Blueblood 2: The World - 20. Preparing For A Future

Things did get a little more crowded at the house. As I mentioned before, we knew the wedding and guests were here, but other than the occasional wandering wedding party guest, they were doing their own thing. Colin and I spent time with Sean, who turned out to be everything I thought he’d be. He was wickedly funny and had a great sense of humor. We were in the library when Kelly walked in a little dejected.

Sean looked at his youngest. “What’s wrong, baby?” Sean asked her.

She shook her head. “Nothing.” She said in a way that all teenage girls did, telling there was something. “There just isn’t anything to do.” She plopped in a chair sighing. “No swimming pool, nothing for kids.”

I grinned. “We’re working on that.” I stood up. “What about secret passages?”

Her eyes lit up. “Secret passages?” Her eyes narrowed. “If they’re secret, how do you know about them?” She grinned.

“We’re owners,” I said simply. “It’s our house, who else should know?” I did my finger asking her to come over. “I’ll show you a secret bedroom. It’s where the owner, who is vampire stayed underground during the day for so long.”

Her eyes grew as she jumped up and came over. “A secret room?”

I instructed her to pull the books forward. It didn’t take long and we heard the click and the shelf sprung open.

Her eyes grew. “Brilliant!” She looked at me. “Can I go down?”

I gave her the look. “No. I had you open it to just shut it again.” I smiled. “Of course, you can!” I waved at the opening. Sean chuckled at his daughter’s renewed excitement.

She let a little squeal out and opened the door and peered inside. Then she descended the steps to the room below.

I looked at Sean. “Don’t worry, there are no vampires down there now. It’s just a room.” I smiled and followed her down.

She was fascinated by all of it. Leave it to her to notice there was no bathroom and asked where the loo was. I answered her question which she turned her lips up to the answer about the ammonia piss.

She listened and nodded. “Tell me.” She began. “Grandpa Scott is really a vampire?” She wanted confirmation.

I nodded. “He is.” I looked at her. “What about the grandparents on your dad’s side.”

She nodded. “Grandma Wallace is alive, but she’s like…” she thought, “…a hundred or something.”

I smiled knowing she wasn’t. “Colin is over two hundred.”

Her eyes grew and she turned to me suddenly grinning excited. “No way! That is so cool!”

I nodded. “You know? You’re grandfather Wayne is worried about you.”

“Why?”

“He’s worried that you might be seeing what he is as attractive,” I said.

“Mom told me it was pretty bad.” Kelly nodded, but not heard in her voice.

“Have you ever had a nightmare?”

“Sure.” Kelly nodded.

I smiled. “It didn’t last long, did it?”

“I’ve had scary dreams before.” She confessed. “I usually get so scared, I wake up.”

“Imagine that nightmare lasting all night.”

Her eyes widened.

“You can’t wake up,” I said. “I don’t want to frighten you, but now imagine this nightmare you can't wake from lasting all night, all day for fifty years. Four times the life you’ve had.”

Now, her eyes widened even more.

“Your grandfather lived a nightmare for fifty years. He couldn’t wake up.”

Her eyes were horror-struck.

“The Hell your grandfather lived was horrible. He doesn’t want you to think it was something great.” I reached out and touched her shoulder. “It wasn’t great and he doesn’t want you to suffer either.”

She nodded. “I guess I was a little excited about him being a vampire.” She frowned. “They always make the vampire so great in movies.”

I nodded. “Those are stories,” I said. “That’s all they are. They’re not true.”

She sighed again and nodded. “Mom said I needed to calm down.”

I chuckled. “I wouldn’t say that. You’re a very happy person! You see joy and excitement in everything! You have a wonderful sense of wonder and an inquisitive mind. That says a lot about your mother and father. The fact that your grandfather is a vampire didn’t scare you at all. It never did. Just take it easy with your granddad. He worries.”

She smiled. “I will.” Then I swear, her horns grew. “Now, Colin!”

I smiled. “Colin?”

She gave a grunting moan. “Yes! He’s quite a hunk!” She said. “A gorgeous hunk! He’s a vampire!?”

I chuckled. “Your Mom did tell you he was my husband, didn’t she?”

She grinned. “So? He's gay, but that doesn’t stop me from looking!” She started talking even faster. “You are, too! Only you were standing right here…” she said, “…which now I’ve told you.” She shrugged. “Oh, well. That doesn’t mean it’s not true, you are. Colin is. You’re both hunks!”

I laughed with her. “I agree, Colin is a hunk. Most definitely.” I grinned. “I think you take after your father with his sense of humor.”

She nodded smiling. “Mom says so.”

I bowed slightly. “And thanks for the compliment.”

“I mean it, really.” She smiled.

I nodded. “I believe you!”

She looked around the room below ground and smiled. “This is going to be a great resort.” But something in her voice said there was a “but” in it.

“And what would you add?” I asked.

That opened a flood gate! I got everything from a water park to go-carts and items and ideas for the list kept coming. Many I knew would never happen, but we headed back upstairs after a few minutes where we saw Wayne and Katie had come in the library. I saw that that youthful glow from Kelly’s eyes had faded a bit. She looked at Wayne now and her face changed to one of sorrow and understanding. She walked over to Wayne and kissed him on the cheek and moved on through the library without another word.

Wayne just looked at me and his eyes held puzzlement.

Katie looked around. “Have you seen Scott? Where’s Karen?”

Sean smiled. “Scott is following a young woman through the house. Her name’s Lilly, I think. Karen and George started talking about science and went off to George’s lab in the barn.”

“He’s a science geek.” Colin smiled. “They were discussing how and why for all this vampire stuff and serum.”

Katie smiled when she heard that. “He has the answers to her many questions.”

“And who better to answer those questions, but the very vampire doctor who came up with the serum?” I asked smiling.

Sean was happily talking with Colin and Edwin about the expansion. Katie and Wayne were catching up for the past missing fifty years. Scott had an interest in Lilly and I kept Kelly occupied. The weekend was becoming a success!

We had dinner Saturday night in a lesser dining room. It was still very nice, but we were more crowded. The members of our team ate with the members of Wayne’s family. Karen was now satisfied with what George had shown her. Scott was still enamored with Lilly as he thought about her. Kelly proved as good as her word, she no longer expected Wayne to be that mysterious vampire grandfather. Katie and Wayne were still catching up with the past fifty years and would for some time. Sean enjoyed talking with Colin about business and what the plans were. Colin made sure Sean knew that Edwin was the man to speak to on what needed to be done.

“…and he showed me the venom and how the serum adheres to it and keeps it from working.” Karen had been explaining happily. “It’s really quite fascinating.”

Kelly looked at my mother. “You’re going to marry a vampire?”

“Sure.” Mom nodded taking Willie’s hand. “When you meet someone you’re meant to be with…” she shrugged. “…it works itself out.”

Colin smiled at Mom. He turned to Karen. “Evan Bennett has a grandmother that’s a vampire. He plans to work more here at Thornwood. He and his cousin Emma are going to working here a lot medically. Perhaps one day you’ll like to work here.”

Karen gave a shrugging nod. “Well, vampirism isn’t a normal medical discipline, but I’d love to be more involved.” She smiled.

Wayne smiled as he saw how well things were going. “Soon, we’re going to be going to a new city.” He said cautiously.

Katie looked startled. “But I just got you back!”

Wayne nodded as he chuckled. “I won’t be gone forever, but we have a lot of work to do.” He smiled. “There are a lot of other vampires in the world that need help, just like I did.” He took her hand. “We have time. I still have to get a passport from Eric Mattingly at MI5.”

“And we have a wedding of our own to have,” I said looking at Mom and Willie.

Colin looked at this growing family. “We will be in touch often. With the internet and video calls, we’ll never be out of touch.”

“There is a threat here in England,” Edwin said to Katie. “We’re going to track it down.” He looked at Wayne. “There is that vampire that bit your father we need to find. It’s been out there a good while, but we’ll look for him.”

Wayne smiled. “With modern transportation, we can be back in no time.” He looked at Scott. “You have graduation coming. I intend to be there.”

I smiled. “And you all need to come to Charleston and see our home.” I smiled. “We’ll show you Charleston.” I grinned at Kelly. “Maybe we can take a trip to Disneyworld.”

Kelly’s eyes lit up. “Really?? We went there went I was seven! I’d love to go again! Can we do Universal Studios while we’re there as well?”

I shrugged. “Why not?” She might be growing up, but the idea of going to the happiest place on earth hit everyone’s child side.

Kelly was all smiles now. “I know, it’s was a hard road Grandpa Wayne went down…” she grinned. “…and now he’s flying all over the world! This is so….”

We all added. “…cool.”

Kelly grinned more. “Exactly! I won’t mind being part of this, too.” She looked at her mother. “As a human, Mom. Not as a vampire.”

Shelly chuckled. “We can always use more humans on our teams. Female human especially.”

I watched Colin come out of the bathroom as he finished his evening rituals and came to bed. He looked up and saw me grinning as I stared at him making him stop.

“Okay,” Colin said as he got in bed. “What’s going through that mind of yours?”

“Kelly was right,” I said scooting over to him. “You are a hunk.”

Colin’s eyes widened. “She said that?”

I nodded crawling over him and sitting on top of him, my hands running through the chest hairs I loved. “She’s not stupid. She knows a good looking man when she sees him.” I said leaning in and kissing him. “I am so in love with you, Colin,” I said very seriously and full of emotion.

Colin’s eyes softened. “I know you are. You know I’m in love with you.”

I nodded. “I do.” I stretched out beside him, my fingers still running through his chest hair. “I’m at home where ever you are, but it will be nice to see Charleston again.”

Colin smiled softly. “We’ve been gone a good while.” He kissed me deeply and rolled us so he was looking down at me. “We’ve made some real progress. For the first time, I feel like we’re getting somewhere. We have new friends here with Edwin and Sarah…”

“Matt and Evan and Emma,” I added, “and new family members with Wayne and his family.”

Colin chuckled. “Now, to get our mother and Willie married…”

“And Alex and Gabriella married at Wentworth,” I said. “England was easy.”

Colin looked startled. “Easy!?”

“They speak English,” I said.

“Do they?” Colin asked smiling. “Petrol, lorry, loo…it’s almost like they’re speaking another language.”

I kissed him again. “I got used to it.”

“We’ll go home for a few weeks and go to the next city,” Colin said. “You think Cairo is where we need to go?”

I nodded. “I can’t explain it other than it just makes sense,” I said. “Rome and Athens may be the birthplace of democracy, but it isn’t the oldest civilization. I just know we’ll find more answers there.”

Colin nodded. “We’ll need to see what Stan can dig up for the language barrier.”

I nodded. “They speak English there, but we’ll need Arabic and someone that can read Hieroglyphics.”

“Hieroglyphics?”

“Pyramids?” I reminded Colin. “I can’t explain it, but I know there’s something there. I’m just willing to bet everything…we’ll find the vampires like the one that bit Wayne there.”

Colin grinned down at me. “I married a smart man, so who am I to argue?” He said kissing. “You’re a kind man. And I think you’re the hunk.” He said kissing me again. “Make love to me?”

I grinned. “No more shop talk.”

He chuckled. “Agreed.” He kissed me passionately. “I love you.”

We made sweet love, slowly and with all the love we could muster.

In the morning we gathered for breakfast, again in the Grand Dining Room. Wayne’s grandchildren were staring at Colin as he ate his usual abundance of food. Kelly’s ducked to look under the table.

“Where does he put it?” She asked as her head came back up.

Gabriella laughed. “Daddy’s always had a big appetite. Becoming a vampire, then back to being more human, that hasn’t changed.”

Scott had been looking, too. “I know carbs are important, but I couldn’t play football if I ate like that. How do you stay in shape like you are and eat that much?”

We had agreed not to tell everything about being a vampire and the fact that he couldn’t gain weight was something we agreed not to tell. Colin shrugged. “I’m always hungry and I work!.” He narrowed an eye. “And by football, you mean soccer, right?”

Scott nodded. “Of course.” He grinned. “That thing you Americans play has little to do with the foot.”

“That sport came about after I was turned, so I never got into it,” Colin said. He thought. “Most sports came after I was turned.”

“Not soccer!” Scott stated. “That’s been around thousands of years. Even longer than even you were born!”

“Most of the track sports have been around,” Karen added. “Wrestling. They had Olympics for eons.”

“And naked!” Kelly added with a waggle of her eyebrows.

“Kelly,” Sean said sternly, but a smile on his face.

Colin smiled. “I was just…busy. There wasn’t a lot of time for sports. Working in the fields was my sport.”

Katie looked at her father. “When are you leaving for your next city?”

Wayne looked at me and Colin. “I first need to have the passport. We have a couple of events to handle. We’ll be here a few more weeks.”

Katie smiled. “Good.”

Sean looked at Edwin. “I’ll have some finished sketches done in a few days. I’ll let you see them and we can get this…VUNGB…” he smiled, “…built!” He looked around the house. “And we’ll begin to renovate this place. Make it a world-class resort.”

“Owned and run by vampires,” Kelly said. “Sorry, Grandpa, but this is just too cool.” She said shaking her head. “And I can’t even tell Darleen about it!!” She moaned.

Wayne visited with his grandchildren that morning. Learning what they wanted to do and wanted to be in life and just learning about them. A tearful farewell, assurances they’d see each other again soon and we watched Wayne’s family drive away.

I stepped closer to Wayne, bumping his shoulder. “You have a great family, Wayne.”

He nodded as he waved to Kelly who was waving from the backseat. “Yes, I do.” He smiled. “I found out a lot about Rosalind. She was happy. After I disappeared, she was unhappy for a few years, but Dennis came in her life and…” he shrugged. “She loved him. He loved her and Katie, adopting Katie as his own. I wish he were alive for me to thank.”

“Rosalind didn’t have any other children?” I asked.

He shook his head. “She miscarried one and ended up having a hysterectomy due to complications. No other children.”

Colin, who always had my hand when we were together, squeezed my hand. “If you change your mind…or ever just want to come back here…for a week or even longer. You can do that.”

Wayne smiled nodding. “I appreciate that.” He looked at Colin. “Why are you doing this? You’re willing to spend millions, put the time in away from home. Why? What are you getting from this?” It was challenging, but he knew why.

Colin looked a little surprised. “It’s necessary. We’ve been divided from the beginning of us. I want to build a community. I want to help those like us and bring us together.”

Wayne nodded. “And so do I. What you’ve done is amazing and I want to be a part of that. I love Katie, Sean, and those kids. I also love you two. I want to do my part.”

I smiled putting my arm around Wayne’s shoulder. “We are doing that. We’ve already made a difference in England and the United States. The disappearances as they have been in England have dropped. We’ve got a long way to go, but we’re doing it.”

Colin nodded. “I am just giving you options.” He said as we made a circle, arms on each other shoulders. “I officially welcome to our team, Wayne.”

I smiled. “We’re taking this world, one vampire at a time if necessary, but we’re taking out in this world now. We plan to stay here.”