The Strange Healing (19 page)

He
smiled and gave her another hug, before helping her stand and pull her jeans back up.  They walked hand in hand back to Phil and Heather's.

“
You're awfully quiet,” he commented as they were walking back.

“
I'm embarrassed,” she admitted quietly.

“
About what?”

“
Because they know what happened, don't they?”

Patting her hand, he admitted, “Probably, yes.  But you don't need to be embarrassed.  As you know, Heather gets spanked on a regular basis.  The only reason either of them will be concerned is because they care about you and will want to make sure you're okay, knowing this was your first spanking.”

She considered his words, then asked, “You sure they won't be laughing at me, or think bad of me?”

“
I can guarantee they won't be.  Why would you think they would laugh, or think bad of you?”

“
Because I did something terrible and got spanked for it.”

“That's how you see it. 
The way I see it you made a mistake, like all of us do occasionally, and someone cares enough about you to not let it go unchecked.” 

She smiled up at him.  “I like the way you describe it much better.”

“Good.  Then think of it that way, because it's how we all think about it.”  After they walked a little further he said, “You know what I see when I look at you or Heather after you've been spanked?”

She looked at him curiously.  “A blubbering mess?”

“No.  I see a smart woman who's honest enough to admit she made a mistake, and strong enough to let someone guide her and help her be the best she can be.  I wish I could somehow convey to you how proud I am of you two.”

Now it was Sara's turn to study Heath's face, and she also saw the honesty there.  “You mean that, don't you?”

“Every word of it,” he confirmed.

She stopped walking and turned to him.  When their eyes met, so did their lips.

Sara felt better as they continued on to Phil's after their talk. 

Heather proved Heath right when she opened the door and hugged Sara while asking, “Are you okay?”

Sara smiled and assured her, “I'm fine.”  When Heather looked hesitant, Sara said, “Thank you for your concern, Heather, but I really am fine.  I have a sore butt, but my heart's never been better.”

Heath gave her a quick kiss on her cheek and whispered, “That's my girl.”

Fifteen minutes later they were in the living room enjoying some white chocolate mousse and coffee.

Heather said, “Sara, I never got a chance to tell you where the post office drop box is here.” 

Sara could tell her face was turning red yet again, but she said, “Oh, yeah.  Where is it?”

“
There's one in front of each building.”

“
Okay, thanks.  I'll be sure to mail that tomorrow.”

Phil said, “Good.  The police department thanks you for the donation.”  He laughed at the look she gave him.  Then he said, “I have a question for you, Sara.”

“What's that?”

“
What did you need so badly that it was worth parking in front of a hydrant?”

“
It was for that da – dumb pink and purple zebra.”

“
The what?”

Heath and Sara said in unison, “Don't ask.”

Heath turned to Sara and said, “Watch your language.  Do you need a reminder already?”

A red-faced Sara whispered, “No.  Sorry.”

Phil and Heather watched the interaction between them, before looking at each other, and breaking out in laughter.

Sara looked at them, horrified.

Phil picked up on her fear right away and assured her, “Sara, we're not laughing at you, or Heath and what he said to you.  It's just – well, you said – I think you said – did you say –”

Heather blurted out, “What the hell is a pink and purple zebra?”

Phil was instantly in front of Heather, pulling her up out of the chair she was sitting in.  He calmly whirled her around and landed six sharp swats on her butt before calmly sitting her back down.  She tried to jump back up, but he was ready for it and gently pushed her back down.  “Heather, you know better than to use that kind of language, especially right after you heard your brother warn Sara.”

A subdued Heather said, “Sorry.”

Sara's eyes were huge, and she immediately said, “Heather, I'm sorry.”

Heath looked at her sitting beside him on the couch, astonished.  “For what?”

“Heath, she just got spanked because of me.”

“
Because of you?  What did you do?”

“
If I wouldn't have said that damn pink and purple zebra, and made you warn me about my language, she wouldn't have gotten in trouble.”

Heath couldn't believe what he just heard.  He calmly reached over, pulled her across his lap and quickly landed six swats on her bottom.  Then he calmly helped her back up so she was again sitting beside him.  When she also tried to jump up, he put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her over to lean against him, but insuring she stayed where she was, sitting on a now doubly sore bottom.

The girls looked at each other, like two deer caught in the headlights.  Heather was the first to find her voice and said, “Sara, I'm sorry.”

“
No, I'm sorry, Heather.”

Heath had had about enough.  He turned to Sara and asked again, “For what?”  Turning back to his sister he said, “You can be sorry.  That's fine, you should be sorry.  It was rude of you to use that language right after I warned Sara.”  Turning back to Sara he asked, “But what in the world are you sorry for?”

“For getting her into trouble.”

“
Sara, you didn't get her into trouble.  The only thing you did wrong was your language, after I'd already warned you, and in case you didn't realize it, or have forgotten already, you got spanked for it.  So you now have nothing to be sorry for or feel guilty about.”  She looked doubtful, and Heath gave her a hug and said, “We need to keep working on that, Sweetie.  Remember, I said I was going to start giving you consequences when you do something wrong, and I did.  Your language earned you another few swats.  But that's all you have to be sorry for.  Do you understand, Sweetie?”

She still looked unsure, but said, “I'm trying.”

Phil offered, “Sara, trust me, you didn't get Heather in trouble.  She did that all by herself.  It was not your fault, and you've got to stop taking the blame for things.”

“
Why?”

“
Because if you two are going to be spending time together Heath and I are going to have to be careful.  If you're willing to take the blame, Heather will be happy to give it to you.  Don't let her get away with that.”

Heath added, “That's for sure.”

Heather was upset now.  “What are you talking about?  Why would I want to get my best friend in trouble?”

Phil offered, “To get yourself out of a spanking.  Now, before you argue, we're just warning you both we don't want that happening.  Understand?
"  When no one said anything, he said, “Heather?”

“
Yes.”

Heath asked, “And Sara, do you understand, as well?”

“Yes.”

Together the men said, “Good.”  The girls looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

They finished their dessert and visited a while before calling it a night.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Heath came over right after work Tuesday, as they had planned.  Sara had dinner ready, and they ate right away so they could go to Heath's to talk.  Monday night's spanking kept them from doing any talking, and they were anxious to get started.

Three hours after dinner, which Heath absolutely loved, Sara was sitting on Heath's lap, leaning against his chest, crying her eyes out.  Heath handed her his handkerchief and held her tight while telling her, “It's okay, Honey.  Cry all you want to.  Get it all out of your system.  I've got you, you're safe, so just let go of it.  You've held it all in way too long.”  He kept up the quiet assurances that she was safe and he was proud of her, until they were both sure she had cried every last tear she had in her.

It took another ten minutes after she stopped crying to recover to the point that she could talk to Heath again.  He didn't rush her, but held her tight through the whole ordeal.  When he felt she was ready, he said, “Honey, you can't possibly know how proud I am of you right now.”

Looking up speculatively she asked, “For what?  Totally falling apart?”

“Honey, I've known for a while now that you wouldn't get over your fear of this happening again until you faced it, and allowed yourself to be angry that it happened, and told the fear, and thus yourself, that you are in control and it no longer is.  That is such a hard thing to do, though.  Some people never quite get to that point.  You did, though.” 

“
Thank you, Heath.  I did get there, but only because of you.  You led me there.  Well, sometimes it was more like you pulled me there.  You had to pull some of that out of me, but thank you for it.”

“
You did all the hard work, Honey.  You did everything I asked, even though I know it was not easy a lot of the time.”

“
That's because I trust you.  Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to do everything you asked.” 

“
You feel better now, don't you?”

“
I don't know how to explain it.  It's like I've been trying to climb a mountain wearing cement shoes and carrying a horse on my back.”

“
And now it's easier to climb the hill without the cement shoes and horse on your back?”

“
No.  Now I feel like I made it to the top, and I threw away the cement shoes and let the horse run free.  The hard stuff is all behind me now.”  She looked at him with a triumphant smile and said, “I made it!”

“
Yes, you did,” he said, pulling her in for a big hug.  He kissed her with so much passion and pride, she felt like she was not only on top of a mountain, but on top of the world.

He held her in his arms
a while longer, letting her soak in the triumphant feeling.  He then said, “I know that was physically and emotionally exhausting, Sara.  When you feel like you're up to it we'll get you back to Phil's so you can go to sleep.  I want you to sleep in tomorrow.  Not only are you exhausted now, but you've got a big day tomorrow, moving in to John's condo.”

She looked at him, smiling.  “I forgot about that.  I'm ready now to do this, aren't I?”

He returned her smile as he said, “I think you are, yes.”  Putting his stern face on again, though, he added, “But I want you to promise me right now, Sara, that if you have any problems at all, bad dreams or otherwise, you will call me, no matter what time of day or night.  Do you understand?”

She was smiling, knowing
he was watching out for her because he cared, as she assured him, “Yes, I understand.”

“
And will you promise me that?”

“
I promise.”

“
Good.  And you know what will happen if you break a promise or lie to me, don't you?”

Still smiling, she answered, “Yes, I know all too well.”

“Good.”  He smiled and gave her a kiss on her forehead.  “Now you rest a few more minutes, and tell me when you feel ready to go back over.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Heath called Heather the next morning and was glad to hear Sara was still sleeping.  He told her to tell Sara he'd take her boxes of things over to her new condo this evening before dinner.

Heather got off work at noon, and the two girls moved Sara's clothes into the condo.  John had moved his clothes to the extra bedroom, so there was plenty of room.  Sara had already gone to the grocery store, so the refrigerator and pantry were stocked. 

The girls looked around the condo, coming up with a few ideas to make the condo seem more like home to Sara, without any major changes since it was still John's condo.  They would put a few of his sports and nautical accent pieces in the guest bedroom closet, to be returned before he got home.  They took pictures of all of them before moving them, so they'd know where everything had been.  They went shopping and bought replacement pieces that were more to Sara's liking. 

When they finished, they looked around, pleased with what they saw.  They both agreed that the print of the flower-filled courtyard with a view of the sea in the distance looked much nicer on the wall than the ship's anchor.  And the candles were far more appealing than the signed football and baseball.  The fresh
flowers in place of the sports trophies were an absolute necessity.  A few more small changes here and there completed the transformation, without any permanent changes, which she would never do.

Happy with their work on the condo, they set their target on making a special dinner.  They were talking so much they didn't hear Heath come in the front door.  He was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, watching them, when Heather turned around and saw him.  She screamed before she realized it was him.  He went over to calm her down, just as Phil came running into the kitchen, still in his uniform, gun drawn.