Disclaimer: Yeah, still not mine, blah blah. Sorry, nothing witty today.
A/N: I actually have nothing going on today, so I'm posting chaps 15 and 16 for all you wonderful people who seem to like my story so much. :) I don't have much to say; I just want to get these posted, so my thanks go out to my three reviewers from chappie 14: Countess Alana, Lady Kathrin, and FastFuriousChick. Sorry I didn't do individual responses, but I just didn't feel like it. I love you guys and thanks for your reviews and support:) And now, on to the chappie!
Chapter 15
My eyes flared open and I stretched and yawned. Unsure of what had suddenly awoken me, I looked around, thinking maybe a noise had startled me awake. Then I caught a glimpse of the clock. Oh, 6:08 AM. Right, as usual. I sighed and rolled my eyes. This whole thing had irrevocably changed my life; I couldn't even wake up when I wanted to! Or sleep in. I shuddered at the thought of always getting up at 6:08 for the rest of my life and snuggled back under my hospital bed covers, trying to reclaim that blissful sleep I'd had mere moments ago.
But it wouldn't come. Eventually I resigned myself to staying awake and sat up in bed. This hospital room is so boring, I thought to myself, glancing around at the perfect, white-washed walls. And I'm starving! I gotta get out of here for a while. It took a moment for me to work up the courage to leave my warm bed, but the idea of staying here seemed even worse. I was so restless; I realized that I'd done nothing but lie in that bed for about 3 days. I decided then that I wanted a shower too.
Unsure whether my legs would support me, I gingerly stepped down off the side of the bed and put my weight on first one foot, then the other. My ribs hardly ached at all, making me feel more confident. My arm was still in a cast, but after a few slight wobbles I could walk around just fine. Luckily there was no IV attached to me that I had to drag around, so I simply stepped outside and flagged down the first medical attendant I saw.
"Excuse me," I began, "I'm rather hungry. Could you tell me where I might get something to eat? And maybe a shower as well?" The doctor whom I was speaking to I suddenly recognized as none other than the annoying imbecile from when I'd first arrived. What, did he live on this floor or something? Didn't he have anywhere else he could be? Annoying the hell out of somebody else perhaps? He looked at me, shocked.
"What are you doing out of bed? Are you crazy! Your ribs are in no condition for you to go walking around this hospital without a wheelchair at least. You should have simply pressed the nurse call button and food would have been brought to you. Now I must insist that you get back in bed immediately."
I glared at him, getting angrier by the minute. This conversation was NOT getting food into my stomach any faster. "First of all," I said, "If I were in a wheelchair, I couldn't be walking around, now could I? Second of all, I'm perfectly fine and am quite capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much. Take me to some food before I pass out from hunger because of your delaying me."
He would have continued to argue, but my tone and the evil-glare-of-death I sent him persuaded him otherwise. "Follow me." he mumbled gruffly, before leading the way down the hall. Ha, yes glorious food. I win. I followed him mutely down the hall, my stomach rumbling every once in a while, and soon we came to a cafeteria of sorts for mobile patients. The doctor left me here with strict orders to return to my room once I was finished. I meandered across the room, which wasn't very large, to where I guessed the line for food began. Food! Oh, I couldn't wait. There weren't many people in line, so I didn't have to. When I got to the food, my heart swelled, then fell crashing down to around my ankles. Oh, it was food, (at least they could call it that) but it was that hospital food where everything was roughly the same in color and reminiscent of a sponge. To top it off, it was breakfast food. Duh, I reminded myself, it was barely 6:30 in the morning. Great. I'm not too big on breakfast foods. Oh, well. I'd made it this far, and I wasn't about to stop now.
I looked up hopefully at the woman behind the counter and said almost timidly, "Um, excuse me. Do you have any Belgian waffles? Possibly with strawberries and whipped cream...?" I trailed off at the look I was receiving.
"Honey, does this look like a five-star buffet to you?" I shook my head, sighing. I knew it'd be hopeless to ask. "But, I can get you some waffles, with a fruit cup, and cream in your coffee. How's that?" I smiled wearily and said that would be fine. Not a bad compromise, I supposed. The hospital went up slightly in my estimation. After all, the lady was pretty nice, it being so early and all. I took my food, and thanked her, smiling again, and went to go sit down. The place was virtually empty, but I didn't really mind.
I ate my slightly spongy waffles (cringe) and my fruit cup ( feeling like a five-year old again), and took my coffee with me back to my room. My hunger sated, I was still a bit tired and had no desire to wander around any further. I chugged the rest of my coffee, which, unfortunately was decaf, and threw the cup away. Wondering what Van Helsing and everyone were up to, I ran through what we knew in my mind.
I am Anna's reincarnation. The Devil wants me dead. Dracula was sent to the future to kill me, after failing to do so when I was in the past. No, not kill me per se, just get me out of the way. I had a sneaking suspicion that Dracula would rather I become one of his bimbo brides than dead if he had a choice. Van Helsing and Carl were sent to the future to help protect me from Dracula, and now my friends Lydia, Sylvia, and Fiona were all in on it. None of the old-school ways to kill Dracula worked, so that meant no Holy Water, no garlic, no crucifixes, no wooden or silver stake through the heart, not even sunlight had any effect. This meant we were stuck with Drac being very much immortal, and the rest of us being very mortal. It seemed to me that we were out of moves, and I was still convalescing from being thrown unceremoniously off a roof by yours truly. What else could we do? I sighed. Just to throw in some added stress, I was falling in love with Van Helsing, but I'd kissed Dracula. Remembering made me shudder, but a part of me decided to remind the rest of me that I'd enjoyed it. I quickly pushed that thought away. And there was Carl, who seemed to like Sylvia, and Fiona, who had till recently been dating Dracula totally unawares. God, how can all this be going on and we still have time for relationship crap? My life was definitely a huge mess. The only thing that could make it worse right now, would be for me to walk back into my room with Dracula waiting for...
I thought this as I pushed open the door to my hospital room to find who else, but Dracula lying on his back in my bed, staring at the ceiling, dressed as usual in pristine black leather, including gloves. My mind froze at the coincidence, and then anger like I had never before known at 7 AM went rushing through me. I stood, speechless with fury and frustration, glaring at Dracula.
He didn't look over at me, but he obviously knew I was there, for he began speaking. "I didn't expect you to be up so early. I came to visit you again, only to find you gone. You shouldn't be walking around in your condition, you know." He continued to look up at the ceiling, while I spluttered in anger. There were so many things I wanted to shout at him at once, that I couldn't manage to say any of them. "Save your breath and energy. I know what's in your mind. You want to know many things, more than what's good for you, I think. But right now you seem most bothered by my lying here." He glanced over at me, then back at the ceiling. "When I arrived, it was still warm..." He put his gloved hand up on the pillow, then slowly slid it down the sheets where my body had lain. "Such warmth as I have not felt in...a long, long time."
I watched him, emotions flying. I didn't know what I felt anymore, but when he looked over at me again, his haunting and alluring eyes captured my gaze, and I felt all my anger slowly dissipate. "Come," he whispered to me, "Warm my heart, Andrea. Make me feel warm again." I stared, mesmerized, and took a tentative step towards the bed. But something broke through the mist in my mind, and I stopped, shaking my head.
"You are beyond saving, Vladislaus; you have been for over five thousand years. Nothing I could do would change your fate." I whispered. The more I stared at him, the more confused I felt, and the more my neck began to ache where he had almost bit me when I was in the past, so long ago it seemed. I put my hand up to the side of my neck where the pin-prick sized scars remained, (I had all but forgotten them until now.) and turned my face away from the figure on my bed, that chilling man who had no warmth inside him. I began to shiver from standing in the draft by the door for so long; I was only wearing one of those thin hospital gowns. But I refused to come any closer until Dracula left. I tried to stop my shuddering, but failed. When I looked over again Dracula had vanished, but I felt him reappear behind me.
He closed the door quietly, stopping the draft somewhat. His soft, gloved fingers slid very slowly up and down the bare skin of my arms, as if that was all he could do to stop my shivering, all the warmth he could give. His one hand lingered on the arm in the sling, like a silent apology. After a moment I pulled away, and I heard an almost inaudible sigh escape his lips. Then, I knew he had gone, though I didn't turn around.
I walked over towards the bed; the indent in the pillow where Dracula's head had lain was still there, but I when placed my hand on the sheets they were as cold as ice, as if no one had ever lain in them. I stood there quietly, too numb to think, then pushed the nurse call button before I really knew what I was doing. A nice-looking young woman bustled in almost instantaneously.
"Hello, dear. What can I do for you?" She smiled kindly at me, but everything seemed so surreal. It took me a moment to organize my thoughts and speak.
"Uh, I was wondering...if I could have a new set of sheets..."
"Of course, dear. I'll get those right away for you."
"And, could tell me where I might take a shower?" I shuddered again, remembering Dracula's soft, barely teasing touch on my arms.
"Sure. Just go down the hall this way and to your left. There'll be a sign, and soap and towels for you." I smiled in thanks and she bustled back out to get me some fresh sheets. It was a little too early for her to be so perky I decided, but I was too dazed to really care. I followed her directions down the hall, thinking how nice a good, hot shower would be...
Ta-Da! More Drac and Andrea stuff. :) Nothing really happened in this chapter, but what do you think? Review and let me know please-and-thank-you! Or you could just review after chappie 16, whichever you prefer…
Gem