London, December 24th  19:00 

The hired black taxi pulled up outside Simon’s home in Parsons Green. We were weary, the flight was nice enough but we both still could not sleep. Travel time, and  jet lag was catching up with us. We took our bags and walked to the red painted door I’d seen a million times over the past forty years. I could just open the door, although Simon and all  my siblings and their families waited inside, I felt I still needed to knock and be invited in. I knocked on the door and we waited only a moment. Simon opened the door, “ I’m glad to see you both, come in, come in! It’s cold out there.” They ushered me and Raleigh inside, dressed all in shades of purple, Simon embraced the duo nature of their new self. It had been a long time coming.  I was glad to see them so comfortable in who they are after all these years. 

“ It feels like it took forever to get here.” I said, giving them a hug. Raleigh brushed past us and stooped down, in a flash little Aiden who had been sitting on the stairs  came running to him.

 “ Rah! Rah! You made it, you’re really here!” The boy sobbed as he fell into Raleigh’s arms. They hugged tightly, as if to never let each other go, they were all they had left in the world.

Simon put their arm around me,“ Thank you for making this happen, that child needed his family with him.” 

“ Well I am capable of doing nice things on occasion. I’m not completely without hope.” 

“ I hitched a ride with Santa, he made sure I got him on time.” Raleigh smiled. Little Ade, with his brown eyes, looked very much like Raleigh, the only difference being he had beautiful golden blond hair and a tiny frame. The boy locked his arms around Rah and continued to cry not only tears of joy,but  tears of emotional  release. Dear thing must have been stressed out for days. 

“ You’re here, you’re here..” The little boy continued to sob in Rah’s arms. Raleigh just hugged him tighter, held him and let him cry. 

“ Ade, I can’t make up for years of neglect, but I’m going to try. I’ll be with you always, that’s a promise.” And “I’ve got some good news for you,bud, I’m staying! I’m packing up and moving to London.” 

“ Really? You’re moving to London?” Aiden’s face lit up brighter than Simon’s gaudy Christmas tree. 

Raleigh looked reassuringly towards Simon who nodded, then back to Aiden.“Yeah, Simon said I can stay here and take care of you, like I always should have. You don’t have to call me Dad or anything. I know I should have stepped up a long time ago and taken care of you, it’s all my Dad wanted me to do, it shouldn’t have taken me losing them to make me understand how valuable and special you are.” He took Aiden by the hand and they went into the lounge to sit by the fire and catch up. 

“Thank you Simon, this is the best present ever!” Aiden exclaimed as they walked away.

Simon smiled, “ Oh don’t thank me!” They touched my shoulder. “Sometimes we do things for the ones we love.” 

“You don’t have to put them up, I’ve the Camden property they can move into.” I offered, pulling Simon aside.

“ This is the family home, Malie. I've purchased and remodeled the two properties attached to this building and now there is plenty of space and security. Besides, Aiden needs to be here with our little Vicki. She's struggling and I don’t have a cure I’m afraid, other than  to hold her tighter and love her as much as possible.” I looked up and the children who had been spying on us at the top of the stairs saw me look up and scattered back to their playroom.  Penelope, Jeremy, Simone and Victoria eagerly awaited Father Christmas to arrive, there would be no sleeping tonight!  

“ I suppose it helps to have everyone in one place.” I said turning back to Simon, the little ones were in a complicated world not of their making, and this home was a place of safety. Aiden and Victoria were connected, Aiden was an adopted brother of sorts to Vicki, as both were were-bears infected by the same matrix lycanthrope virus. Although unrelated by blood, they were related by the virus which Aiden had been infected by in October and medication suppressed.Where as Victoria, had been born directly infected as an infant, her parents both being Werebears of Eurasian Brown bear descent. She was a little more feral as she’d lived as a bear cub for sometime before being rescued. The little one had no remaining family and could not be left on her own, so we became her family much like with Aiden. If one sees a little bear cub in a blue coat in London, it’s not Paddington, but Victoria!

 “ So are you coming back?” Simon asked. 

“ Maybe, but I have some things to sort out with King, most likely I’ll be back sometime in mid-february.” 

“Really? Are you honestly going to be here then? Don’t lie to me, I want the honest truth out of you.” 

“ I ..” I took a deep breath, “ I am unsure about quite a lot these days. One thing I am sure of is I have to get out of my own way. Raleigh is the Great Dark Man I was always looking for. Instead of dominance and control he possesses me through his gentleness, his kindness and his love.  However,  can I keep him from getting bored with me, furthermore how do I keep from getting bored?” 

“ Is that your worst fear? Being bored?” Simon gave a snort. “ My dear, my darling, brother! People get bored,and  it's not the bloody end of the world. And at that  there's certainly no reason to leave someone over it! You just have to spice things up every once in a while, go on holiday, do new things, enjoy life together. But don’t throw away a good man because you fear boredom.” 

“ I suppose you’re right.” I watched Raleigh and Aiden from the hall, I felt like a ghost watching life all around me, and I couldn’t get into it, I couldn’t reach that place where familial love was comfort. How do I get into that place where everyone else here resides? Will I always be on the outside looking in? “ We’ve dinner on the table, why don’t you sit down with us?” 

“Oi! Is that Mabbit?” I heard my younger  brother Andy yell from down the hall, always a braying  jackass. I cringed with the echo of my childhood nickname Mabbit, the merging of Rabbit and Malachy due to my buck teeth, the cheeky bastard. 

“ You’re not going anywhere!” Simon said, seeing me turn pale. “ March into the dining room and eat dinner with your siblings! Andy and Gaz along with their families have come all the way from Australia to see us.” 

I begrudgingly walked with Simon to the dinning room to see my brothers, and my sister Carol, along with the wives of Gary and Andy. Andy had his mid-life crisis  in recent years, his now ex wife the long suffering Mary Alice finally divorced him and he married a twenty-two year old swimsuit model from Sidney, named Ella. Gary’s wife of twelve years Belinda, was a sharp witted wildlife conservationist in her forties, neither couple had children. Gary, Andy, Ella and Belinda were all still human, but I could see where this conversation was heading the moment Andy opened his mouth. 

“ Listen you two! You made ancient Carol here, into a vampire, why can’t I be one too?” Andy, my younger brother, bellowed loudly. He was thin like Simon and I, but taller and at fifty-eight  still had all his dark brown hair like myself but unlike Simon’s thin white. Sure Andy didn’t want to be a vampire when I fully transitioned to a vampire in 1985, but now he wants it after Simon and I have fixed everything and made it easier ! 

“ We’ve talked about this! It’s because there is a lot more to it than you think, Andy.” Simon replied sitting down at the table. I took my seat, and while everyone else had plates filled with food, I left mine empty. I can eat human food and it tastes just fine, but I don’t like to eat and it was a waste trying to make me. Simon offered a few slices of ham, I dismissed with a wave of my hand. Carol poured me a glass of wine, which I did accept although I typically don’t drink a lot of alcohol. 

“Ancient! Who are you calling ancient?” Carol sneered at her little brother, her green eyes flashing red for a moment.. Although a late in life transition at seventy-two years of age, while she didn’t look like she was twenty five, like me, she did look sort of ethereal and beautiful as a mature woman, not quite botox fresh but refreshed looking. “ The bloody cheek of you Thorsbys.” She herself was the daughter of our Mum’s first husband the late Jack Kidd, therefore not a rude Thorsby. 

Andy didn’t even give Carol a glance, he just continued. “ What problem ? As I see it, all you have to do is  take out me blood, give me your blood and I will look handsome forever, right? I don’t see what the problem is?” He brushed off the complications of transitioning from a human to vampire, you don’t wake up refreshed, you wake up in terror! No matter how at peace you were going in, what you see and feel is all new and horrifying, that is if you survive it. 

“ Andrew, “ Carol said. “ It’s very complicated you know, what with that energy vampire and all. Plus you have to guard your thoughts carefully, you have quite a few eavesdroppers on the party line!” 

 “  Pfft, that Christy fellow? Eh- wouldn’t it do him good to have more battery packs as you call it? I can control my thoughts. That’s dead easy!” Christy was a reluctant energy vampire we sort of got tangled up with in 1987. Since then we’re all threaded to him and energize him so he doesn’t steal from humans. It was beneficial to Christy and society but tough on us when he accidentally starts draining energy. 

“ Even during sex?” I argued, raising an eyebrow. “ Can you control your thoughts then?” 

“ Oh.. really- you lot know that, then?” he didn’t even blush, but only grinned a bit more.  

“ Yes, and we don’t want to know about it!  Mal is probably the worst offender of not shielding during sex.” Simon snapped a spoon pointing at me.“ You do realize you are a very active fellow!”  

“ Well,” I snorted. “ When it gets good sometimes I forget to block you lot out!” 

“Funny how Raliegh can block us out.” said Simon. 

“ Oh can we change this distasteful  subject please?” Carol huffed. “I’m not talking about sex with you lot, it’s not a dinner discussion among siblings.” 

“ Wait- wait, we’re all adults here- but  is the sex better?”Andy inquired  like a naughty schoolboy.  “You’re telling me the sex is better?” He looked at Ella, “ You’d like that wouldn’t you?” 

“ It could be better..” She said with a bit of a laugh, blushing. 

Andy looked around the table. “So is it?” 

“Yes.” I, Simon, and even dainty Carol all said in unison to which Andy raised an eyebrow. We all sort of laughed not uncomfortably but all of us finally admitting sex before vampirism wasn’t as good! Being a vampire heighted all physical sensations, good and bad, but you didn’t mind the bad because the good was so good!

Clapping hands together. “  Fantastic! Well I’m game!” he shouted. “ Sign me up! Sign us all up!” 

“ That sounds quite interesting to me. Well, only the bit about being connected. I’d feel more connected to you all if myself  and Belinda could also join you.” Gary said in that quiet little voice of his, our late father Stanley had gone to Australia briefly with Andrew in the late sixties and Gary was born from an affair, and we only found him a few years ago. He was short like me, but had the white hair like Simon, and blue eyes like all us Thorsbys. 

“ It could mean I could continue my work without retiring, I’m all for it, there is so much to be done. Why, I need a thousand lifetimes to reach all my goals.” Belinda chimed in.

Ella also joined in “ I could continue to work as well as long as I wanted to, or even change careers and keep going, it sounds rather appealing. I’ve always wanted time to have a family, and also become more active in the fashion industry. I’m sure we can try to learn to block out everyone, really.” She took Andy’s hand, “ Andy and I could have a full life together, where the age difference wouldn’t matter any more.” There was something in Andy I never expected to see, he loved this woman, he didn’t step out on her, or take her for granted he was in love, and further more she was with him. I never thought I’d see the day my little brother honored marriage vows. “ I’d have all the time in the world to be with my soul mate.” He kissed her hand. 

“ Please!” Andy begged Simon and I with puppy dog eyes. “ You’re giving this old cock a new lease on life to be with the woman he’s been waiting for for such a long time.” And here I thought he didn’t care for Ella, and was cheating and making her miserable. If you knew Andy you’d know  he hadn’t matured, he was, in his mind still in his twenties, or worse the tiny child locked in the storage under the stairs when Mum was home and Dad wasn’t there. Where Simon and I faced our father’s wraith, Andy was targeted by Mum and none of us had been able to get beyond that point. It stunted our emotions, and our interactions as adults, ruined relationships and harmed those we loved. The cycle of abuse carries on like an out of control burning wheel destroying everything in its path. We know how to extinguish the flames, but we lack the strength to do so.   

I was brought back into the conversion as Simon started in as the Boss of us all. “ Alright, Andy if you promise to behave and you won’t do anything stupid that triggers Christy! Now if we add the batteries to give him more power, he gets more power. It doesn't further balance between us all, it just powers him more.” Simon agreed. “  Gary, Belinda  since you are the older set, you’ll assist me with our interests in Australia . We’ll have to find someplace down there  to have it done, you’ll all need at least a few weeks to rest and it will be years before you are capable of things like Malie can do, such as teleportation. And I will absolutely make you all  represent the family in Australia when the Policies open their parliamentary session. All hands on deck, right? It’s how we continue to receive our SK stipend to be able to afford to live for hundreds of years comfortably, by doing boring government work.” Andy rolled his eyes. But it was true the Second Kingdom had more wealth than imaginable, but the wealth was spread out to registered ‘Houses’ such as  ours, you do some occasional government work and you get a stipend on top of what you make with your other employment. Head of household  paid higher taxes but the family as individuals did not.  There wasn’t much to worry about in all actuality, Simon had a successful art firm, and investments in their late ex-wife’s family business which the proceeds went directly to  their oldest daughter Francoise.  I made enough illegal money that went unnoticed that also added to the biscuit barrel as it were. We, as a family, were  slowly becoming vastly wealthy ourselves. Adding more to the pot can only help!