Aftercare: General's Daughter, Book 4 (4 page)

“How about fighting?”

“If you can fight like a girl, fine. Otherwise, no.” Scott
frowned, pointing at her.

“Should I dress slutty? Neither Michael nor Rich will go for
that,” Sam grinned mischievously.

“If they catch you, we can’t help you. So don’t get caught,”
Scott commented.

Dr. Quimby smiled sadly, running his large hand along the
side of her face and cupping her chin, “I wish this was not necessary, but I am
glad you’re willing to do this. You might be able to help these girls and get
rid of the bastard who is hurting them.”

“If I find him, what should I do?”

“Kill the son of a bitch,” Dr. Quimby whispered.

She nodded. “If it’s a matter of me or him, you better
believe I will. With no regrets.”

“I love you, baby. Just promise you’ll be careful.”

“I promise Daddy. I always have my backup if needed. My
transmitter and Michael. He can find me anywhere if I have no choice in blowing
my cover.”

“He’s going to be livid about not being involved. We have to
make sure he doesn’t find out. I hate to do that to you, honey, but we are
under orders,” Scott said.

“But she’s just a colonel. And you always boast about how you
can get your way with pretty, unattached ladies…”

“As much as I would like to have my way with that pretty,
unattached lady, the fact is that these orders are coming from higher places. Now,
throw a tantrum, tell us how unfair we are and that you never want to speak to
us again,” Scott commanded.

“Okay. I love you. Here goes… YOU JERKS! I hate you! You are
so unfair! I never want to speak to either of you ever again!” she screamed,
slamming the office door.

“Watch your mouth, young lady!” Scott bellowed.

“Fuck you! I hate you!” Sam yelled, running up to her room
and crashing the door closed behind her. She held her breath, waiting for the
sound of footsteps. She suspected that she had pushed the last statement a
little too far. Sure enough.

“Open this door this minute, Samantha Anne!” Dr. Quimby
ordered, pounding on the locked door. She slowly obeyed, returning to the edge
of her bed as he slammed the door behind him. “You know better than that,” he
said quietly.

“I was trying to make it real,” she whispered, biting her
lip.

He sat down. “Yes, but now you forced me to have to make it
real as well. Over my lap, right now. I don’t care what’s going on, you will
not swear at us like that, for any reason.”

“I’m sorry, Daddy. OOOWWWW!” she yelped as his hand quickly
found its way across her bottom. He spanked her sharply and quickly, making her
spell out the offending phrase. She squealed, unable to escape as each sharp
smack covered her tiny derriere in quick succession as he matched each letter
with three swats. The running shorts covering her backside failed to afford enough
protection from the pain of his strong swing and Sam was crying softly by the
time he finished. With a pained sigh, her father lifted her into his arms,
kissing her tears away as he embraced her tightly.

“I won’t have anything or anybody undo the work we’ve done
with you. That’s something I won’t compromise, okay? I’m sorry I had to do
this, but you pushed it way too far with the swearing, baby.”

“I know. I’m sorry. Is… is Scott coming up to wash my mouth
out with soap?”

“He’ll come up, but I doubt he’ll do anything. Except yell. No
more cussing.”

“Yes, sir. I’m sorry.” Sam sniffed.

Scott walked in as Dr. Quimby walked out. He winked as he
bellowed his displeasure and informed her that he would have her taste soap
instead of his ruler. She begged and pleaded for him to spare her, promising to
watch her temper in the future. Sam washed her face with the soap to leave the
scent, and waited quietly for the typical ten minutes of the punishment. After
Scott left, Michael snuck in – as expected.

“Hey, are you all right? I can’t believe they are doing this.”
He laid down on the bed next to her to stroke her hair. Her eyes were still a
little red (from the irritating soap).

“I’ve never felt so unwanted, Michael. They don’t want me
around. Why would they want to humiliate me like this?” She sniffed. He was
quiet, contemplating an answer.

“I don’t get it. Maybe they think you will react more like a
teenager if you are around other teenagers. They probably feel guilty for
making you into a 18 year old killing machine.” He sighed. “I don’t know what I’m
going to do without you in the lab. It will be so weird.”

“I don’t want to go to school. I swear, Mike, I’ll get myself
expelled. I’m an adult. This is so wrong.”

“I know, honey. It’s only two weeks and I have faith that you
can make it through. Please don’t get yourself expelled, either. The only thing
it will succeed in doing is pissing them off. I just don’t want them to feel that
they have to actually send you away somewhere to make their point. You know
about their Washington trip, right?”

“No,” Sam lied, resting her cheek on the inside of his arm.

He stroked her face and sighed deeply. “I overheard Scott
talking to Dad about this mandatory conference they have to go to in DC. They’ll
be gone for ten days. That means I’ll be in charge most of the time that this
is going on. It sucks for both of us.”

“Good, then I don’t have to go to school.”

“If they say you do, then I can’t change it. I wish I could
do something. I don’t understand their reasoning, but if they both think this
is for the best, we have to trust them.” He looked miserable.

Sam felt guilty for putting him through this. Oh well, if she
got into any trouble, his anger with her would eliminate her guilt. “I promise
you, Mike, I won’t do this willingly,” she said stubbornly.

Michael touched her lips. “Please don’t make me have to get
on your case. I really don’t like doing that. Just tough it out. Remember, it’s
only two weeks. You made it through OCS and ocean ops training. You can do
this.”

“But I was a Marine! Not expected to act like a dumb kid. I’ll
never forgive them for this.”

“Just try to plough through it and trust their judgment. They
never do anything without a reason. Do you want me to see if Rich can stay with
us while the folks are gone? I think you would feel a little less put out,
right?”

“They won’t let him. They said I was grounded.”

“That means you can’t go out on a date, but not that your
date can’t come here. I’ll ask, okay?”

“Okay. Just don’t get in trouble because of me. Mike?”

“What, baby?”

“Did you and Jen have sex?” Sam asked to change the subject. Her
stomach was hurting, having to lie to him and seeing how accommodating he was
trying to be.

“Where did that question come from, nosey?”

“The fact you didn’t answer me says yes. Was it good?”

“Little sister, it was incredible. Thank you again for her.”
Michael smiled, softly caressing her arm.

“I like seeing you happy. I’m glad for you.”

“Me too. I’m going back downstairs and try to put out some of
the fire. I love you. Can I get you anything?”

“No, thanks. I love you too, Michael.”

Michael trotted downstairs to talk with his parents. They
were both indifferent regarding his responsibilities while they were away,
merely informing him to be fair and not over-react in case his sister did
something out of the ordinary. They reminded him that the environment, and the
circumstance, was completely foreign to her and requested that he practice
patience and leniency if possible. Michael, relieved by the instructions,
promised to do so.

“One more thing, son. We are truly sorry that this occurred
at a time when we have to be gone. We did not want to have to leave you to take
care of this mess. I hope you understand that we decided to do this for her own
good. She’s too reactive in the military setting and needs to learn to pull
back and think first.”

“I’m happy to help, Dad. I’ll probably be easier on her then
you two would be, anyway. I really feel sorry for her. She feels she is being
discarded.”

“She’s not. Quite the contrary, we are trying to expose her
to normalcy. One day, she’ll understand. I hope,” Scott said kindly.

“No matter what, though, please do not allow her to disobey
our house rules. All still apply. I honestly don’t care about what happens
unless she gets mouthy or rude with an adult. Or gets into a serious fight. Anything
else can wait until we get home,” Dr. Quimby said firmly.

“Whatever you need, I’ll do. I wanted to ask if it was okay
for Rich to stay with us while you’re gone. I think he can help me keep her
from flying.”

“I didn’t think of that. It’s her MO when she feels trapped. Scott?
What do you think?”

“She’s supposed to be grounded. Very well, but she is not to
leave this house except if she needs to balance or do PT. You tell Rich that he
is here as an MP, not her boyfriend,” Scott ordered.

Michael nodded. “I will. Thanks. He can babysit if I decide
to go out, too. It will give me a little break from the tantrums.”

“She might not be that bad. At least, I hope she will show
you and Rich some constraint. I told her not to show off, but I suspect obeying
that might be a major problem.” Scott sighed.

***

“NO, NO, NO!” Sam stomped her foot, glaring at her brother. “I
am NOT going and you can’t make me!”

“Sammi, we don’t have a choice. Please, don’t make this so
difficult for me.”

“We do have a choice. And mine is that I’m not budging.”

“Sis, come on. I have a meeting this morning and don’t have
time for this. We’ll talk about it tonight.”

“I’m staying home,” the girl said stubbornly; part of her
enjoying the opportunity to annoy her brother (with her father’s permission). She
also knew of his promise to be patient with her and was seeing how far that
went.

“Shit. I’m late. Rich? Help me please.”

“What’s going on?” Rich asked, coming down the stairs, dressed
in cammies.

“I have to go early to work and she won’t move. We’ve got to
get her to school by eight. Can you take her?”

“Glad to. Are you going in your pajamas?” Rich asked, tucking
in his tee shirt.

She wrinkled her nose. “Of course not. I’m not going.”

“Oh yes, you are. See you later, Mike. Let’s get you dressed.”
He yanked her off the couch and pushed her towards the stairs. She trudged up
them, feeling his hand on her back.

“I don’t want to do this, Rich. Please, don’t make me.” She
looked like she was going to cry. Who would have thought she’d never had acting
lessons? She was even convincing herself.

He kissed her. “We aren’t happy about it either, but let’s
just get through this. Here, slip on these jeans and this top. I won’t look.”

“Why not? Look all you want. It doesn’t mean I’ll let you
touch today,” she said, lifting off the oversized tee shirt and standing before
him naked.

Rich turned away, swallowing. He now had the full image of
her perfection burned into his mind. “Get dressed before I paddle that
backside,” he growled with his back to her.

She didn’t like the sound of his threat and obeyed. She had
heard of his method from Jen and was not eager to test him just yet. “You are
so mean. Let’s go,” she grumbled, pulling her hair into a ponytail and slipping
into sandals. She grabbed her gear bag, which carried a change of clothes. Rich
kissed her quickly before taking her to his jeep.

“Do you want me to walk in with you?” he asked. She shook her
head.

“I don’t need anyone else drooling over my smoking hot
boyfriend. But you can kiss me.”

He obliged, feeling her wilt in his embrace. “I’ll see you
this afternoon. I’ll come get you at 1530.”

“Okay. I love you,” she whispered, kissing him again.

“I love you more. Be good.”

He drove off and sighing, she walked inside to the office. “I’m
new here. Samantha Lewis.” She gave the name they had signed her up under to
protect her identity. Michael had been told that they did it so the other
military kids wouldn’t accidentally recognize the general’s name and treat her
differently. It was Michael’s idea to borrow Lewis from Rich.

“Welcome, Miss Lewis. Here’s your schedule and a map to your
classes. You have study hall first period. That’s down in the library. Have a
good day,” the secretary said.

“Thanks,” Sam responded, glancing at the map to memorize it,
then tossing it in the trash. This was noticed by several onlookers. She went
to the library and plopped in a chair next to a nice looking blond guy.

“You’re in my seat,” a blonde girl in a cheerleader uniform
said to her. Sam looked behind her and along the side of the chair.

“Really? I don’t see your name on it.”

“You need to move.”

“No,” Sam said, propping her foot on the table, “I don’t
think I do.”

“Les, come with me. We are not sitting here near the trash.”

Sam laughed as the blond guy followed the little chit. This
might be fun after all. Her first class was Calculus. Boring. She placed her
head on the desk as the teacher lectured.

He cleared his throat. “Do you have a headache, Miss Lewis?”

“No, I’m just bored silly,” she answered honestly. Several
students giggled.

The teacher frowned. “Would you care to solve this problem on
the board then? Come up here.”

“Don’t need to. It’s 5x over 9 to the 7
^th
. Please
wake me when you have something a bit more challenging, okay?” She yawned,
hearing more giggles.

He frowned again. “You are here to learn, Miss Lewis. Unless
you feel you know more than I do, I suggest you pay attention.”

“To what? These juvenile math games? Please.”

“Okay, solve this one since you think you’re so smart. Come
up here to the board.”

“Don’t need to. It’s 2(3v7) fractioned by 18 to the square 9
^th
.”