The Borrower and Her Bean (complete)

Part 16

Henry chuckled with amusement at the view before him. It had taken the boys all day to get ready but here they were. In front of him stood Carson, Greg, Pam, Elisha and Lina they all had large grins on their face at their ingenuity and he had to agree with their grins. You see the last time they operated the computer Carson had been saved from falling to his death by Henry's large hand. Well instead of his hand to protect them they had gaffa taped two pencils to either end of the desk. Stretched between said pencils, and he wondered where they found it, was black netting that would have been fishnet stockings. He continued to chuckle as he reached the group "I like it, where did you find the material?" Carson stifled a laugh as he said "you don't want to know what the couple next door get up to" this caused the group to fall apart in fits of laughter.

Once they had composed themselves he looked at the computer. This was the first time he had been here since he had shrunk and the new dimensions were daunting. With the extra three borrowers, the keyboard was covered, with fewer keys per person, there was less chance of a fall like last time. However, his task of manoeuvring the mouse was completely different. Instead of a hand effortlessly moving and clicking the mouse he would have to drape his body over it using his strength to push the mouse and his hands to click and roll the wheel. First steps were to push the start button on the tower, this was accomplished by the boys, Carson stood on Greg's shoulders, pushing with two hands the button, showing Henry how they had started it in the past.

The whirring of the machine was music to his ears. They divided the keyboard up amongst the 5 borrowers and Henry took his position. After managing to open the internet browser and type in his email address Henry was exhausted. Sweat pouring off his body he leaning back on his feet and tried to think of a better solution. Glancing up at the keyboard he saw Lina looking at him in concern, she looked at the mouse then at the others. Hopping down from the Shift key she moved towards him. A cautious look on her face she whispered softly so the others could not hear "Are you ok?" scratching his now growing beard he replied with a frustrated voice "I didn't realise how much physical strength this would take. I'm strong but the kind of exertion needed to do this is proving too much. But I don't want to make the keyboard dangerous but removing one of you to help me." Her face softened at his admission, she looked back at the keyboard and studied the formation.

Melina loved that he was more concerned with the safety of his fellow borrowers that his own comfort. However, after looking at the keyboard and where the others were stationed she felt that it would be safe to reassign the keys. Not wanting to diminish his protective concerns she softly added her thoughts to the situation " I appreciate you wanting to protect us, Henry, what happened last time was not just because of the keyboard but also Carson's exuberance causing him to fall. I think we can shuffle them across a bit and you and I can manoeuvre the mouse. If I'm on one side and you're on the other we would be able to control the mouse with less physical effort." she watched his face as he continued to scratch his jaw, finally, a small smile pulled at his mouth "Thank you, Lina, I just didn't want anyone to get hurt this time. Your idea is a good one" He pulled forward and wrapped her in a quick sweaty hug.

The new arrangement proved more effective and they had been able to address the many emails he had waiting since his change in size. There was only two of the many that were of interest, one was from his Agent, it was an urgent request to call her, the other was a reminder that his favourite NFL team was playing this week. The first email he responded with a short reply " lost my voice, I can call but won't be able to communicate, can we email instead?" the second was fun, maybe he could set up the phone again and he could introduce the borrowers to the world of American football. Once he was finished, he looked at the boys and asked: "so what game would you like to play?"

Carson and Greg looked at each other quietly whispering as they discuss the options "well, we have seen 'The Witcher' maybe we should now play it as well?" laughing Henry agreed and together they selected the game. For the next few hours, tiny shouts could be heard bouncing around the room as they bounced around the keyboard. The most fun he had was watching the joy on Lina's face as they pushed and pulled the mouse, hitting left and right and laughing at each other with delight when they had successfully helped Geralt fight the monster.

Just as the sun dipped low the now tired but happy group moved down the ropes and into the shadows prepared for Sandy's arrival. He was grateful for Sandy, thanks to her his boy were fed walked and happy. Kal had also adapted well to the new little people occupying their house and he attributed it to his energy levels being taken care of on the walk. That night Kal even let Henry climb upon his neck and carrying him from their room down to the kitchen where the others were eating. He had loved the feel of Kals fur under his body his hands gripping for dear life and the adrenaline rush as Kal had bounded down the stairs.

The next few days had followed a similar pattern, he would wake in the dollhouse Lina sleeping across the hall. They would be out in the morning in the house finding fun things to do like painting, computer games and exploring. In the afternoon, they would explore the more hidden places. Going for walks in the attic spaces between the homes, and visiting Pam and Elisha's home. Melina and the boys spent many hours teaching Henry the skills he needed to survive the life of a borrower. He was still apprehensive about how he could support Lina as a borrower but as he gained confidence using the strength he had spent many years developing to pull himself up the shoestring rope to reach food, and other items they might need he grew more comfortable.

That night as they sat around the food Sandy had put out he looked at the group who now felt like family. The last week he had grown closer with them all, the only one who he had not spent any alone time with was Lina. Each night he had been exhausted and fell into a slumber as soon as they made it to there respective rooms. Tonight he was going to change that, he was adjusting to the level of energy he needed and now he wanted to spend some time with her. Tapping her on the shoulder he waited as she concluded her conversation with her mother and turned to him. "Melina, I was wondering if you could show me the windowsill tonight?" her eyes took on a bright sparkle as she nodded. They turned to the group and said good night.
A/N I hope you all had a nice Christmas. Selah