Disclaimer: Twilight and its characters belong to Stephanie Meyer.
AN: This story was writen as part of the LiveJournal Vampire Big Bang [ http : / vampirebigbang . livejournal . com] which brought together Authors, Artists and Mixers to create a great collection of fiction and fanfiction vampire stories.
Warnings: Medical Procedure, Strong Language, Sexual Content, Mpreg, Slash
Acknowledgements: To the wonderfully talented davincis_girl who truely captured the story with her beautful art work (see LiveJournal). Also to Pace is the Trick my ever patient and long suffering beta.
Dedication: This story is for sandraj60 who has patiently waited for this story, promised many months ago. Enjoy!
Chapter Two
Chicago – December 1919
This was not the first job of this kind Wilhelm had been tasked to perform for his master. However, this was the first where the material to be collected would be over a year old and his Master was particularly anxious to obtain the samples.
He understood that the creation of this newborn had been under unusual circumstances, as was his subsequent upbringing. It had been made clear that while any samples collected would not be used for future experiments, Aro was keen not to waste the opportunity at hand.
Picking the lock with dexterous skill Wilhelm entered the deserted house. Once fine and rich furnishings were draped in fading white cloth while all else in the room was covered with a thin sheen of dust.
The musty odour that permeated the house was combined with a faint smell that could only be defined as sickness and death. Climbing the stairs he entered the master bedroom, collecting a hair brush and a pillow case from the room. He wrapped each in brown paper and then sealed them in stainless steel, chrome-plated, containers specifically for the storage of medical samples.
Moving to the second family bedroom, he noticed that the room was tidier than the other, as if it had been straightened up after the house had been vacated. He had a sinking feeling, hoping that the items that he had been ordered to retrieve had not been removed.
However looking at the dressing table, he found a comb, and the bed, while neatly made, clearly had the original linen as the pillow cover showed signs of dried blood and sputum. Taking particular care with the items, he then roamed the remainder of the house collecting random objects that might be of use or interest to his research.
One particular group of items included a lock of hair and a number of baby teeth located in a small lock box in the ladies' parlour.
Returning to the dining room, he set out his containers, placing each item in the box along with a note of the date and location from where the sample was collected. Wrapping each in brown paper and string he donned his hat and coat, and hooking the packages under his arm, locked up the house and returned to his waiting coach.
His next stop was the Chicago Memorial Hospital. He had been warned to anticipate problems - not so much getting into the hospital, but in locating the records he sought. The sheer number of Spanish Influenza cases in 1918 had resulted in an equally voluminous number of patient records which, post epidemic, had been archived in the hospital attic.
A letter, provided by his Master, allowed him easy access to the facility under the guise of a government official performing an audit of the record-keeping during the epidemic. The hospital Director was more than willing to provide access to his facility's impeccable patient records.
Once alone in the stacks, the man was easily able to narrow down the case files (most of which were very thin) to a few hundred. After some further reading he was pleased to find that all three patient files were bundled together, due mainly to them documenting cases from the same family, but also because the patients deaths were signed off by the same doctor.
Bundling up the files, he looked around. There was little else for him at the hospital, but he had been asked to look. Taking a roundabout route to the front foyer (including a trip to the morgue), his gut feeling was proven. There was nothing left here of the doctor and his patient, other than what he had stashed in his jacket.
Leaving the hospital he returned to the damp, bare, cold boarding room. He wrapped the files and placed them, along with the wrapped parcels and a detailed report of what he had collected in a medium sized steamer trunk.
Lying on his bed, wide awake, he waited. After a time the front door bell rang. Checking his watch he jumped up and grabbed the trunk, heading downstairs before the landlady could call him. The courier at the front door made no comment as the two men exchange a look. The new man offered the Wilhelm an unmarked envelope. Opening the letter he read the short note and sighed.
"One minute," he asked the courier. Leaving the trunk with the other man, he turned to head to his room. Only then did he notice the landlady still standing there.
"I will be vacating my room now, madam," he dipped into his pocket and pulled out the equivalent of three weeks rent. He pressed the money into the woman's hand and walked purposefully upstairs. Collecting his bag and few belongings, he quickly returned downstairs. Nodding to the courier Wilhelm picked up the trunk and settled into the waiting carriage.
As he headed towards the train station, Wilhelm wondered as to the reasons he had been recalled to Italy. He had not been there in over a decade, working instead overseas. Trying not to dwell on his future, he opened his tool pouch and, focusing on the task, carefully and meticulously cleaned each instrument.
Volterra – 1929
It was a stupid accident, a stupid annoying accident: his assistant (one of many through the years) had spilt benzene on him which had been ignited by the burner on the bench, the resulting flames leaving burn marks on his left arm and chest.
Lying in the hospital bed and knowing that the human cause of his trauma was already lunch, he hoped that he would heal quickly enough so as not to impede his work.
He turned at the sound of the door and was surprised to see Aro and Eleazar enter his room; the latter had been in Rome last he knew, so it was both a pleasant and unnerving surprise to see him in Volterra. Eleazar had not been a full member of the Volturi Guard since Wilhelm had known him, but Wilhelm understood that his friend came to assist when Aro requested. The two had had a falling out a decade or so before, and while Wilhelm did not know the exact details he believed it was resulting from the same unusual newborn he had collected samples from in 1919.
Sitting up as much as he could, he started to speak. He intended to reassure Aro that the work would continue, that he was able to pick it up as soon as they released him from the hospital, but stopped as his Master raised a hand and spoke.
"My child, in light of this terrible accident…I have decided it is time. This was a small incident which has left you scarred. What if, next time, something more substantial happens? You are not a young man. Indeed, you are older in human years than both myself and Eleazar were when we were turned."
Wilhelm collapsed back on the bed. They could not do this to him. "But, Master, there is so much work! We are at an important stage! I cannot be away from my work for a year or more. Please give me more time."
Aro patted the human's head, "I am so proud that you want to continue our work, but this is for the best my child. There will always be breakthroughs to be made. Consider this a sabbatical. I promise your work will be here for you when you are more…yourself."
"Who?" Wilhelm enquired. He already knew the answer to this question. Aro, Marcus and Caius took turns turning the potentials depending upon the future role or talent of the vampire, but he wanted it confirmed.
Aro lifted the human's chin up, "I will be quick and gentle, my child. I have asked Eleazar here to witness, as is our custom in these matters. I thought, considering his vital role in finding you for us, he should be here at your new birth."
Wilhelm looked over at the Spaniard, unchanged in all these years, his gold eyes demonstrating his alternate lifestyle. Wilhelm knew that Aro was tolerant of such choices for those special friends like Eleazar, but also knew his Master would not allow such choices for those like Wilhelm who, while not a member of the guard, were there to serve him totally.
This was the sensible decision and considering how few of their human assistants were actually turned, Wilhelm knew that he should be grateful for this honour. As he stared at the two vampires in front of him, Wilhelm knew that Aro was right. The chance of another accident was too high a risk, not to mention one of many potential illnesses or diseases to which his frail human body could succumb. He could not allow his humanity put the work he was doing at risk, not when the metamorphosis meant he could continue forever to help the vampire race. Wilhelm steeled his nerve and looked up at Aro, his gaze unwavering.
"Thank you, my Master, my Sire. I am ready."