Time To Travel

Sookie opened her eyes and looked around trying to reconcile herself with her surroundings. She looked up and saw Matthew standing there staring at her. "Good morning," she said stretching her arms, "what time is it?"

"A little after 7:00, you said you wanted an early start," he replied.

"Yes, I do, I didn't come all the way to Scotland to sleep the day away."

"Good, there's towels in the bathroom and Bonnie is in the kitchen when you are ready for breakfast," the boy said as he passed through the doorway.

Sookie forced herself from the warm bed and tucked the sheets and blankets up so she could swing her suitcase on top of the bed. She had been just too tired to unpack the night before. She couldn't believe she was actually here, in Great Britain deep in the Highlands of Scotland. Eric hadn't returned to the house for several days and when he finally did he was alone except for two airline tickets. He kept the conversation short but felt it best that they all took a deep breath from each other and that Matthew really needed some time away from the American South. So not minding a break from everything that had happened in the recent weeks and months as well as not minding spending time with Matthew she was pleased that the trip was still on. She chose a long sleeve shirt and was reaching for a sweatshirt when there was a knock at the door.

The door opened a fraction and a sweater was thrust through the slight opening. "Matthew thought this might work for ya better. There is a chill to the air and this good thick wool," Bonnie the woman of the house said.

"Thank you," Sookie answered taking the sage green sweater from her. She was delighted to find the garment soft and not at all scratchy.

"The secrets in how you wash it," Bonnie said before she retreated down the hallway.

Sookie wasn't quite sure how the woman was related to Matt but she seemed to be some kind of grandniece. She and her husband Liam had sheltered him for years and her mother had done so before her and so on and so forth back too many generations to count. He hadn't strictly stayed here as he hopped around in an attempt to stay hidden from those seeking the half-breed vampire but he said this had always been his favorite and the very place where is mother had died and been buried.

After a morning meal consisting of an oatmeal type substance Sookie joined Matthew who was outside already just looking off into the distance, the family dog prancing around him. She knew this day was very important to him but would be difficult as well. They trudged along the road not speaking as Sookie took in the breath taking beauty that surrounded her. She had never seen such a magnificent landscape. The town as small as it was, was the only area with any type of population around. It was near a loch and what Matt told her was The Minch which looked much like a bay to her and mountains popped up within her view. He said the town hadn't come into existence until sometime in the late 1700's and Gaelic was language of choice for a great many years. She had noticed signs in both English and Gaelic and had continually asked him to read the Gaelic words to her. She quickly found that what the letters spelled out and how they were pronounced were two totally different animals.

Matt who was never able to get more than a few feet away from Moses the Border Collie led their small party seemingly on task and focused yet taking in everything around him. Sookie took deep breaths and believed this was the best air she had ever had the pleasure of breathing. She desperately wished she could bottle it and take it make to the stale humidity that Louisiana seemed to pump out. She could now understand why Matt had such a difficult time adjusting to the weather in her native state. They trekked further outward and what little population there had been thinned down to nothing. She couldn't imagine how sparse it was so many years ago when Matt had been his true age.

They had marched uphill to a breathtaking view of the water around them. The wind was strong and biting blowing Matthew's blond hair in different directions. He turned to her and smiled his blue eyes soft and clear revealing his gentle soul. They came to an area thick with trees where what little sun had struggled to filter its way through the clouds was now obscured by the trees. "She's here, over this way," he said reaching back for her hand.

Sookie took his hand and managed to work her way across the uneven ground until he stopped at a small clearing. "She's here," he said.

She figured it must be vampire senses that allowed him to know but then she saw him look down at a large rock that must have been her grave marker as it was the only stone in the area. "Tell me about that day."

"I find it hard to talk about even now. Suddenly she was gone in one of the most heinous ways; something I can't forgive."

"Did Eric kill her? Was it an accident?" she asked gently.

Matthew knelt down and placed his hands on the large stone. "Yes and that is what makes it so very hard to accept."

They had stayed at the gravesite for a long time. Sookie watched Matthew as he just sat losing himself in his memories. She could only imagine the small house that sat nearby and Eric sitting nearby watching his son play. She had offered an ear to the boy but he continued to refuse to talk. So she just let him remember and deal with it all in his own way.

Finally standing up and wiping tears away the group trooped on walking along Loch Broom. Sookie continued to fall in love with everything she saw. Matt had stayed quiet for the most part alone with his thoughts but he finally perked up and began to talk about what he considered his homeland. He answered questions about the weather, the terrain and the people as Sookie just couldn't seem to learn enough about the area. Finally hunger pains drove them back to the small house for a late lunch. Matt ate the most Sookie had ever seen and Bonnie smiled with satisfaction at the boys robust appetite.

"I've never seen him eat so much," Sookie stated.

"It's the fresh air and the fresh food," Bonnie proclaimed.

Matt excused himself and went back outside to play with Moses whom he had promised a game of fetch while they were out earlier. The dog seemed to be a wonderful presence while Matt dealt with the past.

Sookie helped tidy up and finally working up the courage asked Bonnie about her great Uncle. "I know he is more human than vampire and he seems like a great kid, but…"

"But you want to know if he has a dark side?" Bonnie asked.

"Well yeah," Sookie answered.

"Don't we all have a darkness in us? I have of course only known Matthew for my lifetime, but we played together when I was young. Well it was more that he tolerated me. His knowledge and experiences are so vast it must take great patience to deal with us lowly humans. I had always loved him and trusted him but one day he cemented those feelings."

"What happened?" Sookie asked.

"We were in Glasgow visiting some relatives from the other side of my family; they knew Matthew only as a distant cousin. We went out for a walk with my cousin Charles who thought it would be fun to visit the more seedy side of town. Matthew's hackles went up immediately and tried to get me to go back with him; but wanting to appear to cool I refused. It didn't take long before two unsavory characters happened upon us. They clearly had set their sights on me; before I knew it they had knocked Charles down and one had grabbed Matthew and was holding him with his arms behind his back. He had to have been nearly twice Matt's size. The other had pinned me against the wall of the alley they had trapped us in. I thought it was all over," she said stifling a sob.

"I'm so sorry," Sookie offered.

Bonnie took a moment but was able to begin again. "I still can see it as if it happened yesterday, Charlie had hit his face on the pavement but other than that he was fine; he just sat there shaking, useless. The one kept pulling Matthew's hands behind him tighter and tighter. I closed my eyes waiting but the assault never came. When I opened my eyes again Matthew had broken free; he had one boy already unconscious and lying in a heap on the ground, the other was begging for his life when Matthew smacked his head into the brick wall causing him to go down next to his friend. Charles ran off like a scared rabbit and I fell more deeply in love with Matthew that day. So you see he has darkness, but it is only so the light can continue to shine."

Sookie took a deep breath and looked out the window in time to see Matthew throw the ball to Moses again.

"Besides Moses is a great judge of character; he like many dogs can see your soul and he loves Matty more than anybody."

Taking her newfound knowledge to bed with her that night Sookie lay awake for quite a while not having a hard time picturing Matthew as the hero his eyes had said the very same thing to her earlier that day; their clarity proclaiming his decency and righteousness. Nearly asleep he had noticed that all of his relatives Eric included called him by his full name but he had no problem going by Matt by anybody who chose to call him the shortened version. She hadn't thought about how he had to change and adjust on a daily basis; patience wasn't the word. She finally began to drift off to sleep with visions of a half vampire half human in her head.