This is Prompt No. 76-Taste
The room that Shane led Mitchie into was rather large for a commercial ship, and Mitchie couldn't help but smile as she noticed that the walls were solid and made out of wood, not metal bars. Her eyes roved from the portal on the outer wall of the ship to the screen that sectioned off one section of the room, to the rather generous bed that had been pushed against the wall.
Shane watched her for a moment, a sense of grief washing over him. His wife, the one that had had everything she could have possibly wanted back in her former life as the daughter of a plantation owner, was appraising this room with the look of one examining a castle in awe. The comparison hurt him, and he wondered exactly what she had been put through these past few months when he had been unable to help her.
"Will it do?" he asked.
Mitchie turned and looked at him, blinking. "Of course it'll do!" she laughed, obviously pleased at what little she saw. "It's wonderful!"
"It's not home," Shane said regretfully.
Mitchie turned to look at him, and he saw a glimpse into her heart in her expression. Gone was the excitement, the happy appraisal of the room. In its place was the haggard look of one who had not eaten a proper meal for months, had not bathed, and had not been loved. Shane's blood ran cold as he saw Mitchie in a different light. The young woman he had known had been partially replaced by this new, grieved Mitchie, and it was his job to bring the old Mitchie back.
"It's fine," she said softly, effectively bringing Shane out of his disturbed thoughts.
He nodded, letting her win on that point. "Which would you like first?" he asked, "food or a bath?"
"Food," Mitchie said almost instantly, but then shook her head. "No, I think I'd like a bath first and then I can enjoy some food."
Shane nodded. "I'll go down to the kitchen and get the hot water."
Mitchie started to move toward the door as well. "I can help-" she began.
Shane placed his hands gently on her shoulders, his stomach twisting as Mitchie involuntarily flinched. If only he had had more time, he could have taken the jailers and…. "Let me take care of you," he begged Mitchie gently, trying to clear his head of its murderous thoughts. She nodded and he leaned in very slowly to kiss her on the cheek. "I'll be back in a few minutes," he promised, and was then gone.
When he slipped back into the room, lugging four pails of steaming water, he found Mitchie standing next to the portal, gazing out onto the sea. She turned as the door opened and Shane caught his breath. Though she was battered, bruised, and much more skittish than she had been when she had left, she was still just as beautiful to him as she had been the night he had met her, and the realization that she was his wife sent a thrill through him.
"Give me just a couple of minutes," Shane told her, disappearing behind the screen. Mitchie heard the swish of water and realized that the basin was hidden behind the partition. When Shane appeared again, he held out his hand and said, "You're bath's ready."
Mitchie smiled and nodded, taking his hand and letting him lead her behind the screen. He turned to leave, but she caught his arm to hold him back and asked shyly, "Would you help me?"
"Of course," Shane responded and then added, "I just thought that you were afraid."
Mitchie rubbed her thumb over the back of Shane's hand just like he had done countless times with her when he needed to reassure her of something. "I could never be afraid of you," she said softly.
And so, Shane brought their clasped hands up to his lips and kissed her hand softly before he raised it above her head twirling her gently as he had when the had danced. Now, with her back to him, he began to gently undo the laces on her dress, wincing as more and more purplish-blue skin was revealed to him. When he had finished with her dress, he slid it down to the floor and helped her with her undergarments before helping her into the basin.
He winced again as Mitchie sank into the basin, sighing with such pleasure as the water lapped up to her chin. She stayed there in the water for a long time, not saying anything, and he stayed right next to her, leaning his body against the basin as a support. "Shane?" she said softly.
He sat up almost instantly alert. "Yes?" he asked.
"Would you help me wash my hair?" Mitchie asked.
He nodded and grabbed the soap, moving around to one end of the basin so that he could reach her head. Remembering the content from Jeff's letter, Shane hesitantly asked, "Can you get your hair wet first?"
Mitchie tensed almost instantly, but she nodded and leaned her head back so that her hair, having grown down to her shoulder blades, could dip into the water without having to submerge her face. "Is that okay?" she asked.
"Yes," Shane lied, overlooking the five inches of hair on the top of her head that were still dry as he began to work the soap into a lather over her hair. As he worked the soap into her hair, Shane asked, "Will you tell me what happened?" He felt Mitchie tense again and so he added, "It'll help you get through it, I guarantee it."
For the next fifteen minutes, Mitchie described every detail that she had been put through that was not repetitive. Shane gave all the right words of encouragement in all the right places, intent on making her feel better. He rinsed her hair, looking away as he dumped the water over her. Thankfully, Mitchie only trembled as the water gushed over her and then reached up to work the soap free.
Shane helped her dry off and dress in one of her gowns that he had brought with him, and then realized that Mitchie wanted him with her because she couldn't quite believe that she was safe and back with him. He slipped out to get her some food and hurried back as quickly as he could, bringing the piping hot soup and some crackers with him.
"There you go," he told Mitchie, who was sitting on the edge of the bed trying valiantly not to fall asleep.
Mitchie took the bowl and the crackers from him with a smile and a "thank you." She started in on the soup almost immediately and closed her eyes and she chewed. The taste of that simple fare was more than she could have comprehended. The soup tasted as though it was fit for a king, and the crackers seemed like the manna from heaven.
"How does it taste?" Shane asked hesitantly. "It was all the kitchen had on hand at the moment."
Mitchie shook her head, her mouth full of soup. When she swallowed, she said, "It's wonderful," she said. "It tastes amazing!"
Shane smiled. "Good," he told her and seated himself next to her so that he could talk to her while she ate. It took her very little time to finish the soup and all the crackers and she suddenly turned to Shane and smiled shyly. "Now that I'm all clean, fed, and semi-sane again, I realized that you haven't kissed me properly yet."
With all of Shane's heart, he wanted to kiss her and never stop, but he hesitated as she leaned in. "Are you sure?" he asked, his fingers tracing a large bruise close to her collar bone to illustrate his point.
Mitchie smiled and nodded. "I told you," she said softly, winding her fingers through his hair and making him dizzy. "I could never be afraid of you."
That was all it took. Shane leaned in, and then he was kissing her the way he used to kiss her, and Mitchie was melting into his embrace once again, her heart beating faster than it had in months.
Hours later, Shane awoke groggily, unsure for a moment where he was. Then, the memories of the night came flooding back and he turned his head to the side to make sure that it was real. Sure enough, there lay Mitchie, curled up against him like she had always been, her hair falling over her bare shoulders and creating a beautiful contrast between light and dark.
Shane watched his wife for a long time, content just to watch her sleep, her eyes rapidly moving in what he hoped was a good dream. By the smile on her face, he guessed that it was. Was it about him? Probably. He smiled at that thought and scooted closer to her so that he could press a soft kiss to her forehead.
He was just about to settle back into bed when he heard muffled shouts and the thuds of something heavy being rolled across the deck. He disentangled himself from around Mitchie and rolled out of bed, finding his clothes scattered around the room and quickly donning them.
He slipped out the door and headed up to the deck only to find every sailor on the ship running to and fro, obeying the captain, who shouted his orders from above. Confused, Shane grabbed the nearest sailor that was scurrying by. "What's going on?" he shouted in order to be heard.
"British ship's gaining ground," the sailor yelled back.
Shane's face paled. "What British ship?" he asked.
"The one that followed us from the port," the sailor called before hurrying off to complete his assigned chore.
Shane hurried to the railing and peered out into the darkness, struggling to see through the fog. There, not far behind them, was the navy ship. Shane whirled around and scrambled up the stairway to stand next to the captain. "What are you planning to do, captain?" he cried.
The captain shook his head. "Not sure!" he called back over the wind and the noise down below them. "Trying to keep the ship out of firing range, but if need be, we'll fight. Each of my men is trained at swordplay."
Shane nodded and clapped the captain on the shoulder. "We'll help," he promised and scurried back down.
He wove through the sailors, heading back down to the cabin as quickly as he could. He slipped through the door almost soundlessly and made his way over to Mitchie's side of the bed where she was still curled up, sleeping soundly. He gently rubbed circles over her arm until she began to stir, and then he rubbed a little harder to get her to open her eyes.
"Mitchie, my darling," he whispered so that he wouldn't scare her, "they need us on deck. We've not finished fighting just yet."
A/N: Was it what you expected? Was it better than you expected? You have to review to let me know!! :D Hope you all liked it!!
