So…as you might have guessed by the title, this in not a happy chapter. It takes place in the past and shows a little more of the Josef/Elizabeth bond. I have some German in the beginning, but please don't get too caught up on it. As many of you know, silvanelf's and my stuff tend to cross paths, but we are not identical. I've adapted but slightly modified Josef's past from I, Josef, Immortal to fit my story.

Morgan's one of those people who ages gracefully. At this time she is 77 years old, but she is still beautiful (think Helen Mirren-I know she's younger, but you get the idea). I feel that Josef is not so single minded as to not see her beauty even as she ages. He is 399 years old at this point and he would have gotten past the notion that beauty is only skin deep.

Enjoy!!

Children Should Bury Their Parents-LA 1998

"Die Quartiergaeste, den man vertraute, tranken zu viel." The house guests, who were friends, drank a lot. Elizabeth said. She was practicing for her German oral exam tomorrow and she still didn't know all the vocab.

"Denen" correction of 'den' Elizabeth looked up. She could swear she just heard Uncle Josef correct her, but he was sitting at his desk like nothing happened. She looked back at her paper and realized that whatever she heard was correct.

Does Uncle Josef know German? Josef is a German name and so is Konstantin. I bet…

Elizabeth looked over slyly at Josef and asked, "Was hast du gesagt?" What did you say?

Josef looked up at her, his brow furrowed like he was confused. "What was that sweetie?"

"Ich frage, was hast du gesagt?" I asked, what did you say?

Josef smiled. "You have to speak in English if you want me to respond."

"Ich weiß du Deutsch sprechen können. Warum hast du mich nicht helfen?" I know you speak German. Why haven't you helped me?

"Come again?"

Elizabeth was tired of this. Well, if he want admit he knows what I'm say I'll have to get his attention another way.

"Ich glaube, dass du mich einen Keuschheitsgürtel verkaufen musst." I think that you are going to have to buy me a chastity belt.

Josef's head whipped around, his face full of both fear and understanding. Elizabeth broke down laughing. "I knew you understood me. Why didn't you say anything before? I could have really used your help with this." Elizabeth pointed to her textbook.

Josef glared at her, but it was impossible to be mad with her when she was smiling like that. "Speaking a language and being able to teach it are two totally different things. Besides, it's been centuries since I spoke German. I speak a dialect you probably couldn't understand."

"Really? Where from? Why did you learn it?"

Josef groaned. She is too nosy for her own good. "This is exactly why I don't speak it. People start asking too many questions."

"You don't have anything to hide from me, Uncle Josef. Ich versproche dass ich keine Leute sagen werde." I promise that I will not tell anyone.

Josef took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Fine," he relented. He motioned for Elizabeth to approach his desk. "I'll tell you if you promise not to make anymore jokes about chastity belts."

"Deal. Too late for that one anyway." Elizabeth responded cheerfully.

"Lizzy…" Josef said in a warning tone.

"Fine, fine, fine. That was the last joke, no more, I promise."

Josef smiled. "Good. I speak a dialect of German that hasn't been spoken in hundred of years. German is my native language, well German and Slavic, but I was raised speaking German. After I was turned I never went back to my home, so I haven't had a reason to speak it since."

"When did you learn English?"

"As a child. My father had a lot of business dealings with English merchants so I learned English from a tutor, along with Spanish, French and Italian."

"Wow. How many languages do you speak?"

"Many. I'm more or less fluent in those and Japanese, Mandarin, Arabic, and Russian. Basically any language I need to do business in. I just prefer to speak English. It puts my client on my terms. That way they speak freely in front of me and I know their true intentions."

Elizabeth gasped. "You deceive your clients? That doesn't sound like the Uncle Josef I know," she said in mock sincerity.

Josef glared at her. "I'm an honest man. I just want to know if they're being honest with me."

Elizabeth smiled and kissed Josef on the cheek. "You're an honest vampire," she corrected. Then she crossed the room back to her seat on the couch and resumed working on her homework. Josef smiled. It always surprised him how easy she was with him, knowing what he was.

That girl has got to get out more. She's going to start thinking life around here is normal. "Uh, Lizzy?"

"Yes," Elizabeth said, not looking up from her homework.

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

Elizabeth looked up and him and cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, is there a boy you're seeing?"

"A boy? Try many."

"Lizzy, you promised."

"Sorry," she said. "No. The boys in high school are stupid, immature and gross."

That's my girl! Josef thought, proud he didn't have to scare off any pimply faced punk who dared to approach her. It was beneath him.

"I'm waiting for college," Elizabeth explained.

Josef stopped ruffling through the papers on his desk and asked, "College? You're thinking about college?"

"Of course. Everyone goes to college nowadays. I'm having difficulty finding a school though, and then there is the application process…don't even get me started on the crap they assign for essay topics. And of course, let us not forget the endless line of scholarship applications."

"You know I'll pay for wherever you want to go, right Lizzy?" Josef asked.

Elizabeth looked up at him, her face lit up. "Really?"

"Of course. You are my Lizzy."

Elizabeth smiled, sheepishly. "I think I really want to go to Columbia."

"In New York? What about Cal Poly?" Josef asked, dreading the thought of his little girl being 3,000 miles away,

Elizabeth laughed. "You're going to have to let me leave some time and besides, you have a private jet on stand-by waiting to take you anywhere you want at a moment's notice."

Josef knew he was caught. "I just want you to think about your options. I'm not going to try and hold you back from whatever you want to do, but could you at least consider something closer to home?"

Elizabeth smiled. "I'll take it under consideration."

"Thanks. If anything changes please give me a call." Josef hung up the phone. He looked at the clock. It was just after 3pm. Lizzy will be home soon. How am I going to tell her?

Josef poured himself a tall glass of scotch and downed it. He poured another and made his way over to the couch and sat down. A single tear ran slowly down his otherwise stoic face.

"Uncle Josef? What are you doing up?" Josef looked up to see Elizabeth poking her head into his office. She had a wide grin on her face and she bounded into the room. "It doesn't matter. It just means I get to tell you the news sooner."

She was practically brimming over with excitement. Josef couldn't even manage a smile, but he couldn't imagine ruining her mood. He waved his hand, motioning her to continue, not trusting himself to open his mouth.

Elizabeth plopped herself on the couch next to him. "Guess what came in the mail? You'll never guess…I'm IN! I was accepted to Columbia! Can you believe it?" Elizabeth looked at Josef expectantly. She realized something was wrong. Her eyes flashed to the double scotch on the table. No blood. He's trying to get drunk…

"Uncle Josef? What's wrong? And don't lie to me. What's wrong? Why are you up in the middle of the day? Why are you getting drunk? And why can't you smile?"

Josef brought his hand up to Elizabeth's face and rubbed her cheek with his thumb as he cradled her cheek. Elizabeth could see the tears in his eyes.

Josef buried his eyes in the palm of his hands and started muttering, incomprehensibly. Elizabeth picked up 'Sorry' and 'I couldn't do anything.'

"Uncle Josef, tell me what happened."

Josef looked up, his eyes were red and misty. "Elizabeth, I'm sorry. Morgan's in the hospital." Elizabeth stared at Josef. "Lizzy? Did you hear me? Your grandmother is in the hospital."

"What happened?" Elizabeth asked, in an accusative tone.

"She had a stroke. She was sleeping and…I heard her heart stop, so I had her rushed to the hospital. She hasn't woken up."

"Is she alive? Wait…How did you hear her heart stop? I thought your room was soundproof?"

Josef swallowed thickly. "She's alive, but the doctors aren't sure if she'll make it." Josef gulped down some scotch.

"How did you hear her heart stop?!" Elizabeth was fixated on this detail. "Were you feeding from her?! Did you take too much?!"

"Lizzy, please…"

"NO! DID YOU KILL MY GRANDMOTHER?!"

"NO!" Josef lost his temper. He vamped out and snarled at her. She jumped, but only a little before resuming her demanding pose and staring him down, silver eyes and all.

Josef's face melted back to his human visage and he looked away from Elizabeth, embarrassed that he'd lost control.

"You are a monster," Elizabeth whispered. Then she stood up and strode towards the door. Josef was in front of her before she could exit the room.

"I didn't kill her."

"Then what happened?"

"I told you, she had a stroke."

"But-" Elizabeth started to accuse him of lying again, but Josef cut her off.

"She was in my bed…with me."

Whatever Elizabeth had expected to hear, that wasn't it. She backed up, stunned by the knowledge that 'Uncle' Josef was sleeping with Grandma Morgan.

"How long?"

"Nearly five decades. Since your mom was little. We were never serious, but we enjoyed each other's company. Your grandmother is a special woman, powerful, confident and beautiful."

"Yeah and also 77 years old."

Josef chuckled. "And I'm 399. So if you're worried about her robbing the cradle, you should point the finger at me. Besides, it's not what you think. We dispensed with our physical relationship years ago, but we still enjoy each others company."

Josef wrapped his arms around Elizabeth, in a comforting hug. "I'm really sorry."

Elizabeth clung to Josef, comforted by his strong, yet loving, embrace and overpowering scent. "Can I see her?"

"Sure, I'll drive."

"But it's sunny outside…"

"Contrary to popular belief, vampires don't burst into flames in daylight. I'll take along a snack."

Elizabeth was surprised to find out that 'snack' didn't mean one of the girls, but rather a dark colored bottle from the back of the fridge. He led her to the Toyota Supra, which she guessed he chose, not to blend in, but rather for its darkly tinted windows.

The drive to the hospital was silent and awkward. Elizabeth couldn't stop thinking about Uncle Josef and her grandmother sleeping together. They had never made any public displays of affection, Josef was always professional and a gentlemanly where she was concerned. But maybe that was his way of showing he cares…

At the hospital they learned that Morgan was still in a coma, but she was stable. They were escorted to her room and left there with a pair of chairs. Josef moved the window and pulled the blinds shut, then he snuck a long drink from the bottle he had brought along.

Elizabeth approached the bed. Morgan looked pale, but peaceful. There was an IV in her arm, so Elizabeth carefully lifted her hand and intertwined their fingers. Josef came to the opposite side of the bed and ran his fingers over her cheek. "The clot was in her brain. The doctors don't know if there is any permanent damage."

"Will she wake up?"

"I don't know. If she does, it's a good sign, but the risk of a second clot is still very high." Elizabeth looked back at her grandmother, still clutching her hand.

They stood there for hours. Sometimes pacing, sometimes sitting, sometimes reminiscing.

Josef told Elizabeth the story about the time she had found his reserve blood supply as a toddler. She had tried to open the bottle, but had dropped it in the attempt, making it spill all over the kitchen floor. She proceeded to slip in it and get herself covered and that was how Morgan and Josef found her, gleefully slashing around in a pile of blood. The two had a hell of a time trying to pick her up, but Josef had finally managed to grab a hold of her. He half licked, half kissed her cheek, making Elizabeth giggle and horrifying Morgan.

Elizabeth laughed. She could picture herself as a fussy infant covered in blood, being licked clean by Uncle Josef. The image of Morgan's horror was priceless and for a moment, Elizabeth forgot where she was and why. Then Josef turned suddenly to look at Morgan.

Elizabeth followed his gaze to find Morgan's eyes open and a weak smile on her face. "I remember that, I was afraid he was going to eat you."

"I would never hurt Lizzy," Josef said, smiling at Morgan.

"I know," Morgan said, smiling back. "Where am I?"

"The hospital. You had a stroke," Josef explained.

Morgan's eyes widened. "Am I okay?"

"For now. The doctors want to do some more tests to see the likelihood of another stroke. You know my offer still stands. It's not too late."

Morgan smiled warmly at him. "My answer is still the same. Besides, why would I want to go through eternity looking like this?"

"You're beautiful," Josef said, stoking her face and placing a chaste kiss to her lips.

"Ewwee! Could you two please keep this to the bedroom? Hearing about it and seeing it are two different things."

Morgan looked embarrassed, but Josef just laughed. "She knows?" Morgan asked.

"Yes, I had to tell her why I heard your heart stop."

Morgan looked apologetically at Elizabeth. "I'm sorry-"

"Don't apologize. There's nothing to apologize about, but I just really don't want to see it. What were you talking about? Did he offer to turn you, Grandma?"

"Yes. Many years ago."

"And she refused."

"I choose not to be turned. You could have turned me if you'd wanted to."

"No way. Rape turnings rarely end well. Look at Mick."

"Josef, could I speak to Liz alone?" Morgan asked.

Josef sensed the seriousness in her tone. "Sure. I'll go find the doctors about those tests, okay?"

Morgan nodded and he kissed her again, before he left. Morgan watched Josef leave and waited till he was down the hall. She knew how good his hearing was.

"Elizabeth, there is something I need to tell you. You have to promise not to tell anyone, especially not Josef." Elizabeth stared at Morgan. "Did you hear me?"

Elizabeth nodded and Morgan continued, "Good. Do you promise?"

"Grandma…"

"Do you promise?!"

"Yes."

"I know who Linda's father is. You know him too." Elizabeth looked quizzically at Morgan. "You Grandfather is Mick St. John."

Elizabeth's eyes widened. "But that's impossible. Vampires can't have children."

"True, but humans can. I met Mick in 1952, before he was turned. We had a one-night-stand that resulted in me getting pregnant with your mother."

"Does he know?"

"No. No one knows. I had gone back to tell him, when that bitch-of-a-wife of his, Coraline, found me. She brought me to Josef's for him to 'dispose' of me.

"Why doesn't Mick recognize you?"

"It was fifty years ago. Besides, it was a one-night-stand."

"But he's Josef's friend?"

"I know. You can't imagine how many times I was going to tell them, but I just didn't have the courage. It was easier to live the lie."

"Why are you telling me now?"

"I don't want the information to die with me. You should know your own lineage, even if it's hard to understand."

"Is this why you never liked Mick?" Morgan didn't respond. "Is this why you never liked Mick?" Elizabeth repeated. Again Morgan didn't respond. Elizabeth shook Morgan's shoulder to wake her, but she didn't stir. Then Elizabeth heard the heart monitor flat line.

For a second, Elizabeth was stunned. She didn't know what to do. The next moment the room was full of nurses and doctors. Someone pushed her out of the way and she stumbled into a pair of strong arms. She immediately recognized Josef's scent and leaned into his embrace. They watched as the crash team rushed around Morgan. The technicians started the defibrillator and Elizabeth had to bury her face in Josef's shirt.

Suddenly, the room went quite, except for the drone of the heart monitor. "Time of death, 2:55am."

The tears broke through and Elizabeth collapsed in Josef's arms.

Elizabeth sat in the back of a tinted limo. She had run out of tears two days ago. She walked around the house in a stupor at night, she barely ate and she hadn't slept.

She felt a comforting hand on hers. She looked up to see Josef smiling down at her. "Come on, kiddo. We're here." Elizabeth followed Josef out of the limo and walked with him to the gravesite. If she had been in a better mood she would've admired the beauty of place, but right now she didn't feel like it, she didn't feel like much of anything.

A small crowd had gathered, mostly women, but a few men, who looked like the husbands of some of the older women. All the guests acknowledged Josef. These must be old freshies…

The only male not attached to a woman was Mick. He was standing in the crowd, trying to blend in. She hadn't seen him since her grandmother had told her the truth about her paternity, but now that she looked at him, she could totally see her mother's face in his.

A preacher stood by the casket and as Elizabeth approached with Josef she wished she had asked her friend Beth to come with her. The preacher started in on a eulogy that Elizabeth didn't hear. She zoned out, looking at the casket.

She felt a sturdy hand on her shoulder and looked back to see Josef, stoic and somber. She had the oddest feeling of déjà vu.

She had stood in this same spot fourteen years earlier as they lowered her mother's casket into the ground. Josef had stood behind her then too, with the same firm hand on her shoulder. She hadn't been as upset as she was now. She had been too young to really understand that her mother was gone for good, but with her grandma passing she was doubly grieving for both her mother and grandmother.

Josef was the constant. He'd always be the constant. He'd never aged. He'd never died. But what makes life special is that it's fleeting…

The ceremony was over. The guests had dispersed, giving their condolences to both Josef and Elizabeth. Mick had come and stood next to Josef for a while, not saying anything, not offering words of comfort, just being there, showing his support. He's a good man and a good friend. Elizabeth thought. Telling them might ruin their relationship. If Uncle Josef had been sleeping with Grandma for all these years, Mick might take offence and he'd probably start brooding worse over not having been there for my mother. I'll tell them, but not today, not for a while. Grandma was right, they don't need to know…for now.

As the last of the guests left Josef continued to stand by the grave with Elizabeth. "Sweetie, we should go home."

"I'll do it," Elizabeth said.

"Do what?" Josef was confused.

Elizabeth turned to look at him, dried tears in her eyes. "I'll take Grandma's place as your house manager. I'll organize the freshies and anything else you want me to do, but I will not fill her place in your bed."

A sad smile crossed Josef's face and he hugged Elizabeth to him. "No, Lizzy. You're not staying here."

"It's my duty. I've inherited the job. My family owes you everything."

"Lizzy, you owe me nothing. Nothing besides being happy in doing whatever you want. How can a daughter be indebted to her father? You are my little girl, I will not subjugate or require you to work for me. Believe it or not, I can hire another house manager, I'll probably will never find one as good as your mother, but she was a woman of her time."

Elizabeth and Josef shared a painful smile. "Go to college. Go to Columbia. Get out of here. There are two many bad memories for you in this place."

"But-"

"No. I'm refusing your offer."

Elizabeth hugged Josef tightly. "There are good memories here too, Uncle Josef. How can I leave you?"

"I'll always be here, Lizzy. I'll always be there for you."