Chapter 10

The Decision

Ok, I've had everyone wait long enough on the cliffhanger. It is answered below.

In the past two weeks, it had become easier for all the vampires. They had all made peace with what they had done, and understood that there was no other option. The nightmares had stopped for the most part, although Dennis or Mavis could wake up screaming on occasion, and it was up to Johnny to calm them. Dracula was the best able to cope with the stress as he had given up blood before, but Mavis still fought with having the taste in her mouth. Dennis had found comfort from Winnie as well, which is where he was spending the night at.

Mavis and Johnny were sitting on the roof shortly before midnight. Not much was said in the last half hour, but they were just holding each other, giving them strength. Johnny still didn't know how to tell his family that he was going to do it, but knew the time was getting closer when he could and should tell them. He had thought this would be the best night, with Dennis not here and having the ability to be candid with Mavis and Drac, but the opportunity hadn't presented itself. He didn't worry about Dennis knowing. He didn't want to worry the boy anyway, and hadn't planned to tell him until after they tried it. But telling Mavis would be the tricky part. He never thought that she would be the one to broach the subject.

"Have you thought anymore about it?" Mavis asked.

Johnny thought he'd play coy and said, "What are you talking about?"

"You know what I am talking about. I can tell that you have made up your mind. But, I need to hear you say it and commit either way."

"Then let's go see your father. I think he needs to hear it as well." They headed down from the roof, with Mavis carrying Johnny into her father's study where he was reading a book. "Dad, I think we need to have a talk."

"I was wondering when you were going to come to see me," Dracula answered. "I knew you wanted something, but wanted to give you the chance to tell me first. I thought that is why you sent Denisovich off to be out of the hotel."

"How could you know all that?" Mavis asked her father, "I think he just made up his mind."

Johnny corrected his wife, "The truth is I knew ever since the night I was kidnapped. My path was set then; I just wanted to spare you that stress as well during your recoveries. I couldn't put more on you guys."

"Then you have decided, then?" Dracula asked. "Then what is your decision?"

"I have to do it. I've gotta try and be transformed into a vampire myself. I owe it to my family to be able to protect them, and I cannot do that as a human here. I put all of you in danger that night when I insisted that I go with to check on Vlad, even though I could only offer support. Deep down I knew this when I insisted on going, and that there was a huge risk, but I felt I needed to be there for my family. Now for my family I gotta try this," he turned to Mavis, "if you're willing to help me."

"Of course I am. You got me thru everything in the last few weeks. Now it is my turn to repay you."

"No, you don't owe repayment. We are family. We do what we do out of love, not greed. That is why I feel so strongly about this. I need the ability to protect my family, no matter what the drawbacks are. The truth is I am still indebted to you for all of your strength during that night. I owe more than I can ever repay. Which is why I love you so much."

Dracula cut in asking, "So what are your reasons for wanting to try this risky procedure?"

"I only have one, that being able to protect my family. I can't do it now, so I gotta do whatever it will take to be able to."

"So you have no secondary motives at all?"

"They are irrelevant compared to protecting my family. That is all I care about. You, Dennis, and Mavis mean more to me than my life is worth, so for your sakes, I will endure anything."

"I'm glad you feel that was now. Mavis, are you willing to try it as well? You're the one who will have to do it, and it will be largely up to you to get him thru the first few days. That is the dangerous part."

"I trust Johnny with all of my being. I know that if he didn't feel this was his only choice he wouldn't do it."

"Thank you, Mavis. I love you so much," Johnny said hugging Mavis, and kissing her on the cheek.

Dracula continued, "Now that that is settled, we must pick when we will do this. This will only work on a full moon."

Johnny pulled out his phone and looked when the next one would be. "That won't work. The next full moon is in a week, and Jenna is going to be here. I don't think we want to do this before the wedding, as who knows how much strength I'll have."

Dracula interrupted, "you would be too weak to do much helping with that, if your body survived the shock of the process."

"Nice to see that you're a source of optimism, dad," Johnny said. "So then the next full moon after the wedding would be June 13th."

Mavis now interrupted, "Dennis's birthday?"

"Yes. That could be perfect. The full moon isn't until 4:00 on June 14th, so his party will be over, or we could have the party on the 12th."

"A wedding and a birthday back to back days?" Dracula asked. "I am thinking of your guests more than the staff."

"But that might be perfect. We would then both have something to celebrate on the night of the 13th. His birthday, and my start of life as a vampire."

Mavis jumped in, "You're right. That would be kind of cool. I am willing to do it whenever you are."

"Do you want to go over the process now, or would you like to wait until we get closer to doing it?" Dracula was asking Mavis, but she looked unsure. "It isn't a big deal on that. We can wait until the night of. The crucial thing is you must be 100 percent committed. Both of you."

"I have total confidence in Mavis. She saved my life before. I know she would never harm me intentionally."

Mavis now began to sob remembering the night at the bat demons hideout when she almost bit him. "But I almost did harm you."

"As I said before you didn't. Now I won't have to worry about putting you in that position to ever have to worry about that."

Dracula now looked worried. As the procedure required Mavis to sink her fangs into Johnny. He worried that she wouldn't be able to do that. "Honey bat, you must remember that Johnny wants you to do this. He is accepting the risks that go along with it."

Johnny confirmed Drac's statement, "I am and I do."

"So no matter what, you must understand and commit that he is doing this for your safety and the safety of Denisovich."

"And yours also, my zing. I never want to put you in that position again where you have to worry about my safety. I should be worrying about yours." The sadness now left Mavis as the two of them embraced again and then they shared a kiss.

"I recommend that you let your family know beforehand that you want to do this, that way they will not worry for the first couple of days."

"Only my sister. She was the only one who really respects us. My dad is close, but my mother was dead set against us getting married, so I don't want her finding out. She'd worry about it anyway. Jenna is really good at keeping secrets, and even better at finding them out. So, I try not to hide anything from my baby sister anyway."

"I always suspected that you two shared a tight bond, but never really understood why," Mavis inquired.

"It was because I was always the rock she would lean on, until she found Wilbur. The truth is that part of me is jealous of him, but I know that they are as perfect for each other as Mavis and I are." This caused a huge smile to cross Mavis's face. The kissed one more time, "and as far as I know, she is staying in Transylvania, so I'll always be able to see her."

"Now, may I have a few moments alone with Johnny?" Drac asked Mavis.

"Sure, daddy, if you want. Wayne should be bringing Dennis back any minute now, anyway. I'll go down and wait for them." Mavis left the room.

"Johnny, I must tell you I am worried that Mavis will be able to focus enough."

"Nice to see you waited until now to say something."

"Yes, but she will have to bite your neck. There is no sucking, but I fear that if the taste of blood returns to her tongue at this time, it may be disastrous. Especially since you will be laid up for a few days, even if it goes right."

"She trusts my decision. She knows why I am insisting on doing it. My mom always said that if we remember the why, the how takes care of itself. I will put the complete trust of my life to her anytime."

"But still, I think we need to tell her what to expect before we start. Once we start, there is no going back."

"I agree, but let's get past the next week with Jenna coming back."

Dracula agreed with his son-in-law, and they both went downstairs to wait on Dennis.

Dennis arrived about five minutes later flying, with Wayne in a hearse about ten more minutes behind.

"I got perfectly good wings, and I have to use them," he told his mother when she caught him.

"But honey, what if something would have attacked you?

It was Johnny who answered, "What is going to be stupid enough to not only attack a vampire, but a Dracula?"

Mavis let it go and thanked Wayne for taking him for the night.

Wayne answered, "Anytime. He is a great boy, and I only hope my daughter finds someone like him one day."

Dennis blushed as ever since his 5th birthday their pre-zing had gotten even stronger. Dennis was almost certain that one day Winnie and he would zing for real.