Finding Family

One shot with epilogue.

Summary: Kristina is on her own, abandoned at a young age, and is searching for family, in Louisiana (wink wink, nudge nudge). Will she find them? What will happen when she does?

I never knew what it felt like, what it meant, but yet here I am, searching desperately for it. I remember walking aimlessly down an abandoned road when I was 10 years old, I had no recollection of who I was apart from a name, and well what I thought was my name. Kristina. It was on a necklace around my neck, and so as the only clue to I was, I kept it close to me and assumed the name.

So as I was saying before, I am searching, searching for my family. I have been alone for so long now that I am used to it, but the questions I have been asking myself over the years can only be answered by my family. Things like, why they left me alone? Why did they never search for me?

The thing is, I was never even raised by a foster family, so I had no chance of even knowing what the meaning of family truly was. I lived on my own, stealing food or even glamouring people to buy me food and drink or give me money. I built my own place with my own two hands in the woods near a small town in Sweden. Yeah, I bet you caught that little bit about glamour? Weird thing is, I am not vampire – well at least not full vampire – I am a hybrid from what I can tell. I had the survival instincts of a vampire, fangs, a little blood in my diet, speed, strength and of course glamour. But I can walk in daylight, sleep a few hours when I need to, eat, drink like a normal human but I also have telepathy. It was hard to control at first especially being able to hear everyone, including vampires, daemons, fairies and other beings.

I could glamour them all, and I always glamoured them. I made sure to leave no trace of myself anywhere. And now here I am, 21 and I have my first lead on my parents. I had run into the vampire king of Sweden – such a sweetheart – and the first thing he said to me was how I looked so much like the Viking. From that moment on I glamoured information about the 'Viking' from anyone I came across. There were many different stories and even a few photo's, I could instantly see the resemblance.

It took me many weeks of planning and sorting out my feelings before deciding to confront him. I found out his current living address and took of to the states, Louisiana as my destination. I had no need for a passport due to my glamour but I had a fake one for appearances. I had taken some money out of storage – enough to relocate myself if need be and expenses for the year, just in case – and my designer clothes, I may be in hiding but it doesn't mean I can't look good.

During my years living on my own I decided to open my own bar, using a Were as a cover owner, poor thing had a lot of holes in his head I'm surprised he knows how to walk, I'll have to give him a good retirement gift. Thanks to both the vampire and Were revelation business for both have been on the up rise. Sweden is a very accepting country and we had no major bigot problems apart from the small few here and there, but it was mostly small town old biddies that hated most things.

When I had landed I could smell the heat, even I thought I was going to melt in this heat and my temperature stays pretty much the same. A nice normal human 98.6 temperature – helps with keeping up the human façade.

All these years and I am so close to finding out where I came from, I collected my luggage and for the first time in a long time, I stayed in a hotel. It may not sound like a big thing to you, but for me it was a big step. I had my own home deep in the forest which I had built myself, over the years I had decorated it, so it looked classier than homeless filth. I had glamoured a witch to place hiding charms and wards around it so no one would see it or be able to enter the space.

Being able to sleep in a public space but me on edge like no other but I daren't buy a house here and have my name plastered everywhere. I would rather a fake name and disguise so it would be easier covering my tracks.

I finalised all the details of my plan in my mind before taking a deep breath and bracing myself. Hoping against hope that they really did care for me and abandoning me had been some sort of mistake… Okay yeah that really did sound really lame but can you blame a girl for hoping. God I sound like such a pussy, man up and grow some balls Kristina!

Step one: scout out the target, observe only. DO NOT STICK OUT!

The plan is in motion…

I had arrived at Fangtasia dressed in such trashy designer leather with my hair piled up under a short dark black/blue wig. My normal blonde hair was past my bottom and would stand out to much, also my piercing blue eyes so I put some dark brown contact lenses in. I had waited in line for over an hour before I reached the pedestal where a tall blonde woman stood in a gorgeous black dress with race lace accents, thank god! Someone around here with good taste! It's so rare to find people who actually complement their clothes instead of the ones who wear designer for the sake of it and make them look like monstrosities.

"ID?" the blonde woman said blatantly eye fucking me, I waited until she got to my face before catching her eyes and pushing my will on her.

"You will let me through without seeing my ID and forget you ever saw me." My voice barely heard over the breeze but she heard me and let me through moving onto the next lot of vermin scum. I hated fangbanger's, I would kill all those dumb fuckers for sport just to take them out the gene pool but I couldn't deal with the police and such snooping around and my cover being blown.

As I entered the bar it was so similar to mine that I thought I was back in Sweden, obviously I wasn't due to people talking in English.

I scanned everyone, making sure I stored all their faces into my mind. Gotta love photographic memory.

As I saw a throne up on the stage I wondered who it belonged to but didn't have to ponder long as there was a disturbance in the crowd, a tall man walked up to the stage and sat down scanning everyone, his eyes only briefly glanced at mine before carrying on. I was in shock; this was Eric, my possible father. I would recognise those eyes, they were just like mine.

Okay: observe, that's what you are here to so Kristina, get a grip and complete step one, then sort through emotional turmoil.

Great! Now I am talking to myself, shit.

I quickly made my way to the bar and ordered a gin and tonic. It was my favourite drink and loved it from the moment I tried it. I downed it in one go and ordered a second before settling down in a spare booth. When I sat down there was an immediate gasp throughout the crowd and when I looked around to find what was happening I saw they were all starring at me. I didn't realise what I had done but I soon found out when I saw my father starring angrily at me. (When did I start calling him father?)

Boy did he look pissed.

"What do you think you are doing sitting in MY booth and contaminating it with your presence." His voice low and menacing;

Oh shit, this is so not how I planned this.

"Stora. Jag ar redan pissar utanfor parentals." (Great. I'm already pissing off the parentals) I said in a low voice before I could stop myself. I quickly exited the booth with my head down, not wanting him to see the pink tinted tears that were in my eyes.

"Excuse me? What did you say?" his voice held a lot of emotion, like he was scared of the answer. I think now would be a good time to skedaddle.

"I'm sorry, I'll just go." Short and sweet, always good, keeping my head lowered I quickly rushed to the exit leaving my drink on the bar, un-knowingly leaving my father gaping behind me.

As soon as I was in the clear I took to the skies and dropped into a forest about 40 minutes outside of Shreveport, there was some light coming from a house not to far of in the distance but I ignored them and continued to walk around the forest feeling more at home the more steps I took.

Soon enough after having many inner monologues I found myself just inside the clearing to a field which held an old farmhouse, it still had many lights on – probably the same ones I saw earlier – I saw a young blonde woman and another brown haired woman at the table eating dinner. I reached out with my mind and found only soft, comforting thoughts, the brown haired woman was a loud broadcaster, but the blonde haired woman seemed like her mind was a cash register it kind of registered everything round her including the thoughts of her friend and collected them. SHIT! Like a fucking light bulb it registered that she was another telepath. I knew there where others out there and helped them with their gifts. I couldn't glamour them but I made them swear to a blood oath to never mention me. It was worth it to make theirs lives that much easier.

Anyway I quickly closed of my mind, knowing that they could only sense a void if they tried. I kept on observing them, watching them laugh and reminisce about good old times. It made me wish I had that, that my parents had not abandoned me at such a young age, or at all. But I accepted that it happened, not that I had to like it, and made sure I never let my resentment hold me back.

When I came out of my thoughts I noticed the tension in the house had changed, instead of it being jolly it had suddenly become tense. I reached out and hooked onto the mind of the short brown headed woman and realised that the blonde telepath had noticed my void and had contacted someone to help search for it.

Great, all I wanted was some peace before everything went topsy turvey and I had been discovered. I kept on my disguise but made sure I had my knife on me and at the ready in case any of these hicks decide to get nasty. Faintly I hear a gust of wind coming from behind but before I could react I was pinned to the ground by a large man. I used all my strength and flung him of me, when my fangs descended, I pounced on the vampire and began to raise my knife to slash him when I noticed his face – father – my delayed reaction got him the advantage and he managed to yet again pin me and dislocate my shoulders leaving my arms incapacitated, and hurting like a bitch.

I was dragged to the farmhouse where the blonde woman helped secure me to a silver beam with chains, while Eric just held me there as he was unable to touch the silver. They were both shocked when it didn't burn me; I love not having many weaknesses. After I was properly 'secured' they stood back and watched me intently for a few minutes with me staring defiantly back at them. I hadn't noticed that the brown haired woman had joined them and was looking rather confused and wary, good at least one of them was.

"So are we going to stay out here all night and stare at each other or are you going to tell me why you attacked me unprovoked?" I said adding quite a bit of sarcasm and snark. It was like a natural tone of voice to me.

"You dare spy on my bonded and pledged and think you can get away with it? You should be lucky I don't stake you, how come the silver is not affecting you? You should be sizzling like you deserve." He snarled, don't get me wrong it stung a bit, him saying those words to me but I realised he knew nothing of me, to him I was a strange vampire-ish thing that was spying on his…bonded…pledged…does that mean… could this woman be my mother? She doesn't look a day over 25, I didn't sense her to be a vampire so what was she?

"Look, I can understand you would be upset to find me 'spying' but I was lost in my own thoughts, I meant no harm to your…(gulp)…bonded and pledged, as I said I was merely wandering around when I found this place and became lost in my thoughts. Now if you don't mind, could you release me, so I can wander somewhere else?" worth a try.

"No, you will answer my questions. Sookie I am going to take this thing to Fangtasia, I am sure Pam can get some information from her so I don't need to leave you for long." He bent over and gently kissed her, he looked like he really loved her, and she had the same look of love in her eyes. Just before he released me a young boy, only 5 years old came outside and looked at me, he was very handsome and cute as a button.

"Mama? Who is she? She has a brain like ours but it's really freaky." Oh my, I, I had a brother – possibly – I felt the tears well up in my eyes. It was so strange, knowing the possibility that these guys could be my family, made so many emotions fly through me, I didn't even know what they were.

"Hunter, go back inside and so to sleep. You have school tomorrow, Amelia can you take him in and put him to bed?" so brown haired woman was called Amelia, and my possible brother was called Hunter.

After they went inside I spoke up, keeping all emotion out of voice, not giving them any signs of weakness.

"You have a beautiful son, does he have any siblings?" I asked purely out of curiosity and there reaction. Sookie's face took on one of pain and sadness, while Eric's jaw clenched out of anger. He quickly gathered me up, with the silver still tied around me, said one last goodbye to Sookie and took to the sky, taking me with him. Over and over in my head I prayed that this night wouldn't end up with them trying to torture me, that would really make a family reunion awkward.

We arrived shortly at Fangtasia where I was roughly thrown down the stairs into a dungeon/basement. The door locked behind me and I was left in this dingy place awaiting the next set of events. I could tell them everything but that would be showing all my cards. Hopefully this Pam woman would come down the stairs and I could glamour her to find out what she knows and take it from there, but if Eric came down, I really didn't want to glamour him unless it was urgent. Like he's-about-to-torture-me-urgent, as I said, family reunion would be awkward.

I squirmed and managed to loosen the silver chains enough to loosen one arm, letting it heal enough to untangle myself and heal my other arm. Deciding I really needed to reveal myself, I took off my wig, letting my long blonde hair flow down my back, and taking out my contacts. I still looked a little like an S&M girl with all the leather but I'm sure my looks may make them pause enough to silver them so I could do the talking this time.

Plan A failed but thankfully my plan B worked.

Pam had come down first and found I had escaped, I quickly silvered her, none of it touching her skin, so it would only restrain her and not physically damage her. Soon after Eric came, feeling Pam's emotions and I repeated the process.

What really surprised me was when I heard Sookie upstairs calling for Eric, thankfully the club had closed so when I went upstairs her scream's of surprise and then fear weren't heard (and I double-checked) and I quickly used the handcuffs (?) to restrain her right next to Eric and Pam.

It's not the perfect reunion but hey, nothing was normal in this family.

The first question I asked was "Where is hunter?" I heard growls come from all 3 of them, probably thinking I wanted him. "I don't want to kidnap him or anything, I just want to know you haven't abandoned him, leaving him to fend for his self." Ok, yeah I admit that was a pretty bit dig but I admit I have serious abandonment issues that are seriously unresolved.

"Who the fuck are you to suggest I would abandon him, you sick bitch!" Sookie screamed at me, her face red with anger. Ok another serious sting there but I quickly got over it and carried on. I walked slowly and crouched down, right in Sookie's face and spoke with a rather lethal voice "Well, it wouldn't be the first time you had done that, would it? I wonder how many children you have abandoned over the years. How about maybe 11 years ago? Ring any bells?" REALLY big dig, I am getting really into this now.

"We never abandoned any child, our child was lost to us, our daughter died, her body was never recovered. How did you know we had one?" Came Eric's voice to my right.

I stared at him, hooking into his mind, seeing if he was the truth, what I found out made me turn around and cover my mouth to muffle the sobs that wanted to tear out. They had mourned me, really thinking I had died all those years ago, they even had a headstone at the end of their yard. Hunter had came to them after his real father had died and they had replaced the hole I left as much as they could.

They hid my real nature saying Sookie was implanted by a Swedish donor who looked remarkably like Eric, when in fact I was a product of intense fairy magic binding their essences and creating me.

Sookie was the great-granddaughter of Niall Brigiant making me his great great-granddaughter. Pink tears streamed down my face; unable to stop them I turned around and ripped the bindings from the wall, setting them free. I kept my face down unable to meet their gazes.

"I…I apologise…for…everything…I…I'll be…be…be going. I'm sorry." I said in chocked sobs. And I quickly sped, out of there at vampire speed. Taking to the sky as soon as I reached outside and headed straight to my hotel, not even caring if anyone saw me or followed, I was too overwhelmed and distraught to care. As soon as I reached my room I let out a painful cry and sobbed.

The pain of the thought of losing all this time with each other ripped through my soul, it felt like I was being shredded from the inside out. Then my head exploded in a bright light and my memories from before returned.

I started remembering everything, the way we were before the great battle. It was all so peaceful, Amelia, Jason, Sam, Pam, Alcide and so many more. I was loved by everyone and when the threat started making a move I had already come into some power. But during the fight I had found myself almost being drained by a rogue vampire, I was weak and wanted to be in my homelands, far away. Unknowingly I had popped to Sweden on my own and left a pile of dust behind, or what everyone thought of as fairy dust. Because of my trauma I had obviously forgotten. Never knowing or understanding how I had come to be there.

Suddenly the door bursts inwards; I stood up quickly grabbing a hold of my sword and facing my enemy, knowing I should never turn my back on them. But the minute I see his face I drop my sword and drop to my knees, tears still dripping down my face, staining the once pristine white carpet with my watery blood tears.

"I understand, and will accept death; I only ask it be swiftly and quick." I said in my non-emotion voice even though my face showed enough emotion that it didn't really matter.

"Dottern varfor skulle jag vilja doda dig?" (Daughter why would I want to kill you?)

He said and my head instantly shot up staring into his eyes.

His eyes were brimmed with blood tears; I could also see Sookie – my mother – standing behind him, tears streaming down her face.

Soon I was huddled in their arms, all of us sobbing with happiness, reunited with each other after 11 years of despair. We stayed like that for a while, just letting the tears flow, silently thanking the gods that we were together again. Not wanting to let go of each other afraid we would wake up to this all being a dream.

Soon sunrise came, separating me from my father so he could rest for the day but I stayed awake and spoke with my mother, we talked about what happened to me after the battle and I told her of my memories, how I had come to live in Sweden, finding out my abilities, but soon we were both yawning too much and decided to settle in the room, I settled in the middle of the bed huddled up with my father on one side and my mother on the other side of me. Soon enough I was asleep and my dreams were filled with hopes and promises of the future.

I didn't know what a family was, what it meant, what it signified but I knew, here with my father and mother, a wise quote crossed through my mind: Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family. I had changed from the carefree girl before the battle, to a survivor. But here I am now, just as I was then, with family. And I prayed I would have them forever.

A/N – I thought this story would be appropriate for the holidays. Some don't have family in this time of year, but whether they are or not, you should never feel alone. Family just isn't given, blood relatives and such, it is also found. You can find family, create your own, or whisper to their spirits as they watch you live on this earth until you join them.

I haven't the greatest family but I love what I have. And I know that when the time comes when my parents are no longer physically here, I'll always have their spirit to guide me, teach me, love me and support me. And then soon, I will create my own and I can share my life with them.

Live in the now, for tomorrow may be a disaster, or it may be sunshine, but what we know, is now. Tomorrow will always be a mystery.

Merry Christmas and happy New Year, love from FaeBloodVampWolf xx

Disclaimer - Anthony Brandt's quote not mine. And it's all Charlaine Harris characters. xxxxxxx