A/N: Amy, you had a question about Katrina and her grandmother. Sorry, but no, she's only going to be able to see and talk to her for a short time (probably until they leave Romania), but you never know, Grandma Katrina could pop up at anytime in my stories so stay tuned.
Now, a quick note: Coming up in this chapter, there is going to be a little talk about vampires. I'm assuming that by this point, Rafe has at least told Katrina some stories about them. (Remember how she told the moving men her daddy was so strong he could throw a vampire across the room? LOL)
Anyway, I think it's important for Rafe to at least tell his daughter about their legacy, even though Katrina will never really have to be a slayer. And as far as believing in vampires, well it's not hard for Katrina to believe in them because she also believes in monsters hiding under her bed lol.
Okay, actually, I have a few more things…
When Alison is talking to the elderly woman, she attempts to say, "I'm sorry" in Romanian.
The vendor guy selling the toy horses, he says to Katrina, "Pretty little girl, for you."
Interesting facts I learned about Romania: Did you know that it's not uncommon today to find people using horses and wagons to get around instead of cars or trucks? Also, many farmers still use horses to plow their fields instead of modern day tractors. Huh! Imagine that:)
Changes 22
"Katrina! Not so fast!" Alison called out as Katrina ran ahead of her. "Mommy can't keep up!" Alison wiped a bead of sweat dripping down her lip with her finger. Maybe Rafe had been right. She should have taken the car. What was she thinking taking a walk in July, and nearing her seventh month of pregnancy?
Katrina reluctantly slowed her pace. It looked so different here than at home. There were mountains in the distance and long stretches of grassy fields everywhere. She wanted to see everything!
As they walked past a small looking house, Katrina saw some pretty yellow flowers planted at the end of the drive. She stopped to smell them.
Alison stopped walking when she realized Katrina was suddenly the one trailing behind. She turned around just in time to see her pull a handful of somebody's flowers out of the ground.
"Katrina!"
"Here, Mommy! I got some flowers for you!" Katrina smiled proudly as she pushed the crushed stems into her mother's hand.
"Katrina…baby that's nice of you, but you can't pick flowers out of other people's yards. It's not polite."
Sitting on the porch, an elderly lady had been watching them. She stood up from her chair and slowly made her way over to them.
"Smell them, Mommy!"
"Marigolds," the woman said.
Alison turned to the woman, still holding the flowers in her hand and embarrassed they had been caught. "Um…I sînt…sînt sup…supărat," Alison stammered, wondering if she was saying that right or not.
The woman smiled. "I speak English."
"Oh. I'm very sorry. My daughter didn't mean to take your flowers."
She laughed. "It's quite alright. I have plenty of flowers. I'm Violeta. Violeta Marandici."
"It's nice to meet you, Violeta. I'm--"
Violeta smiled. "I know who you are."
Alison looked surprised. "You do?"
"Of course. You must be Rafe's wife. Alison. And this must be Katrina."
Alison was stunned. "How did you know that?"
"Word travels fast in this village," she said with a laugh.
"So you know who my husband is?"
"I do. Oh he probably doesn't remember me much; he was just a young boy. I knew his mother quite well though." Violeta turned her attention to Katrina. "Well aren't you just the prettiest little thing."
Katrina smiled. She loved the attention everyone gave her. Everyone thought she was cute. "Hey, you know what! My mommy's got a baby in her belly!" she announced. "Sometimes he kicks! You can feel!" Katrina placed her hand on her mother's belly to show the lady that she wasn't lying.
Violeta laughed, bending down to get a better look at the child. "Oh if your grandmother could see you now."
"She has seen me. She's an angel."
She smiled. "Oh, of course, dear." Violeta looked up to Alison. "Dear, would you and the little one like some lemonade? It's hot out here. Why don't you come sit down for a while?"
Alison smiled. "Okay. I would like that."
"Mommy, can I play?"
"Yeah, you can play. But stay where I can see you."
Katrina happily ran off as Alison followed Violeta to the porch.
"So you knew Rafe's mother?" Alison asked as Violeta poured her a glass of lemonade and sat down beside her.
"Oh yes, I knew her very well. She was a very sweet girl. She and my daughter Hannah were good friends."
"Where's Hannah now?"
"Oh, she moved years ago. Living in England with her husband. Has a grandchild now. I'm a great-grandmother, can you believe it?" Violeta laughed.
"Do you get to see them often?"
"Not as often as I would like to. Speaking of people we don't see that often…what brings Rafe back to Transylvania after all of these years? The whole village is talking about his return."
Alison was surprised. "Really?"
"Well he left so many years ago, and he was gone for so long. No one really knew what became of him. But I knew. Chasing Caleb was what he was doing."
"Rafe made sure he would never hurt anyone ever again."
Violeta smiled. "For that, we're all very grateful. So, what is it that brings Rafe back?"
"He's here to fix up the old house and sell it."
"What? You mean you aren't staying?"
Alison shook her head. "No, afraid not. Our home is back in America. But I wanted to come here with Rafe to see where he grew up. It's so beautiful here."
"Oh. Well it's a shame you won't be staying longer. Transylvania just doesn't seem the same without the Koviches."
Alison thought about that. Sometimes she forgot that Romania was Rafe's first home, and that this is where he grew up and could have easily spent the rest of his life if things had been different. She wondered if Rafe ever missed living here, and if that was the reason why he was having such a hard time letting go.
Before long, Alison realized she and Violeta had been chatting for a half hour.
"Well, I really should be going now," Alison announced. "If I stay out too much longer, Rafe will start to worry about me. Thank you so much for the lemonade. I enjoyed talking to you."
"You're welcome. You come visit me again. I do enjoy the company. And bring Rafe too."
"I will," she promised. "Katrina! Let's get going!"
Over by the edge of the yard, Violeta had a small chicken pen. Several hens clucked around all over the place, and Katrina was right in the middle. Violeta and Alison both began laughing as Katrina flapped her arms like chicken wings and started clucking.
"Katrina!"
Katrina realized her mother was calling for her, and she ran to the porch.
"You silly goose," Alison said with a laugh.
"Not goose, Mommy! Chicken! Bock, bock, bock!"
Violeta laughed hard. It had been a while since she had been around children.
"We have to go, sweetie, before Daddy starts to worry about us. Say goodbye to Violeta."
"Bye!" Katrina said, running over to the woman and giving her a hug goodbye.
"Well goodbye, dear. You come visit me again, okay?"
"Okay," Katrina said.
"We'll come see you soon. Bye."
Violeta waved at Alison and Katrina as they walked down the steps and headed toward the road. "Goodbye!" she called out.
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Alison had been downtown to the market place several times with Rafe to buy food and supplies, but this was the first time she ventured there on her own. Vendors were everywhere, selling everything from produce to jewelry to clothing.
Further down the street, the square was even more alive with activity, mostly tourists. Rafe avoided that section, but Alison loved touristy stuff. Taking Katrina's hand, she led her down the street, searching for a stand that sold postcards. She had promised to send Livvie one.
As she walked past the vendor stands, she could see why Rafe preferred to stay away. Everyone seemed to be embracing Dracula, selling fang teeth, plastic bats, little miniature Dracula dolls, and all sorts of other vampire paraphernalia. Alison watched as a laughing couple posed for a picture. The man had in fang teeth and was pretending to bite his lady friend. They all thought it was a big joke, but Alison knew better. It was no laughing matter. Those close to her had been to hell and back that summer years ago. If they had to go through what her friends went through, they would be thinking twice about making light of it all.
Alison took her daughter's hand and led her through the craziness of the downtown market. At the corner, she found the postcards. Most of them featured Dracula's castle, which didn't seem appropriate to send to Livvie. Alison settled for a nice one with a picture of Romania's countryside.
As her mother continued to browse through the postcard selections, Katrina looked at the assortment of items on a nearby table.
"My Daddy has a real one of these," Katrina said to the man behind the table as she picked up a sharp looking model stake. "I saw one at the house. It's for killing vampires." Katrina held the stake up, pretending to stab an imaginary vampire.
Alison turned to Katrina in shock, snatching the stake away from her. "Katrina, no! Don't touch that! You'll poke your eye out!"
"I'm just looking, Mommy."
"Well it's dangerous."
"No it's not, Mommy. It's only dangerous to the vampires. Can I get it? I wanna kick some vampire butt!"
Alison sighed. She couldn't believe it. Katrina was the first Kovich who didn't have to keep the world safe from the undead. And yet, here she was, giddy with excitement over a toy stake. She was definitely going to say no to that request, but fortunately, Katrina forgot all about the stake two seconds later.
"OOO! MOMMY!"
Alison snapped out of her thoughts, turning her attention to her daughter. "What, baby?"
"LOOK!"
Alison looked to where Katrina was pointing excitedly. It was a horse drawn wagon. Alison laughed to herself. Rafe had told her they were a little behind the times in Romania, but she never expected to actually see a wagon and horse as a means of transportation.
"Oh can we go see him, Mommy? Please!"
Alison smiled. "Sure, we can go see the horse."
Katrina practically dragged her mother over there. The child went nuts anytime she saw a horse.
Right away, Katrina began to pet the animal.
"No, Katrina, don't touch him," Alison said. "He's not ours."
Just then, the owner of the wagon and horse appeared. He gave them both a smile as he motioned for Katrina to come closer.
In his hand, he held some apple slices. He put one in Katrina's hand and motioned for her to give it to the horse.
Katrina laughed as the horse took the apple from her. "I have a pony at home!" she happily told him. "Her name is Cookie, because she looks like chocolate chip!" Katrina laughed at her joke. "And Nana says when I get riding good, I can win some ribbons!"
The man obviously didn't understand a word Katrina said, as he didn't speak English, but Katrina was oblivious. He motioned for them to wait just a moment.
Alison peered over his shoulder as he rummaged around in his wagon. He had several items, all made out of tin. Pots, cans, and a collection of little toys, all hand crafted apparently. He was probably out selling them.
The man turned around, giving Katrina a smile. In his hand, he held a little tin horse, to which he gave to Katrina. "Drăguţ deget mic fată, pentru tu."
Katrina gasped as she took the little horse. It was the most beautiful little horse she had ever seen! "Ooo! It's so pretty! For me?"
The man smiled and shook his head, understanding that Katrina was wondering if it was for her to keep.
Alison began to dig around in her purse. "Um…how much?" she asked the man. He gave her a blank stare, not understanding. "Um…money?" she clarified, taking out a handful of bills and showing it to him.
The man just shook his head no. He didn't want the money.
Instead, he gave them a smile, tipped his hat at them, and climbed into his wagon. He waved to Katrina as he drove away.
"Bye, Mister! Bye, horsy!" Katrina waved to them excitedly.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"We're home!" Alison called out as she walked through the front door.
Rafe walked into the room, looking relieved. "I was about to go out looking for you."
"I'm sorry I worried you," she said, giving him a kiss. "I picked up some vegetables for dinner tonight."
"Daddy, look what I got!" Katrina held up the horse.
"Well what's that you have there, Princess?" he asked, taking it from her.
"A horsy!"
"Looks kind of like Cookie," Rafe laughed, handing it back Katrina.
"Hey yeah, it does!" Katrina laughed.
"Where did you get that from?"
"A man," Katrina answered before running out of the room to play with her new toy.
"Some man at the market gave it to her," Alison explained.
Rafe raised an eyebrow. "You went to the tourist district, didn't you?"
Alison laughed. "Yes. But remind me never to go there again. It's like vampire central."
"Yeah, tell me about it."
"Oh hey, I met someone you know today."
"Really? Who?"
"A woman named Violeta. She lives down the path. She said you might not remember her."
Rafe smiled. "No, I remember her. She used to bring my mother flowers all the time. And…eggs. She had these chickens."
Alison started to laugh. "She still has them."
Rafe laughed. "I haven't thought about her in years."
"Well we got to talking, and I promised we'd visit her again."
"That sounds great. I'd love to see her again. We'll go the day after tomorrow."
"Why not tomorrow?"
Rafe smiled. "Because we're going somewhere tomorrow."
"Where are we going?" Alison asked with a smile.
"Sightseeing. I can't believe we've been in Romania for a week and I still haven't shown you and Katrina around."
"Where are you taking us?"
"Secret places only locals know about," he whispered.
Alison smiled. "Well I can't wait see it," she said, giving him a kiss.
"Well, I've got some things I need to finish up around here. Better get to it."
"Wait. Rafe?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you ever miss living here? I mean, do you sometimes think about what it would be like if home were here instead of Port Charles?"
Rafe gave her a smile as he reached out to hold her hands. "Alison, I'm always home. Anywhere I'm with you is home. And I don't care where we live. Just as long as I'm with you, I'll be happy." He moved her hand to his lips, giving it a gentle kiss.
Alison smiled, knowing it was true. For the same was true for her as well. She'd be happy anywhere just as long as she was with Rafe.
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That evening, Rafe found himself in his father's study.
As a child, he had always been fascinated with this room. He had memories of his father here, busy with carving stakes or organizing plans to track down Caleb.
After his father's death, Rafe spent a lot of time in this room. It helped him feel closer to the man he had only known for such a short time in his life. And it was here that Rafe taught himself of what the family legacy was all about.
Rafe went through the items on the shelves and in the cabinets, making decisions on what he wanted to keep, and what could otherwise, be left behind or thrown away.
"Daddy?"
Rafe looked up, seeing Katrina standing in the doorway in her pink pajamas, clutching Bernie to her chest.
"Hey there, Princess. You ready for bed?"
Katrina walked into the room and over to the desk. She had a very serious look on her face. "Daddy, can vampires get into the house?"
"No. Not in a million years," he promised.
"But what if the vampire turns into a bat? Can he fly into my window?"
Rafe frowned. He didn't like the way this conversation was going. The last thing he wanted for his little girl to be scared. "Come here, Princess."
Katrina walked around the desk and climbed into her father's lap.
"Listen to me. You don't ever have to worry about any of that. I would never let any of those things hurt you, or even get near you. I'll keep you safe."
"And Grandma Kat will keep me safe too?"
"Sure. Your grandmother is always watching over you. Now tell me, what's all this talk about vampires, huh?"
"I saw a vampire today when I went out with Mommy. He had really sharp fangs and he was like, 'Rrrr! I'm going to suck your blood!'" Katrina put on a mean face and bared her teeth to show him how the vampire looked. "Then someone took a picture of him!"
"Oh, I see. Well you don't have worry about those vampires. They're not real. I took care of the real ones."
"You did?"
"Yes, I did. So no vampire is going to come after you, alright?"
"But if a vampire did come, you'd get it. Right?"
"That's right."
"Good! They can just stay away from us!"
"You know what, Princess? I think it's time we had a little talk. I want to show you something." Rafe set Katrina down on her feet and got out of the chair. He walked over to the shelf, pulling out an old family bible. Inside, there was an extensive list of names, possibly every Kovich since this whole slayer thing started.
"You see this?" Rafe put the book down on the desk and opened it up.
Katrina looked at the pages with curiosity. "That's a bunch of names."
"That's right. This is a record of the names of our ancestors."
"Why did someone write all those names in there?"
"Well, I suppose someone long ago just wanted to keep track of everyone, so they wrote down the names of everyone in the family."
"Is my name in there, Daddy?"
"No. But I tell you what. We can add you."
Katrina smiled, watching as her father picked up a pen and scribbled her name inside along with her birthday, right under his own name.
"Katrina Rose Kovich," Katrina said, reading her own name.
"Princess, sit down with me for a moment." Rafe sat back down in the chair and placed Katrina in his lap. They looked at the book together. "All of these people had a very special gift, and because you're a Kovich, you have that special gift too."
Katrina looked at her father with interest.
"Everybody on this earth has a special purpose, which is a reason for being here. And our reason is that we're slayers. That means it's our job to protect others."
"Like Buffy?" Katrina asked excitedly.
"Who's Buffy?"
"The vampire slayer! Me and Danny watch it with Serena!"
Rafe laughed. "Something like that…I think. Listen, the point is, we protect others. That's what we do. That's what we've always done. And I don't want you to ever worry about vampires, okay? Because I'll keep you safe. You remember that."
Katrina smiled. "Okay, Daddy."
Rafe kissed her forehead. "Now, I don't know about you, but I think your bear is tuckered out."
Katrina looked down at Bernie and nodded. "Yeah. It's WAY past his bedtime!"
"I think it's way past your bedtime too," Rafe whispered.
Katrina just laughed.
"Come on, let's get you upstairs and into bed."
"Give me a piggy back ride!" Katrina begged.
"Climb aboard," Rafe said, bending down so that Katrina could climb onto his back.
Rafe carried her upstairs, making all kinds of funny noises. Katrina laughed the whole time.
"Did you say goodnight to Mommy?" he asked, stopping at their bedroom door.
"Oh, no! I didn't!"
Alison looked up from her book and laughed as Rafe carried her into the room.
"Goodnight, Mommy!"
Rafe bent down so Katrina could give her mother a kiss.
"Goodnight, baby," Alison said, giving her daughter a kiss back. "Sweet dreams."
"Okay, giddy up, horsy! Let's go!" Katrina commanded.
"I thought this was a piggy back ride," Rafe told her.
"You're a horse now! So giddy up!"
Rafe looked at Alison as she laughed. She was enjoying this little show.
"You gotta neigh like a horse too, Daddy."
Rafe ran out of the room, bouncing Katrina up and down on his back as he made the best horse sounds he could make.
Alison placed her hand on her belly as she felt the baby kick. "Your daddy is a very silly man. You're going to love him."
Once in her room, Rafe placed Katrina on the floor. "Alright, Princess. No more rides for the night. Time for bed."
"One more time, Daddy!" she begged. "One more time around the house!"
Rafe shook his head. "Nope. Time for bed."
Katrina climbed into bed and under the covers. Rafe pulled the blanket up over her and tucked her in good.
"Tuck Bernie in too, Daddy."
Rafe smiled, putting the bear under the covers with his head on Katrina's pillow. "There you go, Bernie. Snug as a bug in a rug."
"Daddy?"
"Yes?"
"You're going to keep me safe, and I'm going to keep Bernie safe."
Rafe smiled. "Bernie's very lucky to have you. Goodnight, Princess."
"Goodnight, Daddy."
Rafe gave Katrina a goodnight kiss.
"Kiss Bernie too, Daddy."
"Goodnight, Bernie," he said, kissing the bear.
Katrina giggled. "Daddy?"
"Yes, Princess?"
"Grandma says goodnight too." Katrina looked across the room, watching her grandmother rock back and forth in the rocking chair.
Rafe gave her a smile. "Well she'll keep us all safe."
Katrina nodded.
"I'll see you in the morning, Princess. I love you."
"Love you too, Daddy."
Katrina smiled, closing her eyes as her father turned off the light. She wasn't scared at all now.