Author's Note: I must admit this is probably one of the worst chapters I have ever written! I'm not even kidding it is absolutely horrible!! I'm just warning you and telling you yeah I know this chapter sucks. I didn't really want to write it, but I found that I had to write a transitional chapter in order to get to the next point. I hope it's not too excruciating and please bear with me. The other chapters aren't going to be as horrible as this. I just thought I would warn you.

Disclaimer: I do not under any circumstances own Blood and Chocolate or its characters, but I do own this fan fiction. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 3: Getting Ready

"Mom," Vivian groaned as her mother handed her yet another box of random items to load in the car. "You said that the last box I took down was the last of our stuff." Vivian didn't even bother to hide the irritation she felt, it had been a very long day. "This isn't our stuff; it's Tomas's. So can you please take it down to the car?" Vivian rolled her eyes, but complied with her mother's wishes. She was absolutely not in a good mood.

Early in the morning, Vivian and Gabriel had received a certain "unwanted" wake up call from Esme. The blond haired - and aged version of Vivian - had banged on the door and demanded that Vivian open up.

With a start Vivian and Gabriel had both woken up immediately and looked at each other in horror for a moment. "Shit…" Vivian whispered and jumped out of bed, letting the covers land where they may.

While thanking god that she had remembered to lock the door to her room, Vivian had rushed Gabriel out of the bed and through the open window without so much as a goodbye. For a moment they stared at each other, both of them a little depressed about leaving the other. "We'll go out tonight, just the two of us!" Gabriel had said up to her in almost a whisper before running to find his bike.

Before Esme could bring out the bobby pins, Vivian had dressed in her normal

Pajamas and opened the door with a huge swing.

"What do you want?" Vivian said angrily while making sure to give her mother the coldest stare possible.

"What are you doing Viv? It's already seven o' clock!"

"I was sleeping." Vivian's voice sounded like venom, but Esme seemed to ignore it. Vivian's mother seemed to be in a chipper mood this morning and she was used to ignoring her daughter's bad attitude. With the smile quickly fading from her face, Esme simply grabbed Vivian's arm. "We need to start packing. We're moving tomorrow and all of our stuff is still lying around." Esme had said while scanning Vivian's appearance with her emerald eyes. "I guess you can take a shower and change clothes before you start, but make it quick."

Without even bothering to give Esme another glance, Vivian made her way to the shower; she had no intention of making it quick like her mother had requested. After about an hour of the shower, Esme had finally barged in and even had the nerve to turn off the water. "What the hell mom!" Vivian screamed while quickly wrapping the towel around her wet body. "I told you to make it quick. And don't 'What the hell mom' me!" Esme said while giving her daughter an evil eye, although her voice still sounded bright. "I know you're not in a good mood today and I'm sorry I had to wake you up early, but we need to pack. The quicker we finish, the quicker you can hang out with the five, or whatever it is that you like to do lately." Vivian rolled her eyes, as her mother stomped out.

Vivian's attitude had not changed since then. Not even the coffee Tomas brewed could ease her fowl mood; which was saying something. Coffee could almost always cheer her up or at least make her moderately tolerable to be around. The coffee seemed to have no effect and the horrible attitude stayed with her, scaring almost everyone one who happened to accidentally cross her path. It was now two in the afternoon and she was still not in a good mood. The box fell from her arms, scattering family photos along the ground. No, Vivian was not in a good mood at all.

Vivian sighed and bent over to scoop up the fallen pictures and throw them back in the box. "Great, just great." She said with irritation. Reaching down to take another hand full a certain picture caught her eye. Slowly Vivian reached over and picked it up, handling it with absolute care. She recognized the picture. It was the last photo she had taken with her father. Her long fingers slowly traced his face as if she were discovering him for the first time. Esme had taken the picture the day before the fire. Vivian's face was lit up in a smile as her dad wrapped his arm around her shoulder with a carefree expression on his face. His brown eyes stared up at her from the picture with a cheerful glow, causing Vivian to smile herself. He didn't look like a fearless leader who had just hours to live; he looked like a happy father hanging out with his daughter. They looked so happy in the picture, like nothing in the world could go wrong. But it did, oh how it did. A drop of water hit the photo, breaking Vivian's trance. She brushed the drop away with her fingers, delicately making sure not to ruin such a prized possession.

Finally making it to the car and placing the giant box in the trunk, Vivian sighed and leaned against the side of the car. "Why isn't Gabriel back yet?" She asked herself while staring up at the afternoon sky. Gabriel had come over earlier in the day to help Vivian's family pack, as he had with the rest of the pack. It was hell, trying to avoid each other and Vivian guessed that it might have been too much since he had left to go to his apartment and pick up a few items leaving Vivian alone to deal with Esme and Tomas. 'Well geez Vivian it wasn't like you both were able to hang out anyway.' She thought to herself. The entire day, they had been trying to avoid each other. It was almost insane, trying to keep their relationship from the others. It was quite obvious if you looked at it, but the others didn't seem to notice the loving stares they sent each other or how they would jump when someone entered a room where just the two of them had wound up. At least, Vivian didn't think they noticed. With a sigh Vivian trudged back up to the house, hoping that the packing would be done soon.

"Come in." Gabriel said running a hand through his dark hair and answering the loud knock on his door. The door creaked open and a tall man with dark hair walked in; his chocolate brown eyes were as peaceful as ever. "Hey Bucky," Gabriel said, a smile spreading across his face. Bucky was probably Gabriel's favorite person in the pack, well besides Vivian anyway. They had been friends since his childhood and knew almost everything about each other; they were even neighbors in the apartment complex. "What's up?" Gabriel sat up on the couch he had been resting on.

"Nothing, I just wanted to see how you were, I mean, I know today must have been hard." Bucky sat swiftly down beside Gabriel and rested his feet on the coffee table. Confusion crossed Gabriel's face at Bucky's statement. What did he mean hard? Packing boxes wasn't hard at all.

"All we did was put stuff in boxes and load them in the trunk. That is hardly stressful."

Bucky chuckled for a moment.

"I wasn't talking about packing, you idiot. I meant you and Vivian having to avoid each other. I mean you guys just became mates; it must have been hard not to throw yourself at her or anything."

"Wait a second! How do you know about me and Vivian?"

Bucky pulled down his white t-shirt that had suddenly become wrinkled from the couch.

"Are you serious Gabriel? I mean it's quite obvious that you and she were doing something. You haven't been home the past couple of nights, you have a mark on your neck and so does she. Anyone with half a brain could put two and two together and figure out that you two were up to something."

Gabriel was speechless. He had completely thought that they were doing a great job at keeping their relationship a secret. The two of them had talked about it last night, along with being a little gentler when "sleeping together". Both of them had agreed to be silent until then, but he guessed that didn't matter now.

"Do you think anyone else knows?" Gabriel asked, his voice quiet, almost as if he were fearful of Bucky's answer.

"Maybe, maybe not," He took a swig of water from his water bottle. "I'm pretty sure Esme would have picked up on it, well unless she wasn't paying a lot of attention, but she is Vivian's mom and would know when something changed. It doesn't really look like anyone else really has a clue that you've been gone for the past two nights or that you have a new mark on your neck. The rest of the pack isn't really observant if you haven't noticed. It's a good thing you haven't run into Persia though. She would know the moment you stepped into the room." Bucky said with a small laugh, and Gabriel knew he was right; their relationship was pretty obvious. How else could Vivian have explained how she changed back without telling them the truth? The pack wasn't stupid, they had to have known something was up the moment Vivian told them that it was Gabriel's conversation with her that changed her back. Conversations just aren't that powerful. He hadn't helped either. His entrance in the club was probably not the right way to go, after all only a couple of days ago Vivian had hated his guts. Gabriel knew it, and everyone else did. Why all of the sudden would she have willingly left with him? He hoped no one else had picked up on it. Vivian needed time to adjust, he could see that. Gabriel had needed time too, although he didn't really care how it went from here; he was used to the idea, but then again he had known that he and Vivian would be together from the moment she won the bitch's fight. Vivian had been convinced otherwise.

Gabriel sighed while placing his head in his hands. He really hoped that a confrontation could be avoided until both of them were ready to reveal it to the pack themselves.

"Hey don't worry man" Bucky said reassuringly while placing a hand on Gabriel's shoulder. "I don't think anyone has really noticed; just stay away from Persia and you'll be fine. I swear on my entire comic book collection that you have been after since infancy, that you and Vivian will be able to get used to the idea before the pack finds out."

Gabriel looked at him skeptically for a moment, until Bucky began to raise his right hand. "Scouts honor!" He said causing Gabriel to laugh.

"You got kicked out of scouts, dipshit."

"I know but it sounds promising, doesn't it?"

Gabriel punched Bucky's arm.

"You're such a loser Bucky." Gabriel laughed while Bucky rubbed his arm where Gabriel had wounded him; he hadn't punched him lightly. Despite both of them being well over eighteen they still tended to act like children at times.

"And that's why you love me like your own brother." Bucky laughed punching Gabriel back. Now both of them rubbed their arms and continued to sit on Gabriel's couch, changing the subject to something less complicated, baseball.

"That's the last of them." Esme said while slamming the trunk door. "We're all ready to move."

Vivian let out a sigh of relief. Thank the freaking lord! She liked packing about as much as she liked being shot with a silver bullet. Vivian reached up to the sky with her arms in a cat-like stretch. "It's about damn time we've been packing all day."

"Well if someone didn't have so much stuff…" Esme teased causing Vivian to hit her lightly in the arm. Both of them laughed, their faces holding almost the exact same expressions. Vivian smiled warmly, and for the first time that day she could feel her bad mood disintegrating. She couldn't remember the last time that she and her mother had actually laughed together. The days since her dad had died had been filled with nothing but chaos; it was nice to be able to laugh now that all the mayhem was finally over. The two of them seemed to be finally coping with the loss of their former pack leader, maybe they were finally moving on.

Vivian's thoughts were interrupted by the growling sound of a motorcycle zooming into the driveway and coming to a complete stop in front of them.

"Hey ladies." Gabriel said sweetly while taking off his shiny red helmet.

"Hi Gabe." Esme sighed looking from her daughter to the ripped hotly standing in front of them.

"Hi Esme, hey Vivian."

Vivian nodded in response, while smiling like an idiot. She was so happy to see him.

"I was wondering if I could show Vivian something; if that would be ok with you, Esme, of course." Gabriel asked while sending a charming smile Vivian's way. The smile reminded Vivian of a time before, when Gabriel was being forceful with her after the fight for the new leader. She looked away, not liking the way he looked at her; like a piece of meat.

"I don't mind" Esme's eyes rested on Vivian, watching her reaction. "As long as it's ok with Vivian."

Even if Vivian didn't want to go with Gabriel, she knew that she had no choice. Once Esme was in matchmaker mood she would stop at nothing.

"It's fine." Vivian said her voice sounding soft, even to her own ears. Why was he looking at her like that?

"Well I guess I'll see you later." Esme said smiling. "Don't stay out too late." She warned, although Vivian could tell her warning was just for show. Esme didn't really care how long they stayed out, as long as the two of them were together.

"Thanks Esme." Gabriel smiled and for the first time turned his eyes to Vivian's mother. Esme smiled as well showing off her pearly white teeth. "You're welcome. I'll see you guys later."

Vivian's mother trotted up to the house and with a squeak of the screen door left them alone in the driveway.

"Hello." Gabriel said teasingly while handing Vivian the helmet. The fierce smile had vanished and had been replaced with the one she usually saw when they were alone. His gentle smile made her feel at ease.

"Hi." She giggled putting the helmet over her head. "So where are we going?" Vivian asked as the two of the climbed on to Gabriel's Harley. Gabriel laughed for a moment as if in on some kind of inside joke that Vivian had not heard.

"It's a surprise."

The drove for what seemed like hours, but Vivian didn't mind. She loved being able to wrap her arms around Gabriel while feeling the wind rush through her hair. She also didn't mind the intimate position they were able to be in without anyone else thinking anything of it. Vivian felt so safe with Gabriel with her. She sighed as she nuzzled her face further against his skin in order to take in his woodsy scent. This was heaven.

It hadn't really seemed like a three hour drive to Vivian, but that's how long it had taken for them to reach their destination. Gabriel's Harley slowly grazed into a long drive way that was completely surrounded by woods. It was too dark to really see where they were going since the sun had recently set and the thick leaves of the trees seemed to repeal all light from the road. The only light that Vivian could see was coming from the motorcycle's headlights that shone down on the black top.

"We're almost there!" Gabriel yelled so that Vivian could hear him. He wasn't off either. In only a matter of seconds a giant three story home came into view. Although it was too dark to see the details of the structure Vivian could tell that it was beautiful. It looked like an old Victorian house with a fenced in porch that wrapped around the front of the mosaic like house. It looked like something out of Jane Eyre.

The roar of the motorcycle's engine came to a stop and Gabriel quickly got off while making sure it was still balanced for Vivian.

"We're here." He smiled down at her; a wide grin on his face.

"Where is here, exactly?" Vivian got off of the motorcycle and took Gabriel's hand while they headed for the door.

"This is where we will be living for the next, so many years."

"The inn?"

"Yeah,"

Vivian smiled up at Gabriel and pushed open the front door. "I wanted you to see it, the way I have; before everyone gets here." The duo were now inside the dark home, well it was dark until Gabriel flipped a switch and a bright light flooded the room.

"Whoa!" Vivian stared in awe as she stared at their new living room. The room was huge with a light wood floor, wall sized windows, and a monstrous fire place. Some of the furniture had already been moved in. The pack's white leather couch, matching love seat, and mahogany coffee table sat in the middle of the room all stylishly placed so that they all didn't face the same way, but could still see the big screened T.V. sitting in the corner. Vivian couldn't believe that this would be their new home and new business. She never wanted to leave.

"None of the walls are painted yet." Gabriel said noticing Vivian's glance toward the bare white walls. She stared up at him in confusion. "I wanted you to be the one to paint them." Gabriel's lips turned up at the corners in a cute grin. Vivian couldn't help but melt that had been so sweet of him. "I'm so glad! I can't wait." Vivian squealed while Gabriel grabbed her hand in order to lead her into the next room. There wasn't really a divider between the living room and the next room just a wall with an archway where a door should have been. The next room was in the far right side of the first floor. A giant medieval wooden table sat in the middle of the room with a lot of matching chairs with blood red cushioning. Vivian didn't need Gabriel to tell her what room this was; the dining room. Once again the walls were white, but Vivian knew exactly what color she would have to paint them; red to match the chairs.

Gabriel led Vivian through the rest of the first floor, to the massive kitchen in the back, the small library, and the spiral staircase. The house looked like a dream. Vivian couldn't believe it was theirs she felt more like she was visiting a five star hotel then her family's business. The two made their way upstairs to the second floor and to the last room on the floor. "There's something I want to show you." Gabriel said huskily as he opened the door. "Our room." Vivian couldn't believe the sight before her. The bedroom was beautiful. A king sized bed sat in the middle and across from it was a giant wooden dresser. The wall across from the doorway was just one giant window facing out towards the backyard and the giant stretch of woods. "Wow…" Vivian made her way towards the window. The view was just magnificent. There were no words that could describe it. Gabriel slowly followed, wrapping his arms around her waist. "This is a one way window, we can see out but from the outside it just looks like a really tinted window." Vivian laughed for a moment, if people could see from the outside that probably would have been a problem. The other wall had a huge walk in closet closed off by wooden doors and next to the dresser was yet another door leading into a huge, lavish bath room.

"So what do you think?" Gabriel asked placing some of Vivian's blonde hair behind one ear. "I love it. This place is absolutely perfect." Vivian sighed, inching her head towards Gabriel's and ensnaring his lips in a passionate kiss. "What do you say about christening our new room?" Gabriel joked huskily and leaning down to trace the contour of Vivian's neck with his lips. "Fine by me." She laughed and Gabriel pushed her gently down on the bed. Gabriel's hands traveled down Vivian's body while they kissed. Vivian wrapped her hands in Gabriel's hair and pulled him closer to her. Gabriel's hands began to travel up Vivian's shirt, feeling the soft skin hiding beneath. She moaned into his mouth, Vivian loved the feeling of his fingers against her skin. Before she even knew how, both of them were shirtless and slowly exploring more of each other. That is until a vibrant ring filled the air and caused the two of them to fall off the bed in surprise. 'Way to ruin the moment technology.'

Gabriel's cell phone continued to ring from the dresser, demanding that he answer it. With a sigh Gabriel got off up the floor and flipped it open.

"Hello?"

Vivian sat on the bed while listening to the muffled voice on the other side of the phone. She couldn't quite make out who they were or what they were saying, but who ever they were she was going to kill them.

"Ok, I'm on my way." Vivian heard her mate say right before he closed his phone.

"We have to go."

This chapter was also finished in July...

A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope it wasn't as bad as I believe it is. I'm really trying to get these chapters done for you guys. This chapter took me forever since my heart wasn't really in this one. I actually kind of dreaded writing it, but I knew it must be done. Thank you guys so much for being soooo patient with me!

Please R&R!

Love Always,

Alice