Theron's Hope (Brides of Theron)

by Pond, Rebecca Lorino

  Grace gave Emily a hug. “You didn’t need to get me anything. I am taking you all with me in here.” She pointed to her heart. “If you are alive when I return, I will find you and see you and Michael both. I will definitely look in on the kids and your grandkids. I promise you that.”

  “It gives me great comfort to hear that. I hope I am around to see you. You are going to be so much younger than me, aren’t you?” Em said trying to find a smile.

  “I don’t know how it works exactly but I should be somewhat younger. Even Zane does not know about how it all works. The people of their planet live so much longer than us. He thinks it may be the diet or that most of them spend their lives traveling. It might be as simple as the conditions of the planet he lives on. Only time will tell, Em.” She gave her friend another hug and started to recline propping herself on her arms as she basked in the sunlight.

  The men were having a blast with the kids. Jacob was trying to fly his kite into Gianna’s and she was getting frustrated with him, yelling for him to stop as she pulled hers away farther and farther from the others. She and Emily just sat on the blanket watching them like they would a movie. The air was dry but a bit chilly and the sun coming from behind the clouds was starting to warm their skin. What a fabulous day to enjoy the park.

  They had all the heavy talk they could handle this morning so Em and Grace sat and talked like there would be a tomorrow with each other. It was like nothing had ever changed and it made them both feel a bit better. It was like they were just enjoying the moments they had left without thinking about what would come later. It certainly made it easier for Grace to enjoy her last day on earth’s surface. She knew that Emily was giving her friend to a man most capable of making her happy. Michael and Emily both knew that she was supposed to be with Zane.

  When they got hungry, Emily and Grace handed out the food and drinks and they all sat there together on the blanket. Gianna sat in Grace’s lap and Jacob in Zane’s with Chelsey squeezed in between them. Grace was doing her best to memorize this moment and keep it with her forever. How she wished at this moment to have a photographic memory like Zane. He would be able to recall this moment with exact detail at a later date and she was going to make sure that he did for her.

  They spent a couple more hours in the park. It was a perfect ending to a perfect life on the planet earth. In an hour or two they would return to the ship. Zane was tossing a ball to Jacob and he was trying to catch it. He would hand it to Chelsey to get it back to Zane because he hadn’t got the hang of throwing it yet. Gianna resumed flying her kite and Michael was just enjoying the moment. He looked like he was doing the same thing as Grace, saving this day in his memory. He was creating something in his mind that he could reference whenever he missed Grace.

  However, all good things must come to an end. Jillian came out to meet them in the park. The men started to pick up and the women folded the blanket. Jacob was tired and rubbing his eyes because he needed a nap desperately. When Jillian tried to take him from Zane’s arms he cried and kicked, throwing a fit. Zane gave him a hug and kissed the top of his head. “This is the end of our adventure today. Maybe someday we can go on another one, but for now my dear friend you must go with Jillian.” Jacob squeezed Zane tight and gave him a big slobbery kiss on the cheek as he thrust his arms out for Jillian to take him home. The girls gave Grace and Zane hugs and kisses. Gianna turned to them and said, “You better not stay away to long Auntie Grace and Uncle Zane.” Zane’s arm was over Grace’s shoulder. They couldn’t say anything. They did not know how long it would be before they returned.

  Michael took the blanket and Zane brought the basket back to Grace’s apartment. They were ready to leave now. Zane gathered the suitcases and placed them in the study. Grace turned to Michael and asked, “Everything is complete? I don’t have anything else to sign, do I?” Michael shook his head, no. Grace went up to Michael and whispered, “I love you. Take care of Em and the kids. I am going to miss you all very much.” He did not say anything in return. He just couldn’t. Then, Zane approached him and gave him a hug thanking him for all the work and for becoming a great friend in the process.

  Grace went to Emily who was holding a big book. Emily looked at her as she handed it over. “This is what I have been working tirelessly on. Go ahead, open it up.” Grace opened it and in the cover in Emily’s fine script it said, “Grace, I hope this brings you comfort on your journey. We are with you when you open it and look upon its pages. Enjoy your life and make some new memories. We will always be with you in your heart. Love, Michael, Emily and in the kids own handwriting with their handprints were Gianna, Chelsey, and a signature that was clearly helped by an adult, Jacob. Grace wiped away the tear that started to fall down her cheek and Zane came over to see if she was alright.

  She turned the pages to find family trees with all her relatives. Emily pointed to several individuals on the page, “This guy signed the Declaration of Independence, and this guy is the brother of a president.” She smiled at her handy work. The next pages were pictures of ancestors she had never met with names and birth and death dates. The last pages were all pictures of her growing up. It was a hard bound book and had to have over 250 pages. The last pages were all the pictures that she had Jo develop. “How did you get these?” She asked.

  “I met Jo to copy the disk onto my computer. The printer was upset when he had to add them in at the last moment but with the check I gave him for working all night on it, he quickly got over it. I have been working on the book for months. It turns out that it is a perfect going away gift.” She looked away, her eyes were glossing over with unshed tears.

  “Thank you Emily! This is really great.” She kissed her best friend on the cheek and went to join Zane in the middle of the room. “I love you and you make sure that you tell the kids I love them every single day.” Graces tears were flowing faster now as Zane pressed the button on his transmitter and said, “Brylon, we are ready to beam aboard.”

  Grace felt the tingling sensation as her body became transparent. The last thing she saw was Michael crying in his wife’s arms, as he collapsed on his knees to the floor. Emily would take care of him. She was sure of that. Now it was time for her to move onto her next adventure. They were beamed to Engineering and met an excited Brylon. “How did everything go?” Grace overtaken with emotion fell into Zane’s arms. Brylon looked concerned.

  “It went well Brylon. It went so well that naturally it is really hard to have to say goodbye.” Zane held onto his mate until she regained her composure. “Are you all right, my love?”

  “Yes, I am,” she said.

  “Zane, the council wants to meet with you for a report on the mission. They want you to report to conference room 2 in an hour’s time. You are welcome to go with him Grace,” Brylon added.

  “Do you want to come, Grace? I know that you are tired and it is perfectly fine if you return to our quarters and rest if you need to.” She shook her head no and made it clear she was going with him. “Brylon, can you have someone bring these things up to my quarters?”

  “Sure, I will do it myself.” Brylon said as he loaded the bags up onto a cart. Grace was still clutching the book to her chest and was clearly not going to be parted with it just yet.

  They made their way, hand in hand, to the conference room to meet the council. Zeb was there with them discussing business. “Welcome back Zane, Grace. I hope you were able to complete all the business you set out to do,” Vencenza said.

  “Yes Vencenza, her cousin was very successful and adept at completing the work we set him to accomplish. He worked tirelessly. All the business we set out to do is complete and her companies will not have any problem with her departure. How are things going with the preparations of the ship?” Zane asked. He felt out of the loop being away for so long.

  Zeb began to give him a rundown of all the system checks and what was still in the works. “Vencenza just alerted me that one of our allies has detected the Drylon’s involved in some
suspicious activities. They may be looking to mobilize their forces. We must return as soon as possible. I am sorry Grace but Zane will be working very hard for the next several days to ready the ship for departure.”

  Grace expected this when they returned to the ship. She turned to Vencenza and Francescon and said, “I just wanted to express my gratitude for allowing me the time to complete what business I needed to do on earth. I want to reassure you that if the need should arise for an evacuation to my planet, the funds will be waiting for all of us to rebuild our lives. Thank you for allowing me this courtesy.”

  Vencenza and Francescon nodded in acceptance. Zane took this chance to bring up Gracie’s concerns, “I would like to propose a full council meeting when the dust settles regarding the auctioning of the women. It is not the right way to do this and Grace has some ideas on how we should proceed in the future.” The council members nodded in agreement again.

  Francescon turned to Zane. “Please return your mate to your quarters and complete all your tasks. If you are finished in the clinic, please help the crew with whatever you can to ready the ship. We are glad to have you back Doctor. Although your staff has been incredible, they were not able to handle all the tasks as well as you do. It is imperative that we move out as soon as the ship is ready. Zeb says it will be three days until all checks are complete. We would like be on our way, if possible, sooner.”

  The meeting was convened and Zane took Grace to their quarters. He showed her where she could put her things and made some room for her in his closet. He left her to unpack her belongings and before he left he kissed her deeply. Zane said to her, “I know that I will not be able to spend a lot of time with you over the next couple of days. I just wanted to thank you for coming home with me. You are an amazing woman Grace. I am a better warrior having you in my life. Thank you.”

  She looked into his eyes. She wanted him to stay, but knew it was impossible. She had plenty to do here anyway. After she unpacked her things, she wanted to write. She was going to keep track of her journey into this new life with Zane. Maybe it would be part of the history books in the future. “I understand.” She gave him that smile that drove him wild, “We will have the rest of our lives together. You need to get this ship ready for us to return home. We need to be there for your people, to keep your parent’s safe. Go, and I will be here waiting for you. You have my word. I will be with you forever Zane. Go on.” She shooed him toward the door.

  “I love you Grace Abernathy!” Zane said as he walked through the doors of his quarters. He heard her shout, “I love you too, Zane Arden!” Just as the doors slid shut behind him.

  Chapter 23

  Grace spent the few days before the ship returned to Theron working on her memoirs. She mentioned during breakfast this morning to Zane how it would be great to use her laptop as she was running out of space in her journal. He promised to check with Brylon before he returned to see if the ship’s engineer had any ideas on how to charge the batteries. He turned her to him before leaving and said, “Last night was amazing.” He kissed her thoroughly and left her smiling before he left the quarters to go to report to the clinic.

  She lit his nights on fire. It was just as she said it, magical every time they fell into each other’s arms. She left him every time filled with love and admiration. The Gods broke the mold when they made her. She was everything he ever wanted and more. Zane was so extremely happy and he couldn’t wait until his parents met her. He knew they would love her, and the time for his introduction was drawing nearer by the minute.

  He ran into Brylon in the hall. Brylon did not have the same look reflected in his eyes. What Zane was seeing there was exhaustion and disbelief. Things clearly were not going well with Emma. Knowing what he did about his friend, he avoided speaking of mates. “Brylon, just the man I wanted to see.” Zane said.

  “What can I help you with Zane?” Brylon asked.

  “Grace was wondering if you had a solution to her electrical problem. She wants to use the computer she brought aboard the ship to write her memoirs but she is afraid she will not be able to charge the batteries. Do you have anything that she can use to charge them using the power from the core?” He hated seeing his friend so drained. It had been quite stressful for Brylon. While Zane had a great back-up staff that could work with Jeeka acting as supervisor, Brylon’s responsibility as ship’s engineer was a very time consuming job. Brylon was brilliant and he was the person everyone called to solve any mechanical or electrical problem they were having.

  “Actually Zane, I have come up with a solution for that problem. One of the other earth females was having a similar problem. I was on my way to engineering to check on my crew. You can follow me if you want and I will give you what you need.”

  “Brylon, you are a life saver. I knew you would have an idea on how to fix this but I never imagined that you would have what I needed on hand. Grace will really appreciate this.” Zane paused a moment, deciding on whether to ask about his mate or not. He decided to go ahead and ask. It was always nice to have someone to talk to when needed. He would let his friend know that he was available to talk when he was ready to. He carefully worded his question not to include the word mate, “How are things going with you? You look very tired.”

  Brylon shook his head and breathed out deeply. “I don’t know what to do. She is not an easy person to get through to. She has had a pretty shitty life up to now. I only can hope that it will get better with time. However, this has been really hard for the both of us and I can’t stay with her all the time because I am needed everywhere, especially now that we are readying the ship for departure,” he said opening the door to the engine room. They entered Brylon’s office and he began rummaging around the top of his desk. It was a bit of a mess, he was obviously very busy. “Here, you just peel this off and adhere this metal sheet to the battery pack. It will absorb the power from the core and distribute it to the battery. She will never have a dead battery again.” He looked to his friend and asked, “How many do you think she will need?”

  “If you have two to spare I will take them off your hands. This is great.” He looked at the foil stickers in his hand and turned to leave Brylon’s office stopping short at the door turning to face his friend. “You do know that if you need to talk, I am always here for you. I am sure that Zeb would say the same.”

  “Thank you, I would love to talk but right now I have many things to do. I have to be completely sure that the ship is ready for the trip home. I for one cannot wait to step foot on Theron soil.” He weakly smiled at his friend.

  Zane reported to the clinic. He was going to check on the patient with the arm injury and Laura was due to report today to follow him around. It would be nice to have someone to teach again. He walked in and looked around, “Good morning everyone.” He walked over to Jeeka who was working with Laura. “Laura, you are right on time. How is everything here Jeeka?”

  “The patient is recovering well. Everything is ready for you to remove the dressing. Would you like me to assist?” Jeeka said.

  Zane looked around the room and went to the sink to wash his hands. “Yes Jeeka, I would love to have your assistance today. Laura you should come in and observe. Ask any questions that you need to. I am excited to have you on my staff. Jeeka has told me great things about you.”

  Laura nodded at him and said, “I am happy to be here. I really appreciate this opportunity Dr. Zane.” She accompanied them into the patient’s room.

  Zane walked over to the patient. “Zoren, how are you doing today, any pain or discomfort?”

  Zoren looked around to see who had joined them. He hadn’t the opportunity to see an earth female as of yet. “I am fine Dr. Zane. I am feeling the prickling in my fingertips just as you said I should. Is she one of the females from earth?”

  “Yes, this is Ceran’s mate. Her name is Laura.” He turned to look at Laura. “Laura this is Zoren. He lost his arm a little over a week ago when he was repairing a ship in the docking bay. I
surgically reattached it. Jeeka can you bring me the shears to remove the bandages?” His focus returned to the task at hand. He carefully clipped away the gauze that covered his wound. The patient flinched as he got to the final layers and pulled them away exposing the staples he was forced to use to fasten the skin back together. This was an injury that liquid bandages would not be able to hold. “I must remove the staples today,” he said as he examined the wound.

  “Jeeka, I need the antiseptic.” He took the damp sponges with an astringent solution and dabbed it along the staple line. “Staple remover,” he said as he held out his hand waiting for the tool. Zoren looked away not being able to watch. One by one Zane removed the staples and cleaned the area once they were out. He applied a thick layer of cream that seemed to foam on contact. “I am going to leave this on for several minutes Zoren. Now, can you show me how well you can move your fingers?”

  Zoren moved his fingers. “It feels a bit different now. I can feel my fingers much better now. Why is this?” Zoren asked the doctor.

  “The bandages were somewhat constricting and the cream I just added is speeding the healing. I would have just used it alone and could have if the arm was attached but because it was completely severed, I had to secure your arm to your body allowing some degree of self healing to occur. Laura should find this amazing.” He grabbed Zoren’s hand and began to raise it in the air to check its mobility. “Can you bend it at the elbow and rotate your hand?”