The Lost Child (Morganville Vampires)

The Lost Child

Amelie's point of view

I've just finishing signing and filing the paperwork for tonight and put them away on the shelf. Finishing my drink, I turn off the light and head upstairs. I hear a thud and the doorbell rings. I frown lightly. Who would be visiting me at this late hour? I go and answer the door.

"Hello?" I ask. No-one is there, so I begin to close the door when I hear a little voice. I look down and see a baby in her brown cot. I pick her up and look round looking for the person that abandoned her. I see no-one and cradle the child. I pick up the cot and bring her inside.

In my living room, I feed her milk from the fridge. I know its not what babies usually drink, but I'm not going to give her blood. The child stops drinking and burps.

"That's... nice. What shall I call you?" I said to myself. I thought up a range of girls names but can't think of one that suits her. The baby holds my finger in her tiny hand. I look out the window to Oliver coffee shop. It's open and it has more vampires in it now and less humans. A programme comes on the TV called the Sarah Jane Adventures.

"I know... I will name you Sarah Jane." I said. The child clapped as if she understood me. I stood up and carried her over to her cot and put her in so she can sleep. Then I turned off the light and closed the door. Then I went upstairs to bed.

THE NEXT MORNING

The next morning I wake up and go downstairs. Sarah Jane is awake and somehow managed to get out of the cot and crawl around. I walked over to her and picked her up and then got the milk and she began drinking. I looked out the window. The coffee shop is filling up with humans from the university campus. I see Oliver behind the counter serving them. He does such a bad job at pretending to be human.

Sarah Jane finishes drinking, so I cradle her and walk over to the tinted window. I see Claire walking towards Myrnin's home. Michael and Eve driving off and Shane presumably stays in the house.

"Who is your mother?" I ask the child quietly. Sarah Jane makes gurgling noises. Sighing, I walk into my office and see none other than Oliver. He looks surprised at what I am holding in the snow white blanket.

"Amelie... that's a human baby." He said. I roll my eyes.

"And?"

"Well what's it doing here?" He asks, impatient as always. I sigh and look down at the baby. She looks round and doesn't have a clue what is happening around her.

"I found her on my doorstep last night. So I took her in and..." I trailed off. I hadn't actually thought of what I would do with Sarah Jane, other than caring for her.

"You're gonna keep it?" Oliver asked.

"You may be surprised to know that 'it' is female. Therefore you address the child as she or her. Not it." I said, infuriated as to what he addressed her as. Oliver rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. Are you going to keep her or not?" He asked. I considered this. Then Sarah Jane started to move and her little arms were directed at Oliver. I held her away.

"No child. He is not to be trusted." I said. Sarah Jane looked at me and struggled a little more. I put her in her cot and took Oliver into another room.

"What do you want, Oliver?" I snapped. I didn't trust the child to be in a room on her own and I wanted this to be over very quickly.

"You may want to know your friend Myrnin has once again experimented on Claire. He sprayed acid on her skin and she wants me to come because she is afraid of you." Oliver said.

"Tell her to come round in 20 minutes." I said and quickly left the room. The baby is still struggling to get free of her cot.

"What's wrong, Sarah Jane? You can't go to Oliver. He's not to be trusted." I said and picked her up. Sarah got frustrated and started to cry. I looked around trying to find something to make her stop crying. I find nothing.

"Please don't cry. Please?" I asked her. I hadn't taken care of any children before, so I didn't know what to do. She kept crying. Sighing, I put her down. She instantly stopped and crawled to where Oliver is. I have a very bad feeling about this. Sarah Jane got into the room and crawled over to Oliver. I stayed behind her to make sure Oliver didn't harm her in any way. Oliver looked at her and she used his leg to stand up.

"Amelie, what is that child doing?" Oliver asked. I stared at Sarah Jane. What was she doing? Sarah looked at him and held out her hand. I picked her up and Sarah placed her tiny hand on Oliver's neck. He cringes at first, then stares blankly at Sarah. He steps away and Sarah Jane snuggles down in my arms. I stare at Oliver.

"Oliver what's wrong with you?" I asked, a bit more curious than I expected.

"Just go, Amelie and take care of your... Child." He said distantly. I stared at him for a moment then walk out of the room. In the living room Sarah Jane played with my top, while I thought about what had happened to Oliver. One moment he's being his sarcastic bored self and the next he is walking out like he has seen a ghost.

"That's... Off limits." I said. The child pokes at my chest. "I don't have milk. I have never had kids." I said. The baby gets off my lap and crawls over to her cot. I gently pick her up and put her in. "Goodnight, Sarah Jane." I said. I switched off the light and went upstairs.