Quaranteam - 808 State Ch. 07-09

Author's Note: As always, mahalo nui loa to Devin McTaggert (Corrupting Power) for permitting me to write in a corner of his creation. And also to the other QT writers for their continued support, encouragement, and friendship. Please, check out their works — they're a very talented group, and I'm fortunate to be counted among them!

My apologies for the delay. A few issues affected this release; one — in a very odd life imitating art situation — being a dramatic change in my wife's work schedule which has left me feeling a bit like Mal (in one way). That has consequently cut into my available time to edit and format chapters for submission. I'll admit it, I'm worrying about that impact a skosh, and hoping no further bloody art-life parallels arise. Or additional issues with the wife's work schedule.

That's one of the reasons for the delay. I'm not going to get into the others here, other than to say that my puʻuwai (heart) also hasn't really been in lately it as a result.

Chapter 7

July 11th, 2020 -- afternoon

Malcolm sat along one side of the table, having just completed his Oracle survey, and was now desperately searching how to scrub individual elements of search history from the browser, having not thought to put it into Private mode for the first few times he'd needed to look up one of the many fetishes listed. It wasn't until he'd learned that "vorarephilia" meant becoming aroused from eating body parts that he realized he was still in normal browsing mode. That search came after he'd looked up "xylophilia" — arousal from wood, and "trichophilia" — arousal from hair.

Mal had thought long and hard about selecting the latter — he did really like touching and playing with Gwen's hair, and how it smelled, regardless if she had just washed it or not. But, when considering the broad spectrum the fetish encompassed, he ultimately passed on it. There were some others he marked though. He got a little nervous when he then had to rank them — he wasn't sure if he should go back and add or remove some of them. Getting to the "Turn offs" screen had him feeling a little more comfortable, particularly after he immediately marked down "vorarephilia," "watersports," and "hardsports." Mal felt like he didn't really have a problem with someone getting off on eating someone else's toenails (he steadfastly refused to consider what else the fetish could encompass) — other than the general ICK!!! factor — but by all the gods above and demons below, he was NOT going to be the one fucking them. *And, I really, REALLY wish I didn't now know that that was even a thing,* he thought.

Lieutenant Shannon Knox sat across from him at the table, having only just returned to the house from a video call with her temporary duty commander in the car. Staff Sergeant Hitchens — Jim — was somewhere outside, after asking Mal if he could take a walk around the property, and Kat, who had been pried out of her playroom for lunch, had dragged "Auntie Evvy" back there to show off her Lego sets. Gwen — who, despite having a much longer survey than Mal had more quickly completed it, the Latin she'd taken as part of her undergraduate linguistics BA prior to switching to a more practical Doctor of Pharmacy coming in handy — had followed along, both to assess Evelyn in-person and recover her when appropriate.

The lieutenant was waiting for the results of the cross-compatibility checks for Evelyn and Malcolm and Gwen. Her laptop made a hushed ping, and she clicked on the received email results. Her eyes widened slightly, and she gave a surprised "Huh."

Gwen and Evelyn had just returned to the living room, and Evelyn reacted immediately, "Is our compatibility too low?"

"What? Oh, no. You and Mal have about an 84% compatibility, and Oracle says you and Gwen are about 77% likely to get along okay. And, Malcolm and Gwen are in an established relationship, and Oracle recognizes and respects that, so it looks like everything is good, as long as the three of you are in agreement that you will be the start of a Team."

Lieutenant Knox continued on, "Now, there are some things to consider related to the vaccine bonding process. Following the injection, you, Evelyn and Gwen, will begin to become aroused. You will need to receive Malcolm's semen in order to complete the process. There will be two very strong orgasms — the initial priming orgasm, and the second bonding orgasm. They were the most intense I, or any other woman I have spoken to, has ever experienced. Following the second, you will fall asleep for at least twelve hours. There is a slight chance that Malcolm will be rendered unconscious as well." Mal gripped the edge of the table at that news.

Gwen sat next to Mal at the table, with Evelyn taking the seat across from her. "Does that unconsciousness happen every time?"

"No, it's tied to the bonding orgasm. Your later vaccination reinforcement encounters with Malcolm will be largely as normal as any prior intercourse."

"And how often do we need to reinforce Mal- Mr. Pilc- Malcolm's immunity?" Evelyn coughed, trying to cover her verbal stumbling.

"It can vary from woman to woman, but typically it's not suggested to go more than a week between encounters. The vaccine heightens your libido, and some of the intensification of orgasm is retained."

Gwen looked around the table. "Well, I think that everyone here should recognize which order this has to be done in. If there's any chance that Mal will be out for hours, I can't go first — no offense, Evelyn, but until you're biologically tied to Malcolm, I'm not comfortable potentially leaving you to care for my child for hours — I'm very encouraged that Kat likes you, but I just don't know you well enough yet, and... you aren't familiar with her routine."

Evelyn stiffened slightly at Gwen's words, but then slumped. "I was going to say that you should go first, Gwen, since you and Mal are married, but I can see your point. If I may ask, what did you guys do for child care before the pandemic?"

"We used a licensed, accredited, and fully bonded childcare provider. And paid through the nose for it. I'm not crying about the cost though — Katherine exceeded all her educational developmental milestones while she was there. And while I know Mal has tried, neither of us are trained in Early Childhood Education, so I'm not sure where she is now, but hopefully, once she's able to attend kindergarten, she won't be too behind the other keiki."

Lieutenant Knox cut in. "We can take both of you now to receive the vaccine, or one first than the other. We need to hold you for observation post-shot, but we should be able to bring you back tomorrow morning. Gwen, if you choose to come now, I'm not sure how long you intend to wait after being vaccinated, but I don't recommend holding off more than a couple of days. My originally selected partner was unavailable, and it was about three days before I got with Jim. I was feeling every second of that last day."

Mal finally spoke. "I think we three need to have a bit of a discussion first. Shannon, could I speak with Gwen and Evelyn privately?" He waited until she had gone outside, then angled himself to face the two women. "Right. Now, what the hell did you two talk about earlier? Gwen, I'm gonna be really blunt here, but do you remember way back when we started dating, we discussed open relationships, poly, threesomes, and you said that you had no interest in any of that? Now that's exactly what we're looking at! And Evelyn, again, why me? I'm zero percent native Hawaiian, and you're looking at tying yourself to me for gods-only-know how long — maybe forever! You realize that if what they say is true about contact with other men's semen, I'll be the only man you can have kids with? They'll be half of whatever percent you are; I know your parents, rest their souls, were really into the native Hawaiian movement.

"Are you really okay with this? You're not going to wake up one day and resent being tied to me? Cause if you think — at all — that's a possibility, then I refuse."

Gwen and Evelyn exchanged glances, with the younger woman deferring.

Gwen turned to face Mal directly. "Malcolm, I want my daughter's father to be safe. Our situation is dire, and the math isn't good. If I can get you protection now, then I'm going to take it. Evelyn and I talked a bit about that, and about what she needs and expects from us. Yes, you're going to have sex with her. And with the other women that end up joining us. I don't have a problem with that. I thought I made that clear after Kat was born, as long as you were discreet about it. I figured it was not my issue if you never took my offer seriously, although I wish you had.

"The three of us," Gwen nodded at Evelyn to include her. "For now, will have to figure out what sort of relationship we have. We also need to figure out practical things — does Evelyn stay here or at her place in town? Since it sounds like the two of you may be working together, the former might be easier, but you know I'm not a huge fan of houseguests. We will have to see how this vaccine affects us all."

Gwen shrugged, though it was with a certain amount of frustration. "I can't believe I'm saying this, and I HATE not being able to have a well-defined course of action, but we will have to figure it out as we go; we have nothing to base any decisions on right now, but you and Evelyn need to do the bonding thing, and Evelyn should stay here with us initially, and then in a couple days, you and I will have our session. That way, if you pass out, Evelyn's had a couple of days seeing Kat's routine, and I'll have a couple of days to get to know her. After we're all bonded and protected, we'll assess and make some decisions." Having said her piece, Gwen nodded to Evelyn.

The young woman flushed. "Um. So. Yeah... Yeah, I know... I mean, I know you're not kanaka. And... Uh. Yeah, my friends joke that I always make guys prove their quantum before I'd date them. But- See, that doesn't really matter. What matters is my kuleana — taking care of my family's ranch. And I can't do that alone, and I don't want to try and figure out who I can trust, and you already helped me, yeah? And you may not be kānaka maoli, but you were born and raised in Hawaiʻi. You're haole, but you ain't one... haole. I know enough to know you're not disrespectful, that you know how to mālama ʻāina. And it sounds like we're a pretty good match, based on that questionnaire. That questionnaire. Damn." Evelyn shook her head, thinking of some of the questions.

The young woman's hands fiddled with the edge of the table, her fingertips drumming on it. "I don't think I'll ever have a problem about the blood thing — yeah, Mom was kinda intense about it, so I went along — was easier! But. See, any kids you and I will have will still be Kopua-lineage, so who cares if they're hapa, yeah? They just gotta be direct lineal descendants from Kopua — which I am, and they will be, and nothing says they gotta be a certain percentage to be in the family or live at or work the ranch. Dad knew that the percentages would only get smaller over the generations, and he didn't want his great-grandkids to maybe be forced off the land like with the Homelands properties..." Evelyn trailed off, her voice growing quiet on the last words as she looked down.

After a moment, her head snapped back up, her eyes blazing. "Shit, Dad and I are part haole if you want to get into it. Great-great-grandma was a haole woman — nobody in the family liked to admit that. And Mom was half-Tahitian, quarter-Samoan, and only one-quarter-Hawaiian. I already don't qualify for a Hawaiian Homelands parcel, cause Dad was less than 75%!"

Evelyn looked at both Mal and Gwen, "I dunno how this will work out either. I mean, just yesterday I was stressing about caring for the herd and the ranch, and now I have to partner up with someone and at least three other women? And round up feral cattle? I hope I get to make some suggestions on future partners, and I want to discuss them with you two first, and if there's anyone you think of... And, Gwen, I really like Kat. She's such a great kid, and I'm really looking forward to, for reals, being her Auntie Evvy.

"That is, if you agree to bond with me, Mr. Pilchard." Evelyn sank in her chair, elbows on the table, propping her chin on her hands, eyes focused on the table right in front of her.

Mal sighed and rested one arm on the table as he leaned back in his chair. "Come on, Evelyn, we've already had this discussion. I told you to call me Mal. And I guess you two are on the same page on this — or at least on adjacent pages." He looked at his wife. "Gwen, I'm not gonna lie, I'm still skittish that you're going to be upset about this for some reason — that's partly why I never took what you said back then seriously. And Evelyn, I really hope you're serious about not having an issue with me being haole. Cause there's nothing I can do about that, and if we're bonded... You're stuck with me."

Evelyn leaned forward, reaching across the table to grab Malcolm's hand. "I'm okay with it. And, I think Dad would be too, given the circumstances." She grinned. "After he stopped threatening to shoot you."

Gwen huffed and frowned. "Evelyn. I know that you think it's fine because you're just joking, but stop talking about shooting Mal. I don't want Kat hearing that, even in jest. We need to establish some ground rules. No inappropriate behavior in front of Katherine. I get that this vaccine is supposedly going to dial up our libidos, but WE are the adults, and we need to control ourselves. I won't get upset by you two kissing or hugging in front of Kat, but anything further is behind a closed and locked door, understand? Crap. I'm not sure how to explain this to her."

Mal pulled at his chin. "I think we just say that Auntie Evvy is going to be staying with us. And that she needs to listen to Auntie Evvy like she listens to Mommy or Daddy. She's four. I don't know that we need to explain it beyond that. Then she'll categorize you as an adult parent-type, Evelyn, so hopefully it won't nonplus her if- er- when we're affectionate. If she were ten, yeah, we'd probably have to have a more painful — for us — conversation, but thank the gods..." Mal spread his hands, looking at the two women. "What, do either of you have better ideas?"

Evelyn shook her head. Gwen's frown intensified, and she squinted, her brow furrowing. "No," she grudgingly admitted. "I guess this will be the world we're going to be living in — we're just ahead of the curve here. Tell Shannon that we're ready, Mal."

"So... Are both of you getting vaccinated today?"

Gwen nodded. "If I have to be gone overnight for observation, I don't want to come home to Kat and then be unconscious for another twelve hours or more. I'll put up with the discomfort, if there really is any, and it's better if we're all protected as soon as possible."

*****

Mal and Kat watched as the sedan pulled away.

"Daddy, how long until Mommy comes back?"

"Mommy and Auntie Evvy will be back tomorrow morning. But a bit after they're back, Auntie Evvy will have to take a long nap. But then she'll be staying with us. At least for a while — I'm not sure exactly how long. And, what did we tell you?" The pair walked to the end of the driveway, to keep the departing vehicle in sight a bit longer.

"Uh. I hafta listen and drink all my milk?"

"Well, yes, but I meant what did Mommy and I just tell you about Auntie Evvy living here?"

"Oh! I gotta listen to her like I do you and Mommy! And she's gonna help you take care of me, like Mommy, and we get to help her with her cows!"

"That's right, honey. Though most of the time, I think it might just be Daddy helping with the cows — but I promise that you'll get to come help sometime, sweetie. Now, let's go in and see about what we're going to have for dinner." Mal sighed as the car holding his wife turned onto the main road and vanished from view.

Kat, picking up on her father's sigh, took his hand in her tiny one. "It's okay, Daddy. Like you said, Mommy will be back soon. Can I play outside for a little bit before dinner?"

Mal gently squeezed her hand. "I'm sorry, sweetie. The Air Force man, Sergeant Hitchens, told me there's a loose bit of fence — a large rock hit it, he said. And since there might be some stray animals -"

"Like Uncle Mitch's cows?"

"No, more like unhappy dogs or pigs or goats. Or geese. Remember how you got chased by that goose last year?" The little girl nodded solemnly, and Mal continued, "Since there's a puka in the fence, we might accidentally get some stray animals in the yard. Because so many people haven't been able to take care of their doggies-"

"Or gooses!"

"Yes, or geese, there may be more wandering around. So tomorrow, Daddy will patch the puka, and then you and Callie can play outside again without Mommy or Daddy."

"Or Auntie Evvy?"

"Mmm-hmm. Hey, maybe before dinner, let's go and take a look at that puka. That way I can make sure I can fix it first thing tomorrow."

"Yay!" The little girl let out a trill and Callie, who had been sniffing around a bit further down the fenceline was at her side in an instant.

As the trio had done four days before, they once again headed off towards the back of the property to try and figure out what exactly was going on.

-=#=-

Chapter 8

July 12th, 2020

The next morning, Mal and Kat had finished breakfast and — following intense pleading from Kat — were deep into a puzzle, when Callie, who had been outside conducting her patrols, as Mal trusted her enough to not leave the yard, even with the fence damaged where a large rock from the neighboring hillside had smashed into it, began barking.

They looked out and saw the black sedan from yesterday parking in the drive. Callie was standing between the car and the front door, firing off her alert-warning barks.

"Mommy's home! Daddy! Daddy! Mommy's home!" Kat was bouncing up and down in her chair, then slid off and ran to open the door. "Callie! It's Mommy! Stop barking!"

The cattle dog gave one last bark as the car doors opened, then fell into position as the little girl came up next to her, uncertain which door her mother would step out of.

Mal joined Kat and Callie, as Gwen, Evelyn, Lieutenant Knox, and Sergeant Hitchens got out of the vehicle. Kat, seeing her mother exit the vehicle, took off like a shot, with Callie close behind. Gwen dropped down and braced for the impact, hugging her daughter tightly.

"Oh, honey, I'm so happy to be home! I'm sorry Mommy had to go away last night, but now I'm home and that's where I'm staying!"

Lieutenant Knox and Sergeant Hitchens exchanged a glance as they walked up to Mal, with the Air Force NCO projecting a resigned air.

"Everything okay?" Mal asked, as Lieutenant Knox handed him a stack of papers.

"Yeah. We just have a difference of opinion on something, but that's relationships for you!" The Lieutenant responded. "So, Mr. Pilchard, I need you to sign two sets of Quaranteam partner receipt forms — one for Gwen and one for Evelyn."

"DA-6969? Seriously?" Mal scanned through the first form and signed where indicated before flipping to the second.

Ice couldn't melt in Shannon's mouth. "Dash R. Yes. Some Army admin REMF apparently thought that up. No idea how or why it got approved, but we're stuck with it now." The Army Lieutenant had a clear expression of displeasure on her face — but when Mal glanced at her partner, he thought there was the slightest glimmer of amusement dancing in the man's eye, despite his otherwise impassive face.