CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Violet awoke, aware she wasn't alone. Instead of Vincent or Hayley staring at her like she expected, she saw Liam. She cracked a smile at the leaping feeling she felt in her chest at the mere sight of him. Deep, chocolate brown eyes bore into her own. He looked tired. And sad. She tried to ask why but found she could not. Her mouth was too dry and all she managed was a weak wheeze. Liam immediately held a bottle of water to her lips and she gulped gratefully. She pulled back after she had her fill and exhaled sharply.

He smiled weakly and asked how she felt. She considered for a moment before replying that she felt much better. She wasn't lying. She still felt rather gross and wanted for a shower more than she could explain, but she didn't feel tired or groggy. It wasn't so hot anymore, and she was starting to suspect that Liam had been truthful when he told the stranger that she had been ill. When she asked him this, he confirmed those suspicions. He had feared she was dying. Estelle was doing pretty good, babbling and rolling and even starting to stand up if she was able to pull herself up. She was doing very well indeed. The hunters were doing well too, Vincent almost back to his full strength and Hayley as she ever was; happy.

He smiled softly when she asked how he was. "Well" He said, "I'm tired of changing diapers, and I'm really glad you're not dead. I was afraid you were infected to be honest. I don't know if I could kill someone else I care about." He went quiet.

Violet was surprised. He didn't know she was immune? She lifted up her shirt to show him a stomach covered in scars. "What did you think these were? Stretch marks?"

He turned pink and muttered something about what was under her shirt not being his business and she smirked before informing him that she knew she was wearing a new outfit, a clean one.

He blushed even deeper and insisted he had changed her as quickly as possible and didn't look unless absolutely necessary.

Violet brought a pout to her lips and asked "Do you mean to say you aren't interested in what's under my shirt? Ouch, am I that repulsive?"

Violet didn't think there was a more distinct shade of red than the one gracing Liam's cheeks at that very moment. He couldn't even come up with a response except a tortured "Umm"

She laughed and asked to see everyone. Estelle was delighted to see her awake and responsive and babbled and gurgled happily as she tried to express herself. Violet was also amused to hear small snarls and growls come from the chubby infant. Apparently Hayley had stepped in while she was sick. As for the female hunter, she was bouncing around the room yipping and yowling, trying to get a rise out of Vincent, who seemed rather content to snuffle in Violet's direction before lying down, satisfied that all was well. Liam was smiling, but still looked rather tired. Violet scooted to the edge of the bed and tested out her legs. They held her this time, and she walked rather shakily to the bathroom.

She started to run a shower when Liam came in. he informed her that the hunters and Estelle were already bedded down in Hayley's room. He turned the shower off and started running a bath, insisting she should bathe rather than shower, so she didn't risk collapsing. She smiled and thanked him. Then she looked at him coyly and asked if he planned to stay and wash her. Instead of blushing like she expected, he shook his head and told her he was sure she could do it, and then walked out of the room.

As she soaked her rather grimy body she let her mind wander. He seemed fairly disinterested in her. Had she really pushed him so far? A strange feeling clenched her chest and she realized she was hurt. He found her so distasteful that he had only stayed to make sure she wasn't going to die. He was probably going to leave tomorrow. She had been such a fool. Nobody loved girls like her. They only lusted after her, wanted her as a trophy. They didn't like her, want to know her. She didn't deserve anything better. She had spent her adult life manipulating people, now an eighteen year old kid had broken the unbreakable. So stupid, stupid STUPID.

She washed her hair, and barely noticed the tears that fell as the water washed the grime from her scalp. She had Estelle. Estelle would always love her, she would always love Estelle. They would get through this mess together, get a nice two bedroom house, maybe some animals, she had always liked cats. Oh god, she was going to be the crazy old cat lady, with twenty cats and a musty old parlor where she kept framed pictures of cats. Oh god. Please not that. She would rather be eaten by Vincent.

She rose from the now cold water and stared at her wrinkled fingers. Yuck, she was all pruney. That wasn't very attractive. But who cares? Who was she supposed to be attractive for? She toweled off and slipped on the oversized sweatpants and tank top Liam had picked out for her. She looked in the mirror. Yikes. Her face was gaunt, pale. She really had been sick. She looked like her mother. Double yikes. That old bag was something else.

She rummaged around in the vanity drawers until she found what she was looking for. Yes! She knew that Hayley's mother would have some on hand; she had seen the pictures of that woman. She obviously kept herself up. Violet was just grateful she didn't go to a salon. She then proceeded to blow dry her hair. Then she cracked open the drawer once more and found the other half of her project.

He heard strange noises coming from the room with his human in it, and even stranger, very unpleasant smells. Smells that burned his nose and made him hiss unhappily. Humans were strange. But he was glad she was moving about. She had been ill for so long. Little One had taken care of the cub in her absence and he was proud of his mate for falling into the role so easily. The cub was a source of delight for all pack members. The cub was the future of the pack. He hoped to add more members soon. His human and her mate would have more cubs and Little One would give him cubs eventually. A strangely familiar word hit his consciousness like a ton of bricks. Daddy. Being a daddy was a good thing. His dreams were filled with a human telling him he would be a daddy. The human with dark eyes and hair. He loved her. Hadn't he? Could he love a human? That awful smell! The human with dark hair and eyes had smelled like that sometimes. He shook his head. Stupid smell.

She watched her mate with interest. He was behaving oddly, reacting to the biting smell in the air. The smell didn't bother her. It seemed almost familiar in a way. She was upset that it made her mate whine. He paced and whined like a cub. She wondered what the human was doing as she heard the loud noise for the second time. What on earth was that human doing in there? She had been in there a long time. Her mate looked curious too, but he didn't look worried so she wasn't either. She corralled her mate into their nest and tried to settle him down. He seemed very upset and she couldn't understand why. She sighed. Tonight would be long. He was sure to have the bad dreams again. He looked like he was already having them.

Violet surveyed herself in the mirror, satisfied with the way her now chestnut colored hair looked. She had cut and styled her hair into a stylish, medium length asymmetrical bob. She looked so ordinary, so plain Jane. She loved it. This is how a mother should look. Hell, find her a minivan and a kiddie soccer team and she was as all American as a slice of apple pie. Change was good. Change was exactly what she needed. She opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, nearly colliding with a curious Liam. She stepped back, trying to look calm and collected, and failing miserably.

"Hey Vi. I wasn't lurking, I swear. I was just worried. You were in there for a long time. You uh, you dyed your hair. Looks great, it's so short. Not that short is bad! It looks fantastic on you! You always look fantastic! Uh, I'm not controlling my volume. God I'm nervous. You make me nervous. Oh god I'm speaking out loud."

She couldn't help but smirk at his frantic rambling. He was polite to a fault. Even if he was disgusted by her, he didn't want to hurt her feelings. This caused the hurt to well up in her chest again. God she had really screwed this up. Now she would never know what would have been. She shook her head, trying to clear her head. No point crying over spilled milk. She smiled at him sadly, thanked him and told him she was headed to bed. She just had to get out of there before she burst into tears. She was tired of all these emotions. They were exhausting.

She was surprised to hear his heavy footsteps behind her. She didn't turn around, just crawled into bed, her heart in her throat. She could barely breathe as she felt the mattress bend under his weight and her heart started to pound loudly in her ears when she felt him slide next to her. Her breathing stopped when he wrapped his arm around her waist and buried his face in the crook of her neck. She swallowed and commanded her brain to shut up so she could collect herself. All calm thoughts flew out the window when he kissed her neck. She yelped and turned over to face him, but fund herself speechless. Say something! Anything! "I like you a lot." Ah! Anything but that!

His face lit up with a smile and he propped his head up, leaning on his elbow. "I like you a lot too Vi. I was worried you would hate me. I shouldn't have left. I am so so sorry I put you in danger. You could have died. I acted like such a dick. Please forgive me."

"Liam, I am so sorry. I made you feel like shit. And I didn't mean to. I assumed you knew that I… care for you, deeply. I should have told you. We should have talked about it. I just kind of suck at communicating. I'm a loner. You're the one who almost died. For a minute, I was worried I wouldn't get you home in one piece. You looked like crap." She blurted out anxiously.

Liam raised an eyebrow. "Well, we're okay now and we're communicating. Just so we're clear though… you and I are…?"

She laid her head back on the pillow and turned her head to smile at him. "Liam will you marry me?"

They laughed together before he answered her solemnly "Violet, I don't even know your last name, but I would love to make it Stonewall."

"Stonewall?" she asked.

He laughed again and said, "That's my last name. My favorite color is blue and my middle name is Harrison. My favorite food is lasagna and I'm allergic to cats."

She broke into giggles. She couldn't be the cat lady. "My last name is Barden, my favorite color is lilac, and my middle name is Evelyn. My favorite food is stir fry, or anything Chinese really and I'm not a big cat person anyway. I like you better in any case."

He kissed her then, just pulled her on top of him and kissed her so thoroughly he took her breath away. She propped herself up to examine his face and smiled at him. She knew she had waited her whole life to feel like this, and he returned the smile before covering her face in kisses and informing her "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. And I love brunettes."

Awuhhhh guys, wasn't that cute? Such a fluffy wuffy chapter full of fluffly wuffly snuggly wuggly moments. I had to have one before I ended the story. Yes dear readers, the story is coming to an end. This is the second to last chapter, so get in your guesses for Estelle's first word! If you are the first to guess correctly, I will PM you and tell you that you won the amazing dead character sweepstakes and you, yes YOU get to create a character for the author (me!) to kill off in the final chapter. Thank you to all you readers and reviewers and all the readers and non-reviewers, I love you all equally. I'm humbled anyone reads my words at all. So thank you guys :) Seriously.

PS I listened to the song A Thousand Years by Christina Perri on repeat like A ZILLION times to write this chapter. So if you want to listen to it while reading it, I wouldn't object. It flows pretty well :)