Hoping to make collection of Mercy Thompson short little drabbles, all ideas welcome for all characters!

Washing Machine

I was stressed to say the least, work, Mercy, the pack, Jessie, the fae, vampires, and the most stressful thing; the washing machine had broken down. Mercy had said she'd go to the laundry mat in Kennewick and get the clothes washed, but I was not allowing that. I was Alpha of the Columbia Basin Pack, one of the most dominant in North America, and a War Veteran who'd stayed calm and cool under pressure, there was no way a washing machine was going to fray my nerves.

So here I was, the washing machine owner's manual open and a tool kit that hadn't been touched ever, in the laundry room trying to fix the stupid thing. It had been taking my longer than I'd thought it was going to take me though. Who thought the owner's manual would have more Chinese and Spanish in it than English!?

You know Mercy maybe was right. Calling a professional would be better. My wolf said which annoyed me to no end. I was going to fix this stupid washing machine, by myself, if it was the end of me.

I'd be able to fix this thing if I could read half the words in this stupid owner's manual! My wolf sighed then went away which let tension dissipate away.

Well, if the owner's manual would be in English, I think I might be able to understand what it's trying to say!

"Adam, are you any closer to fixing this washing machine? Otherwise Jessie and I are going to Kennewick to the laundry mat." I turned around slowly looking at mercy a laundry basket in her hands overflowing with clothes. I'd heard her coming, but this washing machine was giving me way too many problems!

"I'm closer than I was, if that gives you any hope at all. Since, now that I've found some English, I think I'll get this done soon." Mercy just shook her head and placed the laundry on the ground.

"Ten minutes, that's all I'm, giving you, or else Jessie and I are on the way to the laundry mat!" Mercy yelled, heading downstairs, mumbling about how stubborn I was. I sighed, ten minutes, a book that didn't have much English in it, and a wash machine that wasn't working was going to drive me into insanity. Though, a thoroughly destroyed washing machine was better than one that wasn't working for any darn reason!

You know destroying this washing machine would be kind of fun. My wolf added feeding the violent energy into me. The only disturbing part about it was that I was agreeing with my wolf.

The mess afterwards would be horrible though. I added knowing that destroying the washing machine would have piece of plastic showing up everywhere for the next few years. Maybe I could dismantle it though, I did have the tools here to fill up mercy's shop and supply some to a carpenter or plumbing shop. Since I never got use the tools, now would be my time to shine and show that I could dismantle something without using brute strength.

Planning my plan of attack though on the washing machine my ears caught Mercy talking to Ben downstairs. "Go up there and make sure that the washing machine doesn't get dismantled. Since maybe you can see what the problem is." Mercy said. There was a mumble and then there was the thumps of the person coming up the stairs. Mercy sure knew how to take the fun out of something when it came to other people, but not herself.

"What's this about dismantling a wash machine now?" Ben said, his British accent giving him away.

"I wasn't going to dismantle a wash machine, I was only going to take it apart and see if there was something wrong." I said defending myself.

"That's not what Mercy said." Ben said, crossing his arms.

"Fine, I was going to dismantle the washing machine, how else do I try to fix it? The Owner's Manual comes in two and a half languages!" Ben looked at me skeptically.

"Owner's Manuals don't come in two and a half languages, normally they come in whole numbers not in fractions."

"Then you take a look at the manual!" I ordered, which visibly made Ben flinch. "Sorry about that it's just this washing machine is driving me to insanity."

"I get where you're coming from." Ben said flipping through the Owner's Manual. "What the...this book must've been made by a fu...an idiot." Ben said, catching himself. "All I'm seeing is symbols that have no meaning to them and words that make no sense except uno, dos, tres and all of the other numbers in Spanish."

"Now you see my problem, and I only have about 5 minutes." Ben threw the owner's manual into the pack room then got down on his knees and started looking at the wash machine, heading behind the thing and to the back where I heard a hmm, echoing. "What did you find?" I asked.

"You wouldn't bloody believe it if I told you. Did you check if the machine was plugged in?" He asked. I dropped my head to ground. How could've I forgotten to check the most obvious answer to all of our problems. "Because right now it's not plugged in. I wonder if a washing machine works when not plugged in." Ben said, sarcasm laced heavily into his voice.

"Mercy you can get up here now!" I yelled down the stairs. She must've heard me too though s there was some movement of her coming up the stairs.

"What, you finally fix the thing?" She asked, walking into laundry room?

"Yes, now you can do your laundry without worrying about it not turning on." I said standing up and capturing her lips.

"Technically Adam didn't fix the wash machine, I did, because apparently checking to see if it's plugged in isn't the first thing you do when checking why the wash machine isn't working." Ben said from the machine. Out of the corner of my eye though, I saw Ben raising up from behind. "Gross, next time get a room! Preferably where I'm not present." Ben said.

"Oh deal with it, since you like it." Mercy said, breaking away from me, which left Ben speechless.

"You only wish it was me. Now goodbye and good riddance!" Ben yelled scurrying out of the Laundry room sliding the door shut.

"Now where were we?" I asked, capturing Mercy's lips again.

"Well, you fixed the laundry machine so I think you did a good job today, next time though, don't ever think about dismantling the wash machine."

"I won't, next time though, I'll check the power chord first." I said. Mercy purred then leaned into me.

"Mercy, are we still going to the...never mind, I'll let you two be!" Jessie squeaked sliding the door shut again, clearly embarrassed. I sighed, next time, stealth was going to be needed.

"At least Jessie knows when to leave us alone." I said capturing Mercy's lips again and flicking the light switch off.

First Mercy Fic! Hope you like.

Enjoy!

And tell me what you want to read about, any characters, and ideas!