Chapter One – Reborn and Beginning Again
Quentin stood, dumbfounded. He knew that touching her meant losing the one true love of his life, yet he had done it – he had touched her before they made it out alive.
Quentin and Amanda were trapped in death. He had come to what Death himself had termed the "stopping-off place" just to save Amanda, the one woman who had touched him so deeply that he scoured the centuries and even Heaven itself to find and rescue her. Death had been amused that a man would do so much for a mere woman, so he had planned to let them escape – by means of a maze with many traps, and the one unbreakable rule was that they could not touch, not even once, or Quentin would lose her.
They had done all right so far: they had killed the giant spider, and had trenched across rough terrain (where Amanda sprained her ankle, yet continued valiantly), and Quentin had crossed the shaky bridge. However, when Amanda tried to cross it, her legs fell through a hole in the bridge. Quentin, acting on impulse as he always does, reached out and grabbed her, pulling her to safety. But now that she was out of danger of falling down to the river below, they both realized they had touched – a phenomenon that was not supposed to happen.
"Quickly," Quentin shouted over an ominous rumbling, "Amanda, grab hold of my hand!"
"But -."
"Listen, it's too late now. Just grab on!" Quentin practically sprinted toward the pale glow of the light, Earth's light. He had to drag her with him, for if she was lost, he could not conceive of life without her. The rumbling became louder, and gravel started to fall. An avalanche – they would be trapped under an avalanche. "Come on, Amanda, run!" Because of her sprained ankle, she was merely hobbling, but Quentin grabbed her and picked her up, running for the exit. Looking back, he saw huge boulders fall onto the spot where she stood. She would have died if he had not acted as he did.
As soon as they passed the light, they both fell unconscious, exhausted. Minutes later, they were in the woods surrounding Collinwood. They both awoke to the sound of Death's voice saying, "You won this time, Amanda . . . I knew I was too soft-hearted . . ."
Quentin woke up fully, and looked at Amanda, whose eyes were just beginning to crinkle open. He took a big breath of relief – he had made it. They had made it. Amanda would be with him for eternity.
The first sight Amanda saw was Quentin's face, his blue eyes longing, and his mouth slightly upturned into one of his famous grins. "Quentin," she started to say, but he shook his head.
"Try not to talk, Amanda. Save your strength." He smiled hugely, and added, "You made it." He gave a little laugh, and said to himself more than anyone, "We made it."
They rested there for a little while, looking at each other and at their surroundings. Quentin's voice broke the silence. "I think we're at Collinwood." He got to his feet. "Yes, we're on the estate. C'mon, I'll take you back to the Inn." He reached for her hands, and she grabbed hold, never looking away from the man that she loved and trusted more than anyone in the world. As she got to her feet, she grimaced and glanced at her sprained ankle. Quentin looked at her, concerned. "Can you make it to the Inn? Do you want to rest a little while?"
"I think I need a doctor." Amanda looked at him intently. "I can make it to Collinwood. Dr. Hoffman can set my ankle, and she can be trusted. Please? I don't think I could make it to Collinsport."
Quentin smiled again. "Okay. Let's go. You can lean on me."
The couple limped slowly through the vast, cumbersome woods to the giant mansion overlooking Widow's Hill. They walked up to the oak doors, and Quentin knocked. They waited for a few seconds, until Elizabeth Collins Stoddard came to the door. She was the matriarch of Collinwood, over fifty yet still growing old gracefully. In a polished New England accent, she said, "Yes?"
"I am . . . Grant Douglas," Quentin lied, using his trusty alias. "My girlfriend –" Amanda looked at him lovingly at that remark – "has sprained her ankle walking along the beach. We were wondering if Dr. Hoffman is available for a consultation."
"Please, come in. I'll see if she's in." They hobble into the great house as Elizabeth ascends the magnificent staircase. They enter the Drawing Room, and Quentin sets Amanda down gently on the couch.
"Do you need something to prop up your ankle?" Quentin asked. Amanda nodded, and Quentin immediately snatched an embroidered couch pillow, and set her foot on the coffee table. Afterwards, he shut the double doors of the Drawing Room. Amanda winced as she tried to get her foot in a comfortable position. Quentin knelt beside her, and asked, "Do you need anything else? Water? A magazine?"
Amanda smiled feebly, and said, "No. I just want to sit here with you. Just to talk."
Quentin smiled broadly, and said, "Okay." He stood and walked to sit by her on the sofa.
"Quentin, I just want to thank you. You saved my life." She faltered, glanced down, then met his baby-blue eyes. "I love you."
"I love you, too." Quentin kissed her slowly, and reached out for her. She stopped him, and backed away laughing.
"Quentin, my ankle," she simply said, and he grinned boyishly, and sat back. She turned around to talk with him again. "I can't believe we have a second chance. So few people do. We must make the most of it, Quentin."
Quentin laughed again, saying, "You know, I think I have had more second chances than most cats." He turned serious, and stared into the dark eyes of his lover. "Amanda, when you're well again, I want to make you my wife."
"Under which name?" she asked innocently yet slyly. At the look on his face, she laughed, and said, "Quentin, whether I become Mrs. Quentin Collins or Mrs. Grant Douglas – it doesn't matter. What matters is that I marry you, soon." She took his face in her hands, and said, "I love you, Quentin Collins. I have for years. I want to be your wife.
Two weeks later, Amanda was testing her ankle in her suite at the Collinsport Inn, where Quentin and she stayed (though in separate rooms, of course). It seemed to be healed – Julia had told them that it wouldn't take long, so they decided that two weeks from their escape from death would be their wedding day.
Amanda had bought a controversial wedding dress: one strap, skin-tight, and knee-length. She decided since she was masquerading as Olivia Corey, world-renown actress, she'd better look the part. The worst thing about her attire was her three-inch heels. She had only been off her ankle for two weeks, and she seemed wobbly at best, but Quentin wanted the wedding so soon, so she couldn't disappoint him.
A knock at the door jarred her concentration. She stumbled to it, and opened the door for her matron of honor, Carolyn Stoddard (Elizabeth's daughter). Carolyn had been her first friend in Collinsport, and also a relative of Quentin, although she didn't know it yet. She was dressed magnificently in a long, beautiful silk gown. It wasn't too low cut, but the pink color matched perfectly with her fair complexion and long blond hair. She carried the flowers that Quentin had bought for her. "I had to literally block the door to keep him from delivering these," Carolyn said, her violet eyes laughing. "Doesn't he know it's bad luck to see the bride before the ceremony?"
"Grant's never been fond of customs," Amanda replied. She fingered the roses Carolyn held. "White roses. My favorite." She teared up as she recalled how he had remembered her favorite flower after seventy-three years of separation.
Carolyn looked at her condition, and said, "You're not supposed to cry until during the ceremony, you know." Amanda stared at her, and Carolyn laughed. "Don't be so serious! Grant had better be careful, or he'll end up with a wrinkled bride." Amanda was still staring at her, this time perplexed. Carolyn rolled her eyes, and said, "Frowns cause wrinkles. Haven't you ever heard that?"
"No," Amanda said, still looking at Carolyn with a deer-in-the-headlights look.
Quentin was in his room, tying his tie in front of his full-length mirror. Barnabas Collins, his best man, was standing by. They were both silent, thinking about what would transpire during the next few hours. Someone knocked on his door, and Barnabas said, "Stay here. I'll answer it."
Barnabas opened the door to a bellboy, who said, "The cars are downstairs. The groom has to leave first."
Barnabas turned around, and said, "Quentin, it's time."
Quentin smiled, and said, "I'm ready. Let's go."
" . . . And I now pronounce you man and wife. Sir, you may kiss the bride."
Quentin takes her in his arms and kisses her, as the on-looking public applaud. The wedding took place on the grounds of Collinsport at twilight. There were few guests: Carolyn had invited Jeb, who in turn invited Bruno; and Barnabas had invited Julia. The turn-out was small, but Quentin was satisfied.
As she expected, Amanda's new name was Mrs. Grant Douglas. Quentin couldn't reveal his real identity to anyone who didn't already know – it would be too dangerous. He had told her all about the strange Jebez Hawkes, but they didn't stop Carolyn from inviting him – again, it would have been too dangerous.
They walked down the aisle together, as Amanda stopped to hug Carolyn and Julia. Quentin hesitantly shook Jeb's hand, then proceeded to Julia and Barnabas. The guests threw the rice, and the happy couple vanished from Collinsport to their awaiting honeymoon in the Phillipines.
A month had passed by. Barnabas was again a vampire, and Jeb turned out to be good, not evil, saving Carolyn from an unspeakable fate. Barnabas and Julia were working vigorously against the Leviathans, now consisting of three people: Nicholas, Bruno, and Sky. And yet, amidst all that drama, Quentin and Amanda were buying their first house.
They were looking at a two bedroom house on the outskirts of Collinsport, almost neighboring Maggie Evans' old house. As they looked through all the rooms, Quentin kept saying, "But we don't need all this room, Olivia." (He called her Olivia, since there was a real estate agent following them around.) Amanda just smiled and said nothing. Finally, when the agent had left them alone in the stark master bedroom, she hugged him tightly, and whispered in his ear, "I'm pregnant."