CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

John had a good talking to to both his children. It was obvious that he really didn't know how to reprimand them, but she didn't either. They were just going to have to figure things out as they came.

When he received the text from his sister, he had expected the worst, but nothing prepared him for the sight of two crying children. Scarlett had drips of blood staining on her purple and white striped shirt. He thought that something bad had happened to her. He wasn't completely wrong, but he hadn't expected Holden to be the cause.

It was difficult imagining his son as anything but the tiny angel he physically appeared to be. Unfortunately, he wasn't the same boy he had seen grow up from a tiny babe. HE was going to have to get used to this.

Watching Madison hand over a ceramic cup of blood to the boy and taking one for herself, he was reminded again that this was his family, now. This was the new norm. He didn't hate them for being who they were. It just took a lot of getting used to. It also helped that he loved the way it felt when Madison drank from him. The feeling surged through his body, but congregated in his loins.

"Want ice cream?" he whispered to Scarlett who had still been quietly sulking beside him. At his words, her eyes lit up. "But he can't have any because he's been bad, right?"

He nodded in agreement. "Right. Just you and me." Taking her hand, he gave his sister a quick look and gestured with his head before taking his daughter to the kitchen.

"Where are they going?" he heard Holden ask as the door closed.

John chuckled to himself. It truly felt as if they were a real family – like husband and wife. As much as he had once loved Alex, they never had this connection. Alex was distant and their ideas tend to clash. Madison complemented him in a way that his ex-wife never could. She took his bullshit in strides and dished out her own. Their fights were easily resolved. They never really had secrets, except for…

He was going to have to talk to James. Was he able to keep his secret activities from her forever? True that he planned on focussing on more extreme criminals, now, but she still had the right to know. He didn't want it all blowing up in his face when she found out at a bad time.

"I want strawberry!" Scarlett exclaimed, pointing at the pink section in the large tub.

He scraped a bowl for her and poured a glass of whiskey for himself. "Does it still hurt?"

Scarlett rubbed the red mark on her neck. "No, but I don't want him to do it, again. It really hurt! And… And he really scared me," she quietly admitted.

He patted her head. "He knows not to do it, again."

"I know he's different, now. Mom and auntie, too. You don't have to treat me like I'm a little kid," she mumbled. "They're like… like day walking vampires. It's kind of cool."

He lifted an eyebrow. When had she become so mature? And when did she encounter anything with vampires? His daughter wasn't allowed to watch or read things like that! The last thing he needed was her romanticising them. He didn't want to have to kill any bloodsucking boyfriends! In fact, she wasn't allowed to have any boyfriends!

Once she was done, he took her back up to their room. At night, she stayed in Rm 64 by herself or with either him or Madison if she had a nightmare. Holden tended to go back into his little glass coffin. John hated it, but at least his son was alright with him relocating it to Rm 78.

"Brush your teeth well. I don't want your aunt to yell at me if you get cavities because I've been feeding you sweets," he told her.

She giggled before heading to the bathroom. Once she was all done, he tucked her in, leaving a kiss on her forehead. "Sleep well, darling."

He turned off the lights and headed back to Madison who had also put Holden to sleep. It was good that they had finally corrected his sleep cycle. The Countess had them living like vampires – awake at night and asleep during the day. He couldn't think of anything less productive.

"Is she feeling better?" Madison murmured against his lips.

He hummed. "She's fine. She understands why the two of you are different and she's okay with it. Just no more little snacks from her."

She nodded. "Good. Holden feels really bad about what happened. It's just a little harder for him to grasp why it was wrong."

The virus had caused his son to eternally stay as a young child who couldn't quite understand why self control was important. He didn't know if Holden's mentality was ever going to change.

He always wanted his children to grow up and lead successful careers, but that was going to have to change, now. He was going to die never knowing what Holden would look like once he's an adult, but at least, he still had Scarlett. He was going to make sure that she was going to end up happy.

"What would I do without you?" he sighed, tugging at her button up shirt.

She grinned. "Deal with two crying children by yourself?"

"James would help me."

"You know he's only around because of me," she snickered. "Who would want a big brute like you? And can you imagine him dealing with children? He hates them!"

"Right you are." The spirit in question appeared behind her, stroking her long, pale neck.

She tilted her head back to lean on him. "I knew it," she whispered before her lips were captured by his.

John watched them, feeling that this was their moment together and he was perfectly fine with it. He didn't know what it was about James March, but that ghost of a man was able to convince him to do just about anything.

After sitting in the armchair watching them, he got up to spend the night with Scarlett. He found his daughter still awake with the television on and quickly scolded her. "I'll let you off easy, this time," he said, tickling her until she screamed for mercy.

Once he stopped, he noticed her watching him with questioning eyes. "What happened to mom? I know she's different, but so is Auntie Madi. Why did she have to go? I miss her."

"Your mom has done something really bad, so she's not allowed to come here," he replied, wondering how he could properly explain the situation to her. It was something he allowed his sister free reign on. She seemed to have everything under control.

"Can we go to her, then?" she asked, hopefully.

He hesitated. To be honest, he really didn't want to see his ex-wife, again. "This is for your own good. Aren't you happy here?"

"I am, but I really miss her!" she whined.

Had she requested to visit him when Alex forbade him from going to the house? "Be a good girl, okay? There's a reason for everything we do. We're only trying to keep you safe."

She pouted, but said nothing more. Instead, she turned on to her side, signalling that she was going to ignore him for the rest of the night.

He frowned, wishing that he had stayed with his lovers. Instead of a good show, he had decided to deal with a moody pre-teen.

"Alright, sleep well," he mumbled. "No more TV tonight, okay?"

Of course, she didn't reply.

He wondered when things were finally going to settle down. One day, Scarlett was going to see that everything he did was for her own good. Alex was a lying bitch who didn't even care about her own daughter. He should've noticed sooner that she had become unhealthily obsessed with Holden.

Even before he went missing, he had been her favourite. He thought it was cute at first, until she couldn't seem to put him down. He was always in her arms when he should've been out and interacting with other children. That was probably why he had been so withdrawn. He had been sheltered by a mother who refused to share his attention with anyone else.

"What's wrong, John?" Madison mumbled, lifting her head from James' chest shortly after he walked in.

He sat down on the bed with a heavy sigh. HE contemplated telling her about Scarlett's request, but he already knew what she would say and he didn't want to ruin her mood. "It's nothing. Go back to sleep." He kissed her forehead and settled beside them above the sheets.

"Look how beautiful he is," she whispered, staring at the blue bundle in wonderment.

The form wiggled around, staring at them with sleepy blue eyes.

"He is. He really is," he replied. He was scared that if he touched the newborn, his big, clumsy hands would hurt him. "What are we going to name him?" He had a few in mind, but he knew that his wife would make the final decision.

"Holden. His name is Holden Lowe. My beautiful baby boy." She leaned down to lay a kiss on the soft forehead.

By the time they were allowed to go home, he still hadn't held Holden, yet. Alex wasn't ready to relinquish the boy, so he left them be. It was probably normal for the mother to be extra protective, especially since this was their first baby.

A week went by before he felt a tinge of irritation. "Hey, Holden. It's daddy." He bent over the crib to pick him up.

"What are you doing?" Alex was at the door way with a rattle in one hand and a wet towel in the other. "You'll hurt him!" She glared as she brushed him away, cradling their son who had started crying from the noise. "Look at what you've done! You don't understand how hard it is for me to calm him down, again!"

With a frown, he said. "Here, let me try – "

"No, you've done enough. Don't you have work to do?" She turned her back towards him.

He was clearly being dismissed like some sort of peasant.

Deciding not to argue, he left the room to stare blankly at some stupid case about drunk driving. Was he really allowing her to alienate him? Holden was also his son!

Feeling as if it was finally time to discuss this, he went back to the room to find her rocking H olden in the rocking chair he had bought her shortly before she gave birth. He wanted to take back what was his – his time with his own son, but how could he when they both looked so peaceful?

She may be a mother dragon, now, but as they were, he still loved them with everything he had. This was the woman who had given the most precious thing to him. He was going to have his time with Holden later.

Later ended up being next month. When he held his baby boy, he knew without a doubt that all the wait had been worth it and surely, Alex would be more lenient with their time together.

One day, he thought he would bring him to his sister's place. She had yet to see Holden, but Alex intercepted him before he could even walk out of the door.

"Where are you going?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Madison's. She'd love to – " He was quickly cut off. This seemed like a rather common occurrence, now.

"No." She scowled. "My baby is not going to see that druggy."

He looked away, regretting telling Alex about this. Because she was a doctor, he thought she would be more understanding. Besides, it was all in the past. Madison had done more than he ever dreamt of in the short time that she found her footing. She had started a small business with her boyfriend and she was making a decent income from it.

His baby sister had done him proud, but his wife and her family seemed to think the worst of her because of him.

"She won't hurt him," he told Alex. "You know she – "

"No, John," she adamantly stated. "If you can't take care of Holden properly, then give him back to me." She held her hands out as if to permanently keep him away as if she was an item to be possessed.

He clenched his jaw. "I'll take him to the park, then. I just want to spend some time with my son!"

Before she could say anything else to him, he quickly left the house. "Come on, Holden. We'll go out for some sun and then, we'll see your Auntie Madison. You want to see her, don't you?"

He had fully intended to take him to her, but Alex had found them in the park and had them go back home. Her possessiveness was starting to make him feel paranoid. It was as if she was stalking and watching him every second of every minute. He didn't know how much more he could handle this.

Months later, he finally managed to secretly meet up with his sister, while Alex was out with her friends.

"Hey, little guy," Madison cooed, poking gently at his soft, chubby cheeks and causing him to let out a burst of giggles. "Who knew something so cute could come out of your DNA."

He narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

She snickered. "You're always so serious and frowny." With the same finger, she roughly poked the point between his eyebrows. "You're going to be thirty going on sixty."

He swatted her finger away from his face. "Do you want to hold him?"

"Uh…" She looked nervously back at him. "Would… I mean… No, I can't. What if I hurt him?"

"Come on. I'll show you how to hold him." He gently positioned her hands to properly cradle the small dozing form.

Once she was used to it, she wouldn't let him go. "He's so cute!"

He laughed.

For the first time in what seemed like forever, he truly laughed and once he started, he couldn't stop.

"Stop!" she whined.

He could tell that she wanted to hit him, but she couldn't. Her hands were full.

Eventually, Holden woke up. He blinked his bleary blue eyes and reached for her hair with his tiny, chubby arms. A series of bubbles bubbled out of him as he played with her long locks.

"Can I keep him?" She looked as if she was going to let out another squeal.

"No, Madison," he said once the laughter stopped. His stomach hurt. "I have to take him back before Alex finds out that he's gone."

Her face immediately darkened. "Are you serious? Does she still think I'm some sort of baby eater? Does she think I'm going to give him LSD and turn him into a baby cannibal version of me?"

"That's not – "

"Don't lie to me!" she hissed. "I don't know what's wrong with your wife, but I am not allowing her to keep my nephew away from me!"

Holden let out a hum, burying his slobbery face into her white blouse.

Her face softened and her voice grew quieter. "I'm serious, John. Whatever problem she has with me, I want it dealt with. I don't like this tension between us."

"I'll talk to her, okay?" he sighed. It wasn't as if he hadn't already tried many times before. Alex wouldn't compromise.

She silently nodded, passing Holden back to him.

He kissed the top of her head. "Don't let her bring you down. I'm proud of everything you've done."

"Thanks, John."

Alex dideventually allow Holden more freedom, but it had caused a lot of grief. When he learned how to speak, he asked for his Auntie Madi.

Alex had been furious when she realized that he had been taking their son to see his sister.

But it was only because of Holden and her inability to say no to him that allowed them to see Madison whenever he liked.

When Scarlett came around, Alex didn't show any of the same possessiveness. It was a massive relief. He gathered that she figured out she couldn't hide them away forever.

He had been too quick to assume.

He should've known that the obsession was unhealthy and put an end to it as soon as possible.

"John, wake up! Wake up!"

He jolted into awareness by Madison's frantic shouting.

"W-What?"

"Scarlett is missing!"


AUTHOR'S NOTE

Uh oh… Trouble at the Hotel Cortez… Who would've anticipated that?

Thank you Brookie Twiling, kai-baekyun98, WickedlyMinx, guests (Guest and anonymouscsifan) for reviewing!

Guest: Yes! That was Morgan. I hadn't realized that I didn't mention his name at all in the beginning. Oops!

Brookie Twiling: Muahahaha! Sorry about the typos! I went back to change a few things that you mentioned. Thank you! Please, do keep telling me. My fingers and my brain don't seem to like cooperating.

anonymouscsifan: Aww… fanfiction is being glitchy with your reviews! It's always so strange not seeing them. Teehee… I really enjoy having Morgan make these little visits. Regarding the last name, I don't know why I ended up giving it to her. For some reason, I actually thought that was canon last name, until you mentioned it. Now… Well… It's too late for me to change it! Ahahaha… But yes, that's the one I was thinking of as well. I just thought AHS had done it on purpose.

kai-baekyun98: Thank you!

WickedlyMinx: His name is Morgan. He was in the story I wrote for Freak Show, but his part in this one isn't too big, so no worries if you don't know too much about him.

Thank you as well to everyone who has favourited and followed this story.

Please, leave a review if you enjoyed this!