Author's Note:
Thank you for continuing to put up with me while I put my first story together. I truly appreciate the feedback and reviews. My little story is becoming fuller and richer with thanks to the people who have shared their thoughts and opinions. Moonlight isn't mine. This should be a suprise to no one :)
13: Meeting Annelise
A few minutes later, the sedan pulled up in front of UCLA's medical center, and the driver opened the door. Josef looked Beth over. "Lose the overcoat, Beth."
Beth obliges, keeping the hat and sunglasses.
Beth finally went around to the other side of the car to pick up the baby and to get the diaper bag.
Looking at Beth holding the infant, Josef's upper lip twitched. "Now we make quite a trio."
For the first time, Beth thought to look at what he was wearing. He wore a sharp navy suit, with brown leather shoes, a white shirt and a softly striped light blue tie. As always, the man exuded confidence in his dressing. Beth looked down at herself, wearing her sweater and worn-in jeans, then over at the baby who looks so angelic, sitting in her arms contentedly.
Josef held the door open for Beth and the infant, then walked straight to the reception area "I'm here to see Annelise Alder," he said simply.
"Are you family?" the woman asked.
"We're her nearest relatives. We're watching her child." Josef sounded brisk and businesslike.
"Annelise Alder is in room 1415. I'm sorry but all visitors must be over the age of 12."
Even with his back to her, Beth could tell that "No Alisa" was not an acceptable choice. She could pick up that his scent changed to irritation.
"We'll talk with the nurse, thank you for Annelise's room."
"Rules are rules," the reception lady spoke after them.
Beth walked over to the elevators and pressed the up button. Quickly, an elevator was available and Josef and Beth walked into it. As they slowly made their way up the elevator shaft, Josef spoke in low tones to Beth.
"You'll go in first with the infant. Annelise needs to talk with you, see her own child, put her mind at ease. I'll run interference if we have any problems."
As the elevator doors opened, Beth saw the sign pointing out rooms 1400 to 1420 on their left. The walked down the hall and walked to the door of room 1415. The door was open partially, and Beth knocked on the door lightly.
"Come in" said a tired-sounding voice.
Beth walked in, still holding the infant. Beth saw Annelise for the first time, and realized why she was wearing such baggy clothes when she dropped off Alisa at Mick's doorstep. She was bald and swollen from the chemotherapy or radiation, or whatever they do to treat cancer. Yet even with the swelling, she was as thin as a rail. Beth had no training in the medical field, but she'd never seen a woman this thin in her entire life or undead life.
"This can't be Alisa." The woman rubbed her eyes, as though she'd been asleep. "Alisa my love," she smiled weakly to her little girl.
The little girl could definitely tell who her own mommy was, and squealed with delight, trying to take a nosedive out of Beth's arms.
"Are you Annelise?" Beth asked. She already knew the answer to her own question, her scent almost identical to when she had left Alisa for Mick: wounded, sick, mildly acid-like, and other scents beth couldn't identify.
"I'm Annelise only if you're my health insurance, a man I know named Josef, or my driver's license. The rest of the world just calls me Anne."
Beth smiled at the woman, she definitely had a sense of humor. "Would you like to hold Alisa?" Beth asked, looking at the squirmy infant, to the frail looking woman.
"Please, pull up a chair and hold Alisa close to me. Then, please tell me who you are and why you have my daughter and what happened to Mick, the person responsible for my daughter. I thought his job was to find Tom, not arrange daycare services."
Beth smiled again, choosing to ignore the comment about Mick and his job. "I'm Mick St. John's wife, Beth. Bethany actually, but only my grandfather called me that. Josef's never tried the 'insist on the full name' trick with me, but I'm not sure he'd survive the encounter."
Beth looked at the woman, who was laughing softly at Josef's quirk about insisting on calling someone by their full birth name.
"Mick is in San Francisco," she continued.
Beth looked down at the little girl, who had stopped squirming, and was now insistent on trying to eat the button on Beth's sweater. Beth moved a chair so it was beside the bed, close enough for Annelise to reach out and hold her own child. Beth reached into the diaper bag and pulled out the giraffe, handing it to the little girl who happily abandoned her button-chewing attempts.
"He's finding Tom Cudelli, and I'm helping out with the little one. I thought you'd like to see your little girl and know that she's in the best of hands. She's a really precious little girl."
At that, Annelise began weeping quietly. Beth handed her a tissue, and wrapped her arm comfortingly around the woman. Beth wondered idly to herself that this woman was possibly more emotional than a newborn vampire, but given the circumstances, she sympathized with the woman.
Annelise dabbed the tissue to her eyes, then blew her nose. "Tom and I were research partners from time to time. We met when I was at USC working on my master's degree and we stayed in touch. I never imagined I'd get pregnant at 38, I was so devoted to my career. I was five months pregnant with Alisa when they found that I had cancer, a rapidly aggressive form, it had metastasized already, to almost every organ in my body.. The doctors gave me two choices, I could abort the baby and they would treat me aggressively and I would have a marginal chance of survival, or I could carry the baby to term then begin to treat me aggressively and I'd have a less than marginal chance of survival. I realized then and there that I wanted to carry this baby, get to know this precious little life that had been within me. She's an amazing little girl. I hadn't been too crazy with the thought of raising a baby until I realized I wouldn't have the chance. I lived every day for her. I tried treatments for the cancer after Alisa was born, but there just doesn't seem to be a 'miracle cure' out there for me. Tom's a really great guy, I never told him I was pregnant because I didn't want to change his devotion to his career, but Alisa deserves to have a family."
Slowly, Annelise calmed down, Beth could sense it. Annelise was looking at her daughter, who was carefully trying to pull off the giraffe's tail, smiling and babbling all the while. "Alisa is one of the sweetest infants I've ever known," Beth says, genuinely.
Beth looked down at the little girl, and looking at her mother realized that the two had the same sky-blue eyes. Beth moved the little girl closer to her mother, and Annelise reached out and stroked the baby on the cheek. Beth slid her arm out from around the woman, and adjusted the baby girl so her mother could see her better.
"I think that I'm glad that Mick has you for a wife. I wasn't sure where to turn when I realized Tom's company had changed ownership and I didn't know its new name, and I couldn't find him. Mick has always had a reputation for being on of the best, plus I know he's trustworthy, him being so close to Josef and all, but I definitely had my reservations leaving my baby with a…"
Annelise's eyes widened in shock, realizing what she almost said. "You know what he is, don't you? I mean, he had to have told you, you being his wife."
Annelise stammered. "He couldn't possibly have gotten married without you realizing…"
She trailed off.
Beth smiled and hushed her voice in a conspiring tone. "You mean he might be a vampire?" Beth did a mild attempt at pretending to be shocked, her eyes widening with mock surprise. Beth grinned and looked back at the woman.
Annelise laughed at Beth's theatrics.
Beth looks down at the infant, "I can understand why you'd be cautious entrusting your infant to him, but he's never considered children as a food source."
Annelise laughed. "If I remember correctly, Mick wouldn't even consider a living adult as a food source either, he seems to enjoy his meals straight from the fridge. Its been years, but he'd insist on the prepacked stuff, even when Josef would practically set one of the other women on Mick's lap."
Beth laughed at the mental picture of Josef trying to woo Mick with live blood. Josef was never very successful in that arena, much to Josef's own dismay.
Annelise looked deeply into Beth's eyes, gaining the muster to ask a question that has been unanswered for so many years. "What is it like, living with a vampire? I mean, they're so intriguing, they're almost magnetic, but they live so differently than us humans. How do you pull it off? Do you have children?"
Looking into Annelise's eyes, Beth realized that the woman had no idea that Mick wasn't the solo vampire in his home.
Beth carefully took a breath, not certain what to say next. "I'm not sure I could describe living with a vampire. Mick and I don't have any children. A vampire male is technically sterile." Beth took another breath and shifted her gaze, not certain she could look the woman in the eye any longer. "Besides, any child going to school and announcing that their mommy and daddy sleep in a freezer, it would probably catch someone's attention."
Beth heard the woman gasp. "You mean you're one too? I mean, that's okay, I just didn't realize that Mick would consider leaving Alisa alone with another…" she trailed off. Beth wasn't looking at the woman, but she could tell that Annelise was looking at her child, searching for bite marks or injuries.
Beth could tell that the woman's pulse was picking up. Apparently she hadn't considered the possibility that Beth was anything but a human, and the revelation was making her nervous.
Josef chose that moment to walk in the room, he went over to where Beth had pulled up a chair, and kissed her on the top of her head. Beth looked over to him as he leaned over and gave the frail woman a warm embrace, silently thanking him for changing the topic. Even at five years old in vampire years, such close proximity to fear still made her mind wander to dark predatory instincts after a short while.
"Beth and your little girl are staying at my home while Mick is out of town. Alisa is truly in the best of hands, human or otherwise." Josef interjected, clearly aware of the conversation.
Annelise's pulse picked up even quicker. "Josef? What are you doing here?"
"Mick's my best friend." Josef said simply.
"Plus, it's been years since I've touched base with you, I thought I'd visit an old friend." he continued, a small smile playing on his lips as he winked at her.
She mustered a smile for him, then looked at her daughter, finally looking at Beth. Beth was relieved that Josef seemed to have a calming effect on the woman.
"She's hungry" Annelise said idly, seemingly out of the blue, looking back at her daughter.
"She'll usually start chewing on her fingers a few minutes before she starts crying." she continued.
Beth looked down at the infant, who indeed had abandoned the giraffe, and had started sucking on her fingers.
Beth excused herself to make the bottle, and to her surprise, Josef picked up the infant and slid into Beth's seat after Beth stood up. Beth watched as Josef set the infant on his own lap, and slowly rubbed the little girl's back.
"I wonder where on earth he picked up parenting skills." Beth wondered to herself as she picked up the diaper bag and walked to the nurses' station. When the young nurse looked up at her, Beth explained her need to make a bottle for the baby, and was soon directed to the lounge, which had the microwave she needed.
As Beth prepared the bottle, she realized she wasn't alone in the room anymore. The young nurse had rejoined her, and Beth could sense the woman's hesitation and fearlessness all in the same bundle together.
Beth turned to look at the nurse, who blushed, but held her ground. "The gentleman said that you're Ms. Alder's sister and that you're watching her infant while she's in the hospital." The perky nurse started by saying.
"Yes, I'm caring for the baby." Beth affirmed, ignoring the first statement. Of course Josef would have invented family bonds if the situation sounded good.
"He also said that he was your husband." The animated nurse continued.
Beth raised an eyebrow at the nurse, wondering where this conversation was going.
"Josef's wife is a redhead." the young nurse said, then looked somewhat apprehensively at Beth.. "I suppose he didn't recognize me," she continued, lifting the cuff of her long sleeve shirt.
"My name is Cassie," the young woman said, walking towards Beth.
Showing her bare arm, Beth found the scars of some well healed sets of twin puncture wounds; her own personal affirmation that vampires exist and having some sort of knowledge about them.
"And that's how you know him by name, and know I'm not his wife." Beth suppressed her smile. Josef, apparently was known in many circles.
"I've been a, um, guest of sorts, a few times at his home, when he had one party or another."
Beth smiled to herself. Josef was very active in the vampire social circuit, often hosting get-togethers at his home with refreshments, of the human persuasion, included.
"Is this conversation going somewhere?" Beth looked at Cassie, wondering what the girl wanted, and feeling just a little uncomfortable at being addressed in public.
"I just wanted you to know that Ms. Alder is truly very ill. I'll spare you the medical terminology, but with her weakened immune system, she has an infection in her blood stream. She may die within the next few days if the antibiotics don't start clearing the infection. If Anne has family, it would be a good time for them to spend time with her."
For Beth, the world stopped turning for a moment. While she could tell that Annelise was extremely ill, she didn't realize how seriously ill the woman actually was. Beth stood there, wondering what to do, how to tell Josef, wondering if Annelise knew herself. The nurse, realizing that her words had been unexpected, took the baby's bottle out of the microwave, screwed on the top and tested the temperature on the back of her hand.
"It's a little bit warm, but it will be cool enough for the baby by the time you get back to the room." The perky nurse said. Beth hadn't reached for the bottle so the nurse set it down on the counter. Cassie moved so she was directly in front of Beth, and took both of Beth's hands in her own. "I'm sorry what I said came as such a surprise. I wanted you to know that there may not be a lot of time."
Cassie reached over and handed Beth the infant's bottle, closing Beth's fingers around the plastic container. Beth had no idea how to handle the news about Annelise's life, but she did have her mind wrapped around one less pressing question. "How did you know to check the bottle for me?" she asked, recovering finally.
The young nurse smiled. "If you're hanging out with Josef, then you know that he doesn't keep many mortal friends. Plus not many of us warm-blooded adults need a thermometer to check the temperature of a warm bottle." Cassie glanced over at the thermometer resting on the counter, then looked back to Beth and gave a quick wink.
Beth looked at the young woman, who seemed to be so youthful yet so wise all in the same moment. On an impulse, Beth reached over and gave the young nurse a hug. "Thank you," she said, "for the advice about Annelise.
The nurse blushed slightly at having revealed something so bluntly about a patient, but she returned the hug. "Is there anything else I can do for you?" she asked.
Beth let go of the young woman, and looked down at the warm bottle in her hand. "No," she said, "I think I've got it under control."
Beth picked up the formula container, and slipped the thermometer back into the bag. She walked back into Annelise's room, and found Josef with his own arm around the sick woman, with the little girl perched on his lap quietly. Annelise was crying, and Josef was talking quietly to her. Beth didn't mean to intrude, but as the little girl saw the bottle in Beth's hand, she started squealing with excitement. Annelise laughed through her tears, and Beth picked up the little girl.
Josef, over the centuries, had nearly perfected the skill of communicating himself nonverbally through his own projected emotions. If his scent didn't say "Give us some time", Beth would have had to get her senses checked. Beth quietly took the little girl back to the lounge, and finding a comfortable chair, eased into it. She cradled the little girl into her arms, and the infant grabbed at the bottle. "Easy, easy," Beth said. "Just a second, honey."
Beth popped the bottle into the little girl's open mouth, and the little girl started greedily slurping down her bottle. Within a few minutes, the little girl had slowed down her pace, and was sleepily looking up at Beth, tracing her finger around the top button on Beth's sweater. Beth leaned over and kissed the top of the little girl's head, and started humming a lullaby. A few minutes later, the little girl was nearly asleep. Beth didn't want to disturb her, but she gently eased the infant into a more upright position to burp her. After getting the requisite burp from the sleepy infant, Beth shifted the baby's weight to her arm, and with her other hand, dug into the diaper bag and fished out a clean diaper, wipes and rash crème. She stood up and found her way down the hall to the restroom with a baby changing table.
A few minutes later, she re-emerged, holding the now sleeping infant. She found Josef waiting for her by the lounge. As Beth came closer, she could see that Josef was somehow emotionally exhausted. When she reached him, he held out an arm for her, and she found herself in his embrace. He kissed the top of her head, and she looked up at him. "Should I bring Alisa back in to see her mother?" Beth asked.
"No", Josef replied, "she needs rest, she's already asleep".
Josef walked over to the nurses station, and had a brief conversation with Cassie, while Beth put the diaper bag together, picked it up, and slung it over her shoulder – all while holding a sleeping infant in her arms. She wondered idly, what Josef wanted with Cassie. Maybe she'd ask him later, she decided.
Beth made her way over to the nurses' station, and Josef reflexively put his arm around her. "Thank you, Cassandra." He said, and then he bid her goodbye.
Still with his arm around her, Josef and Beth started walking down the hall towards the elevators. "Cassandra wanted to apologize to me for upsetting you." Josef said simply, knowing the question Beth was going to ask.
"So she told you how sick Anne is?"
"Annelise," he gently corrected. "And yes, I know how ill she is. Her scent, Beth, tells more than any medical test around. You've never smelled near-death before, but she's pretty close. She may have a couple days left. Her blood is filled with things that are killing her, both cancer and an infection. For her own sake, I hope its no more than a couple days."
Beth's eyes widened at his comment, and she turned to look at him.
Josef shrugged and looked towards the sleeping infant, then towards the floor. "Beth, humans die. Everything living dies at some point. This is how things happen. Here at the hospital, they can prolong her death, but they can't save her life. She's suffering, and nobody deserves to suffer like that."
Beth and Josef walked out of the hospital entrance, and Beth blinked a few times in the sunlight, shielding her eyes with her free hand. The car was right by the entrance. The driver held the door open, and Beth gently climbed inside, holding the sleeping infant.
Josef caught a flattering look of her backside as she entered the car. As she got herself situated and the infant into the car seat, Josef leaned in and told her that he'd be by the house later, that he had some details to finish here before he left and he'd be sending for another car.
Beth watched as Josef walked back into the double doors of the hospital as the driver closed the door. As the car pulled into the busy afternoon streets, she realized that one thing she needed was her own clothes.. She leaned over and asked him to take her to her own home, and gave the address.
Then Beth, weary from the sunlight, lack of sleep and the stress of looking after this one tiny human, closed her eyes and fell fast asleep in the car.
Okay, its official. I am now at the end of my chapter and begging for thoughts, input (I don't think I've reverted to begging before, but I'm definitely doing it now). Am I doing okay with the characters? Are they too jumpy? Can I hold down a dialogue scenerio or do I sound like a goofball controlling robots? Am I leaving gaping holes that I fail to notice? Am I too long-winded?