Yolanda has kidnapped Megan, and is posing as her. She has introduced a hungry stone in Barnabas' body, which caused his hunger to get out of control. He is now confined to the Old House, while his friends seek a solution. Yolanda keeps plotting her revenge.

SLEEPING BEAUTY

Chapter 1

"How is it going with the two of you?" Julia asked George.

"Well, he's holding on OK. It helps that I can show movies to him, and we can watch them together. I would like to get some newer movies, but that can take some haggling. I would like to show him E.T., or "The Atomic Cafe" so that he can understand the paranoia we used to live with when were were growing up. But not until they finish showing them at the movies here. I think that "The Atomic Cafe" might be available earlier."

"Yes. I see. And how are you holding up?"

"As well as it can be expected. I can now pretend that I do not see the gag in his face. Or at least I have learned to accept that unpleasant as it is, it allows him physical contact, and he needs that.."

"Yes, he does need. He was hungry for affection when I first me him. So hungry that he scared himself and talked to himself that he did not need it.. It got mixed up with his other hunger, the one he wished to deny."

"Megan says that it is never a good idea to deny your dark side. You have to face it, and put boundaries to it, boundaries that allow you to live."

"Yes. If we had known it earlier... But he would not have listened to, anyway. He was too hurt, to frightened to take sensible decisions. And I... I lost control with him.."

"Well, I am not losing control, and that's what matters. And you kept him alive, and brought him back to sanity. "

"Yes." She took a sip from her tea and faced George again. "Do you know when Vehroff will be here?"

"Not for a few days. I talked with the girl he live with, Cecily, and she said that he was in another case, but would come here as soon as that was finished. She found it most curious what I said about Barnabas. She said that she recalled a few cases, but they had different causes, and that Verhoff would have to determine what it was. She held some hope, but told me that in the worst case, euthanasia would be the only option."

"Euthanasia... as if he was an unwanted dog at the pound."

"It might have to come to that." George said bleakly.

"You must not think that."

"I have to think about that. I might well have to do it. I have the silver bullets. I have the gun. What I need is the certainty that nothing else can be done. And that I don't have."

"And you won't have either. I refuse to believe that there is no answer for him."

"There was no answer for Liz. And he had to do it. And it might have come down to me, if Liz had asked when he was away. I am glad that it was him who did it, and not me. I have fired my gun more than once, and at least once someone died. But it was in the heat of battle. People were shooting at me, and I shot back. So the bullet found a vital spot. It was bad, and I hurt afterwards. But I had no problem pulling the trigger. But to do it to someone who is not going to defend himself. Who waits for you to do it, who stares at you and tries to be brave...I don't know if I can do that to him."

"You won't have to."

"I might have to. Julia, let's not kid ourselves. It does not get any better. I know how much he is drinking, how many empty bottles I have to take away, and how many empty packets of dried blood. I thought if I brought it in liquid form he'd need less. It did, for a while. But then it started mounting again. Each time he needs more and more. It is out of control, with no end in sight..."

"George, Verhoff is not here. Why should you worry ahead of time? I want to believe that there is a cure for Barnabas."

"Sometimes there is not. You did never manage to cure him of vampirism, after all."

"I wasn't meant to. Not until that ship could be decommissioned could the curse end. Barnabas needed to be kept alive all those years until he could do what he was supposed to do. Now, it is over.. He is under no obligation to any other supernatural entity. So the cures have to work on him."

"Or now that there is no need for him to be kept alive to decommission that ship, he can die. And by my hand."

"You are getting morbid, George."

"I now, doctor., I know. But I cannot stop thinking about it. Same as you cannot stop thinking that if he is indeed a threat to you and your unborn child, then he'd have to die. Same as Liz."

Julia wanted to deny it, but she knew it to be true. She would do anything for Barnabas, except expose her child to danger. If it became a question between her child and Barnabas' life she would always choose her child...

"Well, we are getting ahead of ourselves. Verhoff isn't here. You know, for all that he is a creep, Verhoff is competent doctor."

"Yes. Creep describes him quite accurately. We should at least be grateful that he does not go after real children, only those who were frozen in childish bodies for all eternity."

And who might now have a chance to grow up if they found her notes useful. She preferred not to say anything about that. They less people knew about it, the less likely it would get back to Verhoff, who would not be grateful to her for it.

"Well, we all have to accommodate ourselves to our circumstances. In a way it was lucky that he became a vampire and found all those childish bodies available to him. Cecily said that otherwise he might have ended up in jail when his tendencies got the better of him."

"Yes, lucky for him, and lucky for the children eh might have helped himself to before he got caught..."

Hallie was considering her options. Whatever had driven Barnabas to attack David as he did, had only strengthened her position. David now could not ask her to be friendlier with Barnabas, not after what she had seen him do. And Barnabas, if he came out of this alive, would bend over backwards to accommodate her.

She thought about bringing in Zoya to Collinsport and start offering sacrifices right there. But no, Collinsport was a small town, where everybody knew everybody else, and where any mysterious death or disappearance would be big news. Same as unusual changes of behavior. No, she better arrange for trip out of the area to meet with Zoya and offer sacrifices, all in different places.

What she had to do was to get herself pregnant by David. Once that was done, she would not need sacrifices for a while.

David did not want children yet. But he would come to accept them. She could date it to the time when David had been attacked by Barnabas. They had been so distraught then, that when they made love they forgot to take precautions... Or maybe, she was so afraid of losing David that she wanted to have a child by him, before...

And if David mentioned an abortion, she would count on Barnabas to talk him out of it.

How long had she been calling like this? Mega did not know. she supposed it had been over a week, at least. She recalled that there had been periods of unconsciousness, as they usually came with daybreak, but she had lost count of them. It was difficult to keep track of time without a calendar or the means to create one. She had not realized before how dependent she was on things like that. Her mind got too much in the habit of wandering and recalling irrelevant things. it was a curious thing, the human mind...

Danni it, she was doing it again. Thinking about irrelevancies when she should concentrate on getting help.

She was hungry. Yolanda barely fed her. Just enough so that she would not frenzy and was unable to listen to her gloat. She then heard what she planned to do with Angelique. She told her what she had already done to Barnabas. She seemed somewhat disappointed that Barnabas had not been hunted down like a mad dog.

The stones were hungry. That was what Yolanda had said. That was why she was masquerading as a vampire, to feed the stones. She knew it, because of what had happened to the cats.

Why hadn't Yolanda put a stone in her, as she had done to Barnabas? Maybe she had thought about it, but was afraid that Megan might get control of the stone, and take the power for herself. Enough of it to break out of her prison...

Megan tried calling again. She had to bring someone who would help her stop Yolanda.

She wondered for a moment if she suffered from delusions. Maybe there was no Yolanda... what proof did she have that she was actually Megan Graham? That she was a vampire? Vampires were not real... they were only in the movies...

No, she had to get a grip on herself. Was this what Barnabas had felt when he had been chained in the coffin? Was this how he lost contact with reality?

No, she would not get that bad. She would get someone to help her. She would. She had to.

"Urien, come to me. I need you."

Yolanda called him and Urien had to leave his bed and go to her.

Sneaking out was snot so difficult. Pearl did not wake up, after all when he went downstairs. He had hoped that she would, that he would get cauhgt, and that Willie could get the whole story out of him. Then they would be able to free Barnabas from the stone that Yolanda had pushed into his neck.

He knew what the stone felt. It burned enough when it fed at his blood. What would it be like to have it inside you. eating you?

Luck was not with him. No one saw him leave, no one saw him meet Yolanda.

She was there. She was not Megan Graham, she only looked like her.. The stone was again applied to his neck, and he had to endure in silence. How long before it killed him?

"Well, when is Verhoff coming here?' she asked him.