One day bled into the nest and soon we had been there a month. It was a month spent lounging between watching mom and passing her off to a servant as I enjoyed the pool and gym. Vlad had his own football field with a control panel, and he showed me how to project holographic images onto the field so that I had 'somebody' to practice with. He had been astounded to discover I played, revealing he couldn't throw a ball as far as he could spit when he was my age.
I should have known my happiness wouldn't last.
I took Vlad's advice to heart, keeping an eye on mom even as I explored my new house, and although I might not have paid her full attention, I was adult enough to know when she was having a bad day and should stay close… like today.
Mom was really forgetful today, and wandered around a lot, making my job very hard. I tried to keep track of both her and Emilie, and eventually I shut Emilie in a room as I trailed Mom around. When six o'clock came and the sun was halfway done setting, Vlad walked in looking beyond exhausted. He had bags around his eyes, and I pitied him. However that pitying was over in seconds as my mother gasped animatedly behind me.
"VLADIMIR!"
Oh, shitttttt…..
She pushed past me and flung herself to him, locking lips and causing him to stumble back, abject horror and shock in his face. He pushed her away and she whimpered, looking near to tears as his gaze flitted to me, communicating what the fuck is going on?! clear as day. I sighed and spoke, knowing Mom wouldn't care what she heard. Hell, she hadn't acknowledged me all day.
"She… can't remember. I guess she's stuck in the time she was twenty years ago. She keeps asking me who I am. Today isn't…. it's not a good day."
Instantaneous denial spread across his face and he lightly glared at my mother, grasping her shoulders and about-facing her to make her look at me, and the look of disinterest in her eyes ripped into my heart.
"Janet, you know who that is, right?"
The brown eyes closed as she shook her head and chirped, "No, but he sure is nice. Ohh, is he your chef?"
Yeah, right. I could burn the house down before the stove even gets turned on.
Vlad choked and spoke quietly. "He's your son… our son. You really can't remember Janie?"
Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at me and made a beeline, grabbing me and beginning to cry. "Oh forgive me. I am sorry. Sorry, I am sorry. I want to rem…ember. I do. I… I sorryyyyy."
She began wailing and I sighed, hugging her and letting my own tears fall. "It's alright. You're still Mom. You're still my mom, and I still love you."
I shot her one of the "dazzling!" smiles she'd loved when I was little and she smiled softly. Then her expression changed in but a minute, and whirling around, she snarled at Vlad, launching at him with her fingers posed as claws.
"YOU LET ME FORGET HIM?!"
I grabbed her, restraining her lightly and spoke softly in her ear. "No, Ma. You're sick. It makes you forget, Dad isn't doing it."
The "D" word slipped out and panic filled my eyes as Vlad's face paled and he sunk into his chair, disbelief all over him.
Then, Mom spoke again and she seemed agitated, albeit to a lesser degree.
"Where'd my bed? I'm tired. Why are there so many goddamn stairs in this damn house, Vlad?!"
Now it was my turn to pale as I stepped back. Mom had never cursed in front of me, and as she continued her rant, mixing in more colorful words, I looked for my sister and grabbed her, heading to the pool as I nodded that it was Vlad's turn. Her voice followed me and I tried to get my gut to unclench. Emilie looked at me, and softly she touched my cheek.
"Brubuh sad?" I nodded, running my hand through her hair. She didn't like to speak, although she had proven to both us and her doctor that she definitely could do so. She and I were fluent in sign language, though Mom had forgotten what she had learned.
"Mom's sick, Emilie… and she's not getting better." I hugged her fiercely and then I stood, my heart racing as I felt the need to run, get away, escape… so I pressed the intercom labeled "Finley" and spoke.
"Get Emile from the Pool Room, I'm going out. Tell Vlad I'll be back later."
The intercom cackled and spurted to life.
"Yes, Young Masters. I'll be there shortly, Young Masters."
I placed my sister on the floor, closed the pool so she wouldn't fall in, and rushed out, tears blinding me as my mother's coarse voice rang repeatedly in my ears. Somehow I ended up at the stables and I grabbed a horse that looked about my size and mounted him, not bothering to saddle up. We flew out of there at a dead run –er, gallop- and I was thankful for the equestrian lessons I had had growing up. The storm above us brewed and unleashed mighty thunder as we rode, and I urged the horse to go faster and faster. We raced over rivers and creeks, across plains and valleys, and finally ended up in a rocky terrain so far I could barely see the house. As lightning crackled and thunder boomed, my horse finally was spooked enough and reared, screeching and throwing me against rocks, and before I could react my eyes closed and everything went black.
I awoke some time later and groaned. Sun shone, and it was clearly the next day. Shit, Vlad would be worried. I slowly rose my head, wincing as some unseen bloody wound made my head stick to the rock for a few moments. As I tried to slowly move my joints and make sure nothing was badly damaged, I heard a voice.
"Dashiel? DASH!" His voice was stressed, relived, terrified, and angry all at once, and as Vlad leaned down in front of me, he blurred in and out of focus. I flinched away and he stood, anger igniting in his eyes.
"I was so worried! What were you thinking, running off like that in this weather? You could've been killed. The horse came back frothing and shaking, we had no idea where you were or what happened…. My personal doctor is at the mansion taking care of your mother while I've been out looking for you all night. Well… I guess that's enough of a lecture for right now. I don't know how much of it you're getting anyway."
He sighed heavily and picked me up carefully, and I tried to think of how far he had to walk. I knew the horse and I had traveled miles so how long was Vlad going to have to carry me? As I tried to feel concern for him, warmth spread through me from the arm bound next to his chest and I sighed as blackness enveloped me once more.
"Dash? Dash? Can you hear me? Squeeze my hand if you can."
I tried to squeeze but my arm felt detached. From the blackness I heard, "He's very, very lucky. A broken wrist and a concussion are pretty much the best case scenario here. The concussion is bad but should clear up soon. It's possible he'll get pneumonia or some such, being out in the rain like that. Call me if he needs anything, Mister Masters. I'll be back to check on the boy and his mother in a couple days." There was a pause, and then, "Make sure you stay warm and dry too. We don't need you down and out as well, Sir."
I had never heard Vlad so soft spoken. "Yes, Doctor Heinz. Thank you, Doctor."
There were footsteps and then a weight on the bed, a sigh. "Oh, Dash. I wish I could say I don't understand why you ran but I do. That was horrible, and her forgetting had to hurt. Your mother's alright, boy. She's fine as she can be, other than beside herself with worry for you. Emilie has been asking where you went and I just told her you went out to the horsies." I felt rather than saw the smile and Vlad squeezed my hand. "My business merger went through. It's done, I can be home more. I can help… I hired a nurse to help out while you're unable to, and if you want we can keep her on later. Perhaps son, you and I can go out shopping for a suit and proper attire for you and Emilie. There's a formal dinner coming up and I'd like if you accompanied me. What do you say to that, eh boy? We can –"
He broke off as his phone rang, and he sighed tiredly. Squeezing my hand again, I felt something that seemed suspiciously like a kiss to the forehead before the weight on the bed lifted and he left. My ears picked up on his extremely agitated voice barking, "Yes, Jack? What do you want?"
Sunlight blinded me as I finally gathered enough strength to open my eyes to find Vlad by a chair, playing with Emilie using puppets. As I shifted and he glanced over, he gasped and put Emilie down, barking for a nurse to come. Lunging towards me, he smiled and wiped my brow. Gods, he looked exhausted.
"How do you feel? You've been unconscious for a week. I wasn't sure if you'd wake up. Let me get the doctor…"
He started to walk away and I reached for his wrist with my good hand. He stopped at once. "Yes, Dash?"
"I… Sorry for worrying you. I… You spoke of a formal dinner. I want to go. Teach me to be you. I want to be like you."
There was a look of pure joy in his eyes and then it dimmed and he nodded. "Very well. When the doctor gives clearance, we can go. For now, get some rest… my son." He patted my shoulder and left the room with a grin.
Over the next days I built up my strength and enjoyed being completely catered to by Vlad, who all but refused to allow anyone else to tend to me.
A week later, I stood in the ball room with Emilie as my mother argues with him. She had her moments of motherly love, but for the most part, she had reverted to being my age. Thankfully, she was at least acting her age right now, and had only one thing she wanted from my father on her mind…
"Oh, Vlad, take me dancing! You were such an exquisite dancer when we were younger!"
Vlad backed away, nervous and obviously trying to find a way out. "Janie, that was years ago! You haven't felt well, I mean your disease…"
Mom batted her eyes and I bit my fist. This was just too good. She whimpered and leaned into him and he looked torn between being horrified and reveling in the physical contact. "But Vlaaaaadimir, I feel just fine. In my years of marriage, I never once went dancing. And you've got a ballroom! Please, oh please…"
She had, conveniently enough, backed him into a large stereo and he smirked, grabbing her hand with one hand and slipping the other to her waist after touching the stereo.
"Never gone dancing?! That would be a crime! Alright, my dear, you shall have your waltz."
Picking her up, he barely let her feet touch the floor as they moved as one, and although both were in common clothes, Mom had a look of complete bliss on her face that said she felt clothed in the finest of dress.
The waltz guided them, and Vlad lead with a permanent smile on his face as he gave her the desired dance, lifting and spinning her.
She was so happy.
Things went all to hell two days later.
If I hadn't lived it, I would never believe that she went from dancing with my father to mumbling incoherently in a week, and then bound to her bed within another two weeks, with a feeding tube and some woman from hospice coming into talk of "quality of life".
I don't know how much research Vlad had done, but it must not have been enough to prepare him for this.
"GET THE HELL OUT!"
The nurse subjected to my… to Vlad's… temper didn't flinch, just sent back her own steeled gaze. "Mister Masters, be reasonable. We're trying to help but there isn't much you can do now. It's only a matter of time. You three should prepare yourselves for the worst."
She turned on her heel and left as Finnley hurried after her, closing the door sharply so that it echoed through the halls. Vlad stood fuming and I carefully entered. Gods, I didn't know how to do any of this. Touching him, I jerked as he whirled to me.
"WHAT!?" Then he saw me, and his fiery expression died down. He sighed and dropped into the dining chair, looking frightened as a few tears slipped down.
"I'm sorry. I'm just…. What is it, Dash?"
"She isn't going to be okay, no matter what you do. There are some things money can't fix, and this is one of them."
He stared at me, and looked ashamed. I knew he had fallen back in love with her. It was clear the day of the dance.
"How did you know, Dash? She… it's funny. Until you three showed up on my doorstep, I hadn't thought of your mother for years. She was just some college fling, something I used after my accident, and though we were close, we certainly didn't keep in touch after her marriage to that asshole. But now… there's a woman I've chased for years and I went to see her and the family a few days ago, before your mother took this bad turn, and I couldn't stand the sight of her. I… Dash, I love your mother. I can't lose her. There has to be something…"
He stopped, trailing off. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he toppled over the chair as he jumped up, heading for his massive library and throwing books helter-skelter onto the floor. Had he… Had he gone mad?
"AHA! Here it is; the answer to our problems. Why, I wonder why I didn't think of it before…"
I glanced sideways at the bookbinding; the title was "Ghosts, Demons, Angels, and Their Tools". Oh god. He really was crazy. Vlad thumbed through the pages and stopped, turning the book my way and slapping his finger on the page. "Here! The Reality Gauntlet. The most powerful Ghost Relic in known existence."
I shot him a blank look and he hissed, upset I hadn't glorified his insane genius. "Read, Dash. This relic has the power to make anything possible. We could make your mother healthy, or reverse your reality so that you were raised here, with me all the time! We just need to find it."
I skimmed the book, which was scarce on real information of where this thing was located. Pausing at the name of the creator I slammed the book shut and threw it to Vlad, stomping away before I reached the library doors.
"It's human made, Vlad! From the Showenhower family… even if this thing exists, it won't work. The Showenhower's have a circus that sucked a couple years ago. Give it up. I'm losing my mother, and here you are rambling about this stupidity like some lunatic!"
I grabbed the doors and slammed them shut, letting them vibrate as I rushed to my room before the tears could fall, and before I could think about the shocked and hurt look he had had on his face.
A/N::
Chapter Five! There we go! So, there's some angst and some father/son love and issues too... you get to see some of the Vlad we all know and love. Or, love to hate.
