Life continues to fuck me over hard, but maybe it'll 
get tired of it sooner or later, but so far it's only 
gotten worse.  As I've said, though, I'll keep writing 
anyway.  Once again, end of bitchfest.  I want to 
think everybody gave me feedback on earlier chapters 
of this story.  As I have said before, I hope to prove 
that I will not fail or falter.  I'm still trying for 
one chapter per month from this point on, but maybe 
I'll be able to do better.  As always, not even I know 
how long this story will end up being, again, we are 
still only in the beginning and I don't know the end 
of this journey anymore than you do.  I will continue 
to give props to CSquared as his is the first story 
beyond mine that I have ever run across, where 
somebody had telekinesis, but did not have the ability 
of telepathy (always excepting the early eighties 
movie "Zapped!" with Scott Baio, and the debate on my 
end of reality is raging on as to whether or not he 
was mildly telepathic).  But even in Powers there are 
telepaths on hand to pull an Obi-Wan and conveniently 
make everyone forget.  So how much more difficult 
would life be if those with the super-human power to 
move things with their minds couldn't erase the memory 
from the standers-by?  How hard would it be for 
someone to have pure telekinesis, with no telepathy, 
and no one around to help them out?  In short, a world 
where telekinesis was suddenly real, but telepathy was 
still a pipe dream?  Let's find out.  Now, as always, 
please send any and all comments to me.  Suggestions 
and criticisms will be gratefully accepted.  Flames, 
however, will be ignored.  Please, do me a favor and 
tell me what you think.  After all, it really is the 
only payment we online authors get <g>.

And before I forget, if you like this type of story, 
I'd highly suggest checking out the works of "The 
Book" series by Blackie and "Tim, the Teenaged MC" by 
Rass Senip (which he's updating again, yay!).  
Admittedly, they are mostly telepathy with a bit of 
telekinesis, but they are works for the ages.  And 
then there is the newer work, but every bit as good, 
by CSquared, "Powers" which seems to have equal 
amounts of telepathy and telekinesis as time goes by, 
and I believe it will join the previous two as works 
to be remembered.


------------------------------------------------------

Pure Telekinesis by: Waylan Dagger 
(waylandagger@hotmail.com) (c) 2008


Chapter 7 : Meet the Deans

The teens shot apart just as they had in Mr. Mahery's 
office.  The first major difference is that this time 
they _had_ been making out.  The second was that David 
forgot there was a wall next to him.  He smacked into 
it face-first, rebounded off of it, and fell against 
Ang.  Their suddenly entwined bodies headed for the 
wall next to the elevator doors at an alarming speed.  
Nancy, still over teen feet away, rushed forward, 
immediately thinking that David must have slammed Ang 
against the wall and half crushed her, since neither 
the boy, almost a man, nor her tiny daughter had 
fallen to the floor.  She slowed to a stop and sighed 
with relief until David doubled over, holding his 
head.  She almost started forward again, but her 
daughter had already taken a hold of David and was 
gently holding him to her.  And it seemed to Nancy as 
though she was whispering to him.  Nancy had been 
hovering over them as closely, ready to spring forward 
and aid the couple, which was the only reason she 
caught a glimpse of movement.  She glanced in that 
direction and saw David's hand come away from his nose 
with a streak of blood on his finger.  He quickly 
thrust the hand into his pocket, as Ang stroked his 
hair gently.

Nancy spoke very softly, to David's immense relief.  
"If you two are done for the moment, I really need to 
speak with Angela."

David chuckled, then winced.  "Yeah.  And I think I 
need to talk to your husband," he said and lifted his 
head to look at her, with an obvious effort.

Nancy shook her head.  "Davey, I really don't think 
that's a good idea."

"Please," the young man said and looked almost as 
pained as when he had been holding his head a moment 
ago, "it's David.  My mother named me David and David 
is all I will respond to."

Nancy blinked as her opinion of his maturity was 
forced quite a bit upward.  "David, then," she said 
with a small nod.  "David, talking to Henry right now 
would be fairly high on my list of worst ideas ever."

David grunted softly and nodded.  "Yeah.  Probably 
is," he allowed.  Then he looked Nancy in the eye and 
said, "But if he thinks something is being rammed down 
his throat by the women in his life, well, I'm sure 
he'll accept it.  But he won't ever like it."  David 
smiled slightly, just for a brief moment.  "Like when 
my Dad had to rearrange the garage so Mom and Yvette 
could used it as an exercise space last summer."  
Nancy looked puzzled so David explained, "Yeah, he 
found all his tools and everything else without 
looking for an hour.  And it sure as hell made his 
life easier, especially when the van broke down again.  
But he never stopped bein' mad that he had to put 
everything away as soon as he was done usin' it, even 
though it meant he wouldn't have to look for it 
later."  David shook his head.  "Funny thing is that 
he was so proud of how organized it had all become.  
But he still resented the fact that it had been forced 
on him."

Ang bit her lip and looked at her mother, who had a 
similar look on her face, then back at David.  "Maybe 
you're right."  Ang's voice had gone quiet and shy 
again.  "But you really should listen to Momma.  The 
last time the family got into a fight like this he 
walked into the garage and completely destroyed the 
place."

David smiled at Ang.  "So we're likely to fight.  Good 
place for it.  After all, the hospital ain't far."  He 
leaned in to whisper in Ang's ear, "And I promise I'll 
keep my mind in check.  I won't hurt him, hun."

David pulled back, but paused to quickly kiss Ang.  
Her eyes snapped shut as the memory of the kiss they 
had just shared flooded her.  By the time she opened 
her eyes David was gone.  Ang and Nancy exchanged a 
worried glance, Ang's with a tinge of panic, but 
neither followed him immediately.



David slowed as he turned a final corner and spotted 
Henry again.  He took a deep breath, hoping for the 
thousandth time in less than two minutes that he 
wasn't making a grave mistake, and approached the 
older man.  Staying carefully out of arm's reach, he 
said, "Mr. Dean?"

Henry whirled, spotted David, and snarled, "You!  You 
little..."

David cut him off by calmly stating, "We can beat the 
hell out of each other right now, or talk as 
reasonably as possible and decide if we actually 
_want_ to beat the hell out of each other after."  
David gestured to the door of Jimmy D's room as 
Henry's face was noticeably nonplussed.  "You're 
worried about your son and angry as hell about 
something, so you're reacting.  If you'd really rather 
fight, just take off your sport coat.  I'll even throw 
the first punch so you are just defending yourself and 
won't get in trouble.  But, frankly," and he gestured 
along his own body, "I'll be lucky to get out of it 
alive.  So I'd really rather talk, if it's all the 
same to you."

Henry just blinked several times.  He'd been expecting 
the usual teenage posturing.  The 'we are doing this 
and you can't stop us so fuck you' attitude _all_ 
teenagers adopted when caught at something.  He sure 
as hell hadn't expected anything like this.  He took 
in a sharp breath and nodded.  "All right," he said, 
his voice gruff but almost reasonable.  "Let's talk."

David let out a relieved breath and visibly relaxed.  
Henry realized that this young man had come back 
expecting to be in a fight he couldn't win.  He 
wondered what in the fuck was going on here and, since 
his job had honed his inherently intense curiosity to 
a fine point, he waited for David to speak.  Instead 
of telling the young man just how he felt about him.

"Your son." David started and gestured toward the 
room, "seems to really hate me for some reason.  I 
don't know, maybe it isn't really hate and he's just 
sadistic."  David held up his hand, begging for a 
moment, as Henry swelled.  "But I'd rather think it 
was hate... or at least dislike so intense it's become 
almost holy.  James is a regular tormentor of mine and 
has been since the third grade."  He took a deep 
breath.  "I'm not going to tell you what it is like 
for me because of him and people like him.  He isn't a 
bully because he isn't afraid of a fight."  David saw 
Henry nod in concession.  "But he is disliked rather 
intensely for his actions.  Not just by me, but by 
almost everyone in school that isn't part of his 
private little clique."

"Now hold on," Henry started.

David looked him in the eye steadily, trying to convey 
every way he could that he wasn't lying or even 
exaggerating.  "Just let me get through this Mr. Dean.  
I do realize that you aren't going to take anything I 
say at face value, why should you?  But I hope you'll 
understand that I'm tellin' you the truth from my 
point of view."

Henry blinked several times again and said, "All 
right, I can accept that."

David exhaled again and Henry wondered why he was so 
nervous.  He didn't think this young man was worried 
about being beaten, as then he'd be apologizing and 
rationalizing, instead of saying things that could 
only make the situation worse.  He decided he had to 
hear where this was going and gestured to David, who 
nodded and continued.

"Your son is an amazing football player, but he will 
never have a starting position because of his 
attitude.  Now, so far I've given you personal 
observations and supposition.  I imagine you'd like 
some verifiable fact to back it up."

Henry nodded, almost all of the hostility gone from 
his face and stance.  "Yes, if you please.  So far you 
really haven't given me any reason to believe you."  
He pointed at David's chest.  "Just so you understand, 
kid, I'm not automatically discarding your 
observations, thought I easily could.  But with some 
solid facts I may be able to amend my thoughts about 
you."  He frowned and added, "And maybe about Jimmy 
too."

David nodded slowly.  "Thanks for hearing me out so 
far.  Since your nearest source of reliable 
information is your daughter, I'll focus on the last 
two days, which is how long she and I have comparable 
experiences with James.  Now, can you accept that we 
were not expecting a negative reception today by 
either you or your wife?"  Henry nodded, wondering 
anew where in the hell this kid was going.  "Good," 
David breathed and smiled slightly, for the first time 
since opening Jimmy D's door.  "So you can accept that 
she and I would not have had time to corroborate our 
stories, at least in this instance?"

"Damn," thought Henry, "who the hell is this kid?"  
Aloud, he said, "Yes, I can agree to that."

David nodded.  "Good.  It's important to me that you 
know, and believe, that I would not lie to you."

Henry just looked confused, so David launched into the 
story of how he had knocked Ang down and how Jimmy D 
had reacted.  He only left out the means of the 
lockers opening and slamming into Jimmy D.  After he 
had finished, Henry said, "All right.  Now, Mr. 
Maherty told us that Ang said her brother let her out 
of the car and she walked to your house.  I'm told she 
also said she hadn't a clue about his accident."

David grimaced.  "She lied to Mr. Maherty."

Henry looked like he'd been pole-axed.  "Why?" he 
asked, quietly.

David continued to stare him in the eye.  "To protect 
me from you."

Ang came round the bend just then, talking in whispers 
with her mother.  She stopped and her hand went to her 
mouth as her face was overtaken by horror.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Nancy asked.

David glanced over his shoulder when he heard Nancy 
and spotted Ang, who was still just standing there.  
"Ang," he said softly, "please take your mother and 
bring us a couple of coffees."

"David," she said just loudly enough to reach both 
David and Henry, then she began to tear up.  "No.  
Please."

Henry looked at his wife and nodded.  David watched 
Nancy lead Ang back around the corner and sighed.

Henry's hand had gone beneath his sport coat and 
David, though he was looking in the opposite 
direction, didn't miss the movement.  "Please," he 
said, turning to Henry, "don't.  I'll go quietly with 
you but don't make it about my survival.  Ang would 
never forgive me."

Henry swallowed and slowly removed his still-empty 
hand.  "You did that to Jimmy's car, didn't you?"

David sighed and nodded.  "I'm afraid so.  It was a 
reaction.  He had Scott Vance with him.  Scott had 
leaned out the window to throw a water balloon, from a 
car moving at over forty, and right at my back."  
Henry winced.  "Yeah," David said.  "I got hit by one 
last year and was knocked unconscious.  It was almost 
summer then, so I didn't freeze over like I would have 
this time.  Scott threw the one that hit me, and 
hundreds of others that have sometimes hit and 
sometimes missed.  Anyway, I reacted this time and..." 
he didn't know how to continue.

"Smashed the hood flat and flipped the car."

David nodded.  "Actually, the car didn't just flip 
over.  You ever play tiddlywinks?"

Henry sucked in a breath.  "Yeah," he whispered.  "Oh, 
my god, it didn't flip over.  It flew."

David shook his head sadly.  "Yeah.  And with Ang in 
the back seat.  I didn't see her until the car was 
already airborne and flipping.  So I grabbed it and 
set it back down gently.  Something you might want to 
know is that when I do things accidentally, a reaction 
with no thought, it hurts some.  Well, a lot, really."  
David paused, reflecting on all the times, since that 
damned locker, he had been knocked out or severely 
pained by his new gift, or curse.

"What happens when you do things deliberately then?" 
Henry asked, a little terrified but mostly burning 
with curiosity.

David grimaced.  "I didn't catch the car deliberately, 
it was mostly reflex with a bit of thought.  But the 
reaction is the same.  I pass out and bleed all over 
the place from my nose.  I can't seem to do nearly as 
much when it is entirely deliberate, though."  He 
looked right at Henry.  "It hurt so much and I lost so 
much blood..." He paused and sucked in a breath.  "But 
I sort of knew that I would.  I caught it to save Ang, 
but before I did I knew that there was a better than 
even chance that I wouldn't make it after.  Hell, it 
took everything I had last night to completely 
deliberately flip a switch and James' car is a lot 
bigger, you know?"

Henry blew a heavy breath out through his pursed lips.  
"I can't believe I'm asking this but is your," he 
searched for a moment for the right word, then gave 
up.  "Is it extreme strength or what?"

David shook his head.  "Nah," he said.  "I ain't the 
Incredible Hulk.  It's all mental.  I seem to be able 
to move things."

Henry nodded slowly and sat down on a bench against 
the wall just behind him.  "My god.  You aren't 
pulling my leg, are you?"

David shook his head.  "I'm afraid not."  He took a 
breath and turned sideways to lean back against the 
wall and closed his eyes.  "So, Mr. Dean, your problem 
is solved.  Ang won't be going anywhere with me 
tonight because I'll be in your custody."

Henry turned and just stared at the young man.  "You 
could have lied to me.  Ang had already corroborated 
that one.  And we didn't find any blood or tracks 
leading to or from the crash site."

"Yeah," David breathed, leaving his eyes closed.  "Ang 
covered up the blood an' wiped away our footprints, 
all the way back to my house.  She knew you and the 
other members of your office would respond to 
somethin' so freaky.  'Specially with your son 
involved."

Henry shook his head slowly.  "We'd never have found 
you.  You were already too careful, or Angela was.  
So, again, why?"

David shrugged.  "Ang loves you very much," he said.  
"I had two choices.  I could let her lie to you and 
subtly damage your relationship," and he paused to let 
out a dry, mirthless laugh.  "Gods, I already _have_ 
hurt the relationship between you.  I don't think 
she'd've blown up at you if she wasn't already having 
problems trusting you."

Henry sat back.  "So you took the other option.  Give 
Angela her family back and give up your entire life."

David felt tears start to track down his face.  "Not 
much of a life left," he said softly.

Henry just sat and marveled at David who stood, 
stoically, tears slowly drying on his cheeks.

"We don't have very long," David said.  "You can't 
leave so you better call your people to come get me 
before Ang and your wife manage to get back."

Henry slowly tapped a finger on his leg.  "I have some 
questions for you," he said slowly.

"Shoot," David said quietly.  "I'm afraid I really 
don't understand what it is I do yet, though."

"Not about your ability," Henry said.  "About Angela."  
David's eyes finally flew open.  "How far have the two 
of you gone?"

David started blushing furiously, refusing to look at 
Ang's father right now, and thinking that being 
vivisected would be preferable to having to answer 
this question.  "Uh," he croaked out.  "Just kissing."  
Henry just stared.  "Well," David wilted under that 
stare, "I did tickle her.  And I kissed her belly 
once.  Well, twice..."

"Nothing else?" Henry asked.

David shook his head and Henry, knowing the teens had 
been entirely alone for a good long time in David's 
house, marveled at the young man again.

"And if you had the chance?" Henry prompted, knowing 
that it was likely that David already had had that 
chance and wondering what the hell was going on _now_.

David opened his mouth and a squeak came out.  Henry 
just shook his head at the thought that this young 
man, who could likely turn him into paste at a 
thought, was this nervous about these questions.  "Not 
sex," David finally blurted out.  "Not yet."

Henry's eyes opened in surprise.  "If she, say, 
stripped down to nothing and offered?"

David swelled up with anger and glared at Henry.  
"That ain't Ang," he stated firmly.

Henry blinked and then slowly nodded.  "But if she 
did?"

"I'd stare," David admitted.  "And I'd want to touch 
but... the rest..." and he was floundering about 
again.  "It should be special.  Not like Yvette."

Henry nodded.  "Your sister was... promiscuous?"

"No," sighed David.  "I loved my sister, but, 
honestly, I'd have to say she was a slut.  Mom and Dad 
were constantly worrying about her."

Henry looked David up and down.  "You are what, 
eighteen?"

"Will be in a week," David allowed.

"And you're still a virgin," Henry had stated that 
instead of asking.

David closed his eyes and ran his hand through his 
hair, tracing the bandage again.  "Mr. Dean, until I'd 
met Ang I hadn't really ever kissed a girl before."

Henry sighed.  "You have me at a serious disadvantage, 
my boy," he said.

"Huh?"

Henry shook his head.  "If I don't take you in, I'm 
violating everything I've worked so hard to keep 
alive.  But if I do, I'll lose my daughter."

"She loves you," David started, but stopped again as 
Henry raised his hand.

"Yes," Henry said.  "And she still would.  She might 
even understand.  She'd just never trust me again."

"Oh," David said softly.  "Man, I wish she hadn't come 
around the corner just then."

"Oh, kid," Henry said with a soft chuckle, "that 
wouldn't have mattered one whit.  No, even if you'd 
just been gone, she'd have blamed me.  So what the 
hell do I do now?"

David shrugged, helplessly.  "Beats me," he admitted.

"Okay," Henry said after a long, quiet moment.  "Can 
you promise me that you'll never hurt anyone or use 
what you have in a selfish way?"

"No," David softly admitted.  "I really can't."

Henry slumped and looked at David with exasperation.  
"Come on," he said.  "Work with me here, kid!"  David 
just shrugged helplessly again so Henry said, "Well, 
at least promise me that you won't hurt my little girl 
or break her heart."

David slumped.  "I can't," he said helplessly.  "I 
might.  I wouldn't ever mean to, but I might."

Henry controlled his urge to smash his fist into the 
wall or, better, into David's face.  "You know, there 
_is_ such a thing as too honest!"

"With people in general, yes," David allowed, then 
stared hard at Henry.  "But not in relationships of 
any kind."

Henry sat back.  "I do believe I've been zinged," he 
said.

David looked at him.  "Let's be frank here," he said.  
"Your daughter, who I think loves you more than life, 
just blew up at you partially because she didn't think 
she could trust you, right?"  Henry nodded slowly.  
"Now think," David urged.  "Your wife would likely 
have blown up at you for..." and he tried to find a 
diplomatic way to put it, but finally gave up, "for 
being an ass anyway, but if you weren't keeping such a 
huge part of your life secret, would she have ever hit 
you?"

Henry opened his mouth, then slowly closed it.  "Has 
your mind always worked like this or just since you 
got your thing?"

David actually laughed.  "Always," he said.  "I'll be 
honest, running into Ang, literally, was entirely due 
to a miscalculation of the traffic flow through a 
chokepoint in my preplanned path."

Henry stared at him.  "You're serious."

David looked back at Henry and nodded.  "As a heart 
attack."  He sighed.  "Mr. Dean, I'm weird.  I always 
have been.  I hate the name 'Davey Weirdo' that James 
so graciously gifted to me years ago, but I have to 
admit it's accurate.  I have to calculate my route and 
every step at school entirely due to people like your 
son."

Henry winced.  "All right, you've convinced me.  Being 
honest, I have to admit I was a lot like him as a kid, 
but I grew out of it."

"James ain't," David stated flatly.

Henry nodded.  "I know," he said.  "I just don't like 
it.  But what do I do about him?" he asked, 
momentarily forgetting that he was talking to a boy 
far less than half his age.

"Well, he's legally and adult now," David said.  "Well 
over eighteen.  In reality, the only thing you can do 
is kick him out.  And with what I've seen of the way 
he treats Ang, you really don't wanna ask me my 
opinion on that one."

"Yeah," Henry breathed.  "But Nancy wouldn't forgive 
me..."

"If I know Ang at all," David interrupted, "she's just 
mad enough and panicked enough that she may be telling 
Mrs. Dean all about James right now.  Especially with 
me bein' involved and destabilizin' everything."

Henry nodded and started tapping his forefinger again, 
obviously staring across the hall at nothing.

"So where do I turn myself in at?" David asked after 
several minutes.

"Uh, what?" Henry mumbled out, pulling his attention 
back to the here-and-now.

"You can't haul me in or Ang won't trust you again.  
But you desperately need me, to secure your job if 
nothing else.  Ang can be mad at me, but she can't 
blame you if I turn myself in voluntarily.  So where 
do I go?"

"What in the hell is the matter with you," Henry burst 
out, surging to his feet.  "You have a martyr complex 
or something?"

"No," David said softly.  "Just not much to live for."

"Oh, snap out of it," Henry said sharply.  "Your 
family was taken from you.  I can't even imagine that 
or how you feel so I won't insult you by saying I do.  
But you have a chance."  His eyes went far away again.  
"I knew a girl back in my college days, Sharon.  
Sharon was the most driven person I've ever met.  Not 
just academically driven, she also partied like 
nothing I've ever seen before or since.  When I saw 
that movie with Robin Williams, 'Dead Poets Society,' 
I knew exactly what he meant by Carpe Diem, because 
I'd seen it and been swept up in it for a while.  I 
asked her about it once.  She didn't want to talk 
about it, but finally she told me that she'd been 
orphaned at twelve and spent the rest of her childhood 
and teenage years ion the hell that is the foster care 
system.  She told me that since her family couldn't be 
there, she had to live for all of them.  Then she 
played me a song by Blue Oyster Cult that she said she 
had based her idea around.  It was beautiful and 
moving..."  David just blinked as Henry shook his 
head.  "You aren't going to turn yourself in.  You 
have to live for your parents and, most importantly, 
for you sister who had the rest of her life stolen."  
He stopped, almost panting.  After a moment, he shot 
David an uncomfortable look.  "And, ah, if you see 
anyone out of the ordinary, maybe you could let me 
know?"

David blinked, trying to process all Henry had just 
said.  Finally he nodded.  "If I can, Mr. Dean.  If I 
can."

Henry nodded as he saw his wife reappear around the 
corner, then call back to someone.  Ang's head peeked 
around the corner as David followed Henry's gaze.  The 
next thing David knew, he was on his back on the 
floor, being held tightly by a tiny, brown haired, 
hazel-eyed girl who was sobbing hysterically.

Nancy walked up, her face serious, and said, "Henry, 
we have to talk about James."  And she glanced down at 
the couple on the floor.  "Just as soon as you tell me 
why the hell Angela was convinced she'd never see 
David again."

David spotted the uncomfortable look on Henry's face, 
despite the fact that he had a nostril-eye view of the 
man.  He patted Ang on the back and said, "Let me up, 
Ang.  I need to show your mother."

"But," she said and looked over and up at her father, 
who was trying desperately not to get angry at the 
sight the young man and his barely fourteen year old 
daughter were presenting.

"He knows," David said.  "And it's all good."

"Okay," she said uncertainly, but climbed off of him.

David just sat up and scooted back until he was 
resting against the wall.  "Mrs. Dean," he looked up 
at the woman, "are you done with your coffee?"

She blinked.  "Well, yes, why?"

David nodded to the floor in front of his feet.  
"Please put your cup there."

Frowning, she set the cup down and stepped back.  
"David," Ang's voice was filled with worry, "are you 
sure?  You've already lost a lot of blood."

"All right, what the hell is going on here?" Nancy 
finally demanded.

David ignored her and stared at the cup, "feeling" it.  
He got a good feel for it and tensed his mind, 
reaching for the twitch.  It was coiled and ready, so 
he pushed the twitch as he squeezed the "skin" around 
the cup.  Like in the hallway at home, the twitch hit 
him hard, like a hot nail being driven into his head 
by a sledgehammer.  He heard his own voice give out a 
small scream as the walls moved in front of his eyes 
and everything went black.



"I said he's all right!" Ang's sweet, calming voice 
was much louder than it was supposed to be right now, 
according to David's jangled mind, and he moaned 
quietly.

"Quiet now," Ang's voice softly entered his ears now 
as he felt someone touch his face.  "He's awake and 
he'll have a bad headache from landing on his nose."

"Look," a man's loud voice hammered through David's 
skull and David let out a whimper.  "We need to take 
care of him!"  David whimpered a bit louder and tried 
to burrow into the softness under his head as the 
man's voice increased in volume.

"Daddy," Ang's soft, quiet voice was an amazing balm 
to David's nerves.  "He's hurting David."

"Hey!" the man's voice impacted David's brain again.  
"You can't!  Ow!  Let me go!"  The voice was moving 
away and David sighed in relief, relaxing against his 
pillow.

After a minute or two, David managed to crack his eyes 
open and, though his vision was still blurry and the 
image was swimming all over the place, David saw Henry 
holding a man in hospital issue scrubs using an 
effective-looking head and arm lock.  As Henry frog-
marched the orderly around the bend, David mumbled 
out, "He wuzzunt 's bad 's Mrs. Lee"

That's when he discovered that Ang's throaty giggle 
thrilled him even when his brain was still mostly 
scrambled and raw.  "Mmm," he hummed, smiling.  "Do 
that again."

"David," Henry said softly.  "I think you better stand 
up really soon now."

David's mind re-engaged and he realized that he was 
nuzzling into Ang's lap in front of her parents.  He 
looked up to see the returning Henry and the angry 
flare to the man's nostrils.  He had just started to 
worry about that when he remembered exactly where he 
was and a full-blown panic set in.  "Shit," he said, 
trying to scramble up and ignoring the pain as it 
slithered slowly down the back of his head.  "They'll 
have Dr. Jindo up here any second."

"Dr. Jindo?" Henry asked as he helped David up and, 
subsequently, the hell out of his daughter's lap.

"Yeah," David said as he held onto Henry's hand to 
keep himself steady.  "He's the quack that managed to 
keep me in this place as long as I had to stay here, 
and wanted to keep me for another six months to a 
year..."  He trailed off as he spotted movement behind 
Henry.  "Oh, no" he groaned as he looked over Henry's 
shoulder.  "_She's_ with him."

"She?" Ang asked and turned to see a young doctor of 
middling height and Oriental descent approaching 
quickly.  He was flanked by a statuesque redheaded 
nurse who looked to be in her mid-40's.  And if Ang 
hadn't looked at that precise moment, she would have 
missed it when the nurse spotted David, licked her 
lips, and pulled at the neckline of her scrubs top, 
trying to get it a bit lower.  "Oh," she almost 
snarled.

The doctor, who looked even younger as he approached 
and Henry mentally dubbed "Doogie," shook his head as 
he stopped just outside the group.  "David, David," he 
said sadly.  "I told you leaving early would lead to 
potentially serious problems, but you finally made 
such a problem that your dear aunt had no choice."

David glared at him.  "I tripped and fell," he lied 
flatly.  "I must have hit my nose."

"Nevertheless," Dr. Jindo said, "we have an 
authorization from your aunt already in file, just in 
case you had more fainting spells.  So just come 
along, now," he said as he stepped close to the group 
and reached past Henry for David.

David tensed up and got ready to fight when, to his 
surprise, Henry stepped in between them, blocking Dr, 
Jindo's hand.  "David," he said, not looking back, "Do 
you consent to be treated?"

"No," David snapped.  "Not like that ever stopped 
them, though."

Henry started and turned slightly to look at David.  
"What was that?"

David shrugged.  "I told them over an' over that I 
wanted out.  That I didn't want another CAT scan that 
always ended up normal.  That I didn't want more blood 
work, more tests, more this and that, and that I 
definitely didn't want Aunt Laura there durin' it all, 
but they totally ignored me."

"He isn't thinking straight," said Dr. Jindo, who had 
used Henry's movement to reach around him and grab 
David.

David tensed again, then, remembering the past 
episodes, just sighed as he started being drawn 
forward when Henry's voice, as angry as it had been at 
David when he burst out of Jimmy D's room, snapped 
out, "If you don't let go of him now I'll damn well 
have you arrested!"

"For what?" Dr. Jindo wasn't pulling at David any 
longer, but still had a firm hold of David's upper 
arm.

David heard a familiar, off-rhythm clumping sound and 
sighed, "Here come the security guards."

"What?" Nancy said, looking around.

David pointed as the redheaded nurse, who had slipped 
out during the confusion, reappeared around the corner 
and was quickly followed by three large, running men 
in uniforms.  "When I'd try to run and just go home 
they always caught me."

Dr. Jindo smiled at David as the security guards 
appeared.  "Come along, that's a good boy.  If you 
come along nicely we won't have to restrain you 
again."

Henry's hand flashed into and out of his sport coat, 
emerging with a flip-wallet and popping it open to 
reveal the flash of a badge.  "Federal agent," he 
barked out and the three security men screeched to a 
halt just out of grabbing range.  He pointed to one of 
them.  "You, stay here and make sure the good doctor 
doesn't go anywhere.  The rest of you, leave!"

The two guards, who looked relieved that they hadn't 
been selected, scrambled back down the down the 
corridor and around the corner.  The third guard 
slowly approached the stunned Dr. Jindo and got a 
loose hold on the upper arm that wasn't extended and 
still holding David's.

Henry flipped his ID and badge closed and shoved them 
into his sport coat again.  This time his hand emerged 
with a cell phone and he dialed rapidly and held it up 
to his ear.  "Peterson," he said, adopting the common 
look of someone on the phone, "it's Dean.  Yeah, I'm 
at Providence General and I need some local law 
enforcement."  He nodded.  "Yeah, attempted 
kidnapping, unlawful confinement, that sort of thing." 
He nodded again as Dr. Jindo, who looked truly 
terrified now, finally let go of David.  "Yeah.  No, 
not a ring, a supposedly well-meaning doctor that was 
trying to confine a seventeen year old boy against his 
wishes.  No, not my son, he's eighteen remember?  No, 
not a psych either.  Kid was in a car wreck last 
month, one that killed some others.  He fell on his 
nose, that's what happened.  Yeah, they were going to 
give him treatment whether he wanted it or not, and he 
stated that he didn't."  Henry smiled and nodded.  
"Good.  I'm sure the on-site security can lead them 
up, I put the fear of god into 'em.  Thanks, Ralph."  
And he hung up the phone, dropping it into an outer 
pocket of the sport coat.



Two hours later, after the director of the hospital 
showed up barely a minute before the police, the 
police took everyone's statements separately, and, 
despite the insistence of the Chief of Police who 
showed up during the circus, after David assured them 
all that he did not want to file accessory or 
conspiracy charges against his well-meaning aunt, 
David got a vicarious thrill he never expected.  He 
got the extreme pleasure of watching one of his 
personal tormentors, Dr. Jindo, being led away in 
cuffs.  The Chief warned David that the charges likely 
wouldn't stick, but gave David the card of a local 
attorney that he strongly suggested David call to file 
civil suits against the hospital, Dr. Jindo, and Aunt 
Laura.  The Chief bid them all good day and spent a 
moment longer with Henry, making a politely bitter 
statement about how glad he was that the federal 
government had let them do their jobs for once, before 
following his officers out.

"This is surreal," David muttered, fingering the card.

"Not as much as this is," Nancy said, holding up what 
had once been her paper coffee cup, but now it looked 
something like a chewed up and broken pencil.

"Yeah, well..." David looked away and rubbed the back 
of his neck.

Ang stepped up to take David's arm possessively and 
looked at her father.  "Daddy?"

"No, Cat," he sighed.  "I'm not reporting him.  Mind 
you, _I_ would be arrested if my superiors found out.  
But I'm not."

Nancy turned toward Henry with her hands on her hips, 
glaring at her husband.  "All right, mister," her 
voice was firm and every word was clipped.  "Just what 
in god's creation is going on here?"

Ang giggled, the sound even more throaty and wicked 
than normal, and David couldn't help but smile at the 
sound.  "Daddy, you really oughta tell her," Ang said 
to Henry, who was busy studying a pattern of small 
cracks in the ceiling.

Nancy marched up to Henry and punched him in the arm.  
"Henry Dean," she snapped.  "You told our daughter 
something that you wouldn't even tell me or James!"  
It was phrased as a question, but her tone made it a 
clear accusation.

"Uh, this ain't my place but," and David wilted as the 
fury of the little woman switched to him.

Nancy glanced back at her husband, closed her eyes, 
and took a deep breath.  David thought he heard Henry 
whisper, "Saved by the bell," but he couldn't be sure.

"What is it David?" Nancy's voice was calmer, but held 
that same chill tone David's mother used to have in 
hers when he'd interrupted a burgeoning argument that 
she had no intention of being distracted from.

"Sorry, Mr. Dean," David thought.  "I didn't get you 
out of this one."  Aloud, he said, "About James," he 
paused and shrugged.  "I don't mind telling you that 
if you let him know about my secret he'll broadcast it 
everywhere he can just to fuck," and he paused again 
as Nancy's lips quirked.  David quickly amended, "Uh, 
that is, he does everything he can to make me 
miserable as it is, you know?"

Nancy sighed and Henry looked decidedly uncomfortable.  
"Yes, David, we've heard about James from Angela.  
And, while my husband was more willing than I to let 
it go with his statement that people are just jealous, 
I wanted to believe him too."  She looked at James' 
doorway.  "That is, until I heard him today."

David nodded.  "Yeah, well, anyway..." and he took a 
deep breath.  "After tomorrow he's going to be 
desperate to prove how important he is to everyone.  
Mr. Dean, I'm absolutely certain he'd use your secret 
to further that."  As Nancy's face got colder and she 
glared at Henry, David quickly said, "Mr. Dean didn't 
tell me, Mrs. Dean, Ang did."

Nancy looked at her daughter, then at the now pencil-
thin cup, and nodded in understanding.  "If what you 
can do has something to do with my husband's work, 
whatever it is," and she shot a glare at Henry again, 
who realized he wasn't off the hook after all, "then 
yes, I can understand her telling you."

"What, exactly," Henry stepped forward and plucked the 
remains of the cup from his wife's hand to toss 
sideways into a nearby garbage can, "is Jimmy going to 
react to?"

Ang grinned viciously and David, whose eyes had 
tracked over to her of their own accord, blinked at 
the sudden change in the usually shy and quiet girl.  
He came to the sudden realization that she had 
inherited something other than her height from her 
mother.  "The starting linebacker and Jimmy's _good_ 
friend, Stan Predmore, has been benched, Daddy," she 
said with relish.

Henry and Nancy shared a confused look.  "Ok," Henry 
said.  "But why would Jimmy starting the games make 
him look for something else to make him look 
important?  After all, he'll be well enough for 
tonight's game since he's only going to be in 
observation for," and he looked at his watch, "another 
hour or so."

"James isn't the new starting linebacker," David said 
quietly, careful to keep any of the somewhat sadistic 
glee he was feeling out of his voice.

It was Henry's turn to just blink.  "Then who is?"

"Pinky," said Ang with a grin.

Nancy tilted her head to one side.  "Nicky is the new 
starting linebacker?"

"We were both there with Rick when Coach Brighton made 
the decision," David informed them.

"Rick?" asked an addled Henry.

"Rick Giles," Ang put in.  "I guess he and David have 
been friends for years."

"You know," Henry said thoughtfully, "I don't think 
I've ever seen him away from the football games and 
fundraisers.  He never comes over like the other 
players."

"Mr. Dean,' David's voice was soft, "how many of the 
first string players have ever hung out with your 
son?"

"Oh, plenty," said Henry with a smile.  "There's... 
no, he's second string.  Oh, how about," and his smile 
started to fade, "no, he's not varsity..." and he 
trailed off, muttering quietly, his smile slowly 
morphing into a frown.

"I don't think he does have a friend in the starting 
lineup, Dear," Nancy said softly.

Henry's frown had become deep and foreboding.  "Well, 
like Ang said, there was Stan Predmore," he said.  
"Did he get hurt or something?"

"No," Ang said very quietly and almost hid behind 
David.

Henry looked at David with a question plainly written 
on his face.  "Your son's good friend," said David 
softly, "saw an opportunity with James gone.  He 
backed Ang up against the wall and tried to grope her.  
It could've ended up very bad."

"He what!" Henry barked and Ang clung closer to David.  
"I'll rip his goddamn balls off!"

Ang giggled quietly and said, "David already tried 
kicking them off."  Her voice sobered.  "That's what 
stopped him.  Rick showed up right after and backed 
David up, then we all went to see the Coach."

David stepped back and to one side of Ang, putting a 
clearly protective arm around her shoulders.  As Ang 
melted against David, Henry thought it looked damned 
ridiculous.  David's thin build and incredibly pale 
skin did _not_ lend to his idea of a good defender.  
Then it finally sank in, the stark truth that he had 
accepted on the surface but not fully understood until 
just now.  This kid, who wouldn't have looked that out 
of place with a pocket protector in Henry's own high 
school days, could crush a car, and the icing on the 
cake was that his mind seemed to work as fast and 
precisely as a computer.  He finally understood that 
if he had tried to take David against his will, he'd 
probably have ended up dead.  And even if they had 
managed to trank the kid, it was entirely possible, 
and probable, that he would have woken up to smash 
their entire facility flat with everyone inside when 
he woke up.

David saw the scorn clear on Henry's face; an eerie 
older copy of the look Jimmy D always gave him.  He 
watched as the scorn faded to be replaced by shock, 
then intense thought, and a flash of horror.  Henry's 
face finally settled into a guarded look and a deep 
wariness settled about his eyes.

Nancy was watching her husband also.  She read the 
volumes of distrust and fear there, and knew this was 
as potentially dangerous as it would have been if he 
had tried to force David to do...whatever it had to do 
with his work.  She, however, had been having similar 
thoughts since David had crushed the paper cup with a 
thought.  A thought with consequences, but still just 
a thought.  She had been reassured by something she 
had witnessed and Henry hadn't, though.  She only 
realized after the official demonstration from David 
what had happened by the elevator.  David had 
automatically protected her Angela, and didn't seem to 
care what it did to him.

"Angela," she said softly, "how many times had David 
protected you or saved your life?"

"Well," Ang said, smiling and leaning against David's 
side, "there was when we met and he caught me..."

"You told me, dear," her mother interrupted.  "But I 
mean with his mind."

"Oh!" Ang said and straightened a bit and turned her 
head to look up at David's face.  "He definitely saved 
my life twice, and protected me one time I'm sure of, 
just a bit ago, but I still don't know about that 
kick..."

David grimaced.  "I was at least twelve feet away when 
Stan was about to touch you so, yeah, that first kick 
was from my mind."

Nancy looked at her husband.  "And what happened to 
David those times, Angela?"

Ang frowned up at David.  "Well, it seems like he 
isn't passing out anymore, but I don't like the fact 
that he's started to bleed a lot from his nose when he 
does it.  That's slowing down, I think, but I don't 
like it."  She got an odd look on her face.  "David," 
she said, and her voice almost vibrated with 
curiosity, "why didn't you pass out or almost pass out 
when you kicked Stan?"

David shook his head.  "I almost did pass out, but I 
didn't dare stop.  It was like I was seeing twelve of 
him, though, just before I actually had to kick him in 
the nuts.  Then there were only three of him and I had 
to close my eyes and hope my foot was going in the 
right direction."

Nancy continued to look at Henry pointedly.  "Well?" 
she asked him.

Henry grunted.  "All right," he grumbled, and all the 
wariness faded from his face and body, but there was 
still a bit around the eyes.  "He'll do."

"Huh?" Ang said looking from one of her parents to the 
other.

"Never mind, dear," Nancy said with a self-satisfied 
smirk. 

David had also been looking from one adult to the 
other.  He said to Ang, "I don't know about your Mom, 
but when mine smiled like that I never could get an 
explanation."

"Tell me about it," Ang grumbled.

Henry shook his head at the couple, then looked at his 
watch.  "Nancy dear," he said.  "If those two are 
going to the game tonight, you two should probably do 
that shopping thing you promised you'd do before her 
first date."

Ang screamed in delight and launched herself from 
David to wrap her arms around her father.  "Oh, thank 
you Daddy," she squealed.

Nancy smiled at Henry as her daughter grabbed her and 
practically drug her down the corridor.

They went around the corner, talking quietly but 
animatedly, both obviously excited.  Henry watched his 
wife go, but David only had eyes for the tiny girl who 
had, somehow, shot right past all the defenses he had 
emplaced to keep people, even friends, at a distance.

"Strange," David muttered.  "I think she may be the 
smartest, most intelligent, most stable girl I'll ever 
know, and she still goes to pieces and turns into a 
little bundle of energy at the mention of a major 
shopping trip."

Henry grunted again.  "Trust me," he said," I know.  
Just don't get drug along without a couple of books 
and a really comfortable set of shoes, you'll need 
'em."  Henry chuckled for a moment, then sobered a 
bit, not looking away from the corner the girls had 
just disappeared around.  "If you make her cry," he 
said, his voice perfectly reasonable, "I'm going to 
kick your skinny ass six ways from Sunday."

"If I make her cry, I won't even try to stop you," 
David responded, in an equally conversational tone of 
voice, but he didn't look away from the corner either.

Henry nodded once, then looked over at the door to his 
son's temporary accommodations.  "Well, since you 
probably won't be having any more problems with Doogie 
Huaser..."  He was interrupted briefly by David's bark 
of laughter and he smiled slightly and nodded, but the 
smile faded quickly to a frown.  "I better go and read 
the riot act to my boy, or Nancy'll read it to me 
later.  Maybe see if I can explain the adult facts of 
life to him."

David looked over at the man.  "I'm sorry," his voice 
was sincere. "Look, I'd offer to help if it'd do any 
good but James..."

Henry looked back at David and nodded.  "Yeah," he 
sighed.  "But I do appreciate the thought."  Henry 
shook his head.  "Usually I'd be saying that _your_ 
current situation is going to make you grow up sooner 
than you should have to, but I don't think that's an 
issue for you."

"Nah," David said.  "Not really.  I can take care of 
myself, mostly.  Speaking of which, the ladies 
shopping trip reminded me, I should go see if my job 
still exists.  If I can smash the nose of a car into a 
metal pancake, I can probably work an eight hour 
shift, no matter what my medical restrictions say."

Henry nodded.  "Probably," he said thoughtfully.  
"Where do you work?"

David grinned.  "Hot topic."

Henry couldn't help it, he looked David up and down, 
obviously trying to fit the boy into a different 
mental image.  David's grin got wider.  "No, I don't 
turn Goth or Emo in the night.  I wear these same 
preppy outfits to work and I don't own a single thing 
from there.  Well, unless you count my band t-shirts 
or the Autobot t-shirt."  He grinned.  "You should 
come by if I'm still employed.  It's funny as hell 
sometimes."

Henry stared for a second longer, then burst into 
laughter as he turned to open the door.  His laughter 
was cut off sharply as Jimmy D spotted him in the 
doorway and said, "I hope you left enough 'o that 
fuckin' weirdo so I can finish kickin' his ass Dad!  
The little fuck actually touched Angie!  I swear I'm 
gonna..."

David watched Henry's body tense up and his fists 
clench just before the door closed. 


------------------------------------------------------

Unfortunately, all the people willing to edit my work 
have temporarily lost internet access.  So any typos 
or glaring plot holes are my mistake alone.

This story is copyrighted by me, the author, Waylan 
Dagger.  Please do not repost this story or post it on 
an archive without obtaining permission first.  I can 
almost guarantee that permission will be granted, but 
I would like the courtesy.  I can be reached at 
waylandagger@hotmail.com