Epilogue

Allison

I knew it was going to be rough on everyone when Jimmy and Lizzy finally took the plunge, but I really had been joking about the natural disasters, or at least I thought I was.

It wasn't as bad as what had happened when I kissed Jimmy while Jamie was still hiding inside of me. That had been ... it still gives me goose bumps ... it wasn't like that, but it was close. Thankfully, I had both Amber and Christine to keep me company.

It would be interesting to learn how far the effect had spread, but it's not like you can ask, so I was going to have to wait until the chitchat started and people started comparing notes. Eventually Bob would be able to confirm or refute my suspicions. I had no doubt that it had reached everyone at the wedding; my parents, Lynn and Mel, and of course Bob and Rebecca, had all felt it before. Of course only Bob and Rebecca knew the truth, and they had been warned. I had been concerned about Susan simply because Jimmy had spent so much time with her over the first year or so – reliving the same childhood nightmare – before he even realized it was her that he was seeing. But then Jamie had gone to hide in Phoebe – in hopes that her absence would minimize the impact on the rest of us – and reported that not only did she suspect that Phoebe knew she was there, but that she was also somehow shielding the three of them: herself, Susan, and Lizzy's little sister, Molly – who had spent the night with them so that her parents could have the room to themselves – from the effects. That was going to take some serious looking into at some point, but for right now, it was nothing more than a footnote on my to-do list.

Christine – the real Christine – had been warned as well, and I was really happy that she had brought all of Amber's toys from the apartment. Not surprisingly, Amber was the first to pass out, though I think a lot of it was just timing. I could feel the surges hitting me and knew that Jimmy and his new bride were getting close. Well, closer anyway. What had really surprised me was the wash of sensation I had felt when Amber went over the edge.

"Wow!" Christine said. "I wasn't expecting that."

"Me either," I admitted. "Kind of makes me wonder what it's going to be like when they get serious."

"You mean that was just foreplay?" she asked.

I could hear the tension in her voice, incredulity warring with apprehension. I just smiled and nodded my head as I climbed over Amber's unconscious form to kiss her. Since Amber was already out, Jamie had decided to stick around and share the joy by bouncing back and forth between me and Christine. The last thing I remember was her being ripped out of me in the middle of a mind-blowing orgasm.

For me at least, the fun ended the next morning – late morning – when I found the notice the hotel staff had slipped under our door. Sometime in the night there had been an earthquake –a really big earthquake – in the South Pacific, and a tsunami warning had been issued.

"Shit!" I swore, as I scanned the notice I had spotted on the way to the bathroom. It had taken a serious effort of will to drag myself out from between my two bed-mates; if I hadn't had to go so badly, I could have happily spent the rest of the day wrapped in their arms.

"What is it, Charlie?" Amber asked sleepily. As a precaution, Jimmy had given her to me until he or Lizzy returned. I wasn't really that comfortable with being her Mistress, but I knew how important it was for her, so I did my best not to let it get to me. I drew the line, however, at the title, and one of my first commands had been that she address me by my name.

"We're stuck inside until further notice," I said, holding up the notice. "Tsunami warning. Apparently there was a monster earthquake somewhere down south in the middle of the night. Since we're on the southwest side, we're in the line of fire if there's a surge."

"Holy crap!" Christine said. She was herself as well, since the 'daytime' Christine didn't know me and might have had an issue with my age. "I thought you were just joking about the end of the world stuff."

She jumped out of bed – I assume with the intent of coming over to see the notice for herself – but as soon as her weight was on her legs she stopped and grimaced. "Ooh! Obviously not about the rest, though. God, what a night!" She made her way over to me, took the notice, and then kissed me before reading it. "In case I forget later," she said, "I had a wonderful time last night."

"Mmmm," I sighed, hugging her and nuzzling my head under her chin. "Me too, thank you back ... and I thought I was joking about it, too. Okay, gotta go or I'm going to wet the rug and spoil the mood."

As the door was closing behind me, I had a thought and called, "Amber!"

"Yes, Mistress?" she replied.

I decided it was my tone that triggered the more formal response and let it go. "Call down to the desk and see if it's possible to get us all massages. If they can't get us appointments, see if we can rent or borrow a table, and we can take turns with each other."

"I love you!" came the enthusiastic reply. I actually heard the bed squeak as she bounced out to make the call; being my brother's sex slave must build endurance, although she was the first to pass out ... She had the news for me when I came back out.

"Good news," she said. "The regular spa is on the ground floor, and it's closed for the duration of the emergency, but several of the staff didn't get the message and showed up for work. The hotel is making them stay until it safe, so they're free. Most of their appointments were outside in the Grotto, and the customers turned down the in room option, so they've got a couple people available in about an hour and a half. The dining room is closed, too, but they are doing room service; I ordered bagels, fruit, and coffee."

"Smart girl!" I said, sidling up close and kissing her cheek before announcing, "I'm going to jump in the shower; anyone who's interested is welcome to join me."

I'd made sure we got what they called a 'handicapped room', so it had a walk in shower as well as an oversized tub.

The phone, of course, chose that moment to ring.

"That will be my mother," I said. "Amber, get the shower ready; I'll be in shortly." I picked up the phone. "Hi mom! How are you and dad this morning? Did you sleep well?"

It was a short conversation. Mostly she just wanted to make sure I'd seen the notice and that we would all be good girls and stay in our rooms as the hotel had requested. I assured that we had and that we would indeed stay indoors. Locked in with two hot babes that I didn't have to behave myself around, and I was getting a massage, too? Could this day get any better? Yes! I could get to shower with both of them!

Room service had delivered breakfast by the time we came back out, and we enjoyed a little quiet time before our massages. And then we waited...

It would be some time before I learned all the details, but it was no coincidence that Brandiy had set the kids down in the middle of a hurricane. According to her, the storm was the only active force on earth capable of masking the forces unleashed when the corridor formed. It couldn't stop them all, of course, and as a result, sometime after midnight seismic monitors all around the Pacific Rim had begun screaming their alarms into the night. As soon as the technicians – most of whom were dragged from their beds – saw the data, they immediately broadcast their findings to the tsunami watchdogs, and half the world went on alert, and waited, but the expected surge never came ... because there was no earthquake. They're still trying to figure out what really happened and why the monitors went off.

Rebecca

I waited until Bob's eyes started to flutter before I bent down and kissed him good morning.

"How you holding up, old man?" I asked

His eyes opened and tracked towards the sound of my voice; his head turned slightly; and I could tell he was having a hard time focusing.

"Normally I would take exception to that," he said, "and make you regret it, but – honestly – I don't think I have the strength. I'm actually afraid of moving for fear of what will happen. You look like you've already been up; how bad is it?"

There is always that temptation to sugarcoat it, but this was definitely not the time.

"That bad," I said. "What is it about those two? I mean, you told me Allison had warned you about a sort of ... psychic backlash, I think you called it, but even you thought she was exaggerating."

"It's Charlotte, ' he said, shaking his head ruefully, "and apparently not. Does stretching help?"

"Hmmpf," I scoffed, "took me twenty minutes before I could stand up straight enough to reach the coffee pot."

"So I should crawl to the bathroom?"

He rolled toward the far edge of the bed and then froze as the motion caught up with him.

"Ow."

"You're lucky," I said. "I was too close to the edge and actually fell off."

He moved – more slowly this time – to sit up.

"Good thing you have those catlike reflexes. Can I interest you a brisk morning stagger down the beach?"

"Nice idea," I said, reaching for the paper on the nightstand. I'd found it just inside the door on my way to the bathroom. "Not this morning, though; we're under house arrest until further notice."

"Were we that loud last night?"

He was very careful with the first couple steps, but it looked like he could make the teacher's lounge on his own. I handed him the paper and went for coffee. I sat at the little table and waited for him to come back.

"Holy Jesus!" he said, before resuming his trek to the bathroom.

A few moments later I heard the toilet flush, and then the sink ran a few times while he washed his hands and brushed his teeth. The door finally opened, and he made his way across the room at an almost normal pace. Not bad for an old man.

"I knew I felt the earth move last night, but I thought it was just us," he said, bending to kiss me.

I rolled my eyes and pushed his cup across the table. He took the hint and sat down. There were several questions I wanted to ask, but they all sounded too bizarre to even pursue. The look in my eyes must have given it away.

"What?" he asked.

Did I dare?

"If you're wondering if it's going to be that way every time they get up close and personal, all I can say is, 'God, I hope not!' If it does, we're going to be in big, big trouble."

Not where I was going, but probably a safer line to follow. At least this one didn't make me feel foolish. The others... ? I mean, it had to be a coincidence, right? That earthquake couldn't possibly have anything to do with...

"No, I don't think the earthquake had anything to do with them."

"You were thinking it too?" I asked.

"No, but I could see you were worried about asking something you felt was nuts, and that was the most outlandish thing I could think of. Given your concerns about what's been going on with Jimmy lately ... He's just a young man with a gift, Rebecca; he's not Superman, or the Anti-Christ."

"Okay, it was a stupid notion," I said, " but I wasn't going there. So what now? It looks like we're going to be stuck in the room for the next several hours, and forgive me if I spoil the mood, but sex is not an option – not for a while, anyway."

"Thank ... you ... God!" he said emphatically, setting his cup down and reaching both hands toward the ceiling. "One of the reasons I took so long in the bathroom was I was worried it would fall off any second."