Theron's Hope (Brides of Theron) (15 page)

Zane knew That Gracie was upset.   He felt bad that he deceived her into thinking that he was the only doctor capable of attending to the wounded warrior.  The truth was that injuries like this one rarely occurred on a ship like this and treating them was an exciting challenge for a doctor that he did not want to give to one of his staff.  It wasn't that he looked forward to seeing an injury like this but he relished the thought of using his skills to put the wounded warrior back together and seeing him recover like the accident never happened. 

After he took his shower, he didn’t know what else to do. He couldn’t sleep so he decided to go and see if he could talk to Zeb.  He went to his friend’s quarters after going up to the clinic and checking on his patient.  On his way out of the clinic he stopped in his office.  One of the warriors went down to the planet today and brought up a surprise for the ship’s doctor he referred to as beer.  He figured the two of them could definitely use a drink given the recent events.

Zane pressed the doorbell on Zeb and Avery’s quarters and waited patiently to see if Zeb would answer.  He hoped he would because he really needed to talk to someone.  When the door slid open, he held up the cans so Zeb could see them and said, “Are you up for some Earth beverages?”

“I hope it’s something strong,” Zeb said as he motioned Zane in.  Zeb lead them both into his office, closing the door.

“That, I don’t know my friend. One of the other men brought it back with him when his team went down to scout the surface of the planet today. Here, catc
h
.
”

Zane tossed one of the blue and silver cans towards Zeb. “Pull up that little tab on top. Like this.” He showed Zeb how to do it and then sniffed its contents. “Doesn’t smell too bad, what do you think?”

Zeb smelled the strange liquid too and put the can to his lips. “Here goes nothing, old friend.” Both men tipped the cans and took long swallows of the cold earth drink. “I could get used to this stuff. What is it called?”

Before Zane could answer he had to wipe the foam mustache from his lips, “It is something they call beer and I agree. I like it.” Each man went on to finish the rest of the can in silence, and then opened another can before they continued talking.

“What brings you here so late? Shouldn’t you be with your new mate?” Zeb gave Zane a crooked smile and waited for his reply.

“That’s what I came to speak with you about. Gracie is having a hard time. She won’t come near me anymore and refuses to sleep in the bedroom.” He ran a hand through his short cropped hair.

“You’re not the only one with problems. Avery is having problems too. I almost had to call you again in order to give her a sedative. Just the thought of sedation calmed her down quickly. We had a relatively good day, or so I thought. She seemed to be happy until we came back here and she looked out the window and saw her planet. Then, we were right back to square one.”

“At least you got Avery out of the living quarters.  I have not been able to take Gracie out and I think she is tired of being cooped up.  I tried to take her out this morning, but I was called out on a medical emergency. I would love to get her started on the business she wishes to conduct on the planet.  However, we both know that returning to the surface is out of the question without the council’s approval. I will not let her go Zeb. She is mine now. I feel something for her that I can't explain.  I want to protect her and never allow her to be harmed.” Zane flopped down into a chair that sat in front of Zeb’s desk.  He looked to his commander for some answers or even suggestions to his dilemma.

Zeb took another long swallow of the beer then asked his longtime friend, “Do you think we went about this in the wrong way Zane? I mean, just taking the females like we did?”

“Well, the leaders of the country they came from gave us their permission to proceed with our mission.  In return, we gave them what we promised. So, what do you feel is wrong with what we did?”

Zeb walked around the desk to sit in his chair before answering, “I don’t know. I am thinking we went about this all wrong. Maybe their government shouldn’t have kept it a secret. Maybe the females should have had a choice in whether or not they wanted to leave their homes. By ripping them away from their planet the way that we did, I think we are going to have a hard time gaining their trust, much less their affection.”

“I believe that you are right, my friend. But, what can we do about the ones we already have?” Zane asked.

“The best I can think of is to continue to show them that we mean them no harm.  That we will protect them at all costs. We need to show them that their lives with us won’t be as bad as what they are probably thinking.”

The room was quiet for several minutes while both men were thinking of a way to ease the situation. Zane was the first to speak, “Do you think you could get Avery to come over to talk with Gracie, since she seems willing to leave her planet? Maybe that way, both will of them find peace in their situation.  Maybe, talking with one of their own kind will help them adjust.”

“I think that is an excellent idea. We will do that tomorrow. Oh, by the way, do you have the translation chips ready?”

“I finished them this afternoon. I already put Gracie’s in. Just bring Avery down to the hospital tomorrow morning and I will implant the chips. It’s getting really late and I must get back to Gracie. I will see you in the morning.” Zane stood to leave and headed to the door, “Here you can finish these.” With that he placed the two remaining beers on Zeb’s desk and left the office.

Zane felt a little better after talking to Zeb.   It did not resolve all of his issues he had but at least Avery and Grace could get together tomorrow and talk.  Maybe that is exactly what she needed.  A friend to confide in and release all of the frustration she felt with her current situation.  She was going to have to get it together if she had any hopes of returning to the surface of her planet.  The council meeting had been reset for the day after tomorrow because a ship had arrived a few hours ago with some instructions from the planet and they were currently working through those orders and modifying what work needed to be completed here before they convened the meeting.

Zane quietly entered his quarters and saw Gracie lying comfortably on the sofa.  He turned to the hallway and got ready for bed.  The surgery was a tough one.  The way the warrior’s arm was ripped off had damaged several of the ligaments that attached to the shoulder.  It took an extensive amount of time and concentration to finish all the repairs.  He was very lucky he had a great support staff and several medical assistants to help him.  That was the only reason this warrior lived and would likely after many months of physical therapy regain full use of his arm and hand. 

He got into his bed and the moment he laid his head on the pillow and closed his eyes, he was asleep.  When he did his training as a student he rarely had time to sleep.  Today was a day similar to those.  He would get rest anyway he could.  Thank the Gods it wasn’t going to be on the sofa.

Gracie woke up startled.  The dream she had was unsettling.  While she was sleeping she dreamed that angry aliens were chasing her and she got lost among the many corridors on the ship.  It was a never ending maze and she was so frustrated.  She was lost until she came to the door with the symbol she recognized on Zane's door.  She banged as hard as she could on the door and when it opened, she found herself in the arms of her Zane, her aqua eyed savior.

She was always a big believer that what you would dream had some link to the current feelings and problems you were dealing with in your life at present.  Perhaps within the dream was an answer to her current problem.  Analyzing this dream would be a tough one though.  She never dreamed about aliens before and her dream dictionary was in her bedside table in her apartment on 5
^th
Avenue.  It dawned on her that she was going to have to pull it together.  They were supposed to be meeting with the council soon.  She remembered it should be today.  How would they react when they heard about her horrible behavior yesterday? 

Zane came in to the living room dressed for the day.  He was determined to let yesterday pass without discussion and try as hard as he could not to make a big deal of yesterday’s hysterics.  Smiling at her like nothing ever happened, “Good Morning Gracie.  You might want to get dressed soon.  I have a surprise for you.  As a matter of fact, I was just coming to wake you.”

Grace was dumbfounded.  She expected Zane to question her behavior and even chastise her for it.  Instead he came in like nothing ever happened.  “Aren’t we supposed to be meeting with the council today?”  She was checking, hoping that he did not change his mind about letting her present her case after last night.

“Some news from the planet has caused some changes in council’s plans.  The meeting has been moved to tomorrow.  The council is going over another message today and will meet with us then to let us know what changes to expect,” he said as he prepared two cups of tolka. 

Grace made a move to get up. She thought twice about talking to him and instead went to the bedroom to get ready for the day.  She looked into the mirror focusing in on her face and thought, no wonder he didn’t give me a hard time this morning, “I look like shit.  My eyes are so red and swollen and my head is pounding from all the crying I did last night.” She gently blotted the bags under her eyes with a cold wet washcloth.

She took a quick shower and spent some extra time with her make-up.  All the best foundation in the world wouldn’t be able to cover the puffiness around her eyes.  Where was the hemorrhoid cream when she needed it?  Emily’s mother was a stylist for several beauty pageant contestants and she insisted that no woman’s make-up bag should be without it.  She and Em used to joke about it when faced with situations like these. 

Spending more time than necessary to pick out her clothes in order to avoid Zane, she slipped on her favorite pair of skinny jeans, tan brown suede knee high boots, and a tight ribbed long sleeved sweater that showed off her curves awesomely.  She accented her outfit with a stone pendant hanging by a leather cord and a brown leather belt with decorative buckle.

She stepped into the living area and watched Zane busily setting plates on the bar and placing her hot steaming cup of tolka to the upper left side of her plate.  “I made you some toast.  I did not know what you would want to eat, so I figured that would be easiest.  Also, because there wasn’t much else in the cabinet we will have to go out later and pick up some food.”

She looked at him for a second and then quickly looked away.  It was so damn hard to be mad at this man.  Why did he have to be so perfect, so patient even?  She took a moment to think about what she wanted to say.  She was hoping that whatever she said to him would not make her cry.  She had spent way too much time applying her make-up so she would look presentable.    Very quietly she said, “I am really sorry about last night.  I am ashamed of the way I talked to you.  You have been nothing but nice to me and I acted like a spoiled brat.”

“It will take us some time to get used to each other.  I have never lived with anyone before you, so this is an adjustment for me as well.  It isn’t all that bad for me though.  I can definitely get used to you being here,” he said as he hid his smile behind a quick sip of his tolka.

She smiled back at him.  He had such a calming effect on her.  She knew that she could easily get used to this arrangement as well and then it dawned on her to ask about the patient he took care of yesterday.  “So, how did the surgery go?  Were you able to save the warrior and his arm?”