Caleb 61 - Sarah

Then she looked at me.

"I'm so sorry," she said. "I should never have brought him here."

I went over and pulled her into a hug. "You have nothing to apologize for," I said. "Forget it. The question is what are you going to do about him."

"Hearing his thoughts tonight was a revelation," she said. "I thought he was a little loud and brash, but I didn't know how much of a sleaze he was. Tonight has been the first time we've been in the same place since I had my amulet removed. I can't believe I actually liked that pig. He's definitely history."

I smiled at her.

"There are many, many, more people out there," I said. "Nice people, who will treat you with the respect and love that you deserve. Forget that jerkoff. I'm sure you'll meet someone far better."

She returned my smile. "Well," she said. "I could hardly do worse."

Gracie's phone rang, and she picked it up. I heard her talking to someone, and then she laughed. "Yes," I heard her say. "Send it to me."

"Well," she said hanging up the phone, a large grin on her face. "Seems like your 'boyfriend' had less sense that we thought. He failed to stop and thought he could outrun the patrol car. Possibly could have too if he knew how to drive that machine of his. Instead, he totalled the car. He's currently on his way to hospital but the EMT's say he's fine. Its only precautionary. Her phone beeped.

She looked down at it and then grinned even wider as she turned it around to show us all a picture that someone had messaged to her. It was of an ice blue Mustang Shelby GT500, or at least what remained of it, after it had been wrapped around a light pole. It wasn't pretty and I felt a pang of sadness for such a beautiful car being destroyed in such a complete and utter manner.

Sarah looked at me.

"Now what?" she said.

"Call your dad," I said. "Tell him what happened. Tell him I'm happy to drive you home, but you have a room here, and unless you need to be somewhere early tomorrow, you could just as easily stay the night. You're going to be moving in after all. I can either drive you tomorrow after school, or they can come pick you up tomorrow, whichever's easier for you.

"I have no clothes or anything here," she argued.

"There are enough women in the house," I said. "I'm sure someone has something that'll fit you."

Sarah looked at all the faces looking at her, but then nodded. She pulled out her phone.

She spoke for a few minutes and then ended the call.

"Mom says that if it's okay, I should stay here, and she and Dad will come by and pick me up tomorrow morning."

I nodded. "Perfect," I said, "Then since it's nearly ten, I'm off to bed -- I'll let the girls get you settled and they can sort you out with everything you need. I'll see you in the morning."

Sarah looked a little surprised.

"But it's only nine forty," she said.

"He's up every morning at four," said Mary smiling at her. "He always goes to bed around about now. Don't worry, you're not obliged to."

"What about you guys?" she said. "Do you go to bed that early?"

"Sometimes," said Amanda grinning lewdly, "but not all the time."

Sarah blushed a little at that but looked at me.

"I saw your bed," she said. "It's huge."

"It needs to be," I replied. "Especially since Ness tends to spread herself out and hog most of it."

Ness spluttered indignantly. "I do not." She exclaimed and I grinned at her.

I bade everyone goodnight and went to get a shower before retiring to bed. I might have known I wouldn't get away quite so easily.

I was in the shower when I felt the now familiar cold wash against my back. I wondered who had joined me. Wiping away the soap and excess water from my eyes I turned around and looked into the deep brown pools of Jules' eyes.

"Hey," I said.

"Hi," she said with a small smile.

As far as I was aware, Jules was right in the middle of her 'off' phase so, of all the girls in the house, she was the last person I'd expected to join me.

"You okay?" I asked.

She nodded, moving toward me and reaching up to pull me into one of her 'Jules' kisses.

"I just wanted to spend some time with you," she said. "Things are just so manic all the time around here, we never get time to just be together. What with school, your flying lessons, and all the other extracurricular activity, then you come home and go to bed almost straight away. It's like we never really see you."

I thought about that for a moment. She was right. My life had got so busy that I hardly had time to spend with the girls. Even at the weekend we seemed to be spending a lot of apart each doing our own thing and not together. I couldn't remember the last time I spent any time with Jules, or Ness, or any of the girls, outside of the bedroom. A pang of guilt hit me.

"Jules I'm..." I began but she reached up and put her fingers over my mouth.

"Don't apologize," she said. "This wasn't a complaint. I know we're all very busy. I'm as guilty as everyone else. I spend time in my workshop away from you and the girls. I'm not here to complain, just to spend some quality time with my fiancée if that is okay with him?"

"That is perfect," I said.

We spent the next twenty minutes or so, gently washing each other, as we had done previously but seemed to have gotten out of the habit of doing. Then after getting dried, we moved into the bedroom where she snuggled into my side holding me and gazing up into my face.

"Things have gotten kind of crazy around here," I said to her as she smiled up at me. She nodded.

"You could say that," She said. "We're all working harder than ever, but its only for another year. My worry is that if we hardly get time together now, what's it going to be like when we are all working? I'm certainly not looking forward to you spending all that time at Quantico even if, at the end of it, you get posted to the local field office."

"I've been thinking about that too," I said. "The twenty weeks training seems a long time, and it will probably seem a lot longer for you guys than me since I'm going to be so busy that it will probably fly by for me. I did speak to Dianna about it, and she said that after the first couple of weeks, when we'll be required to stay there, I'll be able to fly home some weekends. It's about a six hour flight so I can get a flight home Friday night and return on Sunday night, and spend the weekend with you guys.

"I did think about flying myself, but a commercial flight is probably faster and more economical than renting a plane -- a small plane would probably take over twice that long to fly since I'd have to stop and refuel a couple of times too."

"Maybe one weekend we could fly up and spend some time there too," she said. "You could show us around and introduce us to your new classmates."

"Maybe," I said smiling at her. "But that's a way away just now. Let's not wish our lives away. We have almost a full year to go before that happens."

Jules nodded and snuggled her head into my shoulder.

"Are you going to bring Sarah into the connection?" she asked. I wondered if that was the real reason she'd come to talk with me.

"I don't know," I said. "I like Sarah, but I don't feel the same about her as I do about Melanie, or you guys. My feelings toward her are more fraternal, probably what they should be toward Melanie, but in Melanie's case I feel so much more for her.

"I actually feel more of a draw toward Connie in that way than I do to Sarah, which is one reason I'm keeping my distance from E. They have something special between them and I don't want to ruin it."

Jules chuckled.

"I think she felt it too," she said. "I could see the way she was looking at you as they were getting ready to leave. I'll bet you anything you like that they find an excuse to come around within the next couple of weeks."

"Shit," I said. "I didn't want that. I'll have to try and discourage that."

She shook her head. "Play it by ear," she said. "Be honest and open with the pair of them and let them dictate the action. If their relationship is as strong as it seems to be, then they will be fine. And if not, then they were never destined to last in any case. She loves him, without a doubt. I think that will win out in the end but if she's always left wondering, that might be too much for her. Just look at my parents. You and Mom shared, and their relationship is as strong if not stronger than It's ever been."

"That's a bit different," I said. "But I get what you're saying. Okay, we'll just see what happens. But, going back to Sarah, I don't think she's ready to get involved with us. She needs some time to find herself first. She needs to find herself a boyfriend, a good man, not an asshole like Trevor. I'm hoping that she might meet someone at PSU."

"And what about Arnie?" Jules asked looking up at me again.

"What about him?" I asked.

"Come on," she said "I saw the memory of his aura. He was practically panting looking at you the other night."

"He's only seventeen," I said. "He probably hasn't figured out who he is yet."

"He'll be eighteen in about three weeks, you said," she replied. "And as for figuring out who he is, I'm fairly sure he has. He's not just hitting puberty when everything is confused. I knew exactly who I was when I was about twelve or thirteen. I'm sure it's not that different for him. If he's not masturbating to thoughts of you, then I'd be very surprised."

I grimaced uncomfortably "He's..."

"He's old enough to fantasize," she said. "And pretty soon he's going to be eighteen. What are you going to do then?"

"Absolutely nothing," I said. "He's a nice guy, but it's not like I'm looking for anyone else to join our family. He knows I have fiancées, so why would he even think that there could be anything between us? And why would you?"

She grinned at me.

"I guess I'm picking up bad habits from Amanda," she said. "I just want to make sure that you get everything you need and if a little fling with Arnie helps you along the way and keeps you whole and healthy, then I want to make sure that you're looking after yourself."

I sighed, dropping my head back onto the pillow.

"I know you guys are trying to look out for me," I replied, "but it seems like I hardly have time for you any more, let alone anyone else. I'm meeting new people all the time and, even without the sex, it seems like I'm good from the 'sharing' perspective. It feels like the people who are coming to me for hypnosis are fitting the bill. Not that I'm having sex with them, but I am getting pretty intimate with them mentally. I just don't feel the need to share just at the moment."

"Hmmm," said Jules. "That's possible, I guess. Have you spoken to Jeevan about it?"

"Not really," I replied. "It only just occurred to me. But I remember what it was like to need to share, I could feel it. Now it's just not there. Obviously, that is only my need that's being met by this, the twins will still need to share, but as long as it is being met in that way, then I'm content. Despite what anyone says, having to have sex with lots of different people still doesn't really sit right with me. I won't avoid it if I feel the need, but I'm not doing it unless I actually have to. Why would I? I have five of the most beautiful, and sexy, girls sharing my bed every night, not to mention Louise, Josh, Dana and Gracie all living in the house. I couldn't wish for anything more than I already have."

I feel her smile against my chest. "Good answer," she said, then she kissed my chest. After a few more minutes I felt myself slipping into sleep. I didn't fight it.

Melanie joined me on the deck the next morning and we trained together. We'd been out there a couple of hours when Sarah came out looking sleepy.

"What are you guys doing?" she asked I refrained from uttering the sarcastic response that had sprung to my lips.

"Training," I said. "It's important that we not only train our mental powers, but we train our bodies as well. Aside from the fact that you won't always be able to use your powers, your body needs to be strong enough to use powers. They can take a lot out of you when you use them. You need to remember that. It can be actually harder doing something with your powers than it is physically."

"How am I going to train my powers?" Sarah asked. "It's been four days, and apart from Compulsion and Telepathy, nothing else has appeared. Do you think that's all I have?"

"All?" I asked with a small smile. "That's an amazing amount of power."

"But you have four, as does Melanie." Sarah said pouting a little. I noticed the expression on Melanie's face but chose to ignore it for now. I'd ask about it later.

"And E seems only to have one," I said. "As do the twins, Dianna, Maggie, my parents, and most other power users. Don't compare yourself with others, or worry about what you don't have. Think about what you can achieve with the power that you DO have. For instance. Let me show you what you can do with your telepathy."

I went through the same process with her as I had with Melanie. Showing her just how easily she would be able to learn using her Telepathy. She was astounded to be able to memorise the first chapter of a textbook in less than five minutes and was excited to do more.

"That's not one of your books," said Melanie gently. "Let's wait until you get all your stuff here, then we can show you how to do this for yourself, so you won't need our help."

I smiled to myself, liking the way that Melanie was taking the younger girl under her wing. Melanie was definitely stronger than Sarah, and had more powers, but there was something that Melanie was holding out on. I would speak to her later when we were alone.

I also has the thought that I would speak to Tatarabuela Gonzales and see if she would mind if I passed her protection on to the two girls, and perhaps E also. I had gotten the impression that Telepathy was required, which was why I'd never considered it for the twins, but I'd ask anyway.

I went into the house to shower and make breakfast. Fortunately my morning was free so I was going to wait with Sarah until her parents came to collect her.

Brian and Carrie arrived just after ten, with a carload of Sarah's stuff.

"It seemed dumb to waste the trip," said Brian. "So we thought we'd bring some of your stuff today, and then most likely we can fit everything in on Saturday when you move in officially."

I went into the kitchen to make coffee while Sarah and her family emptied the car into Sarah's room. Edgar, who had driven up with them, wandered into the kitchen and started to play with the toy he'd brought with him. He squatted on the kitchen floor and ran the toy car backwards and forwards while making quiet car noises.

I smiled as he played and I sat down at the breakfast bar sipping at my coffee while Sarah and her family finished up. After a few more minutes Carrie entered the kitchen and took a seat beside me.

"Brian and Sarah are just finishing up," she said, picking up the coffee I indicated and adding some cream before taking a sip.

She looked sideways at me. "Thank you," she said. I raised my eyebrow.

"For looking out for her last night," she explained. "If she'd gotten into that car with that idiot, she could have been hurt or even killed when he crashed."

I didn't tell her that it was probably the fact that Gracie had set the local LEO's on him that had caused the crash in the first place. That wasn't really relevant.

"I'll always look out for her," I said. "We all will."

"She was telling me about being able to learn really quickly," she said changing the subject. "Is that because the amulet is gone?"

"Partly," I replied, "but mostly because of her Telepathy. Once she's trained her mind to use the technique I showed her this morning, she'll effectively have an eidetic memory."

Carrie shook her head. "That's amazing," she breathed. I smiled at her.

"It really is. It's made life so much easier for me and given me time to do other things, like work on my hypnotherapy business. Not only does it give me extra income, but I train my Compulsion and my Telepathy both at the same time. Once she's settled, I was thinking of letting Sarah, and Melanie, get involved with that. Hopefully they can take over and continue to help people when I leave."

Brian and Sarah came in to join us, having finished emptying the car.

"That's just over half of what she was going to bring," he said. "We should be able to manage the rest in one trip this weekend."

"I'd be happy to bring my truck over if there's anything too big to go in the car," I offered but Brian shook his head.

"Its mostly just clothes and other junk," he said grinning.

"Junk?" pouted Sarah. "That's my stuff you're talking about."

"Junk or treasure...what's the difference?" Brian just shrugged but the grin didn't leave his face.

They stayed for another half hour or so, finishing their coffees and just chatting, while Edgar played quietly on the floor.

"We should be going," Brian said eventually. "I'm sure Caleb has stuff he needs to be doing, and even if he can laze around all day, being a student, we cannot."

I grinned at him, not raising to his bait, but happy that he felt comfortable enough to take the jab.

Carrie shook her head and gathered Edgar up before thanking me once more and heading out to their car.

Sarah came over and gave me a hug. "Thanks," she said stepping back after a moment. "We'll see you Saturday."

I walked with her to her car and she got in the back beside her little brother who was already belted in sitting on a small booster seat in the back. Brian was already behind the wheel, his wife beside him.

As they drove away, Edgar looked out of the side window and caught my eye. I smiled at him, but my expression froze when I heard his voice in my head.

"By Caleb. See you soon."