Chapter 3 - Breakfast and Blades

Chief was up early the next morning, he washed, salved the wounds he could reach, dressed, opened his door and followed the smell of freshly baked bread into the kitchen, Mary Garrison turned as the young man entered the room. "Good morning Chief, you hungry?"

Chief nodded eagerly as his stomach rumbled. "Yes ma'am."

Mary smiled. "You always up this early?"

"Yes ma'am. The War... your son 'n I usually go for early mornin' runs, well more like walks at the moment with that leg o' his."

Mary pointed to the table. "Well Craig's not up yet." She walked over and opened the door to the large pantry. "Would you like bacon, eggs and toast for breakfast? I managed to get some fresh yesterday."

Chief's face lit up as he sat down at the table. "Yes please ma'am."

"My name's Mary, you can call me that."

"Don't seem right ma'am. You're the Ward... the Lieutenant's mother."

Mary threw a couple of rashers of bacon into a frying pan. "Alright Chief, but you will be calling me by my name by the time you go back in two weeks."

"Two weeks?" Chief sounded baffled.

Mary laughed. "Didn't Craig tell you? He arranged for you both to have two weeks rest and recreation with us, I told him to do it and he knows better than to argue with me. Craig's leg won't be out of plaster for at least another week. Major Richards said he'll make sure the rest of your team are occupied when they return from leave until you both get back."

Chief leaned back in his chair and had a small smile to himself as he realised Garrison had expertly conned him into having a two week break away from the chaos of the mansion and the army camp to help him recover from his injuries.

Mary poured a large mug of coffee and put it on the table, she then toasted a thick slice of bread, buttered it and laid the eggs and bacon over the top. "Chief, that can't be the name your parents gave you. They still alive?"

Chief looked down at his coffee. "No ma'am, got no family."

Mary regarded the young man sympathetically, that confirmed what Craig had said about his scout. She placed the plate in front of him, the fragrant scent of bacon and real, fresh eggs wafted up, making his mouth water. "What is your name? I can't keep calling you Chief."

Chief looked up into her hazel/green eyes. "It's Rainey ma'am, that's the only name I got besides Chief."

Craig stood, leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed and a small, crooked smile on his face. "Unbelievable! The Krauts torture you for hours and you don't tell them a damn thing, two minutes with my mother and she's got your name!"

Chief smiled shyly. "The Krauts weren't offerin' bacon 'n eggs."

Craig laughed as he sat down, he was feeling a lot better after last night's talk with his parents. "Hope there's some for me too," he exchanged an amused look with Chief. "I'm starvin'!"

Mary turned back to the hob and cooked a fresh batch of bacon, eggs and toast. She turned round and started to place a hand on Chief's shoulder as she passed the plate over to her son. Craig knew Chief would react if he couldn't see it coming, he started forward. "No!" he shouted.

Chief's head shot up at the sudden outburst, he looked into Garrison's panicked face. Instinct took over, he expected to be attacked and jumped up as he felt a hand touch him. His wounded back hurt, it hadn't been salved in over twenty four hours and was feeling tight and sore. He felt scar tissue give as he jerked violently away from the unexpected contact, the pain made him react automatically, just as he'd always done. His chair clattered to the ground as he whirled round to see Mary's startled eyes, she was looking at his right hand. He stared down horrified to see he was holding his blade ready to strike, he staggered back, looked uncomprehendingly at Garrison, shook his head and ran out of the kitchen.

Mary looked at her son in shocked astonishment. "What the hell just happened Craig?"

Craig pushed himself up from the table and grabbed his cane. "I'm sorry, I didn't get a chance to tell you Chief doesn't like to be touched, he reacts like that if he can't see it coming. I'll go see if he's alright."

Mary pointed to the chair. "No Craig, I will. Sit there and eat your breakfast."

Mary walked out of the kitchen and looked around, she went upstairs and knocked on Chief's door. "Rainey, you in there?" she entered, the room was empty, she ran downstairs and out into the garden, no-one was there, she walked back to the kitchen. "Rainey's gone Craig."

Craig ran a hand through his hair. "Damn! It's all my fault, I should've told you earlier, I spooked him when I shouted out to you. My joke about him being tortured couldn't have helped either. I'm a damned idiot. I've got to find him."

"How are you going to do that son? You don't know where he's gone and you can hardly walk."

Craig looked out the window towards the New Forest. "I think I know where he's gone. I'll let him find me, he always does."

GG-GG-GG

The trees surrounded Chief as he ran into the forest, the undergrowth tried to trip him but he avoided the snagging roots and brambles and kept his feet, he stopped in a small clearing and started turning in a circle. Damn, what had just happened? How could he have done that? How could he have pulled his blade on Mary Garrison? He'd felt happy at finally being part of a normal family, doing normal things. He now knew he was out of his depth and didn't know how to deal with the situation Garrison had unexpectedly dropped him in. He wasn't fit to be with normal people, he was what he'd always been told he was, a no-good breed, an animal, a vicious killer. How could the Warden ever forgive him for what he'd done? He was angry, angry with the Warden for bringing him here, angry with himself for how he'd reacted to an innocent touch on the shoulder, he dropped to his knees and groaned.

Craig limped down the long track towards the forest, he stumbled a few times on the rough ground but carried on, leaning heavily on his cane, it took him nearly an hour to cover the distance. He looked at the dark shadows under the trees and walked in, he found a small clearing and looked round at the dense undergrowth. His leg hurt and his ribs were reminding him of their presence too, he hit a tree with his cane, the sound echoing out. He cupped his hand to his mouth and shouted out as loud as he could. "Ya ta hey, Atsilí. Everything's ok. Where are you? Come home, Mary's waiting for you, she wants to see you."

Chief watched the Warden from the shadows, he was still angry at everything and wasn't ready to talk. He turned away, how could Garrison still call him his brother? How could everything be alright? How could Mary Garrison ever want to see him again after what he'd done? He circled the clearing on silent feet, keeping an eye on his friend, he couldn't leave him on his own, he was injured, he'd never let him come to harm.

Craig walked slowly, deeper into the forest, his leg was really hurting now and he leaned even more heavily on his cane. He gazed around seeing nothing but tree trunks and undergrowth stretching under the leafy canopy. "Chief, you there?" Silence. He set off in another direction.

The sun was getting higher and the air under the trees was getting warm and humid. Craig stepped into a small clearing and stopped, he called out again as loud as he could but his voice was muffled by the trees around him, flies buzzed past him and birds sang in the branches overhead. He looked around and realised he'd no idea where he was and how to get back to the house, he usually relied on his scout's unerring sense of direction to guide him where he wanted to go. Where the hell was he? He knew he'd never find Chief unless he wanted him to, he hurled his cane into the trees in frustration, Chief could be miles away by now. "Dammit Chief, where are you?" he shouted. He stepped forward, stumbled over a hidden root and fell heavily against a tree trunk, he sank down onto the ground, rubbing his throbbing leg and swearing softly.

Chief slipped noiselessly closer, his temper had started to cool down over the last hour as he'd shadowed Garrison, watching his every move. He glanced down, picked up something black from a patch of undergrowth at his feet and looked over at the figure slumped at the base of a large oak tree, he still felt angry and confused but his loyalty to his friend won.

Craig leaned back against the rough bark of the tree and rubbed his hands through his hair, what was he going to do now? He was surprised to hear the sound of a nighthawk calling close by, he looked up hopefully and watched as his ebony cane sailed across the clearing to land by his side, Chief appeared out of nowhere behind it. "Warden?"

Craig breathed a heavy sigh of relief as he grasped the cane. "Knew you'd find me. How long have you been there?"

Chief gave him a meaningful look. "All the time. Been followin' you since you got here."

Craig reached out a hand and Chief hauled him to his feet. "Still watching my back, even here."

Chief looked down at the ground, it was littered with leaf mould and ancient acorns. "Always gonna do that Warden." He looked up, Craig saw he had a desperate look in his eyes. "Send me back. I can't be here. Not with your family."

Garrison frowned. "What are you talking about Chief?"

Chief's voice was full of anger and despair. "You saw what happened, I pulled my blade on your mother. I can't be trusted round normal folks. I thought I'd changed but I'm still nothin' more'n a no-good breed." Chief held his arms out at his sides, hands wide open. "Wouldn't blame you if you wanted to punch me out, go ahead, I deserve it."

Craig looked at him and shook his head. "No, Atsilí. You did nothing wrong it was my fault, I shouldn't have shouted out like that."

Chief dropped his head. "You were worried for your mother, I know that. I let you down."

Craig reached out and grasped Chief's arm. "No, I was worried for you, I didn't get the chance to tell anyone you don't like to be touched. I knew you'd react like this if anything happened, I didn't want to put you in that situation. I failed you Chief, you didn't fail me. I'm used to you taking everything that gets thrown at you in your stride, you're not afraid of anything."

"That's when I'm fightin', I know how to fight 'n kill people, I'm good at it. This is... bein' normal, I don't know how to be normal 'n I don't wanna hurt your family." Chief's shoulders slumped. "I can't do this Warden, just send me away 'n you won't hafta worry about it happenin' again."

Craig shook his head. "If I did that Mary would throw me out the house right behind you with orders to never come back unless I had you with me. She'd do it too, believe me," he gave a short laugh. "You'd better face it, we're both here for the duration. I'll help you get through it, it won't be that bad, at least we'll be well fed! Let's go home." He looked round at the trees. "Do you know where home is? I'm lost."

Chief pointed to his right. "It's only two miles that way. You've been walking in circles with that bum leg o' yours Warden. This is the second time you've been in this clearin'."

Craig set off in the direction indicated, took two steps and nearly fell over. "Dammit, where's a car when you need one?"

Chief was immediately by his side, steadying him, he pulled Garrison's arm over his shoulder to keep him supported. "We'll get there, we'll just take it slow Ánaaí."

GG-GG-GG

An hour later the two men were standing outside the back door of the house, the afternoon sun cast soft shadows over the lawn and patio. Chief dropped Garrison's arm from his shoulders and stood silently, Craig turned to him. "Come on, Mary's waiting for you."

Chief shook his head, he was still ashamed of what he'd done and dreaded facing Garrison's mother, he wanted to run away again and disappear off the face of the earth, it was only his loyalty to Garrison that kept him from doing just that. Craig could see the emotions crossing his face, he walked to the door, paused and looked back. "I'll just be a minute ok? Don't you go anywhere Chief, promise me you'll stay here." Chief nodded his head and sat down on a low wall.

Craig limped into the kitchen, Mary was preparing vegetables for dinner, she looked up expectantly and frowned when she saw he was alone. "What happened Craig? Where's Rainey, did you find him?"

Craig rested against the kitchen counter. "He found me, just like I said he would, he's outside and won't come in, he wants me to send him back to the mansion."

"I'll go talk to him." Mary wiped her hands on a handy towel, walked out the door and saw Rainey sitting on the patio wall, his head was down and he was breathing hard. She saw patches of red on the back of his shirt as the blood from his opened wounds had seeped through and dried, she sat down next to him. "Rainey? You alright? I'm so sorry, I didn't know you don't like to be touched. Please forgive me."

Chief turned to face her. "You did nothin' wrong, it's all on me. I'm sorry I scared you ma'am. I can't stay here. Please, get the Warden to send me back where I can't hurt you, I asked him but he won't do it. I'd never hurt you, you're his mother," he looked down despairingly. "I can't be with normal people, I know that now."

Mary's heart went out to the miserable young man, she slowly reached out and gently caressed Chief's cheek, he shied away slightly but accepted her touch. "Don't you say that, you're not going anywhere. I won't let you leave here, you did nothing wrong. Craig trusts you and so do I. I know you won't hurt me, please know that I'd never hurt you." She looked at the blood-stained shirt. "Craig said you need to have the wounds on your back salved, when was the last time that was done?"

Chief answered quietly. "Yesterday, Actor did it before we left."

Mary's look changed to one of concern. "How often does it need to be done?"

Chief shrugged and regretted it. "Two, three times a day," he murmured painfully.

Mary was horrified, she pointed to the door. "Rainey, get upstairs and take your shirt off, I'll look after you. Did you bring the salve with you?"

"Yes ma'am, it's in my room but I wouldn't ask you..."

Mary got annoyed. "Rainey get your ass upstairs and I'll see to those wounds, don't even think of arguing with me."

Chief rose to his feet. "Yes ma'am."

Mary followed Chief into his room, she started to help him remove his shirt but stopped when she saw it was sticking to the dried scabs on his back. She went out, came back with a bowl of warm water and a couple of cloths, she gently started to soak the shirt away from his body and dropped it on the floor. Her expression was one of horror as the injuries that covered his back, arms and chest were revealed. "Oh my God Rainey, is this what the Germans did to you?"

Chief's head dropped. "Yes ma'am," he answered quietly.

"Bastards!" Mary swallowed a huge lump in her throat as she realised this or something worse would have happened to her son if Rainey hadn't taken his place, she pulled a wooden chair into the middle of the room. "Come and sit down here." Chief straddled the chair, put his arms over the back and leaned forward to give her access to his back, he gave a soft gasp as his tight wounds stretched. Mary checked Rainey's injuries and frowned. "These should have healed up a lot more than they have, what happened?"

Chief sighed. "Had a fight with Hardin's mercenaries, managed to tear things open again pretty bad. Actor said he couldn't stitch me up no more 'n would have to leave things to heal on their own."

"Well, you won't be getting in any fights here, you've been through more than enough. I think that's one of the reasons Craig brought you home." Mary tutted and muttered angrily. "Bloody Jack bloody Hardin, he never was any good, none of his family are. I'm glad you killed him, just don't tell Craig I said that!" She opened the tub of salve, put some on her hands and hesitated before touching him, no wonder Rainey had reacted like he had, everything looked red and sore, he must have been in a lot of pain and not told anyone. She shook her head and gently started to apply the soothing ointment, almost immediately she felt him tense up. "It's alright Rainey, I won't hurt you," she said softly.

Chief breathed out slowly as he tried to ease his muscles, his voice was muffled as he buried his head between his outstretched arms. "I know that ma'am."

Mary gently spread the ointment over Rainey's back and then rubbed his taut muscles harder until she felt him relax under her ministrations, she applied more salve. "This isn't going to last two weeks, I'll get Sandy to order more for you and bring it over with her."

"Thank you ma'am."

Mary finished and stepped back. "Have you put salve on your other wounds?"

Chief raised his head and nodded. "Put some on this mornin', could reach everywhere else."

Mary's concern for the young man was obvious. "Stand up and I'll check everything's alright." Chief hesitated and she fixed him with a stern look. "Rainey, I've seen enough half naked men in my life. Let me make sure you're ok or you'll regret it!"

"Yes, ma'am."

GG-GG-GG

Mary marched back into the kitchen and confronted her son. "Craig, why didn't you tell me how bad they hurt that kid, he's a mess, that's going to take more than two weeks to get over!"

Craig looked at his mother. "I'm sorry. The army won't give him much more time to recover and I can't let him suffer any more than he has already, that's why I hoped you could work your magic. Please do what you can."

Mary smiled gently. "Don't worry Craig, I'll take care of him."

Chief stayed in his room and kept out of everyone's way for the rest of the afternoon and evening. When he didn't come down for dinner Mary loaded up a plate of food, carried it upstairs, knocked on his door and asked to be let in, she placed the plate down on the chest of drawers. "Rainey, you didn't eat your breakfast, you must be starving. If you aren't going to come down to eat then I'm going to bring your food to you! For God's sake don't be like this, you did nothing wrong! Now eat it all. I'll be back later to put more salve on your back."

"Yes ma'am."

GG-GG-GG

The next morning Chief crept into the kitchen to be greeted by the smell of freshly brewing coffee. Mary turned round and gave him a welcoming smile. "Good morning Rainey, you ready for breakfast?"

Chief smiled uncertainly. "Yes ma'am, if that's alright with you."

Mary reached out slowly and took hold of his arm. "I know I took you by surprise yesterday, it won't happen again, I promise."

Chief extended his right arm, it was bare. "I've made sure it won't happen too. My blade's in my room 'n that's where it'll stay."

Mary smiled, poured a cup of coffee and set to cooking breakfast. "Eat your bacon and eggs this time, ok?"

Chief gave her a shy smile in return, picked up the cup and sipped the hot drink before sitting at the table. "Yes ma'am."

Mary could hear the happier tone in Rainey's voice, he'd shut down after what had happened the day before and had been reluctant to talk or be in anyone's company, afraid he'd do something wrong again. She glanced at him as she placed the plate of food in front of him, he was a kid who'd been suddenly thrown into something unfamiliar, didn't know what to do and didn't want to let anyone down, especially Craig. Her heart went out to him and she slowly reached out to touch his hand. "Everything will be fine, you'll see."

George walked in carrying the morning newspaper, he sat down at the table and waited as Mary poured him a cup of coffee. He looked over at the young man eagerly eating his breakfast and nodded with approval, he was glad to see Rainey was joining in with the family again. He and Mary had had a quiet word with Craig the night before and had been concerned at how badly his scout had been treated most of his life, he deserved better than that. Mary placed a plate in front of him and he looked up. "Thanks honey, that smells great. Must taste great too, I think Rainey's gonna need second helpings the way he's getting through what's on his plate."

Craig followed the mouth-watering smell of cooking breakfast down into the kitchen. "Where's mine? I wish I could wake up to this every morning."

Mary laughed. "If you did you wouldn't appreciate me."

Craig gave her a big hug. "I'll always appreciate you and you know it."

Mary waved him away. "Sit down there and wait, I'll pour you a cup of coffee to tide you over."

Craig sat down and looked at his friend. "You alright Atsilí? How's your back feeling today?"

Chief nodded. "I'm fine Ánaaí, feelin' a lot better."

Craig smiled artfully. "Good, you won't be needing this then." He leaned over and snaffled a rasher of bacon off Chief's plate.

Mary saw him and treated him to a mock glare. "Craig William George Garrison, how dare you! Rainey's our guest and you steal off him, you should be ashamed!"

Craig's grin was totally unapologetic. "Sorry, it smelled too good and I'm starvin'." He winked at Chief. "You know you're in big trouble when you get your full name thrown at you!"

"You deserved it, I thought we raised you better than that," remarked George as he cut into his eggs.

"He's still a brat!" Mary laughed and put six rashers of bacon in the pan, they sizzled as she cooked eggs and toast. She got out a plate, put the toast, eggs and three rashers of bacon on it, handed the plate to her son and slipped the other three rashers and an extra egg onto Chief's plate. "Here you go Rainey, serves Craig right for being so greedy."

Chief grinned at Garrison and popped a rasher in his mouth. "Thanks ma'am, these are real tasty."

Mary turned to her son. "Sandy and Paul are bringing the kids over tomorrow for a few days, she wants to see her big brother. The kids are doing really well, you'll be surprised how big they've grown."

Craig sipped his coffee. "That'll be great, I haven't seen them in ages. Katie must be five by now."

Mary nodded. "Sandy said she'd try to get Trish to come over as well, but you know how she is, she'll turn up if she wants to."

Craig looked up and grinned. "How is my little sister?"

Mary laughed. "She's working in a hospital not far from London. We've hardly seen her since she moved over here six months ago, she works her shifts and she's got her own place. She says she's ok but all she seems to be concentrating on is work and that damn sports car of hers."

Craig shook his head. "Sounds just like her, fast cars and wild horses are all she's ever loved. I presume there's no boyfriend in the picture?"

George glanced up from his paper. "Hell will freeze over first son. You know what she's like."

Mary considered her youngest daughter and smiled fondly. "She says she's happy as she is, but I worry about her at times."

Craig looked at her. "Trish has always been too independent for her own good, maybe one day she'll find a man brave enough to take her on and settle down but I doubt it."

George humphed, turned the page of his paper and looked at the crossword.

Mary sighed. "I asked Ricky if he could make it but he can't get leave, he's too busy flying bombing raids."

Craig snorted. "I'm sure it was Rick and his crew on the 'Bobby Sue' that tried to blow us off a roof in Hamburg, seems like something my brother would do to make my life interesting!"

Mary topped up the coffee mugs. "How can you say something like that? Oh well, at least Sandy and Paul are coming, I'm so happy to have some of my family together. I only wish we had more to feed them but rations are very limited. Anyway we'll manage somehow."

Chief listened to the conversation as he finished his breakfast. Mary took his empty plate and nodded towards the door. "You, upstairs now, salve time!"

"Yes ma'am." Chief looked at Garrison as he slowly got up.

Craig smiled and shook his head. "Don't disobey a direct order Chief, she'll have you doing kitchen duty for the rest of our stay."

GG-GG-GG

Mary left Rainey's room, she'd salved his back, checked his wounds and left him to do the rest, he got up, rolled his shoulders, bent from side to side and stretched his arms over his head, he felt much better. He put on his fatigue trousers and a vest, pulled out a drawer in the armoire, took out his leather sheath and buckled it on. He opened the window, dropped down to the ground and headed out to the forest.

Half an hour later Craig missed Chief's presence and searched the house and garden for him. He turned to his mother. "He's gone again."

Mary smiled. "Let him be Craig, give him some space, I'm sure he'll be back soon."

A few hours later George decided to take a break from the pile of paperwork in his office, he walked over to the window with a cup of coffee in his hand and looked out at the garden, he caught something out the corner of his eye, turned and looked open-mouthed at what was coming up the track to the house. "Mary, Craig, you're not going to believe this! Our wanderer's returned bearing gifts," he shouted.

George, Craig and Mary ran outside to see Chief approaching them with a fallow deer stag slung over his shoulders, he stopped. "Supplies for your visitors, I can catch fish, rabbits 'n birds as well if you want."

Craig laughed as he turned to his parents. "You'll never go hungry with Chief around, I can guarantee that."

The stag was hung up in the outhouse, Chief started to paunch it and paused when he heard a soft step behind him, Mary peeked round the door. "That deer will have to hang for at least a day. I'll take you up on your offer of rabbit if you can catch some for dinner tonight."

Chief looked at her and and smiled. "Yes ma'am. How many you want? There's some sage, 'n thyme growin' wild just down the track, think I saw mushrooms too, I'll take a sack 'n bring some back with me."

Mary regarded the young man as he cleaned off his blade and got ready to go back out hunting. "No wonder your team relies on you so much, I just might not let Craig take you back,"