Chapter 19 – Family Ties

Shane's POV

It felt like I'd been sitting in this position for hours, maybe even days, so when I felt Claire shift slightly in my lap, my attention was focused only on her – not like it hadn't been before.

"Claire?" I murmured, and when there was no reply I repeated it a bit louder, "Claire? Are you with me?"

She groaned, and not only did she have my attention but the attention of all the others in the room – including Amelie and Sam as they seemed to have reappeared out of nowhere.

"Claire?" It was Amelie, and she walked forward so that she sat opposite from me by Claire's side. "Claire? It will be okay, all you have to do is wake up. Claire? Wake up, it will be okay." She had bent down so that she could hold Claire's hand in hers, and I couldn't help but ask her what she meant.

"It will be okay? What do you mean, it will be okay. Why does she need to wake up to be okay?" I more questions sitting on the end of my tongue, however, forming the words was a task that I couldn't seem to complete at this moment.

"She is dreaming," Amelie answered.

"And? People dream all the time, or should I say humans dream all the time because I don't have a clue about vampires. It's what wakes us up in the morning and what puts us to sleep at night. So why is it such a big deal that she's dreaming?"

"Do you remember when we were attacked by the draug and you were sucked into a dream universe of lies and truth?"

"Is that what's happening to Claire?!" I hadn't even let her continue before shouting in her face, but I couldn't find the words to apologise to her, so I just kept ranting, "What's she dreaming about? Why would it scare her? Why is she even dreaming the way I did in the first place?" All I had ever wanted to do from the moment I had set my eyes on Claire was to protect her, if she was in some dream land then I couldn't protect her, not here – no one could.

"It isn't the same as your situation had been. You had been dreaming as if life was just moving on. Claire is dreaming of two possibilities that could become her life."

"You don't make any sense! What the hell is that supposed to..." I felt Claire stir again.

"Why all the shouting?"

"I'm sorry," I replied, but Amelie was quick to correct me for my mistake.

"She isn't speaking to you. Something is happening in her dream."

Claire's POV

Everybody was shouting, screaming at the top of their lungs – Michael, Eve, and Myrnin. They were loud; louder than I could have ever believed was possible.

"Let us in to see Amelie!" Eve was shouting at the guard that stood in front of her with a blank expression, as if she wasn't even there. "We need to see her, now!"

Michael was shouting at the other man who seemed to be annoying him the way that only Shane could have – had he been alive, that is. "I don't care what your job is; you have to let us in. She has information that we need to save Claire and Shane."

And Myrnin wasn't exactly shouting as much as talking to everybody but getting no reaction whatsoever. "Come on, everybody. Can't we just be friends?" Although, when Eve turned around and reminded him that I was dead and that the only person that had a chance of saving me was Amelie, he joined in the rant.

I couldn't stop them, because they couldn't see me. If I stood in front of Eve, chances were she would walk right through me. But it seemed that I didn't need to.

Amelie walked through the door of the Elders council building followed by Oliver and walked down the marble steps. Everybody fell silent.

"I heard a racket out here and I believed it to be you," she smiled, but her eyes held only sadness. "What can I do for you?"

"How do we get Claire back?" Eve asked, "And Shane. How do we get them back?"

"They are not gone yet. They are expecting their baby," she stated, and then her eyes filled with doubt. "No," she whispered silently, and grabbed for Oliver to keep herself steady. She didn't reach in time, however, and fell to the ground. When Oliver stepped forward to help her up, she rejected his offer and stared first at the ground and then at the group of people that stood behind the guards.

It looked as if she were about to shed a few tears but she stood before her body allowed them to fall. "You may come in," she said simply before turning on her heels and flashing out of sight.

Shane's POV

She sprang forward, gasping as if she was awaking from a terrible nightmare. When she looked around at her audience, her eyes held horror and disbelief. Then she turned and looked at me, and her eyes filled with tears. She threw her arms around me and let them fall, and I wrapped her in a hug.

"What did you see?" Amelie asked Claire, and she shook her head.

"I don't want to talk about it, Amelie," she continued to cry into my shoulder and the only thing I could think to do was comfort her.

"Claire, you must tell us."

"Did you not hear her?" I asked in a harsh, quiet voice. "She doesn't want to talk about it and she shouldn't be forced to."

"I don't think you understand how important the knowledge that she gained is. Claire, you must tell me. Only I can help."

"I think you'll find," Sam added from behind Amelie, "That I am the only one that can help in this situation. Although, I do not intend to do so."

"How can you help?" Claire turned to Sam with question in her eyes. "The basics of my dream are that Shane and I don't stand a chance at living if we keep this baby, and the baby won't live either."

"You must have been given another possibility to observe," Amelie said.

"When everything was as happy as everything could be? Yeah, I saw that, Amelie, but I don't believe that's a possibility at all."

I wanted to say something, but I didn't know what to say or how to say it.

"It is quite possible, dear Claire," Amelie told her, "And the way that Sam could help you is by sacrificing himself."

"I don't understand," Claire said, and I didn't either.

"How can Sam help us by sacrificing himself?" I leaned to the side so that I could see Sam. "Can you explain?" I asked him.

"Maybe I should go and fetch Morley," he said as he began to turn away, but I stopped him before he could get very far.

"I don't want that guy in here! And I don't want you out of our sight if you can help us with... whatever we need help with!"

"He isn't going to run away," Amelie told me, but I didn't believe her.

"It's okay," Claire spoke up again, "Fetch Morley if you must."

I stared from Claire to Amelie to Eve to Michael and then to Myrnin and Oliver. I didn't have a clue what was going on and I wasn't sure that I wanted to, but from what I did catch this was about my baby – about our baby – and I needed to know if it was in danger.

"Can someone explain what's going on?" It was Oliver, and he sounded confused and slightly annoyed, or maybe he was just trying to hide how annoyed he actually was.

"All will be explained when Sam and Morley return," Amelie told him.

"You seem to be getting close," Oliver muttered, but was interrupted by Eve.

"And what if they don't?" Eve asked, "Sam needs to die for some reason that is completely beyond me, so why would he want to stay?"

"He does not intend to die, so he will not. He isn't the sort to run from his problems."

And at that moment, Sam and Morley entered the room with looks of amusement. "I think it is time that we officially introduce ourselves," Sam said. "I'm Sam Danvers." And after giving that a few moments to sink in, he added, "And this is my brother, Morley Danvers."