Chapter 27

Review from Chapter 26:

"I asked you all here to explain a decision I have arrived at. After the events last night, and after much soul searching, I have decided to ask Patrick and Megan to let me resign from the job I have held for years as the Guardian and Protector. I am not worthy of the job or title. I think it is time it moved on to someone else. I know you will all disagree, but I ask you to please honor my request. Please forgive me for failing all of you."

There was a long silence, accompanied by shocked looks. Then everyone started talking at once, decrying her decision.

I waited until they had calmed down. Then I spoke.

"Actually, I think that is an excellent idea and a good decision. I can't speak for Megan, but if that's what you want, Amy, I'll be glad to accept your resignation." Everyone looked at me in shock. I saw both disappointment and relief in Amy's eyes. Before anyone could respond, Sammi stood up.

"Sarah, can you teleport me anywhere I would like to go?" She asked in a dangerously quiet voice.

"I think so. Well, maybe not to the moon, but anywhere reasonable, yes. Why? Where do you want to go?" My question exactly.

"I know the coordinates to where Bandor lives. He has seriously hurt my friend. I never should have let him go before. I want to go kill the son of a bitch!" Sammi said viciously.

Chapter 27

Before I could say anything, Becky jumped into the fray.

"Lady... er... Sammi, that is not a good idea. It may not even be possible." Sammi looked at her, fire in her eyes, then calmed down.

"Why is that, Becky?" Sammi asked calmly. Calmly, that is, if you ignored the jumping vein in her neck.

"It might be better if we talked about this in private, Samantha... Sammi," Becky corrected herself. This time she got a dirty look from Sammi.

"Nonsense. These are my friends. What I know, they know. Spill it, Becky, please," Sammi said politely.

"For the... Prophecy to fulfill itself properly, Bandor will have to live until the end. Any deviation from that, the death of... you... or Bandor before the end would break the prophecy. Mad as you are, it's better that we leave it be for now, La... Sammi." Poor Becky! She not only was having trouble addressing Sammi as ordered, but she was trying to speak about the Prophecy without letting out too much information to the others. I had a feeling that eventually, Sammi and Becky were going to have a long talk. I just hoped Sammi would be nice; Becky was one of the sweetest girls around.

"Alright. But I want to know the instant I can put that sick puppy down. He's mine!" Sammi's eyes were glowing.

"You won't need anyone to tell you when the time is right, Sammi," Becky assured her quietly. Sammi looked at her for a minute, then she turned to me.

"What do you mean, you think Amy's resignation is an excellent idea and you approve of it?" Sammi looked confused.

"She wants to resign, Sammi. She's had a rough time. I can't blame her. What am I going to do, force her to remain?" I asked reasonably.

There was a long silence. Everyone looked at me as if I had two heads. Cindi couldn't decide if she wanted to cry or kick my ass. I knew whichever she decided it would still involve crying. Megan was looking at me, face expressionless. Katie was trying to keep from laughing. I should know better than to try to put anything over that little genius!

"Who will you replace me with, Daddy?" Amy asked, a funny note in her voice.

"Why do you care? You're not a Protector anymore. It's none of your business," I said brusquely. I heard gasps throughout the room. I saw a little fire in Amy's eyes. Finally!

"I haven't officially resigned yet!" She snapped. "I'd like to know who is going to be taking care of my Daddy." She looked a little mad. I knew I could do better than that!

"It became official as soon as you told me, as far as I am concerned. But if you must know, I'm not replacing you with anyone. There will be no Protector or Guardian." I turned to Megan, as if to talk to her about something else. I didn't think I would get another sentence started. I didn't.

"WHAT?!?" Amy protested, shocked. "You have to have one! You can't do that!"

"Why not?" I asked, reasonably again.

"Because! Who will protect you? What if you get killed? You have responsibilities towards us. You can't just desert those responsibilities like that, and leave us alone if you get killed!" Amy was hot! Good! Now I could work on getting her really mad and ending this nonsense.

"Why not, Amy? You are." That should get her going, and that wasn't even the big guns yet.

"What?" She whispered. "I... I'm not deserting my job!" She said quietly. Too quietly. I hoped I knew what I was doing. I saw the same hope in Megan's eyes. I saw anger in Cindi and Sammi's eyes. I thought Katie was going to bust a gut, trying not to laugh. Little genius knew where I was going with this; I could see it in her eyes. Even Megan hadn't figured out the tag line yet. Victoria was looking at me, smiling softly, nervously. She knew how to handle Amy also. She also knew what a risk I was taking.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I guess I got the wrong idea. What do you call it? I'm sorry, Amy. This is all my fault. I thought you were grown up enough to handle this position. I didn't know that you would cut and run the first time you encountered a rough time. It's ok; I understand. You're still a little girl. I shouldn't be surprised when you act like a little baby at the first sign of trouble." I looked away towards Megan, so Amy couldn't see the pain and self-loathing in my eyes. I could hardly stand what I was doing to my little girl, but it had to be done. I saw Megan relax when she saw my eyes. Now she understood. I heard the collective gasps of unbelief from the other girls. I also saw them quickly move away from me, nonchalantly moving to the other side of the room. They didn't want to be collateral damage when the lightning hit!

"Wha... ? I... I don't believe this! What the FUCK are you talking about? I don't believe you are saying this to me! How dare you? Are you crazy? I have defended you without fail all this time! You..." Amy sputtered to a stop, unable to even talk anymore she was so mad, and hurt. She stood up in front of me, her face inches from mine. There were tears in her eyes, running down her cheeks. I saw her ball up her fists and I braced myself. If I was wrong about this, I would be dead before anyone could reach me.

Amy looked at me for a long time, tears running down her cheeks as she tried to understand how I could be so mean to her. Then, she slowly, oh so slowly, so as not to alarm me, raised her arms and put them around my neck and hugged me, kissing me softly. Then she sat down on the couch, put her head in her hands, and cried, great wracking sobs shaking her body. I felt like such a dirt bag.

I wasn't worried about Amy now; I was worried about Sammi and Cindi. Katie had somehow impressed upon Becky that all was not what it seemed. Julie looked startled but interested, and I could see the wheels turning. Sammi and Cindi looked like they were ready to kill me, and I wasn't so sure they wouldn't as they each took a step towards me. Megan and Victoria reached out and laid a hand on each of their arms, stopping them.

I walked over to the couch and sat next to Amy. I put my arm around her shoulders and pulled her into me. She resisted for about half a second, then buried her face in my chest and cried her eyes out. Finally, after she ran out of tears, she looked up at me, confusion on her face.

"Why did you do that to me?" She asked softly, all her anger gone.

"Two reasons, Amy. You needed a good cry. Not because of what you think you did. That's a guilt cry and does you no good. I gave you another reason to cry, one that would do you some good. Felt good, didn't it?" I asked. She nodded, smiling sadly.

"The other reason was to prove a point. I just punched every hot button you have in the space of less than two minutes. I called you a little girl, accused you of acting like a little baby, and accused you of deserting your responsibilities and deserting me. I said you were unqualified to do your job, and even implied indirectly that you didn't care about me and didn't love me. Do you know what you did? Nothing. Amy, if you were ever a threat to kill me, it was in the last two minutes. Didn't happen, sweetheart. You may be a lot of things to me, Amy, but a threat is not one of those things." I kissed her on the forehead.

"What if I still want to step down? Are you serious about not appointing another Protector / Guardian?" Amy asked softly.

"On that point, yes Amy, I am serious. You are my Protector and my Guardian. I am not interested in another one. I trust you. You are the only one I want, and the only one I will have," I said, just as softly. Amy looked pleased, her eyes still a little afraid, but also pleased. She hugged me and kissed me, crying softly.

"I withdraw my request. I will be honored to be your Guardian and Protector for as long as you will have me. I love you, Daddy!" She announced proudly. I saw all the other girls relax and smile.

"You might want to hold on to that withdrawal until I tell you the rest of your new job," I said, smiling at her. She looked at me uncertainly.

"It seems we have two other people that need Guardians and Protectors. Why break someone else in if we already have a trained one?" I thought it sounded like a reasonable idea.

"Who?" Amy asked, looking perplexed.

"Well, since we now know that Bandor is after us, it would seem like a good idea to add Megan to the protected list." I barely got that out before Amy snorted in derision. "What? You don't want to protect her?" I asked innocently.

"Right. Like she needs protection. Even Bandor is afraid of her. She could better protect me. The only person she needs protection from is you, and that's mainly at night!" Amy quipped. The whole room exploded in laughter. Megan and I turned red of course, but it was pretty funny.

"Still, I would feel better," I insisted.

"Fine, Daddy, I'll waste my time standing around watching her beating up the world. Who else?"

"Well, since it seems our lovely Lady Samantha" I ducked the object Sammi threw at me "is such an important personage" I ducked again, "she could use protection also. I know you hate her; can you stand that job?" Sammi glared at me.

"I don't hate Sammi. I can't stand her sissy little butt, but I don't hate her! I could probably suffer through it, as long as it isn't for too long!" Amy giggled. My heart jumped for joy to see her getting into the teasing game. Her face was aglow with excitement. I could see the sadness and fear receding by the moment.

"Why the hell would I need such a wimpy assed shrimp protecting me?" Sammi asked, grinning. "Give me Sarah's cat; he'd do a better job and Amy's scared of him!" Everyone laughed, including Amy, but we noticed she also looked around the room subtly, checking to see if he was around.

"There is one other stipulation, though, Amy. You have to kneel down in front of Sammi each time you come into the room, and kiss her feet. You must also always address her as 'Lady Samantha'. She gets violent if you call her 'Sammi'," I teased. Amy ran with it. She moved over to Sammi, knelt down before her and kissed her feet, then looked up, eyes sparkling.

"Yes, sir! Yes, Lady Samantha. I am honored to kiss you feet, My Lady! May I lay out your clothes, Lady? Oh, Becky does that for you? Any thing you say, My Lady! NOT!" Amy giggled helplessly. The kick that Sammi aimed at her hit before she heard the 'not'. Everyone laughed uproariously. Then Amy got serious.

"I would be honored to Guard and Protect these two. It is a moot point, anyway; my services extend to all of you. I love you all and I thank you for the confidence you have in me." Amy looked like she was going to say more, but Sammi grabbed her and kissed her, shutting her up.

"No more of that! Lady Samantha says she doesn't want to hear that anymore. By the way, Amy, you were a little indisposed when I said this, so let me give you special notification, since your darling Daddy is trying to get you in trouble. If you call me Lady, Lady Samantha, Samantha, or anything other than the Sammi you always call me, or if you ever bow down to me again, you fucking die! Got it?" Sammi smiled, but we were not fooled by the smile. This little girl had no intentions of standing on formality at all.

"Yes, Lady, Your Highness, yes Miss, your humble servant unnerstans', yes Ma'am. Your wish is my command!" Amy giggled, and then shrieked as she ran out of the room, with Sammi in fast pursuit. As Sammi ran past Megan, she gave her a parting shot.

"Are you sure she isn't your daughter? She's just as big a jerk about this as you were!"

I sat back down in the chair I had spent most of the night in, relaxing. I smiled and felt the joy spread through me as I listened to the shrieking and squealing as Amy and Sammi chased each other through the house. It wasn't long before all the girls joined in. So grown up, so mature, yet so childish and teenager-like when it was rest time. Megan and Victoria left the room to prepare some food and to try to restore some semblance of order in our guests' house. They would be lucky if they weren't tied up in a chair and their hair set on fire!

As I sat there, thinking and listening to the screams of happy teenage girls, I noticed a set of peekyboo eyes watching me. Once she saw she was found out, Sarah ran up to me and jumped in my lap. Damn! The girl must have had no sexual experience at all if she didn't know there were parts of a man's body you didn't jump on! I changed my mind when I saw her grin. She put her finger to her lips, hushing me before I could say anything. She whispered for me to sit real still and quiet. A few seconds later, her cat came slinking around the corner, watching me closely. He casually but watchfully walked over to me, sniffed my legs, then jumped up on Sarah's lap, who was on my lap. He licked my hand, and then settled down to go to sleep, purring noisily. Sarah giggled quietly.

"He likes you! He never does this with anyone. I guess we can keep you!" She giggled again. I hugged her close to me; she was such a sweetie! She started to purr just like her cat as she grinned at me.

"If your Mom and Dad agree, would you like to come home and stay with us, you and your sister, until your parents come home again?" I asked her. Her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Would I get to sit in your lap and hug and kiss you? Can my cat come too? I don't think Amy likes him!" She giggled. "I guess I shouldn't have dropped him in her lap, but she was being a jerk. It's fun to tease Amy, isn't it?"

"It is. Amy likes to be teased, too. It shows her we love her. Can I ask you a question, Sarah?"

"Sure! I don't have to answer, though!" She grinned.

"Why? Do you know what I'm going to ask?"

"Of course. Everyone does. You're dying of curiosity. Go ahead and ask!"

"How could you tell your Mom all about me for years if you just met me yesterday?" Her face clouded over.

"Please don't make me tell you that. You'll be mad at me and hate me and I really, really like you an awful lot." She looked nervous, chewing on her bottom lip.

"Sarah, I could never be mad at you or hate you. You're much too pretty for that. You don't have to tell me, but I wish you would." Sarah beamed at the 'pretty' remark and kissed me.

"You sure you won't be mad? I did some bad things." This could be interesting!

"I promise."

Well," she said hesitantly, "I see things, kinda like Sammi. I've been watching you for years." She frowned, watching me. "That's bad, watching you without you knowing."

"Well, normally it's polite to tell people you're watching. But why do you think it was bad? And how did you know about me, anyway?" She really looked nervous now.

"Well... it was bad because of the times I watched you. I liked to watch you when you were... um... having fun... you know?" Her face turned red.

Holy Cow! I had a little psychic voyeur here! It didn't help my state of mind that she was cute as the dickens either!

"What did you see?" I asked, acting innocent. She rolled her eyes at me and grinned.

"Everything? Those girls really like to... do it... a lot! I love watching my favorite scenes before going to sleep!" She giggled, red faced.

"Your favorite scenes? You record it?" I think I was getting red now.

"Well... in my mind. I think my favorite was your camping trip with Katie and Amy. I didn't understand what they were doing to each other, though. Maybe I should ask Katie." Oh shit! I wasn't ready to turn this precious, innocent (?) girl over to Katie's ideas on sex yet!