Caleb 54 – Living Life

It was a couple of hours later when Mary and Amanda emerged from the bedroom. I had felt them through the bond having fun with Marcia. They enjoyed themselves and I assumed that she did too. Mary went into the kitchen and started making coffee. Amanda came and sat beside me on my left and Jules stayed on my right side. Ness was still in my lap. We’d been chatting and half watching the television while they’d been ‘entertaining’ Marcia. Jules would have preferred to have been working in her workshop but that was not going to be possible for a few more days.

Marcia emerged from the bedroom, dressed once again in the sweats and T-Shirt I’d loaned her. She looked like she’d had a shower. She caught my eye and blushed. I grinned at her.

“Have fun?” I asked.

She came into the room and sat as Mary handed her a coffee, before handing the one in her other hand to me. She went back into the kitchen to get some more.

“They nearly killed me,” Marcia said.

“Next time,” Amanda said, “invite Caleb. Then you’ll really have fun.”

Marcia looked at me. I still didn’t feel any arousal from her, but I did feel a little curiosity. I had pegged her as gay, with no interest at all in men, but it appeared that Amanda had been working on her. I shouldn’t have been surprised.

“So,” I said changing the subject. “What’s the plan for tomorrow?”

Marcia seemed grateful for the change of topic. “I need to put the services in place,” she said. “I need to run hot and cold water, power, drainage, and extraction. Since you didn’t want the window that makes it easier. We should really look at your hot water system, too, to make sure it can supply all the showers at the same time. I think it will be good but it’s worth checking out. Since I’m here anyway I’ll service that for you, no extra charge. I’ll bet you haven’t had it done in a while.”

“I have class in the morning,” I said, “and some appointments in the afternoon. So, I’m not going to be here until probably about three.”

“I’ll try and avoid pining away,” she grinned at me.

I stuck my tongue out at her and she laughed. “Very mature.” I shrugged, then stood up.

“I’m going to bed,” I said. “Am I going to be sleeping on a wet patch?”

“We changed the bed,” said Mary. “So, no.”

“Cool,” I said. “Night, all.”  I turned to Marcia. “I’ll see you in the morning? Breakfast at eight?”

She nodded. “See you in the morning, boss,” she said.

I shook my head as I went into the bedroom. The bed had indeed been changed but there was still the scent of sex in the air. I went and showered.

When I returned to the bedroom Mary was waiting for me in the bed.

“Hey,” I said.

She smiled at me and held out her arms. I joined her on the bed, and she snuggled into me.

“Are you ok?” she asked.

I looked down at her. “Fine,” I said a little surprised at the question. “Why?”

“I just wanted to make sure that what we did tonight didn’t upset you,” she said gazing up at me, her leonine eyes glinting in the low light.

“Not at all,” I said. “I knew that Marcia wasn’t particularly interested in me in any case.”

“I think she might be,” said Mary thoughtfully. “She’s no virgin, but her one experience with a guy wasn’t exactly a good one. She likes to dominate, although Amanda was too much for her to handle.”

I grinned at her. “That doesn’t surprise me. So, who wore the belt?”

Mary grinned. “Marcia did for a while. But it was dirty and getting the sheets gritty, so we ditched it.”

“It’s a shame,” I replied, “that sometimes fantasies sometimes don’t work.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” she said. “It did its job.”

I laughed. “I’m glad you had a good time.”

“I was going to ask her to stay the night,” she said. “But we didn’t really have the chance to discuss it first.”

“Wouldn’t have bothered me,” I replied. “But it would have been a bit unfair to spring it on Jules and Ness without warning.”

She nodded. “That’s what we thought,” she agreed. “We could have asked through the connection, but that wouldn’t have given a lot of time for discussion. Maybe another night?”

“Is she that good?” I asked and she smiled.

“She’s nice.”

“Well like I said,” I repeated, “it’s fine with me as long as Jules and Ness are happy with it.”

She smiled and laid her head on my chest, holding me, and enveloping me in feelings of love as I drifted off to sleep.

Four a.m. rolled around with remarkable alacrity, and I slipped out of bed almost before I was fully awake.

I decided to go for a run this morning. I’d done a little research on the internet about joining the FBI, and I knew that there was quite a stringent fitness test to pass. I would have to start training with that in mind. It was a while away, but the sooner I started to train for it the better. I was happy enough with my general level of fitness, but I hadn’t really been training my upper body much and from what I’d read three of the tests were sit-ups, pull-ups and push-ups. Granted, I could make my life far easier using TK, but that would be a backup plan. I needed to be fit.

I also didn’t know what my entry process would be to the FBI. I’d been kind of assuming that I would walk-in on account of my powers but I also knew that there were thousands, if not tens of thousands, of applicants every year. I would be taking one of their slots, so I wanted to deserve it.

Marcia arrived on time and, after breakfast, we all separated to start our days.

Our ethics professor outdid himself with his spying.

“Today,” he said, “we are going to discuss something that has been in the news a lot recently. Normally, I am content to let you voice whatever opinions you see fit to, but although I do encourage you to express opinions, I want you to think very carefully about HOW you express those opinions. This is an emotive topic so let’s keep our thoughts on the arguments and not allow the debate to degenerate into personal attacks and insults toward each other. If I determine that any of you are indulging in discriminatory behaviour. toward one of your fellow students on the grounds of their opinions on this matter, you will be asked to leave, and you WILL fail this class for the semester.”

We all looked at him, wondering exactly what we would be debating that required such a warning at the beginning of the class.

“Gender identity,” he continued, “is a personal thing. Gone, and good riddance to them, are the days when a person’s gender was wholly denoted by their biological sex. Part of the problem is that some still cannot differentiate between what I consider the three parts of a person’s sexual identity. MY opinion is that those are; firstly the sex of that person – and by that I mean their genetic or biological sex. Normally male or female, but there are some born neither or both. Then there is their gender identity. Does that person identify as a male or a female, or neither, or aspects of both, or something else entirely, irrespective of their biology? Finally, there is that person’s sexuality. I personally see that as who that person is sexually attracted to. Again, that could be anything from nobody at all in the case of asexual persons, or at the other end of the scale, if you will, pansexual people who are more interested in the individual rather than their specific biology or gender identity. I am not going to entertain any discussions on those whose attractions lie outside our own species.

“If we each lived in a bubble, with no interaction with anyone else, then this would not cause the friction that it does, but we do not. We interact with people on a daily basis. Let’s examine one particular group of people that seem to be in the news recently, and they are trans women.

“For clarity, I am going to define trans women as people who were born biologically male, but feel themselves to be female. They may or may not still have male characteristics, male genitalia, or these may have been suppressed or removed by various methods, including surgery.

“There has been a lot of discussion in the media as to whether trans women should be allowed to use female only facilities, access female medical services, participate against females in sporting events. There was also an uproar in the media when Laura Finke, a trans woman, was awarded ‘Woman of the year’ by USA today.

“I want you to discuss the ethics of this, the possible conflicts between the rights of the individual, i.e. the trans person, and the rights of the populace as a whole. Do they conflict? And if so how can that conflict be resolved.

“Remember – keep it on topic and keep it civil.”

I shared a glance with Dana as people started to talk. It was obvious at first that people were trying to be politically correct, but equally obvious that others were becoming upset with some of the views put forward.

Needless to say, it was one of the kumbaya crowd that opened the debate.

“People should be allowed to be whoever they want to be,” he began. “If a person feels that they are female, then that should be all that matters. They should be able to do everything a woman can do.”

“There was a case in the news recently,” someone else rebutted, “where an OB/GYN was sued by a trans woman for refusing to do a pap smear test. How does that make sense since he… sorry she didn’t even have the requisite parts?”

“That’s not quite accurate,” I replied. “She wasn’t refused a smear. Rather, she was refused treatment because the clinic said that they didn’t accept trans patients. That’s very different. Having said that though can you really cite that? The woman in question is a Trans Activist whom, I believe, does more to harm than help the cause. If I remember correctly, she also tried to sue a waxing salon for refusing to wax her male genitalia. They said they were not trained to do it, and the courts agreed.

“What I found more disturbing is that a trans woman was refused medical screening, a prostate cancer check I believe because, despite her having a prostate, she was registered as a woman, and therefore they would only do a PAP smear. Surely that shows that we, as a society, are still institutionally biased against trans people, because our computer systems cannot deal with a woman who may have more complex needs like that.”

The professor looked at me, eyebrow raised. Dana spoke.

“All people have rights,” she said, “and trans people have to have the right to be who they want to be. There has to be some application of common sense too though. I can understand how some women would be uncomfortable having someone with male genitalia in a communal changing area, for instance. It’s a space where people feel vulnerable to start with.”

“Now you’re just being prejudiced,” said kumbaya number 2. “I wouldn’t be bothered if a trans woman came into my changing room.”

“Don’t you think,” I interjected, seeing Dana’s half smile at being accused of trans prejudice, “that an easier solution would be to make all changing rooms, and bathrooms, gender neutral. Have secure stalls where people can go to do whatever it is they need to do, without being exposed to other people? The fact that it doesn’t bother you is almost immaterial because, again, you are an individual. We know that there are enough people that ARE bothered by it for it to be an issue, or else why would we be even talking about it?”

“Does that,” asked the professor, “actually answer the question? Or, is it merely a solution to a problem which circumvents the issue? I agree that we can create communal ‘safe’ spaces, but let’s return to the original question.”

“An individual’s rights cannot supersede the rights of the majority,” said someone from the back of the class. “The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few.”

“Thank you, Mr. Spock,” said the professor. “Trite as the argument is, and I wonder how long Mr. Slade has been waiting to use that particular gem, it does have some merit. Can the rights of the individual ever supersede those of the majority?”

“Obviously, yes,” said another student from the other side of the classroom.

“Justify,” said the professor. “Examples?”

She thought for a minute.

“A plane crashes in a remote location,” she began, and the professor smiled.

“Yes,” he said. “You are going to say that the rights of the injured survivor not to be killed and eaten by the others supersedes their rights to life. But, in actual fact, do they? Do the math. One person dies, and six live, or all die including the injured survivor. Do, in this case, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one?

“Again, I don’t want to get sidetracked into that particular debate. However, there is validity to your argument. But we’re not talking about life-or-death situations here. We’re talking about sharing a changing room or competing in sports. Are there any circumstances in such cases where an individual’s rights outweigh those of the masses?”

“It’s not about rights,” I said. “It’s about attitudes.”

“Explain,” he said.

“Some women say,” I said, “that they feel threatened by having a trans person in the changing room. It is not their right to have sole personal access to that space, however it is their right not to feel threatened or uncomfortable that they are citing. So, logically, if they didn’t feel threatened by the trans person then their rights wouldn’t be impinged.

“There are good and bad people of all genders. There are plenty of guys who I would be very uncomfortable around in such a space, but excluding them on the grounds that they make me feel uncomfortable is not an option. Since that is the case, then why is it in the case of a trans woman? When feelings overrule rights, as they seem to be doing more and more recently, that is when we run into trouble.

“It is not that long ago,” I finished, “that white folk were ‘uncomfortable’ sharing their space with black folk. We now see not only the complete ridiculousness of that, but also its disgusting and prejudicial nature. How can we not see that this is exactly the same?”

+++++

An hour later as we were walking out of the classroom Dana caught up with me, slipping her arm through mine.

I looked down at her and smiled.

“Interesting debate,” I commented. “Although,” I added with a grin, “I never knew you were transphobic.”

She laughed. Then here face became a little more serious.

“Thank you,” she said. I stopped walking.

“What for?” I asked.

“For being you,” she said. “While we didn’t agree on the issue of trans people in sport, you at least argued your case with reason. There wasn’t, isn’t, an ounce of prejudice in you.”

“I just don’t think it’s fair,” I said. “But let’s not rehash.”

She smiled. “Lunch?” she asked, and I agreed.

We met up with the rest of the girls in the cafeteria and ate lunch. Afterwards,I went off to my hypnotherapy appointments.

They were both students, and both on-campus, in my office near the library.

I had spent some time considering taking knowledge from all of my clients, but decided for now to just look and see what was available. I would concentrate, for the moment, on languages. If anyone was from overseas and had a native language that wasn’t English, Spanish, or Cantonese, I’d grab that. I figured there was little point in cramming my head full of extraneous knowledge. If I needed to in the future, I could always find a way to get it but languages are always useful. The more I knew the better it would be. I also wasn’t going to tell people what I’d learned, not even my girls. As Tatarabuela Gonzales said, they were a potential weakness. I had no idea how them knowing I could speak Chinese would be a weakness, but better to establish good habits now.

My first client was from Michigan. She, and her friend, were both smokers and they had come in the hopes of getting a two for one deal. When I explained that one of them needed to be conscious to chaperone the other, they were disappointed. I did promise the second a reduced rate though.

They were both, ironically, Applied Health and Fitness majors so stopping smoking was probably a good thing for them to do. I sent them on their way an hour later, having just finished reading the first of my textbooks. Time well spent as far as I was concerned.

My second client was a Chemistry major. He was quite significantly overweight and wanted to lose about a third of his body mass. I got him set up and, after I’d planted all my compulsions, decided to see if there was any knowledge he had that I could use.

He didn’t know any languages, other than English, and he was two years into his studies so his knowledge of chemistry wasn’t stellar. I was about to pull back when I noticed a little gem of knowledge: how to make Crystal Meth.

He was the cliché. He’d literally watched the series Breaking Bad and decided that was how he was going to pay his way through the remainder of school. He’d been struggling financially thus far and, as yet, had not actually made any drugs. He’d stolen a good amount of equipment he needed from the chemistry lab, and what he couldn’t steal he’d bought from pawnshops and online. He had it all stacked up in his dorm room, ready to go, when he found somewhere to set up.

I wondered what to do about this. I could simply Compel him to stop and to put all the stuff he’d stolen back and get rid of the rest. I cursed. Despite what the judge had said, I didn’t know I wasn’t being monitored, or that this might not come back to bite me in the ass later down the line. I sighed and picked up my phone. So much for patient confidentiality.

“ADD Forbes,” I said.

“What’s with the formality all of a sudden,” she asked.

“It was Judge Roder’s suggestion,” I replied, “that when it’s business we keep it business, that way when I find out you’ve been manipulating me again, it’s nothing personal.”

She laughed. “That won’t stop you taking it personally,” she said, “but hey, I’ll bite. So, Mr. Stott, what can I do you for?”

I explained the situation. The line went silent for a few moments before she spoke.

“I’m going to tip off campus security,” she said, “that we have, ourselves, had a tip about someone gathering equipment for a meth lab. It’s not worth our involvement, but if they raid his dorm and find all the stolen gear, that should put an end to his plans.”

“And his college career,” I said, “and his life.”

“Think Caleb,” she said. “Take it to its conclusion. Let’s say he gets everything he needs, what happens next? He either kills himself trying to cook meth. Meth labs are notoriously dangerous places. Or he ends up getting killed by a rival drug dealer whose turf he’s encroaching on. And even if none of that happens, he’s peddling death to college kids. He deserves everything he gets.”

I sighed, accepting what she said. “I guess,” I said.

“Leave it with me,” she said. “And Caleb?”

“Yes?” I responded.

“You did the right thing,” she assured me. “You have undoubtedly saved someone’s life here, probably his.”

I nodded, even though she couldn’t see me. “When you get a few minutes, I wanted to pick your brain. Nothing urgent but just information I need.”

“I’ll pop by one evening,” she said, “for dinner?” she added hopefully. I laughed.

“You know you’re always welcome, Granny.” It was her turn to laugh.

“I’ll text you,” she said. We said our goodbyes and hung up. I turned my attention back to my would-be drug dealer.

I released him from his ‘trance’ and let him go. He was the second person to not bring a chaperone. I guess they thought they were not needed since they were guys. I wondered if I should tell Mary to insist and that I would not go ahead if they did not in future.

I headed home still feeling somewhat guilty, but determined not to let it get to me. I needed to be able to make those kinds of calls, and then stick by my decisions. If I second guessed myself every time I made a choice, I’d go insane.

On a whim, I decided to drive to the airport, and look into using the flying lessons that I’d been given. I would see if I could book lessons in the evening, and also find out exactly what else I needed to do to get my license.

I pulled into the parking lot of the flying school and went into the office. It was empty aside from a teenager, who looked to be about sixteen. He was playing a game on his phone and looked up as I entered.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hello,” I said.

“Can I help you?” he asked. I heard from his thoughts he fully expected me to ask to speak to an adult. I decided to throw him a loop.

“I’m looking to take flying lessons,” I said. “I’m hoping you can tell me what I need, and how to go about it?”

He grinned at me. “Sure,” he said. He tapped the screen of his phone a couple of times and then pocketed it.

“Have a seat,” he said indicating the chair opposite him.

I sat.

“First of all,” he said, “there is some paperwork to do. Although there is some leeway as to the timing, most of it only needs to be done before you fly solo. You need a medical certificate, and a student pilot certificate, before you are allowed up alone. You could go up right now without any of those though. Some say that it’s not worth starting training until you have your medical certificate at least, just in case there are any surprises in the medical, but most people know if they have a problem that’s going to ground them.”

He reached over to where a stack of folders was sitting on the desk and took one, handing it to me.

“Here are the instructions of how to get all the paperwork you need,” he said. “There is also a list of AME’s in there. You only need a class three medical unless you are thinking about flying commercially and it will last you five years. Unless you’re over forty?” He grinned at me.

“I’ve got a few years to go before then,” I said. “But I think I might get there just before you hit puberty.” I grinned back at him.

He laughed and held his hand out. “Arnie Jarrett,” he said. “My dad owns the school, and I’m seventeen.”

“Caleb Stott,” I returned. “My Fiancées bought me the lessons for my twenty first birthday.”

“Fiancées?” he asked. I grinned at him.

“Long story,” I said. “So, when can I start to learn?”

“Everything you need to know is in the pack,” he said indicating the folder. “What books you need to buy, learning about navigation, communication, flight rules and reg’s, weather, is all in there. You could book an assessment lesson to start. You need at least forty hours of flight time to get your license, that includes twenty hours instruction, ten hours solo, three hours cross country, three hours night flight, and three hours of instrument time. There may be other requirements depending on what you want to do after that.”

I nodded. “Perfect. Thanks,” I said. “I was hoping to book some lessons on a Monday evening. Would that be possible?”

“Sure,” he said. “Most people want to learn at the weekend so Monday is a quiet day for us. How many hours? Bear in mind that to get an hour of flight time, it usually takes about twice that. There will be time briefing the flight, checking or pre-flighting the aircraft, and then the debrief at the end. If you book a three-hour lesson, you will get two hours flight time, and so on.

“There are also navigation and radio qualifications to get. Again, the information is in the pack. We can certify you on those if you need. There are also other courses you can take. It’s up to you.”

“Okay,” I said. “How about I book a couple of hours for an assessment lesson next Monday?” I said, “I assume that will count toward my forty hours?”

“It will,” he said.

I filled out some forms for him and showed him my drivers license, which he took a scan of. And then I was done, leaving the school with an appointment for the next Monday at five.

When I arrived home, just after four, I found Marcia in Jules’ workshop behind the dust sheet. She’d hung the sheetrock, taped it, and was mudding it.

“I thought I’d get this done first,” she said. “Amanda said Jules spends most of her evenings in here, so hopefully I can sand and paint tomorrow and she can have it back at the weekend.”

“Nice,” I said appreciative of the thoughtfulness. “How far did you get with the services?”

“They’re all in.” she said. “I need to sheetrock the other walls, repair the ceilings where the old walls were, tape, mud, sand, and paint, which will take the rest of this week, and all next week. Then I’ll lay the floor in the middle room, sand and stain it, which will take a couple of days, then I'll start fitting the bathrooms. That’s fairly quick. It’s tiling the floors and the back of the shower cubicles that’s going to take the time. I’m confident of finishing on time, although it might mean a few later nights.”

“I’m sure the twins won’t mind you staying late sometimes,” I said. She grinned at me.

“I mean working,” she said.

“So did I,” I said looking innocent. She just carried on with what she was doing, applying the mud in smooth even strokes. She finished the wall and put down her tools.

“Right,” she said. “That needs to dry. “What time is it?”

“Just after four,” I said.

“Okay,” she said. “I can probably get a few more sheets of sheetrock up before calling it a night.”

“You want a hand?” I asked. She shook her head. “No point in you getting all dirty just for this. I’ll get it done.”

“You going to eat with us tonight?” I asked. She shook her head again.

“I have things to do,” she said. “I need to be gone by five thirty latest.”

“I’d better let you get back to work,” I said. “You want coffee?”

She smiled and nodded. “Yes, please.”

I made us both coffee and took hers into her. She’d moved into one of the other rooms and was busy screwing a sheet of sheetrock on to the frame, holding it in place with her TK. I waited until she finished before handing her a cup, which she took gratefully.

I took my coffee out onto the deck and began to look through the pack I’d got from Arnie. It seemed like there was a lot to do. I could probably just book the assessments for navigation and communications right away. If I didn’t already know it, I’d want to know why.

I also needed to arrange a medical. I checked the list of FAA Aviation Medical Examiners and found one not too far away. I picked up my phone and made an appointment for Friday afternoon. It would be good to get everything out of the way. After some investigation I filled on the online form and paid the fee. It would take up to three weeks for my student pilot certificate to arrive, but I wasn’t going to need it for a little while.

The girls all arrived home just as I was finishing up.

+++++

Maggie texted me the next day.

_Is tonight okay?

_Perfect. We eat about six on a Thursday.

_See you then.

I informed the girls that Maggie was coming over for dinner.

She arrived at the house pretty much at the same time as I did, parking her car on the road just past our driveway. She knew that with everyone living at the house both the drive and garage were full. Marcia’s truck was also parked on the road.

“Having some work done?” she asked.

“Getting some ensuite’s put in in the spare rooms,” I said while letting us both into the house.

I could hear Marcia working in one of the rooms so went in to tell her I was home. Things were coming along.

While I was talking to Marcia, the rest of the gang arrived home, and Mary was in the kitchen making coffee for everyone when I emerged.

Maggie and I took ours out on the deck.

“I wanted to ask,” I said as we settled onto the chairs out there, “about the process for applying for the FBI.” I went on to tell her what I’d read online, but since their entry age was 23 and I would only just be 22 when I graduated, would I have to wait a year, or would that not be a problem? If it wasn’t a problem, what else wouldn’t be a problem?

“Your powers,” she said, “make you pretty much a shoe in. We, the ADD’s and above, can ‘sponsor’ candidates into the bureau, and you’d have to be pretty much rubbish not to get in with one of our sponsorships. Having said that, aside from your age, I would expect that you will pass all the other criteria. You will have to take a polygraph, but we already know you will pass it. Since we cannot legally insist on reading the minds of Norms, without a warrant, we cannot insist you drop your shields to be examined by us either.”

“And would I go to Quantico?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said. “It’s important that you receive the same training as the other agents. That way you know what to expect from them, even though they won’t have a clue what to expect from you. Normally when a power user goes through the training, we do not tell the academy nor the other trainees. Only the senior staff at the academy know. The reason for this will become clear when it happens. I don’t want to spoil the surprise for you.

“It would be better if you can pass the fitness test without using any powers. Judging by the amount of training you seem to do, I doubt it will be a problem.”
I thought about that. “I’m reasonably confident,” I said, “that I could, but I’m going to start specifically training for it anyway.”

“Don’t go using your powers to break any records,” she said. “I know you could probably do pushups and pullups all day with your powers, but it’s better not to draw too much attention to yourself.”

I smiled. “Spoilsport.”

She grinned at me as I stood and went into the kitchen to start dinner. Ness followed me in which was nice because given the number of mouths we had to feed, cooking dinner was quite a task.

Our dinner table was starting to fill up. With just the residents there were nine of us. Maggie made ten and Mary had managed to persuade Marcia to have dinner with us too, although that would be the sum total of her interaction with us that night. I got the feeling that Marcia was trying to back away a little bit. From snatches I picked up from her mind, and also her aura, she felt that she’d jumped in a bit quick with the twins, and although she’d had an amazing time, Amanda had been a little too insistent on including me in their next bout.

Marcia didn’t really seem to be up for that, but assumed it was a requirement, and thus was backing away, not wanting to be involved with a man. I wondered if I should say something but then decided against it. Maybe this would be an object lesson for Amanda that she needed to be a little less pushy.

After dinner, we went to the range. Gracie and Dana came too, although Josh and Louise declined the invitation. I hadn’t known that Dana had already been to the range and done the safety course while we were away. It made sense; Gracie wanted Dana both to be safe around weapons, as even if she moved out from our house as they’d originally planned, there would always be guns around her, and able to shoot to protect herself also.

We took up three lanes. Gracie shot with Dana, as she was teaching her. I shot with Amanda and Ness, and Jules shot with Mary. Ness was as good a shot as her sister and handled the weapons with confidence.

We were heading back home when my phone rang.

“Hey Caleb, It’s Melissa Wragge,” the voice said.

“Hi Melissa,” I replied. “What can I do for you?”

“I’m calling in that dinner,” she said. “And my Dad wants in too; you said you’d look at his leg. It’s been giving him even more trouble lately so anything you can do…”

“When were you thinking?” I asked.

“Saturday?” she queried. I looked at the girls, asking the silent question. They nodded.

“Sure,” I said. I gave her our address, and she said that they’d be there around six thirty.

I had a thought about Vince’s leg and decided I might need some backup.

“Jeevan,” I said as he answered the phone.

“Bhaiya,” he exclaimed. It always filled me with warmth hearing the pleasure he seemed to get from merely speaking to me. I realised that I too felt that pleasure, that connection, that love for another human being that made me feel good merely by interacting with him.

“I wanted to see if I might solicit your help, and bribe you at the same time.”

He laughed. “Bribery is not necessary,” he said. “You know I’m always here for you.”

I explained about Vince and his leg, and also that he and his daughter were coming for dinner on Saturday. I invited him and Meena to join us. He graciously accepted.

Friday morning, I went to the Dojo. I’d not seen Kevin for a few days and so a couple of hours sparring with him got my blood up. I also discussed the FBI fitness test and he gave me some advice about how to train more effectively for it.

Marcia and I worked together all of Friday morning and, to her surprise, we managed to finish all the sheetrock in all the rooms. This, she had thought, would take longer. She started taping, while I showered and went to see the AME to get my medical certificate.

As expected there were no surprises, and I was certified medically fit to fly. I was looking forward to Monday.

Marcia had left by the time I got back to the house, telling the girls that she would be back at 8am Monday morning to start again.

Amanda looked particularly upset.

“I think you pushed her a little too hard,” I said. “She doesn’t want anything to do with me and thinks that I’m part of the deal. That’s why she’s backing away.”

Amanda looked at me and then grimaced. “I’ll speak to her Monday,” she said. “Would you mind very much…”

“Not at all,” I said. Amanda and Mary both smiled, and the shared a glance.

Later, when I came out of the shower, getting ready for bed, Mary and Amanda were both waiting for me. Mary was on her knees on the floor, naked but for the collar around her neck, the attached leash in Amanda’s hand. She was blindfolded and wearing a ring gag I had never seen before. Someone had obviously been shopping. I could hear a faint buzzing sound and when I raised an eyebrow to Amanda, she tugged on the leash causing Mary to move to all fours. She led her around until Mary faced away from me, her pert gorgeous ass pointing in my direction, showing me the vibrating butt plug currently buzzing away quietly in place. Amanda grinned and pulled out a small controller. She turned a dial and the intensity of the noise increased. Mary stiffened as the vibrations inside her became more pronounced. I could already see her juices leaking from her pussy and running down the insides of her legs.

Amanda led her back around until she was kneeling in front of me. My cock level with her face and rigid, already beginning to weep a thread of precum.

I looked down at Mary. Spit was drooling from around the gag and running down her chin to drip onto her chest, making her tits slick. Her face was flushed and her nipples stood erect.  Amanda grabbed a handful of Mary’s hair and lined her mouth up with the head of my cock. She pushed hard forcing her sister to take my cock through the ring gag, into her mouth, and straight down her throat. She didn’t let up pushing until Mary’s face was pressed right into my belly. I groaned at the sensation.

She held Mary there for almost a full minute and then pulled her head back roughly jerking my cock right out of her mouth. Mary gasped, streams of spit and an accumulation of my precum flowed from her mouth. She was having difficulty swallowing with the ring gag in.

“Is that what you wanted, slut?” Amanda growled at Mary and I felt Mary’s arousal, which was already high, ramp up another few notches. “You want him to fuck your face. You want him to use you like the slutty cumdump you are?”

Mary didn’t move, but I felt a tremor run through her. She’d had a small orgasm purely from what had happened so far and Amanda’s words. Amanda shivered as her sympathetic orgasm ran through her.

Amanda once again placed Mary’s mouth over my cock, but this time just enough so I was seated with the head of my cock on her tongue. Then she took my hands and placed them on the back of Marys head.

“Fuck her,” she ordered. “Use this little cunt’s mouth.”

I wasn’t prepared for the huge gout of power Amanda threw at me. . .Domination, Lust, Need, Desire.

Before I realised what was happening, I’d rammed my cock deep into Mary’s throat again and was fucking her face with long hard strokes, for the moment not caring whether she wanted it or not. A second later, I’d shrugged off the effect of Amanda’s power, and realised what I was doing. Quickly I examined Mary through the connection. She was in heaven. I’d never been this rough with her before and it was something that she’d been dreaming of for a long time. She wanted me to force my cock down her throat, to make her choke and gag on my meat as I rammed it in and out of her mouth. She wanted me to choke her on my cum, drown her, claim her. She wanted to be dominated.

I gave her exactly what she wanted.

I gripped her hair tightly, holding onto her head as I continued to ram my cock into her mouth, pulling right back every fourth of fifth stroke to give her just enough time to gasp a quick breath before choking her once more on my turgid meat.

The stimulation on my cock was intense. The hard rubber of the ring gag was a stark contrast to the hot softness of her tongue and the tightness of her throat when I rammed myself deep. She was making lewd slurping sounds. The mix of my precum and her spit was drenching me and running down her chin. It flowed across her now slick tits and down between her legs, where her pussy juice added to the mix, finally drooling into a puddle on the floor beneath her.

I’d kind of lost track of Amanda for a moment, but then felt her step up behind me. She’d been dressed when I came out of the shower, but no longer. She pressed her naked body against my back and reached around, putting her hands over mine, and using her hips pushed forward and back – setting the pace that I was ploughing into her sister.

The stimulation was starting to become too much, and I could feel my climax fast approaching. I hadn’t even considered controlling it. This had all been so sudden that I had no defence and when Amanda once again hit me with a huge gout of power, Domination, Lust, and NEED, I had no choice.

I rammed my cock as far down Mary’s throat as I could reach, and came.

It felt like my balls were trying to climb out through the end of my cock. It was throbbing and spasming hard as spurt after spurt of thick jism jetted into the girl kneeling in front of me. I tried to pull back, starting to worry about her not being able to breathe, but Amanda held me in place pushing me deep into her sister's throat and, at the same time, ramping the control on the buttplug all the way to maximum.

Mary began to shake as her climax hit. The feeling of me savagely raping her mouth along with the stimulation from the vibrator lodged in her ass was too much for her to stand. Amanda finally let me pull out and, mid orgasm, Mary managed a huge gasp, the oxygen rush causing her to peak yet again, even before she’d fully completed her previous orgasm. Amanda, still standing behind me thrust her pelvis against my ass, unconsciously, as she rode out her sympathetic orgasm. I felt a squirt of her juices hit my ass and run down the back of my legs as she held on to me to prevent her falling to the floor.

After a moment Amanda used the control and stopped the vibrations. Mary sighed in relief. They were becoming a little uncomfortable.

“Go shower,” Amanda whispered to me. “We’ll be in in a minute.”

They joined me in the shower a few minutes later. Mary was divested of the plug and the gag, although strangely still wore the collar.

I wondered about that for a few minutes, until I realized that they hadn’t finished with me yet. They were washing me, and each other, but their touches and caresses were more than just that, and in a very short time, I was primed and ready for action yet again.

Amanda pulled me into a kiss, our tongues battling as she took hold of my cock. She began running her hand up and down its length, spreading the precum that it was once more producing in copious quantities, and making it slick. She turned me to face Mary, who was standing, with her back to me, up against the wall, her ass pushed out ever so slightly. The sight almost made me lose my load there and then. Then she reached behind her, putting one hand on each cheek and spreading them apart, revealing her holiest of holies. Amanda pressed me forward until the tip of my cock was lodged against Mary’s little star.

Since Amanda had been so free with her powers, I decided a  little revenge was in order. I linked to Mary, and shared her sensations with Amanda, as I steadily thrust forward, burying my cock deep into Mary’s asshole in a single long slow thrust.

Amanda’s eyes bulged for a second at the unexpected sensation of being penetrated. She shuddered as her body, taken completely unawares, came. Her orgasm washed over her, and Mary too, causing Mary’s asshole to clench around the base of my cock as I held myself pressed deep inside her, pinning her to the wall.

I waited for a short while until both girls had recovered from their climaxes and then began to move. I pulled my cock almost all the way out, and then, slowly, hilted myself inside Mary once more. She moaned.

I put my hands over hers as she braced herself against the wall, and held her in place, as I began to fuck her ass, slowly at first, but picked up speed, relishing the feeling of her tight ass squeezing my shaft.

Amanda was leaning against the wall beside Mary, enjoying the pounding by proxy she was getting. Her legs were slightly parted, and she was unconsciously rubbing at her clit with one hand while playing with her nipple with the other. Gently, so she wouldn’t immediately notice, I set my TK playing with her other nipple duplicating whatever she did with her own fingers. She was so lost in the sensation of being buggered it didn’t register, but I could feel her climax building at the same time as I could feel Mary’s.

My own was still a little way off since I’d cum so hard down Mary’s throat. I decided I was going to hold off their orgasms until I was ready and release us all at the same time.

I sped up my pounding, my pelvis slapping into Mary’s ass with loud claps. She tilted her hips, pushing back, trying to get me to go even deeper inside. The feeling of my cock reaming out her asshole was being supplemented by Amanda’s ‘self-help.’

Faster and harder I rammed into Mary, feeling her getting closer and closer to her release, as Amanda’s ministrations to her own clit became faster and more desperate. She was right on the verge of cumming, but I was blocking her orgasm. I was starting to feel my own climax approaching and I wanted the timing to be right.

Mary was panting, grunting with each thrust, pushing her ass back even more. She wanted me as deep inside her as I could get and I wasn’t about to deny her. I released her hands, and took hold of her hips, pulling her back into me as I really started to pound her, my balls slapping into her clit at every stroke, her juices once more running down her legs.

I felt my cock swelling and, knowing that my release was imminent, moved my hand from Mary’s hip and reached across to Amanda. Just as I felt my climax hit, I shoved three fingers into Amanda’s sopping cunt and released both their orgasms at the same time.

Amanda couldn’t even scream. Her eyes bulged and her mouth opened in a silent shriek. She had no breath, her body forgetting how. She jerked and thrashed as her orgasm ripped through her, feeling her pussy stuffed with my fingers and the sensation of her asshole being flooded with spunk from my throbbing cock that was, even now, dumping a huge load up Mary’s ass.

Mary, too, was twitching and thrashing. Although she had had some breath in her body, and had shrieked as she came, her orgasm married up with Amanda’s to make them both completely lose control. I felt hot fluid run down my legs as her pussy gushed and I had to support them both with TK to prevent them falling to the floor.

All the time this was going on I was enjoying my own climax, holding my cock deep inside Mary’s ass and pumping what felt to be a quart of jizz into the tight girl’s body.

We stayed in that tableau for what seemed to be an age. Me, still buried deep in Mary’s ass, keeping her pressed against the wall, until with a wet slurping sound, my cock slid out. A gout of cum bubbled out of her ass and ran down her leg.

Mary shuddered in an aftershock as more cum ran from her while Amanda just stood against the wall, panting and occasionally jumping as some sensitivity or other triggered her own aftershocks.

Eventually we managed to move, once again gently washing each other, and then helping to get dry. Amanda removed Mary’s collar, leaning forward to give her a loving kiss as she did so. The twins shared a glance which told of a depth of love that you couldn’t fully appreciate unless you were there. Then they both turned that glance on me, and I felt the full force of their love.

It was so much that I had no choice but to share it with Jules and Ness, and I felt their reciprocal feelings flooding back through the connection.

By the time we’d finished in the shower and gotten dried, Ness and Jules were waiting for us in bed. Ness looked flushed. I glanced at Jules, and she grinned at me.

“Ness was a little peckish,” she said, “so I fixed her a steak.” I laughed.

“Did you have fun?” I asked Ness as we all curled up together getting ready for sleep.

“Not quite as much as you did,” she said with a smile, “But Jules does cook a mean steak.”

I pulled all my girls into me, and we snuggled up close. I was asleep almost instantly.

Four AM saw me out on the deck to start my upper body strength training.

I began with sit-ups. I got into position, using TK to hold my feet down. The deck was hard on my back – I needed a mat to use. I managed 45 sit-ups in the minute. So not terrible, but I knew I could do better.

I moved onto push-ups, and managed sixty-two before I had to pause, which is where they would stop me. So again, not bad, but there was room for improvement.

I didn’t have a bar to do pull-ups on. I decided to ask Marcia if she could fit one for me. I knew you could buy ones that fit into doorways, but also had seen enough videos online of them collapsing under people that I didn’t want to try that. I didn’t need to be a tik-tok star on top of everything else.

I then went out for a run.

After breakfast we did our normal Saturday chores, the food run was becoming ridiculous, and I suggested that we consider joining one of the wholesale warehouses. Gracie told us, as an FBI agent, she could join and we could buy stuff in bigger quantities as we needed to, and for less money.

We took two cars and went and signed up, then spent a huge amount of time and money. Again, I was grateful for the truck, because I don’t think we’d have been able to fit everything into a car’s trunk.

Since we were having guests for dinner, I once again put the question as to what Ness and I should cook. The answer was as predictable as it was boring.

“Moussaka”

I sighed. “Seriously?”

“You promised Meena,” said Jules.

They were unmoved and unmoving, so Ness and I set about recreating the meal that I had made for Ness at Christmas. This time we did the Meze too, since there were two of us cooking.

Jeevan and Meena were the first to arrive. I hugged them both and brought them into the house. Meena almost immediately joined us in the kitchen.

“Is that cinnamon I smell?” she asked.

“It is,” I said. “It’s for the Moussaka.

“Ah,” she smiled, “The famous dish. I’ve been looking forward to tasting this for a long time.”

“Well, I hope it doesn’t disappoint.”

“I nearly didn’t get to taste it when he made it a Christmas,” said Ness. “It was considered too pornographic for me.”

“What?” asked Meena, looking puzzled.

Ness told the tale of how I’d refused to have anything sexual to do with her until she was eighteen, then of how I’d decided to cook for her the Christmas before her eighteenth, and of how someone, she couldn’t remember who, had said I should cook it for Ness, and it would make her orgasm.

“I nearly got KFC instead,” she said laughing as she put the finishing touches to the topping before sliding the dish into the oven where the others were waiting.

Meena laughed placing her hand on Ness’s shoulder.

“So,” she asked, “was he worth waiting for?”

Ness blushed but grinned. “Totally.”

They both looked at me, and it was my turn to blush.

I heard a knock at the door and decided to go answer it.

I beat Jules to the door by a heartbeat, and let Vince and Melissa in.

Vince shook my hand, and Melissa surprised me with an embrace. “Thank you,” she said, “for doing this.”

“What?” I said surprised, “Dinner?”

“No,” she said. “For looking at Dad’s leg. He’s tried to get Healing before, but for some reason none of the Healers would entertain him.”

I frowned. Jeevan hadn’t mentioned anything when I’d spoken to him, and I’d told him who it was for. I determined to find out.

“Come on through,” I said leading them into the living room.

I introduced them to those who didn’t already know them, Jeevan was a courteous as ever, but I could tell that there was something between him and Vincent that I hadn’t know about.

“Bhaiya,” I sent to him, “may we speak?”

He looked across at me and smiled, before excusing himself and following me out onto the deck. Dinner would be another fifteen minutes, so we had a little time. Ness was keeping an eye on it in the kitchen.

“I can see there is some history between you and Vince Wragge?” I said coming straight to the point. “His daughter tells me that he has requested help before and been turned down by the Healer network. Would you care to tell me why?”

Jeevan looked pained. “There is history,” he said. “It was regarding a mission in the dessert that he led. Many died, both power users and Norms. He has consistently refused to explain what happened to cause those deaths. That has caused friction with all power users, not just the Healer network. His line have managed to maintain relations, but he, personally, is somewhat of an outcast.”

I frowned, wondering, joining the dots and wondering if the picture I was making was the true one.

“Jules, would you ask Vince to come out here please?” I sent to Jules.

The kitchen door opened, and Vince emerged. He looked at Jeevan and I.

“This was a bad idea,” he said immediately. “Caleb, I’m…”

“Shut up,” I said harshly. He stopped talking, looking surprised.

“I’m assuming,” I said, “that your reason for refusing to talk about what went on in the desert is due the mission being classified. I am going to ask a question of you, I don’t expect you to answer, but I want to look into your face when I do.

“Were Dean Steadman and Kevin Jones on the OP?”

His managed to control himself very well. Apart from a slight tightening around his eyes, and the briefest flickers in his aura, he was impassive.

I nodded.

I then sent a memory to Jeevan. It was the memory of the explanation from Kevin to Dean about the OP. It was short on detail, but there was some there.

“If you want to know more, there is a norm you can go to and investigate,” I said to Jeevan. “It would be a complete violation of him and an abuse of your powers. I have to say, that my opinion of the Healer network has taken a huge hit. How DARE they refuse healing to one of their own, to a veteran who was wounded in action for his country! And why? Because he wouldn’t submit to their curiosity?

“The mission, and the aftermath, is top secret. Vince is STILL serving, despite his injury, and they are judging him? Well, if that is an indication of the kind of people in the US Healer network, then outside of yourself, I want no part of it. I personally don’t understand your stance on this my brother, tell me please?”

“You have to understand,” said Jeevan. “Many people in the network, and in the powered community as a whole, lost loved ones. They wanted answers. The government refused to give them those answers so…”

“So, they expected one of their own to break the law??” I asked incredulously. “Aren’t we all about living within the constraints of the law, being accountable to the law, even though we have power and could quite easily ignore it? Or does that only apply when it doesn’t affect them directly.”

“Nobody would know…” began Jeevan.

“HE would know,” I said. “And let’s not forget the polygraphs that NSA agents take on a regular basis. Even if he knows how to game those using his power, his own honor prevents him from speaking about it. He took an oath. Do you expect him to renounce that at your convenience?”

I was getting angry, and what’s more I was getting angry at Jeevan.

“Caleb,” Vince said putting his hand on my shoulder, “it doesn’t matter. I’ve. . .”

“Like FUCK it doesn’t matter,” I snapped at him, then turned back to Jeevan. “What makes it worse is that there is no central ‘council’ for healers. If you could point to a body and say ‘THEY made the rules and we had to follow,’ then I could almost understand. But this is something that was done as a consensus which meant that everyone, or at least the majority of the network, agreed to it.

“What disturbs me even more is that when I looked in your mind, I saw no mention of this. That tells me that you weren’t unhappy with this either. If you’d felt any kind of shame for it then it would have been shown to me. Please Jeevan, help me understand how you could do this to someone who was injured serving his country, who is following both his conscience and the law, and is also one of your own?”

Jeevan’s eyes were downcast.

Ness poked her head out of the door. “Dinner’s ready.”

“Come,” I said much more gently, “let’s eat. Afterwards, you and I will see what we can do for this man, this war hero, who deserves our help. I love you, Bhaiya, that hasn’t changed.”

Jeevan finally looked at me and half smiled. “How is it that one so young holds so much wisdom?”

We went back into the house, Jeevan and Vince going to take their places at the table, while I helped Ness with serving our guests.

Meena looked at Jeevan, a worried look on her face, while I noted that Vincent was sharing a memory with Melissa. A moments assimilation and then she turned wet eyes towards me.

I saw Jeevan look at Meena and smile, saw him ‘tell’ her something, and her worried look faded. She too turned her eyes on me, more calculating than worried now.

The dinner was a resounding success. Meena immediately demanded the recipe and that we show her how Ness and I make it. Vince and Melissa, while not quite so voluble, also expressed their appreciation. By the time we’d all finished there wasn’t a scrap of food left on the table.

I looked down the table wonderingly. There were thirteen people sat around the table, supposedly an unlucky number, but I didn’t feel it. We’d moved the spare chairs out and just spread ourselves out a little more so there were no gaps, and it just felt right.

I glanced down at Vince who was sitting at the foot of the table, it was easier for him there to stretch his leg out, and he nodded to me and raised his glass.

Some people might have been moved to say something, make some kind of speech, but not me. I was content looking down the table at my family, both immediate and extended, and my friends.

I stood and began to clear away the dishes. The twins stood and took them out of my hands. “You have things to do,” Amanda said. “We’ll deal with this. Jules, Ness, and the other can entertain Meena and Melissa while you’re busy.”

I smiled at her.

Vince, Jeevan, and I went back out onto the deck.

“Before we start,” Jeevan said, “I owe you, Mr. Wragge, my most humble apologies.”

“I never approached you,” said Vince, “so you never directly turned me down.”

“But I allowed it,” he said. “Against my better judgement, I allowed others to say that they would not Heal you, and I never challenged it. I reasoned that each of us has the right to determine who we would or would not Heal, and to some extent I still believe that. But to withhold Healing as some kind of ransom or to punish someone, especially someone who’d been wounded serving their country, and doubly so a fellow power user, was wrong.

“Caleb was right, I am, and should rightfully be, ashamed. And I, we,” he indicated himself and me, “will do our utmost to make things right for you.”

Vince limped over to Jeevan and held out his hand. They shook.

“Thank you,” he said.

“Now,” said Jeevan indicating one of the lawn chairs, “please sit.”

“Healing a power user,” said Jeevan to me, “has an extra level of trust. Since we must be unshielded to collaborate, we are trusting that the power user does not try to take advantage of the situation.”

“I wouldn’t…” began Vince.

“If I thought for a moment you would,” said Jeevan, “neither of us would be here.”

We looked at Vince’s leg. It was a mess. It appeared that he’d been hit by shrapnel from an IED, which had shattered his femur into fragments. It had taken so long for his medivac, that by the time he got to surgery some of the pieces had already began to fuse together abnormally leaving the surgeons with a jigsaw of mismatched pieces which no longer fitted together. They had screwed, pinned, and plated, and come up with a construction that was more than half metal, which supported, badly, the surrounding tissues. That meant that all the geometry of his leg was wrong, throwing out his knee, hip, and ankle, which put strain on the joints on the other side as they tried to compensate.

I saw Jeevan grimace.

“This is not going to be simple,” he said, “nor will we be able to complete it in a single session.  There is so much to do. Here’s what I suggest.”

He laid out a treatment plan over five healing sessions. Each time we would take a section of the femur, remove the steelwork, and force the bone to regrow to its original design. Once that was done we’d be able to encourage the joints to realign properly and hopefully the muscles to re-learn their original patterns of movement.

“Can you take some time off work?” Jeevan asked Vince.

Vince nodded. “They are always chasing me to use up my leave. How much time would you need?”

“If Caleb can commit to daily sessions,” said Jeevan, “then a week should suffice. It will be a hard week for us all, but it is manageable.”

I thought about my week ahead.  “How long will the sessions be?” I asked.

“Two hours at most,” said Jeevan. “But they will wipe you out, and you will need to come fully charged.”

I didn’t have a problem with that. I had no new hypnotherapy clients this coming week, and the comebacks were all just illusions which took no power at all. I could literally do those all day, as long as I was eating, with the power regenerating almost as fast as I used it.

“Let’s go and talk to my secretary,” I said with a grin, “and get the sessions booked in.”