Caleb 91 – Danny

It was raining again.

I’d parked my truck in the FBI parking lot as normal and headed into the office, looping my ID over my belt as usual.

Rosie wasn’t on the front desk. Instead, it was manned by a rather earnest looking young man. I saw him trying to see my ID as I went to walk past. Since I didn’t have a ‘badge’ I guessed he had no idea if I was supposed to be there but didn’t want to challenge me in case he was wrong.

I diverted and walked up to the desk, taking off my ID and handing it to him.

“Hi,” I said. “I’m Caleb. I’m a consultant attached to this office.”

He glanced at my ID and then looked up at me.

“Consultant?” he asked. “I’ve never met one of those before.”

“We just help out from time to time,” I said. “I’m just going up to see Dianna.”

“Dianna?” he asked.

“SSA Everson,” I corrected myself. He nodded.

“Okay,” he said.

“Nice to meet you…” I waited for him to give me his name. He didn’t.

“You too,” he said and looked down.

Shrugging I moved off and to the elevators.

Dianna wasn’t in her office when I arrived. I figured that Maggie might know where she was or, if not, she might know who I was supposed to be meeting. I got back in the elevator and went up to Maggie’s floor.

Cuthbert smiled at me as I approached his desk.

“SSA Everson is in with ADD Forbes” he said. “She said you might drop by and asked me to tell you to catch up with Agent Drey on four. He’s going to go with you.”

“Thanks,” I told him, heading back to the elevator yet again.

Leaving the elevator on four brought back memories. I’d last been here when I’d come to practice my Telepathy, and read Daisy’s mind. That’s what had given me my start in the kitchen, and the ability to wow Ness with my culinary skills. Not that it would have made any difference.

I turned left, as I had back then, and walked to where there were a group of interview rooms surrounding a waiting area. There was nobody around. Retracing my steps, I went the other way and came across an open office with several desks dotted about. Several people looked up as I entered the area, one of whom stood.

“Caleb,” he shouted.

“Agent Drey,” I returned. He grinned.

“Daniel is fine,” he said. “After all, we’re going to be colleagues.

“That’s a while off yet,” I said. “I haven’t even finished, and passed, the recruitment process.”

He snorted.

“They’d snap you up even IF you hadn’t done everything you’d done. FIVE letters of commendation in your file and from disparate agencies to boot. The only time we see that level of decoration is when we recruit vets.”

“They deserve it,” I said. “I’m not sure I do.”

“I know several people that wouldn’t agree,” he said. “Anyway. What’s today about? Dianna said she wants me to take you up to the state pen and visit an inmate with you, a Harold Bleasedale?”

I nodded, looking around the office where several agents were working.

“They’re all read in,” he said. “All agents are.”

“Okay,” I said. “Harold attacked a friend of mine at my twentieth birthday party. I’d only just found out about powers and that I had some. I hadn’t yet figured anything out, yet I stripped him of his powers, and he got arrested.

“I want to make sure that my stripping his powers stuck, because back then I had no idea what I was doing. It would be a nightmare if he got them back without anyone flagging up the danger. He’d be out of jail and in the wind in an instant, likely going back to his old ways.”

“So, you’re going to check and make sure he’s not getting them back?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Okay,” he said. “Let’s go.”

We left the office, this time using the stairs rather than the elevator, and made our way to the parking.

“Want to take my car?” he asked.

“Better my truck,” I said. “I don’t have a parking permit. If I’m here I can show I’m allowed here but if not, I don’t want the hassle of a ticket to fight.”

He nodded, and we climbed into the truck. He looked around.

“Nice,” he said. “I’ve always wanted one of these.”

“It was a Christmas gift,” I told him, “from my father in law.”

“Wow,” he said. “Does your fiancée have a sister?” he grinned at me.

“She does,” I said grinning back. “And she’s my fiancée too.”

He laughed.

“Damn.” He said. “I don’t know whether to congratulate you or commiserate with you.”

“Oh, congratulate definitely,” I said. “I’m the luckiest man alive.”

He continued to look around the cabin, going so far as to open the center console, exposing the gun safe concealed within.

“Is that a console vault?” he asked. I nodded.

“I can’t take my gun into school, but I like to have it with me when I’m out.”

“Why?” he asked, “Given your powers?”

“Cover,” I said. “If I come across a situation where I have to compel someone to do something, its far more believable that they would obey if I’m pointing a weapon at them, rather than if I just tell them. It gives me some credibility.”

“I can see that,” he said.

“What’s your carry?” he asked.

“Normally a Glock23, but mine is currently still with the PD following the shooting. At the moment I’m have a Wilson Combat 1911 CQB. Matt steel finish.”

“May I?” he asked.

I used a trickle of TK to enter the combination and unlock the gun safe. Daniel opened it and pulled out my CQB. He checked the chamber, ensuring there wasn’t a round in there, and ejected the magazine. Then he took a close look at the weapon, sighting along the barrel. Finally satisfied, he reloaded the magazine and put the weapon back in the safe closing it and rotating the numbers of the lock to secure it.

“That’s a beautiful weapon,” he said.

I smirked. “It was a gift for my twenty first,” I told him. “From my…

“Father in law…” we both said at the same time. He laughed.

We’d been on the freeway for about fifteen minutes when I saw red and blue lights flashing in my rearview. A cruiser was approaching at speed, and I moved over to get out of its way. It tucked in behind us, clearly intending to pull us over.

“We’re being stopped,” I said, and flashed my blinker to let the officer know I was complying.

I eased over into the emergency lane and slowed to a stop, the cruiser pulling in behind us, but staying a little further back than I would have expected.

I applied the parking brake and rolled down my window waiting for the officer to approach.

He didn’t. Instead, I heard him shout through his bullhorn.

“DRIVER, EXIT THE VEHICLE WITH YOUR HANDS VISIBLE. DO IT NOW.”

I looked across at Daniel, who looked at me, equally puzzled.

Not wanting to cause any issues, I undid my door and putting my hands through the rolled down window so they were clearly visible, got out. I walked to the back of my truck, so I wouldn’t get hit by a car and stopped my hands out to my sides.

“TURN AROUND AND WALK BACKWARDS TO MY CAR” he said.

I complied, still keeping my hands out, I spun around and walked backwards.

Daniel opened his door.

“PASSENGER, STAY IN THE VEHICLE.”

Daniel closed his door.

I kept looking over my shoulder, judging the distance to the patrol car as I walked backwards along the emergency lane. When I was about a yard in front, I stopped.

I heard the officer open his door.

“Do not move,” he said, walking up behind me and grabbing my arm.

“Put your hands behind your back.” He said yanking my right hand behind me. I matched the action with my left, and in a few seconds, I was in cuffs.

“You have any weapons on you?” he asked.

“No,” I said.

“Any in the vehicle?” he asked.

“I have a weapon in the gun safe in the center console,” I said. “My passenger is an FBI Special Agent. I presume he’s armed. My ID is in my left rear pocket. Can you please check it?”

I felt him dip into my pocket and pull out my wallet.

“FBI?” he asked.

“I’m a consultant,” I said.

The officer swore.

“Come take a seat,” he said walking me to the back door of his car, and opening it. I sat inside, still cuffed. He closed the door.

Then he went to the passenger side of my truck. I could see Daniel flashing his creds through the window.

While he was talking to Daniel, another patrol car arrived and tucked in behind the one I was seated in. The driver, a female officer, got out, her hand on her weapon. I wondered what the hell this was all about.

After a few more minutes the officer talking to Daniel walked back and had a few words with his colleague and then they came back to his car, opening my door.

“Come on out,” he said. I got out.

“Turn around please,” he said. I obliged and he unlocked the handcuffs.

I turned back to face him.

“We had a report,” he said, “that there was a madman waving a gun around on the freeway. They gave your license plate.”

I closed my eyes, and realized what had happened. Someone had spotted Daniel looking at my CQB and panicked, calling in a crazed gunman.

“Oops,” I said. “I’m really sorry. He wanted to take a look at my weapon, so I let him take a look. I guess someone saw.”

“Why?” they asked.

“It’s a Wilson Combat 1911 CQB,” I said, “A really nice gun, he wanted to take a look.”

“Not really the place for it,” said the female officer.

“I get that,” I said. “And I’m really sorry.”

“It’s all good,” said the male cop. Then he looked at the female. “Mind if we take a look?”

I chuckled. “Sure,” I said.

We walked back to the truck, and I got Daniel to slide out of the seat. Once again, I opened the gun safe and pulled out the weapon, removing the magazine and ensuring the chamber was clear.

I handed the weapon butt first, to the male officer.

“Nice,” he said as he examined it. “Lots of people prefer the nickel-plated pieces, but I think the brushed steel finish is much nicer.”

The female officer looked at him with the look of a woman watching a guy nerd out about something completely unimportant.

We chatted for a few more minutes about the weapon, during which time the female officer wandered back to her patrol car. I looked up as she chirped her siren as she pulled away.

The male officer waved.

“I’d best let you get back to it,” he said a few minutes later. “Try not to panic any more motorists please.”

I agreed that we would try and returned the gun to the safe.

“Take care as you pull away,” he said as he walked back toward his car. Daniel and I regained our seats in the truck, and I pulled into traffic.

We managed to make the rest of the journey without incident and pulled into the prison parking lot just after ten thirty.

We walked in through the reception and announced ourselves.

Daniel had to check his weapon, leaving it in a locker where we signed in.

“Who you here to see?” asked the guard.

“Harold Bleasedale,” Daniel said. “My ADD called your Warden earlier in the week and arranged it.”

The tapped a few keys on his computer and grunted. “I see it,” he said. “There’s nothing about him having representation. Does he need his lawyer?”

“We’re not here to ask him questions,” said Daniel. “We just want to say ‘hello’.”

The guard looked at us, a question in his face, but then decided that it was probably none of his business. It wasn’t his problem. As long as we didn’t damage him too much it would be up to his lawyer to figure out if we’d done anything we shouldn’t.

“This way,” he said taking us through several locked doors, finally leading us into what looked like an interview room. There were three chairs two on one side and one on the other side of a table which appeared to be affixed to the floor. In the center of the table, a thick ring was embedded in the table. I suspected that was to attach manacles to.

“A corrections officer will bring Bleasedale to you in a few minutes,” he said. “When you’re done I’ll come back and escort you out.”

“Thank you,” I said. He nodded to me.

Ten minutes later the door opened, and Harold Belasedale entered, followed by a corrections officer. He looked at the pair of us with some interest, his eyes widening slightly as he recognized me. I saw his aura change, fear spiking. I also saw a very thin sliver of control going from Bleasedale to the guard.

He sat, the guard never bothering to attach his cuffs to the ring in the middle of the table. The guard took station his back to the wall, behind Bleasedale.

Daniel started talking, introducing himself. He didn’t introduce me.

I looked at Bleasedale and the block I’d put on his powers over a year ago.

Already I could see that it had deteriorated. There were cracks and Harold had figured out ways around it. He had regained a tiny amount of his power, enough to suggest things to people. I hit him with a Compulsion to use his power on the guard standing behind him. It worked.

“Monkey farts smell of peanuts,” said the guard.

Daniel stopped talking for a moment and looked at me.

This was definitely not good enough. Left to his own devices, I guessed that Harold would have his full powers back in a couple of years, judging by the rate my block was deteriorating, and then what? He could take over the jail, get himself paroled, and after that… who knew.

I placed another compulsion on Harold, getting him to count backwards from twenty to zero. When he reached Zero he was to Compel the guard to repeat the phrase he’d said before. After he’d done that, he would forget everything about powers, and that he’d ever had them. A sliver of compulsion meant that the guard would ignore this rather bizarre behavior.

Then I reached into his head and, using my healing, made the change that I knew would make him invisible to powers. I was fairly certain that it would also remove any powers, but I needed to be sure.

“Five, four, three, two, one,” Harold intoned. The guard remained silent.

I looked again at Harold and found that I was no longer able to connect to his mind. I could see his aura, but I could not read his mind, affect his emotions, nor compel him. I looked over his brain with my healing. The change was tiny, miniscule, almost microscopic. Unless you knew exactly where to look, and what to look for, you’d never find it. It was a speck of moss in the Amazon rainforest. It was also the key to making people immune to powers or removing powers and I was not going to share that secret with anyone, ever.

“We’re done,” I said to Daniel. The guard looked surprised. We’d been there less than five minutes and other than introduce himself Daniel had said nothing. I’d remained quiet the whole time.

“Thank you,” said Daniel, “You can take him. Can you ask your colleague to take us out again please?”

The corrections officer spoke into his radio before telling Bleasedale to stand, and taking him out of the room and presumably back to his cell.

“Well?” asked Daniel.

“He was getting his powers back,” I said. “I made him Compel the guard, to see if he could.”

“Monkey farts?” he asked amused.

“It was the first thing I could think of that the guard would definitely not say of his own volition.”

“You have a twisted mind, my friend,” he laughed.

“You have no idea,” I told him, laughing along with him.

We signed out, Daniel reclaiming his weapon and headed back to my truck. We made it back to the FBI office in Portland with no further incidents.

“I think Dianna will want to hear about it,” Daniel said as I parked in the parking lot.

We entered the office, the young man still on the desk.

“What happened to Rosie,” I asked looking to where the young man was staring at his computer.

“Don’t know,” he said. “She’s didn’t show for work this morning. She’s probably out sick. That guy is a temp from an agency.”

I wondered at that, but put it out of my mind, as we rode the elevator up to Dianna’s floor.

“Caleb,” Dianna said when I knocked on her door. “How was he?”

“His block was slipping,” I told her. “He was already starting to regain his power. Given another couple of years, he’d have been as strong as ever.”

“Is that going to be a concern with anyone else who you stripped powers from?” she asked. I shook my head.

“I learned how to lock off compulsions before I stripped anyone else,” I said. “They won’t be regaining their power any time soon.”

“And Bleasdale isn’t going to be any more problem?” she asked. I shook my head.

“Good job,” she said.

Friday afternoon, I was sat in Danny’s office, completing my logbook after a flight in the Baron. Arnie was currently in the air teaching. Danny, who’d been with me while I was flying the Baron and had been completing his own log suddenly looked up.

“Caleb,” he said. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure,” I said.

“Your flying ability,” he said. “It’s something to do with your powers, isn’t it?”

I smiled at him and nodded.

“How?” he asked.

“Long story short,” I said. “I’ve taken all the flying knowledge of someone who has been flying both fixed and rotary wing aircraft for years. He flew fighter missions in the Gulf and then, after an ‘incident’, he transferred to rotary wing and flew helicopters instead. He now flies a G500 for a living.”

Danny nodded.

“That makes sense,” he said. “I’ve said all along you fly like a combat pilot. He must have thousands of hours. How does that work, how can you take his memories?”

“It’s simple.” I said. “He told me he’d let me see his memories. I took them from him, or rather copied them into my own memory. Once I was able to assimilate them, it was as if I had all the same experiences as him. All I need to do then is develop the psychomotor skills to go with the knowledge. That takes a little practice. It’s how I learned all the martial arts I know; I got the knowledge then I trained my body.”

“That’s one hell of a life hack,” he said. “You could learn almost anything overnight.”

“I also could qualify as a tax accountant,” I told him with a grin. “I took all that knowledge too.”

“Why tax?” he asked.

“A friend of mine needed to learn it for work. I helped her and decided I’d hold on to the knowledge for myself.”

“You can do that?” he said. “You could help someone without powers learn something like that?”

“If I have someone that already knows what you need to learn, then, yes,” I said.

“Will you help Arnie when he needs it?” he asked. “When he starts looking at commercial flying there’s so much for them to learn.”

“I’ll always help Arnie,” I told him, “in any way I can. You know that. Arnie, and by extension you, are family.”

He nodded.

“When you’re ready,” I said, hearing his thoughts. “Ask. If I can, I’ll help.”

He grimaced. “I sometimes forget you can read minds,” he said. “Doesn’t that get confusing?”

“Imagine sitting in a bar and hearing all the noise going on,” I said. “You only pay attention to the person speaking to you, but occasionally you pick up odd phrases from conversations around you. It’s a bit like that. I’d have to concentrate to find out more, and I don’t do that without either permission, probable cause, or a court order.”

“Probable cause?” he asked.

“Three guys broke into our house with baseball bats,” I said. “I read their minds to see who sent them.”

He nodded.

“Who decides?” he asked.

“I do,” I told him. “But if information I got by reading someone’s mind ended up in court, then it might be excluded if I didn’t have one of the above.”

“There are courts that know about powers?” he asked amazed.

“There are,” I said. “And you’ll never read about it in the news.”

I closed my logbook and put it in my flight case. I’d bought one to keep all my flying documentation together. It was insane the amount of paper I was accumulating with regard to flying. I’d also bought a tablet to use while I was flying. It made life much easier. That lived in my flight case, unless I was actually flying, or it was on charge at home.

“I need to get back,” I said. “Is Arnie with you or us tonight? I can’t keep up.”

“He’s at yours,” he said.

“You’re more than welcome to come for dinner if you want,” I suggested. He almost blushed.

“I can’t,” he said. “I have…a date.”

I raised my eyebrows.

“A date?” I said. “Awesome. Have you been seeing her long…it IS a she, isn’t it?” I asked with a grin knowing full well it was.

He snorted at me. “Of course it is,” he said with a frown then caught himself. “Not that I think… that is…”

I laughed. “I’m just pulling your chain,” I told him. “So, who’s the lucky gal?”

“It’s just someone I met on…” he stopped, embarrassed to admit that he’d used a dating app, even though it had been suggested by his counsellor.

“Hey,” I said. “It’s how busy people meet these days. If you think about it, its gotta be better than hanging out in a sleazy bar trying to hold a conversation while trying not to look like a perv ogling the women. This way you know a little about her, and she knows a little about you. You’re already ahead of the game.”

He shrugged. “I guess so,” he said. “That is, if she told the truth on her profile, and the picture really is of her.”

“Did you tell the truth?” I asked.

“Of course not,” he grinned. “And I used your picture.”

I laughed. “God help you then,” I said.

“You seem to have done alright out of it,” he said.

I smiled at him. “You’re not wrong there,” I said. “But I just bewitched them with my powers. If they had any say in the matter, none of them would give me the time of day.”

His eyes widened. “You didn’t?” he asked.

I laughed. “No,” I said. “I didn’t. There are laws against that. And since two of the girl’s grandmother is an FBI agent and has powers of her own, there’s no way I’d get away with it.”

“I guess,” he said.

“Anyway,” I told him, “good luck for tonight.”

“Thanks,” he said. “I’m kind of nervous. I nearly cancelled about three times already. What if she’s…”

“Just go out and have fun,” I said. “If she’s not for you, then be honest with her, and yourself. As the saying goes…”

“There’s plenty more fish?” he suggested.

“No,” I said. “Don’t pick an ugly one or you’ll have ugly kids!!!”

He laughed. “Is that really a saying?”

“It is now,” I said. “And thankfully none of my girls have heard it.”

“Get out of here,” he said.

I grinned at him as I left the office, waving at Arnie as he taxied onto the apron with his pupil in the Cirrus.

My phone rang as I was on my way home. It was Sarah.

“Caleb,” she said. “I was wondering if it would be okay for John to come over for dinner tonight?”

“It’s a bit short notice,” I said. “Do you think he’ll be available?”

“Actually, it was his idea,” she said. “He called me to ask if we were free. He was going to invite us out to dinner.”

“Us?” I asked.

“All his kids,” she said. “I thought it might be better for him to come to us. That way he can meet everyone. I’m not sure if he’s met any of your girls, and I guess he should meet Arnie.”

“Sure,” I said. “Ness won’t be there, obviously, but he’ll have to get over missing out on meeting her. Make sure he’s not allergic to anything, and see if he’s got a plus one to bring too?”

“He said he’s not seeing anyone just now,” she said.

“Okay then,” I said. “Run it past the girls just in case, and if they have no problems then invite him. I’ll be home in about ten minutes in any case.”

Sarah was actually talking to John on the phone when I walked into the kitchen.

“Seven?” she said looking at me, eyebrow raised, and I nodded.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll text you the address and we’ll see you then. Okay. Bye.”

I went into the kitchen and was starting preparations for dinner when the rest of the household arrived home. Arnie came into the kitchen.

“John is coming over?” he asked. I nodded.

“You have a problem with that?” I asked. He shook his head.

“Just a bit nervous meeting Sarah’s dad, you know?” he said.

“First of all,” I said. “Brian is Sarah’s Dad. John just happened to be her sperm donor. The only man whose opinion matters is Brian’s.”

“And yours,” he said looking at me.

“Even if that were true,” I said, “you already know what my opinion is.”

He nodded at that.

Sarah poked her head in. “There you are,” she said. “I wondered where you’d gone.”

“I was just talking to Caleb,” he said.

“Hey,” she said, “if you want to sneak off and have some alone time with my brother…” she grinned.

Arnie decided to lean into it.

“Okay then,” he said taking my hand. “Shall we?” He started to try to pull me out of the kitchen.

“As much as I’d love to,” I told him, “I need to make dinner.”

Sarah laughed, putting her arms around him.

“Tired of me already?” she teased looking up into his face.

“Never,” he said leaning forward slightly to kiss her.

They both went to leave the kitchen.

“I guess I’m just a plaything,” I said melodramatically.

They both laughed at me.

“Back to work,” Sarah said. “Make something nice.”

The mushroom I’d been about to chop bounced off the back of her head as she went through the door.

“OW!” she exclaimed. “That’s domestic battery.”

Arnie chuckled, picking up the mushroom and tossing it back to me.

“I hope she didn’t damage the mushroom.” he said, and got a slap on his arm for it.

“OW!” he exclaimed. “Domestic battery!!”

They moved back out of the kitchen, bickering among themselves. I smiled, loving the byplay.

A few minutes later, Melanie came into the kitchen.

“You okay with John coming over?” I asked.

She shrugged.

“It doesn’t bother me,” she said. “But to be honest he really doesn’t mean anything to me. He’s just a guy who says he’s my dad, but I just don’t feel anything for him. Not like I do for you.”

I smiled at her.

“I don’t have any memory of any guys,” she said. “And only a hazy impression of my mom, or rather the woman who I guess took me. Then there were a lot of people, foster families. Some were nice and others not so much. It was weird. There’re some families that only take kids for short periods, a few days or a couple of weeks, until other arrangements can be made, you know. Those were the nicest people. It seemed doubly cruel to put a kid in with really nice people for just long enough for them to start to get to know them and then take them away again.”

She looked at me.

“I’d really like to find my mom,” she said tears in her eyes.

“I know,” I said. “I’ve asked Maggie about it. She said that as soon as she tracks her down, she’ll let us know. All we know from John is that she moved east and got married. We don’t know who to. I promise you, though, if she’s still out there, we’ll find her.”

Melanie smiled, her eyes shining.

“Thank you,” she said. Then a thought seemed to occur to her.

“What if she doesn’t want to know me?” she asked.

“Remember this,” I said, stopping what I was doing and moving to her. “She didn’t give you up. You were STOLEN from her. I imagine you met loads of kids whose parents had abandoned them, or who couldn’t cope with them, and had them taken away from them? That wasn’t the case with you. You had a mom who, from what I understand, wanted you and loved you. You were taken from her, not by Children’s Services but by a criminal. I’ve no doubt that, if and when she finds out that we found you, she’ll be desperate to see you.”

“You think so?” she asked.

“I do,” I said.

Melanie put her arms around me and rested her head against me.

“No matter what happens though,” I told her gently, “you have a family here who loves you. You have Mary, Amanda, Jules, Ness, Sarah and Arnie, and me. Then there’s Pops and Cheryl. You’ll never be alone again, and you’ll never be wanting for love.”

“I know,” she said smiling up at me. “Thank you.”

Then she released me and shook herself a little. “I need to let you get on, otherwise we’ll have nothing to give John when he gets here.”

They all left me to cook, but I could hear them chatting in the living room as they waited both for the food to be ready and for John to arrive. I’d just finished everything up, and was making sure everything stayed hot and ready for dinner, when I heard the doorbell.

“I’ll go,” I said coming out of the kitchen.

When I opened the front door, John was standing well back with a semi-serious look of nerves on his face.

“The last time I was in this position,” he said, “it didn’t end well for me.”

“Yeah,” I said. “If you’re looking for an apology, then you’ve come to the wrong house. But if you’re here for dinner, you’d better come in.”

I turned and walked back into the house, leaving the front door open. I heard him follow, closing the door behind him.

“You may as well come straight through,” I said. “Dinner’s about ready.”

I led him into the kitchen, where the rest of the family had pre-empted me and seated themselves at the table. They’d left the seat at the foot of the table free for John.

“Can I get you a drink?” asked Jules who was the only one on her feet. “We have beer, soda, or coffee.”

“A beer would be fine, thank you,” he said, moving to the end of the table at her invitation.

He seated himself and looked up as she brought a beer over to him, putting a glass down beside the bottle. I didn’t normally bother with a glass but it seemed that Jules was being polite.

“Thank you…” he said not knowing her name.

“Jules,” she said.

He nodded. “Good to meet you,” he said.

“John,” I said, interrupting my plating to introduce him.

“I don’t know who you do and don’t know, obvious exceptions aside. The two stunning young ladies seated on either side of my seat are Mary and Amanda Everson, two of my fiancées and Dianna’s granddaughters. Jules, my fiancée, just introduced herself, and Melanie you obviously know. Sarah you also know and the amazing young man to her left is Arnie, her fiancé.

“Ness, who is also my fiancée, and Jules sister, would normally sit opposite Sarah, but she’s sadly at work. Finally, the beautiful young couple on either side of you are Josh and Louise. They are studying at PSU with me and are our best friends. They are Norms but are fully aware of powers, as is Arnie, who is also a Norm.

“Fiancé?” John looked at Sarah. “I was surprised when your mom mentioned that. I thought she was confused. Everything she said seemed so unbelievable.”

“It was quite sudden,” she said. “But we’ve been engaged just over a month.” She showed John her engagement ring. “We’re planning on a long engagement, because we both have things we want to do before we get married.”

“And what do you do?” he asked Arnie. I saw Arnie’s nervousness and I hit him with a belt of confidence. I also whispered into his mind.

“Tell him to mind his own fucking business if you want.” I told him.

“I’m a flying instructor just now,” Arnie said to him confidently. “My Dad owns the school. When I’m old enough I’m aiming to be a commercial pilot.”

John nodded but made no comment. He turned to Sarah.

“Your mom tells me you’re at PSU now,” he said.

“I am,” she said.

“What are you studying?” he asked.

“Psychology,” she told him. “I want to be a counsellor.”

“That will play to your strengths,” he said, “given your powers.”

I’d gone back to plating up the food and began taking the plates to the table. I served all the girls first, ladies first after all, then I served John, as the guest, then Josh and Arnie, and finally seated myself with my own plate.

“Thank you,” John said looking down at his plate. I’d not gone too overboard, making a thick beef stew, which I’d served over mashed potatoes. It was a winter favourite of mine. I’d had to cheat, tenderizing the meat in the pressure cooker before adding it to the stew otherwise there wouldn’t have been enough time for it to not be chewy.

He looked up and down the table, and then his eyes settled on me.

“I guess we need to get the formalities out of the way” he said. “I had no knowledge, or even inclination, of what Carrie was planning to do with Sarah. She called me, as I said, and I offered to give financial aid to Sarah to get her into school, anywhere she wanted.

“I fully expected for it not to be needed, because I was certain that Sarah wasn’t going to want to move. That was even before I found out she was engaged. Carrie just said that…well, you know what she said.”

We all stared at him. His aura told me that he was telling the truth, and I knew that the twins read the same thing. Sarah, who couldn’t see Aura’s looked at me. I nodded.

“Thank you,” she said finally. “I would have been very…disappointed if you’d been involved. I know why Mom did what she did, and also why Dad went along with it.”

I saw John wince slightly when she called Brian ‘Dad’.

“I had no idea why you might have been willing to go along with her scheme. But now I know you didn’t know. We can move past it.”

He seemed relieved and started to eat.

His eyebrows rose. “This is really good,” he said looking around the table.

“Ness normally does the cooking these days,” Melanie said, “but she’s working. She’s a chef. When she’s not home we have to put up with Caleb’s cooking.”

She grinned at me to show she was kidding.

“Well, if this is ‘putting up’ then Ness must be an amazing chef,” he said, taking another bite.

“She is,” I said. “All my girls are amazing.”

John nodded. “I have no doubt.”

“Are you all studying at PSU?” he asked addressing his question to the table.

That got nods from everyone other than Arnie.

“You guys must be nearly finished,” he directed his question to me and the Twins.

“We graduate early next year,” Mary said, “as does Caleb, Jules, Josh, and Louise. Sarah and Melanie have just started as you know, so they’ll be there a while longer yet.”

John looked at Melanie. “What are you studying?” he asked.

“Pre-med,” she said. “I want to be a doctor.”

“Wow,” he said. “I…” he hesitated for a moment, obviously used to not talking about powers. “I never found out what powers you had.”

“I have the full set,” she said, with a hint of pride. That made me smile. “I’m going to train to be a Healer too, like Caleb.”

John looked at me. “You’re going to train her?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I have a proper trainer lined up for her when she’s ready,” I said.

John nodded.

Although it did ease slightly, conversation over dinner was stilted and pretty awkward throughout. I tried my best not to growl at him every time he opened his mouth. No matter what, I still held a huge amount of anger and resentment toward him for what he’d done to my family. It really didn’t matter that if he hadn’t done what he did, I probably wouldn’t exist.

After dinner was over, we moved into the living room. I offered drinks all round, and he accepted a coffee.

“I’m driving,” he said.

He finished his coffee quite quickly and, as soon as he thought he could leave without seeming impolite, he stood.

“I really should be going,” he said. “Thank you so much for the meal, and for inviting me.”

Melanie and I stood. Sarah chose to remain seated.

We walked him to the door.

“You all have my number,” he said, “if there’s ever anything you need.”

“We do,” I told him, certain in my own mind that I would call anyone and everyone else before I’d ever call him.

“Thanks again,” he said slipping though the door.

I closed it behind him.

There was a collective sigh of relief.

“Sorry,” said Sarah. “That was awful.”

“I confess,” I said. “I’ve had more entertaining evenings. But at least we know now he wasn’t involved.”

“It was better he came here,” said Amanda, “than you guys went out with him. If you’d gone to a restaurant of his choice, he’d have paid and he’d have been the one in control. Here he wasn’t the big man, he was just a guy, on his own. You all had the support of family and very good friends around you.”

“That’s true,” said Sarah. “It was nice to see him feeling awkward for a change.”

“I wonder why he did it.” Melanie asked.

“What?” I asked.

“Why did he put himself through that?” She asked. “What does it get him?”

I thought about that. I couldn’t think of any reason he would do anything like that, unless he wanted something from us and, I couldn’t for the life of me, think of what that might be.

“Do you think,” suggested Mary, “that he might just have finally woken up to the fact he has some wonderful children, and want to try and build a relationship with them?”

I looked at Sarah and then at Melanie. Strangely that thought had never even occurred to me.

+++++

The next morning, Sarah, Melanie, and I, went for a run. For once in the dry and we did an easy ten miles. Both Melanie and Sarah were breathing hard, but then so was I, but none of us were struggling. I felt we could have gone longer.

Arnie had lessons to fly pretty much all weekend and so it was a surprise on Saturday evening when he came over. He’d told us that he was staying at home.

“Dad’s cooking dinner for his date,” he said with a grin.

“Wow,” I said. “Last night’s date went well then?”

“It seems so,” he said. “Apparently, they went out for drinks, and just seemed to hit it off. They had dinner out, although I think they were disappointed at the restaurant. She chose it but it wasn’t very good. So, Dad’s cooking.”

“Can he cook?” I asked.

“Not like you and Ness,” said Arnie. “But he makes a mean spaghetti and meatballs.”

“Have you met her yet?” Sarah asked. He shook his head.

“He told me to make myself scarce tonight,” Arnie said. “Not in so many words… but…”

“Good for him,” I said. “He deserves someone nice.”

“As long as she is nice,” said Sarah. “I want to take a look at her. I don’t want some tramp hooking him because they think he’s got money or something.”

I laughed.

“Protective of your new father-in-law?” I asked.

She nodded. “Damn right,” she said. “He deserves someone nice, but there are so many gold diggers out there and, given he owns a flight school…”

“We’re not rich,” Arnie said.

“That’s not the impression people have,” she said. “You own a business and a couple of planes. That looks rich from the outside.” Then she pouted. “Anyway what do you mean you’re not rich… you told me that you were.”

Arnie shrugged and grinned. “I lied.” he said.

“That’s it,” Sarah announced. “The wedding’s off. I can’t marry a pauper.”

“I thought you were rich,” he told her. “I’d never have given up on Caleb if you hadn’t said you were loaded. I KNOW he’s rich.”

“I’m not rich,” I protested laughing. “You must have me mixed up with someone else.”

“Damn,” he said. “Oh well. At least she’s not ugly.”

That earned him a slap, which I felt was well deserved.

I grinned at Arnie. He seemed much more settled and secure with Sarah, and their byplay gave me a warm feeling. Their relationship felt a lot more mature than the few months that it had been in reality.

Sunday night, Arnie asked if he could bring Danny over for dinner. We, of course, said yes and they arrived just after six.

“Don’t mention the date,” Arnie sent to us all as they entered, so we didn’t. Instead, we talked about all kinds of other things. Including our visit to the Ranch in a couple of weeks.

“You know what?” said Danny suddenly. “There weren’t going to be that many people wanting to fly over that period. I’m going to close the school for the holiday, and we can go up with Caleb and the girls.”

“If that’s alright with you guys,” he added.

Jules and Ness both smiled. “That would be great,” they said. “I’ll let Daddy know so everything is ready for us all.

Once again, Danny stayed in the spare room, with Arnie and Sarah sleeping in with us.

After we went to bed, we found out what had happened.

It seemed that Sarah’s concerns had been warranted. Danny’s date had been most disappointed when Danny had picked her up and taken her to his house. She’d expected something far more grand, since the picture he’d posted on his dating app had been him standing in front of the Baron.

She’d obviously thought that he had more money than he had and when she started asking rather pointed questions about how much money he did actually have, he called her an Uber and threw her out.

“That’s going to make him a little gun shy in future,” Arnie said. “Why can’t people just be honest about what they want?”

I shrugged. “Sometimes people don’t know what they want,” I said. “But unfortunately, the world is full of people whose only criteria is how much money they have. It’s also a sad fact that there are some people, men and women, who’s only chance at getting any real wealth is to marry into it.

“Look at me for instance,” I said, earning myself an elbow from Ness.

“That’s not even funny,” she said. “You never asked for anything, from anyone, and you’ve worked your ass off since I’ve known you.”

“She’s right,” said Mary. “I remember the conversation not long after we first got together when we talked about money. When we told you we’d share ours with you, you damn near had a fit.”

“The point is still valid,” I said. “But there are also good people out there. How do we know that there are good men out there? Well look who Sarah landed, and if you want proof that there are good women out there too, then just look around you.

“Tell Danny not to lose heart. There will be someone out there for him, and he will find them.”

“I think he deleted his dating profile,” said Arnie.

“Give him time,” said Mary. “Now he’s starting to socialize again, he’ll meet people and things may happen. At least he’s open to the idea now, rather than shutting himself away like before.”

“I guess,” said Arnie. “I just hope that he doesn’t retreat back into his funk after this.”

“We’ll keep an eye on things,” I said. “As a last resort, we could always stage another intervention but I really don’t think it will be necessary. You say he’s been going out with buddies much more recently. I’ll bet that continues, even if he avoids women for a while.”

“That’s true,” Arnie replied. “He’s been out more this last month than probably the last three years. He always turned invites down before.”

Amanda giggled “He must be backed up like a drain,” she said.

“Ugh…please don’t.” said Arnie. “That’s my dad.”

“Perhaps we could find someone willing to help him out?” said Amanda. “Gerald’s wife has empathy, doesn’t she?”

“Stop,” said Arnie. “Dad’s not like that. I mean, no disrespect to her or any of you guys, but he wouldn’t understand. We had to make sure he was in his room before we came in here tonight. He’s kind of old fashioned.”

“We’ll stay out of things,” I said, gently squeezing the only part of Amanda I could reach, it was her ass. “Won’t we?”

“I guess,” she huffed, but wriggled her ass in my hand.

“Speaking of backed up…” Ness said, from where she was pressed to my side.

“Are you feeling a little… needy?” asked Melanie, who was behind her. She ran her hand down the younger girl’s body. Ness shivered when Melanie leaned in and kissed her neck.

“Was this morning not enough for you?” she asked. “Greedy little minx.”

“To be fair,” said Jules. “She has gone without all week.”

“Not all week,” said Amanda. “We did give her a little quiet relief on Wednesday when she got home. You guys were asleep.”

“But even so,” said Mary. “That’s still only twice.”

Ness groaned. She was laid against me, one leg thrown over my thigh, and I felt Melanie’s fingers invading her from behind, in a slow rhythm. Ness started to rock her hips against my leg.

“You like that?” I asked leaning my head down. Melanie used her free hand to tilt Ness, head back so I could kiss her. Melanie continued her ministrations, but nipped and licked at her neck as she did.

Ness was shivering with need as we kissed, and I brought a hand up to cup her breast.

I felt the bed move as the other girls moved, and a squawk of surprise from Arnie. I wasn’t sure who had done what to him, but the moan that came immediately after it told me that he didn’t object.

“Take your man,” Melanie whispered in Ness’ ear, as she reached over and pressed my shoulder back, pushing me onto my back. It was a moment’s wriggling for Ness to get her legs either side of mine, and, still locked in a heady kiss, to slip herself onto me like a scalding glove.

I moaned as my heat mingled with hers, and she pressed forward taking my entire length inside her.

Ness broke the kiss and rested her head on my shoulder, rotating her hips slightly.

“I’ve so missed this,” she said.

I sneaked a look at the rest of the bed. Melanie had also turned on her back, and was currently duelling tongues with Amanda who’d been on her other side. To my right I saw Arnie, also on his back, with Sarah firmly planted on his face facing south. Mary was currently lying between his legs, paying homage to his maleness with her tongue. As I watched, I saw Mary look up at Sarah, who nodded, a big grin on her face.

I thought I knew what was about to happen, and wondered exactly how Arnie would feel about it.

Then my concerns for Arnie were dismissed from my mind, as Ness began to move, grinding her hips into me squeezing tight on my cock as she started the dance.

I moaned, pulling her lips to mine again, selfishly seeking out the kiss that would maximise my pleasure, knowing that Ness would plunder my mouth with her tongue and love the control it would give her over me.

I reached up holding her to me, my hands on her ass. Somehow she’d lost her T-shirt that she normally slept in and I could feel her nipples scraping against my chest as she moved. One of us started to whimper in need and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out which of us it was.

Ness broke the kiss and sat up, riding me cowgirl, as she built up both speed and ferocity of her movement. She was crashing down on me, almost painfully, as she whined, feeling herself building towards the climax she knew was coming.

Melanie and Amanda were locked in a 69 by now. Coos and slurping noises were coming from that side of the bed, while my prediction as to what was going to happen with Arnie had come true.

Sarah was still seated on his face, grinding her pussy into his mouth as he ate her feverishly. Mary held her face in her hands and was locked in a deep kiss, as she rode Arnie as Ness was riding me. I could feel confusion from Arnie. He knew exactly where Sarah was, and he knew that his cock was inside another woman. Although he wasn’t certain who, he had his suspicions.

There was some worry about how Sarah would react to him fucking someone else, and some guilt too, but mostly he was just enjoying the moment. His orgasm fast approaching, his body’s responses pushing all of his rational thoughts aside.

It was Ness that broke first. Probably because, for some reason, Jules had gone behind her, and was holding onto her, as she reached around and worked her clit as she rode me. I looked up to see the two sisters locked in a kiss, the sight of which blew my mind, and tore down any resistance I had. I roared out my own climax, arching my back as I pumped my seed deep into the young teen’s body. She moaned in appreciation as she felt my cock pulsing within her and the heat of my cum bathing her insides.

Jules held Ness as she writhed on me, riding out her climax and coming down. Then Melanie managed to take Amanda over, which brought Mary to a sympathetic climax, the two girls squeaking out their orgasms, since both of their mouths were more than occupied. Mary’s pussy pulsating on Arnie’s cock took him over, and he too arched his back as he emptied himself inside the tawny eyed twin. I guessed that the thought of her fiancée dumping his load into another woman was the trigger that sent Sarah over, and she released Mary from the kiss as she keened out her orgasm for everyone to hear.

Melanie was the last to succumb, Amanda having not relented in her ministrations even though she was enjoying her own climax, and I heard Melanie hiss in pleasure as Amanda finally conquered her.

For a few moments we all lay in a heap in post orgasmic bliss. Then Mary and Ness hopped out of bed and went into the bathroom. A few minutes later they returned with washcloths and Ness tended to me while Mary cleaned Arnie gently. He shuddered as she did so.

He looked at Sarah, who was lay beside him propped up on her elbow so she could look down on him. I could sense his anxiety in his aura. Surprisingly Sarah’s aura was completely calm.

“Thank you,” she said. Arnie’s eyes went wide.

“Y-You’re thanking me?” he asked.

She giggled. “That was amazing. You made me feel awesome.”

“But…”

“But nothing,” she said. “Seeing Mary enjoying you, while I got to enjoy you too, made it even better for me.”

By this time Mary had returned and had laid down beside him on his other side. She too was leaning up on her elbow.

“I’m sorry I didn’t ask,” she said with a small smile. “But Sarah said it would be okay, and…well… you just looked so delicious sticking up there, I couldn’t resist.”

Sarah chuckled.

“I-it was okay?” he asked. I wasn’t sure who he was asking. His mind was a tumult of confusion. He wanted Sarah to tell him it was okay that he’d fucked Mary, and he wanted Mary to tell him his cock had been enough for her.”

Mary leaned in and kissed him.

“It was wonderful,” she said. “The way you moved inside me made me feel amazing.”

When Mary broke the kiss, Arnie’s eyes swivelled to Sarah.

“We’re all together,” Sarah said to him, settling down beside him and putting her arm across his chest.

“I love you, more than anything in the world.” She continued. “I know you love me as much. Thank you for making that even better for me, and for making it good for Mary.”

While that was going on, I got kisses from Ness, who once again was settling down to my side, and Jules who I’d thought had finished her ‘on’ week a couple of days ago.

“Steak night,” she whispered as she broke the kiss, and grinned at me.

Sarah and Melanie went to the Dojo the next morning. I decided to take a run. I’d started to have a little fun, egged on by the two girls, when we got up, gently positioning those left in bed.

Today Arnie would be waking up with his face pressed between Mary’s breasts. I wondered how that would go.

To my surprise Arnie figured it out.

“I know you’re doing that on purpose,” he said as he came into the kitchen. I looked up trying to keep an innocent look on my face. Mary had followed him in, and was grinning.

“What?” I asked.

“You deliberately positioned us so I’d wake up with my face….” He tailed off, surprisingly he didn’t blush, “where it was.”

I quirked a smile. “And?” I asked.

He grinned at me. “Thanks,” he said. “That’s an amazing way to wake up.”

Mary laughed. “I’m glad you approve,” she said.

Just then Danny walked into the kitchen. He looked around, since everyone had stopped talking.

“Should I go out again?” he asked.

“Not at all,” said Ness. “They’re just being stupid kids. Grab a seat. Pancakes, okay?”

“I can see why Arnie’s getting tubby,” said Danny, grinning at his son.

“I’m not,” Arnie said defensively, although he’d definitely filled out a little since we’d met. “Although I might start to join you for some exercise in the mornings if that’s okay.” Then he seemed to consider.

“Although that would mean…” then he remembered that Danny was in the room, and broke off.

“That you didn’t get to stay in bed with all those gorgeous women?” asked Danny.

Arnie went scarlet, his jaw dropping.

Danny laughed. “You think I was born yesterday?” he asked.

“You knew?” Arnie asked.

“I had a visit,” he said. “After you told me about powers, Dianna came to speak with me. She told me about how important it is to keep the secret, and also the likely outcomes if I didn’t. She also told me what you didn’t, i.e. about sharing.

“She explained Sarah’s need, and that you’d probably all end up together. She also told me that you and Caleb would likely…”

Arnie went even redder if possible.

“Dad…” he began. Danny shook his head.

“All I’ve ever wanted was for you to be happy,” he said. “If this is what makes you happy, then I’m happy for you. Dianna said that, while this isn’t exactly common in Powered circles, its not unheard of to have a polyamorous relationship, and that they work.

“She also told me that Caleb has made it so nobody can get pregnant until they’re ready, so that settled another worry. Are you and Sarah just going to have babies together? Or will Caleb…or you and one of the other girls?”

“I…” Arnie began.

“We’ve not discussed that yet,” I stepped in, having not even considered that. Maybe one of the twins or Melanie might want a baby by Arnie, or Sarah might want my baby.

“Until Arnie joined us,” I continued, “I was the only male in the group, and so it wasn’t something to consider. Now it is, and maybe it’s something we’ll discuss in the future. But babies are a while off for any of us. We have so much to do before then. However, we’ll not hide the parentage of any of our children from you, and we were hoping that you’d be a Grand Daddy to any and all of them, even ones born to say Jules and I, or Mary and I, as well as any born to Arnie and Sarah. Would that be okay?”

Danny looked stunned at that. The sudden prospect of having so many grandkids seemed to overwhelm him.

He looked at his son, his eyes bright.

“I’d be honored,” he said.

Arnie went to his father, and embraced him.

“Thanks Dad,” he said.

When they broke apart, Danny settled back to the breakfast that Ness had placed on the table for him. We all settled down to eat.

“I have a meeting with the lawyers from the rental company today,” he said. “I believe they’re going to make me an offer. They know that you’ve given me authority to accept on your behalf. Do you have any idea how much you’d be happy with?”

I looked at him.

“I told you,” I said, “I don’t need the money. Ideally what I’d like, is for you to get enough out of them that you can buy the Baron. No matter how much they give me, that’s what it’s for. The more you can get from them, the less you’ll need to finance.”

“But it’s your money,” he said.

“Do you not like Sarah?” I asked. “Is she not good enough for your son or something?”

“What?” he said completely thrown by this sudden change of topic. Sarah looked up, also looking a little puzzled.

“It’s a simple question?” I said. “Are you disappointed in your son’s choice of partner?”

“Of course not,” he said. “Sarah’s wonderful. But I don’t see…”

“Family,” said Arnie simply, realizing what I was getting at.

Danny looked at him still puzzled.

“What Caleb is saying,” Arnie went on, “in his rather melodramatic and theatrical way, is that we’re family. You’re family, and family helps one another. Trust me…Caleb REALLY doesn’t need the money but, even if he did, he’d still give it to you, because you do need it, and family helps family.”

Danny looked at me and I nodded once, before returning to my breakfast.

Sarah who was sitting next to Danny looked at him.

“You think I’m wonderful?” she asked with a grin.

Danny’s eyes went to her, and he blushed a little.

“I think you’re pretty amazing yourself,” she went on, giving him a brief side hug.

After breakfast, we all got ourselves together. Ness would be leaving later to go to the restaurant. She’d be back for dinner. All the girls would be heading to school. Danny, Arnie, and I would be heading for the airfield. Danny and Arnie to their school, and me to take another Rotary wing lesson.

And so with kisses all round, we split up to start our week.