This story is in response to Reet's Halloween Challenge. I went with my gut instinct during work to write this piece of fiction. This piece is a product of not enough sleep, three packs of tic tacs, and a liter and a

I am also eternally grateful to the two who beta read for me, Christine Morgan and Sarah Saint Ives who sends me e-hugs.

Disclaimer: I don't own these beautiful men. I won't hurt them more than I have to, promise to save them from danger, and Kristen, and will not put them into many awkward positions.

Warning: This story contains sexual situations between men and between men and women. There is also a long scene of force involved. If this isn't what you want to read or are underage, please don't.

Saving Sanity

"I'm sorry, Kat, honey. I know that I said I would chaperone your dance, but the doctor says I need to stay in bed for a few more days." Nick was talking into the phone. He blew a stray hair off his forehead at

the frustration in the young girl’s voice. "I know it's your first dance and everything, but Derek agreed with the doctor. He said I can't go. He said my Super Hero complex would get me in trouble. He doesn't want me out of bed either." Pause. "Maybe you ought to come up here and convince him. You know he can't refuse you anything." Pause. "Maybe you can convince him to go instead. He said there was no way I was to get out of bed this week." Pause.

Father Philip Callahan walked into Nick's room with a tray of food. Nick smiled up at him and mouthed the word "Kat" to him. Philip smiled at that name and at the trapped look on his partner's face. They had been lovers for almost four months now. Philip had taken a leave of absence from the church to nurse his lover back to health after he was shot saving Derek during a robbery at a store.

"I'll go ask Derek ta pick up tha phone. Be back in a minute." Philip put the tray on the dresser and headed down the hall to where the older man was reading. "Kat's on tha phone. Nick was suppose' ta

chaperone for her tonight. He wants ya in on tha call." Philip smiled at the look on the older man's face. "Ya told him he had ta stay in bed," he said with a smile. He walked out as Derek picked up the phone.

"Hello, Kat. What do you need Nick to do? . . .

"Yup. You're going to come up here and tell me all about it tomorrow. Yes, I'll make sure I've already napped; and I'll have the chess board set up and waiting for you. Sure. See you then." Philip entered

Nick's room as he hung up and leaned against the door frame. Nick looked at his new lover. He was gorgeous backlit by the hall light. Philip was leaning, waiting for him to finish. His jeans clung to his hips, barely outlining the man's muscular legs. His white t-shirt and blue flannel overshirt did nothing to hide the man's build. "Derek's going to chaperone the dance." Nick smiled at the thought of Derek, the formal and proper gentleman, watching a group of Junior High kids. "Kat told him he had to wear a costume."

Both men smiled as the object of their discussion walked in. Nick flashed back to the night almost five months ago that they had sat down and talked. The three of them had admitted to a mutual attraction for one another. They had sat in front of a fire in the living room trying to figure out how to handle it. It was decided that some sort of three way partnership was the best way. Everybody would get what and who they wanted and no one would get hurt or jealous. Nick remembered grinning and having to reassure Philip that it didn't mean anything kinky, no threesomes, unless they all agreed. The man had blown his mind when he had asked the question. Nick hadn't even thought about that.

"What ya gonna wear?" Philip asked the older, frowning man. At the look on Derek's face, both younger men laughed.

"I'm too old to dress in a funny outfit and watch teenagers neck," Derek huffed.

"I think you're supposed to stop them from necking," said Nick with a smile. "At least that's what ours always did. Ruined our fun completely. You know the drill. No dancing too close"

"No dar' corners" Philip piped up.

"No gropes."

"No feels."

"No sneaking out."

"Nick, Philip," Derek looked fondly at the young men in front of him. "Like I would let anything like inappropriate feels take place." He smiled and walked over to Nick. He could tell that all three of them were getting too hot from the conversation. He leaned over and gave Nick a long wet kiss, pulling him up into a more seated position. He took his time with the kiss, remembering how those lips had given him pleasure more than once over the last year and a half. Finally coming up for air, both sighed. "I know that the doctor said that you could do that, but I want to wait until later in the week before trying." Regret colored Derek's voice as he touched Nick's cheek and ran a finger down to his neck. After Nick sliding a hand down to Derek's crotch and patting the growing bulge there temptingly, he had to move. Otherwise, he was going to lose sight of the tender way he wanted to show his lover how much it meant, him

taking seven bullets for him. None of the wounds had been serious mostly flesh wounds, thankfully, but one through his left arm and another had seated itself in his right thigh.

That kiss seemed to go on forever in Philips mind. Then they started to touch. He felt like an intruder and an outsider. Derek got up with a little sigh at the lost contact and walked over to him. Seeing the

expression that must be on his face, Derek kissed him also. Just as passionately as he had kissed Nick, with a little extra suck on his bottom lip. Derek surrounded Philip in a hug.

"I want you to take care of our superman there. I want you to be gentle and tender and make sure he doesn't get up." Derek looked into his eyes and saw the passion he had ignited in them. He knew that Philip would take care of Nick, even if he had to sit in bed with him all night. He also knew that Philip would be gentle with Nick if they decided to make love. Philip had been a nurse and comforting partner to Nick all week. Derek had walked in to check on them many nights to find Nick's head pillowed on Philip's chest, sleeping peacefully. He knew that whatever happened, he had been and would always be loving and careful. He didn't regret sharing Nick at all. He had the best of both worlds. The man he loved and desired, and the one he had fantasies about for the last eight years.

"Yes sir. No handcuffs unless he's realla bad." Philip grinned at the shocked look on the other men's faces. He had really shocked them with that remark. "I was jus' kiddin', Derek, really. I'll make sure he

eats everythin' on that tray. I'll tuck him inta bed later. I'll be gentle as a ma with a new born babe. I promise we'll be goo'." Philip gave his most innocent smile to Derek and turned his most slutty one on

Nick. "Won' we be goo', Nick ?"

"Yes, Derek, Philip and I will be very, very good tonight while you're gone. I know we would both be in for punishment if we didn't." Nick shivered slightly. "I don't think I need any right now." He tuned

his smile to the brightest setting. "Now what are you going to wear tonight." At the growl that came from Derek, he said, "Why don't you wear one of the robes from the archives. Some of them could pass for an 'Arabian Nights' sorta thing and it would come off easily if you felt silly wearing it. There was one that would look great on you, all silk with velvet trim." Nick grinned wider at the thought of his lover wearing that for him. That would be a sight. Derek wearing nothing but a silk robe. It hanging loosely off his lithe frame in all the right places. It would rub enticingly against his nipples and his cock, turning him on further.

"By the look on your face, love, I can tell what you're thinking. You need to stop that dreaming. Otherwise, I'll never get to the dance." He sighed at the feeling of rising muscles. "I do think that would be a good one, though."

Philip spoke up then, "I coul' help ya fin' it if you wan'. I'm tha one who put it down there las' month." He looked at Derek and grinned shyly. He would do more than just help him find it! He would love to see

him in that robe also. Nick was right, it would look good on him. Besides, Philip had another reason to go down to the storage room. He remembered putting a book down there; an ancient diary of a Greek male

prostitute from the height of Greek civilization. He wanted to read it, wanted to find out how to pleasure his mates better.

"Goot, let's go down." Derek placed the tray of food off the dresser onto Nick's lap. "You be a goot boy while we're gone, and I'll send Philip back up in a few minutes."

They walked out of the room and down into the basement storage room together. Derek knew that Philip wanted him; that Nick's obvious fantasy with the robe had turned him on. He waited until Philip found the robe and secreted away a book - why he didn't know - before doing anything. Then he pulled Philip into a deep, soul-searching kiss. Philip responded with a groan and pulled his shirt up and out of his pants, wanting to feel his lover. Philip loved tactile contact during sex. He was a toucher. As the kiss went on, Philip lowered his hands to the main source of heat in their bodies. He rubbed himself through his pants and unzipped Derek to feel him completely. Derek broke the kiss with a gasp and moved Philip's hand from his own crotch. He unzipped the younger man to feel his hardness rise into his hand like it was meant to be there.

Philip moaned at the touch. He loved to be touched; wanted to feel those hands all over him, needed it. It showed how much he was affecting Derek. He rubbed him harder, falling in front of him. He took

Derek's cock into his mouth and began to suck it for all his might. He suctioned it so hard, he heard Derek grunt in pain. He mumbled an apology into the warm flesh in his mouth as he relaxed his grip some. He brought his hand up to help him more. Together with his mouth, moving in time to some forgotten melody of nature, they brought him off with a yell of pleasure.

Derek pulled Philip up from where he was kneeling on the floor. He kissed him to taste himself on the young lovers' tongue. "Ummm. Philip, that was great." He started to move onto Philip's neck, but was

stopped by him.

"Derek, ya don' need ta be doin' tha' for me." His accent getting thicker with feeling and arousal, it was hard for Derek to understand him he knew. "I jus' wanted ta give ya som' pleasure before ya had to wait in torture for hours. Jus' though' tha' ya woul' need some by tha time ya got back home." He smiled at the older man. "Besides, iffen ya don' get goin', your never gonna make it in time."

"Philip, I will return the favor when I get home." Derek looked at the book he was hiding. "You don't need that you know. You're great as is." Derek sighed. Sometimes his lack of confidence was astounding.

He was hoarding an ancient illustrated sex manual for Greek prostitutes. He knew that the young Irishman was insecure about his performance against the experience of the other two, but he had no need to worry. He made Philip look him in the eyes. "We love what you do for, and to, us. Both of us love the way you do things so tenderly and gently. We know that you could never hurt us. Even if we wanted you to. Don't worry about this so much." Derek hugged him for many minutes, letting Philip's arousal slowly abate. "We'll continue this later." He looked at his watch. "I'll have to catch the next ferry in time to be there for her." He kissed Philip one last time, gathered his robe, and headed for the front door.

Philip knew that he was right. He shouldn't worry about Nick and Derek liking what he did to them. They showed it every time. Still, he was worried. The first one who touched him was Nick. He had liked it so much, he couldn't wait for him to finish. He had surprised Nick with the strength of his orgasm. He thought about the night he told Nick that he wanted him as he gathered up the book. He had been on long sabbatical from the Church. He was trying to decide if it was where he belonged. He had wanted him for so long before admitting it to Nick that night while they were drinking. The next night Nick had sat all of them down to talk. He had gotten Alex to leave for a while so they could be alone. They sat in front of the fire quietly and thought about his admission. Derek asked him if it was only Nick, or if he had those same feelings for him. He had told them the truth. About his fantasies of taking Nick during his Tai-Chi in the garden or licking him in the control room when Alex left for a few minutes. How he wanted to throw Derek across the table in the Library that he worked at to translate. How many times he had thought

about crawling into bed with them when they were together, out of need and want. He told them everything. They had sat there in silence for a few minutes, scaring him that they were going to ask him to leave. Finally Nick spoke up and said he had felt the same way. Derek agreed with him. He had started to hope for this to work out okay. What they had decided on was way beyond his expectations. They could have each other, as long as he didn't disturb something that was planned or going on. They could come

to him when they wanted. No jealousy, no hiding, no hurting; just agreeing to come together when they needed, how they wanted. If they wanted something special, they only had to ask and plan. No more hiding what he was feeling. No more wondering. He smiled at the thought of tomorrow as he went back upstairs. Tomorrow they would go and sign papers for him to leave the Church. Derek had the papers to officially re-enter him into the house in his briefcase. Nick and Derek would be beside him as he signed the papers, both granting his freedom and making him a part of the family again. He looked up as he got back to Nick's room. He was looking at one of the most beautiful men in the world. A man that wanted

him, faults, naivete and all. "Are ya done wit' supper yet?" he asked Nick.

"Yeah. Do you feel better? You were looking rough there before you went down there with him." Nick smiled at Philip. He had known why they went down there. They wanted a little bit of privacy to finish what the word play started. He knew by the look on Philip's face, however, that he had only given Derek pleasure, not taken any. Again. "Come here. I want some of you now." Philip walked over to the bed, automatically removing the tray. He sat on the bed and leaned into the younger man. Nick was always so confident about what he wanted and needed. He let Nick guide him into a kiss.

As the kiss deepened into something closer to oral sex on tongues, Nick reached down for Philip's hands. He put them on his chest over his nipples. The hint was all Philip needed to touch him. They pulled out of the kiss long enough to strip off clothes and crawl under the sheets. Philip explored every inch of Nick for the hundredth time. He touched the ticklish scars on his ribs and avoided the ones he knew hurt. He rubbed Nick's back as he shifted positions to kiss down his lover's chest. Philip sucked up the sweat beading in Nick's chest hair. He used the extra moisture to lubricate the nipple laying next to his mouth. He sucked and bit and pulled on the nipple until he heard Nick moan in pleasure. He moved onto the other one, doing the same thing. Philip slowly nibbled his way down Nick's abdomen, stopping at the bellybutton. He licked around the ring of the cavity and dipped his tongue in once before moving on. He left a wet trail down to the waiting member standing up in front of him. He had only taken the head into his mouth before Nick was pulling him up. Philip was flipped onto his back. Nick was kissing down his neck and collarbone. He breathed on the drying wetness causing a shiver to run through Philip. Nick smiled and moved onto the older man's nipples as Philip had done for him. Slowly, he suckled off Philip's

nipples, bringing them to an aching alertness. He moved his hand further down and onto the cock of his beloved. Nick's lips followed the path his hand had warmed just seconds before. Before could catch his breath, Nick had played his tongue around the base of Philip's cock, moving in circles upward along the veins sticking out in stark relief. Philip protested that he wanted to do Nick first, but he knew that if he didn't Philip first, he never would. He wouldn't be allowed to, Philip was like that. He wanted to give pleasure more than receive. So Nick didn't listen to the protests and kept on licking up the underside of his lover's cock. When he got to the top, he swirled his tongue around the slit, going through it at last to spread the pre-cum. Then Nick bent his head and swallowed Philip down into his throat. Philip thrust up into the wet and warm mouth that held him hostage to desire. Once, twice, three times and came with a howl of pleasure. Nick crawled up Philip's body and held his friend to his shoulder. He let him relax and come down in his own time. Nick stopped Philip from giving him pleasure in the same way. They just lay there and cuddled for a while.

"Why are you so afraid that?" Nick asked as they cuddled together.

"I'm no' afraid," came the mumbled response from his chest.

"Yes, you are. You're afraid of your own pleasure."

"I'm not," came out with more force to the words.

"Okay. Promise me, though, that when you're ready to talk about it, you'll come to me. I know what it's like to be afraid that you'll do something wrong." Nick hugged Philip tighter to him. "I felt the same

way about my first few months with Derek." He looked at what Philip brought up with him from the basement. "What's the book about?"

"It's the diary of a male prostitute in ancient Greece. I thought I could learn something from it."

"Babe, you don't need it. You are a natural when it comes to using your tongue. I've never been so turned on as our first night. You said to stop you if you did it wrong, but there was nothing wrong with

what you did."

"Thanks, Nick. I needed ta hear tha'." Philip was quiet for a minute, then, "Maybe you're righ'. Maybe I need ta loosen up some about that." More silence. "I jus' can' get over the thoughts . . . "

"Tell me, love. What happened that scared you so much."

Philip shifted his head to look at Nick. Two sets of hazel eyes locked and one turned back toward Nick's chest. "Bad things happened . ."

"I understand. " Nick hugged him tightly and kissed the top of his head. "I had some of those happen to me. If you want to talk, I'm open for you."

Philip ran a sleepy hand down Nick's side. "Oh, I don' know if you're open, but you are great."

"Thanks, Philip. I try real hard sometimes." Philip giggled at the innuendo and took a nipple between his teeth. "Like I said man, a natural," were the last coherent words out of Nick's mouth for a very long time.

Philip woke up a while later to an empty bed. He listened for Nick sounds, but didn't hear anything. "Oh, great. Derek'll kill me," he thought out loud. He got up and put back on his jeans to go searching for

Nick. "Maybe he went to the kitchen for a snack." Philip ran into the kitchen, no Nick. He looked all over the house and in the garden around the house. "Derek'll realla kill me now. Better call 'im." Philip

re-entered the kitchen and autodialed a number.

At the dance in the school gym, Derek was talking to a teacher of Kat's. He iinterrupts the conversation to answer his cell phone. "Derek Rayne." He listened for a minute, his face clouding with worry at what was being told to him. "I'll be right there. Give me half an hour. Don't worry. You probably couldn't have stopped it anyway. Bye."

From across the dance floor, Kat heard his cell phone and watched her mentor’s face cloud. She excused herself to her partner and walked over as he hung up. "He's in that ring of trees that nobody wants to go near right off the path," she whispered as soon as she was close to him. "Those virgins have him. I don't know what they want, but they are pissed." She looked up at the astonished face of one of her favorite men. "What? Do you think that I honestly didn't feel it?" She smiled up at him. "I feel everything that goes on in that house." She hugged him and looked back up. "Do you want me to come back with you?"

"No. I think Philip and I can handle it. And Alex should be home anytime now. How long..."

"Since I first walked into the house." She hugged him again and motioned him to go. "And Derek, please don't tell my mom. You know how . . . protective she can get."

"Definitely. I wouldn't know what to tell her anyway. But, we will have a long talk. Soon." He emphasized the last word and left the gym. He dialed the house number as he started the Range Rover. "Philip, Kat says he's in that ring of trees right off Nick's running trail. I'll be home soon. Meet me in the garden with a light and whatever else you think that we'll need." He looked at the clock on the dash and says, "There's a ferry leaving in twenty minutes. I'll be on it Don't worry, love, we'll get him back from those women." He hung up and drove toward the docks.

Derek made it back to the house to find Alex and Philip waiting for him on the front steps. He got out of the car and headed toward them. "Kat said he was in that ring of trees off the running path, and that

...virgins had him." He picked up a flashlight and headed in the direction of the path. Behind him he heard the whispered conversation, "Virgins? What next? Hostile Girl Scouts." came out of Alex's mouth; and

Philip's reply of "At leas' we arn' bored on Halloween. Coul' be worse. How bad coul' a bunch a virgins be? " He wondered at the easy acceptance from his colleagues. "Depends on how old they are" was the

reply he sent back to them. He didn't hear another sound until they got to the clearing.

In the clearing, Nick was naked and tied to a wooden table/altar. He thought that he was hallucinating. The women, about twenty of them, were circled around him chanting. The Head Virgin steps to a place beside his chest and yelled to the heavens, "We are here to gather strength from this man, the one who entombed our teacher the Great and Mighty Succubus Karen, so that she may come back to us. From each of us, we will draw the energy from him slowly and send it to her to break free. She only needs a little

more to come back to us like she promised in the dreams. Feed her now off this ingrate who felt her love and threw it away!" With that she stepped back and let the virgins come forward to draw off his sexual energy to feed her.

They each had their own method, but the first four concentrated on minor oral sex. He would have enjoyed it, if he wanted to be there. By then, he could feel his grip on reality slipping. He was starting to see a colored aura around things. The fifth one came forward and licked him from root to tip until he was glistening with saliva. Then she deep throated him until he came. He shouted "No!" but they didn't care. The next one came up and played with his prostate. She stuck one finger into his anus and started to fuck him with it. As he got closer to his forced climax, she added more fingers and varied her rhythm. For virgins, they were knowledgeable. He could believe that Karen had sent them. She used the exact same method. He came with a grunt and a cry and she stepped back into the circle."Please! Ladies, let me rest. I need to rest in between." Nick was making jokes of what they were doing so he didn't have to concentrate on what it was that they were doing. The sixth, seventh, and eighth ones came with various sizes of dildos, each one getting bigger. The first one was a vibrator and small. After the enforced activities, he didn't have any problems physically with it. The next was one of those realistic ones. It hurt. They didn't use any lubrication or anything. He felt himself tear slightly by the end. The next one was bigger still. It was

one of the biggest dildos he had ever seen. It looked like one of those joke gifts that you give to someone for a bachelor party. He started yelling at them to stop, but they just grinned evilly and forced it up

into him. He passed out with a scream He didn't come back until she was finished. By then, he didn't care anymore. He was hurting, both mentally and physically. After the tenth, in a couple of hours, he couldn't take it anymore. "Please," he cried, "just let me go. My friend will be here any minute now. I can't help you any more. I don't have anything left that you want. I'm can't do this! I wanted to bring back Karen, but I couldn't. It couldn't be done." he looked around the circle. "Tell her I'm sorry we had to do that, but she was dangerous. We were protecting innocent men from being killed. You don't understand."

The Head Virgin walked forward and said, "You do have one thing left to give. And if you aren't enough, then your friend will be next. He was cute. We could do him until he dies too." Then she gagged Nick and started a new chant. She could feel the fear coming off him now. This extra energy was needed. With the last ritual, and then the release off all the energy she could come back. She had promised. She could come back with this, her last requested sacrifice. As the chant finished, she lifted a knife and said, "Let the hunt begin." She cut his bonds and told him to run. He only had a two minute head start; and when they caught him, they would sacrifice his offending organs to their Great Teacher.

The women howled as he left clearing. He ran back towards the castle as fast as he could. He stumbled over twigs and roots. Just as he fell for the last time, strong arms caught him. "Derek!" He hugged his lover with all his remaining strength. "They're horrible. They're going to cut off my..." He saw Alex behind Derek and calmed down, but didn't finish his sentence. "They're trying to bring back Karen." With getting that out, the ex-seal collapsed back into Derek's arms and passed out. Derek sent Philip back to the castle with the unconscious body of their friend. He snuck up on the clearing, but the women were gone. They left the table, though. Maybe they could be traced by it.

Derek headed back up to the house to see how Nick was doing. By the time they got back, Rachel was there. Derek walked in to see Nick was awake and laying on the couch, bundled in a blanket. He was telling them about it. He was describing the clothes and the chanting. He told Alex what they said about him being the last one needed to bring her back because he had thrown her love away. Alex comforted him as best she could, while Rachel looked at him in disbelief. He consented to having an exam, but only if Derek was there to hold his hand. When they got to his room, they found a note on the bed. It was unsigned.

Trick or Treat, Nick.

You were a treat for us, but

The Great Teacher Karen didn't get enough.

We'll find you another time. Maybe next year.

Derek and Rachel looked at the note carefully. It was written in purple ink and smelled of perfume. Derek didn't even want to think about next year.

Epilogue:

Two weeks later, Alex sat at a computer in the control room. She was still looking for similar occurrences from anywhere. "Derek, I can't find any similar incidents since you put Karen in the Bay."

Derek sat in a chair and idly moved it back and forth. He thought about Nick sitting upstairs looking out the window, wondering why these things happened to him. "They said he was the last, but not the first. There should be something. Keep looking." Just then the phone rang from the gate. Derek answered it, and listened carefully. "Bring it up please." Derek went to meet the guard at the door. He came back carrying a courier envelope. He opened it and took out a piece of paper. He read it and dropped it.

Derek,

Did you enjoy what my virgins did to your lover?

I hope so. I found the spell to get Karen back.

Maybe she'll like come over again some day and

play at the house. I know I'll be looking forward

to it. See you next year. Maybe we'll sacrifice you

then, or maybe they'll want some one younger and

purer.

R. Hitchcock (no pun intended).