A Mother Returned

Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. All characters in sexual situations are 18 or older. Thanks for reading!

"I saved you some breakfast." Penelope stood by the bed with her gloved hands clasped before her. Her bodice and skirts were immaculately pressed, her hair perfectly pinned with a hat, and her makeup expertly applied. She smiled at her son as he reentered the room. His hair was a mess, and his clothes were wrinkled. She noted his shirt coming out of his belt under his jacket and his loosened, red tie. She furrowed her brow. "Where have you been? Are we investigating today? I've been ready for hours."

"I've been out looking for leads." Theodore gently pushed his mother away when she tried to comb his hair with her fingers. He nudged her back more forcefully when she tried to straighten his tie. "Back off, Mom. I'm fine." He picked up two pieces of cold toast from the breakfast platter. He stuffed one in his jacket pocket and took a bite of the other. "I found something. I think this is it. This is how we'll find out what happened to you. Come on." He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the door.

"Where are we going?" Penelope hurried to keep up as they exited the room and hustled down the hall.

"You'll see." He didn't want to tell her about it. It was best to show her.

~~

"This isn't a very nice neighborhood, lambkin. I'm not sure a lady like me should be here." Penelope eyed every person they passed with suspicion. Most wore ragged clothes, or worse, clothes that had fallen out of fashion long ago. All the women wore gloves, thank the gods, but she saw some that were glaringly sleeveless. Uncovered arms were almost as shocking as bare hands. There was even a woman with a mohawk of blue hair that shot up into the air and then hung loosely behind her. The blue-haired woman smiled at them as they passed, but Penelope could do nothing but stare. "This is a place for people that made bad decisions." She grabbed her son's hand and walked close to him, grateful that he didn't pull away.

"Judge not, Mom. Not everyone is given what we have. And some that have what we have run away from it." Theodore squeezed her hand.

How will I feel about her an hour from now?

He turned down a crumbling walkway to a dilapidated house with peeling paint and boarded windows. He walked right up to the front door and knocked.

A slot opened in the door. "Yeah?" A gruff male voice said through the opening.

"Not all who wander," Theodore said.

"New customer? Huh," the voice replied.

The door opened, allowing the Nishas to put a face to the voice. The man was only a little taller than Theodore and Penelope, but he was wider. He wore athletic clothes that were not proper for entertaining guests. Penelope pressed her lips together, but she followed her son into the strange house.

Have I been here before? Did Teddy find one of my hideouts?

If that was the case, seeing the place did nothing to jog her memory.

"I'm Gannon," the wide man said. He turned and led them down a dimly lit hall to a large room where two other men sat. The other men were both enjoying entertainment feeds on their screens. "You two make an odd couple." Gannon appraised his new customers, studying them closely. "Are you related?"

"None of your fucking business." Theodore felt his cheeks heat up.

"Fine, whatever." Gannon shrugged. "What'll be? I have some poppers. A newly spliced species of shroom. But..." He studied them some more. "You're a couple. I can tell. You want to do something wild with Obscura. It's all the rage with couples."

In Theodore's experience, this wasn't true. He had friends in high school experiment with the stuff together. They weren't fucking as far as Theodore could tell. Maybe this was part of this guy's sales pitch. If it was, Theodore didn't like it. He didn't want to think about his mom using the drug to fuck some stranger. "We're looking for someone. One of your other customers." Theodore noted that the second he'd said the words, the two other men turned off their screens and stood. They were both scrawny. But there

were

two of them. A woman with red-rimmed eyes, unruly dark hair, and gloveless fingers appeared in the doorway across the room, folded her arms, and leaned on the wall.

Gannon frowned deeply at Theodore. "Well... friend... I don't discuss customers. I mean... obviously. Why would anyone in my line of work do that?" He looked at Penelope. "Are you his ward or something? Is he mentally challenged?"

"This is a drug dealing house? I... um... well..." Penelope could think of nothing to say that wouldn't be insulting to Gannon, so she closed her mouth.

"You're both mentally challenged then." Gannon scratched his head. "Are you going to buy or not?"

Theodore clenched his fists, rage building inside him.

"Winnie, we might need some assistance." Penelope took a step back toward the open doorway behind her. Winifred's voice didn't come over the house speakers... or... even Penelope's personal comm. Penelope started to panic.

"Shut up, Mom." Clearly, Theodore should have prepared her for this. She was going to fuck it up just like she had with the goon.

Why did I even bring her?

Gannon shook his head at Penelope. "You're trying to talk to some sort of security bot, right? Fancy lady like you would have one. This is a dead zone. No outside electronics work here. Again, this should have been obvious to you." He gave her a pitying look and turned his attention to Theodore. "You know the password. You brought your gorgeous mother here. This isn't a buy. What is this? You whoring her out? If so, I wouldn't mind sampling some of the goods before purchase." He licked his lips.

The woman stayed on the wall. The two scrawny men moved behind Gannon to back him up.

Theodore's hands trembled. He wanted to throw something. He wanted to chuck this obnoxious drug dealer out a window. Instead, he controlled his temper. "The customer in question is right here." He nodded to his mother. "Do you recognize her?"

"Do I recognize her? What the fuck is this?" Gannon raised his eyebrows. "Put her on my cock, and I'll tell you if I fucking recognize her."

"Teddy, I think we should go." Penelope's tummy cartwheeled, her palms grew clammy, and her vagina thrummed.

Why now? What's wrong with me?

This was no time to be horny.

A good mother protects her son.

She tried to place herself between Gannon and Theodore, but her son pulled her roughly behind him.

"I know you recognize her. Tell me what she bought and who she was with. Tell me now, or..." Theodore was really starting to lose his cool.

"Or what? Mommy will blow our dicks until we tell the truth?" Gannon's laugh was low and gruff. "I've never seen her before. And we will be taking turns on her today. You can watch your mom get plowed, little man. Or you can leave, and we'll send her home to you ruined. Your choice." He reached into his jacket to pull something out.

Theodore quickly closed the distance between them and put his hip into a right cross. Gannon's head snapped back, the pistol he'd been pulling from his jacket went flying, and the man toppled back into his friends. Both scrawny men were raising firearms. Theodore lunged for one of them, jabbing him in the stomach. The other man went flying away and crashed into the far wall. Theodore realized that his mother was standing next to him and had somehow thrown the man. Theodore jabbed the remaining man again, staggering him back toward the woman. He heard the soft hiss of gunfire.

The woman was no longer leaning against the wall. She had a pistol in her hands, aiming for Theodore. "You fucks hurt Gannon," the woman snarled. She pulled the trigger again, but missed both Nishas. She was having trouble aiming with the remaining man wobbling in between her and the would-be customers.

"Mom!" Theodore pushed the lone standing man back into the woman and pulled his mother through the door. The gun hissed out three more shots behind them. They raced down the hall, but must have taken a wrong turn. The front door wasn't anywhere in sight. Instead, they were passing a labyrinth of darkened rooms. Theodore pulled her into one of the rooms. A thin streak of light entered through a crack in the boarded windows. "Are you hit?" He quickly examined her body, looking for blood.

"No, but you are." Penelope pointed at his jacket, which had a horrible, crimson blossom spreading on the sleeve.

"I'm fine." Theodore looked at the small hole in his jacket. He had indeed been hit. His first bullet wound. "I think I'm in shock, because it doesn't hurt. They're supposed to be painful, I think."

"Yes, indeed they are." Penelope tore her own sleeve, ripping it off at the shoulder. She then shredded it into strips and tied those tightly over his wound. "That should slow the bleeding. You'll be fine, we just have to get you to an autodoc."

Theodore stared at his mother. "You just tore your bodice apart. That's tightly woven cotton. How did you...?" Theodore didn't think he'd be able to tear her bodice like that, even with two good hands.

"I must have a mother's strength when she's dealing with a wounded child. I've read about that." Penelope checked out in the hall carefully. The dimly lit expanse was empty.

"You must really hate bodices. You're always destroying yours." Theodore was feeling a little faint.

Penelope looked back at him, scrunched up her face, and rolled her eyes. "I'm glad you can still make jokes. I -" She was interrupted by the most ridiculously banal door chime.

Ding dong

. It rang again.

"Are they going to answer it? Maybe it's someone here to help us." Penelope looked hopefully at her son. She peered out into the hall again and gasped. The woman with the unruly hair and red-rimmed eyes was moving down the hall, peering into each room. The woman looked over at Penelope and raised her pistol. Penelope ducked into the room. The soft hiss of gunfire was drowned out by the crack of splitting wood as bullets hit the hallway wall and doorframe. "They found us."

"Can you use some of your mommy strength to break those boards?" Theodore nodded to the window. "I would, but my arm isn't really working."

"Yes, okay." Penelope raced to the window. She wasn't sure how to punch something, so she raised her gloved fists over her head and struck. The board rattled and shook, but held.

The hiss of three more gunshots sounded behind her. She heard soft thumps. It sounded like a body being hit.

"Teddy!" Penelope turned, certain her son had been shot. But she saw no new injuries on him. She looked to the door, and the vile woman was lying in the doorway, blood spreading on her back. "What... I don't..."

The tall man from yesterday stepped over the dead woman into their room. "I put Gannon down and his friend here." He nodded to the prone woman. "How many more are there?"

"The goon?" Penelope was still trying to wrap her head around it. She noted that the man wore a dark suit with a narrow-brimmed hat. He also carried a shiny pistol in one hand.

"Two more," Theodore said. "You followed us?"

"Not exactly." The tall man shook his head and checked the hall. "I'm Decker. Part of my job is keeping you alive, it seems. So... follow me, please." He tipped his hat at Penelope and moved back into the hall. He led the Nishas out of the house without further incident. Although, they all had to step over Gannon in the front hall. The Obscura dealer stared up at the ceiling with dead, unseeing eyes.

"You came to rescue us?" Penelope followed him to his older model aircar and helped her son in.

"Not exactly." Decker was the last into the car. He closed the door, and the car shuddered as its engines revved. They lifted off the ground a few seconds later. "I apologize for the mess." He gestured at the empty bottles on the floor and seats of the vehicle, joined by various food wrappers. "I wasn't expecting company."

"What were you expecting?" Theodore leaned against his mother's sleeveless arm. His injured arm was on the opposite side from his mother, throbbing with pain. His mind swam.

"We need to get him to an autodoc." Penelope hugged her son tightly, careful not to jostle his injured arm.

"We're on our way." Decker moved over to them. When Theodore stiffened and sat up, Decker held up his hands. "I just want to adjust the tourniquet. I just saved you. I'm not about to toss you out of the car now."

"Why did you save us, Mr. Decker?" Penelope pulled her son back to a resting position, placing his head on her upper chest. She ran her gloved fingers through Theodore's hair while Decker tended to his injury.

"As you know, I was hired to be on the lookout for anyone digging into your disappearance, Mrs. Nisha." Decker finished his work on Theodore's arm and returned to the other side of the car. The engines hiccupped again, but they stayed in the air. "Well, um, given the delicate nature of your admission to the hospital, I offered finders fees to the known Obscura dealers in the city if anyone came around asking about you. Gannon called me when you showed up. When I arrived, he said he'd give up the boy, but the mother was to stay with him."

Penelope shuddered and squeezed Theodore.

"That didn't work for me. So, I went through him and found you." Decker shrugged.

"My father hired you," Theodore said weakly.

"I can't say yes or no." Decker offered an even more elaborate shrug. "But yes. I mean, who else would care about keeping this quiet?"

"What do you know about my mother's disappearance? That's why we're here. We want to know what happened." Theodore tried to sit up, but relented when his mother pulled him back to her breast.

"I know that we don't know where she was until she showed up at the hospital. I know that the nature of her admission is to be kept secret. I know probably as much as you know." Decker sighed. He looked out the window. They were slowly circling around a tall tower. "We're almost to the autodoc. Any other questions?"

Theodore was silent.

"Thank you for saving us, Mr. Decker. You're obviously a detective..." Penelope looked him up and down and pressed her lips together. "... of sorts. Do you have any advice for us?"

"This city has been scrubbed clean. I wouldn't spend any more time here. My advice is to be happy you're alive and forget about where you spent that missing time. But since you're going to ignore that, I'd say check in on friends and acquaintances. I assume the financials are a dead end and so are the cameras. You would have needed help for all that." Decker pointed a finger gun at Penelope and fired.

Penelope felt her cheeks flush. She didn't like the familiar way he talked to her. She also noticed his eyes sliding to her bare arm again and again. The car was landing, so she didn't reprimand the man.

He's right though. I should check in with my friends. If only I had those.

"A good wife should have lots of friends, Mr. Decker. But I don't seem to have any beyond my household." She shook her head slowly.

"Huh. Maybe you have more friends than you think." Decker looked out the window. "We're here. Good luck, Nishas." He opened the door. "Go home and enjoy your lives. I'll be here making sure no one learns the truth of it." The car rattled as its engines idled.

"Goodbye, Mr. Decker." Penelope helped her son out of the car, and they made their way to the autodoc.

~~

While her son healed, Penelope got their bags and checked out of the hotel. As she waited in the autodoc foyer, her mind raced.

What would have happened if Decker hadn't shown up? A good mother protects her son. Felix would never forgive me if I let Theodore come to harm. Goodness, Felix came so close to losing both of us. He loves us so much, he would be inconsolable if we were both suddenly gone.

It was the middle of the night when the autodoc finished. She was happy to see that it had also fixed the scar on his face from the fight in the park.

The Nishas boarded their own aircar and headed for home. They were silent for a long while, sitting on opposite seats lit by the silver, waxing moon.

Eventually, Theodore broke the silence. "I'm sorry. I almost got us killed or... worse. I thought for sure I had found... well... I'm sorry."

"It's my fault. I know you don't want to hear this, but you're only nineteen. I'm your mother. I should have given you more guidance." Penelope frowned at his furrowing brow. "What?"

"That was a bitchy thing to say." Theodore loosened his tie and took it off. "Your mistake wasn't a lack of guidance. I know what I'm doing." His arm still ached, but otherwise seemed to work perfectly fine. He took off his jacket, rolled it up, and used it as a pillow, reclining along the length of the seat.

"What was my mistake?" Penelope thought she knew, but he was a mature man, and she'd treat him like one.

A good wife lets her husband state his own opinions.

"Your mistake was fucking leaving." Theodore didn't have the expected rage in him. He was too exhausted. He closed his eyes.

"That was a big mistake, yes." Penelope nodded. "But it doesn't feel like mine."

"Right, whatever. On another topic, do you want to fuck again?" Theodore said the words flatly, but he carried hope close to his heart. Despite the day he'd had, he wanted her to be his. Or... maybe because of it. Or... perhaps he wanted his mother no matter what was happening around him. When she was silent, he opened one eye and peeked at her. "Mom?"

"Will you acknowledge that I'll do anything for you? That I wouldn't ever leave you? That... that I'm a good mother." She sat calmly with her bare hands clasped on her skirts, looking at him expectantly.

"I don't know." He opened both eyes, but didn't sit up. Her dark skin looked lovely in the pale moonlight. "Prove it to me."

"I have, haven't I?" She moved across the car, sat next to his hip on the edge of the seat, and lowered his trousers and underwear. "I've given myself to you as a good mother and wife. I've been your partner in your search, even accompanying you to that horrible house today. I'm committed to you and to the truth." She tenderly caressed his heavy balls with her hands. "I've emptied these for you many times. Oh... my... and they're still so very full. I'll empty them again... and again and make you so very happy. I'll cheer you on when you fight. I'll clap for your accomplishments. I will be kind and understanding with your girlfriends." Her left hand continued to massage his balls. Her right hand moved up his shaft, gently stroking it. "I am

here

for you. I'll be a good mother and wife, I promise."

"Shit, Mom. You're not my... ugh... fucking wife." He watched her lean over and tenderly suck his cockhead into her mouth.

"Mmmmmppphhhh." Penelope made a noise of agreement around the wide head of his penis.

Of course I'm not his wife. What a silly thing to say. I'm married to Felix. I love Felix. I wish Felix was here. I wish Felix had such a mighty and frightening specimen between his legs. I wish Felix carried such ample amounts of sperm in his testicles.

"Gggggpphhhh... ggggpphhhh... gggpphhhh." She bobbed her head, listening to his grunts. After a few minutes, she removed her mouth with a plop. "You might complain, Teddy. You might sometimes call me names. You might lead us into danger. But I love you unconditionally. And I know you love me, too. A good mother would do anything for her son, and I will. Say you love me." She stared into his eyes, pumping him steadily with her hand. Spit dribbled down her chin. His penis was wet. The slick sounds of her work filled the car.