Adam did not stop to converse with Monty, he kept leading Van
Helsing to Anna like he promised. Adam noticed that the clouds in the sky
had darkened and were threatening a thunderstorm. 'Wonder when the storm
will hit,' he thought. As if on cue, the clouds opened up and began
pouring rain down upon the villagers. Adam scrunched up his face and ran
for the manor, he wasn't particularly thrilled with the idea of getting
soaking wet. He noticed Van Helsing and Carl were running as well.
Adam, Van Helsing, and Carl entered and Mae showed up. She said, "I will take them to Anna." Adam looked surprised but nodded and motioned for Van Helsing and Carl to follow Mae. Carl noticed that Adam's eyes were exactly like Madeline's, and he swallowed hard. Even Madeline's hair was the same color as Adam's. 'I bet he's her father.' Carl thought with a little fear building up in him. Adam didn't seem so dangerous, but Carl had just witnessed the power that Adam had underneath the innocent look. So, Carl did not want to be on Adam's bad side, and he considered that Madeline was carrying his child would be more than enough to be on Adam's bad side.
Van Helsing found Madeline in the room with Anna, who was still under Victoria's spell. But, Van Helsing noticed how pregnant Anna was over everything else. He walked over to Anna and sat down on the edge her bed. Mae said to him, "Victoria put a spell on her, but I believe that you are the key to removing that spell." Van Helsing stared at Mae while she spoke then turned his attention back to Anna. He stroked her cheek with his fingers, and he saw Anna stir a little. "Wake up, Anna," he whispered gently. Anna was lost in a dream about Van Helsing again, but it was interrupted. She felt someone touch her cheek, and she struggled against Victoria's spell so she could wake up. She knew Van Helsing was there because she heard him speak, and she felt her body beginning to wake up. She tried to speak, but found she was still unable to do so. Her mind felt so fuzzy now that it was sensing reality again because she'd been under the influence of a spell for so very long. That had become all that she knew.
Van Helsing leaned over and looked down at Anna's face. "Anna," he said gently.
Anna felt Van Helsing's hair touch her cheek, and it tickled. She forced her hand to brush his hair aside. But, she felt her hand being held. She couldn't see Van Helsing, but she knew he had a hold of her hand. 'He is really there,' she thought. That was enough for her to break the spell over her, and she opened her eyes.
Van Helsing was nearly face-to-face with her, and she smiled at him. "Van Helsing, you are really here." He nodded and kissed her lips. Both savored the kiss because it was their first kiss since Anna had been resurrected that was not spell-induced. Anna felt Van Helsing's hands on her jawbone, and she put her hands on the back of his neck as they kissed.
Van Helsing pulled away from their kiss, even though he wanted to stay locked in that kiss forever. He sat up and glanced over at the others in the room. He noticed that Carl was shocked, and he hoped that Carl wouldn't be angry over not knowing about Anna having a baby. Van Helsing figured Carl wouldn't make much out of the situation since he was also in a similar situation. Van Helsing actually felt for Carl because he knew Carl was afraid Adam was going to kill him for even being with Madeline in a romantic way. Carl didn't tell Van Helsing that, but Van Helsing could read that look off of the friar's face.
Madeline rushed everyone out of the room when Anna sat up and realized what the odd feeling she'd been having was. Madeline shut the door, and Van Helsing turned to face Anna. Anna was staring down at her pregnant belly with a terrified look upon her face. She had feared that Adam had taken advantage of the spell she'd been under. Before she could speak, Van Helsing grabbed her by the shoulders. Anna looked him in the eyes and asked, "Did Adam--"
Van Helsing cut her question off, "No," he replied. He stared into Anna's eyes and told her, "The last time we met was not a dream, Anna. It was real; we were just under a spell."
Anna shook her head, "You were not beside me when I woke up," she said.
Van Helsing nodded at that. "No, Victoria drugged Carl and me and took us back to Rome."
Anna felt the baby inside of her move, and she closed her eyes for a moment. She was shocked, there was no other word for it, to find she had a baby inside of her. But she was relieved that it was Van Helsing's baby, and she leaned against him. He put his arms around her, and it was comforting. It was the life she wanted to have when she was getting the cure for the werewolf venom for Van Helsing. She had wanted to be with Van Helsing and have a future there. She found there was a future there before, and she finally felt like she was in her own home again. 'It's going to be a home again,' her mind told her.
She leaned back a little in Van Helsing's arms. "Gabriel," she whispered as she stared up into his dark eyes.
"Yes," he replied.
"We are going to be parents."
Van Helsing tried to hold back a laugh. "Yes, I do believe that happens in cases such as this."
Anna rolled her eyes at Van Helsing. "That is not exactly my meaning. I mean that I am trained in hunting werewolves and vampires, and I don't have any experience in raising children." Anna was honestly a bit afraid of having to care for a baby because she wasn't so sure she had a maternal instinct. She was sure that Van Helsing didn't know how to raise children either, so her mind was quite sure that they were in some trouble.
Van Helsing stroked Anna's hair. "We will just have to figure that out together," he said gently as he stared lovingly into Anna's eyes. He didn't care what they had to go through because Anna was finally there in his arms. He didn't want to be anywhere else but there with her, and he had a feeling that they were going to be fine at parenting; they had been through much more difficult times, many of which had been very recent.
The rims of Anna's eyes filled with tears, tears of joy. She told Van Helsing, "I love you." Van Helsing pulled her against him again and kissed her hard. Anna's arms were wrapped tightly around Van Helsing's neck as they kissed. She didn't want to let go of him yet. She had been so afraid that he was not coming to get her, but she had also been afraid that he would die. Anna felt Van Helsing pull out of their kiss and lean his head against hers.
Anna thought back to her dreams, which had been real, where Van Helsing had been bitten by the serpent and how he crumpled to the ground from its venom. She remembered when Van Helsing was laying in the Vatican, near death. Anna felt tears come into her eyes, and she couldn't fight them back. She had been scared that she would lose Van Helsing. That thought broke her up inside.
Van Helsing sat up straight and saw Anna crying. "Anna?
Anna told Van Helsing, "I had dreams, or visions would be a better way to describe them. But, I saw a serpent bite you. I saw you lying in the Vatican unable to wake up because the poisons had consumed your body. I saw you dying there." Van Helsing felt his chest tighten up knowing that Anna had seen all of that. He didn't quite understand how she saw, but he wished she'd been spared that pain. She continued on about her dreams, "I remember hearing the monks say that faith was all there was left to believe in to make you better. I was afraid that I would see you die and lose the only man I ever fell in love with."
Van Helsing held Anna against his chest. "Anna, I'm so sorry you had to endure those visions," he told her. "But, Madeline asked Mae to save me, and here I am. I' m here with you now, and I plan on staying."
"Until Rome calls for you." Anna said sadly, and Van Helsing knew that was correct. He knew the Order would need him to come back and hunt down a new monster. He didn't want to think about that at that point. All Van Helsing wanted to do was be close to Anna. She buried her head in his chest and told him, "Don't leave me."
"I won't leave you, Anna. Even if Rome calls for my aid."
Anna felt better hearing Van Helsing say he wouldn't leave her side, but she realized that she couldn't keep him from protecting world form evil. "I could not keep you from returning to Rome. You have evil to slay."
"Evil can wait. Right now, we both deserve time together." Van Helsing replied setting his forehead against the top of Anna's head.
"That sounds lovely, but evil waits for no one." Anna replied to pick at Van Helsing purposely.
Anna could not have been any more correct if she tried. Evil waited for no one, and evil was stirring right outside the manor. Victoria's soul had not left and reentered her body. The arrows fell away, and she sat up. She smiled wickedly when she saw all the villagers had went back to their business. 'Van Helsing should have let Adam finish me off,' she thought. 'Those pathetic arrows did nothing but make me angry.'
Victoria stood up and could feel her spell on Anna was broken. "Damn, that Van Helsing," she muttered. She looked around and saw her coven dead, drained of their blood. "And damn Adam as well." She knelt beside Tabitha and held her hand to the fang marks on her neck. Slowly, Victoria's powers willed Tabitha back to life. Tabitha gasped and grabbed Victoria's arm. "Vickie," she breathed, "It's only you."
"Get up." Victoria demanded, and Tabitha did as she was told.
Tabitha saw the coven dead, and she realized that Adam had attacked them. Victoria spat, "Help me wake them up, we have vengeance to claim." Tabitha just stared at her, and Victoria hissed at her. "What are you waiting for, girl? Get to work!"
Tabitha listened and began to help wake up the other fallen members of the coven. Victoria eyed the manor with a hateful gaze. "Soon, you shall feel my wrath, Adam. Very soon, and make no mistake about that."
"What is going on, Vickie?" Tabitha asked.
Victoria peered down at her. "That snake betrayed me. We must make him pay, and I believe that the only way to Adam's heart is through his daughter."
Tabitha froze. "We are going to kill Madeline?" Victoria nodded. "Vickie, that is foolishness. Madeline is a vampire as sure as Adam. She was going to kill me once, and I do believe she could have. There is no chance against two vampires, Mae, and Van Helsing."
Victoria used her mind skills to grab Tabitha's neck and squeeze it. "Listen to me, Tabitha, I make the rules in this game. I don't care how many they have on their side; I am stronger than all of them. Hell, even if Adam bites me, my soul will return to my body. I cannot die." Victoria walked right up to stare Tabitha in the face. "Have I made myself clear?" Tabitha nodded, and Victoria released her.
"You may not be able to die, but the rest of us can." Tabitha told her.
Victoria knew that, but she did not care. 'A loss I'm willing to accept,' she thought. But, she played it cool. "I believe you'll have better luck if we catch them off guard." Victoria really didn't believe what she said. She had a feeling Adam would take out her coven again, but she was willing to risk her coven because she could always create a new coven. Her only concern was making Adam pay, and possibly kill Van Helsing along the way just so he could not hunt her down later.
Adam, Van Helsing, and Carl entered and Mae showed up. She said, "I will take them to Anna." Adam looked surprised but nodded and motioned for Van Helsing and Carl to follow Mae. Carl noticed that Adam's eyes were exactly like Madeline's, and he swallowed hard. Even Madeline's hair was the same color as Adam's. 'I bet he's her father.' Carl thought with a little fear building up in him. Adam didn't seem so dangerous, but Carl had just witnessed the power that Adam had underneath the innocent look. So, Carl did not want to be on Adam's bad side, and he considered that Madeline was carrying his child would be more than enough to be on Adam's bad side.
Van Helsing found Madeline in the room with Anna, who was still under Victoria's spell. But, Van Helsing noticed how pregnant Anna was over everything else. He walked over to Anna and sat down on the edge her bed. Mae said to him, "Victoria put a spell on her, but I believe that you are the key to removing that spell." Van Helsing stared at Mae while she spoke then turned his attention back to Anna. He stroked her cheek with his fingers, and he saw Anna stir a little. "Wake up, Anna," he whispered gently. Anna was lost in a dream about Van Helsing again, but it was interrupted. She felt someone touch her cheek, and she struggled against Victoria's spell so she could wake up. She knew Van Helsing was there because she heard him speak, and she felt her body beginning to wake up. She tried to speak, but found she was still unable to do so. Her mind felt so fuzzy now that it was sensing reality again because she'd been under the influence of a spell for so very long. That had become all that she knew.
Van Helsing leaned over and looked down at Anna's face. "Anna," he said gently.
Anna felt Van Helsing's hair touch her cheek, and it tickled. She forced her hand to brush his hair aside. But, she felt her hand being held. She couldn't see Van Helsing, but she knew he had a hold of her hand. 'He is really there,' she thought. That was enough for her to break the spell over her, and she opened her eyes.
Van Helsing was nearly face-to-face with her, and she smiled at him. "Van Helsing, you are really here." He nodded and kissed her lips. Both savored the kiss because it was their first kiss since Anna had been resurrected that was not spell-induced. Anna felt Van Helsing's hands on her jawbone, and she put her hands on the back of his neck as they kissed.
Van Helsing pulled away from their kiss, even though he wanted to stay locked in that kiss forever. He sat up and glanced over at the others in the room. He noticed that Carl was shocked, and he hoped that Carl wouldn't be angry over not knowing about Anna having a baby. Van Helsing figured Carl wouldn't make much out of the situation since he was also in a similar situation. Van Helsing actually felt for Carl because he knew Carl was afraid Adam was going to kill him for even being with Madeline in a romantic way. Carl didn't tell Van Helsing that, but Van Helsing could read that look off of the friar's face.
Madeline rushed everyone out of the room when Anna sat up and realized what the odd feeling she'd been having was. Madeline shut the door, and Van Helsing turned to face Anna. Anna was staring down at her pregnant belly with a terrified look upon her face. She had feared that Adam had taken advantage of the spell she'd been under. Before she could speak, Van Helsing grabbed her by the shoulders. Anna looked him in the eyes and asked, "Did Adam--"
Van Helsing cut her question off, "No," he replied. He stared into Anna's eyes and told her, "The last time we met was not a dream, Anna. It was real; we were just under a spell."
Anna shook her head, "You were not beside me when I woke up," she said.
Van Helsing nodded at that. "No, Victoria drugged Carl and me and took us back to Rome."
Anna felt the baby inside of her move, and she closed her eyes for a moment. She was shocked, there was no other word for it, to find she had a baby inside of her. But she was relieved that it was Van Helsing's baby, and she leaned against him. He put his arms around her, and it was comforting. It was the life she wanted to have when she was getting the cure for the werewolf venom for Van Helsing. She had wanted to be with Van Helsing and have a future there. She found there was a future there before, and she finally felt like she was in her own home again. 'It's going to be a home again,' her mind told her.
She leaned back a little in Van Helsing's arms. "Gabriel," she whispered as she stared up into his dark eyes.
"Yes," he replied.
"We are going to be parents."
Van Helsing tried to hold back a laugh. "Yes, I do believe that happens in cases such as this."
Anna rolled her eyes at Van Helsing. "That is not exactly my meaning. I mean that I am trained in hunting werewolves and vampires, and I don't have any experience in raising children." Anna was honestly a bit afraid of having to care for a baby because she wasn't so sure she had a maternal instinct. She was sure that Van Helsing didn't know how to raise children either, so her mind was quite sure that they were in some trouble.
Van Helsing stroked Anna's hair. "We will just have to figure that out together," he said gently as he stared lovingly into Anna's eyes. He didn't care what they had to go through because Anna was finally there in his arms. He didn't want to be anywhere else but there with her, and he had a feeling that they were going to be fine at parenting; they had been through much more difficult times, many of which had been very recent.
The rims of Anna's eyes filled with tears, tears of joy. She told Van Helsing, "I love you." Van Helsing pulled her against him again and kissed her hard. Anna's arms were wrapped tightly around Van Helsing's neck as they kissed. She didn't want to let go of him yet. She had been so afraid that he was not coming to get her, but she had also been afraid that he would die. Anna felt Van Helsing pull out of their kiss and lean his head against hers.
Anna thought back to her dreams, which had been real, where Van Helsing had been bitten by the serpent and how he crumpled to the ground from its venom. She remembered when Van Helsing was laying in the Vatican, near death. Anna felt tears come into her eyes, and she couldn't fight them back. She had been scared that she would lose Van Helsing. That thought broke her up inside.
Van Helsing sat up straight and saw Anna crying. "Anna?
Anna told Van Helsing, "I had dreams, or visions would be a better way to describe them. But, I saw a serpent bite you. I saw you lying in the Vatican unable to wake up because the poisons had consumed your body. I saw you dying there." Van Helsing felt his chest tighten up knowing that Anna had seen all of that. He didn't quite understand how she saw, but he wished she'd been spared that pain. She continued on about her dreams, "I remember hearing the monks say that faith was all there was left to believe in to make you better. I was afraid that I would see you die and lose the only man I ever fell in love with."
Van Helsing held Anna against his chest. "Anna, I'm so sorry you had to endure those visions," he told her. "But, Madeline asked Mae to save me, and here I am. I' m here with you now, and I plan on staying."
"Until Rome calls for you." Anna said sadly, and Van Helsing knew that was correct. He knew the Order would need him to come back and hunt down a new monster. He didn't want to think about that at that point. All Van Helsing wanted to do was be close to Anna. She buried her head in his chest and told him, "Don't leave me."
"I won't leave you, Anna. Even if Rome calls for my aid."
Anna felt better hearing Van Helsing say he wouldn't leave her side, but she realized that she couldn't keep him from protecting world form evil. "I could not keep you from returning to Rome. You have evil to slay."
"Evil can wait. Right now, we both deserve time together." Van Helsing replied setting his forehead against the top of Anna's head.
"That sounds lovely, but evil waits for no one." Anna replied to pick at Van Helsing purposely.
Anna could not have been any more correct if she tried. Evil waited for no one, and evil was stirring right outside the manor. Victoria's soul had not left and reentered her body. The arrows fell away, and she sat up. She smiled wickedly when she saw all the villagers had went back to their business. 'Van Helsing should have let Adam finish me off,' she thought. 'Those pathetic arrows did nothing but make me angry.'
Victoria stood up and could feel her spell on Anna was broken. "Damn, that Van Helsing," she muttered. She looked around and saw her coven dead, drained of their blood. "And damn Adam as well." She knelt beside Tabitha and held her hand to the fang marks on her neck. Slowly, Victoria's powers willed Tabitha back to life. Tabitha gasped and grabbed Victoria's arm. "Vickie," she breathed, "It's only you."
"Get up." Victoria demanded, and Tabitha did as she was told.
Tabitha saw the coven dead, and she realized that Adam had attacked them. Victoria spat, "Help me wake them up, we have vengeance to claim." Tabitha just stared at her, and Victoria hissed at her. "What are you waiting for, girl? Get to work!"
Tabitha listened and began to help wake up the other fallen members of the coven. Victoria eyed the manor with a hateful gaze. "Soon, you shall feel my wrath, Adam. Very soon, and make no mistake about that."
"What is going on, Vickie?" Tabitha asked.
Victoria peered down at her. "That snake betrayed me. We must make him pay, and I believe that the only way to Adam's heart is through his daughter."
Tabitha froze. "We are going to kill Madeline?" Victoria nodded. "Vickie, that is foolishness. Madeline is a vampire as sure as Adam. She was going to kill me once, and I do believe she could have. There is no chance against two vampires, Mae, and Van Helsing."
Victoria used her mind skills to grab Tabitha's neck and squeeze it. "Listen to me, Tabitha, I make the rules in this game. I don't care how many they have on their side; I am stronger than all of them. Hell, even if Adam bites me, my soul will return to my body. I cannot die." Victoria walked right up to stare Tabitha in the face. "Have I made myself clear?" Tabitha nodded, and Victoria released her.
"You may not be able to die, but the rest of us can." Tabitha told her.
Victoria knew that, but she did not care. 'A loss I'm willing to accept,' she thought. But, she played it cool. "I believe you'll have better luck if we catch them off guard." Victoria really didn't believe what she said. She had a feeling Adam would take out her coven again, but she was willing to risk her coven because she could always create a new coven. Her only concern was making Adam pay, and possibly kill Van Helsing along the way just so he could not hunt her down later.