Second Chances (The Extinct Race Series) (18 page)

“Well baby we are all special and can do special things.
With my hands I can see inside your body.” Alexi says as she touches Abby’s arm. She holds it there for a minute and then sits back down.

“They gave her a sleeping pill
, nothing to worry about.” Alexi says “If she sleeps this trip will go by a lot faster for her.”

Abby closed her eyes while Alexi was touching her and now seemed to be fast asleep.
Monica held her and stroked the small girl’s hair while she slept. With her other hand she gripped Brad’s hand and she started to cry. Everything was falling into place for her children, she couldn’t be happier. Monica knew that her quiet happy little boy was about to become complete. She was going to leave it up to Ben to explain things to this small girl.

Everyone spent the rest of the flight in silence.
Most caught up on the sleep that they missed from the night before and others just stared at the smallest one of them. She was so little. Her dark brown hair was long and in need of a cut. Her bright grey eyes with the black flecks stood out so much on her face.

Kaiden sent a quick text to Marjorie.
He asked her to drop whatever she was doing and get to the store. Buy everything a five year old little girl might want, clothing and toys. He wanted her to have it at the house in four hours. Zoe will know where to put it all. They had already got the room next to Ben’s ready and were unsure of what the little girl would like. They agreed on a bedding set that had a lot of different colors in it. Zoe was to do the room up while they were gone.

Four hours later the jet was landing in the field.
Little Abby was still sleeping and Monica held her in her arms and walked to an awaiting jeep. The group all climbed into jeeps and they headed to the house. Monica took little Abby straight up to the room Zoe had done up for her. She laid Abby in the bed and took the chair in the corner to wait for her. Ben was not around when they landed and Zoe had made sure of that. She had asked Justine to take him on a long walk with the dogs.

Chapter 18

Laughter

When dinner was ready everyone was at the table, except for Monica. Ben had come in a couple minutes before and was now sitting at his spot staring at Kaiden. Everyone was quiet as dinner was brought out. Ben never took his eyes off Kaiden as Justine placed food on his plate.

“What is her name?”
Ben asked

“Her name is Abby.”
Kaiden said

“Was she hurt?
Is she scared? Did she have a bad life? Why were they selling her? Does she know about me? Is she nice?” Ben asked

“One
question at a time little man. No she was never hurt, besides a mean lady and bad kids. I don’t think she is scared, she knew we were there to save her. She has had a rough life, but I don’t think it affected her like you think. They were bad people and trying to sell her to even worse people. No she does not know about you yet. And she is very sweet. I think she can read people too.” Kaiden answered. “She says we all had bright bubbles around us and that the people who had her all had dark bubbles. So I think she can see who are good and who are bad.”

“Bubbles huh?”
Justine asks

“Yep and
she said we felt funny. Your mom explained it to her as best she could without telling her anything and Alexi explained that we are all special and can do special things. Ben we are all going to let you tell her what we are. She is your soul mate and she will take the news better from another kid.” Kaiden tells him

“You think she will like me?”
Ben asks worried

“Who wouldn’t love you Benny?”
Justine asks

“I feel her and the urge to go upstairs is so strong, but I am so afraid she
won’t like me.” Ben says

At that moment Monica comes down with a very clean Abby.
Monica has obviously given her a bath and pulled her hair up in a ponytail. Abby is wearing different clothing and now has on a pair of jeans and a yellow t-shirt. Monica leads her to the table holding on to her hand. Abby had her head down at first, but now she looks up and around at everyone and smiles. Then her eyes lock on Ben and she stops walking. Ben stands and walks over to Abby.

“You feel different.”
Abby smiles at Ben

“You do too.”
He says

“What’s your name?”
She asks him

“I am Ben that is my mom who has been with you.” He says

“Oh, she is very nice. She helped me pick out these clothes and she did my hair. I never had new clothes before and no one ever played with my hair. I kind of liked it.” She whispered the last part.

“Well there are lots of girls here
, I am sure they would love playing with your hair. Are you hungry? You can sit by me. After we eat I can show you the puppies. They listen to me. And they really talk too.” Ben tells her

“I am very hungry and you have puppies?”
She says, her eyes lighting up.

“Yep there is Dodge, Queenie, Max, and Sage.
Sage and Max are the youngest and smaller ones. Mary got them for herself, but she gave them to me today. I would like to share them with you though, if you like?” Ben asks

“I would like that very much.
Can we eats first though? I am very hungry.” Abby asks

“Yes we can.”
Ben says as he takes Abby’s hand and leads her to the table. Alexi was next to him, but she grabbed her plate and moved on the other side of Gosha. Ben helps Abby into the large chair and sits down in his seat. He looks over at Abby and sees that she can barely see over the edge because she is so small. Ben jumps up and runs to the kitchen. He comes back with a pot in his hands. Abby looks at him funny and she stands in her seat. Ben lays the pot down on the seat and Abby sits down on it. Now she is high enough to eat and see everyone. Everyone is watching the two young ones and holding back their giggles. Zoe lets hers slip and Abby hears it and starts laughing. Ben is so shocked by her laugh he just stares at her. Soon the whole table is laughing.

Abby ate more than anyone thought she would.
When dessert came her eyes were huge on her face. She laughed and dug into the sundae Mary had placed in front of her. Everyone was affected already by this little girl’s laughter. They all knew she didn’t laugh much before. It brought a smile to all their faces when she laughed. After dessert Ben took her to the dogs. They all took right to her and licked her face up and down. When it was time to settle down Ben took her to the big movie area. Tia and John were already there watching a movie, but they allowed Ben to change the movie to one Abby might like. He picked Finding Nemo. Abby sat in wonder at the movie. She laughed in all the right parts and cried when Dory was hurt.

When it was bed time for the kids
, Monica took them upstairs. She sent Ben to his room and took Abby to hers. She read Abby a story and tucked her in, kissing her on her forehead good night. Monica left the door open, just in case she was scared of the dark. As soon as Abby heard a door close she climbed out of bed and went down the hall to Ben’s room. He was still awake and let her climb into his bed. He called Sage up in the bed to cuddle with Abby. Abby was fast asleep as soon as Sage snuggled up to her and Ben fell asleep next to her.

Monica woke a little earlier than normal to help Abby get ready for the day.
When she went to the small girl’s bedroom and found an empty bed she smiled and walked to Ben’s room. Monica cracked the door open and four puppy heads looked up at her. They were all at the foot of the bed curled up together with Abby and Ben curled up together asleep. The look on Ben’s face was pure peace. Rosa came up next to her in the doorway and placed her hand on Monica’s shoulder.

“I didn’t think she would stay in her room after she met him.”
Rosa confessed

“I suppose your right, but she won’t be able to do this once they start getting older.
For now I think Ben needs a bigger bed.” Monica replied

“That will be years from now
and when that time comes she will like her privacy too. So I don’t think that will be a problem. For now, let them feel safe with one another. I am honestly surprised she talked to all of us at once last night.” Rosa said

“Well she said she was never hurt.
So I think that had something to do with it. The pull and the bubbles sure helped though. I am so glad she is talking and laughing. I don’t know how Ben would have reacted if she was shell shocked, or afraid of everyone.” Monica whispered

“It will all work out.
He will help that sweet girl find her way. Today is a big day for them. He gets to tell her what we are and what she is. It was easy for us you know, we grew up knowing and our kids always saw it. This is a bit different she is five. Is she going to grasp everything? Is she going to be afraid of us when we shift?” Rosa looked worried

“Gabe and I will help that.
I think after training, he and I will take them for a walk. Then Ben can tell her and we will show her. If she isn’t afraid, then we will take them for a ride. And mom she really wasn’t hurt. The fact that she can laugh at a pot being put on her chair proves she is a very normal little girl. Also I want to wake them. I want to get her ready today. She is going to be my little sis, so it’s my job to help her.” Justine said walking into the room.

Justine walked into the room and
lay at the foot of the bed with the puppies. She knew they needed to go out and go potty, but she thought the best way to wake them both was the puppies. Sage had a little toy and Justine grabbed it, Sage took the bait and ran after it. Max followed and soon little growls filled the room. Dodge barked as if to tell them all no, so Justine shook the toy in his face. The puppy in him overtook everything and he went to bite it. Soon she had Queenie involved too and they all started growling.

“
Can I play too?” The sweetest little voice filled the room as Abby spoke.

“You sure can princess.”
Justine said handing the toy to Abby. Abby lifted the toy above her head and all four dogs let out little barks. Max lunged for it and landed on Ben’s face.

“Hey!”
Ben said, Max just looked at him tail wagging and licked Ben’s face, then went to lunge for the toy again. Abby and Ben laughed. Ben loved Abby’s laugh already, so he just watched her play with the puppies.

After about ten minutes Justine said “Hey Benny I think puppies need to go out and little Abby we need to get you ready, breakfast will be out soon and I know I am hungry.
Then after breakfast we are going to take you down to meet everyone. There are a few kids down there too that I would like you to meet. Ben will of course bring the puppies and all you kids can play while we train. Then after we are done Gabe and I would like to take you and Benny for a walk.” Justine said

“Ok
, that sounds like fun. I am hungry too.” Abby said

“Abby I will see you at breakfast then, I need to take the puppies outside and get ready myself.
Will you sit next to me again?” Ben asked

“
Mhm! Can you get the pot again?” Abby asked

“I will have it in your seat waiting for you.”
Ben said

Justine took Abby’s hand and led her back to her bedroom.
There she took her into the bathroom and gave her a quick bath. When she was all clean and her hair washed Justine let her pick out her clothes. The huge walk-in closet was full of everything a little girl would love. There were dresses and little shoes to go with the dresses, there were tees and jeans and skirts and shorts. This little girl probably had twenty pairs of shoes already. Abby stood in the middle of the closet and stared at all the clothes.

“Would you like a little help?”
Justine asked

“Oh yes please.
I never seen so many clothes and I just don’t know what to pick.”

“Well let’s start with a color.
What is your favorite color?” Justine asked

“Hmmm, that one.”
Abby said pulling on a dark purple shirt.

“That is purple.
Ok, so let’s see, we have that purple top that we can match with this skirt, or some shorts?” Justine said

“Ok.
What color is this?” Abby asked pointing to a green shirt

“That is green baby.
Do you not know your colors?” Justine asked

“I
never been told colors. I usually just spent the day in a room with other kids there were some toys and a TV so that’s what we did. There was one girl there, she said she liked school. I don’t know what that is, but she said they told her lots of things. And she always had what she called a book with her.” Abby said

“Well would you like to learn things?
Benny can teach you colors today while you are outside. And after our walk I will talk to Rosa and see if she will start some lessons with you.” Justine said

“I would
likes that a lot.” Abby said

They pick out the purple top and a pair of shorts to go with it.
Justine grabs some socks and tennis shoes and helps Abby learn to tie the knot. Then Justine takes her in the bathroom and begins to French braid Abby’s hair back. When she is ready, they walk down the stairs and head toward the table. Ben is already seated at his spot and he smiles when he sees Abby. Justine lets her hand go and Abby runs to the seat next to him, where the pot is placed on her seat. Ben hops out of his chair and helps Abby get into her chair. When she is seated Ben slides the chair in a little so Abby can reach. He then goes back to his seat and helps Abby put food on her plate.

“Hey Benny.”
Justine says when they are almost done eating.

“Uh huh?”
He looks at Justine

“While you are out playing today can you teach Abby the colors of everything?
Her favorite color so far is purple, but I think once she knows them all she will have lots of favorites.” Justine smiles at Abby. “Oh and Rosa, Abby has never gone to school and I was hoping maybe you could teach her the basics?”

“Of course, I would love to do that.”
Rosa says

“You guys know we have a little school house down there right?
They are out for summer break right now, but I don’t see why Ben and Abby won’t both start in September when all the other kids here do.” Kaiden said

“You have a school here?
Oh I would love to go!” Abby says excitedly

“That sounds great, for now honey
, we will just teach you the basic stuff ok? Then we will leave all the other stuff up to your teacher.” Rosa tells her

“Ok I would
likes that, I don’t want to be the stupid one.” Abby frowned

“You are not stupid and no one will call you that either.”
Ben declared

Everyone
got quiet after Ben got so protective. The girls around the table all smiled at his little show of protectiveness and soon they were all done and heading out to the training area. Ben usually ran laps with them, but today he had Abby to look after. He took her over to all the other children and soon there was a game of tag being carried out. All the kids loved the puppies; the puppies of course loved the attention. Abby never left Ben’s side. Even when she was it, she held on to his hand and had him chase after the other kids with her.