Chapter 48:

Sorry for the divulgence recently, and the chopping and changing of subjects between chapters & stuff. Hope you'll forgive the lack of professionalism there (even though this is just for fun AND RACHEL CAINE OWNS EVERYTHING!)

I would also like to offer my condolences to the PSNI officer who was murdered in Omagh, Northern Ireland, today.


Claire's POV:

"Claire, you have to get over here, now, and help me make Amelie see sense!" Sam's frantic voice comes down the phone. I yawn very slightly - I've only just woken up, since I can't sleep at night because I'm with Michael and Jennie - as I wonder what could be so desperate that he cannot handle it. If it is anything to do with anger tonics or finding out how she is pregnant, I will KILL Sam!

"What is it?" I ask, pouring both Myrnin and I a cup of tea as I talk... Women can multitask, men can't! It's a well proven fact that Myrnin, Michael and Sam (Oliver as well) confirm on a regular basis!

"I think it'd be easier to show you, rather than explain," Sam says cautiously. I heave a small sigh before handing Myrnin his tea as I take a sip of my own. He nods in thanks, his hand already on my waist and creeping down slightly (he's getting frisky, with my rule still in implementation, over a week since Amelie released him from his punishment - so it's been about twenty days in total) before I bat it away.

"Fine," I relent. "I'll be there in ten minutes. But Sam, if it's anything bad, I'll use something in some status or another I have in this town and come after you. So be prepared!" I threaten.

This brings laughter (so the wrong reaction) in response. "You'll see exactly what it is soon. Good luck!" he says before hanging up, still laughing.

"Darling, what does he want you to do?" Myrnin asks curiously as he gulps his tea down. I turn away from him and pour the entire mug of tea into my mouth in one go.

"Dunno, babe, but you're cleaning again," I say with a grin. I turn to face him and his face has turned more downcast than before... Even when I told him of his punishment!

"Claire, I have cleaned the house three times in the past week," he says, exasperated. I begin to fear for the mug held tightly in his hand and pull it out for him before it smashes. "I am not a servant for you; I refuse to clean anymore."

"Fine, if you don't want to be a good husband," I say in an airy tone, joking almost. However, his face turns down even further and he displays anger... Uhoh.

"Don't dare try and insinuate-" he begins, angrier than I have seen him in a long time.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, I was joking Myrnin!" I say to pacify him, even though I wasn't really. "God, you are so touchy! Just watch TV or something or go see Oliver... But if you've been in the lab without me, then I bin all of your work. Understand?" I clarify, noting how his face only marginally lifts. He nods before turning away to walk out of the door.

"Can't even work in my own lab now," he mutters darkly before I clear my throat.

"Don't I get a kiss for going to spend time with an Amelie who could be majorly psycho?" I ask, indignated. As he turns around, he has a slightly impish grin on his face - it's better than the frown!

"I should probably tell her you said that," he says mischievously. I take a step towards him and smile, slightly shyly.

"But if you did that then I would die and then you would never get any sex again, so what do you want?" I remind him, raising my eyebrows. I take another step towards him and he closes the gap, wrapping his arms around my waist to make my hips bump into his. The contact sends electricity running through my veins and reminds me, in the most peculiar of ways, of when I was human and how I felt the same emotion.

"Oh, I definitely choose you," he murmurs into the hollow at my throat, nuzzling my skin most alluringly. Then he lifts his lips to mine and they meet with a fizzle, causing my hands to wrap into his hair without me even realising!

"Good, as if you didn't, there'd have been a problem with that," I whisper when I manage to wrench myself away. My eyes dart up to the clock on the wall and I pull away, straightening the extremely askew vest top I am wearing in preparation for Amelie.

"See you later, my love," Myrnin says to me as I head towards the portal. Yay, unlimited time with Amelie: whoop!

"Claire, thank you so much for this: I don't have a clue what to do or say," Sam gabbles, greeting me in Amelie's office. Through the open door, I hear sobbing and Amelie throwing herself onto the floor in anger.

"What's up?"

"Come and see," he says grimly, motioning for me to follow him. I do so and he pushes me into the room before rushing off. He's such a coward!

Amelie looks up as I enter, her eyes rimmed with red. Her hair falls in messy locks over her shoulders, but that is nothing compared to the clothes scattered all over the floor. I can't even see the floor for brown and cream and various other pale coloured clothing that Amelie loves. She is crying silently at the moment, but a sob escapes from her throat and she buries her head in her arms. As I move across to her, I note she is wearing extremely baggy clothes, clothes that I think are Sam's.

"Amelie, what's wrong?" I ask, confused and shocked as to why she is like this. She looks up at me as I place a hand on her shoulder and slide down to sit next to her. She doesn't say anything, but points at herself miserably. "Um, Amelie, I don't see anything... What's up?"

"None of my clothes fit!" she wails, looking back at her knees.

"Is that it?" I gasp in shock that she could be so hysterical about something so small.

"Claire, I am the Founder of this town; people expect me to dress properly," Amelie snaps at me, amidst her tears.

"But you're not going out until after the baby is born - are you?" I clarify. She looks up and nods through tear-filled eyes. "Well then, you can just get some normal maternity clothes and nobody will even know!"

"You expect me to go shopping for maternity clothing - which, by the way, looks like tents - in Morganville, where nobody knows I am pregnant?" she asks, increduled. She looks at herself again and bursts into fresh tears - I thought we'd just gotten past that! "Oh, Claire, I am huge - I'm a disgusting beached whale!"

"Amelie, you're pregnant," I reminder her, slightly exasperated. "You're supposed to get fat... Otherwise your baby would be midget!"

"I never expected it to happen so quickly!" she exclaims, seeming quite annoyed that I called her fat. "I thought perhaps at five or six months this would happen, not now!"

"Amelie, you're five months pregnant," I remind her gently. "You should have been this size at like 3 months so you've already had like two extra months of showing off your baby without having the bump. So relax and I'll sort out some clothes that you can wear over... Sam's?" I confirm that she's wearing Sam's clothes when she nods.

"Thank you, Claire," she whispers and I, rather awkwardly, put my arms around her.

"No probs: now come on, let's get up and changed - I'm sure you have something to wear now before I find you some clothes," I say with a grin, pulling her up with me. She smiles at me and comes with me towards her rather empty wardrobe, only containing jeans and more modern clothing. I guess she never considered that wearing those clothes would be a good idea: or she didn't want to consider having to wear that. However, the clothes I am getting for her... Ooohh, she's going to love me... I only hope that Eve hasn't destroyed everything yet from her period of being 'fat' (if she has destroyed the clothes I bought her in New York - which I'm now planning on giving to Amelie - she is dead) because Amelie bought them... And I was planning on giving them back to her!

I pull out a pair of jeans in a size bigger than what she normally wears (yes, I know Amelie's dress size... Not at ALL weird!) and find a pink checked shirt for her to wear with them.

"Claire, I am not wearing those clothes; I was not born less than two decades ago - gingham checks are not something I feel brings any semblance of classy dressing to the world," Amelie snaps, as I hand her the clothes she is to wear. I roll my eyes and continue to hold them out to her as I tell her exactly why she is wearing them.

"Amelie, there isn't a shop crazy enough in the world that makes the disgusting clothes you normally wear in a maternity size because, hey, normally pregnancy isn't an issue for those who wear the clothes," I basically just disregard her clothes and insinuate she is an old-fashioned weirdo... Which she is! "Therefore, you shall be wearing what I dress you in, until you have the baby and can return to wearing hideous clothing that you normally do. Understand?" I confirm, noting how her face hardens. But she cannot argue back, unless she wants to be stuck wearing Sam's clothes (which are nice on him, but completely not suitable for such a petite woman) for the next three and a half months!

"That really isn't very nice Claire and you need to work on your manner," she says, sounding rather upset. A tear slides down the side of her face as she takes the clothes from my hand and I sigh; dramatic Amelie has returned.

"Oh, Amelie, get a grip!" I exclaim, exasperated. "Please, just stop moaning and put on the clothes so that you can look normal. Unless you are now under the provision that you need to be dressed by others..." I trail off, knowing that her pride is much too high for that to ever happen.

"I shall be back momentarily," she says, stiffly. She runs into the bathroom and whilst she has gone, I use this opportune moment to text Eve.

Yo, Eve, how's my little goddaughter? Anyways... Yano the clothes you had - maternity clothes - any chance I could have them? DON'T ask why, as I can't say... But please: you'd be doing me a MASSIVE favour. Cb xxx

I send this on my iPhone 4 (the new Samsung Galaxy S is on order... My phone has certainly seen better days, particularly before Myrnin covered it in acid) before I receive a text from Sam.

Kiddo, go easy on her... She's not exactly the most stable person right now. But good job in getting her off the floor & actually wearing something! :P Sam x

I wonder where he is... Probably laughing away in some far corner of this huge house; I should probably go around it again, since the last time I properly did was when I was human and my sense of space has definitely changed since then!

CB, come round and get rid of the dratted things for me soon... I don't have a clue why you need them, but take them. Eve xxx

Well, that's a relief: if she wasn't going to give me them then I would have had to compulse her into it... Or order everything online! Eve was the same size as me, and I'm the same size as my wonderfully happy ancestor, so I'm hoping that the size of baby is relatively similar so the clothes will fit!

"Are you happy now, my wonderful granddaughter?" Amelie asks, slightly sharply... But there's a rush of pride through her voice when she mentions the word 'granddaughter' - something I strangely share.

She steps out of the bathroom and gives me the shock of my life; besides the hair and expression (and the baby bump), she looks about my age. With the loss of the old, classic, style clothes, she has shaved centuries off her age... Now for the hair!

"Let me do your hair and you'll make me extremely happy," I say with a grin. I look at her stomach and can see it slightly straining against her top - but that's what you'd expect from a baby bump! "I've got the clothes sorted... But you are going to have to get used to dressing so modern, as for about fifteen weeks, that's what you're going to be wearing!" I say, making her grimace.

"Very well," she concedes. She slips into the chair beside the dressing table and hands me an antique looking brush before closing her eyes. "Awake me when you have finished. Whatever the modern appliances I know you are going to ask for are in the bottom drawer and whatever products you wish to use, you will find in the bathroom. However, if I end up looking like a... How do you say it, a prostitute, you will be paying a worse fate than Myrnin got for drugging me. Do you understand?"

"Whose opinion is it that decides if you look like a prostitute?"

"If I am unsatisfied, I shall ask Oliver; he never ceases to tell the truth, in accordance to such blunt things," she says in response. "Now hush, child. I am trying to sleep; I am rather tired."

I roll my eyes as her eyes slide shut. She smiles slightly before I hear her breathing regulate, increasing very slightly in volume as she sleeps.

I pull Amelie's hair very gently out of the lopsided bun and allow her hair to cascade down her back, making her look slightly Texan with the whole long hair, jeans and checked shirt. All she needs is a cowboy hat and she's all away!

Her hair has a few knots in it, so I gently tease them out with her brush, before digging the ghds out of the drawer and plugging them in. I don't bother with heat protection spray (a- she doesn't have any and b- a vampire's hair doesn't particularly need protection; it's strong enough without it!) but simply straighten her hair to remove the soft waving occurring in her hair from it being in the bun.

OoOo

Within only thirty minutes, Amelie looks as if she was born into my generation – and she actually suits it! I mean, her hair falls in luscious curls over her shoulders, as so many people have it today, (I decided to curl it after I straightened it) and the make up I carefully applied to her face looks spectacular!

I decide to go and meet Eve without waking her (so I don't have to see Oliver… I think I'd punch him in the face if I did!) so I sneak out of the room, texting Sam as I do so.

Leaving now… go see what you think! Claire xx

I send this as I walk through the portal to meet Eve in her house. She stands ready and waiting with three huge bin bags of clothes, her face displaying a puzzled look.

"I take it I don't want to know what you need these clothes for?" she confirms as she hands me the bags. I nod with a grateful smile that she doesn't feel the need to go into extreme details about why I need the clothes.

"Believe me, you have saved me like a billion hours to find this stuff on the net… or stuff similar!" I say, not elaborating on why I need the clothes!

She smiles before I hear Jennie crying in the distance… the reminder just sets me off, in my head, about how Michael can only spend these couple of hours per night with his daughter (with me) at the minute and soon that could just go… I know I need to tell Eve soon about it, but I don't know how to.

"That's the little madam calling – I'd best be off!" she says with a grin, moving to hug me quickly before disappearing off. I smile before it fades into nothingness as I turn back to the portal to return to Amelie… yay! She gets lovely clothes that she is going to have to wear as she has nothing else!

Oh, it's good being in control… for a change!


What did you think?

Nice chapter off from the whole finding a cure thing/whatever… bit of humour, me thinks :P

Please review! I think that a reasonable amount of reviews would be 7, so if that is achieved, I shall update... y voy en Barcelona en Sabado, como I don't update if I don't get the reviews for like 3 weeks... seriously... so I would review! (if you don't mind)

Vicky xx