"Grace, stay there until I get there." Olivia instructed, climbing up the hiking path to catch up with her sweet little submissive who had run ahead to the top of the hill.
"Yes, Ma'am." Grace called back, and sat down on a rock to wait for her Mistress.
"You can run ahead of me if you want to, but you must stay within my sight at all times, my baby." Olivia explained as she caught up to Grace and sat down beside her.
"Yes, Ma'am." Grace nodded obediently.
"Here, let's have some water. I don't want you to get dehydrated." Olivia reached into the backpack to retrieve two bottles of water and handed one to Grace.
"Where are you taking me, anyway?" Grace asked, looking around at their beautiful surroundings out in nature.
"That's for me to know and you to find out." Olivia winked, "But I think you're going to like it."
"What are we waiting for? Come on, slowpoke!" Grace jumped up and ran ahead.
"Sassy." Olivia rolled her eyes good-naturedly and ran to catch up with Grace.
"Are you sure this is safe? It looks old." Grace gazed somewhat nervously at the bridge they were required to cross to the other side, watching the wooden contraption sway slightly in the breeze.
"I promise it's safe, baby girl, and it's not very far. Look, I'll go first." Olivia easily crossed the bridge and turned around, "See? Now, it's your turn. Take your time and don't look down, we're in no hurry."
Grace cautiously stepped onto the bridge and took tiny baby steps across. About halfway across, one of the boards creaked and Grace gasped, frozen in fear as the bridge swayed slightly. She made the mistake of looking down and screamed.
"I'm here, my baby. I'm right here." Olivia was by Grace's side in seconds and held her hand as she guided her frightened submissive the rest of the way across the bridge, again taking tiny baby steps, "Such a good girl. You did it." Olivia smiled, planting a kiss on Grace's forehead when they were safely on the other side.
"That's a long way down." Grace gulped.
"It is, but we're not going down there. We're going just another half mile or so." Olivia replied.
"Oh!" Grace gasped in surprise when they arrived at their destination and she was greeted by a beautiful green clearing and the most gorgeous waterfall she had ever seen in her life. Olivia smiled as she set the backpack down on the ground.
"Daddy shared this place with me when I came up here with him, so now I'm sharing it with you. It's a good place to heal; it's out of the way enough that no one will disturb you if you need to cry or scream or throw things or just sit quietly, or whatever else you need to do."
"There's nothing here to throw." Grace looked around them.
To make her point, Olivia picked up a pebble and skipped it across the lake. The two women watched as the pebble skipped four times and then sank into the water.
"It's a little Mayberry, but it works." Olivia shrugged.
Grace bent down to pick up a pebble and skipped it across the lake, watching as it skipped three times and then disappeared underwater. Finding the action strangely relaxing and cathartic, the brunette submissive went in search of another pebble.
"Can I put my feet in the water?" Grace asked.
"Yes, you can." Olivia agreed indulgently.
Grace slipped out of her shoes and socks, sat down on a ledge, and dipped her feet in the water. The cold water was a shock at first, and then Grace sighed as she grew accustomed to it. She giggled as a curious minnow swam up and tickled her toes. Olivia took off her own shoes and socks and joined Grace sitting on the ledge and dipping her feet in the water.
"Thank you for bringing me here, Ma'am." Grace laid her head on Olivia's shoulder, and Olivia kissed Grace's head.
"Anything for you, my baby."
"Ma'am?" Grace asked hesitantly.
"Hmm?" Olivia smiled.
"I was thinking… I think I would like for you to give me baths again." Grace blushed lightly. Since the rape, she had been showering by herself, but now since Olivia knew her secret, there was no point in trying to hide her body from her Mistress.
"I can do that if you want me to, sweetheart. I'll tell you what; you can take the rest of the day to think about it, and this evening you can choose whether you want a bath or a shower. If you change your mind and you decide you want a shower, I won't be angry." Olivia assured her.
"I want to try to go back to the way things were before, and maybe it will help me not want to cut."
"We can go back to the way things were, but if you ever get scared or feel like things are moving too fast, all you have to do is tell me and we will adjust however we need to. And if you ever do feel the urge to cut again, all you have to do is tell me just like you did a few days ago and I will do what I can to help, whether that means giving you a stress relief session, or just holding you and talking to you, or anything else you need."
Later that evening, Olivia drew a lavender-scented bath and, watching carefully for any signs of fear, she gently undressed Grace and guided her into the tub and down into the soothing warm water. Olivia gently moved Grace's hair aside and used a cup to scoop up water and slowly pour it down Grace's back to soothe her. Grace relaxed under the loving gesture.
"Tip your head back, little one." Olivia instructed. Grace did as she was told, and Olivia used the cup to gently wet Grace's hair, "That's my good girl."
Olivia carefully washed Grace's hair, watching carefully for signs of fear and showering Grace with praise and love throughout the process to keep her calm and relaxed. Grace dunked her head underwater when she was told to, and when Grace's hair was free of shampoo suds, Olivia lathered a cloth with soap and gently began to wash Grace's back, starting with a part of Grace's body that wouldn't scare her so much. The whip marks from Grace's last beating at Melissa's hands had healed quickly, leaving not a single trace of scarring on Grace's delicate skin, for which Olivia was grateful. The mental and emotional scars from Melissa's treatment of her were more than enough for Grace to have to deal with, she didn't need the physical reminder on top of it all. After washing Grace's back, Olivia moved on to wash both of her arms, and then her face and neck.
Olivia made her touch even more gentle and her voice even more soothing as she began to wash Grace's chest. Grace's breathing hitched a little as she squeezed her eyes closed, and Olivia immediately took her hands off of Grace.
"I'm sorry, Ma'am." Grace whimpered.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, my baby. Just try to take deep breaths. I promise you are very safe right here with me, no one is going to hurt you. Do you want to finish washing yourself?" Olivia offered. Grace opened her eyes and shook her head.
"No, Ma'am. You can wash me, please."
"Okay, you just relax, my baby." Olivia resumed her gentle washing and gentle chatter, moving on to wash Grace's belly, legs, and feet. Grace got up on all fours in the tub when she was told to do so and Olivia gently washed her bottom.
When Grace was clean and relaxed, Olivia gently guided her out of the tub and wrapped her in a warm, fluffy towel and dried her hair.
"Go choose whatever bra and panties you want, then come back in here and wait for me while I shower." Olivia gave Grace's towel-covered bottom a love spank to send her on her way, making Grace smile.
"Yes, Ma'am." Grace walked off to do as she was told.
The next day, it was pouring down buckets, making any kind of outdoor activity impossible. Grace pouted; today was the last day of their two week vacation and she was stuck inside.
"I think today is a good day for some hot tea and a movie marathon. You go make the tea, and I'll see what's playing on Netflix." Olivia instructed.
"Yes, Ma'am. What kind of tea?" Grace asked.
"Earl Grey for me. You may choose what you like best." Olivia replied.
Grace went to the kitchen and picked up the tea kettle to fill it with water. She obediently made a cup of Earl Grey tea for her Mistress, and chose to make a cup of Irish Breakfast tea for herself. With a belly full of tea, Grace found herself in her favorite place in the world; cuddled on her Mistress's lap. Olivia turned on the first movie she had chosen, and the two women got lost in the plot of the movie.
The next morning, it had finally stopped raining, and Olivia woke up to find the foot of the bed empty. Assuming that Grace was already in the kitchen, the brunette detective showered and dressed. She didn't smell anything cooking, and went to the kitchen to find it empty.
"Grace?" Olivia called out, but received no reply.
After a thorough search of the cabin, Olivia was both confused and worried. She went outside, but Grace was not sitting on the deck or in the pool. Olivia hurried back inside and grabbed her cell phone, intending to use the SubFinder app to locate her missing submissive, and then cursed under her breath when she remembered that she had made Grace leave her cell phone at home, and she cursed herself for making such a decision.
Dialing a different number, Olivia called the Forest Rangers' office and informed them of her situation, and for good measure mentioned her status as Captain of the NYPD's Special Victims Unit. That was all the information the Forest Rangers needed to take Olivia's call more than seriously, and within half an hour a search party had been formed. With nothing else to do except worry, Olivia made herself a cup of coffee and sat on the front porch with her cell phone in hand waiting to receive any news of Grace's whereabouts. Thanks to her job, Olivia's mind immediately jumped to the worst case scenario, and she had to force herself not to think like that; surely if Grace had been taken by someone, Olivia would have heard her screaming. Olivia tried to focus her mind on the best case scenario; perhaps Grace was simply being a very naughty girl and had wandered off without permission.
"Grace! Grace!" Olivia could hear the Forest Rangers calling Grace's name from somewhere in the woods, their voices drifting further and further away from her as they searched deeper and deeper into the woods.
Olivia picked up her cell phone and once again dialed a number, listening to it ring once, twice, thr-
"Hi, baby." Cragen's voice came over the line.
"Hi, Daddy." Olivia responded, her voice clogged with emotion.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Cragen heard the distress in his daughter's voice, and he listened carefully as she explained the situation, "Do you need me to come down and help you look? Maybe bring a few of your detectives with me?"
"No. It's a four hour drive, I'm hoping this whole thing will be over long before then. I just needed someone to talk to to keep me calm, because I feel like I'm going to go crazy." Olivia admitted with tears in her eyes, "I feel so stupid for telling her to leave her phone at home."
"Well, don't. You had your reasons for telling her that, and you couldn't have predicted that this would happen."
"I guess you're right." Olivia admitted.
"I'm your Dad, I'm usually right." Cragen smirked, and to distract her he began to entertain her with stories from his time as a young detective.
Olivia smiled. Most of these stories she had heard before, but she was grateful for the distraction.