So new job is going well and I'm excited. Next week I start my regular schedule with will again be an adjustment and have to work on how to run thing out. And this story is coming to an end...the next chapter will be the end of The Return (as it stands now unless I decide to split it off into 2 chapters). But don't fret I will be coming back with more and a cool new story to continue on the journey of everyone we have grown to know and love. I hope to be able to post the title of the next story in the saga with the last chapter so stay tuned. That's all my blabbering for now...enjoy!

Chapter 48: Mani Pedi

Beth made her way to the door to an exclusive spa she'd never been to before. She'd received a text from Candice calling a girls day and was more than happy to go see her friend. She'd only spoken to her on the phone briefly since her rescue but she understood needing to recover and then make up for lost time with the man you love, she smirked at the thought.

Just as she was about to go inside she heard her name and turned to see Candice coming towards her. Beth embraced her dear friend into a big hug as soon as she was close enough, "It's so good to see you. You look great, how are you feeling?"

Candice stood back and laughed, "I've missed you too and I'm feeling so much better. Back to my old self."

They walked inside together and found that Jean, Danielle and Allie were already there. Candice greeted them all with a smile, "Hey ladies I hope you don't mind I invited someone else to join us. She should be here in a few minutes."

"Not at all. Can we speak openly around them?" Jean asked quickly. They were in a vamp friendly spa and were able to speak freely.

Candice moved around giving everyone a hug and looked to the door hearing it open, "You sure can."

Kimberly stepped through the door looking slightly nervous, "Hi everyone."

Moving to Kimberly's side Candice nodded, "Everyone you remember Kimberly."

She was greeted warmly but everyone. She had met most everyone already but had never gotten chance to get to know them. Her invite had been a welcome surprise. She didn't have a ton of girlfriends who knew about their world, most of her former freshie friends had moved on and her friends in town were completely mortal.

Beth looked around at the completely beautiful spa. This place was designed for relaxation with the soft sound of water running over rocks on the feature wall to the soft scent of lavender and chamomile. The soft tones on the walls and high end low profile furniture assured her no expense was spared.

A handful of women came out of the back door and greeted them, "Welcome all. Please follow us and we will seat you. If you need anything at all don't hesitate to ask, your complete relaxation is our goal."

Candice smirked and was the first to follow them. The women were all shown to an equally serine room which featured six massaging chairs three facing one another. "Manicure and pedicures," Candice looked around. "I am in desperate need."

The girls all grinned and moved to take their seats. Candice sat in the middle of the right side with Beth and Kimberly on her sides and Jean, Danielle, and Allie sat on the opposite side. The rows were close enough to allow easy talking but still felt open and private. The added benefit of having access to an exclusive spa, Beth grinned knowing Josef was probably the one who set this up.

Once everyone had picked out their color and were relaxed back in the seats with a drink at their side Beth turned slightly towards Candice. "This is the first time I've seen you since…well you know before. They had me worried talking about silver burns and all but you look perfectly normal to me."

Candice grinned holding out her arms, "Well they did look kinda bad for a while."

"I didn't expect them to heal as quickly as they did," Allie added. "I was worried they might leave scaring."

Giggling Candice looked around the room. "Okay they might sound completely crazy but I think sex healed me."

Looks of confusion filled the room for a brief moment before everyone burst out into giggles, "What?"

Regaining herself Candice looked up as the women returned to start their pedicures having given their feet a chance to soak. "I told you guys it would sound crazy but I swear I think it did."

Allie was still giggling, "Why don't you explain?"

"Okay well we you saw what they looked like. Well I couldn't really see much difference but David swore they were getting better but it was so slow. He was even scared to make love with me but I wouldn't have any of that especially not after…well I'll tell you about that later. So we went upstairs and we…well we made love and when we finished I saw a huge difference."

Danielle nodded, "There have been studies done that show that sex has medicinal properties. Chemicals are released in the brain and those could have helped speed up your recovery."

Allie nodded, "And I'm assuming you bite each other for completion." Candice nodded, "So you have the chemical release and sires blood. We'll probably never know for sure but clearly something worked and I for one like the idea of sex being healing."

Everyone burst out with another fit of laughter which made it difficult for them to hold their feet steady. The women working didn't seem to mind as they had smiles on their faces clearly enjoying the lightheartedness of the gathering.

Beth sat back and grabbed the remote for her chair hitting the massage features. "Well I'm glad you are better." A soft moan escaped her mouth, "Oh I love this chair."

The others grabbed a hold of their remotes and turned on the massaging features of the chairs. Nothing else was said for a while as they simply relaxed and let the pampering take place. It was Beth who spoke first, "What happened with David? Sounds to me like you were celebrating."

Candice hand been hiding her hand cleverly since they got together wanting to share the story and the ring at once and now a smile grew on her face. "Well David knows I'm not really interested in the getting married," she looked to everyone, "No offense. It's just not something I really want. He knows and loves that about me. He still wanted to do something special for me…" she bit her lip and held out her hand, "…so he asked me to be his for eternity."

Squeals of delight filled the room as everyone leaned closed for a better look at the ring. Jean, Allie, and Danielle couldn't get a good look at it but knew they would soon enough. The rest of the day they spent enjoying their pedicures and manicures talking about this and that. Allie was asking Beth and Danielle for any extra tips for when the baby came the due date approaching fast. Kimberly was very excited to be included and relieved that they all seemed interested in her wedding plans and helping give their opinions. By the end no everyone had had such a good time no one wanted to leave but in the end they all to go but promising to do this again soon.

To Be Continued…

Evilous