Chapter 6: These Walls
And even when I'm scared
I have to try to fly
But I've seen it done before
-Teddy Geiger
No matter how fast Selene moved, it seemed like the distance between the kitchen and their quarters just grew longer with each step she took. Gripping the sippy cup even more, she had to remind herself not to break the thick plastic cup; cutting herself and spilling luke warm blood all over herself was not ideal. Up the three steps, across the second media room, down the window hall and around the corner, she burst into their room without even needing to catch her breath.
"Here," she said, tossing the cup up to Michael who sat on their bed. He caught it in mid-air, turning it over and offering it to Nyssa. She lay in his arms, cradled closely as her body shook from the still falling tears. Worried that the sight might frighten her again, he had pulled the blood-stained sheets off the bed and tossed them away. Without words, he put the nose of the lid to her lips and she immediately responded. Her tiny hands came around the cup and she held it on her own, looking from Michael to Selene with wide eyes.
Sitting down next to him on the bed, Selene leaned on his shoulder and watched as he rocked them to and fro, keeping their daughter as calm as possible. As Nyssa's eyes began to drift shut, Selene focused her attention toward her wrists. Angry red scars ran from her palms to mid-arms, the edges healed, but the centers still raw and open. Blush-like stained mottled the pristine white skin, reminding Michael he had yet to clean up the rest of the blood. When she turned the cup in her hands, it came to their attention that sheered off hunks of flesh and bloody tissue were stuck beneath her fingernails.
"Good night, Nyssa," he whispered, the smile on his face for both comfort and internal laughter; it was nearly ten in the morning. With several deep, cleansing breaths, her eyes fluttered shut and she went back to sleep. Both parents let out a sigh of relief, Michael leaning his head against Selene's, watching as she lightly ran her fingertips up and down Nyssa's arm.
"That was….unreal," she whispered.
"Yeah."
"What if all her dreams are like this? I don't want to have to sedate her...ever."
Michael kissed her cheek and looked into her eyes, "I think it might just be bad memories. Its going to take a while for her to feel completely safe here. And even then...this could just be something we'll have to help her deal with."
Silence washed over the room as they continued to look into each other's eyes. Acting solely on instinct and the awe she always had for her mate, Selene turned his head completely with her hands and kissed him hard. So hard, in fact, that she drew blood from his tongue, drinking it in and savoring the amazing taste of him. When she pulled back, his face was stuck in stun-mode, his mouth open just so, and his eyes wide. It had been a long time since they were intimate.
Shaking away the shock, Michael kissed her gently, this time drawing her down into the pillows. He adjusted Nyssa so that she returned to Selene's embrace and settled down with his arms around him.
Several hours later, it was the soft press of lips to Selene's temple that caused her to wake and stretch slightly. Cracking her eyes, she at first beheld a mass of dark curls resting just beneath her nose. She pulled her head back and smiled as Nyssa's lips moved slightly over the thumb that found its way back into her mouth at some point in the past few hours. Eying her wrists up, she gave a soft sigh of satisfaction. One less thing for Nyssa to worry about when she wakes.
It was when she looked past her daughter that she realized Michael was missing.
"Hey." She looked over her shoulder, right into his bright grin.
"Hey," she replied, yawning into the bed and body warmed material of her shirt. "Did she wake again?"
"I don't think so. But I couldn't stay asleep after that."
"Watching for more dreams?"
"Partially," he said with a smirk. "Something about watching the two most beautiful women in the world sleep...yeah, just wouldn't let me close my eyes." Selene returned the smile, pressing her face down to half hide it behind their daughter's head. Michael leaned forward, lips just ghosting her temple. "Its not my fault you made us such a beautiful girl," he whispered, kissing the dimple that appeared with Selene's grin.
He stood up and away from the bed, careful not to move it a lot. "I want to go down and take a look at the blood samples we got yesterday. Might be able to determine the amount of time it will take before," he paused, brushing back loose curls from Nyssa's face, "before she'll be up to par with her health."
Selene nodded slightly, a languorous warm washing over her. "What time is it?"
"About two in the afternoon. Sleep," he whispered, kissing her lips gently.
Selene watched with sleepy blinks as Michael crossed the room and left their quarters. Carefully, she shifted her position on the bed, stretching out her legs to hear the soft crack of her joints before curling up once more. The movement caused Nyssa some disturbance and she moaned very softly as she cuddled closer to her mother. With gentle shushing noises, Selene kissed her pale forehead then nuzzled her hair, inhaling the incredible scent of her sleeping child.
Within seconds, they both went back into a deep sleep.
Michael cracked his neck, a satisfied look on his face as the pop echoed in the hallway. The main house was empty, many of its members still sleeping soundly despite the metal plates that blocked out the light from all of the windows. A few lycans sat in the kitchen, chatting over cups of warmed blood; they gave a small nod in his direction as he passed by. Continuing down into the basement, he peered into the dojo and saw a small group of people sparring and watching alternately.
All the same, but it feels different. Now that Nyssa's with us, he thought as he passed through the double swinging doors and into the main lab.
"Hey," he said with some surprise as Amelia looked up from a microscope.
"Hey there, daddy," she teased with a soft laugh. Michael gave a wide grin as he walked over to the sink and began to wash his hands. "How's she doing?"
"Which one?"
"Which one should I be asking about?" she raised her eyebrows in mock confusion.
"Nyssa's doing fine," he replied, pulling on a lab coat; more a habit than a necessity.
"No problems last night?"
"She had a...nightmare, but settled down quickly. Otherwise, she just curled up into Selene's arms." He laughed slightly before looking up at her with a slight blush. "She wouldn't let go of my hand this morning. I was afraid I would wake her up."
"Well, she knows who her dad is and obviously doesn't want to let him go." When Michael went for the handle to the lab fridge, she lifted up the tray of tubes holding Nyssa's blood samples. "That's what I've been working on."
"Really? Anything interesting?"
"Well, I split up the samples into eight instead of the four we took. Half I was using to study metabolism and nourishment, the other half for later work on her actual genetic make-up." She turned her microscope sideways and gestured for Michael to look. "I don't think we'll have to worry about a long recuperation."
"Hmm."
"These cells are straight from her; I haven't touched them." When Michael sat up, she slide out the Petri dish from beneath the scope and put in another one. "Check these out."
Where the first cells were incredibly small, even for cellular standards, these were much bigger. Instead of a shriveled, dark appearance, they were rounded, fuller and had a warm red color to them. Floating around in the second dish, it was easier to see the tiny platelet pieces and much larger white blood cells mixing in with the red blood cells. Quite clearly, this batch was incredibly healthier than the other.
"What did you do?"
"I added donor blood." Michael looked up at her. "I'm serious. I just poured some of the human blood we have on hand into the dish. Her cells took a while to recognize the foreign bodies, but when they did, they quickly devoured them and grew. These are the end result of adding 0.5 milliliters in four times over the course of morning."
"Wow."
She snorted softly, turning the scope back and looking in again. "I know. As long as Nyssa keeps feeding, she should recover quickly. Maybe a week or so for her to reach her peak health."
Michael let out a relieved sigh. Thank you, God. And thank you to our genetics.
"So," Amelia prodded, leaning her chin on her hand and smiling slyly. "How are you feeling?"
Michael grinned again. "I'm perfect. Just perfect."
"And we're done," Selene announced proudly, a slightly childish tone to her voice. When is the last time I sounded childish? Her conscious mind couldn't wrap itself around her current mood and actions, constantly going back to the fact that most of her existence was mired in the slaughter of one of the immortal races. Now, she was tying up the simple cloth string laces on the back of Nyssa's top and gently tousling what turned out to be big, thick dark chocolate curls. Far cry, Selene. Far cry.
Opening up the bed side table, she retrieved a small hand mirror and held it up before her daughter. "What do you think?" A few seconds of wide eyes and confused glances between Selene and mirror caught her off-guard. "You've never seen your reflection before," she voiced her mild shock, unable to control the tone in her voice. Immediately, Nyssa turned her head away, sniffling slightly. "No, its alright Nyssa. Its okay," she soothed, cursing inwardly. It became evident in the first few minutes after waking up that her daughter was easily discouraged. After finding out that Nyssa was actually toilet trained, she also found out that her legs remained partially weakened and led to her falling to the floor and splitting her lip open. Her simple grammar skills and poor knowledge of basic things made Selene want to pummel the next vampire she saw.
But it also became evident that Nyssa was a fast learner. If Selene showed her something and repeated the name twice, Nyssa would say it back. The recognition of the object showed brightly in her eyes. So Selene held up the mirror and repeated twice, "This is a mirror."
"Mir..mirror," Nyssa whispered, touching the reflective surface.
"We use a mirror to see ourselves," Selene said, pointing to Nyssa's face and back again. "So you can tell what you look like." She watched, a warm glow building within her chest, as Nyssa carefully traced her face with her fingers. The prominent outline of her cheek bones and eye sockets was less today, but still gave her a ghostly appearance. Carefully, she touched the tips of her canines, examining the pair of teeth that stuck out prominently from the rest.
Out of nowhere, Nyssa turned her head up, adjusting herself slightly in Selene's lap and softly said, "I l-l-love you, momma." Selene turned her the rest of the way, pulling her into a tight embrace while placing a long and lingering kiss on her temple.
"I love you too, my angel," she whispered. Definitely a far cry...but I love it.
After a few moments, Selene pulled back and looked her into her daughter's sparkling blue eyes. "Hungry?" With an avid nod from Nyssa, she stood up from the bed and shifted her onto her hip. It wasn't until they were half way across the room that she came to a halt. She had completely forgotten: the sun was setting and most of the Clan would be moving about the mansion. Nyssa was overwhelmed with everyone in the med lab. How can she handle being around the entire house?
"Nyssa?" She looked from her mother's shoulder. "We're going out into the house now. There may be a lot of people out there," she lowered her voice, reverting into a soothing tone even further, "but they love you. They all care about you. And they are very worried about you."
"Stare?" Nyssa asked quietly, thinking about the two Lycan nurses who Selene snapped at for staring at her for too long.
"Maybe. But they all just want to make sure you are feeling better. They haven't seen you in a long time and missed you."
"Like momma?"
Not damn near as much as momma but she's got the idea, she thought while nodding to her child. "If you get scared, tell me and we can come back to the room, okay?" Taking a few steadying breaths herself, she reached for the door handle. Stepping out into the immediate hallway, Selene adjusted her closer with a peck on her cheek. As they moved into the window hall, Nyssa sat up slightly as she looked out onto the garden with its dwarf pines, several small leafless trees, and some thick bushes.
Moving past there, they came upon a small group in the second, smaller media room. They stood just past the entry from the hall. Nyssa noticed them and tucked her head into her mother's neck slightly, eyes just visible over her shoulder. At first, the group didn't notice Selene coming toward them. But as she quietly excused herself, moving past one of them quickly and carefully, each one did a double take and strained their necks slightly as they tried to better see Nyssa.
The main media/living room was lightly occupied, nine or so people conversing on the semi-circular couches. Most of them held large cups in their hands and raised them to their lips every so often to drink the warm (or cold for some) blood that was their evening feed. Conversation went from a dull roar to whispers as Selene came into the room. Many of them failed to conceal their curiosity as they stared at the pair, but quickly turned their heads away when Selene looked up at them.
With a nod and slightly smirk, she continued on into the kitchen, very well aware of the eyes on her back as they passed through the many corridors leading to the main kitchen which turned out to be empty at this moment.
The bright lights reflected on the rarely used, but often cleaned marble counters. A large island with a stainless steel double sink and two dishwashers sat in the middle of the room; around it sat nearly twenty bar-style stools with softly padded seats. On each of the three walls, a huge steel refrigerator quietly hummed as their computer screens flashed weather information and ran a ticker of news headlines. Steel framed cabinets with clear glass windows graced the walls, track lighting in the wall giving an eerie but cool illumination to the various glasses inside.
"Let's just sit you...there," Selene said, placing Nyssa on the counter top of the island; the child could barely balance on her feet and she would not risk her falling off a bar stool. Turning to the wall counters behind her, she quickly opened one of the cabinets but pulling up on the small knob on the front. The duel glass panels folded up and clicked into place, allowing her to let go of them without fear. Sitting just inside on the shelf, four plastic sippy cups with brightly colored designs waited patiently for use.
Taking one out, she couldn't help but laugh at herself. Three weeks prior to finding Nyssa, she purchased many items a four year old might use, including the cups, outfits, shoes, and even small toys. Everyone that heard about it smiled sadly, thinking it was a lost cause to prepare for a child who had been lost for so long. But every year, about the same time, she had done this, just in case they would soon find her. Looking over her shoulder, she smiled as Nyssa looked around the room, running her hands over the counter and swinging her legs back and forth over the edge.
When she pulled the fridge door open, Nyssa leaned to the left slightly to see inside. Blood packets made up the entire contents, each back either resting on a shelf or hanging from small hooks installed on the door. Instead of taking one of the bags sitting before her, Selene knelt down to the drawer at the bottom portion. A key pad sat on the front of it, the small screen next to it blinking the word "LOCKED". Punching a series of numbers, the screen turned blue and the word changed to "UNLOCKED".
She pulled out a larger bag, the liquid inside the same as all the others. Shutting the drawer with her foot and watching as it reverted to "LOCKED" status again, Selene shut the door and moved over to the microwave. Popping the bag in, she nuked it for only a few seconds before pulling it out and turning back around to Nyssa. Unscrewing the cap, she poured the warmed blood into the cup, filling it to the brim. She quickly sucked the last of the blood from the bag and tossed into a nearby trash can. I'll eat later, she thought as her body reacted to the few milliliters she drank.
"Here you go," she said, replacing the lid to the cup and tightening it. She handed it to Nyssa who quickly placed it to her lips and began to drink. Selene moved closer to her daughter, running a hand through her hair briefly before wrapping an arm around her back and hugging her close. At least she's got an appetite. This will definitely help her to heal faster.
"I was just going up to your room." Selene looked up as Marie walked into the kitchen. "But I got wind of you being out in the house."
"She was hungry."
"No problems with being out in the house?" At the head shake, Marie smiled. "Good. Everyone's just excited that she's here with us."
"What did you need me for?"
"Michael sent me. He wanted to do a full physical on Nyssa tonight. And-" Her eyes went from Selene to Nyssa with worry in them. Putting her hand over her daughter's ear and pulling her close so her other was pressed against her chest, she nodded to Marie. "Samuel intercepted a message from the Coven; Marcus has arrived at the New York house."
Despite not hearing the possibly upsetting news, Nyssa still felt a flutter of worry as her mother's heartbeat sped up in only a few seconds.
A/N: oh thank god i finished this rewrite. Hallelujah! (dances the Happy-Pants-Dance) now, onto the sex scene rewrites!
until next chapter,
anthestria