Growing Into It

By Purple Lacey

Part 7
 

“Uh, Mom,” Buck hurriedly began, but the crimson-suited woman held up a hand and the man that had a foot of height and a almost hundred pounds on her immediately shut up with a snap of his jaw. 

“I got the basics from the guards downstairs,” she said meaningfully. 

He winced and hung his head in disgrace for causing such a scandal. 

She gazed on him with motherly exasperation, shaking her head, and sighing as she walked across the room to him. Sharee stopped beside him and ruffled his hair as if he were indeed a five year old boy again. 

“What am I going to do with you?” She asked softly, the love she felt for him clear in her voice and eyes despite the stern look she gave him.  “You should know better.”

“I’m sorry, Mom,” he answered sincerely.

She shook her head again and replied gently, “It isn’t me you should be apologizing to.”

Buck sighed and threw a forlorn look toward the vent grate and said, “I know.  I’ve been trying to, but I don’t think I’m getting through at all.”  Miserable, worried blue eyes looked up at his life-long source of comfort as he whispered, “What am I gonna do if he doesn’t forgive me?”

Sharee Wilmington had been coming in for a late lunch with Mary Douglas, a long time friend who worked in the Guild’s Guide Education Department. She had met the friendly, outgoing Guide many years ago, when Buck first came to the Guild Hall, and had developed an immediate friendship with her while Mary had tried to educate Sharee on what exactly it meant to be the mother of an Guild empath. Once she had gotten settled in to Maris’ and Steven Larabee’s guest room, Sharee had called her old friend, and arranged to meet in one of the Guild restaurants.    

Sharee had come in the front door of the Guild Hall a few minutes earlier for her lunch appointment, and been barraged with the news of what had happened between her son and his small Sentinel.  She had known right away that her son would be feeling awful right about now, as would the newest member of her little family.  Her mother’s heart cried out for her to make it all better for her loved ones.

Sharee’s face softened and she gracefully knelt beside her son, and wrapped her arms around him. Buck dived into them and the solace they offered, laying his head on her shoulder and holding on tightly.  She began to rock him gently just as she had as a child when he had been frightened by the monsters in the dark.  She kissed the top of his head and shushed him.  She could feel the slight tremors that ran through him as his despair and fear that he had irreparably ruined things between him and Vin manifested.

“Shh, it will be alright.  You made a mistake.  That just means you are human, Buck. What is important is that you know it. That’s the first step to mending it.  You need to work with Vin to set things right.”

“I want to, but I can’t get him to listen to me.  I hurt him, and now he doesn’t want to be around me anymore.  He put up a wall, and I...I can’t reach him,” Buck said with such unhappiness that Sharee’s heart ached for him.  

Sharee held her son as her mind sorted through the information she had and finally made a decision. She knew that the pair was too overwrought and emotional right now to deal with each other with any degree of rationality.  What they both needed was someone to step in and serve as a windbreak in the emotional gale that was blowing everything out of proportion for them.  Someone to calm things down, and let the natural bond between Sentinel and Guide reassert itself. 

Sharee pushed away from Buck and stood up, tugging on his hands until he rose as well.  She held him at arm’s length, putting on what a teenaged Buck had privately labeled as her I-brought-you-into-this-world-and-I-can-take-you-out-so-don’t-mess-with-me face.

“I want you to go on downstairs and wait,” she ordered, and preempted Buck’s instinctive protest by throwing up her finger in a stop motion that he responded to with an almost Pavlovian conditioning.  “I know you want to make things right with Vin, but I think he and his new granny need to talk a bit first.”

“But Mom,” Buck tried to object only to fall silent as his mother let go of his hand and placed her hands on her hips.   

He had to drop his eyes from her stern stare.  The woman’s face softened, and she reached out to clasp Buck’s face between her palms.  She leaned forward as she used her grip on his face to pull him down to her level.  Her lips brushed his forehead softly.

“Trust me, Bucklin,” she whispered reassuringly and Buck had no choice but to give in.   Sharee looked over at the watching Chris and said, “Can you clear everybody out of here, and make sure Vin and I are alone?”

“Consider it done,” Chris assured her with a small, one-sided smile and walked out to carry out her request. 

Larabee knew he could have used his position as Guild Master, and ranking Elite to order Vin to come out of the duct, but he really did not want to resort to that unless absolutely necessary.   He and Vin were still getting to know each other.  He wanted to keep his relationship with the boy as amiable as possible at this point, since the child would be living in his home for many years to come.  Chris believed that if he started throwing his weight around so soon into their relationship, Vin might quickly come to resent it and rebel.  He might have been young but he was an Elite after all.  Chris did not need that complication in their lives right now.  He was still adjusting to his new bonding with Ezra, and did not want to waste the time and energy on fighting dominance battles with another Elite – even as sure as the outcome would be at this stage - when he could be using them to get closer to his Guide.   

He also knew full well there were times when the velvet glove was more constructive than the iron fist, and Sharee Wilmington was a past master at wielding it to get the results she wanted.  Having witnessed the woman’s brains and determination at work many times in the past, he had no doubt that if anyone could get Vin to come out of his hiding place voluntarily, and straighten out the mess the newly bonded pair had made for themselves then it would be Sharee Wilmington because the woman just simply did not know how to give up.

The pair inside the apartment could hear Chris ordering everyone back to whatever they were doing, and the scuffling sound of feet quickly complying.  Sharee nodded her head toward the door, and her son sighed deeply before rising to his feet, and reluctantly walking away.  He paused in the doorway and threw a pleading glance to his mother, not wanting to leave his Sentinel.  It took Sharee finally saying “Go on now” to get him to finally leave, feet dragging with every step.  

tbc

Part 6     Part 7    Part 8



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