This is a spinoff of CorruptingPower's Quaranteam Universe. I have 'written' many stories in my head and have started typing some of these into the computer in the past, but it has been the Quaranteam Universe that has spurred me to keep going. Thanks go to CorruptingPower for letting me play in his universe, and a big shout out to the growing group of spin-off authors for their help and encouragement.
Quaranteam: Team Tim
The_Licentious_Laureate
Chapter 14.
Sunday, 26th July 2020 (Afternoon)
Kate stood up and used a spoon against her glass to get everyone's attention.
"Again, sorry for not pressing the damn button, I thought I'd save everyone some trouble, not seeing that I was creating it instead," she admitted. "Anyway, I've received an update from the taskforce this morning. The Russian sub is behaving as expected and the new intelligence received supports what we've currently been told. So, basically, there's no change." Having said her piece, she then sat down again.
Tim thought about what Kate had told them, and decided that in this case, no new news really was no news.
Lunch was effectively over by this point, and they all started to drift away in ones and twos, intent on doing their own thing for on what was a lovely Sunday afternoon.
Rana and Jenny were the first to leave, going to the stables to see whether they could make better use of the space, given that there were now eight horses there, rather than the two that had been there only hours before. Siobhan took a book out into the courtyard, deciding to read and spend a while in the sun before her video call with Rachel, Tim's girlfriend from his time at Durham University.
Maria was planning on going down to the basement to see if there was a sewing machine or possibly an overlocker being stored there. Before she left, though, Tim caught up with her.
"How are you feeling, Maria?" Tim asked.
"Better than I've been for so long," she replied. "Why do you ask?"
"Because we've not spent any time together since you woke up," he explained.
"You mean for sex. I must admit that would be nice, but I'm not feeling a desperate need at the moment."
"Let me know if you do. I'm fully aware that you may start to feel needy soon."
Maria reached out and put a hand on Tim's arm. "I surely will," she informed him. "And I want to get a good crack of the whip with you as well. After all, I've got twenty-five years of catching up to do and definitely intend to start as soon as possible. There's so much I want to explore with you. I'd hardly started exploring my sexuality when I had my accident."
"Whenever you're ready," Tim replied.
After a gentle pat, Maria removed her hand from his arm. Turning away, she waved. "Talk later." Maria took two steps forward, but then stopped and turned back to face Tim. "Is it possible to take the Oracle survey again?"
"I'm not sure, Maria. Why?" he enquired, taking a step towards her.
"I feel that I'm a different person now than I was a few days ago, and my answers will probably be different as the thought of sex no longer scares me. I know it won't change where I am, but Siobhan mentioned something about a Team score and if we're to get more women arriving, then the Team score should be reasonably accurate."
"I'd not thought about that," Tim acknowledged. "I'll see what Siobhan says."
"Thank you, Tim." Maria turned and actually walked away this time.
Tim was left standing there with his thoughts. He now had eight women bonded to him, and another to be added later that day, but except for Kate's 94.7% and Siobhan's 'over 95%', he didn't know his compatibility scores with any of his other women. He felt that this was a situation that he should correct, but not immediately. Instead, he wanted to relax with one of his guitars for a few hours.
Tim started walking towards the main entrance hall of the house and the music room, but hadn't gone more than twenty paces when he was waylaid by Grace and Nicole, who asked if he could help them move various items around to get their flat over the stables set up. Giving up the thought of spending some time chilling with a guitar, at least in the short term, Tim readily agreed.
----oOo----
At one minute to three o'clock, Siobhan logged into the zoom meeting with Rachel wanting to be there first, only to find the other woman already logged in and waiting. Seeing Rachel for the first time, having not found any pictures of her on social media, Siobhan did a quick double-take. 'Feck, she's gorgeous,' was her first thought. And her second, as she stared at Rachel saying nothing. Siobhan just stared at the beautiful face with rich hazel eyes surrounded by a mass of golden blonde hair with just a hint of copper tones and could fully understand how Tim had fallen for this woman.
She saw a smirk on Rachel's face, before she heard "What are we meant to be talking about?"
"Oh sorry," Siobhan replied, trying to get her thoughts back in order. "I think we have a mutual friend."
Rachel looked very puzzled, but didn't comment.
"I've been at Cambridge Uni for the last couple of years --," Siobhan began.
"Tim?" Rachel exclaimed, starting to get animated.
"Yeah, Tim," Siobhan confirmed.
"So are you his girlfriend now?" Rachel asked, leaning forward slightly.
"Yeah... sort of... maybe more... it's complicated..." Siobhan left the sentence hanging.
"Oh," Rachel exclaimed, sitting back in her chair, a distant look on her face.
"That's why I wanted to talk to you. I think you and Tim have unfinished business," Siobhan explained.
"I wish," Rachel declared. "It's been over six months since we last messaged, and that was just to say 'Happy New Year,' or something similarly generic."
"At least he was keeping in touch," Siobhan offered.
"Yeah, there is that," Rachel agreed. "So why the government email I received, suggesting that I should say 'Yes' and be given access to complete a questionnaire without really knowing what it's all about?"
"If you choose to complete it, and I hope you do, one thing you'll do is to sign an NDA, a Non-Disclosure Agreement. Once you've done that and completed the questionnaire, your account on the Oracle system will allow you to access information regarding the purpose of the questionnaire. Unfortunately, it's still the American information, though," Siobhan informed her.
"Isn't that a bit backwards," Rachel exclaimed. "Surely, people need to know why they're doing something before they actually do it."
"In this case, that's not possible, for a multitude of reasons," The Irish woman explained. "It's also probable that most adults in the country will need to complete the questionnaire, or one very much like it, in the next few months. Hopefully more tailored to the UK."
"Have both you and Tim completed the questionnaire?" Rachel enquired.
"Yes, we have," Siobhan replied. "And what I can tell you is that Tim and I are together and that we're no longer in Cambridge, although I'm not at liberty to tell you exactly where we are."
"Oh, OK," Rachel responded. "So you're in a bubble together?"
"We are," Siobhan confirmed. "And you could be, too."
"Are there others already there with you, then?" Rachel enquired.
"There are," Siobhan agreed, nodding more to herself.
"And I bet that's why it's complicated," Rachel remarked, giving a small laugh. "I'm trying to imagine the Tim I knew in a relationship with more than one woman, and I'm struggling."
"Why's that?" Siobhan asked, leaning back in her chair, her elbows resting on the armrests and her fingers interlocked.
"He was very much an 'all in' sort of guy. When we were together, he was With Me, if you can understand that. He wasn't thinking of anyone or anything else. It must have taken something monumental to get him to make such a paradigm shift."
"It did," Siobhan agreed. "A really big one."
"Now you've actually got me interested in understanding what could have made Tim accept such a change," Rachel acknowledged, leaning forward. "Yeah, I know he's a man and for many men, two women are better than one, but that was never Tim."
Siobhan also leant forward in her chair, intently watching the expression on Rachel's face. "It's about protecting each other," Siobhan explained, hoping that she'd not said too much.
"None of us are safe, what with the Covid pandemic," Rachel observed. "Just going to the local supermarket can be an ordeal now, and half the time you're seemingly risking your life only to find that the items you really want aren't on the shelves." Siobhan watched as the smile that had been on Rachel's face while she was talking about Tim, however tangentially, slipped away. "I'm assuming that there'll be a reckoning when we're out the other side, but at present I've lost touch with so many friends and work colleagues and I'm fearing the worst."
"No one close, I hope," Siobhan responded, the concern evident in her voice.
"My grandma was in a nursing home at the start of the lockdown," Rachel replied, looking down briefly. "Covid took her early on, with most of the other residents."
"I'm sorry," Siobhan said sincerely. "Tim and I have been studying the virus since near the start of the pandemic, first at Cambridge and now here. We were working in a special unit in Cambridge with what appeared to be totally OTT arrangements, but the number of people attending slowly declined over the weeks and months until there were too few of us to keep it open. That's when we moved here."
"All I've done is sit in my small room in a shared house," Rachel explained. "We seem to have survived so far, but others haven't fared so well. I've only been out of the house for groceries, not even taking the allowed exercise."