33

When Adison wakes refreshed the next morning, she is witness to a very special moment.

The love of her life is already awake, his black hair a stark contrast to his white face and chest. He is sprawled against the head of the bed, covered with the blanket below the chest, enchanted by his little girl, who is sitting between Adison and himself, alternately studying his chest and looking at him to deliver her comments.

Her tiny hands touch him fearlessly, pointing at his chest hair and trying to pick some up.

'What's this?' She looks at him.

He replies. 'Hair.'

She repeats, 'Hair,' then touches her own black locks. 'Hair.'

Pointing at his head, 'Hair.'

'Yes, that is my hair too. Black, like yours,' the doting father says.

'Black', she repeats, and, 'hair.'

Then she moves on to one of the fresh wounds, it has three stitches in it and looks well on its way to healing.

She asks, 'Hurt?'

Vincent is clearly amazed that she knows the word and the concept. 'Yes, hurt.'

She leans over and kisses the wound, then looks at him again. 'Better?'

'Much better', he says, 'thank you.'

That must be the sweetest thing Adison has ever seen, the little girl and her big man, having a conversation.

Vincent now unexpectedly says, 'She's yours already Adison, a doctor, not an actress.'

He does not look away from his daughter though, his attention stays on the little girl, who has kissed the other wounds better as well and now moves on to the scars.

There are quite a lot of them, but she chooses a large pink claw-mark from the creature. 'Hurt?'

This is a tough one, for it doesn't actually hurt anymore. How will Vincent answer?

He shakes his head. 'Better. Scar.'

The little face is relieved. 'Better.'

Then she touches another scar, a smaller claw-mark and asks, 'Scar?'

Vincent affirms. 'Scar.'

She touches the older scar on his chest, the one from his birth, faded to white already. 'Scar?'

Again, Vincent affirms. 'Yes, also a scar, an old one.'

There are so many, she strokes his chest to touch all of them, and Vincent says. 'All scars.'

Slowly she looks up, and reaches for his temple, touching the scar there with her tiny hand, and his cheek.

Adison holds her breath, but Vincent merely says, 'So many scars,' and kisses the little girl on her chubby cheeks, then moves over, supporting his daughter with one strong arm, and kisses Adison as well, saying, 'Good morning love.'

She answers his kiss and his greeting. 'Good morning love, good morning Catherine.'

The girl now moves her game to Adison.

Touching Adison's hair, she asks Vincent, 'Hair?'

He touches it too, and replies, 'Yes, hair. But not black, like ours, blonde hair.'

Then he asks Adison, 'Feel better? Did you sleep well?'

'Yes on both counts. Did you awake early?'

He tickles his daughter, making her giggle. Then he moves his hand under the blanket, challenging her to catch it, which she manages but only after a chase.

He talks whilst playing.

'I slept lightly, didn't trust the place altogether, and you know I don't need that much sleep.

Then at first light I felt something small climb on top of me and I woke up. It was Catherine looking for some comfort. She was not crying yet, but she clearly missed her sisters and her mum, so I let her sleep with us, and when she woke up we played some, you saw that.

And now we're ready for breakfast, aren't we, Catherine?'

At the mention of her name, the girl looks up and says 'Breakfast' hopefully.

They both laugh, and get up, dressing for another long day of travel, again openly wearing their weapons, and packing their stuff in travel bags.

Vincent helps Catherine dress, letting her do as much on her own as she can, which clearly pleases the girl.

Adison offers to help with her hair, which she gladly accepts, offering to help Adison in return. Adison replies, 'Yes, please, but can we do that in the carriage?

Gives us something to do.'

And it seems Catherine understands, for the says, 'Later?'

After breakfast they leave, having two more days of travel before them. Changing horses twice a day they make good time, and Neil seems as indefatigable as Vincent.

Of course Catherine is often bored, but in a way travelling and having nothing to do but spend time together is also the best way to get to know one another without being distracted by daily business. Vincent misses the intimacy Adison and himself shared on the trip over, but he knew before they undertook the trip that a lot would change with a child in their lives.

And then he only thought of practical things, he had no idea of the impact the little girl would have on his feelings.

It is as if a whole new set of sentiments has awakened inside him, it feels as if he is in love, not in a sexual way but in a totally new way, a way he's never felt before.

Being one of the few people ever to remember growing up, it mostly resembles the way he felt about Adison when she was helping him to explore the world, when he still depended on her, only this time his role is reversed, and the object of his love now totally relies on him.

That doesn't frighten him at all, he now realizes Adison was right, that he has felt responsible for her and for Victor, ever since he got his own life in the theatre.

And of course he can share the responsibility for Catherine with Adison, she's a born mother, just as he expected. And there and then he decides, that if she wants a child of her own and he is indeed not able to sire one, they will find another way.

When they reach the outskirts of the city, they are all tired and quite fed up with travelling. Only Neil seems to enjoy himself still, he really is a born coachman.

He also has a past in a certain shady profession, for at the last stop he asks them whether they want to go to Mr Heathcliff's house or to Dr Frankenstein's house, and when they tell him Dr Frankenstein's place, he says, 'Good, your enemies won't expect that, it will be safer for all of you. I know this city inside out, do you want me to take the direct route or go via a slight detour that is unpredictable?'

This worries Vincent, he realizes he must have made some enemies in his former life, but to have it thrown in his face like this is a shock.

'Do you think someone is after me then?' he asks.

'That is a strange question for someone with an 'enemy' that throws gytrash around, if you don't mind my speaking frankly, sir,' is Neil's answer.

'Do you fear an ambush? You're the sitting duck on the box,' he returns the question to Neil.

'I'll feel safest taking my own route, a sniper is hired easily enough. You trust me, I'll get you home to the doctor safely.'

So now they are following slightly narrower roads, on a slightly longer route, and Vincent contemplates inviting Neil over for an evening of enlightenment into his former life.

Suppose he runs into an old enemy and doesn't even recognize him?

He needs to learn, and he needs to learn fast, before the next attempt on his life succeeds as well as the one he remembers from a dream.

Before long they stop in front of the house they have come to love, in the middle class neighbourhood they know so well by now, and they don't even have to knock before the door opens for them.

Victor runs out towards them, enveloping Adison in a bear hug, and after her Vincent.

Vincent has Catherine on his arm, so she is inadvertently included in the hug, and when Victor sees her, Vincent fondly says, 'Victor, meet my daughter Catherine, and Catherine, this is my best friend Victor. He's a doctor, like Adison.'

Catherine's eyes are huge. 'Can he do magic too?'

Vincent cannot help but laugh at Victor's stunned expression, and he gives his toddler an adoring hug. 'Some people think so.'

Now it's Victor's turn to laugh. 'Vincent, you're in love.'

Neil has unloaded their luggage, and Adison is busy bringing it into the hall, longing for a cup of tea in their cosy kitchen. Letting Catherine carry her own little bag, they all pitch in and soon everything is inside.

Adison gives Neil a hug, thanking him for his excellent care, then takes Catherine into the house. Wanting to speak to Neil for a moment, Vincent follows him back to the carriage, where he hands him a sizeable tip as a thank you for his help with everything, and he asks him about the possibility of some instructions on his former life and possible enemies.

Neil sees the sense in that, and they make an appointment to meet a few day's hence in Heathcliff's house. Then they shake hands cordially and each returns to his own family.

As the door closes behind them, Mina steps from the shadows, greeting her friends with a hug too, then shaking hands with the tiny girl with the raven hair.

'Hello Catherine, I'm Mina, I live with Victor.'

It is clear that poor Catherine is very tired, and Adison is doubtful that she will be able to wait for dinner, but as they enter the kitchen a surprise is waiting for them: the table is set, and dinner is ready.

'How did you two know we were coming?' Adison's face shows her surprise.

Victor brags, 'We have magic too, you know. Actually, Mina knew the minute you crossed the city limits.'

Mina explains. 'I did tell you I seem to know somehow where someone is that I have shared blood with and that I care for?'

Adison nods, seeing where this is going.

'Well, apparently I care for Vincent enough that I felt him leave the city, and return too. Plenty of time to put something together.'

Though Adison doesn't know exactly what to think of that, she is way too tired and too relieved to be home safely to think about it much, so she decides to enjoy being back, and listens to the conversation of the others.

Catherine is almost asleep against her, barely eating, and after dinner she takes her to the big four-poster and stays with her until she sleeps, which is not long. They'll see about a little bed for her tomorrow.

With little Catherine asleep, Adison returns and they settle down around the kitchen table for some catching up.

Victor shows Vincent a package that has just arrived that day from St James' Theatre, and unwrapping it, Vincent finds an extract from the new play, and an invitation to prepare the piece for auditioning in three days time.

That is do-able, and he puts it away carefully to start preparing tomorrow.

Then Victor and Mina want to know everything about their trip, and now it is Vincent's turn to tell about their run-in with the gytrash in full detail, whilst Adison fills in some details when asked. She is so tired, but she wants to be with her friends as well, so she moves to Vincent's lap and snuggles against him, resting her head on his chest, feeling his voice as well as hearing it, his arms around her, his face in her hair.

Suddenly she feels herself being lifted, she must have fallen asleep, and now she is on her way to their bedroom in the arms of her beloved. He lays her on the bed carefully, as if she is still asleep, and kisses her tenderly and lovingly, then unbuttoning her dress to help her out of it. She wakes a little more to make it easier, then watches him undress, looking forward to the feel and the smell of him next to her.

And as he joins her beneath the blankets, wrapping her in his arms, they look at the sleeping form of the little girl on one side of the bed, and she hears Vincent's deep voice, obviously smitten.

'Our world will be turned upside down by her, but I hope we'll always remember each other.'

Author's note:

This story ended approximately where the first Penny Dreadful series ended. And now it continues, again more or less where that story picks up. But I didn't enjoy series two as much, it was a bit easy, without the shades of grey of series one, with witches living either in cobwebby cottages on a moor or skull-ridden draughty castles, killing babies.

Explaining everything doesn't make the whole more interesting to me either.

So, I've adapted everything a tiny bit, following the action where it is relevant to the characters in my story, but since they react quite differently sometimes, the story-lines will move apart more and more.

I hope you will enjoy reading it nonetheless, please let me know what you think.

Chapter 32

Having returned home safely with Vincent's daughter Catherine, the real challenge begins. It is not easy to fit a little child in one's life from one day to the next, especially in lives so filled up with activities as Adison's and Vincent's are.

But with Victor and Adison working days, Vincent working evenings and Mina on a reverse biological clock there is always someone at home to play with their little house-mate, or to comfort her if she wakes up in the middle of the night, and they quickly find a new routine.

During their first days home, Vincent really needs to work on his audition, so for two days he has breakfast with his daughter and then retreats to the library to read and practise the whole morning.

The afternoons will be Catherine's, and he needs to be back in the theatre each night, but that is easily fixed: Catherine will want to see her father play too, so they'll just take her along for now.

The role he is auditioning for is not a lead, but it is nonetheless an important step in the direction of serious theatre, so he means to get it, and perform well in it. He is glad to get this chance, usually actors do not step up from his current role to St James', rather the opposite.

After a morning's shopping, Victor and Adison have found Catherine a little bed and some dresses suitable for city living, as well as some stuff to liven up the room she will be able to call her own, like books and toys.

On the second afternoon after their return, as Adison and Victor visit patients, Vincent is playing with his daughter, trying out the new toys, wooden building blocks and farm-animals.

When she starts to get tired they read the new children's' books and even some of his own collection of poetry, if your dad is an actor even serious poetry can be very diverting.

Since Mina generally wakes up around this time, and she is rather fond of their new house-mate, Vincent hopes she will search them out. Catherine must be almost ready for her nap by now, and Vincent expects her to be very willing to sit with Mina for a while, giving Vincent an hour to spend on arms-practise before he needs to go to work.

As the lovely blonde woman appears in the kitchen, she greets both of them gladly, Mina is very fond of children, but sadly she will never have any of her own.

Her chance at a normal life was taken from her by a powerful, supposedly evil entity they have come to call the enemy. To entice her best friend Vanessa to his side, he first seduced Mina to become a vampire, an inherently evil creature that lives off the blood of, well, anyone it can get its hands on. When that didn't work the enemy tried to get at Vanessa by force, and Mina was the one to try and get hold of her.

When Mina was shot almost to death by her own father in the battle for Vanessa, Adison was able to free her from the evil that possesses a vampire, but not from the curse of her changed body. Her life saved by their friend Victor, Mina has also found love in his arms, but she will never lead a normal life, sunlight will kill her instantly, and the only sustenance that has any value for her is human blood.

Still, Vincent guesses Mina is relatively happy living with them, she reads a lot when they all sleep, and she assists her beloved on nightly house calls, using her enhanced physical powers to guard him from any possible danger. She does her share of the chores, and keeps the patient files.

And even though Catherine has been living with the four of them for less than two days, Mina and the little girl are well on their way to becoming fast friends.

Even as Vincent is lost in thoughts for a few moments, Mina has already lifted the little girl high above her head, then taken her on her arm.

Vincent does not hesitate to ask for help.

'Mina, I'd really like to put in some sword-practise in the basement, would you mind keeping an eye on Catherine for an hour or so? She's getting sleepy, she'll be glad to stay with you and chat a little.'

'Sure, but if you don't mind, I'd like to watch you, I've never seen you with a sword. Let's see if she'll stay with me.'

As they walk towards the basement, she pretends Catherine is flying, no-one but himself or Mina could keep that up for so long, for Catherine is already two years old and not easy to carry for a long time.

Once in the basement, Mina settles on a bench, hoping to convince Catherine to stay with her. 'Catherine, daddy wants us to just stay put for a while, do you mind sitting on my lap?'

The girl readily settles in her arms, not minding sitting still at all. Mina has heard the girl is supposed to have a temper, but she hasn't seen anything of it yet.

'All right, we're safe,' Mina says.

Vincent addresses Catherine directly.

'I'm going to move very fast love, please stay with Mina for if you come too close it will be dangerous.'

The little girl just nods, and Vincent starts to warm up without his sword, performing slow, flowing movements of great strength and beauty.

After ten minutes he stops, and tells them about what he is doing.

'That is called Tai Chi, a technique I often use to warm up. If you like I can teach both of you a few moves, it's very relaxing.'

Mina likes the idea, but, 'Better put in your practise whilst Catherine is enjoying watching, once she gets restless you can teach us.'

'You are so right, I'll speed up a little first, then.' And Vincent takes his saber from the rack where it is stored, and launches into one of his sword forms.

Having known Heathcliff quite intimately, and having seen him fight repeatedly, his reputation as ferocious fighter well-deserved, Mina still feels her jaw drop.

The man she knew as Heathcliff during her life as vampire in the service of the enemy, was a formidable opponent who inspired fear even in his allies, but mostly because of his fearlessness and his aggression, though he had technique and a strong body.

Vincent is more or less Heathcliff's reincarnation because he is Heathcliff's body, brought back to life by Victor after Heathcliff's death, without any memory of his former life as charming but insanely dangerous villain.

And Vincent really knows how to handle a sword, his control over the weapon is total, vanquishing one imaginary opponent after another, sides and back covered, the speed incredible.

His stocky figure becomes an epitome of elegance, his movements more a dance than a fight, he seems to have combined martial arts and traditional fencing to a style uniquely his own.

Of course Mina knows Vincent is a good fighter, she has heard of gytrash and they are not usually killed by one man, and though she was near death when he battled the evil creature that held her, she knows Vincent killed it bare-handed, and she also knows first-hand how powerful they are: she has some of the same strength.

But knowing is different from seeing it, this is not just the result of super-human strength and speed, and a durability that has not even been tested to its limits yet, this is skill, acquired by lessons from excellent masters, and hours and hours of determined practise.

And undoubtedly an innate talent for strategy, for his moves are unlike any she has ever seen, not even when she witnessed Bruce and his friends decimating her minions in the raid that freed her. They didn't use weapons at first, just the stakes when it became clear they would have to kill or be killed.

Suddenly Mina realizes that constant training in combination with meditation has given Vincent his ultimate control over his violent nature. Of course love and trust have had to do with it as well, but invoking the violence again and again within the boundary of arms-practise has habituated his control.