Kate's eyes opened slowly and, at first, all she saw was green. How strange. She was sure that the afterlife would be more white. Too bad she couldn't tell anyone that it is actually green.

Then the green light around her faded and she found herself looking at Dracula, who was staring at her with wide eyes. Wait...

Kate blinked in confusion before she looked around the room. "What?"

The lobby of the hotel, still covered in blood and bodies. Dracula, his family and friends, standing there, staring at her.

She was still in the hotel, still standing where she and Martha had destroyed the Van Helsings, where she had...died?

She took a deep breath before looking down at her body. Her shirt was still covered in blood, a hole still showed from where she had stabbed herself in the chest, except there was no wound. There wasn't even a scar. Her body was cleaned of blood too, leaving only her clothes still covered in the red coloring.

She looked back up at Dracula with wide eyes. "How...?

A chuckle from behind her caused her to turn her wide eyes to see Amelia, in her old woman form, standing behind her. She appeared older looking than she had been before, but Kate didn't focus on that. "Amelia?"

The older woman nodded. "Welcome back Kate."

"Back?" She glanced back at the carnage of the hotel before refocusing on Amelia. "I don't understand. I killed myself to stop Ludwig. I was dead."

"I brought you back to life, at Martha's insistence."

Martha! Kate's eyes widened as she glanced around the room for the ghostly figure before focusing on the ring still on her finger. She removed it and held it in her hand for a moment.

There was no more light behind the red stone as there had been before. The ring just looked dull, as if the life was gone from it. She wrapped her hand around the ring before putting it in her pocket. "Where is Martha?"

Amelia took a seat, as if standing was suddenly too much for her. "Martha has finally found peace and has crossed over, along with all the other monster souls trapped within trophies in the Van Helsing households. You freed them all."

Kate stared at Amelia in shock. "I...I..."

Amelia smiled. "You did a wonderful thing." Amelia then let out a deep cough, her face going pale. Kate rushed forward and grabbed Amelia's hand, registering the coldness. "Amelia!"

Amelia took a shaky breath. "You know, I brought you back for me as well." Kate shook her head in confusion. "It was time I retired."

"Retired?"

This was spoken by Mavis, who had also rushed to Amelia's side at the woman's cough. Kate hadn't even noticed her until she spoke.

Amelia let out a series of coughs again before she relaxed. "Yes, retired. I've been the sole Ancient being on this planet from the beginning of time, and it's time I passed on." She turned to Kate with serious eyes. "You have ended the Van Helsing bloodbath that was keeping me here. Now I can pass on, but my power cannot. My power must remain on the planet." She reached out and touched Kate's hand. "I've passed my power to you."

Kate almost took a step back, but Amelia's hand was freezing and filled her with concern. "I don't know how to use your power," she said firmly. "You need it."

Amelia smiled as her skin and hair became gray, as if she was fading away. Kate's eyes filled with tears. "Amelia...?"

"You will learn how to control it," she whispered so softly that Kate almost didn't hear her. Amelia's eyes closed. "Trust it and the power will never steer you wrong. "

"Amelia...?"

The woman didn't respond. Amelia's chest rose once...twice...then stopped.

Kate froze, her eyes wide on Amelia's still softly smiling face. Then the body slowly faded and disappeared, as if she had never been. Kate still knelt there, staring at the empty chair, tears slowly running down her face.

"Kate?"

She turned to Mavis with saddened and lost eyes. Mavis moved closer to her before wrapping her arms around her. Kate wrapped her own arms around Mavis and couldn't stop herself from letting out a sob.

"It'll be okay." Mavis said softly. "It'll be okay."

Kate looked around the room she had come to know as her own since her first night in the hotel. After Mavis helped her stand, she took her upstairs to this room, giving her a nightgown to change into. The sun was up and everyone was exhausted from the roller-coaster of emotions the night had brought with it

Kate looked out the window at the bright sun and instantly went and closed the curtain, blocking out the light. She wasn't feeling sunny and she refused to believe the sun was out. She needed sleep.

She removed her bloodied clothes, removing the ring from the pocket of her jeans.

She looked at the golden ring, no longer a prison for Martha's soul. She would return the ring to Dracula after she got some sleep. After all, it still belonged to his zing, his wife, his love. It didn't belong to her, just like he didn't.

She went ahead and shut off the lights confirming the room would be dark enough for her needs. Barely any light entered the room from around the curtains, leaving the room with shadows and dark corners. Kate didn't care, the minimum lighting fitting with her mood.

Once out of her clothes, Kate went into the adjacent bathroom, the sudden brightness blinding her momentarily, and looked at herself in the mirror. She was surprised at the change a bit of magic could do for her.

Her hair seemed to shine, as did her eyes. Not in such a way that it would be considered unnatural, but just enough that it gave her a glow about her. Her skin was flawless, even her scars from childhood gone. She wondered idly if her scars from only a few months ago were also gone from upon her back, but she couldn't turn enough to tell.

The only thing marring the image was the knowledge that she had had the blood of her family upon her arms and hands. She looked into her own eyes and expected to feel sadness for their passing, but she didn't. She felt at peace.

They were cursed as much as Ludwig Van Helsing was. Ludwig's hatred leading the entire family down a path that could only lead here. Now, they were free, she was free. She noticed when she woke up in the lobby that she didn't feel the warning system that she did before when she was around Dracula and his family. It was the clearest sign she could have that Ludwig was truly gone, that the Van Helsings were truly gone.

She took a deep breath before turning to the shower and turning on the water. First thing to do was to wash the feeling away.

The water was warm, fighting off the chill in her body. She stood in the shower and just let the water wash the day away before exhaustion forced her out of the comfort of the shower stall. She dried her hair and wrapped the fluffy towel around her body. She walked back to her dark bedroom and dressed quickly in the nightgown that Mavis had provided.

The gown reached her mid-thigh, but it was enough. She yawned again before crawling into the softest bed she had ever known and drifting off to sleep.

Out of the shadows of the dark room, Dracula stepped towards the bed in silence, his eyes wide as waves of emotion rushed over him.

He had only meant to come and speak with her, about what he didn't know just yet only that he had to talk to her. He hadn't expected her room to be engulfed in darkness as it was, or for Kate to step out of the bathroom in just a towel.

He had froze, sure she would sense him as she had before. She hadn't. Instead he had been memorized as she removed the towel revealing her body to him.

Granted it wasn't the first time he had seen her without her clothes, but the last time she had been lying on her stomach with all of her sensual parts covered. She had also been recovering. This time, she hadn't sensed him in the room and he had seen it all.

The scars that had marred her back when she rescued Dennis were gone, leaving smooth skin. Her hair looked soft and his hands itched to feel it. Her skin was pale and smooth all over her body, it took all his self-control not to move and draw attention to himself, to not reach out and touch her.

He hadn't meant to peep on her, but he hadn't had an opportunity to announce himself before she dropped the towel and then he had been shocked into silence. He hadn't expected his reaction to her.

Once she climbed into the bed he waited a few more minutes until her breathing evened out and he was sure she was asleep.

He moved and looked down at her as she slept. Her red hair was fanned out on the white pillow and her face was relaxed. She almost looked childlike. He reached out and gently touched her cheek. Her skin was soft under his fingertips.

"But just because you've already zinged doesn't mean you cannot fall in love."

Martha's words came back to him as he looked at the sleeping woman. He wasn't sure if he was in love with Kate, but he did know that the idea of continuing to exist without her was a bleak one.

Martha was right, he would have taken an eternity to make a choice between them. On the one had he had the beautiful Martha, his one zing, the mother of his child. They had had such a short time together before hatred tore them apart for all time. He could have easily chosen her and no one, not even Kate, would have blamed him.

But...Kate.

Her bloodline had been instrumental in killing his wife as well as hundreds of other monsters over the years. But Kate went against the Van Helsings, choosing instead a peaceful coexistence rather than violence. She had saved his grandson, protected his secret, killed her family to save him and his family, killed herself to save them all from the hatred of Ludwig Van Helsings. She was kind to him, made him laugh, enjoyed quiet moments as well as the crazy ones.

Before he realized it, he was leaning down until his face was inches from hers. She smelled clean and wonderful. He noticed that her scent had shifted, no longer indicating the poisoned blood she had had as a Van Helsing. He moved closer, his eyes closing as he took a deeper breath, inhaling the scent of her deep into his lungs. His nose gently touched hers.

The sensation of him touching her nose cause her to move slightly, sending Dracula back in a panic, his eyes wide. She shifted and settled, falling back into a deep sleep.

Dracula calmed before moving back to the door. He couldn't stay in this room with her, not while she was so vulnerable, not while she smelled so good.

Not while he was lusting for her.