Chapter 40

Fionna came awake suddenly, feeling more refreshed than she could remember feeling in a long time. In fact, she felt even better than she usually did after the healing sessions with Sally. Opening her eyes, the first thing she saw was Cindy's smiling face.

"How are you feeling?" asked the girl.

"Incredible," said Fionna. "Sorry I uh..."

"No worries," said Cindy, "I take it as a compliment."

Somehow, Fionna seemed to sense that Cindy was still aroused. She'd cum, yes, but she didn't feel nearly as fulfilled as Fionna herself did. The small teen's hand was resting on Fionna's stomach, warm and oddly heavy, and Fionna blushed as she wondered when she might feel it inside her again. Although she was more than a little sore. Still, she wanted Cindy to feel good too, and...

"I'm fine, Fionna," smiled Cindy, then, with a giggle, "I think horny is my natural state, so don't worry about it. I'll get Tina, if you want, and she can take away the soreness. I guess we, I, got a little carried away."

Fionna had had a woman's fist inside her before, and couldn't imagine being too sore from Cindy's very small hand. However, she hadn't counted on what a year without sex would do to those muscles, and she winced when she tried to sit up. Cindy's eyes got wide, and she gently pressed Fionna back down.

"Let me get Tina," she said, worry evident in her eyes.

Cindy was pissed at herself. Fionna had gone through so much pain, and here she was going and making it worse! Over Fionna's protests, Cindy started to get up, when Jane entered the room. Cindy felt her heart skip a beat. Jane always scared her. Fionna stiffened for just a second, then pulled herself up on her elbows.

"Everything alright?" asked Jane.

"Fine," replied Fionna with a smile. She shifted, and her smile turned into a wince. "Mostly."

Jane gracefully knelt beside the two. Cindy wished that she could move like that, but not even on her best day could she come close. Jane smiled at her, then leaned in and kissed her.

"You and I have to have a talk," said Jane.

Cindy's heart filled with dread, but Jane shook her head.

"Not that kind of talk silly," she said. "Now take my hand, and I'll show you how to get Fionna read for round two."

"Round two?!" the new lovers said at the same time.

Cindy was certainly squirmy in the shower. She wiggled like a little puppy as Fionna washed her, and they both ended up giggling as they cleaned up.

"So, you really want me to go with you?" asked Cindy.

"Of course," smiled Fionna. "I don't know much about the session, but Mckay's was one of the places that everyone talked about."

"I've never played in front of anyone though..."

"Thanks," said Fionna dryly.

Cindy blushed.

"You know what I mean," she said. "In public. I'm not very good..."

"Cindy," said Fionna grasping the girl's shoulders, "that's not true. I'd take you onto the stage with me anytime. A session is nothing to worry about, and that's the truth."

Stage? Thought Cindy. With Fionna? Not in this lifetime! She'd never be that good even if she lived to be a hundred.

They packed up and left an hour later, heading into L.A. to find McKay's. Once they got there, they found the place was pretty crowded. It wasn't exactly a bar, more like a tavern, which allowed Fionna to get Cindy in with no problem. They did, of course, serve alcohol; in Fionna's opinion, no good session would be found without Guinness nearby. Fionna ordered one for herself and a Pepsi for Cindy, and the two headed off to where the music was coming from. Fionna smiled and her heart lifted as the strains of Jenny's Wedding drifted towards them.

The two found seats a bit farther out from the inner half-circle of the people anchoring the session. Fionna took out her fiddle and plucked a few notes, quickly making some adjustments to the tuning. Cindy blew soundlessly into her whistle to warm the metal, then tooted a few quick notes to make sure she was in tune. Her whistle was good enough for the moment -- she was even able to tune it. She'd been saving up for a Burke, but they were expensive. This one didn't have the greatest tone, but it would do. She planned on playing softly anyway.

One of the musicians lifted her foot, signaling the last repeat of Jenny's Wedding, and when they launched into Rakish Paddy, Fionna jumped in. It took only seconds for Cindy to be swept up by the music and forget that she wanted to play softly to keep from being noticed.

It took only one repeat of the song before almost everyone but the session anchors (the other fiddle player, the guitar player, the bodhran player and a flute player) stopped just to listen to the newcomers. Whispers started up as one or two people recognized Fionna. The other fiddle player looked up at Fionna and smiled, and they went off into another tune, Cindy's whistle mixing with the flute in harmonies that Fionna had taught her. By the end of that set of songs, people were on their feet stamping and clapping as Fionna moved to the front so she and the people still playing could be closer, making it easier to pass signals. Cindy hadn't planned on it, but she was nudged along too. She didn't notice the nudging -- wherever Fionna went, she was drawn as if she were on a string. There was a lot of applause when they came to the end of that set, but Fionna could only feel the echo of the music in her veins and wanted to play more.

"Hey, that was really awesome," said the blonde fiddle player, a rather thin woman of perhaps thirty. "Damn, you're good. I'm Kelly Finley -- you new in town?"

There was a lot of laughter, and Kelly looked around in confusion.

"Kelly-girl, ya need to get away from that classical crap, and find out who the real musicians are," yelled an older man who was also holding a fiddle. "That there's Fionna Ashland."

"Fionna..." said the blonde, then the light came on. "Holy shit!"

Lots of shouting and laughing broke out as the name 'Fionna Ashland' shot like a lightning bolt though the crowd. Things were starting to get a bit out of hand, so Fionna held up her hands.

"Oy lads!" she said over the noise, "are we here fer the music or th' talk?"

Kelly quickly offered to let Fionna lead the sets, but Fionna just as quickly declined.

"I'm just here ta play," said Fionna. "so you go right ahead an' find us another tune, why don't ya?"

Spots were cleared for Cindy and Fionna up in front, and the music started again, this time with more people joining in. The music wasn't quite as crisp and perfect with so many different skill levels in the mix, but that was one point of a session, to get people of all skill levels to play music. It went on until close to three AM, and the room was packed full until the very end. For all that she was enjoying herself immensely, Fionna was quite exhausted by the time they returned to the mansion. Even so, she'd promised to show up again soon. Fortunately, she'd managed to avoid mentioning much about her health other than to say she was, rather unexpectedly, on the mend.

It had been an almost magical evening for Cindy. She'd learned a bunch more tunes, and to her genuine surprise, many people had complimented her on her playing. Cindy knew, of course, that she could play the notes of the songs, but that wasn't music. It was just notes. Fionna made music, and while some people couldn't tell the difference between playing notes and playing music, Cindy could. She knew she wasn't in Fionna's class.

Unfortunately, playing and listening to professionals all the time had its own pitfalls, and Cindy had fallen into one of them: she thought she wasn't good because she wasn't as good as they were. She was wrong.

Fionna woke to bright sunlight streaming through the window. She groaned a bit, wondering if perhaps she'd overdone it last night. She felt drained and full at the same time. The music still danced in her veins, but she had a headache and pretty bad dry mouth. She groaned and started to pull herself out of bed. She had things to do today, one of which was to prepare the paperwork to see if she could get her visa extended. Since nine-eleven, the US had gotten tighter on who it let in and when, ensuring that those people were coming in for legitimate purposes and respected the law. Small-time musicians from Canada and Europe were continually hassled, their routes demanded, their instruments poorly treated by border agents who were little more than ruffians with badges. Some musicians had just stopped coming to the US at all, and it was getting worse all the time. Of course, not every border agent was like that, but people with that sort of attitude were becoming the rule, rather than the exception. The bad guys, who ignored the rules and regulations, still slipped into the country with no worries at all.

There was a knock at the door, and without thinking, Fionna answered, "Come in."

Sally opened the door, wearing -- as usual -- nothing but a smile, and carrying a tray of breakfast.

"Oh, I don't think I'll be needin' that at the moment," said Fionna, for the first time completely forgetting she was naked as well.

"Nonsense," said Sally brusquely, taking a glass of what looked like tomato juice off the tray. She handed it to Fionna, who took it and raised her eyebrow.

"A Bloody Mary? Hardly what I'm needin' this mornin'"

Sally smiled. "This is my own special brew. Try it."

Looking quite suspicious, Fionna took a sip. Yes, it was tomato juice, but there was something about it ... before she'd realized it, she'd finished the entire glass. Her mouth no longer felt parched, and her head was starting to clear. She still felt a bit weak though. Perhaps more than a bit.

Sally stood and held out her hand.

"C'mon," she said, "let's get your day started."

Fionna took it, feeling a sluggish wave of desire start to pool in her middle. She allowed the other woman to guide her into the bathroom, where she peed, then brushed her teeth. By that time, Sally had the shower going, and before she knew it, Fionna was basking in the warmth of the water.

Energy sparkled down her shoulder, then smoothed over her back. Fionna shivered and opened her eyes in surprise. She'd always been able to feel it when one of the Circle was working on her, but never this clearly. Sally simply smiled at her, her light brown hair plastered to her head from the water. Fionna got lost in the warm brown eyes, and almost without realizing it, found herself kissing the other woman.

Energy poured into her body, flooding her senses even as sexual desire came on so strongly it took her by surprise. She found herself backing slightly away so she could take Sally's heavy breasts in her hands, then bent to suck her nipples. She was surprised to get a mouthful of warm milk. It was one of the oddest experiences she'd ever had, having never had sex with a nursing mother, but she wasn't the least put off by it. Somehow, she ended up on the low marble seat built into the shower/tub area, with her legs spread and Sally between them. Fionna moaned as slender fingers played her body like an instrument, some sliding inside her wet tunnel and one gently working its way into her ass. She looked down at the woman pleasuring her body, watching as the heavy breasts swayed in time with her movements. Sally looked up at her, her face alight with happiness and lust, and Fionna came.

It was the oddest orgasm in her life. Sex was always a using of energy. A pleasant use, to be sure, but it took energy. When she came this time, she felt energy pouring into her, coating her nerves and almost exploding from her pores. Then another orgasm took her, and another, until she almost passed out from the pleasure. Finally, Sally came up from between her legs and held her, gently kissing her face.

"Thank you, Fionna," she said. "That was so beautiful."

Fionna wasn't tracking too well. Something was happening inside her ... something had been happening inside her for weeks, and only now had she noticed it. Still, Sally's words confused her.

"Why you're thankin' me, I can't think," she said, slowly regaining her breath.

"I told you," smiled Sally, "because your orgasm was so beautiful."

Sally helped the other woman to her feet. She felt exhausted, but could feel the energy from the Circle slowly refilling her seriously depleted reserves. Working on Fionna was always tiring. Rewarding, but tiring, as the woman's body usually, well, not fought exactly, but... resisted the energy Sally was using to heal it. This time had been different. This time, it had been like a switch had been thrown, and rather than resist, Fionna had actually pulled the energy from Sally, drinking it in surprisingly large gulps. Sally had given as much as she could, not knowing if this was a one-time deal or not. She figured that she'd managed to get in a huge dose of healing.

Perhaps a little too huge. Sally's vision sparkled a bit, and she swayed, far more exhausted than she'd thought. In fact, she wasn't going to be able to continue standing ... She heard a shattering noise just as she felt Fionna helping her to sit down.

Fionna started as a loud splitting sound came from the bathroom door, and it flew open. She had locked it out of habit only -- there was no need here for locked doors. Ken, naked, came swiftly into the room.

"Fionna," he said, his voice urgent but not panicked, "let me see Sally."

Eric arrived at the door, looking confused, followed by Joan.

Ken, however, was already in the tub with the two women, the water splashing all over everything as he wrapped his arms around Sally, feeling her pull the energy from him. Fionna got out of the shower, a look of horror on her face. How could she have hurt this woman who'd done nothing but heal her -- not to mention given her one of the most amazing orgasms she'd ever had? What kind of monster was she?