Another story idea I came up with. I only own Chelsea, Matthew, Rachel, Sasha, Bianca, and Isaac Forhowser. All other characters belong to their respective owners.


These Teeth Don't Bite

Chelsea came home from school and looked around in hopes of finding her family there, but no one was home and she found a note from her father.

Chelsea,

Your brother Matthew had a doctor's appointment today, so your mother and I are with him and most everyone else is out either on business or a mission. Whampire is at the Mansion and promised to watch over you until we got back. Be good for him. We'll be back later.

Love, Dad.

Whampire was there? Well, Chelsea didn't feel completely safe. Although her aunt Sasha had told her that Whampire had been wanting to help Chelsea feel more comfortable around him as he noticed she was still a bit unnerved by him, she wasn't completely sure.

"Ah, Chelsea. How was school today?" asked a familiar Vladat's voice as she saw Whampire come down the stairs.

"It went okay," she said.

"Those girls still bothering you?" he asked.

Chelsea turned away. "Not really," she answered and felt his hands on her shoulders.

"Chelsea, you should know I can tell when someone's lying," he said gently. "Now, come on. Tell your uncle Whampire what's wrong. I might be able to help."

She turned to him and he saw the tears running down her face. "We have a project at school where we have to write a family tree," she said. "But since I don't really have a family, I can't do it."

"What do you mean?" asked Whampire. "I'm sure your mother and father have more than enough on their parents for you to do so."

Chelsea shook her head. "It has to be blood related," she said. "That's why it's called a family tree. It has to be your family by blood and I don't have any family by blood."

She then hung her head. "So, I asked the teacher if I could do another project instead, like a language tree, showing all the different languages that came from one language. When the teacher asked why I wasn't going to do the family tree, I told her I lived with an adoptive family and didn't have any family. The teacher told me to check the records of the orphanage I was at and I told her I never went to an orphanage. Then she suggested the social worker, which I told her didn't have my records. And then one of the girls said that was because I was a trouble girl and the foster families I had been with had thrown me out," she said. "I again asked the teacher to let me do another project for credit and she…she called me…she called me a…delinquent."

Whampire let out an angry snarl. "A delinquent!?" he hissed. "The nerve of that woman! Calling my niece a delinquent. Who does she think she is!?"

Chelsea felt her tears start up again and Whampire's face went from angry to concerned as he gathered her in a hug. "What happened afterwards?" he asked.

The teenager sniffled. "She said I'm in detention and will write an essay for talking back to her and refusing to do the assignment," she said as she began crying again into his shoulder. "I was trying to be respectful, but I guess I wasn't."

The Vladat rubbed her back soothingly. "No, Chelsea, you did nothing wrong. You simply explained why you couldn't do the assignment properly. That's not talking back at all," he said. "And it doesn't excuse your teacher from calling you that. Wait here a moment and I'll get my I.D. Mask and we'll pay a good friend of Rachel's a visit."

Chelsea didn't know what he meant, but nodded and watched him put on his mask and they headed out the door. Thankfully, the day was very cloudy, so Whampire didn't have to worry about the sun as he and his niece walked a few blocks from the end of the Grant Mansion driveway to a modest home. Whampire went up and knocked on the door and it was opened by a gentleman Chelsea thought she recognized.

"Ah, Whampire, what a pleasant surprise," said the man with a smile. "What brings you here?"

"Hello, Your Honor," said Whampire. "I do wish this visit was on better terms, but I need your help."

"Of course. Come in," he said. "And no need to be so formal. I'm not in my judge uniform."

Whampire smiled a bit sheepishly. "Of course, Isaac. Please forgive me. Manners do take precedence, I'm afraid."

"No trouble at all," said the man heartily as he guided both his guests to the living room and spotted the teenager hiding behind the Vladat, who had now taken off his I.D. Mask.

"Chelsea, don't be alarmed," said Whampire. "This is Isaac Forhowser, the local judge. You might remember him from when your mother and father adopted you."

Now she remembered. "Yes," she said a bit shyly. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Forhowser."

Isaac let out an amused laugh. "You were right, Whampire. She is very well mannered," he said as he gestured for them to sit down. "Now then, what seems to be the trouble?"

Whampire told him what had happened and the judge was very surprised. "That is certainly unacceptable of the teacher," he said. "I'm afraid I can't do too much, but my brother is the superintendent of the schools. I will call him about this matter."

"Thank you," said Whampire.

Chelsea had been gazing at some books on the book shelves nearby and was amazed that the judge had a book on the history of languages and a history on the dead language, Latin. The men noticed her looking at them.

"Are you interested in the history of languages?" asked Isaac.

"Well," Chelsea said bashfully. "I was hoping to do the family tree report as a language tree report instead, since I don't have anything for a family tree."

Isaac smiled. "A language tree is an excellent idea!" he said. "How about this? I'll lend you these two books and you go ahead with your project while my brother speaks to your teacher and principal."

The teenager's face lit up. "Really?" she asked.

"Of course," he said, handing her the books. "You can return them when you're done."

She looked at him. "Thank you, sir," she said, a smile on her face.

"I can't thank you enough, Isaac," said Whampire, putting his mask back on. "I truly appreciate it."

"Anytime," said the good judge as the alien and teenager left and headed back for home.

"I can't believe he let me borrow these for my project," she said.

Whampire chuckled. "Isaac Forhowser is a good man, which is why your aunt trusts him with legal matters," he said as they arrived home and went inside.

Chelsea then stopped for a minute. "Uncle Whampire?" she asked.

"Yes?" he said.

"Why did you help me?"

He smiled. "Because you're my niece," he said. "I know you've been a little bit afraid of me and I wanted to show you that you didn't have to be. Not only that, seeing that you and everyone else here is treated fair is part of what I and the others do."

She looked away and he gently tilted her chin up with one finger to look at him. "Just because I have teeth doesn't mean I bite," he joked lightly, actually coaxing a giggle out of her, making her giggle a bit more when suddenly he pretended to come after her to bite her. Squealing, Chelsea scampered away with him hot at her heels, catching her after a moment and playfully blowing raspberries into her neck, making her laugh and squirm a bit before he stopped, letting her go as she worked on getting her breath back.

Feeling better, Chelsea turned and hugged him hard and he returned her hug, watching her listen to his heartbeat as she snuggled into the hug. "Chelsea, just curious, when is this tree project due?" he asked.

"Next week," she said. "Why?"

He chuckled. "I think you'll do better on it after a good night's sleep," he said.

Chelsea was surprised it was nighttime and nodded, feeling a bit sleepy. "Could you…come tuck me in?" she asked hesitantly.

Whampire smiled, giving her an Eskimo kiss which made her giggle. "Yes," he said.

Fifteen minutes later, Chelsea was in bed and Whampire tucked her in, one hand brushing her dark hair away from her face in a fatherly gesture. "Sleep tight, Chelsea," he said with a smile.

She looked to the side for a moment and then looked up at him. "Love you, Uncle Whampire," she said, hoping he wouldn't take offense.

He smiled. "I love you too, Chelsea," he said with pride as he kissed her forehead. "Pleasant dreams, my little niece."

Smiling, Chelsea fell asleep right then and Whampire quietly left, turning off the lights and putting on the nightlight in the room before closing the door softly.


The week flew by and soon it was time to present the projects. Chelsea saved hers for last and the whole class, along with the parents were impressed. Even the teacher looked impressed as well and after speaking with the superintendent of the schools had agreed to let Chelsea do her language tree and gave her an A+ on it. Excited, the teenager rushed home to tell her family the good news.

Water Hazard was reading to Matthew when Chelsea burst in, making them look up from the book and Bianca looked up from her knitting to see their daughter's smiling face.

"I got an A+ on my project!" she said excitedly, earning praise from her parents, who hugged her proudly.

Whampire, hearing the commotion, came downstairs. "What's all the commotion?" he asked with a smile.

"Uncle Whampire!" came the joyful shout that was his only warning before he was glomped by happy teenager. Chuckling, Whampire hugged Chelsea back.

"I take it the project went well?" he asked.

She nodded. "Thanks, Uncle Whampire, for everything," she said.

"You're welcome, Chelsea," he said as he returned the hug she now gave him.

Rachel and Sasha smiled as they watched from the balcony. "Well, I think she's over that little bit of fear now," said Rachel.

"I'd say so," said Sasha as they shared another smile before going downstairs to join in the hugs.


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GoldGuardian2418