----- Wednesday

I went into the office Wednesday, dropping Jill off first. Cindy went to the clinic. She assured me it was only for a few minutes then she had to go see a lawyer she contacted to help her take care of stuff about the will and get the house up for sale.

I got home before Julie; she arrived later with Sharon. We practiced some songs and I showed Sharon the "studio". She liked it and liked it even better when we recorded a song together. The guitar didn't sound all that great on the recording and I remembered what Cindy had said about that. I was determined to go the music store tomorrow to look for a guitar with a pickup. I didn't have any intention of actually getting one the next day, only looking around and seeing what was available. As usual, I'd wanted to do a bit of research first before committing to a purchase.

Cindy had found her way home by then and helped us with some more recordings. These weren't going to be a final product; it was more for practice. We did decide on the songs we'd sing this coming Friday at Mike's though so we accomplished something. We had decided to get together tomorrow for more practice so we'd be ready for Mike's. This time we decide to sing four songs together.

"Are you staying tonight, Sharon?"

"I'd like to, if it's ok."

"We'd love to have you. Of course, it's ok."

"Thanks. But if not you could take me home when you pick up Erin tonight."

"Nonsense. You're staying. If I don't see Fred thank him for me for bringing Erin to work."

"There's no need to thank him. He loves doing things like that for her."

"I noticed. So, would you like to spend the night together?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

"It's been a while."

"I know. I'm sorry I've been busy with family."

"That's ok. You're here now. I missed your kisses."

"I understand you've been busy too, in my absence."

"You make it sound so, I don't know, opportunistic."

"As long as I still have a place."

"You'll always have a place in my heart, Sharon."

"You say the sweetest things, Sam."

"What about me?"

"You know I love you too, Cindy. But let me ask you something: what's between you and Jill?"

"Oh, nothing."

"You and her spent the night together, last night."

"Yeah."

"Wait.", Sharon said. "You and Jill?"

"Sure. Why not? She's a nice gal."

"We know that."

"Well, her and I just hit if off last night. It was something new."

"You wanted something novel?"

"I guess so. I haven't been myself lately. I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. We just wanted to know what was up with you two. At least I did."

"I think I know why Jill wanted to sleep with Cindy, Sam."

"Yeah, me too."

"What are you talking about?"

"Jill."

"What about her?"

"You don't know?"

"Know what?"

"Jill has a thing for little people."

"Oh. You think that's why she wanted to have sex with me?"

"I don't think it hurt that you're, um, little. Like me."

"So, she likes you because you're small, Sam?"

"I think it's more along the lines of I made her appreciate the smaller side of life."

"Did she tell you this?"

"Yep."

"Did she share this with you, Sharon?"

"Well, I sort of guessed it. Especially when she was with Joe."

"Yeah, I remember that. She seemed to really like Gail too."

"Gail? She did it with Gail?"

"Sure. Didn't you know, Sharon?"

"Now I do. It figures. What did you and her do last night?"

"You want me to kiss and tell?"

"No. I guess not."

"She thought I was really cute. I like that."

"You are cute, Cindy.", I said.

"Yes, Cindy. Sam's right. You're such a cutie pie."

"You want to go to bed with me too?", she chuckled.

"Well, if you want to, sure."

"Wait. What about Julie?"

"Oh, yeah. We shouldn't leave her to sleep alone. I'd feel bad about that. You two spend tonight together and I'll spend it with Julie."

"Such sacrifice."

"Oh, Sam, you know I love her."

"Just kidding." I knew what those two would do and I knew it was no sacrifice for either of them.

I brought Sharon with me when I went to pick up Erin. Julie and Cindy were already in bed by the time we got home but they weren't asleep. Yes, we heard them.

That night Sharon and I made love like we hadn't been with each other in a couple of weeks. Come to think of it, we really hadn't been together for a couple of weeks. There was no screaming, but it was still as special as it was with Sue.


----- Thursday

I worked from home Thursday. It's a good thing. Later that morning I received a call -- a call from the company that I had gone through the clearance process for. My clearance had come through. I was going to start a new job.

I told them I'd have to call them back for a final start date. I had to give notice -- at least two weeks -- to my current employer first. I'd think it over and tell them about it next Monday. I tentatively gave my new company two weeks from Monday but would confirm later if that were going to change.

I couldn't wait to tell Julie! I figured we could go out for dinner and I'd bring Cindy and Erin too. Cindy was still taking care of business today along with stopping at the clinic.

Erin asked what I was so happy about.

"I'm getting a new job."

"Cool. What are you going to be doing?"

"Same stuff, basically. You know, computers."

"You're such a geek, Sam."

"And proud of it."

"Where are you going to be working?"

"You know the military base outside of town?"

"Yeah. Are you working there?"

"Next to it. This company does a lot of work for the government, the military I'm sure. That's probably why they're so close to the base."

"Cool. Are you gonna shoot big guns?"

"Seriously? I work with computers, Erin. Not guns."

"Well, you could."

"Maybe. I'll let you know if I get to shoot big guns. Ok?"

"Ok."

"Sam?"

"Yes?"

"I'm proud of you."

"Erin, that means a lot to me. Thank you."

"I was always proud of you."

"I know. Well, now I do. I didn't realize before, but I'm so happy you are. And just so you know, I love you."

"Can I tell my friends about you?"

"Of course you can."

"I can tell them what you do?"

"You can tell them I do computers. But what I'll actually be working on, well, I don't even know that myself. Sorry, but there will be things I can't tell you about my job. I had to get a top secret clearance for this."

"You did? That is so cool."

"Well, all that secret stuff is so boring really. It's not like what you see in the movies. So, don't be disappointed if I don't get to carry around a Walther PPK."

"A what?"

"The gun that James Bond carries. It's a Walther PPK."

"Oh. But you will carry a gun, right?"

"No."

"Bummer."

I rolled my eyes.

Julie came home the usual time.

"Where's Sharon?"

"I don't know. She had to leave early for some reason. Fred came to get her. She said she'd come by later."

"Ok. I'll see her later then. We still need to rehearse for tomorrow."

"And where's Cindy?"

"Still taking care of business, I suppose."

"I hope she's here soon."

"I'm sure she will be. When she gets here I want to take you and her and Erin out to dinner."

"Special occasion?"

"An announcement."

"I hope it's good."

"It is. I got my clearance. I'm starting that new job."

"Sam! That's great. When do you start?"

"Not quite sure. Two weeks from Monday hopefully, but the current job might want me to stay a little longer to wrap up loose ends."

"This is great news."

"It is. Now I can't wait to tell Cindy."

"She'll be happy."

"You think so? I mean, it won't be hard on her with her mother dying seeing others having good things?"

"Oh. I don't know. What do you think we should do?"

"I'll tell her. I have to anyway. But I'll try not to be so hyper about it. Ok?"

"Ok. I guess that's best."

Cindy was still officially in mourning, I suppose. I didn't want her to feel bad about my good fortune finally getting the new job so I made sure that Julie and Erin weren't going to go bonkers when I finally told Cindy.

While we were talking my phone rang; it was Sharon.

"Hi, Sharon."

"Sam, I need your help."

"Ok. What's up?"

"It's Tee. She's gone."

"Gone? Where?"

"I don't know. Her parents said they haven't seen her in two days."

"Maybe she's,..., well, I don't know. I don't really know."

"She didn't contact you?"

"No."

"Sam, her parents told me about the virus."

"So, you know about that?"

"I do now. I kind of suspected anyway. I mean, why else would she want to see you and not me?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry, Sharon. She really wanted to keep it a secret. She was very embarrassed and depressed about it."

"And now she's gone."

"What can I do?"

"If we find her, can you talk to her? Her mom and dad said she never talked to anyone else but you. You have to help."

"I will. How are going to find her?"

"It's a long shot, but her and I used to go to this place out in the woods. Can you come with me?"

"Sure."

"Can you meet me at my house?"

"I'll be there as soon as I can."

When I hung up Julie could see the worried look on my face.

"What's wrong, Sam?"

"You remember Teagan?"

"Teagan? That's Sharon's friend?"

"Yeah, her."

"Yeah, I remember."

"She's run away from home and Sharon wants me to help find her."

"She's an adult, isn't she?"

"Yes, but it's complicated. You want to come? Maybe you can help."

"Sure, Sam. If you want me to."

"Yeah. Get ready and let's go."

We left Erin behind and told her what to tell Cindy. It didn't look like Sharon and I were going to get in any practice tonight. Oh well. I usually wing it at Mike's for the most part anyway.

I filled Julie in on Teagan's situation on the ride over. When we arrived at Sharon's place, her and I went next door to talk to Teagan's parents a bit while Julie stayed in the car. I assured them that I'd do everything I could to help. They were thankful.

We soon left and drove for about 15 minutes where we parked at a gravel parking lot next to a park. The sky was gray and the wind was picking up. It was fairly cold; in the forties I'd guess. We put our jackets on and went walking down a trail.

After a few turns around the path we arrived at a spot next to a creek.

"This is where Tee and I would hang out.", Sharon said.

"I don't see anyone."

"Let's look around."

"Ok. Don't get too far apart. We don't want to lose track of anyone, ok?"

"Let's spread out but stay where we can see or hear each other then."

We looked for about a half an hour. No luck. The skies were growing darker.

"Let's go down that trail.", I said.

"What trail?"

"That one.", I said, pointing.

"That's not much of a trail.", Julie said.

"Yeah, we've never went down there.", Sharon replied.

"Someone's been through there lately though."

"How do you know?"

"Look.", I said. "See the branches of the shrubbery along the sides? It's been disturbed. And the cuts are still fresh. Someone's been down there recently."

The both agreed that it was the best shot we had. Not great, but it was also the only lead we had.

We trudged through for another fifteen minutes or so and the trail seemed to be less and less of a trail.

"Well, this sucks. Where to now, Sam?"

I looked around.

"Over here.", I said. "The foliage here looks like it's been trampled."

We walked another few minutes until we reached the creek again but quite a ways further from where we had started.

"Dead end."

"Julie.", I asked, "Look around. You should be able to see better than us."

She turned left and right and looked down the creek. Nothing.

"Sharon? What do you think Tee would do if she made it here?"

"I don't know. We used to climb trees. Especially Tee. She was good at it."

"Ok, look up in the trees, Julie. See if you can spot anything."

As she was looking I heard a snap.

"Did you hear that?"

"No. What?"

"This way. Come on."

I went towards where I heard the noise. It could have been nothing but after paralleling the creek for a bit I could see trampled plants again.

"Ok, keep your eyes peeled, Julie. I think we picked up the trail up again."

It was another few minutes before Julie cried out, "Look!"

"What is it?"

"Up there. In the tree; the branch that goes over the creek. I think I see someone."

We ran as best we could through the brush. We finally reached the tree.

"Teagan! Teagan! It's Sharon. We found you."

"Go away!"

"No. We're not going to leave you out here. Look at you. You're dirty and cold. Get down out of that tree."

"No. Stay away. I'll jump."

This was bad. Very bad. I've never dealt with someone suicidal. Shit. What to do? I thought for a second. I tried my phone. No signal.

"Julie? Sharon? Try calling 911.", I said low enough that Teagan couldn't hear.

"I can't get through."

"Ok, someone has to go back. At least far enough that you can get a signal. Sharon, you know this place better than any of us. Why don't you go back? You can direct others here. Can you do that?"

"Sure."

"Julie and I will stay with Tee. We'll see if there's anything we can do here. Maybe Julie can climb the tree and get Teagan."

"Ok, Sam. You two be careful. That tree doesn't look too sturdy."

"We will, Sharon. Hurry. The weather looks bad. It'll be worse for her if it starts raining."

"I'm off."

"Julie, can you reach that branch to get yourself up?"

"I'll try."

She was able to reach but when she pulled on the branch it broke off. Damn. The next highest branch was too far even for Julie.

"Julie, I've got an idea. See if you can lift me up to that next branch."

She had to hold me by the feet but I was able to grab a hold. I was much lighter and there was almost no chance of the branch breaking for me. I climbed. I climbed higher and higher until I reached the limb where Teagan was sitting. How did Tee get up here by herself?

She was out more than halfway on that limb and was out over the creek. She looked different than before. Smaller even. Frail. And not at all happy.

"Teagan! It's Sam. Come to me. Please."

"No, Sam. I can't do this. I just can't."

"You can do this for me."

"No."

"For Sharon?"

"No. Stay away or I'll jump."

The wind was picking up. I felt water drops. Was it the creek, or rain? It was getting colder and Teagan wasn't wearing any sort of jacket. Just a short sleeved t-shirt and jeans.

I didn't know what to say and didn't want to make it worse. The stakes were too high. But I couldn't leave her. We sat.

I looked down at Julie and then down the trail to see if I could see Sharon or anyone else. Julie looked worried.

I heard thunder. It was rather far away at this point but I knew it wouldn't be too much longer that a thunderstorm would be upon us.

"Teagan. We have to get down. A storm is coming. You don't want to be out when it gets here."

No answer. There was nothing to do but wait for Sharon and more help to show up. The wind was howling.

Suddenly a thunder clap nearby jolted us. It was loud. Then a second one roared; it was even louder. Teagan screamed and as she jolted the limb broke just in front of me. It now bent down about forty five degrees from there.

It was stupid, I know, but I jumped out on the limb. Fortunately, Teagan was scared enough that she started climbing up. I reached and grabbed her wrist.

"I gotcha!"

I dragged her up to the base of the limb before where it had broken. I hugged her close to me. She was indeed frail. Her arms and legs were barely skin and bones. She was so light.

It was raining by now; raining hard. She was shivering so I took off my jacket and wrapped it around her. Then I moved over to where I could straddle the limb and lean my back against the tree trunk while holding Teagan in my arms.

She was sobbing as it was raining. I tried to comfort her.

"Help is coming, Teagan. Help is coming. I won't let you go."

"I'm sorry, Sam. I'm so sorry. I don't want to live like this."

"It's ok, Tee. It's going to be alright." This made her cry even more.

It seemed like ages. The rain slacked a bit then got heavier. It was literally pouring down rain. It seemed like three or more hours before I saw Sharon coming down the path with a bunch of fireman. They had a ladder, thank God.

Both Teagan and I were soaked and shivering. A fireman finally reached us up on the ladder. I handed Teagan over to him then one of them grabbed me. I wanted to get down myself but found I was too tired and cold for it. I welcomed the help.

When I got down I was snatched up and hugged by Julie. She was warm, despite being wet, and it felt good. I saw Teagan's parents with Sharon weeping as Teagan was being strapped to a stretcher and they took her away in an ambulance with her parents in tow.

Now she should be getting some professional help, I thought.

"She'll be ok now, Sharon. I know she will."

"I hope so, Sam. She seemed so sickly."

"It doesn't look like she took very good care of herself."

One of the medics was looking me over.

"I'm just cold. I'll be fine.", I said.

And now that it was all over we walked back out. Julie insisted on carrying me. I was so cold and her body felt so warm that I didn't complain about it.

It was too late for Sharon to come over to practice, but even more so, the mood was not right. We each went home.

We got home and took a hot shower then told Erin and Cindy the story. I figured everyone would know about Teagan and her catching the virus soon anyway. It was no secret anymore.

"Do you think she'll be able to join the clinical trials, Sam?"

"I really hope so, Cindy. She knows what she has to do but it's up to her. I just hope she does the right thing now."

"Wow. I knew Teagan, but I didn't know she had the virus."

"She's only had it a couple of months now, Erin. It's really hit her hard. I feel bad for her."

"I hope she's ok."

"We all do. Did you know her well?"

"No. But I know she was a cheerleader."

"She was. I knew a lot of cheerleaders in high school but I really didn't know her all too well either. I guess she was just too much younger. She's a good friend of Sharon's though."

"Sam?"

"Yeah, Julie?"

"You've been helping her because she had the disease, right?"

"Only when she's asked for me. Which was only once, really. The other time I was checking up on her for Sharon."

"She asked for you because you have the same virus?"

"I think it's safe to say that, yes. Why?"

"No other reason?"

"Like what?"

"Sharon said that she used to have a crush on you in high school."

"She lost that crush. I was too short for her. Remember when she came to see me at Mike's?"

"I think so."

"She literally thought I was gross being so short and wouldn't have given me the time of day. She was only interested in talking to me now because of the virus."

"Yet you still went to search for her."

"Absolutely. She needed help, plus I'd never refuse Sharon. Wouldn't you have done the same?"

"I'm not sure I'd want to do all that you did."

"I didn't do much."

"You saved her life."

"You were out there too, Julie. We were all helping."

"But I didn't literally crawl out on a limb for her."

"Don't make a big deal out of it. You'd have done the same."

"I don't know, Sam. I was scared, especially with the lightning. I may have been too scared to do something like that."

"You can give yourself a little more credit. Both you and Sharon helped Teagan immensely. You can be proud of that."

"I'm proud of you, Sam."

"Me too.", both Erin and Cindy agreed.

"Let's all hope it helps Teagan.", I replied, wanting to divert attention away from me.

I'd thought after taking a shower I'd be warmed up but I was still chilled to the bone. I developed a cough and was feeling very tired so I went to bed early. Julie came to bed with me and it was nice being engulfed by her immense presence and feeling her warmth. You'd have thought I'd get a good nights sleep. You'd be wrong. I was very restless that night.