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“Lucy! Lucy, I found it.”
“Found what?”
“You know what. I found a way back. Just to visit, they can’t see us—well, I think babies and some animals can. Still working it out.”
“How is that poss—oh, I suppose it would be rather ridiculous of me to say I don’t believe in ghosts, wouldn’t it?”
“Just a little.”
“Is it... allowed?”
“It’s fine.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“Hey, hey, none of that now. How many times do I have to tell you? None of that mess was your fault. You’ve as much right to be here as anyone.”
“I suppose.”
“Well? Are you coming? You have a baby nephew who’s waiting to meet you.”
“Mina had a baby?”
“A beautiful, healthy little boy. Named after me.”
“That’ll go to your head, won’t it?”
“Maybe a little. Well? C’mon.”
“…maybe later.”
…
“You’re back so soon? I thought you were visiting Mina and Jonathan and the baby.”
“It’s not just them. Right now everyone’s gathered to help. Well, except Dr. Van Helsing. His wife just died, poor fellow. Y’know, Jack got married over a year ago and he still hadn’t told his wife about what happened?”
“I assume from the way you’re putting it that he told her?”
“He’s telling her now. Well… they all are. And they could use some moral support.”
“Quincey…”
“Jonathan’s talking at the moment, and he’s in story mode, which means it’ll be a while before anyone else gets a word in—hey, you know I’m right!—so I came up here to get you. They’re gonna have to say some hard things, and you know how Arthur is with feelings. He needs you, Lu.”
“He won’t even know I’m there.”
“Just because they can’t see us doesn’t mean they can’t feel us.”
“I…”
“Mina, too. She’s got maybe the hardest job of anyone. C’mon.”
“…I can’t.”
“Well, I’m going back now.”
“…give them my love? If you can?”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
…
“Well?”
“Well what?”
“Well, how is everyone doing? And how did Mrs. Seward take it?”
“She took it well, all things considered. She was a little annoyed that Jack hadn’t told her sooner, and a bit shaken up by the whole thing, understandably I’d say, but she settled down pretty quick.”
“I’m impressed.”
“Me too, frankly. The others are doing—well, they’re doing better than I expected. I think it helped that the baby started fussing and didn’t stop all evening. They didn’t have much time to dwell.”
“How did everyone deal with a fussy baby?”
“Well, Mrs. Seward did most of the baby-wrangling—she’s pregnant, wants some practice before she becomes a mother full-time. But everyone had a turn. Arthur walked around with him, sort of bouncing him, but eventually he gave up and handed him off to Jack. Jack wanted to drug him, but Mina put her foot down, so that didn’t happen… Jonathan tried to reason with him—yes, really.”
“What did Mina do?”
“I think the others were trying to give her a break, and she was doing her best to let them, even though I could tell she wanted to take over.”
“And what did you do?”
“I made funny faces. And sang. You know, if you’re so curious you could come down yourself.”
“…what did you sing?”
“Lullabye my mama used to sing to me.”
“I’d like to hear it, if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind at all.”
…
“Lucy, if you’re not gonna come down, can you at least tell me what you’re so afraid of?”
“You know.”
“Maybe. But I think it might do you good to hear yourself say it.”
“How could that possibly do me good?”
“Because it wasn’t your fault, and you’re never going to see that as long as you let it fester in the back of your mind—”
“I was there, okay?”
“…I’m listening.”
“You think it wasn’t me. But it was, I was there, I was… I was watching and I could feel it all, and it felt… it felt good. And I felt like, like if I tried a little harder maybe I could stop it, but… but I couldn’t, I was just… trapped… and I kept watching myself hurt them… and… and…”
“Hey, hey, don’t cry. It’s gonna be okay.”
“I…”
“You just said. You were trapped. There was nothing you could’ve done.”
“How can you know that?”
“Because I know you. Which means I know that if there was anything, anything at all, you could’ve done to keep from hurting those kids, you would’ve done it.”
“I suppose.”
“Remember when I told you about the promise we all made to Mina? Before I got here, after you did?”
“Yes.”
“She made us promise that because she knew she didn’t stand a chance of fighting him if she became a vampire. She was having to fight like wildfire just to stay herself even as a human, and Mina is one of the most determined people I have ever met. If she knew there was nothing she could do… I’m pretty sure there was nothing anyone else could’ve done, either.”
“…you’re sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“I just…”
“Look at it this way. The fact that you’re even having these feelings is a sign that you’re a good person who wants to do the right thing. And if you’re still worried, I’ll stay with you the whole time. You’re not gonna hurt the baby, but if you’re scared you will for some reason, I’ll be right there. I won’t let anything happen.”
“…I always did think Mina and Jonathan would have really cute kids.”
“Oh, he’s adorable.”
“You just think that because he’s named after you.”
“Wanna find out?”
“…let’s go.”