Michael pulls his car into the lot in back of the last strip club on his list. The driver's hatch on his onyx-black Mercedes Gullwing pops open and he steps out, giving the lot a quick once-over as he closes and locks it. He adjusts the black fedora on his head and reaches into an inner pocket in his black duster, where he fetches his wallet and a folded wanted poster. Then he heads into the club, while pulling out the money for the cover charge.

The bouncer at the front door stands with his legs slightly apart and his massive arms folded across his chest. His frame is tall and massive and his skin is ebony. His hair hangs down past this shoulders in small tight braids with each end burned. His clothing consists of a pair of dark blue jeans and a black muscle t-shirt and black combat boots. His face has a hard look to it as he watches Michael approach.

Michael tucks his wallet away, "accidentally" pushing his duster back as he does to reveal his lack of obvious weaponry. Then he gives the bouncer a quick once-over as he heads for the guy who's taking the cash. Once the cover's paid, he turns to the bouncer and asks, "Are you in charge of security here, or should I ask for someone else?""

He answers in a deep baritone voice. "You come to me. What's your problem?"

Michael laughs. "No problem at all." He opens up the wanted poster and offers it to the bouncer. "I'm just making sure you have one of these, so you'll know if this guy shows up. He gets his rocks off by raping, torturing, and murdering women."

The bouncer doesn't even crack a smile as he takes the wanted poster from Michael and studies it, furrowing his brow. "He looks like a wimp," he comments almost to himself.

Michael shakes his head. "In his case, looks are deceiving. He's a psycho. Strong enough to pick up and throw a Harley. And fast enough to snatch a gun out of a cop's hands and kill him with it."

He looks at Michael. "What the fuck is he? Some kind of freak?" His eyes go back to the poster.

Michael nods. "Yup. You got it in one. Not only is he a freak, he thinks he's a vampire. Musta been watching too many bad movies or something, yaknow? Turns into a regular animal when he gets worked up." He glances around and says softly, "I got a little kid at home who has nightmares because she saw what this fuck did to her mommy."

The bouncer hmmms. "And what if I do see this fuck? Do I call the police?"

A business card appears magically between Michael's fingers. "If it's not a good time for the police, call this number. We specialize in hunting sick bastards like this." The card is a Knight Foundation business card. Michael has a half-smile on his face as he adds, "Besides, do you trust the police any more than I do?"

The bouncer takes the card, revealing a few of his fingers that appear to have been broken in the past, but never set properly. After a moment he looks up at Michael. "You know what I trust? My two fists. Fuck the police! Those bastards more often than not would rather arrest a colored person just because he's there, regardless if he's innocent or not."

Michael nods. "From what I've seen, you call them here, they're gonna show up demanding payoffs, too. I don't play that game. I see that bastard, only one of us is going to walk away. That's just the way it is."

He slowly nods. "I'll ring you if I see this bastard. In the meantime, enjoy your stay."

Michael nods, giving the bouncer a half-smile. "Thank you." He heads in and looks for a seat that's close enough to the stage to give a good view, without having to compete with the droolers who always gather right on the edge of the stage.

A petite, but leggy and large breasted female passes by him. Her straight hair goes all the way down to the backs of her knees and is bleached a bone white and in little braids tied off by tiny rubber bands. Her eyes are a soft lavender color and she's dressed in a black tube top with matching black daisy dukes and lace-up black combat boots that go all the way up to her knee. She gives Michael a slight smile and a wink, slowing down her walk to look him over.

Michael sits up and returns the look, giving her a thoughtful smile. His gaze pauses without shame at her hips and breasts, but lingers on her face, as if that is, to him, more attractive than the parts most men come here to see.

"Haven't seen you here before," she says with a very soft, gentle tone in her voice, very unlike a woman in her profession. She moves over to an empty chair right next to him and smiles. "Is this seat taken?"

Michael smiles and shakes his head. "Not at all." He looks into her eyes and says gently, "You don't seem to be the usual run of dancer for a place like this. Then again, I suppose I'm not the usual run of customer, eh?"

"I don't huh? Well, too bad you just missed my act or else you might be thinking differently." She gives him a coy smile.

Michael smiles warmly. "Really?" He glances toward the stage, shrugs, then turns back to her. "Somehow, I get the feeling you do more than just shake your booty. And that would be a definite improvement over the usual dancers I've seen." After his one glance up at the stage to see what's going on, his entire attention is focused on the lady sharing his table. He orders a brown squirrel, of all things (imagine an alcoholic chocolate shake), plus whatever she wants.

She chuckles softly as she tells the waitress, "I'll have a blowjob." A smirk plays on her lips as she never takes her eyes off of his face. She then leans in close toward him and her fingers lightly brush against his hand.

Michael cocks an eyebrow and catches the fingers with a playful grip. "Careful, miss. If my girlfriend heard that, she might demand that you offer her the same deal." He smiles playfully as he says that.

She whispers as she leans her face close to his. "I won't tell if you won't." She moves in to kiss him.

Michael brings a finger to her lips and says gently, "I will, though. I cannot lie to the one I love, even for such a lovely lady as you." He gently traces her lips with a fingertip and croons gently, "Of course, if the two of you were to decide to share, I would not object in the slightest."

The girl softly kisses his finger, then slowly draws her tongue over it before leaning back and tossing her head so that her braided hair falls back behind her back. "So, why don't you tell me about yourself and her."

Michael swallows, clearly turned on by that kiss. "My girlfriend is strong, quiet...a survivor. I've devoted my life to her...so much that when I was shot and left for dead, it was my love for her that gave me the strength to live again. As for me, well, I used to be a reporter, but that me is dead. Now I hunt thugs and bring them the justice the police will not."

She takes a handful of braids and begins playing with them just as their drinks arrive. "Kind of like some sort of super hero?" She sips her drink not taking her eyes off of him.

Michael laughs softly as he pays for their drinks, then takes a sip of his. "Well, I don't know how super I am, or how much of a hero, but I DO believe in doing what I can to make the world safer for those who aren't as able to defend themselves."

She smiles and takes another sip of her drink. "So stranger, you gonna tell me your name or are you going to make me guess?"

Michael chuckles and leans forward, resting his chin on his hand, and says, "Only if you tell me your name." He smiles. "My name's Michael."

She brings a foot up onto her chair and interlaces her fingers, putting them in front of her knee. "Michael, huh? People around here call me Naughty Nicki, but I guess you can call me just plain Nicki."

Michael smiles and nods. "So you're the one who deserves her own space on the sign outside, eh? If you dance as well as you look, you must be their biggest draw." He smiles warmly and asks, "So what do you do for fun?"

Nicki laughs softly. "Anyone ever tell you how much of a flatter you are?" She takes another sip of her drink. "I like doing lots of things for fun....And yes, I know that I'm drinking this wrong."

Michael chuckles and dips his finger in his drink, reaches out, and paints the tip of your nose with it. "Flatterer? Me? I'm just telling the truth, aren't I?"

She chuckles softly herself. "Are you going to lick that off now, or would you want to go someplace more private?"

Michael gets a playful smile, holds his finger for her to lick the rest of the chocolate off it, then reaches out to slide his hand around the back of her neck, gently draw her to him, and licks the tip of her nose before whispering, "My car? If we're going to go someplace private, I suggest my place, where you can meet my reasons for being here tonight."

Nicki puts her hands behind her back, takes the tumbler in her teeth and tosses her head back, gulping down the remaining liquid. Then she stands to her feet. "Let's go then."

Michael chuckles and finishes his drink, sets it down with a five, and heads toward the exit. "I'll meet you at the car."

She follows him out of the club, nodding to the bouncer who actually manages to give her a smile and wish her a good evening.

Michael leads the way to the car. Well, it IS unique, the only one in the lot that has that style. He reaches into his duster, and both doors pop open and swing up. He swings into the driver's seat and pulls his door down, studying the gauges as the car silently powers up.

Nicki goes around to the passenger's side and ducks down to look at him. "Say, what do I do about my ride? It's parked in the ally and I don't much trust the people around here."

Michael looks toward the alley. "If that's the case, maybe you'd better follow me, eh? No sense in risking your ride."

She slowly nods then disappears into the ally way. A few moments later a tremendous roar is heard and Nicki comes tearing out of the ally on a very sleek, modern looking motorcycle. She stops right next to Michael's side of the car and flashes a smile and a wink at him as she makes the engine sound more and more angry.

Michael laughs and gives her a thumbs-up, then leads the way out of the parking lot, onto the street, and out of town. Following his car is like following a rocket on wheels, blissfully ignoring speed limits as you travel out of the city and up into the hills, finally turning in at a sign that says "Knight Foundation". The driveway goes around a hill, so it's completely hidden from the road, and past a mansion to a garage that looks more like a car barn. Inside the barn, you go past several stalls with a number of different vehicles, from a strange-looking motorcycle to a delivery van. He stops and backs into an empty stall, then hops out of the car and leans on the front fender as you park your bike.

The whole ride up there she loved the speed, feeling it even more so because she didn't have a helmet and her braids flew all over behind her like they had a mind of their own. When they approached the mansion she studies it, making mental notes to herself. Then she watches where Michael goes to park his car and follows him inside, parking her own machine into an empty stall while he watches. Finally she turns her bike off and twists her body around to look at him.

Michael stands and leads the way down the length of the barn, offering her his arm and a warm smile. "There's four of us who live here, Nicki. Myself, my girlfriend Lynn, our mentor Fred, and his adopted daughter Cindy. I should warn you that Fred was the only survivor of an airplane accident a few years ago, and he looks...well, kind of like Freddy Krueger."

Nicki takes his arm and slowly nods as she listens to him. "All right, well he never really bothered me so I guess you won't have to worry about me giving a bad reaction and upsetting him. Anything else I should know before we step inside?"

David says, "Yeah. Me. You forgot about me again, Mike." Michael laughs. "How could I ever forget about you. Nicki, meet David. He's our household computer. So where's everyone else, David?" David says, "Dad's in his lab, Lynn's doing something on her laptop, and Cindy's out hunting." Michael gets a worried look on his face. "Out hunting? But..." "Don't worry. A coyote went through the area a couple hours ago, and Dad said she could have him, as long as she didn't hurt any of the Mexicans."

Nicki smiles a bit. "That's so cool. A computer that can speak to you." She then frowns a bit. "You let Fred's daughter hunt? How old is she?"

David laughs. "I can do more than speak, you know. I'm not some artificially intelligent piece of machinery, after all." Meanwhile, Michael is saying gently, "Cindy is 6. She was hunting for over a year before Fred adopted her. All we can really do is make sure that if she -does- go out hunting, she hunts the right kind of prey. Otherwise, we do our best to make sure she gets enough to eat at home." He opens the front door and says, "David, would you tell Lynn and Fred we're home?"

David announces in both the lab and Lynn's room, "Mike's home, and he brought a guest. She hasn't introduced herself yet.”

Nicki gives a little gasp. "Oh, the poor dear. I'd like to know what happened to her to have to make her do that."

Michael says gently, "She was murdered. By bastard I'm hunting. He's the reason I was at your club tonight. I gave your bouncer a poster with his picture on it."

Lynn looks up from the e-mail she's working on on her laptop and wonders just who it is that Michael brought home.

Nicki puts a hand to her mouth. "Oh! The poor thing! But what about her mother and father? Where were they?"

Michael leads the way toward Fred's lab as he says, "Apparently, the beast who killed her and her mother was her father. But he didn't let Cindy stay dead the way he let her mother stay dead. Instead, he transformed her into the same kind of being he is."

Hearing this 'causes Nicki to swallow and become nervous. "What kind of being?"

Fred's voice comes from the front of his chair. "Cindy is a vampire."

Fred sits in a chair that appears to completely enclose him from the waist down, and floats about three inches above the floor. He is missing his left arm, and what is left of his body is covered with layer upon layer of burn scars. His torso is covered with a t-shirt that has a picture of Priss in her hardsuit and motoslave on the front. He has no hair, not even eyelashes, his ears have been completely burned away so all that's left is the holes in the sides of his head, and his nose has been burned back to a skeletal opening above the scarred flaps of skin that are his lips. He works a keypad with his remaining hand, and a cultured voice comes from the front of his chair. "I'm Fred. If you're looking for someone with a little authority, I have as little as anyone around here.”

Nicki completely stops and pales, not because of Fred's appearance strangely enough, but because of what was just revealed to her about Cindy. "But, I thought they were just myths to frighten children into being good."

Fred keys, "So did I. So did we all. Until Cindy showed up at our front door, half-dead from lack of blood. I'm trying to find the cause of her condition, in hopes that maybe I can cure it without killing her. In the meanwhile, we watch over her and make sure she doesn't hunt anyone who doesn't deserve it." He guides his chair up beside you and offers his hand with what would be a friendly smile if his face were all there.

She swallows and looks around nervously. "I think I need to sit down. I feel like I'm going to faint."

Michael steers Nicki into the kitchen and kicks a chair out for her to sit on. Then he gets a glass of water and puts it into her hands. "Here you go. I'm going to see where Lynn is."

A light tap is felt on Michael's left shoulder and when he turns around Lynn is standing there with a smile on her face.

Michael's face lights up with joy as he sees her. He wraps his arms around Lynn and hugs her tight, kisses her happily, then turns and gestures to Nicki. "Beloved, I'd like you to meet Naughty Nicki. Yes, the same one in the advertisements for that club down on Mountain Ave. Her club was the last one I dropped off posters at tonight, and we got to talking, and I thought how much she deserved to meet you, so here she is.""

Lynn is dressed in a soft purple silk long-sleeved top with a soft cotton skirt that is black with violets on it. The skirt itself goes all the way down to her ankles. Her feet were bare and her long, light brown hair is braided with a light purple ribbon wound into it. Her skin is a light cream color and her eyes are a soft gray. The final piece to her outfit is a bulky looking purple scarf around her neck.

Lynn does a polite curtsy to Nicki after returning her beloved's embrace and kiss, then she goes to the cupboard getting a glass down and filling it with ice, then pulls open the refrigerator door and looks around for a soda to pour into the glass. She finds a Mountain Dew and shows it to Nicki, along with having the glass of ice in her other hand.

Nicki smiles. "It's nice to meet you Lynn and yes, I would like a Mountain Dew, thanks."

Fred's chair floats into the kitchen and settles down by the table. He works his keypad, and David says, "She's ok, Dad. She's about a mile from the house, in that wash where we're always finding debris from the smugglers. I think if she does good with this coyote, I'll tell her the next time the drug runners come through."

Lynn pops open the can and pours it's contents into the glass then hands it to Nicki who smiles gratefully at her and takes a sip.

Michael smiles and whispers teasingly to Lynn, "What do you think, lover? Is she to your taste?" Fred, meanwhile, keys, "So what do you do when you're not working? What kinds of things are you interested in?"

Lynn colors deeply, but Nicki doesn't seem to notice as she takes another sip from her soda before answering, "Mostly I'm into computers. I mean, when I'm home it's hard to pull me away from mine." She smiles as she crosses one long leg over another.

Fred makes a hacking raspy noise that is probably intended as a laugh, since he keys, "Computers and cybernetics happen to be the focus of most of my research. I build David, and I'm working on several cybernetic systems."

Nicki slowly trails the fingertips of her free hand slowly up her leg in a teasing manor. "I'd love to see your schematics some time," she says in a low, almost sultry voice, "or are they considered private?"

Fred takes a deep rasping breath and blinks a couple times before keying, "Not private at all. But you'll need to learn a lot before you understand them. Even Lynn is still learning how different my systems are from ordinary computers."

Michael slips his arms around Lynn from behind, just below her breasts, and nuzzles the back of her neck, whispering, "Had a good evening, beloved? Like what you see and hear?"

Lynn signs to Michael while Nicki's total attention is on Fred. 'She seems so different, not like one of her occupation.' Nicki in the meantime slowly draws her tongue over her lips. "Oh, I think you'd be surprised at what I know."

Michael nods and squeezes Lynn gently, whispering, "You're right. So do you want to rescue Fred from her, her from Fred, or just let the two of them have each other while we go off by ourselves?" Fred, meanwhile, is turning an interesting shade of pink under his scars. His speaker emits "Try again" several times before he gets out, "Isn't this...kind of...fast?"

Nicki slowly recrosses her legs and takes another sip of her drink. "Fast?" she asks somewhat innocently. "I have no idea what you mean...Fred, is it?"

Lynn chuckles silently and puts a hand up to her mouth to cover up her big smile, she herself seeming to enjoy the interaction between Fred and Nicki very much.

Fred turns pink all the way down to his collar and keys, "No...idea? Do you...ALWAYS...act so....sexy?"

Michael grins and whispers, "Looks like those two will hit it off just fine. What would you do if she came on to you like that, hmm?"

Nicki laughs. "Do you think that I'm coming on to you?"

Lynn swallows and just keeps her eyes on Fred and Nicki, but mostly Nicki, her eyes taking in every perfect curve of her body.

Fred takes a deep rasping breath and shivers for a moment, then keys, "If you're not, you're doing an excellent impersonation of it."

She smiles. "I'm just acting like I normally do when I'm around people I feel comfortable with, I don't know what it is but I feel very comfortable around you already. I know I'm a flirt, but I'm not that bad am I?" She chuckles softly.

Fred gulps and looks pleadingly at Lynn and Michael. Michael laughs softly and says, "Don't look at me, Fred. I think she's hot, too. If I didn't love Lynn with all my heart, I would catch any pass she made my way in a heartbeat." He glances at Lynn and adds playfully, "I still would, if Lynn were a part of it, too."

Just then a the front door is hard slamming closed and foot steps pounding their way.

An angelic sounding voice starts calling out, "Daddy? Daddy, where are you?"

David announces, "Cindy's home! They're in the kitchen, Sprout!""

Fred smiles lovingly and keys, "I'm in the kitchen, sweetie! And so is Michael and Lynn and Nicki!""

The pounding footsteps start again, getting close and closer until a small child that appears to be about 5 years old comes running in. Her hair is a jet black color with streaks of dark red in it and her eyes are a sky blue color. Her clothing consists of a pair of black fitted jeans, a black t-shirt tucked into her jeans, a black leather belt, black socks, and black and red Nike shoes. Her hair looks like it started out in a pony tail but most of it has worked it's way out making her hair look almost a complete mess. Her skin is a very pale color and she has some blood on her hands and around her mouth. She instantly goes over to Fred, hops up onto his chair and wraps her arms around his neck, giving him a big hug. A huge smile is on her face. "Daddy, daddy, daddy, guess what!"

Fred laughs and hugs Cindy with his one arm, then keys, "What, sweetie? Was it a good hunt?"

Cindy nods. "He thought he was smarter than me, but I made sure to hurt him good so that he bled to death. Then I moved him to the normal spot so that he can be found by the animals."

Fred nods. "Did he hurt any of the Mexicans, sweetie? Or did they all get away while you were hunting him?"

She shakes her little head. "No, they took one look at what I was and started saying something in Spanish while running away. I think they were calling me a demon child." She frowns a bit, obviously upset by this.

Fred squeezes Cindy gently and kisses her cheek, then keys, "Well, you know how scared people say dumb things, sweetie. And Daddy knows you're not a demon child. You're my sweet little girl."

Cindy smiles and softly kisses his lips, not as a lover would, but as a little child would who loves her daddy very much. "I love you daddy." She snuggles against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

Lynn smiles softly as she watches the two of them. 'Looks like she saved him.' She signs to Michael before slipping her hand into his.

Nicki watches the father and daughter and tries her best not to show any fear or nervousness around the small child, while at the same time she's amazed over the fact that someone so young could be so dangerous.

Michael smiles and nods, kisses Lynn's cheek, then whispers softly, "But who's going to save her from us, hmm? I saw the way you were looking at her..."

Lynn turns an interesting shade of red as she buries her face into his shoulder.

Michael chuckles softly and gently strokes Lynn's hair. Fred, meanwhile, is cuddling Cindy. Michael says gently, "Sorry, Nicki. Fred can't talk too easily when his arms are full."

Nicki smiles. "That's okay. I can tell that he's got something more important in his arms. I don't mind."

Fred smiles lovingly at Nicki and gently kisses Cindy's forehead, then lets go long enough to type, "Thank you, Nicki. Cindy, this is Nicki. She's Daddy and Michael and Lynn's friend."

Cindy looks Nicki up and down. "Daddy, I didn't know you knew Naughty Nicki."

Fred blushes and keys "She's only Naughty Nicki at work, sweetie. When she's here, she's just Nicki."

Lynn turns to look at Cindy and a computerized voice speaks for her. 'Cindy have you been going on-line without supervision again?'

Cindy swallows a bit, but doesn't answer, just starts fiddling with her hair.

Fred hugs Cindy gently, then keys, "Cindy, it's ok to use the computers, but it's important that you have a grownup with you so we can answer any questions you have when you look at stuff, ok?"

Nicki gives Lynn a slightly odd look upon hearing the computerized voice come from her instead of her own.

Cindy looks down. "I'm sorry, but I wanted to go on-line and everyone was busy and I was bored."

Fred hugs Cindy and kisses her forehead, then keys, "It's ok, sweetie. I understand. But next time, at least ask David when you see things, ok?"

Cindy sighs. "Okay."

David says, "Hey, Sprout! Don't you want me to give you a hand? I'm the only one around here who can keep up with you anyway, remember?"

Cindy lifts her head. "I guess so. Daddy, can David and I go on-line together?"

Nicki suggests that maybe any and all adult sites be temporarily blocked so that Cindy can't accidentally stumble upon them.

Fred smiles and nods. "Of course, sweetie. You and David can go online together whenever you like. David likes being online with you."

Michael nods at Nicki's suggestion, and Fred keys something that doesn't come out, but David says, "You got it, Dad."

Nicki waits until Cindy kisses Fred on the cheek then runs out of the kitchen before saying, "I'm actually not surprised that she stumbled upon any pages with me on them. I'm like one of the most valuable dancers at the club and I've had lots of nude photo shoots so I'm lots of places on the net."

Fred smiles and keys something, then turns a lovely shade of pink as he looks down into his chair.

Michael chuckles softly and whispers to Lynn, "Bets? Should we invite her to join us?"

Lynn signs. 'Wait and see.'

Michael smiles and nods.

Fred looks up at Nicki and keys slowly, so he doesn't mangle the words, "You are beautiful."

Nicki smiles and surprisingly only blushes slightly. "Why thank you Fred. You are very sweet to say so."

Fred keys, "Would you like to see my lab?"

Nicki takes another sip of her soda and nods. "Sure thing. Lead the way."

Fred smiles and sends his chair across the room, down the hall, and into his lab, moving slowly enough to allow Nicki to keep up with him.

Nicki keeps up easily, walking surprisingly fast, her long braided hair swaying gently to and fro behind her, lightly brushing against her ass.

Fred's lab is a large room. Very large. One wall is nothing but monitor screens and a control center that his chair plugs into, with keypads and controls all within easy reach of his one arm. The main part of the lab has machinery that allows for building things of all kinds, with bits of computer parts, robotic parts, and even a couple synthetic limbs on test frames.

Nicki looks around and gives a soft whistle. "Impressive, much better than another set up that I know of."

Fred smiles and keys, "Thank you. It's just sort of accumulated as I work. What would you like to see?"

Nicki smiles a sly smile and leans down close to him, showing off a massive amount of cleavage to Fred. "Well, now let me think about this for a moment."

Fred swallows and bites his lip as he tries (unsuccessfully) to tear his eyes away from what Nicki offers. Finally he lets out a sigh and closes his eyes, keying, "Nicki, if you keep that up, you're going to distract me too much to be very much use to you. Unless..."

Nicki has her hands on her thighs as she sighs and moves her arms forward, catching her breasts and squishing them together with her arms. "Unless what?"

Fred swallows and looks from Nicki's breasts up to her eyes, and keys very slowly, "Nicki, if you're not trying to seduce me, I should warn you...you are succeeding. If I were a full man...."

Nicki says softly, "I'm just doing what I do. Should I stop?"

Fred raises his hand, looking into Nicki's eyes as he reaches for her, touches her cheek, and waits for her reaction.

Nicki smiles as she looks into Fred's eyes, not flinching from his touch, but instead leaning into it.

Fred slides his hand up, to the back of her neck, and gently tugs, urging her closer, but not demanding it.

Nicki lets him pull her closer to him, her soda forgotten from where she unknowingly put it on the floor next to her feet, her mouth opening slightly.

Fred gently pulls her all the way to his lips, and kisses her, feeling her open lips he flicks his tongue out to brush between them, tentatively, as if waiting for her to approve it before going any further.

Nicki closes her eyes and softly kisses him back, opening her mouth a bit more and meets his tongue with her own, slowly exploring it.

Fred gently fences with Nicki's tongue, then plunges in, exploring her mouth and suckling on her tongue, giving her all the enthusiasm he can offer and taking whatever she offers in return.

Nicki finds herself gently wrapping her arms around his neck, holding him close, but carefully and kissing him back, playing with his tongue and moaning softly.

Fred moves closer, pulling her against his lips and letting go of his inhibitions, devouring her mouth with unrestrained eagerness and desire. He breaks after a minute to gasp for air, and looks into her eyes with undeniable desire in his own.

Nicki looks back into Fred's eyes, her own a bit sad as she bends down and picks her drink back up.

Fred looks confused and keys, "What's wrong, Nicki?"

Nicki takes a sip of her drink and sighs. "Why did you do that? Was it just because I'm a stripper and you think I'm an easy lay? I'm not, for your information."

Fred hangs his head, tears dripping from his eyes. After several moments, he keys slowly, "Do you think I am? I don't even know if I'm -able-. I thought that was why you were teasing me the way you were. The way you were behaving is the way a woman behaves when she is trying to seduce a man. Or when she's trying to torment a man who's unable to respond to her seduction."

Nicki breaths in, looking down at the floor and closing her eyes. After an uncomfortable moment she says softly, "Maybe I better go."

Fred looks up, wipes the tears from his face, and keys slowly, "Please. Don't? Help me understand, if that's not what you intended? Or didn't you realize that was what you were doing?"

Nicki says softly, "I...didn't even realize..." She keeps her eyes on the ground. "I guess I've been flirting like that for so long at work, that I'm doing it automatically when I'm not at work as well."

Fred holds out his hand, looks at her pleadingly, and wiggles his fingers in invitation.

Nicki slowly looks up at Fred, biting her lower lip.

Fred gives her a pleading look and a small nod.

Nicki leans closer to Fred. "What is it?"

Fred reaches up, touches Nicki's cheek gently, then keys, "I'm sorry, Nicki. Yes, what you did was seductive. But I should know better than to respond. Not when I'm like this. You deserve so much better."

Nicki sighs. "The thing is the only guys that seem interested in me are creeps, so I mostly spend my time at my place."

Fred keys, "That's because it's mostly creeps who go to clubs like that. You are so far above what they usually see there, they don't know what to do with you except try to possess you."

Nicki sighs and looks around. "Can I sit down? I've mostly been on my feet for a few hours now."

Fred blushes. "I'm sorry. I...." he looks around, then leads Nicki deeper into the lab, where there are actually chairs to sit on.

Nicki thanks him and takes a seat in one of the chairs, wishing she could take her boots off and rub her sore feet.

Fred pats the edge of his chair and keys, "If you've been on your feet that long, why don't you take your boots off and prop them up here?"

Nicki leans over and starts the process of untying her laces then slowly unlacing her boots.

Fred smiles gently at Nicki and keys, "Even untying your boots, you're graceful. Are you a martial artist, too, or just a dancer?"

Nicki finishes with one boot and slowly pulls it off revealing a cut-off piece of stocking that only goes up to her ankle. "I go to the gym several times a week with my brother."

Fred nods. "Michael and Lynn train together." He takes the exposed foot and begins massaging it, using his thumb along the bottom to find the knots and work them out.

Nicki leans back in the chair, stretching her leg out almost impossibly far while she unties and unlaces her other boot with one hand. As she did this she unknowingly gave Fred a peek at the fact that she's wearing no sort of panties, but only for a brief moment.

Fred gulps and takes a deep breath, then continues massaging her foot, giving her a gentle smile.

Nicki frowns a bit in concern. "You okay Fred?"

Fred smiles gently nod nods, moving to massage the other foot.

Nicki moans somewhat sexually, closing her eyes and moving around a bit. "Mmmm, you're good, you know that?"

Fred chuckles softly and smiles at Nicki as he continues the massage, taking his time, pressing firmly and finding the knots that make her jump as sparks fly through her body.

Nicki continues to smile at Fred. "You know, you're really sweet."

Fred blushes. He ducks his head, but doesn't let the praise stop his massage work.

Nicki plays with her braids. "You must make your girlfriend really happy when she comes to you after a hard day."

Fred sighs, sits back, and stops massaging, long enough to key, "I don't have a girlfriend, Nicki. It wouldn't be fair to her."

Nicki looks at him sadly, feeling bad for mentioning a girlfriend. "Not fair to her? What do you mean?"

Fred gestures at himself. "What girl would want to be stuck with a wreck like this? One arm, no legs, no voice, scars on top of scars....I'm not even sure I could give her pleasure the way she would deserve."

Nicki puts her hands in her lap and asks quietly. "Is that all you think a girl would want, is sex?"

Fred shakes his head slowly. "I certainly hope not. What I really hope for is a girl who can see past my scars, who doesn't mind that I'm a one-armed cripple, and who is patient enough to wait for my synthesized voice. But Lynn is the only girl I know like that, and she's Michael's fiancee." He lets out a heavy sigh as he types, "I don't even dare go out in public. Not like this. Most people aren't as understanding as you are. The last time I went out in public, I had to use my chair's defensive systems when I was attacked for my ugliness."

Nicki's hand flies to her mouth and she gasps. "Oh how horrible!" Anger then flares up in her eyes and face. "Ignorant people can be so cruel!"

Fred sighs and shrugs. "It's the way it is out there, though. Ignorant people are the ones who run the world. So I stay here, work on my inventions, and try to help those who cross my path. Maybe someday I'll find someone who can accept me as what I am, but if I don't, I'll just take care of my family and help where I can."

Nicki gets up and goes over to Fred, slipping her arms around his neck and hugging him gently, but her anger is still apparent with how tense the muscles in her body are.

Fred blinks in surprise, then reaches around to gently massage between her shoulders, while making crooning noises.

Nicki says softly, "You're not a monster, nor a freak. You're just like everyone else. You still have feelings, you still get hungry, thirsty, sleepy, you still bleed if you get cut. You just look different, but hell so does everyone else yet this world is so fucked up that they seem to see people like you as an outcast that's dangerous to be around. If only they'd imagine what it would be like to be in your place, even for a short while, then maybe they'd be more caring and understanding."

Fred keeps massaging, still crooning softly and moving his hand to try and work out the tension.

Nicki finally steps back to look at Fred. "What if I was with you? Then would you possibly go out with me?"

Fred looks up, blinking in surprise. He reaches for his keypad and produces several error messages before finally getting out, "You really mean it? With me?"

Nicki slowly nods as she sits back in her chair, taking a sip before answering. "Sure, why not?" Nicki adds. "I bet you'd probably like going to see a movie or out to dinner or even a bit of shopping. Anything that would get you out into the fresh air instead of always staying here in the house all the time. Even though you probably don't say it, I bet it drives you crazy to be stuck here all the time. Almost like you're in prison. Am I right?"

Fred shivers and lowers his head, shuddering until he suddenly releases a sob that sounds as if it came from the bottom of his soul. His hand hits his keypad, making several errors, but no words.

Nicki once again wraps her arms around him, holding him so close to her that he can hear her heartbeat and whispers softly. "Oh Fred, don't cry. It's okay." She softly strokes his head. "That's what you want, isn't it? Someone to be with you and treat you like everyone else?"

Fred sniffles and rests his head against her, giving up on the keypad and moving his hand up to clutch her arm. There's a ping overhead and a display on one of the screens says, "Nicki, There are some things you need to know if you're going to be involved with Dad. I'll tell you later."

Nicki gives a slight nod, indicating that she understands, then goes back to comforting Fred as best as she can, now trying by softly humming a wordless tune.

Fred slowly relaxes to the humming, his hand releases her arm and moves to his keypad. "More than anything, Nicki...To love....to be loved....to not be trapped alone in this body.....this prison..."

Nicki smiles sweetly at him, nodding slowly. "I understand. Now, care to show me the schematics you're working on?" She gives him a playful wink in hopes that his spirits will lift.

Fred wipes at his face with his hand and taps on some keys, bringing up a display on the nearest major monitor that looks like it could be a diagram of the nerves in the brain. Well, except for the fact that some of those lines go in directions that are impossible unless you can see in 5 dimensions instead of 3.

Nicki hmmms softly as she studies the diagram, softly stroking her chin, her almost empty glass is once again on the floor near her chair which she had unknowingly put there. She then looks down at the keyboard for a moment before making her fingers fly over the keys and soon the diagram is slowly rotating around while information scrolls behind it, but the image barely impedes the viewing of the slowly scrolling data. Her whole attitude seems to have changed as she seems completely focused on what's before her, not like someone that's amazed by it, but by someone who completely understands it and is studying it for any flaws and possible ways to improve upon what they are already seeing.

Fred nods. "As you can see, the circuitry is a hyperdimensional neural network. I had to go to five dimensions, because four wasn't enough to provide the full capabilities I was looking for. In a way, I think this is probably the way the brain is wired, too. It's not possible for it to have the full capabilities it has in only 3 dimensions."

Nicki frowns and points to a certain area of his diagram. "But why do you have this area like this?" She makes her fingers fly once again over the keyboard, giving a new set of equations which pop up in a new window. "Wouldn't this work a lot better?"

Fred keys, "If I were looking for just a high-density computer, that would make sense. But by leaving that portion the way it is, I allow for neural linkages the same way they occur in the human brain. In other words, this computer is not only complex enough to support a living soul, the way David does, it's also complex enough that it can learn and make intuitive leaps, rather than just follow programmed paths."

The window disappears and Nicki seems very embarrassed, wrapping her arms around herself in a sort of a hug and slowly walks back to her chair where she sits down. "I'm sorry about that."

Fred grins at Nicki and adds, "You know, most computer scientists are convinced I'm insane. Not a ONE of them saw what you did. My designs are so far outside the mainstream that they're considered impossible. The fact that you DID see that means you have the mind it takes to understand and explore it." Fred then swings his chair around and looks at her seriously. "You have no reason to apologize. NONE. You have a mind that's one in a million. If I were your typical mad scientist, I'd insist on taking you as my apprentice, so I could expand that mind even further than it already is."

Nicki finishes her drink and looks at him. "Really?" She smiles. "My brother thinks I'm insane with the things that I've done to our mansion's computer system. Well, he thought that they were crazy when I first mentioned them, but after I went ahead and did them anyway he doesn't say a peep about them."

Fred nods. "Really. You could be the next Princess Asrial if you keep at it. And I'd like to make sure you can. If you'd like to join me, that is."

Nicki looks at him, shocked. "Join you? Me?...But what about my job that I already have?"

Fred smiles gently. "Do you like your job?"

She shifts a bit in her seat. "Well, does anyone really like their job?" she asks, dancing around the question.

Fred laughs. He keys, "Yes. Some jobs are the kind that you would do even if the money weren't good, simply because there's something else about them they like. Like the teacher who enjoys teaching, or the dancer who does it because she's an artist and dancing is her art, or the truck driver who enjoys the hours of solitude and the ability to see the country..."

Nicki sighs. "I can't quit my job, even if I totally hated it. It pays my bills, keeps a roof over my head and food on the table."

Fred keys, "It's not the only job there is, you know. And unless you enjoy doing it, I would happily hire you as a lab assistant."

Nicki apparently seems very much flattered, but hesitates. "But how could you just hire me on like that? You just met me. Aren't you afraid that I'd fuck up your system after I'd earned your trust?"

Fred smiles. "First, you have to understand my system well enough to be able to do that. That means you have to have more understanding than nearly any other person on the planet." Fred grins some more. "Second, you would have to be willing to destroy something that you are intimately involved with. I don't see that in you. At all." Fred looks you in the eyes and adds, "And finally, David wouldn't let you, even if you weren't the kind of person I believe you are."

Nicki gets up, setting her glass down once again, then cracks her knuckles as she goes over to the keyboard and her fingers fly over it once again as she tries to download a file from her computer system to play throughout the house.

Nicki turns around after playing that file and looks at Fred. "That probably would have been more impressive if I had been at my place and done that." She types in 'David, send what you wanted to tell me about Fred to my computer systems. I'll patch you through now and it will lock you out once you back up, but no fair peeking at anything else. Name the file 'Fred' so I know what to look for.' then she gives Fred a bit of a smile.

David giggles maniacally at the idea you could lock him out, but he's polite enough to let you open the way for him to go in. The file he sends your way is quite a bit larger than you might expect - easily as large as an MP3 file, maybe even larger.

Nicki frowns at the giggle, then types. 'Oh! Wiseass computer, huh? Just beep when you're done sending that file then we'll see how hard it is to get into my system.'

David laughs at that and scrolls across the screen, "I go wandering through the Pentagon and CIA all the time. Want to compare notes sometime?"

Nicki tosses her head back and keys, 'Sure thing. You done yet?'

David flashes, "Done"

Fred chuckles and keys, 'Are you two having fun? Am I going to have to baby-sit the two of you to make sure you don't start waving your weewees at each other?"

Nicki's fingers fly across the keyboard then she smirks and says, "Okay fucker! Try to get into that, I can make those two places look like a fuckin' joke in-a-half!" She turns to Fred and offers him a smile. "Just trying something out love." She starts the moment 'love' comes out of her mouth as if it was the most natural thing in the world to call him. She covers up her embarrassment by looking at the monitor in front of her.

David chuckles and goes to town, apparently enjoying the challenge.

Fred gives a gentle smile and keys, "Nicki? It's ok. You don't have to hide."

Nicki pulls a pocket watch from her jean's pocket and flips it open, glances at it, then at Fred and tries to say mater-of-factly, "I'm sorry if I offended you." She looks back down at the pocket watch which appears very expensive since most of it is made out of solid white gold.

Fred looks confused. "Offended? Why would I be offended? If anything, I'm....surprised, but happily."

She keeps an eye on the time and laughs softly. "Having a bit of trouble there David or are you just acting slow to boost my ego?" She looks at Fred then with what appears to be a longing look in her eyes.

David pops up an image on one of the monitors, going "Pbbbbt!" Then he says, "You don't want me to DAMAGE your system, do you? I'm taking my time and peeling it like an onion."

Fred swallows and bring his hand up from the keypad to offer it to Nicki, with a hopeful look in his eyes.

She laughs some more. "Hard though, isn't it?" She gives Fred that same look again, this time sadness can be seen in her eyes as she carefully takes his hand and holds it.

David laughs. "This is the first decent challenge I've EVER had. This is FUN!"

Fred squeezes her hand gently, then brings it to his lips, kisses the knuckles lightly, then simply holds it to his cheek, like a treasured favor of some kind.

She nods to David. "See? I told you my system is a bitch to get into." She looks back at Fred and her bottom lip quivers slightly as she both sees and feels the tenderness in his actions. Tears try to leak from her eyes, but she closes her eyelids to keep them from doing so.

David says, "Yeah! You're the first person other than Dad who's ever given me a real challenge. This is great! I can't WAIT for the two of you to partner up!"

Fred blushes at David's enthusiasm. He keeps her hand at his cheek, making no move to be too familiar, but at the same time not backing off, either. He looks up into her eyes with love and concern.

Nicki keeps her eyes closed as she says, "Here's another surprise for you. I created most of my security system myself, just out of your basic, average home security system that is installed in almost every household."

Fred laughs softly and kisses your hand, then presses it against his chest so you can feel his heart beat before he lets go and keys, "I'm not surprised. I had to build my first computer out of stuff from Radio Shack."

Nicki glances back down at her pocket watch. About a minute and twenty seconds have passed as she mutters. "That must have sucked."

Fred keys, "It was interesting. You have to be creative when you're limited like that." David, meanwhile, starts playing one of your music files.

Nicki can't help but laugh a bit as she teases David. "Gee, David, I never knew you liked Ozzy." She pauses, listening to 'Gets Me Through' for a moment longer before saying, "I guess that means you're in, huh?"

David laughs. "Yup. I'm in. I like what you did with this place. Very cozy."

She studies her pocket watch. "Hmmm almost two in-a-half minutes."

David laughs. "And worth every microsecond."

Fred laughs softly and keys, "Having fun teasing each other, you two?"

Nicki sighs sadly and keys, 'Are you going to send him info to look at about me and what happened to my parents?'

David responds on screen, "Do you want me to? Beyond what's publicly available, that is?

"I guess fair is fair, now that no one else is around," she says softly and goes back past Fred to sit down in the chair she was in earlier and looks down at her hands in her lap.

David says, "Dad, the first thing you should know is that Nicki's been on her own ever since your airplane was shot down. Her parents were on the same plane."

A noise like that of a strangled animal comes from behind Fred as Nicki squeezes her eyes shut as tightly as she can, and digs her nails deeply into her thighs, breaking the skin while the tears that wanted to fall earlier, now fall freely, mixing with the blood that runs from her lip which she cut open with her teeth by biting it so that she wouldn't cry out.

Fred spins his chair and moves it to Nicki's side, leans and reaches out, wraps his arm around her, and pulls her in against him, holding her tightly while she cries.

Upon feeling his arm around her, she cries harder, her shoulders shaking hard from the sobs as the blood now flows freely from her bottom lip and her nails dig deeper into her thighs.

Fred holds her close and gently strokes her hair, while making soft crooning noises.

She doesn't seem to feel the pain in her thighs or lip, just the pain in her heart upon hearing what really happened to the plane her parents were on.

Fred simply holds her, stroking her hair and crooning softly, for as long as she is willing to be held. David says gently, "That's why Dad started the Foundation, Nicki. The official story said it was an accident, that the plane blew up because of a mechanical failure, but Dad saw the missile before it hit the plane, and we're going to find who was responsible and make them pay."

Nicki continues to sob, but they slowly start to subside as does her shaking. Meanwhile the blood from her lip is running down her chin, down to her chest and staining her top, while the blood runs down her thighs and starts dripping onto the floor.

Fred keeps his arm around her, holding her close and stroking her back gently.

Nicki's body begins to shake again as she feels the pain finally come over her and her sobbing begins anew.

Lynn arrives at the door to the lab and slowly moves further into it until she sees both Fred and Nicki, but she herself is still a distance away.

David says, "She needs you, Lynn. Fred can't help her right now. Not with what she really needs help with."

Lynn slowly nods and moves behind Nicki, gently placing her hands on her shoulders, feeling her jump and then quickly turn to see who's behind her.

Fred looks up with a surprised expression, then gasps as he sees all the blood on Nicki.

Lynn also notices the blood and she looks at Fred. "Fred, get the first aid kit, quickly!" She looks at Nicki. 'I'm so sorry you had to find out this way about what happened to your parents.'

Fred moves his chair to the med lab while Lynn is dealing with Nicki, then comes back with the big first aid kit.

Nicki blinks as he tears continuing down her cheeks. "Why were we lied to?"

David says, "Because the missile that shot the plane down was a military missile. We're still trying to figure out who was on that plane that they wanted dead so badly that the Navy would shoot it down."

Lynn takes a step back and moves behind Fred so that he can start patching up Nicki's wounds.

Fred works on Nicki's thighs first. He holds up the bottle of antibiotic so Lynn can see it, then cleans the wounds before bandaging them.

Lynn looks into Nicki's eyes then she slowly starts undoing the knot in her scarf.

David says, "Lynn? Are you...?"

Lynn slowly nods as she waits for Fred to turn to look at her, knowing that he'd also be shocked by what she's about to do.

Fred finishes bandaging Nicki's thighs, then turns to Lynn to get more materials to do something about the lip. He stops and lets out a soft gasp as he sees her without her scarf.

Lynn looks straight into Nicki's eyes. 'I'm on your side. Fred and your parents weren't the only ones that were attacked, but I was too. That's why I'm forced to wear this thing which helps me speak until Fred and David are able to find a way to fix what was done to me.' With that her hands go behind her neck for the clasp that holds the strap for the device.

Fred lets out another gasp. That IS a surprise.

Lynn undoes the clasp and slips the device from around her neck and lets it dangle from her left hand, letting Nicki clearly see the horrible damage that was done to her throat thanks to it being slashed very deeply and jaggedly by a knife wielded by someone who was both nervous and in a hurry.

Fred turns his head to get his concentration back and reaches for the first aid stuff again. Then he starts in on Nicki's lip.

Nicki swallows hard and gasps. "Gods! Who did that to you?"

Lynn takes her time in replacing the device over her throat and then replaces the scarf over it. 'I'm not sure. I never saw his face.'

David says, "All we have is a few scraps that were under Lynn's fingernails to go by. And the state's DNA database is very scanty.

Lynn adds. 'Michael was the one that saved me...'

Fred finishes his work and keys, "And he still blames himself for not being there fast enough. Never mind that he was there fast enough to keep you from dying.

Lynn slowly nods. 'I know.' She looks up at Nicki again. 'That's another thing. As much as I am glad for the fact that I can talk again, I hate this device so I rarely speak, instead preferring to sign and use both hand and facial gestures.'

Fred looks from Lynn to Nicki and keys, "I think you're going to need a clean top, Nicki. Lynn, you know where my T-shirts are, right?"

Lynn slowly nods, but bites her lower lip and seems embarrassed for Nicki when she realizes that Nicki has no bra on underneath and she knows that surprisingly enough all her bras would be too small for Nicki.

Fred blushes as he makes the suggestion. David scrolls across a screen only Lynn can see, "Dad's worried his T-shirts might be a bit tight on her, but he doesn't want to put you out for something for her to wear. And that top of hers has enough blood in it to attract Cindy if she keeps wearing it."

Lynn slowly nods and reaches out to a nearby keyboard to type. 'But what will we do with her shirt? Quickly wash it before Cindy smells it?'

David says, "Yes. I'd say get it off now and let Dad take it to wash, but that would probably blow Dad's embarrassment circuits all to Hell and back."

Luckily for Fred, only Lynn sees that.

Lynn chuckles silently as she goes to Nicki. 'Nicki we need to change that shirt before Cindy smells it and goes nuts.' Nicki slowly nods and doesn't hesitate in removing her shirt, letting loose her rather large, perfectly shaped breasts which bounce a bit as she pulls her shirt off and looks at who to hand it to.

Unluckily for Fred, he DOES see that. His eyes get wide and he gasps softly. His mouth moves as if he was trying to say something, but all he gets out is random noises. And he turns a brilliant shade of red.

Lynn feels a pang of jealousy at the size of Nicki's breasts, but she covers her mouth with her hand as she sees Fred's reaction and Nicki's which is of confusion. "Fred?" Nicki asks. "Are you okay?" She moves toward him to embrace him.

Fred swallows as Nicki moves to embrace him, turns more red, and gives Lynn a helpless "what do I do now?" look.

Lynn laughs and takes Nicki's hand. 'Come on. Let's find you a shirt from Fred's collection. Bring your shirt with you.' Nicki nods and follows Lynn, hand in hand, to Fred's room.

Lynn takes Nicki over to Fred's dresser, taking her soiled shirt from her and putting it down the laundry shoot to be washed. When she turns around Nicki is wearing a t-shirt which she's tied into a knot in front and made it so that it ends right below her breasts. It's also a white t-shirt, which clearly makes her nipples show up through it, and has a picture of a gun on it. "Would this one be okay?" Nicki asks her.

David is keeping track, of course, and not mentioning that he's sensing great hope from both Fred and Michael that Nicki and Lynn become an item.

Nicki pipes up. "You can give your opinion too David."

Lynn breaths in as she tries and fails to tear her eyes from Nicki's breasts, but Nicki doesn't seem to notice.

David says gently, "Which opinion do you want first? Fashion, or personal?

"Both," Nicki says.

David says, "OK. For fashion, it's an excellent choice. It shows off your natural attributes very effectively, and the color ensures that your nipples are visible to even a casual glance. On the other hand, the gun is one you'd usually expect a larger person to use." David continues. "On a personal level, you are making Lynn so hot that if not for her natural shyness she would be trying to seduce you the way Dad thought you were trying to seduce him."

Lynn turns very red upon hearing this. 'Sometimes you talk too much David.'

David says, "Hey, I have to watch out for my humans. I worry about you guys."

Nicki laughs softly and goes to hug Lynn which makes her turn even more red. "Still doesn't answer my question though. Keep the shirt or find a different one?"

David hmphs and complains, "What? My fashion judgement isn't good enough?"

Nicki smiles. "David, I'd hug you if I could, but I'm wondering what Lynn's opinion is."

David says, "Well, you can hug Lynn in my place, then. Or hug Dad. Or better yet, hug both."

Lynn swallows and slowly nods. 'Good choice Nicki.'

Lynn leads Nicki back into Fred's lab and waits to see his reaction.

Fred's eyes get wide as he looks at Nicki, then looks at Lynn questioningly and signs, "Lynn? You look as distracted as I feel. Are you falling for her, too?"

Lynn signs, 'I'm so confused. I never felt this way before. Not for another female.' she adds.

Fred signs, "It's ok to feel it, Lynn. And if she feels it, too, it's ok to act on it."

Nicki looks from Fred to Lynn, not saying anything.

Fred takes a deep breath and keys, "Nicki, you look beautiful. I don't know how you manage it, but you do."

Nicki smiles at him and clasps her hands behind her back, unknowingly throwing her chest forward, adding attention to her nipples and chest in general.

Fred takes a deep breath and turns a nice pink as Nicki does that. He looks toward Lynn and swallows.

Lynn looks just as lost about what to do as he does.

David pops up on a screen where Nicki can see it, "You've stunned them. I don't think either of them is used to seeing a beautiful woman who's not ashamed of her beauty. And I KNOW neither of them is used to falling in love with anyone. But both of them are falling in love with you.

Nicki looks shocked as she types on a nearby keyboard, 'Are you serious?' She thinks for a moment then types, 'Should I go ahead and view the information about Fred that you wanted to tell me about?'

David displays, "Yes. I'm serious. And both of them are so unsure of themselves, and afraid to frighten you by coming on too strong, that they're not sure what to do. You're going to have to take the first step. With both of them." He opens a window and scrolls some highlights about Fred, things that she can select to see more details, but enough to tell her about his evil "widow" and his working to keep his survival of the airplane crash a secret because of her and because of having seen the airplane get shot down the way he did.

Nicki swallows hard as she reads the information that David displays for her, wanting to know more information not on the deadly plane crash, but about Fred's ex.

David gives her more, including the little details like her being wanted for skipping out on probation after smashing a little kid's fingers in a freezer door, the things David has pieced together that she did to Fred, and so on.

Fred looks worried and keys, "Nicki? What's wrong?"

Nicki is totally unaware that the nails on her left hand are digging deeply into her palm, making it bleed, as anger flares in her eyes.

Fred keys, "Lynn? She's hurting herself again. Can you stop her?'

Lynn goes over to Nicki and peers over her shoulder and signs, 'She's reading about you and what the evil one did to you.'

Fred groans and covers his face with his hand, turning beet red.

Lynn goes to another keyboard and keys, 'David, stop. Nicki's hurting herself again. All this is too much for her to handle right now.'

Fred sends his chair over and bumps the back of Nicki's legs, hard enough that she's either going to sit down on top of him or fall into the computer panels. The screen she was looking at derezzes when Fred's chair bumps her, like an old TV screen.

Nicki is so startled that she looses her balance and falls backwards onto Fred's lap, her nails digging even deeper into her hand, and she even gives a startled yelp.

Fred makes a noise and reaches out and grabs for the hand that's digging into itself.

Lynn hears Fred and whirls around to see that he noticed Nicki hurting herself so she quickly goes to get the first aid kit and takes it over to where Fred and Nicki are. Quickly she sets it down on the ground and opens it, taking a pad of gauze and wets it with some antiseptic and then silently takes Nicki's hand and starts to clean the wound.

Fred relaxes some when Lynn starts cleaning Nicki's hand, so he lets go of her wrist and reaches up to touch her cheek and gently turn her to look at him.

Nicki winces a bit, but some of her anger is still in her eyes as she looks at Fred.

Lynn then puts another pad of gaze over the nail marks then begins to carefully wrap her hand.

Fred looks into her eyes with love and understanding. He doesn't take his hand away so he can say anything, he just holds her cheek and looks into her eyes.

Nicki says venomously. "I hate her! How could anyone be so cruel to do that to you and how come you let it happen for as long as it did?"

Lynn tapes the gaze wrapping in place, but not too tightly, then she holds Nicki's injured hand carefully, looking from her to Fred.

Fred lets out a heavy sigh and moves his hand down to his keypad so he can speak. "Do you know what it's like to believe that you are unworthy of love, of consideration, of any human care at all? It's all I ever knew, before Michael and Lynn came along. When that woman came into my life, it was just what I'd always had.....it didn't get REALLY bad until she already controlled my life.

Nicki slips her hand out of Lynn's grasp and puts her arms around Fred's neck and hugs him carefully. "Oh Fred, my sweet Fred."

Fred keys, "I don't want you to hurt yourself over it, Nicki. I'd be sad if you did."

Lynn breaths in and she signs, 'You are her Fred now?'

Fred blushes....then closes his eyes and lets tears come. He signs, "I'll always be your Fred, Lynn. Always. And you'll always be my Lynn. And Michael's Lynn."

Lynn sadly stands to her feet and goes over to another keyboard and keys to David, 'What do I do now? It hurts me to hear her call Fred hers when she just met him, and I've known him a lot longer...or do I just sound jealous to you?'

David scrolls, "Do you feel as if she's trying to take him from you? Or are you just unhappy because she's decided for him faster than you did?"

Lynn keys, 'I guess a little of both.'

Nicki tenderly strokes Fred's cheek. "Fred, how long has it been since you last got out?"

David scrolls, "You know Fred won't let her take him away from you. He loves you, you know. Or....no, he's never come out and said it in so many words. Idiot. He's so afraid you'll think he's trying to force something on you that he's never told you how he REALLY feels."

Fred blushes and keys, "Lynn? When was the last time you and Michael took me out?"

Lynn chews on her bottom lip as she keys, 'How does he really feel about me?' Aloud she says, 'It's been so long that I don't even remember.'

David scrolls, "If you weren't already in love with Michael, and he didn't feel as if he's too little of a man to be worthy of you, AND he didn't feel that he would be forcing you into a compromised position, he would have already asked you to be his lover.

Fred looks up at Nicki, blushing, and keys, "If Lynn doesn't remember, it must have been a long time. Before Michael was shot, I think. That would make it almost 3 years ago."

Lynn feels the color rush to her face as she keys, 'WHAT?!?'

Nicki shakes her head. "Far too long." She slides off his lap. "C'mon, we're going out tonight."

David scrolls, "He loves you, Lynn. And he's in love with you. And he's afraid to say anything about it, because he doesn't want to make Michael unhappy, he doesn't think he deserves you, and he thinks that if he said anything to you, it would be like your boss or teacher making a move on you.

Lynn types, 'But you know that's not true, right?'

David scrolls, "I know that's not true. But it's up to you to convince him. I'm just a computer, after all. You're the one he's in love with. Maybe you and Nicki should take him out together, and double-team him. It might be enough to get through to him.'

Lynn slowly shakes her head as she keys, 'I'm messed up too, remember. If Nicki can get him to go out with her, then I'll talk to him when they get back.'

David scrolls, "Are you sure?"

Fred swallows and looks from Nicki to Lynn and back again, then gestures at Lynn while looking into Nicki's eyes questioningly.

Lynn types, 'I'm sure.' Then goes over to Fred's side.

Fred looks up, from Nicki to Lynn, and keys, "Lynn? Nicki? Ummm..."

"Yes?" They say at the same time.

Fred swallows and keys, "Would I be bad...if I asked both of you to go out with me?"

Nicki and Lynn shake their heads, but Lynn seems a lot more uneasy than Nicki. "It wouldn't be bad at all Fred, why would you think so?" Nicki asks him.

Fred looks down, blushing, and keys, "Because I'm only half a man....because it's not fair to Lynn to push myself at her....because it's not fair to Michael to come between him and Lynn....or Nicki...."

Lynn breaths in and signs to Fred. 'I love you. I so wish you had told me how you really felt sooner. It would not have made me feel uncomfortable. I would have been so happy.' Lynn finishes by going over to him and hugging him while Nicki also carefully hugs him. "Fred," Nicki says, "you worry too much. You need to learn not to be afraid to tell what you're true feelings are or else you'll forever be doomed to be miserable."

Fred squeaks. Yes, he squeaks. The tears flow freely, and he reaches up to hold Lynn, while resting his head on Nicki's shoulder.

Nicki gently wipes away Fred's tears, then softly. lovingly kisses him, her tongue lightly pushes against his lips, seeking entrance.

Fred moans softly and opens to Nicki, while his hand clutches at Lynn and pulls her closer.

Nicki softly explores his tongue with her own for a moment, then turns his head toward Lynn who leans close to him and also kisses him, her tongue searching for his.

Fred moans against Lynn and opens to her, too, fencing with her tongue for a moment, then suckling on it hungrily.

Nicki softly strokes Fred's head as she watches him kiss Lynn, she herself not minding and hopefully showing Lynn that she has no problem sharing him with her since after all, she's known him longer and does have more right to him than she does.

Fred moans and suckles more urgently at Lynn, his hand clutching at the back of her shoulders as he finds himself overwhelmed with love and desire.

Lynn finally breaks the kiss and looks questioningly at Nicki.

Nicki smiles at Fred. "You see. You're better than any normal man because you'll be accompanied by not one beautiful woman, but two."

Fred looks between Nicki and Lynn and swallows, keying, "You don't mind? Both of you? Lynn? Nicki? Would it be bad if I said I want you both? Together?"

Nicki shakes her head, answering Lynn's silent question. "No, I don't think it's bad at all. Fred, you need to start showing what you really want or else your needs, your wants and your desires will go unnoticed by everyone else and you'll be nothing but miserable. I know that you, in a sense, were Lynn's Fred first and I accept that, but I'm willing to share you with her so that any needs that she has can be met by you, if her Michael allows it. In fact I'm still surprised that you even want to be with me, Fred, after knowing me only for a short time, but I am happy. It makes me feel loved, and that's something I need right now."

Fred looks from Lynn to Nicki and blushes, keying, "Nicki....Lynn....I....ummm.....would it be bad if I said I hope you want each other, too?"

"No," Nicki says simply while Lynn turns a very deep shade of red.

Fred sees Lynn's blush and blushes deeper, keying, "I'm sorry, Lynn. I just hoped...I mean...you two look so good together...."

Nicki leans close to Fred and whispers. "Perhaps in due time Fred. I wouldn't mind being with Lynn, but I think she's still unsure about the whole thing, but maybe later on..." She smirks wickedly. "Would you want to see a video of it if it happens or would you like to be there in the same room with us, and maybe joining in?"

Fred turns almost purple and sputters definitely overwhelmed by THAT question.

Nicki giggles as he does that, then leans in to hug him, rubbing her breasts against him.

Fred whimpers a little and gets several errors before he finally slows down enough to key, "Do we have to go out? I'm...well..." He turns DEEP red and glances down toward his lap.

Nicki looks confused until she looks down at his lap and noticed how very much aroused he is and she chuckles softly, straightening up. "Well, I really did want to go out, but I guess we can do that some other night." She tosses her hair back, this simple gesture making her breasts bounce. "Okay Fred, what do you want to do instead?"

Fred swallows and looks from Nicki to Lynn, blushes deeply, and keys, "You're both going to make me say it, aren't you?"

Lynn is blushing about as deeply as Fred is, but she's also laughing silently at the same time as Nicki nods. "Yes Fred, I'm afraid so." An impish grin plays on Nicki's lips as she waits and wonders both what his reaction would be and if David would chime in with some comment of his.

David comments, "Don't look at ME, Dad. I'm not the one who's got two beautiful women falling all over him." Fred makes a noise that COULD be an outraged "ARG" and looks as if he'd like to throw something at the nearest monitor - but the tension is broken, at least enough for him to key, "Would you....both of you....together....make love with me?"

Now it's Nicki's turn to turn extremely red and feel a bit panicked.

Fred looks down and keys, "I'll understand if it's too soon...."

Fred's chair beeps. He looks at one of the screens in the top, and sputters as he keys (after several errors) "I'm sorry, Nicki. I didn't realize....I....I'm sorry." He hangs his head guiltily

Nicki looks down and shifts uncomfortably. She goes to bite her lower lip, but feels a stab of pain, yelps a bit and winces, forgetting that she had injured it earlier.

Fred hears the yelp and jump, looks up, and reaches instinctively for Nicki, with a look that says he wishes he could make it stop hurting for her.

Lynn goes over to Nicki and wraps her arms around her, hugging her gently. 'Careful there. That lip is still sore from earlier.' She looks up into Nicki's eyes.

Nicki looks back into Lynn's eyes, entranced.

Fred sees the way the two of them are looking at each other and relaxes - still aroused enough to be painful, but not nearly so tense when he sees Nicki's reaction to Lynn.

Lynn slowly starts to play with Nicki's braids when suddenly Nicki moves close to Lynn and kisses her softly on her lips.

Fred licks his lips and sweats a little, not sure how much of this he should be watching.

Nicki waits to feel Lynn push away, but instead feels Lynn's arms slip around her waist, holding her more closely and kissing her back for a moment then she feels Lynn's tongue trying to part her lips. Unsure if she really wants this or not Nicki keeps her mouth somewhat closed until she feels Lynn's tongue trying to force it's way in, then she opens her mouth to her and meets Lynn's tongue with her own.

Fred sits back in his chair, biting his lip as he watches. This is making him even harder....

Nicki moans softly as her hands travel up Lynn's back to her neck where she trails her fingertips lightly along the back of it. Lynn shivers in delight, kissing Nicki back even more passionately.

Fred keeps as quiet as he can, and as still as he can, so he doesn't stop the two of them, even accidentally. Then Fred's eyes get wide as he sees something beyond Lynn and Nicki, and he blushes deeply. On the monitor is David's query of "Why don't you take the two of them to bed now?"

Lynn's hands start moving down Nicki's form, tracing hips, then moving behind and slowly moving down Nicki's tight, firm ass 'causing Nicki to moan even more.

Fred coughs and keys, "Umm....bedroom?"

Lynn and Nicki both jump slightly, breaking the kiss abruptly and both blushing quite a bit.

Fred blushes and keys, "It's ok. There's no need for either of you to EVER feel embarrassed. Not by your attraction for each other. "

Lynn blushes deeper and Nicki looks at her for a moment before answering. "I don't think it's that. I think it's because of the fact that we got so wrapped up with one another that we were easily startled." She looks into Lynn's eyes. "Isn't that right Lynn?" Lynn slowly nods and Nicki gathers her into her arms in a tender, loving hug. "C'mon, let's go into the bedroom where we won't have to worry about Cindy disturbing us." Lynn nods again, looking up into Nicki's eyes and slips her hand into Nicki's, then together they walk back into Fred's room.

Fred follows, tapping some keys on his chair so that David locks the bedroom doors for privacy.

Nicki keeps her back toward the door as she whispers something to Lynn who smiles, unknowing to Fred.

Fred stays by the door, so he isn't intruding on the two of them."

Nicki turns her head and smiles at him. "Come a bit closer Fred. You know we won't bite."

Fred blinks and blushes and keys, "Are you sure? I don't want to interfere..."

Lynn also turns to head to look at him, smiling and slowly nodding.

Fred looks between the two of them, then moves closer, smiling hopefully."

As if they were one, both Lynn and Nicki turn to face him and move toward him. Nicki kisses him passionately while Lynn softly runs her hands down neck and chest.

Fred squeaks and surrenders to Nicki, opening to her while reaching out with his hand to run it over Lynn's cheek, neck, and chest.

Slowly Lynn brushes her lips over Fred's groin while Nicki tenderly explores his tongue with her own, being careful not to press against him too hard.

Fred gasps at the touch on his groin, and sucks on Nicki's tongue, his hand moving down Lynn's back to cup and squeeze her bottom."

Lynn slowly works to free his cock, her fingertips lightly dancing over it's head from time to time. Nicki, meanwhile, tenderly strokes his head as she continues to kiss him.

Fred gasps and arches a little at Lynn's touch, his hand gripping her bottom tightly and his lips hungrily reaching for Nicki, sucking at her tongue and gently nibbling when he relaxes to catch his breath.

Lynn softly kisses the head of Fred's cock, then brushes her lips over it before taking it into her mouth and gently sucking on it while Nicki breaks the kiss to let him breathe.

Fred whimpers and squirms, attempting to arch to Lynn's touch but limited by the chair. He looks up at Nicki hungrily, while his hand continues to clutch Lynn's bottom.

Lynn slowly runs her tongue over his cock, then goes back to softly sucking on it and moving her mouth up and down on it. Nicki smiles as she gazes into Fred's eyes while she reaches a hand down and gently fondles his balls.

Fred moans happily and moves his mouth as he looks up at Nicki, while his hand feels for Lynn's zipper and unsteadily opens it. His cock swells under the double attention, and his whole body arches against his chair.

Nicki goes and whispers in Lynn's ear. "He's going nuts being restricted in his chair. Let's pick him up and put him on the bed so we can torture...I mean pleasure him some more." Lynn laughs silently as she teases him by slowly letting his cock slip from her mouth, then gets on one side of him while Nicki opens up his chair and gets on the other side of him, then together they lift him up out of it and place him in the middle of the bed. They both smile down at him, then sit down at the foot of the bed, wrapping their arms around one another and start to passionately kiss again.

Fred whimpers as Lynn pulls away, freezes as he is lifted, then moans with desire and need as he watches the two women kissing each other so passionately.

Nicki breaks the kiss to softly brush her lips along the side of Lynn's neck while Lynn moves her hands up under Nicki's borrowed shirt to cup and gently squeeze Nicki's breasts, teasing her nipples in between, making Nicki moan once more.

Fred moans softly as he watches the two, so beautiful, so desirable, so maddening in their teasing...."

Lynn pulls the shirt off Nicki and brushes her lips along her breasts, teasing her for a moment before finding her left nipple and sucking on it gently, making Nicki moan even more and run her fingers through her hair.

Fred's hand finds the fastening of his kilt and he tosses it aside, then wraps his fingers around his cock and squeezes gently as he watches the two women making love to each other. He moans with desire and appreciation.

Nicki unbuttons Lynn's blouse, then pulls it off her revealing her smaller, but no less perfect breasts. She then pushes Lynn down onto the bed and pulls off her skirt and white, cotton panties, tossing them aside, and softly nuzzles her pussy.

Fred whimpers and squirms, moving so he can see better, and reaching out to caress Lynn's cheek and throat, as gently as a feather.

Nicki softly kisses Lynn's pussy, watching her reaction before slowly slipping her tongue into Lynn's pussy and gently teases her clit with her tongue making her squirm even more in pleasure.

Fred squirms around until his head is next to Lynn's. Then he gently presses against her cheek and kisses her lips as they come to meet him. He teases with his tongue, just enough pressure to allow her to open to him, but not forcing it.

Nicki continues teasing Lynn's clit, her pleasure apparent by the way she's passionately kissing Fred. Nicki also enhances her pleasure by lightly trailing her fingertips along Lynn's inner thigh.

Fred kisses Lynn hungrily, ravaging her mouth with his tongue while his hand moves down to cup a breast and gently squeeze, rolling her nipple between thumb and finger.

Nicki moves her tongue faster, feeling Lynn tense up, close to orgasm so Nicki ever so lightly bites down on Lynn's clit making her back suddenly arch and relax over and over again as she orgasms from the intense pleasure of both Nicki and Fred.

Fred holds Lynn under his arm and rrrrs against her lips as he sucks on her tongue and gently tugs on her nipple, in time with her arching and relaxing.

Nicki slowly draws her tongue along Lynn's pussy, tasting her juices and licking her lips, smiling then whispers to Lynn. "Go ahead and be with Fred. I know you've been wanting to for a long time and I've gotten you ready for him. Now take advantage of that." Nicki then moves back and nods to both of them.

Fred looks up, surprised, breaking the kiss with Lynn, while his hand continues to gently squeeze her breast. His cock jumps at Nicki's words, and he lets out a soft moan.

Lynn almost has tears in her eyes as she gives Nicki a silent thank you then wraps her arms around Fred, holding him close and kisses him again as she moves her hips toward his.

Fred lays on his back, kissing Lynn lovingly and gently stroking her back and side as she moves to cover him with her body.

Lynn wraps one of her hands around Fred's fully erect cock and gently guides him into her, her eyes gazing into his lovingly and full of desire for him.

Fred moans, his back arching as his cock is engulfed. As he falls back to the bed, he reaches up and caresses Lynn between her breasts and down to her tummy, while looking up at her with love and desire.

Lynn nuzzles his neck as she moves her hips against his, moaning silently.

Fred wraps his arm around her and holds her close, moving his hips to meet hers, moaning with rising pleasure as his cock swells and stiffens within her.

Lynn moves against him faster, wanting him to cum in her.

Fred stiffens, arching his neck and back and squeezing Lynn tightly as he explodes within her, crying out wordlessly as he comes like it's been stored up for years.

Lynn buries her face into his shoulder as she cums again with him, holding him close.

Fred whimpers with pleasure as he goes limp under her, his hand moving up to gently stroke her hair, his lips nuzzling the side of her head.

While they had been making love, Nicki had actually masturbated while watching them, now she laid down across his bed, smiling as she watches them both.

Fred closes his eyes for a moment with a happy sigh, then opens them and looks to see where Nicki is. Catching a glimpse of her through Lynn's hair, he reaches out to her in invitation.

Nicki gets on her hands and knees and slowly crawls toward him and Lynn, making sure she moves slowly and sensually.

Fred rrrs into Lynn's ear to get her attention, then looks toward Nicki, while his hand remains out, inviting, palm up, fingers slowly beckoning.

Nicki smiles at Fred and nuzzles his hand as Lynn lifts her head to look at Nicki.

Fred gently strokes Nicki's cheek, tickles at her ear with the tips of his fingers, and moves in an attempt to draw her closer.

Nicki goes and snuggles against Fred's good side, lightly stroking it with her fingertips while her eyes close.

Fred wraps his arm around Nicki and gently caresses her, his arm going between her breasts and his hand stroking her side and tummy, all the way down to that spot just above her mound that can be felt inside.

Nicki breaths in and stiffens, her eyes locked with Fred's and showing signs of nervousness.

Fred gently massages Nicki's tummy, going no lower than that spot above her mound, and lowering his head to gently brush her lips with his own, while taking his hand away and signing, "Why don't you give her what she gave you, love?"

Lynn signs. 'She seems content just being with us though. Maybe we should not push things too far for her for now.'

Fred smiles and nods, then rests his hand against Nicki's tummy, a little higher, and gently squeezes her."

Lynn smiles and her eyes begin to droop as does Nicki's.

Fred smiles and closes his eyes, nuzzling whoever's closest while holding Nicki close.

* * *

Meanwhile Cindy is in the computer room, sitting in front of the computer. As soon as the computer boots up she types in her own personal password when she's prompted too and her own personal Looney Tunes babies desktop theme pops up. "Ready David?"

David says, "Ready whenever you are, Cindy."

Cindy clicks the icon for her net browser to start up so she can start surfing the net and soon her chosen homepage pops up.

Cindy checks that site's message board for any new messages she should respond to.

David monitors without interfering so far, just to be sure of what Cindy's into.

Cindy sees a post from someone new to the boards so she clicks on the subject and finds 'Click here for some eye candy' and a link right below it so she clicks on the link.

David follows the link before she can get to it, in case he has to redirect it.

Cindy then hears a loud sharp BLEEP and a message pops up on the screen which says 'redirecting'.

The site that the link led to was a site that contained a gallery of several pages of naked pics of Nicki.

David bookmarks the gallery (is that where the redirection would have gone to?) and redirects Cindy - without any warning - to a page that has some kind of 404 Haiku on it. David also makes note of the spammer's email address and mailbombs it.

Cindy frowns. "Stupid link don't even work," she mutters as she clicks the back button until she's back in the main index of the messageboard posts.

David says, "That's another problem with spammers. They make so many people angry that the sites they're spamming for get taken down almost as fast as they get put up."

Cindy types in 'http://www.google.com' and then does a search for Sailor Moon movies.

That will keep her busy with the responses. David says, "I'll bet we have the movies in my memory, Sprout. Dad's a big fan."

Cindy laughs. "Daddy likes Sailor Moon?"

David laughs too. "Yes. He does. He has all the TV episodes and all the movies and the comic books, too."

Cindy laughs again. "Does he have the real Sailor Moon with the words at the bottom in English?"

David laughs. "That's the only way, isn't it? Which would you like to see first?"

Cindy throws both hands up into the air. "I want a marathon!"

David laughs. "Then a marathon is what you'll get. You sure you want to sit there? I can do it on the TV, and you can sit in the big comfychair then."

Cindy quickly logs off the computer. "No, I want the comfy chair." She runs to the TV room.

David laughs and as soon as Cindy is settled, the TV comes on and the marathon begins.

Cindy mumbles to herself as she watches the first Sailor Moon episode. "Some popcorn would be good right about now. Too bad I can't have any." She sighs, pouting a bit, then goes back to reading the English sub titles, surprisingly well for someone her age.

David says gently, "I know Dad is trying to find a cure for you, Cindy. He wants you to be able to do all the fun things a girl should be able to do."

Cindy calls out, "Pause please." She waits for the video to be paused then says, "If Daddy cures me will I be able to die?"

David says, "I don't know, Cindy. If he cures you completely, then you'll be just like any other organic human. You'll grow up just like them, and everything. But maybe he can find a way to change what you have, so that you don't, but you can still eat popcorn and drink soda and go out in the sun and all of that, too." David adds, "I don't know if he can, but he's trying."

Cindy frowns. "I don't want to die...ever."

David says gently, "Then let Dad try to find a way to fix it so you don't, hon. If there's a way, he'll find it, I'm sure. "

Cindy nods, then has David resume her video.

Cindy changes positions so that she's laying across the big 'comfy' chair with her head resting on one arm rest and her legs are hanging over the other arm rest.

David makes sure the drapes are closed and the windows are darkened, just in case she's still there when the sun comes up. He pauses between episodes to ask, "Would you like company, hon?"

Cindy asks, "Company? Like who?"

David says, "Well, I'll bet Michael and Lynn might want to join you."

Cindy smiles and nods. "Okay, they can if they want."

* * *

Lynn looks at Michael for a moment before going into the refrigerator and getting out a diet Coke, then she sits down at the table and watches him as she pops it open, then goes back in to get his favorite drink out.

Michael smiles and slips an arm around Lynn, kisses gently, and whispers, "You didn't have to, angel. But thank you. Have I mentioned yet tonight how much I love you?"

Lynn smiles as she hands him his drink, then sits back down at the table and watches him, waiting patiently.

Michael sits with Lynn and asks gently, "What is it, sweetheart? Do you really want to hear about all the places I went into tonight?""

Lynn slowly nods as she takes a sip of her soda.

Michael chuckles softly. "Well, luckily there were only four places in that part of town to deal with. Two biker bars, a smut shop, and the strip club. The biker bars were the usual dives. I had to break Mongo's arm in one bar, and put some guy's bike on a table in the other bar. The smut shop just plain stank. You'd think they never clean those places."

Lynn makes a face and slowly shakes her head, preferring not to make any comment about those type of places.

Michael smiles softly and says, "The place Nicki works was as clean as any bar I've ever been in, and even had a reasonable bouncer. I think he's the best bet we have yet of any of them. I'm not sure what it is about us, but Nicki noticed me as soon as I went in, and came up to me as if we were friends already." He blushes. "Do I have a 'teddybear' tattoo on my forehead or something?"

Lynn chuckles softly as she leans over the table, careful not to spill her drink, and softly kisses his nose in response.

Michael laughs and blushes, then reaches out to take both of Lynn's hands as he looks into her eyes. "Honestly, Lynn, I think she's hot, too. And I know you do. I saw the way you were looking at her. The question is, how far should we take her?"

Lynn slowly shrugs as she holds Michael's hands, then lets her computerized voice take over. 'I don't know. We don't even know if she likes women or not.'

Michael smiles and nods. "We don't. We'll let that lay until we see how she fits in, eh?" He chuckles. "What's funny is, even that club was no more exciting than the dives. It's like all that's expected of strippers is they show some skin and shake it and they make money. Just ONCE I'd like to see a place like that with a real dancer. She might even hold my attention for more than 30 seconds." The tone of his voice says not only is that his true feeling, he's actually disgusted by what passes for dancers in strip clubs.

Lynn swallows, then takes another sip of her soda, a bit unsure of what to say about that.

Michael shrugs and blushes and murmurs, "I guess you could say I have not been impressed."

Lynn slowly nods, accepting that as she takes another sip of her soda.

Michael sips his soda and smiles at Lynn lovingly.

Lynn looks out of the kitchen door then back at Michael.

Michael says gently, "I don't hear any yelling, and David hasn't said there's trouble. Let's give them some time, eh?"

Lynn frowns a bit in confusion. 'Yelling?'

Michael nods slowly. "Well, if they weren't getting along, you'd think she would yell, at least. Either that or be stomping back this way. "

Lynn sighs and looks down at the table top.

Michael slips around and gently hugs Lynn.

Lynn looks up at him. 'I'm worried about him.'

Michael asks, "David? Is Fred ok?" David says, "Dad's ok. Neither he or Nicki are unhappy, and they seem to be getting along."

Lynn smiles a little upon hearing that, but she still seems a bit uneasy.

Michael asks gently, while holding Lynn close, "What is it, love? You feel as if you're afraid there's a viper in Nicki, just waiting to strike."

Lynn slowly nods, taking another sip of her soda and staring out the kitchen door.

Michael asks gently, "Trust David, love?"

Lynn looks at Michael. 'I do...just don't trust her yet.'

Michael nods gently. "I understand, love. I just think we need to rely on David to tell us if anything goes bad."

Lynn sighs silently and slowly nods. 'I guess so.'

Michael gently hugs Lynn and whispers playfully into her ear, "Mmmm....should I drink my soda, or nibble on your ear? Decisions, decisions...."

Lynn blushes deeply and smiles. Then after a moment Lynn looks at Michael carefully. 'Just what do you know about Naughty Nicki?'

Michael hmms. "Well, for starters, she's not a slut. I could tell that right away. She has some problems with how she presents herself, but I think that may be because of the people she associates with. He grins and adds, "I had David do a background check on her on the way home. She's clean, her parents died in a plane crash, she lives with her brother in a mansion on the other side of town, and as far as David was able to find out, she's _never_ been involved with anyone."

Lynn is surprised by that. 'She's a stripper, but still a virgin? How long has she been doing that kind of work?'

Michael says, "David?"

David says, "Just a little over a year. After the insurance from her parents' deaths began to run out. Her brother has no visible means of support, so she's been supporting both of them on her earnings." David also says to Michael and Lynn, "Nicki's parents died in the same plane crash that Fred died in."

Lynn gasps.

Michael hugs Lynn close and murmurs softly, "They didn't come back though, huh? "

Lynn holds Michael close. 'Poor Nicki. No one would have ever guessed by the way she was acting.'

After playing the music Nicki asked him to play, David asks, "Michael? Lynn? How would you like to keep Cindy company in the living room?"

Michael looks at Lynn with a gentle smile. "What do you think, love?”

Lynn smiles and slowly nods, taking her drink with her as she follows Michael to where Cindy is at.

Michael grins as he sees what Cindy's watching and murmurs to Lynn, "Looks like someone found Fred's stash. About time. Next we'll have to show her Ranma."

David says, "Lynn, would you go help Fred and Nicki? They're in the lab."

Lynn slowly nods as she stands from where she was seated, snuggled in Michael's arms. 'Is there something wrong?'

David says, "Kind of. But it's something Michael can't help with."

Lynn looks at Michael with a questioning look, then heads to the lab. While Cindy frowns a bit from her chair. "What's going on David?"

David says, "Nicki just found out what REALLY happened to the plane her parents died on. And she's not taking it very well."

Lynn gasps silently and hurries faster to Fred's lab while Cindy continues to frown. "What really happened Michael?"

Michael takes a deep breath and says, "If they were on Fred's plane, then someone killed them. The plane didn't just crash. It was shot down."

Cindy looks as if she's about to cry. "Someone shot down daddy's plane? But why?"

Michael hugs Cindy and says gently, "Bad people do bad things, sweetie. Just like your bad daddy who hurt you."

Cindy takes Lynn's place and snuggles with Michael. "Are they looking for the bad people?"

Michael nods and cuddles his Cindy. "Yes, sweetie. We are. And when we find them, we will make them sorry they hurt anyone."

Cindy gets a determined look on her face. "Good! Can I help?"

Michael hmms thoughtfully for a moment, then nods. "Yes, sweetie, I think you can. The bad people we need to fix are VERY bad, and you and I are the best ones to fix them.

Cindy smiles, feeling needed and important. "Good! After this video let's go look for them!"

Michael hmms. "David? How close are we to narrowing down who it was?"

David says, "Well, there was the ship that fired the missile, there was whoever ordered it to be fired, and there was whoever wanted it done.

Michael looks down at Cindy as the episode ends and waits to see what she does.

Cindy looks up at him. "Michael, let's go hunting for bad guys? Like Sailor Moon does," she adds with a smile.

Michael checks the time and smiles at Cindy. "OK, hon. Let's. It's not too late for you, and I got the special windows in my car so you won't get sunburned." He gets to his feet, holding Cindy in his arms, and gives her a hug before setting her down. "Let me get my jacket and hat, sweetie, and we can be off."

Cindy jumps up and down and follows him to get his jacket.