Colonel Seeders' Mail Order Bride, Hank

9 Michelle

Rachelle, now know as Michelle:

Sebastian's arm pressed against the huge bruise on her back, but Michelle, as per her new name, remained silent and clenched her teeth as he helped her out of his craft. With each step down from the long, upright, black and red vessel, she gave a soft moan, until they stepped onto land.

In an instant a small boy ran straight at her sobbing his little heart out. She released Sebastian and hugged him close, not really knowing what else to do. His little shoulders shook and his bones pressed into her ribs and hips.

"Someone had better tell me what the hell is going on. Hawk's been crying for an hour about almost loosing his new mother and then she gets here broken and marked up."

A large man came down the steps of a beautiful house. A wooden veranda wrapped around the house and carved pillars stretched up to the balconies on the second floor. The place looked huge and Rachelle wondered when she would have time for the boy if she had to spend her days cleaning. At least seventeen windows with different colour curtains could be seen from the front of the house.

"Obviously it wasn't Sebastian. As I understand it, he saved my life. Now, this is not how I expected to be welcomed. Since it's the only one I'm getting, I'll just take Hawk inside. This cold, damp air isn't good for him and he's not properly dressed to be out here either. In case you're wondering, my name is Michelle and it is really nice to meet you too."

Michelle pulled Hawk's arms loose and held his covered hand, limping all the way to the stairs. Hawk looked at his father with such sadness in his eyes, that the man huffed and walked over to them.

"I promised to be civil. I'll do this one thing and if I get a smack for it, it will be your loss."

Michelle looked from the giant, yet really handsome, dark, Herculean man, to Hawk and then suddenly she was pressed against a hard, warm chest, being carried into the house and up a set of stairs to a room.

The bed that Sebastian told her about stood in the centre of the room, on top of a light blue carpet that looked soft and fluffy. The curtains that she had seen from the outside, blues and greens swirling around like a rough see, gave the whole room an underwater effect. Somehow it looked exactly like her room on Earth.

"We went shopping and got things to match your eyes. It was Hawk's idea," the man that she assumed was Hank said, as he laid her down on the bed and pulled her blue dress, that Bridgette picked out for her, over her knees. "He says you're hungry. I'll dish up a plate of food for him to bring to you. Please do not try to walk down the stairs by yourself. If you damage yourself more, I won't hear the end of it." He pulled a soft, thick duvet over her and then he left.

His attitude confused her. He grumbled as though everything he did for her was beneath him, yet he carried and closed her with so much care.

If they got everything to match her eyes, Sebastian must have sent a photograph of her. He also said that Hawk said she was hungry, but Hawk stood, next to a cute, white dresser, staring at his hands and never uttered a word.

"I speak to Dad in his mind and I hear thoughts," he said softly to his hands.

"Really? That is really awesome. Can you speak to me in my thoughts too?" Michelle asked.

He gave a shy smile and nodded. "Yes, but it takes more concentration with new people," he said without moving his mouth. "I know what the man did. I'm sorry that he hurt you. It made me very sad that he almost took you away from me before you got a chance to be my new mother."

He walked over to her, tears dripping from his eyes again, so she patted her hand on the bed. He climbed up and laid down next to her, curling his arm through hers.

"Think of it this way." She laid her hand on his thin legs. "If it never happened, I would not be here now."

"I would have preferred if it didn't happen. I don't like seeing what he did. Dad would have met you someday. Maybe at that place you worked, to drop off some chips for training. Like the one you have in your neck. He wanted to make a new one, but then Uncle Sebastian said you have one that only needs an upgrade. That's where he goes all the time. He delivers the chips because no one here wants to help him. Anyway, I better go get the food. He won't bring it up. If he gets grumpy, just try to ignore him."

He jumped off the bed and fell over, landing on his knees and elbows, but got up and walked out with his head held high. She noticed how his leg bent in when he walked and smiled as he straightened his back and went to go get her food. Such a brave boy.

She tapped a button on the remote so that the bed could mould to her form and then settled in for a short nap. Her head ached, but by the time Hawk brought the food, her stomach growled from the rich beefy aroma and the nap had cleared her headache. Loud shouting and roars floated up to her window, blowing in with a cool breeze. Hawk reached for the handle, but could not get a grip on it.

"Leave it. I'll close it in a second. I've been trapped in a stuffy office for months. The fresh air reminds me of the plants my cousin- I'm not meant to talk about them. Sorry, I forgot for a second."

"It's okay. I'm not going to tell anyone. I can bring some in here for you. Well, not until the summer, unless Dad takes us to town so that we can buy you some clothes. They have this place with all kinds of flowers and trees that don't grow big. I can't remember the names. It's Bon-something."

"Bonsai trees. I had two of them. They need a lot of attention and light. Maybe we can put them near the window on a small table, if your father wont mind buying one," Michelle said while eating the enormous steak that they gave her. The plate looked like a medium sized serving tray and the steak left only enough space for a few vegetables.

She cut a piece off and held it out to Hawk. "I can't possibly finish this on my own. Will you help?"

He grinned and climbed back on the bed with her. She fed him a few pieces and then ate some more until they finished it, and the strange vegetables that tasted like normal potatoes, but looked like beans.

"Did you have enough?" Hank asked from the door. "I saw Hawk eating with you."

"I did. Thank you. I couldn't finish it alone. That was more than I ate in a month."

Hank roared, hit the wall and stormed off down the passage.

"He's not mad at you. He's sad that you didn't have food. I think Uncle Sebastian told him that you had very little money."

"Times had been a bit tough, but I managed. Now, I have a question for you and I don't want you to feel offended. I've been thinking about something while we ate. May I see your hands?" Michelle asked.

Hawk pulled off the fur covers and turned his hands for her to see them.

"Well, you have fingers, so I think we should see if they work." His fingers looked fused together, but separate from his hand that curled into a permanent fist. "Can you open them?"

Hawk frowned and then rested his elbows on her bed. Straining really hard, he tried to move his fingers and then finally shook his head. "I can feel that they want to move, but they don't want to either."

Slowly, she wedged the fork's handle under his fingers and then pulled up against them. His fingers raised a centimeter, before Hawk hissed and pressed down with on his fingers with his left hand.

"Sorry. Where does it hurt?" she asked.

"Back of my hand and my wrist," Hawk said.

"That's good. It means that your muscles are out of practice, but they still function normally. If we work on them each day, I believe you will be able to open your hand by yourself. For now, you can learn how to hold a fork. That way, you don't have to wait for someone to help you."

He practice a bit with the fork and then ran to his father so that she could get some sleep. For the first time in years she did not need to set an alarm, prepare her clothes for work or worry what would happen when she woke up.