The Silent Courtesan

"I've sat with you through all the war films you watch daddy, I recognize a pin from a grenade, just as I now know what your holding onto."

I tried one more time, "Please go back inside."

A light sheen of perspiration steadily grew across her forehead and yet Erin just shook her head before replying, "Nope, ain't happening."

Letting out a sigh was the easy part.

"Your momma's going to kill me, you know that don't you?"

This time she let out a giggle, "Not if that grenade does it first."

Since she wasn't moving and I wasn't exactly in a position to pick her scrawny ass up and throw her into the house I just gave up and got on with it, mentally filing all this for later so I can figure out a reasonable punishment for her. Any way I looked at it, she was so grounded.

It took us a moment but we managed to get enough of the grenade free so Erin could put the pin back into it. Getting whoever this is to let go was another problem. They sure had a grip on them that's for sure, as Erin moved to get a better angle, her knee pushed against the arm holding the short sword.

The eyes instantly opened and the body stiffened ready to defend itself. Thankfully Erin had heeded my original warning about the probable instinctual behavior of the person under us and pulled back and struck a punch on the person under us. The head twisted to one side and the air went out of them, she then pulled the face cover down and Kenzie's face came into view.

"Fuck, I've just punched aunt Kenzie."

"That's it young lady, your grounded."

Stunned wouldn't even describe her face just then.

"What for, because I hit aunt Kenzie? Daddy I didn't know."

"No because you swore."

Faced with the irony of everything going on around us, the only word she could summon from her stunned thoughts was, "Oh."

I didn't get anything else out of her, we needed to get Kenzie indoors. Ignoring the blood along the whole length of the sword I placed the short sword back in its scabbard and pushed it until it locked into position before pocketing the grenade and lifting her into my arms, Erin raced ahead with the radio telling her mom to meet us at the patio doors.

Her Sig was still in her hand when she watched us reach the decking, she put it back in its holster when she recognized Kenzie.

"Erin, look after the girls for me we need to get your aunt Kenzie out of these clothes."

This time she looked at Kenzie and then me, waiting perhaps for me to tell Casey that our daughter had just punched Kenzie. Then she was away and my wife and I went into the guest bedroom and while Casey fussed, I placed her on the bed. The attire she wore was the closest I have seen in a few ninja films, getting her out of it was a true work of art. With complex ties and sashes, it seemed to have hidden pockets all over it that yielded stars, darts, knives and even a set of brass knuckles.

Damn that girl carried her own arsenal.

But for us both the worst was yet to come. As I slowly stripped Kenzie, my wife held onto her hand and as I moved to pull the outer layer of clothing off of her, Casey let out a shriek. When I looked at her my wife was already tearing up and lurching across the unconscious Kenzie to inspect her other hand.

"Look at her hands Matt, she has no finger nails on either hand."

Tears freely flowed from my wife's eyes. I had seen Casey sad before but this was a new level.

"She's been tortured Matt."

Just as those words left her lips I pulled open her top to reveal Kenzie in nothing but a sports bra. This time Casey's hands went to her mouth, that action on her part only muffled her anguished scream slightly. Her sports bra may have hidden her breasts but not the scars all over her body, long jagged tears into her skin, round holes that to me looked like she was once used as an ashtray. Even bruises that were different colors proving she had been beaten consistently over a period of time.

I couldn't place the palm of my hand on any part of her upper body and not connect at least two scars together. The same pattern followed when we eventually got her trousers and shoes off, she was a living breathing scar ridden mess than kept my wife in tears every time we had to move Kenzie's body to free her of her clothes.

It was the balling of her hands that alerted me, I quickly pushed my wife out of the way and held onto Kenzie's wrist. Her eyes opened at my touch and as I looked down at her it was clear she was acting once again on instinct, since she had no hands to defend herself she only had one response left and I twisted my head just as she tried to head butt me.

Casey quickly drew breath as I placed all my weight across Kenzie's chest forcing her back onto the bed. With my mouth inches from her ear I whispered gently to her as she struggled against us restraining her. Casey came round the other side of the bed and took over from me with gentle words of reassurance that she was safe. It still took awhile but her thrashing around slowly eased and even her hands unclenched.

With great caution I lifted myself off her body and looked in those open eyes to see nothing but darkness, an old adage came to me as we both looked down at her just then 'the lights were on but no one was home'. Movement out of the corner of my eyes caused me to look up at my wife as she leant down by Kenzie and with great tenderness and care, she kissed her. Only then did she seem to truly relax.

Casey left the room and came back as I was pulling a cover over Kenzie, she carried a bowl of warm water and a cloth in one hand a towel over her other arm. I turned the cover back over and let my wife wash her, when Kenzie needed moving then I would turn her, I checked her fingers, Kenzie had already dealt with the injuries there, at best guess I would say maybe a month old already, my wife's face was like stone throughout. Once she was finished, Casey gave me the bowl and I left with it.

I could hear the songs that the girls always liked to sing drift down the stairs, Erin sat on the last step like a young mother hen watching me as I emptied the bowel and cleaned it. Her silence worried me and when I looked over to her those eyes kept following me around the kitchen. Eventually I sat next to her, placing her hand in mine and waiting her out.

"Did my hitting aunt Kenzie hurt her daddy?"

A lump came to my throat, God I loved this girl.

"No honey, if anything it may have been a blessed relief for her. She's in her own pain right now Erin so when you go to bed later you may want to pray for her."

Her head leaned against my arm as we both seemed to be watching the same piece of carpet in the middle of the room.

"Susan and I have been doing that for some years." She shivered before drawing breathe once again. "Please don't let her die daddy."

The emotions of her evening took her from me then and Erin held me tight to her as she cried so hard. She had tried ever so hard to be older than her years today; it seems the child within her wasn't ready to leave just yet. I eventually carried my daughter upstairs and placed her on her bed, kissing her forehead and left her to her own thoughts.

*******

Casey was still sitting on the bed holding Kenzie's hand when I got back. She glanced up quickly to see if it was me before her gaze once again settled on her friend.

"This is killing her Matt."

For my part I gently rubbed the back of my wife's neck trying to release some of the tension building up. Suddenly she stood just inches from my face, her eyes so angry.

"Make her stop Matt, I'm not going to lose her, make her stop."

I tried to reach out to my wife but she was having none of it, she still had more to say and the anger in her eyes simply grew.

"Do whatever you have to do but make her stop, all this is killing her Matt, fuck another baby into her if you have too but she stops, do you hear me?"

My wife knew what she was saying she couldn't hide how scared she was just as Erin couldn't. I just held onto her hoping that alone would give her some comfort because right at this moment I simply didn't know what else to do.

"She's all busted up Matt, she'll listen to you. Kenzie may be my friend but she'll listen to you, please make her stop and come home."

For the rest of the evening we sat holding hands and watching over the one woman who had sworn to watch over us, just hoping that she had it in her to get through this.

Finally the stress of the evening wore her down so I sent my wife to bed while I watched over Kenzie. It must have been close to three in the morning when her eyes once again shot open, her whole body tensed and she pushed herself high up against the headboard, the sheet that covered her dropping from her body as she did so.

I could almost second guess what she would do a second before she did it, her eyes scanned the room so quickly that she didn't see me sitting in the shadows. Once her eyes took stock of where the windows and door were she came to the realization that she was naked. I moved slowly to bring myself into view and I'm just thankful that some part of her brain recognized me.

Getting up real slow helped make sure Kenzie didn't bolt, she still watched me like a hawk, even more so when I sat on the edge of the bed.

"You've had a tough time of it lately Kenzie, my best guess is that you have a mild concussion, so you need rest and lots of it. You wont be alone Kenzie, every time you open your eyes one of us will be with you, ok?"

The conflict behind her eyes was interesting to see and thankfully the woman I knew won out. She visibly relaxed enough to slip back down the bed, I placed the cover over her and sat with her until her eyes closed once again. Casey relieved me in the morning while I fed and then took the girls to school. When I got back she said that Kenzie had woken and watched Casey read her book for a while and even smiled at her before her eyes grew heavy and sleep took her once again.

We repeated this the second night and the same in the morning, once in awhile Kenzie would open her eyes and see who was in the room before closing them again. It was as we were about to change watch that we seemed to have Kenzie back with us. She asked if she could shower, I refused, she was too weak to stand so it was agreed that Casey would bath with her. I'm sure the Courtesan in Kenzie found that concept interesting if the smile on her face meant anything.

I was just throwing some Epsom salts into the tub when two very naked females joined me in the bathroom, I didn't spend too long looking at the contrast in bodies and once I mentally bitch slapped myself for even doing it I left them to it while I kept the girls amused. They all wanted updates on aunt Kenzie and both Casey and I always made sure it was as positive as we could make it and not stretch the truth.

Both the twins came to me and asked if they could sit with aunt Kenzie as well. I knew Kenzie had already turned a corner and from the sketchy details Casey gave me the bath was a success as well, so telling them I would check with their mom but I couldn't see her saying no, I got a real tight hug from both of them.

We both agreed, although Casey insisted I bring in a t-shirt to hide Kenzie's scars. Kenzie was sleeping less now that the concussion had all but gone, we also suspected that the sleeping was due to her exhaustion.

*******

How we kept how badly damaged Kenzie was from the rest of the girls while she recovered I will never know. It was Erin sitting with her when she woke, the poor girl leapt out of her chair and dived onto Kenzie before she realized what she had done, such was her relief.

Kenzie for her part just held on and Erin kissed and apologized to her for hitting her. The commotion coming from the guest room drew us all in and poor Kenzie became overwhelmed. My wife quickly picked up on it and shooed everyone back into the day room, closing the door behind her. The glare I got from Casey as the door finally closed didn't go un-noticed either.

"She's angry with me?"

I shook my head before replying, "More like worried for you."

This time I moved and sat on the bed, holding her hand as we spoke.

"A grenade Kenzie?"

She knew she needed to explain, "She was the last of them, you know we fight with tradition but when Shannon found out that it was only the two of us left she went after you. I couldn't allow that so she never got the choice I gave the others."

"So why was it still in your hand and so close to the house?"

Kenzie went a little red just then.

"I couldn't find the pin after she pulled it out."

Well that got a smile out of me if nothing else.

"Casey wants you to stop this, I'm telling you this because I agree with her."

Other than nod her head once again she said nothing for awhile, I left her to her thoughts just squeezed her hand from time to time just to let her know I was still here. Eventually she asked to speak to Casey, I kissed her on the forehead and the look she gave me when I leaned away should have warned me.

Her hands came to my head and pulled me down for a kiss we hadn't enjoyed for many years. I think Casey figured it out when I opened the door as well. When I told her that Kenzie wanted to speak to her she blew past me slapping my ass on the way. Not that I was clock watching, but she was in there for close to three hours, I even had to ask Susan to turn the television up a little to disguise the noises I recognized that were coming from the guest room.

We let the children have time with Kenzie but had to ration it, what those two got up to earlier had weakened her. It was as bath and bed times were announced and all the women of the house were upstairs that I knocked and went in to see her. She was sitting up and smiling as I came in and sat on the edge of the bed. Her smile waned just a little when she looked a little closer.

"What have I done?"

For my part I held her hand before replying, "I suspect, but you can confirm this for me, you submitted to Casey?"

Kenzie's cheeks went a little red but her eyes remained defiant.

"Yes, it's what you both want, and I'm happy here but I'm a Courtesan, which makes me mistress material at best."

My mouth opened to argue with her, I never got the chance. Casey leaning against the open door got in ahead of me.

"The fuck you are."

Casey walked into the room and I gave up my space on the bed for her, she kissed me a thank you on the cheek for doing it. Still hearing the children moving around upstairs I walked out of Kenzie's room, still listening to Casey as I did.

"When I told Matt to tell you I would agree to a Polyamorous relationship..."

The rest I figured I knew what was going to be said but a closed door while these sort of talks went on between women was always best when you had so many children, two of them 'want to be adults', desperate to grow up way too fast in the house. That didn't stop Susan and Erin being too damn smart for their own good. I figured out as much when they both helped me put Paige and Danielle to bed.

All three of us ended up in Susan's room, the door was ajar so we could listen out for the younger ones and thankfully they also adjusted the volume they were speaking in as well.

Susan started us off, "Aunt Kenzie is staying here from now on isn't she?"

"Yes, she is comfortable here and she wishes to call this home, along with you guys, but you all live here as well so we need to discus this with all of you not just you two."

Erin's imagination went off and it sure took us a while to get her back.

"So you're going to divorce mommy?"

Both Susan and I looked at her as though she was from another planet, that imagination of hers continued to rampage inside her head. We both grabbed a hand each of Erin's and held on real tight. I could have sure used my wife right about now but she was busy verbally beating some sense into Kenzie.

I spoke about how I met Kenzie and how we grew to love one another, it helped that they knew her from an earlier time. We touched ever so slightly on their own father kidnapping them for money and ever since then Kenzie being the family's guardian angel. Also how helping get them away from their father had brought her into the light and the people who wanted to catch her and take her away.

Both girls knew what came next when they woke that morning to find they had a sister now and the growing closeness of their mom and me, hell they even did a happy dance around the day room the evening we sat them down and told them we were going to get married. But Kenzie always hovered like a protective shadow over us all, like the evening she came to them in the tent when Erin needed her the most.

The connection between my wife and Kenzie grew in a more mysterious way, she had the ability to call on Kenzie, something I never had and I suspected that they had met each other more often, since Kenzie intervened with Erin. The request for me to tell her that both my wife and I would like to include her in the family was meant for me to get used to the idea more than anything. My wife had already decided in her mind this would happen, it was just a matter of getting the two of us to agree to it.

At first Erin said we were gross, Susan smiled at me and the heat built in my neck, just waiting for her response.

"I never knew you were greedy daddy.

My time with these girls has taught me that they thrived on honesty, and I was.

"For many years I drifted, meeting your uncle and becoming his friend was special to me. My life changed and continued to do so when I held your uncle in my arms as he died. I knew the loss to me, I couldn't even imagine the loss to your mom, even when they handed your grandparents that flag."

For many years I had a wall around my past, Erin got a sneak peak when I needed her to go to my storage box. I drifted until I joined the army and when I left, the danger of drifting again became real. Casey and these two girls slowed down that drifting sensation and meeting Kenzie put a stop to it. Over the years I grew roots and my family along with Kenzie was Casey and these two girls.

I told them the truth about when their own father stole them and wanted money to return them, my world threatened to implode. Kenzie, out of love for me and those same two angels now sitting in front of me she became the one person she had hidden from the world knowing that in doing so she herself would have to leave.

Both Susan and I watched as her sister followed my words. To me Kenzie and my wife are equals I could say I love my wife more because she is after all my wife, but that would be a lie. Just as you would have a different type of love for two sisters I had the same for both the women in my life, how Casey spotted that in me I will never know, but that's wives for you, always picking up on an undercurrent of feelings.

Casey had already explained to Kenzie that she was willing to share, it wasn't a capitulation of statues, she would always be my wife. What Casey was trying hard to explain to Kenzie was that she would be wife number two, a mistress would have no place in our relationship, that would make Kenzie less than an equal and neither of us would agree to that.

We could see the wheels going around in Erin's head as I explained all this, she even went to open her mouth to say something before she spotted movement by the door and her eyes looked past me. My wife came in and kissed us all and a whole new level of relief came to me as she took over the conversation from then on. She added her perspective on the situation and I sat like the twins in awe of her when she explained her reasons why she wanted all this.

"Please don't look on us as weirdo's or freaks because we're not. I want this, but I know you two live here as well, the young ones will grow into this situation, of that I have little doubt, but you girls are older and have seen more."