Fred opens his eyes and blinks as he works to remember why he's in bed and what these comfortable presences are against him. Then he smiles and lets out a happy, contented sigh.

Nicki slowly opens her eyes and looks around, taking a moment to reorient herself, then she looks up at Fred and smiles.

Fred raises his hand, brushing it across Nicki's breast, and gently strokes her cheek as he bends a little to reach her for a gentle, loving kiss.

Nicki reaches up to softly kiss him, then gasps and jumps, breaking the kiss quickly. "Oh shit! What time is it?"

Lynn is startled awake by Nicki's exclamation.

David says, "It's 7am. Why?""

"Fuck!" Nicki leaps out of bed and starts quickly pulling her clothes on, muttering, "He's going to so fuckin' skin my ass." A bit louder she says, "David, where's a phone?"

"He?" David sounds worried. "Who do you have to worry about? I can dial for you. There's a handset in the kitchen."

Fred signs, "Who he? Are we going to have to protect Nicki from someone?""

Nicki swiftly rattles off a number as she finishes dressing, putting Fred's shirt back on and racing to the kitchen while she ties it, looking on the phone for a speaker phone button.

David dials the number and by the time Nicki is in the kitchen she can hear it ringing over the speaker on the phone.

Fred looks worriedly at Lynn and points to his chair.

Lynn carefully, but quickly slides off Fred, helps him back into at least his kilt and helps him back into his chair in record time, grabbing one of his darker color t-shirts and slipping it on as she hurries behind his chair and to the kitchen just as a gruff voice is heard over the speakerphone. "What the fuck is it? I'm trying to sleep!"

Nicki tries to sound cheerful. "Hey, it's me."

The voice growls. "Where the fuckin' hell are you?"

Fred's chair floats into the kitchen behind Nicki and his face darkens with anger as he hears the tone of that voice.

Nicki shifts from one foot to the other. "Calm down, okay. I'm all right, don't worry."

Lynn arrives behind Fred and lightly puts her hands on his shoulders.

Fred reaches out and touches Nicki's arm, then slides his hand down to take hers.

"That's not what I fuckin' asked!" The voice hollers. "I asked where the fuckin' hell are you?"

Fred lets out a soft growl and reaches for his keypad. The phone goes mute for a minute, and Fred keys, "I don't know who that is, but as long as he treats you like that, he has no right to know where this place is. Consider this your safe haven from him."

Nicki sighs and runs her fingers through her braids. "Look, I'm okay, you don't gotta know all my secrets. I don't know all of yours."

Fred signs to Lynn, "She phoned home. David says the only other name listed there is her brother. If that's her brother, he needs a serious ass-kicking."

"Nicki!" The voice sounds even madder than before, "Don't even start that shit with me! You tell me where you are right now!"

The phone goes mute again and David's voice says, "He may be your brother, but I'm going to hang up on him if he keeps that up."

Fred's voice says, "Either that or he's going to get an earful from us. He has no right to speak to you that way."

Nicki slowly nods. "Loki, we are not going to continue this discussion. I'm okay, and I'm safe, that's all you need to know. Now go take a fuckin' pill and shut yer yap."

There's a high pitched squeal as the phone on the other end is slammed down sharply.

Nicki lets out a big sigh and leans against the wall.

Fred looks up at Lynn and signs, "The room next to yours, love?""

Lynn signs. "It's empty. She can sleep there if she wants."

Fred keys, "Nicki? Lynn and I have decided that you have a home here now, whenever you want or need it. Come with us and we'll show you your room. You can do whatever you like with it. The important thing is that it's yours."

Nicki slowly turns around to face him and Lynn. "Fred, you're so sweet, but things are okay. He just hates to be woken up early in the mornings, but I had to because he also wants me to check in and I forgot to do that, so that just added to his anger. He's really not usually like that."

Fred looks up lovingly at Nicki and keys, "Regardless, this is your second home now, Nicki. Please, let us do this for you because we love you?"

Nicki looks at Lynn who slowly nods. "Are you sure? I don't want to be a bother."

Fred looks at Lynn with a smile and signs, "Want to show her how much of a bother we think she is, love?"

Lynn goes to Nicki and takes her hand then leads her to new room, walking past Cindy who comes running past and over to Fred and hops into his lap. "Daddy, who was that on the phone? He sounded like bad daddy."

Fred hugs Cindy tight, then keys, "He's Nicki's brother, sweetie. Nicki says he's just mad because she woke him up and you know how angry you get when someone wakes you up during the daytime, right?"

Cindy slowly nods. "Yes, but I don't mean to hurt people."

Fred smiles and hugs Cindy again before keying, "I know, sweetie. It's just something that your body does to protect you. Well, Nicki says her brother is trying to protect her, too."

Cindy looks into his eyes. "Do you believe her?"

Fred bites his lip and slowly shakes his head, keying, "I don't believe her. I think she's trying to protect him because he's her brother. And I think she's scared of him."

Cindy snuggles against him. "Want me and Michael to go after him?"

Fred sighs and kisses Cindy's forehead. "I think that would make Nicki sad. But if you and Michael were to give him a warning without hurting him, that might help some. Or maybe see what it is he does that he doesn't tell Nicki about, so we can protect her from it, huh?"

Cindy nods. "Okay daddy." She hugs him, nuzzling his neck, then she slowly moves back with a strange look on her face. "Daddy? What's that smell?"

Fred looks confused. "What smell, sweetie?""

Her little nose moves slightly. "You smell differently daddy. Are you okay?"

Fred smiles and nods. "Oh yes, sweetie. I'm ok. What do I smell like?" He starts the chair heading for the elevator, so that he can take Cindy up to her room while they're talking.

She looks confused. "I don't know, but I never smelled it before."

Fred blushes suddenly and keys slowly, "Umm...I think I know what it is, sweetie. Tell me if you smell it on Lynn and Nicki, ok?"

Cindy thinks, then slowly nods. "Yes, I did when they walked by me, but I smell it stronger on you and Lynn."

Fred turns a brilliant red and keys, "Daddy and Lynn were doing what grownups do when they love each other, sweetie. And Lynn and Nicki did, too. That's what you smell on us." He keys something to David, so that when she goes online next, she'll be able to go into websites that give factual information about sex in all its various forms."

Cindy ohs, but still seems very much confused.

Fred hugs Cindy gently and keys, "I told David to let you see some web sites that explain about sex, sweetie. Lynn and Nicki and Daddy love each other, and so Lynn and Nicki made love to each other, and Lynn and Daddy made love to each other. Daddy thinks Lynn and Michael may make love to each other, too, when they want to."

"Sex?" She says the word slowly, letting it roll off her tongue, appearing very deep in thought.

Fred nods. "That's right, sweetie. It's the one thing that grown-ups can do that you can't, because your body won't let you. It's how grown-ups make babies and one way they have fun and share their love with each other. "

Cindy sighs sadly and looks down. "That's because I'll never grow up, huh?"

Fred hugs Cindy tight for a minute, then keys, "Well, not right now. But Daddy is studying your blood, sweetie, and if I can fix it so you can grow up without losing your powers, I will, ok?"

She hugs him. "Thank you daddy." She then frowns, "Aw, daddy, I don't want to go to bed now. I don't feel tired."

Fred smiles gently. "I know, sweetie, but the sun's already up." Then he blinks and looks at Cindy in amazement. "You're not tired? Even though the sun is up? Wow. Did you catch some good blood last night?"

Cindy hangs her head. "I'm sorry daddy, but I lied to you last night. I killed the coyote, he didn't bleed to death like I said before."

Fred cups Cindy's chin and kisses her forehead, then keys, "I knew you drank his blood, sweetie, but you drank him to death? How did you manage to hold all that blood? Did you feel anything when he died? Do you feel anything strange now?"

Cindy's eyes seem to take on a strange look. "He tried to take me with him daddy, but I fought him, had to break his neck to get him to give up and die. I don't know how I could hold all this blood, but...daddy are curses real?"

Fred looks thoughtful. "I don't know, sweetie. I didn't used to think vampires were real, so I really don't know. What did he do?"

She swallows. "He cursed me daddy. He said that bad things would happen to me and those that I loved."

Fred hugs Cindy tightly. "Well, if any bad things try to happen, we'll just have to make them stop, right? Besides, what could be worse than your bad daddy?"

She hugs him back and slowly nods. "But I'm afraid to go to sleep."

Fred smiles gently. "Then I'll sit with you, sweetie. David and I will make sure nothing bad happens to you. I promise."

Cindy bites her lower lip and looks down embarrassed as she thinks about really wanting to go back to watching those Sailor Moon videos.

Fred cups her chin and smiles, then keys, "What is it, sweetie? You look like you want to say something."

"No..." she lies.

Fred looks disappointed. "Are you sure, sweetie? If it's something Daddy can do, then I want to do it, ok?""

She asks slowly. "Can I stay up and keep watching the rest of the Sailor Moon videos?"

Fred laughs and hugs. "Of course, sweetie. Why don't we go watch them together, huh?" He turns the chair around and heads for the living room. "David, tell Lynn and Nicki where we are when they're done with what they're doing, ok?"

Cindy gasps and claps her hands. "Really?"

Fred grins and nods. "Really. So which episodes did you already watch, hon?"

Cindy thinks. "I'm on number seven."

Fred keys, "OK David. Let's start the viewing." He parks his chair so Cindy can sit in his lap to watch the TV, or sit in the comfychair, whichever she prefers.

Cindy stays in his lap, snuggling close as she waits for the video to start.

Michael comes into the room as the opening credits for episode 8 are playing. "Hey, Squirt! Still awake, huh? Hi, Fred. Is Lynn still sleeping?" Fred grins and keys, "She took Nicki upstairs to show her her new room. Nicki's going to have a room here, as well as at her own house. Now shhh and let's watch with Cindy, huh?"

Cindy actually is too engrossed in her video to even hear Michael.

Michael grins and flops down on the sofa. He leans over and whispers to Fred, "How long ago did they go up there?" Fred checks the time on his chair and signs, "About 15 minutes ago." Michael chuckles and whispers, "Better give them another couple hours before we bother them, eh?" Fred blushes.

A muscle in Cindy's cheek begins twitching, but other than that she sits perfectly still, transfixed on the television monitor, as the videos play, one after another, with the subtitles under the pictures and the original Japanese still in the soundtrack. Michael and Fred both relax and enjoy the videos, with Fred moving his hand to hold Cindy's hand gently as they watch. During one of the breaks between videos Cindy gets a serious look on her face as she turns to Michael. "Michael? Do you and Lynn have sex?"

Michael blushes and nods slowly. "Umm...yes, Cindy, we do. What brings this on?"

Cindy continues on, unaware of anything wrong. "Because daddy said that he and Lynn and that other girl all had sex and that's why they smelled funny and then he said that you and Lynn probably have sex too."

Fred turns an interesting shade of red, while Michael nods slowly. "I see. Well, most of the time, that's private, hon. But you could smell it, huh? You might want to talk with Lynn and Nicki privately about that, hon, so they know and aren't surprised by you knowing. Did Fred tell you what making love is?"

Cindy shakes her head. "No, he said that David would show me web pages about it when I go on-line again."

Michael nods. "Hmmm.....I know. I'll show you a story that explains it better than anything you could find on a web page. Making love is more than just sex, sweetie. Sex is a part of it, but it's not all there is to it. And it's something special that grownups who love each other very much can do."

Soft footsteps are heard as Nicki and Lynn enter the room hand in hand, but Lynn quickly releases Nicki's hand and goes to Michael, hugs him and kisses him passionately, but then looks into his eyes and feels that something's wrong. Nicki in the meantime goes behind Fred and puts her arms around his neck gently while looking at Cindy. "Hey, shouldn't you be asleep by now?"

Cindy looks up at her. "But we were watching Sailor Moon and talking about sex."

Nicki seems a bit surprised. "Really now? Don't you think you're a little too young for that yet?"

Michael mmms happily at Lynn's kiss, wraps his arms around her and pulls her gently into his lap to make this kiss something that'll keep Cindy's imagination going for the rest of the day. Fred looks up and squeezes Nicki's arm, blushes at what Cindy said, and keys, "Cindy could smell us, love. So I explained a little, and Michael explained a little more. "

Cindy shakes her head quickly. "No, I'm old enough."

Michael nods and murmurs softly, "She's smart enough, Nicki, but she'll never be old enough. Not unless Fred can find a way to change her condition to let her grow up."

Nicki hmms then holds out her hand to Cindy, noticing Michael and Lynn out of the corner of her eye. "C'mon you, if I read you a story will you try and get some sleep so you can be alert tonight and not grumpy?"

Cindy frowns. "But I'm NOT sleepy." She follows this statement with a yawn.

Fred laughs and keys, "Michael promised her a story, too, love." He looks at Cindy and gently kisses her forehead, then keys, "Why don't we save the rest of Sailor Moon for tonight, sweetie. Then you can enjoy it more. And I'll bet Nicki knows LOTS of good stories."

Nicki smiles encouragingly and nods. "Yup, I know one about a dragon and a unicorn that I bet you haven't heard yet, but you gotta at least be in bed and with your eyes closed for me to tell it."

Michael murmurs softly to Lynn, "It's kind of hard, knowing that she wants to understand, but will never be able to unless Fred is successful."

Cindy sighs and slips off Fred's lap, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek first, then takes Nicki's hand and leads her up to her room, right after giving a hug and kiss to Michael and Lynn also.

Fred smiles and gently ruffles Cindy's hair, then keys, "Remember, sweetie, we will all be here to keep you safe. NO stupid coyote can hurt our Cindy. Not even a stupid coyote's curse."

Michael smiles and says gently, "We love you, squirt. Promise."

Lynn frowns a bit. 'Coyote curse?'

Fred sighs and nods. "The coyote Cindy killed last night cursed her before he died. Before I met Cindy, I would have laughed at the idea, but now...I couldn't honestly tell her that it's not real. All I could tell her is that every one of us will protect her. She said he cursed her with bad things happening to her and everyone she loves."

Lynn bites her bottom lip worriedly. 'But she said she hurt him enough for him to bleed to death.'

Fred says, "He's dead. But David and I need to research curses, to find out if there's any evidence they're real, and if they are, what we need to do to break one."

Lynn breaths in and swallows, being nervous around Michael now, fearing what he may know.

Michael strokes Lynn's cheek and says gently, "I love you, sweetheart. I'm glad you and Fred made love while I was out hunting." He throws a grin Fred's way and adds, "It's about time you cracked that Iron Man exterior of his. He's been in love with you almost since we moved in here. I was starting to worry that you hadn't seen it. And that you were going to continue pretending you weren't in love with him, too."

Lynn looks into his eyes, her own filled with tears. 'You're not mad?'

Michael hugs her tightly and says, "No, sweetheart. I'm not mad. How could I be? I love you. ALL of you. "

Lynn hugs him back, relieved. 'I am confused about Nicki though."

Michael smiles and asks curiously, "What are you confused about, angel?"

"She's willing to," Lynn blushes deeply, "pleasure someone, but she's afraid of getting anything back."

Michael hmmms thoughtfully. "Really? I can think of a couple reasons for that....and I'm sure there's more than the ones I can think of. Is she afraid to fall in love? Or maybe afraid that if she gets pleasure, she's being selfish?"

Lynn thinks. 'Or maybe something bad happened in her past that has to do with sex.'

Michael nods slowly. "But David said she's never had a boyfriend, so....unless she was assaulted...." He gently kisses Lynn and says, "You would have a better chance of getting her to open up, maybe? Whatever's holding her back, it's not good for her."

Lynn tenderly kisses him back, then shakes her head. 'No, and I don't think her brother helps her either.'

Michael hmms? "Her brother?" Fred says, "Yes. Her brother. Cindy said he sounds like her bad daddy. I told her it would be ok if you and her had a talk with him, but did not hurt him." He sighs as he keys, "Only because hurting him would make Nicki sad. The way he treated her this morning over the phone....find out what he's doing, Michael. He's keeping something from Nicki, and whatever it is, I don't think it's good."

"Who's keeping something from me?" Nicki asks, frowning a bit as she softly walks back into the room.

Fred looks up and offers Nicki a loving smile. "Did Cindy fall asleep easily, love?""

Nicki nods. "She fell asleep the minute her head hit the pillow. Now what are y'all talking about?"

Michael says, "How much Lynn and Fred love you, for starters. And whatever your brother is keeping a secret from you."

Nicki breaths in deeply, drawing attention to her nipples showing through the white t-shirt, then slowly slips onto Fred's lap. "Loki's not keeping anything from me. Why are you thinking that?"

Fred slips his arm around Nicki and hugs her close, kisses her cheek gently, then keys, "It's a gut feeling, sweetheart. The same kind of gut feeling that told me Cindy was telling the truth about being a vampire the night I met her. The same kind of gut feeling that tells me you are sweet and pure and innocent and deserving of love."

Michael whispers to Lynn, "Does she realize just how hot she is in that shirt?" (Lynn realizes. She can feel the pressure under her where Michael is rising to the occasion.)"

Lynn gasps and looks at Michael, an odd look on her face.

Michael smiles playfully at Lynn and twitches his cock against her. He whispers teasingly, "Can you feel how much better my control has gotten since we began making love again?"

Lynn blushes deeply and buries her face into his shoulder.

Michael chuckles and gently hugs Lynn. "Nicki, I don't know what's going on, but if Fred thinks there's a problem, then I trust him. His instincts have been right every time I've known. And when it comes to someone he loves, I'll trust his instincts."

Nicki thinks for a moment. "Oh, I know what you think his big secret is. David run a background check on Loki Anderson."

David laughs. "I'm doing that right now, Nicki." After a moment David whistles "Ummm.....Nicki? How much do you know about your brother? Really?"

"Well, lemme see." She starts ticking stuff off things on her fingers. "He's got a short violent temper, he's done jail time, he's killed for money, he's tortured for money, he makes and deals drugs, he's a gang banger, he carries quite a few concealed illegal weapons....Anything else you want to know?"

Michael's jaw drops. Fred looks up at Nicki in surprise and keys, "How do you cope?"

Nicki slowly shrugs. "Ignore him for the most part. That's why I'm a stripping computer nerd." She laughs softly at her own joke.

Fred reaches up and touches Nicki's cheek gently, turning her so he can look into her eyes lovingly.

Michael says softly, "Well, I'm going to make sure he doesn't do anything to hurt you.""

Nicki nuzzles Fred's hand, her eyes closed as she says softly to Michael. "I don't have to worry about him hurting me. His bark is ten times worse than his bite. Nine times out of ten I can get him to eat out of my hand."

Fred gently draws Nicki down and kisses her, gently massaging the back of her neck as he sucks and nibbles at her lips. Michael signs to Lynn, "Let's leave the two of them, love. Then we can talk about why you got upset when I commented on how hot Nicki is, hmmm?" His other hand slides down to tickle between her legs gently before he picks her up and carries her toward his bedroom.

Lynn wraps her arms around his neck and puts her head on his shoulder as he carries her out of the room while Nicki continues to softly kiss Fred, holding him gently in her arms, as if he were fragile like china.

Michael gently lays Lynn on his bed and undresses, then begins caressing and gently removing her clothing. Fred gently strokes Nicki's back as he opens himself to her kiss, gently fencing with her tongue and drawing her closer with every breath.

Lynn wraps her arms around Michael, holding him close while Nicki tenderly strokes Fred's cheek, gently sucking on his tongue.

Michael kisses Lynn with gentle little pecks at her lips, while his hands slide down her sides and capture her hips with gentle squeezes. Downstairs, Fred moans softly into Nicki's mouth and slides his hand down her side, then across her tummy and gently massages the front of her shorts, without attempting to go between her legs or up to her breasts.

Nicki's stomach growls and she blushes deeply, breaking the kiss to laugh.

Fred laughs and keys, "Hungry, lover?"

Nicki gives him a gentle squeeze. "I guess I am. All that work last night got me hungry." She smirks teasingly.

Fred laughs and teases, "Well, I'd much rather if you got hungry because you were playing, but I'll still do breakfast with you. Lean against me and let's go see what's in the kitchen."

Nicki leans against him. "I didn't mind watching you because I knew you being with her would make you happy."

Fred sends the chair toward the kitchen, and keys, "I want to make you happy someday, Nicki. When you feel up to it. Until then, if watching us makes you feel good, then I want you to watch whenever you feel like it. And if joining in makes you feel good, or simply cuddling, or anything that makes you feel how much I love you, how much Lynn loves you, or even maybe how much Michael may love you, I want you to do it with us."

Nicki replies softly. "Well, Lynn may have easily let me have you if I wanted, but I don't think it will be that simple when it comes to Michael."

Fred nods and keys, "I know. Michael is hers. But I think that once you and she are a couple, it may happen. If you want it to. That's the important thing in this house. You don't do ANYTHING that you don't want to. And DO do the things you want to do. "

Nicki ponders this as Fred's chair takes them both into the kitchen, only then does she speak. "You hungry too?"

Fred nods. "Yup. Breakfast time. What would you like, love?" He stops the chair by the two insulated doors and keys up a display on its screen - frozen breakfast stuff on one side, refrigerated on the other.

Nicki smiles at him. "Actually, I'm not that bad of a cook. Would you like me to cook you something?"

Fred blushes and reaches up, touches Nicki's cheek, then keys, "Would you like to? You can fix anything you want."

Nicki smiles at Fred. "Is there a favorite breakfast dish that you have?"

Fred blushes and keys, "I usually just heat something up from the freezer. I haven't had a real breakfast type breakfast in years."

Nicki clicks her tongue softly as she slowly shakes her head. "Well, what do you like to eat?"

Fred blushes. "Well, when I could cook and was allowed to choose my own food, I would do French toast and bacon and eggs."

Nicki starts getting things out of the cupboards and fridge that she'll need to make his breakfast.

Fred smiles, idly keying something on his chair as he watches Nicki.

She glances his way and smiles. "Workin' on something?"

Fred looks up innocently and pauses to key, "Who? Me? Just some notes about how beautiful a certain young lady is, and how I would like to make her a permanent part of my life.""

Nicki pauses in her work and asks slowly. "Like how?"

Fred keys, "Mmmm.....like how? Like opening my heart and home to you, sharing my life with you, inviting you to share your life with me, to love you, to support you, to encourage you to be everything you can be, to reach for your dreams with me and Nicki and Michael and Cindy behind you cheering you all the way...."

Nicki leans against the counter across from him and looks into his eyes. "And why would you do all that for me?"

Fred looks up into her eyes and keys, "Because that's what you do when you love someone."

Nicki leans down and softly kisses him, then goes back to mixing the necessary ingredients for the French toast.

Fred returns the kiss with love and returns to his keying while she's cooking.

She jumps when the phone in the kitchen utters a shrill ring.

David answers the phone. "Knight Foundation. How may I help you?"

The same gruff voice sounds a bit slurred as it grumbles. "Gimme Nicki!"

David says, "Please hold while I check to see if she is still in the building." David speaks so Fred and Nicki can hear, "Nicki, it's your brother. Do you want to talk with him?"

Nicki grumbles as she heads to the phone with the bowl of raw ingredients in her hand. "Yeah, patch him through David." She holds the bowl carefully with one hand while she punches the speakerphone button."

David announces over the speaker, "You're in luck. She's still in the building. Hold on just a moment and she'll be with you."

Nicki silently counts to ten then says, "What? I'm busy."

"Nicki!" Loki answers, his voice slurring even worse. "I need you to come home."

Fred cocks his head and keys, "He sounds either drunk or drugged."

Nicki frowns as she starts stirs the ingredients together. "Why?"

Loki's voice becomes shrill. "Who the fuck was that?"

Nicki rolls her eyes. "Never mind, just tell me why you need me to come home."

"What are you doing?" His voice now sounds childish.

Nicki sighs and looks at Fred, almost as if she's asking for help. "I'm making breakfast."

He squeaks. "Breakfast?!? You don't make me breakfast!"

Fred keys something, and David heads into Nicki's computer to check up on idiot brother. While that's happening, he keys for audio, "Do you even eat breakfast together?"

Nicki shakes her head. "He's never home or else he barks at me when I try to get him up to eat breakfast so I just gave up."

Fred nods. "I understand, love. It's hard to be enthused about offering something to someone who snaps back at you like that."

Nicki frowns. "Wait, how did you get this number in the first place?"

"First tell me who the fucker in the background is!"

Nicki frowns deeper and anger flashes in her eyes. "Loki, that ain't nice, now cut it out! How did you get this number and why do you want me home?"

Loki says, sounding very pathetic. "I miss you, and I want you to make me breakfast."

Fred keys, "Don't worry about it too much, love. It's been my experience that people who punctuate their words with profanity do so because they are limited in their ability to express themselves rationally. I could no more be angry about that than I could be angry about a pit bull having big teeth."

Nicki angrily chews on her lower lip a moment trying to calm herself down enough to answer him normally. "Loki, this isn't funny and I'm going to hang up now unless you answer my questions..."

Loki cuts her off. "Fuckin' bitch think yer all big and bad, huh? C'mon, I'll beat yer ass then bust a cap in it bitch! Where the fuck you live so I can come mess you up!"

Fred laughs and keys off the mansion's address to him, then continues to key, "You can find it in the phone book too. Look under Knight Foundation."

Nicki says softly, "Loki?" She has to do this a few times before he finally asks her 'what'. "Don't call here again, go back to sleep and come down off that high you got and sober up. Oh, and if you do come to try and get me then you'll see just how wrong of a choice that was." With that she pushes the speaker button, disconnecting the call, turns around and goes back to cooking as if it never happened.

Fred slides his chair up behind Nicki and reaches out to gently lay his hand on her hip.

Nicki turns and smiles at him. "How do you like your eggs?"

Fred grins at her and playfully pokes at her tummy before answering. "Mmmm....that depends. Are you thinking about breakfast, perhaps?"

Nicki looks confused. "Yes, what other kind of..." She blushes deeply and clears her throat. "Yes, I'm talking about breakfast."

Fred laughs, giving her a loving smile, and keys, "Whatever way you prepare them, darling. Fried, scrambled, omelet, whatever."

Nicki slowly nods as she gets out a pan and puts it over the stove to warm up. "Do you think Michael and Lynn are going to want some too?"

Fred hmms thoughtfully. "Maybe. David, why don't you circulate a little air upstairs so they can smell breakfast cooking?"

David laughs softly and does just that, opening air ducts and turning on fans so that the scents from the kitchen get routed into Michael's bedroom.

She chuckles softly as she adds a pat of butter to the now warm pan. Nicki then frowns deeply as she stops working on breakfast and just seems to stare off into space.

Fred asks, "Nicki? Lover? What is it?"

She shakes her head then smiles at him. "Oh, it's probably nothing, just got a weird feeling, that's all."

Fred nods slowly. "Weird feelings can be useful, you know. So. Is there anything I can do to help?""

Nicki tenderly strokes his cheek. "It's okay, like I said, it's probably nothing."

Fred smiles and leans against her hand. "I meant help with breakfast, actually."

Nicki smiles. "Oh, well, I'm okay, you just sit back and watch me." She gives him a wink and goes back to work.

Fred grins and teases, "I could watch you all day, sweetheart.""

Nicki laughs. "Actually you'd probably get pretty bored until I went off to work."

David says, "Dad, Cindy needs you. Now." Fred looks up in shock and starts for the door. "I'm on my way."

Nicki now has scrambled eggs cooking along with bacon sizzling. "Fred, should I come with you?"

Fred pauses at the door. "Maybe? David, can you manage the stove while Nicki and I go to Cindy?"

David says, "No problem."

* * *

Lynn puts a hand on his arm. 'Michael, I have to confess something.'

Michael looks into Lynn's eyes and smiles gently. "What is it, angel?"

Lynn takes a deep breath. "Last night when I was with Fred and Nicki...she kissed me and...did things with me that no other female has before..."

Michael smiles and nods, shifts so he can draw you into his arms, and says gently, "She made love to you? Or did she just have sex with you?"

Lynn licks her lips to wet them. 'I'm not sure.'

Michael kisses Lynn gently and says, "I hope that you can be sure soon. I'd like it very much if the two of you were to love each other as much as you and I love each other. "

Lynn looks at Michael. 'You want me to be with her in that way?'

Michael takes Lynn's hands and kisses them, then looks into her eyes. "Lynn, I love you. I believe in you. And if you love her, then it's because she deserves to be loved. And if you make love to her, it's because you love her. And how can I deny you that? As long as we are together, as long as we are soulmates, then if you make love to Nicki, how can I possibly say no?"

Lynn sighs. 'I just don't know how to deal with having another girl love me.'

Michael gently strokes Lynn's cheek. "Sweetheart, don't try to figure it out, just follow your heart. Do you love her? Don't think about it, just tell me."

Lynn breaths in. 'Yes. A person would have to be blind not to be attracted to her.'

Michael shakes his head. "I don't mean in lust, angel. I mean, have you gotten close enough to start to love her?"

Lynn snuggles against Michael. 'Yes. She can make me melt just by her touch and all I want to do is make her happy.'

Michael smiles and holds Lynn close, caresses you gently, and whispers, "That sounds like love to me, sweetheart. Remember when you and I first knew we were meant for each other?"

Lynn slowly nods, smiling as she remembers.

Michael nuzzles Lynn gently and whispers, "If what you're feeling for Nicki is anything like what you feel for me, then I want you to love her with all your heart, beloved."

She looks at him. "Same thing goes with how I feel about Fred?"

Michael smiles and nods. "Of course, angel. Your heart is big enough for all of us."

Lynn softly kisses his cheek. 'I know a lot of people aren't as willing as you are to share the one they love.'

Michael sighs happily and whispers, "Do they really love, then? If they're afraid that by sharing, they somehow lose, is it love, or just possessiveness?"

Lynn just simply snuggles him, knowing he had a good point.

Michael cuddles Lynn and gently nuzzles her. "Have I mentioned lately how wonderful you are?"

Lynn smiles and wraps her arms around him, holding him close to her.

Michael sniffs and whispers, "Mmm....breakfast?"

Lynn sniffs the air too. 'Breakfast? Fred's cooking?'

Michael shakes his head and sits up. "You got me."

Lynn starts redressing. 'Let's go see, shall we?'

Michael chuckles and dresses himself. "Yes. Let's. Smells good, whatever it is."

Michael grins and wraps his arms around Lynn from behind, scoops her up, and carries her into the kitchen. "So Fred! What are you...? David, who's fixing breakfast?" David says, "Nicki was, but they're up checking on Cindy right now. I'm just baby-sitting the stove so nothing gets burned."

David suddenly yells, "Shit! Michael! Get to Cindy's room! Now! Lynn! Get to the medlab and get some blood in the warmer!"

* * *

In Cindy's room, Cindy thrashes in her bed, moaning and crying bloodtears in her sleep.

David watches Cindy, worriedly using every sensor he has in her room to scan her.

Cindy tosses more as she cries out softly for Fred.

* * *

Nicki quickly follows Fred's chair. "I don't know what's wrong. When I put her to bed she was fine."

Fred nods. "David, what's going on?" David says, "She seems to be having a nightmare of some kind, and she's calling for you."

Nicki gets that bad feeling again, but ignores it. "Fred, want me to wait outside her room while you check on her?"

Fred nods. "That's probably a good idea. I'm mostly safe. You'd be in trouble if she lost control." He reaches up and touches Nicki's hand, then heads into Cindy's room."

Nicki takes a deep breath then leans her back against the wall next to the door to Cindy's room, interlacing her fingers behind her head.

Fred slides his chair next to the bed. "Cindy? Daddy's here." He reaches out and gently touches her shoulder.

One of Cindy's hands grabs onto Fred's in a vice-like grip as she finishes sitting up, her eyes are still closed and she says in a soft voice that doesn't sound a lot like her own. "Hold me daddy. I'm scared."

Fred wraps his arm around Cindy and hugs her tight.

Cindy scrambles into Fred's lap and puts his face in her hands. "Daddy? What's it like to die?"

Fred strokes Cindy's hair gently, then keys, "It hurt a lot, sweetie. But then it stopped hurting, and I was somewhere that was warm and safe and pretty, and my Father was with me and he told me I had to come back, that I was needed here too much to be able to stay dead."

Cindy puts her head on his shoulder, her breath hot on the skin on his neck. "Do you miss your daddy?"

Fred smiles and keys, "Not really, sweetie. He's always with me now. " Fred gently hugs Cindy, then keys, "Just like I'm always with you now, sweetie."

Cindy presses her tiny fangs to his neck. "I'm sorry, I love you daddy." With that she sinks her fangs as far into his neck as she can, then starts pulling her head back, tearing his skin, her eyes never open once.

Fred sighs and grips the back of Cindy's neck, squeezing just below and behind her ears where the nerve clusters are. "

Back out in the hall, Nicki sighs and yawns, wanting to get back to her cooking. After a moment more she then turns and softly knocks on the door which is hiding Fred and Cindy from her view.

Michael runs for Cindy's room, taking the stairs in a single leap. "Shit! Nicki! Get back! David! Get the door!" The door slides open as Michael runs for it.

Nicki yelps and jumps back. "Michael? What's wrong?"

Cindy blacks out from the pressure, Fred's skin still in her mouth and as she falls forward she continues to make it tear away from his neck.

Michael runs into the room and skids to a stop beside Fred's chair. "Shit. David, black out all the windows. I'm taking Cindy down, too. She's got a chunk of Fred's neck in her mouth.""

Fred looks up with a tired smile and pulls Cindy down across his lap before keying, "Guess the curse was real after all." and passing out.

Michael curses softly. "David, you'll have to take control of the chair. Fred's out." The chair is already heading for the door. Michael slips an arm around Nicki as he passes and says, "We'll patch him up. Trust us."

Nicki's eyes grow wide. "Patch him up? What the hell is going on?!?" She takes off after Fred's chair.

Lynn is waiting in the lab with several bags of warm blood and an extremely worried look on her face, not knowing herself what's going on, but bracing herself for the worst.

Michael says, "Fred said something about the curse being real after all, and Cindy has a chunk of his neck in her mouth." In the elevator, he carefully tries to pry Cindy's mouth open so he can get the skin out of it.

Cindy's jaw is clamped shut much like a pit bull's as Nicki gets a good look of what's going on and she backs away against the far side of the elevator, her breathing becomes very heavy and she closes her eyes. "Oh gods! I'm gonna faint." She starts to slowly slide downwards.

Michael grumbles at the way Cindy's clamped down, and scoops up Nicki before she can hit the floor. He follows the chair into the medlab and sets Nicki on the first chair he comes to. "Lynn, get an IV going in Fred, then fill Cindy's mug with blood. I'm going to have to break her jaw."

Lynn scrambles to hook up the IV and then slip the needle into Fred's arm and start the flow into his body, then runs to the kitchen to get Cindy's favorite mug and fills it with some warm blood, then she nods to Michael.

Michael sighs and kisses Cindy's forehead, then quickly breaks her jaw so he can pry the skin out of her teeth. Once he's done that, he puts her jaw back in place and wraps bandages around it to hold it while it heals. Then he takes the skin and heads for the table, where David is already flushing the wound and preparing sutures.

Lynn winces when she hears the sickening sound of little Cindy's jaw bone breaking, then she hurries to get a straw, puts it in Cindy's mug and then goes to the little one and holds her gently, slowly rocking her.

David watches Cindy closely with one set of scanners, while stitching Fred's neck back together. Michael keeps his eye on Cindy and Lynn, moving occasionally to check on Nicki and make sure she's ok.

Nicki's head is back and she stares up at the ceiling, trying to block out everything while also trying to calm her breathing, her body shaking badly but she doesn't notice.

Michael wraps a blanket around Nicki and goes back to watching the injured people. He murmurs softly to Lynn, "Make sure you get that blood into her as soon as she stirs, beloved. "

David finishes stitching Fred up and refills his morphine pump, then says, "OK. Dad will pull through. It'll just be another scar for him."

Nicki takes a deep breath and slowly gets up, wobbling a bit, the blanket falling to the floor. "I got to be back to cooking. It'll burn." She says a bit hollowly as she tries on very unsteady legs to head toward the door.

Michael lays a hand on Nicki's shoulder. "Nicki?"

Nicki tries to pull out of Michael's grasp. "I have to finish breakfast."

Michael doesn't have a grip on her, so it's not hard. He glances at Lynn and signs, "Can you stay with Nicki, love? I'll hold Cindy. It's safe for me."

Lynn signs back. 'Don't you think she needs someone motherly right now, especially after she finds out what she did to Fred?'

Michael sighs and nods. Once Nicki's out of the room he says softly, "She does. So does Nicki. I wish you were as safe as I am, love."

Lynn looks at Michael and signs. 'I will be okay. For some reason I don't think she meant to hurt Fred.'

Michael nods. "I can't believe she did, either. She loves him too much."

Lynn looks down at Cindy who starts to stir in her arms.

Michael bites his lip for a moment, then says quietly, "Call if anything goes wrong." He heads out after Nicki.

Lynn slowly nods and takes Cindy's mug and holds the straw up to her mouth.

Fred awakens, groans and tries to sit up. David immediately pushes him back down.

Cindy whimpers as she slowly sips the blood. Lynn makes sure that she can't move her hands up to claw at her face, like she tries to.

Fred reaches up, and a keypad is moved into place. He keys, "Cindy? Sweetie? Daddy's here."

Lynn swallows, carefully cradling Cindy's head as she strokes her cheek, encouraging her to sips the blood. 'Fred, don't try and get Cindy to talk. I have to feed her, but David can probably tell you what happened on a nearby monitor.'

Fred keys, "OK. Did someone bleed her? Or did she get away without drinking much of my blood? If she drank too much, she's going to be sick, I think."

Lynn breaths in. 'I don't know. All I know is that she wouldn't let go of you so Michael had to break her jaw.'

Fred keys, "Oh dear. Hopefully that'll have burned enough blood that she won't be sick, then."

Cindy whimpers even more as she cries bloodtears, refusing to drink now.

Lynn looks around for something to wipe away Cindy's tears with.

Fred lets out a heavy sigh and keys, "I thought something was wrong. Lynn, that wasn't Cindy who bit me. It was someone else, using her body."

Lynn carefully lays Cindy down on a nearby bed and ties her arms down with the soft ties so she wouldn't mess with her jaw, her mug set down on the floor. 'I'm going to the kitchen to get something to help wipe her eyes with or else she'll go crazy smelling that blood.'

David says, "Good idea. Bathroom might be better. Dishcloths aren't as soft as a nice washcloth."

Lynn shrugs. 'Well, I wanted to go check on that breakfast too. It did smell really good.'

Cindy tosses her head, her eyes wide open and afraid as bloodtears continue to leak from her eyes and she tries to talk, but can't which terrifies her even more.

Fred keys, "Cindy, sweetie, Daddy's here. Daddy loves you."

Cindy cries more, her arms flailing, trying to reach out for him.

Fred keys, "David, please bring Cindy over to me. She needs her Daddy to hold her right now. And bring her mug, too. She needs the blood to get better." David moves the table Cindy's on, then undoes the bindings and lifts her onto Fred, while bringing her mug with another waldo and holding it to her lips.

Cindy does nothing but cry silently, refusing to drink the blood offered to her.

Fred wraps his arm around Cindy and gently pets her back, looking up at her with love in his eyes. Michael comes into the med lab and smiles at the scene, then calls out gently, "Cindychan? Would you like me to wash your face for you?"

Cindy puts her head down on Fred's chest, despite the pain and doesn't respond, just closes her eyes.

Michael moves to the side of the table and begins gently dabbing the blood from Cindy's face. Fred holds her and makes gentle crooning noises, while Michael whispers, "Daddy loves you, Cindy. And so does Michael and so does Lynn and so does Nicki. You are our little girl, always and forever."

Cindy moves her left hand into view and signs. 'Monster. Bad monster, must die.'

Michael says softly, "Not monster. Sweet little Cindy." He kisses Cindy's temple and says, "And I love you and Daddy loves you and we don't love monsters. We love Cindy." Fred nods and hugs Cindy closer.

Cindy starts to try and squirm down out of Fred's arms.

Fred and Michael both hold Cindy and croon gently to her. When she tries to squirm free, Michael nods to Fred and scoops her up in his arms, then goes to sit with her in his lap. "Shhhh, sweetie. It's been a bad day, but you're safe now. I love you, Daddy loves you, and we're here to keep you safe."

Cindy shakes her head violently, the pain extreme, as she also tries to get down off his lap.

Michael hugs her tighter. "What do you want, sweetie? You should be in bed, you know?"

Cindy signs quickly. 'Down. Walk.'

Michael kisses Cindy's forehead and sets her on her feet, then asks gently, "Want me to go with you, sweetie?"

Cindy just takes off running out of the lab and toward the front door.

Michael gasps! "David! Code Red Lockdown!"

Every door and window in the house locks tight. Nobody is getting in or out. Not unless they're strong enough to punch through 1" armor steel plate.

* * *

Nicki comes back into the kitchen and goes to the stove, frowning as she turns knobs.

Michael sits on a table, watching Nicki quietly.

She checks the food and mutters to herself, "Seems okay, just needs to be warmed up a bit."

Michael says softly, "I'm sorry, Nicki. Life gets kind of weird around here sometimes. But we never imagined Cindy doing that. Something just is not right."

Nicki jumps slightly then turns and sees Michael there. She forces him a smile and begins fiddling with a handful of her braids. "I've read up a bit about vampires and I know that if they're sleeping you can't disturb them or else they'll lash out pretty savagely. Do you think that's what happened?"

Michael shakes his head. "I don't think so. If that had been the case, Fred would have been torn up a lot worse. I don't know...it's almost as if she was either trying to kill herself or take away his pain."

She turns down the heat on all the food. "What do you think David?""

David says, "I'm not sure. Before she bit him, she asked what it was like to die, then said she was sorry, and that she loves him."

Nicki makes a strangled cry in her throat and tears spill out of her eyes and down her cheeks before she can stop them.

Michael moves and has her in his arms before she can react, and gently rocks her like a little baby."

Nicki cries hard into Michael's shoulder.

Michael gently pets Nicki's hair.

Nicki clings to Michael as she cries, feeling safe, something that she hadn't felt in a long time.

Michael sits on the edge of the table again, pulling Nicki up into his lap and holding her, cradling her in his arms and gently petting her back.

Nicki puts her head on Michael's shoulder, inhaling his scent, then for some reason she softly kisses his cheek.

Michael blushes, then turns to look into her eyes. He doesn't say anything, he just gives her a look of love and understanding.

She's stopped crying now as she looks into his eyes, slowly trailing her fingertips down his cheek, then she moves in and kisses him softly on the lips.

The kiss catches him by surprise, but he responds the best he knows how, cupping the back of her head with one hand and returning the kiss, just as softly, his lips parted slightly in invitation.

Nicki slowly slips her tongue in between his parted lips, pressing herself closer to him.

Michael holds her tighter, sucks gently on her tongue, and playfully flicks his tongue against hers, while using his fingers to massage her back.

Nicki moans softly in his arms as she undoes the knot in her borrowed t-shirt, kissing him back even more passionately.

Michael pulls back a little and whispers, "Nicki, let's slow down a little, ok? As much as I want you, I want Lynn to be here, so that I know it's all right for both of you." He gently rests a hand on her breast, and looks into her eyes.

David coughs. "Lynn's on her way to the kitchen, you two. Be nice."

Nicki pulls away from him and turns her back on him, making it seem like she's checking on the food while she wipes some tears from her eyes and bites down on her lower lip.

Michael moves up behind Nicki and slips his arms around her, saying gently, but loudly enough that Lynn can hear it as she comes through the door, "Nicki, love, Lynn loves you, Fred loves you, and I love you. No matter what happens, we love you, and we'll do whatever we can to make it better." He gently reaches around, takes the spatula out of her hand, and turns her toward the door so Lynn can see her face as he brings her into a gentle embrace.

Nicki once again works her way out of his arms just as Lynn comes through the door, and starts looking in the cupboards for plates.

Lynn comes up behind Michael, puts her hand lightly on his arm and gives him a questioning look.

Michael signs, "I think Nicki thinks I've rejected her. Or assumed something she hadn't meant to offer. Either way, she's not happy with me right now. Between that and worry about Fred, she needs you more than she needs me. How are things going in the lab?"

Lynn slowly nods, then signs. 'Cindy looks like a mess, in fact Fred's injury looks better than hers right now and she's crying. I came to get something to wipe away her tears and she's refusing to drink too.'

Michael sighs and hugs Lynn, then goes to get a cloth and soak it in warm water, after signing, "Take care of Nicki, sweetheart? I love you."

Lynn nods and signs. 'I love you too.' She watches him leave then turns to Nicki who has her back to her. Lynn then smiles at Nicki. 'That smells so good. You must be a really good cook.'

David doesn't say anything. He just keeps monitoring everyone.

Nicki slowly turns around and forces a smile for her. "Yes. I love cooking." Nicki turns back around and turns the heat off the burners. Lynn softly goes to her and slips her arms around Nicki's waist and softly kisses her neck. At the sound of the alarm, Nicki and Lynn's heads jerk up wondering what's going on. "David? What's wrong?"

David says, "Cindy's trying to kill herself. She just tried to run outside into the sunlight."

Lynn silently gasps as Nicki grabs her hand and rushes out of the kitchen. "Where is she now?"

David says, "Front door. Follow the pounding. She called herself a monster. She wouldn't listen to Fred and Michael telling her they love her."

Nicki hurries to the front door, calling out, "David, where's Michael?"

Michael says, as he comes up the hall from the medlab, "I'm right here, love."

* * *

Cindy arrives at the door and find there's no way she can get out so she instead starts punching the door's shielding as hard as she can with both fists.

Nicki stops short of where Cindy is trying to bang a hole through the front door's shield and keeps hold of Lynn's hand to stop her short as well, then whispers to them both. "Okay, now what do we do?"

Michael wraps his arms around both women and says softly, "We keep watch until she exhausts herself. If we try to hold her back, it'll just make matters worse."

Nicki chews on her bottom lip. "Given enough time don't you think she could bust a hole in that?"

Michael shakes his head. "She'll break her hands first. That steel can stop machine-gun bullets."

Cindy's hands are already badly battered and bleeding, but she continues on.

Lynn signs, looking as if she's going to cry. 'Michael, her hands.'

Michael sighs and whispers, "I wish she'd tell us what's going on." He raises his voice. "Cindy? Sweetheart? Can you tell us why?"

Fred's chair hums up past the three of you and stops beside Cindy. "Sweetie? Daddy's here. I love you, Cindy."

Cindy pounds on the door, ignoring those around her, but making a strange cry right after all that battering finally breaks the bones in both her hands.

Lynn has tears streaming down her face as she releases Nicki's hand and runs to Cindy, gathering her up in her arms and holding her close as the shock becomes too much for Cindy and her eyelids start to flutter and her eyes roll back in her head.

Michael murmurs to Nicki, "Nicki love, would you go ask David to show you where the splints are in the medlab? Ii'll make sure Lynn and Cindy get there ok."

Nicki nods and rushes into the medlab. "David, where are the splints?"

Fred lets out a despairing moan and moves to Lynn's side. "Cindy! Lynn?" Michael moves up and says, "Nicki's getting the splints ready. Let's get her into the lab and patch her up."

David lights up a monitor screen and says, "Just look in the cupboard I have outlined in green."

Lynn cradles Cindy's going limp form and slowly stands to her feet, not caring about the blood that's staining her clothes. She then moves quickly to the medlab.

Nicki is quickly able to find the splints and even a roll of bandages and medical tape. "David, you or someone's going to have to help me patch her up because I don't have a clue. I'm just guessing at what would work with the supplies."

The cupboard David indicated has splints of all kinds - mostly air splints, but also some designed for hands and feet.

David says, "I understand. The others will be here in a minute."

Nicki sighs. "It would also help to figure out just what the hell is going on with her so we can try and help her."

David says, "I'm just making a wild guess, but I think maybe Cindy was awake when whatever was using her body attacked Dad, and she blames herself for not being able to stop it."

Michael and Fred follow Lynn back to the med lab, with Michael ready to move if he has to if something happens with Cindy.

Nicki puts the materials on a table and watches as Lynn moves toward it with Cindy then she does over to Fred and blinks away tears. "You okay love?"

Fred looks up miserably and keys, "I wish I could read minds. I wish I could understand why she thinks she's a monster. She's NOT a monster! She's my baby girl!"

Nicki wraps her arms around him and gently holds him. "I think she thinks that way because she hurt you and that was probably the last thing she ever wanted to do. Now she feels so guilty that she thinks that maybe if she wasn't around then you couldn't get hurt anymore."

Lynn instructs Michael to hold Cindy while she cleans the wound then begins applying one of the special hand splints to Cindy's left hand.

Fred sobs softly against Nicki.

Nicki softly strokes his back and softly kisses his forehead.

Michael focuses on Cindy's hand while he's holding her, and nods as Lynn works on splinting it up. "David, how much more blood does she have to lose before it's all out of her?" David pauses for a few moments before answering, "About 4 pints, it appears. You'll have to use a 16ga needle if you want to extract it quickly. Then you can put fresh blood in through the same needle." Michael nods. "That's what I'll do, then. Hopefully she can take it without having to drink it. Otherwise she's going to be berserk from hunger when she wakes. "

Nicki turns and shakes her head. "No, it can't work that way, she has to drink it or else it will make her sick if the stories are true."

Michael sighs. "I was afraid of that. OK. In that case, I'm going to go set up a feed nipple of some kind and as much blood as I can get warmed up. We have GOT to flush her system. Maybe there was something in the coyote's blood. Or maybe she's having a bad reaction to the drugs in Fred's blood."

Fred whimpers at that and presses his face to Nicki's breast as tears soak through her shirt.

Nicki softly brushes her lips over his forehead, tenderly stroking the back of his head. "Shhhh, I know it looks bad now, but things are going to be okay. I promise. You know they're doing everything they can to help your baby girl."

Fred keys, "But if it's my drugs that are making her sick, how can I face her"

Nicki gently nuzzles him. "Like always. I think she's having a harder time facing you since you're only making her sick, but she almost killed you without meaning too."

Fred looks up miserably, "But it wasn't her. I don't know who it was, but it wasn't her."

Nicki lightly trails her fingertips down his cheek. "Then we'll just find out who."

Lynn puts the medical tape securely in place, then sets to work on the other hand.

Michael kisses the top of Cindy's head, then whispers, "How are you doing, lover?"

Fred rubs his face against Nicki's hand and keys, "I never believed in curses before."

Lynn concentrates on her work. 'Almost done, but after I finish this hand I have to change.'

Nicki leans down and lovingly kisses Fred then looks into his eyes. "I love you Fred." She seems surprised as she hears the words come out of his mouth, but she doesn't take them back just continues looking into his eyes.

Fred looks into Nicki's eyes, reaches up, and gently touches her cheek, then signs, "I love you, Nicki."

Michael chuckles softly. "I know, sweetheart. Go ahead. I'll take care of Cindy while you're changing."

Lynn finishes then swallows and signs to Michael. 'Did you hear what she just said?'

Nicki takes his hand and softly kisses his fingertips.

Michael nods and signs, "It's a breakthrough, love. Let's hope it wasn't just heat of the moment."

Fred sighs softly and slips a finger into her mouth, so she can nibble and suck on it.

Michael hugs Lynn, kisses her gently, and whispers, "Go on, sweetheart. I'll be right here."

Lynn nods and walks past Fred and Nicki as one of his fingers slips into Nicki's mouth and she begins to suck on it and explore it with her tongue.

Michael moves to the cabinet and takes out some IV equipment, then gets a half-dozen bags of blood for the warmer while he's setting up a large bottle, tube, and nipple assembly. Then he carefully slides a needle into Cindy's arm and begins draining her blood.

Fred looks into Nicki's eyes and gently draws his hand away, so he can key, "I love you, Nicki. Now we have to help our little girl."

Michael pours the warmed blood into the bottle and sets the nipple into Cindy's mouth, so that as it drips, it'll flow across her tongue and inspire her to drink.

Nicki breaths in, then nods. "Yes, let's go help your baby girl."

The warm blood drips down Cindy's throat which makes her want to swallow again and again, but her eyes remain closed.

Michael sits beside Cindy and watches her worriedly. Once the needle has drained the four pints David estimated, he pulls it and bandages the wound. Then he goes back to watching worriedly. Fred bites his lip, then keys, "I'll be right back." He spins and floats out of the lab.

Nicki isn't sure if she should follow Fred or stay. "Where's he going David?"

David says, "His lab....OH! I understand. I hope this works. You'll see."

Nicki frowns in confusion. "What work? What's he doing?"

Fred returns, carrying a pair of what look like headphones from hell, except that instead of speakers, they have little pointy metal bits. He cruises up to the other side of the table from Michael and keys, "Nicki? Would you give me a hand?"

Nicki is at his side immediately. "What's this for?"

Fred keys, "I'm going in. Would you put one of the headsets on Cindy?" He pulls a cable out of his chair and plugs it into what looks like a headphone jack, almost hidden by scar tissue behind his ear."

Nicki carefully puts the device on Cindy's head just as Lynn comes back wearing a very simple, long light blue dress with lavender flowers on it.

Michael looks surprised. "But Fred! Going into David is one thing. Going into another human brain...."

Fred keys, "I have to reach her. Whatever it takes."

Lynn is quickly in front of Fred, signing quickly. 'Fred, love, no. We have talked about this and agreed it was too dangerous to attempt. Please do not do this.'

Fred looks up at Lynn sadly, lovingly, keying, "That's why I brought another headset. It's dangerous, but if I don't, Cindy will die. If you want to come along, you can, but I have to. She's my little girl."

Lynn signs. 'One day. Give it one day and if she gets worse, then you can.'

Fred looks pleadingly from Lynn to Nicki to Michael. Michael says gently, "She's right, Fred. Give her a chance to come out of this on her own."

Nicki slips the headset off of Cindy's head and sets it next to her on the table, then goes over to Fred and hugs him gently. "Love, the breakfast is hopefully still good. Why don't you and Lynn and Michael go and see what a good cook I am. I'll clean up this mess and then join you, all right?"

Fred lets out a soft sob and sags, then nods slowly and turns the chair toward the door. As he starts toward the kitchen, Michael holds Lynn back and asks softly, "David? How long before Fred runs down?" David answers, just as softly, "He's not even going to make it to the kitchen. Fighting for Cindy was the only thing keeping him awake."

Nicki swallows. "Runs down?"

David and Michael both start to answer, then David says, "Go ahead." Michael says, "Fred just had major surgery on his neck less than an hour ago. His painkillers and adrenaline are the only things keeping him going right now. And without the adrenaline, that means he's going to be passed out very soon."

Nicki sighs sadly and looks down. "But he never got to eat the breakfast I made..." She closes her eyes and slowly nods. "All right, best to have him put into bed so he can sleep. You and Lynn and enjoy what I made while I clean up."

Michael looks to Lynn and moves to wrap his arms around Nicki, mouthing silently, "Lynn? Help me?"

Nicki slowly shakes her head and backs away. "I'm fine. Now go and let me clean." She turns her back on the two of them and starts picking up things that where dropped.

Michael sighs and says softly, "We'll be waiting for you, Nicki. We love you."

Nicki waits until they're both out of the lab, then silently counts to ten before pulling out a switchblade from her back pocket.

She takes a deep breath then slowly flips it open. "David you keep quiet about this, ya hear me?"

David says, "That depends on what this is."

Nicki licks her lips to wet them as she moves the blade toward her wrist. "This is Fred getting his little girl back." She presses down on the blade and watches as it slips easily into her skin, then she wiggles the blade slightly and pulls it out from the side so that the wound is bigger. "In dire situations like this, the stories say that vampires need blood from humans, and I'm assuming that means fresh blood, and I'm about as fresh as they come." She presses her bleeding wrist to Cindy's mouth and waits.

David moves his waldos to take some supplies out of cabinets and set them on the table he worked on Fred on, but doesn't say anything.

Nicki swallows hard when after a moment she feels a tiny tongue licking at her wound, but she stays still and before long she's rewarded by seeing Cindy swallowing but gets badly startled when Cindy's eyes fly open and before she can react her hands are pressing hard against Nicki's arm, not letting her be able to move. Nicki breaths in and locks eyes with Cindy, trying to keep her voice calm. "Hey there, I'm not going to hurt you. I want to help you get better for your daddy, okay?"

David keeps very close attention on Nicki's vitals while this is going on.

Nicki closes her eyes and puts a hand on the table to support her legs which are strangely shaking.

David says, "Nicki, lay down beside Cindy. It'll be easier."

Nicki carefully goes and lays down facing Cindy as her eyelids begin to droop.

David sends a waldo to stick a sensor to Nicki's skin so he can verify her vital signs."

Nicki mumbles. "I'm so sleepy..." Her heart is beating quite a bit slower and her other organs seem to be wanting to shut down as well. "Cindy, you almost done?...." Her eyes close.

David puts an IV into Nicki's arm and begins giving her blood. He continues monitoring, waiting for Cindy to notice the blood she's getting isn't "live", and reject the wrist."

Cindy finally does, with blood staining the bandages around her jaw and Nicki curls up on her side mumbling, "Fred...I love you..." before drifting off to sleep.

David takes Nicki's arm and quickly moves to close up her wrist, then adds more blood, finally putting a blanket over Nicki and Cindy and dimming the lights.

* * *

Michael looks at Lynn and offers her his hands. "You were wonderful in there, beloved. "

Lynn takes his hand and signs with the other. 'So were you. Fred is lucky to have people like us who are willing to help him when he needs it.'

Michael blushes and pulls her close, murmuring, "How could I not? Even if he wasn't our friend, with all he's done for us...." As they get to the door of Fred's room, Michael sees David already has the waldos lifting Fred into his bed. "Oh good. Well, let's go try that breakfast, so we can tell Nicki how good a cook she is."

Lynn smiles and slowly nods.

Michael takes Lynn's hand, tangles his fingers in hers, and walks to the kitchen. "Why don't you get the dishes while I get the food?"

Lynn nods then signs, 'Two or three?'

Michael thinks a minute, then signs, "Two. We'll wait for her after we eat, but I got the feeling she planned to be a while."

Lynn gets the plates out and hands one to Michael while she holds on to the other one.

Michael smiles and dishes out eggs and bacon, then looks in the warmer to see the French toast and teasingly asks, "Mmmm......so you want 5 pieces? 6? More? Got to make sure you get enough to eat, now that you have three lovers to keep up with."

Lynn blushes deeply and opts for six pieces.

Michael laughs gently and kisses her, puts the toast on her plate, then goes to get the syrup. "Mmm....maple? Blueberry? Boysenberry? Raspberry? Strawberry?"

Lynn thinks then signs, 'boysenberry'.

Michael brings out the bottle of boysenberry syrup, then dishes out his own food, and joins you at the table. "You know, angel, I think you're likely to be the only one of us who's awake today? Fred and Cindy and I are all going to be passed out, and.....oh shit. David! What's Nicki doing?" David says, "Right now? Laying down to sleep."

Lynn frowns a bit and signs. 'laying down. I thought she was going to clean up.'

Michael nods. "That's what she said. Alone. With Cindy. In Cindy's current state. What did she do, David?" David says, "She loves Fred."

Lynn looks down, trying to process that as she signs. 'Why is she laying down'

Michael stands up and whispers, "Oh shit. How much blood, David?" David says, "It's not life-threatening. And she asked me to not tell you.""

Lynn signs, 'how'

Michael asks, "How?" David says, "She offered herself to Cindy. She said that if the stories are true, the blood Cindy needed had to come from a living person, not a bag out of the freezer. She was right."

Michael looks at Lynn worriedly and offers his hand. "Shit. She loves Fred that much...."

Lynn takes his hand and squeezes it as she closes her eyes.

Michael hugs Lynn tightly and asks, "Are both of them ok?" David says, "Yes, They look like mother and daughter curled up together in bed to sleep."

Lynn releases Michael's hand and heads back towards the medical lab.

Michael joins her, forgetting about breakfast for now.

* * *

In the med lab, Nicki and Cindy are curled up under the same blanket.

Lynn stops at the lab and peeks in until she sees both of them on the table and she slips her hand into Michael's when she feels him close to her.

Michael squeezes her hand gently and leads the way into the lab, murmuring softly, "Either she has a lot of faith in Cindy and David, or she was willing to die for Fred's sake. Either way, she's one of us now."

Lynn signs. 'Maybe a bit of both'

Michael nods and squeezes gently, then looks at the monitors thoughtfully, before joining Lynn by the table.

Lynn silently watches the two of them, then signs. 'I hope we have no more problems with Cindy when she wakes up.'

Michael nods and whispers, "So do I. For her sake as well as ours. We don't want her hating herself."

Lynn tenderly moves some of Nicki's braids. that had fallen in her face and continues to watch her with a loving look.

Michael pulls up a couple chairs and whispers gently as he wraps his arms around Lynn from behind, "I'll get breakfast and bring it in here. You sit down, ok?"

Lynn slowly nods and sits down, then her eyes fall on Nicki's wrist and she studies the few stitches that she assumes David sew into her wrist.

Michael vanishes into the kitchen, then returns carrying both plates of food. He sets them on one of those steel bedside table things and rolls it up beside you. Then he bends down, kisses you gently, and whispers, "I Love you."

Lynn smiles and softly kisses him back then signs, 'I love you too'. She then gestures to Nicki's wrist and signs, 'Looks deep'.

Michael hmms and looks at the wrist, then moves to a monitor and types a moment. He lets out a worried noise and moves back to hug Lynn, murmuring softly, "It is deep. She cut herself and forced the wound open so the blood would flow freely."

Lynn munches on a piece of French toast and signs, 'What are we going to tell Fred?'

Michael bites his lip as he thinks about that. "It's probably best if we don't tell him anything. If we can get away with it. And we shouldn't tell Cindy, either, if we can avoid telling her, too."

Lynn shakes her head slowly and signs, 'Fred will find out. He always finds out things that we do not wish him to.'

Michael sighs slowly and nods. "He does. So how will we break it to him so he doesn't get more upset than he has to?"

Lynn thinks for a moment as she continues to eat her breakfast, not believing just how good it is, then signs, 'We should be honest with him, and maybe explain why she did it'

Michael nods slowly. "We have to make sure he understands. I think he will, but the more HE understands, the better chance there is he'll be able to help Cindy understand. "

Lynn signs, 'right...well, I just can not believe how good this is, can you'

Michael tastes the French toast, and looks at it in surprise. "Wow. She could be a chef. We should get her to teach us how to cook like this, huh?"

Lynn smiles, nods, then signs, 'her eggs are really good as well and her bacon is perfectly crisp'

Michael smiles and nods, picking up a piece of bacon and holding it to Lynn's lips with a loving smile.

Lynn smiles and opens her mouth to accept the piece of bacon that's offered to her.

Michael smiles and kisses her gently. "I was right. The bacon flavors your lips like a fine wine..." He chuckles softly, strokes her cheek, and goes back to eating, glancing her way frequently, and almost as frequently glancing toward Cindy and Nicki.

Lynn softly kisses him back then signs, 'David, how long will Nicki and Fred be out'

David says, "Nicki will be awake first, I think. But neither of them will be awake before sometime this afternoon. "

Lynn gets an idea and signs, 'Michael can you carry Nicki'

Michael smiles and nods. "Yes, I can. Can you carry Cindy?"

Lynn nods and signs, 'I will be right back', then signs to David, 'Could you inject Cindy with something so I will not worry about her lashing out at me when I touch her'

David says, "I think so. Dad came up with something that's supposed to help her sleep better. But....well, now is as good a time to test it as any." He brings a syringe down and injects Cindy with a tranquilizer that would put a Mugi to sleep.

Lynn carefully picks up Cindy and carries her up to her room where she lays her down in her bed and spends a few moments softly stroking her forehead before giving it a light kiss and walking back to the medical lab

Michael picks up Nicki and meets Lynn in the hall outside the lab. "Fred's room, or hers?"

Lynn feels a little stab of pain in her heart as she signs, 'Fred'.

Michael nods and carries Nicki down the hall, into Fred's room, and gently lays her on the bed next to him, where he will be able to feel her presence even in his sleep. After he covers the two of them, he turns to Lynn, wraps his arms around her, and holds her close. "I love you, Lynn."

Lynn wraps her arms around him and sighs, loving being in his arms.

Michael scoops her up in his arms and carries her back to the medlab, where David has already cleaned up everything except what they haven't eaten of breakfast yet."

Lynn sighs again and signs, 'Everything seems just so strange. I seem to be falling for Nicki, but I still feel jealous that she loves Fred'

Michael kisses Lynn's fingers gently and says, "It's happening so fast. Especially for you, who's had three years where you've basically owned me and Fred." He grins and teases, "But just like puppies, loving someone else doesn't mean you love us any less, or we love you any less. It just means that there's more love to go around."

Lynn signs, 'And I hate feeling jealous, but it happens.'

Michael gently caresses her and whispers, "Give it time, beloved. Jealousy is so beneath you, but we all have things that we feel that confuse or embarrass us."

Lynn slowly nods and snuggles close to him.

Michael cuddles her close and nuzzles her gently, then leads the begins lovingly feeding her the rest of what's on her plate. Michael then blinks blearily for a moment and concentrates. After that moment of concentration, he looks like someone who just got a shot of caffeine."

Lynn looks into Michael's eyes and signs, 'Are you tired love'

Michael tries to sit up alertly, but it's obvious to her eyes that it's only his nanites allowing him to fake that much. Then again, he's been awake for nearly 2 days now, so it's not too surprising. He sighs softly and nods, whispering, "I should get some sleep, love...but I don't want to leave you awake all alone."

Lynn signs, 'I know but I wanted to do some research on the computer with David, and I got plenty of sleep last night with Nicki and Fred so I will be fine, you I do worry about though, you always forget to sleep until you are ready to pass out.'

Michael blushes and bows his head, then hugs her tightly and says, "I'll be in bed then, beloved. Don't be afraid to wake me if you need to be held or something, ok?""

Lynn slowly nos as she hugs him back and watches him leave then finishes up her breakfast.

Once she's finished eating she takes both plates back to the kitchen, rinses them off and puts them in the dishwasher, then she heads into the computer room, sits down in front of it and logs on.

David follows what Lynn is doing, and starts pulling out information related to her search and putting links up for her to see the information as he weights it for relevance.

Lynn sighs as she reads through the information on Loki, liking him less and less with what she reads about, but as she digs deeper she finds out that Loki's real name isn't Loki so in a special window that's open just for her to communicate with David she types, 'David, can you find out if Loki's real name can be found?' Lynn then watches as a birth certificate with the name Uriah Willson appears on the screen before her and she makes a face before typing, 'Wow! It's no wonder he changed his name.'

David finds Nicki's birth certificate and throws it up next to Loki's. Then he throws up the record of Nicki being hospitalized and Loki getting her out. He says, bluntly, "The bastard is not only not her brother, he's running a scam on her for some reason. Since she's still a virgin, the question is what he wants besides her money?"

Lynn frowns and runs a check on Nicki's employment history and Nicki is found to have only started working as a stripper after she was released from the hospital and before them she was going to school, working toward her BA and MA in computer science and computer technology.

David asks, "How are we going to tell her? Now she HAS to stay here. And I'm already working on changing the records to show her free and clear of both the hospital and her so-called brother."

Lynn sighs and types, 'Also, what are we going to do about her stuff. You know us females are so attached to our things even if we have so much of it.'

David chuckles. "I've noticed that's true of all people. Men and MacManuses named David, too. For starters, I'm going to go into her system and begin rebuilding her security so that when Mr. Schreck leaves for his nightly mayhem, he won't be able to get back in. Not even the front gate. Then I'm going to make sure Michael gets all this downloaded to his memory. I think the only question after that is whether or not Michael hunts him down alone, or whether he lets Cindy go with him."

Lynn is startled by the phone ringing.

David answers it. "Knight Foundation." David also, as he always does with incoming calls, automatically traces it.

Loki's voice sounds very calm and non-slurred. "May I speak with Nicki, please?"

Lynn types so just David can see it, 'I thought she told him not to call back here? Stubborn, isn't he?'

David says, "I'm sorry, Mr. Willson, but Miss Anderson is unavailable at this time. If you wish to contact her, you might want to check at NMSU, where I believe she had expressed her interest in resuming her degree plans."

Loki's voice remains steady and calm. "Look, I don't know what you're talking about, but I do know that I need to speak with her right away on an urgent matter. Now will you please put her on the phone?"

David says, "I'm sorry, Mr. Willson, but Miss Anderson is not available. I'm not sure when she'll be returning home, but she did leave a little over an hour ago, expressing her interest in resuming her interrupted plans to get her computer science degree. Given the difference in programs between UTEP and NMSU, I would say that NMSU is most likely where she went."

A strange squealing noise is heard and the line goes dead.

David does a line check on that connection. Was that the noise of a phone being destroyed, or the noise of an attempted trace being turned back on its sender?

Lynn jumps then types, 'He didn't like that one bit, did he?'

David laughs. "No, he didn't. He just wasted his cell phone. Now to listen in on my call, eh?" He dials the NMSU campus police and faxes them Loki's rap sheet, along with a cover sheet warning them that he is likely on his way to NMSU to harass a prospective female student.

Lynn chews on her bottom lip as she types, 'David, maybe we should keep this secret for a while, she's already been through so much in only a 24 hour period.'

David says, "I agree. We're going to have to lead her back through her memories to who she really is, and do it gently, with love and care. As much as I hate to say it, Dad's headsets may be needed. But instead of him diving into someone else's mind, if we use them to allow me to filter contacts between people's minds, it could help. I already know the basics from working with Dad's and Michael's minds. "

Lynn cups her chin in her hand and slowly nods.

David sighs. "Organic humans always have a reason for blocking off parts of their memories, too. Usually to reduce trauma, until they can accept the memories, but sometimes they keep the blocks up for so long, and so strongly, they don't even remember there's something beyond the block. That's when we have to help them find it again." David throws up the data from the monitor he planted on Nicki, so Lynn can see what her current condition is simply by looking at that screen.

Lynn nods and she frowns a bit and does a check on who Nicki's parents where, keeping the image of the sleeping Nicki in a smaller window.

Nicki is shown snuggled against Fred and with one arm thrown over him. Lynn swallows as she looks at the image, blinking away tears.

David goes back to Nicki's parents. The Andersons are one of the first Anglo families in the Mesilla Valley, with enough wealth and connections to be able to influence local politics from school board to congress. They own property in both Texas and New Mexico, including the oldest (and second-largest) surviving beef ranch in this part of the state, stock in several area businesses, from dairy farms to tech and manufacturing, and have a mansion in El Paso (the one Nicki currently lives in) and a villa on the Plaza in Mesilla. In addition to their home on the ranch. The ranch has been running itself pretty much since their death, because they had an excellent manager to run it for them, but Nicki doesn't have direct access to any of the businesses, or the bulk of the estate, until she is either 30 or has completed her degree and established herself as a successful businesswoman on her own merits. Until then, it's all kept in a trust fund that supports her in all the luxury she could want, but is protected "

Lynn reads the information carefully then types, 'So she was stripping so that she could keep up the payments on the house?'

David says, "That's what she thinks. I think Mr. Willson had something to do with that. There are no payments on the house, other than taxes and utilities, which are being paid out of the trust fund."

Lynn thinks for a moment then types, 'Would it be easier for her to get all her things or else for us to re-buy it for her?'

David says, "It would be easier to eliminate Mr. Willson from the picture. He has no legal right or authority to be there, other than his having convinced her he's her brother. The house is hers. It's part of her parents' estate."

Lynn happens to glance at the window that shows Nicki and Fred and sees Nicki start stirring so she types, 'David, do you think you miscalculated about when Nicki would be waking up?'

David checks Nicki's vitals. "I could have. It depends on how fast she recovers from physical trauma. I pumped her full of enough blood to make up for what she gave to Cindy, so it's only the trauma of the wound and having lost it in the first place that knocked her out."

Lynn continues to watch as Nicki opens her eyes, smiles at Fred and softly kisses him on the lips, but she has a worried look on her face and Lynn feels a lump grow in her throat as she watches Nicki tenderly stroke Fred's cheek and head lovingly before she slips off the bed and out of view.

David keeps monitoring Nicki, both via his usual sensors and via his attached remote. Meanwhile, he tells Lynn, "It looks to me like she's on Uriah Willson's leash, and we're going to have to fight him to get her off it."

Lynn slowly nods as Nicki softly walks out of Fred's room then asks, "Hey David, where is everybody?"

David says, "Lynn's in the main computer lab, Michael's in bed, and Cindy's in bed."

Nicki slowly nods. "Mind if I use the phone real quick?"

David says, "Not at all. Although that Loki person may be difficult to reach. He smashed his cell phone when I told him you were unavailable."

Nicki sighs. "Aw man! Now I guess I'll have to go with him to buy another one." She shakes her head as she pushes the speakerphone button and then dials her home number.

"WHAT?" Loki screams in the phone after four rings, making Nicki wince.

Nicki grabs a handful of braids. and fiddles with him while she talks. "Loki, it's Nicki. Why did you call back?"

His voice immediately calms down. "Oh, there you are. Some asshole said that you left. Where the fuck did you go?"

Nicki shook her head out of habit, even though she knew he couldn't see her. "No, I was just taking a nap, that's all."

David says to Lynn, "This is bad. He has her totally submissive to him."

Loki ohs, then clears his throat. "Can you come home now? I gotta buy a new cell phone, mine had an accident."

David scrolls a display across the phone Nicki's using. "Take Michael with you. He's sleeping right now."

Nicki rolls her eyes. "You and your accidents." She reads the display and frowns a bit. "Okay, I'll be right there, where do you want me to meet you? At the place we got that phone at?"

"Yeah," he says, "and if you're hungry I'll even buy you lunch. Or are you still full from that breakfast you made?"

Nicki sighs. "No, that sounds great. I got my bike with me, but could you bring my helmet? I kinda forgot it last night before heading to work."

"Yeah, sure, whatever. It's the black one, right?"

Nicki nods. "Yeah, that's the one. Okay, I'll see ya in a bit. Bye." There is no bye on Loki's end, just the sound of the phone hanging up.

David says, "Nicki, are you ok? I'm worried."

Nicki nods. "Yeah, I'm okay. I just wish he's take better care of his shit." She then looks down at herself and exclaims. "Oh fuck me! I forgot that my shirt was all bloody! I can't see Loki like this! I better call him back and ask him to meet me here with one of my shirts." She hits the speakerphone button again and then her finger heads for the redial button.

David says, "We can get you another shirt. You KNOW what he'll do if you call him."

Nicki's finger hovers over the redial button. "Yeah, he'll come with a shirt for me."

"And he'll explode again. And you're in no condition to deal with one of his explosions."

She sighs and pushes the speakerphone button again. "Okay, what do you have in mind David? I gotta get going real soon."

David says, "In the main lab. Do you mind wearing black?"

Nicki laughs softly as she heads for the lab. "Of course not. That's my color."

Lynn keeps a camera on Nicki the whole time, then she looks away long enough to type to David. 'I'm so scared for her. She doesn't even know what kind of a monster he is, and I'm afraid if she found out right now the mere shock of it would kill her or make her go crazy again.'

David laughs. "In that case, look on the rack in the right rear corner of the lab. Lynn will show you." "Lynn, show Nicki one of the MacManusite outfits. The turtleneck will work no matter what, but we may have to adjust one of the pairs of pants for her. Depending on how tight she likes them, that is."

Nicki looks down at her daisy dukes. "What's wrong with these?"

Lynn gets up from the computer and heads over to the lab to help Nicki out.

David says, "You'll see. There's nothing wrong with them on their own, but would you wear sneakers with an evening gown?" The outfits David is referring to are black turtlenecks with matching black slacks, and one pair of slacks is a size that would be as tight on her as her shorts, while stretching enough to allow her to move easily. And being MacManusite, the only way she could be hurt while wearing them is to be hit somewhere the fabric doesn't cover.

Nicki shrugs. "Point taken," she says as she slips off her daisy dukes, revealing her black thong underwear.

Lynn gasps a bit as she sees Nicki, and her cheeks color as she takes a moment to settle down before moving over to Nicki and showing her the outfit that she sees David had in mind.

David leaves Lynn and Nicki to talk while Nicki is changing, and focuses more attention on the outer sensors. He just does not expect that Mr. Willson is going to be that easy. David does add, "Don't forget the watch, Lynn. Nicki needs one of those, too." The turtleneck fits like it's painted on, and is so finely knit that it even shows the little bumps around her nipples. David also makes sure there's a full-length mirror available so she can see what she looks like.

Nicki smiles as she turns, and inspects herself in it, chuckling softly as she sees Lynn behind her, her eyes full of desire.

David's voice whispers in Lynn's ears, "Nobody's going to stop you from making a move on her, Lynn."

Lynn takes the pair of pants and watch that David pointed out to her and hands Nicki the watch while she helps her into the pants, that surprisingly fit perfectly. Nicki puts the watch on her left wrist then moans as she feels Lynn's fingers softly brushing against her pussy, the feeling sends shivers through her even though she's feeling it through the two layers of cloth.

Michael and Fred and Cindy sleep on, blissfully unaware of what's going on in the lab. Yes, the pants, despite being perfectly opaque and capable of wear as dress slacks, are just as thin as the turtleneck, and transmit just as much sensation."

Nicki breaths heavily for a moment before saying, "Lynn...I gotta go...I'm sorry..." She swallows hard and tries to calm herself down. "If you want we can continue this when I get back."

David unshields the outer doors and windows, so that Nicki will actually be able to leave when she finally goes.

Lynn reluctantly moves away from Nicki, but watches her very worriedly and even follows her as she goes back into Fred's room to collect her stockings and boots and slips them on. Lynn so wants to say something, but she bites her lower lip, just follows her around even out the front door and to the garage where her bike is.

By the time they get into the garage, David finally bursts out with, "Lynn, would you just SAY it, already? You're making ME crazy!"

Lynn continues to be quiet as Nicki looks at her, then wraps her arms around her and hugs her tightly. "Lynn, I'll be okay. I know my brother sounded horrible on the phone, but he's always like that and he'd never hurt me." She tenderly strokes her cheek. "I'll be back as soon as I can, I promise." Nicki leans close to her and softly kisses her lips before slipping onto her bike, turns it on, then reves it up.

Nicki watches her for a moment more then roars off down the road toward the main gate, her long braids. flying out behind her like a banner, then soon she's out the gate and gone.

David says, as Nicki is revving up her bike, "Nicki, whatever happens today, remember that this is your home, and every human in this place loves you."

It's only once Nicki's gone that Lynn lets the tears flow down her cheeks as she slowly heads back inside, shuts the door behind her, then slides slowly down it, brings her knees up to her chest and softly cries into her hands.