Eight year old Sally was a very good girl.

She had awakened at 7:15, put a pink robe on over her jammies, donned her fuzzy pink slippers, and slipped quietly downstairs. She poured herself a glass of orange juice, turned on the TV, and pushed the play button on the DVD player.

For the next two hours she was enraptured watching "The Sponge Bob Squarepants Movie" for the 50th time. After the movie the 8 year old was hungry. She could have had cereal, but it was Saturday, and on Saturday Mommy always made her pancakes.

It was quiet upstairs, and Mommy's bedroom door was still closed. Her big sister Angie had spent the night at a slumber party, and she, and all rest of the 12 year old girls were being taken to the mall, and then to a movie by Mr. and Mrs. Atkins. Monica Atkins was Angie's best friend, and the two girls were inseparable. Since Angie had discovered boys, she didn't have much time for Sally.

The little girl sighed, and decided to watch Sesame Street.

Sometime later, Sally was really hungry. Her Mommy had given her firm instructions to be quiet and always let her sleep on Saturday mornings, but Sally was sure that she never stayed in bed this long. It was time for Mommy to make her pancakes.

Sally padded up the stairs, and timidly knocked on Mommy's closed bedroom door. "Mommy?" she called. "Mommy, are you awake?"

She thought she heard a faint sound through the door. "Mommy?" She knocked again.

It was a little louder this time. "Mommy?" she said, as she opened the door slightly, and peaked inside. "Are you still sleeping?"

There was a large lump in the bed under the covers, and the lump made a soft moan.

"Mommy, are you there?" asked the little girl. She walked over to the bed, and very tentatively took the edge of the covers, and pulled them down slightly.

Her Mom looked up at her pleadingly, and whimpered.

"Mommy!" she exclaimed. "What happened?"

Jan Miller lay motionless and hurting in the center of the bed. The sheets were damp with sweat, and her hair was plastered wetly against her face. To little Sally her Mom looked like a pig with an apple in its mouth, and she giggled at the thought. Jan moaned again, and shook her head. Her eyes were red and swollen, and her cheeks glistened with fresh tears. A thin stream of drool dribbled out the corner of her month, and down her chin.

"Mmmmmmhh!" the woman begged around the large, tight ballgag. "Eellllllllpphhhh EEEEEE!!"

Suddenly afraid, Sally started to cry. She didn't know why Mommy would have a ball in her mouth, but she knew she had to take it out. She slipped a finger through the strap beside her Mother's lips, and gave a gentle tug.

"Nnnnnnnnnnnrrrrrpppp!" her Mom cried in desperation. She twisted her head as far around as she could until the little girl could see the buckle. "

"I see it, Mommy!" said Sally. "Just like my belt." The girl quickly climbed up on the bed, pulled the end of the strap out of the loop, and tugged hard at the buckle. It was strapped tightly enough around the woman's neck that it didn't come loose easily, but after several jerks the little pin came out of the hole and the buckle came open. Sally dropped the strap, but the ball was too large, and Jan's jaws and tongue were too tired to force the ball out of her mouth.

"Aaaaaaakkkkkkkiisssssooooooffff" begged the gagged woman. Sally took the free end of the strap, and pulled. With a wet sucking sound and a gush of saliva the large ball pulled free from Jan's lips.

"Aaaakkkhhooooo," croaked Jan to her little daughter. With a groan she moved her numb tongue and lipped her parched lips. "Ohhhhh! Oh, thank you Honey!"

"What happened, Mommy?" said Sally, still frightened by what she saw.

"It's ok, Baby," said Jan. "I'll explain it later, but now you have to help me."

"OK, Mommy"

"First pull these covers off of me." Quickly the little girl complied.

Jan's sweat soaked pink nightgown was rucked up above her knees. Her wrists were handcuffed behind her back. They were tight...way too tight, and her hands were blue from diminished circulation. Here ankles were also cuffed, and drawn toward her wrists by an 18 inch chain. The chain was affixed to her ankles by a combination padlock.

"Sally, do you see the little key on the bed table?" asked Jan. "Yes, Mommy," she replied, picking up the little key.

"Now be careful with it Honey," said Jan. "If you lose it we are in a real pickle." The cuffed woman drew her feet at close to her hands as she could, to gain a little slack.

"Now Baby, do you remember how the key to the door goes into the little hole?"

"Yes, Mommy."

"Good. Do you see the little hole on each of the cuffs?

The little girl peered more closely at the shiny cuffs and responded, "Yes, Mommy."

"Ok then, Honey. Put the little key into the hole and try to turn it."

"I can't Mommy! It will go into the little hole, but it won't turn!"

Jan tried to twist her body and neck so that she could see her cuffed hands. To her delight she saw that the key was, indeed, in the keyhole. "Try to turn it again, Baby."

The little girl grasped the key, and turned it to the left.

"No, Honey," corrected Jan. "Turn it in the other direction...toward my feet."

With a small click Jan's left cuff opened, but the woman's hands were too numb to take it all the way off her wrist. "Sally, gently now, swing the cuff open like a gate, and take it off my wrist."

The brave little girl bit her bottom lip in concentration and gingerly pulled the cuff off of her Mom's wrist. "Oooohhh....." groaned Jan with relief.

The woman's hand tingled with returning circulation, and she was able to wiggle her fingers, but there was no way she could grasp the little key for a while. "Now Honey, please undo the other one."

Quickly the child released the other cuff, and then the cuffs around each ankle. With a heavy sigh of relief the pretty young Mother fell back against her pillow. "Oh thank you, Baby" she said with true gratitude.

"What happened, Mommy?"

With another deep sigh Jan quickly pondered how to answer the 8 year old's question.

"Come up here and cuddle with me, Sally," said Jan, extending an arm to the child. Eagerly the little girl clambered into Mommy's bed and snuggled up against her.

Slowly feeling her way, Jan tried to explain to Sally in a way that a child might understand. "Sally, you know that I miss Daddy terribly since he died, don't you?"

"Yes Mommy," answered the little girl. "We all miss him."

"Well, Mommies miss Daddies in a different way that children do," explained Jan. "Last night I was missing Daddy a whole lot. He and I used to play, and he would tie me up all night, and I really miss that. Last night I tried to tie myself up, and think about Daddy." She looked at the little girl. "Do you understand, Honey?"

"I think so, Mommy...at least a little bit." Said little Sally, her brow furrowed with concentration. "Do you like to be tied up?"

Jan smiled wistfully. "Oh, yes Honey. I like it very much."

"So you and Daddy played Cowboys and Indians?" asked Sally.

"I guess so...sort of," smiled Jan. "When Daddy tied me up, I felt so safe.....so secure."

"Without Daddy to untie you, how were you ever going to get loose, Mommy?"

"I thought that when the sun came up, I could open the combination lock, which would free my hands enough to reach the key, and then I could unlock my cuffs," explained Jan.

"Gee, you are clever Mommy!" gushed the little girl. "I would never have thought of that."

"No, Honey. I was dumb," answered Jan, "because I made the handcuffs way too tight, and when my hands became numb, I couldn't open the combination lock." Jan smiled and cuddled her daughter. "Had it not been for my brave girl, I would have had a real problem."

"I was scared, Mommy," admitted the little girl, "when I saw you were crying." Sally smiled at her Mom. "I knew that I needed to be a big girl, and help you."

Jan's hands had returned to a healthy pink, and felt fine when she flexed them. "Let me get a robe on, Honey, and then we will make you some pancakes."

Jan quickly put the ballgag, chain and two pairs of handcuffs in the drawer beside the bed. "Let's go, Honey," she said, and mother and daughter went down stairs.

Little Sally thought about her rescue of her Mom all the next week. She knew that Mommy was sad over not having Daddy anymore. She kept thinking about what Mommy said...how being tied up made her feel "safe and secure". She certainly wanted her Mommy to be happy. Should she talk to her sister Angie about this? No, she decided. This was a secret between her and her Mommy!