Chapter Thirty-Seven
The funeral for Bonnie's Grams was brutal and not just because it was a funeral. Bonnie had tried to do the eulogy but hadn't been able to stay calm enough and her dad had had to finish it for her. Everyone knew the rumors about Sheila Bennett being a witch but most everyone also thought they were just rumors. She was the kooky lady who taught Occult at the university.
Bonnie hadn't wanted to talk about Grams being a witch - it was supposed to be kept secret. Bonnie talked about how she was always willing to help the people she cared about, how when Sheila had been younger she'd had anti-war set-ins during the Vietnam War.
Elena and Rebecca had been there, sitting together, and Caroline had been waiting for Bonnie when the witch couldn't speak anymore. Bonnie avoided looking at Elena and Rebecca, and Rebecca felt hurt by it but she knew Bonnie needed time to deal with whatever if was she was going through - and Bonnie was making it clear she wanted to do it alone.
Bonnie left town the same day and she didn't say bye. Rebecca had to learn from Caroline where Bonnie was even going. Bonnie was visiting her aunt in a nearby town; apparently Bonnie didn't want anything to do with Mystic Falls, period, not just the people there.
Rebecca had been given the gift of a nice, normal day - or at least a nice, peaceful day - and she took advantage of it before somebody could take it away. She was with Elena and Caroline, heading to the Grill. Saturday nights were Karaoke night. They used to go all the time before all the vampire stuff had begun to happen. It was only the girls singing - all the guys had refused - Matt, Tyler, Jeremy, Stefan and Damon. They'd decided to watch, but they would not perform.
The girls were getting there early so they could have dinner first, and the sun was glaring through Elena's car window right into Rebecca's eyes.
"Oh, bright light," she said, turning her head away.
"What, are you Gizmo all of a sudden?" Elena asked. "You gonna produce Gremlins if you get wet?"
"God, I hope not," Caroline said, smiling. "And suck it up. It's a fun day. You remember fun days, don't you? It's like half the time you guys forget to even have fun."
"We have tons of fun," Rebecca said. "Or at least I do. All the time."
"When?" the blond asked with a faux innocent smile.
"All the time," she replied, her brows knitting together. Of course, her fun usually led to the less fun thing that was killing vampires, but that counted, right?
Rebecca smiled weakly at Caroline before closing her eyes and leaning her head back against the seat.
"Well," Caroline began. "What's important is that we're going to have fun tonight. You deserve a day off, Becca."
Rebecca froze because . . . Caroline didn't know about vampires or Rebecca's duty as Vampire Slayer. "What?"
"Well, training, of course. The self defense you said you've been taking."
"Oh." Rebecca relaxed. "Well, yeah, I do, don't I?"
Rebecca had developed a work ethic - she devoted at least four hours to studying or training everyday. It was exhausting. Exhausting and impossible if Damon was around because he refused to let her study for long. The training wasn't a problem because she still went to Diana's for that, and she was sure if she asked Damon he'd help her with that too.
Rebecca was working with weapons now, like the crossbow - Rebecca preferred hand-to-hand over weapons, but she went along with it because she had once thought that fighting in the dark was pointless, but she had ended up needing that - maybe Diana knew what she was doing after all.
Whatever. Focus.
She shook herself out of it and resolved to enjoy this day and not focus on the darker elements of her life - well, aside from Damon. She needed this. They all did, but she and Elena the most. They didn't get enough days like this. Rebecca just wished that Bonnie was with them.
At the Grill Caroline went to get the drinks, and Elena told Rebecca that she'd gotten in touch with Isobel, sort of. She'd heard Isobel's voice, anyway.
"How'd you do that?" Rebecca asked.
"There was an . . . accident outside the Grill the night of the bachelor raffle. Some guy under compulsion stepped in front of a truck - the guy I saw outside of Trudie's. I took his phone, checked the recent calls and dialed the number. When she heard my voice . . . she hung up. Before the man was killed, he told me I should stop looking. I just . . . wanted you to know, so we'll be on the same page."
Then Caroline returned and they had to return to idle chitchat. The guys wouldn't get there until after dinner; they just wanted to see the girls make fools of themselves. It was relaxing, but that was the point of the whole thing; to relax.
When the time came, it seemed everybody and their cousin was at the Grill. Even Jenna and Ric were there, though Sheriff Forbes and Carol and Mayor Lockwood hadn't made an appearance.
The girls went in a circle. Rebecca picked for Caroline, Caroline picked for Elena, and Elena picked for Rebecca. They never picked their own song; it was more fun to be surprised. Sometimes they got a song they didn't know and would totally mess up. But it was all in good fun.
First up was Caroline with Barbie Girl. Caroline looked at Rebecca with a playful glare on her face. "Really? That's not even funny."
"Oh, yes it is."
"You've gotta admire the purity of it," Stefan said.
The group had pulled up three tables and was huddled together. Elena was with Stefan, away from Damon - she was still touchy about the Isobel thing, understandably, and wanted nothing to do with the dark haired vampire.
Speaking of Damon, he looked uncomfortable there with them. It was subtle, and if Rebecca hadn't known him so well she wouldn't have known. She knew it was because he'd spent so long not being included that it was hard for him to adjust to being in a group atmosphere.
She grabbed his knee under the table and gave him a reassuring smile, and he surprised her by grabbing her hand and keeping it in his.
As always, Damon tried not to feel the relief of her understanding him so easily without him having to say a thing, but he felt it anyway.
Caroline had picked Hit Me With Your Best Shot for Elena, which Rebecca found ironic since everything seemed to hit Elena all at once and the brunette was still standing.
Then Elena picked The Warrior for Rebecca. Everyone that knew her secret had to admire the purity of that too. For Elena and, to a certain extent, even Stefan, it was the perfect song for Rebecca and Damon. With lines like Stay with me, we'll take the night as passion takes another bite. Oh, who's the hunter, who's the game? and I don't wanna tame your animal style. You won't be caged from the call of the wild she could say the song was something she could've written herself.
She moved with the music automatically. Whenever she heard music her body had to move; it was like something engrained in her.
When she was done she went back to her spot next to Damon. Elena had said something about wanting to get back to normal things like school and homework and fun. Rebecca was tempted to tell Elena that she would never have a normal life as long as she was dating a vampire. So Elena either needed to accept it or let Stefan go, stop making herself miserable. But she could never be truly happy with Stefan unless Elena gave up normalcy.
Caroline and Matt were trying to make plans to watch a movie, but Caroline refused to go to his place because of his mom. Rebecca got that because Kelly Donovan had been a bitch to Caroline.
"You know, you don't really help the situation," Matt said. "You could at least try to be nice."
"Oh, I'm sorry. It's hard for me to show kindness to people that hate me. I'm not that evolved."
"What're you talking about?" Rebecca asked. "Kelly is in the wrong here, not you." She looked at Matt. "Sorry, but it's true."
Rebecca stood up again and shook her head. "I have to pee."
"Advertise, why don't you?" Damon quipped.
"I did," she quipped back.
On the way to the bathroom she saw Anna and Pearl came into the Grill and she stopped, wondering why they were still in Mystic Falls. Hadn't Anna gotten what she wanted already?
She went right up to them because she wasn't one for beating around the bush. "I didn't know you guys were staying," she said bluntly.
"We weren't going to," Anna said. "But Mom wants to start a business."
"Hm." Rebecca smiled softly. "An apothecary?"
"You remember," Pearl said. "Good. Anna told me about you helping her to free me from the tomb. Thank you."
"You're welcome. Really. I never had a problem with you, Pearl. For what it's worth, I hope you can be happy now. Both of you."
Pearl looked surprised. "Anna told me about you compassion for us. I didn't believe it until now. Maybe we can . . . coexist peacefully?"
"I hope so," Rebecca replied sincerely.
Rebecca saw Damon watching her surreptitiously and smiled to let him know everything was okay. Through all the noise from the people singing she didn't know if he could hear what they were saying.
"So he came back for you, I see," Pearl said.
"He did," Rebecca answered. "Did you doubt that he would after he found out the truth?"
"No."
Damon's eyes were on Rebecca and he watched as she smiled shyly and pushed her long honey blond hair behind her ears. He sent a charming lopsided smile her way and then pretended to pay attention to the conversations going on around him.
He didn't understand how Stefan and Elena could act like . . . like everything was normal. Things were so far from normal that even he couldn't grasp it sometimes. And here he was just . . . hanging out. How weird was that? And with the most unlikely group of people. Stefan, for one. Elena, Blondie, Matt, Tyler and Jeremy. He knew Rebecca didn't really care about Tyler . . . though Tyler kept looking at Rebecca like he wanted to eat her - but the rest of the group had accepted Damon for the simple fact that he was with Rebecca. Because he was with Rebecca . . . he felt like he could belong somewhere now. He could have a home now.
The group left the Grill around ten that night and Rebecca got a ride home from Damon. He even opened the door for her. He could be a gentleman when he wanted to be.
"See, chivalry isn't dead," he stated. "Just anemic."
When they were both inside the car she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you . . . for putting up with everyone tonight. I know you don't like Caroline or Tyler. And I'm surprised that Ric behaved."
"I'm not. I gave him a pass because of the fact that I turned his wife; he was looking for answers. I warned him that if he tried anything again I would kill him."
"That's fair," Rebecca said, because, coming from Damon, it really was. And he did have to defend himself; she didn't expect him to just let himself be killed just because he was a vampire and Ric was human.
"And as for the first thing . . . It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. And I still like to hear you sing."
She smiled and leaned back in the seat. Damon could tell she was tired. Rebecca had needed this night - she was not opposed to having fun as long as her job as the Slayer wasn't laid aside and forgotten. It was a hell of a responsibility being the One, the Chosen, and lesser people than Rebecca would've broken under the pressure. But she was steadier than most. She didn't freak out from the crisis itself; she waited for the fallout - if there was any, because sometimes things did work out for the best. Time traveling spell, anyone?
The radio was playing softly and things were comfortably silent between the two. That was one of the things he liked about being with Rebecca - they could be around each other and not feel like they needed to fill the silence with useless words.
When he pulled up to Rebecca's house everything was dark. There weren't any lights on and her dad's car wasn't in the driveway.
"Your dad planned on going somewhere tonight?" he asked, though when he saw Rebecca's concerned expression he could tell her dad hadn't.
"That's odd. Ever since Tina found out about me she's always waited up for me to get home."
She got out of the car and he get out after. They both went to the front door. She went to unlock it, but it was already unlocked.
"Uh . . ."
"Stay here," Damon said. "I'll be back in a second."
"Yeah," she agreed. "Be careful. And don't kill anybody in my house."
He watched her lean against the porch railings and cross her arms over her chest, and then he stepped over the threshold of the Stone household. He didn't hear as much as a heartbeat in the house, so he knew no one alive was there.
No one was in the house, period, but there was a message left on the answering machine.
Becca, it's your dad. I didn't want to ruin your night so I didn't call your cell. When you get this come to the hospital. There's been . . . some complications.
"Complications?" Damon repeated. "Great."
He went back out to Rebecca and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her back to the car. Reverting back to cavemen days, he guessed. And he'd thought he'd grown out of that.
"Uh, hey!" Rebecca followed willingly enough, Damon noted. "Where're we going? What was in there?"
"Nothing was in there." He told her about the message, though. "That was how he described it: Complications."
"Tina," she whispered, settling into the passenger seat. "The baby. Or . . . Chelsea?"
"I'm sure it's nothing bad-bad or your dad would've called."
Rebecca nodded, hoping he was right. She called Elena and Caroline but told them they didn't have to come if they didn't want to. She would keep them informed.
Despite Rebecca's protestations, Elena, Caroline, and even Jeremy were at the hospital when she and Damon arrived. They asked the assistant at the front desk where to go and were told that Tina was still in the ER - the hospital was getting a room ready for her. So she was being admitted.
At the ER one of the nurses went back to get her dad and the group sat down to wait. Rebecca bit her lip, wondering what had happened to make her aunt need to be hospitalized. Tina had seemed fine before Rebecca had left the house earlier. Her good vibes from the fun day had vanished and now all she felt was anxiety - a horrible feeling she'd gotten used to since she'd become the Slayer.
Her dad came out of the double doors of the ER and she stood up quickly. Chelsea was with him - because he'd had no other choice than to bring her, probably - and as soon as the girl saw Rebecca she reached out her arms to show who she really wanted to be holding her.
"What happened?" Rebecca asked, taking the girl from her father's arms.
"Tina fainted in the kitchen."
"She . . . Why?"
"The doctors say it's exhaustion, but they're keeping her here for a few days for observation. Uh, the baby's okay. They're keeping an eye on that, too, given her sister's history."
"Exhaustion from what?"
"She needs to rest; that's all they said."
"Oh." Rebecca realized that Tina hadn't had any problems until she'd found out about vampires and Rebecca's Slayer business. She hoped that didn't have anything to do with it. She couldn't control that and it would only stress her and Tina out further if that was the reason. "She's awake, right? They couldn't sedate her because she's pregnant?"
"She's awake." Robert gestured to the double doors and she nodded. "Come on."
She looked back at her friends and they all made it clear that they would wait for her to come back. She looked at Damon and then at Chelsea; in silent agreement, he took Chelsea from Rebecca. So she followed Robert and tried not to look at all the people there that were hurt or sick.
"Did she hurt herself?" she asked.
"No. I was there; I caught her."
"Well, thank God for that."
Rebecca was idly thinking about all the strange things the doctors must see in Mystic Falls in the ER when she reached her aunt.
"Hey, Becca," Tina said, smiling weakly. "Sorry to scare you when it's really nothing."
"If it were nothing, they wouldn't be keeping you here," Rebecca countered gently. "And don't be sorry. It couldn't be helped." She grabbed her aunt's hand and squeezed. "The doctor says you need to rest."
"I know. You're a good girl, Becca. You're going to be a great cousin."
Rebecca smiled at the prediction. "I hope so."
She stayed with her aunt until the hospital staff came to move her to a room and then Rebecca went back to the ER waiting room where she told everyone what had happened.
Stefan had appeared - Elena had called him - and he was genuinely concerned. She was grateful for the extra support even though nothing was seriously wrong.
Chelsea was already asleep, and in Damon's arms. Rebecca thought it was the most adorable thing ever but she was not going to say anything. He'd stop if anyone mentioned it. Jeremy didn't say anything and neither did Elena or Stefan. And Caroline didn't say anything, but she did look at Damon like she didn't know him.
"I'm going to wait until she's settled in and then I'm going to ask her what she wants me to do. I'll stay if she wants me to."
Caroline hugged her, and Rebecca smiled against the blonde's shoulder.
"I'm glad she's okay," she said, and Rebecca was struck by how different Caroline had become since she'd decided to be with Matt. Caroline was genuine and not as obnoxious.
"Me too, Care."
Elena was next, and she had the same sentiment as Caroline. Stefan said something along the same lines but didn't invade her personal space by attempting to hug her - which was best for his health, really.
Elena and Stefan stayed with Damon and Rebecca but Caroline left because she had plans with Matt the next day and needed her beauty rest. Jeremy stayed because Elena stayed and she was his ride.
Once they went to her aunt's room they were all allowed in as long as they didn't upset her. She introduced Stefan since her aunt had never met him; neither had her dad, for that matter.
"How come you've never been around with Damon?" Robert asked.
"Uh . . ." Stefan looked decidedly uncomfortable.
"He's always with Elena," Rebecca said, coming to his rescue. "They're in the honeymoon phase. They can't get enough of each other."
"Becca!" Elena exclaimed, embarrassed, a slight flush filling her cheeks.
"What? It's true."
Rebecca smiled widely, the first sign of relief since she'd arrived at her house earlier to find no one there, and Damon felt his own body loosen up. He'd been filled with unease and dread since he'd heard the message - for Rebecca, not for himself - and now those two feelings faded into nothing, only this wasn't because of any damn vampire switch; it was genuine.
"Well, after the dust settles, we should all have dinner at the house," Robert said. "We'll set a date once Tina gets out and back on her feet."
Rebecca almost groaned because she didn't want to invite Stefan into her house, especially since she'd read about Stefan's spontaneous killing sprees. But she couldn't say anything without causing suspicion.
"Okay, so . . . I wanted to see what you wanted me to do," Rebecca said to her aunt.
"Do you want to stay?"
"I don't want you to be alone," Rebecca said.
"I was gonna stay with her," Robert said. "I'm off tomorrow but you'll need to be free Monday, at least until I get off from work."
She looked at her aunt, and Tina said she should get some sleep. "But I don't want you alone in the house," Tina made clear.
"Agreed," Robert said.
When Tina looked at Damon all she said was, "You'll keep her safe?"
Things were silent for a moment and Damon processed the fact that Tina trusted him with her niece's life. Not that she shouldn't, because Damon would willingly lay his life on the line for Rebecca, but the fact that it was so obvious bothered him. When had he become so transparent?
"You want him to stay at the house with her, alone?" Rebecca's father asked. "Bad idea, Tina."
"Oh, whatever. He's spent the night before - you know it, I know it. And she is almost eighteen. Leave them be, Robert."
Rebecca blushed furiously and stared at the ground. Elena, Jeremy, and Stefan backed out of the room and Damon was unnaturally silent. No witty comment in sight. She wasn't sure if he was just acting, but he looked like a little kid that had gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"You're free to use the front door from now on, Damon," Tina said, smiling softly at the dark haired vampire, and Rebecca's head shot up.
Was her aunt insane? Or was she even being serious? She'd known Tina approved of Damon - because she didn't know what he was - but . . . she hadn't expected Tina to be so . . . laid back about it or Rebecca would've let her know before now.
"Tina . . ." Robert didn't agree.
"I am in a hospital bed and you will listen to me."
For the life of her, Rebecca thought they were acting like an old married couple. It disturbed her, and, not for the first time, she thought that this baby had to be her fathers. They weren't acting right; they weren't acting like themselves. Rebecca realized she would have to talk to them about it eventually, but she was scared to. She really didn't want to know about her father's or her aunt's sex life.
"Okay, then." Rebecca grabbed onto Damon's arm. "We'll leave you to it."
"No funny business under my roof," Robert said to both Damon and Rebecca. "I mean it."
To be honest, with everything that had happened that night, Rebecca hadn't thought about any 'funny business' so she agreed readily and then kissed her aunt on the cheek and hugged her dad.
"I'll be back tomorrow," she promised. "Love you, guys."
"Your dad looked like he was about to have a stroke when your aunt mentioned me staying with you," Damon said when they reached her house for the second time that night.
"Yeah." Rebecca giggled. "It's weird that they know, but I'm glad you don't have to sneak around anymore. It's better for everyone."
Damon eyed her intensely. "Maybe. But you have to admit you liked getting away with it." He did the eye thing he was known for and she glared playfully. "Well, you do. On some level you like it, or crave it. Or you wouldn't have done it."
"Stop making insights into my life, please. I'm blissfully oblivious without them, thank you. Now, let's go inside. I'm exhausted."
They had gotten the baby seat from her dad's car and Chelsea was sleeping peacefully in it in the back of Damon's car. Rebecca hoped she didn't wake up from being jostled too much.
Once they were settled in her bedroom Rebecca let everything that had happened that night just fade to the back of her mind because everything was okay. Sure, her aunt needed rest, but that was easily remedied.
"You know, I was really scared tonight," she admitted, putting her head on his chest. "More afraid than I've been in a long time."
She'd been scared because pain and sickness and death weren't things she could control, weren't things she could fight. She didn't know what she would've done if her aunt had died and taken the baby along with her.
"And I don't want Stefan in my house," she said, changing the subject to a less morbid one. "I know about his little slip-ups, his little decade long benders. I don't want him in here."
Damon, who had been playing with her hair, stopped moving completely. How did she know about Stefan's occasional blood haze days; it wasn't exactly public knowledge.
"He's in the books Diana let me borrow. I specifically asked for books starting after 1864. She thinks it's because I live here and this town has an interesting background. I kept them . . . just in case. I'm not giving those back."
"Covering all your bases, huh?" Damon asked lightly.
"Something like that. It surprised me that he never learned to control it."
"Why do you think he's on puppy blood? He can't feed without killing. Then he feels remorse and then that just leads to more killing. The more blood he gets the more he wants."
"Oh. That must feel awful."
Rebecca sincerely hoped she wouldn't be that way when she was turned. Or . . . If, depending on what Damon decided. She was fairly certain he was just waiting for her to get a little older. She was only seventeen and he'd been around twenty-three when he'd been turned, so they could wait.
"Damon?"
"Hm?"
"If . . . if you turn me -" she was treading carefully because she knew how he felt about her turning right that second - " I don't want to be like that. So you have to promise to teach me how to stop. I know I taught you the theory of it, but . . . I don't want to kill people who don't deserve it. So . . . Promise me."
"You'd drink people blood?" he asked carefully.
"Well, yeah. I'm not gonna turn and then be weaker than everybody else; that's like wearing a "Kick Me" sign on your back."
Damon arched an eyebrow in agreement. "I promise to help you control it if you decide you still want to turn later."
"I'm not going to change my mind," she said. "I mean, I know . . . I know I have a pretty decent life even with the Slayer thing. I have friends - awesome friends - and I love them. And my sister is . . . one of the most precious gifts I could've ever received from my parents. She's gonna need me to be there for her even though my family is actually starting to act like a family. But . . . and this might sound selfish . . . but none of that would matter if I didn't have you. My life wouldn't mean much if you weren't in it."
Damon didn't say anything to that, but she hadn't expected him to. She was always able to make him speechless when she said things like that.
The next day, when Rebecca reached the hospital she found her aunt's room empty, which scared her a little, but once she'd asked the nurse she found out her aunt and her dad were with a doctor. Tina was having an ultrasound done to check on the baby. She was told she could wait in her aunt's room, so she did.
Alone in the hospital room, Rebecca felt unnerved by all the medical technology. The monitors and the IV rollers and some other stuff she didn't know the names of . . . It was all foreign to her. She opened the blinds so the room wouldn't be gloomy and then sat in one of the chairs to wait.
Damon had opted out of staying all day with her since Tina was okay - there was no support needed there. There wasn't anything she couldn't handle on her own. And Rebecca had left a speechless Damon at her house to watch out for her sister.
She'd called Liz before coming to the hospital to tell her she needed a few days off and Liz understood. Then Rebecca had called to fill in Diana - they were getting along better now that Diana wasn't trying to dictate her life.
Rebecca jumped when she heard the sound of glass breaking come from the hallway and laughed at herself. Sometimes she got lost in her own head and it took something like that to bring her out of it, bring her back to herself.
Then the screaming began. Rebecca looked to the door and then looked around the room for a weapon. Then she checked herself because . . . this was a hospital. Just because someone was screaming didn't mean there was danger. It just meant someone was either in pain or someone had lost someone else. People screamed about things like that all the time, right?
But then there was pandemonium in the hallway. Orderlies were running everywhere. Rebecca had to find out what was going on even though part of her wanted to stay in the room. She peeked outside and saw a young girl, maybe around thirteen, holding a piece of glass in her hand, brandishing it like a knife. People were trying to calm her down, but it wasn't working. One of the orderlies had sneaked up behind the girl and almost had her but she spun around quickly enough to fend him off.
Rebecca swore under her breath. The girl's neck had blood on it; it looked like she'd been ravaged. And now the girl was freaking out and causing herself more damage, for Rebecca could see the glass was cutting into the girl's hand. She had a hospital gown on that was tied to not show anything and Rebecca assumed the girl had been admitted without her knowing about it and had woken up here.
Rebecca wondered if she could help. She could easily restrain the child and hopefully keep anyone from getting hurt. She passed by a male patient who was clad only in underwear and motioned for him to go back in his room; he didn't listen.
The closer Rebecca got to the girl the more she could tell the girl was acting like a frightened animal, ready to lash out at the first sign of trouble. Someone was going to get hurt if they weren't careful.
"Everybody stop!" Rebecca shouted.
Everyone did stop, surprisingly, and they looked at her. She guessed her voice had held a note of authority or something. Even the girl looked at her. Since Rebecca had helped calm her down, the orderlies let her step forward. She very cautiously knelt down in front of the girl and placed her hand over the glass.
"You don't need that. Just put it down. No one's gonna hurt you."
The girl's eyes were a soft brown, her hair a golden blond. She was trembling from fear or, at the very least, from feeling trapped. And . . . Rebecca recognized her. She could tell the girl could recognize her too, a little.
"Where am I?" the girl asked.
"You're at the hospital in Mystic Falls, Virginia," Rebecca said. "You've come back home. Now please put the very sharp weapon down. You don't want to hurt the nice girl that's trying to help you."
The girl's eyes flickered around wildly and suspiciously at the hospital staff. The hospital staff that had needles in their hands. Sedatives, maybe.
"Put those down," Rebecca ordered. "She's scared."
The girl let Rebecca take the glass from her, which Rebecca found encouraging except for the fact that the girl's hand began healing automatically. Rebecca checked the child's neck, and sure enough . . . the blood was still there but the wound was gone . . . or hadn't been there at all - Rebecca hadn't been close enough to see before.
Uh-oh, she thought. This girl wasn't a vampire but she was in transition. Someone had turned a little girl and said girl obviously didn't have a clue what was going on. Rebecca felt her throat tighten. Who would do this to someone so . . . young? She hadn't even been through puberty yet.
"Sarah?" Rebecca said. "Do you . . . remember me?
"Becca?" Sarah said uncertainly. "Rebecca Stone?"
"Yeah, hi."
Rebecca was glad that Sarah remembered her. It had been almost two years since they'd seen each other, but they'd gotten along before. Then Sarah and her family had moved.
"Why aren't you in your room?"
"Because I don't want to be in my room."
Rebecca arched a brow at the simple answer.
"She woke up screaming," one of the nurses said helpfully. "When we went in she'd ripped her IV line out and her neck was bleeding again."
"Again?"
"She was found last night, barely alive, right outside."
Ah. And she'd obviously died overnight and had had vampire blood in her system. If Sarah had been ravaged then they would've had to have stitched her neck to help it heal but then, when the vampire blood had kicked in, the stitches would have been an annoyance.
"Animal attack?" Rebecca asked, because she knew that was what the town would say.
"Yeah."
Rebecca shook her head and glanced back at Sarah. "You're not gonna hurt these people, are you?"
"No. I just woke up and didn't know where I was and then I didn't know them when they came in. I wanted to run."
Of course she had. Rebecca would've been scared too had she woken up not knowing where she was.
"Okay, well, let's go back in your room, okay? You'll be safe there. I promise."
God, I need help, Rebecca thought.
Meanwhile, Damon had just gotten back to the boardinghouse to find Pearl and Anna in his living room. He had two other vampires in his living room and he had a little girl in his arms. This wasn't going to end well.
Jeez, what now? he asked himself.
"How'd you get in here?" he asked.
"An invitation wasn't necessary," Pearl said. "I'm surprised that no living person resides here. Is it just you and your brother? No Rebecca?"
Damon shrugged nonchalantly, placing Chelsea on the carpet beside him. She was able to stand now as long as she had something to hold onto. She chose his leg to steady herself.
"Yeah. How do you keep out unwelcome vampires?" Anna asked curiously.
"Kill them."
He blurred over to Pearl, making Chelsea fall on her diapered behind, and grabbed her by the neck. It was as affective as smothering a forest fire with Napalm; it worked about as well as it had with Anna. Pearl squeezed his wrist and he could hear the bones grinding in his arm - if she'd wanted to, she could've broken his limb.
"Damn," he grunted.
She pretty much threw him on the floor. It was safe to say she'd gotten her strength back, he guessed. And the eleven month old that had wormed her way into his heart was giggling - apparently she found it funny that he'd gotten knocked on his ass.
"Have a seat, Damon," she said calmly. "I was hoping we could have a word."
Not like I have a choice.
He pushed himself up onto the couch and said, "Sure."
"We've taken up residence at a farmhouse just outside of town. It'll suffice for now."
"And I care why?"
It was Anna who spoke now. "Because I promised Rebecca I would help if anything went wrong with the spell. It did, and I am." Anna went to Chelsea and picked her up unceremoniously and began playing with her. Damon kept an eye on them.
"The . . . vampires are out of the tomb?" Damon asked. "Wow. And things were going so smoothly."
"Rebecca knew the risks when she agreed to help."
"When you forced her to help," Damon corrected. "All of them are with you?"
"Not all, some," Pearl answered.
As Pearl was speaking Damon was imaging all the many things that could go wrong with this. Vampires nesting together . . . and then it clicked. The hiker that had been killed and had his clothes stolen . . . A vampire from the tomb had probably gotten out and the hiker had been the first person he or she had come across. The vampire would've needed clothes from this time period.
"I imagine some have already left. Others are probably still in the woods or, like us, acclimating. I understand from Anna that the Founding Families still have a secret council."
"And you're a part of it," Anna added.
"Pfft. That's ridiculous," Damon said, smiling mockingly at Anna. He was itching to yank Chelsea away from Anna; it made him very edgy watching Chelsea in Anna's arms. She could do anything to the baby and Damon wouldn't be able to stop it in time.
"I've been in town since the comet, Damon. I'm up to speed."
"And so am I," Pearl said. "And, now that you've infiltrated the council, I'll need to know everything they know. Starting with a list of names of the Council members and their families."
"Everyone you've supplied with vervain," Anna added.
Damon's gaze snapped to the younger vampire. How did she know all this? Usually he was great at covering his tracks but Anna seemed to be one step ahead of him all the time.
"Yes, that will have to stop immediately."
"What exactly are you trying to achieve?" Damon asked, already deciding he didn't want to help.
"Mystic Falls is our home, Damon," Pearl said. "They took that from us. Our land, our home. It's time we rebuild."
He was trying to read between the lines because that couldn't be what she really wanted after all this time.
"What, are you crazy? That was 1864. Wake up, woman, the world has moved on." He saw her eyes go cold and her expression harden. "And there's no way in hell I'm gonna play the role of your little minion."
He was just getting ready to show them out when Pearl pushed him back down.
"I'm not asking for you help, Damon. It's nonnegotiable."
The room was filled with Damon's screams - and Chelsea's joined his not long after; oh, God, what was happening to her - as Pearl's thumbs prodded into his eyes. The pain was so intense he couldn't even think of doing anything but fall to his knees when she yanked him up off the couch.
"I have 400 years on you, little boy. I'll rip you from limb to limb without even blinking, and you know it. I'll be in touch."
He couldn't see but he heard them walk away and he grabbed his head, which hurt thanks to the new no-eyes thing he was sporting. He had to go to the basement off of memory alone - there was no way he was healing without more blood in his system. It hurt less now but he still couldn't see anything. And he still wasn't going to play the roll of her minion; he was better than that.
So much for coexisting peacefully, he thought, remembering Pearl's words from when she'd been talking to Rebecca at the Grill the night before. Pearl was not going to be happy when she found out he really wasn't going to help her. She was going to be even less happy if Rebecca found out what she'd done because Damon knew that existing peacefully would go out the window if Pearl was going to hurt him every time she turned around just because he wouldn't do what she wanted.
Damon wondered if he should even tell Rebecca. If Rebecca went after Pearl, Pearl would kill her if she had the chance, so . . . No, he probably wouldn't tell.
Chelsea, he suddenly remembered. She was crying upstairs and she might've been hurt; he'd been too preoccupied with the thumbs digging into his eyes to notice if she was okay. The girl couldn't see him like this; he would terrify her.
Sunglasses; he could wear sunglasses until his eyes healed completely.
Okay, so . . . what do you guys think? I hated myself for adding a child vampire, but it's also fascinating to me. She'll be stuck in a heightened state even without the supernatural element because 13 is around about the time the hormones start working overtime. She would've been unstable or at least overly emotional to begin with.