Dane

Chapter 13b

When Julia entered the Old House, she noticed that Barnabas and Willie, both seemed agitated; obviously she had arrived in the middle of an argument. No doubt over Willie getting caught "spying" by Dane. She sighed silently to herself. With Dane's unexpected marriage proposal, she didn't feel in the mood to deal with Barnabas' jealousy.

"Maybe I should come back, when it's more appropriate," she said, brusquely, immediately regretting her tone of voice, on seeing Barnabas' expression on seeing her.

He glared at Willie, telling both Julia and Willie that this incident was far from over. "You can go now, Willie. But remember what I said."

Willie sheepishly left the drawing room, still feeling Barnabas' baleful glare on his back.

Alone, Barnabas focused his attention on Julia. He frowned, sensing that something was wrong. She seemed...distracted. A jealous rage rose in him at the sudden thought that Dane might be the reason, and he struggled to suppress it.

He clutched the sliver head of his cane, leaning heavily on it for support.

"Dane was here only a short time ago," he said, watching her carefully.

She jumped slightly at the mention of his name, confirming his suspicions that Dane was very much in her thoughts.

"I know. He returned to Collinwood just as I was leaving. He can be...persuasive when he wants to be. When he thought Willie was spying -."

"Do you believe that?" interrupted Barnabas, with one of his innocent little-boy looks.

Julia, who knew his habits well, only stared at him. "I have the advantage of knowing the truth about you. Dane doesn't," she said diplomatically.

Fortunately for him, Barnabas thought to himself. Aloud he said, "We had a interesting conversation. He mentioned in a roundabout way, that you and he were engaged once."

Guilt crossed her face, and she clutched her medical bag tightly. Turning towards the cellar door, she said, "It's time for your injection, and check-up."

Without waiting to see if he was following her, she left the drawing room.

She withdrew a blood sample, and turned towards the microscope. "There are some tests I need to do, tomorrow night, or the night after. It will mean a stay at Wyndcliffe."

"Is that necessary?" he asked with a frown.

"I need access to more sophisticated equipment. And besides, Wyndcliffe would be the best place to be. I'll make the arrangements myself." She bent over the microscope, examining the blood sample she had just taken.

Almost immediately she lifted her head, and looked enquiringly at Barnabas.

"Have you noticed any change over the last twenty-four / thirty-six hours?"

"No," said Barnabas slowly, his tone telling her that he had.

"Barnabas, I need to know everything that you experience!" she admonished him.

"It's vital to the whole experiment!"

"It was something so small, it hardly seemed worth mentioning."

"Barnabas, this is your very life, we're talking about! Of course, it's worth mentioning! This could be the breakthrough we've been waiting for. No matter how small, you must tell me." She took her stethoscope from the pocket of her lab coat, and hung it around her neck.

She closed the gap between them, and took his hand in hers, testing for any sign of a pulse. She frowned, not quite sure if she was getting an accurate reading. She popped the stethoscope in her ears, and listened to his chest. A small smile spreading on her face, as she caught the faintest of heartbeats.

"It's very faint, but there is a heartbeat!" she proclaimed. A rattling wheeze made her turn and look at Barnabas. As a vampire, Barnabas didn't need to breathe as humans did. But what she'd just heard was unmistakable. His ability to breathe normally was beginning to return.

"Does this mean what I think it does?" he whispered, the look on his face, making her forgive him, for not telling her of his "symptoms" before now.

"I wouldn't get too hopeful, Barnabas," she said, the look on her face, and tone of voice saying otherwise. "We've gotten this far before, only to fail. I think I should arrange for those tests for tomorrow."

Barnabas' face fell. "Can't they wait one more night, Julia?" he asked. "I was hoping that we could go to the concert in Bangor. We barely had any time together, in the last week or so."

Since Dane came, remained unsaid, but hung heavily in the air between them.

Julia sighed, knowing better. It would be a refreshing change to spend an evening with Barnabas. Perhaps it would help her get things into perspective.

Again, finding herself, actually considering Dane's proposal caught her off guard. "I'd like that," she heard herself say, and found, that she actually did.

While she was surprised she could even give Dane's question any consideration, she found that she had also genuinely missed Barnabas' company.

Barnabas reached out, and clasped her hands in his own at her acceptance. "It will be a most enjoyable evening," he promised.

Julia turned away from giving Barnabas his injection, and so didn't see the look of pain cross his face. The pain of the injection had intensified with each one, but this was proving to be the most painful. He fought to hide his discomfort, as Julia turned to face him again.

"Barnabas?" she asked, watching him closely. "Are you feeling alright?"

Obviously he wasn't doing a very good job. Concentrating, he carefully pronounced each word. "I'm alright, Julia."

She continued to look at him, still unsure if he was telling her the truth. Then with a satisfied nod, turned back to the blood sample she had taken earlier, not seeing the murderous light that began to burn in Barnabas' eyes.

/

When Julia returned to Collinwood, it was almost midnight, but Dane was still up, and waiting for her.

He smiled on seeing her, but it slowly faded when he saw how tired she looked.

"You look dead on your feet!" he exclaimed, concerned. "A tired doctor isn't at her best. Come on," he said ushering her into the drawing room. "What you need is a night cap, and then a good night's sleep."

Against all her protests, he succeeded in getting her into the drawing room, and once she was sitting on the sofa, he hurried to make her a hot cup of tea.

Finally acknowledging how tired she was, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Something about the way Barnabas had been acting, bothered her. It was something she couldn't quite pinpoint. Her confused feelings over Barnabas and Dane weren't helping.

Nor was the problem with the cure. They had reached a turning point; either the cure would work or it wouldn't. They had gotten this far before, only to have met with failure. If they failed now, what would happen? How would Barnabas react? Neither of them could face yet another failure.

The sounds of footsteps made her open her eyes. Dane had returned with her tea, an apologetic look on his face. "Sorry if I woke you."

She rubbed her eyes, and sat up. "You didn't," she said reaching for the tea.

Dane watched her carefully, and then sat down beside her. He took her hand in his, and she turned to look at him.

"Julia, you remember the call I got, before you went to see Barnabas? That was Charles Farrier, my lawyer. The custody case over Julian is turning ugly; Diane's saying all kinds of things. I may have to go back, sooner than I thought."

"Dane, I am sorry," said Julia, sincerely, squeezing his hand gently. "And I understand completely. Julian's welfare and happiness is important. When will you have to leave?"

"A matter of days, at the most." He looked at her seriously. "I know asking you to marry me was a bolt from the blue, Julia, and I said, I'd give you time. I was hoping that, when I leave, perhaps we could go together."

His statement had the effect of a cold bucket of water, and woke her up, with a start. "Leave Collinwood?" she said, stunned.

"We could be married in New York, before heading to Philadelphia."

She rose to her feet and began pacing the floor. Her head in a whirl. "Dane, I don't know what to say. Marriage is a big step." she looked at him, helplessly. "I need more time."

Disappointment crossed his face. "I understand Julia. I don't mean to rush you."

"A few more days is all I ask. Good night, Dane."

"Good night, Julia," he said, going to meet her. He kissed her lightly on the mouth, but she didn't return it. He watched her as she climbed the stairs, and when she disappeared, he walked over to the portrait of Barnabas. He studied it, and then glanced up to where Julia at disappeared, and then back to the painting.

Then, grabbing his coat, he quietly let himself out of the house.