Theron's Hope (Brides of Theron)

by Pond, Rebecca Lorino

  Zane hated to leave her but he had no choice. His obligation to the crew members on this ship was non-negotiable. It was his job and she was going to have to get used to this. Putting on his sternest face he figured he would have to be tough with her. He did not have time for many words. “Gracie, I don’t know how long this will take.” He said a bit harsher than he would have liked to.

  She asked, “Isn’t there any other doctor that can handle this. I don’t like being cooped up her in this apartment alone.”

  “Gracie, I wish there were others that could handle this situation, but there is not. This is a delicate surgery involving the connection of tiny blood vessels among other things. Typically, I can treat this with some our more advanced medicines. However, with his arm completely severed I cannot use these medicines until his arm is reattached and allowed to heal for about a week. I don’t have time to discuss this with you now.” He said as he began to rush to the door. “I will return as soon as I can.” The door slid shut behind him and she heard the lock engage.

  Grace was not used to being held prisoner. She always did as she pleased where ever she went. Money was never an object so it enabled her to do many things. She waited around holding onto her diary and spinning her pen between her fingers. She had been holding this book for two days and still had not written a thing. She always had something to write. This was not like her at all. Hours passed and she grabbed a snack trying several of the dehydrated foods hoping to heat up the panea. She really wanted something sweet to eat. Chocolate would be ideal. Did they have ona ice cream by chance?

  As the day went on for what seemed like an eternity, she left all the different foods that she rehydrated on the plates randomly scattered on the bar having had tasted a bite of each and avoided eating the ones she did not particularly care for which was most of them. It was a big mess in the kitchen and she was too mad to clean it. She hated feeling like this. It was the anger that was probably affecting her tastes. If she had been in a better mood she may have liked several of the dishes on the bar. She gave those items she might have liked another taste. They still tasted off to her. She washed all the odd food down with a large glass of leppa juice. At least she could say that the leppa juice was good.

  She looked at the mess in the kitchen she made. She resolved that she was not going to clean it up. She felt a little guilty about leaving the mess knowing that Zane was normally a very neat and tidy person. She was not going to clean it up, to hell with Zane. Let him do it. If he can leave her here all day then he can clean up this mess. She went back to the sofa after grabbing a blanket and pillow off the bed. She would be damned if she shared a bed with that traitor, leaving her in this hell hole all day. Just as she arranged the blanket and pillows on the sofa, the door slid open and Zane came in carrying a box.

  He surveyed the kitchen and was frustrated. He hated disorder and when he saw the kitchen it was a bit overwhelming to him, “Grace, what the hell?”

  She looked him in the eyes, angry and vengeful and said, “For the record Doctor Zane, I hate being locked up in a room. I also hate most of the food in the cabinet. And, most of all, I miss my life and my family on Earth. I have never felt restricted like I have been for the last two days.”

  He knew that she was angry and expected to arrive to a not so warm a welcome. He quickly changed the subject, “I brought your translation disks for implantation if that is any consolation.” He didn’t know what to say to her. She was so angry.

  “Will it make me able to understand everyone on this ship?” She replied sharply.

  “Yes, Gracie it will. May I go ahead and put them in?” Trying to use the sweetest and most soothing voice he could muster.

  “Yes Doctor Zane, you may. After that, I plan to retire on this sofa and sleep because it would be rather unfair for me to take the bed when I can fit on this sofa quite nicely if I do say so myself.”

  She was hysterical when she was mad. Though it pained him to know that the reason she was mad was all because of him. He would have liked to let her out to explore the ship but knew that he couldn’t let her out on her own. Not until he could show her around and ensure that she would know how to get around. It was a rather large ship and it would be hard to find her if she lost her way. He placed the box on the table and sat down on the sofa next to his mate. “This is the translation disk here.” He pointed to it on a long, thin probe apparatus. “I have to insert this into your ear drum so I will use this tool to help me reach it. It should not hurt and if it does, I promise that it will not hurt for long. It is very important that you do not move or jerk away from me while I have the probe in your ear. Do you understand?”

  Grace nodded in the affirmative. He gently cupped her face in his hand. Her skin was so soft. He realized that this was the first time he touched her face. The only other contact they had was when he held her hand while taking her from the lounge after the auction, when he comforted her yesterday as she cried in his arms, and when they slept last night but most of that he did not remember. A jolt of electricity shot through his body and went straight into his heart causing another involuntary response from his male member. The notion of her holding him as he woke this morning vividly entered his thoughts but he knew it was time to be serious. This was a very delicate operation to insert the tiny disks into her ear drums.

  He inserted the long probe into her ear canal and gently touched the membrane of the ear drum applying a tiny bit of pressure. She did not even flinch. He was being extra careful. He had deep emotional feelings for this woman. “The first one is done, now I will do the other one.”

  He cupped her face on the other side adjusting the angle of her face with gentle pressure. He inserted the probe and quickly with the precision he was known for, had the device installed and probe retracted in no time flat.

  “Is that all? I would like to go to sleep now.” Grace said not looking in his direction. She was purposely avoiding eye contact with him.

  “Yes, Gracie.” He paused and looked at the kitchen, wondering if he should tell her anything else. “I am going to clean the kitchen and take a shower. Is there anything you need before I do this?” Zane said as he tried to get her to look in his direction. He was sure that he could make this right with her. However, she was resolved. She said nothing in return and closed her eyes, turning her head to face the wall as she covered her head with the blanket. He made his way to the kitchen and disposed of all of the uneaten food. Placing all the dishes in the dishwasher and wiping down the counters. When the kitchen was clean, he made his way to the shower.

  She felt bad for her behavior. She was acting like a spoiled brat. Of course he needed to perform the surgery because he was probably the only one who could. She wasn’t as upset with him as she portrayed. Instead, the fact was that she was angry at him but even angrier with herself and he needed to know without a doubt what she was feeling, exaggerated or not. He needed to know how she didn’t like being locked in this apartment alone. She was ashamed that she treated him the way she did. And to top it all off, the one thing that upset her most was that she did not even ask what she really wanted to know. She wanted to ask him how the surgery went. Was he able to save the warrior’s arm? Did the warrior even survive his injuries? She sure wasn’t going to find out tonight, that was for sure. After reflecting on how she acted with him she started to cry because she felt so shameful. Eventually, she cried herself to sleep.

  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 coul
dn’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, catch.”

  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.

  Chapter 11

  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 5th 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.