"Quinn," Iliana said the next night, stepping out of the elevator into the
lobby, Phoenix in her arms.
"Yeah." Quinn said.
"I want you to go with me."
"Where?"
"Giselle and Serenity's apartment."
"Why?"
"I need to get some stuff for Phoenix."
"Why don't you take one of the guards?"
"I don't think so. I don't trust them."
"Why doesn't Deacon go with you?"
"He doesn't know I'm going and he's probably still pissed at me anyway. Are you gonna go or not? I can go on my own if you don't wanna go."
"No. I'll go. Deac would kill me if I let you leave unprotected."
They walked to the apartment and went inside.
"Hi, Giselle." Iliana said as she walked in.
"Hi, Ana. What's up? And what's he doing here?" Giselle said from her spot on the couch, looking towards Quinn.
"I need to get some stuff for Nix. He came to make sure I was safe."
"You actually trust him?"
"If I don't, I'll probably kill him."
Quinn raised an eyebrow but didn't say a word.
"Cool. His bottles are in the kitchen and his diapers and everything are in the bedroom."
"Thanks. Quinn, I'll only be a few minutes. Talk to G, stand there and stare off into space, do...whatever." She went back into the bedroom and Quinn just stood where he was and looked around the room.
He looked down the hallway as Serenity opened the bedroom door. She stepped out wearing nothing but a towel. He smiled at what he saw but she rolled her eyes, gave him the finger, and went into the bedroom.
"What's he doing here?" She asked Iliana as she went to the closet and started looking through her clothes.
"I brought him. He's here just in case we have another incident like the one we had last night."
"He's the one that sent those guys over here."
"Don't remind me. I would have preferred to bring Deacon but there was no way in hell that was gonna happen."
"Why? What happened?"
Iliana turned to face Serenity and slid her jacket off of her shoulder, revealing the cut she made the night before.
"Did he do that to you?"
"No. I did it."
"Why?"
"We were fighting and I just got really pissed. I did this and told him to bite me."
"Did you want him to bite you?"
"No. Well, not really."
"Not really?"
"I sort of do and I sort of don't."
"Explain." Serenity said as she started getting dressed.
"I don't know, Seren. Sometimes I think it would be better for Nix if I was a vampire."
"How you figure?"
"When he gets older, I know he's gonna start wanting blood and I won't know what to do. I won't know what to tell him. I won't know what he's going through so I won't know how to help him."
"Yeah, but you have Deacon for that now."
"After we kill Blade, Deacon and I probably won't even speak to each other anymore."
"You don't sound to happy about that."
Iliana didn't say anything. She just continued packing Phoenix's things.
"Ana." Serenity said, turning to face Iliana as she finished dressing.
"What?"
"You're in love with Deacon, aren't you?"
"No...yes...I don't know. Even if I do, I can't do anything about it."
"Can't or won't?"
"Won't. You were standing right beside me after Nix was born. You heard what I said."
"You live with him. You won't be able to resist it forever."
"I won't have to. Like I keep telling you, as soon as Blade is out of the picture, I'm gonna go right back to my old life and pretend like Deacon doesn't exist."
"Ana."
"What? There's nothing to say. I love Deacon but I can't do anything about it. Even if I could, I highly doubt he feels the same way anyway." She grabbed the bag with Phoenix's things and walked out of the room and to the kitchen.
Serenity walked out behind her and stopped beside the couch in the living room.
"What's all that then?" Giselle asked.
"I'll explain later." She responded, glaring at Quinn.
"Quinn, let's go." Iliana said, walking back out of the kitchen and towards the door. "I'll call you guys later." She walked out the door and back to the penthouse without saying another word.
*************
Later that night, Deacon was finishing a shower when Phoenix started crying. He got quiet as he heard Iliana enter the room and start speaking to the baby.
"Hey, little man." She said softly as she picked him up and sat on the bed. "What's wrong? Huh?" She held him close and started rocking him gently. "Shhh." After a few minutes, she started singing to stop his crying. "Como la flor...con tanto amor...me diste tú...se marchitó...me marcho hoy...yo sé perder...pero, ay...cómo me duele." She sang softly, successfully attempting to put him back to sleep.
Deacon listened to her as she sang. Her voice was so beautiful. It made even a vampire as cold hearted as him feel warm. He quietly opened the door and stood watching her.
When she was done singing, she gently laid her son down on the bed and stood up. As she turned to leave, she saw Deacon standing in the doorway of the bathroom in a pair of jeans and no shirt. "Deacon. I didn't know you were in here. I'm sorry. I'll leave." She said as she walked towards the door.
"Wait." He said in a low tone and she stopped but didn't turn to face him. "Don't go yet." He walked over to her as she turned around. He backed her up against the door and put his hand on the wall, getting so close to her their noses were almost touching. "We need to talk."
"Look, Deacon, if it's about last night, I-"
"Shhh. Wait a second. I'm not mad anymore."
"I don't see why not. After all, I did try to force you to bite me. I called you weak, I basically told you that I hated you."
"But did you mean it?"
"What do you mean?"
"Do you really hate me?"
She sighed hesitantly and looked down at the floor. He put his hand under her chin and lifted her head, bringing her gaze to his. She looked into his eyes for a moment then said, "No. I don't hate you, Deacon. I was just pissed off about everything that happened last night." He smiled at her and she saw something in his eyes that she hadn't seen before. It was, surprisingly enough to her, love. She gently placed her hand on his cheek and smiled back at him.
He leaned in and his lips brushed up against hers but he didn't kiss her. He was waiting to see what she would do. Sure enough, she leaned in and kissed him intensely. Then she leaned back against the door and gazed into his eyes. "I've got something to show you." He said.
"What?"
"It's a surprise. Get the baby and come with me." He walked over to his closet and pulled on and black button-up shirt.
She walked over and picked up Phoenix. She followed Deacon down the hall and into another bedroom. Her jaw dropped as she walked into the room. It was a nursery. There was a crib, a changing table, and even a baby monitor. "Deacon, this is-" She was speechless. She had never seen such nice stuff in her whole life, let alone being about to afford it.
"Do you like it?"
"I love it."
"I figured you two might be here for a while so you both might as well get comfortable so, I had some of my men help me do this."
"It's amazing. I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything. It's not big deal, really."
"You always say that. It is a big deal. I can't believe you did all this for me."
"Well, I mean, he needed somewhere to sleep."
"Thank you." She kissed him on his cheek then started exploring the room. There was an animal mobile above the crib and tons of clothes sitting on the changing table. She smiled at the Gloworm Slumbertime Soother hanging inside the crib. She couldn't believe how much stuff was in the room just for one four-month-old child. Then she stopped and turned to Deacon. "Deacon, what are you gonna do with all this stuff when we leave."
"Well, I was actually hoping that you would...stay...here...with me."
"Wait, you mean like live here? Permanently?"
"Yeah."
She didn't say anything. She walked over to him and gazed into his eyes for a second before kissing him gently. Then she smiled at him and walked back over to the crib. She laid Phoenix down in it and gently brushed her fingers across his head. "I hope you like your new home, Nix." She turned on the Gloworm Soother, turned on the baby monitors, and followed Deacon out the door, turning off the light as she went.
"Yeah." Quinn said.
"I want you to go with me."
"Where?"
"Giselle and Serenity's apartment."
"Why?"
"I need to get some stuff for Phoenix."
"Why don't you take one of the guards?"
"I don't think so. I don't trust them."
"Why doesn't Deacon go with you?"
"He doesn't know I'm going and he's probably still pissed at me anyway. Are you gonna go or not? I can go on my own if you don't wanna go."
"No. I'll go. Deac would kill me if I let you leave unprotected."
They walked to the apartment and went inside.
"Hi, Giselle." Iliana said as she walked in.
"Hi, Ana. What's up? And what's he doing here?" Giselle said from her spot on the couch, looking towards Quinn.
"I need to get some stuff for Nix. He came to make sure I was safe."
"You actually trust him?"
"If I don't, I'll probably kill him."
Quinn raised an eyebrow but didn't say a word.
"Cool. His bottles are in the kitchen and his diapers and everything are in the bedroom."
"Thanks. Quinn, I'll only be a few minutes. Talk to G, stand there and stare off into space, do...whatever." She went back into the bedroom and Quinn just stood where he was and looked around the room.
He looked down the hallway as Serenity opened the bedroom door. She stepped out wearing nothing but a towel. He smiled at what he saw but she rolled her eyes, gave him the finger, and went into the bedroom.
"What's he doing here?" She asked Iliana as she went to the closet and started looking through her clothes.
"I brought him. He's here just in case we have another incident like the one we had last night."
"He's the one that sent those guys over here."
"Don't remind me. I would have preferred to bring Deacon but there was no way in hell that was gonna happen."
"Why? What happened?"
Iliana turned to face Serenity and slid her jacket off of her shoulder, revealing the cut she made the night before.
"Did he do that to you?"
"No. I did it."
"Why?"
"We were fighting and I just got really pissed. I did this and told him to bite me."
"Did you want him to bite you?"
"No. Well, not really."
"Not really?"
"I sort of do and I sort of don't."
"Explain." Serenity said as she started getting dressed.
"I don't know, Seren. Sometimes I think it would be better for Nix if I was a vampire."
"How you figure?"
"When he gets older, I know he's gonna start wanting blood and I won't know what to do. I won't know what to tell him. I won't know what he's going through so I won't know how to help him."
"Yeah, but you have Deacon for that now."
"After we kill Blade, Deacon and I probably won't even speak to each other anymore."
"You don't sound to happy about that."
Iliana didn't say anything. She just continued packing Phoenix's things.
"Ana." Serenity said, turning to face Iliana as she finished dressing.
"What?"
"You're in love with Deacon, aren't you?"
"No...yes...I don't know. Even if I do, I can't do anything about it."
"Can't or won't?"
"Won't. You were standing right beside me after Nix was born. You heard what I said."
"You live with him. You won't be able to resist it forever."
"I won't have to. Like I keep telling you, as soon as Blade is out of the picture, I'm gonna go right back to my old life and pretend like Deacon doesn't exist."
"Ana."
"What? There's nothing to say. I love Deacon but I can't do anything about it. Even if I could, I highly doubt he feels the same way anyway." She grabbed the bag with Phoenix's things and walked out of the room and to the kitchen.
Serenity walked out behind her and stopped beside the couch in the living room.
"What's all that then?" Giselle asked.
"I'll explain later." She responded, glaring at Quinn.
"Quinn, let's go." Iliana said, walking back out of the kitchen and towards the door. "I'll call you guys later." She walked out the door and back to the penthouse without saying another word.
*************
Later that night, Deacon was finishing a shower when Phoenix started crying. He got quiet as he heard Iliana enter the room and start speaking to the baby.
"Hey, little man." She said softly as she picked him up and sat on the bed. "What's wrong? Huh?" She held him close and started rocking him gently. "Shhh." After a few minutes, she started singing to stop his crying. "Como la flor...con tanto amor...me diste tú...se marchitó...me marcho hoy...yo sé perder...pero, ay...cómo me duele." She sang softly, successfully attempting to put him back to sleep.
Deacon listened to her as she sang. Her voice was so beautiful. It made even a vampire as cold hearted as him feel warm. He quietly opened the door and stood watching her.
When she was done singing, she gently laid her son down on the bed and stood up. As she turned to leave, she saw Deacon standing in the doorway of the bathroom in a pair of jeans and no shirt. "Deacon. I didn't know you were in here. I'm sorry. I'll leave." She said as she walked towards the door.
"Wait." He said in a low tone and she stopped but didn't turn to face him. "Don't go yet." He walked over to her as she turned around. He backed her up against the door and put his hand on the wall, getting so close to her their noses were almost touching. "We need to talk."
"Look, Deacon, if it's about last night, I-"
"Shhh. Wait a second. I'm not mad anymore."
"I don't see why not. After all, I did try to force you to bite me. I called you weak, I basically told you that I hated you."
"But did you mean it?"
"What do you mean?"
"Do you really hate me?"
She sighed hesitantly and looked down at the floor. He put his hand under her chin and lifted her head, bringing her gaze to his. She looked into his eyes for a moment then said, "No. I don't hate you, Deacon. I was just pissed off about everything that happened last night." He smiled at her and she saw something in his eyes that she hadn't seen before. It was, surprisingly enough to her, love. She gently placed her hand on his cheek and smiled back at him.
He leaned in and his lips brushed up against hers but he didn't kiss her. He was waiting to see what she would do. Sure enough, she leaned in and kissed him intensely. Then she leaned back against the door and gazed into his eyes. "I've got something to show you." He said.
"What?"
"It's a surprise. Get the baby and come with me." He walked over to his closet and pulled on and black button-up shirt.
She walked over and picked up Phoenix. She followed Deacon down the hall and into another bedroom. Her jaw dropped as she walked into the room. It was a nursery. There was a crib, a changing table, and even a baby monitor. "Deacon, this is-" She was speechless. She had never seen such nice stuff in her whole life, let alone being about to afford it.
"Do you like it?"
"I love it."
"I figured you two might be here for a while so you both might as well get comfortable so, I had some of my men help me do this."
"It's amazing. I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything. It's not big deal, really."
"You always say that. It is a big deal. I can't believe you did all this for me."
"Well, I mean, he needed somewhere to sleep."
"Thank you." She kissed him on his cheek then started exploring the room. There was an animal mobile above the crib and tons of clothes sitting on the changing table. She smiled at the Gloworm Slumbertime Soother hanging inside the crib. She couldn't believe how much stuff was in the room just for one four-month-old child. Then she stopped and turned to Deacon. "Deacon, what are you gonna do with all this stuff when we leave."
"Well, I was actually hoping that you would...stay...here...with me."
"Wait, you mean like live here? Permanently?"
"Yeah."
She didn't say anything. She walked over to him and gazed into his eyes for a second before kissing him gently. Then she smiled at him and walked back over to the crib. She laid Phoenix down in it and gently brushed her fingers across his head. "I hope you like your new home, Nix." She turned on the Gloworm Soother, turned on the baby monitors, and followed Deacon out the door, turning off the light as she went.