Of Course There're Problems Right Around the Corner!

When it at first started hurting, D almost panicked. It was shortly after midday, Leon had just left in a hurry for the precinct again, having just stopped by for a second to make sure D was alright, thoroughly upsetting the kami with his exaggerated care. He'd started to clear the table away when suddenly a sharp pain shot through his whole body.

With a gasp, he broke down to his knees, an all-too familiar panic sweeping through him. "No!" he cried out, dropping the plate he'd just taken and pressing both hands to his belly. His mind raced while he curled up into a small ball. Why now? He wasn't as far yet, he'd eaten enough, the nausea had gone to Leon days ago…

The seconds went by, stretching into eternity, as he bit his lip, trying not to scream, curling up on the floor. But that wasn't the same pain…

"D!" Leon broke through the door, wild and worried. "Oh god, D!"

The young kami grabbed his arm, driving his nails into the flesh. Leon didn't even notice. "D! What's the matter? Tell me you're okay!"

His voice bordered on hysteria. D whimpered and cried out in pain, causing Leon to freak out. "D!" he yelled, cradling the kami to his chest. Something in said kami's body made a strange sound, almost as if it was breaking. Then D relaxed completely, his head falling back. His eyes were glazed over and he licked his suddenly dry lips.

"I am alright," he whispered, finally loosening his hands and reaching for the blonde, who caught them anxiously.

"Tell me you're okay. Tell me the baby's okay," he pleaded, blue eyes wide with fear.

D managed to pick himself up with his help, shaking his head like a wet kitten for a second. "He is fine, Leon. He is fine, I am fine, there is no reason to worry. Calm down, please." He uncurled one slender hand and laid it on his belly, exactly where he knew the little life was growing in his body. It pulsed, undisturbed by the outer events. "In fact, he hasn't even taken notice of what just happened, I think."

He sighed, half in relief and half because it had indeed hurt very much. "My body chose to change, that is all. Do not aggravate yourself."

"Not aggravate myself?" Leon cursed and let go of D to punch the sofa, which caused a raised eyebrow. "Dammit, D! Pon-chan comes running after me in a panic and tells me you're losing the kid, and you tell me not to be worried? Fuck you!"

"You may, but not today, please. This was very unexpected, Pon-chan couldn't know it would happen, and I fear it was very similar to when I nearly lost Dana."

The last traces of pain vanished and he was finally able to concentrate on his lover again. What he saw in the blue eyes was enough to make him swap from snooty speeches to honest words. "Leon, please. I am not going to die, and I will not lose the child either."

"You can't promise that," Leon said, his voice thick. "You just can't. Not even you know what can go wrong, and you said yourself that you don't know much about kami pregnancies. You said yourself you did a lot wrong with Dana."

"But she still lived and doesn't have any defects," D reminded him softly and rested his head on Leon's shoulder. "Trust me, please, Leon. As long as my body is strong, I can take care of the baby, too." He took the human's hands and placed them over the little life, wishing Leon was as perceptive as he was, so he could feel for himself what D was feeling; the steady pulse of the baby's heart that vibrated through his body the whole time since it had started beating. He knew the child was fine, but how could he convey that to Leon, who wasn't part of this feeling?

Again he regretted the missing bond. Would they share one, nothing of this would have been an obstacle…

And he also knew that his words to Leon were not wholly true. He supposed that everything was alright, but he just had Dana's pregnancy to compare this here with, and hers had been… very different, to say the least. With Dana, he hadn't even noticed that he had been pregnant before he had reached the fourth month of pregnancy, and now he only was in the second. It all progressed so much faster than with Dana, and although he wasn't quite frightened by it, he was… discomforted. He knew that a real kami pregnancy would by now look very different, too, because the child would already be born just a month from now on.

Leon could read the thoughts on his face. He sat down with an exhausted sigh. "D, we have to do something. Just check if everything's alright."

"I won't go to a doctor."

"I know." Leon's voice was soft and sounded uncomfortable. "But there has to be someone who knows about kami pregnancies – knows about you."

D gave a short laugh and sat down beside Leon. "Yes, of course. Grandfather."

The human glanced at him. "And?"

"He doesn't even know I am pregnant, at least if he didn't spy on the shop."

Leon gaped for a moment. "You didn't tell him?"

"No, I didn't," D said defensively. "And I recall that you didn't like him treating Dana's arm either."

Leon let out a deep breath and tried to think when he'd seen Q-chan the last time. Much to his surprise, he suddenly realised that the visit had only been four months ago. It seemed like much longer, in retrospect. Four months.

"He isn't Mary," the kami continued talking, quietly. "He will be rather displeased with the developments, I fear."

"It's not as if Aunt Mary was that happy about the new baby," Leon remarked dryly, recalling his aunt's reaction when Chris had blurted the news out. "Rather the contrary."

D sighed and got up. "Yes, I know. But Grandfather is still – different. It is not only that he won't approve of what I did, it's also…" He stopped and bit his lower lip. Then he obviously made a decision. "Well, I will tell him sometime soon. You truly do not have to worry, Leon. I am alright. In fact, I feel good enough to go out and have some cake at a nice café. And you should leave for work now, before you really are too late."

He pushed the human out of the shop, called the children from the back and stowed Jamie in his cart. Ten-chan, Tetsu and Pon-chan got to come along, and the fox insisted on pushing the cart while D took the other two children by the hand.

He could only assume what picture they presented when they strolled down the street to one of his favourite cafés, and tried hard not to snap at some gapers. Yes, he knew he'd made himself rather rare again, especially since the pregnancy, but he had been trying to attend at least some social events – tea and gossip at Mrs. Chang's shop, for example, although he had missed last week's instalment, due to a rather nasty fight between Dana and Honlon. He couldn't help the fact that he was a parent now – and that parents tended to spend more time with their children than with gossiping, middle-aged women.

It didn't matter as much as it had before. Aside from the conflict with the Shao family, he'd had no other problems with anyone. His heart wasn't in pursuing those acquaintances anymore.

With the exception of a few people.

"Count, why, how nice to see you here!" Yi Jonas stopped and smiled at him. So did Mrs. Chang, who was accompanying her. "We haven't seen you out of the shop for ages!"

"I only missed last week," he protested, smiling back and making an inviting gesture. "Would you care to join us?"

"Yes, thank you very much." Chris made way for them, then helped Dana scoot her chair to the side so that Mrs. Jonas could sit down beside her. She smiled at the girl, who looked at her with big eyes. "She becomes more beautiful every time I see her, Count," she said warmly. "She is going to be quite the beauty when she is grown."

"Thank you very much. How are your children? And your husband? I hear his new book is selling quite well, isn't it?" D returned the favour at once. Yi Jonas smiled and they started talking, while Mrs. Chang curiously questioned Chris about school and his friends and family. D kept an ear to them, afraid of Chris spilling something he shouldn't, but the boy was a little suspicious and rather monosyllabic.

Dana was busy with her cake, and Pon-chan took care that she couldn't concentrate on anything else.

They left the café when the children started to become fidgety and took a walk in the park. D could talk more freely there, since the children were busy running around and playing and most of the time out of immediate hearing range.

Inevitably as the sun the talk turned towards the Shao family. The trials had begun and Mrs. Chang knew already that a lot more of those who were employed in Shao businesses had begun to stand up, thus revealing more and more of the real business.

"Thanks to you, Count," Yi Jonas said with a chuckle. "Lin was rather popular, and that you helped her escape to Europe hitched you quite some sympathy amongst her friends."

D smiled innocently. "I, Mrs. Jonas? I cannot remember any such thing."

Both women laughed. "Deny it all you want, Count, she was seen running down to your shop the night she disappeared," Mrs. Chang said. "Poor little girl, she really suffered a lot from her mother. And she herself was such a nice girl – did you know that she coached children whose parents couldn't afford private lessons for free?"

"No, I didn't," D replied, rather surprised by this. "I barely know anything about her. Dana and James liked her very much, but that is all."

"She was rather old-fashioned sometimes, and she was -" Yi Jonas delicately cleared her throat, "- well, in love with you is rather too strong a word, but she thought very highly of you."

"Did she?" D said quietly and looked at Dana and Tetsu on the lawn. Chris was chasing Pon-chan, who had stolen his cap.

"Well, I think we all know that she was not happy about Detective Orcot, but very few people are happy about him, if you excuse me saying this so bluntly," Mrs. Chang stated. "I cannot say that I'm very happy about him either, but he's your choice and your affair. He has never been unfriendly to me; well, in the American view, at least. He is in fact a rather friendly man, and if one sees him with his brother or Dana, he is rather warm-hearted."

D almost raised his eyebrow at those words; Mrs. Chang was one of the most curious people in whole Chinatown. She had quite a reputation for knowing almost everything about everyone.

On the other hand, she also had a reputation for not using those secrets she knew against anyone in order to cause harm. She just wanted to know.

Yi Jonas seemed to read his mind; she smiled and shrugged, the gesture saying 'What can we do about it? There have to be people like her.'

D agreed, but still.

"Her disappearance was a rather hard blow to the Shaos, believe me," Mrs. Chang continued. "Then this terrible scandal with this cave – Mrs. Shao has been very busy ever since." She glanced at D. "And rather angry, Count."

"Well, the detective's car is in one piece again, if I have observed right," Yi Jonas said, her eyes twinkling. "Perhaps next time she will damage it herself, then the police would at least have a reason to arrest her."

"Does it stand that badly for them?" the young kami inquired, baffled. As far as he got to know via Jill and Leon, the investigation went rather slowly, also because Carter was on to it alone now that it officially was closed.

Both women nodded in response to his question and Yi Jonas started to enlighten D on the results the Poison Cave affair had had on the business of the family. Several of their customers had cancelled their contracts, almost half of the staff of one factory had been arrested, and more and more was coming forward every day.

"Not surprisingly," she said, indicating a young Chinese couple that was sitting on a picnic blanket. "She is rather tyrannical, both at home and in business. Since last year, since the family became so strong, it became more and more obvious that it isn't her husband who is the head of the family, but she, and there are some who think she is claiming a place that isn't hers. She even went as far as to fire her housemaid, just because the girl was flirting with her nephew. They're sitting over there."

D looked in the direction of the couple and suddenly noticed that a man was standing there, too, half-hidden behind a tree. His eyes weren't on the couple – they were on D. Now they flickered to the children, seemed to suck in their sight. A shudder suddenly crossed D's frame.

"Are you cold?" Yi Jonas asked, worried. "You know that you have been rather pale the last few weeks, Count? I was starting to get worried about you. You ate so little last time we had tea together."

The kami shook himself and smiled at her, his heart beating fast in his chest. "Why, thank you, but I am alright, I assure you. Just a little strained. You know what children are like – sometimes it can be rather chaotic with them."

"And with that detective, not to forget," Mrs. Chang added and they went on to discuss Leon's status in Chinatown.

After ten minutes or so, D called the children back to him. He wanted to have them near.


"We have been invited to tea by Mrs. Jonas," D informed Leon that evening, rather absent-minded while he was sorting papers on his desk. The blonde leaned back and looked at him. "Okay. When?"

"Sunday afternoon. She said we are welcome to take the children along. Her daughter and her children will be there, too."

"I didn't know she had kids."

"Yes, she does, two sons and a daughter. They are all married already."

Leon whistled. "Wow, she looks good for her age then!"

D glanced at him and smiled. "She does indeed. Say, Leon, when you walk through Chinatown lately, is there anything – strange?"

"Strange in which way?" Leon returned the question and D sat down in front of him. "I do no know. I was informed today that our abduction of Lin apparently made us popular with the crowd again."

Leon gaped for a moment. "It did? Wow. I rather thought they'd hate us even more for that."

"As did I," D admitted and stared at the ceiling, too. "I haven't been keeping track of everything as I used to. Things changed rather fast in the last few months."

"Huh." Leon looked at his lover and got a bad feeling in his stomach. The question was if the momentary mood would play out for or against them.


"Orcot, it's great to see you again!"

Patrick Jonas shook Leon's hand with considerable enthusiasm, then turned to D and the kids. Chris, Leon noticed with amusement, had not taken cover behind D or him like he usually did when encountered with strangers, even friendly strangers. Instead he was eyeing the professor with interest, as was Dana. She extended a hand from D's arms and Patrick Jonas took it at once, giving it a sincere shake. "Dear me, my mistake. I'm sorry, Dana. Ladies first, isn't it?"

Leon snorted and D had to bite back a smile, too. He let Dana finish hand-shaking, then bowed to Patrick Jonas. "Thank you very much for your invitation, Mr. Jonas," he said formally. The man laughed and ushered them inside. "You're welcome, Count. Yi is still in the kitchen, I think. Heavens help that anything should not be perfect for your visit. And this is the famous other Orcot, isn't it?" he added, finally turning to Chris. "Hello, Christopher. It's Christopher, isn't it? I'm Patrick Jonas."

"Uh, I'm usually called Chris, Mr. Jonas," the boy said, blushing slightly as he shook hands with their host. Leon could feel his heart swell with pride and he placed a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Yeah, Christopher is too long for daily use," he added. "In the time it takes to shout 'Christopher, Dana, away from there!' they've already done whatever they weren't supposed to do."

Chris looked like he was about to pout, but Patrick Jonas only smiled at him. "Well, then it's good your brother's name is even shorter, isn't it?" He winked at Chris and the boy giggled. "Besides, you don't need to call me Mister. It makes me feel old and pompous. Just call me Jonas, like your brother does. Now, the dining room is here to the left, if you would just follow me…"

Just as they entered, Yi Jonas appeared, her daughter at her side, beaming with joy. "Count D, Detective Orcot, how nice of you to come," she said as she bowed to them. "I don't think you have already met my daughter – Li, this is Count D, his daughter Dana and Detective Orcot." Then she spotted Chris and laughed happily. "Oh, so you did bring him along! And this is the detective's brother Chris. How are you doing, Chris?"

"Fine, thank you. And you?" Chris replied dutifully, making the adults smile.

"So well-mannered!" Yi sighed. "I wish my grandchildren were like that…"

"Ma!" Li protested, but there was a definite twinkle in her eyes. "You cannot compare their behaviour towards you to Chris's. He's not your grandson."

"Which reminds me of my grandchildren. Where are they, Li?" Patrick Jonas cut in. His daughter went to the door and called out while Yi seated everybody at the table, slipping both Dana and Chris a treat while D wasn't looking.

With four children and five adults at the teatime became quite noisy, but nobody seemed to mind anyhow. Nobody became angry, either, when Li's younger son, about the same age as Dana, dropped his teacup and the tea spilled all over his mother's skirt. Dana was fascinated by this, and by the boy, and kept watching him with wide eyes. The grown-ups followed her tentative attempts to catch his attention with amusement and had to hide their laughter when Liang finally deigned to take notice of the other little girl and not only his cake.

"I think they can get up now if they want to, can't they, Ma?" Li asked with twinkling eyes and set her boy to the floor, where he stood for a moment, considered, and then walked over to Dana's chair.

"Yes, of course. What about you, Dana? Do you want to play with Liang?" the elder woman asked and received an enthusiastic nod. Leon helped Dana climb down from her chair, too, and they watched the two younger children sit down in front of each other. Their eyes held each other's.

Then Dana squealed.

Liang squealed back.

She squeaked.

He squeaked, too.

Leon almost died of a coughing fit. "Well, looks like they get along without talking," he remarked finally while the children continued to communicate via squeaks and squeals.

"Yes, indeed," Yi Jonas said and then quickly hid her chuckle, turning to Chris and the elder boy, Tao. "Tao, would you like to show Chris your new game?"

The boys looked at each other for a moment, obviously considering if they really wanted to make friends.

Then they decided that playing games together was the better option if the other included having to sit at the table listening to adult talk. "Sure," Tao said and slipped from his chair. "It's upstairs in my room. Well, actually, Wàigong's study, 'cause I get to sleep there while we're here. You wanna have a look?"

"Yeah," Chris replied, looked at his brother and at his nod vanished with Tao. Yi Jonas clapped her hands.

"Finally we're rid of the children!" she exclaimed, beaming, and earned an amused glance from both husband and daughter. "Now we can talk!"

Li laughed as she got up, too. "Yes, you talk, Ma, and I'll take those little squealers away so you can have some peace," she said, bending to tug Liang to his feet. "Dana, we have a pool in the garden, with lots of fish. Do you want to see it?"

"You ever noticed that Chris asks before he leaves while Dana just goes?" Leon said when they had walked out into the garden, and grinned at D. The kami sipped his tea and hid his smile.

"Yes, and I take it as proof that your influence on her education is not necessarily good," he teased.

"Yeah, then I just wonder why you let me take part in it at all…"

D's eyes smiled at him, before they became uncomfortably aware that the Jonas couple was watching them with interest and slight smiles on their faces.

"It's good to see that at least you two aren't bothered at all by the Chinatown gossip," Yi Jonas said softly. "You know, there are quite a lot of rumours flying around where you are concerned."

"Yi, let us not talk about that now, please," Patrick Jonas cut in, placing a hand over his wife's. "You shouldn't take everything people say so much to heart, you know?"

She blinked and was back to the happy hostess in a second. "As if you aren't interested in everything I can tell you," she teased, smiling, making him grin ruefully.

"Of course I am, dearest, but with me, it's professional interest, you know."

Leon snorted and D giggled at the of-course-my-dear look Yi Jonas gave her husband.

"Say, don't you ever become confused with those names?" Leon asked, taking another sip of tea. The couple turned to him and he nodded in the direction from which Li was calling for her son. "Li, Yi, Liang, it all sounds so much alike. Don't you ever get confused?"

"Oh, no, never," Yi Jonas replied and immediately started to explain Chinese names to Leon. In the middle of her explanation, a crash sounded from upstairs and Patrick Jonas hurriedly rose, murmuring something about "kids in the study, knew it was a bad idea!"

"And you see, Detective, my name really is a boy's name," Yi said with sparkling eyes. "I don't know why my parents gave me a boy's name."

"It rather fits you, Mrs. Jonas," D smiled, turning to Leon. "It means 'firm, resolute'. Perhaps they could already tell when you were born that you would become a strong woman."

She laughed and blushed like a girl, which was genuinely endearing to Leon. He really started taking a liking to this family. "Oh, Count, don't flatter me. You know, strong women are not always appreciated."

"I think your husband would have had a hard time finding a better wife than you," D said and her face glowed with both joy and love.

"You should tell him that next time he is angry at me for disturbing his writing process," she laughed, but everyone could see it wasn't meant seriously. "Well, Count, we both know what the dear Detective's name means, so that leaves yours open for discussion."

Leon's attention, which had been banned by the expression on Yi's face, snapped back to topic as he turned towards his mate, too. "Yeah, good question, D," he agreed. "So, what does it stand for?"

"You know, pronounced in the English way, the Chinese name De stands for virtue," Yi Jonas remarked, sipping her tea and scrutinising D, who sat on his chair with a secret smile and demurely clasped hands. Leon snorted. "Virtue?" he echoed. "Well, sorry to have to say that, but if that's the meaning, it doesn't really fi – ouch, D!"

Yi Jonas hid behind her teacup before she again looked up at the American, who was rubbing his arm with a sullen look on his face. "Well, so we can fairly rule that out, can't we? There are other explanations, of course. If we ask numerology and assume that the letter D is the fourth in the alphabet – at least, the Latin alphabet – it would represent balance and could also be associated with business." She half-smirked at the kami. "It also means that the one called D is tidy and orderly, but on the other hand stubborn and uncompromising."

"That fits better," Leon voiced and very quickly took his arm out of D's range. A rather wise move, since D's brow wrinkled at that. Yi Jonas continued.

"Since we are at Latin at the moment, D symbolises 500 in Roman numerals. In astronomy, D is a white dwarf stellar classification, but in the nomenclature for comets, it stands for 'destroyed' or 'disappeared'. There is the musical note D and D is also the international license plate code for Germany. Deutschland."

"Your pronunciation is very good," D murmured, still smiling amiably. Yi Jonas smiled at him. "Thank you, Count. I spent some time trying to learn German when my husband was obsessed with the Brothers Grimm. But you won't distract me from the fact that you still haven't answered my question. What does D in your case mean? Might it have anything to do with Japanese, I wonder?"

"Wàipó!" someone called from the door and they looked up to see Liang standing there. He rattled something off in Chinese and Yi smiled, getting up. "Excuse me for a second, please. Why don't you sit down in the sitting room? It's much more comfortable there than here."

They stood up while the woman disappeared with her grandson to fetch something for him. The dining room opened into the sitting room, which was airy and light. Leon shook his head as he took in the pictures on the walls. "They sure have a lot of money, don't they?" he said, half envying the family.

D stepped up beside him, looking at the picture, too. It showed lotus blossoms swimming on a lake. "Yes, Yi Jonas's family has a lot of money," he said quietly. "I doubt Patrick Jonas, authority or not, would be able to earn enough money to pay for all this. Yi Jonas is the descendant of a rather great Chinese dynasty, the Lián family. Lián Yi caused quite an uproar when she decided to marry an American, but her family was not only one of the first to come to America, but also one of those who are the most open-minded. After her parents agreed to the marriage, no one dared to protest further. At least not openly."

The human quickly glanced to the side, smiling at his mate. "Think I'm starting to understand why you like them so much," he murmured. "So, what's the Japanese connection with your name?"

"Are you still curious?" D's eyes twinkled as he tugged playfully at Leon's sleeve. Behind them the door went and Yi Jonas returned, kneeling down to set Liang to the floor at the door to the garden. "Leon, you do not have to know everything about me, you know. And my name and its meaning are nothing that could tell you more about me anyway."

Leon smiled. "Little secret-keeping bitch," he murmured and noticed that D's smile had lost its brightness, as well as the kami's face. He seemed to have – paled. "D? Everything okay with you?"

D swayed a little bit and Leon grabbed his arm, steadying the kami. "What's the matter with you, D?" he whispered, worried. Yi Jonas looked over and rose, too, sending Liang off with a pat. "Count, are you alright?" she asked and came over to them.

D smiled at her. "Yes, I am just – a bit dizzy today, it seems. Nothing serious," he quickly added, placating the woman. "Perhaps it is the weather."

Yi Jonas looked like she was about to raise an eyebrow, but instead she just went and got D a glass of water while Leon led him to a sofa, where D thankfully sat down. "I don't know what it is," he murmured quietly, so that only Leon could understand him. "I've been feeling dizzy for a few days – since the day after the heart started to beat…"

"D, are you sure everything's alright?"

The kami wanted to answer, but was cut off by Mrs. Jonas, who arrived with the water. He drank in tiny sips and then placed the glass on the small table. "Thank you very much. I feel much better now," he smiled.

Yi Jonas smiled back. "Well, if that is so, what do you think about going to my study? I bought a new picture last week, and I would love to hear your opinion on it…"

"That sounds great," D agreed with enthusiasm, while Leon tried not to grimace.

Lucky for him, Patrick Jonas had chosen that moment to enter and laughed at him. "It's every bit as boring as it sounds, Orcot," he said. "Mind you, it's not that I'm not interested in art, but I prefer the old masters, while Yi has quite a weakness for the more recent painters. I'd suggest going out and smoking."

"Great!" Leon said, heart-felt, causing the others to chuckle. While D disappeared with Yi, he and Patrick Jonas went out into the garden. Both were busy for a moment lighting their respective smoke, then Patrick took a deep drag and sighed in contentment. "Nothing like a cigar after all that sweet stuff," he said. "So, Orcot, how's it been going lately?"

They wandered through the rather large garden, talking about Leon's work, the professor's book, and then ended up with Chinatown. Leon told Patrick what D had said about Shao Lin and her family, and the older man puffed his cigar pensively.

"He may be right," he finally commented. "And he may be wrong. I'm sure the Count is quite wise and knows how to assess situations, but I'm not so sure he really knows everything going on in Chinatown. Yes, at the moment he is regarded as some kind of hero there, for helping Shao Lin. Nobody likes Shao Xi. She is respected, even feared, but not liked."

"What do you think is going to happen?" Leon asked flat out. Patrick Jonas took another drag. "I cannot say, Orcot. It all depends very much on what you will be doing. Everyone knows by now that you were deeply involved in Poison Cave, but the one who arrested the people was that FBI-agent. Most people I have been talking to regard your intervention as directed by the Count."

Leon snorted. "What? What do they think I am, some kind of puppet for the Count?"

"Actually, yes." Patrick Jonas let the smoke out, savouring it. "You are his husband. He is stronger. In their books, that makes you a puppet. Anyway," he added, seeing the look on Leon's face, "not that it matters. It's an American company that is most responsible; the Shaos are only involved because Shao Xi was too stupid to keep her hands off quick money. I think most rather appreciate her being brought low, even if only in silence. So just keep a low profile, try not to slight anyone and you should come out of this more or less unscathed."

"What do you mean, slight anyone?" Leon looked at the professor sharply. He weighed his head. "Well, that would require you taking a bit more care of your language – you surely know how to do that, some of the Count's lessons must have stuck – being polite whenever you meet someone Chinese in the streets and so on. Just show them that you aren't a traitor on Chinatown."

"A traitor on Chinatown?"

"Yes." The elder snipped his cigar away and lighted a new one. "Let the Count take you to a few social events and play the nice guy there. Most people hardly know you, they have just heard about you, so you might be able to score some points there. You know what I mean – just don't do anything socially unacceptable." He winked at him. "Which includes leaving the shop with hickeys clearly visible on your throat or trousers with a suspicious bulge."

The blonde blushed a deep red. "It's not my fault," he defended himself lamely. "D was in a mood that day."

"I know." The deep brown eyes sparkled in amusement. "But people tend to be offended by obvious signs of a healthy sexuality." He laughed softly. "Gods know I know about that – I will never forget the day my colleagues send me a delegate who, with the reddest ears you've ever seen and stammering like a twelve-year-old boy in love despite the fact that he was almost sixty and a grown man, asked me if it would be possible for me to wear long shirtsleeves, because my wrists had obviously caused quite some rumours amongst my students, which were considered improper at my faculty."

"Your wrists?" Leon asked, baffled.

Patrick Jonas nodded, chuckling. "We had two dogs at the time," he explained, showing Leon his wrists. They were slightly scarred. "Unfortunately, they weren't trained very well and every time someone went for a walk with them, they tugged at the leash until the skin ripped. Well, my students apparently attributed the marks those wicked dogs left to my sexual preferences. It didn't quite help that someone overheard Yi saying that she rather liked putting a leash on me. She was actually talking about my extensive cigarette consumption then, but once word got round, well…"

They both shook with laughter, then became serious again. Leon glanced at the other man as he lighted a new cigarette. "So that's what's offending them, yes?"

"It's one of the points that turn up rather frequently when you talk to them," Patrick Jonas allowed. "We all know that the Count is quite an alluring creature, but the fact that he actually might have some fun in bed is something most people resent – partly out of envy, partly because they believe that human hands will only soil him."

"Know someone else who'd jump right in with them," the blonde muttered and again looked at the professor. "So, say… theoretically speaking… what do you think would happen if – well, if D and I were to have another child?"

Patrick Jonas looked at Leon, long and hard. "Do you want my honest opinion, Orcot?" he said solemnly. "I think you would manage to split Chinatown in half. You already did, with your daughter, but that was kind of different; the Count hadn't given birth to her here in America. Besides, although he confirmed that Dana is your child, he never did so officially. Meaning, in front of more than five people."

He held up a hand to forestall Leon's protest. "Yes, I know, it's almost impossible not to notice that she is your daughter. If nothing else, her eyes are the picture of yours. But still, you know what people are like. There are rumours, Orcot. Rumours that say that Dana isn't your daughter after all, that she is someone else's child and that the Count lured you into believing she is yours."

"That's ridiculous!" Leon protested. "I mean, whoever it would be, he would still have to be Caucasian. Dana just doesn't look like truly Asian."

"Well, what about that nice friend of yours, Miss Freshney," Patrick Jonas suggested with a smile. "She's very popular with the Chinatown crowd, in contrast to you, because she isn't only polite, but also pretty and speaks some Chinese. But truth be told, it doesn't really matter. What matters is that there is no proof your daughter really is your daughter. And if she isn't, then the Count would have won over you with an admittedly foul, but very effective trick. All this is about people wanting to feel that they have won over an American."

Leon was stunned into silence for a moment.

"Pretty racist, isn't it?" Patrick Jonas said, still smiling and took a puff. "Mind you, if you were Chinese, they would still find something to hold against you; if it wasn't your family, it would be your job which isn't traditional enough, or your attire, or you might lack respect for the elders… envy and the hunger for power are very strong forces, Orcot. Both run high in Chinatown, and the Count is the one who tips the scales. People still believe, on some level, that he as a god of their land, their country, can effect something, give them power or sack them if they aren't worthy of it. Why do you think it's so important for Mrs. Shao to have the Count in her family?"

"That's bullshit," Leon burst out. "Do they even know what D does? Do they even know what he is?"

Patrick Jonas smiled. "No, Orcot, they don't. Because most people aren't very well read, and the tragic history of the Count's species can only be found in books most of them wouldn't even be able to read anymore. What they see is that Americans – people who are at the top of society, more often than not without really deserving to be there, are punished by him. And they believe. That's how religion works. It doesn't look very good on the record of a god if he suddenly turns and favours an enemy with his grace."

"If I'd known before…" the younger man grumbled and made Patrick Jonas laugh. He grabbed Leon's shoulder and squeezed it for a moment, held his eyes with his own. "Orcot, don't forget one thing, please: there is always someone who is thankful if someone else is courageous enough to stand up. Do something. Be different. There are always people who only realise that they have been living without meaning when someone else states an example. People need these courageous pathfinders, although they barely ever get credit for what they do."

Leon nodded silently, and they made their way back to the house where D was already waiting, Dana on his arms and Chris at his side. Leon smiled at their sight, his heart lightening a bit. He knew that what Patrick Jonas had told him was true.

But if he was completely honest, he didn't know if he had it in him to be one of those pathfinders.


A/N: hieiashke: Well, yes, seems like he is ^^ (but, let's be honest - who would seriously be sorry if he really mauled Alex Donovan?)

anonymous: xD He's Ten-chan. And seeing how he was pretty much able to fix Leon and D's relationship, convincing Jill to hook up with him is probably not that much of a problem for him... ;-) However, I guess Leon differs with you on the subject of his and Tetsu's relationship xD And yes, both Leon and D behave like dumbheads - and pretty often, too...

Thank you both for the review!