Blind Leading Blind Ch. 04

David:

I could kick myself for not paying attention to the Campbells. Poor Stephany was married to Rickey Blakely and somehow he had damaged Cathy. The anger I had at that man had festered in my soul for years. I was going to have to be careful that I didn't give in to it. It looked like I was going to have two women to take care of and my going to jail would not be a good thing.

I had kept a peripheral observation of Cathy, she was never entirely out of my mind. I knew that she worked in a large insurance company and didn't date much, but I wasn't aware of any problems that she had. I was uncomfortably aware of her hand on my arm as I led her to my Durango.

As soon as I started up my beast the scanner came on and I heard the dispatcher send a car to a possible domestic disturbance on Shasta Drive. Cathy buckled in and I put it in gear. "Can you direct me to your sister's house from here?" When she nodded her assent, I moved on out of the parking lot. She pointed me in the right direction and hung on to the passenger strap tight as I wasn't wasting any time.

I saw the charger with my company logo parked in front of a tan split-level national home. These houses were pretty nice when they were first built in the 60's, but by now they were running down and the area could best be described as a high priced slum to be. No sooner had I parked behind the car than a scream was heard from inside the house and my people jumped out of the car and ran to the house. I told Cathy to stay in the car and followed them.

The door to the house crashed open and a blonde woman carrying a child came running out into the yard. She ran into the arms of one of my people. Behind her Blakely ran out of the house yelling something. My worker stepped in front of Rickey and the drunken fool tried to hit my guy. My people all receive training in self defense and most of them hold black belts in one discipline or another.

Blakely was quickly on his back and silent. My man, Everson I saw now, stood back and waited for Rickey to regain his breath. This is the tableau that the police saw as they pulled up in front of the house.

When he was able to talk again, Blakely tried to accuse us of causing the trouble, but the big hand print on Stephany's face and the matching one on the child's back told a different tale.

The police put Rickey into cuffs and placed the raging punk into the back of their car. One of them called in the situation while the other came over to talk to Stephany.

"Are you willing to press charges, Miss? The last time this happened you wouldn't."

Steph looked over at Cathy and me, "Tell her yes, Cathy, I'll protect her."

Cathy looked at me with a question in her eyes, "Are you sure, David? You hardly know us and Rickey has some very dangerous friends."

"So do I, Cathy, and my friends can trump his any day. Now tell your sister to press charges or I'm going to have to kill that slime ball."

Cathy gave me a startled look, then addressed her sister, "Go ahead, Stephy, David says he'll protect you."

Stephany nodded her head and told the officer that yes, she would press charges.

After that I informed the men that I would bring her down to the station tomorrow and they left with Blakely in the cruiser.

I went over to Stephany, "Pack a bag for you and the kid, Steph. You are staying with me tonight." I turned to her sister, "Cathy, it's your choice as to where you stay. I don't think Blakely is likely to go after you right away, but I'll assign a team to watch over you if you wish."

Cathy didn't even pause, "I think my sister and I should take the chance to get to know you again, David. I'll stay with you as long as the offer is still open."

"Okay then, help her out and we'll go." I turned to my people "Everson, you and Thomas go on back to the ready room, and thank you for acting so quickly and appropriately. I don't think I could have restrained myself as well as you did."

They both waved at me and headed back to their car. I turned around and the girls were gone.

I waited outside the front door for about 15 minutes, and then Cathy brought two suitcases out to the porch. "Take these, David, I'll be right back."

I shrugged and took the cases to the back of my Durango. These damn things were heavy, what was she packing for an overnight stay? I got back to the porch just in time for Cathy to bring out a couple of garbage bags.

"What the hell is going on, Cathy?"

"Stephy says that she will not come back to this house for any reason. If you can't protect her, then she is leaving town." She got a kind of smirk on her face, "Bethany wants to know if you are going to be her new daddy. What should I tell her, David?"

I think my jaw hit the ground. I had no idea what to say. Cathy laughed and went back into the house. I took the bags to the car and tried to figure out how all this had happened. I wasn't sure whether I owed Aaron a favor or a beating, only time would tell.

When I got back to the door, Cathy was waiting with another pair of bags. "Here, David, take one of these, they are the last. Come on Stephy, let's go see your new home."

When did I get suckered into housing Stephany and her child? Oh well, I did say that I would protect her. We weren't a big enough organization to have a safe house, just my place.

Stephany went over to the car in the driveway and pulled out a child's car seat. I'm glad she thought of it, because I certainly didn't have one in my SUV. Cathy carried the last two bags and Stephany and the little girl followed us. After the seat and child were secure, we took off.

My house and company offices were in the farmhouse and barn left to me by my Grandfather. He also left me enough money to start my security company. I headed on out McCarty Lane to the house.

"So tell me, Stephany, how did you end up marrying Blakely? I thought you hated the way he treated Cathy."

"I did, David..." Cathy turned around and held her hand up

to stop Stephany from talking. "Let's just say that he tricked her into marrying him, David, and now she wants to get away from him. Do you really need to know any more than that?"

"I didn't mean to pry, girls. I spent most of my time in high school hating that asshole and now I find that one of the sweetest girls I ever knew was married to him. I don't understand how that could be, that's all."

"Why did you hate him, David? I didn't think you two had anything in common," Cathy asked.

I sighed, this is not the conversation I wanted to have with my perfect woman. "Let's just say that we disagreed on something and let it go at that, Cathy. This is my house and there is plenty of room for all three of you. I don't have anything to take care of a child though, so I hope you brought all you will need."

"Its marvelous, David. It may be a little late to ask this, but do you have someone waiting here for you, David?"

"No, Stephany, there is no one waiting except for the dispatcher on duty. As long as I don't call over to the office, they won't bother me. I imagine that Everson and Thomas have let everyone know what is going on by now." I shook my head as we entered my house, "There are four bedrooms on the second floor, take your pick. I'll bring in the bags and when you are ready, we'll see what there is to eat in the kitchen."

"Which room is yours, David?"

"I have the downstairs room, Cathy. You may want to dust the beds upstairs, no one has used them for a while."

"And if I don't want to stay upstairs, David?"

"Then I'll take the couch, Cathy. I don't think I'm ready to go where you seem to be headed." I sighed and decided on honesty, "I've had a crush on you since I met you all those years ago, and the idea that you are ready to fall into my arms just doesn't feel right." I turned to Stephany, "And I know that you left something, or I should say a lot of things, out about your relationship with Rickey. I will house you and protect you as long as you need it, but I don't know about going any farther until I know more. You were always nice to me, Stephany, and I do want to help you, but I need some honesty here."

Cathy started crying and sat down on the couch. Bethany went over to her and hugged her leg. "Don't cry, Aunty Cathy, my new daddy is going to take care of us. Aren't you, Daddy?"

Oh damn, how do you say no to that? "Yes, Dear, I'm going to take care of you. But I'm not your daddy, Honey, I'm just a friend."

"But Mommy said that you were going to take us away from bad Daddy. Don't you want to be my new Daddy?"

"It's not that, Bethany, your Mommy has a big say in that, and I don't think that she wants me to be more than a friend." I turned to Cathy, "What is the matter, Cathy? Aaron said that you had been hurt, but he wouldn't say anything more about it. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I doubt it, David. I don't think anyone can help me now, but I thank you for wanting to try. For now, we'll do as you ask and maybe it will all work out for the best." She stood up and took Bethany's hand, "Come on, Punkin', let's get you into bed. David will be here in the morning for you to talk to."

The three headed toward the stairs with little Bethany looking over her shoulder at me and waving. I headed out to get the bags, looks like my life has just gotten a lot more interesting.

I brought in the bags from the car and went into the kitchen to make something to eat. I decided on one of my dad's favorite things, a pancake supper. I made up a supply of batter and started the griddle heating. By the time the girls had come down I had a stack done and sausage heating to go with them.

I piled a small stack in front of each of them, put the syrup and sausage on the table then sat down with my own stack.

"All right girls, shall we talk a bit more? Cathy, all I know is that you left school after the prom, everyone figured that you had gone to get an abortion or to have a baby. How right were they?"

"Not at all, David. That happened the summer before our senior year, it was an abortion and it was botched, I can never have children now. I was attacked after the prom and I spent the next couple of months recovering."

She could see that I was getting hot by her statement, so she pleaded, "Please don't react too much, David. Aaron didn't want me to tell you because he was afraid you might go off half cocked."

"Aaron, huh? The boy doesn't have much faith in me, does he? What about you, Stephany? How did Blakely trick you?"

Stephany looked at her sister and sighed, "One of his friends asked me to go with him and I agreed. He must have spiked my drink, because the next thing I knew I was in the back seat of Rickey's car and we had had sex. Our parents were scared of him and his friends, so they wouldn't do anything. When I came up pregnant, they insisted that he marry me. I had to quit school, and I have been in hell ever since. I liked it when he went out with other women because he wouldn't want me as much. I've fought his domination at every turn, and paid for it in blood and bruises." She paused for a moment, "Don't blame Cathy too much, David. She is a very submissive personality and she wasn't able to fight Rickey. He realized the truth about her early on and exploited it to the max. The only way she has stayed out of the clutches of another Rickey is to reject all men, but it gets harder all the time."

I sat and pondered what they had told me, then I spoke, "Cathy, one of the reasons I hated Blakely so much was that your sex life was open season at school. Every Monday Rickey would come in to the locker room and tell everyone what you had done over the weekend. About once a month I would take exception to what he said, and he would beat me up. I could never understand why you put up with him. Now I think I get it." I got up and started putting the dishes in the sink, "As for you, Stephany. I am highly upset with your parents, but I'll leave that up to you to deal with. As for Mister Rickey Blakely, I think that he is about to encounter a strong run of bad luck. We are going into town in the morning and swear out warrants against him, but they won't keep him in jail long. His first problem is going to be a car accident, where he shatters both kneecaps. Then he'll fall down some stairs and break both arms. I think after that he might fall out of bed and break a collarbone or two and his nose. When he is about done recovering from all of that, I'll visit him and let him know that his bad luck might come to an end if he leaves the state, immediately. Otherwise his luck could get a lot worse. His friends are likely to find that they are having a lot of trouble with their balance and coordination as well, and a new location will help a lot."

I looked over at the girls. They were staring at me, "I'm not going to do anything foolish and get caught, but you won't have to worry about him any more. Then we can get you two situated better. For now, you are welcome to stay here." Suddenly I was surrounded by two crying females.

Aaron:

Then next day dawned to a new commitment between the three of us. For one thing, I was suddenly the boss. Not so much in name as in attitude. The girls deferred to me whenever there was reason to and I had to make the decisions, because they just wouldn't. It was very subtle, but it was also obvious that they had determined that it had to be this way. There could only be one boss, they would insert their opinions, but they never voiced dissent with my decision. It took me a few hours to realize what was happening, but by then I could see that we were working together so much better that I wasn't going to say anything and upset the applecart.

The first house we looked at was in a subdivision on the southeast of town. My objection was that it was a split-level with too many stairs for Diane to have to deal with. Justine didn't like how close we were to the neighbors and how we couldn't expand if we wanted to.

Diane asked why we wanted her along since she couldn't really tell anything about a house. I told her that if she wasn't comfortable in the house then we didn't want it, no matter what else was good about it.

I got a kiss for that, a steamer, from Diane, and a hug from Justine.

The next house was it. It didn't matter what else was to be shown, this was the one. It was set on four acres just south of town on Ninth Street, a moderately busy road. The house was set back from the road with some pine trees blocking the noise and view. It was four large bedrooms with three baths, a dining room, and a family room. All of this was on a single level in an L shape. The kitchen, living room, and dining rooms were in one leg, with the bedrooms and family room in the other. There was also a large basement that had been fixed up into 3 guest bedrooms and a large playroom with a pool table. There was a large outbuilding with power and water just behind the house and a 2 & 1/2 car garage on the end of the kitchen L. The whole back acre had been landscaped with enough trees left to insure privacy. The neighbors had similar arrangements and we couldn't even see their houses from the windows of our house.

The price was a little steeper than I had in mind, but Justine said that we could do it if I wanted. She obviously loved the place, and Diane was able to walk from one room to another without any problems at all. When she went out onto the patio and smelled the fresh air scented with pine she agreed that this was our new home.

**************

What the hell was I thinking? Here I was in the delivery room with Diane and she was having trouble. Her poor skinny little legs were spread wide and there were three doctors standing in the room. One was standing between her legs and there was another on each side, and they were all looking straight into her vagina. Dr. Brooks, her obstetrician, had broken his hand the day before playing golf and was unable to do his duty. Diane was having trouble and it looked like the twins would have to be removed using forceps. Doctor Brooks had asked his friend to be the doctor of record and deliver the babies with his guidance. The problem was that he had never done a delivery with forceps and was unwilling to experiment with Diane. The only other doctor available who was familiar with the technique was not licensed to practice in the state and could not be the doctor of record. While all this was going on my poor darling Diane was turning purple trying to push our children into the world. I was standing at the head of the delivery table holding her hand and feeling helpless. I never knew how strong her grip could be. This was definitely going to leave a bruise. The oddest thing is that I was looking at her crotch and it looked so strange. They had shaved her from knees to belly button. For the first time ever I saw her without hair and she looked naked, like hairless cat.

After three hours of Diane being in labor, the doctors finally decided that they were going to have to help her deliver the kids. As the strange doctor in between her legs grabbed the forceps and started toward her the first child's head crowned. He dropped the tools and held his hands under Diane and helped the child into the world. As the red little gremlin slithered out of Diane's vagina I thought my heart was going to stop. This was my child.

The doctor handed it off to a nurse and she held the child up and proclaimed that it was a girl.

Just then the second baby was slowly pushed out of Diane's body, another girl. We had twin girls; 7 lb 3 ounce Jill and 7 lb 1 once Julia. Both had dark brown hair already on their heads and were squalling with amazing vigor.

"Let me feel them. Let me feel my babies."

The nurses brought both girls over to Diane and placed them on her chest. The smile she gave was as bright as daylight.

"Are they beautiful Aaron? Are our girls going to be pretty?"

"They are gorgeous dear. You do good work honey. They are perfect."

Of course they looked just like all newborns. Red and tiny and with their eyes shut, hair messed up, and wrinkly little hands and feet pulled in tight. I just hoped that they weren't blind like their mother. If they were, then we would deal with it. It's not like we had no practice after living with Diane for the last few months. The whole house was set up with her in mind. Everything was placed with the idea that Diane would have to navigate so nothing was out of place and there were aisles past all obstacles. Clutter was just not allowed.

I thanked the Doctors for their work and stood next to Diane looking like an idiot. As the doctors walked out our wife entered the room.

Justine was not far from her own delivery and waddled in wearing the same garb as I had on. A cap and mask with a disposable gown covering her and socks on over her shoes. Tall slender Justine looked so funny dressed up that way I almost laughed, but I had learned to control myself better than that. An emotional pregnant woman did not have much of a sense of humor. I had learned that lesson well having two of them in the same house. If being pregnant had not made them increasingly horny as the months went by I would probably have checked in to a motel till the kids were born.

Two nurses took the children away to be processed as another one took care of the delivery of the placentas and the rest of the mess that is childbirth. Justine and I both kissed Diane and told her how proud we were of her. Diane, for her part, settled back and fell asleep as the anesthetic they had given her in the IV drip did its work.

During the next few weeks I was grateful that Diane's mother Madge had come to spend so much time with us. She wanted nothing more than to help take care of her daughter and grand daughters. Justine was too big to be much help and I was worthless. I did what I could, but that wasn't much in my opinion.