Laurel

" I am sorry that Mishka ruined your perfectly good morning Winston, but as we both know," She pauses and looks into his stony face, "children can be a pain in the ass sometimes."

He chuckles, "How are you so young and understand this?" Once again he felt a warmth towards this young woman and he held out his arms to invite a hug, and to his surprise, she obliged.

When the brothers walked into the house and saw Laurel and Winston, they stood there gobsmacked, and looked at one another in amazement. Here was their military father, who was always so strict and cold, a warm genuine smile on his face and his arms around Laurel. He was gently rubbing her back and had his face pressed lightly onto the top of her head so as not to hurt her.

"Let us not worry about him," He holds her back and lifts her chin, "Let us worry about taking care of you and making it so that things are better and easier for you. I must say, I thought that you were a very disorganized young person, but after further investigating," He pauses and looks over at the boys, "I am amazed at not only the clarity and cleverness of where everything is laid out in your yard, but by the way you have it in almost alphabetical order."

 " I do not have OCD, well, maybe not full on OCD. I just like things, where I can find them easily." She tells them reaching for her coffee, "I don't like mislaying things and then have to dig to find it. If it is right there, labeled and in a basket, well that is just fine with me."

"You don't like to have to look more than once, I get it. Perhaps, if you are up to it, you and my sons would like to come out and see what we are doing? I will have many new boxes and carts being built just to hold your parts, that way it will be much easier for you and every cart can be labeled." 

"That would be amazing! Especially if it can be removed and a new one put on for the next car!" She says excitedly, "So, once I get a few of these cars moved, I can have the Batmobile sent to me! Yes! Thank you!"

"Batmobile?" Alexi asks.

"Well, it isn't the actual Batmobile, it is basically the skin, everything under it is gone. Think cockpit, and everything else pertaining to the plane, isn't there. I need to find the right chassis to go under it, more wiring to wire up the electronic parts, and my two favorite contractors to help me with the body, the muffler and transmission when the time comes."

"Wait," Ivan asks, "I thought you did all of work?"

"Oh, I do as much of it as I can. You see, I think that the work of others should get some recognition, like Warrens Auto body and Paints, they did amazing work on HELLBENT. So too, did Stevens Transmissions and Mufflers, which is why in the back corners of the back window, I have a sticker from both shop."

"I never paid attention to that," Alexi says.

"Talented people, like them, who work hard and never get noticed, should get noticed. Every time I take my truck to car shows, I make sure that people know who did the work other than myself. Now, both shops are booming." She smiles and sips at her coffee, "Which is why.."

"Why?"

"I have a few trucks out there, one of them I think is right for Ivan," she sips again, "It is like an old farmall truck, that would carry produce into the cities. They are called International Harvester Trucks, or farmall and I think you would like it."

"For me?"

"Yes, for you." She chides him, " Your brothers all have cars or trucks, you should have one too."

Alexi, thinking quickly adds, "Wait, but what will this cost us?"

"Ah, now he gets it," She quips, "it will be wrapped with the names of all the businesses that have worked on the truck, AND if you put new tires on it," she adds as she starts to walk out of the room, "We can add your shop too!"

Yuri interjects, "You're serious about this? Trusting my little brother with one of your trucks."

"Well," She reenters with fresh coffee, "It is a partnership, much like a relationship, both sides must work together to coexist. I call it "An Awkward Dance with Romance," because it will either work and things go smashingly or after a bit of grumbling, everyone calls it quits."

Winston is very impressed with this girl, "How old are you again?"

"I will be twenty two on the twenty second of next month to be exact." She tells him, "Is there something wrong with my age?"

"No, I just do not understand how you can be so wise, and so young."

"Oh, not so wise as you may think. I have been burned, trust me." She sets down her coffee and pats his arm, "It was a learning experience and let's just say, after that...I never do anything without a contract." She smiles a knowing smile and proceeds to leave the room only to return with documents that she hands to Winston.

"What are these?"

"They cover your ass and mine." 

"Cover?"

"Yes, for insurance purposes and construction and all of the other things, this proves that you and yours are doing all of this, and I am merely a bystander. That, my insurance rates will rise, no biggie, but that I had no hand in the purchase nor construction of what is going on out there."

"You thought of everything," He signs the form after reading it carefully.

"I am not so sure about that, I may have missed more, which is why I sent a message to my agent and a few others to lend a hand." She lays the documents on a side table, "Now, let us go have a look at what you have done."

Marching out into the yard, the boys could clearly see how quickly things were progressing, so much more had been organized and stored in different areas. Every car, truck and her semi were neatly arranged. Of course, this is only a few of the vehicles that she had had, she had a lot more a few months ago.

Now, all that was left was her truck a 1950 chevy 3100 truck, a 1965 Ford Falcon Sprint with a V8 under the hood, a 1957 Plymouth Fury in its original color of Buckskin beige, a 1920's Ford Model T, a 1934 Studebaker four door Commander, a 1949 International KB5 Farmall truck. Oh, now what are the others she thinks as she pulls on her steel toed boots, it will come to me.

A song runs through her head as she walks out towards the others, Def Leppard's " Have You Ever Needed Someone so Bad," and she just start singing it without even noticing that she had begun. Her mood had risen as she anticipated what work had begun and all that was to come. 

"I gotta have you baby," is sung by about ten or twelve of Winston's men when she gets to the chorus and she smiles and soon there are more singing with her. She pointed at them and smiled so big, that not only Yuri, but his brothers and father felt such love and warmth that they too tried to sing along.

"Good song!" Many called out after they had finished. She went and inquired about how they know these songs and what else they liked and Winston allowed them time to talk with her and discuss music, art and whatever else she was curious about. He did not care, she was a light that he had not known in a time, a joy to be around. He wondered though, "does she have a darkside?"

"What is that look about?" She had surprised him. 

"I was just wondering," he responded.

"Wondering?"

"Do you have a darkside?"

"Oh, Lt. Colonel, EVERYONE has a darkside. It is just according to how far down the rabbit hole they have fallen."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there are your basics: Liars, cheaters, thieves the ones that are offensive but not over the hill. Then your medians: Drugs, alcohol, blackmail, you know, petty stuff that is terrible and you should not overlook, but not as bad as your GMs.  The GMs or grand monsters: Murder, rape, abductors, serial killer kind of stuff."

"So," he glances at her, "where does that leave you?"

"You mean am I a killer? Or do I lie, cheat, steal?" She shakes her head, "I can get angry," she looks him in the eyes, but I have never hurt anyone...well, I gave a guy a black eye once. I don't steal, lying and cheating is disgusting. Not into drugs or alcohol, and blackmail? I may have to blackmail you and yours into more work." She grins. 

Winston laughs, "You are surprising."

"Uh, guys," Ivan bumps Yuri, and grabs Alexi by the shoulder, "Did you hear that?"

"Dad is laughing." Alexi is frozen in fear.

"What has she done to him?" Ivan says and looks at Yuri.

The men under Winston had all stopped to stare at their commander, they too were shocked by this sudden outburst of laughter and could not understand what had caused him to act so informal. Some just shrugged, but a few, his top men; all walked over to see if he is okay. Perhaps he needed help, or she was torturing him? What in the name of all that is U-leyla was she doing to their leader?

"Sir, is everything okay over here?" Vorn asks.

Lt. Colonel Michael Winston felt like he did as a younger man, a boy actually, when there was joy in his heart and a world full of hope lay ahead on the planet Earth. Before he had to succumb to the will of the elders and become a hunter. One who hunted his own people, because not bonding with a human or another of their kind slowly destroys them. 

"It is great," He smiles as he turns to look at Vorn, "For the first time, in a long time Vorn, I feel like my old self again."