Mercy hesitated over opening the message. It was only the latest in a string of emails from Kate; the entire first page of her inbox was filled with messages from her friend. But just looking at them terrified her. She knew that no matter what she might tell Kate, nothing could ever be the same again. She was a vampire, and Kate attended the church that had destroyed her home. She was reasonably certain that Kate would choose never to see her again, and that was a best-case scenario. At worst the woman might very well damn her to Hell and try to send her there personally if they met. Might it not be kinder to just let everyone thing she was gone and not coming back? Those at the school knew she'd left the state, and so she couldn't have been in the fire. Maybe a clean break would be for the best?

No. She couldn't' do that to Ava. They had to stay in Texas, and Ava had friends here. Godric had helpfully informed her that they weren't required to stay in Dallas, and that if she truly wished to move to another city in Texas they were perfectly free to do so. The thought was too tempting; they could start completely over, and she could avoid everyone in this city. But she'd decided in the end that her poor niece's life had been disrupted enough.

She'd been staring at the screen long enough. Staring wasn't going to do anything. With no small amount of trepidation, Mercedes opened the message.

Where are you!? You've been gone for days! Everyone's saying you've run off with vampires, and people are blaming the church for your home burning down! Why haven't you answered your phone!

It was only then that it occurred to Mercy that she hadn't seen her phone in days. Not since she'd left Ava with Alcide and Debbie. With everything that had happened after she was taken, she hadn't given a single thought to her purse or phone. The battery on that phone must be completely dead by now. Kate had surely blown up her mail box with voice mails.

Mercy typed out a quick reply to Kate's email, telling her that everyone was safe and that she'd lost her phone when she left the state. She wouldn't go into anymore detail, but left he phone number for their suite, telling her friend she could be reached there for the next few days at least. She would have to see about replacing her phone as soon as possible.

"Mercy!"

She turned in time to catch Ava, who was flinging herself off the couch. The cartoon she was watching must have ended. She heard Beth mention retrieving Ava's dinner before she let herself out.

"Beth took me to the park today!"

"Did you have fun?"

"Uh-huh. When are we going back to school?"

Mercy almost dropped the child in her surprise. She supposed she should have expected the question to come before now, but how was she supposed to answer it? She wasn't sure she was willing to risk sending Ava back to that school. Too many people connected with the Fellowship were there.

"Well, you'll go back real soon, but you know I can't go back now; I have to stay inside all day."

"You're bleeding."

She hadn't even realized what time it was was when she woke, but she looked at the clock and saw that it wasn't even 7 pm. No wonder she was bleeding; it was still light out.

"I'm okay, Ava. It's nothing."

She'd just gotten up too early, but she hadn't been able to sleep any longer. She supposed that one perk to this vampirism was that she could escape Godric's hold much easier. She couldn't just lay in bed when she was wide awake. She'd tried for an hour before giving up.

"I know. Mr. Eric did the same thing when he was up during the day."

"Well there you go then."

"Beth said we might go to the aquarium tomorrow. I wish you could go with us. It's real dark in there."

"I know it is. In fact, I think we should go tonight."

They were open until midnight now, three days a week, in an attempt to attract the vampire clientele. It was one of the few activites available for vampires and humans to participate in together, apart from movies and bars. Ava didn't have school in the morning, and Mercy had no plans. She couldn't think of a good reason why they shouldn't go.

"Really?! We can go tonight and stay up late and everything?!"

"Really really."

She finally had casual clothes to wear, thanks to the massive box that had arrived from Shreveport this afternoon. Beth, helpfule as she was trying to be, had simply removed the box with Ava's name on it before sticking the box with Mercy's name and what she assumed was a string of Swedish words int eh bedroom while they slept. Mercy had woken to find all the clothes she'd bought during her shopping trip with Alcide. She wouldn't have to wear one of those blasted silk dresses. A sundress was one thing, but all the silk? So not appropriate for an aquarium.

"Where are you going tonight?" Godric asked from the doorway to the bedroom. Judging from the look on his face, he wasn't overly pleased with the idea of going out.

"We're going to the 'quarium, Mr. Godric! You wanna come with us?"

He looked from Mercy to the child who'd practically skipped up to him to invite him on their outing. It continued to astonish him, the fact that this child showed no fear of him. It was good that she did not fear her aunt, but he was still very much a stranger to her. He was not certain it was a good thing for her to be so trusting.

"I'm afraid the gentleman selling us our new home will be here at sunset, Little One."

Mercy bit back a curse. She'd forgotten all about Clifford Sellers coming by tonight. She didn't want to wait until after Sellers left to go to the aquarium, then they would be out REALLY late.

"Why don't you join us after your meeting with Sellers? We'll be there awhile."

"You are not leaving now?"

"We'll leave as soon as Ava's ready."

"I'm ready!"

Mercy broke the staring contest with Godric and looked to her niece.

"I don't think so. I know for a fact that your dinner is on the way up. We'll go as soon as you've eaten."

The girl made a face, but Mercy ignored it. She wasn't about to subject either herself or Godric to a five year old hyped up on the sugared junk food the aquarium offered in it's concession stands. There was plenty of time for Ava to eat a healthy meal from the hotel kitchen.

"I do not think it wise to leave before the sun is completely set."

"I'll take the limo with the light-tight windows. It'll be close enough to sunset by the time we actually get there, especially with evening traffic."

Godric disapproved of the entire idea. There was no reason for Mercedes to put herself at risk. Beth was perfectly capable of taking the child, leaving Mercedes free of potential sun exposure. His already foul mood from discovering that Mercedes had risen while it was still daylight and left the security of their bedroom was not improved by this foolish plan to take the girl out when it was still light. He saw plainly the traces of blood from her ears that indicated she'd risen too soon. What was she trying to prove?

"You should wait until Mr. Sellers has left. The sun will be gone, and I can accompany you."

"I'm not waiting, Godric. Then it will be too late for Ava by the time we're done. You can meet us once you finish with Sellers."

"It is not safe for you to go alone. Those who destroyed your home might still try for you, especially now."

"I'm not hiding out here for the rest of my life, Godric. I won't let them do that to me. I won't do that to Ava."

"Mercedes—"

"I'll take a guard, then. But I'm not staying shut up here."

He could simply command her to stay. It would probably be the safest course of action. But he knew in his gut that if he did so, Mercedes would make his foreseeable future pure hell. And he did not wish to issue commands. He would rather reason with her, or just take her to bed until she forgot about going out. It was unfortunate that taking her to bed wasn't an option; he just knew she wouldn't be reasonable.

"You will take two guards. And you will feed before you go."

He could see that she wanted to argue, but she said nothing, for which he was thankful. He would not be moved on the issue of her feeding. He might not prevent this lunacy for the sake of keeping the peace in his home, but he was not prepared to unleash a thirsty baby vampire on the human population. When Beth arrived with the child's food, Mercedes consumed two bottles of TruBlood. He would have preferred a donor, but he could understand her desire not to feed from a human in front of Ava.

He watched them leave with no small amount of concern, and resolved to end the business of the house as quickly as possible. As he cleared the remains of dinner from the kitchen table, he noticed that Mercedes had left her laptop running. It was curiosity more than anything that led him to press the buttons to bring the machine out of hibernation, and he discovered her email account still open. He should not have been surprised at the number of messages from Kate.

It was an accident that he opened the topmost message; he had been attempting to sign her out, and moved the cursor too quickly. Once it was open, though, he felt a nearly overwhelming urge to know what it contained. His eyes widened briefly when he saw the accusation that Mercedes was ignoring Kate's phone calls. He knew for a fact that he had never heard her phone ring. It only now occurred to him how unusual that was, and made him wonder at it, since it appeared clear that her friend hat attempted to call. He could no longer assume that Kate was as unconcerned as he had supposed.

He tried to think back to the last time he'd seen Mercedes with her phone, and he realized that he'd not seen her phone since before her turning. She must have lost it in Louisiana. He would have to remedy that at once.

It was not terribly difficult, thanks to the internet, to discover the service provider for Mercedes' phone, or to order a new device to be picked up this evening. He would stop in the store on his way to the aquarium. It would be a simple matter to glamour the salesperson into believing they'd deal t directly with Mercedes.

The room phone rang, and Godric answered it to find that Clifford Sellers was waiting in the lobby. He instructed the guards to let the human up, and in less than two minutes the realtor was standing outside the door.

"Good evening, Mr. Gaulman."

Godric directed him to the kitchen and watched, amused, at the amount of paper he removed from his briefcase. This might end up taking longer than he thought.

TB-TB-TB

He found Mercedes and Ava standing in front of the manatee exhibit. Godric had always felt rather sorry for the gentle creatures. They did no harm to anyone or anything, and yet they were always in danger. In this modern era the danger came from boaters who either paid no attention or simply did not care about sharing their harbors. The guards who maintained a discreet distance nodded respectfully as he joined them.

"Hi, Mister Godric!"

"Are you enjoying your visit so far, Ava?"

"Uh huh. You gotta see the sharks!"

He knew they made a strange unit, the tiny human child with two vampires and two human guards. The guards were discreet, but obviously on alert for any potential threat. Several of the humans they passed looked at them strangely as Godric kept a possessive arm around Mercedes' waist, and for the first time he began to understand her reluctance to cave a deeper relationship with him when she was mortal. Most of the looks were distinctly disapproving at their closeness—a youth who looked to have not reached the age of majority and an adult woman. He'd understood, on an intellectual level, that in her position as a teacher a relationship with one so young would be considered inappropriate, but now he was witnessing firsthand how his perceived youth made people react. In his own time, he'd bene considered a man, and Mercedes would have been an old woman; old enough to be his mother. Now, he was regarded as being little more than a child, despite having passed the age at which he could father his own if he was human.

"Mercy?"

Mercedes froze, mid-step, at the call, and Godric immediately tunred around to address the threat. He didn't recognize the brown-skinned man approaching them, but at his nod the guards immediately stopped him.

"It's alright Godric," Mercy murmured, passing Ava's hand to his. She stepped away, motioning the guards to stand down.

"Hello, John," she nodded at the school headmaster. He stared at her, unable to believe what his eyes told him.

"You-you're –"

"I am."

"How-?"

"It's a long story, and I doubt you really want to know. I was going to call you tomorrow."

She could see the distrust, and disappointment, in his eyes as he stared at her.

"This was the big emergency you had to deal with?"

"As I said, it's a long story. You'll have my resignation in the morning."

"I think that's best."

"I agree."

Godric barely kept himself from going after the human when he saw tears spring to Mercedes' eyes. Could the man not see how difficult this was for her? He could not believe the human was always so immediately dismissive, not when Mercedes had spoken of the headmaster so highly. Did he somehow think that because Mercedes was now a vampire, she deserved no respect or courtesy?

It angered him that Mercedes' evening with her niece was now ruined by this encounter. It was inevitable that she would have to face losing her job, but that didn't mean it should have been tonight, when she was completely unprepared for it. She should at least have a few more days to get things settled before dealing with wrapping up her human life. This—inconvenience—shouldn't be allowed to interfere with Mercedes' and Ava's time together.

His hope that this altercation would be the last unpleasant note to the evening was dashed when the car pulled up in front of the hotel. Mercedes carried Ava, who was starting to nod off on her shoulder, at least until she saw someone standing in the lobby.

"Daddy!"

The child wiggled until she was set on the floor, and launched herself at her father. Ethan bent down to catch her, staring at his sister and the bodyguards surrounding them.

"Thank God you're alright."

"We weren't in Texas when the house was destroyed," Mercy answered as he held his daughter close. Ethan's eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything as the took in the tell-tale signs that his sister was now undead.

"That's what Isabel said, but—"

He hadn't believed the vampiress. He'd spent days trying to get back stateside thinking they were dead; he hadn't believed Isabel when she said they weren't in the house when it was burned down. There was no reason for Mercy and Ava to be in Louisiana. Now he could see with his own eyes that Isabel had told him only part of the story.

"I always knew you'd end up killing her."

The accusation was levelled at Godric, who absorbed it with no visible reaction. Ethan saw the bodyguards-human bodyguards? What could those people be thinking, to guard vampires?!- move forward at some imagined threat, until Godric ordered them to stand down. Ethan didn't notice anything off with Mercy until he attention was drawn by Ava's leaving him to join her.

"Are you okay, Aunt Mercy? You're bleeding."

"I'm fine Ava."

Oh damn. He'd made her cry. If the trembling voice didn't confirm it, the blood rimming her eyes did.

"Let's head upstairs to get your stuff, Munchkin."

"Mercy—"

She ignored him as she picked up Ava and breezed past him to the elevators. Ethan felt like an asshole as she dashed the tears away. Godric waited until they were in the elevator and out of hearing before addressing the human.

"Regardless of what you may feel towards me, Ethan, your sister does not deserve your hatred. She has done nothing wrong."

"You killed her," Ethan hissed at the young-looking vampire. If it wasn't for the damned vampire, Mercy wouldn't be what she was now. He wouldn't have spent days thinking his family was dead, if the bloodsucker wasn't part of her life. He wasn't just going to sit back and be lectured by the very source of all the problems.

"She's vampire now, not dead."

"It's the same thing! You've destroyed everything that made her my sister!"

Godric was saddened to hear such words from the human's mouth, but not surprised.

"So you will choose to hate her for something that was beyond her control? Her turning was done against her will, as a punishment to me, and you would condemn her for it? Have you really learned so little from her?"

"I don't blame her for it, I blame you. None of this would have happened if you hadn't come back."

That was an unfortunate truth that Godric couldn't refute.

"She didn't deserve this."

"Nor does she deserve your condemnation. Do you intend to try to cause her harm?"

It was unfortunate that he even had to ask the question, but he couldn't put it past the human try something. It was good to see the boy at least seemed to have SOME family feeling; he looked affronted at the mere suggestion he might harm Mercedes.

"I'm not going to hurt my own sister, Bloodsucker. As soon as I have my daughter, you never have to see us again."

"It would break her heart to never see the child again."

"If you think I would leave my kid around a bunch of bloodthirsty vampires, you—"

"You're a fool if you think your sister or I would ever allow any harm to come to that child. There is no safer human in Texas than Ava."

"Yeah, well I'm not likely to take your word for it."

The discussion, if it could be called such, ended and they waited in silence until Mercedes returned with the child. Ethan took the bag held out to him before picking up his daughter and settling her on his hip.

"I don't wanna leave, daddy!"

Godric kept a secure hold on his child as she reacted to the tears from her niece. They could not prevent the human from taking his child with him, not if they wished to avoid an incident.

"You must let her go, Mercedes," he murmured into her ear as he held onto her.

"You remember what I told you, Munchkin. You're going to go live with your daddy now."

"Why can't we stay here?!"

"It's not safe to stay here, baby," Ethan interrupted before Mercedes could answer, "We're going to stay with real people."

That explanation didn't seem to sit any better with the child than it did with Godric. He heard her arguing with her father as he carried her out of the building, and smiled at her declaration that "anyone who doesn't think Aunt Mercy is a real person just 'cause she's a vampire now is a Stupidhead!" He hoped she continued to think that way after spending so long under her father's influence.

"Let's go upstairs," he urged Mercedes once the human guards confirmed that Ethan and Ava were off the hotel premises. Only then did he release his hold on her enough that she could move."

"Come, älskling."

She let him guide her into the elevator and up to the suite. It was impressive that she didn't cry at all until they had the privacy of their room, when the dam broke. Godric held her as the tears fell, knowing that all of this was his fault.

"I'm sorry, Mercedes. I'm so sorry älskling," he murmured over and over as she wept. Everything that mattered to her had been taken because of him, and in its place she was forced into something she never wanted. He'd walked into the sun because he'd known he would eventually do this to her otherwise, and it would appear that his sacrifice had been entirely in vain. Mercedes was precisely where he'd hoped she would never be.

He couldn't even promise to make it up to her. It hurt to know that there was nothing she wanted enough to accept immortality; not even him. He owed it to her to let her choose the sun if it was what she wished; he knew himself well enough to know he wouldn't allow it without following her.

"Let us leave here, Mercedes. I have the keys to our new nest. Let us go to it."

The suite was filled with the scent of the child. Reminders of Ava would not help Mercedes in her present state. The new house would carry no hint of the child, as she'd never been there. A fresh start could be of great benefit at the moment.

"Come, älskling. Let us leave this place behind."

While she never agreed, she didn't object when he grabbed her laptop and the folder containing the documents for the house and the keys, then guided her back into the elevator. As he expected, she remained silent as he informed the Concierge that they were checking out and settled their account. The car was ordered and quickly brought around, and he ushered Mercedes inside. The drive over to their new home was silent as well, but Godric was content to hold her to him and allow her mind to roam. She would grieve the loss of the child, and he would not try to hurry her through it or stop her. He would miss Ava as well.

The lights were already on, the house waiting for them when they pulled into the drive. Sellers must have stopped by before making his way to the hotel. Mercedes had made a good choice for their new nest, Godric was certain as he saw the house for the second time. It was well out of the city limits of Dallas, which would give them a great deal more privacy than the Carmilla had, and it was quite large enough for any gatherings they would need to hold.

"We'll replace any furniture you don't want to keep," he offered when they stepped inside. The previous owners had good taste, but Mercedes should be able to decorate to her preferences. It would also be reassuring to see her take an interest in the dwelling.

"The furniture is fine."

"I think tomorrow evening will be soon enough to start hiring staff. Would you agree?"

"Staff?"

"For the house. You will not be able to see to everything on your own, nor would I expect you to."

"Of course."

That she didn't argue should be reassuring, but Godric's unease only grew. He would honestly prefer an argument from Mercedes to this utter apathy. It struck him as more than just grief, and it hurt to see it. Without a thought he scooped her up in his arms and sped up the stairs to the master bedroom. As soon as he set her on the bed he settled down beside her, caging her in. This wasn't about physical intimacy, though if she offered he wouldn't refuse, it was about knowing that she was there with him, and not on the roof waiting for the sun to come up. He couldn't bear the thought of her suffering such a horrific end. At her young age, it would be drawn out torture before she finally died.

"Godric—"

"Give me a chance, Mercedes," he practically begged. "Give me a chance to show you that this can be a good life. Let me prove to you that it is possible to adjust to our existence, and even thrive."

"You didn't."

He barely heard the broken whisper, and thought his heart might break all over again. How he regretted ever giving her cause to think she might be alone in this.

"I won't leave you älskling. Never again. I swear it. Just stay with me."