March 2094

Had I still been a human, this month would have marked my 100th birthday.

If I wasn't in the everlasting body of a 22 year old – I had been adamant on graduating from college before I turned – I would have cringed at the realization.

78 years had passed by in a relative blur; save for a few events that I was certain would always be burned into my memory.

The last night I saw my parents as a mortal...
...David allowing me to drink from him while Jeremy did the same from Marko...
...My first kill – a crude man who tried too hard to infiltrate my comfort zone...
...The day Sam died… then Laddie, Mom… my Dad was last.

Dad was the oldest, but I wasn't at all surprised that he was the last to go.

"Hi, Daddy," I whispered as I entered his hospital room – nearly silent, save for an old comedy movie playing on the mounted TV.

I had easily slipped passed who I knew to be Sam and Laddie's aging children and grandchildren. They were our last living relatives… who knew nothing about me. Well, nothing truthful. They all assumed I died at 22. They wouldn't have known who I was even if they had seen me. I was thankful that they were there, though.

"Uncle Mike" was well loved to all. He didn't deserve to go without family aren't.

However, I was most thankful that they were all in the hospital's cafeteria now. I needed the time alone with my Dad.

Dad looked over with a beaming smile on his heavily aged face as I pushed the door closed behind me, "Hey, honey."

I let out a shaky sigh as I inched forward. I could already feel the last shred of humanity slipping from me as my Dad lay hanging somewhere in the last few moments of life, "I got here as soon as I could. I haven't meant to leave you alone for so long."

"Baby," He shook his head as he let out a strained laugh. "It hasn't been two weeks since I've seen you. Stop your worrying."

"Two weeks felt like longer," I mumbled as I took a seat on the bed with my hip pressed against his. "Daddy, I feel ridiculous." I felt the tears prick at my eyes – though they were rare, vampires could still cry. It had been an interesting fact to learn. "I just… I'm not ready to let you go."

Dad grasped one of my hands in his as I leaned down to press our foreheads together, "I know, baby. I am ready to go, though." He kept his composure much better than I was faring. I couldn't help but be jealous. "I'm going to be with Laddie and Sam and…"

"Mom, I know," I finished with a sniffle. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Anything," He breathed out as I pulled my head away.

"I know it's because you're aging and all that the doctors said – I read your chart – but… and forgive the last piece of fairytale notions in me… are you dying because of a broken heart? Mom was your soul mate, and it happens so often…"

"Yes," He answered swiftly to cease my babbling. "I think so."

Mom had only been gone a month; Dad getting sick two weeks later was too fresh to be anything but heart break.

"You look so much like her," Dad had to shake the thought of his wife away almost as quickly as it had come. "Where are David and the other boys?"

"Outside," I answered as I smoothed my cold hand over his burning, wrinkled cheek. I wanted to be able to remember as much of him as I could in these final moments. "They were going to come in, but David told them not to."

"Why is that?" Dad asked with a raised eyebrow.

Over the years, he had grown surprisingly fond of all of the boys – he had even referred to David as his son on a rare occasion. He was convinced that I – maybe with Jeremy's help – had given a sense of compassion to the four heartless, soulless boys.

"They, uh…" My voice started to break again as my eyes fluttered shut. "Daddy, I can hear your heart stopping. You have maybe a few minutes left. They… I wanted to see you alone."

"I had a feeling it was coming to a close," Dad mused quietly as he rubbed a callous thumb over the back of my hand. "I was just holding on long enough to see my little girl one last time."

"Daddy," My free hand clenched down on a piece of the metal railing surrounding the bed and crushed it as if it was nothing more than a piece of dough. "I love you so much." I leaned over to press a few light kisses to his cheek as he pressed a hot, lingering one to mine. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'll always be with you, honey. Always," Dad breathed out against my skin. "I love you. I never could have asked for a better daughter. You were – are – so perfect to me. Oh, baby, stop crying. Death is a part of life – you should know that better than anyone."

A small chuckle unwillingly left my lips as I finally broke our facial contact, "I know, Daddy." I sucked in a deep, unneeded breath as the nearly silent beating of the sole working heart in the room became almost miniscule. "It's time. Are you… are you in pain?"

Dad motioned to the IV drip in his arm, "Heavy painkillers; I can't feel a thing. I'm okay, really."

"Do you need anything?" I whimpered.

"Shh," Dad breathed out so softly that had I barely heard him. "Sing to me."

"What?" I asked, confused. "Why?"

"Your voice came from me, honey," He smiled as his eyes met mine. "I want that to be the last thing I hear – that phenomenal voice that I gave you."

"O-Okay," I nodded. "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you, Rhiannon."

My deep red lips parted as I crooned directly down to Dad, who was lying with his eyes closed and body relaxed for what was to come. I skipped around most of the song – it had been years since I heard it – until I reached the end.

That was a part I had never been able to forget, for a reason I wasn't sure of.

"…Now they'll walk on my arm through the distant night and I won't let them stray from my heart
Through the wind, through the dark, through the winter light
I will read all their dreams to the stars
I'll walk now with them
I'll call on their names
I'll see their thoughts are known
Not gone, not gone
They walk with my heart –
And I'll never let them go…"

My voice faded away as Dad went completely still under my touch and all sounds from his body ceased.

I had never been so grateful that I didn't need to breathe. I wasn't sure that I would have been able to.

That was it… my last tie to this life was gone. It was devastating and a relief all at once.

"Goodbye, Daddy."

I pressed a final kiss to his forehead – and after a lingering, love filled look – I pushed the emergency call button on the side of his bed and fled from the room, just as unseen as before.

It didn't take me long to make it outside and where the other boys were waiting in the shadows of the chill winter night in the Midwestern town my parents had moved to nearly 30 years before.

They were all bundled up – merely for keeping up appearances. Any other time and I might have laughed at how we all looked.

David had one hand shoved into the pocket of his tailored coat while the other clutched the cigarette he had been puffing on. Paul was standing beside him, in a similar position and keeping his mouth closed – he didn't want to invoke my wrath should he say the wrong thing.

David had been right about one thing – I was more of a monster than he was. My emotions flipped on the drop of a hat and it had the tendency to leave the boys on edge in many situations, this one in particular.

Jeremy stood off to the side with his arm around Marko's waist. They both gave small smiles which I wasn't really able to return, much to their understanding.

Dwayne was the one I had been searching for and he was waiting in preparation.

He was everyone's protector, after all.

With a final sob, I bolted passed David with a shake of my head and ran into Dwayne's arms. He scooped me up into them without hesitation and held me with the brotherly affection that I had grown used to.

That was the last time I cried or felt any semblance of emotion for anyone other than David or my brothers.

"Rhiannon, move!... Shit!"

My memory was pushed aside as a snarl ripped through my lips and I looked down to find my clothes covered in dirt and sand as I was knocked to the ground outside of the cave.

We hadn't been here in nearly 60 years. It seemed like a good time to return to where everything began.

Paul was on top of me with a football – couldn't they find something more modern to play? – clutched in his hands. Dwayne and Jeremy were across the rocky beach holding back laughter as Paul scrambled backwards at the look on my face, "Babe, chill."

"What have I said about calling her babe?" David joked as he and Marko exited the cave with keys to all of their motorcycles jingling in their hands.

Marko's eyes widened as he caught the state that Paul and I were in and he let out a low whistle, "Here we go again."

"These were new and designer," I growled as I got to my feet and fingered the rip in the silver and black jeans I was wearing. "They were custom made, Paul."

"One, you can afford another pair. Easily," Paul reasoned as the football fell from his hands. "Two, they look kind of hot all ripped up…"

"Run," I said barely above a whisper.

"Oh, come on," Paul whined as he pushed his blonde locks away from his face. "It's time to go get dinner and I look nice – "

That last dig was all I needed to hear before I launched myself forward and threw Paul to the ground. A grunt escaped my lips as Paul jabbed at my ribcage before I took the upper hand back with a knee to his groin – we never had played fair. We rolled along the sand exchanging blows and quick bites. Paul let out a groan as our legs tangled together and he pulled on a chunk of my hair as I pressed my fangs to his neck.

I managed to elbow Paul in the throat to distract him enough to release his hold as we separated – both of us lingering in a low crouch.

"Are you two done?" Jeremy asked with a sigh. "I would like to hunt."

Mirroring each other's movements, Paul and I slowly rose to our feet.

"Yeah, we're done."

"For now."

Paul cocked an eyebrow at that as he wiped a streak of blood from his throat, "You want me."

"As a throw rug," I grinned before climbing behind David on his motorcycle and slipping my arms around his waist. "Let's go."

"Manners," David smirked as he drew out the last letter in a hiss.

Dwayne chuckled from the next bike over.

"Oh, David. Can we please go so that I can sink my teeth into something?" I asked in my sweetest voice before leaning forward to brush my swollen lips against his ear. "That way the boys can stay out and play… and you and I can go inside to do the same?"

David grinned, "That sounds better."

"I thought it might," I laughed before pressing a kiss to the back of his neck. "I love you."

David turned his head to give me a once over, "Yeah, I love you too."

I smirked as my eyes traveled over to Paul once again, who was arguing with Dwayne about where on the boardwalk to hit first. Jeremy was rolling his eyes at the pair before sharing a small kiss with Marko before settling down on their respective motorcycles.

This was my family now.

It was the best family that I could have asked for.

"Let's go, fuckers!"

"Quit being a little shit, Paul."

"How many times has that been said this month?"

"Enough - mostly by me."

"How the hell did I get roped up with all of you?"

"Oh, Jer. It's my good looks - you couldn't resist."

...Well, it was a good enough family.

Okay, so this entire fic ended up being shorter than I planned. However, I have nowhere else to take it really without drawing things out too much, so this seems as good a stop as any.

Thank you to everyone who followed/read/reviewed!