Chapter 23
The next few days they take everything very slowly. The doctors both sleep a lot, and in the few hours they are awake, they decide to sacrifice the front room to have an inhouse practice built. Why travel from patient to patient with only a few tools of trade and at risk of their person, when they can let the patient do the travelling and have all their medicin and utensils handy. It wil take less time, so they can help more patients and reduce the price, making their services affordable to nearly everyone. Of course they can still visit some patients, the ones who are too ill to move, or the very rich customers, for a different fee of course.
Mina finds she can skip a day's feeding on Vincent's blood, she can feel it in her veins long after normal human blood would have faded, so she forces herself to do so. The temptation to feed on him every day is huge, he expects her to need blood on a daily basis so he wouldn't even know. But her lust for the potent stuff worries her, it feels too much like an addiction, and she decides to remind her body that she is now in charge, that she is no longer subject to its whims. Vincent does offer, of course, and seeing the hesitation as she refuses, she doesn't want him to think she feels unduly attracted to him, so she says: 'Your blood will last me a day longer than normal blood, but the taste of it and the feeling it gives me are so heady I'm sorely tempted to take you up on your offer and get a few mouthfulls more. But I'll wait until tomorrow before I feed again, bcause I don't want to be hooked on your blood by the time Victor is well enough to feed me again. 'We'll save it for emergencies then', Vincent remarks laughingly. 'And maybe for special occasions and holidays?' Mina says with an infantile voice. 'Only if you have been a good girl,' is his reply.
Chapter 24
It takes a long time for Victor to get his strength back. Adison is already going on housecalls again after one week, keeping their clientele happy, but he is still suffering from headaches and dizzy spells. 'I got hit twice by an undernourished woman with bare hands, Victor. You were beaten up by at least four men with clubs. There is a difference. It will all be fine, you'll see. It just takes time,' Adison tells him. He complains: 'But I'm bored, you won't let me read, or go to my workshop, or visit patients. Or feed Mina, or, well, you know..' Adison may be a pillar of equanimity, but she's still only a twenty year old girl, and this is too much even for her. She exclaims: 'Victor, listen to yourself! I'm not your mother, or your doctor for that matter. I have not forbidden you to do any of those things, you don't do them because they hurt, or because you are an adult doctor who knows what is good for a patient with severe concussion, even if that patient is himself.' At this outburst, Victor has the good grace to feel ashamed of his petulance. Of course everyone knows doctors are the worst patients, but that is no excuse to treat his friend this way. He looks very contrite, and Adison relents and tells him: 'Let's not argue, but think of a way to resolve this. Reading would not be a good idea, that could cause lasting damage. Dissecting and drawing what you observe would be even worse, if you were able to concentrate. But you can come with me on a few housecalls, or we could see some patients here, as a sort of trial for our idea. As for the other thing, your dizziness is not due to lack of blood or undernourishment, so why don't you try giving Mina a few mouthfulls this evening, see how it turns out. And if you listen to your body, you will know how far you can take the inevitable result. Just take it slow with the science, if you take my meaning. Let her do the hard work for a few weeks and just enjoy.'
Victor is now really sorry for his earlier reproofs, Adison is always so good to him, and all he can give her in return are childish accusations. Adison gives him a nice warm hug, soothingly saying: 'You can't help feeling like that, love. Impatience and irritability are symptoms of concussion too. I'm not angry or hurt, I'm probably still irritable too. Even the way you feel now is not really you.' Victor realises that is all true. He is emotional and irritable, and Adison has never reacted that way before either. Relieved, he says: 'Where did you get so much wisdom at your age?' And: 'It can't be long now before Mina wakes up. Will you help me convince her to try?' Adison smirks and replies: 'Of course. And what would you say to taking Mina to the theatre this week? It's not as if that is really hard work.' Victor's face lights up: 'You're right, and I'm sure she'd love to. But what if someone recognises her?' Adison is not taken aback: 'We ladies have our ways of looking totally different from how people know us. Don't you worry.'
When Mina wakes up, she finds Victor dozing next to her. They now share his room, where they have installed a nice sized bed. She never sleeps to sundown anymore, apparently she can waken after the sun is past its highest point, though of course she cannot go out in daylight. She takes some convincing to try feeding on Victor that night: 'But you are still dizzy all the time, you need your blood for yourself. And I can see you aren't thinking of the kitchen table, you're planning to make love too.' Victor takes both her hands and pleads with her: 'The dizziness is because my head got smashed in, not because of blood loss anymore. And Adison suggested I let you do the hard work during the follow-up, just laying back and enjoying it so to speak.' 'So Adison approves?' Mina says. 'She suggested we start with a little bit, and see how it goes,' Victor replies, hearing in her voice that he's won. 'Well, she's the doctor, so all right. I don't really need to feed until tomorrow, so tonight is the perfect time to try.' And saying this, Mina feels a thrill of anticipation at finally tasting Victor's sweet blood again. She starts to picture how she can sate both their passions without overstraining his recovering body. His white soft skin, still bruised and cut, but so tempting, his boyish figure, that she has held so often the last few days, but not in passion since that first glorious time. She wants him, and not tonight, but now. He is still clearly not as sharp as he usually is, for though he is sitting right next to her, he only notices her rising passion when she very carefully takes his bruised face in both her hands and kisses him on the mouth slowly and very, very deeply. Nearly out of breath, he feels his body awaken and respond to her passion. The lust drowns out every lingering feeling of pain or tiredness. He feels invigorated, and kisses her again passionately. Every one of his nerves tingles, he feels a real lust gripping him, telling him to grab this woman.
And so it happens, he grabs his woman, and his woman grabs him, and because she is a lot stronger than him, she can just pick him up and lay him down carefully on their bed. 'Now you lay back and enjoy, and let me do the work', she says smilingly, and he takes her advice. With incredible discipline, she controls her lust and starts small, exploring every inch of him with her mouth and and sensitive fingers, avoiding all the places that still hurt, and emphasising those that feel best. Then when he is gasping with feelings brought so high they can no longer be undergone passively, she straddles him, guides him inside her and with his first thrust, bites his tender white throat and latches on. His feelings explode, and for a moment the whole world comes to a standstill. He can feel her worry over this, but just at that moment, the world moves on and he is happily thrusting again, feeling her ride his movement, making them one creature in a flowing motion. When he tires because of his injuries, she continues the extatic movement on her own, her teeth still in his neck and her mouth still sucking just enough to make him feel all his nerve-endings. This cannot last much longer, he can feel his climax approaching rapidly, and with renewed vigor he starts moving along with her again in perfect harmony. This entices a groan of pleasure from her, clearly they are doing right by her as well. For a moment, he changes from a thinking man into a lustful creature, pumping furiously in pursuit of his high, and then he comes to himself again, sated, feeling his lover ardently licking the puncture marks her teeth have left there. She kisses him, her mouth tasting of his own blood, and he answers her kiss greedily. Then she lies next to him, arms and legs entangled in his, and she looks at him. 'How's the head', she asks. 'Empty', he replies. 'Good', is her return. And with that they lie back again and savor the moment.
In the meantime, Adison is in the study, working on the administration of their patients. It is a boring chore, but someone has to do it. At least they don't have to do the laundry, the shopping and most of the cooking themselves anymore since their practice has become succesfull and Vincent has a lead part. The practice is still growing, Victor will soon have to decide whether he wants to keep doing his research, or take on more living patients. Or they could hire someone to keep the patient files. But in a way they don't need to take on more patients, they make a good living even now and they do want to keep some spare time to spend together. Hearing the front door open, she decides to call it a day, that's Vincent coming back from arms practice with Bruce, and her talk with Victor has made her feel her own need for some intimacy. As she puts away the patient files, her lover enters the study, saying: 'I knew I'd find you here'. She is so happy to see him, she practically runs at him, and he catches her and clamps her firmly to his chest. They kiss as if they haven't seen eachother for months instead of hours, and suddenly they realise they haven't made love since they both got trashed by Miss Yves.
Seeing in her eyes what she has in mind, Vincent remarks: 'I've been working out, I smell like a pig.' Adison doesn't think so at all, she loves it when he is sweaty, his nice comfortable smell takes on a new, very stimilating, aspect. 'Good,' she says, 'I want you to smell like an animal, because I want you to make love to me like an animal. I feel in heat, like an animal. We've been too careful for too long.' And with that, she goes straight for the scar on his temple, a strong reminder of the time when his violent side would sometimes take charge. Touching it used to be a fool-proof way to get him fired up with lust and totally out of control in a second.
The effect is astounding, but not what she expected. Instead of being thrown over his shoulder and taken to and dumped on their bed for some rough lovemaking, as is her intention, he sinks to the ground and lands on his knees, like a bull struck down. Adison is in shock, she has brought her proud, immensely strong other half down as if she's struck him between the eyes. She automatically looks in those yellow eyes, she has always been able to read them, see what is going on inside him. And so it is this time. For in his eyes, she doesn't see the beaten expression that goes with the posture, she sees the intensity she saw there the first time she touched those scars, she can see it growing. He pulls his loose shirt over his head, baring his scarred torso. Then he looks straight at her with those sulfurous orbs, and his husky voice says: 'Touch it again, touch all of them.' And she does, right there and then. Kneeling in front of him she touches the scar on his right temple, tracing it with her fingers as she used to do. He lowers himself even further, until he is lying on the rug, with her straddling him, still tracing and caressing the white lines that she helped shape out of the wounds of his birth. Under her touch, he is shuddering with emotion and rising passion.
Reaching the end of the scar on his stomach, she doesn't move down to caress the curly hair, as she did the first time. Instead, she traces the new scars, ragged lines from the claws of the horrid creature that attacked him. They are not really white scars yet, but rather wounds just healed, pinkish in colour. She can feel his tension grow, the emotion overruled by the heat and the passion. As she reaches the last of the new scars, she bends over him to kiss him, touching the scar on his temple again at the same time. And now she gets the reaction she expected the first time, she is clutched in an iron embrace, as their mouths meet in an electrically charged kiss. Still kissing, he takes her to their bedroom where, indeed, he does drop her on the bed with him on top of her. His smell and weight drive her crazy with lust, she so loves to see this glorious beast, feel his pride, his strength, even his dominant nature. He's out of his trousers easily enough, but her even her simple house dress is a bit more challenging. He manages to make getting it off her a sensuous experience, unbuttoning the front with one hand, the other exploring the layers of fabric of her skirts until he finds some part of her that is aching for his touch. Buttons undone, he literally finds his way beneath the skirts, following his exploring hand, moving the whole dress up and over her head, stopping at several places underway for a quick taste, or some lusty fondling.
When the dress is no longer on her body, he pretends to have gotten stuck in it, fighting to get out. This is not what she has in mind, but she can't help enjoying the show very much, he can be so incredibly funny. Besides, she knows a trick or two to get this fellow's attention back to lovemaking. With his legs sticking out of her dress, she feels both of them up from the ankles. Very stimulating, she notices, also for the person doing the feeling. Following the legs upward, she will automatically find the object of her search. Somehow, her wayward lover has quieted down a lot with her hands fondling his inner thighs. He's lying still now, making it easier for her to find what she is looking for under the fabric, moving her head under the skirts too, and taking it in her mouth. She supposes that her chances with the beast are over this time, she cannot imagine him winning from the actor in a churting mood. But actually she's enjoying herself quite well as it is. Of course she succeeds in her objective, she can clearly feel him tensing up, extatic with her attentions. He even emerges from the dress, pushing it to the side where it will be safe. She is now putting some serious effort in her ministrations, and to good effect. He knows what she wants from him, and now he's ready to deliver. In one fluid move he lifts her, rolls her on the bed with him on top, and connects his body with hers. She is hit with a surge of intense heat, feeling exhilarated. He's really let go now, and she gives herself up to his ferocious lovemaking.
Afterward they decide to try the showers, but since the last few days have been chilly, the water is rather cold. They use it anyway, but quickly. 'Maybe Victor can invent a smaller boiler, just for a shower or two,' Vincent says, shivering. 'That'll give him something to do until he feels better,' he adds. Adison looks at him slyly and says: 'I think he took a big step towards recovery today, he proposed Mina to try feeding her again, and I think she accepted.' Now, Vincent's mood becomes thoughtful, and he immediately explains why: 'That's a good thing, for master Man summoned me today from arms practice. He told me that there are portents concerning my past, and he would like to induce my memories with a certain potion. I can't take that as long as Mina is dependent on my blood.' 'Portents?' Adison asks, 'I thought we were done with the enemy for now?' He replies: 'That's what they thought, too, but someone has foreseen that the enemy is looking for something or someone, and apparently it is connected with me. They want me to delve in my past to find out. I don't mind, I'm not afraid of my past anymore, it actually feels good to have memories past one year, even if they can be uncomfortable. I suppose I could run into someone from the past any day now. It would be safer to know whether they are friend or foe.' 'You will take me with you when you do that, won't you?' Adison asks him. He takes her in him arms, kissing her, and says: 'I will take you with me wherever I go, I want you with me always. Will you come see me play tonight?' 'I will, gladly,' she answers. And with that, they dress and go in search of some dinner.
Chapter 24
In the kitchen they meet up with Mina and Victor, both looking well-satisfied. That makes four of us, Adison thinks. Victor clearly feels a lot better, and she realises that he just needed to get started again. Keeping too quiet wasn't good for him, nor for herself for that matter. But not to worry, this time it will not take a week before they make love again, she is sure of that. They have dinner together, and then Vincent and Adison leave for the theatre. It is so good to see Vincent on the stage again, she really enjoys the show. She is amazed that none of the actors ever seem to get bored with playing the same role, every night their performance is as if it is the first time. Every time she sees her lover on stage she falls in love with him all over again: he looks so good in his costume, and his voice and diction are just perfect. It doesn't even bother her that he plays several love-scenes with another girl, she just gets caught up in the story and enjoys the happy end. She does wonder if Vincent still dreams of getting ahead, of progressing to a larger theatre with serious plays instead of these penny dreadfuls.
When the play is done, she stays in her seat to see what kind of folk gather for the meet and greet with the cast. She sees hardly anyone she recognises, Vincent is talking to a distinguished looking gentleman in his fifties. A very handsome man still, with noble bearing. They are talking animatedly, both seem to be enjoying themselves. He doesn't seem to be the type to visit this establishment, but of course higher forms of entertainment will get boring too, so maybe this is just some variety for this gentleman. They manage to fill half an hour with their conversation, and no-one interrupts them, not even the director, who joins them for a moment to listen to their conversation, but starts mingling again soon afterwards. When Vincent and the gentleman finally take leave, all the other players are already backstage, putting away their costumes and removing their make-up. Vincent gestures her to join him, then steps behind the scenes as well. She walks through the rows of chairs sideways, then follows the path in the middle towards the stage. There is a little stairs on the side of the stage, which she climbs, and then she also disappears behind the scenes, into the dressing room.
It is a large room, which Vincent shares with several other actors, and as she enters they are all bombarding him with inquiries. But he waits for her to be seated before he speaks: 'That man is the stage manager of the Court Theatre, he wants me to audition for a role in the next play they're staging. It's by a modern playwright, Oscar Wilde, and it's supposed to be a really diverting piece, something with a guy called Earnest.' Now everyone is talking at the same time, congratulating him, asking him if he's planning to do the audition. Adison is very proud of him, she doesn't say anything yet though, they'll have plenty of time to talk it over. All Vincent says in reply to all the queries is: 'I'll seriously consider auditioning, yes, and the director knows who the man was and what he was planning to do. Common courtesy among theatre managers, you know.' He's finished dressing and offers Adison his hand. She takes it with a thrill of pride, it is so nice to see him so rooted here, among these colourful folks. She loves sitting here with them, quite a difference from her own job. 'See you all tomorrow!' Vincent calls out to his colleagues, and then he leads Adison out through the stage door. Adison waves at the other players in passing, certain she will come again tomorrow.
As soon as they are outside, Adison embraces him and they kiss passionately. Then they walk home, keeping an eye on their surroundings, but talking as well. Vincent tells Adison all about his chat with the stage director: 'This is it, love, my big opportunity. He told me he was really impressed by what I did with a role as flat as the lower countries. He was touched by my interpretation, which he thought a miracle for the play is not meant to be felt. I will go of course, though if I get the part I'll miss all of this immensely, I know everyone, trust everyone here. These people made me into who I am as an actor.' Adison tells him: 'I understand completely. These are your friends, if you leave here you'll miss them. But serious theatre is what you wanted from the first. Did he give you a date, and a scene to prepare?' Vincent replies: 'No he didn't. He told me he'd send someone with an extract and to prepare that. I'm looking forward to reading the text.' 'You'll do fine, I'm sure. I'm so proud of you,' Adison tells him, eyes shining in admiration. They hold hands the whole way back, and come in all exited. They repeat their lovemaking, they clearly have something to make up for. Adison touches the scars on his torso on purpose, his reaction that afternoon scared her, she's afraid it was caused by her neglect of that part of him. Being hurt focussed her attention on herself and Victor too much, she feels she has neglected Vincent the last week. She avoids touching the scar on his temple tonight, afraid to overdo it, but she is planning to spend a lot more time on him, all of him. What could have caused him to react so strongly, so humbly, she doesn't like to see him begging for anything. It reminds her of their beginning too much, when he was so dependent on her that it still hurts to think of it. Maybe this is the time to just ask him?
'Vincent', she says into the dark. 'What is it, love?' his baritone voice answers. 'What happened this afternoon, when I touched the scar?' she asks. He crawls closer to her, holding her tightly and says: ' I've been thinking about that myself, love. When you touched the scar it reminded me so strongly of a very intense period in my life, it just suddenly overwhelmed me. My life is so normal now, I felt so useful the last week, with me running the household, providing blood for Mina, with my past filled in, the case solved, the theatre each night. But you touching me there brought it all right back, my birth and my growing up, trusting in you, dependent upon you, all those memories and feelings in one touch. It brought me to my knees, literally. Did it scare you, dear?' Now Adison is overwhelmed by memories and emotions as well. Suddenly she understands how it must feel to him: he remembers every second of his year long life as if it happened yesterday, and nothing more. Since Mina told him of Heathcliff he felt like a normal man, with a past and a family to care for, but when Adison touched the scar she had reminded him forcibly of his strange beginning. 'You scared me nearly to death. I thought you had broken.'
The remembrance still upsets her, he hears it in her voice and strokes her hair and face: 'I love you so much, I never meant to scare you. Witnessing you get hit and hurt was unbearable to me, that may have shocked me somewhere too, and touching the scar brought it out. Maybe you can touch it regularly, I'll get used to it again, associate it with our new life together, where I am not as dependent. Adison gently tells him: 'Dearest, you are no more dependent on me than I am on you. That's just part of being together. You haven't been dependent since you got the part in the play. You have supported Victor and me since then, we have relied on your strength, why do you think we like to be dominated by you? We feel safe with you.' Realising the truth in this, he says: 'You're right. I never realised, but I do now. I need to think about it a bit more, but not now. Now, I want you to touch the scar you've avoided tonight, see if my dark side is willing to make you feel really, really safe.' Which she does, and which he is. It is a good thing the fourposter is a very sturdy bed, for the gorgeous beast is no longer burdened by any negative emotions and overwhelms Adison once again with his superhuman strength and his incredible stamina. Exhausted, they drop off, still holding the other tightly.
Chapter 25
Somewhere during that night, Vincent relives part of his past again, and even as he undergoes the shocking memory, he realises this is what master Man needs to know about. He is in the modern appartment, their haunt in the city, and it is a nice place, large for the city and well-decorated. Catherine clearly has excellent taste in furniture and decor, and as clearly plenty of money to spend on it. She is not enjoying it now, though, for she is not looking well. Her face is grey and drawn, and she seems in great pain and distress. Oh my god, Vincent realises, what if this is the moment of her death? He feels the helplessness of his predecessor, and his intense anguish over her situation. She is not calm, she's raving madly, it sounds as if she has delusions, and if she's had them before. Heathcliff seems used to coping with them, he reasons with her, tries to calm her down. He tries to hold her, but she keeps him at a distance, quite violently. His feelings are heartbreaking, he is so desperate, he is afraid she'll kill herself, sinking into madness ever deeper and deeper. Now she cringes in pain, not mental pain but severe, acute physical pain. His former self is nearly as far gone in his misery, but this new symptom shakes him out of it. This is new to him as well. She folds in pain again, it is clear her stomach is giving her intense pain. Checking her out with Heathcliff's eyes, Vincent gets the biggest shock of all: her belly is extended, showing all the signs of a pregnancy in its final stage. Of course Heathcliff must have known that, but together with his own denial he feels Heathcliff's: Cathy cannot survive a delivery in this state. Living with two doctors, Vincent cannot understand how she has gotten in this hopeless state, emaciated and apparently even dehydrated, but remembering Mina's comments, his former self is probably not entirely sane anymore himself. He knows a terrible scene is going to be played out here, and no-one in his right mind would want to witness this, but he also realises he will have to see it through.
If there is a child of his body on this earth, he needs to know if and where it lives. So he tries to influence Heathcliff to send for a midwive and a doctor, to relieve his wife's pain and help her to deliver the baby. It is a grueling battle for the life of the child, for the mother has no chance at all. There is no sanity left in Heathcliff, the thought of losing the love of his life has caused him to cross the border of reason. Vincent's influence is the only thing keeping his former self from succumbing to raving madness. Having lived through despair and rage, and utter loneliness already, he can still hardly bear the feelings that are assailing his senses through Heathcliff. He hovers on the brink of madness himself, kept sane only by the memory of another reality, where he has a home and lover of his own. He sticks through hours and hours of seeing Cathy suffering pain and madness, until she sinks into unconsciousness through loss of blood and loss of self. Finally, through expert intervention of the midwive, the child is born, alive, crying lustily. Miraculously she seems to be totally healthy, though small. Whilst the doctor takes care of Catherine's still form, the midwive expertly wraps the baby in a blanket. 'You have a daughter, sir,' she says carefully. She doesn't know Heathcliff, having only just met him, so she does what she always does, showing the newborn infant to its father. In her practice, she often sees mothers not survive childbirth, and usually the bereaved fathers cling to the newborns as the only thing they have left of their beloved, but this man looks more than half mad, so she does keep a safe distance.
Heathcliff doesn't want to see the child, but Vincent does, so he forces Heathcliff to take a peek anyway, trying to lock the baby's looks in his memory. She is a pretty girl, with huge dark eyes, a tiny face and a big mop of raven hair. She looks decidedly exotic, like her father. The only thing she has from her mother is the fine bone structure. His former self cannot handle looking at the child any longer, and when the midwive asks if she should find a wet nurse, with a broken voice he tells her: 'Get that child out of my sight. My life has no more use without my love.' And with that he moves to the side of the bed where Catherine is still lying motionless, takes her white hand and sinks to his knees, head bowed in submission.
Cathy is yet living, for his touch revives her a little. She looks straight at him and whispers: 'Send our daughter to Nelly Dean, sweetheart. She'll take care of her. But who will take care of you?' And with this, her pale face falls back on the pillow and she loses consciousness again. The doctor feels her pulse and says in a solemn voice: 'It can't be long now sir. I'm sorry for your loss.' Vincent feels his former self totally lose it. He's afraid Heathcliff will hurt the doctor or the child, but there is nothing he can do about it. In his mad grief Heathcliff has taken total control of the body once more, and now it is moving fast. Vincent only finds out what he is planning to do when the first blinding flash of pain hits his nerves, the shock driving him back into his own body. His head hurts where it hit the stone wall of the appartment, probably hard enough to draw blood. No, it wasn't his head, it was Heathcliff's. The headache doesn't disappear with this realisation. He just saw Catherine die in childbirth, and he has a natural daughter somewhere in the country, being raised by Nelly Dean, who will take good care of her.
The staggering impact of this knowledge keeps him immobile for what seems to be a long time. Then he sits up in bed. He has a child out there! They need to find it, find it immediately. If the enemy finds out he will have incredible leverage against them with a living child of his blood. His abrupt movement wakes Adison out of her sleep, and as she sees him sitting in bed she asks: 'What's happening?' First he practically grabs her, clinging to the reality of her warm, sleepy body against him, holding her so tightly she makes a squeeking sound. That brings him back to his senses, and he loosens his grip a little, saying: 'I'm sorry love. I needed to feel the reality of this world, of you. I had the most intense flashback, witnessing Catherine die in childbirth. In childbirth Adison, there is a daughter of my body on this world as we sit here and speak.' Adison is completely stunned by this news, but her body automatically answers his need by returning his embrace, holding on to him as tightly as he holds on to her. Then she finds her voice: 'A daughter, but where is she? Does the enemy have her?' He replies: 'I think not, if he was true to her last wish the child lives with a certain Nelly Dean, someone they knew in their youths. Cathy told him to send the baby to this Nelly, and there were a doctor and a midwive present to witness her dying wish. I need to speak to Mina. Now, before she falls asleep.' He is already moving. 'Vincent wait!' Adison says in her doctor's voice. He automatically obeys. 'Calm down first. You've seen a terrible thing, sit here and quiet down a little, then put on some clothing. I'll go and see if Mina is still up. You cannot do anything until daybreak anyway.' And she leaves him for a few moments.
If she is still awake, she expects to find Mina reading in their bedroom. And indeed, when she knocks on the door really softly, Mina opens it, book still in hand, surprise on her face. Adison says: 'Vincent has had a really intense flashback, reliving Cathy's dying moments. He wants to speak to you about it, but he is very upset because of what he saw and what he learned. Can you come talk to him in say, ten minutes?' Even more suprised now, and quite curious, Mina immediately affirms: 'I'll be there. You go back quickly and settle him down, that must have been a terrible thing to witness.' Adison does indeed hurry back, finding Vincent dressed and back on the bed. He is not moving, but she can see his mind is still running around in circles. She sits down behind him, taking him in her arms, stroking his face, his hair. He leans into her caresses, slowly relaxing into her arms. 'That's better', she says, 'we need you calm and able to think if we're going to search for your daughter. Mina will be here within ten minutes, take that time to collect your memories, you can tell both of us what happened at the same time.' She is not avoiding the scar on his temple in her caresses, and touching it under these circumstances seems to relax him further rather than tense him up.
Even though the situation is quite acute, Adison still savors this moment of total silence together, the man she admires and loves in her arms, giving himself up totally to her calming ministrations. All too soon, Mina knocks on their door and lets herself in. She sits down on the bed on Vincent's other side, the two of them surrounding him with quiet energy. Having lived with him and cared for Victor and Adison with him, Mina is struck by the difference between this man and the man she knew with the same body. The quiet tenderness they all share, Victor included, is the total opposite of what she remembers of his predecessor. And having lived of his blood for more than a week, she also knows that his tenderness has a core of the hardest steel,. He is indeed a modern creation, Victor's triumph over life itself, but only through love has he become a real human. Still aware of the bond of blood between them, she feels free to sit really close to him and take one of his hands in both of hers. Adison gives her an encouraging look, so Mina says: 'Now tell us what happened, and what you want us to do.'
'I was in their city appartment, and she was raving. He was at his wits' end with her. She looked awful, emaciated, dehydrated. Then she doubled up with pain, and I saw through his eyes that she was pregnant. You can imagine the shock that gave me. Him and me simultaneously realised she wouldn't make it through a delivery in the state she was in. He went to pieces, but I had to save the child, so I forced him to send for a doctor and a midwive. It took hours and hours of her suffering in pain and growing madness. Then she lost consciousness. The midwive managed to get her daughter out the natural way, and the baby seemed fine. He wouldn't acknowledge the baby, but I forced him to take a good look at her, so I could form an image of what she'd look like now. She was beautiful, his black hair and black eyes, her fine boning. Cathy faded away, but implored him to send the baby to Nelly. She uttered her concern about him, and sank into unconsciousness again, fading quickly. The loneliness and the madness in the mind I was a part of were devastating, only the remembrance of my life here with you kept me sane, he nearly took me with him in his despair over her death. I was afraid he'd kill the child, or the doctor in his desperate rage, but I think he bashed his head to the wall instead. I lost contact with him and woke up here, with a headache and this memory.'