AN: Special thanks to Ghostwriter for your reviews and interest. Rather long chapter this time. Thank you, Kaya Nah, for your review and support. Be sure to check out these writers' stories. Find their links on the review page!
As soon as the sun went down, Gabriel awoke. Needless to say, he was shocked to find not only his grandmother, but his uncle and three strangers gathered in the kitchen with his parents. Little Lucy had been banished to her room so that she wouldn't hear the conversations going on between them. This had left the little girl pouting, and she'd pretty much stomped and threw a fit the entire day. There was no lack of stamina in that child, they'd all learned.
When Gabriel walked in the kitchen, he was first spotted by his grandma. Lucy walked over to him, and kissed his forehead repeatedly. When Gabe finally pulled her away, his uncle walked over and hugged him. "Hey man, I hear you got bit by the family curse. Hey, bit, ha, get it?" Sammy said to know one in particular. His quip was met with groans, and a snicker from Laddie. "You couldn't have just stuck to that guitar I gave you, could you?" At this comment, both Star and Michael groaned. The guitar, when combined with their son's lack of ability to play it, had resulted in numerous headaches for the both of them. Leave it to Sam to give him a present to drive them insane. This time, Sammy chuckled.
"Glad to see you Uncle Sam, but how did you get here so fast? Who are these people?" Gabe asked. "Gabe, this is Edgar and Alan Frog, and that's Laddie McRae," Sam told him. Gabe's eyes raised; he recognized the names from his father's story last night. "These are the vampire hunters? This is the vampire kid?" Gabe asked him. "None other." Sammy replied proudly. "We ended up working together, kind of. Alan's my accountant, and Edgar works on the comics with me. Laddie is... well, Laddie just kind of runs around and does stuff for us. I don't know what you'd call it. He's kind of funny, so we keep him around."
"I spent part of my formative years as a blood-sucking fiend. You have to have a sense of humor about it," Laddie stated.
Sammy continued. "I managed to get us all on a flight in less than an hour from when you called me!" he informed Star proudly. "Yeah, he called the airlines canceling reservations in every name he could think of until he finally managed to cancel enough seats to get us on!" Laddie said with a grin. Michael rolled his eyes. He wasn't surprised. "Okay, hey, yeah, a little underhanded, but I mean, come on, family emergency and all. You would have though they would have bumped somebody when I told them I had a nephew who suddenly got afflicted with vampirism," Sammy stated in his defense.
Edgar suddenly decided to speak up. "We're here for one reason and one reason only. Sam asked us to. We heard that his nephew managed to get in the same situation both his brother and sister-in-law managed to get into. Since we managed to turn them back, he figures we can do it again. Can't blame him, seeing as we are the most experienced vampire hunters in the world. But do not fool yourself. Neither I nor my brother here will hesitate to stake your ass if the situation calls for it. You vamp out, and we get Buffy on your undead ass. You got that?" Edgar asked. Alan nodded approvingly. He didn't seem to talk much. Both of them seemed to be attempting some sort of a "Dirty Harry" expression. Combine that with their combat clothing (which looked suspiciously new), and Edgar's badly dyed-black hair, they looked ridiculous.
Star was the one who broke the silence. "Little early for that mid-life crisis, isn't it, boys?"
If looks could kill, then the look the Frog Brothers shot her probably would have struck her down like the hand of God. Luckily, their looks were about as deadly as their so-called skills.
Michael finally spoke up. "Okay, everybody, cut the crap. We need to figure things out, and fast. I don't know how long Gabe can last like this. It didn't take me long until I felt I was either going to die or bite the first thing with a pulse." He'd already filled in the newcomers with the story as Gabe slept, for times' sake. He turned to his son. "If you're sure it's not the girl, do you have any clue as to who the head vampire could be?"
Gabe shook his head.
Edgar interjected again, but minded his words a little more this time. Star was almost scary when she got defensive over somebody. "Head Vamp or not, it sounds to me like this chick probably knows a lot more than we do." For once, everyone was in agreement with him.
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Gabriel was on his motorcycle, heading back towards the cliffs and the mansion. The others had wanted to come with him especially the slightly over-anxious Frog Brothers, but he'd insisted on coming alone. He knew they'd probably start a scene. The last thing he wanted was to see what would happen if someone started flinging holy water at those girls.
The path down the cliff and to the mansion was easy for him now. He could see as brightly as if it were day, and his sense of balance was incredible. His father had mentioned that vampires could fly, which explained a few things, but he wasn't quite ready to test out the ability yet. He could hear the noises of the girls moving about in the ballroom. Layla was the only one he could hear clearly. He made his way silently, more silently then he could have ever moved before. At the doorway, he stopped and peered around the corner, hoping the girls wouldn't see him. Layla was moving about the room, as if she had too much energy to contain. Katja and Sophie were resting comfortably along the sofas. Only Shea looked unhappy, curled up in a stuffed chair, as Layla badgered her. "You should have come hunting with us. You have to feed. If you don't eat, you'll starve," Layla told Shea. "I told you, I don't feel like it," Shea replied.
Gabe felt a surge of hope. It sounded as if she hadn't made her first kill yet. It could have just been wishful thinking, but then again, it might not. Gabe straightened, then entered the room. The girls seemed startled to see him, or perhaps because they hadn't heard him. Layla grinned. "Hey, newbie, ready to test out your new skin?" she asked him. "Not tonight. Shea, can we go somewhere?" he asked the dark-haired girl. She looked at him for a moment, then nodded. As Shea rose and moved toward him, he noticed Katja looking at him inquisitively. He ignored it, then led Shea out of the mansion and up the cliff. He began to speak, when Shea lifted her hand to his mouth in warning. She pointed to her ear and then down the cliff. Apparently, even here, the girls could still hear them. Nodding, he climbed onto the bike and started it up. Shea climbed on behind him, and he headed down to the boardwalk.
This time, he didn't bother parking where he had before. He parked down that beach, then led her to where the spot where they had first kissed. Shea looked at him nervously, and Gabe kissed her to reassure her. Deep and powerful, it almost made him forget why he'd come. "Shea, I need to speak to you." Gabe said. He pulled her down with him to the sand so that they sat. "Look... I can't be a vampire. I don't think you're too fond of it either." Shea looked down at the sand. Gabe lifted her chin back up so that her eyes met his. "I know why you did it, or let it happen, or whatever. I want to be with you too. I want to help you too. But I need your help to do that. Will you help me?" he asked her. Shea looked unsure for a moment, then slowly, she nodded. Gabe breathed a sigh of relief, then wrapped his arms around her. "We're going to be okay," he said to Shea. "I told you, everything will be okay."
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It had taken some convincing, but finally, Gabe convinced Shea to come back with him to his home. He pulled up to the house and left his motorcycle in the driveway. Taking Shea's hand, he led her inside.
At this point, it was late enough so that most everyone was asleep. Only his parents and Sam sat in the living room. Sam was relating a woeful tale to Michael and Star about his mother's last matchmaking attempt. "The Frogs aren't married. Laddie isn't married. And yet, I must suffer the guilt trips and nagging." Sam stated, almost pouting. Star snickered. "Laddie's still young enough. I doubt the Frogs could get a woman to date either of them. They'd have better luck reanimating a corpse and marrying a zombie." she looked at her husband questioningly. "Do you think there really are zombies?" Michael shrugged, then noticed his son and the strange girl. She certainly was beautiful; pale skin contrasted with black hair and eyes. "Mom, Dad, Sam, this is Shea. Shea, this is my uncle Sam, my mother Star, and my dad Michael," Gabe said. Shea said nothing, only moved closer to Gabe. Gabe had told her his parents' story at the beach. She was in a house full of people who had managed to take out an entire coven, and she wasn't terribly thrilled about that. Star motioned for everyone to follow her in the kitchen, where they sat at the table. The kitchen had started to look like a base of operations, thanks to the Frogs. Gabe was sure there was something seriously mentally wrong with those two.
"Shea, honey, I'm going to start off by telling you that I know how you feel. I've been there. I'm not too thrilled with the fact that you made my son a vampire, but I'm trying to understand because when I was your age, I was too frightened to prevent my husband from becoming one," Star told her. Star wasn't exactly enamored of the girl whose involvement with her son ended with his growing fangs. She did, however, know what is was like to feel terrified and trapped. She also knew this girl was her only means of saving Gabriel. Star continued to speak, with Shea responding little if any. Michael and Sammy stayed silent, realizing that Star was getting somewhere. Gabe's arm never left Shea's shoulders. Star was almost finished speaking. "I don't know how you ended up here, and it's not my place to ask. I do know that you don't look very happy, and from the way my son's described you, I doubt you're the type to wish this on someone else. The only way to turn him back, or any half-vampire, is to kill the head of the coven." Star tilted her head at Shea. "But you're not it, are you?" she asked the girl softly. Slowly, almost reluctantly, Shea shook her head. Shea leaned further into Gabe, as the questioning made her obviously more nervous. Star had to ask though. "Do you know who it is?" she asked her.
For the first time, Shea looked Star in the eye. "Yes," she said. It was the only word she got out before Edgar and Alan burst into the room, stakes raised.
"There she is!" yelled Alan, throwing something to his brother. It was a squirt gun. Edgar aimed it at Shea, and Gabe, having a good idea of what was in it, moved in front of her. It struck him across the face, and it burned like fire. Gabe growled and fell to his hands and knees on the floor. Alan had moved behind Shea, and with some sort of geek war cry, came at her with a stake. Within moments, Shea's face had contorted. She grabbed his outstretched arm and sent him flying across the room. He struck the mirror, shattering it. Before she had time to recover, Edgar was running over the table and lunged at her, stake in hand. He never touched her. Gabriel, his face now contorted as Shea's was, caught Edgar by the throat in mid-air. He growled at Edgar, "NOBODY touches her. Nobody! Do you understand?" Edgar, suspended between two and three feet from the floor, did his best to nod. Gabe responded by flinging his body into his brother's, who had just started to right himself. Michael, Star, and Sammy hadn't said a word. They were stunned, first by the attack, then by the responses of the two teenagers. Especially Gabe's... nothing could have prepared them for seeing him like this. Shea took off running and was out the front door before anyone could stop her. Gabe took off after her, only to see her fly off right outside the door. Suddenly, he heard a clamor behind him. Lucy and Laddie came running down the stairs, and gasped when they saw his vampiric visage. Little Lucy, right behind them, had another reaction. She screamed like a banshee and ran back up the stairs, crying. His grandmother looked helplessly between the stairs and her grandson, and Gabe waved her off. She ran up the stairs to try to calm her granddaughter.
In the kitchen, Star was busying herself by kicking the Frog brothers, who were laying on the floor in enough pain that they could barely raise their arms in defense. "You idiots! If my son ends up a full vampire, I hope he eats you little bastards FIRST! In fact, I will serve you morons to him on...a... dish!" Each word was punctuated by a kick. Finally, Michael pulled his infuriated wife off of the two imbecilic men. "Thanks, man," Edgar managed to gasp out.
Michael's only response was to kick him in gut.