( 1 )

When the driver pulled to a stop in front of the door Rachel Corrigan could feel her nerves sinking like a lump of ice in her stomach. Nick's instructions had been clear enough. Get to the island, ASAP. It was a horrible night to be traveling, the wind was tearing through the trees and the sky threatened to open up, but Rachel had felt the urgency of Nick's plea. Kat was slumped in the seat next to her, big blue-green eyes gazing forlornly into the dark outside her window.

"We won't be long, I promise." Rachel tried to assure her, but the young girl just heaved a sigh.

"Whatever. I don't see why I couldn't just stay home. I'm practically fourteen." She grumbled, and Rachel fought the urge to correct her. Barely thirteen was nowhere near "practically fourteen" and with Kat's recent behavior Rachel didn't feel comfortable leaving her on her own.

"We'll only be here for a little bit." She repeated instead of explaining, stepping out of the car and under the waiting umbrella. Dominick smiled down at her as he ushered the pair into the dry foyer. It was there they were assaulted by the sight of nearly a dozen boxes, of different shapes and sizes, piled around the room. A pair of housekeepers were busy carrying them up the stairs. Normally boxes in the foyer would be nothing out of the ordinary; things were always being sent there. But these clearly didn't contain artifacts; they were labeled in black magic marker with words like "DVDS" and "SHOES". Kat had already disappeared toward the kitchen and Rachel went straight to the library. Nick was sitting in one of the armchairs, fiddling absently with one of the chess pieces. When he saw her walk in he jumped up, face lighting.

"Rachel, I'm really glad you could make it on such short notice. The storm looks pretty bad but I wasn't sure what else to do. Derek's been up in his office all afternoon, won't talk to anyone. It has something to do with the boxes in the hall, but I don't know much more than that." He explained quickly, crossing his arms and looking at her hopefully. She could feel the ice in her stomach melting.

"That's it? You want me to talk to Derek? Jesus Nick, I was expecting to find you guys mid exorcism or something, your message sounded so urgent…" she began, the relief clear in her voice. Nick could only shake his head.

"No, this is important. I've never seen him like this. He got a call and just… lost it. Grabbed a bottle of scotch and went straight upstairs. Haven't heard a sound since." He added, and Rachel nodded slowly.

"Okay, okay. You're worried, I get that. Let me see what I can do." She offered, heading out of the library and up the stairs. When she reached the closed office door she felt her nerves return. There was something very foreboding about that room at the moment, but she wasn't sure if it was the feeling she had or Nick's warning. She knocked softly, and waited for some noise from within. When no sound came she tried again, and this time the door swung open a little. A shadow passed inside as Derek's silhouette moved back to the window, picking up the glass on the tabletop and leaning against the oak desk. Rachel hesitated for only a moment before pressing inside.

"Close the door." Derek's voice demanded, and she immediately complied. Once they were shut in the dark silence Rachel finally worked up the nerve to say something. The only light came from the city, barely visible across the bay in the distance.

"What's going on, Derek? You've got Nick out there running in circles." She told him, and he was very quiet. It was the silence that was really frightening. Derek was almost always in control. One of the only times she'd ever seen him like that was when he was marked by the scroll, being driven mad by the mark of Cain. He took a long drink of the scotch and finally turned. Rachel gasped. "Derek, I hate to say this, but you look like hell."

"There are things I haven't told you, Rachel, and I'm worried about what you might think of me." he responded hoarsely, finishing his drink and walking around to the front of the desk. In the dim light she could only make out his outline, but the despair in his posture was apparent.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it can't be that bad. I mean, you helped me through a demon pregnancy and never once used it against me… that's got to count for something." She joked lamely, but could see she was getting nowhere. "I promise then, I won't judge. Just tell me what's wrong so I can keep Nick from wearing a hole in the carpet."

He got up then, moving back around the desk and pulling open one of the desk drawers. He retrieved a picture frame and walked back to her. The smell of liquor was absolutely radiating off of him as he handed her the frame. She examined it closely. The picture was black and white, and featured Derek probably twenty years earlier holding a small girl. She had dark hair and bright eyes. One hand was grasping his lapel and the other pointed to something unseen in the distance. Derek looked gloriously happy, and Rachel tried to reconcile the man in the picture with the one before her. She placed a careful finger on the girl.

"When I was younger I spent some time at the Paris House, mostly work visits but a few social calls. Their forensic researcher was a woman named Antoinette Samuelle, and she and I spent a good deal of time together. I loved her greatly, but she was very focused on her work. I came back to San Francisco and years passed. I never heard from her, until I found out she had died. It was when they dropped a six-year-old girl at the house." He explained slowly, and instantly Rachel noticed the girl in the picture had his eyes. "She had realized soon after I left that she was pregnant, and though I'll never know why, she felt she had to keep it from me. When she was gone, though, I was the only one left to care for our daughter."

"What's her name?" Rachel asked quietly, trying to hold back the stream of questions that flew into her head.

"Natalya. Natalya Samuelle." He answered, taking the photo back and placing it on the desk.

"And she lived here?"

"Until she was thirteen." He told her, without explaining why she left.

"And now she's coming back?" she posed, and Derek's eyes shot up.

"How did you know that?" he snapped, and she took a step back.

"There are about a dozen boxes in the foyer. I just assumed…"

"She's being transferred from the Paris House. Edmund is up to something, I can feel it. There's no way she put in for it…" he explained, stopping short as though he'd said too much. He tried a tired smile, but it just looked forced. "You can go tell Nick that I'm not possessed."

If I want to lie, maybe. Rachel thought, but allowed herself to be ushered out of the room anyway. When she made it back to the library Kat and Nick were sitting on opposite sides of the table, laughing and playing what looked like a very intense card game. It had been quite a while since she had seen Kat laugh, and found herself smiling in spite of her recent confusion. When the pair at the table noticed her return Nick was on his feet in an instant and Kat's permascowl had returned in full force. Rachel heaved a sigh, walking down the short steps and sitting down at the table.

"Well, I talked to him, and I think you're overreacting." She started, and obvious relief washed over Nick's boyish features. "He's just a little anxious, I think, since his daughter is being transferred here. I'm still a little disturbed he didn't tell me he had a child, it seems like such an obvious conversation …"

Nick's face went ashy white and he looked as though he'd seen a ghost. Kat looked between the adults, glad that something interesting was finally happening.

"Natalya's been transferred back here?" he asked, clearly not knowing what to do with the information. Rachel nodded, curious about his reaction. He was on his feet in an instant, mumbling something about an early night and getting some sleep, and before anyone could say anything else he was out the door and Kat and Rachel were alone. Kat rolled her eyes, pushing back from the table and stomping toward the door.

"Geez mom, you sure know how to clear a room." She called back, disappearing into one of the living rooms. Rachel sat alone at the table, dumbfounded, when Alex came in carrying a tray of tea.

"Where did everyone go?" she asked, and Rachel could only shrug. Alex offered her a sympathetic smile. "Do you want some tea?"

Rachel nodded emphatically, though she was quite sure that no amount of tea could fix her evening.