Pairing: Mary/Hayley (F/f) slipper, hand
*Thank you to Phoenix_Queen and Jazmine F. for plot support and input.
Louisiana Bayou
Mary's House
Evening
Emily was grateful for everything. She stammered out a thank you to Mary, who had fed her and Christopher. The gumbo was good and it hurt her heart to see her baby brother eating so voraciously. He had been such a picky eater when their parents were...alive.
Mary turned from the sink and turned off the faucet.
"You two look wiped out...And pretty grubby, if I can be blunt. Why don't you two take a bath and then head to bed? Hayley said you can sleep in her room tonight. Christopher can sleep with me or the boys," Mary started.
Chris's eyes went wide with fear. He looked at his pale haired sister in alarm.
"I-Ifff y'all d-don't mind, I-I'll k-keep him with m-meeee," Emily got out slowly.
Mary understood. "Of course. He's just a little fellow. Um, Hayley can sleep with me. I gotta have a talk with that one anyhow."
Mary went into the bedroom and told Hayley she was sleeping with Mary tonight. Hayley protested, "It's okay, Mary. I can use the couch."
Mary nodded, "Fine, but we're having a talk before you head to sleep."
In an instant, Hayley understood. "But the Coach already punished me!"
"Exactly," Mary intoned. "Now, help our guests get bathed and then come in my room. I ain't asking you again. I don't think you want to do this in the living room."
Hayley felt a warmth and shame crawl up her neck. Her butt was still sore and the walls here were not well insulated. The guests, as well as Jackson and Ollie would hear.
"Yes, ma'am," Hayley replied with downcast eyes.
"Oh girl, it ain't as bad as all that. No sulking, ya hear," Mary said, patting her arm. "We'll settle the score and you'll sleep real good. Now see to those kids. I'm gonna clean up before the ants come."
Insects in the Bayou were a constant battle and Mary was right to be concerned. She used several natural remedies to repels them, but you could not leave food out or ants would be attracted.
Jackson stepped in, holding Chris' small hand.
"I found an old t-shirt of Tommy's for him. They don't have much in terms of clothes," Jackson shared. "But he could maybe sleep in it."
"Thanks, Jack," Hayley said. "I'll see what I can find for Emily. What the hell were they doing out so far in the Bayou."
"Don't rightly know. But that's where we found you," Jackson reminded her, taking the opportunity to step near her for a quick kiss. "Did that lotion help?"
Hayley now grinned and nodded, "Yeah, a whole lot. But I think Mary's going to whup me before bed."
Jackson groaned, "Ugh, you're kidding. Those medicines are helping her hands, but she still ain't in top shape. Just humor me and pretend like it hurts."
He patted her shapely rump and then rubbed it with a smirk.
"Jack, I'm still...tender. It might!" Hayley protested with a short laugh. "It's not funny."
Jackson made his face serious with some effort. "I know. Sorry. Gonna help the kids. Be strong. Maybe I can give you another little massage?"
"No, I'll be on the couch. We almost got caught last night. I can rub my own ass. Plus, we need some sleep. Now, go," Hayley said, pecking him on the lips. She reached over and impulsively grabbed him by the back of the head for a longer kiss. He was hard to resist.
"Woman, you kill me," Jackson moaned, as she pulled away. He took a minute to settle himself and then went to see to the two kids who needed their help.
The Compound
French Quarter, New Orleans
Josh sat at the computer and leaned back in Marcel's rich leather chair. He had been using The Compound as office space to try to run the city. It was a bigger job than anyone knew. Marcel had contacts and eyes everywhere. There were police officers, judges, state officials, and everyone from waiters and strippers on the payroll. In order to keep their loyalty and business, Josh had a long list of bribes to pay out each month. Some got cash, others vampire blood, booze, but mostly they got information. It was a network that had taken Marcel a century to form. The relationships with humans and witches alike were sometimes formed generations ago. The first thing Josh had tried to do was transfer all the records over to a spreadsheet on his computer.
His desk phone rang, he picked it up.
"Josh, here," Josh answered.
"Hey, I thought you would have been home by now. Sara was asking for you," Aiden chided through the phone line.
"Sorry, babe. I lost track of time. You know, now I get my Marcel never answered this damn phone. I need an assistant," Josh complained.
"I was supposed to be your assistant, remember?" Aiden corrected.
"Yeah, and then we became parents," Josh added. Aiden had ended up getting his GED with a little help from Josh. Someone needed to watch Sara and with everything going on, high school seems like too much.
"Yeah, well, I need you here. This place is a wreck and Sara threw her spaghetti all over the floor," Aiden confided. "I yelled at her and she started to cry. Babe, it was awful. She's down now..."
Josh felt terrible. "I'm sorry, Aiden. I should have been there. I'm going to try to get some more help here to do all this data entry. Look, I'm on my way home now. Hang in there."
"Okay, drive safe. Love ya," Aiden said, hanging up.
As soon as Josh hung up, the phone rang again.
"Aiden, babe, I'm coming right now," Josh said, exasperated. He knew Aiden was young and a little overwhelmed by caring for a preschooler alone, but he was only one person.
"Josh, it's me. Sean," Sean O'Connell stated abruptly. "They just found more bodies. This time, it's vampires."
Josh sighed and said, "You at St. Anne's. I'm on my way."
Lousiana Bayou
Mary's House
Hayley had helped Emily the best she could with bathing Chris. The child was filthy. Hayley tried to talk to him, but he never answered. She looked at Emily who said, "H-He d-don't t-talk to a-anyone n-no more."
Hayley nodded and went and found a box of old toys from her closet. They must have been Jackson's. She handed the action figures to Emily who gave them to Chris. He smiled and started to play in the tub. The water was almost brown with grime.
The girls let him play a few minutes and then tried to wash his hair. He fussed and with some tears, they got him cleaned up. Hayley dried the boy and put the too big shirt shirt over him. She was upset to see the scrapes and bites on his small body from the Bayou. It was rough out there.
"I'll try to get him settled while you wash," Hayley said.
Emily whispered to Christopher, "Go on. I g-got to t-take m-my b-bath."
"Come on, we'll get you a cookie," Hayley promised, she grabbed the two toys he was playing with.
She scooped up the small child and to her surprise, he let her. Hayley carried him to the living room and turned the t.v. on. She set him on the couch and got him some milk and cookies while Emily finished up. For her efforts she got a smile out of him. He pretended like the figures were eating the cookies and then took a small bite.
"Oh, I bet they were hungry. I'll get you some other stuff later. I know the boys have some other stuff around. They always are throwing balls and bats around here," Hayley shared in a low whisper. "Do you like sports?"
Christopher nodded and seemed like he wanted to say more, then grew serious.
"It's okay. You don't have to say anything," Hayley promised. She took a cookie and pretended to feed it to the toy. Chris laughed a little and she then popped the rest in her mouth.
Emily came out twenty minutes later, looking much better. Her blond hair was slicked back.
"I changed the sheets," Hayley said. "Y'all need anything. You help yourself or call for us."
Emily thanked her and took Christopher by the hand. Hayley exhaled, put the cookies and milk away and then dragged herself to Mary's room.
Mary was in her night gown and robe.
"There you are. I was ready to fall asleep," Mary said kindly. "They in bed?"
"Yes, Christopher was all bitten up. They must have been sleeping on the ground or something. What do you think happened?" Hayley wondered.
"Don't rightly know. Right now, I want to focus on you," Mary pointed out. "Did the Coach get on ya at school today?"
Hayley did not want to have this discussion.
"Yes, ma'am. She, uh, dealt with me skipping," Hayley answered.
"With the paddle?" Mary prodded.
"Yes! She really gave to me, like I was a little kid. Mary, I know I did wrong but..." Hayley faltered, she didn't want to whine like a baby. She had earned this.
"But nothing. She's a wolf and cares about you. She is gonna help you with your new school. You need her. Now, I'm going to reinforce the lesson she started to teach you," Mary shared. "Lean over my bed and bare than bottom. I want to see if that wolfsbane worked."
"She told you about her special paddle?" Hayley grumped. She leaned over and pulled down her shorts and underpants.
Mary chuckled, "A little pink but it looks like you used some lotion, eh?"
"I didn't know I was going to get another lickin'," Hayley couldn't help but muttering.
"You know that is the rule. Didn't I whack the boys when they fouled up at school. Hmm, you are under my roof. Now, you keep your hands up front or I'll add on extras," Mary threatened.
The stinging in Hayley's seat had reduced to a dull ache that she only felt when she sat too quickly. Now, Mary was going to reignite the sting.
Mary reached down and pulled off her heavy bedroom slipper. Hayley turned her head and frowned.
"Eyes front. I think only Ollie ever got licked with my slipper. Maybe when he broke the back window," Mary tried to recall. "Stay still."
Hayley tensed and braced herself for the first slap of the slipper on her bared behind.
Splat! Splat!
"Ahhhh," Hayley gasped. Damn, that smarted. She adjusted her feet and groaned again.
Splat! Splat!
"You are a good girl, Hayley. But you still need to think things through," Mary chided. "If you don't, you get a sore backside."
Splat! Splat!
Hayley felt tears come to her eyes and wiggled her bottom. Her backside was now flaming up in pain again. But it was a sting, compared to a deep ache.
Splat! Splat!
Splat! Splat!
Splat! Splat!
Mary gave Hayley a moment to settle before giving her the last two swats right across her crease area.
Splat! Splat!
Hayley had to bite her lip hard not to cry out, but the tears she'd been fighting, dripped down her face. Then, she felt Mary pat her back.
Confused, Hayley blurted out, "That's it?"
Mary soothed, "That's enough. Now, I reckon, it's been a long day. You sure you don't want to sleep with me? Plenty of room."
Without speaking, Hayley kicked off her underpants and shorts. Her long t-shirt covered her and she got in the bed after Mary on her belly. Mary patted her back lightly and Hayley started to cry as Mary pulled her in closer.
"It's alright. You're gonna be okay," Mary comforted the teen. Hayley's bottom burned for a while, but she felt relieved it was over. She cried, not over her spanking, but for the children in the next room. She suspected something terrible had happened to them. What? She wasn't sure she wanted to know.
The Loft, Algiers
Aiden checked his watch. "Where the hell are you, Josh?" He poured himself a scotch and tried to choke it down. It burned, but felt good. After texted Marcel and waiting another hour, Aiden checked on Sarah and went to sleep.
St. Anne's Church
Father Sean paced near the altar as he waited for Josh. Since his Uncle Kieran's death, he was now the head of the human faction. He had access to the dark objects and a century of knowledge, but at times like this, he felt unprepared and unsure of what to do. When Josh arrived, Sean took him to the private office in the back.
"What happened?" Josh breathed.
"Thanks for coming. They really aren't sure. They fished two bodies out of the River. They were almost mummified. I paid off the local NOPD to keep silent, but your guys might want to compel them. Like the dead tourists, there were signs of torture," Sean explained. He thrust a photograph of the vampire bodies that the police took before they had them incinerated.
Josh grimaced. "I don't recognize them. Of course, they look like burnt hotdogs on the grill so..."
"Can you check around to see if any vampires have gone missing?" Sean prompted.
"Yeah, of course. I should have thought of that. Damn, maybe I need to call in Marcel. This is more than I know how to handle. I just don't want him to think he needs to come down here. Never mind, he'll end up coming down here. I'm in charge. I'll figure out something," Josh blurted out erratically.
"Josh, man, you look tired. Is everything okay? How's Sara? There's been no signs of her mom," Sean said gently.
"She's throwing fits. I guess the adjustment period is tough. We talked to the psychologist you sent us, too. But she just said 'love her, be consistent.' I mean, we do, but I've been gone a lot. Aiden is a kid himself and so am I. Maybe we are not equipped to be parents," Josh confessed.
"Hey, I've seen you with her. You two are doing great. But if you are struggling, realize that it's never easy. Look, I'll handle this. You go home. I'll call you tomorrow or if anything else happens. How's it going with the new crop of vampires?" Sean asked.
"I don't know. Marcel always had guys to rely on like Thierry and Diego. I mean, that didn't turn out so great, but I just don't know who I can trust," Josh vented. "I'm trying to do it all on my own and I'm failing, Father Sean. Maybe I do need to call Marcel back in. If vampires are being murdered..."
"No, look, I love my sister dearly...but if you call Marcel, soon Klaus Mikaelson and the rest of them will descend on our city and take over. Klaus is a great brother-in-law, but many in the Faction see them and even Marcel as tyrants. Let's just sleep on this and see what happens tomorrow, okay?" Sean pleaded.
Sean was right. Josh nodded and decided all he could do now was go home and get some sleep. He hoped that Aiden was still up.