Awakening

Bip...bip...bip...bip...

A strange alien sound worms its way down through the inky depths. Your mindless peace is intruded upon.

Bip...bip...bip...bip...

Persistent and pestering, the sound would not go away to leave you be in your cocoon of darkness.

Bip...bip...bip...bip...

Following this relentless sound another tags along. Softer and gentler. It was...music. With that single point of cognizance comes a flood of memories and realizations as your mind sparks and sputters into life. You were...Jesse Bailey.

The pitch black reality you had floated within for what seemed like an eternity begins to dissolve around you. The void was collapsing. You could see shades of grey opening up through the depths. You could now hear rustling and...and a warm soft hand holding yours. You hear again the steady beep of a heart monitor and you can feel a pinch in you arm where a tube sprouted out. You smell the unmistakable disinfectant smell of a hospital.

You then hear a voice. Sweet and pure. The voice of the best friend you had ever known. Distant and warbled but drawing closer with each moment.

"Jesse? Jesse, can you hear me?" You feel the hand squeeze yours tighter.

In a voice that sounds like a cross between a bullfrog and a zombie your let out a dry croak. "Elsie?"

"Oh Jesse!"

You feel yourself being hugged and you can smell Elsie's fruity perfume cut through the sterilized smell. She kisses your cheek and hugs you tight once more. What a wonderful way to wake up!

It is with a monumental act of will that you **** your eyes open. You immediately regret it as the light from a nearby window sears your retinas and you close your eyes again.

You hear El doing something with her phone, you realize she is texting. "Fiona was already on the way here, she should be here soon. The others are coming."

You feel small soft hands stroke your cheeks. "They said it could be soon. Oh Jesse, I'm so happy."

"What...what happened?" You squint your eyes open and **** them adapt to the warm sunshine. You were in a bed with blue-grey blankets. You were in a hospital room. A private one with a nice view. Your mother never was one to stint on health insurance. Across the room from you was a dresser laden with flowers...along with what you swore was a thick plastic Fleshlight that sat wide end up among the glass vases.

Elsie answers your unspoken question. "Chloe."

You look to your smiling little sister backlit by the bright window. Her hair was back in clips and she wore one of her anime t shirts. Her beautiful honest face told you her dark side no longer held sway. She is a vision. She hands you a small cup of water, which you take and down gratefully. "I should let the nurse know." El says.

You grip her hand in yours. "Wait, wait. What...what happened?"

As you think the hazy memories slowly focus into clarity. The motel room, tied up, there was an argument, a struggle...sschlitt...an echo of the pain pangs in your chest. You remember tears and blood after that.

El is quiet as she gently massages your hand in hers. "I'm...I'm so sorry."

You shake your head. "It wasn't your fault."

She sighs. "It was scary. You lost so much blood and...the knife hit a lung." Tears are welling up at the corners of her dark eyes. "We thought we lost you."

You grasp her hand reassuringly.

She gives you a sad smile and continues. "When the ambulance got there...it was chaos. It was so scary. You slipped into a coma." She lets out a shuddering breath. "They said...you'd likely have brain damage...and that..." She takes another deep breath and tries to stop herself from crying. "Oh Jesse."

You groan and blink a few times. "I...I think I'm okay. Just...groggy." You seemed to have all your faculties about you.

"Thank God!" Elsie gasps. She kisses your hand and holds it tight. There is another long pause. "The police got involved. There was an investigation. They'll probably want to talk to you."

"The police!?"

El nods. "I was taken into custody. They um, they searched me Jesse and um...they found out. They know our secret. We eventually convinced them it was an accident. A kinky night gone wrong."

"A kinky....you told that to the police!?"

Elsie nods solemnly. "It's all we could say, with you tied up and bruised and covered in your own...well, the evidence pointed only to one thing. Jesse. The media found out. It made quite a splash on the internet, especially the tabloids. We were on TMZ. 'Family Tranny Orgy Gone Wrong!', it was...gross. We were hounded for a while. It was all awful."

"Oh Jesus!"

"Um...Allison...left you. With all the news and attention. She was...disgusted."

You nod. You honestly didn't give one shit about that.

The pair of you sit in silence as you absorb the news. Elsie finally clears her throat. In a low smooth voice she asks. "You really love her, don't you? You love Fiona."

In an instant you are brought back to reality. You look to your melancholy little sister. Reaching out you stroke her hair. "Oh Elsie."

"She loves you so much Jesse. You should have seen her. She hardly left your side for three weeks, just a day to be fixed up at the lab, other than that she was right here the whole time. She was inconsolable. Nothing else mattered to her." El sighs. "She is madly in love with you Jesse. You're both very lucky."

Though the monitor doesn't catch it your heart skips a beat and you cannot stop the smile from spreading across your face. "El, I love you both so much."

Elsie straightens in her seat and her smile warms. "It's okay Jesse. Fiona and I...across this very bed...we've done some talking. A lot of talking." Her eyes stray over the chair set up on the other side of your bed. In your mind's eye you could imagine your sisters sitting here together, watching over you and talking. That made you feel good!

"Oh?"

"You aren't the only to have done a lot of healing these past six weeks."

"Six...weeks!"

El nods. "All my life...I wished it would be me you chose. That you and I...it felt destined."

"Elsie."

El shifts a bit closer and gives you a deep soulful gaze. "You...you need a strong woman like that. Right? To look after you. To control you. To pamper you. You want to be the beta."

"Yes." You answer with no hesitation or embarrassment. "The way she made me feel. I can't explain it."

She kisses your hand yet again. "You don't have to. It was meant to be. I could have never been that for you brother." Holding your hand to her chest she looks you in the eyes. "But I will always be your best friend."

"Yes you will." The pair of you embrace once more. "Always."

You then let out a chuckle, though the subject really wasn't funny. "Geez, Mom must have freaked out."

"Ohhhh yeah. She absolutely flipped. All our secrets out there for the world to see. It...um...it's still pretty rough between her and Fiona. She blames her for everything that happened. She's also furious that Fiona wants a real relationship with you. But...with you like this, it's kept the family together." Elsie sits back. "Mom's been here almost as much as Fiona and I. Peg and Chloe visit every day. We've all spent a lot of time together here." El then giggles. "Every time they'd come Chloe wanted to pull out your catheter to give you a bj. She was worried about 'sperm build up', she's convinced blue balls is a serious medical condition."

You both share a warm laugh. You feel some pain in your front and side as you do so, but you ignore it.

"I love you Elsie."

"I love you too Jesse."

She says again and motions toward the door. "I should probably tell the nurse."

You shake your head. "Fuck em." You were feeling better and more with it by the moment, there was nothing a doctor or nurse could do to help you feel better at this point.

She giggles. "Well. I have a friend meeting me down in the lobby soon, I should go and tell them I won't be available tonight."

You cock a curious brow. "A friend?"

The slight pink blush that colors your sister's face spoke volumes. Someone else might have missed it, but you knew El better than anyone. She shifts uncomfortably. "Just a study friend..."

"El." You say firmly. "I know you! You can't lie to me."

"Oh geez..."

"Out with it."

"It's nothing."

"Come on now." You give her a stern look, letting her know she wasn't fooling you.

She blinks her big dark eyes and confesses. "Well...since you and Fiona...I saw how serious it was...since I...uhhh...and um...oh boy..."

"El! Ha ha ha! No way!" Your heart was singing! "You like this person!"

Elsie covers her face in the most adorable way. "Stop."

"So, who is he?"

Her blush deepens and she almost seems to shrink from embarrassment. "Ummmm..."

You chuckle and throw out a guess. "Ooookay, who is...she?"

Elsie's eyes dart left and right. You could tell she wanted to talk about it but was nervous. "Just...someone. A girl I know. Maybe you remember me talking about her." She squirms. "Um...her name is, um...Zoey."

"Zoey Beckett! The cute blonde?" You knew the girl. She was a smoking hot blonde girl who was in Elsie's graduating cohort. She was a tad...dim. Cute as a button, but dim. Ditzy one might even say. Elsie had been helping Zoey with her school work for some time now and was the only reason the intellectually challenged girl had a hope of making it out of high school at all. Elsie Bailey and Zoey Beckett...JESUS CHRIST! It was a wet dream come to life!

Elsie giggles delightfully. "We just...get along and...I don't know." Her blush continues unabated. "She's funny and stuff. She likes my movies and games. She doesn't even care about the tabloid stuff."

"Well...wow." You find the control and bring the back of your bed up a bit higher. "I'm happy for you."

"Well...nothing has really happened yet. But...I think she..." There is a chime from Elsie's phone. She checks it, relieved for the distraction. "Fiona's in the elevator."

Your breath catches in your chest. You wanted nothing more in this whole world than to see your big sister.

Elsie stands and leans in to hug you yet again. "I'll give you two your privacy." She kisses your cheek. "I am so happy that you're okay Jesse. We all are."

"Thank you." You hug her back best you can given the tubes sticking out of you. "Don't tell the nurse yet. I want to talk to Fiona."

"Okay. Um...you should know." El says as she makes her way around the bed toward the door. "She's different."

"Different?"

With a sly smirk and a wink she says. "You'll see." And with that she slips from the room.