The Healer -

This is Chapter 3 of a five-part story. The other chapters should be published in a couple of days after the previous chapter. You would understand this part better if you read the previous chapters first.

All characters are 18 or over at the time of their sexual activity. If you enjoy this, please take time to vote and leave a comment. My goal in all my writing is for my audience to enjoy what they are reading, so if that happens to you, please let me know!

******

My phone alarm roused me from my sleep. It was 9:30 a.m. on Christmas morning, and while I could have used more sleep after last night's long drive, I knew the day would be filled with activities that probably couldn't wait any longer. I headed to the bathroom for a quick shower and bumped into Bri on her way out. She had a towel wrapped around her and her hair was wet and stringy, and I couldn't help but think how sexy she looked.

But then the vision of our mom catching us kissing in the hallway last night appeared in my mind and brought a feeling of uncertainty to the situation. Bri smiled at me. It was our first visual contact with each other, although we had texted back and forth after getting caught. I could see the sense of nervousness in her eyes, the same I was feeling. I wanted to hold her and kiss her - not because of sexual arousal, but because I wanted to assure her that we would get through this together.

I smiled back at her and said, "Are you okay?"

Her smile disappeared as she replied, "I'm not sure. I'm worried about this conversation we are apparently going to have with Mom later."

I took her hand in mine and said, "I'm worried also, but we knew that at some point in time, we would have to reveal our feelings for each other to them. Maybe it's better to get it out of the way sooner, so that we can start preparing for what life will be like in the future."

We could hear mom and dad talking in the kitchen, so Bri felt confident enough to step forward and give me a hug. As she held me, she said, "I know, you're right. But I guess I had hoped that somehow, we could avoid this. How much do we tell her?"

It was time for my big brother vibes to kick in. "We need to tell her everything, including the part where you think I'm responsible for healing your cancer. I don't know if they will ever completely accept us doing this, but if we try to hide something and they find out about it, our chances of being accepted will be much lower than if we are completely honest about this."

She squeezed my hand. "As always, you're right. We'll be okay, won't we?"

It was my turn to hug her. "We'll be okay because you're still here and getting stronger every day. We both know that it was looking very doubtful that you'd make it to this Christmas. Not only are you here, but you are so much healthier, so this should be the best Christmas ever."

From the kitchen, we heard mom calling out to dad - "I'm going to go wake the kids up."

We stepped back away from each other just as mom appeared in the hallway. She looked up and saw us standing there. "Oh, you're already awake."

"I was just heading to the shower and found Bri coming out of the bathroom."

Mom smiled. "Good, I'm not too late then. Stay right there - we have to keep the tradition going!"

I groaned - I had forgotten about the tradition, but I could see that Bri was smiling. Since we were young kids, mom had always had a pair of matching pajamas for us for Christmas morning. Bri could see that I was less than enthused.

"What's the matter, Timmy? We've done everything else together in the last two months. Don't you want to be dressed like me today?"

She had a point. "Well, now that you mention it...it will be an honor to be dressed like you this Christmas morning."

Mom came out of their bedroom and handed our pajamas to us. This year's version was bright red, with Santa's face plastered all over them. Bri giggled as she took hers and turned to head into her room to put them on, but waited until mom had given mine to me. Mom smiled at me as she handed me my pair. Despite the cloud hanging over our head, she was going to try to make Christmas as festive as possible. To back that up, she looked at us and said, "Relax, you two. Let's go have our typical Christmas morning fun. After all, there are still four in our family, and that alone is worth celebrating for the rest of our lives."

She was right, and celebrate we did. We started off with the traditional glass of eggnog, followed by a brunch consisting of ham and eggs with fluffy pancakes. We exchanged presents, and I was particularly pleased with Bri's response to the present I had gotten for her. It was a one-year subscription to a cosmetic of the month club, and it wasn't lost on her that the gift meant that I believed she'd be around to use it for the full year. When she came over to hug me, there were tears in her eyes as she whispered in my ear, "Timmy, I love you so damn much!"

Dad left for the airport shortly after 1:00. We knew it was time to have the conversation with mom. Bri and I were sitting on the couch in the living room when mom came in to join us. She took a seat in the chair across from us.

She looked at Bri first, and then me. "I want you both to know that I'm not going to get mad at what you tell me, because you're both adults now and have the ability to make your own decisions. I may not approve, but you don't always have to live your own lives to meet up with my approval. But mostly, I want to make sure that you know what you are doing, and what you might face going on from here."

I was glad to know that she wasn't going to get mad, but it still wasn't going to be easy to tell her what we'd been doing. I was prepared to start explaining, but Bri beat me to it.

"Mom - this is my doing. I asked Timmy to do something for me, and he did, and now here we are."

Bri proceeded to explain her request on the night of her birthday party to be able to experience making love with someone she loved before she lost her battle with cancer. After that first time, we both had discovered that it only deepened our love for each other, and that after she died, I would have the memory of our romantic time together for the rest of my life.

Then she started talking about how immediately after that first night, she started feeling better, with lots more energy. She recalled having an appetite for the first time in several weeks that first morning after we had fucked the night before, and how ever since then, she had only kept feeling stronger, as proven by her weight gain and her scan that showed her cancer shrinking. I would glance at mom occasionally to see what her reaction was to certain things Bri was telling her. True to her word, she wasn't getting mad, and she was letting Bri talk without interruption.

But the next part might be different, as Bri started in on her belief as to what healed her. "Mom, the only thing I could think of that was different when I started feeling stronger and eating better was that Timmy and I had sex. Now I suppose it could be that he made me feel so loved and so amazing that my body started creating endorphins that in some manner began to fight back the cancer cells. I don't know if that's medically possible, but I only have one other conclusion as to what happened."

She paused because she knew this part would be the hardest to believe. "Mom, I think there's something in Timmy's sperm that has caused this healing. I know that sounds preposterous, and I've been looking for any tiny shred of research to back this up, but so far I can't find any. But I don't know what else it could be. Regardless, when I came to that conclusion, there was no way I was going to let Timmy stop making love to me."

I could see the look of doubt on Mom's face, so I decided it was time for me to jump in. "Honestly, after that first night, I had no plans to stop anyway. Mom, it was perfect. It was like we were meant to be with each other. I admit when she asked me what she wanted me to do with her, I was surprised. But at the time I thought she only had maybe a few weeks to live at best, and it was impossible for me to turn down her request. After we did it, I knew we'd keep doing it, because my already deep love for her as my sister increased several times over when I also became her lover.

"The healing part - I still don't know, and it's not like we can go to some doctor or researcher somewhere and test our theory, because we'd have to tell them that we were brother and sister, and I'm not sure we're ready to do that yet. But Bri keeps getting stronger, and I really think she's going to beat this thing and be with us for a long time, and if I'm having anything to do with that, I'm not going to stop."

We paused, and I could see that mom was processing all that we had told her. I looked at Bri, who seemed nervous, but I could also see a quiet confidence in her. It was like telling the story released some of the anxieties we may have had about trying to keep our secret from our parents. She glanced over at me and smiled. I was so proud of her for wanting to tell mom what we were doing. I knew it took incredible strength to say what she had just said.

After several seconds, mom finally started to speak. "I must admit, while I had some suspicions, I had no idea what I was going to hear. Timothy, I know you've always been a great big brother to Brianna, but I never dreamed I'd be sitting here listening to my only children telling me about their incestual relationship. Bri, I somewhat understand why you asked Timothy to make love to you, because it was true - you were being robbed of what other girls your age had already experienced or would be experiencing soon. And I have no doubt that once you asked, Timothy wasn't going to tell you no. I can see why you didn't want it to be someone that didn't love you, and that he was the one that did."

Bri jumped in. "Once that first time had happened, there was no way I could stop making love to him, even if I hadn't started feeling better. That part is just a tremendous bonus that I'm not taking for granted."

Mom chuckled. "Believe me, I know that feeling. It's part of the reason I have the two of you."

The thought of my mom being a sexual person had never crossed my mind, but I did know that she and Dad loved each other very much and weren't hesitant to kiss and hug each other in front of us. I believe that was part of the reason Bri and I had always been close. In many ways, we were mirroring what we'd seen from our parents.

Mom continued. "I'm not going to tell you to stop doing what you've been doing. I know it won't do any good. But I do insist on you being more careful, because it's going to take some time to introduce this notion to your father, and I'm not sure how he will react. I know he's proud of both of you, and I also know how glad he is that you two love each other, but I don't think he's thinking of this kind of love."

"Mom, Bri and I are willing to do anything we can to be more discreet about this. But now that we are in this type of relationship, it's going to be very hard to stop. And I'm definitely going to continue at least until I hear an 'all-clear' scan from the doctor. I'm still doubtful that I have healing powers that have reversed her cancer. But why take any chances?

Mom just smirked at that, and I realized it sounded like I was trying to justify what Bri and I were doing. But I was relieved she wasn't making a bigger scene, and I knew Bri and I had to be much more careful in the future. Even if mom knew and wasn't trying to stop us, it was still best that dad didn't find out until mom had a chance to talk to him.

Mom got serious again with her next question. "Have you two thought about what's going to happen in the future? You're going to be facing some serious difficulties, because I don't see the world accepting a brother and sister being together like this anytime soon. You probably won't be able to stay here, since too many people know you're related."

Bri looked at me, and I could tell she was hoping I'd answer. "We talk about it all the time, Mom. We know there will be challenges. Honestly, this was our first challenge. We knew that at some point, we'd have to tell you and Dad. I guess we've got half of that challenge out of the way now.

"If Bri ends up with me at college next year, that might be the place where we'd eventually end up making our lives together. We don't know exactly what it looks like, but we are prepared to deal with whatever comes our way, because we'll deal with it together."

Bri reached over to squeeze my hand, something that was not missed by Mom. She smiled and said, "You two really and truly love each other. I can see it's much deeper than a normal brother/sister relationship."

Bri squeezed my hand again and replied, "He saved my life, Mom. I'll be indebted to him for the rest of my life, which hopefully will be a long, long time."

I looked down at my sister and said, "Bri...."

She cut me off. "I was dying, and then you made love to me, and now I'm getting healthy. I don't care what you think! I KNOW that it was you that gave me this second chance, and I intend to thank you for the rest of my life!"

She hugged me, and I looked over at Mom, who was simply smiling. When the hug was over, Mom said, "I don't know how much I can help you with this, but I want you to know that you don't have to go through it alone. Please let me help if I can. You know, if you two weren't brother and sister, you're actually kind of cute together! Well...I guess you're cute anyway!"

Bri giggled, and I squeezed her hand once again. Mom continued. "Now, while your dad is gone to pick up your grandparents, I'm going to run next door and visit my friend Sally. I'll be gone for one hour - do you understand? One hour, and then I'll be back home. Oh, and Brianna, I'm going to have your grandparents stay in your room for the next two nights, if you don't mind sleeping with Timothy...and you will just sleep while they are here, please?"

We both nodded, catching her understanding on both of her statements. I looked at Mom and said, "Then I guess we'll see you in one hour."

She smirked again and said, "You two have fun while I'm gone." Her meaning could not have been clearer.

She left, and Bri looked at me incredulously. "Do you really think she wants us to..."

It was my turn to cut her off. "Do you want to stand in here and talk about it, or do you want to go back to my bedroom and do something about it?"

She didn't answer verbally, but with a strength that surprised me, she grabbed my hand and pulled me back to my bedroom. We made slow and passionate love for thirty minutes, allowing ourselves enough time to shower after and get dressed in regular clothes as we awaited the arrival of our grandparents.

******

The two days with our grandparents were a blast. They were so excited to spend time with Bri and see how much she'd recovered from her lowest point on her birthday. We honored Mom's request and didn't have sex with each other while the grandparents were there. That even included a two-hour block where our parents and grandparents went to lunch together. We did sleep in the same bed both nights and there was lots of close cuddling and spooning, but no sex. It wasn't worth the risk of our grandparents finding out about us.

During the afternoon of the second day, we were all sitting in the living room together when Bri and my phones pinged at the same time. It was a message from Lara, who was away with her family visiting relatives for Christmas.

"I miss you two! We are having fun, but I'd rather be with you. NO PAIN SO FAR! We'll be home Monday, and parents will be away on Tuesday, so hopefully we can get together and I can get another 'treatment!'"

I glanced up at Bri, who was grinning from ear to ear. All I could do was roll my eyes. I still couldn't believe I had this magical power to heal people, but if they believed it and they were getting better, who was I to argue?

Our grandparents flew out on Monday morning, giving us some alone time together. Lara and her family came back on Monday afternoon. Bri and I went over to see them, and I got a hug from Lara's mom in addition to the one from Lara. Her parents would be leaving for the day early Tuesday morning, so we made plans to go to her house sometime mid-morning. I could tell that Lara's parents were beaming as we hugged. I wondered if Lara had been talking to them about me during the holiday break, but it felt good knowing that they seemed to be approving of our relationship.

That evening, I was in my room on my computer, checking on some grades and looking at the syllabi for the classes I was taking next semester. Bri came into my room and leaned over to kiss me before sitting on the edge of my bed next to my desk. We had decided that for the rest of the break, we would sleep in our own rooms, so I was surprised to see her. She didn't say anything at first, but I could tell she had something on her mind.

"What's up, Bri? I can see you want to say something."

She put her hand in my knee and stroked my leg gently. "I've been thinking, and it's good thinking, but it involves you and I think it's only fair that I tell you what I'm thinking."

That circular thought process was threatening to make my head swim! But I knew her well enough to understand that whatever it was she was thinking, she really needed to tell me.

"Okay, I'm listening."

She looked down at the floor, and then back up to me. "What do you think about Lara? I know you're enjoying making sure she gets totally healed of her juvenile arthritis. But I think you have even more feelings for her. Am I right?"

"Yes, of course! I love her for what an amazing friend she has been to you during all of this. I'm not sure you would have made it to your 18

th

birthday if she hadn't been there to support you. If she loves you that much, then of course I love her."

Bri looked down at her feet. I could tell she wasn't finished with her questions yet. "But...what if I didn't have cancer, and we weren't making love, and you had met her and talked to her just as a friend? You know she's always had a crush on you, even before I got sick. Do you think the two of you might have still gotten together?"

I looked away from my computer screen and turned my chair to face my sister. "Gee, Bri - that's a tough question to answer. I mean, I think you two were already friends before you got sick, so I suppose when I came to visit, we would have had chances to talk to each other. She's a beautiful young woman, I've always thought that. I think it's definitely possible I might have wanted to have a relationship of some kind with her."

Bri smiled at me. "Do you see that she might be someone you'd consider marrying? I mean, you're seeing the real Lara. She's not just trying to impress you. This is who she really is. When my cancer was discovered, she made our friendship grow stronger because she believed I would need a close friend like her. I see that she's showing the same devotion to you - in other words, you won't have to worry about her chasing anybody else if you get to the point where you could see her in your life for a long time."

Where was she getting this kind of thinking? "You're getting ahead of the game, sister! First of all, she has to know that I have no desire to ever be apart from you. If she doesn't know that, maybe we should tell her. But even if you and I weren't in love like we are, there's still a ways to go before Lara and I should be making any type of long-term commitment."

Bri gently shook her head. "She's closer to that point than you think. Since you've gotten REALLY close with her, she's even more sure that her crush was correct for all those years. You're not doing anything to change her mind otherwise."