Life In The Fast Lane

Chapters: | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |

Chapter 1 - Prologue - PHDream

(Bubba Sparxxx)

I'll be the first to tell how beyond a shadow of a doubt,
True artists go without. What's in their heart, they spit it out.
I play my part and get about what God commissioned me to do.
And the fact that that's my code has got me pissy in his boots.
You see it's tricky with the truth, 'cause everybody's got they own take.
I'm gonna give it how I live it till my blood, sweat, and bones ache.
Watch me bake my own cake. Money mixed with purpose.
As long as the hook's baited, all these fickle fish will purchase.
Whatever Bubba casts out, I pray to Him that that's clout.
Cause if it's not I'm getting got, spitting hot but ass out.
And this will be my last bout in the ring with this demon.
'Cause my belly don't play full when I sing just for dreamin'.
And my team's just a clinging, binging for my arrival.
So every time I spit, I bringing it for survival.
Thinking I might be libel just to fold at any minute.
So if you got some silver, go with them pennies, quit it.

You gonna get what I want.
(What makes a Boy Scout?)
I'm gonna get what I need.
(Is it guns? Is it drugs? Is it none of the above?)
You're gonna get what you want.
(Is it a sharecropper's dream that turn this world into a team?)
I'm gonna get what I need.
(Or is it an American thing to turn this dream into a theme dream?)

Here's another favor Bubba's bringing to the shindig.
Rolling around puking like my license ain't suspended.
Huh! Ain't it splendid? Perhaps a bit of plotter.
While that shits in the hood and now your traps a little hotter.
In fact that's how they got ya with all them party favors.
See they infiltrated y'all with the beast of our behaviors.
Let you sell it for a minute. Take some for your enjoyment.
And the next thing you know the troops is rallied for deployment.
In your yard with twenty doggies that probably won't bark
But they still bit your ass. Tell Betty to get the cash
That you had stashed at Mama's to get you back on dry land.
And thank them higher cracker powers as you raise your right hand.
Have you ever wondered why a dude approach you at a venue?
Like "Buddy where's the beans?" like they know what's on the menu.
Yeah, I spoke to him, too. He came at me the same.
I told him "Naw, but I'm looking, too. Now get away from me; you lame."

You gonna get what I want.
(What makes a Boy Scout?)
I'm gonna get what I need.
(Is it guns? Is it drugs? Is it none of the above?)
You're gonna get what you want.
(Is it a sharecropper's dream to turn this world into a team?)
I'm gonna get what I need.
(Or is it an American thing to turn this world into a theme?)

I know several Caucasoids that don't do but do shoot.
Got two cousins in LaGrange that hunt like Beau and Luke Duke.
So hush that pooh-pooh when you won't, igner-o.
'Cause if you try to shine them; they'll make you whine like merlot.
And then I sure know six blonds with big asses
That apply the suction cup every time I dick past it.
Plus I got battalions assembled ahead of me.
So next time you're out in Athens remember to yell at me
So I can page the other kin to give clearance for your appearance.
Look at this New South, the spirit of my deliverance.
So when that shits said, we obviously is ahead.
That's why I don't fuck with y'all. I just keep to my biz instead.

You gonna get what I want.
(What makes a Boy Scout?)
I'm gonna get what I need.
(Is it guns? Is it drugs? Is it none of the above?)
You're gonna get what you want.
(Is it a sharecropper's dream to turn this world into a team?)
I'm gonna get what I need.
(Or is it an American thing to turn this world into a theme?)

New Orleans, Louisiana
Tuesday, 11:19 pm
September 11, 2020

Gary Bowles of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation looked across the parking lot in surprise. This was the last place he'd expected to end up on a Tuesday night. But this was where he was told to meet his boss. And considering the guy he worked for, he shouldn't have been surprised at the venue.

When he'd joined FBI, he'd expected long hours and weird assignments. He'd been in law enforcement long enough to know that it wasn't anything like it was portrayed in novels or on television. It was paperwork and sitting in the same car for hours. It was often boring and often dangerous. How a job could be both at the same time was something that only lawmen and soldiers understood. He had to say that overall, though, the last few years had been less boring than most. The reason for this lack of ennui pretty much boiled down to one man: Assistant Director in Charge Jack Niemczyk, the same man who was grinning at Agent Bowles as he gestured toward the half-hidden door of a night club.

Gary had been surprised when Jack had taken a request from the Drug Enforcement Agency seriously. The local FBI office was notorious for its lack of support of the DEA's efforts to control the flow of drugs through south Louisiana and along the Coast. FBI did just as much as their regulations required and not one iota more. Of course, relationships across the various law enforcement agencies were not always what they should be. But in this case, the status quo was helped along by the fact that the local head of the FBI was part of the family that controlled the flow of contraband and wasn't about to go to any extremes to cut into his own cash flow.

"You want to know who's dealing what to whom in Greater New Orleans; this is the place to come," the ADC said.

Gary nodded. "If you can get in," he said. You didn't just walk into The Shop. The bar was as exclusive as any country club even if it was at the other end of the social spectrum from the playgrounds of the golf crowd. And the management could spot a cop half-way across the parking lot. There was no way the Assistant Director of the FBI who'd had his picture plastered all over the local and national news not six months earlier was going to get in.

Jack Niemczyk laughed. "Not a problem," he said as he approached the doorman. "Come on, let's pay a visit to my kinfolk."

Gary recognized the big man at the door as Cory "Boom Boom" Diaz, suspected murderer and sometime enforcer for the local branch of the Cuban cartel. Gary couldn't help but feel some concern when Boom Boom's large hand was spread across his chest. "I don't know you." Boom Boom had a notorious dislike for the law. Family or not, he made Gary nervous.

"It's okay, Boom. He's with me," Jack said pleasantly.

The Puerto Rican nodded. "If you say so, sir."

Gary relaxed as the hand was removed and he was waved through the portal. He frowned at the back of Niemczyk's head as he followed the ADC into The Shop. Sometimes Jack could be damned annoying. He couldn't have just cleared Gary first; he had to play his little games. Gary's eyebrow shot up when Jack was greeted familiarly not once but several times. Seemed his boss had a hangout that Gary hadn't known about. Before the ADC was halfway across the club, a waitress was handing him an unordered highball glass. Yeah, it would appear his boss was a regular here. "What are you drinking, Agent?" Jack called over the music. Gary shrugged and told him that beer was fine. Jack nonchalantly plucked a bottle from a passing waitress' tray, giving her a broad wink and a pat on the cheek. She didn't protest.

The Shop was popular with a young crowd. Both Niemczyk and Bowles had a good twenty years on most of the dancers. They were also a minority when it came to skin tones. Black and brown were the dominate themes on the dance floor and the tables that crowded the perimeter. Gary was uncomfortable with the way the two lawmen stood out. Nonetheless, ADC Niemczyk seemed perfectly at home and more than well-known. Gary couldn't be sure, but he thought Jack was singing along with the rather violent hip-hop song the DJ was spinning. Gary resisted the urge to shake his head at the irony of it all. Four years ago, when Gary had first met then Special Agent Niemczyk, Jack had been as buttoned-down and conservative as anyone he'd ever met. It was amazing how becoming involved with the vampire underworld and then later becoming one of the Undead himself had changed the man. Gary vividly recalled telling Jack that he needed to loosen up; he simply had no idea Jack was going to take that advice to such exTremés.

Jack led the way unerringly to a door in the mirrored wall at the back of the club. Gary couldn't help but shiver a bit when he saw his lone reflection in the glass with Jack's nowhere to be seen. He knew his boss was a vampire, had known it practically from the night it happened, but he didn't like to be so deliberately reminded of it. And why the hell did a vampire-owned bar have a mirrored wall anyway? The family really was getting more and more blatant about what they were as the years went by. Being the city's biggest not-so-secret secret was one thing, being not secret at all was something else. Gary wondered if rubbing people's noses in it would come back to smack the family in face one day soon.

The mirrored door was guarded by two muscular bouncers who looked at Gary Bowles suspiciously but didn't bat an eye when Jack opened the door. Jack winked, clicked his tongue at them, and ushered Gary through the doorway. Inside the room, the one-way mirror allowed an unobstructed view of the club. It was quieter in here and the furniture was better. Lounging on a leather couch was a man Gary recognized. Ronald Hooks was suspected of being high up the pecking order of the drug world. DEA was sure he had his hand in everything that moved up the river but had never been able to prove anything. FBI didn't even bother to try. Hooks was part of the Roxton syndicate and, regardless of what the recent Senate investigation had determined, the Roxton family was the highest echelon of organized crime along the Gulf Coast. They might not actually run anything but nothing happened without their approval. The vampire lord of Louisiana and his family got their cut first or you didn't do business in his state. That sort of power also meant that nothing had ever been pinned on them. If John Gotti was the Teflon Don, the Roxtons were all coated in that from head to toe and had been generously doused in Pam spray as well. No one had made any charges stick yet. Niemczyk had actually come the closest of any of the Roxtons' associates to being prosecuted and he'd ended up coming off like a national hero.

If Bowles had any doubts about Niemczyk's real relationship to the family, they were settled when Hooks stood and hugged the FBI director. "Jack! Man, where you been? We haven't seen you in a couple of weeks," Hooks said with obvious affection.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Work. It's been a bitch."

Hooks laughed. "You need to give that up, cuz. You don't need to work."

It was Jack's turn to laugh. "Yeah. Neither do you."

Hooks grinned. "Idle hands, Jack, idle hands."

Jack guffawed and threw himself down onto the couch. One of Hooks' stable of girls immediately came and plopped herself down in Jack's lap. Jack absently ran his hand up and down her bare thigh while he talked to her boss.

"What's with the narc? He one of yours?" the black mobster asked.

"Yep. He's okay," Jack responded. "We've got a problem."

Hooks sat down beside Jack as two of his goons rapidly and effectively frisked Bowles. Bowles glared. He would have thought Jack's okay was enough but apparently Hooks was overly cautious. Jack ignored the whole proceeding. He nibbled the girl's lip for a moment before continuing. "Someone's moving some new shit through town."

Hooks shrugged. "It happens. We'll click 'em and they'll either pay the tribute or end up on the menu."

Jack nodded. "Normally that would be well enough, but this is some different shit. New stuff. They call it Sunlight." Hooks' eyes went wide. "Yeah. It fucks up our kind really bad. A couple of Rex's grandkids popped some three nights ago. They're still out. Completely comatose, lying there like nothing but a couple of corpses." Hooks shivered. "Spike is not pleased."

Hooks agreed. "That would definitely piss Papa off." Gary could only imagine how very pissed off the Master must have been. He was glad he'd been nowhere nearby.

Jack nodded. "It really did. This crap is hell on mortals and worse on us." He paused for a moment as if checking to see who was listening. "It completely incapacitates the Redeemed. Hits us ten times harder than it does anybody else."

"Fuck," Hooks whispered. "They built something specifically to hit us? The mothers were crazy enough to hit us?" Bowles was amazed at the depth of rage on the gangster's face. He was even more shocked that Niemczyk's face mirrored it. He never had gotten used to how deep the bonds were between the vampires in the family.

"Spike wants them found. DEA and FBI are our best resource for that. We may need daytime warriors. They can mop up the mortals, take out the middlemen, the suppliers. Spike doesn't care. We'll get the source," Jack explained.

Hooks looked up at Bowles, considered the mortal for a second or two, and tossed him the gun Hooks' goons had just taken from him. "Sit down, Agent. You're part of the team." He thought for a moment and gestured a couple of girls over. He whispered some instructions in their ear and sent them off. "We'll know something in a few minutes," he explained before turning to Jack. Jack was tracing invisible pictures on the face of the girl who sat in his lap with one finger. "We've missed you around here, Jack. I figured you were off keeping big brother company."

Jack had transferred his attention to the girl's bust. He licked the top of one caramel breast. "Jean's been busy. René takes up a lot of his time."

Hooks snorted. "I don't see how that's possible. René can't get his dick out of our bitch of a mother long enough take up any of Jean's time. That whore can't…" He fell silent when Jack's hand wrapped around his windpipe, cutting off his ability to speak.

"You might want to remember that she's my sire before you finish that sentence. Uncle or not, I'll pound your face in if you speak about her with that kind of disrespect," Jack growled. Bowles hadn't seen him move. Hooks choked out an apology and Jack released him.

Bowles noticed that the bodyguards hadn't moved to aid their employer at all. A crease appeared between his brows. Jack was deep in the family if the bodyguards stayed out of a fight between him and Hooks. Apparently Jack's standing in the family hierarchy was pretty good. Hooks was one of the Master's older children and Jack was just a grandchild yet Jack was treating the older man as a complete equal. Of course, that could simply be the famous Niemczyk arrogance. Jack deferred to no one that Gary had ever met. He'd heard that Jack was very circumspect around the Master but Gary'd never seen Jack around the ruler of New Orleans' darker side. It might be interesting to observe one day.

"God damn it, Jack! There are rules about attacking family," Hooks grumbled rubbing his abused throat.

Jack pulled the dark girl back into his lap. "So? Spike can knock the shit out of me if he wants to. But I promise you, he'll do worse than that to you if he ever hears you call Baby a whore. And brother or no brother, if René hears you, he'll just dust your ass." Gary had to agree with that assessment. The Master's second son was notoriously protective of his wife's and mother's reputation.

Hooks nodded and sneered distastefully. "Yeah. And get away with it, the fucker. René breaks every rule and Spike makes him Clan Warlord! Fucking makes the bastard his Lover." He took a long drink from the bottle of beer on the end table. "Shares his wife with him. Shit. I can't believe Papa took René and Baby back after the way they fucked up the family."

Jack snarled. "You don't know. You weren't there. I figure it's Spike's business." He grinned. "I can't complain about his willingness to share her. I'd be fucked if he wasn't willing to let me have some of her time." He turned his attention back to the girl in his arms, his piece said. He'd reminded Hooks that he might be several years younger but he could take the older vampire and that he'd brook no slights to his sire and lover. "You should just forget about it." He grinned at the girl, a playful gleam in his green eyes. "I bet you could make me forget a whole lot of things for a little while, hm?"

She laughed and reached for a box on the end table nearest her. She took a tiny packet from the box and laid a precise line of white powder across her left breast. "I sure can, sugar. Why don't you take a hit of this?"

Gary Bowles had worked undercover for years. He'd seen people get their highs in myriad ways. But for some reason, it was absolutely appalling to watch the head of the local FBI and his boss take a snort off a hooker's breast.

Jack sniffed one last time, letting the drug hit his system. He shook his head rapidly. "Not bad. Not as good as blood, but not bad." He grinned at his fellow agent. "Don't worry. I'm mostly immune. I'll be stone sober before we leave."

Hooks shook his head. "Your whole bloodline is nuts, man. You, Wes, Faith, y'all are all crazy." Gary had to agree. He also noticed that Hooks carefully didn't mention Baby even though she was head of that particular bloodline. It seemed Jack was feared even by the older vampire.

Jack was too busy kissing the girl and copping a feel to properly respond. To Gary's relief, Hooks' messenger girls returned before Jack could get much beyond the heavy petting stage. Hooks took their information and thought for a moment before passing it on. "You know Little Willie Endecker?"

Jack nodded. "He deals out of the old Iberville Housing Project in Tremé."

"Looks like Willie's your local dealer." Hooks wasn't surprised when his nephew kissed the girl goodbye and rose to leave. Spike had given Jack a mission and none of the family took commissions from the Master lightly. And Jack had a reputation as a bulldog.

"Thanks, Uncle. I'll be around."

Hooks grinned. "You still welcome here, Jack. You're family even if you are a lunatic. Besides, the girls miss you."

Jack grinned back and kissed both the messenger girls. "I'll make it up to them next time. But right now, I got a job to do." He turned to Gary. "You up for a trip to the projects?"

~~~~~

Jack couldn't help smiling to himself as he tooled his Bentley Azure through the evening traffic. It didn't matter that it was after midnight; New Orleans was a nighttime town. Yet another reason why it was so perfect for a vampire: you didn't really miss any of the daytime activities. In fact, Jack sometimes thought more went on after sunset in the Crescent City than went on while the sun was up.

He spared a moment to glance at the agent in the passenger seat. He knew he should have been more circumspect in The Shop but he hadn't felt like it. He'd felt like being outrageous. Jack was tired of being what everyone expected him to be. He sometimes just wanted to enjoy the looks he got when he was outrageous. He grinned openly. He understood his sire a lot better these days. It was definitely a high to see the shock on their faces when you did something that went against the accepted norm. "Go ahead. Ask your question. Or better yet, let me ask it for you: what the hell was all that about back there?"

"That's pretty much it," Bowles agreed with a snarl. Displeasure didn't come close to describing his current feeling about the ADC.

Jack shifted gears, enjoying the sound the Bentley made as he did so. "I told you. Those are my kinfolk."

"Why does that word sound peculiar coming out of your mouth?" Gary groused.

Jack laughed. "Probably because I never used it in my entire life until this year." Kinfolk wasn't a term a half-Irish half-Polish boy from Chicago would have in his normal vocabulary. Jack sobered quickly. "But it's the truth. Hooks is my uncle. And family helps family." Bowles didn't say anything. He knew the truth of that statement. Niemczyk was as white as any Yankee Gary Bowles had ever seen and Ronald Hooks was as black and Southern as they came. Under normal circumstances the chances of the two men being even remotely related were none and none, but in truth they were tied together by blood and bonds that Gary suspected he'd never fully understand. Still, the entire scene in the bar had been surreal. He'd never get used to it; gangstas with deep ties to the drug world were not touchy-feely with the FBI. It just didn't happen. And the head of the local FBI was not perfectly at home with the local dopers. Gary knew the ADC was more than a little crazy. He'd watched Jack's transformation from conventional, repressed, anal-retentive, perfect agent to the self-indulgent, degenerate, loose canon he'd become. While there was no doubt Jack was more fun nowadays, he was also much more frightening. Gary suddenly grinned. Of course, he was still anal-retentive. Some things never changed.

Jack could practically see Bowles's thoughts chasing themselves. "Don't worry, we'll figure this one out. We always do."

Bowles stared out at the passing night. "Yeah, we always do."

Jack quirked his lips into a semblance of a smile and turned into an area Bowles recognized. For decades upon decades, the Iberville complex had been one of the most crime-infested areas of the city. Once the site of the famed Storyville and the true birthplace of jazz, numerous attempts to clean it up had failed. The poverty and unemployment bred misery and hopelessness. Unwed mothers raised fatherless children who joined gangs or became addicts and died young, leaving their own fatherless children to continue the cycle. It was a savage place where survival-of-the-fittest ruled. Bowles shook his head.

Jack pulled up before one of the graffiti-defaced apartment blocks and got out. Bowles crawled from the Rolls and headed after him. "You're not just leaving your car there?" he said in amazement. "There won't be anything left of it in fifteen minutes."

Jack laughed. "That would be true if it were anyone else's car." He spun around in the middle of the street, arms outspread. "Hey! Is my car gonna be all right when I get back?" he called out at the top of his lungs. Bowles was now sure the ADC was a lunatic.

Several young men were lounging about in small groups. They all laughed. One young thug called out. "Hell, Lord Jack, do you think we're stupid?"

Jack laughed. "Not me, Bob-O! My friend here."

Bob-O laughed along with Jack. "Naw, Lord Jack, your shit's safe with us. You know that, man."

Jack nodded. "I know that. How's life in the projects, Bobby?"

"Sucks," the young man observed with a philosophical shrug. "Been needing to talk to you though, man," he said as he swaggered over. "They's a problem over by the Interstate. Something nasty lurking around. Tried to gnaw on a brother just last night. Been creeping around fire escapes, trying to get in windows. Don't think it's one of your kind. Those that seen it say it's green and scaly."

Jack lifted an eyebrow. "Must not have heard that this is my territory. Nothing hunts here without my permission."

The black gangsta nodded. "That's what we figured. Thought you'd want to know."

Jack looked off in the direction of the afflicted area. "Paul and I will have a look around before daylight."

Bob-O nodded. "We'd appreciate it, Lord Jack."

Jack looked around at the gang-bangers and ho's watching him closely. He had taken on protection of this miserable plot in a moment of insanity. He didn't interfere with the evil that humans perpetrated on each other but he kept vampires and demons out of the complex. He had claimed Tremé as his own. And its citizens knew that. They came to him from time to time with reports of depredations by demons and vampires. And he took care of it. They trusted him not to bust their chops on the normal day-to-day crap they lived and he kept the big monsters away. He grinned suddenly and sprinted back to his car. With a smirk, he placed the keys to the Bentley in the center of the roof of the car and left them.

Bowles simply stared at him. "You're crazy." He didn't completely understand Jack's need to prove his insanity to the world.

Jack shook his head. "Not in this case. I know who I can trust." He looked around. "I'm looking for Little Willie Endecker," he called out.

Bob-O snapped his fingers and a young boy, maybe ten or twelve, separated himself from one of the groups. "Robbie will show you," Bob-O said.

The two lawmen followed the boy past a couple of buildings scarred by the wounds of urban battle and through an alley between two equally veteran buildings. The child led them in a back door and up a couple of flights of stairs littered with the refuse of project life. Broken toys and discarded drug paraphernalia, the sour smell of spoiled food and desperation predominated. "That's Willie's place," the child finally said, pointing at a door. He ran off at a signal from Jack. Jack pulled his gun and placed himself on one side of the door, gesturing for Gary to take the other side. Jack knocked, called out who he was, and that he wanted to just talk to Willie. When there was no answer, he tried the doorknob. It turned easily under his hand and he frowned. He sniffed the air and cursed. The scent of blood and ruptured entrails was heavy as soon as the door opened a tiny crack. Jack knew that his quarry was dead before he ever saw the body. "Call the dispatcher," he ordered Bowles. "Tell them we've got a murder." By now, even the human could smell the miasma of violent death. "Stay here," Jack said and moved cautiously into the apartment. Even with his vampire abilities, it was hard for him to find a place to set his feet without stepping on part of Willie Endecker. He snarled. The smells were nearly overpowering and he didn't find them pleasant. This wasn't blood he'd spilled in a clean fight, this wasn't some miscreant his mother or brother had ripped apart, this was someone he'd needed alive. He shifted to his true vampire face for a few moments, scanning with all his heightened senses to see what he could discover. He separated out the scents of at least a dozen humans who'd been in the rooms in the last day or so and one other scent that he couldn't identify. He had never smelled anything like it before. Oily, sharp, and biting, it made the short hairs on the back of his neck arise. He growled, returned his face to human, and headed back out, gathering up Gary on the way.

His car was exactly how he'd left it, the keys atop it untouched. He spoke briefly with a couple of the groups still loitering nearby, letting them know he'd consider it a personal favor if they'd let him know if anyone heard or saw anything unusual near Willie's apartment. There were nods and promises of cooperation. Jack didn't doubt them. He knew that if anyone knew anything he'd hear about it before sunup.

~~~~~

Jack was in a foul mood when he dropped off his disgruntled subordinate and headed for home. He didn't like mysteries and he didn't like people dying when he wanted to talk to them. It pissed him off. He tossed his keys onto the table by the door, for once not caring that they might scar the surface. He headed for his study and his wet bar. A slim white hand extended itself into the hallway, a highball glass of his favorite bourbon held out enticingly. He paused midstep and then smiled as he breathed in his sire's unique smell. Gardenias, blood, death, her lovers, Jack; the scents that made up his sire were complex and contradictory, very like the woman herself. "Hello, sweetheart," he said as he took the glass and captured her tiny hand in his much larger one. His sire was a rather small woman, though one didn't notice that after a short while. She had a personality that could fill a ballroom.

"Hello, Jackie," she drawled. "You having a rough night, sugar?"

"Oh yeah, you could say that," he answered. He tossed off his suit coat and threw himself into an oversized leather chair. He didn't protest when his sire climbed onto his lap, straddling his legs, and removed his tie.

"You want to tell Mama about it?" she asked. He swept her too-red hair from her face, kissed her, and did just that. He outlined everything that had happened, everything he'd seen, smelled, and sensed. His sire's reputation as a loose and somewhat psychotic woman seldom took into account her brilliance. She was very good at cutting through extraneous detail and finding the crux of any problem. This time, however, she was as clueless as he was. "I'm afraid this is one where we're gonna have to just wait for someone to make a move. I know you hate that but it's the only path open," she said.

Jack downed half his glass of liquor. "I know." He was silent for a moment, simply moving the cool glass up and down her bare arm. "I have to go back out. Some demon is hunting Tremé and I promised I'd look into it."

She hummed where she was nuzzling his neck and he drew in a sharp breath as her teeth scraped along the scar tissue of his mark. He very, very much didn't want to go back out. For once, the hunt didn't appeal to him. She took the decision out of his hands. "Paul!" she called out, lifting her head but replacing her teeth with sharp wine-purple nails. She traced the outline of his mark, sending sensations shooting through him. Jack's majordomo appeared with the silence that only the truly old Undead seemed to master. Jack envied Paul that ability. You never heard Paul move, merely sensed that he was there. Jack knew he was lucky the ancient minion had aligned himself to his mother's service and had accepted her decree that Paul watch over her newly-made son. Paul had saved Jack's ass more than once.

Baby Roxton smiled at the handsome minion. "Paul, there's a nasty eating on Jack's pets over at Tremé. Would you be a doll and take some of the grandchildren and make it dead?"

He bowed. Paul Athanasius was always formal with his chosen liege. "Of course, Lady. It will be done." He was gone as silently as he arrived.

Baby giggled softly. "He's so cute. I love that British accent."

Jack had no wish to talk about his dark-haired servant/guardian. He was much more interested in sliding Baby's short skirt further up her hips. He made a sound of displeasure and she laughed. "Don't worry, Jackie," she said as she sliced the buttons one by one from his shirt with razor-sharp nails. "Mama hasn't forgotten her baby boy." She pressed her lips to his exposed skin. "Not at all." He pulled her away from his chest long enough to pull her blouse over her head and toss it away and unhook her bra. He sighed contentedly when she settled back to her task of slowly undressing him. He slid his hands up her bare back, and surrendered himself to his sire's not-so-tender attentions. With any luck she'd have him screaming long before the sun rose. In any case, he wouldn't be worried about anything but how she affected his body. He'd forget dismembered drug dealers for a while. He felt her nails dig into his flesh and gasped in pleasured pain. This was what had drawn him to her in the beginning. She was so diametrically opposed to everything that he found attractive in a woman yet she could bring him a sexual high that no one else could. The first time he'd seen her demon face, the first time he'd felt her fangs bite into his body, he'd been lost. He was hers now and would be forever. He didn't regret the decision one bit.

As he used his own sharp, sharp nails to slice her skirt off, he thanked the Powers That Be for his far-from-sweet demon lover.


Chapter 2 - Good Guys Don't Always Wear White

(Jon Bon Jovi)
You say you don't like my kind
A better picture in your mind
No it don't matter what I say
I hear you bitching when I walk away
I'll never be what you want me to be
You tell me I'm wrong but I disagree
I ain't got no apology

Just because I don't look like you, talk like you, think like you
Judge and jury, a hangman's noose;
I see them in your eyes...

Good guys don't always wear white
Good guys don't always wear white

You judge a man who don't stand in line
Just because he ain't on your side
You know the man who wears those shoes
If you cut me don't I bleed like you?
You know I do

I don't know what you been told
Can't buy guts with a pot 'o gold
A rich man's poor if he got no soul

Rich man, poor man beggar man can
All that shit don't mean a thing
Do you know which one's behind those eyes?
It's always a disguise...

Good guys don't always wear white
Good guys don't always wear white

Hey baby... what side you on?
You think you got it all fired out,
Where we belong
Forget all about your dark dressed knight
Day from night,
Wrong from right...

Good guys don't always wear white
Good guys don't always wear white
Don't always wear
Don't always wear... White

New Orleans, Louisiana
Monday, 9:42 am
September 21, 2020

"The coroner's report on Willie Endecker was… interesting," Gary Bowles said as he handed the file to his superior. The middle of a staff meeting was not necessarily the place to go over the particulars. Not everyone seated around Jack Niemczyk's office was aware of the ADC's recent rather unique change in physical status. Gary knew he and at least two other members of Jack's senior staff knew their boss was a vampire. He figured two of them wouldn't be particularly surprised, two others would be somewhat shocked, and Amanda Miller would either go into complete denial or faint. For a moment Gary was tempted to tell Amanda just to see what her reaction would be. He grinned to himself. Considering the way the female agent drooled every time Jack walked by, it probably would be denial. Agent Miller thought her boss was the hottest thing walking and Gary doubted if anything he could say or do would change that.

Gary nodded slightly at the folder, letting Jack know it wasn't for public viewing. There was a lot of material not covered in the standard report inside that file. It was recorded on a separate sheet and tucked into the back of the file. Gary knew Jack would look there first. "Nothing that will lead us directly to the killer, though," he added. Jack took a long breath. He hadn't really expected any breaks but he'd carried a tiny bit of hope. He tossed the file on his desk as if it were evidence in any other request from the DEA, but Gary knew Jack would study every line of it before the day was over.

"Anything else?" Jack asked the room at large.

"Someone from the mayor's office would like to meet with you at 3:30 today about the mayor's new program to integrate law enforcement back into the community," Phyllis Carstairs, Jack's administrative assistant, said.

"I thought that was set up for Wednesday," Jack said frowning.

"It was," she admitted, running a hand across her temple as if tucking an errant strand of hair back in place. Jack restrained the urge to smack her hand. Phyllis had never had a single hair out of place during the entire time she had worked for him. Every iron-grey strand was lacquered into a perfectly swept back bun augmented by one of her many fluffy hair bows. Jack was sure she had a hair bow for each outfit, just as she had matching pumps and a clutch. He had thought such attention to accessories had died out in the 1960s but he'd never seen Phyllis anything but perfectly matched. "They want to change it," she explained

Jack shook his head. "Nope. Not today. I am out of here at two. I have an appointment."

Gary knew by the smirk on Jack's face that it was no business meeting. He decided to be brave. "What are you up to, boss?"

Jack grinned. "I have a date to play basketball at the gym with Jean."

Gary grinned back. "And how high in favor of the Prince is the betting running?"

Jack snorted. "Pretty high, but you should drop a bet on me. Jean may be the best at most things but he is so out of his league here that it isn't even funny." At Gary's quizzical expression, Jack explained. "Jean grew up in the country outside LaFayette. I'm from inner city Chicago. Now who do you think knows the most about b-ball?" Jack's grin was as bright as the sun he hid from.

Gary laughed as the meeting broke up and the agents began to file out. "I may have to take some of that action." He smiled as he saw Jack sit down and reach for the Endecker file. Did he know his boss or what, he mused to himself.

~~~~~

New Orleans, Louisiana
Monday, 3:24 pm
September 21, 2020

Jack breezed past the Prince of New Orleans and executed an easy lay-up shot. He caught the ball as it dropped from the net and smirked at his lover and friend. "That's five out of five games, Jean. You are so toasted."

Jean laughed and held up his hands in surrender. "I have to admit, you are the better basketball player than I, m' cher Jacques." He grinned at Jack, watching the taller man dribble the ball expertly from one hand to the other. "We will just have to admit that my talents lie off the court, mais non?"

It was Jack's turn to laugh. "That's for sure!" He cocked an eyebrow expectantly. "You ready to pay up?"

Jean's smile was every bit as lecherous as Jack could hope for. "Oh yeah, m' amour." The Prince appreciatively took in the sight of Jack's long legs and disheveled hair. It was an amazingly appealing sight. He decided he needed to get Jack mussed more often. "I'm more than ready to pay up."

~~~~~

New Orleans, Louisiana
Monday, 5:38 pm
September 21, 2020

Kevin Francis Niemczyk relaxed against the worn and somewhat grubby backseat of the taxi cab. He was very pleased with the outcome of his meeting with his prospective employers. Already having been asked back for a follow-up interview had to be a good thing. It meant he'd made the first cut. It meant they really were interested in him and he had a shot at this position. He had dreamed of something with one of the big firms in New York, D.C., or Los Angeles but you didn't get the plum positions when you were just out of law school, even when that law school was as prestigious as Harvard. He was lucky and grateful that one of those firms had actually taken his application seriously. So what if he'd have to work in the New Orleans office? He'd have his foot in the door, as the saying went, and there was a good chance he could get transferred out of the hell-hole that was New Orleans in a very few years.

He looked out at the sweltering streets passing by and wondered what on earth had possessed his father to settle here of all places. It had to be the job, Kevin decided. It was always the job with his father, wasn't it? The FBI came first. It was his father's calling and nothing came ahead of the job: not friends, not family, not even his only son. He pushed that thought away. He should be glad his father had decided to live in this Southern version of Sodom and Gomorra; he'd have a place to stay for this visit. Even with the rather generous allowance his dad sent monthly, Kevin wouldn't have been able to afford a decent hotel in a tourist Mecca like New Orleans. He'd have been stuck in some Motel 6 dump. As it was, he'd be able to relax in the comfort of that big Queen Anne near-mansion his father had in the Garden District. Kevin wondered a bit at that house. He'd heard all the rumors of that incident last spring, of course, but didn't believe a word of it. If his dad was on the take, it was because he'd been replaced by an alien. They didn't come any straighter than Jack Niemczyk, as Kevin well knew. He grinned. The old man was the perfect agent, and the perfect agent didn't take bribes. It all came back to the job. It always came back to the job.

Well, it wouldn't matter soon. In a few years Kevin was sure he'd be a successful lawyer. He had a good shot at a position with a firm with an established name and practice. He could make it work, even here in New Orleans. He'd show the old man that Kevin was just as good as he was. He'd heard the "make something of yourself" speech often enough. He'd prove to the ever holier-than-thou Jack Niemczyk that he'd been listening.

He fished the key his dad had given him from his pocket as the taxi pulled up in front of the big red brick house with its pristine white trim. He paid the driver and stepped out into the sauna that was late summer on the Gulf Coast. Massachusetts was humid but this was ridiculous. He felt drenched by the time he carted his few bags up the walk, disarmed the security system, and unlocked the front door. How did people live with this for nine months a year? If he got this job, he determined to get a transfer to another office as soon as possible.

It was cooler inside the dim house and he was grateful for the chill of air-conditioning in a way he'd never been before. It was very quiet and Kevin decided his father wasn't home from the office yet. Of course, remembering his dad's usual work schedule, he wouldn't be home for hours yet. Jack had worked fourteen to sixteen hour days for as long as Kevin could remember. Kevin stretched and was surprised at how tired he suddenly felt. Well, he had been on a predawn flight into New Orleans and then been in and out of meetings and interviews from the hour he landed. It had essentially been a cattle-call of young attorney wannabes. He supposed he had a right to be tired. He decided he'd just take a shower and have a nap. He could unpack later that night. Leaving all his bags but one by the door, he slowly climbed the stairs.

As he stepped out into the second floor hallway, he heard his father's voice. Looked like the old man was home after all. Well, Kevin would check in quickly and get that unpleasantness over with. He headed for his father's bedroom.

He stopped in the open doorway, sure he was drugged or dreaming or had fallen into some sort of Twilight Zone reality. There was no way he could be seeing what he was seeing. There was no way that was his father stretched out face down on the bed, his hand knotted in the sheets, his eyes squeezed closed, with some guy on top of him!

"Oh God, yeah, Jean. Oh, that's good. Oh Christ! Don't stop." It sounded like his father's voice but the words coming out were wrong. It was all just wrong.

Oddly, it was the other man who broke the spell that had paralyzed Kevin. The dark-haired man kissed Jack's shoulder and in a rich voice tinged with some sort of accent said, "I wouldn't do that to you, cher. Mm, you feel good, Jack. So sweet. My sweet, sweet Jacques."

Kevin's bag slid from his shoulder and hit the floor with a thump. "Oh. My. God."

Jack opened his eyes and looked directly into the nearly identical ones of his son. "Oh fuck," he murmured. "Francis! What the hell are you doing here?" he nearly shouted. He slid from beneath Jean and grabbed his jeans from the floor. Jean settled into the pillows with a sheet for modesty. He was trying very hard not to laugh. A single look at the young man in the doorway had been enough to tell Jean that this was Jack's son. It was like looking at a younger version of Jack himself. He had the same green eyes, the same strong nose, the same build though he was maybe an inch taller than Jack. They had the same brown hair; the younger man's longer, sun-streaked and nearly blond. Jean remembered when Jack's had looked much the same way before the night had claimed Jack forever.

"Francis!" Jack repeated. "I asked what you're doing here."

Kevin looked at his father with disbelieving eyes. "I think you're the one to tell me what you were doing here." He paused. "No. Never mind. I saw what you were doing here. Oh my God. You were… you were…" He swallowed convulsively.

"Maybe you should sit down," Jean suggested gently.

Kevin held up a hand, warding off he knew not exactly what. "No, I'm alright." He glared at his father. "I obviously can't say the same about you. You've lost your mind!"

Jack gritted his teeth. He had forgotten how very much he hated having his family judge his actions. He hated having anyone judge his actions. He refused to feel guilty because someone else didn't like something he was doing. He'd sworn to himself that he'd never fall back into that trap again. "Why? Because I'm having a good time? Because I'm finally living the way I want to? I think I'm saner than I've ever been."

"You're having sex with a man! That's not sane. You always sworn you were straight and that here was no way you'd ever..." Kevin took a deep breath. "What is this? Some sort of midlife crisis? What?"

Jean slid from the bed and wrapped the sheet around him. "I think I better head home, Jacques." He decided this conversation might go better without his presence. He gathered his clothes.

Jack reached for him with something near desperation in his voice. "Jean, I don't want…"

Jean shushed him gently. "It's alright, my Jacques." He kissed Jack gently, tenderly. "You call me if you need me, cher."

Jack nodded reluctantly and watched forlornly as Jean headed downstairs to dress and leave. "Damn!" he cursed softly. "Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to get any time alone with him?" He looked at his son's white face. "No, of course you don't. Damn!" He sat down on the edge of the bed. "Francis…"

"Kevin," his son insisted. "My name is Kevin."

Jack shook his head. "Your Grandfather O'Connelly is Kevin. Your uncle is Frank. You're Francis."

Kevin simply stared at him. "I hate you. I really do."

Jack ran his fingers through his hair. "Look, I'm sorry. I just… Let's start at the beginning. Why are you here, son?"

"Job interview," Kevin reminded him. He crossed his arms. "I e-mailed you a week ago."

Jack sighed. "Right."

Kevin interpreted that correctly. "You didn't even open that e-mail, did you?"

Jack nodded. He'd assumed Kevin wanted money and so hadn't bothered.

"You never change," Kevin said softly. "Look, I just need a place to stay for a few days. You don't even have to know I'm here. It probably works better that way." He picked up his bag. "So is that alright?"

Jack nodded. "Sure. You know you always have a home with me," he said without looking at his son.

"Yeah. That's what you keep telling me." Kevin settled the bag on his shoulder and looked at his father. A million things he wanted to say ran though his mind but none of them made it to his tongue. "I'll take that room you told me was mine," he said and left without closing the door behind him.

Jack fell back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. "Fuck," he whispered.

~~~~~

Jack had no luck talking to Kevin later that night or the next morning before his son left for the next round of job interviews. Each time he tried it degenerated into an argument with Kevin stating that Jack had caused enough scandals and that Kevin had thought all the rumors of aberrant behavior were part of an undercover operation. Kevin made his disgust of any relationship Jack might have with Jean very clear. Jack invariably lost his temper and reminded Kevin that he was the parent. That tact had repercussions all its own. Moments before storming out for the final time, Kevin had finally let years of grievance surface.

He'd whirled on Jack with righteous anger. "You were never a parent!" he spat. "You were never there! We wouldn't see you for months. How could you be a father when you were never around? You were always off somewhere taking care of the job. Well, now I have a job I want and I won't let you ruin it for me! Keep your damned boyfriend a secret until I'm out of town!" He hadn't slammed the door on his way out but it felt as though he had.

Jack sank down on one of his kitchen chairs and reached for the phone. "Hello? Yeah, it's me. Look, could you come over? It's… well, I really need someone to talk to. Thanks, Baby." He hung up the phone and sat back to wait for his sire. For some reason, he really felt the need to have his mother beside him right now.


Chapter 3 - Chained

(R.Sambora, Jon Bon Jovi)
Hey, what's this feeling
I've never been down this far before
I was scared of believing
that love would never find my door
I was chained, Chained, Chained to my broken dreams
I never knew I was supposed to be
waiting for someone to come and rescue me
Rescue me Rescue me.

Hey am I dreaming?
I never woke up from night before
unaware I was bleeding
slowly dying like the sun
going down once more.
I was chained, Chained, Chained to my broken dreams
I never knew just where my life would lead
hoping that someone would come and rescue me
Rescue me Rescue me Rescue me.

Alone in the darkness 'til saw the light
shining from your eyes now it burns inside and it keeps me alive
Lord I've been chained. I've been chained, yeah.
Was chained, Chained, Chained to these broken dreams
I never knew who supposed to be
hoping that someone would come and rescue me

I've been chained, Chained, I've been chained to these broken dreams
I never knew just where my life would lead
waiting for you to come and rescue me
hoping that someone would come and Rescue me Rescue me Rescue me
ooh yeah Rescue me

New Orleans, Louisiana
Monday, 8:08 pm
September 29, 2020

Jack stretched up and kissed his sire. She moaned appreciatively into his mouth. It took a lot to make a vampire sweat but he'd managed it. She was covered in a fine sheen of perspiration. "So was this worth the trip over?" he asked wickedly and bit down hard with blunt teeth.

She moaned again and pushed up against his mouth, wordlessly encouraging him. "Oh God, yes." He bit down again and she nearly screamed. "Jack!"

He kissed her again, running his hands up her arms to where her wrists were bound in strong leather cuffs and straps. He fingered the buckles for a moment before lacing his fingers in hers. "I love you like this," he said. He pulled at the leather that ran from her wrists to the steel ring buried in the wall. He could break it and so could she but it would take a tiny bit of effort. He grinned. He loved it when she surrendered herself to him this way, playing at being helpless, letting him do whatever he wanted to her willing form. She didn't play these games with anyone else, only him. There was no one else she'd play the victim for. It was their special thing. He knew he couldn't actually dominate her. In truth he didn't actually want to. He loved knowing that at any moment she could break the bonds he'd placed on her and bend him completely to her will. And it wasn't because she was physically stronger than he was, because she no longer was. He was very strong; his sire swore she'd never seen a vampire that was physically stronger than her Jack. But there was something about her that still let her completely dominate his will. He loved her for it.

He felt her moving beneath him, trying to get more from him, wrapping her legs around his, commanding his attention. He laughed and squeezed her fingers. "Demanding tonight, aren't you?"

"Always," she answered.

He laughed again and ran his hand back down her arms and then her sides to settle at her waist as he knelt above her. He considered her solemnly for several minutes, his hands tracing patterns on her damp skin. A dark grin, full of dangerous promise, spread across his handsome face. He slid his hands back up her stomach, his thumbs leading and digging into her soft muscles. "How much do you want it to hurt?" he asked huskily.

Her eyes glowed yellow for an instant before settling to a luminous golden-green. "Make me scream, Jack," she whispered. "Make me scream for you."

He chuckled and bit down hard enough that she gasped. Jack meticulously began a program of sweet torture, never more than he knew she wanted and never less. He had become a master at delivering just the amount of pain she enjoyed without ever actually hurting her. He wouldn't hurt her for the world. He had her to thank for so many things. The sexual freedom he now had was the least of it. He allowed his fangs to lengthen and scraped them across her ribs, causing her to gasp again. That tiny sound encouraged him to redouble his efforts. By the time he settled his lips on hers again, she was begging him to enter her, pleading for it. When he finally did, she was screaming, the sound echoing through the house, driving them both over the precipice of pleasure.

~~~~~

Johanna Niemczyk sat straight up in the bed as the sound of screaming reverberated through her father's house. Adrenalin fought the grogginess in her system as she tried to get out of bed. She managed to tangle herself in the sheets and fell flat on the floor twice before she was able to stand. She'd driven in from the Northeast with a gaggle of girlfriends, taking on a great deal of the driving responsibilities. She was exhausted when she'd finally reached her dad's and had been happy to wave her friends on their way to their hotel while she found some much-needed sleep. Her father's far-too-cute butler had let her in and she'd immediately crashed on the big bed in "her" room. If the LCD display on the clock was even halfway right, she'd only been asleep three hours. She tried to kick the sheets free of her feet and managed to fall again, banging her lip hard against her teeth. She finally managed to stand unencumbered by the bedclothes and, with a hand pressed to her smarting mouth, ran down the hall toward the screams.

Heart pounding, she rocketed into her father's bedroom and immediately moved her hand from her mouth to her eyes. However, even with her eyes tightly squeezed shut and her hands over them, she could still see the vision of her father buried deep in some woman who was tied to the wall. The screams had obviously been of ecstasy, not a plea for assistance. Johanna wished she could vanish in a puff of embarrassed smoke. "Sorry!" she squeaked.

Jack dived for a sheet. He had no idea where his pants were. Somewhere downstairs, maybe. He wrapped the sheet tightly around his waist and headed for his closet. "Jo, honey, your phone message said you were going to be out with friends and I shouldn't expect you until tomorrow?" He managed to pull on a pair of jeans while keeping the sheet firmly in place. He tried to keep panic out of his voice.

"Ah, yes." She found a spot on the wall that was really interesting. "I am going out with friends. But I wanted a nap first. I, ah, I …"

"Jack, hon?" Baby said with a grin and held up her hands. He'd completely forgotten that she was lying there nude and bound.

"Oh God," Jack groaned and tossed his sheet over her. He began to unbuckle her restraints.

Jo tried to think of some way to bow out of the room gracefully or at all. What did you say when you found your dad playing bondage games with a strange woman? Her embarrassment was put on hold as the significance of that thought hit her. "Wait a second! Kevin called me last week freaking out because you had a boyfriend." She frowned at the bust line that the sheet didn't diminish. "She is definitely not a guy."

Baby giggled and sat up as Jack finally freed her. "Definitely not," she agreed. She gathered the sheet around herself. She eased off the bed and opened a second closet that, like the first, was tastefully concealed as part of the wall. Jo's eyes widened at the large selection of women's clothes inside. Either her dad was the biggest cross-dresser ever or he had a live-in girlfriend. It looked like Kevin was so wrong about him. Of course, it wouldn't be the first time Kevin hadn't understood a thing about their dad. She decided she was going to have to beat her half-brother for worrying her needlessly. Jo didn't care if a couple of guys slept together or married or whatever they wanted to do, but such a relationship was so out of character for her father that she'd been terribly worried. She had jumped at the chance to come down when her friends offered. Truth be told, she pushed for New Orleans as the destination of their trip rather than Orlando. It looked like all her manipulations had been for nothing. Jack was obviously not gay. She shivered and tried to get the visual she'd gained out of her head. The phrase "scarred for life" had gained new meaning for her. Her dad might be kinkier than she'd ever thought possible but he was very not-gay.

His red-haired girlfriend now had an armful of clothes. "I'm gonna take a bath, Jackie," she said and kissed Jack's cheek. "You and this lovely child probably need some privacy." She squeezed his fingers and winked at him. "But I'll be here if you need me."

Jack squeezed her hand back. She really was a good sire, he thought. She was always there for him. He appreciated the support. He had to admit that some things were harder when you were a vampire. He glanced at his daughter. Dealing with his children without revealing what he was fell into that 'difficult' category. "Thanks, sweetheart. Go ahead and come down when you finish. I do want to introduce you to Jo."

Her smile was dazzling and he was very glad he'd let her know he wasn't ashamed of her. He took a deep breath and led Jo downstairs. She refused his offer of coffee or anything to drink, by which she knew he meant anything that didn't have alcohol in it. Her father seemed to forget that she was twenty-two now. She sat down at the breakfast table and looked at her dad leaning his hip against the green marble of the kitchen island. Impossible as it seemed, it had been nearly two years since she'd seen him. She couldn't claim that she was particularly surprised. Jack had never been the most demonstrative of parents and months had often passed without a visit if he was on assignment somewhere out of state. And he was almost always on assignment somewhere. Of course, her mom's choice to move to Connecticut after the divorce had pretty much assured that Jo would see little of her father. Jack had maintained an apartment in Chicago until a few years ago and had considered that home until he'd moved to New Orleans. Jo still didn't understand that. New Orleans just didn't seem the sort of town Jack Niemczyk would be comfortable in. Looking at him, Jo had to admit that the climate or something agreed with him. He looked as fit as she'd ever seen him and there was almost a glow about him. However he was very pale and Jo wondered if he was eating right. It also dawned on her that she'd never seen him like this, shirtless, barefoot, clad in nothing but a pair of worn jeans. She thought back and couldn't recall ever seeing him in worn jeans at all. Jack didn't approve of worn and faded jeans yet there he stood completely at ease or as at-ease as a man could be when his daughter had just walking in on him having wild sex. Maybe Kevin wasn't completely wrong; something was definitely up with the old guy.

By unspoken mutual consent, they didn't discuss what Jo had walked in on at all. She was much more comfortable with that and was sure he felt the same. They made small talk about her trip and avoided saying anything of substance. They communicated the way they always had: poorly.

Both were grateful when Baby appeared. Jo's eyes widened at the outfit the other woman was wearing. She had no way of knowing that it was fairly sedate by the redhead's standards. Tight jeans, cowboy boots, a semi-transparent black shirt over a red bra; Jack was thankful for her restraint. "This is Baby Roxton," he said simply. "Baby, this is my daughter Johanna."

'Baby?' So her dad's girlfriend was a stripper. Maybe that explained the bondage games. Who'd have ever thought her dad of all people would be living with a stripper! Oh well, it was New Orleans after all. Maybe that explained the casual clothes, too. It was becoming rather perplexing. The two women exchanged pleasantries. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were living here," Jo said.

"Oh, I don't live with Jack, dear," Baby explained. "I'll admit I visit a lot and I stay over some but I have a house of my own."

That made better sense. Jo was having a really hard time imagining these two sharing daily life. Mr. Straight And Narrow couldn't have that much to talk about with a stripper. She couldn't really visualize them spending much time together.

"Look, Dad, I really am supposed to go out with my friends. They're going to pick me up in…" She checked the clock. "Ack! Forty-five minutes! Oh my God. I'm going to be late! I have to go get dressed." She practically ran from the kitchen, whacking her arm on the doorframe as she left.

Jack looked at Baby and quirked an eyebrow. "That went better than I thought it would," he said. It wasn't until Johanna had left that he realized he hadn't hugged, kissed, or so much as touched her the whole time they'd been together.

~~~~~
New Orleans, Louisiana
Monday, 10:58 pm
September 29, 2020

Jo found the French Quarter fascinating. She'd never visited it; it wasn't on the list of places her dad had taken her to on her one visit down three years ago. Mostly Jack came to Yale or they met at her grandparent's house in Chicago during holidays. This was something very different than anything she'd ever experienced. It sure wasn't like anything in Massachusetts or Connecticut. She took a sip of her frozen daiquiri and turned her attention back to the tiny stage and the old black men playing something raucous.

"Whoa! Would you look at that!" Mary Beth insisted.

Jo and the four other girls looked in the direction Mary Beth indicated. Sarah and Tiffany's jaws dropped while Alice and Marsha simply stared. "Holy Mary, Mother of God," Jo thought. Sauntering through the bar as if they owned everything and everyone in the place were four of the most gorgeous men Jo had ever seen. One was dark blond with an impish smile and a cowboy swagger than matched his starched jeans and pearl snap shirt. Right behind was an African-American man with the best body and longest dreadlocks she'd ever seen. His face was every bit as nice as his body. Preceding him was a handsome brown-haired man with a short beard and priest's collar. She sighed. It was wrong for a man that young and good-looking to be a priest. But it didn't matter: attractive as those three were, they faded like cut flowers in the sun the minute she saw the fourth member of their group. Leading them through the crowded bar was the most beautiful man imaginable. Tall, lean, with broad shoulders and black hair, he had to have the most perfect face she'd ever seen.

"Damn, they grow them good down here," Marsha commented. The Manhattanite was notorious for the swath she'd cut through the male population of Yale, student and faculty. She fluffed her black bobbed hair and narrowed her eyes.

"Oo, Ms. M is in stalking mode," Sarah said laughingly. "Who's the target?"

"Who do you think?" Tiffany scoffed. "Marsha only goes for the best. I'm betting Mr. Tall, Handsome, and Dresses Trashy is in for a visitation."

"You know that has to be right," Sarah agreed and ran a hand along her own carefully straightened and glossed hair. She wondered if she dared slip off to the ladies room and check her make-up. She didn't often like men of her own race but that black guy was a definite exception to the rule.

Marsha grinned and slid her super-model-tall, perfect size two body from the booth and made her way to the bar where the four men were leaning, looking out over the crowd. Her girlfriends watched as she used every trick at her disposal to charm the raven-haired leader of the group. They also watched with some secret glee as she flounced back to the table in defeat. "He's gay!" she announced as she sat down again. "He has to be gay!"

Her companions laughed at her discomfiture. "Oh right, he didn't succumb to your 'wiles' so he has to be gay. God, you are so egotistical," Tiffany said. Nevertheless, she knew that if Marsha had failed, the rest of them shouldn't even try. Joanna didn't even consider that she might have a chance with any of the men, much less that impossibly beautiful god. She'd be content just to sit and enjoy the view. Jo would be the first to admit that she had no luck whatsoever with men. She was too intellectual for most to be comfortable with for any extended amount of time and she didn't have the necessary beauty to offset her brains. She sighed silently and wondered why she had taken after her father rather than her very pretty, rather vacuous mother.

Still, it was an interesting exercise watching the four men. They were self-assured, almost haughty at times. She noticed that the staff of the bar treated them with deference and respect. She frowned slightly. She could understand that for the priest--after all, even in a bar a man of God garnered respect. But the other three didn't seem worthy of the same courtesy, especially the beautiful one. As Tiffany had quipped, he was somewhat trashy in his choice of dress. Jo didn't normally approve of half-unbuttoned shirts in too-bright colors or jeans so tight you could see the muscles rippling beneath the cotton each time the wearer moved, but she had to admit that somehow it worked for him. Even the piercings in his nose and ears, the crucifix around his neck, and the heavy gold bracelets on his wrists somehow seemed appropriate. Still, he didn't seem the sort to have half the bar jumping when he snapped his fingers. But that seemed to be what was happening. She found it odd and intriguing. She settled in to observe them.

Two drinks and an hour passed as her friends danced and flirted with various patrons of the bar. Marsha kept directing glares and glances at her preferred prey in hopes he would notice her but he was oblivious to her allure. Finally, a full bladder demanded Jo's attention and she made her way to the ladies room. It seemed too bright after the dimness of the bar proper. She checked herself in the smudged mirror and wondered if she should just take a cab back to her dad's. She really wasn't interested in picking up some guy; not that she had a snowball's chance in Honduras of that happening anyway. And she was bored with watching her friends make out. Maybe going out had not been that great of an idea. Bourbon Street really wasn't her kind of place after all. She promised herself to stick to the aquarium, the antique shops and museums for the rest of the trip.

Headed back to the table, that evil djinn of clumsiness that had cursed her for her entire life once more paid her a visit. With her usual lack of grace, she managed to bump into a table far too forcefully, sending drinks and snacks flying into the laps and faces of the people seated around it. From the heat in her cheeks she knew her face had turned so red it glowed in the darkness. She stammered a sincere apology and wondered if it was possible to die of chagrin and if dying might not just be preferable to living through it. The women at the table and one of the men were quite sympathetic to her embarrassment and assured her that minimal damage was done. The fourth person at the table was not so easily appeased. Whether it was too much alcohol or an innate lack of manners, he stood and began to level abuse at Jo. "What the hell is wrong with you? Can't you see?" Jo stared up at him half fearfully. "You've ruined my coat, you clumsy, stupid idiot!" he shouted.

"I'll be happy to pay to have it cleaned," Jo stuttered, starting to back away.

"Damn right you will," he snarled and grabbed her arm. "What's wrong with you anyhow? You some sort of retard? Or are you just so dumb you can't walk? You listening to me, bitch?" He tightened his hold on her arm and she winced.

"I think the lady said she was sorry," a beautifully accented voice interrupted. "It's not very gentlemanly to carry on like that."

Jo didn't know exactly how it happened but the hand that was clinching her arm was suddenly gone and its owner was rubbing his wrist as though it pained him. She looked up into the kindest eyes she'd ever seen. The beautiful stranger she'd been watching smiled down at her. "You all right, cher?" he asked in that incredible accent and her insides turned warm and gooey. She nodded mutely. The eyes that looked at her so gently turned on her antagonist with a completely different light in their aqua depths. "I think maybe you better consider some other town for your amusement, yeah?"

The man started to say something but his friend quickly stood and whispered in his ear. His eyes widened and he looked with new respect at the tall man confronting him. "Yes, sir, Your Highness. Sorry, I didn't know." He and his companions left without another word.

Her rescuer took Jo's elbow and guided her into one of the vacated seats. "You sure he didn't hurt you, petite?" he asked. She shook her head, still unable to get her tongue to work. When he smiled, revealing teeth just as perfect as the rest of him, her stomach did a peculiar flip-flop. "I'm René," he said and took her hand.

"I'm Jo," she managed to stutter and smiled timidly.

His smiled broadened. "Can I buy you a drink, Jo?" he said, making her name sound like it had never done before. She had never liked her name but it suddenly appealed to her. She nodded and didn't even think of trying to remove her hand from his.

~~~~~

Jo leaned against the bright silk of her partner's shirt and sighed. She could feel firm muscles under her cheek. She couldn't believe it. The most handsome man in the whole bar, possibly in the whole wide world, had asked her to dance. He'd rescued her from a bully, bought her a drink, and talked with her for an hour. Then he'd asked her to dance. Here she was wrapped in his very strong, wonderfully comfortable arms. She couldn't help smiling. This had turned into the best night of her life. It didn't hurt that Marsha was glowering and glaring so hard she'd forgotten to flirt. Her other friends couldn't seem to decide if they should enjoy Marsha's discomfort or be jealous of Jo. Anyone even thinking of being jealous of Jo was a new feeling and she had to admit that she enjoyed it.

René held her close and she felt warmth spreading throughout her body as his hands moved up and down her spine. When he tilted her chin up so she was looking into his smoldering eyes, that warmth spread into her arms and legs. When he leaned down and said, "I'd really like to kiss you, cher," that warmth settled low in her stomach. "But we need to talk first. Would you walk with me a little bit?" She nodded. If Adonis wanted to walk, that was fine with her.

It was hot out on the street but she didn't mind as much as she normally would have. The air seemed cool compared to the heat that kept coursing through her body. She wasn't really paying attention where they were going, but as long as he was holding her hand, she didn't really care. He led her finally into a courtyard restaurant. Jo glimpsed a sign saying "Court of Two Sisters." It was very nice, with a tinkling fountain and flambeaus under heavily vined trellises. It was also closing time. Jo was somewhat surprised when the staff closed the gate and went about the tasks of shutting down the restaurant as though she and her escort weren't there. A bottle of wine and two glasses were delivered by a smiling waiter who then vanished. René poured and then looked at Jo seriously. "What I said on the dance floor is true, petite. I want to kiss you. I want to kiss you and take you back to my house and spend the next several hours in bed with you." He swirled the Merlot in his glass. "But I'm not gonna lie to you to make that happen; I'm not that kind of man." He took a deep breath. "I don't make a practice of taking ladies home with me no more." He tapped the thick gold ring on his hand. "I'm married."

Jo's stomach clenched and she took a sip of the wine in hopes that it would settle the nausea that suddenly gripped her. "Don't tell me. Your wife's a horrible woman and she doesn't understand you."

René smiled gently. "No, cher. She's the most wonderful woman in the world and she knows me better than anyone on Earth. I love her more than I can explain. And she loves me." He looked off into the night. "But it's complicated. She has other people, other men she loves, too. She's with one of them tonight."

Crazy as that sounded, Jo believed him. There was something in his face, something in his body language that convinced her he was telling her the truth. "So what are you saying?" she demanded harshly, though she found she couldn't really be angry with him.

"I'm saying that I want you but I don't want to take advantage of you." He stared at the wine in his glass again. "You are very desirable, cher ami, and I really, really want to make love to you, but it would only be right for me to do that if I'm honest with you." He swirled the wine again and took a sip. "I'm not somebody you can build a life with, petite. I'm a vacation romance. If we do this, when you go back to your fancy school, you'll have some nice memories and maybe a trinket or two to remember me by but nothing lasting."

There was a sadness in his face that Jo wanted to erase. She considered him solemnly for several minutes. He made no move to influence her. Whatever she decided would be her choice and hers alone. Despite her lack of success with men, she'd had a lover or two. She'd had guys try to pick her up before. In general, they wanted sex and not much else and didn't care what lies they told or what tactics they used to get it. She'd been on the receiving end of some pretty tough coercion, especially on campus. There was none of that here. She knew instinctively that René would accept whatever decision she made. If she said no, he'd walk her back to the bar, deliver her safely to her friends or put her in a cab back to her dad's and probably pay for it himself. It occurred to her that he might be the most gentlemanly person she'd ever met. He was also without doubt the most desirable. Just looking at him made her insides heat up. Thinking about kissing him sent prickles across her breasts. Thinking about sex with him caused a delicious tightening in her womb. She considered her options carefully.

She looked up at the full moon caught in the net of wisteria vines and then down to where it silvered his ebony hair. "Kiss me, René."

~~~~~

What René was doing felt so good, Jo thought she might just pass out. She had never imagined a man could do even half the things to a woman's body that he had already done. From the moment he'd kissed her, she knew she'd made the right decision. His lips were soft, a bit cool, and tasted of fine Merlot. He'd known exactly when to deepen the kiss, when to ease his questing tongue into her mouth, just how much she wanted and needed. His hands had been comforting, gentle, and arousing all at the same time. Not even for an instant had she felt threatened or pressured. Even now, lying in his big bed, in a house that seemed impossibly opulent for someone like him, she felt safe. She also felt breathless and as though she might crawl out of her own skin if he kept licking her like that. She reached down and ran her hands through his silky hair and tried to think of something to say besides "Oh my God." Nothing came to her at all. And with René's face buried between her legs she doubted if anything would. When his fingers joined that talented tongue, she stopped trying to think at all and simply surrendered to riding wave after wave of shattering orgasm.

Three hours later she decided that if it was possible to die from too much sexual bliss, she might very well be the first recorded victim. An hour after that, she decided she didn't care; it had been worth dying for. An hour after that, she was blissfully unconscious, asleep in René's arms, reliving a night of perfect passion in her dreams.

~~~~~

New Orleans, Louisiana
Tuesday, 4:03 pm
September 30, 2020

Jo gasped as her father nearly crushed her ribs embracing her. "Thank God you're all right." Then he pulled back. "Where the hell have you been! I was about to put out an APB on you." He looked her over. "I can actually do that, you know," he warned.

"Yes, Dad," she said. "I told you I was going out with friends and that I didn't know when I'd be back."

Jack glowered. "I thought you meant you didn't know what time you'd be back that night, not what time you'd be back this week! I've been worried sick and…" He sniffed and then sniffed again. His jaw clenched. "Why the Hell do you smell like René Beaumont?" he grated.

Jo blinked. "What?'

A muscle was now jumping in Jack's jaw. "I can smell him all over you. That fucking bastard!" His eyes went wide. "Did he bite you? I'm gonna kill the son of a bitch if he bit you!" He paused and grinned coldly. "Oh wait, I'm gonna fucking kill the son of a bitch anyway." He grabbed his keys and wallet and headed for his car. Jo ran after him and managed to dive into the passenger seat before he could roar out of the driveway. She tried to talk to him but between his snarls and holding on for dear life as he broke every law in the Louisiana motor vehicle code, she made no progress. Jack took a corner so sharply into a huge private garage that Jo thought he'd hit the old brick wall for sure. He slammed the car into park and strode toward the house. He was forced to pause and key in his entry code and Jo caught up with him. This wasn't the same house she'd been in earlier, she was sure of that. This one was bigger but it was every bit as opulent. Or at least it seemed that way based on the glimpses she got of rooms as she rushed past them following her father.

"Beaumont! You motherless… Beaumont! Where the hell are you?" Jack bellowed as he headed up the stairs. He grabbed a minion. "Where's that lying, underhanded piece of Cajun shit?" he demanded.

The minion jabbered incoherently and pointed down the second floor hallway. Jack growled and tossed the hapless creature halfway down the stairs. Jack shoved open the door to René's bedroom without bothering to knock. Jo entered just in time to see her father's fist catch René squarely on the jaw.

René staggered back but didn't fall. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" he demanded.

"I'm gonna kill you," Jack told him. "I'm gonna beat the shit out of you and then I'm gonna stake your worthless ass." He took another swing which René barely managed to avoid.

"Yeah?" René's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You think so? Come on then."

Jo, heedless of injury, threw herself between them. "Stop it! Dad!"

René's brow furrowed in puzzlement. "Jo? What you doing here, petite?"

Jack circumvented his daughter and pushed hard on René's chest. "You motherfucking son of a bitch. How dare you lay a hand on my daughter!"

René stared at Jo with wide teal eyes. "You're his… oh fuck."

Jack growled. "Yeah, she's mine! You God damned son of a whore. Oh wait, it wasn't your mother who was a whore. It was you!" He made 'come here' motions with his hands. "So come on, streetwalker. If you think I'll let a punk whore like you fuck my daughter and me not kick your ass, you are sadly mistaken." The green in Jack's eyes was being overtaken by molten yellow.

René growled back and gold started to swirl through the ocean of his eyes. His teeth lengthened and his face began to change. "Don't call me that," he snarled.

Jack grinned, showing long saber-cat fangs. "Truth hurts, huh? Whore."

Speechless, Jo backed away in horror from them both. Her mind refused to process the data her eyes were sending. Her dad did not have fangs and glowing eyes. The man she'd just spent a night of incredible sex with couldn't have the face of a monster. She shook her head and continued to back away until her shoulders hit the wall and she was pinned there by her own shock.

René launched himself at Jack and ran right into his mother's outstretched arm. "Cut it out!" Baby shouted. Her other arm was held out, her hand pressed against Jack's chest. "What the hell is wrong with the two of you?"

"It's simple. I'm gonna kill him," Jack said. "There is no way I'm letting a punk-ass, drug-dealing, street whore lay a hand on my baby girl and live."

René snarled and lunged for him again. "You two-faced bastard. It's all right for you to sleep with my wife, though, isn't it?"

"Stop it!" Baby shouted again. "Do I need to knock the shit out of both of you? Calm down. Right now!" She looked at the young woman pressed against the wall. "You've scared that poor child half to death!"

Jack looked at his daughter and his face melted back to its human form. "Oh shit."

René closed his eyes, appalled at his own actions. When he opened them, they were teal again, all the yellow glow faded from their depths. "Oh Jo! I'm so sorry."

Jo held out her hand wardingly. "Stay away from me," she said when Jack moved toward her.

Baby saw the hurt look on her son's face but didn't have much sympathy for him. "Honestly, Jack. What do you expect! You've frightened her half out of her wits." She glared at both men. "Go sit down somewhere over there, both of you." She turned to the terrified and confused girl. "Honey? Do you remember me? I'm Baby. It's okay. There's no one here that's going to hurt you." She made no move to step closer to the young woman.

Jo looked from one man to the other. "What happened to my dad?"

Jack took a deep breath. He'd thought of a million ways to explain this to his children and none of them had ever sounded right even inside his own head. "I, ah…" He looked toward his sire but Baby was silent. This was something Jack needed to do himself. "I… It's a long story but I'm, well." He took another deep breath. "I'm a vampire, honey." He jerked his head toward René. "So is playboy over there."

"Jack," Baby said warningly.

He wrinkled his nose at her before continuing his explanation. "It's not like in the books and movies, baby," Jack explained. "I'm not some evil monster who's out killing everyone he comes across. I mean, I kill people sometimes but only if they deserve it and then I'm not torturing them or anything. I leave that to Wes and...Anyway, I'm not that kind of vampire. Not to say that there aren't those kind of vampires out there. You have to be really careful. Most would just as soon eat you as look at you and…"

René raised an eyebrow. "You want to dig that hole a little deeper, Jack?" He shook his head and turned to Jo. "What Mr. FBI Agent Who Knows It All is trying to say is that he's still your daddy. Look at me, cher belle. I didn't lie to you last night and I'm not gonna start now. You're safe here. Jack's telling you the truth. We're vampires."

"But, but, how?" Jo asked, looking from her lover to her father. She believed René. That same instinct that told her he wasn't lying when he'd said being with him was completely her choice was telling her that he wasn't lying about being a mythical creature. "How can you be a vampire, Dad?"

Jack swallowed. "I sort of died a few months ago, honey." He looked at her sadly. "If it wasn't for Baby, if she hadn't been able to change me, you'd have attended my funeral back in March." Jo gasped and looked at him in distress. He smiled at her reassuringly. He looked at his sire. "I met Baby when I first came to New Orleans. We've been, well, involved ever since." He stood and started to pace. "She was already a vampire when we met. I'd never even imagined that vampires and demons could be real. She showed me a whole new world. I really liked it. And she offered me the chance to live forever. So I stayed."

Jo stepped away from the wall a bit. "I knew there had to be a reason you moved here. This isn't really your kind of town."

Jack smiled at her. "It is now. I love it. I can't really imagine living somewhere else." He knew that wasn't entirely true. He'd make his home wherever his sire was. He glanced at Baby and saw that she knew that as well. "Truth of the matter is I was murdered, honey. And if not for Baby and our vampire family, I'd be rotting in the ground and my killer would be walking around free. She's been my salvation in more ways than one." He reached for his sire and kissed her tenderly. "We've been lovers for over four years now."

René growled softly. Baby left Jack's arms, took René's hand and kissed his forehead. "You've got to get over this thing about Jack, baby."

Jo's eyes went very wide. "Oh my God. You were with Dad last night and that's why René said his wife was with another man and ….Ewwww!" She sat down in the first chair she could reach. "Oh my God. My dad's girlfriend's husband. Oh my God! I had sex with my dad's girlfriend's husband!" She looked at the other three. "Do they make you appear on Jerry Springer when things like this happen?"

"No, sweetie." Baby laughed. "Hasn't that man retired yet? He must be a million years old. That show was on twenty years ago. Hmm, maybe he's a vampire." She laughed again at the visuals that conjured up. "And believe it or not, you and Renét may be one of the least complicated relationships around here."

René nodded. "It's a little different when you're vampires," he explained. "Actually, it's a lot different. The rules aren't the same."

"You two are going to confuse her," Baby said. "Let's go down to my study. I'll have one of the maids bring some tea and we'll answer your questions, Johanna."

The human nodded. "I think that might be a good idea. Just a couple of things first. I want to see you do that thing with your face again, both of you." She glanced at Baby. "All three of you, I guess." She stood silently at they changed. She considered each vampire carefully for several moments before nodding that they could turn back. "This isn't the same house I was in last night, is it?" She knew it wasn't and that proved this was all a dream. She felt guilty about sleeping with a married man and so her dreams were punishing her. It was a whole lot more comforting to believe that than to believe her father was a vampire.

"No. This is my father's house," René explained. "I have a place of my own. It's a couple of blocks away. That's where I took you."

"Oh." Jo thought for a moment, pinched herself twice, and passed out.

~~~~~

Jo woke to see her father staring at her with so much concern and fear she nearly laughed. Then she remembered why she had fainted. Now two hours later, she was calmer, had more information than she could possibly digest on vampires and her father's recent life, and while not afraid of him, she certainly didn't want to go back to his house just yet. She also didn't want to deal with her friends. This wasn't the sort of thing you talked over with the girls. She knew Kevin had moved into some sort of corporate apartment his new employers were providing until he could find a place of his own. Her half-brother wasn't going to believe a word of this and she wasn't about to tell him, but he'd at least leave her alone enough that she could think. So faced with going back to her dad's, staying here with her dad's girlfriend who just happened to be Jo's lover's wife, or moving into her new lover's place, she did the only sane thing she could. She called her brother.


Chapter 4 - Love At First Sight

(Kylie Minogue)
Thought that I was going crazy
Just having one those days yeah
Didn`t know what to do
Then there was you

And everything went from wrong to right
And the stars came out and filled up the sky
The music you were playing really blew my mind
It was love at first sight

`Cause baby when I heard you
For the first time I knew
We were meant to be as one

Was tired of running out of luck
Thinking `bout giving up yeah
Didn`t know what to do
Then there was you

And everything went from wrong to right
And the stars came out and filled up the sky
The music you were playing really blew my mind
It was love at first sight

`Cause baby when I heard you
For the first time
I knew we were meant to be as one

And everything went from wrong to right
And the stars came out and filled up the sky
The music you were playing really blew my mind
It was love at first sight

New Orleans, Louisiana
Tuesday, 7:15 pm
September 30, 2020

Kevin Niemczyk could hear the chiming of the bell deep in the house as he pushed the rather overly ornate brass button. At least the doorbell worked. He wasn't sure it would; it looked old. The house was old, extremely so if the plaque by the door was anything to go by, and he was surprised it even had a doorbell. He wondered how his sister had ended up here.
His dad's huge place to the contrary, this was a little upscale for any of the Niemczyks. Harvard had taught him that much if nothing else. There were some social castes where blood was still more important than money and in Kevin's experience, they were all Southern. So what was Johanna doing in a house that was probably on the historic register?

She hadn't really explained anything when she'd called him; she'd been fairly incoherent. All he'd really gotten out of her was that she was upset, which was more than clear from the tone of her voice, and that she needed him to come pick her up. He had no idea what had happened, though he bet it had something to do with his father. No one ever got Jo that upset except her mother or their father. Kevin would be the first to admit that his half-sister had a much calmer personality than he did. Jo took most things in stride but the old man could still get her tied up in knots. He grinned ruefully; the old man could get them both tied up in knots and in Kevin's case it took little more than a hard glance from his father's overly observant green eyes. One disapproving look and Kevin was ready to tear into Jack. It never failed.

Before he could get further involved in his thoughts, the midnight blue door was opened by a middle-aged women in a black-and-white maid's uniform. Her skin was only a few tones lighter than the dark conservative dress. Kevin quickly began to explain that he was here to pick up his sister but was interrupted. "You're Lord Jack's son, no mistaking that," she said with a nod. "Follow me, please. You can wait in the garden. I'll let Lady Roxton know you're here."

'Lord Jack?' Kevin frowned in mild confusion but followed her through a well appointed hallway into a large, shady garden. "If you'll wait here, some of the family will be with you shortly," the maid advised politely and vanished into the house.

Having heard of the courtyards that lurked hidden behind all of the houses in the French Quarter, Kevin took the opportunity to explore. These gardens were part of the hidden New Orleans that outsiders supposedly seldom saw and he'd been interested ever since he'd heard about them. It lived up to his expectations. The garden was as lush as any he'd imagined. A place of near tropical splendor, it was rich with statues, a fountain, and blooming things. A massive oak grew from the center of the plot, its branches spreading completely across the courtyard from one balcony to the opposite one. It had to be as old as the house itself. The galleries ran completely around the circumference with double stairs sweeping down, one set for the second story at one end and a set for the third floor at the other end of the garden. They were as ornate as the doorbell had been. The garden was huge; the house must have taken up the entire block. It was cooler here in the shade and smelled considerably better than the street outside. It was a place of peace and splendor. The quiet was nice after the hectic day he'd had. He wouldn't mind having a place like this to come to and unwind. The brick and flagstone walks absorbed his footsteps, the birds and insect noises covering all but the sound of the fountain. Or so he thought until he heard voices from the balcony that circled the courtyard.

"Look, I didn't ask to have a kid. I didn't want to have a kid," a harsh voice said. "You wanted him. You kept him. You deal with it."

"I can't believe you can say that about your own son!" The answering voice was tearful and accented the way Kevin had expected every voice in this town to be rather than the bastardized Queens accent they all seemed to have. This voice called to mind Spanish moss and hoop skirts. "He's just a baby, Connor. Why can't you at least spend some time with him?"

"Because I don't want to," came the reply followed by a door slamming. The quiet sounds of the garden remained, though its serenity was destroyed. Kevin sat down on a bench and stared at the bright emerald moss outlining the old bricks at his feet. He felt chilled despite the summer heat of this God-awful city. He kept hearing those words over and over, "You wanted him, you kept him, you deal with it." This time the voice speaking was his father's. Kevin knew his father had never said those exact words but he also knew that in all likelihood phrases very similar to those had been spoken at some time. His birth hadn't been planned and had in fact caused hardships for his parents. His mother couldn't make enough money working to cover daycare and his father was trying to support them while still attending grad school. Kevin had no doubts that Jack had resented the added responsibility; why else would he have divorced Kevin's mother when Kevin was only ten months old?

A tiny body collided with his leg, small arms wrapping around his calves as their owner tried valiantly to stay upright. Bright golden eyes stared up at Kevin as the toddler squealed gleefully. The happy baby face pulled a smile from Kevin despite his grim thoughts. "Well, hello there," he said to the child, a little boy if clothing were any indication of gender. The baby squealed again and held up his arms, demanding to be picked up. "Where did you come from?" Kevin asked, lifting the boy onto his lap where the child immediately became enamored with Kevin's tie.

"Dev?" The woman's voice Kev had heard sounded out as she rounded the corner. Kevin looked up and swore his heart stopped. Even in the shadows, she blazed with a beauty he couldn't begin to describe. Peacock iridescences danced across her black hair. Faint rose colored the paler pink of her skin. Her eyes were the most incredible ocean blue Kevin had ever seen. They were beautiful even though reddened from recently spent tears. Her long lashes were still wet. What sort of monster could make so delicate and exquisite a creature cry? Kevin wanted to find the owner of the other voice and knock his teeth out. The beauty stopped and stared at Kevin for a moment. He tried to say something but found that there really was such a thing as having your tongue cleave to the roof of your mouth. She smiled and he thought he'd faint. "You have to be Jack's son," she said. "You look just like him."

He nodded and found his voice. "I'm Kevin Niemczyk," he said and held out the hand that wasn't steadying the little boy on his lap.

Her smile grew. Electricity shot up his arm when she placed her hand in his. He'd never felt softer skin. Her tiny hand felt perfectly right in his. And there was no wedding ring on her hand. "I'm Nina Beaumont," she replied. "I see you already met Devereau." She glanced at the baby and exasperation bloomed on her face. "Dev! Don't do that."

Kevin looked down where the little boy was happily chewing on his best tie. He laughed. "It's okay." He patted Dev's nose. "Does that taste good? I wouldn't have thought so but you sure seem to like it." He smiled at the child and tickled his nose.

Nina looked at the young man with his head bowed over her son and felt warmth collecting and swirling in her center. There was no mistaking the genuine pleasure on Kevin's face as he played with her son. When Kevin lifted Dev up and made noises to set the baby laughing, Nina's heart began to hammer. When his soft green eyes met hers, a jolt of pure energy shattered that ball of warmth and sent it racing through her entire body. "I…"

The maid who had led Kevin into the garden appeared with Jo right behind her. "Let's go," Jo said. "I really need to get out of here."

Kevin reluctantly stood and passed Dev to Nina. "Look, I know this sounds crazy, but can I call you?"

Nina grinned. "I'd like that," she answered. "A lot."

Kevin's smile was blinding. Jo hadn't really heard anything he said, she just knew he was delaying when she wanted to leave. She began tugging him away. "Let's go," she ordered.

"Maybe we can have dinner?" Kevin said as his sister pulled him toward the house. "Or lunch. Or something? And bring the baby," he added. "He's a cute little guy."

Nina's answering smile made him feel light-headed and dizzy. "I'd really like that."

As Jo pulled Kevin toward the front door, he panicked and broke away. "I don't have your number!" he called to Nina. With an even larger smile she gave it to him. He repeated it aloud twice before his sister managed to tug him out the door. "I'll call tonight!" Kevin managed to say before the maid closed the door. She shook her head. There had to be something in the air of the house that made men go crazy. She headed off to finish the work Kevin's arrival had interrupted. Nina was still standing in the doorway to the garden, grinning. The maid decided it wasn't just men that were affected; yes, there was definitely something about this house that made people nuts.
~~~~~

Kevin glanced at Jo as he took a turn that would lead him onto the Interstate. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

"No, not really," she answered and continued to stare out the window at the passing tenements and bars. This was not a part of New Orleans that would impress the tourists.

"What did Dad do?" Kevin asked. He was sure now that this had something to do with their father.

Jo cracked a smile but it faded quickly. "Nothing. Well, something but… Look, I just need to think for a while, okay?"

He smiled sadly. "Okay." He wasn't completely surprised. Growing up in separate households had made it hard for them to be close and the Niemczyks traditionally weren't big on the sharing and long talks. In any case, he was more than half distracted by the beauty in the courtyard. Nina, he grinned to himself; even her name was beautiful. And her accent was heavenly. His cheeks were starting to hurt, his smile was so broad. She had looked so sweet. And young. He frowned. Well, she had to be older than she looked; she had a kid, a very cute, very sweet kid who looked just like her. His cheeks started to hurt again. He had her phone number. He kept repeating it in his head. He actually had her phone number and she'd said he could call her. If his sister hadn't been sitting beside him, he'd have called Nina already. Well, his little apartment wasn't too far and Little Sis could go brood in the kitchenette or something and he could call Beauty from his bedroom.

Jo was grateful for Kevin's silence. She had more than a lot to think about and just wanted some time alone. She had no trouble getting that opportunity. Kevin disappeared into his bedroom, cell phone in hand, the minute that Jo was halfway settled on his couch. She could hear his voice even now, soft and eager. She couldn't make out any words-and didn't want to-but it was obvious he was talking to a girl. She tuned him out. She had enough on her mind without worrying about her brother's love life. Her own was a bigger source of concern at the moment. She pulled out the paraphernalia to make coffee and started the long process of picking apart everything she'd learned in the last twenty-four hours and figuring out exactly what it meant to her.

~~~~~

"I'm on the phone! Can you get that," Kevin called when a knock sounded on his door. "It's probably supper." He'd had Jo order Chinese shortly after he'd sequestered himself in his bedroom.

She sighed and opened the door, not expecting to find René Beaumont standing there. "Can I talk to you?" he asked somewhat nervously. "And before you say anything, you need to know that I can't come into a house unless I been invited. So you got nothing to be afraid of. See?" He leaned against the air. It was as though there was an invisible door between them. "I can't hurt you. Not that I want to hurt you, cause I don't! So you got nothing to be afraid of anyway but you need to know that I couldn't even if I did. But I don't!"

Jo looked at him and raised one eyebrow. "René? What the hell are you trying to say?"

He leaned his head against the barrier. "I don't know!" He sighed. "I'm not any good at this. Me and words, we don't get on so well." Big teal eyes looked down at her. "Please don't be afraid of me."

He looked so pitiful Jo couldn't help but laugh. She also found it was impossible to be afraid of René. Looking at that beautiful, anxious face, and recalling how those perfect lips had felt on hers, it was hard for her to remember what he'd looked like with long sharp teeth. Remembering how those long graceful fingers had felt on and in her body, she couldn't imagine them with razor-like claws. Recollecting those blue-green eyes filled with desire and longing for her made her forget how they'd blazed with lemon fire. In fact, looking at him now, she couldn't think of any reason why she was standing in her brother's doorway instead of kissing those soft lips and making those incredible eyes turn dark with desire. She smiled. "I'm not afraid," she said and stepped out into the hall to boldly wrap her arms around him and reach up for that kiss she wanted so much.

Eventually René pulled away from her mouth, blinked a couple of times, and gathered his scattered wits. "Damn." He grinned down at her. "So you not too angry with me then?"

She smiled up at him. Her instincts were right. They always were. She knew he wouldn't hurt her. "I should be. And I probably will be if you don't explain everything to me. I still have about a million questions that you're going to answer." She glanced back into the apartment. She could barely hear Kev still talking on the phone. She snorted in his general direction. If René had been some sort of monster bent on dragging her from the apartment, she'd be dead by now and Kevin wouldn't even have noticed. Brothers! "But not here." She blushed. "Can we go back to your house?"

René's grin made the embarrassment worth it. "Yeah, we can. We can do anything you want."

~~~~~

René twirled the tequila in his glass. "You know, you're taking this awful well."

Jo settled back into the plush cushions of the couch. "Well, I've seen some things." She looked out the tall windows into René's courtyard. "I… Last year…" She had to stop and think of how to explain it. "I saw some things. I learned some stuff that I didn't think I could tell anybody without them thinking I was a complete lunatic." She settled back into his arms. "There was a group at school. They fooled around with some stuff, Tarot, spells, you know? I joined because, well," she blushed in the darkness. "I wanted to study how people could get drawn into something so silly. It just seemed so foolish to me. I didn't understand how people could believe and rely on magic and stuff." She stopped for a moment. "I want to go into law enforcement. I'm not sure if I want to do what my dad does or if I want to be involved in forensics. But I thought that studying a group like that would really help me understand the cult mentality. It would be good experience. And it would make a great paper for my psych class."

René wasn't surprised by that. It had taken him about ten minutes to figure out she analyzed everything around her. She reminded him of Jean and Baby that way. He also understood what she was trying to tell him. "You saw something," René stated, urging her to continue. He got the feeling this was the first time she'd talked about this. She must be very alone up in that big university of hers, he thought. He knew he wasn't great at communication but he always had several someones he could talk to when he needed them. He felt very sad for her and swore that he'd keep in touch with her even after she left. He'd be the someone she could talk to from now on. It was the least he could do for someone who'd taken the chance and trusted him on little more than his word. That trust was a warm spot shimmering inside him even now.

Jo couldn't understand why he was staring at her so intently or why it felt so good. She wanted to keep doing whatever it was that made his eyes glow so tenderly. She didn't think she'd ever been the center of someone's attention quite this way. He really cared about what she had to say. With that thought warming her, she had no trouble telling him the things she'd never felt comfortable revealing to friends or family. "I saw a lot of somethings," she replied to his urgings. She shivered. "And none of them were nearly as nice to look at as you. They scared me." She sighed gratefully as he wrapped his arms tightly around her. "But not all of them were too scary. Some were not so bad. I never really saw a vampire though I heard about them. But I met some demons. A couple were actually nice. Just normal people only kind of… blue and bumpy."

"Well, most vampires are far from nice, cher," he warned, kissing her hair. "Unless they part of the family, they'll kill you as soon as look at you." He stopped to grin. "Though you mighty fine to look at."

Johanna blushed. She wasn't used to being considered desirable, certainly not by someone who was so infinitely desirable himself. And she found that it didn't matter to her one bit that he was a vampire. She had spent a good deal of time thinking both before and after René had shown up at her brother's door. From what she had seen, being a vampire wasn't that different than being well… not a vampire. Her dad was just as short-tempered and dictatorial as he'd ever been. She took a deep breath. Her dad was a vampire. She thought about it. She'd have to have a long talk with him, alone, and she very much did not look forward to that. Long talks with Jack were not high on her list of things she liked to do. They only had long talks if she was in trouble. Maybe she'd have René go with her. Or maybe not, she amended, remembering how well René and her father didn't get along. She thought briefly of telling her brother but Kev was even more pragmatic than their father. There was no way around it; Kevin was stodgy and unimaginative. And if she tried to tell him that their dad was a vampire, he'd have her committed. She'd leave that chore to Jack. Let the old man deal with telling Kev. She hoped she was on the other side of the country when it happened because Kevin was going to go ballistic.

Meanwhile, she had decided that she was going to take advantage of what might very well be her one chance to ever enjoy a man like René Beaumont. Vampire or not, married or not, men like René only came along once and she was going to grab this opportunity with both hands and hold on for as long as possible. Johanna had no idea how very much like her father she really was. Just as Jack had decided that being with Baby Roxton was worth whatever he had to do be with her, Jo had decided René was worth it. The only difference in their thought processes was that Jack had made his decision on a lot less information than Jo had.

~~~~~

New Orleans, Louisiana
Saturday, 6:21 pm
October 3, 2020

"Are you sure I look alright?" Nina asked anxiously.

"You look beautiful," Cordy assured her. "Of course, you'd look beautiful even if you dressed as tacky as your mother does."

Baby tilted her head and pulled a face at Cordelia before addressing her daughter. "You look wonderful, honey. And Cordy's not entirely wrong; you'd look beautiful in a gunny sack. As is, you look gorgeous. And don't ever let me catch you dressing like me."

Nina ignored the warning and tried to breathe normally. "I can't believe this. I'm going out on my first date with Kevin. My first date, period." She laughed shakily. "I'm 18, I have a two-year-old, and I'm going out on my first real date." The times she'd gone to dinner with Connor couldn't really be considered dating. There had been little or nothing lover-like in those weeks except the sex. She'd never even thought of him as her boyfriend. She trembled slightly. Kevin wanted to be her boyfriend, though. He'd said so. He'd asked her out on a real, honest-to-God date. He was picking her up at the house and everything. Nina wondered if it was normal in situations like this to feel like you needed to throw up.

"No one ever said anyone in this family did things the normal way," Cordelia stated. She smiled. Nina was nearly sheet-white and looked like she was going to keel over. Cordy recognized the signs of first date jitters easily. "Calm down, honey. You look great. From what I've heard about your Kevin," and they'd all heard about nothing but Kevin for the last two days, "He'd be happy if you turned up in that gunny sack Baby was talking about." She patted Nina's hand. "Now, do you have everything? Compact? Lipstick so you can freshen if you need to? Crucifix? Holy water? Stake?"

"Mace to fend off Kevin," Baby deadpanned.

"Mother!" Nina was appalled.

"Well, if he's anything like his dad, he'll have his hand down your blouse or up your shirt before you can…"

"Mother!"

"On second thought, if he's anything like his dad, forget the mace; tell him 'yes please,' and go for the birth control and the condoms."

"MOTHER!"

Baby grinned wickedly. "Well, he does look just like Jack. And if everything is just like Jack… well, don't let it go to waste. I mean, Jack is incredible. And he has the largest…"

"MO-THER!"

"What? I was just going to say he has the largest intellect of any man I've ever met."

Cordy snorted. "Yeah. Right. And you're a humble, retiring little thing." She stopped and thought for a moment before addressing Nina. "But Over-Sexed is right about one thing. If Kevin is like Jack, don't waste the opportunity. You do have condoms in your purse, right?"

Nina held up her hands. "Okay. That is just way too much information. Aunt Cordy, I don't want to know that you've ever had sex with Jack. Remember the deal? I don't want any details on sex in the family, okay? I'll never be able to look at any of you if I know who you're doing what with or how big or how you do something." She shivered. "It's just too gross to think about!"

Baby laughed. Cordy was tempted to join her. She shook her head and wondered how Baby and René had given birth to such a straitlaced child. Her thoughts were interrupted by a maid informing them that Kevin was waiting downstairs. Nina closed her eyes and, praying she wouldn't throw up, allowed Cordelia to fluff her dress and send her down to meet the first man she'd ever really had wait on her pleasure.

When Nina was gone, Cordy glanced at Baby. The vampiress was amazingly still and quiet. There was also a look on her face that made Cordy feel sorry for her. And that made Cordy angry. She didn't want to feel sorry for Baby. "What are you getting all weepy about?" she snapped.

Baby snarled. "I'm not," she snapped back.

Cordelia gave a ladylike snort and stared pointedly at the tears that moistened her used-to-be friend's lashes. "Yeah right."

Baby turned away and swallowed down the regrets of lost motherhood. "Leave me alone, Cordelia.

Suddenly, Cordelia found she didn't want to continue baiting the vampiress. For once, there was no pleasure in it. "She'll be fine," Cordy stated reassuringly. "She'll have a good time. And at least we know what sort of boy she's dating."

"Yeah," Baby said softly. "I just hope nothing messes it up for her."

~~~~~

Nina smiled up at Kevin as they walked from the restaurant toward the lot where Kevin had paid to park his car. It felt so good to have his hand wrapped around hers. She'd had the nicest time at dinner. Kevin had been everything she'd dreamed of in a date: attentive, gentlemanly, and more than a little attractive. She'd felt like the luckiest girl in the whole restaurant. He was so handsome and she had butterflies go crazy in her stomach every time he looked at her with that smile in his eyes. Those gray-green eyes were smiling down at her now. She wanted him to kiss her, desperately, but she had no idea how to go about indicating her want. She certainly couldn't ask him; she'd die of embarrassment. She thought of what her mother and Cordelia had said about Jack and how Kevin might resemble his father and felt heat flood her cheeks. That was not something she usually thought about. She was abruptly worried that she might be too much like her mother. More than anything, she didn't want that and resolved that she'd never make the first move.

They turned into the parking lot and saw another couple ahead. There was something very familiar about them and it only took Nina a moment to recognize them. "Uncle Remy! Mrs. McSwain!" They were soon exchanging greetings, Remy and Anne expressing amazement at how much Kevin resembled Jack. Kevin was used to the comparison, though it seemed to happen more in New Orleans than he'd expected it would. But he handled it gracefully. He was impressed that Nina was on such good terms with the head of the New Orleans homicide division and a top prosecuting attorney. It appeared that she had connections in addition to beauty and the sweetest disposition of any girl he'd ever met. They talked for a few moments before the two couples went their separate ways, Remy and Anne heading to where their car was parked against the wall of an old building. Kevin was unlocking the door of his little company-provided car for Nina when Anne screamed. Kevin whirled around and saw at least two figures dropping from the roof of the building. One landed lithely on the ground while the second used the roof of a car as a trampoline before bouncing to the weedy asphalt. Part of Kevin's consciousness registered that there was no way anyone should be able to jump from the top of a three-story building and land so easily without injury. The other parts were busy with the fact that other men were already attacking the McSwains, clutching at Anne and hitting Remy repeatedly. His shock was dispelled as his date ran toward the fray. "Nina!" he shouted and ran after her, frightened for her safety.

She ignored him, digging in her purse and shouting as loudly as she could, "I'm the daughter and granddaughter of the Master and these people have Pride protection!" She pulled a large crucifix from her purse, letting the bag fall to the asphalt. She grabbed the small spray bottle loosely taped to the cross with her other hand. "You better leave us all alone and run while you can! Spike will rip you apart and my Daddy Jean will kill you all! If you don't want the wrath of René Beaumont and the Queen of New Orleans coming down on you, you'd better leave town now!"

The vampires ignored her; one was even brave enough to reach for her. She shot his face full of the contents of her atomizer just as Kevin grabbed the man's arm and drew back his fist. The attacker's face burned and melted even as Kevin registered that the face was like nothing he'd ever seen before. "Holy water," Nina explained shortly. "Mace for vampires." She thrust her cross into Kevin's hands. "Take this. Try to touch their bare skin, especially their eyes. That'll blind them." When she noticed he was standing stunned into immobility, she shook him. "Just do it! They'll kill us all!"

Kevin tried to shake off his paralysis. "What are they?" he exclaimed.

"Vampires," Nina answered. "Just fight now. I'll explain later." 'If we live,' she added silently to herself.

Kevin shut down the analytical part of his mind and, as she asked, just fought. He didn't even allow himself to be shocked when Nina's statement that the cross would burn these creatures proved true. He just went with it. Kevin was an athletic young man and his father had insisted he take defensive training. He was a good fighter but these creatures were incredibly strong and fast. He'd never fought an opponent that moved so fast or hit so hard. Blood was soon pouring from both his nose and a split lip. A scream from Nina had him frantic. He managed to pull off the creature attacking her and fling it away but now they were trapped against the wall and a parked car. Kevin placed himself in front of Nina; he'd protect her as best he could though he had no real hopes that he'd succeed. Terror such as he'd never known settled into his heart. He was going to die in this parking lot at the hands of monsters that his mind couldn't even accept as true. He had no idea what was happening to the McSwains, though he could hear more fighting behind and to his left. From Mrs. McSwain's screams, he figured they weren't doing any better than he and Nina were. He could look for no help from them. He was going to die and worse than that, so was Nina. He couldn't protect her. He wanted to scream in sheer regret. There was so much he still wanted to do with his life and he knew without doubt that he wanted to share that life with Nina. He didn't need weeks and months to get to know her. His heart already knew everything it needed to know. It wasn't fair that they'd die without ever getting a chance to try. It wasn't fair that he was going to die without getting a chance to tell her how he felt. Seething anger roiled up inside him. He lashed out at the monsters. How dare they take that away from him? How dare they try to hurt her? He clinched his teeth. He might not be able to save her but he could sure as Hell try. He'd die fighting to save her at least.

The monster before him laughed and evaded Kevin's punch. It wrapped hard fingers around Kevin's throat and lifted him from the ground. Nina screamed and tried to hit it but a second creature was reaching for her, pulling her away by the hair. Bright spots were dancing across Kevin's vision but he saw a hand grab the hand throttling him. The vampire choking him screamed in pain as his wrist was crushed and pulped. Kevin fell back against the car as he was released and stared in pure astonishment as his father snarled, "No one touches my son!" The vampire was slammed against the brick wall hard enough that Kevin heard bones snapping. Jack slammed his fist against the creature's chest and it vanished in a puff of dust.

Kevin turned to help Nina but found a strange woman had already pulled Nina's attacker away. This time Kevin saw the sharpened wood that was driven into the creature's breast causing it to explode into an unpleasant smelling powder.

"Thanks, Mom," Nina gasped before stooping to retrieve the crucifix she'd given Kevin. "I'm out of holy water," she added.

Baby nodded. "Jack! Need another cross and some holy water here, baby," she called.

Jack staked the vampire he was fighting and pulled a crucifix from an inner pocket and pushed it into Kevin's hands along with a canister identical to the one Nina had emptied. "Here. Do what Nina tells you. She knows how to fight these bastards," Jack said tersely before turning back to the battle. Jack was furious that minions had dared attack his child on Pride ground. He began joyously working his way through the enemy, dusting any vampire that dared to stand against him. His sire was just as enraged and was working her own path of annihilation through the marauders. There were only a dozen or so of the creatures and Nina had blinded two of them with her holy water. The girl took the opportunity to stake the creatures now. Baby and Jack were rapidly destroying the remaining assailants. Two vampires tried to flee, pulling Anne McSwain with them, but Jack quickly dispatched them as Baby dusted the final fiend that had Remy pinned against the hood of a car.

Remy was barely conscious as he slid down the slickly waxed surface of the automobile. Baby caught him and cradled him gently as she lowered him to the ground. "Jack, call nine-one-one," she ordered. One look at the gaping wound in Remy's neck and one sniff of the blood on his lips told her all she needed to know. That knowledge sent a stabbing pain through her chest. Mindless of the others beginning to gather around them, she held the policeman closely. "Remy, look at me! We don't have much time, honey." She was breathing heavily from the effects of the battle, fear for Nina's life, and from a mix of emotions she couldn't sort out. She focused on the Cajun alone. "That vampire, he's taken too much of your blood. I don't know if the paramedics can get here in time."

"No," Jack said, heartbreak in that one word. He knew as well as his sire what was happening.

"No!" Remy echoed Jack's feelings and tried to shake his head. "No. I can't die. Anne. They're after Anne. I heard them." He grabbed Baby's shirt, his fingers creasing the cotton and leaving smears of blood on the soft pink material. "You've got to do something. Keep me here." It was so hard for him to speak. He was so tired, exhausted and dizzy. "They're after Anne! I can't die! Not yet! She needs me here."

Baby wiped the blood from his lips with a shaking hand. "You're already bound to stay. That bastard has already turned you. He made you drink." She ignored Anne's screams of denial. Remy came first right now. She could hear how hard his heart was laboring to push the remaining blood through his veins. The strain of that alone would kill him. "If you die, you're going to come back." She took a deep breath. "Right now, if you die, you'll come back as a minion. Some outsider. Not family. Just a demon." She looked up at Jack, hoping he understood. He was closing his cell phone, having already called in that an ambulance was needed. The pain in his eyes told her clearly that he understood. She felt his gathering grief through their link. She turned back to Remy. "You have three choices, honey. Die and come back just the way you are now, as some rogue vampire." He shook his head violently. That was one of his greatest fears. He was terrified of coming back and hurting Anne and his family. "Or I can make sure you don't come back. I can make sure you really die. I promise you that I'll take care of Anne like she was one of my own."

"I can't leave her alone. She's in danger," he said hoarsely.

Baby nodded and gave him the final option. She knew what he'd decide even as she spoke. "I killed the one that would have sired you. Let me take his place. Drink from me and you'll be family. You'll have a chance at redemption and we'll help you take care of Anne." She paused, squeezing the hand that held her shirt so tightly. "Tell me what you want me to do, Remy."

He looked up at his wife's frantic face. Anne was shaking her head, refusing to consider any of the choices. Remy had to live. There was no other option in her mind. Remy knew otherwise. He could feel Death hugging him closely. He turned from Anne's falsely optimistic eyes to Jack's concerned ones. Jack knew, too. He and Remy were well acquainted with violent death. It was their daily business. They both knew a fatal wound when they saw it. Remy felt this one. He knew Jack had once felt this way, waiting for Death to claim him, faced with the choice. Jack had taken the risk of becoming a monster. Remy knew what Jack was. He'd seen the changes over the years. He knew exactly how much and how little Jack had changed. He knew what was possible, both good and evil.

He looked back at the one Undead that possibly frightened him more than any other and nodded. "Turn me," he told Baby. "Do what you have to do. Make me yours. For Anne."

The ambulance arriving ten minutes later found an empty parking lot with only a few blood splatters smearing the finishes of the cars to show that the Queen of New Orleans had taken a third son.

~~~~~

Kevin watched in amazement as the woman Nina had called Mom picked up a man much larger than she was and carried him up the steps to Jack's house. His father was busy with the sobbing wife-widow?-and couldn't help her. Nina was busy opening the door. Kev didn't bother to question how she knew the code to the lock. The after-shocks of the attack had set in about half-way to his father's house and Kevin had started shaking. It had taken all his concentration to drive. He shoved his hands in his pockets so Nina wouldn't see their trembling. The woman disappeared up the stairs with her burden while Jack helped Anne McSwain into his den. The red-haired woman reappeared almost immediately. "Nina honey, why don't you fix us all a drink? I think we could use one." She turned concerned eyes on both the other humans. "Anne. Remy said the attackers wanted you. Do you know what he meant?"

"Oh God, Remy!" Anne covered her face and cried.

"Anne. It's hard. I know." Baby wanted to be sympathetic but if there was danger to Anne or to the family it needed to be dealt with immediately. They wouldn't have the luxury of grief until they were all safe. "I've lost a husband. Three times, actually. And there's nothing that hurts more except losing your children. But there's nothing you can do for Remy right now." She sighed as Jack sat down beside her on the couch. "And I promise you that you'll have him back."

Anne shook her head. "No. It will just be something that looks like him."

Baby shook her head. Anne's statement chilled her. It was too close to the way Baby feared Spike felt about her these days. "No. It will be Remy," she said emphatically. "I promised him. We'll make sure he has his soul." She reached for Jack's hand and was immensely grateful to feel his strong fingers squeeze hers. Jack didn't mind that her hand wasn't warm or that her heart wasn't beating. He never had. "But until he wakes up, we have a lot to do."

Jack nodded. "Anne, were those vampires after you?"

She gulped back tears and a fair portion of the whiskey Nina pressed into her hands. "I think so. One of them kept yelling for them to hurry up and 'get the woman.' I have to assume they meant me. They didn't seem interested in Nina except to…to…to eat her!" She covered her face again. "Oh my God. That thing ate Remy!"

Baby ran a hand through her hair. "Anne." She reached out to the other woman and Anne jerked away. Baby took a deep breath and Jack wrapped his arms about her. He could clearly feel his sire's distress.

Nina sat down beside Anne and patted her hand. "Maybe we should send for Cordelia or Tara," she advised her mother.

Jack nodded. "Call them." He wasn't happy with the emotions rolling off his sire. He wasn't sure she was up to dealing with Anne's hatred of all things vampiric, a possible threat to Nina and the family, and having the responsibility of a new child. He had to do something to alleviate some of the stress on her or he was afraid she'd start to deconstruct on him. He'd seen what happened when the emotions became too much for her to deal with. Baby presented the appearance of strength and pragmatism but Jack knew just how fragile a hold she had on reality and sanity. He wasn't going to let her be pushed further than her ability to retain that hold. He didn't wait while Nina found her cell. "Anne. Baby didn't kill Remy. He was already dying. She saved him." He held his sire close. "Just like she saved me."

"Saved you? By turning you into one of them?" Anne's fingers twisted and tore at the Kleenex she held. "How did that save you? You're confined to the dark. You can't go out in the sunlight. You have to live by drinking human blood." Anne looked at him with tear-filled eyes. "She damned you for all eternity. How did making you a vampire save you?"

"Dad?" Kevin looked fearfully at his father. "Is she saying that you're… that she's…" He couldn't quite say the words. They sounded too crazy.

Jack ignored him. He was too angry at the moment to worry about Kevin. "I'm not damned." He reached into his pocket and pulled out an ivory rosary. He held it up, the beads glowing warmly in the light. "I'm Redeemed." His face changed, long fangs as bright as the beads.

"Mother of God!" Kevin gasped, his chair tipping over as he tried to back away from his father. Nina was beside him in an instant.

"Oh fuck!" Jack muttered as his face slid back to normal. "Didn't your sister tell you?" he asked.

Kevin's eyes were huge and fearful as he stared at his father. Baby smacked Jack's chest with the back of her hand. "Apparently not!"

"Ow!" Jack complained. "Well, I figured Jo had told him."

Nina glowered at them both. "Honestly. I think dying automatically reduces your maturity level!" She took Kevin's hand. "It's okay." She forced him to look at her, turning his face toward her with soft, insistent fingers. All she felt for him gleamed in her teal eyes. "It really is okay."

Kevin's breathing started to slow a bit. She was so sweet and so beautiful and if she kept looking at him like that nothing else would matter. "Does someone want to tell me what the hell is going on?" he snarled at his father. He held tightly to Nina's hand.

Jack looked from his son's angry face to Anne's shuttered and hurt one. He wanted to slap them both.

"Oh good God," Baby muttered to herself. She could feel Jack's desperation. And she could sense Remy deep in that not-quite-truly-dead sleep. That frightened her. She had another child to be responsible for when the only child she wanted was Jack. She took a deep breath. "Kevin, dear, I'm sorry you found out this way but yes, your father is a vampire. He's still one of the finest men I know and I'm so proud he's my son." Jack beamed and she felt warmth flood their link. "I know you have a lot of questions. Why don't you let Nina explain it all to you? She was in your shoes about three years ago. She can tell you everything you need to know and do it a whole lot more sympathetically than I can." She smiled softly. "I'm not noted for being diplomatic or tactful."

Jack couldn't help but laugh. "That's true." He turned to his son. "I'm sorry, Francis. Kevin," he corrected himself, possibly for the first time in Kevin's life. "Baby's right. Let Nina tell you what she can. I promise we'll talk later. It's just that right now, we don't know if we have a full-scale war on our hands or if this is just a random hit or what."

Nina nodded. "Please. Jack's right. They have to handle this attack on us first. They have to find out what's going on." She squeezed his hand. "It's hard to set your own feelings aside, but you get used to being a soldier in the Army of Light pretty quick."

"Is that what you are?" Kevin asked. "Soldiers?"

"Sometimes," Nina answered. "Mostly I'm just a girl. One who has really weird parents, but basically just a girl." She led him to a quiet corner of the room, away from the others. After fetching an ice pack for his nose and lip, she sat down beside him. With both his hands holding one of hers she began to explain the impossibility that was her everyday life.

Baby drew a long breath and returned her attention to the problem at hand. "Anne, I know you're hurting. But this isn't the time for your hatred of vampires to get an airing. Remy's dead because some rogues wanted you. I need to know everything you remember, anything you might have seen or heard. We have to figure out what's going on." She pulled Jack back down beside her on the couch. "So whatever problem you have with me, get past it! We have way more important things to worry about."

Anne glared at her but saw the truth in the vampiress' argument. She nodded coldly and began to tell them all she could recall of the attack and the hours and even days leading up to it. Jack was an expert at helping witnesses in situations like this and he used every skill he had to assist her. Nina and Kevin rejoined them before they were finished and Jack interrogated them as well. It still seemed useless. The attackers had wanted Anne but none of them could figure out why.

Baby had been thinking the whole time Jack was working. "We can't let whoever is behind this know that Remy's dead. That may have been part of their plan." She obviously already had a plan of her own in mind. "Jack, call the house. Tell Carlos to get over here." She turned to Anne. "Carlos is the same build and coloring as Remy. I'm gonna dress him in Remy's clothes and he's going to escort you home. Anyone who's watching your house will think it's you and Remy. Once you're inside, we'll do a complete perimeter sweep--scare off whoever might be watching. We'll sneak you out the back and bring you back here to be with Remy if you want."

"I want," Anne interrupted.

Baby nodded and continued. "You can call in sick for Remy Monday if he isn't awake by then. I hope he is. Then he takes a long vacation." She thought a moment more. "That should give us some room to maneuver. Whoever planned this will think they failed. Damn, I wish we'd thought to keep one of those vampires to question. I didn't recognize any of them." She jiggled her foot in agitation, unable to sit completely still. Jack didn't like the agitation. "They looked like hired thugs, though."

"That's it!" Kevin exclaimed. "I've been going nuts trying to remember!"

Jack looked at him expectantly. "What is it, son?"

Kevin took a deep breath. "When they first attacked, some of their faces weren't… monster. I knew one of them but I couldn't figure out from where. It just hit me." He looked at his father. "I had a meeting a few days ago with a new client, a couple that I'm supposed to take extra special care of. That… vampire…." He still had trouble saying the word. "Was one of my client's bodyguards."

"Yes!" Jack crowed. "Perfect. Do your clients have a name?" he asked.

Kevin nodded. "Yes. DeRossier. Philip and Claudia DeRossier."


Chapter 5 - Sweet Child O' Mine

(Guns N' Roses)

She's got a smile that it seems to me
Reminds me of childhood memories
Where everything
Was as fresh as the bright blue sky
Now and then when I see her face
She takes me away to that special place
And if I stared too long
I'd probably break down and cry

Sweet child o' mine
Sweet love of mine

She's got eyes of the bluest skies
As if they thought of rain
I hate to look into those eyes
And see an ounce of pain
Her hair reminds me of a warm safe place
Where as a child I'd hide
And pray for the thunder
And the rain
To quietly pass me by

Sweet child o' mine
Sweet love of mine

Where do we go
Where do we go now
Where do we go
Sweet child o' mine

New Orleans, Louisiana
Saturday, 11:11 pm
October 3, 2020

Jack watched his sire shut down. It took about five seconds for her skin to go as pale as the petals of the gardenias whose smell always infused her hair. The instant he felt her mentally pulling away from him, he grabbed and shook her. "Stop it! Right now! Don't you dare close me out!" He shook her again. "Cut it out. I'm here! You're not alone!"

Baby closed her eyes and a frisson shivered her entire body. Facing the thought of Philip being alive in another dimension had been hard but not impossible. Facing the thought of Philip alive and plotting against them here in her own world was terrifying.

"You said it yourself; you're not the woman he knew. Not at all," Jack insisted. So much for easing any of the strain she was under, Jack groused to himself. With a new child lying upstairs waiting to awaken, she didn't need to deal with the threat of Philip DeRossier. Unfortunately, she didn't have any choice. Jack grinned suddenly. "And the punk doesn't have the slightest idea what he's dealing with here. If René and Jean took him down when they were little more than babies, what do you think they'll do to him now? Hell, what do you think I'll do to him now? He tries to hurt you or Nina and I'll break him in half."

At Jack's words, Kevin looked at his pretty Nina and was shocked to see that her face was nearly as white as her mother's. "Honey?" he said tentatively and squeezed her hand. "What does Dad mean? Why would this man want to hurt you?"

"He tried to kill her a couple of months before she was even born," Jack explained.

"No," Baby said in a voice barely above a whisper. "This Philip succeeded. He did kill Nina and me in that other world."

Nina felt weak and would have fallen had Kevin not wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "We need Spike," she said faintly. "And Daddy. We need to call them."

"Already done," Jack asserted. "I called the Master as soon as I pulled out of the parking lot with Remy's body. I knew you'd need him and he'd need to know that Remy was dead."

Anne cringed but didn't say anything.

He grinned. "Spike and Jean are already on their way here."

Baby simply drew a deep breath and sank more deeply into Jack's embrace. "What did I ever do to deserve you?" she whispered so softly that only he heard her.

Before Kevin could ask his next questions, his sister appeared in the doorway accompanied by the most handsome man Kevin had ever seen. It wasn't the man's beauty that struck the young lawyer, though--it was the unmistakable, nearly eerie resemblance the man bore to Nina.

"Papa!" Nina exclaimed and ran to the newcomer. "Oh Papa! I'm so glad you're here."

René took one look and realized she'd been in a fight. She seemed basically unharmed, though. "You alright?" he asked, just to be sure, though he was already looking at his wife.

"I'm okay," Nina said.

Before she could continue, René was nodding and moving away. He knelt before Baby and held out his arms. "What is it, belle ange? You tell me and I'll fix it." He had felt her distress nearly an hour earlier and traced her here to Jack's house.

Baby stared at him for a moment, only a tiny twitch at one corner of her mouth betraying the turmoil that Jack and René could both feel so plainly. She fell into his arms and buried her face in his chest. René turned a quizzical look on his nephew. When necessary, René was more than capable of setting his hostility toward Jack aside. "What happened?" he asked, continuing to look at his wife's lover.

"The McSwains, Nina, and Kevin were attacked by a bunch of rogues tonight. Baby was forced to turn Remy," Jack began.

"Mon Dieu!" René whispered. "M' pauvré précieux belle!" He spared a glance for Remy's widow. "Anne, I'm sorry."

She didn't acknowledge his words and Jack continued as if René hadn't spoken. "It was way more than a random attack. It was on Pride ground and it looks like they wanted to kidnap Anne."

René's brows furrowed in anger and confusion. "Why they want to do that?"

"We don't know," Jack said. "But Kevin recognized one of the vampires as working for a new client of his named Philip DeRossier."

The hate, anger, and sheer terror that shot from René were so strong that Jack flinched from the echo of it. "No. He's dead. Papa killed him."

Baby shook her head. "It's the other one. I know it. It's the second one, the one that did kill the other me. I can almost feel him." Her words were muffled, spoken into René shirt.

René went very still for several seconds before he shivered violently. "Yeah. I can, too." He closed his eyes for an instant, trying to control the roiling emotions that flooded him. That single fleeting touch of Philip's consciousness had made him want to retch. "The motherfucking son of a bitch must have found a way to follow us," he said through clenched teeth. The furious explosion of French that followed was mostly unintelligible to Jack but he was sure he agreed with the sentiment. Breathing hard, René squeezed Baby closer. "He's not ever touching you or Nina!"

"Damn right he's not getting near Nina," Kevin agreed vehemently. He had gone immediately to her side when this strange man had abandoned her for the redhead. "I won't let anyone hurt her."

The young man's presence finally registered with René. He frowned. "You got to be Kevin," he said with a half-snarl. "Damn, you look like Maman's pet."

"Son and Companion," Jack corrected with a snarl of his own.

"Stop it," Nina and Joanna said at the same time, each one glaring at their respective fathers. They looked at each other and grinned.

"I don't think we've met," Nina said and introduced herself. "You know my dad?"

Jo turned bright red and stammered while she introduced herself. "I'm, ah, staying with René right now."

"Ohhhhh." Nina knew what that meant. She looked up at Kevin. "Why didn't you tell me that your sister was my dad's new lover?"

Kevin blinked a couple of times and finally managed to say in choked tones, "I had no idea." He sorted through it. "My sister is living with your dad?" He looked at the pair kneeling on the floor. "But he seems real involved with your mom."

Johanna and Nina both nodded. "Oh yes, they're very much in love," Jo explained. "But you know, she stays with Dad a lot so René's been sort of lonely."

Nina nodded. "Especially with Daddy out of town. Papa misses his husband."

Jack agreed. "Yeah, I miss Jean, too."

Kevin looked at them all as though they were lunatics. "I need another drink."

~~~~~

Carlos' arrival ended any further discussion and shocks to Kevin's nervous system for the time being. While Carlos was dressing in Remy's bloodstained clothes, Baby, Jack, and René saw to getting Remy bathed, dressed in a pair of Jack's pajamas, and tucked between clean sheets. Jerrod, responding to another of Jack's calls, was set to guard the newest member of the family. Paul, returning from his own nightly hunt, found the household quiet but unsettled. He could tell his chosen liege was ready to snap at any moment, only her son and her husband keeping her grounded. He wondered if he would finally see the demon that lurked behind her golden eyes. He'd heard stories and, while impressed, wasn't sure he really wanted to meet that entity. He considered ramifications and weighed alternatives as he watched René arrange for more security on all the family and their various houses. Paul had bonded enough with the family to sense that the Warlord was as affected by news of this Philip's presence as his liege lady. Paul was ancient; he'd seen empires both human and demonic rise and fall. He knew that at some point this empire too would fall, but he hoped it was far in the future. He had found that much to his surprise he liked these children and their absurd fixation with doing the right thing. He'd lived long enough to know that right and wrong were very fluid concepts. One day they'd figure that out for themselves. He caught an edge of fire as it flicked across his liege lady's eyes and smiled. Some of them already knew that.

~~~~~

Nina found Kevin standing in the center of Jack's garden looking as lost as it was possible for such a self-possessed young man to look. "Are you okay?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I've never… It's just so…" He stopped and shook his head. "I don't even know what I'm trying to say. How do you live like this?"

Nina bowed her head. She'd been terrified of this. Kevin was nice. He lived a nice, normal life. He didn't carry around stakes and holy water as a matter of course. He didn't know the different ways to kill vampires or isacats or any of the dozens of other demonic creatures she'd been learning about over the last three years. He didn't worry about spells or magical possession or whether the next door neighbor was a shapeshifter out to eat your son. He couldn't possibly want be involved with any of that. He couldn't possibly want to be involved with anyone who was. He couldn't possibly want to be involved with her. "I… You just do," she admitted. "I understand that you can't just accept it." She wiped the sweat from her upper lip. It was still too hot outside for any sort of comfort. Funny, despite the heat she felt cold inside. "I felt the same way at first but I didn't really have any choice. I had to stay for Dev's sake."

Kevin frowned. "Dev? I don't understand."

Nina swallowed. "Devereau isn't a… normal baby. His dad has, well, powers. Dev probably will, too." She looked anywhere but at Kevin. She'd only known him two days and it felt like she was going to die when he left. And he was going to leave; she knew it. "He has to be somewhere where he can be loved and protected and taught to use them." And not be considered a freak, she added silently.

Kevin didn't ask what she meant by powers. All he could think of was how hard it was going to be for Devereau growing up. The poor little kid! He was lucky to have a mom like Nina. It was a crying shame his father was a useless SOB. He looked down at Nina's bowed head and couldn't resist the urge to reach out and place his hand on those glossy jet locks. He closed his eyes for a second, overwhelmed by the rush of pure emotion and the sense of protectiveness he felt. This exquisite girl, with her gentle character and sweet maternal nature, had nearly been killed tonight. He wouldn't have been able to save her because he didn't know how to fight her enemies. Well, he'd learn. He knew he was more than capable of learning. If she'd let him, he'd keep all the monsters away from her and her little boy. "Nina," he choked out, all the glibness he'd been famous for in law school vanishing the instant he felt the night silk of her hair. "Nina, I…" Jesus! He'd known her two days. She'd think he was crazy. "Marry me?" he whispered.

She looked up at him, surprise and shock turning to awe at what she saw in his eyes. He didn't have to say the words, she knew that he loved her. Her gaze as bright and starry as the sky above them, she smiled up at him. "Yes. Oh yes."

With a joy such as he'd never imagined, Kevin bent his head and Nina finally received the kiss she'd been longing for since she first saw him. It was everything she'd hoped for and more than she'd dreamed possible. Nina had run away from her aunt's farm seeking a home and family such as she envisioned. She'd surrendered her virginity to Connor Chase-Angel trying to feel a part of something worthwhile. She'd fought demons and monsters trying to make a place for herself with her family. For her whole life Nina had wanted nothing but a sense of worth, love, and belonging. She found it for the first time in Kevin's arms.

Breathing finally became imperative and she was forced to pull back. "Devereau," she started to explain.

"Is a great little boy," Kevin finished. "And I'll be the best dad to him that I can possibly be," he promised. "I swear. I'll love him forever. How could I not? He's a part of you."

~~~~~

Spike was grateful when Jean turned onto Jack's driveway. The entire drive in from Baton Rouge, Spike had felt varying degrees of upset, anger, terror, and concern from his consort, his lover, and his family. He'd expected some of it, just from the bit of information Jack had been able to tell him on the phone. He was concerned himself. He liked the McSwains. They had stood by his family more than once. Remy was a fun guy, though Anne was much more standoffish. Remy being attacked and killed on Pride ground annoyed him. And Baby certainly didn't need another childe, especially one turned reluctantly because Remy feared for his wife's safety. She didn't need that sort of stress.

Spike had been content to let Baby turn Wes. The Powers knew that Wes was more than self-sufficient and placed no pressure on his sire. Spike had been less sure about Jack but knew Baby was determined to keep the FBI agent with her. Luckily, it had worked out well and Spike hadn't been forced to kill Jack, though he still had contingency plans in place to rid himself of the man without Baby ever knowing his involvement if it became necessary. So far, Jack had actually turned out to be good for Baby, caring for her and helping keep her centered. She had less complaints now when Spike left town, even when he took René and Jean with him. She had Jack. Overall, Spike was quite pleased with his grandson.

What he wasn't pleased with was the fact that someone had dared attack Nina. Technically, as the child of his consort, she was his daughter and he had made sure that everyone knew he thought of her in just those terms. Someone was going to die slowly and in considerable agony when he got his hands on them. No one attacked his daughter in the middle of his kingdom. No one touched his Snow White.

Spike walked into pandemonium. By the time he had it sorted out, he was desperately in need of a good hard kill. Or several bottles of JD. Or both. He even had the list of people he'd enjoy killing most. Philip headed that list. Spike had been hurt and troubled when he'd been forced to kill his second son. He didn't feel any of that this time around. This Philip was an evil brute and Spike intended to hunt him down and destroy him with less consideration than he'd show any marauding, feral demon. They at least didn't know any better.

Unfortunately Philip wasn't close to hand. However, Jack and René both were. And right now, they were tied for second place on his list of people to kill. Their constant sniping at each other was bad enough, but this all-out warfare had to end. Spike wasn't going to put up with family fighting family, especially not between members as far up the hierarchy as Jack and René were. They were expected to set an example for the younger children and descendants. Spike suddenly grinned when it occurred to him that Jack was one of the younger grandchildren. He kept forgetting that Jack was only a few months old. And René had never been a good role model for anyone. Fine. He'd knock their heads together and break their arms and legs if he needed to. That might make him feel better.

Now if he could just figure out what to do about Jack's son. That young man was walking a very fine line. Spike wasn't sure if he admired Kevin for having the guts to propose to the Master's daughter on their first date or if he wanted to rip those same guts out for having the effrontery to make such a proposal. Spike was leaning a bit toward evisceration. With everything that was going on, Spike didn't need Nina weeping her eyes out, which was exactly what was happening. Kevin hadn't backed down in the face of his father's or René's anger but Nina had been crushed. She'd tearfully requested that Kevin take her home since what she thought and felt obviously didn't matter to anyone. They'd left with Paul riding along as protection until they reached the security of Rue Royal. René had thrown up his hands and stormed out into the night, leaving his new girlfriend to rail at her father. Jack had taken refuge in his liquor cabinet and eventually told Johanna that he knew what was best for his son. Jo had left before Spike could provide her with a bodyguard so now the Master had that additional worry. And now Baby and Jean were disagreeing on how to handle René. Spike was tempted to just stake himself.

Baby had had enough for one night. She didn't need Jean treating her like a child. "Jean! I will see to René and Nina! I may be insane but I can still take care of my husband and my daughter. And my son! Why don't you do what you do best and take care of the rest of the family? You make sure Philip can't get near any of them. Take care of Anne. She needs you a hell of a lot more than I do."

Jean's sable eyes sparked with fire and his lips were set in a hard line. "Fine. Oh, I'll take care of everything. I always do, don't I? I'm always there to pick up the pieces when the rest of you fuck up."

Spike laid a hand on his son's shoulder. "Jean." He tried to send his love and appreciation through their link. "I know you do. God knows, we'd all have been lost or worse without you."

He reached for Baby but she pulled away. "I have things to do," she said coldly, glaring at her husband and her bond mate. She headed for the stairs in search of Jack.

Spike ran his hand through his hair and turned his attention to Anne. It was time she and Carlos performed their charade. That was a good plan and he wanted to make sure it was carried out well. And bad attitude aside, Baby was right; they did need to see to the protection of the family. He squeezed his son's shoulder. "Come help me. I need you, Jean."

~~~~~

"Explain to me in three sentences or less why my daughter and your son make a bad couple," Baby said to Jack. She sat down on the foot of his bed.

"It's not that they'd make a bad couple. It's…" He took a drink of his bourbon and looked at Baby. His sire's attitude didn't soften. "She's too young," he finally said.

"That's one sentence. You have two more." She crossed her arms.

Jack rolled his eyes. "They need more time to get to know each other."

"With the life we live, they may not have much time. With Philip out there hunting us, none of us may have much time. The same goes for her being too young. I calculated her life expectancy. She's already on borrowed time."

Jack looked up at her sharply. There was already grief in her eyes. Baby wasn't lying. He thought for a moment. Nina was claimed as the child of the Master of New Orleans, the Master of Mobile, and William the Bloody's consort as well as the surrogate daughter of the Crown Prince. She was the acknowledged reigning Princess of the Pride. Anyone capturing or hurting her would deal a major blow to the rulers of the empire. For that alone, Nina was a prime target for kidnapping or assassination. Her son was wanted by half the evil wizards on the planet for the power that flowed in his blood and Jack knew Nina would fight to the death to protect Devereau. She seemed to end up involved far too often in their battles for the Powers That Be. Jack did a few calculations of his own and decided it was amazing Nina had survived very long past Dev's birth. Fear for Kevin's safety exploded in his chest.

Baby looked at him regretfully. She'd felt that emotion plainly. "I'm afraid that by coming here, by letting the world know he's your son, Kevin has already made himself a target."

Jack breathed deeply, trying to control the sharp pain of alarm that was squeezing his heart. "Johanna."

Baby nodded. "She's your daughter. She's also René's lover. She'll need protection when she goes back to school."

"God damn Beaumont to Hell," he cursed.

"If anything, being with René has increased her safety. People who might mess with you will be really hesitant to mess with René," Baby said reasonably. "You don't have his reputation." She grinned suddenly. "Yet."

Jack let that go for the moment. He'd make sure the world knew that anyone touching either of his children would face consequences they didn't want to deal with. He'd make really good examples of the first few that tried. They'd find out just how dangerous he really was. They'd discover the difference between someone like him and a punk like Beaumont.

"All the more reason for Kevin to stay away from Nina." He sat his glass down. "I won't let him put himself in danger over some girl."

The back of his head hit the wall so hard he saw explosions of color. "That girl is my daughter," his sire hissed. "And you don't have any say-so in the matter." Her golden eyes began to glow. "You are my favorite son, Jack, and I let you have a lot of latitude in how you live your life but you still belong to me. I am still your master. Maybe it's time I reminded you of that." She pressed a bit on his chest and Jack felt his sternum creak. "I know how strong you are, Jackie. There's not a vampire out there that's any stronger than you and yeah, you could probably hurt me. But you still can't take me and until you can, you'll do what I say." She released him and headed for the door. "Nina and Kevin have my support and approval. They don't need yours but it would be damned nice if you could be there for them." She shut the door firmly behind her.

Jack rubbed his chest where she's bruised it. He had no doubts that he could break her in half with very little effort but he knew he never would because she was right. He belonged to her and he always would. He picked up his drink and drained half the contents before flinging the glass at the panels of the closed door.

~~~~~

Baby found René in a redneck bar in Bridge City. She'd known where to go looking. She knew all his secret places. He was sitting backwards on a barstool, leaning back with his elbows resting on the bar, listening to the band and watching the dancers on the tiny bit of parquet. He came here when he wanted to get away from his father and brother. "Hiding from Jean wasn't what you should have been worried about," she said as she sat down on the stool next to him. She shook her head at the bartender, indicating she didn't want anything. "I'm gonna give you the same option I gave Jack. Tell me in three sentences why Nina and Kevin shouldn't be together. Jack managed two before I slammed his head into a wall. You want to see if you can do better?"

René's lips twitched in a half-smile but he wouldn't look at her. "She's too young. He can't support her. He don't love her."

Baby pushed a peanut shell back and forth on the damp, scarred surface of the bar. "She's old enough to raise your grandson. He doesn't need to support her; I have more than enough money for all of us. And how do you know he doesn't love her?"

René took a drink of his beer and ignored the bleached blonde trying to get his attention. "He's seen her, what? Twice? Ain't no way he could be in love with her."

"He says he is." Honestly, René was so dense some days. She grinned. He wasn't paying attention and had already lost the argument. She knew it wasn't fair to do this to him. If he'd make the effort to just focus on what was happening, he'd have a fighting chance. As it was, he'd just ham-strung himself. René lived in his own head too much. "He says it was love at first sight."

He snorted. "Ain't no way."

She bit the inside of her lip to keep from laughing. "So you're saying there's no such thing as love at first sight."

"Of course there ain't no such thing as…" He turned to her with a look that sent at least three of the bar's patrons home for the night. "They ain't us."

She arched a wine-colored eyebrow. He wasn't sure if he wanted to beat her for being supercilious or pound his own head on the bar for being stupid. He'd let her lead him blindfolded into that one without so much as a whimper of protest. "They. Aren't. Us." For once, he forgot that he wasn't supposed to know how to speak proper English.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "Are you willing to take that chance? Are you willing to put Nina through the hell we went through?"

René was shocked. "Of course not! I love her. I want her to be happy. I wouldn't do that to her."

Baby stood and tossed the peanut hull to the floor. "You already did." She pulled her car keys from her pocket and left without a backward glance.

~~~~~

Baby carefully dried her eyes and sniffed one last time before she knocked on Nina's door and walked in without waiting for anyone to answer. There was the off-chance that Kevin and Nina might be in bed but she seriously doubted it. They weren't. Nina was sitting on her bed with Johanna beside her, holding her hand and murmuring sympathy. Kevin was pacing with Devereau sleeping on his shoulder. Kevin's face was unwelcoming and stony and Baby couldn't help grinning. He really did look just like Jack. Nina's tear-stained face was wary and apprehensive.

Baby looked at the three young people and smirked. She focused on her raven-haired daughter. "So, have you thought about what kind of wedding dress you want?"

~~~~~

Baby felt René enter the room though none of the others noticed. She watched as René processed what he was seeing. Surprise at finding Kevin caring for Devereau while he talked earnestly to Nina turned to something wistful as René looked into his wife's golden eyes. She felt a burst of warmth from him but didn't say anything.

"Kevin?" René's voice was carefully neutral.

The young man looked up and hugged Devereau more closely. He swore to himself that vampire lord or not, this man wasn't taking Nina and Dev from him. It showed on his face.

René's face was as neutral as his voice. "You swear to me that you love my daughter," he said. "You swear to me by God on high that you love my Nina."

Kevin drew himself proudly upright and met René's steely gaze with one of complete resolve. "I do. By God and the Virgin Mary, I swear that I love her more than anything on Earth." Devereau protested the noise and Kevin smiled down at him and rubbed the baby's back. "Though this little guy is really working on coming in a close second." Dev rooted around until he found a spot on Kevin's chest that suited him better and with his tiny fists locked in his soon-to-be father's shirt went back to sleep.

René nodded and went to his daughter. He lifted Nina's face with curled fingers under her chin. He looked into eyes identical to his own for a moment. As long as Nina lived, René didn't miss mirrors. He was reflected in the face of this precious child. He kissed her forehead. "I'm gonna throw you the finest wedding New Orleans ever seen."

~~~~~

Kevin looked at his father in dismay. Jack was the last person he'd expected or wanted to see at his door. "Look, I don't want to talk about this any more tonight. I ache all over and my head hurts. I just want to take a shower and go to bed. I still have to go to work in… Jesus, three hours."

Jack held out a tiny plastic bag. Kevin took it and stared down at the plain gold band resting on his palm. "That was your great-grandmother Niemcyzk's. It's probably too big for Nina's finger but don't have it cut down. Get them to put in a sizer bar. Your son may marry someone that isn't as petite as Nina." Kevin stared at Jack in speechless shock even as his father continued. "Your mother never liked it. She didn't want to wear it but I couldn't afford to buy her anything else." Jack's voice was as solemn as his face. "I don't think you'll have that problem with Nina. She's not very materialistic. But it would be really nice if you got her a pretty engagement ring." He turned back down the hall. "Let me know how much money you need."

"Dad?" Kevin gripped the wedding band tightly. He stared at his father's back, unable to but a name to the feeling flowing through him. "Aren't you even going to come in?"

Jack twitched one shoulder. It might have been a shrug. "Can't. Vampire."

Kevin remembered what Nina had told him about inviting people into his house. His father couldn't enter unless Kevin wanted him to. "You really are… one of them, aren't you?" Jack nodded but didn't turn around. "Nina said…. Well. So it's true?" He thought for a moment about what that really meant. "If you hadn't become one of them you'd be…"

"A corpse rotting in the ground? Yeah." Jack's voice was so soft Kevin barely heard him.

Kevin closed his eyes and thought about life without his irritating, opinionated, pain-in-the-ass father. His eyes smarted and burned. "Please, Dad. Come in for awhile."


Chapter 6 - Open All Night

(Jon Bon Jovi)

I saw you coming from a mile away
Trying to hide behind that pretty face
Bet my last dollar baby you been bruised
Poor little heart all black 'n' blue

Last thing you need's another pickup line
You must have heard them all a thousand times
God only knows what you been through
Believe me I been broken too

It aches, it breaks, it takes your breath away
I've been around that block a time or two, baby

I don't want to fall in love with you
I try, try, try but I can't get around the truth
Please don't say my name, give this heart a break
I don't want to make the same mistakes but it's too late
I'll leave on the light
These arms are open all night

I got your taste in the back of my mouth
I want to reach in and pull it out
And I'd be lying if I didn't say
When you're this close I'm afraid
Of the way I'll feel if I touch your hair
The way I'll miss you when you're not there
And that I'll see you when I close my eyes
It's too late, I've crossed that line

It aches, it breaks, it takes your breath away
I'll still be around come closing time

I don't want to fall in love with you
I try, try, try but I can't get around the truth
Please don't say my name, give this heart a break
I don't want to make the same mistakes but it's too late
I'll leave on the light
These arms are open all night

It's 2 am, it's last call, baby. The barkeep's gone, I'll walk you home now
Save me, baby

I don't want to fall in love with you
I try, try, try but I can't get around the truth
Please don't make me beg, give this heart a break
Please don't make me make the same mistakes but it's too late
I'll leave on the light
These arms are open all night

New Orleans, Louisiana
Sunday, 6:24 am
October 4, 2020

"I can't believe you're doing this," Spike said harshly.

Baby sighed and dropped the last article into her little suitcase. She didn't need much; she kept nearly everything she needed at Jack's anyway. "Remy is going to need me. It's just easier if I'm with him."

"Then bring him here," Spike ordered, willing her to look at him and dare to defy him.

She did. "Remy will be more comfortable with Jack. I can't bring Anne here; she'd hate it. They are both better off at Jack's place." She picked up the bag. "And Jack needs me right now, too. There's a lot going on in his life. I have to do what's best for my children."

"And leaving me is best for your children?" A muscle was jumping in his jaw and he clamped down on it.

Baby clenched her teeth. "I'm not leaving you. I'm going to stay at Jack's for a couple of weeks until we get this all sorted out." She picked up the small duffel. "You won't even miss me." She didn't say the words that popped into her head. He'd have to be home for him to miss her.

"You know that isn't so," Spike said with a sudden fear that she was telling the truth.

"Isn't it?" She asked as she softly closed the door behind her.

~~~~~

Jack rubbed the sleep from his eyes and asked, "How long has she been here?" He didn't bother to look at Jerrod.

"About an hour," the dour ex-Secret Service agent answered. "She didn't say a word. Just curled up there."

Jack sat down on Remy's bed and laid his hand on his sire's hip where she was knotted up on the foot of the bed. "Sweetheart?" he said softly and felt her stir beneath his hand and inside his mind. Exhaustion and sadness flowed through their link and he gathered her into his arms. He lifted her easily. To someone with his strength, she weighed next to nothing. "Come on, honey. You can't rest like that." As he laid her on his bed, he noted that she hadn't even removed her shoes. He slipped them off and made her comfortable before he crawled under the covers with her. He pulled her into his arms, spooning her against him. "There now. That's better, isn't it?"

He felt some of the tension seep away as she sighed softly and pushed back, wedging herself tightly against him. "My Jack," she breathed before she settled into a more restful sleep.

He kissed her hair and closed his eyes. "Always," he answered.

~~~~~

New Orleans, Louisiana
Sunday, 3:35 pm
October 4, 2020

Jack handed Baby a cup of coffee before rejoining her in the bed. He settled comfortably in the pillows before lying her against his chest. He picked up a report and read for several minutes while she watched silently and combed his chest hairs with her fingers. "The attacker knew her," she finally said.

Jack grinned. She'd been reading the report along with him. "Very good." This was a game they had begun to play a couple of years earlier. Baby had showed an interest in what Jack did so he'd begun to share some of the whys and hows of his profession. He'd found her reading some of his reference books more than once. In a very real way, he was teaching her to analyze a crime. "Now, tell me why you think that."

"The way her face was slashed. There's a lot of anger directed at the victim in a very personal way. He knew her."

Jack liked the surety in her voice. His sire was seldom tentative in her opinions. "I concur, for exactly that reason along with a few others." He ran a hand through her hair. "You're getting good at this."

She chuckled and rubbed her head against him. "I like the mental exercise. Keeps me from thinking too much."

Jack didn't need profiling skills to interpret that one. "Spike. Same old thing?"

She nodded. "He won't hunt with me still. He doesn't want to see me do anything that reminds him I'm a vampire. I just can't keep ignoring that he hates half of me."

Jack laid the report aside. "He doesn't hate you. He's just not comfortable with it."

She laid her head on his breast. "No, he hates it. And there's not a damn thing I can do to change that." It felt good to say it, to stop letting it go round and round in her head and to just say it. "I think I've finally realized I can't change a lot of things. I can't change how Spike feels about me being a vampire. I can't change the fact that Jean resents me for all I've done. Jean and I are better than we were but we're still a long way from good. I've tried to back off so he has more time with René but that just creates new issues." She took a deep breath and laid her head back on his chest. "I'm tired of trying to keep everything all sorted out and be what they all want me to be."

Jack frowned. That statement scared him more than anything he'd heard in a long time. He knew exactly what she was talking about. He knew how that sort of pressure could eat at a person; it had gnawed at his soul for over forty years. He also knew how easily it could destroy someone. And he knew how ill-equipped she was to handle anything approaching that kind of pressure. "Hey, look at me." He had to make her understand this. "When I met you I was miserable because I was living for everyone else, doing what I thought they wanted me to." He stared into her eyes until she nodded. "The one thing, the greatest thing you taught me was to be myself. To live for me. Not for anyone else. Don't you dare fuck that up."

Slowly, a smile began to spread across her face. "Jack…"

"I mean it," he snarled, though the fingers that trailed across her cheek were gentle and soothing. "Don't you dare."

~~~~~

New Orleans, Louisiana
Monday, 5:43 pm
October 5, 2020

Remy gasped and grabbed his throat. It throbbed with remembered pain.

"Shhhh. It's alright. You're safe now."

He knew that voice. He knew the face that went with it. But he'd never seen her this way before. She glowed. There was no other way to describe it; in the dim light of a room he didn't recognize, she glowed. And her voice was like nothing he'd ever heard before. He'd never heard a more beautiful sound. It flowed through his body, awakening every cell, calling to him. There was surety in that voice, safety and acceptance and love. Peace settled over him. If she said he was going to be alright, then he was going to be alright. He had no doubts or fears, not as long as she was with him. He looked up at her and smiled. Why in the name of God had he ever been afraid of Baby Roxton?

"Remy? Honey? How do you feel?"

God help him! She cared. She was inside his head. He could feel her. And she cared. She really was concerned for him. This wasn't a sham or a polite prevarication; this was truth. He felt dizzy with the power of it. She lived inside him now. He wasn't alone. And neither was she. Jack was with her. Through her he felt his friend. He tore his eyes from her luminous form to gaze at the man standing patiently at her side. "Jack?"

"Hi, little brother. Welcome to the family." Strong, gentle hands helped him to sit up in the bed. Remy jerked at the touch of Jack's fingers. "Yes, the bond is stronger when we're in physical contact," Jack explained. He smiled. "Baby says it will grow stronger and eventually we'll feel each other like this all the time. If we want to."

Remy stared into his friend's eyes. Jack burned. There was no other way to describe it. If Baby glowed then Jack burned, fire leaping from deep within him. Remy shook his head; how had he not seen that fire? It was so bright.

"It's alright," Baby insisted again and laid a hand on Remy's cheek and he understood. Remy had always been a man who believed in family. Family was the most important aspect of his life. But he had never understood what family really was until his sire touched him. The bond to her and Jack exploded inside him. And less immediate, he could feel others. He knew them; he didn't have to be introduced to them. He could sense their emotions, their thoughts. Wesley, his elder brother, strong, brilliant, consumed with thoughts of Drusilla, was a dark flame to match Jack's brilliant one. Faith, his niece, Slayer, protector, troubled but finally gaining some measure of peace, was a lonesome wind blowing across Remy's mind. Further away, barely felt was Rebekah, his other niece. She was a mystery, ice and snow and roses in his mind. His new family, scattered and unseen but here with him despite all the miles that separated them, lived inside him now. Jack had once tried to explain to him what being part of the family actually meant but Remy hadn't understood. He realized now that he was incapable of understanding. Until he had experienced this joining of minds he had been utterly incapable of comprehending what it could be like. He thought being a vampire was about the killing and the bloodlust. And it was true that the cup of blood Baby pressed to his lips tasted like ambrosia, but it was pale, thin stuff compared to the love burning through his heart and mind. He looked about in wonder.

"Come here. I want to show you something," Jack said, grinning as he pulled his new brother to his feet. He was as insistent and eager as a little boy on Christmas morning. "You have to see this!" He threw open the French doors that led onto the second floor porch. He had to share this. He wanted to be the one to show this to Remy. He'd been alone when he'd awakened and he didn't want that for Remy. He had a nearly uncontrollable urge to shout. Remy, his only friend, was now his brother. He wanted to show him everything their new life had to offer. He remembered his own excitement and wanted to see that same exhilaration on his brother's face. "Come on, Remy!" He pulled the other man out so they could look down into Jack's garden. "Look at it!"

"Oh mon Dieu," Remy breathed. The awe and elation on his face was everything Jack had hoped for.

"See." Jack was practically bouncing. "It sparkles. It just… sparkles."

Remy nodded mutely and Jack continued. "Have you ever seen anything more beautiful in your whole life? I couldn't believe it the first time I saw it. And listen! You can hear it, too. It hums and sings."

Baby chuckled behind them. His enthusiasm was so endearing. Jack was adorable, especially when he turned that blinding smile so full of happiness on her.

"I never thanked you," he said and swooped down on her. He tossed her into the air and caught her easily, grinning as she squealed and then laughed. He turned glowing saffron eyes on the darkness. He blazed inside Remy's mind. "This is what she's given us, little brother. This is our mother's gift to us." Jack's joy filled Remy's heart. "She's let us see how beautiful the night really is."

~~~~~

Remy swallowed against the dryness in his throat and found a glass of water in his hand. Having someone know your needs without having to say a word could come in handy. "I have a what?"

Baby held his hands; that kept some of Remy's panic at bay for now. Jack's hand on her shoulder performed the same function for her. "A soul. I don't understand it, either. But you have a soul."

Remy looked from one to the other and finally settled on the third person in the room. He'd been thrilled when Anne joined him. He just wished he could feel her the way he felt his new brother and mother. "Isn't that against vampire rules?"

Baby nodded. "Pretty much." Then she grinned. "But then I never was any good at following other people's rules." Remy thought his heart would burst. He made a mental note to make her smile a lot. She thought for a moment. "We'll give Wes a call. See if he has any ideas. I'm thinking he needs to recheck and see if that Slayer-essence of Faith's is actually just a good old-fashioned soul. And someone needs to call Becca. She's so spooky with the telepathic stuff; God knows what's going on inside her."

One of Jack's eyebrows climbed toward his hairline. "You're thinking it's you."

She nodded. "We know magic affects me funny." She thought for a moment. "Spike thought I would never wake up when I was turned. Wes had to perform an ensoulment spell on me before they could get me to rise." Her eyes narrowed in concentration. "We did a spell on Wes before he ever woke up but he woke up early. So did you, Jack. And so did Remy." She forced her face to change, ignoring Anne's wince. "We don't look like other vampires. Remy, I haven't even seen your vampire face yet. Jack, do you have any trouble controlling your face? Keeping it human?"

"Huh?" His nose wrinkled in confusion. "I don't have to keep it human. It's always human unless I make it vampire."

"Exactly. Spike tells me that other vampires have to force the human face--they are all fangs all the time normally."

Remy shook his head. "I don't think I even know HOW to make myself look … like that."

Jack frowned. "You're saying it's supposed to be instinct. Game face is supposed to be the norm and human is supposed to take effort." At her nod he continued. "But we're the opposite." He thought for a moment. "In a lot of ways. Wes' demon isn't really into the bloodlust and neither are you. I'm not particularly into it though I love to hunt. Remy doesn't seem very ravenous." The Cajun shook his head. He didn't feel overpowered by it. "We all have something else we crave more than the blood."

Baby nodded. "Oh yeah. I got a whole list." Jack fell into a study as Baby went about locating and calling Wesley. Remy reached for Anne's hand and held it tightly as he watched his sire talking to his brother over the computer. Wesley's face was serious over the visual link. As Baby explained the situation, Wesley's frown grew. Jack suddenly gasped and dropped to his knees. Baby was beside him instantly.

"I'm okay," Jack insisted. "Just felt something weird, like a sharp pain." He rose to his feet; he seemed steady enough.

"Is his soul still there?" Wes asked with a peculiarly intense look on his face.

"Wes! What did you do?" Baby demanded. She'd known the Englishman for twenty years and she knew when he was up to something.

"I negated the spell I put on Jack, the one that binds his soul to his body."

"Wesley! God damn it!" Baby sent a blast of displeasure through her link with her eldest son. "I ought to come to Dallas and knock the crap out of you."

"Well, it didn't change anything did it? And I could put it back if it had." His grin was dark and Jack was reminded that his elder brother was as crazy as their sire. "I'd say your theory holds up under examination quite well. Jack's soul should have taken flight like a freed bird. But it didn't. I can tell that even from here." There was boundless energy pulsing under the languid façade of the Master of Texas. "I believe I know what might have happened."

Baby waited a few moments. "Well? Are you going to share or just sit there and enjoy being cryptic?"

"Sorry." Wes smiled bashfully at his sire. "I was thinking, dearest. I didn't mean to cause you any worry." Baby twisted her mouth but it was obvious she had forgiven him completely. "As you stated, magicks behave in most peculiar fashions where you are concerned. And your turning was unusual. You have two sires; not unheard of but still unusual." He grinned suddenly. "Especially when one of them is souled. Angel is surrounded by magic all the time. I imagine a bit of that carried over in the blood he gave to you. And continues to be carried in the blood you give to your children." He laughed aloud. "Poor Angel, he's going to be most distressed to discover he fathered an entirely new subspecies of vampire." The eldest son of the Queen of New Orleans sobered. "For that's what he's done. We aren't like any that have ever come before us. I wonder what they'll call us?"

"I don't want them calling us anything. I think this is something the family better keep to themselves for a bit."

Wesley concurred. "Yes, it could be most … unpleasant for us all if the general population discovered that we give birth to vampires even closer to the human than those currently walking."

Jack nodded. "The purists will have a fit." He sighed. "I don't feel like a race war right now. With that new drug on the street and Philip in the picture, we don't have time to smooth some idiot bigot demon's scales."

Baby nodded. "We have way too much going on for that." She looked at Remy just in time to see Anne slip her hand from his and move to stare out the windows into the darkness. Only Anne was reflected in the glass.

~~~~~

New Orleans, Louisiana
Wednesday, 9:23 pm
October 7, 2020

The first three days always seemed to be the most difficult for a fledgling vampire. Remy was holding up well. He was adjusting much better than Baby had hoped he would. She was still sure that at some point he would have a small breakdown when he finally realized his true state, but she was prepared for it. She suspected it wasn't very far away. Nonetheless, she had to teach him the skills he would need to survive and still control himself. Jack was Redeemed and that meant Remy might achieve that state of Grace as well. She prayed he did. But he had to be able to control himself if he was to have any hope of gaining forgiveness. Tonight the lesson was feeding. She had to see if Remy could kill without losing himself in the act. Remy was very different from Jack, who had craved the hunt long before he ever grew his first set of fangs. Jack was a born hunter. Killing had not come hard to Jack. It would to Remy.

With that in mind, she'd chosen the victim carefully. He was a particularly vile creature, a rapist/murderer that Remy had already put behind bars once. Paroled, the man had taken up his former habits nearly immediately, but Remy hadn't been able to gather sufficient evidence to arrest him again. So Baby had taken matters into her own hands. At her command, Jack had followed the monster and barely managed to save a teenage girl from his knife. He'd brought the worthless bastard to the gazebo in his garden where his mother and brother waited. Baby had been preparing Remy for this moment since she'd felt Jack's successful capture. It wasn't going to be easy. Remy was equal parts reluctance to kill and furious need for vengeance.

But Jack wasn't one of the top criminal analysts of his generation through mere happenstance. He used a few tricks and a lot of charm and a proper dose of sympathy and understanding to connect to the murderer. Revealing his own nature as a killer helped. He soon had the man bragging about his deeds. Baby and Jack both felt Remy's disgust growing as the need to destroy this vermin increased. As the murderer described child after child that he had tortured and killed, as the lack of remorse, the sheer satisfaction he felt for his acts flooded the pristine white gazebo, staining it with his corruption, Remy's rage grew. When it reached the point where she knew one more word of disdain for the helpless victims he'd killed or one more laugh over some particularly gruesome torture he'd inflicted on them would have the man dead beneath Remy's fangs, she held up her hand. "Enough!" She laid that same hand on Remy's chest. "Sweetheart, these are the sorts of beings we feed on. We don't hurt the innocent. We don't even hurt the average criminal. What do I care about a dealer or a pimp or a thief?" She turned glowing eyes on the murderer. "This is what I look for. This is what I destroy."

The killer was now silent, eyes wide as he realized what was facing him. Remy's eyes were glowing and his teeth had become long and pointed.

"Take him out into the yard," Baby ordered. Jack nodded and pulled the struggling human away.

"No! He deserves to die!" Remy looked at his mother in disbelief.

She smiled sadly. "Yes, he does. And we act as judge and executioner every night. But we do it in full control of ourselves." She ran a finger over the delicate ridges that barely marred his forehead. "Can you hunt him down, kill him in righteous anger, without surrendering your heart to the same kind of darkness that he felt when he killed those children? Can you do that? Because if not, you become exactly what he is."

Remy's shock was a tangible thing. "I… " Understanding blossomed inside him. "Other vampires, that's what they do! They've become what he is! They kill because they're empty inside and can't fill that hole. They can't help themselves." She nodded, immensely pleased with him as he continued. "Us, we kill because we want to. Because we need the blood and the hunt."

She nodded again. "Because we are predators and it's our nature. But when we need to, when we want to, we can rise above our nature." She rose from the cushioned bench she'd been sitting on and led him from the gazebo by the hand.

The truth was vivid on Remy's face. "I read a parable once about a scorpion and a frog. The scorpion begged the frog to carry him across a river but the frog refused. He said the scorpion would sting him. The scorpion told him he was silly, if he stung him when they were in the river, they'd both drown and die." Baby listened carefully, plucking one of Jack's roses and handing it to Remy. "So the frog agreed. Half way across the river, the scorpion stung the frog. As they were both drowning, the frog cried out, 'Why?' The scorpion said, 'Because it is my nature.' And that's what he's like. That's what most vampires are like. They can't stop themselves from killing. Not any more than he can."

Baby pulled Remy down so she could kiss him gently. "But we aren't scorpions."

Remy nodded and considered the pitiful piece of humanity Jack held by the arm. "No, we're not." He smiled at his brother and handed him the rose before running a hand over the killer's pale hair. "But we are predators," he observed, his fist tightening in that hair as he sank his fangs into the human's throat and drank deeply.

Standing on the balcony, Anne dropped to her knees and retched.

~~~~~

Anne didn't bother to wipe the tears for her cheeks. More would just take their place. Remy was gone. Her husband was dead. She knew that now. She didn't care what Jack said, what that woman said: her Remy was gone. He'd died in a parking lot off Canal Street of blood loss. Baby Roxton had killed him. He might have made it if she hadn't bitten him. He probably would have. Anne sometimes wondered if it wasn't a plan. First Jack and now Remy had fallen to Baby's accursed fangs. With Remy's death, Baby controlled not only the FBI but the homicide division for the city of New Orleans, too. Who was there now to stop the vampire queen from killing with impunity? The city was doomed. And there was nothing Anne could do to save it. She didn't have the strength. Remy was dead and her heart had died with him.

So her tears flowed unhindered as she mourned for her husband.

"Anne?"

She refused to turn around. She'd hoped to have more time to herself. That was why she'd driven all the way to the Riverwalk. Her bodyguards thought she was inside shopping instead of just standing here staring at the river crying her heart out.

A warm hand fell on her wrist where she held the railing so tightly her knuckles were white. "Oh mon Dieu! It is you! Anne!"

Reluctantly she turned to face Remy and immediately knew there was something different about him. It wasn't that his hair was shorter than it had been an hour ago as she watched him murder a stranger, it wasn't that his clothing was different, or that he was painfully thin. It was his eyes. His eyes were alive.

Ever since that night in the parking lot, she hadn't been able to look whatever it was that wore her husband's form directly in the eyes. There was a cold fire in the depths of his eyes that she didn't understand. A hunger lived inside him that frightened her. He looked at Jack differently, that hunger growing whenever he did. And when he looked at Baby Roxton it exploded. Anne hated to see him look at Baby. She hated to look at his eyes now.

The icy flame was missing from this man's eyes. This was the Remy they had warned her about, the one from a different world. He didn't look dangerous. He looked… awed. As he said her name again, he looked faint. He also looked tired and sad and sickly. Her heart went out to him.

She tried to think of what she could say to him but all that came out was his name. His eyes closed and she was startled to see tears flow from beneath the closed lids. "Remy?"

He shook his head. "I'm sorry. I, I know you're not my Anne. But to see you, to hear you… I…" He bowed his head, unable to continue for a long moment. There was only the sound of his soft sobs and the pressure of his hand on her wrist. "It's so good to know that you're still alive somewhere."

Anne felt her heart shatter. There was no other explanation. Her heart cracked and splintered and tumbled in tiny bits to the boardwalk. The sobs she'd held inside, the grief and pain ignited. She grabbed this man who was so like her husband but still breathing, still human, and wept for all she'd lost.

Remy held her close and listened as she wailed incoherently. It took a bit but he understood enough to know that the Remy that existed here was dead. He couldn't feel much one way or the other about that. He'd longed for death for so long that it no longer held much dread for him. But he felt dread when he realized her husband had been turned. He felt stark, blinding terror. "You can't stay near him! You have to run. He'll kill you!"

She blinked up at him. "I can't! It's all right. He says he's the same."

There was no mistaking the panic on Remy's face. "It's a lie! Please. I'm not saying come to me, though God knows I would never let anything happen to you again, but you can't stay with him." He pushed her back from him a bit, holding her shoulders with strong, warm hands. "Listen to me. You aren't safe with them. You can't trust vampires. I know their pretty lies. I've had to form alliances with them. And I know; you can't trust them. Please, don't stay wherever you're staying. Run. Go back to your mama up North. Hide out West. Please. They'll turn on you. That monster that's wearing your Remy's body isn't him. I saw what happened to René. They aren't the same. He changed. René was never a killer. Now he's the most vicious creature on Earth. Your Remy will be the same."

She pulled away. She didn't want to hear this. To hear her deepest fears turned into words frightened her more than seeing her husband kill some strange man in Jack's garden. "No," she breathed.

"He will. The only thing a vampire cares about is itself. Their vows and promises don't mean anything. They're conscienceless demons, free from any morals they once had. They only care about blood and death and sex. We're nothing to them. Please! Don't stay there. Save yourself."

Shaking her head, refusing to believe him, refusing to believe her own heart, she backed away, turning and running for all she was worth. "Please! Don't go back there!" Remy called after her. "He'll betray you. He'll kill you."

His words echoing in her soul, she fled the Riverwalk. Directionless and lost, she was forced back to the one place she felt most uncomfortable. She was forced back to the house Baby Roxton had bought for Jack.

~~~~~

Remy tumbled in the door to Jack's mansion, laughing and talking a mile a minute. He'd been hunting with his sire and his brother. It had been incredible. He'd never imagined such feelings existed. Jack had shown him how to run across the spine of a roof three stories above the city. Baby had shown him how to drop from that same roof onto hard pavement and not hurt himself. It was all as easy as running oak tree limbs when he was a little boy. He felt so alive, so filled with energy. He felt so good!

Like Jack had said, the night sparkled. It glinted and gleamed like spiderweb diamonds. And it sang with thousands of lungs pumping and drummed with thousands of hearts beating. It lived and Remy lived inside it. And his brother and sire lived inside him. To experience the strength and vitality of his transformed body was exhilarating, to experience it with his family beside him was glorious. His link to the pair throbbed and hummed with connection and need. When Jack followed him through the door, desire flaming from the older man, Remy didn't remove himself to his bedroom as he'd been doing whenever Jack and their sire returned from hunting. This time he stayed as Jack pressed Baby tightly against the kitchen wall, covering her throat with kisses, murmuring his need and desire. Jack's words, mere whispers on the cooled air, were shouts inside Remy's head and heart. "Want you! Need you! Love you!" Her answers were just as strong and clear. "Need you. Always. Mine. MINE." Jack was panting with desire and so was Remy. His need, so deep, stronger than the hunger for blood, vibrated through their link. He couldn't hide what he was feeling. He didn't know how and he wouldn't have even had he known. "Sire! Jack!"

Green eyes awash with golden flame turned to him and Jack's lips covered his own. "Little brother," the mind-voice purred. "One of us. Finally one of us. Never lose you now. Always safe. I'll always keep you safe."

It didn't matter to Remy that the body pressed against him was as hard and whipcord strong as his own. It didn't matter that hardness jutted from that body and pressed against his hip. What mattered was the love flowing from Jack's mind and heart into Remy's. What mattered was their sire's strength and vulnerability wrapped around them both. Remy wasn't sure how it happened but Jack's body was replaced by his sire's. Soft, womanly, it felt right when Remy pushed himself against her. And it felt even more right when he felt Jack, hard and strong against them both.

"Protect her," Jack's heart whispered to Remy's. "Always protect her. Care for her. Ours. So precious. Ours." Remy's heart screamed back its agreement as Remy ground his mouth against hers. The bond Remy had heard of was so powerful it was nearly a tangible cord binding him to her. Nothing had ever felt like this. He wanted her. He wanted Jack. In the dim reaches of his mind he wanted Wesley. They were part of him. He needed to feel their bodies as closely as he felt their thoughts and emotions. He felt Jack's shirt rip under his fist, the fine linen shredded like tissue by his newfound strength. That was at best a momentary distraction because the next instance his knuckles brushed Jack's skin and Remy's senses detonated.

Jack and Baby consumed him and he them. Skin, mouths, hands, teeth. The feel of their teeth on him and in him nearly enflamed him. The cry as Remy sank long teeth into Jack's thigh was quiet possibly the most beautiful and erotic sound Remy had ever heard. The taste of his sire's blood on Jack's lips was the sweetest thing he'd ever tasted. His sire welded her mouth to his. Her mind, as freely given as her body, was there for his comfort and needs. But it wasn't enough. Remy struggled to express what it was that he needed so desperately but even in the wordless communion of their minds he couldn't give it form. Then Jack's mouth descended on him, engulfing him, and Remy knew he'd found part of what he craved. His sire pressed her wrist to his lips, begging him to drink even as her teeth bit deeply into his breast. With his sire's fangs in his chest, her ambrosial blood flowing across his tongue, and Jack's mouth driving him to heights of pleasure he'd never believed existed, Remy's craving was eased and his desire was accomplished.

~~~~~

"Please still be here. Please still be here," Anne chanted as she ran to the Riverwalk. Her eyes coursed wildly from side to side as she searched for the familiar form of a stranger. "Please still be here."

"Anne?" That one word was all she needed. She hurled herself into the living arms of the man that represented all she wanted. Remy stroked her blonde hair as she tried to crawl inside his chest. "What is it, 'tite?"

She shook her head. She couldn't say it. She couldn't even think of it. She'd throw up again. She'd had to pull the car over three times to try and expel the bile from her empty stomach. If she allowed herself to remember the sight of the man that used to be her husband lying on Jack's kitchen floor with Jack and Baby hovering over him, she'd be on her knees retching again. How could he? She burrowed deeper into Remy's chest. It wasn't him, of course. Her husband would never lie there with Jack performing fellatio on him. He'd never kiss Baby Roxton; he'd never willingly drink her blood. He hated Baby; he feared her. Her Remy was gone. Some vile creature lived in his body. She was completely alone now except for this man. He wasn't her Remy but he nearly was and he was alive and he cared. "You were right. Oh God, you were right." She looked up at him. "Help me. Please."

Remy looked down at her tear-streaked face and swore an oath he would never break. "By God above, I'll protect you from everyone. No one will ever hurt you again. I swear it." He breathed in the scent of her hair. He knew she wasn't his Anne returned to life but he knew she was what his Anne would be if the monster that was René Beaumont had never entered their lives. This was the woman he'd asked to marry him. God willing, he would one day ask her that again. "Stay with me. Let me protect you from them, from the vampires. They'll never touch you again."

Solemn-eyed, she nodded. "Yes. Take me with you. I never want to see him again."

She didn't have to say whom she meant. Remy knew that she was talking about the vampire that wore her lover's body. He didn't say anything as she pulled the wedding ring from her finger and let it fall to the boards at their feet. With his arm about her, he led her away, never glancing back at the ring of gold lying abandoned beside the river.


Chapter 7- I Am Made Of You

(Ricky Martin)

I came a long way From out of nowhere
I stand before you All alone
Like a wolf's cry in the distance
I heard the calling Of your soul
Oh...I hear you cryin'

With your love Show me how to live
'Cause you are made of me And I am made of you
With your life Show me how to give
You are made of me And I am made of you

We'll walk together Though the fire
Though the darkness To the sun
Like two raging rivers full of passion
At the ocean We are one
Oh...I hear you cryin'

With your love Show me how to live
'Cause you are made of me And I am made of you
With your life Show me how to give
You are made of me And I am made of you

I am made of you You are made of me
And everything you are Is what I'm meant to be
I am made of you You are made of me
And everything I am Is what you made of me
Oh...I hear you crying
Oh...Through the darkness To the light

With your love Show me how to live
'Cause you are made of me And I am made of you
With your life Show me how to give
You are made of me

With your heart Show me what is true
'Cause you are made of me And I am made of you
With your soul Walk my spirit through
You are made of me And I am made of you
Oh...I hear you crying
Through the darkness To the light...

New Orleans, Louisiana
Friday, 8:03 pm
October 16, 2020

Kevin wasn't surprised his wedding started exactly on time. After all, his father, Nina's mother, and his father's boyfriend were running the show. If there was anything he'd learned in the last few days it was that Jean Claude DuValliere was the most organized person he had ever met and that people jumped when Baby Roxton snapped her fingers. He smiled to himself: they jumped even higher when she growled and flashed yellow eyes at them. A cocked eyebrow from Jean sent them scurrying like leaves in a strong wind and, amazingly enough, a curled lip from Jack had them bowing and scraping.

And the money! René Beaumont had insisted that he be allowed to pay for everything. Kevin had no idea where all that cash came from but it flowed like a burst dam. If René had the slightest idea Nina liked or wanted something he bought it. The only exception was Nina's engagement ring. Jack had paid for that. He wouldn't even consider anything else. There was really only one disagreement during the entire plan. There had been all sorts of discussion about where the wedding would take place, but that had been decided when Spike had simply said, "Here. My daughter will be married in my house." No one had said another word on the matter.

So Kevin stood in Spike's courtyard while the tiniest lights he'd ever seen flickered in the midst of Baby's flowers and greenery. Those lights delighted and awed him at the same time. They were magic. Real magic. A gift from Wesley, who said his baby sister deserved a perfect, magical evening. They were some sort of teeny mystical creatures that assured luck and happiness. Wesley had invited them to the wedding and procured the proper bribes and gifts to assure they were happy and well-behaved sprites. Magic permeated the garden. The cool breeze that kept the appalling Louisiana heat at bay was a gift from Tara. Somehow, it managed to caress and cool without causing the hundreds of candles that lit the gardens and galleries to gutter. Those same candles gave off no smoke and no scent of burning wax. There was only the smell of Baby's flowers. Everything was as perfect as Baby, Spike, René, Jean, and Jack could make it. And Kevin had to say that they had done a spectacular job. It was flawless. Spike had explained that there was nothing too good for his Snow White.

As Nina appeared at the head of the stairs leading from the second floor gallery, Kevin realized just how accurate Spike's pet name for her was: Snow White. She really was the fairest in all the land. There were audible gasps from the guests standing scattered about the garden. Many of the groom's family and friends had not seen Nina and were overcome by their first sight of Kevin's bride. Even her family was struck by the depth of Nina's beauty. At the sight of her Kevin thought his chest would burst open. In an evening gown as soft and shimmering as the candlelight reflecting from the garden pool, she glowed. Her midnight hair hung long and free, pulled away from her face with diamonds and tiny creamy flowers. Baby had declared that it would be a sin and a shame to veil Nina's face and Kevin had to agree. She was beyond anything he'd ever imagined. And she loved him. Kevin was nearly certain he'd died and this was a dream of Paradise.

Nina turned and smiled at Baby before they began the trek down the stairs arm in arm. Kevin had to admit that when the Queen of New Orleans tried she could be as awe-inspiring a woman as any he'd ever seen. In a gown whose taste and restraint were worthy of a First Lady, she was almost regal as she helped Nina descend the sweeping staircase. She looked almost pretty. René obviously thought so. The love and pride that shone from his face as he looked up at the two women he loved most in the world was almost a physical force. It buoyed them up, surrounding them with his adoration and protection. If René was beautiful in the normal course of his life, like this, with the truth of what lay in his heart revealed for the world to see, he was a vision of Heaven itself. Standing there at the foot of the stairs gazing upward, so must the seraphim look when gazing up at the Throne.

René's words as he took Baby's hands and kissed her lips floated clearly through the garden, though he spoke barely above a whisper. "I love you more than Heaven and Earth and everything in them. And God took that love and gave it life and sent it back down to us as a baby. I won't ever be able to thank Him enough for that. She's the living expression of what I feel for you."

Baby caressed his cheek and brushed her lips against his, the gentleness of the action speaking more than any words she might have said. She kissed Nina's cheek and placed the girl's hands in her father's. René smiled down at his daughter and began their walk to where Spike waited for them on the garden path.

If Nina alone had caused gasps and murmurs of surprise, then Nina on her father's arm struck the congregation dumb. For most of those visiting, they never had and never would again see any couple that even approached the physical beauty of René and Nina Beaumont. Perfectly matched, nearly identical in face and coloring, they were creatures from some other world, the perfect prince and the legendary beauty deigning to walk among lesser mortals. Kevin was suddenly struck by the fear that he was in no way worthy of Nina's perfection.

When they reached Spike, René brought Nina's hands up, and, mindful of her bouquet, kissed her fingers before placing her hands in his father's. Then, heedless of his fine tuxedo, he knelt on one knee before his sire. "Papa, like everything I have, she's yours, too."

Spike kissed René's upturned lips before saying, "And I love her as deeply as I love you and her mother. She's always been my daughter and she always will be." He smiled at his wife where she stood a respectful distance behind the bride. There was a depth of understanding in the look they shared that had so often been missing of late. For this moment, for this night, the hurt and the disappointments were pushed away. For a brief spell, Spike and Baby remembered they loved each other.

The lord of the Pride led his daughter further into the glamour of the garden. Every step, every glance from William the Bloody's electric blue gaze bespoke his rule over this place and these people. Here, Spike was sovereign and none would dispute or gainsay that rule. If Nina was a princess, it was because Spike had made himself king and claimed her as his own. And his beauty was only slightly less than hers. He was the morning sun that had fathered the evening star. Pale and glowing, he was as golden an angel as René was an ebon one. Had he unfurled wings of alabaster and pearl, few of those assembled in his house would have been surprised. Kevin could almost envision the crown that, hidden and secret, rested on Spike's brow. And he dared to take this man's daughter as his wife.

Jean waited patiently for his father to reach him. When he did, like his beloved brother, Jean knelt before his sire. Spike kissed his eldest son's soft lips and raised him up with a gentle hand. "Jean, you have been my light, my rock, and my conscience since the day you became my son. I love you more than I can express." The smile he gave Jean was soft but blazed with love and appreciation. He kissed Nina, his perfect lips barely touching hers before he turned back to his son. "I trust you with my life and with things far more important to me than my life," he said as he placed Nina's hands in Jean's. "And you need never kneel to me again." The Master stepped back and away, joining his wife and his other son where they waited a few paces behind their daughter. He kissed Baby's right hand before settling it on his arm. As ever, René stood patiently at her side, her left hand clasped in his.

As Jean led Nina to where he waited beside his father, Kevin had no doubts that this truly was a prince among men. Everything about Jean radiated strength and purpose. His outer beauty was unquestionably less than his sire's and his brother's but his inner beauty was beyond compare. No man could match the righteous honesty of the Crown Prince. The first of the Redeemed, Heaven itself had noted his decency and rewarded him accordingly. Tonight, his dark eyes shone with an inherent goodness that had marked all he touched. Kevin had no doubts that Nina's sweet nature was due in large part to the influence of this one man. For all of his beloved's life, Jean had guarded her, preserving the Eden of her innocence and integrity against any that would sully the wholesome world he'd created for her. Kevin knew that should he fail Nina, should he harm her, he would face the flaming sword of Jean's wrath.

But tonight Jean had no reservations about Kevin's intentions. There was peace and joy on the Prince's face as he kissed Nina's forehead and placed her hands in her groom's. He spoke for himself and the three that stood behind them. "Kevin, Nina is ours. She has been our heart since long before she was born. We won't give her to you but we will gladly share her with you because we know you love her as much as we do." He squeezed Kevin's hand where it rested atop Nina's. His words were for them both. "Find the happiness we never quite managed to achieve." With a brief kiss for Jack, he left Nina in Kevin's care, seeking refuge in René's warm eyes. He settled himself on his brother's free side, opposite his mother, René's hand held tightly in his own.

Kevin welcomed the brief pressure of his father's hand on his shoulder. That reassuring squeeze meant more than he'd ever thought anything possibly could. He was suddenly exceedingly pleased he'd asked Jack to stand as his best man. He started to say something but glanced into Nina's ocean-colored eyes and lost his soul. Everything he was, everything he ever would be, belonged to her. All his ambitions, all his fears, all his uncertainties mattered not at all. She was here, she wanted him, and she had agreed to be his. The vows they were about to say meant little. They barely began to express what he wanted to tell her. Unable to stand before her and not say what was in his heart, he held her hands so tightly he was afraid he was hurting her and said, "From this second on, I live for you. Nothing else matters. From now on, I live or die for you."

The tears that sprang into her eyes didn't dim her beauty one iota.

Easy Sinclair was grinning as the couple turned toward him. This was one ceremony the young bishop had said he was more than happy to perform. Kevin wasn't quite sure what to make of someone who was both a priest and a vampire, but since the Pope had sent his blessing, Kevin wasn't going to argue. Feeling Nina's hand warm and small in his, he realized he didn't care who or what performed the ceremony. He simply wanted the world to know that Nina was willing to be his wife. He wanted to stand on top of the tallest building in New Orleans and shout as loudly as he could that Nina Beaumont, the most beautiful, most wonderful, sweetest, kindest, most perfect girl in the whole world said she loved him. He was pretty sure if he dived off that same building, he'd be able to fly because she loved him. He could do anything because she loved him.

Little Devereau, seeing his mother and wanting her, protested being held in his grandmother's arms. Kevin looked at him as he fussed and pushed against Cordelia. With his own wish plain on his face, he turned back to Nina. Her love redoubled as she looked at him and nodded. After sending her a blinding smile, Kevin knelt and held out his arms. "Come here, little guy. Come to Daddy." With a happy squeal, Dev complied and raced as well as he could to Kevin. With the little boy secure in one arm and Nina's hand secure in the other, Kevin nodded for the priest to begin the ceremony.

He listened with half an ear to Bishop Sinclair, distracted by the firefly flicker of the tiny mystical lights as several of them settled on Nina's hair and simple evening gown. He didn't notice that an equal number had settled in his sun-washed hair, on his dark tuxedo, and on the child he held so lovingly. He didn't know that they were drawn to feelings of true love, feeding on that emotion. Wesley knew and smiled from his place in the audience. He'd never heard of so many of the little sprites gathering in one place. As the miniscule twinkles moved from the greenery to alight on the various members of his family, a long-held suspicion was verified: The vampires of the Pride were filled with love. That emotion so alien to the Undead coursed through the Pride like a river. Lights shimmered on his sire and her consorts, on the Crown Prince, on Angelus and Cordelia, on Jack. They glimmered on his dark princess' tresses and ruby gown and danced in his own hair. Awash in love, in the Pride's ever-abiding joy and concern for one another, the fairy lights glittered in the darkness. Baby's garden became a star field of love lights sparkling in the candlelight.

~~~~~

"I've never seen fireflies like these," Kevin's grandfather said as he squinted at the bright creature on Kevin's lapel.

"Ahhh... they're unique to Louisiana," Kevin said and hoped to God Janos Niemczyk didn't try to capture one.

The elder Niemczyk nodded. "Seems to be a lot of things are unique down here," he said as he frowned at where his son stood with one arm around the bride's mother and one hand held tightly by a man he'd been introduced to as the bride's uncle. "I never would have thought Jack would..." His comment trailed off and he shook his head. "I need to talk to your father."

"Ah, Granddad? Have you met Nina's father?" Kevin asked in a strangled voice as he led his grandparents to where René was holding court.

"Him?" the elder Niemczyk snorted. "Her father? He barely looks old enough to be her brother!" Janos frowned. "Did he just kiss your sister?"

Kevin sighed and nodded. "They're dating," he said and wondered if he could simply find his bride and run. He squared his shoulders. "Lord Beaumont? I'd like you to meet my grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Janos Niemczyk. This is Lord René Beaumont."

Janos frowned at the title but his wife had already succumbed to a charming smile and a pair of teal eyes.

"You are my Johanna's grandmother, oui? I see now why she is trés belle." Kevin managed not to look heavenward for strength. His dad was right; Beaumont was incorrigible.

"Oh, go on with you," Adelaide Niemczyk scoffed, her Irish brogue thicker than it normally was. Her son and grandson had inherited her green eyes. They sparkled now. It had been a while since a young man had said such things to her and never had such words come from so handsome a man. From the way he held her granddaughter's hand and the way Johanna was smiling up at him, Adelaide knew he was saying such things and more to the girl.

Janos knew it, too, and was a great deal less pleased than his wife. "Could I speak with you for a moment, Mr. Beaumont?"

René wasn't surprised by the controlled hostility on the old man's face. He wasn't stupid and he was a father himself. "Please, call me René. We are family now."

Janos nodded but didn't comment on that. "How old are you, Mr. Beaumont? You look Kevin's age but you're now his father-in-law. So how much older than my Jo are you?"

The panic that seized Johanna as her grandparents pulled her lover off to one side was intense and confusing. She wasn't sure if she was more afraid that her grandfather would say something to somehow send René away or that René would get angry and eat the old man. She figured the former was actually far more likely than the latter.

"Oh my God, Jo! He's even more beautiful up close," Tiffany gushed. "Do you get to see him often?"

Jo blushed but she couldn't help saying, "I'm kinda living with him right now so I see him all the time."

Sarah squealed and Jo made frantic shushing motions with her hands. "Honestly! Try to be a little bit adult about this!" She looked around to see if any of the vampires had noticed and wanted to sink through the floor when Baby Roxton raised an eyebrow at her. Wonderful. Now the reigning queen of the city and René's wife thought she was an immature child. Or at least hung out with immature children. It had taken Jo about twenty-four hours to realize that Baby's opinion moved not only René's world but also her father's as well. It hadn't taken much longer than that for Jo to realize that she was allowed to spend time with René only because Mrs. Roxton allowed it. Her affair with René was strictly on his wife's sufferance. So far, the vampiress had been kind and even friendly. Jo didn't want to jeopardize the woman's good opinion of her.

Mary Beth nodded. "Yeah really!" She leaned closer to Jo. "So, is, ah, ALL of him as beautiful as his face?" When Jo just rolled her eyes, her friend became insistent. "Come on! I have never seen a man that looks like he does! He's got to be great."

Marsha snorted delicately. "Doubtful. Usually the prettier they are the less talented they are. Particularly in bed. Handsome men are narcissistic; they only care about their own pleasure." She looked at where René was in earnest conversation with the Niemczyks. "I seriously doubt if he's any different. I'll bet he's a terrible lover."

"You'd lose that bet," Baby said softly as she stepped up beside Johanna. "René is always concerned for his partner's pleasure. In fact, René feels he's failed as a lover if he doesn't bring his bedmate to several orgasms before he ever even thinks of his own pleasure." She smiled gently at the open-mouthed expressions on the girls' faces. "René is an exquisite lover, isn't he, dear?" she said and kissed Jo's cheek lightly. Jo nodded mutely. "I don't believe I know these girls."

Wide-eyed and more than a bit frightened, Jo performed introductions. Before she or Baby could offer any further comments, René's son tapped Jo's arm. "Miss Jo, Prince René would like you to join him." With a slight bow to Baby, he led Jo away.

"Prince René? What did he mean 'prince' and who was he?" Sarah said in a daze. The stranger was nearly as beautiful as Jo's new boyfriend.

"That's André Beaumont. René has assigned his own brother to guard Johanna." Baby smiled and even across the room Jack could tell it was full of mischief. "Didn't Jo tell you? Tsk. She's such a modest young woman. René is royalty. He's second son of a king and a ruler in his own right." She winked at a red-faced Marsha. "Johanna's captured the heart of a real live Prince Charming."

~~~~~

Johanna wasn't enjoying Marsha's discomfort. She was too terrified. And to make matters worse, she caught her heel in the demi-train of her dress and would have ended sprawled on the floor had René not caught her. With that smile so full of kindness that she loved, he set her back on her feet. With an arm around her waist, he said, "You best stay with me. I make sure you don't get hurt." He guided her the remaining two steps to her grandparents.

"That's exactly my concern," Janos Niemczyk said. "None of us want to see Johanna get hurt." He frowned down at his granddaughter. "Mr. Beaumont was just saying that he's a good bit older than he looks."

Jo returned the frown with frightened, huge eyes and slipped her arm around René's waist so she was holding him as tightly as he was holding her. "I know. He's the same age as Dad," she stated boldly or at least as boldly as she could manage, which admittedly wasn't much. "René has been honest with me about everything."

Adelaide smiled reassuringly. "It's glad I am then, dear. No one wants you to be unhappy but we don't want to see you get your heart broken." She looked up at the tall Cajun. "Mr. Beaumont, do you love my granddaughter?"

Complete panic settled over René's beauty.

Jo placed her free hand on René's chest. "No, Grams, he doesn't." She smiled up at him. "René's in love with Nina's mom. But he told me that from the very beginning." She faced her grandparents. "Before he ever even kissed me, René told me that he was married and he loved his wife more than anything on Earth. He told me I would be a vacation romance. Then he left the choice up to me." She noted her grandfather's fists tighten. "And it was all my choice. So if you want to be angry, you can be angry with me." She set her jaw. Her resemblance to her father was astounding.

René smiled. Uncaring who was watching, René reached out with his free hand and tilted her face so he could kiss her. "You know, I do love you just a little bit."

She smiled back. "Do you? That's so nice." She kissed him hard enough to leave him dazed and a bit dopey. Sudden fire played across his eyes.

"René?"

"Papa wants me, cher," he explained. "You stay close to André, oui? I don't want you alone and it looks like Papa wants us all."

Jo looked around the room and agreed. Baby and Jean were already moving toward where the Master waited beside one of the doors leading to the garden. Even as she watched, her father joined Spike, leaning over to kiss the shorter man. She realized she was getting used to seeing her father kiss other men when she not only wasn't surprised when Jack greeted Jean with an open-mouthed kiss, but actually expected it.

Janos frowned. "I really need to talk to Jack," he muttered angrily.

Jo smiled as the five vampires slipped out into the courtyard, Jean and Baby laughing as they pulled Jack and René through the doorway. "Why? I think for the first time in his life he's happy. Just leave him alone."

~~~~~

Kevin kissed Nina's fingers. "Can we run away? I should have listened to your mother when she suggested we elope."

Nina laughed. "It is all a bit much, isn't it?"

One of the twinkling lights settled in Nina's hair, then another and another. Kevin and Nina had taken refuge in the garden, escaping the admittedly small gathering in the ballroom. It was quiet among the flowers and Tara's cool zephyr still rustled the foliage. Most of the candles had burned out and it was dark under the great oak tree. The tiny fairy lights lay in banks where the little creatures rested on the greenery. Those not yet sated on the emotional contentment around them were drawn to the new married pair. Kevin reached out a tentative finger and one of the tiny lights, braver than the others, settled on his fingertip. A delighted smile spread across his handsome face. "Hey there," he whispered to it. The fairy light lit Nina's face as she gazed closely at it. Kevin was sure he'd never seen anything so perfect.

There was the tiniest of sounds and he turned to find his father and Nina's mother watching them. René, Jean, and Spike were ranged beside them. The tiny lights danced and frolicked all about them, covering the vampires. Jack held out his hand and the sprites leapt from him to Kevin. With a smile such as Kevin could never remember seeing, Jack covered his son with the glowing evidence of his love.

Nina's laughter rang through the garden as she ran to Spike's arms. Bathed in mystical light, her happiness burned brighter than the stars shining above the old oak tree.

~~~~~

Azalea Oaks Plantation, Louisiana
Saturday, 2:18 am
October 17, 2020

Nina stared up at Kevin in awe. She had thought the garden wedding was the most wonderful experience of her life; she'd just discovered she was wrong. She could still hear her own cries of ecstasy echoing through the bedchamber. The sound of her joy and completion bounded from the silk-covered walls and the high ceilings of her mother's antebellum plantation.

"Nina? Are you alright, darling?" The concern in Kevin's eyes nearly made her cry. Unable to form words, she pulled his head down to her so she could kiss him. He moved to lie beside her and settled her comfortably against his chest, murmuring his love and adoration into her dark hair. Nina held him as closely as she could and thanked God for sending this man to her.

Nina had believed that she knew the meaning of love when she held a newborn Devereau in her arms. She knew that nothing could diminish the joy of that moment, but she had just discovered that there was a different sort of love, just as deep, just as joyful. And she'd found it in Kevin's eyes. At the height of her delight in what he was doing to her body, she had looked into his eyes and seen only love. Delight had turned to rapture. Joy had turned to bliss. A sharing of their bodies became a sharing of their hearts. She never felt anything comparable.

She knew now that what she and Connor had done to create Dev wasn't love. It wasn't any aspect of that emotion. It was loneliness and hunger and teenage angst. The affectionless fumbling of two virgins in search of something neither could provide couldn't compare to what she'd just found in Kevin's arms. Nina had discovered why they called it making love. It was the perfect phrase to describe what she had just done with Kevin.

She had always felt that what had happened with Connor was slightly dirty and somehow wrong. She knew now that she was correct. Sex with Connor was wrong. It hadn't made anything better for either of them. The only good result of their coupling was Devereau.

But everything about making love with Kevin was right. The physical pleasure he brought her had been earth-shattering. She'd had no idea it was possible to feel so much so intently. If this was what her parents felt, it was a wonder they ever got out of bed. She fully intended to stay there forever. She'd never felt so loved and wanted. Just the feel of Kevin's fingers playing with her hair was a rhapsody. She had no idea how much or how little time had passed. It didn't matter. Kevin loved her and she was his wife.

"Honey?"

She made a noise to indicate she was still awake and listening.

"I've been thinking. It must the hard for Devereau. He's not used to being away from you. He must be lonely and... well, little kids shouldn't be away from their parents. So, well, could we go get him this afternoon?"

She lifted her head and looked into abashed green eyes. "Well," Kevin twisted his mouth in self-deprecation. "Truth is, I miss the little guy, too." He thought for a moment of his own childhood. "I just want our family to be together."

Mindless of the tears flowing down her face, Nina kissed him as hard as she possibly could.


Chapter 8 - Epilogue - Cold

(Static-X)
We kiss
The Stars
We writhe
We are

Your name
Desire
Your flesh
We are

Cold
We're so cold
We are so
Cold
We're so cold

Your mouth
This words
Silence
It turns
Humming
We laugh
My head
Falls back


New Orleans, Louisiana
Saturday, 8:03 pm
November 7, 2020

"Do you realize we're in-laws," Jack said. He grinned broadly and handed the menu to the waiter. "Is it possible for us to get any more related?"

Baby laughed. "I don't hardly think so." She took his hand where it rested on the white tablecloth. "My baby girl is married to your little boy. That's one I never even dreamed was imaginable."

Jack's fingers squeezed hers. "That's for sure. Hey, we could be grandparents together," he said as that particular possibility struck him.

"I'm sure we will. They're good Catholic children after all. They'll probably be absolutely appalling and have a dozen." Baby said with a twisted smile that made Jack throw his head back and laugh.

When he sobered, he kissed her cheek. "That was nice. What you did for them." She shrugged and he squeezed her hand again. "I mean it. Buying them a house was really nice."

"Don't be silly, Jack. I'm never nice," she countered.

He grinned. "You are to me." Seeing the embarrassment on her face, he changed the subject. "Jean's late."

"We must be early. Jean's never late," she answered and thanked the waiter with a nod as he set their drinks on the table. She took a generous sip. "He's perfect."

Jack grinned again as he set his glass down and swallowed. "That he is." He lifted their clasped hands and kissed her fingers. "So are you."

"Jack! Are you trying to romance me?" she said with a soft smile.

"Of course not. I'm not the romantic type," he asserted. He glanced toward the door and a warm spark bloomed in his olive leaf eyes. "I leave that to Jean." He raised a hand and waved at the Prince. Jean smiled and headed toward their table. Jack turned back to his sire. "You'd laugh at me if I tried."

She looked at the brown head bowed over her hand. His lips were soft against her fingers. "No, I wouldn't," she whispered. She ran a gentle hand over the silky strands. When Jack lifted his head, rainbow lights were playing across his eyes. "Jack?"

A frown marred his brow. "Honey, your eyes…"

Baby reached for him as he slid from his chair and fell to the floor. Her last impression as her vision dimmed and she joined him on the carpet was how still and dead he looked.

~~~~~

"Three weeks," Kevin thought. "I've been married three wonderful, blissful weeks. I'd hoped to have more time before something awful happened." He could hear Nina crying down the hall. He'd go to her just as soon as he had himself under better control. He couldn't comfort and support her when he was on the verge of tears himself. He looked at the figure lying so still on the bed and closed his eyes.

The hand that gripped his shoulder was oddly comforting. "I'm sorry, son," Spike said. "You have to know that I'll do anything I possibly can to see that your father wakes up again." Spike's own pain was clear in his electric blue eyes.

Kevin took a deep breath. His father looked so… dead. Jack Niemczyk was never supposed to look like that. "What happened, sir?"

Spike shook his head. "I'm not entirely sure. Someone slipped a drug called Sunlight into their drinks last night. They were at a restaurant we all go to a great deal. The waiter who delivered the drinks slipped away immediately." He brushed a lock of hair from Jack's forehead and tried not to think of Baby lying two doors down in exactly the same condition. "I'll find a way to bring them back." There was certainty and complete resolved in his voice.

"We have to," Remy said from the darkness. "I… there's no other answer. We just have to."

Spike nodded. He could feel the hurt and desperation radiating from his new grandson. Remy had bonded tightly with his sire and his brother. This separation was hitting him hard. It had hit them all hard. Feeling Baby and Jack dim and fade from their minds had been a terrifying agony. René had collapsed completely and Spike had nearly joined him. Jean's phone call that his lovers were lying insensible on a restaurant floor had been pure relief. Jack and Baby weren't dust. Discovering Sunlight in their drinks had sent rage flowing through the whole family. There had been an assassination attempt against the very heart of the Pride. Fury mobilized them all. If answers were to be found, the Pride would find them.

And for the core of the Pride there was grief and fear. Rex's children and three others of the family who'd taken Sunlight weeks earlier had never awakened. Horribly, one of them had turned to dust with no warning or reaction from the stricken vampire. Another had done the same less than a week later. How long until the same thing happened to Jack or Baby?

Spike pushed the vision of his wife disintegrating from his mind. He'd seen it once and it had nearly killed him. He would not see it again. He'd find a way to wake her.

Until then, he had to care for his family and hers. Remy was particularly fragile. He'd lost his traitorous wife and less than a month later his sire and brother. Luckily, Jean had taken on responsibility for the younger Cajun. René was also finding some direction in caring for Baby's youngest son, though Spike was worried how long René would be able to hold himself together. René was also caring for Jack's daughter. Maybe Johanna's need would keep René grounded until Spike could figure this all out.

Kevin shook his head, still unable to comprehend it all. "But who? Who would want to do this?"

~~~~~

Philip DeRosier raised his glass in a toast. "Excellent work." He smiled at Anne McSwain. His plan to capture her might not have worked but Remy's efforts to have her join them had worked out much better than Philip's plan. It was much better for her to willingly give them all of her not-inconsiderable knowledge of the Pride than for him to have to force it from her, though it wasn't nearly as much fun. He leaned over and whispered into Remy's ear, "The waiter?"

"Already dead," Remy whispered before turning to Anne and kissing her hand. He was willing to kill anyone if it meant she was in his arms again. Holding her last night in his bed had meant more to him than the lives of a hundred men. "See, darling? I promised you Baby Roxton would never hurt anyone else the way she hurt you. She'll never kill and corrupt anyone again."

Anne nodded and gripped his hand tightly.

Philip smiled at Claudia, sure she'd interpret it as sympathy rather than glee. "My stepmother was an evil, evil woman. She orchestrated my father's death and corrupted my two brothers long before she killed and turned your friend and then your husband. She had to be stopped." At Claudia's pleased nod, he continued. "I just need to take a couple of more steps and we'll make sure she never hurts anyone again."

~Fin~

Leave Feedback

Return to Fiction Listing