As Alyssa approached the other woman, she noticed with a twist of her heart, how small and really frail she was looking. The skin on her face appeared to be almost translucent. Alyssa noted that as she bent down to hug Aunt Deb, the woman did not even attempt to rise and her heart broke as she felt how thin she was and how fragile and birdlike her frame was when she put her arms around her. But Aunt Deb was wearing a big smile and her eyes were bright, which, Alyssa supposed, was as good as she could hope for. Aunt Deb pointed to the couch next to her arm chair and Alyssa sat down gratefully.
Aunt Deb looked meaningfully at Steve. "Steven," she said. "It is 12:30 and I am willing to bet that neither you nor Alyssa has had lunch." Alyssa actually had to suppress a giggle - Steve stood in the middle of the room looking for all the world like a guilty school boy caught with a hand in the proverbial cookie jar. "Right then," Aunt Deb continued, "how about you run down to the shopping center up the street and bring back some take out for lunch. I understand that there is a great Chinese restaurant there. Alyssa eyed Aunt Deb from under her lashes - it was highly doubtful that Aunt Deb had been eating Chinese takeout or much of anything else lately. But Steve nodded and headed out. Either he understood, as Alyssa had, that Aunt Deb wanted a private chat, or he genuinely believed that she was craving egg rolls.
"Aunt Deb," Alyssa started as soon as Steve was gone, "I think that there are probably some things about me that you ought to know. My father...," but she was interrupted.
"I couldn't care less about your father or any history that you clearly find painful," she was perceptive, Alyssa acknowledged this with a small nod. "I know what I need to know. That you are Doris McGarett's daughter is plain. This makes you Steven's sister and as such it makes me your aunt." Alyssa did not bother with the fact that actually, since Deb was actually Steve's aunt on his father's side, technically it did not. Aunt Deb was rather a force of nature and arguing with her appeared to be about as useful as spitting into the wind.
"Now," Deb was speaking again, looking intently at Alyssa. "I do have something serious that I need to discuss with you. It is clear to me that Steven cares for you very much and, I believe you care about him as well."
"Yes," Alyssa replied. There was so much import in that one word. If Aunt Deb only knew how much she owed to Steve and how he had risked his career and his very life to save her, she might begin to understand just how much she cared.
"Good. I need to talk to you about something important. I'm dying." She raised her hand. "Not in some metaphysical way, but in the 'I will be gone soon" way." She looked at Alyssa. "You and I both know this is true - even if Steven does not," her voice grew softer, "or cannot see it." She took a deep breath and began," I had this conversation with...well, with somebody else close to Steven, when I was first diagnosed with the tumor. Unfortunately, she is not around any longer and I am still dying," Deb smiled ruefully.
"I have a strong suspicion that you are not going anywhere."
"No. I am not," Alyssa confirmed.
"Steven is a very strong and brave man. There is not a criminal or a terrorist that can stand up to him. Of this I have no doubt," Deb said. "However, he is totally unequipped to deal with this. His instinct is to fight, but here and now, there is nothing to fight. He will need to grieve and you will need to help him." She looked directly at Alyssa, who only looked back unflinchingly. Aunt Deb's words were an echo of Kono's trying to explain to almost hysterical and certainly confused Alyssa how important she might one day be to Steve,
"You are strong. I can tell that you are. Let him lean on you when I am gone. I do not think there is anybody else who could do it. Nobody else on whom he would be able to lean, the way I think he can lean on you," Deb smiled again, a bit sadly. "In this life, I have known probably more than my fair share of grief, please, please - do not let Steven go through it alone."
Alyssa, realized that she had tears in her eyes. Almost unconsciously, she reached out and took Aunt Deb's hands in her own. "I promise Aunt Deb. I will be there. Steve will not have to do this alone."
Aunt Deb smiled and squeezed Alyssa's hands in return. "That's a good girl. Now that the maudlin stuff is over, do you want to hear about the night that I...," she cleared her throat dramatically, "met Elvis?"
By the time Steve opened the door, his hands full of bags of food, Aunt Deb and Alyssa were laughing and talking like old friends.
Alyssa set up lunch and the three sat down to eat. It appeared to Alyssa that Aunt Deb did more moving around of food on her plate than eating, but she was happy and smiling and speaking animatedly to Steve and her and perhaps at this point, that was enough.
Alyssa offered to clean up and do the dishes to give Steve and Aunt Deb time to talk. As she walked to the kitchen, she saw them sitting side by side on the couch with Aunt Deb holding Steve's hand.
"She is a special young woman," Aunt Deb said to Steve once Alyssa left.
"Yes. Yes she is." Steve smiled. Aunt Deb did not know the half of it. "She's had it hard as a kid, really hard. I can't fix it or un do it, but I promised her that nobody would hurt her again."
Aunt Deb looked at Steve sharply and noted the intensity of his eyes and the steal in his voice when he spoke. "Let her in, Steven. Let her help you. She wants to be there for you; to be a a sister." At this Steve smiled a bit dourly. As much as he loved his sister, Mary, being there for him, had never been a priority for her, even thought she had been his sister longer. It took apparently somebody who had been a stranger just months ago.
"Steven," Aunt Deb's voice cut through his reverie, 'take care of her. She is strong, but also fragile. I can tell she needs you and she needs friends, but she is not good at asking. Don't make her ask."
Steve just started at his aunt. her insights always amazed him. Without knowing Aly's history, she had figured her out in much the same way, that she had figured him out when he had come to live with her as a teenager.
"I'll take care of her, Aunt Deb," Steve promised. "no asking required."
"That's good, Steven," Aunt Deb said. "Now, I think I need to go take a nap. I seem to be getting more tired these days." Alyssa had come out of the kitchen and Aunt Deb kissed her on the cheek, "Please remember what I told you", she whispered as the women embraced.
Aunt Deb then hugged Steve as he kissed her on the forehead, "Take care of her," Aunt Deb whispered in his ear. "This Alyssa of yours is something quite special."
The drive back was quiet with both Alyssa and Steve lost in their own thoughts. Something niggling at the back of Alyssa's mind made her feel as if Aunt Deb was saying her good byes for more than the day. She looked worriedly as Steve who was staring at the road. Alyssa had a feeling that they were going to be in for some rough times in the very near future.
I hope you are enjoying this story. I know I bashed Catherine just a bit, but it would be pretty frustrating from Aunt Deb's perspective and she would not be feeling kindly toward somebody who you could say abandoned her nephew. Also, the reference to Kono is a reference to "A Small and Broken Ohana" the story that introduces Alyssa. Your time in reading this and any time you make take to review this story is very much appreciated.