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by Saless
Chapter 89
Erica gazed lovingly at her fiancé's face as she stroked her hair. She looks so peaceful, I hate to wake her with everything that's been happening lately. Erica thought.
Erica's head snapped around when she heard a knock on the open door. “Everything alright, dear?” her mother asked worriedly.
Erica smiled, “Yes, everything's fine. She's just resting so peacefully that I was reluctant to wake her up.”
Erica's mother walked around the bed to where she could see Sarah's face. “Oh my, she does look comfortable, doesn't she? It's amazing, she looks so much like she did as Sean, and yet so different! How are you handling this?” she said.
“It was rough at first.” Erica admitted. Then with a grin she said, “But now...” and held up her hand with the engagement ring on it for her mother to see.
Erica's mother's hand flew to her mouth. She was too shocked to speak at first. Then she said, “I guess you got over it! Who proposed?”
Erica smiled wider as she said, “I did! She has an identical ring.”
Her mother shook her head in wonder, “First I learn my daughter's boyfriend is living as a girl, and now you're getting married! Congratulations honey!” They tearfully embraced.
Erica pulled back and asked anxiously, “You're really okay with this?”
Her mother frowned, “Of course I am! And your father will be happy, as well. Whatever makes you happy makes us happy, okay?”
Erica smiled in relief, “Okay Mom! Should we wake Sarah up?”
Erica's mother looked back at Sarah and found that her eyes were open. “I don't think that will be necessary.” she said.
“Uh, hi Mrs. Keller.” Sarah said cautiously.
“Hello Sarah. I hear you're going to be family. So no more of this Mrs. Keller nonsense! Either call me Terri or Mom, okay?” Terri said with a smile.
“Are you sure? I mean...” Sarah said, trailing off uncertainly.
“I'm sure. You should know by now that my husband and I are very fond of you. The fact you're a girl now doesn't change that. Now come here and let me congratulate you properly!” Terri replied. She pulled Sarah up and hugged her tight.
“Thanks...Mom!” Sarah said with tears in her eyes. Erica smiled as she watched them.
“Now,” Terri said when they broke up, “why don't you get yourself cleaned up and we can go get something to eat!”
Terri left them alone. “See, I told you they'd accept you without any problems!” Erica said, grinning.
“And I told you they'd accept your relationship with me without any problems!” Sarah replied happily.
A few minutes later Sarah came out into the living room with Erica. Sarah held back as they came into view of Erica's father. He stood up and took a long look at her and then smiled. “You look amazing, Sarah! I hear you're going to be joining the family officially, now. Congratulations!” he said and held his arms open for her. Erica pulled her forward and she accepted the hug hesitantly at first, but she relaxed quickly.
Everyone in the room had a huge smile on their face by this point. “Everyone ready to go?” Terri asked. They all nodded and climbed into Mr. Keller's Suburban. After a short drive they arrived at the restaurant.
Once they were settled into a corner booth and had ordered Terri started asking about wedding plans. “So have you set a date yet?” she asked.
Erica glanced at Sarah and said, “We haven't discussed it yet. Things have been kind of hectic lately.”
“Do you think that Spring is too soon?” Sarah asked, directing her question at both of them.
“That depends on when in Spring you're thinking about.” Terri replied.
Sarah frowned in thought and then said, “I guess May would be best. It shouldn't be too hot yet, but there's not too much chance of rain, either.”
Erica nodded, “Sounds good to me.”
“Okay, that could work, but it depends on where you have your wedding. Some places are booked up a year in advance or more. Do you want a church wedding?” Terri asked.
Erica was shaking her head almost as quickly as Sarah, “I don't think Sarah wants that.” Erica said.
“No, I don't, if that's okay.” Sarah said hesitantly.
Erica smiled, “Of course it's okay! I'm not religious, anyway. And with it being in May we can do something outdoors without everyone freezing or melting.” Sarah smiled in relief.
Just then Jill smiled and looked towards the door. “Hey Sarah, there's Tiffany!” she said. I already scanned the area and our FBI friend isn't anywhere near here, so I told Tiffany it was safe to come in. I hope that's alright. Jill sent.
So long as Erica's parents don't mind, it's fine with me. Sarah replied. “Is it alright if Tiffany joins us?” Sarah asked.
“Shes a good friend of Sarah's from work. She's really becoming part of our little group.” Erica added.
“Sure, the more the merrier!” Mr. Keller said amiably. Sarah waved Tiffany over and she joined them. Erica handled the introductions and the wedding discussion resumed until the food arrived.
“So,” Mr. Keller said after the waiter left, “what's wrong? You all seem a little tense, still.”
Erica glanced at Sarah and thought, Do you want to ask him about the FBI agent? I bet he can help us find a way to deal with him?
How are you going to explain why he's interested in us? Do you want to tell him about our powers? Sarah replied.
I may not have to. Erica replied. But would it be so bad if I did?
Okay, but save the magic talk, if it comes to that, for after we get back to the apartment. I don't want to talk about it in here. Sarah said.
Okay. “Well, we do kind of have a problem.” Erica admitted.
Mr. Keller nodded, “I thought as much. Knowing you, you would have just brought Sarah over with you the next chance you had instead of calling us to tell us about her. So what's the problem?”
Erica glanced at Tiffany, who nodded, and said, “Well, there's this guy who is giving Tiffany problems. He's got it in his head that we're somehow involved in that business in the hills. He's been threatening Tiffany to try and get her to spy on us for him. He's from the FBI.”
Mr. Keller sat back in surprise. “Well, I didn't expect anything like that! Are you involved?” he asked.
“Jason! What a thing to ask!” Terri said reproachfully.
“They're awfully tense if they aren't involved in something they wouldn't want the FBI to know about. I'm not saying they're doing anything illegal, just that they may have reason to want to avoid attention.” Jason replied calmly.
I think we need to tell them everything. Jill sent.
Agreed, but not here. Sarah replied.
Not at either of our apartments, either. Remember, they're being watched. Mike cautioned.
Maybe we should go for a bit of a drive. Find someplace where we can make sure we're not overheard. Erica suggested via Sarah.
“Okay, what's going on with all of you?!” Terri exclaimed. “You're all looking at each other but not saying anything. But it feels like you're communicating somehow.”
“Uh, yeah, we kind of are.” Erica said sheepishly. “But we think it would be better to talk about that somewhere where we won't be overheard.”
“We can continue this conversation back at Sarah's apartment, then.” Jason suggested.
“Uh, that's not a good idea. Marvin, the guy from the FBI, is watching Sarah's apartment.” Tiffany said.
Jason's eyebrows went up at that. “Where can we talk about this, then?” he asked.
After a quick, silent, conference they decided on the park nearest the apartment complex. There was a picnic table there that was far enough away from everything else that it would be easy to make sure nobody was listening in on their conversation. The rest of their meal was quiet, with only a halfhearted attempt at returning to the discussion of wedding plans made by Terri. As soon as they finished eating Mr. Keller paid the bill and they left. Sarah gave him directions to the park and in minutes they were seated at the picnic table.
“Okay, so what's really going on?” Jason demanded more than asked.
“Well, there are some rather odd things going on in our lives right now.” Erica admitted. “Tiffany kind of had to kill someone to protect Sarah from being raped, and we did kind of blast the hills a bit...”
To Be Continued…
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Comments
More people in the know.
So, where is Kelly during all this action? At home behaving herself?
Sarah's parents will
Sarah's parents will undoubtedly come up in this explanation, so we'll find out about what Kelly's doing then. Probably. ;)
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
You can just lmagine
the look on Erica's parent's face's when Sarah introduce's Kelly with the words "This is Kelly she's my father"!!!
Kirri
LOL! Yeah, that should be a
LOL! Yeah, that should be a good one! :)
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
Way to start the explanation, Erica!
Sure, drop a block of concrete onto your 'rents' heads - it's just what you need to make them listen and NOT cry in bewilderment!
Saless, you sure know how to put your characters in the middle of Twilight zone! ^_^
So, on a side note, anyone up to guessing what powers will Jason and Terri get? I really hope one of the affliated with the core group will get ESP - precognition/psychometry. Not flashy, but very effective.
Faraway
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!
Me? Do Twilight Zone-ish
Me? Do Twilight Zone-ish stuff? Why wherever did you get that idea?! *Said in a southern accent, just for fun* ;)
Precogs can be very powerful. Just look at how much effect Penny aka Cassandra has in the Angel and Rosetta MORFS stories! She can't do much on her own, but with a team of MORFS backing her up, they can do just about anything! :)
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
My thoughts almost.
I was thinking in terms of:
Mrs Potter - Whateleyverse
Chessmaster - Whateleyverse again
And some short-term precog that is really hard to nail down. (Was it not with Nicholas Cage or something?)
Unfortunately MORFS are still on my to read list.
Faraway
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!
I also thought of Mrs.
I also thought of Mrs. Potter, after I posted of course! ;) Yeah, it was Cage in a movie where he was trying to avoid a nuclear bomb being detonated, if I remember right, and he used his ability to see the future to counter everything that came his way. In the end it turned out that the entire movie was a look into the future to determine if a certain approach would work, but it resulted in the death of the woman he fell in love with, so he had to start all over! :)
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
Bad Idea, Out In The Open
Marvin COULD have a spy van following them just in case Tiffany blabs. Such would be standard for spies.
May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine
Marvin isn't a spy in the usual sense
As far as I know, FBI agents do have to follow the rules. Otherwise, he could also have bugged Tiffany's
house, car, or mobile phone (and those of the other "suspects" he knows, of course).
--- Martin
This is true. I looked up
This is true. I looked up the various agencies that could possibly be involved in something like this before settling on FBI, and the FBI doesn't really have spies. Their special agents, like Marvin, do work undercover and such, but they aren't like the CIA. I'm pretty sure they have to have warrants for things like bugging phones and such. Marvin doesn't really have anything a judge would call 'evidence' at this point, so it's unlikely he'd be able to get a warrant. Of course, he could go ahead and plant bugs without a warrant, but then he could get in trouble! ;)
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
Jill did say that she
Jill did say that she "scanned the area", so that's not too likely. Especially when you consider that it's already been established that her range is at least a few miles! ;)
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
Yes, but ...
... would Jill recognize another agent previously unknown to her?
--- Martin
Prff! What kind of question is that?
She will recognise his thought patterns - he will undoubtedly think about the monitored subject, and thus be identifiable.
Faraway
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!
Kelly
I'm worried that Kelly will find the weapons that Tiffany has in her bedroom, and use them against the group. I hope tiffany hid them well.
I'm sure that Kelly is looking for some kind of revenge. Probably kelly is unstable enough to not realize if he/she hurt or killed Sarah, he would be stuck as a girl for the rest of his life. But that requires sane thoughts.
I'm surprised that Tiffany showed up at the restaurant too. Did Sarah or Jill summon her?
Very well done as usual Saless.
Joni W
Thanks Joni!
Thanks Joni! :)
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
Jill senses minds but what of inanmate objects?
What about electronic *Bugs*, shotgun, parapolic and laser mics, tiny cameras, good old telephoto lenses and the like?
Jill and Sarah read minds, Vash reads minds and senses magic but sensing electronics and optics? Only if the FBI guy thinks of it and where it is. Is he strictly ethical or a rule bender when on a tough case?
And Ex-dad, Kathy, is prone to lashing out irrationally. Remember he/she chose to try and repress the implanted thougts of him hurting/scaring Sean/Sarah so they are not yet safely or effectively intigrated in his/her mind. He may be like a miltary vet with PTSD but this PSTD is in a body he is not familiar with, with a peubecent girls limited emotional control and rapidly chaging brain, she's a timebomb waiting to be triggered.
John in Wauwatosa
John in Wauwatosa
John!
*shakes head bemusedly* You sure like to change my character's names, don't you? ;)
Saless
"But it is also tradition that times *must* and always do change, my friend." - Eddie Murphy, Coming To America
Susan and Kathy?
Saless, maybe (since you introduced one of Sarah's coworkers as Susan) you can make a cameo of her having a teenage girl relative by the name of Kathy ;)
But yeah, John, you really like it, don't you? ^_^
Faraway
Faraway
Big Closet Top Shelf
Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!
Is there really ANY
Is there really ANY place where they can be sure nobody was listening in? There are specialized directional microphones which can pick up sounds from a great distance; and they can even be used while concealed inside a vehicle. This isn't new technology; it was featured in a Gene Hackman movie, "The Conversation" way back in 1974 (it also featured Harrison Ford and Teri Garr before they became major stars).
Jenny
Jenny