Mercy
Chapter 21
Kate felt like she was being pulled in more directions than she could keep up with.
Lilly had announced that she was in love. So Kate had to meet this man and have Rick take a look at him. Lilly was leaving the restaurant and their home early in the day and coming home late.
A conversation with the new owner of the business that used to be Elias's told them that Lilly was showing up and spending her day there and doing work around the place so she could be close to him.
Then Rick had come back from Boston and told Kate that James was almost ready and that he had proposed to Delphine.
"MARRIED!" Kate yelled at him.
"Not yet," Rick soothed her. "She has a ring and she said yes but one of these days, yes."
Kate moved over to sit down in a chair before she fell down. "Lilly says she's in love and James has proposed." She had yet to see either of these people and just where had the time gone? What she wanted to do was ask her mama what she was supposed to do now, but her mama was gone.
She had to solve this for herself. "I'll talk to Lilly. When will James be ready?" Kate looked up at her husband.
"About two weeks, more or less. He has even decided on a name for his restaurant." Rick was pretty sure she might like this name, but who knew?
Kate waited for him to tell her by looking at him. "Mama's Place. He plans to serve the basics. Pretty much everything you've been cooking only he's going to do it in Boston. He may add a few French dishes thanks to Delphine but that's in the future."
"Mama's Place." Kate thought about that. It had her smiling but would a place with that name work in Boston? "We need to talk to him about that." Kate was thinking maybe he shouldn't name it that. That he should come up with something else. Though maybe she shouldn't be the one to talk. Hers was simply called Restaurant.
|)(| O |)(| O |)(|
Rick, Kate, and Lilly were all in Boston. James's restaurant was officially open and the three of them were getting a tour while it was still closed.
It wasn't exactly a basement. Yes, they went down some stairs outside to reach the front door and a back door went back up a set of stairs. But it had windows that were just above street level.
The interior was a lot of stone as were all the walls. The building itself looked really solid.
Thanks to Delphine there were tapestries and some old fashioned armor and weapons hanging on the wall. In addition there were bronze shields that did double duty. They were pretty and kept with the theme but they also reflected light and brightened up the space a lot.
The tables and chairs were simple wood and looked a little cheap. The kitchen itself was twice the size of hers and it even had a table that seated four comfortably.
"The plan is to sell these seats for a very high price and allow the customers watch their meal being cooked. They're also the only ones that will get wine with their meal if they buy any," James explained. "It was Delphine's idea," he said proudly.
Kate hadn't even seen this woman yet and tomorrow her son was going to be marrying her. He was 17 and she was 16. Kate didn't say anything about their ages since she had married Rick when she was 16 and her mama hadn't tried to stop her.
"It's nice, brother, if you like weapons." Lilly liked some of it, but wasn't sure about all the armor and weapons.
James stepped closer to her and shared a secret. "Most of it is fake. It was less expensive that way." Lilly smiled since that was actually rather clever in her eyes. It also meant a customer couldn't just take down a weapon and use it if it was fake.
"We officially open the day after the wedding. Delphine will be making deserts that she learned from her parents so they will be French," James informed them.
"So she's a cook, too." Now Kate understood how they had met and why they were attracted to each other. Beside her son being handsome.
"Delphine calls it being a pastry chief." James had been learning new terms for who did what from her.
"And do you still have money?" What if the opening didn't go well? She had no idea what he was paying the girls that worked the dining room.
"A little." James was no fool. If his opening didn't go well his restaurant might be closed in a few short weeks and all the money would be lost. Still his mother's food was really good so he was hoping to do well.
|)(| O |)(| O |)(|
Kate had brought the very best dress she had for this wedding as had Lilly. Rick was wearing the same black everything. It just happened to be all recently cleaned. He was also still wearing his sheriff's badge on his chest where everyone could see it.
They got to meet Delphine's parents as well as her sister who was already married. Delphine was the younger daughter and the last to get married. They learned when and how they had sailed from France to come here and why.
Kate in turn had talked about her small town of Mercy that she had never left until recently. That she had learned how to cook from her mother.
Rick and all his coverings were because he was injured when he was young so they didn't need to see that part of him. "He's still handsome." Kate actually didn't like him all covered up like this but understood why.
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The wedding itself had Kate wiping away tears as she saw Delphine in her wedding dress. She did indeed have really short blonde hair and she was very pretty. Most women like herself and Lilly kept their hair long. Kate just thought it was a French thing and thought nothing of it.
"Madame Kate. James speaks about you constantly." Her voice had a touch of an accent but it wasn't that strong. "You are the greatest cook he knows."
Kate shared the secret of her success. "My mama taught me everything I know. Though my husband has had a few ideas that have helped."
"James is so incredibly beau. How do you say? Pretty? …Handsome. That is it! I see now where he gets it. You are lovely. As is his soeur." Delphine looked at Lilly for the latter word.
Lilly wasn't sure so she took a guess at what she meant. "Thank you."
"I love your hair. Is the style French?" Kate asked her.
Delphine ran her hand through her hair. "There were…" she searched her brain for the right word, "lice on the ship. My hair was cut short to get rid of them. I decided I liked it so I keep it short. James does not seem to mind."
Before Delphine left them to talk to others at the wedding, the three of them had learned a lot about her. Finally James made his way over to them. "What did you think, Mama?" He wanted her to like Delphine.
"She is a lovely woman and smart. Perhaps I will have grandchildren." They would be too far away for her to spoil them easily but maybe she could find the time.
"MAMA!" They had only just gotten married and hadn't even talked about children yet. Yet his mother wanted them to be pregnant already. Then he caught her grinning and knew she was teasing him.
"I need a drink," James announced and left them.
"Me too." Rick followed him so he could talk to his son alone.
"Am I supposed to give you grandchildren too, Mama?" Lilly asked her. She was only 15 and just barely just like James was barely 17. She was thinking about marriage but wasn't ready yet.
"Perhaps one day." Kate wasn't yet ready to lose her also. Once Lilly was gone it would be just her and Rick and she wasn't yet ready for that.
|)(| O |)(| O |)(|
Rick, Kate, and Lilly had left for home the very next morning. The restaurant needed to be open if they were going to make any money.
Kate cursed softly when she saw Rick was missing from their bed in the morning. It wasn't cold outside. In fact if anything it was going to be a hot one today which was far too soon. What they needed was a shower to cool everything off.
Getting up had her a little woozy and she had to grab something to keep from falling down. "What did I drink last night?" Kate decided to blame it on that. Still after a quick wash and dressing, she was downstairs to warm up her stove so she could make breakfast.
She was lost in thought thinking about her son and his new wife when the backdoor opened and in walked Rick. He came right over to her and wrapped his arms around her.
Kate liked it when he held her so she melted into him. "She was nice."
"Delphine? Yes, she was. She needs to eat something, though." He feared she was all skin and bone. Her breasts weren't even the size of Kate's before she was pregnant.
That had Kate chuckling softly. She was willing to agree that while Delphine was very pretty she looked thin. "She eats Jame's cooking and that will change."
|)(| O |)(| O |)(|
Rick always scanned everyone he saw when he patrolled the town. Mostly to see if anyone had a weapon on them since weapons in the town itself was not allowed. He enforced this rule with no exceptions. He was the only one allowed to have a weapon. The fact that he couldn't actually remove his weapon didn't count.
Rick came home with this month's paper for Kate to read. The war with the South was over and President Lincoln was dead and buried. His replacement had been selected until elections could be held.
Kate still didn't remember ever voting for him or anyone. Maybe they were too small and too far away for anyone to care about. The news in the paper since then had mostly revolved around local events that had nothing to do with them. However, each paper had ads of products that could be purchased.
Rick dropped the paper on the table and went to Kate and inhaled deeply. She was clearly making one of his favorite soups. "It's not ready yet." Kate bumped him to get him to go away and not steal a spoonful.
Rick scanned her like everyone else and naturally didn't find a weapon. But his system gave him an alert that had him scanning her deeper. What he found frightened him to his core. The primary problem was that he couldn't do anything about it. It also didn't tell him exactly when or even a rough idea.
Kate suddenly found herself being held by him and not caring about her soup. Kate let herself melt into him for a moment before going back to stirring her soup.
"I love you too, babe." Kate had fallen in love with him years ago and save for a scare or two she still loved him just as much. "What?" He wasn't letting go of her.
"Just happy to have you and love you." She had saved him and he still didn't know how to pay her back for that. That earned him a passionate kiss.
|)(| O |)(| O |)(|
Kate was sitting at the table watching her husband eat his dinner while she rested. She should be cleaning the kitchen like the dining room was being cleaned. But she felt tired for some reason. Maybe it was just because she was getting old.
Then Kate suddenly sat up straight. She was almost the same age as her mama when she had died. As she thought about it the only people in town that had been older than her when they died had been the couple that owned the General Store and Elias.
"Something?" Rick stopped eating, scanned her yet again, and found the same thing.
"I was just thinking." She wasn't interested in sharing.
|)(| O |)(| O |)(|
Kate chose not to clean the kitchen this evening since she had a pounding headache. The headache was new and she wasn't used to them. She just wanted to rest and go to sleep and feel better tomorrow.
She let Rick strip her of her clothes as she used a hand to balance her as he worked. Then got in bed and found him tucking her into bed. "Come to bed?" He wasn't even trying to take his clothes off.
"In a bit. Just rest, my love." Rick scanned her again. It was worse and now he was blinking back tears.
Kate smiled since he rarely called her his love. She felt loved and now loved him just a touch more.
She was asleep and Rick was scanning her every minute as she slept. He saw it coming and quickly made a choice. It had a minimal chance of working but he didn't want to lose her forever so he stripped off his shirt and reached behind him.
They detached from his spine easily enough. They were meant to make interrogation easier. He needed information to hunt down people and kill them so it had proven to be very useful. First, though, he needed to erase everything to create space. Then he pressed two small discs to each side of her head at her temple and pressed. They needed to penetrate for it to work. He activated the device and watched in his eye as the process began.
He pulled out one more item stored in his spine. Like this process, it had an ulterior use than what he was planning but he didn't see himself ever using either ever again so he needed to use it now.
It was just as tiny and activating it cause a really long needle to telescope out. It was incredibly thin but it should work. He plunged it into her belly, waited a moment, then withdrew it and put it away. He watched the progress of the other device with his eye.
Once it had reached 100% he gave it another minute just to be sure. Then he removed them from her temples and stored them back in his spine.
He didn't even have time to put his clothes back on. He stroked her hair and sobbed. The love of his life had just died from a massive stroke, right before his eyes.
Bereft, he sat on the floor and watched her as he continued to cry heavily. His heart was breaking and he wasn't sure what was going to become of him now. She had given him a reason to live and love and now that reason was gone.
|)(| O |)(| O |)(|
Rick had told Lilly first and had held her as she sobbed uncontrollably, much like he had done the night she had died. Then he had jumped to James so he could inform him. Once again he was holding his son this time as he broke down and cried and Rick couldn't stop himself from joining him like he had joined Lilly.
Seemingly the entire town was at her funeral. Lilly was crying yet again as she was being held by the man that she loved. James hadn't brought his wife but had told her he was going home to bury his mama. Even he was crying again and they both had Rick crying.
"PAPA?" Lilly wrapped herself around him and silently asked him to save her mama but knew he couldn't.
|)(| O |)(| O |)(|
James was home and being consoled by Delphine when he couldn't stop the tears yet again. He was even more determined to keep the name of his restaurant. It was now dedicated to his Mama and all she had taught him.
It only took Rick and Lilly a week to sell the restaurant to new owners. Rick gave Lilly all the money including all the money in the bank. He was going to live off of the money he earned from being a sheriff.
It had taken some soul-searching on his part. He had sworn to protect the town of Mercy so long as Kate lived there. But she was gone now. Just his daughter was here so he stayed for her.
He was now renting out a small room above the General Store since his room in the restaurant was gone.
|)(| O |)(| O |)(|
One year later he ran across Lilly as she was entering town and found out she was looking for him. "He proposed, Papa." Lilly held up the ring on her finger. "He proposed." She had said yes because she loved him. And she got to stay in the town she loved.
Lilly wasn't living in the town itself but she lived close enough for Rick to keep his promise.
Rick jumped James home so he could attend his sister's wedding and provide news about Boston, his restaurant, and his wife to both of them.
|)(| O |)(| O |)(|
James was back a year later so he could celebrate with his sister about her being pregnant. So far Delphine wasn't pregnant but it didn't concern James. He loved her and they still made love to each other daily.
|)(| O |)(| O |)(|
The town was changing and new buildings were going up as people moved in and created new businesses to support the town and its population.
Rick even ate occasionally in the restaurant that he once knew so very well. However, they didn't make the same foods that Kate made; it was one more thing for him to miss. Besides missing making love to her. Hearing her voice. Feeling the touch of her hand.
The town was mostly quiet and no one tried to enter carrying weapons. There was no theft or murder within the city itself.
|)(| O |)(| O |)(|
Five years later and Rick was still unchanged. He wasn't any older as his systems kept curing him of everything and repairing any damage. "Papa?" He heard a soft voice and turned quickly to see his granddaughter walking up behind him with Lilly right behind her.
"Dawn!" Rick knelt down on one knee and hugged her when she stepped into his arms. "Are you being a good girl? Have you told Santa what you want for Christmas?" She, like everyone else, was all bundled up because of the cold.
"Dolly!" She wanted one just like her mama's. The doll Lilly had gotten in Boston was her most precious item she owned. It was the very last thing her mama had bought her and no one in town had one like it.
"Well, we'll just have to see." Rick would jump to Boston to buy her a very special doll if he could afford it. Lilly had all the money now. "How are you?" Lilly was all he had left that was close.
"I'm fine, Papa. How long are you staying?" She knew his promise as much as he did. As much as James did.
"I guess we'll see. Mercy is getting bigger and bigger." Times were changing.
Lilly really didn't want her town getting any bigger. She liked it small like she remembered when she was a little girl. Maybe because her mama was still alive at the time or maybe it was because she knew everyone then.
|)(| O |)(| O |)(|
Rick welcomed another granddaughter from his daughter. She reminded him a lot of his wife. Her hair color was different but her bone structure was similar.
James never did have any children. Delphine didn't give him any children. He was still happy and his restaurant was doing really well. Boston had the ability to advertise to gain more customers and word of mouth spread pretty fast. He served food no one else in the city did save for some of the French desserts.
His last jump to Boston told him that his son had died at the age of 48. He had jumped James's body home to bury him next to his mother. Then he buried Lilly next to him when she died three years later.
It was a brokenhearted Rick that finally resigned his job as sheriff. There was no longer any reason for him to remain. Dawn and Delta had both moved to Houston so he no longer had any family in Mercy. Lilly had been the last of his family in town.
Now he just needed to figure out where to stay and watch what happened to the planet he was trapped on. Anyone that saw him would always remember him thanks to his arm, eye, ear and his bald head under his black hat. Or his metal spine under his black clothes.
He hadn't killed anyone in years. He placed that squarely on his wife. She had changed him from what he had been made into. He had no desire to go back to being a soldier who only killed. The last doctor that had worked on him was far beyond his grasp and would die long before he could ever reach him.
He found himself standing at the graves of his family which included Johanna. When he jumped away he would never be back. He had spent all the money he had on flowers for their graves and left behind his sheriff's badge on Kate's grave.
"Goodbye, my love." Rick began jumping, looking for a place to stay and watch.