Chapter Fourteen

The next twenty-four hours were a mass of confusion, to say the least. Still, Courtney thought she played her part to perfection. She stayed at the dance as long as possible, in order to give Max and Emma time to…do their thing, and made sure to keep Susanna and Adora away as long as possible.

She let Susanna discover the body and call Mr. Holloway. Courtney wasn't sure she would be able to act well enough, knowing what was really going on. Still, it was a shock to see Emma lying there, not breathing at all. It was easy to forget that she wasn't really and truly dead, but rather, becoming undead…

She answered Mr. Holloway's questions as best she could. No, she hasn't noticed anything off about Emma before the dance. Yes, Emma had insisted she was fine once she left.

"How could this happen?" Adora whispered, big brown eyes threatening to spill over in tears any moment.

How Courtney wished she could tell Susanna and Adora what was going on; she hated seeing them so devastated! But she remembered what Max had told her, about it being dangerous enough that she knew about this. It was better for them not to know.

vvvvvvvv

Kristen was the one who answered the phone at the Taylor household, expecting her friend Natalie and certainly not Mr. Holloway's voice on the other line, asking to speak with Stephanie.

She felt hollow inside as she gave the phone to her step-mom, watching as Stephanie's face went white, as her grip on the phone lessened until it fell to the floor causing Mark, Sean and Michael to run into the kitchen. Watching as Mark picked up the phone himself and his face also going pale. She knew what Mr. Holloway was telling them; she'd known it from the moment when she's heard his voice on the other end of the line.

Kristen Taylor'd never liked her step-sister much, but she realized how integral Emma had been to this family, now that she was gone.

This shouldn't be happening.

vvvvvvv

Max stayed in the woods around Jenny House until such time as it was conceivable that he could arrive. It made it all the more convenient that Kristen had the presence of mind to call him, he thought. Now he had reason to show up at the Jenny House doors, looking all rumpled, meeting the Taylors there, telling them he couldn't help but drive down as well the instant he heard.

He managed to do what needed to be done, to make sure that Emma's not quite dead body wasn't damaged in any way. Vampire telepathy was certainly an advantage. Soon, and unpreserved Emma was wrapped up, ready to be transported back home for burial.

"Max, I just…I can't believe this," Kristen told him, twisting a strand of long brown hair around her finger.

Perhaps Max should have looked more closely at Kristen's expression, but when one's attempting to use the powers of persuasion on strangers to keep them from performing an autopsy, one doesn't necessarily think to do that.

vvvvvv

The funeral went about as well as could be expected, Kristen thought. Her black dress was proper for mourning her step-sister, but ever since she'd seen Max at Jenny House…no, before, ever since she'd called him, something hadn't been quite right for her. She couldn't place her finger on it and she felt horrible that she'd be feeling suspicious and skeptical over an unknown feeling when they were burying her step-sister, but that didn't stop Kristen one bit.

It seemed so final. The Mass, the priest's words, Raquel Samaniego giving a eulogy on her best friend and their years together. Lowering the coffin with Emma's body into the ground.

You can't see her, how do you know she's really inside? Kristen couldn't help but wonder, looking at the coffin lid. Ugh, what a weird thought. She shook her head and looked up at Max who was staring at her oddly.

Something's not right here, she thought. Something's really not right. I can't place my finger on it but I know it for a fact.

Max's behavior wasn't helping things either. Not one bit.

And so that's why she decided to keep a close watch on Max Pine over the next couple of days.

vvvvvvvv

He might have missed it at first, but after a coupl edays...Max wasn't stupid enough to not realize that Kristen suspected something was up, and he let her suspect it. She was a shrewd one, Emma's stepsister, and while the best thing would obviously be if she was as oblivious as the rest of her family on the matter of Emma, he could make use of her if she did discover the truth. So he let her see him buying the shovel at the hardware store the third day after Emma had been buried.

And now it was time, time to bring Emma into her new life, and then…well who knew what was happening next? Right now, Max was going to be focused on the present. And so he was, digging the newly packed dirt with his shovel until he reached the coffin underneath.

"Welcome back, Emma" he whispered with a slight grin, as he reached down to open the coffin and allow the new vampire to step out.

Until he was interrupted by a voice.

"What are you doing?"

Kristen, just as he was pretty much expecting.

"Hello," he replied, reaching down once more and opening the lid.

"You're going to defile a dead girl? Just how sick are you?" Kristen was continuing, coming over by him, "Max, I thought you were weird but I never thought…I…"

She suddenly looked a little bit frightened as if realizing that if Max was the necrophilic maniac she was thinking, then she herself probably wasn't safe here.

Fortunately, he was none of the sort. "I was hoping you'd come and join us, actually," he continued, "You see, I've turned your step-sister into a vampire, and she'll probably be quite hungry."

"You…uh?" Kristen looked as though she were about to lecture him, but stopped and turned rather pale instead.

Max turned around to see Emma standing in the hole, and looking out at Max and Kristen, her brown eyes looking positively delighted and her tongue licking over her new sharp canines.

"Hello, Emma," Max said, leaving Kristen to push a bit of her long brown hair out of her eyes.

It's like Max's touch woke Emma up from the half sleepy state she was in and she recognized her soulmate for who he was.

"I made it! It worked!" She grimaced, "It hurts."

He nodded. "You need to feed. I'm sure Kristen won't mind donating a little."

"I'm not going to let her kill me!" Kristen exclaimed in horror.

"Certainly not. She just needs a little bit to tide her over. Unless you'd like her to die again as soon as she came back."

Kristen was still obviously in shock about what she was seeing, and breathing heavily. "Okay Kristen. Don't think about it. Think later. Just do now." And so she slowly walked over to the graveside where the other two were standing and started to push her hair away from her neck.

"Oh, your wrist will be fine," Max said, taking her hand and offering it to Emma, who in an almost instinctual fashion, bit it and started drinking, feeling the ache in her body start to wane with the rich oxygen nourishment.

"All right, that's enough, Emma," Max said finally, as Kristen pulled her wrist back and massaging it with a dazed expression on her face. He turned to her and nodded, "Thank you," before pulling Emma out of the hold, closing the coffin lid, and starting to fill up the grave again.

"You turned Emma into a vampire. You're a vampire!" Kristen suddenly exclaimed, letting everything that she was seeing sink it.

"It was the only way, Kristen," said Emma, "Let me explain."

And so she did. Fortunately, Kristen was sensible enough that she didn't put up much of a fuss, although she still looked rather shocked to discover the existence of the Night World, rather unsurprisingly.

"What now, though? You can't come home…they all think you're dead."

Emma bit her lip at Kristen's question. "Max? Do they have Circle Daybreak in Mexico?"

"In Mexico?" he looked puzzled for a moment, "They're popping up everywhere. Why?"

"Let's go there!" she said, "If I can't go home, I at least want to go back to my roots. I never learned Spanish when I was alive…I regret that…"

"Mexico it is, then," said Max with a smile. "And who knows? Depending on how things turn out with the Night World and Circle Daybreak, maybe someday you'll be able to go home again."

"I hope so," she said.

With that, she suddenly gave Kristen a big hug. "You aren't bad for a step-sister, you know? I'll write you from Mexico, from a fake name. You watch Mom, okay?"

Kristen smiled. "I was already planning on it."

Emma nodded, glancing once more at her step-sister before turning back to Max and snuggling under his arm. This would work then. She would find her heritage, keep in touch with Kristen and know how her family was doing and wait for the day when she could be home for Christmas. Because it would come someday; she knew it.

vvvvvvv

Notes: Over two years, and this story is finally finished (why I should not try to write long stories, heh). I apologize, because I know that chapter wasn't up to my usual standard. I think when it comes down to it, I've outgrown this story, and outgrown this fandom. But I still wanted to finish it. It was originally going to end a bit differently and there was going to be a sequel, but there's no way that can happen, and I think I'm in general happy with this ending a bit better.

I'll be using this account for future fanfics in other fandoms (though I'm not entirely sure how many of those there will be either, because I've sort of moved from fanfiction to roleplaying as my means of creative written expression), but I don't think I'll be writing anymore Lurlene McDaniel. I enjoyed writing and my experiences over in this little corner of ffn.

So I suppose I just say: "So long, and thanks for all the fish." It's been a good go of it.

switz