guestsurprise, who owns Salwa, asked for this one. Here you go, Amiga! Enjoy! :)
Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man of Action. Summer and Forrest belong to VinnieStokerLover. I only own Rachel and Courtney.
Motherly Instincts
"What happened?" Rachel asked as she and Rook ran outside to where the kids were. She and her fiancée had heard Summer cry out and had rushed outside. The little girl had been playing with her brother and sister and cousin and all four had minor injuries.
"We were just playing and…guess we got a little rough without meaning to," Forrest said.
Rachel examined their injuries and looked at Salwa, who was also slightly injured. "Salwa, you need to be more careful when you play with the other children," she said, her voice taking a stern note. "Your strength is greater than theirs."
"It wasn't my abilities," Salwa protested. "It was your kids' abilities."
Rachel sighed. "Salwa," she said, her voice taking a sterner note.
"Mom, it's not her fault," Courtney said. "We were all testing out powers to see how strong we were and it got a little out of hand."
"It was an accident," Summer said softly.
Rachel's protective mode slowly began to come down as she listened to the children's accounts and the three siblings looked at each other. "Sorry," Forrest said softly.
"Me too," Courtney replied softly. "We'll be more careful from now on."
"Yeah," Summer said as the three apologized to each other and then turned to Salwa, but the young girl flew away in frustration. Rook stood up and sighed a little before looking at Rachel.
"My love, Salwa wouldn't hurt our children," he said gently. "I'm sure as the children say, it was just an accident."
She nodded. "I'm sure it was, hon," she said softly. "But…my protective instincts sometimes come on a bit too quick and make me accuse someone blindly."
"You were just feeling protective of us, Mom," Courtney said. "And…well, we should have been more careful with our powers."
Rachel nodded. "How about you kids practice your powers in the training rooms instead of out here?" She suggested. "I'd feel safer that no one can sneak up and spy on us and possibly try to kidnap one of you."
Though that wasn't a big probability, with the Forever Knights having been very quiet lately and their other enemies not rearing their ugly heads, they still didn't want to take a chance with anyone discovering the kids' powers, which the kids agreed on and they went inside. Rachel decided to give Salwa some space and she'd talk to her later.
Rook placed an arm around the woman he loved. "Don't doubt your motherly instincts, my love," he said gently.
She smiled. "I'm not, honey," she said. "But I need to remember that Salwa is my niece and deserves a chance to explain herself before I go into protective mode. And I need to include her when I go into protective mode, not just my own children."
The Revonnahgander smiled and nodded as they headed inside.
Several days had gone by since the incident, but Rachel had noticed that Salwa was rarely speaking or making eye contact with her when she tried to talk to her. Seeing this was going to create a rift, Rachel decided to try harder one day and keep at it until Salwa listened to her and spoke to her.
She found Salwa in one of the training rooms, but she was just sitting there. "Salwa, we need to talk, honey," Rachel said. "About what happened the other day."
"It happened, Aunt Rachel," Salwa said, not making eye contact. "There's nothing to discuss."
"Really?" The older woman asked. "Nothing to discuss?"
"No," the young girl said, refusing to admit anything or the fact that she still felt she did nothing wrong.
Rachel closed the door to the training room and locked it with a keycard. "Well, fortunately, I think there is something to discuss," she said. "And I'm not letting you out of this training room until you talk to me and listen to me."
Hearing the playful note in her aunt's voice, Salwa looked to see Rachel was in a mode that many aliens described as her determination/playful mode. When she went into that mode, the person she was after couldn't escape her.
But that didn't stop Salwa from trying to escape. She ran to the door, but it was locked and she couldn't open it. Desperate, she flew around the room, but Rachel only smirked. "No way out, hon," she said. "Not until we clear this rift between us."
Salwa shook her head and tried again to find a way out, but couldn't and soon was standing on the floor again, which is exactly where Rachel wanted her. Without warning, she wrapped the young girl in a hug and began tickling her shoulder blades.
"HEY! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Salwa laughed out, squirming to get away, but the older woman had her and continued tickling her.
"Until you stay put and listen to me and talk to me, I'm going to tickle you silly," Rachel said with a smile as she slipped behind the winged girl and her fingers went for the girl's stomach, which made Salwa laugh harder and squirm even harder, but she couldn't escape her aunt's gentle hug.
The blonde-haired woman chuckled. "I've got you, sugar dumpling," she said teasingly.
The nickname brought back the memory of when Rachel had first called her that and she had asked what it meant. The older woman said it was a term of endearment and was one way of showing the children how much she loved them. The endearment also made Salwa feel like she belonged, just like when her father called her his little eaglet.
Finally, Rachel stopped to allow her niece to breathe. "Now, are you going to talk to me and listen? Or do I need to get that special tickle juice your uncle Frankenstrike made?" She asked teasingly.
Salwa took a moment to catch her breath before looking at her aunt before looking away. "It…It really was an accident," she said. "We were trying to be careful."
"I know that now, honey," the older woman said. "I'm afraid my motherly instincts kick in too soon sometimes."
"I don't blame you," Salwa said softly. "They're your kids after all."
"But you're my niece too," Rachel said. "And just as I protect my children, I'll protect you, honey. And I know you're careful, especially around the younger children."
Salwa rested her head on her aunt's shoulder, sighing. "I'm sorry," she said softly.
"I have to take some blame too, kiddo," the owner of the Grant Mansion said. "And I forgive you. Can you forgive me?"
The winged-girl nodded. "I forgive you, Auntie Rachel," she said.
"That's the Salwa I know," Rachel said with a smile. "Come on. How about you and I make some popcorn for the family movie night tonight?"
Nodding, Salwa followed her aunt, smiling and hugging her aunt again. The older woman returned the warm hug, which made the young girl not only feel better, but feel lucky to have an aunt like Rachel.
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GoldGuardian2418