Disclaimer: Twilight is the property of Stephenie Meyer
This chapter is dedicated to Noble, Fadewind, M-Bianca94, Alphabloodwolf, Cara Gracious, Patricia, Lsb123, Alexsandra, and BellaNessieCullen
I was up early the next day, it was hard to remain sleeping when the morning was so bright and the birds were singing so merrily. Besides I had much to prepare for our day out so there was no point lying about in bed all day. Therefore I got out of bed and went to have my shower before dressing for the day.
Once clean I went back to my room to style my hair. Mal woke as I entered and smiled at me from beneath his messy hair.
"Good morning my darling husband." I said, feeling deliriously happy to see him as I kissed his cheek.
"You're awfully happy this morning." He observed, grabbing around my waist and pulling me down onto the bed with him.
"Is that a problem?" I asked.
"Course not." Mal said, hugging me closer to him and nuzzling my ear. "I like it when you're in a good mood."
"And indeed I am. It is a nice day and we plan to go on a trip." I said, kissing him lightly on the lips. "Now I must style my hair for there is much to organise before we leave for the day." I added before pulling away from him and sitting up.
"Then I guess I'd better get up and shower." He said, sitting up and stretching.
"Yes." I agreed. "And perhaps I will trim your hair when it is wet. I forgot to do so the other day and your fringe is in your eyes."
"It's no bother." Mal said, pushing back his fringe but it fell back into his eyes. "Maybe it would be better if I had a trim. Maybe even cut it short for the summer."
"Perhaps a shorter style would be worth investing in for when you begin at the clinic, but nothing too short. I like to run my fingers through your hair." I stated as I did just that. "I did not enjoy that time you experimented with the crew cut. It didn't suit you at all."
"So you kept telling me for the whole three weeks it took to grow out." Mal said leaning his face close to mine to kiss me before he left the room to shower.
I chuckled before humming with delight as I began to dry and style my hair. Once I was finished I made the bed and made my way downstairs, Mal was leaving the bathroom with a towel about his shoulders.
"I will cut your hair here for it will be easier to sweep any that go astray." I observed.
"I'll go get a cushion." Mal stated, heading into the parlour for one because I had no hope of reaching his head if he sat in a chair. At least not satisfactorily and it would mean my having to stand on something.
Mal returned with the cushion and placed it on the floor. I spread a towel over the cushion so that the hairs wouldn't stick to it. Mal sat down while I went to get the comb and scissors from the bathroom cabinet.
"What style would you like?" I asked.
"Something that says, I'm listening." Mal replied.
"The Frasier Crane it is." I said, clicking the scissors together.
"You make me bald on top and I won't speak to you for a year." Mal said with a growl.
"If you do not speak to me then that will give me full rein to name our son whatever I see fit." I mused as I felt a sudden fit of mischief. "What do you think of Adolphous, such a strong apt name don't you think? White wolf. Perhaps Alphonse, we could call him Alf, perhaps Fonze for short. Or, oh I know Frederick. Aunt Jane will be in her oils that we name our first child after her partner."
"Mab will not have any of those names." Mal said firmly.
"Because you will be talking to me and we will discuss this at a future point." I said and kissed his cheek. "As if I would make you bald, I would be punishing myself as much as you."
"Very funny Eliza." Mal said with a shake of his head.
"Of course, if you keep doing that I'm not responsible for what happens to your hair and if you end up bald I might just decide not to talk to you." I teased, brushing his ear with the tip of my nose.
"Then I'll keep absolutely still." Mal said, sitting up straight and becoming still.
"Thank you." I said and began snipping his hair. "I think I will take off a lot of the length but shape it about your face. You will have to apply some gel to your hair to pull it into place, but it will say 'I am a professional and you can trust me', once we are through."
"Then I trust you. Go right ahead." Mal observed.
"As if you would allow anyone else to cut your hair now." I teased as I continued to style his hair into the neat style with enough length left for my own satisfaction.
Mal retuned to the bathroom once I had finished in order to be rid of stray hairs whilst I swept up the hair from the floor. I mopped the floor to ensure that no hairs were likely to fly about for I wished to begin on the packed lunches for the day. Mal came out of the bathroom running his hand over his new style thoughtfully.
"It's different, I mean apart from the experimental crew cut I've had my hair exactly the same more or less for years. I guess we can call it my college hair, but now I'm about to actually go into work I should have a change. Something more professional. What do you think?"
"Perfect my love." I said, reaching up to stroke his cheek. "And perhaps you could grow in your sideburns to balance it out more."
"I thought you didn't like facial hair." He mused, lifting me up onto the counter and stepping in close to me his lips inches from mine.
"I am opposed to itchy whiskers, but I think some soft sideburns might be nice." I replied, stroking my finger gently along the line they could grow. "Not too long of course, we do not wish to turn you into a Victorian with mutton chops, just cute short ones ending about here. They will suit your new hair style perfectly."
"Well you'll have to shape them for me. At least to begin with. Just so I know how you want them." Mal observed.
"Of course I will." I replied softly. "You know I would have it no other way." I added teasingly as I brushed my lips against his.
"I know." Mal said with a growl before he kissed me.
It was a fantastic kiss, my arms and legs wrapped about him as he held me close. I was lost in the kiss, which was the most likely reason I did not hear the stairs or the door. It was the giggle that made us look up.
"Enjoying your breakfast?" Billie asked, still giggling.
"Very much so." I said lightly, giving Mal one last peck before I jumped down off the counter. "What would you like for breakfast?"
"Surprise me." She said with more enthusiasm than the previous day, she really wished to be surprised and was not merely being sarcastic.
"How about a cooked breakfast with a bit of everything? Something filling for the day we have planned for you." I suggested.
"You have a day planned?" Billie asked excitedly.
"Well we're planning on going out for the day." Mal said. "We have a few places in mind but thought you might like to choose."
"Oh well where did you have in mind?" She asked still in her state of excitement.
"Why don't you go shower and dress, after which we'll discuss it over breakfast." I said.
Billie considered for a moment then shrugged.
"Sure, ok. I'll go do that then." She replied. "But what sort of clothes should I wear?"
"Jeans and t-shirt will be fine." Mal replied. "Something comfortable to be walking around in all day."
"I'll go grab something to wear and then I'll have my shower." Billie said with a nod before she went back up the stairs and returning a moment later with clothes over her arm.
Whilst Billie showered Mal and I began breakfast. I took care of grilling the bacon and sausages while Mal prepared fruit and warmed through croissants and rolls. We were to have a feast this morning, the perfect way to fill ourselves before travelling and touring for the day. I was looking forward to breakfast I realised. I had a real ravenous appetite without the merest hint of nausea. I hoped this was a sign that my morning sickness would soon abate as I crossed the threshold of the second trimester. It was something to revel in and it bolstered my already good mood.
Over breakfast we discussed where we would go. In the end Billie picked Dan yr Ogof Show Caves out of the attractions Mal suggested. She liked the thought of exploring the caves and seeing the life-size dinosaur statues. There was a farm nearby where one was permitted to pet the animals and ride horses. Billie thought it would suffice as a good day out.
After breakfast Mal and I washed and wiped the dishes while Billie went to send her daily email to Mother and Father. She also intended to email Devon to tell him that she was going to a cave today and would bring him back a fossil. I was about to say that she would not be able to do such a thing, but Mal assured me that there was a gift shop where she could purchase such a thing, even if it wasn't from the area itself.
With the dishes done and our lunches packed we locked up the house and climbed into the car. I thought it best for Mal to drive because I had no idea of the way.
"What are we listening to Bills?" He asked as we all buckled up.
"Oh, my travelling playlist." She declared as she passed her iPod to Mal in order for him to plug it into the sound system of the car.
"This isn't going to be full of Dashall LaDelle is it?" Mal teased, choosing the name of the latest teen male solo artist as he plugged it in and scrolled through her play lists.
"As if! I've got more musical sense than to waste my time on some no talent, factory produced musical abomination." She declared with a damning critique of the latest teenybopper heartthrob.
"Good to hear." Mal said with a chuckle as he pressed play on the iPod and a dark intro of an Avenged Sevenfold song began to shake the car. "I guess I'd better turn it down a touch." Mal observed as he altered the volume.
"That's better." I stated as I felt the pressure ease on my ears.
"Ready to do the checks bach?" Mal asked.
"Of course." I replied. "Lunches?"
"Check." Mal said.
"Music?" I prompted.
"Check."
"Sweets for the journey?"
"Check." Billie cut in, shaking a paper bag of mixed candies by my ear.
"Do you have a sweater for when we go underground?" I asked Billie now that I thought of something important, the other checks had merely been part of a game Mal and I played at times.
"I got my hoody in my bag." She stated as she pulled out a red sleeve from the top of her backpack.
"Then we are fine to go." I observed.
Mal nodded and then he began the Land Rover.
The journey took an hour and required travelling up into the heads of the valleys before driving west toward Swansea. We sang along to Billie's playlist as we travelled, or else Billie regaled us with an excited account of everything she knew about the formation of caves.
We arrived in a little car lot set amongst trees. There was a path that led down slope toward a farm and up hill was a group of tourist buildings. The dinosaurs were not visible from the car park and we had to go through a ticket office before we were entered into the park itself.
We had a good day visiting the three caves, Billie's favourite was the Bone Cave with its ancient burials and cave painting, I preferred the main Dan-yr-Ogof cave with its mile long underground walk and effectively lighted limestone formations. Everywhere in the cave there was the sound of moving water and it made the cave a magical place, bringing back memories of the one we'd found on Isle Esme. Billie also liked the life-size dinosaur statues, naming them all as she took pictures to show Devon when she got home. She also liked the shire-horse centre and the farm museum. When we visited the Iron Age village she remarked on how the houses were similar to the house Olwen had built at the Quileute lake. She also wished that Aunt Marlin and Olwen were present to hear their thoughts on the stone circle, which had been built at the turn of the Millennium.
It was a great day out and before we knew it the afternoon had almost passed and it was four o'clock. We decided to go home at that point, stopping off for dinner at a gastro pub along the way.
By the time we got home Billie was full of stories she wised to share with those back in Olympic Pines. She was determined to start on her Blog, however she had a visitor when we arrived at the farm. Arwel was coming from around the back of the farmhouse in order to walk up the hill toward the field; he only had the bigger dog with him, Mist.
Mal drew to a stop outside the garage. It was either that or have Billie leap out while the car was still in motion.
"Hi Arwel, you are here." She said in her automatic greeting.
"You been out?" He asked.
"Yes. We went to see some caves and dinosaurs. Are you taking Mist out to practice?" Billie replied in her usual breathless rush.
"Yeah. I thought I'd pop in see if you'd like to come along. I don't have to train Daff today. Thought you might like to have a go at commanding Mist." Arwel offered.
"That would be great." Billie said with a smile. "Can I go Liza?"
"If you wish." I replied.
"Ok, I'm gonna come along with you Arwel, but I need to pee first. Long trip and too much water, you know how it is. I'm bursting." Billie said with too much candour if you asked me.
"Yeah." Arwel said with a laugh and nod.
"I won't be long." She promised and ran through the garage.
I followed her leaving Mal to park the car for Billie would need me to unlock the door. She was eager to get in the house, urging me to unlock the door. In the end I passed my keys to her allowing her to run on through to the kitchen door and unlock that too. She could not rush in the toilet itself, but otherwise she was going back out the door with half a minuet.
"No later than nine o'clock." I stated as she was going through the door.
"Nine?" She asked, pausing in shock.
"We have had dinner already, I'm sure we can extend your curfew for tonight." I observed.
"Oh thank you thank you thank you." She said, hugging me and kissing my cheek before she was through the door once more.
Mal entered moments later.
"Billie seemed…excited." He said
"She did." I observed. "Although I am certain it is the chance to command a sheep dog than fraternizing with Arwel that has excited her. It was good of him to think of her again."
"And you're not worried he's sniffing around?" Mal asked carefully.
"I would be foolish to think that he may not have an interest in Billie, he is a teenage boy, but I doubt he would act untoward because Mair would not stand for such behaviour. I feel he is very mindful of what his grandmother thinks. As for Billie, she knows she is too young to pursue anything other than friendship and would not act in a way that would indicate otherwise. Her reaction yesterday when we were teasing her is proof of that."
"I don't know, it's easy to get caught up in a crush when you're a teenager. You know how it is." Mal observed as we sat down at the table.
"Yes. However it is wrong to assume that they cannot merely be friends." I countered. "They barely know each other and we haven't seen them interact beyond a few words arranging to go sheep herding, we cannot glean anything from that. Billie is excited yes; however she showed the same excitement upon seeing the horses today. As for Arwel, I am certain he is merely being nice, possibly with Mair's encouragement to make Billie feel welcome."
"That's more likely." Mal conceded. "So what do we do now?"
"I fancy a nice long bath." I decided.
"Count me in." Mal said with a grin.
"I was planning to have a bath alone, you may have one after me." I stated.
"Aw but that's not the same." Mal said with a pout while giving me flirtatious eyes at the same time.
"I admit that bathing with you is much more fun, however I am yearning for relaxation this evening. Walking around all day has made me feel somewhat exhausted. Besides, one of us has to be available if Billie is in need of us."
"All good points." Mal said. "Unfortunately." He added with feigned regret.
"We have many bath times to look forward to. Lots of bubbly fun." I said, stroking his cheek, lost for a moment in my imaginings of such things. "I will start running my bath."
Mal nodded and I went to start the bath.
Billie returned that evening with tales of how Mist had followed her every command and how she'd helped to feed the sheep. She'd had a most enjoyable time by all accounts and I was glad she'd found a way to have fun while she was here.
It became a regular routine for Billie that she would go and help Arwel train his sheep dog. He invited me along one day; perhaps it was to reassure me that all they were doing was herding sheep. Had I any suspicions that anything was going on between them that would have made me more suspicious, after all, why would they need to prove they had nothing to hide if they had nothing to hide? It mattered not, I trusted Billie and I trusted Arwel.
Billie went swimming in the second week with Anika and her friends, along with Arwel and his friends. It was a summer vacation special at the leisure centre where they paid a minimal fee, or else got in free with their library card, and they had use of the pool and the sports hall for the day. I was rather apprehensive because I had not made plans to pick Billie up, however the centre was but a short walk away in reality and Arwel would be coming back this way. Unfortunately so would Anika, Julie was keeping her on a short leash after going further afield when still technically grounded then claiming Billie had ran off from her.
Another cause for my apprehension was the fact that Mal was going that day to gain his qualifications to practice psychotherapy in Britain. It left me alone in the house and without transport, we had picked out a new car but there were a few formalities that needed ironing out because of my immigrant status. I should have gone with my gut instinct and had the necessary paper trail lain out to prove me a British citizen born and bred. It mattered not, I had a day to wait before we could retrieve my new car and that left me at a bit of a loose end in the farmhouse. Normally in these circumstances I would clean house, but I was completely on top of the housework, all it required was a brief tidy and it was immaculate again.
I decided that I would take a look at Zoë's journal, it had been her intention for Mal and I to view it but we had yet to find the time other than a brief discussion in which Mal stated that he would prefer for me to read it first in case there was content he'd rather not read. He wasn't expecting anything sinister, he was merely worried about how detailed an account of her daily day to day business Zoë had chosen to share with her leather bound friend.
I settled down on the sofa and opened the journal. Zoë's writing was small within the page, as if she wished to fill the entire page with thoughts leaving no gaps other than that required between words. I began reading and was surprised to find that it was an account of her first day as a vampire. There was a few brief mentions of her change in physical appearance and her abilities, but it was quickly put aside for paragraph after paragraph describing the two men in her life, her husband, who was the same as he always had been but now seemed a lot more to her new senses and her new baby son.
It was clear from her writings that she was enamoured by Malachite, amazed by how he'd grown in the three days between his birth and when she'd awoken as a vampire. There was a Polaroid of Jeremy holding a very young Mal who was reaching out for the camera. In the eye of my imagination I could almost feel the slight tug on the camera as Mal's powers first flickered into use. On the white section at the bottom of the Polaroid she'd used a Sharpie to write, My two darling boys 16-03-48
I was admiring the little photograph of Mal at three days old, wondering if our mab would look like that when he was three months, when the sound of an engine caught my attention. I did not recognise the engine so with great care I placed the journal back in the closet before I went to the window. There was a car cresting the hill and I frowned because I did not recognise it. I thought perhaps Mother and Father had arrived early, but if so Mother would have hailed me by now, and if not I'd be able to sense her.
I watched as the car pulled to a stop by the front wall. It was a nice car in an unassuming way. It seemed to say; I am nothing but an ordinary car, despite the deeply tinted windows. I watched as a man wearing a dark suit and shades stepped out of the passenger door. He looked up at the house, turned back to the car for a moment, placing his hand to his ear, and then began walking up the path.
I left the window and ghosted to the kitchen to retrieve the broom and was back in the parlour when the man knocked on the door. The broom was unnecessary, I could inflict as much damage with my bare hands, but that would require getting into close quarters while he still had use of his arms and legs. One thing I was certain of however, the man was human, I could hear his heartbeat, along with another two in the car.
I gripped the broom firmly in my hand and opened the door.
"Liza Llewellyn?" The man said without preamble.
"Depends on who's asking." I said giving him a steely look.
"Anyone else here?" The man prompted.
"My husband is upstairs and I only have need to call him." I said with warning, I did not wish for the man to know I was alone in the house.
There was a buzz and placed his hand to his ear where there was an almost invisible earpiece.
"Are you sure?" He whispered. "Ok then." He heaved a sigh and took off his shades to reveal muddy brown eyes before he endeavoured to make himself look less hulking, although I dare say it was a contest he was losing. "Don't mean to scare you Baby Doll, just got to make sure it's safe."
I frowned for a moment, and then felt the smile spread across my face as I heard that familiar old address.
"Simon?" I said excitedly, wondering if he could hear me through the earpiece. "Dear Boy it is you? Why didn't you say it was him in the first place?" I chastised the man, and now I recognised him as Drew, one of Simon's top security guards. "Fear not Drew, there are no hoards of screaming fan girls just waiting to ambush him here. As I'm sure you observed, we are quite out of the way."
"Ok." Drew said.
"If you need to park up you can use the garage. I will go and open it for you." I stated.
"There's no need. We're just dropping Mr Simon off." Drew replied.
"Very well." I said and watched as Simon got out of the car.
He was wearing a baggy hoody with a baseball cap pulled down over his face and dark glasses. This ensemble would have drawn more attention to him had he walked through the town than if he had avoided the whole disguise effort. I tried not to giggle as Simon reached the door and flashed me a smile from beneath his glasses.
"You can go now Drew." He said.
"Are you sure?" He asked.
"Yeah. Go catch five down in the town I'll phone you when I'm ready." He assured the bodyguard.
"I'd rather stay on line." Drew said, tapping his earpiece.
"I'm perfectly safe here Drew. I'd like some privacy even from you now and again. Liza is one of my oldest friends and she's not gonna do anything to me. So just relax, take five and if I haven't phoned you in three hours time, that's by six o'clock just so we're clear, then you can assume she's gone all Annie Wilkes on me and you can come find me." Simon said, tapping the man's shoulder. "Now go, times a-wasting."
Drew looked between us for a moment and I had a flash of what felt almost like telepathy, but in truth I was merely considering how this might seem to him. Simon who had to have security in most places he visited for fear that a hoard of screaming girls would tear off all his clothes and take mementos of his hair was eager to be rid of said security whilst visiting an 'old friend' at a secluded location. If Drew truly believed that anything untoward was due to take place then he knew as much about Simon's temperament as the screaming hoards of deluded girls who thought that Simon would see sense, divorce Dove and take them as the usually more permanent second wife. I decided not to pass comment; Drew was entitled to believe what he wished.
Drew nodded and made his way down the path while Simon stepped into the house and I closed the door. Simon took up a position in front of the window while I returned the broom to the kitchen. I listened to the engine as the car pulled away and drove over the hill. As I entered the room Simon was removing his disguise along with an earpiece that he pressed until it stopped flashing.
"Are they through the gate?" He asked.
"How could I tell?" I asked carefully, suddenly wary that I wasn't in full possession of the facts.
"You have good hearing right?" He said simply.
"Yes." I replied, frowning slightly but stretched out my hearing never the less. "Drew was contemplating staying, staking out the gate, but the driver ordered him back into the car. The gate is shut and now they're driving off."
"Good." Simon said, and he held his jacket awkwardly for a moment.
"Shall I take those?" I offered.
Simon looked down at his hands, and then nodded. I retrieved the garments from him and invited him to follow me through to the kitchen; I sensed that Simon required a drink at this point in time. He followed me through and I motioned for him to sit at the table while I went to hang up his hoody and hat out in the laundry room. When I returned Simon was looking thoughtful, but not ready to divulge, although I had an inkling of what he wished to speak to me.
"Would you like a drink? There is only tea, soda, juice or water however, Mal has agreed to abstain from coffee and chosen to abstain alcohol with me for the duration of my pregnancy." I explained.
"Water's fine." Simon replied.
I nodded and poured him some water from the pitcher in the fridge. I carried it over to the table and sat down opposite him.
"Nice place you got here." He observed as he took a sip of his water.
"Something on your mind Dear Boy?" I asked.
"Well I know why all the confusion with you being the same age as me and the same age as Dove came from now." He said. "And it had nothing to do with you going under cover as a freshman in order to write your thesis."
"Then Kitty did inform you." I observed.
"That the supernatural world is real? That she's really Kat Perez with a dye job and is apparently my great-grandmother? That you're like her, a half vampire, and you're twenty-two and not thirty-two? Now I know why all the avoidance, and 'I require ten years' thing." He sighed and shook his head. "It's kinda messed up right?"
"Kinda." I said, and sighed. "I didn't mean to deceive you…"
"Kitty, I mean Kat, explained all about the potential death sentence and everything. I understand why you didn't tell me. I'm not mad about that; I just want to talk to you about it. About what it all means because I know you won't lie to me Baby Doll, or try to sugar coat anything to make me more accepting." He observed.
"I'll try not to, but you must realise it is strange to speak with you of such things when I went to great pains to hide them from you." I replied softly as I looked down at the table.
"I know, I know. I just need to talk to someone about this and you're the only confidante I've ever had who also knows all about this." He said.
"Then I must fulfil my role." I observed. "Where shall we begin?"
"Ok. How about you tell me exactly what a half vampire is in your own words."
"I suppose that's a good a place as any." I conceded. "Very well."
I had to think of the best place to begin and I stalled for time by rising to my feet and going to pour myself a glass of icy water. By the time I returned to my seat I knew where to begin.
"I have no philosophical view of what makes a dhampir. It is not some state to aspire to; it is merely what we are through dint of birth. It's like trying to define a human, I'm sure that one day there will rise amongst us some poet who wishes to wrap up our existence in pretty words and give us something to strive for, a perfection for our kind, but I would not be so forward as to assume I am the one to decide that. Provided the dhampir is vegetarian I think they've achieved perfection enough.
"As for what a dhampir is, it is a child born to a human mother and vampire father. All first generation dhampir are born in this manner, vampire women are unable to carry offspring. Of course when those dhampir grow up and have children of their own things start to get complicated. I am a third generation dhampir and although I appear to be the same as first generation dhampir I'm sure there are differences if one cared to look for them. Or perhaps not. Billie is the same as I, but then Tony is different. Yes he has all the characteristics of a dhampir, but he is also endowed with the legacy of our Quileute ancestry. Like Mother he can turn into a wolf."
"Wolf?" Simon cut in to my lecture. "You mean like a werewolf?"
"We will stick with that term for now, yes Tony is a werewolf, just like Mother. Mother herself is a second-generation dhampir, born to a first generation dhampir and a Quileute wolf. We have gathered that this is always the case of a child born to a dhampir and a Quileute wolf that they appear to be perfectly human until around their eighth birthday when the vampire part of their genes makes itself known. Until then they need not touch blood, after which they require it to supplement their diet. Then at the age of fourteen to seventeen the wolf makes itself known and they're able to phase at will."
"Wait a minuet, you're third generation and your still a dhampir? Why isn't my father? I mean he's third generation if Kat Perez is his grandmother right?" Simon asked.
"Sorry I was getting caught up in my own lecture." I apologised. "As for what makes the difference I have no solid proof, but I do have my theories."
"Ok." Simon said and gestured for me to proceed in divulging them.
"My grandmother had children with a Quileute shapeshifter, another form of supernatural being, which I think ensured the vampire gene in the next generation was activated. Kat had a son with a human man and the boy appeared human at first but stopped aging once he reached full maturity. However he began aging once more when he reached the age of a hundred and at that time took a human wife. The fact that your father is human is either a dilution of the gene pool, or simply down to the lottery that is genetics." I stated as I put my hand absentmindedly to my stomach. "Mal and I are both dhampir, but our son is human."
"Oh." Simon said. "And that's a problem?"
"Mal and I will forever remain the age we are now while our son will grow up, grow old and die. We will have to watch him go through his entire life and perish before our eyes and there's nothing we can do about it." I have no idea where it came from, but suddenly I sobbed and I felt a pain deep in the most secret recess of my heart. "Oh god we will only have him for such a short time."
"Oh Baby Doll, what's all this crying about?" Simon asked as he came around the table and took me in his arms, as he would have done in high school.
"I don't mean to cry." I whispered through my sobs. "It is merely that…"
"That what?" He prompted after a moment of silence.
"I can't disappoint Mal." I admitted.
"How will you disappoint him?" Simon asked.
"Disappoint is the wrong word. I should have used despair. I have to be accepting of this fact because I cannot bear to bring him anymore heartache than he has already suffered or cause him needless worry." I still sobbed.
"Needless worry?"
"You don't know what Mal has been through, this child means family to him. A blood link to this world ripped away from him by the Volturi when they killed his parents. He is happy to have that family, to have a healthy baby regardless of sex or species. I do not wish to spoil that for him with my own foolish worry. I worry that it will destroy me to watch my son grow old and die. Due to our potential to live forever, even if he lives into his hundreds I will feel as if he is living life with a terminal condition. Is it wicked of me to think such a thing?"
"Of course not Princess, you're allowed to worry." Simon said as he continued to hold me. "But I don't think Mal would think any less of you if you told him these fears."
"I cannot do that to him. I know he will be accepting of my views, but I cannot give him that worry. I know I will be watching myself forever in case I start to treat our son as if he is not long for this world, I should hate to make Mal do that too." The tears were flowing thick and fast now as Simon held me against his shoulder.
"Then I'm honoured to be your sounding board. Sometimes you just got to get your thoughts out so you don't have to think them anymore." He murmured.
I nodded.
"And it's not all dire. Well, my grandfather seemed human didn't he? But then he stopped aging for a long while. He had two lifetimes when you think about it. Your son could be like that. And if your mom and those others who are Quileute seemed human at first isn't it likely that your son is following in his grandma's footsteps?" Simon observed.
"I'd rather not hope." I said softly. "If you don't hope you won't be disappointed."
"That's a gloomy outlook."
"I've always been a pessimist as well you know Dear Boy." I said pulling away from him, and I realised I'd have to elaborate. "It is better if I prepare myself now with thinking that the time I have with my son is limited so that I may make the most of the little I'll have with him. If I dare hope that he may know the legacy of his Quileute heritage or to even gain extra time as your grandfather did, then I run the risk of despairing at a later date."
Simon looked lost for words; I pitied him for the position within which I had placed him. There was no right answer for him to give in this situation. I had made it hopeless for him. I had to rectify it and bring the conversation back up into the light.
"Look at me." I said, managing a laugh. "Making this all about me when you have many questions I am sure you wish me to answer."
"We can talk about this some more if you want to." Simon offered.
"I don't want to dwell." I said firmly. "Please, ask me a question."
"Ok." Simon said, looking thoughtful as he returned to his seat. "Do you ever wonder what might have happened if you had been the age you claimed in high school?"
"Before I met Mal, all the time." I admitted. "I used to dream of that time up on the rock, do you remember when we watched the fireworks?"
"Yeah." He replied with a nod.
"I used to dream what might have occurred had I been ten years older, they used to be quite…imaginative. You starred in them right up until I met Mal and then he replaced you I'm afraid. Although I tried to ignore what my subconscious was telling me for a very long time. I felt I was being unfaithful to you."
"That's silly, we'd lost touch by then." Simon remarked.
"I know, but you know how my mind works Simon, I over complicate things. I always have, even as a child. Going back to that time when you came to the Res, I went to great length to try and avoid you." I stated.
"Why? We were friends back then."
"I know. But you were my teenage friend. You were the friend of the seventeen year old me, not the seven year old I allowed to run free on the Res. I wished to keep both lives apart. To you I was well groomed Liza who always carried herself with an air of maturity, I was not the barefoot, t-shirt wearing, wild haired kid of the Res I became when amongst my friends who were my own age."
"But aren't you fully grown at seven? Kat said that you guys age until you've been around for seven years and then you're fully mature."
"Yes. However there is a confusion when you have the body and urges of an adult, but somewhere in your mind there is a voice that speaks as the age you truly are. Not to mention the ethical nightmare of entering into relations with somebody when you are so completely underage. Perhaps if I had not loved you, if you had been someone I had met in a bar and I was free of inhibitions in that moment I may have given into my desires, but to make love to you then have you find out later my true age, I could not do that to you. Grace had enough of a break down for merely fancying Tony when she found out our true age, god knows how she would have reacted had they ever done anything."
"You say it like Grace knew back then." Simon observed.
"She did." I confirmed.
"So Tony told Grace but you didn't tell me?" He said, sounding somewhat hurt by the notion.
"It was hard to keep the truth from Grace. She required an explanation for the people who had threatened her and why Tony had turned into a wolf before her eyes." I stated. "Besides, as soon as Tony phased he knew that Grace was destined for him and so she was allowed to know the secret without suffering the penalty. I would have told you had it not meant a death penalty for you because it would have made life a lot easier. It was a headache trying to think up endless explanations of why I did not wish to be intimate, especially when my body was urging me into such things. If I could have just told you that I was dhampir and ten years younger than I appeared it would have been so much easier."
"I probably would have benefited from it too. At least I would have known why you always kept a clear barrier between us. It's weird though how I kind of, sort of knew all of this when Kat started telling me. I mean we've never talked about the supernatural have we? Beyond Halloween costumes and my movies, but I felt like I already knew that about you. Know that feeling you get sometimes that you've dreamt something but forgot it?"
"Yes." I stated. "In normal circumstances it is nothing more than feelings, however in this instance you are right to think that because you did dream it once."
"How do you know what I dreamed?" Simon asked with a frown.
"Because…Promise you will not be mad?" I asked, feeling anxious.
"Well when you say that it makes me think that I got something to be mad about." Simon replied.
"Because it will anger you in all likelihood." I stated.
"Just tell me and I'll decide whether I'm angry." Simon said patiently.
"Very well. But you must understand I was only thinking of your peace of mind. You had said you loved me and would wait the ten years until I was ready, but I did not want you to be lonely in the years I took to mature. I cared not if you sought pleasure in the arms of others provided you were available when I came to find you when I was legally ready." I stated.
"Ok. So, I have a vague sort of memory of promising that, but then it gets sort of hazy." Simon said looking thoughtful. "Why?"
"As I said, I wanted to give you the go ahead to have as much fun as you could, but I could see you were too honourable to do so. You did not understand that it was impossible for me to give myself to you at that time. You thought I would change my mind within a year perhaps, and not ten years. Therefore I sought Mother's help to walk in your dream so that I could tell you my secret without endangering your life."
"Walk in my dream?"
"Mother is a telepath, a very strong telepath and she can walk in people's dreams. She can pull me into those dreams too and thus she brought me into your head. Into your dream. There was a party, a grand ball, but you were not dancing, merely standing facing me. I wore a mask I had to remove to reveal my true self. The eight year old me. You thought it merely metaphor at first. That I felt a child still; you did not understand that I had been alive a mere eight years at that point. Yet when I told you I had aged so rapidly you knew the word dhampir immediately. I wonder now if that was some remnant in your mind of Kat Perez." I mused. "Did you know she visited you as a child?"
"When I was a little baby my grandfather let her see us a couple of times. I didn't remember that, but Kat told me about it, she might have told me a few stories then I guess. I don't know though, I didn't ask. It's been a lot to take in on top of being a new father and having to learn a new script. That's how I came to visit you today; I'm filming here, up in Brecon. It's a medieval movie and the terrain is what they're looking for. I think Dove might have had a hand in the planning for that, she's the director."
There was the sound of a message alert and Simon pulled a phone from his pocket.
"Drew checking that I haven't taken you hostage?" I asked.
"No. Dove asking for the exact directions, she's coming too." He stated.
"She is?" I asked with a smile. "It will be good to see her."
"Yeah. Well she wasn't gonna let me come here and not visit you herself." Simon said with a chuckle.
"Why did she not come with you?" I asked.
"I wanted to get this out of the way first. Besides she's gonna bombard you with questions about the whole dhampir thing. Just thought I'd warn you."
"Of course she will be full of questions." I said with a sigh. "Oh well, it's to be expected. Would you excuse me a moment while I freshen up, I should hate for Dove to think that you had upset me."
"Yeah. I'll take a walk down to the gate to meet her." Simon said. "It is hard to spot.
"What if you are spotted by hoards of screaming fan girls?" I asked in mock horror.
Simon chuckled.
"You really think they'd find me way out here? They don't even know I'm in the country." He stated.
"How do you know they haven't implanted some form of tracking device upon you?" I asked.
"Now you're starting to sound like Drew." Simon said warily.
"Sorry." I replied with a grin. "Very well, go down to the gate by all means, I will freshen up and switch on the kettle."
"Ok." Simon said as he stood and I saw him to the door, but he paused before he exited. "Um…there's one other thing you should prepare yourself for. Dove is very interested in the whole needing blood thing. She's taking notes for her next project to really get inside the mind of a vampire, your motivations and such, so prepare yourself for that."
"I will think of some choice sound bites to give her on my condition." I promised.
Simon chuckled.
"Is that pun intended?" He asked.
"Excuse me?" I asked with a frown.
"Sound bites." He emphasised the latter word.
"I did not mean to make a pun there, I was merely using a common turn of phrase." I stated.
"Well it was funny anyway." Simon said with a wink and his phone went again. "Looks like Dove just turned by that quarry up the top of the road there, I'd better get down to the gate or she'll miss the turning."
"Then I shall see you when you arrive." I stated. "You must go."
Simon nodded and left. I went into the bathroom and washed my face before I returned to the kitchen and filled the kettle before putting it on to boil. I prepared three cups ready for tea to the specification's I remembered my friends preferred.
It was ten minuets later when I heard a car pull up outside and I went out to the front to greet Dove. She was alone.
"Where's Simon?" I asked.
"Well that's a nice way to greet me." Dove said with a scowl, although I knew she jested.
"It is merely because he said he was going to meet you at the gate. Should we go search for him?" I asked with concern.
"Nah. He's just been mobbed by his fans." Dove said with a shrug and a slightly amused smirk. "Or I should say a fan."
"Was it Billie?" I asked, and then something else occurred to me. "Is she being a bother?"
"It is Billie, but she's not the problem." Dove observed as she got out of the car and shut the door. "It's some blonde bitch she's with. Some stupid little girl who's not the good brand of bitch we are, but the type of bitch who makes herself feel better by belittling others."
"Then I take it you speak of Anika." I replied.
"Then you've met her?" Dove asked.
"Yes."
"You should warn your sister about her." Dove warned as she leant against the wall and looked up the hill.
"I have, but other than that what more can I do than to allow her to experience her own life lessons?" I asked.
"I guess at her age you'll only take the advice you want to take." Dove said with a shrug, and then turned a beady eye upon me. "So how old is she exactly?"
"Billie will argue that she is no younger than fourteen, she is very adamant on that fact. She is more willing than I was at her age to embrace the teenager we appear to be. However, if you are referring to how many years have passed since Billie was born, then the answer is four. It will be five come her next birthday in November." I explained.
"Five? So she was born when we were in college together?" Dove deduced.
"That is the truth." I confirmed.
"That's…interesting…" However Dove trailed off as Simon and Billie came over the brow of the hill with a fawning Anika and an indifferent Arwel in tow.
"Liza, Liza look who's here." Billie called excitedly as she ran the last few feet to me and hugged me.
"Yes. It is Simon." I stated. "He has already been, he came to meet Dove at the gate."
"Oh really? This is so great that you're both here visiting us. Do you like Wales? Isn't it great being in another country?" Billie said in an excited rush.
"It sure is Billiekins." Dove said, tapping her arm, although there was something slightly uneasy about the way she did this.
"Well I guess you're home now Billie, and I see you have guests." Arwel said.
"I doubt they'll be staying that long." Billie observed. "I'll come meet you in about an hour and help you with feeding?"
"Thanks." Arwel said with a smile. "I guess I'd better get Miss Lost in Space back to Julie." He added as he pulled at Anika's arm, she certainly seemed away with fairies as she gazed at Simon.
"Can I stay here?" She asked.
"Come on Ankh, Simon probably ain't got a lot of time. He's here to see his friend not you." Arwel said, pulling a little more firmly on her arm and she reluctantly allowed him to lead her toward the rise.
"But it's Simon Leighton." She was saying as they began to climb.
"Yeah, well now you know Billie was telling the truth." Arwel said curtly before they disappeared over the top.
"You can still hear them." Simon realised.
"Yes." I said turning my attention back to those around us. "Now we should return to the house. We can have a better discussion around the kitchen table."
"Is it adults only?" Billie asked as we walked up the path to the door.
"No. You may join in the conversation, you can tell Dove and Simon all about being a four-year old dhampir with a fourteen year old body." I stated as a way of letting her know that Simon and Dove now knew our secret.
"Yeah I can…What?" She gasped and paused just after we stepped through the door, turning to Dove and Simon as they closed the door behind them. "You guys know?"
"Yeah." Simon replied.
"Since when?" She demanded.
"About two weeks ago when 'Kitty Parker' told us." Dove said as she actually performed the air quotes.
"And you didn't think to let us know sooner?" Billie asked.
"Kat said we had to be careful on the Internet." Simon stated.
"But I was in Olympic Pines two weeks ago. A simple phone call and I would have been right over, well with Mom or Dad of course and I would have told you anything you needed to know and I could have passed the news on to Liza via Vamp Net." Billie observed.
"Vamp Net?" Dove prompted.
"It is the vampire network, a pathway online that allows us to communicate without humans intercepting any of our messages by accident." I explained. "Please, let us make our way through to the…" I broke off as Dove sat down on the sofa looking about the room. "Or we could remain here." I stated as I dropped into the love seat.
Billie sat beside me while Simon sat next to Dove.
"This is a nice place." Dove said, "Small but quaint."
"I like it very much." I replied. "We have privacy but amenities are close at hand should we have use for them. The neighbours are quite pleasant too, wouldn't you agree Billie?"
"Yeah." She said with a chuckle. "Mair and Bryn seem like real good people."
I laughed at her comment.
"That's a neat clock." Dove said, standing and taking the two steps to the mantelpiece.
"Please do not touch that." I gasped as I stood up and reached for Dove's arm. "It was Mal's father's and he is most attached to it."
"Really?" Dove asked. "It looks so old. Did he pick it up at an antiques fair?"
"He bought it when it was new." Billie observed.
"Jeremy, that is Mal's father, bought it in London on his way home from the Boer Wars." I explained.
"Isn't that around the time Zulu is set?" Simon asked, looking closer at the clock having joined us at the mantle piece.
"But that means this clock is hundreds of years old." Dove observed. "That Mal's father is hundreds of years old! Is Mal that old?" She demanded, turning to me looking shocked.
"He is thirty-nine." I replied. "Granted he is sixteen years older than I, but it is not much bigger than the gap between the both of you."
"Well thirty-nine isn't so bad." Dove said. "I mean at least he's our age and not like ancient."
"There's nothing wrong with ancient." Billie said happily. "Our dad is nearly three thousand. Of course he's not too sure of his exact age, I mean it's a real long time right, and there was a change over of calendar types I guess and he was in Volterra for a long time and they stopped counting after a while. I mean when you've lived a few centuries you're bound to give up on counting the years right?"
"Billie, take a breath." Dove said in a firm voice, putting her hands on Billie's shoulders. "You're rambling kid and you've gone past the most important fact here."
"What?" Billie asked.
"Your father is over two thousand years at least. How is that even…" Dove trailed off shaking her head. "It boggles the mind."
"I think we should all sit back down." I said, guiding them towards the furniture. "We can discuss this without it seeming so intense if we are all sat down."
Dove nodded as she sat once more, Simon beside her.
"Yes, Father is millennia old, but that is neither here nor there. A vampire remains the age they were when turned for all intents and purposes; therefore Father is technically in his twenties. Not that such things matter to Mother, they are in love and they will be eternally happy together. In a few centuries that age difference will mean nothing."
"But he's been around for so long." Dove observed.
"Just think of all the things he's experienced." Simon said softly into Dove's ear. "All the era's he's lived through?"
"He's got a first hand account of history." Dove realised. "Can I talk to him about it?"
Billie and I looked at each other for a moment, although as the eldest it was my place to speak.
"We cannot promise anything on Father's behalf, he is his own person, but you are free to ask him." I replied.
"I couldn't do that." Dove said looking somewhat scared of the idea.
"Dad's not that scary." Billie said. "Not scary at all really, well apart from when I've done something really bad that worries Mom and then he does become 'Mr Discipline', but even then he's not scary really."
"I think what Billie is trying to say is that if you ask Father he will either agree, and when you find him in the right mood Father likes nothing more than sharing stories of his earlier days exploring renascence Europe with his vampire sister Marlin…" I began, however Billie decided to continue.
"But sometimes he feels sad about his past because there was a whole lot of it where he was with the Volturi and didn't know that…" I kicked Billie's ankle and she trailed off, there was no need to overload Dove with information lest it colour her judgement of Father.
"Vampires could live a civilized existence outside of the walls of Volterra." I said as means of finishing Billie's sentence without saying anything incriminating as of yet. "He was very unhappy there, but it is only natural he would feel that way having to live with the people who ripped him away from his young wife and baby son. If he is recalled to those memories then he will not feel like sharing, but he will not bite your head off."
"Cause he's vegetarian." Billie piped in happily.
"He will merely decline, possibly inviting you to call upon him when he is feeling more open to sharing his past." I finished.
"Yeah. I guess all the old vamps must be like that. Kat was like, there's certain things I won't talk about." Dove replied. "Have you two got any interesting stories and if you have do you mind if I record it?"
Billie looked at me for a long moment and I shrugged. It was her tale to tell.
"If I tell you this you won't actually do it outright, right? You'll take out a few elements you might want to use, but you'll completely disguise it because if vampires thought you were getting close to showing the whole truth they'd…some of them aren't very nice at all and even if you're high profile they can arrange for you to have 'accidents' and the world would accept it." Billie explained.
"I promise I won't actually use your story, but I'll take out any useful bits I can use." Dove stated.
"Ok. Well going back to just before Christmas I went out to meet some dhampir friends I met online. I was stupid not to tell anyone that I was going or even asking for a chaperone. They made me think that it was a babyish thing. That I really didn't need it and if I wanted it I was more like a four-year-old than a twelve-year-old. Things like that matter when you're a dhampir." Billie said with a nod of her head. "Like right now I am not four, I'm fourteen. I don't care about the whole only having been on this planet for four years, that's just chronology, I don't accept that as a factor to determine your maturity. I mean look at boys, right? They're so immature. Anyway, I went out to meet these two dhampir the same age as me, but it turned out they were actually vampires. Slave wranglers."
"Slave wranglers?" Dove asked in shock.
"Yep. Some vamps enslave dhampir." Billie said in an intense, scandalised voice, truly selling her tale. "At first it was just as slaves but one of them somewhere must have discovered they can drink our blood without poisoning them and without killing us because now they're wanting us for food. Isn't that wickedly scary?"
"It's scary alright." Dove replied.
"And I was scared." Billie confided. "Thought I was gonna die until my big sister rescued me. She totally turned them into kindling. She was amazing. Tony and Mal were too of course, but Liza was badass. And you wouldn't think it from how small she is and her usual neatness."
"Hold on a minuet." Dove said and she set the Dictaphone back before pressing play. Billie's voice issued forth from the speaker.
"I sound weird on that." She giggled.
"I can't understand anything, it's just a muddle." Dove said with a frown.
I listened for a moment and realised the problem.
"Billie was speaking at vampire speed in her excitement. It is something that occurs when we speak of our world for mostly we speak of it to others of our kind." I stated. "The file is still useful to you for you have only to play it at a slower rate for it to become intelligible to you."
"Ok. I'll have to remember that later." Dove said.
"You fought vampires and killed them?" Simon asked.
"You understood Billie?" I asked.
"Not when she was speaking, but I picked a few bits out of the recording." Simon replied with a slight frown. "Should I be able to do that?"
"Sometimes humans can pick words out, but you might have keener senses due to your vampire heritage without it being too apparent." I suggested. "Of course I cannot be sure for I have never met a human descendent of a dhampir before. I've known you for most of my life, but until a couple of weeks ago I did not know you were descendent of Kat Perez."
"She told you first?" Simon asked in shock.
"We've known for years that she was dhampir, it is hard to fool our keen senses, especially when we meet face to face. As for the revelation that you are her descendent, she didn't tell us, Billie guessed right." I explained.
"Well as soon as she said that she still looked out for her descendents, even in Hollywood, it didn't take much to draw the line to you. It was almost printed out in neon flashing lights." Billie said opening and closing her hands as if they were flashing lights.
"When did you meet Kat?" Dove asked.
"It was that night Simon introduced her to us." I stated. "I am talking of Mal and I now, Billie met her only a few weeks ago."
"But I knew lots about her cause Liza had told me." Billie stated, and then cocked her head as I looked to the door.
"Mal is back." I stated, thanking his timely arrival for this conversation was starting to exhaust me. "Perhaps we should move into the kitchen and I can prepare us all something to eat."
"This isn't some hidden jokey way to lure us into the kitchen before you eat us?" Dove said with a nervous laugh.
"We are not cannibals." I said flatly. "And we do not drink human blood. We are vegetarian."
"So no joking about us becoming dinner?" Dove asked.
"I find it somewhat offensive for it is calling my character into account." I stated. "Have you ever known me to act in an undignified manner?"
"Does when you were drunk count?" Dove asked, attempting humour to lessen my offence.
I gave Dove an unamused look.
"Well I guess never, but then you have killed vampires." She said, suitably chastised.
"Only in self defence." I replied. "I have also prevented the slaughter of dozens of vampires who had been misinformed. Now I must go into the kitchen, Mal has had a hard day today and I do not want him to wait on his dinner, and I am somewhat hungry myself. I am eating for two now."
"Oh yeah, how's it going?" Dove asked, reaching out to place her hand against my stomach.
"Can we continue this in the kitchen?" I asked, and before they could reply I rose to my feet and made my way into the kitchen.
Mal slipped into the kitchen just as I entered and he froze for a moment before coming over to me, and taking me in his arms as if to protect me.
"Who's here?" He whispered almost silently.
"Dove and Simon." I replied.
I felt Mal's body relax.
"I saw the car outside and I didn't recognise it." Mal continued with his whisper.
"They dropped by unannounced." I explained. "They know."
"Kat told them?" He guessed.
"Yes." I confirmed.
"Ok." Mal said, pulling away. "How do they seem to be taking it?"
"Fine for the most part. They appear to be mostly curious. Dove will bombard you with questions." I warned, and then we both hushed as we heard the footsteps near the door.
Billie led Dove and Simon in through the door as Mal moved closer to the table while I began looking in the pantry for inspiration for dinner that evening.
"So this is the famous kitchen." Dove announced as she entered.
"Who said it was famous?" I asked turning to her in annoyance.
"Well the way you kept going on about coming out here." She teased.
"I only mentioned it twice." I stated. "Besides, this is a farmhouse and the kitchen is the heart of a farmhouse and therefore the more apt place for entertaining."
"It is." Dove said with a smile. "Can I borrow that?"
"Borrow, steal, I have no claim to it so feel free to use it to your heart's content." I observed.
"I will." She said as she scribbled in a notebook as she sat down at the table.
"So what brings you two here?" Mal asked as he and Simon sat down too.
"We're filming in Wales so we thought we'd drop by." Simon stated. "But don't worry, I'm not doing any dodgy accents this time."
"Well I could always coach you if you were." Mal said with a laugh then turned to see Dove watching him closely. "What?" He asked.
"I'm trying to see it." She said, still scrutinising his face.
"See what?" He asked with a frown.
"Any signs of aging." She explained. "But you don't look any older than when we were in college when I know I've aged a little since then. You can't be nearly forty. No way. You're only in your twenties."
"Yes I am." Mal said, placing his arm behind my chair as I sat down since Billie had opted to lean against the counter near the table.
"I knew it." Dove said with a victory pump.
"I've just been in my twenties for the past thirty years." He added with a smile.
"What? Oh very funny. So you really stopped aging at seven?" She asked.
"Yes." He replied.
"And you've looked like that ever since?"
"Hello! I am only four." Billie said. "We age real quick to start with and then we stop. We're real lucky that way I guess. I mean it seems to be taking ages enough to grow up as it is, I'd hate to have to wait even longer. Then again it might not be so bad if we weren't so self aware in the womb never mind from the word go. That does tend to give you more of a want to be a grown up already. Do you know I can remember before I was born when it was just me and Mom's mind and the endless beat above me?"
"You can remember that?" Dove asked shocked.
"I can remember the Time Before when there was nobody but Mother, the Other and I. The warmth, the safety, the never-ending beat. The two minds connected to mine in a way inexplicable, yet it was the first thing I knew that sharing my mind and thoughts with others seems the most natural thing in the world to me." I answered in place of Billie.
"Like mind reading?" Dove asked.
"Billie and I did not inherit the power of telepathy from Mother, but Tony did and that allows us to connect when we are all together." I explained.
"Not to mention the fact that Liza's a power booster and can take on an aspect of whoever she's boosting." Billie added.
"So wait, you guys get powers? Like superheroes? That's frigging awesome." Dove observed as she scribbled in her notebook once more. "What type of powers."
"You name it we got it." Billie said brightly.
"That is rather misleading." I said reproachfully. "There are a myriad powers that we know of, possibly many more besides, but really there are too many to list at this moment. I will think about them over the next few days and compile a list which I will email to you."
"Ok." Dove said. "But can you give me anything to go on right now?"
"How about telekinesis?" Mal asked and caused the notebook to float up and out of Dove's hands.
"Hey." She said, standing up to snatch it out of the air as if he had merely raised it out of her reach with his hand. It was only when she had resumed her seat that she frowned and looked up at Mal with awe. "Oh my god? Could you always do that?"
"Yeah." He replied.
"Man the fun we could have had playing tricks on people in college if I'd known about that back then." She mused.
"Well I have used it now and then." Mal said. "Like when you were trying to set Liza and me up in that game of spin the bottle."
Dove frowned for a moment, and then laughed as she shook her head. "I thought it was a bit weird at the time. Oh well, any other things you've done with your powers?"
"He once kept the inhabitants of La Push safe from a ravenous vampire hoard until they were dealt with by creating a shield with his telekinesis." I stated. "And helped change the course of a battle in favour of the good side and thus ensuring that the vampire secret remained secret."
"But what's so great about keeping the secret?" Simon asked. "Wouldn't your lives be easier if you didn't have to hide?"
"That would be a selfish reason. For as much as I would enjoy the freedom of not having to hide my true nature from the world I know the price would be too great. The carnivores would use the opportunity to truly swell their ranks and hunting grounds. Open warfare between immortals would lead to the degradation of society. Humans would become nothing more than cattle to them, perhaps farmed specifically for breeding and for food. It would not be a peaceful integrated society." I explained.
"And you might think we're joking, but it's happened before." Mal expanded. "Not on a grand scale, but in small pockets where the human population were made to worship the vampires. It happened in Romania."
"Vlad the Impaler." Dove said with a nod.
"Actually not a vampire." Billie said. "And wasn't even associated with vampires until Bram Stoker needed a convenient historic warlord to craft his immigration paranoia around. Dracula is mostly about Victorian society's fear of Eastern Europeans coming over and perverting their good decent ways. Of course the Victorians liked to give an air of propriety and purity, but we all know what went on under the tables. That's probably why they wanted skirts on all the tables; it had nothing to do with the indecency of showing a table's bare legs. The actual vampires we're on about are Vladimir and Stefan. We've never met them, but they did stand with our family once, but that was only because they thought they'd have a chance of kicking Volturi butt for destroying their 'glorious empire' back in the fifth or sixth century. They were out in the open and had humans pay homage to them in blood, but the Volturi don't like vampires being out in the open, it makes it harder for all vampires. Not that humans could really bother them, well not in those days anyway, I'm sure a rocket launcher or napalm could give them a run for their money these days, but back then it was just the inconvenience of it."
"Wow kid, how can you talk so fast like that? And where do you get all your information?" Dove asked.
"From my family." Billie said with a shrug. "Anyway I should probably go shower now, wash this chlorine from my hair before I go help Arwel with the feeding." She announced as she stood away from the worktop.
"You will have food before you go." I stated.
"Well I got to feed myself before I think about feeding the animals." Billie said brightly.
"Yes." I agreed.
Billie smiled before she disappeared into the bathroom.
"Will you two be staying for dinner?" I asked Dove and Simon once more for they hadn't answered me earlier.
"We have to decline." Simon stated. "I should probably phone Drew now before he decides to storm the place with a SWAT team at hand."
"I can totally see him doing that." Dove said. "If it weren't for the real potential of rabid fan girls I'd tell him to take it easy."
"While that is a possibility I understand his caution." I replied.
"I'll just go call him." Simon said, standing up and walking toward the laundry room.
"Will you be filming in Wales long?" I asked.
"We're here for the next month." Dove replied.
"Then perhaps if you find a spare window we could arrange to meet up under less hectic circumstances?" I suggested. "It was nice of you to visit today, but it has been somewhat haphazard. I was unable to truly entertain you as I would have done had I time to prepare."
"We will have to do something, but why don't we spoil you? We haven't actually got any free time for about three weeks, but maybe we could figure out a date and we'll send a car for you." Dove replied.
"We have our own appointments." I observed.
"Then I'll check when I go back and send you a list of dates. Pick the best one for you and we'll take it from there." Dove said.
"Very well." I agreed.
"And with all the vampire stuff I've forgotten the important stuff." Dove said. "How's the pregnancy going?"
"Good." I said, placing my hand to my stomach. "I am just entering the second trimester. We are going for the three month check up the day after next."
"That's nice." Dove said with a smile, and then frowned. "But won't the doctor know there's something weird about you? Kat told us about the heartbeat/body temperature thing."
"The doctor is a friend of Carlisle's and knows everything there is to know about our kind. She's safe." I explained.
"That's good then."
"Drew will be five minuets." Simon stated as he returned to the kitchen.
"Then I guess we'd better get ready to go." Dove said, rising to her feet.
We saw Dove and Simon out, Drew giving both Mal and I suspicious looks as he saw Simon into the back of his car.
"Hey Drew, drive my car back, I need a private meeting with my leading man." Dove said as she threw her keys to the bodyguard.
"Perhaps I should drive…" Drew began.
"Hey Drew, you'll be right behind us if there's any trouble, but Dean is our best driver and so he's taking us." Dove said firmly. "Is that clear?"
"Yes boss." Drew said gruffly before heading to Dove's car.
Dove waved to us one last time before she climbed into the back with Simon. Mal and I waved until they disappeared over the hill. We returned to the house and I could finally start on with dinner.
It was cooked and on the table within half an hour. Billie joined us at the table to eat it before she went out to find Arwel to see if he needed help with the animals. It was only after the dishes were cleared away that I could finally ask Mal how his day had been. We had a glass of cranberry and grape juice each as we settled once again on the lawn chairs to enjoy the last of the evening sunlight.
"It was an exam." Mal said with a shrug. "I got to meet my new boss though, he thought he should come check me out."
"Do you like him?" I asked.
"As far as first impressions go he seems right enough." Mal observed as he took a sip of his juice, his other hand massaging my foot. "Of course he was on his enticing behaviour today, you don't really get to know people until you have to work with them."
"Agreed." I said. "Are you looking forward to working?"
"Well yeah, but I'm also really nervous." He admitted. "I've never had proper work before, only the odd job here and there. What if I can't handle the nine to five?"
"You handle the routine of school well, work will seem nothing to you." I assured him.
"Well I guess I'll know when I start." Mal conceded. "But that's not so important right now. The biggest thing in my mind right now is the excitement of the scan. We'll get to see him again and how he's progressing. I know we have to wait nine months, but doesn't the time seem to be flying by?"
"Yes." I agreed. "Soon he will be with us and how wonderful our life will be."
"Yeah." Mal said with a smile. "I can see him now, playing in the veg patch, making mud pies to share with his teddies."
"Is that something you did?" I asked.
"Well I didn't have any friends or siblings. It was only me." He observed.
"Were you ever…lonely?" I asked carefully.
"I don't know. I don't really think I had any thoughts on the matter." Mal said with a frown. "I did see kids in films and stuff all playing together, but I never saw myself as a child and I always had Sheba for company so I don't think I ever did feel lonely. Why do you ask?"
"It was merely something Billie said, but it matters not." I said and forced a smile. "The way you speak of seeing our son play in the mud it sounds as if you refer to this very spot."
"Yeah." Mal said with a smile and a nod.
"Are you growing attached to your childhood home?" I asked curiously.
"I'd be lying if I said no." Mal replied.
"I do like it here too, although I am yet to grow used to the fact that my parents are not merely a few hours drive away." I observed.
"But you could get used to living here?" Mal asked carefully.
"Yes." I replied. "Although I could not make a snap decision now. I think we should wait to see how you find work before we decide on anything permanent."
"Yeah." Mal agreed.
I smiled and reached out to stroke back a strand of his hair before our conversation descended into more mundane matters. We were sat outside for an hour but chose to return indoors once Billie came back from visiting with Arwel. She was somewhat quiet but would not speak when I prompted her. I decided that I would leave it for the night and ask her again in the morning.
Therefore we locked up for the night and went to sleep. I dreamt that night of Mal and I living a lifetime in this farmhouse, watching our son grow up happy and content. We remained living on the farm until he was old enough to leave home. Perhaps it was my mind's way of telling me that I wished to live here, but I wouldn't allow my dreams to sway me in this matter. I had to think this through properly and discuss it fully with Mal.
This chapter took so long to write and I'm sorry for the delay
Thank you for your patience and thank you for reading
Please review
Gemma x