The Devil's Mercy

Chapter 5

"Would you like more tea, sir?" Hope asked lifting the tiny tea pot from the small table in the room Mercia was in.

"I would, thank you, miss." Oskar answered from around his laptop. That was the deal. She would read, color, or play tea party but he had to work too. She understood and acclimated well.

It helped that Oskar was able to divide his attention well.

She made the sound of liquid pouring sloppily into the tiny cup to his right. Earning as small smile from him.

"You don't smile very much, do you, Major?" The child asked off-handedly. He was getting used to her forthright questions. Anytime something popped into her head, she didn't hold it back. No fear. No reason to fear.

He let the question hang for a minute before answering her. Finishing up an email to the interior designer he had working on a particular project at a restaurant. After it was sent he closed the laptop. "No. I haven't had a reason to in a long time."

The four top had him, her, and two stuffed animals seated. Mr. Bubbles and Mrs. Moppet. Not original but at least she named them. She had given him a funny look when he had bought them for her last week when he took her shopping for slippers. She had wanted the table too. He had agreed as long as she got two stuffed animals to sit at the table as well.

Tomorrow Jace would pull Mercia out of her sedation. Today he was trying to get as much done as possible. For the next two months he would be completely focused on her and her recovery. There was also the added bonus of her testimony that was needed for the trial.

Set to start on Monday. Tomorrow was Wednesday. That didn't leave them much time to get her at least somewhat mobile. Jace had shown Oskar how to massage and move Mercia's limbs to keep the muscles from atrophy over the last weeks. Giving Oskar more contact with the unconscious young woman. Making his emotions even more tangled than they already were.

As if reading his thoughts, Hope's eyes moved to the hospital bed. "When is she going to wake up. I miss her."

"Tomorrow, baby girl." Oskar answered on a sigh. As much as he wanted his face to be the first thing Mercia saw. Hope's would be better. More calming and would hopefully allow him to explain without the young woman going into hysterics.

It was a very real possibility that Mercia's mind was still stuck on that night. He and Jace had discussed that outcome of pulling the sedation. So with a heavy heart and not a little disappointment, he had to allow Hope to be the one to sit with Mercia. He and Jace would be outside the room.

The child remained steadily quiet, lost in her own thoughts as she colored a picture of a rabbit in a basket. Her hand moved steadily with the purple crayon on the paper. She finished with the color for the basket and set it down to grab a new one. Her eyes lifted to Oskar's face. His eyes on her but they looked far away.

The only question she had for when Mercy woke up. The only question that mattered on the tip of her tongue. "Will the bad men take Mercy again?"

The softly spoken words forced Oskar's mind to an abrupt halt. According to Melanie, Mercia had shielded Hope from all of it since she was born. The librarian had found the preteen with the newborn in the basement of the library four days after Hope was born. The young girl trying desperately to feed a colicky baby.

To hear Hope speak like that made him wonder just how much Hope had observed. "No. The bad men will never take your sister again." He vowed. "If you ever feel scared or think that you might me in danger. You call for me. I'll always be there."

The weight of his vow creased her little eyebrows over her innocent eyes. "And Lieutenant?"

His head moved in a small nod. "Yes, and Lieutenant."

Her face relaxed into that small smile that always seemed present. Despite everything, Hope was a happy, well-rounded, precocious child. Full of life, inquisitive, and independent.

She also had all twenty-seven men in this house tied around her little finger. Oskar being the first in that line. He wanted as close of a bond as he could get with the child. He knew it was just setting himself and the kid up for heartbreak when he walked away, but he wanted her to remember him.

If the girls ever got in trouble and needed him, he didn't want there to be fear when he arrived. Anger he could deal with. Fear would tear his soul apart.

She colored for another second while Oskar took a sip of the invisible tea. Her eyes flicked to the bed then back to him. "She won't like that."

He chuckled at her serious tone. "I'm aware. Which is why I'm counting on you to make that call, baby girl. She's too stubborn."

The tea party ended when Melanie came to collect Hope for her work books. The child was being homeschooled by the librarian. No public school since Hope looked so much like her sister. Easily recognizable. Private school had been out of the librarian and Mercia's reach.

Hope's anticipation of her sister finally waking grew through the rest of the day. Made clear when she continued to bring it up even at dinner that night.

"Mercy's going to be so surprised." Hope gushed over her mashed potatoes and roast beef.

"By what?" Oskar asked piling four asparagus onto the child's plate to his left. He insisted that he be the one who helped Hope during meals.

Hope took a small bite of the green vegetable before answering. "Everything." She answered meeting his eyes before taking another bite of the food. "She always said that no one could be trusted. That no one cared. But I knew there was someone out there who does."

Her eyes were innocent but her tone mimicked her sister's thoughts perfectly. Oskar had read every single entry in the journals. All of them ending just like that.

Those words still sparked his anger. Swallowing hard on a sip of water he forced a smile. "You are the smartest little girl I have ever met."

After dinner, Hope dragged Oskar into the living room and forced him to sit on the couch. Grabbed her favorite book and climbed into his lap. This was a routine that had started the second night in the large house. She had singled him out easily.

The first time had him thoroughly confused and uncomfortable. Roy had tried to warm the child up to him. Especially since he had taken a liking to Melanie. But the child had shown only mild interest.

With her head resting comfortably against his chest. Her legs between his thighs. She opened the book and started to read quietly.

It wasn't a princess story as one would assume for a child her age. This one was about a courageous little puppy who had lost her parents. It was an endearing story.

Oskar listened attentively as the child read. Memorizing the feel of her on his lap. The warmth of her small body against his. He had two months to savor this time. To relish in this child's admiration and love.

After the story Melanie forced Hope to go upstairs for her bath and pajamas. It was cute watching the child sulk away. Her head turning to cast little pouting faces at Oskar. That is where he drew the line on his bonding with her.

If she were his daughter, he would have a nanny do that part. He hadn't even done that with Olivia when she was small. It had felt strange to even get asked.

Roy took the other corner of the couch when Melanie and Hope disappeared upstairs. "I don't get it. You look like a mean son of a b***h and I get coolness where you get all the kisses and hugs. What is it with that kid?"

Oskar chuckled because he knew the reason. "She remembers that I saved her that night." He went on to explain that Hope had gained consciousness while the others had gotten Melanie out of her apartment. "She had looked me straight in the eye and smiled that impish smile. 'I knew you would come for us'. Then she passed back out."

Roy stared at him in disbelief. "That's insane."

Oskar shrugged. "They're sisters. Apparently being spirited and tough as nails runs in the bloodline."

Oskar turned the conversation to the event of tomorrow morning. It awakening would happen while breakfast was being made. Give Mercia the best chance to get as much needed nutrition as possible. Hope would be a major player in making this a success. She would keep Mercia calm.

Roy raised a skeptical brow. While he hadn't read the journals, he had been in that room that night. Had seen the extent of damage done to the woman. He felt that Oskar was being too optimistic.

Hope's chatter and giggles silenced the men as she came down in her favorite purple nightgown with Melanie. At the foot of the stairs, she raced to Oskar for her good night hug and kiss on the cheek.

"When will we wake Mercy?" She asked again.

"In the morning, baby girl. Sleep well. We don't want you and your sister cranky." He teased gently. With a kiss to her forehead, he released her to follow Melanie back upstairs.

The usual IV was changed at midnight for clear saline to clean the sedative from Mercia's system through the night. According to basic science, she should wake up shortly after Hope woke up and joined Oskar in the room.

Science underestimated the force that was Mercia Anne James.