Annie XV: Party

(Chronological index: Ray/Denise wed)

Ray came home with dinner in a bag. A rotisserie chicken had given its all so that three could dine comfortably.

They were three that night, as Denise was away. Much like the week after Ray had met his wife, she was helping Carla recover from surgery.

Though the roles had reversed, Carla still had her cat and Pet wasn't invited.

Still, Ray thought, she was a lot more comfortable as part of the family rather than a guest. He put the bag down on the counter and went looking for the two sylphs.

Pet was wielding a single chopstick over his computer keyboard, laboriously typing out what Annie was dictating.

The labor was as much from Pet's illiteracy as from her unbalanced tool.

"Excuse me," the brunette was saying as he entered the room. "The bellboy will not lift me to the sink for wee."

"X…C…"

"No, Pet, excuse starts with an E."

"Ah." She shot a smile up at Ray as he sat, then turned back to her task. He glanced at the screen.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Writing a letter to Berlitz."

"For what? A sylph-to-sanity phrase book?"

"Arh, ha ha," she deadpanned. "No, we've noticed that there's a vast untapped market. No phrase book has any phrases for sylphs."

"What, not even: 'Please excuse but there are a sylph within my soup?'"

"Again, you are so funny master. Ha. And ha again. No, not phrases ABOUT sylphs. We want phrases that sylphs can use while traveling abroad."

Pet had been typing away while the other two talked. Both man and sylph kept an eye on her progress. Both said 'silent e' when she finished excuse and started me.

Ray looked over the suggested phrases they'd compiled so far.

Where is the sylph room?

Please bring me a beer and swim fins.

I said fins, what would swim FANS do?

Stop shouting, I relieve myself here because you have no sylph room.

Why should I pay for the whole room if I sleep in the drawer?

You have very clean window sills.

"How long did it take you to type all this, Pet?" He could easily imagine Annie coming up with such terms, and Pet typing when she wasn't overcome by giggling.

"Hours and hours and hours," she whined.

"Well, you did a very good job," he told her with a pat on her back. He stood and went to cut up the chicken.

They were starting another phrase when he came in to announce that dinner was served.

Pet stood at the ready with her stick, held like a lance. Annie thought for a second. "Ah, got one. 'Please fix your mascara, it frightens my friend. She is a virgin."

To Ray's immense surprise, Pet threw down the chopstick and took off running. She leapt from the desk to the arm of the sofa, bounced to the cushion, dropped to the floor and ran out of sight.

And she was crying.

"What the hell did you do?" Annie asked.

"Me!? I said nothing. NOTHING. You made her burst into tears. What did you say that for?"

"Mascara? Pet's seen mascara lots of times since- Oh. Oh! Oh, migod, do you think…? Well, ask her."

Ray stared down at Annie. His pet had her hands on her hips and waited patiently for her owner to do her bidding.

"She's your best friend," he said.

"And I'm the one that pissed her off, you talk to her. If you think you're innocent," she finished.

"Argh," he groaned and lay down on the floor. He lifted the skirt of the sofa and said, "Knock knock."

"Go Away!"

"'Kay," he said, starting to rise. A pencil eraser bounced off of his forehead. "Can't, Pet. Annie'd be mad at me."

"She can go to hell!"

"No argument here," he said. He raised a hand without looking. A ball of aluminum from a chocolate Kiss hit his palm. "But come out and talk to me, Pet. What's wrong?"

"I don't want to tell you."

"Pet… Come out here, Pet, please? I'll… I'll take you out in the car. Annie can't hear if I close the door and play the radio. Okay? Just you and me." There was some sniffling from the dark space.

"We'll even put Annie in time out for making you cry, okay?"

"Time out?"

"Yes."

"You'll make her take her clothes off?"

"That's the rule." There was no further comment. Ray rolled to his side and looked at his sylph. She rolled her eyes, but reached for her collar.

When he put her on the mantel, she stood where Pet could see her. Naked, chilly in the AC, she paced the edge of the little space over the gas fireplace.

Ray set a timer and went back to the sofa. He lowered his hand and Pet climbed aboard.

He placed Pet on the dashboard, started the engine and turned on the radio. "So," he said. "What's wrong?"

She sat quietly, looking down at the vents. "Pet, I'm trying to help. Talk to me, please."

"It's just…" She looked up at him. "I'm twenty. I've never been with… You know."

"No," he said. "Cause on that trip we took to Tampa, the four of us all…"

"Yeah, yeah," she said with a toss of her head. "A boy has touched me with malice aforethought."

"That sounds like an Annie line," he said with a smile. She smiled slightly.

"Yes. But I've never been… Well, Annie's been on a Passion Cake, right?"

"Seven," he said. Pet's eyes got very big.

"Can I…?"

"That's really between you and Denise," he said. "But really, Pet, I don't think that losing your virginity on a cake is the ideal solution."

"Oh." She sagged. He offered his palm and lifted her to his chest for a cuddle.

"But I promise you, Pet, we'll figure something out."

Inside, he put Pet down by her plate and got drinks for dinner.

"Hello?" Annie's voice called from the living room. "Timer went off. Can I get down now? Can a girl get a hand?"

Ray looked a question at Pet. She was surprised to realize he was letting her make the decision. She made a show of considering the question.

"Pet? Ray? A little help? Are you waiting for an apology? I was going to offer that face to face. Hello!?"

Pet finally nodded and Ray went to collect his sylph.

-----

"My baby?" Denise said. "My ittle Pet?"

"Hey," Ray said, "Pet's twenty. Where were you when you were twenty?"

The phone was silent for a long moment. "Uh…hoping like hell the little blue plus sign would stay out."

"Thought so… Now, what do we do?" He waved to coworkers passing his car on the way inside. Privacy being a major issue in a sylph household, he was making this call from the parking lot.

"I'm…not sure I can be there when an evil little male assaults Pet. Even consensual, even with protection… Oh! Do they make protection? For… For sylphs? What does Annie use?"

"She's infertile," he replied. "I told you that the day you told me that you were."

"Oh. Really? Huh. I, uh…"

"Had all your emotion invested my reaction, not my small talk?" he suggested.

"Ha! Carla always said I married you for your intelligence." Someone protested in the background. "Oh. She said I married in SPITE of your intelligence being nearly equal to mine."

"She's just jealous. Pet?"

"I guess… How about a doctor's visit, specifically to see if she's able to… Um. And we go from there."

"You can't even say 'have sex?' I guess you both had a sheltered upbringing."

"I can say it. I have had sex. I want to have sex. I wish we were having sex right now. Oh, calm yourself, Carla! Where was I? We will have sex at the earliest opportunity. See?"

"Yep. So, call Pet's doctor and say, I want to schedule an examination to see if Pet can have sex."

"Uh…if you're going to be taking her in, you're the one that should…"

"Pretend you're Annie," he suggested.

"Yo! Doc! My roommate is horny! Any problems with her jumping someone? And fix it so she doesn't get all bumpy afterwards!"

"It's uncanny," he said.

-----

Pet's vet had been taking care of the sylph since she was born. Denise also talked Ray and Annie into transferring Annie's care to Doctor Jant, despite the long drive.

Annie told Ray that Jant was worth it and he accepted her judgment.

She was strangely stiff when she entered the exam room the nurse had led them to. Ray wasn't as familiar with Dr. Jant as the other two were, but she'd usually had time for a little chat.

Now she swept around him, picked up Pet, lowered her magnifying lenses and started the exam. She hummed and made notes, checked the vitals the nurse had taken and finally told Pet she could get dressed.

Annie handed over her clothes as Jant turned to Ray.

"So. You've decided you're going to breed your little sylph. Do you have a stud picked out, or would you like a recommendation?"

"What?" Ray looked from the doc to the sylphs. "Not breeding. Pet just wants… Um."

"To get laid," Annie said. "No long term commitments, either internal or external."

"Yeah," Pet agreed.

"Oh. Oh, I'm sorry. I misunderstood the notes my receptionist… I'm sorry," Jant repeated. "Yes, she's healthy. So, you'll be wanting an implant?"

"Yes, Denise should have mentioned that."

"Missed it entirely," Jant said as she sorted through a drawer. She set a bottle in a dispenser and turned around. Pet was standing behind Annie, eyes on the dispenser and the shiny needle.

"Oh, come on," Annie said. "Be brave."

"It'll hurt," Pet said with a small whine.

"Yep," Annie agreed before Ray or the doc could say anything. "But think about this. It won't hurt like an episiotomy will-"

Pet shut her eyes tight and held out her arm.

Dr. Jant watched the trio for a moment after the shot. Annie held Pet in a hug, Ray held both women in a cuddle. He was obviously as indulgent of Pet as Denise was.

"Sorry," she said. "I thought you were going into sylph breeding. I'm not…fond of a lot those people."

"Oh, no, nothing like that," Ray said, stroking Pet's back with a thumb. "She's just feeling like she's missing something."

"Sex for sex's sake," Jant said wistfully. "I remember that. Well, I can offer some recommendations. Do you want a stud or more of -"

"Um," Pet said.

"Yes?" Ray asked.

"I don't… I just want… Well."

"Spit it out," Annie said.

"I want a wild sylph," Pet said quietly. She looked around apprehensively, clearly fearing some sort of judgment.

"Alright," Annie said. Jent nodded.

"'Kay," Ray said. "I guess that's all, Doctor. Thanks for fitting us in."

"Nice to see you all again," she replied. "Tell Denise I said hi."

Pet looked a little shocked as they left.

-----

Back on I95, Ray set cruise control and lifted the sylphs to the dashboard. "Why wild?"

"It's seduction," Annie said. "Not a screw-for-hire stud, not a sylph owner you know making his pet do YOU, Ray, a favor. Right?" she asked.

"It's always been my fantasy," Pet admitted. "I go outside, I get into danger, he saves me, our eyes meet, music swells…"

"Swells?" Annie asked. "Who says 'swells' to describe music?"

"Has she been reading romances?" Ray asked. "Can she read romances yet?"

"I think your wife has a few on CD. For long boring car or plane trips. She might have packed some for this week."

"That explains a lot," Ray nodded.

"Okay, Pet, now how do we do this without musical accompaniment?"

------

It was Monday night, time to go to work. Jefferson readied his spear, his pry bar and his whistle. He nodded to his mom at her loom and climbed up out of the burrow.

The other members of the colony that were scavenging met under the tree. Mel gave the usual speech about being supercareful. Tag told them which campsites had been occupied over the weekend, and which ones still had occupants.

They nodded at each other and filtered through the grass.

Jefferson wondered at the strangeness of humans. If he had the leisure to spend a day not collecting food, he'd hoard his energy, not spend more of it. A day off, for everyone the sylph knew, was a day curled up in the nest.

Still, it brought significant amounts of uninventoried food within reach of the colony, so he had no complaints.

What was really weird though was seeing people bringing pet sylphs to the campground. He made eye contact with one a year or so back.

The woman had screamed and run for a human to pick her up. He ran away before they could catch him. The elders had taught him that the humans would enslave him and even neuter him if he got too 'uppity.'

He wondered about the domesticated sylph's expression, though. What did she think wild sylphs would do, eat her?

Campsite Number Four had been occupied by a single male for one night, Tag had said. Not too likely to be a cornucopia of scraps, like the frat party in Ten.

That's why Jefferson got to scavenge here while the senior members went looking for entire hotdogs that might have been dropped.

There were no animals nosing around the site when he reached it. The trash can was empty. He cast around the site and saw that there was an object at the back.

It was nothing he'd ever seen before. As he got closer he saw that it was a wire cage. There was a door and many twisting walls inside. He'd never seen a maze but it sounded like something Mom had described once.

It was a trap. It took him a moment to realize it, but it couldn't be anything else. The door was sized for a sylph, the wires impossible for anyone his size to slip through.

But it was an obvious trap. What the hell did the humans think was going to entice him to enter?

"Gin!" a voice said. It as somewhere inside the cage. He carefully eased around the outside. In the back, inside the wire structure, there was a room. Inside that, two naked women were playing a game of cards.

The furniture was all sized for the occupants, as well as the cards, a pitcher of water, drinking glasses and a cooler.

A brunette, a bit older than Jefferson, was writing something down with a pencil lead.

A blonde that looked a lot closer to his age was happily counting up cards. Jefferson decided that she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

"Do I win, yet?" Blondie asked.

"You're ahead," Brunette answered. "For now. Can we help you?"

Jefferson took a moment to realize that she was talking to him. "You, uh, you're in a trap?"

They giggled.

"We are the trap," Blondie said.

"I'm Annie, kid. What's your name?"

"J-Jefferson."

"Hi, Jefferson," Annie said. "This is Pet. Are you married?"

"What?"

"It's okay," Pet asked. "Are you attached to anyone?"

"I, uh, no?"

"You don't know?" Annie asked.

"Shut up!" Pet told the older sylph. "You're all the time asking people questions they're not ready for." She turned to Jefferson. "It's okay to be a little confused around Annie. I'm confused all the time. It makes her think I'm dumb, but she just goes too fast."

"I don't think you're dumb," Annie said. It was the softest voice he'd heard her use. "I just…think you had a sheltered upbringing. You're not used to the give and take."

"Thanks," Pet said. "Now, Jefferson, do you live with someone?"

"You just asked him-"

"Hush!" the blonde snapped. The brunette recoiled. But she hushed. For some reason Jefferson found this amusing. He smiled and saw a similar expression on Pet's face.

"I need you to go and find your father or leader, Jefferson, if you have one. I want to explain what the trap is for."

"It's for trapping sylphs. Do you want help getting out of it?"

"Not exactly. Just… Here." She turned and reached for a rope that was tied to one of the bars behind her. She tugged the knot free and the line slithered up and out of sight.

There was a whirring behind him and a mesh bag came down out of the tree. It spilled across the ground. Jefferson could see food, medicine, sylph-sized camping equipment, small blades, pins, cloth…

In a year of scavenging, the whole colony wouldn't find anywhere near the take. "It's part of the trap, isn't it?"

"Technically," Annie said.

"No," Pet insisted. "You can have this. Just… I want to explain."

"I'll have to tell them something," he said, still staring at the loot.

"Um… Okay. Come here." He turned around. Pet was standing at the edge of the cage, close enough to touch. She held her arms out through the bars. Annie hovered as if uncomfortable. It was like Pet was changing the script and the older sylph didn't know what she was doing.

Jefferson decided he liked seeing Annie off balance. He stepped up and took Pet's hands. Annie groaned but Pet smiled. Jefferson smiled back. Then she pursed her lips and leaned against the bars. He kissed her.

The whole big unfair wild world spiraled down to where their lips touched. He could think of nothing except the warmth coming off of her, the salty-sweet taste of her. Of her.

"AHEM!" Annie said after a moment. Pet drew back and he let her go. He wasn't being a gentleman, he was just stunned.

"I want a boyfriend," Pet said.

"Uh huh," he muttered. "Where's the door?"

----

"They want what?" Willy asked.

"A few guys for the week," Jefferson said. "They want to clean us, um, them up. Maybe a medical exam. Then have a party. Then, they say, bring everyone back here."

Willy turned back to the bag of medicine. His finger traced along the boxes of antibiotics, pain killers… "And they offer this bribe?"

"No, sir. They say we can keep this, no matter what. They want us to have it."

"Why?"

"Well, the one, Annie, says that they know we can't afford to let five hunters go for a week. But if we have this much surplus, we can let them go."

"Annie?" Willy's wife, Stella, tapped on the young sylph's shoulder. He turned around. "What's the other one's name."

"Um…Pet."

Her eyes widened. "Pet? A sylph that accepts such a demeaning name, we're supposed to trust?"

"Works for me," Wally said. "If they said they were named after famous abolitionists, I'd be leery."

"You're leery anyway," his wife pointed out.

"True. I'd be more leery."

"If that were possible," Andrew said. Willy smiled and nodded at his lieutenant.

"I need to talk to this Annie," he said. "Get Cherry."

"What?" Stella asked. "What for?"

"I have to know," he said. "And it may be her only chance."

------

Annie looked up from the cards at the sound in the brush. An older sylph was approaching the cage, alone. She stood and nodded at him respectfully. "Sir?"

"Call me William. You're Annie?"

"Yes, sir."

"Who gave you that name?"

"That was my name in high school, before The Day, sir. My owner never changed it."

"What was your name?" he asked, nodding at Pet.

"I was born a sylph. They tell me that they let Denise name me." Annie elbowed her lightly. "Sir."

William laughed. "No honorifics for me, girl. I'm just the guy that has to keep all these people safe. Pet, huh?"

"In Denise's defense," Annie said, "she was about five years old at the time."

"Alright." He glanced at the piled goods. "This is ours, huh?"

"Yes, sir…" Pet said. "Um. Yes. William. Just for listening. And because we… want to be friends."

"You gonna come out of that cage?"

"It's a trap. We can't come out."

"Alright," he said again. "Why do you want our men?"

"I… I want to get laid. And I don't want the first time to be my owner's decision. Not… Not borrowing a male from another owner or buying a Passion Cake. I want… I want to pick."

"Makes sense, I guess," William said. He waved and several sylphs stormed out of the brush. They grabbed up supplies and ran back into the undergrowth. "At least, as much sense as anything has since The Day."

When all the goods were gone, he waved again. A small girl limped into view. Her leg was twisted unnaturally, but from her rapid stepping, it was obviously an old injury. Still, though she walked quickly she took tiny steps. She smiled at William, then turned an looked at the girls in the trap.

"This is Cherry," he said. "Cherry, this is Pet, and this is Annie."

"Hey, Cherry," Annie said. "I broke my leg a few years back, too."

"Did you?" The little girl looked at Annie's leg. "Yours is straight."

"I had a doctor. Sylph bones grow back fast, if you don't wear a cast for the whole time, you get… Oh, well, you know."

"Can you fix it?" William asked. Without looking at his expression, Annie realized this was a test.

"They'd have to rebreak it," she said. Cherry flinched and Annie winced in sympathy. "Then put her in a cast."

"How long? Since sylph bones grow so fast? A week?"

"You want me to lie," she said, looking him in the eyes. "You want to hear me say, 'modern science, she'll be back by nightfall.' Then you'll know you can't trust us."

Annie shook her head. "Can't promise anything. I wore my cast for a couple of weeks, then physical therapy for a while. I'd assume you want her to learn how to walk where it isn't life or death. Then. Then we'd bring her back. If you sent her with us."

"Will your owner take care of her for this?"

"Yes!" Pet said. "Of course he would!"

"And bring her back?" William went on.

"Yes!" Pet insisted.

"Yes," Annie said more calmly.

"How can we be sure?"

"I'll stay," Annie said.

"What?" Pet asked. "No, I'll stay."

"You can't get out of the cage," William pointed out.

"When Ray gets back," Annie said, "I'll have him let me out. I'll stay. Send Jefferson and Cherry. They'll be fine. When they come back, I'll go home."

"No, Annie, this was all my idea. I'm the one who should-"

"Ray would never let you stay," Annie replied.

"Why not?"

"You belong to Denise. He can't make that decision for her, for you. He can for me. And," and she turned to William again, "if I insist, he'll let me."

"He will?"

"Of course. If he sees Cherry, he's going to want to help her. And if the only way to do that is to leave me as a hostage, he'll do it."

"Would it hurt?" Cherry asked.

"Yes," Annie said quickly. "Yes, but you get to take medicine to stop most of the pain, and you lay around and order giants to get things for you and you get ice cream." She turned to her partner. "You'd get her ice cream, wouldn't you Pet?"

"I should stay," Pet insisted.

"Doesn't matter," William said. "I can't let either one of you stay. Even if I trust you…and I'm beginning to think I can… I know you're not ready to live in the wilderness."

"Daddy?" Cherry asked. "You're not going to send me to the sylph doctor?"

"I am," he said. "Go get Jefferson, both of you get into the trap. I'll… I don't know if we can trust the giant, but I think we can trust Annie and Pet, here. And really, it's your only chance."

----

Ray parked his car and walked slowly through the grass. Everyone that wanted to run away had a chance to. When he got to the cage, he was relieved to see his and Denise's sylphs in the trip.

He was surprised to see the male. Annie must have been a very fast talker. He was shocked to see the girl. He carried the cage carefully back to the car as Annie explained things.

"Yes, of course, we'll fix her up and bring her back. How could you possibly have thought I'd say no?"

"I didn't," Annie said. "But I wanted them to hear you say it."

----

Jefferson and Cherry crouched in a corner of the carrier and watched the giant with wide eyes. Pet offered them snacks out of the Cracker Jack box.

Annie left Pet alone with them. She scurried over the dashboard to her owner. Ray saw her coming and lifted her up to his shoulder.

She hugged his neck and purred in his ear. "What's that for?" he asked.

"For an owner, revered master, you do alright." She sank down to his collar.

"Huh?"

"You didn't touch them. Not once. Me, you sling around like a sailor's seabag. Pet, you help up and down tables like your name was Otis. Them, you respectfully lift traps and carriers and offer them chances to step to where they're going."

She curled a leg under his shirt and nuzzled his neck. "You thought about them. You're a thoughtful master."

"Eh," he shrugged. "I was always told, if the mom smells you on them, she won't let them back in the burrow."

She didn’t stop nuzzling, but she bared her teeth. He shrieked when she bit him, but didn't flinch. The car stayed steady on the road.

The two feral sylphs stared. Pet glanced then look back at their guests. "Don't let him bother you. He squeals like a girl but he's a gentleman. So, Jeff. You work out?"

------

Annie noticed that they went the wrong direction on the freeway. Pet was down inside the carrier, busy making gooey eyes at Jefferson. Cherry was looking a little overwhelmed by events and ignored by the other two.

The older sylph slid down her owner's sleeve. He moved his arm so that she landed on the dashboard, then hopped over to the carrier. She nodded at Cherry and walked to the back.

She waited at the bottom of the ladder. Cherry looked at her, then stood and limped back. "Where does that go?"

"The turret. Wanna see?"

"I can't climb so well."

"Okay," Annie said. "I'll help, if you want, but no pressure."

Cherry looked up, then at Annie. "What's up there?"

"A view. You can see the road go by like you were driving. Come on, I'll show you." Cherry took the rungs slowly, but well enough. She didn't need Annie's physical help, but the encouragement seemed important

Annie followed her closely up the ladder. At the top they squeezed into the seat. The perspective made the carrier appear to fly down the freeway.

Cherry gasped and hugged the other sylph tightly. Annie winced and let her. After a few miles, she finally relaxed. They sat comfortably and watched the signs pass.

"Georgia?" the girl asked. Annie was surprised the kid could read but didn't comment.

"Yes. Ever been out of Florida?" she asked instead.

"I've never left the campground." They were quite for a bit longer. "Did you really break your leg?"

"Oh, yeah."

"How?"

"Well… I had put a few chemicals in Ray's drink. He was pissed and I was hiding from him." She glanced over to Ray. He was watching the road, probably thinking about where he was going. She detected that 'Denise' air to his expression.

"What was he going to do to you?"

"Punish me," she said, still looking at her owner. Cherry's gasp drew her face back around. "Oh, nothing bad. Really. He'd have grounded me, or taken away all chocolate for a month, or something. But if I could get him to wait before punishing me, he'd calm down. It'd be a lighter sentence."

"Okay," Cherry said. She turned around to look at the human.

"So, there I was, hiding in the window sill. He searched the desk, I was going to move there while he searched the rest of the room. When I tried to shimmy down the cord, though, the blinds fell on me."

"Did it hurt?"

"Oh, very much. But Ray lost all his anger like that." She snapped her fingers. "And he got me a doctor and they set the bone and Ray carried me around in a cast for a few weeks." Cherry flinched.

"Cherry," Annie said, making eye contact, "Ray will not touch you if you do not want him to."

"He won't?"

"Nope. Pet and Jefferson and I can do that. Watch." She leaned back in the cupola. "Hey! Revered Master?"

"Yes, properly deferential pet?"

"Say there's a fire. Someone rescues Jefferson and Pet and me. You're alone in a blazing house with Cherry here."

"Me, Cherry and fire. Got it."

"How do you get her out of danger?"

"I find a cup or a plate or dump out a Kleenex box and ask her to climb aboard so we can get to safety."

Cherry's eyes were wide as sunflower seeds. Annie hugged her around the shoulders. "And if she doesn't want to come with you?"

"I lay there on the ground, waiting patiently for her to be more afraid of the fire than she is of me."

"See?" Annie asked Cherry.

"Yeah," the girl said slowly. She turned back to the road.

"And how did you break your leg, Cherry?"

"In a trap some humans set," she replied. "My mommy got me out."

"That's what moms are for."

"She was still holding the bar when the humans came back," Cherry went on. Her voice was a monotone. "Dad carried me to safety." A small sniffle was all the emotion she showed. "I never saw her again."

"Oh." Annie took little girl into a hug and stroked her hair. The miles passed as they traveled towards Brunswick.

The familiar crunch of tires on gravel woke Pet up to where they were. She squealed and ran out of the carrier.

Jefferson looked around, confused. Annie helped Cherry down the ladder and offered a hand to the other youth.

Denise was at the door of Carla's house when the car came to a stop. Ray picked Pet up off the dashboard and got out of the car.

He held the sylph out to his wife. Denise smiled and picked Pet up. She kissed her husband first, but kissed her sylph longer. Ray smiled and turned back to the car.

"I didn't know we were coming here!" Pet gushed.

"Ray said I had to meet someone," Denise said. Her eyes landed on the carrier and the two forms she could see in it. "Something you want to say to me, young lady?"

"I’m older than you!" Annie protested.

"Does she mean me?" Cherry asked, peeking around from behind Jefferson.

"Oh, who is this?" Denise asked, reaching towards the carrier with her free hand. Cherry shrieked and ducked out of sight. Jefferson raised his hands to ward Denise off. She froze. "Problem?"

"Faux pas," Annie explained. She knelt beside Cherry and gave the girl a hug. "We just haven't had time to explain the rules to Denise."

"Rules?" Denise asked, eyes flickering from Pet to Ray.

"Don't touch," Ray said.

"Ever," Pet added.

Denise stepped back. "Okay.

-------

Ray pushed Carla's wheelchair in place and set the brakes. She lifted the carrier to the table and the sylphs spilled out slowly.

Denise and her sister both sighed at the way the little one limped. "You're going to take care of that," Denise said.

Ray nodded. "Have an appointment with Dr. Jant first thing tomorrow. Jefferson gets a physical, Cherry gets a consult."

The waitress was the daughter of a friend of Carla's, and Denise used to babysit her. The three of them and Pet visited for a bit while they made their drink order.

As it was a buffet restaurant, Ray left the girls to that and took the other sylphs over to pick out food. He carried them in a bowl while they stared at the selection.

Annie did most of the ordering and Ray filled another bowl with her choices.

The bowl sat on the table at the empty place, between Pet and Ray. The humans tried not to crowd the ferals or to make any sudden movements.

Carla glanced at her watch at one point and did the math in her head. "Ray, you're going to get home about one in the morning. Then back to Jant's office at eight? You'll get about thirty seconds of sleep. Why don't you just stay with Denise in my spare bedroom?"

"You still own two cats?" Pet asked.

"Yeah, but if you close the bedroom door and stay in the carrier…"

"I'd rather not risk it," Ray said. "Not with the two extra guests."

"The guests? What am I, chopped liver?" Annie protested. The humans ignored her.

"You could leave the sylphs at Mom's," Denise offered. "Then you and I could use the spare bedroom."

"I can see Buttercup!?" Pet asked. Denise whipped out her phone.

-----

Annie sat in the corner cushion of the carrier, hugging Jefferson and Cherry to her side. Pet was bouncing around the space.

Outside they heard Ray talking to Denise's mother, Carolyn. "Hang on," Annie told the guests. "Carolyn's cool."

"Thank you for watching-" Ray was saying.

"I'm not watching them," Carolyn said. Annie felt both kids flinch. She pat them on the shoulders. "You're not going to leave two wild sylphs with two other humans they don't know or trust. Certainly not on the day they come out of the brush."

"But…Denise called…"

"Yes. So, tonight, you and Denise stay in our guest room. Which was Denise's room. The sylphs stay with Buttercup. Father and I stay with Carla." There was a pause. Annie pantomimed a stunned look with an open mouth. "Shut your mouth, Ray, you look like a Yankee."

"Hey, Pet!" Chuck called. Annie could barely see Denise's father as he went out the door with an overnight bag. He danced around Denise in the doorway. She came over to hug her mother. "Thanks."

"Our pleasure. Make yourselves at home. We'll stay with Carla until after the appointment so you can both go."

The carrier tilted then settled on a table. Pet opened the door and ran out. There was a sound of squealing.

"And we're home," Annie said. She scooted out from between Jefferson and Cherry and stood. They followed closely.

Pet was hugging tightly to another sylph as they stepped out. They gave the two a moment before stepping forward. The women broke and looked over.

"Guys, this is Buttercup!" Pet said. "Buttercup, this is Cherry and this is Jefferson."

"Jefferson…" Buttercup said slowly.

"You, uh, you look kinda like each other," Jefferson said. "Are you sisters?"

"Sister?" Pet giggled. "This is my mother."

-----

Denise insisted on baths for everyone before bed. Buttercup took Annie and Cherry to her own bathroom. They fawned over the little girl, pampering her like a princess. Cherry hardly noticed how much intel the women got from her about Jefferson.

Denise showered with Pet, reuniting with her ittle treasure. She shampooed the tiny head as she learned all about the trap, the boy, the gifts, the boy, the girl, the boy and Cherry's dad, William.

Ray placed Jefferson beside the sink in the master bath. "Um. Soap's there. Shampoo. This is the hot water. This is cold. You can, uh. Mix them until you're comfortable. I'll, uh. Oh! Towel. To, uh."

"I know what it's for, sir."

"Of course you do! Sure. I'll, uh, be back in…ten minutes?"

Twenty minutes later, the couple were lowering sylphs to Buttercup's dollhouse. Kisses were blown, good-nights offered and then the humans drifted down the hall.

Buttercup drew Cherry to the back room. "This is where Pet was born," she was saying as the door closed.

Annie smiled and placed an arm over Pet's shoulders. "Okay, you guys can stay up and talk, but nothing, nothing, nothing more, okay?"

"Of course, Annie. Not until Doc says it's okay. I know." She glanced at Jefferson. "You want a drink?"

"That'd be nice," he said. Pet went to the mini kitchen.

Annie raised her hand and started counting on her fingers. "Ray. Denise. Buttercup. Me. Cherry. Of all the people in this house, there's maybe one that won't absolutely kill you if you misstep. Capiche?"

"What?"

"Understand?"

"I don't understand capeech." Annie's fingers closed into a fist. "Oh. I understand, Miss Annie. Yes. I won't… Yes, miss."

"Good," Annie said. She turned and climbed up the stairs as Buttercup came back into the living room.

"She's all tucked in." Buttercup said. She looked over at Jefferson. Then she raised a finger. "Annie. Me. Denise. Ray. Think about these people," she was saying as Annie found her own bedroom.

-----

Denise made muffins for breakfast. Cherry sat on the table and watched, never taking her eyes off of the woman.

"What's that?" became something of a catchphrase. Annie tried to explain as best she could. She noticed that Jefferson was listening closely to her answers as well.

Pet and Buttercup talked in low tones until the food was placed on the table. One muffin was split between all of the sylphs.

The humans sat at the other end of the table and stared at each other as they ate. Annie smiled at the lovers without too much jealousy and started hacking at the muffin.

"Buttercup?" Cherry asked, "How did you get to be Chuck and Carolyn's…? Uh…?"

"Property?" Carolyn finished. "Obviously I shrank."

"On…The Day?" Jefferson asked.

"No. But not long after. I was in church. The sermon that day was for us to better tolerate those that are different from us." She played with her piece of bread for a moment. "I think he was talking about race relations, but it might have been sylphs.

"Anyway, the baby was kicking."

"Baby?" Cherry asked.

"Me!" Pet said. "I was still inside her."

"Yep. About 8 months along. She was kicking. She had this habit of pushing her foot straight out, then locking the knee. I'd list like a fishing boat lifting a net until she changed her mind. Or changed her foot." She ruffled Pet's hair. Pet giggled.

"Well, then she got real agitated. Kicking and twisting. And I got real dizzy. I thought something was wrong." She shook her head. "Something was, but not any way I'd ever imagined. The hymnal I was holding got heavy, and heavier and heavier. Then it fell to the floor. And I rolled out of the pew, landed kneeling on the ground and Poof! There I was, this tall."

"That must have been weird," Cherry said.

"Oh, it was," Buttercup nodded. "I'm on the floor, standing between my shoes, maternity dress draped over my shoulders, looking around at all the feet.

"Someone screams: 'She Shrank!' And I mean, she screamed. Someone else shouts 'Satan is among us!' And all those feet started shuffling towards the door."

"THAT must have been terrifying!" Jefferson said.

"Did someone step on you?" Cherry asked.

"No, kid. If someone had, then I wouldn't be here. No, there was a guy, I heard his voice. He was shouting something about tiny people going for a thousand dollars on eBay."

"Oh, no!" Cherry gasped. Annie took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"No," Buttercup said. "See, there had been sylphs long enough for people to have opinions on what we are, what we mean."

"Like Satanic," Jefferson said. She nodded.

"Like Satan's influence. Or God's test. Some of the people in the church felt that The Day was part of God's plan. How people react to, treat the little people is important. It's a test of character, a display of their heart."

"So, did he get you?" Cherry asked.

"Carla ran across the church, pointed at the organ and shouted, 'She ran in there!' The ebay guy ran over and started shaking the pipes.

"At the same time, little Denise crawled under the pew and picked me up carefully. She put me in Carolyn's purse. I fell asleep about then, but they all left the church with me."

"They think they're being tested?" Jefferson asked.

"We think," Denise said, "that God's given us little people as our charges. We care for them, we care about them, we show how we'd care for people if we were in control." She smiled over at Pet. Pet smiled back.

"And Pet's father?" Cherry asked.

"Oh, he was shot in the line of duty a month before. Policeman. Bank Robbery." Buttercup waved her hand, gestured the topic away. "So, now I'm the guest of Chuck and Carolyn. Sometimes Carla or Denise."

"And I became Denise's responsibility," Pet said.

"I was five when I named her," Denise apologized. "I didn't quite understand the whole setup."

"No, no," Buttercup said. "Everyone suggested a name. Yours was the one that stuck. I think… Carla's suggestion was 'Hot Lips.' She was a MASH fan."

"Who named you Buttercup?" Jefferson asked.

"My mother," she replied. "Why?"

-------

Ray pulled into a parking place at the vet's. He put a hand to the carrier on Denise's lap. "Annie? A word?"

"I was going to stay with Cherry," she protested.

"Just a minute. While they're checking in. We'll catch up before they go back. Come on." She gave Cherry a pat and stepped out. Denise went inside.

Ray got out and walked along the shrubbery. "There are some questions being asked."

"I had nothing to do with anything ordered from Adam and Eve on your credit card," she said. "I swear!"

"Uh huh… No. We're looking for your input on something." He turned and paced. "Chuck's brother runs a retirement village in Yuma."

"Arizona?"

"Yeah. He's looking for a partner. And Chuck's retiring."

"Chuck and Carolyn are moving to Arizona?"

"Probably."

"Huh," she said. "Denise is going to miss them. But they can always fly back. Or we can fly out there."

"True. But they were wondering about Buttercup."

"Oh, yeah. Pet's really going to miss her." She lay back in his palm and looked up. "And you want me to help her feel better about it?"

"No. We were wondering how you'd feel about Buttercup moving in with us." She stared up in shock.

"Um… If it's that big of a deal, Annie…"

"No, no, it's fine. It's great. But you asked. You asked me first. Not breaking it to me easily, you asked." She closed her eyes and put the back of her hand against her forehead. "I feel faint. He wants my opin-"

She went limp. Her tongue stuck out and dragged to the side. He picked up her finger and let go. It dropped, slack.

"Funny. I asked your opinion on Denise."

"Oh, I could have threatened war and you'd have gone ahead with that wedding." She crossed her legs and laced her fingers together behind her head. Her smile was smug. "Buttercup's okay. Pet'll love it. And youuuuuuuuuuuu need my permission."

"No," he said, slipping her into his shirt pocket. "I just remember that sitcom episode where the pet dog and pet cat tore the house up. I'd hate to have one or both of you fixed to avoid pecking-order fights."

They entered the lobby just as the others were called back.

----

During the exams, Pet and Denise held Jefferson's hand, physically and metaphorically. Jant rattled off a list of tests to an intern and sent them off.

"Now," she said to Cherry, "let's talk about you." The little girl swallowed, holding hands with Annie and Buttercup. They stood on the doc's blotter pad and waited.

"I guess we need a consult, orthopedic surgeon?" Ray asked.

"Oh, no. Outpatient procedure."

"What?" Annie asked. Doctor Jant reached onto a shelf behind the desk and brought down a box. She took out an electronic device and a turkey's wishbone.

"Cherry," she asked, "do you know your first initial?"

"C, ma'am."

"That's right. Now, look on the screen of this hyperdense sonic pulse generator. Draw your finger on that and make a C." Jant lowered the device, which looked like a pocket game, to hold it before the sylphs.

Cherry looked up at Annie. She nodded encouragingly. The girl drew her finger on the screen. Jant turned the generator around and aimed it at the wishbone. There was a high-pitched squeal.

"The sound softens the bone without harming any of the tissue," Jant said over the squeal. "Then a different pulse moves the fluid calcium into the programmed form. Then a different frequency restores the bone to hardness."

The turkey bone twisted and bent, coming to form the exact shape of Cherry's drawing.

"Damn," Buttercup said. "We used to have to soak those things in vinegar to do that."

"Will it hurt her?" Annie asked.

"The word I hear used is discomfort," Jant said. "In medical circles that means pain, but not enough to sue someone over. But we've got some sedatives, we'll limit the pain as much as possible."

"What does that mean?" Cherry said.

"It will hurt," Annie told her, "but not as much as breaking it did."

"Oh."

"Is that okay? It's up to you."

"Yeah," Cherry said after a moment. "Yeah, okay. Then I can run, right?"

"Run," Jant said, "climb, dance, walk the dental floss without a net. Everything. So. We'll take an X-Ray. Map out the desired repair. Should be ready by 11:00. Then you practice walking for a couple of days."

"Wow," Ray said.

"No kidding," Annie added.

-----

After that, Jefferson's good health was hardly even an anti-climax. Everyone enthused over Cherry's first, tentative steps with her straight leg. She crossed the entire exam table, slowly but normally, then faltered at the end.

All the sylphs rushed to her when she started to tip. Ray reached out and caught her in his hand.

"Thanks," she said, smiling up at him. Then she realized that a human was holding her, and she remembered to be afraid. As shock and dismay showed in her expression, Ray eased her into Annie's arms.

"That was a wonderful walk," she told the girl. She glanced up at her master. He smiled at Cherry's restored leg, not bothered by her rejection. "We'll just have to work on your stamina."

They thanked and settled up with Jant and drove to Carla's. Overnight bags and cars were sorted out, heads were patted and goodbyes told. Carolyn spent a few moments alone with Jefferson. No one could overhear what she told him, but Buttercup and Annie both recognized his expression when she was done. Then Ray was back on the road, headed for home.

Pet and Jefferson claimed the turret and talked to each other in soft tones.

Annie had half a dozen cushions pushed to the wall of the carrier. She stood in the center with Cherry. She'd help the girl rise, then stand in place, just compensating for the rocking of the car. When she tired, they rested for a while. Then they stood again. And again.

-----

Cherry was exhausted when they finally got home. She fell asleep in the carrier and didn't wake up when Ray took it inside.

She didn't wake up when he scooped her up to place her in Annie's drawer in Ray and Denise's room. Annie tucked her in, kissed her forehead and signaled for Ray to pick her up.

The carrier was placed behind the sofa in the living room. It was about the most privacy Ray could arrange for the couple. Annie hugged them both around the shoulders.

"You guys have a rough idea what to do, right?"

"Um, yeah."

"Yeah."

"Take it slow, be honest, don't ask any questions you don't want the answer to, answer the questions that are asked." She kissed each of them on the cheek. "Don't ask to do something unless you want to do it. Don't say yes to something unless you want it. Spend a lot of time licking. Lubrication is always good. I always like to-"

"Ray?" Pet shouted. He reached in and grabbed his sylph, pushing two fingers between her and the others' hips, then pinching her up into the air. The other two disengaged and stepped back.

Annie spoke rapidly, trying to download a lot of advice in a few inches of travel. "Keep your weight on your elbows! And push down with your feet! Don't worry about taste! Worry about your partner's feelings!"

She ducked her head as Ray's hand went out the door. "Drink a lot of water!" she screeched. "You don't want to cramp!"

Ray's steps receded, then they heard him climbing the stairs. "Wait!" she called. "I forgot to tell them about positions! Wait, you bastard!"

"They'll figure it out, Annie," he said. "Like you did when-" Then the bedroom door shut.

They smiled shyly at each other. "You want some water?" Pet asked.

"We'd better," he said. "Don't want to cramp."

"We don't have to do everything she said," Pet said.

"I know. I know," he nodded. "But… Well, I've never…"

"Me, either," she said. She stepped up and kissed him. "Do you want to? To have sex? With me?"

"Oh, yeah!" he said. He hugged her around the waist and kissed her back. "Oh, yeah…"

They sat on a cushion and kissed some more. "Um.." he said.

"What?"

"Well… About the weight on the elbows?" he asked. "Was she talking to you or to me?"

--------------

Cherry woke to find herself in a drawer, sleeping in a sylph-sized bed. Annie was pacing along the edge of the drawer, under the opening.

"What's ….up?" she asked around a big yawn. Annie spun towards her.

"Oh, good, you're awake. Let's go!" She tossed some clothes at Cherry and climbed up a ladder, out of the drawer and out of sight.

Cherry sat up and swung her legs out of bed. "Oooow!"

Annie bounced back down the ladder. "What? What is it?"

"My leg! Ow! It hurts," she whimpered. She watched the older sylph turn from her to the opening and back. "Do you want to be somewhere, Annie?"

"What? Oh. Um. Well, they'll wait. Lay down." She eased the girl back and rubbed at the aching leg. "You need to warm it up a bit. Can you straighten it?"

About half an hour later, Cherry hobbled around the drawer one last lap and said she was ready to try the ladder.

Annie helped her up and over to the top of the nightstand. Cherry looked around. The giant lay sleeping in his bed right next to where they stood. She realized that she'd been asleep in the same room as a human.

She also realized that she wasn't as scared of the fact as she would have been a week before.

"Wait here, Cherry," Annie said. She took a running leap and bounced onto the bed. Cherry watched her climb the covers to the giant's shoulder, then crawl onto his head.

"Ray," she said softly into his ear. "Beloved owner. It's time to get up." His head moved a bit, but the sylph rode through it with practiced skill.

When he didn't wake, she leaned a bit closer to his ear. "Oi! UP!" One eye opened. Cherry froze when she saw that Ray was looking right at her. One side of his mouth quirked in a smile.

The girl realized that none of the signs of his being awake were visible to the sylph on the side of his head.

"Oh, come on, Ray, we have to go make sure Pet's okay! Come on! Come on!" She started to push and shove on his cheek. Ray's eye rolled and Cherry giggled.

"Up! Wake UP!" His head turned slowly downwards. The sylph kept a hold on his ear for a few moments, then fell down to bounce on the pillow.

In an instant he'd grabbed the other pillow and slapped it over Annie. She was sandwiched between memory foam.

"Great," her muffled voice came. "You got me. Now, let's go! Breakfast, lovebirds, Cherry's physical therapy. Places to see, people to be!"

Ray ignored her and climbed out of bed. He lowered a hand to right beside Cherry. "I'm going to the bathroom. Do you need to use the facilities?"

"Yes, sir," she said. After the clowning, she'd lost most of her fear of the man. He was still an imposing mass over her head, but she was convinced he at least meant no harm. She limped towards his hand.

"Muscles aching?" he asked. She nodded. "Annie offer any Ben Gay?" He sniffed and apparently answered his own question. "We'll fix you right up."

"I can do that!" Annie shouted. Ray continued to ignore her and carried Cherry to the bathroom.

---------

Cherry lay on a towel. Ray squirted some white ointment into a tiny plastic bag. Annie took a scant finger's worth and rubbed Cherry's leg. "This stuff works really fast, but it doesn't last long on sylphs. Whenever your leg starts to hurt, you let us know, okay?"

"Okay."

"Brave girl," Annie said with a smile. She watched her eyes go wide as the stuff started to work. A little bit later, she was ready to start the day.

"GREAT!" Annie yelled. She swung over the edge of the table and slid to the floor. She was at the bedroom door, beating on it, when Ray walked up holding Cherry.

"Come on, come on, come on!" she said. "Let's go see the lovebirds!"

"I don't know," Ray drawled. "What do you think, Cherry?"

"I think you'd better let her out," Cherry said quietly.

Annie spun around. She wasn't used to a roommate that didn't take the opportunity to tease. Part of her wanted to climb up Ray's leg to explain the facts of life to the girl; the power and joy of inflicting frustration. The rest of her wanted to get out, right damned now, so she didn't.

Ray snorted and cracked the door gently. Annie slipped through and ran to the slide. She jumped into the tube and shot down the flights. She was at the bottom of the stairs before Ray even started down.

"Annie!" he barked, in that careful tone sylph owners master. He got his distant sylph's attention without bursting the eardrums of the one in his hand.

"What!?!?" she shouted, caught two steps away from the bottom.

"Cherry says she'd like to try the slide."

"Urrrgh," she muttered. Then stepped back to the bottom of the tube. "Go ahead," she shouted.

There was a gasp from the slide, echoing down the enclosure. When Cherry hit the near-vertical drop that turned her around she screamed. It cut off at the sudden lift that shed velocity. She actually squealed 'Whee' on the last little bit.

Annie caught her as she got to the bottom. Ray had slipped her into an old half-sock for the trip. She kicked her way free of it.

"That was fun!" she said.

"It is, isn't it?" Annie agreed. "Now, come on!" They held hands and scurried for the carrier. Ray's measured steps sounded on the stairs.

Cherry was flagging a bit by the time they reached the couch. Annie slowed but didn't stop. They got to the carrier and knocked on the door.

Pet and Jefferson were curled up together in one corner, wrapped in a handkerchief. Their smiles made them look drugged. Annie smiled back, nodding.

"Did you guys make out?" Cherry asked. She sounded shocked.

"What did you think they were going to do?" Annie asked. Cherry shrugged. "Well, it's okay. I don't think you've really thought of anything but your leg since you got in the trap."

"Maybe," the girl said.

Annie kicked a cushion over to the couple's feet and sat on it. Face in her hands, hands on her knees, she smiled at the others. "So, tell me all about it. Every detail. Did anyone go down on anyone?"

"RAY!" Pet shouted.

--------

There was an ungodly amount of giggling at breakfast. Jefferson and Pet sat so close together light wouldn't shine between them. Cherry sat across from them, watching either them or Ray with wide eyes. Annie sat before Ray's plate, just barely too happy to sulk.

Ray held a fly swatter over Annie's head, reminding her not to grill the youngsters.

Any two sylphs would make eye contact and find something funny about the situation.

"Am I going to have to make all of you turn and face the wall?" Ray asked. They all giggled. "Argh," he muttered. Then the phone rang.

He answered, listened, and stepped quickly into the living room. They heard the TV come on and channels flip. "Got it," he said. "Later, Denise."

He hung up, then came over and picked the sylphs up. Jefferson was just starting a protest when they were placed on the coffee table.

There was a reporter on the TV. The annual Florida brush fires had started.

"Does this mean what I think it does?" Annie asked.

Ray pointed to the map behind the reporter, at a spot near the fires. "That's the campground where Jefferson and Cherry live."

----------

"Man," Jefferson said as they slipped through the foliage. "I have never had a car ride like that."

Annie followed him, her footing as practiced in the undergrowth. "You've had seven rides in a car," she pointed out. "This was the first one you looked outside more often than you looked at Pet."

"Oh." They went on for a ways in silent. "Does he always take corners on two wheels, then?"

"No," she agreed with a snort. "No, you really have never had a ride like that. I'm just saying your sample size is small."

"Yeah, I suppose so." He paused under a trail marker, getting his bearings. "This way."

"Would they have moved out already?" she asked.

"Depends on whether they heard about the fires. The camp radio doesn't always work." He upped their pace once more. Annie muttered something but kept up.

They rounded a faded can of Coke and came to a burrow entrance. Jefferson ducked in. Annie stayed outside and looked around. She thought she smelled smoke on the wind, but she'd been thinking that before she even got in the car.

Jefferson came back above ground. "They're gone," he said.

"Where to?" she asked, but he was already moving.

"There's a bunker. I've never seen it, but Willy says they've survived a fire in it."

"Quickly, but don't panic!" a voice called out ahead of them.

"Stella!" Jefferson called. He put on a burst of speed. Annie let him go, following at a fast jog. She couldn't convince anyone if she was panting to death.

She ran into the middle of the sylphs before she was aware of it. They were all under cover of one type or another. Groups and families stared out at her as she slowly came to a stop. "Um. Hi?"

"You weren't supposed to bring her back," Willy said. He was standing by Jefferson under a rhubarb leaf. "And where's Cherry?"

"She's back at the car," Annie said. "It hurts her to walk, we didn't want her straining herself until we knew we could find you."

"So you haven't fixed her leg yet," he snorted.

"No, it's fixed!" Jefferson said. "She just needs to rework her muscles." Willy glared at him. "Really. You should see her."

"Look," Annie said, "if you guys have a safe place to stay through the fires, great. Send a brawny guy back to carry Cherry along, we'll be moving along." She paused, staring at Willy.

"Or," she said, "if you can trust me, we can take you guys out of here until the fires are done." She looked at her wrist, where a watch should be. "But you have to be fast. Ray told the cop an inventive tale. A lost sylph recovery transmitter, long distance test, battery failure, we're out to search for her… Anyway, they let him into the area, but they're going to chivvy him back out again soon. With or without you."

Annie hitched her spear up to her shoulder and looked around. "I'd love to have the time to convince each and every one of you that Ray and Denise are trustworthy. That we have no ulterior motives." She shrugged. "Can't do that. You're going to either survive the fire or you won't. Ray will either give you sanctuary or he'll sell you." She looked back at Willy. "Pick a teamster to carry your kid, or everyone come with me." She took off running back the way they'd come.

-----------------

"I'm home!" Denise shouted as she came through the kitchen door. No one greeted her. She slung her suitcase into the laundry room and walked through the house.

The carrier was on the mantel, for some odd reason, but no one was in it. No sylph girls were in the spare bedroom.

She might have thought Ray was returning the guests to the wild, but his car was in the garage.

She finally passed the glass door to the porch and glimpsed her husband. He was in the yard, doing something to the fence with a power tool.

"Hey, stranger!" she shouted as she stepped down to the grass. "What's a girl gotta do to get welcomed home?"

"Call ahead," he replied without looking. "So that the prostitutes can go out the front door. Then I don't have to help them over the fence."

"I'd hit you, but you have a power tool in your hand," she replied. "Why do you have a power tool?"

Ray pushed a final screw into place and drove it home with the electric screwdriver. She knelt to look. "Is that a little door?"

"It is a little door," he said. He worked the tiny latch and made sure the door opened. "You know the undeveloped lot behind us is pretty much straight swamp."

"Yeah. You keep complaining about the rats out there," she said.

"Probably not for much longer," he said, slipping the tool into his work bag. "On the other side of the lot, there's the stream. And the stream leads to the St. Johns River."

"Which leads to the ocean, which crosses to Europe, that holds Paris. Are you saying this door leads to Paris?" She opened and shut it herself. "That's a powerful door."

"It is. But really, the door leads to HERE." He stood and kissed his wife.

"I like it here," she said. "Why do we need to lead people here?" Denise looked up at Ray with fear. "Is Pet out there? Are the girls out there, killing rats for the fun of it?"

"No, no, no," he said. "Willy's people were exploring while the fires burned, they decided they want to be stream or river people instead of camp people. They're somewhere over there. They won't tell me exactly where, but that's okay."

They turned and walked back into the house. "We have tiny neighbors," she mused. "I suppose they'll all the time be knocking on the door, asking to borrow a grain of sugar."

"Doubt it," he replied. "That would be too much like being an outdoor pet. And if we have company, they might be caught."

"Ah." She nodded, grabbed his wrist and led him upstairs to the bedroom. "So the girls are visiting them? And we're alone? That's handy."

They were kissing as they entered the bedroom. Denise removed Ray's shirt. He tried to tell her something, but she had control of his tongue.

"What are they doing?" she heard. She let go of Ray and turned. Beside Ray's dresser was a shoe-box with a doorway cut into the side. A hand-lettered sign proclaimed it to be the Physical Therapy office.

The therapist was 'In.' Annie was standing beneath Cherry as the girl climbed up and down a parakeet ladder. Cherry was at the top, staring up at the married couple.

"Nothing," Annie replied. They're doing nothing, at least until we get you back outside."

"Awwww! I don't wanna go outside," she protested. "I wanna see the giant smoochies!"

"You can use the slide," Annie promised. Cherry shot down the ladder and ran across the floor. All three adults watched her gait and smiled at her progress.

"Wait up!" Annie called as she followed.

----

Pet watched Jefferson digging up into the tree bole. A wood chip missed the handkerchief he was using as a tarp so she kicked it in place.

"You, uh, you can come visit when I have the place finished," he said.

"I know," she smiled. "And you can come visit me."

"No," he said. "No, I can't. The leaders have decided. You can come here, but we can only go in the house for emergencies. Births, sickness, fires, hurricanes, floods, packs of dogs…"

"Physical therapy," she added.

"Yeah. Yeah, that." He lowered his adze and stepped over to her. "So… If you and I are going to be together… It'll have to be…"

"Jefferson, I like you a lot. But my life is with Denny. And Annie. And their man." She kissed him gently on the cheek. "I'll never forget you, but…"

"Yeah. Well. Thanks for… Everything," he said. They hugged once more. She glanced down.

"Hey!" she said.

"Oh! Oh, god, Pet, I'm sorry! I can't help… I don't mean…!"

"Sorry? Don't be sorry." Her hands slipped down to cuddle his ass. "You have a serious condition there, young man. The least I can do is give you some…therapy. One last time."

She took his arm and led him towards the fence. "Come over into my office."

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