Quaranteam: Southeast - Team Davies
By 2charlie
The Quaranteam Universe is the creation of CorruptingPower, used with permission.
Thanks to BreakTheBar, AgathonWrites, RonanJWilkerson, The_Licentious_Laureate, BronanTheLibrarian, OtterlyMindblowing, SilverRyden, BirchesLoveBooks, Reader737b, and the other QT Writers for their feedback and contributions with this work. Be sure to check out their work.
Chapter 5
All Characters depicted in sexual situations in this story are over the age of 18.
**** Gainesville, FL - Almost 2100, Thursday, July 30, 2020****
After cleaning Ava up and making sure both of his new partners were covered under sheets, Miles grabbed a quick shower and then went out to check on the rest of his family. It was not yet nine o'clock, so he called the kids down to the family room for a quick meeting.
Miles paced for a moment while the kids all found seats near Penny or Jan, then cleared his throat and began to speak. "Look, I know the past few days have seen a lot of changes for you three - heck, for ALL of us. Tonight is going to include more of those changes. We've already had two new ladies come to join our family. I'm going to have to work with all of you to figure out our new family dynamic, but for now, consider them your new aunts."
He continued, "Now this next part is going to be a bit rough, so hear me out before you hit me with questions. First, the local government is going to begin taking measures tonight to try to contain this virus outbreak that we've all so recently survived. Our scout group seems to have accidentally brought this bug into our community, and it's spreading rapidly. To try to stop the spread, the Air Force will work with local authorities to isolate our region - stop all traffic in and out for a bit and try to help those that can be helped. Part of that will include an internet blackout - you guys won't be able to reach most of the usual sites on the internet tomorrow - only the response-related site will be reachable. That means Jan will assign you some lessons in the morning, and we'll start some movies in the afternoon - maybe start a Harry Potter-watching campaign or the Hobbit, or something else. But no matter what, we will stay inside. Inside should be safe, and outside could be dangerous. I don't even want you guys going out to the pool - behind locked doors - at least for tomorrow. Any questions?"
Little Trent raised his hand - Miles nodded to him. "So, my mommy and I are part of your family now, with Penny and Ellie, and so are the new ladies, Ava and Debbie?"
Jan smiled and nodded, interjecting, "Yes, that's right. Our families have combined due to changing needs, and we are all family now."
Miles added, "I may not be your biological father, but I plan to fill that role in terms of teaching you, providing for you, and leading and protecting this family. Your mom is still your mom, but Penny, Ava, and Debbie are also your adult leaders - just like in Cub Scouts - we're all like Akela. And I don't plan to treat you or Ellie any differently than I will treat Sean. Are you all okay with that?"
All three of the kids nodded, paying rapt attention to what the adults were sharing with them.
Penny spoke up at this point, adding, "Oh, and we will yet be joined by more women, a few more this weekend, and possibly more children. We are in the middle of a very bad crisis - folks are getting sick and dying," she choked back a sob, clearing her throat to cover her despair, "just like with Raul, Mary Beth, and Marcus. This is tearing up old families, and we are helping to rebuild them by joining them into bigger families."
Ellie raised her hand. Miles smiled and nodded for her to speak. "Does that mean we might be getting more daddies... er, uncles... whatever. Will more men be joining our family?"
He shook his head. "No, Ellie. No more men will be joining us. This virus that has infected so many is very deadly to men - much more so than for women. I was very fortunate, but many men were not. If fewer men were being affected, we wouldn't need to gather so many women to the surviving men."
Sean slowly raised his hand. When Miles nodded, he asked, "Will we be getting any older brothers or sisters, or cousins - whatever - joining us?"
Again, Miles shook his head sadly. "No," he choked out, having to clear his throat before he could continue, "this virus is pure evil. On top of everything else, it kills almost everyone between the ages of 11 and 17. So, no, we won't be getting any teenagers to join our family. Team is another word being used to describe what we are, but I am okay if you prefer to call it either one. No matter what, you're all my family now."
They all looked stunned at the news about teenagers. Little Ellie raised her hand once again, a slight tremble in it this time, and Miles nodded at her. "Will we die when we hit eleven?" She asked, tears beginning to well up in her eyes. All three adults leaned forward and opened their arms at this, and the three children each ran to their individual parent for comfort.
Choking back tears, Penny hoarsely responded to Ellie. "No! No, no, no. As far as the doctors can tell, you are all very resistant to the new virus. It doesn't affect you like it did teenagers or like it does adults."
Miles added, "Pre-teens seem very resistant to its effects. Got it? You're all going to live to be pain-in-the-butt teenagers, don't you worry!"
They all laughed a bit at that, sniffling and wiping their tears. Miles knelt next to Sean, then opened his arms wider - the other two children came over to join the group hug. "I want you all to know that I love you and will always do my best to be here for you. We all will. Don't you worry about that! Now, go give Jan and Penny hugs, and then head on to bed. I'll be by in a bit to check on you. Go on, now!" He let them out of the hug, and they ran over to hug Penny and Jan, each child giving each woman a good-night kiss before heading to their separate rooms.
Miles's shoulders sagged a bit, and his two partners stood up to come to hug him, each shedding tears in the wake of the difficult but necessary conversation. He held them tightly for a few minutes, then kissed them each on the forehead before breaking the hug and stepping back. "The word should have gone out by now about the containment actions. We should go to the living room to turn on the news and see what's happening." All three stopped for drinks as they went through the kitchen, and Miles grabbed a paper plate and some cold chicken and followed the other two into the living room.
As soon as he sat down, Penny turned on the big flat-panel TV mounted on the wall opposite the master suite, having to scroll through several options to find a channel that was broadcasting. All the streaming services were unavailable. The first local channel she came to was broadcasting an "Urgent Announcement", so she paused there for them to watch. The broadcast was a headshot of General Palmer reading from a prepared speech. This was the first Miles had seen her without her mask on - now that he could see her entire face, he felt she looked familiar but could not recall the specifics.
She was going on about the virus spreading rapidly through the community, and the need to contain the spread through all means available. The news ticker below Palmer scrolled by, announcing a strict quarantine was in effect for a 10-mile radius around Gainesville, and advising all families to remain at home. They sat and watched as Palmer completed her speech and then took questions from the two masked reporters who had been invited to the press conference.
The first reporter stepped forward. "Nancy Dees with WCJB TV 20. General Palmer, why are you employing such extreme measures in response to this outbreak? We haven't seen any indication that COVID-19 is as deadly as the CDC has been claiming. Why the sudden urgency? Has something changed?"
Palmer looked down at her notes for a moment, then looked back up. "A much more dangerous variant is involved in this particular incident, and from what we've seen where this variant has been involved elsewhere, the outcomes are dramatically more severe than what we'd been tracking previously. That's why we are urging everyone to remain calm and continue to shelter at home. Avoid all public gatherings for the present, and we will work as fast as we can to get out in front of this thing. Thank you. Next question."