Blueblood 3: The Others - 3. William and Betty Marry

Emily was again looking at the house more. She wasn’t feeling that comfortable at the moment. The opulence and grandeur were a bit hard for her to get used to. However, Jeremy was truly relaxing, but only with the animals. The adjustment was not as stressful as Emily feared it would be. That was as long as Jeremy stayed with the animals. He was opening up more and he was beginning to make friends with these “strangers.”

It was Wednesday afternoon when the Rolls came to the front door and Stan Martin and Mark Goddard arrived. It had been a few weeks…months…since we saw them live and in person.

Chuck, Shelly, Alex, and Gabriella greeted them when they walked into the Grand Entrance Hall. Edwin and Wayne were there off to the side as friends greeted each other. Mark grinned as he hugged everyone, but Stan was doing as almost everyone else did. Just like at Wentworth Manor, he did that slow spin to try to take in all the grandeur.

“Someone royal lived here,” Stan said prayer-like in almost reverent awe.

“They did.” Edwin nodded and said from the side. “The original owner was a second son of the king or something. That’s why it had so much money to build this place in the first place. The original structure burned, this is the replacement.”

Colin grinned, bringing Edwin and Wayne forward and introduced our friends from the United States to our new friends here in England. The introductions of the other people and vampires would take time, but we kept on as we saw them.

“Buddy II is coming tomorrow,” Stan said as we walked. “Customs and all that stuff.” He smiled. “Like a computer is dangerous.”

“I guess that’s because of the users and what the computers are intended for,” Colin replied.

Mom and Willie were having a discussion with a local Vicar. A preacher with the Church of England and he was also a vampire. He had trouble when he first came to Thornwood. He was having a crisis that had to do with becoming a vampire because of what he was. He was supposed to be spiritual guidance, but he was bitten. His crisis had to do with God and why He allowed him to be bitten by a godless creature. Did that make him evil in God’s eyes? Was he not worthy? He had the trouble comprehending that it had nothing to do with his faith or lack of faith. He had blood in his veins. It was a simple as that. It had nothing to do with an alliance with God or anyone else. He had been bitten a decade ago and it took him a few years to come to grips with what he’d become. Let’s just say, his doctrinal beliefs and how he thought things would be changed in those ten years. He still wasn’t comfortable with Colin, me or Edwin and his new relationship with Matt. He’d thought a certain way a long time and it was taking time to adjust that thinking. Since he was dead, as far as the Church of England was concerned, he wasn’t a part of the Church, therefore anyone he performed a marriage for was not married legally. The office of MI5 was pushing the law in giving Mom and Willie a marriage license. You can’t marry a man that’s legally more than a hundred years old. I was married to such a man, but it was a joining nonetheless.

Plans were decided on about the housing for future vampires and laboratories. Construction was beginning on Monday.

We moved Jeremy to the room below the barn that had been George’s lab and housed Wayne when he first arrived. Lilly was helping to get that room more suitable for habitation, which Jeremy was a little smitten with Lilly, but she kept it light. Contently telling Jeremy they were friends. Jeremy was male, so naturally, he was attracted. He’d only known his mother and sister! Now, there was a woman! She was not a “stranger” according to Jeremy. Emily was still with Jeremy, but we tried to make gaps in his exposure with Emily to ween him off his dependence on her. We were letting Jeremy decide what he wanted to do as far as the serum was concerned. He had not seen much of the vampire that was taking the serum when he arrived.

Wayne was thrilled that his daughter and granddaughter Kelly were coming for the wedding. Sean was too, but he couldn’t stay, but one day.

We were leaving the Sunday a week after the wedding. It was our plane, so there was no problem. I did start to see that Willie was getting a little nervous about the approaching day. I wasn’t the only one to suffer before the wedding after all. Mom was starting to show signs of stress, too. She had wanted a simple service and wedding and it was mushrooming into a larger production. Everyone wanted to come.

Now things were more like I expected. A little chaos began. People were rushing to get things together for this “small” wedding. Tables were being set and food prepared. Again with good smells, but they were pulling out all the stops! This was the partial owner’s mother! She was marrying a vampire.

It was Friday at last and Katie and Kelly arrived. Kelly was happy to miss a day of school as well as coming to a wedding.

That evening the male members of the family and friends gave Willie his party. No strippers, but movies rated X at this party (all straight, damn it), but a lot of drinking and general carousing. It was fun! It was during the party I noticed Willie occasionally would become quiet and sort of retreat into himself.

I walked over during the party and sat by Willie. “What are you thinking about?”

Willie looked a little startled at first, but he looked up smiling at me. “Just the usual things, future and doing what’s right by her.” He looked at me with a smile. “I’ve not been married for a hundred years. My first wife is gone and…” he shrugged. “No disrespect to her, but…your mother is…” he thought. “She’s very special. I only remember parts of my first marriage and not always able to remember her face some times.” He shook his head. “I’ll be a good husband to your mother.” He nodded.

I smiled. “I know you will.” I put my arm around his shoulder as squeezed him to me. “You’ve come a long way since I met you. I always liked you, but now I love you. Tomorrow, you become not only Mom’s husband, but a father to me. Officially. I’m glad for her, but I’m happy for me, too.”

Willie grinned. “I hope I’m good at that, too.”

The next day was mayhem, but it got here. The wedding guests arrived and the light music started. I watched my mother come down the stairs where I waited to escort her down the aisle of the Entrance Hall, giving her to Willie. They had a harp played instead of the usual wedding type of music. I was her Man of Honor and Colin was Willie’s Best Man. We joined Willie and Colin at a center position and took our places. She wore a simple, light blue gown and held one single red rose. Her hair down the way Willie preferred, but beautiful. Willie was in a suit and wore a simple red rosebud on his lapel. The exchange of vows and promises and the Vicar pronounced them married.

We had a party after the wedding with a lot of dancing and they had a cake made that they cut together and most everything was done. Colin and I presented them with the plans for their two-week honeymoon. Only this time, they were going to be transported by helicopter to the airport.

Colin sat in a chair of our room as he pulled his tie off with a tired sigh. “That was a nice wedding.” He smiled.

I grinned coming to Colin and kissing him. “Almost as good as ours,” I said as my arms went down his back as we kissed more.

Colin’s left eyebrow rose. “Almost?” He shook his head. “I think ours was a whole lot better!” He grinned pulling me down to him. “I got the better end of a deal. I got you.”

How could I not love this man!?

On Monday we started really getting things together. Stan oversaw the setting up of Buddy II in a room Edwin determined was the safest place. Stan then showed Edwin and Matt how to use it.

“Basically, there is Buddy,” Stan explained. “That’s it. This…” he patted the new CPU that was installed with many of the same things Buddy in Manhattan had. The black glass table covering with the keyboard invisible until you touched the surface. It had the 3D scanner and all the whistles. There was even a big screen like we had in New York. “…this baby is merely…an extension of Buddy. It’s one system. One brain. The main CPU is in Manhattan, but it’s all Buddy. Whatever you need scanned or documented…look up information…” He waved outside where a large satellite dish was being installed. “Is relayed to Buddy. He does what he needs to and displays it here.” He leaned in like he was going to tell a secret. “Protect that dish. It’s your link to Buddy. Even if you lose power, he will run for several hours by battery backup. A generator is going to be installed in case you need power more, longer. If the dish goes out, landlines will fill in the gap, but not as fast as the satellite.”

Edwin looked at all the equipment and shook his head. “All this in the last part of the century.”

Matt chuckled. “And I was amazed when phones in a car were first possible!”

Stan smiled. “Just wait until they install the phone in your head!”

Edwin looked startled. “Install a phone…in our heads?”

Stan nodded. “It’s coming. No more worries about forgetting your phone or laptop. Make calls, search the Internet and never use a device. It will be in your head.”

“And with that…” Mark said behind Stan. “All the new psychoses because of that,” he smiled at Edwin’s surprised look. “We all know Internet porn is a major market. We’ll have websites dedicated to sex. You will not only see porn but able to touch and even have sex with anyone online because it’s in our heads! New obsessions will arise, stalking becomes more dangerous….”

Stan waved his hand at Mark’s comments. “Ignore him. He’s an alarmist. He’ll see the dark side of everything. You can access the pyramids and be there! Standing before them and even walk through them and never leave your home!”

“As long as they have your face, they can undress and have sex with you.” Mark continued. “All in their head.”

“They couldn’t get the bodies dimensions right unless you pose nude for it,” Stan argued. This had been an argument between them it seemed.

Mark shrugged. “Or they just guess, using shoe sizes or hands to determine how big you are…and you know where or guess about body hair.” He grinned. “If they guess about me, I hope they give me a huge dick!”

Stan’s eyebrows came together. “And hairy ass!”

Mark shrugged. “Which they will have to guess at since no one’s seen it, but you!”

I chuckled at their banter. “Guys,” I said. “We have a few years before they can do that.”

Mark smiled. “Are you sure?” He then brightened. “Or we become like it is in the movie Matrix or that one, Surrogates, where everyone has a body they operate from home. Perfect bodies that see, feel, walk and talk for them…everyone’s fake and…”

“Mark!!” Stan turned to him. “Stop scaring everyone!”

I shook my head. “Edwin, Matt…get used to this. They do it all the time.” I laughed. “They did it the first day I met them.”

Edwin nodded still watching as Stan was asking Mark why he insisted on doing what he did.

“But they love each other?” Edwin asked me quietly.

I nodded. “Yes! Endlessly devoted.” I told them equally quiet. “They would give each other whatever the other needed even if it cost their own lives. Mark knows Stan’s buttons and loves to push them.” I grinned as Stan and Mark continued. “We were told it was a sibling rivalry. To me, it was more of…no one can pick on the other but the other...feel.”

“And what does Stan do to Mark?” Matt asked.

“Stan’s intimacy with Buddy,” I said smiling. “Mark is very jealous of Buddy.” I shrugged again. “Stan is the best at the computer, so Mark just mouths off occasionally.” I turned again as Stan and Mark kept bickering. “Stan!” I said interrupting them making them both look. “If this is by satellite, is our security okay?”

Stan gave a sound as he blew that concern away. “No one could hack into Buddy easily. I have firewalls up no NSA, FBI, CIA or MI whatever could crack.” He boasted. “Could it be done? Sure. But it would take someone having my talents to get through.”

I grinned. “And we know that isn’t happening.” I nodded.

“Nope,” Stan said and then brightened again. “Mitch McKenzie is coming to Wentworth Manor to install his translator program…and get this, he’s bringing the mother of all those programs to download to Buddy!”

“Meaning?” I asked.

“Meaning every known language can be accessed and translated,” Stan said happily. “Even hieroglyphics!”

“Hieroglyphics?” Matt asked astonished.

“Devon thinks there will be something in those old writings that tells about those other vampires somewhere,” Stan explained. “Buddy will be able to read those and translate them.”

I nodded. “Wonderful.”

“And!!” Stan said raising his finger. “I have these great earbuds for you all, tied to a handheld device. Put them in your ears and you will understand anything said to you. Now, talking back requires speakers, so once that language program is installed in Buddy, it will be accessed by the devices I give you all. You can talk to anyone.”

Mark frowned. “You’re having sex with Buddy again, aren’t you?”

Stan’s eyes grew as he was going to deny it again. “I am not…” he began and stopped. “Maybe I am.” He said as he got an evil look, but smiling. “Perhaps you need to be jealous.”

Mark nodded. “Maybe I am!”

I waved at them. “See?” I asked Edwin and Matt.

“Sex is a lot in the brain,” Mark said tapping Stan’s head. “I swear you cum on this thing any chance you get.”

Stan nodded smiling more. “And whose brain is bigger?”

Mark’s eyes widened. “I’m smart!”

“I didn’t say you weren’t.” Stan grinned. “I asked who has the bigger brain?”

Mark smiled with a chuckle. “That would be you.”

Stan was a little surprised at Mark’s comment. “Thank you, Mark.” He said kissing Mark.

Matt shook his head confused. “Hold on.” He said holding his hand out to stop the conversation. “One minute we’re talking about computers, then it was sex…we have gone to cock size now?”

I shrugged and grinned. “Who knows?” I patted Matt on the arm. “Don’t waste a lot of thought about it.” I walked over and kissed the tops of Stan’s and Mark’s head and hugged them both. “I missed having you two here!” I looked again at Edwin and Matt. “They really are great at their jobs.” I said looking at their combined faces of confusion. “Really.”

We got a reply about Jeremy. A woman, who lived in London, whose sister had been turned to a vampire had extensive training as a teacher for children with Special Needs. She had a background that also included adults. She was willing to come and help with Jeremy if that meant her sister could get the serum. We all said that would be no problem. We would send a vehicle down to pick up her and her sister. If she took the job, she could train others to deal with Jeremy. Emily was feeling a little lost. So much of her life was spent dealing with Jeremy and now…she felt wasn’t needed.

I spoke to her. “Jeremy will always need you.” I reminded her. “But you brought him here for what reason?” I asked pointedly.

She nodded. “My time is limited on this Earth. I wanted him taken care of.”

“And he is getting that,” I said. “We haven’t shoved you out of his life, but he needs attachments with other people.” I chuckled. “Though I think the animals help the most with that.”

She smiled. “They do indeed. Will he ever get the serum?”

I frowned. “I don’t know. Until he knows what he is and understands why the serum is needed, I don’t know.” I admitted. “George is working on a serum program he can give Jeremy, but the venom in his body fights any drug we give it to ease that pain. He’s working on a program that is…longer.” I said. “He will try to introduce lower doses, a longer period of time, but it still hurts. George wants to be sure it will work first.”

“Jeremy may always be a vampire.”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so,” I said to her. “George really wants to rid us all of the vampire venom and its effects, making us human again. Gabriella can have a family with Alex. We would all be able to have children and be human. I know George will work until he gets it. And he will. I know it.”

“But Jeremy will be kept here even if George doesn’t?” She asked again.

“He will always have a home here,” I assured again. “He now can have friends and others that will care for him. He’ll be fine.”

She nodded and smiled at me. “Do you have to leave?”

I nodded. “There is a world of us out there. We’re needed by them, too. We won’t be gone forever, but we have to go out there to help.”

She smiled and brought me in to kiss me on the cheek. “Thank you for all you’re doing. God will have a special place for all of you, I know it.”