Louise

Louise saw the look on Kevyn's face and stopped mid-sentence. She was almost afraid to ask what happened in the few short minutes that she and Nathan had been gone.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Barb is what happened!" Kevyn snapped.

"Barb?" Louise asked confused, "She's not coming until Saturday."

"Yeah well, she just called, she's at the airport."

"What? What are we going to do?" Louise asked.

"What do you mean what are we going to do? I've been dying to see this movie." Kevyn said. "I'm not changing plans because she decided to show up early."

Kevyn took out her cell phone and dialed Barb's number.

"Barb, you're going to have to catch a cab to the hotel.... We were just leaving when you called and no we're not changing our plans to come get you, you weren't supposed to get here until Saturday... then walk! Do you have a piece of paper? I'm going to give you the address to the hotel; they'll be expecting you. Yes, yes... "We'll call you tomorrow. Bye Barb." Kevyn said hanging up on Barb who was still talking.

Kevyn laughed, she couldn't help it.

"She is royally pissed that she has to spend money on a cab. Come on or we'll be late for the movie."

In spite of herself, Louise started to giggle as she imagined Barb's reaction to being told that she had to catch a cab. She covered her lips with the tips of her fingers like her mother used to do when she giggled as if she was embarrassed to be caught laughing. Nathan looked down at her, noticed the tiny dimples at the corner of her mouth, and wanted to touch them. His goal for the night was to see her smile without covering her mouth. He suspected that she had a smile and a fun loving side that that few if anyone had ever seen.

"Whose idea was it to come to a popular movie the second night of opening?" Kevyn grumbled as they stood in line several minutes later.

"That would be you." Patrick teased as he pulled her back into him and kissed her neck.

"Why didn't you stop me?" she teased back.

"Because I wanted to see it too." Patrick replied.

Louise watched the easy manner in which Patrick and Kevyn interacted and wondered if she would ever be that relaxed around someone. She was aware of Nathan standing closely behind her but not touching. All he would have to do is take a tiny step forward and he would be as close to her as Patrick was to Kevyn.

The line moved quickly with Kevyn and Louise heading for the theater to get seats and Patrick and Nathan going to the concession stand. While they waited, Patrick talked with Nathan.

"How are things?" He asked.

"Good, why do you ask?" Nathan replied.

"Kevyn is having a hard time with not being able to talk with Louise about what's happening between you and Louise. I explained to her how things were and she understands but there's a lot of guilt about things that I won't go into without her permission and things that are really for Louise to tell you."

"What do you need from me?" Nathan asked looking at Patrick.

"I'm not sure exactly... could you talk to Kevyn? I think that she wants to give you the if you hurt my sister I'm going to kick your ass speech. I also think it will fulfill the need that she has to protect her. Am I making sense?"

"You're making sense and I understand." Nathan replied. "I have a little knowledge of what happened back in Pittsburgh and I don't mind talking with her if it will help and I would like to know her a little better."

"Thank you Nathan, I appreciate it."

"I should be thanking you." Nathan said with a smile, "You brought my mate to me although you didn't know who she was, so thank you."

***

Louise and Kevyn managed to find four seats that were far enough back that Nathan and Patrick's height wouldn't be too much of a problem but close enough so that Louise who was the shortest of them at 5'4 would be able to see the screen. They each took an outer seat to reserve the ones in the middle until the guys came and then they would rearrange themselves.

"Hey look, there's two seats there!" someone called out.

The owner of the voice called down to Louise, "Hey lady, can you move down two seats?"

"I'm sorry but these seats are taken." Louise replied politely.

"Where are the people sitting there then? The movie's going to start in a few minutes." the man said.

Kevyn was on the phone with Barb who was still angry at having to take a cab to the hotel and didn't notice what was happening just three seats down from her.

One of the men, the one who hadn't spoken tried to climb over Louise to get to the seat next to her.

"Hey!" Louise objected as she pushed at the man who was being followed by his friend. "Stop it!"

Hearing the commotion, Kevyn looked up in time to see Louise trying to keep two men from taking the seats reserved for Patrick and Nathan. She stood up and faced the bigger of the two men, "These seats are saved."

The man seemed not to hear her and tried to push past her. The thing that amazed Kevyn was that the theater was full, there were people all around and no one was offering to help. Suddenly the man standing closest to Louise let out a howl of pain.

"Fuck! What did you do to me?" he screamed at Louise who was as confused as he was because she hadn't touched him.

"I believe that the lady told you that these seats were taken." Nathan said stepping up to the man, "You have two options, you can either find another seat or leave but if you insist on these seats...."

"No... it's all good just a misunderstanding!" one of the men said as he pushed his partner out of the way and rushed off.

When they were gone, Nathan made Louise move so that he was sitting on the outside of her on her right; Kevyn sat to her left with Patrick on the outside of her.

"Sweetheart are you alright?" Nathan asked Louise noticing that she was looking slightly green around the gills.

"I'm just really thirsty." she replied.

Nathan and Patrick looked at each other and back at Louise. Neither of them had done anything to the man who tried to take their seats, which meant it had been either Kevyn or Louise and all bets were on Louise.

"Here, drink this." Nathan said handing her the large plastic cup of cola.

Louise took the large cup in both hands and gulped it down stopping only once for air. By the time she was finished with it, her color was much better and she felt better. When she realized that she drank the entire contents of the cup, she blushed.

"I'm so sorry...."

"Don't be, I like a woman who can hold her soda." Nathan teased. "I'll be right back with a refill." he said.

As he waited in line for a refill, he tried to figure out what had happened. He and Patrick had just gotten to the row of seats just as the man howled in pain. He had the feeling that life with Louise was not going to be dull in the least. He also suspected that she was much more than an empath. The question was what?

***********

Barb got off the plane and looked around. She had never been in such a large airport and was looking forward to the ride in the limo that Kevyn was going to send for her and wondered if it would have a stocked bar. As soon as she was able, she called Kevyn to let her know that she had arrived.

She smiled at Kevyn's shocked voice, "You're where?"

The smile didn't last for long, it was gone a few minutes later when Kevyn called her back and told her to take a cab to the hotel and that they weren't going to change their plans just because she decided to come earlier than planned. Her anger grew when she realized that baggage claim was at the far end of the airport and she was wearing high-heels because she wanted to look the part of a high society woman being picked up by a limo. It felt as if she had walked miles before she finally reached the baggage claim and her feet felt as if they were about to fall off.

During her walk, she called Kevyn not once but twice asking if she could send a car for her to which Kevyn responded to by laughing at her.

"Car? What do you think this is? Take the cab and I'll call you sometime tomorrow."

After the second phone call making the same request and getting the same answer, Barb gave up and made her way to baggage claim. An hour and a half later, she was standing in the lobby of a nice hotel but it wasn't anywhere near as lavish as the one in Pittsburgh. She walked up to the counter, put on her best flirty smile and announced her presence.

"Yes Ms. Simpson, Mr. Sinclaire told us that you would be arriving and asked me to give you this envelope."

Barb looked at the envelope for a second before taking it from the clerk's hand.

"If you will sign here please." he said as he slid a form across the counter. "My name is Hans and I will be personally attending to your needs during your stay. My extension is written on the corner of the card attached to your receipt."

"Do you live here?" Barb asked.

"I only stay when Mr. Sinclaire has a guest that he feels might need some extra attention." Hans explained. "If you're ready, I'll escort you to your room."

"Room? Don't you have suites?"

"Yes we do but Mr. Sinclaire didn't authorize a suite. If you will follow me please."

Barb grumbled but Hans appeared not to hear her and if he did, he didn't respond.

"Your room is on the third floor...."

"The third floor? Don't you have anything higher up?"

Hans ignored her and kept walking giving Barb no choice but to follow him.

"Here is your room Madame." Hans said as he stopped in front of the door of room 318 and unlocked it.

He carried her luggage in and gave her a quick tour of the room.

"The refrigerator is fully stocked and you may help yourself to whatever is there. When housekeeping comes they will restock if for you. Concerning any of the amenities of the hotel, you have unlimited use of the gym, pool and the laundry room."

"Laundry room? What about maid service?"

"Mr. Sinclaire didn't authorize that but if you wish you may purchase it at a discounted rate since you are a guest of Mr. Sinclaire's."

"What about meals? Or didn't he authorize that either?" Barb snapped.

"He has authorized a one hundred and fifty dollar a day food credit for you and you may use the spa once a week for the length of your stay and of course...."

"I got it!" Barb said irritably.

"Is there anything else that I can do for you?" Hans asked barely containing his laughter.

"Is room service still available?"

"Yes Madame, dial 6 and that will connect you to the kitchen. However I must warn you that we have a limited menu at night."

As soon as he was out of the room, Hans laughed. Patrick had been right about this one, she was a money hungry bitch.

Barb looked around the room that was nice but nothing like the rooms that Patrick, Kevyn and Louise had stayed in back home. She looked at the menu for room service and ordered a BLT that the menu listed at $12.50

"Damn!" she swore as she realized that she was going to have to be careful with her food allowance unless she wanted to dig into her own pocket. Her plan to order Champaign flew out of the window when she saw that the cheapest bottle was 75.00 and it was already well past midnight. She called, ordered the sandwich and unpacked while she waited for her meal to arrive. When she was unpacked, she went to the bathroom expecting to see a lavish Jacuzzi tub with various oils and soaps lined along the side and was disappointed to see a plain bathtub that was much larger than normal but it had no jets. So far, this trip was not what she was expecting. In the end, she decided that it was only because she showed up unexpectedly that she was in this room. She relaxed fully expecting to be upgraded later in the day either to a suite or to another hotel. As much as she didn't like the food voucher limitation, she understood it. She would have done the same thing and it wouldn't have been as much.

The sandwich arrived a few minutes later. The man delivering it gave Barb a smile and asked her where she wanted the table set up.

"Anywhere!" she snapped as she turned her back on the man.

The man glared at her back and muttered under his breath, "bitch."

"Excuse me?" Barb asked as she turned around.

"Nothing, I said as you wish."

The man set up the table and left minus a tip that he wasn't going to be offered anyway, he would have to remember to tell his colleagues about her.

After the man left, Barb took the lid off the plate and swore. The BLT looked like any other BLT that she had ever seen with its three slices of bacon. "For 12.50 they could have at least doubled the bacon." she muttered as she sat down to eat. After the meal, she took a very unsatisfying soak in the tub wishing that it had the whirlpool jets in it. As she soaked, she thought about Kevyn and Louise who were soon going to be living in the lap of luxury if they weren't already.

Her ire grew as she remembered Kevyn laughing at her when she asked for a car to be sent and then there was the fact that she had to pay for the cab. And finally she was in what she considered a second rate room forgetting that she usually stayed in a 'Motel 6' whenever she had to travel which wasn't very often.

By the time she was done with her bath, she had worked herself up into a jealous rage. She had half a mind to get dressed, call a cab and show up unannounced at Kevyn's apartment. The only things that stopped her were the facts that Kevyn and Louise probably weren't home and that she would have to pay for the cab.

As she applied lotion to her body, Barb examined herself. While she wasn't thin, neither was she fat. She was what she liked to call voluptuous and she considered herself the most attractive of all of the sisters.

"A lot of good that does me." she grumbled as she applied generic 'Nivea' to her arms. She put on her pajamas, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and went to bed. Within minutes of lying down, she was sound asleep.

*********

Nathan paid very little attention to the movie. His mind was on Louise and whatever it was she did to the man. She hadn't been touching him so it had to be cognitive. He also realized that she didn't know what had happened, if she did, she would be horrified to know that she had hurt someone. From his point of view he was glad that she could do whatever it was she did, it meant that she could protect herself.

He glanced over at Kevyn who was watching the movie with her head resting on Patrick's shoulder. He had known from the moment that she peeked into his mind that there was going to be an issue with her not being able to tell Louise what she knew. He understood and knew that he would feel the same way that she did if it were him but that didn't change the fact that it wasn't her place to talk to Louise what she needed to know, it was his.

He would do as Patrick requested and talk to her with the goal being making sure that Kevyn understood that he loved and would die for her sister. He felt for Kevyn. It had to have been difficult coming into the vampire world where many of the rules were different. He would try to find a time to talk to her and the sooner the better.

After the movie, they went to a cell phone store where Patrick knew the owner who had been kind enough to open the store for them.

"Pick out any phone you like." Patrick told Kevyn.

Kevyn headed to the least expensive phones and began to look at them.

"A suggestion if I may." Patrick said from beside her, "These are nice phones but why not get one that you can use for school? You'd be able to download drug handbooks and whatever else you needed."

"I don't even need a new phone." Kevyn replied. "And a phone like you're talking about isn't cheap."

"No." Patrick conceded, "But look at it like this, once you start school you're going to need all kinds of reference books. Why carry them around when you can carry them in your phone? I'm also willing to bet that you might be able to download some of your textbooks too."

Kevyn gave it some thought and realized that he made several valid points. She would still keep her prepaid number until she got her new number to family at home. The old phone she would give to a battered woman's shelter to use as they saw fit.

"Alright, I'm convinced but I'm buying it." she said and got ready for the objections to start.

Nathan and Louise were on the other side of the store having almost the same conversation.

"You can put your recipes on it and you can even download the recipes from the cooking shows that you watch."

"I don't know," Louise said, "It's so expensive..."

"When is your birthday?" Nathan asked.

"October," Louise replied, "why?"

"Consider it an early birthday present." Nathan replied as he called the store associate over.

"No! You can't buy me that!" Louise protested.

"Why not?" Nathan asked, "It's a gift."

"It's too expensive and you don't know me well enough to buy me something like this." Louise replied indicating the phone in question.

"I know all that I need to know." Nathan replied.

Louise looked up at Nathan who met her direct gaze with one of his own.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked.

Nathan smiled down at her, if he could get her out of her shell, she would be fun to fight with.

"Just what I said." he replied.

Louise looked around the store and saw that Kevyn and Patrick were on the far side of the building. She turned back to Nathan who was still looking at her.

"You don't know anything about me." Louise protested.

"I beg to differ." Nathan replied, "Let's make a bet." Nathan said not taking his eyes from her face. "If I can list five things that I know about you I get to buy you the phone."

Louise hesitated and then agreed not believing that he could do it.

"And if you can't?" she asked.

"If I can't then you can buy the phone that you want."

"I agree." Louise said holding her hand out for a shake.

Nathan took her hand in his and held it as she began to list the things that he knew.

"I know that you are very sensitive and that you feel things deeply. I also know that you've felt alone and that no one with the exception of Kevyn and now Patrick and me realized how special you are. I know that you are not boring even though you think you are. I know that while shy and unassuming, you're a very beautiful and strong woman and that if pushed hard enough, you'll push back. Last of all, you want to know what I want with you. How did I do?" Nathan asked.

"How did you know all of that?" Louise asked.

"Intuition and it's clear that no one has told you enough just how remarkable you really are. So do I get to buy you that phone?" Nathan asked.

"Nathan..."

"A deal is a deal and we shook on it." Nathan reminded her as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

An hour later, Louse and Kevyn had new phones. Nathan had Louise's phone and was programming all of his phone numbers into it.

"You can call me at anytime day or night for anything and I will always answer." Nathan said as he handed the phone back to Louise. "Later we can play with it to see how it works."

"Thank you." Louise said as she took the phone back. She would have never bought herself a phone like the one Nathan had just bought for her even if she could have afforded it. She looked at Kevyn and Patrick and again wondered if something like what they had was possible for her. She felt eyes on her and turned to see Nathan looking at her with a look in his eyes that she couldn't quite interpret. Blushing, she quickly looked away as she began to tingle and throb.

Nathan reached over, took her hand in his, gave it a reassuring squeeze, and was gratified when she squeezed back. That she had unconsciously returned the gesture was even better as far as Nathan was concerned, it confirmed that she was feeling the pull. He didn't turn away when she looked at him because he wanted her to see what he was feeling for her. He had the feeling that had he said it she would have taken off, it was far better to show her and have her get acclimated to him by showing her.