And Part III is here!! I do apologize for its prolonged development, but I hope you enjoy it all the same. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own TDTESS or anything related to it. I don't own The One who is Keanu Reeves either. Darn.
Reviews are highly appreciated! :)
Do enjoy!
Over the next few days, Klaatu grew more and more comfortable in the environment of the Benson household. Helen quickly regained her strength and was back in the position of matriarch within 24 hours. Klaatu, however, remained attentive to her as often as he possibly could should she require his aid. She was grateful for his protective nature, but she consistently, albeit gently, turned down his offers of help with average and mundane "human" chores. Things such as transporting laboratory equipment to and from her home or retrieving something heavy from the attic for Jacob did not require his aid.
Then, there was Jacob himself.
Oddly enough, Helen noted, the boy seemed entirely unfazed by having an alien residing in their home. In fact, he seemed to take to Klaatu like a puppy to its owner.
"He wants a father … now he has one." Helen found herself musing on the fourth day of Klaatu's stay. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen Jacob so lively or attentive to those around him, aside from when his father was still with them. Now, even though he was from an entirely different world, Klaatu and Jacob were almost bonding as a father and son would.
Seeing as school was long since cancelled and hadn't started up, Jacob spent most of his time dragging Klaatu into his room to show off his impressive collection of video games, action figures, and comics. He would proudly explain what each of them was to the alien, and Klaatu would patiently sit on the boy's bed, examining each of the items with equal and genuine interest.
Whenever Helen would pass by Jacob's open door, she would pause in the shadows of the hallway and watch the interactions between her step-son and the alien who had found his way into their lives. Even though he was completely unaccustomed to their way of life, Klaatu was adapting quite well, in her eyes. He was always very patient with Jacob, and he did not yell at or get frustrated with the boy. And he was the perfect student for Jacob to exercise his "parent training" skills on.
Then, on the fifth day of Klaatu's stay, Helen accidentally leaned too far forward and into the light cast outside the room. Jacob didn't notice, he was far too preoccupied with explaining to Klaatu what a "man-to-man" discussion is. But, Klaatu's ultra-keen senses easily perceived her proximity, and he slowly glanced up to meet her gaze.
He gave her a small, almost knowing, smile, which she quickly returned, then lowered his gaze back to focus on Jacob.
The moment they broke eye-contact, Helen whirled around and braced herself against the wall. She inhaled deeply to slow her hammering heart rate.
"What is going on?" she muttered to herself. "He's an alien, he's … why did he just affect you like that?"
As you just said, he's an alien. The small voice at the back of her mind stated snidely.
"But … he's so similar to us. Deep down … we're all just human … aren't we?"
Maybe …
Helen shook her head, trying to get Klaatu's unusually handsome visage out of her mind for the time being while she made dinner. Unfortunately, the action wasn't as successful as she had hoped.
That evening, the trio shared an enjoyable dinner in front of the TV. Seeing as Klaatu had never really seen or experienced a TV before, Jacob amused himself by showing the alien how to use the small remote to change channels.
"Let me try something." Klaatu said to Jacob, as the boy started his second circulation of all 170 channels.
Klaatu focused his gaze on the screen, then blinked decisively once, twice, and three times. The channels changed three times.
"Woah! That was so cool!" Jacob exclaimed, begging Klaatu to repeat what he had just done.
Klaatu patiently complied, much to the delight of the boy. Helen couldn't help but laugh quietly at their antics, and Klaatu sent her a small smile, obviously pleased that she enjoyed the show.
He couldn't quite explain it, but every time she smiled at him, he felt a small thrill travel up from his stomach. It was something he had never experienced before, but he was keen to continue experiencing such an enjoyable sensation.
In Klaatu's world, love did not exist. He did not know the definition of it, nor what it meant. Yes, females existed within his race, but they paired singularly with the males solely to keep their population healthy and stable, not for affection or companionship.
After spending the time he had amongst the humans, and the time he had spent researching them, Klaatu had come to realize they did not pair off to increase the population. Human males and females paired with each other for reasons far beyond animal instincts. Klaatu had yet to discover the true feelings behind human relationships, but he realized that he was beginning to feel those feelings.
He could not even begin to place what they were, but they were immensely intriguing.
"She is from an entirely different race … how could it be that I feel these things toward her?" he mused to himself as he watched Helen play with Jacob. "Perhaps … I truly was meant to remain here."
Then, when Helen looked up and saw Klaatu almost staring at her, she blushed slightly, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, and gave him a shy smile before turning back to begin tickling Jacob.
"Yes. I was meant to stay here." Klaatu stated, steeling his resolve as he felt the foreign, and yet all-so-familiar, thrill again at her smile.
A/N: Alrighty, Part III was a tad lengthier than the previous installments. I hope that marks a bit of an improvement. ;) I like this chapter … I think it fleshes my Klaatu and Helen out a little more and of course, adds the essential ingredient of Helen and Klaatu trying to figure out why exactly they're feeling what they are when they're around one another. :)