Aftercare: General's Daughter, Book 4

by Breanna Hayse

  Michael hugged him again warmly. “Nowhere. Sometimes we just have to be reminded about the good things we have. I’ll keep dinner warm for you.”

  “Thanks. Damn it’s cold. How does she stand it? See you in a couple of hours.” Dr. Quimby said, sliding in. He plugged the regulator into his mouth and sunk down.

  Sam smiled, seeing her father dressed like, in Ton’s opinion, a walrus. He swam with her outside the inlet and into the kelp forest. The sun was just setting and the light gave a misty glow to the swaying stalks. Garibaldi swam around them as they maneuvered through the plants. Unable to speak, Dr. Quimby pointed to some rocks, his daughter and his camera. She released her hair from the braid and posed for him, a virtual mermaid. The fish swarmed around her and he delightedly took shot after shot. His eyes widened as she was joined by some lemon sharks, stroking their snouts as they slowly circled her.

  The water grew darker as the sun disappeared over the horizon. Dr. Quimby turned on his light and followed his little mermaid into deeper waters where Ton joined them. The whale rubbed gently against both of them, imaging his pleasure at seeing his calf’s bull. He started to image her pod mate (Michael) and his being beached after being caught in a net. Dr. Quimby shook his head, trying to grasp the images being plunged into his mind. Sam patted her father’s shoulder and signaled ‘okay’ and ‘up’. He nodded and they both surfaced.

  “Is he trying to tell me something?” Dr. Quimby asked, treading the water.

  “It seems like he’s concerned about Michael getting hurt. I don’t know what for sure. It is significant that Ton is trying to contact you, so I wouldn’t ignore it.”

  “Could you try to get more from him? Is Michael sick?”

  “If he were, you’d get images of a dark storm and beaching, not him swimming into a net or getting caught. That’s an intent or ignorance. I’ll try, but no promises,” she said, glad it was dark to hide her eyes. She could never lie to him when he was looking straight at her. She called Ton over, imaging freedom from the net after squealing, trying to explain that she had spoken with her brother and he wasn’t going to hurt himself. Ton, however, disagreed. He even imaged Michael getting his flukes bitten. She laughed; adult bulls don’t get their tail flukes bitten. Just the cows in her pod. Ton snorted. He kept flashing images to her father. He wasn’t going to stop until his point was driven home.

  “Samantha? Why would Ton image Michael’s face on your body? OH SHIT! He wouldn’t! Let’s get back.”

  “Daddy, what’s the matter?”

  “Your brother is going to try to use the Beta gas on himself so he can be like you! Oh no, I couldn’t deal with that again. Have Ton take us back.”

  “Daddy, he’s not going to do it. He promised me.”

  “You knew?”

  “Yes, sir, but I shared some things with him that caused him to change his mind. This freedom isn’t worth the price. I think he realizes that now.”

  “You are to tell me if he even thinks about it. Swear to me you will.”

  “I swear. On my honor.”

  “If you don’t, and something happens, I would never be able to forgive you or myself. He’s walking into a death trap.”

  “He swore to me he wouldn’t proceed. I believe him. Please, Daddy, calm down.”

  “How did Ton know? He’s really worried too, isn’t he?”

  “He sees my alteration as a severe illness. He’s a pod member with Mike; he doesn’t want him to harm himself. Ton has access to our thoughts and feelings, I don’t know the extent, but it’s there.”

  “Did you put him up to this? The truth.”

  “I can’t answer that, Daddy,” she said quietly.

  “So your brother made you promise that you wouldn’t come to me with this. You found another way to snitch. Well, I’ll glad you did. What about your behavior? Are you really not feeling well?”

  “The guilt was making me sick. I’ve never been good at hiding things from you.”

  Her father squeezed her hand and gestured to return to shore. They grabbed Ton’s dorsal and quickly made it back. Michael and Jen were finishing dinner when they arrived.

  “That was fast. Everything okay?”

  “Michael, please help me with my equipment, I’m getting old,” Dr. Quimby said. “I left the tanks on the dock and don’t want to carry them up the stairs by myself.”

  “Be right there. Sam? Food’s in the oven.”

  “I’m going to clean up first. Michael? Daddy knows.”

  “YOU TOLD HIM!”

  “No, I promised I wouldn’t. TON did.”

  “Yeah, right. God damn it, Samantha.” He slapped the table and left to go outside.

  Jen grabbed her friend’s hand. “What’s going on?”

  “Come with me while I clean up. I’ll tell you.” Wrapped in a towel, Sam sat next to Jen on her bed, her hair still dripping and tangled from being unbound. “….and that’s it. He’s never going to trust me again.”

  “Then he isn’t who I thought he was. How many times has he outted you when you might get hurt?”

  “I didn’t out him, Ton did. But I did talk to Ton about it. I even tried to stop him from trying to contact Daddy, but he was determined.”

  “Because he knew it was too dangerous and harmful. Mike’s not stupid. He’ll come around.”

  “What if he doesn’t?”

  “We don’t hold grudges in this family,” Jen reminded her with a hug. “If he tried, he’s not going to get any from me.”

  “Like you could withhold from him.” Sam smiled.

  “You will learn something very soon, little sister. Our power as women is tremendous, especially when it comes to sex. Use it sparingly, but use it. It works.” Jen had a glint in her eye.

  “I wish Rich was here,” Sam said, dropping her towel and pulling a long tee shirt over her head.

  Jen sighed, envying the perfection of the girl’s body. She still had too much ass for her liking. “Call him.”

  “I can’t, he’s on duty and isn’t supposed to take personal calls. I’ll get over it, don’t worry. I’m hungry,” the girl said, putting on a mock smile and heading downstairs in only the tee shirt. Michael and Dr. Quimby were on the deck with the doors closed, talking quietly. Neither looked angry. She made her father a plate and brought it out with a cup of hot tea.

  “I’m sorry to bother you, but here. I’ll leave.”

  “No, I want you to stay. Grab yourself a plate and come back out here,” Michael ordered, grabbing her hand. She hesitated. “I’m not mad at you. Of all people, I understand. Bring Jen out, too.”

  Silently, his sister obeyed.

  “We need to make a promise to each other that, no matter what, we won’t ever do anything that could cause harm to ourselves. I know things happen, but most of the time we have choices. I almost made a bad one, and I’m really sorry,” Michael said to the girls. They both nodded, promising.

  “Good. Michael? How about if you take your lady friend out on the boat for a quiet cruise? Sam and I will stay home and watch TV.”

  “That sounds like fun. Up for it, lady friend?”

  “Always. Thanks, Doc. Sam? Thanks for sharing.”

  “Thank you for listening. Have fun. Call Splasher in, he’ll make it even better.” Sam giggled knowingly.

  Michael caught the gist. “Very funny. We are just cruising, nothing else. Bye, you two.”

  Sam had duty for that Friday evening. They always tried to schedule it so that the three younger officers had it the same week so that they could all make plans. Rich opted to stay up at the house so that he wouldn’t distract her from work. Sam pouted heavily upon hearing his intentions.

  “If you loved me, you would be there during my breaks.”

  “No. You’re the OOD and need to be available, as well as sleep when you can. Stop pouting, it’s annoying me.”

  “Why are you being an asshole? Are you mad at me?”

  “I’m not being an asshole. I just don’t like you t
rying to manipulate me. I’ll see you tomorrow night, okay? I love you.”

  She grumbled a response, watching him leave the small duty office. She kicked the desk before plopping ungracefully in the uncomfortable swivel chair. She loathed this responsibility that accompanied her job, seeing no purpose in it other than to waste hours of her time. Wasn’t it enough that she and Michael were on call 24/7? Stupid duty, she grumbled, wadding up a piece of paper and throwing it against the wall. It was so boring and she couldn’t leave the post except to go to the head or chow. She found herself wishing for an emergency call just so she had a reason to escape this prison. Swearing to herself, Sam entered her information into the log book and settled back with her laptop. The least they could do was to allow her to work from her office! Her time would have been better spent, for certain.

  Adding to her annoyance was the fact that neither Rich, Michael nor Jen signed into chat with her. She tried texting all three from her phone and was promptly ignored. At nine o’clock that evening, her relief came by and freed her up for a few hours so she could go to the BOQ and grab some sleep before her next shift started. She was lonely, bored and missing her family. She began to fume, knowing that Rich could have been there to keep her company. He just didn’t want to hang out with her! Jerk. Sam returned at 0100 to relieve the other OOD and run an inspection of her post. All was quiet and predictably boring. Sam’s anger with Rich continued to grow, her imagination playing havoc with her common sense. By the time she ended her duty and charged the position to her relief, she had worked herself into a state of lividness.

  Scott arrived promptly to pick her up, and immediately noticed her foul mood. “Bad night?” he asked as she threw her gear into his truck and got in without a sound. She didn’t answer. “Okay, then I’m assuming you didn’t get much sleep. You’re awfully cranky. “

  “Shut up, Scott,” she growled. “I don’t need to listen to any of your bullshit this morning. Just take me home and don’t talk.”

  He looked at her sharply. “Pardon me? Would you care to repeat yourself, young lady?”

  “I didn’t stutter. Just leave me the hell alone.”

  “This behavior had better be because of your balance issues and not because you are being intentionally rude and disrespectful.”

  “What difference does it make anyway?” she snapped. “No matter what I do, I’m screwed. So fuck off.”

  “Samantha, I strongly suggest you take a deep breath and think about how you are speaking towards me. I haven’t done anything to bring this on.” He tried to be patient. “It would be better to discuss what’s bothering you than to push yourself down this path. I know something is up, so out with it.”

  “I’m so tired of talking. No one listens anyway.”

  Scott frowned. He knew her well. This type of behavior was usually due to her not getting her way. He also knew that she was well aware that he wouldn’t put up with it for long. He was giving her the benefit of the doubt because she was not pleasant when she was this tired. “I won’t waste my breath then. When we get home, go straight to bed. When you wake up, we’ll revisit this. I have very little tolerance for your temper tantrums.”

  “I’m not a baby, so stop treating me like one,” she snapped at him again.

  “Something’s obviously eating at you, kid. I know you too well. I don’t want to have to punish you for your mouth, so you better start talking to me, not at me,” he ordered softly. “I want an explanation for this blatant disrespect.”

  She glared at him. “It’s none of your business,” she hissed.

  Scott inhaled deeply. He didn’t know why she was pushing him, but she was on thin ice. “Perhaps not, but I won’t put up with this any longer. One more syllable of anything uncivil or nasty out of your mouth, and you and I will have some time together. Understand?”

  Arms crossed, she nodded, not saying anything more. She felt guilty. Scott didn’t do anything; she was angry with Rich. Why take it out on Scott? Because he was close to her and happened to be there. “I’m sorry, Uncle Scott,” she forced out.

  He pulled into a strip mall. “Let’s get you a Jamba Juice and have a little talk.”

  “I know I screwed up with you. I’m sorry. I am just so angry I want to explode.”

  “Hey, I am the one person in this world who understands early morning grumps coupled with being pissed off, remember? But you need to give me some credit to see there is something else going on. Talk to me. Maybe I can help,” Scott said warmly.

  “Am I in trouble?”

  “Not quite yet, but you are getting very close. Like I said, I always know when you are upset about something significant. You have a lot on your plate, baby girl, and you don’t always handle it well,” he said gently, escorting her into the little shop. They sat at the table to talk. “Spill it, kidlet. The only time you ever try to provoke me like that is if you’re hurting really bad. What happened?”

  “I don’t know how to explain it. It’s stupid. It’s Rich…” She explained the evening and how she felt about being alone and his desire to be with her family instead of her. She then added that both Michael and Jen ignored her, too. She was close to tears by the time she finished pouring her heart out.

  Scott took her hand in his and rubbed it gently. “My sweet, little princess... you need to listen up. He’s right about distraction from duty. The two of you would have been humping like bunnies and either lost track of time or you would have passed out asleep in the duty shed. You would not have gotten in trouble if busted because of your immunity. He, however, would have. It is not fair to him to risk his career, is it? And, like it or not, he is also a man and he has his own interests outside of you. Don’t strangle him or he’ll get resentful.”

  “I thought he liked being with me.”

  “Don’t look so pathetic. He loves being with you. But even he needs a break now and then to breathe. Your dad and I used to go out once a week and left your mom at home. We needed a men’s night out, just to regroup. She hated that she wasn’t part of it and felt the same way you do. Dad explained to her that he just needed a moment to step back and play a little. That’s how our weekly O’club gatherings started. A bunch of us old dodgers still meet for drinks and to catch up in each other’s life. Nothing more.”

  “It still hurts. And nobody else wanted to talk to me,” Sam pouted, stirring her smoothie with disinterest.

  “I know it hurts. As for Mike and Jen, they were on a date, so it’s not fair to expect them to drop what they are doing to text you because you are bored. Honey, you have to understand that,” he lifted her chin to face him, “trying to provoke me to punish you won’t make the pain in your heart go away. It also ends up hurting me, too.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay, baby. I get it. I was just glad that it was me who picked you up today, and not your dad. He would not have allowed you to speak to him in such a manner, no matter what excuses you came up with. You need to watch that little mouth of yours.”

  “I’m still mad.”

  “You’re also very tired. Finish up your drink and we’ll get home. You’ll feel better after a few hours sleep.”

  “You’re probably right. Thanks, Uncle Scott.”

  “Always, my love. Sam?”

  “Yes, sir?”

  “I feel the need to tell you that if you ever tell me to shut up or fuck off again, you will be bare-bottomed over my knee for a long strapping with my belt. I don’t care where we are. Consider this your first and last warning. Got it?”

  “Yes sir, I’m sorry.”

  “Get in the car, brat. Let’s get you home.” He smiled, opening the door for her and smacking her rump sharply.

  Chapter 12

  Samantha went straight to her room without a word when they arrived at the house. Michael and Jen had gone out for a car ride, leaving Dr. Quimby and Rich on the couch chatting.

  “What’s with her?” Rich asked, standing.

  “Sit. She’s tired
and very cranky. Joe, remember Alyson and her fits about boys’ night? Déjà vu.”

  “Oh, no. Rich, I suspect you are going to get an earful from your girl,” Dr. Quimby moaned. “I heard about the neglect from mine for over four days.”

  “Neglect? How did I neglect her? I didn’t do anything.”

  Dr. Quimby and Scott explained the issue to him. Rich crossed his arms, leaning back on the couch with a huge scowl on his handsome face. “I’m sorry, but she can’t dictate where and with whom I spend my time.”

  “This is a female thing, son. Don’t get pissed, please,” Dr. Quimby said calmly.

  “I’m not pissed. And I am very aware about how possessive some women can be. I just did not expect it from her, of all people. She had better understand that I am not going to sit quietly and allow her to boss me around.”

  “Technically, she can,” Scott grinned. “I need to see when we can recommend promotion for you to get you two into equal ranks. She can’t be promoted again until she’s 22, according to her field commission status. By then, you might make captain.”

  “Well, that would be something more for her to bitch about. I’m going to go take a nap with her. Maybe holding her will get her calmed down.”

  “Good luck, Rich,” both the older men echoed.

  Rich ran up the stairs two by two and walked into the girl’s room. He noticed Sam turn away when she saw him. “Hey, I want to say hello. I missed you last night. I was stuck playing Monopoly with your dad and uncle, and making sure they didn’t cheat.”

  “Knocking on a closed door is the customary introduction to your presence,” she said coldly, ignoring his statement.

  Rich left the door open, kicked off his shoes and slid into bed with her. “Greeting people when you enter a room is another. Why are you pissed at me, sweetheart?”

  “Leave me alone,” she grumbled as he put his arm around her, drawing her back against his chest.

  “No, I won’t leave you alone. Talk to me. I don’t get it. I’m a man, remember? I need you to spell it out to me. What did I do?”

  “Go away.”