Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2006 04:18:50 -0800 (PST) From: Snwdemon Subject: Story: Playing the game -- Rodie's story cont -- Chapter 6 Chapter 6: Learning the game {(M/b-no sex), (b/b-no sex)} WARNING: This story contains descriptions of sexual acts involving MINOR boys. I wish to explain that this story is not true! Further, it is not intended to promote illegal acts against minors, but to demonstrate that young boys can love each other even when adults believe that they are too young. The sexual acts described in the story are the result of my imagination. I have not performed these acts, and I do not encourage others to perform them with minors. If the subject of boy/boy or homosexual love between minors offends you, or this material is illegal to possess in your place of residence, or if you are under the legal age to possess such material, do not read further! By downloading this story: You implicitly declare and affirm under penalties of perjury that you are not a minor or in the company of a minor and are entitled to have access to material intended for mature, responsible members of society capable of making decisions about the content of documents they wish to read ." The story is copyrighted under my pseudonym, Snwdemon. A copy has been placed in these archives for your enjoyment. The story cannot be used to derive monetary gain. However, if you want to place a copy of this story in your free access archives please email me for my permission. The story cannot be placed in archives that require payment for access, or printed and distributed in any form that requires payment either directly or indirectly. Any similarity to individuals, living, or dead, is partially accidental. Reference is also made in context to locations, businesses, characters, and people to define the story line. No other implication about the true sexuality or actions of the people, or places mentioned is intended. Author's note: Hello all, well I need to apologize for the long delay in the story. This was due to in part to my more urgent responsibilities in my life. With Simon having relapsed, it caused me to reassess the order of importance with all aspects of my life. Of course, Simon continues to be my most primary concern. However, I have other responsibilities that I cannot just turn away from either. I do have two other sons who need me just as much as Simon needs me, and my partner Dan also needs me too. I cannot neglect them for the sake of Simon. I have my professional life that also demands my attention too. While I have been cutting back on my work, I cannot just walk away from my work. I counsel abused and troubled teens, and it has taken me much time, love, and patience to build a bonding trust with each one of them. I cannot just walk away from them without causing more harm to them. In my profession as well as other professions like mine, the first rule we live by is: Do no harm, whether intentionally, or unintentionally. Many of these abused kids are very reluctant to trust anyone. Since they know that by trusting someone, it opens them up to be hurt. They have been hurt so many times before that now they no longer trust others because it is their only way to protect themselves from being hurt again. When children are abused, they withdraw inside themselves, and build a wall around themselves to protect from being hurt. They know that to show any emotions, caring, or need to anyone is to risk more pain being inflicted upon they tattered soul. However, after months of working with me in counseling, they have allowed me to force open a crack in their defense, thus once again making them vulnerable to be hurt once more by giving me their trust. Therefore, I cannot betray their trust that I have been given, nor can I just walk away from any of them. To me, they are all my children because with each gift of trust they gave me, it was earned with my love and caring that I gave them. While I always strive to remain objective, there is no way that I cannot be emotionally bonded to them. As I tell all my kids, there are many forms of love. While sex is one form of love, the greatest form of love is caring, hope, and compassion. That is the bond I share with them, and that they have returned to me. Therefore, I cherish and protect their gifts of trust to me, which is why I could never walk away from them. Therefore, you can see that many people demand my attention, mostly that all of my kids demand my attention. The pressure put on me in order to meet that demand is great, but it is something that I am happy to bear. It is from every one of these aspects of my life that I find my inspiration for my stories, and strength for me in life. I find my strength in every one of these kids, because they have somehow overcome things in their short lives that many adults will never face, and that many adults could never bear. In my kids, I see hope for the future because even with all of their pain, they can still see the goodness around them, and within themselves. I think you can understand now some of the reasons why I developed writer's block on these stories. It is because these stories affect my just as emotionally as they affect you. They have to because if they didn't then I would be unable to convey those same feelings to you. Writing is a special art because the writer not only has to explain the events of a story, but also convey the emotions of the story to the reader. Therefore, I have to step back now and then because if I did not, then I would have an emotional breakdown myself. When this happens, I usually just step back and leave the story alone for a while until something triggers my inspiration once again, or I regain control of my own emotions enough to continue on. However, this time my inspiration came from an unusual source. To help lift Simon's spirits some, we took him to the Kennedy Center here in DC. It is not that often right now that Simon is able to go out, but this was one of his better days so we wanted to do something special. Every Saturday at 6 pm, the Kennedy Center has performances for children which are open to the public and free of charge. The show we saw featured the National Children's Ballet and Dance Company. They also had special guests which were six children and teens from Cirque Du Soleil, who were also part of the Chechnya Children's Ballet and Dance Troupe. After watching the show, which Simon loved so much that he lost his voice from cheering, is when the inspiration came to me for continuing this story. As I said previously, this chapter was supposed to complete the character aging, and it will also lay the groundwork so that the story will match the title. Well, it will be Chapter 7 that will complete the aging process because to do so in this chapter would make it over 30 pages long. To avoid this, I decided to split this section into two chapters, so I hope you are not to upset. I also explained that other than trying to keep the general outline for the story, that for this part that I would be writing each chapter as I came to them. Therefore, I hope you will enjoy the ride that we are about to take. Up until now, Rodie has endured much pain and hardship, now it is time for him to complete the circle, and learn the game. I once again would like to thank everyone who has responded to my stories, and to everyone who has reached out to my son Simon, God Bless you all. Damion. Playing the game: Rodie's story cont. Thanks to BenBear and Miguel Sanchez for proofing this chapter. Chapter 6: Learning the game Rodie awoke in the mostly dark room when he heard Eric moan softly beside him. Even before he was fully awake, he felt a sense of wrongness in the room. As he opened his eyes and reached out, he could feel the overpowering lust and depraved indifference emanating from Chuck as he sat next to the bed closest to Eric. He could sense the lust and sexual desire inside the man's mind, and he also felt the electric thrill of power that Chuck felt as his sweaty hands fondled Eric. Rodie reached out and could feel Eric fighting to wake up from the drugged stupor he was in. Rodie touched Chuck's mind only for a moment because that is all he could withstand without retching, but it enough to learn what he had done to Eric. Chuck had come into the room intent on seeing the object of his lust, Rodie. However, he saw Eric sleeping soundly while he protectively embraced Rodie. Taking out a small Ziploc bag that contained a small cloth, he removed it and carefully moved around the bed next to Eric. He gently pressed the cloth and his hand over Eric's mouth and nose for about 20 seconds. Eric's eyes opened only briefly before fluttering closed as the chloroform took affect. Once he passed out again Chuck removed his hand but left the cloth beside Eric very close to his nose. Next, Chuck rolled Eric gently until he was lying on his back, then he opened Eric's shirt and pajama pants. Chuck was caressing Eric's belly just above the waistband of his Spiderman briefs when Rodie woke. Realizing what this man was doing, Rodie knew that there was nothing he could do physically to stop him from hurting Eric. However, Rodie became angry at his helplessness and struck out with his mind. He reached out into the depths of Chuck's diseased brain not knowing what he was looking for. "Leave him alone!" Rodie said in his soft voice. "Ah, the object of my desire is awake. Don't worry luscious, you're next." Chuck said as he covered Eric's groin with his hand while he leaned over and licked a small nipple on the boy's chest. "I will tell on you," Rodie said a bit louder this time as he struggled to reach the call button next to him. However, it was not there anymore, and he heard Chuck laugh. "Don't worry luscious, nobody will disturb us. I made sure of that." he said with a sick chuckle as he pulled down Eric's underwear exposing his small uncut penis. "Then I will make you stop," Rodie said as he felt his anger increasing. "Oh? How will you do that, you can't even spit on me girly-boy." Chuck said with a louder laugh this time as he slid his hand down Eric's body until he grasped the small uncut cocklet with his trembling fingers. Eric gave another soft moan while his small pecker started to harden to its two and a half inches. Rodie realized that there was no memory he could use to stop Chuck from hurting Eric. This only caused his frustration to deepen and his anger to skyrocket, and he lashed out with his mind in frustration. "I wish you would die!" Rodie said through clenched teeth, and he heard a gurgling noise coming from Chuck. When he looked over, he saw Chuck grasping his chest while he was choking. It took a minute before Rodie realized that he was causing this reaction. He quickly tried to release his hold on Chuck but couldn't since he did not know what he had done to cause it. He watched as Chuck collapsed to the floor, hitting his head on the AC/heater unit while still gasping for air. Rodie then sent his thoughts out directly to Mikki who was sleeping. "MIKKI WAKE UP! PLEASE...I'M KILLING HIM!" He said in a mental shout to her that was underlined with his horror that he was causing this. She was awake in an instant and reached out for him. "I'm here littlest one, now don't talk, just release your mind to me. Do it now," she ordered him. While Rodie was in a near panic, Mikki's order came back to him like a mental slap, and he obeyed without thought or question. As Rodie relaxed his control to her, she gleaned from him what was happening and what led up to this. She quickly realized what he had done, and quickly released his hold on the almost unconscious man. Mikki next reached out to Chuck and pushed him into sleep. He tried to resist at first, but his lack of air had weakened him to the point where his resistance was easily thwarted. When she reached out to Rodie again, he was almost hysterical after seeing Chuck floundering on the floor and then suddenly cease all movement. "No! I didn't mean to do it...I didn't want to kill him! I didn't mean it Mikki...I just wanted to stop him from hurting Eric...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt him." Rodie wailed silently to her. "Stop that! Don't feel sorry for him. He was going to hurt you and Eric," Mikki told him, pausing only for a moment before adding this to her thought. "He was going to rape you just as your father did, now is that why you paralyzed his mind?" "I...I don't know. I paralyzed his mind? How did I do that?" Rodie answered her as he let her soothing mental presence relax him although he was confused by her revelation about what he had done. "He was teasing me because I couldn't do anything to stop him, and it made me mad." "I know it did, but who were you mad at, him or yourself?" She asked him as she continued to relax his mind which caused his body to relax. "I was mad at him for hurting Eric at first...then at myself for being unable to stop him I guess. He did something to Eric so that he won't wake up. I was going to summon the nurse, but he hid the call button. How am I going to explain it when the nurse comes in and finds his body Mikki?" Rodie explained to her, and she cast out her mind to Eric and could feel as Eric slipped further and further away from them because of the poison. "Rodie, I need you to look over to Eric and tell me what you see." She said to him, and Rodie gritted his teeth and winced as he slowly turned his head towards Eric. Once he did that, it took a few moments for him to fight through his pain before he could open his eyes and look at Eric. He saw the oily smelling cloth next to Eric's mouth and nose and conveyed this information to Mikki. "Very good my littlest one, now I will help as much as I can, but you need to remove the cloth away from Eric's face. If you do not then Eric will die from poisoning." She explained to Rodie who set his jaw and focused his will completely into doing as she directed: His hand moved slowly, but he was able to reach the cloth and push it down and away from Eric's face. He was sweating profusely after doing this, and now that he was facing the cloth himself, the fumes began to affect him also. His vision blurred for a moment as the thick, cloying fumes coming from the oily cloth made him dizzy. After moving the cloth almost down to his hip, he turned his head back and felt the pain begin to lessen a bit. "I did it, now what Mikki?" Rodie asked as he blinked his left eye after a drop of sweat rolled into it causing it to sting. "Alright my littlest one, now I need you to reveal yourself to Nurse Judy so she can come help Eric. Just get her attention and let her know that there is trouble and to come immediately. We will deal with explaining everything to her later. I am going to get Jim and we will be there soon." Mikki told him soothingly. "But what will happen when they find Chuck's body?" Rodie asked her with alarm and confusion. "He is not dead my littlest one; I just made him sleep is all. Tell her that you woke up and surprised him, but that he had some kind of seizure or something. Do not try and explain what you did, or how you did it though. She will believe that he is having some sort of reaction to whatever is on that cloth." She answered and she could feel the relief that came over Rodie. "Do not feel sorry for him because he deserved much worse that what you did to him. I suspected that you could do this since you are able to assume or share a person's pain. However, now that I know that you have the ability, I will show you how to control your feelings so you can control this ability. Now summon the nurse while I get dressed my littlest one." Rodie felt her presence leave him before he reached out searching for Nurse Judy. He found her as she was getting some medicine behind the Nurses station. "Nurse Judy, you need to come quick because Chuck did something to Eric." Rodie sent to her causing her to jump when she heard him in her mind. "Rodie? Where are you?" She asked aloud as she looked around the small supply room where the drug cabinet was located. "I'm in my room, I can't explain right now other than I'm a telepath. I think he hurt Eric so please hurry. Chuck hid the call button so I could not call you, and I think the door is blocked. I stopped him, but he did something to Eric so he can't wake up." Rodie quickly explained while he also let his emotions be sent to her also. `Ok honey, I'm going to call security, and get them to open the door. I will be there in a few moments sweetheart so don't worry." Nurse Judy said aloud to him as she picked up the phone and dialed security. She told them that she needed them because she found that Chuck had blocked himself in a patient's room, and that she is assuming that he may be hurting a patient. After hanging up, she hurried over to Rodie's room along with Nurse Jessica. They tried the door, but Rodie was right because it was blocked closed from the inside. They somehow managed to force the door open and went inside where they found Chuck just beginning to wake up. Judy also saw that the call button was laying on the floor beside the bed as she went over to Rodie. "I'm here darling, now he cannot hurt you anymore." She said to Rodie whose tears began to well up into his eyes when he saw her. She also saw Eric with his pajama shirt opened along with his pants and underwear pulled down past his knees and understood immediately what Chuck had been doing. "Now tell me what he was doing to hurt Eric." "I don't know, he did something with this cloth that made Eric go to sleep." Rodie said as his tears flowed down the sides of his face while his eyes pleaded with her. "I told him to stop, but he just laughed so I used my mind to speak to him so he would stop, but he had some kind of seizure when I did. Please don't tell anyone about what I can do, because they will think I'm some kind of freak...please?" I won't tell anyone sweetheart, I promise." Nurse Judy said as she reached over and picked up the cloth. She coughed when she smelled the pungent fumes coming from it. Next, she went around the bed and started checking Eric who didn't respond to her attempts to wake him. Just then, the security officers arrived. "You need to arrest him because I caught him molesting this boy when I was doing my rounds. He drugged him somehow, and when I surprised him, he slipped and hit his head." She explained as she retrieved the call button and gave it back to Rodie before calling Jessica over to her. The security officers came over and subdued Chuck who was complaining about his head as they handcuffed him. They quickly, and very roughly, yanked him up to his feet before pulling him out of the room. Jessica joined her beside Rodie and Eric, and Judy told her the same thing she told Security. She then told Jessica to summon the ER doctors so they could treat Eric. After she did that, she went into the bathroom, got a small plastic garbage bag, and placed the cloth inside it before tying it closed. Nurse Jessica came into the room, and she helped Judy pull up Eric's underwear and pajama bottoms just as the Emergency doctor entered the room. Judy told him the same story, and he took the bag, opened it, and smelled the rag before closing and tying the bag again. "Chloroform, let's give him some oxygen, and bring me some ammonia inhalers too." He said to Nurse Jessica who quickly left the room to get what he asked for. "He is lucky that you interrupted things. Chloroform can be fatal if he was exposed to it long enough. I will see if I can revive him, but if I can't then I will need to transfer him downstairs for further treatment. Come on; let's sit him up a bit." "I will move Rodie to another bed for now," Nurse Judy said as she left the room for a few moments. When she returned, she was guiding a gurney into the room and next to Rodie's side of the bed. Then the doctor and Judy carefully transferred Rodie to the gurney and she covered him up with a blanket before moving him out into the hallway. Nurse Jessica returned as Judy parked Rodie in the hall, then they both went back into the room to tend to Eric. It was only several minutes that past, but it seemed like an eternity to Rodie. He was just beginning to reach out to Nurse Judy again when Mikki and Jim arrived. Rodie had stopped crying, but when he saw Jim and Mikki, he could not hold back his tears anymore. Mikki came up next to him and began comforting him while Jim went into the room to check on Eric's status. "Come on Eric, wake up now." The ER doctor said as he held the ammonia inhaler under Eric's nose. Eric started coughing and his eyes fluttered open as he continued to cough weakly. Nurse Judy slipped the oxygen mask onto his face as she spoke soothingly to him. "Hi there sweetie, it's me, Nurse Cupcake, remember?" Judy asked him as he tried to focus his eyes on her but couldn't yet. Once Eric heard her, he nodded his head slightly as he continued to cough. "That's it honey, just relax and try to take some deep breaths." "Rodie? Where's Rodie?" Eric whimpered softly. "He is fine darling, he is just outside in the hallway. He called me when that man started hurting you. I took care of everything now, so you just relax and let the doctor help you, ok sweetheart." Judy explained to him, and he squeezed her hand tightly. His vision had begun to clear up, and he only coughed occasionally now. The doctor was listening to Eric's chest when he instructed Nurse Jessica to get the Respitory Therapist on duty to come and give Eric a couple of breathing treatments to help open up his lungs more. Jim entered the room a few moments later, and the doctor took him aside to explain what was going on with Eric. "Is Rodie alright?" Eric asked Judy. "Yes he is. He's the one who stopped Chuck from hurting you. Now you just relax and breathe deep for me." Judy told him just as Jim came up beside Eric. "She is right Spritemite. Rodie is just outside the door in the hall. Now you listen to Nurse Judy and don't give her any trouble." Jim told him as he leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. "Where's my daddy?" Eric asked him in his small and whiny voice as he began to cry. "It's alright now Eric, you are safe now. So don't cry son because everything will be ok now. Your dad is on his way with your brother and Cathy. They should be here any minute now. Now I'm going to check on Rodie and let him know you are ok. Will you be brave for a bit longer for me and listen to Nurse Judy?" Jim said to him, and Eric nodded weakly as Jim tenderly wiped his eyes. Jim kissed him once more before leaving the room. Just as he got outside the room, his cell phone rang. It was Cathy, and she warned him that John was very angry after she told him what Mikki had told her. Jim went to the stairway and went down to the first floor to meet them. As he approached the main lobby, Jim could hear the commotion and he hurried down the hallway. Jim came into the lobby and saw John being pulled away from the handcuffed orderly. He quickly hurried over to John and stepped in front of him. "John, it will do Eric no good if you are arrested over that piece of shit. Let it go!" Jim said loudly as he grasped a hold of John's wrists. John stopped struggling and looked at Jim. Once Jim could see that John was calm, he told the security guard that was restraining him to let go. "Is Eric all right?" John asked Jim as he smoothed his shirt. "Yes, he is going to be ok. He is awake, very scared, and asking for you, so now let's go see him while the police take care of that scumbag." Jim said to him as Cathy came up and hooked her arm around John's waist. Mark was with her while Marco and Eddie followed, then Mark moved along side Jim. Jim gave him a quick hug before looking at John once more. He then led the others upstairs to see Rodie and Eric. When they got to Rodie's room, Nurse Jessica was guiding the empty gurney out of the room. "Eric was worried, so we brought Rodie back into the room." She explained to Cathy when she saw them. Jim gave Mark a quick hug and told him to wait with the others before he led Cathy and John into the room. The doctor was checking to make sure that Rodie's C-Collar brace was fitted properly while Nurse Judy cradled his shoulders gently before easing him backwards onto the pillow. Eric was now seated in the chair next to the bed where the Respitory Therapist was having him breathe in a vapor mist from a nebulizer. She had to stop him from jumping up and running to his dad when John came into the room. Once Eric saw his father, the brave front he had been displaying crumbled as he began to cry like the innocent child he was. He tried to talk but only managed a few splutters in between his pitiful sobs as John picked him up into his arms and hugged him tightly. Cathy broke away once she could see that Eric was ok, and went over to Rodie just as Nurse Judy stood up. She could see that Rodie's eyes were screwed tightly shut and that his jaw was set as he clenched his teeth as he fought the waves of pain coming from his neck. "Is he all right Judy?" Cathy asked worriedly as she came and sat beside Rodie. "He is in a lot of pain at the moment. Dr. Sinclair has ordered morphine for him. You should be very proud of him, somehow he managed to stop Chuck from hurting Eric, and then he was still able to remove the chloroform soaked cloth away from Eric's face before it hurt him more. I was trying to get him to relax until Dr. Sinclair returned, but maybe you will do better than I was doing." Judy explained to Cathy as she sat beside Rodie. "Yes, I already know, Rodie is a very special boy," Cathy answered as she reached out her hand and brushed the stray lock of hair out of Rodie's pain contorted face. "Yes he is, very special indeed," Judy answered, and Cathy looked at her when she heard this. "He spoke to me, and let me know what was happening. Your son is very talented, and you should be proud, I know I would be if he were my son." "I am Judy, we all are very proud of him. Don't go, because I will need your help." Cathy answered after seeing the understanding expression on Judy's face. Cathy then turned to Rodie and leaned close to him before speaking. "I'm here honey, but now you need to relax until the doctor comes back. I know it hurts, but we are all here to help you right now, so relax and share it with us." Cathy said in a calm, soft voice close to Rodie's ear. Rodie could immediately sense her beside him, and did as she told him to do. Judy gave a slight groan as her neck knotted up with pain as Rodie spread his intense pain out among them. After a few moments of adjusting to this new burden, Judy was able to control it and move her neck around to work out the kinks. When she looked over at Rodie again, he was looking at her worriedly. She could tell that he was now more worried about what her overall reaction would be now that he had revealed himself to her. Judy immediately took steps to ease his worried mind. "Well it's nice of you to rejoin us sweetheart." She said with her best smile as she took hold of his small hand. Rodie searched her face for only a moment with his small brows furrowed with his insecurity. Sensing nothing but genuine caring for him, and also sensing no revulsion coming from her, Rodie allowed his delicate brows to relax as he realized that nothing had changed between them. "It doesn't matter to you does it?" Rodie managed to ask her in his squeaky voice when he was nervous. "No sugar, it doesn't. Now instead of being the most handsome man on this floor, you are also the most talented. I am just upset that you would not trust me sooner is all." Judy told him. Rodie stared at her for a moment before looking down and away while his face became incredibly sad. "It's hard to trust someone if nobody likes you when they know." He said softly as another tear trekked down his face. Judy just leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. "Well darling, I'm not just anyone, I'm your friend. So you can trust me." She said in a calm but serious voice. Rodie looked up at her, and she could see the hope in his green and gold colored eyes. "I do now." He said with a weak smile and a look of relief. At that moment, Dr. Sinclair came back in the room carrying a syringe and a small cup of liquid medicine. Judy took them from him and inserted the needle into the port in Rodie's IV before injecting the morphine. She had Cathy hold the small cup of liquid medicine to Rodie's lips so he could swallow it without moving his neck. It only took a couple of minutes before Rodie's eyes glassed over and he broke the connection with the others who were helping him with his pain. "I love you mom." Was all he could say before his eyelids drooped closed as he slipped off into sleep. "I love you to Rodie, now you go to sleep. I will be here to watch over you." Cathy said as she sensed Rodie slip into unconsciousness. Once he was resting peacefully, Cathy stood up and asked Jim if it was ok if she and Judy went and got a cup of coffee. Jim nodded and she left the room followed by Judy. Judy took her to the small lounge they had next to the Nurse's station after letting Jessica know where she would be if needed. Once they had gone in, and Judy got a couple of cups for their coffee, she turned to Cathy. "What do you take in your coffee?" She asked. "Oh, just black, please." Cathy answered, and Judy poured two cups of black coffee before sitting down at the small table next to Cathy. "It must be hard for you, I have two sons myself, and they are a handful. I can only imagine how hard it has been for you, and for Rodie." Judy said to Cathy in a friendly voice. "You have no idea. You already know what happened with his father, and this last year has been so hard for him. Even harder for me as I watch him struggle every day and yet there is nothing I can do to help him." Cathy said before sipping her coffee. While she had developed a loving relationship with John, and very close friendships with the others, it was not the same as having another female friend. She was still new to all of this, and she missed the close familiar friendship that only two women could share. "I know, my youngest son is autistic, so I know all about how helpless you feel as you watch your child slip further and further away. I also know how hard it has been for Rodie, now even more so because of his abilities. I almost jumped out of my skin when he spoke to me." Judy told her with a small light laugh. Cathy could easily see that they identified with each other because of their sons. They both understood what the other has been through, and that made their new bond of friendship even stronger. "I can see that you understand, and that is a comfort to me, I appreciate it. I am glad you were here for Rodie because he spends most of his time just trying to keep his talents a secret. He trusted you enough to risk being hurt once more by revealing himself to you. I could feel how helpless he felt being unable to stop that man from hurting Eric. Then I felt his panic when he stumbled upon this new aspect of his talents because he did not know what he had done or how to undo it." Cathy said to her as she continued to sip her coffee. "Wait a minute, Rodie told me that he woke up and startled Chuck. And that he slipped and fell and hit his head. That is not what happened?" Judy asked her with a confused look. "No, it is not what happened exactly, but it is what we can tell everyone and they will believe it. As you have probably already guessed by now, Rodie got his talents from me. Although my abilities are not nearly as strong as his are. See, Rodie can do more than I can, he can communicate with his mind with anyone he chooses, and he can also sense what they are feeling, and hear the thoughts that they have. I can only sense what a person is feeling like if they are upset, or happy. They call my ability Empathy, or call me an Empath. However, Rodie is not only an Empath, but also a telepath. At first, I thought it was just with me, but then he could also do this with his father. As he has grown older, his talents have grown stronger. Now he can communicate with anyone he chooses. A few years ago, the stress of my business caused me to develop migraine headaches, and Rodie would come in and take some of the pain away. At the time, I did not know that he was taking the pain and suffering through it, so when I found that out, I made him stop because I didn't know if it would hurt him. Well since his father died, after the bastard tried to choke the life out of his own son and almost succeeded, Rodie has had to use nothing but his mind in order to communicate with us. So naturally, now that this was his only way of communicating, he has managed to develop his talents even more. But, it did not stop his depression that he got caught in. After he tried to take his own life, Jim went and got him an angel, that's Mikki. In public, she is deaf, and mute, but she is even more talented than Rodie is. She will speak with you in her own time, and I expect that it will probably be about helping your son. Well Jim, Mikki, and myself all expected that Rodie might be able to do some things with his mind. However, we wanted to wait until after his surgery before we pursued this. Therefore, that is how he stumbled upon it by accident. Rodie was trying to help Eric, and Chuck...the sick bastard, well he was teasing Rodie about how he could not walk, or talk very loud, and best of all, about how he could not move or resist him in any way. When Rodie realized that he was telling the truth, Rodie got angry, more at himself because he could not stop Chuck. So, in his anger he struck out blindly and managed to paralyze Chuck's mind." Cathy explained. Judy was going to ask a question but Cathy motioned her to hold off until she was finished. Seeing that, Judy got up and poured them some fresh coffee. "Mikki had just explained it to us that we would have to make sure that we did not allow Rodie to become upset. However, we thought that he was safe here, so we went to the hotel to shower and change before getting something to eat. Now as to what really happened in the room, I can only summarize things. Like I said, Rodie got very angry at himself for being totally helpless. Therefore, he lashed out and paralyzed Chuck's brain. When he did that and realized he didn't know what he had done, he panicked. He reached out to Mikki and told her what was happening and Mikki realized what he had done and stopped it. She pushed Chuck into sleep, and then she had Rodie summon you. Mikki told me before she left to come here that Rodie used his talents to cause Chuck's brain to short out, but if Mikki had not released Rodie's hold then Chuck would have died. Do you understand now?" Cathy asked her once she finished. Judy had a thoughtful expression on her face as she absorbed this new information. "So how was he able to paralyze Chuck's brain?" Judy asked her. "I was coming to that part. It's done by scrambling the thoughts and signals in the brain. By doing this it caused his brain to short out, and with no impulses going to the body, then everything stops working." Cathy explained to her, and Judy nodded her head as the understanding came to her "Well, it's over, and he really needs to rest for his surgery in the morning. I just worry that the surgery won't help much, and that when he wakes up, he won't see any difference." Cathy said softly, more to her self as she thought about how much Rodie had struggled over the last year. "I really believe that he may kill himself if nothing changes." "You do not need to worry because Dr. Goodman is the best in his field. I'm not just saying that either because he operated on my oldest son Aaron. He had a cancerous tumor on his spinal cord. Dr. Goodman did his surgery, and Jessica said that he peeled the spinal cord apart like you would pull apart spaghetti. He was able to get the entire tumor and Aaron is fine today. All of the other doctors all told me that the tumor was in operable, yet Aaron is still with us because of Dr. Goodman." Judy explained while trying to reassure Cathy that things will change. "I truly hope so because I do not think Rodie is strong enough to overcome another failure. Emotionally that is, but you can see what his depression has caused when you look at him." Cathy confided in her. Just then, Judy's pager sounded, and she checked the message. "Oh goodness, look at the time. I need to complete my rounds. All I can say Cathy is that Dr. Goodman is a miracle worker. He has had success where every other doctor has failed. Even Dr. Epstein agrees that Dr. Goodman is the most talented Neurosurgeon in the world. If he is unable to help Rodie, then nobody can help him. However, I just want you to know that you need to be prepared for tomorrow. You will believe after the surgery." Judy said as both she and Cathy stood up. They hugged each other briefly before starting towards the door. Judy went to the Nurse's Station and got a card for Cathy. "Here is my numbers to my cell, home, and pager. You call me if you need to talk, about anything. All right Hon?" "I will, and thanks Judy, I needed the sisterly touch back there. Here are my numbers, and you call me if you need to do the same." Cathy told her as she quickly wrote out the phone numbers and giving the piece of paper to Judy. They both went their separate ways, with Judy attending to her rounds, and Cathy going back into Rodie's room. She ran into Mikki who was coming out as she was going in. "How are Rodie and Eric doing?" She asked Mikki. "Rodie is sleeping, but he is still in pain. Eric also just went to sleep. However, he is still frightened about what happened. John and my dearest one are in there with them." Mikki said in response to her question while she regarded Cathy with a critical eye. "How are you doing my dear one?" "I will manage Little Mother. With everything that happened, and now discovering Rodie's new abilities, I swear I will have an ulcer before this week is through." Cathy said with a hint of frustration in her voice as she massaged her brow to help relieve some of her headache. "You are just tired, my daughter. You need to rest because you will be of no help to our littlest one if you don't. As for his new abilities, they are not exactly new. You should have realized when you discovered that he could share your pain and his. This is just a different aspect is all. If he is able to take away someone's pain, then it is only logical that he will be able to cause pain or injury to someone else if he so chooses. He has just never been in the situation where he would have to use it before. However, now that he knows what he is capable of, it has filled him with fear and revulsion. We need to make him understand that if he will not learn to control his emotions, then he will never be able to control this ability. In addition, by being unable to control it, there is always the possibility that the next person he unleashes his mind on may not survive. Therefore, it is imperative that we convince him to learn how to control his emotions. However, for now, you go rest because tomorrow will be a long day for both of you." Mikki told her, and Cathy agreed. She told Mikki that she was going to check on Rodie then go lay down in the lounge since there was a couch in there. Cathy checked in on Rodie and Eric, pausing only long enough to give each of them a small kiss on their foreheads. John was asleep in the chair next to the bed. Eric had his arms protectively around Rodie as they slept. She quietly left the room, and headed back to the lounge, only pausing long enough to ask Judy to wake her at 7AM. When she went in, she found Mark and Jim already there asleep. Cathy moved quietly so as to not disturb them, yet Jim still opened his eyes when she tip-toed past him to the other couch. He gave her a small smile before closing his eyes again. Cathy took a blanket and covered herself before lying down and sleeping. End Chapter 6 Please send all responses to snwdemon@yahoo.com All responses will be read, but flames will be tossed and ignored.