After the Second Fall Pt. 02.1

As expected, the walls were white and the floor gray, just like his own room. There was a bed, end table, and a chair, also identical to his own. The room was rectangular, as Rachel had described, and Pip quickly paced it off, finding it to be about the same dimensions as his. Moving to the presumed false wall, he looked for cracks or any indication of a panel or hinge. After a quarter bell looking, he stepped back into the hall, finding Rachel cheerful. "I didn't find anything, so I'll check the other." Rachel smiled and Pip entered room twenty-three, which was a mirror image of the other. Again, Pip could find no tell-tale sign of a way through the wall; he even tried banging on the wall to listen for a hollow sound, but it was all solid block.

Stumped for the moment, he went back into the hall again, sitting down against the end wall. Rachel lowered herself into his lap and reclined against his chest. "I think you might be right," he said, "but I'm missing something. I don't think the wall opens and I didn't see anything else in the rooms that looked out of the ordinary at all."

Rachel nodded, content for the moment to spend time with him. Even so, her mind was still working, and a couple hundred beats later she sat up and turned to him with a broad smile. "I think I figured it out."

"An external door?"

"No," she said while shaking her head. "I mean, I think I saw Mr. Carson yesterday, before I met with Stash. I think he may have been dressed as a maintenance man."

"You'll have to back up just a little, Rach -- I don't know anything about that."

She nodded. "I saw a tall guy dressed in a maintenance uniform, but he wasn't carrying any tools. I thought he might just be looking into something, but I always see them carrying a bag or pushing a cart. It seemed a little strange yesterday, but now, with all of the other oddities, I wonder if it's related."

Pip shrugged. "Maybe a bit of a reach, but not unreasonable. So what do you want to do?"

"I cleared your schedule for the morning and I'm pretty comfortable right now..." She emphasized this point by snuggling back into his chest. "Would you mind waiting here until lunch to see if he shows up again? I know it's a couple bells away, but I doubt it will actually be that long."

Smiling down, Pip wrapped his massive arms around her and leaned his head back against the wall, eyes closed. They were both dozing lightly when the door to room twenty-three opened.

The sound of the door -- or maybe it was the soft, startled gasp of a woman -- was enough to rouse Pip and he immediately clamped down on time using the Effect. The woman, dressed in a PET uniform, was in the process of stepping back through the door, but Pip was already standing and reaching for the handle; not surprisingly, he won the race.

Rachel was awoken by the sudden acceleration upward as Pip stood, and she found herself in the room before she had time to process the changes properly. She saw a shocked woman and a disgruntled-looking man, the same pair from the previous day. "Hi, Mr. Carson, I'm Rachel," she said from Pip's arms before the situation could become too tense. She gestured upward, "And this is Pip, whom you may have heard about -- he wanted to meet you."

Casper Carson sighed at sat down on the bed. "Sweetheart, please close the door," he said to the woman in blue. When she had done so, she moved to his side and rested her shoulder against his, looking deeply saddened. "Well, what do you want?"

"To talk," replied Pip casually.

"And?" Pip shook his head. "Why do you want to talk with me? I've long outlived my usefulness to an Adam."

"Truthfully," said Pip, "I'm not exactly sure. My handler, John Rogers, suggested that I would enjoy speaking with you. He didn't tell us how hard you were to find," he finished with a smile. "I wouldn't have found you at all: it was Rachel here who figured out the room between the rooms. I couldn't even come up with how you get in and out."

Carson patted the girl next to him on the shoulder, then whispered in her ear; she immediately relaxed. "There's a pole with a hook that stores behind the bed rail. I use it to displace that middle ceiling panel," he said, pointing upward, "then I use the hook to pull down a rope ladder counter balanced with a sand bag. It's a pain to climb because it twists, but it's worked well for more than a decade."

"But why bother?"

Carson's eyes narrowed slightly. "Right now, that doesn't matter. Are you going to tell anybody we're here?"

Pip looked to Rachel, then back to the man. "Are you doing anything that would hurt people, or the Complex in general?"

The smaller man shook his head. "We just want to be left alone."

"Then I don't see why it's any business of ours. Right?"

Rachel nodded with a warm smile. "Mr. Carson, does Mr. Rogers know that you're here?" The man looked reluctant to answer, then nodded. "That's what I thought." She looked at Pip and said, "He could have just told us where to look."

"Yeah, but that's not his style, and it seems like you had fun on your hunt." Pip set Rachel down, then became more serious. "Mr. Carson, it's up to you, but I really would like to hear about your experiences. As much of a pain as John is, he's usually right when it comes to things I should be doing, and if he thinks we should talk, it's probably a good idea. We can meet here, or in my room, or really anywhere in the Complex."

Casper Carson sighed and looked at the woman by his side. There was a silent exchange and then they hugged tightly. He turned back to Pip. "You can call me Cap: it's what my fighters used to do. And this is Megan, my wife."

Rachel had only been in the Complex a short time, so the significance of the statement passed her by, but Pip understood immediately. "This is why you've been hiding?"

Cap nodded dejectedly. "Now that you've found me, it'll come to an end."

Rachel gave Pip a questioningly look, but his expression clearly said, 'Later.'

"It doesn't have to be that way," said Pip cautiously. "I don't have any reason to expose you, and Rachel only came here a few months ago. Your secret is safe with us."

"Really?" asked Megan, speaking for the first time.

Rachel walked over and sat next to her on the bed, then hugged her gently. "Of course," she said quietly. "I don't understand all of the details yet, but we're pretty good at keeping secrets."

Cap nodded and stood, looking up at Pip. "You're the size of the fighters I used to train. I don't understand how you're not already under the ground."

Rachel smiled and Pip smirked. "There's more to me than meets the eye, Cap."

"I figured," he said. "I'll look forward to hearing about it."

Rachel and Cap quickly worked out details on when and where the two men would meet. With a final hug for Megan from Rachel, and a handshake between the two men, the younger couple headed back to Pip's room. When they were settled together in his bed with her again resting on his chest, she prompted, "Pip, please tell me what I'm missing between Cap and Megan."

Pip rubbed her back, figuring out how to describe the situation simply. "The women in PET are special; you already know that. They're dedicated to the health of the Adams -- just the Adams -- and they take it seriously."

"So the problem is that Megan is married to somebody that isn't an Adam," Rachel stated.

"That's right, but it doesn't really describe the significance. PETs barely associate with anyone outside the Adam pool or the PET department itself; the trainers and maybe one or two of the directors would be the only exceptions that come to mind, and that's really just peripheral contact. For example, Director Collins and John know Rosie and Maggie through me, but wouldn't otherwise interact with them directly."

"I see," said Rachel sadly. "Megan shouldn't have had a relationship with Mr. Carson at all, let alone be married to him."

Pip nodded. "That's the way it's always been."

After quite a while, Rachel spoke up again. "I don't want to have secrets from Rosie or Maggie -- especially Maggie, not after she was left out of your confidence for so long. Can we tell them about Megan?"

Pip sighed and closed his eyes. "Yes, we'll tell them both, but I don't know how it will go. We'll have to ask Maggie to trust us, and if it's too much, we can ask John for help, but I won't shut her out again." Rachel reached up and stroked the side of his face affectionately.

The discussion went better than Pip had feared, although Maggie was, to be sure, shocked by the revelation. Even so, her trust in Pip, Rosie, and Rachel allowed her to calm quickly.

"I guess that explains why she's always been a bit aloof," she said.

"How so?" Rosie inquired. "I barely know her, but she's always seemed sweet."

"Yeah, maybe I used the wrong word, but she never really fit in. She doesn't have any friends that I know of, so maybe this is why."

"Why doesn't she just switch to a different department?" asked Rosie.

"Well," said Maggie, "my guess is because it's so hard to find openings." Rosie and Rachel both gave her a quizzical look, so she explained further. "I know you're both new here and found jobs, but you had somebody important looking out for you. I don't know that this Casper had the same pull, and even if he did, he clearly stepped over a line, which would have undercut his authority.

"I can't tell you about other departments, but I know that there is a lot of competition for the few PET openings each year."

"But they just let me join," argued Rosie, "and Bonnie Madison, too."

"Honey," said Maggie compassionately, "Bonnie had Pip on her side and was a physical therapist before her kids were born, which is close to the ideal background."

"What about you?"

Maggie frowned, then reluctantly answered, "I studied medicine at the University here in the city and did my practicum in Faust, about two bells south."

"You're a doctor!" shouted Rosie. "How did I not know that?"

Maggie looked away uncomfortably. "I didn't want to make you doubt yourself," she said quietly.

Pip looked back and forth between the two women as a silence settled on the room. With almost no warning, Rosie took a step and launched herself at Maggie in a dive worthy of the Arena. Across the room, Pip had no opportunity to intervene, but he did clamp down on the Effect in an effort to make up the distance. With time crawling along, he could tell that Maggie had just seen Rosie, her eyes beginning to open in shock. In the air, Rosie's look was intense, but not angry -- oh.

Relaxing mentally, Pip allowed time to pass freely again and smiled as Maggie was taken over backward onto the bed. She had no sooner made a sound of protest when she was silenced by her friend's lips. Rosie was aggressive in showing her gratitude, pinning the heavier woman to the mattress.

Rachel walked over to Pip and started to disrobe, looking up at him with a knowing smile. Pip chuckled and did the same. They then moved to the bed, where the women were now wrestling together while refusing to break their kiss. With Pip and Rachel's intervention, the two were soon naked, although Pip had caught an errant elbow in the shoulder and a knee in his ribs.

Using his strength to slowly, gently, firmly pull them apart, Pip eventually had the them lying side by side, both breathing heavily. Rosie fought against the giant hand holding her down for a moment, then calmed, looking up at Pip. She tapped his wrist and he let her sit up, although he kept his hand nearby with a knowing smile.

"Pip, I love you," Rosie said. "I wanted you to hear it first. I've never said that to anybody, and I really, really mean it." Then she turned to Maggie, who was still lying on her back. "Maggie, I love you, too, and I mean it every bit as much." Their kiss this time was deeper and less frantic; when Rosie raised back up, the eyes of both were wet.

Rosie pointed to Rachel, who was lounging on Maggie's other side, watching the scene unfold with her usual all-knowing smile. "You," she paused for a moment, "are like a sister to me... who I occasionally do naked stuff with." Maggie laughed out loud at the absurdity of the statement. Undeterred, Rosie continued, "Give me a little more time and I'll be able to say it to you, too." Rosie crawled over Maggie, putting a knee on her friend's stomach, which resulted in giggles and half-hearted complaints, so that she could kiss Rachel. Maggie eventually had enough and flipped Rosie onto her back, pinning her arms down.

As Maggie was about to start paying back the (almost) unprovoked attack that led to their current situation, Rosie spoke up. "Pip, I need something, as your First." All motion stopped at the unexpected words, and the pause stretched. "I need you to..." Rosie paused again, extending the drama, "help me with Maggie."

Maggie's eyes shot open and she tried to flee, only to be scooped up in Pip's arm with a squeal, held wiggling above the other two. "What did you have in mind?" he asked over the noise she was making.

"I want to show her how much I love her," she said with a kind smile, and Maggie calmed. "Can you hold her down?" Maggie shrieked in outrage, but Pip just smiled and did as requested, sitting first, then using his legs to pin her arms while he held her feet in his hands, slowly massaging the soles with his thumbs. Rachel smiled and took up a spot by Maggie's head, gently stroking the struggling woman's hair.

Half laying over Pip, Rosie started at Maggie's toes and moved upward, kissing, nibbling, pinching, and scratching as she went. By the time Rosie reached the junction between her thighs, Maggie's beautiful tan skin was flushed from her throat to her naval and she was only capable of short, jerky breaths. One long lick along her lips followed by a short flick on her clitoris and Maggie was screaming, arching, and trembling simultaneously. Rosie continued the pattern, lick and flick, over and over, and Pip was actually forced to readjust his hold to keep from losing the increasingly wild beauty.

Rosie eventually gave in to the exhausted woman's pleas and gestured for Pip to let her go; Maggie immediately rolled on her side and curled into a ball, mumbling to herself. Rosie leaned in to listen, only to hear, "I'm going to get you back." The younger woman laughed loudly and kissed Maggie on the cheek and forehead, eventually reaching her lips.

"Are you ready for Pip to show you how much he loves you?"

Again, Maggie's eyes opened wide and she let out a squeak. "Now?" Rosie nodded back and Maggie's head flopped back on her pillow. "Might as well," she sighed, "everything below my waste is numb anyway." Rosie quickly disproved this statement with a gentle finger swipe up Maggie's thigh and was rewarded with a dirty look.

The three girls -- really Maggie and Rosie with Rachel listening in -- had discussed making love to Pip at length, and had settled on a plan of action. Even so, the fact that Pip's male assets were proportional to the rest of him meant they would have to go slowly or the experience would be anything but enjoyable. And by slowly, they expected it to take weeks or even months before anything rigorous was possible.

"Pip," Rosie said, turning, "I think we've all waited long enough." Grasping his shaft firmly, Rosie held it upward where Rachel slowly wet the head with her tongue. When satisfied, Rosie pulled him forward to nestle against Maggie's soft cleft, sliding slowly up and down, eliciting moans from both of them.

When Maggie started shifting her hips in response to the motion Rosie was imparting, Pip was overwhelmed with sensation beyond anything he had yet experienced, and triggered the Effect as a protective reflex, it having become absolutely natural over the past months. Immediately, the sensation of nerve clusters firing in slow motion was more than he could process, and he lurched back to real time with a surge forward as his climax started unexpectedly, his head just splitting Maggie's lips.

The sudden intrusion after the gentle caresses was intense and Maggie involuntarily clamped down with her muscles, holding Pip in place, while he began to pulse repeatedly, releasing himself into her. The sensation was new, and warm, and it filled Maggie with a sense of joy, even while she struggled to accommodate him.

Rosie released Pip with an affectionate squeeze and leaned down to kiss Maggie while Pip pulled free with an appreciative groan and an audible pop, only to be immediately seized by Rachel, who cleaned him lovingly with her mouth, looking up into his dark eyes the entire time.

Chapter 4

"How's Maggie?" Pip asked.

Rosie snickered and waved her hand. "A little sore, but she'll be fine," she said with a smile. "She's been practically floating on air all morning, even if she is moving a little gingerly. Pip groaned theatrically so Rosie reached up to grab his hand, urging him to start walking again. The pair continued around the perimeter of the Courtyard.

"What about you?" Pip ventured. Rosie gave him a questioningly look, so he tried again. "Well, you're my First, so shouldn't you have been... first?"

Rosie smiled at his awkwardness and squeezed his hand. "I'm a bit jealous, Pip, but we made the right decision yesterday. Maggie's my best friend here, and I know you love her: she needed to feel that from us. After all, she was your first, and I'm sure you'll both always remember that."

"So what about us?" asked Pip after they had walked further.

"Eager?" teased Rosie with a smile.

"Just asking."

She laughed, her voice carrying lightly through the open space. "Sure you are. And what if I said I couldn't wait any longer and wanted you to take me right here in the sunshine?" Rosie's grin was wicked, but when Pip shrugged and pulled off his shirt, her eyes went wide. "Pip--" she said, grabbing onto his hand as he began sliding his pants down. "Pip! You know I was only teasing."

Pip stopped and looked at her with mock innocence. "You sure? I hadn't thought about it, but I like the idea," he said, gesturing at his undershorts, which were half displaced due to his rapidly forming erection.

Moving close to him, Rosie shielded him from interested onlookers, of which she had noticed a few. "Pip, pull up your pants. We can't do that here."

"Why not?" he asked, sounding genuinely surprised. "Every morning after my Arena fights there have been couples out here, and they haven't always been dressed."

Rosie gawped, trying to find a counterargument. "Ok, sure... but we can't do it now," she stated sternly.

Pip was silent for a moment, then nodded with obviously exaggerated disappointment and pulled his pants back up, adjusting himself in the process. "So after the next Arena fight, here in the Courtyard?" Feeling outmaneuvered by Pip -- maybe for the first time, she realized with a grin -- Rosie nodded.

As they moved along, hand in hand, Rosie was acutely aware that Pip was getting even more attention than usual: probably a combination of his shirtless physique -- his top was slung over a shoulder -- and the shifting bulge in his pants. Rosie found her face and neck becoming warm, enjoying the attention just a little bit, and squeezed Pip's hand tightly, thinking maybe the Courtyard wasn't a bad idea after all.

After they had completed their circuit and shared a lovely parting kiss, Pip trotted off toward his morning training session with Loren. Smiling broadly, Rosie walked toward the Lounge to get her schedule for the day.

On his way to the practice arena, Pip fully expected to catch grief from Loren for skipping the afternoon training session the previous day. It was the first time it had happened, ever, and he was quite relieved when his trainer waved away his apology. "Family comes first," the smaller man said.