Sam's POV
"Oh my God! That was so embarrassing!" I grumbled as I opened the door to my old room. The familiarity of the room washed over me. I remembered that my old towels where in the chest of drawers and so I got them out. Alec came in and closed the door behind him.
"I think they took it very well." Alec commented. He removed his stained shirt and wiped away the ketchup off his forearms. I knew it was kind of the wrong moment but seeing Alec in all his bare-chested glory always left me feeling breathless.
"You like what you see?" Yikes! He caught me staring. Okay, I knew that I had no reason to feel guilty, after all, he was all but officially declared my husband, but still, it would be nice to take his ego down a notch. And well, who am I kidding, I love to tease him.
"No." I denied. "I'm going to take a shower." I stated. "Great. We're both in desperate need of one." he said, following me through the bathroom doors.
"Whoa. Where do you think you're going, buster? With all your chivalry I'd thought you know you're not supposed to go in a woman's bathroom while she's indecent." I teased him.
"W-what? Oh come on! Sam I've already seen all of you! That rules doesn't apply to us now! And at the same time we'll save time and water!" He insisted. I snickered and went over to him and pinched his cheeks. "Aw! My boyfriend's an Eco-friendly economist!" I planted a butterfly kiss on his nose which smelled like dairy. I grabbed my bag and went in the bathroom, closing the door quickly before he could come in. I showered, removing the disgusting whipped cream from my hair and washing of the hundreds and thousands off my chest.
"Ah, I swear she'll be the reason why I'll go insane after surviving three hundred years in the world." I heard Alec say from behind the door.
"Talking to yourself, Alec. First sign of insanity." I commented. I heard him chuckle at my statement. I could just imagine him rolling his eyes at me.
I was ready by fifteen minutes. I put on a cute white coloured button up dress; yeah after the whole food incident you'd thing I'd learn more about not wearing white clothes around Alec. Nah, that would be too sensible. I'm being a teenager so I have to do stuff without thinking them through. Though as I was thinking about not thinking it through I realised what a desperate case of compulsive organization disorder I had in my mind. I swear, sometimes its hell in my mind. I exited the bathroom looking all sweet and naïve as if I didn't have a thought in my head.
"Here. You can wash up. I'll go downstairs for a while to check on the preparations."
"Alright. I'll join you in a few." I handed him the stuff he needed. Before I could escape him he kissed me quickly.
"Alright, that's cute but let's set some ground rules. No major kisses in front of them. I don't really feel comfortable with our tongues sticking down our throats in public."
"We're not in public now..." he suggested. I smiled just as suggestively as he was. I put my finger on his chest and walked, making him back up into the bathroom behind him. I pulled my face closer to his and when he closed his eyes in anticipation I closed the door in his face.
"Well that was disappointing." he muttered. "Stop it, you're making me feel guilty. Not!" I just loved teasing him so much!
I left him to shower and went downstairs.
"Hey Sam! The cake looks great! And we've tasted the muffins and it's like taking a bite out of heaven! You and Alec outdid yourselves! Um, where is he?" Emily asked me.
"Showering."
"Good. Anyway I've got some girl stuff I wanted to talk to you about."
"Well then I guess it's just the right time!" I said. Damon was playing with his Lightning McQueen toy car when his eyes snapped to look intently at me.
"Sammy! I wanted to come see you but mummy wouldn't let me! She said you were busy." he ran over to me and I picked him up and hugged him to my chest. "I'll always have time for you, sport."
"Sport? You've gone all Aussie now? I thought you were staying in Alaska."
"We are. But when I was a little girl my Australian uncle used to call me sport all the time 'cause I was a little bit tomboyish. He's dead now." I explained. Even though I remembered this little detail his face was a total blank to me. Even my mother's wasn't so clear. I was forgetting my human past and I loved every bit of it.
"Oh. Well , Sam would you mind coming out with me?" Emily asked. I nodded at her. Anyway I needed to have a chat with her about Logan. He had a right to see his son and I knew he was frustrated with the fact that she didn't ever tell him or try to contact him.
When we got outside, I still held Damon in my arms and she started jumping up and down.
"Sam, I think today's the day! I think Jason is going to ask me to marry him! He was acting weird all day and back in his office there was a jeweller's bag!"
"I'm so happy for you Em!" I hugged her, squishing Damon like a sausage between us. "Aren't you happy Damon? Daddy and mummy are going to get married." she said to the child who honestly looked more bored and impassive than excited.
"Emily I need to talk to you. It's very important and it can't wait much longer."
"Um okay, so what is it?" she asked me, a worried look taking over her features. I listened attentively to see what Alec was up to so if he was ready he could take care of Damon. The subject of Damon's biological father was way too delicate to be discussed in front of the child. I put down Damon. "Damon honey could you find Alec, the man who came here with me. He'll play with you. I need to talk with your mummy for a little bit." I said. I knew Alec was listening and when I mentioned playing he gasped. "Sam how the hell do I play with the boy?" he asked in sheer panic from upstairs. Come on, where's your imagination? I wanted to ask him.
Damon nodded and went inside to find my panicking boyfriend. Nice!
"Emily. I know the identity of Damon's real dad. He's called Logan isn't he?" I said cutting to the chase.
"H-how do you know Sam?" she asked me.
"I went to collage with him." I blurted out. It's not like it was my fault that I couldn't tell her the truth.
"He-he- did you tell him?" she asked sounding even more panicked than Alec.
"He knew already. He came here a few months ago and saw you with Damon. Damon's eyes are a dead give away that he is his child. Tell me how many people you know with true emerald eyes?" I asked her.
"I- he... He has to stay away. We're a family now. Tell him he doesn't even have to recognise Damon as his or provide money. We've got everything settled." she said stubbornly. I started at her my mouth open in a perfect O.
"Emily, he doesn't want to come between you and Jason. He just wants to spend time with his son. He's a good kid, Em. He'd never hurt you and if he'd even try I'd introduce him to a world of pain. He doesn't deserve this. One day when Damon finds out, it will make him sound like he never cared for him or you and that's not fair. I'm telling you this as a friend of both, Em. You can't pretend like Jason is the dad! He doesn't even resemble him one bit."
"I... I know Sam. But you need to let me think a little about it, 'Kay?" she looked hopeful at me. I nodded.
"Let's go back inside." I said and started making my way up the stairs.
"Thanks. Oh, and Sam?"
"Yeah?"
"Where the hell did you find him? I have three words for you H-O-T. Usually guys who look like him are either players or gay!"
"I can assure you he's most definitely not gay, as for player, he wouldn't even try." I said with a grin.
"You two really look great together. You're too beautiful to be with an average guy and boy, he wouldn't be classified as normal in any dimension. Not that Jason isn't good-looking but Alec is on a whole other level." Emily commented. Yeah, and that level is called the Club of the Beautiful Walking Dead.
I smiled at her. "Come on, we should go inside."
Alec's POV
He's coming. He's getting near. What do I do? He's only steps away. I can see him. He's taking small steps, probably sensing my fear and discomfort. He's in front of me, his eyes locking with mine. His intense gaze felt as if it was looking through me and exposing everything about me. Sam was right his eyes were truly a wonder.
"Hello." he said in a clear voice. Do something!
"Hello, you must be Damon." I said and kneeled down to his level
"You are Alec. Are you Auntie Sam's boyfriend?" he asked me in a surprisingly strict voice.
"Yes." I said to him, trying to smile. Come on Alec, man up! You've faced vampires ten times his size. He's just a child, he shouldn't scare you!
"Auntie Sammy's my favourite auntie. Can I tell you a secret about her? But you can't tell anyone." he whispered in a hushed voice. He put his pinkie up in front of me. I did the same and we interlocked our pinkies. "I promise I won't tell anybody." I said to him. He nodded and inched closer so that his mouth was only a breath away from my ear.
"Aunt Sammie's special. Mum thinks she's a real angel, hiding her wings! I imagine them blue with silver tips!" he whispered in my ear. I smiled at the innocence of the child. It was a very sweet gesture. Yeah, Sam can be mistaken for an angel anytime. She was angelically beautiful, of course and she was selfless and kind.
"I think she might be an angel too." I whispered. He smiled at me.
"Do you love Aunt Sammie? Do you buy her flowers like Jason buys for mum?" the boy asked innocently. I tend not to think about Sam and flowers in the same sentence because my mind instantly drifts off to the cottage back in Volterra. Shut up, brain! Now's not the time.
"I love Sam with all my heart. And as a matter of fact, I do buy her flowers, sometimes I grow them myself." I said to the boy. Stop thinking about the black rose, now's a very bad time.
"Wow! You know how to grow flowers?" I nodded at him. "Can you teach me?" he asked giving me a pleading look. "Of course, if your mother permits it."
"Thank you!" he said and hugged me. I felt a strange feeling run though me, almost as if I lost my breath.
"Alec, I think I like you." he said to me. I was at loss of words.
"Me too Damon. You're a very smart kid." I said to him and patted his shoulder. "Can you take me to my mum so that I can ask her?" he asked, trying to climb on top of me. Awkwardly at first, I put my hands around his small torso and lifted him up in my arms. He seemed to adjust himself instantly to the coolness. I walked to the front door with Damon in my hands. Sam and Emily where still chatting.
"Mummy! Alec offered to teach me how to grow flowers. Can I?" Damon pleaded his mother. Emily looked at me and then at Sam and gave her some sort of signal with her left eye.
"Of course! That's really nice of you Alec!" Emily said cheerfully.
"It's no problem at all." I said giving her the best genuine smile I could muster.
"Emily the guests will-" A man who I presumed was Jason said and stopped when he saw Sam and me.
"Hey Jase, you haven't met Alec yet. Jason this is Alec, Sam's boyfriend and Alec this is Jason, my boyfriend." she said and once again snuck a glance at Sam.
He walked over to us and we shook hands and exchanged the usual It's-nice-to-meet-you pleasantries.
"I was saying, the guests will be here in almost half an hour. We're running terribly late. Are the finger foods ready?" he asked Emily.
"Yes, but now we'd better get ready. I set your dressy shirt and black pants on our bed. You can get ready." she said to him. "I still need to get ready myself and more importantly Damon. He still hasn't washed up." she muttered to herself.
"Em, we could wash Damon so that you'll have enough time to get ready yourself. I suggest you calm down or you'll get wrinkles." Sam suggested.
"You'd really do that for me? Thanks! I owe you so much! His clothes are ready on his bed." she said and hugged Sam. "Don't fret. It's no proplem." Sam said. Emily nodded and left to her room. "Come on Damon, let's clean you up! You're going to look stunning." she said with stars in her eyes. We went to Damon's room which also had an ensuite bathroom. Sam adjusted the water temperature and started to fill the tub. Firstly we undressed him and Sam put him in the bubbly lukewarm water. He played with his little toy boat while Sam washed his hair carefully. I watched as her fingers delicately washed the golden locks on his head.
"Damon, please pass me the bubble bath." she said. He did as she told him and then she started washing him up and rubbing the mango-scented bubble bath in his skin. She rinsed of the shampoo and bubble bath off the little boy.
"Alec, be a dear and open up that towel and wrap it around Damon. I'm going to get his clothes." she said as she wiped her wet hands.
"Alright." I said and she left. Before the cold wind could hit Damon I wrapped the towel around him and swooped him up from the water. I put him on the changer and started wiping the water off him.
"So you're two today." I attempted small talk.
"Mhm." he said somewhat gloomily. I'm not a big expert on emotions but usually when people sigh with a depressed expression on their face it usually means they're sad...
"You don't seem excited about it." I commented casually as I wiped his damp hair. "Do you want to talk about it?" Humans usually liked to pour out their feelings.
"Dylan." he said as if that explained everything. "He's coming to the party." he said with unhappy eyes.
"If he bothers you, you can tell me or Sam or your parents. We'll do something about him." I said trying to smile comfortingly at him. He grinned at me. "Thanks Alec! Mum and Jason don't believe me when I tell them" he hugged me to his tiny naked body.
"So, what's going on in here?" Sam asked but from the twinkle in her eyes I knew she heard our conversation. "Nothing it's something between Alec and me." Damon said while making attempts at winking at me.
"Yeah, it's something between us men." I said and showed him how to wink.
"Well, men, Damon needs to get ready so we might want to hurry up. Come on, Damon, let's get you in these cute little Lightning McQueen undies." Sam said as she held the red garment in her hand.
"No! You're a girl. Uncle Alec will help me!" Damon said as he held the damp towel tightly around him. I looked at the boy and his pleading eyes but suddenly his words registered in my mind.
Uncle Alec.
He called me uncle. I couldn't believe it. It made me so happy I couldn't believe it. I looked over at Sam and I could see the pride she felt in her eyes. She looked as if she was about to burst crying tears of joy.
"Alright, I don't want to intrude on your guys' bonding time so I'll just leave your clothes here." she said and on her way out sneaked a hug and a kiss on my cheek.
"Damon, you called me your uncle." I said in the shocked state I was in.
"Does that make you angry?" he asked me in a sad little voice.
"No, I'm honoured that you called me that. It's just that I don't have any family except for my sister and Sam." I confessed to the boy.
"You have a sister? I wish I had a little sister. What's her name?" he asked with interest in his eyes.
"Her name is Jane, she's my twin sister." I said to him as I dressed him up in the red little 'undies'.
"Is she pretty?" Damon asked innocently. "Yes, she's very pretty. She has golden hair and she's as tall as Sam." I told him. "Can I meet her sometime?" he asked me. I sighed a little. "She didn't come with me. She stayed in Italy." I said to him smiling sadly at the thought of my sister. I was the happiest man on earth here with Sam but I couldn't help but miss Jane. Sometimes I wondered what she's up to or if she's doing fine without me. We've never been apart for longer than two days.
"Oh." Damon said. I put his shirt on and then his pair of jeans. Then I slipped a pair of socks on his feet and a pair of slippers. He was well dressed and ready to go.
I folded the tower and put it in the hamper of dirty clothes. Then I lifted Damon in my hands and went outside were I found Sam waiting for us.
We stood awkwardly against the wall acting like wallpaper. The people around us were all elite and looked at us with disgust as they took the simplicity of our clothing. After the guests arrived we soon learned that Jason's boss was invited to the party so Emily and Jason had to make a good impression, but I could tell from the look on Emily's face that she was bored.
"Having fun?" I muttered sarcastically to Sam who was fake-sipping some champagne. "Fun? I just wish that the alcohol would really have effect on me so that I'd stop boring myself to my second death." she whispered softly. I chuckled with her as some couple in their forties approached us with Jason and Emily looking as if they were most definitely talking about us. I guess they must have run out of things to say.
"Mr. and Mrs. Gablehouser, we want you to meet Dr. Sam Anderson and Dr. Alec Saltzman." Emily introduced us. Just two questions, I knew that Sam has a PhD in Law and Literature but since when was I ever considered a Doctor? Or since when did I have a surname?
"Doctor? Why the girl looks barely sixteen! And surely the boy is not old enough to be a doctor either!" a woman with horse shaped features said in a raspy annoying voice. My Sam looked older than a sixteen year old... Okay she didn't but she was sexy, no matter what age she looked like.
"They are quite the over achievers! At age of fifteen Dr. Anderson had already a PhD in law!" Emily exclaimed.
"Marveling. What about you Dr. Saltzman what do you specialise in?" he asked directly to me. I said the first thing that came to my mind. "I specialise in political history." I said in the most boring voice I could come up with. Sam winked inconspicuously at me, as if to say "Oh, yes you do."
Mr. Gablehouser scoffed. "I still find it hard to believe that mere children are-" he started but Sam interrupted him.
"Mr. and Mrs. Gablehouser, I'm sorry but we need to excuse ourselves. It's been a pleasure talking to people on our same intellectual level... more or less. Hope you enjoy the party. If you'll excuse us, we need to find the birthday boy; after all he is the reason why we are here." Sam said rationally. She grabbed my hand and smoothly pulled us out of the small crowd which was forming around us.
"Come on! Let's go see what the party boy is up to." I said to her. "Okay, I'll go get Emily first because she looks like she's dying over there." She was right, Emily looked distressed. "I'll go check up on him; I think he's in the front garden."
"Great. I'll come join you in a little while." she said and leaned up to kiss me. She broke the kiss too suddenly for me to react. She just winked at me and my slightly pouted lips and left. It's like she lived to tease me and leave me hanging. Oh, one of these days...
I started walking away towards the front garden where Damon's almond and vanilla scent came from. When I arrived I stared at the playing children in front of me. So peaceful and innocent. Only one thing was troubling me...
A group of about eight kids were playing, all together, then standing in a little corner all by himself and a red toy car was Damon. I watched as a boy, perhaps a couple of years older than Damon went over to him.
"Give me the car!" he said to him and tried to tug it out of his grip. Damon wasn't as strong as the boy so he lost the toy to the boy.
"Alright. We can share." Damon said helplessly.
"No way weirdo! It's mine now." the boy said.
"Okay" Damon said and started playing with the grass beneath him.
It brought many memories to me, memories I've tried to forget ever since I met Sam.
It had been a week since we all ate. We were starving. My stomach hurt and I was sick from the infected water they were giving us.
"Come on, ye scurvy slobs, get over here. Ye're lucky Master's kind, I would'ev left ye starve to death!" one of the nasty brothers said to us. We all piled up like animals. We were all ready to kill for some food. They each gave us a plate with some cold yellowish stuff they passed of as mashed potato, a stale piece of bread, pieces of meat which I suspected was rat and a round brown thing covered in smelly goo which I suspected was an acorn. I rushed towards the further end of the hall towards the table which smelled the worse to avoid the big kids who stole dinners from kids like me. Unfortunately I had no such luck.
"Hey, you little scrawny witch! Dinner's wasted on you. Give it to us!" a boy said to me and before I could react they took the plate from my hands and I was left to starve till the next meal.
Two years later I managed to sneak an extra piece of bread. The same boy who stole my food two years before came. "Little Witch boy's been a very bad boy. Come on, give it." he taunted at me. I stuffed it in my mouth and lunged at him. We were alone and though he might have been stronger I gripped his neck so hard that I suffocated him.
Snapped out of my walk down memory lane by Sam's melodic voice calling out my name, I walked towards the little brat who was teasing Damon with the car. I lowered down to my knees and looked at the kid straight in the eyes with my murderous glare.
"What's your name?"
"Dylan." the boy answered boldly. So this was the little runt who annoyed Damon.
"Dylan, I'm sure that what you're holding is Damon's car. Now I think it would be for the best if you gave it back to him, and not just because it's his birthday, because it's his." I said to the boy. He gulped and handed the toy and without further arguments left to play along with his snobby friends.
"Why did you let them say that to you?" I asked him as I picked him up from the ground. I noticed tears threatening to spill down his cheeks so I wiped them away.
"Because they are right. I am weird." He said to me. I couldn't believe that a three year old was telling me that he was weird.
"First of all, no one is weird, weird is what non special people call the special people. We're called different not weird, Damon." I said in a determined voice. I wasn't just speaking for the boy but I was speaking for myself. And in what way was Damon different from those boys? I was a vampire so in no way would I be ever classified as anywhere near normal… but what could this child that made me feel so paternal and protective over him mean by saying he's weird?
W-w-wait. Did I just admit I felt paternal over Damon? I'm an over three hundred year old vampire. I shouldn't even think about thinking this kind of feelings, right? And since when do I think about my feelings?
Curse you Sam; you made a softie out of a big bad vampire…
…and I didn't mind.