Chapter 52 Chapter notes
Maya wakes up from her transformation, not pleased at all about her Supernatural status. She doesn't think that phasing into a giant dog will help her career in medicine, further her relationship with Charlie, or bring any lasting satisfaction.
It just makes her bigger. And now, none of her clothes fit her anymore.
The chapter title belongs to James Rado and Gerome Ragni
Chapter 52 Good Morning Starshine Thursday, November 2nd 6 am
Maya opens her eyes to a rare sunbeam filtering through the thin curtains of a small, square room. Her sister dozes in a chair next to the narrow bed she's curled up in. She sits up and tries to figure out where she is. After a second, she instinctively tips her head back and sniffs the air, smelling sausages, wood smoke, and the briny tang of dead fish and seaweed.
She's on the reservation. A deep breath alerts her to the fact that her clothing is too tight. Way too tight. It's odd. She recognizes the shirt and pants as ones she wears often.
The rustling of sheets wakes Carmen and she jumps up when she sees Maya sitting up in bed. "Madre de Dios! I thought you were going to die! Como te sientes?" Carmen holds her hand to Maya's cheek and pulls her hand back. "Uncle!"
Maya raises her eyebrows at her sister's babble and realizes she needs a shower. Right away. Before she can stand up, her uncle hurries into the little room. He places a huge paw against the side of her face and smiles. "How do you feel?"
"Carmen already asked that. This is your house?" The Chief nods, smiling. Maya regards him warily. "What am I doing here?"
"What is the last thing you remember?" The Chief leans stares intently at her.
Maya looks around for a moment. "I woke up sick," she says hesitantly, "and Charlie came over. He took me to the ER. They did a spinal tap and…" Her eyes dart around the room and she blinks a few times. "That's it. He brought me back home and…I was in bed." She frowns. "What day is it? Did I have meningitis?" Her voice is almost a gasp.
Her uncle's expression is tender as he extends his hand to pull her up. She's shocked to see that she's grown a few inches. Her body is different. Stronger. And there's more of it. "I was a petite five foot three before I got sick. What the hell is going on?" Her voice is frantic as she looks at her reflection in the full-length mirror on the closet door.
She's astonished, thinking of her symptoms and the tales she and Carmen heard as children. Headache. Aching fingers. High temp, followed by a growth spurt.
"How long have I been sick?" Not three days, please don't say three days.
"It is Thursday. You've been here for four days, Maya. Carmen brought you to my house so you could undergo your initial manifestation here, with your people, close to the doctor who has been caring for you."
"Don't tell me." She holds up both hands, palms out, and backs away from her relatives until she reaches the wall. "You're saying that I've spent the last four days turning into a giant Wolf?" Her expression is incredulous, disbelieving.
Chief Littlefoot chuckles and nods slowly. "We don't know why, Maya, but yes, that is what was happening."
"What about work? I was on the day shift this week at the hospital."
Carmen looks up at her sister in awe. "When they called about your spinal tap, I told them I was bringing you here to recuperate. They said for you to let them know when you're feeling better."
Maya flexes her body and takes a deep breath. "Initial manifestation. Like the stories we heard as kids." She says this very slow, so nothing will be misconstrued. When her uncle nods again, she bursts into tears.
Carmen rushes to console her sister. She leads her back to sit on the bed. "Why me?" Maya cries. "I don't live on the reservation. I am only half Quileute. And I am almost thirty-seven years old! Why did this happen to me?" Carmen runs to the bathroom and comes back with a handful of tissues. Maya takes them and blots her eyes.
The Chief bites his lip. "We don't know, Maya. It was a complete surprise. Carmen brought you to her house on Sunday after Charlie had to go in to work. When your temp shot up, she called me, and we brought you here. Come into the kitchen and we'll discuss it."
"No," she snaps. "I need a shower. Do I have anything here that will fit me?"
Carmen reaches behind the chair and comes up with a bag. "I bought these at the thrift store." Maya pulls a large tee shirt and a pair of lightweight pants, two sizes larger than she'd worn before.
Wordlessly she walks past them both, finding the bathroom at the end of the hall. When she rips her shirt off, she's surprised to find it in pieces in her hands. The act of pulling it had ripped it apart. She's more careful with her pants, although she doesn't think she'll ever fit into them again.
Maya stands in the tiny shower stall for several minutes, letting the hot spray soothe her. She'd thought her life perfect—nice job, pretty little house, the Chief. Now what? Has the future that she'd dreamed of, planned for, been derailed? Will she be a Wolf-girl forever? And what will the Chief say when she tells him? When she shows him?
As she washes her hair, Maya thinks of all the beautiful clothes hanging in her closet—all a teeny size six—that will have to be donated. Even her shoes won't fit. Carmen is probably a twelve, maybe a fourteen, so they'll never fit her, but she is certain that there's someone here on the res who would enjoy the clothes. Maybe Bella would like some of them. She's rail thin, that one.
She dresses quickly, pushing the idea of what's happened to the back of her mind. She can't take it in. It doesn't seem real yet. She finds her sister and uncle sitting outside on the tiny patio. "Has the Chief called?"
They look at each other. Carmen smiles. "Well, he's been over here twice a day, threatening us and trying to figure out what's wrong with you. The last time, Uncle called the tribal police on him and he finally left." She takes a breath to speak, but falters.
Her uncle picks up the thread and says, "Maya, Charlie can't know about this. It's a tribal secret, after all. We think you should stop seeing him."
Maya narrows her eyes. "Oh, you do." She spins on the spot and slams the screen door behind her. She's gratified to hear it splinter when it hits the doorframe.
She needs to get to a phone. Right away.
As she walks away, Maya realizes her hearing has been enhanced, because she can hear the consternation and panic in the small house behind her. She doesn't care. She's made her way without another person to stand beside her for her entire adult life. Nobody is going to tell her that she can't continue to see Charlie.
She sees La Push as if for the first time. The scents are stronger, the colors brighter, the people who walk by her revealed in sharper relief. Maya wanders down the street, smelling meat cooking in a nearby café. This draws her like a magnet and in a few minutes, she's standing at the counter, salivating.
She doesn't have any money, so she frowns sadly and backs out. After walking for half an hour, she sees the Chief get out of the cruiser on the next block. She runs to him, finding her legs are strong and capable, that she has what seems to be an infinite amount of room to inhale.
"Chief!" The man spins and gasps as Maya hurtles toward him. He opens his arms and she runs into them, nearly knocking him over backward. She sobs as he holds her. This woman looks like Maya. She looks a little bit like Maya. She's taller, bulkier, stronger. Maya had been inches shorter than Charlie, but this woman is the same height. He releases her and steps back, looking her up and down.
"Maya? Honey, is it you?"
"Chief, yes, it's me." She places her blazing hands on either side of his face and he gives a start, but she doesn't let go. "I have to talk to you." she says, as she pulls him close to her for a kiss.
After a moment, Charlie gently disengages from the woman. He stands back and regards her shrewdly. She gives him her Maya smile, but something isn't right here. He tries to imagine those lips coated in pink lipstick.
"What is going on? Carmen said you were contagious and stopped me at the bedroom door. I went over to her house later and nobody was home. I came up here and you were hysterical with a raging fever, but they wouldn't let me take you to the hospital. Your uncle called the tribal police on me. And now, here you are, a few days later, fit and healthy, and taller? Bigger?" Charlie pulls her hands into his. They nearly sizzle, they're so hot.
"I'll tell you everything, Chief. I had no idea something like this could happen to me."
Charlie looks warily at the woman who says she is Maya. When she kissed him, it felt like Maya, but this is impossible. Nobody grows that much in four days. So, what the hell is the deal?
The woman reels back abruptly and hunches, holding a hand to her mouth. "Honey, what is it?" Charlie asks in alarm. She backs away, but he pursues her, and she vomits spectacularly, covering his shirt from collar to cuff. He jumps back, but too late. He stays with the woman as she turns, kneels, and pukes again.
He pats her back, frantically searching his pockets for a tissue. He comes up with a ragged napkin and hands it down to her. After a moment, she stands, trying to blot the sick with the little square of paper.
"C'mon." He tugs her across the street to the cruiser. After unlocking the door, he fishes out some tissues and a little sleeve of towelettes from the glove box. Maya slumps onto the seat and wipes her hands and face.
"Lo siento." She gestures to his shirt, dripping with sick.
His eyebrows draw together. "I'm sorry," she says.
"No worries." He looks up and down the street for a place to buy a tee shirt, but he doesn't see any shops like that. When he glances into the back seat of the cruiser, he sees the bag with the new flannel shirt that Bella had bought for him. The yellow one.
He'd meant to give it to Mark after he had the scary, colorful dream about the dog attack, but that seems like a long time ago. He looks around, but doesn't see any huge dogs lurking in the shadows, so he quickly unbuttons the sodden shirt and rips it off, forgetting his phone in the top pocket. He slips on the yellow one and cleans his hands with a towelette.
Charlie leans against the open door of the cruiser and stares at the strange woman sitting on the seat. It's impossible that this is actually Maya. On the spur of the moment, he says, "When did you first meet my daughter?"
Without hesitation, the woman says, "She came in one evening while we were watching football." Her mood darkens. "The asshole referee let that back from the Cowboys get away with the worst pass interference I've ever seen. I was bitching about it when she walked in."
Charlie bites the inside of his lip. What the hell. This is information that only Maya could know. He makes up his mind on the spot that this particular mystery will be solved to his satisfaction. And today.
"Do you want to go back to Forks? Because we're hashing through this."
She shakes her head. "We both need to speak to my uncle, and maybe the full Council. I wanted to do it today, but I have some things to tell you first." Charlie's eyebrows disappear under the brim of his hat and she smiles. "But not here."
Charlie looks around. "My friend Billy lives on the next street." Maya nods slowly and they start to walk. He doesn't take her hand, but steals furtive glances at her. It looks like Maya, but is it Maya?
And what the hell is going on?