Hey all! Hope things are good and you are ready for the next installment.

Disclaimer: I do not own this TV show.

Chapter 36

Settling into the chair, Beth plumped the pillows and lounged back. She continued to recount the earlier events to Elaina who watched her with a frown.

"He came back and looked grief stricken" Beth continued. "I had never seen anyone like that".

"And all he said was he got lost while tracking Devlin?" Elaina questioned.

Beth nodded. "He said he scented something and got confused and before he knew where he was, he was way outside the training area. He had some difficulty locating his way back"

Beth paused as Elaina pondered the information. Finally she asked the question both of them had been thinking "do you think he may have scented the vampire that has been causing all the trouble?"

Beth shrugged "Veli stayed out after, I think he may have thought the same…but Elaina, Mick will tell you…the look on Robert's face, it was tragic. We all tried to be nice to him and get him to talk to us but he just shut down"

Elaina picked up the decanter of blood from the table, pouring them both a glass. The story did not sit right with her and she made up her mind to talk to Veli as soon as she could.

For now though, she wanted to enjoy the precious moments of girl time she had with the young member of the tribe. Taking a sip from her glass, she asked "so 'couples retreat' or 'did you hear about the Morgans'?"

The girls began to consider their movie options, Robert's recent bout of strange behavior on the backburner.

*A*A*A*

Clink! Mick sunk the pocket with ease as he and Josef played eight ball in the house's large gaming lounge.

Robert's actions were the talk of their conversation too. "When he came back he would barely talk to anyone and he looked like he had had a nasty shock, Veli and Devlin tried to quiz him and he was very evasive, I don't like it" Mick recounted.

Josef continued to chalk his cue "you don't believe him?"

"I'm a PI for a living" Mick answered "I know when someone is lying. He is hiding something"

Josef stopped what he was doing and looked up; he considered Mick to be one of the best in the business even if he would never tell him. Thus if Mick was sure Robert was not being completely honest, Josef had to go with him on it.

"We'll keep an eye on him the next few days until we leave" Josef promised. "And I'll mention it to Hueilen tomorrow as well; if something is going on, she better have a heads up on it"

"Thanks" Mick grinned with relief, and then let a curse as he missed his next shot.

"Temper, temper" smirked Josef. "Now, watch a real master at work".

*A*A*A*

Robert hid in his room. Behind the locked and bolted door, he allowed his anguish to show.

Panic reined the key emotion in his being. Just what was he supposed to do now?

He had arrived back to the others after his conversation with Marisa to find he had been missed. He had tried to fob them off with some excuse and had endured his scolding without protest.

He knew he deserved it, for what he was about to do he deserved so much more.

His guilt was further irked by the fact that he had seen genuine concern in both Veli and Devlin's eyes for him; they would not feel so kindly towards him after he completed the mission set to him by his sire.

Beth's sympathetic looks had also done him no favors. There was no justification for what he was about to do; he knew that now.

And yet his love for Marisa, his desperate, defining and burning need to be with his sire, the drowning and all consuming horror and panic he felt at the thought of her leaving him, to the point where he felt he should suffocate beneath it, willed him to do so.

He settled into the chair in his room. And with a heavy heart and conscience, Robert began to plan his terrible deed.

*A*A*A*

The brothers met in the sitting lounge of the house; as were the topics of conversation between Elaina and Beth and Josef and Mick, they were discussing the earlier events of the night regarding Robert and his strange change in behavior.

"Fledglings without sires are always more unpredictable behavior wise" Kurt commented as Devlin finished his recount of the tale "perhaps it is simply a phase"

"No" disagreed Veli "something had happened to him, something was wrong."

"And just when he was starting to open up" Devlin sighed wistfully "when we were heading back he seemed more closed down than ever"

"Do you think he could have met the vampire who has been the root of all our recent trouble?" Bryant asked.

Veli shrugged "possibly, I couldn't sense anyone else along the path he travelled, I walked some of it after to be sure myself…but this vamp has been disguising themselves from me…I haven't been able to get a lock on them at all"

Yano held up his hand for quiet "while Veli's theory is feasible, we should not assume zebras when we hear hoof beats. This may simply be as Robert says; he got lost and got a fright. You forget he was abandoned by his sire- he probably experienced that same bout of fear again, enough to strike anyone to the core as we all know- we are all ever connected to those who brought us to this life".

Timothy nodded in agreement. "We should spend the next few days watching the little guys back, let's do something together as a family, really bring him in and show him that we do want him here?"

"He likes football" Devlin interjected "we have been saying we should play but all the stuff with this crazy vamp has thrown us off"

Heads began to nod in agreement. "Midnight tomorrow night?" Yano suggested.

*A*A*A*

As the sun rose in Huielen's household, her childe headed to bed.

Robert remained immobile in the chair he had sat in for many hours that night as a knock was heard at the door.

"Robert" Devlin said as he answered it "I am glad I caught you still up…we're thinking of having a football came tomorrow and we want you to join"

"I don't know" Robert began before Devlin cut him off "none of that now, we want you to come and play, you're family now and we always play, all of us. What could you possibly have to do that is more important?"

Robert remained silent; how could he give an answer, tell the truth?

Devlin took his silence as agreement. "Midnight, the field behind the house I think, though we may need to change cause of where mother put her glass house…either way, it'll be a great game and a lot of fun!"

Robert nodded his understanding and closed the door with a sigh.

Devlin had said he was family now, that he was wanted here. But by the time they were looking for him tomorrow evening, he would have committed the worst betrayal to this family possible.

His plan was set, the deed would be done.

*A*A*A*

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