get Daddy so often; I have to get you when I can."

"Well, I was thinking of forgiving you, but because of that, I think I will hold a grudge a little longer... until you prove yourself, little lady!"

Amy's face fell. "Mom, I know..."

Victoria's face beamed. "Ha! I got you too! It's ok, Amy. I could never hold a grudge against you. Your Dad would never let me, even if I wanted to. You're his favorite, you know." Suddenly, her face got serious as she saw the look on Amy's face and realized what she had said. "Oh, Amy! I'm sorry! I wasn't thinking!"

Amy smiled weakly. "It's ok, Mom. She's unlikely to be someone we're ever going to forget. We have to just act normal and deal with the memories as they come."

They hugged each other and Victoria headed for the airport.

I had been watching Amy as she bantered with her Mom, trying to get a feel for how she was feeling, and which Amy we were seeing today. Now we were alone together.

"So, how are you feeling, Amy? Really." I asked softly.

She came over and hugged me, burying her face in my shirt.

"How am I feeling? Really? Tired. Washed out. Embarrassed. Ashamed, at what I put you guys through. Sad - I miss Cindi. Not as lonely as before. I think Katie is going to be a good friend. Nervous about going back to school and watching everyone dance around me, not knowing what to say. I don't even know what I want them to say. Nervous about how I am going to react. Will I blow up and become Amy the Hun again when someone gets up the courage to say something? Will it be God help the first idiot that says something stupid? Look what I did to you this weekend; you were trying to help and I didn't even mean to hit you. Am I going to become like Mom where certain things set me off? Something happened to her in her past to make her that way, you know. I know it is useful to her in her job to be able to turn it on and off, but she does not seem to be able to control it in certain situations outside of that. I think the talk with Katie helped me a lot. I don't know, Daddy. This is uncharted waters for all of us. And I haven't talked this much in a long time. My mouth is dry."

I smiled. She was still on this kick of the 'talk with Katie'. The girl was desperate because of an empty place in her mind that could never be filled, and suddenly, with a six-hour talk, that fear was gone and everything was ok? Maybe in some sappy erotic internet story on SOL or something, but I didn't believe it. I had missed too many clues in the past and it had cost Amy dearly; I was not falling for this one until I was sure. Time to do some research. However, something else she said interested me more now.

"Amy, you mentioned something about your Mom's job. Why would that be useful as a computer troubleshooter?"

Amy just looked at me silently, giving me that classic Amy 'Who is this stupid two headed alien and what has he done with my Dad' look. Oh well, it was worth a try. I guess I was going to have to be more direct.

"Amy, do you know what Mom's job really is?"

Eye roll. 'How stupid do you think I am?' look. Yep. She was definitely recovering. "Of course, don't you?"

"Um... actually, no I don't. I have made some guesses, but they are just that. So, how can you know and I don't?"

"Oops. I'm sorry, Daddy, I was just kidding you when I said that. I assumed you knew or I wouldn't have teased you like that. I'm sorry."

"So, tell me. What is it? And how do you know?"

"I'm sorry, Daddy. I can't tell you, I promised Mommy I would never tell anyone. She specifically included you in that promise. You will just have to figure it out for yourself as I did. However, you might not want to. I still feel bad about the look on her face when I told her what I knew. She really doesn't want us to know, and she really has a good reason for keeping it secret. Don't figure it out unless you're prepared to make her very sad. I think she's afraid if you knew, you wouldn't love her anymore. She doesn't seem to see what I can see, that that could never happen."

Certifiable genius. What was she going to be like when she grew up and became really smart?

I took Amy to school. She seemed to be handling it well as I dropped her off and her friends surrounded her. I hoped she had a good day. She deserved some good for a change. She had had a rough couple of months. Not as rough as some people, but... I pushed the sadness away and headed to work.

The hospital did not receive any benefit by my finally coming into work. I spent the whole day at work on the internet looking up mental connections among twins. What I found was interesting, and scary.

There wasn't a whole lot of hard data out there, but some interesting studies and more interesting theories and "conclusions". The first thing I found interesting was that the mental connection that Amy and Cindi had was variable in expression from case to case and was most often found in identical twins, not fraternal twins. Although all of it was rare, it was rarer in non-identical twins. It was often stronger than this case, but it was not unknown to get stronger. It was extremely rare in non-twins. Sometimes it bled over into family members. The scary thing was that often one twin did not survive the death of the other twin. We were lucky with Amy, but I did not think it was really luck. She showed the classic symptoms of those that did not survive, usually terminating in suicide or wasting away, losing the will to live. After reading the information, I felt even stronger that, somehow, Katie had saved our little girl. As I read further, it was clear to me that she did not do it by just talking to her, as Amy claimed! Not that it mattered; I knew in my heart that Katie would never cause harm to Amy; she just wanted to help. I wondered if she was getting something out of it too.

I let work early. I knew they meant well, but I just got tired of dealing with the consolation callers and visitors. I knew I would always remember Cindi, but I wanted it to be at times when I was ready to deal with it, not walking down the hall and suddenly having to go through it all again. I knew I would have to get used to it, but not today.

I walked in the house at the same time as Amy and Katie. Amy looked better than she had in awhile - she and Katie were laughing, joking, and having a good time. Amy did one of her favorite "get Daddy" things when she saw me behind her. She started telling Katie all about a really steamy sexual relationship she was having with this hot older guy at school, just so I could overhear. We both knew it was untrue, but she knew it made my heart go flip-flop that my little girl was growing up. She would act surprised when she saw me, and stop talking about it. Only problems were, a) she couldn't keep from giggling because she thought it was so darn funny, and b) since she knew little about the practical aspects of sex (make that nothing, I hope!) she would often describe acts that were either physically impossible for normal humans or at least were not possible by 108 lb, 13 year old teenage girls. Let her have her fun. I'll have mine when she brings her first boyfriend home.

"Hi Daddy! Katie and I are going to make you dinner tonight. Katie's staying for dinner."

I groaned. "Can Katie cook? I've tasted your cooking!" I am not stupid. I always say things like that in the living room, because couch pillows are the most likely thing she will pick up there to throw at me. They hurt much less than other things. Zing! There it came.

"DAD!" She shrieked. "I'm a good cook!" She was, too.

"Yeah, and I'm Napoleon Bonaparte," I muttered. Zing! Another one.

"Sir, is it alright if I stay?" Katie asked shyly. The manners on this girl are unbelievable. I still cannot get over a shy Katie. Although she is quiet, she does not seem to be shy around anyone else.

"Absolutely not." I stated emphatically. Amy gave me a dirty look. Zing! "Not unless you call me Patrick. You are welcome in this house anytime, Katie," I assured her. "It's Amy we're sick of and are trying to get to move out as soon as possible. Say! Do you want to move into her room when we get rid of her?" Zing! Ok, all the couch pillows were on the floor, I could stop now. Katie looked at me strangely, almost with a hopeful look. What was going on there?

"Forget it, Daddy. When I move out, maybe tomorrow, she is going to be my roommate." She gave me her best 'little girl begging daddy' look. "Can I borrow some money for rent?" Then she dissolved into giggles as Katie looked at both of us like we were nuts. Ah yes, my sweet Amy was back. Fortunately, probably thanks to Katie, we did not have pepperoni and sausage pizza with spumoni ice cream for supper.

Victoria called as we were finishing with dinner. She would be home in 20 minutes. Amy put her on speakerphone.

"Are you hungry, Mom? Katie and I cooked dinner!"

"Well, maybe if Katie helped... it's not pizza is it?" she teased.

"MOM!! Not you too?!?" Amy had a huge grin on her face. One of the few people I have seen that actually likes to be teased. Katie just looked lost. Amy chattered away to her Mom, ignoring our attempts to tell her she could talk to her live in 20 minutes.

"Ok, Amy, I'm pulling up in front of the house. You can hang up now." Amy sure loves to stretch out a joke. She continued to talk until Victoria, standing right next to her, reached over, took the phone out of her hand, and hung it up. We smiled tolerantly as Amy giggled helplessly. Katie seemed to think it was the funniest thing, too. Teenagers!

Amy decided to go to Rebecca's house later with Katie. She said it would be way too noisy around here to get any studying done, throwing looks at us. Katie looked confused, and then blushed as she realized what Amy was saying. It looked like maybe Katie was spending the night. She did not seem in any hurry to go home. That's ok, I like having her around. I just wondered how long my heart would go flip-flop when I caught her out of the corner of my eye and thought I saw Cindi standing there.

Victoria and I cuddled together on the couch, kissing softly and gently. I stroked her beautiful hair, and kissed her neck. God, I had missed her this time. I wanted to spend more time with her; I wanted her around more. She was my wife, my lover, my sweetheart, my soul mate. There could never be another. I had known that since the first week we had dated. I knew her job was important, both to her, and in the grand scheme of things. I knew I was probably just feeling vulnerable because of Cindi. However, I was afraid for her. I could not bear the thought of her getting hurt, or worse. I did not think "her people" could protect her as they had promised me. They had failed in San Francisco. They had failed at the fair. They had failed in the "car accident". A thought entered my head unbidden. Had they failed when Amy got sick? Had they failed with Cindi's accident? I did not know, but I was damn well going to find out. If I found out that Amy's sickness or Cindi's death were not accidents, those responsible would wish they were dealing with Victoria. They would find out what my eyes, dark green like Victoria's and Amy's, looked like when I let the monster loose. It would be directed against Victoria's protectors as well as her enemies if I found out they had been involved or negligent in their duties. However, I knew I could no longer let the protection of my family rest in the hands of strangers that I did not trust. I just could not leave them out there all by themselves. If "her people" could not, or would not, protect them, I would. If they got in the way, they would be sorry and I would not be responsible for what happened.

I felt the weight of the world lift off my shoulders. Many years ago, I had walked away from something I did not think I could do anymore, something I was one of the best in the world at. I think I always knew in the back of my mind that the day would come when I could not live with that decision anymore. That day was now here. I could not ignore the danger my family might be in and live with myself. I was not sure I could live with myself anyway if Cindi's death turned out to be not an accident and I had not acted sooner. I was good at what I did in medicine. In the top three, or better, in the country. I was now going to go back, at least part time, at least for a while, to something I was even better at. For the best reason in the world. To protect my girls. However, this time I would make sure it did not change me into something I did not want to be.

Victoria smiled at me as I laughed aloud. I smiled at her.

"God, I love you so much!"

She smiled happily. "I love you too. What brought that on? Besides the obvious?" she grinned as she looked at my lap.

"Wait here. I'll be back in a little while."

She looked confused, but folded her hands in her lap and relaxed. I ran into the bathroom, and started to fill the tub with water. I put the bubble bath in and then waited for the tub to fill with hot, almost too hot water. I ran back to her, grinning like an idiot. She was smiling, looking at me as if I had lost my mind. I took her hands, and gently pulled her to her feet. I kissed her, softly and sensually, and I heard her breath catch in her throat. Or was it mine? Ok, ours. I slowly started taking her clothes off, kissing each part of her body as it became exposed. She closed her eyes and shivered. When she was completely naked, looking like the goddess she just had to be, I stood there silently, just watching her, not moving. Finally, she opened her eyes and looked at me. She tilted her head slightly to the side, as I had seen Amy do so often, and looked at me.

"My turn?" she asked. I nodded, unable to speak. She slowly, sensuously removed my clothes, piece by piece. When she was done, she held my hands loosely, and looked into my eyes, unshed tears filling hers. "I love you so much," she whispered.

"Close you eyes," I murmured. I kissed her and then I reached down and picked her up in my arms.

"Patrick!" she squealed, laughing.

"Uh uh. Eyes closed." I repeated.

I carried her into the bathroom. I lowered her into the bubble bath water.

"What are you doing?" she asked, as I took the washcloth and started to wash her. She leaned back and sighed happily, then closed her eyes again. "Amy says this doesn't work so well this way; that it works much better if you get in too."

"Oh? And what else did you and Amy talk about, huh?"

"Wouldn't you like to know? Get in here, you dummy."

"Move forward, little tub piggy."

"Tub piggy! You should talk! Amy said there almost wasn't enough room in here for her, because of all the room taken up by a certain body part of a certain person that shall remain nameless!" she giggled.

Ok, that was more information than I needed! I hurried up and got in the tub, blushing furiously, before I got embarrassed even further. Victoria laughed delightedly at me.

"You are just too funny!" she got out between giggles.

She leaned back against me, closed her eyes, and relaxed. I gently started washing her body. She was just so beautiful it took my breath away. I paid special attention to her breasts, to make sure they were clean. Then I put the washcloth aside, and paid extra special attention to another very special area with my fingers. She must have really liked that, because after a few minutes, she cried out softly, her whole body tensed up and then she shook all over, whimpering softly. She shivered, and pushed against my hand.

"Please. I can't take anymore."

I continued to touch her softly, and after a few moments she cried out "Oh, God, not again?" She trembled all over and then collapsed against me. I stroked the inside of her thigh softly.

When she started to breath again, I lifted her up, slid underneath her, and set her down, inserting myself slowly all the way up inside her in one smooth motion. I felt her tremble all over, as I softly rubbed her stomach, making love to her slowly.

"What are you doing to me?" she whispered, her voice shaking.

"Showing you how much I love you. Victoria, you are my life. I would do anything for you," I whispered, as we climaxed together.

We lay there for a long time, enjoying the glow. Then we heard the front door open and close, sweet little teenage voices chattering back and forth, giggling and laughing almost continuously. We grinned, knowing we were about to gross out our young daughter again.

Amy and Katie walked into the bathroom, looking for us. I don't know what they expected to find — it was a bathroom, after all — but they stopped dead in their tracks. They both blushed all the way down to their toes. Amy did not screech and run away this time. They both looked at us tenderly.

"God, Mom and Dad, that is just about the hottest, sexiest thing I have ever seen!" Amy blurted out and then they turned around silently, and went to Amy's room. We heard the door close softly.

Later, we all sat down to watch one of the girl's sappy romantic movies. Amy and Katie were cuddled up on either side of me, and Victoria sat on may lap, snuggling. Amy, for once, did not say a word about our making out. She told me later that we just had a glow about us that she could not bear to mess up. I saw her and Katie look sideways at us a few times, smiling.

Later, as we went to bed, Amy gave me an especially long hug, and a tender kiss. Katie looked at me longingly. I held out my arms, and she flew into them eagerly, blushing furiously. What was it about this sexy little girl, rumored to be so experienced, that she blushed around me so often?

Later, Victoria and I lay in bed talking quietly. As happens so often between the two of us, she brought up the very subject I had been thinking about.

"Honey, I think we should do something special for Katie. She saved Amy. I know we can't ever repay her for what she did, but I think we should show her how much we care, how much we appreciate her and what she did for us." Victoria looked at me, eyebrows raised, waiting for my answer.

"I was actually thinking the same thing. I just didn't want to mention it; I didn't want you to think I was just trying to get into her panties!" I teased. "I thought about buying her a car, but she can't drive yet and I wanted something more immediate. I thought about paying for her college tuition, but that is a long way off too. What do you think she would really like?"

"Well," Victoria mused, biting her lower lip (she looks just as cute as Amy does when she does that!), "I think you have already hit on the right idea; you just mentioned it."

"The car? College? But they're so impersonal and far away."

"No, silly. The other idea you had. Why don't you get into her panties?"

"VICTORIA!!"

She giggled like a teenager. Sounded just like Amy when she teases me.

"You are so much fun! Actually, I'm serious. You do know she is madly in love with you, don't you?"

"Oh, come on! She can't be! She's 13; I'm 37. That's ridiculous!"

"Since when does age have anything to do with it? All the girls know it. Ask Amy. Why do you think you two end up in a room together alone so often? They think it's "cute" and clear out to give you two some time alone together. It's not as if you're not attracted to her. I've seen the way you look at her when you think I'm not watching!"

"You're crazy!" I exclaimed. "She's a very pretty girl, cute as all get out and sweet as they come. But..."

"But she reminds you so much of Cindi it almost makes you cry. And I know how much you loved her." Victoria interrupted.

"I could never do that to you, Victoria." My heart pounded in my chest. "Don't you love me anymore? Are you tired of me?" I whispered, shaken.

Victoria gasped. "Oh, sweetheart, I'm sorry! I should have known you would misunderstand me that way. You should know better than that, especially after tonight. I'm not talking about undying love, or marriage, or replacing what we have. Look, we want to do something special for Katie, something she wants more than anything else. The poor girl is hurting, honey, and her life is shit. Her words, not mine. The best thing in her life right now is her friendship with Amy. It's the only thing that keeps her from wallowing in despair and depression. There is only one thing she really wants in this world, and that is for you to make love to her. She knows she can't have you; she knows she could never take you away from me, and she wouldn't do that to me anyway. I love her and she loves me. If that is what she wants more than anything in the world, I would be more than willing to share her when I am out of town. I know you get lonely, and you don't have Cindi anymore. Give her what she wants. God knows she deserves some happiness for a change. Honey, I am not threatened by a 13 year old girl. Hell, if Cindi didn't interfere with our love, no one could.

"Victoria..."

"I'm not giving you permission to have sex with anyone you want," she interrupted me again. "I'm giving you permission, encouraging you, to give one very special girl that we both love like our own daughter, now even more than ever, a very special gift that would mean the world to her. Who knows, maybe you can reach inside that shell and help her deal with the demons she has in there. I know from Cindi how good you are at that. Just promise me you'll think about it, ok?" She reached over and kissed me.

"Can I talk now?"

"Sure," she laughed. "Unless I think of something else to interrupt you about!"

"Sweetheart, you are amazing. Do you have any idea how much I love you, even though you scare the hell out of me sometimes? I never knew you were so kinky! What is going to happen if you regret doing this? Or get jealous? What if you really don't mean this, and I do it, and you hate me for it because I was supposed to know you wanted me to say no? What would happen if Amy found out? She would hate me forever for cheating on you; at least the incredibly short time forever would be before she killed me. Maybe you have forgotten that punch, but I haven't!"

Victoria laughed happily. She was really enjoying this!

"You are just so precious! We both know I don't play those games, setting you up for a test to see how you will perform. If I was not prepared to offer her this, I wouldn't have brought it up. I would have no need to bring it up unless I was serious and sure about it; you never would have thought about it. I know you would have never tried anything with her; she would have to drag you kicking and screaming to bed like Cindi did. If I regret it or get jealous, which I won't if you don't start ignoring me, we just stop it right there. Katie would know nothing like this was permanent or irrevocable. She just wants a little bit of happiness for a while, and you are the only one she trusts. As for Amy finding out, you might be more surprised about that than you think. She clears out of the room to leave you two alone too, you know. Please, honey, just tell me you'll think about it. It's your decision."

"Ok. I can see I'm not going to get any sleep tonight if I don't shut up and give in. Some of us have to work tomorrow. I will think about it, Ok. Just for you. And, just for the record, I did not kick when Cindi dragged me to bed. Screamed, yes, but I did not kick!"

She squealed in delight, and kissed me. Then she straddled me and took me up inside of her. All the while she rode me she whispered in my ear. Telling me how cute and sexy Katie's body would look. Telling me how pretty she was. Describing in great detail all the things Katie would do to me. All the things I could do to her. Telling me how soft, smooth and firm her cute little body would feel. Laughing softly and merrily at how hard I was, and how fast I came up inside her. We fell asleep with her on top of me. I slept all night long, dreaming of Cindi and Katie. I dreamed that Cindi told me it was ok; make poor Katie as happy as I had made her. She helped me to make love to her the first time, showed me what she would like and showed me how to make her happy. After Katie fell asleep in the dream, stretched out happily next to me, purring like a little kitten in her sleep, Cindi told me she loved me ever so much, that she would never stop loving me. She put a beautiful red rose on my chest, closed my eyes gently with her fingers, and gently helped me to go to sleep. It was the most wonderful dream I had ever had. I knew even in the dream that I was just dreaming, but it felt so real.

When I woke up in the morning, Victoria was already gone. As I lay there, slowly waking up, lying on my back, I saw a beautiful red rose, lying on my chest. I wondered why Victoria had left me a rose, and where she had gotten it. She had never done that before. I later found a note telling me she had been called out of town unexpectedly this morning and that she would look forward to seeing me again. She told me she loved me more than life itself.

After I took a shower, made breakfast, kicked Amy and Katie's cute little butts out of bed (we had convinced Katie, after much argument from Victoria, Amy and me that she could stay in Cindi's room whenever she stayed over) and got them off to school, I figured I might as well get started with what I had to do.

I picked up the phone, and dialed a long distance number. I then got another dial tone. I dialed a second long distance number. I got a dial tone again. Finally, I dialed a third long distance number. The line seemed to go dead for about five seconds. I now had a secure, untraceable line. Then the phone was picked up, and a female voice said "yes?"

"Do you recognize my voice?" I asked.

There was a brief hesitation. "Yes, sir!" she said softly.

"I would like to speak to Captain Jensen, please," I asked politely.

A brief hesitation again. "Yes, sir! Please hold on and I will connect you, sir!"

Ten seconds later, the phone was answered again.

"Captain Jensen speaking. How may I help you?"

"Do you recognize my voice?" I asked again.

There was a slight note of surprise in his voice. "Yes, sir, I do."

"My authorization code is Alpha Tango seven three four six X-ray. Please repeat that back to me," I requested.

"Yes, sir. Alpha Tango seven three four six X-ray, verified, sir. My authorization code is Delta four seven three Charley. Please repeat that back to me, sir."

"Your authorization code is Delta four seven three Charley," I repeated.

"What can I do for you, sir?"

"Please activate plans G and K, effective immediately, for numbers 1, 2, 3 and 5. Attach codes P and T to those plans, please," I continued.

I heard a slight intake of breath. He answered in a quiet tone of voice.

"Yes, sir. Activate plans G and K effective immediately, for subjects 1, 2, 3, and 5. Attach codes P and T. Am I to understand that number 4 is not to be involved, sir?"

"Number 4 is no longer active, Captain."

"I understand, sir. I am sorry to hear that, sir. You understand that I need you to repeat this back to me to verify, sir."

"I understand, Captain. Activate plans G and K, effective immediately, for subjects 1, 2, 3, and 5. Attach codes P and T," I repeated.

"Thank you, sir. What intensity are you requesting, sir?" he asked.

"Intensity code M, Captain."

"Are you sure, sir?" He blurted out, without thinking.

I smiled. "Yes, Captain, I am quite sure."

"I'm sorry, sir, of course you are sure, sir. Intensity code M, sir. What response codes are you requesting, sir?"

"Response codes E and I, Captain," I answered.

"Yes, sir. Response codes E and I, sir. This request will be activated in about ten minutes, and will be fully active in twelve hours, sir. It will remain active until terminated by you personally, sir. Is there anything else I can do for you, sir?"

"Thank you, Captain. That will be all for now."

"Thank you, sir. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance, sir. And sir... Welcome back, sir! It is good to hear from you again, sir!

"Thank you, Captain," I said, and hung up the phone.

I sat in the chair, thinking. I had done what I could to make my family as safe as possible. I would have to notify "Victoria's people" of the change in protection. If they got in our way, that was their tough luck, but I did not want them ignorantly stumbling into something. Now it was time to start finding out if someone had been messing with my babies. God help them if they had, because no one else would be able to.

ed it cause you came really good and so did I and it was really nice and I was so happy after we spent all night... um... you know... doing it... and I said I would never touch you again if you didn't want..." I put my hand over her mouth.

"Cindi, take a breath, you're turning blue. You can start a new sentence every now and then, you know".

"Oh, Daddy, you're teasing me! (No, I wasn't - she was turning blue!). Anyway, I really tried to stay away from you but I just miss you and cuddling with you and doing other things so much that I just can't stand it I'm such a baby and Amy saw I was so unhappy today and I hadn't cuddled with you for a long time and she told me to come see you tonight..."

Uh oh! "Amy told you to come see me?"

"Yeah, she said whenever she is down she cuddles with you and that cheers her up, Course, I think she was just lying to cheer me up cause Amy's never down".

"Cindi, I think you are misremembering what was said. You never said you would never touch me again - you said we would never do what we did again if I didn't want to."

"I know, but I just don't think I can just cuddle with you and not want to do more. And I want to cuddle so badly!"

What a mess! I did not know what to do. All I knew was I loved this little girl, and she had gotten such a rotten deal. I could not stand to see her unhappy. She had really seemed happy the last week or so and if making her happy meant breaking a rule now and then, which I had already broken once, maybe I should. If anyone ever found out, would it really matter how many times we had done it? All I knew was I could not leave her this way. I did the only thing I could think of to do. I kissed her. Long. Hard. And passionately. I teased her lips open, and played with her tongue. I kissed her for probably five minutes, and when we finally broke the kiss, we were both breathing so hard we could hardly talk.

"Daddy? What was that for?"

"It means that I release you from your promise, Cindi. I will be there for you anytime you need me".

Suddenly I had 90 lbs of squirming, deliriously happy, incredibly soft and smooth Cindi-flesh in my arms, kissing me everywhere and gushing enthusiastically.

"Oh, thank you Daddy, thank you, you are so sweet and I love you so much and I promise I'll act normal and never tell anyone and I'll make you feel so good and you make me feel so good and I promise I'll get better..."

I did the only thing I could think of to shut her up and keep her from hyperventilating - I kissed her. Her hand started to head south on my body. She looked at me quizzically when I stopped her. I rolled her over on her back.

"It's your turn, Cindi. Tonight is just for you," I said, as I kissed her again, and stroked her hair.

"Oh, goody! Poor me!"

That night I showed Cindi what it really was like to make love. I took it nice and slow, and gentle with her, no matter how much she begged me to hurry up. I wanted her to know how good it felt to be truly loved. I kissed her, stroked her hair, kissed her neck, nibbled and sucked on her ears lobes, sticking my tongue in her ear. I know this will shock you, it is so unexpected from Cindi, but - that made her giggle! Imagine that! By the time I started to kiss down her chest, heading for her nipples, she was already squirming all over the place and asking me to go inside her.

"Calm down, girl. We've got a long ways to go yet before I'm inside you".

"Why are you being so mean to me?" she whimpered, but I could tell she was teasing and was really enjoying my attentions.

"Mean, huh? I'll show you mean!" I said, as I sucked her nipple into my mouth and bit it gently. She squeaked, then held my head close to her, closing her eyes and stroking my hair as she tried to remember how to breathe.

I spent a lot of time sucking, licking and playing with her breasts. Apparently, she had sensitive breasts. I was not surprised - Victoria has sensitive breasts also (I wonder if Amy's... stop it!) Cindi had a small orgasm just from me working on her breasts.

I started sliding my hand slowly down her stomach, following closely behind with my mouth, kissing her pretty little belly. I could feel her stomach trembling with each touch, her breathing getting heavier and more ragged. She gasped and cried out softly as my hand roamed through her sparse pubic hair.

"I don't know how much more I can take," she gasped.

Then I really was mean to her. I started running my hands slowly up and down the insides of her legs, purposely avoiding the most important place as I moved from one leg to the other. I did the same thing as I kissed and licked up and down the insides of her legs, always avoiding where she really wanted me to touch and kiss and lick. When I sucked her big toe into my mouth, licking and biting it, I thought she would go crazy. She was giggling and laughing hysterically, trying to pull her foot away from me, but I held her leg firmly, sucking all five toes into my mouth at the same time, sucking them and licking the bottoms of her toes.

"That tickles! Stop! Please stop! I'm going to pee my panties!"

"No you're not. You don't have any panties on, remember," I said as I kept sucking.

Then I reached up and rubbed her pussy and clit softly with my fingers. She cried out, and then stopped moving and struggling, lying perfectly still. She seemed to stop breathing, and then her whole body stiffened up as she gave a little cry and she shook all over. Then she collapsed and seemed to pass out, or at least she stopped responding to everything. Since she was not resisting, I kept sucking and licking her toes until she started to move slightly again. Then I moved up and took her into my arms, holding her.

Finally, I felt her hand moving ever so slightly, gently playing with my hair, as if the effort was almost too much. She opened her eyes lazily, and looked at me with a reproachful look in her eyes.

"That was really mean, doing that to my toes when I couldn't do anything about it. I will get you for that!"

"Poor little thing. Are you ready for round two?"

"What? Yes... no... maybe... I don't know!

Since she was too weak to resist at all, I moved down, licked her pussy, and sucked her clit into my mouth, sucking and licking. She trembled all over as she held my head tight against her, and then screeched as she came again. As she was recovering, I moved up on top of her and slowing pushed my cock up into her. I slowly made love to her, wrapping my arms around her and holding her close, whispering how much I loved her as I stroked her hair. She wrapped her arms and legs around me, panting and crying out softly every time I moved inside her. I kept it slow and easy even when we came together, never speeding up or stopping until we both turned into boneless piles of flesh. She whispered softly that she loved me so much, and then she started crying.

The crying worried me. She had cried after we made love last time too. I know Cindi cried about everything, but still, it worried me.

"What's wrong, Cindi? I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have done this, I'm taking advantage of you, I'm sorry..."

"No, you're not! I'm fine. I am just so happy. I cry over everything, you know that. It's ok, Daddy".

I rolled us over, and she lay against me, her head on my shoulder, one hand on my chest, one leg lying across me, eyes closed. She sighed contentedly, and whispered "Good night, Daddy. I love you". We fell asleep in that position.

And that is the same position Victoria found us in when she walked into the bedroom to tell me she was home.

thing else, Cindi's rape had certainly taught her how to suck cock. She sucked softly on the head, stroking the shaft and massaging my balls, then ran her hot little tongue around the head in little circles. Then she took the shaft into her mouth, as far as she could, licking the underneath with her tongue while sucking. She alternated between fast and slow, driving me crazy. It did not take me long until I was ready to fill her mouth, but just as I was about to cum, she stopped and lay down on top of me, kissing my neck and lips. When I opened my eyes, she was looking at me with her cute little impish smile, and asked me if I enjoyed that. I could only grunt in frustration. She laughed and said since this was the only time she would get to do this, she was going to make it last. I just hoped I would survive!

Then she started jacking me off, slowly and gently, stroking my whole shaft while again rubbing my balls. Once more, I was ready to come, but she stopped again. She kissed me, long and deep, playing with my tongue, while slowly rubbing and stroking my stomach and chest. Then she asked me if I wanted her to quit. I swatted her butt and told her she was mean. She giggled, then moved down and swallowed my cock again. I thought I was going to die.

After teasing me this way for about an hour, she asked me if I wanted to cum in her mouth. I was so far gone by this time I begged her to let me. She grinned at me sweetly, and said "Anything for my Daddy!" Then she started sucking me slowly, very softly, I could barely feel her mouth. She did not stop this time, as I exploded into her mouth, but she kept moving very slowly. I must have passed out for a second as I came, because the next thing I knew, Cindi had lowered herself down onto my still hard cock and had taken me up inside of her.

I panicked. A blowjob was bad enough, but I could not have intercourse with my little girl! I moaned "No, Cindi, please don't" and tried to push her off, but she lie down on top of me and put her arms around me to hold on. She started moving up and down slowly, driving me farther up inside her, until I was buried all the way inside. Then she just held me, whispering softly to me.

"It's ok, it's alright, you're not molesting me; I want this so bad. Make love to me, Daddy. Show me what it can be like. I love you Daddy. Love your little girl."

She kept whispering to me as she staring moving again. I finally stopped fighting her and started moving with her. I could not have stopped then even if I wanted to. I kept whispering repeatedly how much I loved her; she said, "I know, Daddy".

Since I had already cum once, she was farther along than I was. I watched as my little girl had her first consensual orgasm on my cock. She held me, and cried out softly as her whole body shook. I held her tight and kept pushing up into her as her movements became too spastic for her to keep a rhythm. I kept it up until she came again, and this time I came with her. We fell asleep with my cock still inside her.

When I woke up, Cindi was laying on top of me, her beautiful hair scattered all over the place. As I became aware of my surroundings, I remembered what we had done. I was afraid my greatest fear was going to happen - there was no way I could limit this to just once. I saw her looking at me, smiling, but with a worried look on her face. I started to speak, but she put her finger across my lips to silence me.

"No, I will not let you be sorry, you have nothing to be sorry for, I love you Daddy and that was so wonderful and if this is our only time together I am not going to let you waste it on nonsense, now kiss me!" How could I resist an offer like that? I kissed her, and then I started tickling her.

She shrieked and squealed, laughing hysterically. I pushed her over on her back and with no warning, put my head between her legs and sucked her clit into my mouth, while putting my other hand over her mouth. She was so surprised she screamed into my hand. I figured we had to keep the noise down a little, as Amy was sleeping in her room. Fortunately, nothing except thunderstorms wakes her up. As I kept sucking and licking her, she screamed "Oh God, Daddy!" and exploded into another orgasm. I continued to suck and lick her, driving her to two more orgasms before she begged me to stop.

I moved up on top of her, spreading her legs apart and kissed her deeply, playing with her tongue, then I slowly slid my cock all the way into her pussy as I reached down and sucked her nipple into my mouth. She was so wet it was tight but easy to get into. It helped also that I am only 6 inches, just the right size for little teenage girls. I felt her jerk and tremble, and her arms flew around my neck and she whispered "Oh Daddy, again?" I slowly moved in and out of her, and soon she wrapped her legs around me, holding me tight and whispering my name repeatedly. We made slow and gentle love for a long time, and when we finally came together, it was more like a gentle rainstorm than an explosion. My girls have always been cuddly, but this last time seemed to have turned on the cuddle gene big time for Cindi. She just kept kissing my face, neck, shoulders, rubbing her hands down my body, whimpering nonstop. Finally, I turned over and let her lay on top of me again. That was how we were still laying when the alarm went off.

Amy was a little worried about us the next day. She told me Cindi had fallen asleep twice in class, and then Cindi and I both fell asleep on the couch watching a move, Cindi on one side of me and Amy on the other. I woke up to find that Cindi had gone to bed, and Amy was sitting on my lap, arms around my neck, kissing my cheek.

"Daddy, are you ok? You never fall asleep during movies".

"I'm just tired, honey. I didn't sleep well last night."

She giggled. "Yeah, Cindi can be hard to sleep with sometimes. Both of you falling asleep? What were you guys doing last night?" she smirked. Fortunately, she was not looking at me when she said that, as I am sure my face was a remarkable sight. She apparently was just joking, as she continued to prattle on about Amy nonsense for a few more minutes while I got my heart under control. I sincerely hoped she did not figure this one out. Right. What were the chances? Certifiable genius.

After a few more minutes, she got up, grabbed my hand, and pulled me up from the couch.

"C'mon, Daddy, time to go to bed". I groaned - I was so tired I did not think I could walk into the bedroom and asked her to just let me sleep on the couch. Nope - she refused - Amy always knows best, don't you know? She walked me into the bedroom, sat me down on the bed, and started unbuttoning my shirt, taking it off for me. When she started on my pants, I decided I did not think I was ready for her to do this for me, after last night with Cindi, but she just slapped my hands away and told me to stay out of the way. She undressed me to my underwear, pushed me down into the bed, and covered me up. Then she walked over to the other side of the bed, crawled under the sheet, and snuggled up to me.

"Good night, Daddy" she whispered as she spooned up to me, holding me close. As she moved her hand away from me to pull the sheet over her, her hand accidentally brushed against my, now, hard cock. I was mortified - what was wrong with me? Please, do not let me start with Amy too. Not little sweet, innocent Amy. She did not seem to react, and I thought for a moment that she did not realize what had happened, or she was choosing to ignore it. Right. As if Amy would ever pass up an opportunity to tease. What planet do you live on?

As she cuddled up again, she kissed my ear softly, whispered, "Missing Mom a lot, are you?", and giggled. Was there no end to the supply of giggles for a teenage girl?

"I'm sorry, Amy. I couldn't help it."

She suddenly got serious. "I'm sorry for teasing you, I know you miss Mom and I know I remind you of her a lot. It's ok; I think it's a compliment that you react that way". She hesitated for a minute. "You know, Daddy, we love you a lot, we always will, no matter what. There is nothing you could do to make that change. You take care of us and make us so happy, and we would do anything to make you happy too. Whatever it is that is worrying you, Daddy, its ok. Really." Then she kissed me. Oh, please, do not let her have figured it out already. Please let this little genius have at least one blind spot!

"Besides," she whispered, "I think it's kind of neat that you get hard around me thinking about Mom. Don't worry; I won't take advantage of you!" She giggled hysterically, then snuggled up and went to sleep. Later, when I woke up, she was gone, back in her own bed.

Cindi did not come into my bed that night, nor did she for the next 10 days. Maybe her idea had worked, as she seemed much happier, cuddly again. I realized to my astonishment that I rather missed her in my bed. She was such a sweetheart, so pretty, and I loved her a lot. Cuddling was the thing I missed most about Victoria's absences.

The next 10 days were uneventful. Cindi seemed to be almost deliriously happy, laughing and, yes, giggling incessantly. She teased Amy a lot, and even played a couple of practical jokes on her; things she rarely did. Cindi was usually much too serious for that. After one particularly funny practical joke, that cracked us all up, Amy looked at me and gave me her famous "what?!?" look. I shrugged my shoulders. I figured I knew what it was due to, but I was not going to tell Amy that! When Amy and I were alone for a few minutes, she whispered, "What's up with Cindi?" I whispered back, "I don't know, but I like it better than the other way!"

On the tenth day after our liaison, Cindi seemed kind of quiet and withdrawn that evening. Amy and I looked at each other with the same expression - uh oh. Cindi was nice, not bitchy, just quiet and subdued. Later that night, as I was about to fall asleep, I felt someone crawl into bed with me. I wondered who it was - when Cindi had stopped sleeping with me, Amy had snuggled up to me a couple of nights. I didn't know if she was jealous, or just sensed that I missed the snuggling I had been getting before. It could be both - it was almost uncanny how Amy could often read people's emotions. I waited for whomever it was to snuggle up to my back, but they didn't. When I turned around to look, Cindi was laying there, big sad eyes wet with unshed tears, hands clasped to each other across her chest, trembling like a leaf.

atized frame of mind, was willing to latch on to anything except the job I had to do.

"What do you mean, you can't feel her, Amy?"

"She's not there, Daddy, she's gone, I can't feel her! What's happened to her?"

Amy was starting to get hysterical. The solid rock of my life, her and Victoria, and she was falling apart right in front of me. Might as well get this over with; it was not going to get any easier.

"Amy, honey, I'm so sorry, Cindi was killed in a car accident a little while ago." I managed to get it out without breaking down too badly. I had to be strong for my little girl.

Strangely, Amy actually calmed down some when I told her. She hugged me tight, with her head buried in my chest.

"I was afraid something like that happened," she mumbled. "Oh god, Daddy, what am I going to do now?" she wailed heartbrokenly.

"We have to get to the hospital, honey. I have to check on Mom. She was in the accident too, and I have to see how she is doing."

Instantly, the caring, sympathetic Amy kicked in.

"Daddy. Mommy's OK." I just looked at her. Now was not the time to ask her how she knew that.

I saw Katie run out of the house towards us. She had tears running down her face. She hugged us both.

"I'm so sorry. Is there anything I can do?" Katie asked.

"No. Something has come up. I have to take Amy home."

"She's not going to come back tonight, is she?" Katie asked.

"No, Honey, I'm afraid not."

"I'm so sorry," Katie sobbed, and ran back to the house. It wasn't until much later that I realized what she had said, and what she had not asked.

I got Amy into the car, and drove to the hospital. We were taken into a private room off to the side. A doctor and nurse joined us immediately. Then a state trooper came in to join us. Amy and I were sitting on an exam bed; she was leaning into me and I had my arm around her. She was crying softly, her eyes closed.

I asked the doctor how Victoria was and the police officer what happened. They looked questioningly at Amy, then back to me.

"Amy, honey, do you want to go lay down in the other room while I talk to these men?"

"NO! I'm not leaving you! Please don't leave me alone," she begged, her eyes pleading with me. I looked at them and nodded to go on.

"Your wife is doing well. Some impressive bruising, a few contusions, and some burns on her hands, but all in all, in very good shape. We will probably keep her overnight, but she can go home tomorrow." He seemed relieved that he could give me some good news, at least. "I think once you hear what the policeman has to say, it will be unnecessary to explain about your daughter." He looked pointedly at Amy, who seemed to be ignoring us, just holding onto my arm as if I were going to disappear.

"Your wife was driving through an intersection on what was apparently a green light for her, when a dump truck ran the red light at a high rate of speed and broadsided her car on the passenger side." I felt dizzy and nauseous. In a low voice, he continued, "Your daughter never felt a thing, never knew it was coming. Accident reconstruction says she was looking at your wife and laughing when it happened. She never knew anything. The driver of the truck was killed. It caught fire and burned after the accident. Your wife burned her hands trying to pull him out to save him." They seemed impressed with her heroism. I snorted. They looked at me strangely. I did not tell them that it was likely Victoria tried to pull him out so she could kill him for killing her baby. "It was likely he was already dead before the fire anyway; preliminary evidence indicated he was dead drunk."

Well, at least my baby did not suffer. You have to take the silver lining where you can get it.

I took Amy upstairs to see Victoria. She was sitting in her room, a blank, desperate look on her face. She did not even notice when we walked in. She looked up when I said her name, and I shivered at the haunted, dead, sad look in her eyes. 'I am so sorry, Victoria' my mind cried.

She stood up, and instantly I had two crying, sobbing young ladies in my arms, as Victoria and Amy cried their hearts out. Yeah, I cried some too, but I tried to be strong for my girls.

"It was my fault," Victoria cried, "I took a shortcut so I could get home to you faster. If I had gone the regular way..." She sobbed brokenly.

"It wasn't your fault. You didn't do anything wrong, Vickie." I said, emphasizing the name.

She looked up at me in surprise. I had only called her Vickie once before, shortly before we were married. We had had our first, and I think only, argument, on a subject I was not flexible on. Afterwards, she admitted she was wrong when we made up (I don't think she really believed that, she just knew when to quit on that subject) and we agreed that if she was ever being a complete ass, I would call her Vickie.

She smiled faintly and squeezed my hand.

We were in a lull during the crying when a police officer type came in. He reminded me of the jerk, Cop #1. He said he had some questions to ask.

"I'll answer them tomorrow," Victoria stated flatly.

"No. Ma'am, we need to talk about them now. It will only take a few minutes. Now, if you will excuse us..." he said to me. What rock did this ass crawl out from under? The first time I ever heard that tone of voice from Victoria, I knew better than to argue with her. In addition, excusing me from the room? With that attitude, and the present mood Victoria was in, I had no doubt who was coming out of that room alive. Victoria and Amy, almost as one, jerked their heads around and looked at him. Ever hear the terms "Eyes on fire", "Eyes ablaze", or "Flames shooting out of their eyes"? I have seen it now. I had not seen that look on either one of them before, and I certainly did not want to find out right now what it meant. I realized I now had a side bet. Which one of them would kill him first.

I put my hand on his arm. "This is a really bad time. She said she would answer the questions tomorrow. We will see you then. Thank you for coming," I dismissed him politely.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I have to..."

I tightened my grip on his arm and started moving him to the door as I saw both Victoria and Amy start to get up.

"I don't think you heard me or the lady correctly. No. Now get out of this room while you still can."

There we go. He saw Victoria's face. His eyes widened, and he left, quickly.

"Thank you." Victoria hugged me. "One of these days I need to do something about this temper of mine." I don't think she realized what Amy I had noticed long ago - her temper only showed up when the situation involved the well-being of the girls. I smiled weakly at her.

"That's ok, honey. I'm desperately looking for someone to beat the shit out of too."

She looked stricken. Amy looked up, eyes softening too. "Oh, God, honey, I forgot all about you. I'm so sorry, Patrick." That was a sign of how upset she was. She never calls me by my name. She and Amy came over and held me this time. Amy whispered in my ear.

"It's ok to cry, Daddy. Really, it is." I just couldn't, not much.

I decided we would sleep in the hospital room that night, all three of us. I talked to the head nurse and the doctor, and told them that we were not to be disturbed, for any reason, protocols be damned, unless we called for them. Then I called Chief Haskin, told him about the accident, and asked him to keep his people away from us tonight. I told him about the busy body that had already showed up, that I didn't know what Victoria would do in the mood she was in if someone showed up, and Amy was just as bad. I heard his intake of breath, as he no doubt remembered Amy disarming one of his officers and the rumors he had heard and things he suspected about Victoria, and he assured me no one would be there unless we called.

We got ready for bed. I had grabbed a nightgown for Victoria and Amy before I left the house, plus a few other things. Amy looked a little uncomfortable, and finally, she and Victoria whispered in the corner. Amy went into the bathroom while Victoria came over to me.

"She thought we might want to be alone for awhile, for some special time," Victoria explained. "I told her we wanted our little girl next to us all night long." She looked at me questioningly, her eyes pleading with me.

"I agree. I don't know if you have noticed this yet, but she is deathly afraid of being alone. I don't want her alone tonight."

Amy came back in, and looked nervous. I went up to her, hugged her, then picked her up and carried her over to the bed. I laid her down, then Victoria and I got on either side of her and sandwiched her in the ultimate snuggle. Amy clung to me all night long. If I had to get up, she whimpered, and then clung to Victoria. When I came back, she clung to me again. I think she cried almost the whole night. I held her and told her we loved her again. That's all I told her. I knew it would never be all right for any of us ever again. I did not see how it ever could be. Once again, I was wrong. Sometimes I really get sick of being wrong, but this time I was glad I eventually was wrong.

The next two weeks were the worst times we have ever had, the worst I could ever envision it could be. If it gets worse than that, I do not want to be here.

Amy slid downhill very spectacularly during those two weeks. The first three days, I expected it. She had lost her twin sister and best friend, for heavens sakes. After a day or two, Victoria and I started to get back to normal. You have to. You do not forget, but you have to; you have to cook, clean, wash, plan a funeral, talk to relatives. After three days, you just have to start acting normal again because you have no more energy to grieve. I always wondered how people in interviews a week after a loved one died talked normal and did not cry. Now I understood. I was not out of energy due to grieving; that would come later. I always took a long time to react emotionally to things. And this was so big. However, I was out of energy, just trying to help and be there, do things for my girls.

The funeral was a mess. Everyone showed up. There were so many people to talk to. I have always hated funerals, but this one was the ultimate. One thing Amy and I agreed on - we refused to go up and see Cindi in the casket. I would remember her from the last night we spent together, or in many other ways, not as a lifeless doll lying in a box. I was afraid if I heard someone say that classic line "Oh, doesn't she look so natural, just like she's asleep", I was going to say, "No, actually she looks just like she is dead!" I spent my time comforting Amy, and to a lesser extent, Victoria. However, every time I approached Victoria, she shortly sent me back to Amy. She said Amy needed me more.

Finally, it got too much for Amy, and she fled the room, crying. I went after her, and found her sitting on a bench, knees pulled up to her chin, arms around her legs, crying. I sat with her, and held her. I didn't know what to say, and she didn't seem to want any conversation. We never went back in.

They had sort of a memorial service in the school gymnasium. The whole gym was packed full. Knowing how upset Amy was, they did not string it out too long. Someone did get a reaction out of her, though. Towards the end, Katie walked up to the microphone. She said she had a special tribute for Cindi and Amy. She was the only one that included Amy too. She then sang, a capella, the most beautiful rendition of Wind Beneath My Wings I have ever heard. It was a special favorite of mine, because it was the song Victoria picked to be sung to me at our wedding. No one even knew she could sing. She had the most beautiful, clear, bell-like soprano voice I have ever heard. When she got to the line, "Did you ever know that you are my hero?" she looked right at Amy and the empty chair that was there for Cindi. There was not a single dry eye in the place. When she was done, Amy, who had not moved during the entire ceremony, got up, walked over to Katie, and hugged her, thanking her. They then held hands as they went to sit down. Amy insisted she sit in the chair set there for Cindi and they sat together the rest of the program. Pretty good for someone Amy never really liked. She reached her when her loved ones could not. As long as someone did.

After that, it got really bad. Amy wouldn't eat. She couldn't sleep at night. She stayed up almost all night, watching TV. Mindless trash she never watched before. Then she would spend all day sleeping in my arms or on my lap. She wouldn't take a bath for days. She insisted on staying in physical contact, or at least in the same room with one of us at all times. This went on and on. Even worse, she turned snotty. The anti-Amy was here. She would tell us to mind our own business, yell at us, or worse, the biting sarcasm. She wasn't teasing now. She had turned into the nasty 13 year old we had always hoped we would not get. The only things that kept me from laying her across my lap and paddling her obnoxious little butt was the knowledge of what she was going through, and the look deep in her eyes that told me she hated what she was doing, but she just couldn't help it. The feeling that there was something going on here that we did not know about; that I was missing something important constantly plagued me.

Victoria and I were so worried, we started keeping an unofficial suicide watch on her. If she ever left the room alone, one of us followed her. Victoria and I were both on open-ended leaves from our jobs, until we got this straightened out. Some thoughtless idiot called Victoria from work about coming in for something stupid; by the time she was done handing their head to them on a platter, I was wondering if she would even have a job. I didn't care - I was sure I could find something for her to do. When I asked her who that was, she smiled faintly and told me it was her boss. I was impressed; I had never heard her set aside work for us so forcefully.

After a few days of this, we decided Amy had to at least bathe or shower or something. I had told Victoria about the baths when Amy was sick - she thought that might work.

I walked up behind her one day and kissed her on the neck. She smiled faintly. Good, I could still get some reaction.

"Come on, Amy, you need to take a shower. You stink, girl." I said. She turned around and gave me a nasty look.

"I don't really care. Stay away from me if you don't like it."

Oops, hit a nerve there. I bent down and whispered in her ear.

"We could take a bath together."

Finally. That got a reaction. She smiled almost prettily, said ok, and got up to go into the bathroom.

"Oh no you don't," I said, as I picked her up and carried her into the bathroom, where I had already run a bubble bath. Well, she didn't exactly squeal in glee, but she did give me a smile, hugged me, and sighed contentedly when she got in. I climbed in behind her, she leaned back against me, and went to sleep.

After two weeks, Victoria and I were desperate. I tearfully told her I thought we were going to lose Amy too, and I could not stand that. Suddenly, all these things started entering my mind that I had forgotten about before. It started with Amy telling me that Cindi was gone; she couldn't feel her anymore when I went to pick her up to take her to the hospital. Then I remembered all the times Cindi and Amy had told me that Victoria was ok, and the time Cindi told me that Amy was not ok. The way they communicated without words in the hospital room. The "dream", which I never believed was a dream that they both had in San Francisco. The way they looked at each other, possibly communicating, when they were trying to convince me that Victoria needed me. Maybe there was something here we were missing.

After Amy and I finished her bath, I brought her out into the living room. She promptly sat on my lap and started to go to sleep.

"No, Amy stay awake. We need to talk"

"Don't want to."

"What did you mean the day I picked you up when you said Cindi was gone, that you couldn't feel her anymore?"

Well! That certainly got a reaction. She looked at me with more fire, more anger in her eyes than I had seen in a long time.

"My sister is dead, Dad, and you are wasting my time playing games, asking me questions you've known the answer to for years? Give me a break and leave me alone."

I was not letting this one go. I moved her head, and held it so I could look directly into her eyes.

"Amy, have I ever lied to you?"

"Every Christmas, when I guess my Christmas present!" She smiled slightly. The old Amy was still in there, I just had to find a way to reach it. She was hurting badly in some way that I just did not quite understand yet.

"Ok, Have I ever lied to you about anything important?"

"Christmas presents are pretty important to a little girl," she replied. "Ok, Dad, no you haven't. What is your point?"

"The point is that neither your Mom nor I understand what you mean when you say you can't feel her anymore."

"Come on, Dad, you know what I mean, that place in your mind where Cindi was, where she lived, the place where you could always feel her, know she was there and ok. Doesn't it bother you that she isn't there anymore?"

Victoria and I looked at her blankly. She looked at us closely. Then I noticed something new on Amy's face - fear.

"You really have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?" she whispered.

We both shook our heads. She started crying.

"Oh, God, I really am all alone then! I'm a freak! No one can help me! I wish I had died instead of Cindi! It's my fault. I insisted she go on that trip instead of me! I killed her!" She tried to get off my lap and run into her bedroom, but I held her and wouldn't let her go. She kept trying to get away. She got so desperate she swung around and hit me. Hard. It was so unexpected that I didn't even have a chance to stop her. She had never hit me before. There are just some things you never expect in life, and Amy hitting me was one of them. I felt the room spin, and then I blacked out.

When I came to, Victoria was bathing my head with a warm washcloth. My jaw really hurt. I didn't care for the look in her eyes. I knew she wouldn't hurt Amy, but she was in big trouble. Amy was holding me, sobbing.

"I'm so sorry, Daddy, I didn't mean it, please wake up, I love you. Mommy, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt him." She looked at Victoria, and knew she was NOT forgiven. Not yet, anyway. Victoria's eyes said she had had enough of this and something needed to change. I put my hand on her arm, and had her help me up.

"Victoria, it's ok. She didn't mean it. She can't help it. I know now why she's hurting."

The three of us sat and talked for hours. Victoria and I listened in amazement to a story we never knew or suspected.

It seems that Cindi and Amy had always had some kind of mental connection, since as early as they could remember. They had never mentioned it, because they just thought everyone did it. It was all they knew, so it was normal. They always knew where the other one was. Even on opposite sides of the continent, they knew where the other one was. Specific stuff, like she is in the mall downtown shopping. They couldn't tell what store, but knew the location. They were also able to tell the emotions and feelings of the other one. If Cindi was unhappy, upset, afraid, Amy knew it. They were also able, to a more limited degree, to do the same with Victoria and me. Apparently, Cindi was able to block access to her emotions to a certain degree, as she hid from Amy her emotions when she was being raped. Amy did not know how she did that. There were also some times lately when Cindi had been blocking her, from emotions that lasted a few hours. Amy got the impression that they were very intense, and were happy emotions, so Amy didn't worry about it. I could tell her what those were, but I was not going to! The last two years or so, starting in San Francisco, they started to be able to pass some rudimentary thoughts to each other. Their ability to monitor our emotions had gotten stronger. Hence, the ability to tell that Victoria was in trouble in San Francisco. And the ability to tell she was ok. They had lied about it being a dream, because by this time, they were beginning to realize that this was not something everyone could do. They didn't want to be thought of as freaks. They still thought that all of us in the family could do it, at least to some degree, until Amy found out differently today. Apparently, there was a little place in her mind where the knowledge of Cindi lived; it was always there, the feeling that she was ok, happy, etc. Now, that place was empty and black, and Amy was inconsolable. Imagine losing your eyesight. How devastating would that be? This was worse, maybe like losing your eyesight, your favorite sister, and your best friend, all at once.

"So, this is how, when we were in the altercation with the policemen, you told Cindi to stop Mom?"

"Well, yes, but how did you know about that? Cindi wasn't supposed to tell anyone about this stuff, we promised each other."

"Cindi didn't tell me; I heard you, loud and clear, but your lips never moved."

"That is new; I have never been able to do that before." She bit her bottom lip; she didn't seem to care for that at all.

We finally talked ourselves out. We had no solutions. Amy had lost something invaluable, that meant the world to her, and it was irreplaceable. Although we could never replace Cindi, we could fill our lives with other people, other friends. She could not do that. In many ways, Amy was even more upset now that we had talked. She knew she was truly alone in the world; no one was going to come save her. She wasn't sure she wanted to go on.

I was very upset when we went to bed. I had hoped that this would somehow make things better, knowing what the problem was, and all I had done was made it worse. I cried that night, after everyone was asleep. Not grieving for Cindi; I still had not gotten there yet, but grieving for Amy. A lost little girl that I had just hurt even more. I wished I could help; I would do anything to help this lost little girl find her way. Amy's arm tightening around my waist, her little kisses on my neck, and her head on my shoulder dropping her own tears told me my tears had not gone as unnoticed as I thought.

The next day, Sunday, things were even worse. Amy was, if possible, even more surly, rude, and obnoxious. I could see in her eyes how much she hated herself for it. She stayed in her room most of the day. We let her keep the door closed because we did not want her to think we didn't trust her, but we made a point of checking in with her on an irregular basis, but at least every hour or so. That pissed her off even more.

Victoria and I were sitting there, holding each other and trying desperately to think of something to do, when there was a timid little knock on the door. It was 11:00 in the morning. I remember looking at my watch, as it was an odd time for visitors. When I answered it, Katie was standing there. After I let her in, she just stood there, looking lost. Finally, she spoke.

"I am so sorry, Daddy." My eyes welled up with tears at that. She looked so much like Cindi, and she called me Daddy! "I would change places with her if I could. I would gladly take her place if it would bring her back," she sobbed. I looked in her eyes, and I knew this sweet little girl was telling the truth. She would, gladly. I pulled her into my arms and hugged her. "I love you so much, I would do anything for you, anything at all," she whispered in my ear as she cried.

Finally, I pulled away from her. "So, did you just come over here to make me cry, or is there something we can do for you, little girl?" I said flippantly, trying to get a handle on my emotions. She giggled and looked at me speculatively. Then she got serious.

"Amy needs me. Now," she stated.

"Well, you know where her room is. Be warned. She is in a nasty mood. I hope you can cheer her up."

She smiled gently at me, said hi to Victoria, walked over to Amy's room, opened the door, and walked in, shutting the door after her. That was strange, I thought. Katie is impeccably polite. She never enters someone else's room, or house, without knocking first. Even if she has just been there. I shrugged, and went back to Victoria.

One hour later, there was still no sign of Amy or Katie. I went to her door, and knocked.

"What?!?" Amy hollered.

"Are you ok? You guys need anything to drink?"

"I know where it is if we do. Leave me alone! Stop bothering me!"

"Oh, Amy!" I heard Katie's voice, sounding angry. "You can't talk to him that way! He's your father."

"They won't leave me alone. I'm sick of it!"

"Amy, they are hurting too. Maybe worse than you. You lost a sister. They have lost two daughters, the way you are acting. Do you know what I would give to have a father like that? They love you so much..."

At that point, I stopped eavesdropping, feeling guilty. I sat down next to Victoria again. She saw the look on my face, and did not say anything. After another two hours and no Amy or Katie, I just had to risk Amy's wrath and check again. I knocked on the door again.

"Amy, honey, you ok? Is there anything I can get you?"

"I'm fine, Daddy. Thank you." Amy's sweet voice answered me. A pause, then apparently feeling bad for her nastiness at my last knock, "I love you and Mommy, Daddy!" I was too stunned and choked up to even answer. Victoria took one look at my face and knew something had happened.

"What happened?" she asked fearfully.

I smiled and said "Amy's back and I hope she stays."

Amy and Katie finally came out of the room at 5:00. Amy was smiling and they both had been crying. They hugged, and Amy asked Katie if she would see her in school tomorrow. Katie said absolutely. Amy went into the bathroom. Katie started to leave, and then walked over to me. She sat on my lap and whispered in my ear.

"She's ok. She will be fine now. It's ok now."

I hugged her tightly. "Thank you for giving me back my little girl. I can never repay you enough for this. Anything you ever want, just ask."

She giggled. "Careful what you say, I just might take you up on that!" She kissed me softly, then got up and went over to Victoria. They whispered too softly for me to hear. Katie giggled and blushed. Katie, blushing? I am probably glad I missed what was said there! The hugged, and Katie left.

A few minutes later, Amy came into the room. Her face was scrubbed and her hair was combed. Victoria had moved over to the couch next to me. Amy came over, and squished herself down in between us.

"Mom, Dad, I'm so sorry! I've been such a brat lately. I'm so ashamed. Please forgive me. I promise I will try to do better. Mom, please, please forgive me for hitting Dad. I love you both."

We cuddled together for quite a while, and then we all went out for pizza and pistachio ice cream. Well, ok, there are some disadvantages to being a happy family again.

Later, after Victoria went to bed, Amy and I stayed up and talked for a while. I asked her what had happened with Katie.

"Oh, nothing really. We just talked. She made me realize how lucky I was to have parents like you-guys. Made me see what a snot I had been. Dad, I am sorry. Cindi was so important to me." Her eyes were getting wet again. "I just lost it and went to pieces. I'm sure I will have bad days again. Katie will help. She's really nice. She's kind of like Cindi. And she really likes you!" She giggled. Oh, God, how I had missed that sound!

I may not be a certifiable genius teenager, but I can tell when the subject is being changed on me. She was good, though. I let her steer the conversation away from my question... Her changing the subject partially answered the question anyway. Just talked, my foot. My daughter never was a good liar. Well, as long as she was better, I was happy. I was beginning to suspect that Katie was a very special little girl, indeed.

fair as it may be, she was blaming Amy for many of the things that had happened to her. She had to suck cock, and swallow cum to protect Amy. She had to rub balls, when she would rather have died than do all those things, to protect Amy from being raped. In her upset state of mind, she did not realize that a) she would have been raped anyway. They just would have raped Amy also, or if that was a bluff, just forced Cindi to do it anyway. I suspect threatening to take Amy was a bluff - they just were turned on by making her give in and do it of her "own free will". b) She made the choice to protect Amy. I will always have a special love for Cindi for protecting my little Amy like that, but it was not Amy's fault. She had nothing to do with it.

My problem now was what to do about the whole situation. Obviously, I felt we should go to the boys' parents and the police, but I felt that had to wait, since my wife was out of town (again!). God, there were times I hated her job, whatever it was! However, this had happened at least two weeks before, so another day or two was not going to matter. A bigger problem was how to go to the police about it and how to talk to Cindi about it without using the tape. She was traumatized enough - I really did not want her to know that her rape had been videotaped and god knows who had seen it. Even worse, her daddy had seen it. I could not do that to her, if I could possibly find another way. I suspected it had not been widely viewed by the boys at school, or some of her friends would have known. Some of those girls knew everything that happened - it was uncanny. However, someone other than the original boys had obviously seen it - it was unlikely they had delivered the tape to me. In addition, was this the original, or a copy? As good as the quality was, I suspected it was the original, but I did not know. I had to do something about that - I could not stand the thought of my baby finding out through some sick locker room gossip that her rape had been recorded

As often is the case when there seems to be no clear way to go, an opportunity presented itself the same day to deal with the situation with Cindi. That evening, Cindi and Amy had another fight. This one was bad enough that it finally even got to sweet, gentle Amy, who never got upset about anything. I heard the whole thing, and again it was Cindi that started it. That made sense to me now. Amy got so mad, she stomped out of the room, yelled, "Go to hell, bitch!", and slammed the door. I thought poor Amy was going to die when she stomped into the living room and saw me sitting there looking at her. What you have to understand about Amy is that she is the original goody two shoes. Except with her, it is all genuine. Until that day, I had never heard Amy say a bad word, even "damn" or "hell". I didn't even know she knew such words, much less "bitch". I doubt her mouth was capable of saying, "fuck", if she even knew the word. She stopped dead in her tracks, with a look of horror on her face, turned bright red, mumbled "I'm sorry, Daddy", and then announced she'd had enough and she was going over to Rebecca's house, three doors down. Then she very quietly walked out of the house, closing the door softly behind her.

I waited about 10 minutes for things to calm down, and then I called Cindi into the room to talk to her. She walked in belligerent, angry, snotty, with a chip on her shoulder, and said "WHAT?!?" She knew she was in trouble, as she was just as shocked by Amy's outburst as I had been. At first, I was mad, that she would act that way to me, but immediately I was sorry for that reaction, and my heart just melted for this poor little girl and what she had gone through. I called her over to me, and when she stomped close enough to me, I reached over, grabbed her hand, and pulled her onto my lap, wrapped my arms around her, and hugged her. I first saw the surprise in her eyes, as she was sure she was going to be chewed out, not hugged. Then she tried to pull out of my arms, but I would not let her go. She looked at me with moist eyes and said, "Please let go of me, Dad". I thought I would stop breathing when she said that, but I held on to her and asked her "What's wrong, Cindi?"

"Nothing", she replied. "Why do you think something is wrong?"

"Well", I replied, "it could be that you have been a total bitch to Amy tonight. It could be that you have been that way for about two weeks now, or it could be that you will not even let your daddy touch you, who loves you more than he can even tell you. Which one do you want to pick?"

"Dad (Oh god, when did I become dad instead of daddy?), Amy is such a snot, I am so tired of..."

"Cindi", I interrupted, "Cut the bullshit. I heard the whole thing tonight, as well as several over the last two weeks. You have started every one. Now, are you going to tell me what is going on?"

She gave me a glare that would have put me in the grave if looks could kill, and said nothing. I shrugged my shoulders, smiled, and said, "You know, Cindi, I haven't gotten to cuddle with you for two weeks, and I've really missed it. If you want to sit here on my lap all night, that is fine with me. I'm rather enjoying holding you, but I am not letting you go until you talk to me".

Suddenly, the dam broke. She laid her head on my shoulder, and cried, sobbing her little heart out. I held her, stroked her hair, and told her how much I loved her. I did not tell her it was going to be ok, because I knew it might never be ok for my little girl again. She sobbed her heart out for 15 minutes or so, not seeming to be able to stop. Finally, she wiped her tears on my shirt, looked at me, and wailed "Oh, god, daddy, I don't want to be a slut, I don't want to be a whore!" She started to cry again.

When she stopped crying again, I asked her what was wrong. What did she mean by what she said? She said, "Oh daddy, I'm so ashamed", and then, haltingly, began to tell me what had happened to her two weeks ago. I played ignorant, not letting on I knew all about it. That might seem cruel, making her relive it when I could have saved her the time, but I felt it was important to get her to talk. I still could not let her know I had seen her "shame". I might have lost her forever if I let her know that. She told it straight down the line, even about how she could not stop the orgasms. She cried as she told me how hard she had tried to keep her body from responding, but she just could not help it. As she talked, I began to realize that she thought she was a slut and a whore because her body had responded.

I explained very carefully how it was possible for a male who knew what they were doing to make a female have an orgasm whether she wanted to or not. I told her that did not make her a slut. I told her that she had been raped, and that nothing her body did after she said no changed that. I spent a lot of time holding her, letting her know she was loved, that not all men were like that, and that it was not her fault. After quite awhile, she began to believe me. Then I started to work on the other problem.

"Cindi, you need to stop blaming Amy for what happened to you".

"I'm not!"

"Yes, you are, honey. I am so proud of you for protecting her, and I will always love you in a special way for what you sacrificed to protect her, but she had nothing to do with it and it was not her fault. You have been being mean to her because they used threatening her to get you to cooperate, and you blame her for that. It's not fair". Her eyes got very big, and she said, "Am I really doing that?" We talked it out for a while, and then we just cuddled for quite awhile, with her on my lap, her head on my shoulder, and our arms around each other. I thought she had gone to sleep; she was so relaxed in my arms.

When the front door opened, Cindi immediately sat up as Amy walked in. I saw Amy's eyes open wide as she saw Cindi sitting in my lap, so obviously the opposite from the way she had been lately. Then Cindi jumped up, ran over to Amy, threw her arms around her in a tight hug, and started crying.

"Oh, god, Amy, I'm so sorry, I've been so mean to you, I love you so much, please forgive me, I know it wasn't your fault, I'm sorry". She kept asking her to forgive her and saying she was sorry. Amy looked at me over Cindi's shoulder, confusion in her eyes, and mouthed to me "what??" I mouthed back "just go with it", and she shrugged her shoulders and hugged Cindi back, telling her it was ok, she loved her too. Then they went into the other room together, and I slumped back down on the couch, breathing a big sigh of relief, totally exhausted. I knew we, and Cindi, were not out of the woods yet. One hour or two of talking was not going to solve all of Cindi's problems, but at least, for the first time since I saw that movie, I was beginning to have hope.

been very calm and laid back at all times, I was a little surprised at how calmly she took all of this. Then she turned to look at me during the conversation, and I saw her eyes, and I got goose bumps all over - I was scared. Before I started my career in the medical profession, I had been trained and worked as a law enforcement officer in a very specialized branch of work that received some very specialized training. I do not scare easily. Victoria normally has very expressive eyes. When she smiles, she lights up the whole room, and when she is just acting normal, without smiling, her eyes only light up half the room. When she looked at me, her eyes were flat and devoid of all expression. I had seen that look in her eyes once before, a year earlier, when three men had tried to hurt Amy. I will never forget that look, nor what she did to those men while I removed Amy to safety and before I could get back to help. The thought suddenly popped into my head that I was sure glad I was not one of those boys

I had figured we would go to the police on Friday, but Victoria announced that she had to be out of town Friday and the weekend. I am ashamed to say that was one of the few times I have ever been really irritated with her. I asked her couldn't someone else do it and was even crass enough to imply that her family ought to be more important than anything else is. She looked like I had slapped her in the face, and then looked at me with big sad eyes.

"Don't you think I want to be there for Cindi"? She looked like she was going to cry and Victoria never cries. My heart melted; I loved this woman so much, how could I even think of implying what I did?

"I'm sorry, honey, I didn't mean that, I don't know why I said it. Please forgive me; I know you love the girls as much as I do. I'm sorry - it has just been a very trying last couple of days". The smile she gave me was forgiveness enough.

The other reason I had been so short with her was that I had to be out of town for my job for the weekend. I really did not want Cindi to be alone over the weekend. She seemed the sanest of all of us, though, and just announced that she and Amy would stay at their grandparents for the weekend. She insisted it was ok - after all, she had been alone for two weeks anyway because she was avoiding or fighting with everyone. It would not hurt her to be with her grandparents for two days

When Amy came home a little while later from Rebecca's house, she walked in, and as she walked by me, she asked in a quiet voice that no one else could hear "Did you get it all straightened out"? Damn! Like I said, certifiable genius. I do not know why I even try to fool her. She never did ask what it was all about, though.

Victoria was not getting back into town until very late Monday night. Since I was getting back Sunday, I told her parents to drop the kids off at the house about two hours before I got back, as they had a scheduling conflict for those two hours. When I walked into the house Sunday afternoon, I knew immediately that something was wrong. Cindi was locked in her room, crying, and Amy was almost beside herself, as close to panic as I had ever seen her. When I asked her what was wrong, she had trouble speaking coherently, but finally managed to say that Cindi had read something in the paper, ran into her room crying, and refused to open the door. I told Amy to go to her room and wait there for me until I called her. She rolled her eyes at me as if I was just the biggest dork in the world, stamped her foot in frustration and stomped into her room. Amy does not get upset often, but when she does, she makes sure you know all about it. And when she gives you that eye roll, you feel about 2 inches tall...

I finally got Cindi to open the door, and sat down next to her on the bed. She immediately hugged me tightly.

"Cindi, honey, what's wrong? Amy is almost out of her mind with worry".

"It's them, Daddy". And she handed me the paper. The front-page story was of a SUV with three teenage boys in it traveling at a high rate of speed that ran off the road late Saturday night on a deserted stretch of highway. All three boys were killed instantly. I recognized the pictures of all three from the movie I had seen, although I did not let on that I knew who they were. The paper mentioned that the investigation was still ongoing, as there was some suspicion that their car might have been forced off the road. I felt chills go up and down my body. After that look in Victoria's eyes on Thursday night, and the sudden unscheduled trip out of town, I sincerely hoped that the sudden thought I had was not true.

Things seemed to return pretty much to normal over the next two weeks. Cindi and Amy were best friends again, Cindi seemed much happier, although she had occasional moody periods, and Victoria was back to out of town much of the time. Like I said, back to normal. I have never been able to figure out how all of us can love her so much, and the whole family gets along so well and functions so well, when she is seldom around. Just shows how truly special she is.

There was one thing that occurred during those two weeks, however, that was a change that ended up being very significant, although I did not realize its significance until later. Monday night, we all went to bed as usual. Victoria was not getting into town until late Monday night. About two hours after I went to sleep, I suddenly woke up. Something was different. Then I realized that someone was in bed with me, snuggled up. At first, I thought Victoria had gotten home early, but I realized that was probably not it, as she always wakes me up. Usually in a very delightful way. We usually stay in bed for the first day or two she is home, making up for lost time. The girls walk around the house going "EWWWW!" and making gagging noises, but they really think it's "cute" and usually keep us in food until we rejoin the living. They do blush a lot, and seem to forget how to talk when they bring the food into the room, though. They are so pretty when they blush! I also realized that it was too small to be Victoria, so I figured it was Amy. She has always been terrified of thunderstorms, and jumps in bed with us every time we have one. However, I had not heard any thunder. Then I realized it was Cindi. I was on my back, and she was snuggled up close, with her head on my shoulder and her hand on my chest, sound asleep. I stroked her hair and kissed her forehead and she smiled in her sleep. Poor little thing. When Victoria got home, she found us asleep together, in the same position. I started to move Cindi back into her own bed, but Victoria said let her stay, she feels safe, and besides, it looked so darned cute. In the morning, before the alarms went off, I woke her up (quite a feat in itself - these girls HATE to get up in the morning), kicked her out of bed, swatted her butt and told her to hit the shower. She looked at me with this fake hurt look, but she giggled on the way to the shower.

The same thing happened the next night, too. And every night during the next two weeks. Cindi would go to bed in her own bed, and then sneak into my room after I was asleep. On the days when Victoria was home, she would crawl in between us and cuddle up to one or the other of us. For some reason, it was important to me to get her out of my bed before Amy woke up. I do not know if it was because I was afraid Amy would be jealous, or if I was just uncomfortable with the situation, knowing my reaction when I saw the movie. It did not bother me that Cindi was in the bed - it just bothered me that Amy would know.

The fourth night it happened, Amy got up to go to the bathroom before the alarms went off and saw me booting Cindi out of bed. I must have looked embarrassed and must have stumbled around trying to explain, because Amy gave me one of her famous eye rolls and said, "Geez, Dad, chill out will you? It's not like I don't know Cindi's been sleeping with you every night". Then she got an impish little smile on her face.

"There isn't something going on between the two of you that I should know about, is there"? She whispered theatrically.

"AMY! That isn't funny!" I said as she practically rolled on the floor laughing - SHE sure thought it was funny! "You are just too easy," she choked out between laughs.

"Cindi's just been going through a hard time lately and needs some extra love and attention", I explained.

"Oh. You mean because of the rape?" She was serious now, whispering.

I swear, my heart stopped beating. Certifiable genius. God I love her!

"How did you know about that"? I gasped, panic setting in.

Eye roll. "Geez, Dad, I'm not stupid. I heard about it at school."

Dad. That meant I was being a dork again. Now I was really panicking.

"Oh, God, Amy, we have to stop that from getting around! We cannot let Cindi hear about it! She'll just die if she finds out people know"

Then I got scared again. Amy gave me a cold little smile, and her eyes had that same flat, expressionless look as Victoria's had last Thursday when she found out about the rape. Where did my sweet little baby with the sweet smile and twinkling, expressive eyes go?

"Don't worry, Daddy, I took care of it. No one will ever mention it again".

"Amy... what... did you do?"

Her eyes were back to normal, and she had that cute, impish little grin again.

"Remember Robert, the football player that you think it is so cute that he has a crush on me? Well, he really has a crush on Cindi - he just hangs around me because he is too shy to talk to Cindi and that way he can be around her. I haven't told Cindi yet just because I think it is so funny to watch the two of them dance around each other. God, my sister can be such a dork sometimes. When I heard the rumor about the rape, I told him. I have never seen somebody so mad before. He only had to break one nose before he knew that there was only one copy of the movie, it had disappeared, and only one guy, besides the three involved, the one whose nose he broke, had seen it. He has assured me that no one will ever mention it again," she giggled.

"Amy, Cindi must never know there was a movie." I said. Then I realized what I had said. Oops. No question about what movie, no surprise. Smart. Damn. Maybe she would miss it.

Certifiable genius. Her eyes widened briefly, and then she looked at me for a couple of seconds. Then she got a sad look on her face.

"How was the movie? It was hard for you to watch it, wasn't it? So, did you run those guys off the road, or was it Mommy?" she asked quietly. Something in my face must have told her something, as she reached up, put her arms around me in a big hug and kissed my cheek. Then she walked away. I was desperately hoping she would never figure out the other reason I was upset about watching it. In addition, I knew I had not run those kids off the road. I wish I could be sure Victoria had nothing to do with it. I was worried, though. I already knew from experience you do not mess with her babies.

One night, about two weeks after Cindi had started to sneak in bed with me, I was sound asleep, having a wonderful dream. Victoria had come home early, and was in bed with me, playing with me. She was very passionately kissing me, rubbing my chest with one hand, and had her other hand inside my underwear, softly, gently rubbing my cock and balls. As I slowly began to wake up, I began to realize that this was not a dream. Victoria really had come home early, and was really playing with me. I was thrilled! I reached out my hand to rub her breast, and suddenly felt cold all over. Victoria has small breasts, but not that small. Her body was not that small either. Trying not to panic and scar somebody for life about sex, I slowly opened my eyes and looked into the nervous, tentative smile of my daughter Cindi.

.. It was also obvious from the tape that Cindi had no idea that the camera was there.

After a few minutes, Cindi's boyfriend got up, went into the kitchenette/bar, and asked her if she wanted anything to drink. He apparently must have opened the back basement door, as when he came back he had two friends with him. Cindi was a little surprised, and a little nervous, since she and Amy were home alone and she wasn't even supposed to have her boyfriend there, but the were all friends so she wasn't too worried. They started horsing around and kind of wrestling around, like they often did, and Cindi was giggling and having a good time. Even when her boyfriend grabbed her ankles and one of the other boys grabbed her hands and stretched her out on the couch, she still thought it was funny and was playing along. It wasn't until her boyfriend started undoing the belt and button on her shorts, and the third boy started to unbutton her blouse that she realized what was happening and started to panic. She began to struggle to get away and said, "What are you doing!?! No, stop!" When they ignored her, she started to cry and started begging them "Please, no, please don't do this to me. Please stop!"

Being 5' 1" and 90 lbs, there was nothing she could do to stop them and they soon had her completely naked on the couch. Her boyfriend spread her legs apart, and went down on her, licking her pussy and licking and sucking on her clit. The second boy was playing with and sucking on her small but pretty little breasts and nipples, and the third boy had his shorts off, and was kneeling above her head, trying to push his hard cock into her mouth. He was holding her head with his hands, keeping her from turning away as she was trying to do. She was crying, begging them to stop, and when the boy above her head told her to suck his cock, she whispered "No, never!" He didn't seem concerned at all, and said, "That's ok, you don't have to". I could see the relief on her face, until he said, "We'll just go upstairs and get Amy, and make her suck it. She's prettier than you; I would rather have her suck me off anyway". I saw a look of terror cross Cindi's face and she whispered "No, please, please don't hurt Amy. I'll do anything you want, just please don't hurt her!" He just looked at her expectantly, and touched the head of his cock to her mouth again. Cindi started sobbing, and after a minute slowly opened her lips and let him push his cock into her mouth.

After several minutes of her boyfriend working her over with his mouth between her legs, and licking her little ass hole, I could tell from watching the video that Cindi was beginning to have another problem that I don't think she was even aware of yet. Her boyfriend was obviously not a beginner at oral sex, and her legs and hips were beginning to twitch and move as her body started to respond to his actions. He would suck her clit into his mouth, then run his tongue around it in little circles, first slow, then fast, and then slow again, all the while maintaining the suction. Then he would run his tongue back and forth rapidly across her clit, again still maintaining the suction. Then front to back, back and forth, fast, and then slow. She didn't even notice that she had unconsciously spread her legs farther apart to give him more access. It was becoming obvious to me that she was not going to be able to take much more of this without having a shattering orgasm, like it or not. It didn't help that the second boy was really working on her nipples, and they were hard. The boy whose cock she was sucking told her to run her tongue across his cock, licking it as she sucked, and to rub his balls. She refused, until he mentioned that he bet Amy would be really good at rubbing balls, and told the guy working on her breasts to go upstairs and wake her up and bring her down. Cindi's response of "No, please no!" was muffled by the cock in her mouth and she immediately started licking and sucking, and moved her hand up to rub his balls. When she sucked on just the head of his cock, she would stroke the rest of his shaft. I think she was trying to get him off as soon as possible to get it over with. As she continued to suck and lick him, and fondle his balls, he started breathing heavily and moaning. Although she was a little awkward at first, it was clear she was a fast learner, and was really doing a good job on his cock. It was also clear from the look on her face and the tears rolling down her face that this was not something she wanted to be doing. Clearly, she was trying to do the best job she could to protect Amy. The boy was obviously enjoying it tremendously, moving his cock in and out, to various depths, alternating between fast and slow strokes, varying the sensations as much as he could. He told her how to suck lightly, then harder just on the head, and how to lick around the head, making him moan in ecstasy. He even forced her to deep throat him a couple of times, but stopped that when it looked like she might throw up from the gag reflex. She really started sobbing when he made her lick his balls and ass hole. It wasn't long after that he announced he was going to cum. Cindi tried to take his cock out of her mouth, but he held the back of her head and told her if she didn't swallow it all he would do Amy next. By this time, Cindi's whole body was shaking as she neared the first orgasm of her young life, at least the first one given her by someone other than herself. The third boy, about that time, shoved his cock deep into her mouth and came, shooting several shots into her mouth. She sobbed as she swallowed it all. As he took his cock out of her mouth, she cried out desperately "Oh, God, please stop, please don't do this to me!", then he covered her mouth with his hand as her whole body convulsed as she came. She screamed, but his hand muffled it. Her boyfriend kept licking and sucking, holding her legs as she tried to get away, and just kept eating her and sucking her clit, with a finger inside her pussy, as she came repeatedly, her back arching up off the couch. Finally, she collapsed back on the couch, and lay there sobbing and crying as she tried to catch her breath, shocked at how strongly her body had reacted.

At that point, the two other boys backed off, and her boyfriend lay down on top of her. He began kissing her, telling her he was so sorry, but she was so pretty, and he just had to have her. He began kissing her neck, kissing her mouth and forcing her lips open, playing with her tongue. He softly and gently stroked her hair, telling her he loved her and he was sorry. She was so traumatized that she began to respond to his "kindness". I was shocked as she stopped sobbing, and was crying less. I watched as finally, her arms went around his neck, and she began kissing him back. Unfortunately, for her, this was just the prelude to round two.

As he kissed her, and whispered to her, he had his legs in between her legs, so her legs were spread. As she closed her eyes and kissed him back, he reached down, took his cock, and in one stroke shoved it all the way up into her wet pussy. She screamed, but with him kissing her it was hardly heard. She was crying and sobbing again, begging him to please stop, and then she just seemed to lose all will to fight. It was obvious that she did not want this to happen, but that she realized resistance was futile. Her boyfriend told her to wrap her legs around his waist, and she did without any resistance. After a while, he held on to her tight and rolled over, so that she was on the top. He held her down against his body so she could not get away. When the boy that had been playing with her nipples moved up to her mouth, she seemed resigned to what was happening, and turned her head towards him, taking his cock in her mouth without even being told to. She also began rubbing his balls, all the while with tears streaming down her face. The two of them continued to fuck her, pushing their cocks into her repeatedly, first slow, then fast, then slow again, alternating speeds and depths to keep her off balance. She continued to shake all over, moaning and whimpering as she tried unsuccessfully to keep her body from responding. She continued to be rocked by small orgasms as they worked on her, changing speeds and stopping occasionally to keep her from having a full orgasm. As the one boy finally came into her mouth, he merely said "Remember Amy" and she swallowed it all, licking his cock clean as she rubbed his balls, crying all the while. As he took his cock out of her mouth, her boyfriend pulled her down against him again, holding her close, kissing her again. It was obvious why as I watched what she couldn't see.

The boy whom she had originally sucked off had moved in behind her, and I saw him spreading Vaseline on his cock. As he started to push it into her ass, she cried into her boyfriend's mouth "O God, no please don't, not that!" He held her tight as he pushed it all the way in, and they began a coordinated assault on her pussy and ass. She cried and begged for mercy, but they ignored her and continued to fuck her. As one pulled out, the other pushed in, so there was always a cock pushing up into her. The third boy once again put his cock into her mouth, forcing her to suck him. It was not long before her body began to betray her again, responding to the constant and varied stimulation. After a while, she started struggling less, as her ass became used to the invasion. She joined them in her second orgasm as they shot their sperm together into her pussy, ass and mouth. When they got up off her, I could see the relief in her face that it was all over. Then she cried out in anguish and despair as she realized they were just trading positions.

Over the next two hours, I watched the three boys fuck my little girl in every conceivable way. Each one fucked her ass, mouth and pussy, usually all three being fucked together. I do not know how many times she came that night - I doubt she knew either. After a long while, they dressed and left her curled up in a ball on the couch, eyes closed and sobbing. She apparently never saw them take the camera out with them.

When the tape ended, I sat there on the couch in shock. My first thought was to find these bastards and kill them for violating my precious little girl. My second thought was no wonder poor Cindi had been acting so strange and so upset all the time Finally, I became aware of something that horrified me even more; I was turned on and excited by watching my little girl's body and watching her having orgasm after orgasm. Hating myself for it, I even watched it again. I hated the fact that she was being raped but I was so turned on by her responses. Suddenly I was so turned on by a 13-year-old body, of my daughter no less, when young girls before had never attracted me. After watching it the second time, I shut off the VCR and TV, hid the tape where it could not be found, and sat back down on the couch. Then I cried my eyes out, as I thought what had happened to my precious little girl and what a degenerate I had become.

personality, lovely looks, and the fact that she was Katie's sister, she was instantly a big hit. I could see that my little teenage genius was just dying to start asking questions. I didn't think it fair, however, that we should hear the story before Katie. When I gave Amy my 'shut your mouth or I am going to paddle your pretty little butt' look, she pouted and stuck her tongue out at me.

As we were waiting for Katie to wake up, Becky sat next to me and gave me a shy little look, smiling nervously. I recognized that look from Katie. She wanted to ask me something. So I beat her to the punch.

"What is it, Becky? You know, I kind of like the name 'Little Orange Person'. I might just keep calling you that."

'I kind of like it too. That would be ok. Um... I don't know if you noticed or not, but when I released the block on the information in your mind I... kind of... left some of that orange stuff behind. I can remove it if you want," she went on hurriedly.

"I kind of like it there. It doesn't bother me. It makes me feel close to you."

She beamed like a million suns. "I like it there, too! Um... because I don't have anyone's mind to share right now... since Amy is in Katie's and I might be able to put two in one but I don't know yet... you could... um... be in mine too if you wanted," she whispered in a tiny little voice. She looked at me nervously.

I realized how much it cost her to say that. The fear of rejection to her for something so intense and personal must be great. I was stunned at the... enormity of what she was offering me.

"Becky, I would be so honored! I am not worthy of such an offer. Are you sure, honey? And what would Katie think? And could you do it?"

I could see her heave a sigh of great relief. "I think I could do it. You might have to learn to use it. I don't think Katie would mind. I don't think we could undo what she did with Amy anyway. And I might be able to be in yours and Katie's too. With nothing to do for a year but think, I have a lot of ideas. Oh, yeah, I would love to do it! I love you, you know," she proclaimed seriously.

"I love you too, sweetheart. I have always wanted to meet you. You can go ahead and try. But first, I think you need to spend some time with Katie."

Katie was beginning to stir. I sent everyone out of the room except Becky and me, and I had Becky sit over on the other side of the room, out of sight, until Katie had recovered. Katie opened her eyes, saw me, and threw her arms around me in a death grip, crying. I held her, rubbed her back, whispered sweet nothings in her ear. She finally looked at me with big, scared eyes.

"Daddy? Is Becky really back? How can that be? I felt her die. I saw them carry out her body. Did I have a dream? Am I going crazy, Daddy?" She sounded almost hysterical. Becky couldn't take it anymore. She ran over to her, kneeling down by her side, and threw herself into Katie's arms. They hugged and cried for quite awhile. Then Katie pulled away, a puzzled look on her face.

"I can't feel you. Why can't I feel you in my mind?" Katie looked worried and a little scared.

"I know. They blocked me from sending to you. That's partly how they were able to make you think I died. I need your help to reverse that. I can't do it, but I can tell you how." Becky hugged Katie again. I felt like an intruder.

"We are going to leave you two alone for awhile. Take all the time you need to get reacquainted. We will talk to you later, Becky." I don't think they even heard me. I left the room, closing the door softly, and told everyone to leave them alone until they came out. Then I went to my room to check on Victoria.

I talked to the doctor. He was ready to reverse the drug-induced unconsciousness she was in. I told him to wait a little bit, there were some things I needed to do first. Then I talked to Captain Jensen. I told him I wanted all signs gone immediately that I was anything but a medical professional. Victoria did not know about this part of my life and I didn't want another shock to greet her. Naturally, he protested, not wanting to leave us unguarded, but finally agreed that it would be done immediately. I had no doubts that he would figure out a way to satisfy both requirements. Besides, with Amy around, how much danger could we be in, anyway? I wondered how much of Amy's ability the others might possess in an emergency.

I went back to my room to find the doctor administering the antidote to the medicine he had her on. He said it would take only a few minutes. I asked him to leave so it was just Victoria and me. He didn't like that idea. I was making everyone unhappy today. Except Becky. My one success. But, being the boss, I got my way. RHIP. Sometimes. Not often with teenage girls! I saw Victoria's eyes start to flutter open. That's about when I began to realize that maybe I should have listened to the doctor. I was sitting on the bed, holding her hand, when I heard her scream.

"No! Leave me alone! No more!" I just started to react, to assure her she was ok, when she jerked her hand back, and the next thing I knew I had hit the wall and was sliding down to the floor. Wow, that hurt! I saw Victoria advancing towards me. I could tell by the look in her eyes she had no idea who I was. I remained very calm. I would not defend myself; I would not hurt her. If I was going to die, I could think of worse ways than at Victoria's hands. I watched in fascination as she started to hit me again. Then I saw a blur of movement, and her hand was held fast by a small hand. I hadn't seen that kind of strength since... Amy! She had grabbed Victoria's hand, and then she stepped between us.

"Let me go! I'll kill them!" Victoria screamed. She tried to pull her hand back, but it might as well have been set in concrete. Amy answered her calmly.

"No, Mom. I will not let you hit Dad again. Don't make me hurt you." Amy might have been discussing the weather, she was so quiet and calm. I found that even scarier than if she had yelled. I heard her call out to Katie in her mind to get the doctor in here, now, but to keep everyone else out.

About that time, I saw Victoria's eyes clear. She looked at Amy in amazement, and then she looked at me on the floor in horror.

"Oh Patrick, I'm so sorry! I didn't know it was you! Oh God, what have I done?" She dissolved into a puddle of tears as Amy gently led her back over to the bed, sitting her down. I thought about helping her, but the pain I felt in my chest when I started to move convinced me that was not a good idea. When the doctor came in, he started towards Victoria, but Amy curtly told him to check me out first.

He determined there was not that much wrong with me, just a couple of bruised ribs and some aggravation of the gunshot wound that had not completely healed from before. I had always known that living with my girls was interesting, but lately, it was getting dangerous.

I went over and sat next to Victoria. Amy had been holding her as she cried. I reached out to put my arm around her, to comfort her. I was surprised when she flinched and drew away from me. Amy's eyes widened a little in surprise. Victoria had never done that before. We talked for a while, just the three of us. Victoria seemed her old self mostly, but she showed no interest in talking about what had happened to her. I figured she didn't want to talk in front of Amy.

Later that day, we all got together to hear Becky's story. We were all interested in knowing how a dead person was standing in front of us.

"Well, most of what Katie told you is what happened. After our father attacked me, I lost consciousness. When I awoke, the house was on fire. That's when I contacted Katie and she called the fire department. I lost consciousness again. Later, I woke up in the room where you found me. By overhearing conversations, I deduced that the fire was set deliberately and after I lost consciousness, another body was substituted for mine and I was removed from the scene. The interruption of contact between Katie and me was from a combination of loss of consciousness and something they did to interrupt the contact from my end. That is why I was out of contact for so long — I was unable to establish contact. That's all I know. I don't know why I was taken. I think it might have something to do with trying to get a particular someone to come and rescue me, by things I overheard. But they seemed to be waiting for something else to happen first. I don't know what.

Of course, we all had a million questions, most of which she could not answer. I noticed after a while that Amy had disappeared. I went looking for her. The door to her room was closed, so I knocked. When I didn't hear an answer, and I couldn't find her anywhere else, I opened the door, to find her lying on her bed, crying. I went in and sat beside her, asking her what was the matter.

"I'm glad Becky is back, I really am. But what's going to happen to me now? Katie doesn't need me anymore. She has her Becky back. I'm going to be all alone again. I don't think I can take it again, Daddy. I've gotten to love Katie so much, and I really do want what makes her happy, but I don't want to be all alone again!" Amy started crying again.

"Amy, there is no way Katie is going to just dump you. You know better than that. She loves you as much as you love her. I don't believe Becky would let her do it, either. Calm down, sweetheart. I will talk to them. But you know Katie better than that."

"I know, Daddy. I'm just being stupid. I guess just too much going on at the same time. I can't be superwoman all the time. I just get terrified when I think of being alone again, like I was before," she sighed. I kissed her, gave her a hug, and then tickled her until she begged me to stop, giggling hysterically.

I went back to Katie's room, to find Katie and Becky talking quietly, snuggling together.

"Hi girls. We have a small problem I need your help with," I greeted them. Becky was ecstatic. It made her feel like family to be asked to help. "It seems we have a hysterical young lady on our hands. Amy is convinced that with Becky back that she is going to be out of the picture with you, Katie, and is going to be all alone again." Katie looked at me in horror. Becky looked shocked.

"I would never do that!" Katie gasped. "I love Amy. Why would I ditch her? Besides, I don't think I even could remove her, but I wouldn't want to anyway. I know what it is like to be alone that way. I don't know how Becky has survived."

"I would never allow that to happen, Mr. Phillips," Becky stated flatly. "Even if Katie wanted to do that, which she never would, I would leave first. As for surviving, I am working on alternatives. Maybe three hooking in at once. Or another interesting alternative that I won't mention until I know it might work." She beamed at me.

"Would you two please talk to Amy? She gets frantic every time she thinks she might be alone again. Reassure her," I asked them. Later that night, Becky found me downstairs alone and explained what would be involved with hooking in with me. We decided to try it. After a few minutes of her concentrating, suddenly I felt my mind overflowing with warm, loving feelings. I was filled with orange tendrils everywhere.

"Oops!" Becky giggled. "Got a little carried away there! Let me take some back, and build a set spot for them in your mind so they're not just running around everywhere being a nuisance. There. How's that?" she asked. I didn't know what it was supposed to be like, but it was fine with me. She had a sweet, wonderful little mind that I just fell in love with right away. No wonder Katie was so distressed when Becky 'died'!

That night, when we went to bed, Victoria wore clothes to bed for the first time ever. She crawled into bed on the opposite side. When I tried to cuddle, she said she was sorry, but she just didn't feel like it tonight. I asked her what was the matter. She started crying, but wouldn't let me hold her.

"I guess there just isn't any way I can talk my way out of this one. You're not going to believe this was a car accident, are you?" She smiled faintly.

"Victoria, it's ok. You don't have to lie. I have known what you do for a living for over two years. I have known exactly whom you work for and exactly what your job is for over a year. You don't have to lie. I know you can't talk about it. I am concerned about what happened to you this time. I'm concerned about why you don't want me to touch you. Have I done something wrong?"

"Oh, no, Patrick, you have always been great to me! I love you so much. But they did an awful lot of bad things to me, and forced me to do a lot of awful things. I don't deserve you. I just need some time. I just can't tell you about it." She started crying again. She wouldn't let me hold her. She seemed so uncomfortable with me in the bed with her that I went into the basement and slept on the couch.

Over the next month, things really got bad between the two of us. Victoria used every excuse she could to go on trips, even when she didn't have to. I figured something was up the second time her boss called to send her on a trip and she wasn't home. She was supposedly already on one. When she was home, she moved into the spare bedroom and started sleeping in there. There was some underlying tension between Amy and her. No fights, just not as warm and friendly as they had always been. She refused to talk to me about anything important. She started picking fights with me on stupid little things. The similarities between the way she was acting and the way Cindi had acted after her rape was not lost on me. I refused to be sucked into the fights. I tried to be as sweet as I could, and told her every chance I could that I loved her. A few nights when she was home, I could swear she came home late at night drunk. To top it all off, I started having nightmares. They didn't have anything to do with her, but it was just another thing piled on top of me. I started dreaming about Julie, a six-year-old girl I had known when I was fourteen. She had been killed one night when I had failed to protect her as I told her I always would. I had not thought about her for years. Victoria had gotten me over that. But now, I was having very realistic nightmares where Julie was begging me to help her. Except she wasn't six years old, but she was twenty-nine years old, the age she currently would be. It was exhausting, as I was getting very little sleep. It all came to a head one night about six weeks after Victoria's rescue.

The girls were gone on a sleepover at Rebecca's house. I think it was a plan to give Victoria and me the house alone together to patch things up. Teenagers can be so naïve sometimes. They had all seen things were going downhill fast and were concerned. About ten o'clock that night, Victoria came up to me and said she wanted to talk. I was hoping she was finally going to open up to me. She did. Both barrels.

"Patrick, I think it's time I left," she said, without preamble. Stupid me, I didn't understand.

"Ok. When's your flight, and when do you think you'll be back?"

She sighed. "No, I mean I'm moving out. I have arranged to stay with a girl at work. She's picking me up in a little while." At least I can say she looked really upset about it. I was shocked. I felt cold all over, and a little dizzy. I closed my eyes. I felt like I was going to faint. I must have looked pretty bad, because Victoria looked concerned. "Are you ok?" She asked.

"Oh, sure, Vickie, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be? Just because the love of my life is shit canning our marriage and walking out on me? Shit, who wouldn't be fine with that?" I said bitterly. I could honestly say it was the first time I had ever really been mad at her. Plus, I was sacred to death. I knew I was reacting inappropriately, but I didn't know what to do. I felt like I had been kicked in the chest. I didn't know how to deal with this. The one constant I had always had was that Victoria loved me, that she would always be there in our marriage.

"What marriage?" She asked softly. "We haven't been married for 6 weeks now. I am no good to you. I can't let you touch me. All I do is hurt you. I hear you crying at night. Why do you think I moved into the spare bedroom? I couldn't stand lying next to you, knowing you were dying to touch me and I couldn't stand the thought. It's not you; it's me. I don't deserve you. I have destroyed our marriage with my lies and the awful things I have done, and I just can't stay around and watch you suffer. I'm sorry," she said softly.

"You would rather just walk out and end the whole thing than talk to me and work it out? What sense does that make? You know there is nothing you could have done that is so bad that I would stop loving you. Why can't you talk to me?" I asked desperately. I knew if she walked out, it would be over. I had to try to stop it. Separating to work it out never worked.

"I can't! Can't you understand that? I know you love me and you always will, no matter what. But I don't love me anymore. I want you to just remember me and what we had together as it was, not as it will be if I talk to you, if I stay around hurting you all the time. Things could never be the same again for us, no matter what you think. I am not the same person. I have let you down and betrayed you and I could never forget or forgive myself for that, even if you could. I deserve to be miserable and miss you for the rest of my life, and you deserve to be free to find someone better." How could she be so calm about this when I was dying?

"What about the girls?"

"They should stay with you. I can't give them the life they need. I will see them as often as I can."

"Victoria... is there someone else?" My heart was in my throat, waiting for her answer. I finally broke through to her, as she started crying.

"Oh, God, no, there could never be anyone else, Patrick! This is about me not being good enough for you, not finding someone better than you. There will never be anyone else. I am leaving here to spend the rest of my life alone. It's what I deserve."

I didn't know what to say. She walked out of the room, picked up the suitcase she had packed, and walked out the door. I went into the den, got out a bottle of some type of alcohol; I didn't even look to see what it was, and started drinking. The girls found me, passed out on the couch, at 2:00 AM when they came home. Becky had been concerned because she couldn't feel me in her mind anymore. No one knew that happened when you got drunk enough.

The next thing I knew, I was in the shower with Amy. Déjà vu. This was about as much fun as the last time, but in reverse. She was not in a very good mood. She woke me up with a cold shower, threw me out of the shower, and told me to be dried off and in the kitchen in five minutes, or she was coming to get me. She said I really didn't want her to come and get me. When I got into the kitchen, she gave me a big cup of coffee to drink. I told her I didn't like coffee. She told me to drink it or wear it. She wasn't kidding. I took the cup and went into the basement, where I poured it down the sink. Then I threw the cup against the wall. I was tired of pushy females running my life, and then walking out whenever they decided. Yeah, I know. Shows what type of mood I was in that I would even consider taking on Amy like that. I didn't even wonder if I would survive. I didn't really care. She looked so much like Victoria, I hated her right then just for that.

Amy came looking for me a few minutes later. I saw her look at the coffee cup in pieces on the floor, and then she came over and sat next to me.

"What happened? Did you drop the cup? I can get you some more," she said softly.

"Go ahead. And drink it yourself. I'm not drinking that shit. If you don't like it, then you can just fuck off. Get the hell out of here and leave me alone. When I want your help, I'll ask for it. And don't hold your breath. And don't send those other two down here to sweet talk me either. Go back to your sleepover. I'd like some peace and quiet for a change," I snarled.

Amy's eyes opened wide in shock for a minute. I don't think anyone had ever talked to her like that. Then she tilted her head to the side and looked at me, a look of understanding and sadness in her eyes.

"Where's Mom?" she asked softly.

"Who gives a fuck? I don't. You want her, go find her."

"Are you ok?" Amy asked, voice full of concern.

"Am I ok? Let's see. My oldest daughter is dead, murdered. My youngest daughter should be dead, twice over. But that's ok, she's alive. I have turned her into a killer, but she's alive. But for a miracle, I should be dead. My wife is almost killed, raped repeatedly, won't talk to me or even let me touch her, but what the hell, isn't that the way marriages are supposed to be, after 15 years? Especially after you risk your life and the life of your favorite daughter just to rescue her? I am having nightmares every night about a person who has been dead for years, and I can't sleep. Oh, but I forgot, about the marriage, it isn't a marriage anymore, because she left me tonight. Why the FUCK wouldn't I be ok, Amy?" I knew I was being a sniveling ass, but I just didn't care. I guess I knew Amy would love me, no matter what I said to her.

"Mom left you?" She asked quietly. She was suddenly very still and quiet. I had the fleeting thought that it was a good thing Victoria wasn't here. "I'm so sorry, Daddy."

Just then, Katie and Becky walked into the room. Probably calling for reinforcements with their freaky mind thing. I got even madder.

"Get the hell out of here, all of you! Get out! And stay out of my mind, too!" My warm and cuddly nature was showing through. They just stood there, looking at me, sad and hurt looks on their faces. I threw a couch pillow at them. I was really being mature. Then I just couldn't take it anymore. I was drunk, and too emotional. I started crying. They all ran over to me and started hugging me. I didn't care anymore. I just sobbed. They half carried me to bed, undressed me, and tucked me in. By the time I hit the bed, I was asleep. Either none of them slept with me that night, or they were already up when I woke up the next day. I know I wouldn't have wanted to sleep with me that night, if I were they.

As soon as I woke up, I knew something was seriously wrong. Then, it dawned on me. I felt it. I was such a fool. I had hurt somebody very sweet very seriously, just because I was so wrapped up in my own misery. I dressed as fast as I could, and ran downstairs. Amy was in the kitchen, making breakfast. I rushed into the room. She looked at me, concern and sadness in her eyes.

"Where is Becky?" I asked, devastated at what I had done to her. I could feel the orange tendrils were no longer in my mind. I had to fix this now.

"She's down in the basement. She seems really upset about something. Is that because of you? You are treading on thin ice with all of us if you hurt Becky, mister!" Amy said it half jokingly, but her eyes said she was concerned and she was only half joking.

I ran downstairs. Becky was sitting on the couch, knees up to her chin, arms wrapped around her legs, crying. I felt like crap. As if this sweet little girl had not gone through enough crap already, I had to heap some more on her. There was no excuse, even if I was upset. I knelt down in front of her, and lifted her head. I wiped her tears away, and held her close. She would have had every right to pull away from me, but she hugged me fiercely, as if I was going to disappear.

"Becky," I said softly, pain and embarrassment in my voice, "I am so sorry! I was upset and drunk. That is no excuse. Please forgive me. Please put your orange pieces back in my mind. I did not mean it that way. I would never be upset about you being there. Please."

She sobbed on my shoulder. "You said you wanted me there, and you wanted to be with me. You said! Why did you yell at me to stay out of your mind? That wasn't nice! I don't have to be there. It was just an idea. If you didn't want me to be there, all you had to do was tell me. I don't even have to live here. I can go away. I've been by myself for over a year; I can do it some more. You said you loved me. Why do you hate me now?" She sobbed uncontrollably. I saw Katie look in and give me a really dirty look for making her sister cry. She looked like she was going to come in, but Amy grabbed her and yanked her back out of the room. I felt awful. If I kept this up, I wasn't going to have any family left that wanted to talk to me.

"Becky, I don't know what to say. I did not mean it that way. I didn't know what I was saying. I love you. You are my 'Little Orange Person'. You saved my life. How could I hate you? Men are stupid that way; sometimes we say things that we have no idea how they are going to be taken. Please forgive me, sweetheart. Please come back into my mind." I kissed her, as passionately as I could. I had never really given her a real kiss before. Her eyes opened in surprise, and then she wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me back. She was inexperienced, but man, did she make up for it with desire!

"Do you really want me back in there?" She whispered haltingly. "You don't have to. I know it's difficult for someone who hasn't been used to it all his or her lives. I don't want to invade your privacy. Course, that's assuming I can do it. The little orange things are really mad at me for pulling them out. They haven't talked to me all morning!" She giggled. Was she serious?

"I really do, sweetheart. I miss you already." Since she had already done it once, it took only a short time to do it again. I felt the now familiar wash of love, as the tendrils scampered happily to their now appointed place. I felt at peace again. Well, almost. I sat down, and lifted Becky up on my lap. Then I kissed her. Really kissed her. Poor little virginal Becky (rape doesn't count). Never been kissed before, except by me a few minutes ago. By the time I was done kissing her, she could hardly breathe. She held me tight, trembling all over. Then she whispered in my ear.

"Are you going to make love to me?"

"Someday soon, Pretty Orange Person. Do you want me to?" I asked.

"Oh please! Don't tease me. Please!"

"Teasing is half the fun, silly." I started tickling her. Pretty soon, her shrieks had the other two peeking around the corner. When they saw that all was well and we were having fun, they all ran in and piled on. For a little while, all three of them made me forget my sadness.

That night, I went to bed by myself. Two nights in a row. I could understand last night, but I was starting to get lonely. It was odd. Victoria was seldom around. She hadn't even been gone as long as usual yet, but I missed her so much. I guess it was just knowing that she wasn't going to be around anymore that hurt. I was having a good cry when I felt the bed move. I wondered which one was coming to me. I turned around and got a surprise. All three had climbed into the bed!

"Are you girls planning on killing me tonight, or what?" I asked, teasing them. They were serious when they replied.

"Daddy," Amy whispered, "tonight is for you and Becky. We are here for moral support. And maybe a few crumbs afterwards," she giggled. I looked at Becky. She looked scared and excited. Her only other experience at this had not been good.

"Do you want to do this, Becky?" I asked. "This is your decision. Don't let anyone else decide for you. I love you, sweetie, I have you up here," I tapped my head, "and I don't need you anywhere else if you don't want to." I stroked her cheek softly as I spoke to her, and shivered as she softly rubbed her cheek against me.

"I want you, Da... Patrick. So much. I love you. The girls have told me how wonderful you are. I need that special feeling. I want to know what it feels like to be loved. Besides, no one here as made love to someone they are linked with. I want to see what it is like." Amy and Katie looked surprised. I don't think they knew we were linked. They grinned, and giggled, whispering to themselves. I couldn't hear all of it, but it sounded like bets on the odds of me surviving!

As I snuggled with Becky, I reflected on the last few months. As little as six months ago, the idea of being in bed with teenage girls for anything other than father-daughter snuggling was unknown to me. Now, I was snuggling with my daughters, but it was often so much more. The funny thing was, it was still father-daughter snuggling. Just with benefits. If they had decided tomorrow it would be nothing more, I don't think I would even protest. Sex with them was just a way to snuggle even closer. It was a result of love, not a reason for love.

The girls had all come in still dressed. Amy and Katie still remembered how much fun the undressing was. I kissed Becky, long and passionately, starting to slowly unbutton her blouse at the same time. Each time I unbuttoned a button, she gasped in my mouth and shivered all over. This was one excited little girl! When I finally undid the last button and pulled her blouse all the way opened, she shuddered all over and gave a little cry in my mouth. Had pretty, innocent little Becky just had her first little orgasm? I didn't doubt it. She was Katie's sister, after all, and I knew how hot Katie was. I started kissing her neck, her throat. She ran her fingers through my hair, and then held my head close to her. She gasped and cried out as I sucked her nipple into my mouth. I licked it, sucked it, while playing and squeezing the other one. She was flushed all the way down to her chest.

I couldn't help teasing her a little. I stopped, and moved up, holding her close. I heard her whimper softly in frustration. I whispered in her ear.

"Do you want me to go on, sweetheart? I wouldn't want to do anything you didn't want me to."

She was suddenly kissing me everywhere. My lips, face, neck, everywhere she could reach.

"Please! Please take me! Help me forget what it was like. Please make it good for me. Please love me! Help me, and let me help you forget your pain."

The love and sympathy washed over me. I couldn't believe it. Little Becky was worried about me! Wanted to make it good for me! Everyone was right. She was so sweet. I decided right then that everything really would be all for her tonight. She had already given me everything I needed tonight.

Amy and Katie were lying on either side of Becky. They were holding her, kissing her cheeks softly, whispering in her ear. There was nothing sexual about their cuddling or kissing each other, just the signs of affection I had seen my little angels do everyday, but I had seldom seen anything so hot. Amy and Katie looked at me and smiled sweetly, their eyes filled with desire, and with thanks for what I was doing for their sister.

I ran my hands down her sides softly, tickling her in the process. She shivered as I softly touched her, caught between being tickled and being aroused. Being aroused won out. I ran my hands softly, gently, slowly over her flat little stomach, caressing it and feeling it tremble each time I touched it. She was whimpering and crying out almost constantly now.

When I slipped my hand inside her shorts, inside her panties, I could feel her, Amy and Katie all jerk at once. They remembered how hot that was. Becky couldn't take it anymore, and she reached down to undo her shorts. I took her cute little hand and moved it up to my mouth, kissing it. I smiled at Amy and Katie, and they both reached down and started unbuttoning her shorts. Becky's eyes opened real wide in surprise and confusion, as they lifted her little butt and slipped her shorts and panties off. She looked at me, confused and scared. I whispered in her ear, comforting her.

"It's ok, Becky, they won't hurt you. They don't get into girls. They just want to help a little, make it good for you, and relive their first time. They won't touch you down there." She relaxed visible, and kissed me, a hot, smoldering kiss.

I started kissing my way down her body. She was trembling all over now. When I spread her legs apart and moved my head between her legs, she put her hands on my head and held me.

"What are you doing?" She asked, her voice trembling. "That's dirty and gross. You can't like that!" Before I could answer, Amy and Katie jumped in.

"Let him do it. You will love it. We promise!" They both assured her. They gently removed her hands from my head and lovingly held them, caressing and kissing them. I tried something new. I let my green surround her orange, and caressed her. Her eyes flew open in surprise and amazement, and then she smiled softly at me, and spread her legs more for me. I could feel her nervousness still.

"If you don't like it, I promise I'll stop," I reassured her. She smiled trustingly at me. Knowing what would happen, Katie kissed her just as I licked her little pussy and clit for the first time. She screamed into Katie's mouth. As I sucked her clit into my mouth for the first time, she screamed again, and started thrashing all over, shaking violently. Then she stiffened her whole body, cried out again, and passed out.

I was stunned at her reaction. I felt her completely short circuit in her mind. She cried out my name in her mind just before she fainted. If this was her reaction this early, this was going to be a very interesting night! Amy and Katie held her, looking at me in shock, as I gently licked her thighs and pussy, slowly and softly, feeling her jerk each time I touched her.

It took her quite a while to revive. When she finally came to, she threw her arms around my neck and dissolved into tears, holding me close. I could feel these were happy tears, but I could also feel something else. She had sampled my mind, and felt how much I wished this was Victoria, how much I missed her. She was crying out of intense emotion, but also in sympathy for me. I had tried to hide that emotion, but I couldn't hide from my Little Orange Person. I knew she understood completely, and loved me for always keeping Victoria first. She kissed away tears, tears I didn't even know I had been crying, and whispered to me that it was all right. Then she guided my cock to her pussy, and guided me right in, raising her hips to help me penetrate when I tried to go slow for her. She wrapped her arms and legs around me, and then did something I didn't expect, something I would never forget. All the time I stroked slowly in and out of her, she played scenes of my most intimate, wonderful sex with Victoria in my mind. Oh, how I loved this girl! It was always for someone else, never for her. When I came inside her, as she came with me, I passed out this time.

When I finally revived, I had three of the prettiest girls in the world cuddling with me. Becky was lying on top of me, with Amy and Katie snuggled as close as they could get. All three were kissing me everywhere they could reach. Amy and Katie had stunned looks on their faces. Amy expressed it for all of us.

"That was the hottest thing I have ever seen, Dad." She looked at Becky, her eyes filled with love. "Thank you!" she said. Becky smiled sweetly, blushing all over. We all fell asleep, snuggled together. I slept the whole night through, the first good night of sleep I'd had in six weeks.