The busy narrow corridors of the police station looked little different at night time. The lighting may have changed but the constant buzz of dozens of people talking at once and the steady stream of people heading in every direction remained.
At least this time she didn't have to see the prison cells again. Though that might be the only positive thing about her visit here. Her heart beat heavily and every step felt a burden as she anticipated the conversations she was soon to have.
"You don't have to do this," Carmilla said next to her. She hadn't left Laura's side since they'd left the school hours ago and her grip on Laura's hand was so tight, Laura doubted she wanted that to change any time soon. She walked with a limp, whatever had happened to her foot definitely was causing her pain. "You've done enough already for these people, you don't have to explain or defend yourself to them."
"They deserve answers. It's right that they get to talk to us about what happened at least once before we leave."
"None of this is our fault."
"Maybe. Probably not, yeah. But we should still do this. We can't just skulk away. Even if I'm really not looking forward to it."
Carmilla kissed her cheek. I'm here with you.
Laura took a quick moment to lean her head on Carmilla's shoulder as they walked into a large hall filled with desks and yet more people. The police officer leading them glanced back.
"Almost there, Detective Beattie's office is at the end of the hall," they said.
"Yeah, we remember," Laura said, raising her voice over the din.
The officer knocked on Beattie's door and the detective came out. Her face tired and drawn, her hat nowhere to be seen. She nodded thanks to the officer, who turned around and walked away without a word. Beattie sighed when she looked at them.
"They're inside, I told them what I could. Even if a lot of it I don't even understand. But I think they understand the basic picture. It's good that you came, can't have been easy." She nodded to them both respectfully. "This is gonna suck. But they'll be grateful for anything you can tell them, even if they might not be able to show that right now."
Beattie ushered them into her office. A few more chairs were in it than usual. Four people were sitting in them. People she recognised. The Meyers and the Turners. The parents of the two boys they weren't able to save.
The anxiety she felt coming here was much like when she'd met them all for the first time in Kellan's house. But the mood inside the office had none of the stressful mix of desperation, frustration and intense fear she'd picked up on there. Walking into the office felt more like entering a tomb. The parents were silent. Some staring blankly into nothing, others had their eyes closed as they leant against their spouse for support.
Their clothes were even more ragged and crumpled than before. The room smelt of dried sweat and body odour. Things like showering, eating or sleeping were of little priority to any of these people right now. Laura couldn't blame them for that.
Together, they looked up at her and Carmilla as they came in. The sight of their faces would haunt her for quite some time, gaunt and hollow. None of them said anything.
"So," Beattie started. "Now that they're both here-"
"I'm sorry," Laura interrupted, looking at them all. "I am so, so sorry."
She expected them to start shouting. To be angry and vengeful. Instead, after a long silent moment, Mr Turner shook his head.
"Way I see it. You two did more than anyone else ever did. You're the only ones who really tried."
Laura winced at the not too subtle barb at Beattie, but this wasn't the time to start an argument.
Mrs Meyer leaned forward on her chair, furtively looking around to make sure no one else was talking. "The… the detective, has been telling us a lot of stuff I don't really understand. But all I really need to know is, the people who took our children, are they still out there?"
"No. They're either dead or locked up."
"That monster?" Mr Turner asked. "The one at the swamp?"
"Dead," Laura confirmed for him. "And the person holding its leash."
He let out a big long breath. "Thanks to you, we know. It's good that we know."
The other parents nodded and the room fell silent again. She'd expected a long, terrible conversation, but already there wasn't much more to say.
Somehow, this felt worse than if they'd raged at her. Without that or any questions to answer there was nothing else but the realisation that she could do nothing to fix the damage of what had happened to these people. She'd tried her best and so had Carmilla, but for the people in this room, it hadn't been enough.
Not too long ago she'd have related that back to herself with guilt-ridden questions of what could she have done better and tried to find some way of taking the blame. But with the grim acceptance and even gratitude the parents had given her, came an awareness that it wasn't about her in this moment. It was about the profound loss that these people had suffered. A loss she couldn't repair.
As she quietly left the room after answering a few more questions and an awkward goodbye, she hoped that her earlier prediction that the loss of their children would break these people forever had been wrong. That maybe one day they could find a way to heal. But whether they could or not would have nothing to do with her. She'd done everything she could and now all that was left was for her to accept she couldn't solve everything and save everyone.
A sobering lesson, but also a valuable one. She promised herself never to forget it.
"That was good, went better than I expected. They'll appreciate you coming here and talking to them down the line," Beattie said as she closed her office door after following them out. The three of them found a little corner in the busy hall to speak.
"I hope so," Laura said. "Didn't feel that way in there."
"Trust me, them knowing the important details will help them move on in time. The word is, uhh."
"Closure," Carmilla said.
Beattie nodded. "Yeah. Closure."
The detective gave out her biggest sigh yet and leant hard against the wall behind her. Seemingly without care for the framed picture she rubbed up against.
"Hey, what was said in there-" Laura started.
Beattie held up a hand. "Was true. I didn't find those kids, you two did. I was there when the first one went missing and three kids later I still couldn't figure out a damn thing. Kellan told me the same stuff she told you. The difference was you listened. Maybe if I had, four kids would have been saved instead of two."
"You're not being fair to yourself. There's no way you could have known. And you're forgetting that if you hadn't've trusted us, we'd never have found that shed and without you coming to rescue us there, Gravenberg would have killed us all."
Beattie gave a little nod of acknowledgement. Laura hoped that the detective took the words to heart. She genuinely meant them.
"Yeah, that was nice of you," Carmilla said, folding her arms. "Though, you never did say how you worked out where we went."
Beattie bit her lip. "I may have… put a tracker on that phone I gave you." She shrugged. "A little underhanded I know, but I'd hope given how things turned out you wouldn't hold that against me."
"We won't," Laura said through a grin even as Carmilla scowled. "Thank you for saving us. And for all the help."
"And for not arresting us," Carmilla added.
"Well, at least I'll know who to call if a demon or something shows up in town," Beattie said. She reached out and shook both their hands. "I'm glad you two came, I'll always remember what you've done here. You've saved a lot of lives, thank you."
She straightened up and looked sideways down the hall. "But I understand there's one last person you wanted to see here."
Laura nodded.
"Down that hallway, take a right." Beattie gestured the directions with a hand. "The guard knows to let you in."
"Thank you," Laura said gratefully. She hadn't been sure if Beattie would let her do this.
They said their goodbyes and Carmilla and her went down the hallway Beattie had told them to. The right turn led them to into a corridor of interrogation rooms. A bored looking guard stood in front of one.
Before heading towards him, she turned to Carmilla and put a hand on her side.
"Thank you, but this I need to do alone."
The interrogation room was dark and cramped. She'd expected a big room with a one-way mirror like in most cop shows. But instead, she'd entered a small box without a window to be seen. The room's one light barely worked, dull and flickering intermittently.
Gravenberg sat in the middle of the room cuffed to a square metal table. Despite her tattered clothing and jagged appearance, she sat up straight in her chair. A haughty defiance radiated from her.
"Finally," she said as Laura entered. "I have a burn on my leg. I have the right to medical atten- Oh it's you." Her eyes narrowed at her. "Are you a cop now as well Hollis? College freshman, private detective, Savannah police department. Whatever is next in the saga of our great hero?"
"Just a favour," Laura said and sat down on the across from her.
Neither spoke for a while. Instead, they simply stared at each other coolly.
"Did you have something to say? Did you come here to gloat? Or what?" Gravenberg asked.
"Is there any part of you that's remorseful? Even a little? People have died, two of them boys, school children. Does any part of you feel something about that?"
"Why do you care?"
"I saved your life. Would be nice to know that some part of that life is human."
"You also left me to die, perhaps you'd feel better then if I said no." Gravenberg's narrow eyes flashed. She shrugged. "Doesn't matter either way. No, I don't care. Nothing's changed. They were meaningless. If they were still alive, they'd have grown up to do nothing of any value."
She searched Gravenberg's face for any sign of a lie. She found nothing.
"You're wrong. Before I came in here, I had one of the hardest conversations of my life. It showed just how wrong you are. Phillip Turner, Wallis Meyer. Those were their names, in case you couldn't be bothered to remember them. They had people who cared about them. Family, parents who might be destroyed forever thanks to you. They had friends who I saw cry tears at losing them. Lexi Kellan, Abigail Bishop."
"These names don't mean anything to me." Gravenberg waved a hand irritably, the chains attaching her cuffs to the table jangled.
"But they do to others. Abigail's parents were desperate to get their daughter back. Mary Kellan."
She paused and swallowed hard before continuing.
"Mary Kellan died trying to find her daughter. That's how much she cared. That's how much these people mattered. How dare you sit there and say they were meaningless."
Gravenberg lost her dignified posture and slouched back. "Why are you telling me all this? You already won. What purpose does ranting at me while I'm cuffed to this table have? If you think one of your vomit inducing naive speeches is going to result in anything other than me hating you more, then you are even more of a moron than I thought."
"Maybe. But that night in Stevenson's house you asked me a question I didn't get the chance to answer. That if all my, what did you call them? 'Good deeds' got me was getting killed by you, were they worth it?" She leant forwards on the table. "Believing in people and trying to help them is how I found the best friends I've ever had, it's led to me finding someone who I want to spend the rest of my life with and it's how I've helped save more people than I can count. So yes, it would have been worth it."
She got up from her chair.
"But as we're alone across a table again, I'd like to ask you the same. What about your deeds? The lives gone because of you, the families you've taken from, all this suffering you've caused to so many people. This outlook you have that the only thing that matters is you and nothing else. Now that it's led to where you are right now. All alone and heading for a dark miserable prison cell for the rest of your life. Was it worth it? Or only now are you realising how pointless it all was?"
Gravenberg responded only with a withering glare. Laura started for the door.
"You chose to save me," Gravenberg said abruptly, and Laura stopped. "That was a choice. You apparently decided that my life mattered enough to do that. If you think about it, if I was ever to get out of here. Whatever I do after that, a part of that will be because of you."
That rattled her for a moment. The implied threat in Gravenberg's words was not subtle.
She's not ever getting out, this is just her last chance of throwing some barbs while she still can.
She turned her head back to Gravenberg as she opened the door.
"If you ever did get out of here. Then I'd just beat you again and drag you right back. But you're never getting out. I think that when I shut this door, that's it. Years from now I'll barely remember you as I live my life, just like everyone else in the world. That's justice for those boys and Mary Kellan. I'm leaving now and I'm never going to see you again. No one will."
As Gravenberg sat stunned into silence, she walked out of the room and let the guard close the door.
All the lights were on and the window wide open in the hospital room. It's occupant not interested in sleep despite the late hour and everything she'd been through.
Lexi sat hunched and leaning forward on the bed in front of the open window, enjoying the cool breeze that Laura could feel from the door. Lexi turned at her entering and Laura got a quick glance at a white and tearful face before she turned back to the window.
Laura heard sniffling and saw Lexi's hands come to her face. "Didn't know you were here as well. Did you get hurt?" Lexi asked in a thick tone.
"No, I'm fine. Only just arrived. Carmilla has a burn on her foot, so I forced her to get it checked."
"I hope she's okay."
"Thank you and I'm sure she'll be fine. Between you and me, she's kind of a huge badass."
"Yeah, I noticed. She's like Jessica Jones or something."
Laura walked towards the bed and sat next to Lexi. The girl's tears were gone, but a raw redness around her eyes remained. "But I also wanted to come here to talk to you. I'm guessing they told you… about…"
Lexi nodded and sniffed again. There was a long silence before she spoke.
"I'm alone. They're both gone and I'm alone." She held her head in her hands for a moment before another sniff and a shaky breath. "It feels like, only yesterday they were both alive. And now." She raised her hands up slightly in a desperately hopeless gesture.
"It feels like a void, doesn't it? Your world's just as big as it always was, but now there's this void where they should be. A hole you can't fill with anything," Laura said.
Lexi met her eyes. "You've lost someone before?"
"My mum. And then later… some friends as well. But I was about your age when I lost her. Got the news in a hospital a lot like this." She looked around at the room. "I know where you are now. I know that there's nothing I can tell you that will make this better, no cliche phrases or anything dumb like that."
Laura put a hand on her Lexi's shoulder.
"But I do know for absolute certain that it's better to go through this with people. You are not alone, you're wrong there. There are still people who care about you. One in particular I think."
That got a flicker of a smile from the girl. "Abi. They took her to a different room and won't let me out of here to see her. I'm fine, though." She flexed her arms and swung her legs up before scowling. "They're being assholes."
Laura suppressed a laugh. "She's fine. She's with her parents right now. I asked around. They said I can take you to them."
Lexi's face lit up at that. "Really?"
"Yeah, really. But first I have one more thing to talk to you about." At Lexi's quizzical face she continued. "I said it's best to not have to go through what you're going through alone. With that in mind I've got an offer for you and Abigail."
"An offer?"
"A fresh start, away from here. This was supposed to be your last year of high school right?"
Lexi nodded.
"There's this university in Austria, Silas. It's where I went after high school. It's undergoing some… rebuilding but I know the people taking care of it. I trust them completely. While they're rebuilding there's a lot of free dorms just waiting for someone to stay up all night eating cookies, drink too much, procrastinate on assignments and do other general college stuff in them. If you want it, I can make sure you have a place there for as long you want."
"You're offering me and Abi a scholarship?"
"I'm offering you a chance to go somewhere new. Somewhere you're not always reminded of the horrible things that happened. Oh, and somewhere where you don't have to deal with, well… I met some of your fellow students recently."
"I hate them," Lexi said.
"Yeah, they're the worst. Somewhere where you won't have to deal with them ever again too."
"Wow," Lexi said. It seemed all she could manage.
"I know it's a lot. You don't have to answer now. I just wanted to put it in your mind. To have at least something good to look forward too, after everything that's happened."
Laura stood up and beckoned Lexi to follow. "C'mon, I'll take you to Abigail."
Lexi didn't move. A pained expression had come onto her face.
"While you were looking for us. Did you spend much time with my mum?"
"I did. She's the one who found us in the first place. She never gave up on you. Not even for a second. If it wasn't for her, we'd never have found you."
Lexi looked down at her feet. "We were fighting the last time I talked to her. I hate that. Did she say anything about me? I know that's probably such a stupid question to ask, it's just-"
Laura knelt down in front of her and found her eyes. "She loved you. That was so, so clear in everything she said and did. She wanted me to tell you that she loved you, more than anything in the world. I'm glad that I got to keep that promise to her in the end."
She found Carmilla exactly where she thought she would. Lounging in a dark forgotten corner that they could see the whole room from.
This particular corner lay at the back of the hospital's cafeteria. The closest ceiling light to it had failed, which was so perfect that Laura couldn't help but consider the crazy idea that Carmilla had somehow broken it herself without anyone noticing. She also doubted the chair Carmilla sat in had been there before she'd arrived, nor the second empty one beside her.
"I see your burn was so much of a 'nothing to worry about thing', that they had to wrap it up in more bandages than a mummy," Laura said, looking at Carmilla's heavily bandaged foot.
Carmilla rose her arms above her head in a lazy stretch. "What does second degree even mean anyway?" When Laura sat next to her she brought down one arm around Laura's shoulders.
"Does it hurt?"
"No. They rubbed something on it. They said it'll be fine. I should 'avoid strenuous activity' for a bit."
"Oh, no!" Laura said through a giggle. "That's so awful. Knowing how much you just love strenuous activity."
Carmilla curled the side of her mouth upwards into a coy smile. "I don't know. Depends on what kind of activity we're talking about."
Laura laughed and leant in to kiss Carmilla's cheek. "I'm glad it's nothing serious."
A loud thud of something hitting the floor drew their attention. On the other side of the room, Lexi and the Bishops were still hugging and talking where Laura had left them.
It seemed like Lexi and Abigail were so focused on their tight embrace they hadn't noticed they'd knocked over a chair. As they hugged, Lexi had a hand held out that Mrs Bishop firmly grasped with both of her own. The two parents were beaming.
The night's lateness meant the happy sight was the only thing to be seen in the otherwise empty cafeteria. After everything that had happened, Laura found watching them almost entrancing. The smiles on their faces, the affectionate hugs and touches, the comforting words she could see them saying even if she couldn't quite hear them. It all felt like the best reward she could hope for at the end of this whole thing.
"This is nice," Carmilla said, watching on like she was.
Laura looked at her in surprise. Carmilla rarely would comment on such things, unless to complain in some way about them being overly saccharine. But there was no complaint from her this time, no dry sarcastic joke.
She smiled at her. "Yeah, it is."
"Back when I was a vampire working for Mother," Carmilla said, her tone thoughtful. "Sometimes I would track down the families of the girls I'd… you know. I'd never talk to them or anything like that. Just observe from afar. Mother would always say the girls were worthless cattle. It didn't matter if they disappeared from the world. But to them it mattered, to their mothers, their fathers, their brothers and sisters. I could see it on their faces, how they moved and talked, when they broke down when they thought no one was looking."
"There were missing something they could never get back," Laura said.
Carmilla nodded.
"Something I took from them. For so long that's what I did. I was the one who took. Who caused the worst kind of pain you can inflict on someone."
The hug between Lexi and Abigail had turned into a group hug now. One that was lasting quite some time.
"What's it like, to do the opposite thing?" Laura asked.
Her eyes still on the group, Carmillla broke into a genuine smile. "It feels pretty good." She turned to Laura. "Thank you."
"For what? You did this just as much as I did. If anything I should be thanking you."
Carmilla shook her head. "This feeling I have right now, from being able to look at this." She gestured to the group. "And know that I was a big part of why it's happening. That this time I helped bring someone back. It's one of the best feelings I've had in centuries. That's because of you. Because of the path you've put me on."
She looked down for a moment as she let out a good-natured "hmm."
"I like this path a lot more than the one Mother had me on, that's for sure." Her short laugh was almost nervous. Something that Laura had learned to take a sign Carmilla was being as genuine as she could be. She found Laura's eyes. "I'm a better person now for being with you. I can't thank you enough for that. In all my years as a human and a vampire, I've never got to feel like a hero before I met you."
Laura grinned. "Carmilla Karnstein finally accepts the truth. She's a big damn hero."
They laughed together and pulled each other close.
"I'd never be able to do any of this without you either. You know that right?" Laura said as her hand decided on its own to start brushing Carmilla's hair back. "And more importantly, I'd never want to."
"There's another good feeling you give me. Being wanted."
Laura placed an index finger to Carmilla's lips. "How long can you hold that thought?"
Carmilla's eyes sparkled. "I think I could just about manage to hold it for about a taxi ride from here to our hotel length of time."
"Perfect."
It took a few tries for her tired arms to lift her suitcase off the ground and onto the bed. That her hands were still wet from being in the spa for the last few hours probably didn't help. Droplets of water dripped down from her hair onto the bed as she used one hand to keep her towel around her and the other to unzip the case.
Her movements were tired and clumsy. As time wore on, Carmilla began calling for her.
"Laura? Where'd you go? I already checked, there aren't any cookies. I'll get you some later." The words came out slurred and trailed off. Carmilla was as exhausted as she was.
"Just give me a minute," she called back and started rummaging through the case.
That minute turned into ten and most of the case's contents had been thrown onto the ground by the time she found what she was looking for. A tiny box buried in the corner underneath a number of flannel shirts. She started to open it when Carmilla came into the room wrapped up in a towel of her own.
"Are you okay in here? What are you doing?"
Laura slid across the bed, placing herself in front of the box so Carmilla couldn't see it. "Everything's fine. I was just looking for something. You seemed pretty tired, so I thought I'd do it myself."
"I'm awake," Carmilla said, blinking her eyes rapidly and stretching out her arms with a yawn. "What's up?" She gestured to the mess all around the bedroom.
With a jolt of anxiety, Laura realised what she'd thought would be happening later today was happening now. She took a breath and straightened up on the bed.
"Well, I've been thinking about us waiting til I have a ring of my own to give you and when we've got more of what kind of wedding we want planned before we made things all public and official."
"Hey, it's okay. I get it, we've been kinda busy for either of those things to happen. Don't feel ba-" She paused as Laura reached behind her and put the box in her lap.
"If we can learn anything from these last couple of weeks. It's that life's too short to wait until everything's perfect. So what if I don't have a ring for you yet and we've come up with zero plans for what kind of wedding we want? I know I love you, I know I want to marry you." She opened up the box and put the ring inside on her finger. "And I want the whole world to know that too."
Carmilla eyes were glued to the ring. She didn't respond. Instead, she knelt in front of Laura and caressed her hands over the ring. She looked up and her smile was as wide as Laura had ever seen it. A look of pure joy on her face.
Kellan had been right. Putting on the ring now had been the right choice. She was glad to have made it.
Forgetting the spa and the mess around them, they came together on the bed and fell under the covers into a much-needed rest. It would be a great many hours later until either of them managed to get back up.
Sunlight poured through every window her father's house had. Along with the constant chatter and laughter, it filled the place with a bright and happy energy.
As she walked into the back garden, she heard the barbecue sizzling and was greeted by the salivating smell of cooking meat. Her father loved barbecues. Probably because they were difficult to mess up, even for him.
"Yeah, no, that's dumb. What you need is for the place to be packed with our sorority sisters. They'll make sure everything runs smoothly. We fought a battle for Silas, we can handle anything," Mel said from her seat around a wooden table as weathered and scratched as the one inside.
"All those girls are so uptight. A wedding isn't a battle, it should be fun! Us bros would make sure Carmilla and Laura have a great time before they get all boring like everyone who gets married does," Kirsch retorted next to her. "I mean, like, boring in a good way. You'll always be cool to me," he called out in her direction.
Arms slid around her waist from behind and a chin nestled on her shoulder. "How comforting. The puppy bro thinking I'm cool has always been of such importance to me," Carmilla whispered in her ear.
Laura giggled. "This isn't as bad as I thought it would be. They're genuinely trying to help. Plus they did agree to take Lexi and Abigail in at Silas for no tuition fee. We should probably try to be nice."
Carmilla's grunt was good natured despite its apparent grumpiness. She released Laura and they both walked past her father fussing over the barbecue towards the table.
"I brought the plates and serviettes. I colour coordinated them so we know which ones are whose and which ones are for dessert," Laura announced brightly to roughly zero reaction.
"Yeah, I brought the drinks," Carmilla said to general cheers from everyone.
As they prepared the table, Carmilla broke through the intensifying argument between Mel and Kirsch with a new topic.
"Checked on the local Savannah, Georgia news on Laura's laptop. 'Suspected Serial Kidnapper's Trial to Start Tomorrow.'"
"I talked to Detective Beattie about it. She says they're pretty sure they got her. Even with all the supernatural weird stuff that will never make it to trial," Laura said.
"What about those Corvae goons? Shouldn't they be on trial too?" Mel asked.
"You'd think so, but Beattie said no. Apparently whatever was inside of them using them as puppets died like everything else Baba Yaga controlled when she died. But after the hospital released them an army of Corvae lawyers rescued them."
"Wait, they didn't help that Gravenberg lady as well?" Kirsch asked.
Carmilla snorted. "Why would they? She's not one of them. As much as she wanted to be. They'll be happy for her to take the fall for everything. Probably also upset about her murdering one of their head guys too. Shitty father or not."
Laura finished sharing out the last of the plates and sat down. "I know I should just be happy things worked out as well as they did, and I am. But I do admit to being a bit annoyed. Corvae didn't just know what Gravenberg and Baba Yaga were doing, they helped them do it. Seems unfair that they get off Scot free for it."
"That's super evil corporations for you. You never get that satisfying sense of final vengeance on them you get when you brutally murder regular evil people. They always slink away to annoy you again."
"I'd replace vengeance with justice and brutally murdering for locking up. But otherwise, I'm kinda feeling that sentiment," Laura said with a shrug.
"Alright, that's enough about trials and disappointments and brutally murdering people," her father said as he brought over a giant platter of delicious smelling food. "We got sausages, we got patties, we got salad with dressing, we got about a dozen kinds of sauce." He placed the platter on the table with a loud thunk and looked at her with serious eyes but a smiling face. "And we have a wedding to plan."
That planning went on well into the night and consumed an amount of food Laura would never admit to anyone. At the point where her father had started offering musical suggestions for the after party, she and Carmilla finally tapped out to find a nice spot for themselves. One of the big comfy chairs near the fireplace worked nicely.
"This chair feels so good," Laura said as Carmilla got the fireplace going. "I love this house. Can you believe I said I was a little bored before we left for Savannah? I must have been crazy."
Carmilla laughed and sat in the chair with her. The heat from the fireplace felt good and Laura found herself humming a little as the comfort of the chair, Carmilla and the warmth combined into some kind of bliss.
"Nothing like a week of almost getting killed in various but all terrifying ways to help someone appreciate their nice and safe old home that little bit extra," Carmilla said.
"Yeah, definitely not even a tiny bit bored anymore. Super okay with absolutely nothing happening and us staying in this chair in front of the fireplace for the next eternity. Dad can bring us food." Laura rubbed her belly. "If I'll ever need food again anyway."
Carmilla sniggered quietly and kissed Laura on the top of her head.
"Whatever you say," she said in a tone that suggested more than a hint of sarcasm.
"What?"
"You're good for now, sure. But I give it maybe a few months at most and you'll be itching for another adventure. You said it yourself Cupcake, there's a part of you that needs to help people. That part of you isn't going to be satisfied with the domestic life and nothing else. As much as I know you love that stuff as well."
Laura was quiet for a moment, letting Carmilla's words sink in.
"Yeah, about that." She shifted a little in the chair nervously.
"Hmm?"
"I've been thinking about that too. I mean, after we get married. Oh wow, that felt good to say. We have to think about what we want to do with our lives. We have a lot of zeros in our bank accounts right now, but will that last forever?"
"You're talking about us getting jobs? Getting stuffed behind a counter or an office cubicle while you work on becoming a journalist isn't quite what I meant by you needing something other than the domestic life."
"What if the job wasn't at all domestic? What if that job was about helping people." She reached into her pocket and pulled out the fake Private Investigator badge Kellan had given her. "I actually really liked flashing these around. Wouldn't mind having a real version."
Carmilla's face was dubious. She took the badge out of her hand and studied with narrowed eyes.
"You want to become a PI? You know they're mostly about catching asshole guys cheating right?"
"I want usto become PI's. Together. And we have enough money to be picky with what cases we choose. I'm talking about the cases like the one we just handled. Things didn't work out perfectly, but no one else but us could have saved those girls and stopped Baba Yaga. We're good at this and who knows how many people are out there getting hurt by things regular police can't handle. "
Carmilla regarded her carefully before responding. "And your apparent lifelong dream of Lois Lanedom?"
Laura laughed. "I'll admit, 'Laura Hollis, Investigative Journalist' still makes my inner child really excited. But things change, we change. I'd still be investigating to bring bad things into the light. It's just maybe I don't want to sit on the sidelines and report on them anymore. I want to do something about them."
She was about to stop and let Carmilla process what she was asking. But then she realised she'd forgotten a very important part of what she wanted to say.
"I'd only want to do this with you. If you hate this idea, then we'll forget it. I won't bring it up again."
She waited for Carmilla to respond, unable to help feeling a little anxious the longer they were silent. Finally, Carmilla spoke.
"If we do this. How long can our vacations be between cases?"
Knowing that meant yes, Laura let out a happy squeak and threw her arms around Carmilla.
"Okay, okay," Carmilla said, hugging her back. "I can't pretend that after how nice it felt to save those girls what you're proposing doesn't have an appeal. But seriously. Long vacations between every case. I'm talking a trip to Paris or Vienna after every one, no matter how small. And I also get you in that trench coat."
"Agreed, totally agreed. You were right before. I'm good to do exactly nothing for the next two, three, six months other than wedding planning. Long vacations, big thumbs up."
They sat together well into the night. The bubble around them was back and this time Laura could settle snugly within it. Whether it was here in her father's house, their cabin in Styria, a hotel suite or a dorm room in Silas, home was where she was now. It was the vibrations of Carmilla's heartbeat when she rested on her chest, the feel of her arms around her, the sound of her breathing the same air she was. She couldn't think of a better way to close a chapter on a latest adventure than right here at this moment.
Although, there was at least one more question to be asked. One of such great importance that could very well turn into one of the biggest arguments of her life. She prepared herself for a long night of passionate arguing that she honestly couldn't predict the winner of.
"Carm," she said innocently. "When we get married. Who's taking whose last name?"
