Hellllooooo! Long time no typed ;D Yeah I guess I knda lied in thr previous chapter...this must have been my quickest update ever! 0-0 It won't happen everyday, though!

Anyways, in this chapter, there is some character bashing. Oh, and, if you're lucky, a little love c;

If there are mistakes, notify me. I will check it out!

Enjoy and comments are loved!

"What?"

It was all Vlad could say as he stared, disbelieving, at the teenage girl that stood in front of him. To say that it was unexpected was to say the very least, and the fact that Marie-Anne-this stranger-could be his sister was completely impossible in Vlad's mind. He couldn't have a sister. He would have known, wouldn't he?

It was that little part of him, the little part that doubted, that probably scared him the most.

Hurt shivering in her eyes, Marie-Anne understood Vlad's unwillingness to believe her. Even for her, when she had learned oh so many years ago that this boy-The Pravus-was her twin brother, she all but laughed at Dorian, who had been the one to tell her at the time. "Vladimir," she said, reaching out towards Vlad, who cringed back. "I know it's hard to take it in, but I'll have to ask you to listen. I'll explain everything to you, from the very beginning, if you'll just listen to me. You can decide in the end if you'll believe it or not. I just want you to know my side of the story. My life, if you will. Please, Vlad? All I'm asking is for you to listen."

Vlad looked at Marie-Anne through his raven-black bangs, and feelings clashed inside of him; confusion, distrust, doubt-yet he saw, in her eyes, in the way she even stood, that she wanted a chance. A chance to explain herself, a chance to tell him everything about her past. She was willing to tell him her life's story, so as long as he would listen.

His eyes then flickered to Dorian, who smiled anxiously at him. His promise to the vampire then came back to him, and now his warnings made crystal clear sense to Vlad. Dorian had foreseen this. He knew Vlad would doubt Marie-Anne. That he would have all the reasons in the world to, but he had made Vlad swear that he would listen to her.

And, Vlad told himself, a promise is a promise. He couldn't go back on it now.

He sighed heavily, and straightened up to meet Marie-Anne's hopeful gaze. "Okay," he said, "I'll listen."

A soft sigh escaped her lips, and she smiled at Vlad. A beautiful smile, Vlad might add. "Thank you, Vlad. Now, how about going in the living room? I have quite the story to tell you, and you'll probably want to sit down to hear it."

A couple of minutes later, Vlad and Dorian sat on the couch, warm cup of blood in their hands, while Marie-Anne sat on a matching armchair opposite of them. She held a small bag of Tropical Skittles in her hands, munching on one of them while they all got seated.

"So," Vlad said, anxiety building up in his stomach. "I'm listening." He drank from his cup, but his eyes never left Marie-Anne.

After she finished her mouthful of Skittles, she smiled at Vlad and Dorian, then started. "Where should I begin?" She thought out loud, rubbing her forehead in concentration. "Oh, yes, I know!"

She cleared her throat, and said, "Well, on the day of your birth-of our birth- I was, to say it plainly, unexpected. Even the doctors were surprised when Mellina was still in labor once you were out. Mom was shocked, yet she kept going until I was out. And when the nurses told her it was a little girl, she was overjoyed. Or so I've been told." She smiled to herself at the thought. But her face soon dropped into a mixture of sadness and anger. "But someone else wasn't. For him, I was a hitch, an unplanned obstacle in his life-long plan to become Pravus. And what do you do with obstacles?"

Though the question was most likely directed at herself, Vlad felt obliged to answer. "You get rid of them." He whispered.

Marie-Anne solemnly nodded. "And that's exactly what Tomas Tod tried to do."

Bewilderment shot through Vlad at the mentioning of his father's name. "Dad tried to get rid of you?"

Again, Marie-Anne bopped her head, and she spoke the next words dryly, "He tried to kill me, Vlad. On the day of our birth. What kind of right-minded man would try to kill their newborn baby?" She hissed the last word, hatred dripping in her voice. "He waited until you and I were alone in the check-up room with one of the nurses before he knocked her out and made his way towards our bassinettes. He then pinched my nose and blocked my mouth so I couldn't breath. It would of seemed normal, you see, if I would have suffocated. I was a fragile baby, and unplanned twins often lead to one of them being weaker. It wasn't rare for one of them to have health problems and die 'just like that'." Tears rolled down her cheeks as Vlad listened in horror at what his father almost accomplished. He couldn't believe Tomas, his devoted father, would have done something like this.

But he couldn't ignore the raw hatred in Marie-Anne's words, nor could he ignore her angry tears.

"Luckily enough, someone passed by and saw this. He immediately ran in the room and pushed Tomas to the ground, and made himself a barrier between him and myself." Marie-Anne smiled through tears, and her gaze fell on Dorian. "Since that day, I owe Dorian my life."

Surprised, the hybrid turned his gaze to Dorian, who had a sheepish smile on. "You saved her?" He asked, disbelievingly. Not that he doubted his life-saving skills (he had witnessed them the previous night); it just didn't fit as to why Dorian would have been at the hospital that specific day.

The vampire, as though reading his thoughts, said, "Your mother, Mellina, and I met through your father. One of the good things he did." He smirked. "Besides the point, I was visiting her to congratulate her of your birth, when something caught my attention. I turned around, and, to my utter disbelief, I saw Tomas trying to choke an infant in the medical compartment you were installed in. May I let you know it's quite the terrifying sight, and I most certainly would not stand by and let it happen. So I rushed into the room, shoved Tomas away from the baby and barricaded his way to the infant. What happened afterwards simply bewildered me."

"What did happen?" Vlad questioned, completely absorbed by the story.

"Well…" Dorian said, recalling the moment as though it all happened the previous day.

"What in the blazes do you think you're doing?" Dorian hollered at the fallen man. "Have you gone completely mad?"

Tomas, who slowly stood from the ground where he had been pushed, dusted himself off as if nothing had happened. "You'll have to be a little more precise, Dorian."

Dorian's glare acquired a new level of intensity as he stared at the man before him. "Do not play games with me, Tomas. You know perfectly well of what I am speaking of."

The other vampire seemed unbothered by Dorian's threatening presence. "I am simply trying to get rid of a mistake." He said, matter-of-factly, staring through the man as though he were a window. "Now, move out of the way; my daughter wants to see her father."

Dorian's eyes widened, as he looked quickly behind him and saw, around the newborn's little wrist, a pink bracelet which read, in scribbled handwriting: Marie-Anne Tod.

His eyes were soon back on Tomas, disbelief and anger tightening every fiber of his body. "You were murdering your own child?" He spoke, his voice dangerously low.

"My child? Please. She is a flaw. She was never supposed to be born. My prize for all my hard work is beside her. Now he is my child. My Pravus son, Vladimir Tod."

Dorian stood, disgusted, between what he now saw as a madman and his next victim. "Children are not prizes nor are they flaws, Tomas, and for you to so openly say so just proves what a idiotic man you are."

Tomas snapped his teeth; Dorian had finally managed to get to him. "I'm idiotic? This is coming from the same man who drinks blood from his own kind! And, might I remind you that that girl is mine, and I can do whatever I want with her. So if I don't want her, well, that's nobody's business but mine!"

Annoyed and aggravated, Dorian rose his voice. "She does not only belong to you. She's as much yours as she is Mellina's. And I'm entirely confident that she wouldn't want you choking her daughter to death!"

As Tomas was about to reply, a low moan sent them both froze them on spot. The nurse, which Tomas had knocked out, was coming back to her senses.

Panicked and pissed, Tomas glared at Dorian, "Move out of my way, Dorian."

"Make me," he shot back, defiant.

Tomas growled, his eyes flickering between the vampire barrier and the nurse. "If you don't, I'll kill the human."

Dorian hissed between his clenched teeth. It was either the nurse or the baby. He knew how fast Tomas was, and he knew he was dead serious about his threat. He wouldn't be fast enough to save both.

Unless…

Dorian hated himself for thinking of doing something of the sorts, but he had no choice. He sent a telepathic apology to Mellina and, before Tomas could do anything, Dorian picked up Marie-Anne, grabbed as many blankets from the storage as he could and wrapped her in them. He then headed for the room's window and crashed through it, back to the window and shielding the small bundle with his body. He slid across the hospital's lower roof and jumped down, running at vampiric speed away from the hospital.

The last thing Dorian saw before escaping the building was Tomas Tod glaring in his direction.

"Afterwards, Tomas told everyone that some strange man had kidnapped his baby girl, and people were on the lookout for her during weeks. I couldn't stay there, with Marie-Anne in my care, so I left for England, where I entrusted her to my drudge, which at the time was a kind-hearted lady by the name of Sophia. I returned to Bathory shortly after, and by then, Tomas had lead everyone to believe that Marie-Anne was dead. I would have left that same night if it weren't for the fact that I saw Mellina devastated by her lost. I couldn't stand it, so I waited until I was sure Tomas wasn't home and told Mellina everything. She was overjoyed, knowing she was alive, yet she knew she could never tell anyone about her. If she did, it might have meant her permanent loss, and Mellina would rather have died than risk it. She was fine with just the blessing of knowing her daughter lived. And, though she never saw her, she loved her, and she always asked me about her. Right up until the very last day."

Vlad sat, awestruck, on the couch next to Dorian. "So mom knew about Marie-Anne."

Dorian herd the hidden hurt in Vlad's voice, and immediately tried to comfort him. "Vlad, understand your mother; she was only keeping Marie-Anne safe. If Tomas would have known that she was aware that Marie-Anne lived, it might have meant pain for both of them."

Vlad nodded solemnly, and turned his head to look at Marie-Anne, who was sobbing loudly. Somehow feeling hollow on the inside for what his father had done, or had tried to, he realized what kind of man Tomas Tod truly was. And, though he didn't like it, it was the truth, he was sure about it now. The truth isn't always pretty, and he lived by that fact.

But he couldn't stop his own eyes to water as the truth of Marie-Anne Tod cleared for him as well. She was his little twin sister, there was no doubt about it now.

Slowly, he got up, crossed the space between himself and Marie-Anne, and he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She made no signs of protest, and she leaned her head against Vlad's own shoulder.

"Shh," he soothed, "It's okay, little sis."

Of course, this only made her cry louder, however now it was of joy.

Dorian sat there, staring at the two of them, smiling to himself. He couldn't help but think how Mellina would have loved to see the two of them together.

After all the crying and the sobbing had stopped, and that Vlad and Dorian had renewed their blood-cups, they all sat in the kitchen, while Marie-Anne ate a salad.

Dorian had told Vlad the rest of the story, that Sophia had raised Marie-Anne until she was fourteen. The caretaker had then gotten sick and died from it, leaving a small fortune for Marie-Anne. This explaining how she was living on her own and had managed to buy and re-decorate the small house. Dorian visited her often, and passed off as her guardian whenever it was necessary.

"So, she's a half-vampire, too?" Vlad asked Dorian, but he was eyeing Marie-Anne's meal in slight misunderstanding. Dorian saw this, and laughed. "Yes, she's a hybrid like you. Her appetite just differs from ours."

"Wait, so she doesn't drink blood?" Vlad asked, surprised.

Dorian shook his head. "No, she's not completely immune to the need of blood. She just-"

"—Needs much less than norm to be satisfied." Marie-Anne finished his sentence, smiling. She took the remaining bite of lettuce and dumped her plate in the sink. "You physically got more from dad's side, and I got more from mom's. That's why I can eat everyday food and it fills me as much as blood does for you."

"Oh." Vlad said. "So how much blood do you take, then?"

"One donation every two to three weeks." She replied flatly. "And that's because I have to, or else Dorian freaks out."

Dorian rolled his eyes and Vlad's jaw dropped. He could barely pass a day without one, so the fact that she could go weeks without blood both impressed and worried him. This definitely couldn't be good for her health.

"Anyways, if you'll excuse me, I'll go take my shower. I won't be long, but please, don't be shy to take anything you want." And with that, Marie-Anne left the two of them in the kitchen and disappeared down the hall.

The two of them sat in a uncomfortable silence for a couple of minutes, until they both herd the shower turn on.

Dorian smiled at Vlad. "So, how are you taking everything?"

Vlad shrugged. "My dad's a jerk and I have a little twin sister I never knew of. I can't really do anything about either, so what the heck. Might as well go along with it."

Dorian laughed. "Well, that's one way to take it."

Silence once again sat between them, this time less uneasy. Though it didn't stay very long either, since a question that had been gnawing at Vlad's brain popped out. "Do you like Marie-Anne?"

Dorian stared blankly at a suddenly flustered Vlad. "What?"

Vlad gulped loudly, then re-asked his question. "Do you like-like, really like- Marie-Anne?"

The older vampire's eyebrows furrowed. "Why would you think that?"

"Well, you two just seem close." Vlad sheepishly said, "And you're always smiling when you look at her. I just thought that…"

He left his sentence hanging in the air, but he knew Dorian had understood what he meant. He felt so embarrassed for asking, though. It really wasn't any of his business if he liked her or not. But he had to ask him. He felt almost forced to.

The vampire scratched the back of his head, sighing. "Marie-Anne's very kind and sweet, but I honestly have no love-like feelings for her. Maybe a fraternal or parental sort of love, but I don't like her as, let's say, my girlfriend."

"Oh." For some reason, Vlad felt relieved. "Do you actually like anybody?"

Again, the question somehow forced it's way out. He hoped Dorian didn't find him stupid for asking so many dumb questions. He sure felt like it, though.

"Like? Hmmm…" Dorian actually thought about what to say next. "I guess you could say it like that. Yes, I do like someone. "

"Really? Who?"

Vlad wanted to kick himself.

Dorian looked at Vlad, an eyebrow raised. "Curious, are we?"

Vlad blushed, his eyes suddenly finding the pattern on the countertop's surface very interesting. "I-uh…I was just…you know-um-wondering…" Why did he feel so embarrassed?

The full-fledged vampire smirked, that smirk that Vlad so totally sexy, and he leaned his upper body on the hard surface in front of the flustered hybrid, resting on his forearms. "I'm not saying otherwise."

Vlad's gaze unwillingly peeked upwards, right into Dorian's beautiful blue eyes. Okay, something was definitely going on. Sexy smirk, beautiful eyes…Vlad had never referred to anything on anyone as "sexy". Beautiful, yes, but not sexy. And now that he had a good look at his face, he took in all the little details, such as a very faint scar above his left eyebrow, or how otherwise perfectly flawless it was. Those are the sort of things he never pays any attention to about people, yet for Dorian, he couldn't stop searching for them.

"Vladimir," Dorian said, snapping Vlad out his thought bubble. He noticed then how close he had gotten to the other man's face, and pulled his head away, his face burning. "I'm, um, sorry about that…I didn't mean to-"

"Close your eyes, Vlad." Dorian ordered softly.

The young hybrid stopped, mid-sentence. "What?"

"Close your eyes," The vampire repeated, this time more firmly.

Vlad, unsure, shut his eyes. Why did he listen to what Dorian told him? Oh well. He didn't care at the moment. His brain was too occupied trying to slow down his heart from thump-thumping so fast and his stomach from doing front and backward flips. Vlad thought that he might be getting sick, but it was highly unlikely, because feeling sick didn't feel good. This did. Somehow.

"No peeking," Dorian whispered, and he leaned in, his face dangerously close to Vlad's. He could hear his heartbeat, and he smiled to himself when he noticed it was as eccentric as his. He had waited long for this and he sure wasn't going to let it slip away.

Then, ever so softly, he placed a kiss on Vlad's smooth lips.

It was the best one he'd ever tasted.

Vlad's eyes shot open at the contact, shocked by Dorian's kiss. He had never expected it to happen. Sure, they were great friends. And Vlad couldn't think, at the moment, someone he had trusted more than Dorian. But he had loved Meredith, and, up until that point, he wasn't sure if he was over Snow. And he had kissed both, Snow's kisses surpassing Meredith's by far.

But the kiss Dorian was giving him was better, in so many more ways than one. It was much more soft, yet stronger, and Vlad tasted a world of meaning in this one kiss from Dorian than he ever had with anyone.

Vlad's eyes fluttered closed, all of his tangled feelings and questions finally dispersing, and he kissed Dorian back. Dorian, happy to no end, rounded the counter and lifted Vlad from the stool, wrapping his arms around him. Vlad, on the other hand, threw his arms around Dorian's neck, and he standing on his toes. Because Dorian was so much frickin taller than he was.

They kissed for what seemed like hours before they heard a sneeze from the hallway behind Vlad.

Vlad quickly broke away from the kiss and turned to see Marie-Anne, standing there, her blue bathrobe tightly snug around her. A towel twisted on her head, she had a huge smile plastered on her face.

"Damn," she said, rubbing her nose. "Stupid dust."

The hybrid's face reddened once more, and Dorian chuckled. "Were you watching?"

Marie-Anne shrugged innocently. "Hey, I'm just happy you two finally got together."

With that, she disappeared into her room, shutting the door behind her.

Vlad shot Dorian a questioning gaze, but Dorian simply shrugged back. Vlad opened his mouth to ask something, but it quickly died in another kiss from Dorian. His Dorian. Now he liked the sound of that.

And First Base is done! YOUHOU! About frickin time I made them kiss, too! T-T Anyways hoped you enjoyed and please, review!