One Who Understands

Grace went into Ed's closet and pulled out a large duffle bag. She packed the clothes that still fit Ed into it, setting aside some for him to wear when he left the hospital, then collected all of his personal items. There really weren't many. Once she had his life packed into the bag she carried it upstairs and locked it in her room. She went back downstairs and found Ed's big towel hanging behind his door. She took the clothes and the towel into the small washroom and locked the door. Ed's products were still there so she took a hot shower and wrapped herself in the towel afterwards. It smelled like Ed and she spent a few moments just taking it in.

Getting dressed she made sure she had everything and went back to her room. She locked Ed's towel and cleaning products inside and then carried his clothes out to her car. As she pulled away from the curb she took one last look at Shirley standing on the lawn. The woman turned her back on her daughter so she just drove away.

When she walked back into the waiting room there was a new woman standing with the four from last night. A petite Spanish beauty with long, straight black hair. And curves! The woman looked horrified as Rachel described what Sophia had done to Ed. Her head turned when the others noticed Grace enter the area. The woman rushed up to her.

"Oh my god! I am so sorry for what my daughter did to Ed. She has the devil inside her, planted there by her father but I didn't do enough to counter his evil. I take responsibility for what she did to him!" Tears were running down her face. After the cold and callous behavior of her mother, this woman's genuine remorse and compassion was a soothing balm for her soul. She gathered the beauty in her arms and they cried together.

"Grace! The doctor!" Rachel called out.

Grace released the woman and they all turned to see him approach.

"I'm looking for a family member for Edward Walters," he said.

"That's me." Grace squeaked nervously.

"He's coming out of it. He's beginning to move voluntarily and we think he'll be waking soon," the man smiled. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and smiled back at him.

"Can I go see him?" Grace asked.

"I believe that would be fine. Maybe limit it to just one... of... you," he began then six pairs of eyes almost burned him alive. "...or all of you. Sure. Room three oh three."

Grace headed off down the hall with the others following. She led them into the room the doctor mentioned. There was a second bed in the room but it was currently empty. Grace leaned over Ed's sleeping form and planted a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"hello grace..." said a quiet voice.

She looked down and smiled at his half lidded eyes. "How did you know it was me?"

There was a sleepy pause. "Your lips are unforgettable and unmistakable," he breathed.

"Awwww!"

Ed's eyes opened a little wider and he saw where that sound had come from. Five beautiful faces were at the end of his hospital bed. "Did I say that out loud?" he said and they chuckled and smiled at him. Grace's smile was the widest and she had quite the blush.

He looked up at Grace. "I'm in the hospital?" She nodded. "What happened? Why is everyone here?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Grace asked and after a moment Ed's eyes snapped to Zoe who grinned back at him and licked her lips.

He cleared his throat and Grace helped him take a sip of water. He glanced at Zoe once more. "I was at Mrs. Sandoval-"

"Zoe," she interrupted.

"I was at Zoe's house and... I was really tired. I... fell asleep." Ed's eyes took on a haunted look. "I had the worst nightmares but I couldn't wake up. It was like I was trapped in my own body." His body shook and Grace took his hand. "Then I woke up here."

"You were drugged but they're wearing off. It took all night and we were all worried. The drugs are mostly gone. You're better now." Grace explained.

Ed looked around. "Where's Shirley?" he asked.

Grace's jaw clenched and she looked away so she could get control of her anger. "She- she's not coming," she was finally able to say.

"Is she ok?" Ed asked with concern, misreading Grace's emotions.

"Oh Ed, you are so sweet. She is- well, she's not coming because she sold the house and kicked us out on the street. We're homeless, Ed."

Ed's eyes widened and his mouth opened but he was horrified. "Oh god! It's my fault! I'm so sorry Grace! I'll talk with her. I'll get her to take you back in!" Ed said frantically.

"NO!" Grace growled. Faces looked at Grace in confusion.

"Ed, tell them what she was making you do," she said quietly.

"You know?" he said in dread.

"It's ok Ed. She told me. You're not to blame. You were the victim of her abuse." Grace said gently and she heard gasps from the other women.

Ed looked at the faces of the women standing at the end of the bed. He looked back at Grace but he couldn't say it.

"I'll do it, ok?" she said looking him in the eye. He nodded. "When was she doing it?" she asked.

"In the middle of the night," he said quietly.

"How long has it been happening?"

Ed hung his head. "Since the night I fixed her back."

Grace rocked back. That was over a year ago! She got control over her expression and looked at the curious women. "My mother was 'milking' Ed for his cum. She used it as face cream. She'd wake him and get what she wanted from him."

Rachel gasped and looked like she wanted to hug Ed. Grace liked this woman.

"I overheard you and Shirley arguing Saturday morning and I confronted her when you left. All she kept saying was that we were selfish for not letting her have what she needed. I slapped her. That's when she left and made arrangements to sell the house I suppose. We have until Friday to get our stuff out. My room is locked but she slashed your mattress. I moved a lot of your stuff into my room. We can get it later. I'm sorry Ed. We'll have to find an apartment. Quickly."

"You can move in with me!" Rachel exclaimed. The other ladies all looked at Rachel in surprise though Angie looked like she was a little jealous.

"What?" Grace blinked looking at the woman.

"I have a huge house all to myself. I was just telling Edward. It feels so empty! You two could move in with me! There are plenty of rooms and they're already furnished!"

"That's extremely generous of you but you hardly know us! Me, anyway." Grace muttered.

"I know Edward and I know what a good person he is. He obviously vouches for you so that's good enough for me!" Rachel was getting excited about the idea of having company in the house again, especially Edward. She didn't see the growing concern on the faces of the others.

Grace looked at Ed who was struggling to comprehend what was happening. "What do you think, Ed? Would you like to live at Rachel's?"

Ed looked into the hopeful eyes of the beautiful redhead and blinked. "If you'll have us that would be very nice."

Rachel's face had a wide grin and Angie snorted.

"Will- will Ed still visit us?" Stephanie quietly voiced the worry of the remaining ladies.

Grace smiled, understanding completely. She looked down at Ed's innocent face. "I'm sure Ed would love to visit all of his new friends." He smiled and the women's smiles returned.

Ed gestured for Grace to move closer.

He moved his lips closer to her ear and whispered. "I don't want there to be any more secrets between us. It was painful and I never want that to happen again. I have to tell you... I've been... intimate with them." He looked up at Grace with worry in his eyes.

"I worked that out on my own. It's not a problem. These women are really nice people." Grace whispered back with a smile.

"And I love you. More... more than brother and sister." Ed forced out, fearing her response.

She turned her head and took his lips with hers and kissed him deeply. After the initial shock Ed's big arms wrapped around Grace and held her tightly against him as they shared the kiss.

The ladies were staring in shock at the two on the bed.

"I- I thought- Didn't she say she was his sister?" Angie sputtered.

"I heard that too." Rachel gasped.

Only Carolyn seemed unfazed by the display. With what she'd seen and experienced as an anthropologist in the field this was nothing.

Grace pulled back from the kiss. Her heart was soaring and Ed looked so beautiful resting below her.

"Second cousin. She's my second cousin." Ed replied to Angie's question as he gazed into Grace's eyes. He turned to look at the women. "I've lived with her since I was six but I've always loved her."

The unease disappeared as they saw the love in his eyes. Second cousin. That wasn't THAT close.

Ed face began to show discomfort. "What's wrong?" Grace asked.

"It... it hurts... down there."

"That's my cue to ask you all to leave and let my patient relax, 'down there'." Mishka said with a smile as she walked further into the room. She'd been listening from the open doorway. "He's had enough trauma to that region and it needs to stay dormant so it may heal."

"There's no permanent damage though, is there?" Grace asked as Ed locked a nervous stare on the doctor.

"No, you may think of it as a bruise or an overworked muscle... which may be a more accurate analogy," she explained. "Now that the other medications are clear of your system we will be giving you something to suppress the ability to rise 'down there'. This will let it heal. You should only be on this for a short time, less than a week. No driving, no operating heavy equipment. The medication will leave you light headed. Then you'll be good as new."

Ed sighed with relief as did a few others in the room. They waved at Ed and Rachel took Grace's arm as they left together. A nurse came in with a little paper cup. In it was a pill.

"This is the medication you need to take for the next four days. After that you can stop. It will take a few more days after that before this medication is clear of your system and you'll return to being able to have erections," Mishka explained. "We'll give you another pill tomorrow before you head home and you'll get more to take over the following days, one a day. Is that clear?"

Ed nodded then took the pill and rested back on the bed.

"Are you friends with Heather?" she asked as he settled into his pillow.

"Heather? Grace's best friend? We've hung out a few times," he replied.

"Do you know if she has a girlfriend? Boyfriend?" Mishka asked softly.

"I don't think so. You'd have to ask Grace... or Heather," Ed responded.

"Do you like her?"

"Yeah, she's a good friend to Grace and I love seeing Grace smile." Ed's face showed his joy then he yawned hugely. "Sorry, I'm just a little tired I guess."

"That's ok. You get some rest and I will see you later," she smiled and left.

Ed was asleep before the door closed.

Chapter 38

After they left Ed, Rachel and Grace drove to Rachel's to switch cars. Grace's stayed in the driveway and Rachel drove them in her sporty car to Zoe's place to get Ed's stuff from the Drakos van. Seeing Ed's truck keys she asked Rachel if she could help her get their stuff from the house. She just needed someone to watch the truck while she loaded it. Rachel grinned and said she could do that.

Grace drove the van back to his office and switched over to Ed's pickup. Mr. Drakos met her in the parking lot and she handed him the van's keys. She mentioned that Ed would be on medication for a week which prevented him from driving. The man nodded and told her Ed could have the week as medical leave but he wanted him in the office on the following Monday. He'd have to juggle his appointments. Grace thanked him then drove the pickup to her house. Rachel pulled up to the curb in front of the house.

"It's smaller than I expected. Edward is so big! It's hard to think of him living in something small." Rachel said quietly as she gazed up the lawn at the building.

Grace grinned at her. "I'll be right back." Surprisingly her key still worked on the front door. She'd expected Shirley to change them out of spite. She breathed a sigh of relief until she realized that Shirley wouldn't want to do anything to complicate the sale of the house. She let herself in the front door and propped it open. She saw the house was empty. The rooms echoed eerily. She walked upstairs and discovered her key wouldn't fit in her lock. Taking a closer look she saw a broken key already in the hole.

"You fucking bitch." Grace growled. She stepped back and savagely kicked the door next to the lock, pouring her frustration and rage into the kick. There was a terrible crack sound and the lock mechanism tore off the door jamb inside the room. The door swung open and she stepped inside.

Rachel was standing beside the truck in the driveway and saw Grace come out of the house carrying a large duffle. "What was that sound?" she asked.

"Shirley fucked up the keyhole on my lock so I had to use an alternate method to open the door. I wasn't going to need the lock anymore so... no loss." She smiled at Rachel's impressed look as she dropped the duffle on the passenger seat. She went in for more. It took about thirty minutes but she salvaged everything she considered important. It all fit into the back of Ed's truck. She took no furniture as it wouldn't fit and Rachel said the rooms were furnished. She locked the front door and threw the key through the mail slot. She wasn't coming back.

They drove back to Rachel's place and Grace parked the truck in the garage.

"Let's go in and you can see your options." Rachel said with an excited smile.

She led Grace upstairs, pointed out where the master bedroom was and showed her the other three bedrooms, though one was set up as an office.

"This was my step-son's room. Ed might like this one. It's large, has a king sized bed, its own ensuite bathroom, a large walk-in closet, and a great view of the pool." Rachel said pointing out the features like a real estate agent. Grace was stunned at how large the room was.

"This is perfect!" she whispered and Rachel beamed.

"The next one is a guest room which has never been used. It's not quite as large as the last one but it is much more feminine as I got to design it." They went in and Grace's eyes went wide. The room was beautiful. The bed was queen sized but it had a canopy. There was another fully equipped ensuite bathroom in this room and a huge walk-in closet.

"Oh my god, this room is gorgeous!" Grace gushed and Rachel was very pleased. "If you don't mind I'd like to use this one."

"Of course!" Rachel exclaimed.

They went back downstairs to the kitchen. "Can I get you something to eat? Drink?" Rachel asked.

"Just some water, please."

"Chilled from the fridge?"

"Sure!" Grace grinned.

Rachel got two glasses of cold water and they sat at the table.

"I can't thank you enough for taking us in. This is so above and beyond generous! Ed and I can contribute. We clean and Ed's a terrific cook! We don't have a lot of money but we can pay rent."

Rachel shook her head. "You don't need to pay rent and I have a team of cleaners who come in once a week to take care of tidying up the house. I have had a breakfast Ed made for me which was delicious so I will take you up on the offer to have him cook from time to time. Truthfully, this house is far too large for just one person and it gets terribly lonely. I welcome the company."

"I suppose we should discuss the elephant in the room." Grace said.

Rachel nodded and looked down at her glass.

"I love Ed and I want to be with him." Grace began and she saw Rachel wince slightly, expecting bad news.

"Ed is a very special man as you know. He's sweet and innocent in many ways. I worry about how he'll manage out there in the world with his inability to comprehend some types of bad human behavior. He's not comfortable when dealing with dishonesty, greed, envy, or hate. Even sarcasm confuses him. But I've also seen him grow up quite a bit since he got his job with Drakos. I will be forever thankful to that man for taking Ed under his wing and I'm so glad Ed has found work that fulfills him. Ed is blossoming into an amazing adult."

Rachel smiled and nodded and Grace saw the woman's eyes were just a little bit glassy.

"Ed loves me. He said as much today but he's also strongly attracted to you. I can see it in his eyes." She grinned. "He gets a little dazzled every time he looks at you."

Rachel smiled and blushed. She still didn't trust herself to speak.

"You make him happy and I want him to have all the happiness he deserves. You'll have to speak to Ed to see how he feels but I want you to know I have no issues with you continuing your relationship with Ed as long as you're not abusing him like my mother did. No coercion of any kind and no emotional manipulation. He's not up to it. I'd rather live on the street than subject him to that again," she said firmly, looking deeply into Rachel's eyes.

Rachel was stunned. She was expecting to be told that Ed was off limits. She looked at Grace with new respect. This was a strong, self-assured woman sitting before her!

"I would never hurt Ed!" Rachel gasped.

"Then we're good."

It had been a long day, night, and most of another day for Rachel. She was exhausted. She was elated! She was coming apart at the seams. She began to cry. Grace wrapped her arms around the woman and they shared their tears.

When they felt they were done they sat apart once more and dabbed at their eyes.

"If you don't mind I'm going to catch a few hours of sleep." Rachel said with a tired smile.

"Do you think we could get together with the others later tonight? They should know where they stand with Ed as well." Grace asked.

"I'll make the arrangements. THEN I'm going to sleep. I'll set my alarm for 7PM," the woman said.

"I'll bring some stuff in then I'll take a nap as well." Grace said. "Thank you again."

Rachel patted her hand then walked up the stairs.

-=-

Nine o'clock found Grace sitting in a comfortable chair in the family room of Angie's house with a plate of finger foods on her lap. Stephanie, Carolyn and Zoe were enjoying their dinner as well. Isabelle was doing babysitting duty for the children of the two ladies.

Zoe had just finished informing them that her daughter was going to be spending some time in prison for the severity of her crimes. She was being charged with Kidnapping and Assault and Battery, for drugging Ed as well as beating him. She had priors for violent altercations and drug possession so the DA wasn't in favor of being lenient. Zoe felt responsible and apologized once more but Grace assured her that Sophia was old enough to know right from wrong and to control her own actions. Her father had obviously had a much stronger impact on her behavior.

Once they finished their meals Angie and Rachel cleared the plates away and they all took their seats once more. Grace had the floor and their attention.

"Thank you very much for dinner and for hosting us in your home," she said looking at Angie who smiled and nodded. "I spoke with Rachel and I need to speak to you about Ed and I." Faces began to show some nervousness. "Ed told me he loves me and I love him. I want us to be together." More tension appeared.

"Ed is a wonderful man and I want him to be happy. He's had some bad things happen to him in his life but recently some really good things too. I want you all to know that I'm not in any way resistant to the idea of Ed continuing to visit you as he has been doing. You will need to speak with him directly to see how he feels about it. I will be letting him know that I don't object. One critical caveat to his spending time with anyone is that I will NOT tolerate Ed being used. He has to have a say in anything he's asked to do. My mother used him. Manipulated him into a relationship he was not happy with. Made him feel trapped and humiliated. That will NOT happen again." She looked into the hopeful eyes of the women around her and saw Zoe was struggling with something.