Chapter 6: Flurries and Birthdays

Van was standing guard over the Marquise as Delly presented and acquainted himself with yet more nobility. The vampire hunter ignored the hesitant and hostile glaces that were thrown his way as he continuously observed the crowd from his post.

"Well attendance is certainly on the rise." His employer stretched and observed the room next to Van. "Too bad we are not making much progress by any tangible means, but if we keep growing connections I am sure we will get where we are going eventually."

"I agree. Delacroix has made a lot of progress these past few months and it is good to see his efforts are starting to bare fruit."

An older gentleman in full uniform slipped into the room from a side door with a piece of paper and promptly presented it to the flaxen haired master next to Delacroix and whispered to him in hushed voices.

"That must mean her meeting has adjoined for the day." Van muttered under his breath and the Marquise looked up at him with a questioning expression.

"Ah, never mind." Van tried to wave off the Marquise's concerned looked.

"You have been looking a bit out of sorts again recently, is something the matter?"

The hunter hurried to reassure his employer. "Ah, really it is nothing. I just heard that there are other meetings being held while we discuss our own matters here. I was wondering what they could be discussing, and, if it is of any great importance."

The Marquise nodded twice in light understanding. "Ah yes, you must be referring to the angel's conclave. The angel's have requested their own conference halls, though I was never informed as to why they are meeting at such quaint hours. Come to think of if, I never even suspected that there were angels working right along next to us when I was in the force. It feels rather funny now, but it does make sense. I can't fathom why they are holding separate meetings though. One lone representative here isn't going to be enough to get them recognized by the crown."

Van folded his arms as the young clan leader scanned over the meeting minutes. The restless hunter thought about inquiring if he could read them while the current speaker finished their presentation.

There was a polite smattering of clapping from around the room and conversation picked back up.

The presentation had been on a proposal to add an minor addendum to the current expenditures to include a greenhouse on the sanctuary grounds.

The hunter really should have cared more about the current sanctuary plans, but lacking both the crown's approval and any land in which to build on, the discussion seemed rather pointless to Van. Given half a chance to voice his opinion though, the hunter would have absently admitted to approving the idea of adding the addendum just to keep things moving.

While Van rolled his thoughts over with a steadily increasing frown, he watched as Raphael also started scowling further and further down the paper. A second envelope promptly dropped down onto the table and the hunter formed a decent guess as to why the young boy was now scowling.

A heavily decorated and gilded invitation landed on the table and several of the upper nobility raised their eyebrows and mask their chuckles as the meeting adjourned for a break.

Van continued to monitor the proceedings as the room slowly emptied in favor of the cold streets and warm food of central London. The hunter carefully watched over his employer, who was now chatting with some of the more vocal vampires at the assembly over some hot coffee and soup whilst eating his own sandwich and mulled over Sierra's confession from the night before in growing agitation and unease.

The soldier never gave any heavy thoughts to his own ball invitation that was still in his coat pocket.

Back at the mansion - Finis was irritated with me as I chased him out of the kitchen.

"Yes yes, I'll add the strawberries on top when it's ready!" I shooed him away as he issued passive orders in a snide voice.

"And you'll be sure to add candied cherries as well?"

I scowled down at the boy who only came up to my shoulders. "Out of the kitchen already! If you want supper to be on time and for me to have all the cakes prepared before…"

Impey came around the corner holding Cardia's hand with some kind of evident joy mixed with colorful hints of concern. The redhead energetically helped her into a seat at the dining room table and cheerfully asked her what she wanted to eat.

Our tiny squabble did not escape their notice.

Impey cheerfully smiled at me and promptly winked. "Hey baby! Is the munchkin there causing you problems?"

We both stopped arguing as both our faces went red under the redhead's joking manner.

"You two are just like a brother and sister fighting...say, I didn't know you guys were that close?"

Impey looked at Cardia who had taken on a distinctly green color.

The brunette laughed faintly at our bickering despite her unhealthy pallor. "Haha! It that is so cute Finis, you have made a friend."

The boy picked up on his sisters unhealthy pallor and ran over to her side. "I do not fight with my sister like that and she certainly is not my friend!"

I recoiled slightly from Finis's harsh words as Impey scratched his head puzzled. "Huh…?"

The redhead then flashed me an award winning smile before turning his attention back to Cardia.

In an exuberant voice Impey declared. "Let the fantastic Impey Barbicane make you something delicious and soothing to eat! I know just the thing, hold on just a tick!"

"No Impey, I am not hungry, really." Carida protested weakly as the engineer ducked into the kitchen behind me.

"Sister, you do need to eat something." Finis's voice actually managed to sound caring as he sat next to his sister. The boy's mismatched eyes looked genuinely concerned for the glowing young woman next to him. "Tch, I never even thought this would be the reason you have not been feeling well...I swear I am going to murder that two-timing pickpocket when he gets home!"

I solemnly drifted into the kitchen feeling slightly dejected.

Impey was already checking over our supplies and the tall redhead looked slightly confused as I handed him the spare apron.

Immediately, he began wailing. "Ahhh Sierra! Baby! Don't look at me like that! It makes me want to put my arms around you and give you a big hug."

I took off my gloves and in a small voice muttered. "I don't think I would mind that right about now."

Impey stopped crying and swiftly put his arms around me from behind. The master engineer picked me up off the floor like I weighed nothing at all and swung me around like he had so many times before. "Aw, don't be like that baby! He didn't mean it! I love you!"

I was mildly surprised when Impey followed up on my offer and I tried to smile for him. "Haha, Impey it's alright. I mean Finis is helping me with my problem, so he doesn't have to be...friends with me."

I looked at the significant drop to floor for a moment and continued on content to stay in Impey's arms for once. "So Impey, what were you going to make Cardia to help settle her stomach?"

I turned to look at him out of the corner of my eye and the engineer set me back down on the floor with a slight bump.

"Hmm, good question! I really wasn't sure until I got in here to look around…" The redhead's eyes grew wide as he spotted the four cakes sitting out. "Holy cake! Is that all for tonight?"

I pulled away from Impey's embrace with a little bit of effort and listed things that came to the top of my head. "Something mild might be best. Probably a soothing tea and something lighter and easy to eat…a porridge maybe?"

The redhead sighed as I pulled out a pot and a matching spoon for the master chef. "That is a great idea! Fran says she needs something with more vitamins and nutrients, so I was thinking a salad or something, but your idea is amazing!"

I shook my head and put the tea kettle on. "How about a juice or something along those lines then for extra vitamins and nutrients? You can use some of the vegetables and fruit and mix them together in a puree."

I listed off a couple of other ideas and the redhead almost seemed to explode with energy. "Yes yes! Those are all great ideas! I'll start right on it!"

Impey was hunting through the pantry again, this time looking for ingredients with evident vigor. "Wow, you really are short on ingredients aren't you?"

I sighed and began my own preparations on the other side of the kitchen. "We were completely out of milk and creme this morning. I have tomorrow off so I'll probably go shopping. Do you want to make a list for me please?"

Impey scratched off a quick grocery list while I proceeded to coat myself in sugar and frosting.

"I always make such a mess when working with frosting..." I lamented as I layered and piped it onto both Finis and Van's cakes with a steady hand.

I steadily turned more and more sugar coated as my work progressed.

"Wooh hoo! Look at those beauties!"

Impey had finished fixing Cardia's snack and had returned some time ago to keep my company. Talking culinary and cake decorating techniques with the energetic redhead was an rather enjoyable pastime for me, and the engineer naturally started helping me cook dinner.

I had started protesting at first, arguing that I wanted to make Van's dinner by myself but the cheerful engineer just grinned and waved me away citing that I should just finish the cakes. "Haha, I wish I had a woman that dedicated to me! Imagine how lucky I would be if I had someone who worked all day and then came home demanding to cook dinner for me as well! Ah, I would love to have that kind of argument…"

The redhead's flowery delusion was spoken out loud, but he had a fair point. I returned to my sugar coated post feeling a tad bit upset, but I was at least able to take my time decorating the cakes and not rush anything.

"But it's the woman's job to make dinner for the person she loves!" I protested regardless of the fact that Impey was preparing the steaks over the grill while watching the potatoes boil, the bread rise, and all the other tasks that I had planned for dinner. "Its Van's birthday! I should be the one cooking for him..."

The presiding cook waved a ladle at me as he started on the gravy. "Ach! I am sure he would thoroughly enjoy it too! But you have other responsibilities and you made his cake! Let me handle cooking and sit down for a bit and rest!"

Impey lectured me so severely that I promptly sat down and tucked my feet under my chair daintily.

"That's my girl!" The redhead flashed me a brilliant smile and passed me a teacup. "Here try this, I gave some to Cardia earlier and she said it really helped with her queasiness. It should also help you since you look exhausted."

"I am not tired though."

The redhead continued to grin as he handed me a towel. "You have whipped cream everywhere and you don't even notice…MAN!"

Impey slammed his hand on the counter. "I would kill to be that trigger-happy shotgun fanatic."

I took a small sip of my tea and watched Impey move about cooking dinner with an intense glint in his eyes.

The master chef was right, the tea was very soothing. I listened to the redhead talking about anything and everything he had been up to in the last month.

I smiled down at my tea and Impey went on and on about trying to rebuild some device he kept referring to as an anti-gravity machine that would help him fly to the moon and how it had been stolen. I had absolutely no idea what the redhead was going on about, but as I listened to him talk I realized how deeply I had missed having everyone around.

Dinner came and went with Impey's cooking being a huge success. Impey even managed to get a complement from my fickle hunter as the steaks and potatoes went over with admiration by everyone in the dinning room.

After eating we all retired back into the parlor.

I suspected that Van wasn't much for being the center of attention, so I left my gift up in my chambers to give to him later while the rest of the group offered up their own gifts and well wishes.

First was the rambunctious redhead. Impey grinned as he presented the hunter a brand new cooking knife and a personalized cookbook in which Van could write down all his 'experiments' as Impey liked to call them.

Lupin and Cardia presented the sullen hunter with a new tie while Finis grudgingly held out an un-descriptive package.

I was standing behind Van has he tensed up. I looked down, curiously, to see what Finis had given the hunter to cause such a distinct reaction.

"It's hardly a proper gift but I suppose it's the best I could do given the circumstances." The blond shot a snarky comment as I gazed down into a small wooden box. I gasp lightly in surprise as I discovered it held photographs.

A much younger, less aged, Van Helsing stared back at me from black and white photographs. He was smiling in some of them, in others he looked mildly harassed, but over all he looked much more at ease and less jaded. I quickly realized that they were pictures from his early enlistments. Times he had spent with his squadmates on various occasions and incidents.

As Van flipped through the photographs I started to notice the young soldier staring back at up growing more and more haggard. It wasn't just that the hunter was growing older, the photo's clearly showed that Van was changing. He smiled less, stood apart or near exits, and other small clues hinted at what was happening during that time in his life.

Then came the bigger shock to me.

The real hunter sitting in front of me turned and smiled softly up at me and I wanted to look away in embarrassment. Staring back at me, in Van's hands was, undoubtedly, a much younger version of myself.

I was dancing with some other man, dressed in some lacy dress and had my hair pinned back in elegant curls. The much younger me in the photograph was all smiles as I twirled around on in the picture. I vaguely recalled the scenario in the picture as one of my many dance classes.

"Thank...you Finis. I'll look through the rest of these later." Van quickly put the small box of photos to the side and accepted Saint's gift next.

The count grinned at me and I felt a bit more at ease, but my eyes lingered back to the box of photos nervously. I was overwhelmingly anxious as to what secrets they might hold and it made it hard for me to concentrate.

"Thank you Saint Germain, I am sure we will enjoy it." The hunter stood up and shook the count's hand firmly.

I looked at the ornate box Saint had passed the hunter and caught sight of a couple of pieces of paper.

Van caught my inquisitive stare and passed up the papers up to me.

I scanned the papers over with a quick eye. They were reservations for special dinner at a well renowned restaurant that had opened locally. The rumors were that it specialized in authentic french cuisine. I smiled and looked at the last two gifts, both rather small ones.

Fran encouraged Delly to move forward with a gentle nod and a smile. The small vampire flushed beat red and thrust the two gifts in front of Van's surprised face. "T-this is from Sisi and me! Th- they are a pair!"

The vampire hurried away and he promptly stuck his nose up in the air in embarrassment.

"Here. If they are a pair, you open one." Van handed me one of the small packages as I protested weakly.

"If you insist…" I neatly removed the bow tie on the packaging as I watched Impey sneak out of the room rather discreetly.

My eyes meet Van's as the hunter raised an eyebrow in question.

"I hope you like them. We were not entirely certain what you would think of them." Fran offered while Delly shot glances out of the side of his eye and promptly responded.

"Pshhh, I picked them out specifically! Err...well Sisi helped…Of course he will like them!"

I opened my box and I felt Van freeze next to me. Stifling a small laugh, I stared down at the gift while trying to withhold my own amusement.

Staring up at me from inside the box was a tiny stuffed corgi with a small bowtie, tiny tophat and monocle. I looked over Van's shoulder and found he had a female corgi in a frilly lace dress and matching bonnet.

"They are quite...cute Delly. Its.. very thoughtful of you."

I offered my corgi figure to Van who still looked mildly confused, like he was trying to figure out why he had received a pair of stuffed corgis toys as a gift.

"These are very...unique." The hunter set them to the side with a questioning look. "What possessed you to offer such a pair?"

Delly pouted as he explained. "Sisi picked them out! He thought they might guard the house while he is away!"

"They are rather amusing. Thank you." Van gave the young king a small smile and I chuckled.

"I am sure they will make great guard dogs Delly."

"Oi! They'll make a better guard then four eyes there! Least they aren't apt to greet me with a muzzle full of seasoning salt first thing in the morning!" Impey opened the door with Van's cake and the hunter just snorted.

"Maybe if you acted less preposterously I wouldn't be so apt to engage in such measures!"

I shot a look at Impey and then at Van completely at a loss. "Wait….when did this happen? Van!"

Saint chuckled as the hunter shot a heavy scowl at the redhead who was laughing as he carefully deposited the cake onto the coffee table in front of the peeved hunter.

"Haha, Van Helsing was quite worried about you this morning. When you failed to show up to the breakfast table, he was preparing to harry off in search of you with such bold actions that our master engineer was almost turned into hamburger for even suggesting we await your return properly."

Van pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation as Impey served him a slice of cake. "Here, eat up mister gunsmoke. Your wife here worked exceptionally hard this morning to make sure she was the one to make your piece-de-resistance!"

The hunter accepted the cake with a slight blush creeping onto his face.

Van did not meeting my accusatory, disapproving, stare.

I was trying to ignore the heat raising in my own cheeks as everyone looked at Van who just took a bite of his cake without saying anything to acknowledge Impey's jest either.

Impey cocked his head from side to side in confusion. "Huh. I could have sworn I would-"

Fran quickly accepted a plate from Impey and tried to change the subject tactfully. "Would have guessed that you would give Van a recipe book?"

That distracted the redhead as Impey started to talk about his culinary techniques in detail. "Yes sir! I even filled it with some of Sierra's favorites! I made careful notes and made sure to include all required ingredients upfront. So no nasty surprises!"

Van continued eating in his typically silence, though I was pretty sure he was going to start sparking with irritation if Impey kept antagonizing him.

I calmly sipped my tea as Impey offered me a plate.

I took it with a smile as Saint's face took a curious turn. "Say Impey, say does that mean you are willing to do the taste testing for us all?"

Impey's knife wavered as he cut into the cake with a high pitched squeek. "What?!"

Lupin grinned like a cat who had just captured a mouse. "Oh, oh! You have the best constitution out of all of us normal folks! That is a splendid idea!"

Fran readily interjected his own relief. "Yes, we would all really appreciate you taste testing Van's cooking, given you where the one who gifted him his own personal cookbook."

Impey started crying in earnest. "Do you all hate me that much that you want me dead?"

"That would at least be quieter." Van jumped into the conversation as his own culinary skills were called into question.

I chuckled softly at the groups antics as I took a bite of my own cake - it was good.

It felt good to be among everyone laughing and having fun, but somewhere in the back of my mind I was beginning to have some doubts that these happy moments would last.

Later that evening as we all were looking to retire to our rooms - and I stopped in my personal chambers to grab my own present.

I held the small package in my hands and looked down at it. I had wrapped it carefully in a dark blue paper that was crowned with a lighter blue ribbon that gave no indication of the contents inside.

Suddenly I was having my own misgivings about the gift in my hands.

It had taken me a while to settle on my choice in gifts, and it had taken a good while longer for the custom order to be created.

Formality and a bit of my own selfishness had won out in the end, though, I was still mildly regretting not purchasing a new coat for him instead.

Thus, present in my hands wasn't anything all that large or of any great importance. The small box in my hands was no bigger than the palm of my hands, yet it was starting to cause me quite a bit of grief.

"Umm…" I set the box down and slapped both my cheeks. "Now is not the time to be doubting my choices!"

A knock on my door frame distracted me.

"What are you doing?" Van peeked his head into my room with interest. "I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time?"

I shifted slightly, letting my skirts hide what was on the table. "Oh, no! It is no trouble at all." I cocked my head to the side in question. "I thought you were heading to bed, Van?"

The hunter leaned on the door frame completely at ease. "I was."

I studied him a little closer. The hunter did indeed look like he was settling down for the night. His tie was undone and hung around his shoulders loosely, while the first few buttons on his undershirt were unclasp. His green pinstriped house jacket and gloves were also missing. The hunter slowly unbuttoned his shirt sleeves as I gathered my courage.

The hunter seemed rather oblivious to my nervousness, or perhaps he was politely ignoring it, as he finished unbuttoning his shirt cuffs. "I wanted to stop in before I retired for the night and wish you good night."

Blue-violet eyes flashed to me with a fragile smile. "I also wanted to say thank you for this evening. It has been a while since anyone has...cared enough to throw me a birthday party."

My hands toyed lightly with the gift on the table behind my back. "Didn't your squad members ever do anything for you?"

The light in the hunter's eyes looked a bit sad as he answered. "I suppose they might have planned something, but it always seemed like there was always a mission to attend to or some kind of drill that prevented us from doing anything. I suppose, looking back on it now, it wasn't a coincidence."

My heart went out to the soldier standing in my doorway.

It wasn't all that long ago that Van wouldn't have disclosed any of this to me. When I first met him, the hunter wouldn't have given me the time of day unless it was for his own benefit, and he probably would have skipped the event altogether in light of working on his own goals. In contrast, the man in front of me looked at ease. The hunter's smile looked genuine and the air about him seemed much more peaceful then ever before.

He never ceased to amaze me.

I felt a smile tugging at my own lips to match his own. "Well, I am glad that you were able to make some better memories today."

The hunter finally took a step into my chambers as if he could no longer hold back his interest. "What are you hiding behind your back? What are you hiding from me this time?!"

I yelped as he towered over me and reached behind me with ease.

"I-I wasn't…" I stumbled on my apology as the hunter pucked the gift out of my hands.

He stared down at it, not quite sure what he was holding.

"I...wasn't trying to hide it...I just wanted to give it to you in private. I wasn't sure how you would receive it..."

The hunter raised his eyebrows to me and promptly handed the unopened gift back to me. "Then I don't need it. Keep it."

I blushed furiously and presented the gift back to him shyly, muttering nonsense in my utter embarrassment. "Umm...please accept this. I know its...conventional...but I thought they might come in handy when you need to attend formal events for work..."

The hunter looked utterly puzzled as he slid a finger across the seem in the paper before tearing it open slowly. His puzzled expression changed to something sharper as he cracked open the small box underneath.

I waited on pins and needles to see what the hunter thought of his gift.

I watched with growing apprehension as his eyebrows furrowed together and he examined the contents of his gift more closely. "Cuff links and a matching tie tack with chain...Hmmmm."

The hunter covered his mouth with his hand roughly and I detected a hint of a blush on his cheeks. "I wasn't expecting this. It is entirely appropriate. Why would you be under the impression that I wouldn't receive these properly?"

I bit my lip and explained. "I didn't want to embarrass you downstairs. I also know you have some from work that you wear, but these ones…"

The hunter picked one up with a stern expression that was starting to give me severe anxiety. "I see. These are custom designs. It looks like they are intended to match the pin I gave you?"

One eyebrow raised up to look at me questioningly.

"..."

I felt my cheeks flare with heat.

He figured me out so easily.

"I appreciate them all the more for their designs then." The hunter set the box down on the table and I felt myself being pulled in towards him. "I will wear them with pride dear."

Van's hand tentatively touched the cross shaped pendant that he had given me and he chuckled. "You made it seem like such a grave matter that I wasn't sure what to expect in light of recent events."

I leaned in to kiss him. "Well, it is a grave matter to me…"

The hunter chuckled proceeded to kiss me softly. "Thank you dearest. Thank you for today, and all the happiness that you have brought into my life. I would not trade moments like these for all the world."

I pressed my face unto the hunter's chest utterly embarrassed while he held me tenderly.

I was silent for a while, gathering my thoughts.

Reluctantly, I confessed my feelings from within the confines of my hunter's strong embrace. "I feel the same way. I love you Van Helsing." I pulled away from him feeling upset again. "I would do anything for you."

"I know…"

Van let me pull away from him, as I tried to keep the distress from creeping up into my face. "Just so you know, Saint told me he is escorting you to the ball tomorrow evening."

I felt a feeling of dread creep up into my subconscious and I gasp quietly. "When did he…?"

"Shortly, after you came upstairs he asked me for a quick word."

I looked at my hands as Van sighed.

The hunter's voice was heavy with emotion as he continued and pulled his own invitation out from his pocket. "I would rather escort you personally, but it would be too damaging to both our causes if I forced this issue. I suppose if it is Saint Germain I can stomach it, just this once...for you."

"Will...will you be there as well?"

Van nodded solemnly, still not liking the situation in the least. "Indeed, I will be present due to my work obligations."

"...I see….will you?"

Van chuckled knowing what I was trying to ask as my words failed. "Of course I may have to ask you for a dance or two, so be sure to save them for me."

"I will." I promised earnestly, still feeling an overwhelming distraught about the whole situation.

"If you keep making that face I am not going to leave."

I looked up into the sparkling violet eyes of my lover and felt something within me responding to him. Without a second thought, I pressed my lips to his with a force that had the hunter staggering backwards and grabbing ahold of me to prevent us from falling to the floor together.

When I finally let up, I found that I had forced Van up against wall. The hunter was grinning at me as we both struggled to catch our breaths. "You taste extraordinarily sweet today, dearest."

I panted lightly to him. "Just remember, whatever happens tomorrow. I am yours hunter."

The hunter chuckled and pulled me back to him for another desperate kiss. "I know…"

Author's Note:

Ya, I am really totally late with this release...by a few weeks. I am so sorry to keep you waiting! Q.q Please forgive me! I got caught up doing the forshadowed ballroom chapters and started plotting out a few others things...also this was just a really hard chapter to write. Like why should you care what Van gets for his birthday? Or were you expecting Sierra to be a lot less proper? O.o

That thought might have slipped my mind - but with her entertaining a house full of guests - well it seemed a little inappropriate...however the chapter ending leaves it a bit open to interpretation. Woo Hoo!

Personally one of my favorite gifts is Delly giving the mated pair of corgis to Van. I just think its so off kilter for him, that he doesn't know how to react. (^W^) So cutes!

I am still building a bit - so I hope you like the more lightheartedness of this chapter- there is still an overhanging issue with the angels but it is off to the a royal ball for fun and dance! Can you guess who your going to see there and what kind of trouble the pair is in for?

Remember favorite - follow - like - and/or comment if you are enjoying the story! It lets others know its worth reading and helps me grow! Thank you for stopping in I hope to see you back here soon!