Growing Into It

By Purple Lacey

Part 2

The morning passed without further incident. Buck had finished teaching his morning Sentinel Care 101 class to the group of fifteen new guides. He was still chuckling to himself over some of the questions that a few of the more naïve students had asked while he made his way to one of the Hall’s cafeterias for coffee. He had also finished his first counseling session.  He usually had a ten minute break before the last two of his individual sessions with the newly bonded pairs he had been assigned work with  - the ones experiencing difficulties in adjusting to each other and/or the bond.  

He usually spent the next two hours acting as counselor, and, in some cases, referee between the troubled pairs, but yesterday he had been happy to sign off on two of his three pairs. He and each Sentinel/Guide pair had agreed that they had worked through their problems and were functioning as a fully integrated unit.  He felt the deep satisfaction he always did in being able to release a Sentinel/Guide team into active duty, knowing he had played a big part in setting them on the road to their future together.  He really loved his work.

Now, with no other pairs left to work with this morning, he was going to have a couple of free hours on his hands before he would join Vin for lunch then work with the boy for their own training sessions in the afternoon.  He was trying to decide how best to fill them – and doing a bang up job of talking himself out of working on the backlog of paperwork steadily growing on his desk -  when he was greeted by a well known voice.

“Morning, Buck,” the slim, black haired youth said as he slid into the chair on the opposite side of the table. 

Buck smiled and jerked his chin up in a return greeting, “Hey, JD.  How’s it going?”

“Okay,” the young man replied, then blurted out with clear annoyance, “She still won’t stop bugging me though.”

Buck chuckled which garnered a glare from JD.  Buck didn’t have to ask who SHE was.  The youth could not have been talking about anyone but Casey Wells, the teenage Sentinel that had come to the Guild Hall for training only two months ago. 

Buck had been at the Sentinel/Guide reception the night Casey had seen JD for the first time.  Buck had been able to feel the mental waves of possession that the girl had given off at first glance.  As far as she was concerned, JD Dunne belonged to her. The only problem was that the boy had resisted her claim.   In spite of his growing fascination with Casey, JD refused her entreaties to bond although Buck was sure the pair were made for each other. 

“I don’t see why you keep fighting it so hard, JD,” Buck stated with a knowing smile, “You know you like her.  I think she would make you a great bondmate.”

“I’m an ALPHA Guide,” JD said as he drew himself up proudly.  “She’s a BETA Sentinel.  I need someone that’s my match.”

Buck shook his head with exasperation at the youth and replied, “She’s a Borderline Beta. She only missed being an Alpha by two points.  If you were paying attention in your Sentinel Basics class, then you should know that there’s a lot of things that could have effected the readings on the test, including stress and anxiety. 

Just you remember, in the last year she lost her mother in a tornado that also destroyed her home and took all her possessions. Then six months later she lost her father in a car accident.  Then she had to leave everything and everyone she had ever known behind to move into her Great Aunt’s home half way across the country.  And if all that wasn’t enough to deal with, she suddenly starts to come on-line and finds out she is a Sentinel. I would have been surprised if she HADN’T scored below her correct rank on the ratings test.

And you know that since she was borderline she’s going be allowed to test again in a couple of months.  I bet you anything you want that when she tests this time she’ll be rated as an Alpha.”

“But she’s not an Alpha now,” JD argued that undeniable truth with youthful pride and superiority.

“Yep,” the older man acknowledged, suddenly looking cagey, “And if you were smart you’d take advantage of that ‘cause once she tests and advances to Alpha level...well, let’s just say she may find herself with a wider range of options.  I’m sure there will be plenty of Guides vying for her attention.  If you don’t treat her nicely now, she might decide to take one of them up on their offer.  Then where will you be, hmm?”

The boy’s stiffening postured reflected the intense feeling of denial that the youth instinctively projected at the thought of any other Guide courting the new Sentinel.  It told Buck that, as hard as JD was fighting it, he was still as powerfully and naturally drawn to the female Sentinel as a bee to a flower.

The older Guide leaned forward and placed a hand on the clinched fist that rested on the table in front of JD, and, trying hard to impress the gravity of his words to the stubborn Guide, declared, “Compatible Sentinels don’t come along everyday, take it from someone who had to search for a couple of decades before he found his. My advice is to be careful in how you treat her now, unless you’re willing to find yourself out in the cold later.  Never burn your bridges, son.”

“You really think she’s gonna test up to Alpha level,” JD asked uncertainly, biting at the corner of his bottom lip while thinking over everything his mentor had just said.

“Yeah,” Buck said honestly, “I do, but maybe you ought to quit worrying so much about rankings and start thinking about feelings.” 

The older Guide leaned back in his chair in a very relaxed, unthreatening sprawl, and watched one of his star pupils look back at him blankly. 

“I want you to do something for me,” he ordered softly. “I want you to think about how she makes you feel whenever she’s around, and then how you feel whenever she’s not there.  Then I want you to imagine what it would be like to know that you were never, ever going to be able to see her or talk to her, or, more importantly, feel her emotions brushing up against yours again.  I believe when you ponder on it awhile from that perspective then you’ll know if she’s the right one for you, and nothing else will matter.”

JD went pale as he followed his mentor’s instructions, and Buck knew the young man had finally grasped the lesson he was trying to teach him. 

“One last word of advice before I shut up,” Buck told him.  “It would go a long way, stand for a whole hell of a lot, if you chose to bond with her BEFORE she takes the ratings test again.  It’ll show her that it’s really HER you’re wanting and not just an Alpha.  It would mean something special that you believe in her enough to accept the risk because she’s worth it to you.”  Buck gave JD’s hand a final squeeze then let go.  “Think about it.”

JD still looked a little pale, and a bit dazed as he looked back at Buck.  “I...I...”he stammered, his head swimming with new thoughts and feelings.  “Th...thanks, Buck,” he finally whispered.

Buck smiled back at him happily, pretty sure he would be hearing an announcement of a new bonding in the near future.  “You’re welcome, kid.  I’m glad if I could help you get your head on straight.   You go think on what I told you, and remember I’m here if you need me, okay?”

“Yeah,” JD managed to smile back at his mentor as he pushed his chair back and rose to his feet, “I know.”   

The Guide looked at his watch and then gasped.  “Oh, man!  I’m gonna be late for Sentinel Carey’s class.  He’s gonna make me sit in the front row and stare at me for the whole class if I’m late again!  I gotta run.  See you later, Buck, and thanks again!”

Buck chuckled as JD sprinted out of the cafeteria dodging through the tables and groups of waiting diners with more speed than grace.

 Part 1  Part 2   Part 3

Home    Thousandth Man Main Page