Revelations - Chapter 18: Darker Secrets, Continued

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#18 of Revelations

Alex and Elizabeth finish their games. Meanwhile, Hikari visits Charlotte and gets surprised by an offer he can't refuse. A short while later, Raenne gets a call and has to bail early at the Karate Tournament.

WARNING: This story contains adult-only content. Check the tags before you continue reading.


Saturday, May 30th, 2015

Alex's face dropped as her father quickly left the room, then she jumped when the master bedroom door slammed shut, pulling her hand out from between her legs where she'd been rubbing her flower. Sighing, the little tigress turned to look over at her best friend Lizzy, who was kneeling next to her on the her towel-covered bed.

"What was that all about?" the tiny stoat asked, clearly confused.

"Idunno," Alex said with a shrug. She was rather sad that she wasn't going to get to do any sexy stuff with her father. Maybe later she could ask him about it, she thought, after he'd finished doing whatever it was he needed to do.

"So what do we do now?"

"Mmm..." Alex squirmed a bit, uncomfortable with asking her best friend to do sexy stuff to her. Still, it felt really, really good. "Well, I was hoping daddy would lick my flower, but since he's got stuff to do...oof!"

Alex fell backwards onto her pillows as Lizzy pushed against her fluffy white chest fur, then spread her legs as the stoat pushed against the inside of her thighs. Lizzy scooted back near the foot of the bed and lay down with her face directly between Alex's thighs.

"Lift your knees up a bit, sexy kitty."

"I...umm...okay. Can you stack a few of those pillows there under my cast?"

Lizzy didn't even answer, pushing herself back up and quickly stacking several pillows to one side before flopping back down on her tummy. Even before Alex had gotten comfortable, she twitched as Lizzy's cold nose poked under her boy bits and pressed up against the top of her flower.

"Ack! That's cold!"

"Hush, it'll warm up quick. Especially with this to keep me warm." Lizzy said as she used one paw to gently lift Alex's fuzzy balls and draped them over the top of her nose. Then she tucked both paws underneath her chin and stuck her tongue out, running it around the outside of Lexi's flower, tasting the sweet, musky, spicy scent of Lexi's girl-juice before pressing the tip of her tongue further in.

Alex gasped, feeling Lizzy's smooth, warm tongue touch her girl-bits, then sighed in pleasure. It felt so much better than using her own paw. Feeling Lizzy's tongue twirl around just inside her, then running up the tiny creases to each side and around her button was absolutely amazing.

Alex lay back, enjoying the feeling, feeling slightly guilty that she wasn't doing anything for Lizzy at the same time. Her penis had gone soft while she'd been licking father's, but it gradually began poking back out of her sheath as Lizzy continued to alternate between licking in and around Alex's flower and swirling her tongue around that sensitive nub at the top.

Lizzy was totally content to simply lay there, and lick her best friend's flower. Lexi had always been there for her when she was sad, and she thought it was only fair to help Lexi feel better; Lexi's broken leg had to hurt, and she was guessing that this was helping to take her mind off it. As she lay there licking, she watched Lexi's penis slowly stiffen as she'd licked, then she remembered something Father had shown her to do to Mother.

Alex jerked; Lizzy bit her! No...wait...she was using her teeth to hold her button while flicking her tongue over it. With each stroke, Alex felt her whole body twitch, like tiny sparks of electricity were shooting from her button to deep within her tummy and out through her belly button and the tip of her penis.

"Stop! Stop...too much," Alex gasped out.

Lizzy quickly let go, pulling her nose out from under Lexi's balls. She'd been able to feel Lexi's entire body jerk with every lick when she'd done that, and her sexy kitty herm-friend's boy-bits were twitching like they were about to squirt. She was actually kind of sad to stop...she wanted to see if she could make Lexi's penis squirt by licking her flower.

"Are you okay?"

"Uh...yeah...just don't do that thing with your teeth for more than a few seconds. That was...just...wow. It was too good. I didn't think anything could be too good."

Lizzy grinned, then reached out and grabbed Lexi's penis, pulling it down towards her and licking the drop of pre off the tip. Then she got an idea.

"Lexi? While Mother and I are doing sexy stuff, sometimes Father likes to just watch, and he puts some lube on his paw and wraps it around his penis and moves it up and down."

"I was kind of touching my penis when we were rubbing our flowers together...I didn't think about lube though."

"Here, let me show you what Father does. Hand me that bottle of lube," she said pointing to it with her other hand while she licked another drop of pre off the tip of Lizzy's boy-bits.

Alex reached over and grabbed the bottle off her nightstand and handed it to Lizzy. Lizzy popped the top open and tilted it over one hand. Lube squirted out, covering her hand and leaving a trail of slimy liquid across Alex's tummy. "Shoot! Too much. Oh well," she said handing the bottle back.

Lizzy wrapped her paw around Alex's very hard penis, slathering it with the slippery goop, then pumped it a few times up and down, looking up at Alex's face to see if it felt good. She did this for Father sometimes herself, and he really liked it. Sometimes until he squirted, other times only for a bit before she put his stick in her flower.

"See?" she asked after pumping it a few times. "Just move your paw up and down. Try holding it loose or tight to see what feels best. I wanna watch you do it while I lick your flower, kay?"

"Umm, okay..."

Alex cautiously poured some out on her own paw, careful not to use too much like Lizzy had, wrinkling her nose at the stink of chemicals. Then she reached down and wrapped her paw around her penis, slowly pumping it up and down like Lizzy was doing. After watching for a bit, Lizzy wiped her paw on the towel under them and lay back down on her tummy, once again resting Alex's fuzzy balls on her nose as she pushed her nose up against Alex's girl-bits.

Lizzy pushed her hands under her head as she went back to licking Lexi's flower, this time enjoying the view as her friend slowly masturbated only a few inches in front of her eyes. It was obvious that Lexi hadn't done anything like this before. The first few strokes, Lexi lost her grip, but after a few moments Lexi seemed to figure it out. Seeing Lexi's penis disappear within her fist was kind of like watching Father's stick going in and out of Mother's flower. She smiled and continued to lick contentedly at Lexi's flower while watching.

A couple of minutes passed, the only noise in the room being the squishing sounds of Lizzy's licking and Alex's masturbation and heavy breathing, and the faint sound of the shower in the master bathroom. Lizzy was enjoying the saltwater-chai taste of Alex's girl-juice, and exploring every nook and cranny within her flower. There wasn't that much to explore, really, since she could feel Alex's hymen only an inch or so back from her entrance. She thought she could feel a few tiny holes in it if she pressed against it a bit. Still, she knew it would hurt if she broke it, so she didn't press too hard. Instead, she relaxed and leisurely tongued her friend's tasty girl-parts, watching as Lexi's paw moved up and down.

"Lizzy?"

The quiet question broke the calm trance Lizzy had almost fallen into.

"Hmm?"

"I think...I'm close. I think. I don't know...if I might squirt...or not."

Lizzy grinned to herself. She knew exactly what to do. She brought one paw up under her chin and used her thumb to rub circles around Lexi's flower while she gripped Lexi's button with her front teeth again and began rubbing her tongue across it.

Alex felt shocks running through her system once again. Her penis twitched with every stroke of Lizzy's tongue and she almost forgot to move her hand up and down. One strong shock caused her hips to buck upwards, driving her penis through her fist. It felt like her entire body exploded.

Lizzy pulled her head back slightly as Lexi's hips jerked upwards, pulling her button right out from Lizzy's grip, then she realized what was happening as Lexi's balls suddenly pulled up tight. Lexi's flower spasming, her hips jerking, even her tail was twitching like an electrocuted snake...orgasm.

A thin string of white semen squirted from the tip of Alex's penis. Lizzy watched it fly in a high arc, nearly touching the ceiling before falling back down, landing on the pillows next to Alex's head. The second squirt landed on Alex's face. Several more landed on Alex's chest, mixing with the lube that Lizzy had spilled. Alex's hips continued to jerk for several more long seconds, her penis dribbling leftover semen with every twitch.

Lizzy leaned forward to lick the sticky treat up off Alex's tip, then just as quickly spit it out. The astringent, chemical flavor of the silicon lube made her gag. "Yuck!" she yelled, grabbing a towel to wipe her mouth. "Gross. This lube tastes terrible!" the tiny stoat said, jumping off the bed and running for the bathroom.

Alex's head tilted sideways to watch as Lizzy hopped off the bed. She closed her eyes for a moment, dazed and utterly exhausted from the earth-shattering dual orgasm she'd just experienced. For the first time since she'd broken her leg, she managed to fall asleep without the aid of the pills on her bathroom counter, drifting off before the various sticky messes on her had even begun to cool.

=^.^=

Hikari looked up from the post-it note in his hand. The house number was definitely the one Raenne had written down, and his map app hadn't let him down before. So why did he feel like this was the wrong address? Sure, it didn't stand out that from the other multi-level houses around it, but the tall brick wall around the entire property and the fact that it had sliding security gates at both ends of the semi-circular driveway gave the impression that it was just a bit more expensive. That, and the fact that it stood on two lots instead of simply one.

He sighed, pocketed the post-it and let go of the clutch pulling his small Honda Rebel around until he was sitting next to the keypad and intercom panel on a pole a few feet from the gates. He pressed the button marked 'buzzer' and heard a soft chime from the intercom. After a few moments, a soft, feminine voice that he didn't recognize came from the speaker.

"Who is it?"

"This is Hikari Arakaki. Mrs. Andreyev told me that this is where Charlotte Schneider lives."

"It is. We were expecting you. Hold on a moment while I open the gate."

There was a faint humming noise, then with a slight rattle the gate slid open. When he was sure it was wide enough, he drove the old motorcycle up the curved driveway, parking it in front of the steps that led up to the front porch. He was just taking off his helmet when the front door opened, and a pair of weasels, the exact species he could only guess at, stepped out. Mr. and Mrs. Stouffer, from what Sensei Raenne had said. The female, Julia if he remembered right, was wearing a summer dress, and the male was wearing slacks and a polo shirt. He set his helmet down on the motorcycle seat and took his gloves off as he stepped around the bike.

"Hello. I'm Hikari Arakaki," he said as he walked up to them, holding a hand out. "I presume you're Mr. and Mrs. Stouffer?"

"Yes," the man said, clasping his hand firmly. "I'm Terrence, and this is my wife Julia."

"Pleased to meet you, sir," he said, giving a softer handshake to Julia as well, "...and ma'am."

"Charlotte's up in her room, resting," Julia said. "Though I'm sure she heard the buzzer and knows you're here. Terrence will show you up to her room. Would you care to join us for lunch?"

"If it's not too much trouble, I'd be happy to." he said, not being one to pass up a free meal, especially considering how tight money was around his own house.

"Excellent," she said, turning around and stepping back into the house. "I was going to make some BLT sandwiches. Do you happen to have any dietary preferences or food allergies I should be aware of?"

"Um, no...That sounds delicious. Thank you." he said, following both of them inside. The front foyer was incredible, and went all the way to the roof, occupied mostly by a massive Victorian style staircase with a landing every five feet or so. There was even a small stand next to the foot of the stairs with brass and mahogany telephone, complete with a rotary dial on the front which looked like it should have been in a museum. To his left he could see some kind of library room with expensive victorian era furniture. To the right, there was clearly a lounge, with similar furniture, though with overstuffed leather on the seating instead of fabric. A huge flatscreen television hung on one wall, surrounded by a picture frame that matched the rest of the decor.

Now that he looked at it, the style wasn't really Victorian era...more of a fusion of Victorian and sleek modern, kind of like the house itself now that he thought about it...and the telephone didn't really have a rotary dial; just deeply inset buttons arranged in a circle. Julia left through a doorway on the far side of the foyer, under the stair-well's first landing, while he followed Terrence up the stairs. The second landing was actually a hallway that extended both left and right. They went left, down a short hallway with three doors. The second door on the left was open, and Terrence knocked on the door frame.

"Charlotte? Hikari Arakaki is here to see you. Julia's fixing lunch. It should be ready in about ten minutes. Do you want us to bring your meals up here, or join us in the dining room?"

Hikari couldn't make out the muffled response, but Terrence nodded and said "Okay, we'll see you downstairs then." Terrence stepped close to him, leaning down and quietly said "She's rather out of it right now, and in a lot of pain, but she should be well enough to head to school by Monday."

"I understand, sir."

"Very well." Terrence nodded, then walked back down the hallway toward the stairs.

Hikari stepped up and looked into the room. It was surprisingly ordinary, with a small computer desk and laptop, bed, dresser...The only thing out of the ordinary were the two pairs of bookshelves overflowing with manga novels, anime dvds, and figurines. His canine classmate was laying on her bed wearing a blouse and a knee-length skirt, and knee-high socks, all in white and periwinkle, and had a white bandage or cast of some kind wrapped around her upper muzzle and around the back of her head.

"Hello, Charlotte," he said as he stepped up next to the bed.

"Hi Hikari. 'orry i' I 'on't get up. My head i' really hurtin'," she said, trying to avoid saying anything with an 's' or 'f', since it caused her chipped front teeth to ache.

"Don't be sorry. It's not your fault. If it's anyone's, it's that other kid's fault, the one who punched you from behind."

"Eh...I 'ouldn't ha' made fun o' him."

"That doesn't matter. An insult is no excuse for attacking someone under any circumstances. Anyway, I just wanted to see if you were okay, and see if you still wanted any help with any translations," he said looking at the bookshelves packed with anime. "You've got a ton of manga and anime. You must really like it."

"Yeah...i' my head didn't hurt, I'd be watching 'ome right now."

"Mind if I look at your collection?" he asked, pointing at the bookshelves opposite the base of her bed. "There's a few that I don't recognize. Looks like you've got a few light novels as well."

"I don' mind. You can borrow 'em too if you wan'," she said, slurring her words slightly.

Hikari stepped over to the bookshelves, feeling bad that his roommate was in such obvious suffering. Unfortunately, he didn't know of any way to help her feel better. He hated feeling helpless, and made a mental note to break the other kid's nose next time he saw him. "Who was that other kid, by the way? The vice principle suspended me for kicking him, but he never mentioned the other kid's name."

"Uhh....Diego Ortega. He wan' to date me, but I keep...I keep telling him no. He smoke'," she said clearly rambling, "and I think smoking i' bad. Maybe drug' too. I think...maybe he houses...er...lives in the neighborhood. I see him riding around in an Escalade. Sometimes he' driving."

Hmm....That wasn't good. If Diego was willing to punch a girl from behind just for refusing to go out, he wouldn't put it past the kid to try running either of them, especially if he'd put the kid in the hospital with that kick like the rumors were saying. He'd have to let the Stouffer's know, and maybe the police...after he checked out the huge pile of manga in front of him.

Hikari recognized dozens of the anime and manga titles as ones that had become popular here in the States: Akira, Angelic Layer, Armitage, Azumanga Daioh, Baccano, Black Lagoon, Chobits, Cowboy Bebop, Coyote Ragtime Show, Daily Lives of High School Boys, Death Note, Dot Hack, Ergo Proxy, FLCL, Fruits Basket...quite a diverse collection, and that was just the top shelf. He'd was kind of surprised not to see some of the larger series like Dragonball sitting on the shelves...he was also surprised that the collection wasn't nearly as girly as he'd expected. Certainly Angelic Layer was girly, but seeing Akira and Armitage right next to it more than made up for that.

Further down the bookshelves were the manga collections, most of which he recognized. He knelt down and ran one finger across the shelf reading the titles. He was surprised to see several light novels mixed in with them...Haruhi Suzumiya, The Akiba Labyrinth, No Game No Life, The Devil is a Part-Timer...Most of them seemed to be comedy.

He heard cloth rustle on cloth and glanced behind himself. Charlotte had propped one knee up, and he caught a glimpse of her panties beneath her skirt, between her black and tan furred thighs. He quickly looked back at the bookshelf, blushing, and shook his head.

"Have you read all of these manga and light novels?"

"Some. Not the light novels. I wa' going to read 'em when I got better at japanese."

"Huh. I haven't read any of these light novels yet. They should be funny..." he broke off hearing a voice from downstairs. "Sounds like lunch is ready."

He stood up as looked over...Charlotte was slowly sitting up and swinging her legs off the bed. After a moment, she stood up.

"Do you need any help?"

"No...we'll take the elevator down."

Hikari raised an eyebrow at that. "Elevator?"

"Yeah. It' like an escala'or, but withou' any 'tep." She said as she slowly walked out of the room, keeping one hand on the wall as she walked towards the stairs...and right past them towards the other hallway. Hikari followed cautiously, wondering if she was hallucinating...Mr. Stouffer had said she'd be out of it, and she certainly sounded like it.

"Elizabet' wa' really 'ick, an' dey got an elevator put in 'o dat she didn' have to go up and down de...uh...dat thing," she said, pointing at the stairs as they went past them. Then she stopped at the first door just past the stairs and pressed a small button next to it that he hadn't seen. Surprisingly, he heard a ding from downstairs and a mechanical noise from behind the door.

After a few moments, the door slid sideways, showing a tiny room with a metal gate in front of it, no larger than four feet to each side. The gate slid sideways and Charlotte stepped in. He followed, somewhat shocked to find that they did have an elevator inside their house, and that it matched the victorian-modern style. He wondered just how much it cost to have an elevator installed in a house. She pressed a button on the panel inside and the gate and door slid closed. The panel showed three floors, plus a basement. He shook his head. This house must have cost several million to build.

The lift came to a halt on the first floor, and once against the door slid open followed by the crisscrossed metal gate. He absently put his hand on Charlotte's shoulder as she wobbled a bit stepping out of the elevator, and she walked through the foyer and lounge into a well-appointed kitchen, and then into a dining room where the two weasels were waiting for them at a large table. It was fairly obvious which spot was his...apparently Charlotte was on a liquid diet thanks to her busted face.

He pulled out her chair for her and pushed her in before taking his own seat. Apparently lunch was an informal affair; the Stouffers were already halfway through their sandwiches.

He was rather surprised at just how much bacon there was on the sandwich. Definitely not a meal for herbivores. It was delicious though. So was the glass of sweet tea that was next to it. He was so focused on his sandwich that he almost missed what Terrence said.

"-so we've decided that it's only fair that we offer you legal council if you need it. It just doesn't seem right that the school should suspend you for defending a fellow student who was unconscious."

Hikari swallowed the chunk of sandwich he was chewing on."Umm...Legal council, sir?"

"Well, yes. I presume you wouldn't want to be forced to miss the last week of class, what with tests and such being held on it. Since the school administration doesn't seem likely to back down, my wife and I have decided to offer you the services of the lawyer we have on retainer. It's amazing what the threat of a lawsuit can do to help school faculty see the error of their ways."

Lawsuit? Hikari felt his mouth drop open. They wanted to start a lawsuit on his behalf over a stupid school suspension? I mean, he didn't think the suspension was fair, but was it worth a lawsuit?

Thinking about it for a moment, it was obvious that the school wasn't willing to see reason, and the officer he'd talked to yesterday evening, Officer Hoffman or something, had said it was definitely legal under Oregon law, something about 'defense of a person', and that they had video footage showing the other kid trying to kick Charlotte when Hikari had come flying across the mess hall. It had helped that he'd stopped to see if Charlotte was okay before he'd kicked Diego a second time, since that made it a clear case of self defense in the second kick that had laid Diego out cold.

"Well, an officer talked to me last night, saying it was a pretty clear case of self defense...and I don't think that it's right that a school should suspend someone for defending themselves or someone else..."

"Good, then it's settled. I'll call Richard, our lawyer, and tell him you're okay with it. Richard, Stan, Charlotte, you and I will head over to the school at 7:30 Monday morning with papers in hand and see if they don't see reason..."

Hikari blinked as Terrence began to explain a convoluted legal strategy to force the school to change it's policy regarding fighting in self-defense and retract his suspension and pay for their college funds for various hardships they were causing him and Charlotte. Additionally, they were pressing charges against Diego for aggravated battery.

He glanced over at Charlotte, who was sipping from a straw and had her head cocked sideways. She was listening to Terrence with a puzzled expression, one ear up. What in the world had he gotten himself into?

=^.^=

Lizzy sighed as she sat down at Alex's sleek black computer desk, once again wearing clothes. It had taken her like ten minutes to clean the sleeping tiger's fur and stuff, seeing as she didn't want to wake Lexi up, and it seemed like no matter how many time she washed her mouth, the foul taste of that silicon lube wouldn't go away. No wonder Mrs. Andreyev had told them it tasted bad.

As she sat in front of the big black LCD, she wondered if she would be able to figure out how to use Lexi's PC; she had a Mac at home. After a few moments she found a button on it that caused it to beep and start making whirring noises. The screen turned on and she waited a few moments. The sound of the shower in the Lexi's parent's room was still going, and she wondered if Mr. Andreyev just took really long showers or if he was cleaning the tub or something.

Once the computer screen changed, she sort of recognized it...it looked kind of like the computers that they had in class, the ones used for teaching them to type and play math games. There was an icon of a penguin on the desktop with the word Starbound under it, and she wondered what it was. She clicked it.

It was probably ten minutes later when her little bird character died, falling into a dark pit while she was trying to escape some weird six-legged lizard thing. She sighed, wondering if she could get the same game on her Mac, and turned around. Lexi was still sleeping, naked beneath the towel she'd tossed over her to keep her warm. And the shower was still running. It had to be getting cold by now, and she was starting to worry. Was Mr. Andreyev okay? She turned off the computer and stood up, walking across the short upstairs hallway and put her ear against the closed bedroom door.

The sound of running water was louder, and she could hear muffled noises. Crying maybe? She couldn't tell. She raised her hand to knock, but stopped. After turning around and closing Lexi's door so as not to wake her up, then she raised her hand and knocked on the door. "Mr. Andreyev?"

She waited a moment and knocked again, asking "Mr. Andreyev, are you okay?" After a couple more seconds, she tried the door handle. It was locked. She put her ear to the door again, listening. There was definitely someone in the room crying. She panicked, looking around, then ran downstairs to the kitchen. It was empty. That's right, Mrs. Andreyev was at some kind of karate thing. She spent a few moments looking around for a phone before realizing that she'd literally never used a phone at the Andreyev's house. They just used their smart phones...and Alex's was sitting on the computer desk.

Running back upstairs, she opened Alex's room and stepped in, going straight to the computer desk. She tapped the button. Locked, and asking for a password. But Lexi never used a password. She thought for a moment. Did it use a fingerprint sensor? She knew some of the phones had those. Picking it up, she walked over to Lexi and picked up her paw. The sleeping cat didn't even respond, and she pressed Lexi's finger to the button. The screen shook, asking to try again, and she sighed in frustration, trying another finger and a thumb. Finally the damn thing unlocked, and she quickly pressed the phone button at the bottom.

It took her a moment, but she finally found Mrs. Andreyev listed under 'Mom', and pressed the call button. Smart phones were so stupid sometimes. After a few moments, Mrs. Andreyev picked up, saying "What's up kiddo?"

"Mrs. Andreyev? It's Elizabeth. Lexi's asleep, and Mr. Andreyev has been in his shower an awful long time, and I think he's crying, and the door's locked, and I don't know what to do..."

"Calm down Lizzy, and hold on. I've gotta go outside, it's too loud in the gym here." Another few moments passed, and the noise on the other end died down. "Okay, Lizzy. Sorry bout that. Now what were you saying?"

"Mr. Andreyev went to take a shower a long time ago, and the shower's still running, and I think he's crying. He's not responding when I knock on the door, and the doors locked, and Lexi's sleeping, and I don't know what to do!"

=^.^=

Raenne stepped out of the gymnasium where the tournament was being held over in Tigard, holding the phone to her ear. The tourney was going well, so far. One of her students was in the final elimination round, and she had a feeling that the young man was going to come in second or third place. It was quieter out here, and she asked Lizzy to repeat herself.

As Lizzy began to ramble on about a shower and crying and that Alex was sleeping, her eyes narrowed. This wasn't normal. Not at all. She told Lizzy to calm down and hold on; she'd be there in ten minutes. Then she cut the call and walked back inside, walking over to where the parents of her dojo's students were sitting. She briefly explained that there was an emergency at home, apologizing that she was going to have to leave. Feeling miserable that she was going to miss Marilyn's elimination match, she ran back outside and hopped into her SUV, flooring it out of the Tigard High parking lot and onto Durham road.

Down Durham, past Bridgeport, and onto the freeway. One exit to reach Tualatin, then she was speeding past the hospital. She heard a police siren start up as she went past the park, but floored it into the suburbs where she lived, taking the twisty turns at over twice the speed limit and keeping a sharp eye out for children. As she pulled into the cul-de-sac, she let out a sigh that David had parked on the right side, and hit the garage door opener, pulling in when it was barely above roof level and hitting it again before she'd finished parking.

Hopping out of the SUV, she ducked under the garage door as it was coming down and walked over to the front door, unlocking it and stepping inside. Lizzy was hopping down the stairs, babbling that the shower was still running.

"Hush, Lizzy, it's okay. I'm here now," she said, patting the tiny stoat on the head as she jogged up the stairs. The master bedroom door was indeed locked, and she pulled a multitool out of her pocket, picking a narrow flat-head tool and stuck it into the hole in the doorknob. With a click, the door unlocked. She turned around to Lizzy. "Stay out here, okay?"

Lizzy nodded, and she opened the door a foot and slipped in, closing it behind her. She had no idea what she'd find, but she didn't want to traumatize the cute little girl. The door to the bathroom was closed, and there were clothes on the floor next to it. The shower was louder in here, but she couldn't hear anything other than that. Bracing herself, she grabbed the bathroom doorknob and turned. The door opened. It was cold and humid, water dripping down the mirror, even beading on the walls, clearly he'd not turned the vent on, so she did. The rug was sopping wet and the shower curtain half drawn. David was huddled on the bottom of the shower, not even moving.

She swore and reached down, turning off the shower. He was soaked and cold all the way through. She grabbed him and pulled. God damn he was heavy. He also wasn't shivering. That was bad. She dragged him out of the tub and shoved him into the fur dryer and turned it on, taking a moment to strip her own clothes and set them on the counter, then got into the dryer with him, cramped as it was. It took some effort, but eventually she got him into a standing position and stood there, sweltering as the heating elements turned the air inside hotter and hotter. It felt like she was back in the middle east, on foot patrol, at high noon.

After a few long moments, he'd started to dry off, so she shut off the dryer and checked his pulse. It was slow as hell, but there. She looked him over. No visible bleeding, pupil dilation normal though eyes bloodshot from what she could see of them, heart rate still slow but strong. Using one claw, she made a shallow cut in his arm. Blood started flowing, so he definitely hadn't bled out. She gently felt his skull, but didn't find anything soft spots.

The water temperature couldn't be lower than 60, so while he'd go into mild hypothermia, it probably wouldn't be serious. He'd just feel like utter shit for a few days. She sighed and stood, swearing and hoping he'd just slipped and hit his head. What the fuck was wrong with people this past week? Alex had busted her leg, Julia had a heart attack, Charlotte had been assaulted, and now her husband had God-only-knows-what wrong with him. She turned the dryer back on, sighing, and went to the door and cracked it open. Lizzy was sitting just outside.

"Lizzy, were you upstairs here the entire time he was in the shower?"

"Uh-huh," the stoat said while nodding.

"Were you doing anything loud at all? If David had fallen, would you have heard it?"

"Uh-huh. When he went to take a shower, Lexi and I were doing sexy stuff, and she's really quiet when we're doing that. Then she fell asleep, and I turned on her computer and played some video games, but kept the volume down so I wouldn't wake her."

"Umm...did you clean up after doing sexy stuff? Made sure you used condoms and everything?"

"Uh-huh. Mr. Andreyev brought us the condoms and towels and everything."

"Oh. Good. Um...Close your eyes please. I need to wake Alex up and ask her if she heard anything, and I'm not dressed."

"Uh....Okay," the little stoat said, shutting her eyes.

Raenne stepped out and quickly went down the hallway, opening Alex's door and stepping inside. Alex was lying on the bed under a towel, her broken leg propped up on a pile of pillows. A small heap of towels was stuffed in the hamper next to the closet, and lube and condoms were sitting on the nighstand. Two different colors of condoms. She frowned, then sat on the edge of the bed and bent over Alex, rubbing the bridge of her broad nose and forehead with one hand and covering her breasts with the other. After a few moments, Alex's eyes cracked open, nictitating membranes sliding to the side.

"Alex, I'm sorry to wake you up, but I need to ask you a question."

Alex blinked a few times, then her eyes went wide realizing that Mom was naked. Normally she never left the master bedroom unless she had clothes on. She blinked.

"Uh...what?" Alex asked blearily.

"Your father went to take a shower. Do you remember when he did?"

"Uhh...Yeah."

"After he got into the shower, did you hear any loud noises, like as if he'd fallen in the tub?"

"No...he did slam the door when he went to take a shower, but after that it was quiet except for the shower...and the..um..noises that...um...me and Lizzy were making. Then Lizzy got some lube in her mouth and went to spit it out. I think I fell asleep after that."

"So...Neither you nor Lizzy heard anything. What happened before he went into the bathroom to take a shower?"

"Well, he slammed the door..." Alex said, stifling a yawn.

"Why did he slam the door?"

Alex shrugged. "I dunno. He said he didn't have time to play with us cause he had stuff to do before you got home, and he ran out of my room and slammed the door."

Raenne's eyes narrowed, and she glanced at the condoms on the nightstand.

Alex glanced at the nightstand, then all her fur puffed up when she remembered what they had talked about.

...It's Illegal...So if we don't tell anyone about it, it's fine...I won't tell anyone...

"So, you and Lizzy were doing sexy stuff. Then David brought in some supplies, including his own condoms. Then said that he couldn't play with you all, and ran out of the room, slamming his door and getting into the shower."

"Mrs. Andreyev?" came a quiet voice from the door. Elizabeth was standing there, peeking in, with one paw covering her eyes.

Raenne sighed. Why did life have to be so damned difficult?

"Yes, Lizzy. You can come in. Just please don't look at me. Adults aren't supposed to be naked in front of children."

"Well...Yes...but I see Mother and Father naked all the time. Being naked isn't bad, unless it's in public, right?"

Raenne frowned, then shrugged. "I guess I can't argue with that. What did you want?"

"I....um....I couldn't help but overhear what you were talking about," the stoat said, glancing at the floor, "And yes, that's what happened."

Raenne sighed for the third time in as many minutes. "Lizzy, I already know that's not all there is to it. Alex looks like she jammed her finger in a light socket, and you're staring at the ground. More importantly, my husband is sitting in the bathroom, practically frozen and isn't moving. You said there weren't any loud noises, so he didn't fall in the shower, and you said he was crying."

She took a deep breath, and continued to puzzle things out. "Now, knowing my husband, who happens to have a very strong sense of morality and ethics, I'm guessing that you two asked him if he would play with you while you two were having sex. Considering that he brought his own condoms in here, I'm guessing you succeeded in convincing him to play with you. Something happened that gave him cold feet at the last moment, and he ran away and had a nervous breakdown in the shower, and now he's gotten hypothermia cause he was crying like a baby for a half hour in cold water."

Both the cubs were staring at her now as if she were psychic or could read minds. She wasn't done yet though; there was one thing that didn't quite add up. "Only one thing would cause him to have a breakdown that bad, and it's if he'd actually done something with you two that deeply violated his sense of morals."

She took a deep breath, shaking with the implications, and said it: "He had sex with you two."

Both the cubs immediately denied it, yelling "No!"

"Stop," she said, holding up both paws. "I know that he did something with you. He may not have had vaginal sex with either of you, but he did something." She turned to Alex. "Alex, I've told you before, I will never punish you for telling the truth. However, I will damn well punish you for lying. Tell me the truth, or I'm going to take Lizzy home and you will be grounded until summer vacation is over. Three months."

Both of the cubs gaped at her, shocked that she would make such a threat. That was forever. They glanced at each other, then back to her. Alex gulped, then quietly said "Okay..."