Healing (General's Daughter Book 5) (12 page)

“She started,” he argued, slapping her hand from his arm.

“Jennifer, please take your boyfriend to his room and have a long talk with him about behavior. Richard, you do the same,” Scott ordered.

Rich’s eyes twinkled. “If I had a boyfriend, it certainly wouldn’t be Mike. He’s not my type.”

“Ha ha. You know what I mean, so don’t be a smart ass.”

“What other type of ass could I be? Hmm, a pain in the— OW!” Rich yelped as Scott swatted him upside the head.

“There’s more where that came from. You, stop laughing. What has gotten into you two?” Scott frowned as Sam and Rich started giggling uncontrollably.

Dr. Quimby shook his head, plopping in his spot. “One night taking care of her and the boy went insane. We knew she’d do it one day.” He eyed them, now on the floor laughing hysterically. It was contagious, because Jen started to giggle and was joined by Michael. Pretty soon, Scott was involved. Dr. Quimby, ever in control, shook his head, ignoring them as he opened his paper.

They were still at it when dinner arrived. Sighing, Dr. Quimby took care of business and brought the delivery into the kitchen. “Okay, that’s enough. Dinner is here.”

“I’m not hungry, Daddy,” Sam panted, lying on her brother’s stomach.

“You’re eating. No arguments. All of you, get up and wash your hands. Scott, what’s gotten into you?”

“I have no idea. I couldn’t control it when it hit.” Scott wiped his eyes, getting off the floor and pulling Rich to his feet. He again slapped him upside the head.

“OW! What was that for?”

“To remind you not to be a smart ass. Get them up and come into the dining room,” Scott ordered, regaining his composure.

“That hurt. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard and so long,” Jen complained, holding her stomach. “I almost peed myself.”

“Me neither. I don’t usually get the giggles,” Rich agreed, eyeing Sam.

She shrugged. “Don’t look at me. I get them a lot. Mike and I used to drive the folks crazy when a case of the giggles struck us.”

“Always at the worse possible times too. Remember Oxford?”

“Oh god, the headmaster wanted to kill us. We were sitting through a lecture on something incredibly boring—”

“Quantum physics.”

“Whatever, and the guy was talking about properties of different metals and how they affected the absorption rate of something—”

“Subatomic particles.”

“Yeah, and he said aluminum. Only he pronounced it al-loo-men. It sounded so funny, I started to giggle. Then Mike caught it. Next thing you know, we were asked to leave because we were being disruptive.”

“The headmaster called Dad to come get us. I was sixteen and Sam was only twelve. She wasn’t even supposed to be there, but refused to go with Dad to the hospital lecture. Dad started to read us the riot act in front of the headmaster and we lost it again. It’s amazing that man has any hair left with dealing with the two of us.”

“You would think he would be used to it. He tried so hard to keep a straight face, too. He lost it when the headmaster joined in.”

“Trust me, there is nothing funnier than an old English guy who can’t control his laughter. That’s the only reason I wasn’t kicked out. And the reason they accepted Sam when her time came.”

“What did your dad do when you guys left?” Jen asked.

“We were grounded for two weeks. That lasted, what?”

“Three days. Daddy couldn’t stand having us in the hotel with nothing to do. We drove him positively bonkers.”

“Get in here, now!” Scott ordered, sticking his head around the corner. The four obeyed, a stray giggle escaping now and then.

***

Rich sat up in bed, confused and disoriented. He looked at the clock... 2:45 am. Shaking the cobwebs from his head, he threw on a robe and walked outside to the deck.

“What are you doing up?” Michael asked, turning as he slid the door open.

“I don’t know. Just woke suddenly. And you?”

“So, you both heard it too,” Sam said, coming up from behind them.

“What are you talking about?”

“The announcement. A blue was born,” she said dreamily.

“Sam? Are you sleepwalking?” Michael asked, waving his hand in front of her face.

She shook her head. “No, just connected. Because it’s such a big event, the entire population announces it. Rich was integrated last night, Michael. They brought him in.”

“How did that happen?”

Sitting down, Sam explained, in detail, the occurrences. Rich stayed quiet, not completely comfortable with sharing the details of his sex life with her older brother. She patted his leg. “Rich, relax. This is science. It also changed you. Couldn’t you tell?”

“I do feel different. More relaxed, for sure. I can’t lose my edge, though.”

“You won’t. It only lasts a couple of days. That’s why you were being a smart ass tonight. I liked it, though.”

“Me, too. It was a side I hadn’t seen before. One that was very funny,” Michael added. “It really confused Scott, which made it even better.”

“You guys love to fuck with Scott, don’t you?” Rich scolded, seeing them nod. He sighed, agreeing it was fun, except for the head slap.

“He knows how to land those, for sure.” Michael rubbed the back of his head thinking about it. “So what are you guys going to do about this new found discovery? Besides the obvious.”

“I’d like to do more experimenting.” Sam snickered.

Rich sighed. “I know you would. I’d like to just remember some of it. Mike, I’m telling you, it was wild. Like being on happy gas. I don’t like not being in control.”

“That’s because you’re a control freak. You need to let it go,” Sam insisted.

Rich shook his head. “It’s not safe to let it go. We have to be able to maintain some sort of sensibility, even in the safest of times. I need to find out how your father can block it so well. But, how do I go about it without revealing our, uh, adventure?”

“Rich, he already knows you guys never made it to the six month mark, okay? He’s not stupid. Mostly, he’s a scientist. Go about it in that direction and I promise you that he’ll stay professional.”

“After he strangles me for doing his daughter.”

“He knows already. He’s obviously okay with it, given the circumstances. As long as you don’t try to move her out of here or get her to defy him, he’ll be supportive. You have to trust me on this,” Michael said seriously.

“Trust you on what, Michael?” Dr. Quimby’s low voice was heard from behind them. “What are you guys doing up? It’s a school night.”

“Couldn’t sleep, Pop. We were brainstorming,” Michael said, making room for his father to join him on the bench.

Dr. Quimby beckoned to his daughter, who immediately climbed onto his lap to snuggle. “Odd. I had the weirdest dream. All I could think of was to come out here.”

“About the baby being born?” Sam asked quietly.

He looked at her with surprise. “A blue whale baby. Are you kidding me?”

“No sir, we all had it,” Rich said.

Dr. Quimby shook his head. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but we need to get to the bottom of it. Is it just us? If so, why?”

“Did Sam tell you about our wave findings?” Michael asked quietly. His father shook his head. Michael explained in detail, including the matches and fluctuations. He then added the information regarding Rich’s integration and Sam’s healing. Rich tried not to appear visibly unnerved as the man looked at him.

“You’re telling me that having sex with my baby daughter healed her from her illness?” He sounded perturbed.

“Daddy, I’m not a baby.”

“I, um, I couldn’t stop myself. I don’t even remember what happened, sir,” Rich said quietly.

Sam kissed her father’s cheek. “Don’t look at Rich like that. He took good care of me. Daddy, it was like nothing I could describe. I’m not talking about the sex, although… Anyway,” she caught Michael’s warning shake of his head, “mentally, we were caught in a whirling of voices and images, spinning and floating. If you would let me come in, I might be able to show you. How do you prevent my entry?”

“I told you, it’s like a REM pattern. If I increase my active thinking process, my mind doesn’t go into the Delta waves. I calculate PI or solve a chemistry equation. Very mathematical.”

“But what if I try to tap into the hypothalamus instead of the cerebellum?”

“Same idea. Instead of the thinking area, it’s instinctive. So I contemplate something creative, like a recipe or analyze a painting. The more complex, the easier it is to block you.”

“Can we try?”

“Not tonight. We’ll get together and monitor this. Richard?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Son, I know about your activity with Sammi. I don’t want either of you to get distracted or become complacent. I also don’t want to know details about your time together. I understand, believe me, but that doesn’t mean I’m completely at ease with it yet. She’s still too young.”

“Dad, she’ll be fifty and you’ll think she’s too young.”

“Probably. Wait until you have a daughter and you’ll understand. I hope she’s just like your sister.”

“What did I do to deserve that? I’ve served my time with her!”

“Since she can’t have one, you can make up the difference. You can also give the little monster to her aunt and uncle to deal with.” Dr. Quimby snickered.

“Pardon me, but I want a well-behaved child, not one influenced by the gremlin.”

Sam pouted. “I’m not that bad. You kept me around.”

“You’re the birthday present, I had to.”

“Okay, go to bed, you three. You need to get up in another hour.”

“I’m going to just stay up, if you don’t mind. I’m not tired,” Rich said, leaning back on the recliner.

Michael nodded. “Me too.”

“Then I am too,” Sam echoed.

Dr. Quimby rolled his eyes. “Do what you want, but no complaining about being tired at work.”

“Daddy? May I swim in? Please?”

“It’s still nasty out there. No.”

“Please? I’ll be careful, I promise.”

“We could go with her, Dad. I mean, we’re up,” Michael added.

Sighing, Dr. Quimby nodded. “Oh, all right. One of these days, you will listen to me when I tell you ‘no’ instead of wearing me down.”

“I doubt it. See you at work,” Michael grinned.

“Let’s go, boys. I hear them calling for us,” Sam said, closing her eyes. They met on the deck ten minutes later and trotted down the wet steps to the dock.

“Are you sure you want to go out in this? It’s really rough,” Michael said cautiously, adjusting the band around his neck. Sam looked at him with disgust. An image of a jellyfish flashed in his mind.

Rich, also wearing a band, caught it. He chuckled. “Name calling? Is that the ocean version of a chicken shit?”

“Essentially. And I can’t get in trouble for it because no one else can hear. Come on, Mike, once you go under, everything will change.”

“Yeah, I’ll freeze my balls off. Ready Rich?”

“As much as I’m ever going to be. Damn, it’s cold.”

“You’ll warm up in a couple of minutes. Be careful swimming out – stay in the center of the inlet. We can meet Ton in the kelp beds away from the rocks,” Sam said, swimming away.

“Wait for us. I can’t see a damn thing,” Michael grumbled, trying to judge his position. “Rich, stay within reach. Go on under.”

“I’m with you.”

They sunk to the bottom and Michael turned on his light. Visibility was, once again, zero, and his sister was nowhere in sight. Grunting, he stayed on the bottom, following the deepest section of the inlet to prevent being pushed into the rocky jetty. They reached the shelf drop and swam into open water.

“Sam? Where the hell are you?” Michael snapped. No answer. “I’m going to kill her.”

“Me first. Samantha! Answer us now. Where are you?”