{Author's note: I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who has reviewed thus far, and even those who are just reading this. Knowing that it's not just sitting neglected on your end helps me get through the toughest spells of writer's block. THANK YOU!!!!!}
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Leo shivered slightly as the snow on the ground quickly soaked through the t-shirt he was wearing. Today was the day Carlos was scheduled to leave France for Pine Valley, and Leo had been ordered to watch the proceedings from his room. However, due to his slight tendency for causing mischief and one major case of cabin fever, Leo had secretly snuck out of the chateau at the first opportunity given to him. The brown-haired, tall man now lay hidden behind some shrubs that grew near one of the walls of the chateau, a spot unnoticeable to the naked eye. Shivering again as the snow began to soak through his jeans, Leo could only watch through a hole in the bushes and hope that things would progress rather quickly.
A worried Carlos suddenly emerged from the chateau and made a beeline directly to the Count. The Latino man pulled the older man, who had been engaged in conversation with someone, aside and told him something that appeared to be important. To Leo's horror, Carlos nodded towards the tower at the end of his sentence. He assumed that Carlos had ventured up to Leo's room, only to find that Leo wasn't there, and was now telling the Count this information. Chuckling, Guy looked at the tower and put a reassuring hand on Carlos' shoulder. Unfortunately, their backs were now to Leo, so he couldn't tell what they were saying.
After Carlos eventually departed, the Count was left alone. His blue eyes seemed to be fixed on where the car had been just a few moments before. Leo cursed silently as he realized a flaw in his plan. How in the hell was he supposed to make it back up to the tower before Guy, who without a doubt knew all of the shortcuts, did? Sighing in frustration, Leo rubbed his forehead. There was only one thing left to do now. With a frown, he crawled out of his hiding spot.
"I wondered when you were going to come out of hiding." Guy said, not turning to look at his son. That confirmed Leo's notion that Carlos had discovered that Leo was gone.
"Dad, I…" Leo started as he walked over to his father's side. He stopped upon noticing that Guy was chuckling quietly. It wasn't the angry reaction Leo expected.
"How in the world did you expect to get away with this, my boy?" Guy asked through his laughter. "I would think that Vanessa's son would know to plan better than this." His laughter stopped immediately as he put a hand on Leo's bare arm. Instead, a look of concern appeared on his face. "You are like ice, Leo! How long exactly have you been out here?"
"About an hour." Leo shrugged. As a wind kicked up around the two, Leo shivered violently. He noticed that he couldn't even feel his running nose anymore, and his teeth chattered. Guy took off his thick coat and put it around the taller, younger man.
"We'd better get you inside." Guy said, ushering Leo towards the chateau. A firm tone suddenly appeared in his voice. "I want you to promise me that you will never attempt something like this again, Leo."
"I thought that it would be all right." Leo replied, hugging himself to try and keep warm. "I figured that since only your staff would be around, it would be all right."
"I'm afraid that I'm not sure that we can even trust members of my staff." Guy said, shaking his head. "I haven't since the whole Wolfe incident last July."
The Count was referring to the events that had played out the previous summer when he had come to town for Leo and Greenlee's wedding. Guy's most trusted assistant, Marius Wolfe, had turned out to be a member of the drug ring ran by Vanessa. He had plotted to kill Leo in order to get Vanessa to tell him the location of the Proteus millions. Luckily, Leo had fled his own wedding before Wolfe could fire a shot. Wolfe was later killed that same day by Leo's ex-sister-in-law, Anna Devane.
As they entered the chateau, the first thing Leo noticed (besides the working heating system) was how quiet the building was. Given that it was now evening, Leo assumed that most of the staff had headed home for the night. Guy seemed to realize what he was thinking.
"Only my head chef and the head maid should still be here." he remarked, shutting the door. "Both of whom know about you, so you don't really have to hide from them." After taking his coat from Leo, he nodded at a nearby stairwell. "Go get out of those clothes, and grab a hot shower. It should warm you up slightly."
"Okay." Leo agreed, running up the stairs.
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After emerging from the shower, Leo was feeling slightly warmer and could actually feel his nose and fingers again. Waiting for him on the bed was a pair of blue flannel pajamas that, from the warmth that radiated from them, seemed to have come right out of the dryer. Smiling, he slipped them on with ease, along with the matching, thick wool socks that were lying near them.
A knock on the door disrupted his thoughts, and caused him to slip on his terrycloth bathrobe. Leo was still tying it shut when Guy opened the door to make sure that everything was all right. As he stepped into the room, the Count nodded at Leo's pillow.
"Grab that if you think you'll need it to sleep."
"I'm not sleeping up here?" the puzzled Leo asked. Guy had never suggested leaving his room, except for the times when he had to sneak in appointments with Dr. Jacot.
"There's too much of a draft." Guy replied as Leo picked up his pillow. He delicately placed the picture of Greenlee inside the pillowcase.
"I think you're overreacting about this." Leo commented as he followed Guy out of the room and down a staircase to the main chateau.
"You were outside in the snow, without a coat or any other protection, for at least an hour." Guy replied as they reached the main floor and headed down another hall. "You'll be extremely lucky if you don't come down with something." He smiled at Leo. "Besides, it's a parent's job to worry about their children."
The duo stopped outside a room at the end of the long hallway. As Guy opened the door, the first sight visible was a large, brilliant fire burning away in a brick fireplace on the opposite wall. It was the only thing giving off light in the room. The walls seemed to be nothing, but tall, high, full bookcases. Patting Leo on the shoulder, Guy gestured to the overstuffed, blue sofa in front of the fireplace.
"You will be sleeping here tonight." he announced with a smile.
"Where's here?" Leo asked, looking at him.
"This is my library." Guy replied, looking around. "My own private sanctuary." He smiled at Leo. "My staff knows not to bother me when I'm in here, unless I've requested them to."
"Cool." Leo said, sitting down on the sofa. As he laid down upon it, a knock was heard at the door. Guy answered it, and Leo overheard him have a short conversation in French with a strange woman before closing the door again.
"Comfortable?" Guy inquired, noticing Leo's position as he walked back over. The Count carried a tray of food with him, and Leo could feel his stomach growl. He had missed dinner. As Guy set the tray down on the coffee table, Leo could see a bowl of vegetable soup and a couple of fresh-baked rolls waiting for him as well as a mug of some sort of steaming liquid. He sat up again.
"Yeah." Leo replied, looking around the room. "This is a pretty nice place." He nodded at all of the books. "Those all yours?"
"I find that there is no greater escape than a good book." Guy replied as Leo started to eat his rolls. "Even so, I don't think it's possible for anyone to read this many books." He smiled. "However, I can't part with them as some of them are as old as this chateau itself."
"Really?" Leo exclaimed, nearly dropping his spoon. "And they're still standing?"
"Well," Guy shrugged with a smile, "some have been repaired over the years." He looked around. "I think that the Marquise du Pres's diary is around here somewhere." He looked at Leo. "I've told you about her, and how she helped us retain this place during the revolution?"
"Yeah." Leo nodded, "You told Greens and I about her last summer when you showed us this place." He set his spoon down as he finished the last of his soup. He took a drink of the liquid, only to discover that it was hot chocolate. As a warm, sleepy feeling came to him, he yawned. "You know, it's a real honor that you're letting me stay in her room."
"It was the safest place that I could think of." Guy replied with a smile.
Taking another drink of his hot chocolate, Leo suddenly felt a question enter his head. It was one he had been pondering since he had first met Guy that previous summer, but had never asked.
"This has nothing to do with what we're talking about," Leo said, setting his mug down. "But, it's been eating at me ever since I met you." He looked at the Count quizzically. "How could someone like you fall in love with someone like my mother?"
"You know what your mother is/was like, Leo." Guy replied frankly. "She could beguile the right people when she needed to." He sighed slightly. "I guess I wasn't immune to her tricks."
"You wouldn't be alone on that." Leo assured, setting down his empty mug. "Vanessa was the best at pulling the wool over people's eyes." He sighed. "I guess if you could do all it over, you wouldn't even give her the time of day."
"If I could do it all over again," Guy admitted, "I would still let myself be fooled by her." He smiled widely at Leo. "I think you know why that is, my boy."
"Yeah." Leo replied with a smile. "I think I do."
As another knock was heard on the door, Guy got up from his chair and took the empty dishes from Leo. The younger man simply watched as he walked to the door, and handed the tray to someone on other side. They exchanged them for a pile of blankets before departing. As he walked over again, Guy dropped the blankets on the sofa near Leo.
"My only regret is that I never investigated Vanessa's sudden departure." Guy said, sitting back down in the chair. "At the time, it was the best thing for all parties involved, so I just let it go without question." He sighed as he looked into Leo's eyes. "I'm sorry for failing you that way, Leo."
"You don't need to apologize." Leo replied as he layed down upon the sofa and started making a bed for himself with the blankets. He was not all surprised to find that they had been warmed, just like his pajamas. "You've already been more of a parent to me than Vanessa has been." Leo let out a huge yawn as he finished his sentence.
"Perhaps you should get some sleep." Guy suggested with a smile as Leo readjusted in his makeshift bed.
"You going to stay in here?" Leo wondered as he noticed that Guy wasn't moving.
"I was going to read for awhile." Guy shrugged before looking at Leo. "Unless that bothers you, of course."
"No." Leo shook his head. "No. That's fine." He smiled slightly. "It's kind of comforting actually."
To be continued...
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Leo shivered slightly as the snow on the ground quickly soaked through the t-shirt he was wearing. Today was the day Carlos was scheduled to leave France for Pine Valley, and Leo had been ordered to watch the proceedings from his room. However, due to his slight tendency for causing mischief and one major case of cabin fever, Leo had secretly snuck out of the chateau at the first opportunity given to him. The brown-haired, tall man now lay hidden behind some shrubs that grew near one of the walls of the chateau, a spot unnoticeable to the naked eye. Shivering again as the snow began to soak through his jeans, Leo could only watch through a hole in the bushes and hope that things would progress rather quickly.
A worried Carlos suddenly emerged from the chateau and made a beeline directly to the Count. The Latino man pulled the older man, who had been engaged in conversation with someone, aside and told him something that appeared to be important. To Leo's horror, Carlos nodded towards the tower at the end of his sentence. He assumed that Carlos had ventured up to Leo's room, only to find that Leo wasn't there, and was now telling the Count this information. Chuckling, Guy looked at the tower and put a reassuring hand on Carlos' shoulder. Unfortunately, their backs were now to Leo, so he couldn't tell what they were saying.
After Carlos eventually departed, the Count was left alone. His blue eyes seemed to be fixed on where the car had been just a few moments before. Leo cursed silently as he realized a flaw in his plan. How in the hell was he supposed to make it back up to the tower before Guy, who without a doubt knew all of the shortcuts, did? Sighing in frustration, Leo rubbed his forehead. There was only one thing left to do now. With a frown, he crawled out of his hiding spot.
"I wondered when you were going to come out of hiding." Guy said, not turning to look at his son. That confirmed Leo's notion that Carlos had discovered that Leo was gone.
"Dad, I…" Leo started as he walked over to his father's side. He stopped upon noticing that Guy was chuckling quietly. It wasn't the angry reaction Leo expected.
"How in the world did you expect to get away with this, my boy?" Guy asked through his laughter. "I would think that Vanessa's son would know to plan better than this." His laughter stopped immediately as he put a hand on Leo's bare arm. Instead, a look of concern appeared on his face. "You are like ice, Leo! How long exactly have you been out here?"
"About an hour." Leo shrugged. As a wind kicked up around the two, Leo shivered violently. He noticed that he couldn't even feel his running nose anymore, and his teeth chattered. Guy took off his thick coat and put it around the taller, younger man.
"We'd better get you inside." Guy said, ushering Leo towards the chateau. A firm tone suddenly appeared in his voice. "I want you to promise me that you will never attempt something like this again, Leo."
"I thought that it would be all right." Leo replied, hugging himself to try and keep warm. "I figured that since only your staff would be around, it would be all right."
"I'm afraid that I'm not sure that we can even trust members of my staff." Guy said, shaking his head. "I haven't since the whole Wolfe incident last July."
The Count was referring to the events that had played out the previous summer when he had come to town for Leo and Greenlee's wedding. Guy's most trusted assistant, Marius Wolfe, had turned out to be a member of the drug ring ran by Vanessa. He had plotted to kill Leo in order to get Vanessa to tell him the location of the Proteus millions. Luckily, Leo had fled his own wedding before Wolfe could fire a shot. Wolfe was later killed that same day by Leo's ex-sister-in-law, Anna Devane.
As they entered the chateau, the first thing Leo noticed (besides the working heating system) was how quiet the building was. Given that it was now evening, Leo assumed that most of the staff had headed home for the night. Guy seemed to realize what he was thinking.
"Only my head chef and the head maid should still be here." he remarked, shutting the door. "Both of whom know about you, so you don't really have to hide from them." After taking his coat from Leo, he nodded at a nearby stairwell. "Go get out of those clothes, and grab a hot shower. It should warm you up slightly."
"Okay." Leo agreed, running up the stairs.
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After emerging from the shower, Leo was feeling slightly warmer and could actually feel his nose and fingers again. Waiting for him on the bed was a pair of blue flannel pajamas that, from the warmth that radiated from them, seemed to have come right out of the dryer. Smiling, he slipped them on with ease, along with the matching, thick wool socks that were lying near them.
A knock on the door disrupted his thoughts, and caused him to slip on his terrycloth bathrobe. Leo was still tying it shut when Guy opened the door to make sure that everything was all right. As he stepped into the room, the Count nodded at Leo's pillow.
"Grab that if you think you'll need it to sleep."
"I'm not sleeping up here?" the puzzled Leo asked. Guy had never suggested leaving his room, except for the times when he had to sneak in appointments with Dr. Jacot.
"There's too much of a draft." Guy replied as Leo picked up his pillow. He delicately placed the picture of Greenlee inside the pillowcase.
"I think you're overreacting about this." Leo commented as he followed Guy out of the room and down a staircase to the main chateau.
"You were outside in the snow, without a coat or any other protection, for at least an hour." Guy replied as they reached the main floor and headed down another hall. "You'll be extremely lucky if you don't come down with something." He smiled at Leo. "Besides, it's a parent's job to worry about their children."
The duo stopped outside a room at the end of the long hallway. As Guy opened the door, the first sight visible was a large, brilliant fire burning away in a brick fireplace on the opposite wall. It was the only thing giving off light in the room. The walls seemed to be nothing, but tall, high, full bookcases. Patting Leo on the shoulder, Guy gestured to the overstuffed, blue sofa in front of the fireplace.
"You will be sleeping here tonight." he announced with a smile.
"Where's here?" Leo asked, looking at him.
"This is my library." Guy replied, looking around. "My own private sanctuary." He smiled at Leo. "My staff knows not to bother me when I'm in here, unless I've requested them to."
"Cool." Leo said, sitting down on the sofa. As he laid down upon it, a knock was heard at the door. Guy answered it, and Leo overheard him have a short conversation in French with a strange woman before closing the door again.
"Comfortable?" Guy inquired, noticing Leo's position as he walked back over. The Count carried a tray of food with him, and Leo could feel his stomach growl. He had missed dinner. As Guy set the tray down on the coffee table, Leo could see a bowl of vegetable soup and a couple of fresh-baked rolls waiting for him as well as a mug of some sort of steaming liquid. He sat up again.
"Yeah." Leo replied, looking around the room. "This is a pretty nice place." He nodded at all of the books. "Those all yours?"
"I find that there is no greater escape than a good book." Guy replied as Leo started to eat his rolls. "Even so, I don't think it's possible for anyone to read this many books." He smiled. "However, I can't part with them as some of them are as old as this chateau itself."
"Really?" Leo exclaimed, nearly dropping his spoon. "And they're still standing?"
"Well," Guy shrugged with a smile, "some have been repaired over the years." He looked around. "I think that the Marquise du Pres's diary is around here somewhere." He looked at Leo. "I've told you about her, and how she helped us retain this place during the revolution?"
"Yeah." Leo nodded, "You told Greens and I about her last summer when you showed us this place." He set his spoon down as he finished the last of his soup. He took a drink of the liquid, only to discover that it was hot chocolate. As a warm, sleepy feeling came to him, he yawned. "You know, it's a real honor that you're letting me stay in her room."
"It was the safest place that I could think of." Guy replied with a smile.
Taking another drink of his hot chocolate, Leo suddenly felt a question enter his head. It was one he had been pondering since he had first met Guy that previous summer, but had never asked.
"This has nothing to do with what we're talking about," Leo said, setting his mug down. "But, it's been eating at me ever since I met you." He looked at the Count quizzically. "How could someone like you fall in love with someone like my mother?"
"You know what your mother is/was like, Leo." Guy replied frankly. "She could beguile the right people when she needed to." He sighed slightly. "I guess I wasn't immune to her tricks."
"You wouldn't be alone on that." Leo assured, setting down his empty mug. "Vanessa was the best at pulling the wool over people's eyes." He sighed. "I guess if you could do all it over, you wouldn't even give her the time of day."
"If I could do it all over again," Guy admitted, "I would still let myself be fooled by her." He smiled widely at Leo. "I think you know why that is, my boy."
"Yeah." Leo replied with a smile. "I think I do."
As another knock was heard on the door, Guy got up from his chair and took the empty dishes from Leo. The younger man simply watched as he walked to the door, and handed the tray to someone on other side. They exchanged them for a pile of blankets before departing. As he walked over again, Guy dropped the blankets on the sofa near Leo.
"My only regret is that I never investigated Vanessa's sudden departure." Guy said, sitting back down in the chair. "At the time, it was the best thing for all parties involved, so I just let it go without question." He sighed as he looked into Leo's eyes. "I'm sorry for failing you that way, Leo."
"You don't need to apologize." Leo replied as he layed down upon the sofa and started making a bed for himself with the blankets. He was not all surprised to find that they had been warmed, just like his pajamas. "You've already been more of a parent to me than Vanessa has been." Leo let out a huge yawn as he finished his sentence.
"Perhaps you should get some sleep." Guy suggested with a smile as Leo readjusted in his makeshift bed.
"You going to stay in here?" Leo wondered as he noticed that Guy wasn't moving.
"I was going to read for awhile." Guy shrugged before looking at Leo. "Unless that bothers you, of course."
"No." Leo shook his head. "No. That's fine." He smiled slightly. "It's kind of comforting actually."
To be continued...