Mango 5 - Gen 2 - Tapestry

My phone starts ringing out loudly in the middle of the night which wakes me up quite abruptly, being a very light sleeper the slightest noise wakes me, and I jump up quite startled probably from the very first ring.

Not having time to put in my contacts, I start feeling around blindly on the bedside table in the dark until I find my glasses, which I put on clumsily because I'm still half asleep.  While I flick on the bedside lamp with one hand I grab with the other hand for my phone, which is just about to work its way off the edge of the table because of the vibration.

I stare down at my phone while I'm  getting out of bed, constantly blinking trying to get my eyes to focus on the bright screen.  It is two am in the morning and an unknown number is calling me. I'm a little annoyed because for the first time in well over a week I was actually getting some sleep for once.

I stare at the unknown number for another second wandering who it could possibly be then answer the phone hoping it might be some news about Tapestry.

"Mango?!"  a familiar voice bellows down the phone at me  "Let me in"  I'm stunned into silence for a moment hearing Maizies voice ... well I think it's Maizie's voice.  I glance over towards Lilly who is still fast asleep.

"Mango, are you there ... You need to let me in NOW!!"  she shouts at me, with that high pitched squeal of hers which always goes straight through me ... I definitely have not missed the headache that she always used to give me for a second.

"WHAT?!"  now I'm awake!! "Maizie is that you?"  

"I'm outside let me in ... I've got Sunny's girl, she needs help ... come alone and HURRY!!"

Suddenly I have a mad dilema on my hands ... I would never normally leave Lilly alone in case she gets up and wanders off somewhere then switches off.  She's done it a quite a few times over the years, in the middle of the night she has got up to use the toilet and I've found her in the bathroom or somewhere else in the middle of one of her blackouts.  Sometimes she falls and hurts herself, she broke her arm once, and I'm always terrified of her hitting her head and starting it all off again.  After she set fire to the kitchen blacking out I've never let her be left alone for a single minute, someone is always watching her.

I don't have time to get anyone up to watch her ... I'm just going to have to leave her and hope to berry she stays asleep till I get back.

I run across the bedroom in a blind panic, feeling guilty for leaving Lilly and worrying about Honey, I almost fall flat on my face as my foot catches the rug and I lurch forward hitting the wall with my hands which stops me from falling over ... I'm an idiot!!!

I run quickly across the landing and down the stairs holding tightly onto the rail as I'm jumping two steps at a time, as soon as I get over half way down the stairs I can see Maizie stood there behind the glass in the front door with a very limp looking Honey draped lifelessly in her arms. A great relief washes over me just seeing Honey even if I don't like the state she seems to be in.

I open the door quickly and Maizie barges through the open doorway without saying a word almost knocking me over in the process as she moves quickly towards the basements steps, I notice she also has a huge bulging bag slung over her shoulder.

"Quickly she needs help!!  We are running out of time!!"  she says as she starts running down the basement steps, all I can do is run down after her.

At the bottom of the stairs Maizie stands looking around confused at the four doors not knowing where to go, the basement has changed a lot since she lived here.  None of this was here, it was just one door that opened into the empty basement, over the years it has slowly changed and there are now five rooms down here.  Never really imagining Tapestry leaving home, in my mind when he's older, the basement will be his own space, I already have the plans in my head to turn the whole basement into a small apartment for him so he's got some independence but I can still keep my eye on him.

I quickly open Tapestry's bedroom door and she barges through it and takes Honey straight over to the bed, then moves unnaturally quickly back to the bedroom door and locks it.  I don't take any notice of her unnatural speed too worried with how Honey is looking and about Tapestry ... where is he and why isn't he here too?!

"Where is my son?"  I shout at her as I start checking Honey over, she's got a very weak almost none existent pulse, this is really bad, her eyes are virtually fixed and dilated, yet she's still breathing quite normally, I listen to the sounds coming from her lungs and stomach, they sound quite normal, this doesn't make any sense, her body should have shut itself down by now and she's stone cold - why is she so cold?!  Then I notice the horrible tear in her flesh and nasty marks on her neck which look really strange.  

"What the hell has happened to her!?  She needs to go to the hospital!!"  Why wouldn't Maizie take her to the hospital, why would she bring her here?  I'm feeling really sick what the hell can I do for her here, she's barely hanging on.  While I'm really happy to see Honey, I don't like the dire state she is in, any minute now I'm expecting to hear her taking her last breath. Tapestry .... I want to know where Tapestry is and hope he isn't in this state or worse.

"No hospital ... we can do this!!  Sort her out first Mango, then I'll tell you ... we are running out of time!!"  she looks at me and I freeze for a second her eyes are shining ... unnaturally!!!

"Sort her out HOW Maizie, for berry's sake she needs the hospital I've got none of the equipment I need here .... you used to be a nurse ... you know she's not good!!"

"It's not as bad as it looks honestly ... She only needs blood and lots of it!!   I've got everything she needs right here!!!."  I am starting to get a little angry as I pull my phone out of my pocket to phone for an ambulance.  She grabs my phone off me.  I couldn't help but notice as Maizies hand brushed mine, how cold her hand felt, she feels as cold as Honey does right now.

"Try to phone anyone again and I'll smash it up!!"  she snaps at me  "TRUST ME for once!!  We can do this, we don't need any help!!"  she puts the phone back in my pocket then grabs for the bag.  I watch with amazement as she starts throwing a load of medical supplies out of the bag onto the bed, IV lines, bags of blood, needles, antiseptic .... I'm amazed at what is coming out of that bag.  Where would she have all these medical supplies from?  "Do you have an IV stand" she looks up at me again ... I run to the room next door, to grab an IV stand that was left over from when Lilly was in a coma.  I'm wandering why I'm even going along with this .... if Honey fades I will never be able to forgive myself ... and neither will Sunny!!

When I run back into the room I notice Maizie is hauling a load of blood bags onto the bed, she seems to be sorting them out some she's throwing towards me and some she's throwing on the floor.  I freeze for a moment as I stare at the bag ... a bag full of blood ... that's when I realize that was the bag I saw on the cctv, that is the blood that 'River' took from the hospital.

"Mango wake up!!"  Maizie shouts at me as she throws the needles and IV line at me, she snaps me out of my daze and I start working on Honey, I realize I don't know her blood group, I can't remember what it is and I can't just give her any blood.

"She's O possitive"  Maizie says like she can read my mind, I'm thinking how the hell would she know what Honey's blood group is? as I'm putting the needle into honeys arm  "Because I can smell it"  she says

"WHAT?!"  I say to her as she hands me a bag of blood which I quickly connect to the IV line.  I hope to hell she's right!!  She looks up at me as I stand staring at her, she looks really strange.

Maizie suddenly hisses at me, her face snarls up, the skin on her face looks awful like its all cracking, her eyes are shining and almost glowing and her teeth .. Fudge!!  she makes me jump backward with fright .... what the hell?!

"I'm a vampberry Mango ... we drink blood, I can smell the blood running through your veins right now ... you smell like River ... B negative"  I stand staring at her is she mad, even though she's got my blood group right, she would have known this from when we were together ... are vampberrys even real?!  She's a mental cow!!   "Oh yes, we are real alright ... Moooo"  she says as she's starts laughing.  Oh boy, I think I'm losing the plot here!!  Why would she Moo like a cow after I'd just called her one in my head?!  Did I say that out load without realizing?!

"Where is my son Maizie?!"  I snap at her, she's already starting to irritate me, she's not explaining anything properly, what game is she playing now?!  "and what happened to Honey?"  she ignores me at first, as she's kneeling at the side of the bed and I wander what she's doing but I have to change the blood bag over for a full one.  I feel Honey's pulse and it has picked up a little, I check her pupils and I'm worried about the damage the lack of blood has done to all her organs, she seriously needs to be in the hospital, I don't have any of the equipment here that I need, if one of her organs starts failing all I can do is stand here and watch her go.  "Stop worrying!  she just needs blood because she was drained by a vampire."  she says as she takes Honey's wrist and goes to bite into it.  What The Fudge is she doing now!!??  She's just told me she needs blood and now the mental woman is trying to suck out what I'm trying to put in.

"STOP THAT!!!"  I try to pull her off Honey  "She's not a damn vending machine for your next meal!!" I  shout at her as I try to pull her away, but I can't budge her, she pushes me off her quite forcefully and I hit the wall quite hard which knocks the wind out of me.  When did she get so strong?!  She drops Honey's wrist and stands up.

"LOOK ... you just keep pumping the blood into her ... she was as good as gone, she was virtually on her last breath when we got to her ... Jazz had to bite her, he had to turn her it was the only away to keep her alive, she's got vampire venom running through her system at the moment that has frozen her body temporarily and keeps it running while she's turning so you don't need to worry, there won't be any organ damage, I've got about an hour to suck that stuff out of her system before it takes a hold of her and her heart stops beating forever and she becomes a vampberry permanently ... she will NOT fade Mango, it's impossible right now ... but I need to get the venom out of her before it takes a hold of her or she will become a vampberry!!" she goes to bite into her wrist then stops and looks up at me again  " ... and she's pregnant by the way ... she's having twins,  they will fade Mango if we don't hurry up!!!"  she kneels down by the bed again  "I can hear their little heartbeats and they are really struggling! they will be lucky if they even make it through this especially if she does become a vampberry!!"

I just stand there very head shot .... wandering what the hell I've just been listening too as I stand there in a daze watching her bite into Honeys wrist.  This just defies everything that I've learnt about medicine ... how can I believe that any of this stuff is true?

I'm going to wake up in a minute aren't I, this is just a crazy dream ... I'm dreaming all of this because of all the blood that seems to surround 'River', the pathology department, the blood bags he stole, his blood, this has been really playing on my mind trying to work out the connection  ... I'm dreaming this I have to be!!!  I pinch my arm ... and it hurts.  Fudge!!  No I'm awake ... blood ... vampberrys ... Fudge!!!  I knew all this blood had to mean something!!!  I stand watching Maizie sucking blood out of Honey's wrist.  She's a vampberry!!  Vampberrys .... all this time the vampberrys have had our kids!!  Oh berry ... I hope River is not one of them!!!

"Maizie ... WHERE IS MY SON!?"  my head is all over the place, she's just ignoring me again, why does everything have to be so much hard work with her.  Why can't she just tell me and put me out of my misery?  She stops sucking on Honey's wrist as I change the blood bags over.

"Mango It was never my intention to hurt either of them, I wasn't happy when Manderine snatched them especially your boy, but River has been taking good care of them ... The original vampire guards got to them behind our back, they drained Honey virtually dry, then they started on Tapestry, but we managed to stop them they only half drained your son .... "  my head started to panic when she said that  "Don't panic ... he's okay ... River had to give him some of his own blood, so no he is not a vampberry, they are the same blood group, then he took Tapestry with the rest of the blood he needs ... River will look after him he's a doctor, he knows what he's doing ... they have had to go on the run but Jazz will explain everything when he gets here."

"Jazz?! who the hell is Jazz? Why would they have to go on the run?"  I snap at her  "I know your son is a doctor and the three of us share the same blood group .... why the FUDGE would you call your own son River when the name you put on his birth certificate is Mango?" she looks at me quite shocked

"You know don't you!!  I've heard you think about him a few times but ...."  she says suddenly as she jumps up looking at me suspiciously  "How do you know?  who told you?"

"HE DID ..... eventually!!  but only because he thought he had to"  I shout at her  "You and me have got some serious talking to do ... and I want the truth from you Maizie because everything I've found out about you over the past week ... everything you ever told me was all lies ... you are just one big lie ... why the hell would you want to hide my son from me?  I could fade you for this ... I am NEVER going to forgive you for this especially as you just dumped him on his Gran leaving him without any parents when I COULD AND WOULD HAVE HAD HIM!!!  And I want to know how BOTH of MY sons have got mixed up in all this vampire shit!?"

She ignores me and goes back to biting into Honey's wrist again I try to calm myself down as I change the blood bags over again, check her pulse and eyes.  I just want to go off on one at Maizie but I know now is not really the right time, if she starts fighting back we'll end up going at it hammer and tongue probably smashing the room up like we used to and ..... oh fudge!! the wild sex that used to end all our arguments was the only good thing about our relationship!!  Maizie starts laughing

"Yeah, I remember where all our fights always used to end up!!"  she says as she runs her cold fingers down my bare chest and smirks at me, "We can go for it if you want... if you really want to fight with me!!"  she smirks again stepping closer as I step backwards and away from her quickly

"What the ...."  What the hell is she playing at and how would she even know what I was thinking about!!

"I can hear your thoughts and read your mind Mango,  ... and I heard exactly what you was thinking just then and you can't even deny it your heart started racing ... I heard that too!!"

"Get lost Maizie ... I'm NEVER going there again!!!  Not even if my life depended on it!!"  she mutters that could quite easily be arranged before she starts sucking on Honey's wrist again.  Mental Cow!!  I just stand there staring at her ... this is insane ... I swear I've driven myself mad this past week ...  she actually read my mind?!

I look down at Honey and seriously can't believe what is happening in front of my own eyes, Honey's pulse and eyes are slowly working their way back to normal and she's getting warmer, she's even now got some colour in her cheeks  ... this really doesn't make sense!!!  I start to think about cleaning up the wound on her neck and putting a few stitches in it ... fudge I need to phone Sunny!!!

Maizie suddenly starts waving at me frantically, letting go of Honey's wrist again "No you can't phone Sunny, he can't see me or Honey like this!!"  she shouts at me just before she suddenly jumps up and starts heading towards the door.

"Okay Cosmic I heard you the first time!!"  she snaps quite nastily  "I need to let Jazz in"  she says looking at me as she runs out of the room.

"Cosmic?!  What the fuck is going on here ... either I've gone mad or she has!!"  I say out loud to myself as I start checking Honey over again.  It felt like only a matter of seconds before I hear the door open and close, I look round and I see Maizie turning the lock on the bedroom door again.

Then I saw him ... I stand staring at a familiar face, the face is a little older than the last time I saw it, but I'd know him anywhere!!!  No it can't be!!!  It is ... my eyes fall on the chain he has round his neck ... the same chain he wore when he was at school.  Fudge!!  I walk towards him and just stand there staring at him ... I seriously can't believe my eyes.

I stand and watch him, his eyes are also shining, he looks like Maizie  ..... fudge!!  Is he one of these vampire things too?!  He looks upset as he stands there for a moment just staring back at me, his face twists then he lets himself slide down the door till he is sat on the floor and puts his head in his hands.

"Where the hell did those extra two guards come from Jazz?"  Maizie asks him

"I don't know Maizie ... I told you she was up to something ... it was quite crafty, the three of them walking in like nothing was going on, while the extra two guards were sneaking down to the basement, I guess she thought it would all be over before we even realized something fishy was going on ..."  he looks up at me for a second.  "Another two guards turned up after you left ... thank Berry for our reinforcements that's all I can say!!"  I definitely know it is actually Jazz when I hear his voice.

"JAZZBERRY CHARM!!"  he smiles at me quite weakly, he looks upset for some reason.

"Mango Muffin, my favourite little orange nerd"  he says and puts his head back in his hands   "I just need a minute mate then I'll be with you!"  he says without looking up.  What the hell is going on here this is just getting mental ... Jazz is supposed to have faded!!!!  Now I know I've gone fudging mad!!!  I'm half expecting Cosmic to walk in here any minute.  Jazz and Maizie both look up at the same time and laugh at me and I don't understand why.

"You are not going mad Mango ... basically I am faded ... I'm now a vampberry which I HATE by the way, Lime left me bleeding in a gutter, a vampire picked me up and turned me into one of them!!"  he said again without looking up.  Fudge Lime?!  I hadn't even given that woman a thought, Oh Berry!!  Please tell me she isn't loose again!!!   "Don't worry about her either Mango, I have still got Lime safely locked up ... I've had her locked up since the minute I clapped eyes on her ... she's going nowhere anytime soon or ever if I get my way!!"

"They didn't get her then?!"  Maizie says looking at Jazz,  he said he found Lime cowering in the corner of the toilet, she had slithered off and hid herself while she let Honey and Tapestry cop for it.  So typically Lime, that is something she would do!!!

I watched as Jazz went over and knelt down next to Maizie, without saying a word to each other she gives him Honey's wrist and he starts sucking on it for a minute before he stops and gives it back to Maizie

"Keep it up bitch ... the bloods nearly clean"  he says to her with a smirk

"It's your crap I'm having to swallow ... you should be doing this not me!!"  he laughs at her

"I taste good don't I!!"  he smirks at her again and she swings for him, he shoots across the room in a blur to my eyes, I've never seen anyone move that fast before!! He's moved himself way from Maizie and just stands there laughing at her while she glares at him.

"Are you two ...?"  I ask, pointing between them, thinking they might be together

"HELL NO!!!"  Jazz is laughing at me as he sits back down in front of the door  "Mango, I don't know how you ever put up with her ... she's been driving me insane for the past 10 years because we are based in the same place ... we both seem to be very drawn to this town ... I know my reasons for wanting to be in this town, but I'm not sure about hers ... I have a good idea even though she won't admit it!!"  A hail of insults flew across the room from Maizie to Jazz.

When he said 10 years my mind starts doing overtime.  There are those 10 years again ... when she didn't have any medical attention from anywhere and has done a total disappearing act ... it's because she's been a vampberry is't it!!  

"I am ... well I was ... quite happily married until SHE and her nasty green pet rocked up with your's and Sunny's kids and ruined EVERYTHING!!!"  he says pointing and glaring at Maizie

"Screw you Jazz!!  Talking about the wife .... where is she? ... I didn't expect you here yet it's still dark?"  she asks him and he just shakes his head and puts his head in his hands  "You didn't!! ... tell me you've disposed of her??!!"  Maizie looks shocked.

I just stand there watching Jazz ... his face twists up, he almost looks like he's about to burst into tears any minute now, he looks really upset again.

"No your boy did ... kind of!!"  Jazz says without looking up

"WHAT?! HOW ... That's not possible!!"  Maizie looks pretty shocked

"River's dagger only bloody worked!!"  he said without taking his head out of his hands  "I think you can safely say I'm now well and truly divorced!!"

"Dagger?"  I ask wandering why 'River' would have a dagger?!  "Has River faded someone?"

Jazz started to explain that River watches too many of those stupid vampire series and movies on the horror channel and he got this notion into his head about silver daggers fading original vampires who are virtually unfadeable.  He found one in an antique shop and paid a fortune for it, he was convinced his theory was right, and they have been laughing at him.  Jazz's wife who is an original vampire went mad and told him to get rid of it, even trying to prove to River his theory was wrong she stabbed Jazz with it and it did nothing to Jazz.  They thought River had got rid of the dagger, but he had kept it secretly. Today River had insisted on Jazz taking the dagger and trying it on Celeste.

"That boy's just saved my bacon and saved us from a load of stress ..."  I stand listening as he explains to Maizie things that I don't really understand and I heard him mention two names that really trouble me.   "The third pair of guards turned up after you left with Honey, me and Cos were alone with Celeste, Storm had gone with River and Tapestry to watch over them.  I had both of the guards on me, Cos had to let Celeste go to help me ... she grabbed me and literally had her hand inside me, she was going to rip my heart out for crossing her ... I was a gonner ... I suddenly remembered I had Rivers dagger in my pocket ... so I stuck it straight through her heart like he told me too ... the next thing I know she's stood in front of me like a stone statue ... River was only right about that dagger, she just tried to pull the wool over our eyes ... she's dormant and lifeless, as long as that dagger stays in her she'll stay like that for eternity ... it seems that the Originals do have a weakness we vampberry's don't after all ... and I bet she knew it too!!!"

"Where is she now and how are you going to dispose of her body?"

"I've hidden her temporarily on the top floor of the warehouse in one of the wooden crate, they shouldn't find her up there if they come looking for her, I doubt they'll even venture up there in the daytime ... its all windows up there.  ... I think my dear departed wife is going to have to do some sunbathing on the roof of the warehouse!!"  So typically Jazz, he sits there cracking a joke when he is so obviously upset, you can hear it in his voice and it's written all over his face!!

"THE WAREHOUSE .... is that where the kids have been all this time?!  Jazz I seriously need you to explain what's going on here!!"  I say as I change another blood bag wandering what the hell I've just been listening too again!!!!  "I need to know where BOTH of my boys are?"  he looks up at me and smiles.

"Oh she finally told you about Mango junior then?"  I start swearing in my head, because no, yet again she hasn't bothered to tell me I had to find it out for myself, she would have stood here hoping I was still oblivious of Rivers existence, I don't think she had any intention of ever telling me.  I told Jazz that River had left a trail as well as a note the night he visited the hospital telling me who he was and not to worry he's looking after Tapestry and Honey.  Jazz started laughing

"He's a little git!!  I knew I should have sent Cosmic to follow him that night!!"

"Cosmic?"  now this is SERIOUSLY getting stupid, why do I keep hearing his name. "Are you two trying to drive me insane on purpose ... are you going to tell me Cosmic didn't fade in a minute ... only I did see his body, I was there I KNOW he faded!!"  Jazz looks at me for a moment.

"Oh he faded alright!!  Tapestry used to tell you about "The Man" who saved him and Lilly from the fire and you never believed him ... "  I nodded ... how would he even know that?!  "Well your son isn't mad and he was telling you the truth Mango, he was talking about Cosmic ...Tapestry sees and talks to spirits just like vampberrys can. Cosmic's ghost has been floating about your house, Sunny's, Alpines, Preludes, Ices, among other places since he faded. He spends a lot of time here in particular with Tapestry because he can see him, they play xbox and do other stuff together all the time."

I just stand there looking at him like he's gone totally mad, I'm not sure I can take any more of this, first they are expecting me to believe vampberry's are real, now they are expecting me to believe that ghosts are real too!!??  I think I seriously need to see a doctor!!!!  Jazz starts laughing  "Cos is stood right over there."  he points towards the door  "and Storm has gone with both of your boys, he's watching over them."

"STORM!!??"  WHAT!? NO!!!  I SERIOUSLY need to wake up, this really is not happening ... This really has to be some mental dream!!!  Jazz is laughing at me.  I look at him for a moment ... hang on ... Jazz is a joker, why am even standing here listening to this ... he's having me on isn't he!!!

"Sorry mate, I'm not having you on, vampberry's, ghosts, they exist and this is no mad or mental dream either, you are awake and this is as real as it gets ... there is a lot more to this world than you could ever imagine and you don't know the half of it!!"  he says as he carries on laughing  "Cos you better show him, he thinks he's going crazy, he'll be checking himself into the looney clinic in a minute!!"  I stand there thinking yeah right this is just crazy!!

Suddenly the TV switches itself on and so does the Xbox.  The control pad starts floating about and moves over towards the couch and just hangs there in the air.  I look at the screen and the word Cosmic is appearing on the screen against the players name, the game starts running and I stand there watching as the car on the screen starts racing round the streets while the controls are dancing around like someone is actually sat there playing the game.

"Why is there no sound?"  I ask and at first Jazz says nothing, he just stands there like he's listening to something then he starts laughing

"Cos says Tapestry mutes the sound so that you don't realize he's playing xbox instead of trying to do his homework and so they can listen out for anyone coming .... so nobody catches him playing xbox with mr invisible."  Jazz holds his hand up for a moment like he's listening to something again.  "Cos says you should put Tap's bag back exactly where he normally leaves it ... you know he's going to kick off when he see's you've moved it, he spends hours sometimes setting up that bag in a certain way so he can see if you've been in it ... and you should look in that pot over by his guitar, you'll find a few thing that might interest you!!"  

I frown and walk over to the pot, pull the feathers out and tip the pot up.  A load of his tablets, a half empty bottle of gin, two smashed up phones and an unopened box of condoms spill out onto the carpet.  I just frown down at them.  It's quiet for a moment then Jazz starts speaking again.  

"Cos says Tapestry skips and hides his meds when he drinks which he does quite often down here after you two have had one of your arguments, he didn't lose those two phones as you can see he smashed them up in temper because he thought at the time you was suffocating him keep phoning him, and neither of them listened to the sex talk you gave them ... they were constantly at it like rabbits down here, that pregnancy was planned - Honey's way to escape University and to stop Sunny splitting them up and sending her to her Grandparents."  Jazz burst out laughing  "Cos says your sex talks are classic by the way and please don't tell Tap he's grassed him up because he'll kill him!!"

"He hates me doesn't he!!"  I said it out load because I know they'll hear it anyway, it was quiet for ages I didn't really expect to get a reaction from it.

"Cos say's he doesn't hate you, far from it, he wouldn't cope without you, but Cos thinks you do smother him and wrap him in cotton wool a little too much, you make him feel stupid hiding everything from him all the time ... he's quite capable of a lot more than you think ... like the day you went off at him for bringing Cotton down here ...."

"Okay ... Okay ... enough already ... I believe you are there!!"  The Xbox and TV go off and the control pad returns to the floor like they never moved in the first place.

I'm no quite sure what to think anymore, Jazz wouldn't have known those things, only someone who was here would know, only someone close to Tapestry would know those things ... I didn't even know where he hides things ... if this is real and he really is here - I suddenly feel a little creeped out thinking about Cosmic's ghost creeping around this house. My head is swimming and my eyes are hurting, I'm starting to get a headache.

"You know that boy of yours, Tapestry, he is seriously something else!!!"  Jazz says to me

"He's been kicking off I take it!" 

"Yeah a few times, he gave Lime a right paling the other day, you ought to see the state of her face!!"  he starts laughing  "Seriously though, I wasn't on about his kick off's I was on about something else ..."

"Jazz I seriously need you to explain what the hell is going on, why have YOU had our kids all this time? How did 'River' get mixed up in this? and where are they?"  I have so many questions that I want to ask, they are not telling me anything and it's driving me crazy.

While I'm cleaning up Honey's neck and trying to stitch up the nasty tear in her flesh, Maizie is still sucking on Honeys wrist on and off, I listen to Jazz who finally is now explaining everything to me.  He starts to explain to me that firstly, Cosmic had been at the cemetery and watched the kids get snatched, he'd followed them to the vampberry den where Maizie and Lime took them then he'd gone after Jazz who was out of town and Jazz went mental when he found out Maizie and Lime were holding our kids in the vampberry den where he and Maize are both based.

This was never about the kids, Lime and Maizie had planned to snatch only Lily from the funeral because they both think they have their own personal score to settle with her and both want to see her suffer.  As she wasn't at the funeral Lime needed somebody as a hostage to escape and Honey was just the first one she could grab.  Tapestry stepping in was like a carrot dangling in front of her face ... Lilys child is the next best thing so she snatched him too.  I am pretty shocked that it was Lilly they wanted, I can understand Lime, but Maizie what's her problem, now after all these years, surely this doesn't go back to me chosing Lilly over Maizie, and River, it was her choice to hide him from me, hasn't she already got her revenge!?  Jazz then told me he would have had them home the day he got back and found them there, but Tapestry was causing him a problem.

Having to stand and listen to things that are way over my head and pretty hard to take in, things that are pretty unbelievable that you see in movies that are supposed to be fiction, but apparently it's not fiction ... this stuff is actually supposed to be real ... I'm stood here listen to Jazz telling me all about how a vampberry works, what they can do to a mortal mind ... It is hard to believe that they even exist and that they are running around this town without anyone knowing ... and that was the problem ... keeping their existence and where they hide out a secret ... they protect that at any cost.  This is why Jazz has never shown himself to us, he's let us believe that he has faded for our own safety and to keep their existence hidden.

Wiping mortal memories, compelling them to do their bidding, reading minds, hearing thoughts, even changing their memories and all the other stuff he is saying they can do  ... this is just too much to take in ... especially for me, I'm a neurosurgeon, I work with them every day, I know how the brain works medically ... how am I supposed to believe all of this stuff that he's telling me?!

Tapestry's brain being broken has given him some special ability that no other mortal, that he has ever come across, has?!  This is ridiculous!!!  I feel like I'm stuck in a fantacy movie!!  They can not hear his heartbeat, smell his blood, hear his thoughts or get into his mind. He even has the ability to get into their heads and compel them!!  This is just going over my head, I'm not sure I can take any of this in let alone understand or believe it!!  It would have been all too simple, wipe Honey and Tapestry's memories clean back to them being snatched, so they wouldn't remember anything about vampberrys or their time in the vampberry den, put them to sleep and dump them somewhere in town where they could be found quickly ... and nobody would have been none the wiser. Tapestry's brain and abnormal abilities stopped them from being able to do that.  Jazz saying under normal circumstances Tapestry would have been faded without a second thought, not that Cosmic would have let him ... but because of who he is and Jazz's mortal emotions ... they were trying to work a way around it.  He hoped to figure a way round it before the originals found out about him ... but unfortuanlely his original wife came back early and caught them.  Tapestry is dangerous to them, the originals want him faded and this is why both of my boys have gone on the run - they are to hide out until Jazz has made sure that it is safe for them to come home.  I really don't like the sound of this.

River was brought into the vampire den because he knew about Maizie, he knew what she was even though he shouldn't, he'd bumped into her down a dark alley one night when she didn't even know he was in town. The inquisitive person that he is, he worked it out straight away.  River is useful to them, he gets all the blood that they need from the hospital to stop the vampberrys going out onto the streets and attacking and feeding off anyone in town.  Now I think I understand why he has sat in pathology instead of doing what he's capable of ... he's sacrificed his career for them.  River has other uses that Jazz never really explained ... he basically runs their errands for them and is helping them to keep their existence and den hidden from the rest of the town even though he appears to hate what they are with a passion.  He's so good at hiding his thoughts from them that it's rare that the vampberry's hear anything he's thinking, Jazz only found out his true identity when River started kicking off over Tapestry being in the vampberry den

"You know that boy doesn't take after her at all, he's a right chip off the old block ... I don't know how I never spotted it before ... he is just like you Mango ... he's always got his head stuck in a book and is on some mental mission ... his latest quest ... a cure for vampires ... I'll be surprised if he manages that one ... but he recons he'll turn me mortal one day .... " Jazz starts laughing

"Shhhhhh"  Maizie says suddenly to silence Jazz  "Jazz listen I think we have got a problem!!"  they both look over towards Honey and frown.  I rush over to her and check her pulse, it seems to be beating now at a normal rate .... so why do they both suddenly look concerned.

"She's going to be fine, she's well past the time of when she should have turned into a vampberry, her blood is completely clean, all of the venom is out and her hearts beating normally and everything sounds like it is working normally now and I can hear her dreaming, but ....."  Maizie stops talking suddenly and looks at Jazz, her face twists up.  I watch Jazz walk over to Honey, he stares down at her then kneels down by the bed, putting his head down close to her stomach.  He looks up at Maizie.

"FUDGE!!"  he says

"What Jazz, what's wrong?!"  he's quiet for a moment as he carries on listening.

"There were three heart beats coming from her, now there is only two."  he says looking up at me "One's stopped, only one of those babies has a beating heart ... but I can still hear both of them ... they are both still alive."

"What?!  I'm sorry Jazz you need to explain ......"

"Two living babies, only one of them has a beating heart .... which means .... some of that venom must have taken hold of one of those babies ..." 

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"I'm sorry Mango, but I think I've turned one of your Grandchildren into a vampberry!!"

I just stand there trying to take in what he's just said, I watch as Maizie changes the blood bag over for a new one.  He's turned one of the babies into a vampire?!  Is this for real?!

That did it ... my mind blew ... I've been seriously struggling to keep up with what's going on here already ... that just put the lid on it!!  My mind is screaming all sorts as I can feel myself starting to panic ... this situation is way out of my control ... how am I supposed to sort this mess out ... how the hell am I going to explain this lot to everyone, they are already struggling with trying to come to terms with River being my son, especially Lilly and those who already knew him, how the hell am I going to explain this to them without them locking me up in the loony bin ... maybe that's where I belong?! ... the police how the hell do I explain this to Gravel?! ... oh Fudge!!!  And STILL my boys are not home!!!  I start getting hysterical.

Jazz is shouting at me, telling me to calm down ... but I can't ... what is this mess?! he's saying it can be fixed, how?!  who is he trying to kid?!  I can't even figure out a way to explain how Honey got here!!  Jazz is shouting at me to calm down as I'm spilling all my thoughts out into the open.

Suddenly my glasses have gone from my face and he grabs my head tight holding it so our noses are virtually touching, his shining eyes are looking into mine.  My eyes start hurting then suddenly it all stops ... my head goes blank for a moment and I suddenly feel calm?  What did he just do to me?  He puts my glasses back on a lot more carefully than he whipped them off.  I stand there for a moment numb and stunned like he's just removed all the panic from my head.

"Now listen to me Mango .... this mess ... if we work together we can sort it!!  Don't worry, I know how we are going to sort Honey out, there will be no explaining for you to do, all you have to do is act ignorant, and you can NEVER tell anyone about me or Maizie, I think I know you well enough to know I can trust you!!!  ... I can trust you can't I Mango?!"  I just nodded at him

"When I took Honey from here I was going to wipe your memory so you wouldn't have remembered any of this, you would have woken up on this bed not remembering a thing about us or our visit .... but things have just changed ... I have no choice but to trust you with this, I'm going to need you especially to help us cover up and hide this vampire child  ... Sunny too ... I need you to get him round here, I'm going to need the both of you in on this, or we are never going to pull it off!!"

"What about Tapestry and River?  I want my boys back Jazz!!"

"They need to keep running for now Mango, its the only way they are going to stay safe!!  Once we know that Celeste didn't tell the other originals about him, and we've convinced them we know nothing about Celeste and her six guards mysterious disappearance ... they will leave us alone and then it will be safe for Tapestry and River to come home.  Cos will go out and find them, but Storm is with them just incase any vamberry's or originals do catch up with them."  I am wandering what the hell is Storms ghost going to do for them?  This is stupid!!  "Not as stupid as you think Mango ... spirits are the only thing vampberrys can't touch ... spirits are the most powerful immortal in this world ... and Storm is a little fighter, he made mincemeat of two of the vampberry guards almost alone"  This makes me laugh a little ... yeah that's Storm alright ... but how can I believe all this shit?!

Jazz scratches his head as he looks at me then over towards Honey.  I look at Honey and wander what Tapestry knows and what state his mind might be in right now .... I don't envy River having to cope with him right now, thinking back to how he went when Storm faded ......

"Yeah Mango, there is something I maybe should warn you about ... as Honey was drained first, I presume Tapestry things she faded before he himself passed out!"  I look up at him quickly  "River knows she hasn't faded, he just doesn't know if she is going to be a vampberry or not - he left with Tapestry before he came round, River knows I had to bite Honey to stop her from taking her last breath, Tapestry doesn't.  I tried to send Honey home days ago, I was going to wipe her memory, but she kicked off she wouldn't leave that place without Tapestry.  I guessed I'd struggle to part them and keep them apart, they were out of there anyway today, the plan was for the three of them to run until the guards got to them and we had to change our plans ... so I've told River just to let Tapestry keep on believing she's gone"  I start to get a little mad in my head ... why?!  That is just going to unhinge him, why let him suffer when there is no need!!  "I know what you're thinking and yes, it is a little cruel on the boy, but I've done it for his own good ... what's he going to do if he thinks Honey and those babies are still here ... he'll probably break his neck to come back here ... he has to stay away Mango with no contact ... if Celeste has told the other originals about him this will now be a war ... they will come here and they will not stop until they have faded him ... he has to stay away until this is over!!"

I really don't like any of this, but what can I do about it ... all I can do is trust that Jazz does know what he's doing!!  I think the one thing that I am believing right now is that he IS reading my thoughts.  He told me to phone Sunny, we need to get him round here before she wakes up ... and tell him to come alone and not to tell a sole not even Ruby that he's coming round here, and I'm not to tell him that Honey is even here until he gets here ... he'll do the rest.

I look at him for a moment, my head is swimming, I take a deep breath before I snap my phone open and dial Sunny's number.  Wandering how he is going to take all his, but at least he's got his daughter back ... while my two boys are still out there and I'm still in limbo.  He seems to take an age to answer his phone.

"Mango ... do you know what time it is?!"  Sunny snaps as he answers his phone, I can tell he's half asleep  "Fudge have you heard something?"

"Sunny I need you to get round here immediately, it's pretty urgent."  he starts flapping  "Shut up Sunny this is about me not the kids!!!"  I have to shout at him to calm him down, he's convinced they have been found the kids faded.  "I need you Sunny ... come round here alone, NOW SUNNY!!!! don't tell Ruby or anyone where you are going ... and just hurry!!!"  I snap my phone shut, knowing if I stay on the line he's just going to keep on.

I walk towards the front door I need to get out and get some fresh air while I wait for Sunny to turn up ... I'm not sure my head can take what is going on in Tapestry's bedroom ... I need some space to think.  I stop for a moment when I hear Prelude snoring quite loudly from the living room ... hell!! ... I totally forgot about him being in there.

I stand in the doorway watching him ... he's sprawled out on the floor by the sofa, totally wasted and like the pathetic drunk he has become again lately he's lay there surrounded by empty bottles of vodka.  The virtually full bottle of vodka by his hand is screaming out at me ... boy I could definitely do with a stiff drink right now.

I walk quietly across the living room and pick up the bottle that's right by his hand.  I accidentally kicked over one of the empty bottles which disturbed him a little.  I stood there holding my breath as he mumbles and groans then starts snoring even louder.  I laugh at him quietly, he's so predictable, I knew me removing his precious bottle wouldn't wake him, but he'll be kicking off royal style when he wakes up and finds it's gone ... he's totally hammered and smells like a brewery.  I've taken many a bottle off him over the past week and I usually pour them straight down the sink ... but this one I need!!

I open the front door quietly and close it too behind me.  I walk over towards the steps and just stand there feeling lost for a moment, I breath in the fresh air to try and calm myself down a little ... it doesn't help.  I sit down by the rubbish bin and lean my back up against it as I unscrew the top off the bottle.  I hold my hand out flat in front of me for a moment ... it's shaking and I can't stop it ... this isn't good.  It's a good job I'm off work at the moment, there is no way I'd be able to do any surgery with these shakes.

The fumes hit my nose which makes me cringe, I've never liked this stuff!!  The first mouthful makes me cough and splutter ... the second mouthful wasn't so bad.  I sit there thinking as I can feel the vodka burning as it goes down ... how the hell can Prelude drink so much of this stuff?

My head is swimming, not from the alcohol, but from all the stuff that had been going on in that room.

Vampberry's ... ghosts ... Am I SERIOUSLY supposed to believe all that stuff??!!  What went on with Honey's body was enough to blow my head to pieces ... medically that is just not possible.  Maybe they should bottle that venom of theirs!!!  Jazz ... BABIES!!!  Fudge, they went and did it on purpose ... Honey is pregnant ... Tapestry you are a prize idiot!!!

I am just taking another mouthful of vodka when the bottle suddenly leaves my hand, the vodka splashes over my face as the bottle leaves my mouth.

"WHAT THE HELL MANGO!!??"  I hadn't even heard Sunny coming  "Don't think for one minute I am going to let you walk the same path as Prelude!!"  I jump up to my feet as I'm trying to wipe the alcohol off my face that is now also running down my neck..

"I'm not planning too ..."

"No it doesn't look like it .... what the hell is this then?! ... you don't drink!!!"  I laugh at him  "Is this why you called me round here in the middle of the night because you are falling apart?!"

"Not exactly ... but Sunny ... I suggest you take a few swigs from that bottle ... you are going to need it!!"  he frowns at me, running his fingers through his hair, I know he's getting worried, I very rarely drink alcohol, I moan at anyone who does drink excessively, so this must look really strange to him.  

"Seriously, you are just about to get your head blown to pieces, TRUST ME!!! you will need it!!"  he laughs at me  "DRINK IT!! You will thank me later TRUST!!"  he frowns at me again then takes a swig from the bottle, he coughs and splutters like I did, he doesn't really drink that much either especially not spirits.  I nod at him to do it again and he does while he's frowning at me.

I take the bottle off him, pour the rest of it's contents into the bin, throw in the bottle then replace the bin lid, he's really frowning at me now.

"You've seriously lost it mate!!  Come on Mango what's going on?!  Is it the kids ... have you heard something?"  I take him by the arm and walk him towards the front door and open it for him.

"You need to go QUIETLY through the house ... Tapestry's room ... Honey is here."

As soon as the word Honey is out of my mouth, he's off across the hall and tearing down the basement steps like a total maniac. I run after him thinking I maybe should have warned him ...

.... Honey is not all that he is going to find in Tapestry's room!!


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Song ~ Supernatural by Daughtry
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