Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the authors. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended. This is just a tribute.

As ever, a huge thanks to willowbae for her great beta-ing. It really makes all the difference :)

Chapter 21.

Nessie – stubborn

I intended to return to Seattle on Sunday night, and wanted to see Katherine before then, so I dropped in at the cottage on Sunday morning. Jake had also promised to run over and meet us there.

When I arrived I could already see the change that Katherine had brought to the place. It was no longer depressing and dank. She had clearly been very busy, airing and cleaning the rooms. It felt nice and homey again.

She came out of the kitchen to greet me. Her wavy hair was tied in a messy ponytail, and she was wearing a loud flowery apron and rubber gloves. It was quite comical to see that even in this attire – which would have made any human look ridiculously frumpy – she still looked staggeringly beautiful. It was so typical of a vampire.

"Wow, this place looks great," I said, glancing around the living room. "You shouldn't have put yourself to so much trouble."

Katherine looked very pleased. "It's the least I can do. I can't tell you how nice it is to be in a real house again, with a proper bed to sleep on."

"Sleep?" I raised my eyebrows.

She threw me a sheepish smile. "In a manner of speaking." I followed her into the kitchen, as she started to explain. "I missed sleeping so much when I was changed, that I tried to find an alternative. I learned to let my mind drift, like a simple form of meditation. I suppose it's really a self-induced trance."

"That's a good idea." I hadn't heard of any vampire doing this before. "What made you think of it?"

She glanced up from her washing and her dark brows drew together. "My creator suggested it. He could see that I was miserable and thought it might help. I guess he was right."

Her creator seemed to have been full of practical suggestions. I nodded thoughtfully. "It must have been helpful, to have so much useful advice when you were a newborn."

"He could be pretty terrifying, but he did have his moments." Katherine shook her head at the recollection and smiled. "It must have been a nightmare for him though, having a newborn like me to take care of."

I leaned against the counter and met her golden eyes. "Why?"

"He was the kind of guy who liked to get his own way."

"I know one or two of those, myself," I said with a wry smile.

She nodded and agreed. "I guess they all like to get their own way, especially vampire men. But he was worse than most." She then looked at me and smiled proudly. "You know, in all these years, I've never fed from a human. He tried to force me to feed on them, even though I didn't want to. Ironically, he's one of the main reasons why I've never done it." She moved away from the kitchen sink and pulled off her rubber gloves, tossing them onto the draining board.

"How come?"

Her expression became belligerent. "Because then he would have won."

Something about the stubborn set of her jaw, made me wonder if her creator had – quite literally – bitten off more than he could chew, by changing her. She didn't strike me as the kind of person who could be told what to do. I envied her that, and was curious to know how she had managed to fight someone who'd initially had such power over her.

"How did you resist?"

She flashed a triumphant smile. "After I was turned, I refused to eat."

"For how long?" I knew that newborns were unbelievably thirsty. I remembered my mother's first year as a vampire. She had needed to hunt far more than anyone else in the family.

Katherine looked thoughtful. "Hmmm, that's a good question. I usually have a great memory, but I got pretty spaced out – you know, from the hunger – so I'd guess somewhere between three to four weeks."

"As a newborn, you went for nearly a month without food?" I couldn't imagine how she must have felt. "How did you do it?" I gasped.

She smiled ruefully. "I'm not saying that it was easy… or that I could have gone on for much longer. I mean it was strange, because I couldn't actually die, I just found myself in more and more pain. It felt like red hot coals were lodged in my throat. But I didn't know what else to do. I couldn't go back to being human, but I didn't want to become a murderer either.

"My creator had talked to me and explained everything while I was changing, so by the time I opened my eyes, I knew exactly what kind of monster I was." Her expression became very forbidding. "I was absolutely horrified. But from the very start, something deep inside me had to fight it. I was lucky; after I was bitten, I was carried into the forest for my transformation, so I didn't have much human temptation when I awoke."

She was silent for a moment, before continuing. "He decided that we should hunt some hikers and we had a… a difference of opinion." A fleeting look of pain crossed her face. "It got ugly."

I was used to the fact that my family were kind to their newborns. I hadn't given much thought to the idea that not all newborns were treated this way. Uncle Jasper and Leo both had some unpleasant stories, but they hadn't held much reality for me, because they were about events that seemed so distant.

This was different, it felt far more immediate, and I suddenly found myself wondering just how cruel Katherine's creator had been to her. I noticed the way she quickly brushed over the details of their dispute, before adding in a matter-of-fact way.

"It was then that I went on hunger strike. He tried to wait me out and let my own hunger break me. I think he wanted me to suffer, as a punishment. He led me deeper into the forest, far away from any human prey, but of course he just got hungry and bored himself.

"Unfortunately for him, by this point I was beyond communication, so in the end he was reduced to hunting for me. It turned out that he already knew I'd be able to survive on animal blood, so he brought me several mule deer. He probably didn't realise that I would have eaten anything by then, even a human." She gave a sudden smile. "He was hungry enough that he fed on the deer too."

I could see that I had grossly underestimated Katherine's wilfulness. I was sure that her creator hadn't had a clue of how to handle her. I smiled cautiously.

"He couldn't have found it easy."

"No, he didn't." She shook her head. "But he was worried that I was going to pull the same stunt again, so for a while he was prepared to stay in the forest and live off animal blood too. He was stubborn – like me – which meant that he would never admit how much he hated it. He really didn't know what to do with me, but he couldn't leave me on my own when I was so young."

"So he became a vegetarian?" I was astonished to hear that she had driven her creator to this act of desperation. I almost felt sorry for him, until I remembered that he normally liked hunting people.

"Yes, I suppose he did for a short time." Katherine nodded thoughtfully, but then added with a scowl. "Until he ran into a friend who led him straight back to his old ways. He hadn't been too bad when he was feeding on animals, but after the real killing started again, I just couldn't stand it and I had to get out of there." She sounded very bitter as she said these words.

"Where did you go?"

"I left the country. I'd wanted to go travelling before I was turned. I still had my passport and some cash, so I decided to carry out my plan, even if I was a vampire."

"What plan?"

Our conversation was interrupted by Katherine looking towards the door. "I can hear two people approaching. I think one of them might be your Jacob."

My hearing was good, but it could never hope to match that of a full vampire. Hurrying to the front door, I poked my head outside.

A minute later I saw Jake jogging towards the cottage, accompanied by Seth. They were both in shorts, so I assumed that they must have run over together. I hadn't seen Seth that weekend, because he had been with Marie, and I was really pleased that he'd come too. As they drew near, I ran out of the house to meet them. Seth got to me first, putting his arm around my shoulders as we strolled towards the cottage.

"Hey, sweetheart, how's it going?"

I smiled archly. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Marie's out wedding shopping today." He wrapped his arm around my neck – in what felt like a wrestling hold – and gave me a squeeze. "And I wanted to come and congratulate you."

"Huh?"

A wicked grin spread across his face. "I heard that Ben Uley imprinted on you. Apparently he wants to get married soon."

I was never going to live down that conversation.

I turned on Jacob accusingly. "I can't believe you told him about that."

Jake just laughed and protested. "Hey, don't blame me. I didn't say anything…"

"You can let him off the hook," agreed Seth. "I ran into Sam this morning and he told me to tell you, that although he's sure you'll make a fantastic daughter-in-law, would you mind waiting a few years?" He burst out laughing and I could hear Jake chuckling next to me.

"You shouldn't make fun of Ben, he's only five," I reprimanded them. "And I think he's adorable."

"Uh oh!" Seth raised his eyebrows and threw a devious look in Jacob's direction. "You should be worried. Today's adorable five year old is tomorrow's adorable eighteen year old. And Nessie isn't aging." Jake's eyes narrowed as Seth continued mercilessly. "She might feel like trading in the boring old model for an exciting new one!"

Jake shook his head and plucked Seth's arm from my shoulders, replacing it with his own. I smiled up at him, and he leaned down and kissed me. As he did this, the implications of Seth's words suddenly struck me.

"He's right!" I exclaimed.

Jake frowned and Seth gave a choke of laughter. "I knew it."

"No." I threw him an exasperated glare. "I mean, it's true that all those kids will soon be the same physical age as me and before you know it, they'll be older – especially if they don't phase – and I'll end up being the same age as their great-grandchildren!" This wasn't the most comfortable idea I'd ever had.

"But look on the bright side," said Jake, smugly. "I'll still be buff."

I ran my hand up his muscular torso. "You'd better be!"

Seth looked nauseated, which seemed a fitting punishment for his teasing. By this point, we'd reached the cottage door and I cheerfully led them inside.

Author's notes:

Hello again :)

Just a quick note to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed or added this story to their lists. It always makes me feel very happy when you do!

And a special thanks to Joanna, Lei and Emy, because I really enjoyed reading your lovely comments, I'm sorry that I can't PM you, just know that I would if I could :)

Have a lovely week, thanks for reading,

Mad :)