Caleb 10 - At the Mall

When it was done, Jules sighed contentedly and then rested her head on my chest again. "Caleb," she said from her position on my chest. "We need to talk."

"Man, they're really running interference for you tonight, huh?" I sent to Amanda.

"Yup, girl power to the max," she replied.

"Okay," I sighed. "What did I do?"

"You're treating me like a child," Jules said.

"What?" I asked, confused. "How?"

"I don't mean that you are talking down to me, or telling me what to do," she clarified, looking up at me, "but every time your body reacts to something - when you get an erection - you push me away, like you would a child. It's like you think it will burn me or something."

"I just didn't..."

"Caleb," she said, interrupting me, "I thought you would get the message the other night, when I gave you the hand job. I am not afraid of it, or of you. I don't want you thinking of me as a child, because one day I am going to want a baby, and, even though sex doesn't do it for me, I'd much rather have you fuck me than be on the receiving end of some doctor's turkey baster."

I did the jaw-dropping thing again.

"I shied away from things like that with others," she continued, "because I didn't trust that they wouldn't try to force me into something I didn't want to do. I never loved anyone enough to do what I did with you the other night, and I enjoyed it - not sexually, but as a gift from one lover to another. Seeing you happy makes me happy. I love seeing you that way, and making you feel good - all of you.

"I'm not asking to be included in all your play," she clarified. "It's not really a game I am cut out for, but I'm happy to watch from the touchline, and maybe, occasionally join in when the need arises, or when I get the itch."

I realized that she was right. In my mind, I had classified her as a child. It was how I viewed her when I was washing her in the shower. There were no sexual feelings, just feelings of love, as I would have for a younger sibling, or maybe how I thought I might view my own child. I had felt uncomfortable later when she had done what she'd done, and I finally understood the reason for it.

I could see how damaging that could be to our future relationship, especially if, as she said, she wanted us to have a baby - although that was going to be a discussion in and of itself.

"I'm sorry Jules," I said. "I guess you are right. I guess it stemmed from the example I gave you the night I asked you to join us."

"The step-daughter?" she asked.

I nodded.

"I suspected as much," she said. "I know this is all new to you Caleb, and you girls too, being with someone that isn't interested in sex.

"Believe it or not, your body will eventually get the message," she said, looking at me again, "and stop reacting when you see me naked. The human body doesn't like to waste resources, and once it figures out that pumping that thing up when I'm around is a waste of time, it will give up.

"I'll try and do better," I said, "and thank you for talking to me about it. I'm sorry I made you feel like that."

She snuggled down into my chest again.

We heard the scream even through the closed door.

I caught Louise's thought and grinned, passing it onto Mary and Amanda. I didn't think Jules would be interested.

"Damn," said Amanda, "I can't believe she did it before I got to."

"What?" asked Jules, lifting her head once again.

"Josh just opened up Louise's back door," I said. "I think she rather liked it."

Jules wrinkled her nose. I laughed and kissed the end of it.

She smiled. "Should I go start another project?" she asked.

"Not tonight," I said. "After what we saw today, I'm not sure any of us are really in the mood for anything other than being close, and for that, we need you right where you are.

"But you and I still need to talk, Amanda," I said.

Mary's hackles raised immediately. Amanda was right there, physically and through the bond, reassuring her that it was nothing too serious.

"It's fine," Amanda said breezily. "Caleb is about to tell me that I took quite a lot of liberties today with my powers. He and I had a difference of perspective, and it made him, shall we say, especially sensitive to just how much nudging and soothing and smoothing-over I was doing for - or to, if you want to be snitty - a family in a tough spot."

"Not exactly," I said.

"Not exactly?" she echoed, cocking her head to the side.

"I realized something today," I began, "that had never even occurred to me before. I guess once again I was caught up in my own hubris. I had kind of given each power I have a rank, with Compulsion being at the top.

"I guess there is a slight excuse because that is the power that everyone seems to be so terrified of me using, so I ranked them Compulsion, TK, and Telepathy, with Empathy being at the bottom, almost as a sub-power of Telepathy.

"I dismissed Empathy - almost discarded it as a useless power, for me at least, since I had the others. But in doing that, I also belittled the power itself - your power - and forgot just how powerful and effective it could be when used by someone who really understands it.

"You showed me that today. You showed me just how powerful Empathy could be. And Amanda, I am so grateful to you for how you used it to help me - but we're bonded, and you know that I welcome that kind of help from you, and from Mary. I know you have that power, and I'm able to sense when you're using it on me.

"With the Vardys, though," I continued, "I finally saw how easy it would be for a skilled Empathy user to get basically anything they wanted just by manipulating people's emotions - the emotions of people who have no idea what's happening to them or why. It made me uncomfortable. You made Becky feel remorse at exactly the right moment, when she might not have felt it then, or at all. You nudged them all away from negative emotions and towards positive ones otherwise, and it almost certainly affected how they interacted with each other. Even with Mary-Beth, sure, you helped her be less afraid, which eased her suffering, but if somebody had slipped her a sedative without her knowledge to get the same effect, they'd have been committing an out-and-out crime.

"That leaves me with some questions, and I don't know if there are any good answers. Firstly, what happens tomorrow, or the next day, when they're still struggling, and you are not there to push them in the direction you wanted them to go? Will that cause even more problems? Given that we just told them about mental powers, will they realize that they were manipulated and react badly to that?

"Secondly, and more importantly, how is what you did different from Compulsion? It's not as brutal, certainly, but it all boils down to the same thing. You forced them into doing or thinking something against their will. I know it was done with love. I know that because I know you to be the most loving and caring person anyone would ever want to meet. But love is not enough of a reason to take someone's free will away from them.

"We all have the same problem," I continued, pulling both the twins in tighter. "We want to help, and we have the powers to be able to do things that others just can't do. But that surely doesn't give us the right to impose our will, our beliefs, our 'happily ever after' on others, does it?"

I looked into Amanda's eyes, where tears were brimming. I felt horrible, like I'd kicked a puppy. I knew that she had felt proud of herself, of how she thought she had helped the family, and I was turning it on its head.

"Amanda, I love you so much," I said, "and I wouldn't have wanted to do anything I did today without you. You were incredible, but I think you - and even Mary, sometimes - are a bit too convinced that love, peace, understanding, and, sorry for the pun, empathy, are such good causes that they can excuse pretty much anything.

"I'm not telling either of you how to use your powers," I said, even though that wasn't completely honest. It never could be. "I guess I'm just asking you to ask yourself those questions too."

I reached out with my own Empathy, surrounding all of us with love, trust, and forgiveness.

"Still a little too much horny," said Mary, smiling.

"Come on," I said. "Look who I have in my arms. Can you blame me?"

Amanda giggled through her tears, and I kissed her gently. Then she tucked her head into my shoulder.

I closed my eyes, feeling like shit.

"She needed to hear it," Mary thought to me, "and you couldn't have been any gentler. Sometimes love means guiding people to do the right thing. I know I have some medicine to take too. I'm not going to blame the twin bond, Amanda, 'Empath instinct,' or anything else. I have to be better."

I rested my head against Mary's, allowing my mind to wander, recalling the day's events. I guessed we were all doing the same thing. I could feel emotions ebbing and flowing through the bond. I concentrated on Amanda's, trying to sense how badly I had hurt her, and I sensed that although she was upset, I hadn't devastated her. She seemed to be examining her actions, and I felt a mental wince at something she had seen. Whether it was something she'd done, or something someone else had done because of her power, I couldn't tell.

Jules shifted. "I'm going to bed," she said.

I smiled at her. "Can we come?" I asked, and she smiled back, standing up and holding out her hand to me. I relinquished my hold on Mary and took it. Jules then held her other hand out to Amanda, who smiled and accepted it I felt Amanda's spirits lift. I was glad about that.

With my other hand I helped Mary up. We went into the bedroom, saw to our nighttime routine, and settled down to sleep. Amanda was cuddled up against me, with Mary spooning her from behind. Jules was on my other side, so the two girls were face to face across my chest.

Jules leaned forward slightly and kissed Amanda. "Good night, my love."

"Good night."