Chapter 4

I looked on with astonishment as Jeff and Elizabeth hugged each other closely. I knew from the funeral that they had known each other. Jeff also made that clear in his invitation to the White House and by his speech at the awards ceremony. I hadn't realized how close they were, though.

I had been married to Elizabeth for twenty-three years, so I knew her better than most people. I recognized signs that the others likely missed. The closeness with which she hugged him, the laying of her cheek against his, the sliding of her hand slowly up and down his back, the whispering softly in his ear... they all were signs of affection that she used only with her closest, dearest friends. I suddenly realized with a small sense of shock what I was witnessing.

When Dad told me after her death that Elizabeth had a long standing affair, I asked him if he knew who it was. His answer interested me at the time, and interested me even more now. He said that she never told him who it was. Knowing my Dad and his precise way of speaking, I inferred that she never told him, but that he knew who it was. I remembered that he said it was a colleague of hers that she was in contact with periodically, that they were good friends and sometimes more, and that it had to remain a secret. He said she had also stated that she would never leave me for him. All these things flashed through my mind as I watched them hug each other. I realized with a sense of shock that I had just discovered the identity of Elizabeth's secret lover.

I have to admit that I experienced a flash of jealousy. Here was a man that had experienced a part of her life that I hadn't. She had steadfastly throughout our marriage kept me at arms length, not allowing me to experience parts of her life. All the times she had not come home... had they been because she was visiting him, sharing parts of her life with him that she would not share with me? I felt a flash of jealousy and anger. Elizabeth, Rhonda, Sarah... how many other members of my 'family' had this guy been with?

My girls are usually really good at reading emotions, but they are only fourteen and they do dumb things occasionally. Amy screwed up badly just about then. She was apparently just mindlessly monitoring my mind as she often does, and she heard the thought about who else in my family, etc. She looked at me and gave me an impish smile. My heart leapt into my throat. Oh God, I thought, not Amy too! I squelched the thought immediately before she picked up on it.

Then, I realized how stupid I was being. About Elizabeth, I mean. I still hadn't started breathing again about Amy.

If what Lisa said was true, and there was no reason to doubt it with what I had seen with my own eyes, here was a woman who had given up all to save us. She had walked into a situation knowing she was going to die, just to save us. Hell, she died twice to save us. Was I going to now begrudge her a little happiness that she had found in life? It was a little late for that; she had two days before she was gone again, maybe forever. I would make those days happy for her.

As they pulled away, I was in a position to see something that no one else could see; the moistness in both their eyes. Jeff was obviously shaken. He looked at me and started to ask the question I knew was foremost in his mind, but I looked at him and shook my head slightly. He nodded and closed his mouth.

Elizabeth then proceeded to hug Grace, Christina and Valerie. It was obvious that they all knew each other well. It was also obvious from the affection they showed towards her that if they knew about the relationship between her and Jeff, they had no problems with it. I wondered again if Jeff and his wife, with their unusual ideas about relationships, might be part of our race. I could see, however, the look of confusion on their faces, as on Jeff's, as to why she was with us. She was supposed to be dead.

Elizabeth turned to me and held out her hand. I moved over to her and she held my hand tightly, pulling me in close to her. Amy and Cindi moved in and stood by her.

"I assume you know my husband," she said quietly. Jeff nodded.

"Actually, I know him very well," he said.

Elizabeth looked at me, eyes full of love, and then looked back at Jeff.

"My husband and my girls are very precious to me. I have been away from them far too long and far too often. I am going home tonight and I am going to spend the next two days making love to Patrick as often as I can; as often as he will let me. In between those times, I am going to hold my two precious girls so tightly they will have trouble breathing. I am going to do that for two days, then I am going to go away for a very long time. I hope I will be able to come back again someday. I love them all deeply, and I will miss them terribly." Elizabeth had tears in her eyes and Amy and Cindi were holding onto her, crying softly.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Jeff asked quietly, concerned.

"Yes, there is," Elizabeth whispered. "You can watch over them, guard them, and protect them with all the power you have. You know how precious they are to me. They are even more precious than you know. Protect them, Jeff, and you will have given me the best gift you can, and you will have fulfilled my greatest wish."

"I will do as you say, pretty lady," Jeff said, abandoning all pretense of hiding his love for her.

It was about that time that Angela, Crystal, and their parents came back into the room. Crystal came up to me and hugged me nervously. She looked like she was a little uncomfortable touching me. I understood; it would probably take a long time for her to trust any male again.

"I wanted to thank you for saving me. I owe you my life. If not for you, I wouldn't even be alive right now," she said, her voice breaking. I tousled her hair affectionately.

"There's no need to thank me, and you don't owe me anything, Crystal. The girls did all the hard work. The next time you see someone that needs help, pass on what you received from us. And remember, not all men are like those men were. Don't judge all of us by what they did to you," I told her.

She looked surprised, then she looked at me guiltily, and reached up and gave me a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek. Gone was the nervousness and hesitation from before.

"You're going to rescue all the others too, aren't you?" she asked, her voice trembling with emotion. I looked at her in surprise.

"The others?" I asked.

"Yes. I wasn't the only one. There were dozens of others that they had. Please, you have to rescue them also! You're their only hope! Please?" She was almost hysterical. Her mother held her close, calming her down.

Damn! I had been so wrapped up in rescuing Angela before it was too late, I hadn't even considered that there might be others. I guess I had been hoping that Cunningham was a small time local criminal. I guess I knew different all along, but I was just so wrapped up in saving Angela.

"Do you have any idea where they are kept?" I asked, my heart sinking as I knew what the answer most likely would be.

"No, I don't. I was almost always blindfolded when they moved me from place to place. I didn't see all that much anyway. I wasn't one of their big prizes. They mainly kept me around for 'fun'," she said, making quote marks with her fingers for the word 'fun'. I saw her mother's face turn pale as she was reminded of what her precious daughter had been through.

Crystal's eyes filled with tears. "I think I was only around with Angela this time because they thought two girls together would be better. They figured the cops would be looking for a single girl. I'm so glad they didn't hurt her," she whispered to me, then buried her head in her mother's chest and sobbed.

I waited until she calmed down again. I hated to bother them, but I needed to ask a very important question.

"Crystal... Mr. and Mrs. Garner... I have a favor to ask of you," I said. All of them looked at me.

"Anything," they all three said together.

"I owe you my life!" Crystal whispered. "I am yours for anything you need... well, almost anything! There are some things I'm just not ready to face yet!" she said, smiling slightly. I messed up her hair affectionately.

"My daughter Becky has some very special talents. She's very good at hypnosis. She might be able to pick up something that you don't remember. Would you be willing to give it a try, to help out those other girls?" I asked nervously. I wasn't really comfortable with this; first of all, I was lying. Becky was not going to hypnotize her; she was going to take a walk through her mind. Secondly, I shuddered to think of what Becky and I would see in her mind. I really wasn't looking forward to wading through the images of her endless rapes. Oh yes, I was having Becky put me in her mind too. No way was I asking sweet Becky to wade through filth that I wouldn't do myself.

"Of course. Will it hurt?" Crystal asked nervously. I smiled at her. I wouldn't do anything to hurt this poor girl.

"No sweetheart; it won't hurt a bit. It might feel a little weird at first, but I promise you, it won't hurt."

Becky and I took Crystal into another room, where we could be alone. Becky went through some rigmarole BS about hypnotizing her, and then we just walked into her mind.

Oh My God! I swore right then and there that when we caught those scum, no death would be too slow for them. They would not go to trial. Not only did they not deserve a trial, there was no way I was going to make this precious girl get up on a stand and tell the world what they did to her. I wasn't even going to let her listen to others describe it.

Becky and I agreed that we would just 'tape' everything and watch it later when we had more time, in private, and had a large wastebasket handy (for throwing up in). We couldn't help seeing some of it, though. What made it worse was not just seeing everything, but feeling her emotions at the time. I will never forget the disgust and self-loathing she felt as she begged them to fuck her again. I wondered if this was how Megan felt. No wonder she didn't want me to touch her!

Becky put Crystal out while we were in her mind. Making a 'tape' is a little different than modifying a mind or just watching events in someone's mind. 'Taping' makes it so they relive the events to a certain degree. It's better if it's like a dream. I noticed while we were in there that Becky was doing some things that seemed unrelated to the 'taping'.

After we were done, we hugged Crystal and sent her back to her parents. I stayed back with Becky to talk with her for a minute.

"Becky, what else were you doing in there?" I asked. I knew Becky was as honest, ethical and moral as they come, but I was a little disturbed that she had done more than we agreed she would do. She looked at me nervously, maybe even a little guiltily.

"I'm sorry, Daddy, but I just couldn't leave her that way! I had to fix what I could!" Becky was close to tears, and I didn't think it was all because she was afraid I was mad at her.

"What did you fix, honey?" I asked gently.

"I took away all remembrance of her begging, asking for, or enjoying what they did to her. She doesn't deserve to have to live with that," Becky said nervously. She probably didn't even realize she was biting her lower lip. That told me she was holding back something.

"And?" I asked.

"Well... she... um... really likes this guy at school named Pete. I... took away the fear and disgust she had for sex and told her that if Pete asked her out, she would be happy about it," Becky said and then cringed, waiting for me to yell at her. I did.

"Becky! You can't do that! It's her choice if she wants to go out with someone! You can't meddle with that!" I almost shouted at her. She stood up to me, though.

"I didn't! I just put back what was there originally. I didn't tell her to go to bed with him! I just set it so she would feel the same way as she would have if this never happened."

She looked at me, her eyes pleading. "Please, Daddy? Don't be mad at me! It's only fair! Why should she miss out on something she was really looking forward to just because of those assholes? You would have done the same thing!" She looked at me bravely, waiting for the scolding that never came. I hugged her tightly.

"You're right, honey. I would have. I'm proud of you. Is she back to normal now?"

"Well almost," Becky said and smiled nervously at me. A chill ran down my back.

"What's that mean?" I asked.

"Well, make sure you never get in a position to make love to her," Becky said quietly.

"What the hell did you do?" I asked, horrified. Becky looked at me with a serious expression on her face.

"Well, I couldn't remove the conditioning he put in her about liking to be tied up, blindfolded, gagged and raped. But it's not fair that she has to go through that just to enjoy sex. So I... um... tied it to only show up if she makes love to you. If you ever fool around with her, it's going to be really ugly," Becky said sadly.

"Becky, when we get home, I'm going to spank your little butt until you can't sit down!" I was actually a little mad about it. I was never going to make love to that sweet girl, but still...

"It will be worth it, Daddy," she whispered. "It was the only way I could make her normal again. I didn't dare give that power to anyone but you." Somehow, that made me feel better.

We went back into the main room just as Crystal and her parents were leaving. After an emotional series of hugs all around, they left. We all sat down. Angela came over and slipped onto my lap and cuddled up close.

"Thank you again!" she whispered and kissed my cheek. I put my arms around her and hugged her. She smiled, giggled, and then was strangely quiet. I looked down at her face and saw she was sound asleep!

Michelle got up to come take her out of my lap, but I waved her away.

"She's ok. I so seldom get to see the good side of my labors. I'm enjoying this. You have no idea how good it makes me feel that she can fall asleep in my lap after what she has been through with those men!" It really did feel good.

Eventually, Michelle carried her into a bedroom and put her to bed.

We stayed for awhile, visiting. I had to give the First Twins a chance to flirt with me. They would have been disappointed if they missed out on the opportunity. Jeff and Grace just smiled and shook their heads. The two girls giggled, then turned red as they realized the effect they had on me as they sat in my lap and teased me. They whispered to each other and then looked over at Cindi. Cindi held her two index fingers about six inches apart, giggled, then blushed.

"Cindi!" I yelled at her, and then threw a pillow at her as it became obvious what she was talking about. The twins giggled and wiggled on my lap some more, blushing prettily all the while. I looked at Jeff and Grace for help, but they just laughed at me and shrugged their shoulders.

After the twins thoroughly embarrassed themselves and me, it was time to go. I decided turnabout was fair play, so I grabbed Valerie, lifted her up in the air, and planted a kiss on her that would have melted an ice sculpture. Her eyes flew open, and then she whimpered and wrapped her arms and legs around me, kissing me back. I played with her butt with both hands, and she practically stuck her tongue down my throat. When I set her back down, she almost fell on the floor. She stood there, hanging onto Cindi to keep from falling, breathing heavily. Her Mom and Dad laughed at her.

"See! That's what you get for teasing him!" Jeff said. Valerie rolled her eyes at all of us.

"Aw! Poor me!" she giggled and ran out of the room, her face red.

"My turn!" Christina announced. She reacted about the same way, and ran out of the room also.

Once again we were leaving the White House in a hurry. Some day I wanted to go there and just stay for a few days. Well, maybe if I could get Jeff to send his daughters to Nova Scotia. Then maybe I'd feel safe!

It didn't take long at all for the helicopter to get us to the airport. I looked longingly at the jet as we boarded it. It had been nice having it at our beck and call. This would be the last time we flew in it. Maybe I should buy a jet. Megan and Victoria always said they didn't feel right, not paying their share of buying the house. Maybe I'd make them buy me a jet!

We settled in as the pilots prepared for takeoff. Once again I was maneuvered into sitting next to Elizabeth. Not that it took much maneuvering. She cuddled up to me as we took off.

I think I said it before; sometimes, I just plain do stupid things. I don't mean to, I just don't understand women. I leaned over to Elizabeth and kissed her gently on the ear.

"So, what's the story with you and Jeff?" I whispered softly in her ear.

I didn't know why, but I knew I had messed up when I felt her stiffen next to me. She sighed and then turned to me, fire in her eyes.

"We have two days to be together and you want to talk about my 'friend'? I can tell you all about him and then leave right afterwards if that's all you care about me!" she snarled, and then turned away, crying.

I was shocked and devastated. I made Elizabeth cry?!? I would rather have walked on hot coals. I hadn't even started to berate myself when I felt someone standing next to me. I looked up to see Cindi, staring down at me, furious.

"Why are you crying, Mom?" she asked, her fiery eyes shooting holes in me. Elizabeth turned her head away, crying, and waved her hand in the air in dismissal. Then she buried her head in her hands and sobbed.

I was as embarrassed, ashamed, and as upset as I had ever been. I just couldn't sit there and see what I had done. I got up, pushed my way past an unyielding Cindi, and headed for the bathroom at the back of the plane. I thought I heard Elizabeth call out to me as I walked into the bathroom, but I ignored it and shut and locked the door.

I sat on the toilet seat, shaking with... I don't know what. I couldn't believe I had made her cry. I wished I could take it all back. I don't know how long I sat there.