Annie LXXXVII: More Road Trip

(Chronological index: Lasting Changes 3)

Carolyn answered the door and looked outside. A pretty young woman with a straw boater hat and a clipboard smiled down at her.

"Good evening, ma'am, I'm with the, " She pointed to her hat and repeated the writing on the banner. "Offsized American Voting Drive. Would it be okay if I asked you a few questions?"

"Of course, dear," Carolyn said with a smile.

"Thank you." The visitor looked at her clipboard. "First off, do you know any sylphs?"

"Yes, I live with one. Buttercup's taking a bath right now, she had an accident with some marmalade."

"Good, good. What is your opinion of the Sylph Act?"

"It has some benefits," Carolyn replied. "It protects my right to protect Buttercup, for one. But it leaves the entire population subject to predation and discrimination."

"Alright. Now, do you think that sylphs may eventually join human society?"

"Well, you certainly can, Pet," Carolyn said. "Where DID you find the platform shoes?"

"NO!" Pet squealed. "I'm BIG! I'm really BIG!"

"That's wonderful!" Carolyn took her ersatz daughter into a tight hug.

"How did you know it was me?"

"I have literally known you your whole life, young lady," she said.

"But I pretended to be a reporter for a small town newspaper, doing a story on Uhuru, and Amelia didn't know it was me for half an HOUR!"

"Well, that might be because at this size you have to breathe," Carolyn said with a wry smile. "Plus, I have that picture of you and Denise on the sofa together, with Annie. I look at that every morning."

"You do?" Pet hugged once more. Carolyn held her breath, hoping Pet's attention would wander before she suffocated.

"And speaking," she coughed, once her ribs could expand, "of my daughter...?"

"She grew, too!" Pet bounced. "They went around the block so they wouldn't give away the surprise."

Carolyn's eyes darted up and down the road. She saw the rental. She saw Ray's head in the driver's seat.... She saw... A redhead riding shotgun.

"Oh, my lord," she whispered.

Hugs and kisses and my words and squeals and isn't it great and what a miracle....all that and more passed around the family for two or three laps.

They finally collapsed into chairs in the living room. Pet cuddled Buttercup to her cheek at one end of the sofa. Carolyn sat at the other, with Denise almost in her lap. Ray held Annie in the easy chair.

"You can see the family resemblance," Annie said.

"Smiles from ear to ear, all showing about four hundred teeth?" Ray asked. Annie nodded.

"Well," Buttercup finally said. "Tell us everything."

"It all began long, long ago," Annie intoned, "on a planet far, far away."

"If I give you food," Carolyn negotiated, "will you let other people tell the story?"

"I've always said you were the smart one, Carolyn," Annie replied. "Not like the louts you raised."

"Well, they were smart enough to get tall again," Carolyn pointed out. Denise put a cautioning hand on her mother's.

"Let's... Well. Wait until you get the full story," she said. Carolyn's eyebrow rose.

"Oh, she's fine," Annie assured her. "I literally did this to myself, so I only have myself to blame." Ray rewarded her candor with a backrub.

It kept her quiet until the cookie jar made an appearance.

----------

"Wow," Carolyn said at the end of the explanation. Buttercup was speechless, but she did gesture until she was held close enough to hug Annie. Carolyn took her friend back and held her in cupped hands. They stared at the four Fosters.

Ray leaned forward to take Pet's hand in his while she reached out to cup a hand through Denise's elbow. Annie wiped her eyes and sat on his knee.

"Why didn't you fly?" Carolyn asked.

"We don't have IDs, yet," Denise said. "Pet never had any and mine expired the day I sylphed.

"We'll fix that, but we were in a hurry to .... Get here.

Her mother nodded, one finger rubbing Buttercup's shoulders. She looked around the room.

"Um...so..." Carolyn started. Everyone stared. "What....are the sleeping arrangements now?"

Annie laughed, Denise and Ray blushed, and Pet started talking. "Well, we had Six, Seven and Eight in the motel room with us until we got to Uhuru, so mostly we just piled on the bed and held each other close through the night because no one wanted to be a giant...porn...circus..."

She wheezed. "Told you," Carolyn said kindly. "Breathe."

Pet nodded, gasping until she could space her breaths out. Then she started again. "Anyway, there was no one Denise wanted to tell more than you about our being all big now so we mostly just got in the car and aimed it south and drove straight here.

"The one motel room we took, we just piled on the bed like puppies and Ray's snores aren't as loud as they used to be and anyway here we are and we already decided not to have sex in the house two of our mothers are in because if they hear us it'll be embarrassing."

Ray's face was in the palm of his free hand, Denise had covered hers with both hands. Annie nodded at the summary. "You left out the shower we took in Colorado," she said. "Well, you guys took."

She adopted a baby-doll voice. "Widdle Annie wus being punnnnisht."

"I appreciate the concern," Carolyn said in a flat voice. She looked over at her realest daughter. "But did we ever tell you about our mixed couples skinny dipping back in the 70's?"

"AAAH!" Denise screamed, covering her ears instead of her face. Pet and Annie laughed.

"Pictures or it didn't happen," Ray said with a big smile.

"Photo book under the stereo," Buttercup said at the exact moment Carolyn pointed to the stereo cabinet and started to stand. His smile winked out like a light.

"Don't play Gotcha with professionals, darling," Buttercup said with a sad shake of her head. Carolyn laughed and sank back into her chair.

Annie gazed at them with shock. She'd always thought it was Chuck that shared a bond with Buttercup. Where their daughters were concerned the two worked in concert, to a degree that rivaled her connection with Ray.

She wondered if the new bond had been established in Chuck's absence, or if it had just been overshadowed by the man when he was alive.

Maybe sylphs really were familiars to one or more owners?

"I dunno," Ray said at exactly the right time. She glared up at him suspiciously, trying to figure out of there had been a question when she wasn't paying attention.

"So, what now?" Buttercup asked.

"Lurch needs a shower," Annie pointed out.

"Mine's rigged for an old lady," Carolyn pointed out. "Not athletics on the stable chair. Or groups."

"Oh, we couldn't," Denise said.

"Sez you," Annie protested. Everyone quieted. Annie stared around the room. "What? My moms aren't here!"

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

In the end, Annie took the shower alone with Ray. But it was a short one almost entirely dedicated to their hygiene. Denise helped undress the two o them for the shower and Pet helped dry.

When he went to the bedroom to dress, he found that the bed had been removed and a pair of sleeping bags zipped together over a sturdy futon.

The four Fosters curled up once more and slept off the long drive. Carolyn had pancakes cooking when they started to come around the next morning.

"Fascinating as the sex discussion could be," she said as she served breakfast, "I was more concerned with who's going to be married when all this shakes out?"

"She wants to know who's going to have grandkid babies for her to play with," Annie said. Everyone else froze, staring at each other around the kitchen table.

"D'yuh, well," Denise said slowly. "I don't.... Exactly..."

"You can be nation married to him," Pet said. "I'll just stay sylph-married to him."

"Or he could adopt you," Annie said. "For the purpose of joint accounts and insurance and property inheritance that's very similar. If both of you two get hit by a truck-"

"Before we go down that path," Ray said, touching the sylph gently to silence her before Pet had to pull someone's plug. "Can I say that I have four lawyers looking into an idea I have? To remain married to everyone I'm already married to?"

"You can say that," Annie said. "But in this country-"

"How?" Buttercup, Denise and Carolyn asked.

"Oh, good," Pet said. She went back to pouring syrup on her pancake.

"Enough," Buttercup cautioned her. "Seriously, Pet, that's enough liquid sugar."

"Yes, Pet," Ray agreed. "That's going to be enough syrup for five pancakes."

"Okay," Pet said, reaching for the platter. She smiled at Carolyn. "I'm still getting used to servings at this size."

"But you still trust Ray in all he says," Carolyn nodded.

"Well, duh," Pet said. "He's smart and rich and he's Annie trained. He doesn't say he can do something unless he can do it."

"Aw," Annie chortled, "look at the big confident husband blush."

"I'm always so horribly outnumbered in this house," he muttered.

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

He refused to come across with any details, claiming he couldn't risk disappointing Pet.

Denise decided she didn't need to know details until the lawyers answered with what was possible.

Annie hefted a fork to her shoulder and made it halfway across the table before Pet grabbed her and Denise disarmed her. "Grudgingly," she said, "I have to keep you from inflicting permanent harm on our mutual love interest."

"I figured to paralyze him, then have Mia fix him," Annie said. "Then, if he still doesn't talk, paralyze, fix, paralyze, fix...."

Denise took up the chant. Buttercup and Carolyn started to pound the table like a prison riot was starting. Pet joined in though she tried to make eye contact. She wanted Ray to know that she, at least, was just teasing. He gave her a half-smile.

"I'm always so horribly outnumbered in this house," he said, raising his voice over the chorus.

---------

Denise and Pet spent the day visiting with their moms. The giggling drove Ray back to the futon where Annie cuddled in the crook of his elbow and they dozed.

Suddenly, it seemed, there were three women standing over him and another beside his ear.

"Ray," Carolyn said, "you have a letter." She held the envelope dangling over his head.

"No one knows we're here," he protested. He reached up as Carolyn silently shook the letter. "Well. Ray Foster, Sylph Center, Washington, DC." He flipped the paper around. "Forwarding sticker must have fallen off."

"But..." Annie said slowly. "No one knew three or four days ago that we'd be here."

"And we normally don't get mail here until three PM," Buttercup pointed out.

"Well, 'normally' doesn't really apply to this family," Ray pointed out. He started to open the back. "Statistical anomalies don't need magic to explain them."

"It's Sunday," Denise said.

Ray flipped it around again to see the stamp. "Regular postal delivery on Sunday? THAT means it's magical. Okay."

He finally opened it and shook the letter out. Annie ran up his chest to read from under his chin.

"I was going to read out loud," he said, "so everyone could hear."

"G'head," she said cheerfully. "I'm almost finished."

"Dear mister Foster," he said, maybe a little more loudly than necessary. "I am not asking for money, just some help finding an answer to a difficult problem. My owner recently died and left behind me and a six-year old boy. I love the child, Danny, but we have nothing to live on after this month's rent.

"I was appraised at $19,000 a few years ago, because I'm a beautiful sylph and still have the looks and maybe worth $15,000 by those days standards. But these days you can't get that kind of money even for a well-rained sylph-"

"Trained," Denise said.

"No," Annie defended. "That's what she wrote."

"Well-rained sylph like me. As I said, I don't want money but we have seen the news stories of you and your beautiful sylphs helping sylphs.

"The problem is, most charities will either help Danny or help me, but none will keep us together. We really love each otter and-"

"Otter?" Pet asked. "Does she mean other?"

"She wrote other," Annie said, "Revered Master is reading too fast."

"You're snarking pretty hard this morning," Ray pointed out. "You aren't feeling defensive about being the only sylph again, are you?"

"I'm not the only sylph!"

"Leave me out of this," Buttercup said.

"WE REALLY LOVE EACH OTHER," Ray restarted. "Not too many people really seem to understand that but we think you do and we really need help. I think there are others in our general situation so maybe you could find some help for us please."

He unfolded the paper further. A picture of the four of them at some Sylph Center function had been torn from a magazine. Ray stared at it for a moment.

"Aw," Denise said. "You have to help them."

"Yeah," he said. "And she's right, most organizations assume the owner's an ass and want to rescue the sylph." He leaned back down on his pillow. "Or kid placement doesn't want the complications of a sylph."

"I'll set Nigel on figuring something out. Foster care, not to coin a new word or anything, money in a trust fund to keep him through college at least." He still stared at the picture.

Pet swore.

"Ray God DAMN It Foster My Stupid STUPID husband of record are you out of your FUCKING mind?" She stomped onto the futon, staring down at his face.

Annie sounded an 'EEP!' and ran for the corner. Buttercup took her hand and both ran behind Carolyn's feet.

Denise started to reach for Pet's shoulder then stopped. Carolyn crossed her arms and glared...down at Ray.

"ALL we've gone through, ALL we've accomplished, ALL OUR LIVES depended on love. We got through the SHIT because of love. We found DENISE because of love. Our honored dead talk to US because of LOVE!"

She dropped to her knees, straddling his belly. He coughed from the sudden weight. "And YOU want to THROW MONEY AND A LAWYER at this woman and a child she loves?!?!"

"Well," he said slowly, "I did say lots of money?"

She raised her fist and leaned back.

"I'll do it!" Annie shouted. She ran to Ray, jumped up to grab his hair and swung up to his face. "Bad Husband!" she said, slapping hard on his nose. He flinched. She slapped with her left hand, her right hand and a few times with both together. Everyone stared.

She slowed to a stop, panting, and looked up at Pet. "Has he learned his lesson, yet?"

Pet covered her face with both hands and gasped. "I was going to hit you..." she said.

"You have hit people before," he said. "Fuckwits in the center, Annie and Denise told me." He didn't move. He hadn't moved since Pet dropped onto him.

"You're not a fuckwit," she said softly. Annie raised her hand to gesture so-so. "And...sylphs hitting sylphs...it's not the same. The...the..."

"The mass to pain ratio is something to contend with at your new size," Denise said. "You hitting the people that teased me, that's pretty transitory."

Pet reached down to run a finger across Ray's cheek. "I was going to hit you." Then she touched Annie's shoulder. "You stopped me."

"Well, I know you could never hit me," Annie said. "No matter how mad Lurch made you."

She brought her left hand out from behind her back. The fingers were crossed. "Of course, you need to be really careful now. You can do major damage before you know what you're doing."

Pet burst into tears. Ray reached up to bring her down into a hug. Denise knelt to rub the shuddering shoulders of the young blonde.

Buttercup stroked her newly giant daughter's wrist. "Being big's not all beer and skittles, is it?" she said.

"Skittles?" Pet asked.

"We have some in the cookie cabinet," Carolyn said, already moving towards the door. Buttercup shook her head.

Annie stroked Pet's hair.

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

"So anyway," Annie said an hour later, "What's to do with Danny and little Ophelia?"

She pushed up from her plate and looked up at Ray. He drank the last of his milk with his free hand. Pet curled up in his other armpit.

Denise slid another PBJ sandwich in front of Pet. Carolyn topped up her milk. She smiled at both of them.

"Well," Ray said, "I have been thinking of that." He slid the letter over to sit next to the sylph. "I think you should take care of it."

He sat Pet up straight and pulled his checkbook out to place it in front of Annie. Then he added his cell phone. "I've got to go the bathroom," he said, standing and walking down the hall.

Denise, Carolyn and Pet stared, jaws gaping. Buttercup turned to Annie. "Way to go, girl." Annie smiled wide and offered her palm for a victory five.

"Way to...?" Pet asked. "I nearly killed him for dumping this on Nigel. And you're happy he dumped it on you?"

"Happy?" Annie asked. "Because my loving husband just said that his problems are our problems? That his resources are our resources? That my solutions are as good as his? Why would that make me happy?" She put a foot on the phone and unfolded it. "Now, if I only knew a woman that wanted kids but had lost her ability to conceive in a recent bout of cancer, that we knew and trusted, and had a background check, and knew a really good lawyer who loved sylphs."

"That's...pretty specific, Annie," Carolyn said with a smile.

"It might be hard to find someone exactly like that," Pet said slowly. Denise giggled with sudden surmise and Pet's head snapped around.

"And," Denise said, "is listed in Ray's phone."

"Dionne!" Annie shouted into the mouthpiece. "I need someone to ride to the rescue. If you're interested. It's a bit of a life-commitment. But there's a kid and a trust fund and a sylph and..."

She went on cheerfully selling her idea. Pet stood and started to walk across the kitchen.

"Pet?" Denise asked. "Where are you going?"

"I thought..." Two more steps to the front room. "Maybe I could..." She turned in the doorway, a hand on the frame. "Check the mail box...." She scampered for the front door.

Denise glanced down at the sylph. Annie was listening to her cousin ask questions. 'Go on!' she mouthed to her sister wife. 'This one's mine.' Denise ran in Pet's wake.

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

The next stage on the journey back to the Center was slower. The urgency was gone and they didn't push as hard. They didn’t risk legal entanglements letting unlicensed Denise drive, for one.

And they quit early on the first day. They passed a hotel that looked decent and four people yawned. They looked at each other and laughed.

Ray pulled over.

The clerk didn't seem terribly offended by the three people and the sylph all making sure the room had a king-sized bed. If anything he smiled jealously.

They had enjoyed the assembly line process at Carolyn's. They drew lots. Ray undressed Pet, she showered with Annie and the two were dried off by Denise.

Then Ray stripped and dried Denise and followed taking care of his own needs alone.

He came out to find the others in bed. "What a surprise," he said, crawling between them and pulling the covers up.

"If you guys are going to get terribly ambitious," Annie said, "I may have to go sit on the sidelines. For safety."

"Shut up, Annie," Denise said. She grabbed the sylph and lifted her to Ray's lips. He kissed her belly. She giggled and flailed as always. Then Denise lowered her to his pillow.

"So, how does this work?" Pet asked.

"Well, I remain your revered master," Ray said. He stopped talking as pillows pummeled. The giggling spread and the pillowfight expanded. Annie rolled off Ray's and slid between the mattress and the wall.

"I called it," she muttered.

They finally sank into a tired pile. Ray reached without looking and scooped Annie up.

She stood on his palm and looked them over. "If that was the sex," she said, "you're doing it wrong."

"What should we do, Annie?" Ray asked.

"Well, you're not ready to make love to the two of them at once, far less a full weesome." She sat down on his hand. "You've made love to Denise as she is. I think you should start there."

Pet started to protest. Annie held up a hand. "Remember watching how Ray ate a hamburger? It's something you have to learn."

"I've made love!" she protested.

"Not to me," Ray pointed out.

Denise reached across Ray's chest to take Pet's hand. "You'll still be here. You'll still be part of it. Just like what'sherface, here."

"Well, I never!" Annie said.

"Just...watch what we do."

"And pay attention," Ray said. "You're next." He kissed her and she relaxed a bit.

He rolled to his knees and climbed over his first wife. She scooted closer to Pet. Pet picked Annie up and held her in a gentle fist.

"Okay," Annie said. "Take it from the top."

Kisses, slow and gentle. Two for Denise, one for Pet, two for Denise, one for Annie. One for Ray, one for Pet, one for Annie. Two for Denise, Pet and Ray from either side. One from Annie on the nose.

Hands stroked, squeezed, tweaked and teased. Kissing heated up and mouths opened. Denise faltered, just a bit, when she realized three hands were touching her two breasts. But before she could complain, they receded.

Ray moved closer, onto her, covering her with his presence, centering his attention on her. She opened herself to him.

Pet was still there, but paying attention to Ray. Stroking him, nibbling on a shoulder. And for a brief moment, Denise was jealous that Pet had stopped touching her.

She laughed. Ray raised an eyebrow but didn't stop making love. She shook her head. She probably couldn't explain.

Two people touching her was crowding, but one was lonely? The man with three wives would think she was silly.

But right now, he was staring at her. He was with her. They were one. Pet and Annie were in the room and that was okay. It was better than okay. They loved and were loving and if she just had to make a rule that no one helped Ray make love to her, that'd be her rule.

Making love to Ray during... Well. She'd just treat that as between those two. Or those three. And she was thinking too much.

Ray stared into her, hands pushing down on her wrists. She wrapped her legs around him, used the leverage, loved him back.

He was concentrating on her and she concentrated right back. It was all she remembered and more. He remembered what she wanted and needed and had asked for and didn't make her beg or restate or restart and oh, oh, oh god, oh god.... "Aaaaah!"

She came. And it wasn't like she hadn't since she sylphed...but there was a difference. Ray was in her, not over her or nearby. Then the knowledge that she had him, trapped him between her legs and held him inside...that fired her again.

He dropped holding himself up by his arms and lowered himself, lowered his weight, slowly and carefully, down onto her. That freed his hands and he touched her as she needed, as she would've begged for if she could speak.

She came again, screaming into his mouth as they kissed.

"Congratulations!" Annie shouted.

"Yay!" Pet added. Then the two of them were kissing her. No guilt, no shame, and no jealousy in any of them.

She held Pet to her and kissed back. Ray had slowed, but not stopped. His hard on pumped ever so gently and he looked a question at her.

Oh. He was saving himself for Pet. He had said she was next. And now he wanted permission to pull out.

The moment she realized it, her legs tightened, pulling him tighter. She expected him to look surprised but he just nodded. "If it's important to you..."

"Oh," she said softly. "THAT was the question you were asking. I-"

Denise looked at Ray, at Pet, at Annie who was somehow on Pet's head, gripping her hair to stay in place. "I don't..." She started to try to explain.

"Shush," Annie said. "Honesty's the only way this will work. Without drugs, anyway. IF it's important to you, it's important to you. No one would begrudge you that. We've got all night," the sylph assured her.

"Then...please?" she asked, looking at all three of her partners.

"Not up to me," Pet said. She reached a hand somewhere behind Ray's shoulders. He gasped and his tempo increased.

Denise smiled and tweaked Ray's nipples. His eyes crossed and in a final, heart-stopping moment, he came, then drooped down, sated and spent.

His wives stroked him lovingly. He stroked and kissed and licked back.

Denise started to roll Ray over to the side. Pet saw what she was doing, grabbed a shoulder and shoved to help move him off his wife.

Ray grunted in surprise as he went over the side, taking the blankets with him.

"EEP!" Pet shouted. "It's COLD!"

"It's not that bad," Annie said. Pet curled up as Denise crawled to the edge of the bed and looked down.

"It IS that bad," Pet insisted. A hand shoved a fistful of blanket up.

Denise grabbed it. "Thank you, lover," she said. She started spreading it over her and Pet.

"Roll over," Annie said. Pet turned and Denise spooned her. The shivering slowed. She relaxed into the warm hug heating her back. It could only be better if she was between Denise and Annie, she thought.

Then she remembered now it would be a sandwich between Denise and Ray- "Ray!" she shouted. She sat up. Fresh, cool air was sucked into the sheets. "EEEE!" Denise dragged her back down into the hug.

"Ray's fine," Denise said.

"She's right," Annie agreed. The sylph stood in front of Pet's face, gently stroking her nose. "He's fine. He likes the floor. As long as this hotel keeps bed monsters under control, he's in no danger, rea-"

"Bed monsters?" Pet asked in a worried tone. Just before the hand snaked under the blanket to grab her by the toes.

---------

Pet wanted to be on top for her turn. Ray glanced down along his body. "It's going to be a bit," he said.

"Then cuddle," Annie suggested. She squealed as a hand grabbed her up. Denise moved her to Ray's chest.

"Or take your turn," she told the sylph. "You two don't really need the rocket to launch, do you?"

"I, I, I....uh.... No?"

"Cool," Pet said. She curled up on Ray's side. "Then feel free to utilize unavoidable down-time productively."

"That's your fault," Annie snarled at Ray. "You taught her to talk like an engineer." She shook her head, then stood on his rib cage. "With a heavy sigh," Annie said, "she told him to continue."

Ray smiled, then grunted. "Pet, you've got my arm pinned."

"Oh!" Pet started to roll aside. Denise grabbed her shoulder. "What?"

Denise lay herself along Ray's side. "I think that's a great idea, Pet. Pin him down. Then he's helpless." She winked at Annie. "A toy for you to play with."

"Nice idea," Annie said, "but when we try it, I always end up untying at least one arm to move me up to his mouth or anything. Else it's just an annoying scramble."

Pet wordlessly lifted the sylph to Ray's forehead. She stood there for a moment. Then she started to laugh.

"Oh, oh," Ray said.

"Purse your lips, my little pony," Annie ordered. "I need a saddle." She stepped to his cheek, smiling down at his eye as it opened wide.

They all stared at her. Well. Ray couldn't help it. She was about 80% of his field of view. Leaning over his nose, smiling down a him...wriggling. Of course she had his attention.

But the other two. They'd been her partners not too long ago. Fee, fi, fo, fum, they'd chanted, once upon a time. One for all and all for one, together we make the giant come. And then we shower.

Now it wasn't merely her turn to play with the Ray, everyone was trying to make her happy. To not just let her have a good time, but to contribute to taking her to the place where eternity knew no bounds or something like that.

It was heady stuff. For the first time, she really, viscerally felt that her partners were lovers.

It was hard to keep a straight face after that moment of enlightenment. So she raked an imaginary spur down Ray's cheek. "More tongue, Scotty!"

"I don't think he can take much more of this," Pet said. Her Scottish accent wasn't half bad.

"He must!" Denise supplied. A finger stroked the small of her back. She had no idea who and decided... no, she realized she didn't care who.

The lips widened a bit and she slid down, meeting the tongue that was pushing up. She ended up perched on it, legs extended, hands holding her weight on Ray's nose. Her feet twisted in little circles, faster and faster.

"A idle elp?" Ray asked. Annie looked opened her eyes and looked down.

"What do you need help with, worm?" she shouted.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Denise remove a finger from her mouth and push it forward. She slicked it across Annie's right breast. "Ohhhhhhhhh," the sylph moaned.

Pet hurried to follow suit. The two worked together, slipping and sliding the fingertips over her breast, belly, hips, always coming back to stroke her swollen nipples.

"Ei," she said in a conversational tone. Pet moved faster and Denise pushed harder. Ray lowered her and applied suction. "Ei!" she yipped. "Ei, ei, ei, ei, ei- AAAAAAAAAAAH!"

She relaxed across Ray's face. Melted, more like it. Gentle hands collected her and slipped her down by his shoulder, tucked under his mass like a bear in a cave.

"Gotta stay up," she mumbled. "Choreograph the next bit."

"I got it, Annie," Denise said. Lips or fingers pat her derriere, a kiss goodnight. She heard blankets move.

"Well," Pet said. "That sure woke someone up."

Then she dreamed of a sailboat. One that rode the waves. Bigger and bigger waves, coming faster and faster. The spray as the bow cleaved each one covered her with blood-warm water even as the impact slammed her to the deck.

The boat was hammered by the waves, but she remained confident. The boat loved her and would never fail her. And the waves loved her. And the wind that drove the sails and the waves, it loved her, too.

Then she was the figurehead, plowing into the waves to make it easier for the bow of the boat. That was her job. That, and looking simply marvelous.

She smiled, spread her carved arms and plunged into their mutual fate.

"Shhh!" the wind said.

"What?"the boat and waves asked.

"I think...I think she just came in her sleep."

"Yep," she said dreamily. "Um...is there anyone to dewater the bilges?"

The waves closed around her and cuddled her and the boat. She sank into the depths, into a deeper sleep.

They all did.



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