Pup

Chapter 5

Hank opened the bedroom door and found Oliver lying on his back looking up at the soft lights of blue planes swirling around his ceiling in a peaceful trance not making a sound or even acknowledging that Hank had walked in and with his toys.
"I think you may be missing these" he said lowering the bag to the floor. Oliver spun around to face him and rolled to his belly to his hands and knees like a startled animal. His eyes were frozen on Hank and his arms quivered slightly. It seemed that his past had a nasty hold on him by the way he froze when he saw Hank. The only difference was he actually relaxed and smiled after a few moments of looking up at Hank, taking a seat back on the floor waiting for him to talk.
"So you've found another surprise?" Hank smiled glancing at the ceiling and visually tracing the light back to its origin in the driver's seat of the car part of the bed.
"Another?" Oliver said perking up "are there more?" he shifted up to his knees to try and get closer look at his face.
"Well you tell me, here I've got your toys here for ya" Hank replied putting them slowly on the floor for him.
"My toys!!!" oliver squealed jumping to his knees and hugging them close and once he was satisfied he began to organize them on the floor in front of him examining them before putting them down.
"Why don't you bring those over here and put them on these you'll be able to find them easier" Hank said walking over the line of toys to the back wall of the room where two shelves hung neatly nailed to the wall. Oliver pushed himself off his belly and to his feet to fallow Hank to the corner of the room near the window where he got his look at the shelves which were also customized to Oliver's tastes. The first shelf was painted like a parking lot and the second upper shelve was painted like an air strip. Perfect for his small collection.
"Woah!!! That's cool!" oliver jumped on his tippy toes to try and get a better look. "Hold on hold on use this" hank laughed pulling out a stepstool from the side of a cubicle shelf next to them. Once the stool was in place Oliver was off running back and forth from the door where his toys were placed to the shelves across the room at an excited speed.
"Alright flash take it easy I'll be downstairs getting dinner" Hank said to oliver fondly before turning to the door.
"Okay! I'll be here" he replied distracted by the plane in his hands. Hank chuckled to himself walking down the stairs and reheating the dinner he made earlier that day. It already felt so natural to him having the little guy around and it was only the start. Two seats, two place settings, two occupants of the house, it all felt right for once. No doubt it'd be work but Hank wasn't estranged to effort. Now he was estranged to cooking and not grilling but he'd figure it out. He did when Camille died. Well, he tried, maybe not succeeded. But doubt wasn't something in his vocabulary. He'd do it one way or another.
He set their drinks down and walked up the stairs to where Oliver was just finishing up organizing his toys to his preference.
"You ready to eat?" Hank smiled getting Oliver's attention from the doorway. Oliver smiled and nodded pushing himself up to his feet quietly but contently. It was different from the loud and excited reactions he had received earlier but it could just be exhaustion. Their dinner was quiet, nearly silent with Oliver eating his food wearily, keeping his glance flickering from his plate to Hank then back again. It was a sudden and peculier behavioral change that wouldn't have been noticed by others. Hank was going to ask as he cleaned the dishes when they were done so Oliver could have more breathing room and not feel cornered when asked of this possible trauma. So after Hank put his dishes on the sink he walked over to Oliver's empty plate. Hank's instincts told him not to but it was already to late. Oliver had jabbed Hank's hand with the bottom of his fork. Hank reeled back with a sharp grunt and held his bleeding and stinging hand to see if what he just felt was actually there which it was. He didn't feel as angry as he was confused. He looked up at Oliver who was pale white in terror and despair. His body was was frozen solid and rigid in Hank's sight. It didn't even seem that he was breathing. Hank wiped the blood off his hand and grabbed a bandaid quickly from the cabinet before approaching Oliver carefully and unfazed.
"Oliver? You can put the fork down, you're not in danger I'm not going to hurt you" he said quietly as his hand met Oliver's stone cold grip.
"Just let the fork go." Oliver didn't move. Hank slipped his fingers under Oliver's thumb slowly and gained the leverage he needed to overpower his grip and release the fork from his hand which Hank pushed onto the floor and slid under the table with his foot. As Hank observed he made his hand take the space between Oliver's fingers where the fork was and held him still.
"There ya go that's it. Let's just talk. Can we do that?" he said in a gentle whisper. Oliver's eyes were glossed over and petrified, They were locking in focus but yet so lost. "Oliver... Oliver!" he said louder to t4ry and get his eyes to just shift over to his. Just a little shift was all he needed and his first sign of luck was a single blink, followed by another and another until his eyes twitched back to reality. His lungs forced in a jolt of air in, shocking him back to life. He let out a loud yelp and tried to rip his hands off the table but Hank's grip was to strong.
"Let me go! Let me go! Let me go! Please, please, don't, don't..don't....don't" he panted.
"Shhh it's okay it's okay. You're not gonna get hit, I just want to know why you're scared so I can help" Hank said honestly Oliver continued to struggle and panic for a few moments but when Hank's grip proved solid he settled back in his seat and grew tired of resisting. He curled his head into his chest, his hair covering his eyes as he whimpered, "I don't want to die!"
"Why do you think you were going to die?" Hank asked softly softening his grip on his arms. Oliver couldn't choke out an answer because he was still lost. But in the silence Hank was able to put his own answers together.
"They never fed you. But they fed themselves and those scary people right? Hank tried his first thought. Oliver nodded and sucked in a few breaths before answering, "I...I just wanted a little *ghasp* bu..bu..but *gulp* they'd get mad. I was just hungry! *ghasp* my belly hurt and *ghasp* and, and" Hank moved from his seat tjo Oliver's side as he visibly got more and more upset.
"Easy it's okay, you're okay. How about this? If you're still hungry I'll get you some more then you put your dishes in the sink when you're done so you'll get all the food you'll need. Does that sound good?" Oliver kept choking on his words so he just nodded in response. But he was still terrified, Hank could tell. He'd seen enough fear in his life but this was somehow different. Hank shifted to his knees and slowly wrapped his right arm around Oliver to see if he could pull him into a hug and to his surprise Oliver lowered himself shakily to the floor from his chair and folded into him out of fear and exhaustion. Hank wra[[ed his arms around the boy's fragile shoulder and patiently waited until he could breathe again. Hank then pushed Oliver back slowly until their eyes me,
"It's been a long day little man, why don't we get you to bed for now and in the morning I'll make a big breakfast in the mornin' how does that sound?" Oliver nodded and held on as Hank picked them both up and walked up the stairs to his room where it was clean and warm. Hank set Oliver on the bed and took out the first pair of pj's her could grab which had planes all over them. Oliver changed and threw his clothes on the floor opting to not get up tonight which Hank would allow this one time. Oliver snuggled into his blankets and clutched onto his stuffed dinosaur Bronn trying not to make a sound. Hank sat on the side edge of the bed blocking the light from the halfway and Oliver's glossy eyes which slowly wandered and swirled inside of his head. His movements were stiff and sore as he shifted himself in bed, turning away from Hank. Hank pulled up the sheets to his cold and clammy chin then walked over to the side Oliver's eyes were facing, slowly setting himself down to the floor as to not spook him. Even in the dark room gently lit by the planes above Oliver could still see Hank and in fear of him and himself he pushed away. Hank put his hands up on the side of the bed where he could see them and spoke,
"Oliver..I just want you to listen. I'm not mad at you. You did what you did because you were scared and hurt. I understand that. I also understand that you did what you did to survive and eat and that's none of your fault. Okay? None of this was your fault." He slowly extended his hand on the bed with his palm facing up towards the quivering Oliver. "I'm here to help you Ollie, not hurt you." Hank's voice was such a gentle whisper that the rasp disappeared from his voice almost completely and left only a wisp that drifted between him and Oliver. With the light from the hall casted on Hank's face Oliver could see every inch of his expression which seemed soft and quiet. Not loud and painful like before. The little hope in his eyes kicked in his little chest causing his hand to inch into Hank's. His fingers curled up and around his causing them to disappear into the warmth that was his worn old hand. But it still had it's soft spots and Oliver was able to find each one which melted the fear from his body slowly. Oliver pulled Hank's hand to his chest and rested the bridge of his nose on his knuckles then closed his eyes for a moment, breathing in and out normal again. Then his eyes shifted and focused on Hank's, "Mr.Hank? Umm." His face falterted away in sheepishness.
Hank tilted his head waiting for his response patiently,
"Umm, emily rubbed my back to help me sleep. Could..you?". Hank's smile grew across his face and he answered,
"I could do that, it may not be the best but I can do that." Hank shifted to his side and reached right hand around to his back. Just from the first slow, wide circles up to his shoulders and all the way down his back Oliver melted into a peaceful slumber in minutes. When his stirring stopped Hank took that as his sign that he could leave Oliver to peacefully sleep while he went downstairs and took a look at the pictures and videos Emily had given him. Once downstairs he poured himself a drink and slipped the first disk in with the album open next to him. But once the TV flickered and it began Hank couldn't just watch the first one