~ Chicken Little ~
by Larisa


Disclaimer: Yep, they look like them but they're not. If LL and ROC acted like these two while doing the series, we'd all be happy!

Violence: Not much
Sex and bad language: At least it's not bad sex!
And the rest of the stuff: If you're not old enough that's what parental controls are for! GO AWAY!

Songs Sanctuary and Anything without you by Aussie born Jamie O'Neal. No I didn't get her permission; if I did do ya think I'd have time to write this?

Thanks to Lesia, Ri, Thorie and Webwarrior for their help in this.


Chicken Little
By Larisa
Hecate3366@frontiernet.net




The warehouse was filled with the scent of burning feathers; it was so thick in the air that the workers were gasping for breath. White plumes of smoke rose to the ceiling fans making it look like the place was on fire. Numerous workers dressed completely in white stood along both sides of the conveyor belt inspecting the product with an air of complete boredom. It was the same thing seven days a week 365 days a year. The only time there was any excitement was if someone fell asleep on the job. That happened at least twice a day on the early morning shift. One employee was famous for her ability to fall asleep standing up and taking on the appearance of being awake until the product backed up and covered her to her knees. That's exactly what was happening at that very moment. A shrill scream startled the small blonde from her nap. She looked around but couldn't see where the voice was coming from.

"God damn it Jabony! Wake your stupid ass up and do your job!" Came over the PA system loud enough to make the entire warehouse jump three feet in the air.

Green eyes blinked a few times in confusion. "Who the Hell is Jabony? I've never met them."

Hazel eyes rolled as a woman with long blonde curly hair reached out and smacked the smaller blonde in her head. She just couldn't believe how dense her friend was at times, she wondered if it was a by-product of breathing in the smoke from burnt feathers for two many years.

"What's your name?" She asked in a serious tone.

"Grisegond JaBloan`, Why?"

"You win a cookie! Now Grisly, what does the bosses kid call you all the time?"

Brows dropped down over sleepy green eyes, a pensive look contorted her face. "Jablank, JaBony, Japshit, Japan, Jagernaut and I can't think of the others." She smacked herself in the forehead and groaned. "I did it again didn't I and stupid fuck, caught me."

"Ohh ya get a whole dozen of cookies! I swear that asshole just sits up there and watches the camera monitors." She slapped an inspection sticker on the product as it went by. "Better pick up that mess before the rat faced fuck comes down and jumps on you again."

Bending over at the waist, Grisly started tossing the product on to the conveyor belt and mumbling under her breath about finding a job that wasn't so degrading as checking the assholes of chickens. If it wasn't for her grandpa, she would move to a different place, get a real job, and maybe find the love of her life.

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"Ooohh baby bend over further so I can see your nice snatch!" The rat faced man yelled into the small room where he supervised the warehouse on goings. His dancing beady dark brown eyes were set in a long thin face topped by mousey brown hair that looked like his mother had placed a bowl on his head and used a steak knife to cut it. He leaned closer to the monitor screen and licked the spot where Grisly's tight ass was clearly showing by the overhead camera. A grimace came over his face; he wiped his tongue with his hands and gagged. "Damn Windex! Jesus that stuff tastes like shit!" He grabbed a can of Coke and tried to wash the taste from his mouth. "Disgusting! He shivered with the after taste of the potpourri scented Windex."

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After ten years of imprisonment, the dark haired ruler of the women's correction institute walked through the gates into the bright sunshine. Her clothes were picked from an assortment that the facility had on hand for woman being released back into the community. Although clean, they nowhere fit the tall woman. The pants were skin tight in the thighs and the shirt pulled tight across her wide back and massive biceps. Stomping her feet to try to settle her boots and loosen the tightness across her thighs, she gave out a growl when the material rubbed uncomfortably at her groin. For the time behind bars, she had worn loose fitting clothes and this was hard to get used too. Swinging the small duffle bag over her shoulder and picking up her guitar case, she looked both ways down the road. She had no place to go, no friends or family and no idea which way to head. She had a little bit of money that she had earned from working in prison, but nowhere near enough to do anything. She looked back over her shoulder when she heard her name being yelled from the guard tower. Raising her hand to shield her eyes, she saw one of the guards that she had befriended.

"Hey Bronte, towns that away!" The tall woman pointed to the ex-convicts left and gave her a small wave before disappearing from sight. Shrugging her shoulders, she turned left down the road. She had no idea where she would go from there but she was enjoying her first taste of freedom. The smell of fall was in the air; the leaves had already turned thousands of colors and were falling to the dark green grass. She trudged down the road for three hours until she came to a more populated area that had sidewalks. Looking across the road, she saw a sign for rooms for rent and a sign that read twenty dollars a night. She had exactly $300.00 in her pocket to live on; it would have to last until she was able to get a job. Walking further, she saw a salvage yard with junk cars, a pile of mangled motor cycle frames, parts and engines. A bright grin came to her face and vanished. Before she had been put in prison, she had owned a restored 1978 Harley soft tail. She had no idea what happened to it after she was arrested. Most likely sold at the police auction for mere pennies. Crossing the road, she went up to the office door and went in, the smell of oil and gasoline brought back memories and a small smile.

"Can I help ya?" An old man asked from where he limped from a back room.

"I wanna know about the motorcycle frames outside."

He scratched a whisker-covered jaw and blinked up at her with rheumy blue eyes. Sticking the rag he had in his hand in a back pocket, he gave her the once over and smiled. "Strapping young thing ya are, just got out huh?"

Her eyes narrowed, she knew that ex-convicts were not accepted to well back into the world and had a feeling that this old man would be the first of many to shun her.

"Never mind." She grumbled as she turned to leave.

"Did fifteen myself when I was younger and a whole lot better looking." He gave her a bright toothless smile. "I'm still kinda cute though, women fall all over themselves to go out with me. Or was that ta get away from me…can't remember?" He heard her chuckle and then saw the glimmer in her eye as she turned back around. "I know what ya were thinking, people spittin at ya and whispering behind yer back." He limped from behind the counter and gazed up at her. "Can't really do that around here since most of the people in this town are ex-convicts."

"You're right, I was thinking that." She held out her hand and shook his gnarled one. "Names Bronte Pellatrino."

"Scooter Jefferson, proud owner of this here establishment. Now about those scooter parts out there." He gave her the once over and poked her shoulder. "I'll make a deal with ya; you can have any parts ya want if ya help me out with some heavy work." He pointed down to his twisted right leg. "Can't really get around to good anymore."

"Sure, sounds good to me. What needs done?"

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Lunchtime came around and made the warehouse look like the run of the bulls, workers ran for the nearest exits to get fresh air and away from the prying eyes of the rat faced bastard Timmy. A couple of picnic tables had been set underneath a half dozen oak trees at the west corner of the building for them to sit outside and eat lunch. Which was were a majority of them were now sitting or standing around. The other place that was preferred was the parking lot. The smokers hung out in their vehicles polluting their lungs with nicotine instead of the other horrible odors from the warehouse. Either way, their lungs were sure to fall out one day. Grisly lurched her way to the picnic area after getting her triple X Coleman lunch box from her dilapidated Volkswagen Golf. Grunting with effort, she half dragged the huge thing onto the table.

"One of these days there's not gonna be anybody at the other end and the tables gonna flip over from your lunch box."

Green eyes narrowed, a smirk came across Grisly's face. "Ha! Funny Daryl, see if I share with you." She waved a huge sandwich at her friend. "I know for a fact that your evil other half forgot your lunches at home."

"We were running late." She wiggled her dark brows.

"Ya mean later than usual? Don't ya think that getting 'It' three times a day all year round is a bit much?" She was jealous; she had sex with another possible human creature maybe once a month. She had shitty luck with women and the one she was dating now, she had no idea why she was torturing herself by letting her hang around. The idea of a vibrator that worked off a truck battery was looking better every day.

"Its not always three times a day." Daryl bit into the sandwich and moaned deeply. "Sometimes it's four times a day on the south bound train, but that's on our days off."

Grisly felt like slamming her head in her lunchbox, all she wanted was to find someone that didn't think that going on the southbound train was actually going to the train station and heading to Florida.

"OK, Grisly where's my sandwich?" A deep growling voice spoke close to her ear then huge paws came down on her shoulders.

"In my lunchbox you chicken fucker."

"I am NOT a chicken fucker, I'm a plucker!" She put Grisly in a headlock and rocked her small body back and forth on the bench.

"OK Marty, you're a fucking plucker."

"That's better." The dark haired woman placed a sloppy kiss on her friend's cheek before she took a seat next to her wife. "Hi ya snogums." She gave her a kiss that had Daryl falling over on the bench and gasping for breath. "Here hold these." She snapped her vise grips on her wife's nipple ring and started in on her sandwich.

Grisly rolled her eyes, her two friends did the strangest things and it never even dawned on them that it was strange. Shaking her head as Daryl sat there with a pair of vise grips hanging from her nipple ring and acting like it was normal.

Marty's caramel colored eyes twinkled at the blush that ran up the small blondes face. "What's the matter Grisly, don't like my tool belt?"

"I'm afraid to even think about that or where you store certain tools."

"How's your dating with what's her name going?" Daryl asked as she pulled a family size bag of Doritos from Grisly's lunch box.

"Does Nightmare on Elm street explain it for ya? The woman is beyond strange; I'm waiting to find her at my front door with nails sticking out of her forehead." She leaned over the table. "She now has the bridge of her nose pierced! I feel like I'm dating one of those people from Star Trek!"

Her friends traded weird looks with each other and snorted at Grisly. Her brows buried themselves in her blonde shaggy bangs; a look of utter confusion came over her face to change to a baring of teeth and a low snarling noise, when she figured out what they were thinking.

"I'm not dating her to piss off my mother, dating any woman would do that. What's her name is the only one who'll go out with me."

Daryl leaned across the table so that they were nose-to-nose, tapping Grisly on her shoulder with each word she growled. "That's because you're afraid of commitment."

"Am not, just haven't found anyone that fits with what I want, tired of dating short women. I want someone taller than me." A goofy look split her face. "I want a six-footer!"

Her friends busted out laughing; they knew that every woman Grisly dated was taller than she was. "What'cha want to place an order through the Sears catalog for a six foot lesbian who likes dwarves?"

"Go ahead and laugh now but I'll be laughing later when you two are running for the bathroom." She smirked at their horrified faces. "Go ahead and eat up chicken fuckers."

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Bronte looked at the huge cage like contraption on the back of the truck, taking a deep breath, she tossed the last of the old tires up into the air and watched it sail over the edge and drop on top of the other tires. Using her shirtsleeve to wipe the dirt, grime and sweat from her face, she arched her back and heard the vertebras slip back in. She now knew why Scooter couldn't do the job of loading the tires. Being forty years his junior and in good shape, she felt like was ready to keel over. Dropping her aching body to a small wooden crate, she rested her forearms on her thighs and let her head fall forward. She could feel the muscles pull across her back and shoulders.

"Brought ya some water, figured after all that work ya might be thirsty." Scooter handed the bottle to her and leaned against the side of the truck. "You thinking of staying around here for a while or movin on?"

Bronte set the half-full bottle on the ground and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Guess here is as good as any place to stay, any place hiring around here?"

"We have the Tyson's plant about four miles from here, they're always looking for help." Scratching his baldhead, he gave her a toothless grin. "Lotsa good lookin women in that place."

She raised a dark brow at what he said and gave him a crooked grin. "I have a sign around my neck or something?"

A deep laugh burst from his chest, he reached out a hand and squeezed her shoulder. "Ya just have that look about ya; around here you'll notice a lot of single men. Ain't cuz we're all ugly, just have some extra parts the women don't want."

"OK. Maybe I'll check that place out tomorrow after I get a room and some clothes that fit me." She tugged on the filthy t-shirt to make her point. "Any second hand stores around here?"

"About a half hour away." He pulled a wad of bills from his pocket and handed her fifty dollars. "This is for loading all those tires and all the other stuff ya got yourself into today." He held up his gnarled hand to keep her from saying anything. "I know I told ya it was fer the scooter parts, but ta be honest those parts ain't worth the work ya did. Ya can have those parts fer nothin and if ya help me out from time ta time, I'll pay ya under the table." He stuffed the bills in her hand and crossed his arms over his bony chest. "How about it?"

Bronte looked in to the honest face of the old man and nodded her head. "Ya got a deal, how do I find this store?"

He tossed her the keys to his tow truck and gave her directions, as she was driving down the road a bright smile came to her face. It hadn't even been a full day since she was released, she had made a friend, had an almost honest paying job and was driving a vehicle that cost more than she had ever made in her 30 years of life. Freedom was looking good so far, now all she needed was a place to stay and a good paying job. Seeing the Goodwill store in the small shopping center, she pulled the tow truck into the lot and looked at all the other stores in the small area. It had everything you would need. After she was done in Goodwill, she would stop in at the Food Lion and get the foods that she hadn't had since she had been locked up. She had a craving that has lasted ten years, her weakness was chocolate and macadamia cookies. No matter what her connections were in the prison, she couldn't get her favorite cookies.

Forty-five minutes later, she had a couple pairs of almost new Levi's, t-shirts, new socks and boots. Out of the fifty that Scooter had given her, she had ten dollars left to buy food with. Her other money would go for getting a room for the night. If she got a job at the Tyson's place, she would see about an apartment or boarding house, until then the motel would do.

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A stampede of workers flew threw the doors of the Tyson's chicken plant and out to the parking lot. It was pretty much the same thing everyday; the workers couldn't wait to get out of the building when their shift was over. After eight hours of smelling burnt feathers and handing chickens and their parts, who ever dragged their feet to get away needed mental help. Grisly, Marty and Daryl out ran everyone. It was the night that they went to the local 'all you can eat buffet' and then off to a gay bar outside of town and they wanted to beat the evening crowd. Living in a small town sometimes became boring, to keep it from getting that way for the three women, they did activities together after work and on weekends. It had been Daryl's idea, she didn't like seeing her friend Grisly sitting alone in her small house wasting away the hours reading and watching TV. She would be the first to admit to being a homebody, but spending all your time alone was not good. She often wondered if that wasn't why Grisly fell asleep all the time. Boredom could do that to a person.

At the sound of a horn blaring, Grisly closed the back door of her house and ran around the side to Marty and Daryl's truck. Right off, she noticed the smirk on her friend's faces.

"What is my fly open or something?" She looked downward then back up. "Assholes," was grumbled as she crawled onto the floor of the raised 4x4 truck and up onto the seat.

"Going on the hunt tonight Grisly?" Daryl inspected her small friends skintight black Levi's and tight white wife beater. "All ya need now is a pair of steel toed boots, baby dyke."

"Gramp's is wearing them. For your information, I'm not on the hunt for anything except the rib section of the buffet. Let's go before I chew on your arm."

"You two are just plain weird, sharing clothes and stuff." Marty mumbled at her friend and cast a sideways glance into twinkling green eyes. "Ya aren't wearing his drawers are ya?"

"I'll never tell." Grisly grinned. "I do like the ones with the little Budweiser frogs all over them."

Marty shook her dark head. "Simple bitch."

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Bronte dropped her stuff at the foot of the twin size bed, she looked around at the dingy walls of the motel room. She had more in her prison cell than what was in the room she had for the night. Flipping the small color TV that was bolted to the dresser on, she turned the knob until she came across the local station. She snorted at the newsman with his horrible toupee and buckteeth, it seemed to her that the Romney West Virginia Area was still lost in the 80's somewhere. Or worse, the 70's, she scanned the room to make sure that there wasn't an 8-track player hiding somewhere. Rubbing her dirty face with ever-dirtier hands, she went to the small bathroom and groaned. The color was puke green and that included the shower curtain pulled around the porcelain tub. Shrugging her shoulders, she turned on the water, striped out of her dirty clothes, and dropped them into the sink. Once under the hot spray of water, she groaned when the sore muscles in her body started to relax. This would be the first time in ten years that she would have the shower to herself. Closing her eyes, she was able to let her guard down and enjoy herself. While in prison, no one ever felt safe in the shower room or anywhere else except behind the bars of your cell. Once she had beaten her way to the top of the food chain, she had made sure that it was safer for the women. But in that kind of place, it was hard to be completely safe from everyone. She wondered who was now holding her former position of pit boss. It was a ranking that you knew someone who thought they were tougher than you were, would try and kill you to be able to rule the floors. At first, it was at least twice a week that some women challenged her, then it stopped after she hung one woman by her ankles over the railing of the sixth tier. After that, she never worried again. A slight shiver raced up her spine when the water turned tepid and then cold. Stepping from the shower, she tried to dry off with the tiny little towel that the motel considered a bath towel. Tossing the wet towel over the shower rod, she went out into the small room and dropped onto the bed. With the drone of the TV, she drifted off to sleep instantly.


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Grisly was ushered out the front doors by the manager of the local restaurant. A wicked grin was covering her face. Snickering behind them were Marty and Daryl. She knew it was bound to happen sooner or later.

"You're barred from here for the next month Grisly!" The manager yelled loud enough for the other customers to hear. "I can't believe you took the insert full of ribs to your table!"

"It was easier than walking back and forth." She said with a chuckle.

Daryl placed an arm across the manager's shoulder. "Hey Roger, at least she didn't sit at the buffet table this time."

"True, I had complaints like you wouldn't believe. People wanted to know where the server was after you guys left. Took me a week to get it through their blockheads that she didn't work for me." He gave them all hugs and winked at them. "See ya next week." He had to make it look like they were barred to keep other people from eating him out of house and home. When it came to his niece, there was no way in Hell he would be able to bar her and live. His wife would have his hide tacked to the front of the building.

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Patrons tripped over each other, fell into one another all because of the way that Grisly danced. Or couldn't dance was more the story. She had no sense of rhythm what so ever. Her way of dancing looked more like some kind of mating ritual for jungle animals. The way she hopped around looked like a primate would when it swung from vines. As she spun around the dance floor, people dodged, dropped to the floor or yelped when she smacked them with her flailing arms. Even after the music stopped, she was still hop jumping around. Finally, Marty yanked her off the dance floor and received a round of applause and whistles.

"You're dangerous no matter where we take you."

"Am not, they just don't know how to dance!" She glared at the other people. "Non-rhythmic barbarians." She gave out a yelp when Marty yanked on her ear harder.

"If you act the same way in bed as ya do on the dance floor I'm surprised we haven't had to hide a body somewhere."

"I don't even think so. I'll have ya know that I happened to be quite good in the sac. Never had any complaints."

She gave up when Marty let out a howl and fell over laughing so hard that tears ran down her cheeks. Knowing who she dated and the type of woman Sheila was, Marty knew there would be no complaints.

Slamming back a shooter of something purple, Grisly shivered when it hit bottom. It tasted like grape kool aide but kicked ass once it hit the stomach lining. After three of them, her entire body was numb but for her burning stomach.

"There's my little woman!" A woman an inch taller that Grisly slurred as she leaned into her. "Missed ya for the last week, where ya been?" Her brown eyes were almost jet black from the dilated pupils. "Ya gonna give me some tonight?" Grisly's eye's blinked a couple times to try to clear the fog that was stealing her vision.

"That you Sheila?"

"One and only." She took Grisly's hand and pulled her towards Marty and Daryl. "Taking my woman home, gonna get me some." The uncouth drunk slurred as she wove back and forth in front of them.

"You two are walking right?" Daryl asked as she grabbed the front of Sheila's shirt.

"Yep. Have ta lost my license. Judge says I'm a drunk and don't need ta drive. Bastard. I ain't a drunk or nothin."

Daryl and Marty looked at her then to each other. They knew all to well what Sheila was not and that was sober for more than two breaths when she woke up. They wished that Grisly would find someone who was dependable and would treat her good. She didn't need an alcoholic in her life that was for damn sure. Grisly was a lost cause when it came to her choice in dates, the least chance of it being meaningful and she was jumping.

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With a low painful groan Grisly opened one eye and took in the pale light coming through the nearby window. She remembered falling into Sheila's bed and them fumbling around and then not much after that. Using the one hand that was free of her twisted shirt, she searched the tangle of sheets and other objects around her. She was not surprised to find a beer can between her legs or Sheila passed out and drooling on her thigh. It must have been another typical night of 'maybe I had sex.' Moving from under the dead weight of Sheila, she stumbled to the bathroom with her pants dragging behind her off of one foot. When she looked in the mirror, she would have screamed at the sight of her pale skin and bloodshot eyes if her throat wasn't so dry or her tongue didn't feel like it was the size of a semi truck. Splashing cold water on her face and head, she tried to finger comb her tangled hair.

"Sure are stupid Grisly, can't remember anything." She looked closely at her reflection. "What do you get from acting like a drunken slut? Nada!" She closed her eyes and felt the room tilt to the side, taking a deep breath she tried to concentrate on keeping the room from throwing her to the floor. Sighing, she made her way to the small kitchen and made a pot of strong coffee for the two of them. No sooner had she dropped into a kitchen chair, then Sheila came into the kitchen, grabbed a beer from the refrigerator, slammed it and got another one.

"Come on Grisly, I wanna finish what I started." She took the smaller hand in hers and pulled her back to the mess of a bedroom. Spinning Grisly around so that she ended up looking like an accident victim on the bed. Sheila pounced on top of her, bit her breast hard enough to make her yell and then handed her the beer from her hand.

"Hold this." She grabbed the ashtray from the bedside table, lit up a smoke and took a few hits off it before putting it in the ashtray that was now sitting on Grisly's washboard stomach.

So now she lay there with Sheila between her thighs doing God only knows what, a beer in one her hand, TV remote in the other and an ashtray on her stomach. She flipped the TV on and surfed through the stations until she found a morning talk show. Every once in a while, she would grunt or her body would twitch until Sheila's voice reached her deaf ears.

"Are ya close ta comin?"

It took Grisly a few seconds to figure out what she was talking about. "Ohh yeah! Lick me harder!" She went back to watching the program and taking a drink of the cold beer. "Uuuhh…stick your tongue in me." Flipped through to the channels to find something better to watch, finding nothing, she picked up the People magazine from the nightstand and started reading it. "You are so good!" She said in a loud voice and squirmed around until she was comfortable. "OOHH yeah! Right there…harder…Damn Julia Roberts got married." Sheila continued to do whatever the Hell she was doing while Grisly read that magazine and then picked up a Sci-Fi magazine and started reading it. When a cramp formed in her calf, she let out a scream and jerked in the bed.

"Was it good for you?" Sheila asked as she got up, slammed the rest of her beer, lit another cigarette and went to the kitchen. Grisly grabbed at her calf and worked the muscle until it gave up its death grip. Picking up her clothes, she got dressed and went into the kitchen to have coffee before she would walk home. When she walked through the door, she found Sheila passed out with her head on the table.

She mumbled to herself as she took a travel mug down from the cabinet. "I gotta stop this stupid shit and get a vibrator."

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The sun streamed into the small window and into Bronte's face, pulling the small pillow over her head she mumbled to herself and then realized that it had been years since the sun had waken her in the morning. A huge grin split her face and she threw off the blanket she had rolled into some time during the night. Stretching her body, she heard cracks and pops as her spine realigned itself. Going to the window, she looked out in to the parking lot and saw the lights flickering on in some of the shops nearby. The first thing she would do, was get some breakfast and then head over to the Tyson's plant to put in an application. If she were lucky she would have a real job and be on her way to leading a normal life. Searching through the clothes she had bought the day before, she quickly dressed, brushed her hair and teeth and headed out the door.

An hour later she was on her way down the road towards the plant. Cars passed by in both directions paying no attention to her as she walked along the side of the road. The smell of exhaust could not take away from the scent of fresh cut hay that surrounded her and then all she could smell was burnt feathers. Scooter had told her all about what went on at the plant. Granted, it wasn't a job that would be fun but at least it would be money. Walking in the damp grass at the edge of the parking lot, she stopped a man and asked where she could find the employment office. After him explaining it three different ways and still not completely sure, she gave up and decided to find it on her own.

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The woman who did all the hiring handed Bronte a manila folder with all the company regulations and rules, pair of rubber gloves and a badge to use on the punch clock. Her by-speckled eyes looked huge behind the thick lenses, she reminded Bronte of a bug.

"Your shift starts at 0530 until 1330. You have two ten minute breaks and a half hour for lunch. I'll call your supervisor and he'll give you the nickel tour of the plant and show you where you'll be working." She closed a logbook and gazed up into blue eyes. "Any questions?"

"No ma'am." Bronte replied.

"OK, take a seat and I'll make the phone call."

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An evil grin crossed Daryl's face, she took advantage of the fact that Grisly had been late to work and was cringing at the least bit of noise by yelling close to her ear. "You look like shit Grisly, rough night?"

"Love you too, what was that stuff I was drinking last night, Barney piss?" She rubbed both her stomach and her forehead. "I feel like that damn dinosaur walked on me."

"I think it was that stuff, the beer and the company that you had. The Gods know that her alone would make my stomach turn." She shivered to send home her thoughts.

"I get what I need and there's no complications afterwards." She knew that she didn't get anything out of it but didn't want Daryl to know. She was still sore from what ever the idiot had done to her the night before when she had passed out. She was thinking she might have frostbite from the beer can.

Daryl wrapped an arm around her and gave her a brief hug before the conveyer belt started up again. "I'm making it my life's mission to find you someone who is worthy of your affections. Even if I have to hog tie some good looking woman and drop her in your bed."

That was enough to bring a grin to Grisly's face, she could picture her two friends dropping some woman into her bed and saying something completely asinine like 'She's a thirty day trial from sex slaves are us."

"Just make sure she's a six-footer, nothing shorter."

Daryl shook her head, she didn't know what the fascination for tall women was all about. "Tell me why does she have to be that tall?"

A light blush worked its way up Grisly's face, she cleared her throat before speaking.

"Cuz my face would be even with…you know."

Daryl slapped her in the shoulder. "I never knew you were a tit woman! Little perv likes tits!" She snorted when Grisly turned a deep red and tried to cover Daryl's mouth.

"Not so loud, geez these people around here will never let me live that down if it gets out. I'll find wanted posters with huge tits drawn on them, hung up all over the damn place and with my name as the who wants them!"

"And that would be bad?"

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The small rat faced man leered at Bronte as he gave her the once over, chills of disgust ran up her spine. She hated when men thought that they had the right to strip you with their eyes. She would like nothing better than to strip them of their eyeballs and shove them up their stupid asses. She narrowed her eyes at him and raised the corner of her lip to show a glimmering canine tooth.

"Now Brant, this is the area that you will be working in." She held back the growl that purred in the back of her throat, she knew her name was strange but no one ever got it that wrong before. "As the chicken's come down the conveyor, you take this plastic figure eight and loop it over their drumsticks. And send it down the conveyer. Against the wall are boxes full of the eight's and rubber gloves, right in front of you is the emergency shut off button for the belt incase it gets blocked. If you need anything just hit the button near the wall and I will be right down to give you a hand in anyway that I can." Once again he gave her a leer, which quickly disappeared when a deep growl came from an annoyed Bronte. "If that's all Brenda I'll leave you to your work." He jogged from the area with out looking back, much to Bronte's relief.

"Stupid little twit, rip your head off and shove it up your skinny ass." She was well known in the prison for her mumbling, it was a habit that she had picked up as a child when no one paid any attention to her, she spoke her true feelings about them out loud but never loud enough for them to hear. At times it was a good thing considering the foul mouth she had at the young age of four. "Put the eight's on your skinny little wrists and send you down the conveyer." Pulling a pair of rubber gloves on, she stood by the belt and waited for her first day to begin.

@@@@@@@@@

Daryl kept an eye on Grisly so that when she fell asleep she could smack her before rat face caught her. She gave her exactly fifteen minutes before her eyes started to droop and then close completely. She often wondered if she slipped some No-Doz in her coffee if that would help. With every chicken that went by, Grisly was getting farther off with putting the inspection sticker on them. Daryl had to use both hands to do hers and Grisly's job. Nudging her with a shoulder sent Grisly stumbling sideways until she landed on the floor, she curled up on her side and snored loudly.

"Damn it to Hell!" Daryl sidestepped to her and planted a foot in her ass. "Grisly get your ass up!" She used her foot and hit the emergency stop button then grabbed Grisly by an arm and yanked her to her feet. "I can't believe you." She mumbled. "Grisly you have two seconds to wake your sorry ass up or I'm getting Marty to beat your ass." She grabbed a hold of her friend's nose and pinched it closed until green eyes shoot open in panic.

"What are you doing to me?"

"Trying to kill your ass, you fell asleep again." She pulled her back to the conveyer belt and turned it back on. "Don't you sleep at night?"

"Yeah about ten hours, still don't help me, I'm still tired when I get here." She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked up at the camera. "Rat face didn't see me did he?"

"Nope, you owe me big time." She nudged her friends shoulder. "You can start with lunch today, I know you brought in Philly subs."

@@@@@@@@@@@@

A figure snuck out the side door and ran hunched over to the parking lot, they scanned the area to make sure no one was about and went quickly over to a small car. They pulled an envelope from a pocket and placed it under the windshield wiper before disappearing back in to the building.

Bronte walked back over to the conveyer and looked through the small window that the belt traveled through. She had gotten tired of waiting for the chickens and left the room for five minutes, now she had chickens all over the place and knew she had better get her ass in gear before she got fired before even working a full day. Grabbing a handful of eight's, she slipped them over the drumsticks any old way she could. She hoped that no one noticed how screwed up some of them were and then an idea hit her. She was beginning to wonder about her thought patterns as she looked at some of the chickens as they went down the belt to the next station. A huge grin crossed her face, this maybe the way to get Social Security early. She could claim that prison drove her to insanity. Every couple of chickens, one would be not quite right, she wondered how long it would take before someone complained to the rat faced asshole and if he would report her to the mental health agency.

@@@@@@@@@@@

Grisly did a double take at the chicken coming her way, she knew something was wrong as soon as it came through the window but she couldn't put her finger on it. That was until she pulled it from the belt.

"Daryl look at this bird and tell me what in the Hell happened to it." It had the figure eight's around each drumstick and up to circle the wings, the end result was a perverted looking bird. "Can you do this?" Grisly held it out for Daryl to see. "I bet Marty can bend you into a pretzel after all these years." She knew she was right when her friends face turned beet red. Bending over, she looked through the small window but couldn't see who was back there. The belt made a sharp turn right before it came through the window so the only way she would know who it was would to go out into the hallway and then look through into that station. That was one thing she couldn't do, the last time she got caught sneaking to the Pepsi machine before their break.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@

With the end of shift brought the stampeded of workers, Grisly was bounced from body to body and then into the doorframe. She fell backwards, spun once again and fell right into someone's arms. With her face firmly planted in the person's chest, she was lifted, carried out the door and placed in a safe area. Reaching up with her hands to steady herself, she felt the softness beneath her palms. Before she could look up at the woman's face, she was striding away from her. All she could see was long raven black hair and wide shoulder's, she clutched her chest and moaned deeply. The woman was every inch of six foot and drop dead gorgeous from her wide shoulders to her tight worn Levis. Grisly just wished that she had seen what she looked like. Her friends thought her shallow that all she wanted was a tall Amazon type woman, but deep down there was more to it. It went deeper than a gut feeling, it went straight to her soul and lit a fire there to lick at hidden secrets that to this day she was still unable to uncover them. All she knew was that a missing part of the puzzle came in a tall package. She was still clutching her chest when her friends came up to her.

"You OK? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Marty did you see that woman?"

"I see lots of woman, which one?" She looked at all the employees walking to the parking lot.

Grisly rolled her eyes, swooned into Daryl and thumped her fingers on her chest. "Very tall, huge muscles, long black hair and firm breasts."

"How the Hell do you know she has firm breasts?" Daryl asked as she pushed Grisly away from her.

"'Cuz, as usual I got bounced around the hallway and I fell into her and…"

Marty gave her a wicked grin. "You grabbed her tits."

"Not intentionally I didn't, I was trying to steady myself after she carried me out the door. Got to find her." She said before she took off running towards the parking lot.

She looked everywhere until the lot was empty except for her own car; she walked over to it and noticed the envelope under the windshield. Opening the letter, she quickly read it and cringed.

I like the red panties you have on.

"How does this person know I'm wearing red…for Christ sakes Grisly, you wear a white uniform!" She smacked her forehead and then grinned. "Maybe I have a tall gorgeous stalker?" A wide grin covered her face.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Bronte sat in the blinding sunlight sanding down one of the motorcycle frames she had salvaged from the junk pile. It was a rigid frame and not exactly what she had wanted but with modifications, she would be able to put shocks on it and take away some of the stiffness of the ride. She had searched the entire junkyard and come up with every part she would need except for a few pieces she would have to buy.

"Are ya trying ta go blind out here or what?" Scooter asked from where he was standing beneath the overhang on the side of the garage. "Where's your sunglasses and why ya out in the sun anyway?"

Squinted eyes looked up from the sanding. "Sun doesn't bother me; it's been a long time since I was allowed to be outside this much." She offered the old man a small smile. "Spent a lot of time in the dark."

"Ohh sooo you were a bad one in prison?" He chuckled and gave her a thumbs up. "Spent a lot of my time in the hole too, just couldn't let them men have their way with me. Broke one guy's arm with a soup ladle."

"I spent a month in the hole for beating the shit out of a mole, found out the rodent belonged to one of the guards."

"You beat up a tiny little critter?" He took the tall woman as a fighter not a rodent exterminator.

"Nah, but the little bitch looked like a mole. She was screwing the guard and trying to get information on my little organization in trade for an early out."

Scooter pulled out a wooden crate and eased his old frame down on to it. "If ya don't mind my asking, what did ya do to get ten years?"

Bronte wiped off her hands on a rag, climbed to her feet and moved under the overhang to sit beside him. "Three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of second degree murder. What pisses me off is that the other three got shit for trying to kill me." She shrugged her shoulders.

"What the Hell?" He rubbed his stubbled jaw. "What exactly happened?"

"I worked in this bar in Morgantown, after we closed for the night; I went out the back door and got jumped by four guys. I defended myself and got sent away."

"Sometimes I can't figure the court systems out. I accidentally set fire to a bar and got fifteen years because one person got dead." He shook his head and continued his story. "Used to be a heavy drinker, one night, I tripped and fell against a table and knocked an ashtray off. When I got outside, I passed out on the sidewalk. I woke up when firemen hauled me to my feet and hustled me away from the burning bar. Witnesses said that I did it on purpose because the bartender had cut me off from booze. And the dead guy wasn't my fault; the dumb bastard got run over by the fire truck rushing to the scene."

"Sounds like we had the same lawyer, I'd been better off if I had represented myself, but I couldn't, I just came out of a coma after six months."

"You were sentenced while ya were recuperatin from coma? I swear we have no rights anymore, while real criminals walk the streets." He squeezed her shoulder and went back into the garage. Before he reached the door, he looked over his shoulder. "Before I forget, there's something in that shed way at the back of the yard. Ya can have it if ya want." He tossed her a key and waved at her questioning eyes. "I ain't got no use for it, so it's yours." She gave him a small smile and watched him hobble inside.

@@@@@@@@@

Bronte sunk to her knees after she pulled the tarp from the mound sitting in the middle of the floor. What she was looking at, was a fully complete knucklehead engine, chrome tailpipes still wrapped in oiled paper and other parts that she would have needed. She had no idea why Scooter had done this but she would make it up to him somehow. Wiping tears from her eyes, she smiled when she thought of one way to show her thanks. She would wait until he went home that day to start paying him back. First, she had to get her stuff from the motel room and find a nice out of the weather place to stay the night. She didn't have enough money to stay another night and payday from the plant wasn't for another week. While scrounging around the sheds, she had found an old two man tent and thought of cleaning it up and setting up camp in the field behind the junkyards fence. Recovering the motorcycle parts, she left the shed and relocked it.

@@@@@@@@@@@

The house was quiet except for the sound of a TV droning in the background, Grisly was lying on the floor with her legs on the couch, a book perched against her thighs and snoring loud enough to cover up the game show people yelling 'Good answer!' and clapping. She had fallen asleep waiting for her weekly dinner date but knew that the unlucky person who suffered through her cooking would wake her in time to pull the lasagna from the oven.

"Hey Grisly ya gonna let this old man starve to death or what?" Scooter tweaked his granddaughter's nose and heard her mumble in her sleep. He had never known anyone who slept as much as Grisly or anyone who could fall asleep standing up. She had always been that way, even when little when other kids were playing outside, Grisly would play with them for a while and then fall asleep in the yard somewhere. "If ya don't get up I'll eat it all myself, I know ya made lasagna, I can smell it." He started towards the kitchen and heard the thump of her feet hitting the floor, seconds later, she was stumbling into the kitchen with one green eye opened. "About time ya woke up, ten hours of sleep not enough for ya?"

"Haa! Funny Grandpa, I'll have you know I only got around eight hours of sleep." She pulled the lasagna out of the oven and tossed in the pan with the garlic bread on it. Then pulled a gallon of milk out and two glasses. "How was work today, rip anyone off?"

"I don't rip people off, if they need a car part bad enough, they'll pay top dollar for it. Gotta pull an ass end off an old Pontiac tomorrow, that'll be about two hundred or so depending on if they need the brake lines and stuff." He sat down at the end of the table and poured a glass of milk for both of them. "Got rid of all those old tires and made a hefty profit."

Grisly set the huge pan of lasagna in the center of the table and then pulled the two loaves of Garlic bread out.

"If you've done all that work how come you're so clean?" She was used to seeing her Grandpa with grease stains from fingertip to elbow.

"'Cuz I got some part time help, Bronte does all the heavy work for me. Strong as a horse that one is." He took a taste of the food and moaned in delight. "Just like your grandma used to make, damn woman had to go and die on me."

Grisly rolled her eyes and groaned at him. "Grandma ain't dead, she ran off with that guy that looks like Wayne Newton."

"I know that but it sounds better if I tell everyone she's dead." He pointed his fork at her. "And the only thing that guy had that the real Wayne did was the ugly ass polyester cowboy suit, plus about 50 more years on this planet. Ain't no look alike that's for damn sure."

"That's not what Mom says, she says he sings like him."

"Your mom is as bad as her own, damn crazy women. Running off to Atlantic City to be showgirls."

Grisly snickered and Scooter joined in with her. It was a comical picture that they shared over the years. Grisly's mother was in her 50's and her grandmother in her 70's when they ran off and left them. Her grandma with a man older than her with hair died jet black, a tiny little mustache, and her mom to live out her dream of being a showgirl.

"Always wondered if that guy had the same fascination with farm animals like Wayne Newton." He raised an eyebrow and gave Grisly a toothless grin. "You're grandma looked kinda like a beef cow. Had tits like one."

"Eeeww Grandpa, that's not what I wanna hear."

"I know for a fact that you're just like me, likes them nice firm tits ta nuzzle in. Can't figure out what you're doing with that drunk though, her tits are tiny like doorbells." He shook his head and went back to eating.

"What tits? I've been looking for them forever and I still ain't found them!" Grisly said around a mouthful. "Hell most mornings I don't remember a damn thing that happened. Gotta find me a new woman, nice tall woman with tits." She grinned at Scooter.

"A six-footer, with firm tits." He added. He knew all about what Grisly was looking for, ever since she told him of her sexual preference, she had shown an interest in tall women. He knew not to interfere with her love life so there was no way in Hell he was going to say a word about a certain six foot blue eyed convict that he knew. If it was meant to be, they would find each other without his help. But that didn't mean that he couldn't have some fun in the meantime.

"Saw a good prospect at work though, tall, gorgeous from behind, muscles."

"Ohh yeah?" His eyes twinkled at the description he knew very well. "What's her name?"

"Don't know, I didn't even see her face." She told him what happened when she was leaving and about how she had been trying to find the woman all week at work but just couldn't find her. "It's like she just disappeared after that few seconds. Marty and Daryl say that she was a figment of my imagination and that I'm going nuts from lack of sex."

"Well then that makes two nutty people in the same family. Damn and I thought it was from all that one handed fiddle playin I've been doing."

Grisly choked on her bread and fell on the floor. She never knew what her grandpa would say and he always seemed to do it when she had her mouth full. Clearing her windpipe and wiping the tears from her eyes, she climbed back into her chair and glared at him.

"I hate when you do that to me, one of these days I'll choke to death."

@@@@@@@

With a small fire burning, Bronte hung a can of soup over the flames and pulled out her guitar to play until her supper was done. She had set up the small tent in the field behind the junkyard and gathered large rocks to make a fire ring with. So now it was just her and nature instead of the whore and john in the room next door thumping against the wall for five minutes or so. The noise didn't bother her. After hearing women having sex in the cells around her for ten years, it no longer had any effect on her. She wondered if her libido had ran off the second she had been sentenced. It had been over ten years she had been with anyone, so long that she never even thought of sex. She wondered if she was too old to become a nun. Checking on her soup, she went back to tuning her guitar and then played a tune softly. Her fingers flew over the frets in an intricate pattern that came out as a classical guitar piece. She had played before she went to prison but with ten years of practice, she could out play just about anyone. Her music range went from classical to rock. If not for music, she knew she would have dried up and blew away while locked up. Often, late at night, she could be heard playing her guitar in her cell. No one ever complained because it was a soothing sound and became so normal that if she wasn't playing, they checked on her.

With the next piece she played, she hummed along. Very rarely did she ever sing, she didn't think her voice was good enough for anyone else to hear. So the only time she sang was if she was alone or she sang so low that no one heard her. Even when she was working in the bar and the band needed a lead or bass guitar player, she played but refused to sing. The sound of hissing alerted her to her soup boiling over. Using a stick, she lifted the can from over the fire and sat it on a rock to cool. She felt like she had drifted back to a simpler time, where it was normal for someone to be out under the stars cooking their meals over the fire and looking at the stars overhead. Her ears perked when she heard the bray of a cow off in the distance. All was right in her small world that night and she wouldn't change it for anything.

@@@@@@

Grisly was like a maniac when it came to inspecting the chickens, she was reaching over Daryl to get to the chickens and causing stickers to get stuck to her forearms.

"God damn it Grisly, what the hell has gotten into you?" Daryl jumped back to avoid getting stepped on. "Did you take a couple hits of No-Doz this morning?

"Nope just wanna get done so I can go look for that gorgeous woman I saw the other day." She gave Daryl a crooked grin and went to stand right in front of the little window with her sticker gun.

"I hate to tell you but it doesn't matter how fast you inspect the birds, we're done after the others. So if she's ahead of us, that means she gets out of here before us you dipshit." Daryl pulled a chicken off the belt and fixed the figure eight so that it was on the correct way. She slammed the bird back down and growled. "If I find the asshole that keeps doing that, I'm gonna wring his neck!"

"Why? I think it breaks up the monotony of this sucky ass place." At that moment a chicken came through the window, sitting up with it's wings and legs crossed and a rubber glove blown up for it's head. Grisly looked at it and grinned. "See what I mean, the other guy must be bored outta his mind if he's doing this kinda stuff."

"Or an axe murderer with a hatred for poultry."

@@@@@@@

In between batches of chickens, Bronte was stringing the figure eight's together. A few more and she would have a sweater made. When she held it up and looked at it, she groaned. "I'm looooosing it that's all there is to it! I'm making clothes out of plastic thingies that go on chicken legs!" Pulling a chicken off the belt, she set it aside for the moment. When the line died down to a trickle, she took the plastic eight's, she had connected and put them on the bird and dropped it on the belt with a flourish. What she had was a chicken in a hula skirt, she heard the laughter come from the station next door and grinned. She had no idea who was over there but so far she hadn't heard any complaints about her artistic abilities. "Maybe they're as bored as I am?" She looked up to the clock and counted the minutes until she could get out of the place and go work on her motorcycle until Scooter left for the day. She had what she needed to pay him back for the engine and stuff and if she started right after work, she would be able to get it finished for when he came into work the next morning.

@@@@@@@

"Come on Grisly, the moment you've been waiting for is here. Let's go!" Marty grabbed her by her hand and pulled her closer to the time clock. "After you punch, run like hell and maybe you'll see your mystery woman?"

"Right and you'll be elected Pope." She rubbed her forehead and looked around at the group of people waiting to punch out. "I've been looking for days and I've not seen her yet!"

Daryl came to stand behind her, she leaned forward and whispered in her ear. Maybe you need to change your strategy, do like the first time you met her. Fall asleep and let the crowd carry you out the door, maybe she'll come to your rescue again?"

"Tried that the other day and all I got was a big bruise on my elbow from a door jamb. Maybe she doesn't work here at all and was just visiting." She shrugged and felt her heart break at the thought.

"Yeah like maybe she's married and has ten snotty nosed kids at home." Marty sunk back away from her wife and friend. "Or maybe she…never mind."

The sound of clicking and the line moving forward signaled them that it was time to leave. Grisly scanned everyone in front of her and still didn't see the tall woman she had been panting after. She was beginning to wonder if it had all been a dream.

@@@@@@

Bronte slammed her hand against the doorframe, she had been using a room at the back of the building to punch in and out at. And now she found the door locked. Turning back in the other direction, she headed for the clock that the rest of the workers used. She hated being stuck in a room crowded with people that smelled like sweat, hundreds of different colognes, perfumes and deodorants and not to mention raw chicken. The hallway leading out of the place was too damn narrow and it made her feel like a cow going down a cattle chute. She remembered watching a small blonde being tossed around like a rag doll and not one person trying to help her. She had forced her way through the crowd, picked the small thing up, and carried her outside to safety. Sometimes she hated the human race and would rather just walk off into the sunset and live off the land instead of being around assholes for the rest of her life.

She came upon the back of the line and filed in, looking over the other worker's heads, she saw a small blonde head popping up and down in front of her. "Crazy people, all of them." She mumbled.

"Will you stop that you retard." Daryl placed her hand on top of Grisly's head and held her down at the same time she was guiding her to the time clock.

"I'm trying to see if she's here and those asses in front of me are too tall!" She whined and tried to jump up again.

Marty snorted at her wife and struggling friend. "Grisly, if she's tall that means that she'd be easier to see."

Green eyes narrowed and a small growl came from clenched teeth. "Big deal! I still can't see over anyone to see if she's there. I'm too damn short!" An evil grin came to her lips. "Let me get on your shoulders!" She lunged towards Marty and tried to crawl up her body.

"Get off me you lunatic! Help Daryl!"

Grisly had one leg wrapped around Marty's waist and an arm around her neck. She was trying her damndest to get on her friends shoulders.

Marty struggled to stand upright and kept yelling at the top of her lungs. "RAPE! Animal abuse! Kinky sex fiend! Bear attack! Ohh for Christ sakes! The next thing she knew was that she was lying on the floor beneath a pile of squirming bodies and someone tried to stick their finger up her nose.

"Now what the Hell happened?" Bronte mumbled while stepping over bodies and avoiding being pulled down into the pile. "Damn idiots, glad I'm not on the road with you people." Bodies rolled off the pile and moved towards the clock to punch out only to be stuck in the over crowded hallway. Bronte punched her card, stepped to the side, squeezed past everyone, and went in the opposite direction to wait at the end of the hallway. She would wait until it was clear before trying to get to the door. She wondered if the fire department knew they had a huge fire hazard in this place.

@@@@@

Marty bellowed right into Grisly's ear. "I swear one of these days I'm gonna lock your simple ass up somewhere and forget all about you!" Pulling her T-shirt straight, she reached out with one hand and gently shoved Grisly in her chest. "I can't wait until you have to walk across the parking lot with no shirt on!" She pointed to a topless Grisly and laughed.

"Who stole your shirt?" Daryl asked when she was finally able to find her shoe and sock that she had lost in the wrestling match.

Grisly raised her hands and shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea, I'm just glad it's not cold outside and I still have my bra on." She looked down to make sure that it was still in fact there. "How am I gonna explain this to grandpa though?"

"Animal sex in the back seat?" Marty offered.

"Only if it was a threesome with you two would he believe that! Ooohh shit who the Hell cares anyway. I don't have anything to show." She slid her card through and punched out. "Ready to bust some asses getting out of here?"

@@@@@@@@

Bronte had no idea what was being thrown from person to person, but when it got close to her, she snagged it out of the air and ended their childish game. She untangled it and saw that it was a small black T-shirt with Cherry Stem Champ in bold red letters across the front. "Sure ya are!" She mumbled and stuck the T-shirt in her back pocket.

@@@@@

"There she goes!" Marty yelled when Grisly dropped her shoulder and tried to plow through the jammed hallway. She made it past maybe three people before she lost momentum and was tossed around the hallway like a rag doll. Marty and Daryl watched her struggle to stay on her feet and were ready to go in for the rescue when a very tall and muscular woman walked past them and started shoving people out of her way.

"Ohh…my…GODS!" Daryl gulped and grabbed onto Marty's arm. "Wanna bet that's the little pervs hero?"

"Bubble baths for a week and you scrub my back if it isn't."

"What the Hell kinda deal is that? We do that anyway."

"Never said I was clever or original."

@@@@@@

"Move your fucking ass or die!" Bronte growled into a mans ear and then shoved him to the side to bounce off another man causing a chain reaction. She reached out, grabbed a man by the back of his collar, lifted him off his feet, and tossed him into the man behind her. By the time she got to where Grisly was trying to get up from the floor, the crowd had parted like the Red Sea. One man tried to walk over the top of Grisly and found a quicker way out the door by being thrown over every ones heads. Yells and bellows started up and stopped at the sound of a very loud war cry piercing the air. When all was quiet, Bronte bent down, scooped Grisly up into her arms and carried her outside. Once in the clear, she put her down on the ground and jogged off towards the field next to the plant. All Grisly could do was stand there with her jaw hanging open and stutter. Hearing the whoops and hollers coming from Marty and Daryl, she turned and worked her mouth a few times to have nothing come out.

"Where's your hero Grisly?" Marty looked around but saw only empty space. They watched as Grisly stuttered and pointed to the field that changed into a thick forest further back.

Daryl wrapped an arm around her and gave her a small hug. "She's Bigfoot! Grisly's in love with a Yeti! I thought she was gonna snap necks in there!"

"And then that yell she did had everyone practically pissing themselves." Marty looked at one man who was trying to cover the wet spot across the front of his pants with his lunch box. "Well, not practically everyone." She pointed to the embarrassed man. "Get some Depends for tomorrow!"

"She's…gone! Ran…off into…the field!" Grisly let out a howl that had people's hair standing on end and Daryl and Marty covering their ears.

"Don't you ever do that again or I'll stick you in a garbage can!" Daryl jabbed her with a finger. "Wack job, as bad as that Yeti woman." She took Grisly's hand and pulled her to where their cars were parked. When they were close enough, Grisly broke free and pulled the envelope from under the windshield wiper.

"It's from her I know it is!" She tore the envelope open, unfolded the paper and read it out loud.

I want to suck your clit!

"Eeeewww! I don't even know her and she wants to suck my clit?"

Daryl gave the raised eyebrow look and shook her head.

"Grisly I think you have a serious problem here with a stalker." Marty took the note from her hand and examined it. Holding it up to the light, she saw the watermark of the company logo at the bottom. "It's paper that the office people use, so she must work upstairs with or is management."

"Just great! The good-looking ones are always either straight or serial killers! What do I do now?" She looked between her two friends and flinched when they started grinning at her.

In unison they said. "Stalk the stalker!"

"What? You guys are nuts! I'm supposed to what, follow her home and sit outside her bedroom window and peep on her?"

"That's a peeping Grisly and you're already one of those."

"I am…it was only once and it don't count because I was watching you two!" Her face turned a few shades darker. "And I'm still trying to figure out how in the Hell you two did that position!"

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Taking the short cut she had found earlier that week, Bronte ran through the field and into the trees. She had figured out that it cut off about fifteen minutes of her trip and was a perfect way to exercise. When she cut through the last of the trees, she came out into the field behind the junkyard. "Home sweet…pup tent." She shrugged her shoulders and then remembered the T-shirt stuck in her pocket. "Damn! I carry out a half naked woman and I have her shirt in my pocket." A huge toothy grin covered her face when she thought of looking down at the young woman's breasts. "Well Bronte, maybe ya ain't dead after all." She brought the T-shirt up to her nose and picked up the soft scent of a musky perfume. "Who ever she is, she smells good." She continued to take in the scent all the way to the garage where Scooter was lying under the back end of a car and cussing up a storm. Just as she bent over, he shot out on the little car sled.

"What are you doing?"

"Huh?" She asked and blushed when she realized she still had the shirt to her nose. "Uhhmmm nothing, what are you doing?"

"Watching a perv get all hot and bothered smelling some ones shirt." He grinned wider when her face turned a deeper shade. "Whose is it?"

"I have no idea, some little blondes at work. The other workers were tossing it around after we punched out."

"Is she cute?" He wiggled his bushy grey eyebrows. "And is that all ya have to drool over?"

"From what I saw, yeah she's cute. Nice tits." She wiggled he own brows and smirked. "I carried her out of the place before she got trampled; damn people will kill each other in that hallway."

"Would you see if you can break the bolts loose on this damn thing?" he handed her a ratchet with a cheat bar attached. "I've wracked my knuckles and just about ruptured something and still can't get it ta budge."

"Why aren't you using the compressor?" Bronte said from under the car.

"Damn thing has a bad seal on it, I have the parts just haven't gotten around ta fixin it yet." He scrubbed his face with a dirty hand. "Truth is, I don't know a damn thing about it." He heard a loud squeal and then the groan of steel. Looking under the car, he almost swallowed his false teeth at the sight of Bronte's muscles bulging with strain. Then next thing he knew, she was sliding out from under the car and handing him the ratchet.

"All done, if ya jack it up I'll pull the ass end out for ya and put it in the back of the truck."

He watched her pick up the rear end and put it in the truck, he had never seen a man pick up one by himself and here was this woman carrying it like it weighed no more than a bag of potatoes.

"Damn woman what do you eat for breakfast?"

"This morning I had a bag of Fritos and a cup of coffee at work. I been meaning to tell ya, I found an old tent in one of the sheds…"

"It's yours, I don't have any use fer it. Anything else around here ya can use, use it."

"Thanks Scooter, I put it up outside the fence in the field outback. Is that OK?"

He gave her a wide smile. "Knew you wouldn't stay at the motel to long, I was the same way when I got out. Had to stay out under the stars and breathe free air." He clapped her on her shoulder. "I got some Lasagna in the office, my granddaughter cooks enough so that I don't have to. I'll share it with ya." He wiggled his brows at her. "Home made garlic bread, lasagna made from scratch, enough garlic to keep the vampires and werewolves away for a week." He swore he could see her start to drool. "Come on, I have about five pounds of the stuff in there."

@@@@@@@@@

Scooter left Bronte to finish eating while he went out to one of the sheds to get something. She knew he was up to something because of the wicked grin that covered his face. She had never known any of her grandparents but she knew from stories her mother had told her that they were nothing like Scooter. Who ever his granddaughter was, she was a lucky woman. She cleaned up her plate, covered what they hadn't eaten up with tin foil and placed it back in the refrigerator. She was just about to leave the office when Scooter came up to the door pulling a little red wagon with all kinds of boxes on it.

"Thought I still had this stuff somewhere." He motioned her over and opened a box to show her camping supplies. "I used to take Grisly camping on the weekends when she was little. Ya might want to look through this stuff and make sure it's still good. Should be just about everything ya would need."

A dark eyebrow arched over a pale blue eye. "Your granddaughters name is Grizzly like in Grizzly bear?"

"Nah it's Grisegond, it's Greek. We call her Grisly for short, she does have the temper of a Grizzly though." He scratched his jaw and looked up into amused blue eyes. "Your names Greek and ya look like a Greek, not like my little Grisly." He gave her a huge grin and winked. "She's a little blonde midget and if there's trouble to be found, she'll be the one ta find it." He looked at his watch and groaned. "Damn, gotta get out of here, I have to get to the Rooster Tail Bar. I play the keyboards and sometimes-bass guitar for the band. You'll have ta come hear us play one night." He handed her a key ring with three keys on it. "Those keys open up everything around here, there's a basement through a trap door in my office. I put in one of those little showers years ago, it's all yours if ya want ta use it."

"Thanks Scooter, I don't know how I'll ever repay you for everything."

"Don't worry about it, I always wanted another granddaughter." He winked at her and hobbled out to his truck. As soon as he left, she went to the back of the garage and pulled out the four five gallon cans of paint that she had hidden along with rollers and paintbrushes. If she worked until it got too dark to see, she figured that the garage would be all about done except for the back of the building. Lugging one of the cans out front, she opened it and started painting the trim around the doors and windows.

"Just hope he doesn't have a heart attack when he comes in tomorrow."

@@@@@@@@@

The next afternoon, Grisly parked her car closer to the building so that she could keep an eye on it and maybe see who was leaving the notes on her windshield. She also made up an excuse to be upstairs where the office employees and managers worked to see if she could find the tall dark pervert. Slowly walking down the long hallway, she looked into each office but no one fit the description of the tall woman. After so many years of working for the company, she knew everyone upstairs. She grinned when she thought of the lady who did the hiring.

"Maybe I can sweet talk her into telling me if we have any new people upstairs?" She took off at a slow jog to the personal office and found her victim sitting at her desk. Planting a huge smile on her face, she sat on the edge of the woman's desk and waited for her to get off the phone.

"What can I do for you Grisegond?"

"Ohh I was just wondering if we have any new managers or office workers up here?"

"We just hired a new woman about a week or so ago, she works in accounting. Why?"

"I thought I saw an unfamiliar face the other day. Thanks." She was off at a sprint and down the hall before the woman could say anything.

@@@@@@

"An accountant?" Daryl whispered. "What the Hell does she want to come downstairs for if she's an accountant?"

"Don't know, maybe just to harass me." Grisly rested the binoculars on the edge of her lunchbox and watched everyone who went near her car. "Why are we whispering?"

Daryl snorted and rolled her eyes. "I have no damn idea, I feel like I'm on a stake out though."

"See any naked women?" Marty said between their heads. "Let me know if ya do, 'cuz I wanna see."

"Keep it up and you'll be seeing the couch for the next week."

Golden eyes grew huge and blinked a few times in sync with her gapping mouth. "Uuhhmm never mind, if you see any Grisly…close your eyes. It's bad for your health."

"Not one person has gone near my car, they must be doing it right after we get off work." She turned to her friends. "How am I gonna see who it is unless I'm already out there?"

Marty plopped down between them and thought for a few seconds. "I could put epoxy on the windshield wiper and then who ever it is would be stuck there."

"Just what I need, some weirdo glued to my car forever."

"Look at it this way." Daryl took the binoculars and looked through them. "Who ever it is would have to be able to keep up with your driving."

"EEWWW! Road kill stuck to my car. There's got to be a different way."

"Leave early because you're sick." Marty tossed in. "And then hide until who ever it is leaves the note."

@@@@@@@@

Bronte spun around when she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. She hated people sneaking up on her, especially the rat faced bastard that was ogling her ass at that moment.

"What do you want?" She asked with a deep menacing growl.

"Your uniforms are here, I need you to come upstairs before you leave and sign for them. Maybe try them on to see if they fit." He raised an eyebrow and scanned her body. "Might be a little tight in places." His eyes were glued to her crotch and he was in danger of being wall paste.

Two can play this game mother fucker! Bronte said to herself. "Would you like to see what's under these skin tight Levis? Even feel it?" He walked closer and reached out his scrawny little hand to cup her crotch, in a split second, he felt his fingers being crushed. He let out a girlie scream and fell to his knees with his hand still trapped between her thighs.

"Just think what I'd do to your puny ass dick!" She released his hand, put her foot in the center of his chest and shoved him away from her. "Now get the Hell away from me before I rip you into shreds." She took one step towards him and snarled. He crab crawled out of the room and then got to his shaky legs and took off screaming for his father.

"Ass wipe mother fucker." She mumbled and went back to work.

@@@@@

Grisly poked her head into the small room where Daryl was and told her that she was on her way to begin her Recon mission. "If I find out who it is, I'll give ya a call tonight." She waved and then jogged down the hall and out the door. Going in the opposite direction of where her car was parked, she found a place on a grassy knoll that gave her an excellent view of her car. Pulling out her binoculars and a sandwich, she got comfortable for the wait ahead of her. Scanning towards the side door, she saw the rat faced bastard throwing his arms around and then pointing to his bandaged hand. She would have thought nothing of it except it was his father the head honcho of the plant that he was talking to.

"Damn wish I could read lips." She trained her eyes and still couldn't see his lips moving good enough to see what he was saying. Then she lost interest when the two men went into the building. Lying down on her side, she rested her head in her hand and watched her car until her eyes drifted close.

@@@@@@@

"Are you Bronte Pellatrino?" A female officer asked from the doorway.

"Yeah, why?"

"I have an arrest warrant for you. Will you turn around and put your hands on your head."

Bronte dropped to her knees and laced her hands behind her neck, this was second nature to her after ten years of wearing cuffs on and off.

"Did I tell you to drop to your knees?" The officer asked and then grabbed one of Bronte's wrists.

"No, but you're not six-foot tall so I know you can't reach my hands if I was still standing."

The officer snapped the cuff on so tight that Bronte felt her fingers growing cold. "So you're a smart ass huh?" She snapped on the other one just as tight and jerked on them for good measure. "Now get up slowly and don't give me a reason to shoot you."

Bronte got up and turned slowly, the glare in her eyes could melt steel. "Ooohhh puleease give me a break, I spent ten years in prison, so don't give me your tough ass cop shit." She chuckled when the officer pulled her revolver and pointed it at her.

"Let's go, down the hall and out the back door. And no sudden moves or I'll shoot."

"Just great, I'm free for two weeks and I'm being arrested for the Gods only knows what."

"Try assault and battery for starters."

Bronte stopped and turned slowly to look at the officer. "Who did I assault?"

"Your supervisor, a Mister…"

"Rat faced fucker! He grabbed my crotch so I smashed his hand and I'm the one being locked up? This is fucking ridiculous!" She shook her head and turned for the door, just as she was about to use her shoulder to push it open, the door was flung open and Bronte fell out the door. A loud bang echoed through the hall for a few seconds. A low growling came to the officer's ringing ears, she looked down to see blood spreading across her prisoners shoulder and back.

"Ohh shit!" She yelled and then grabbed her radio that was not on her belt where it should have been.

"Why'd you shot that woman?" The man who had opened the door asked.

"She was running for it, that's why."

The old man stepped right up to the officer and went nose to nose with her. "She wasn't running nowhere! I opened the door and she fell out, if ya want ta argue about it I'll go right ta my son the Judge and see what he has ta say about it."

"Uuhmm yes sir." She backed down and then asked him to help her get Bronte into her cruiser.

"Can I ask ya what she's being arrested for?"

"She assaulted her supervisor."

He looked into the car at Bronte's pale face and nodded. "Names Bronte right?" He saw her nod her head. "Don't worry, I'll fix this."

@@@@@@@

Grisly jumped awake at the loud banging noise and a police car tearing past her with its siren howling. Rubbing her eyes of sleep, she looked down to the parking lot and saw a small group of people running towards their cars. "What the Hell?" She said to herself and then picked up her stuff and ran down the hill towards her car. As soon as she was close enough, she saw the white envelope under her windshield. "Son of a bitch!" Opening it, she read what it said.

I want you to suck me till my head explodes.

"I'll explode your head…with a shotgun!" She jumped in her car and took off towards home. She hoped that her grandpa was home so she could talk to him. At first, she didn't mind the notes but they were getting raunchy and scaring her.

Ten minutes later, she pulled her car into the driveway behind her grandpa's truck. Before she could get to the front door, he was rushing out and taking her by her hand.

" Howie just called me, we gotta go to the plant."

"But I left sick, I can't go walking back in there."

"Grisly, we have to steal the tape out of your supervisor's office."

"What! You're kidding right?"

"Nope, might need the girls to act as a distraction. That asshole got someone arrested and then shot!"

That was all it took to have Grisly driving the getaway car. She didn't know who had been shot but if her boss was involved, she would do anything to see his ass canned for it.

"Howie is up there in the office now trying ta figure out which tape it is so that we can steal it."

"Grandpa, that's illegal search and seizure and not admissible in a court of law."

"It is when Judge Howard Cline says 'Get that damn tape!"

"Ohhh! OK, let's do this!" She tore off down the road like the maniac driver she was. Six and a half minutes later, she was slamming on the brakes and running into the building and up the stairs to the offices. She knew that her grandpa would be waiting behind the wheel when she got back down stairs and drive them to the judge's house. She rounded a corner and saw Howie waving a VCR tape at her.

"This is the one, Howie Jr. is waiting for you and Scooter. Good luck Grisly." He waved to her back as she sprinted off down the hall again.

@@@@@@@@

Bronte was lying on her stomach in a small triage room at the hospital, she tried to roll over but found both wrists handcuffed to the gurneys side rails. Sighing, she dropped her head back down and started to laugh. It was so unreal to her, she had thought that she was a free person and would never have to be put in another pair of handcuffs again. Then she laughed harder for the reason behind it. "Fucking dick headed mother fucker!"

"What was that?" A nurse leaned down so that they were at eye level. "You better behave or that officer outside will come in here."

"Ma'am, is it common for women to be arrested for stopping a guy from grabbing their crotch and then being shot in the back by the arresting officer?"

The nurses brown eyes grew twice their normal size, she shook her head and was about to leave the room when Judge Cline stepped into the room with the arresting officer, Scooter and Grisly.

"Take the cuffs off and you go back to the plant and arrest that little asshole."

The officer nodded her head, removed the cuffs and left the room. Judge Cline whispered to the nurse for a minute then turned his attention to Bronte.

"Do you want to press charges against both the officer who shot you and Timothy Saunds?"

"Sir, can I ask who you are?" Pain filled eyes traveled up the immaculately dressed man until they came to his kind brown eyes.

"I'm Judge Cline, my dad was the one who was there when you were shot." He dropped down so that he was at her eye level. "I've been trying to get that little asshole Timothy for years, he thinks he can sexually harass women at the plant and get away with it."

"Not the officer but I'll press charges against rat face. As long as my record stays clean, I just got out of prison a little while ago and I…"

"Don't worry about it." He squeezed her upper arm, nodded to her and left the room.

With difficulty, Bronte moved to a sitting position and was no where near ready for what happened next. Grisly walked up and slugged her in her nose. She fell back on the gurney and let out an ungodly howl from the pain that shot through her body.

"What the Hell did you hit her for!?" Scooter yelled and tried to help Bronte sit back up. "Jesus Grisly, she's been shot and you break her nose on top of it!"

Grisly pulled the envelope from her pocket and handed it to her grandpa. "She's been writing me dirty notes and putting them on my car!"

Bronte rolled her eyes and groaned. "I don't even know who you are let alone what kind of car you have. Where's the doctor at?" She wiped the sweat and blood from her face and weaved back and forth on the gurney. She was losing blood by what she thought was the gallon and was feeling a little woozy at the moment. Her vision went black and then the peacefulness of being unconscious over took her.

Scooter threw the envelope and letter in the air and grabbed Bronte before she fell off the gurney. "Grisly help me before we both end up on the floor in a heap. She didn't write those letters, that's not her hand writing."

Green eyes narrowed and glared into Scooter's. "How do you know it's not hers, and how do you know her?"

"Jesus Grisly, so many damn questions!" He pushed the dark hair that fell over Bronte's high cheekbone back and smoothed it down in place. "This is Bronte, she's been helping me at the garage for a while now. I've seen her hand writing and that squiggly shit ain't hers."

Grisly crossed her arms over her chest and watched her grandpa run his fingers through the tall woman's hair. "She could be using her other hand to write it."

"What do you want Grisly, her to sign a paper in blood? She has plenty of it leaking out right now."

"Grandpa why are you helping her?" She stepped back when a large male nurse came into the room and wheeled Bronte out and down the hallway towards the surgery wing.

"Grisly, every body deserves a second chance in this life. She was twenty years old when she was sent to prison for defending herself. Six years younger than when I was locked up, I know what it feels like to step through those gates and not have a penny to your name or a place to go. I'm an old man and I wanted to pay back what I was given when I was released." He took her hands in his and held them to his chest. "There's something about her that goes straight to my heart. She's a good person who's been screwed, today is a good example. She smashed that assholes hand with her legs and he has her arrested. He pulled a copy of the tape from his pocket and pushed it into the VCR built into the small TV that hung from the ceiling.

"This is why she was arrested and shot." He hit the play button and the camera view caught Bronte's right profile. Grisly saw her boss come into the shot and grab at Bronte's crotch. She never seen the tall woman raise a hand but saw the rat face fall to his knees and then her foot shove him backwards.

"Rewind it grandpa."

"Why? Ya saw what he did, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but I…I don't know, it's something." She stepped closer to the TV and stared at Bronte's profile. Letting her eyes travel from the top of her dark head down her straight nose to end at her strong chin. It was the feeling of danger pouring off of the tall woman that made her heart pound. "My Gods she's…" She looked to see her grandpa with a huge grin on his face.

"A six-footer and she does have nice tits."

The corner of Grisly's lip lifted and then fell. "That's not it, she's…very dark and dangerous." She looked back to where the tape had been froze. "Imposing, intimidating and yeah she does have nice tits." She sunk down into a chair near the wall and dropped her head into her hands. "Shit grandpa, what am I gonna do? I just hauled off and broke her nose for no reason."

"I always heard that apologizing does wonders." He gave her a hug and left the room.

"Ohh sure! Sorry I clocked you one, wanna go out to supper or something?" A low groan rumbled in her chest when she thought of how stupid she had acted. Leaving the room, she went in search of her grandpa and found him at the nurse's desk arguing with a nurse.

"She ain't paying a red cent of this bill so she don't need no insurance!"

"Sir, Miss. Pellatrino needs surgery and until I have a signature saying that she does…"

"Ohh for Christ sakes, give me the damn papers!" Grisly took the clip board from the nurse and signed the bottom of the form and wrote her phone number in the provided spot. Handing it back to the nurse, she stepped up to the desk and would have leaned on it if she was tall enough. Instead, she pushed herself up so that she was eye level with the nurse. "Will she get the surgery now? Or are you gonna be a bitch and toss her out the door?"

The nurse looked at her signature and gave her a funny look. Just who are you to Miss. Pellatrino?"

With out skipping a beat, Grisly growled out her next words. "I'm her life partner, lover, significant other, wife and the person who will beat the shit outta every person here if she doesn't get fixed!" By the time the last word came from her lips, the nurse was against the wall and trying to hide behind the clipboard. "Got that!?" Was thrown at the end before Grisly dropped back down onto the floor.

"Yes ma'am I do, if you will take a seat in the waiting room the doctor will find you when the surgery is over." She ran down the hall and ducked into the nurse's lounge.

Scooter wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his side. "Ya think she had to go change her drawer's Grizzly bear?"

"I can only hope so, what is it with hospitals and insurance?"

"Don't know but I think rat face should be billed."

@@@@@@@@@@@@

Grisly sat in a chair next to Bronte's bed, she held her large hand in her own and caressed the long strong fingers. She had never seen a woman with such large hands before but loved the feel of the softness combined with the thick calluses on her palm and fingers. With the judge's help, she was allowed to sit with Bronte for as long as she liked. She heard a deep breath and then a small groan come from Bronte, moving closer to the bed, she waited.

Bronte opened her eyes a crack to see nothing but white, she turned her head and jumped a little when she saw a pair of the greenest eyes she had ever seen looking back at her. Blinking a few times to clear her foggy vision, she recognized the small blonde.

"Whatcha gonna break this time?" She croaked out from her dry throat.

"I'm sorry I hit you, I…sorry." Feeling her eyes fill with tears, she turned her head, stood up and left the room.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Marty and Daryl were lying on the couch watching TV when Grisly came in and dropped down into their recliner. With one look at her, they knew something was wrong. Grisly never cried and with her red eyes, nose and quivering chin it was a given that she had been hurt by someone. Daryl got up, kneeled in front of her and placed a hand on her knee.

"Grisly what's wrong?"

All she could do was shake her head and look down at her swollen right hand.

"Come on, you never cry so it has to be something bad." Daryl wasn't prepared for the total breakdown of her friend. Grisly's sobs tore through her heart and made her want to hurt someone. She held out her arms and caught her as she fell into them.

"Uuhhmm baby, I'll be…" Marty pointed to the kitchen and made a hasty exit. She was nowhere near being a sensitive type and women crying made her edgy. She would do something useful like make coffee or cut the grass.

"Come on Grisly tell me what happened." She rocked her back and forth until she heard the sobs lesson, grabbing some Kleenex from the box on the coffee table; she handed them to Grisly so she could wipe her eyes and blow her nose. "Now what happened?"

"She got shot!" The sobs started all over again.

"Who was shot?" Daryl was losing her patience she hated cliffhangers.

"I broke her nose afterwards."

"Grisly!"

"Bronte, the police shot her and I punched her in the hospital. I thought she was my stalker." She wiped her nose and looked at the confused look on Daryl's face. "Grandpa knows her, he says it ain't her."

Daryl shook her head and looked at the serious expression on her friends face. "You're not making any of this up are you?"

"No, I broke her nose and she looks horrible!"

Marty peeked around the doorframe and whispered. "Did I just hear that our little bear broke someone's nose?"

"Yep, did you…"

"Coffees almost done, need anything else?"

"Maybe some of that blueberry pie." Daryl knew how to cheer up her friend, food was her one love and it did wonders for her moods. "Now tell me everything that happened today once you left work.

After Grisly's tale, Marty and Daryl sat with their jaws touching their knees. They had no idea that Rat face was that bad and that he had been harassing other women at work. "I hope that son of a bitch goes to jail! What are you gonna do about Bronte?"

"I have no idea, I told her I was sorry but." She shrugged her shoulders and held up her hands. "What else can I do?"

Daryl thought for a minute and came up with an idea. "If grandpa knows her, maybe he can tell you what you can do for her."

A small smile came across her face then grew larger, she should have thought of that. She stood up, gave both her friends hugs and headed home to talk to her grandpa. He would know what to do, he always did.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@

It was five o'clock when Grisly pulled up in front of the garage and saw her grandpa standing in front of the building with a look of complete awe on his face. He had taken the morning off to sleep late after playing at the bar the night before and then Howie had called him. This was the first time since the day before that he had come to the junkyard. From what he saw in front of him, he knew that Bronte had worked late into the night to get the painting done.

"You finally painted the place; it needed it that's for sure."

"Nope I didn't paint it, Bronte did." He turned to his granddaughter and noticed that her face was red and puffy. "You been cryin?" He pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her tousled blonde head. "What's wrong little bear?"

"I feel bad for hitting Bronte, what can I do to make it up to her?"

"Well, I don't really know much about her. She's really quiet and spends most of her time playing around with motorcycle parts. I know that she's not gonna be able to do much with that right arm for a while, so maybe you could clean some parts for her or something."

"I could do that, where's all the stuff she's working on?"

@@@@@@@@@

The next day, Bronte was ready to escape; she hated being stuck in a hospital bed. They had to tie her down when she had to stay in the prison infirmary. Flipping through the TV channels, she found America's funniest home videos and felt like throwing the remote at the stupid people. She couldn't figure out where they found such humor in the stupid ass stuff they did. She flipped the TV off and swung her legs over the edge of the bed just as Scooter walked into the room.

"Ohh no ya don't, get back in that bed," He pointed a finger at her. "Doc says if you behave and maybe he'll let you out in two days." He held up a paper bag for her inspection. "I brought ya some real food, Grisly made meatloaf, smashed potatoes, corn and biscuits."

"She didn't poison it for me did she?"

"If that was the case I'd be dead right now." He handed her the bag and eased down into the chair beside the bed. "Grisly's really tore up about what she did to ya, she was cryin and my little bear don't cry. Not even when her dad died or her mother left her."

"Shit and I had to make that smart ass comment about her coming to break something else."

"I would have done the same thing, Hell I would have done worse if I got slugged for no reason." He offered her a wide grin and flinched when he took in how bad she looked. The only color in her face was the bruising from her broken nose. "Ya look like shit Bronte, nose hurt?"

"Like a bitch, doc says it was a clean break though. He wanted to know when it happened since I didn't come in with a broken nose." She ran a finger across the metal nose guard. "I told him I did a nose dive off the gurney."

They both turned their heads when the door opened and a nurse from the night before walked in with a clipboard and a paper cup with Bronte's painkillers. She stopped beside the bed, looked down at the clipboard and handed her the cup. She looked at Scooter and noticed that he was the only one in the room besides the patient. Looking back to Bronte, she asked. "Where's your wife, I need her to sign some more papers unless you want to do it?"

"My wife?" Bronte tried to raise her eyebrow and flinched with pain. "Scooter where's my wife?"

"Ohh…she had…to…run some errands, that's it, ran errands. She'll be by later." He gave Bronte a beaming smile. "Should be up to her elbows in it right about now."

The nurse laid the clipboard down and nodded her head. "When she comes in I'll need to see her, take your pills and the doctor will be in to see you in a little while." As soon as the door closed, Bronte swung her pale eyes to capture Scooter.

"My wife? Why did she say that we were married? She doesn't even know if I'm a dyke."

"They wouldn't do surgery until someone signed the insurance information, so Grisly signed and well, things kinda snowballed from there."

"I pass out and wake up married, did I at least enjoy the honeymoon?"

"Grisly's still alive so I don't think ya had one."

"Now I'm confused, ohh wait, she's not gay is she?"

"Grisly not gay? Now that would be something." He chuckled. "Remember when ya were in school and the boys would crawl under the tables ta look up your skirt?" She nodded her head even though she had been one of the girls to refuse to wear a skirt at any time. "Let's just say that Grisly would have been under the table with them."

"Ohh, then I guess it would have been quite crowded with me, her and all the boys under the tables. Did she do that because she hit me? I don't want her feeling guilty for anything that happened yesterday. Everyone's emotions were high."

"Nah, she was pissed because the nurse was acting like an ass. Eat your lunch before it gets cold. I'll be by later to see if ya need anything."

"I could use some clothes from my tent, someone took the ones I was wearing."

He nodded his head and left her after giving her a brief hug.

"Just great! I get arrested, shot, my nose broke and married all in one day." She pulled the plastic container from the bag, pulled the lid off and tried to smell the food. "Can't smell a damn thing." She mumbled and then started slowly eating the tasteless food. Even without being able to taste it, she knew it had to be as good as the lasagna Grisly had made. She had no idea what she was going to do about the ferocious tempered little blonde. It was just her luck that the woman she had been rescuing at work turned out to be Scooter's granddaughter. Her face turned a light red from her memory of being caught drooling over Grisly's T-shirt.

"Wonder if Scooter connected the two together? Who cares, doesn't make any difference now since we're married." She would have laughed if it wouldn't send sharp pains through her head and chest

@@@@@@@@

Covered in grease, Grisly wandered up to the garage to ransack the refrigerator in her grandpa's office. It was just turning eight AM and she had been awake for five hours already. It would be the first time that she was up before noon on her day off, she had woke up when she heard her grandpa's truck leave from outside her window and decided to get started on the stuff Bronte had been working on before she was shot. After finishing sanding the fenders, she had sprayed them with primer and left them to hang in the shed to dry. Then hauling the washbasin that Scooter used to clean parts in outside the shed, she started taking the carburetor apart and soaking the parts to be scrubbed later. Finding a sandwich in the refrigerator, she grabbed a can of Coke and was ready to close the door when she spotted a package of hot dogs. "What are you doing eating hot dogs?" She knew her grandpa hated hog dogs, so she was surprised to find them in the refrigerator.

"Ain't mine, must be Bronte's." He dropped into his worn desk chair and threw his bad leg up onto the desk. "Been working in Bronte's shed?"

"Bronte's shed?" She said around a mouthful.

"Yep, when I need her that's where I find her."

"Does she sleep out there to?"

"Naw, she stays at the motel." There was no way that he was going to tell her that Bronte lived in a tent out in the field. If she wanted to know, she could ask Bronte.

"I got most of the parts cleaned, fenders sanded and sprayed with primer. Some parts are soaking and others are beyond help. I looked at the engine she has out there in pieces and it's trashed. The cylinder is cracked and one of the pistons is so jammed in the shaft that I don't think it will ever come out."

"Don't worry about that engine, I got her a nice knucklehead engine off Kenny and some other parts." It was the grin on his face that gave him away.

"What did you do grandpa, Kenny would never part with that stuff. Remember I tried for years and got zilch."

"Ya remember that old Barracuda I had up in the back? I traded that rusty old car for the motorcycle parts. I got a better deal than he did, the cars floors were all rotted and the only thing keepin the seats inside were the snake skins."

"Snake skins? What are you talking about?"

"Ohh that I sent over a whole batch of black rat snakes with the Barracuda. Serve that bastard right, I could have had a nice motorcycle 30 years ago if he'd traded or sold me that damn engine."

Grisly couldn't figure out why her grandpa was doing all of this for a stranger. He was a generous man but it was so unlike him to go out of his way for someone he hardly knew.

"Why all of this for her?"

"I told ya Grisly, I see something in her that I can't explain." He scratched his razor stubble covered jaw and held Grisly's curious green eyes with his own. "Maybe it's because she's a kindred spirit or because she's here for an old mans replacement."

"What are you getting at with replacement?" She never wanted to think of her grandpa dying even though it would happen someday.

"It ain't whatcha think little bear, I just can't do the heavy work no more but Bronte can. Did ya see the muscles on her?" He wiped the imaginary sweat from his brow and groaned. "Wish the woman of my day would have looked like her."

Grisly snorted and rolled her eyes at the goofy look on his face. "Ohh great, my grandpa likes butch dykes."

With a dreamy look on his face, scooter purred. "With a face like hers, she's no butch. How do ya know she's a dyke?"

"Puleease, she screams it. Huge muscles, works in a junkyard part time, beats up men, makes my blood boil…did I say that out loud?"

"Yep, which reminds me? What should I call ya, JaBloan` or Pellatrino?"

"Huh? Pellatrino…that's…"

"Your wife's last name." He couldn't help himself, he busted up with hysterical laughter at the shocked expression oh her face.

"Does she know what I did?" Her answer came as a nod from Scooter's bald crown. "Is she pissed?"

"Nope, wants a honeymoon though."

@@@@@@@@

Grisly was none to happy when Scooter told her that she would have to go over to the hospital and sign more paperwork. She was hoping that she would be able to have the time to think of a good excuse for telling the nurse that she and Bronte were married. She could have told the nurse that they were cousins or half sisters but noooo her big mouth said everything but that. Crawling into the shower with a container of orange scented GoJo, she scrubbed as much grease off as she could. When she was done, her skin was a light pink and smelling of oranges. Pulling on a pair of ripped and faded Levis, a wife beater and her old work boots, she went out the door and crawled into her little car. Resting her head on the steering wheel, she tried to round up some much needed courage to face Bronte.

"What have I gotten myself into this time?" Two pictures formed in her mind, one was of Paula with her bloodshot eyes and red nose and the other was of Bronte with her swollen eyes and swollen misshapen nose. Even with her face mangled, Bronte was the winner between the two. "Get over it Grisegond, what would she want with a puny little blonde who hits first and asks questions later? Except to open up a can of whoop ass on ya that's what!"

@@@@@@

After counting her collection of pain pills on the small table, Bronte was bored beyond belief and ready to cause some hate and discontent if they didn't release her soon. All she had to do was lay there and stare at the ceiling. It made her wonder why hypochondriacs found so addictive to being locked up in a hospital room. Or having doctors and nurses poking and prodding at insane hours. If one of them came in with a tube of KY and a rubber glove, she was running for the hills no matter what any body said. She had already given them enough blood to fill the blood bank, like she didn't loose enough when she was first brought in. And having a catheter so they could measure fluid out puts didn't make a hell of a lot of sense since they didn't give her any fluids except a bag of stuff after surgery and a little pitcher of warm water. What she wouldn't do for a cold Coke or a carton of milk. She had asked for something else to drink and gotten a funny look from the attending doctor. It got worse when the nurse found the plastic container that Scooter had brought in.

Looking down at the paper-thin blanket that covered her to the waist. she found a string hanging and pulled on it, to her amazement, she watched as it unraveled all the way across the top. She was busy unraveling her blanket when the nurse stepped into the room with a tray to change her bandages and a hypodermic needle. Right behind her was a flushed Grisly.

"If you will wait a second Mrs. Pellatrino, I'll get those forms for you to sign." The nurse pulled the clipboard from the holder on the foot of the bed and flipped through the pages until she found the one she was looking for. "Just sign right here and that should be it until Mrs. Pellatrino is released."

Grisly felt her face burn, she took a quick glance at Bronte and saw amused pale blue eyes watching her. A long finger pointed at her and then moved in the come-hither motion. She took hesitant steps forward while keeping eye contact. A deep purr came to her ears as she stopped right next to Bronte. "Where's my hello kiss little bear?"

"Your what?" She whispered so that the nurse couldn't hear her.

Bronte purred in a deeper voice and noticed the small shivers rack Grisly's body. "I want my kiss."

Grisly saw no way out of this predicament, she leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on Bronte's lips. Before she could move, she felt a hand at the back of her neck and warm soft lips capturing hers. Her lips parted for a deep erotic kiss. An involuntary moan passed her lips and was swallowed by Bronte. Grisly swore that she heard a loud wail, popping, and bells and whistles in her ears. She had a sinking feeling in her body as Bronte's tongue wrapped around and caressed her own. She reached up with one arm and wrapped it around Bronte's neck. When the kiss ended, she was winded and lying on her back across the tall woman's thighs. Pulling in a shuddering breath, she blinked her clouded eyes a few times before they focused on aroused dark blue orbs.

"Aahh…Bron…"

"Excuse me but I need to change her bandages and I can't do it with you laying all over her." The nurse pointed to the door. "Wait in the hall until I'm done and no more of that kissing stuff." She flipped the switch a few times on the silent heart monitor. "You two killed my machine!"

Bronte winked at the nurse and chuckled when Grisly stumbled on weak knees to lean against the wall in the hallway. Leaning forward, she let the nurse untie her hospital gown and lower it over her right shoulder. Seeing Grisly's eyes flick in her direction more than once since she went into the hallway, she let the gown drop around her waist. She waited until green orbs moved in her direction and then she flexed her pecs and watched a jaw drop open. This was the most fun she'd had in a long time, she was never a tease but she just couldn't help not teasing the little blonde.

"OK, now I need you to roll to your side so I can give you your shot."

"What is it?"

"It's just an antibiotic and pain reliever. May make you sleepy."

Bronte rolled over onto her side and flashed a still in shock Grisly, her voice took on a whiny tone when she answered the nurse. "But I don't wanna sleep, I want out of here!" She felt the jab and then her hip was on fire. "Damn that hurrrr." Was the last she said as the room darkened and she went to Lala land.

The nurse eased her onto her back and laughed. "Oohh did I forget to add the part about it being a tranquilizer as well?"

Grisly heard what the nurse said and she felt anger start a slow burn, she stepped back into the room and tapped the nurse on her shoulder.

"Why did you knock her out?"

"Ohh it's so that it's easier to remove the catheter, even though we deflate the bulb on the end, it can still be quite painful."

"Ohh OK, I understand." She turned to go back into the hallway when for some reason she turned to look down at the bag hanging off the side of the bed. "Nurse is her urine supposed to be green?"

"Green? No it's not why?" She followed Grisly's finger to the back and gasped, she had never in her entire career seen anything like it. She dropped the needle, syringe in the sharpies box, and left the room quickly.

An eyebrow raised over a green eye, Grisly walked back into the room and examined the specimen bag. Flipping the blanket off Bronte's lower body, she followed the rubber tube to where it was wedged under the mattress. "You dirty rotten…" A low chuckle erupted past her lips when she found a broken Bic pen cartridge between the mattress and the bed frame. "Grandpa will be proud of you." Rearranging the blanket, she took a seat in the chair next to Bronte's bed and just watched her sleep.

The nurse and the doctor came back into the room and ignored Grisly, the doctor lifted the blanket, sheet and the bottom of Bronte's gown. Grisly couldn't help but let her eyes travel over the tall woman's muscular thighs and up to the dark patch of neatly trimmed curls. Her face burned from embarrassment and arousment. No one had ever had that kind of effect on her and she had seen plenty of naked women in her life. Maybe it was the fact that Bronte was more or less a stranger, then again, the women she had sex with were far more in the stranger department than Bronte. Some of her sex partners didn't even speak to her before or after sex. Paula was different even though what came out of her mouth didn't make any sense most of the time. She took in a deep gulping breath and caught the eye of the doctor watching her.

He noticed her red face and gave her a worried look. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, just not used to…" She waved a hand at Bronte.

"I understand, it's hard to let doctors get so personal with loved ones." He held up the rubber tube and inspected the blue tip. "She's a real prankster isn't she?"

Grisly nodded her head at him, she would agree even though she had no idea. She got worried when a mischievous twinkle crossed his brown eyes and he grinned at her. "I know just how to pay her back." He handed the tube to the nurse and told her to take care of it and he would be right back. Grisly sat there in the chair and took Bronte's hand in hers, she was worried about what the doctor would do as a way of paying her back for her prank. He came into the room fifteen minutes later with a brown box in his hand. Holding back a snicker, he opened the box for grisly to see inside.

"Ohh my Gods! She'll die!"

"No, but maybe it'll keep her from scaring the Hell out of my nurses."

When he was finished, he gave Grisly the thumbs up, took one last glance at the sleeping woman and left the room laughing hysterically. Grisly covered her eyes with one hand and let it slid down her face to cover her quivering lips. She would stay all night if she had to, there was no way she was going to miss Bronte waking up. She couldn't believe that she had helped the doctor to begin with.

@@@@@@

Scooter stepped into the hospital room and heard a clatter come from the floor when his false teeth fell out of his mouth. There was Grisly with her head resting on Bronte's forearm, their fingers locked together and something that he had never seen in his entire life. He couldn't explain it but he hoped one of the girls could. He reached behind him and pulled Marty and Daryl into the room and pointed to the sleeping woman. Daryl was the first to speak up when she saw them

"Ain't they cute together." She whispered as she leaned into Marty

"Damn its huge!" Marty practically yelled.

A pale blue eye peeked open and looked to the doorway to see Scooter with his mouth hanging open and two strange women beside him. Moving slightly, she felt a heaviness on her arm and found a sleeping Grisly the reason behind it.

Her voice barely a whisper and rough from dryness, Bronte spoke. "Scooter are ya just gonna stand there or what, and who do ya have with you?"

"Ohh this is Daryl and Marty, they're friends of Grisly's." He couldn't help but let his eyes trail down her body and stop. Bronte noticed that now all three of them were looking at her body with weird expressions on their faces.

"What's wrong?" She then looked down and gasped. "Ohh my Gods! I asked Santa every year and never got one, now when I'm sliding down the old age hill, I get a huge dick!" She looked at the towering blankets between her thighs and burst out laughing. A snorting noise and a whimper came from the side of the bed, Grisly opened one eye and groaned when she saw the teepee in front of her. It took her a minute but she realized that her and Bronte were not alone in the room. She lifted her head up to see her friends and grandpa with weird looks on their faces.

"Hey Scooter see what your granddaughter does to me." She thrust her hips upward and laughed when she heard Grisly groan and felt the bed move when she buried her head in the mattress.

Scooter tilted his head sideways for a better angle. "What in the Hell IS that Bronte?"

"No idea but it's big!" She lifted the blanket and sheet and looked underneath. "Uuhmmm it's a very big…" She whipped the covers off and showed them a prosthetic forearm and hand.

Grisly peeked up from her hiding spot and looked into pale blue eyes. "It wasn't my idea…it was the doctors. Paybacks for…"

"Ohh I guess they didn't like the green piss thing huh?"

"OK you two, what in the hell is going on here?" Scooter threw the blankets back over Bronte but still couldn't keep from looking. "For Gods sake woman do something with that thing." He waved a gnarled hand at her extra one.

"Grandpa, she poured blue ink down the catheter tube and turned her piss green." She jabbed Bronte in her ribs with a finger. "Scared the shit out of the nurse so bad that she went running out of here."

"I thought Marty was the only one who scared doctors and nurses." Daryl slapped her wife in her stomach. "She's barred from the ER because of the last time she was in here."

"Hey I thought it was funny, guess they didn't think having both hands up a chicken's ass was though."

Daryl stepped over to the side of the bed and held out her hand to Bronte. "I'm Daryl Roberts and this is my wife Marty Roberts, we've known Scooter and Grisly our entire lives. We grew up running around the junkyard."

"Bronte Pellatrino." She shook the smaller hand and then gave Grisly a wink. "Grisly's wife."

"Grisly did you forget to tell us something the other night?" Daryl pinned her friend in place with her hazel eyes.

"Uhhmm…well…ohh hell I'll explain later." She rubbed her forehead and avoided everyone's eyes.

"Little bear could you take care of my hard-on before Scooter has a heart attack over there."

"Why me, why can't…"

"Because it hurts like Hell to bend over. Please?"

"Ohh alright I'll do it." He voice dropped to a mumble. "Don't know how but I'll do it."

A wicked grin split Bronte's face, she whipped the covers up and over the top of Grisly.

"Bronte what are you doing?" Grisly said from under the covers.

"Some things are better kept a secret. You already seen everything but I don't want Scooter to drop over seeing the complete package."

"I can't believe I'm doing this and how am I supposed to see, it's dark under here!"

Bronte wiggled her eyebrows as much as she could and grinned at her visitors. "Feel around little bear, feel around."

"You lucky little perv!" Marty grumbled and then yelped when an elbow caught her in the ribs.

"You play enough hide and seek with the dildo so shut up."

Scooter now knew what he saw in Bronte, it was the same thing the four of them had. A wicked sense of sick humor, she would fit right in with them. "How ya coming Grisly?"

Bronte's body jerked and a deep moan escaped her lips. "Don't know about her but I'm enjoying…Oooowww! Hey that was my…!"

"I know damn well what it was and if you don't stop squirming I'll do it again." The teepee fell and Grisly gave out a small yelp. She wiggled out from under the covers and handed Bronte the prosthetic.

"Was it good for you little bear?" Bronte asked in a deep purr.

"Would you like to wake up with it in a very tender orifice?"

"Oohhh you're kinky too!" She wiggled the hand in front of her and smirked. "This has possibilities ya know?"

"Yeah to slap you up long side the head with."

"Ohh the sweet talk of lovers, how romantic." Daryl's comment earned her a flying prosthetic at her head. "Never could hit the right spot Grisly, maybe Bronte can show you some things."

"Ha! All of you get over yourselves." Grisly's face was a couple shades darker than normal. It was as if it was embarrass Grisly day.

"Look baby, it has a better harness than our strap on does. What's it for?"

"Marty, sometimes I wonder how you string a sentence together." Daryl covered Marty's mouth with her hand and eyeballed a twitchy Grisly. "You coming out with us tomorrow night Grisly?"

"I don't know yet, I'll let you know tomorrow afternoon." She made a quick glance over her shoulder and saw that Bronte was sound asleep again. "I've been doing some work at the junkyard, you know as a payback kind of thing."

"Well, let us know what's up; come on old man lets get you home."

"Who ya callin old? I'll have you know that I can…ohh hell lets go. It's past my bedtime." He gave Grisly a hug and told her not to stay too late and cause problems with the nurses. If ya find my choppers in here somewhere, bring them home for me."

"I won't, I have to return the prosthetic to the doctor then I'll be home. After I find your choppers."

After everyone had left, she dropped to her knees and found her grandpa's teeth under the bed. What they were doing there, she had no idea and didn't really want to know. She sat back down in the chair, took Bronte's hand in hers and played with her fingers. "You are something else Bronte, no wonder my grandpa likes you." She sat there and talked to the sleeping woman even though she knew not a word was heard. An hour later, she stood, brushed the dark hair from Bronte's forehead and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "I'll see you tomorrow sometime Bronte Pellatrino." She turned with one last glance and left the room.

@@@@@@@@@

Two days later, Grisly was back to work inspecting poultry. She had never been so bored in the entire time she had worked there. She waited the entire shift for a screwed up chicken to come through the small window. Nothing, not even one off center of the belt. She never thought of the reason why it didn't happen, just that it didn't. When it came time to punch the clock, she was bounced around the hallway and missed the strong arms that always caught her. "What is your problem Grisegond?" She mumbled and heard the little voice in her head answer. You miss Bronte! "And you're insane! You don't even know her; you get along with her and she's fun but?"

"I think you've lost your damn mind." Daryl whispered in her ear. "You've been carrying on a conversation the whole way to your car and with whom? Yourself!"

"I think you're right Daryl, I mean before I met her it was just…I don't know."

"Aaahh our little bear is smitten." Marty wrapped an arm around her and kissed her temple. "We'll go out tonight and have some fun, you'll go home with Paula, get frostbite and everything will be worse in the morning."

"Gee thanks for the pep talk; I think I'll go find a cliff to drive off so I can miss all the excitement of a night with a drunken slut who sucks in bed!"

Daryl's eyes twinkled down at her. "And here we thought you were good in bed."

"I am but Paula is most defiantly NOT!" She ran her fingers through her messy blonde hair and sighed. "I am so screwed." She jumped up and sat on the hood of her car. She did a double take at her windshield. "Son of a bitch!" She pulled a white envelope from under the wiper blade and opened it.

I want to suck on your tampons!

"I think I'm gonna barf!" She handed the letter to Daryl and fell back on the hood of her car.

"EEWW!!! It's got to be…rat face, grandpa told us it wasn't Bronte. Plus she's in the hospital; and I heard today that he was let out on his own recognizance."

"They let him loose! I don't believe this shit!" She rolled off her car and opened the door. "Pick me up at 9pm, that'll give me time to take Bronte supper and get cleaned up."

Both women wiggled their eyebrows at her and grinned.

"You know what you two; it's like looking at twins sometimes. Same damn facial expressions."

@@@@@@@@@@

"Taken Bronte supper, little bear?"

"Well, I for one know that hospital food sucks and this way she'll keep up her strength. And I know the dietician hates it when outside food is brought in." She took a whole roasted chicken and cut it in pieces before placing it in a large plastic bowl, mashed potatoes, gravy and corn bread were added to the Coleman container she had on the table. Grabbing three cans of coke from the refrigerator, she added them and closed it up. "Think that's enough food for her?"

"Grisly, that woman lives off soup and hotdogs. What's in your lunch box is enough to feed an army."

"Then she'll have some for later." She was about to walk out the door when she remembered the paper bag her grandpa had brought in. "Her clothes, Gods she'd kill me if I forgot them." Taking the bag and her lunchbox, she went out the door. Putting everything on the passenger seat, she became curious, opened the bag, and looked inside. "These aren't clothes, these are rags." She looked at the size of the pants and snorted. "Too small rags, this won't do." The pants were a good two inches short for Grisly's likes. She liked when they gathered at the ankle, and when you sat down, they didn't climb up to show the stripes on your socks. Looking at the dashboard clock, she had about three hours to get everything done and get home before her friends picked her up. The first place she headed was the men's shop across town, it was where everyone went for their Levis and other things like boots, shirts and jackets. Pulling into the parking lot, she looked at the sizes on the clothes in the bag and adjusted them in her head.

A half-hour later, she piled stuff on the counter and laid her Visa card with them.

"That all Grisly?" The clerk asked before he started ringing stuff up. He held up a pair of heavy red Union long johns and winked. "Grandpa still won't buy them himself huh?"

"Nope, won't even admit to wearing them."

"But everyone in town knows he does, that is, since Marty made Christmas cards with grandpa in his long johns on the front of it."

Grisly remembered that day, he almost killed the three of them when he saw the Christmas cards "She asked him for his autograph and I thought he was going to kill her."

He went through the clothes and separated them by size before putting them into bags. "Buying clothes for someone else Grisly?"

There were no secrets in their little town and she had known the clerk her entire life, it still caused her to blush a little when she looked down at the blue silk boxers she had gotten for Bronte. "A friend is in the hospital, some nurse lost her clothes after she was checked in. So I decided to just get her new ones for her release from Hell."

The older man gave her a bright smile. "You have a heart of gold Grisly, don't let anyone tell you any different."

When she had everything in her car, she headed over to the hospital. Seeing a wheelchair near the door, she grabbed it, loaded all her stuff on to it and took the elevator to the floor where Bronte's room was. Approaching the room, she heard a deep bellow of laughter and then the doctor staggered into the hallway. He waved a hand at her and it was then that she saw that it was another prosthetic. She was beginning to worry about his sanity at that point. Pushing the chair into the room, she caught the red tear stained face of Bronte.

"Hey you alright?" She asked with concern showing in her green eyes.

"If I laugh anymore, I swear my ribs will break." She wiped at the tears rolling down her cheeks. "If I ever have to have surgery again, I don't want Dr. Edwards anywhere near me. He had a guy in for gall bladder surgery, when the guy came around afterwards, he was the proud owner of D cup sized tits."

Grisly groaned, she could imagine the poor patients shock. "Guess he really enjoys his job too much. I know his poor wife has a hell of a time down in her lab with missing prosthetics." With some difficulty, she hefted her lunchbox onto the small table that swung over the bed. "I brought you some real food and Cokes."

Pale blue eyes watched Grisly's shaky hands open the Coleman cooler and start to pull food out. Bronte reached forward, took the small hands in hers, and pulled her forward.

"Grisly you don't have to bring me food or anything." She tilted Grisly's face up so she could look into her eyes. "Do you feel guilty for hitting me?" Without a word, guilt filled Grisly's green eyes and tears started to form. Bronte in a moment of weakness, pulled the small blonde into her arms and held her. Placing her lips close to a small ear she spoke with a soothing tone. "I would have done the same thing if not worse, what I want to know is why you thought it was me?"

Grisly wiped a tear from her eye and mumbled into a strong shoulder. "I guess because of what you did everyday in the hallway."

"I did that because I didn't like how everyone just shoved you around like you weren't there. I may not talk to anyone there but that doesn't mean that I would leave notes on people's cars." She pulled back a little to look down at Grisly. "What did they say?"

"At first it was nothing, just the color of my underwear or what ever, today the one said that they want to suck on my tampons." She gave a little shudder from disgust. Bronte rubbed the metal guard on her nose and moaned.

"Sick fucker, I want you to keep all the notes and when I get back to work I'll take care of it." She let Grisly go with a gentle hug. "Whatcha bring me for supper?" She tried to look into the cooler but Grisly closed the lid.

"Can you taste anything yet?"

"Yeah and I can breath a little to, so whatcha bring me?"

"Close your eyes and open your mouth." She kept her eyes on Bronte as she pulled out a piece of chicken, striped a piece off and placed it in Bronte's mouth. A smile formed on Bronte's lips and a small moan rumbled in her chest.

"Cinnamon, garlic, blackberries and a little bit of paprika." She opened her eyes to see Grisly's mouth hanging open. "Was I right?"

"Yeah but how did you know?"

Dark brows wiggled and Grisly had come to know that as a sign of a wiseass remark. "Sensitive tongue. What else is in there?"

Grisly pulled everything out and set it on the small table, she was having serious problems where her libido was concerned. With every small moan or groan from Bronte, she felt her blood burn a little hotter. She had never realized what an erotic experience it could be watching someone eat but that's what Bronte turned it into. Sweat was running down between her shoulder blades and breasts, not to mention what was going on in the lower areas. After they had finished eating, Grisly handed her the bag of clothes she had bought.

"Scooter remembered my clothes, still don't know what they did with mine."

"Yeah he did but I kinda…well you'll see." She picked up her lunchbox and fidgeted for a few seconds before Bronte realized she was leaving.

"Thank you for thinking of me, it's been a long time since I've had any friends." She reached out and brushed back the blonde hair that was hanging in Grisly's eyes. Pulling her closer, she kissed her forehead and gave her a hug. "Will you be by tomorrow, Doc says I can get out of here after two o'clock or so."

"I'll come by after work and pick you up OK?"

"Deal, I don't know where I am and I really don't think I'm in any condition to walk too far."

"I'll see you tomorrow about 2:15 or so." She leaned up and brushed her lips across Bronte's before she made a beeline from her room.

Bronte ran a fingertip across her lips and grinned, it was an innocent touch of lips but it made her lips tingle all the same. The kiss they had shared before was for show and even though Bronte enjoyed it, this one meant more to her. "I could fall for you little bear." She murmured and sighed as she pictured what Grisly looked like when she was asleep. "The innocence of a child, eyes of a seductress and the temper of a tornado, what a combination." She closed her eyes and let sleep take her into its arms.

@@@@@@

With her hair still wet from her rushed shower, Grisly ran out the back door of her house and out to Daryl's car. Sliding into the backseat huffing and puffing, she dropped over in the seat and tried to catch her breath. Marty looked over the seat at her and chuckled.

"Grisly what in the hell are you huffing about?"

"Ten minutes flat…new record." She stuttered between breaths.

"Ten minutes for what?"

"Shower, shave, dress and run out the door."

Daryl looked in the rearview mirror at her. "You didn't eat before all of this, that's not like you."

"Ate another supper with Bronte at the hospital. I just got back about fifteen minutes ago." She sat up in the seat and ran her fingers through her wet hair. "I'm not getting shit faced tonight, maybe two beers if that."

"You OK, little bear?" Marty reached out and felt her forehead. "Nope no fever."

"I just don't feel like…feeling like shit in the morning, plus I need to do something and I want to be totally sober for it." She didn't know if it was a good idea what she was going to do but she needed to know and there was no other way except to experiment.

"Like what?" Daryl caught her eyes in the mirror. "You won't get in trouble or anything will you?"

"Nah, maybe slapped a few times but that's normal for me." She gave them the 'What' look.

"What ever you have planned sounds half-baked to me, right Daryl?"

"Yeah sounds like something you would do." She glanced over to see a raised eyebrow on her wife. "Don't look at me like that, you know I'm right. 'Let's put fruit cocktail in the bathtub, it'll be fun!' And me the big dummy agreeing with you!" She smacked her forehead and yelped when it stung.

"It was, until it clogged up the drain, quick fifty bucks to fix it."

"Fifty bucks for what?" Grisly couldn't figure out why it cost so much for drain cleaner.

"New PVC and a drain trap that He Man there broke with her vise grips." Marty waved her hand at Grisly and gave her a toothy grin.

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The bar was it's normal over crowed, fire hazard way, the three women had to push and shove people just to get past the doorway. They didn't know what it was, but people seemed to like guarding the main door, bathrooms and the door to the small kitchen. No matter what, you could never get in or out of anywhere without a fight on your hands. One day there would be a fire and they would all end up crispy because some asshole was blocking the doorway. Marty dropped her shoulder and rammed into people so that they could make their way to the bar. Shoving a drunk off his stool to the floor, she kicked him a few times until he moved out of her way.

"Go sleep in an alley somewhere ya lush!" Waving at the bartender, she ordered three beers for them, tossed a ten-dollar bill on the counter and shoved her way over to where Daryl and Grisly were standing against the wall. "Simple ass people!" A man ran into the back of her, tripped and fell at her feet. "I hate men!" She yelled to be heard over the loud music and stepped on his hands.

Grisly pulled Daryl down so that she could yell into her ear, she hated being short and even if Daryl and Marty were only a little bit taller than her, they could see more.

"See Paula?" She waited for Daryl to scan the room and seen her point to a far corner.

"Dyke corner!"

It amazed Grisly, that even in a gay bar that everyone split up into little groups. Everyone had their own corner, Dykes, queens, gay men and the ones who didn't know what they were in the last corner. Grisly took a running start, plowed through the crowd, and made it over to the dyke corner, without getting to many drinks spilt on her. Even if you didn't drink while in the bar, you would still leave smelling like a brewery. Thank the Gods alcohol couldn't be consumed by osmosis, people would be dropping like flies. Seeing that all the women in the corner were at one time her sex partners, she started with the closet one to her. Reaching up, she pulled the woman's head down for a kiss. When it broke, she looked at her with narrowed eyes and shook her head. After seven women were kissed, Grisly made her way over to Paula and kissed her.

"Hey Grisly, missed ya!" She wrapped a possessive arm around her and continued to talk nonsense to her friends and ignore Grisly as if she wasn't there. Getting madder by the moment, Grisly slipped out from under her arm, took her hand and dragged her to the bathroom. For once there was no one in there, usually a drag queen or two would be running their jaws about some new thrift store where they found a size 16 pump. Pushing a stall door open, she dragged a confused Paula in behind her.

"I want you to fuck me." She said bluntly.

"Huh? Here and now?" Paula looked around her and shrugged her shoulders. "OK."

Twenty minutes later, Grisly came storming out of the bathroom with murder in her eyes. With one look at the little blonde tornado, people scattered and let her through the crowd. Marty was the first to see her approaching and being the big bad ass of their small family, she hid behind Daryl.

"I QUIT, GIVE-UP, HATE SEX, HATE KISSING AND WOMEN!" Once her tirade was over, Marty peeked over her wife's shoulder at the red face huffing Grisly.

"She mean us baby?"

"Marty go get us some more beer." She kissed her wife before she sent her off to fight and then pulled a pissed off Grisly against her. "What in the Hell is wrong with you?"

Grisly waved her arms in the air and yelled again. "I just kissed almost every woman in this bar and nothing happened, THEN! I tried to have sex in the bathroom and NOTHING HAPPENED!"

"Who were you in the bathroom with?"

"Paula, I don't even think she knows I'm not in there anymore."

Marty made it back over to them and handed out the beers, the next thing she knew, she was being used as a battering ram to make it to the side door where there was a small room used to store chairs and extra tables. Once inside and the door closed, it became quieter and easier to talk without screaming. Daryl pulled out a chair and pushed Grisly down into it.

"Now what were you doing out there and why?"

"OK, remember when I told you about signing the insurance papers and my mouth getting me in dip shit and Bronte finding out about it?" Two heads nodded at her but neither one knew where she was going with it. "Well, I had to go to the hospital to sign more papers as Mrs. JaBloan`-Pellatrino. The second I walked into the room Bronte wanted her hello kiss."

"Hey that ain't fair, I don't get one of those!" Marty wailed until Daryl gave her 'the look'.

"We own stock in Chap Stick because you kiss me if you take two steps without falling down."

Grisly's temper was coming back quickly. "Guys do you want to hear this or not?"

"Go ahead we're listening."

"OK, so I bent down and gave her a quick kiss on her lips. She pulls my head down and lays one on me that had whistles and shit going off in my head. When she lets me go, I'm laying on my back across her thighs and I can't even form thoughts."

"Daryl, do I do that to you?"

"Yeah baby and more." Daryl rolled her eyes at Grisly and prayed that her friend didn't bust up laughing. "And what has that got to do with tonight."

"Before I left the hospital, I kissed her like you would grandpa. I know, scary picture in your head, but ya know what I mean. The entire way home, my lips tingled. So I came here and kissed everyone to see if it was her or anyone could give me that feeling."

"I take it nothing like that happened here?"

"Nada!" Grisly slumped down in her chair and whimpered.

"Ya didn't kiss me!" Marty stepped forward, used her tongue to get half her face wet and puckered her lips."

"EWWW!! YUCK! Daryl you kiss her?"

"Never told ya before but I've been certified as insane." She pointed a finger at Marty. "Stop that!"

"What am I gonna do?" Grisly raised her hands at them in a pleading fashion.

"Easy," Marty shrugged her shoulders and grinned. "Just kiss Bronte."

"Ohh yeah right, I'm gonna go up to her and say 'You're a Hell of a kisser, lay one on me!"

"I would…did…How do ya think I got Daryl?" Her eyes widened and turned a golden color from fright. "Uuhhmm forget I said that word 'got'" She picked up her beer and looked at it closely. "Ohh look I need another beer!" In a flash, she was out the door.

"She's something else." Grisly smiled and shook her head.

"Yeah she is, I wouldn't trade a minute of our life together for anything. Come on let's go make sure she doesn't do something stupid." She took Grisly's hand in hers and gave it a comforting squeeze. "Bronte seems very nice, give her a chance and see what happens."

"I'll try, don't know if I'll be able to think around her but I'll try." She flexed her right hand and felt the stiffness of her knuckles. A thought came to her, if she hadn't hit Bronte, she would never had said they were married nor would they have kissed. Maybe it was fated that way?

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Continued In Part 2



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