Hey, all! Didja think I'd forgotten you? Sorry this update took so long,
I've been so busy lately! Hope you like the new chapter! I'll have more
soon. R & R R R!!!! =)
His narrowed eyes fought tears as he looked on in frustration, and pounded his fist on the desk with a shout of fury.
"Watch it, boy! That's the kind of stuff they handle downstairs, not here," Ed advised his son, though inside, he was going through the same thing. "Dad, come on! That's my little girl, your granddaughter, and you're just going to let that monster...seduce her like that?!" Rafe yelled, clenching his fists.
"You know the rules, Rafe! There's nothing we can do! You had one ticket back, just one, and you used it to go down there with her when she was born. You knew that, and I can't change the rules," Ed growled.
"No! There's got to be something we can do! You're second in command up here! Talk to the big guy for me! Please!" Rafe pleaded helplessly.
"Oh, how many times have I heard that!" Ed muttered. "Let's see...Raven's first birthday, first day of kindergarten, the day she broke her leg climbing that tree, when Enzo Santos pushed her on the playground, first day of high school, first heartbreak, first date with Danny, taking her road test, the list goes on and on! You just can't get it through your thick skull! I never should've sent you down in the first place!"
Rafe looked hurt. "Dad, how can you say that? If I never would've gone to Earth, I never would've met Alison, and I wouldn't have Raven right now. And I'm not going to have her for much longer if you don't do something," he said.
"Dammit, Rafe!" Ed yelled, backhanding his chair away from his desk, shocking Rafe. He rarely saw Ed get this upset.
"Don't you think this isn't hurting me, too? She's my grandchild for you-know-who's sake! I don't like this situation anymore than you do! If I could do something, I would! I wish there was some trap door in the clouds that you could slide through, but there's not! I'm sorry!" he yelled. "I'm sorry." He then righted his chair and sat in it, resting his head on his thumb and forefinger.
"But Dad, I can't just sit here and watch this happen to my baby!" Rafe said helplessly. Ed looked up with anguished eyes. He stood up, and headed towards his office door. He clicked the screen off with his remote.
"Then don't watch."
*
"What? Frank, what are you talking about?" Karen asked groggily. "Well, you know how you were kinda suspicious about my going to find Julie?" Frank asked sheepishly.
"Yeah.." Karen said slowly, terrified of what Frank would say next, praying it wasn't, 'Well, she's alive and well and we're running off to Paris!". "There's more. I mean, I didn't just come to find Julie." "Frank, come on! Just say what you have to say!" Karen exclaimed agitatedly. "All right, fine! The thing is, well..." "FRANK!" Karen cried.
"Okay! Christina is with us, and she knows that I'm her father," Frank said, uncomfortable with the silence on the other end. "Well, this has certainly been a revealing phone call," Karen said, blown away by everything that had happened lately.
"And she's pregnant," Frank finished. "What? I didn't even know she had a boyfriend! Who is he? How far along is she? Does anyone know?" Karen blurted.
"No," Frank said sternly. "And you can't tell anyone, nobody, I mean it, Kare." "I understand, I won't say a word," Karen vowed. Frank sighed, exhausted.
"Listen babe, I better go, it's been a long, long day, for both of us it sounds like," Frank said. "Yes, it has. I miss you and I love you. Be careful and take care of Christina, okay?" "I will. Keep Sascha in check until I get home. Love you," Frank said. "Love you," Karen echoed into the receiver.
*
Alison had finally gotten Livvie to go to sleep, curled up in a ball on the couch with a blanket, shivering. Even in sleep, her face looked aged, worried, lonely. She hoped with all her heart that when this was over, everyone would be okay. Not only did Alison's heart ache for her own daughter, but for Jack and Eli, who were her extended family.
She tucked the blanket up over Livvie's shoulders, and her shivering ceased. Ali hugged her arms around herself, and wandered over to the wall with all the photographs on it. She looked at pictures of Raven, old and new, and her heart swelled. She then saw a picture of Rafe, and her stomach thumped with panic and fear. She forced herself not to think of what could happen, but it was all she could think about. She drew in a shuddery breath, and looked out the window at the moon.
"Oh, baby, wherever you are, I hope that you're okay. Do this fast so that you can come back home to me so that I can breathe again and Livvie can see her husband and hug her son," she said, closing her eyes with the ferocity of her plea. She then tipped her gaze to the starlit sky again.
"And Rafe, I know you're listening now. Please, please, take care of our angel."
*
Raven, in her trancelike state, stood at her own window, staring out into the same sky, but with very different eyes, eyes that didn't see, to match her heart that didn't feel and her mind that didn't think. It was all Caleb's fault. He'd tainted her in the first few minutes, and it was going to take a fight for Raven to snap out of this, especially since like Livvie once upon a time, she didn't want to.
Letting the gauzy curtain go free from her grasp, Raven, now dressed in the white nightdress that had been on the bed for her, felt the crafted emptiness in her soul, and longed for the vampire that had done this to her. She opened the door, and her hair blew away from her face in the cool rush of air. She peered out into the corridor, searching for him.
She stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her, and began her zombie-like march down the hall, her bare feet going where his power pulled her. She stopped at a set of double doors at the end of the hall, and placed her hand on the ancient brass handle. Oblivious, she turned it, and opened the door. Caleb was standing with his back to her, waiting. When he heard the creak of the massive door opening, he grinned. This was the easiest victim he'd ever programmed. She'd fallen under the spell even more effortlessly than Olivia had, and she was a slayer. All those years of sleep hadn't tarnished his precision, that was for sure. He turned, and saw the girl in the doorway, one hand clenching the doorknob. She looked different already, pale, eyes wide, empty. They locked into his own devious eyes, and he challenged her.
As if he had wound a key in her back, Raven moved toward him, and placed her cold hands on his cheeks, and pulled his face toward hers. Her lips brushed his, and he drew her away from him. "Not yet, my sweet Raven," he said, stroking her soft blonde tresses. "Not tonight." With that he took her hand and led her back to her own room, and when she was sitting on the bed, he left, locking the door behind him, snickering to himself.
"Now who's playing hard to get?"
*
His narrowed eyes fought tears as he looked on in frustration, and pounded his fist on the desk with a shout of fury.
"Watch it, boy! That's the kind of stuff they handle downstairs, not here," Ed advised his son, though inside, he was going through the same thing. "Dad, come on! That's my little girl, your granddaughter, and you're just going to let that monster...seduce her like that?!" Rafe yelled, clenching his fists.
"You know the rules, Rafe! There's nothing we can do! You had one ticket back, just one, and you used it to go down there with her when she was born. You knew that, and I can't change the rules," Ed growled.
"No! There's got to be something we can do! You're second in command up here! Talk to the big guy for me! Please!" Rafe pleaded helplessly.
"Oh, how many times have I heard that!" Ed muttered. "Let's see...Raven's first birthday, first day of kindergarten, the day she broke her leg climbing that tree, when Enzo Santos pushed her on the playground, first day of high school, first heartbreak, first date with Danny, taking her road test, the list goes on and on! You just can't get it through your thick skull! I never should've sent you down in the first place!"
Rafe looked hurt. "Dad, how can you say that? If I never would've gone to Earth, I never would've met Alison, and I wouldn't have Raven right now. And I'm not going to have her for much longer if you don't do something," he said.
"Dammit, Rafe!" Ed yelled, backhanding his chair away from his desk, shocking Rafe. He rarely saw Ed get this upset.
"Don't you think this isn't hurting me, too? She's my grandchild for you-know-who's sake! I don't like this situation anymore than you do! If I could do something, I would! I wish there was some trap door in the clouds that you could slide through, but there's not! I'm sorry!" he yelled. "I'm sorry." He then righted his chair and sat in it, resting his head on his thumb and forefinger.
"But Dad, I can't just sit here and watch this happen to my baby!" Rafe said helplessly. Ed looked up with anguished eyes. He stood up, and headed towards his office door. He clicked the screen off with his remote.
"Then don't watch."
*
"What? Frank, what are you talking about?" Karen asked groggily. "Well, you know how you were kinda suspicious about my going to find Julie?" Frank asked sheepishly.
"Yeah.." Karen said slowly, terrified of what Frank would say next, praying it wasn't, 'Well, she's alive and well and we're running off to Paris!". "There's more. I mean, I didn't just come to find Julie." "Frank, come on! Just say what you have to say!" Karen exclaimed agitatedly. "All right, fine! The thing is, well..." "FRANK!" Karen cried.
"Okay! Christina is with us, and she knows that I'm her father," Frank said, uncomfortable with the silence on the other end. "Well, this has certainly been a revealing phone call," Karen said, blown away by everything that had happened lately.
"And she's pregnant," Frank finished. "What? I didn't even know she had a boyfriend! Who is he? How far along is she? Does anyone know?" Karen blurted.
"No," Frank said sternly. "And you can't tell anyone, nobody, I mean it, Kare." "I understand, I won't say a word," Karen vowed. Frank sighed, exhausted.
"Listen babe, I better go, it's been a long, long day, for both of us it sounds like," Frank said. "Yes, it has. I miss you and I love you. Be careful and take care of Christina, okay?" "I will. Keep Sascha in check until I get home. Love you," Frank said. "Love you," Karen echoed into the receiver.
*
Alison had finally gotten Livvie to go to sleep, curled up in a ball on the couch with a blanket, shivering. Even in sleep, her face looked aged, worried, lonely. She hoped with all her heart that when this was over, everyone would be okay. Not only did Alison's heart ache for her own daughter, but for Jack and Eli, who were her extended family.
She tucked the blanket up over Livvie's shoulders, and her shivering ceased. Ali hugged her arms around herself, and wandered over to the wall with all the photographs on it. She looked at pictures of Raven, old and new, and her heart swelled. She then saw a picture of Rafe, and her stomach thumped with panic and fear. She forced herself not to think of what could happen, but it was all she could think about. She drew in a shuddery breath, and looked out the window at the moon.
"Oh, baby, wherever you are, I hope that you're okay. Do this fast so that you can come back home to me so that I can breathe again and Livvie can see her husband and hug her son," she said, closing her eyes with the ferocity of her plea. She then tipped her gaze to the starlit sky again.
"And Rafe, I know you're listening now. Please, please, take care of our angel."
*
Raven, in her trancelike state, stood at her own window, staring out into the same sky, but with very different eyes, eyes that didn't see, to match her heart that didn't feel and her mind that didn't think. It was all Caleb's fault. He'd tainted her in the first few minutes, and it was going to take a fight for Raven to snap out of this, especially since like Livvie once upon a time, she didn't want to.
Letting the gauzy curtain go free from her grasp, Raven, now dressed in the white nightdress that had been on the bed for her, felt the crafted emptiness in her soul, and longed for the vampire that had done this to her. She opened the door, and her hair blew away from her face in the cool rush of air. She peered out into the corridor, searching for him.
She stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her, and began her zombie-like march down the hall, her bare feet going where his power pulled her. She stopped at a set of double doors at the end of the hall, and placed her hand on the ancient brass handle. Oblivious, she turned it, and opened the door. Caleb was standing with his back to her, waiting. When he heard the creak of the massive door opening, he grinned. This was the easiest victim he'd ever programmed. She'd fallen under the spell even more effortlessly than Olivia had, and she was a slayer. All those years of sleep hadn't tarnished his precision, that was for sure. He turned, and saw the girl in the doorway, one hand clenching the doorknob. She looked different already, pale, eyes wide, empty. They locked into his own devious eyes, and he challenged her.
As if he had wound a key in her back, Raven moved toward him, and placed her cold hands on his cheeks, and pulled his face toward hers. Her lips brushed his, and he drew her away from him. "Not yet, my sweet Raven," he said, stroking her soft blonde tresses. "Not tonight." With that he took her hand and led her back to her own room, and when she was sitting on the bed, he left, locking the door behind him, snickering to himself.
"Now who's playing hard to get?"
*