My Wasteland Angel Bk. 01

She looks at me. I still had no clue.

She smiles. "In the bible...men's emissions are semen, women's are blood." My brow curls together, what the hell was she on about? "I realized the more I thought about it...in the bible... Willow, listen, according to God...you're a man. You have a penis, you like women, you have...er...emissions." My face falls as I look at her in rapidly rising annoyance. She strokes my cheek. "I know, I know! You think you're a woman. That's okay, that's okay Willow. But in God's eyes...you're a man and...and I'm a woman...and...and we're both mutants. So it is proper...um...I mean we're still in sin as long as we aren't married but...but that's pretty common right? Even the...humans do that. I mean...um...am I making any sense to you here?"

So she fucked me because she had convinced herself that she wasn't human and that I was a man? I had such a mix of emotions in that moment. On the one hand I was overjoyed to be with her. Simply overjoyed. And yet, after hearing of her thinking process before our love making, I felt like she had convinced herself of things she might not truly believe. On top of it all...I wasn't a fucking man!

She rests her hands on my chest. "Are you angry?"

I nod.

She gives me a guilty look. "I knew you would be. Willow...I...I'll call you a woman. Okay?"

"AM woman." I assert.

"Okay, okay. Please don't be mad."

For the life of me I don't know why I say it but I then add. "Gabby...human! Willow...woman!"

The flinch I see come across her fine features makes me instantly regret my callous unthinking words. Her shoulders slump. "No, it's not true, but...it's okay if we say so. But...we should be honest in our hearts Willow. We should be honest to...Him."

There is a moment of tension between us before I finally pull her in for a long firm embrace. I could feel her let out a breath and relax as she puts her arms around me to return the hug.

Part 22:

The next three days were some of the happiest of my life.

Now that we had shelter of a sort, weapons, and some food it was time to allow my body to heal. It was decided that, in order to hasten my recovery, I would stop using my damaged voice and arm and throbbing ankle. I wanted to do more but Gabby, convincingly, argued that a few days of total rest and recovery while we were in such an advantageous situation would be more beneficial in the long run. She said she could handle the day to day work and that I should save my strength for when we were eventually forced to move. She explained that unless it rained again soon our water supply would not last long. In other words we might be forced to be on the move before too long and I need to be in the best shape possible before that happened. It was a good point so I agreed. Gabby actually seemed to enjoy looking after me and, as much as I hated to admit it, it felt pretty nice to be looked after.

Unfortunately, during this period of total rest, sex was also put on hold. Gabby believed it would help if I didn't strain anything. I wanted it, I wanted it bad, but there would be plenty of time once I was better. Also...that first round actually had taken it out of me. My arm, leg, and throat were terribly sore in the aftermath of our first coupling. It had been worth it, but it didn't help in my recovery.

During this time Gabriela and I only grew closer despite my self imposed vow of silence. She would talk and talk and I would happily listen. She opened up more and more as we spent our hours together. I discovered her to have a quirky playful sense of humor, a keen intelligence, as well as a very active imagination. She would talk about odd and kooky things that my practical mind would never have even dreamt of.

There would also be times of quiet as well. These times were wonderful as we just appreciated being in the presence of each other, all of the simple little non-verbal gestures and expressions doing every bit as much to cement our bond as anything else. We also became ever more comfortable around each other physically. Gabby had always liked to sit close to me, but now we would link arms or rest our heads on one another or stroke the other as they rested. And there were so many hugs and cuddles. I held her in my arms every chance I got.

The time was thankfully uneventful. We heard no more gunshots, no people find our hidden little oasis, and, outside of some minor annoyances, we had little real trouble with the elements or the wildlife. Gabby filled her days with limited local scrounging and basic chores. I filled mine with rest, light exercise, and helping out where I could. I stripped both Gabby's pistol as well as my gun and gave them each a good cleaning and once over. Both were in good shape.

With little else to do we finish the detective book, what we have of it anyways as the last part had been torn off. Gabby spends a lot of time talking about and guessing what might have happened in the last few chapters. She is very animated as she talks over the different possibilities. Having the ending denied to us was a blessing in disguise as it gave my blossoming little companion something to occupy her active mind with. It was my opinion that the different endings that she came up with were likely far better than the actual one. Though I might have been a bit biased.

Once the book was finished I would repeatedly offer Gabby the porno mag and point to the short stories printed within. She would give it a go but it would always end in a round of bashful blushing giggles which never failed to get me laughing as well. I could tell she enjoyed the stories, but having to read them out loud always made her crack up.

As I get to know her more and more, and watch her true vibrant and open personality steadily reveal itself to me, I can't help but imagine how miserable her lonely frightened existence had been before she had decided to save me. Gabby was no quiet hermit, that was no life for her.

There were only two things that mildly soured the otherwise perfect few days. The first was all of the religious nonsense. The more I heard it the less I liked it. I try hard to respect her beliefs, but it all sounded like so much bullshit to me. It sounded like a bunch of rules and stories used to control and manipulate otherwise good people. I honestly couldn't believe that such a smart woman could take this stuff so seriously. It drove me crazy. Whenever she would get going on the topic I would try to distract her. It rarely worked.

The second had to do with our conversation after we had had sex. I was concerned about how she had so suddenly identified herself as a mutant. She would bring up again and again how she wasn't human and how foolish she had been to ever believe that she was. It all sounded too self deprecating to me. It was as if she was tearing down who she was. As if that part of her life had been one big deception. As if she had no right to identify as a pure human. As if she didn't deserve to be called human. The underlying assumption behind it all being: humans are superior. And then there was the other thing she had told me. It colored everything between us. It was hard to describe. Just the way she would talk about me and to me, the way she would encourage certain things and not emphasize others, the way she seemed to classify me as something other than her. She was treating me like a man. She would call me a woman, she would use the proper pronouns, but there was a falsity to it that grated at me. With everything else being so good between us I let it slide, for now.

By the end of the third day I was starting to go stir crazy. I needed to do something. This rest was getting to be too much for me. I decided that ready or not tomorrow would be the day I got back on my feet for good. I was also excited to really start talking again. Days of almost complete silence had made my throat feel immensely better, but it did make for a lot of one sided conversations.

On the morning of the fourth day I wake early. As usual we lay together. I gently kiss the back of her head then carefully pull myself away from Gabriela. Her body temperature was coming back down to normal and I knew it wouldn't be too long until she woke up, but I wanted to let her sleep as long as possible. I tuck her under our cover, grab my knife and gun, then quietly make my way outside. As I rise to my full height and stretch I cannot help but grin. I was feeling good. Damn good. There was nothing like feeling bad to make you realize how good it felt to feel normal and healthy. The pain in my ankle was gone. It felt tight, but no pain whatsoever. The burns along my side still stung but it was far less than it had been. And the raw fiery feeling through my throat and nose was almost nonexistent.

I take a long deep breath and feel the cool moist morning air fill my lungs. I admire the rosy orange glow of dawn and the listen to the jubilant melody of a nearby songbird as it greets the day. I had never felt more alive.

I head to the fire pit and get it going. Using a dented pot Gabby had found along with some flowers and herbs she had gathered yesterday I make some tea. It smelled a lot better than it tasted, but I was still happy for it. I wander the area, pot held by the handle, and sip my hot bitter beverage as I scout our perimeter.

It is not long before I hear Gabby wake. There is some rustling around inside before she finally appears outside. She rubs her eyes and looks over at me.

"Good morning Willow." She says in a dry waking voice.

I take another sip of tea and smile. "Good morning Gabriela. Would you like some tea?"

My voice! It was back. And almost sounding normal. Just a bit husky still, but I actually sounded like me again.

Gabby looks at me, almost startled by my clear articulate words. "Oh...oh my! Your voice!"

I approach her demonstrating a steady confident stride, my cane nowhere to be seen. I offer her the pot. She takes it absently, her focus was still on me as she looked me up and down.

"Do you like it?" I ask, referring to my voice.

"Uh...yeah, of course. Wow!" She takes a sip from the pot. "It...it's different. It's...wow. Very...nice."

Different. There was that familiar false tone in her voice again. I could tell what she was thinking. It was more feminine than she was expecting. Gone was the gravely rasp and the low pitch that had been necessary to keep me from coughing from days ago. My Orcish voice was naturally deeper than hers, but it was unmistakably the voice of a woman.

I lean down and kiss her. "Thank you. It will be nice to actually talk to you now." I then add with a wink. "Maybe I can do some of the reading...from our magazine."

She blushes, shakes her head, and laughs. "That would be what you thought about first, wouldn't it?"

I grin proudly. "Hey, what can I say? I'm a lover of fine literature."

She giggles. "Fine literature? That smut?"

"Sure! Why not?" Before she can say anything else I add. "And before you ask, yes, I am feeling GREAT! I want to do something today. I NEED to do something to day. I can't handle another day sitting around here."

"Wow, you are feeling better aren't you?" She takes another drink of tea then hands the pot back to me.

I take another long drink then say. "Yep." I give her a lingering look. "I'm up for anything you want to do Gabby. Anything at all."

Gabby catches the heavy insinuation and blushes once more. "Okay then." She cocks an eyebrow and gives me an impish smile. "Anything? Hmm. Well. In that case..." I wait in hope. "...let's go check out that house we saw a few days back."

I laugh. "You little tease."

She waggles a finger at me with a laugh. "Work first. But, if you want some time alone with your...er...literature...I can make myself scarce."

I chuckle. "I'll wait."

She slides her arms around my waist and looks up at me. "I thought you might say that."

We kiss again.

End of Part 1