Chapter 13

Day 4

4 Section 51 -- Ryan's complaint

"Look what the cat dragged in!" laughed Nicole as Ryan joined them in the kitchen. Katie, Jennifer and the two toddlers were right behind. "Looks like you had a tough night!"

Ryan made a beeline for the coffee. "You wouldn't believe," he sighed as he poured three cups. Katie kept her head down while she got Alex into his high chair. Jennifer at least was laughing.

"Mom, Dad, can we be part of your joint household?" asked Ryan.

"What's the matter, Ryan, you got the hots for your mother and sister?" asked Patrick.

Ryan settled himself into a chair, pulling Jennifer and Katie onto his knees. "That's not it at all, Dad. I need to share my wealth with you, and I need to confess that I cannot satisfy Katie all by myself."

"What?!?" squawked Katie. "You don't want me?"

"Katie, Katie," smiled Ryan as he hugged both women. "I'm the luckiest man on Earth. Well, I guess I'm not on Earth anymore. Katie, you're insatiable! Mom, Dad, this woman wears me out! And then she goes after Jennifer! We fucked all evening. We finally passed out from exhaustion. Katie woke me up three times to get more dick! Katie must have had more orgasms yesterday than all of you put together!" All of the adults were now in stitches. Katie, initially mortified, saw that all those surrounding her were happy for her and began to chuckle herself.

"I know! I know!" shouted Amanda. "We can lock Katie and Marc in a bedroom and then make bets on who is the first to beg for mercy!"

"That might be 'cruel and unusual punishment, '" laughed Nicole.

"Cruel and unusual, for sure," chimed in Patrick, "but maybe not punishment. What a way to go!"

"Ryan," said Nicole, "you and Jennifer already know you're welcome in our beds. I heard when Katie was afraid you were dumping her. I don't want to do anything to shake Katie's self-confidence.

"Katie, you are an incredibly beautiful woman. You also now have a shiny new exterior you can show off." That brought laughs. "We have always had a loving family. Ryan and Jennifer bailed on us, so we went out and recruited Marc and Ruth, Linda and Valerie, and Leah along with our Amanda. We would be delighted if you three stayed with us forever, or if you simply stayed with us for a while and then formed your own family again.

"I'll warn you, though. If you stay here, you'll have to strut your stuff until you're positively sick of being told that you're beautiful. I'll even give you a crash course on how to fish for compliments. You'll have to give and get all the sex you want. Oh, and you have to leave at least one of the men with a tiny bit of sperm for me."

"AI," said Patrick, "is there any special need to formally join the two families? Could Ryan and his family just hang out here for the foreseeable future?"

"It makes no difference whether the joining is formal or not," replied the AI. "Ryan may remain with you as long as all sponsors wish. He may split with you at any time. You and Nicole are already afforded two living units. There will be sufficient room. You are all required to relocate this morning in any case. The assignment of a living unit for Ryan and his family can be postponed. When and if Ryan wishes, a living unit can immediately be assigned. Whether Ryan stays with Nicole and Patrick or in his own living unit, the concubines Jennifer and Katie belong to him. There are protocols regarding the use, and abuse, of the property of another volunteer."

"Then we don't have to decide whether we're visiting or living with you, do we?" asked Jennifer. "And there are a lot of mothers to watch the children, in case any of us gets the itch from time to time." That brought peals of laughter.

"Is there anything of importance that we left behind in our unit?" asked Ryan.

"There is nothing that cannot easily be replicated," answered the AI. "There are no articles that came from Earth. Likewise, this unit is devoid of personal effects. The living unit you are being transferred to is twice the size of this unit. The unit is ready to receive you. Please use the transporter pad to effect the transfer as soon as possible."

4 Section 52 -- Godwin breakfast

"The children are up and about," the AI said through Martin's implant and quietly through the collars of Sarah and Sandy. The collars also vibrated, helping the sisters to awaken. The sensation on their necks was entirely new, and very effective.

The three quietly made their way off the bed. He opened his arms, inviting both into a hug. Instead, the girls gave him a peck on the cheek and a squeeze of his morning wood before they dashed for the bathroom. Martin sub-vocalized a request for a substantial quantity of hot coffee.

Instead of waiting in the kitchen for the coffee, he made his way up the lift. He found his elder sons cheerfully engaged in a pillow fight. When Daniel spotted him, he stopped swinging and ran to collect a hug. "Good morning, son."

"Good morning, Dad. Logan and me are having fun. I promise not to hurt him, Dad." Martin felt his heart swell with pride and joy.

Logan was more tentative. After all, his dad was not there. Logan knew this fella wanted to be a dad, too, but he had not yet passed muster. Logan was reserving judgment. He stood, pillow in hand, watching his new big brother and the dad wannabe. Martin sub-vocalized a call for Jack to quickly join in fending off alligators.

"Who is a hungry boy?" Martin cheerfully asked.

"I am! I am!" both boys sang out.

"Who wants to go down and have some breakfast?"

"I do, I do!"

He led them to the doorway and suddenly stopped, feigning surprise and fear. "Oh, no! We're in trouble now! Alligators! This is going to be hard!" he said. "How are we going to get to the lift?"

Both boys' expressions were a mixture of fear, wonder and excitement. "I don't know!" they shouted.

"Dad! Dad!" Martin called to Jack as he came up the lift. "Look out! Daaanger! Alligators! Don't let them get you!"

Jack immediately got the program. He crouched, held his hand over his eyes as if to shield out the sun and made to look out for the dreaded alligators.

"Dad," said Jack, "our only chance is riding shoulders. Piggyback won't do. Those alligators especially love boy toes."

Martin looked over and saw Sarah and Sandy in the doorway of the next room, watching with glee. "Hi, Mom!" he said. "Hi, Other Mom!" The sisters giggled.

"Step on those rocks, Dad," said Martin, "so you can get over here. I don't think I can do two big boys on my shoulders at once!" As Martin and the boys watched, Jack "jumped" between rocks in the pretend river, once having to pinwheel his arms to keep from falling into the raging river.

"Dad!" cried Logan, "you made it!" Logan wrapped his arms around Jack's neck in a big hug.

"Hi, Dad," Daniel said in a more subdued tone.

"Good morning, my son," said Jack as he mussed Daniel's hair. "Good morning, my son," he said as he hugged Logan back. "I am mighty hungry. You think we can get past those alligators and go get some grub?"

"Yeah!" cheered both boys.

"Okay then, who's ready for shoulders?" asked Jack.

"Me! Me!" they chanted.

"Climb on up, then," smiled Jack. Logan shot around to Jack's back and tried to climb up. Jack let him flail for a bit. Logan could not get any traction with his bare foot against Jack's bare back. "Not working', huh?" Logan shook his head. "Come around the side, here. Use my thigh for a step. Now can you get your leg on my shoulder?" Logan could not quite make it. "Logan, ask Dad to boost you up."

Logan looked pleadingly at Martin, silently asking for help but yet unwilling to use the 'Dad' appellation on the wannabe. With a smile, Martin dutifully boosted Logan up and onto Jack's shoulders. Then he gently guided Daniel in front of him and facing away. "Ready, set..." and with a whoosh, a very happy Daniel found himself seated on Martin's shoulders.

Logan and Jack went first. Jack leaned way over, 'searching' for alligators. "See any 'gators, son?" When Logan did not reply, he said, "Ooh, there's one, over there! We can make it! Hold on!" With that, Jack 'jumped' from one stone to the other, stopping once to regain his 'balance', until they reached the lift. Turning back, they saw Martin and Daniel preparing for the journey. Sandy and Sarah were still in the next doorway.

"Logan, say 'hi, Mom'."

"Hi, Mom." Sarah answered cheerfully with a wave.

"Logan, say 'hi, Mom'."

"I just did!"

"Then say 'hi, Other Mom'."

"Hi, Other Mom!" Sandy laughed and waved also.

"Let's go find some more moms. Escaping alligators is hungry work, isn't it?"

"Yeah!" The AI took its cue and the lift took them to the first level. Jack stepped off. The lift rose to await Martin.

Jack tottered forward, 'drunkenly' weaving side to side. "Son, you're getting so big! So heavy! I can hardly carry you!" He dropped to one knee, held for a beat and then smoothly continued until he was sitting on the floor, legs out in front and with Logan still on his shoulders. He coaxed Logan off his shoulders and down his back. "Whew! When did you grow so big?" Logan giggled. He was having a ball. "Is that because you're the big brother now?" Logan laughed and nodded vigorously.

"I need some breakfast to get my energy back! Let's go see if we can find some moms to give us some breakfast!" Logan began to run off. "Wait! Wait! Is it your turn to give me a shoulders ride?" Logan loved it, laughing and shaking his entire body 'no'. "No?!? I gave you shoulders! You're getting so big! I don't get shoulders? Okay. I'm hungry! Help me up!"

By this time, the lift brought Martin and Daniel to the first level. "We made it!" sang Martin. "Those alligators almost got us! Let's go tell our moms how dads saved us!"

The older Daniel knew how to slide down Martin's back. The two boys darted for the kitchen. The dads shared a wink and a chuckle before following.

In the kitchen, they found Beth and Diane making steady progress toward a breakfast feast. "You know what boys love for breakfast?" Beth almost chanted. "Paaancakes. Boys like pancakes best of all. Doncha?" The boys laughed and cheered. Beth produced a plate stacked high with steaming pancakes, which she laid out on one of the tables. Diane followed closely with plates and silver. She began serving two portions. Butter, syrup, sausage and glasses of cold milk followed closely behind.

"Daniel," said Allison -- who was sitting on Rob's lap -- "will you please help your brother cut up his pancakes?"

Daniel looked at Allison and nodded his head. "Yes, Mom," said Jack, who gently prodded Daniel's shoulder.

"Yes, Mom," said Daniel shyly.

"I'm sorry I'm not helping," Allison told Diane and Beth.

"No, you're not!" laughed Diane. "Stay where you are. You look comfortable. You look like you belong there."

"It's hard to help," giggled Beth, "when you're full of dick."

Allison made to stand just as the twins appeared, their hair slightly damp. "Wait, wait, wait!" giggled Diane, motioning Allison to sit still. "I think I know this fairy tale. Lemme see if I have it right. The beautiful and loving princess was locked in the body of a troll. Every day for well over twelve years, she gladly received the seed of her handsome prince, winter and summer, through flood," and she pointed at her own pussy, "or drought. Her own relief was self-inflicted, on the toilet, monthly, whether she needed it or not.

"Then one day the fairy godmother arrived," and she pointed at Martin.

"Hey! I'm no fairy!!" Martin sang out. They all laughed.

" ... So the Good Witch of the South," Diane continued without missing a beat, "released the princess from her troll shell and let her inner beauty -- body and soul -- shine forth for all to see. The Witch of the South roughly calculated that the handsome prince was ahead of the princess by approximately four thousand orgasms." Howls of laughter. "The Witch commanded the princess to catch up with all deliberate speed. The Witch pointed out that every 'O' from the handsome prince was exactly no help in catching up -- but it felt so, so, good, so she did it anyway, over and over and over and over..." All of the adults, including Allison and Rob, are now in stitches. The children were baffled.

"What do you want us to do?" the twins asked when the laughter had subsided.

"We're having a breakfast smorgasbord," said Allison. "Food and equipment are steadily coming out of the replicators. Please help arrange them on our new buffet table."

Lilly and Nathan darted in, followed by Sarah. Morgan toddled in, holding one of Sandy's fingers in each fist. She was grinning her pride and joy at her newfound skill.

There was a flurry of activity as the mothers were served coffee while they wrestled little ones into the high chair and boosters. Soon, plates were being filled from the smorgasbord.

"Twins, would you make please make plates for Rob and Allison?" asked Beth.

"I think Rob's already feeding her," quipped Erin as she pointed to her pussy. The room erupted in laughter again.

"Sorry I'm almost late," Laura said from the doorway. "I had to practice my pirouette. It's hard to do while wearing a bowling ball." The room again filled with laughter as Laura assumed the classic ballerina pose, arms above her head, roughly forming an 'O' and fingertips together. She began -- slowly and carefully -- to spin around, singing, "Na, na, na, na, na, na," with gusto, to applause and cheers. The pose highlighted the effects on her body resulting from her pregnancy. It pulled her breasts upward and outward. It showed clearly the oval in her abdomen that was the baby. "Like every baby, this is a miracle. I am proud to bring this life into our family, for all to love and cherish."

Sarah and Sandy rose to collect her in a big hug. At the very last moment, they remembered the 'no touching' rule. Both froze. "Aw, come here," Laura laughed. "I need your hugs right now. I need your love, all of you." When they broke the embrace, Laura said, "This is my son. Sarah, Sandy, this is YOUR son. Touch him. Feel the life within me."

When they had finished, Laura stepped away from them and stood between and slightly behind the seated Beth and Diane, who turned to look at her. "Beth, this is your son. Diane, this is your son. Will you greet him?" Beth was ready and able to do so. Diane was taken aback at the idea that the nearly fully formed baby was her son. Finally she was able to reach out and caress Laura's tummy. "I'm sorry, Laura. I'm having trouble with the idea that first I have a baby and then I get pregnant. I'll get over it, I'm sure." After they had caressed her tummy, she kissed each of them on the cheek and moved on.

"Erin and Emma, you are still virgins -- in your pussies! -- and yet, this is your son." The twins smiled radiantly and caressed her tummy.

"Daniel and Logan, this is your brother. He isn't born yet. He'll be too little to play with you for a while. Please say hello to him." Their touches were at first tentative but they relaxed when she smiled at them.

"Baby boy," she said to her tummy, "this is your mom Allison and your dad Rob." They too caressed her tummy.

"Jack, this will be the first of your sons that you'll hold on its first day in our world." He smiled and caressed her.

"And, finally, Martin. You who knew that this was your son before I did. Thank you for saving me. Thank you, thank you all, for helping me to slough the shackles Kevin put on me, which I LET Kevin put on me. As Beth told me, Martin, my abject slavery to you makes me safer, more free and more alive than I have ever been in my life. I am not crippled. I'm not completely well yet either, but I will be." The tears were flowing but she smiled beatifically as she climbed onto Martin's lap and curled up, drawing Martin's arms around her.

After that, a pleasant meal was had by all. Martin coaxed Laura to stay in his lap -- it was not hard to convince her -- and he fed her and himself from the same plate. Diane brought her some coffee and another helping of a few of the food items.

When they had finished eating, the children were excused. The boys made their own way up to the playroom. The twins guided the younger children up and got them started with entertainment. The AI assured them that it would advise if a child needed attention.

Martin said, "I'd like to spend some time consolidating our gains and making some plans. We can do it here, or we can adjourn to the living room."

It was decided that the living room was more comfortable. When they had finished eating, Martin, Laura, Rob and Allison were chased out of the kitchen. The rest made short work of the cleanup. Soon, they were all settling themselves on the sofas.

Martin opened his arms to Allison, who happily stepped into the embrace. "How are you doing, beautiful princess?" Martin asked softly.

She squeezed him tightly and held for quite a while. She pulled her head back far enough to look at him. Tears ran down her cheeks but she was smiling radiantly. "Thank you," she said softly. "Thank you for saving our family intact. Thank you for the way you've handled the twins and Daniel. Thank you for releasing me from the oppression that was my body."

She squeezed him tightly again. "I will always, gladly, do anything you ask. I will always, gladly, give my body to you. I will come to love you very soon, I know. Thank you for letting me draw comfort, strength and courage from Rob, the man who will always be first in my heart. I will bear all of your children, as many as you want, as quickly as you want. I owe you everything, Martin. For the first time in my life, I am truly content."

They stood in their embrace. Allison kissed him and he kissed her back. They broke the embrace and Allison returned to sit on Rob's lap. Martin signaled Diane an invitation to sit on his lap and she accepted.

"I had fun last night," chuckled Martin. Hoots and laughter showed that they all had had fun.

"I am so pleased at the way you and Jack have swept Daniel and Logan off their feet," said a smiling Sarah. "Logan has a new hero, Jack. He's a bit wary of Martin. Rob hasn't had much chance to be with him yet. I can't believe how well this family formation is going."

Beth asked Allison, "Have you been able to gauge how Daniel is doing in this?"

"Well," allowed Allison, "Martin has pretty much bowled Daniel over. The new and improved Rob hasn't had much chance at all to interact with Daniel, much less Logan. I think Daniel is impressed with Jack but he so far has let Logan crowd him out. I'm sure that the two boys and the three dads will get on swimmingly."

"We have a long, long life ahead of us," chuckled Rob. "I'm Daniel's father. We have a strong relationship. I don't feel the need to reassert my position with him. Daniel is confident in his relationship with me. He's infatuated with Martin. He's willing to get closer to Jack but he sees that right now Logan needs Jack more. Daniel hasn't said it, but he is aware that Logan's father isn't in our family. The two boys are getting closer to each other. They're going to be just fine, both of them."

"Can I say something?" asked Erin. The smiling group turned to face her. "I think we oughta have 'Dad Jack' and 'Dad Rob' but you," and she pointed at Martin and smiled shyly, ought to be 'Papa'." It was Beth who began to applaud and cheer. Soon, they were all clapping and cheering. Martin was proclaimed 'Papa' on the spot.

Martin said, "We messed with the boys' heads about 'dad'. I think that that was just the right thing to do. Both of the boys have a strong attachment to a dad. Daniel has a strong attachment to two dads, and is comfortable with Jack. Logan has the one dad that he needs right now. He'll come around to both Rob and me.

"I don't think that any of the younger children will be saying 'dad' or 'papa' any time soon. I don't think that's any problem at all. They'll hear Logan and Daniel saying it a lot. Sooner or later, they'll simply start using those names. Maybe each of them will use that name on only one of us at first.

"We should be gentler with all the kids about the name 'mom'. There are eight of you, including a real mom for each of the children. I'd really like your thoughts. I don't think having three heads turn when one of them says 'dad' is going to be a problem. I do think having eight heads turn when one of them says 'mom' isn't going to work at all. What do you think? About both the names 'dad' and 'mom'?"

"You're right," sighed Beth. "I suppose we have to choose whether we have them simply use our first names, or put 'mom' or 'mamma' in front of our given name, or what."

"I think I ought to avail myself of my brief opportunity to pull rank on account of I'm the oldest," sneered Sarah with a laugh. That provoked catcalls and laughter.

"By this afternoon, you'll be eighteen again, just like the rest of us," cackled Diane. "However, bein' as how you've staked out a claim to wisdom on account of your advanced age, tell us, O wise one, what's my moniker?" Everyone laughed.

Beth quipped, "I think Sarah's only trying to wind up our talk so she can go to the med bay. Maybe Jack's gaffe still stings?"

"What gaffe?" asked Allison, looking at a deeply blushing Jack.

"Jack tried to express his thought with the wrong word," laughed Sandy. "He said Sarah is old." That made them all laugh. Sarah was now blushing nearly as deeply as Jack, but they were both laughing too.

"Okay, okay," chuckled Martin. "Back to the appellation for mother."

"I don't think we ought to teach the children to use only our given names," said Diane. "Imagine hearing one say, 'Hey, Shoiley, how 'bout a little help over heah'." She used the most gruff, over-wrought New Jersey accent she could muster, to howls of laughter.

"If you can't use first names, and you can't all be 'mom' then it sounds like both are going to be needed," observed Rob.

"How about 'Mama Beth'," said Beth, "Mama Di-ann, Mama Sa-rah, San-dee, Em-ma, Er-rin, Laur-rah, Al-li-son."

"That last one doesn't roll off the tongue smoothly," said Allison, "does it?"

"With your new body and your new mindset," observed Sarah, "maybe you deserve a new name, too. Do you have a nickname?"

"No," said Allison, "I've never had a nickname. There doesn't seem to be a nickname for Allison except 'Alli' but nobody ever used that. Don't you DARE, Rob, tell them what you call me when we're between the sheets."

When that round of laughter died down, they agreed that the two syllable 'Alli' would work for the time being. "Allison," said Beth, "I think you deserve a better name than an abbreviation that no one would bother to use in the past. You're better than that. Do you have a first name that you really, really like? Do you really, really like your middle name?"

"My middle name is Claire," Allison said diffidently. I've never thought much about the name, which was my grandmother's."

"To me," said Diane, "you've pitched that ugly old Allison overboard. I think you ought to do what you can to never be reminded about that Allison creature ever again. I'd say Claire works just fine, thank you very much. What do you say?"

Allison took the time to 'poll' each person in the room with her eyes. She was deeply gratified to see only love, affection and support. "I think I'd like to be Claire from now on." Amid cheers, all of the women went to ... Claire for kisses and hugs.

"By the way, Claire," said Martin, "are you heading for the med bay this morning with the others?"

"I may go," allowed Claire, "but not this morning. I'm still trying to decide what that woman in the mirror is supposed to look like."