Through Thicc and Thin (WIP)

>It had started innocently enough.
>One little drink.
>That's what they had said.
>There was a pushback, a genuine attempt to avert disaster, but they kept on until it happened.
>Just one.
>But one turned to one more.
>Then to three more.
>Eventually, the number was lost.
>What came after was a blur.
>Fragments of the night were there, but obscured heavily by inebriation.
>There were friends.
>A party.
>An insistence on calling a cab.
>However, for someone so loosened from their normal reservations, there was no compromise.
>There was only impulse.
>Impulse and stubbornness.
>And from that was born a terrible idea.
>There was a reason for hesitation earlier.
>A reason that no one had known of, but it was there.
>Yet they couldn't have known.
>Very high priority was placed on them not knowing.
>It was the only reason that she was still with them, and not where she belonged.
>Where she belonged, she didn't quite know.
>Though it wasn't going to be a nice place.
>Still, what had happened had happened.
>As Alice chased the white rabbit towards her descent into madness, so too had the nightmare begun for her that night.
>Although white in many ways, it was no rabbit that she caught off of the dimly lit sidewalk.
>Not by any measure.
>It wouldn't be until she had finally come out of her haze that she would finally realize what she had done.
>And how very, very fast her life was going to be changed.
>At first, there was no issue known.
>All was right, save for the mild hangover.
>Showering away the remnants of the prior night.
>Normal breakfast was made and consumed.
>She even sat down to watch NCIS.
>Even so, it still crept up on her.
>Slowly and quietly at first, until it grew loud enough that it could not be ignored.
>Frantically running towards the source, broom in hand, she had flung open the door to her guest room.
>But this time there was no wild animal in her home.
>Just a boy.
>A very young boy.
“Oh shit.”

>Inside of her paralyzed body, she felt herself slowly begin to unravel.
>All those years of denial and self restraint, trying her best to keep her secret hidden, undone in a single night with a stupid mistake.
>She desperately wanted to scream, but that would only make things worse than they already were.
>Not by much, but why add on to the mountain of issues.
>Below her, the boy was still frantically begging for someone to help him.
>He would need it, especially with how thoroughly she bound him.
>She could use a little help herself.
>But the time for therapy had passed, and the time for action was now.
>Setting the broom on the wall beside her, she bent down to gently remove his blindfold.
>As soon as she did, he froze like she had a moment prior.
>She tried her best to appear non-threatening.
>Giving him a small wave and a gentle smile, she hoped that he would calm down.
>It didn't work, but it was worth a shot.
>He started to scream, but she was on him in a matter of seconds.
>She stuffed the former blindfold into his mouth as deep as she could.
>Once his yelling had subsided due to lack of oxygen, she pulled her improvised gag from his mouth.
>His breathing was deep and punctuated by small fits of coughing.
>Once he settled back down to normal, she knelt beside him and softly set her hand on his face.
“Hey, there's no need to scream. I'm not going to hurt you. I know you're probably really scared and confused, and that's okay because I am too, but I assure you that everything's going to be okay.”
>As she whispered reassurances to her unintentional victim, a sound from the other side of the room caught her attention.
>A lump beneath the blankets on the guest bed slowly rose up and revealed the form of someone who she really didn't need to be in the room.
>”What's with all the noise in he-”

>Her friend stared at the scene before her, unsure if what she'd been seeing was real.
>She rubbed her eyes, just to make sure.
>Then the screaming starts again.
>”What the fuck is this, Quinn?!”
>Leaping from the bed, the other woman rushed to the pair and began to panic.
>”Where did he come from!?”
“I don't know, I just woke up and he was here!”
>”Why is he tied up!”
”I don't remember!”
>”C-can I please go home?”
>The two women looked down to the frightened child, his eyes fearful and welling up with tears.
>”Oh shit. This is bad, Quinn. Really, really bad.”
“I know, stop saying it out loud!”
>As Quinn tried to placate the frightened boy beneath her, her friend began frantically digging through her pockets.
>Out of the corner of her eye, Quinn spotted the sight of her friend's phone.
>Before she could think to do anything else, she instinctively pounced on her and snatched away her phone.
“Di, what are you doing?!”
>”I was going to call the police!”
“Wha-Why would you call the police!”
>”Because we kidnapped someone!”
“You don't call the police when you kidnap someone! We're gonna get arrested!”
>”But-”
“No buts, Di! If we called the police, we'd be looking at serious jail time. We kidnapped a child, and that's something no jury is ever going to side with.”
>”What do you mean 'we'? For all I know, this was just you and you alone.”
>Quinn snapped back in astonishment at the fact that her friend was so willing to throw her under the bus.
>Not that it wasn't true, but still.
>”Look, if we tell them now, maybe they'll go easy on you.”
“Me? Di, you were there too. I've watched a lot of NCIS, and some of CSI: Miami, and just for being in the same place you're definitely going to be charged as an accessory at least.”
>This statement caused Di to frown in earnest.
>”But I don't want to be an accessory.”
"Well, it's too late for that. We're both criminals now."

>"There must be something we can-"
>Di's words were cut off with a palm across her mouth.
"Kidnapping has no maximum sentencing, Di. We could be looking at spending the rest of our life in prison. And it's not fun like on Netflix. It's full of people who will hurt or kill us."
>Di stared off to the side, knowing in her heart how true those words were.
>Then she gasped.
>Quinn looked over to the direction she was facing, only to see that the boy was gone.
>She quickly sprang from the floor and ran out into the hallway, trying to find where the child had gone.
>Trying to search through the entire house, she began to worry deeply as there were a few of the bungee cords she had bound him with on the ground.
>He had actually managed to loosen quite a few, but not all of them.
>Quinn began to realize just how bad an idea it was to kidnap someone while drunk.
>Though, she had yet to hear any doors opening.
>He hadn't actually made it out of her house yet.
>At least she hoped so.
>Then she realized that there was a reason she hadn't found him yet.
>He was waiting.
>Waiting for her to go outside and try to find him out there.
>So, she realized just how to play this out.
>She opened the front door and left it as it was, running outside with as much noise as she could muster.
>Then she silently made her way back to the door and stood behind it.
>After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, she heard very small footsteps.
>They were moving ever closer, slowly inching their way to the door.
>When they came close enough, she knew it was her time to strike.
>She came out from behind the door and ran straight back into her home.
>There was the boy, just as she had suspected.
>Before he could make another move, she jumped on him and held him down as tightly as she could.
>He struggled long and hard, but there was no escape from her grip.
>His last bid for freedom had been trampled.
>Quinn breathed out a sigh of relief; her immediate danger had been stopped.

>”Quinn, what are we gonna do?”
>Sitting on the couch, her hands pressed to her temples, Quinn stared off into the distance.
>Di's words were merely a backdrop to the thundering thoughts in her head.
>None of them were concern about what was transpiring, but rather what could come after it.
>She never wanted any of this.
>To hurt anyone like she had done.
>But it was too late for her to go back now.
>”Come on, talk to me. You gotta have something, right?”
>Snapping out of her trance, Quinn looked to the woman quivering beside her.
>Her hands slipped from her head, coming to rest clasped in her lap.
“Well, there's only one thing we can do.”
>”You have an idea?”
>Quinn frowned as she glanced at the hopeful expression on Di's face.
>She knew that she wasn't going to like what was about to be proposed.
>It's not like it was any better for herself, however.
>The thought of what she was about to say left a bitter sensation in her throat.
>Especially with the all too likely possibility of it being tainted reasoning from her warped mind.
“Well, we can't let him go. He'd either go straight to the police or tell his family. So, there's really only one option we have left.”
>”What?”
“...I guess we just have to keep him locked up.”
>”Quinn, that's no solution! How are we going to keep something like that up?!”
“If you've got any ideas, I'm all ears, Di.”
>As Quinn turned to her friend, Di's gaze fell to the floor.
>She began to nervously fiddle with the hem of her shirt.
>”I mean, we could always...”
“Always what?”
>”...If we just didn't have to worry about him going to the police or telling anyone, it'd be fine, right?”
“I guess.”
>”Well...there's a saying for moments like these.”
>Di's gently lifted her head to face Quinn, her arms crossing across her torso in a bid to grip herself as tightly as possible.
>”Dead men tell no tales, right?”

>There was only one way to describe the look on Quinn's face.
>Pure, unadulterated disgust.
>Di immediately shrank back into the couch at the look from her partner in crime.
“What the hell are you even saying, Di?”
>”You said you were all ears!”
“Not for killing the kid! What the hell kind of thought is that? That's inhumane! Not to mention that'd only make matters worse if we did get caught! If we killed him, we'd be sent to the chair!”
>”But Michigan doesn't have the death penalty.”
“Regardless, we're not going to kill him. End of discussion.”
>”Then we're just going to go with your plan? Keep him here forever?”
“It's not like it's any worse than what you were about to do to him.”
>”It'd be so easy though! All we'd need to do is just dump the body somewhere far, far away!”
“Di.”
>”I don't want to have this looming over my head, Quinn! Let's just-”
“NO!”
>Quinn punctuated her objection with a harsh yank on Di's collar, bringing her centimeters away from her livid face.
>Di recoiled, raising her arms to defend herself out of instinct.
>Seeing Di that way made Quinn soften her scowl, her body letting go of the tension within.
>She slumped away, and returned to her neutral position from before.
“I'm sorry I snapped at you, but I don't want that to happen. Not to anyone. I don't ever want to be the one responsible for hurting someone who never deserved it.”
>Quick to defuse the situation, Quinn took Di's hands and held them in hers.
“Please, just trust me that it's not worth it.”
>Di cast her gaze to the ground once more, unsure of what to say.
“You need to trust me, Di. You've always trusted me before when we were in trouble. Remember D.C., Di? They still haven't figured out who fed all those parrots those laxatives.”
>”I remember D.C.”
“Alright. Then we need to figure out how we're going to be able to keep him here and not have to worry about him running off like he tried this morning.”

>Before they could continue with the deliberation on how to best keep their captive hostage, a loud rapping from down the hall caught their attention.
>The two of them walked down to the guest room once more, taking great care to make sure it wasn't going to end up like last time.
>Much to their surprise, the boy was secured to his bindings still, tapping at the wall with his chin.
>Through the gag inside of his mouth, the boy mumbled something of great urgency.
>Out of concern and slight curiosity, Quinn reached around his head and undid the cloth securing his gag from falling.
“You have something to say?”
>The boy struggled to make eye contact with either of the women looming over him.
>He muttered something under his breath, but neither of them could make it out.
>Quinn frowned, frustrated with what she thought could be an emergency being nothing but a waste of her time.
“Look, you have ten seconds to tell me what it is that's wrong before I put the gag back.
>”...I have to use the bathroom.”
>The boy's answer was quite audible to the both of them.
>Yet they weren't prepared to hear it.
>Still unsure of what was going to happen, the boy shrank back from the kidnappers as they stared at each other.
>Quinn took hold of Di's hand and led her outside of the room, closing the door behind them.
“Okay, how are we doing this? You or me?”
>”What do you mean?”
“We can't just let him go in there on his own, so one of us has to go in with him.”
>”What?! Why?!”
“He already tried to escape, we can't take any chances on him being alone unless he's in here.”
>”Well I'm not doing that!”
“Ugh, fine, you stand outside of the door and make sure that unless I tell you it's safe to open that door that you do not do anything. Understand?”
>”I got it.”
“Good.”

>The matter of bathroom duty settled, Quinn flung open the door and quickly slung the child over her shoulder.
>As she walked to the end of the hall, Quinn could feel her heart beating rapidly.
>She was the last person who should be doing this.
>But there was no other way.
>There could be no chances taken.
>It was how she justified what she was doing.
>Nothing about this was meant to be anything but taking their hostage into another room to relieve himself.
>This was just an accidental kidnapping, and nothing else.
>Pushing through the door with her shoulder, Quinn made sure to firmly hold her grasp on the boy until she could force her way fully through.
>With her back slamming the door shut, she let the boy down from her shoulder and onto his feet.
>”I've got the door, Quinn.”
“Okay, got it.”
>Quinn looked down to the child, intent on making sure that he couldn't do anything.
>Although with his hands properly secured, there wasn't likely much that could happen.
“Go.”
>The boy stared up at her, his cheeks flushed completely scarlet.
“What are you looking at me for?”
>His eyes fell to the side as he clutched and rubbed his arm nervously.
>”I...can't go if you're watching me.”
>Quinn rolled her eyes at his statement.
>She could understand that this was stressful for him, and that he likely wasn't used to having strangers watch him relieve himself.
>Offering him the small courtesy of privacy, she turned her self to face the shower yet still cover the handle to the door.
“Okay. I'll look over here. But if I hear anything weird, I'll have no choice but to look back.”
>A few moments passed between her statement and any sound, him likely wanting to be sure she didn't turn.
>As soon as he was satisfied, Quinn could hear the wild rush of water echoing through the small room.
>Such a large noise coming from such a small boy caught her curiosity.

>Unable to help herself, she turned her head slightly.
>He was completely engrossed in his task at hand.
>Along with having something actually in his hand.
>Quinn slowly turned her head even further back, taking the sight before her in full.
>She could see so much even out of the impaired field of her vision.
>Her heart's wild thrumming came back in full.
>The boy's member was so much bigger than she had thought was possible at first.
>When the idea of it wandered into her mind, she pictured something small and cute.
>But this was a remarkably large size for someone who hadn't even entered puberty proper yet.
>Giving a conservative estimate, she placed him at five inches.
>In just a couple of years, he'd likely have something that would make every girl that looked his way break out into a brawl over.
>A cavalcade of lascivious thoughts flooded her head just as the endorphins were.
>She bit down on her lip, the pain of it the only thing keeping her rooted firmly in her spot and preventing her from giving into her dark desire.
>How she wanted to stop resisting.
>To stop restraining herself, and devour him whole.
>To feel that snow-white fuzz adorning his crotch brush against her lip, while his sweet scent emblazoned her mind permanently with the memory.
>Eventually, the taste of blood brought her out of her sexually charged daze.
>She'd been biting her lip so much that she actually managed to break through the skin slightly.
>Realizing that she'd been staring at him for the greater half of a minute, she turned herself sadly around.
>There was nothing that she wanted to do more than continue to stare at the wonder before her, but she didn't want to give into it.
>She'd fought it back for so long.
>Too long to give in to such a temptation as base as that one, of that she was convinced.
>As she heard the last sounds of the boy's urination, she wondered how long her efforts would last.

>”Quinn, is everything okay in there? It got really quiet.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. Everything's fine.”
>”So do I open the door?”
“Hold on.”
>Turning back to the boy who she was not a minute ago having terrible thoughts of, she saw no attempt at escape.
>He simply stared at the floor, waiting for Quinn to do something.
>Quinn looked at the gag in her palm, and knelt down to put it back on the child.
>Yet, as she looked at him, she could still see he was extremely frightened.
>If there was anything that she knew about kidnapping, it was that you didn't want to have a hostage that was going to be belligerent.
>The best way to keep someone from being belligerent was to make concessions.
>Gain their trust.
>As she put the gag into the pocket of her sweatpants, she looked the boy square in the eye.
“Kid, I'm going to make you a deal.”
>The sentence made the boy look at her in confusion.
>”A deal?”
“Yes. If you promise, and I really do mean PROMISE, not to yell or scream for help that you won't need to be gagged.”
>From the look she got in regards to her statement, she could tell the boy didn't fully believe her.
>He probably thought that this was some sort of test.
“You behaved yourself in here. You went about your business and didn't make a peep or try to stupidly overpower me. I know that this situation isn't ideal for you, but it doesn't have to be a harsh one. If you work with me, I'll work with you.”
>Quinn reached out a hand and gently laid it on his face, caressing his cheek softly.
“If you play ball, I'll make sure you're comfortable here. You'll get to have freedoms. But just because you've got something doesn't mean it can't be taken away. If you step out of line, it's all going back to square one. Got it?”

>The boy unquestioningly nodded his understanding.
>But Quinn wasn't dumb enough to let the escape earlier fly completely.
>She was just going to test the waters and see how much she had to actually watch out for him.
>If he slowly acclimated to the captivity, she'd be fine with that.
>If he tried to escape and got his privileges revoked, she'd be fine with that too.
>She'd be taking a risk, but he was still going to be kept on a fairly tight leash.
“Good.”
>”Quinn, can you hurry it up? I kinda need to go now, too.”
“Yeah, I think we're good here. Open the door.”
>As soon as Quinn stood up, Di quickly went inside of the bathroom.
>”Out, out, out, I need to go!”
>Quinn calmly walked outside of the room and closed the door behind her.
>She walked alongside the boy, keeping him within arm's reach.
>He didn't even make a twitch to dash.
>Just kept on walking.
>Quinn was pleased to see that resignation so early, but she wasn't out of the woods yet.
>It'd take far longer for any sort of permanently maintained change on his part.
>Quite a few weeks at the earliest.
>Though she'd welcome the change.
>Having a pliable, submissive young boy under her control-
>Once more, she dug hard into her lip.
>The pain brought her out of her thoughts, and let her focus on ferrying her charge through the hallway.
>Much to his surprise, she didn't immediately toss him back into the guest bedroom.
>Instead, she took him on a detour and led him down a set of stairs.
>As they descended down into the darkness, their footsteps slowly began to become visible.
>Lights were slowly brightening as the pair descended, entering a large and very spacious room.
>It wasn't like the rest of the house.
>There was an assortment of couches, potted plants, and one of the largest televisions that the child had seen in his entire life.
>Quinn quickly shuffled the boy to the couch, and sat him down beside her.

“I know that you may not be fully convinced that I meant what I said about making your stay comfortable, but I intend to demonstrate just how comfortable it can be for you.”
>Grabbing at a nearby remote, Quinn turned on the television and the screen came to life with a brilliant glow.
>The sound system also kicked in shortly after, bringing in the sounds of light classical music.
>Such a combination took the kid by surprise, of this Quinn was sure.
“Pretty nice, right?”
>Given how he was too engrossed by the scene before him to answer, she took that as a yes.
>She flipped away from the music station she had it on, and to one of the many movie channels she had available.
>His eyes widened in surprise even further.
>”Wow.”
>The sudden outburst of his statement surprised Quinn.
>It was the first unprompted statement she'd heard out of him all day.
>He must not have much experience with such expensive stuff.
>If that was the case, he must be living a relatively lower class existence.
>And that was something that Quinn realized quickly that she could capitalize on.
>She flicked through the many other platinum-package channels that she had available to her.
>His attention was definitely caught.
>Then, she shut it off.
>Quinn lightly giggled as the boy started to come back to reality.
“I see that it's caught your eye. But remember, you'll get freedoms like this eventually. It doesn't mean that you'll have them right away. After all, you did attempt to leave earlier and I would say that bears some restriction.”
>As Quinn stood up from her seat, she gingerly set the remote onto his lap.
“You can have a taste of what could be yours for a little while, at least. Consider it an act of good faith.”
>With that, Quinn smugly walked away to leave the boy to salivate over his taste of what he could have.
>She played her hand, and now she just had to wait to see if he would fold.

>As she ascended the steps, she could hear the sounds of someone walking down the hall.
>Unsurprisingly she was met with the sight of Di at the top of the stairs.
>”Oh, there you are. Where's the kid?”
“He's down there.”
>”By himself?”
“Relax, he's having his mind blown by the fact that there's a massive home entertainment system downstairs.”
>”Wait, I thought you said that you didn't want people down there until you were finished redecorating.”
“Context, Di. This is extenuating circumstances.”
>Di looked past her friend to the room below, eyeing it with a conflicted look.
>”Speaking of circumstances, how exactly is all of this going to work? We never got to finish talking about that.”
>Di's gaze turned from the entryway to her friend, making complete contact with Quinn's eyes.
>Quinn heaved a deep sigh, crossing her arms as she leaned against the wall.
“Look, I don't have an exact idea for how to do this just yet. Yet. But we can make it work until I've got an actual system set up. We just need to stay here and keep an eye on him until then.”
>”But I can't just stay here, Quinn. I have to go to work! If I don't show up on Monday, I'm gonna get fired. How am I gonna pay for my rent if I lose my job?”
“Come on, why is that your concern?”
>”Because I have a life I want to get back to!”
“What life, Di? What life exactly do you have over there?”
>The harsh question and snarky tone Quinn used made Di take a step back.
>”I have a nice life!”
“Di, the only time that you leave your house is when we make plans and drag you along. You spend every single day in your apartment eating PB&Js in you pajamas. I've seen you do it.”
>”That's not true! I...I go to the mall. They have pretzels and a yoga studio. And froyo.”
“Do you hear what you're saying, Di? You have one of the most boring and uneventful lives ever. Just accept it.”

>The hurt on Di's face was clear as day.
“You have a crappy job, work crappy hours, and go back to your desolate apartment. You still use the boxes your dresser came in as a table. You're barely straddling the poverty line, and that's with you piggy-backing off of us taking you out to eat. Ask yourself: is that really living?”
>Quinn has gone so hard with her insults that she failed to see the tears streaking down Di's cheeks until she finished her rant.
>Her words cut far deeper than she had really intended them to.
>”Is that what you really think?”
>Realizing that she had possibly taken it to the point where Di could turn on her, Quinn put a hand on her shoulder and put on a gentle smile.
“Di, I'm just saying that what you had over there is a pointless existence. Working to live, and barely at that, is no way for you to spend your life. So, here's my proposition: drop all that bullshit and come stay here with me. You'll never have to set foot in that stupid hotel again.”
>”What?”
“I'm serious. You can stay at my place, rent free, and not have to worry about working ever again. You just need to help me keep the kid under control, okay?”
>”But what about my stuff?”
“I'll get you new stuff! I've got more than enough money to handle everything.”
>Quinn pulled Di into a hug, swaddling her in a reassuring embrace.
>For a few moments she wasn't sure if what she had said worked, until Di returned the hug in kind.
>As she felt her friend wrapped around her, Quinn couldn't help but feel something.
>Something awful.
>Part of her that wasn't completely on-board with what she had done.
>It clawed at her heart, making her feel remorse for repeating what she had done to the boy to her best friend.
>Yet she couldn't let it overtake her.
>She beat back her desires, so she could surely beat back her guilt as well.
>It was simply just one more thing she needed to suppress.

>”This pasta is very nice, Quinn. It's been a long time since we've gotten to eat together by ourselves.”
“Yeah, it's nice to have some quality time together. We haven't had much one-on-one time since you started working at the hotel.”
>The two women slowly twirled the limp pasta around their forks, enjoying their food slowly.
>On the edge of the table, their guest wasn't as enthusiastic.
>His plate hadn't been touched since it had been set.
>Quinn was very bothered at the fact.
>She didn't want the boy starving himself.
>But she knew she couldn't force him to eat.
>Doing that would only make it harder for her to win him over.
>She didn't want to stay locked in her home any more than he did, and that was the true obstacle she had to overcome.
>So, the best way to get him to eat was to make him feel more comfortable.
>If he was comfortable, he'd feel more compelled to enjoy the food.
>Besides, she worked hard to make that.
>She went through half a bottle of wine making that by scratch.
“Are you feeling okay?”
>The boy looked over to Quinn, looking up from his plate since the first time that he'd sat down.
“You've barely touched your food. Is everything alright?”
>”No, I'm fine.”
>Quinn took a small sip from her glass of water, then looked back at the cold dish in front of him.
“Is it the food? Do you not normally eat this?”
>”No, my dad makes spaghetti for my sisters and me all the time.”
>Quinn let out a small smirk as she finally found her point of attack.
“Is it any different from what your dad usually makes?”
>”Actually, it looks a lot better.”
“Your dad not a very good cook?”
>”It's not that. He actually works as a chef. It just looks a lot nicer than his does.”
>Quinn put on her best smile, fully intent on capitalizing this opportunity.
“Oh, that's sweet of you to say, but I doubt my food looks better than someone who's a professional.”

>”Well, he likes to experiment sometimes. That's when his food is a bigger gamble on how it turns out.”
“Do your sisters feel the same way?”
>”My sisters?”
“You said your dad makes food for you and your sisters.”
>”Oh.”
>The boy had looked surprised at Quinn's statement.
>As if he wasn't quite sure to respond.
>Nervously, he began to pick up his fork without even realizing it.
>”Uh, kinda.”
>Quinn giggled as she saw him awkwardly chowing down on the meal in an effort to not have to answer any other questions.
>He probably thought the line of questioning was weird, and an attempt to find out information about his family for a nefarious reason, when all she wanted was for him to eat.
>Rather than press the subject any further, Quinn simply returned her focus to her own plate.
“Well, I'm sure you've got a lot of stories to tell about you and your family's dinner escapades then. You should tell us a few stories about it someday.”
>Quinn had lost the boy's attention.
>She got no response, save the sound of a content and muffled sigh.
>He was definitely enjoying the strangozzi alla spoletina now.
>Of course, it's not like he had much choice when he had finally gotten a taste of it.
>Quinn knew the poor dear hadn't had anything to eat since she...appropriated him.
>And given the day that he's had, he could use a little bit of comfort food.
>Chatter filled the rest of their time at the table.
>Mostly from Quinn and Di, but an occasional peep from the boy also crept in.
>It delighted Quinn to see him opening up, even as slight as it was.
>Every unprompted statement from him was a step closer to her ultimate goal.
>Yet even that wound down as the trio finished dinner.
>With it being so late, Quinn didn't want to take any chances on making a mistake in her tired state.
>She gently rose from her chair, and yawned as she stretched out her arms behind her.
“Well, it's getting pretty late. I'd say it's time for bed.”

>Pushing her chair in, Quinn walked over to the boy's seat and set a hand on his shoulder.
“Come on, I'll show you to where you'll be sleeping.”
>The boy complied without complaint, following Quinn out of the dining room and into the hall.
“Don't forget to do the other dishes, Di. And I mean ALL of the other dishes, got it?”
>”I got it, Quinn.”
>Without looking back, the pair walked past the guest room and to a slightly ajar door.
>The boy looked up at Quinn, confused at what her plan was.
>”Wasn't that-”
“Oh, you can't sleep in there. Di's got a terrible problem with sleeping in the same room as other people. She also snores. A lot.”
>With that sentence, Quinn quickly shoved the boy inside of the room, slamming the door closed behind her.
>As an added measure, she locked the door and put the key on her neck.
>While it wasn't likely, she'd still want to cut down on any possibility of an escape attempt.
“Okay, now that that's taken care of, feel free to go to your bed.”
>Quinn pointed the child to a mattress in the corner of the room, covered in black sheets and with a folded blanket and pillow atop it.
>”I'm sleeping in here?”
“Someone has to keep an eye on you, and that person's apparently me. Besides, better this than the floor in the guest bedroom, right?”
>”I guess.”
“Good. Now, let's get you cleaned up.”
>”Cleaned up?”
“Yes. You can't go to bed without taking a nice hot shower, not to mention cleaning your mouth. I may walk around in sweatpants, but that doesn't mean I've given up on maintaining good hygiene.”
>Grabbing hold of the boy by his bound wrists, Quinn led him through another door in her room.
>Inside was a fairly sparse bathroom.
>There was a shower, a toilet, and a cup containing some toiletries.
>Quinn usually had it far more disorganized, but she had thrown every non-essential item into the cupboards and locked them up to prevent worries about him pulling anything.

“I assume you already knew this, but you're going to need to take those off.”
>The boy shot a look at Quinn as if she had just asked him to jump off a cliff.
“Well?”
>An earlier fluster had returned to the boy's face, reminding Quinn of their earlier escapade regarding the bathroom.
>”I can't take off my clothes!”
“Oh, you're right. Let me get some scissors and I'll take care of that.”
>”That's not what I meant!”
>Quinn looked back to the boy and gave him a shrug as she pulled out a pair of scissors from the locked cabinet.
“Well, I can't just let you have your hands or feet free. That's a privilege you need to earn, remember?”
>His face had gone completely red as Quinn grabbed hold of his clothes.
>She cut quickly and carefully, taking care to not nip the kid's skin.
>Before he knew it, the boy was standing in a pile of his shredded clothes, the only thing left on him being his underwear.
>He meekly tried to cover it from Quinn's view, but it was no use.
>She simply batted away his hands and cut at the last dignity that he had available to him.
>Quinn could feel the thrumming of her heart once more, presented with the sight of the nude boy, but she had more control than she did previously.
>Mainly because she was too worn down from the earlier events of the day to let her impulses gnaw at her as they did before.
>Undeterred, she set the scissors back into their holding and locked it once more.
>Then, she grabbed hold of the hem of her shirt.
>Without fail, the boy began to panic again.
>”Wait, what are you doing?!”
“You're not going to be able to wash yourself properly, so I'm going to do it for you.”
>He was torn between covering his eyes and his manhood as the woman in front of him disrobed.
>She cared not for his apparent embarrassment, and simply shuffled her pajamas into the laundry hamper outside the door.

“Okay, shower time.”
>Quinn closed the door behind her, and then slid open the glass covering for the shower.
>She pushed in the embarrassed child first, and then herself.
>Turning the dial on the wall in front of her, the shower soon came to life with the rush of water.
>Without a word, Quinn reached past the boy and gathered the bottle of body wash in front of him.
>She set is down after applying a dollop in both hands and thoroughly lathered them together.
>Then, she set her hands upon the boy.
>He squeaked in surprise, his voice cracking from it.
>Quinn couldn't help but smile at the situation.
>However, she soon lost that smile.
>It turned into a hungry glare before long.
>As she rubbed over the young boy, she felt every soft inch of his young body.
>More surprising than his rather prodigal member, was his butt.
>It looked so cute.
>And inviting.
>”Please, just let me wash myself.”
“...Maybe in a few weeks, if you're good.”
>Quinn couldn't tell if what she had said came from her rational or impulsive self.
>She lost all care for which side it was when she laid her hand on his pert rump.
>Had they not been in the shower, Quinn would've been flooding the room.
>Rubbing along it in circles, she felt how plush it was.
>How paradoxically firm as well.
>Every slight jiggle as she lathered him up made her breath grow hotter, the heat inside of her desperate to find a way out of her body.
>As much as she wished to continue the assault on his backside, she knew it wasn't good to obsess over one area for so long.
>If she lingered too long, she might be tempted to give into her impulses.
>She carefully stepped in front of the boy, her shift in position causing him to stare at her in complete shock.
>The spray of the hot water lapping at her back as it splattered from the tiles below let made her instinctively reel back from it, pushing forward into the boy as she did.

>Her breasts collided with his face, jiggling on the impact and making a very soft thump radiate throughout the bathroom.
>With that sort of impact, it caused the boy to let out a slight yelp from the surprise of it.
>Little sound escaped from the ample bosom muffling him, though.
>Quinn quickly realized what had happened, and moved away from the boy.
“S-sorry about that! The water is a bit hot, and it surprised me.”
>The boy did not respond to her statement, his eyes focused on the sight of her nude body before him.
>His slack jaw told her all she needed to know about whether or not he found her attractive.
>Unbeknownst to her, she took on her own blush.
>The situation being of such an embarrassing nature at least lent credence to the lie that she had no sexual inclination for the boy in front of her.
>To go with the situation, she cast her glance to the side and coughed, trying to sell the act as well as she could.
“Anyway, let's get your front.”
>Quinn gently massaged the lather left on her hands into the boy's skin.
>She made a concerted effort to linger on the upper torso.
>Many a note was made about his still-maturing chest, showing the early signs of pubescence taking root.
>The woman had made a rather quick and not at all subtle shift from his torso to his arms.
>As it stood now, Quinn was barely keeping herself together.
>So, she took care to make sure as much of him was equally cared to as possible.
>When his arms were taken care of, she moved to his legs, lingering on his thighs.
>He had still enough awareness of himself to cover his crotch.
>How she so wanted to see it.
>But doing so would make him realize what sort of person she was.
>And that would be bad for her orchestrations.
>Instead, she made sure that it was the last possible place she could wash on him.

>Quinn pulled the boy back, and stepped away from the water, gathering more body wash to cover herself.
>The process was far faster on her, being used to the dimensions of her body and not being distracted by the urge to never let go.
>She even took the time to lather her hair while the boy stood in complete silence, making every effort he could to not look at her.
>With herself taken care of, she let out a smaller dollop as she prepared to lather the boy's hair.
>It felt so soft.
>She could tell from just the first touch that he took great care of it.
>Quinn quietly thanked his sisters for likely being the reason his hair was so well maintained.
>It was like petting a newborn lamb.
>Every gentle caress simply made her want to massage him more.
>Once she saw there was no more room on his scalp to place the wash, she moved over to his front again.
>This time, she would have no recourse but to actually do it.
>To touch it.
>To touch him.
>As she approached him, he froze again, not wanting to let her stare at his family jewels.
>He offered little resistance once she moved his arms however, and she saw something that had surprised her.
>The child's member was not limp as it had been before she had put him in the shower.
>It was actually showing signs of being erect.
>But only just.
>He had certainly had some measure of fun in here with her, but it was seemingly conquered by his uncertainty and possibly fear as well.
>The sight of it, which should have filled her with the greatest arousal, simply brought her back to her senses somewhat.
>She approached his member with her hands, still not ready to give up on it.
>Though the measure by which she lingered on it was the shortest.
>It still felt so wonderful and weighty in her hand, yet she knew it was not good to be anything but professional about it.
>With a quick lather about it, she departed from his crotch and pulled him into the water with her.

“I trust that you would rather take it from there.”
>The words had snapped the boy out of his daze, and he looked up to her.
>His face was quite conflicted.
>He probably didn't know what to think about any of what had just happened, yet he couldn't bring himself to say something.
>Rather than give him the time to consolidate his thoughts, Quinn quickly began to rinse off the lather from his body, and hers as well.
>As she moved onto various parts of the pair, she noticed that he only took the time to wash his pecker when he thought she wasn't looking.
>She didn't make a mention of it, more than content to just let him clean that part himself.
>Not to say that she didn't have fun, especially with watching the wash clear off of his butt, the skin glistening like a freshly rinsed apple.
>His hair also amazed her, watching the small tuft try to fight against gravity and the weight of the water at the same time.
>Once the last traces of the wash vanished from their bodies, Quinn turned off the water and calmly grabbed a few of her towels from the shelf.
>She handed one to the boy, which he wasted no time in wrapping around his waist.
>Quinn followed suit, and wrapped herself as well.
>She then unlocked the cabinet again, pulling out some mouthwash.
>After taking a capful from her bottle, she handed the second one to the boy.
>She quickly began gargling and swishing it around, spitting it into the sink in short order.
>Not waiting for the boy to finish with his gargling, she walked into her room and picked up the pajamas she had in waiting, putting on her new sweatpants.
>After hearing him spit, she walked back in and handed off a shirt.
>She locked up the cabinet once again, and then made her way to her bed.
>The boy slowly walked from the bathroom, wearing the shirt, and shuffled to his bed.
>She clapped her hands, and the lights went out quickly.
>As she fell to the bed, she quickly wrapped herself in her blanket and let out a content sigh.
“Goodnight.”
------

>”...No, I want anchovies...”
>Lincoln had been lying awake long enough that he was sure the woman who kidnapped him was asleep.
>He had only heard the sounds of her having a dream trying to order a pizza and rain hitting the roof.
>The light level in the room was low.
>His eyes were straining to see into the nearly complete darkness.
>What little light there was came from a small green glow from somewhere on the side near the bathroom.
>Lincoln didn't know what it was, but it was the only thing keeping him from total darkness.
>Looking over to his side, Lincoln saw the bed was a tad spaced from him.
>He could probably move without making much of a sound.
>Sliding his legs slowly across the sheets, his feet made contact with the floor without much sound.
>There wasn't much room for error, but he could walk.
>And walking was all that mattered.
>He slowly stood up from the mattress and tried his damnedest to keep his balance.
>If he pushed the bed he could be assured that she would wake up.
>After what he just went through in her shower, he wasn't sure what was going to happen to him if she caught him trying to sneak out.
>Regardless of the possibility of failure, Lincoln pressed on.
>Slowly sidling through the gap, feeling the bindings rubbing painfully from his movements, he wormed his way free.
>Lincoln would be feeling that in the morning.
>The afforded mobility was worth it, however.
>Now he could get on trying to find himself a way out.
>But how would he go about doing so?
>Lincoln slowly scanned the room, seeing nothing of much possibility but the door they had come into.
>The window that existed was too high up for him to reach himself.
>And he had no idea how long that drop was, either.
>So, he had to figure out how to get the door open without waking up Quinn.
>At least that's what he thought her name was.
>He shook the thought from his head and walked around to the side where Quinn was sleeping.
>The glow that illuminated the room was from an alarm clock on her nightstand.
>It's light caught Lincoln's attention for a moment.
>Looking towards it, he saw a cluttered pile on the nightstand.
>On it was an empty box, a wallet, and...
>A phone?
>Lincoln's mouth dropped.
>Of course.
>The phone would be able to call the police.
>If he was quiet enough, he could get them here without her waking up.
>Taking care not to bump into anything in the darkness, Lincoln made his way to the nightstand and reached for the phone.
>Yet with his hands bound, he didn't have the usual range of movement he was used to.
>Because of that, he knocked over the wallet on the nightstand.
>It made a light thump.
>Lincoln stared at it, wondering if he'd sealed his fate already.
>”Those shoes look really nice, Foxy...”
>The continued sleeptalk put his mind at ease.
>Lincoln bent over to grab hold of it and put it back on the nightstand.
>As he did, it fell open.
>He couldn't help but look at its contents in curiosity.
>There wasn't much inside that seemed abnormal, however.
>He saw a credit card, a voucher for a free frozen yogurt, a paper that seemed to have a number written on it, and her driver's license.
>Sure enough, there was his kidnapper's picture.
>And her full name.
>Quinn Theresa Thickman.
>So Quinn was her real name.
>Looking inside the wallet made Lincoln pause for a moment.
>It all seemed like something his mom or dad would have in their wallets.
>Like something an ordinary person would have.
>Unsure of how to feel about it, he closed the wallet and slid it back to the place it was originally.
>Making sure to not make the same mistake twice, Lincoln carefully maneuvered his way to getting the phone.
>He pressed the lock button, hoping to see the familiar glow of a smartphone.
>All he saw instead was the battery symbol, indicating it needed to be charged.

“Dang it!”
>Lincoln immediately slapped his hand over his mouth.
>He looked over to Quinn, and saw she was still sleeping.
>Breathing a sigh of relief, Lincoln set down the phone and resigned himself to the task of getting the key from her.
>She put it around her neck, that much he remembered.
>So, he simply had to get it off of her neck.
>Easier said than done without the full use of arms.
>Lincoln wasn't one to be deterred by bad odds, though.
>Hovering over the sleeping jailor, Lincoln saw the string the key was on had seemingly vanished.
>Bending down closer, he got a better look at Quinn's chest.
>The string was there, but it had shifted from the center.
>Following it, it seemed to be stuck under...
>Lincoln's face sunk as he realized what he had to do to get that key.
>The chance of him doing it without waking her up was nearly non-existent.
>But he had to try.
>There wasn't likely to be a better opportunity than he had right there and then.
>He had no intention to stay locked up any longer than he had been already.
>Lincoln moved his hands to her neck and carefully grabbed hold of the string.
>Once he was sure he had it, he slowly tugged at it.
>He saw the key was slowly snaking out from under her breast, and hoped the sensation wouldn't wake her.
>It seemed to be working.
>She hadn't stirred once.
>Lincoln kept on until he saw the key finally pop free from her low-cut shirt.
>Taking extra care to not screw himself over, he slowly snaked the rest of the string from behind her head until it was off completely.
>He shuffled along as quickly as his legs could to reach the door.
>Unlocking it and turning the knob, he saw freedom was extremely close at hand.
>As he opened the door, he saw a large object taking up the space in the hall that he didn't expect.

>Looking past it, there was no way for him to get through.
>Every part of the hall was filled with it.
>He tried to push it forward, but lacked the strength to do it.
>Why was this even here?
>When was it put there?
>How did he not hear it being moved?
>The questions made Lincoln want to scream in frustration.
>Freedom was so close.
>He was almost gone.
>And then this happened.
>Quinn had to have been behind this.
>She'd thought of everything.
>Even how to stop him from escaping had he gotten the key.
>Lincoln resigned himself to at least being here for the night.
>Ambling back to Quinn's bed, he bent over her and put the key back over her head.
>He slowly slipped the key onto her chest, hoping she wouldn't notice anything out of place when she woke up.
>From there, Lincoln made his way to his mattress and fell back to it.
>He wrapped himself in his blanket and hoped that he would have better success tomorrow.
>It's not like he could be trapped there forever.
>Right?
------

>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21LGv8Cf0us
>Quinn's eyes began to slowly open, roused from the loud intrusion of Louis Armstrong into her ears.
>After a quick stretch in her bed, she turned to slap her arm down on her alarm clock.
>Frustratedly fumbling with it, Quinn slapped her hand down repeatedly in an attempt to silence it.
>All she succeeded in doing was causing her hand to start stinging.
>Wonderful world her ass.
>The only wonder was why she kept the damn song as her alarm when all she got was upset hearing it.
>Sure, hearing a song you hate would make you turn it off and want to turn it off.
>If only she could ever hit the damn thing when she wanted to.
>Giving it one more try, Quinn finally hit the mark and ended the jazzman's tyranny.
>Much to her relief, he didn't come back after she hit the button.
>Fully awake, she looked to the side of her bed.
>There lied another relief.
>The boy was still asleep, and quite peaceful looking as well.
>Peaceful enough that she felt quite guilty about what she was going to do to him.
>Quinn's legs found their way off of her mattress, and down to the boy's.
>Once there, she gently rocked his sleeping form.
>He awoke in short order.
>”Lana, I told you to stop getting in my bed when you-”
>Whatever thought he was having vanished as he turned and saw Quinn's presence before him.
>He must have leaped to the conclusion that whoever was waking him was named Lana.
>From previous context, she realized this must be a general occurrence with his sister.
>At least she presumed it was one of his sisters.
“Morning, Sleeping Beauty.”
>Her words were met with a frown.
>The poor kid must have been dreaming about his family.
>Quinn felt just a little awful about what she did then.
>He obviously cared about his family, and realizing where he was must have hit him straight in the gut.
>”Good morning.”
“Sorry to get you up, but it's time to start the day fresh and that means cleaning up.”
>His face got uneasy at the prospect of it.
>Considering what happened last night, he's probably not quite keen on the whole shower situation.
>But this was Quinn's house.
>She was the one with final say.
“Come on, let's go.”

>All things considered, Quinn felt the morning was going well so far.
>The two of them were clean, Di moved the bookcase unnoticed, and breakfast was going smoothly.
>Cornflakes and waffles were a decent way to start off the day.
>Though there was no doubt that there were issues to fix.
>Di was still in her outfit from two days ago, the kid was in shirts that she had either stopped wearing or outgrown, and there was still no practical solution to keeping him there besides locking him up.
>Surely there was a way for her to fix these.
>She just didn't quite know how to do so aside from the first.
>As she swallowed down the last bite of her waffle, she resolved to at least solve the first two.
“Hey, Di?”
>Her partner in crime stopped in the middle of her scoop and looked over to Quinn.
“I think you need to go do some shopping today.”
>”Shopping?”
“Yeah. You need to get yourself some new clothes, and so does he. Plus, I think it'd be good for you to do some grocery shopping while you're at it. I'm not really equipped to feed three people on a consistent basis.”
>Di let the contents of her spoon slip back into her bowl as she raised her eyebrows.
>”But why now?”
“It's something we'd need to do later, so why put off doing it today when we have more than enough time for it?”
>”So-”
“You can finish your cereal first.”
>”Not that, how am I supposed to buy clothes for him? We don't know his size.”

“Eh, we've got a set of his clothes, as broken as they are. Just write down the measurements from there and go get them.”
>Leaning back in her chair, Quinn shot a look to the boy still struggling to cut his waffles.
“So, you have any special requests for clothes?”
>The kid's attention quickly switched from his food to Quinn's question.
>”Requests?”
“Yeah, I figure you should be allowed to choose your own wardrobe. You're going to be wearing it for a while, so it might as well be something you like.”
>He simply looked down to his plate and resumed cutting his waffles.
>”I'm not that picky. Anything's fine.”
“Come on now, you gotta have something you want. Seriously, anything at all that strikes your fancy.”
>Coming to a stop with his food, he slowly looked back towards Quinn with a hint of uncertainty in his eyes.
>”Would it be okay to have another pair of jeans and an orange shirt?”
>Quinn looked at the boy, confused.
>Then she began to smirk as she laughed to herself.
“Really, just another set of your old clothes? You really are a simple kid, aren't you?”
>Standing up from her chair, she walked over to him and placed her hand gently on his shoulder.
“If that's what you really want, we'll get you a new set of your old clothes.”
>Quinn could see the faint traces of a smile underneath his attempt to remain as neutral possible.
“Well, you heard him, Di. When you go out, make sure you get him another set of his old clothes.”
>”So, you're just going to be here with him by yourself?”
“I can handle it, don't worry.”
>Letting go of his shoulder, Quinn walked past the boy and back towards her bedroom to fetch her credit card and his ruined clothes.
“Besides, it's a perfect opportunity to do some bonding.”

>With that last word, Quinn entered her room and shut the door behind her.
>As soon as it was closed, she fell to her knees and went for the drawer at the foot of her bed.
>Undoing the combination of the lock, she revealed it for the secret stash of money it was.
>Hundreds of dollars just stuffed into the confines of it.
>She never liked taking money from there, because it would always be a pain to replace it when she went to the bank, but but this was extenuating circumstances.
>Di needed something to spend, and while she was more than willing to trust her with the credit card given her track record and her ease of manipulation, Quinn needed to set a limit.
>Sure, a grand didn't seem to be a normal cap, but there was plenty where that came from.
>The real purpose was just so she didn't buy too many useless clothes.
>Di was a sweetheart, a loyal friend, and the best person to ask for a foot massage.
>Quinn would readily admit this.
>Di, however, was not good about avoiding gathering clutter.
>She still remembers when Di “lost” her collection of corks the last time she moved.
>They were admittedly pretty well-decorated, but they were also useless.
>While she was playing off of her friend's weaknesses to keep herself out of jail, that didn't mean she wanted to embrace all of them.
>Just enough to be able to work with.
>That was why she decided to let her enjoy the prospect of buying things without letting her go too far.
>With her stack of bills procured, Quinn shuffled to the corner where she had thrown the cloth scraps that was once an orange polo and a pair of jeans, picking them up and clearly grabbing hold of their measurement tags for ease of accessibility on Di's part.

>Quinn sauntered her way back out of the room and to her waiting accomplice.
>As she made her way back into the dining room, Quinn heard a thud.
>Her heart dropped into her stomach as she began to panic.
>She ran the rest of the way there, only to find Di holding the limp body of the child.
“Holy shit, what the hell happened!”
>”He hit his head on the table!”
“How did you let that happen?”
>”It wasn't my fault, he just lost his balance!”
“Oh sweet Jesus, this can't be happening. It just can't.”
>Rushing to Di's side, Quinn dropped the load in her arms and stole the child away from Di.
“Look, you just go get some clothes and possibly some medical supplies. I'm gonna take care of him.”
>”But-”
“He's not going anywhere, it's fine!”
>Di stared at her friend in uncertainty for a short while before finally accepting her order and making her way to the door.
>”Where are your keys?”
“Next to the mint bowl!”
>”But there's more than one!”
“Just take the red set for the Miata!”
>Quinn rushed the boy to her bed and spared no time in making sure that she had taken every possible step to making sure he was alright.
>While it wasn't that big, she saw a spot of red dyeing his immaculately white hair and bandaged it as best she could.
>She couldn't identify anything else wrong with him, but that didn't mean there wasn't.
>Her thoughts became a whirlwind of concern.
>And of guilt.
>His bindings had been the whole reason he tripped.
>If it weren't for those, he would've been able to walk normally.
>It was her fault that he had gotten hurt.
>It was her fault if he-
>No.
>Quinn slapped her face and brought her senses back to her.
>She had let fear overtake her.
>But that was not what she needed.
>She needed to be calm.
>Calm enough to help him if he needed it.
>And to handle anything else that may happen.

>”Will he be okay?”
>”I don't know for sure, but I've done everything I can short of taking him to the hospital.”
>”Are you sure we can't-”
>”You better not finish that sentence, Di.”
>The string of words pounded at Lincoln's eardrums heavily as he began to come out of his impromptu coma.
>As his eyes found themselves adjusting to the light again, he saw the face of his original captor with a grief-stricken face.
>She seemed to be concerned.
>Lincoln couldn't quite understand why.
>As he turned his head, he felt a sharp pain and quickly learned why.
>His yelp alerted the two women and they quickly rushed to him.
>Quinn sported a giant smile as she came close to his face.
>”Thank Christ you're okay. How's your vision? Are things normal?”
>Lincoln simply moaned in response as she fawned over him.
>His head hurt, but it didn't feel as bad as it did a few seconds ago.
>Gently placing her arms under him, she scooped him close and gave him a hug.
>”I was so worried about you. I saw you just lying there and I couldn't help but worry that you were hurt badly. But it's all going to be okay, you're going to be okay.”
>Lincoln felt weird at the presence of the hug.
>The lady who kidnapped him was worrying about him.
>Like his mother or Leni.
>The hug especially felt like one of theirs.
>His heart felt funny, like it was conflicted.
>Until his thoughts began to clear.
>He wasn't being worried about.
>It was them worrying about themselves if he died.
>If he died after they kidnapped him, they'd probably get sent to jail for life.
>A definite reason to not let him bite the dust.
>But then why did she feel so warm?

>Lincoln felt his body go lax again as she lowered him back down.
>”I am going to say that you're not going to be liking what comes next though.”
>Lincoln's chest became somewhat heavier as an object rested on it.
>”In the case of you having a concussion, we're going to need to keep you awake for a bit. You can sleep a little later, but we're also going to need to check in on you once in a while to make sure that you've definitely not got a concussion.
>A concussion?
>That's not something he thought he would have to deal with.
>”I know that you're not quite used to the situation, and that you're not in the best of shape right now, but I'm going to be making you comfortable as best I can. Okay?”
>Quinn snapped her fingers and Di came into view with a bowl full of ice cream covered in amazingly decorative toppings.
>His eyes began to open in surprise.
>As they did, he took in even more of his surroundings.
>He was back in the den, and the weight on his chest was the remote for the television.
>Lincoln then realized that he was actually being put in the lap of luxury.
>His every need was going to be waited on hand and foot.
>At least until he got well.
>”Here, tell me what you think.”
>Quinn's sentence was quickly punctuated by a spoonful of ice cream on a silver spoon making its way for Lincoln's mouth.
>He passively accepted it and was met with a flavor sensation he hadn't known was possible.
>This was quite possibly the best tasting ice cream he had ever had in his life.
>”I guess that look means you like it.”
>Lincoln could feel his pain slip away as it was replaced with elation over the treatment he was receiving as he was being fed.
>While it wasn't a thought he'd consciously acknowledged, Lincoln felt deep down that he could get used to this sort of treatment.
------

>”Quinn, where are the bath salts?”
“Third drawer.”
>”But I already checked the third drawer.”
“Did you look under the brushes?”
>”Oh. Got it!”
“Atta girl.”
>Hearing Di taking care of the relaxation needs of their kidnapped victim put her at ease.
>With his attentions centered on the luxury that Di provided him, and the sound of the water and music drowning out any outside noise, Quinn was free to pursue her objective of waiting for the deliveryman.
>Again.
>If anyone ever bothered to check her history, they'd probably find it a bit suspicious with how many items she has purchased.
>Thank God that wasn't the case.
>Quinn simply stared at the clock, waiting to hear the sound of a car driving up her road.
>Anytime soon.
>Anytime.
>Aaaaaaaaaaaanytime.
>Any-
“Fucking hell.”
>Quinn fell to her couch in frustration and groaned into the cushions.
>She'd been here for almost half an hour waiting for the truck.
>They were late.
>Bleh.
>The boredom had become too much.
>She needed to do something before it consumed her entirely.
>But she couldn't just leave the door unattended.
>She had to wait.
>However, it occurred to her that her body was the only thing that had to wait there.
>Her mind was free to go other places.
>And so, she let herself go and closed her eyes.
>She drifted in the formless void of her imagination as she began to construct events of recent memory.
>Inside her chest, her heart began to stir as she recalled the past few days.
>Being so infirm, he couldn't quite object to the mothering of Quinn and Di.
>And she enjoyed every moment of it.
>Every soft caress of his body when carrying him to his bath, the sweet smell of his soft hair when tending to his wound, and the look of happiness on his face when she fed him.
>Di was oblivious to all the splendor that was caring for him, and enjoying his untainted, innocent body.
>How Quinn pitied her.

>A series of knocks on Quinn's door prompted her to come out of her trip down memory lane.
>First, she was upset to be pulled out of that wonderland.
>Then she realized it was her package and she scrambled to the door, making sure to clean her dress off as best as she could.
>Opening it up, she saw the deliveryman holding a small package and a clipboard.
>”Morning. I've got another package here for you.”
“Oh, thank you. I was starting to get worried that you wouldn't show up until much later.”
>”Sorry about that, some van broke down in the middle of town and it slowed traffic considerably. I hope you weren't too worried, Ms. Thickman.”
“Well, not that worried. Especially with my order here.”
>The man passed off the package to Quinn and quite quickly signed off on his sheet and made his way back to the truck.
>Quinn waved him goodbye and slowly retreated back into her home.
>Not a second was wasted in opening the box up and checking its contents.
>There it was.
>The collar.
>She held it close to her chest in bliss.
>It was the solution to her problems of not being able to keep the boy under close lock without worrying about him escaping.
>After the spill he had with her tying up his feet, she was quite keen on getting him secured properly.
>Which was also a concern with his hands.
>The cuffs she ordered a couple days back would see to that if needed.
>Now, all she had to do was to put it on him.
>That itself was going to be a difficult sell.
>He was not too happy about being trapped here already, and putting this on him was sure to sour any goodwill she had garnered with him.
>And that was in short supply to begin with.
>But she couldn't accept that.
>They would come to an understanding about the need for the collar.
>She'd do anything to make that happen.

>That is when an idea popped into her head.
>She could do what she wanted through a very easy method.
>There was quite a lot that she had gotten to talk to him about recently.
>A few bits about things he liked.
>Ace Savvy comic books, video games, television, the normal stuff that a kid would like.
>But there were a few moments where he let on more personal information.
>Some fairly innocuous, like how many pets there were in his family's home, and then there were details that she could exploit.
>Like his father's lasagna.
>In fact, that was what she was going to go and cook.
>As much as she liked to cook, she was by no means an expert.
>Though there were quite a few tricks she'd learned in her travels.
>Especially about the fine art of using MSG.
>Another of her recent purchases.
>She wasn't proud about needing to use it.
>But she put it up with the other ingredients nonetheless.
>Every ounce of cheese, meat, garlic, onion, parsley and tomato was going to be put to its test and then she'd use the ancient Chinese wonder spice to bring it all home.
>Quinn slaved in that kitchen for what seemed like an eternity and went through the rest of her garlic, but it would all be worth it.
>Staring at the oven, her back pressed against the coolness of the wall, she couldn't help but think for a moment on how far she had taken this all.
>He'd been there for almost two weeks.
>Two weeks.
>That's a lot of time to commit to a kidnapping.
>But better than spending the rest of her life behind bars.
>And she only needs to keep him here for a little while.
>Once he becomes cooperative, she can go out and have a good time.
>Maybe even take him and Di along.
>She'd have to be careful about disguising him, of course, but it's possible.

>He would look really cute with some nice black hair.
>Perhaps some sunglasses, too.
>It'd make it easy to smuggle him out somewhere and travel around.
>She could take him to Japan.
>He said something about liking anime, and that would be a new place for her to travel.
>She could get some tickets for a cruise there, buy a new swimsuit, and have a great time with Di and......
>Huh.
>Di and the boy.
>But that's not right.
>She can't just think about him as the boy.
>He'd need a passport.
>A forgery, obviously, as using his real name would put him in a position to expose her.
>But that she didn't know his real name, after being with him for so long, bothered her.
>She would need to ask him when he comes out of his pampering session with Di.
>The ding of the oven brought her attention to the reality of her cooking once more.
>Reaching into the oven, she dragged it out just to check the consistency and color of the cheese atop it.
>It looked good enough to eat right then and there.
>The cheese was the perfect golden tone, and it smelled beyond divine.
>If this didn't work on him, nothing would.
>Well, maybe something else, but she's not about to spoil him that hard.
>She was not about to turn into the captive.
>Forced to buy her accidental abductee more and more lavish gifts to keep him happy.
>Not that she minded doing it for him, just that it had to seem like a reward to entice him into losing all will to defy her or seek freedom.
>Money may not be able to buy happiness, but it can buy goodwill for certain.
>And to keep her rather ample ass out of prison and in his good graces, she'd certainly need as much of that as she could possibly scrounge up.

>In the middle of setting the table for dinner, Quinn heard the telltale sounds of Di burning her hand with the water again.
>She'd have to get that fixed before the poor girl actually hurt herself badly.
>After she stopped laughing, of course.
>Which came rather quickly.
>Di only washed off her hands when she was done taking care of a client.
>Which meant Quinn had to scramble quickly.
>Laying out the proper forks, a few glasses of water, and decent sized helpings of lasagna, Quinn sat down at the head of the table to catch her breath.
>As she came down from the rush, she straightened herself out and waited for the hungry Di to come downstairs for food.
>If there was something that Di would never pass up, it was the chance to eat a four-cheese lasagna.
>Quinn knew that much.
>Hearing the footfall, Quinn could count out the seconds before they were in sight.
>4.
>3.
>2.
>1.
>And there they were.
>Looking ready to devour everything.
“Hey, I figured you must be quite famished so I took the liberty of making you something nice today.”
>Before long, the food was gone.
>And then she brought out a second helping.
>The pace at which they were eating slowed significantly.
>When they finished, Quinn quickly reached into the box beside her and held the collar under the table.
“Well, I'm glad we've all enjoyed a nice dinner. That said, I've got some news.”
>The announcement took the two of them by surprise.
“After some exceptional behavioral changes, and a bit of self-reflection, I have decided to give you a much more expanded amount of freedom.”
>The boy looked at her confused.
>He had no idea what she meant by that.
>Until Quinn pulled out the collar.
“With this, you'll be able to go all about the house without fear of ever tripping again. The collar is bound to the remote and the anchor, which if you go too far from either will deliver a nice healthy shock right into you.”

>The look in his eyes told Quinn everything that she could want to know about how he felt.
“I know it sounds excessive, but I am only thinking of your best interests in making you wear this. It'll give everyone peace of mind, I promise. And you're such a good boy, too. I don't think I'll ever need to use it.”
>Giving it her all, Quinn put on her best puppy dog expression.
“You know you're a good boy, right?”
>”I...I guess so.”
>Quinn smiled quite widely as she played it up.
“Thank you so much. I promise, you won't even notice it's there after a while. We'll put it on right away. Oh, Di, please take care of the dishes again. All of the dishes.”
>”Will do.”
>Ferrying him to their shared bedroom once more, Quinn couldn't wait to fasten the collar around his neck.
>She quickly closed the door behind her and knelt down, coming face-to-face with him.
“Hold still, now.”
>Quinn quickly fit the device around him, leaving enough room for him to not be choked yet still stay snugly.
“It even looks good, too.”
>Not wanting to give him time to think about the actual ramifications that much, Quinn gave him a surprise hug.
>Unsure of what else to do, he simply hugged her back.
>Quinn then got up and locked the door once again, taking the boy to the sink to freshen up.
>He didn't require a shower, to her dismay, but that still didn't mean that she wouldn't savor the closeness between the two of them.
>She brought out a new set of pajamas and watched him put them on.
“Feel good?”
>”Yeah, they're comfy.”
“Good to know.”
>With his clothing taken care of, Quinn could put on her own nightwear.
>It was fast.
>She was so tired that she just wanted to get to bed as soon as she could.
>Especially with the food coma threatening to settle in.

>Needless to say she spared no time getting settled in.
>Warmth and security began to lull her off to sleep, but she couldn't get quite comfortable.
>Mainly due to the noise from beside her.
>Looking over, she could see that he was fiddling with his collar.
>It was possible to sleep with it on, but it might be uncomfortable for him.
>Sitting up, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and let out a yawn.
“Having a bit of trouble?”
>He didn't answer back.
>Poor dear probably assumed he was in trouble.
>Quinn quickly dispelled that notion by putting on her soft voice.
“I suppose we can leave the collar for tomorrow, right? Come on up, I'll take it off for now.”
>Obviously wanting it off, he obeyed and presented himself to her.
>Quinn smiled at him and gently nudged his chin up.
>Working her magic, she input the lock code on the collar and watched it pop off.
>Grabbing it, she stuck it onto the nightstand next to her still uncharged phone.
>She really needed to find that charger again.
>Before she even turned back, she heard the small body hit the bed again with a pomf.
>It made her giggle slightly.
>She proceeded to do the same and look up at the ceiling.
>As she did, she remembered that there was still one thing she hadn't done.
“You know, it's funny. You've been here for a while now, and I've learned so much about you. But, for all that time I've spent with you, I still don't know your name.”
>Turning her head to his direction, yet still unable to see him, Quinn waited for a response.
>Yet none came.
“I'm pretty sure you know my name is Quinn by now. And you know Di. Would you be willing to tell me yours?”
>With bated breath, she once more waited for a response.
>Suddenly, a familiar face came into view.
>”My name is Lincoln.”
>A smile came to Quinn's lips once more.
“Is that so? That's a very nice name.”
>A few moments later, they were both back in their previous positions.
>Yet before Quinn fell asleep, she had one more thing to say.
“Sweet dreams, Lincoln.”
------
>”Leni, you need to blow on it first.”
>Quinn looked on with a forlorn expression as Lincoln began to have one of those dreams again.
>Back with his family.
>Away from her.
>She'd pretty much learned all of his sisters' names by that point, about eight in total.
>Even a little about their personalities.
>Lily was a baby, Lori was a golfer, and Lisa liked to play with poop.
>She wasn't quite sure why that was a thing, but she assumed she was young enough that it wasn't anything unusual.
>At least that was her hope.
>But as she sat watching him, she couldn't help but think about the increasing frequency of the times he'd be talking about them in his sleep.
>It was plain as day that he missed them.
>A lot.
>That he wouldn't see them for a long time tugged at her heart.
>Quinn was a monster.
>She took him from his home, kept him locked up from the outside world, and constantly thought of ravishing his young, innocent body.
>But despite it all, she had a heart.
>Part of it wanted to let him go, and have him go back to the home he so desperately missed.
>Though not all of her self was keen on this.
>Especially when it hit her head.
>She had no faith in having other people leaving it alone after having him back.
>She'd get the book thrown at her after people tried getting it out of Lincoln.
>Which was why she had to trade in his freedom for her own.
>Even though it wasn't right.
>”Charles, chocolate isn't for dogs.”
>Oh yes, he had pets as well.
>He liked them, too.
>And Quinn didn't have any pets to speak of.
>Well except, Di.
>The thought made her laugh until she realized it was mean thinking of Di like that.
>It was funny, but still mean.

>While she still stared at the boy, she could hear Louis Armstrong rear his ugly head from behind her.
>She slapped the snooze button hard before it could possibly stir the boy from his sleep.
>Perhaps too hard given the way she shook her hand afterward.
>Of course it was worth the pain as far as she was concerned.
>Even though she longed to wake up the boy and shower with him, she knew that there was something worth preserving in his slumber.
>He really deserved those fleeting moments with his family.
>Especially with how long he was not going to be able to see them again.
>The thought once again tugged at her heart.
>All the more reason for her to not dwell on it and simply go back to watching the child that slept below her.
>The cute way his freckles accentuated each and every breath, the light rustle of his growing hair, and the massive tent being pitched in-
>Oh no.
>Quinn was staring at the one thing she absolutely didn't need to stare at.
>Temptation set her loins ablaze as she felt them begin to burn with the desire to jump him right then and there.
>Calmly, Quinn closed her eyes and fell back to her bed.
>She counted as the image of a running cold waterfall in a frozen tundra overtook her mind.
>It was boring and made her already mounting need to use the bathroom worse, but it worked.
>After a few minutes, she was back to her relatively composed self.
>Unwilling to have the process repeat a second time, especially having come so far without giving into her more unsavory desires, Quinn nudged Lincoln awake with her foot.
>He slowly began to rouse from his slumber, his fluttering eyes focusing on Quinn's face.
“Morning, Sleeping Beauty. I'm sorry to wake you, but it's time to get up.”

>Or more accurately the rest of him.
>Lincoln yawned as he stretched out and rubbed the tiredness from his face.
>Even fresh out of bed he was still cute.
>Hopping off of her bed, Quinn walked to the doorway and grabbed herself a towel before heading inside.
>Disrobing quickly, Quinn stood and waited for Lincoln to come to her.
>Judging from his pace, he seemed to be mostly fine now in getting around.
>At least to the level where she no longer had to have him babysat so constantly.
>If that was the case, then she could likely finally entrust Di to keep a decent level of control and make her way out of the house for the first time in a while.
>Go into town.
>While her mind wandered to thoughts of leisure for the first time in days, her body went through the routine she had built up for Lincoln and herself.
>It was as natural to her as breathing.
>The scrubbing, the lathering, and the light trailing of the spot where the wound had been so recently all flowed seamlessly into one another.
>No small thanks to the pliability that Lincoln had been showing.
>Where the reservation once held strong, he'd become like putty in her hands.
>How much she would be able to mold him still remained to be seen.
>That was if her efforts had truly begun to take.
>Quinn closed her eyes as the water poured down onto the two of them, taking care to carefully massage the soap out.
>Her sight gone, she was able to enjoy the gentle touch she administered much more intimately.
>Especially as she trailed her fingers along his shoulders.
>It was so liberating.
>So sublime.
>That something so simple could bring her so much joy was truly a great thing.
>Even if it didn't hold healthy meaning.

>Yet for all of this that brought joy to her, she knew how fragile this little indulgence could turn out to be.
>Especially with how temptation had reared its ugly head so many times within the span of a few weeks.
>And not only on her side.
>She'd seen the pensive look in Di's eyes every now and then.
>How much she desired to have it over and done with.
>But she wasn't a killer in any sense of the word.
>Not to mention how much she deferred to the judgment of her best friend.
>Quinn had never steered her wrong, and she knew it.
>The nagging thought of it in her mind still bothered her, however.
>How Quinn wished that Di could be made to come around to Lincoln's place in their lives.
>As the thought stuck in her mind, she had an epiphany.
>All she needed to do was get Di to start spending time with him.
>Quinn had, understandably, hogged his attention all to herself.
>But that could change.
>Getting Lincoln and Di to get along together might be just what she needed all along.
>As she finished up their washing, Quinn's mind raced with the ways she could go about accomplishing that task.
>Even as she started to get dressed once more, she still hadn't quite decided on the way to go about it.
>The smell of something coming from the kitchen soon dispelled her of the process.
>Well that and the pangs of hunger.
>Securing the collar onto Lincoln's neck once more, and giving him some slight encouragement while doing so, she made certain everything would be in place for when she left after breakfast.
>Looking to the remote set upon her neck alongside the key, she soon thought of another use for this excursion.
>With a little manipulation, she could accomplish more than one thing in the span of a single leisure day.

>Looking to the sight before her, she decided it would be a good time to spring it.
>Setting down her fork after swallowing down that last bite, she leaned back into her chair and casually rolled a bagel over to Di.
>Her attention garnered, Di stopped eating her omelet and put down the bite she was about to enjoy.
>”Something wrong, Quinn?”
>Looking down to her plate, Quinn quickly composed her thoughts as she avoided eye contact.
“I was thinking, it's been a while since I've gone to town. Gotten to see the sights. Enjoy some time in the sun.”
>”But you get plenty of sun in your home gym.”
“It's not the same and you know it.”
>”I know.”
“Anyway, I figured that after getting everything set up, I'd give you a solo day.”
>”Solo day?”
“A day all to yourself and Lincoln.”
>Quinn could almost hear her heart stop.
>”N-no! I can't take care of him alone!”
“Nonsense. You're great with kids.”
>”I am not! I am terrible with kids!”
“You get left looking after them all the time.”
>”But they just run around and make a mess of everything! Or bite me! Or make me massage their stuffed animals. I don't even know how I got talked into that one.”
“Di, Di, Di. Di. You need to believe in yourself. In your capabilities. And Lincoln, too. Lincoln's not some rugrat hellbent on making your life miserable. He's a perfectly polite and well-behaved young man.”
>Quinn turned her gaze from her plate to the child still messing about with his food.
>His eyes strayed slightly, which meant she had his attention at least in that moment.
“Lincoln, dear?”
>”...Yes?”
“If I leave you here with Di, do you promise to behave yourself?”
>Putting his head back down to his plate, he seemed as though he wasn't looking to afford her an answer quickly.
“Lincoln?”
>”Okay. I promise.”
>With her smile coming back, Quinn looked over to Di triumphantly and slowly slid the remote off of her neck.
“See? Nothing to worry about.”
------
>Feeling the wind rushing through her hair, Quinn truly felt free for the first time in a long time.
>Her immaculate skin felt the Sun's rays at full force once again.
>Oh how glorious the one day she had away from the house had seemed to her.
>And she wasn't even gone for an hour yet.
>Unbound from the constant thoughts of how to address Lincoln's needs, her mind was free to wander and think other thoughts for the first time.
>Not to mention her wallet was free to be opened.
>Quinn was quite surprised that she would be able to get this excited to go buy a cup of coffee.
>But the recent events taught her a lot of things she didn't know.
>Especially self-control.
>Keeping herself under wraps was always taxing.
>So many of those cute boys her friends keep bringing around.
>Just ever so slightly starting to blossom into the men they would become.
>How she wanted to be the one to make them men.
>Though all that paled in comparison to her recent trial with Lincoln.
>Sure, he was someone that hit all the right buttons, but she had never had such issue with her desire.
>Her nethers had been on fire long enough that she could give California a run for its money.
>But that simply must be the work of extended contact with him.
>A dry chuckle slipped from her lips as she realized she'd just gone back to thinking about Lincoln, even outside.
>Work did seem to follow her mind around.
>In the midst of her laughter, a tire rolled out in front of her on the road.
>Along with the tire, a young blonde woman came chasing it.
>Her heart dropped as she slammed her brakes down.
>Screeching to a halt, she couldn't bear to look.
>When she didn't hear the sound of a body bursting through her windshield, or falling into her backseat, she opened her eyes.
>There in front of her was the girl still frozen in place, trying to guard her body.

>Eventually she also opened her eyes and quickly looked over herself to check for damage.
>They both breathed out a loud sigh of relief.
>Quinn for not having to deal with a possible accident and look into her recent activities, and the girl for being alive and undamaged.
>Slowly pulling over, Quinn parked and stepped out of her Miata.
>The girl had pulled up her runaway tire and found her way out of the road.
>Quinn quickly flagged her over her way and saw she had quite the mess on her.
>Going off of context, she could tell she was working on a car that had likely broken down.
>Sure enough a little ways off the road she saw the vehicle in question.
>A dinged-up van.
>That thing looked ancient.
>Probably older than the both of them combined.
>Shit, forget probably.
>The girl in front of her couldn't be older than 17.
>Maybe 18.
>Even then that would be pushing it.
>No way the two of them stood a chance.
>Her attention slowly drifted back to the teen in front of her.
>She was out of breath, and hugging the tire to her chest to maintain some sense of balance.
>Quinn leaned onto the hood of her car and breathed out one last breath from her nose to compose herself.
“Car trouble?”
>”Oh yes, we-scuse me for a moment.”
>The girl took a second to cough and clear her throat before forcing herself upright and smiling.
>”As I was saying before, we hit some trouble with our van and I've been trying to kick this moving scrap heap out of here since yesterday.”
>Yesterday?
“Wait, were you the one who broke down in town?”
>”What?”
“Friend told me something about that. She was driving around and traffic ground to a halt. I presume that was your van.”

>A nervous chuckle found its way out from her mouth along with a blush.
>”Yeah, I think that was.”
“And you broke down again?”
>”Unfortunately. Vanzilla's been in the family for a long time, but she definitely hasn't aged well. Now I'm stuck here with my little sister and no way to call a tow truck because my stupid phone doesn't get a signal here.”
“She in the van?”
>”No, I'm right here.”
>Hearing a voice from behind her made Quinn push off the car with a scream.
>Even the girl in front of her let out a small spat of surprise.
>Before quickly diving into an angry grimace.
>”Lucy! There's been enough scares today. We don't need anymore.”
>Looking behind her, she could see the small girl on her hood.
>Sitting with her legs crossed and her hands clasped together.
>A small, pale thing with a head of hair as dark as night.
>”Sorry.”
>”Please, don't mind her. She does this all the time at home. And get off of her hood already!”
“So, I think you need some help?”
>”A little.”
“I can drive you to town. I was on my way there to get out of the house anyway. I know they have a mechanic with a tow truck there.”
>”I wish I could take you up on that, but my dad would literally kill me if he knew we were out here. A towing is out of the question.”
“Out here when you're not supposed to be?”
>”Yeah, and he'd ground me for months if he found out about this.”
>Feeling a pang of sympathy in her heart, Quinn walked over to her and put an arm over her shoulder.
“Well I can't say I haven't been in your situation before, kid. So how's this: you come with me to town and I'll get you set up and on your way.”
>The girl was taken aback.
>”Oh no, I couldn't-”
“It's no problem. I'll cover whatever the damage is. I insist. It's the least I can do after almost hitting you.”
>A pair of arms wrapped around her waist tightly as she fell to her knees.
>”Thank you, thank you so much! You're literally a life-saver.”

“It's not a problem, really.”
>Quinn helped the girl to her feet and took the tire out of her hands, casually chucking it in the backseat.
>In short order she found herself back in her seat and buckled up with her two passengers.
>As they began to drive away, the girl beside her piped up once more.
>”Do you think it'll be fine leaving our van there?”
“Oh yeah. People rarely come on the backroads. Another spot of luck that I happened along you when I did. You don't want to be out here at night. These roads are like ice.”
>With her mind at ease, the girl sank quickly back into her seat with relief.
>”That's good. The last thing we need is to get stranded somewhere again.”
>”That's why I told you to bring Lana along.”
>”I told you, I'm not dragging anyone else into this delusion of yours.”
>”But I told you we were going to break down.”
>”That's the only part of your dumb dream you had come true.”
>”I told you it wasn't a dream. It was a vision.”
>Curiosity piqued in Quinn's mind as she heard the two siblings bicker.
“I guess this dream is why you're here?”
>”Sadly, yes.”
>”I'm telling you, it wasn't a dream.”
>Turning around into the backseat, the blonde looked ready to unleash hell on her sister.
>”Yes it was! It was a stupid dream that I shouldn't have ever listened to you about!”
>Feeling concerned, Quinn quickly let her face fall into a slight frown as she turned her attention to the currently screaming girl.
“Are you two doing alright?”
>With that interruption, the blonde settled back into her seat and sighed for a brief moment.
>”It's just a hard time right now.”
“Hard time?”
>”The whole reason we came here was because we were looking for our brother.”

>Quinn's eyes focused on the road, making sure they weren't going to be in for any surprises.
>A small bit of silence overtook the moment, as Lori seemed to be gathering her thoughts..
>Looking back into the rearview, Quinn could see her other passenger lower her head.
>Of course, she had never heard of Lincoln talk about a sister named Lucy.
>”You never think something like that will happen to your own family.”
>Without thinking, she quickly turned off the radio and gave her best concerned look.
“That's so sad. Do you have any idea what might have happened?”
>”We don't know. One day he says he's going to go out with his friend Clyde to go watch a meteor shower, come the next day we're seeing Clyde go crazy trying to figure out where he went because he never responded to any of his messages and we thought he was just sleeping over at his place.”
>Lori's voice began to waver, and Quinn could hear the telltale sound of sniffles.
>Quinn didn't need to look.
>She knew what was happening.
>And how much she was hurting inside.
>”We really miss him.”
>Her attention once more shifted towards the small, black haired child in the backseat.
>”I can't remember a day that's gone by where we haven't been waiting for him to come back to us. And that when he comes back, it's not going to be...”
>Lucy stopped in the middle of her sentence.
>She couldn't see because of the hair in her eyes, but Quinn knew all the same what was being hidden under there.
“It's so terrible. You've all been through so much. I can't imagine losing one of my brothers like that.”
>”You have brothers?”
“Only two, but I can't imagine either of them going missing like your poor...I don't believe I actually caught your brother's name.”
>”Sorry, I got...so caught up I completely forgot. His name is Lincoln.”

“A little boy named Lincoln?”
>”Yeah, he's 11. And he has white hair, and a chipped tooth, and he's just the sweetest brother a girl could ask for.”
>Lori stopped for a moment, gently rubbing the tears from her face.
>”I still can't believe we lost him. I don't know what's happening to him right now, or where he is, or if he's hungry or sad. Really, it's not knowing anything that hurts the most. I just want...I want answers. I want to know something, anything.”
>Quinn frowned, seeing the young lady so distraught over recounting her brother's absence.
>Lori seemed like the sort of girl who was very chipper usually.
>She thought it wasn't a good look for her at all.
>As they passed the gas station outside of town and the adjacent sign advertising the city limits, Quinn slowed down her car as she slowly set her hand on her passenger's shoulder.
“I'm sure everything will work out okay for you. It's always hard when you lose someone important, but I just know you'll find your brother some day and you'll go back to being a happy family.”
>Even with the running mascara on her face, that smile that Lori had brought a smidgen of her beauty back.
>”Thank you. I needed to hear that.”
>The rest of the car ride was relatively silent.
>As they made it to the shop, Quinn slowly pulled into the lot before letting her two passengers out of her car.
>They went in the door, and got to the counter without issue.
>Quinn slid out her card from her wallet, setting it onto the countertop as she worked out the cost for service with...Gilbert.
>After everything was said and done, the girls took a seat and began to occupy their time.
>It was the perfect opportunity for Quinn to excuse herself to the restroom.
>Once she made her way inside, she ran the faucet as she washed her hands and splashed her face.
>She calmed her breath, stared long and hard into her reflection, and steeled her nerves for the coming wait.

------
”Lincoln?”
>Again, the cold shoulder.
>No matter what, she couldn't seem to crack that exterior of his.
>Of course, that much was understandable.
>Di was not good with kids.
>Di wasn't good with herself, even.
>She loved to live her simple and really boring life.
>But that's just what it was.
>Boring.
>Kids don't like boring.
>So they definitely would never like Di.
>At least, that's the way she felt about her current situation with the ivory-haired boy.
>How much of that was true and just her doubting her own potential she could not say.
>Quinn could tell her.
>She knew Quinn was smarter than she was.
>A lot more fun, too.
>Quinn was the person who should be taking care of Lincoln, not her.
>She wasn't cut out for being a babysitter.
>Didn't mean that Di wasn't about to try her best, though.
“You know, I think we could benefit from a little entertainment, huh?”
>Well, he was looking her way.
>A good enough start.
“I know you're probably not feeling terribly great, but I know that there's something fun we could do. Come on, let's go.”
>While Lincoln wasn't very happy with being dragged along by Di, she still kept at her task.
>They descended back to familiar territory, and Di made her way to something she knew.
>In the closet below, there it was.
>The karaoke machine that Di bought for Quinn.
>It wasn't anything great, and it wasn't as good as something Quinn would have bought herself, but it was a thoughtful gift from the heart.
>Di dragged out the machine and wasted no time in plugging it in.
>Her charge wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation.

>She was still easily sure that this was a good idea, though.
>Soft humming from it powering on let her know that the machine was still in good condition.
>Now, all she had to do was take out the microphones and plug it into the television.
>Thankfully it was easy enough to slide behind the frame of the massive fixture.
>Really dusty back there, though.
>Di resolved to clean the house more thoroughly after Quinn got back.
>In the meantime, she had a channel to flip to.
>Or input.
>However that whole thing worked.
>Grabbing the remote off the table and giving it a couple clicks seemed to do the job.
>Now all she had to do was select a song.
>And hand off the second microphone to her little partner.
>He was a bit surprised when she gave it to him, though.
>”Uh, what are we doing?”
“Karaoke!”
>”Karaoke?”
“You know, you see things on the screen and you sing them.”
>”Oh, I don't know. That's not really my thing, I'm not good at singing.”
“Don't be silly, Lincoln. Karaoke's about singing, not about being good at it. If I was worried about being good at things, I'd probably never get out of bed.”
>There was a look in Lincoln's eyes.
>It equal parts confused and saddened at how casually Di disparaged herself.
“Besides, I'm sure you've sung with people before, right?”
>”...A little.”
“Then we'll be fine. We'll start out with an easy song. You sing the parts in red while I sing the parts in yellow. I'll even start us out with a simple song so you can ease into it.”
>Di pushed a few buttons on the console before making her way next to Lincoln as the music kicked in.

>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vV1kFMuBpI
>Di slowly tapped her foot to the beat as she waited for her prompt to sing.
>As the countdown ended, she knew to begin her song.
”I was tired of my lady, we´d been together too long. Like a worn-out recording, of a favorite song.”
>While he was a little bit unprepared, Lincoln came through quickly on his own end.
>“So while she lay there sleeping, I read the paper in bed. And in the personals column, there was this letter I read.”
>Di smiled as Lincoln began to get hold of his part.
>There was no time to rest, however.
>Now came the important chorus.
"If you like Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain. If you´re not into yoga, if you have half a brain!”
>”If you like making love at midnight, in the dunes of the cape. I´m the love that you´ve looked for, write to me, and escape."
>Di smiled as she looked down to Lincoln.
>He took to it quickly.
>Di began to sway back and forth as she waited for her part to kick back in.
>And she could definitely make out a change in Lincoln's emotional state.
“I didn´t think about my lady. I know that sounds kind of mean. But me and my old lady, had fallen into the same old dull routine.”
>”So I wrote to the paper, took out a personal ad. And though I´m nobody´s poet...I thought it wasn´t half bad.”
>Di lost all inhibition at this point, as she began to make dramatic poses for effect.
"Yes, I like Pina Coladas! And getting caught in the rain! I´m not much into health food! I am INTO champagne!”
>”I´ve got to meet you by tomorrow noon, and cut through all this red tape. At a bar called O'Malley's, where we´ll plan our escape.”
>Di was taken by surprise to hear Lincoln pick up the chorus.
>It seemed he had more experience with this than he let on.
>And that he was having more fun than he thought he would.

“So i waited with high hopes, then she walked in the place.”
>“I knew her smile in an instant. I knew the curve of her face.”
 “It was my own lovely lady, and she said, oh, it's you.”
>”And we laughed for a moment, and I said, I never knew... That you liked Pina Coladas, and getting caught in the rain! And the feel of the ocean, and the taste of champagne! If you like making love at midnight, in the dunes of the cape. You're the love that I've looked for, come with me and escape!”
>The two of them caught the chorus well.
>If only Quinn could see that smile on his face right now.
>She'd be so proud of Di.
>Lincoln was having fun now.
>Of course, she was too.
>It was a bonding moment.
>Hey.
>That's what Quinn wanted all along.
>Di should have known to trust her friend's judgment.
>As the song finished, they queued up another.
>And another.
>All told, they did a full set for their audience of two.
>By the time Di's voice couldn't take any more, she and Lincoln had settled into the couch.
>Their efforts had tuckered them out for certain.
“I have to say, you're pretty great at karaoke. I knew you could do it.”
>Lincoln bashfully smiled at Di's compliment.
>”Thanks.”
“No, thank you, Lincoln. This was actually really fun, and I'm glad we found something we could both enjoy. Now, I have another idea, how about you and I go get something sweet?”
>”Like the caramel ice cream?”
“Two scoops, with whipped cream and sprinkles.”
>”I think I'd like that.”
“Me too. Why don't you go wait in the kitchen while I put this away, alright?”
>The plan seemed to work out for Lincoln.
>Of course it would.
>Kids love ice cream.
>And so did Di.
>Of course, she was a kid at heart.
>Perhaps that would come in handy in trying to get along with Lincoln.
>He needed a friend here, after all.