REBIRTH

Rhea inspected the gash on her neck in the rearview mirror. Darn concealer didn't do a thing. She supposed it was a tall order to try to cover such a recent injury, but she hoped it at least kept the worst of it from view.

She sighed and glanced out the window to the elementary school. Still no sign of either of her kids. She reached down to rummage through her purse and pulled out the concealer she kept inside. Maybe another layer would do the trick. It might look a little odd, but it was better than her children asking too many questions.

To this day, they still thought their father was simply a busy businessman, gone for long work conferences and company missions. He hadn't cared to correct them, and Rhea thought it best for them to think of him that way, at least for a while.

But she knew the truth. Two years after their marriage, she'd discovered his first mistress. When she confronted him about it, he shrugged it off with a half-hearted apology and moved on. Another year later she discovered that he hadn't even stopped seeing her and had taken another mistress. When she pressed him, she discovered that his history of cheating went all the way back to their engagement.

At first, she was devastated, as any woman would be. Eventually that despair faded into something akin to relief. He visited home less and less, and he wasn't around to hurt her or the children. She touched at the gash and winced.

He had last arrived home late last night, after the kids were in bed. He had discovered that the dishes hadn't been done, and he'd been furious. He'd drawn a knife, held her despite her struggles, and carefully sliced into her neck. It would have hurt less if he'd just been drunk and struck wildly. The cold calculated punishment hurt all the much more.

Suddenly the back doors of the car popped open, and in slid her children. "Hey, Mom!"

She removed her hand from her neck and tugged up her collar. "How was school, Ash? Learn anything exciting?"

Young Ashley grinned. "I think they talked about adjectives or something. I don't really remember."

Rhea rolled her eyes. She doubted that. "Okay, but what were you learning about?" Ashley loved to remind everyone around her of her intelligence. Rhea played her little game of superiority, but she knew it couldn't last forever if Ashley ever wanted friends.

Ashley shrugged. "I decided to review geological formations. Did you know that when horizontally parallel strata of sedimentary rock are dropped onto tilted and eroded layers, it forms an angular unconformity?"

Rhea smiled and shook her head. "No, dearest. I didn't know that." She glanced in the rearview mirror to her son. "How about you, Zach? Learn anything interesting in school?"

He didn't reply, simply looking out the window. After a moment of silence, Ashley jumped in. "Zach got in a fight today."

Rhea gasped and turned to look at him. "Zach! What... Why...?"

Ashley smirked. "I think it had something to do with May."

That got Zach to snap out of it. He glared at Ashley. "I just hate bullies. That's all."

Rhea sighed. "Zach, you can always just talk to an adult. I'm sure they can-"

"But they won't!" He folded his arms. "Adults just sit around and talk about it. They talk to them, and then they think everything is fine." He turned to stare out the window again. "But Greg won't be bothering her again, I think. Not anymore."

Rhea bit her lip. What was she going to do with him? His intentions were good -- they were always good -- but he was very rash. She knew of Greg. In fact, she knew Greg's mom. He was a beefy kid, a sixth grader. Zach hadn't even reached puberty yet. He likely couldn't even stand to the other kid's shoulder.

Shouldn't the school have called her? Keeping an eye on the road, she reached into her purse to retrieve her phone. 3 missed calls. She winced. It must've happened during work.

"Are you going to punish him, mommy?" Ash asked innocently.

Rhea sighed. "No. I think he's been through enough punishment. I'm more worried about what the school had to say then-"

Without warning, her phone started blaring. Had she set an alarm? "Ash, dear, do you mind checking my phone?"

Ash reached forward to grab the phone and read what it was reading. "It looks like it's from that Gravity app Grina downloaded. 'Impact eminent.'"

Rhea's head whipped around. "Are you sure? Does it say anything about being a false alarm?"

Ash shook her head and frowned. "Why? What's going on?"

Rhea's best and only friend, Grina, had turned out to be quite the survivalist. She was completely paranoid about the end of the world and had joined an organization, Gravity, to fund nuclear bunk sites. She was insistent that Rhea subscribe to them, so Rhea had purchased the minimal subscription.

"Call Grina, Ash." Rhea fought to keep her voice calm. "I need to talk to her."

Ash obeyed silently while Zach looked on, confused. Rhea took some deep breaths, her hands tightening on the steering wheel. That alert could only mean one thing...

Nuclear war. The Gravity team had organized (probably illegally) a group of satellites to detect incoming nuclear weapons. Usually when it fired off, the message would read "Impact Iminent: Drill Test" or "15% chance of Weaponry." She had turned off the notifications a long time ago.

Ash put it on speaker. "Hello? Rhea, you got the message?"

"Grina, what's going on? What is this all about?"

"This is the real deal, Rhea," Grina said grimly. "It's the end of the world."

"Shouldn't the news or alarms or something else be telling us this?" Rhea glanced nervously at the sky. "What makes you so sure?"

"Gravity satellites detected 215 separate units descending towards the atmosphere. This is no joke."

Ash's eyebrows furrowed. "Mom...?"

Rhea took a shaky breath. "What do we do?"

"Go to the bunker. I'll meet you there. We only have about half an hour, so pack up your things quickly." Then she hung up.

Rhea's mind raced. She felt like throwing up. In a moment, she made her decision. She's rather have this be a false alarm and be safe inside a bunker than brush it off and have it have been real. She swerved to get on the lane towards the highway.

Ash fell silent next to her brother. At least she had figured out that this wasn't the time for talking. Her eyes were wide and alert.

Zach still seemed confused about the whole thing, and, as usual, kept his mouth shut. Rhea was grateful to them both. She couldn't deal with the distraction of an explanation when she herself didn't really understand what was happening.

The first order of business was to get them to the shelter. Nothing at home was worth risking their lives. After that, if she had time, she'd run home and grab some of their stuff. For now, she just had to get to the shelter.

She'd only been once, but the route was pretty memorable. With only mild hesitation, she pressed her foot firmly onto the gas pedal and watched the speedometer tick upward.

The drive was a panicked and eerie journey. The rest of the world went on its merry way, oblivious to what was coming. Either that, or she was being ridiculous and paranoid. She wasn't sure which reality she'd prefer.

After what felt like an eternity, they arrived at the bunker. "Kids, come on." She quickly unbuckled and climbed out. "We need to move."

They obeyed without question, though she could tell they were burning with questions. She grabbed them both by one arm and all but dragged them down into the building.

The bright white walls and well-lit rooms helped to ease her nervousness. She knelt down and put a hand on their shoulders. "Now, stay here. I'll be back in a few-"

"Automatic defense system activated. Doors closing in 3... 2... 1..."

Rhea could only stare in shock as the massive overhanging blast door drifted down and locked them inside. "What? But we still have twenty minutes!" She ran to the door just as the shockwave hit.

It was unlike anything she'd ever experienced. The closest it came was to when she was younger, bouncing on the trampoline with her friends, playing "Crack the Egg." She's be curled up, and they'd all bounce around her, trying to launch her hard enough that she'd release and break open.

Except there was no soft cushioning trampoline. This was hard, ungiving titanium. The lights vanished almost immediately, and with her final conscious thought, she prayed that her children would be all right.

Then the darkness took her.

*************

Several Years Later....

***************

Rhea hummed quietly to herself as she stirred the rations of soup. The years had passed simply and easily.

No one else had made it to the bunker in time. Likely they had thought the thirty minutes was more than enough time to grab some stuff before arriving. She didn't know why the calculations were so far off, and there was no way to tell now.

In any case, the lack of people meant that there were more than enough resources for them. It had been prepped to last for 10 years for roughly fifty people, and with only three of them that looked like it could be a lot longer. Unfortunately, for some reason, the food expired in twenty.

She glanced up to the clock. There were no dates or years on it, just the amount of time the remained locked in here for. It was down to three years and some odd days. In a few days, they would get to celebrate an anniversary. It wasn't the anniversary of getting locked in here -- rather, they would celebrate in advance when they could get out.

The bubbling soup broke her out of her thoughts. "Kids! It's dinnertime!"

Ashley arrived first. She had grown into an astoundingly beautiful young woman, slender and graceful. Her eyes gleamed with incredible intelligence, more brilliant than ever before.

"So, what are we eating tonight?" Ashley's face soured as she sniffed. "Not soup again..."

"I know it's not your favorite, Ash, but it will be the first to run out. We need to eat it first."

"It's still got five years on it, Mom!" Ashely settled into her chair. "I think I'll pass for tonight."

Rhea frowned. "Young lady, you can't keep skipping meals. You're wasting away."

Ashley shrugged noncommittally. "I'm not starving, and I'm not exhibiting any symptoms of malnourishment. I'll be fine." She rose to return to her room.

Rhea caught her by the collar. "You'll at least stay for dinner, even if you won't be eating anything. We need our family time."

Ashley groaned. "We've been trapped inside this house together for several years. I think we've had more than enough family time."

They were interrupted by the entrance of Zach. He had grown tall and taken after his father, handsome and moody. He was covered in dirt, and in his arms were several indistinguishable orbs.

Ashley grinned. "Geez, Zach, you look like you just got crapped out of a buffalo."

He ignored her and plomped the melons down on the counter. "They're ripe. I need to finish harvesting them." He hesitated. "Can I skip dinner tonight to finish?"

Rhea sighed. "Like I told your sister, no. We need this time together."

Ashely wrinkled her nose. "She made soup again."

Zach took a deep whiff. "Awesome. I love soup."

Ashely threw her hands up in disgust. "You really are a pig. You act like one, and you sure do look like one."

Rhea tapped her finger on her chin. "She's right, Zach. Maybe you should wash up first."

Zach sighed. "But I'm just going to get dirty again after dinner."

Rhea leaned over to take his hand and gave it a small squeeze. "I think you can afford one night of relaxation."

He stared at her blankly. "What would I do?"

She didn't know what to say. Most parents would be trying to get their children to do something, especially without school. She had to find ways to get them to relax and enjoy themselves.

She relented. "All right, you can shower when you're done tonight. But for the festival I expect you both to put down the books and ignore the farm for just one day, okay?"

Ashely leaned over to whisper in Zach's ear. "She didn't say anything about the gym. Maybe we can hit that up instead." She made no attempt to be quiet.

Rhea scowled good naturedly. "Or the gym! For one day, I want you to just be normal kids, alright?"

They nodded. "We promise." Ash elbowed her brother. "Promise, Zach?"

"Promise."

Satisfied, Rhea scooped out their portions of soup and offered them each a bowl. Ashely used a spoon to faintly sip at it, while Zach ate quickly, trying to finish to return to the farm.

Rhea smiled sadly as she ate her own. He hated the soup as much as Ashley, maybe more. But no matter how bad things got, he never complained.

Ash, on the other hand, complained as a form of entertainment. She would complain about EVERYTHING, using it as a tool to sharpen her argumentative skills. Rhea didn't really understand why, but she got used to it.

Fortunately, Zach had grown used to her teasing. It had started when they were just reaching their teenagehood, about the time that Zach grew taller than his sister. She had teased him relentlessly about everything, from his height to his slow speaking to his voice cracks... All of it.

He had been hurt at first, but after a long discussion, Rhea and he had decided that it was Ash's version of showing affection. They hadn't told her, obviously, but it became more and more clear as the years went by.

After dinner, to Rhea's surprise, instead of rushing off like Ash, Zach stuck around to help with dishes.

He washed as she dried, an unspoken agreement. Rhea tilted her head. "Something on your mind, dear?"

Zach sighed. "Do we really have to wait three years? Doesn't this thing have an override or something?"

Rhea set down the bowl she had been drying. "That timer isn't arbitrary. That's how long the computer calculates until the outdoors will be safe again. Relatively safe, that is."

Zach frowned. "Maybe the computer's wrong. The nuclear waste receptors haven't been picking up anything this whole time."

"Which is why," Rhea reminded him, "We need to be so careful. The system might be malfunctioning, in which case-"

"We'd never leave." Zach shifted to look at his mother. "But they seem to be running perfectly. Maybe this was all just a mistake. Maybe that's why you haven't gotten anything on the radio."

Rhea hesitated. "I can't get any other stations, either."

"Maybe that's a design flaw of the base! In any case, there's nothing to say it's really dangerous outside except that timer."

Rhea huffed and put her hands on her hips. "I'm not willing to risk either of your safety because I was impatient. You felt that shockwave. Something happened -- something big. I, for one, am going to trust the computer." Her face softened. "And I ask that you do the same. Even if you can't trust the computer, trust me. Can you trust your mother?"

Zach sighed. "Yeah. Alright. We'll wait."

Rhea walked over and hugged him, to his surprise. He was still covered in drying mud, but she didn't care. It had been a while since she'd offered him some physical affection.

He stiffened before returning the hug. During their captivity, she'd read up on this thing called Love Languages. It hadn't taken a genius to know that his was physical touch.

He gave her a squeeze. "Thanks, Mom." He slowly released her. "I'm going to go back and garden now."

Rhea smiled as she watched him leave. He was growing into a responsible young man.

She returned to washing dishes, lost in thought. What was his future going to look like? She didn't know. It would all depend on what happened when they opened that door. But it didn't sound promising.

The radios were in contact with every other Gravity base in the world. She had triple-checked countless times the manual's troubleshoot, with the same result each time. No answer at all.

The obvious answer seemed clear, but she hated to consider it. It was possible that every other base had been destroyed. Nothing else she had come up with made sense, except that hundreds of other bases had all simultaneously decided to not speak to her, which seemed much less likely.

As the years went on, it was seeming more and more likely that the unspeakable had happened.

Her family were the sole survivors of planet Earth. Perhaps there were a few stray bases made by some crazy, independent nuts, but she doubted it. If professionally sustained titanium bases produced by Gravity could collapse, homemade ones stood little chance.

"Mom! Mom!" Ashley ran into the room, holding a book in her arms. "I found it!"

Rhea turned to look at her daughter. "What? You found what?"

Ashley grinned. "The Dweller handbook!" She held out the book.

Rhea stared in surprise. She had been starting to think it didn't exist. The base's library was stacked to the brim with books from all around the world -- thousands, maybe millions of them. They were completely lacking organization, and as such, made it difficult to locate any one book.

The Dweller Handbook was apparently the instructions for the base leader. Since Grina was supposed to fill that role, Rhea had just assumed that it had been with her at the time of the Event. Apparently she was wrong.

"That's wonderful news!" Rhea smiled and took the book. "Good job, Ash! Thank you so much!" She reached out to pat Ash's head.

Ash rolled her eyes. "I'm getting kind of old for that, Mom. Next time let's just stick with a handshake."

Ashley turned and returned to the library while Rhea sat down to read the manual. For YEARS she had just been going by the skin of her teeth, trying to figure out how to make everything work. At least the radio's had their own manual.

When she opened it up, she was surprised to note that it started with a list of objectives.

Close down the base.

Establish contact with additional bases.

Determine hierarchy and continue with governance.

Rhea frowned. "So what do I do if no one answers?" she asked aloud. She flipped to the page that spoke to the new Guild leader.

You all took an oath when you signed on that you would save the human race from extinction. That is your number one priority. First, to save your base, second, to save other bases, and third, to repopulate the world. Should you have the resources you are bound to your oath.

Rhea scowled. When had she ever taken an-. No, wait. It was probably part of those terms that she signed to. She sighed and set the book down. It didn't seem oriented on equipment. Maybe the equipment had its own set of rules.

Saving her base was an easy objective to submit to. She'd save her kids whatever the cost was -- yes, including the rest of the world. She'd run through the scenario in her head several times, and the answer was always the same. No questions there.

Saving other bases? She knew that there was another one just across town. In the unlikely event that people there were still alive, she was fine with going to check it out after the door opened. That shouldn't be a problem.

And unless that happened, the third requirement wasn't even an option. It's not like they had the resources to-

Rhea closed her eyes. No. They were a family. She opened the book back up and read the first portion again. You took an oath to save the human race from extinction. Surely, they didn't mean at ANY cost, right?

Well, regardless of what the book said, she had her boundaries. She wasn't about to do something so vile as incest. She closed the book and went straight to bed.

The next morning, as everyone gathered around for breakfast, Rhea stirred her oatmeal unenthusiastically.

Ashley raised an eyebrow. "Mom? Are you okay?"

"Hm?" Rhea looked up at her distractedly. "Oh, yes. I'm fine, dear."

She didn't look convinced, but she didn't say anything. The rest of the meal passed in silence. After they were finished, Zach quickly excused himself to return to the farm.

Ashley stayed. "Mom... Did you read something in that book? Is there bad news?"

Rhea hesitated. "No. At least... Nothing to worry about."

Ashly folded her arms. "Okay, so what's bothering you? You hardly ate your food, and you've been distracted all morning. I haven't seen you like this since we were kids."

Rhea shifted uncomfortably. "It's not appropriate to discuss... Especially with my daughter."

Ashly scoffed. "What's that supposed to mean? Look, are you going to tell me or do I have to figure it out for myself?"

That was no empty threat. She really would figure it out. Rhea sighed. "It's just... Here. Let me show you."

She retrieved the Dweller's Handbook and opened it up to the page. "This says that I took an oath to save the human race."

"Okay... So what's the problem? You're doing great so far."

Rhea winced. "It says that if we have the resources, we must repopulate the Earth."

"Uh-huh."

Rhea waited for the light to click on, but it never came. "We technically DO have the resources."

Ashely stared at her blankly. "We do? Alright, then we repopulate. I'm still not seeing the issue."

Rhea blinked. "What?"

Ashley tilted her head. "What, you don't want to get pregnant again? Is that the problem?" She snorted. "That's kind of lame of you, not going to lie."

Rhea stared at her daughter, aghast, until it dawned on her. "Ashley, how do you think human's reproduce?"

Ashely frowned. "Certain women become pregnant and give birth."

"Do you know how they became pregnant?"

Ashley tilted her head. "They take birth control pills. Right?" She narrowed her eyes. "Am I missing something?"

Rhea buried her face in her hands. Of course she wouldn't know. The Event had occurred before they were old enough for the Talk. Afterwards, they had kept so busy and they were both so capable that she just figured that they had figured it out. In hindsight, that was rather stupid.

No matter how intelligent her daughter was, there simply wasn't any material that would have said anything about sex! She couldn't be expected to figure it out!

Rhea sighed. "It's... a bit more complicated than that."

Ash settled into her Mom's lap and snuggled up against her chest. "Then tell me. You have never really talked about it."

"Well, first of all, it requires a man."

Ash processed that quickly. "Does Zach count? I guess so because you said we have everything we need. Still not seeing a problem."

Rhea wrapped her arms around Ash. "Not just any man. A lover. Like a husband."

Ash nodded. "Ah, I see the problem. But we don't have any of those."

Rhea remained silent as it slowly dawned on Ashley. "Wait, you mean that you'd have Zach as a lover?"

Rhea winced. "I'm getting too old for children. And that's exactly the problem. I can't just have my children..." She trailed off, uncertain of how to continue. "Anyway, I refuse to fulfill my oath. That's that.

Ashley pondered on that. "You don't seem very at peace with that conclusion."

Rhea shrugged. "I'll get over it."

Ashely raised an eyebrow. "It took four years for you to get over not getting Zach a pokemon card for his sixth birthday. Like it or not, Mom, you hate broken promises."

"This is different!" Rhea exclaimed, exasperated. "I didn't know what I was agreeing to!"

Ashley climbed off. "Keep telling yourself that. Maybe one day it will work." She kissed her mom's cheek. "Good luck. I'm headed off to the library."

Rhea grimaced and rested her chin in her hands as Ashley left. She would find a way to get over this.

She had to.

***************

Ashely frowned. Mom had gone to bed early, complaining of a headache, but Ash knew the truth. She was still stressing over breaking a promise - even a promise as stupid as that one.

She glanced at her brother, who was eating his hotdog across the table. "Hey, Zach. Have you noticed that something's up with Mom?"

He looked up at her. "I guess so. I figured you guys had a fight or something."

Ash rolled her eyes. "Not exactly. She discovered that she's breaking a promise."

Zach tilted his head. "What? What promise?"

She folded her hands and rested her chin on them. "She said she needs us to reproduce."

Zach choked on his hotdog. "Excuse me, what?"

Ashley shrugged. "Apparently she took an oath that she would do whatever it takes to repopulate the planet. And since she's getting too old, she needs me to have a kid."

Zach frowned, brushing the crumbs off of his uniform. "So what do you need me for?"

Ashley hesitated. "Apparently men are needed for women to become pregnant. She didn't go into detail, which is strange, but she did make one thing clear." She leaned over the table suddenly to put her face right in front of his. "She said we needed to be lovers for it to work."

Zach's eyes widened and he gulped. "L-lovers? Seriously? I thought that siblings couldn't be boyfriend and girlfriend!"

Ashley sighed and sat back down. "Apparently, they can, even if it's kind of weird. Look, I hate the idea as much as you do, but I hate to see Mom like this. It's been weeks now. If we don't even give it a shot, I think it's going to haunt her for the rest of her life."

Zach grimaced. "It only has to be for a little while, right?"

"From what I understand, probably. Couples do get divorced."

He thought on that for a moment. "Fine. If that's what it takes to get Mom back... I'm in."

She smirked. "Just don't expect me to get all cuddly-duddly with you."

Zach scoffed. "As if."

They sat there in silence, contemplating what they just agreed to. Finally, Zach spoke. "So... What do we have to do?"

"I guess we ask Mom."

*************

Rhea laid in her bed, one arm over her eyes. If only Grina had made it in time. They weren't the best of friends, but right now she'd be grateful for ANYONE -- she had a niece and nephew, Rhea was pretty sure. If either of them was here, the answers would be easy.

Maybe they hadn't taken incest into account? Deep down, she doubted it. They had made it pretty clear that aside from outright homicide, they wanted the plant to continue.

With her promise aside, would it be worth it? All of humanity's future rested on her shoulders. They were, she was feeling more and more confident, the last humans alive. Could she really let humanity die because she was squeamish about her children?

Maybe they could just wait until the door opened. Then they'd be sure there was no one else, no other alternative.

But wasn't that just rationalizing, delaying the inevitable? The moment that door opened, they wouldn't be safe anymore. If either of them got hurt or died, that could end everything right there. No, if she was going to force them to procreate, it would have to be before then.

But could she go through with it? She wasn't sure. The very idea made her want to throw up. Their tear-stained faces, the look of betrayal as she pushed them into something unnatural... She shuddered at the thought.

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. "Yes?"

Ashley pushed the door open. "Hey, Mom? You're still bugged about that promise thing, aren't you?"

Rhea pushed herself to a sitting position and smiled sadly. "Yes, dear. Is there something I can help you with?"

Zach followed his sister into the room. "We were thinking-" he began, but his sister cut him off. "This needs to stop. We talked it over, and we think we can do it."

Rhea froze. "What did you say?"

"We can become lovers to reproduce, at least for a little while. But, uh," Ashley glanced away, "We don't really know what to do. Do we just have to say that we've lovers, or..."

Rhea shook her head slowly. "You don't know what you're saying..."

Zach set his jaw. "We don't care. You made a promise. Besides, we aren't going to live forever. We know that we're probably the last survivors. And..." He sighed. "We really want our mother back."

Rhea stared at them for a long moment. All thoughts of their crying faces and betrayal faded. She hadn't given them enough credit. They were old enough to make their own decisions, now. She should have realized that they could handle this.

But... there was still so much they didn't know. Would they still agree if they knew? She didn't know.

Rhea smiled at them. "If that's what you want, we'll start tomorrow."

They glanced nervously at each other. "Don't worry too much. Either of you can back out whenever you want, alright? I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to." Just saying that eased the tightness in her stomach. "Okay?"

Zach seemed visibly relieved. "Thanks, Mom."

Ash narrowed her eyes. "How long is this going to take?"

Rhea sighed. "That depends on a lot of things. For now, get some rest. We'll talk in the morning."

Ashley hesitated before nodding. "Okay. Goodnight, Mom!"

"Goodnight, darling."

When they left, Rhea fell back onto her pillow.

What had she just agreed to?

**************

Breakfast the next morning passed in tense silence. Ash and Zach exchanged nervous looks the whole time, which only served to amplify Rhea's anxiety. The kids dismissed themselves quickly to go off to their separate chores.

As Rhea did the dishes, her doubts quickly ramped up. She couldn't do this. It was obvious that they weren't completely comfortable with it, and even if they were, that didn't make it right. She was their mother for pity's sake. She was supposed to protect them from such things!

She took a deep breath. No. As their mother, she needed to respect their decision. This wasn't just a casual thing, after all. They were discussing the fate of the world. She hadn't even asked them to do it. They had volunteered.

She turned her mind to how she was going to give the Talk. It would be awkward for sure. She didn't have any convenient textbooks or models -- after all, if there were any in the library, Ash wouldn't have been confused.

The last thing she wanted was for them to be uncomfortable. Sleeping with your sibling would be cause for alarm by itself. Add to that that it was their first time, and it became a nightmare. Not even knowing what sex was before you started? They would be scarred for life.

She ran out of time to plan. She had only constructed a rough draft by the time dinner arrived. As she cooked up the quesadillas, she attempted to finish organizing it, to little avail.

Dinner was no better than breakfast. If anything, the silence was almost suffocating. Rhea took some deep breaths to calm the nerves in her stomach. "I guess we won't be eating much tonight, right?"

Zach gave a pained smile at her joke, but Ash didn't even look up. Rhea sighed. This was going to be difficult.

Suddenly, Zach stood. "I'm not hungry. I'm ready." Despite his apparent nervousness, he managed to sound confident. "Are you ready, Ash?"

She didn't answer for several seconds. "Fine. Let's get this over with." Ash stood and looked to Rhea. "Where are we going?"

Rhea nodded. "Let's go to the living room." They all trudged to the well-decorated room.

A large couch sat in the middle of the room, facing a useless TV. No movies had been stored here, and they hadn't brought any. It was for the best, Rhea supposed. No distractions.

They all sat on the couch, a foot or two apart. Ash bit her lip. "So... How do we start?"

"Well..." Rhea began, but her voice caught in her throat. Their expectant faces seemed scared. Her old fears started creeping on her again.

"Let's start with... hugging!" She threw her plans out the window. "It's been a while since the two of you have hugged, right?"

They glanced at each other. "I guess..." Ash said slowly.

Zach opened his arms awkwardly. Ashely scooted over and slowly leaned in, wrapping her arms around him. Zach let out a deep breath as he took her into his arms.

Ash's slim frame fit perfectly into Zach's tall, built one. She nearly disappeared beneath his strong arms as they held each other. As Rhea watched, their embrace went from tentative to relaxed in a manner of seconds.

She smiled as the tension evaporated. She couldn't remember the last time that they had touched at all, much less hugged each other. She had been a bit confused about Ash's love languages, but watching them, she was pretty sure it was the same as her brother.

Zach's eyes closed as he savored a hug from his sister. They slowly started rocking back and forth as Ash buried her face into Zach's neck.

After a few minutes, Zach pulled away. "That was nice."

Ashley yawned and stretched. "Yeah, that wasn't too bad. Geez, mom, you had us so worried."

Rhea winced. "Oh, we're not done. That was just the beginning."

Ash gave an exaggerated sigh. "Fine. What do we have to do next?"

Rhea hesitated. "Well... Now you have to kiss."

Zach flinched while Ash groaned. "Seriously? I was hoping that was optional!"

Well, it technically was. Actually, she wasn't sure why she was having them do that. Maybe it would ease them into later steps?

"If you're not comfortable with that, you can always step out."

Ash pursed her lips, thinking.

Zach took the opportunity to chime in. "Chicken," he muttered under his breath.

Ash turned her head to look at him. "Excuse me?"

Zach shrugged. "Are you doing this or not? This is the kind of thing I was braced for, but if you are having second thoughts..."

Ash darted forward and took his lips with hers in a quick peck before turning away. "There, we kissed."

Rhea shook her head. "Longer than that, dear." She couldn't believe she was having this conversation. She shifted, ignoring the building heat in her core. "You know that doesn't count."

Ash scowled but turned around. Scrunching up, she touched her lips to his. They sat there, stiffly kissing each other, for a few seconds before Zach pulled up. "Like that?"

Rhea rolled her eyes. "No. Here..." Her heart was racing. "Let me show you. That will probably be easier."

She stood and crossed the couch to sit beside her son. She wasn't doing this. No. This was crossing a line. Rhea ignored her brain and leaned forward.

Zach tensed as her lips touched his. Gosh how I've missed kissing. She kissed him tenderly, softly. It's okay, dearest. You don't have to be afraid.

Slowly, he began to relax. She moved a hand up to cup his face and pressed in, intensifying the kiss.

He grunted in surprise and started responding. Rhea shivered when his lips met hers -- truly, not just physically.

She allowed herself a few more seconds before her screaming conscience pulled her back. Her cheeks were warm. "Like that."

Ash stared at them, her cheeks a bright red. She seemed somewhat upset, which worried Rhea. "Go on. Teach your sister what you've learned."

Ash opened her mouth to comment, but not before Zach leaned down to capture her lips with his. She immediately stiffened as Zach actually kissed her.

He moved one hand up behind her head and deepened the kiss. She whimpered as her eyes closed, and her arms wrapped around his neck.

Rhea smiled in contentment as she watched her children make out. It felt... right, somehow. Not at all strange.

Too right. The heat in her core was warming slightly. She'd always had a bit of a drive, but most of the time she could just ignore it. Here, with her children pulling at each other, she found it difficult to ignore.

Ash shivered as Zach's hand wrapped around her back. Rhea felt a small pang of jealousy as she remembered what his kiss felt like. With a bit of practice, he was going to become a wonderful kisser.

"Um, not to interrupt..." Rhea tapped their shoulders. "But there's something else I can show you."

Zach pulled back, leaving Ash gasping for air. "Wait, really?"

Rhea took the opportunity to take his mouth once again. She could taste his sister on him. To her surprise, he kissed much differently now. After a few seconds of him readjusting to kissing his mother rather than Ash, they settled back into a rhythm.

That's when Rhea pulled out a new move. Without warning, she opened her mouth and brushed her tongue against his lips. He jumped in surprise, but she managed to hold on and maintain contact. Cautiously, he opened his lips and let his tongue join hers.

She bit back a moan as he pressed into her mouth. He caught on all too quickly. Before she knew it, he was pushing vehemently into her mouth, exploring every corner.

She whimpered and grabbed onto his collar, pulling him in.

"Hey, guys. I think it's my turn! What are you guys even doing?"

With great reluctance, Rhea pulled back. "Ash is right, Zach. Go on, show her what you've learned."

Zach hardly turned around before Ash leapt up to eagerly kiss him.

Ash's moans only made matters worse for Rhea. She shifted, unconsciously trying to create friction between her thighs. She needed to clear her head.

The two made no moves to touch each other, other than the occasional reach for leverage to increase the kiss.

"Alright, you two. I think it's time for bed."

Zach broke away to look at her, much to Ash's obvious dismay. "Wait, are we done?"

Rhea chuckled and shook her head. "No, but I don't want to overwhelm you on our first night. We're not in any real rush, you know."

Ash cleared her throat. "Right. Well, see you guys tomorrow." She quickly got up and fled the room.

Zach raised an eyebrow. "What was that about?"

Rhea sighed. "I think she's not used to feeling vulnerable around you. Don't worry about it."

Zach sat back on the couch. Rhea sneaked a glance to where his sturdy erection was just beginning to fade. "So what are we doing tomorrow?"

"It'll be a surprise." Aka, she had no idea. "For now, you should get your rest. We've got plenty of time."

Zach nodded, but looked like he wanted to say more. "Is there something you want to say?"

He closed his mouth. "No. Goodnight, Mom."

"Goodnight, dearest."

The moment he was gone, Rhea sighed in relief. She needed to work off some of the pressure. She rose from the couch with a groan and stretched before heading to the shower.

After undressing and stepping under the hot water, Rhea glanced around for any long, properly shaped objects to satisfy her. Unfortunately, even the showerhead was attached. Looks like her fingers would have to suffice.

Closing her eyes, Rhea leaned back against the wall and lowered her fingers down to her cleft. She didn't pleasure herself often, not once since the Event. Still, she knew what to do to get herself worked up. She gently traced her fingers over her clit, allowing the tingles of pleasure to flow into her body.

Despite her impatience, she allowed herself to relish the gentle ministrations for several minutes. When she was satisfied, she immediately jumped to rubbing herself vigorously in a circle. Within a couple of minutes, she came with a quiet cry of pleasure.

It wasn't the most satisfying, but it was good enough. She took a few deep breaths, embracing the post-orgasm currents of pleasure that washed over her.

After cleaning herself and climbing out of the shower, she realized it had been nearly an hour. She peeked in to each of their rooms.

Zach was already fast asleep, while Ash was pacing in her room, muttering to herself quietly. She was acting strange about the whole situation. Not that the situation wasn't strange, but this was not the reaction Rhea anticipated.With a sigh, she went to bed. They made progress, after all.

She just had to hope she wouldn't ruin everything.