Chapter 22

"Patrick, I think you should take the girls with you when you leave. I think it would be better if they stayed with you for awhile," Jeff said sadly.

The silence in the room was total, except for the quiet sound of Christina and Valerie crying softly, their faces buried on my chest.

"I'm so sorry, Daddy, it was all my fault. Don't blame Val; I talked her into it. We never meant to hurt you," Christina tried to explain.

I didn't know it could be done, but Valerie was a talented teenager so she managed to roll her eyes while still crying at her sister's insistence of Valerie's innocence.

"Why, girls? Why did you do it?" Jeff asked, shaking his head in confusion.

Both girls looked at him as if he had two heads.

"We love you, Daddy. We didn't do this on the spur of the moment, we've thought about it for a long time. Last night we found out who we really were and the Terzo genes kicked in. It's who we are; there's nothing wrong with it for our race. We didn't know it would upset you. Surprise you, yeah, but..." Christina gave a little sob again. Valerie just looked miserable.

"Are you kicking us out? Are you going to stop being our Daddy?" Valerie asked in a tiny, heartbroken voice.

"Daddy?" Christina pleaded.

They couldn't have hurt him more if they had kicked him. His heart just melted as he saw his favorite girl staring at him, eyes full of tears.

"Chrissie," he said, and held out his arms. She leapt out of my lap and threw herself into his arms. Valerie snuggled closer to me and sniffled. I kissed the top of her head. She looked up at me and smiled through her tears.

Jeff folded his arms around Christina and held her close.

"Don't be silly, girls, we're not kicking you out. Of course I'll still be your Daddy, and Grace will still be your Mommy. This isn't a punishment, girls."

"Then why?" Christina wailed as she snuggled into his chest. "We don't want to leave!"

"I thought you wanted to visit Patrick and his girls for awhile," Jeff observed.

"Not like this. This isn't visiting. This is being thrown out!" Valerie said, her voice breaking.

"You're not being thrown out," Jeff insisted. "We love you two; we would never throw you out." He held his arms out to Valerie. She scampered over and wiggled her way into his arms.

"We don't understand..."

" ... why we have to go!"

Jeff sighed. I sympathized. Try this with about a dozen of them.

"Girls, I loved what you did last night. I was shocked, but I loved it. There's no way I'll be able to keep my hands off you if you stay. I know you see nothing wrong with it, but humans would. I just can't take that chance with my position. It would be devastating if anyone found out, and they would find out."

"We'll leave you alone..."

" ... we promise!"

"You're missing the point. I wouldn't leave you alone. You opened a Pandora's box and we can't just close it again. It's not that simple. Maybe being apart for awhile will help."

The girls sobbed anew as they realized what they had done. Jeff's heart melted some more.

"Christina ... Valerie ... look, it's not only that. I'll learn to handle it and you'll be back. There's another, more important reason you have to go with them."

They looked at him, with questions on their faces.

"Grace and I can't teach you anything more. Our job here is done. We were to protect you, to keep you hidden in earthly society until it was time for you to do your job. Now it's time. Patrick and his family can teach you the things you need to know. We can't. He can awaken any powers you might have. I can't. It's time. We always knew this time would come. Believe me, I don't want to send you away. It's breaking my heart, the thought of not seeing you for a while. But it has to be done.

"This going away is not permanent. It's a working vacation. Anytime you want to visit, I'll send a plane, or I'll come see you. Please try to understand."

"I understand. You're kicking us out, sending us away, and you aren't going to be our parents anymore," Valerie said sadly.

"Valerie ... please ... don't make this harder than it needs to be. This would have happened anyway, eventually, even if you hadn't touched me last night."

"You're just sending us away so you can be with her more freely. Is this going to be a daughter swap ... send us away and you get to keep her?" Christina pouted angrily.

"Christina Marie Nelson!"

Amy's cold, flat voice carried throughout the room, even though she spoke quietly as she walked in. I looked up in alarm. Outside of dealing with enemies, she looked as dangerous as I'd ever seen her. Cindi appeared out of nowhere and stood between her deadly furious twin and the teenager in danger. She put her hand gently on Amy's chest, moving slowly so as to not trigger her temper even more.

In a flash, there were girls everywhere. I said nothing woke Megan up this early except the end of the world. Even in her sleep, she knew there was danger. She was wide-awake as she moved to a point where she could intersect Amy without inflaming her more. All the other girls materialized in the room almost magically, scattering everywhere. To the unpracticed eye it probably seemed like mindless motion. I recognized the Tarqa defense drill. Christina was effectively sealed off from Amy. Both were protected. Everyone left Cindi alone to deal with her twin.

Amy and Cindi locked eyes, staring at each other. Amy's eyes had already changed, but Cindi's eyes were a deep, gentle blue. I wasn't silly enough to think that meant she wasn't ready for anything. She was trying to calm her twin.

"Get out of my way, Cindi," Amy said, her voice as cold as ice. I shivered. The last time I had heard that voice was when she wanted to kill Megan after the battle with Bandor. That had been a fun time!

Cindi didn't bat an eye. She didn't look scared in the least. She also didn't move an inch.

"Move, Cindi. Don't make me hurt you. You know I can," Amy whispered.

"I know you can, because I won't lift a finger to stop you from hurting me or to defend myself. If you want her, you have to go through me first," Cindi answered calmly. The girl had ice in her veins. A furious, cold Amy is my worst nightmare.

"Is it worth it, Amy? Is it worth it to hurt your twin, damage your relationship with her, hurt a new friend, upset your Dad, and get everyone in your family mad at you? Maybe you should calm down and find out why she said that. Sure, she's being an ass, but so are you," Cindi said softly.

Moving very slowly, very cautiously, Cindi slipped her arms around Amy and pulled her in close, hugging her as only a twin can hug their companion. I saw Megan holding her breath. Times like this were all our worst nightmares. One of our girls out of control could be devastating.

Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief when Amy put her arms around Cindi and laid her head on her shoulder. She didn't hold Cindi tight or close, but she wasn't pushing her away or fighting her.

"Come with me," Cindi said as she took Amy's hand and led her into the corner of the room. Amy is a genius, so she didn't make the mistake of thinking it was a request.

The girls relaxed as Cindi whispered to Amy in the corner. Amy was close to tears. I listened in on their conversation. I wasn't pleased that I was doing that more and more, but I did it anyway.

"I can't believe she said that about me! I don't want her Dad. Patrick is all I ever wanted," Amy said angrily.

"Are you surprised? Amy, you spent all last night cuddled up with him, kissing him. You helped them in their plan. You told them what to do. What did you expect?"

"Nothing happened! We didn't do anything. It was harmless. I gave him a thrill. What's wrong with that? He'll never forget it. He gave up everything for us. What's a few kisses?" Amy flinched as she realized what Cindi had said. "How did you know about last night?"

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Amy! Are you an idiot? Has your brain turned to mush? I'm your twin. You think I don't know what happened last night?" Cindi rolled her eyes.

"A few kisses are a lot to two teenage girls that have wanted to kiss him like that for years. They saw it through their own eyes. They saw you in love with him, because that's what it would have meant, what it did mean, for them." Cindi sighed. "Amy, what's going on with you? A few weeks ago you never would have kissed anyone besides Patrick. Now, you've made out with Christopher and Jeff. What are you doing? Do you regret being Patrick's Life-mate? Are you tired of it? If you don't want it anymore, I know someone who does."

"I didn't 'make out' with them! It was a few kisses," Amy protested. She flushed, embarrassed. "You know ... everything about last night?" I could feel the despair in her mind.

"Yeah, I'm your twin, remember? When do I get my turn?" Cindi smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Cin. It wasn't ... I couldn't help it. I didn't plan it. Please ... forgive me? I'm sorry," she whispered sincerely.

"Nothing to forgive. I felt that too. We need to find out what's going on," Cindi said, nodding her acceptance of the apology.

"What do you mean?" Amy asked.

"A Life-mate, fooling around with someone else? Nothing too shocking about that, it happens more often than we make known, but Amma-llia? Come on, the end of the world would be more expected than that."

"Patrick said it was ok, anytime I wanted," Amy protested weakly.

"That's never meant anything to you before. Doesn't that strike you as strange? A man whose jealousy for his two special females is legendary, and suddenly he doesn't care, even wants them to have sex with other men? Even if it is fellow family members, that's not normal, not for Kitoro, not for Patrick. Even more unbelievable, Amma-llia, whose monogamy is universally known, not only makes out with two men recently, but gives up with hardly a whimper, or rather, with many whimpers, and lets two girls seduce her? Amy, those girls are lovely and sexy as hell, but you don't do girls! I know; I've been trying to seduce you for years without success. I would have to practically rape you and you just hand it over to two near strangers? Come on, girl, what the hell is the matter with you? If I wasn't so worried I'd have my feelings hurt."

"You ... you're right. What am I doing? I ... I don't know what's happening. How could I kiss someone else? Cindi, I swear ... Oh, God, I swear, I'm not tired of him. I've never regretted a single moment. What's wrong with me?" Her eyes were filled with tears.

"I know. I feel the love from you two constantly. That hasn't changed," Cindi reassured her twin, "but something is different. The problem is ... it doesn't feel wrong to me either. Weird, but not wrong."

Cindi shook her head, trying to clear it, unable to make sense of it all.

"Anyway, you need to apologize to Christina. From her point of view she was justified in her remark. It was asinine, but I can see where she might have drawn that conclusion, and you way overreacted to what she said. What you don't know is that Jeff told them before you walked in that they are going back with us. He says it's not true, but they sure feel like they're being kicked out. They were upset. We need to help them."

"Oh, God! She thought he was trading them in on a newer model. Poor thing," Amy said sympathetically.

"Cindi, I'm sorry. You know I wouldn't have hurt you, don't you?"

"Yeah, I know, but you have to learn to control that temper," Cindi lectured her.

Amy and Cindi hugged, then Amy turned to join us.

'Learn anything useful?' Cindi asked on a 'secure' channel. I shook my head mentally. I hadn't even been aware of the things she was concerned about until she mentioned them. I turned my attention back to the other girls.

Christina was pale as a ghost. Valerie wasn't much better.

"I could've died just then. Amma-llia... ? Oh, God, what the hell was I thinking... ?" Christina whispered, shaken to her core. We all looked at her sharply, our anger not disguised at all.

"Chris, that has to be the stupidest and most ridiculous, most asinine thing you have ever said," Jeff barked at her, the anger evident on his face. He was also embarrassed, as he knew it was partially his fault. His daughter wilted as she realized he had called her 'Chris'. That in itself was a token of his displeasure. Neither of the girls were used to being reprimanded, especially in public.

"You will apologize to her as soon as possible, just as publicly as you accused her. Your Mother and I will contemplate a suitable punishment for you."

"It will not be pleasant," Grace agreed as she walked into the room. Clearly, she had heard enough to know what was going on.

"I'm sorry!" Christina sobbed, shunned by everyone because of her actions. Jeff kept his arms around her, holding her.

"Don't tell us; tell her," he advised. He hugged her.

"I love you, Christina, but you are impossible sometimes," he added.

Amy walked across the room, heading for Christina again. I felt the tension escalate rapidly. Becky stepped in front of her to head her off. She seemed completely relaxed and at ease, but I could tell her body was ready for anything. Her eyes begged Amy not to do anything both of them would regret.

Amy stopped, then rolled her eyes at Becky, an embarrassed look on her face.

"You can relax, LOP, I'm not going to hurt her. I've already made a big enough ass of myself today, as my darling twin has so graphically informed me. Besides, I'd have to be a hell of a lot stupider than I appear right now to take you on."

Becky grinned, touched Amy on the cheek sympathetically, and stepped aside.

Amy walked up to Christina, and reached out to hug her. Christina flinched. Amy winced.

"I'm sorry, Christina. I didn't know. Please don't be afraid of me. Surely you know what Cornazans are like; we're a little unstable sometimes," she murmured.

"Ya think?" she giggled nervously. Amy hugged her.

"I'm not trying to steal your Dad. I don't love him like that. I just wanted him to have a good time last night, help him live a little bit of a fantasy. I already have my man and I'm not looking for another."

"You mean the legends about you being exclusive to Kitoro are true?" Christina asked skeptically.

"Of course they are. Why would you think otherwise?"

"Well, it's just ... don't get mad, but the way you were kissing my Dad, I just assumed ... what were you doing, then?"

Amy sighed.

"I don't know," she whispered. "I don't know what the hell I was doing. My sister asked the same question, and I didn't have an answer for her either. All I know is that I don't love your Dad and I had no intentions of going any further than I did."

I saw the quick look that Christina and Valerie exchanged.

"Amy, how old are you?" Valerie asked.

"Fourteen."

"When's your birthday? Oh wait; it's the same as ours, April 13^th. So you'll be fifteen soon," Valerie mused.

"You should know my birthday. All our people's birthdays are the same," Amy reminded her.

"Actually, that's not quite true," Valerie responded.

"Huh?" twelve voices asked at once.

"You're confusing the actual birth date with the date the color energy spark is implanted. Physically, a baby can be born on any date, although April 13^th is the most popular date. However, all energy implantations, where a baby gets their spark of energy and their color is given, are on April 13th. It's interesting that all your birthdates are on April 13^th. I assume that for some reason that date was kept among you after you left," Valerie said.

"Why?"

"Well, it's probably not anything you had control over. Since you had no contact with Terzo or Miazo, there haven't been any new births among you, just rebirths of existing energy in a new body as the old body died. Truly new births would require some substitute for being born on Terzo and then combining with an energy spark on Miazo. I see no evidence that Earth can replace that. Even if it could, I doubt that your minds would have allowed it. That birth and linking process is one way that we suspect the Qerda can track us." Valerie was a fount of information. I wondered if she was related to Lisa.

"Sisters," Valerie giggled. Oops. How long had she been reading my mind? Valerie giggled again and blushed. That long, huh? Sisters? Not stepsisters? That meant she and her sister were the daughters of one of my sisters. Not Amanda or Victoria, I was pretty sure. Did I have other sisters I didn't know about?

"So, why the interest in our birthdays and ages?" Amy asked.

"No reason, just curious. We need to start thinking of birthday presents for you," Christina answered quickly. Too quickly. I recognized a lie; I just didn't know what the lie was.

"Are you two girls ok now?" Jeff demanded, looking at Christina. He cleared his throat ominously. Christina looked startled, then figured it out quickly.

"Amy, I'm sorry for what I said about you. I was jealous because my Daddy likes you so much. I wish he wanted us as badly as he wants you. I'm sorry; I was being a brat."

Amy looked down at the floor, embarrassed.

"It's ok, Christina. You called me a slut. I'm not sure you're wrong. I don't want to be, and I don't understand why I am all of a sudden, but I'm afraid you might be right. It's not something I'm proud of, and I don't know what to do about it," Amy whispered sadly. I saw the fear and desperation in her eyes. She looked at me, pleading for understanding. I held her, hugged her, and kissed her soundly. I'm sure I looked surprised as I realized she was ready to go right then, in front of everyone. She gave a nervous little giggle.

"See? Slut. I'm sorry, Daddy," she whispered. She looked and sounded like she was about to cry.

"I'm not. The idea of you ready to take me at any time is fascinating to me. It really turns me on," I assured her. Was that my heavy breathing and shaky voice I heard?

"I can see that," Amy grinned as she rubbed me slowly, not even trying to hide what she was doing.

"All right, you two, either cool it or find yourself a room. Anyone have a bucket of ice water handy?" Megan laughed. Her eyes were anything but laughing. My hot little redhead wanted to join us in the worst way. I guess Christina and Valerie weren't going to be activated tonight either.

The girls and I had a delightful day as the guests of the President at his humble home. The President had some official duties to perform (imagine that, someone working for a living!). Once again, the Presidential Twins were the perfect guides and hosts. They even refrained from making me hard in public. Now, if they could only teach Amy and Megan their manners...

We had a delightful dinner together, then relaxed for an evening of talk and TV. I was amused at Jeff's attempts to flirt with Tori-llia. She ignored him completely; she had eyes only for me (take that, Jeff! Me, bitter? Never!). Christina, Valerie, and Grace just rolled their eyes and made finger-gagging motions. I didn't care; I had his two gorgeous daughters taking turns flirting with me on one side and Amy on the other. Megan smiled patiently at me, when she wasn't staring at me with smoldering lust in her eyes.

When it was almost bedtime the PT's (Presidential Twins) squeezed in on either side of Amy. She wasn't suspicious until they each kissed her on the neck at the same time. The affect of being kissed in that special, debilitating spot by two people at once was devastating to her. Her eyes flew open wide as she moaned involuntarily. She jumped over Valerie into my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck tightly.

"Save me, Daddy! Please don't let me go with them again tonight," she whispered. I was about to laugh when I looked into her eyes and realized she was deadly serious and scared silly.

"What's wrong, Amy?" I asked, concerned.

She whimpered softly.

"I ... I can't do this again, Daddy! I just can't! I ... I'm afraid I'll let them do me again, or else I'll let Jeff screw me, or worse, I'll screw him. I can't do that. Please, help me! I don't know what's happening, but I don't like it. Well, I do but ... I don't want to ... kinda ... I'm so confused!"

I looked at Christina and Valerie. They didn't seem like the type to force an issue if they knew Amy was uncomfortable about it. They smiled sadly and reached out as one to touch Amy in comfort.

"We're sorry Amy..."

" ... we didn't mean to upset you..."

" ... this will help you..."

" ... with what's coming soon..."

" ... we promise we won't hurt you..."

" ... and Daddy won't 'screw' you..."

" ... or anything else you might call it..."

" ... he wouldn't anyway and we wouldn't let him..."

" ... please, Amy, go with us one more time..."

" ... we promise you'll enjoy it!"

"That's what I'm afraid of," Amy muttered.

Amy was holding me so tight I couldn't breathe. The twins were giving me a headache.

"What's going on, girls? She's scared. Why? What are you doing and why is it good for her?" I asked.

"We can't tell you specifics, only that, what Amy is going through is the natural course of events for Cornazans. It's just more traumatic for her; the others don't even notice it. There's nothing wrong. She's not going crazy like she thinks. It's ok ... really," Valerie assured us.

"You can come with us, to watch over her," Valerie said brightly. She looked way too eager. "Or she can call you if she gets uncomfortable, or if she's afraid she'll do something with Jeff."

"Why can't you talk about it?"

"It's a female thing. We don't talk about it with males. It just isn't done. Besides, we're not exactly experts, being young ourselves."

"It's up to you, Amy," I said. I really didn't think they would hurt her.

"Please, no. You decide, I can't. I'm scared," she whispered. That took a lot for Amy to admit.

Christina and Valerie whispered together for a moment.

"Amy, Patrick..."

" ... do you love us?" the twins asked together in a solemn voice.

My eyes widened in surprise at least as much as Amy's did. I'm sure we both looked silly with our mouths opened. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that all the other girls were quiet, observing the solemnity of the occasion.

"Of course I love you; that was obvious last night," Amy whispered, blushing a deep red.

I reached over and stroked the two girls' cheeks lightly, putting all my love into that small gesture. I said nothing.

"Amy, Patrick..."

" ... do you trust us?" they asked in unison.

"I'll go with you tonight if you ask me to," Amy promised. "I trust you that much."

I stroked their cheeks gently again, and again I said nothing.

What happened next was totally unexpected, considering the solemnity of the occasion.

Valerie and Christina gave an excited little squeal, pushed Amy out of the way, and leapt into my lap, hugging me and showering my face with little kisses. I saw Megan's disapproving look as she started forward, presumably to re-establish the sacredness of the Ceremony. She looked scandalized.

Julie reached out and held Megan's hand, stopping her forward movement. She smiled sweetly at her Mother, tears running down her cheeks. Megan saw her daughter crying and immediately turned to her, concern written all over her face. Julie gave her Mother a wet, sloppy, crying kiss and whispered in her ear. Megan's eyes opened wide in surprise and she turned towards us to watch what was happening. Julie squeezed her hand and laid her head on Megan's shoulder, crying softly.

I grabbed the two ecstatic twins and tried to calm them down.

"Girls! I don't think this was the intent of the Ceremony. Perhaps you should finish what you were doing."

"We are finished..."

" ... Daddy!" they giggled happily.

Daddy?

"I don't understand."

"Our Mother was killed in the battle for Cornaza. We never knew who our Father was. Mom always told us he was not her husband but wouldn't tell us who he was," Christina said. She looked nervous as she realized what she was implying, and turned to face Jeff, looking apologetic.

"Daddy ... I ... you're our Daddy, of course ... I just meant ... you guys have been wonderful ... I'm sorry," she finished, flustered and embarrassed.

Jeff hugged her affectionately.

"I understand, Chrissie. There's no offense taken."

Valerie continued while Christina whispered sweet nothings in Jeff's ear to make up for her gaff. Grace smiled.

"Anyway, we were picked as the most useful liaisons for you because of a peculiarity in our makeup. Our profiles show that we are the two people from Terzo most likely to be activated without going through Miazo. It happens rarely. We haven't tried it because it would attract the Qerda. Anyway, before we left there was a prophecy given that we would find our Father on Earth. We didn't put much credence in it, as our Father was not from Earth."

"So, how do you know it's me?" I asked.

"That's the beauty of it..."

" ... the prophecy said that our Father..."

" ... would be the one that responded to the Ceremony..."

" ... with a silent show of affection..."

" ... and speak no words at all..."

"... no one ever does that..."

" ... so it would be obvious..."

" ... and it's you!" they finished together.

I pitied the man (men?) these girls married. I wondered if he would ever get to talk. Of course, that sounded like my situation.

"You're our Daddy!" they squealed happily, starting with the wet, sloppy kisses everywhere again. Well, almost everywhere. Maybe someday. Poor me.

"Who was your Mother, girls?" I asked, curious.

"The modern translation of her name would be Rhonda McGarrett," Valerie answered.

Julie's eyes opened wide in surprise. No matter what else happened, the twins got points for surprising Little Miss Smarty-pants. I almost laughed aloud with joy. Then I caught up with Julie and was surprised also. That made Rhonda McGarrett ... my sister? Was the whole race one big family, I wondered idly.

"You were fooling around on Amanda and Megan?" Cindi asked incredulously.

"Amanda knew," Julie explained. "Rhonda 'took care of him' when Amanda wasn't around. He and Megan were only dating, so there wasn't any commitment there."

"It's not like I was the paragon of faithfulness myself," Megan muttered, obviously referring to her dating Bandor at the same time as she was dating me.

"You were perfectly faithful by our standards, dear. You have nothing to be ashamed about," I reassured her. She didn't look convinced. Megan, the terminally guilty one.

"You are indeed my daughters, girls. Rhonda McGarrett only made love to two men in her short life, and if you weren't her husband's children, then you would have to be mine. That would also explain a lot about you two; Rhonda was a smart-alecky little snot. She was pretty, sweet, and a wonderful person, but she was a real brat."

"We're sure we don't know..."

" ... what you're talking about. We are..."

" ... the essence of sweetness and light!" they giggled together.

They turned together to face Amy.

"Please, Amy, spend one more night with us. We promise that Jeff won't touch you any more than he did last night," Valerie pleaded.

"Do you promise that you won't touch me like you did last night?" Amy whispered.

"We promise we will touch you just like last night. We promise you will come so many times you will faint, but it will be only by us, not Jeff," Valerie said matter-of-factly.

"Why?" asked Amy.

"It's necessary. You won't do what you need to do when the time comes if we don't prepare you. Don't worry; you won't ever like doing it with women nearly as much as men, and you will never want anyone as much as you do Patrick. You said you trusted us, so trust us."

Amy swallowed hard, then nodded slightly. The expression on her face looked like she was headed for a firing squad. I tousled her hair. She glared at me, then held me tight. I could feel her trembling.

"Relax, they won't hurt you and you'll enjoy it. I don't know why they say it's necessary, but I trust them," I reassured her.

"I know. It's just ... I like them a lot. I feel like I'm betraying you. What if..."

I laughed. She glared at me again.

"Don't worry, sweetheart. I can always make you feel a lot better than they can." I put her hand on my cock for emphasis. She blushed. The twins giggled. Then I turned serious.

"You can't betray me, Amy. Exclusivity is a requirement of yours, not mine." I stopped her protest with my hand. "I admit, I like it, but it's not a requirement. Honesty, truthfulness, agreement on when you might stray ... those are requirements. Exclusivity is not."

"You don't want me to want only you?" she asked in a tiny, hurt voice.