Theron's Hope (Brides of Theron) (14 page)

Grace awoke to the sound of the kitchen coming to life.  She smelled a wonderful aroma all around her.  She could smell the tolka, and was that the smell of bacon and eggs?  She stretched her hands above her head as if in a yoga tree pose.  Rolling out of the bed she went to get dressed and see the man who was making her breakfast.  She could really get used to this.

She appreciated his deftness in the kitchen.  He was just putting everything out as she walked into the room.  He smiled at her.  He had a killer smile with beautiful white teeth.  He was super sexy as he said, “Good Morning Gracie. I hope you slept well.”

“I really did.  What is on the agenda today?”  She asked as she sat down at the bar.

Zane was placing the bhakta and the tub of larta on the bar next to her plate.  “I was thinking we could go and see Brylon at some time today and then we could go to the shopping level and get whatever you would need.”

“Okay, that sounds good.”  She was looking forward to leaving the apartment.  She started to eat the food placed befo
re her.  “Alright Zane, tell me what this is?  It smells like bacon and eggs.”

“The meat is piso, which similar to what I gave you yesterday, but it is a different cut of the meat.”  He pointed with his finger, “These are coocaw eggs, similar to your chicken.  The meat of the coocaw is also eaten.  We raise this bird for eggs and meat.  You remember the bhakta and larta?” He picked each one of the items up for emphasis.

“Yes, of course. I think I will take a sip of my tolka.”  She smiled in jest and raised her glass to her lips.  “Are the coocaw eggs and piso bacon dehydrated, or did you make them fresh?”

“On a ship like this one, the biggest disaster would be a fire so we are limited to how we can cook in our quarters.  So with that said, this was dehydrated.” He motioned to his food.  “However, the ship does have a food court where you can purchase made to order foods items with fresh ingredients.  It will be different when we get back to Theron.  My house has a very well equipped kitchen,” he said proudly.

“Well, if you look as elegant in your kitchen at home as you do in this one, I look forward to seeing you work your magic there.  This is really good.”  She said as she took a bite of the piso bacon. 

“Glad you like it.”  Zane looked pleased.

“How big is this ship?  How many people live on it right now?”  Grace inquired.

“This ship is a large.  It is about the size of your state Rhode Island.  Typically, ships like this house a very large population of Theron warriors as well as other races of traders we do commercial business with.  I don’t know exactly how many are on board at this moment but I would estimate about 10,000.”

“That is very interesting,” she said as she tasted the coocaw eggs.  They didn’t have the exact same flavor of the chicken eggs she was used to but it was still pretty good.  She would have to get used to this as well.  Zane finished eating and went to clean off his dishes when Grace interrupted him.

“Please let me get that Zane.  You cooked the food let me clean up the kitchen.  Really, I don’t mind.  Meanwhile, you can go and get ready.  I am looking forward to getting out to day.  I feel like a caged animal being in one place for so long.” 

As she sat eating her breakfast and sipping her tolka, she heard a loud alarming sound coming from the bedroom.  She ran in there to check and found a naked Zane fumbling with the communicator on his uniform.  She looked at him, all of him.  His male parts were equally impressive as his large, well built body.  He was not paying any attention to Grace as he spoke into his communicator.

“This is Doctor Zane.  What is going on?”

A frantic male voice came through the transmitter, “We have an emergency doctor.  One of the warriors was hurt badly on the cargo deck.  He had an arm ripped off while repairing one of the small craft.  Please report to the clinic immediately.”

He went to get his clothes and realized that Gracie was right there beside him.  He turned to her, not a bit embarrassed by his nakedness and went over to the cabinets to get some clothes.  “I am sorry Gracie.  We may not make it out today.”  He slipped on his pants.  “I promise you that we will go out as soon as I get everything under control in the infirmary.” 

Grace couldn’t contain her disappointment.  She really wanted to get out today.  Instead she would be stuck in this apartment, locked in like a prisoner again.  She had no words in response.  She was beginning to think that if this was going to happen all the time and she would be left alone all the time, she was not going to be able to deal with this situation.  “How long is this going to take?”  She said with a tear escaping her eye and a quiver in her bottom lip.

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.