Disclaimer: I do not own The Last Ship or any of the characters associated with the show. I do own the original characters that appear in this story.
A Helping Hand
By:
Dark Rolling Sea
CHAPTER ONE
Mike shifted the grocery bag in his arm to get a better grip on it. He then locked his truck and turned towards the apartment building he had been living in for about six months. He had retired from the Navy 6 months ago after the Nathan James sank. He had thought about going the teaching route like Tom but decided he had had enough. He was tired of the recognition, the constant attention. He was tired of the regulations and the seemingly never-ending line of catastrophes. He was worn out. He was tired. He needed time to grieve for the loss of his family.
He missed his kids a lot, and there was a giant hole in his heart. Brynn would have been in college by now. Hannah would have been a junior in high school this year, and Lucas would have been twelve years old. The last six months that he hadn't had a mission or a crew to distract him had been very rough. He had drunk his fair share of alcohol, cried more than his fair share of tears, and fallen into a dark place.
As he walked up to the front door of the apartment building, he noticed a group of boys standing just off to the left. Four boys had surrounded a fifth boy. He recognized the fifth boy, as he lived just down the hall from him. He stopped and stared at the group. It didn't take him long to see what was happening. The four boys were about to jump the fifth boy. Mike struggled to remember the kid's name. He figured him to be around twelve, the same age Lucas would be now.
The kid was on the small side, and from what Mike had seen in the last six months was on the quiet side too. The boy raised his fists up to defend himself, his eyes darting from boy to boy surrounding him. The pack started to close in on him with the leader stepping forward. The other boys were yelling and cheering as the leader boy hit the fifth boy. Mike dropped his bag of groceries at the door and hurried over to the pack.
"Hey," he barked in his command voice and the three boys cheering all looked up with fear in their eyes. They saw Mike and scattered. The other two boys were locked in a wrestling match throwing punches at each other. Mike reached down and gripped the instigator and yanked him up into the air. The boy squeaked with surprise, as Mike swung him around and set him on the ground.
Mike glared at the kid and the kid took off running trying to catch up his friends. Mike stood for a moment looking down at the boy breathing hard sitting with his back against the wall. He was going to have a black eye, and his lip was split. The kid wiped his mouth and spit out some blood. Mike reached a hand down.
"Come on," Mike said softly, holding his hand as an offer. The kid stared at him with hard eyes, contemplating what to do. Mike waved his hand at him trying to get him to take it. Finally, the boy reached out and Mike gripped his hand and pulled the boy to his feet. "I'm, Mike."
"Ty," the boy mumbled and winced a little. His fingers went to his lip.
"Nice to meet you, Ty. I think you live down the hall from me," Mike replied. The boy nodded slowly.
"Yeah, 215. You're the guy in 205."
"That's right. Want to talk about what just happened out here?"
"Not really. Got jumped again. Those boys are assholes," Ty replied with grit. Mike suppressed a smile and let the curse slide.
"Well, I need to get my groceries inside. You sure you're, okay?"
"Um, yeah," Ty said, avoiding looking at Mike. He was staring at the front door to the building. Mike stood where he was for a moment.
"Come on. I'll walk you in and make sure you get home safe," Mike said. He walked back towards his groceries and glanced over his shoulder at the boy. "If you stay out here too long, they might come back."
"I can take care of myself," Ty mumbled, and Mike smiled softly.
"I'm sure you can, but four on one aren't good odds for anybody."
"Whatever," Ty mumbled again. He sighed a great sigh and touched his eye gently.
"Gunna have a shiner," Mike said as he picked up his groceries. He stood and waited, staring at Ty expectantly. The boy thought for a moment longer then gave in with a deep breath. He gave Mike a frown and then followed him into the apartment building. Ty walked slowly behind him. They walked down the hallway to the stairs and went up a flight of stairs to the second story. Mike shifted the groceries again, as they walked past his apartment and headed down the hall towards Ty's.
Mike noticed the boy was fidgety and looked stressed. He wondered if it was the confrontation outside, or the one coming up that he was nervous about. The boy paused at his door and stared at the doorknob and Mike felt for the boy. He obviously was in distress about something. Ty slowly reached out and tried the knob, but it wouldn't turn, and the boy's face fell. Mike's heart broke to see the defeat on the kid's face.
"You can go back to your apartment now," Ty said softly. "I can just wait for my mom to come home."
"You can't get in?"
"Uh…no…I think Jeremy locked the door again."
"Who's Jeremy?"
"He's my mom's…uh…boyfriend," Ty said, and Mike could tell the kid didn't like the man.
"Where's your mom?"
"Probably still at work. She said she had to work a double today. Jeremy was supposed to be here when I got home, but I don't know."
"Want to try knocking?"
"I don't know," Ty said nervously. He was picking at his sleeve. "He might be here, but he might not. I don't know."
"Well, I don't want to leave you in the hallway with nowhere to go," Mike said as he shifted his groceries again. Ty gave him a weak smile and shrugged his shoulders.
"I'm used to it. It's okay."
"It's not okay," Mike said with a sigh. He knocked hard on the apartment door, but no one answered. He blew out a breath and looked at the kid. "Come on, you can hang with me until your mom gets home."
"I don't know. I think I should wait here."
"How late will your mom be?" Mike asked. He really didn't want to leave the kid in the hallway alone. He was worried the other boys would come back. He also wanted to get some ice on Ty's lip.
"Later, I don't know," he said defeated. Mike sighed again.
"Seriously, come on. I'll get you something to eat and get some ice for your lip. You can watch TV at my place until your mom gets home."
"Okay," Ty said quietly as his shoulders slumped. Mike felt bad for the kid. His heart was hurting, and it was making him think of Lucas. They walked back to Mike's apartment, and he opened the door for the boy. Ty walked in apprehensively and looked around. Mike went to the kitchen and started putting his groceries away.
"Go ahead and sit down in the living room. The remote is there on the coffee table. Pick whatever you want to watch," Mike said from the kitchen.
He put everything in its place and then made two ham sandwiches and took them and a glass of water out to the living room. Ty was sitting stiffly on his couch staring at the remote, lost in thought. Mike put the water and sandwiches down then went back to the kitchen and put some ice into a damp dishrag. He brought the dishrag out and sat down next to Ty, holding it out to the boy.
"Here, put this on your lip, it'll help with the swelling," Mike said softly. Ty gently took the rag and touched it to the cut on his lip and winced, pulling it away. Mike smiled. "Hold it on there so it helps."
Ty nodded and put it back on his lip and slumped back against the couch. Mike picked up the remote and turned on the TV flipping through channels until he found something he thought the boy might enjoy. The kid settled in, holding the rag to his lip and watched the movie. Mike sat back and let himself relax, enjoying the quiet. He realized he was also enjoying having someone else in the apartment with him. He hadn't realized how lonely he had been these last six months.
"Want to talk about what started that outside?" Mike asked as the movie was ending. It was getting late, and Mike wondered what time the boy's mother would be getting back, or if she was already back and worried about her son.
"Brady is a jerk and likes to pick on kids. I was just the target today, I guess. His three minions do whatever he does," Ty said looking at his hands. The ice had helped the swelling in his lip, but he was sporting a pretty good black eye.
"Are you the target often?" Mike asked curious. Ty looked over at him and Mike saw the hurt in his eyes.
"I don't have many friends so they pick on me a lot because no one will help me when they do."
Mike sighed. He felt bad for the kid. "How come you don't have friends?"
"I don't know, just don't."
"I could teach you how to defend yourself."
"Really?" Ty asked, his eyes brightening. Then he got a look of suspicion. "Why would you?"
"I don't like to see people bullied. I don't like bullies."
"Me neither. What time is it?" Ty asked. Mike glanced at the clock on the wall.
"Just after seven in the evening. Think your mom is home yet?"
"I don't know. She said a double today, but she went in really early."
"We can walk down and check," Mike said getting up from the couch. The boy seemed nervous about that but got up and followed Mike out into the hallway. They walked down to 215 and Ty tried the knob again. It was still locked. Mike sighed and reached over Ty's shoulder and knocked loudly on the door. Mike heard someone on the other side of the door moving around and watched Ty tense up.
"What!" was yelled from the other side of the door. Ty visibly flinched and Mike was growing angry that the boy was reacting the way he was. He didn't know the whole story, but Ty was obviously afraid of the man on the other side of the door.
"Is that Jeremy?" Mike asked and Ty nodded slowly.
"Mom's probably not home yet," Ty said softly as the door was yanked open. The man on the other side had an angry look to his face, but it quickly turned to confusion when he saw Mike with Ty.
"What the hell you do now?" Jeremy sneered at Ty and the boy looked down at his feet. Mike put a protective hand on Ty's shoulder and moved him back from the doorway, putting himself between Ty and Jeremy. Jeremy glared up at him, as Mike was much taller. "Who the fuck are you?"
"My name is Mike and I live down the hall. Is Ty's mom home?"
"Naw, she's working a double. Just me and Wyatt here."
"Wyatt's my brother," Ty whispered. Mike nodded slowly. He kept his arm in front of Ty.
"Can you let Ty's mom know that Ty is down in 205 when she gets home? He's going to stay with me until then," Mike said. He wasn't sure why he said it, but he knew he didn't want to send this kid into the apartment with the other man. He wanted to sit Ty down and talk to him about his home life.
"Uh, no. Ty can come in with me until his mamma gets home, right Ty?" Jeremy said and tried to step around Mike. Mike sighed and blocked the other man pushing Ty more behind him. He could feel Ty shaking under his hand.
"I think I'll let him stay with me a bit longer. He's been at my place all afternoon. Just let his mom know he's down there when she gets home. Thanks," Mike said and turned quickly, guiding Ty to stay in front of him. He didn't turn back to see what Jeremy did, he just kept them walking to his own apartment. The door slammed behind them, and Ty jumped.
They went into Mike's apartment and Mike let out a deep breath. Ty was fighting tears as he sat back down on the couch. Mike sat down next to him.
"Is your brother going to be okay down there?"
"This was a bad idea. I should go down there. Jeremy is going to be mad."
"Let me handle Jeremy," Mike said as anger brewed inside him. "Should I be worried about Wyatt?"
"I don't know. Mom should be home soon. I hope she'll come home soon," Ty whispered.
"Does Jeremy hit you guys?"
"No. He just yells a lot. Wyatt frustrates him."
"Does your mom work doubles a lot?"
"She works a lot. Has to be able to afford stuff."
"Does Jeremy work?"
"Not really. He supposed to watch me and Wyatt, but he doesn't really do that either."
"But he doesn't hit you or Wyatt?"
"No, not really. I mean maybe when he's really really mad, but not usually."
"Does he hit your mom?"
"No, he just yells a lot."
"Okay. Are you hungry?"
"Kinda," Ty said as he twisted his hands together and stared at the coffee table. Mike wanted to make him feel better but didn't know what to do.
"Okay I'll make some dinner. What do you like.?"
"I like Mac and cheese; do you have that?"
"I do," Mike said with a smile and got up and went to the kitchen to start making macaroni and cheese.
After it was made, he took a plate full out to Ty and set it down. The boy ate it quickly and asked for seconds. Mike made him a second plate and watched him eat that too. When he was done eating Ty sat quietly staring at his hands.
"How old is your brother?" Mike asked. Ty looked up at him and smiled a little.
"Wy's four. He's different though. Makes Jeremy mad a lot."
"Different how?"
"Well, he doesn't talk so good, and he like does his own thing, doesn't listen at all to anybody but Momma. And sometimes he doesn't listen to her either. He gets into things even when Momma puts locks and stuff on it."
"Sounds like a handful."
"He is. Jeremy doesn't like watching him but when I'm at school he has too because Momma has to work."
"What's your mom's name?" Mike asked.
"Ginny," Ty said.
"Is Jeremy Wyatt's dad?"
"No. He's just mom's boyfriend. You ask a lot of questions."
"Sorry," Mike replied. There was a knock at the door and Mike got up and answered it. Standing there was a brunette woman with her hair pulled into a straight ponytail. She was dressed in a waitress uniform and looked beat. Before Mike could say a word she spoke.
"I heard my son was down here," she said quietly. Mike shook his head and looked over his shoulder at Ty.
"Yes, Ma'am," Mike replied and stepped to the side. Ginny didn't move to come in. "My name is Mike. Ty's been hanging out with me today."
"I'm sorry he was a bother," she said. Mike saw the frown cross her face. "Ty what happened to your face?"
"Nothing, Ma, leave it be."
"That's why he's with me."
"Jeremy?" she asked quickly. Mike bit at the inside of his lip to stop himself from growing angry at her first conclusion. It made him wonder what the man was doing to them down there.
"No," Mike said after he was sure that his anger was under control. "I found Ty in front of the building fighting with some boys his age. I broke up the fight and when we came in the door to your apartment was locked and no one answered. So, I had Ty come in with me. I hope that was okay, but I didn't want him sitting out there where the other boys could come back."
"Jeremy said you brought him back then changed your mind."
"I did, I wanted to let you know he was down here," Mike replied, keeping the fact he didn't trust leaving Ty with Jeremy to himself. She looked at him worried for a moment.
"Things are okay for us, please don't make trouble."
"No, Ma'am," Mike replied with a sigh. "I just wanted to keep Ty safe with me. Again, I hope it was okay."
"Yeah, sure," she replied with a leery look, then looked around him at Ty. "Come on, let's get home." Ty nodded slowly and got up off Mike's couch. He gave Mike a weak smile as he walked past him. Mike reached out and squeezed the kid's shoulder.
"Come visit anytime you need to," Mike said to him in a low voice. Ty looked at him and then nodded slowly. Ginny looked back at Mike as they walked down the hallway.
"Thanks, Mister," she said then the two disappeared down the hall into their own apartment. Mike stared at their closed door for a minute before he slowly closed his own door and went back to his lonely life.
To Be Continued…