From: ephemeral@ephemeralfic.org
Date: 14 Aug 2004 21:45:25 -0000
Subject: Truckin\' 2:  Keep On Truckin\', NC17 Part 4 of 10 by Donnilee & FatCat
Source: direct

Reply To: FatCat33047@yahoo.com, /@diviy.pair.com, donnilee@snet.net


TITLE:          TRUCKIN' 2: KEEP ON TRUCKIN' Part 4 of 10

AUTHORS:        FATCAT & DONNILEE

E-MAIL:         FatCat33047@yahoo.com / donnilee@snet.net

RATING:         NC-17

DISCLAIMER:     SEE PART 1 FOR DISCLAIMER


XXXXXXXXXX
O'CONNOR'S RESTAURANT & PUB
FALLS CHURCH, VA
JUNE 12 - 8:00 PM

We were finally seated in the restaurant.  I'd nearly tripped when 
she took her coat off at the door.  The lavender dress she was 
wearing looked like it was made for her.  It hugged her tiny body 
in all the right places.  Her breasts were not large but they were 
plump and sat high on her chest.  I estimated they were a B cup at 
least.

God, I could be pig.  I could see just a hint of her cleavage and 
had to forcibly remind myself not to talk to her chest.  We ordered 
dinner.  She ordered corned beef and I ordered pasta.  

"We're in an Irish place and you're not gonna order the corned 
beef?"

I smiled.  "Nobody makes corned beef like my mother."

She laughed.  The sound was low and husky and even that turned me 
on.  "Your Mom's Irish?  I never would have guessed," she teased.

I laughed and shook my head, feeling the curls fly all over the 
place.  If picking on myself would make her laugh, I'd do it all 
night.

"That's me, Carrot Top, the real McCoy!"  I felt a rush of warm 
feeling, realizing all over again that my mom was really my mom.  
All this time I'd spent losing sleep over who my real parents were.
What a waste of time.

She graced me with a dazzling smile that showed her beautiful white 
teeth.  Our food came and we ate in silence for a bit.  Finally, 
she said, "Devlin, can I tell you something and not have you take 
it the wrong way?"

'Uh oh,' I thought but I didn't say anything, just nodded.

She put down her fork.  "Look, I want to apologize."

I opened my mouth to cut her off, but she raised her hand, palm out 
to stop me.  

"Let me finish," she admonished lightly. 

I nodded stupidly.

"I've never been a popular kid.  Not in grammar school, not in 
middle school, and certainly not in high school.  I've always been 
treated the same way by the popular kids."

"Like those girls in the gym?"

She nodded, clearing her throat.  "Yeah, I don't know if it's 
because I'm smart, or because I don't join sports teams."  She 
shrugged.  "Anyway, I've gotten used to it and normally I can brush 
it off 'cause no one I care about is paying attention anyway."

I reached across the table and took her hand, feeling sad for her.  
"Even when my Dad had a good job, with all the kids in the family, 
I never had money for nice clothes or any of that and honestly ...
usually, I don't care."

"You care now?" I asked quietly.

"I care now because you are watching."

I felt my eyes widen and whispered, "Why?"

She smiled and said, "In the gym, I knew you were there, I'd been 
watching you.  You were so handsome; I wasn't being careful and I 
was embarrassed by the cheerleaders.  I nearly died when you 
shouted out to me."

I smiled.  "I honestly couldn't see your face, Bella.  I thought 
you were just some new guy who they had chosen to harass.  I didn't 
think you were a guy because you're unfeminine, quite the contrary.
When I saw your face, Jesus, it was just a shock."

She blushed slightly.  "I know I was dressed like a hobo," she 
admitted.

"You looked beautiful to me.  I couldn't get past your eyes.  You 
have beautiful eyes, Bella."

"Thanks.  I was still dressed like a hobo though."

I chuckled.  "That stuff doesn't matter to me, Bella."

"I kind of assumed ... that's sort of reverse discrimination, isn't 
it?" she asked with chagrin.

"Look, Bella, I know you think I'm a rich kid ... and in a lot of 
ways I am, but let me tell you something.  My folks are really down 
to earth.  They don't flaunt it, they both work hard for a living, 
and I never wanted for anything, not since I came to live with them 
anyway, but I was never spoiled, Bella, not in the way you think."

"What do you mean?  Since you came to live with them?"

I swallowed.  "I'm adopted, Bella."

"Oh Devlin, I'm sorry!"

"I'm not," I replied.  "My mother is my real mother.  It's a long 
story, but we were unable to be together until I was seven years 
old.  Then she and her husband, Fox Mulder, adopted me from the 
orphanage where I'd lived for two years.  Fox Mulder is the only 
father I've ever known.  He's a good man and I consider him my 
father in every way."

She nodded.  "You're lucky, aren't you?"

I smiled.  "Yeah, I guess I am.  If I show symptoms of being a 
spoiled rich kid, slap me upside the head, will ya?"

She laughed.  "I don't think I can reach that high," she retorted.

I laughed with her and said, "I take my life for granted, Bella.  
In that way, I guess I am spoiled.  But I don't judge people by the 
way they look.  That's not the way I've been raised."

"I should have known that.  If you did you would have been right 
there with those girls picking on me.  Instead, you rescued me.  I 
don't know why I thought you would be concerned with the same 
things or shallow.  I've just been hurt so many times."

"Forget it.  Don't worry about it.  It's behind us now, right?"

She nodded.  She looked down at her plate and then blushed 
slightly.  She looked up at me from underneath her lashes and I 
sucked in my breath.  Jesus, this girl was going to be end of me.  
"You really like me ... that way ... I mean, as more than a 
friend?" she asked.

I wondered how she could still have any doubt but realized how 
inexperienced she really was when it came to men.  My experience 
level wasn't much higher when it came to women.  I knew in a vague 
sort of way that all my parts were put together in a pleasing way, 
but I'd never been vain about my looks, or thought they were 
extraordinary.  I hadn't dated much, but that was because I hadn't 
met anyone I wanted to date, not because I lacked for interest by 
the opposite sex.

I realized a lot of our problem was perception.  I was popular and 
I was a jock, and I got good grades.  She had ascribed certain 
characteristics to people in my position because that's all she'd 
ever seen.  I made up my mind right then to prove to her that I was 
different.  "I want to be your friend too, Bella, but yes, I'm 
interested in more than friendship.  Does that clear it up for you, 
or do I need to be more specific?" I teased.

She smiled again, blushing a deeper shade of pink under her olive 
skin and I continued to stare at her.  "Feel free to go into 
detail," she teased back.

I laughed and squeezed her hand.  "I want to get to know you.  I 
want to be your friend and I want to ... kiss you all at the same 
time," I admitted.  

She turned beet red at that pronouncement and hung her head, her 
cascade of thick hair forming a shawl around her slender shoulders 
and face, "Oh boy," she whispered.

I chuckled.  "There's no pressure, however."

She looked up at that.  "What do you mean?"

"I'm not assuming you feel the same way," I admitted.  "I'm hoping, 
but ..."

"Now who's got to be kidding?" she asked, referring to our 
conversation in the car.

I shrugged.  "You didn't seem too pleased with me earlier."

She pressed her lips together and then took a deep breath.  As she 
exhaled she said, "I'm crazy about you, Devlin."

I thought my face would crack I smiled so hard.  "I just want you 
to know, I'm not a pusher or anything.  We can do this at whatever 
pace you want."

"You mean sex?" she asked bluntly.

I nodded, feeling like a geek.  "Whoa.  Well, I wasn't thinking 
that far ahead, but yeah, I meant the physical part."

"Well, I'm sure you're far more experienced than I am," she said.

I mumbled, "Don't count on it."

"What?"

I looked up and met her gaze again.  "I'm not that experienced."

"You expect me to believe that?"

I shrugged again.  "Believe what you want.  I'm not."

"Well, since I don't really want to hear an accounting of your past 
exploits, I guess I'll have to take your word for it."

I smiled and said, "Good.  You want to have dessert?"

"I don't know," she hedged.

"Come on, live large!" I encouraged her.

"I'll be large if I keep eating dessert."

"Oh please, you can afford it.  Besides, trust me, your figure's 
fine."

She blushed again as I flagged the waitress.  We ordered German 
chocolate cake and tried to pretend we weren't sneaking looks at 
each other for the rest of the time we were there.

XXXXXXXXXX

Holy shit!  This evening had been unbelievable.  I'd almost ruined 
everything with my stupid mouth.  I'd hurt him and insulted him 
without even trying.  Fortunately for me, he recovered quickly.  In 
addition to every other wonderful thing about him, he was 
apparently very forgiving.  

My head was spinning.  I couldn't quite believe the most handsome 
guy in the school wanted to date me.  He wanted to be more than my 
friend.  God, my heart started racing just thinking about it. 

The kiss, oh my God!  The kiss was out of this world.  I thought I 
was going to pass out when he first pulled me toward him in the 
car.  I couldn't believe he was actually going to kiss me.  I'd 
always felt like an ugly duckling.  Somehow, though, Devlin Mulder 
made me feel beautiful.

The dress didn't hurt.  I felt feminine in it.  I sent a silent 
thank you to the pretty lady in Sears who had helped me out.  I 
would be here in jeans and a sweater if she hadn't.  I wondered, 
only now, why she'd been so nice to me.  There still were good 
people in the world.  

I sighed in contentment as we drove through Falls Church, wondering 
where this relationship would go and if he would kiss me again 
before the night was over.  I felt a warm tingle go down my spine 
remembering that first and second kiss.  I thought the world tilted 
on its axis there for a minute.  For God's sake, what was it about 
this guy?

He stopped at a stoplight and I looked around the interior of the 
sleek, black Mercedes Benz.  He said it was his father's car.  He 
was a rich kid, but he was also right, he didn't act like any other 
rich kid I'd ever known.  I was curious to meet these parents.  
Then I realized I wasn't exactly being forthcoming about mine 
either.  Perhaps that was why he was hedging about their careers 
and such.  He might not want to make me think about how different 
our worlds really were.

I almost dipped back into depression, thinking that this could 
never work.  We were so different and from such different 
backgrounds.  Then I gave myself a mental slap.  I was sabotaging 
it before it had even really begun.  I was so used to guarding my 
heart.  Could I take a chance with Devlin Mulder?  He was certainly 
worth the risk.  If I thought about it, nothing risked, nothing 
gained.  He said he liked me ... as more than a friend.  He said I 
turned him on and I'd felt the hard evidence of that.  I laughed 
internally at my unintentional pun.  I'd have to play this one by 
ear.

He spoke suddenly and it startled me out of my reverie.  "What do 
you think about going to my place and watching a movie instead of 
going to the theater?"

I swallowed.  "Uh, sure, I guess."

"If you're not comfortable with that, we can go to the movie."

"Naw, why spend the money.  What have you got at home?"

"My parents have all kinds of old movies on DVDs and we have a new 
digi-disc system, too.  I'm sure we can find something."

"Yeah, all right," I said.  "You sure you want to introduce me to 
your parents already?"

He gave me a look that said, 'Will you stop it?'

I sighed.  "All right."

"Cool," he said and stepped on the accelerator.


XXXXXXXXXX
PART 9 (PG-13)
MULDER RESIDENCE
FALLS CHURCH, VA
SATURDAY EVENING
JUNE 12 - 9:30 PM

We pulled up to the house and my mouth dropped open.  It had a big 
circular driveway and pillars in front.  It looked like a freaking 
mansion.  "God, Devlin," I said in a reverent voice.

"What?"

"It's magnificent."

"Come on," he said, climbing out of the car after shutting off the 
engine.

I opened the door to find him there helping me out.  I didn't need 
the help, but it was chivalrous nonetheless.  I glanced at the big 
wrap around porch and saw one of the curtains flutter.  

A man's face appeared in the window briefly and then disappeared.  
Devlin laced his fingers between mine and led me up the steps onto 
the massive porch.  I had a sudden case of the jitters.  I felt 
like Cinderella going to the ball.  I felt like I had 'hick' 
written all over my forehead.

Devlin pulled his keys out of his pocket and was reaching for the 
door when it opened. 

A tall man with brown hair, slightly gray at the temples, opened 
the door.  He was wearing a gray Henley and blue jeans and wearing 
moccasins with no socks.  He looked casual and friendly.  Wire rims 
perched in the middle of a generous nose.

"Hi, Dad.  Still busy?" Devlin teased his father.

He flashed a toothy smile at us and swung the door wide.  Devlin 
towed me across the threshold as his father shut the door behind 
us.  Then we all turned to face one another.  "And who is this?" 
his father asked.

He had a great voice, smooth and low and totally unthreatening.  
Then I remembered he was a child psychologist.  Probably came with 
the job.

Devlin introduced me.  "Dad, this is Isabella Quinci or Bella for 
short.  Bella, this is my Dad, Fox Mulder."

He stuck out his hand and I met him half way, hoping my palms 
weren't sweating.  "Nice to meet you, sir," I said.

He smiled, "Same here."  He glanced at his watch.  "I thought you 
were going to the movies?" he asked.

"We were but decided to come back here and watch a movie.  The 
twins are gone, right?"

"Yeah, they stayed another night at your grandmother's."

"Is it all right if we camp out in the living room?"

"Sure, go ahead.  There's food and drinks in the kitchen if you 
want them.  Your mother and I will be upstairs.  We'll give you 
some privacy."  He winked and I felt the heat rush over my face as 
I blushed to the roots of my hair.

He chuckled, making it worse.  "You're a lovely young lady, Bella." 
 
"Thank you, sir," I said quietly.

"This big oaf gets out of line, just give a holler and I'll come to 
the rescue."

Devlin laughed at the tease, but I was mortified.  "I don't think 
that will be necessary, sir."

"Call me Mulder, please.  It better not be necessary."  He winked 
at Devlin again.  "I can still kick your ass," he teased.

"You think so?" Devlin responded and took a boxing jab at his 
father. 

Faster than I could blink, the man grabbed him, spun him, tripped 
him and had his hands yanked behind his back and his body bent over 
at the waist.  "Yup," he said.  "I still got it."

Devlin grunted.  "Jesus, Dad.  Go easy."  Mr. Mulder laughed and 
released Devlin.  Devlin pulled his sweater down at the hem and 
shrugged his shoulders.  "Thanks for embarrassing me, Dad.  I 
appreciate that."

"Sorry, kiddo, just keeping in practice for when Mairin starts 
bringing guys home," he grinned.

I laughed.  I couldn't help it.  Dr. Mulder was not what I had 
expected.  I was fast realizing that I had to put away some of my 
stereotypes and decide about people's character on an individual 
basis.  Not all rich people were assholes.  

"Oh sure, laugh now," Devlin said to me.  It only made me laugh 
harder and Mr. Mulder laughed with me.

"I'll be upstairs."

"Where's Mom?"

"She was taking a shower, but I think she's done now."

"I want her to meet Bella."

"I'll tell her," he said, heading for the stairs.

Just then a woman wearing Capri pants, a baggy sweater and gigantic 
socks, bounded down the stairs saying, "Tell me what?"

She hit the bottom step and looked up.  We both gasped.

"Oh damn," I whispered.

She broke out into a smile.  "Izzy!"

Devlin and Mr. Mulder looked totally confused.  I was mortified.  
"Oh God, Mrs. ... Scully, er ... Mulder, I had no idea it was you!"
I blurted out.

She was still smiling and said, "It looks great on you."

I nodded, unable to look her in the eyes.  "Thanks."

"Bella, you two know each other?" Devlin asked.

"We just met today in Sears."

"Sears?  What were you doing in Sears?" he asked.

I swallowed and looked away.  I didn't want him to know I'd just 
bought this dress solely for him.  I wanted the ground to open up 
and swallow me.  I turned and sent a pleading look her way.

To my surprise, Mrs. Mulder spoke up.  "She had this lovely dress 
and needed some shoes to match.  We'd met at the college job fair.  
I gave a speech on women in law enforcement last week and Bella was 
there.  I recognized her in Sears so we got chatting for a few 
minutes."

I smiled a tentative smile at her, trying to say thank you with my 
eyes.  She smiled softly and I knew she understood.  I was 
frantically trying to remember if I said anything about Devlin that 
would come back to haunt me.  I'd practically gushed to her about 
him.  How embarrassing.  

"Oh, okay," Devlin said, visibly relaxing.  "So you introduced 
yourselves," he concluded.

"Yes, we did," Mrs. Mulder said and smiled again.  "Nice to see you 
again, though for some reason I thought your name was Izzy."

"My full name is Isabella Quinci and most adults call me Izzy.  
It's nice to see you, too.  Uh, you introduced yourself as Dr. 
Scully though, so I didn't put two and two together."

"Ah!" she replied.  "Yeah, I use my maiden name for work and 
lectures.  It's easier for me since I was known by Scully for so 
many years.  Also keeps work separate from my private life," she 
explained.

I nodded.  "That makes sense."

Mr. Mulder broke in.  "Well, we'll disappear and leave you kids 
alone.  Devlin knows where everything is.  Have fun."

Mrs. Mulder grinned as he took her arm and they mounted the stairs 
together.

Devlin sighed like he was relieved and turned to me smiling.  
"Whew."

I laughed.  "They seem very nice."

"They are, but they both have an uncanny knack for embarrassing the 
hell out of me," he admitted, "Especially Dad.  They were both FBI 
agents and I guess the training never goes away."

"That's a parent's job, isn't it?" I shot back.

He chuckled and led me into the living room.  "Do you want 
something to drink?  More iced tea?"

"Sure."

He returned moments later with two glasses of iced tea.  I was 
perusing the titles on the book shelves that lined one wall.  "Good 
lord, it's like a library in here."

"That's nothing.  You should see my dad's office.  Wall to wall 
books, all four walls."

I turned and took the glass from him.  "I wish I had this many 
books," I said wistfully.

"You can borrow anything you like, Bella.  Most of the stuff out 
here is stuff we've read already."

"Really?"

"Sure, later on you can pick out some and take them home with you."

"That would be great.  I'd take good care of them, I promise."

"Oh, I know.  I'm not worried about that.  Come on, let's pick out 
a movie."

XXXXXXXXXX

Even though we'd both seen it about a hundred times, we picked Top 
Gun and sat down to watch.  When they got to the part where Tom 
Cruise was devouring Kelly McGillis in silhouette, I glanced at her 
and she was riveted, eyes wide and her beautiful lips partly open, 
panting lightly.

I had my arm draped over her shoulders and I leaned down close, 
slouching on the couch.  'Did it just get hot in here?' I thought.  
I sat up and took off my sweater, tossing it onto the arm of the 
sofa, leaving me in just my turtleneck.  

The movement startled her and she turned towards me.  The 
turtleneck was snug and I watched her eyes travel from my neck, 
down over my chest and abdomen.  I gritted my teeth as I felt my 
dick stir in my pants again.  Jesus, she wasn't even touching me, 
just looking and my body was reacting like it had been poked with a 
cattle prod.

I slowly leaned back, never taking my eyes off her.  "Are your 
parents going to suddenly surprise us by coming down those stairs?" 
she asked.

I felt my heart rate speed up.  "Why?  What did you have in mind?"
I asked, trying to sound flirtatious while waggling my eyebrows at 
her.

She laughed.  "Answer the question, Devlin."

"No, they'll stay put.  If they come down, they'll make enough 
noise to let us know they are coming.  They aren't the types to 
spy."

"Oh, good.  How do you know this?  How many girls have you brought 
over to watch a movie at home with?" she teased.

"Why?" I asked again, totally ignoring the movie now as the song, 
"Highway to the Danger Zone," blared out of the surround-sound 
speakers.

She hesitated and then said, "I was wondering something on the way 
over here," she said, blushing prettily.

"Wondering what?"

"If you would kiss me again before the night was over," she said 
softly as she turned to face me fully.

I turned towards her and reached out, letting my hands fall on her 
shoulders and slide up to caress her neck.  "Thought you'd never 
ask," I said.

She smiled and leaned up, taking the lead this time.  We began to 
kiss and I felt every nerve ending in my body go on alert.  Oh God, 
I'd never felt anything like this.  I'd kissed girls before, here 
and there, over the last few years.  I always had a date when I 
needed it.  Nothing and no one had ever turned me on like this.

I knew somewhere in the back of my head that this was our first 
date.  There was only so far we should go, but I couldn't make 
myself stop touching her.  I wrapped my arms around her and pulled 
her towards me, but she would only go so far before beginning to 
pull back.

"Bella, don't," I groaned.  "I just want to kiss you, I promise.  I 
won't do anything you're not ready for."

She searched my eyes for a moment and found something she could 
trust there.  She nodded slightly and leaned in towards me again, 
and I moved to kiss her.  This time I was careful to keep my hands 
where I knew they wouldn't scare her.  Our lips met over and over.  
Long, slow wet kisses and hot biting, needy kisses.  We barely 
stopped to breathe.

Finally she began to pull away.  She moaned as she broke the kiss.  
"Awww, God, Devlin."

"You're making me crazy, Bella," I groaned as my lips moved to 
cover hers again.  She met me half way and soon, we were leaning 
back against the back of the sofa, my hands in her hair and hers 
roaming up and down my arms.  I was truly thankful that the room 
was somewhat dark.  If she had looked down at all, she would have 
seen a boner in my pants that would have scared her right out the 
door.

Just because I was excited, just because I wanted to take this to 
the next level and strip that pretty lavender dress off her and 
sink my cock into her until I was sated, didn't mean it was going 
to happen.  Even if she was that kind of girl, and I knew she 
wasn't, I wouldn't make a move like that on our first date.

I groaned and pulled away, panting and trying to catch my breath.  
Her lips followed mine, not wanting to quit until I slid my head 
over to rest my forehead on her shoulder.  It was the only position 
I could think of that would block her view of my lap.

She was panting and I knew, just knew in my heart, that if I pushed 
a little more, she would let me do anything I wanted tonight.

Sometimes I hated the way I was raised.  My parents had always had 
an equal marriage.  My mother was a strong woman and she and my 
father had taught us to respect people, especially women.

Hell, when I'd had the 'talk' with my parents, Dad was the one who 
brought up being chaste until you were sure you were really in 
love!  Even my weird uncles had grunted and motioned through the 
beginnings of a 'talk' when I had unexpectedly found a copy of an 
old magazine called 'Celebrity Skin' in the bathroom last year.  I 
let them continue until I couldn't hold back the laughter any 
longer and then I had thanked them and told them I'd already had 
that talk with my mom and dad.

I thought Uncle Fro was going to swoon.  "Ah Scully, always the 
woman!" he said before the other two had hushed him.  Later, Langly 
had told me where I could find their lending library if I needed 
it, but even he had admonished me to hold off until I was sure.  
All these thoughts were enough to shrink my erection to a 
manageable size.

I knew Bella was the one I wanted to be my first sex partner, but 
respect for women had been so ingrained in my education and heart 
that I didn't want to rush this.

"Bella," I said as I pulled away to look in her eyes.

"I won't kid you, I want more than kisses from you.  I think you 
want more from me, too?  Don't you?"  I had to lift her face back 
up to look at me when the gentle blush on her cheeks turned bright 
red and she dipped her head shyly.

"Yes," she whispered.

"I have to tell you, I've never felt this way about any of the 
other girls I've dated.  You are special to me, and I want you to 
understand that."

She nodded and waited for me to continue, staring at me with her 
big luminous brown eyes.

"God, Bella!" I said and groaned.  "Don't look at me like that or I 
won't be able to keep from kissing you again."

"So what's stopping you?" she finally said in her husky, sexy 
voice.

I reached for her and she wrapped her arms around my shoulders 
again and we started kissing again.  This time, it was pure hungry 
need and want.  I shuddered when she let her tongue slide out to 
touch my lower lip, afraid to respond, afraid she would quit if I 
did.

We must have been kissing for an hour because when we came back 
down to earth, the movie was over.  I laughed nervously, pulled 
away to get the controller, and turned off the equipment.

"Bella," I breathed.  "I've never felt like that before."

"Neither have I," she said and looked down.  "God, I've never felt 
that bold before."

I chuckled and rubbed my thumbs over her plump lower lip.  "I'm 
glad you were."  We stared into each other's eyes for a moment and 
then we were kissing again.  I felt my dick twitch in my pants 
again and realized that if I were going to stand up and take her 
home anytime in the next hour, I had to stop touching her.  

I reluctantly pushed her back.  "Let's not start that again," I 
said.

She smiled and said, "Better not, huh?  What time is it?"

"Almost midnight."

"Oh brother, I have to get home, Devlin."

"No problem."

Just then I heard my father's voice from upstairs.  "Everything all 
right down there?"

I got up off the couch and walked to the foot of the stairs, 
looking up at him.  "Yeah, Dad, the movie is over and I'm just 
getting ready to take Bella home."

"Oh, all right.  It's getting late, Dev."

"I know, we're leaving now," I said.

"Okay, drive carefully."

"I will."

He disappeared down the hall and out of sight.  I breathed a sigh 
of relief.  

Bella came up behind me and wrapped her arms around me from behind.  
Her head lay on my back between my shoulder blades.  "He's just 
trying to be nice," she said.

I rolled my eyes and turned to hug her.  God, she was short.  I 
realized she didn't have her shoes on.  I said, "Where are your 
shoes?"

"By the couch," she replied and quickly retrieved them.

"I guess we should go," I said gruffly.

XXXXXXXXXX

We made the trip in virtual silence.  When she told me to pull over 
I kept driving and said, "No."

"What?"

"I'm driving you to your door, Bella, and that's all there is to 
it."

"Devlin!  This has been the most amazing night of my life.  I mean 
that.  Don't ruin it now."

"I'm not ruining it.  I'm trying to tell you something."

"And what's that?  You want to embarrass me."

"No!  I don't care where you live, Bella!  I don't care that your 
house isn't big, or you don't have nice things.  Don't you fucking 
get it?" I asked testily.

"I guess not," she said shortly, crossing her arms over her chest.

I pulled the car over, put it in park, and turned to face her on 
the seat.  "I like YOU, Bella.  For who you are.  Not just for your 
gorgeous hair and your dainty little body."  She blushed and looked 
down.  "I like what's sitting on your shoulders too."

She looked up tentatively and licked her lips.  "I don't want you 
to see," she said quietly.

"It's not going to change how I feel about you, Bella.  I don't 
care if you live in a tar paper shack."

"It's not that bad," she said defensively.

I smiled at her.  "Come on.  Give me a chance, Bella.  Don't assume 
I'm that shallow, especially now."

She knew what I meant.  Especially now, after we'd had so much fun 
and just shared hours of incredible kisses.  I didn't want our 
relationship to be on pins and needles over an address.  It was 
ridiculous.

"Okay.  Go to the end of the road and turn left."

I leaned over and gave her a quick peck on the cheek and then put 
the car back in gear. 


XXXXXXXXXX
PART 10 (PG-13)
QUINCI RESIDENCE
FALLS CHURCH, VA
JUNE 13 - 12:20 AM

It was the run-down side of town, but it wasn't as bad as I'd 
anticipated actually.  The way she'd acted, I expected squalor.  
Contrary to the impression she'd been giving me, it was a neat 
little split-level ranch.  It could use a coat of paint and the 
lawn could use mowing, but there was nothing wrong with it.

I pulled into the driveway and parked behind an old pick up truck.
She exited the car before I could say anything.  I jumped out and 
she said, "No, you don't have to walk me in."

"I know.  I want to.  Hey, this is me.  Take it or leave it," I 
said halfway teasing.

She glanced at the house and back at me.  The porch light came on 
as I approached her.  "Devlin, I don't know if this is a good 
idea."

The door opened.  "Bella, is that you?"

"Yes, Nana!" she said, a little louder than necessary.

I smiled and took her hand and started walking toward the door.  
She hesitated but then kept step with me.  

The old lady was plump and bent over, walking with a cane.  Her 
white hair was a cloud around her head with a neat bun at the back.
Her face was weathered and wrinkled from too many years in the sun, 
but still beautiful.  "Is this your young man?"

"Yes, ma'am," I greeted her.  "I'm Devlin Mulder," I introduced 
myself and stuck out my hand. 

She shook it briefly and stepped back.  "Come in."

Bella turned.  "You don't have to, Devlin.  I'll see you Monday."

"Trying to get rid of me?" I teased.

She hung her head.  Her Grandma said, "Stop being silly, Bella, and 
bring the boy in here so I can get a good look at him.  My eyes 
aren't what they used to be."

I laughed softly and Bella shook her head, but turned and entered 
the house.  I followed slightly behind her and stepped into the 
living room.  Her grandmother flicked on the light and the living 
room lit up.  The furniture was old but clean and well kept.  There 
were pictures of Bella and her younger siblings on every available 
surface.  I turned and looked at her Grandmother.  "What should I 
call you, Ma'am?"

"Nana is fine," she said, grinning.  She looked me up and down.
"Well, you're certainly a biga one, aren't you?" she said in broken 
English.

"Nana!" Bella cried out, embarrassment evident in her voice.

I just chuckled again.  "Compared to Bella, anyway," I joked.

Her grandmother laughed and it sounded more like a cackle.  "My 
Bella was more nervous than a hen in a wolves' den about going out 
with you, son," she stated.

"Nana!  Please!" Bella hissed in humiliation.

I smiled and put my arm around her shoulders.  I looked at her 
grandmother though.  "I was a little nervous too," I admitted, 
leaning toward her grandmother with a conspiratorial wink.  "First 
dates are always tricky," I added.

She nodded knowingly.  "They can be," she answered.  I could tell I 
had her.  She was amused and winked at me when Bella looked away.

"Well, I have to get my father's car back home, or he'll start to 
worry.  It was nice meeting you, Nana."

She stepped to me and patted my hand.  "Nice meeting you too, 
Devlin."

I turned and kissed Bella gently on the forehead.  I wasn't going 
to kiss her lips in front of her grandmother.  "Good night.  I had 
a great time."

"Me too," she whispered.  "My parents are in bed, I think."

"That's okay.  I'll meet them next time."

"Next time?"

"Yeah, next time."  I chucked her shoulder gently.  "Good night.
I'll show myself out."

"Okay.  Devlin," she called out, stopping me.

I turned in mid stride.  "Yeah?"

"I meant it.  This was the best night of my life."

I smiled.  "That's probably an exaggeration, but I'm glad.  I had a 
great time, too."

We stared at each other for a moment and then I said, "Well, 
goodbye."  I finally went out the door.  I still didn't want the 
night to end, but I knew it had to sometime.

As I was closing the door behind me, I heard her grandmother say, 
"Cosi, quello era il vostro giovane, Bella.  E molto handsome!"  

I didn't know what any of it meant except for the last word and I 
felt color flush my cheeks as I trotted to the car.  It was a 
little embarrassing to have the old woman checking me out like I 
was a Chippendale dancer.  Then again, if she approved, that 
couldn't hurt where Bella was concerned.  Maybe she could dispel 
some of this nonsense about coming from the wrong side of the 
tracks, and encourage Bella to believe in herself.  

The house did need some work, but I'd meant what I said.  I didn't 
care where she lived, or how she lived as long as she had food and 
roof over her head.  She wasn't any worse off than a couple of my 
guy friends.


XXXXXXXXXX
MULDER RESIDENCE
FALLS CHURCH, VA
SUNDAY MORNING
JUNE 13 - 12:40 AM

As I drove home, I thought about how much I took for granted on a 
regular basis.  I'd forgotten where I came from, an orphanage.  I 
could have very well grown up there if my parents hadn't come 
along, hadn't taken the time to track me down and adopt me.

We lived in a very nice house and I'd never been needy since the 
day I'd gone home with them.  I started reminiscing about the time 
when I first got there.  I kept thinking they would change their 
minds and send me back.  At the orphanage, sweets were like gold.  
You could trade them for almost anything you wanted.  I also 
remember feeling like I never really got enough to eat.  There were 
a couple of bullies that used to steal the younger kids' desserts 
in the cafeteria.

I remembered the first time my mother found my stash under my bed.  
I had only been there about four months.  She was cleaning and 
vacuuming and came across the pile of Ho-Ho's and candy bars and 
Twinkies I'd stored under the bed.  Whenever they'd given me a 
treat, which I could only have after having eaten my dinner, I'd 
run upstairs and hide it under my bed, just in case.

She'd been so surprised that she'd hollered at me.  "Devlin, what 
are you doing putting these under here?"

I'd broken down crying, thinking she was mad at me.  I was bawling 
like a baby and told her, "I was saving them for when I didn't have 
anything to eat."

She scooped me up into her arms and cried as she rocked me on the 
bed.  Then she'd told me.  "Oh no, Devlin, you don't need to do 
that here, sweetie.  We'll always make sure you have enough to 
eat."

I stared at her, not quite believing that the bounty wouldn't run 
out someday.  She was pregnant.  There were more kids coming.  I 
thought I'd have to compete, and I'd started saving up for a rainy 
day.  

She'd hugged me and rocked me and said, "I promise, Devlin.  I 
promise."

I'd been afraid to believe her, but I'd given up my stash.  She'd 
found a ceramic container and put it in the kitchen and told me I 
could save my treats there if I wanted if I didn't want to eat them 
right away when I got them, but I couldn't keep them in my room 
because they would attract ants.

I didn't like the idea of keeping them in the kitchen where anyone 
could get at them, but I hadn't had any choice.  True to her word 
though, no one ever went into my treat jar.  I started eating them.
As long as I ate my dinner, I always found a treat in the jar 
afterwards.

I pulled into the driveway and realized tears were scudding 
unheeded down my cheeks.  Jesus, if Bella ever knew where I really 
came from.  Maybe that was the key.  Maybe I should tell her.  Then 
she might understand why I didn't look down on her poverty.

I realized though that I'd quickly forgotten where I'd come from, 
what my live could have been.  Instead, I lived in this gorgeous 
house, had parents and a brother and sister who loved me.  God, I'd 
been such an ass lately--an ungrateful, forgetful ass.

I shut off the car and walked into the house.  Everything was 
quiet.  I was wide awake and cleaned up the glasses off the coffee 
table and poured myself a glass of milk.  I leaned against the 
kitchen counter while I drank it, trying to decide whether to go on 
the computer or try to get some sleep.

My father rounded the corner from the living room and stood in the 
kitchen doorway.  He was wearing his pajama bottoms, slung low on 
his hips.  "Hi," I said quietly.

"Hi.  How'd it go?"

I felt a smile slide across my face.  "I'm in trouble, Dad."

"How so?" he asked casually.

"I'm falling for her ... HARD," I emphasized, my voice barely above 
a whisper.

He grinned.  "And this is a bad thing?"

"I know she likes me too, but she's got this hang up about us being 
rich."

He nodded.  "And she's not, I take it."

"Far from it.  She keeps thinking I'm going to judge her, or her 
parents or something."

"Do you?" he asked. 

I snapped my head up to look at him but realized he wasn't 
accusing, simply asking.  "No, I don't.  I don't give a damn where 
she lives or where she comes from."

"Have you told her that?"

"Yes, but I don't think she believed me.  She didn't want me to see 
where she lived, kept having me drop her a couple blocks away.  She 
even had me pick her up at the CVS tonight, rather than at her 
house.  Said she needed some things.  I knew it wasn't true."

He poured himself a glass of milk and reclined against the adjacent 
counter.  "That's a tricky one.  Her self-esteem must have taken 
some blows at some point."

"Yeah, it has.  She keeps comparing herself to those giggly 
airheads on the cheerleading squad."  I paused.  "Like they're all 
that and a bag of chips."

He chuckled.  "And you don't think so?" 

"I guess that's the type most of the other jocks go for."

"But not you," he said.  It was statement.

I smiled.  "Nope.  Not me, gotta be different."

He smiled at me.  "Let me guess.  Smart, dark and petite is more 
your type."

I grinned.  "Yeah, I think so."

He gulped his milk and put his glass in the sink after rinsing it 
out.  "Give her some time, Devlin.  Don't push it.  Show her you 
care about her.  Let her get a little more comfortable with you and 
the idea of being with you.  She'll come around.  I can tell by the 
way she looked at you."

"How was that?" I asked, curious as to what he saw.  He could be 
pretty perceptive when he wanted to be.

"She's crazy about you.  She couldn't believe she was with you, 
Devlin.  I don't think you have any idea the kind of effect you 
have on women.  You melt them like a snowball in hell."

I laughed out loud then at his analogy.  "I hardly think so."

"Yes, you do.  Adult women too, including your mother."

"She doesn't count."

"I know, but I've seen it.  You have a gift."

"What do they like?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"I think it's a lot of things.  You like women.  You treat them as 
equals.  You seem to instinctively know how they feel and you don't 
make them feel like you'd use their feelings against them," he 
mused.  "You respect them," he said quietly.

I scrunched my brow, not really understanding.

He sighed.  "You respect women, Devlin.  It's something we've tried 
to drill into all of you kids.  It's important to treat women with 
respect and not as objects to play with or discount."

"I'd never do that!" I said, thinking of my decision about being 
with Bella earlier tonight.

"I know," he said, a trace of pride in his voice.  "That's my 
point.  Especially for someone as young as you, it's a rare 
quality.  Women respond to that.  You respect their minds.  You 
don't just look at the packaging."

"Bella's got both, brains and a nice package," I joked.

He laughed.  "Yes, she does."

"Dad!" 

He chuckled.  "Don't worry, I still only have the hots for your 
mother."

I groaned.  "Geez, that's enough information, Dad."

He laughed and waved over his shoulder as he went out of the room.
"Get some sleep, Romeo."


XXXXXXXXXX
PART 11 (NC-17)
MULDER RESIDENCE
FALLS CHURCH, VA
SUNDAY MORNING
JUNE 13 - 2:30 AM

Contrary to my dad's orders and my own desires, I didn't sleep.  I 
was tired, but wired, jazzed up from being around Bella.  Hell, 
face it.  I was horny.  I needed relief from the constant 
excitement and repression I'd experienced while out on our date.

I wasn't sorry I had decided not to take our relationship to the 
level my hard-on had demanded.  From the first moment I touched 
Isabella Quinci, I had been on edge.  Tonight made it crystal clear 
that I was heavily in lust.  Yet, I wasn't sure that was true.  I'd 
been in lust before and this felt different.  I might be in love.  
And if that's what this was all about, I was willing to wait until 
she made the next move.  In the mean time, I needed to take my 
problem in hand, so I did.   

Ever since I'd started having wet dreams, or night emissions, as my 
mother had tactfully called them, I'd done my own laundry.  I 
didn't feel uncomfortable in the least with my sexuality; I guess 
that's something I could thank both my parents for.  They had 
always been open, loving and accepting of me as their child and an 
individual.  There was just something that squicked me out about 
having either one of them handle my bedding after I'd come, either 
from masturbation or from a wet dream.

A couple months ago I had brought home some of the old magazines 
that the Uncles had tactfully let me borrow.  The first time I 
noticed my father's name on the address label, I had seriously 
freaked.  At least until I noticed the date on the magazine itself, 
way before he was married to my mother.  I pulled my favorite one 
out, but after a few minutes of paging through it, I put it away.  

For the first time, I was not interested in the women displayed to 
turn on any guy with ten dollars for the price of the book.  All I 
could think about was two beautiful brown eyes, shadowed by the 
thickest, longest lashes I've ever seen in my life.  Soft, creamy 
skin and white even teeth made it hard to concentrate on anyone or 
any thing else.  Oh god, and that dress she wore, just enough of 
the slope of her breasts showing to make me crazy.  The women in 
the books paled by comparison.

Her lips had been so soft, and when she opened her mouth for me, 
and tentatively darted her sweet tongue into my mouth, I thought I 
would explode.

XXXXXXXXXX NC-17 PORTION XXXXXXXXXX

I stripped my clothes off and began to stroke my cock, thinking of 
our kisses.  I was almost ready to come just thinking about what 
had happened earlier.  I slid my other hand down my body, stroking 
across my chest and belly before cupping my balls.  Jesus!  
Thinking of Bella while doing this makes it feel even more intense 
than ever before.  I could taste her on my lips, feel her silky 
skin under my finger tips, pretend it was her that was touching me, 
sliding her tiny hand up and down my cock.

I sped up my strokes, closing my eyes and thinking of all the 
things I'd like to be doing with her right now.  I knew it was 
sexist of me, but I automatically assumed she was a virgin.  How 
would it feel to be inside her?  Would it hurt her?  Would she 
bleed?  Naw, don't want to think of pain, gotta go somewhere else.

I suddenly thought of how it would feel to have her go down on me.  
I have been fascinated by this for a long time.  Just the thoughts 
of a beautiful woman kissing and sucking me have gotten me off in 
the past.

This time I thought of Bella.  I thought of her generous lips, 
barely colored by the lip gloss she was wearing.  While I stoked my 
cock, I began to picture her luscious mouth kissing my shaft as I 
lay there naked before her.  Her long, lustrous black hair would 
feel so soft on my belly as she leaned over to caress me.  She 
would put her tiny hand out to touch me, stoking me with her 
fingertips, while she got familiar with my cock.  Would she like 
what she saw?  Had she ever thought about me like this?

I could see her leaning closer, almost feel her warm breath 
skittering across my cock and balls.  My hand automatically sped up 
and I forced myself to slow down.  I didn't want to come yet.  I 
wanted to play this out in my mind and think of how she would feel 
as she let her sexy lips open and her pink little tongue slide out 
to lick across them nervously before she darted forward to taste 
the pre-come on the end of my cock.

Shit!  Gotta slow down!  I tried to relax the cheeks of my ass, 
knowing I'm not going to last long if I don't slow my body's 
response to the pictures of my mind.

She would kiss me, and I automatically buck up into my grasp, just 
imagining the feeling of her lips on me.  I slide my hand over the 
head of my cock and tease the underside of the hood just enough to 
make my balls clench.

She would let her lips and tongue move all over me, up and down and 
then she would place her lips of the tip of my rod and slide down 
as far as she could.

I could feel it, I started to stroke harder again.

She would put her tiny hands around the base and start to slide the 
part she couldn't hold in her mouth up and down as she lifted her 
head and began to suck on me.  It would be so sweet to feel her 
hair caress my body, her naked skin soft against me as she sat 
straddling across my upper thighs, bent over to ... suck ... me ... 
off ... Ahhhhhh!

I was gone.  My hips snapped up again and again against the 
pressure of my fist as I spewed come everywhere.  I pulled my 
pillow over to cram it in my mouth, afraid that my howls would wake 
up someone.

I slowed down, but didn't stop stroking like I normally did.  The 
warm come that slid back down my cock to my fist made me think 
about how hot and warm Bella would be.  Thoughts of Bella made me 
hard again and I pounded my pud 'til I came a second time.

XXXXXXXXXX END NC-17 PORTION XXXXXXXXXX

Shit.  I had it bad.  If I could do this with just my thoughts, 
what was actually having sex with Bella going to be like?  Assuming 
of course, I thought, that we would eventually have sex.  There was 
no guarantee of that.  The ball was completely in her court on that 
subject.

I must have dozed for a little while because I woke up cold and 
sticky.  I pulled the sheets off the bed and got a clean set of 
sweats to wear.  I took a quick shower and re-made my bed.  I lay 
there for a while, but I was still totally wired.  I decided to go 
downstairs and read some more of the journal.

XXXXXXXXXX

Footsteps on the stairs shocked me into action.  I quickly closed 
out of the journal and deleted all the history files and caches, 
knowing my continued existence as a son in good standing in this 
household depended on my parents not finding me reading their 
private journals.  Not to mention that I wanted to borrow the car 
to go see Bella later today and wouldn't be able to do that if I 
were grounded.

"Devlin, what are you doing up so early on Sunday?" my mother came 
into the den from the hall off the kitchen.

"I couldn't sleep, and I thought I'd might as well get up and get 
an early start on things," I said.  I really had to work on these 
excuses.

"What things?" she teased.  "Your latest game?"  She walked over to 
give me a good morning hug and glanced down at my screen in 
surprise.  

I had pulled up the scholarship application to M.I.T. without 
thinking.  I glanced down at it and blushed in mortification.  Now 
she was going to get her hopes up and eventually find out that I 
lied to her.

"Dev, are you thinking of going to M.I.T. after all?" she said with 
a pleased note in her voice that twisted the knife in my gut.

"Uh, well, I dunno," I stuttered.  "I guess I was thinking about 
how Bella should get to try out for this scholarship instead of 
me."

"Bella, hum?" she said with a smile.  "So you think Bella is 
interested in M.I.T.?"

'Ah, safe ground at last,' I thought.  "Yeah, Mom, she's really 
interested in M.I.T."

"Why do you think that's what she wants?" 

"Well, Bella is really smart," I began.  We talked about Bella and 
everything I found out about her up to our date the night before 
for a long time.

"You know, Devlin, you have the scores and the resources to get 
into M.I.T. without a scholarship.  We can afford it.  We've put 
aside money for all of you to go to any school you want.  Why don't 
you let Bella apply for the scholarship and you go through the 
regular enrollment process.  Then you both could go."  

I stared at my mother for a moment and then started to smile.  You 
had to give it to her, she was always thinking.

"That's a good idea, Mom.  I don't know about Bella's other school, 
but the teachers here all think that she's really bright.  She 
deserves to get into a good school.  She had a full scholarship 
lined up but it was for residents of Pennsylvania and when her 
folks moved here she lost her chance for it."

"What about her folks?" Mom asked.  "Can they help her?"

"I don't think so.  Her mom has a good job but her dad is having a 
hard time finding something around here," I told her.

"What does he do?" she asked.

That's my mom, always interested in other people.  I told her about 
the training he had and how he was finding it hard at his age to 
get his foot in the door of a new career.

My mom made the same suggestion I had thought of earlier.  I should 
have him contact the Uncles.  They might have some contacts that 
could help him.  I agreed and logged on to see if anyone was up at 
that early hour but no sign of action at the Silver Bullet.  

"I think I'll go over there after church," I said, closing down the 
computer and standing up.  Man I was tired.  I only had a few 
minutes of sleep last night.  I couldn't believe that I'd been 
reading their journal for hours.  I glanced at my mother and tried 
to reconcile the sexually explicit, gun-toting FBI special agent 
with the woman who had always been, well ... 'Mom' to me.  I 
followed her into the kitchen.

The words that my dad used to describe her and the way she wrote 
about my dad were so at odds with the couple I knew.  Well, I 
thought I knew them.

Dad walked into the room, scratching his head and yawning.  
"Mornin' Dev," he said to me as he walked directly to Mom and 
wrapped her up in his arms.

She smiled as he held her, placing her cheek against his bare 
chest.  Sighing, she slid her arms around his waist.  They stood 
there in the sunlight of the kitchen and rocked back and forth.  My 
mother kissed him in the middle of his chest and I heard my dad 
groan, "Scully, what you do to me."

I pulled some oranges from the refrigerator to squeeze and turned 
to place them on the counter.  It was a tradition at our house to 
have fresh squeezed orange juice before church on Sundays.

I glanced at my parents and opened my mouth to ask if they wanted 
me to juice some for them too, but I stopped, transfixed.  My 
mother had stepped back from Dad and was gazing up into his eyes as 
if there was no one else on earth.  My father was staring down at 
my mother with this look on his face that I've never seen before.

Oh, I've seen milder versions of it and laughing, teasing takes on 
it, but they'd never before let themselves get lost in a look in 
front of one of us kids before.

"Scully," my dad whispered.  

That was all, but they didn't need to say anything else.  I was 
blushing, I could feel it.  My mother stepped back from my dad far 
enough to turn towards the kitchen door.

"Devlin, I think I'm going to miss church this morning.  Since 
you've already said you were going, would you bring M&M home 
with you?"  Her smile was serene, but the slight flush to her 
cheeks let me know she was as affected by my father as he was by
her.  "You may use my car."  

Dad never took his eyes off her, following her as she picked up his 
hand and led him back towards the doorway.

That's when I saw 'IT'.  Holy Shit!  My dad had a huge boner that 
was tenting his pajama bottoms.  Whoa!  What the hell?  Then 
unbidden, I remembered my mother's words from the journal.  'I 
smiled as I wrapped my lips around the girth of him and slid down
as far as I could.  He was too large for me to deep throat, hell,
for most women, but I knew from the moans of pleasure that he made
that I was doing something right.  God, he was thick, too.'  

UGH!  Too much information.  Thoughts that maybe this was why it 
was a private journal and they had taken such intricate measures to 
encrypt it ran through my head.  'Maybe I shouldn't read any more,' 
I thought as I poured my cereal.  Then I remembered my main goal.  
I needed to know as much as possible about me and my beginnings.  
Again, a flush of embarrassment swept over me.  They already had 
told me a lot about my parentage, what did I think I would find out 
from their personal observations?

I glanced at the clock and realized that I was going to be late for 
Mass if I didn't hurry.  I wolfed down the rest of my breakfast and 
ran upstairs to get ready for church.

XXXXXXXXXX

Damn, I was almost late to Mass.  I had taken a shower and picked 
out my clothes quickly, but as I was getting dressed, the thoughts 
of the huge boner my old man had this morning made me hesitate.  I 
walked over to the mirror on the back of my closet door and stood 
there naked, looking at my body.  I was okay, probably a little 
better looking than a lot of guys my age because of the physical 
activity my parents had encouraged in all of us from the time we 
were young.

I thought again how huge Dad's erection appeared to be this 
morning.  I began to stroke my cock, self-consciously, feeling 
embarrassed but not enough to stop.  I wasn't anywhere near the 
size of my old man.  Did that mean I was sub-normal?  I pulled on 
my boxers and my jeans and arranged myself so that my erection was 
comfortable.  I turned side-ways and studied my profile.  Nope, I 
sure wasn't a Mulder in the equipment department.  I tucked in my 
shirt and wondered what Bella would think of my package.  Would she 
laugh when she saw me?  Hell!  What was normal?  I glanced at the 
clock and saw that I was really late.  Crap.  I had to go. 

Continued in Part 5 of 10

TITLE:          TRUCKIN' 2: KEEP ON TRUCKIN' Part 5 of 10

XXXXXXXXXX
LONE GUNMEN LAIR
ARLINGTON, VA
SUNDAY 
JUNE 13 - 1:00 PM

Gramma told me that she would take M&M home after mass.  She had 
promised them that they would go out to brunch and had called my 
parents to let them know already.  She asked if I wanted to go but 
I told her that I was going over to the Uncles' for a while.

By the time I got to Arlington and to their building, I was 
starving and sorry I'd turned down her offer of lunch.  I could 
smell Uncle Frohike's specialty as I walked up to the door.  Huevos 
Rancheros had been a favorite of mine for years, and no one could 
make it like my Uncle Mel.

I knocked and Uncle John opened the door.  He always looked so 
surprised to see me.  I sometimes think he expected me to be about 
M&M's age and have my parents with me.  He waved me in and went 
back to his computer.

Langly grunted at me, deep in the process of monitoring 'The Game'.
I knew he would put it on hold and join us for food at the precise 
moment Uncle Mel dished it up.

I went into the kitchen to surprise him.

"Don't even think about it punk," he said without turning around.

I had to laugh.  Uncle Melvin was secretly my favorite of the 
Uncles.  I enjoyed the challenge of Langly's mind and Uncle John 
was the most overtly affectionate of the three, but Uncle Mel had 
always been the one who I was closest to.

"What's going on, Dev?" he asked, not turning around.  "Everything 
all right with your mother?" he asked.

I laughed again.  It was a well known secret that Uncle Melvin had 
a soft spot for my mom.  Heck they all did really, but he was more 
vocal about his feelings.  "Everything is okay," I said.

He finally turned around to look at me.  "Just okay, Devlin?" he 
said with concern.

"Yeah, I got some news and a favor I wanted to ask of you all, but 
I don't want to repeat myself three times.  How about we wait until 
we're eating?"

I knew that if I hadn't shown up they would have probably eaten in 
their individual areas, continuing with their work or whatever.  
They always made a point of stopping what they were doing to talk 
to me when I came over.  It was just one of the things that made 
our relationship so special.  They didn't do that for anyone else, 
just me.  Well, and maybe my folks and M&M.

When the food was ready, I helped carry it out to the work area.  
Uncle John had cleared off the small work table that they used in 
place of a dining room.  We all dug in and the only sounds to be 
heard were the clinking of silverware and the soft hums and beeps 
from the various pieces of equipment running in the room.

"More coffee, anyone?" Uncle John asked as he poured some for 
himself.

I held out my cup and got another shot of coffee.  I was getting 
really sleepy now that I'd eaten.  I was going to need the 
caffeine.

"Well, Dev, you said that you had some news and a favor to ask," 
Uncle Melvin finally said.

I looked at them and realized that my news was not going to be an 
earth-shattering revelation to them.  I told them about the talk 
I'd had with Mom and Dad about my adoption.  As I suspected, they 
knew all about it.  They also knew about my folk's role in the 
alien invasion, but wouldn't discuss it.  They wanted me to ask 
them about it.

I changed the subject and told them about Bella.  I took a lot of 
ribbing and teasing from my three 'old maid' Uncles.  I must have 
gone on a little long about how beautiful she was and how smart and 
how she had given me what-for when I tried to put down college.  
They were all supportive of my suggestions about M.I.T.  Then I got 
to the point I wanted to discuss with them.

"I was hoping you guys could help Bella's father.  He was a 
steelworker in Pennsylvania, but he's really good with computer 
hardware.  He's completed a couple tech courses, but at his age, 
with no experience and no degree, he's having trouble finding a job 
that pays more than minimum wage.  I was thinking maybe one of you 
knows someone who could give him a chance, a job and let him prove 
himself."

"We'd like to help, Devlin, but all the help in the world won't do 
him any good if he can't produce once he has his foot in the door.  
Are you sure he's qualified?" Uncle John said.

I grinned at him sheepishly.  "Well, Bella said," I stumbled to a 
halt.  All three of them were grinning at me.  "What?"

"You got it bad, Mini-Mulder," Langly said as he shook his head.  
Of the three he was the only one who refused the respectful title 
of uncle. 

"Devlin," Uncle Mel said to get my attention.  "He needs help, I'm 
sure and we'll try to find something for him.  Here," he said as he 
crossed the room to rifle through a drawer that looked like it was 
full of junk.  He pulled a business card out and handed it to me.  
"Tell him to call these people.  They're a respectable agency that 
helps older citizens."

"He's ..."

"Not that he's a senior citizen or anything, but they help people 
who are doers, not your basic college educated idiots that are 
given first priority for the high paying positions."

I grinned and accepted the card, "Bella wonders where I get my lack 
of respect for a college education from."  

"Yeah, well, they'll test him and give him some leads on positions.
He should ask for a guy named Buzz.  He's a friend of mine and I'll 
give him a heads-up about Bella's dad.  IF he can produce, Buzz 
will get him a job--a good-paying one at that."

"Thanks, Uncle Mel.  I appreciate it."

"So you and the 'ragazza bella' are getting close, huh?" Langly 
asked.

"Ragazza Bella?" I asked.

"The 'beautiful girl'" he said and waggled his eyebrows at me.  

I know I must have blushed six shades of red because all three of 
them began to laugh at me.

"So the love bug has finally bitten our boy, huh?" Uncle John said 
with a smile.  He suddenly became more serious and said, "Your 
folks did talk to you about ... uh, things, didn't they?"

"You mean safe sex?" I asked him.

"Yes, Devlin," he said.  "You are too young to be playing with your 
future by practicing unsafe sex," he said definitely.

"Well, considering that Bella is way too important to me to try 
anything like that, I don't think we have to worry," I contended.

"Ah, Devlin, Devlin, Devlin," Langly said with a shake of his head.
"You always have to worry, boy!  You can't always count on roping 
the oompa loompa to relieve your problems.  Sometimes a guy has to 
interact, ya' know?"

I stared at him in disbelief.  Langly?  Giving advice on sex?

"Shut up dip-wad," Uncle Mel said.  "Devlin, as crass as Goldilocks 
put it, you do have to worry.  You're young, you have a lot of 
hormones flushing through your system, and so does she.  You need 
to be prepared."

"I ... I don't even know if she would want me," I said quietly, 
thinking of the comparison between me and my father.  "Maybe she 
could do better, you know?"

"Better than you?"  Uncle John was shocked.  "Devlin Mulder, there 
are no young men as intelligent and special as you.  Your brother 
will be when he's your age, but none of your peers even come close 
to being as great a kid as you are!"  The other two uncles nodded 
their agreement.

I was really speechless now.  They had never overtly stated their 
opinion of me before.  I knew they liked me, even loved me as part 
of their family, but to be this vocal about their feelings was 
quite a surprise.

"Yeah, well ..." I sputtered.

"Devlin, it's not like you to be this unsure of yourself," Uncle 
Melvin said.  "What's really bothering you?"

I suddenly felt very tired and kinda sad.  "I don't know, Uncle 
Mel," I said untruthfully.  I hesitated, wondering if I could ask 
them what was really on my mind.

"You can ask us anything, you know, Devlin," Uncle John said 
quietly.

I looked at the three of them and shook my head, "I don't know if I 
can."

"Go ahead, little dude," Langly said.  "We'll give you the straight 
dope."

I was blushing again, but I decided I had to ask someone.  "It's 
just ... well, this morning, I ... my mom and dad were hugging and 
I ... well, my dad got kinda ..." I waggled my hand in the general 
area of my crotch.  "You know."

They all nodded, a varying degree of awareness dawning on their 
faces.

"Well, I ... he's ... and I don't know if Bella will want me 
because I'm nowhere ... uh, as well equipped as my dad."  I hung my 
head, afraid of their responses.  There, I said it.  I finally 
looked up, waiting for their response.

All three sat there stunned.

Finally Uncle Mel swallowed hard and said, "Devlin, your father is 
a redwood among sprouts.  He's had a hard life ... I mean a tough 
life.  I think God gave him some extra compensation in the physical 
department to make up for other things."

"If you're worried that you don't measure up to your father," Uncle 
John said, "don't feel alone.  Few men on this earth have what it 
takes to compare themselves to Fox Mulder when it comes to 
integrity, strength of character or intelligence.  But if it's 
strictly the physical you're worried about, don't give it a second 
thought."

"Why?" I asked.

"Men come in all sizes and shapes, Devlin.  It isn't what you've 
been given that makes a woman want you.  It's how you use it," 
Langly said.

"Yeah, but how am I supposed to know what to do if I've never done 
it before?"

"Well, now that's a question I'd prefer you ask your father," Uncle 
Mel said.  "Some things a guy should talk to his dad about.  I'm 
sure there are books and er, internet sites that could help you, 
too, but try asking your dad.  He'll be straight with you."

I thought over their words for a moment before becoming 
uncomfortable with the entire discussion.  I picked up all the 
plates and took them back into the kitchen just to get away for a 
moment.

"Dev?" Uncle Mel said as he followed me into the room.  "What 
you're feeling is totally normal.  Most guys go through this a lot 
younger and have a few years before they actually have someone they 
are dating to worry about.  Talk to Mulder.  He'll help."

I nodded and continued to scrape and rinse the dishes.

"Uncle Mel?  What did you mean that my dad had a tough life?"  

"That's something else you need to discuss with your father.  It's 
his story to tell, Devlin, but I can tell you this.  He's not 
always had an easy time of it.  His childhood was ... rough and his 
ability as a father is a testament to his personal strength more 
than to any role model he had."

I nodded.  'More mysteries to uncover,' I thought.

"You don't have to do the dishes, you know.  I'll bet you wanted to 
go see Bella on your way home, right?"  

"Yeah, I do and I got a lot of homework to finish."

"Homework?  How did your folks let you get all the way to Sunday 
before they made sure you had your homework done?"

We were back to the everyday and I was relieved.  All this hard 
stuff was making me tired, and with the lack of sleep I had last 
night, I was dragging.

I called Bella before I left and she said I could stop by on my way 
home.  I was anxious to give her the information for her dad, and I 
was excited about seeing her again.


XXXXXXXXXX
PART 12 (PG-13)
QUINCI RESIDENCE
FALLS CHURCH, VA
SUNDAY 
JUNE 13 - 3:00 PM

I saw Devlin pull up in the driveway and rushed out to meet him.  I 
looked back at the house and could see my father standing in the 
picture window in the front room, hands on hips, glaring out at us.

Dad was all set to dislike Dev just because he was a rich kid.  
We'd already had one family 'discussion' about it this morning.  I 
tried to tell him that Devlin Mulder wasn't like that.  He might 
come from a rich family, but he definitely did not have a 'rich 
kid' attitude.  Mom had promised to keep Dad from being alone with 
Devlin until he got to know him better.

I couldn't blame my father.  I'd been hurt by other kids before.  
Everything had been great when I was younger and Dad had his job.  
We weren't rich, but money wasn't a problem, even with all the kids 
we had in the family.  However, when Dad had lost his job and we'd 
lost the house and had to move, some of the people I'd considered 
my good friends for years suddenly had no time for me.  It was a 
reality check that had cut me to the quick.  I wondered what they 
thought.  Maybe they were just scared that if it happened to my 
dad, being around me could cause it to happen to theirs.  Stupid, 
huh? 

I was the oldest and I guess I experienced more of the separation 
of lifestyles than the younger kids.  I was five years older than 
my oldest brother.  Dad used to tease Mom that it took them a while 
but they finally got the hang of things and then couldn't turn off 
the baby-making machine.  I loved how my mom would blush and fuss 
at Dad, but I could tell that they were truly in love and that went 
a long way to making things better.

Dad was just being protective of me now.  He would settle down once 
he got to know how wonderful Devlin really was.

True to her word, Mom stopped Dad from coming out to the front yard 
to talk to Devlin.  I needed to warn him about my father, so I 
rushed out the front door and waited excitedly by his car, trying 
to think of what to say before they met.

"Dev!  You made it!" I said brightly.  I reached for his hand and 
twiddled with his fingers nervously.

He looked at me with a funny expression, "Yeah, I told you I would 
be over soon when we talked about half an hour ago.  Is this not a 
good time?"

"Yeah, it's great, fine," I said.  He continued to stare at me with 
his head cocked to the side as if trying to read my mind and find 
out what I was really thinking.

"Bella?" he asked.

"Damn, not working, huh?"  I sighed.  "It's my dad, Dev.  He's not 
happy that I'm going out with you."

"He doesn't like me?" he asked, surprised.  "He doesn't even know 
me."

I laughed and smiled up at him.  His features smoothed into a happy 
grin to match mine.  "He doesn't have to know you, Mr. Mulder.  You 
are a boy and I am his precious 'baby girl'," I said with a grin.

"Oh, I get it.  I'm a guy, so I'm a threat, right?" 

I smiled and nodded. 

"I'm just a walking bundle of hormones waiting to ravish his baby 
girl?" he growled.

I nodded again, swallowing hard, thinking about our date last night 
and how good his hands and lips had felt on me.

"A walking dick without two brain cells to rub together?" he 
whispered.

"I didn't say that," I whispered back.

"No, I did.  That's how you make me feel, Bella.  I'm so turned on 
by you that I don't know if your father is wrong about you being 
around me."

I blushed and looked into his eyes.  "You are more than your body, 
Devlin Mulder and you know it.  I wouldn't be interested in you if 
you were just great looking."

"Oh, so you think I'm cute?" he teased.  

I could tell he was trying to get us back into safe territory, so I 
played along.  "I wouldn't go that far," I teased.  His face fell 
and I couldn't stick to my tease.  "But you do have a great butt," 
I whispered.  I turned and tugged him towards the house.  Might as 
well get this over with and let him meet the parents.  At least my 
mother was in the living room with Dad right now to help ease 
things.

As we approached the door, I turned back and stepped into his arms.
"Oh, and don't get upset if Dad is kinda touchy about you being 
rich and all," I said.

"Bella!" he groaned.  "I'm not rich, my parents are.  I'm just a 
lucky kid."

"I know, Devlin, I know.  I believe you, but my Dad has issues, you 
know?  Bear with him, okay?  For me?" I pleaded.

Devlin nodded and then started digging in his front pocket.  "Hey, 
I wanted to give this to you," he said.

"What is it?" I asked as I turned it over.  It was a business card 
with the name Buzz written on the back of it.

"It's an agency that specializes in employment services for people 
like your dad," he said.

"What?" I was surprised to find that I was a little defensive even 
now.  "What do you mean, 'like my dad?'," I said.

"You know, guys who know how to do things but don't have a degree--
doers, not professional students.  These guys are good, my Uncle 
Melvin is a friend of that guy Buzz.  He said that they would test 
your father and hook him up with prospective employers."

"Oh," I said, suddenly feeling very small.  I looked up at Devlin 
and saw the gentle smile on his lips. 

"It's okay, Bella.  I understand," he whispered.

I smiled at him and lifted up on my tiptoes to kiss him.  How did 
this guy get to be this old and not have women hanging off him all 
the time?

"Thank you," I said simply.

"You're welcome."

Suddenly the door opened behind me.  "You two going to stand out on 
our front stoop and neck all day or are you coming in like two 
decent young people and introducing your young man to your 
parents?" 
my dad growled.

Devlin opened the storm door and waited until I entered before 
stepping into the entry himself.  My father backed up and I threw a 
pleading look towards my mother, begging for help.

"I'm sorry, sir.  It's my fault.  I'm kinda nervous about meeting 
you.  She was reassuring me that everything would be all right."  
Devlin stuck out his hand and looked my father in the eye.  "Hi, 
I'm Devlin Mulder."

My father was still frowning, but I could tell he appreciated 
Devlin's straightforward apology and approach.  "Vincent Quinci, 
and this is my wife, Sophia," he said.

Devlin shook hands with my mother and smiled at her.  "I can see 
where Bella gets her beauty."

My father laughed out loud, "You better watch it, boy.  She may be 
tiny and she's beautiful, but she packs a mean wallop.  She can 
spot a bull-shitter a mile away."  

My mother smacked my father on the arm and made a censuring noise.  
"Quiet Vince, you'll give him the wrong impression."

"Oh?" my dad said. 

"You'll make him think that I'm some sort of mind reader or 
something," she teased.  She looked directly at Devlin and asked 
seriously, "If I could read your mind, what would I find out about 
you, Devlin Mulder?" 

Dad gave out a belly laugh and hugged her to his side.  "See?  
Gotta watch her every minute."

Devlin blushed and laughed with him.  "I'll remember that, sir."

I was almost ready to sink into the floor in mortification when I 
saw my Nana walking into the room.

"Amperora, e il giovane del Bella.  Devlin, how are you?" Nana 
asked.

"You know this guy, Momma?" my father asked.

"Yes, I was up last night when he brought Bella home.  He's a nice 
young man, Vince.  You could let him into the living room."

She continued to walk into the room and sat in the rocking chair by 
the front window.  "Well?"

My mother hurriedly asked Devlin to come on in and sit for a while.
She asked if anyone wanted something to drink and then asked me to 
come to the kitchen to help.  I threw her a pleading glance but she 
shook her head and nodded at Nana.  I got up to go help.  It wasn't 
going to do any good to argue.  I just hope that the thundering 
herd of my brothers and sisters didn't choose to descend on the 
living room until I got back there.

I hurriedly helped Mom make tea and get the glasses of ice together 
on a tray.  I was surprised when she put out some of the cookies 
that she had baked this morning.  Mom wasn't one to try to impress 
any of the kids I'd brought home before.  I stared at her until she 
looked up and flushed lightly.

"What?  You don't want to make your young man comfortable?" she 
said.

"Yeah, I do, but I'm just surprised," I responded without thinking.

"Why do you say that?" she asked.

I tried to think of a way to tell her what I was thinking without 
sounding like a brat when she continued.  "If your Nana likes him, 
he's must be all right," she said with a shrug.  "Nana is a very 
good judge of character."

"He is a good guy, Mom," I whispered.  I shoved my hands in the 
front pockets of my jeans, feeling uncomfortable talking to her 
about Devlin before she got to know him.  I felt the card in my 
pocket and pulled it out.  "He gave me this for Dad.  It's an 
agency that will help him find a computer job."

"Bella!  You know your father is very touchy about anyone knowing 
about his business," she scolded me.

"I know.  I wasn't talking about Dad's private business.  I just 
felt uncomfortable about his parents being so wealthy and I slipped 
and told him about Dad's unemployment when we arguing about 
college."

"Where did he get this?" she asked.  "I've never heard of these 
people."

"He got it from his Uncles.  They are these really geeky techno 
nerds.  One runs the on-line D&D game Devlin likes so much.  
They've got a lot of contacts in the computer business.  He said 
that that guy, Buzz, would help Dad find something."  I pointed to 
the name written on the card.  "It couldn't hurt, Mom."

My mother sighed, but I could tell she wanted to give it to Dad.  
"Maybe I should give it to him and not tell him it came from you 
until he contacts these people.  If they help we'll let him know 
where the information came from and if it's a dead end, we'll just 
let it drop."

"Okay," I said.  I just wanted to help my father.

"Now, let's get this tea out there before Devlin cuts and runs from 
your father's inquisition," she said with a smirk.

"Oh geez," I blurted and I picked up the tray with glasses to 
return to the living room.  I panicked when I got there and only 
Nana was sitting in her rocking chair.

"Where are Devlin and Dad?" I asked.

Nana just nodded towards the window.  Devlin and my father were 
outside with the hood up on Devlin's car.  I relaxed.  My father 
was a closet mechanic and loved to look at nice cars.  He and 
Devlin were in a lively discussion and I could tell that everything 
was going to be all right.  If he didn't like Dev, he'd be sitting 
in here on the couch glaring at him and not saying a word.

Yep, everything was going just great.


XXXXXXXXXX
MULDER RESIDENCE
FALLS CHURCH, VA
SUNDAY 
JUNE 13 - 5:00 PM

Dad emerged from his office and headed for the kitchen.  "What are 
you doing now, Dad?"

He stopped and turned as he passed me in the living room.  "I was 
going to start dinner.  Wanna help?"

"Yeah."

He smiled, looking surprised and said, "Well, come on, then."

We entered the kitchen and he instructed me to cut up cucumbers and 
tomatoes and carrots for a salad.  He turned on the oven to preheat 
and began laying out noodles and sauce and cheese in a pan for 
lasagna, one of his best dishes.  I cut the vegetables, trying to 
think of a way to broach the subject I wanted to discuss.

Displaying that uncanny intuition of his, he asked, "So what's on 
your mind, Dev?  Spill it."

I chuckled, no longer surprised at his ability to know when I 
wanted to ask him something.  "It's a little embarrassing."

"Shoot," he said calmly, not even looking up.  I think he knew that 
when he looked me in the eye, I had a harder time talking about 
things.

"I have some questions about ... sex," I blurted out.

I glanced sideways and saw the edge of his lips turn up, but that 
was his only reaction.  "What do you want to know?"

"Well, this may sound stupid but, does size matter?"

He couldn't restrain a chuckle then.  "No," he said simply.

"You're sure?  'Cause I know that isn't an issue for you."

He did turn then, after finishing the top layer of cheese in the 
pan.  He leaned casually on the counter.  "Just how do you know 
it's not an issue for me?" he teased.

I couldn't help the slight heat I felt rise up in my cheeks.  "I've 
... uh ... seen you ... excited," I stuttered.

His eyebrows went up.  "Really?" he answered slyly.

"Not what you think.  I've never spied, but um, I've seen you a 
couple times when Mom got you going," I said softly.  "Like, uh, 
this morning."

He chuckled again.  "Well, thank you, Devlin," he said, this time 
the tease was evident in his voice.

"Dad, please!"

He was suddenly somber, realizing I was really worried.  He cleared 
his throat and I knew he was going into his Dr. Mulder mode.  "It 
doesn't matter, Devlin.  It only matters to men and their egos.  
I'll tell you why.  For a woman, ninety-nine percent of the 
pleasure receptors are in the first three to four inches of their 
vaginas," he stated in a very clinical voice.

Now my eyebrows went up.  "Really?"

"Really," he confirmed.  "That's where the majority of the nerve 
endings are.  That's where the G-spot is, that's where the clitoris 
is.  There are a very FEW, and I stress the word, FEW, women that 
respond to deep, pelvic pressure.  That isn't the rule though.  
Those women are rare.  Even those women will also respond to 
regular stimulation of the clitoris or G-spot.  That's where ninety 
percent of their orgasms generate from on a physical level anyway."

I sighed loudly, pushing air out of my lips.  "Oh," I said 
stupidly.

He smiled, but wasn't mocking me when I raised my eyes to his.  
"Are you a virgin, Devlin?" he asked suddenly.

I startled but met his gaze.  "Yes," I said quietly.

That made him smile a bit wider.  "Good," he said.

"I don't think so," I muttered, looking down at the counter.

"Do you think things might go that far with Bella?" he asked 
gently.

I looked at him again and swallowed harshly.  "I hope so," I said.

"You know it's important to use a condom, right?"

"Yes, of course," I said.

"Even if she's a virgin, Devlin, there are pregnancy and STD 
issues."

"I know, Dad.  I'm not stupid," I said slightly defensive.

"I never said you were," he answered mildly.  "I just remember what 
it's like to be a teenager.  In the heat of the moment, it's easy 
to forget, believe me."

I remembered the rush of kissing Bella and feeling her tiny body 
against mine on that couch, and realized he was right.  'I'd kept 
my head, but if she'd been naked, would I have?' I wondered.

"What do you suggest?"

"Discuss it with her beforehand.  That can be awkward, but let her 
know that you have protection for when and if the time comes.  It 
will ease her fears that you will be irresponsible about it, show 
her you care about her future, not just getting off for the 
moment," he said.  "Of course, this predisposes that you are 
prepared," he added with a little grin.

I smiled.  "I can get prepared," I responded.

"See that you do."  He turned and picked up the lasagna, putting it 
into the preheated oven.  "Was there anything else?"

"I'm afraid I won't know what I'm doing," I admitted finally.

He straightened up and shut the oven door and motioned for us to 
sit down at the kitchen table.  We did and he sighed again.  "Is 
there something specific you want to know or just things in 
general?"

"I don't know.  I'm afraid I'll be too eager."

He smiled.  "That's normal and frankly, you might be.  Condoms 
actually can help with that, believe it or not."

"What do you mean?"

"It cuts down your sensitivity, which isn't always a bad thing, if 
you know what I mean?"

"I want to make sure, if it happens, that I ... that it's ... good 
for her," I mumbled.

He took a deep breath.  "Then I recommend a good deal of foreplay.  
Women aren't like us, Devlin, as a rule.  Meaning they don't just 
get aroused instantly and they're ready to go.  They get just as 
excited as us, but it takes them a little longer to get there.  Our 
biggest sex organ is between our legs.  A women's biggest sex organ 
is between her ears.  You know what I'm saying?" he asked.

I nodded.  "I think so."

"They respond to physical stimulation.  However, just the fact that 
you take the time to excite them, touch them, kiss them before you 
dive in goes a long way toward relaxing them and making them feel 
that you really care.  They need to know that you care for their 
pleasure as well as your own.  If you just dive in, it will seem 
like all you care about is getting your rocks off, even if that 
isn't the case."

"I get it," I said, nodding.  It made sense.

"Is she a virgin?" he asked.

"I think so.  I'm ninety-nine percent sure," I said.

"Then you will have to be careful.  When the time comes, go as slow 
as you can until you feel some resistance and then stop and let her 
get adjusted.  How do I say this?" he said, running his hand 
through his hair.  "If she still has her hymen, then you want to go 
through it quickly.  Once you're through it, though, you want to 
hold still until she tells you that it's all right to move.  It 
will hurt her, Devlin.  There's no getting around that.  If you're 
careful and patient though, the pain won't last very long."

"I don't want to hurt her," I said.

"You might not.  She might not have her hymen."

"I know she's a virgin," I blurted out.

He smiled.  "Sex isn't the only thing that can rupture it, Devlin," 
he replied.  "If she's gone for gynecological exams, she may have 
had her doctor break it.  If she's masturbated with toys, she could 
have broken it herself."

I gasped, a sudden picture of Bella on a bed with a dildo between 
her legs flashed through my mind.  I squeezed my legs together, 
willing my erection that was suddenly blooming to go back down.

Dad smiled, obviously knowing what was happening.  "Sorry," he 
muttered.  "I don't know how much to say," he said.

"It's all right.  Just gave me a visual I hadn't thought of 
before," I admitted.

He chuckled, that infuriating, knowing chuckle of his.  I couldn't 
even be mad at him for it.  He was being so forthcoming with me, 
and much better about this than I'd thought.  I expected I might 
have to sit through a lecture first to get the answers to the 
questions I really wanted answered.  So far, there had been no 
lecture.

Finally, after several moments of silence, he said, "Was there 
something else?"

"No, not really," I said hesitantly.

"Do you want me to get you some pamphlets on the female anatomy?"

"No, I've pretty much know what's down there," I joked.

He laughed outright this time.  "I'm sure you do," he responded.

"Thanks Dad," I said.

He looked at me inquiringly, "For what part?"  He was teasing me 
again.

"For not going all 'parent' on me," I said with a shrug.

He sighed and said, "You're welcome, Devlin.  I didn't think that 
was what you needed."

"But you really wanna, huh?"

"Yeah," he said.  "I do."

"Go ahead, Dad.  Lay it on me," I said.  I felt it was a 
magnanimous offer; after all, he'd been straight with me and I 
guess I owed him something.

He stared at me for a moment before he quietly said, "Thanks, but 
no thanks, Devlin.  Your mother and I have tried to teach you about 
things like responsibility and love and commitment your whole life. 
We've lived our lives by the same principles that we've preached.  
If it hasn't sunk in by now, it's too late.  You seem to genuinely 
care for Bella.  The fact that you are worried about her safety and 
her pleasure indicates to me that we've been successful."  He 
smiled at me and started cleaning up the kitchen mess from cooking.

I stared at him for a few minutes, thinking what a lucky bastard I 
was to have him and my mom.  "I talked to the Gunmen today," I 
said.

"Oh yeah?" he queried.  "What about?"

"I wanted to know if they could help Bella's father get a job.  In 
the course of conversation, though, you came up."

He went still and stared at me, not responding.  He was waiting, 
but his stillness was unnerving.  After a few moments, he asked, 
"How so?"

"I was gonna ask them about these things but they said I should ask 
you."

"So you did."

"Yeah, but while we were talking, Uncle Mel mentioned that you've 
had a tough life.  I think it was a slip, but he refused to 
elaborate, and said I should ask you about that too.  What did he 
mean?"

"I don't know," he said.

I stared at him and his eyes got a faraway look I had never seen.  
"Yes, you do," I said plainly.

He jerked his eyes back to mine.  "My childhood wasn't pleasant, 
Devlin.  That's probably what he was referring to, although I'm not 
sure.  He could have been referring to my time as a field agent."

"Why wasn't your childhood pleasant?" I asked, hoping I wasn't 
going to make him angry.  This was obviously a touchy subject.  I 
knew that or Uncle Mel would have talked about it.  The mere fact 
that he insisted I ask my father told me it was something 
important.

His jaw moved from side to side, something he did when he was 
thinking.  He pursed his lips and took a deep breath through his 
nose.  "I had a little sister.  Did I ever tell you that?"

"No," I said simply.

He smiled.  "We were four years apart.  She was a pain in the ass, 
but I loved her."

I smiled.  "Kind of like the twins," I replied.

He nodded.  "I'm sure.  When I was twelve, and she was eight, 
something terrible happened," he said slowly.

I swallowed.  I'd never heard of this sister, an aunt in effect, so 
I assumed she must be dead.  "Did she die?" I asked softly.

"Yes," he said, obviously thinking about how much to say.

"How?  A car accident or something?"

"No, Devlin.  She was abducted."

"Someone kidnapped her?" I asked.

"No, something abducted her.  Later I found out she'd been 
experimented on."

"What?"

"You know those experiments I told you that were done on your 
mother?"

"Yeah," I said, getting a really bad feeling.

"Well, they weren't the only experiments.  Remember Mom telling you 
they cloned you but only to make adults?"

"Yeah," I said again.

"Well, before that time, they cloned children too, and my sister 
was one of them."

"They?" I asked.

"The aliens, the shadow government, both in league together.  I was 
never sure, but I saw her clones.  Later, some tips led me to April 
Air Force base and a hospital where she was taken, and I found her 
diary.  It's a long story, but I'd spent nearly twenty-six years at 
that point searching for her.  Her diary told of how she was held 
and tortured by them under the guise of medical testing.  She ran 
away from her captors to escape the pain.  The account from the 
nurse Scully found that had worked at the hospital where she was 
last seen, confirmed that she died when she was fourteen years 
old."

"Jesus Christ!" I whispered.

He blinked rapidly.  "But that's about her, not me, right?"

"Right, but I can see how that would screw up your childhood, for 
sure."

"If only that were all of it," he said wistfully.

I was continually amazed lately at this man I'd called my father 
for most of my life.  I realized just how little I knew about him 
and his background.  I had taken him for granted and I was feeling 
a twinge of guilt again.  "What happened to you?"

"Well, after Samantha was taken--that was her name, Samantha--
things were never the same.  My parents fought.  My father would 
get drunk and accuse me of 'losing my sister' because 'I was 
supposed to be watching her'.  They took her when we were home 
alone together."


XXXXXXXXXX
PART 13 (R)
MULDER RESIDENCE
FALLS CHURCH, VA
JUNE 13 - 5:30 PM

"What the fuck?" I hissed.

He looked at me.  "Watch your mouth," he said almost absently.  He 
was still a father, even when relating things like this.

"Sorry," I mumbled.

He let it go.  He took another deep breath and met my eyes again.  
"My father beat me, Devlin.  He beat me and was verbally abusive to 
me until I was about fifteen years old.  Then my parents divorced 
and he left.  I left for college two years later and barely saw him 
after that."

"God, I'm sorry!" I breathed out.  "I had no idea!"

"I know you didn't.  It's not something I like to spread around.  
I'd rather leave it in the past where it belongs," he said with a 
shrug of his shoulders.  "Besides, kids don't need to hear that 
stuff."

"I'm not a kid anymore," I reminded him.

He smiled softly.  "No, you're not.  That's why I chose to answer 
you.  I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything to the twins, 
though."

"I won't.  I promise," I said automatically.

"Good, I know I can trust you," he said.  He reached across the 
table and squeezed my hand.  I felt a rush of emotion from him.  
There was a sadness so deep it nearly made me dizzy, followed 
quickly by a sense of relief, and followed again by a wave of 
affection and love. 

I gasped, knowing the sadness was for his sister and the treatment 
he'd received from his father, the relief was for it being in the 
past and for having told me and gotten it off his chest again, and 
the affection and love was for me.  How did I know this?  I have no 
idea, but I did know.  I just KNEW.  I blinked, feeling tears sting 
my eyelids.  A few seconds passed, and I felt an unfamiliar 
sensation coming from him.  I looked into his eyes, his hand still 
lying on top of mine.  

Trust.  He trusted me.  He said softly, "You're a man now, Devlin."

I didn't know what to say, so I said nothing.

"You've grown into such a good man," he continued.  "I'm proud of 
you, you know?" he added, chewing on his bottom lip.

I cleared my throat.  Fox Mulder trusted me.  Again, for no reason 
at all, I just KNEW that this was a big deal and that he didn't 
trust easily.  I felt honored to have that trust and I felt good 
that he was proud of me.  I made myself a promise to try never to 
let him down.  I thought briefly about the journal and my sneaking 
around and reading it and dismissed it.  I had a right to the 
information in there about me and I would never reveal any of their 
private information.  "Thanks for telling me, Dad," I said finally.

"Thanks for listening," he said.  He pulled his hand away and all 
the sensations stopped.  

I nearly gasped again as they were suddenly cut off.  What the fuck 
was going on here?  This was happening more and more lately.  I 
would just know what people were feeling when I was touching them.  
It was starting to unnerve me.  Maybe there was something unique 
about me.  I was an experiment after all.  The idea frightened me, 
that maybe I wasn't normal.  That's all I wanted, was to be normal.  
Something told me that I was never going to be normal, and that 
scared the shit out of me.


XXXXXXXXXX
THOMAS JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL
FALLS CHURCH, VA
MONDAY 
JUNE 14 - 10:00 AM

I sat down at my table in the lab.  I liked my Biology class.  
Science was always a particular interest of mine.  It used a lot of 
math, which I found came easy to me, so that made it even more 
enjoyable.  I arranged my books on the table and looked at the 
beaker and Bunsen burner, wondering what we were going to do today.

I sat alone as usual, not having a lab partner for this class.  
About five minutes into the class, the door burst open and Kathy 
Thiebolt bounced into the room.  "Sorry I'm late," she giggled, 
addressing Mr. Parker, our teacher.  

He frowned.  "Who's your partner?" he asked.

"Tommy Fisk, but he isn't here today," she answered, giving him a 
saccharine smile.

He frowned and pointed at me.  "Then join Ms. Quinci for today, 
please, and be quiet."

She frowned and so did I.  Jesus, I didn't need this.  She bounced 
over and plopped her books on the table.  We shot each other 
disgusted looks and then turned back to the teacher.  The class 
seemed to take forever and I couldn't wait to get out of there.  
Fortunately, we didn't do any experiments and I didn't have to work 
with her.  The bell finally rang and I sighed with relief.  

As I was picking up my books, she slammed into me and everything 
went flying--my papers, my books, my pencils.  I yelped as one of 
my books smashed into my chin before falling loudly to the floor.  
All activity ceased and everyone turned to stare at us.  "You did 
that on purpose," I hissed.

She sneered at me.  "You think you're such hot shit, don't you?"

"No, but apparently you do."  I stooped down to pick up my books.

She said, "What are you doing sniffing around Devlin Mulder?" she 
asked.

Ah, so that was what this was about.  She had a boyfriend though, 
didn't she?  Tommy Fisk, captain of the football team, if I wasn't 
mistaken.  "Why should you care?"

"'Cause he's out of your league, mouse.  No reason why some little 
jerk should come along and take him away from someone who deserves 
him."

"Someone like you?" I asked, standing, once I had my books and 
papers gathered.  'I will not let her get to me,' I mentally 
chanted. 

"Yes.  Sara was making progress 'til you came along," she said, 
nearly spitting in my face.  How attractive.  Sara must be one of 
the little sycophants who followed her around all day.

"Did it ever occur to you that Devlin Mulder is interested in more 
than a nice set of boobs?" I asked sarcastically, no longer able to 
restrain myself.

"What would he want with a little plain Jane like you?  Do you 
honestly think he's genuinely interested in you?  Dream on, IQ!  He 
probably wants help with his homework, and at least I have boobs," 
she spit out as an add-on, as if I should care.

"Yes, your daddy bought you a nice set, didn't he?" I said in a 
sickly sweet tone of voice.  Our entire audience started to laugh.  
"They match the nose he bought last year just fine."  I bit the 
inside of my cheek to keep from laughing with them.  I had seen her 
freshman picture on one of the cheerleading bulletin boards and 
knew that she'd had some surgery done there.

She turned ten shades of red and spat out me, "You little bitch!"  
That first part had been a guess, but from her reaction, I'd 
apparently hit the nail on the head.  I couldn't help the smile 
that tickled the corners of my mouth.  She dropped her books and 
made to swing at me with her open hand.  I backed up in time to see 
Mr. Parker grab her upraised hand from behind.  She struggled 
briefly until she realized who it was.  "Get your hands off me!" 
she shouted.

He dropped her hand and said, "That's quite enough, Ms. Thiebolt.  
No bitch-slapping allowed in my classroom," he intoned.

Everyone laughed again.  I turned on my heel and left, glad to get 
out of there.  Everything went fine until about two and half hours 
later when I was at my locker, looking forward to meeting Devlin 
for lunch period.

I'd just approached my locker and saw Tommy Fisk making a beeline 
for me across the hallway.  'Uh oh, this can't be good,' I thought.
Kathy had said he wasn't in today.  Well, well, she must have been 
covering for him skipping class.  What a bunch of idiots.

"IQ!" he hollered.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and turned away from him to 
face my locker, hoping if I ignored him, he would go away.  No such 
luck.  He grabbed my left bicep and swung me around so forcefully 
that I lost my balance.  Once again, my books tumbled from my right 
arm and as I overcorrected, I fell to the floor, landing hard on my 
knee and sliding a bit on the tile floor.  "Owwwwwwwww, God!" I 
cried out, flopping over onto my ass and grabbing my knee as pain 
flowered underneath my kneecap.

"What the fuck are you doing messing with my girl?" he shouted down 
at me.

I just looked up at him, trying not to cry.  My knee was killing 
me.  "Go away, Tommy.  Let your bubble-headed girlfriend fight her 
own battles!" I spit out.  I knew this was the wrong thing to do.  
I shouldn't let them get to me, but I couldn't help it.  I was sick 
of this shit already.  

"You listen to me, you little brainy bitch.  You better straighten 
up your attitude and stay the fuck away from the cool people or 
you're going find yourself in a world of shit.  No man is ever 
going to look at you twice.  Stay away from Kathy and stay away 
from Devlin Mulder."

I just stared at him, not knowing what to say.

"You leave Kathy alone.  She told me what you said to her," he 
said, losing steam now that I wasn't responding.

"Was I right?" I asked.

This seemed to piss him off even more and he grabbed me by the arms 
and tried to haul me upright.  As soon as I put weight on my leg, I 
nearly fainted from the pain.  I cried out, "Aaahhhh, let go of 
me!"

He shoved and I fell again, twisting to avoid my knee and fell on 
my hip this time.  My hair had slipped almost completely out of its 
tie and was falling all over the place.  I let it hide my face, 
ashamed of the tears that I could no longer hold back.  'Were they 
right?  Was I stepping where I didn't belong?  Should I just leave 
Devlin alone?'  I should have known this would never work.  Was he 
friends with these idiots?  I didn't even know.  

Just then, I heard I heard someone shout, "You fucking bastard!"

I peeked out from under my lashes and saw that a huge crowd had 
formed.  I saw Devlin push about four people out of his way and 
break through the crowd.  It only made me cry harder.  What was he 
going to do?  Now I'd humiliated him in front of everyone.

XXXXXXXXXX

I came around the corner and heard Bella cry out in pain.  I 
couldn't see her because of the crowd that had formed, but I knew 
instinctively that it was her.  Then I heard that asshole, Tommy 
Fisk, yelling at her.

"You listen to me, you little brainy bitch.  You better straighten 
up your attitude and stay the fuck away from the cool people or 
you're going find yourself in a world of shit.  No man is ever 
going to look at you twice.  Stay away from Kathy and stay away 
from Devlin Mulder."

I began pushing my way through the crowd.  Who the fuck was he to 
speak for me?  God, was she going to think I put him up to it?  
What was going on?

Then I heard her cry out again, "Aaahhhh, let go of me!"

That mother-fucker had his hands on her.  I saw red.  In a rage, I 
elbowed and bullied my way through the crowd.  I was tall, which 
helped.  I burst through the front line of the crowd and saw her 
lying on the floor, hair hiding her face, her hands holding her 
knee.  I heard her sob once and completely lost it.

I whirled and grabbed Tommy Fisk by the front of his shirt.  He was 
a few inches shorter than me and I easily outweighed him by thirty 
pounds.  I slammed his back into the lockers, hearing them 
reverberate from the impact.  He gasped as I lifted him up on his 
toes and put my nose in his face.  "Don't you EVER SPEAK FOR ME!" I 
growled.

He paled.  "Devlin, I was just ..." he began.

"I don't give a FUCK what you were doing.  Don't ever include me in 
your mindless little group and think you can speak for me.  So help 
me God, Tommy, you ever touch her again and I'll beat your sorry 
ass so bad your mother won't even recognize you!" I spat.  I heard 
hisses and exclamations of surprise ripple through the crowd.  
"What the fuck is wrong with you, picking on a girl, anyway?  Pick 
on somebody your own size."

"Hey, Dev, I was just trying to ... she attacked Kathy!" he said in 
a desperate attempt to justify his actions. 

"I fucking doubt it," I said derisively.  

I heard Bella swallow a sob again, trying to be quiet.  I slammed 
him into the locker again, pulling him forward and jacking him 
backwards.  I wanted to hit him so bad, but knew it wouldn't do any 
good and probably make things worse.  Besides, Bella needed me. 

I pushed him hard sideways, away from me, and he staggered, a 
couple of his friends catching him and keeping him from falling.  I 
turned and knelt down on one knee next to Bella.  I brushed the 
hair away from her face, oblivious to the crowd.  "Bella, you 
okay?" I asked.

Her face crumpled and she whispered.  "I hurt my knee.  Shit Dev, 
maybe they're right," she murmured.  

"No!" I growled at her.  

She stared at me and fresh tears filled her eyes.  "They're all 
staring at us," she whispered, obviously embarrassed.

"Fuck 'em," I said.

She smiled through her tears.  "How can you say that?  You know you 
care what they think," she said with conviction. 

I felt a dart of anger that she still thought I was that shallow, 
but realized we hadn't been together long enough for her to have 
real evidence to the contrary.  Time to give her some, I thought.  
"No, I don't," I said with just as much conviction.  

I slid my arms under her thighs and back and easily scooped her up 
off the floor.  I turned with her in my arms to face the crowd that 
was still whispering behind their hands.  "Would anyone else like 
to pick on my girlfriend?" I growled loudly and clearly.

More whispers and gasps of surprise.  No responses, though.  

"That's what I thought," I finished.  "Anyone ever touches her 
again, they'll answer to me," I announced.  I spotted Johnny Carter 
in the crowd, one of my friends, and nodded to her books on the 
floor.  He pushed his way in and bent down to scoop them up.  I 
faced the crowd again and hollered, "Out of my way, show's over."

They parted like the red sea and I strode down the hall towards the 
nurse's office with Johnny trailing behind me carrying her books.  
The crowd closed behind us and I could hear them all whispering as 
they finally began to disperse, many of them headed for lunch in 
the cafeteria.  

Bella was crying softly against me, her face buried in my chest.  I 
carried her into the nurse's office and set her on the padded 
bench.  The nurse hurried over, fussing and cooing when she saw 
her.  She shooed us out.  I knew Bella would have to remove her 
jeans.  I stood in the hallway and let her work.  

"Impressive show, bud," Johnny said in his understated way.

I smiled at him.  "That was no show.  I'm crazy about her, Johnny," 
I admitted honestly.

He smirked at me then looked away.  "I never would have guessed."  
We chuckled together.  "She's special, huh?" he asked tentatively.

I nodded.  "She might be the one, Johnny."

"That serious, huh?" he said, still looking down the hall away from 
me.

"Yup," I answered.

We stood waiting in silence for a few moments and then he said, 
"Good for you, bud.  I hope I find someone before I lose the 
ability to get it up."

I laughed again and answered, "I'm sure you will, Johnny."

He sighed and looked at me with good-natured envy.  "Some guys have 
all the luck."

Just then Bella emerged.  "What happened?" I asked.

"I just bruised my kneecap and skinned my knee.  She cleaned the 
scrape, put iodine and gauze on it.  Then she wrapped my knee for 
support.  It's a little swollen."

It hurt, but she could walk on it.  The nurse had given her a 
crutch, adjusted it to her petite stature and told her to use it 
for a couple days and see her own doctor.  We left and I asked, 
"You want me to take you home?"

"How will that look?" she said.

I stopped her gently with my hands on her shoulders.  "I don't give 
a damn, Bella.  You're hurt.  You should go home."

"I don't want them to think I can't stand up to them," she said.

"Did you tell her what happened?" Johnny asked.

Bella darted a glance at me and said, "No use in making things 
worse than they already are.  I told her I fell."

Johnny looked at her with admiration and I glared at him.  I didn't 
need my best friend falling for my girl before she even said she 
was my girl.  "You shouldn't have to stand up to 150 pound football 
players," I said with disgust.

"Thank you for what you did back there," she said quietly.

"Anytime."

"They're going to hate you now.  They're going to try to gang up on 
you."

"Bring it on," I teased.

She frowned.  "I'm serious, Devlin.  These people are nothing to 
mess with."

I put my face down next to hers and stared into her eyes.  "Neither 
am I, Bella."

She looked like she was going to cry again.  "I'm causing all this 
trouble for you.  Now you've lost friends because of me," she said 
in a halting voice.

"Bella, listen to me.  First, you didn't cause a thing.  They 
caused their own trouble.  Second, they were never my friends.  
They like to think they are, but they're not.  I have very few real 
friends."

"Like Johnny?" she asked, looking at him standing a few feet away, 
waiting patiently.

I smiled.  "Yeah, Johnny is really my best friend.  As for Tommy 
Fisk, Kathy Thiebolt and that crew, if I never speak to them again, 
it'll be too soon," I informed her.

She smiled a rare wide smile at me and looked at me from under her 
lashes.  I felt like I'd been gut punched again as her arms slipped 
up my chest and around my neck.  She raised her head and said, 
"What'd I do to deserve you, Devlin Mulder?"

I glanced to the side and saw a couple of Tommy Fisk's friends 
watching, trying to act like they weren't scouting the situation.  
I 
decided to give them a show.

I stared at Bella a second and said, "I don't know.  What'd I do to 
deserve you?" I asked.

"You're crazy, Devlin," she whispered.

I bent down and touched her lips softly.  I whispered, "I'm crazy 
about you, Bella."  Then I kissed her, laying my mouth over hers 
and sliding my tongue into her mouth.  I felt her sore knee bob, 
and I picked her up easily with one arm around her waist and 
propped her gently against the wall, but kept kissing her deeply.

I felt an incredibly strong wave of love, infatuation, and sexual 
arousal fly through me.  I knew it was coming from her.  I crushed 
her to me, ever cognizant of her hurt knee.  I felt her nipples 
harden through her flimsy tee shirt and bra and my cock hardened in 
response.  A wave of desire made me groan right into her mouth.  I 
was feeling what she felt.  This was incredible.

She pushed feebly on my chest and I finally broke the kiss, putting 
my forehead on hers.  I glanced sideways again and saw the two 
buffoons scuttle out of site into a classroom.  I turned my 
attention back to her.  "You're mine, Isabella Quinci.  Don't 
forget it.  No more nonsense about me 'losing' friends over you.  
If someone doesn't want to hang out with me because of whom I 
choose for a girlfriend, then I don't want them for a friend 
anyway."

She smiled sadly.  "Girlfriend," she whispered.  "I like the sound 
of that."

I smiled at her and kissed her on the nose, willing my erection 
away, knowing if I kissed her again, I was going to end up 
masturbating in the bathroom.  "Yes, and you tell anyone who asks 
that I'm your boyfriend.  Got it?" I teased.

She smiled now, the sadness lifting, and nodded shyly.  "Got it," 
she said softly.

I turned to Johnny and said, "Help me get her books back to her 
locker."

He was blushing but nodded, motioning to her books he held.  "Hey, 
what did you say to Kathy that pissed her off so royally, anyway?" 
he teased.

TITLE:          TRUCKIN' 2: KEEP ON TRUCKIN' Part 6 of 10

XXXXXXXXXX

This was unbelievable to me.  I looked in the bathroom mirror and 
smiled at myself.  I took a deep breath.  Devlin Mulder was my 
boyfriend!  He'd said it.  He'd called me his girlfriend and said 
'You are MINE.'.  

I splashed some cold water on my face and patted it dry with a 
paper towel.  I took a brush out of my book bag, which I had 
retrieved from my locker after our little talk.  I ran it through 
my hair, looking at the high color in my cheeks.  I'd left it down.  
It had fallen out of my scrunchie during my struggle with Tommy 
anyway.  Devlin had pulled it off the last two inches of my hair 
after getting to my locker and discreetly tucked it into his 
pocket.  He'd said, "I love your hair down."

That's it, simple, direct, to the point.  I put my brush back and 
ran my fingers through it.  I had to admit the new cut was nice.  
It made it fall in big full layers.  I'd never liked my hair.  It 
had always been too dark and too thick and too 'ethnic' to be cool 
at my other school.  Knowing Devlin did, though, somehow made me 
like it too.  I fluffed it up a little with my fingers and sighed.  
The door opened and a girl came in.  She was another one who looked 
like she belonged to the Blonde Squad, as I called them.  I 
stiffened automatically and reached for my crutch that was leaning 
against the wall between the sinks.  I hiked my backpack up higher 
on my shoulder ready to leave.  I made to move around her when she 
said, "Isabella?"

I stopped and turned to look at her.  I wasn't sure which one this 
one was, but I did know she hadn't been in the crowd that accosted 
me that time in the gym.  "Yes?"

She stuck out her hand.  "Jenny Quigley," she introduced herself.

I shifted my bag again and held out my hand, shaking hers briefly.  
"To what do I owe the privilege?" I asked, sorry to hear the 
sarcasm in my voice, but unable to suppress it totally.

She frowned.  "Look, I know what they did to you.  Just for the 
record, I think it's awful," she said.

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.  Why was she saying this?  
Because she knew I was with Devlin?  If that was the only reason, I 
didn't want her as a friend.  Not that I could afford to be turning 
any away.  I really hadn't made any girlfriends since I'd been 
there.  Finally I asked, "Are you a cheerleader?" 

I tried to make it sound like an innocent question.  She laughed.  
"No, as a matter of fact I'm not."

"How come?" I asked.

"I'm not quite as short as you, but I'm not tall enough according 
to the unwritten code," she said sarcastically.

I smiled.  "What's the code?" I asked.

"Oh, you know," she began.  "You have to be at least five feet, 
eight inches tall, have at least a C-cup on your chest, no visible 
scars, and look like you're starving to death," she rattled off.

I burst out laughing and she laughed with me.  I might grow to like 
this girl.  "Thanks, I needed that," I murmured.  "So you're not 
one of Kathy's friends?" I asked tentatively.

"Hardly," she said with sarcasm.  "I've had my own run-ins with 
those bitches.  That was quite a dramatic entrance Devlin made 
though," she commented.

I looked down.  "He surprised me, that's for sure."

"It's obvious he's crazy about you."  I didn't know what to say.  
"Where are you headed?" she said, changing the subject.

"Lunch, I didn't get any yet.  Ms. Poliquin said I could skip 
English Lit to get something to eat.  I guess she heard what 
happened.  I got there and she gave me my assignment and told me to 
go get lunch.  Of course, Kathy's in that class too.  That might 
have something to do with it."

Jenny giggled.  "I have lunch now, too, C-period.  Can I join you?"

"Sure, why not?" I asked.

We spent an amazingly fast half hour eating and talking.  I 
realized that the reason I'd not met her before was that she was 
what was called an Arts major.  I was heavy on science and math.  
She was scheduled with college prep courses too, but they were 
liberally sprinkled with art and English classes.  After a few 
moments of silence she asked, "So do you know Johnny Carter?"

I grinned at her.  "Not really.  I just found out today that he's 
one of Devlin's best friends.  Why?" I asked coyly.

Her cheeks turned pink.  "God, I can't even figure out how to talk 
to him.  How did you approach Devlin?"

I laughed and told her I didn't.  I told her the story of him 
rescuing me in the gym.  At the end, we exchanged phone numbers and 
headed to our next classes, promising to call each other and get 
together outside of school.  She lived about a mile away from me.  
If it was warm, we could even walk to each other's houses.  My knee 
was killing me, my chin hurt, and my butt ached.  I hadn't felt 
this happy and content in years.


XXXXXXXXXX
PART 14 (NC-17)
THOMAS JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL
FALLS CHURCH, VA
MONDAY 
JUNE 14 - 3:00 PM

As promised, Devlin met me at the front doors of the school right 
at 3:00 PM.  He asked if I'd like to come over for dinner at his 
house, saying he'd already called and asked his parents.  I said 
yes, but I would have to ask my parents.  He drove me home and 
waited while I checked with my father and changed into a soft pair 
of sweatpants.  My jeans had been killing my knee.  Then he helped 
me hobble back out his car.  He was driving a beige Audi Quattro 
convertible.  No one had to tell me it was a $44,000 car.  

He saw me looking and said, "My mom's car this time."

"She lets you take this to school?" I asked.

He smiled.  "They cancelled classes for some administrative 
meetings or something and she didn't need to go in today."

"Oh," I said, sounding and feeling stupid, not knowing what to say.

We drove in silence all the way to his house.  He got out and I 
remained sitting, staring at the gargantuan house in front of us.  
It looked even bigger and grander in the daylight.  He came around 
to my side and opened the door.  "You okay?" he asked, sounding 
concerned and anxious.

I smiled at him.  "Yeah, just a little overwhelmed," I said.

"It's been a long day," he said.

"One of the longest," I replied.  He helped hoist me to my feet and 
bent over to get my crutch out of the back seat and handed it to 
me.

We went into the house and I was smacked in the face with the smell 
of cooking pot roast and potatoes.  My stomach growled and he 
laughed.  "Oh, I'm sorry!" I gasped.

He grinned and said, "Guess we need to feed that thing, huh?"

We laughed together as he helped me to the couch in the living 
room.  Memories of my last trip to this couch flitted across my 
mind and I blushed.  I looked up to find him staring at me and I 
blushed harder.  He smiled and waggled his eyebrows.  "I'm always 
going to think of that when I sit on this couch now, you know?" he 
whispered.

I looked down.  "Yeah," I said softly.

We were interrupted by the whooping and shrieking of two children 
as they raced down the stairs and grabbed the end of the banister 
to jump the last couple of stairs to the hardwood floor.  "Hey!" 
Devlin shouted.  "Not in your stocking feet, you know the rules!" 
he barked, as I watched the boy skid across the floor like he was 
skating.  

I looked up to find Devlin shaking his head and grinned.  The kids, 
whom I guessed to be eleven or twelve had stopped dead and were 
staring at me.  "Hi!" I said shyly, waving at them.  

Devlin grinned again.  "MacKenzie and Mairin, this is my 
girlfriend, Bella," he introduced me.  "Bella, these are the twin 
terrors, Mac and Mairin."

I laughed as they walked over and said, "Nice to meet you," in 
unison.  I laughed again, taken off guard.  

Devlin chuckled.  "They do that a lot, you get used to it."

"Nice to meet you too," I said, smiling.  They looked like Mr. 
Mulder.  Both had olive colored skin, dark hair and green eyes.  
They were beautiful kids.  

Mac, as Devlin had just called him, said, "It's a bloomin' 
miracle."

Devlin shot him a look and said, "Watch it, little bro."

Amused now I said, "What's a miracle, Mac?  May I call you Mac?"

"Yup, everyone does," he said matter-of-factly.  "It's a miracle 
Devlin has a girlfriend."

I laughed outright now.  "Oh, I don't know.  Lots of girls like 
him, Mac.  In fact, I was surprised he picked me," I said 
seriously.

Mac furrowed his brows and said, "You're kidding?  He sucks with 
women.  I keep trying to teach him, but he won't listen."

I burst out belly-laughing then.  I couldn't help it.  Devlin 
barked, "You're toast, MacIntosh!"  He lunged for him.  The twins 
both squealed and ran away, heading for the kitchen.

Devlin stopped by the door, hanging his head before turning back to 
me.  After a deep breath he said, "See, I told you.  Even my little 
brother thinks I'm a dud."

I was still giggling and he smiled at me.  I heard Mr. Mulder 
holler from the kitchen.  "Soup's on!"

He held out his hand and I took it.  He hauled me upright and 
placed my crutch under my arm.  He walked slowly beside me as we 
made our way to the kitchen.  I frowned at the crutch as I hobbled 
clumsily into the kitchen.  So much for making a good impression, I 
thought.

XXXXXXXXXX

The next week was bizarre.  All kinds of girls I didn't know were 
suddenly coming up to me and trying to make friends.  Everyone 
wanted to be friends with Devlin Mulder's girlfriend, I guess.  
Underneath their simpering apologies, I knew they were all just 
jealous.  None of them could figure out how I had snagged the 
enigmatic Devlin Mulder, whom none of them, with all their so-
called charms, could snag.  

They didn't dare pick on me anymore.  I guess Devlin's threats had 
their desired effect.  They would subtly try to ask me how I did 
it, and I would just smile and walk away.  I'd only needed the 
crutch for two days.  I limped slightly for two more, but then felt 
back to normal.  

These bitches weren't willing to be my friends before, and they 
weren't going to be now.  'Fuck 'em,' as Devlin had said.  Jennifer 
Quigley was another matter.  We quickly became recognized as best 
friends.  Jen had started dating Johnny, Devlin's best friend, 
after I arranged an introduction.  She'd had a crush on him for 
over a year and didn't know how to approach him.  I told Dev and he 
laughed.  Apparently Johnny was totally in lust with Jennifer and 
had been since fifth grade.  It didn't take too much for us to get 
those two together.

The school had dubbed us Q squared.  Quigley and Quinci, get it?  
Ha fucking ha.  That didn't matter to me though.  I was happier 
than I had ever been.  I didn't like it that Devlin had had to 
fight my battle for me.  On the other hand, I was relieved that I 
no longer felt I had to walk around in fear of being accosted.  
That got tiring really fast.  Now that I didn't have to feel that 
fear, I realized how much it had consumed my life, inside and 
outside of school.  Deep down I had believed what they said about 
me.  Devlin was changing that.  I wore my hair down all the time 
now, except when I had to be in physical education class, or it was 
a really hot day.  Then I put it up in a ponytail and let the front 
bangs hang loose.

Devlin made me feel pretty for the first time in my life.  For that 
alone, I loved him with a fierceness that was, at times, scary.  
Considering I hadn't known him long, it was even scarier.  True to 
his word, he didn't hide the fact that he was with me.  He thought 
nothing of sneaking up on me in the hallway in between classes, 
grabbing me and kissing me senseless.  He never seemed to care who 
was watching, as long as we didn't get in trouble with the 
teachers.


XXXXXXXXXX
THOMAS JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL
FALLS CHURCH, VA
FRIDAY 
JUNE 18 - 3:00 PM

"Devlin!" Bella shouted as I stood next to the car in the school 
parking lot waiting for her.

I turned and saw her trotting down the sidewalk toward me, her 
ponytail flopping behind her.  I smiled, taking in her torn jeans 
and tight tee shirt.  She had only recently started wearing these 
more revealing clothes and I wasn't complaining at all.  She'd 
really come out of her shell.  I was glad.  I also noticed that 
some of her former detractors were finally seeing what I saw in 
her.  She wasn't hiding her cute shape under bulky clothes anymore.

I braced myself as she launched herself into my arms.  I easily 
lifted her into the air and she wound her legs around my waist.  I 
groaned under my breath and leaned my ass on the hood of the car as 
I felt my cock start to harden.  She was going to be the death of 
me.  "Need a ride home?" I asked.

She stuck out her bottom lip.  "I thought we were going out later 
tonight?"

"We are.  Don't pout," I admonished and leaned forward to nip her 
bottom lip gently with my teeth.

She smiled.  "Do I need to change?" she asked.

I leaned her away from me and scanned her chest, waggling my 
eyebrows.  She blushed and leaned forward, burying her face in my 
neck.  "Stop that!" she hissed.

I chuckled.  "Why?" I asked innocently.

She mock-punched me in the arm.  "They're staring at you," she 
said.

I shook my head and pulled back so she had to face me.  "No, Bella.  
They're staring at YOU.  They're all looking at your sexy little 
body and wondering how they missed it before.  They're all kicking 
themselves in the nuts, they're so jealous of me right now."

"You!" she said, obviously not believing me, but she laughed.  "Put 
me down."

I let her slid down my body slowly.  She gasped when she felt my 
erection.  "Stay there a minute," I said with a straight face.

She pressed her lips together tightly, obviously amused.  "Have a 
problem there, Mr. Mulder?" she asked.

"Why yes, Ms. Quinci.  I have this gorgeous little nymph who likes 
to climb me like I'm some sort of monkey bars," I said to tease 
her.

"This is a problem?" she teased right back.

Did I mention that I really liked this new Bella?  I leaned down 
and whispered into her ear.  "Only because she makes me so hard I 
ache," I husked into her ear.

She gasped and pulled back, her cheeks flushing pink.  "Let's get 
out of here," she said.  

"Good plan," I replied.  She laughed and ran around to the 
passenger side of the car and slid in.  I was driving Dad's 
Mercedes today.

"So, where are we going tonight?  Do I need to change?"

"Nope, you're fine," I said as I started the car and backed out of 
my parking space.  

As I pulled out onto the street, she said, "Where are we going?"

"My place," I said.


XXXXXXXXXX
MULDER RESIDENCE
FALLS CHURCH, VA
FRIDAY 
JUNE 18 - 3:30 PM

Mom and Dad, as I suspected, were not home when we arrived.  Mom 
had left work early and was going to meet Dad at the soccer field.  
Both the twins were playing in separate games.  When they could, 
one of them went to each field to watch them play, so neither of 
the twins felt left out.  The games always went for at least two 
hours each and then another half an hour to get home.  So I knew we 
had until at least 6:00 PM before they got home.

"Where is everyone?" Bella asked when I unlocked the door and we 
went inside.

"The twins had soccer games.  My parents went to watch," I said.

"So we have the place to ourselves?" she asked.

I smiled and nodded.  "Yes, and I'd like to show you something you 
missed on your last trip here," I said.

"What's that?" she asked coyly.

"My bedroom," I said, surprised how husky my voice came out.

She licked her lips nervously.  "Devlin, I don't know," she said 
tentatively.

I smiled and took her hand.  "Don't worry, it's just my room.  We 
won't do anything you don't want to do.  Do you trust me?" I asked.

She smiled and nodded.  "Yes," she said softly.

"Then come on.  I'll give the dime tour of the second floor."

I held her hand as we ascended the stairs.  I showed her my 
parent's room briefly, each of the twin's rooms and the full 
bathroom with the Jacuzzi in the bathroom.  I'd had fantasies about 
making love to her in that Jacuzzi.  I saved my room for last.  By 
then, she was more relaxed.  I hadn't simply dragged her into my 
room and thrown her on the bed, although the idea had merit.  

I tried to remember what my dad had said about making sure the 
woman knew you cared about her and about taking your time.  Damn, 
it was hard though, no pun intended.

I finally swung the door open to my room.  "Ta da," I said with 
mock enthusiasm.  She walked in slowly and looked around, taking in 
the decor, which included my Queen-sized bed, walk-in closet, desk 
and chair, a bureau and a nightstand, and a bookshelf.

"It's nice and big," she said.

I smiled and waved toward the bed.  She sat on the edge of it and I 
didn't sit yet, wanting her to relax.  "It's not fancy," I said.

"Lots more than I have," she said, sounding a bit sad.  

"None of that, Ms. Quinci, we agreed.  No more comparing, 
remember?"

She sighed and bit her bottom lip.  She nodded and looked around.

"Did you really just want to show me your room?" she asked shyly.

"No.  Yes.  I guess," I said.  I wanted to talk to her about 
things, but I wasn't sure how to start.

She looked worried, like she already knew what I was trying to find 
a way of saying, but didn't leave.

"Bella, I want you to know that I respect you," I said.  "I've been 
brought up to respect all women."

"You do?" she asked.

"Yeah, and I won't do anything that can screw up our lives.  After 
all, we've got years of school before us, don't we?"  I said with a 
nod.

"Yes, we do," she said firmly, but smiled up at me with so much 
love in her eyes, she almost brought me to my knees.  My expression 
must have become intense again because she was back to biting her 
lip.

I couldn't resist anymore and took my thumb, worrying her lip until 
it slipped out of her teeth.  I bent over and kissed her, easing 
her back onto the bed.  I lifted up and said, "Lie back on the 
bed."  My voice was nearly a growl again.  

She did as I asked, looking a little scared.  She lay back on the 
pillows and looked up at me, still standing.  "Do you know how many 
times I've fantasized in the last week about seeing you lying there 
on my bed?" I asked.

She smiled and blushed.  "No."

"Just about every day," I admitted.

"Devlin, God, what are we doing?" she asked.

I crawled slowly onto the bed and stretched out beside her on my 
side, supporting my head on my hand and my weight on my elbow.  I 
placed my hand on her stomach and she tensed, but then relaxed when 
I didn't move it.  "I don't know, Bella, but it feels better all 
the time," I said.

I rolled onto my back and motioned for her to come close to me.  
"What do you want me to do?" she asked.

"Don't ask me that," I teased.

She grinned and I took her hands, leading her until she hovered 
over me.  "Tell me," she said.

"Straddle me," I managed to get out.  We were still fully clothed, 
so I figured this was pretty safe.

She swung her leg over my waist and carefully lowered herself down.
When her hot center made contact with my cock, it surged to life as 
blood rushed into it.  I moaned, "Oh God, Bella.  Do you know what 
you're doing to me?"

She hummed in the back of her throat.  I knew she felt it when she 
swiveled her hips in a small, delicate circle, making my cock 
harden fully and press into her.  "Making you horny?" she 
suggested.

I grinned at her.  "You always make me horny," I admitted.

She leaned down and cupped my face in her tiny hands.  "Good," she 
said simply.  Then she laid her mouth across mine.

XXXXXXXXXX NC-17 PORTION XXXXXXXXXX

My hands skimmed up and down her back as I kissed her.  Then I slid 
them down to cup her rear end and pull her against my groin, 
grinding against her.  She had kicked off her shoes and was laying 
her body across my torso.  I gasped as I felt her breasts crushed 
against my chest.  Her hips squirmed and tormented my now blazing 
erection that was so hard it was tight up against my stomach.

I slipped her sideways until she was lying on her side.  I cradled 
her head on my biceps.  My hand skimmed over her waist and up her 
ribs.  I paused and looked at her.  She didn't stop me so I slid my 
hand up and gently cupped her breast through her tee shirt.

"Oh God," she whimpered when I squeezed gently.  

I leaned down to kiss her again, my thumb roving over her breast in 
a quest to find her nipple.  She gasped loudly and I assumed I'd 
found it, so I rubbed my thumb back and forth over that spot.  She 
arched her back, pushing her breast into my hand and I felt my 
blood begin to sing.  I was losing myself in the touch and smell of 
her.  She smelled like apples and cinnamon and I loved it.  I hated 
those cloying perfumes that hung in the air around the girls in 
school, making them smell like a jar of vanilla extract.

I reluctantly let go of her mouth, but moved to kiss her eyelids, 
her cheeks, her nose, and then moved down to lick and kiss her long 
neck.  She was squirming against me again.  Her tee shirt had come 
untucked from her jeans and had hiked up around her torso, exposing 
her midriff.  Before I knew what I was doing, my hand had 
unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans.  My hand was sliding into the 
waistband and then into her underwear to her treasure hidden 
underneath.  My fingers felt the wiry curls between her legs and I 
paused, gazing into her eyes.  Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes 
wide and she was panting gently.  I'd gotten this far with a girl 
once before but I hadn't been nearly this excited.  

I'd never, however, gotten farther than this, never actually been 
able to feel below.  My dick was hard as a rock.  I'd told her I 
wouldn't push.  This was only our second time alone together, 
completely alone, for Christ's sake.  We'd been making out plenty 
in school and out, but this was different, really different.  I 
panted and closed my eyes, trying to calm my libido.  It was no 
use.  Her hands slid over my nipples.  Even through my polo shirt, 
bolts of electricity shot down my torso and lodged in my privates, 
making my balls coil and pull up tight.  "God, Bella.  Should I 
stop?" I managed to croak out.

She looked at me for several moments and then her hand slowly came 
down on top of mine and began pushing me deeper into her panties.

"Oh Je ... sus," I stuttered as my fingers curled under hers.  She 
spread her legs, pulled her jeans down and off her legs.  Then she 
guided my hand to her juncture.  I felt giddy looking at her bare 
legs, muscular but trim.

I moaned softly when I felt the slick wetness of her folds.  
Technically, I knew this happened, but I'd never felt it and the 
feeling was overwhelming.  It was like foamy silk and I rubbed 
gently.  She hissed and I felt her lips open to each side of my 
finger.  

I gently pressed my middle finger against her opening and felt my 
head spin as it slid around the edges, pausing before I continued 
back up to play with her clit.  She groaned and I could tell that 
she had enjoyed the exploration of her nether lips.  I moved back 
down and began to press into her, wanting to feel her heat all 
around my finger, but she tightened up her muscles and pulled her 
hips away from my hand.

"Bella?" I asked.  "Are you afraid?"

"No.  Yes.  I don't know," she moaned.

"Do you want to wait?" I asked quietly, even as I was praying that 
she wouldn't say yes.

"No, just ... I don't want to do that today, okay?" she said as she 
blushed.

"You want me to stop?  Do you want us to go back downstairs and 
find something else to do?"  I wanted to give her every opportunity 
to decide what was going on here.  It was her body and if she 
wanted to share it with me, I was going to be the luckiest S.O.B. 
in the world.  If she wanted to wait, I would.  No matter how hard 
or how painful it would be, I would wait.

She buried her face in the corner on my shoulder and neck.  I could 
feel the heat of her blush and the soft puffs of her breath as she 
tried to even out her breathing.

"I want you, Devlin, I just don't know if I can go that far this 
soon.  Does that make sense?"  She looked up at me with her liquid 
brown eyes and I knew I was lost.

"Yeah, it does," I said as I moved to pull away.

"No, don't go," she said as she grasped my hand and pulled me back 
over to her.  She held my hand and slid it back into her panties.  

I let my fingers play with her curls on the way down to touch her 
sex again.  I could feel how wet she was for me and knew that as 
much as she wanted to go further, it was all new and scary to her.  
Little did she know what a new experience this was for me, too!

I gently pressed my middle finger against her opening and then slid 
it around her again.  Seeing my hand move under her panties was 
unaccountably exciting to me.  Her muscles tightened when I got too 
far in, but the shiver of excitement that raced through her body 
let me know she enjoyed it as much as she feared going forward.

"Bella?" I asked, not wanting to push too hard or too far and yet, 
never wanting anything this badly in my entire life.

"Wait," she whispered, and I stilled my hand.

Next thing I knew she was undoing the clasp and unzipping the 
zipper of my tan khaki's.  I felt a wave of dizziness and thought I 
was going to pass out.  Holy shit, I was hyperventilating!  I held 
my breath as her tiny hand spread out the fabric of my pants, 
revealing my boxers to her gaze.  Meanwhile, my finger lay 
motionless against her, itching to move.

Her tiny hand maneuvered the fly of my boxers with only a slight 
tremor and her fingers wrapped around my bulging shaft and pulled 
it out of the hole in front.  I groaned out loud, "Oh fuucckk."

She was touching me!  Touching my cock!  Her eyes got even bigger 
if that's possible and she gently stroked my shaft.  It was 
twitching and throbbing in her hand, so hard it was almost painful

I was on my side facing her, her head still on my biceps.  Her 
other hand came up and slid inside my pants, cupping my balls 
through my boxers.  I bucked involuntarily and my fingers pinched 
her clit.

She gave a little yip and began to stroke my cock as I began a 
steady stroking of her clit.  After a minute or so, we were both 
moaning and gasping.  We didn't need to be quiet, as no one was 
here.  I just had to keep an eye on the time.  I simply couldn't 
believe we were doing this right here on my bed.  I was going to 
have enough memories to fill my nights away from her for many a 
week, or at least until we were together again. 

Then I experienced that power outage I'd wondered about.  Her body 
stiffened and her hand gripped my rock hard cock tighter and she 
stroked hard and firm from tip to base.  White lights flashed 
behind my eyelids as I closed my eyes tight and went with the 
feeling.

It was all over.  I found my voice at the last minute.  "Oh Christ 
Almighty, Bella, you're gonna make me come!" 

I sped up my motions with my hand, feeling the waistline of her 
panties bite into my wrist.  I didn't care, there was no way I was 
removing my hand.  A couple more strokes for both of us were all it 
took and I felt her legs clamp together at the same time she began 
to shake and quiver.  All I could think about was how fantastic it 
would feel to have her clamping down on my cock with her heat.  The 
sensation was unbelievable.  She turned head and pressed her lips 
against my arm.  She whimpered again and then I felt as much as 
heard her whispered "Oh God, Devlin!  Yes!  Yesss ..."

I could feel her orgasm rip through her whole body as she rocked 
against my hand and the intensity of it drove me wild.  My balls 
spasmed harshly and I bucked my hips.  I knew nothing for next 
couple seconds as my cock throbbed and ejaculated all over her 
hand.  "Belllaa!  Oh God!" I hissed through clenched teeth.

We finally deflated against one another.  I was stunned and 
sweating.  She turned her face slowly up to meet mine as I 
carefully extracted my hand from her panties.  My fingers were 
dripping wet.  I briefly considered wiping them on my pants and 
then put them in my mouth instead. 

She gasped as she watched me and I tasted her tangy flavor as it 
flowed off my fingers and into my mouth.  I hummed over the taste 
and licked them clean.  I looked down again to find her eyes 
riveted on my fingers and mouth.  I buried my hands in her hair and 
pulled her against me.  I kissed her tenderly, unwilling to let go 
of this contact just yet.

XXXXXXXXXX END NC-17 PORTION XXXXXXXXXX

I felt my cock slowly going soft and reached down to tuck it back 
into my pants.  I was relieved she hadn't laughed or seemed at all 
disappointed in what she saw.  That's when I noticed the glob of 
sperm on her tee shirt.  "Oh geez, Bella."

She looked down, following my line of sight and chuffed out a 
laugh.  "Guess I better clean that up before I go home, huh?"

I kissed her again and then leaned back.  "Yeah, I think most of it 
landed on the bedspread," I said.

She held up her hand and I saw some there too.  I gingerly 
extricated myself from the bed and helped her stand.  She held her 
hand out and made a face.  I laughed softly.  I couldn't help it.  
"Come on, bathroom's over here."

She followed me into the hall and on to the bathroom.  I wet a 
washcloth with warm water and cleaned off her tee shirt and her 
hand.  While she washed her hands, I pulled my shirt off, deciding 
not to bother.  I would just change it.  "Oh God!" I exclaimed when 
I saw a small blob in her hair.  I picked up the lock of hair and 
carefully wiped it off with the washcloth.  

She busted out laughing.  I joined her and she said, "Oh God, if I 
had walked in my house ... with that ... in my hair!" 

She couldn't finish.  Her laughter was slightly hysterical, and I 
pulled her into my arms, embracing her gently.  Her arms went 
around my waist and we stood there like that for a bit.  I turned 
and sat my butt against the counter, bringing me lower.  I pulled 
her between my legs.  

My hand cupped her neck and I pulled her in for another kiss.  She 
returned it, gently nipping at my lips.  "God, Bella.  That was 
incredible," I whispered.

"Yeah, it was.  I didn't mean to get that carried away."

"Me neither."

"We have to be careful.  I'm not quite ready for ... all the way 
yet."

"I understand," I replied.  "I didn't expect this."

"I'm not on the pill, Devlin," she said out of the blue.

"I know.  I didn't think you would even want to be," I responded.

"You've thought about this?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said and hugged her.  "Oh, yeah."

"So," she hesitated, "Exactly what did you think we would use if 
I'm not on the pill?"

I was surprised at her momentary boldness so I answered honestly, 
"When and if the time comes that we need to worry, Bella, I will 
take care of you.  You mean too much to me to risk our future for a 
little pleasure."

She sighed and then pulled away, I could see a teasing light in her 
eyes, "So it would be a 'little' pleasure?"

I growled at her and grinned.  I knew that she was teasing me.  Her 
response to my cock had left no residual concern about my size and 
had been very good for my ego.  I pulled her to me for another long 
lingering kiss.  We ended the kiss and stood there trying to catch 
our breaths.

Her hands unwound from my back and she began letting them roam over 
my bare chest.  She panted softly as I tried to hold still, letting 
her explore.  Her hands were small and warm and I felt my cock 
rising again.  She sighed and ceased her movements.  She looked at 
me from under her lashes.  "Your body is gorgeous," she said.

I smiled.  "Thank you, yours isn't so bad, either," I said.

"So I was thinking," she said.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Somehow I never thought about satisfying each other without having 
... intercourse," she blurted out.

I smiled.  "There is more than one way to skin a cat," I said.

"Gross analogy, but I get your point," she threw back.

"There're lots of other things we can try," I said.

"Like what?" she said.

I put a finger to my lips and slowly lowered it to her panties, 
tapping her mound.  Her eyelids fluttered and she gasped out a 
small, "Oh!"

I grinned.  I tapped her lips and tapped my groin.  Her eyes got 
big.  "Lots of things," I repeated.

"You would do that to me?" she asked.  "I thought guys hated that."

"Only 'cause they're afraid they'll suck at it, no pun intended."

She laughed.  "You, obviously, do not have this fear," she stated.

"I didn't say that," I shot back.

"You would do it anyway?"

"For you, Bella, I'd risk it," I said.

"What about me?  What if I'm afraid I won't be any good at it?" she 
asked softly.

"Bella, Bella, Bella," I said, shaking my head.  "Didn't anyone 
ever tell you?" I asked.

She shook her head.  "What?"

"There's no such thing as a bad blowjob," I informed her.

We both cracked up then and made our way back to the bedroom.  She 
slipped her jeans back on.  We had my room cleaned up and were in 
the living room drinking iced tea and playing Scrabble by the time 
my folks and the twins got home.  She stayed for dinner again after 
calling her parents and then I drove her home.


XXXXXXXXXX
PART 15 (PG-13)
MULDER RESIDENCE
FALLS CHURCH, VA
TUESDAY 
JUNE 22 - 2:00 AM

That night's reading gave me more information than I'd ever 
imagined stumbling onto when I began this little adventure.  I knew 
my parents had their secrets, but what I was reading was 
unbelievable at first glance.  The more I thought about it, though, 
it all made sense.  

My father was infected with the dreaded black oil virus in a gulag 
in Russia!  The vaccine they used caused him to develop an antibody 
to it.  Previously, my mother was able to save him when he had been 
exposed to the toxic fumes of one of the aliens blood.  She had 
kept him hypothermic and flooded him with experimental antivirals 
and blood transfusions.  She had rushed to his side to save his 
life after he had been airlifted to a hospital in Alaska from 
somewhere in the Arctic Circle.

Further on, I found even weirder stuff than that.  My mother had 
branched DNA in her system left over from her three-month abduction 
and it had almost killed her.  Jesus!  Years later, my father had 
actually rescued her from becoming an incubator for an alien in 
Antarctica after a bee sting!  He said they were in a space ship; 
she said it was an illegal testing facility.  They both agreed that 
it housed alien testing.  He had given her a shot with a substance 
that one of the Consortium members told him was a weak vaccine.  He 
had been so desperate to save her that he had trusted the enemy.

The combination of their blood antibodies and their consent to use 
the twins' stem cells and my blood was a fulcrum upon which THE 
VACCINE was created that literally had saved the whole world from 
the alien invasion.  It got more incredible still.  They had both 
been granted the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor 
civilians could receive.  Although FBI, their contribution of their 
children's DNA was considered a personal sacrifice.  

They never told me.

They never told anyone as far as I knew.  I wondered if Gramma 
knew, or my uncles.  I would bet money Uncle Bill and Uncle Charlie 
didn't know.  But they were all family.  No one outside the family 
knew about this except for Kevin Sorensen.

Why?  Why on earth had they been modest about it?  Why had they 
felt they should keep something so wonderful a secret?  More to the 
point, why weren't they mentioned in the history books?  They were 
certainly worthy of that accolade and recognition.  I didn't 
understand it.  I knew there were no medals displayed in this 
house.  However, I couldn't believe they would throw them out 
either.  I decided to bide my time.


XXXXXXXXXX
MULDER RESIDENCE
FALLS CHURCH, VA
SATURDAY AFTERNOON
JUNE 26 - 2:00 PM

The twins had an away soccer game today.  My parents had dutifully 
taken off to join in the festivities.  I'd begged off, saying I 
needed to get some homework done before my date with Bella tonight. 

I snuck into their room and searched everywhere.  I couldn't find 
anything.  Then I opened my father's nightstand and while fishing 
through the meager contents, I found a depression in the wood.  I 
pressed on it and the bottom of the drawer popped up.  It had a 
false bottom!  Under that was a key.

Earlier, I'd come across a small steel box in the closet, about two 
feet long and one foot wide.  It was locked.  I hoped this was the 
key.  I went back to closet and pulled out the box, which was 
surprisingly heavy.  

I inserted the key carefully, hoping if it didn't fit, I wouldn't 
get it stuck in there.  That would be all I needed right now.  It 
fit and I opened the lid.  

There they were in plastic cases, pressed into foam; the two 
Presidential Medals of Freedom--one for my father and one for my 
mother.  They were shiny and new as though they'd never been 
handled.  I suspected that after receiving them, that was the case.  
They had never been touched again.  Why hide them away in here?

I lifted them out and gasped again.  Under them were two matching 
big-assed automatic handguns.  Both were in holsters.  I assumed 
one was my father's and one was my mother's, their old guns.  I 
didn't dare touch them.  That was what made the box so heavy.  
There was no doubt in my mind now that the night my father had 
caught me lurking in the hallway, he'd had a gun in his hand.  He 
must have thought I was an intruder.  Jesus Christ, he could have 
shot me!

I dismissed the thought as easily as it came to me.  He'd made sure 
he knew who I was first.  He would never have fired not knowing who 
it was, not with kids in the house.  The more I thought about it 
the more it seemed likely that there was another gun in the room.  
I had been quiet coming up the stairs that night.  I hadn't heard 
anyone moving around before the door opened.

There had to be another gun somewhere.  I carefully put away the 
locked box and key, noting that I was getting good at this sneaking 
stuff.  I stood in the doorway of their room, just letting my eyes 
wander over everything.  I noted how orderly and neat everything 
was.  I knew that was my mother's doing.  Dad didn't care if things 
were a little messy, but he did care if Mom was upset and clutter 
and messiness upset my mom.

I noted how symmetrical everything on the wall by the bed was, 
while the rest of the room was more eclectic.  They each had a 
night stand that matched and matching lamps and matching outlets on 
the wall between the bed and the nightstands.  The only differences 
were the personal objects on top of the nightstands ... wait.  
Something was bugging me and I couldn't figure out what, until it 
came to me.  If Mom and Dad had matching nightstands, did that mean 
Mom's had a false bottom in hers too?

I quickly opened the top drawer and found the same depression in 
hers that was in Dad's.  When I lifted the fake bottom, all I found 
was her good jewelry.  Well, that made sense.  Dad didn't wear 
jewelry so he kept the key to the box in his.  I shut the drawer 
and stood up, bumping into her lamp.  It careened crazily and 
started to fall.  I did a bobbling act with it that would have been 
comical to watch if I hadn't been so terrified of breaking it and 
blowing my cover.  I caught it just in time but my forward momentum 
pulled the cord from the wall.

I sat back down on the bed, clinging to the lamp and trying to 
catch my breath.  Man, that could have been really, really bad.  I 
reached over to plug the lamp in the socket next to the bed and set 
it on the nightstand.  I automatically turned it on, to make sure 
it was okay and it didn't work.  I started to unscrew the bulb to 
replace it when I stopped.  Something again wasn't kosher.

I sat back down, determined to figure this out.  I held the plug 
end of the cord in my hand and looked at it for a moment.  As I was 
studying it, the answer came to me.  I leaned over towards the back 
of the nightstand and saw my answer.  There was another socket 
behind the nightstand.  I plugged the lamp into it and tried again.

The light worked.  I had my answer.  I started to study the outlet 
box on the wall beside the bed.  At first glance it looked okay, a 
four-plug outlet, slightly bigger than a standard one.  I ran my 
fingers over the edge of it and found a couple of faint ridges that 
fit my first two fingers perfectly.  I tried to pry the socket 
cover off, but it didn't work.  I slid my fingers up and down, back 
and forth and nothing happened.  I gave up and gave it a little 
punch.  The socket plate popped open on silent hinges and a small 
dark cubbyhole was displayed.

I look inside, careful not to touch anything.  Who knew what was in 
there.  My eyes widened.  A small, semi-automatic handgun and a 
bullet cartridge lay at the ready inside.  I jumped back and pulled 
a tissue off the nightstand and using it as a barrier, pushed the 
fake door shut.  It snicked back into place with just a tiny noise.

I sat there for a moment, trying to take in the picture I had in my 
mind of my mother holding a gun on someone.  I quickly wiped off 
all fingerprints on the socket, remembering belatedly to do the 
same for the drawer front and the lamp.  I walked over to my dad's 
side of the bed and bumped open his socket/hidey-hole.  Some 
perverse curiosity forced me to do it.  There inside was a slightly 
bigger gun and cartridge.  Holy Shit!  My parents were turning out 
to be mysteries inside mysteries inside more mysteries.  


XXXXXXXXXX
MULDER RESIDENCE
FALLS CHURCH, VA
SUNDAY MORNING
JUNE 27 - 2:00 AM

I stood in a huge room.  I looked about and saw a man coming toward 
me.  It looked like me at first only with short cropped hair.  I 
thought it was a mirror but then realized he was moving and I 
wasn't.  He looked really tall.  Then I looked down and realized I 
was just a kid, maybe five years old.  'No wonder the room seemed 
so big,' I thought.  I was dressed in a hospital gown.  

He looked down at me sadly and said, "I'm sorry, D.K., but we have 
to go to the lab again."

"No!" I protested.

He took my hand.  "I'm sorry," the man said again.  "Hopefully, 
this will be the last time."  He led me down the hall and into 
another room, towing me along behind him.  We entered the new room 
together.  I was frightened.  There was a whole room full of men 
just like the one holding my hand.  They all looked just like I 
looked now, only it wasn't now.  I was still a kid.  They stood at 
individual lab stations.  Some looked up as we entered, others 
ignored our entrance.  

The man led me to a table and lifted me onto it.  Two others 
approached and began tying my wrists and ankles down to the cold 
metal table.  I began to struggle and scream.  "NO!" I yelled 
before one of them placed a gag over my mouth.

"No, no, no, no, no!" I screamed and sat bolt upright in bed.

I panted, looking around my dark room and realizing I had been 
dreaming.  What the hell was that all about?  There was a sharp 
knock on my door and I croaked, "Come in."

My father opened the door as I twisted to the side and turned on 
the lamp on my nightstand.  "Everything all right?" he asked.

I looked up at him.  "Yeah, bad dream, that's all."

He stared at me a minute.  "You want to talk about it?"

"No, I don't even really remember it, but it woke me up."

"Yeah, I know.  You were yelling 'no' over and over again."

"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you up," I said.

"Not a problem.  Just wanted to make sure you were all right.  You 
sure you don't want to talk about it?"

"I'm sure."

"You're sweating like a pig, Devlin," he commented calmly.

I shivered, realizing my torso was damp with cooling sweat.  "I 
think I'll take a quick shower," I said.

"All right.  If you change your mind, you know where to find me," 
he said mildly.  Then he turned and walked out, shutting the door 
quietly behind him.

"Shit," I muttered into the silence.

I took a quick shower, rinsing off the sweat and returned to my 
room.  I donned a fresh pair of boxers and crawled into bed again.  
The sheets were damp from my sweat.  Yuck.  I got up and changed 
the sheets, crawling in again.  I sighed and closed my eyes, 
wanting to sleep.  I'd lied.  I did remember the dream, every 
detail.  It played over and over in my head until I finally fell 
asleep again.


XXXXXXXXXX
MULDER RESIDENCE
FALLS CHURCH, VA
SUNDAY EVENING
JUNE 27 - 11:50 PM

I knew I was pushing my luck, but couldn't resist reading the 
journal again.  I sat down prepared with a bottle of soda and a bag 
of chips.

The surprises just didn't stop coming.  Come to find out my Uncle 
Cooner was instrumental in being a courier to the 'Kurts' as they 
called them.  They were apparently the ones who developed the 
vaccine using my parents' blood and DNA mixed with the twins stem 
cells and my blood, a mere two years after the twins were born.  I 
would have been only nine years old.

I'd called Bella earlier and told her about my dream.  I'd said 
that I didn't remember anything about my life before the orphanage 
when we talked previously about my adoption.  I explained the dream 
and told her the bizarre story my parents had related to me about 
my heritage.  I left out the part that I had just found out about 
it recently.  She was skeptical, but by the end I think she 
believed me.  I told her the story about hiding my sweets when I 
first came to live with my parents.  She cried for me and I told 
her how overwhelmed I was that they had taken me in.  She comforted 
me and I felt better when I hung up.  I think she understood me a 
little better now too.

I couldn't resist the lure and I came back tonight to read again.  
If I'd had any doubts about my mother's story, the next portion of 
the journal that I read erased them.  There were newspaper articles 
on women's stolen ova that had been scanned into the journal from 
various papers across the country.  These things weren't revealed 
until after the invasion was averted, and women were not named for 
the sake of their privacy, thank God, but it was all there in black 
and white.

I briefly entertained the idea of having my father hypnotize me.  I 
knew he could do it and did it with some of his patients.  He 
believed it was a valid psychological tool when conventional 
therapy failed.  My mother thought it was hocus-pocus.  I realized 
this wouldn't work, because I would have to admit to reading this 
journal.  I really didn't think that would be in the best interest 
of my continued health.  They would kill me.  I was still having 
flashes of guilt about reading this.  They obviously had it 
encrypted and protected for a reason.  I could also tell that 
neither of them had accessed this stuff in years.

I had another nightmare that night--or should I say Monday morning.  
This time I was watching my blood feed out into a big tube.  I was 
hot and scared and then I felt something ... something being 
injected in the other arm and began to cry.  "Why?" I kept asking 
the men.  "Why are you doing this to me?"

They wouldn't answer.  I would just be given a fresh hospital gown 
and led back to a barren room with a cot and some toys.  The dream 
changed scenes like dreams do but I was still in the room.  I was 
still a little boy and I was remembering a dream I'd had of a woman 
with flame red hair.  It was almost like a memory, but not quite.  
Maybe it was a dream inside a dream.

I remembered that I'd had the dream of the woman right after being 
brought back to my room by the man who always came to get me.  I 
was sobbing quietly; the test had been very bad that time.  He had 
hesitated over me after I crawled into bed.  I had shut my eyes, my 
only weapon at the time, so I was startled when I felt his hand on 
my forehead.  He stroked my head for a moment, a look of great 
sadness on his face.  When he left, I fell asleep and had the 
dream.  After I woke up, I got out a piece of paper and a crayon.  
When I got to her face though, I couldn't remember what she looked 
like and I started to cry.  

I woke up gasping, tears cascading down my face.  At least this 
time I wasn't screaming.  Christ, what was happening to me?


XXXXXXXXXX
MULDER RESIDENCE
FALLS CHURCH, VA
MONDAY EVENING
JUNE 28 - 11:45 PM

Like a bird to a snake, knowing its demise is imminent, I was 
nonetheless drawn back to the journal.  This time I read about the 
fight against the aliens, their toxic blood and their attempts to 
create human/alien hybrids.  The stories were horrific and 
sickening in some cases.  I was riveted anyway and sat up for three 
hours, pushing the envelope of good sense, before I finally shut it 
down and crawled into bed for all of three hours of sleep.  

I think I must have dreamed as soon as I fell asleep.  This time it 
was same in the beginning, but the ending changed.  The man came to 
get me.  This time he handed me some corduroy pants and a tee 
shirt, and a button down the front sweater.  He smiled as he handed 
me socks and a pair of sneakers.  

As he did the other times, he held out his hand to me.  I shook my 
head in the negative and said, "No, I won't go again.  I'd rather 
just die," I admitted.

He'd said, "Not this time, D.K.  I promise.  I'm going to take you 
to your mommy."

I didn't trust him, but the word mommy brought a sudden vivid image 
of the redheaded woman.  I knew I'd never met her before, and yet 
her picture was in my head.  

The man took my hand and said, "Now you have to be really quiet.  
I'm sneaking you out.  Do you understand?"

I'd nodded and practically held my breath.  I had to take a chance.
If this one could get me out, I had to try.  I held out my hand.  
He'd smiled at my bravado, nodded, and wrapped his warm hand around 
mine.  We'd gone out into the hallway in the opposite direction of 
the bad place.  

We passed other men, who nodded at the man holding my hand.  Some 
peeked around corners and motioned to us and we followed.  We 
passed through a labyrinth of hallways and finally went into a 
room.  There were more of the same men in here, but we didn't stop 
this time like I thought we would.  We kept walking.  I looked up 
at the big tanks filled with green water and realized there were 
men in them, floating there like fish.  They weren't fish.  I had a 
flash of understanding that they were more of him, like the man 
leading me, being grown in the tanks.  I wondered if that's how I 
was grown too.

We snuck out a back door and into a car.  I was put in the back 
seat and the man got in the front seat.  Another one just like him 
stuck his head in the back and before I could yell, he jabbed me 
with a needle and everything went black.

I woke up in the orphanage, confused, scared and utterly lost.  I 
began to cry again.  There was no mommy here.  I'd been tricked 
again.

XXXXXXXXXX

I gasped as I woke up, tears once again pouring down my face.  Oh 
shit!  I was remembering.  Jesus Christ, I was remembering.  All 
those years, I'd wanted to remember.  What the fuck was I thinking?
I wished I'd never opened the door.  I knew it was my fault.  
Reading their journal had opened the door on my subconscious.  It 
was all coming back to me now.  

In vitro, that's what they'd said.  I wondered now if that were 
true.  I believed that they believed it.  What if they were wrong, 
though?  The tanks, those awful tanks that grew the 'Kurts'.  I 
couldn't help but wonder if I was grown in one of those tanks too.  
How could I not wonder?  I had to know now.  Come hell or high 
water, I had to find out where I came from.  What was different 
about me?  

Could I be harmful to others without even knowing it?  What was in 
my body chemistry?  Was that the reason my mother rarely took me to 
the doctor?  Did she not want anyone to know who or what I was?

There was more.  Why did I suddenly feel everything everyone else 
felt when they touched me?  This was fucking insane.  I could be 
some kind of freak and not even know it.  My parents might not even 
know it.  Jesus, I had to find out.


XXXXXXXXXX
MULDER RESIDENCE
FALLS CHURCH, VA
TUESDAY EVENING
JUNE 29 - 12:00 

I was anxious that day.  I got up, exhausted, showered and went to 
school.  I'd napped after school, exhausted after my whole three 
hours of sleep riddled with nightmares and then a full day of 
school.  I'd told the coach I didn't feel well and came home.  I'd 
slept a couple hours, ate dinner and slept a couple more hours.  
Feigning not feeling well wasn't a real stretch considering the way 
I truly did feel.  I'd seen my father's suspicious look as I'd 
climbed the stairs for the second time, but he seemed to be truly 
concerned when I ask him to tell Bella I wasn't feeling good and 
needed to sleep.

Once again, I dozed until everyone was asleep.  I had to find him, 
the Kurt, the one who gave my mother her ova.  He would have 
answers for me, maybe even answers my parents didn't have.  I 
wanted a future with Bella, hell, with my family.  Before I could 
do that with good conscience, I needed to find out if there was 
anything in my makeup that would make me dangerous, or a danger to 
any children I would have.  What if my blood was infectious?  I'd 
never really been injured, not enough to be hospitalized, so how 
would anyone know?  My mother, being a doctor, tended to all our 
wounds.  Only a very serious injury would have tempted her to take 
us to the hospital.

I opened the journal and did a search for the name Kurt.  I read 
each passage and finally came to the part about their wedding.  I 
found out that Kurt #1's alias was Kevin Sorenson.  He had gone to 
Canada after my parents rescued him.  If he gave them her ova and 
the information on me in the orphanage, I could only conclude that 
he had been the one to take me there.  

I did another search and got an address that appeared to be 
current.  I scribbled it down on a pad I kept there on the desk.  
He lived in St. Catharine's, just north of the Canadian border near 
Niagara Falls.  I folded it up small and tucked it into my wallet.  
Then I shut the program down and crept back upstairs.  

I closed my eyes saying one prayer, "God, please don't let me dream 
tonight."

Amazingly, I didn't.  I woke feeling decent, showered and took off 
for school.  During lunch, Bella and I sat in my car and ate.  I 
told her all about what I'd found out and the dreams that I thought 
were really memories.  I told her of my plans to go see this Kevin 
as soon as school was out.

She begged me to ask my parents about it but I refused, saying that 
I didn't think they had the answers.  They weren't there when I was 
young.  Only this guy would have the answers about my life before 
the age of seven.  I told her I wanted a future with her.  Before I 
could commit to that, though, I needed to know about myself, my 
chemistry, my past and make sure that I was safe.  I told her if I 
ever hurt her in any way, I would never forgive myself. 

XXXXXXXXXX

Over the next two weeks, I secretly made plans.  I did wash and 
folded my clothes up carefully, slowly packing an old suitcase with 
various clothes.  I hid it under my bed.  I didn't do a big 
shopping trip, but each day bought things I would need, one at a 
time, toothpaste, shampoo, razors, etc., and stowed them away in my 
case.

I was nervous and fidgety.  I knew both my parents noticed.  When 
they asked, I told them I was nervous about finals.  I'd hardly had 
to study for them in the past, so this struck them as odd, but they 
bought it.  They knew I had Bella in my life now and probably 
thought that I needed to study because of the time I spent with 
her.

At last finals were over and school was out for summer break.  I 
went on the computer and booked e-tickets for a bus to Canada and a 
hotel room in Niagara Falls, New York near where Kevin was located.
I used the debit card my parents had given me for 'emergencies'.  I 
considered this an emergency.  I went to the bank and took out all 
but the fifty dollars that would keep my account open.  I'd 
accumulated quite a bit from odd lawn-mowing jobs and stuff during 
the summers.  I mostly just let it sit there getting interest.  
There was over five-thousand dollars.  I hated lying, but I told 
the cashier that I was going to buy a car and she seemed to believe 
me.

It was Saturday and I was going to leave while my folks were gone 
to church with the twins the next day.  I'd planned on just taking 
off while they were at church, but Johnny had called.  He gave me 
the perfect alibi.  He was going camping with his grandparent's 
church group and he asked me if I wanted to go.  I decided that 
this was my best opportunity to get away without the family 
realizing that I wasn't coming back for a while.  I thanked him and 
said no but quickly agreed to let him use my camping gear.  I made 
arrangements with him to come by and pick it up while everyone was 
gone.

When I told my folks that I had accepted Johnny's invitation and 
that they were going to pick me up while the family was at church, 
Dad offered to stay and help me load up my gear.  I assured him I 
had everything covered, but I had a thousand doubts, wondering if I 
was doing the right thing.  Then I would remember all the weird 
feelings and the dreams and I knew I HAD to do it, whether I wanted 
to or not.

I downloaded the journal into a hand-held Palm Pilot that I had 
assembled and packed it away with my backpack.  I would read the 
rest of the journal on the trip north.

I had to know.

Continued in Part 7 of 10