Chapter 140
"This weather is criminal," Alex simpered while they were outside atop the sub.
"It's no worse than Florida," Salem shrugged. "Humid, stuffy and the sun beating down on you."
"At least Florida's in America."
"Yeah, can't argue with that one," Salem smiled. "This may sound crazy, but I'd give just about anything to go on land. Feel the sand between my toes; stretch my legs."
"I hear we're going to be on land for Fourth of July. A sub stationed nearby has an Admiral on board and I hear he's a man that loves a big 4th of July blowout."
"That's still a month away though," Salem groaned.
"Maybe we should go to the Captain and ask for land time. He's let a few go."
"They always have to be back before nightfall and can only go after their work is done. That's barely enough time to find out where we can even go. I don't want to go to the bar the guys go to."
"You mean the whore house?"
"Yes, that," Salem said.
"I can't believe you aren't ready to fuck a tree right now. Hell, I'd give one of those girls a chance right about now. Anything in a skirt would do just fine."
"No, I don't trust it. Although if that tree you're talking about is hot, give me her number and I'll look her up."
Alex laughed, "No way, man. I get her first."
"Fine, fuck you then," Salem joked. A brief silence passed before Salem nearly growled and plopped onto the deck. "I hate this. I want to go home."
"You and me both buddy," Alex said and joined him on the floor. "I never thought I'd miss Chicago and her finicky weather."
"That bad for you too?"
"I'd give literally anything to experience sub zero weather on Tuesday in February and spring weather that coming Friday. I'll happily walk down the street through a feet of snow and black ice to the Blue line and take it to my favorite Polish restaurant mom used to work at."
"I'd give anything for constant rain and a weekend at home with my brothers and sister."
"Speaking of, has JJ written back yet?"
"Yes, and according to him the chickens are staying in the house until they're old enough to be outside and the baby rooster is learning to crow. Eun Mi thinks it's cute. JJ disagrees."
"Poor bastard," Alex laughed. "JJ doesn't like animals I see."
"He doesn't mind them. He just never cared to have pets. Especially not a cat. He hates cats. Except Popo. He loves that cat. He'll deny it to his dying breath but he does love that cat. When Popo eventually dies, Eun Mi will have one hell of an uphill battle if she wants a new cat."
"She's suckered him into worse by the sound of it," Alex chuckled. After he was done and took a breath, he said, "I think I'm starting to get what you mean about a wife sounding awfully nice right about now."
"Someone to come home to that has dinner on the table and to listen when you tell her about your day and to listen to her tell you about her day," Salem said.
He thought briefly about Eun Mi and JJ. He realized he was jealous. Extremely jealous in fact. He realized with horror he was even jealous of their six kids. Never a boring moment in the house, four rambunctious boys causing mayhem and two little girls learning to walk. He'd been happy for JJ. Elated in fact. Eun Mi was the best thing to ever happen to JJ and he was grateful to her, but he'd not thought he wanted the same for himself. He just wanted adventure. Well, he'd had his adventures and he was tired of it. He wanted a place of his own, a wife to make it a home and kids to keep out of trouble.
He looked out onto the jungle of Da Nang. The shore really was beautiful. It was enough to make him forget about the war. At least a little. JJ found Eun Mi under extraordinary circumstances. His father had said waiting in Vietnam was something very special. JJ found the love of his life in the heart of the beast. Why couldn't he?
"Let's ask around for fun places to go and try to get approval to go on land."
"Really?"
"Yeah," Salem said with a smile. "Maybe there's more to Da Nang besides Charlies and whores."
Alex patted Salem's shoulder and smiled. "That's the spirit, Black."
In Las Vegas, Ivory lounged in bed for a while before waking up. She didn't have work that day and she was going to enjoy a day to herself. When she did finally get out of bed, she went to the roses and smiled. She needed to make herself wait to call Anatoli to thank him. She'd call him tonight. Ivory went about her day starting with tending to the dragon's den; getting it cleaned, changing out the water and putting food in the enclosure. Once the dragons were taken care of, Ivory got in her car and went into town to do some grocery shopping with her mom's list in hand. She went up and down the aisles grabbing anything that was either on her mom's list or that she wanted to get for the house. While she was out, she got the urge to try making cabbage rolls herself. She racked her brain to remember all the ingredients and when she returned home, she got a pot of water boiling while also starting rice. The rice took forever to cook because she was so paranoid it would burn. Eventually she got the rice cooked, she cooked the carrots and onions and got that all mixed together with the meat and once the cabbage was steamed, she did her best to assemble everything. What culminated was an abomination as far as she was concerned but she shoved them in the oven to cook for two house.
"I think you over-steamed the cabbage," Tamara said when she had a bite of the cabbage roll.
"Frankly, I'm shocked it turned out as good as it did," Ivory said, poking at it. "It tastes good at least."
"It does taste good," Tamara said, "although I think you may want to leave cooking to Anatoli."
"Thanks mom," Ivory grumbled and took a bite of her dinner.
"Speaking of Anatoli," Tamara said, "what's the plan for the two of you? Have you talked about any long term plans?"
"A little," Ivory said. "Anatoli seems to be intent on convincing me of moving to Washington to be with him."
"Seems practical," Tamara said. "I take it you aren't keen on that?"
"I don't know," Ivory said. "You're right: it's the most practical thing to do. I mean…..It's not that I don't like Washington."
"Honey, if you're hesitant to move because you don't want to leave me, don't be. Your father visits every summery to see you. I see no reason you couldn't do the same thing."
"I know," Ivory said and poked her food a little more. "I've been thinking I might just take Anatoli up on moving to Washington. I mean…if we wait until he can come here….hell, that would be five years from now. I'm not sure he'd even do that."
"Ever the devoted son," Tamara smiled. "That's good. A young man that loves and respects his mother makes a good husband."
"Honestly, mom; he hasn't even proposed to me," Ivory said.
"He will," Tamara said. "Just give him a little time, Ivory. I'd bet you anything if you tell him you're willing to move to Washington, he'll buy a house so he can be nearby to help with the twins and be close to his work and you two can get married. You can get yourself a job or you can be a stay at home mom once you two have children. He makes enough that you certainly could."
"I don't know about the kids," Ivory said a little apprehensively. "Anatoli and I haven't talked about kids."
Tamara shrugged, "That's certainly up to the two of you."
"Thank you for being understanding," Ivory said. "Although if I'm being honest, we haven't even talked about getting married. All we've talked about is one of us moving and we haven't even agreed on that definitively."
"Well, tell him that you'll agree to move to Washington and watch the rest unfold from there," Tamara said. "I won't even shame you for living with him before you're married. I won't speak for your father, though. He may have a few choice words with you about that one."
"Daddy's hardly one to lecture me on something like that," Ivory said.
"Ivory, what your father did when he was younger frankly has no bearing on what you do now." Ivory looked at Tamara slightly annoyed. "Don't give me that look, Ivory."
"Parents are such hypocrites," Ivory groaned.
"Yes, honey, we are because we have the life experience to know better," Tamara said. "Just be grateful that I don't get on your case about how you're sexually active. When I got pregnant with you, all I got from your grandpa were long winded lectures about being intimate with a man I'm not married to."
"Thank goodness 'cause that ship sailed a long time ago," Ivory giggled.
"Thank you for sharing that, dear," Tamara said but with admittedly a small smile. After they finished dinner and Ivory cleaned all the dishes, she took the phone into her room so she could have some privacy and dialed the number to Kevin's house.
"Hello?" she heard Amber's voice.
"Hey Aunt Amber; is Anatoli there?"
"One second," Amber said and there was a moment before she heard Anatoli pick up the phone.
"Ivory?" came Anatoli's voice. She heard the sound of his door closing gently.
"Hey, Anatoli; I made cabbage rolls for dinner today."
"Did you?" Anatoli responded and she could hear the smile in his voice. "How did they turn out?"
"I overcooked the cabbage, but it tasted good. I'll be having that for breakfast with an egg come morning."
"I am proud to hear it," Anatoli said. "So how is your weekend going?"
"It's going well," Ivory said and looked at the roses. "I got the flowers. They're beautiful."
After a brief silence Anatoli asked, "What flowers?"
"The flowers you sent me. Yesterday when I got back from work there were roses on the kitchen counter that mom said had come for me; red roses."
"I did not send you roses," Anatoli said, becoming slightly agitated. "I thought you do not like red roses. Why would I send you those?"
"If you didn't send me flowers then…" she stopped and stared at the roses realizing exactly who must have sent them. "Oh my God," Ivory groaned.
"Did Ben send those?"
"I think he must have," Ivory said and rubbed her face. "I never told him my address. How would he know where to send those?"
"Do you have Joe's number?"
"Yes," she answered.
"Call Joe and tell him what happen."
"I will," Ivory said and took a deep breath fighting the frustration. "God damn it, what more do I have to do to make him leave me alone?"
"Start with telling Joe he send you flowers directly to your home," Anatoli said. "Do you need I come back to Las Vegas?"
"No, it'll be okay," Ivory answered though she would have loved nothing more. "I'll call Joe now."
"Call me back after you do?"
"I will," Ivory said. They said 'I love you' and disconnected before Ivory started dialing Joe's home number. After a few rings, a woman answered.
"Hello?"
"Hello. Is Joe available? My name's Ivory. I'm one of his employees."
"One second," the woman answered and Ivory heard her call out to Joe.
"Ivory? What are you calling me at home for?"
"Because I got flowers from Ben and he sent them directly to my house. I never gave him my address so I don't know who would have given that to him."
"God damn it," Joe glowered. "And you're sure it was Ben?"
"I already asked Anatoli about it and he said he didn't send me flowers. I don't know who else would send me flowers."
"Alright, Ivory, I'll look into it. He may have gotten your address from HR or something."
"Why would they give him my address?!"
"I don't know, Ivory. That's why I need to look into it," Joe said. "It'll be alright, Ivory. I'll take care of it."
Ivory groaned and said, "Joe, I can't keep doing this. I've made myself clear but he's just not leaving me alone."
"I'll take care of it, Ivory," Joe said.
"That's what you said last time," Ivory whimpered in frustration.
"I'm sorry Ivory. I really am. You just let me deal with it and if he pulls anything else you tell me ASAP. Got it?"
"Got it," Ivory said, less than relieved. "Maybe I should just look for a new job."
"Last resort," Joe said.
"I may be getting to that point, Joe. Hell, maybe I should just move to Washington."
"Ivory, don't be rash. Unless that sudo-Ruski of yours has put a ring on your finger you stay here."
Ivory finally smiled a little, "He's German, Joe."
"Whatever," Joe said. "Is he trying to convince you to move?"
"I know he wants me to."
"Come on, Ivory. How have you not sold him on moving to Vegas? You can't beat the City of Sin."
"He would rather be close to his family. And if he came here, he'd be starting over from scratch."
"I suppose you have a point. So are you two talking about this because he's planning to put a ring on your finger?"
Ivory blushed a little with a gentle smile, "I think so. I don't know when, but I think so."
"You really love him?"
"Yeah, I do," Ivory said.
"And he loves you?"
"Yeah. He does," Ivory said and Joe sighed a little.
"Well, good for you kid. I mean that. Do you want me to give him a talking to? Hurry his ass along a bit?"
"That's okay, Joe," Ivory smiled. "You promise you'll deal with Ben sending me flowers?"
"Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it."
"Thank you, Joe."
"You're welcome, kid. I'll see you at work Wednesday."
"I'll see you then," Ivory said and disconnected the line. Afterwards she called Anatoli back.
"Ivory?" Anatoli said when he answered the phone.
"Yeah, it's me. I talked to Joe."
"And?"
"He said he would look into it and he'd take care of it," Ivory said.
"That is what he say last time."
"I know," Ivory said. "But he promised he'll take care of it and to tell him if anything like this happens again."
"Christ," Anatoli muttered irritably. Ivory didn't say anything at first. She still had knots in her stomach over the matter, but if she were honest with herself, it really was the best for them.
"Anatoli?"
"Yes?" he asked in a voice still thick with frustration.
"If...um...if I were to say I want to move to Washington to live with you, when do you suppose I could?" Anatoli was quiet a moment.
"Really?" he finally asked.
"Yeah, really," Ivory said. "You're right: it's more practical for me to move there. I can get a job just about anywhere if I want. I have a little money I can put towards a house."
"You let me worry about that." She could hear Anatoli ease in tone and its shift to excitement. "I will start looking for a house. We live in this neighborhood. I can stay close if Mama need me and we can start a life."
"Really?"
"Really," Anatoli said. "When I find a house, I tell you. I will come to Vegas and help move."
"That would be nice," Ivory said.
"So we do this? You are coming to Washington?"
Ivory giggled, "Yes, Anatoli. I'm coming to Washington."
"Then I find a place for us right away. When is ready, I tell you."
"I'll give my two weeks notice once you say," Ivory said. "I love you, Anatoli."
"I love you too, Ivory. I will keep you informed."
"Thank you."
They talked a little while longer before eventually disconnecting. Once they had, Ivory brought the phone back to the living room and saw her mom on the couch watching the news and filling out a crossword puzzle.
"Mom?"
"Yes, Ivory?"
"I've decided I'm going to move to Washington. Anatoli said he would start looking for a house and once he finds one, I'll give work my two weeks and move." Tamara looked at Ivory.
"And did this decision come with a proposal?"
"No, mom, but it doesn't need to. We love one another and I think that's enough." Tamara kept looking at Ivory a moment before she grabbed the phone and started dialing. "What are you doing?"
"Calling your father," Tamara said.
"Mom!"
"Honey, I promise you that Nathan will - Yes? Nathan? Hi, it's Tamara. Yes, everything's fine."
"Mom," Ivory said and tried to grab the phone but Tamara averted her.
"I'm calling because Ivory has just informed me that she's decided she's moving to Washington."
"She did?" Nathan said. "That's great. She knows she's welcome."
"Just a moment there, Nathan. She's informed me that she plans to move in with Anatoli when she comes to Washington. Apparently he's said he's buying a house and when he does, she can move in with him."
"Mom!"
"He did, eh?" Nathan said. "He hasn't asked me about a moon ceremony or anything."
"According to Ivory, he hasn't proposed but that isn't important because them being in love is enough to move in together."
"She did, did she?"
"Mom!"
"I'm just saying it might be with you calling Anatoli; make sure he's planning to do right by our daughter," Tamara said.
"I'll do that now. Thanks for letting me know," Nathan said.
"Mom, give me the phone; I want to talk to dad," Ivory said.
"Nathan, Ivory wants to talk to you. Should I put her on the phone?"
"Yeah, go ahead," Nathan said. Tamara then handed the phone over to Ivory so she could talk to Nathan.
"Daddy, before you go yelling at Anatoli-"
"Who said I was going to yell at him? I only want to talk to him. Moving in together is a pretty big step especially when you two haven't exactly discussed marriage yet."
"Who said that wasn't something we intended to discuss eventually?"
"He'll need to do better than that, Ivory," Nathan said.
"Daddy, be nice to him," Ivory said. "If I move to Washington, I want to move in with Anatoli. There isn't enough room in that house for me to be there permanently. Just ask Jaedynn."
"You let me be the judge of that, Ivory. I can always kick your brothers out; about time the two of them got their own places anyway."
"Wait, what?" Ivory heard Gabriel's voice in the background. "Ivory, you can't move in with us!" Gabriel called.
"Quiet, Gabriel. The only thing stopping you and your brother from moving out is motivation to do so. Fuck me; I should start charging the two of you rent," Nathan said.
"Daddy, don't tease Gabriel and Ariel," Ivory said. "Besides, there's no need to kick them out because I'd be moving in with Anatoli."
"Who said I was teasing?" Nathan said while he was looking at Gabriel and Ariel, though Ivory couldn't see him do it. "I said I'd have a talk with Anatoli. Maybe he'll convince me to let the two of you move in together. I wouldn't count on it, though."
"Daddy, stop," Ivory said.
"Don't be that way, Ivory. I promise all I'll be doing is talking to him okay?"
"Okay," Ivory finally said, "But don't you try convincing or dissuading him of anything."
"Ivory, don't tell your father what to do," Tamara scolding and reached out to grab the phone from Ivory. "You said you're going to call Anatoli?"
"Yeah, I'll talk to him now. Tell Ivory to relax for me."
"Ivory, relax, okay?" Tamara said. Ivory's answer was to stare irritably at her. "She's relaxed."
"Good," Nathan said. "Do you want me to call you as soon as I finish talking to Anatoli?"
"No, it's alright. I trust you," Tamara said and then glanced at Ivory. "Might do Ivory good to keep her in suspense."
"Mom!"
"Maybe it will," Nathan laughed. "I'll talk to you later then, Tamara."
"Talk to you later, Nathan," Tamara said before disconnecting. Nathan immediately started dialing the number to Kevin's house.
"You're not actually planning to kick us out are you?" Ariel asked.
"I'll tell you what: you two start paying me $100 a month for rent and I'll let you stay."
"So we both give you fifty?" Gabriel asked.
"No, you each give me $100. $100 per deadbeat."
"Oh come on, dad! We aren't deadbeats."
"You've both had jobs for how many years and you still live under my roof?"
"That doesn't make us deadbeats," Ariel said.
"I think 'leech' might be the word you're looking for, daddy," Jaedynn said.
"Hey! You stay out of this," Gabriel said.
"Hello?" Kevin's voice came over the phone while Jaedynn had a good laugh at Ariel's and Gabriel's expense.
"Hey Kevin. It's Nathan. I don't suppose Anatoli's available to talk is he?"
"Sure, one second," Kevin answered and looked right at Anatoli who was sitting on the couch with him and Amber. "Anatoli, looks like word of yours and Ivory's plan reached Nathan."
"Черт побери," (chert poberi/God Damn it) Anatoli groaned, "Already?"
"Yup," Kevin laughed a little while holding the phone out to him. Anatoli accepted the phone. "You're in a tight knit family, Anatoli. We don't have secrets."
"I do not think the Cheka were so good," Anatoli muttered.
"Who the hell are the Cheka?" Nathan asked.
"Is the nickname for Soviet Secret Police. Is not important," Anatoli said. "I promise I planned to call you after I speak with my parents."
"I'll bet, but Ivory told Tamara and Tamara told me. I'm afraid good intentions don't travel as fast as gossip."
"No shit," Anatoli muttered and Amber swatted his arm.
"Well, since you already know why I'm calling, then let's get down to business. Ivory said you two are planning to move in together but that didn't include you offering marriage. You understand my complaint of course."
"Is not that I do not plan to. Is just on my list to do," Anatoli answered and, overhearing his answer, Ariel, Gabriel and Jaedynn started laughing.
"Bad answer Anatoli!" Ariel said.
"I expect your first rent payment tomorrow," Nathan said to his sons. While they tried arguing, Nathan ignored them and spoke to Anatoli. "Although Ariel is right: that was not an acceptable answer."
"I am sorry, I word that poorly. I mean to say I propose after I buy a house."
"A huh," Nathan said. "Why didn't you just tell Ivory that."
"That is hardly romantic," Anatoli said and after a brief silence, Nathan shrugged.
"Fine, I'll give you that," Nathan said. "So you plan to, it's just after you do some preparing first."
"Yes," Anatoli said.
"Okay, that's better. So first thing is buying a house?"
"Yes, sir," Anatoli answered.
"And after that?"
"Ivory comes to Washington and we get married."
"You realize there's a big 'to-do' with this whole thing right? I'm not exactly going to let you drag my daughter to a courthouse on a Tuesday with a judge and no family."
"I have not gone that far and Ivory and I have not talked about that."
"I figured as much," Nathan said. "I guess that can wait until you actually propose. Though she's not moving in with you until you're married. You got it?"
"Yes, sir," Anatoli said.
"Good. Glad we understand each other. You keep me posted, understood?"
"Understood."
"Good. Nice talking to you, Anatoli." Nathan hung up and Anatoli put the phone back on its stand.
"That go better than I thought," Anatoli relaxed.
"Now Anatoli, I don't want you rushing anything. Don't buy the first house you see," Amber said.
"Do not worry, Mama. I will not rush."
"By now, you've built good credit so getting a good price shouldn't be hard," Kevin said. "Levi can help you out if need be."
"I appreciate it," Anatoli said.
"Will he be able to stay in the neighborhood?" Amber asked.
"I don't see why not," Kevin said. "There are plenty of nice houses in the area and I'm sure there's bound to be a place for sale that Anatoli could afford. It may be a starter home but he has the ware-with-all to make repairs and improvements."
"Is likely what I will do," Anatoli said. "I promise, Mama; I will stay close when I move. You will not even miss me."
"You know full well that's not true," Amber said.
"It's okay, Amber. We've got time before he'll be moving out. Right now, he's just letting us know he's going to start looking soon."
"Just take your time, okay Anatoli?" Amber asked.
"I will, Mama," Anatoli said.
After he'd gotten off the phone with Ivory, Joe left for the casino and marched straight to HR and looked for the on duty Night Manager.
"You're one of the HR managers?" Joe asked the man that looked up at Joe when he entered the room.
"Yeah, I am. How can I help you?"
"My name's Joe Henderson. I'm the Lead Pitt Boss in the Wild West Room and one of my girls has suffered numerous instances of harassment from a member of the security team. Most recently he seems to have obtained her address and sent her flowers unsolicited. Did anyone in HR release Ivory Black's address to a Benjamin Bianchi? Ivory got these flowers yesterday so I would guess Ben came in requesting that address around Sunday."
"You said Bianchi right?" the manager asked as he reached for a drawer and opened it once Joe nodded. He went to the security file and looked through the employee information. "This young man?" The manager showed the attached picture to Joe.
"Yeah, that's Ben," Joe said.
"I know he came into the office Sunday but he spoke to Laurence. I'll have to check with him when he returns tomorrow to find out what they talked about."
"I'd appreciate it. He started harassing her around May and I've done what I can to make him stop but he isn't relenting and it's now at a point where her safety could be at risk."
"I wouldn't think sending flowers is 'threatening'. That's a touch dramatic."
"What IS threatening is him knowing her home address. This has already escalated to a point where his behavior is completely unacceptable and I've made that clear on numerous occasions. This is distressing for her and it needs to end."
"Alright, I see your point," the manager said. "I'll talk to Laurence tomorrow and find out what he told Mr. Bianchi. If he released Miss Black's address, I'll have him written up for it."
"And what about the fact that Ben now has Ivory's address? Writing up your employee won't change that."
"The next step would be pulling Mr. Bianchi in and he'd be written up too. If she feels it's necessary she may want to file a police report but I wouldn't hold my breath she'll get too far given all he's done is send her flowers."
"I'll let her know to do that," Joe said. Joe was about to leave while the manager was retrieving Ivory's employee information.
"Mr. Henderson?" The manager stopped Joe and made him turn to look at the manager again. "There's a write up in Miss Black's file stating she was caught leaving the casino during her shift with an unknown gentleman? The implementation being it looked as though-"
"I already spoke to Rod about that. She shouldn't have been written up. That man you're referring to is her boyfriend. Ben told this man he was dating Ivory, Ivory had to diffuse the situation and once she had, he came back in with her. I gave her permission to do so."
"Well, Rod still wrote her up for it," the manager said. "I would suggest against her going to the police. If the police do investigate this and they see this, even if it was innocent like you say, it'll look bad for the casino and if that happens upper management will can her in a heartbeat."
"Son of a bitch," Joe said. "So what am I supposed to tell Ivory? Just deal with it?"
"I already said I will look into this from my end. My recommendation to her would be cut out the middle man and if something like this happens to come to HR and report it. You can even tell her to ask for me."
Joe sighed heavily but said, "Alright. I'll tell her."
"I'll make a note of everything we discussed," the manager said. With no other recourse, Joe went to the phones and called Ivory's house phone. "Ivory?" Joe said when he heard a woman's voice.
"This is her mother, Tamara. May I ask who's calling?"
"Evening, ma'am. This is Joe Henderson. I'm the Head Pitt Boss where Ivory works. She called me because one of the men in security sent her flowers unsolicited and I'm getting back to her."
"Wait, Anatoli didn't send those?"
"No ma'am, he told Ivory he didn't."
"I guess that explains a lot," Tamara said. "Anatoli should know better. So what's going on? I know Ivory said there's a young man at work that's been asking her out and she's always told him no. Is that who sent those flowers?"
"Yeah, that's Ben."
"Hold on; how does this boy know my address?"
"I checked with HR and asked them to look into it."
"Joe you said?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Joe, I don't appreciate this boy knowing where we live."
"I understand, ma'am and you have my word I'm working with HR to resolve this."
"You'll forgive me for saying that doesn't give me much comfort. I will be calling Ivory's father about this."
"I would recommend just that, ma'am."
"Mom, who's on the phone?" Ivory asked having stepped out of the shower.
"Your Pitt Boss."
"Joe?" Ivory said and came over to take the phone. "Joe, it's Ivory."
"Hey, Ivory. I spoke to HR and they manager said he'd talk to the guy that Ben was seen talking to Sunday. Manager said he'd have them both written up."
"How the hell does that help me, Joe?!" Ivory asked.
"I asked the manager the same thing and didn't get much of an answer except to say that you can go to HR directly if the harassment continues."
"What do you mean 'If'?" Ivory groaned.
"Ivory, honey, tell Joe you're hanging up and I'll call your father," Tamara said.
"Joe, mom's telling me to hang up."
"I heard," Joe said. "If nothing else, your dad might be able to pay for a security system. I'll talk to you again on Wednesday, okay kid?"
"Alright, Joe. I'll talk to you then." Once Ivory disconnected, she handed the phone to Tamara so she could dial the number to Nathan's house. The phone rang briefly before Nathan answered.
"Hello?" Nathan's voice came on the other end.
"Nathan, it's Tamara calling back," Tamara said. "Listen, we have a problem."
"What's wrong?"
"I just got a call from Ivory's Pitt Boss saying that he'd reported one of the security guys to HR for harassment."
"About fucking time," Nathan said.
"Wait, you know about this?"
"Daddy already knows about this?" Ivory asked, just as surprised.
"Anatoli told me there was a guy at Ivory's job that's been harassing her since he visited and that her supervisor was taking care of it."
"Well, he's not doing enough. That boy sent Ivory flowers to our house."
"Wait, this kid knows your address? How does he know where you live?"
"According to Joe, it looks like he got our address from HR and Joe's taken this to management in HR. I'm calling you because the pressing issue is this kid knows our address."
"When did Ivory get those flowers?"
"Monday," Tamara said.
"Okay. I'll be on the next plane there. Once I get there, I'll find a good security system for the house."
"I really appreciate it, Nathan. I'll pay you back as-"
"No, this is on me," Nathan said. "I don't want you worrying about this anymore than you already are. Let me take care of it, okay?"
"Okay," Tamara said nervously. "I'll have the key same place I always do."
"No, don't do that," Nathan said. "Put that key somewhere only you know where it is. In fact, keep it inside. If he knows where you live, don't put it past him to know where you keep the hidden spare key."
"You're right. I'll put it somewhere else. How will you get in?"
"You'll probably be home by the time I get there. I'll be there by tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay. I appreciate it Nathan."
Once Nathan had hung up with Tamara, he then called Anatoli to let him know he would be going to Las Vegas. Given the reason he was going, Anatoli insisted he wanted to go with and asked Kevin to notify Embry that he was going when he couldn't get a hold of Embry. Nathan came to the house to pick up Anatoli and the two of them went straight to the airport.
"You didn't mention he'd sent her flowers," Nathan said while they were in the car.
"I just found out today," Anatoli said. "I am sorry. I should have told you as soon as she tell me."
"Water under the bridge," Nathan said. "I don't suppose you have experience installing security systems do you?"
"I have some, but I do not think is a security system that is used in America," Anatoli said.
"Oh well; whatever we get we'll be able to pay for installation," Nathan said. "So you said this escalated when you visited Ivory?"
"As I understand, yes," Anatoli said. "Ivory told me he was only persistent before."
"Ah," Nathan said. "So that's what this is about."
"I will help pay for the security system," Anatoli said.
"No, I'll pay for it. You focus on what we talked about. Sooner she can move here the sooner this whole thing will be a non-issue."
Once they made it to the airport, it was several hours before they were able to get on a plane to Nevada but once they did, they were in Las Vegas by morning and as soon as they landed, they got to work purchasing a security system and expediting an installation date. By the time they had everything set up and they went to the house, Tamara was back home and was able to let them in and, wanting to make sure it was safe, gave Nathan the outdoor copy of the house key.
"The soonest appointment I could get was tomorrow, but I found a good security system for the house. It'll include an alarm for the door and I was able to buy motion sensor lights for the door. The motion sensor lights should scare an intruder away but if that doesn't, the alarm sure as shit will. Anatoli and I will stay here and make sure everything works properly."
"I appreciate this, Nathan," Tamara said. "I'm sorry to make you come all the way out here but-"
"It's no trouble at all; you know that," Nathan said. "Anatoli and I will stay a few days to make sure this security system works but after we leave, if anything happens don't hesitate to call me."
"Nathan, do you mind I take the car to the casino?" Anatoli asked.
"We'll both go," Nathan said. Tamara stayed home while Nathan and Anatoli drove to the casino. Once they arrived, Anatoli led Nathan to the Wild West room and Joe, spotting Anatoli, came right to them. "You wouldn't happen to be Ivory's boss would you?" Nathan said to the man that approached them.
"Joe Henderson," Joe said and extended his hand to Nathan. "Are you Ivory's brother?"
"No, I'm her father," Nathan said and ignored Joe's clear surprise. "So Tamara said you were addressing HR regarding the release of her address to someone that shouldn't have it."
"Yes, I went to HR first thing," Joe said. "Laurence, the kid Ben was seen talking to in HR, is swearing he never released that information to Ben. According to Laurence, he was reviewing Ivory's file after Ben's little accusation and he assumes Ben must have seen her address then. He said that he would be calling in Ben to talk to him."
"And what happens after that?" Nathan asked.
"That I'm not sure," Joe admitted. "I'll be going to HR again later before the manager leaves for the evening and I'll ask him for an update then."
"Tai yra juokinga," (This is ridiculous) Anatoli muttered irritably.
"You say something?" Joe said with the same irritability.
"Don't worry about that," Nathan interrupted. "At this point, my only concern is this kid leaves my daughter alone. I've arranged for a security system to be installed tomorrow so if he tries anything, Ivory and her mother will be prepared."
"Good," Joe said. "I know it might not seem like it, but I really am trying to resolve this."
"And I appreciate that," Nathan said. "Is it okay to go see Ivory?"
"Sure. She's at Roulette table eight," Joe said and pointed her out in the room. As soon as he saw her, Anatoli went ahead of Nathan straight to Ivory's table. She greeted him with a surprised but bright smile and hugged him tight, but refrained from sharing a kiss. "So do you like that boy?"
"Anatoli's a good kid," Nathan said. "Can barely speak English worth shit, but he's a hard worker. If I didn't know better, I'd think Kevin was his father."
"Who's Kevin?"
"My big brother," Nathan said. "Anatoli and I had a chance to talk and he'll propose once he has a place of his own."
"Ivory was telling me she planned on moving to Washington to be with him," Joe said. "So long as he makes an honest woman of her, he's fine by me."
"It's on the horizon. As to when Anatoli will be able to get his own place: that I don't know. It'll be soon, though. That much I'm certain of."
Nathan waited until Ivory was finally on break before e started bugging her, but he left the casino once she had to go back. Anatoli stayed at the casino with her and returned with her at the end of her shift. By the time Ivory and Anatoli arrived back at her house, the door to her mom's room was open and she could see Nathan in bed sleeping beside Tamara but there was nothing romantic. Ivory couldn't help but giggle a little under her breath regardless.
"What is funny?" Anatoli asked quietly.
"Mom nags me about you and I sharing a bed but she and daddy share a bed."
"If I remember, your mother said she does not need to explain herself to you," Anatoli teased and kissed Ivory's cheek. "I can sleep on the couch."
"You're not sleeping on the couch," Ivory said and took Anatoli's hand so she could pull him into her room with her. When the two of them were in her room, Ivory got out of her uniform while Anatoli closed the door behind him and sat on the edge of her bed.
"Are you staying here tomorrow?"
"Yes, so Nathan and I can oversee the security system installation."
"Do you think you could come afterwards?"
"I will," Anatoli promised. Once out of her uniform, Ivory was in just her panties and walked over to him to sit in his lap.
"How long can you stay?"
"Not very long. We may leave by Saturday at latest I think." Ivory pouted a little and rested her head on his shoulder. "I am sorry. I wish I could stay longer."
Me too," Ivory said. "But we can still call each other."
"I can start looking for a place when Nathan and I are back in Washington. I want to stay in the neighborhood."
"I admit I prefer living in the city, so that's fine with me. Do you think it'll be this year?"
"I will try," Anatoli said and leaned his head down to press a kiss to her lips.
The next morning, Tamara woke first and noticed right away neither Ivory or Anatoli were on the couch. She checked Ivory's room and, just as she suspected, the two of them were snuggled together on Ivory's small bed. She just sighed and went to the kitchen to make coffee and breakfast. Nathan was in the kitchen with her before long.
"Good morning, Nathan," Tamara said.
"Morning, Tamara," Nathan said and helped himself to a cup of coffee. "What time do you need to get to school?"
"I need to be there by 7:30. My first class starts at 8:30."
"Are you looking forward to retirement?"
"Not especially," Tamara admitted. "After I turn 65 I can retire but I think I may at least be a substitute teacher. I'll be so bored otherwise."
"Join us one year when we go to Brazil," Nathan suggested. "You deserve to travel. You worked hard; it's time to relax."
"Oh, I'm too old for that, Nathan."
"Bullshit; no you're not. You're only 58."
"I'm 59. 60 this year."
"No one would ever believe you," Nathan said.
"Says the man that's still mistaken for 27," Tamara smiled. "No one ever guesses below 40."
"They're being rude," Nathan smiled. "Seriously, though. You'd love Salvador and I know Ada would love you to join us."
"Maybe one summer," Tamara said. "How is Ada?"
"Busy, but she loves it. Marcelo still sends the revenue from the bar in Salvador and now that she's running the bar in town, she's on cloud nine."
"She's very driven. I envy her that," Tamara smiled.
"She tells me she can't be an employee, only an employer. She's not one to take direction so I believe her."
"You're working as Police Officer now, right?"
"Yeah. We're almost ready to build a proper station so we aren't taking up space at the school and we got all the legal nitty gritty out of the way. I don't envy Kevin having to do that."
"Nor I," Tamara smiled. "So...about Ivory."
"Which aspect?"
"I guess let's start with that security system. If the alarm goes off, we just call the police?"
"Yeah," Nathan said. "There will be a code they give you that you'll need to memorize so whenever you come into the house you'll need to enter the code so the alarm won't go off and once you're back in the house, you re-enter the code to turn the alarm back on."
"Ivory'll never remember that," Tamara groaned.
"Well, she better," Nathan said.
"What about her and Anatoli moving in together? Did you and he talk about that?"
"We did," Nathan nodded. "I told him that he needs to propose first before she moves in with him. He agreed he'd make that happen. At this point I think he's waiting to find the house before he makes a bracelet or buys a ring."
"So long as you and he talked," Tamara said and began to look forlorn. "So this is really happening? Our daughter's getting married?"
"It's looking that way," Nathan said. "Don't say anything, though. Ivory doesn't know Anatoli's going to propose. She only knows he's looking for a house so they can move in together."
"This is so strange," Tamara said.
"I know," Nathan said. "It was weird when Scarlet got married but you get used to it."
"I would prefer they get married before they have kids," Tamara said.
"We never got married and we did a pretty good job I think," Nathan said.
Tamara smiled, "Unbeknownst to you, daddy used to get on my case about that quite a lot."
"Oh, no I'm very aware. He tore me a new asshole more times than you realize." Tamara laughed under her breath and made Nathan smile. "In all seriousness, Anatoli will be good for Ivory. They make each other happy."
"That's all I want for her," Tamara said. "Is the plan to have a Quileute ceremony?"
"I don't know. I don't think they got that far. Truthfully, I'd bet you Anatoli wants a Catholic wedding."
"Can they have a Catholic wedding? Ivory isn't baptized."
"We can look into it," Nathan shrugged, "but let's wait for him to actually propose before we talk about it."
"Alright," Tamara said. "So what time is that security system being installed?"
"They said to expect them between 1 and 3," Nathan answered. "Anatoli and I will be here the whole time so you don't have to worry about a thing."
"Thank you, Nathan." Tamara finished her coffee and rinsed out the cup in the sink before placing that on a mat to dry. "I'd better leave for work. I'll see you when I get back."
"If you're up for it, I'll take you out for dinner," Nathan said.
"Sounds like a plan," Tamara said and kissed Nathan on the cheek. "I'll see you later."
"Have good day at work," Nathan answered and waved goodbye to her while she left the house. Another two hours later, Anatoli finally woke up and got in the shower while Nathan was in the living room reading the newspaper while the TV was on. Once he was out and had gotten into a clean pair of clothes, he kissed Ivory's cheek making sure not to wake her up and went into the kitchen for some coffee. "Morning, Anatoli," Nathan said.
"Good morning, sir," Anatoli said before taking a sip of his coffee.
"Ivory still asleep?"
"Yes," Anatoli said. "She usually will not wake up until one."
"Okay," Nathan said. "Keep in mind we need to be here for the security installation."
"I know," Anatoli said, "I had thought I can stay until they leave then I will go to the casino."
"So long as you're here for the installation," Nathan said.
Another few hours later, Ivory woke and went straight to the shower before work. She came out of the shower with her pajamas and wet hair to get some coffee and breakfast. Anatoli stayed in the kitchen with her while the two talked until she had to get ready for work. Anatoli affirmed that he'd come to the casino once the installation was completed and shared a kiss before she left for work. As soon as Ivory was at work and got herself punched in, she went straight to the Wild West Room to confirm her table assignment for the night. It was several hours before Anatoli finally made it to the casino and he was at her side while she worked. When it came to be her lunch break, the two of them went to the restaurant in the casino and sat at the bar together ordering dinner.
"So now that we can talk, how did the security installation go?" Ivory asked once they were at the bar together.
"It went well," Anatoli said. "I have the security code, so when we go back I will show it to you."
"God damn it; I'll never remember to do that," Ivory moaned impatiently.
"You will have to," Anatoli said with a smile and took her hand to press a kiss to it. "You will become used to it eventually."
"I certainly hope so," Ivory said. "You said that you and daddy would stay until Friday?"
"Yes," Anatoli said. "I am sorry we cannot stay longer."
"It's okay. Even if it was only briefly, I'm happy to get to see you again."
Anatoli smiled and kissed her hand again. When it was finally the end of her shift, they drove back to her house together and before going inside, Anatoli showed her how to disarm the alarm so it wouldn't go off and then turn it back on once she'd entered the house. For the duration of their time in Las Vegas, Anatoli made a point to ensure Ivory was disarming and arming the alarm when she came and went from the house so she would remember to do it and also so she would memorize the code. The last day they were staying, Anatoli and Ivory drove into the desert together so they could have some time alone and didn't return until well into the wee hours of the morning. Though she was barely awake, Ivory joined Anatoli and Nathan to the airport to wish them goodbye. She'd need to take a taxi home, but she really didn't care. She wanted to see them off. She even went inside with them while they waited for their plane and fell asleep against Anatoli's shoulder while he watched The French Chef with Julia Child.
"Ivory," Anatoli whispered when their plan was announced to be boarding, "Our plane is boarding."
"Already?" Ivory asked.
"We have been here two hours," Anatoli said and kissed her head.
"You awake, Ivory?" Nathan asked. Ivory nodded and rubbed her eyes making herself wake up. Nathan counted out some money and handed it over to her. "Here's some money for that cab home, okay, honey?"
"Thank you, daddy," Ivory accepted the money right before Nathan gave her a big hug. "It was good seeing you, daddy. Thank you for that security system."
"Anything for my little girl," Nathan said and kissed her head. "We'll see you again at Christmas and if you need anything before then, you let me know okay?"
"I will," Ivory said. Nathan let go of Ivory so she could give Anatoli a hug. She was nearly ready to fall back to sleep when her head rested against his chest. "I'm going to miss you."
"I am going to miss you too," Anatoli said and leaned his head down so he could give her a kiss. "Do you want me to call you when I return home?"
"I'll call you after I get home from work, okay?"
"I will look forward to your call," Anatoli said and kissed her again.
Ivory stayed in the waiting area while Anatoli and Nathan got on the plane. She didn't finally leave until their plane took off and she fell asleep in the taxi. By the time she got home, she had an hour to get ready for work. She got herself punched in for work as soon as she arrived and then went to Joe for her assignment.
"Jesus, kid, you look awful. What; did you not sleep last night?"
"Very little," Ivory groaned. "Last night was Anatoli's last night here so we drove out to the desert to be alone and I think we got three hours sleep before he and daddy had to leave to catch their plane. I wanted to see them off."
"I see," Joe said and then sighed. "Go home, kid. Get some sleep. Use a sick day."
"Really?"
"Absolutely. Now get going. Can't have you contaminating the place," Joe said with a wink.
"Thank you so much, Joe," Ivory said with a smile and left to go back home.
"What are you doing home?" Tamara said when Ivory walked in the house.
"Joe let me take a sick day so I can sleep."
"That was very nice of him. Well, do what he said and get some sleep."
"Believe me, I will," Ivory said.
Ivory went straight to her room and got into bed. She didn't wake up until ten and, figuring he was home by now, called Anatoli. Once they were on the phone, they talked for hours. She heard her phone start beeping indicating another call, but she ignored it. Whoever it was could wait.
Back in Vietnam, it took a while to get the leave from their commanding officer, but once they had. Salem and Alex went ashore for a good time. Salem has not been very interested in the particular place Alex had picked, but Salem complied. There was a bar there so he could drink while Alex got the edge off so to speak.
When they arrived, Alex set out to find a girl while Salem went straight to the bar. He had been told to ask for 'Ma' by someone that had been to this place. When he went to the bar, there was a man there pouring a drink. He was extremely scrawny and appeared young. Very young.
"Are you Ma?" Salem said to the man.
"Oh, no. I fill in for him," the man said. "I get you drink?"
"A beer. Budweiser." The man reached into a cooler and pulled out a bottle. He got a glass and filled it with ice. "No ice," Salem said. "I'll drink from the bottle."
"But the beer get warm," the man said.
"That's my problem," Salem said, not liking the man's tone. "I'll take the bottle." Salem reached over and grabbed it out of the man's hand and putting his money on the table.
Salem sat back and nursed his beer while he waited for Alex. It was about an hour before he finally got back.
"So how was it?"
"Good enough to tide me over," Alex said and lit himself a cigarette. He offered Salem one that he accepted. Once they were both lit up, Alex waived over the guy. "Hey Ma! One beer," Alex said.
The man, not bothering to correct him, grabbed a glass filling it up with far too much ice and got beer from the tap that he handed to Alex. Once he had the beer, Alex lifted it but Salem stopped him, noticing something strange.
"What?"
"Can you give me one of those ice cubes?" Salem asked. Alex looked at him strangely but reached into the drink to grab one but then felt something sharp.
"Fuck," Alex said as he pulled out his hand and saw a tiny cut. "What the hell..." Salem grabbed the glass and took out a piece of ice. He felt the same sting. He turned the cube and managed to find the problem.
"There's glass in the ice!" Salem yelled. That got the attention of everyone in the bar and what ensued was pure chaos. The man behind the bar made a run for it. Salem chased after him. "Fucking get to a medic!" Salem yelled at his comrades while he pursued the man.
Everyone complied and started making a run for it but a few were already beginning to feel the effects of what happened. Alex followed Salem to the back and once they got there, out of instinct at this point, Salem shot the man hitting him in the head.
Alex was about to issue praise but then they realized there was a bomb by the man's body. A bomb that he'd just set off and was ticking towards detonation.
"Run!" Salem and Alex both screamed and sprinted away from the bar.
Salem grabbed one of his comrades by the collar that was hunched over with pain and practically dragged him behind to get him out. They got about two meters from the door when the bomb went off and it tossed Salem off his feet. He stayed down keeping his head down until there was no more sound. He turned to look at the man he'd dragged out but went cold. A splint of wood had gone straight through the man's eye, killing him instantly. Salem started feeling sick first from the site and then the realization it could have been him.
"Salem!?" he heard Alex call for him but he didn't come out of his state of terror until Alex grabbed a hold of Salem's shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"Somehow," Salem mumbled. Alex looked at the dead man at Salem's feet and gently tried to pull Salem to his feet.
"Let's get the hell out of here," Alex said and managed to get Salem on his feet. But then a gun went off and hit Alex right in the arm.
Salem looked where the fire came from and saw an injured woman hiding in the grass, clearly having suffered from the explosion. As soon as Salem noticed her, she looked as though she was about to shoot again and Salem got them on the ground, but he heard the sound of an empty barrel of an extremely old gun. Salem looked up when he heard that sound and saw the injured woman as she also realize that her gun was out of bullets. She then tossed the gun aside and forces herself onto her injured feet and try to run. Salem wasn't sure what came over him. Perhaps it was the assumption she might bring back up but Salem got on his feet and chased after the woman. He heard Alex yell after him, but Salem continued after the woman that was barely managing to stumble away. Salem noticed she seemed to make a point to avoid certain parts of the road and, noticing the slight, hard to see disruption of the dirt, he knew exactly why. Land mines. He hesitated to shoot not wanting to risk her landing on one and causing it to detonate.
She got to a point in the dirt road where she made a hard left into the elephant grass and, this time, Salem did shoot and he heard her yell as she fell into the elephant grass. He went into the grass to find the woman trying to get away from him and the site made him stop in his tracks as what he'd done began to sink in. He watched while the woman crawled away feeling the color drain from his face. Then she stopped moving entirely and, when she did, her breathing stopped. Salem stared at the woman's body for several moments in shock. After a moment, he started hearing crying from further up in the field. Against all logic, Salem slowly walked further through the grass towards where he could hear the crying. It was definitely an adult. Salem assumed it was a woman but he wasn't certain.
He tried to look around for any sign of someone hiding in the tall grass, but there didn't seem to be. He did, however, find discarded clothes, one or two knives and hygienic belongings that got discarded seemingly after the sound from the bomb sounded. He couldn't hear them in the distance as they'd gotten too far from the encampment. Salem continued following the sound of the crying staying as quiet as he possibly could through the grass. Soon he finally found the owner of that cry and it made him take a step back. It was a woman that was clearly not only full term but was clearly in labor and looked like she was bleeding heavily.
"Đau quá," the woman cried, not even realizing Salem was there.
"Miss?" Salem said. His voice clearly shocked her and she screamed. Salem, only then, realized she had an old gun that she shot, but it narrowly missed him. She was still crying and placed her hand on her swollen belly but not with an ounce of affection. Salem held his hands up defensively. "I won't hurt you," Salem said, proving it by putting his gun down. She didn't relax, though. She continued crying from the pain she was going through and she started to lower the gun. Salem attempted to approach her again, but when he did, she lifted the gun again.
"Tránh xa tôi ra!" she said. He couldn't understand what she said but he at least realized she didn't want him coming closer.
"Miss, calm down. I put my gun away. I won't hurt you. You need a doctor."
"Tránh xa tôi ra!" she yelled again pointing the gun at him with more vigor, but she was interrupted by a powerful contraction that left her screaming. Salem came a little closer to her, but stopped when she started crying again and sat up. "Nó đang giết tôi. Đó là một con quái vật," she whimpered.
"Miss, please, let me get you to a doctor," Salem tried to plea with the woman. Instead of try to shoot him, she swung the gun trying to hit him with the barrel of the gun. She missed when Salem swung himself back landing on his butt and the woman started screaming again as she laid back in pain. Salem approached the woman again and gave the woman his hand so she had something to clutch onto while she suffered her contraction. Salem looked at her belly and could see the baby moving around. Given the situation, it was one of the most horrifying things he'd ever seen. "Miss, keep breathing," Salem said and took a handkerchief from his pocket and blotted her forehead.
"Làm ơn dừng lại," she cried, no longer fighting him.
She was holding his hand with a painful grip while her contraction continued. Just when she seemed like she was about to relax and the contraction was relaxing, there was a loud explosion from the road that took them both by surprise coupled with screams and he could hear men swearing. Reinforcement. Salem looked in the direction of the explosion and didn't notice the woman lean up and grab his gun. He grabbed for it while making sure it was pointed away from both of them. Initially, she was trying to point it at him but that soon past and she was only trying to take the gun from him and was trying to point it at herself. When he realized what she was doing, he forced the gun from her hand so she couldn't shoot. However, she lunged forward as much as her enlarged stomach would allow, grabbed the gun just right to get her finger on the trigger and the gun went off, shooting her right between the eyes causing her to fly back and blood to cover the ground and grass.
Salem was shaking. He gawked at the woman lying dead before him in horror as her blood pooled under her. Salem nearly threw up when the smell of her blood hit his nose combined with the smell from the gun. He noticed that the baby she was carrying was still moving and was clearly fighting trying to get out. Salem was still for a moment before he finally got a hold of himself and looked around for one of the former encampment until he found one of the knives from before returning to her body. He hesitated when he saw movement on her stomach with greater strength than he thought a baby should be able to. When it continued and he even started to see the skin tear, he hurried to put a cut on the woman's lower abdomen. He managed to get one slash on her abdomen when something strange made him stop in pain. He thought he heard a muffled cry, but immediately after, he felt as though his head were about to explode. It was the most excruciating pain he'd ever felt in his life, as thought his skull was expanding and swelling. He felt the warm beat of Taha Aki's tooth beating like crazy as if the heart of a man sprinting a marathon.
Soon the pain became too much and he couldn't stay awake anymore and everything went black, but as soon as he passed out, he was awoken from the feel of something biting his wrist. He yelled and shot up to a sitting position and looked around in disorientation. His head no longer hurt and he was just trying to remember what happened. Then he looked where he'd been bit and saw a baby. It was a little girl with a thin layer of black hair on her head and she was trying to bite him again. He dodged her and she wound up turning onto her back and started crying. He glanced at the woman again and realized the baby had forced her way out and now was looking for her first meal. She seemed to get a hold of herself and got back onto her belly to crawl to the dead woman and bit into her wrist. She nursed from the dead woman's wrist as if from her mother's breast and stopped once her tiny belly was distended and full. She was finally calm and even appeared contented and rolled over so she was on her back. It was such a strange thing to see. Salem went closer to the baby girl until she opened her eyes and looked up at him. She had deep black eyes and Salem could tell she looked like her mother, but he felt nothing. Sympathy for this little girl, but nothing more.
"Search the grass!" he heard someone's voice boom and Salem looked towards the sound of the voice. Then he looked down at the baby. He couldn't just leave her. Salem removed his uniform shirt so he was just in his wife beater and picked up the baby wrapping her up. She seemed to accept the gesture without complaint. He grabbed his gun and got himself out of the confines of the elephant grass until he found a group of men of the army. "State your name soldier!"
"Lieutenant Salem Dauer, sir," Salem said. "After the explosion, I followed another Charlie here but it looks like her comrades fled.
"What are you holding, Lieutenant?"
"It's a baby," Salem said. "They abandoned a pregnant woman. I tried to calm her down but she shot herself, so I had to get the baby out."
"Aside from the pregnant woman, there was no one else?"
"No, sir. Whoever else was here ran, but it can't have been long since they left. It looks like they ran as soon as they heard the explosion from the bar."
"Fuck," the commanding officer said, "the little bastards would have gotten away by now." The officer looked Salem over. He was scrapped up but otherwise was safe. "Are you injured?"
"Fortunately not, sir," Salem said.
"Good. Get back to the bombing site and give the baby to one of the medics. They'll know what to do. And mind the road; there are landmines."
"I know; so did the woman I chased," Salem said but walked away and stayed off the road back to the former bar. When he returned, Alex was being tended to by one of the medics.
"Jesus fuck, Salem!" Alex said as soon as he saw Salem.
"Is he okay?" Salem asked the medic, ignoring Alex.
"Yeah, he'll be alright," the medic answered. "He'll need a few days in the M.A.S.H to heal but he should be ready to fight again soon."
"Joy," Alex said sarcastically.
"Hey, it is a joy. Only way you'd be sent home is if that arm was gone." Alex groaned and did so again when he felt the sting of medicine directly on the wound.
"What's that?" Alex finally asked, looking at what Salem was holding.
"A baby," Salem answered. "It's a long story," Salem interrupted when Alex was about to ask.
"Give me a second," the medic said, finishing Alex's bandaging and then stood to approach Salem. "Put the baby down for me." Salem did as the medic said and put the baby on the ground keeping his coat on her. The medic kneeled down and was smiling at the baby. "So how old are you, little thing?" She seemed to like the sound of the medic's voice because she smiled and started waiving her little arms. "She already has her baby teeth?" the medic asked. "Tiny little thing, aren't you." Salem said nothing while the medic examined her. "She looks….really young for having her baby teeth already."
"She's an odd one," Salem finally said. "Doctor? What do we do?"
"We can take her to the M.A.S.H. Maybe we can find a family for her." Just as the medic said that, Salem had an epiphany.
"Doctor?" Salem asked, "Could she be adopted by an American family?"
"An American family?" the medic asked. "I mean….I guess she could. Why? Do you know a family that would be willing to go through the legal hoops to adopt her?"
"Oh yeah," Salem said. "I do."
Back in Washington, Alice was playing chess with Edward staring at the board playing the game in their heads when the family's future suddenly became extremely bleary. It reminded her of when Bella had gotten pregnant. Edward looked at her waiting for whatever had caused the change to become more clear. There was nothing bad about the change he could tell. It was joyous and hopeful in fact. Several hours later, their phone began ringing and Carlisle was the one to answer.
"Cullen residence," Carlisle said.
"Carlisle, it's Salem."
"Salem?" Carlisle asked, surprised to hear from him.
"Yeah," Salem said. "I'm sorry to rush; I only have fifteen minutes. Are Rosalie or Emmet there? I need to talk to them."
"Sure," Carlisle said and Emmett was already approaching, having heard his name, and accepted the phone from Carlisle.
"Is everything okay, Salem?"
"I'm a little shaken. To keep this short, I went on land, we were attacked and I pursued one of our attackers. I came upon a woman that had been abandoned. She didn't make it, but her daughter did." Emmett was silent and Rosalie was right behind Emmett in an instant asking to take the phone.
"Salem, it's Rosalie."
"Got your attention did I?" Salem managed to tease. "She's definitely a half breed, so she can't stay here."
"Where are you now, Salem?" Rosalie asked.
"I'm in Da Nang right now," Salem whispered, technically not supposed to tell. "The baby's at the M.A.S.H and I'm here with her. I'd asked one of the doctors if an American family can adopt her and I'm being told you can."
"How long can you stay with her?"
"Since I found her, I've been given autho to stay for seven days."
"We'll be there in no less than three," Rosalie said, and then she was quiet. She was so scared and felt her chest starting to hurt as if her heart were pounding. "What's her name?" Rosalie asked.
"So far, they're calling her Jane Doe," Salem answered. Completely unacceptable Rosalie thought. "I figured you and Emmett would want to name her."
Rosalie was silent again for a moment until she finally said, "Take good care of her until we get there?"
"Absolutely, Rosalie. She'll be waiting for you." They disconnected and Emmett was already getting their things packed so as to not waste any time. By the time Rosalie got upstairs, Emmett had already packed their things and gathered their passports.
"How will you two get to Vietnam?" Bella asked. "Are commercial flights even going there?"
"No, but they are going to Japan," Edward said. "Get to Osaka and then take a plane to the Philippines. Then your best bet is to either swim there or you can try taking a plane to the mainland."
"Don't worry, Rosalie; we'll figure it out, but we need to leave."
"You're right," Rosalie answered and the two of them got into one of the cars to rush to the airport.
The next flight to Japan was already boarding and the next plane to Tokyo wouldn't be leaving for another seven hours. So, in a hurry, Emmett and Rosalie snuck into the cargo carrier of the plane and stayed in there until there was a layover. Emmett left the plane alone once they reached Hawaii to be certain that there wasn't another flight that would take them to Japan faster. There was not another flight to Japan leaving sooner, but there was a flight leaving for the Philippines in the next hour. So Emmett went back to the plane to get Rosalie and their things and they snuck onto that plane going to the Philippines. Back in Vietnam, Salem was trying to keep a close eye on the baby. The nurses and doctors were baffled by her and Salem did his best to lie, claiming he was giving her the formula she'd been prescribed.
"How do you get her to drink her milk?" a nurse asked Salem when he was playing with her. "Every time one of us tries, she just cries. I swear, every time that child cries, I get a horrible migraine."
"I guess she's just calmer with me," Salem said.
"You said a family is ready to adopt her?"
"More ready than you know," Salem said.
"Good," the nurse said and looked at the little girl apprehensively before leaving Salem alone with the little girl.
He'd noticed, too, what the nurse was talking about. He still remembered that day in the field where he'd found the little girl. He remembered that pain he'd experienced when he'd tried to release her, realizing now that it had been her doing that. When she cried for the first time after getting a shot, Salem nearly had a heart attack. The doctor and the nurses stopped what they were doing from having headaches and giving the little girl her shots took forever. Getting any of the nurses or the doctor to come anywhere near her after that was a chore. They noticed every time the little girl cried, their heads would start to hurt, but Salem noticed it was only when she was being caused pain (the shots) or she was scared. If she just didn't want something (the formula) there was no pain from her cries and when it did cause pain, she seemed to be able to control how much pain she caused or to what extent.
Regardless, she'd made the doctor and nurses scared to be around her. On the bright side, they didn't see her enough to notice her growth pattern and it's accelerated state. In the two days he'd been taking care of the little girl, she'd already grown about three or four inches, she was crawling more effectively and she had more hair on her head; very silky black hair. She was a cute little girl if Salem was being honest, but he found himself ill at ease with the little girl, though he suspected it was due entirely to the stress of making sure no one noticed how much she already grew and that she was refusing to consume the formula. While they were together in the nursery on the third day, she was playing with one of the toys but she broke it.
"You know, once your mommy and daddy get here, you'll need to start learning to behave yourself," Salem said to the little girl but she just stared at him blankly
"Lieutenant?" a nurse said as she approached him in the nursery. "We just got a call from Saigon about two civilians being on their way. They said they were related to you and were coming to pick up Jane."
"That would be Rosalie and Emmett," Salem said.
"Okay, good," the nurse said. "The doctor made a point to convince the higher ups to let them come."
"Good. Sooner they can get her, the better," Salem said. "Did they say when they'd be here?"
"The gentleman was apparently insisting they'd be here by this evening. I don't know what that man thinks he and his wife will be able to do to get here, so I'd give them another two days."
"Just in time either way," Salem said and looked at the little girl. "Did you hear that? Your mommy and daddy are on their way." The little girl continued to just stare at him before she sank her little baby teeth into the wooden toy.
"She's certainly not the most social child," the nurse said nervously.
"Her mother shot herself before the little girl was born and I had to literally cut her out. Cut the kids some slack," Salem said.
"I still can't believe she's that young. I mean…she's already-"
"Just drop it, Joanne," Salem insisted.
"Fine," the burse finally said with a sigh and lifting her hands defensively. "Do you think those people will be ready for her?"
"Trust me; they've been ready," Salem said. "Just show them here so they can meet her and help them with the rest."
"We will," Joanne said and then left.
After the nurse left, Salem looked at the little girl watching her. Despite his confidence, he started to worry. This little girl had been awkward with him since they arrived and he was scared she'd be this way with Emmett and Rosalie. He knew how much the two of them wanted this and his greatest fear was that the little girl would snub them like she's been snubbing most everyone else. Once it was getting later in the day, Salem located some baby clothes for the girl to wear. She'd spent most her days in nothing but a diaper and he knew he couldn't have her looking that way. Unfortunately he couldn't find anything really special, so he just got a dress that was available that had belonged to another child that had outgrown it, but the little girl simply refused to wear it. She looked at it, sniffed it, and then turned her head up to it like a little brat.
"Come on, kid, just wear it. You can't wear just your diaper." She didn't answer, though Salem hadn't figured she would. She did, however, cross her arms and turned her head away, making her feelings on the dress very clear. "Christ, fine. Be naked," Salem said and tossed the dress to the side in frustration. "You'd better not behave this way with Emmett and Rosalie. I expect you to be grateful."
This time, the little girl did respond and she did so by turning to look at him and sticking out her tongue. Salem gawked at her then rolled his eyes with a groan and laid back in his chair calling the little girl a brat. Then about five minutes later, she got bored with the toy she was playing with determining she was tired and went over to Salem in a crawl and once she was at his feet, she sat on her butt and reached up to him. He sighed before leaning down to pull her up and put her on his lap so she could fall asleep. Then it was another hour before one of the other nurses came into the nursery.
"Lieutenant, we have two civilians saying they're Emmett and Rosalie McCarthy and they're here about the little girl," the nurse said.
"Excellent. Can you send them in?"
"They're being searched right now, but as soon as they've been put through clearance, they'll be allowed in. I'd give them another fifteen minutes."
"She'll be ready," Salem said and then the nurse left. Once they were alone, Salem rubbed the little girl's back trying to wake her as gently as possible. "Your mommy and daddy are here," Salem said when she began to stir. She groaned irritably, still tired, but did open her eyes and looked around. "They'll be here in a moment. Just be patient."
Since she didn't see anything new, she closed her eyes and leaned back against Salem. Salem didn't force her to stay awake. He could wake her once Emmett and Rosalie arrived. As the nurse had said, fifteen minutes later that same nurse escorted Emmett and Rosalie to the nursery. The nurse was making small talk with them but as soon as they entered, Salem could tell Rosalie especially had no interest in what the nurse was saying. Rosalie's eyes zeroed in on the little girl on Salem's lap and she went still as if in disbelief.
"I'll give the two of you about an hour then I'll come back so you can fill out some paperwork."
"Thank you," Emmett said to the nurse before she left.
"Kid, wake up. Your mommy and daddy are here," Salem said as he rubbed the little girl's back again to try getting her to wake up. Rosalie was suddenly frozen where she stood, suddenly terrified that, somehow, there would be more heartache. The little girl finally opened her eyes and looked in Rosalie's and Emmett's direction. "That's your mommy and daddy," Salem said and then put the little girl on the floor. "Go on. Don't be shy. Say hello to them."
Salem gently encouraged her to start crawling forward. It took her a moment to finally do so. The little girl seemed mesmerized by Rosalie and was just staring at her at first. And Rosalie was so nervous suddenly that she was unable to move. Emmett came forward and the little girl looked up at Emmett and then finally started to crawl over to him and Rosalie. She was right at Rosalie's feet when she turned to look at Salem while pointing at Rosalie.
"Mommy?" she said. Her first word. Rosalie felt her eyes burning.
"Yeah!" Salem smiled, "Yeah, that's mommy. And he's your daddy." The little girl looked up at Rosalie and then at Emmett. Emmett was the first to kneel down and smiled at her.
"Hey there," Emmett said. It was slightly awkward since no one was really sure what to say. They were so beside themselves that they were speechless. The little girl smiled at Emmett and he smiled back at her. Then she looked at Rosalie and reached up to her.
"Mommy!" the little girl said eagerly. Rosalie shook and her eyes continued to burn when she finally came down to her level and picked the little girl up, pulling her against her and beginning to cry hysterically. Rosalie stood, holding the girl while she cried and Emmett took the two of them in his arms. Salem smiled at the site and felt great relief.
"I think she was meant for you," Salem said. Rosalie started to cry harder while she pet the little girl's hair.
"We have a daughter, Rosalie," Emmett said and began swaying the two of them side to side. The little girl lifted her little arms hugging Rosalie as best she could and Rosalie pressed a kiss to the girl's cheek.
"She's wonderful," Rosalie finally said and looked at Emmett.
"Emma Leigh McCarthy? Just like we said?" Emmett asked.
"Yes," Rosalie said and looked down at their daughter. "What do you think? Do you like Emma Leigh?" The little girl's only answer was a small sigh while she snuggled into Rosalie's shoulder. Rosalie was barely able to contain herself. "I think she just wants to sleep."
"Looks like it," Emmett said and rubbed the little girl's back. "Good thing we brought her some clothes."
"I tried to get her to wear a dress but she refused to wear it," Salem said, pointing at the dress in question. Rosalie looked at the dress, smiled and looked at their daughter.
"You and I will have a lot in common, Emma," Rosalie said. She kissed the top of Emma's head and looked up at Emmett. "Seeing as she's sleeping, maybe we can get all the paperwork filled out now and return home."
"Sure," Emmett said and leaned down to give Rosalie a kiss then kiss Emma's head.
"Emmett? Rosalie?" Salem said, "I do need to tell you about something. I think she has a gift. When I first found her, I felt like my head was going to explode. That hasn't happened since, but when she's being hurt, she will cry and when she does, she makes the doctor's and the nurses' heads hurt. I'm not certain how it works, but be careful when she cries."
"It sounds like a defensive power. A little like Jane's power now that I think of it," Emmett said and then looked at Salem. "And from what you've seen, she can control the power of it?"
"It would seem that way," Salem said. "It only seems to happen when she's being hurt or she's scared. If she's just crying because she's upset about something, that doesn't happen."
"We'll just have to learn more about her power," Rosalie said to Emma with a smile. She pressed a kiss to Emma's head and again and then looked at Emmett. "Let's get back to the Admin building and we'll get her home."
"How about," Emmett began to suggest, "before we go back to Washington, the three of us spend a few days in Hawaii and Emma can have a chance to get to know us." Rosalie nodded with a smile and the two shared a kiss.
"Thank you, Salem," Rosalie said. "This means the world to us."
"I know," Salem smile back at her. "She wasn't really opening up to any of us, so I'm happy she's taken to you so quickly."
Rosalie began to tear up again and looked at Emma, still unable to believe this was finally happening. They hugged Salem before finally leaving to go to Admin. They spent the better part of three hours presenting their IDs again, filling out a Birth Certificate for Emma Leigh so her name was officially Emma Leigh McCarthy. Rosalie signed her name as the mother and Emmett signed his name as the father. After that was filling out the required paperwork to make her an American citizen, giving their daughter a social security number based on what would be her home state once she was in America and any other paperwork that remained. Once it was all finally over, they agreed to spend the night in a spare room that was available in the admin building and spent the entirety of the night coddling Emma while Rosalie sang gently to her with Emmett holding her in his arms.