Author's note: Thanks for the two reviews! This chapter starts to develop
a serious plot, hope you enjoy it!
"Well, I guess this is goodnight then," Mary Lynette self-consciously pushed a tendril of hair behind her ear. The couple was on her doorstep, inches apart from each other.
"Don't go all first date on me last minute Ginger," Ash teased, "it's not like we weren't just kissing ten minutes ago. Hey, look at that," he pointed to a bug swarming madly around the Carter's porch light.
"Pretty amazing that some bug could be stupid enough to stick around this long when it is so cold outside. I thought that insects died out or went into hibernation during the winter," Mary Lynette leaned her head to the side trying to recall all she knew about the subject.
"Yeah, but I can understand where he's coming from. Some guys, like bugs, are stubborn enough to enjoy life as much as possible, even if that means risking it. I should know," Ash grinned.
"Well, you better enjoy me as much as you can over the next week, winter vacation ends at the start of next month. I guess you could always come and visit me-"Mary Lynette started but was interrupted by the ringing of Ash's cell phone. He pulled out the buzzing phone and flipped the cover off. Pushing the "on" button he put it to his ear and smiled down at his soulmate.
"Hello, hello, who is this? Oh, hi. What are you guys thinking, calling me so late?" Ash scowled, "Oh, I'm with Mary Lynette, yes! She is my soulmate, that one. Okay, okay drop it already! You want to talk to her," Ash handed the phone to a very confused Mary Lynette.
"Set it for speaker phone," he whispered to her.
The silence of the December night was marred by the cacophony of voices on the other end of the line. Ash leaned over her shoulder to shout into the receiver, "Okay you guys are on speaker."
"Hey Mary Lynette, this is Thea Harman," a friendly voice called out, "and this is my soulmate, Eric. Eric say hi to Mary Lynette."
"Hi," another voice said, less vibrant than the first but still warm in tone.
"So, has the old bloodsucker been treating you well? If not, call me and I'll beat him up for you. My name's James, I'm a cousin of his and I know he can be a-" James's offer was interrupted by Ash who said quite simply, "Shut up or die, Rasmussen!"
"Oh, don't mind them Mary Lynette. They just don't know when to give it up, do you Ash?" a new voice chided.
"Poppy, it's wonderful to hear your cheery voice once again," Ash caustically replied.
"What Poppy means to say is punch the creep in the stomach if you want to end his bickering. I'm Quinn. You might remember me. I was the one who wanted to bring Ash and his sisters back that past summer. I also happen to be the one who decided to call you, Ash, trouble is coming," the young man's voice on the other end started off sarcastically but ended on a chill.
"Have you talked with Mary Lynette and your sisters about the Millennium?" a stern man bit out.
"Well, I ment to ASAP, really I did. Things just started happening and I haven't found time, and-" Ash became awkward in his usually flawless speech.
"Ass-I mean, Ash you know better than to lay on that lame excuse! You know how important this whole ordeal is!" the voice of a boy, who sounded like that Quinn-guy, scolded Ash.
"Mary Lynette? Hi, this is Hannah, Hannah Snow. I can't wait to meet you, whenever Ash decides is the appropriate time to bring you out here, we'll have to talk-you must be quite an interesting person to be soulmates with Ash," Hannah was gentle in tone, "Ash, you need to update her on what is happening. When you do so, call us back and we'll book you a flight to Las Vegas," even though Hannah's voice held authority it was soft, like the reminder of a concerned mother.
"Ash, that means now. In other words, call me tomorrow," this voice was sterner than any of the preceding ones.
"But Theirry it already is morning here, 2:oo AM in fact," Ash teased.
"I mean it Ash, I love good humor as much as you, but this is a serious matter. Tomorrow, got it? Oh, and Mary Lynette, I hope to meet you soon," the voice ended and a dial tone sounded.
"Crannnnky! Well, I guess that means I have a lot of explaining to do. Tell you what, why don't I pick you up tomorrow, say 12:3o-ish, you must be tired after tonight. I'll take you out to lunch and explain everything that is going on," Ash kissed her on the forehead after having placed the phone back in his pocket.
"Why don't you just tell me tonight?"
"Why? Because you just lost a considerable amount of blood and I'm sure you are tired. What I have to say can wait at least until tomorrow afternoon. Trust me," he pecked a kiss on her lips and jumped down the porch steps.
Mary Lynette watched him walk away into the chilly night. Fancifully she blew him a kiss and turned herself toward her front door.
* * * "Morning Dad," Mary Lynette sat down at the breakfast table where a pile of pancakes lay stacked in the center. She grabbed a plate, fork, and speared herself a pancake. She was just slathering on butter when-
"Mary Lynette, where were you last night? I thought that we had decided on an 11:oo curfew. I checked the clock when you finally came in last night and it was nearly 2:15! Do you think this sort of behavior is acceptable?" Mr. Carter began his face twisted up in fury.
Normally her father was calm in nature and demeanor, but the man standing before Mary Lynette all but spewed fire out of his nostrils.
"You had your stepmother and I terribly worried, you could have been kidnapped, lost, or raped! I-" Mr. Carter continued, but he was interrupted by an indignant daughter.
"But I wasn't! I was with Ash. I told you I was going this morning and all you had to do was ask Mark where I was because he had been there too, he just left before Ash and I did! We weren't even out that late; we just stood out on the front porch for a while. If you had wanted to know where I was you should have looked out of your window," Angrily Mary Lynette cut a corner of her pancake and shoved it into her sullen mouth.
"Ash?! That boy again?! Fine, you just won't be seeing him for a while if this is the way you are going to act around him," her father raged, "Today you can clean out the shed and when you have accomplished this task report to me and I'll give you another chore!"
"But-" Mary Lynette started.
"Not a word! This is a punishment for your obvious disregard for curfew and respect for your parents! If you do this well enough maybe I'll withdraw your punishment, but until you do, get going!" Mr. Carter slammed down his fork and started reading the paper once more.
Mary Lynette stormed out of the room a maelstrom of vehemence.
* * * She must have been cleaning for over three hours by now. Sweat rolled down her back despite the cold temperatures outside, her thumbs were bruised and blistered, and-and-things couldn't possibly get worse! Gloomily she plucked another cobweb from her snarled hair and set back to cleaning out the lawn mower. Why would anyone need a spotless lawn mower in the winter she wondered.
Mary Lynette was so ensconced in her mission that she didn't notice Ash until it was too late.
"Hello gorgeous," Ash gripped her hips from behind and whispered sensually in her ear.
"Ash not now," she protested, "I have a lot to do today, my dad got mad after last night."
"Why is that?"
"Well, he didn't exactly take well to the idea of me staying out late at night with some guy he hardly knows. I can't blame him on that account but I happen to be in college now and I don't necessarily need my father telling me how to live my life! If I want to stay out-" Mary Lynette squinted her eyes and wrung her hands if irritation.
"Whoa, whoa, someone's on the warpath! Listen, it's not that big of a deal, I'll just come by tomorrow and talk to your dad. Maybe tomorrow he won't be so upset. Then we can get to this whole Millennium business, okay?" Ash questioned but didn't wait for a reply, "Plus it's kinda romantic, Romeo and Juliet in nature huh?"
"Get outta here!" Mary Lynette laughed, swatting at a grinning Ash.
"Yes fair lady, until we meet again, adieu-adieu!" he waved himself out with a flourish of movement.
* * * Her father had checked in on her just a few minutes ago to provide another round of argument. Mary Lynette only hoped Ash was right and that tempers would cool with time, but for now things weren't looking to bright.
Arms wrapped around her shoulders moving down to grip her forearms. Once again Ash had snuck up in vampire fashion, she could only wonder what he wanted this time. Mary Lynette tried to turn to face her soulmate. But she couldn't!
"Ash, what are you doing? Let me go," she struggled, "Come on, let me go! It's not funny any more! Hey, I said let me go!" This time he released her.
But the face staring back at her wasn't the suave soulmate she had been expecting.
She screamed.
And fainted.
"I'm not Ash darling, but you could call me family. Just call me Hunter, but not now, we don't want to upset anyone," merciless eyes added to her fear.
Ash.
"Well, I guess this is goodnight then," Mary Lynette self-consciously pushed a tendril of hair behind her ear. The couple was on her doorstep, inches apart from each other.
"Don't go all first date on me last minute Ginger," Ash teased, "it's not like we weren't just kissing ten minutes ago. Hey, look at that," he pointed to a bug swarming madly around the Carter's porch light.
"Pretty amazing that some bug could be stupid enough to stick around this long when it is so cold outside. I thought that insects died out or went into hibernation during the winter," Mary Lynette leaned her head to the side trying to recall all she knew about the subject.
"Yeah, but I can understand where he's coming from. Some guys, like bugs, are stubborn enough to enjoy life as much as possible, even if that means risking it. I should know," Ash grinned.
"Well, you better enjoy me as much as you can over the next week, winter vacation ends at the start of next month. I guess you could always come and visit me-"Mary Lynette started but was interrupted by the ringing of Ash's cell phone. He pulled out the buzzing phone and flipped the cover off. Pushing the "on" button he put it to his ear and smiled down at his soulmate.
"Hello, hello, who is this? Oh, hi. What are you guys thinking, calling me so late?" Ash scowled, "Oh, I'm with Mary Lynette, yes! She is my soulmate, that one. Okay, okay drop it already! You want to talk to her," Ash handed the phone to a very confused Mary Lynette.
"Set it for speaker phone," he whispered to her.
The silence of the December night was marred by the cacophony of voices on the other end of the line. Ash leaned over her shoulder to shout into the receiver, "Okay you guys are on speaker."
"Hey Mary Lynette, this is Thea Harman," a friendly voice called out, "and this is my soulmate, Eric. Eric say hi to Mary Lynette."
"Hi," another voice said, less vibrant than the first but still warm in tone.
"So, has the old bloodsucker been treating you well? If not, call me and I'll beat him up for you. My name's James, I'm a cousin of his and I know he can be a-" James's offer was interrupted by Ash who said quite simply, "Shut up or die, Rasmussen!"
"Oh, don't mind them Mary Lynette. They just don't know when to give it up, do you Ash?" a new voice chided.
"Poppy, it's wonderful to hear your cheery voice once again," Ash caustically replied.
"What Poppy means to say is punch the creep in the stomach if you want to end his bickering. I'm Quinn. You might remember me. I was the one who wanted to bring Ash and his sisters back that past summer. I also happen to be the one who decided to call you, Ash, trouble is coming," the young man's voice on the other end started off sarcastically but ended on a chill.
"Have you talked with Mary Lynette and your sisters about the Millennium?" a stern man bit out.
"Well, I ment to ASAP, really I did. Things just started happening and I haven't found time, and-" Ash became awkward in his usually flawless speech.
"Ass-I mean, Ash you know better than to lay on that lame excuse! You know how important this whole ordeal is!" the voice of a boy, who sounded like that Quinn-guy, scolded Ash.
"Mary Lynette? Hi, this is Hannah, Hannah Snow. I can't wait to meet you, whenever Ash decides is the appropriate time to bring you out here, we'll have to talk-you must be quite an interesting person to be soulmates with Ash," Hannah was gentle in tone, "Ash, you need to update her on what is happening. When you do so, call us back and we'll book you a flight to Las Vegas," even though Hannah's voice held authority it was soft, like the reminder of a concerned mother.
"Ash, that means now. In other words, call me tomorrow," this voice was sterner than any of the preceding ones.
"But Theirry it already is morning here, 2:oo AM in fact," Ash teased.
"I mean it Ash, I love good humor as much as you, but this is a serious matter. Tomorrow, got it? Oh, and Mary Lynette, I hope to meet you soon," the voice ended and a dial tone sounded.
"Crannnnky! Well, I guess that means I have a lot of explaining to do. Tell you what, why don't I pick you up tomorrow, say 12:3o-ish, you must be tired after tonight. I'll take you out to lunch and explain everything that is going on," Ash kissed her on the forehead after having placed the phone back in his pocket.
"Why don't you just tell me tonight?"
"Why? Because you just lost a considerable amount of blood and I'm sure you are tired. What I have to say can wait at least until tomorrow afternoon. Trust me," he pecked a kiss on her lips and jumped down the porch steps.
Mary Lynette watched him walk away into the chilly night. Fancifully she blew him a kiss and turned herself toward her front door.
* * * "Morning Dad," Mary Lynette sat down at the breakfast table where a pile of pancakes lay stacked in the center. She grabbed a plate, fork, and speared herself a pancake. She was just slathering on butter when-
"Mary Lynette, where were you last night? I thought that we had decided on an 11:oo curfew. I checked the clock when you finally came in last night and it was nearly 2:15! Do you think this sort of behavior is acceptable?" Mr. Carter began his face twisted up in fury.
Normally her father was calm in nature and demeanor, but the man standing before Mary Lynette all but spewed fire out of his nostrils.
"You had your stepmother and I terribly worried, you could have been kidnapped, lost, or raped! I-" Mr. Carter continued, but he was interrupted by an indignant daughter.
"But I wasn't! I was with Ash. I told you I was going this morning and all you had to do was ask Mark where I was because he had been there too, he just left before Ash and I did! We weren't even out that late; we just stood out on the front porch for a while. If you had wanted to know where I was you should have looked out of your window," Angrily Mary Lynette cut a corner of her pancake and shoved it into her sullen mouth.
"Ash?! That boy again?! Fine, you just won't be seeing him for a while if this is the way you are going to act around him," her father raged, "Today you can clean out the shed and when you have accomplished this task report to me and I'll give you another chore!"
"But-" Mary Lynette started.
"Not a word! This is a punishment for your obvious disregard for curfew and respect for your parents! If you do this well enough maybe I'll withdraw your punishment, but until you do, get going!" Mr. Carter slammed down his fork and started reading the paper once more.
Mary Lynette stormed out of the room a maelstrom of vehemence.
* * * She must have been cleaning for over three hours by now. Sweat rolled down her back despite the cold temperatures outside, her thumbs were bruised and blistered, and-and-things couldn't possibly get worse! Gloomily she plucked another cobweb from her snarled hair and set back to cleaning out the lawn mower. Why would anyone need a spotless lawn mower in the winter she wondered.
Mary Lynette was so ensconced in her mission that she didn't notice Ash until it was too late.
"Hello gorgeous," Ash gripped her hips from behind and whispered sensually in her ear.
"Ash not now," she protested, "I have a lot to do today, my dad got mad after last night."
"Why is that?"
"Well, he didn't exactly take well to the idea of me staying out late at night with some guy he hardly knows. I can't blame him on that account but I happen to be in college now and I don't necessarily need my father telling me how to live my life! If I want to stay out-" Mary Lynette squinted her eyes and wrung her hands if irritation.
"Whoa, whoa, someone's on the warpath! Listen, it's not that big of a deal, I'll just come by tomorrow and talk to your dad. Maybe tomorrow he won't be so upset. Then we can get to this whole Millennium business, okay?" Ash questioned but didn't wait for a reply, "Plus it's kinda romantic, Romeo and Juliet in nature huh?"
"Get outta here!" Mary Lynette laughed, swatting at a grinning Ash.
"Yes fair lady, until we meet again, adieu-adieu!" he waved himself out with a flourish of movement.
* * * Her father had checked in on her just a few minutes ago to provide another round of argument. Mary Lynette only hoped Ash was right and that tempers would cool with time, but for now things weren't looking to bright.
Arms wrapped around her shoulders moving down to grip her forearms. Once again Ash had snuck up in vampire fashion, she could only wonder what he wanted this time. Mary Lynette tried to turn to face her soulmate. But she couldn't!
"Ash, what are you doing? Let me go," she struggled, "Come on, let me go! It's not funny any more! Hey, I said let me go!" This time he released her.
But the face staring back at her wasn't the suave soulmate she had been expecting.
She screamed.
And fainted.
"I'm not Ash darling, but you could call me family. Just call me Hunter, but not now, we don't want to upset anyone," merciless eyes added to her fear.
Ash.