Chapter 2

She woke to see sunlight streaming through the window and onto the bed. She lifted her head up and felt with her whole body. There was no pain. She raised her right hand and felt her face. There were several little things attached to her face. She pulled them off, rubbing the smooth soft skin underneath. She drew back the covers and saw white cloth-like patches adorning her body and began to pull them off, too. She placed them neatly on top of one another on the table next to the bed.

She sat up, and then gently brought herself to a standing position. She seemed to be in perfect health. She looked around the room and saw the door. Just as she was about to walk towards it, a tall black-haired woman stepped through.

"Oh, you're awake. How do you feel?"

The woman tried to understand the sounds that were being thrown at her. They didn't seem to be in the right order. She could sense a feeling of sympathy and confusion from the woman, but that was all.

"My name's Jess. Do you remember anything about last night?"

Jess could see the woman trying to understand her. The confusion on her face was almost comical. Jess slowly stepped forward, and the woman held her ground. Jess looked over the naked woman and couldn't see any of the scratches that had marred the woman's body the night before. Even the bruises were completely gone.

"How are you feeling? You seem to be completely healed, though I have no idea how. Neosporin is good, but it's not that good."

The woman sensed confusion again, along with a hint of surprise and fear.

"Are you hungry? You haven't eaten anything since we picked you up on the road. You should probably eat."

She was really trying, and the sounds almost made sense, but they were still unclear. Then the tall woman gestured with her hand to her mouth, and she realized she was offering food. Her stomach growled at the idea, and the dark-haired woman smiled.

"Guess that's a yes. Let's get you dressed, so you can come down and have breakfast."

Jess went to the dresser and opened one of the drawers. She pulled out a pair of jeans, and then opened a different drawer and pulled out a T-shirt. She opened two other drawers and pulled out a pair of underwear and a bra.

"Here, you can put these on. They're old, from my teenage years, when I was still shorter than the average beanstalk, so they should fit you okay."

Jess turned to leave, and the woman followed her without a glance at the clothes.

"Wait, you can't go walking around in your birthday suit. I have a pre-pubescent son."

Jess picked up the bra and handed it to the woman. The woman glanced down at the article of clothing and then back up at Jess. She realized there was obviously something she was supposed to do with it, but the concept eluded her.

Jess thought for a moment and then decided to just bite the bullet. She reached the material around the woman's body and slipped the straps over her shoulders. Then she fastened the bra's front latch and straightened the straps. She picked up the underwear and knelt at the woman's feet, lifting first one foot, then the other, and slid the panties up her body.

Jess tried not to look at or think about the skin she was touching or the toned calves and thighs of the legs under her hands. She wasn't sure she was very successful. It was one thing to dress wounds in a semi-crisis situation, but quite another to dress a perfectly healthy, and rather beautiful, young woman in the middle of a bedroom in her home.

The woman felt a slight tingling sensation and realized it was coming from the woman applying the scraps of cloth to her body. It was an interesting feeling, tinged with sexual desire and annoyance. She could feel a similar feeling, minus the annoyance, coming from within her own body. She considered exploring it, but then the woman stood up.

Jess picked up the jeans and held them out for the woman to step into. She seemed to catch on and braced herself on Jess's shoulders, as she lifted each leg in turn, and then Jess pulled the jeans up to her waist. They were a pretty good fit; a little baggy, but not too bad. She zipped them up and then buttoned the top. She picked up the T-shirt and slid it over the woman's head. Then she grasped each arm through the sleeves and pulled them through. She pulled out the woman's hair from inside the shirt and then stood back.

"Not bad. Won't win any fashion contests, but that's not the point. We should probably comb your hair, though."

Jess led the woman to the bathroom and brought out her brush and ran it through the woman's hair. She noticed her charge was highly interested in her reflection in the mirror, as though seeing it for the first time. Jess realized that might be a bad sign.

The woman stared at the woman in the mirror. There was nothing there. She couldn't feel anyone there. She reached out to see if it was an illusion and the woman reached out at the same time. She suddenly understood what she was seeing and let her arm drop back to her side. The dark-haired woman behind her finished brushing her hair, and then led her back out of the room and down some long steps.

Jess sat the woman down in a chair at the kitchen table, and then set about making breakfast. When she was done, she pulled three plates and three glasses from the cupboard. She set the table and went back for silverware, grabbing the utensils out of a drawer. Jess went to the kitchen door and opened it, getting blasted with cold February morning air.

"Jason! Breakfast's ready!"

Jess saw her son come running in from the barn. He closed the door behind him and began taking off the various layers of his clothing, until he was finally dressed in only jeans and a long sleeve T-shirt. He sat down at the table, across from the woman, and sighed.

"They're all fed."

"Good. How's Bobo?"

"She's still a little sluggish, but I think she'll be fine. Aunt Alice should probably check her over in a week. Just to make sure she doesn't have a relapse. Cow pneumonia is nasty stuff."

"It was not 'cow pneumonia.'"

"Whatever."

Jess shook her head and began loading up his plate with the scrambled eggs she'd made. Then she dished out a portion for the woman and the rest for herself. She put the pan back on the stove and brought toast to the table, along with a butter plate and a jar of strawberry jam.

"This looks great, Mom."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Jess went to the fridge and pulled out a glass pitcher of milk and poured each of their glasses full. She returned the milk to the fridge and then took her place at the table.

"Well, eat up."

Mother and son began to eat. Jason grabbed a piece of toast and buttered and jammed it, then took a bite. Jess followed suit, noticing all the while that their guest was staring at the food, but not moving to eat it. She put down her toast and reached over to pick up the woman's fork and placed it in the woman's hand. The woman watched, as Jess carefully scooped up a forkful of eggs and brought it to her mouth. Then the woman did the same.

It was tentative at first, but then the taste registered on her senses and she smiled. She quickly brought another bite to her mouth. She kept shoveling the food into her mouth as quickly as she could raise and lower her fork.

"Hey, slow down. You're going to make yourself sick."

Jess reached out a hand to slow her movements and the woman stopped her fast pace and looked at the woman and the boy. Then she calmly finished chewing what was in her stuffed mouth and swallowed it before raising the fork to take in another bite.

"That's better."

Jason laughed a little and then turned his full attention on the woman.

"So, what happened to you? How'd you get all banged up?"

The woman stared at him, trying with all her might to understand the meaning behind the sounds. She felt confusion coming from the boy, but she couldn't narrow down what the confusion was about.

Jess decided to try again to get a response from the woman.

"What's your name?"

She focused on the sounds and felt the confusion again. It was almost clear, but just out of her reach.

"Do you understand English?"

Again, just a sense of confusion.

"Mom, that's kind of a pointless question. If she doesn't understand English, she's not going to understand the question. And if she does, I don't see how that's going to make her answer any more than asking for her name."

"Well, if you think you can do better, be my guest. I'm going to call the doc."

She felt annoyance and a hint of anger come from the tall woman, but realized it was directed at the boy, who was emanating a feeling of amusement.

Jess got up to go to the phone. Jason watched the woman as she finished up her meal. Then he got an idea. He pointed at himself.

"Jason."

The woman watched him. That sound almost seemed to make sense and she was sure she'd heard it before. The tall woman had said it to the boy.

Jason pointed at himself again and said his name more slowly this time. "Jaaaysuun." Then he pointed at her and made his face a question.

The woman could feel the confusion, suddenly enhanced, coming from the boy. All at once, it made sense. 'Jason' was the boy's name. Now, he wanted to know hers. Her face cleared and she smiled. The word popped into her head, though an instant before, she hadn't known it.

"Kayleeya."

Her voice was soft and deep, a little husky from lack of use. Jason put out his hand to shake hers. Kayleeya mimicked him, just holding her hand in the air. Jason shook his head and then took her hand gently in his. Kayleeya could feel his amusement and smiled at him in return of his good humor.

"It's nice to meet you, Kayleeya."

Jess returned to see Jason and Kayleeya shaking hands.

"Doc Sheridan said he'll come over to check her out in about an hour. What's going on?"

"Her name's Kayleeya. Kayleeya, this is my mom, Jessica Taylor. Everyone just calls her Jess, though."

Jason let go of Kayleeya's hand and Jess held hers out to shake it. Kayleeya took it and gently shook the tall woman's hand the way the boy had shaken hers. She thought she caught the barest drift of what was being communicated, but it was still a blur.

"So, do you remember anything from your accident, yet?"

Kayleeya felt the confusion, which was now becoming very familiar to her, coming from the standing woman. She was starting to realize that the confusion was a request for information, but she couldn't quite decide what information the dark-haired woman wanted from her. She was pretty sure it had something to do with her lack of understanding of where she was and what was going on.

Jess shook her head and began collecting the dishes from the table. Jason helped her wash them up and put them away. Jess wiped off the tabletop and then sat at the table with Jason.

"You should get a move on, if you still plan on going over to Carson's."

"I think maybe I should stay and help out."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'll go call Carson and tell him I'll come over tomorrow."

"Okay."

Dr. Sheridan showed up while Jason was still on the phone with Carson, sharing Nintendo tips with each other since they couldn't play together. Sheridan examined Kayleeya and then gave his diagnosis.

"I'd say she's suffering from amnesia, induced by shock. She's in perfect health otherwise."

"Amnesia?"

"Yeah. You said you found her on the side of the road?"

"Yeah, she was pretty banged up, but there's not a mark on her now."

"Hmmph. Well. I'd guess the amnesia'll clear up in a few days. I think all she needs is a little rest. What do you plan on doing with her? She staying here?"

"Yeah. At least until she comes out of it a little more. Then we'll be able to figure out what happened to her, where she came from, who she belongs to."

"Sounds like a plan." Sheridan gathered up his medical instruments and shoved them into his black doctor's bag. "Call me if you need anything or if she takes a turn for the worse."

"Right. And thanks for coming over."

"No problem. And no charge. Take care."

"You, too. Drive safe."

"Will do."

Jess closed the door behind him and went back to Kayleeya. She was still sitting in the chair, but her expression was thoughtful, rather than the confused look she'd worn for most of the morning. Jess decided that acting normally around the blonde-haired woman might be the best medicine, so she started talking about whatever popped into her head. She talked about the weather, about how well Jason was doing in school, about her best friend, Alice, who was a veterinarian and saw to the health of their horses and other large animals.

Kayleeya had listened to the conversation between the man and the tall woman. She'd caught flashes of understanding while listening to them. She had been in an accident. There was something wrong with her memory, which was why she couldn't understand what was being said. As the tall woman went about tidying up the kitchen, she tried to decipher the woman's words.

Jason came down the stairs and sat at the table. Jess looked up at the clock and realized it was time for lunch, so she started making grilled cheese sandwiches and put a couple cans of tomato soup on to heat up. Jason helped his mother, preparing the sandwiches for cooking, and then set the table.

Kayleeya watched them both work in silence. There was a sense of peace that emanated from both of them. They had done this many times before. She let the peace wash over her and calm her fears concerning what was happening around her.

Jess finished and brought the platter of sandwiches to the table and then ladled the soup into bowls for each of them. Jason poured sodas for all of them and then sat down at the table with his mother. As the food was served, Jason brought up the main subject of his long conversation with Carson.

"You know, I've been thinking."

"Yeah? About what?"

"You know, that little palomino I've been taking care of for you. She's starting to get attached to me."

"Oh, really?"

Jess suppressed the smirk that wanted to cover her face. She knew where this conversation was going.

"Yeah, and well, I was wondering if you had any plans for her. I mean I think with her being attached to me and everything, well, maybe I should be the one to take care of her."

"You have been taking care of her."

"I mean, like, permanently. Mom, could she be my horse? I promise I'll make sure she gets everything she needs. I'll train her and break her in, and you know, Carson's dad let him have a foal for his twelfth birthday, so it's not like it's unprecedented," Jason added, slipping in the ten-cent word in hopes of reminding his mother that he wasn't the average twelve-year-old and could handle the extra duties caring for a horse would entail.

"I'll think about it. Taking on a horse full time is a big responsibility. I don't want it to interfere with your schoolwork."

"It won't. I promise. I'm ready for this."

"I'll think about it."

Jason backed off. He knew if he pushed his mother, she could very easily make up her mind on the spot and it would definitely be in the negative. Plus, if he showed how mature he could be by being patient, then she'd be more likely to say yes. He finished up his soup and put his bowl and plate in the sink.

"Can I go to my room? I'm at a really good spot in Ender's Game."

"Which part?"

"Ender just got command of Dragon Army."

"Oh, that's when the fun begins. Enjoy yourself."

Jason smiled and raced up to his room. Jess returned the smile to his retreating back. Jason had been reading since he was two and had gained a love of science fiction very early from her. At first, she had tried to screen the material he read, knowing that a lot of the hard core sci-fi was geared toward adults and made plenty mention of sex, death, and basically not-so-nice things that children shouldn't read about. Then her son had point-blank told her that he understood it was just a story and that he could see much worse things on the news, and she knew he was right. So, she'd let him make his own choices at the library from then on. So far, she hadn't regretted the decision and was quite happy she had such a voracious reader. She knew that was rare in kids these days, with cable TV and video games taking the place of a good old-fashioned book.

Not to mention the fact that she'd read nearly every book Jason had come home with, being a bit of a sponge herself, and hadn't found any of the material overtly offensive. It cut a fine line sometimes, but she found the openness she created by letting her son be exposed to many different viewpoints far outweighed any supposed loss of innocence. Jason was a healthy, happy, and very intelligent child, and denying him the freedom to learn about anything and everything seemed wrong. Plus, it was nearly impossible. He simply didn't take anything at face value and didn't stop questioning until he got a real answer.

Jess got up and stacked Kayleeya's dishes on top of her own and then took them to the sink. She began washing them and then felt movement near her right side. Kayleeya had the dishtowel in her hands and was drying the bowl that Jess had placed in the dish rack. Kayleeya opened the appropriate cupboard and gently placed the dish inside. She closed the cupboard and came back to the dish rack and picked up a plate. She dried it and placed it in the correct cupboard. Jess went back to washing. They worked in silence together until all the dishes were cleaned and put away.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Jess did a double take.

"Can you understand me now?"

Kayleeya was confused again. The sounds were words and ideas. She had figured that part out as soon as she'd understood that the boy's name was Jason. She still wasn't clear on the woman's name, though 'Mom' seemed to be the most likely choice. However, she was also just as sure that these words weren't the same ones that she should normally have been hearing, though she couldn't remember what those were either. She had heard the woman say 'thanks' to Jason, and he had responded with 'you're welcome.' She had felt it to mean an offering of gratitude and a returning of the belief that the gratitude was accepted, but unneeded. The words that flowed out of the tall woman's mouth after their exchange seemed a jumble again, though she knew she was close to understanding. She just needed to hear more.

"Never mind. It's okay."

Jess led Kayleeya to the family room. She turned on the television and sat the small woman on the couch. She handed her the remote control and showed her how to work it. As soon as the TV was turned on, Kayleeya was captivated. Kayleeya pressed the buttons on the remote and flipped through the channels. Jess shook her head and left the woman to her channel surfing, as she headed out to see to her animals.

A few hours later, she came back in to find Kayleeya still watching the TV, so she went to her study. She brought out her invoices, bills, bank statements, and financial reports and got to work setting her budget straight. At least she had the computer's banking program to help her out. It wasn't that she had a hard time with math—she was actually quite fluent in the language—but keeping track of so many different areas of income and expenses made her head spin. With the software loaded on her computer, she was able to look at pie charts and bar graphs, turning dry numbers into visual representations of where her money was coming from and going to. According to her calculations, at the end of several hours, the ranch was doing really well. Now, if she could just keep it going that way.

Jess stood up and cracked her back. She heard the loud popping and groaned, then headed downstairs to the den to see what Kayleeya was up to. Jess found her intently watching a laundry detergent commercial and then a car commercial right after that. She noticed Kayleeya's lips moving slightly, as she followed the words of the actors under her breath. Jess quietly walked in and sat down in the chair that faced perpendicular to the couch on one end.

Kayleeya had watched the people on the TV, confused at first. She couldn't feel them and she knew it wasn't the same as when she'd seen her reflection in the mirror upstairs. After a few minutes though, she'd figured out that the images were coming from somewhere else and were just being presented through the box, like looking out of a window and seeing the outside. She listened to the words as they were quickly exchanged between the people on the screen. She couldn't feel the meaning, but after watching for a little while, she started to pick up on visual and aural cues from body posture and tone of voice.

Within an hour, she was able to grasp the basic concepts of sentence structure and meaning. Every now and then, the images were replaced with little snippets of other images, usually involving symbols of some kind. With a little concentration, she was able to follow along and learned that some of the symbols represented numbers while others represented the individual sounds of the words that made up the language of her benefactors. She practiced under her breath, trying out the feel of the words of this new language.

"Hey. How are you feeling?"

Jess watched as Kayleeya turned to her, then looked away for a minute, obviously searching for an appropriate response.

"I feel fine. How are you?"

Jess was a little surprised at the direct response, but decided to continue, hoping she could get more information before confusing the blonde again.

"I'm good. Um, do you remember what happened to you?"

Kayleeya went inside again, looking for the words.

"I was in an accident. You found me."

"Yes. You were standing naked on the side of the road. You were pretty banged up. But you seem to heal rather quickly."

Kayleeya looked down at her body and touched the clothing she was wearing. She suddenly realized that the concept of covering oneself had totally slipped her mind. She felt her cheeks flush. Then she looked back up at Jess.

"I was naked."

"Yeah. Those are my clothes. You can wear them until you go home."

Kayleeya latched onto the idea of home. Maybe Mom knew how to get there and could take her back. She was about to ask when Jason came bounding down the stairs and entered the family room.

"You were right, Mom, Ender is kicking butt." He plopped down on the couch next to Kayleeya.

"Hey, Kaylee."

"Hey, Jason."

Jason's eyes bugged out.

"Hey, you're talking more! So, what happened to you? How come you were running around naked in the snow?"

"Jason. That's rude." Jess decided not to be too harsh on him though, since she wanted to know the answers to those questions just as much as Jason did.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it to sound that way."

"Hey, do you have any homework left over from yesterday? I don't want you leaving it for Sunday night."

Jason groaned.

"Yeees."

"Well, get to it."

"I'm gettin', I'm gettin'."

Jason got up and flashed a smile at Kayleeya before heading off to his room. Kayleeya smiled back at him.

Jess watched the exchange. Her son had a way of charming people and apparently it worked even across a language barrier. Jason was definitely going to be a heartbreaker when he got older.

Jess decided to watch TV with Kayleeya, who forgot about her question of home, before going to the kitchen to get dinner ready. Kayleeya, or Kaylee as her son had nicknamed the woman, continued to study the programs and commercials that appeared on the screen. When Jess finally left to get dinner started, Kaylee followed her out to the kitchen.

"What do you like to eat?"

Kaylee tried to think of an answer and could only come up with one.

"I don't know, Mom."

Jess's eyes bugged a little and she coughed.

"It's okay. It'll come back to you. And, um, my name is Jess. Jessica, actually, but everyone just calls me Jess. Only Jason calls me Mom because I'm his mother."

Kaylee immediately picked up on the concept and blushed again. Jess was definitely not her mother.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

Jess set about preparing dinner. Just as she was finishing up, Kaylee rose from her chair and began setting the table.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Jess called for Jason to come down, cringing slightly in embarrassment at the loud clatter that preceded her son's entrance.

"I finished my math."

"Well, go get it, so I can check it over." Jason rolled his eyes, as he turned around to run back upstairs. "And try to walk like a human," she called after him. "You sound like a herd of elephants."

Jason returned shortly, though only slightly more quietly, with a standard-sized piece of lined notebook paper. Jess took it and Jason took over serving dinner, which consisted of a thick stew. He ladled each of their bowls full and then went to the oven to pull out the bread he'd smelled warming inside. He grabbed the butter dish from the counter and brought everything over to the table. Jess looked up from going over the problems.

"Very good. There's only a couple mistakes."

"Where?" Jason was indignant.

"You know the rules. You have to look for them yourself. If you still can't find them, then I'll show you. I'll give you a hint, though. They're the kinds of mistakes one makes when they're in a hurry."

Jason nodded his head and took back the paper. He looked it over while scooping a bite of stew into his mouth. After a few minutes, he nodded to himself and searched around for a pencil. He found one on the kitchen counter and brought it back to the table. He scribbled a few changes, and then went back to looking for more mistakes while continuing to decimate his meal. After another minute, he corrected another mistake. Finally, he finished to his satisfaction and handed the paper back to Jess. Jess looked it over and then smiled and nodded to her son.

"You got 'em. Next time, take it a little slower. You're smart. You don't need to be in such a hurry."

Jason's face got a disgusted look on it.

"It's just boring, Mom. I mean, after the tenth problem, I just want to be done with it already."

"I know. And I am trying to get you into the advanced classes. It's just going to take a little time. Be patient."

Jason smirked.

"Last time I was a patient, you got mad at me for falling off the roof and breaking my arm."

"Ha ha, very funny. And you knew better than to climb up there in the first place."

"All right, all right, forget I mentioned it."

"You brought it up."

"Yeah, I know, now I wish I hadn't. I'm never going to live that down."

"Not if you keep reminding me of it."

"Yeah, yeah, what's for dessert?"

"Subtle. All right, how 'bout ice cream?"

"Do we have vanilla?"

"Yeah."

"Can we make root beer floats?"

"Sure."

"Hey, Kaylee, you like root beer floats?"

Kaylee thought for a moment, and then answered.

"I don't know. What is it?"

"You don't know what a root beer float is? Oh man."

"Guess we should educate her, huh?"

"Yep."

"You get the mugs and the soda, I'll get the ice cream."

"Right."

They each set about doing their part and then returned to the table with the necessary ingredients. Jess scooped out the ice cream, while Jason poured the root beer. He handed a mug to Kaylee and then took his own and sipped. Jess went to the silverware drawer and pulled out some long spoons. She put one in each of their glasses and then scooped up a bite of ice cream covered in root beer froth.

Kaylee watched them and then used her spoon to take a bite of the concoction. She smiled at the taste and began eating in earnest, drinking every now and then like Jason. They ate and drank their desserts in relative silence, Jason making comments about nothing in particular every so often and Jess responding in monosyllables between bites. Finally, they had all finished.

"All right, Jason. If you do the dishes, you can watch TV or play video games until bedtime. Deal?"

"You just don't want to do the dishes."

"You got that right. Do you see how greasy that pot is?"

"All right, Jason, slave-child, will clean your dishes in return for the reward of playing Nintendo."

Jess grinned at her son.

"That's my boy. I'm going to go take a bath. Think you can handle things down here?"

"Sure, no problem. Hey, Kaylee, you wanna play Nintendo with me when I'm done with the dishes?"

Kaylee searched inside for the meaning, but came up blank. She looked at Jess, hoping for help.

"You don't know what Nintendo is, do you."

Kaylee shook her head.

"I can teach her."

"Go easy on her, Jason. No going out for blood the way you do with me."

"I wouldn't do that. I'll start her off easy with Mario Karts."

"All right, I'll be down in about an hour. And no taking advantage of her either. You do the dishes."

"There's just no trust in this world." Jason saw the look issuing from his mother's face. "All right, all right. I promise. Her hands won't touch a single dish. Geez, can't take a joke..."

"Ha ha."

Jess went upstairs to take her bath. The hot water was very soothing to her tight muscles. She never realized how tense she was, until she slipped into a bath at the end of the day. Then her shoulders would cry out with relief and her lower back would agree, along with her neck. What she really needed was a personal masseuse.

She let herself drift in peaceful relaxation until the water started to turn cold. Then she groaned herself to a standing position and released the plug from the drain. She turned on the shower as hot as she could stand it and washed all the soap from her body. Then she stepped out of the shower and toweled herself dry. She put on her comfy blue flannel pajamas and made her way leisurely down the stairs to the den.

Jess watched from the doorway as Kaylee ran her cart at full throttle, making every turn, and passing every cart, including Jason's. The round ended and Jason stared at Kaylee.

"I thought you said you never played this before?"

"I haven't."

"Wow, you're a fast learner. It took me forever to beat this level and you're not even using Mario."

Jess walked in and sat down on the couch.

"So, she's kickin' your butt, huh?"

"Yeah, big time. She just beat the star level at 150cc's."

Jess's eyes widened.

"Guess you've got some competition."

"Guess so." Jason turned to Kaylee. "All right, Andretti, how about some Tetris? Have you ever played Tetris 2?"

Kaylee shook her head. Jason switched out the games and showed Kaylee how to play. Jess leaned forward and realized she really wanted to see how Kaylee would do with the more logically based game. Kaylee demonstrated her understanding of the controls, and the goal of the game, and then Jason set up a two-player game, so they could go head to head. He set Kaylee at the lowest level and himself at the fifth level to compensate for his greater experience.

Kaylee started off seemingly unsure of her actions, but then Jess noticed her watching Jason. After a minute or so, she concentrated totally on her side of the game and swiftly placed the falling pieces in the right order to win the game. They finished the round with Kaylee winning each time.

"Why don't you move her starting point up to yours, Jason?"

Jason reset the game and went back to the menu area to move Kaylee's skill level up to five. He started the game again and they played. The competition was fast and furious. Jason won the first game, but only barely. Then Kaylee won the next three games to finish the round as the winner. Jason looked back at his mom.

"She's a natural." He turned to Kaylee. "Are you sure you've never played this before?"

Kaylee nodded. Jason yawned and saw his mother about to speak. "I know, I know, bedtime." He shook Kaylee's hand. "Good game. I finally have some real competition." Jess snorted at her son's obvious derision of her game playing skills, but then he leaned over to kiss her goodnight. "Night, Mom. Night, Kaylee."

"Sweet dreams, kiddo."

"You, too."

Jason left the den and Jess turned back to find Kaylee watching her.

"I shouldn't be able to do this, should I?"

She held up the game controller. Jess leaned forward off the couch and turned off the machine and then the TV.

"Maybe you played Nintendo before and just can't remember. Doc Sheridan said you have amnesia. Maybe this is just your memory starting to come back to you." Kaylee remained quiet, obviously not agreeing with the explanation. "Come on, you've been through a lot lately. You should get some rest."

Jess stood and helped Kaylee to her feet. She led the smaller woman back to the guest room. She opened the bottom drawer of the dresser and pulled out some green flannel pajamas similar to her own blue ones.

"These should fit you." Jess stood there awkwardly for a moment and then snapped her attention away from the thoughts that were starting to take hold of her. Namely, a vision of the woman standing naked before her earlier that morning. "Well, goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Kaylee changed into the clothing and lay down on the bed. She stared at the ceiling. She tried to remember what had happened to her. She saw a few flashes of stars, then trees zooming by, then a bright light. Then she remembered seeing the headlights of Jess's truck.

She thought about her ability to beat Jason at the games they had played. Once the goal was clear, she had intuitively understood what was required and performed the necessary tasks. It hadn't seemed strange to her while she worked the controls, but the obvious surprise she'd felt and seen coming from Jason and Jess told her what she had done wasn't ordinary.

Then there was that flash of sexual craving she had felt again coming from Jess. It matched her own internal feelings, but she didn't understand the irritation that seemed to accompany the waves of feeling coming from the tall woman. She felt no such irritation within her. She shook her head and turned over. She would ask Jess about home, and the sexual attraction between them, in the morning.