Phew! Finally got this chapter all written up! I'll try to keep this note short and to the point... Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Thanks to:
Italiancookie2: Thank you!
Night-Alice: Ya, it was unfortunate, but it had to be done. I really couldn't think of any other way to resolve things without it being waaaay to cheesy sounding. No, it's not quite over yet, and thank you so much! I'm glad you've enjoyed the story!
NightLover432: Ya, I'm sorry about that... School kind of consumes my life, and then I got involved in the musical, and so now I have absolutely no free time at all... I'll try to make time for more writing in the future though... Eventually such an explanation shall be made; I wrote the first half of this chapter so long ago now, that I don't quite remember if I did... Let me know if I didn't and I'll be sure to explain it in the next few chapters :) And ya, it unfortunately has to end... I can't keep on writing forever... However, I do have quite a number of ideas for some new fanfictions (including one Night World one focused around Keller and Galen).
starr1095: Thanks! Hopefully you enjoy this chapter! :D

Chapter 27

Looking down at his hands gripping the now-red wood of the stake - still protruding from Dahlia's body - Ash felt a sickening feeling in the depths of his stomach. He wanted to throw up. He wanted to bury himself in a deep hole where he could just hide from the world forever. He wanted to - He wanted - He didn't know what he wanted. He had thought he was doing the right thing. Then his mother had said that she loved him. Why did he kill her? She was his MOTHER for crying out loud! What kind of son kills his own mother? What kind of person was he? Suddenly it occurred to him - there had been some reason he had done this, hadn't there? With a start, Ash remembered Mary-Lynette. Searching the group of people standing silently around him, he spotted her standing by his sisters. Releasing the stake, Ash stood up and rushed over to where his soulmate stood, trying not to look at the body of his mother. Embracing the warm body of his soulmate, Ash held Mary-Lynette close to his body before pulling away to look at her face. She looked worried, though he couldn't sense why. Moving his hands from her shoulders, he embraced Mary-Lynette once again, this time holding her tightly and burying his face in her hair, just breathing in her scent. He would never be able to forgive himself for letting his mother hurt her as badly as she did.

Feeling the silver cord tense between them, Ash whispered into his soulmate's ear, "I'm so sorry. Forgive me?" This time it was Mary-Lynette's turn to pull away. "Forgive you? What's to forgive?" she asked quietly so that only he could hear. Still guilty feeling, Ash leaned down to bring his lips to Mary-Lynette's. Surrounded by the pink haze that was oh-so-familiar and welcome, Ash felt peaceful for the first time in days. However, as his mind joined with Mary-Lynette's, he could sense her repressing something; hiding it from him. That's when it hit him. He may have killed his mother, but his soulmate was still going to die. Feeling a tear escape his eye, Ash buried his face in Mary-Lynette's hair once more. He had to save her…. Then he realized something - Mary-Lynette probably wouldn't want to become a vampire anymore after all the things that had happened. After she had seen the darker side of the Night World. Trying his hardest to hide his thoughts from his soulmate, Ash pulled away, telling her that she should go talk to her parents - they were worried about her. Giving him a curious look, she slowly backed away from him. As she was embraced by her parents, Ash took the opportunity to quietly disappear.

As Mary-Lynette hugged her parents, her thoughts were a complete mess. She wasn't worried or upset about what had just happened with Dahlia; no, her worries were much closer to her heart. Ash had looked upset when he killed his mother - she didn't blame him - but he had still been hiding something from her. She was determined to find out what it was. After assuring her parents that she was alright and that everything was okay, Mary-Lynette turned to find her soulmate, but he had disappeared. Trying not to let her disappointment show, she allowed herself to be hugged by the Daybreakers, always telling them that she was okay, and that she would be fine. However, it seemed that she wasn't as good at hiding her emotions as she thought she was - as Hannah gave her a hug, she whispered in her ear, "Just give him some space… He needs time to deal. Don't worry, he'll be fine." Mary-Lynette nodded, slightly disappointed by this notion.

"C'mon," Hannah said to her, gesturing towards the house. Mary-Lynette simply nodded and followed her numbly, vaguely aware that others were following them. As they entered the house, Mary-Lynette looked for Ash, but soon realized that if he wanted to be alone, he wouldn't go into the house. He would go somewhere quiet where there wasn't anyone else around. The only question that then remained was where that was. Trying to forget about Ash, Mary-Lynette half-listened to the conversations of the people surrounding her. They had somehow ended up in the living room and Mary-Lynette was squished in between her parents. Mark was sitting beside their mom, his arm around Jade's shoulders. Across from her sat Hannah and Thierry. The other Daybreakers were scattered around the room, all of them sitting beside their soulmates. Rowan and Kestrel were nowhere to be seen. They were likely grieving for their lost mother. They had known her longer than Jade, and Jade had her soulmate to comfort her - the girls only had one another.

The conversations amongst the room soon melded into a large conversation mainly focused around Jade, Mark, Mary-Lynette, Rowan and Kestrel (who had re-joined the group after only a short while). Everyone wanted to know all the details about what had led to the fight between Ash and Dahlia. They all knew that it had something to do with Ash and Mary-Lynette being soulmates, but the Daybreakers now wanted to know the full story. It was almost as if they couldn't believe that that was the only reason for her attacking them. Finally, Mary-Lynette couldn't take the questions anymore. They were eating away at her. With each question, she pined more for Ash. She wished he was there with her. She still wasn't entirely comfortable around the Daybreakers - especially not when they were bent on interrogating her!

"Okay," she finally said loudly. "You wanna know the real reason why Dahlia chased us all the way here? Well fine! I'll tell you! She found out we were soulmates and then realized that Ash was going to change me! So now, not only was her son in love with a human, but he was going to break yet another Night World law and change me into a vampire because I'm dying of heart disease! Happy now?"

Everyone looked on Mary-Lynette in shock. They hadn't expected her to be so angry or direct about her situation.

"Well, I'm going to bed, so good night!" she said sharply, leaving the room.

As she walked up to her room, Mary-Lynette felt her eyes filling up with tears as the anger left her body and was replaced with sorrow. By the time she got up to her room, the tears were flowing freely down her face. Not paying attention to her surroundings, Mary-Lynette walked over to the bed and laid face-down on the pillows, drowning in self-pity. Why had she done that? It wasn't like her problems were the business of anyone else. They had no right to know what was going on in her life. So why did she tell them? Mary-Lynette didn't know. As she felt the bed shift from pressure on the far edge, she looked up and saw her blonde-haired angel sitting with his back turned and his head down. Sitting up, Mary-Lynette crawled over to where Ash sat, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind, and resting her chin on his shoulder. Nuzzling her face into his neck, she breathed in his scent, glad that he was near her again.

"I heard what you did back there." Ash said quietly. "I'm proud of you."

He turned around so he was facing Mary-Lynette and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, holding her tight to his chest. After a few seconds of blissful silence, Mary-Lynette pulled away so she could see his face. Taking one hand from his shoulders, she stroked the side of his face, feeling the soft skin beneath her fingers.

"I'm proud of you too." she said finally.

Bringing his hands up, Ash placed them lightly on the sides of her face and brought her close enough so that their lips were almost touching.

"You shouldn't be." he said in a whisper before closing the gap between them. The pink haze surrounded them once more, filling in the empty spots in their heart; completing them. Thoughts were flowing freely between them now, and Mary-Lynette could feel Ash was upset about something.

What's wrong Ash?

I-I-I just don't want to lose you!

You're not going to lose me; I'm right here.

That's not what I meant! I-I'm worried that you won't want to become a vampire now that you've seen that side of the Night World.

What are you talking about! Of course I still want to be a vampire! That is, if you still WANT me to be one…

Don't be silly! Of course I do!

Mary-Lynette broke the kiss off to gaze into her soulmate's eyes. "Thank you." she said simply, before hugging herself close to his body.

"There's one thing though," Mary-Lynette started, still hugging Ash and speaking into his chest. "I don't want to be changed here. I want to be changed at home. Please?"

"Of course." Ash said. He had assumed that his little dreamer would request something like that. She didn't seem to feel comfortable at Thierry's mansion with the Daybreakers. Maybe when she was a vampire she would feel a bit better about being there, but for the time being, he was glad to go back to Briar Creek with her. The two teenagers moved towards the head of the bed, cuddling. Both still in their clothes, they fell into a deep sleep, just happy to have the other with them and their immediate worries resolved.

Mary-Lynette woke up the next morning with an excruciating headache accompanied by a sharp, now-familiar pain in her chest. Stretching slightly, her hand bumped up against another object. Opening her eyes a crack and rolling over she saw that Ash was beside her! Looking at her blonde soulmate, she gently ran her fingers along his cheek, not wanting to wake him, but not being able to resist. Ash's eyes stayed closed, but a small moan escaped him as Mary-Lynette's fingers ran down his cheek. Scared she had woken him, she pulled her hand back quickly. As his eyelids fluttered open, Mary-Lynette tried her best to pretend that she was asleep. Hoping that Ash wouldn't notice that she was awake, she squeezed her eyes tightly shut and laid as still as she could manage.

Beside her, she could hear Ash yawn and felt the mattress move beneath her as he stretched and shifted his weight. Thinking that he was going to get out of bed, she breathed out a tiny sigh of relief.

"Morning little dreamer." a deep voice suddenly whispered in her ear, making her jump. Mary-Lynette flipped over onto her other side to see a smirking Ash. He was propped up on one elbow, his hair ruffled from sleep. He smiled down at her, his eyes crinkling slightly at the corners.

"Morning." Mary-Lynette replied, blushing slightly. She should have known that Ash would realize she wasn't asleep. He was her soulmate after all! He knew everything about her and trying to hide things - even things as simple as being awake - from him was a futile attempt. Ash simply laughed and kissed her forehead gently, seeing her embarrassment.

"So I'm thinking that we should probably head home today." He said quietly. "I know we've only been here two nights, but…." he trailed off into silence and Mary-Lynette slowly nodded. Despite only having been away from home for a short while, she missed her little town. The stress of the past few days was taking a toll on her, and she was exhausted.

Slowly crawling off the bed and standing up, Mary-Lynette felt light-headed. As the blackness enveloped her, she felt hands guiding her backwards onto the bed.

Claudine was ready to go home. She was ready to go home the instant she arrived at this mansion. She and her husband had almost managed to take their family home too until that woman had shown up. It was then that she realized that Ash and his sisters had not been lying about what they were - it was all very real, and out to kill her daughter! Despite the fear for her daughter's safety having mostly subsided, Claudine still felt uncomfortable in the large house of teens. She wanted to go back home as soon as possible, but she wanted Mary-Lynette to come with her. Worried that her daughter would want to stay in Vegas with Ash, Claudine decided that she would try her hardest to convince her otherwise. Finishing up her breakfast, she decided to go see how her daughter was doing. She had disappeared so quickly to her room the night before, and she was so upset. Something about the curiosity of the other kids had angered her to a point where even she was frightened of the normally calm girl.

As she opened the door to the room, she saw the form of Mary-Lynette being slowly lowered to the bed by Ash. He looked up as she entered.

"Go find Lord Thierry." He spoke rapidly; worry in his eyes. When she hesitated, he spoke again. "Go! Hurry!" His voice was louder and more agitated that time. It worried her, and she obediently turned on her heel and left the room in search of the teen.

So, I hope that wasn't too long. I didn't want to break it up into separate chapters, and it seemed really long before I uploaded it onto fanfiction (in this format it looks slightly shorter, but not by much).

As always, I love to hear your thoughts - both praise and criticism - so make sure to review and let me know you're still there please. :)

Happy Writing!