Following Final Battle
Chapter 12
Willie
Best Day Ever

Willie finds himself in a tangle of vines and hoses as he assists Anthony with the platform he is building. He has not seen the platform for some time and is amazed how much work has been done not only on the platform that Anthony is doing, but the plants themselves. The plants growing on it are a combination of Earth marijuana plants and plants from the mountains from his world. These plants are being grown for medical reasons for the Dahax.

Once they completed the repairs and changes that Anthony wanted to make it is once again sent back to its chosen place. With a smile they begin to walk back to the elevator. Willie feels the disappointment that Anthony shows, he wishes that his assignment was to stay here and help the children with their projects. Of course, this means not seeing Harmony again, no he can't have both.

Carl runs up to him smiling. The boy is wearing pseudo-skin and the hair color is red and the skin on his face has spots. He thinks the spots are called freckles. It is not hard to see first the excitement and then the disappointment as the child approaches. "Oh, William! Do you have to go? Can't you stay here a bit longer."

Before he can answer Cathy and Deanna run up to him with sad looks. Cathy gives him a mournful stare, "Please stay. You're father. We need you, stay longer."

Walking over to a group of chairs he sits down and they sit with him. The thought of being called their father means everything to him and this has become a family. Sharing joy and making happy memories together is very meaningful to him and he thinks to them as well. However, family is fraught with its own turmoil, after all that is family and not every day is a happy day. Disappointment, fear and even sadness are a part of a family as it is part of everyday life. He has seen some arguments that have escalated in actual physical fights ones in which he would pull the ones fighting aside and discuss why things had led to an altercation. He would then give them a timeout or if he had time to be with them, then to figure out how to at least find away to let go of their anger. It is hard to imagine these children being happy if taken away from this family unit.

There is also, Jason, Brian, Gordon, George, Aloohula and three other Dahax troopers and of course Becky who have become their older siblings, but for a father they have chosen him. The older brothers and sister may have rank, but when it comes to being downstairs even they have had to listen to what he has to say when it comes to the children. He smiles, even Gordon listens to him when it comes to the children.

Willie sighs deeply in the satisfaction of the memories he is making. He looks at each of the children in turn giving them a warm smile. "I will tell you a story, but I will not tell the end of the story until tonight when I come back."

"You promise!" Deanna says with a stern look. She is most certainly Depol, but she has some very prominent crests like a Dahax and a nose more like a Whipelli, these features seem to emphasis the very stern look she is giving him. Deanna may be young, but it is like a thirty year old in a thirteen year old body.

"Yes," Willie murmurs as the thought of the death of his wife and children come to him. He had not been there the night they had died and the grief of that night haunts him everyday. "I will always be here for you." This he says with a tone he hopes they understand is the promise he refuses to ever break. Then he tells the story and adds sounds and changes his voice for each character as he did when he told the story to his daughter and just before the end of the story he stops. "What happened?" He gives a very dramatic face of shock as though it is a surprise to him as well that the story has ended.

Cathy slaps her knee, "You can't stop there. I have to know the end of the story, I can't go the day without hearing what happens at the end. Is Olselley really her friend or is he the monster?"

"He has to go to work," Carl looks sad, but gives Willie a bit of a smile. "You said you would come back after your shift. So we will be here waiting to find out how Olselley and WesRe solve their differences."

With a deep sigh, "I will be here to finish the story tonight." Willie hugs them all, except for Anthony who has decided he is to old for a hug. Then he chuckles, "I can't remember, which big brother is coming tonight or is that big sister. Anyway, besides the end of my story you will have someone who is older that you, that you can harass in your own loving way."

The children all giggle as he walks away. The loss of his family has always been hard on him, but this new family and Harmony have made his life seem so much better. This does not say he doesn't miss his wife and children, but it is good to have people to live your life for. The one benefit of his mate bonding not completing with his wife is that it has allowed him to start a new life with Harmony. No, he can't start a new life with her, and as he walks to the elevator the disappointment and sadness comes to him, he has seen the humans movies of aliens. All aliens that look lizard like are bad aliens in their movies. His people are not lizards, but they have characteristics that would remind her of a lizard, most especially his forked tongue. Right now he wishes he was Whipelli, if he was a mountain person he may have more physical attributes that Harmony could relate too. Worse, he can't even tell her who he really is, he can't tell her stories of his life back home. This includes telling her about the new Downstairs family he has come to embrace and who give him so much joy. Talking about the children or the troopers and Youth Corp would be a betrayal to his new family. This didn't mean Harmony would say anything to anyone, but then again would she. The sick feeling hangs over him right up to the elevator door.

"Are you kidding, can't believe you're here William!" Brian911 walks up to him with a large smile, "How are you doing?"

"Hi!" Willie smiles, he likes Brian911 in what short time he has come to know the man he has found him to be a good person. Lately he has come down doing more than he was even requested to do, in fact work that is not something he would do on a normal day. He has slowly been adding some shelves and things to one of the rooms for the kids to be able to do their projects and have the things they need to work on their own personal projects. Brian911 and he were even taking the shuttle to Earth together to the plant and back to the ship when their shift was over. That is until his shift and where he is now assigned to work was changed. "How is it going down there? I am sorry, I can't be at the plant to show you how to do some of that stuff we talked about. Are you finding better work with humans?"

Brian911 tilts his head for a moment as though thinking about what Willie has said. "I have been doing okay working with the humans now. Your help in letting me know what the human is really saying versus what I think they are saying has been valuable. Also, I am friendly to the humans, but I give absolutely nothing away. I met a human, a male who is a father as well." He frowns for a moment and then smiles. "At first I wanted to chat about my family, but didn't. At first very disappointed that we can't share our lives. Not now, I have come to realize even the smallest thing can be used against us. I hate what we do, but I want to save my family and I do not want to endanger my friends on the ships by giving away info that could hurt someone."

"Yes, just telling someone you know another individual can be an issue. I make worry every day, I like to think nothing will happen to any of us, but the humans are becoming angry more every day. One day. . ." Willie can't image what he would share with Harmony that would cause harm to the Downstairs kids, but it could. Maybe saying he knew Brian911 could cause one of them to be taken and then the other would have to help the angry human do something bad in order to save their friend. "Sorry, about that. What I say? Oh, yeah we need to be careful on what we say."

"Agreed."

"I have to go or I will be late for my shift. I stayed way to long here now." Willie tilts his head, maybe it is time to do more with his new friend. "Would you like to go to the game center for a bit tonight? It's kind of fun, but with my time shift and where I am working now the people I used to games play are not longer there."

Brian911 grins, "I would love that. I have been in there and played a few games. Also, I know that our superiors would like to see us older crew do a bit more exercise." He holds his hand out and he and Willie shake hands.

"Okay, we need to make a bet to see who does best." Willie is laughing, "Guarantee it won't be me." They both laugh and he says with a grin, "Later dude." He likes that he finally got a chance to use the word dude.

"Dude," Brian911 laughs and shakes his head, "What is dude?"

"Tell you tonight," Willie enters the elevator and is on his way to his shuttle with hopes he makes it on time so he isn't in trouble. Still he can't help the smile, he has a friend 911, a human friend in Harmony and a very happy wonderful family. The Downstairs Kids, some troopers, Youth Corps and Jason who is an assistant to Diana. Even though they are here to fix the disaster that is claiming his world he has a chance to have what everyone wants in life. He finds himself nodding with a large grin as he races towards to the shuttle.

vVvVv

The ride down is swift and he puts on his glasses. It makes him wonder why the Earth sun affects his peoples eyes so much. He once experimented and took them off, for a moment he thought he was actually going to throw up. It was like being attacked by color, how many colors could there be in the sunlight. He had once asked Harmony how many colors she had saw on a flower, she said three. Green stem and leaves, white flower petals and a yellow center. What he saw were several green colors in the stem and black streaks in the green leaves. The flower petals were not so bad, but it was definitely not just white. The yellow center though was frightening with its color variations twisting and swirling about. How do humans not see all those colors, or did their eyes see them and just block them out.

After a few hours of working Willie has been told along with a few others that they may take a break as something needs to be done without them being in the way. He has no idea what is going on, but he and a few others go outside, turning his head about he sees food vehicles. Could Harmony's food vehicle be here, after all she told him she travels about town. He looks about, but doesn't see her, he moans quietly to himself in disappointment. An emergency vehicle backs up and he must avoid being backed into and then there she is in front of her food vehicle. He is so happy and he walks quickly up to her with the largest grin he can give her.

"I am so glad to be looking at you," He is so happy to see her and she gives him a wide grin.

"I am happy to see you too," She says.

For him, his excitement has mixed up his words once again, then again it happened with Brian911 today. He feels he is doing much better with his English, but he has taken Brian's advice and actually lets his grammar be not quite right. It helps with human expectation. They see him as a dumb alien and in this way he can become more invisible and they have lowered expectations of him. Also, he doesn't like humans watching him as it makes him uncomfortable.

She tells him that she has waited for him at their usual place and he tells her that they moved him and they changed his job and his hours. He frowns a bit as he tells her that they moved many of them to the hospital.

Harmony also asked why they moved so many, but he could only tell her that he is just a worker and they don't tell him much. She tells him that is the way it is when you are the low man, one thing he knows he is certainly not ever going to be in charge of anything and he doesn't mind at all. However, he is so disappointed as all he wants to do is wrap his arms around her, but there are so many outside. The idea of holding her close and smelling her beautiful scent is something he longs for. This morning with the Downstairs Kids has brought so many emotions up and he is tired of fighting them. He wants what everyone wants, the feeling of caring for someone and in turn they caring for you.

He blurts out that he wants to touch her and she in turn tells him that she wants to be with him. They give each other not only a look of longing, but of lust. Harmony tells him where to meet her in the building and he says he knows where it is. She smiles and says that she will move her vehicle, park it in the lot and meet him in the room. They give each other another look that says they feel the same about each other.

Closing the doors to where the food is she gives him one more smile and drives away to park. Willie is elated, this is becoming the best day he has had in sometime. Family, friends, and now maybe love or at least the best he the alien from another world can hope for with the alien human female. He buries the fact that he can't tell her what he really looks like, but maybe he could and she won't care. Walking quickly to the door he sees Brian who appears to be walking to a shuttle with Gordon, they are each carrying a water bottle. He pretends that he is in a hurry and is not looking to speak to the two Youth Leaders as he walks up to them.

"Hi, hope you have day good." Although he speaks very quietly, Willie spits the words out with a very large grin. "See you later."

Both Brian and Gordon look at each other and smile. Then Brian shakes his head and speaking quietly as well says, "You look happy. Don't know what is happening, but be careful."

"No, be happy. I know you will be careful." Gordon says smiling. "You deserve some happy time."

Willie smiles and walks to the door as Brian and Gordon just look at each other. Yes, this is a good day. Best day ever.