Chapter 1

"Chief, what is this?" Laurie's eyes grew wide at the heavy silver cross, scratched and tarnished. Held in the strong hands of the elder, it seemed to almost radiate something, like a stillness.

"This was your Great-Grandmother's, it was found when the foundation was laid to the cultural center parking area. I didn't know who it belonged to until I put two and two together when I read one of your unpublished stories." Chief Joseph smiled as she reverently touched the carved edges of the relic, the bottom broken off.

"Which story, oh, you mean the one with Barnabas and the coven?" Laurie asked, bemused by the thought of holding something which had inadvertently saved Kasey Adams and Barnabas Collins almost eighty years before.

"Yes, I believe the cave she was held in was right about where the back of the hospital is. It would have duplicated the conditions Barnabas needed when he was, as you say, under the curse." he added.

"I want you to take this with you to Maine, Light. Rick told me about your vision of danger to your family back east, this may help once again in a time of need." She was glad her husband had told him of the near-tragedy of the fire in the Collinwood library the other night. If Barnabas hadn't woken the household and used the entryway fire extinguisher....

Looking at the Chief's serious expression, Laurie nodded. "I'll wrap it well, that broken end might poke through my suitcase otherwise." Walking her mentor out to the driveway, she remembered that she wouldn't be seeing him at Thanksgiving this year, for the first time in almost two decades.

"Chief, I'm going to miss seeing you next Thursday, but we'll be back the following Sunday and Robin's promised to roast another turkey for us." she said brightly. The older man smiled back at her, "We will miss you two at dinner, but I think your cousins have more need of you this year then us. I'll make sure to bake extra fry bread for your return."

"Oh, now I'm know I'm going to miss you!" Laurie sniffed, then hugged the elder tightly. The Chief kissed her forehead, then said "you will be protected, whatever happens, you and Rick will be under your family's wing."

Saying goodbye, Laurie watched the elder's jeep until it disappeared down the road, then headed back into the house. As she placed the heavy relic in the top of her suitcase, already half full of gifts, she heard Rick on the phone with their travel agent. As she heard him end the call, she could tell he'd gotten a crash course in the new air fares. Coming into the living room, she found him reading his notes from his phone conversation.

"Fifteen hundred dollars! For two round-trip tickets to Maine? Yeeesh!" Rick made a disgusted face, then realized Laurie was standing behind him.

"I'm sorry, darlin', I didn't mean that the way it sounded." He turned, then held out his arms as she came to him. "It's all right, Rick." She sighed, going into his embrace then planting a kiss on his lips.

"The day you're afraid to be honest with me means I've let you down, darling." She told him earnestly. He shook his head, then returned the kiss with several more, until both were breathless.

"You've never let me down, sweetheart." He told her as he took her hand and sat down on the living room sofa. "I guess it's been a while since I 've priced cross-country airfares." "I wouldn't even have us go, but Carolyn says the lawyers for Uncle Roger's estate want us to come for the reading of the will since probate closed." Laurie replied. She didn't need to mention her cousin David's surprise note the week before, it seemed to have spurred her need to see him.

Laurie added, "You were so generous with our anniversary too, don't think I didn't notice how hard you worked to manage it for us."

It was a wonderful trip, Rick admitted, as he put an arm around his wife. Despite continuing pain from a broken arm, they had ridden all the roller coasters and taken pictures with the cartoon characters. They'd been to the Golden Horseshoe and Rick had been totally embarrassed by a glamorous saloon girl sitting on his lap. "A.J., what was I supposed to do, toss her off?" he'd whined when his brother teased him about the pictures. Laurie had sat there and laughed at his reaction, then pretended to compete with the performer and took her place in Rick's arms.

The best part to him had been riding above the park in the buckets and kissing Laurie in the moonlight. He wouldn't trade those memories for the world, but it had been expensive. Now with the invitation to spend Thanksgiving at Collinwood, he had to wonder if they could afford it.

Leaning against him, she suddenly sat up.

"Rick, I know how we can do it. Barnabas sent over the savings info on the bequest Aunt Elizabeth set up for us; I'm sure she'd approve of our using the funds for our travel expenses." Laurie turned, expecting agreement from her husband.

"Us? Laurie, that money is yours. We can manage just fine on what we have in the bank now." he said firmly.

"No, darling, it's ours. Aunt Elizabeth was very specific, it's our money. She said that she didn't believe in his money and my money in a marriage, that's why hers didn't last. I know that's not the reason for her husband leaving, but I don't believe in his or hers, I believe in ours." She insisted.

Seeing a stubborn look in his eye, she opened her mouth to continue, then realized she was doing something she'd sworn she wouldn't do, argue about money.

She buried her face in his chest, tired from teaching a last minute class at the cultural center. This wasn't worth fighting about, she decided.

"Laurie?" she heard him say. Then she felt his hand lifting up her face to his.

"Rick, I promised never to fight about money, and I mean it. I want you to have the final say about things like this. You are more important then being right, to me." she answered, meeting his worried eyes.

"Sweetheart..." Suddenly he was holding her, whispering "I love you." Near tears at his gentleness, she listened as he said "You're right, Laurie. Your aunt gave us that money, and using it for our airfare is the right thing to do."

"Thank you, my prince." She told him, kissing him, then giggled as he stood up then pulled her up from the couch, "My princess, how about I fix dinner while you call your cousin.

"Only if I can help afterwards with dessert." she replied coyly.

"How can I refuse?" he replied with a wicked grin, then walked her to the kitchen.

Three days later, husband and wife stood at the Phoenix airport waiting for their flight to be called. Barnabas Collins was waiting for them in Bangor with her cousin Carolyn, and Rick could see that Laurie was nervous to be returning to Maine after all these years.

"Darlin', did you take your airsick pill?" he asked, then snickered as she nodded.

"You are so bad, Rick, I took it with my tea just now." she smiled, seeing how he was trying to keep her mind off the flight. Just then a small voice yelled "Uncle Rick!" and they turned to see A.J. and Linda, with Ricky running ahead of them.

"There's my boy!" Rick couldn't believe it, his brother and his family had been visiting their family in San Diego and they weren't supposed to be back in time to say good bye.

Picking Ricky up, Rick hugged him then asked him, "Did you have a good time with Grandma?"

"Yes, but I wanted to see you, Uncle Rick!" the little guy nodded emphatically.

Laurie greeted her brother and sister-in-law, holding a sleeping Ceci, then slipped an arm around her nephew. "I'm glad we got to see you, Ricky, I'm going to miss you for Thanksgiving!"

"We all will, sis, but at least we'll have the kids for dinner and Oscar and Rudy may be back from Ojai in time for the feast!" Linda assured her. Rick saw his wife's face, suddenly it had occurred to her it would be their first holiday away from their family.

"Well, we will be having turkey near where the real wild turkeys are." he announced, prompting a giggle from Laurie and wide-eyed belief from his nephew.

"Rick, you stop that, he's going to believe you, you know!" A.J. wagged his finger at his brother. At that moment a first call for the flight to Bangor was made, and Rick watched Laurie's spirits flag.

"I'm going to miss you guys something awful, but we'll call on Thanksgiving to say hi!" she told her sister-in-law, hugging her. A.J. took his turn, giving Laurie a kiss then whispering, "I'll check on Robin and Robbie for you, honey, everything'll be okay!"

"Thank you, little brother." she kissed him, then let Rick put an arm around her and lead her to the gate.

Waving at the little family, they went through the tunnel then took their seats. When Laurie and Rick were settled in, she took his hand in hers and put it to her cheek.

"Sweetheart, what...." he started, then saw the look in her eyes. "It's all right, we don't have to go, darlin'." Rick said, seeing how upset she was at going.

Rick, thank you for understanding." she smiled tenderly, then added "But I need to go to Collinwood, don't mind me, I 'm just realizing we've never been away from our home for a holiday before. David and Carolyn need me now, it's their first holiday without Uncle Roger."

Rick started to interrupt, but she kissed him, "I know, David hasn't talked to me other then that note he sent last month. But, darling, he's a good kid, and I need to see that he's all right."

"My tender heart." he put his arm around her. "If anyone can help your cousins, it's you. but the first sign of anything spooky, well, we're coming home, capice?"

"Capice, my love." she snuggled happily next to him as the plane took off, then quietly dozed off.

Shaking his head indulgently at his wife, Rick pulled down the shade on the window, and put his head back.

As they touched down at the small airport in Bangor, Rick groaned at the thought of standing up after such a long flight. From Phoenix to Boston, the trip had been relatively smooth.

Now from Logan to Maine, that was a different story. Even Laurie's E-ticket stomach had barely made it through all the bouncing around they had. She had spent the better part of the last hour hiding her face in his shoulder.

"Rick?" he turned to see her looking up at him. She pulled his face down to hers and gave him a kiss. "Thank you for being my security blanket, darling. I thought I was going to be so sick, but you holding me helped."

"My brave girl, you're practically the only one who didn't get sick." he teased, then kissed her hand. "You can hide in my arms anytime, angel."

Seeing the smiling glances the cabin crew gave them, Laurie blushed, then took Rick's hand as they went through the exit tunnel, then came out into the small lobby of the Bangor field.

Three people were waiting for them, and Laurie lit up seeing who the third person was.

"Laurie, Rick! Over here!" Carolyn Stoddard waved at them, then the two Simons went to meet them by the baggage claim.

"David!" Laurie saw the young man who had been so precocious but caring all those years before. Now in his late twenties, he had his own accountant's office, and worked with the Collins shipping company on a regular basis.

As he came towards her and Rick, she had tears in her eyes; he still had that boyish half-smile.

Opening her arms, she felt like all the years melted away as he came and hugged her. "Laurie, I'm so glad to see you."

"I've missed you, David. You look wonderful." she beamed, then taking Rick's hand, drew him forward. "David, this is my husband, Rick Simon. Rick, this is David Collins, my cousin."

Tenatively Rick held out his hand, and after a moment, David shook it. "Nice to meet you, Rick. Carolyn's told me a lot about you."

Suddenly he grinned, "Is it true Laurie and you met when some bully tried to beat up your brother?"

"Yes, even then she was a fighter, she butted the little creep in the stomach!" Rick laughed, then extended his hand to her older cousin. "How are you, Barnabas?"

"Very well, Rick." the older man smiled, then hugged Laurie as Carolyn greeted her husband.

After gathering their bags, the small party headed toward the parking lot, where Laurie stopped

in her tracks and quavered, "you still use the station wagon?"

Carolyn put her arm around her cousin, "sure do, honey. It still runs well, has over 100,000 miles on it!" Furtively wiping her eyes, Laurie turned to Rick, "Every time I came to visit, Carolyn or Elizabeth would come to pick me up at the train station in that car. When Steve would fly us in, we'd go into the old airfield near town, and there would be the station wagon."

"I remember, Laurie. The first time I saw Steve, I had just broken up with Joe, and whoa, he was so big and tall!" Rick noted Carolyn had the same far away look as his wife.

Resisting the urge to make a smart remark, he turned to say something to Barnabas and saw the same expression on the older man's face. "I'm very glad you and Laurie came, Rick." he said quietly. "They need someone who remembers happier times." he added, helping stow the luggage.

As they drove through Collinsport, David pointed out several new housing developments, a new country club, even an outlet mall. Rick shook his head, then caught Barnabas's eye.

"I guess things change everywhere, Barnabas. I think our home is one of the few that hasn't been overrun."

As Carolyn drove through the gates of Collinwood, Rick felt Laurie's hand tremble in his, and he squeezed it tenderly. Then he saw the great house, and he realized the pictures he'd been shone didn't do it justice. "Like something out of a book." he said aloud, then winced inwardly, fearing it sounded insulting.

"That's what I said the first time I saw it, Rick." Laurie smiled at him. Carolyn laughed.

"I remember, Mother said you were in such awe of the house, you said it was like out of Jane Austen. She was so impressed you had even heard of the author."

"That's because of Mom, Rick's mother. She always made sure I got my English literature books when my stepmother wouldn't." Rick heard the note of wistfulness in her voice, and put his arm around her shoulders.

As Carolyn was halfway down the drive, a figure in white suddenly ran in front of the car.

Startled, she swerved the vehicle to avoid hitting the person, only to find the car out of control.