Quaranteam Hebridean Hame Ch 11

A story set in CorruptingPower's Quaranteam Universe, with his permission.

As usual, my thanks go to the other QT authors who contributed to editing, made valuable suggestions, and whose work I would recommend you check out.

And a specific shout out to s_bradshaw, who's first two chapters of another UK QT story are out.

This story, set in Scotland during the DuoHalo/COVID pandemic, is slower-burning than most of the other QT stories.

Constructive comments are always welcome!

---XI---

Early Morning, Thursday, 1st October 2020

Eilean Arthriagh, Inner Hebrides, Scotland

Callum woke early, roused from his slumber by the increasingly uncomfortable temperature. Autumn morning sunshine on the window warmed the room, and the naked body in the bed with him gave off more heat than most radiators.

Sarah, lying alongside him, her back to his chest and one arm holding his around her, appeared to have no such issues.

Trying not to disturb her, Callum attempted to shift the duvet off himself with his legs, kicking it free to allow some cool air to reach him. As comfortable as he was with this new arrangement, sleeping beside Sarah was like sleeping with a hot water bottle.

And he'd become too used to sleeping alone.

Still, it did have its benefits, such as the previous night's gentle but mind-blowing sex on their return from the Lodge.

Aware of his movement, or perhaps annoyed at the cool air wafting over her body under the duvet, Sarah muttered slightly and clutched his arm, pulling him more tightly against her.

He remained still for a while, having shifted the bedding just enough to avoid feeling like he was being cooked in an oven, and not wanting to disturb her further.

Eventually, Callum allowed himself to doze off.

It felt like only a short time later when Sarah woke him, having begun wriggling herself back against his body, pressing her rear against his morning erection, which was sandwiched between them.

A little more shuffling and some repositioning of her legs, and she had positioned herself perfectly to allow her to reach down and guide his cock inside her. Despite the swiftness of her moving from 'waking' to 'fucking', Sarah's pussy was ready to accept him, allowing him to easily slip easily inside her. They both sighed in pleasure before Sarah murmured a sleepy, if sultry, "Good morning."

As they began to gently undulate together, Callum took the opportunity to rid himself of the bedding, allowing cool air onto his body. Sarah, apparently now feeling the heat herself, completed the task by pushing the bedding onto the floor beside her.

At the same time, Callum leaned his upper torso away from Sarah, pushing his hips forward to maximise the amount of his length inside her. The angle and the fact that Sarah was still lying on her side restricted the depth of his penetration, but even though only the top few inches of his cock were enveloped by her welcoming pussy, the experience and feel was oddly titillating.

Neither made sudden movements, rocking back and forth gently, enjoying the sensation.

As they slowly became more energetic, maintaining that same consistent penetration became difficult, with his cock popping free several times - to their combined groans and giggles of displeasure. The stimulation around the head of his penis grew more and more intense, which made the interruptions caused by their clashing of rhythms all the more frustrating.

Eventually, the frustration got the better of him. This shallow penetration focused all of the pleasure on the head of his cock, while preventing him from making deeper thrusts.

With a growl, he pushed Sarah onto her front, pinning her there as he moved to kneel between her legs. He pushed them apart, placing himself over and behind her, carefully balancing as one knee was too near the edge of the bed. Gasping in response to his sudden movements, Sarah's reaction was to raise her hips from the mattress, allowing him better access.

She cried out as he was finally able to sink his whole length into her, his cock pushing deeper than it had so far that morning, his hips coming to rest against her buttocks. Callum shuddered and gritted his teeth; the satisfaction of feeling himself buried in her like this after so much teasing almost brought him directly to completion. Instead, he paused, fighting the feeling and taking a deep breath, one hand on her hip and the other pressing her head into the pillow.

Once the threat of an early orgasm had passed, he began pushing into her with long, slow strokes.

She murmured something into the pillow, and he released the pressure on her, allowing her to repeat what she'd said.

Sarah took a breath before telling him, in a determined manner, to "Pull my hair while you fuck me like this. And fuck me hard."

He knew better than to ask if she was sure; her tone conveyed all he needed. Wrapping a hand in her long hair, he began to fuck her hard.

Later, as they basked in the afterglow of their combined orgasms, gasping for breath and with the covers now fully kicked off the bed, Sarah giggled in his arms.

"What?" He managed, eyes half closed.

"You know," She responded with amusement in her voice. "You're shit at the whole 'pullout method' of contraception."

Callum sighed. "It's not like you were helping at that point either."

****

Late Morning, Thursday, 1st October 2020

Balladin House, Eilean Arthriagh

The rest of the morning had been calm. While it was still too soon for them to establish a proper morning routine, their old familiarity helped them work together with minimal communication. Sarah started breakfast, filling the kitchen with the sound of clinking mugs and the kettle boiling. At the same time, Callum saw to the dogs, after calming them down. The three animals were still unused to being kept out of his bedroom at night, and their morning reaction made it seem like they hadn't seen a human for a whole week.

He was particularly pleased to see Karl moving more confidently on his injured leg, though his slight limp reminded Callum to give him his medication. Only three tablets remained in the packet Nicole had given him. Callum hoped this would be enough. Karl had shown steady improvement each day, giving him some hope that the injury would soon be ancient history.

That morning, the only significant excitement was Callum receiving an email addressed to Sarah containing her new Delphi link. The previous day, they had made inroads into setting her up with a new online presence--no social media, but a new Gmail and messaging accounts. They both agreed that Sarah putting herself online in a way others could track was a bad idea. Callum forwarded the Delphi email to her while she retrieved the tablet and settled on the sofa.

In addition to getting Sarah back online, they had also ordered a new mobile phone and signed up for a contract through the business. This was mainly a security measure; it would be harder to link her, with her name not directly attached to the number. Finding a relatively newer mobile phone model had proved to be difficult, as the latest models released earlier in the year were out of stock. They'd had to settle on an older model Android phone.

Receiving valuable items like that on the island, with most deliveries going to a secure parcel box at the end of their access road on the mainland, could be tricky. Strangely enough, quarantine measures made it slightly easier to receive secure items, as the drivers no longer insisted on signatures. However, with the nationalisation of the delivery companies back in the summer and various supply chain issues, receiving the goods in such a remote area was hit or miss.

Thankfully, while there had been news reports from some urban areas about criminal gangs targeting goods vehicles, there had been no news of such incidents happening this far north. Yet, at least. Even before lockdown, local residents faced challenges getting goods via mail and often had to pay ridiculous additional fees to order goods delivered to the Highlands. Some companies just outright refused to deliver to the Highlands and Islands.

After breakfast, Sarah spent the morning lying on the sofa near him, his old tablet propped on her chest. Whenever he wasn't busy on a video call, she distracted him with kink-related questions or tapped away via messenger to the ladies.

Those calls had significantly hampered his work with TrueCheck that morning. There were issues around staffing and the vaccine's impact to discuss, and updated forecasts to produce now that new data had arrived. He'd managed a brief chat with Graham, which mainly focused on work-related matters and resulted in Callum promising to call for a proper catch-up one evening.

As a result, Callum's personal mobile was on silent and left unattended during his busy morning. At lunchtime, he idly checked it and found several texts and missed calls from Nicole as well as a number of missed calls from a local landline number.

The texts were concerning.

N: Sorry to bother you, Callum, but I'm unsure where else to turn. This morning, I had visitors--Southerners in suits, bailiff types. They told me they knew I didn't have the license to keep the animals here and that I'm running an illegal kennel. They said they were from York Animal Welfare, something about being contracted by the government to look after stray pets and that they would send vans to collect the animals. They also gave me some legal paperwork from the Scottish Government, but it's all mumbo jumbo to me.

N: I told them to fuck off and leave. They had no PPE or anything and knew the place was in Tony's name. They even commented on how much debt had built up with the utility companies. They laughed when I insisted they go and said they'd be back soon.

Callum frowned as he read, his darkening expression and stiffening posture drawing Sarah's attention.

"Everything alright?" She asked as she put the tablet down, having recently finished the survey.

Callum's first response was a low hum as he tried to think of a way to explain. "Nicole, the Geordie lassie who helped with Karl's leg, has been trying to reach me. She says someone's been at her house trying to get her to hand over the animals she's looking after."

Sarah joined him in frowning. "Can they do that?"

"I've no idea. I know a woman who might, though." Callum quickly responded via text to Nicole:

C: Hey Nicole, sorry I missed your calls. I'll ask our resident solicitor if she knows anything or can provide any advice.

After sending the text, he tried to ring Catherine, but the call went straight to voicemail. He turned back to Sarah as he hung up. "Did any of the ladies mention Catherine being at theirs today?" he asked, opening his messenger app.

"No, I don't think so. Let me just..." Sarah's answer was interrupted by an incoming landline call, which caused Callum's phone to buzz. They exchanged puzzled looks as he answered the call and put it on speakerphone.

"Hello?" The woman on the other end of the call spoke with a local accent. "I'm looking for Mr. Scott?"

"Hello. Yes, you're speaking to him."

"Oh, great. I'm glad I caught you, Mr Scott. I'm calling from NHS Highland about your first vaccine partner. We've been trying to reach her regarding an available vaccination slot this afternoon." The woman sounded relieved.

Callum shook his head and rolled his eyes. "For Miss Buchanan? She's already vaccinated."

"Erm... No, that's not the name I have here. Ms Boyle-Menzies. The information I have is that you and Ms Boyle-Menzies are existing partners?" The woman's voice now sounded confused.

Callum watched Sarah's expression as it cycled through a few different emotions, settling finally on 'baffled', which was probably much like his own.

"Yes, well. I mean. Yes, Ms Boyle-Menzies lives... We're on the same island. Can I ask what you mean by my first vaccine partner?" He'd assumed that when they reset Sarah's account, they would have linked her to him. As usual with UK bureaucracy, it didn't look like this was the case.

The other end of the line was quiet for a moment, probably as the woman on the other end of the call began to doubt his identity. "I'm sorry, can I just go through some security questions..."

****

"So, you're telling me I have no other partners listed?" Callum asked.

The woman, Iona, an NHS nurse in Fort William, sighed. "Yes, Mr Scott. The only information I have is for Ms Boyle-Menzies, Miss Kaur, Ms Roselyn and Miss Sobieska."

"And no Sarah Buchanan?" He asked for the third time.

"No, as I said, there's no Miss Buchanan listed." It was clear that Iona was losing her patience with his questions. "If you were expecting her, you might have to check with the Averna helpline. It could be that she didn't choose you during the selection process."

Callum laughed. "Oh, she chose me. She's right here, and she was my first vaccine partner."

Iona was momentarily silent. "Oh. I'm... I'm not sure... I mean... I don't know what to tell you, Mr Scott. According to my information, Ms Boyle-Menzies is expected to be your first vaccine partner - no one else is listed as part of your... team. I was hoping we could get you both here later today. We've got an outreach scheme starting soon for those like yourself who are quite rural, but until the vehicles arrive, we're trying to get those with transport to come to us."

"To Fort William?"

"Yes. We're based at the Premier Inn, just near Morrisons. We've rooms here, so we can do the vaccination and keep an eye on Ms Boyle-Menzies for an hour afterwards. Then you can use one of the rooms here for imprinting and stay until you're ready to travel again."

Beside him, Sarah looked horrified, covering her mouth as she mouthed 'at a Premier Inn?'

"Is that... safe?" Callum asked hesitantly.

"Oh, yes. Each room is thoroughly cleaned between occupants. The bedding is replaced, and a deep clean is done." Iona's tone changed, letting Callum and Sarah know this was a common question.

He shrugged at Sarah, who shook her head and made the 'fingers in the throat' gesture of someone throwing up. Callum felt uncomfortable about the idea as well but had other concerns. "I don't think we can get there today, Iona. We're on an island and can only get the car to the mainland when the tide is out - which was earlier this morning or will be very late tonight. Can I ask if it would be possible to just drive down on Saturday, get the injection, and then drive home?"

Iona hummed undecidedly. "Well, how long a drive is it - and if the tide is a problem, how would you get back to the island? And we really should get you partnered - I mean, get you additional partners, as soon as possible. The more you have, the higher your resistance. Could you both make it here tomorrow?"

Callum gave a half-hearted shrug of annoyance, and Sarah gently pushed his shoulder. He sighed before responding to Iona. "If we know we have to be somewhere, we can take the car to the mainland and row back and forth when necessary. Unfortunately, the car is on the island at the moment. We're about an hour out of Fort William. Tomorrow we could be there. Obviously, I'll need to check with Catherine."

Though he thought Iona had sounded relieved earlier, she definitely did now. "Oh, of course. We'll have to think about the tide thing for your other partners. We hope the outreach teams will be able to do vaccinations closer to patients' homes by early next week, especially for those who are remote. But your limited access to the mainland may become an issue for those and any other matches being dropped off, so we'll have to be careful with that."

"Other matches?" He asked, surprised.

"Yes, well, your team is starting at a decent size, but there's not a huge number of men around any more, Mr Scott. As the vaccine gets rolled out, you might also find other women choose you as a partner. Some of the teams here in town already have six or seven members and are still growing."

Sarah looked as shocked as Callum felt.

Oblivious to this, Iona continued. "Now, regarding the tides, is there a particular time of day that works best in the longer term."

****

Lunchtime, Thursday, 1st October 2020

The Hunting Lodge, Eilean Arthriagh

"After all that, she suggested tomorrow morning. We can either travel down there and then stay over..."

Callum was interrupted by Sarah making a disgusted sound and muttering, "At a Premier Inn where countless others have..."

All the women around the table blanched at that, obviously having the same thought.

He sighed. "Thanks, Sarah. Yes, at a Premier Inn. They prefer that people imprint there as it avoids the risk of an accident while folks travel. Something like that might prevent or overly delay imprinting. They've had issues elsewhere, apparently, with things getting a little crazy during long post-vaccination journeys. Although it sounds like up until now, locally, they have been mainly vaccinating the surviving Fort William population."

Across the kitchen table from him, Catherine slowly nodded. He and Sarah had popped into the Lodge on their way to do this afternoon's maintenance work. Thankfully, Catherine was present, still busily sorting out some of Sarah's legal issues. She'd been on the phone most of the morning and, hence, had been unreachable.

As he had delivered an account of the conversation with Iona, he'd watched as the colour had drained from Catherine's face.

"Tomorrow, " she said. Her use of the word did not indicate whether she favoured the suggestion or not.

"Well, that fucking sucks," came Emma's contribution. "No offence, Catherine, but how come she gets to go first?"

All eyes turned to Emma. To her credit, she did blush slightly under their gaze. "Sorry..." She muttered. "Just, you know, keen."

"Actually," Callum continued, turning to Mira. "They spoke about maybe having mobile vaccination teams starting next week. The impression I got was that they are not booking vaccinations too far ahead until they know what's happening with those. But from what was said, it sounded like the order might be Catherine, Mira, Emma, then Alison." He cast an apologetic glance at the younger woman. "Sorry, Alison. I asked about doing more than one vaccination at once, as Sarah experienced in Glasgow, but they've stopped doing that due to safety concerns."

"Like someone battering their head off a radiator after the first fuck." Sarah added darkly, drawing the attention of all present.

While Sarah spoke, Callum's attention returned to Alison, who had shrunk into her chair. The news that she would be last had visibly subdued her previous energy and enthusiasm. She focused on the table before her, briefly looking up at him, only for her eyes to dart downwards again.

Catherine cleared her throat, breaking the momentary silence Sarah's remark had caused. "I can make tomorrow work. I had not expected to be first, but if you are happy with the arrangements, Callum, we can move forward. And as much as my skin may crawl at the idea of using a hotel room in these circumstances, given my other... health concerns... it might be best if we remain where there is medical support, should it be required."

He met Catherine's gaze, nodding in understanding, remembering her concerns that her Anorgasmia might impact the imprinting process.

Callum took a deep breath. "Okay... I'll call Iona and confirm for tomorrow."

"Just don't take a blacklight." Joked Emma, causing Sarah to make a gagging sound.

****

Early Afternoon, Thursday, 1st October 2020

Southern coastal path, Eilean Arthriagh

"I don't think Alison took being last very well," Sarah observed slightly breathlessly as they walked down the coastal path. They were heading towards an area he'd spotted on the previous weekend's walk with Mira - a section of the coastal path where the deer fence and an area of the coastal forest needed urgent work. The quad had gotten them so far, but given the nature of the path, the rest of the journey with the chainsaw and safety gear was a hard slog on foot.