Starting Over (RiRiishtar)

Christpher and Connor look at her with a slight smile for they understood what she was feeling more than they would ever admit openly. Christopher tape Jennifer into his arms and just holds her against his chest. He was not going to say anything else on the matter. After all it was Angie's turn to speak.

Angie looks at her a moment says to her calmly, "It is not that you will be a threat to anyone especially the children. I am just saying that when you are doing training like they will be making you do in order to face Derek, you tend to lose yourself along the way occasionally. I don't want you to lose yourself. I wouldn't know how to bring you back from the edge like I do for Connor and even Chris occasionally. And Drake, who knows how he will respond to you being a fighter all of a sudden."

Her mind was racing and she was trying to calm down, she didnt want Drake to know that she was getting upset. She saw the protective move that Christopher took and inwordly smiled, well even if she became a danger Christopher wouldn't let anyone or thing hurt the Children. Even if that meant her. She licked her lips and waited for them to anserw her although it looked like they were not going too.

She turned to Angie. She was slightly relived hearing that, only slightly though because she could tell bad news were coming. She chewed her bottom lip nervously, looking towards the study hoping that she would be able to tell if Drake was coming out.

Looking at Angie she shook her head. "I do not want to hurt Drake, but either way I will." She paused. "I guess I could just not provoke Derek at all"

Angie puts her hands on her hips after Connor takes Damon from her arms. "Do you really think you can spend eternity without being able to touch your husband? Do you know how much that will irritate Drake? You let the twins handle Derek when he comes out. That way neither one of you gets hurt. If you want to learn to fight him you will need time. And during time I know that Drake want to show you his home. Scotland is his homeland. He will want to share every bit of it with you. Being distant from him won't fix anything."

Shaking her head it was clear that Brooke was upset. "No, I just, I dont know" She rubbed her temples then turned to the twins. "Alright I am going to ask Drake first, and if he refuses I will ask you, but wont that trigger Derek?" She sighed. "I just didnt want to upset him but you are right keeping this from him wont be good either"

She took Damon and sat on the couch with him playing and laughing with him. She looked up at them. "Thanks for putting up with me"

Angie nods and says, "Yeah, it might trigger Dreke to come out but it is better to trigger him while you have back up than if you are alone." Christopher holds Jennifer quietly and says after a moment, "Besides, we are a family aren't we? We have to stick together." Damon giggles softly and says in his mother's head, "We will make it through this mommy."

"Alright, I will just have to do it when the children are otherwise occupied, I dont want them to see that" She laughed at Damon. "We will my sweet son" She looked around to everyone. "Do we have everything we need to get there?" She wondered what was taking Drake so long as well.

Angie nodded in agreement at her request just before Drake came out of his office. He didn't look too happy for things are not going as he wanted them to. He says to everyone, "I have some bad news. There is no one available to take care of the houses while we are gone to Scotland. The only thing I can think of to do is to board up the house until we get back. I mean all that would do is make us have to do maintenance when we got back. However, I prefer it when somebody is living in our homes to take care of it as we are gone."

Turning to Drake as he came out she went to him and kissed him softly. "Well that is too bad, but baby its going to be okay, I mean we can always just come back and check on it if we are worried right" She winked. She bite her lip. "How are we going to explain our, like especially mine and my dads disaperance?"

Drake kisses her cheek and says softly, "That's true, we can come back and check on things if it bugs us too much." At her next statement, he grinned a bit. "Well I let people know that you and I are spending some time in Scotland before we get married." He thinks about her dad a moment and says, "As far as the offical reason goes, he retired early and has gone on a fishing trip."

Thinking for a moment. "How long are we going to be gone for?" She paused. "I mean it probably wont work for your house cause of all the well the stuff here that shows centeries of stuff, but I am sure that there is a family that could use my house, like I am sure there is someone, or not" She trailed off looking at Drake. "That sounds lovely" She leaned against him

"I just find it strange that no one is in need of my old house, maybe I should just donate it, I mean its not like I am going to need it, It...just..." She shook her head how could she explain that she had memoires there when Drake was willing to give up everything for her? She bit her lip and shook her head. "Once everything I want is gone from it, I don't care what happens to it"

Drake looks at her a moment and says to her, "You should not just toss away your home. It is a part of who you are. It is Comet's home as well." As if on cue, the loving cat comes in the room rubbing on their legs. He says calmly, "As for the length of time we will be gone, I figure about 10 years. That would give the twins plenty of time to control their hunger." He kisses her forehead. "We will board up your place until we get back."

Chris says calmly holding Jennifer close to him, "There is nothing wrong with keeping your family home. I mean it is what we have all done. Drake has kept his family castle in Scotland. Angie has a home in Eygpt. Connor and I have our family home in Rome. It reminds us that even though we are vampires now, we are still us."

Nodding soflty. "I guess it would be nice to have a home here too" Her eyes widdened at the sound of Comet she picked him up and snuggled him. "He has to come with us" She looked at them. 'I will keep him in doors if needed but he can not live without me, he is a big baby" She laughed as Comet meowed. "Yeah I know sweetie"

She turned to the others. "Really? Rome, Egypt, can we see those too?"

She understood that they were going to have to go away for so long. "I thought it would be longer, you know, so people wouldnt notice that we havnt aged at all?"

Drake smiles and says, "Ten years in Scotland at least. I know how much you have wanted to travel. I figured it would be nice to travel for a while. I want to show you the world." He pets Comet gently. "Of course you can bring Comet." Angie blushes gently. "Our birth places are not that exciting but I don't see why you cant see everything."

Gasping Brook turned to Drake "The world really?" I have never been anywhere away from the USA, even in dance competitions I never traveled. Then after the accident, I was only in the hospital then I came here, I want to see it, but only with my family"

She kissed Drake again. "I want our children to see Disney Land too, is that going to be possible"

Drake looks at her with a smile as he wanted her to be happy despite everything that has been going on. He says to her, "I don't see why you should be hindered in your traveling now that you are a vampire like the rest of us. Traveling is a normal aspect for our kind. It is one of the few enjoyment that we get throughout time that never changes." Drake took a moment to answer her next question as he was not sure if it would be possible for a while yet. He says to her, "I don't think that would be possible until we teach them to control their thirst. Even though they're consciously aware of their hunger now, their hunger will grow with their age until they stop maturing."

She nodded softly. "Well I hope why day they get to go, I mean I never been either" She leaned against Drake. "But to see Rome, all the history sites" She winked "Maybe teach me and the twins some vampire history too?"

She kissed Drake again. "When will they stop maturing?" She grew nervous again "How long will they be kids for?" She looked at them and bit her lip. She didnt want to lose her babies quickly. She turned to her family, her new family. She knew she needed to get away and still mourn for her father.

Drake looks at her knowing what she was feeling inside. He says to her taking her into his arms, "I know you are going through a lot. Our children will stop aging after a certain point that is all I know about their kind. It's kind of like the oldest myths of our kind. No one knows the true fax until we see them for our selves."

Nodding slowly to his words. "But we don't know when" She tensed. So they didnt know how long they had with their children, how fast they would grow up. "Well lets just enjoy them well we can" She looked around. "Are we all packed?" She snuggled Damon and looked over at her daughter. It still hurt that she wasnt as bonded to her children as she wanted but she hoped that would be changed when they were away.

Drake looks at Jennifer and Chris knowing that Brooke still didn't feel like she had bonded with her. He kisses her lips softly and says, "Calm down love. Your emotions are going crazy. She is not going to dislike you. It takes time to bond." Angie says with a smile, "We are all packed up and ready to go."

Brook sighed and nodded. "I know" She knew that Chris and Jennifer would always be close. She wasnt jelous, she was grateful but it still hurt. She just gave a smile and winked. "Well I guess we should get going"

She kissed Drake softly. She wondered when would be a good time to ask him her request. She knew that Chris would gladly watch the children when she was training. She grinned. "So how are we getting there, I am thinking a public plane probably wouldnt go well, too bad we dont have a yaught, I know it would take a while, but a cruise to Scotland? Ohh that would be so great"

Drake thinks about her request about a yacht. "It would be an interesting experience and I think it would be fun. But there isn't a decent place place to buy one. That and I don't know how to sail." Chris says putting Jennifer in Brooke's arms, "I know how to sail..." Angie says, "True...you took a fifty year break from us and learned how to sail."

Frowning she knew that her request was foolish, plus what would they all eat for the weeks it would likely take them to sail there? She shook her head about to take back her stupid request when Chris put Jennifer in arms. She smiled at both her twins and hugged them close inhaling thier smell. "Well Chris, you may know how to sail but there is still the promblem of not having any place to buy one"

She shook her head "It was a stupid idea, if we fly we can plan a fake crash, would explain everyones disaperance"

They look up at her confused as she offered after the idea of a plane crash. Drake looks at her completely in shock. He says, of brilliant of an idea as that is, that wouldn't be a good idea for us. Flames are kind of our weakness. one wrong move and one of us could get seriously hurt and I will not risk that with our children. It would be easier to fake an accident while we are in Scotland. we would have the help with the locals as well to help sell that news back over here. Does that make more sense? As for your sailing on A yacht, we could do that the next trip around. Now that we know to look for one. No reason to give up the opportunity to have some fun later on. Especially when the children learn how to swim for the first time." Everyone else quickly agreed with his idea as they did not like the idea of dealing with flames.

Feeling foolish again but not wanting to let anyone else know she just laughed. "Oh I was just teasing, I know fire is a no go" She kissed her kids and walked out the room with them. She took them out to the patio and just talked to them. She wanted just a few moments alone with her children before they began to travel. Jennifer began to fuss a little being taken from Chris.

Brook kissed her nose. "My love he is only in the other room, mom just wants to show you guys the forest here, one last time before we leave"

Jennifer wasn't so happy with the fact the Brooke took her away from Chris. She says to her mother practically screaming bloody murder, "I don't want to see this stupid forest! I want to stay close to my Chris! It is no different then you wanting to stay close to Daddy! I love you! I just want to be able to be with everyone. What if something bad happens to him? Or daddy while we are over here looking at the scenery? I thought we were going somewhere? Some place called Scotland?"