Take This to Your Grave and I'll Take It to Mine

His eyes grew wide, "How did you? You couldn't have injected yourself with the cure." He was enraged.

I stopped the fires I started.

I looked over to see how many I'd killed, 5 or 6, better then none.

"So do you want to let them go or have all of your men slaughtered?" I asked dangerously.

"Ryan untie them." He ordered a man with brown hair and eyes dressed in the traditional Dandy fashion, an ugly suit.

He just nodded his head and walked over to untie them.

"Pete take Andy and Joe to the ground, ok." I said to him never taking my eyes off William.

He didn't say anything, just did what I asked.

I snatched the needle out of William's hand and drove it into his shoulder so quickly that I‘m sure Patrick could only see the end result.

"Don't bother me William." I said walking to the door (or lack there of) where Patrick was standing, waiting for me.

I grabbed him and flew to the ground where Pete and the rest of the guys were standing.

Pete came up to me and put an arm around my waist and his other hand on my cheek to make me look at him. "Is it true?" He asked gently.

"Patrick is making sure but there are strong chemical markers in my blood that are similar to that of a pregnant woman." I said putting my eyes down because I couldn't lower my head.

"I didn't know you guys were together like that." Joe said shocked to no end.

The one person that I dreaded speaking found that this was his time to speak.

"That's why you defended her to no end! That's why every time I told you there was something bad about her you told me I was paranoid! That's why three or four nights ago you were silent after you found out she was betraying us all! Because you were getting laid! Now the pregnant whore comes back and tells you it's yours! William told you they had sex all the time. How do you know it's not his!" Andy screamed, venting all the anger that had ever built up.

I got out of Pete's grasp and ran into the surrounding woods.

"Erin wait!" Pete called after me.

I just ran harder, until I felt sick and decided to hide in a tree because Pete was chasing me.

"Erin come out please."

I didn't want to, so I just pulled my legs closer to my body.

As I did that my foot hit some leaves and they made enough noise to grab Pete's attention.

His eyes darted straight to me. "Erin come down please." His eyes were begging, hurt, but not angry.

I know where the hurt came from, me, it's all my fault.

I nodded, although I didn't want to, I gracefully descended to the ground.

I didn't look up at him just waited for him to lead the way.

I followed him out of these woods and we found the rest of the guys hiding in the van.

Pete walked up to the van and slid the side door open.

"What the hell are you morons doing?" He asked seeing them all laying on there stomachs in the space where backseats would reside if the guys ever put them in, just staring at the open door.

"We were hiding just incase they decided that they wanted us dead anyways." Patrick said as his fear was leaving as he realized it was just us.

"And a van would stop them?" I laughed at the mere thought.

"Hey at least we don't take off running into the woods when real confrontation comes." Andy snapped back. "And we're just humans, what's your excuse?"

I don't hate him. He's not just doing this to be mean, he's just speaking his mind.
I didn't have anything to say back.

"Does the van still run?" Pete asked braking the awkward silence that had developed over the past few moments.

"Let me check." Patrick said as he moved to the front seat.

Maybe it still works. I was slowing down when I hit the tree.

"Erin why'd you leave the keys in the ignition?" Patrick asked not angry but amused.

"Nobody would want to steal it I mean look where it's parked." I said with a smile.

"Yeah I wonder who would park a car in a tree?" He said looking back with a sarcastic glare.

"Maybe it was someone who had never driven before and was lucky to make it to their destination." I said honestly.

"You've never driven and he let you drive?" Joe couldn't believe it. "We all have our licenses and he doesn't let us drive."

Patrick turned the key and by some miracle it started.

There was a group cheer, Andy climbed into the passenger seat, Pete and I climbed in back, and we speed off toward home.

The car ride was quiet.

After the long quiet car ride (Patrick didn't drive nearly as fast as I did) we finally arrived home.

It was time to be open and honest with the guys.

"Guys I need to talk to all of you in the living room please." I said as I hopped out of the car.

They all nodded and I got a series of 'yeah's and 'ok's.

I walked in and stood there just think about what I was going to say.

Pete came up behind me. "Are you ok?" He asked in a light whisper as he put his hand over my stomach.

I looked at him, into the honey/green hazel eyes that I'd grown to love. "I'll explain just have a seat."

He took a seat on the arm of the couch because they were all already sitting on the couch so it was the only spot left.

Andy looked displeased to be sitting there, to say the least. He didn't want to hear a word I had to say.

"Guys I have a few things to say, and I need you all to know I mean every word." I said and looked at them each of them. "Everything William said was true. I was in this just to finish my job. Once I'd had enough of you I was going to kill you. All of you. But somehow what Cleo said was right. She told me you guys would be the ones to give me back my heart. The night she died was the night I realized that I couldn't kill a single one of you. Not even you Andy. You're honest, you care about your friends, and you think they're naive and too trusting. You just want to protect them. I value that greatly." I said with all the sincerity that I hadn't used in centuries. "I have had friends, but none that I value as much as you all. I love you all like brothers."

I pause gathering my thoughts on what I had to say to Pete.

"And Peter, my Pete, I told myself from the beginning that I couldn't fall for you. Your human like attraction for me from the beginning would have moved me to want to kill someone else, but with you I found it endearing. It was so hard to tell you that I didn't like you, and once I'd let my affection for you be obvious to you I saw how it hurt you to not be able to tell your friends that you were falling. Falling for the girl that pushed everyone away, at least on the outside. Now I've decide that I can finally say it out loud and I won’t hide it ever again. I love you Pete." I said as I went over to him and put my hands on both sides of my face and brought him up off the couch and kissed him passionately for the first time in front of others.

We broke apart and looked into each other's eyes.

"I love you Erin." He whispered as he touched his forehead to mine as he continued looking into my eyes searching for any signs of dishonesty.

"I love you too." I said never saying anything so true.

He smiled and picked me up and spun me around. The guys cheered, well not Andy he just looked unsure.

"Patrick I got a blood sample from a female vampire so you can compare my blood to her's. I need to have my cure injected six more times and they only had enough for me to bring a little bit home so you can try to copy it." I spoke directly to Patrick. "It's all already on the desk."

"Awesome, I'll do the comparison of your blood to her's and we'll know for sure if you’re... you know." He was still a little awkward about the pregnancy thing. "I'll deal with your cure during the day though." He headed to the door to the basement then turned back. "I'll probably have the results in an hour or so." He walked through the door.

"I'm going to lie down." I said off-handedly to Pete, Joe, and Andy.

"I'll make sure you get up the steps." Pete said as he followed me to the attic.

Before I could even place my foot on the first step Pete picked me up and carried me up the stairs.

I cuddled into his chest because I was used to this.

Once we were upstairs he went to the couch and laid on it with me.

"William just kept going on about the things you and him did, and how you didn't love me. It was killing me. I was frightened that he could be right." He said softly as he stroked my hair.

"Let me tell you what he didn't, every time we did anything he was using his mind control, like I did with the cops the night you were in jail. Nothing that he and I did was willing. It was glorified rape." I said honestly.

"Are you serious?" He was far less then happy.

"Yeah and nothing ever happened out of that dream world that he'd drag me into. So you don't have to worry, I love you." I said the last part really softy. I'm still not adjusted to saying 'I love you' and not being persecuted.

He smiled at those three little words. "I'm never going to get used to you saying that."

"Then don't; flash that pretty smile at me as much as you can." I said with a smile in return.

I rested my head on his chest and fell to sleep with the feeling of him running his fingers through my hair.

"Erin! Erin, I have the results for you!" Patrick called up the stairs.

My eyes flew open, as did Pete's. We both sat up quickly just waiting for Patrick to make his way up the stairs.

Only moments later Patrick came into view followed closely by Joe.

"Joe, didn't I tell you not to follow me?" Patrick asked the man that was following him almost to closely.

"Well I have to know if I'm going to be an Uncle Joe or not." He said innocently.

"Joe just go back..." Patrick was cut off by me.

"Let him stay." I said with a smile on my face.

"Well Erin from everything I can tell, you're pregnant." He paused not really knowing what to say. "All I can say is congratulations if that's what you want to hear."

I had no words to say, I had hoped for death, but I guess I was kind of happy about this.

"Of course it's what we wanted to hear. I thought I'd never have kids when I became this." Pete said as excited as ever.

"Yes just call me Uncle Joe!" Joe screamed and jumped from excitement.

Everyone laughed at Joe's shenanigans.

Then after the laughter died everyone turned to me eager to know what thoughts traveled through my head.

I put my head down because I was more comfortable telling the floor then them. "I'm scared." I said it so softly that I doubted that they heard it.

They were stunned silent by that thought, because they thought it was something they'd never hear.