The Bonding Chronicles Ch. 21

Karen replaced the vial into the bag, and handed it over to the small woman.

"If you still want to give it to Andrew, you can, but don't do it because you feel like you owe him. Your behaviour bothered Andrew more than he lets on. Partly because he's so protective of Sara and me, but mostly because of everything he has been through. Your stories are different, of that I'm certain, but you each carry burdens of similar weight. He's just much more adept at carrying his than you are.

"Trust and appreciation are extremely important to Andrew, especially when he does so much to try and help someone. What we went through was nothing short of extraordinary, and we needed each other to get through it. He'll be happy to see how well you're doing, and like me, will be amazed at the progress you've made, but unlike me he'll need you to take ownership of how poorly you've treated us."

Tani'm's eyes were wide with her fear of that burden, the young druid wanting to make amends, but still scared of Andrew and his powers.

"Whether you're ever ready to confront your fears of him or not, that's up to you. I just want you to know what it will take to mend that bridge, which will need to happen if we're ever going to be close.

"Don't get me wrong, we can still be friends. But, Andrew and Sara are such a huge part of my life that our relationship will always be stunted if I cannot share that part of myself with you..."

Karen's voice trailed off as she considered everything she wanted to say, all the things she wished to express, but her time had run out. Despite the tremendous growth that Tani'm had made, the powerful young woman was still not ready to confront Andrew, or the threat that he represented.

Reaching out, Karen touched Tani'm's cheek, the small woman leaning into her palm with closed eyes.

"It's alright. I'm not going anywhere, and we've got so much more time to talk and learn from each other."

Tani'm pulled back and looked Karen in the eyes, her heart hardened by the choice she had just made.

"Could you ask Andrew and Sara to help with Thunderfoot?"

She shuddered for a moment as she realized the words that had just left her lips. "As much as he scares me, Thunderfoot deserves to go home, and something is telling me that Andrew and Sara can make that happen."

Karen poked Tani'm on the nose and smiled, stating, "They would love to help, but I'll ask tonight just the same. I'm sure Andrew will have some questions for you, so we might be calling later so we can all come up with a plan together."

They both took a deep breath, Karen providing Tani'm with just enough strength to find comfort in what they had just agreed to.

"Thanks," Tani'm declared just before she turned and fled Karen's house, the older woman feeling Tani'm's anxiety swelling up as she left.

Karen considered the unexpected turn of events, and wondered just how busy their lives had become. In many ways she felt like her life was spiralling out of control, and yet through Andrew she felt comforted, knowing that within him was a steady and well organized methodology that took solace in the craziness that surrounded them.

As she changed into a light summer dress, and decorated her face with a tastefully discrete layer of makeup, her thoughts drifted from her young friend, and turned towards the night before her. Andrew's surprise was a mystery that she was struggling to ignore, each thought leading back towards it and keeping her from focusing on the meeting that surrounded it.

Michelle would be there when she arrived. Andrew's mother an important piece to a puzzle she felt like she was just starting to understand. Dave had been a remarkable man, his physique obscuring an intellect that few would expect. Within Dave she could see Andrew's loyalty and cunning determination, and she was eager to see which of Andrew's traits she would find in his mother.

Flipping her hair a few times, she turned her head in the mirror, finally happy with how she looked. Tani'm's visit had been an unexpected pleasure, the young woman's progress nothing short of remarkable. Karen had given up hope of Tani'm ever joining her family, but as she reflected upon the scars that had already formed on the once open wounds within Tani'm's heart, she again felt the light of optimism shining on that possibility.

Pushing her desires aside, Karen smiled at herself in the mirror and said, "Out of the frying pan, and into the fire," as she turned and headed to her car. History was a painful teacher, and she knew how quickly those delightful moments could pass, so Karen was determined to savor every moment of peace that surrounded her.

***** Family Matters *****

"Hey, Mom!"

Andrew's voice reached Michelle, who was standing in the doorway to her house, the small building acting as a familiar frame for her son. He was in the kitchen, scraping diced zucchini into a large enameled pot while he looked over at her. She tried to move, but couldn't as her eyes continued to scan the small boy, searching for something out of place and finding nothing.

Sure, he seemed more toned than she remembered, but his bright violet eyes reflected the same innocence and intelligence she had always found within. He laughed, the sound an all too comforting tone that brought joy to her heart, and nowhere did she see any sign of the strange or wonderous things her husband had told her about.

Releasing his hands from the cutting board and knife, he turned and walked towards her, a broad and infectious smile spread across his face. For the briefest of moments she was trapped in that gaze, returning his grin and opening her arms to invite him into her embrace, until her attention was drawn back to the tools her son had just been using. They remained where he had left them, hovering in the air a short distance above the pot, slowly drifting towards the sink where they were welcomed by a warm bath of soapy water.

Her eyes grew wide as she looked over her son, Andrew's laughter growing louder as he wrapped his arms around her midsection and gripped her tight.

"It's super strange, I know. Whatever Dad said never prepare you for seeing it, right?"

Michelle pulled back, holding Andrew by the shoulders as her head swung slightly from side to side. "Ummm, no. No, not really."

His grin was truly joyful, and despite her growing dread, she found herself falling victim to its allure. A smile spread across her face as she shook her head, following Andrew into her house and joining him at the dining room table. For a couple of minutes they sat in silence, Andrew moving objects about the kitchen with an obvious ease. More vegetables shared the zucchini's fate, becoming diced by invisible hands as the knife glided through the air, performing the various tasks that Andrew willed of it.

He was calm and confident, and the longer they sat there the more she found herself noticing those differences her husband had warned her about. Ever since she had talked with Dave, his story shared over hushed whispers, she had found it more difficult to hide her own anxiety about everything that had been happening.

Michelle knew that Dave was a sensitive man, even if no one else saw it, and he was prone to seeing threats in every dark corner. Ever since they had moved to the Pacific Northwest, Dave had only gotten worse, and so Michelle had worked hard to remain strong for him. She prided herself on being the perfect foil for his paranoia, countering his nervousness with confidence, but it had grown harder.

The days leading up to Dave's conversation with Andrew had been difficult for her, Michelle's own pent up anxiety building up until she found herself waking with extreme nausea from all the fears she kept bottled up. After Dave came back from talking with Andrew, and spent the last couple of hours of that night telling her everything he had learned, she threw up, her own anxiety spilling over and refusing to be contained.

Every morning since, she woke with a terrible dread, and found herself already en route to the bathroom, where she once more expelled her bottled up emotions. Dave was wonderful, as always, but she hated placing yet another burden on his shoulders, knowing how Andrew's revelation had already compounded the concerns her herculean husband carried on his back.

"Are you alright?" Andrew asked, breaking Michelle from her retrospective.

"Yeah, yeah..." she responded as she shook her head, shaking the fog from her mind. "Just trying to process everything." She looked around, realizing that a few minutes had passed while she had been lost in her own thoughts. The kitchen smelled great, the lid on the pot concealing the wonderful flavors that she knew were building inside. "I've spent so much of my life searching for this, and to find it in my own home is... Well, it's scary, Andrew."

Her hand was caressing his cheek as she leaned across the small table, her touch less about comfort and more about protection. In a strange way, she knew that Andrew was not the weak and fragile young man she had last seen. Even with that, she would never stop trying to keep him safe no matter how strong he became, and she could see in his eyes that he knew that.

"What the hell were you thinking, Andrew? Acing that test! I raised a smarter boy than that."

She tried to conceal her smile, but failed as Andrew broke out in laughter. The nervousness that had clouded them vanished as their eyes once more settled on each other.

"Hold on a second," Andrew began, his laughter turning to confusion as he narrowed his eyes, "Sara almost died fighting a freakin' dire-wolf, and you're concerned with a math test?"

It was too much for Michelle to bear, the irony of Andrew's immediately realization, and her own acceptance of what was going on, causing her laughter to double as she leaned back in her chair.

"We both know there's nothing I could've done to stop you. You're too much like your father for that to be an option — you made that pretty clear with how you handled Will. But revealing yourself because of that test... That's just short sighted.

"It was an obvious attempt to humiliate you, but now it's potentially a much bigger problem."

Andrew crossed his arms and smirked, stating, "Well, it's not much of a problem. I hacked his phone and after digging around a bit I found an encrypted anonymous email account buried away. The email confirmed what I already knew; I aced the test. He sent it to someone he knows, some guy in California. Gotta admit, I didn't expect that, but whatever past he shares with that guy must be pretty broken, because the only response he got was, 'Please don't ever email again, Denis.'"

With a long pause Andrew stared into his mother's eyes, Michelle sensing his enjoyment as he built up to what she already knew.

"The thing is..." Andrew began, pausing with a smug look.

"His name is Doug, according to the school faculty page," Michelle finished, a wicked grin spreading across her face as Andrew's expression shifted towards confusion. "While you were following up on that test, I reached out to some of my contacts at the CIA. It seems 'Dr. Doug Blake' is not who he claims to be."

Any question that Andrew was interested was dispelled as he leaned across the table. Michelle wished she had more information, anything that could shed light on the puzzle that sat before them, but the truth was unfortunately vague.

"My guy was able to track his ID back a few years, just enough to know that it's fake. He wanted to keep going, but I had him stop. The databases he was going to search could have set off some alarms, and brought attention we don't need right now."

Michelle stood and crossed the short distance to the fridge, while Andrew crumpled back into his chair, his arms crossing while his eyes squinted.

"How do you know these people, Mom? I get that you and Dad have been working in some shady shit in the government for a while, but a CIA agent whose willing to ignore a civilian with a falsified identity is kinda crazy."

Michelle laughed, feeling the lingering burden of Andrew's powers and the insanity they had placed on her and her husband, but savoring the familiar tang of her son and his appetite for knowledge. He was disappointed that the mystery of Dr Blake hadn't been revealed, but excited by what he had learned about her.

Pulling a beer from the fridge, she popped the top and placed the cap on the counter, tipping the bottle back and enjoying the bitter brown liquid as she moved back towards her seat.

"Not everything we've done has been related to searching for the supernatural. Early in our careers we saw a lot of combat, pulling good people out of bad places. SOAL specialized in getting in and getting out, no matter the circumstance. While your father could fight his way out of anything, it's always been my job to help him do it with as small a footprint as possible. Most of the time it was like we were never there, but others..."

Her mood darkened as distant memories revisited Michelle. Thoughts of far off places where American troops were never meant to be. Conflicts never reported, because no one was meant to know they existed. It had been both exhilarating and terrifying in the best possible way, her wits and her training tested to their fullest.

Shaking her head, she was brought back to that moment, her voice still seeming distant as her eyes took a moment to focus on Andrew.

"Combat's a strange thing. In the heat of battle you learn a lot about yourself, but you also learn a lot about those around you. For better or worse, our careers were made in those dark and bedamned places."

Andrew took a deep breath while Michelle leaned back and took another pull off her beer. Not the best beer, but after all the hellholes she'd drank in throughout her career, she kinda enjoyed it that way.

As their eyes met, Michelle could tell that Andrew understood in some small way what she was trying to say, and didn't want her to continue. In his violet gaze she saw the compassion she had always adored, and recognition that whatever else he could learn would not be worth the price it was taking on her. The fatigue of revisiting her past vanished as she saw a smile spread across his young face, and as it did, she hoped he would never lose his kind and innocent heart.

The lid came off of the pot while Andrew stood up, his gaze lingering on his mother as he thought. By the time he reached the simmering enameled vessel, the lid had set itself off to the side, Michelle watching the miraculous act with wonder while Andrew seemed to think nothing of it.

"Perhaps I can follow him home," Andrew began, his thoughts coalescing as he spoke. "He might have more helpful information on his home computer, or stashed away in some USB drive or something. As long as I'm close, I can read it, and since I can do it from outside he probably would never know I was there."

A wicked grin flashed to the surface as Andrew added, "And I'll just bring some eggs, so if he does catch me, I can just throw them at him and play it off like a retaliation for everything he's done in class. Kids do things like that all the time."

It was Michelle who sighed as she resigned herself to the agreement she had made with her husband. Every neuron was pleading with her to talk him out of it, but Andrew's gifts could not be ignored, and they needed to get a better idea about what was going on with Dr Blake. The reality was, Andrew's plan was good, and his cover story was perfect.

Andrew was watching her as he stirred the pot, his hand directing the wooden spoon in lazy circles through whatever mysterious food rested within. He was studying her, and in his expression she could see anticipation and restrained aggression. Her son was older, but he still had all his same boyhood tells, allowing Michelle to know what response he was expecting from her.

For once, she was not happy to surprise him.

"That's probably a good idea. While you're doing that, I'll reach out to my CIA contacts one more time. If you can give me a copy of that email, that should give them a more directed path to try and find him outside of any of those databases I'd rather not touch."

Michelle was forced to laugh when Andrew huffed, his chest deflating as the fight he had prepared himself for never came. He didn't need to utter a word, his confused gaze speaking volumes. So, without prompt, Michelle explained.

"Your father and I are dedicated to keeping you safe, and we know we can't try and solve your problems for you anymore. With that said, we can help, and will do whatever we can to that end. You might not let us run point any longer, but we are at your side every step of the way."

The words felt bitter as they left her lips. She meant every syllable, but it seemed unnatural to her, Michelle's maternal instincts rushing forward and pleading with her to take control. She knew what was best for her son, and the severity of his dangers made her intervention all the more important.

As those thoughts rushed through her mind, she could see in Andrew's face understanding, as if he knew how she felt and appreciated her restraint and assistance all the more for it. He smiled at her knowing glance, and as he spoke she knew he was trying to help shift her focus towards something lighter.

"Where's Dad?"

As laughter peeled from her lips, she loved her son more than he could have known. That was just what she needed.

"Ever since Sara ran him through the woods the other night, he's dedicated himself to becoming the best trailblazer the world has ever known."

Andrew joined Michelle in her laughter, asking, "Ohh God. Where did you leave him?"

Michelle blinked away a tear of joy as she said, "The field across from The Mccoy's farm."

It was only three miles away, but would require her heroic husband to travel through some of the most dense and uneven sections of terrain in the area. If it was anyone else, Michelle would have worried that he wouldn't arrive in time for Karen's surprise, but just as Andrew had realized, Michelle knew that her husband would make it. Two hours was plenty of time, even if he might be a bit worse for wear after his treacherous journey.

"Every night and every day he has gone on patrols through the woods, which the men seem to appreciate, but his body does not."

Andrew just shook his head and provided, "He does know that Sara is a supernatural creature, and not human. It's a standard no one should ever try to reach, no matter how enticing or easy she makes it seem."

"Ohh, I know," Michelle lied, trying to make her son feel at ease with her in his new life. The last thing she wanted was for Andrew to place her on the outside of everything that was happening. "But you know your father. He always finds some impossible point to measure himself against, and then kills himself trying to meet it."

Andrew had just finished stirring the contents of the pot, all of the herbs adding a pronounced and delightful aroma to the room. It was familiar to Michelle, and yet somehow exotic at the same time. She stood, but before she could look inside Andrew had resealed the vessel, capturing its essence and concealing its contents.

Instead, Michelle decided to get started on what she had promised Andrew she would make. Adding some wood to the stove, she began preparing her dish. It wasn't anything fancy, but for her it was a small piece of home. No matter what was going wrong in her life, her mother would make chicken soup, and everything just got better. Andrew wanted her to make something meaningful, and she was determined to give him exactly that.

Or give Karen that, she realized. Andrew certainly was a clever boy.

Just like all the other times she had made the dish with Andrew, he was there to help. As he had gotten older, her directions had changed, and now she no longer found herself needing to give him commands at all. Instead, they worked together over the next hour, slowly bringing all of the ingredients together. It was a long process, because to do it well required making your own bone broth, and since this was important to Andrew, she wasn'ot going to skip a step.