Tony's Salvation—Chapter 21
Tony turns her hand over to trace the line of the scar with his forefinger.
"I caught a burning brand."
He looks at her startled as she nods at her left hand. He's thinking of the cattle brands he's seen in some of the more western style restaurants he's eaten in over the years.
"Actually it was a torch, a branch that was on fire and aimed at my martial arts instructor. He'd been targeted for assassination and I intervened. In deflecting the brand it hit the assassin, killing him instead."
"Why didn't you heal this?" Even as he asks, he's certain he knows what her answer is. Her reply is his confirmation.
"I was in a hurry. I – come on let's go to the living room, this is a bit of a lengthy story to tell."
As they walk into the living room, Tony can tell by looking out the bay window that the rain is steadily turning into snow. Laurie turns to her left; there's a well-laid fireplace with a full rack of firewood in the corner and she kneels down to light it. Tony glances around the room. There are two recliners facing the fireplace, there is a sofa directly under the window and another doorway leads out to yet another part of the house to the left of the fireplace. The mantle above the fireplace is laden with small crystal sculptures. On the wall across from the window framed artwork graces the wall. The wall to the far right is covered with books and to Tony's surprise, DVDs. Tony walks over to the window pulls the cord that closes the draperies.
Leaving just enough of the curtains open to let in the fading light he turns on the lamp that's resting on the nearest end table. He then sits down in one of the recliners and invites her to join him. To his surprise, she shakes her head and starts pacing in front of the fire.
"What happened?" His softly worded question reminds her that she's not alone with her thoughts. She also has some explaining to do. She takes a deep breath as she turns to face him.
"First of all, I need to apologize to you for not explaining to you just who and what I am. I am not just a cook or medic with the Navy SEALs and the team formerly known as Dawes Guys. I am also the number sixth ranked Ninja/Samurai in the world. I received that scar on my hand almost 25 years ago, at what we call a round robin tournament.
"At the time, it was the first tournament of its kind. As you may know just due to their history ninjas and samurai are considered to be mortal enemies. Several decades ago, five prominent instructors chose to learn the best of both worlds and train their students in this new martial art. It was a preliminary exercise and the top ranking students from most of the martial arts compounds were allowed the chance to observe the training that their contemporaries received and compare it to their own. This way, when the actual ranking tournament happens there isn't as much surprise that could turn the tide of the championship.
"The top four martial arts compounds were the ones hosting the event. The Stormwind, Miyadori, Yamaguchi and Takeda compounds all had students that were participating. Just after my master was attacked, I sensed something wrong. Something similar was going on at the other compounds."
"The contest was an opportune time for an attack I take it?"
"Most of the compounds had at least one student involved if not more. My master forbade me to enter the competition itself, but several of the other masters intervened on my behalf and allowed me to come as part of the medical staff; my healing might be needed is what they argued…little did they know."
"One of the students was injured; the same one you just assisted?"
She nods at his astuteness. She's not really surprised by his intuitiveness; he had been a cop after all.
"Richard Lewis Thorpe, the martial artist in that picture Max showed you, had been injured when his compound was attacked. His brother was sent on to the tournament and Rick's injuries almost ignored until I arrived and insisted on seeing him."
"You chose to heal him rather than yourself."
"Yeah, I grabbed some ice out of the refrigerator and was just starting to heal it when I felt his pain. That is another of my abilities; when my healing is needed I am an empath."
"You know who is hurt, where they hurt and how to heal them."
She nods at his insight. Tony rises from the chair and puts his arms around her waist, pulling her against him. She leans into his embrace as she continues.
"I spent the rest of the round robin bouncing from Rick's side to the others. Needless to say, I didn't think much about my hand until it was too late to do anything."
"What about your master?"
"He died shortly after the war ended. He never recovered from his shock after the assassin's attack."
Tony gives her a hug, knowing that she needs the emotional support even if she won't say so. He looks over her shoulder and inhales sharply.
"I realize that you have a few more things to tell me, but did you forget to mention a pet or two?"
There is a huge white wolf standing in the doorway that leads to the kitchen. The animal is growling under its breath and Tony's not quite sure that the growl isn't directed at him.
"Pets? I don't have any—Thunder! You are here. I missed you on the trail earlier. Please, come over here and meet Tony. He's a special friend of mine."
The wolf, Thunder growls and stands his ground.
"Tony, this is Thunder; he's a -,"
"Wolf."
"That too; he's my protector when I come here. I saved his cub a few years ago and since then he's been a good friend whenever I manage to come home."
Tony thinks carefully before carefully kneeling down to the wolf's level, extending his right hand and meeting its gaze. He's hoping that the sincerity in his voice will also show in his eyes and manner.
"Thunder, I thank you for protecting our friend Laurie. I don't know how long I'll be here, but I'd be honored to consider you one of my friends. I would hope that you will continue to protect her even when I'm not around."
Thunder slowly pads closer to where Tony is and gently takes Tony's extended hand between his massive jaws. There is a soft almost subtle pinch and then Thunder lets go of him. Tony closes his eyes sitting passively as Thunder sniffs him from head to toe. A soft nudge from a cold nose against his hand has him opening his eyes again.
"Thunder accepts you and is honored to be your friend as well."
The wolf walks back to the kitchen and from there to the laundry room where it lies down on a folded blanket that's lying between the washer and dryer. Tony stares at Laurie.
"Did the weather bring him in or did I just miss seeing him on the trail and are there anymore friends I need to know about?"
"It was the weather. He has an access point through the laundry room. All of the forest creatures are invited here, but so far Thunder and his cub Three Moons are the only ones that come to visit. He must have scented you earlier and came to investigate."
"Where is his pack? Wolves aren't normally loners are they?"
"No they're not, but Thunder is old and can't get food like he used to. His den isn't that far from here and he likes to visit when I'm home."
"His expression was almost human."
Laurie caresses his face. "You handled him very well. He'll probably watch you while you're here, but I think he senses that you can be trusted."
"Really?" He gives her an exaggerated leer and she laughs at him.
"Yes, really. Come on, I'll fix us some lunch while you pick out a movie for later this afternoon."
She opens a secret door next to the fireplace and Tony is in electronic/cinematic heaven. A state of the art LG 47" Class LCD 1080p 60Hz HDTV, is hiding behind the panels. A sleek black stand supports the television as well as the DVD player.
"Anything goes?" he shouts.
"Wasn't that a musical?" Her reply stuns him. No one else would have made a connection between his question and the 1956 musical. Thunder wakes up at the commotion in the kitchen and seeing Laurie busy with lunch preparations pads over to where Tony is staring at the variety of DVDs.
"Wurf?"
"Oh hey Thunder, what do you wanna watch?" The absent minded question is greeted with a paw on a stack of movies to Tony's right.
"Dances With Wolves? Okay if that's what you want. Hey Laurie its Kevin Costner today."
"Okay I haven't seen all of that one yet."
"How did you -?"
"It's the only Kevin Costner movie I have. Although I wouldn't mind getting Robin Hood."
His jaw drops at the confession. Looking closer he can see that a lot of her movies are classic westerns, a few musicals and some of the more recent science fiction. He is gratified to see that she does have all six Star Wars films as well as the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Then he sees that she also has the newest Star Trek, still in its original store packaging.
"How many of these have you actually watched?"
"Most of them." Tony looks at the new video in his hand and back at her, clearly not buying her answer.
"Parts of most of them?" she smiles at the look of horror on his face when she confesses to falling asleep during most of the movies.
"And how often are you here for more than 24 hours?"
"Not often enough."
Thunder gives a soft woof of agreement at the last sentence.
"So does this mean that you'll sleep through this one too?"
"Not since you're here. I can usually stay awake when others are present."
Thunder gives a soft woof of agreement at that sentence too.
Tony looks down at Thunder who gazes up at him. "We need to get her watching not just buying."
"Wurf." The wolf's agreement brings a smile to Tony's face as he sets up the DVD player for the first film.
Laurie walks in and asks Tony if he'd like to eat in the kitchen or by the fire. Before Tony can reply the lights start blinking. Laurie looks at him and says, "Let's eat in the kitchen. We may end up sleeping by the fire tonight after all; unless you'd rather I teleport us back to town?"
Tony shakes his head no. He'd come here to spend time with her; fate was giving them that time. He follows her back to the kitchen where a pot of ham and beans is bubbling merrily on the stove and the oven timer dings indicating the arrival of freshly baked corn bread.
Laurie places the cooling ham bone in front of Thunder. The wolf licks her hand in thanks before taking his treat to the blankets in the laundry room. Tony looks around the kitchen and opens a few cupboards to find soup bowls for their lunch. He also uses the opportunity to open the drawers and pull out silverware for the meal.
Laurie reaches into the fridge and pulls out some butter. She sets it on the table and turns for their drinks when Tony grabs her around the waist. She loops her arms around his neck, in preparation for his kiss when he reaches around her and pulls some honey out of the cupboard by the fridge. She pouts and he retaliates by kissing her on the nose and moving to his chair. He then proceeds to slab some butter on his corn bread before sticking his spoon in his soup.
"Delicious; like always. Who taught you to cook?"
She places a bottle of water before him as she says, "It was one of those things that came natural to me. I remember watching the cooks at our compound and asking for lessons. Most were surprised but a few indulged me."
They finish eating. He washes the few dishes and she puts the food away. She wraps up the cornbread but leaves it on the table in case they want a snack later on. Tony leads her back to the living room and sits her on the couch. He grabs the remote and they watch the opening credits of Dances With Wolves come on the screen.
The movie barely gets started when all the lights go out and the screen goes dark. Laurie has Tony stay where he is. "I have a backup generator if it gets really bad. In the meantime I'll go grab some blankets in case we need to stay in this room tonight."
Tony watches her go and decides that he can help by finding some candles if nothing else. He stands up and heads for the kitchen. Thunder looks at him from the laundry room. "Hey, you know where she keeps the candles at big guy?"
Thunder pads over and gently takes Tony's wrist in his jaws, leading him to a drawer in the laundry room filled with candles and matches. As he pulls out several votives and pillar candles Tony sees a flashlight in the drawer too. He checks the batteries and carries his stash back to the living room.
There are several saucers laid out in strategic locations; obviously she's been through situations like this before. Tony places the candles in the saucers and lights them. Thunder comes into the room and lies down before the fireplace. Tony's lighting the last of the candles when Laurie comes back into the room her arms laden with pillows and blankets.
"Wow, I could get used to this. We should do this at least-." Her voice trails off as uncertainty overcomes her. After all, Tony is from a big city, there's no guarantee that he'll even want to come back here.
"Hey, I think that coming here once or twice a month could work depending on what our schedules end up like. Come on, I'll help you make up our nest."
She pushes any remaining doubts about their relationship to the side as she places the pillows and blankets next to Thunder. She then proceeds to pull the bed out of the sofa.
"You sleep in here a lot." It's a statement not a question and she nods telling him that she usually falls asleep on the sofa while watching the fire burn down or relaxing with a movie. Tony's measuring the room with his minds eye and says that they will stay warmer if they set up the mattress closer to the fireplace. Laurie nods in compliance and lays a blanket down on the floor first before helping Tony move the mattress on top of it.
As she already has a fitted sheet on the mattress, they quickly and efficiently place a flat sheet and several blankets on top of it, covering it with a soft down comforter. Laurie sets several pillows on the makeshift bed while Tony adds another log to the fire. He adjusts the protective screen and comes over to where she's sitting on the bed.
He sits down next to her and pulls her into his embrace. He asks what she thinks about when she looks into the fire.
"Where I've been, where I'm going; if anyone will be going with me." she sighs and he holds her close for several minutes before looking down at her. He brushes her bangs out of her eyes as he wants to see her expression to what he says next.
"I'm wondering if I should quit NCIS."