Chapter Fifteen: Busted

A week later, Amelia goes down to check their mailbox when she sees Romeo come through the apartment complex's doors. "Amelia! Just the person I needed to see."

"Hey Romeo. What can I do for you?"

"Actually I have some news. As you can see, I'm getting older and I'm going to probably retire in the next couple of days. I'm retiring from everything, Amelia. Even The Night Hunters."

Amelia feels sad that she won't be seeing him everyday anymore. He's been her best friend for years. "What is the team going to do without you?"



"You'll all be fine. I turned the team over to Vlad and he can take it from here."

"You did WHAT!? Are you crazy? You gave a vampire hunting team over to a vampire. Romeo what were you thinking?" Amelia said, angry at the thought of having to answer to Vlad.

Romeo sighed. "Amelia, he's the best we've got. Hell he should have been in charge the entire time. We hunt down rouges, not all vampires. He will ensure the safety of the team and keep everyone in tip top shape."

"Unbelievable. I don't care if we are hunting fairies, I don't want to work for him. Why didn't you ask me or Donovan to take over?"

Romeo shifts uncomfortably. "You don't have the experience. Donovan, well he just joined the team again after so long plus his grudge against vampires would get in the way. Yours too for that matter."

"I don't have a grudge! I just don't like them. There's a difference. I know Vlad is the logically choice, Romeo but he's not the right one. I hope you don't regret what you've done." Amelia walks over to the doors, pushing them open and rushes outside to have some alone time to think.



Romeo shakes his head. He knew she would take this badly but hopefully she will get over it. He walks into the elevator to go up to Amelia's apartment to tell Donovan. This is the one he was dreading all along. If Amelia reacted like that, I can only imagine how Donovan will be. He walks in to find him searching a bookcase in the living room. "Donovan, do you got a second?"

"Oh hey man. Yeah, what do you need?"

"I'm retiring from The Night Hunters and I put Vlad in charge." Romeo blurts out, ready to get this over with.




Donovan was very quiet for a moment. "Well, I hate to see you go. It's been a pleasure working with you again." he says as he holds his hand out.

Romeo grabs his hand and shakes it. "You aren't mad?"

"Mad? Why would I be mad? You can't fight forever."

"No, about Vlad being in charge."

"I'm not thrilled about it but I know why you choose him. He'll be a hard ass on us and make sure we're the best we can be so we don't get killed."

"Now if only Amelia could see that."

"She didn't take it so well?"

"No, not at all. She's pissed off. I know they bicker like siblings but I'm hoping eventually she will see the choice I made was a good one."

"I'm sure she will see that once she calms down. Don't expect that anytime soon though." Donovan laughs.

"Yeah, I know. Well listen, I've got to get back home to Marisol. We've got a new baby at home."

"What? I didn't know you had a baby? Wait...wasn't your wife's named Marina?"

"That was my first wife. That ended before it started. This thing with Marisol is the real deal."

Donovan shakes his head. "We've been so busy with everything, it's been forever since we have just hung out as friends. We didn't even ask you how things were going at home."

"Nah, it's okay. We have all been busy with our loved ones. Plus you know me, everything happens so fast."

"That's true. What's your son's name?"

"Trevor. Maybe sometime I'll bring him over once Amelia calms down."

"I'm sure she'd like that. Just give her a little space."

"Alright then, I guess I'll be seeing you around. Call me when Amelia mellows out." Romeo says as he walks towards the door.

"Well do."



The rest of the day went on as normal. Emmalina was becoming impatient when her parents didn't go to bed early. She'd been planning her trip back to Plasma 501 for a week. This time she would take the fire escape outside her window. As soon as she was sure her parents were asleep, she climbed out her window and went down the fire escape as quietly as she could. She walked the two blocks to the club and stepped into the elevator. As she was looking at the buttons she noticed a button labeled B1. Why would a club have a basement? To stock supplies? Or for something else....this is a vampire club after all. I wonder if there are bottles of blood down there! With the hope of finding some proof this wasn't just a club with humans dressed as vampires, that this was an actual vampire club, she pressed the button and waited for the elevator to reach her destination.



As the doors parted she stepped out. Huh. Not exactly what I was expecting. She thought as she looked around. She walked around the room and noticed a door. She hesitated for a second. What if THIS is the real vampire's club and I walk in to find a bunch of vampires munching on people? What then? Run screaming? I doubt anyone would hear me down here. She shakes her head and mentally reassures herself. Come on Emmalina, don't back out now. Just open the door and walk in. You can do this.



She opens the door very slowly, holding on to every little bit of courage she has. She walks into the dim room with her eyes half closed. The first thing she notices was that she was alone. Oh thank God! She thought and breathed a sigh of relief. She looked around until her eyes stopped on a box that looked eerily like a coffin. She walks up to it and rubs her hand across it. It's stone! Definitely not a prop. What if someone is in there!? What should I do? Knock? She raises a fist and knocks lightly on the coffin. Nothing. She did it again, this time a little harder, "Hello?" Nothing. Hmm, no one must be home. She continues to explore the room and finds nothing else. She decides it's time to head to the bar.



She sat down at the bar. She was the only one there. Must be a slow night? She flashed her fake ID to the bartender and ordered a drink. "So..." she said as she sipped her drink. "Tell me about the vampires that come in here."

"Excuse me? You mean the people dressed up with fake fangs and makeup?" The bartender replied.

"Nope. Not those vampires. the real ones."

"Lady, you're crazy. There is no such things as vampires. You've been watching too many movies."

"Listen, I've been down to the basement of this place. I KNOW."



The bartender puts his hands on the bar and looks around. "Look, I'm not trying to get killed or my mind erased, I'm just trying to make a living making drinks. I don't want any trouble."

"I don't want to get you in trouble. I just want the truth. Is that really too much to ask?"

He sighed. "Dammit. Fine, yes they are real. I've seen several in here throughout my years of working here. The only thing I know is they can read your mind and control you. I've seen them do it."

"They can...what?" Emmalina gasps in surprise. That was not in the movies!

"Yeah, so you need to be careful. If you ever meet one, try not to think about what they are."

"How will I know?"

"Oh, you'll know. The eyes say it all."

"What does that mean?"

"They....glow."

"Oh my God! The beautiful glowing eyes? The genetic disorder?" Genetic disorder my ass! Oh God, this means I've already met two! The one long ago from my birthday party. No wonder his parents pulled him out of school. He might have tried to drink our blood in class one day. And the man. The man with the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen. I think this makes it even worse that I've been fantasizing about him ever since I saw him. I've been seeing liquid pools of hot silver in my dreams for weeks. Oh man, he was a vampire. This is bad, this is really bad.

"What genetic disorder?"

"Nevermind. What else do you know?"

"That's it. I try not to get mixed up in vampires. If you were smart you would do the same."




Emmalina finished her drink and decided it was time to head home since the bartender didn't know anything else. She went down the stairs and walked towards the door. She didn't even notice the vampire hidden in the shadows watching her like a hawk.



When she took the elevator down to the ground floor and walked off, she nearly walked into someone she's known her entire life, her Mother's partner from work. Oh SHIT! "Emmalina? What in the hell are you doing here at one o'clock in the morning!?




"I was just...I was.." She looks down at the floor. I am so dead.

"You shouldn't be here. Go home. And I'm sorry but I'm going to have to call your father and tell him."

"Oh please don't do that Uncle Romeo. I'll never do it again, I SWEAR!" she pleaded.

"I'm sorry Emmalina. I have no choice." He got out his cell phone and started punching in numbers.

"You're calling him NOW!?"

"Yes. Did you think I'd wait until tomorrow so you could get a story together?"

"Wait five minutes. At least let me get home first. God, I'd hate it if he came here and dragged me out. How embarrassing!"

"Alright fine. I'll give you 3 minutes. You'd better hurry."



Sebastian watches his mate run down the street towards her home. He was surprised to see her there. She should have been home, safe in her bed. When I went by earlier she was there. Yet there she was coming down the stairs and walking out of the club. What was she doing there?
He watched her walk up to her building where a man was waiting for her. Sebastian almost started towards them but he heard a thought from the man that made him stop. So that would be her father. He is angry with her, as he should be. Her little outing this late at night could have gone in a different direction. But she's safe, now to find out what she was doing there in the first place. Sebastian leaves his mate with her father and heads back to Plasma 501.



Emmalina sees her father waiting for her as she walks up the apartment complex. Oh man, so dead. He looks like he is about to explode!

"What in the hell were you thinking Emmalina? You decided you would just sneak out and have a little fun? You could have been killed! Do you have any idea what would have happened if me or your Mom woke up to find you missing out of your bed? Do you know how terrified we would have been? She would have had the entire police force out looking for you. "

"Dad wait, calm down. Just let me explain.."

"Explain what? That you went to a club that you have no business going to? Emmalina you have no idea what is out there."

"What...you mean I don't know about the vampires?"



Donovan's anger is now replaced by worry, fear and guilt. He covers his mouth was his hand as he tries to figure out how to handle this situation. "Emmalina, what have you done? Why would you go looking for vampires? How do you even know about them?"

"I heard you and Mom talking one morning. I almost thought you guys knew I was there and you were joking but it didn't sound that way. I did some research on the computer and went to check out the club to see if there were real vampires there."

"You shouldn't have done that!"

"You shouldn't have lied to me! I know you weren't at a concert!" She says angrily as she storms off towards the doors.



"Emmalina, wait." He says as he catches up with her. "I know you think we shouldn't have lied to you but we were only trying to protect you. This is too dangerous for you."

"I'm not a little girl anymore Dad. I'm about to graduate. Soon I'll be off in the world all on my own. Shouldn't you have at least prepared me for what's out there?"

Donovan sighs. He knows she's made a valid point but he still wanted to protect her from this. "We tried as much as we could to prepare you somewhat. Why do you think we asked you to build up your intelligence so much? One reason was so you would do well in school but the main one is so you could never be controlled by them."

"I can't be controlled?" Emmalina asked with a little relief.

"I'm not sure. Have you still been reading those books and studying?"

"Yes. I've remembered everything I've learned in my honors classes."

"Then you should be okay. The stronger your mind is the less likely you are at being susceptible to mind control."

"I'll keep studying the books until I know as much as possible. I don't want someone to have control over my mind."

"No you definitely don't. They can make you do anything. They could make you kill our entire family and you wouldn't know what happened until it was done."

"Oh my God! What else do I need to worry about?"

"You need to be careful of your thoughts if you ever encounter a vampire. They will be able to read your mind. If they know you know what they are then they are a little more daring and they show their true colors."

"Okay. When I was listening to the both of you talking, you said something about rogues and The Night Hunters. What are those?"

Donovan shakes his head. "You were listening hard weren't you?"

"Yes, I wanted to know what was going on but you all seemed to think I was an idiot or to fragile to handle it."

"No we didn't but we hoped you would have been gullible enough to believe us. Alright first I'll start with the rouges. They are the vampires that go mad with blood lust and ignore their laws and start killing innocent people just for fun."

"Laws? Vampires have to follow our laws?"

"Not ours. They have there own. One of the rules is that they have to drink blood from blood banks now that it's available. They aren't supposed to kill any humans or drink from them unless it's special circumstances."

"Those sound like good laws to me."

"They are. It helps keep them hidden from the general public and it keeps us safe from vampires who don't know when to stop drinking. But some vampires go mad for different reasons or some are just evil. They kill men, women, children. They don't care, as long as they are bring pain and death, they'll take anyone. Which brings me to The Night Hunters. It's a team of vampires hunters who hunt down and kills these rouges."

"And you and Mom are on this team?"

"Yes. I just joined it again recently. When I was younger I was on it but I quit after things....got bad. Romeo was the head of it but he's retiring."

"This is a lot to handle. It's different to think it's true, then to actually find out it is."




Donovan puts his hand on her shoulder. "I know it is. I know you're strong enough to handle it but I never wanted you to."

"I know but once I started digging I couldn't stop. I had to know. Should I put a wooden stake in my purse or something? Just in case.."

"What? No. You can't kill a vampire with that."

"How do you kill them?"

He hesitated. "If I tell you, you're not going to try and kill one are you?"

"No of course not. I'm not suicidal. Geez, give me some credit."

"Alright, you have to stab them in the heart with a silver knife and twist it. That's the general way. Sunlight and fire can kill them but it takes to long to work. You'd be dead before they burned. Cutting off their head is the last way but it's too hard to pull off. They're not going to stand there while you try and saw it off."

"How is it even possible that you can kill them? Aren't they supposed to be incredibly strong and fast?"

"Recently, scientists who work for our team developed a drug that temporarily gives us the same speed and strength as they have. Before that we had special weapons with bullets designed to explode when it hit a target."

"How does it feel? To be that strong? To be almost invincible?"

"Honestly? Incredible. You feel unstoppable."

"Then why don't you just turn into a vampire? So you would feel that way all the time?"

"No. I would never do that. I refuse to become what I hate. I couldn't live with that. Plus I'd have to watch all of you die. I couldn't live with that for eternity. Being an immortal is not all what it appears. It's a lonely existence."

"Well, couldn't you just turn us all?"

"No. There are laws about turning as well. You can only turn a person into a vampire every one hundred years. By then you would all be dead. If I did it anyways, the council would probably find out and kill me and all the extras I created. Which would be you and Mason."

"Does Mason know about all of this?"

"No of course not. Emmalina you can't tell him. Or anyone for that matter. Vampires don't take to kindly to humans who run their mouth about them."

"Are all vampires evil?" she said as she thought about the silver eyed vampire from her dreams.

"I might not be the one to ask that because my answer is yes. One way or another they all seem to turn bad. I tolerate the last remaining one on the team because I don't have a choice. I couldn't let your mother do this alone so if I have to deal with him to protect her, so be it."

"I still don't think I can imagine Mom fighting vampires. It's too weird."

Donovan laughs. "She's very surprising. Listen, it's almost three o'clock in the morning. Let's head up and go to bed and we will talk more about this in the morning while Mason is at school. Your Mom will help explain all the other questions that I'm sure you have."

"Oh yeah, I have a thousand."

"I figured. Come on."

"Am I still in trouble?" She asks as they get into the elevator.

"Most definitely....and Emmalina?"

"Yes?"

"Stay away from vampires. They are nothing but trouble and it will do nothing but get you killed."



Back at Plasma 501, Sebastian sits down at the bar, having found no one that she could have talked to. He orders a drink and throws it back. He notices the bartender twitching very nervously and slips into his mind. BINGO! "You're the one who talked to her."

"Please don't kill me! I didn't say much. She was asking a lot of questions and I tried to tell her you didn't exist but she didn't buy it. " the bartender was frantically trying to defend himself.

"Relax. I am not going to kill you. What questions did she have?"

"She asked me about vampires. She saw the coffins in the basement and wanted to know about the vampires that came to the club."

Sebastian read his mind to make sure he was telling the truth. He saw Emmalina in the bartender's mind asking exactly what he claimed. When the bartender mentioned the other worldly glow of a vampire's eyes, she seemed almost shocked. Then her face twisted into what looked like recognition. Was it me she was thinking about? Did she just realize she'd already met a vampire in here weeks earlier? He liked the thought of his mate thinking about him. He turned his thoughts back to the bartender. "How did she seem to take the information you gave her?"

"She...actually she didn't seem too out of sorts. She seemed more shocked than anything. You have to admit it's a big shock. She left right after that. Hey you're not going to hurt her are you? She's harmless. I would have never told her if I knew a vampire would be asking about her. I don't want the poor girl to die!"

"Of course I'm not going to hurt her. But you just did me a favor and for that I thank you." He put a hundred dollar bill into the tip jar and headed out of the club leaving a very confused bartender. He walked over to his favorite bench that was across the street from Emmalina's bedroom window and listened. He could barely hear and had to strain to listen from so far away but he could hear a heartbeat and knew it was hers. He heard light ruffling, saw her light cut off and assumed she was tucked safely once again in her bed. Now my mate knows what I am. Will she accept me? Or will she run screaming in the opposite direction? Has her father filled her with hate for my kind? He lets out a sigh and hopes the latter isn't true. The time has almost come, my Emmalina. He thought as he got up from the bench. Daylight would soon break so he walked home alone, mentally counting the days until he could finally have her.


_________________________________________________________________________________
NOTES:

Alright, Romeo is a mess you guys. He got married and had a kid all within a week! I didn't even realize he divorced his first wife! What am I going to do with him? Lol. Well, Emmalina finally knows that vampires exist! Also please ignore the fact that the bartender is younger when Sebastian goes to talk to him. Right after Emmalina finished talking to him he died! So I had to go back to another save and have him talk to him. That save is older so he was still an adult. As for my challenge notes, the generation goal has been completed. Amelia is at level 7 of the police career and Donovan is on Political of his job hopper careers. Emmalina I think in this chapter is maybe 4 days from aging up. FINALLY! Hope you guys enjoyed it!

Chapter Fourteen: The Belle Of The Ball

Emmalina wakes up and heads to the kitchen where she sees her father. She can't stand it anymore. All this snooping around for a week and nothing. She's checked their computer, listened in on their conversations and none of it explains where they went. So she decides to ask him. "Dad, when you and Mom went on your little date night, where did you guys really go?"

"What do you mean? We went where she said we did." Donovan says, clearly uncomfortable with lying to his daughter. He doesn't want to but he doesn't have a choice.

"And where was that exactly? You guys came home really late."

"We went to a concert. It lasted a long time....lots of encores."

Oh really? "Mom said you were going out to eat and to the movies."

"Well, we went to the concert after that. "

"So let me get this straight. You went out to eat, went to the theater to see a movie and THEN you went to a concert."

"Yes, and we also got ice cream when the concert was over."

Unbelievable! "You had ice cream too?"

"Yes." This is bad, this is REALLY bad. Shit.... Donovan thinks as he looks at his daughter.

"Oh I see." If I have to go through this entire damn house I will find out what their hiding. "Okay, thanks Dad. I was just wondering. I thought you guys lied to me."

"Are you ready for school?" Donovan asks changing the subject.

"Yes, I'm leaving now, don't forget I have Prom tonight, bye." Emmalina says as she goes out the door and presses the elevator button so hard she thinks it might break. Lied...AGAIN! What is so secret that they can't tell me! She walks to the bus and gets on, still so mad and a little hurt that her dad lied to her.




When Emmalina comes home from school, they have a very small birthday for Mason with just the three of them. After Mason blows out the candles he ages and everyone eats cake to celebrate.



Amelia can see that Mason is going to be quite a handful. He looks exactly like Donovan, how can he NOT be a handful, he probably acts like him too. She thinks as she watches him take his plate and sits it in the dishwasher. "Emmalina you better start getting ready, it's 4:30pm.

"Alright." Emmalina says as she heads to her room.



She does her hair, puts on her makeup and carefully slips in to her dress. She walks over to her mirror to make some last minute touch ups.



After she is sure everything is perfect she stands and stares at herself in the mirror. Wow, I look so grown up! I hate that I'm going to this alone but no one asked me. Maybe I should have asked that Brandon guy to take me. It was better then no one. Though, come to think of it I haven't heard from him at all since that night. Oh well, it's probably for the best, he was a little touchy and I'm not sure if I'm ready for that or not....am I? Should I be? My God, a virgin, going to her prom....alone. What a surprise. She scowls at herself for thinking being a virgin is a bad thing. I don't have to worry about being a teen mother. But I'm also not....
She hears a knock at the door and it interrupts her thoughts. "Come in." She says.



"Emmalina, I just wanted to tell you, I'm.......Oh wow! You look absolutely beautiful!"

"Thank you."

"Is your date picking you up here?"

"I don't have one."

"Your father will be happy to hear that." Amelia says as she laughs.

"What did you want to tell me?" Emmalina asks.

"Oh right, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the concert we went to a few nights ago. It was a last minute decision and your father and I figured you would be okay with Mason if we stayed out a little later than usually."

"Yeah, Mom. Whatever, I don't care. I was just wondering why you came home so late and Dad filled me in." Lies, Lies, Lies.

"Alright, I just wanted to make sure you understood. I'll let you finish getting ready." Amelia says quietly as she closes the door. She feel so guilty about this but it's for the best. She can't imagine Emmaline fighting vampires. She's too fragile, too innocent. She wouldn't survive long.



Emmalina watches her mother leave and puts on her shoes. She makes one last check in the mirror and walks out the room to see her father waiting by her door. He stops and stares at her. "Dad? Is everything alright?" she asks.

"No....yes. Yes, everything is fine. You look absolutely gorgeous. Is uhhh....your date coming up to meet us first?"

"I don't have a date, I'm going alone."

Thank goodness "Oh I'm sorry. I'm sure you will still have a nice time."

"No you're not." Emmalina laughs. "I'm surprised you're even letting me go!"

"Your mother made me. If I didn't, I'd never hear the end of it....from either of you. Come here."
He says as he brings her in for a hug.

"Dad! You're going to mess up my hair!"

He lets her go quickly. "I'm sorry! It still looks the same." He lightly touches it. "Jesus, Emmalina what did you put on it? It's as hard as a rock?"

Emmalina bursts out laughing. Men, I swear, they know nothing. "It's called hair spray. You know, comes in a can. Makes your hair stay where you want it. Mom uses it."

"Oh yes, of course. You must have used a whole can!"

"Almost. I need to go, I'll be late if I don't leave now."

"Alright, have fun. Well, not TOO much fun okay?"

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye, I love you."

"Love ya too Dad."

Emmalina walks out the door and rides the elevator down to the ground floor. She decides to walk the short distant to school instead of taking a taxi. She heads towards the sidewalk and breaths in the cool night air. "Lovely." she says out loud. She can see the school when she gets this funny feeling that someone is watching her. She turns around and scans the streets but sees no one. Well that's weird. I guess I'm just being paranoid. She takes one last quick look around and heads into the Gym where the prom is being held.



Back at home, Donovan and Mason sit down to eat dinner while Amelia is in the tub. "So are you ready for school tomorrow?" Donovan asks.

"Yep."

"Are you excited?"

"Yep."

"Are you going to make new friends?"

"Yep."

"Is that all you know how to say?"

"Nope."

Donovan laughs at his son. "You're going to a handful aren't you?"

Mason just smiles at him. A knowing little smile.

Donovan shakes his head. "Don't even say it..I know, I know.. Yep."

"Dad, will you sign me up for Boy Scouts?"

"It's a miracle! A full sentence."

"Haha, very funny. I'm serious. I'd like to go camping and learn how to fish. Will you?"

"Yes, I will. I'll tell you what, if you get an A on your first report card, You and I will go camping on the beach and fish the entire weekend. We'll leave the girls at home. How does that sound?"

Mason jumps up and down. "Really!? You promise? No girls allowed?"

Donovan smiles and says, "No girls allowed. No go brush your teeth and get into bed. You Mom will be there in a second to read you a story."

Mason gives his Dad a hug goodnight and heads off to the bathroom.



After Mason has brushed his teeth, he hops in bed and Amelia goes into his room with a book in her hand. She reads him a story as he gently drifts to sleep. She kisses his forehead, turns out the light and walks out the room. She hears the door open and slam and looks to see Emmalina storming through the house. "Emmalina, what's wrong? Did something happen? Are you okay?"

"Prom was horrible. We had a dance competition and I actually won but the most popular girl in school was mad that she didn't get first place and we got into a fight! Then I asked a guy I know who came with Shanta if he wanted to dance and he completely ignored me. Like I was invisible. Ugh! Why are boys so complicated!? One minute they act like you're the most amazing thing ever and then the next they completely ignore you!"

Amelia hugs Emmalina. "I'm sorry you had a horrible time. As for boys, I like to think they grow out of that phase but they don't. Maybe this boy didn't want to hurt Shanta's feelings by dancing with you? Did you think of that?"

"No, but still. She wouldn't have minded since I came alone." Emmalina sighs, "Whatever, I don't even care. I'll be graduating soon and I'll never have to step foot in that horrible place again! I'm going to bed." She stomps off to her room and slams the door.

Donovan goes to find Amelia to find out what all the noise is about. "What's going on? Did something happen?"

"No, just our daughter being a teenager. Come on, let's go to bed." They head to their bedroom and fall asleep when Emmalina finally stops slamming things in her room.



Donovan and Amelia get up early and head to the kitchen to start breakfast. They start discussing some things as they mix the ingredients for pancake batter.

Emmalina wakes up and puts on her clothes. She feels better after she has had a good night's sleep. This is your last year! A few more months and you're done with all those people! She heads down the hall and just before she gets to the kitchen she hears her parents almost whispering. Then she hears her name and stops dead at the corner of the hall and kitchen. She strains to hear what they are talking about.

"....not stupid Donovan. She knows something is up."

"I know she does, but we aren't telling her."

"I'm not saying we should be we need to be a little more careful with our lies." I KNEW IT! Come on, say what it is...come on Mom. Say what it is that you don't want me to know.

"Amelia, how do you think she would react? She would be terrified to ever go outside at night again. How did you feel when Romeo told you about vampires?" Vampires? Are they drunk?

"I was a little scared...at first. But I had already seen so much. I saw my parents covered in blood, Donovan." Oh my God! What? Is that why we never see our Grandparents? They're all dead?

"Exactly. Emmalina hasn't been through anything like that, thank God. Knowing about vampires is dangerous. It's like, they know you know about them so they come out of the woodwork just to screw with you. Ugh, I don't know why we can't just wipe them all out. It's not like they contribute anything!"

Emmalina almost want to burst out laughing at this absurd conversation. Is this a joke?

"I know. But we can't. We'd be hunted down, our kids would be hunted. If we only kill the rogues they almost think we are doing them a favor from having to deal with them. They aren't all bad though. I liked William, he was nice." This isn't sounding like a joke.

"I know you're right. I can't even imagine if something happened to Emmalina or Mason. I just...can't."

"Me either. But if we are going to keep them safe by not telling them about vampires and what we do then you're going to have to come up with something better than a concert and ice cream for God's sake!"

"I know. She kind of blindsided me. It was the first thing that popped inside my hind. Amelia, I hate lying to her. I could almost feel the disappointment when I told her that." They were trying to protect me? I almost feel bad....almost.

"I do too. But we don't have any other choice."

Donovan sighs, "This is like being between a rock and hard place. Has Romeo called to tell us when The Night Hunters are meeting again?"

"No. I tried to asked Bianca at work the other day but she is completely ignoring me. As soon as I walked in she almost broke her neck trying to leave the room. I don't know what I did to offend her so much."

"Hmmm, that is weird. Well the kids will be up soon, we need to get these pancakes finished."

She listens to make sure her parents are finished and quietly tip toes back to her room.



When Emmalina reaches her room she quickly slips inside, shuts the door and locks it. She walks over to her computer chair and plops down in it, trying to make sense of what she just heard. Vampires, rogues, Night Hunters. What the hell are my parents involved in!? Vampires are real!? How is that even possible? I've never really thought about them. Only what I've seen in movies. What are rogues? Hmm, whatever they are they sounded bad! Night Hunters....people who hunt at night? No, that's retarded, why would people hunt at night. Wait, vampires can't walk in the sunlight. Right? That's what the movies all say. So people have to hunt vampires at night....duh. My parents are a part of this...group. So they have been hunting vampires! Oh my God. How did they get mixed up in all this! What else do I know about vampires? Wooden stakes! You kill them with wooden stakes. I wonder where you can buy those from? What else....


She looks at her computer and turns it on. She pulls up a search engine and types in Vampires. Thousands of pages come up. This is going to take forever! But it's kind of fun investigating. I like it! She clicks on link after link. Scheming through each page. She sees one in particular seven pages into her search. It's titled "Plasma 501, official vampire club of Bridgeport. Come party with the dead." Wait, that's the club Shanta took me too. I didn't see any vampires. I don't think I did anyways. How can you tell? Fangs? Yeah...probably fangs. No one had those. She clicks on the link and reads the page. She sees something that talks about costumes and loses hope. I don't want fake vampires! I need real ones. Wait do I? If that's the only way to get answers then so be it. She reads the comments on the Plasma 501 page. People are claiming that REAL vampires go to this club. Hmmm, it's worth a shot. What do I have to lose? I think it's time to make another appearance at Plasma 501.


_________________________________________________________________________________
NOTES:

Firstly, Emmalina really did have a horrible time at prom in my game, she got into a fight, her "crush" wouldn't dance with her. Poor girl. And yes, that was Sebastian that was watching her, in case someone missed it. (I actually forgot about him in these scenes, that's why there isn't any photos. Sorry!) Also I think Emmalina is a lot braver than people give her credit for. She is very innocent and sweet but I think she has a whole other side to herself that she hasn't found yet. So next chapter we will be back at Plasma 501!

Chapter Thirteen: The Warrior

Emmalina woke up early and grabbed some left over waffles out of the fridge. She sat there mindlessly eating, consumed by her thoughts. They came home really late. No movie in the world lasts that long, Mom definitely lied to me. Ugh, why would she do that? I'm her daughter for crying out loud, you don't lie to your child. Obviously whatever it is they were doing, they didn't want me to find out about. Well, I hate to break it to them but I WILL find out what they're up to. I'll just have to be sneaky about it. Emmalina got up and put her plate in the dishwasher. As she got ready for school she tried to think of ways to figure out what her parents were hiding from her. She heard the school bus honk the horn and grabbed her books and headed out the door.



After school, she did her homework. At dinner she hardly spoke to her parents. She was still a little angry that they lied to her. After everyone went to sleep, she sat up reading one of her text books, trying to study a little more before her Physics test tomorrow. Her phone suddenly started ringing and she dashed to the end table to grab it before it woke her parents up. "Hello?" she whispered.

"Are your parents asleep?" Shanta asked.

"Yes, why?"

"Meet me downstairs."

"Why? What are you doing at my apartment complex?" She glanced at the alarm clock on the table. "Shanta it's midnight! You're going to get into trouble."

"Girl, just get your ass down here!"

"Fine, but if I get into trouble for this, I'm blaming you." Emmalina hung up and quietly sneaked out to meet Shanta outside.



When Emmalina went out the apartment complex's doors she saw Shanta waiting around the corner and walked over to her. "What the hell is this about? Why are you so dressed up?"

"We, my goody two shoes friend, are going to Plasma 501."

"I'm not a good two shoes!" Emmalina tried to defend herself. "What is Plasma 501? It sounds gross."

"It's a club. It has this dark, edgy feel to it and they have people dressed as vampires there. It's really cool and you're coming with me. Plus a friend of mine is meeting us there. I think you two would hit it off. His name is Brandon."

"Are you crazy? My parents would KILL me. No way, Shanta. I'm not going."

"Not a goody two shoes, eh?"

Emmalina thought for a second. Well, I guess if my parents can lie and sneak off to God knows where then maybe I can too. Plus do I want everyone at school to think I'm a coward and only does what Mommy and Daddy says?

"Emmalina come on, when have you ever done anything fun and dangerous in your life? Never. You need to have some fun before we graduate and have to live nine to five like our parents. What do you say?"

"Alright, fine. Count me in."



Sebastian the Fierce sat on a couch at Plasma 501, looking around at the club goers as he waited for his friend to show up. Most of the people here were human, dancing and grinding against each other. Sebastian sighed as he realized all these humans would be dead in less than a hundred years, yet he would continue living. His body forever frozen since the 15th century. As he continues to watch he blocks the thoughts coming from the dancers and becomes lost in his own. I grow weary of this. These humans have so much life in them as they should. They haven't seen the wars I've seen. Nor the death and destruction their kind can bring. They marry, have children, grow old and die. They have purpose. What is my purpose now? All I know is war, yet there are no wars being fought. What is the point in living forever if you've done and seen it all? His thoughts are interpreted as two young female humans walk into the club. One in particular catches his eye. He's not sure what it is about her but she's.....different. She's young and almost has this innocent quality to her, which makes him smile. He watches her as the other girl leads her over to a young male and introduces the two. He listens to their conversation.



"Emmalina, this is my friend Brandon. Brandon this is Emmalina." Shanta says. The two of the shake hands. "I'm going up to the bar to get a drink, hopefully this fake ID will fool the bartender." Shanta says as she leaves them and heads to the bar.

"So how to you know Shanta?" Emmalina asks, trying to make conversation.

"Our parents are close friends. She is one of the only friends I have since I'm home schooled."

"How do like being home schooled?"

"It's alright. I do all my classwork in my pj's. But I don't get to meet pretty girls like you, that's the only downside."

Emmalina blushes. "I don't think I would like it. You won't get to go to Prom or football games. It must be lonely."

"It is but now that I've gotten older, I've been hanging around town and I've met a lot of people, most of them are older though."

"Well that's good." Emmalina looks down at feet, not really sure what to say.

"Hey, do you want to dance?" he asks. She eagerly accepts and they move to the dance floor.



They move to the music and Brandon gets a little closer with each song. He keeps trying to grab her waist and puts his hands a little bit to low and it's making her uncomfortable. "I'm going to go up to the bar and find Shanta okay?" she says, trying to give herself a little space from him. He's a nice enough guy but a little too touchy.

"Alright, hurry back though." he says as he give her a smile.



While the humans were having their conversation, Sebastian tried so hard to read her mind. He poured all of his concentration and focused just on her, blocking everyone out and still nothing. Sebastian is livid as he listens to the young male's thoughts as they dance. The things he is thinking about this female, MY female. Sebastian wanted to walk over there and rip his head off so bad he couldn't stand it. He watches as Emmalina excuses herself and heads up stairs, away from the human male. Thank God. I could not take much more of that. He decides to intervene before someone has to mop up blood. He walks up to the boy and says, "Leave."

"What? Leave? I don't think so buddy. Did you see the girl I was dancing with? No way in hell."

Sebastian slips into the boys mind to control him. "You will leave. You will never talk to Emmalina again. Do not see her, do not even think about her. If you do, it will be the last thing you ever do."

Brandon stares mindlessly at him. "Okay." he says in a trance. Sebastian watches him head straight for the elevator and disappear inside as the doors close.



Emmalina starts to head down the stairs, thankful that Shanta is ready to go because she REALLY needs to get home before her parents wake up and find her missing. She heads back to the dance floor to find Brandon to say goodbye but instead there is someone else standing there. His back is turned to her so she walks up and says, "Excuse me, have you...." When he turns around she abruptly stops talking. Holy.....his eyes! She can't help but stare at the silver pools of light. Wasn't that the same kind of eyes that boy had? The one Shanta said was lying about having a genetic disorder? Ugh, it's been so long ago I almost forgot about it. His eyes however I don't think I'll ever forget, they're beautiful.

Sebastian again tries to read her mind, curious to know what she thinks of him. Nothing, not a sound. completely shut off to him. Definitely my eternal mate then. There, I have admitted it to myself but I can not tell her. She is not ready, too young.



Emmalina clears her throat and he waits for her to speak. "I'm sorry, it's just your...I was startled. Did you by any chance see the boy I was dancing with?"

"He left." Sebastian replies, smiling to himself.

"Oh. Did he seem upset about something? I don't know why he would just leave."

"He did not seem upset. But you should leave as well. It is not safe to be out so late at night."

Emmalina stares at this stranger, he sounds almost concerned about her safety. "I was just leaving actually." Shanta comes up to her. Sebastian reads her thoughts to make sure they are going straight home. They are and apparently she approves of his looks and body. Her thoughts are quiet adult for such a young girl.

"Alright, I'm ready. Who's your friend Emmalina?"

"Oh, I don't know. It seems Brandon has left and I was just asking this man if he knew where he went. He's already went home."

"Bastard, probably scared he's going to get grounded by his Mom."

Emmalina turns back to the man and thanks him for the information. She grabs Shanta, who is still starring. "Come on Shanta, we have to get home."

Sebastian watches them leave. He's so confused and doesn't really know how this is supposed to work. He sighs as he heads to the bar to wait for his, now late, friend. He sits down and orders a drink.



As he is finishing his third drink he sees Beau walking towards him and stands up. Beau offers his hand and Sebastian shakes it as he says, "Old friend, it is good to see you. How have you been?"



"Exceptionally well. I apologize for my tardiness. How have you been these past 60 years?"

"I'm still here so I guess I can not complain much. Tell my why you have asked me to come back to Bridgeport."

"Actually Sebastien, I would like you to meet my eternal mate."

Sebastian smiles, happy for his friend who doesn't have to be alone any longer.



Sebastian watches as Beau gestures towards a blonde female. "Sebastian this is my mate, Bianca."

"Nice to meet you." Bianca says to Sebastian as he offers his hand and she shakes it.

"Likewise. I am pleased that Beau has found you." Sebastian turns to Beau. "It is funny you brought me here to meet your mate when I have just found mine waiting on you."

"Are you serious?! Congratulations. I will tell you that you have your work cut out for you if she is anything like Bianca. She was not easy to convince." He says as he smiles at Bianca.

"I do not know much about her. Only her name is Emmalina and she is very young."

Bianca's face pales beside him. "Emmalina you said? Dark hair, big blue eyes?

"Yes. You know her?"

"Awww shit." She turns to Beau. "Do you remember when I was telling you about the members of the team and how some of them really had a grudge against all vampires?"

"Yes, what does that have to do with his mate?" Beau asks.

"Donovan and Amelia Burkhart are on that list. Their daughter is Emmalina." Bianca sends Beau a worrying glance. "If you think I was hard to win over, you've seen nothing yet. Emmalina is very close with her parents, especially her Father. No way in hell would he ever allow his daughter to be with a vampire. He'll try to kill Sebastian before he even gets a chance."

"A human? Kill me? How is that even possible?" Sebastian asks in disbelief.

"We are all on a team called The Night Hunters. We hunt down and kill rouges in the city that are killing innocent people. We have this special....medicine that we take that gives us the speed and strength of a vampire. It also helps protect our bodies from injuries. Don't underestimate her father. He is trained and has a hatred for vampires. He will kill you if he gets the chance."

"This is very troubling. How are you to win your mate if you can not get close to her?" Beau asks.

Sebastian shakes his head. "This eternal mate business is too much. It may very well be the death of me."

"Sebastian do not lose hope. It is worth it. Especially when you fall in love with her. She is your gift for living with this cursed life."

He is right. I can not live like this anymore. I fear I will go mad. "Alright, but I can not be with her now. She is too young. What am I to do?"

"Watch her. Make sure she comes to no harm before you can claim her. As for her father...perhaps if you can get her to accept what you are, maybe she can be the one to convince him not to kill you." Beau says.

"Beau is right, if anyone can change Donovan's mind, it's his little girl. He would never intentionally hurt her."

Sebastian runs his hand across his face. "Alright, I will do as you say. Thank you both for your advice. I need to go home and feed but I will see you both later at some point since I will be staying in town it seems."

"Alright." Beau says as he pats Sebastian on the back. "I will be seeing you around then."



Sebastian tells them bye and heads toward the stairs. He glances back at his friend with his mate. I wonder if I would have that with mine? Or will I die before I even get the chance? No, I've waited too long to let anyone stand in my way. He thinks as he heads out of the club to go home.

_________________________________________________________________________________
NOTES:


No wonder why Bianca has been so distant lately, she is the eternal mate of Beau! Thank you SP. =] So how do you guys like Sebastian, I personally love him. He's a lone warrior trying to find a purpose to his life....I think he just found it. =D

Chapter Twelve: Vampire Fight Club

The time has come for Amelia to start training again. Romeo called this morning telling her and Donovan to meet them in the training room under the city just after dark. Amelia walks into Emmalina's room to tell her they're going out. "I need you to watch Mason tonight."

"Ugh, alright. Where are you and Dad going?"

"We are just going out to eat and to a late movie, so we will probably be home really late. I've already given Mason his bottle but he still needs a bath. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes. "

"Alright, thank you. Lock the doors when we leave and don't open them for anyone."

"I know Mom. I'm not a child, geez." Emmalina says as she rolls her eyes.

"Stop with the attitude Emmalina."

"Alright, alright. Sorry."

Amelia leaves to go into her own room and packs her a set of clothes for her and Donovan to change into. They tell the kids bye and head out the door.



After Emmalina gives Mason a bath, she takes him into the nursery where he can keep himself entertained until it's time for bed. When she puts him down and watches him play she starts to think. Why did Mom have that bag? What would they need a duffel bag for if they are just going out to eat and to the movies? Why did she look uncomfortable when she was telling me that? Why would she lie? Emmalina continues thinking and starts to get curiouser and curiouser. Some how, she's going to get to the bottom of this.



When Amelia and Donovan arrive in the tunnels, they change quickly, each popped a Brams and walked in to the training room. Amelia takes in everyone already there and notices two new people. No wait, is that.....? "Vlad?" She asks as she approaches him."

"Yes?"

"Did you forget to get your hair cut?"

"Well I..."

"Are those new clothes?"

"No, there..."

"Trying to impress someone?"

"Enough questions woman! Why are you all so nosy? That is one of the few things that has not changed over the centuries."

"Well, excuse me Mr. Sensitive. I was just curious."

"Mr. Sensitive?" He let his fangs extend and growled at her.

Amelia almost took a step back. This was the first time she'd seen fangs since her kidnapping. She recovered quickly and took a step forward instead. Donovan started toward her but Romeo stopped him, "You have to let her do this on her own Donovan. You can't hold her hand." Donovan reluctantly agreeds and backs off.

Amelia looked him right in the eyes determined to overcome her fear. "I'm not afraid of you."

"Only because I have not given you a reason to be. Now are you ready to train or shall I go make some tea?"

Son of bitch is patronizing me. She thought, not caring if he read her mind or not.



She took a fighting stance in answer to his question. She punched forward but he quickly grabbed her arm and swung back, hitting her in the shoulder. MotherFu.... "Ow! That hurt." She said rubbing her shoulder. Without Brams it would have easily shattered her shoulder bone.

"I am sorry, do you want me to stop and wait for you to get a band aid? I am sure the rouges would show this kindness as well." He said sarcastically.



THAT IS IT!! She thought and raised her leg and kicked him in the chest as hard as she could with the strength she now possessed. Vlad went sprawling back from the force. When he got up he looked at her and said, "Now that was impressive. That is what we need to see from you if you hope to survive this battle. Perhaps I should tag along by your side, making you angry so you will always fight this way." He stopped and thought for a minute. Time to push some buttons. He said quietly so that no else could hear except Amelia. "Or maybe that was just a lucky strike. I mean you did let...What was that little fellow's name? Reuben? You let him take you from your home. Did you even fight back? Or were you too afraid? Did you even try or did you just let him drag you off? Poor, weak, scared Amelia.



Amelia lost it. She let every bit of her angry bubble towards the surface and charged at him, knocking them both to the ground. She struggled to stay on top and her anger was like fuel to a fire. She punched everywhere she could land a fist. "You heartless blood sucking leech!" she yelled as she continued to strike him. He let her do it. One, this was what he was hoping for. Two, even he knew he deserved it, and three, feeling pain was the only way to tell if he was alive anymore....more or less. After she exhausted herself she rolled off of him and laid on the floor. Vlad stood up and brushed off his clothes and held out his hand to Amelia to help her up. She looked at it like it was a venomous snake and got up on her own.



"Why did you do that? Why would you bring that up again after I've tried so hard to cover it up?" She said so angry with him, tears were threatening to pour out of her eyes.

Lord is there anything worse than a crying woman? I could not stand it when I was human and I cannot stand it now. It makes me feel like the scrum of the earth. "Because you will need that anger. But you need to learn when to use it. You can not run around the city furiously killing rouges. Learn to use it when it is the correct time. The element of surprise is your dearest weapon. I did not mean to make you weep but you need to learn these lessons. How else are you supposed to live?

She understood why he did it but it still didn't make it any easier. "I still think you're a heartless bastard and I'm not crying because you hurt my feelings if that's what you're thinking." She said trying to compose herself and trying to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"I was not thinking that. But please, do stop with the tears. They are....making me uncomfortable.

Amelia laughs at the fact that Vlad the Impaler is "uncomfortable" with something as simple as tears.



Across the room Romeo wants to cry his own tears....of frustration. "Jesus Christ man, what the hell did you do in the military? Clean toilets?"

"No Sir. I was a Major." Basil replied, a little annoyed. He couldn't get the hang of his new strength and speed the Brams gave him. He knew he was all over the place but he expected a little break for his first training session. "I'm having trouble with that pill you gave me."

"Some people have to get use to it. You need to just take a breath and try not to over do it."

"That's a little hard to do now that I'm pretty sure I can lift a train!"

They both take their stances and start. Basil whips his arm around a little too fast and the force of it spins his entire body. "Damn this all to hell!"



Vlad shakes his head at this Basil person. No hope for that one. Romeo is on his own. Vlad now turns his attention to Donovan. They face each other and silently get into position. Vlad charges forward, carefully watching for kicks just in case this one is like his wife. As Vlad goes in for a punch to the stomach, Donovan squeezes his stomach muscles, absorbing the force of the blow and lands a cheap shot, hitting Vlad in the face. I like this human, he fights dirty. He would have made a great soldier in my day. They circle each other and Donovan tries to kick Vlad's feet from under him but isn't quick enough and instead Vlad has the upper hand and uses his foot to push down on Donovan's chest. Vlad lets him up and they go at it again. After several more rounds with everyone, they all start to improve, even Basil who seems to have finally gotten use to the speed and strength.



Donovan and Basil head to shower and change clothes while Amelia, Romeo and Vlad discuss the next steps. "Vlad do you think we're ready?" Romeo asks.

"Donovan is. The one named after an herb, not so much. Amelia here well, if she listens to what I have said she will be fine as well. But we both know she is too stubborn to bother taking my advice."

Amelia speaks up, "Just because I hate your guts and wish you'd light up like a firecracker on the fourth of July in the sunlight doesn't mean I won't take your fighting advice. That's all I'd take from you though."

"Please woman, tell me how you really feel." Vlad says sarcastically.

"Awe. Did I hurt your wittle feelwings?"

"Touche Amelia, touche." He says with a smile. Such life and fire in these modern women. I miss feeling like that too. Perhaps I should explore these woman a little more...it's been far too long since I've bedded a woman. "Well." he says interrupting his own thoughts. "I think we can call it a night for now. It is three in the morning and I have things to do."

"THREE IN THE MORNING?" Amelia screeches. "Oh my God, we have to get back to the kids! I didn't know it was that late."

She rushes off to find Donovan so they can get home. Hopefully Emmalina is asleep and won't see them coming in so late. She has no idea how she'll explain them coming it at this hour.

When they finally get home and quietly tip toe in side both Emmalina and Mason are asleep. "That was close." Donovan whispers asnthey quickly make their way to their bedroom.

"I know! We will have to pay more attention to the time."

"What do we say when we have to patrol the streets all night? How are we going to explain that."

"I have no idea. I haven't thought that far in advance yet." Amelia says as they climb into bed and Donovan wraps his arms around her.

"Well you better think fast. Romeo will probably need us soon."

"Hopefully we'll come up with something by then." She says as she yawns. "I'm exhausted."

"Me too. I haven't had a work out like that in awhile."

"Don't forget we have to be careful for the next sixteen hours. I think I almost broke the elevator button when I pushed it."

"Yeah, no way in hell we could explain breaking a doorknob off."

"No definitely not." Amelia yawns again. "Goodnight, I love you." She says as she kisses him.

"Night, I love you too."

Donovan quickly falls asleep. Amelia is left thinking, starring at the ceiling. No more weak, scared Amelia. That's for damn sure. She turns over and soon falls asleep as well.

_________________________________________________________________________________
NOTES:


Yay for Vlad time. How are you guys liking the new appearance of Vlad? He was created by Twilight and you can find him here. He looks so much better as a human but obviously he needs to be a vampire for my purposes. Hopefully he is as great as we all remember. Sorry there isn't more fighting scenes. There is but so much I can do with the little bit of fighting poses I have.

Chapter Eleven: Not Without Me

A week later, Emmalina has brought a new friend home from school named Shanta. They sit down to do their homework. Shanta turns to ask, "Are you going to invited that boy with the weird eyes to your birthday party this weekend?"

"What boy?"

"The only one in class who has eyes that light up, Emmalina."

"Oh! I guess so, my mom told me to invited everyone in my class."

"Okay good. I think he's cute!"

"Ugh, Shanta don't you know anything? Boys will give you cooties!"

"I think I can live with cooties."

Emmalina thinks for a minute. "Hey, why DOES his eyes glow like that?"

"I asked him. He said he had a genetic disorder, what ever that means but I think he was lying."

"It means something is wrong with him....I think. Why would he lie about that?"

"I don't know. Maybe I should ask him."

"Maybe we shouldn't. He obviously lied because he doesn't want to tell us the truth."

"So? I want to know the truth. Isn't it bad to lie anyways?"

"Like that's ever stopped you." Emmalina says as she laughs.

"That's true."

By the time both girls finally finish their homework, Shanta has to head home for dinner.



Emmalina decides to play dress up before her dinner. She digs through her costume box and pulls out a pink dinosaur costume. She put on the costume and let's her imagination take her over. "RAWWWRRRRR" she yells as she stomps around her around. "I'm gonna eat all of you and step on all your buildings. RAAWWWRRR!!"

"Emmalina it's time for dinner. Come eat!" Amelia yells for the kitchen.

"Coming!" Emmalina says as she puts a few toys away and heads to the kitchen.



They all sit down at bar to eat the spaghetti Amelia has made for them. Emmalina, still in character, pretends to eat her's like a dinosaur. "Om nom nom nom" she says as she eats.

"How was school today?" Donovan asks laughing at his daughter.

"Good. We learned about fractions today."

"Did you and Shanta get your homework done?"

"Yeah."

They all finish eating and Amelia puts the dishes into the dishwasher. "Alright Emmalina, it's time for a bath and bed." Amelia says as she closes the dishwasher.

"But Mom, can't I stay up just a little bit longer?"

"Nope. By the time you finish your bath it will already be past your bedtime."

Emmalina turns to look at her father. "Daddy, can't I just stay up 30 minutes more?"

He turns to look at Amelia, "It's only 30 minutes. She could just...." Amelia sends him a glare, shutting him up. "I'm sorry Emmalina, you can't. Go ahead and take a quick bath and get into bed before we both get into trouble."

"Ughhhh! Alright." She stomps off to the bathroom.

"Donovan are you ever going to tell her no?"

"I tell her no....sometimes."

Amelia scoffs. "When?"

Donovan thinks for several minutes, struggling to come up with something.

"That's exactly my point."

"I have told her no before. Remember when she wanted that tree house? I told her no then. See, I can do it."

Amelia shakes her head, "We both know you told her no because one, there isn't even a tree big enough at this apartment complex and two, you were scared she would fall off and break something."

"Doesn't matter, I still told her no."

"You're impossible sometimes. Do you know that?"

Donovan gets up and wraps his arms around her and kisses her on the cheek. "But you love me anyways."

She laughs, she can't help it. He's right, she does love him. Then why are you lying to him. She stops smiling and straightens up, making a decision she should have made days ago. "I'll check to see if Emmalina is in bed. Wait for me on the couch. I need to talk to you about something." She walks away to find Emmalina in the bed, fast asleep. She quickly pops in to the nursery to make sure Mason is asleep too.



When Amelia walks back down the hall she finds Donovan waiting at the end. She grabs his hand and leads him over to the couch. "Sit down."

"That bad huh?"

Amelia sits there quietly for a minute, trying to figure out how to word it. "Romeo came over last week to fill me in on some news. I can't remember if I told you but Romeo has been having a touch time with the team. Bianca and I have been out on maternity leave, Renee still refuses to come back and Vlad shows up when he wants too. The only one he really had was William, who was also a vampire. Last weekend, Romeo, William and Vlad went out to search for two rouges they've been trying to catch. When they found them is was a trap and there were really five rouges and.....William didn't make it."

"So you're telling me that a VAMPIRE was killed hunting on the team?"

"Yes."

"How did Romeo take it when you told him you were quitting?"

"I didn't tell him, because I'm not quitting."

"Unbelievable, Amelia! Vampires are dying doing this job. You're only human, which makes you an easier target. No, absolutely not, you're not going back."

Amelia was starting to become a little pissed off.....okay maybe more than a little, "You can't control me Donovan! I'm an adult and I can do what I want. I want to do this. I AM doing this!"

"What about our kids? How are they going to feel when I have to tell them their mother is gone and she's not coming back?"

"That's not fair Donovan. I love Emmalina and Mason with everything I have, you too for that matter. This keeps the city safe for them and I can't change how I feel. I can't change the need I have to do this. Since Reuben took me I've been looking over my shoulder ever since then. I want my security back dammit." Amelia says as she starts to tear up.

Donovan starts to feel guilty now. He blames himself for her feeling this way. This is all my fault. I should have been more careful. I should have protected her better. I can't blame her for wanting this. There is one thing I can change though.



He puts his arm around her and pulls her closer into his arms. "If you're doing this then I'm doing it with you."

"What?" she asks in surprise. She was expecting more arguing.

"This is our only option. Amelia I understand why you want this, I do. It's the same reason I joined all those years ago and you know why I want you to quit, your safety. So If I join, we will both get what we want."

"You would do that? Join the team again?"

"Of course I would. I actually like the idea more and more now that I think about it. I'll be there to keep you safe if things go bad. I'm not saying you can't handle things on your own, after training you'll be one of the best but just know that I'll be there and I'll die before I let anything happen to you."

Amelia leans in and kisses him. A long, slow, sweet kiss. "Thank you for doing this. Thank you for believing in me."

"You're welcome. I guess I'll call Romeo over tomorrow so we can discuss the details. Let's go to bed."



The next morning after Emmalina has gone to school, Donovan calls Romeo to come over. When Romeo arrives he says, "What's this about Donovan? I'm missing work for this so it better be good."

"I want back on The Night Hunters."

"This IS good! Why did you change your mind?"

"Amelia told me about the vampire that died. I didn't want her on the team anymore. But after we talked I decided this was the best compromise we could both be happy with."

Romeo gets a look of worry in his eyes. "You're coming back for the wrong reasons, Donovan. You just want to keep your wife safe. If I didn't need new members so badly I'd tell you no. But I can't afford to turn anyone down right now."

"Then I guess it's my lucky day. But just because I want to be there to make sure Amelia is safe doesn't mean I won't look out for the rest of you either. I know the job and you're right. You can't turn me down, not with all the experience I have."

"Okay, but you'll have to retrain again. We all are. With what happened to William we can't take the chance of being careless anymore. I also have one other recruit from the military. A newbie named Basil Jackson. So we will all train together. Just whenever Amelia comes back, come with her."

"Alright." They shake hands and Romeo leaves to go back to work.



The weekend has arrived and it's time for both Emmalina's and Mason's birthdays! For Mason they have a small party with just the family. Later tonight is Emmalina's party and Amelia doesn't think everyone needs to eat so much cake so she decides not to get Mason one. Mason starts crawling around, exploring his new surroundings and heads towards his room with Donovan following behind him.



Donovan picks him up when they get into the nursery. Mason looks exactly like him. He's pretty happy about that.



Donovan plays with Mason before they have to set up for Emmalina's party. "Oh no Mason! Look! The claw is coming to get you. Rawwrr!" Donovan says as "the claw" tickles Mason. Both of them laugh and continue to have some nice father-son time.



As Emmalina's party begins to start, guests start coming in. There is one guest in particular that Donovan has noticed. There is no way he could miss those glowing, golden eyes. He leans over to whisper in Amelia's ear. "What the hell is a vampire doing here?"

Amelia looks around in alarm and searches the room. She doesn't see any vampires. "Where? I don't see any."

"The child in the kitchen Amelia."

"Child?" She looks towards the kitchen and sees who he is taking about. She can't believe she missed him the first time, apparently her vision wasn't low enough. "Oh my God, do you think Emmalina knows what he is? Is he dangerous? Should I call in Romeo or someone?"

"I don't know. But I think we are okay for now. Vampire children, in my experience, don't have powers and they can walk in the sun. They don't get their powers until they are finished maturing. Once they hit their last growth spurt though, they're normal vampires. Besides, obviously he's not a rouge, that makes a little difference.....barely."

Amelia looks at the child, now a little sad. "It must be hard to be able to play and run in the sunlight and then when you're an adult it's ripped away from you."

Donovan and Amelia are distracted from their conversation when Emmalina comes up to them. "Can I pleeeeaaassee blow out my candles now?"

Donovan looks down at his daughter and smiles. "Sure."




They all walk into the kitchen and Emmalina blows out her candles as everyone cheers her own. Her parents can't believe how quickly she is growing up. When she ages into a teenager, it's a bittersweet moment for them.



Emmalina turns out to be a beautiful young lady. Amelia laughs as she says to Donovan, "You're going to have a hard time with boyfriends aren't you?"

"Boyfriends?" he asks in surprise. "What boyfriends?"

"Donovan, look at her. Boys will be lining up the block."

"Not this block they won't be."

"You have to let her grow up. She will always be our little girl but we have to let her spread her wings."

"I know, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. I don't like the fact that one day a man could just sweep in and take her away from me."

"He won't take her away from you. She'll still love you the same, you're her father, she'll always love you."

"I know you're right. But I will say this, if he ever hurts her or treats her like anything other than a princess.....I have guns and I will use them."

Amelia nervously laughs at Donovan threats, not sure if he's kidding or not.

After the party is over, Emmalina helps Amelia clean up. When Emmalina and Mason are both in bed, she makes a quick call to Romeo and then she climbs in to bed where Donovan is waiting. "I just got off the phone with Romeo. We start training next week."

"Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"Oh I am most definitely ready to kick some ass."

_________________________________________________________________________________
NOTES:

OMG you guys Emmalina is gorgeous! I'm so glad I picked her to be the heir. But poor Emmalina, who knows if Donovan will even let her date! Lol. Mason....awe! <3 I put the same hair as Donovan's on Mason in CAS and they look so much alike! Finally next chapter we will see some action and you guys will get to see the new Vlad. He looked way better as a human than he does a vampire but oh well. Hopefully everyone will still love him. =]