A/N: And here's chapter 10! Nifty new chapter titles- check 'em out! Okay, before the usual response, I want to thank whoever added this story to the C2 community "Remarkable Hellsing Fiction." It was my secret dream to write a story that would end up in a C2, so you can imagine how happy I was. Thank you so much! Right, now to the reviewers. ZealousReformer, that was fast as well. I can't type if you're sitting on my computer. : ) RenegadePineapple, darkfighter, ask and ye shall receive. Oblivionknight7, Anderson's Orphanage is in Rome, no such luck, I'm afraid. TornadoReviewer, I didn't intend to bring Iscariot in, but you never know, and here's your update. Vampyr'sDaughter, I am such a meanie… and you'll have to wait and see.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hellsing, or any of its characters. Hellsing is (c) Kouta Hirano. This storyline, Eva and The Staircase are (c) me.

Seras felt the arms snake around her, and Eva rested her cheek against the top of Seras' head. She stiffened in shock, then leaned into the embrace, and listened to Eva murmuring. "No, you were right… and that's just the attitude you're going to need now … you'll be able to pick yourself up again… It's alright, darling."

Eva rocked Seras back and forth, and her sobs slowly disappeared.

They sat together like that for another brief moment, and then Eva let go and backed away. She smiled at the younger girl, and Seras smiled back. "Thank you." Eva raised an eyebrow. "My pleasure, trust me." Then she got up, and hunted around her messy desk, looking for something Seras could only guess at. As she searched, she called, "You're going to stay here this week, though. We need to get you contacts, and some clothes. You'll need a story, and you'll also need some background." She slammed a drawer open, and shut it again. "We'll also have to figure the whole 'blood situation' out." Seras had told her how she refused to drink blood unless absolutely necessary.

Seras smiled, and jumped to her feet. "Need help?"

Eva looked mildly surprised, then nodded. "I'm looking for my cigarettes."

Seras nodded right back, and tackled the desktop.

"I'll get somebody to show you to a room for the day. Right now, I'm going to have another good smoke, change, and oversee closing downstairs. By then it'll be around dawn, and I'll be turning in too." She slammed another drawer. Seras unearthed a little white box, and cried out. Eva looked over, and the blonde proudly handed them to her. The dark-haired woman smiled, and grabbed the phone again. She tucked the receiver between her cheek and shoulder, and lit her cigarette with her free hands. She talked to someone downstairs, and Seras wandered around the room, wondering what Eva had done for this Sherry person that she was owed a favor.

Halfway through her thoughts, Eva hung up, and soon there was a knock at the door.

She was faint, but there.

Her consciousness played at the edge of his, reinforced by the seals. The battle was going well, her will to live fueled by a determination not to lose to him. Damn. Seras too hovered in his mind, he could feel her well enough to know she 'lived,' and her location was stamped upon his brain. I wonder what the hell Integra did to her. His fledgling's emotional overdrive kept pulling at his attention. It was instinct. She was his 'child,' so if she was upset, something was wrong, and he needed to go protect her. Since she was usually upset about something, this had been very distracting in the beginning. He was more used to it now, but still… he growled and stood up, deciding that it was about time to come down. The moon was low in the sky, and the darkness was turning into a deep blue.

He slid down the roof, enjoying the rush.

He landed on his feet, of course, the impact almost knocking him off balance. He blinked, took a second to recover, and then climbed the steps in front of the door. He slipped inside, striding down quiet, somber halls. Alucard passed by her room, and found it to be quiet. He stuck his head in, and saw her asleep, with a few men and women watching over her. He frowned, and then continued down the hall, heading for the basement. So only tomorrow night will tell, eh? Patience was not a virtue he possessed.

The Nosferatu had discovered that doorknobs were a problem. He couldn't phase through the doors, and his arms were… tied up. He ran into the same difficulty with the door to his room, and felt like bashing it down.

Marvelous.


Her room was bare, and dull.

'Tiffany,' the woman who'd arrived at Eva's door to escort her here, cracked her gum. "Here it is. Good night." She then turned on her heel and left, closing the door. There was a bed in the corner, and an ancient-looking frame was its only support. Seras sunk down onto the mattress. "Good night," she whispered back.

The vampiress took off her shoes, and laid them neatly next to the bed. She then laid back on the creaky thing, and her left hand began groping around. She tried to remember what she was looking for while she searched. She furrowed her brow in concentration, and then it hit her. She was looking for the control to lower the lid on her coffin-bed. She closed her eyes and sighed.

Then the sun rose, and her mind went blank as she submitted to sleep.

His eyes snapped open as soon as the sun left the sky, and he used a knee to shove the lid of his coffin open. He hopped out, and closed it with a heel. Alucard brushed past the splintered and mangled ruins of his door, and set off down the hallway at a brisk pace, all the while searching for her mind. Is the fight won? So soon?

The bonds were still in place, so obviously she had not lost yet. That didn't necessarily mean she was fine, however. Soon he was out of the dark basement, and walking down the halls. She was asleep. Her mind had settled into an incoherent buzz. The No-life King found himself at her door, and strode in without knocking.

The first thing that caught his attention was Walter, who had dozed off in a chair next to the bed. You've gone soft, Angel of Death. He was sleeping silently, his monocle hanging from its chain, no longer on his nose. He stirred, and Alucard moved his attention to a wide-eyed man in the corner. The man opened his mouth to speak, but Alucard cut him off. "Quiet, you'll wake him. He needs the sleep." He grinned, displaying his shark-like mouth of teeth before adding, "Now get out." The man hurried to do so, sweat and fear pouring off of him.

Alucard quietly moved to Integra's bed, and studied her slack face. She was lost in sleep, and black stitches sealed the wound on her neck. He wanted a look at her ribs, but then again, moving the blanket might wake her. Alucard then realized it was pointless to stay; neither Integra nor Walter was going to wake anytime soon. He slipped out of the room without a sound, moving past the frightened man in the hallway.

The Nosferatu began to wonder what would happen now. Obviously, whatever it was would wait until after his master was recovered, but what then? Would she punish him? Seal him away? Starve him? He didn't know. And if she did, he wasn't sure how he would fight her. If he was expected to go quietly, they were mistaken. The display in the office should have been enough to prove that. Then again, he wasn't sure he'd done the right thing… and it hadn't worked anyway.

The trap was closing in on him… at least it was something new.

I think she'll shoot me if I ever complain of boredom again. The thought made him smile, and he chuckled as he walked to nowhere in particular. This was the first time he'd gotten to really think on the situation… and it was still puzzling. Orders? Oh- the Queen. Why would the Queen order his imprisionment? And what about Seras? His fledgling was far from a threat. Not that there were many threats these da- He stopped dead in his tracks.

Threats.

Ah.

It was clear to him now. No more Vampires, no more Hellsing. Yet, Hellsing was still here… because not all the vampires were gone. There were two left. He smirked, wondering if Hellsing's new duty would be to guard him, now. The thought made him want to roar with laughter. Hellsing, honorable order for the protection of Vlad Dracula… He did laugh, wondering if Van Hellsing was turning in his grave. No, he wouldn't be, because they'd be his wardens, his keepers. As always.

Still, he enjoyed wondering what the near future might hold.

Seras sat up, and blinked several times.

What time is it? She slid into her shoes, and stood up, expecting to see a bag of blood waiting for her. It wasn't there, of course, and for the first time in a while, Seras wished it was. Because that would mean I'd be home. Not that she'd drink it, in any case. She yawned, and trudged over to a mirror in the corner. Ack. I look terrible. She reached up and tried in vain to tame her hair, but the yellow mane continued to defy her. She noticed again how it seemed to be brighter in the dark. Makes me look like a lamp. With that cheering thought, she tugged at her uniform, attempting to neaten it up.

There was a loud knock on the door, and with one last adjustment, Seras called, "Come in!" Tifffany entered, cracking her gum. "C'mon, Eva wants you." Seras nodded, and followed her out of the room.