Author's Note:
I suppose this could stand alone as a story but the background is pretty much all in Chapter One so I suggest reading it first if you haven't already.
Randy showered, dressed, and headed in for breakfast. Sarah's earlier comment didn't even register on his conscious brain until after their conversation later.
"Here, eat first. I'm not sure you're going to be hungry after what I'm about to tell you." Sarah told him as he sat down.
Randy's was starting to feel a little uneasy. This must really be something huge. There was always some girly issue going on between her and Jo Ann but he'd never seen Sarah act like this before.
Randy barely tasted his food as he was eating. Sarah ended up being right about him not wanting to eat after her story. She was wrong about feeding him first; he shouldn't have eaten at all. As soon as Sarah told him that Jo Ann had been raped last year, Randy ran straight to the bathroom and threw up.
Once he cleaned himself up and Sarah made sure he was okay, she continued telling him the details that she knew about it.
He had pretty much the same reactions and responses that Sarah had expressed to Jo Ann last night: Why couldn't she tell us? She shouldn't have to go through that alone. Why didn't she come to you, Sarah?
But Randy had one reaction that Sarah didn't. He vowed to find David and beat the shit out of him. Just like Sarah, Randy had never really liked David either; and now that piece of shit was responsible for hurting someone he loved. David may not have done the actual rape, but he had exposed her and put her in that position. Randy just hoped he could stop short of killing David once he found him. He kept that part to himself.
Randy calmed down a little bit and looked at his wife. "Okay, now that we finally know, what can we do to help her?"
"Well, we're going to do the same things we always do; just be there for her. But don't treat her like she's broken or any different than before. That was something she asked me to do for her. We're not pretending like it never happened but that she's now stronger for it. She has a lot of it worked out on her own already. I was mad at first that she didn't tell me or let me help but I think she's brave as hell for handling it on her own. It makes me love her even more." Sarah paused before continuing, "There is one thing though that you can do for her that I can't. You were absolutely serious when you said you'd do anything you could for her, weren't you?"
"Hell yes, I was serious. She's family to me and you know how I feel about that." Sarah did know. She couldn't even begin to remember all the things he'd done in the name of family since she'd known him. According to his stories, he didn't have the best childhood and was abandoned by his parents during high school. He swore that once he had his own family, things would be different. Sarah soon found out that Randy's definition of family included not just her, but her extended family as well as her friends. They were all his family now; and if the family needed help with anything, no matter how small or trivial, he was always first in line.
"I want you to fuck Jo Ann."
"What? Are you crazy?" Randy couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Well, not fuck her, exactly. I want you to make love to her. She is afraid of sex right now after what she's been through. Her therapist was suggesting a surrogate but she's against that. She needs someone she can completely trust and feel safe with to guide her back to being with a man again. The only man she could think of was you; and I agree with her. You're the best man that either of us knows. She knows that you're the last man in the world that would ever hurt her. She loves you."
For the first time in his adult life, Randy actually considered not doing something for family. The two of them talked back and forth about it for a long time until she hit him with, "Please, Randy. She needs you. And I need you to be there for her where I can't be." It was the look on his wife's face and her clearly stressing the 'need' part that finally convinced him.
"Besides, it's not like she's hideously fat or ugly. You'll probably even end up enjoying yourself." she joked with him and he did eventually laugh back.
The two of them had originally planned to just go out for dinner and see a movie that night but decided to go tell Jo Ann in person that they would help her.
Just before Jo Ann opened the door, Randy looked over at Sarah and said, "Let me tell her."
Jo Ann was surprised to see them at her door. After her talk with Sarah, she didn't expect to hear from her for a few days.
He didn't even say hello; he stepped inside and picked her up in a big hug. "So, am I supposed to act like I'm seducing you or do you just want to go at it right here in the entry way? I'm good with either one. You know, there are easier ways to get me into your bed, Jo. You didn't have to go through all that trouble just because you wanted to fuck me."
"Desperate times call for desperate measures, big guy. I knew Sarah would never give you up without a good reason." she replied. They all three laughed.
Somehow, it was the right thing to say. Any remaining trepidation Jo Ann felt about asking Sarah for their help was gone. Randy would take care of her. She had very little left to fear now.
They called for some take out while they ironed out a few logistical questions about how to best help Jo Ann. Sarah decided for them that there was no time like the present to get started.
With dinner wrapped up and casual conversation exhausted, Sarah said she was going home without him. He would be staying here with Jo.
Now that they were alone, Jo was nervous again. She still knew that this was the right decision for her but she thought again about Sarah's sacrifice and it made her pause.
They were sitting on the couch when Randy slid over to her and placed his arm around her. She looked up at him as he lifted her chin and bent down towards her. His lips parted slightly and touched hers, kissing her softly and then again a second time.
She melted against his chest and hugged him tightly. It wasn't the first time she'd ever kissed him. There had often been a hug and quick kiss to his cheek when she was leaving. There were even quite a few straight up big lip to lip smooches as a friendly reward for something extra nice he had done for her or Sarah and her together. But this immediately felt different. "Thank you for doing this, Randy. Would you kiss me again? It felt nice."
"As often as would you like." he replied as he lifted her chin again. His lips pressed against hers, a little harder than before. His tongue darted out and licked her upper lip as he pulled away and stared into her eyes.
"Jo, I need to be serious for a moment here. Okay?" Randy waited until she nodded before continuing. "This is your show. We'll take your lead. As fast or as slow as you need or want to go; I'm with you all the way. I'll try to take my cues from you but I'm going to miss some. If I do or say something wrong or too soon or anything you're uncomfortable with, you have to tell me to stop. I don't want to inadvertently hurt you by doing something stupid in the heat of the moment. Got it?"
