CH60

It turned out that Lanie had to stay with Rick and Kate for five days before she could get a flight out of Rapid City back to New York. To make things easier Rick had gone into town and bought a twin bed. He set it up in Alexis's room for Sam to sleep in so that Lanie didn't have to shuffle between Johanna's house and theirs. Alexis was even excited for the moment at least to have Sam sleeping in her room. Rick was sure they were conspiring with each other to stay up way past their bedtime.

Oscar still hadn't gone home yet and Kate was questioning her mother about him. "I always thought of Jim as being my one and done. But I care about Oscar, I care about him a lot and I think I'm falling in love with him. Please give him a chance Katie. He's not trying to replace your father. We've already talked about it and he actually doesn't want you to call him dad. He said you had just one dad, that he's simply a friend." Johanna didn't want Kate to hate him or resent him or her.

"You're certain it's not because of what he has done for you and the restaurant?" That was Kate's single biggest fear. "I'll admit that is part of it, but it's not the only reason. Would you believe me if I told you we go out riding almost daily? Oscar's found an architect who's designing stables for him and a storage shed or two along with a fenced area. He wants to adopt horses that will be rescues. He'll either keep them until they are sold to a good home or they'll stay here for their last few years," Johanna told Kate something she didn't know. It also meant he would need a truck and a horse trailer.

"Did you know he has another architect working on a complete redesign of the house? We're going to live upstairs with it as is during the construction on the first floor that will turn it into his kitchen business. When that's done, the second floor will be gutted and redesigned. He's thinking the whole project will take 2 years," Johanna said, informing Kate of their plans.

"Where are you going to live?" No second floor and the first will be business. "Oh, the first floor is going to have a small apartment and the business. Oscar is thinking of renting out the first floor apartment to someone who will help with the horses. We're going to use it while the second floor is under construction." Johanna had an answer for that question, too.

"And Oscar? What about his business in New York and his apartment?" Kate queried. She didn't know what else Oscar had there. Perhaps a car or maybe he owned other real estate.

"He isn't selling out to his partners. They've agreed to have a one man satellite business and have him come into the office only when necessary. His apartment is for sale and he already has 2 offers on it. Neither are for what he wants for it, so he's thinking about it. He hasn't tried selling his car yet so we don't know about it."

"He's planning on flying out to talk to his son and arrange for him to come here for a visit so I can meet him. Did you know he's a shifter also? Another horse. I'm kind of interested to see what he looks like once he's shifted. I wonder if he's gray like his dad or something else?" Even though Johanna gave the appearance of being calm, she was rather nervous about actually meeting him.

"Where is he?" Kate had heard about Michael just not where he resided. "He lives in Ohio and his high school is getting ready soon to defend their championship from the year before. Oscar is proud of him even if he doesn't say it, you can hear it in his voice." Johanna was smiling over how Oscar talked about him.

"Has he proposed?" Kate asked not sure what she wanted her mother to say. "Oh no, we're not even close to that. At least I don't think so." Suddenly Johanna was concerned about what Oscar was thinking. She wouldn't be where she was if he hadn't pushed and waited for her. Was he getting ready to push her again? Kate watched the emotions of her question play on her mom's face.

"When are you and Rick getting married?" Johanna changed the subject. "We're thinking late spring next year or early fall. As to where, we're still working on that. A lot of people don't have the money to go far so places like Hawaii or any other island are out. We're trying to stay close enough for people to drive which limits our options."

"What are you and Oscar doing today?" Kate knew the restaurant was closed today. Kate's question reminded Johanna to check the time. "Oh, goodness! I have to get going. I'm meeting Oscar and all of my employees at the restaurant. Today is our monthly cleaning day. He wants us to scrub everything including the floors until they shine. We got a 98.5 on our health department check and he wants to get that 100 next time," Johanna told her.

"How's the restaurant doing, really?" Kate was hoping for the best. "Business has slowed some in the last week. We've actually had a few empty tables lately. I dumped one of the entrees since it wasn't selling and replaced it with something else. Those buses that Oscar arranged for are what's saving me at the moment," she had to admit. "Provided it doesn't get any slower he thinks we're still on course to make $3.5 million my first year. And I haven't lost any of my employees yet." Johanna smiled at that.

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Serena had been cursing and had been quite testy for the last few days. The FAA had grounded every plane for the last few days in the wake of the terrorist attacks. She really wanted to fly out to Rick and Kate's so she could talk to them and hopefully convince Kate to help them. "Will you sit down and relax, please!" Joanne patted the sofa next to her getting Serena to sit next to her allowing Joanne to wrap an arm around her.

"Sorry, I just want to get there and get this over with. We've never been this close before," Serena explained herself yet again. "And a family that big isn't going anywhere soon, if ever. You don't just go down the street and rent a fleet of U-Hauls to move a family that large," Joanne countered.

"Why would anyone want that many wives and children anyway?" Serena shook her head. Suddenly Sarah showed up on the TV that they weren't paying attention to anyway. "I need to speak with you two in private. Please enter the core." And Sarah was gone again.

Sarah's request had both of them perplexed. She had only done that one other time that either of them could remember. Serena had finished installing her $80 million expansion just last week. $80 million that could have gotten them a yacht to reach India. Still Sarah was part of the reason they had gotten this far in their fight against Paladin.

Serena had to place her hand on the reader, followed by a retina scan. Then she had to prick her finger and place a drop of blood on the pad before the door would open. They stepped inside and found themselves surrounded by the real Sarah. "What's up Sarah?" Serena questioned.

"I've been analyzing the data that was downloaded from the Paladin research lab that you destroyed. Using their data I believe that I have something that I can offer the two of you and perhaps others willing to try it," Sarah informed them. "Which is?" Serena wasn't in the mood to play guessing games.

"I think I can give you two the means to bond to each other. You still won't be life mates, but I think I can make you bonded and all that that offers," Sarah announced. "You're really serious?" Joanne asked not believing it was even possible.

"Very. There is a small problem however. As you know, to be bonded you need to exchange bodily chemicals and hormones during orgasm. This actual act takes place in a very short amount of time. I've developed a process where we can extract the chemicals and hormones during an orgasm and transfer them to the other during another orgasm. You two will need to be in heavy contact with each other during each orgasm as one or more likely two people will administer the chemicals and hormones during an orgasm," Sarah apprized them.

"Meaning we need to make love to each other and reach orgasm twice while in the presence of two other people." Serena tried to simplify what Sarah was saying. "Correct. You will need to choose two people whom you trust to retrieve the samples and administer the samples at the right moment. Be advised that in each case the timing must be perfect. If either attempt fails you will have to start all over again," Sarah warned them. "Meaning we may have to make love to each other several times in front of two people." Joanne closed her eyes. She was only too happy to hold and kiss Serena in public, but to have two of their friends watch them make love and extract these chemicals most likely several times was almost too much to even consider.

"Make love to each other in front of our friends," Serena mentioned while rubbing Joanne's arms. "Most likely several times," Joanne added. "What do they need to do to extract these chemicals?" Serena asked as they both listened to Sarah explain the process.

Serena leaned her forehead up against Joanne's. Their friends weren't just going to watch, they were going to have to practically participate to be able to extract the samples in the short amount of time they had to work with. And they needed to go shopping for the proper equipment to make this work.

She looked into Joanne's eyes; neither was willing to ask it of the other. "Which of our friends do we ask?" Joanne inquired which had Serena smiling and kissing her. "Would it help if we used someone who already had medical experience?" Serena asked and got an affirmative from Sarah. "We need to go shopping and talk to them," Serena mentioned hoping Joanne knew who she was thinking about. "We're going to owe them yet again," Joanne pointed out.

Serena and Joanne flew to Lee and Francine's home and took a DVD of the procedure with them for them to watch and get ready for. After that they went into Phoenix to go shopping for what they needed.

Lee and Francie agreed and accepted. Then they readied the room they had used previously for this new project. Serena made a call back home to inform the others how long they would be gone and they were ready.

Serena and Joanne were naked while Lee and Francine were all gowned up with what they needed in hand with the rest of the equipment off to one side. 'This is going to be so embarrassing,' Joanne thought to herself. Their making love to each other was a private thing between the two of them. Now they were about to make love to each other while two almost strangers watched them.

Serena and Joanne were tired after making love to each other for the third time; Lee and Francine suggested they take a break. Serena and Joanne found that once they got into each other, Lee and Francine were forgotten. It was Lee's and Francine's timing that was proving to be the problem. Sarah had warned them that they wouldn't know if it had worked until 24 hours had passed. It was just that Lee and Francine were certain that they hadn't gotten the timing correct yet. All four were willing to admit that this was a terribly embarrassing moment in their lives.

Lunch, followed by sleep for all of them, followed by dinner which was then followed by three more attempts. Needless to say Serena and Joanne were tired, while coping with the almost overwhelming tension had left Lee and Francine exhausted.

They were all up at breakfast. "Do we try again? It hasn't actually been a full 24 hours since the last attempt. Or do we wait until tomorrow? How are you two feeling?" Francine asked them. "Besides being more embarrassed than I've ever been in my life, I feel fine," Serena replied, answering her question as Joanne nodded in agreement."What you two are attempting is the definition of love. I can't think of anything else that even approaches the true meaning," Francine said gently.

They elected to wait until tomorrow to allow Serena and Joanne time to recover before making love to each other again. Joanne was showering while Serena waited her turn since it was too small to share. 'Please let it work this time,' Joanne prayed silently. Suddenly the tiny shower door flew open with a naked Serena standing there. "I heard you! Do it again," Serena insisted excitedly. 'I love you with all of my heart. It's why I'm doing this,' Joanne thought. 'I love you that much, too,' Serena responded showing her that she heard it. She stepped into the shower to wrap her arms around a wet Joanne and kissed her.

It was hours later. Serena and Joanne had thanked their hosts and told them to hold onto the equipment in case they found another couple that was willing to try the procedure. Lee and Francine had hugged each of them and were thrilled that after going through everything, it had worked.

Their next stop was Rick and Kate's home. Hopefully followed by killing off Paladin. 'Think she'll do it?' Joanne asked, trying to get used to talking like this. 'If she doesn't we're back to square one. I, for one, am willing to do whatever she asks of us,' Serena commented.

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Kate had the day off as well as the next two though she was thinking of going back in tomorrow anyway. She still had to go in to pick up Sam and bring her home since her day off didn't coincide with Amber's. Amber had offered to drop off Sam but Kate really did want to come in even if it only was for just an hour.

Everything was finally done at the office. She had a full staff, new cars, new computers, new office equipment, a new roof and new walls for the office itself. She was even the new Weston County Sheriff. She had won the election by a remarkably wide margin. Her competition had done best mostly with people in town while he got none of the votes outside of town. Kate attributed it to her time spent patrolling in her hunk of junk, driving all over the county when Dahl was sheriff. It didn't hurt that the mayor and several of the major people in the city had backed her.

It also didn't hurt that she had an anonymous donation of $10,000 to her campaign. Kate had a really good idea where that money had come from but she let Rick keep his secret. Still she loved him just a little more because of it. Most men would shy away from a woman like her and the job she did. Rick, however, pushed her to keep the job and had encouraged her to run for sheriff. That told her a lot.

Right now she was using his laptop to look for a wedding venue. She had rejected Casper and Cheyenne and was now in Denver. She reasoned that Denver was close enough for people to drive to. For those that worried about the cost of a hotel, Rick and Kate were willing to offer the use of their trailer and her mother's motorhome to them. Rick and Kate just had to drive them out there. Kate was going to go to Denver to go dress shopping, too.

Rick and Alexis were outside playing bear games again. Alexis was really learning to like being a bear even though she remembered what Meredith had said about her. Kate sort of wished she was out there with them too and her dragon had tried to get her to go join them. It was just that her dragon was so big and it was still daylight out there.

Kate was taking notes as she went from site to site. She had already rejected so many places and only had one on her list so far so she kept looking.

Secret Window in Monument, Colorado. It wasn't that big and they could easily handle the small number of people they were expecting outside if the weather was nice enough that day.

Mile High Station in Denver, Colorado. It was big enough to hold 1,200 people which was about 1,000 more than they would have coming. Hell, it would be a miracle if they made it past 100. Still they could also handle smaller groups, so Kate kept it on the list.

Wedgewood on Boulder Creek in Boulder, Colorado. It was outdoors next to a stream or inside under a billowing silky white tent if it was raining. Maximum of 250 people so it was high on Kate's list just for that.

South of Colfax Nightlife District in Denver, Colorado. Initially Kate had liked the first picture she saw, then it turned into a giant setting that could easily hold hundreds. It wasn't until she found that they also had a rooftop venue that was far less formal and held a lot less people that it had piqued her interest. It went on her list just for that reason. The Church, Club Vinyl, City Hall Events Center, The Funky Buddha Lounge, Bar Standard, Milk, and The Living Room.

Kate was just starting to move onto the next search when something loud went over the house. It startled both her and the dogs who got up off the floor to guard her. All three of them went over to the wall of windows where they watched an Osprey land in the backyard again.

'Babe, Serena is here. She just landed in the backyard out past Alexis's playset,' Kate called out to him. She wondered what Serena wanted now. 'We'll be right there. Give us about 30 minutes and have the hose ready. Having some clothes would be nice, too,' he told her. His request had Kate hurrying upstairs to gather clothes for both of them then she went outside with the dogs to wait for Serena and anyone who came with her.

Soon both Midas and Maggie were growling, protecting Kate since she was part of the family now. "Easy, just keep calm you two." She scratched the spot behind their ears. When they caught a whiff of Serena and Joanne they calmed down a lot.

"What can I do for you?" Kate asked them after they get close enough. "We came to ask you for a favor. Is Rick home?" Serena said to her. Kate shook her head. "Rick and Alexis are out playing bear games. They'll be here soon though." She escorted them upstairs. "Can I get you something to drink? We have beer, wine, soda, water, orange juice, and milk." Kate tried to think if there was anything else they had. "Wine would be nice, thank you," Serena replied. They were at the wall of windows looking out onto the small valley that her Osprey was sitting in. "They're out there somewhere. You should be able to see them coming from here," Kate told them and sipped her glass of wine.

"Can I ask what it is you want?" Kate inquired. "We want to ask for your help with something. We're thinking you might be our only chance," Serena responded and Kate remained silent until Rick got there.

It wasn't long before they all saw a really large bear loping toward the house with a much smaller bear running like mad to keep up. Kate went downstairs with the hose in hand, waiting for them. 'Did they say what they want?' Rick asked while Kate hosed down Alexis before sending her inside. "Only that they wanted to ask for a favor from me," she answered and switched to hosing Rick down.

It took time for Rick to shower and get dressed before they went back upstairs to greet their guests. "What brings you two to our home?" he questioned them and saw Serena eye Alexis and took her hint. "Pumpkin, how about you take the dogs and their favorite stuffed toy outside and play with them? I'm sure they missed playing with you while we were gone," he suggested. "Okay Dad." And Alexis was off calling the dogs to her and was gone.

"We have news and a favor we want to ask. First of all, we've figured out a method for a shifter to bond with another person. Joanne and I finished the process yesterday," Serena began. "You two are bonded now?" Kate asked in amazement. "What about life mates?"

"We're simply bonded and all that that entails," Joanne answered. She wished Serena was her life mate, but being bonded to her was enough and so much more than she had ever dreamt was possible. "We can do this for others also," Serena pointed out. "However, be advised it is extremely invasive and can be very, very embarrassing." Serena tried to smile her blush away remembering what they had been forced to do to be bonded.

"And the favor?" Kate inquired. Serena scooted forward on the sectional where she and Joanne were sitting. "Your Colonel Pike presented us with a fair amount of information after we picked him up. We found out just who Paladin is and where he's based," she told them.

"That's good isn't it? Now you know who and where and can do something about it, right?" Kate questioned. "Therein lies our problem. His name is Ziona Chana. He happens to have over 30 wives and over 80 children last anyone knew. There's probably more of both by now," Serena said. "He lives in the hills of Baktwang village in the Indian state of Mizoram," Joanne added.

"India! Seriously?" Rick was shocked. What was some guy who had way too big of a family doing mounting genocidal operations in the States? Did he really hate all shifters that much?

"We've done a lot of work since we found out and have no way to reach him. My plane only has a range of 700 miles and he's thousands of miles from here. We've discussed buying a superyacht that had the range to reach even close to there, but I don't have the funds for that," Serena said to them.

"If you're looking for money, I don't have that much either," Rick pointed out. He had shared with Kate just how much money he did have after she brought it up. Kate hadn't been surprised that to her way of thinking, he was rich. What she had pointed out was that his new contract with the publisher in Los Angeles was far more lucrative than the one he had had with Black Pawn. In her eyes Black Pawn had been making millions off of him while paying him peanuts. Sure he'd made millions with Black Pawn, but his one contract for 3 books with his new publisher was millions more than what Black Pawn had paid him for all of his books combined. While what they had done wasn't illegal, it was unethical. Kate had been pissed as hell and had entertained her dragons idea of flying to Black Pawn and breathing on the place.

When Rick had purchased Johanna's building and land for her, he had actually spent a third of the money he had on hand. Kate had been both angry at him for that and loved him just that much more. All at the same time.

"And this concerns me how?" Kate wanted to get to the point. "We want you to go there and destroy his house and everyone in it. Well, you in your dragon form that is," Serena told them. "With a family that large we doubt that only the husband is in charge."

"Fly in broad daylight and kill everyone in the building, including however many innocent children there are!?" Kate hated their idea on the spot.

"Fly, most likely. In broad daylight, I would sincerely hope not. I don't suppose you know how to swim as a dragon?" Serena inquired hopefully. "Excuse us." And Kate took Rick's hand and dragged him into the kitchen.

"What does your dragon think?" was his first question. 'We can do this. We can even breathe under water so we won't need to fly that much. We'll need a place to rest before coming back, but we can do this,' her dragon told her. "She says we can do this. But they're asking me to kill children, Rick." That was the part Kate was having the most problem with. He had sent killers after Alexis. That alone was enough for her to go there.

"Research - when are they in school there? Maybe they're not out of school like they are here," he suggested. He could see her thinking. "You're going to have to fly at some point. If the kids are at school it's going to be daylight. If you did it at night you would have the benefit of the darkness but the kids would be home," he pointed out.

"What do you want most Kate? What would satisfy your concerns over having children there?" he asked her. Was her concern over children too much? If she didn't go, Paladin would rebuild and start killing shifters all over again. Probably even come after Alexis again. "What happens if you miss all of the children? Do they grow up hating shifters that much more and want to extract revenge?" Rick questions her. Start all of this all over again just years down the road.

"Fine, but I want concessions," she insisted and marched back into the room where Serena and Joanne were waiting, looking out of the wall of windows. "I'll do it with these concessions. First, Rick and I plan it. I'll go after we're sure we've thought of everything. Second, I want you to offer to my mother and Oscar what you two have done and help them if they agree," Kate told them. "It only works if one of them is a shifter," Serena cautioned her. "Oscar is a shifter. Third, I want your help getting Javier Esposito, a homicide detective out of the 12th precinct in New York City, a detective position that is opening in Casper in 6 months. He already has an interview coming up but I want your help for him to get it. Whatever that help is. Fourth, I want your help to find Kevin Ryan, a homicide detective out of the 12th precinct in New York City, a detective position somewhere near here. We already know Casper only has the one opening, but maybe somewhere else close to Casper like Cheyenne perhaps, has an opening," Kate concluded.

"I'm detecting a pattern here. Give us a minute." This time Serena escorted Joanne into the kitchen. "Think they'll go for it?" Rick asked Kate who just shrugged her shoulders.

"Do we even have contacts in Casper or Cheyenne?" Joanne questioned. "Unfortunately no, at least not those kinds of contacts. However we do have contacts in New York City and Washington DC that could send strongly worded letters of recommendation for both of them. I'm betting the others that apply for the same positions won't have them," Serena pointed out. Joanne immediately knew just who she was thinking of. Letters like those just might get herself hired let alone someone who was already a detective.

"And her mother?" Joanne asked. "Kate said offer it, not talk her into doing it. Offering what we did is easy," Serena responded. "And allowing Rick and Kate to plan it alone without us?" Joanne questioned since they had all of the information and had done a lot of planning up to this point. "Sarah downloaded what we have on a DVD; we can leave it with them. It's her life she'll be risking," Serena reminded her. Joanne nodded and both of them went back into the living room.

"We have a deal. I'll leave you the DVD we brought that has everything about him and the location that we have and we'll explain the process to your mother and this Oscar before we leave," Serena told them.