Chapter 2

Frank nearly knocked the alarm clock off the top of the night stand in his grogginess, groping several times for the "off" button before finally just slamming his hand on the top of the infernal thing several times before managing to hit it.

He covered his eyes with his hand, rolling onto his back. The constant low throbbing pain still lurked under his temples. He always hoped that just one good night's sleep would finally knock out that headache, a headache that a half a bottle of Tylenol had failed to even dent. Unfortunately, a good night's sleep was something very elusive to him these days.

His headache reminded him too much of Rose.

Frank sat up, and groaned when the pain briefly lanced out through his forehead. He rubbed his brow before sliding his hand over his stubble, casting a bleary eye at the clock. He had forced himself to start rising early every morning, to get him used to that routine again for when he landed that new job. Everything he did was focused towards that end. It was never "if" he got it. There could be no "if". Everything rode on this. He couldn't let Amanda down again. Not like he let Rose down.

Frank swung his legs over the side of the bed and sighed. He squeezed his eyes shut and heaved a small sob. He sniffed once and shook his head. No, he had to stop this. He had to pull himself together. He had to stop grieving.

He pulled himself to his feet, only to have the pain stab at him again. As he staggered into the bathroom, he felt a surge of anger. Anger at Rose for getting brain cancer. Anger at the doctors for not being able to just fix her. Anger at himself for not paying attention to all those headaches she was getting. Anger at Amanda for...

Frank curled his hands into fists and stopped himself. As he stood looking at his haggard, worn face in the bathroom mirror, floorboards creaked down the hall. No, he was not angry at Amanda. He would never allow that. For all he knew, his inability to get mad at the girl might have saved her from abuse at his hands when he was drunk. He sometimes feared that he really had hurt her but didn't remember, and Amanda was dutifully covering up for him as she always did.

Frank felt tears threatening to flow again, but this time for Amanda.

He looked at himself in the mirror again. It was said that a person's pride could be measured by how well he can stomach what he sees in a mirror. When he looked, he never really saw himself. He saw other people, other people that he failed or could fail. He used to see Rose all the time in that mirror. Now he saw Amanda.

Frank realized he had been gripping the sides of the sink as if needing to hold himself up. When he let go, he discovered it was just to stop his hands from shaking. He looked up at himself again.

God, he needed a drink.

Frank decided not to shave. With the way he was shaking, he'd hurt himself, even with an electric razor. He instead just put a robe on, splashed some cold water on his face, and headed out of his bedroom, wanting to catch Amanda before she left. He thrust his hands into the pockets on the robe so Amanda would not see them.

Frank caught Amanda down in the kitchen, throwing together a small breakfast for herself. She caught sight of Frank and smiled warmly. "Good morning," she called out brightly.

"Morning, princess," Frank said, the corner's of his mouth tugging upwards at Amanda's infectious smile.

"Would you like me to make you something?" Amanda said as she pushed around some scrambled eggs in a pan on the stove.

"Oh, no, that's fine." Frank took a seat at the table. The truth was, he had no appetite, and even the delicious smells of Amanda's cooking were making his stomach turn.

"Oh, come on, you have to have something. Sure I can't tempt you with some bacon?"

That almost made him hungry. Amanda knew how to cook bacon perfectly every time. It was something she picked up from Rose.

Oh, God, Rose.

Frank took a quick, deep breath, trying to ignore the pain, forcing a smile. "Thank you, princess, but I'm all right."

Amanda looked askance at him. "Are you sure you're all right?"

Nothing gets past her, he thought ruefully. "I had a bit of a bad night, that's all."

Amanda served up her breakfast, sliding the eggs onto a plate and plucking toast from the toaster before sauntering over to the table. Frank smiled wanly at her. If nothing else, he could be content with the fact that Amanda had been happier these last few days than he had ever seen her since Rose died. He did not think that just an announcement of his job interview could do that, and it put even more pressure on him to live up to that expectation.

"I just know you won't eat much unless I make it for you," Amanda said mildly. "You get wrapped up in your home projects so much."

"I appreciate your concern, Amanda, but... I'm going to go out with a friend for lunch today."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I think I just need to get out of the house for a bit, you know?" Frank said, trying to quell the quaver in his voice. "Getting a bit stir-crazy."

Amanda nodded. "But if you've had a bad night, you probably shouldn't drive."

"I'll have him pick me up." This was Frank's intent all along.

Amanda nodded again and smiled. "Well, have a good time, then."

Frank smiled in return. Here he was, taking advantage of his daughter's trust, and smiling for it.

You bastard, he thought at himself.

The two of them made small talk until Amanda had finished her breakfast. "Gotta run," Amanda said, sweeping her plates over to the sink. "And leave the dishes, I'll take care of them when I get home."

Frank just smiled in return again. He was afraid his voice would choke if he tried to speak. It was all he could do not to sob again when Amanda paused to give him a small kiss on his cheek. "I'll see you later."

He waited until he heard the front door close behind Amanda before allowing himself to shed a single tear. He sniffed once. He knew he should not drink. He knew it would cause only more problems for him. But he was in too much pain. He needed a break from it. Just a small break, that's all. Just enough to get him through this, to get him that job. He'll be careful. He can control himself.

Frank took one last deep breath and headed for the phone.

"Hey, George," Frank said when the other end was finally answered. "Yeah, I know it's early, sorry... listen... I-I need to get away from this place for a bit. How does lunch sound?... Yeah... No, can you come for me here?... Okay... oh, anywhere we can grab a bite and... and have a drink or two..."

Amanda glanced at the thickening clouds over the mountains west of town as she headed home from school, rushing a bit in her eagerness to get home. She hoped the rain would hold off, even as she saw with some chagrin that some of the clouds were already flattening out on top as they rose, driven by the heat of the unusually warm spring. At the same time, she entertained the notion of it raining on her and her friend as they had sex with a bit of excitement.

Amanda did feel one regret. She had to keep this relationship a total secret. If Joan Mallard discovered that not only was she having underage sex, but underage sex with a woman, it wouldn't matter what kind of job her foster father had.

Truthfully, it was only much later, long after she had gone back home that day, that she had realized what had happened. It had shocked her, at least initially. To have had her first sexual experience was one thing, but to have had it with a woman made coming to terms with it a little interesting. In the end, it did not matter to her. The term "lesbian" flitted through her mind only briefly, and ultimately she did not care what label anyone want to place upon it. She only knew what she felt for Sirinna, and that was what mattered to her.

Amanda felt her excitement growing as she jogged up the walk to the front door, eager to try pleasing Sirinna again. According to what Sirinna had told her, Amanda had been learning fast the last few days, but she had to admit that she missed having Sirinna return the favor. Yesterday Sirinna had made a promise of "rewarding" Amanda for doing a good job today. She thought the idea of being sexually "rewarded" for something like that was both provocative and amusing.

"I'm home," Amanda called out as she entered the house. "Father? Where are..."

Amanda stopped short as she stepped into the living room as her eyes fell on the prone figure of her Frank Consco stretched out on the sofa.

"Father?"

Frank did not respond to her gentle inquiry. Amanda felt her heart pound as she approached him. Painful memories came flooding back to her. How many times had she come home before to see her father passed out on the sofa? Or the floor?

For a brief moment she entertained the panicked, horrified notion that he had had a heart attack, but now she could hear his breath whistling through his nose, and see the steady rise and fall of his chest. He was asleep.

Or passed out.

Amanda took a deep breath to calm herself. Her eyes scanned the room. No empty liquor bottles anywhere. No empty glasses. The liquor cabinet itself still stood empty. Carefully she tip-toed up to the sofa and dropped to one knee, briefly reaching under the sofa and moving her hand around, giving a little start as a playful feline paw batted at her fingers.

"Stop that, Blackie!" she hissed through her teeth.

Frank gave a small snort, groaned softly, and turned over, facing away from her.

Amanda sighed. She was going to try and smell his breath, but now that was impossible. If he was drunk, where did he get the liquor? Or did he have a drink while he was out to lunch? No, he wouldn't do that. Not with as important as this job is coming up. He was probably just tired and took a nap. He had said he had a bad night.

Amanda could also wake him up and confront him about it. But then she would feel bad if it turned out to be another case like the stupid glass orb under the sofa.

Amanda finally decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and headed upstairs. At the same time, she made more noise while changing clothes than she really needed to, hoping that it would wake him up, and she could just observe his condition. Yet when she descended the stairs, now in her shorts and t-shirt, he was still very much asleep, snoring softly.

As she looked at the back of the sofa, Blackie poked his head out and stared at her balefully.

"I wish you could talk," Amanda said as she headed for the door.

Sirinna lay on her back amongst the grasses, Amanda draped atop her, their naked bodies writhing slowly under an increasingly leaden sky. The sun had gone behind the clouds awhile ago, and now a chill breeze blew over them, but neither paid any notice to it.

Sirinna was panting lightly, one of her nipples inside Amanda's mouth. Amanda's lips squeezed about the nipple, her cheeks dimpling as she sucked in a quick rhythm, very much like a child might suckle at a mother's breast. The fingers of her hand played at the other nipple, stroking it, pinching it lightly between thumb and forefinger, giving it little tugs.

So much this girl had learned in so little time! And learned it so well!

"Oh, Amanda," Sirinna moaned, cradling the girl's head, gently pushing her even further onto her breast. She lifted one of her knees, bending the leg slightly that lay between Amanda's legs, the girl's moist arousal pressing into her thigh. Amanda drew her breath inward at the brief stroke against her mound.

Amanda lifted her head and smiled at Sirinna before sliding over the older woman's body and drawing the other nipple into her mouth. She did not leave the first alone, however, cupping the breast in her hand and flicking at the nipple with a fingertip.

Sirinna moaned again, astonished at the girl's dexterity. Briefly the pain of a loss she knew was coming made her ache. She wanted so badly to have this girl, to train Amanda herself. She wanted to take Amanda back with her.

Then Roquan's words came back to her: "No new Captives, Sirinna," he had said firmly. "Remember that. Observe only. We have enough at the moment."

For the first time in many, many years, Sirinna thought ill of her master.

Sirinna spread her legs under Amanda, Sirinna's pussy hot and wet, oozing with as aroused as she was. Amanda sucked harder at Sirinna's breast, making Sirinna cry out softly. "Amanda," she croaked in a strained voice. "T-touch me... my pussy... please!"

Sirinna was beside herself. She was begging Amanda for pleasure!

However, Amanda was only too eager to please. Yet when her hand slid down towards Sirinna's smoothly bare mound, it did not venture over her now very needful swollen flesh, but along the inside of Sirinna's thigh, coaxing her to spread her legs a little further. Sirinna gave the girl a curious look. Amanda lifted herself from Sirinna's breast and turned herself around. She dipped her head between Sirinna's now eagerly parting legs, touching her tongue to the aromatic, damp folds.

"Oh my... !" Sirinna gasped.

Ever since Sirinna had coached Amanda on how to please her like this a few days ago, Amanda had done it from the other direction. Ever since she started school that morning, Amanda got it in her head to try it this way, from a different angle.

Sirinna moaned deeply. Great gods, this girl was clever! Her tongue moved in quickening, deep strokes against Sirinna's womanhood. She felt fingers gently part her labia, exposing more of the tender flesh, and Amanda's tongue following, lapping eagerly.

Sirinna turned her head. Amanda was kneeling next to Sirinna, her ass thrust enticingly into the air, her moist pussy helplessly exposed between her legs. Sirinna's lips formed a small, mischievous smile as she lifted a hand to Amanda's defenseless mound.

Amanda abruptly drew in her breath through her nose and made a small "Mmrgh!" sound that made Sirinna grin as the older woman's fingers made soft, wet sounds against Amanda's pussy. Amanda began panting as her partner's strokes deepened, and she wanted badly to part her legs further.

Sirinna's hand left the girl's slot and touched the leg closest to her. "Amanda, put your knee on the other side of me."

Amanda lifted her head, her mouth glistening and slick with Sirinna's wetness. "On the other side?"

"Yes. No, don't get up, I'll guide you."

After a few moments, Amanda had straddled Sirinna's body, her thighs parted wide, and when she realized what Sirinna was going to do, she trembled with excitement. She felt Sirinna's hands on her hips.

"Lower now, Amanda... a little further back... now..."

Amanda felt her pussy's lips gently drawn back, and then a tongue flicking at the sensitized nub of her womanhood. She uttered a short, breathy sigh, which quickly became a shuddering moan as Sirinna invaded her further, probing her tunnel, licking at her just inside the opening.

"Oh my God..." Amanda moaned. She felt Sirinna pull her hips down even further, crying out softly as first Sirinna's lips pressed against her slot, and then the rest of her face nuzzled her mound, tongue lashing back and forth, lips kissing and sucking.

So lost in the sensation, she nearly forgot about tending to Sirinna, reminded only when the woman writhed under her and lifted her hips slightly.

Driven by the sheer intensity of the pleasure radiating from her nether regions, Amanda dipped her head down between Sirinna's thighs, curling her arms around them on either side, as if to pull Sirinna open even further. Amanda pushed her tongue into Sirinna's cunt, wanting to give her as much pleasure as she was getting. Amanda buried her mouth against the excited flesh, closing her lips around Sirinna's clitoris and sucking at it.

Sirinna gasped, her body jerking once, surprised as she was by the boldness of the girl, and then positively delighted. She responded in kind, though as Amanda's was smaller and less protruding, it took a little gentle coaxing, prodding, and suckling before she could draw it into her mouth. When she did, however, Amanda quivered in rising excitement, making more and more urgent sounds as she rose.

Amanda, still the more inexperienced of the two, soared up and over first. Barely able to contain herself, she shook and writhed as her pussy throbbed. Sirinna moaned more and more intensely as she followed not far behind, tossing her head back as Amanda licked wildly and incessantly at her. Sirinna's hips rose and her back arched, and she let go with a cry that surely would have been heard had it not been for the same power that allowed her to remain inconspicuous in the park.

Sirinna panted through her long, intense orgasm, barely able to speak. "Oh... gods... Amanda..." she gasped, finally having to ease her off gently with a nudge and a push.

Amanda finally relented, still breathing hard herself from the paroxysms of her own climax. "S-sorry," she said sheepishly.

Sirinna let go with a long sigh as her throbbing faded. "Oh, no, Amanda, don't be! Oh my... that was wonderful..."

Amanda smiled and drew herself up. Within moments she was snuggled up next to Sirinna, just as the first light drops of rain pattered down on them from the gray skies. They hugged each other tightly, Sirinna still quite astonished and dazed at what had happened.

Amanda smiled at Sirinna. "So was what you did my reward?"

Sirinna laughed. "Amanda, I don't think I even began to reward you for that."

Amanda felt very pleased to hear this. If nothing else, at least this was one thing that was going right for her. If everything else collapsed around her, at least she had Sirinna.

The rain soon grew from a bare drizzle to a light, steady rain, forcing Amanda and Sirinna to retreat to the trees, dressing before making the slow walk back to the park. Now that the euphoria of their tryst had waned and the passion had ebbed, Amanda's troubles came flooding back to her.

"Is something wrong, Amanda?" Sirinna asked.

Amanda paused a moment, then sighed. "I'm not sure."

Sirinna had a worried thought. "Did something happen back in the grass that..."

"Oh, no, not that!" Amanda said quickly. She gave Sirinna a tender smile. "If anything, it helped me forget for a little while."

"Forget what?"

"Forget... that my father may be drinking, even after he said he wouldn't."

Sirinna let a small, heartfelt sigh escape her lips. She placed a hand on Amanda's shoulder, squeezing gently. "Did you find him drunk again?"

"Well, that's the problem, I'm not sure."

Amanda explained to her what she had seen when she got home.

Sirinna nodded. "You're afraid he had a drink while he was out to lunch."

"But I don't know! Sirinna, what should I do?"

Sirinna paused, looking straight ahead as they walked, blinking as a drop of rain dripped from a leaf into her eye. She had been afraid of this. Until this point, Sirinna had just been someone to listen to her, to feed some of Amanda's words back to her until she puzzled out a solution herself, or to simply make her feel better and more confident about herself. This was the first time that Amanda was outright asking Sirinna for an answer.

Sirinna did not have an answer. She did not understand the culture enough. Moreover, she was not supposed to get this involved. She was not supposed to get this close to anyone, regardless of whether she was to be a new Captive or not.

Sirinna looked at Amanda, and at her pleading brown eyes. So headstrong was this girl. So willful. Yet so painfully vulnerable as well. Sirinna almost felt guilty at what she was, and what she had come to Earth to do in the first place.

"You said... you said you didn't know, right?" Sirinna said, trying to keep her voice steady.

Amanda nodded silently.

"Well, then you need to know for sure, don't you?"

"You mean I should confront him about it?"

Sirinna paused. From what Amanda had told her, this foster father of hers had a heart of gold, but was in a great deal of pain. She could scarcely imagine such a thing in herself, as happy and content as she had been for much of her life, at least the part she remembered on Narlass. She did not think this man would hurt Amanda in any way.

"Yes, Amanda," Sirinna said finally. "Confront him about it."

Amanda let her breath go as a sigh, as if she had been holding it waiting for Sirinna's response. "I think you're right, Sirinna. I probably would have done that anyway. I just needed to hear that it was the right thing to do."

Sirinna only wished she knew whether or not it was the right thing to do.

Amanda ran down the street to her home, her shoes splashing in puddles along low spots on the sidewalk, her face flushed. She clutched at one bra strap under her shirt, which had come loose halfway home, forcing her to hold it in place so her breasts would not bounce uncomfortably against her chest. Petite as they were, there was enough of them to ache badly with as fast she was trying to get home.

Rain fell in waves from a darkened sky, pattering on the ground, running freely from downspouts and eaves of the houses that blurred past her, dripping from the branches of the trees of the lush green-belt that ran along the other side of the street. Long, low rolls of thunder beat against her ears and made the ground vibrate under her feet. Her hair lay shiny and wet against her back, her shirt soaked to the skin, already showing an embarrassing amount of her young, shapely contours.

Amanda was out of breath by the time she got home, panting as she let herself in, pausing only after she got the door shut behind her. Water ran from her body, dripping onto the floor of the entryway. Blackie trotted over and stopped just short of the threshold, golden eyes looking at the water warily. He meowed once and turned away.

"Princess, is that you?" came an anxious voice from deep inside the house.

"I'm here, father," Amanda said, still trying to catch her breath.

Frank emerged from the kitchen. "I was worried about you, Amanda, are you... " He paused at the sight of her, then rushed over to her. "Oh, good heavens, Amanda, you're soaked to the bone!"

Amanda managed a small smirk. "Well, it is raining outside."

Frank sighed and looked around in frustration. He ran a hand through his disheveled hair as if trying to collect his thoughts, a slightly disoriented look to his eyes. "A towel," he finally said. "Stay right here, I'll get one."

Amanda sighed as he watched her foster father head towards the half-bath under the stairs, his gait a bit unsteady, as if he were exhausted.

Or still working off the booze from lunch.

Amanda tried to get the bra to stay in place and failed. She was starting to feel chilled, goosebumps raising on her arms, her teeth chattering slightly. Frank returned to her with the towel and stopped, looking confused. "Uh..."

Amanda felt her heart lurch. She knew that look. It was the look of someone struggling to focus through a lingering haze of alcohol. Amanda snatched the towel angrily from him, only to sigh in frustration when she had to set it down so she could peel off her soaked shirt.

She had her shirt pulled halfway up by the time she realized and stopped, giving her father a significant look.

Frank blinked, his reactions slow and his thoughts jumbled. "Oh, sorry," he said sheepishly, turning partially away from Amanda and averting his eyes.

Frank only realized now just how beautiful his little girl was. Not long now, he reckoned, and she'll be turning the boys' heads, if she hadn't been already. She wasn't even using a training bra anymore. Even when he had been working, keeping her in clothes that fit over the past two years was a strain, as she had sprung up a few inches after hitting her teen years.

All this time he had been so wrapped up in his self-pity and his grief and had not noticed his daughter was growing up.

Amanda pulled off her shirt and her shorts. Her cheeks burned when her panties almost came off as well, and she tugged them back into place. She somehow felt she needed to keep that on, as if it would help cover up what she had just done in the park.

As she dried herself, the strap finally popped completely in two and spilled her breast from the cup. She tried to reattach it, failed, and tore the remainder from her body in frustration.

Frank's comprehension managed to trigger at this point when he saw the bra thrown to the floor and noticed the broken strap. "What happened to your bra, Amanda?"

Amanda's blush deepened. "Nothing," she said simply.

"Nothing? Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure!"

Frank grew puzzled as he looked at the soaked, limp material on the floor. "I don't remember buying that one for you," he mumbled to himself, scratching his head.

Amanda wrapped the towel around herself and stomped past her foster father in a huff.

"Amanda? Amanda!"

She stopped at the base of the stairs and whirled around. "What?"

"Why were you so late? I was worried about you."

"I just lost track of time, that's all," Amanda said in a softer voice.

"I thought you'd come home when it started raining."

Amanda swallowed. "I... I just thought i-it might stop."

Frank's concern for his daughter was starting to burn off the fog in his head, enough for him to read Amanda's eyes and know that she was not telling him the whole truth. He stepped over to her, Amanda's gaze locking on his eyes. "Amanda, did anything happen to you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Did anyone... " He paused, his stomach turning at the thought. "Did anyone touch you? Or try to touch you?"

Amanda's eyes widened and her mouth fell open. Oh, no. No. He couldn't know. He couldn't possibly know! "I... what... ?"

"Amanda, did someone make your bra break like that?"

The relief that flooded over her made her feel giddy. She uttered a short, nervous laugh. "No, of course not! Nobody attacked me."

"You'd... you'd tell me if someone did, right?" Frank said, his voice cracking. "Please, tell me you would, so I..."

"So you what?"

"So I could do something about it!" Frank said, his voice near shouting. "Dammit, I'm your father, I should know about these things! I sh-should protect you!"

"I don't need any protecting."

Frank clutched at his hair, pulling at it. It distracted him from the returning pain for the moment. When he spoke again, his voice was desperate. "But it's what I'm supposed to do, right? Tell me what you want me to do."

Amanda looked at him oddly, then in increasing alarm at the panic she saw in them. "What I want you to do? For what?"

"For whatever happened to you."

"Nothing happened!"

"Or what might happen. My God, Amanda, do you know I only realized now how revealing you've been dressing lately?"

Amanda took a deep breath, trying to calm her own panic now. "But father, I..."

"Amanda, just tell me! Tell me what I need to do to be a good father!"

Amanda's mouth dropped open. Slowly, it closed again, her eyes going from fear to blazing anger. Fury boiled up inside her as she remembered how she had found him earlier, how he looked when she first came home. She clenched her teeth in a final futile attempt to hold back the words, only to have them come screaming out of her mouth a second later.

"You want to be a good father? Stop drinking! Stop trying to drown yourself in a bottle! Stop trying to screw everything up!"

Frank blinked, eyes wide. He staggered back a step as if burned. "But... I h-haven't..."

"STOP LYING!" Amanda shrieked. "You had a drink at lunch today! I saw you passed out on the sofa! You're still drunk now!"

Frank swallowed, eyes glazed.

Amanda advanced on him. "You want me to go back to the foster home? You want me to leave?"

Frank looked horrified. "No, princess, no, I..."

"But that's what you're doing, dammit!" Amanda cried, her anger driving her hurtful words, even as her guilt caused the tears to trickle down her face. "You don't care! No one cares! Only Si..."

She fell silent, her cheeks burning. The next moment, she turned abruptly and started back to the stairs. She had barely taken a single step when Frank suddenly grabbed her arm and spun her around. Amanda gasped in shock, and the next moment he was embracing her tightly. Amanda screamed at him and fought, but he clung too her too tightly. Frank squeezed his eyes closed, tears silently flowing from them.

"Let go of me!" Amanda cried, but there was little conviction to her words. Finally her protests failed her, and she fell limp against him, bursting into tears.

"I'm sorry," Frank whispered in a choked voice. "I'm sorry, Amanda."

She let her daughter cry herself out, repeating his apology to her over and over, his own voice dissolving into tears by the end, his body shaking almost as badly as Amanda's. He realized this was the first time he had hugged her like this in a very long time, and it only made his shame feel that much worse. He had to take several deep breaths to prevent himself from screaming in anguish.