1795

Vicki felt her stomach roll and weakly stood up and staggered to window and leaned her head against the wall. She could feel the cool wind as it wafted through the bars to cover her fevered body. "Winter is coming." She could smell the ocean and taste the sea salt on her lips.

She lifted her head and weakly tip toed up to peer out at the gallows, the macabre scene that met her gaze only reminded her of the plight she found herself facing watching the graceful sway of the rope as it swung in the breeze. Vicki felt more fear and shivered from seeing that rope than the fever that warred within her body.

Feeling her stomach revolt, she staggered back to the chamber pot only to dry heave over the pot and to fall back on her bed. Closing her eyes, she curled once again into a fetal position. "Oh death why do you torment me? I await your cold embrace." She muttered under her breath as she fell into a troubled and restless sleep.

1971

Barnabus paced the drawing room floor while Julia and Professor Stokes discussed their plans. "My dear Julia, Barnabus and I must use the I-Ching first to travel back in time. I will take over Ben's body and go to release Barnabus from the crypt. Once we release 18th century Barnabus, he will use,"

Elliott Stokes dropped his monicle and sipped his sherry. "his unique talents to secure Miss Winters release, then we will send you and Willie through the staircase of time. Once I release Ben's body back to him, I shall join you. Then after Barnabus has been resealed in his coffin, I will the release Ben and we will meet in the west wing with medical personnel."

Julia sighed and turned to Barnabus, "What if you are released before you have a chance to take over your body? Will you harm Ben?"

Barnabus shook his head and stopped his pacing. "Never, Ben was my one true confident during those times. We should time this to assume each body at the precise time outlined by Professor Stokes."

The front doors to the old house opened and the tall commanding outline of Quentin Collins stood poised on the threshhold. "Barnabus?" His voice was soft and curious. He moved into the room and paused smiling that charming carefree smile. "Well, well, well a party and no one invited me?"

"Quentin my dear boy, do oome in. We may have need of your assistance." Professor Stoke stood up and reached for his glass of sherry.

"We are about to embark on a rescue mission and will employ the use of your stariway of time."

Quentin Collins moved to the other fireside chair and sat. "Well now that sounds like fun. I guess the questions are, whom are we rescuing and why are we using the stairway of time."

Once again, the room grew cold and a wind blew open the front door, thus blowing out the candles leaving the room in a semi twilight state. All eyes turned to the petite figure poised in the archway of the drawing room.

Her long hair capped by a mob cap, and her long white dress blowing about her tiny body. Barnabus moved forward to embrace her tiny body next to his. "Sarah, my dear sweet little sister, why are you here?"

All eyes were focused on the two. Sarah placed her hands on Barnabus' face. "Oh brother you must hurry, Miss Winters is going to die if she does not get help soon."

Barnabus hugged his sister close and said softly into her ear, "You may rest easy my dear. We are about to rescue her."

Sarah smiled and kissed her brother's cheek stepped back from his embrace and slowly disappeared. " You must hurry, hurry dear brother." Her voice filtered around the room echoing over and over until it faded on a soft wind and calm that ow took over the room. Leaving a deathly chilling pall over the occupants of the room.

"Well, I take it we are rescuing Miss Winters from the gallows?" Quentin said more out of a need to break the poignant silence that was left by Sarah's departure.

Professor Stokes cleared his throat and moved to stand by Barnabus side. "Come we must prepare for our journey. Julia, I will leave you to explain to Willie and Quentin what we will need from them."

Willie moved from the cellar and stood by the door. "Um Barnabus, everything is ready for you and the Professor."

Barnabus and Professor Stokes moved to the door and down the stairs. "I will wait for you to enter Ben's body Professor before I move to my body. Once we have secured control, then I will move to my body and await your release."

Julia, turned to Willie. "Willie, I will leave you to protect Barnabus and Professor Stokes while they are in the I-Ching trance. I will take Quentin with me to the stairway of time and we will travel back to meet Ben and Barnabus, Professor Stokes will join us once he releases Barnabus."

Willie looked at Julia and Quentin, "Do you think they will rescue her in time? I . . . I don' want anything to happen to her. She never did nothing bad to no one and no one should do anythin bad to her."

Quentin catching on quickly on what the mission was, easily saw how much the family and those near the family loved this one woman he had heard about but never met.

Barnabus and Professor Stokes sat across from each other and began to concentrate, the I-Ching wands having been set out in the 47th parallel. Professor stokes entered the door first and moved through the swirling mists and colorful lights of time. Elliott traversed forward searching for the person he had sought drifting along in etherial form, he found the place he had sought and now approached the dimly lit building floating forward until he saw for whom he had searched.

1795

He saw Ben Stokes sitting at his kitchen table trying to write and read by candle light. "Benjamin Stokes, hear me, I am your ancestor Elliott Stokes."

Ben's head shot up and he grunted "Aye? Who is there? Where are ya?" He stood and picked up his candle and shown it around the room.

"Here in your mind I need you to allow me to use your body to free Barnabus Collins."

Ben's face suffused with fear and confusion. "Nooo Mr. Barnabus cannot be released. His father will not allow it."

Professor Stokes voice was calm and reassuring. "Ben, Mr. Barnabus will need to be released because he has to rescue Miss Winters from the goal. She is very ill and we need to take her back to her time. I am only asking for your help so we may together rescue her and bring her home."

Ben slumped into his chair and sighd. "I don wan nothing to happen to Miss Winters she was nice to me and she needs to go home."

Professor Stokes pride in his ancestor showed through in the tone of his voice. "Now Benjamine, I want you to sit and close your eyes and open your mind to my mind. I promise you Ben, you will not regret your actions and we will meet at the end of this mission. Together we shall endeavor to accomplish the impossible and reunite Miss Winters with her family."

Ben could feel the presence in his mind as it nudged him into action.

Moving like an automatum he moved to get the service wagon and hitch the horses to it. Then under cover of darkness he moved to Eagle Hill Cemetary, where he made great haste in going to the Collins mauseleum to releaes Barabus. When the last chain slid off his coffin, Ben opened the casket's lid and Barnabus' eyes opened and he smiled at Ben.

"Professor, you can go now. I have successfully taken over my body and will meet you back at Collinwood later."

Though Ben stood near Barnabus, it was Professor Stokes who spoke now through Bens body. "I shall join Julia and Quentin in the west wing. Good Luck my friend."

Ben staggered as the weight of another having control over his body left closed the lid and watched as Ben's eyes focused back on him.

"Come Ben we must hurry, time is of the essence, we must go and rescue Miss Winters, I fear she is very ill."

Ben nodded and followed Barnabus through the secret panel and out to the wagon he left on the nearby road. Overhead a storm began to form "Looks like a regular nor eastrn' rollin' in Mr. Barnabus. How ya gonna rescue her? She is under guard and they even hired more guards."

He watched Ben mount up on the wagon. "You my friend just be near the docks in one hour and I will be there with Miss Winters. You leave the problem of the guards and how I will get her out of there to me."

Barnabas moved with a flare of his great coat that moved around his ankles like a live formless being. He moved through the cemetary and headed for the Collinsport Goal. "As I live and breathe, Vicki you will be home this night."

Barnabas stood at the edge of the courtyard of the goal. Summoning his eldritch powers he smiled as the very air around him began to collace and turn to fog. Off in the distance the guards heard the mournful howl of a wolf or a dog. It caused the guards to shift nervously on their feet.

With the advent of the fog and the sound of distant thunder all the men began to yawn and their eyes grew heavy with and as plannd by Barnabas all the guards had grown sleepy and had fallen unconscious at their post. Barnabus shifted to vapourous form and reappeared inside the jail cell where Vicki lay on her bunk.

Her brow was beaded with sweat and she shivered under her thin ' scowled with anger looking around the dismal cell and then down at the woman that had taken the place of Josette in his heart. "Vicki, wake up my dear its Barnabus."

He watched as her brows knit together and she spoke softly, "Barnabus?" Slowly her fever filled eyes opened and she peered at him kneeling by her side.

"Hello my dear. I am here now and I am going to take you home."

He watched as the confusion was replaced with a sad smile. "Am I dead?"

She felt the coolness of his hand stroking her hair from her eyes and she looked upon his face. "No my dear you are not dead, you are in the county goal and I am here to rescue you and take you home to Collinwood."

Vicki frowned and then she looked at him the reality of what must be happening dawning to her. "I am alive but this surely is a dream. Before I wake my dearest most precious love. I must tell you how wrong I was to deny you my hand in marriage. I was confused and what I thought was love was no more than gartitude to a man that had championed me. I realize now how wrong I was and now I have been given a chance to ask your forgiveness."

Barnabus felt his voice catch in his throat as she spoke these words. He caressed her face and spoke gently to her. "My dear there is nothing to forgive, we must blame circumstances and now we must take you home where you belong. Come my sweet Victoria, take my hand."

Barnabus stood and held out his and. "If this is a dream I do not wish to wake from it." She sat up and slid her feet to the floor, taking his and she stood, only to feel her world swirl and crumble around her and she collapsed in his arms. With a deftness born of his super strength, he swept her up in his arms.

Enveloping their bodies in a heavy fog, they both disappeared from the cell and reappeared near the could see Ben with the wagon nearby and he moved swiftly to the wagon. With Ben's help, he covered Vicki's body with a heavy blanket and ordered Ben to meet him back at Collinwood. "Take her to the west wing, and use the secret entrance at the rear of the house. I do not need my father catching you with Miss Winters."

Ben nodded and looked back at the draped form of Vicki as she laid so still. "Is she . . . "

Barnabus stroked her cheek one more time and knew that he had to move the urge to take her blood was now flooding him. "No Ben she has fainted. Once you get to Collinwood, there will be two very dear friends a Professor Stokes to meet us. After they have taken Miss Winters with them, you will meet me back at the mauseleum and seal me back in my coffin."

Ben watched him leaned over Miss Winters and placed a brief kiss on her forehead. "Take care Ben, you have very precious cargo, Miss Winters is to be my bride in the future."

Ben smiled at his former boss and then waited watcbing him step back and shifted to a bat and took flight. Ben moved through the fog filled streets of Collinsport and had made it to the back road to Collinwood when he heard the town cryer setting the alarm of the missing prisoner. Ben chuckled he could almost hear their hushed whispers beginning to tremble with fear at the witch's trickery.

Ben moved down the candle lit hallways of the west wing carrying Miss Winters, not sure where he should take her. Then he saw Barnabus moving down the hallway to a closet door. He opened the door and stood back.

"Mr. Barnabus?" He watched the closet shifted and two people stepped through. A woman with short cropped red hair and angular features. She almost reminded him of that Countess woman the Aunt of Miss Josette.

"Julia, Quentin, where is the Professor?" Almost in an immediate iresponse to his question, a voice that Ben had become familiar with stepped through the door.

"I am here Barnabus."

Ben looked at the well dressed man and could see some famial resemblence. The tall man moved forward and smiled at Ben. "Mr. Stokes, here let me take your burden from you."

Julia turned to look at Vicki. "She may have scarlet fever, allow me Mr. Stokes to innoculate you against this so that you will feel no ill health from having touched her."

Julia set her doctors' bag on the table in the hallway and indicated Ben should roll up his sleeve.

Ben looking confused did as he was instructed and grimaced when the needle pierced his skin. "Now, for the next 10 days you need to take one of these pills until they are gone. Do you understand?"

Ben nodded as he looked down at the large white pills in a package, "Quentin come we need to hurry, Barnabus will be waiting for us with the ambulance."

This did confused Ben. He looked at the woman and Barnabus speaking in low tones watching the tall man take Vicki through the door.

"Ben thank you for your help, rest assure your future does not die with you. We go on to become scholars and success in all our endeavors. For now, I bid you aduiex."

He bowed to Ben and they disappeared through the door. Ben turned to Barnabus and Barnabus could read the confusion on his features. "Come my dear friend, I will ride back to Eagle Hill with you and explain everything along the way."

1971

Barnabus stood anxiously by the closet doorway of the west wing. He paced back and forth. "Come on, time is of the essence.

David stood at his side with Hallie. "Cousin Barnabus are you sure they are going to bring Vicki back?"

Barnabus stopped and looked at David. "Yes, David, she should be back anytime. I had personally saw to her rescue."

The closet shifted and Quentin came through holding a frail and bedraggled and still unconscious Vicki in his arms. "Barnabus, where are the amublance attendents?"

From the distance the sound of sirens could be heard. "They apparently are arriving now. Hallie my dear will you go see them through the door while Quentin and I bring Vicki down?"

Hallie looked anxiously and then nodded as her Uncle Elliott came through the doorway, followed by Julia. Hallie turned to race down the hallway heading towards the front entrance of the house.

Julia, turned to Barnabus and then to Quentin. "I will go in the ambulance with them to Collinsport Hospital. One of you will need to follow me there."

Barnabus held her back and nodded to Quentin to go ahead with his cargo. "Julia, do you really think its scarlet fever?"

Julia touched his shoulder, she knew with the return of Vicki, that Barnabus would find his true love at long last. She looked at Elliott. "Will you join me at the hospital?"

Elliott leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Of course my dear Julia, I will be there for you and for Miss Winters." She smiled hearing his kind words and felt an affinity for the erudite man. Elliott and then turned to follow after Quentin.

"Barnabus, I think you should inform Carolyn, and Roger that Miss Winters has returned. I will follow Julia to the hospital and await you there."

Elliott had put a comforting hand on Barnabus' shoulder and then followed Julia. Barnabus looked at David, "David, I need you to call your father and then bring Carolyn to the drawing room, there is a great deal we need to discuss concerning Miss Winters."

David looked with a great deal of concern at Barnabus and then nodded, "Barnabus, is she going to be ok?" David's concern was real watching the worry etch his cousins face. Barnabus put a brave smile on for David and nodded.

"Now she is back, she should recover from her illness and be fine. Now run along and do as I say." Roger, Carolyn and David all sat awaiting Barnabus and Quentins arrival. Roger drank heavily from a brandy snifter as he waited.

"How is this possible that they found Vicki and brought her back here? And what is this none sense that she may have scarlet fever, these type of things do not happen in the 20th century."

Carolyn frown deepened and caused her forehead to wrinkle with her concern. "Now, Uncle Roger, we have to wait for an explanation from Barnabus. I am sure he can give us a reasonable explanation."

David sighed and moved to the double french doors looking out overe the front court yard. "I saw them come out of that closet that Judith Collins wrote about in her book. The stairway through time. She was dressed similar as she was the night she came back after the séance. She looked very sick."

Roger harumphed his thoughts on traveling through time and all kinds of such non sense and sipped again from the brandy snifter. "Time travel, stairways through time its all ridiculous and a load of rubbish."

Barnabas entered the drawing room and studied those that had assembled at his request "Not hardly Roger, it exists and we brought Vicki back through time thanks to Quentin's Great Great Grandfather's staircase. Julia is working hard right at Collinsport Hospital to save Vicki's life. But there is more all of you need to know and understand. Elizabeth sent me back to bring Vicki back home."

Carolyn's color drained from her face and she stood up. "Is Vicki the first born that Mother kept requesting to be brought home?"

"Now Kitten, don't be ridiculous, your mother was obviously delusional with her sickness." Roger stood to hold Carolyn who buried her face in his chest.

"That is not my tale to impart, I will leave that to Elizabeth to tell upon her return."

David had stood silently watching the front driveway and then turned. "May I go to the hospital to be with Vicki?"

Roger looked at the pale features of his son and felt the heaving sobs of Carolyn as she leaned on him and nodded. "We all shall go and see our Vicki now that she has returned to us."

Carolyn pulled back and wiped her tears and then looked around the drawing room. "Yes, I think we need to go, I want to be with my sister."

She stopped a moment and then said in awe and wonder, "I have a sister, an older sister."