Going Home - Home Again?

'I changed your travel arrangements. There's a cargo transport going to Hickam. It's scheduled to stop for a few hours in San Diego tomorrow morning. A driver will pick you up there and take you home. Your orders said you're to report to JPL April 23, oh seven hundred. Going tonight instead of waiting for transport by train will give you some time with your wife and children before you report for duty. The plane leaves in an hour,' he told me.

'I need to pack before I leave,' I told him, wondering why he hadn't considered that.

'Your kit is in the back. I sent my driver to pack for you after he dropped me at the Officer's Club,' he told me.

We didn't talk at all for the rest of the short drive. When we got to the airfield, the driver pulled up to the flight operations building, grabbed my kit from the trunk, came around to open the door. Smythe handed over my new travel orders and shook my hand.

'Good luck, Major. You'll need it,' he said.

I looked at him curiously, 'Why do you say that, sir?'

'You only just graduated from OCS and you're already a major. That's going to cause some friction. People will wonder about you. Maybe even not trust or respect you,' he told me with a sigh. 'Watch your back. There will be some that will try to make you look bad. It shouldn't be that way. But I suspect you'll be giving orders to academy graduates that have been officers for a while. That's not going to endear you to them.'

'I'll keep that in mind, sir,' I told him. I wasn't sure what to make of what he was telling me. I hated the academic politics at Cal Tech. I feared the military was going to make that seem like child's play.

'Better get going, Major. The duty sergeant and load master are already going to be annoyed that you're showing up so close to departure and they've had no notice,' he said.

I thanked him and got out of the car. As I walked away with my bag, he called out to me. 'Dr. Taylor, remember what I said about those clusters.'

I looked at my watch. It was almost twenty-one hundred hours. With luck, I could have a late breakfast with Gwen, Mike and the twins in the morning. The next ten hours felt like ten months. The ride was bumpy and cold. There wasn't anything to do but bounce around in one of the jump seats behind the cockpit in the C-47. The flight jacket I was given kept me from freezing. It was cold and there was too much turbulence to sleep. The radioman kept me supplied with terrible coffee. At least it was hot for most of the flight.

We arrived in San Diego late due to a strong headwind. I thanked the flight crew and disembarked. I was told to keep the flight jacket. I was met by a private who led me to a waiting car. 'Where to, sir?' he asked. When I responded 'Encino,' he asked, 'Where is that, sir?' I got him headed in the right direction, told him to wake me when we were approaching Los Angeles. I leaned against the door, basking in the Southern California warmth, to catch some sleep. He did as he was told and woke me about ten miles south of LA.

I guided him to the house and stopped him just up the street from the gate. Gwen had been at home when an Army staff car pulled up in front of her parent's house in 1944 to inform her parents that her brother had been KIA. I explained I didn't want my wife to panic because a military vehicle pulled into the driveway. I thanked the private for the ride and gave him twenty dollars. He was shocked at the gesture. With a smile, I ordered him to stop somewhere on the return trip and have a decent meal. I remembered the meals I ate awaiting the order to ship out when I was in San Diego. Army food was sustenance. Enjoyable? Not much.

I walked through the gate and saw the Cadillac Series 90 parked in front of the house, the trunk open. The Dodge was left in Massachusetts when they returned to California after Elizabeth was born. As I approached the house, Gwen came out with the bags we used when we went somewhere with the twins. She didn't see me approaching until she turned from the trunk to go back into the house. She shrieked when she saw me and ran into my arms, tears streaming down her face.

Mike came running out of the house to find out what was wrong. She responded much the same way Gwen had. The twins followed behind her a moment later, curious as to what was going on. I stood in the driveway sandwiched between Gwen and Mike with Seth and Sara hugging my legs.

The next minutes brought a flurry of questions. 'Why didn't you tell us you were coming? How long are you home?' And a dozen others I really didn't care about then and don't recall now. I picked the twins up and carried them back inside, leaving my bag where I dropped it. Gwen called Jane and told her I was home. They were changing their plans, staying home instead of going to my father's for dinner. When she got off the phone, Gwen told me Jane and my father would join us as soon as my father's afternoon seminar ended.

Once everyone calmed down, I asked 'Where's Elizabeth?'

Mike smiled widely, took my hand and led me upstairs to the nursery. Seven-week old Elizabeth was taking a nap. I looked at her for the first time and fell in love immediately. I watched her sleep for only a few minutes before Mike whispered, 'We should leave her. She's only just gone down for her nap.'

I headed for the kitchen. I was hungry. I'd survived on nothing but beer and coffee since dinner in the mess hall at Ft. Benning. Gwen told me to sit but I stood while she assembled a heaping plate of scrambled eggs, a ham steak, home fries and toast. I turned down an offer of coffee and poured a glass of orange juice instead. The three of us talked over my mid-day breakfast while the twins chased each other around the kitchen and living room, expending some of the seemingly boundless energy toddlers have.

After I finished eating, we made our way into the living room to talk some more, the twins following. I tried to play with Seth and Sara, but the novelty of Dad had already worn off. As Gwen, Mike, and I talked, I fought to stay awake. I hadn't slept on the flight and only lightly dozed during the drive. Despite my best efforts, I drifted off sitting on the couch.

When I woke, my neck was stiff and sore. My uniform jacket was draped over the back of the couch with my shirt on top of it. I didn't remember taking them off. I could hear Gwen, Mike, and Jane talking in the kitchen. My father was sitting in a chair opposite me with his nose in a pile of papers. When I sat up, he looked up from his work.

'Welcome home, Lieutenant,' he said with a smile. 'How long are you home for?'

I smiled back at him. 'I'm assigned to Jet Propulsion Laboratory. I've got a few weeks off before I report. I'm not sure where I'll be billeted. Hopefully here. My guess is I'll be around for a while.'

'It's good to see you, Jonas. I thought you were on the way to Korea until Gwen told me you were at Ft. Benning. How did OCS go?' he asked off-handedly as his attention drifted back to the pile of papers in his lap, though he couldn't wipe the grin off his face.

'It went well enough. I was in class with a good group of men that I came to think of as friends. Though, I'm not sure they thought of me that way when I left them last night,' I told him.

'Why is that, Jonas?' he asked distractedly.

'We all received a commission as a second lieutenant. But I was promoted to major a few hours later.'

That got his attention. 'What? Did you say Major?' he asked. 'I don't understand. You skipped over first lieutenant and captain to major the same day you were commissioned?'

'I think it has something to do with my role at JPL.'

My father dropped the papers that he'd been reading and gave me his full attention. We talked for about a half hour. He counseled me to tread carefully with any subordinate military officers I worked with. There would probably be experienced officers working with, maybe even for, me. I should make sure I accorded them appropriate respect, even if I outranked them. It was likely my recent OCS commission would be common knowledge. Jane interrupted us to announce dinner would be ready in twenty minutes.

'Dad, I try to be considerate of everyone.' I excused myself to wash up and change. I came back down just as dinner was going on the table.

After we ate, I helped Jane clean up in the kitchen while Gwen, Mike and my father got the twins and Elizabeth ready for bed. Jane and I talked some while we cleaned up. But the conversation was tense. We hadn't spoken since she'd learned Mike was pregnant. The strain was palpable. She avoided discussing Mike and Elizabeth. It was plain to see she adored Elizabeth. Her problem was with Mike, Gwen, and me.

After cleaning up the kitchen, I got to hold Elizabeth for the first time. It was as much a revelation as the first time I held the twins. Naturally I talked to her, sounding like every other idiot father holding his newborn. She looked up at me while I held her and searched my face as I talked to her. She'd move her mouth and contort her cheeks at times like she was trying say something, but she made no sounds. Mike handed me a bottle of formula and the focus of her attention changed the moment I touched the nipple to her lips. She drifted off to sleep as I fed her. I burped her several times as I had done with the twins. When she finally stopped feeding, I put her on my shoulder and burped her one last time. She nuzzled right in and slept contentedly until Mike put her in her crib.

When my father and Jane left for the night, I got a hug from Jane. After she broke the hug, she looked me in the eye and said, 'I'm still angry with the three of you. It's going to take some time and we'll have to talk. I hope we can get past what's bothering me.' I only nodded. Much as I loved Mike and now Elizabeth, I was still troubled. The road ahead was going to be littered with problems. Jane was going to be the least of them.

I wasn't sure what she was doing but Gwen went into the kitchen after my father and Jane left. Mike and I were in the living room, listening to the radio, Mike paging through a magazine, my nose in one of the physics journals I'd missed since being drafted. Mike got up, crossed the room, and came up behind me. She embraced me over the back of the couch, kissed me on the cheek and squeezed me tightly. 'You're spending your first night alone with Gwen,' she whispered in my ear. 'She's been worried sick since you left. She was better after she learned you were in Georgia, but only a little better. She needs to have you to herself tonight.' With another squeeze but not another word, she left the living room and went up to bed.

Gwen came into the living room a few minutes later and curled up beside me. I closed the journal I was reading and put my arm around her. She leaned her head on my shoulder and sighed contentedly. 'Where's Mike?' she asked as she snuggled in close to me.

'She said she was tired and went up to bed,' I responded. I didn't mention what Mike told me.

Gwen lifted her head and looked at me with a little frown. 'On your first night home?' she asked. 'I'm surprised. She's missed you as much as I have. We've slept together almost every night since you've been gone. But all we've done is sleep. We couldn't be together without you. It just didn't feel right.' After she held herself against me for a few more minutes, she said 'We should go up to bed. The twins are in the habit of being up with the sun.'

I smiled down at the top of the head resting on my shoulder again. 'Sounds like a good idea. I've been up every morning at four since last August. You sleep in tomorrow. I'll get up with the twins. Sunrise will be sleeping in for me.'

I disentangled myself from Gwen, stood and pulled her to me. She clung to me tightly when she got up. I heard a sniffle and felt a warm wet spot growing on my shirt. She was crying. I didn't make a move to the bedroom. I just held her until the emotion faded.

When she finally stopped crying, she looked up at me and smiled, still clinging tight. 'I love you, Jonas. I've missed you so much. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you.' She squeezed hard, then looked up again, grinning widely. 'Now, show me how much you've missed me. Take me upstairs and fuck me!'

I'd been on the verge of tears myself until she added her last comment. She shrieked when I swept her up and tossed her over my shoulder. She giggled loudly then shrieked again as I carried her up the stairs. I tried to shush her, afraid she'd wake up the twins, or Elizabeth.

Once we were in our bedroom, I gently set her down and started to unbutton her blouse, but she pushed my hands away. She grasped her blouse below the collar, pulled the two sides apart, then shrugged it off her shoulders. The buttons hitting the floor barely registered. She removed her skirt essentially the same way; she pulled at the two buttons at the waist and unzipped it just enough to get it over her hips. It fell to the floor and she stepped out of it. I was surprised to see she wore no panties, though I probably shouldn't have been. I wondered when she taken them off.

'Are you just going to stand there?' she asked breathlessly as her bra fell to the floor. Then she added, 'Get your clothes off, Jonas Taylor. I swear if you make me wait any longer, I'll burst into flames!'

I hurriedly got out of my clothes. By the time I was undressed, Gwen was in bed, legs up, knees bent, and splayed widely. I climbed onto our bed and began kissing my way up her legs. He grabbed my head when I had progressed halfway up her thighs, pulled my face toward hers, and looked me square in the eyes.

'Jonas, I'm ready. I took my panties off after dinner because they were soaked. I've dried myself off twice since then. Don't tease me, Jonas. Fuck me before I go insane!' she begged breathlessly.

I slid further up the bed. Gwen didn't waste any time. She grasped my already stiffening cock and pulled it toward her. She hissed as she slid the head up and down the gap between her labia. When she had me where she wanted me, she gave a gentle tug and eased me in. My cock slid in nearly effortlessly. In just a moment I was engulfed in silky, molten ecstasy. She sighed deeply as I entered her.

'Oh god, Jonas, I've missed you,' she whispered once I'd filled her.

I started moving in and out slowly, relishing the sensations of moist, slippery heat and pressure. Each time I was almost all the way in, Gwen rotated her hips to hasten the last inch. I supported the weight of my upper body with my hands on either side of her shoulders. Gwen wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled her head up to kiss me while we coupled. Our tongues danced enthusiastically. I felt Gwen's hot breath against my cheek and could feel my own splashing back at my face off Gwen's cheek.

Gwen was already on edge, primed to go off before we started. Within moments, she groaned into our kiss and increased the pressure around my neck. I felt her vaginal walls contract as her first orgasm began. She threw her hips up forcefully and used her heels to try to keep my cock inside her. I still managed to pull out a bit and drove into her again forcefully. The groan became a muffled scream. She inadvertently bit my tongue when she peaked.

Her body went limp. Her head, shoulders and arms fell back onto the bed. But she kept her heels dug into my back. I set a leisurely pace as I continued to stroke in and out. After a few minutes, she became an active participant again, finding a second wind as her arousal grew again. She reached up and locked her hands behind my neck but didn't pull herself up this time. She looked into my eyes as she held me and began talking nonstop.

'Fuck me, Jonas. Fuck me hard. Fill me with your cock. I love your hard cock. I love to feel it pushing into me. I don't ever want you to stop fucking me. I've missed you so much. I dreamed about you every night you were gone. The dreams were so real I could feel you inside me. But I'd always wake up and feel empty. Fuck me, Jonas, fuck me, fuck me, fuck me. And when you're done. When you've filled me with cum, I want you to fuck me some more. I don't want you to ever stop fucking me, Jonas.'

Gwen was never shy about vocalizing her feelings while we were in bed. Alone or with Mike, she never hesitated to say what felt good. To tell us what she wanted. To give voice to her pleasures. But she'd never talked to me like this. She was making up for lost time. For all those times she wanted me when I couldn't be there.

Gwen's patter was having an effect. Though I hadn't yet felt the stirring that heralded my release, I was getting desperate for it as I listened to her. I was driving into her as hard and fast as I could while she kept egging me on. Each time I was all the way into her, she'd grunt. Her eyes never left mine. She unlocked her hands but kept her left hand on my neck, keeping my eyes locked on hers. Gwen twisted her torso slightly and reached down under her buttocks. When I felt the tips of her fingernails on my scrotum, the stirring began.

A tickle began in my scrotum, spreading to the base of my spine. It slowly climbed up, intensifying as it migrated up my back. I was breathing hard, struggling to take in enough air to allow my body to fuel the demands I was placing on it. Gwen was groaning, climbing toward another peak. Gwen met every thrust with one of her own. She was breathing nearly as heavily as I was.

The tickle gradually became so overwhelming that I knew I couldn't hold out much longer. I badly wanted to push Gwen over the edge one more time. When her little grunts changed to whimpers, I knew she was almost there. Trying to stave off the inevitable, I clenched all the muscles in my buttocks. If it helped at all, it perhaps delayed my release a few seconds.

Gwen's legs locked around me and squeezed hard. Her face turned a deep, purple-red and her hips drove up against me so forcefully, my last thrust was stopped like it hit a massive escarpment. She stopped breathing as her whole body tensed. Gwen locked her arms around my neck again and pulled herself up off the bed. She seemed weightless as she pulled her whole body against me.

I went off on a backstroke. When it began, my hips jerked forward. My body jerked erratically, shuddering like a misfiring engine. My vision went black then exploded in a multitude of colors. I felt my scrotum contract with each pulsation, firing amazing sensations through every nerve with each eruption. I collapsed on top of Gwen, no longer able to hold myself up. Gwen shook under me, lifting her hips up as she tried desperately to keep driving my cock into her.

When our bodies finally stilled, I somehow found the strength to roll onto my back. Gwen immediately followed, pulling herself against me.

'God, I've missed that, Jonas,' she said as she nuzzled into my shoulder, kissing it as she settled in. She sighed and squeezed the trapezius muscle on my opposite shoulder, holding on tightly and not letting go.

I managed to get out, 'Me, too,' before Elizabeth began crying. Gwen and I both looked at the clock. It was a little after midnight. 'Did we wake her?' I asked as I heard Mike's footsteps in response to Elizabeth's wailing.

Gwen smiled as she nuzzled back into me. 'No, it's fine. She wakes up every night around midnight to get changed and fed,' Gwen answered. 'She's almost as reliable as an alarm clock,' she giggled. 'She'll sleep after this until about five.'

A few moments later, I could tell Gwen had fallen asleep. I closed my eyes and drifted off with her. Neither of us slept very long. A tickle on the head of my cock stirred me. I reached down reflexively, thinking I needed to scratch. I found Gwen's curls in the way. I tangled my hand in the corkscrew curls I fell in love with and held her head gently while she kissed, licked, and sucked, using every trick she knew to tease my cock to stand proud again. The demands of a nearly painful erection elicited a groan from me.