Time And Time Again
By Dimples
Disclaimers:
The many characters in this story are all mine, though the main ones may resemble the X:WP characters, which are not mine....unfortunately. The song in the story is all mine as well.
Love/Sex/Language:
Yes to all of the above. This story depicts an explicit loving relationship between adult women. There is a scene that might seem like voyeurism but it's not....exactly...There is also a scene of self-gratification. The language gets a little rough from time to time but so does the sex...so if you're ok with that.... So if you're under-aged or live in a place that this isn't allowed or this isn't your cup of tea, I suggest you move along and look for something else to occupy your free time.
Violence:
There are some scenes that contain pretty graphic violence but I don't consider them to be much. But if you're of the fainter heart, I'd suggest you don't read 'em. They're really not bad though...Not worse than any regular Xena episode..
Thanks:
To my beta-readers Erin Jennifer and Cindy AKA "ForevaXena" for everything. Starting with beta reading my stories and finishing with posting my stories and giving them a chance in the first place.
To all the readers that took the time to write to me and telling me what they thought, you encouraged me to keep on writing.
And to all the great bards around and their amazing stories that I loved reading and gave me the inspiration to start writing my own.
Author's comments and Feedback: This is the first story I've written of this length. I hope you'll like it. Everything in this story is meant purely for fun and I hope you find it funny (in places it was meant to be funny), dramatic (the same) and so on. I would really appreciate knowing what you think of my stories. Tell me if I'm doin' alright or if I royally suck. Some plot ideas would be very much appreciated also. Actually, come to think of it, any comment would be very much appreciated :) mailto:Dimples_2000_fr@yahoo.com
© Dimples 2001
Part Six
Ch. 15
Madam Lia smiled gently at Audry and started, "Well....apparently, It's like I thought. Now, this isn't going to be easy. Just hear me out.."
Snorting, Audry said "And you think this was easy? Everything that happened up until now?"
Laughing softly, Madam Lia shook her head.
"Ok...What I believe is happening is this...From what you've told me about everything that's happened in your pastlives, your soulmate seems to find its death each and every time. I believe that your soulmate needs your help and that's why they'd been trying to connect with you through your pastlives, through these flashes you've been having. I think they may be in trouble and what you have to do is find your soulmate in this lifetime and help them, save them from a similar destiny to the one they met in all those past lifetimes. Do you understand?"
"I...Uhhh...think so....Basically what you're saying is I have to find my soulmate somehow and then save her from death...Is that right?"
"Yep."
"Oh ok..." said Audry blinking a few times and scrunching her face "How am I supposed to do that?"
"Well...I'm sure you'll find a way..."
"Huh...Thanks for the vote of confidence, at least one of us should have it."
Patting Audry's shoulder and smiling kindly, Madam Lia leaned back in her seat.
"Just so you know....I really have no idea..."
"I'm sure you'll think of something.."
Audry just smiled, half-heartedly and nodded dumbly.
"Hey, do you think it might have something to do with my health...I know I'm grasping at straws but..."
"Oh!" Madam Lia jumped and slapped her forehead. "How stupid of me...I forgot to tell you...Now that we've seen this through, I'm almost positive you're physical condition is connected to this. Right now you're a soul without purpose, without its soulmate. Your soulmate is dying little by little and will be dead if you don't succeed in saving them. When your soulmate's dying, your soul's dying as well and your body will die along with it... It doesn't always happen though. In your case, apparently your body is sick because your soul is sick, as soon as you find and save your soulmate, your soul will become whole again and hopefully, if I'm not wrong, your body will heal as well."
"Oh...Well, that's good to hear, I guess...I basically have all my life riding on this, don't I?"
"Well, one's soul is never whole without its mate so you could think of it like that or, that anyone's purpose in life is reuniting with their soulmate. As you've witnessed in your pastlives, you are destined to find them, no matter what the circumstances."
"Hmmm...."
"Go home, take your time, think about it..."
"Yeah..."
"When you get an idea, call me...You have my number." Said Madam Lia, smiling.
Smiling too, Audry thanked Lia and walked out of the house to her parked car.
Ch. 16
Everything was a little too much. On the one hand, she was thrilled she found the answer ; She finally knew the problem and the way to 'fix' it, but on the other hand, it was too much, plain and simple. She didn't know if she could handle this. How was she supposed to find her soulmate? For the past twenty-five years she'd been living her life searching for her one true love, waiting patiently for them to come to her, to find her because that's how it was supposed to be, wasn't it? And now, she has to find them or her whole life might crumble right before her eyes.
Sitting in the driver's seat, Audry pondered about...everything, what it all meant, what certain actions might bring etc. Then it dawned on her I am not alone in this, I have Madam Lia. Of course it was a problem finding my soulmate up until now, it's the same problem everyone has. Though it's possible, it's not at all easy, especially since some are not even supposed to find them in their current lifetimes ; I ,however, can use my past lives to help me find my soulmate in this life. An idea popped into her head, Audry smiled happily and drove away.
Audry got home forty-five minutes later, the traffic was awful. Something that usually bothered Audry but not today ; she was happy, she was relieved. She finally felt she was close.
She unlocked her front door and stepped in. Throwing her purse on the couch she walked towards her bedroom, dropping her shoes next to the door. She picked out a few clean clothes from the hamper and changed into them. Walking to the kitchen, she finally got her appetite back. Taking a few slices of bread, a couple of eggs and some cheese, she fixed herself an omelet and some toast. Getting a soda out of the refrigerator, she took her plate and went to the living room settling in front of the TV. Eating her lunch-dinner slowly while she watched one of her favorite shows, she was content and relaxed. Since the flashes started, her life turned into such a mess; she hadn't slept or eaten properly, her hours got messed up...In total, you could say it wasn't the most pleasant time she'd ever had.
As soon as her meal was consumed she went to call Madam Lia. She wanted to run her idea by her first, before she got her hopes up. Dialing her number, she waited patiently. "Madam Lia speaking, how may I help you?"
"Hi, Madam Lia it's me."
"Oh hi, sweetie. How are you?"
"I'm fine, thanx. On the way home I came up with this idea...."
The conversation went on for a while. Audry told Lia about her plan and was glad to find that it was very much accepted by Lia.
"I told you you'd find a way..." Audry could hear her smile through the phone.
Audry smiled, "Yeah well, I'm glad you were right."
"I didn't think it would come to you this fast, though."
"Well...I sure am glad it did."
Laughing softly, Madam Lia bid her goodbye and they hung up the phone. They scheduled a meeting tomorrow morning when the road to Audry's future life and love would begin.
***
Putting the phone back to its cradle, Audry felt pretty happy with herself. She never thought, even for a second, that it could, would come to her so fast or that the needed solution would be as easy as it actually turned out to be.
Audry couldn't wait to finish with this, she hoped it would work. As easy as it all seemed, it might be just the opposite, it might not even work. Shaking her head to clear it of such thoughts, the smile that previously graced her face was now back in full force. 'I wonder what she looks like...I wonder what she's like, if we'll even recognize each other...' Smiling and shaking her head at her silly thoughts, she laid back on her bed and let her mind wonder, lulling her to sleep.
Audry woke up from her sleep feeling relaxed and content. She glanced over at her watch on her nightstand which read 8:30 PM. 'I was more tired than I thought.' Stretching and yawning, she got herself out of bed, put her slippers on and went to the kitchen. 'It's starting to get colder' , she thought to herself as a small shudder passed through her body. Turning the coffee machine on, she went back to her bedroom to put her woolen robe on.
As she was walking back into the kitchen, the phone rang. 'Should I pick it up? Let the machine get it? Pick up...machine...pick up...machine...' Her inner debate went on for a few seconds until the machine picked it up.
'Hello, you've reached Audry Haven's house, I'm not home right now so please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.'
The sound of the BEEP rang out through her eardrums and someone started speaking.
"Umm...Hi Audry, this is Jaime...Just wanted to check on you. I hadn't heard from you in a while and I was worried...Ummm...All of us were worried. Call me back and tell me what's been going on, alright? Ok, umm, bye. "
Audry couldn't exactly say she was surprised at Jaime's call, she was actually expecting a call from one of them. Jaime, her friend from work, Audry expected her to call to check in on her or John, her boss, that was probably going crazy with not knowing. I just hope he is still my boss... She thought to herself what she could possibly tell them. 'I can't tell them the truth, they'll think I've gone bonkers. That is if they don't already. And besides, It's not like I know anything for sure yet. What about the tumor? Should I mention anything? And what if what Madam Lia told me turns out to be true and it does disappear later on? How would I explain that? Anyway I see it, they'll probably think I'm nuts...Oh well...'
Reaching a decision she picked up her phonebook and searched for Jaime's number. "Jaime? Hi, this is Audry. Yeah, I'm fine...*silent chuckle*...You could say that I've had a few things on my mind. Literally. Yes, I went to see the doctor. No, nothing special, depends on what you might consider special, just that I should rest more. Yes, he thinks it may just be exhaustion. Yeah...Could you please tell John that I'll be taking some more time off, until I've sorted things out? Oh, thank you, that'd be great...Yeah, ok , you too. Bye."
Hanging up the phone, she felt pleased 'I've done the right thing...If I know more, when I know more maybe I'll tell them the truth but right now...I doubt there's a better way to handle things.'
She plopped herself on the couch and propped her feet on the coffee table. Releasing a silent sigh, she leaned her head back on the couch and closed her eyes, enjoying the silence, the peace and quiet of the moment. It had been awhile since she could just lay back and relax. Rest...that's all I really need. If she kept telling herself that maybe she'd actually start to believe it.
Realizing she was still pretty much tired and in a very strong need to catch up on her sleep, she slowly picked herself up and started towards her bedroom, when she remembered she had left the coffee machine on. Groaning tiredly, she dragged herself into the kitchen and shut the machine off, leaving the brewed coffee there for tomorrow...because she knew she'd need it, bad. Finished with that, she treaded her way back to bed.
As usual, morning came way too early again. She stretched her muscles and popped things back into their right places. Feeling a little better, though the hour was still way too early, she got out of bed, got dressed, drank the night-old coffee and left for Madam Lia's house.
"Hi, Madam Lia."
"Hello, dear." Lia pulled her into the house and closed the door.
"Did you get some rest?"
"Yes, yes I did...Thanx."
Smiling, Madam Lia motioned for her to take her coat off and take a seat in her usual spot. "So, what do you think of my plan?"
"Well...I don't know what to tell you, It's good, very good. I just really hope it'll work."
Smiling Audry said, "yeah, well not as much as I do."
Lia chuckled slightly. Her expression turning serious once again. "So let me get this straight...You want me to hypnotize you and bring you back to a more recent lifetime of yours and then..."
Audry interrupted her mid-sentence "Then, when I hear my soulmate's name, I'm going to come back here and search the records for the dismissal of that person at that time. By doing that, I'll probably find an address or a name of a relative or a descendant of that person that hopefully, will bring me somehow closer to meet with my soulmate, in this lifetime...I think..."
Biting her lip and shaking her head, Lia said "Hmm...Yep, just like I though I heard." She nodded to herself a few times as if going over the solution one more time and trying to explain it to herself. "Ok, let's start then, shall we?"
Audry gave her a sweet smile "We shall."
The process of hypnosis was performed once again, and both were hoping that it was for the last time. Madam Lia had to change the process a little this time. Lia needed to send Audry to a more recent lifetime, and the way to do that would be to perform the hypnosis with slightly different guide words. Lia hoped this would work, it was the first time she ever tried something like this and she also hoped for it to work because frankly, she took quite a liking for the sweet girl in front of her.
Audry snapped from her haze and adjusted herself to her new surroundings. The place where she was standing looked like an infirmary put up in the middle of a battle zone.
She looked around and saw nurses, doctors and soldiers all about, some healthy, some wounded but all morbid looking. She felt herself being strangely drawn to the left side of the infirmary. She turned to look more carefully. She saw a soldier, tall, lean with long black hair pulled up into a ponytail, standing casually next to the nurses' station.
Audry walked around to get a better look of the tall soldier. Her suspicions were validated when she saw that it was a woman with a pair of dark eyes that were as black as coal. A small smirk played on her lips as she watched the nurses work. She was wearing the regular army fatigues, the top shirt unbuttoned, showing a dirty white tank top. On her chest, two silvery slabs dangled and made clinking sounds when she moved.
Audry drew closer to the soldier so she'd be in hearing range.
As one of the nurses got closer to the soldier, the soldier's easy smirk turned into a beautiful smile.
"Hey there gorgeous." said the soldier.
The nurse blushed. "Hi Alex."
The conversation between them was conducted in hushed whispers. A hand touching, fingers caressing a reaching arm, but nothing too obvious to make the nature of their conversation publicly known. On the battle zone something like this could mean a dishonorable discharge and a shameful expulsion.
"I think I need a shot, nurse..." said the soldier, mischievously.
The nurse's smile grew broader, "I think you need a shot too but I don't think it's the same one as the one your thinking of..."
The soldier grabbed her chest as if she'd been shot and croaked "ouch", and the nurse swatted her playfully in the stomach at the performance. "Now we know why you're a soldier and not an actor..."
"Now, that hurt! I though it was pretty good." said the pouting soldier.
The nurse's smile turned softer and gentler and she patted Alex's arm affectionately. "That was very good, I was just kidding. Now stop pouting, You're making me want to kiss that pout away and other people be damned."
Alex bent closer to the nurse and whispered in her ear "Well, I might just be tempted to show you my other great talents too..."
The blush that graced the nurse's face only minutes ago was now back, full force.
"Ahem!" A throat was cleared behind them, making Alex jump to an upright position, saluting her commanding officer. The officer saluted back and his rigid stance loosened a bit as his gaze fell on the beautiful smiling nurse. Not that he thought Alex was not beautiful, because she was. Very much so. But he looked at her as he would any other of his soldiers...The nurse however was a different matter altogether.
"Is this soldier bothering you, ma'am?"
"No Sergeant Jones. We were just conversing." Answered the nurse sharply. Suddenly changing the subject, she asked sweetly "How's your wife? Did you receive word from her?" At the sound of the question, Alex was about to bite her way through her tongue as she tried to keep herself from laughing out loud.
Jones's smile faltered and he said grimly, "Yes...Yes, she's just fine, thank you for asking." The thought of his wife erased all of his erotic thoughts away like he'd been suddenly hit by a cold spray of water.
His mood instantly changed and his stance turned rigid once again as he barked out an order to Alex "Report for your guard duty right away, soldier!" With that he left them alone.
Audry stomped her foot as she was so close to discovering Alex's last name. 'I guess I'll just have to wait a little longer till I do...I've come this far...'
Alex dropped her hand from the salute and let the smile that had been kept inside break loose on her face. "Elizabeth, I think you might have hurt the Sergeant's feelings by crushing his daydreams about you when you mentioned his wife..."
"I think so too..." Agreed Elizabeth as they both started laughing.
As they sobered and wiped the tears away, Alex remembered his command. "I have to go to guard duty, I'm sorry."
"Nah, It's alright ; Just be careful, alright?"
"I will, I promise."
With a wink and a wave she left the infirmary and went to pick up her weapon from the weaponry for guard duty. Elizabeth got back to her work with a smile still plastered on her face.
Audry decided to follow Alex outside, figuring that she'd probably find out her last name faster that way. 'Soldiers call each other by their last names, don't they?'
"Hey Alex." greeted a soldier passing by.
"Hey Jonathan." Answered Alex.
'Guess not.'
She reached the weaponry tent and walked inside. Grabbing her helmet, she put it on her head and then shouldered her rifle. She walked to her post, just outside of camp and positioned herself, rifle ready in hand, her stance rigid and tense, her face facing forward unblinkingly.
Audry found herself a place to sit as she looked around and waited to see if anything would happen. 'That's a pretty awful thought on my account...'
A few hours had passed, the sky had gone dark and nothing changed...nothing happened.
Audry supposed it was a good thing, just not a good thing for her boredom.
Suddenly, the rustling sound of the surrounding bushes jerked Audry awake and made all the muscles in Alex's body tense. Alex readied her rifle and turned around slowly. She inched closer to the brush, where the rustling came from and moved her rifle in front of her. She used her rifle to move the thick growth aside when something jumped at her.