Author's Note: Apologies to everyone still waiting for me to update my other fics, but I just had to write this! The plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone! T_T Feel free to read on.

Darkest Fears

02

The first time that Ashlyn Darrow met the keeper of Fear was a complete accident.

Or at least that was what she would later tell her dumbfounded husband and the incredulous Lords of the Underworld.

She had just been taking a walk, more like a waddle really, since her belly was so swollen with her pregnancy that anything more would just be uncomfortable, through the town and minding her own business while idly listening for anything that might concern the Lords. She honestly hadn't meant for anything to happen, though she guessed she should have known that something would happen, considering that her track record for incident-free walks was worse than Disaster's travel safety record.

Ashlyn hadn't told any of the Lords that she was leaving the fortress and going into Budapest, though she wouldn't have been surprised to know that Torin had seen her leave and told the others a few minutes later. The keeper of Disease practically ran the entire world from the computer system he had in his room, and since he couldn't leave the fortress without the risk of starting a plague, he had a lot of time to monitor things.

Her feet had started to hurt an hour into her walk, and so she had detoured to a nearby park just as the streetlights had begun to flicker on. It had taken her a lot longer than she had thought to walk as far as she had, though it had definitely helped the restlessness she had been feeling, and so she had sank gratefully down onto a wooden bench.

Now, she sighed in relief at taking her weight off of her swollen feet, and she had to think wistfully of Maddox and how he massaged her feet every time she complained that they were hurting. God, that man was very good with his hands.

'I'm going to have to head back soon before everyone gets worried,' she thought, and she had to groan softly at the thought of standing up so soon after starting to rest her feet. She looked around, distantly listening to the voices whisper sweet nothings to each other, and upon seeing no one around decided that it wouldn't hurt to rest for a few more minutes.

A few more minutes turned into half an hour before Ashlyn could bring herself to move from the bench, having become engrossed in looking around and admiring the beauty of the quiet park. At night, the park seemed calm and serene, with only the quiet buzzing of insects colliding with the glowing lamps to disturb the peace.

Ashlyn blinked, breaking free of the quiet-induced trance, and covered a small yawn behind her hand as she prepared to push herself to her feet and start back towards the fortress. She idly wondered if Lucien would meet her halfway, because she just knew that her feet were going to hate her in the morning for the abuse that she was putting them through.

Just as she was about to stand though, she felt a tingle of apprehension shoot down her spine, and she quickly froze in place. She slowly returned her hands, which had been braced on the back of the bench in preparation for standing up, back to her lap, and she carefully began to look around, trying to figure out what had caused that odd shiver of fear. That's if it hadn't just been her imagination, she mused to herself, and then shook her head wryly. Since when had that actually turned out to be true?

The brunette was just thinking of getting her cell phone out when she froze again, feeling more shivers of fear even stronger than the first one run down her spine, chilling her to the bone as she looked around even more carefully. Her honey-colored eyes were wide as she looked carefully at every shadow around her, craning her neck to see behind her even as she wondered when Maddox would get worried about her and come looking. It wouldn't be very long now, she reassured herself, and some of her fear dissipated at the thought of the love of her life.

She conjured an image of Maddox's face in her mind to quiet the voices, and took several deep breaths, telling herself that getting worked up wouldn't solve anything and might even hurt the babies, which was the absolute last thing she wanted to do. Her racing heart calmed, and she was able to look around more calmly, examining every shadow for any tell-tale movement.

The shadow of fear still lingered, along with the chills running up and down her back, and she shuddered as gooseflesh rose along her arms.

'What is going on?' she wondered to herself as she once again began reaching for her cell phone, because enough was enough already. Her hand had just closed on cool, reassuring plastic when the sound of bushes rustling reached her ears, and her eyes zeroed in on the foliage across from her – or more importantly, they locked onto the dark shape emerging from the bushes.

Ashlyn tensed, quickly taking in the size and width of the form, noting that it was definitely a man's form, and then the dark form stepped out into the lightened area around the lamp posts. What was revealed shocked her, and she couldn't stop herself from gaping in astonishment.

The man that stumbled as he shakily approached her was…dark. That was really the only word that seemed to fit him.

Long black hair fell in tangles down to his hips, his bangs falling in a dark curtain in front of his eyes, and it almost seemed as though the light from the lamps was afraid to approach the dark strands. He was tall, over six feet if she had to guess, and excruciatingly thin. She could almost make out the outline of some of his ribs through his threadbare, oversized t-shirt. The man was barefoot, and in addition to the t-shirt that exposed his thin, pale arms he wore only a pair of washed out jeans that were torn at the knees.

However, despite the sorry condition of his clothing and the layers of grime that even in the poor light she could see covered the man from head to toe, Ashlyn could clearly make out the defined muscles that moved beneath his skin that betrayed the fact that he was likely a lot stronger than he looked.

The man took another step, stumbling again as he did so, and Ashlyn snapped out of her state of shock enough to realize that a strange man who looked more than a little starving approaching a woman sitting alone on a park bench was probably not a good thing. She felt a sharp jolt of fear in her chest, not for herself but for her children, and for Maddox should something happen to her and the babies.

That settled it for her, and she didn't hesitate to quickly pull out her cell phone, scrolling through the names she had on speed dial and settling on Lucien's, figuring that getting someone there fast was more important than calling Maddox. And the keeper of Death could definitely be there fast, considering that he could flash himself anywhere he wanted with only a thought.

A pale, dirty hand lashed out and seized her wrist in an iron grip, the long and slender fingers tightening until she dropped her phone, but thankfully not getting any tighter when she gasped in slight pain. Another stab of fear hit her, and she slowly looked up at the owner of the hand holding her wrist in an unbreakable grip, finally getting a look at the man's face.

If she hadn't been so terrified, she would have thought the dark man was pretty handsome underneath all the dirt and grime. High cheekbones, full lips, and an aristocratic nose combined with black-as-night eyebrows and eyes so dark that it was almost impossible to distinguish the iris from the pupil formed a face so handsome that Ashlyn had to take a moment to shake the thought that he was almost more attractive than Paris, the keeper of Promiscuity.

'Focus, Darrow!' Ashlyn thought, tugging lightly at her trapped hand, testing to see if the man's grip was any looser. Sadly, all she accomplished was drawing the man's attention to her and causing him to tighten his grip to ensure that she couldn't pull free.

She gulped, trying to beat down the fear that attempted to claw its' way up from her stomach to surround her heart, and she prayed that whatever the man wanted, he wouldn't decide to kill her. Of course, if the man was a Hunter, being killed was probably the best thing that he could do to her, especially if he knew that Maddox was the father of her children. Then again, he probably would have done something already if he was a Hunter. Suspicious, she shot a quick glance at the man's wrists, confirming that there was no infinity tattoo beneath the layers of dirt, and that did absolutely nothing to make her feel better.

Several tense moments passed, and Ashlyn peered cautiously up at the dark man, wondering what he was thinking, since he hadn't moved aside from grabbing her wrist to keep her from using her cell phone. She swallowed nervously, mentally telling herself to calm down, and she practically squeaked out, "Uh, sir? What do you want?"

The silence was shattered, though for a minute everything seemed so still that you could hear a pin drop before the dark man did something that she never would have expected: he shrugged.

Ashlyn gaped at the motion, and her honey-colored eyes were wide in puzzlement as she tried to figure out what that gesture could mean, especially since he was still holding on to her wrist. Her thoughts were running around in circles, and she swallowed to moisten her suddenly dry mouth, once more fearing for both herself and her unborn children.

Dark eyes narrowing, the man tilted his head, apparently reading the expression that flashed across her face before she managed to get herself under control. Strands of tangled hair fell idly over one shoulder as he looked at her, his face expressionless as he stared at her, and why did she suddenly feel like he could see right through her? A shudder racked her body, but she staunchly told herself to stay calm and that everything would be alright.

Suddenly, the man smiled, and his eyes brightened in a way that seemed distinctly amused.

She narrowed her own eyes, frowning at the thought that the man was amused by her fear, and she glanced down at her free hand, wondering if she could use it to reach her cell phone and press the call button before the man could stop her. Almost as if he'd read her mind, the man's other hand lashed out and grabbed onto her free hand, thereby stopping her plan before it had even begun.

They stayed like that, her seated on the bench with both of her wrists held before her in an unbreakable grip, and he slightly bent over so he could look into her eyes while he restrained her arms, a somewhat amused light in his eyes. The frozen taboo continued for minutes that seemed to stretch into eternity, Ashlyn's eyes locked with the man's black, fathomless gaze.

Ashlyn shifted slightly and winced when a pins-and-needles sensation started in her feet, signaling that they had definitely fallen asleep, and the loss of feeling in her hands said that her other appendages weren't far behind.

The dark man caught her wince and shift, and his eyes narrowed speculatively before he abruptly released his hold on Ashlyn's wrists.

Caught off-guard, it took her a moment to process that she was now free, and as she slowly lowered her arms and began to rub her wrists to encourage the blood to flow back into the appendages she kept a wary eye on the man. She knew not to try and reach for her cell phone again, because she knew without a doubt that the man was a lot quicker than she was. She shifted her legs to wake her feet back up, and she found it more than a little disconcerting that the man wasn't moving a muscle though being bent over in that position had to be uncomfortable. Disconcerting and a tiny bit frightening, she admitted to herself.

The man's lips quirked up; and Ashlyn had to breathe deeply in order to stem the sudden tide of fear that tried to overwhelm her. 'What if he's just playing with you? What if he's planning to kill you?' She knew what her death, along with the deaths of her unborn children, would do to Maddox, and the thoughts of that terrified her more than anything.

The last thing she wanted to do was cause Maddox pain.

Inexplicably, the fear left her, and all she felt was confusion, both at why the dark man was standing there and why she was suddenly unafraid.

A soft chuckle emerged from the man still in front of her, and her eyes, which had been unfocused as she thought, snapped back up to his face. Seeing the slight smile on that attractive, grime covered face along with the amusement in his dark eyes caused her to scowl and raise her chin primly in a way that communicated that she was Not Amused. Which only caused the man to snicker, but at least he wasn't trying to terrify or kill her, so she figured she could let some amusement at her expense slide. Not much she could do about it anyway, but she chose not to think about that.

Abruptly, a strange thought occurred to her, but it actually made sense in a sort of odd way.

She took a deep breath and asked the looming man hesitantly, still shifting her feet to keep them from falling asleep again, "You…wouldn't happen to be a demon-keeper…would you?"

The wider smile that spread across his face told Ashlyn that she had hit the nail on the head, and she frowned at the amusement that was still present in those black eyes. Surely scaring her half to death hadn't been that funny.

He nodded as if he'd heard her thought, and without a word he twisted and slid down to sit next to her on the bench. She figured that meant she would have to guess which demon he had, but considering the events leading up to her question, she considered Fear a pretty safe bet.

Glancing at him, she said dryly, "Let me guess, your demon is Fear or something along those lines." It was a statement more than a question, but the man nodded anyway, a slight grin still on his face along with twinkles of amusement in his eyes. She still frowned, more than a little put out that a random demon-keeper had decided to get a laugh out of making her think she and her children were going to be killed.

Ashlyn jumped slightly when the man suddenly turned to face her while still sitting, drawing one leg up onto the bench beside him and keeping the other planted on the ground. She blinked, starting to get nervous again, but she stayed where she was aside from folding her hands on top of her distended belly and tapping her left foot twice when it started to go numb.

She shuddered slightly, feeling the chill in the air as it grew darker and closer to midnight. Honestly, she had no idea what time it was, but she was sure that Maddox must be starting to wonder where she was.

The man tilted his head, the expression of confusion flashing across his face compelling her to explain, even though his staring was pretty unnerving, "It's getting cold out, and I've been out here for awhile," Ashlyn smiled, since it was never a good idea to get on the bad side of a demon-keeper, and for lack of anything better to do and just to break the uneasy silence, she introduced herself, "My name is Ashlyn. Ashlyn Darrow. What's your name?"

Again, his only reply was a shrug, and she was beginning to wonder if the keeper of Fear (or something along those lines) was simply unable to talk.

She jumped in surprise when the man's dirt-covered hand - with slightly longer than average nails, she noted - tentatively reached out and touched her belly, and she couldn't miss the curious look in his eyes, along with the quick flash of longing. She smiled softly, her mother's instinct now telling her that the dark man wasn't a danger to her, and she told him quietly but proudly, "Olivia, the angel who lives in the fortress with us, says I'm having twins, a boy and a girl. You could have knocked Maddox, my husband, over with a feather when I told him, or so Strider says, but I'm not sure if I believe him or not…"

The keeper of Fear tilted his head as he listened to the story, and if he thought she was lying he gave no indication. Just then, one of the babies kicked against the man's palm, and Ashlyn had to giggle at the wondering look on his pale, dirty face. The man started moving his palm around the surface of her belly, and she had to giggle again when the kicks seemed to follow his hand.

"I swear, they take after their father when it comes to how hard they kick," she had to comment, and was rewarded with a slight grin from the man before he focused again on her belly and the babies moving around within. More at ease now that she knew he wasn't a threat, she relaxed against the back of the bench and began to idly talk, not about anything in particular, and the night air was soon filled with comfortable chatter.

Almost fifteen minutes passed before Ashlyn's cell phone, forgotten on the bench beside her, began to ring, the screen flashing caller ID to let her know that Torin was trying to call her.

Ashlyn would later swear up and down that she most certainly did not squeak at the sudden noise, but she did stop talking about the latest cake recipe that Torin had wanted her to try in order to pick up the phone, only half aware of the man's interested gaze on the phone in her hand.

She flipped open the phone, pausing when she saw the time display – 12:28, really? It felt like a lot longer to her – but then she pressed the answer button on the fifth ring.

"Where have you been?" Torin's smooth voice demanded, and Ashlyn felt more than a little guilty when she heard the worry in his tone.

She cleared her throat and guiltily responded, "I'm alright, Torin. I'm sorry if I worried you, but I lost track of time, honest!"

"Lucien is coming to pick you up, mostly to prevent Maddox from going crazy while trying to find you." A statement, not a suggestion, and that told her everything about how frantic her husband was.

Really, all she could say was, "I'm sitting on a park bench, and I'm so sorry I worried all of you. Please tell Maddox not to hurt himself and I'll be home soon."

Torin hung up at the same time she did, and she sighed just as her back began complaining loudly at how uncomfortable the back of a wooden bench was after a long period of time. She groaned, looking forward to convincing Maddox to give her a backrub, but then she remembered the demon-keeper sitting next to her, and she looked over to find him staring at her intently. Though she noted that he was still feeling the babies' kicks against her belly and his hand, and that reminded her so much of Maddox that she had to press a hand over her mouth to suppress her laughter.

The dark man straightened up until he was sitting normally beside her, pulling his hand away from her shirt-covered belly with barely perceivable reluctance. The silence between them was rather awkward now, Torin's phone call having shattered the peaceful atmosphere, but Ashlyn figured that she had at least a few minutes before Lucien found her, and she felt the need to say something.

Suddenly it came to her, and she spoke up with a grin, "Vincent," drawing an odd look from the man beside her, and she explained gently, "Well, since you either don't know or you won't tell me your name, I've decided to give you one. I rather like Vincent, don't you?"

Her reward was the man actually doubling over in laughter, his pale arms crossed over his abdomen lightly, and the newly dubbed 'Vincent' smiled as he settled down next to her to wait for the keeper of Death to arrive.

Of course, it took some convincing to get Lucien to agree to bring the keeper of Fear back to the fortress, but that's another story entirely.