Room 33

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK. "Callie darling, we require your assistance."

So far the day had gone from bad to really really bad.

Callie had been awoken by Liz and Alex, who said they needed her to help them move all of the coffins out of the pool. When Callie asked why, Alex went on to explain that John Lowe had discovered her and Holden, along with the other vampire children, asleep in their respected coffins.

Once all of the coffins had been moved into one of the Cortez's many hidden hallways, Callie was tasked with making sure the children stayed in the game room until Alex or Liz gave the all clear. Once it was safe for the children to come out, and having placed the coffins back in the pool, Callie began her daily chores around the hotel.

It was when Liz approached her with news that Callie that hoped she would never hear.

…

"MISSING!"

"Shhhh!" Liz shushed Callie and pulled her around a hallway corner, hiding them both from view. "What do you mean he's missing!" Callie whisper-screamed at Liz.

Bartholomew, the Countess's deformed vampire baby and biological child, had somehow gotten out of his room and no one among the hotel staff knew where he was or how long he had been gone. This was just about the worst possible thing that could happen inside the Cortez (besides the countless murders and bodies buried within the hotel walls).

After having what felt like a small panic attack, Callie stared up at Liz with fear-stricken eyes. "We have to find him." Liz nodded in agreement. Callie then glanced at the floor as she spoke; "Liz, if something happens to him-" "Hey" Liz spoke as she firmly yet gently placed her hands on Callie's shoulders. "Nothing is going to happen because we are going to find him." Callie knew Liz was trying to stay calm for her sake, but even she could hear the small amount of panic and doubt in Liz's voice.

"I'm going to go inform Alex of the situation, and in the meantime, you start checking every nook and cranny from here to the lobby" Liz said before she went off to find Alex. Callie only nodded at Liz's retreating form before turning around to begin her search.

…

"Bartholomew. Come on buddy, where are you?" Callie whispered as she walked down yet another hallway; looking desperately for the precious, blood-thirsty offspring of Elizabeth Johnson. Though Callie was not a fan of Bartholomew's unpredictability and rage-filled temper tantrums, over the years she had a come to develop a soft spot for the undead infant.

Whenever Liz, Iris or the Countess were unavailable, Callie would be put in charge of caring for Bartholomew; changing and bathing him, along with feeding him a bottle of fresh blood five times a night. During these brief but necessary encounters, Bartholomew would behave like a typical infant: giggling at Callie when she played peek-a-boo with him, gently tugging at her hair when she changed his diaper, and snuggling against her chest when she fed him or rocked him to sleep with a story or lullabye.

"Oh man" Callie said to herself as she finished checking the last room in the hall. "If anything bad happens to that baby-." She stopped herself there; not wanting to finish the sentence out loud. -The Countess will destroy us.

After hours of searching the hotel, Callie decided to check in with Liz to see if she had had any luck finding the baby vampire. Stepping into the elevator and pushing the Lobby button, Callie began to feel the physical and mental exhaustion of the day's events. Leaning her head against the elevator back wall, she let out a tired sigh; Bartholomew, where ever you are, I hope you're okay.

Ding.

Seconds after stepping out of the elevator, Callie was stopped in her tracks by a combination of two familiar scents. Looking towards the front entrance, Callie momentarily froze at the scene before her. There, standing in the middle of the lobby, was Alex; clutching what appeared to be the body of a wounded infant. Snapping back to her senses, Callie rushed over to Alex and looked down at the bloody bundle.

It was Bartholomew, and he had been shot.

Keeping her eyes locked on the baby, Callie slowly took off her red hoodie and folded it over her right arm. Holding out her arms, Callie gently took Bartholomew from Alex and cautiously wrapped him up in the hooded sweatshirt.

Once settled, Bartholomew snuggled into the make-shift blanket; letting out a small whimper as he looked up at Callie with tear-filled eyes. Knowing there was only one thing that could save him, Callie turned and made her way back to the elevator with the wounded infant; Alex followed close behind.

Once they arrived in Room 33, Callie sat down in the rocking chair and beckoned Alex to come over. "Hold him" she said as she gently handed Bartholomew to Alex and then proceeded to pull out her pocket knife from her jeans. "What are you doing?" Alex asked as she watched the young vampire flick open the knife. "He needs blood" Callie said as she rolled up her right sleeve, exposing her right arm, and placed the blade against her wrist. "If he doesn't get it soon, he'll die."

Without a second thought, Callie dragged the blade across her wrist and watched as a small amount of blood began to pour out. Putting the knife back in her jeans, Callie looked at Alex and gestured for her to hand Bartholomew back to her. Alex leaned down and placed the baby into Callie's waiting arms.

While supporting Bartholomew with her left arm, Callie placed her bleeding wrist above him and allowed the blood to drip into his mouth. After tasting the first three drops of vampire blood, Bartholomew let out a hungry squeak and opened his mouth wider.

As the blood dripped from her wrist and into the baby's eager mouth, Callie watched Bartholomew as he greedily lapped up every drop of blood she gave him. From about three feet away, Alex watched as Callie fed Bartholomew; secretly keeping track of how much blood the teen was losing with each passing moment.

After about five minutes, Callie began to feel a little lightheaded and placed her still bleeding wrist on the rocking chair arm rest. Knowing that the feeding was done, Bartholomew laid his head against her chest and began to slowly close and open his eyes; exhausted from the night's events.

Quietly, Alex approached the rocking chair; carrying her doctor bag that she had brought with her. Kneeling down in front of the wounded infant, Alex cleaned and bandaged Bartholomew's wounds with care while Callie held him steady in her left arm. When she was finished, Alex turned her attention to Callie and, with tenderness only a mother possessed, she cleaned Callie's bloody wrist and wrapped it in a bandage.

When she was finished, Alex stood up in front of the rocking chair. "You need to rest." "I'll be fine" Callie assured as she gently rocked the baby vampire. Before Alex could protest, the door to the room suddenly opened.

Standing in the doorway was Elizabeth, staring in surprise at the scene before her. Her infant son was wrapped up in her oldest child's hooded sweatshirt, and that child had a bandage wrapped around her wrist, which showed a little blood that was sweeping through the wrapping.

"Alex? Callie?"

Without a word, Alex gently took Bartholomew from Callie's arms and turned to face Elizabeth. Following her lead, Callie rose from the rocking chair and stood beside Alex.

"Mistress, I-I don't know how, b-but-." "He got out" Elizabeth concluded as she approached the trio. "Yes. I found him. He lost a little blood, but thanks to Callie he's gonna be just fine" Alex assured as she slowly and gently transferred Bartholomew over to Elizabeth.

After checking over her baby with tear-rimmed eyes, Elizabeth looked up at Alex. "You saved my son." She then looked over at Callie. "Both of you." Alex gave a small smile and placed her hand on Elizabeth's shoulder. "You saved mine." Alex then left the room.

Realizing that she wasn't going to be blamed for what happened to Bartholomew, Callie slowly walked up to Elizabeth, who was now stroking the baby's face with her finger. Callie could not help but notice that Elizabeth appeared to be on the verge of tears. In her ten years of serving the Countess, Callie had never seen her shed a tear, much less display any evidence of sorrow towards anyone. Then again, he is her son Callie reasoned.

"Mistress" Callie softly spoke; "Is there anything I can do?" "No" Elizabeth answered quietly before focusing her brown eyes into Callie's silver ones. "You gave your blood to save my baby. You have done more than enough tonight." Walking up to Callie, Elizabeth took her right hand and placed it behind Callie's head. While supporting Bartholomew with her left arm, she leaned forward a placed a lingering kiss upon her progeny's forehead.

Callie closed her eyes at the contact and accepted the grateful gesture. Elizabeth then turned and walked over to the bassinet. While focusing on the baby in her arms, the Countess spoke once more. "Go get a drink." Knowing what her mistress meant, Callie gave a bow and exited the room.

After drinking a cup of O- with a shot of B+ from behind the bar, Callie felt her strength coming back; but after the day she had, all she wanted to do was go back to her room, crawl under the covers and sleep for at least a day.