What If:

Lewis Had Held Sloan for More Than A Few Hours?

The phone rings in Walter Attwood's office. It had been more than a week since Lewis had taken Sloan Parker. Walter didn't think she was still alive. All the men that had been assigned to follow Lisa were dead. His boss had abandoned them and written Sloan off as a loss. He hopes she was wrong. "Dr. Walter Attwood."

"Dr. Attwood, this is Tom Daniels. I've found where he is holding Sloan. I'm going in to get her. I'll bring her back. "

"Tom, let us back…" he is speaking to a dial tone. Tom had gone in alone.

Tom hangs up the phone and tosses it into the car. He takes off his coat and gun and tosses both of them in, also. His mentor would not let him in with a weapon or phone. He walks up to the modest house in this isolated place. It made sense he would take her where he would not be interfered with. Will she even be the woman he remembered?

He walks up to the door and Lewis comes out on the porch dressed only in jeans, a blatant display of sexuality. "Welcome, Tom. I assume you want to see your Dr. Parker. You may find she is not so happy to see you."

Tom just looks at him and enters the house where Lisa confronts him. "Don't touch me" Tom states, his voice flat and non-confrontational.

"Leave him alone, he will not risk the life of the dear Dr. Stay here, Lisa, we have many things to discuss."

"Come, Tom. Let's see her. You may not be so anxious to take her back afterwards."

He takes Tom into the bedroom. Tom is thankful that Lewis has covered her with a sheet, he knows she is nude beneath it. She has her arms over her head strapped to the headboard of the bed. The straps are of a soft cloth so as to leave fewer marks. He comes in and sits on the bed beside her. She is semi-conscious. "Did you drug her, Lewis?"

Lewis shuts the door and leans back against it. "No, it was unnecessary. I see why you were attracted to her, Tom. I have never had a woman be so responsive to my touch. But she responds to me now, not you."

"No." Tom whispers.

"Yes. Observe." Lewis takes a single finger and runs it down the side of her face. Sloan moans and leans towards him. Tom feels her arousal in her mind and, even with the room filled with the scent of sex, he smells the change in her scent.

Tom leans over and whispers in her ear close enough that his breath pushes wisps of hair from her. "Sloooaaaaannnn" stretching out her name and floating each sound softly. She is unresponsive. He stretches his hand to gently touch her face with two fingers. She flinches at his touch. She had never flinched before. Not even after he had come to kill her.

"Lewis, you have been teaching her." He says, a statement of fact not a question.

"Indeed, Tom. She is my creature now. My pet. You certainly don't want her, not after she has been mine. I would think that you would want to train her in your own way."

"I never wanted to own her, Lewis. I can break your hold on her. She is not yours."

Lewis looks at the younger man sitting on the bed. He makes no motion, his only movement is to raise one eyebrow. He waits to see what Tom will do next.

Tom continues to speak her name in her ear, occasionally stroking her face. At each flinch he dies a little, but he will not stop. Tom doesn't know how much time has passed when the flinches fade. They are less and less. "Tom" she whispers.

Her eyes are still closed, Tom knows she fears to open them. "Yes, Sloan. It's me. Turn and look at me. Please." He takes one finger and places it on her chin and turns her to face him. She still flinches at his touch but he won't be stopped. "Open your eyes and see me."

Her eyes flutter open slightly. "Oh, Tom." Her eyes close again and he sees tears leak out of them.

"Lewis, in only a few hours I broke through. She is not your creature. Give her back to me. I can heal her."

"Why would I do that? If I keep her I can bring you back into the fold. She would be your reward. You could even train her as you wish."

"No, Lewis. I will kill her myself, rather than let her continue in your hands. You have already changed her, I will not let you destroy her."

"Then there is only one choice. LISA." Lisa enters the room with a gun in her hand.

"Hold him. I don't want him to be too close to his ladylove when she dies."

Lisa grabs Tom and pulls him off the bed. Tom resists and slams her back against the wall to loosen her grip. "No, Lewis. I won't let you kill her. Not just to punish me."

"Then die with her. Release him."

Lisa releases him. Tom gets on the bed and gently holds on to Sloan. She flinches and struggles against him. He takes one hand and reaches up and unties the straps. He holds her closely but gently with both arms. "Do it, Lewis. Get it over with." He lowers his head down to whisper in he ear. As he whispers, her struggles cease. She lets him hold her.

"She was never yours, Lewis." He hears Tom say.

He aims his gun carefully and kills Lisa. Tom looks up in shock. "Take her. I will find another way to bring you back to us."

Tom looks at Lisa's body and wraps Sloan in the sheet. Lewis stands aside as Tom leaves with Sloan. Tom holds her close and says, "Lewis, this is not over."

"No, Tom. It's only begun."

Tom nods. He knows what Lewis has done.

He places Sloan in the back seat, laying her down and covering her tightly. He shakes her head lightly to get her attention. "Sloan, we're leaving. Lay still."

"Tom"

"Shhhh" He kisses her forehead gently, hating the fact she flinches from his touch. "Stay still. I'll get you home."

He puts the gun back in its holster and looks at the phone. No need to call for the police, by the time they get here the house will be in flames and all evidence will be destroyed.

He drives into town. Where should he take her? Someplace she will feel safe. The only place that he could think that she would feel safe was her apartment. Shortly before he arrives he makes a phone call. He hears it ringing and hopes Ed is at his desk.

"Ed, don't say anything. Answer with yes or no. Do you have your medical bag with you?"

"Yes"

"Can you get away with no suspicion?"

"Yes"

"Do it. Meet me at Sloan's apartment in 20 minutes. Bring everything you need for a physical examination. I need her to be somewhere she feels safe and not surrounded by strangers."

Tom arrives and surveys the surroundings. He detects no danger. He gets Sloan out of the backseat. He examines her emotional state carefully as he carries her up the stairs. While she had been gone he had obtained a key to her apartment, he was very glad he had; he didn’t have to break the door.

He gets her inside and kicks the door closed behind him. He carries her to the bed and lays her down. She is sleeping. He carefully takes the sheet off of her, fearing there may be evidence of abuse. There is none. He pulls the covers down on the far side of the bed and gently moves her to it. He covers her with her sheet and comforter, tucking it close.

A few minutes later he hears a knock at the door, he knows it's Ed. Tom lets him in and locks the door behind him. "Tom, what happened? Why do you need me to examine her? Shouldn't she be at a hospital?"

Tom holds his finger to his lips. "She's sleeping right now. The last thing she needs is to have a stranger examine her. Lewis held her for 10 days. She is not the woman you remember. She is not the woman I remember. We will have to rebuild what Lewis took from her."

"What did he do? Did he harm her?"

"Not physically, I don't think. I saw no bruises on her. He was teaching her. Teaching her to accept and delight at his touch, his voice. He was, at least in part, successful. Ed, she shrinks from my touch. She will shrink from you. When she wakes, you will have to examine her for injuries but do not expect it to be easy."

Ed closes his eyes and thinks about what Tom has said. "Tom, how do you know all this?

"Ed, it's what I was trained to do. I've had it done to me. I've done it to others. I can break the hold Lewis has on her. The process is much longer than the original teaching. She will eventually be free, but she will not be the same."

"What do you mean she will not be the same? How will she be different?"

Tom shakes his head. "There is no telling. It depends on how she reacts to both the teaching and the releasing. I hope she'll be much the same but I cannot guarantee it. I will tell you, if she starts breaking apart I'll not let her shatter. I will replace Lewis as her control. I will not hurt her as he would.

Ed looks at the smaller man standing before him. He had never trusted Tom. But Tom had kept looking when everyone else had given up. Tom looks at him evenly and goes to the kitchen to make some tea. He knows Sloan will want some when she awakens. It will calm her to have something normal.

"Ed, we're going to have to get some food here. Nothing in the refrigerator is usable. After you examine her I'll go out and get some things, or would you rather go and have me watch her. I don't want Attwood and his boss to know about her being back until she is more stable."

"I'll go Tom. If something should happen, you can guard her better than I can. What would you want me to get?"

"Everything. Milk, eggs, bread, fresh fruits and vegetables, and fresh meat." He looks at Ed. "I'll make you a list."

The teakettle whistles and Tom snatches it and looks at Sloan. She jumps and cowers. "Ed, make the tea and bring it to her." He runs to the bedroom and sits on the bed, looking at her. "Sloan" he says, gently, "I'm right here. Lewis is gone. You're home. I'm here. Ed's here." He touches her hair and is quite pleased that she barely moves. She is losing her fear of him.

"Tom, is it really you?" She looks at him through her lashes, barely opening her eyes.

"Yes, it's me. Look around, you're at home. Safe. Ed's bringing you a cup of tea. After you drink it, Ed's going to give you a physical exam. It's necessary. We need to know if you've been physically injured. "

"No, Tom, I don't want to be touched. What he did. I can't even talk about it. I don't want to think about what happened. I only want to forget."

Tom hears Ed approaching with the tea. Tom reaches up to stroke her hair and sees her retreat from his touch. He persists and is rewarded by her retreating into stillness. "Sloan, I know. I know what was done to you. I can make it better, if you will let me. You are not the only one that Lewis has put his hands on. I know what he can do. And how you feel. It will get better."

Tom takes the tea from Ed and sees he has added a little ice to cool it after it brewed. He takes a sip to make sure it isn't too hot and holds it up to her lips. She drinks it cautiously and then more so. She lets Tom hold it and slowly feed it to her.

She is well trained. She reacts as a pet. The releasing will be hard. She will react to him but to truly release her will be long and hard. Part of Tom wants only to make him the control; part wants to release her completely. It is going to be difficult for both of them.

"Ed, go to the linen closet in the bathroom and bring out a sheet. It will be easier to examine her if she has some control."

"No, Tom, please no."

"Sloan, I'll be right here. You must be examined for injuries. Only a superficial examination, Sloan. No internal exam. Your injuries must be treated if you have any."

Ed comes back with the sheet. "Tom, she should have a pelvic. I should look for evidence of rape."

"NO, that's the last thing she needs. I know what he did to her. A semen sample wouldn't help convict him, she wouldn't be able to testify any way."

Ed puts his hand on Tom's shoulder. Tom looks up at him. Ed motions him to come with him. He guides Tom out the door and shuts it. "Tom, was she raped?"

"Yes and no. Yes, he had intercourse with her, probably repeatedly. No, it would not be called rape in the conventional sense. He would have done it only after she became responsive to his touch. Ed, she wanted him to touch her. From the looks of it he was in the final stages of teaching. She would have been his abject slave.

Ed nods. "Let's get this over with." He doesn't want to even think of what Lewis did to her. He wants to blame Tom for not protecting her but when he sees Tom's anguish at what happened, he can't.

They go in and Ed performs the exam. He examines her slowly and carefully, with Tom holding her and whispering to her. Somehow Tom is able to calm her when she panics. "Tom I can find no obvious injuries besides a few bruises and slight rope burns on her wrists and ankles. She's physically fine. She may be a little dehydrated and I bet she needs to eat. But other than that, she's fine."

"Sloan, do you want some clothes? Pajamas or a nightgown. Something to wear." She sinks into the bed holding the covers around her. "Ed, look in her dresser. Find her something. Something that covers her. She's probably been kept nude since she was taken."

Ed looks and finds an over large T-shirt that he knows she sleeps in. He's seen her in it before it reaches almost to her knees. "How about this?"

Tom glances up, "It'll do." Tom takes the T-shirt from him and gently encourages Sloan to put it on. He knows it will end up discarded in a few hours but he will try. He knows it is part of the teaching.

"Sloan, go to sleep." Tom says in a soothing voice. "I'll be right in the next room. You won't even have to call, I'll know if you want me." She is still flinching at his touch but it is less. He knows it may be weeks before she wants him to touch her, but he will persist.

"Tom" she whispers. He knows she will obey. Lewis taught her to.

Tom stays 'til her breathing quiets and she sleeps again. He goes out to the next room and writes a grocery list for Ed "Here's the grocery list. On your way back, stop off at the boutique down the street and get some silk nightgowns. If she's been wearing anything the past week, that's what it is. Lewis likes silk. It will help with the process of releasing her, I know. Here's some money." He gives Ed a stack of $20's and shoos him out of the apartment.

He knows that Ed would not like what will come next. Tom strips off his shirt and shoes. He leaves his pants on and slides into bed beside her. He wraps his arms around her and is pleased she snuggles into them. She accepts his touch even though Tom knows she thinks he's Lewis.

He holds her knowing his presence helps her rest. He lays there still and silent, not sleeping, enjoying the feel of her. He had to bring her to the point where she could cry about what had happened to her. It was the first step to healing.

A couple of hours later he feels Ed come to the door. Tom disentangles himself from her and opens it before he can knock. Ed looks at the way he is dressed and asks, "Why?"

"Lewis has been sleeping with her since she was taken. Having me with her makes her sleep sounder. I have only held her, Ed. She will have to become used to my touch before I can release her. It is only part of the process. Did you get any clothes for her?"

"Yeah. A couple of nightgowns and a couple of dresses. Silk is expensive. I spent almost everything you gave me."

"I expected you would. I'll put these in the bedroom and see how she is sleeping. I'll be back in a minute if she's sleeping soundly. Then we can tackle that refrigerator and pantry."

Tom puts the packages at the foot of the bed and checks to see how she is sleeping. While she sleeps, she lets him stroke her hair and face. He pulls the cover up around her and leaves.

Together the two men put in several hours of housekeeping. Preparing the apartment to be a sickroom. Sloan will be here several weeks while Tom tries to help her. He has no fear of money. His chameleon money is adequate for them to live on for years if necessary and he was one to be prepared. He had several accounts that he could tap most of which Lewis knew nothing about.

He puts the teapot on and stirs the soup he had started. Sloan will be up in a few minutes he could feel her starting to stir. "Ed, are you going to stay for dinner? I'm going to try to get her to come to the dining table to eat. It may not be possible yet, but I will try.

"Tom, will it help you if I stay? Or would it be better for you to work with her alone? I can be your runner and go get things for you but I have no idea how you can help her get better."

"Ed, I'll tell you the truth. The more time she spends alone with me the faster I can transfer the dependency to me. Only after the dependency is transferred can I release her from it."

"Tom, what do you mean 'transfer the dependency'. I thought you wanted to release her from it."

"I do Ed, but to only wean her leaves her vulnerable to be taken by him again. If I transfer the dependency it makes it much harder. It also makes it easier for me to release her. You're worried that I will take advantage of her. I will only do as much as necessary. But it does mean I will have to become intimate with her to break his control. Ed, do you want her to be vulnerable to his control? I am not sure how far his teaching went but it could be that nothing more than a phone call from him could put her back under his control. You did not see how she reacted to his touch, I did. Do you want her to be his pet to keep her away from me?"

"No, I guess I will have to trust you. I don't want her hurt, Tom, I'd much rather you have her than Lewis."

"I'd say thank you for the compliment but I'm not sure it is."

"I'm gonna be going. I'm going to stop here before going to the lab tomorrow morning. I won't tell Dr. Attwood anything. When are you going to tell him?"

"I'll call tomorrow, but I don't want anyone but you here for at least a week. If you can, convince him to stay away and not let his boss in on it. I don't want her hurt anymore.

Ed nods and leaves. Tom hears Sloan start to stir and goes to check on her. It's starting to get dark in the bedroom as the sun goes down. He doesn't mind his eyes adjust easily to the coming darkness. He sits on the bed and strokes her hair encouraging he to waken. She starts when she sees him, expecting to see light hair and pale skin not the darker hair of Tom. "Tom, is it really you?"

"Yes, Sloan, you're home. Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?" He knows she is, it's been hours since she ate. "Come on, let's get something to eat. I made some soup. Chicken and vegetable. Ed got some rolls and cheese to go with it and peaches for dessert. Come on." He helps her out of the bed and she starts to take the T-shirt off. "Sloan, you can keep that on if you want."

He brings her to the table and sits her in a chair. He ladles out soup into bowls and looks back and sees her sitting on the floor. This part was perhaps the worst. Lewis always wanted his pets to sit at his feet. He brings the bowls of soup over and places one at her place on the table. He takes her hand and sits her in the chair again. "Sloan, why don't you eat something?"

He gets the rolls and cheese; she is again sitting on the floor. He was going to have to command her. He tempers the tone of his voice to command but a light command, he doesn't want her to cower. "Sloan, sit in the chair and eat." She looks at him and starts to eat the soup, sipping slowly.

He sits with her and gets her to eat as much as he can. When she apparently has eaten enough, he asks, "Sloan, do you want to shower before bed? You'll feel better."

"Do you want me to, Tom? What do you want me to do?"

He wants to say 'Go wash the stink of Lewis off your skin' but restrains himself. "Sloan, we bought you a new nightgown. If you shower and get clean you will feel much better."

He leads her to the bathroom and pins her hair up for her. Lewis has probably been bathing her the past few days and he doesn't know how she will react. He gets the shower ready and helps her take off the T-shirt. He wants to join her but will only if she needs help. He hands her the soap and she looks at it. "Sloan, you can shower by yourself, can't you? You don't need any help." He put a light tone of command into it. Now to see if she reacts.

She does. She is almost totally controlled. He will try to transfer control to him. That usually can be done in only a few days. Then comes the breaking of the control, the weaning process. That's what takes time. It will take weeks if not months.

When she is done he helps her to dry off. He takes her into the bedroom and gets one of the nightgowns and helps her into it. He was right, she likes the feel of the silk against her skin. "Sloan, do you want to go to bed or watch me clean up?' He sees that she is confused, she looks at the bed and then at him. He had asked too soon. She couldn't make a decision.

"Come on, Sloan. You can watch me clean up and then we'll go to bed." He guides her into the living room and sits her on one of the stools at the bar. "Sit here" the command is back in his voice. She sits and watches him put everything away and clean the area. The dishwasher takes care of the dishes.

"Sloan, let's go to bed." Tom's pleased that the flinching is easing. He knows control is being transferred. He hates seeing her this way, he liked her strong and passionate about what she believed in. He knew it could take only a few days to bring about this change with the techniques Lewis had mastered. He wished he had found her sooner.

He takes her to bed and turns out the light. He strips but leaves his briefs on. He will see how tonight goes before going on to the next step. He slides into bed beside her. He carefully feels her emotions. She is still fearful of him but she wants him there.

"Sloan, let me hold you." He holds his arms out to her. She hesitates and then comes into his arms. He holds her close to his chest.

She leans her head against him "Tom, you don't smell like him. You smell like you." She says in a small voice. Some of the tension goes out of her, and she melts against him.

They were at the first step; she was accepting him. Lewis had never really had her it was only temporary.

He strokes her hair until she sleeps. Only then does he allow himself to sleep.

During the night when she stirs, he wakens and calms her. He hears her call for Lewis as she sleeps and at other times calls his name. Now he knows why she is so tired. It is not only the teaching it is her disturbed sleep. He says her name in her ear to calm her. He can only hope he helps her rest.

The next morning Tom rises early and makes her coffee. Ed will be here soon and he is always bleary eyed in the morning. He feels her panic before he hears her cry. Tom leaves everything and is at the door as she cries and sits up. "Tom, I thought you were gone. I thought you were gone." She whispers.

"Sloan, I'm not going anywhere. Do you want some coffee? Come and sit at the table while I finish." He kept the command out of his voice to see what would happen. She slowly gets out of the bed. She pauses and looks at him. He knows she is waiting for an order. He smiles at her and puts out his hand. She comes close and looks puzzled. He keeps his hand out, when she doesn't give him hers he takes it in his.

He escorts her to the table. "Coffee will be ready shortly. Will you talk to Ed when he gets here? I'll make us an omelet for breakfast. Is that all right?"

He makes the omelet and gives her half. Then he brings toast and coffee for her to the table. He has tea. He is at the door as Ed knocks. He unlocks it and swings it open. "Damn it Tom. It creeps me out when you do that. How is she?"

Tom shuts the door and locks it. "Better. See if she'll talk to you."

Tom pours Ed a cup of coffee and sits down to eat his breakfast. He notices she is not eating well. "Sloan, eat." He says using command. Ed looks on amazed.

'Tom, what's wrong with her?"

"I told you. Lewis was teaching her to be his pet. To follow orders and do as he asked. In this case it was for sexual pleasure, but a pet can be trained to do many things. Sloan, please talk to Ed. He is your friend."

She looks at Tom and then at Ed. "Hello."

"Sloan, are you all right? What did he do to you?" He reaches out to take her hand. She starts and jumps away from him. Tom is right there behind her so she can't fall over.

"I should have warned you not to touch her. She's still jumpy. She will be for a while. She still flinches when I touch her, but it is fading. I hope to transfer dependency in the next few days. Then I can start to release her. She will have to start to make decisions again. That is the hard part. Some people can never loose the dependency that is imposed upon them. I hope she can."

"Tom, could she be like this for the rest of her life?"

Tom strokes her hair and rubs her shoulder. "Yes, I wish I could say something else. But Sloan is strong. She should be all right. It will take time."

"Tom, are you going to call Dr. Attwood today?"

"Yes, but I don't want him to come here, Ray Peterson either. If I have to I'll spirit her out of contact like Lewis did. I'm perfectly capable of handling the situation. Unfortunately, it's what I was trained in."

"Tom, why do you say unfortunately?"

"Because if I wasn't what I was this never may have happened to her."

"Tom, if you weren't who you are she would be dead. It would have been some one else who was sent to kill her. Don't forget that. She still would have done the things she did to make her a target. It's not that simple. Blame Lewis not yourself."

Ed gulps down the coffee in one swallow. He reaches over to touch Sloan on her shoulder but she cowers. He shakes his head. He can't take seeing her like this and he still has to help Kelly. His world is falling apart. "Tom, I gotta go I've got a lot of work back at the lab. Take good care of her."

"Sloan, eat. I will Ed, as best as I can." Tom lets Ed out and locks the door. He's going to have to get better security for this apartment.

Tom makes her finish eating and puts her back in bed. He knows the best thing she can do is sleep. After cleaning up he steels himself to talk to Dr. Attwood. He calls and explains what has happened to her. No, he doesn't know when she will be in and no, he can't tell when she will be able to talk to him. He says very firmly that she can have no visitors for at least a week probably two. He doesn't want her any worse. "Dr. Attwood, she is alive and I want to keep her that way. Do not interfere. "

He must have been firm enough. Dr. Attwood stays away. Ed drops by every few days to make a grocery run. Tom does house work and watches over her.

It takes him a little over a week to make the transfer complete. She's responding to him almost completely. She is responding to his touch, not like she did to Lewis but his goal was different. Her sleep was more restful; she had almost stopped calling for Lewis at night. He was having intercourse with her on a regular basis. As much as he desires her, he wishes he could have had her differently, because she wanted him not because of need.

He starts the process of release. Forcing her to make choices. Small ones at first. Butter or jam on her toast? Shower or bath? The blue dress or the green one? Some days she could decide, some days she couldn't. When she could he rewarded her. When she couldn't he comforted her. He never denies her anything she wants, touches or comfort. That was one way Lewis controlled. After he has her back for two weeks he bites the bullet; he tells Ed to bring his bag again and, this time, bring a pregnancy test.