Growing into the Job, Post 551: A Wakening, Reprise, p1

“I kind of want him on my lap, just for a second,” said Josie Jensen, “I need to feel how tiny he is.”

“Let’s not disturb him,” replied Aubrey, “Let’s let him sleep.”

“Yeah, poor munchkin looks tuckered out,” added Shanette.

Lakshmi remained quiet, and looked around the room.

Randi’s bedroom was cozy, familiar, and surprisingly neat for someone who lived and thrived in the vibrant chaos of Far Horizons. The room was dim, lit only by the soft glow of an antique bedside lamp that cast gentle shadows against the walls. On a dresser stood framed photos of Randi with her closest friends - Melissa, Amelia, Shanette - captured moments from the past decade, times when she felt most like herself. A polaroid from a night club, a high school dance, a casual shot in a diner. Aside them sat an ornate jewelry box, opened, displaying bangles and silver. The bed, however, was currently the focal point of the scene, where a small male figure lay sound asleep, nestled beneath the thick, soft blanket they’d draped over him. His breath was steady, his body relaxed, and his face, though peaceful, carried the traces of everything that had unfolded earlier - whatever the hell that was. Some sort of ritual.

Around him, four girls sat or kneeled in a loose circle on the queen bed, completely enraptured by the sight of him. Lakshmi was seated at the edge of the bed, her legs crossed beneath her, her hand resting on the blanket near Dr. J’s right side. Aubrey was perched on the other side, her legs tucked beneath her, the rise and fall of her impressive chest slow and rhythmic as she watched him. Josie was closest to his head, her fingertips brushing softly through his hair, clearly unable to keep herself from touching him even as he slept. Shanette, sitting at the foot of the bed, had her arms wrapped around her knees, watching the scene unfold with a thick, satisfied smile.

It was quiet, except for the occasional murmur, soft words shared between them as they observed Dr. J’s peaceful state.

“Look at him,” Josie whispered, her voice almost reverent. “Isn’t he perfect like this?”

The others shared knowing looks and small smiles. Assigned with his care by Melissa this morning as she’d been pulled away for testing at Evolution Pharmaceuticals, they’d each responded in their own ways, maternal urges towards him blossoming. But now there was something even deeper, a subtle, unspoken understanding between them all now, an understanding that their connection to Dr. J had shifted, deepened after what had occurred over this past hour, and that tonight they’d shared in something far beyond the ordinary.

Aubrey’s voice was soft, almost uncertain, though her gaze remained steady. “He smells different now. Has anyone else noticed that?”

“Yeah,” Josie replied, “it’s driving my instincts crazy.”

Shanette leaned in closer, over him, to brush a stray lock of hair from his forehead. “His skin’s so soft,” she murmured. Her voice, usually smooth and strong, was gentler now, full of admiration. She pressed her large palm lightly against his chest, feeling his heartbeat under her hand.

Lakshmi’s velvety voice followed, filled with an unspoken affection. “Seriously, I want to swaddle him.” The words were playful, but the longing in her tone was undeniable.

“I know, right?” Josie added, her voice teasing yet laced with genuine tenderness. “We should cover him up in another blankie. We don’t want him to get cold.”

As if on cue, the door creaked open softly, and Randi stepped inside, looking every bit the picture of relaxed elegance. She wore a short white nightgown that hugged her lean, busty frame, its simple cut accentuating her curves. The soft fabric swayed as she moved toward the bed.

“Don’t worry, girls,” she said with a teasing grin, her voice a mix of playful confidence and affection. She reached in between Lakshmi and Shanette for the blanket, adjusting it around Dr. J with the ease of someone who’d done it many times before. “I’ll keep him warm tonight.”

Josie let out a playful whine. "Aw, can't some of us cuddle in with you two?" she asked, her voice light, playful, and more than just slightly mischievous.

Randi raised an eyebrow, her smile widening as she shifted her weight onto the bed, settling next to Dr. J herself with a soft <whoomp>. "Does it look like this bed’s big enough for all of us?" she posited, giving Josie a knowing look. "No way. You horndogs can sleep out in the living room."

"Aw, you’re such a pooper," Josie said, pouting for effect, though she didn't resist snuggling closer to Dr. J's sleeping form.

"Well, someone has to be the adult here. We all have to work tomorrow. We need our sleep," Randi quipped, tossing her hair behind her shoulder with a dramatic flair. Her eyes, still focused on Dr. J, softened, her fingers brushing across his hand, where it rested on the blanket. “Someone has to be the normal one.”

“Normal like you?” Josie quipped back, “Who almost just, like, ate him whole?”

“Fuck you, Medusa.”

With a snort, Josie giggled.

"I’m actually gonna have to head home soon. Scottie’s getting nervous being alone, at my apartment all by himself.," Shanette said, her voice now with a hint of reluctant fondness. "So I should say my goodbyes." At that, she leaned in even deeper over him, until the weight of her full, chocolate chest squashed into his. She came in close to speak softly, almost in a whisper, studying his sleeping face as she did. "Oh, sweetie. I don’t wanna leave you. But what do I say, after today? I feel like calling you 'Dr. J' just isn't cutting it anymore..." She grinned with deep dimples, her eyes dancing with amusement.

“Yeah,” Josie chimed in, "He needs a new name. Something adorable."

Aubrey giggled at the idea, her eyes lighting up in mischief. "Melissa calls him ‘JayJay’ sometimes."

Shanette paused, her lips curling into a soft smile, and then, with a mischievous glint in her eyes, leaned in even closer. She positioned herself directly above him, her ample chest pressing into his thinner one, down to his abdomen, her breath warm on his slumbering face, only inches away. "Would that be okay, hm sweetie?" she cooed softly in a high-pitched, ultra-affectionate tone, "If we called you ‘Jay-Jay’?"

Close as she was, she observed his reaction, how his brow furrowed. It was just the faintest movement, as if his subconscious was responding to her voice.

The girls, who had been watching with eager eyes, all let out a collective, affectionate <cooooo>. "He is reacting to you, even in his sleep," Lakshmi marveled, leaning over slightly from her position beside him, her eyes scanning his face with a knowing smile.

"Yeah huh?” Randi commented, “It’s like he knows we’re all here."

“You think he likes it, being with us, being surrounded?” Josie added, biting her lower lip, "He can’t get away from us even when he’s asleep."

Shanette stayed hovering her face over his for a long moment, smothering him with herself. She smiled down at him one last time, brushing a lock of hair away from his forehead before pressing her plush lips to his for a long, soft <smooch>. 

In his sleep, he groaned.

The girls cooed again as Shanette finally backed up, away. She bit her lip, as if needing to wrestle with the urges she had to stay, but eventually she said her goodbyes. She would see everyone the next morning, she assured them all, at work- and then she exited, hips swinging with new purpose, new confidence. 

The room shifted slightly. The girls settled back around Dr. J, watching over him with that same possessive affection. Lakshmi gently rubbed his arm, Aubrey smoothed his sheets, and Josie continued to brush her fingers through his hair, each of them feeling that same pull. Randi had settled her weight on the bed more intimately with everyone, her hand resting lightly on his shoulder. The room felt alive with something more than just the physical presence of the women, and for a long moment the four simply watched him, the air in the room warm, heavy with their shared attention and thoughts of what they’d all done in the living room, bathed in the light of the television. Randi, her mouth taking him. Lakshmi, holding him with her gravity. Aubrey, the empath who controlled his emotions. Josie, whose hair had been serpents, tentacles, a cocoon. And Shanette with her song above it all. Now, though, they were content to watch him sleep, a quiet, satisfied sense of possession resting comfortably between them. It was the calm after the storm, and yet, even in this peaceful moment, the hum of the energy between them all continued to reverberate. Somewhere in the depths of their connection, there was an understanding. Something had changed tonight - not something they could quite put into words.

Randi, though, tried.

“So, what are we now?” She leaned back slightly on the bed, her hands resting on her knees, her gaze drifting from Dr. J to the others. “Are we witches?”

There was a brief pause as the question hung in the air, heavy with implication.

Josie, still brushing his hair, tilted her head slightly, a playful glint in her eye. “Like Emily? Like Bianca and Sammi?”

The mention of those three, the triumvirate of new hires at Far Horizons whose uncanny abilities had been slowly revealing themselves, shifted the mood slightly. Everyone had each noticed the strange power these three women exuded before their own super-normalness had begun to coalesce, and the idea that something similar could be brewing in them felt a little unsettling.

Lakshmi, who had been idly tracing her fingers along Dr. J’s arm, looked up first, her expression thoughtful but calm. “I think this is something different,” she said slowly, her voice rich with a quiet confidence. “Witches? Us? I am not so sure.”

Aubrey nodded in agreement, her gaze never leaving Dr. J. “I feel that too. Whatever it is we’ve started to tap into, it’s not like what they’ve got.  What we have comes from a different place. And whatever it is, it's big, and it’s obviously growing. It’s...us. It’s Melissa. And it’s him too.”

There was a long pause as they all seemed to process that idea. Randi, who had been leaning back casually, pushed herself up again, her eyes dark with curiosity.

“Yeah,” she murmured in her smoky voice, running a hand through her thick, raven hair. “I get that. There’s something about Squirt…something that, like, feeds us all.”

Lakshmi’s eyes flicked to Randi, a subtle smile tugging at her lips. “Exactly. This is different. We are changing, becoming what we are being called on to be.” She looked down at their little male charge. “All of us. All of us, together.”

There was a sense of quiet agreement among them, unspoken but shared. The bond between them had deepened, and whatever they were now, whatever was happening, it was undeniable.

Aubrey’s voice broke through the silence again, soft but resolute. “I don’t think any of us really understand it. Not yet. But I do feel one thing for sure: this is just the beginning.”

That brought a gentle groan from them all; even Dr J, in his sleep, seemed to react. 

Watching him, Randi nodded slowly, her face pensive. “It feels like it, huh? Like we’re on the edge of something huge.”

Josie, always the optimist, flashed a smile, her eyes sparkling. She leaned back against the headboard. “Whatever it is, I’m in. And if we’re gonna be a harem or a hive or whatever the hell this is, it’s going to be fucking cool. Like, fuck it - make my hair grow. A mile long, I don’t care.”

“Yes, I don’t care if I grow to weigh ten thousand tons,” Lakshmi offered, head cocking in thought as she looked down at him, “In fact, I hope I do.”

“Ha yeah, you go, BoomBoom,” said Randi next, “And this mouth of mine? I want to be able to eat grown men alive. Or yell at them until they…until they all line up and obey.”

They all exchanged a knowing look. There was no turning back now. They were far past any point of return, and whatever this was, whatever it would become, it was theirs - all of theirs. There was a pause in the air, each of them considering their new lives.

Aubrey, back to gazing down at Dr. J, spoke next. “I wonder how he feels about all this?”

“Who? Jay-Jay?” Randi chuckled, stroking his shoulder, “You’re the mind-reader, why don’t you find out?”

“Yeah, he shouldn’t have any thoughts.” Josie agreed, “unless we know about them.”

Smiling shyly, her gaze meeting Randi’s for just a moment, Aubrey nodded. Her hand moved from the sheet on his chest towards his temple. Even in his sleep, she would read how he was feeling. Touching helped. Her fingers gently settled on his forehead, and the empath closed her eyes…

Randi’s phone, on the bedside table, buzzed to life.  

They all paused, sat up straight. They all knew what that was.

“That’s Melissa.”

Randi reached for her phone and swiped it open. “Yep it’s her,” she said, her voice casual, but there was an undercurrent of something more. She read the text aloud:

“‘They’re putting me to sleep soon here…’ - omigod somehow she misspelled both ‘they’re’ and ‘here’ -  ‘...and I want to say goodnight to him.’”

“Randi, language,” corrected Lakshmi, to which Randi scoffed but nodded.

In her hand, the phone buzzed as another text came through. Randi’s eyes went wide. “My goodness, woman, stop yelling…” she said, showing the text to the group:

‘I MISS HOM SO MUCH’

The words hung in the air for a beat, a trace of something bittersweet threading through the room. But before Randi could even type out a response, the next message came through:

I know he’s asleep alredy but I stil need to say goodnight

Randi raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Somehow Missy knows he’s asleep,” she announced to the room as already she was typing her response: ‘How’d you guess?’

I dont need to guess when it comes to him, what hes doing, Melissa replied, the words appearing almost immediately after Randi's question. Or with any of u girls either

A soft shiver crawled up Randi’s spine as she read that - and it wasn’t entirely unpleasant. She read the next volley of text Melissa sent her.

“What’s she saying?” Josie prodded.

…what you did with him…

“She’s…uh…talking about-”

…exactly what I needed..

“Is she coming over?”

…it strengthnd my conection to all of u to him the whole thing…

Randi shivered again

…it strengthened me.

Randi’s heart skipped a beat, a jolt of excitement mixed with something else, something less definable. If she hadn’t been on her knees already, she might have the urge to get on them. Before she could respond, Melissa’s next text popped up.

“She wants to be on Facetime,” Randi said, managing to keep her voice steady, “She wants to see him.”

With one simple tap, she set up the video chat. As the screen blinked to life and Randi rotated her phone so everyone could see, the girls saw Melissa’s face, her smooth, glowing complexion lit by the harsh overhead lights of what looked like a sterile, institutional bathroom. She was standing in front of the mirror, the phone angled so they could see her reflection over the sink, her dramatically voluptuous figure standing in stark contrast against the cold, spartan surroundings. In a baby-blue negligee, she looked scrubbed and ready for bed...

Her eyes seemed tired but shining, her lips curled into that big, bright - almost mischievous - smile that had charmed not just him but, at some point, all them. And one that was working on the rest of the world. 

Melissa said her pleasantries, and each of the girls replied in kind, warm greetings between friends. She asked of their day, but seemed to know much of it already. Finally, she asked to see him. 

She purred as Randi turned the camera to him, brought it right to his sleeping face. “Oh, look at him,” Melissa groaned, “he’s perfect.”

“Yeah,” Josie replied, agog again at Dr J’s adorableness, becoming lost in the faint scent coming from him, “I said that earlier.”

“I know,” Melissa said, “and yeah he does just make your instincts go crazy, huh? Good job today, ladies. I’m so happy I could trust him with you.”

To that, the girls groaned. Lakshmi offered their services anytime, to which the others all agreed. Enthusiastically. 

“Like Shanette said, though, he looks so tuckered out,” Melissa continued, watching every breath he took, camera on him, “I wanna say goodnight but I don’t want to wake him.” 

She considered something. 

“Aubrey, can put your hands back where they were? On the sides of his forehead?”

The long delicate fingers of the beautiful young receptionist gently found his temples. A flash of something, an understanding, went through her. Through the phone’s chat app, she and Melissa met gazes. “You want me to channel?” Aubrey said softly, almost a whisper. 

“I want to say hi in his dreams,” Melissa said in return, eyes glinting with something older - wiser - flashing beneath the surface of the screen, “and Aubrey, sweetie  - you can help.”

“Y-you can do that, Missy?” Randi asked, hearing the crack in her voice that betrayed her growing sense of awe. “You can..?”

“With all of you here,” Melissa replied, “Yep.”

Her voice faded as she watched Aubrey resettle herself, her tender hands on the sides of his head. Melissa watched as she closed her eyes and the room became still. There was an energy coalescing, drawn from Aubrey and Dr J but also from all of them. For the moment, it felt like nothing existed outside of this moment - just them, just this connection, this energy. Between Aubrey and him, something was happening. 

”Melissa has grown stronger since our ritual,” Lakshmi marveled with a familiar thrill, curiosity piqued, “Can you feel her? Our bond, all of us, is… amplified. And I think she is visiting him.”

Randi felt it, Melissa’s presence in the room growing larger, filling the space between them and channeling itself through Aubrey’s touch into his skull. She was, again, in all-but-gape-mouthed awe of her friend. Melissa wasn’t just testing boundaries anymore; she was remaking them.

In Randi’s head, the possibilities began to swirl.  

“Alright,” Randi said softly, glancing at the others, “Let’s see what happens next...”

======================================================