That's The Way Love Goes

Chapter One

New Orleans, Louisiana
Friday, 11:30 pm
September 7, 2012

The Rue Royale house was experiencing an evening void of hustle, bustle, and even the slightest hint of general mayhem. It was quiet, empty for the most part of both vampire and human occupants. Jean and Olivia had gone to dinner and to see a revival of "La Boheme," Tara went with Mama Claire to collect herbs in the Atchafalaya Swamp, and Claudia was vacationing in Mobile with René for a few weeks.

"Spike," Baby mewled as she snuggled into his chest. "It's so peaceful and still."

"Yeah, bloody annoying," he quipped. "You want to dance with me, beautiful?" He took her hand and led her into the ballroom, dipping her over the threshold and grazing his lips along her neck.

Baby was a single button away from basking in the glory that was Spike's naked torso, when the shrill, metallic ring of the old fashioned phone on the piano broke through their sensual haze.

Spike cocked an eyebrow and threw an irritated glace in the direction of the auditory intrusion.

"Let it ring, love?" he asked through playful nibbles.

She thought for a moment, gave his thigh a promissory squeeze, and rolled her eyes.

"Nope, it could be one of the children," she sighed. "If it's not, I'm going to be very upset about having to wait…" She teased her hand into the front of his jeans for a moment before reaching for the receiver.

"La Maison du Rouge s'Elevé…Claudia?" Her face lit up at the sound of her eldest daughters' voice. "How's René? Are you two having a good time? Fucking up the low-lifes in Mobile no doubt. How's he settling into the new house?" Baby machine-gunned questions as only a loving mother can.

"Both of your babies are fine, Mama. I…uh…is Papa there?" Claudia sounded distant, hesitant even: unusual for her in any situation but unheard of when dealing with her parents.

"Why?" Baby firmly pushed down her initial panic reaction. "Well shit, if anything happened, René should be able to take care of it, right?" She shot a nervous glance at Spike.

"What's going on?" he asked firmly.

Baby threw her hand over the mouthpiece and whispered, "I don't know, she says she wants to talk to you."

"Claudia, honey, what's happening?" she asked in her best I'm-not-going-to-freak-out-like-my-mother-used-to voice.

"We're fine, really, René and I are both fine. He couldn't take care of this because he's not here. I'm not in Mobile…" She trailed off and Baby could almost feel the shame and embarrassment Claudia was experiencing.

"It's alright, you can tell me," she reassured. "Just tell me where you are."

If his heightened hearing hadn't been picking up both ends of the conversation Spike would've passed 'raging, overprotective father/master vampire' long ago.

"Rosebud," he hollered. "Where in bloody hell are you?"

"Papa? Is he on the line too?" Claudia sounded genuinely afraid now. "I…oh fuck me, Maman…I think I may have gotten in some trouble. I'm…in Mississippi. Please, put Papa on. I want my daddy!"

"Give me the phone, dove," he said, sliding an arm around Baby's waist so she would be close enough to still hear. "I'm here, Claudia. Now, keep it short, what happened?"

"I…I think I just became the Master of Biloxi."

**

New Orleans, Louisiana
Saturday, 11:47 pm
August 26, 2000

"I said I'm going to get more water," Claudia shouted into her companion's ear for the third time.

Jenna nodded and turned her attentions back to the frat boy she was gyrating against.

As could be expected on any Saturday night, 'Club &' was throbbing with lights, music, and sweaty, teeming masses of NOLA's most beautiful people. Even though she had spent every Saturday night for the past two years there and counted members of the staff among her closest friends, it never ceased to amaze her that she, Claudia, poor, orphaned ward of the state, sometime vagabond, college student Claudia, was a part of this world.

Her life had been made up of an endless string of tragedies-cum-miracles. Her parents' death had led her to the love and care of Nanna Jenkins; in turn Nanna's death led her to the state group home, which gave her to a world of kids that needed her love and attention. Now the world of academia was finally open to her through the university and she had a freedom she never thought possible. The sacrifices she made were now a choice rather than a way of life. All things considered, Claudia was contented.

"Evening, baby girl," Lance cooed, the closest to a coo as he could get over the din, as Claudia sidled up to the bar. "What do you need?"

"Just water this time, sweetie." She smiled at him, warmth flowing towards him from every pore. "How's your night going?"

"Not too bad: pouring the drinks and loving the ladies, you know, the usual," he said with mock lasciviousness. "Speaking of which, there's a rather attractive gentleman at the end of the bar, local boy too, that's been asking about you."

Claudia scanned the bar for anyone that even remotely smacked of potential, praying that Lance wasn't trying to be funny and talking about the forty-something in the gold, tab-collared disco shirt.

"How did a guy like that even get past Mick and Dolly?" she pondered as she perused the lineup. "I know the dress code isn't that strict, but shit…now that one…he's a different story."

Almost a polar opposite to the man the seventies forgot was the young stud standing next to him. He was an object lesson in how to dress to impress without losing your edge, a dark beauty who stood out even in the genetically advantaged crowd that 'Club &' drew. Claudia studied the mental snapshot she'd taken while scanning. He was silken, in looks, in dress, in mannerisms; everything about him screamed smooth.

"Earth to Claudia," Lance snapped his fingers in her line of sight. "I see you found him. I mean you don't usually stare like that. Look at that guy from last week that…hey shit bag! Get your hands off my fucking tap!" He raced off to the other end of the bar in an attempt to save his beer, leaving an embarrassed Claudia eye locked with the tingle-inducing stranger. He nodded at her, ever so slightly, and pursed his lips in an amused smile.

"Just breathe," she commanded silently as she returned the smile. "Lordy, he's gorgeous…are those eyes teal?" So deep in her efforts not to start babbling like a mental patient, she hadn't noticed him abandon his station beside Disco Stu and snatch up the vacant stool on her right.

"Hello, petit," he said in a thick Cajun drawl. "What a pretty thing like you doing sitting alone?"

"Rehydrating," she replied with a hint of sass, grateful that she hadn't said something completely idiotic. "What's your excuse?"

The Cajun laughed softly and regarded her for a moment. Claudia discovered that his brand of deep, guttural chuckling was a starting pistol for the shivers that lived at the base of her spine.

"I see you here before, you a real fine dancer." The words flowed like molasses out of his perfect mouth. "You Claudia, right?"

"Now what makes you say that?" she teased; it was common for clubbers to know who she was by their third visit.

"Well now, Lance a good man," he began. "But when it come to a certain girl who love the dance floor, he just can't keep his gums from flapping."

For a few minutes they exchanged small talk, Claudia about college life and Lance's amatory entanglements, and René about life in New Orleans and the depth of her eyes. None of it really mattered, of course; all she could think of was what this man might taste like.

"So you going to be a teacher, eh?" he asked, the inevitable question for any education major. "Not much money for a lot of work, make you old too soon. How you plan on keeping yourself?"

"I'll make it, I always have," she replied quietly, almost ashamed of how dull her life must seem next to his…whatever is was. "Besides, there are a lot of kids out there who need me. Everyone needs someone to love them. I guess I'll just have more than my fair share."

They sat in silence for a moment, she intently trying not to openly memorize every last detail about his flawless body and he doing the same to her. Under the guise of not wanting to shout, he gently slid two fingers across her cheek, turning her face to his, and purred, "Come on cher, you want to dance with René?"

"Is that who you are then?" she said, accentuating every other word with a seductive flutter of her lashes. Inside she was fully aware that if it hadn't been for his arm, his strong, masculine arm around her waist, her knees would've deserted her completely and left her in a heap on the floor.

"Okay…okay, relax," she thought, doing her level best not to squeal with delight. "Don't be a spazz, play it cool, you can do this. Just don't think about the way the gold chains look against that patch of hair…mmm, I want to run my fingers…wow, his jeans are as tight as his shirt is loose…focus!"

René was obviously in tune with what she was trying not to think. With a grace Claudia had never seen in a member of the opposite sex, both his hands resting firmly on her hips, he guided her through the throng and into the center of the dance floor, into the heart of the frantic oblivion she craved. Her body immediately fell into rhythm with his, responding with fire everywhere he touched. All she was aware of was the music, the lights mingling with the darkness, and René.

"Oh cher, where you been all my life?" he moaned as her hip movements hit their mark over and over.

"Here, waiting, dancing." Had she just moaned that? It didn't matter anymore; she was wholly drunk on him. His hands flowed over her body, electrifying her in ways she'd never known possible. A single finger tracing her spine as he dipped her was enough to make Claudia want to forget about her life and run away with the dark, glittery Casanova.

For the next hour they were a single entity, moving through the crowded dance floor with a dizzying stream of sexual energy flowing between them. René whispered French nothings in her ear that, while she didn't understand literally, she understood physically and had every intention of fulfilling. They had been devouring each other a full ten minutes before the realization hit that she was heavily making out in front of a hundred people.

"Little C, snap out of it," Jenna's voice cut through the cloud of eroticism René had spun around Claudia, bringing her back to the harsh reality of not-René. "Girl I've got to get a piece of Roger tonight! I hate to bail on you like this, though; can you find someone else to walk home with?"

"Don't worry, petit," René interjected before Claudia could say a word. "René take care of you tonight. I walk you home."

"Well how sweet," Jenna smiled, pulling Claudia to one side. "Excuse us for just a second."

"Why did you make me stop touching him?" said Claudia with a pout, keenly feeling the absence of René's hands. "He said he'd walk me, what's the problem?"

"Sweetie, baby, Claudia, are you going to do what everyone in this bar thinks you're about to do?" Jenna's grin filled with lust as Claudia blushed and made no reply. "You are! You're going to lose your virginity, you're going to lose your virginity!"

"We'll just see what happens," she retorted in her best responsible-big-girl voice. "Now go, get your freak on. Maybe we'll be able to compare freakings in the morning."

Jenna gave her a quick hug, a peck on the cheek, and darted off into the crowd in search of her piece of ass.

"All mine again?" René purred softly, wrapping his arms across her chest and nuzzling her neck. There were those flames, dancing across her body and making her melt into his chest like Silly Putty left on a radiator. Every move he made, every word, gave her a thrill of pleasure.

"Absolutely," she drunkenly muttered, swirling her hands across his bare back.

"I think we need a more private milieu, oui cher?" His breath teased her earlobe as he spoke. "Unless you not shy."

"Yeah, private, that's good," Claudia hissed as René's thumb glided over her right nipple. "Lounge?"

"Mmmm…you reading my mind." He moved his body, which hers was firmly aligned with, off the dance floor, up the stairs, and past the bouncer at the VIP entrance, all the while teasing Claudia with every square inch he had at his disposal.

"René, I…mmmm…you should know…oh that's wonderful…I've never…don't stop, yes," Claudia crooned as his tongue danced over her barely exposed breasts. "Where did you learn…? Oh fuck, yes!"

"Hmm…I'm not done dancing with you yet," René replied, his voice dripping sex.

Still twined together, they passed through the purple velvet curtain that separated the VIP room from the private lounge. The intent had been to lay back into one of the couches without separating their lips, keeping the exquisite tension intact. Unfortunately they had failed to plan for company.

"What the fuck?" exclaimed the currant occupant of the couch as they unceremoniously fell into his lap. "You kids and your hormones."

"Oh shit," Claudia stammered, trying to right herself. "I am so sorry! I didn't see you."

"No worries, sweet thing." Something about his voice reminded her of the way the Grinch smiled when he thought about decimating Whoville. "Baby brother have that effect on the fairer sex." His eyes roved over her body, leaving her with a distinctive feeling of nakedness, and René's body tensed behind her.

"Louis, I didn't know you were here tonight. I thought you had business to take care of," René's bravado barely covered the tension that had claimed the rest of his being. "Where Tiffany, eh?

"Hm? Oh, she getting me a drink," he replied with a dismissive wave. "You going to introduce me to this lovely lady or do I need to learn you some manners?"

"Louis, Claudia," René sighed, freeing one hand from her thigh and running it through his wildly spiked hair. "Claudia, this my brother Louis."

"Older brother. Au chanté," as he kissed her hand she did a mental inventory of her purse, checking for a Handi-Wipe. "Louis Beaumont, at your service."

Beaumont? The world ground to a halt just as though she had jumped from a fast moving train into a wall of Jell-O.

"Motherfucker," she said softly, in awe of her own willful ignorance. "How could I not see it? René…of course! The shirt, the nose stud, the banter, the swagger…I'm such an idiot! You're René fucking Beaumont!"

"Yeah, you catch me, petit. Look like my reputation precede me," he said, flashing a pleased smile. "That make it more exciting, eh?"

"The hell it does!" Claudia spat, flinging his remaining hand away and backing out of the room. "You…shit, both of you! You're the reasons I got fucked out of an adolescence. Remember Tasha Dupree? When she couldn't turn enough tricks for you to support her habit, she'd go home and beat her seven-year-old daughter. Who do you think sat up with Natalie when she first got to the home? That little girl couldn't sleep because her jaw was so swollen even the pillow hurt. And Donavan, poor guy didn't stand a chance…when he ran to you, who do you think he left behind, worried sick about where he was? He was fourteen! How was he supposed to know how to make a handoff? You didn't see his body, did you? I did. I had to be there to ID him…that fucking bullet shattered his sweet little face into a million bloody pieces…sons of bitches."

Frozen, caught between the crushing disappointment of the only man to ever bring her physical pleasure turning out to be one of her worst enemies and the anger that both of these men, whom she'd no doubt greatly offended, had killed people for less than she'd just said may not like the idea of leaving her alive, it took all her strength not to loose the hot tears that were stinging her eyes.

"Here's your drink, baby," came a grating, nasal voice from behind the curtain. It parted to reveal a thin, painted woman, for whom any word but trash would've been an understatement. "René! I didn't know you was here! Oh hi sweetie," she said, turning her attention to Claudia. "Gosh you're cute. Are you a new girl? I'm Tiffany."

The bimbo was enough to break Claudia's reverie. She brushed past René and ran out of the VIP lounge, past befuddled friends, straight out the back door.

"Claudia?" Lance called as she flew past the bar. "Baby, what's wrong?" She ignored him and kept running until she was safe in the numbing squalor of the alley behind the club. She leaned against the rough, sticky brick wall, trying to breathe and not burst into hysterical sobs.

The grungy steel door clanged against the wall again as René charged out after Claudia.

"Hey, where you think you going?" he shouted, more calmly than she would've expected. "I said I'd walk you home."

"You know what? Fuck you," she shouted back. "It's bad enough that the first guy ever to make me feel this good turns out to be you, but now that you know how much I loathe you still think you can sweet talk me out of my panties?"

"Now you know you don't mean that cher," René placated, moving slowly towards her. "We having a good time all night, no reason we still can't…"

"Yeah, there is a reason," Claudia fumed, stalking back to the door and thrusting herself in front of him. "I can think of three reasons waiting in the cemetery."

René deflated slightly, his eyes clouding over with anger, pain, and frustration. Claudia noticed and didn't miss a beat.

"You think I was just playing hard to get back there?" she continued in a rage. "My friends, the people I love, the only family I have left, have been broken or killed because of you and your sadistic prick of a brother. And for what? What did they get? They left the only chances they had at a decent life and died so that a two-bit, hustling punk like you could add another gold chain to his worthless neck and some whore like Tiffany could get one more hit. I don't expect you to understand or care, but family means a lot to me and you fucked mine. That's the reason."

"Family," René said bitterly. "Family the reason we do everything, cher." There was a world of pain in his teal eyes. "Believe me, I know all about that."

Something about the way he spoke, melancholy emanating from his every feature, made Claudia hold back the cutting remarks she'd planned on.

"Hey, Claudia, there you are," Lance's head poked out from behind the door, interrupting the intense moment of fellowship. "Is everything okay?"

She thought for a moment and said, "Yeah, Lance. Yeah, I'm fine, thanks." René backed off slightly, opening a path back into the club should she want it. "But I think Mr. Beaumont needs something to cool him down."

"She fine," René said softly. "Don't you worry none."

"Um…you aren't leaving are you?" Lance eyed René with a measured amount of apprehension and revulsion as he spoke. "What about breakfast? You know we're hooking up with the crew from Pat O'Brien's this week. Come on, you love Poppy's. Even Big Jim is coming this time, we'll miss you."

"I'm sorry babe, not this week," Claudia shot an eyeful of hate at René as she reached for Lance's hand and gave it a tender squeeze. "I've got to get home…yeah, home. Look, just tell everyone that I love them and I'll see them next week, okay?"

Without another look at either man Claudia darted down the alley and onto the main thoroughfare, fading from view like a boat sinking into the depths.

"I was so stupid, why didn't I see?" Claudia babbled things like this to herself, replaying the events of the evening over and over in her mind. Walking in the general direction of her apartment, she had no real destination; wandering had always helped her clear her head. She bumped into a man walking in the other direction, muttered an "excuse me, sorry, didn't see you," and kept going, too wrapped up in her own problems to stop for a real apology.

So intent on not losing control of her emotions, Claudia failed to notice the man turn and follow her.

**

New Orleans, Louisiana
Saturday, 1:42 am
September 8, 2012

"Papa, what do you mean, 'Claudia is the new Master of Biloxi?'" Jean Claude asked incredulously, holding Olivia tightly in his lap. "Are you sure? How did it happen?"

"We're not a hundred percent sure, Jean," Baby said. "But Claudia knows how this works, I don't think she'd make a mistake on something like this."

"You're right, dove," Spike agreed. "From what she said, she was just out dancing with some friends she'd gone to visit and some low-end vamp got cheeky when she wouldn't dance with him." His pride and pleasure in the story were evident in the wide grin he now sported. "After saying no, politely, a few times, she got annoyed and kicked him across the room, bits first."

"I wonder where she got that from?" Olivia teased, winking at Baby. Despite their rather detached acquaintanceship, Olivia had always held Baby in high esteem.

"Go for the crotch first, then ask questions," Baby said with a smile.

"Bloody hell," Spike sighed, somewhere between love, exasperation, and amusement. "May I finish?"

"Of course, love," Baby tried to stifle a grin.

"Right. Anyway, turns out this bloke is a favorite of some big hairy thing that calls himself a master, our rosebud didn't know it at the time, but he just happened to be there too. So he swaggers over to her, thinking he's about to teach a fledge manners…"

**

Studio 90
Biloxi, Mississippi
Friday, 10:49 pm
September 7, 2012

"I said, who do you think you are?" the hulky vampire repeated, again interrupting Claudia and her friends.

"Yes, and I said fuck off," she replied without batting an eye. "Now leave me alone. I'm having a good time and I don't want to have to waste any energy on kicking your ass."

He roared with rage and indignation, the room instantly fell silent and a wide circle opened around Claudia and her group. Only a handful of minions drew closer as he shifted into game face, flashing his fangs and looming menacingly over the dark vampiress.

Claudia had no choice but to turn around and laugh, long and hard, in his face.

"You need to learn to relax, sweetie." She smiled sweetly, though her voice oozed sickeningly with condescension. "Now, put the music back on so we can yell 'tin roof rusted' and get on with our evening. I'm only being this nice because it's obvious your sire never took the time to teach you any manners"

A large, hairy hand tightened around her neck and the now genuinely pissed-off vampire hissed in her ear, "You fucking little bitch! My boy might like you, but I won't stand for back sass from some out-of-town slut, even if she does have a tight little body." He ran his tongue from her chin to the corner of her eye and threw Claudia like a rag doll into a corner table, shards of Formica flying everywhere.

"Ooo, now you've done it," admonished Lucy, the blonde Claudia had arrived with.

"Dude, even if you started running right now, you'd still be dead in under a minute," quipped Dave with a knowing smirk.

"What? How dare you speak…you're human!" he furiously sputtered. A small voice in the back of his mind recognized a disconcerting pattern, nothing concrete, just rumors and whispers replaying. A very dim light bulb turned on as his mental hamster slowly spun its wheel. The small voice was now telling him, in no uncertain terms, that the woman rising from the demolished table, sporting a toothy, shark-like smile and tonguing the trickle of blood on her lower lip, was the one person in the whole of Mississippi at that moment whom he had no business messing with. He tried desperately to keep his bravado up, but even his demon was jittery and uneasy.

"Just stay down, little girl." His just-a-shade-too-loud shout gave away his growing fear.

"Tsk, tsk…what's your name?" Claudia purred as she crossed back to the now slightly paler vampire.

"They call me Chaos." He puffed himself up as he spoke. "I am…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Updike," Claudia cut him off. "I didn't ask for your life story."

The snickers that exploded from her friends softened her features slightly.

"Looks like we're the only ones who still watch reruns of 'The Simpsons' anymore," she sighed. "Oh well…now will you look at this? You made me chip the polish on my pinky. You're lucky I'm more forgiving than my mommy; Baby would've ripped your sack off about eight stupid comments ago."

As she spoke she moved closer, almost hypnotically, and she seemed to be growing, emanating a power and confidence that Chaos had never experienced. Had he been able, he probably would've wet himself.

"While we're on the subject, what's up with picking the name Chaos?" she continued. "That is the lamest, most contrived, poseur vampire sobriquet I've ever heard! Now my parents? They have cool names. Baby; you've got to admit, it's a cool name. Know what's even cooler? Spike. Now that is a name for a major league bad ass vampire."

The dim light bulb exploded in a blinding shower of recognition inside Chaos' head and he was officially disgusted, not willing to acknowledge the terror a wiser man would've embraced. She was a child of New Orleans and a Childe of William the Bloody.

"I get it now," he chuckled. "You're one of those freaks from New Orleans. You want to challenge me, bitch? Go right ahead, you don't stand a chance."

"Oh no," Claudia countered, innocence and patience radiating from her eyes. "You misunderstand: I don't think you're a challenge at all! If you apologize right now, I'll just make you scream a bit, and then send you home with your minions to think about what you've done. No harm, well not for me anyway, and no foul."

Chaos grinned wickedly, thinking her to be in the midst of an elaborate bluff. "You talk trash girly, but just because you come from a pussy traitor like Spike and that whore of a pet he…urk…"

"Dude, this aggression will not stand!" Claudia exclaimed with an exasperated grin, tightening her nails behind his voice box. "I gave you three chances to stay undead, and what do you do? You decided to do the one thing that really pisses me off. Don't. Fuck. With. Family."

Without so much as another look, Claudia snapped her arm back, fully removing his vocal capabilities, and with a neat twist over her knee she popped his head off in true dandelion lover fashion.

Before the once cocky vampire had even finished becoming dust she was flagging down the DJ and hollering, "Play some more disco please!" She turned back to her companions with a pleased smile expecting the congenial ribbing her human friends always subjected her to after a smooth, effortless, bad guy killing; she was instead greeted by stares of disbelief and astonishment that made large mouth bass seem somewhat tight lipped.

"What? Was the 'Big Lebowski' quote too much?" she hated overplaying the pop culture references in battle.

"Claudia, why are all these guys kneeling?" Dave asked.

"Kneeling? I…oh dear…" Claudia scanned the assembly; all the vampires surrounding them were in their knees. "Please tell me that you all just decided to tie your shoes at the exact same time. If not, that probably means that guy was…"

"The Master, Master," filled in the vamp whose refused advances has caused this mess in the first place.

"Shit…which means I'm…"

"You are our Master now," he replied. "We are yours to rule and command."

"Do you all feel this way?" she asked the other kneelers. Much to her dismay they nodded in silent accord. "Balls…"

"What does this mean Little C?" Lucy asked, snuggling next to her friend protectively.

"I means we need to find a phone," she replied, her voice quivering. "I have to talk to Spike and Baby. I want my daddy…now!"

Five minions leapt off of the floor and scrambled to find a phone as Claudia sunk to the floor, trying to process what had just happened.

Chapter Two

Studio 90
Biloxi, Mississippi
Saturday, 12:57 am
September 8, 2012

René's brakes screeched as his Firebird slid sideways into a few empty spaces in the 'Studio 90' parking lot. As he leapt out the door and sprinted inside the club he cursed the overturned livestock truck that had delayed him just across the Mississippi border. His shirt still smelled faintly of poultry.

"Where Claudia?" he immediately demanded of the doorman.

"The Master is in the kitchen," he replied. "Who are you?"

The only answer he got was a head full of glass as René tossed him into a spotlight on his way to the kitchen.

"René!" Claudia squealed with relief, leaping off the kitchen counter and into her brother's arms. "Thank goodness you're here. I'm so nervous! I don't know what to do. I called Spike already, but we haven't decided on any…why do you smell like chicken poo?"

"Petit Couteau, you something else," he laughed, squeezing her tightly. "You alright? Anyone give you trouble?"

"She's been taken good care of," a small minion interrupted. "And you are?"

René lifted the impudent little thing off his feet, almost identically to how Claudia had dispatched of the previous master.

"Didn't your mama learn you no manners?" he asked in a cool voice.

"Ah, of course, why didn't I see it?" the imp sputtered. "You must be family."

Much to the surprise of René and the dangling vamp, Claudia exploded with laughter, her guffaws forcing her to cling to the edge of the counter for support.

"I guess I did sort of make an impression," she finally said, wiping the tears away with the back of her hand. "It's okay, his name is Rudy and he sort of offered his services until I get my head straight. He's keeping out the riffraff and making sure I've got peace and quiet. Seriously, he's cool."

René reluctantly lowered Rudy, but being the protective brother that he was, he kept his fingers firmly around the other's neck.

"You alright then. But remember this, fledge." He spoke with absolute calm and authority. "Anything happen to our Claudia, and yes, I know you can take care of yourself m'soeur, you have the wrath of New Orleans and Mobile after your ass." With that René flung the wide-eyed vampire aside and turned his attention back to his sister.

"How Maman take it?" he asked as Claudia snuggled back into his arms. "You say you call them first, eh?"

"I think Baby is still in that motherly-pride-covering-up-total-denial phase," she said, thinking out loud more than anything else. "Spike seemed really excited once he was satisfied that that I hadn't gotten hurt while I was dusting…René?" She turned and stared at him with those deep brown eyes that, since the day they'd met, had a way of cutting right through him. He certainly didn't like the fear and uncertainty he saw in them now. "What happened when you took over Mobile? I mean I know you went looking for the old Master, but what was it like?"

He thought for a moment before relocating Rudy to kitchen door guard duty.

"Don't have the words, cher," he confessed. "You just have to feel it."

René shifted her so he could look directly into her eyes and cupped his hand around the velvety softness of her cheek. As they had since they became family, the only way he could adequately explain his feelings to her was in their purest form, through their family bond. As he sent her all the pain, the confusion, the heartache of leaving home, the weight of ruling a city, and the feelings of loneliness that sometimes enveloped him in the midst of a crowd, the glow ebbed from her face and her skin dulled slightly. The disappointment and trepidation was obvious as her eyes filled with tears and she tenderly touched his cheek. Quickly he showed her the other side of being a Master, the joy of childer, the thrill of power, the good that could be done, the wild times running the streets to hunt knowing it was your town, and the respect that was always earned, the roller coaster that he rode daily.

"Wow." It was the only word Claudia could manage when he was done, highly unusual for a girl who used to carry a thesaurus for emergencies.

"I know, petit, I know." He hugged her tightly, wishing he could take away the pain of the unknown that was tearing through her heart and mind.

The biggest unknown any of the original childer had experienced until a year ago was death, but even then they had had Spike and Baby to rely on. They'd trusted the outcome based on the promise of a stranger, but it was still someone else. René knew that the choice to become a master was perhaps the only decision a vampire had to make in solitary. For members of the Pride, moving on could mean a loss greater than they could possibly realize. Not a day went by in which René didn't ache for the relative safety and love of home. He loved Mobile, of course, and his children, both vampire and human, adored him and made him proud to call them family, but there were still the longings for just one more night in the house on Rue Royale. Even with the agony he felt being around Spike and Baby, home was home and he truly missed it.

As though she had been reading his mind, Claudia twined her fingers through his and whispered, "I guess we can't stay in Never-Never Land forever."

**

New Orleans, Louisiana
Sunday, 1:39 am
August 27, 2000

"You shouldn't be out alone at night like this, missy," the man behind her said, his voice cold like Death's crooked index finger. "Especially with the reputation you have."

Claudia whirled around and groped for her purse, silently praying that she wouldn't have to try and use her knife.

"Please, leave me alone," she said, her exhaustion evident. "I don't know what you're talking about. I just want to go home."

"You don't deserve a home, you nosey little twat," he spat as he lunged at her, catching her wrists above her head and pinning her against a tree, his bulk stopping her breath and nearly snapping her ribs. "Think you're special 'cause the state made you its bitch? Think you can just take my children from me? Them's my property, not yours and not the fucking state of Louisiana's."

His hot, rancid breath coated her cooling skin with a fine mist of cheap whiskey and Jambalaya spices. He was familiar somehow, but in the broken light under the tree she couldn't make out his features. Fear coursed through her veins, blotting out all reason and coherent thought.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she panted, trying not to goad him into further anger. "Whatever I'm doing that you don't like, I'll stop doing it."

"I don't want no apology." He pressed his hardening length against the thin fabric of her skirt. "I'm going to learn you like I did Irma and Daisy, that'll fix you."

A violent flash of recognition coursed through her mind, electrifying her body with sheer terror. She now fully understood the danger she was in. The hideous man licking her neck was Johnson Scruggs, one of the most heinous and vile parents Claudia had ever helped take children from. Images from the girls' case folder flickered through her mind. The sexual, emotional, and psychological abuse this creature had inflicted on two of the most precious little girls ever created was enough to blind Claudia with rage.

No longer thinking of her own well-being, she hissed, "You're a monster, Scruggs. Those girls are safe and happy and you'll never get your filthy hands on them again as long as they live," and spat in his haggard face.

In one awful, obviously well-practiced move, he released his grip in her arms, held her immobile against the tree with his bulk, pressed one grimy hand over her mouth, and ripped the pale yellow panties from her body.

"You uppity nigger bitch!" As he spoke he brought her René-dampened panties to his face and inhaled deeply. "You even smell like a whore."

In her desperation, Claudia began searching wildly for an out, any way to escape what she knew was about to happen. As she looked down she caught a glimpse of his pale, wormy flesh exposed against the cocoa brown of her thigh. The world was slowing again. She was taking in far too much. There was a blanket over her senses and all the wrong things were standing out. His ragged breathing filled her ears, along with the distant sound of water trickling through a fountain and a lone Cicada buzzing for a mate.

She kicked frantically away from the heat of his bare skin, but as soon as she moved the back of his fist cracked across her jaw and silenced her. Between the ache in her jaw and the paralyzing fear Claudia's body had no choice but to rebel; her head lolled to one side and she gently retched as Johnson Scruggs thrust himself into her tiny frame.

As the searing pain enveloped her already weakened body Claudia came to the realization that although she desperately wanted to cry out, she had no one to cry out to. She clenched her teeth against the pain, determined not to give that sick son of a bitch an extra ounce of satisfaction, trying to disengage mentally as the steel from his massive belt buckle dug further into the soft flesh of her belly.

"Ooo princess, you're as tight as my girls used to be," he panted in her ear. "Your filthy little cunt was already dripping, though. Who've you been with sweetheart?" Still pumping, he muttered obscenities and tongued his way across the rest of her body, each caress leaving a burning trail of humiliation. She tried to close her mind, to will herself to stop feeling, but no matter how hard she tried she could still feel him, invading her body and psyche.

After an eternity of anguish he shuddered into her one last time, pulled away, and dropped Claudia into the gnarled roots beneath them. Only then did she allow the hot, fat tears of hate and shame to flow down her cheeks. He had left a sickening emptiness inside of her because he stole something, and now she couldn't decide which was worse: having him there or feeling the void he left.

He stood over her, a foul apparition too horrible to be anything but real, his cracked lips and mossy teeth forming a cruel, serpentine smile.

"Mind your own business from now on," he said as he zipped up and brushed the sticky fluid off his jeans. "Go get yourself cleaned up, bitch. Can't have your little friends seeing you like this."

He lit a cigarette as he sauntered away, leaving Claudia cradling her knees and rocking under the tree. All the times she'd told other girls that it wasn't their fault and there was no shame in being a victim of sexual assault came flooding back and she realized what a crock of shit it was. She felt ashamed, she should've done something, and she hated the feeling of being a victim. She had to make it stop.

"The knife!" her mind screamed, thirsty for vengeance. "Use it, stop him, keep him from doing it to anyone else. Irma, Daisy, you, where will it end if you don't stop it right here?"

With a fire and determination that she didn't know she possessed, Claudia slid across the damp earth to where her purse had fallen and reached inside, searching as quietly as possible for her favorite birthday present. Her hand touched the cool metal and as she drew it out the pale pink enameled handle glittered with an unexpected power in the moonlight. Tucking the unopened blade in her teeth, Claudia clawed her way up the trunk of the tree to right herself. The sight of Scruggs strolling across the green, smoking and whistling as though he hadn't just brutally raped someone, was enough to propel her across the park in a dead run, knife in hand, if only to spite the pain, to prove he hadn't beaten her.

Just before Claudia got within an arm's length of him she flicked her wrist and opened her long, crooked blade. She leapt on his back, intent on slitting his throat, but he twisted his head an instant before she pressed down, eliciting a wail from both of them as the blade slashed across his cheek and the hand Claudia was using to steady his head. Jarred by the new self-inflicted pain, Claudia lost her grip and landed flat on her back.

"You fucking bitch!" he roared. "Didn't I learn you right?"

With a speed she didn't think him capable of, Scruggs was on her, trying to peel her fingers off the knife. She fought him off as best she could, but his boot slammed into her cheek and as the world went brown she felt her fingers slipping. He paused for a moment as he contemplated the blade, his lips curled back in a sickening sneer as though he was taking tips from the Devil himself. Drawing a sharp breath, he hefted the knife and plunged it as deeply as he could into the center of her abdomen.

Claudia's soul-shattering scream reverberated from all corners of the compass as the knife twisted in her womb. Four blocks away two sets of vampire ears heard her cry and a fresh kill was abandoned.

"No more kids for you, whore."

He released the knife, leaving it standing in her flesh, wiped a few beads of sweat off his forehead, and jogged to a car parked by the curb. Casually getting in and starting the car without a hint of remorse, Johnson Scruggs left Claudia to die. Tires screeched as he pulled into the street and sped away, thinking he wouldn't have to deal with the uppity bitch ever again.

Minutes that felt like hours passed and Claudia tried to wrap her mind around the fact that she was going to die. She tried to crawl to her purse, getting a pen meant she could finger Scruggs and say goodbye, even if neither were enough to make a considerable difference. The knife was too deep and she didn't have the strength to pull it out, so she relaxed, closed her eyes and took a small comfort in the softness of the cool grass.

"Papa, over there, under that tree, look." A familiar voice broke through the stillness Claudia was slowly bleeding into. "I think she…oh no. Miss Jameson? Claudia, is that you?"

With a start, Claudia's eyes flew open, only to find a strange, breathtaking couple standing over her. Even though she was inching closer and closer to death, she couldn't help but wonder about them. Where had they come from? Why were they looking at her with so much feeling? Whose voice had she recognized?

"Who are you?" she asked quietly, almost with reverence. "How do you know me?"

"Don't know you, pet," Spike answered. "My son seems to, though."

"Oh you poor thing," Baby cried, her fingers hovering over the knife and her rage exploding. "Where's the son of a bitch that did this to you?"

"He's gone, drove off…I don't know how long ago," Claudia whispered, ashamed that anyone should see her like this. "Please, help me. I can't die, not yet. I have too much to do. They need me."

"She's right, Papa. He's gone." Her eyes widened, startling Baby considerably, as soon as Jean Claude spoke. "His scent doesn't lead anywhere."

"P…Professor DuValliere? Is that you?" Claudia was nearly dumbstruck, her lips trembling as she spoke. "They told us that you'd been murdered. You look different." Having accepted death already, her mind was free to question his presence and sudden arrival with these handsome strangers. Her curiosity had always overridden her usual safety mechanisms anyway, why should it react differently now?

Jean Claude sunk to the ground and tenderly placed her skirt back at a respectable level, a gesture that made Claudia's heart swell with gratitude. The man who now knelt beside her looked like her old philosophy professor, but something in his eyes, the way he moved, the way he spoke, something told her he was no longer the scholarly man she knew. He stroked her hair, trying to soothe her and, though she didn't know it, decide if he had the nerve to ask his father for her life.

"Papa, help her?" he finally said. Spike's son's eyes pleaded just like Baby's had when it was his life on the line. "She's so young yet, an innocent, we have to protect her. Please."

Spike stared at his wife, who had knelt opposite Jean Claude and begun caressing the girl's hand, weeping for the pain that they shared as women. She stared back at him, a world of pain flowing from her golden green eyes.

"Spike, can't you?" Baby asked. "She doesn't deserve this and Jean Claude turned out so well. Wouldn't you like a daughter?"

"It's not like I have parents already," Claudia quipped, smiling weakly, trying to stay upbeat even though she was thoroughly confused and dying. "What are you talking about?"

"Are you both sure?" He knew that they were because they had braved the suggestion. They nodded their assent and he readied himself for his next childe.

"Your name's Claudia? Well, I'm Spike, this is my wife Baby, and you know my son, Jean Claude. They want me to help you, like I helped Jean, so you're getting a choice," he began, shifting into game face. "Jean and I are vampires, soulless creatures of the night, and I can make you one, too."

Claudia gasped slightly as Jean shifted as well, and exclaimed, "You're all bumpy too!"

"Yeah, we are, love," Spike interjected, silencing the questions he could see readying themselves in her head. "We need blood to survive, we crave it even, and if I make you like us you will, too. Now, Jean and I don't have a problem controlling it, but it might not be so easy for you."

"Why?" she asked indignantly. "Because I'm a girl?"

"No, honey," Baby laughed. "It's like being a newborn again, only you have super strength and a big fucking appetite. You have to know that you are the boss of it. You know, I like her."

"I'd be dead, but I'd have super powers?" Claudia was definitely warming up to the idea; she had even stopped paying attention to the knife. "Will I want to hurt people for fun, like the vampires in 'Blade?'"

"I didn't," Jean assured. "We'll be here to stop you if you do, though. Spike will be your Papa, Baby your Mama, and I guess that makes me your brother. You'll be a part of a family like you always deserved. We can protect you, even from yourself if we have to."

With each passing moment Jean proves himself to be a noble man and a son to be proud of, Spike thought happily.

"I'm sure I don't have much time," Claudia said thoughtfully. "Whatever I pick now is forever…Yes, I pick yes, please."

"Does that mean I can call you Mama now?" Claudia smiled and kissed Baby's hand, her eyes shining as she accepted the finality of her choice. Baby would've done more than nodded, but the instant love that came from this child was overwhelming and caught in her throat.

"Do you really understand, Claudia?" Jean looked deeply into her eyes and found the spark he was hoping for. "Do you know what is going to happen?"

She lit up a smile that nearly knocked Jean sideways and replied, "There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in our philosophies. I'm ready…Papa."

"Drink," Spike ordered, opening his vein in the same place Jean Claude had been sired from. "Drink and become my daughter."

**

Metairie Cemetery
New Orleans, Louisiana
Tuesday, 7:45 pm
August 29, 2000

Mists were beginning to swirl between the feet of the mourners; the whole of nature seemed to be in mourning that day. A cool breeze had come in from the bay that morning, bringing dark, pendulant clouds and a steady drizzle along with it. Luckily for Spike and Jean Claude, the overcast sky gave them more freedom than they would normally have and they were able to head out with Baby right after the funeral. Thankfully, the light rain stalled as they reached the cemetery.

As Baby and Spike amused each other under the protective shade of a stately oak, Jean Claude studied the faces of the mourners now standing around his soon-to-be sister's grave. At least thirty people had followed to the cemetery, nearly half the number that had attended the service, according to Baby. The only thing any of them seemed to have in common was an intense, palpable anguish.

At the head of the grave, next to the Creole preacher, stood a pale, blonde wisp of a girl who couldn't have been more than sixteen, balancing on her left hip a small, curly-haired boy whose skin matched Claudia's in color and perfection, and clutching a slightly older boy with haunted eyes with her right hand. While the youngest silently clung to a dirty, obviously well-loved stuffed crawdad, the other two sniffled gently as their cheeks glistened with still-shedding tears.

Further down, two women dressed to the nines huddled together inside a group of equally chic men, their chests raggedly heaving and their mascara flooding their features. What did people like this have to do with a girl like Claudia? The most shocking sight was the young man rocking a pair of hysterical ten-year-old girls. His countenance showed hardness obviously earned on the street. The thuggish clothes and jewelry only accentuated the persona. As he clenched his jaw in slow intervals the residual little-boy softness that remained in his cheeks betrayed his gruff exterior and Jean could see the excruciating pain this barely teen was trying to hide.

Despite the distraction of Baby and Spike's fairly noisy lovemaking, Jean flashed back to the night he awoke, the hunger, the confusion, Baby's face, and the overwhelming love that replaced his initial terror. A niggling voice in his head told him that the only way they'd be able to hold onto Claudia was with the love.

"They all love her," he thought disjointedly, looking over the crowd. "They're going to want her back if they find out…what if she wants to go back, tries to go back?"

The preacher stepped aside and made room in front of the headstone for a ruddy-faced matron, whose bloodshot eyes betrayed her calm demeanor.

"Thank you, Reverend. I just wanted to thank you all for coming," she began. "I know that having you here like this would've made Claudia very happy, she loved you all so much. We talked about this when we first heard the news, but there was no way to give her the kind of joyous Cajun celebration she deserves. Instead we've decided to sing her to rest, like she's done for so many of us so many times. If you know the words, sing for her…one last time."

One of the men produced a guitar and began strumming what Jean recognized as a James Taylor song he'd never particularly cared for. Slowly but surely, from the youngest to the oldest, the mourners began to sing.

"When you're down and troubled and you need a helping hand and nothing, whoa nothing is going right, close your eyes and think of me and soon I will be there to brighten up even your darkest nights." Though their voices cracked sourly at times with love and loss, the soulful sound cut deep into Jean Claude's heart. It was even enough to distract Baby and Spike.

"What's this, then?" Spike asked as he detached himself from Baby's lips. "They're singing."

"Ugh," Baby quipped. "James Taylor? He sucks so much! Why would they do that kind of disservice to the dead? That's not funeral music, Guns N Roses is funeral music."

"But listen to them, Mama," Jean said, not looking at anything in particular. "They're hurting so much. Claudia is really special."

"You just call out my name," they continued. "And you know, wherever I am, I'll come running, oh yeah baby to see you again."

Something about the sincerity with which these silly humans were singing made Spike's throat tighten ever so slightly, wondering if there had been a chance that she could've lived, that she wouldn't have had to leave these people. He shrugged off the thoughts as Baby squeezed his hand and gazed at him with those wonderful, reassuring eyes.

As the final chorus began the mourners made their final pass, still singing, a lone man in a leather jacket and cowboy boots crossed from behind a large piece of statuary and took a place at the back of the line. Even though they couldn't see his face, something about the way he moved, the way his whole body seemed to cry out in pain, even how his spiky black hair seemed to be wilting, sent a shiver through Baby's entire being. He stood at the edge of Claudia's grave for a time after the rest of the mourners had moved on. Even though he was loud enough for Baby to hear him without the aid of enhanced hearing, she couldn't understand a word he was saying. It was obviously something of great importance, but since she never paid attention in her high school French classes, she couldn't even begin to translate. Eventually, he dropped the single rose he'd been carrying and headed out through the side gates as quickly and mysteriously as he'd arrived, never once allowing them a glimpse of his face.

Spike, Baby, and Jean Claude stood under the tree for a few more minutes, each contemplating the spectacle they had just witnessed. Whether they knew it or not, in those moments something changed. Inside, in the deep corners of their hearts and minds, they reevaluated what it meant to be a family, to be together. The clouds opened up as they stood in silence and slowly but steadily loosed a warm, tearful shower on the cemetery.

"Come on, Jean," Spike finally said, setting his hand on Jean's shoulder. "Time to pick up little sis."

The rain may have kept the gravediggers from filling in Claudia's grave, but it was a perfect cover for her father and big brother to bring her out of the earth and into her new family. Spike leapt nimbly onto the foot of her coffin, flicking the top half open with his booted toe as Jean Claude dropped beside him. Even in death she was a beauty, they both thought.

Whoever had chosen her burial clothes seemed to know who they were dressing. There was no bulky black sweater or dour, childish black funeral dress as would be expected of an orphan. Instead she was tastefully draped in a loose-fitting gold blouse that made her skin glow, reflecting the dusting of copper that had been laid on her eyelids. He gently pulled her out of the coffin, taking care not to muddy her on the dampening grave walls, and handed her to Jean.

"Is she going to be alright?" Baby asked as she leaned over the edge, her rain-drenched hair clinging in ruby trails along her neck. "Will she be awake soon, honey?"

"Feels like it, dove," he replied, launching himself out of the ground. "Jean, do you feel her?"

"I think so, Papa," he said thoughtfully. "It's a warmth and it feels like…like it could only be her."

Jean passed her to Spike, closed the coffin, brushed their footprints away as best he could, and rejoined his parents on the surface. When he righted himself he saw that Spike had laid Claudia down just outside the overhang of the tree they'd been hidden under. With the rain soaking through her clothes and her hair twisted delicately in a crown of braids, she looked like some sort of tragic heroine from a Shelley epic. Jean joined his mother under the canopy as Spike knelt at Claudia's side, stroking her cheek, trying to draw her back to them.

Spike stepped back as Claudia began to squirm under the fat drops of rain now cascading down her face, mewling petulantly as though she were being woken for school, fangs gently lowering and face shifting into her new identity. Remembering the danger to Baby when Jean first woke up, Spike tucked her safely to his rear, knowing that if anything went amiss both he and Jean Claude would be ready to protect her.

Like a shotgun blast Claudia shot up, sharply sucking in an unneeded breath and pressing her palms into the cool, wet earth to steady herself. She seemed dazed, that was to be expected, but neither Spike nor Jean could feel the slightest bit of fear or concern in their newly-forged link. Claudia prodded herself, feeling for the healed knife wound, tonguing her fangs, and running her fingers along the ridges of her forehead. She knew that she had died; she was there when it happened, but now she felt so alive, so wild, and so famished. With a cautious, thoughtful air, she looked over her new family: first Baby, then Jean, resting finally on her father.

With a somewhat pouty furrow to her brow she declared, "I'm hungry!"

That was enough to break any sort of tension that had built up. Baby started laughing hysterically, Spike cracked up soon thereafter, and even Jean managed a chuckle and bemused smile.

"Can you catch this?" Baby asked between snorts. Claudia nodded, but remained silent, and Baby tossed her a thermos of blood. She caught it, popped the mug off, and started sucking on the pour spout as though it were an oversized bottle. "It unscrews, sweetie, it'll come out faster that way." Baby had a warm, motherly feeling about Claudia already. Claudia grinned sheepishly as she unscrewed the lid, happily gulping the hot, nourishing blood as it mingled on her tongue with the sweet drops of rain.

After the last drop was drained from the bottom of the thermos Claudia leaned back on her palms and smiled, sighing with contentment, a tiny moustache of blood still clinging to her upper lip. If anyone had told her a week ago that blood could be so delicious and satisfying she probably would've gagged and reported them to the proper authorities. Now she knew better. She grinned up at her parents expectantly, her eyes shining with happiness and curiosity. Spike walked over to her, grinning from ear to ear at this sweet, wonderful, ridiculous little girl he'd unearthed, his daughter. She had only said two words and already Spike's heart was swelling with fatherly pride. Jean had been a wonderful lesson in that respect; Spike loved being a father and it came more naturally than he would've expected.

"You missed a spot, love," he said as he wiped the blood from her mouth with his thumb.

The instant his voice hit her ears, Claudia's face lit up with joy and adoration that wiped any doubts there might have been about bringing her into the family out of the picture. He was the one who had saved her, the one who had given her a second chance, he was her new family and Claudia was ecstatic, aching to be as close to him as she could.

"Daddy!" she squealed, launching herself into his arms with her newly-acquired super strength, her fangs disappearing altogether as she snuggled into his embrace.

For the first time in more than a decade, Claudia was part of a real family again: she was happy, she was safe, and she was loved.

Chapter Three

Claudia's Old Apartment
New Orleans, Louisiana
Thursday, 10:47 pm
January 25, 2001

Jean Claude roared with laughter and fumbled with Claudia's feet. He had started out intending to give her a boost up to the balcony of her apartment, but the sight of her flopped on her belly, rear end and legs flailing like a toddler trying to conquer that first stair, was too much for him to bear in silence. Once the guffaws and snorts took over his normal aura of calm any attempt to keep a hold on Claudia was useless.

"What are you doing?" she asked in a whisper that came out as a laugh. "You're supposed to be boosting, not laughing at my ass."

"It's not your ass," he replied, feigning self-control. "You're a vampire now, Claudia. Remember all those super powers you were so excited about? One of them is in fact super strength. Just push up with your arms, get a knee on the balcony, and hoist yourself up."

As usual Jean was right, but like a good brother he never rubbed it in. Besides, the little ways in which Claudia was discovering her new abilities brought enormous amounts of amusement and laughter to the family. Certainly she was only ten days old and there was a lot of adjusting to do, but already she showed signs of being a worthy member of the Clan Aurelius, despite a natural affinity for the absurd. Somehow she had managed to catch her hand on fire four times already, innocently trying to get the morning paper for Spike. They were all distraught the first time it happened, but by the third time, her cry of, "damnit, I'm on fire again," was too hysterical not to laugh at.

Claudia's launch off the edge of the balcony brought Jean back to the present, wholly amused at the way she stood grinning like a little yellow smiley face at her accomplishment.

"I did it!" she squeaked. "It's a good thing Miss Beauparland sleeps like a lumberjack, otherwise she'd be out here brandishing a skillet and 'asking' why you're in her garden." Somehow she could make even the most melancholy circumstances sparkle. Returning home, to her old home anyway, to collect the few belongings that were to sustain her in her unlife would've been traumatic had Jean been in her shoes, but she seemed to be holding together, enjoying herself even.

Jean followed her path to the balcony, righted himself, and pushed in a chair that sat askew at the table.

"Where's your key hidden?" he asked. "Claudia? Are you listening?"

At the moment it appeared that she wasn't. She was standing in front of an open barbeque grill, holding the lid, and wearing a puzzled frown. Not caring about the dust she was stirring up, Claudia began to riffle through the ashes and partially consumed briquettes.

"This is too weird," she said finally. "It's not here."

"What, your key?" Jean Claude asked. "Are you sure that's where you left it? Do you think something's wrong?"

"Oh, no, no I don't suppose there is," she replied. "All of my friends knew about the key, so they probably just took it out so no one could break in. Still have that flashlight?"

Jean nodded and pulled a small Maglite out of his back pocket, clicking it on and focusing the thin beam on the keyhole as Claudia produced a small black case. She smiled at Jean as she unzipped it and pulled out an assortment of tiny tools, never once looking at them. He couldn't help but laugh as he realized she must have picked a fair share of locks in her time to be that confidant.

"What's so funny?" Claudia asked indignantly. "You've been laughing at me all night."

"It's nothing, nothing," he replied. "You just never seemed to be the traditional cat burglar type. You carry yourself like a scholar most of the time, albeit an amusing one."

"Do not underestimate the sneakiness." She winked, then dropped to her knees in front of the door and, within a matter of seconds, was rewarded with a satisfying click and the opening of the door. "Welcome to casa de Claudia."

They both tucked away their respective tools and started into the house. Claudia grabbed Jean's hand, trying to draw strength as the first wave of smells hit. There were whiffs of her friends, the familiar scents of her art supplies, and the unmistakable aroma of a tuna noodle casserole she was supposed to have thrown out the week before. She felt dizzy.

"I'm here, Claudia," Jean said, squeezing her hand. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to. I can just go in and get some things for you."

"No, no, Jean, I need to do this myself." She knew she had to be strong, like Jean and Baby and Spike.

They walked through the doorway, for what was most likely going to be the last time for Claudia, and she understood how wonderful her new family really was. She could feel Jean's fingers pressed tight against hers and the gentle waves of love and reassurance from Spike and Baby, though they were back at the warehouse.

"Stop," Jean mouthed, halting her sharply outside her bedroom door. "There's someone here. Listen."

Claudia froze, searching for a sound, and she soon heard the soft swish of charcoal on thick drawing paper, gentle, yet ragged breathing, and the tiniest sighing of bedsprings. None of it would've been unusual at this time of night had she not been dead and no longer occupying her apartment. Those were her sounds, her charcoals, her paper, and her bed, but obviously not her breathing. Then it hit her, the acrid vapors of industrial solvent, a long since smoked menthol cigarette, and the unmistakable stink of mixed drug store colognes. She shook off Jean's hold on her arm, her eyes clear and brow slightly furrowed, and darted through the door.

"Anton Jefferson Dupuis, just what do you think you're doing here at this time of night?" Claudia demanded as she charged into her room.

A young boy in thuggish clothes shrieked like an Amazonian monkey and launched himself off the bed, his trembling body pressed against the far wall. Jean recognized him as the same one that had caught his eye during Claudia's funeral and decided to leave them be. This was something none of them could've planned for, meeting someone familiar so soon after being turned, but she seemed to be totally in control of the situation.

"Claudia! I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't be out and in your digs and why aren't you dead, they said you were dead and we was at your funeral and everything and…and…and…" the boy spewed, the shock of seeing Claudia obviously preventing any single stream of rational thought.

"It's okay, I'm here, calm down," she said softly, moving slowly and sitting on the bed. "We was at your funeral, Anton?"

"We were at your funeral," he said quickly. The corners of Jean's mouth twitched in amusement. Even in death she was correcting grammar and getting results.

"Now, come sit down and we can talk." Claudia reached out a somewhat dusty hand and the boy took it.

"Why did you leave us if you ain't really dead?" he said, eyes rimmed with unshed tears. "Where did you go? Oh, your hand, it's…it's cool, why don't your hand feel like mine?"

Much to his surprise Claudia didn't look to Jean for support. She quietly and gently took the boy in her arms, the tears now flowing freely down his cheeks, stroked his hair, and rocked him.

"Because I am dead, sweetie. I did die that night." Even as the words came out they felt horrible and wrong, truth though they were.

"No, no, you're here with me and you're going to stay, you have to," he whimpered, boyish hope and softness overpowering his gruff appearance. "You can't be dead. You can't have died the way you did, not you."

"Precious, I am and I did." Claudia's eyes shimmered with tears. "But I was lucky. Someone found me before I died and they helped me, just like we've always helped each other. They changed me so I could stay here on Earth. See the man I came in with?"

For the first time Anton seemed to acknowledge Jean Claude's presence and he barely nodded. One of Claudia's glorious smiles shone past the tears as she moved to face the quivering child.

"His name's Jean Claude and he's my brother now," she said, her special brand of inner light glowing through the pain. "Our Papa, Spike, changed me and saved me. Understand what happened, honey?"

Anton shook his head slowly, searched Claudia's eyes for a moment, and then changed his answer, nodding mournfully.

"I want to see. I want to see what they did to you."

Claudia let go of his hands, placed them on his lap, and shifted. Anton gasped, but made no move to escape or stop looking at her. He frowned a bit, and with a gesture that closed Jean's throat, reached out and caressed Claudia's now-feral face. Any control Claudia had kept hold of shattered. Her body shook as tears gushed from her yellow eyes, soaking her shirt and testing Jean's control. He wanted to run to her and comfort her, make everything okay, but he knew that here it wasn't his place, not yet.

"No, don't cry, Claudia," Anton said, wrapping his thin arms around her waist. "It ain't that bad, you still look like you."

"Isn't that bad, and that's not why I'm crying, doofus," she said with a weak smile. "I'm sorry, Anton, I didn't mean to leave you. It's just that I didn't want to die and now I'm a monster. I didn't realize it until…until you looked at me like this."

"No!" Anton declared; both vampires were taken aback by the power and authority with which he spoke. "You're not a monster! You're Claudia. You could never be a monster, I don't care what anyone done told you."

The purity and love in those six little words sent Jean over the edge, his tears now loosed. Claudia began sobbing in earnest and clutched Anton to her chest.

"Oh darling, I am," she sobbed. "You smell like you, like my Anton, like you always did, but now you smell like food, too. If I didn't realize who you were in time I could've killed you. One bite, Spike says that's all it takes, that's how strong I am now."

"So?" Anton pulled away and gave her a stern look, standing over her like a scolding nun. "You're the strongest person I ever seen. You don't take it from nobody, even Ms. Harris does what you say when you put your mind to it. You always told us that we could do anything we wanted to if we took care of each other and didn't quit. You saying that you're going to let something like this make you quit? That ain't the Claudia that…"

Emotion overtook Anton and he collapsed back into Claudia's arms, sobbing, "You can't quit," over and over.

"Shh, I won't, baby, I promise, shhh," she soothed. Jean watched in awe, realizing that as childlike and silly as Claudia was, deep down she was a strong woman who would be ready when the world called her out. He smiled as he thought of how pleased Spike and Baby would be and slipped back out the door.

"So what were you drawing?" Claudia asked.

Anton wiped his nose on his sleeve and pushed a small stack of papers towards her.

"Anton, this is me. It's beautiful, when did you see me like this?"

"At your funeral, that's how you looked in the coffin," he replied. "You didn't really look dead, I didn't want to you be."

"Me neither," she said and smiled.

"Claudia, why're you here? Why aren't you out doing vampire stuff? If I could turn into a bat I'd be flying in Shosha's hair and making her get freaked out."

"I can't turn into a bat," she said. "At least I don't think I can. Jean? Can we turn into bats?"

"As far as I know, no," he replied from the hallway.

"You ain't answering me, Claudia," Anton said. "Why'd you come back?"

Claudia sighed and hugged her knees to her chest, idly snagging the fabric on her pants with a fang as she thought. Why had she really come back? On the surface it was to get clothes, art supplies, and her stuffed mongoose, but deeper than that, it really had been to say good-bye. She wasn't sure anymore.

"I came back to get some stuff for my new home, my new life," she finally said. "Come on, help me get packed, love. You can walk back with us a spell, then we'll drop you off at home."

**

I-65
Saturday, 2:26 am
September 8, 2012

René and Claudia sat silently as they sped towards New Orleans, wind whipping through their hair, both taking solace in the Coltrane flowing through the speakers and the cool of the early morning air. He could feel the conflict that was raging underneath Claudia's serene exterior. She never could hide from him completely.

Finally he turned down the radio and slipped his hand around her fingers. Claudia turned and met his gaze, the sorrow and malcontent in her eyes boring into him.

"What you thinking?" he asked.

"About home, about all of my homes," she replied. "It just hit me that…oh, I don't know. I guess I'm just wondering if this is what I'm supposed to be doing. Things in our family never 'just happen,' you know?"

"Yeah, I know," he said and they descended once more into silence.

**

Pride Warehouse
New Orleans, Louisiana
Saturday, 12.19 am
January 25, 2001

The Pride careened down the alley toward the warehouse, the thrill of the hunt coursing through their bodies, clothes beginning to fly. Baby was practically dragging Spike through the door with her kisses and Claudia was nearly delirious with pleasure. She still hadn't gotten used to how wonderful Jean Claude felt inside her.

They had barely gotten settled in, knocking Claudia's books and Baby's watercolors off the table to make room for their gymnastics, when Spike froze.

"Quiet," he hissed. Baby silenced, suspended three inches above the surface of the table. "Listen, Jean, upstairs." Both men, back in predator mode, raced up the stairs to Claudia's room and the shuffling noises that shouldn't be.

There was a hush, then a roar from Spike, followed by the very young, very startled cry of at least a dozen voices.

"They wouldn't," Claudia said incredulously, taking short quick sniffs.

"What? Who wouldn't what?" Baby asked.

Without so much as another look at her mother, Claudia launched herself over the railing and onto the first landing, flying through her door to be greeted by Anne, Justin, Anton, Mitzi, and eight other children from the home, even the youngest brandishing crosses and looking fierce.

"You can't have any, this is Claudia's stuff," Portia, half of the seven-year-old Mason twins, declared, boldly stepping toward Spike, her crucifix raised high in the air.

"What in the name of all that's holy are you doing here?" Claudia cried.

"Claudia," the children shouted, and promptly dropped their weapons and scurried past the growling vamps to her side, nearly bowling her over with hugs and kisses. Words like "love you," "miss me?' and "wet his bed," were the only things anyone could decipher from the onslaught of babble.

"Would someone kindly explain why our home is full of snack packs?" Spike asked, wavering between annoyed and amused. The children were obviously not a threat, despite their bravado and cross-bearing, and it was fascinating to watch Claudia try to unearth herself from the pile of children on her chest.

"Spike, what's going…oh shit," Baby said, as she nearly stumbled over the human heap in the doorway. "Claudia?"

"Guys, get off me," she laughed. "Mama, Daddy, Jean, this is a small sampling of the people I was telling you about. This is Spike, Baby, and Jean Claude, my new family. Now that we've got the introductions out of the way, care to explain why you're not only out of the building at this hour, but in a bad part of town carrying what looks to be the contents of my apartment?"

"Anton told us about you and what happened and everything," Lucy, the same blonde Jean had taken note of at the funeral, said. "We broke into the office and found out that since you didn't really have a next of kin they were just going to auction your stuff off. We talked and thought you'd need your stuff more than whoever bought it, so here we are."

"You're telling me you kids hauled all this through this neighborhood at this time of night for Claudia?" asked Spike.

"Yes, sir, we did," she replied, though it came out sounding more like "du-uh!" "You thought all those times you made us watch Newsies we missed the point?" They all grinned.

"We also came to say good-bye," Anne interjected. "Like she said, we talked, and we figured that you can't really come back with us, not like it was, right? So we had to come to you."

A hush fell over the ragtag group and even Baby's breath caught in her throat as they waited for Claudia's reply.

"No, not like it was," she said softly.

It remained quiet for a minute or so; Jean couldn't help but look at his watch, knowing that he, Baby, and Spike were the outsiders now. They could only observe and hope that they'd be ready for whatever happened to Claudia because of this unexpected visit. Finally, the small girl who had threatened Spike with a cross stepped forward and stood in front of Claudia, still sitting on the floor, and said, "Can I see your other face?"

"Are you sure? All of you?" Claudia asked. They did. "Daddy?"

"If you want to," was all he said.

Slowly Claudia shifted, her feline features unusually full of melancholy. One by one, each child stood before her, looked into her eyes, and touched her face in the same way Anton had in her apartment. It took all the strength she could muster not to burst into tears.

Each, in their own way, affirmed Anton's original declaration: she was still Claudia and they still loved her. Once more they rained down kisses and smothered her with love. The adults in the room felt their link consumed with a deep sorrow and realized that Claudia finally understood what it meant for her to be a vampire, even if those that had sought her out didn't. If the children had even taken notice of the fact that there were other vampires in the room they never let on. It was as though nothing existed except them and Claudia. Spike had wrapped Baby in his arms long ago and Jean had moved to the bare mattress they'd brought, but not a one took notice. As long as they had been vampires neither Spike nor Jean could remember being this invisible, at least not unintentionally.

Finally Claudia righted herself, plucking the smaller ones from her legs and caressing those still pressed against her.

"I love you guys so much," she said. "This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me and that makes this that much harder. Listen, you can't come here again, it's not safe for you or for me. I'm not the same as I was. You know that I'm never going to completely leave you, but I'm different now, you're different. I can't be there when you get home from school or when you have basketball games or even to tuck you in at night. But you guys are strong, you can make it because you've got each other. Even if you got sent all over the globe, you'd still have that."

Her voiced cracked as she looked into the shining eyes of the family she'd left behind.

"I will always love you, but it's time to say good-bye for real," she whispered. "Show everyone how wonderful you are. Be strong and love each other with everything you've got. Never forget that I love you and always will, no matter what. Never forget who you are…"

A single tear ran down her face as she smiled for the last time at her precious children, friends, family. One by one they left the room, taking a final hug and kiss from Claudia, one to last the rest of their lives. It wasn't until the last one had left that anyone spoke.

"Jean, follow them," Spike said. "Make sure nothing happens to them." No sooner commanded than done, Jean followed quickly behind.

"Claudia, I'm so sorry," Baby said. "Do you want some hot chocolate or to talk for a bit?"

"No, Mama, but thanks," she replied. "I need to be alone for a while."

Claudia walked down the stairs in a daze, her heart and mind in so many pieces she could barely see straight. She had planned on taking a walk down by the waterfront, letting the icy waves wash over her legs and clear her mind, but a figure curled up on a stack of crates next to the door distracted her.

"Anton, honey, you've got to go," Claudia said as he uncurled to face her. "I can't, so you have to. They need you now and you can't let them down."

"Not me they don't," he said. "You the one who taught 'em about stuff and sing 'em to sleep when they got nightmares. I can't do that. I can't do no good. Look at me, I can't even sneak into your house without getting caught."

"You know what I see when I look at you?" she asked. He shook his head. "I see a boy who's turning into a man before my eyes: a kind, loving, protective, clever, creative man, and they need you to be all of those things. The world is out there, Anton, and if I can't be in it anymore, I know that it's going to be okay, because you, and Lucy, and Caleb are out there, living life the way I taught you to and helping the people who need you. Baby, you've got to move on, for me."

"I don't want to leave you, Claudia." Anton's fading boyhood was exposed as the tears washed over the softness of his cheeks. "I ain't ready yet."

"You are, love, even if you don't know it yet," she whispered. "I didn't think I was ready for all of this, but I was. Now it's your time."

"Oh, Claudia…" He buried his face and squeezed her for all he was worth.

"I won't cry for yesterday," Claudia sang as she stroked his cheek. "There's an ordinary world, somehow I have to find."

"And as I try to make my way to the ordinary world," Anton chokingly sang back, "I will learn to survive."

"That's my guy," she said, throat burning with stifled sobs. "Now go on, you've got a lot to do and a lot of people that are going to need to look to you. Don't want to miss anything."

Slowly the hold he had around her neck weakened and his arms slid to his side. Without another word, Anton rose and walked out of the warehouse, leaving Claudia sitting alone just inside the doorway. She watched him fade beyond the glow of the alley and when she had lost the last traces of his form through the mist she felt the overwhelming heaviness and sharp pain that was forming deep in her chest.

From across the room, Spike's heart nearly broke at the sight of his daughter, silhouetted in the streetlamp light streaming through the doorway and shaking as she tried to hold in her anguish.

It felt like hours, just sitting and trying not to break into a thousand pieces, wanting to run after them and hold them forever. Claudia realized that what she'd been through with Spike wasn't death; it had been warm and freeing and full of possibility and love, but this…this was cold and hard and empty and it hurt. The pain, the pain was unimaginable. It made her want to scream, to kill, to weep uncontrollably until she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer, to find the pieces of her own being that had just been ripped away and try to put them back somehow or to just be numb.

"Rosebud?" Spike said softly, though his hand on her shoulder made her jump.

"Oh Daddy," she cried, leaping into his arms. Even though his arms were strong and reassuring, and even though his gentle rocking and comforting whispers were soothing, her body shook with anger, pain, love, and shattered innocence. "Why? Why does it have to hurt so much to love?"

"I don't know, love," he replied. "I don't know."

To Be Continued…

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