"Go inside, Karen, Melissa is too sick to come out to greet you. She needs you soonest." Timothy says in greeting after giving her a hug. "Did you read the letter," Timothy calls after her.
"Yes," Karen replies back.
"And?" Timothy hides how anxious he is. If Karen leaves again Melissa might lose the child that she is carrying. She's already on bed rest and had to have Timothy's blood to help her keep the baby this long.
"I'll tell you later," Karen tells him motioning to her going to Melissa.
"Very well, but immediately after wards."
"Or you could join us and I could tell you both at the same time?" Karen tells him with a bland look on her face.
"Perfect. I'll be in shortly." Timothy wants to follow her inside right now, but needs to talk to Cliff first.
"She can't leave with me again." Cliff tells him once they are alone and not in hearing distance.
"Why is that? Has she been giving you trouble?"
"Hardly," Cliff sniffs, "I have to practically pry her out of her room. No, she's a psychic vampire, she can't come with me until she's fully trained."
"Shit." Timothy wants to bang his head on something. "I promised her that she could decide what she wants to do after this visit. I told her that she wouldn't be forced to stay here if she didn't feel welcome."
"Well, you might have to hold off on that promise until after training."
"Did your maker's daughter have to be near her?"
"Why? What's wrong?"
"Melissa has been very sick and is pregnant. But the illness is more than what I've ever heard of for a vampire pregnancy. Human, yes, vampire, no."
"I'll take a look at her before we leave. Or rather before I leave here. I'll be staying at least for a month, if there is trouble with Melissa's pregnancy, I'll stay longer.
"Thank you, I know you aren't thrilled about being back here for any length of time."
Cliff snorts. "I left to allow Karen the chance to leave and regroup. She didn't deserve the treatment she was getting from those damn brats you created."
"I know. If I had known how they were treating her I would have dealt with it long before she left. The problem should be dealt with now, though."
"It better be or I will be dealing with them, since she won't be able to leave for awhile." With that the two vampires make their way inside. Once there they separate and go their own way. One to find his room and the other to talk with his newest vampire.
Timothy slips into his bedroom quietly to not disturb Melissa and Karen as they talk.
Karen looks at Timothy with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, I had no idea me being away would affect her like this. I never dreamed that I could affect any one this badly."
"It's not your fault. You should have felt the effects of the separation as well, yet it seems that you haven't felt them at all." Timothy frowns at this.
"Not really. I missed Melissa and Tad and even you a bit, but not enough to make me want to come back here. I came more because Cliff was insisting and because of what he discovered."
"You do realize that you can't leave again without full protection until after you are fully trained."
"I am fully trained, I went through hell week for more than a year." Karen replies dryly.
Timothy in irritation waves that away, "You know what I mean, don't act stupid, Karen because I already know that you aren't and it pisses the hell out of me."
"Forgive me, sir." Karen bows her head in submission at his anger.
Timothy sighs in frustration. "Just stop acting stupid, that's the part I have trouble with."
"Yes, sir."
"Are we back to that once more? Are you still afraid of me?"
"Any one with any brains would be afraid of you, Timothy. Especially when you are angry."
"Don't try to change the subject on me. Are you still afraid of me?"
"Yes, sir, of course I am. Am I terrified of you like before, no." Karen says then looks down unable to tolerate the heated look in Timothy's eyes.
"Timothy, don't you think you should get her answer before you seduce her?" Melissa says with amusement.
"I can't seduce her, at least not like other vampires I can't, she's a Psychic like you and more or less immune to other vampires seduction. Unless she's interested of course, then she's like every one else."
Timothy goes a bit away from her and takes a seat. Once settled he motions for Karen to go ahead and tell them both what her decision is.
Just as she's about to tell them there is a knock at the door.
Timothy sighs, "Come in, Travis. You are just in time to hear Karen's answer to coming back to the seethe indefinitely. Find a seat and sit down and keep your mouth shut. Her response will determine your fate as well."
"Wait, what? How will my decision affect him?"
"I'm kicking him out of the seethe so that you will come back." Melissa tells her when Timothy and Travis both ignore Karen's looks.
"No. He loves you, Melissa, he needs to be with you, you can't do that."
"I need you here more than I need him. With you being a psychic vampire it becomes even more vital that you remain." Melissa tells her solidly.
"What?" Travis says when he hears that Karen is a psychic vampire. "But you didn't show any signs of being psychic."
"Actually she showed many signs, she just hid enough of them that we didn't ask her about it. We all should have known when she went days without being able to eat and still not going into a blood lust."
Melissa looks at Karen sadly, "I'm sorry, Karen, I failed you. If I had seen what was going on I would have put a stop to it sooner. If I had been paying as close attention to you as I should have as you being a newborn, I would have caught it. But I was too distracted by my new baby and didn't pay close enough attention to my new vampire child. That is on me and I ask you to forgive me. You sacrificed your life to save me and my daughter and you were driven out of your home because of it. I will understand if you never forgive me."
Travis winces at Melissa's words.
"It was never your fault, Melissa, it was mine. I'll have my things packed and ready to go shortly."
"No, I won't come back at the price of her losing another of her children. I've been nothing but trouble from the moment I came into your lives. I should just leave."
"You can't until you are trained, Karen." Timothy tells her once more.
Karen just smiles.
"That wasn't the kind of leaving she meant, Timothy." Melissa tells him sickened.
"None of us will kill you, Karen. We've been over this before." Timothy says short tempered.
Karen just smiles once more.
"Stay, Karen, give the seethe another chance. If you wish, with Timothy's permission, I will remain as well. However, if you would rather, I will leave so that you feel safe here once more."
Karen just sniffs at this. "I won't feel safe with you leaving. I only felt safe for a short time, one night to be precise, and that was when the other vampires saw that you and Tad accepted me. I don't trust them to not turn on me once more. Until I can trust them, I won't feel safe."
"Understood," Timothy says closing his eyes. Karen, in her own way is just as difficult as Melissa had been just after her turning.
"Once Melissa has trained you on how to control your psychic abilities I will find a different seethe to house you in. But it will have to be a strong one to protect you from those that would use you for their own purposes."
"So, you don't wish to hear my decision after all?" Karen asks hurt that Timothy is already making plans to ship her out of his seethe.
"Wasn't that your answer?"
"I never gave an answer, you just assumed that I had."
"She got you there, Timothy. You do that a lot. You did it with me as well, if I recall correctly." Melissa smirks, she thinks she knows what Karen's response will be.
"I will-" she sends the information via mental speaking like Melissa would do to her occasionally.
Travis looks from one to another of those in the room before he finally demands to know the answer.