Freedom of Choice

Summary: When Terry breaks things off with his sub, Kit figures there's more to it than his Dom allows him to think. What he discovers makes him realise their whole world, not just his and Terry's relationship, might be in danger. Set in the world of The Ancient One
Warning(s): Spanking (public); references to abuse and past trauma; D/s; submission as a form of love; references to violence; an age gap of twenty years; some descriptions of hospital settings; some violence
Brief background: Kit was friends with Terry's son, Taylor, as a child. Terry did spank Kit once as a child, but now that he's an adult (20), Terry began taking on a more dominant role, subjecting Kit to daily spankings and control. As Kit began to submit more, Terry's own mind began to return to him...and that's when this story takes place.
I hope you enjoy!

 ###

After returning to his office, Kit found himself shifting slightly in his seat. The thorough belting he'd received at Terry's hands meant that sitting was uncomfortable...but in spite of that, he found himself much more focused on his work. He was able to concentrate far better than he had done before Terry had stepped in and taken full control.

Brushing a lock of dark hair out of his eyes, Kit couldn't help feeling relieved when he saw it was 5pm, and the end of his working day. He slowly pushed himself to his feet, wincing as his movements pulled at his still-tender backside. Then, when his phone chimed, he reached out and picked it up. When he saw the messsage was from Terry, he found himself smiling...only for the smile to drop from his lips when he read the message in full.

Kit. I don't think you should come round this evening. This isn't right, and we shouldn't see each other again.

"What the hell?" Kit's peace was completely shattered as he stared at the message. His first thought, his first instinct, was that it had to be a joke. Only a few hours ago, everything had been fine. He'd found a kind of peace in his submission that had been sorely lacking in his life before.

But with one single text message, he felt destroyed.

Heart beating fast, Kit immediately keyed in Terry's number and held it to his ear.

"Hi, this is Terry. If you leave a message...."

"Fuck." Kit disconnected the call and stared at the message, tears pricking at his eyes. Through a haze, he began to write out his own response.

You're breaking up with me? WHY?! What did I do wrong? I did everything you wanted.... He hit Send, but almost immediately, the message was returned as undeliverable.

Terry had blocked him?

Kit stared at the screen for a few seconds before he angrily wiped the tears away from his face. They hadn't exactly been romantically involved, but Kit had given Terry his submission...he'd given the older man more than he'd ever given anyone in his life before.

What had he done wrong?

Slowly, no longer feeling that familiar mix of apprehension and anticipation, Kit began to pack up his belongings. He lingered in the door for a few moments, wondering if Terry would still be working in his office. If he was, could Kit go and speak to him?

But the message had felt so final. And Kit wasn't sure he could deal with the pain from being rejected in person, even if Terry was still in his office.

Kit stared at his phone screen, at that last final message, for a few moments. Then, shoulders slumping, he slowly walked out of his office and headed towards the elevator. Stepping inside, he pressed the button for the parking lot and then stood there, staring at the numbers as they ticked down the floors.

When the elevator opened into the parking lot, Kit took a deep breath and stepped out into the cool air. He shivered, wrapping his arms around himself in a futile attempt to keep warm as he headed to his car, parked several feet away.

When he got in the driver's seat and buckled himself in, Kit thought again about driving to Terry's home. The older man couldn't ignore him if he was stood on his doorstep...could he? Kit bit his lip as he thought about it, but finally, he decided not to force himself on Terry. At least not tonight. If he gave the older man some space, maybe Terry would talk to him in a day or so.

The drive back to his own home was quiet...uneventful. Kit parked on the street outside his house, staring at the dark, isolated building with a sinking heart.

If Terry hadn't broken things off with him, Kit wouldn't be returning to a dark, empty house. He'd be able to sleep curled up in the older man's arms. Even if the dominance was painful at times, he couldn't deny that it made him feel warm and safe to submit to Terry in that way.

Taking a slow, deep breath, Kit undid his seatbelt and got out of the car. He locked it, then walked to the front door and let himself into the silent house.

Eating was hard, because he didn't have much appetite, but Kit forced himself to choke down a pre-packaged sandwich and a can of soda.

If it wasn't too early to sleep without it completely messing up his sleep schedule for the rest of the week, he would have gone straight to bed and likely cried himself to sleep. As it was, he opened his personal laptop and took a seat on the couch in his living room.

Resisting the urge to stalk Terry's social media, Kit instead navigated to the Facebook page of Terry's son...Taylor, who'd been his best friend when they were children. Despite the relationship Kit had formed with Terry, he hadn't seen Taylor since his former friend had gone away to university. And he had no doubts that Taylor had no idea what had grown between his father and his former best friend. Kit wasn't even sure he fully understood the relationship between him and Terry; he only knew that he needed it and that submitting to Terry in the way he had done had calmed and settled something deep inside him. It had made him feel less lonely and isolated in his adult life.

Biting his lip, wincing at the spark of pain that went through him as his lip protested the constant harsh treatment, Kit typed out a message to Taylor:

Hi, Taylor! I hope university life is treating you well and that you're not partying too hard. I'm still hoping to start next year, when my financial situation is a little better. He hesitated, his fingers lingering over the keyboard, then continued typing. Have you noticed anything strange about your Dad? I saw him recently at a family barbecue, and he's not acting like himself. Then, before he could talk himself out of doing so, he pressed Send.

Knowing it was unlikely that Taylor would see the message straight away, let alone respond to it, Kit forced himself to focus on his work. Well...he tried to focus on his work. After all, he had two reports that were due by the end of the week, and a third that he still needed to compile the data for.

By the time his laptop chimed with a return message, Kit had realised he was just typing the same word into the report over and over again. Not quite sure what he was about to read, but hoping it would give him some answers, he clicked over to Facebook once more.

Hey, Kit! I haven't heard from you in a while. How is everything? University is great, and I'm excited for you to come here next year!

There was a beat of a few seconds, then another message pinged through.

Not sure what you mean about my Dad, though. I think he's been pretty lonely since I went away to uni and, of course, with Mom no longer around...I was planning to come visit him next month, when it's spring break. You think I should come sooner? Or can you check on him for me?

The response wasn't exactly helpful. And Kit wasn't sure how he could check on Terry, with the older man having blocked him and seemingly so reluctant to speak to him even in person to break things off. He couldn't tell Taylor the truth, but maybe he could admit to just enough that his former best friend would realise things weren't great, without scaring him, and hopefully get him to come and see Terry earlier than he'd initially planned.

I don't think he wants to see me. It was the truth, after all, even if Kit couldn't say why Terry didn't want to see him. I think you should come home earlier. I'm sure he misses you. His finger hovered over the touchpad. Did it sound like there was more going on than he was admitting to? Hopefully, Taylor would be too worried about his Dad to wonder exactly where Kit was getting his information from.

Breathing in deeply, Kit sent the message. Then, he waited.

There was no response from Taylor. And there was no response even by the time Kit gave up on the illusion of working and finally retreated to his bedroom, alone, to cry himself to sleep.

###

The next week passed in an agonising haze. Kit forced himself to complete the reports, but he knew they were far from his best work. He couldn't even concentrate on collating the figures for the third report that was due...and his work colleagues had noticed that he was much quieter and more subdued than normal.

Terry's office was only a short distance away from his, and Kit had found himself walking the short distance to the building every day during his lunch break. He'd never gone into the building, though, and had returned to his own office feeling more and more disheartened.

As he drove back to his own house, reflecting that it hadn't got any easier to return to living and being on his own, Kit noticed another car, one that he didn't recognise, parked on the street outside his house. As he got out of his car and headed up to the front door, his steps slowed as he recognised the person standing there.

"Hi, Kit," Taylor said softly.

"Taylor." Kit scanned his former best friend, taking note that Taylor looked more muscular than he had the last time Kit had seen him, like he'd been hitting the gym more. His black hair was shorter than it had been, now cropped to just below his ears. Kit couldn't help but overlay his mental image of Terry on Taylor. Despite being nearly twenty years older than his son and Kit, Terry had always looked a near decade younger, his jet black hair held back from his face in a beaded braid.

Shaking his head to clear the image, and the memories, Kit resisted the urge to ask about Terry and instead asked, "How have you been?"

"I've been better," Taylor admitted quietly, a serious look on his face. "Can I come in?"

"Of course." Kit moved to the front door and unlocked it. Pulling the door open, he stepped inside, and waited for Taylor to follow him inside. Then, he closed the door and led the way into his living room. "Would you like a drink? Something to eat?"

"I'm not really that hungry," Taylor admitted, taking a seat on the couch. He'd been carrying a laptop under his arm, and he set it on the coffee table, opening it up.

Kit slowly sat down in the armchair opposite and asked, "Is everything okay?"

"My Dad's in the hospital."

Kit flinched, not only at the words, but at the angry note in Taylor's voice. Looking more closely at the other man, he could see the angry, tense set to Taylor's shoulders. Every movement Taylor made seemed to betray how much emotional turmoil he was in, now that Kit knew what to look for. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, his own heart racing. "How is he?"

"Not good." Taylor looked up at Kit, his mouth set in a grim line. "I need to find whoever he was sleeping with."

Kit flinched. "What?"

"I want to show you something." Taylor patted the seat next to him.

Taking a deep breath, Kit stood and walked over to sit on the couch next to Taylor. His mind was racing, though. He and Terry hadn't been sleeping together, even though Terry had dominated him...and even brough him to orgasm on one occasion. Had Terry been sleeping with someone else? Was that why he was in the hospital? He'd been given an STD or something?

Kit was pulled out of his thoughts when Taylor opened up a website on the laptop...and then he was leaning forward, reading the page's title with confusion. "The Ancient One? Is this some kind of Marvel site?" And what did it have to do with Terry being in the hospital?

"No." Taylor scrolled slowly through the page. "This is my Dad's laptop. This was the last thing he was looking at before...before..." He cut himself off and stabbed a finger at the screen. "Take a look at that."

Kit furrowed his brow, looking at the words on the screen. "The Ancient One is an enemy that threatens our whole world. It forces people to act against their own nature and hurt the person they love," he read. "The targets are...the targets are those in Dominant/submissive relationships, or...those who could be...." His voice faltered and he slanted a look at Taylor from below his eyelashes. "Taylor, this sounds absolutely nuts. Like an rpg. Dungeons and Dragons. You can't seriously believe that..."

Taylor clicked on a link on the page and brought up a chat window.

There was a chat log between two different users. One of the usernames was Terry, and the other was simply called Healer.

Frowning, lower lip caught between his lip, Kit leaned forward and read the log through from the beginning.

Terry: Is this real?
Healer: Yeah. Much as I wish it wasn't. Personal experience?
Terry: I don't know how to explain it. It's like...I was walking around in this haze. A fog, really. And then it was like the fog lifted and I...
Healer: You realised what you'd done.
Terry: I hurt him. I...spanked him. For no reason, other than that I wanted to at that time. And he...he accepted it.
Healer: It's submission. True submission. It's the only thing we've found that can break the Ancient One's control.
Terry: I can't...it's not right.
Terry: If I never see him again, will I still be...free? Will I be forced to hurt anyone else?
Healer: If he leaves you, the Ancient One will be free to drain you of your lifeforce. He'll leave you a dry, empty husk and it will ultimately kill you.
Terry: But he'll be safe. Won't he?
Healer: This is my phone number. 260-262-5712 x84103. Call me. Before you make any decisions, before you do anything, call me.

Kit sat back slowly, staring at the chat log. It had ended there, with nothing indicating whether Terry had called the person or not. But there was only one person Terry could have been referring to when he was talking to Healer. Even if he had had time to be having sex with someone, Kit was fairly sure he didn't have the time to be dominating someone else.

"Did you call the number?" Kit asked, even as his mind raced.

"No. You saw what Healer said. We need to find whoever my Dad was with." Taylor looked into Kit's eyes. "You said he wasn't in a good shape emotionally, so I figured you must have seen something."

"Taylor." Kit took a deep breath. "I don't know why your Dad is in the hospital, but it seems like it might be a better idea to let the doctors do their job. You know? I understand wanting to help him, but maybe the best thing you can do is let him get the help he needs."

Taylor's mouth twisted as he stared at Kit. Then, abruptly, he asked, "If you're not going to help me, why did you even tell me you were worried about my Dad?"

"Because I am worried about him," Kit insisted. "But I don't think what was wrong with him is related to some kind of ancient evil."

"Look at what he said." Taylor jabbed a finger at the screen. "He's talking about someone he hurt. Someone he was spanking. And it worried him enough to reach out to the creator of this site. Even if you think it's not real, he obviously believed in it enough that I think reaching out to whoever he was involved with might help. Even if it's just a placebo effect, maybe bringing that person to him will help. In some way."

Kit looked away. Taylor's words made sense, in a way. It was like a mother kissing a child's cut knee to 'take the pain away'. The kiss didn't do anything...but the child believed enough for it to help. But how could he tell Taylor that it was him who Terry had been talking about? And, yes, Terry had spanked him...but it hadn't been anything like the site talked about. He'd accepted it. He'd...submitted to it.

And Terry was now in the hospital.

Taylor's voice broke into Kit's thoughts. "You don't need to believe this is real. Just...help me find him. Who my Dad's talking about. Please?" he begged.

"I don't need to help you find him," Kit whispered, staring down at his hands. "I know who he is. I know where he is."

"Who?"

"Me." Kit took a deep breath as he stared down at his hands, shoulder hunching over.

Taylor was quiet; for so long that Kit wasn't sure if the other man had heard him. Then, finally, Taylor asked, in a strange voice, "You? He's old enough to be your father!"

"He's not, though," Kit pointed out quietly, still not looking up. "My father, I mean."

Taylor was quiet for a moment or two, then Kit felt his hand grasped in a gentle, firm grip and Taylor said quietly, "I'm sorry."

Kit didn't realise he'd started crying until he realised his cheeks were wet. He wiped away the tears with his free hand and muttered, "He didn't hurt me."

"Kit..."

"He didn't," Kit insisted. "We didn't have sex, but...he did dominate me. He did spank me. But it was...what I wanted. What I needed."

"But it wasn't to start with. Right?"

Kit bit his lip. Taylor's voice was gentle...understanding. Nothing like the reaction he'd been expecting when first thinking about telling Taylor the truth. "I guess not," he admitted, his voice sounding hollow even to his own ears.

"Are you in love with him?"

"I..." Kit flinched at the words. Was he in love with Terry? The site mentioned that the Ancient One...if it was real...caused Dominants to hurt the person they loved. So Terry loved him...or believed he did, anyway. "I don't know," he whispered finally.

"Will you come to the hospital to see him?"

"I don't even know what good that would do." But Kit couldn't keep the note of longing out of his voice. He wanted to see Terry...and he also couldn't stop worrying about the older man. What kind of state was Terry in? "I really think that he's better off with the doctors helping him, but...if you think it might help him..." His voice trailed off and he darted a look up at Taylor's face.

"Thank you." Taylor stood up immediately. "No time like the present...right?"

Kit slowly and warily stood up, even as he asked, "Are visiting times soon?"

"Even if they're not, we can sneak in." Taylor walked towards the front door.

Breathing out slowly, Kit followed him.

###

The drive to the hospital was silent. Kit knew that Taylor believed in this Ancient One thing...that he thought Kit could do something to help Terry. And as much as Kit didn't want to disappoint his friend, he couldn't imagine how him being there could help Terry. Maybe he was sick in some way, and this whole Ancient One thing was an easy explanation for what was wrong with him.

As he parked in the lot outside the hospital, Kit cast a sideways glance at Taylor. "Taylor..." he began.

"I know what you're going to say."

Kit said nothing, just raised his eyebrows and waited.

"You're going to tell me not to get my hopes up. That the Ancient One is a story at best; a scam at worst. That whatever's wrong with my Dad, you can't help him." Taylor paused and then asked, "Did I about cover it?"

"Pretty much." Kit shrugged. "I just don't think that your Dad's possessed. And I told you already, he didn't hurt me."

"Just humour me. Okay?"

Kit didn't bother pointing out that driving them both to the hospital was humouring Taylor. Instead, he got out of the car and waited for Taylor to get out of the car before he locked it. Then, he followed Taylor into the hospital.

As soon as he stepped through the door, Kit was immediately hit with the smell of antiseptic, with a hint of bleach lingering beneath it. The walls surrounding them were white, almost impossibly so. In front of them was a nurse's station, with a group of nurses wearing scrubs surrounding it.

Taylor didn't head over to the nurses' station. Instead, he began walking down the corridor to the left. 

Kit hurried to catch up with him. "Shouldn't we ask which room he's in or what ward he's on?"

"No need. I already know where he is." Taylor finally stopped outside a door, and glanced at Kit. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, as if thinking better of whatever he'd been about to say. Reaching out, he opened the door and led the way into the room.

The first thing that struck Kit was the steady beeping of a life support machine. He stood in the doorway, unable to make himself move inside, staring at the limp, frail man in the bed. Terry was nearly twenty years older than Kit was, but the man Kit was staring at looked like he had to be in his eighties, at least. His hair might have been thick and black once, but now, it was white, thin and wispy. His skin was wrinkled and there were liver spots on his hands. His eyes were closed; he seemed to be unconscious, maybe even dead.

"Kit." Taylor had paused by the bed and was looking at Kit over his shoulder.

"Where's Terry?" Kit asked, not stepping further into the room.

"This is my Dad," Taylor said quietly.

Kit laughed, but he didn't find the situation funny. He was laughing more out of shock. "That's not him. That man's in his eighties. At least."

Taylor reached out and took one of the elderly man's paper thin hands in his own. "I know you don't believe in the Ancient One, but it's the only explanation that makes sense."

Kit shook his head and took a stumbling step back.

"Kit, I know what it looks like." Taylor carefully put the elderly man's hand down and took a step towards Kit. "I never believed in the supernatural. My first thought when I got home and saw him like this? That someone had taken my Dad and put this old guy in his house. But the doctors have run all the tests. There's no doubt about it. No other explanation. This is my Dad." He paused and then added, "The doctors are theorising that he's suffering from a vitamin deficiency."

"What's wrong with that explanation?" Kit immediately jumped on the suggestion of a medical explanation, a rational explanation, rather than some supernatural demonic entity who could possess people.

"Have you ever heard of a vitamin deficiency resulting in this?" Taylor gestured towards the old man.

"I'm not a doctor!" Kit's own voice rose as frustration, fear and anger rose in him. Was this some kind of punishment for the relationship he'd formed with Terry? "You know what? I'm leaving!" he snapped, turning to storm out of the room.

And nearly collided with a tall, athletic man stepping into the room.

"Careful." The newcomer reached out, steadying Kit with a hand on his arm. "You should look where you're going. You don't want to hurt yourself, after all." There was a note of humour in his voice, but underneath that was a trace of concern.

Kit pulled his arm away, earning himself a raised eyebrow from the other man. "I was just about to leave."

"Are you a doctor?" Taylor asked, stepping up beside Kit.

"No. My name is Rick." The other man gave them a warm smile, and gestured to a more muscular man behind him. "This is Dwayne. I heard about what happened to...Terry, right? I wanted to see if I could help. He reached out to me a few days ago."

Kit shook his head. "You're the one who made that site?"

Rick's eyes tracked towards Kit. "You're his sub?"

"He doesn't believe in all this," Taylor said. "Is there a way to help my Dad without needing him here?"

Rick slipped into the room, Dwayne following close behind him. As Dwayne slipped into the room, seeming to fill it with his presence, Kit's eyes were drawn to a third person as she stepped into the room.

She looked like she was in her late teens, with long dark brown that fell in waves past her shoulders. She was slim and moved with a lithe, fluid grace as she stepped into the room and turned to close the door behind her.

"I want to leave." Kit's own voice sounded abnormally loud in the quiet that had descended.

"I know." There was a gentle, sympathetic note to Rick's voice. "But it's only fair that you make the decision to leave, to walk away from all of this, with all of the relevant information." He walked slowly over to the bed and reached out to take the elderly man's hand, his eyes never leaving Kit's face. "What we're going to ask of you is a big sacrifice to make. You can save Terry. You can bring him back to himself, fully to himself."

"It's hard to believe, I know." Dwayne spoke for the first time, shifting closer to Rick. "If I hadn't felt the effects of the Ancient One's control myself...if I hadn't hurt Rick...I wouldn't believe this either. Stay. Even if you choose to leave after you've seen the truth for yourself, at least you won't be left wondering if you made the right decision once you walk away."

Kit's eyes tracked towards the door, but Dwayne and the teenager were blocking it. It looked like he had to stay and wait...let them do whatever they wanted to try and convince him...before they would let him leave.

Sighing under his breath, Kit turned back to look at the bed. At Rick, holding the hand of the old man they all claimed was Terry.

For several long moments, nothing happened. Kit shifted from one foot to the other and opened his mouth to suggest that maybe they needed to let the doctors handle this.

And then the old man's skin began to lose its wrinkles. His hair began to darken; to grow thicker and longer.

Kit's mouth dropped open and he stumbled back a step or two, eyes fixed on the man in the hospital bed. The man whose body was growing younger before his very eyes.

It was Terry.

Tears blurred Kit's vision as he stared, unable to tear his eyes away. He took a shaky step towards the bed, his hand outstretched towards Terry still limp body.

"Careful." The teenager spoke from next to him. "Now that his strength is returned, the Ancient One will take control again."

As if her words were some kind of signal, Terry's eyes snapped open.

"Rick!" Dwayne's voice carried a warning note to it.

Rick let go of Terry's hand and ducked, rolling away from the bed as Terry's hand swept through the air where his head had been.

"Dad," Taylor whispered, taking a step towards the bed.

Terry's eyes landed on his son, but there was no softness in his eyes. Instead, there was a cold gleam in them. Slowly, he began to pull the needle out of his arm, ignoring the blood that began to spurt from his wrist.

Kit had been frozen; first by the obvious change in Terry's appearance, and then by the cold, predatory...almost alien...gleam in his eyes. But when Terry began to pull the needle out of his own arm, began to make himself bleed, Kit moved quickly forward. "Terry, let me call the nurse...." He reached for the call button above the bed.

Terry's cold gaze landed on Kit, and a cruel, predatory smile crossed his lips. He slowly pushed himself up off the bed and stood there in the hospital gown, blood still streaming from where the needle had been in his skin. He was swaying from side to side and there were dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't been sleeping well...if at all. But whatever physical exhaustion his body seemed to be feeling, he still reached out for Kit's wrist, grabbing it in a firm, steel-like grip and pulling him away from the call button.

Kit let out a gasp as he stumbled, falling against Terry's chest. The older man wrapped his arms around Kit, holding him trapped against his own body.

Rick slowly regained his feet, looking at Terry's face and then into Kit's eyes. "There's only one way to save him now," he whispered.

Kit stood frozen, Terry's hands seeming to burn like fire even through the protective layers of his clothing. He shivered as Terry's hands ran over his body, almost possessively, his face growing hot as his body reacted to the older man without his permission.

Terry's hands slid down Kit's arms, then turned him round. "Look at me."

Slowly, unwillingly, Kit raised his eyes to Terry's face.

The face, the eyes, looked exactly like Terry's...but the cold light that gleamed within their eyes didn't belong to the older man. Terry's fingers gripped Kit's chin in a tight, almost painful grip and he said softly, "You don't need to stay here. You can leave. Walk away. Return to your old life and forget any of this has happened."

The voice was Terry's, but the tone and inflection weren't. They belonged to someone else. His body, recognising that it wasn't the man he loved, was no longer heated or aroused.

"Kit...." Taylor whispered, sounding hopeless.

Whoever was in control of Terry's mind and body dropped his hands from Kit's body and Kit backed away. He cast a glance behind him, towards Dwayne and the teenager...and as if the two had shared in some silent communication, they parted, leaving his way clear to the door.

Kit walked to the door, opened it, and stepped outside into the corridor.

Behind him, as he walked away from the room, he heard Taylor cry out; a wounded, primal scream of pain and grief that made Kit's steps falter.

He stood there, staring down the corridor, his heart and mind aching for normality; for a return to his previous life, where things were normal and the man he had strong feelings for...and maybe even loved...wasn't possessed by some kind of weird demonic entity.

He could leave. It would be so easy. They'd let him walk away, after all. He didn't have to go back. And no one would blame him if he didn't...would they? They didn't expect him to be able to save Terry; to submit in the way that would break the control over him. And whatever had spoken through Terry had given him the opportunity to walk away.

He should take it.

Kit stood frozen, at a halfway point between his old life and between his new reality. If he walked away now, there would be no turning back. He knew that as well as he knew the sky was blue. If he walked away now, Terry would die. The site had been very clear on that. He would die, and his life force would be used to feed the Ancient One and make him grow even stronger.

And Terry would be dead.

Kit squeezed his eyes shut as tears filled them. It wasn't fair. This shouldn't be his responsibility, but who else could it fall on? If he walked away now, his life would return to normal. He could forget any of this had ever happened. Terry had known the consequences of breaking things off between them, after all. He'd all but given Kit permission to walk away from this when he'd chosen not to tell him anything.

Kit opened his eyes again, his vision blurring with the tears that had begun to fall down his cheeks. With one final deep breath, with one movement, he made his decision.

He turned round and he walked back towards the hospital room.

By the time he reached the room, he could hear movement from within. It sounded like there was fighting; flesh striking flesh, and voices crying out in pain.

But his decision had already been made, and Kit pushed open the door, stepping into the room.

Terry was stood in the middle of the room...although he no longer looked like Terry. He didn't look like the old man with all the lifeforce leeched from him, either. His skin was gray, with a blue tinge to it, and the blood no longer streamed from where the needle had pierced his skin. A sickly green light played around his fingers as he advanced slowly on Rick, who was crumpled on the floor...maybe unconscious, maybe even dead. "You shouldn't have used your powers, Healer."

Dwayne and Taylor were on the opposite side of the room with a pale blue light surrounding them. The teenager stood to one side, her trembling hands raised. The blue light seemed to be coming from her.

Taylor stood there, frozen, staring at his father as Terry advanced on Rick's form.

For his part, Dwayne was pushing against the shield that surrounded him and Taylor, finally beginning to pound on it. Sparks flew, but it held under his assault. "Kali, drop the shield!" he ordered, his voice filled with desperation. "I have to help Rick!"

The teenager, Kali, shook her head, her eyes wide with fear and anguish. "I can't. I have to...protect everyone I can," she whispered.

Terry raised his hands and aimed the sickly green light at Rick's body.

Kit didn't know how he was going to stop this. He didn't know how to fight something like this. But at the forefront of his mind was what the site had said. True submission was the only way to break the Ancient One's hold.

Kit stepped into the room until he was standing right behind Terry. Then, following pure instinct, he fell to his knees and whispered, "Master."

Terry froze. He didn't turn round, he didn't look away from Rick's limp body, but the green light surrounding his fingers began to flicker.

Taking that as a good sign, Kit shuffled closer to Terry and bowed his head, pressing his forehead against the back of Terry's legs. "Master," he whispered again. "I...I was bad after you broke up with me. I didn't complete the work I was supposed to. The reports. I...I deserve to be punished.” 

The green light faded from view and Terry, with agonising slowness, turned to look at Kit.

Kit kept his head bowed as his hands went to his trousers. His fingers fumbled for a few moments before he finally managed to get them undone. He shifted slightly to push them down, then shoved his underwear down as well.

Terry had dominated him...had spanked him...when they'd been at restaurant and at the movie theatre. But even though it had been in public, it had still been semi-private, with only the waiters seeing some of what was going on. This time was different, even if it was around people who understood dominance and submission.

But if it worked to bring Terry fully back to himself....

Terry stared at Kit for several long moments. The cold, predatory gleam in his eyes was wavering a little, though his grip was tight...almost to the point of painful...when he reached out and grabbed Kit's wrist, pulling him to his feet.

While his instincts told him to cover himself, Kit kept his hands by his sides and his head bowed as Terry pulled him over to the bed. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kali lower the blue, shimmering shield and Dwayne rush over to Rick's side...but then his attention was pulled away from the others as Terry sat down and pulled Kit over his lap with movements that were much rougher than Kit had been expecting.

The first smack of Terry's hand to his bare backside made Kit jerk, letting out a quiet gasp. It was harder than the previous spankings he'd suffered through at Terry's hands; although maybe it was more that this situation was so different to the previous ones they'd been in, and that was why the spanking felt so much harder.

As Terry settled into a pattern of hard smacks, working over every inch of Kit's bottom from the crest down to mid-thigh, Kit reached down to grasp the older man's ankle, so that he wouldn't throw his hand back to try and protect his backside. The tears were already so close to the surface, and it didn't take long for them to begin falling once more. "I'm sorry," he whispered, shifting slightly, his breath hitching in a sob.

Terry's hand slowed and came to a stop, resting on Kit's aching bottom as he whispered, "Kit?"

Swallowing back another sob, Kit turned his head enough to look up into Terry's face.

The ashen look to the older man's skin had faded, leaving him looking much the same as he had before all this had happened. The alien gleam was gone from his eyes, and his touch to Kit's bare, stinging backside was gentle.

Kit let out a quiet sob and pressed his face against Terry's leg, hiding it from the others in the room.

With slow, careful movements, Terry replaced Kit's clothing and then helped him to stand.

Suddenly afraid that he'd be pushed away and rejected again, Kit wrapped his arms around Terry and clung on tightly as he began to sob hard. "Please don't make me leave," he choked out through his tears.

Terry's breath came out slowly and he wrapped his arms around Kit, holding him close on his lap. "What happened?" He seemed to be addressing the room as a whole.

"You reached out to me for help through the website we created. Do you remember?" Rick's voice sounded a little unsteady, but still clear and strong.

"I...I don't remember anything after I sent you those messages," Terry admitted quietly. "Did I...did I do something else?" His hand was gently stroking through Kit's hair and down his back.

"Dad?" Taylor spoke up from Kit's side. "Are you...okay now?"

"Taylor." Terry's voice hitched with deep emotion. He stopped stroking Kit's hair and reached out, pulling Taylor into a tight hug, holding him just as tightly as he was holding Kit. "I'm sorry." He whispered the words to both, holding them like they were much smaller than they actually were.

Kit shifted slightly and pressed his face against Terry's chest. He could feel the older man's body shaking, and felt tears drip onto his head. "It's okay," he whispered. "So long as you don't break up with me again. I need you," he admitted, his voice hitching with emotion.

Terry hugged Kit a bit tighter. "I'm not going to break up with you again. Even though I think you'd be better off without me," he admitted quietly. Speaking in a louder voice, he addressed the others in the room. "You're the ones who are fighting against the Ancient One?"

"We're some of them," Rick answered. "We have others back at Kali's house. And a few at the college Dwayne and I were attending." He hesitated and then offered, "Would you like to come back there with us and meet some of the others? We've found that forming stronger bonds between all of us works as a good defence against the Ancient One."

"Maybe in a day or so," Terry said quietly. "For now, I think I need to get Kit and Taylor home."

"You need to let the doctors check you out, too," Taylor said, pulling back enough to look into his father's eyes.

"You're right." Terry rubbed a hand slowly down Kit's back. "Then we'll go home," he whispered. "I promise."

Kit took a deep breath and allowed himself to relax into Terry's embrace. He was going to have to get up eventually, and they were going to have to figure out their next move eventually...but for right now, he was going to take comfort from being in the arms of the man he loved.

The End