Blueblood

Story: Blueblood

Chapter 32 Home Again

Author: Eric McQueen (mcqueen.richarderic@gmail.com)

Adult Readers, Sexual Situations, Sex

Freedom of expression is precious. To do that Nifty needs help. Your donation is greatly desired. Give to http://donate.nifty.org/ or this story ends and all the others! That would be a crime!

Getting Amasis out in the modern world.

Home Again

The flight was pretty uneventful. Well, there was that little bumpiness over the mid-Atlantic, but it wasn't bad. Amir was pretty amused by it. He had seen planes and knew what they were, so he was fine. It was as I said it would be. Amasis let go of the arm of the seat and once he realized we weren't falling or crashing, he relaxed and fell asleep. He even woke after a few hours and asked what every parent heard from children on long trips.

"Are we there yet?"

Colin looked up at Amasis. He looked at his watch and grinned. "Not for a few more hours."

I laughed when Amasis rolled his eyes and grunted.

I looked at Amasis. "I remember you saying you learned patience."

Amasis grunted again. "Even a god has his limits."

I was preparing lesson one for Amasis on a tablet I had preparing for an eventual question about where we were.

It was the few more hours and our pilot told us to buckle our seatbelts and prepare for landing. We began our descent and again Amasis was not sure how this would play out. He kept looking out the plane window as we got lower and lower. Seeing that we were soaring lower, now he could see the tops of houses, trees, and traffic below. He watched as the earth got closer and closer and he closed his eyes as the rear wheels hit.

We got off the plane and got in various vans and limousines to go back to Wentworth Manor. Mom, Willie, Gabriella, and Alex got in a van to go to that residential hotel to check in that as Mom had booked rooms for while we were in flight. Things were unloaded for Colin, Amasis, Amir, Wayne and me and secured in one of the vans. We didn't have one of those super-stretch limos, but it was a big one. Now Amasis' eyes opened wider as he got in and even bounced on the seat and looked at the inside of the car.

"You are a pharaoh," Amasis said to me.

I shook my head. "No. I'm not." I grinned and pointed to Colin. "He is."

Colin shook his head. "I am not."

"Sure, you are, baby," I said back. "You ran an Egypt of your own. He did it very well." I said to Amasis. "He did it here in the past and does it again at Holms Laboratories, too. He's brilliant in business."

Amasis shook his head. "He does with...who?"

I smiled and said how Colin had been a successful plantation owner in the past and explained about the whole laboratory and the beginning of the VUN which was Holms Laboratories new name.

Amasis nodded after hearing all of it. "That's very impressive, Colin." He grinned. "Maybe I should bow to you."

Colin didn't like that idea, even as a joke. "No. Absolutely not."

Amasis could see a little of the countryside as we rode. "Okay, this is not a desert, it is very much like a jungle; very green!" He looked at me. "Where are we?"

I grinned. We had a little more riding to do. "I thought you might ask that." I pulled out the tablet. "This is a small version of that magic window you know about. To show you where we are now..." I pulled the screen that showed Amir's village which Amasis didn't recognize. I showed the mountain under which was the City of Amasis. That he did recognize. "Now, we go higher." I went higher, showing the most of Northern Africa and the lower part of the Middle East and zeroed in on Tel Aviv so he could see the distance. I showed him the Mediterranean Sea and told him what we call Africa and the Atlantic Ocean as his eyes widened as I went. I did my finger over to North America, showing him a whole new continent which he heard about, but now was seeing for the first time. He was smart and saw the distance and he was realizing he was very, very far away from where he called home for so long. I got to South Carolina and the Eastern Coast. I zeroed into the island where Wentworth Manor was and practically showed him the top of the house.

"It's like I'm a bird flying fast over..." Amasis frowned. "It's so big." He said softly. "This world is so big."

I nodded. "It is."

His mind was working it out, but the fascination with what he'd seen was making all sorts of questions. "How high can this bird's eye go?"

I smiled. "All the way up," I said. I had prepared for this. "Do you want to see all of it?"

Amasis looked puzzled. "All of it? I assume it does stop. I heard about planets and...can I see it?"

"Sure, people have been up there and have seen it. There are people up there now." I hit the screen and moved the image to a picture of the planet Earth. "You think it's big." I smiled. "And it is, but if we scale out..." I smiled as I showed the sun. "This is the sun. What you call Ra. There are a number of other planets that go around our sun just like the Earth does. Our sun is a star and there are literally billions upon billions of stars that make up a group called a galaxy. Our galaxy is but one of billions of galaxies in the universe." While I was speaking about it, I showed the image of the sun and then the image of our galaxy and showed the group of galaxies and various images we had seen and discovered looking into space. With each image and he was understanding more, he got very quiet.

"My gods." He said softly. "I am but a tiny ant in the middle of a mighty desert."

I nodded. "We all are." I looked at him more closely. "But we can do something amazing together. One ant alone can't do much, but get a line of those things and they can really do something impressive. We can do a lot, but together, we can make an impact." I was watching as he thought. "That's why we sought you and others like us out. We plan that together we can make that impact." I looked at Colin as he smiled and nodded at me. Then I looked back at Amasis. "You're not an ant. You are an important part of this world, at least to these two ants, you and Amir are important to us."

Colin gave a look that said he wasn't too sure liked being seen as an ant. "If I've got to be an ant, can I at least be a fire ant?"

I chuckled and looked at Amasis' confusion. "We have them here, little ants that pack a stinging bite that burns like fire."

Amir grinned. "I'd rather be a scarab, or maybe a snake! A viper!"

We arrived at Wentworth Manor going in the grand entrance and one more time, our new arrivals did the slow turn in the center hallway downstairs. Robert, our houseman came out to greet us.

"So, have you had enough jetting around the world for now?" Robert asked smiling. He held his hand out to Colin. "Welcome home."

"Thank you, Robert." Colin nodded. "For now, we've seen enough." He introduced Amir and Amasis to him.

Wayne stretched and yawned. "All this jetting has worn me out. I'd love to get to know you more, but I'm going to bed." He hugged Colin and me. He looked at Amasis and Amir, smiled and hugged them, too. "Welcome to the family." He said and stopped. "I know we just got back, it will be a week from now, but..."

I looked at him. "...but?"

Wayne grinned. "Well, it would be my first Christmas with Katie, Sean, and the kids and..." he smiled. "I'd like to be there for the first one since I became more human."

Colin looked at Wayne. "I hope you don't think..." he shook his head. "No, you were just letting us know, right?" He smiled. "It almost sounded like you were asking our permission."

I shook my head. "He is polite. I'm sure that's just what he was doing."

Wayne laughed. "Sure. Let's go with what Colin said." He grabbed Colin and then me. "I can spend time with the grandkids and see Thornwood."

"Say hello to them all," I said. "I know Kelly will be thrilled to have you there."

Wayne smiled. "I'll miss you guys. I'll be back the first of the new year." He turned and held up his hands to wave goodbye to Amasis and Amir. "You're with family, so you'll be fine here." He said and took the stairs up to his room.

It was the beginning of December and they had already started to decorate for the holidays. Now, I was insisting on doing more. I simply told Amasis and Amir about Christmas. Amasis was born way before Christ was even born, but he understood the world celebrating this day. He appreciated the holy and secular aspects of Christmas. I showed them my Christmas traditions of Rudolph and Frosty. Amasis was in awe of the huge screen and he tried to reach to see if he could touch Rudolph a few times. Of course, we shared my tradition with a huge bowl of buttered popcorn. That was a first for Amasis and Amir. There was no corn in Egypt! Not when Amasis was pharaoh. When he went underground, he didn't consume anything but blood, so it was all new.

I loved all the members of my family. I'm not just talking about Mom or Willie or Colin or Gabriella. Mark, Stan, Shelly, and Chuck were who I considered family as well, but having Amasis, Amir and Colin...just us was priceless. I loved having them around and spending time with them. Amasis marveled on our climate. For so long all he saw was rock. I had a feeling he did a lot of construction to see something other than rock. Amasis just watched as he wasn't sure at first at this holiday was done. The animated figures on the screen singing, moving and songs, he quickly got into the show and became fascinated and I knew I got another convert!

Colin and I went to bed one night and as we were getting settled he rolled over to me. "You're doing a lot for Amasis and Amir, they seem to be settling in more with us."

I looked at Colin. "I know I've been spending a lot of time with Amasis. Amir has a good understanding of English and he's getting better, but Amasis doesn't always understand. He knows some English, but he'll need a stronger knowledge than he has now." I chuckled. "The other day he began singing There's Always Tomorrow to himself."

Colin looked at me with a blank expression. "Okay."

I nodded sitting up a little more. "And you have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?" I said pushing him back so I was over him.

Colin shook his head. "Sorry."

"Oh, my god!" I said lamenting. "You've seen it with me how many times now? The song Clarice sings to Rudolph!?"

Colin was chuckling as he turned us back over. "I don't watch it as religiously as you do, but I just don't remember the song!"

I held a finger up. "Ah, but Amasis does!" I nodded. "That proves it works!"

"What works?"

"He's learning English!" I smiled. "He was occasionally singing the wrong words, but he's thinking about it."

Colin looked serious a second. "Okay, please listen to what I'm going to say." He said quietly. "This isn't about me as much, but...and please hear me." He said pleading. "You don't mean to, but...he may fall in love with you."

I kidded him about that several times, but I saw his eyes. "Do you think so?"

Colin looked helpless. "I'm not worried about you falling in love with him, but he's...fragile now. He has no one left except Amir...and us now. How can he not fall in love with you? I did."

"I don't mean for him to," I said seriously.

Colin nodded. "I know." He let out a breath. "He may not want to, but he might be powerless to stop it."

"I can't do anything different with him," I said as I ran my fingers in his hair. "I'll be careful, but he's in a pretty awful position. I let up and he's hurt perhaps not knowing why I do too much and he gets hurt because I rejected him." I looked at Colin. "You need to be there more often."

Colin nodded. "I can be." He smiled. "I'll be the watchdog for your heart." He said kissing me. "No one can resist you, Devon. I knew the first day I had no chance, but fall in love."

I nodded. "But I love that you are." I brought my arms around him kissing him deeper. "I'll be more careful." I pushed him back a little. "What about you?"

Colin shrugged. "I don't think I'm in danger here."

"Why not? You're gorgeous and nice as Hell!"

"He and I...," he thought, "...we're too much alike. It wouldn't happen."

"I love you," I said.

Colin nodded kissing me. "I know. I love you."

I pulled him closer. "Show me."

Colin smiled. "With pleasure."

It was a few days before Christmas. We were planning a Christmas party. Not a big one with just family we had here and a few new friends. We invited Mitch and his family that included a big Russian named Sasha and his husband named David. I was putting some last moment touches on our Christmas tree we had in the library. We had another massive, taller tree at the entrance and music of the season played throughout the house.

"...it's just amazing how you can have music anytime!" Amasis looked again for the musicians playing as he helped me.

"Is it amazing to have words written down to convey an idea?" I asked. "We found a way to...sort of write down sounds. Like a scroll that can be read by anyone to convey an idea. We write down the sound to have music." I said shrugging.

Amir was adapting quite well. He discovered earphones and was listening to some other music I know his father would question. I had shown him how to surf the YouTube website to find more songs and he was loving it!

Colin came in carrying mugs of steaming tea on a tray filling the room with the scent of cinnamon, a hint of orange and spices; mixing with the smell from the live tree and it was feeling more like Christmas to me. "Okay, this is another McGee tradition." He said handing Amasis a cup. "It's hot but very good." He nodded at me. "It's his mother's recipe." He bowed at me. "Sorry, I misspoke; it's our mother's recipe." He said as Amasis sniffed and sipped. "Careful, it's hot!"

Robert came into the library. "Excuse me, Colin." He said not wanting to intrude, but something he wasn't sure about what action he should take...he thought Colin needed to know about. "Normally, I would take a message, but you have a call. The man says must speak with you." He said holding out a portable handset.

Colin nodded. "Okay. It's on the landline? Everyone else has my number to me directly, but, he must speak with me?"

Robert nodded. "It's a matter of life or death, he said. It's Dr. Tad Morsi."

Colin lost his smile as he looked to me. "Please pick up the other phone?"

I nodded and went to our phone we used only for household issues like visits and future appointments...stuff that wasn't personal, miscellaneous things. I went to the phone in the library and picked that one up.

Colin touched a button to bring the call up. "What can I do for you, Dr. Morsi?"

We both heard a sudden sigh. "You are home." He sounded relieved.

Colin frowned. "Our presence was not really received there as is should have been."

"And I don't know what to say." Tad Morsi said and now he sounded pressured and began speaking more rapid. He did speak English, but his native accent was heard now by both Colin and me. "I'm an academic, Mr. Wentworth. I don't know what's going on, but when I mentioned you to my brother...who at first was not helpful. He's the one in office and well...he mentioned it to Rafa, my other brother...suddenly you were to be taken to that house...and I didn't understand..." he said quickly. "I heard about an explosion in the desert...injuries...potential deaths...that's not important...you're home and unhurt!"

Colin looked confused as his eyebrows came together. "Why did you call here now?"

Tad Morsi hesitated. "I just..." he stopped. "I needed to know if you were...understand..." he sounded truly upset, "I'm not a bad man, Mr. Wentworth."

"And your brother is?" Colin asked. When Tad Morsi didn't answer right away, Colin pressed on. "I know he's was in the military; I know he is a retired General. I can almost bet the house was under surveillance with listening devices as well as cameras. You came by the house we were staying in after I said we were going out of town. Why?"

"I'm not with him, Mr. Wentworth. Believe me!" Tad said. "I really shouldn't be talking to you now. My brother asked me to find out about you...to see if you were gone and your things still there."

"You didn't want to buy the program," Colin said.

"That's not true at all! I do want it!" Tad said in a hurry. "That program was easy to use and it translates right there! No big equip..."

"What did your brother hope to find?" Colin interrupted almost yelling.

"For a clue as to where you'd gone. I told him your things were there...and I did like you...and your husband! I don't care about that...it's just different...I didn't understand what you could be or have...whatever it is it caught Rafa's attention and wanted..." Tad said. "...his crew when his crew got there, it had been cleaned out! He thought you'd gone to meet someone in the desert, that's why I called to be sure it wasn't you or Devon...it was few weeks later...he's watching...." his voice stopped as he was listening for something elsewhere and the sound of him covering the phone or mouthpiece? Then his voice came back in a whisper. "He wants something from you very badly. Be careful. I can't say more!" He said and ended the call.

Colin held the phone away looking at it as if he'd never seen one before. He looked at me with a baffled look. "What the..."

I shook my head. "This can mean a couple of things," I said. "He calls to confirm we are here or he really isn't in with his older brother and sincerely wanted to warn us."

"Calling me on my personal phone...I could be anywhere." Colin hit the button to disconnect. He nodded. "He did call the house the first time, maybe his brother doesn't have that number." He thought. "We're not in the book...It can also mean a lot of possible other things." He looked at me. "Maybe we need to tell security to be even more careful than we feared." He frowned. "I wished your mother and my daughter hadn't chosen now to move out."

"And we confirmed it when you answered the phone." I nodded.

"We can't hide, Devon," Colin said. "If they want to come, let them come. We're more prepared here at Wentworth." He frowned. "Someone is interested. We need to find out who and why."

"We know why," I said. "We need to know what and how they found out."

"We'll get details when they do come," Colin said.

I looked at Amir who was still listening to the music and Amasis was...staring at us.

"Is...there problem?" Amasis asked in broken accented English.

Colin walked over and put an arm around Amasis' shoulder. "Honestly?" Colin said using the translator. "There is, but I don't know about. Not yet."

It was all set up for a nice party. There were good smells coming through the house from the kitchen and the combination of the greenery for Christmas that had the effect on me telling me it was that special Season. Yes, it was my favorite time of year. I could almost forget there a threat out there. Almost.

Amasis' hair had begun to grow out and Gabriella came early to give him a haircut. In the clothes we had gotten him, he and Amir were looking like they did belong in this century. We had brought them to Wentworth Manor to limit the amount of exposure to modern culture. Colin and I didn't think Amasis was ready for hustle and bustle of Manhattan. The fact that Wentworth Manor was isolated and there weren't a lot of people in this part of the Lowcountry was a good thing for Amasis. Amir was seemingly ready for more, but the other isolation Amir had in Amasis' City had not really prepared him for the world; that and the language problem. Amir had enough English to be alright, but he needed more. Amasis was learning more but was still heavily dependent on the translator. We all wore the little earpieces, including Amasis and Amir. The program Delkenzie put out was amazing. There was another reason for the party. To see how Amasis would handle being with others that didn't know about him...or us.

The doorbell rang and both Colin and I went to the door and Mitch was on the other side, along with two others that were his family. One was a large man in his mid to late fifties. He was about six feet and six inches tall with bronze colored hair that was starting to show grey through the hair. The other man was in his early to mid-forties with black hair that was starting to turn grey at the temples. He bore a striking resemblance to Mitch like a sibling would probably be. They were smiling when we opened the door, but when these two with Mitch saw us, their eyes widened.

Mitch looked at them. "I told you." He said. "Eerie, isn't it? He looks just like Tony."

The dark-haired man looked at Mitch in disbelief. "He looks like Tony? They look like both of you! I'm looking at another Mitch and Tony!"

I nodded at them. "So, we've heard." I waved to the interior. "Welcome to Wentworth Manor."

Mitch chuckled as he walked in. "Thank you." He said removing his coat. He waved at the other two. "This is my cousin David McKenzie and his husband and very good friend of mine, Sasha Ledebev."

Sasha was still staring in shock but shook my hand almost absently as he stared. It wasn't until David nudged him in the gut for him to say. "Oh, it's nice to meet you." He smiled. "Weird, but nice."

I nodded to him and David. "Well, welcome to the House of Weird."

Colin chuckled. "As if we weren't already running over with weird here." He muttered to me.

I introduced Colin and they came in. David looked at the entrance foyer and the large brightly lit, decorated tree that sat in the center, towering up almost touching the crystal chandelier above it like a giant star on top.

"Now that..." David said pointing at the tree. "...is a big ass tree!"

I nodded laughing. "And not easy to decorate, I can tell you."

Mitch nodded. "I bet not."

Sasha looked at the house and his eyes grew. "Wow." There was decorative garland with red ribbons, the occasional hurricane glass coverings over the wide red candle that we lit. The tree's lights were the tiny white ones that glowed like stars in the greenery and silver, gold and red glass balls hung in the bows, tensile and the lights refracted off crystal and clear balls to make it shine even more!

Mitch chuckled. "Wow?" He looked at me. "He's so articulate." He grinned at Colin and me. "He's the reason the Delkenzie program works as well as it does. Especially with Russian. He brought his five-year-old son Alik here, who didn't speak English and we began using the program to understand him."

David nodded. "That's why it works so well with Russian."

Colin smiled. "And it's expanded to include so many languages now, even seldom-used languages or languages that are dead." He waved them all in. "Let us have your coats, and I'll introduce two others that are helping to further the program."

We introduced the others here; my mother was just beyond words seeing Mitch. All of my family here were moved to almost being speechlessness meeting Mitch. Then I introduced Amasis and Amir who were the only ones wearing the translator and earpieces. I watched from a distance to see how Amasis would do and it seemed to go well. Mitch was spending a good bit of time with him deep in a conversation. It wasn't too long before we went to eat dinner and everyone watched, as they always did at the amount of food Colin and now Amasis ate. Amasis would be a big eater from now on. There was light classical seasonal music in the background as we enjoyed our dinner. I felt Colin touch my hand, so I looked up at him.

"Do you think they suspect anything...odd?" Colin asked me quietly from the head of the table.

I looked over as Mitch was still talking to Amasis and Amasis seemed to like talking with Mitch. There was the inevitable delay as the conversation would have to be translated and a reply given, but it was Mitch's program and Mitch was aware of what needed to happen, so he was patient. "I think it's going well." I smiled and then shrugged. "It is possible for Amasis to say something that would give it away. We'll just deal with it when it happens. This is a test run."

"What do you think we say if they suspect?" Colin asked.

"The truth?" I suggested. "Mitch, David, and Sasha might have a hard time with it, but I think they could be trusted with the truth." I shrugged looking at Colin. "They might prove useful in the future. We can't enough friends on our side."

"The whole truth?" Colin asked. "I mean, about all of us?"

"We shouldn't leave those things to question when they happen," I said.

Our mother and Willie were looking happy. Gabriella and Alex were very happy. Everything seemed to be working out fine. We were in the library while I was talking with Sasha. He was a quick, funny person. He often fell into this act where he claimed to not understand and shifted to Russian, but he understood just fine. I liked him. I like all of them. I noticed later as I saw Mitch sitting by the tree in the library. The library was decorated for the holiday and the tree was lit. A fire burned merrily in the fireplace and it all looked perfect...except Mitch looked a little lost at the moment. Amasis was in a conversation with David now. I walked over and sat by Mitch.

"I hope you're having a nice evening," I said.

Mitch looked up suddenly from his thoughts and smiled. "What?" He looked around at the pleasant surroundings. "No, the party's great! The house is gorgeous and the company is wonderful." He nodded touching his wedding ring. "I was just having a moment with Tony." He said fondly in thought. He looked up. "I do that occasionally. There are times I miss him so much more." He chuckled. "This is one of them. He proposed to me this time of year." He chuckled as he explained. "We were on a carriage ride around Central Park this time of year..." He held his ring up, "...the night he gave me this."

I felt for him. "He sounds like a romantic guy."

Mitch nodded with a sad smile. "He was. He really was." Then Mitch grinned and pulled out his phone. "Here, let me show you." He turned it on and pulled something up and held the phone to me the screen. "I always keep this." He chuckled. "I'll never forget his face, but..."

I looked at a picture of...it was Colin! I knew it couldn't be Colin because of Tony's darker complexion, but the face of Tony was the face of Colin. "Wow," I said holding it out. "Now, I understand everyone's reaction to Colin." I smiled handing the phone back. "He's very handsome."

Mitch nodded and said almost sweetly. "And the most beautiful soul. He would send me a single rose every week...just because he loved me." He said as a tear was coming.

"I wish I'd met him," I said.

Mitch nodded again. "He would have liked you and Colin." He laughed. "But it's all good." He said at last. "I'd give anything to have him back, but..." he shrugged. He leaned back and looked at me. "Now, explain about this...Amasis."

I was not prepared for this sudden change of subject. "What about him? We got him out of trouble in Egypt. Now he and Amir are good friends." I waved at Amasis.

Mitch nodded. "There's more here. I've spoken with Amasis a good bit tonight." He looked at me. "Let me just say...it's like he's from another time."

I smiled. "He's from a remote part of a desert community. They were outside of time."

Mitch nodded. "There's more and it's a secret. Don't tell me if you don't want to, but there is something...old about the man. How he sees things in the world and what he remembers. It's..." he shrugged, "...old. It's almost regal, but's old."

I looked at Mitch carefully. "You won't believe it."

Mitch leveled a look at me. "Try me."

So, I did. I told him where we found Amasis and the circumstances that made us look for him. I told him the truth about Colin, me and Amasis. I told him everything except about my mother and Willie and the others. No one else needed to be told about now. Mitch listened, never interrupting. When I was done, I waited for him to...call the police, or say I was crazy or laugh at a joke...something! Instead, he just nodded.

"Okay." Was all he said.

Now, I was not okay. "Just like that?"

Mitch laughed. "Oh, come on, Devon. That story is too absurd not to be true. I believe you." He smiled. "You have to admit, and we both deny it, but...I see the similarities in us. Between you and Colin, me, and Tony. I know we're so similar it's like..." he thought, "...who or whatever created us thought we were such good matches...he or she decided not to waste it, but duplicate it! I'm sure there are many others of us out there." He pointed outside of the house. "In fact, I'm sure there are many Mitches and Tonys out there; living all kinds of lives, not only now, but in the past and in the future. Even in places we think are only dreams. You and Colin, me and Tony were..." he smiled, "like magic! Our pairings were so good; it was repeated and will be repeated again and again. There is a place for us in reality. That gives me hope!" He said happily.

I wasn't expecting this. "How does it give you hope?"

"I miss Tony so much." He smiled as a tear came down. "I loved him so fiercely. I see you and Colin and see you two feel the same for each other. I know Tony and I will be together again. I simply know it!" He shrugged.

I smiled. "You're okay with all this?"

Mitch nodded. "I can't wait to see Tony again, but I know I will." He chuckled. "There will be tales about matches like ours. Ours is a love that needs to be told about. The tale will give guys hope for their own lives." He laughed. "Imagine, a story like Cinderella with the main characters being male!"

I shook my head. "I don't think the world is ready for that." I smiled.

Mitch looked at me thoughtfully. "I don't know, it might be, little boys and young men need tales that make them dream. Little girls dream of Prince Charming, well, we'll let young men like us know they can dream of a Prince Charming of their own. Get them to dream."

"You can't name it Cinderella," I said simply.

"How about..." he thought. "Cinderfella?"

I laughed. "That may be possible, but pushing the limits."

"So, let's push!" Mitch smiled as he looked up. "I think your version of Tony is looking a little concerned." He pointed at Colin.

I looked to see Colin not upset but had a look of curiosity on his face and concern. I patted Mitch on the arm. "Do I tell him we're good about this whole vampire thing?"

Mitch nodded. "We are. I might tell Sasha and David because they're both sharp and probably suspect, but don't worry, we'll keep this whole...vampire thing to ourselves." He took a deep breath. "If anything, I owe you and Colin a great debt. You're taking that program to new heights. If you need anything, I'll be there to help. I can help with Amasis' socialization and getting to know customs as needed."

I nodded standing. "We will probably do that. He needs about two thousand years of catch-up learning."

Mitch stood as well. "I think he's doing just fine." He walked over to speak to my mother, who was still looking puzzled at Mitch.

I went over to Colin.

"You two were in a pretty deep discussion for nearly an hour!" Colin said. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything is just fine." I smiled at Colin and pulled him into a deep kiss which he responded to instantly as his arms came around me. "Who needs mistletoe? I'll take any excuse to kiss you."

Colin chuckled. "Who needs the excuse?" He shrugged. "We just do it because." He hugged me. "Merry Christmas, baby." He said next to my ear in a whispered voice.

"Merry Christmas, Colin."

The evening had to end as all good events do. We offered our guests a place to stay if needed, but Mitch shook his head. He had hardly drunk anything to mess with his driving and said he needed to go back home. He'd had one glass of eggnog and that was it. Mom, Willie, Gabriella, and Alex would stay in the rooms they always did.

Colin and I settled in for our night as we got in bed as I told him what I said to Mitch.

"...and he didn't question any of it?" Colin asked in disbelief as he slid in between the sheets.

I shook my head. "He was okay with the weird. All of the weird." I said moving over the top of Colin. My hands knew the path it liked as they traveled over Colin's wonderful chest. I leaned in kissing him. "Now, let's be a thing of future legend."

Colin smiled, but not certain about what I meant. "Legend? I know we're good in bed, but legendary?"

"We have to strive to be that!" I said as my arms went around him. "I love you, Colin."

He smiled. "I know." He kissed me back. "Make love to me?"

I smiled. "You don't even need to ask me."

It was Christmas morning and we came down to the library and the excitement of Christmas morning was felt, but not the childish excitement of the past with toys and other presents. We had our coffee; or rather, Colin had his needed coffee. I was finding Amasis had developed a strong love of Colin's Death Wish Coffee. I still got my iced vanilla latte'. We had all agreed not to buy each other anything, but Colin came up to his daughter and future son-in-law. He presented them with an envelope. Gabriella looked surprised at the envelope.

"What's this? We said not..." Gabriella began taking the envelope.

Colin nodded. "I'm your father, Gabby. That means I'm above the rules." He smiled. "Even my own."

Gabriella smiled and kissed Colin on the cheek and opened the envelope. She looked at what was inside and her eyes grew. "What?" She stammered and showed Alex the check. "Why?'

Alex looked surprised, too. "That's too much!" He said.

Colin raised his hands to stop them. "Are you kidding? Do you think we don't have the money? Gabby, you're my daughter! Alex, you've become an important person...not only in my daughter's life but mine and Devon's. Not because you're both vampires, but because we both love you two. You're marrying. You want a house. This will help with that. Whatever you need to get that, I'll do all I can with no regrets."

Gabriella pulled Colin into a tight hug and Alex sort of wrapped his arms around Gabriella and Colin.

I came over to Mom and Willie. I gave them an envelope. "Mom and Dad, you have the house on James Island. That's fine. I grew up there and love it." I said as Mom opened the envelope and her eyes did was Gabriella's did and grew. "Take this, renovate or remodel or both. Buy another house. That's up to both of you." I looked at Mom. "I love you, Mom. You always are in my corner." I looked at Willie. "And you..." I grinned as Willie smiled at me. "When Colin told me how important you were to him...that you were a father figure to him all those decades underground in New York...I didn't know you, but you became such an important person to me! I see you now as a man I need to model my life after." I waved to my mother. "I'm not talking about how important you became to my mother, though that says a lot about you. You stepped in and you let me call you Dad. You are my Dad. I love you, Willie. This is just a little to help you two to continue your lives together."

Willie wiped his eyes and stood. He pulled me close in a hug. "You are my son, Devon." He said in the hug. "I do love you. I hope I will always be someone that deserves the love you give so easily."

I tightened the hug. "You do and you are."

Amasis and Amir watched our family. This was not a holiday they really knew, but the feelings they did know.

Amasis took off his translator and said. "I hope...I say right...my words." He began. "You, Colin. You, Devon. Become more...than friends to Amir...to me. I know...I die...if you not come...but now...I live...with you." He smiled. "I want...give...more to...vampire together...bringing together. I want..." he looked at Amir and said something, which Amir said back. "...yes...purpose. I want purpose to be...here."

Amir nodded. "I'm not a vampire." He said. "But I want to help. Is there a place for us in your group?"

Colin and I hugged them, too. "There is," Colin said. "There is."

"And we will help you all the way, Amasis and Amir," I swore. Amasis nodded as he listened to make sure he understood and finally nodded. "Good." He smiled. "That good!"

The end of the year and a New Year's Party we had with just the four of us. Mom and Dad decided to spend their first New Year's alone, not that I blamed them. Gabriella and Alex were doing the same as they celebrated alone. Amasis knew about a celebration for a year and got more into this day. With Amir, we all watched the ball drop in New York.

The year began and I was working more with Amasis to get him to understand this world. I got him books to help him as English would be his other major language. He was a very smart man, I knew he could do it, but if he was going to help us in the future, he needed a stronger base of the language than he had. The adult readers were helping and he was pouring into learning and insisted we talk to him in English and tried not to use the translator. Amir was learning as well, but he didn't have the patience that Amasis had. We didn't feel either of them was ready yet. There were dangers they both needed to know about. Amir was enjoying the world he was discovering, especially with the Internet and it wasn't long before he was surfing like a pro! I warned him that some sites were not safe, but we had the antiviral software. I chuckled when I came in and realized he'd discovered porn! He was wearing those earbuds and didn't hear me come in. He was in the media room and his attention was transfixed on what he was looking at. Naturally, it was. He was a young human male and there were these women on the screen showing you everything they had and wanted you to look. He was looking! I tried clearing my throat, that didn't work, so I had to come up and tapped him on the shoulder. He spun around and pulled his earpieces out so fast in panic. At least he had no other portion of his anatomy out. Yet. He jumped and was starting to get up in a hurry.

I chuckled and put my hand on his shoulders and pushed him back down. "It's okay, Amir. You're not in any trouble." I looked at the images on the screen, tilted my head. "She's pretty." I grinned. "I've looked some very attractive images." I smiled. "But I don't think you'd like them." What male hasn't seen porn?

"I didn't hear you." Amir almost stammered.

I looked closer at Amir. "I said...it's okay." I smiled at him. "You're male, looking is what we do."

"I don't understand," Amir said still embarrassed.

"We descend from hunters, Amir. For countless generations, we've been taught to use our eyes." I explained. "Everything is governed primarily by what we see. We even see women...well, most of us...and judge them by what they have. Big breasts mean they will provide nourishment for young. Big hips mean they should be good at having children." I pointed at a woman. "She has eyes that are not uneven, a good balance of left and right and she looks very healthy." I pointed to her vagina. "She looks receptive. Naturally, you will look." I leaned forward like I was going whisper. "But, it could have been my mother or Gabriella. They would not like it." I smiled. "Tell you what. I'll get you a laptop. You can look at what you want in your room but lock your door. That way you can look naked and do..." I chuckled as I waved down at his crotch. "...whatever you feel you need to. We're male. It's what we do." Then I did whisper. "I've done it myself."

Amir looked surprised. "You do?"

I gave a shrug and a nod. "Well, not anymore, I have Colin!" I grinned.

"But I don't have a Colin," Amir said logically.

I rolled my eyes. "Of course, you don't. You haven't found him yet...or her in your case." I shoved him lightly back. "Don't be obtuse!"

Amir chuckled. "I do not know obtuse, but I think I understand from how used it in the sentence what it means."

I nodded. "Well, whatever you understood: stop it. You aren't stupid."

Amir was now laughing more. "I will try to do that." He waved at the computer. "There are many places on the Internet to see the naked women."

I nodded. "Just be careful. Sex is very important, but there are dangers out there that come from it."

"Oh?"

"Diseases and injuries," I said. "Not to mention seeing women only as an object. That is a danger that many people get. You don't want to objectify them. They are human. People. Not playthings."

Amir nodded. "But they like to be enjoyed." He said.

"And they would like to enjoy you."

"Enjoy me!?"

I smiled. "Why not? You're an attractive human, male and yes...I've noticed." I smiled. "I looked."

I watched his eyes widen.

"Not used to being seen as an object of sexual desire, are you?" I chuckled. "A woman might do the same thing and see you as just a sexual object, not love. I'm sure there were some, but because I'm a man and said that...I've treated you like you would to a woman you only look at and desire sex."

"Women can do that?" Amir asked surprised.

"I know my mother did on several occasions. There were women I knew in the past and yes, they saw a man with a good ass and yes...they like a nice sized cock." I smiled. "Of course, knowing what to do with it is important, but they appreciate the size."

"Really?" He gave a shrug and shook his head. "I was always told a woman's..." he waved at the vagina, "place was to please the man."

"That's all they do?" I hated how there had been training that reduced any human. "Told to you by who?"

Amir looked doubtful. "By the village elder."

"Who was a man, right?"

Amir actually backed his head up a little. "Well...yes, of course, he was."

I waved at his statement. "There you go! He's not a woman!"

He got up and turned to the screen. "But they want me to look."

With his back turned I placed my hand on his ass, right over his asshole. He was wearing clothes. He spun around in a hurry. "You didn't like that, did you?"

"No. Why'd you do that?"

"What she more than likely wanted was to pay her rent. She has bills!" I waved at the image. "She was offered money to do pose like this." I sighed. "There are websites to visit where there are people that will want you to look. They aren't paid a thing. Those people can just be having fun, but many times they can be dangerous. There are mental problems out there as well. Men and women who will want you to look while they pleasure themselves and watch them have sex with someone else. Be careful. If someone online offers you sex, you should know that there are many that are dangerous, some are not. My point is, you'll never know. They would rape and even kill you, trapping you. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true." I looked at Amir. "You're what? Twenty-eight? I know you're not a virgin."

Amir was suddenly turning red. On a man with an Egyptian complexion, it was still easy to see. "I should be. I never married."

"And?" I asked. I sighed because I was giving him an okay. "You don't have to marry to have sex. You should marry, but for love. Did you love her?"

He smiled and scratched the back of his head and was looking a little guilty. "Not really. She was pretty and she agreed."

"Didn't you worry about getting her pregnant?"

He nodded. "I did! She couldn't get pregnant she said, but I worried."

I grabbed Amir's arms. "I hope you find someone to connect with. I hope you find that one person you need to have in your life a make it better." I shrugged. "We all do. Sex is great! I love it. We're made for it, that's why we get so much pleasure from it. We obsess about it, but just like you didn't like it when I grabbed your ass. Don't treat another human being that way." I looked in his eyes. "I'm sorry I did that..." then I laughed, "...okay, I did enjoy it, but it was more of an object lesson. At least that's how I intended it." I waved at him. "You do have a nice ass."

Amir began blushing again and looked away, but smiled. "Do I say thank you?"

I smiled. "Well, you really didn't have too much to do with creating it. It's a product of your mother and father, but you stayed in shape and that did help." I smiled. "You're welcome." I felt I was becoming too parental, but I wanted him to be careful. "You warned us about the dangers we faced when we came to Amasis' City. Why did you think we would we listen to you?"

"Because I lived there. I knew the dangers."

I nodded. "I'm not that much older than you, but I live here. I know there are dangers to look out for. Please. You're a smart man, but this is a new world I don't want you unprepared for. I like you a lot, Amir. I consider Amasis like I would a brother. That makes you family. There are men out there that are predators, I don't want you hurt."

Amir's eyes softened as he smiled. "You really care about me?"

I nodded. "I do."

Amir nodded again with a smile. "I care for you, too." He turned and changed the screen to something...less pornographic. "Do I call you Uncle Devon now?"

I smiled. "Why don't we settle for a big brother?"

Amir nodded. "I will." He smiled. "You think I have a nice ass?"

I grinned. "It's very nice, but Colin's ass is better."

Amir's eyebrows rose, but he smiled.

Wayne came back and said he'd had a great time with his daughter, son-in-law, and children, but felt he was getting in the way and decided to come home. He looked very happy but said that much time with his grandchildren, he needed medication to stay longer. Especially with Kelly.

As nice as it was at Wentworth, there was a limit what we could do. It was safe here, but not safe enough just go somewhere, anywhere you wanted, whenever you want. There were other vampire capitals to go to, but Amasis wasn't ready. His grasp of English was growing stronger as forced himself to use it, but neither Colin or I felt he was ready for a big city. He could defend himself physically, but he'd stand out with others and would not be able to hide what he was. A Pharaoh, out of history or just plain insane. Amasis was confident about his abilities, but we weren't. Take for instance, the common things we do in this modern world. Like deodorant. They had things in the past to deal with body odors. Amasis just accepted that the human being stunk sometimes! It does! He knew of the perfumes they used in Egypt, things that would mask odors or just add another smell to make the smell more tolerable. He knew of the perfumed baths and be honest. A pharaoh did work, but not as hard physically as...the man working construction, and they used a lot of big rocks or labored hard in the fields. A pharaoh did have the opportunity to take hot perfumed baths. That man in construction gets home after working hard, didn't want to work to make enough water hot to take a bath. He would be too tired to care. Amasis could always take hot perfumed baths, so he didn't consider his daily...stink? It was these commonly understood things that set him apart. Yes, there were people still that didn't take care themselves this way even today, but usually they were people that couldn't get those things they needed to prevent the stink, or even if it was a religious practice not to use them, they knew there was a problem, but had resolved that they would stink on occasion! Amasis had access to these things but didn't realize he could do something about it. Because I didn't tell him yet! He didn't understand.

Amasis was having lunch when I noticed, even in the winter he would sweat. Amir, Colin, Wayne, and I were together. We were all men, so I didn't beat around the bush. No one else addressed it, but I did.

"Amasis," I said smiling at him. "You know we all love you, right?"

Amasis looked up a little unsure why I said that. "Yes."

I reached over and took his hand. "And you know I love you and never want to offend you."

Amasis was now very uncertain. "Yes."

I nodded. "You stink," I said smiling.

Amasis looked startled. He took that moment to lift his arm and sniffed. "Yes, I suppose I do. I got hot and sweated this morning." He smiled. "I put that stuff on when I realized."

"When you were a full vampire..." I began. "Tears and sweat didn't really happen for you. Now you can cry and sweat. You may not realize it, but, that stuff is used before you stink."

Amasis looked confused. "When you don't stink?" It was clear he hadn't understood what to do with it. I blamed myself. Toilet paper was easy to figure out and I didn't have to explain that, but deodorants and antiperspirants were different.

I nodded with a chuckle. "It's called an antiperspirant," I said. "Reading English is coming, but I don't think you understand what it's meant for. You put it on before you stink, to stop you from sweating...and then start to stink. Not afterward and it's too late."

"Oh," Amasis said simply.

"You're a man," I said. "We're all men here. We all stink!"

Colin chuckled. "Even Devon can stink." He waggled his eyebrows at me.

Amasis looked surprised at Colin. "I've never smelled him stink." He looked puzzled. "I never thought about it."

Wayne nodded. "I can stink, too."

Colin nodded. "Me, too."

I smiled. "My point is...in this new world, there are things you need to know to..." I thought of how to explain "better merge with society. That knowledge is a part of it."

Amasis smiled and nodded. "I must have misunderstood." He put his fork down. "I shall go and bathe now."

"I hope you weren't offended," I said to him. "We're all the same and we do the same things."

Amasis smiled. "If we were in my city, I might have had you executed." He looked offended, but it was all for show. "How dare you tell a god he stinks."

Colin laughed. "Well, you can't, this is my kingdom."

Amasis nodded as he patted me on the shoulder. "It's nice to be treated like just another man after all these centuries." He said to me. "I was not offended. I was just...unaware. I apologize. I shall bathe and then use that...antiperspirant afterward. If you'll excuse me." He went off to take care the problem.

"Wow." Wayne smiled watching him leave. "I just noticed, he wasn't wearing his translator! His English has improved so much! He's even polite!"

I nodded. "His spoken English is damned good." I grinned. "But reading it is still an issue. As you heard with the antiperspirant."

Colin nodded. "Amir, what were his specialties?"

"Specialties?" Amir asked. "What was he good at?" He sat back a little and thought. "History told us he was a warrior. A military leader. He was good at forming battle strategies and deployment of troops. He did that for thousands of years...according to history. He did it more on the sidelines after he became a god...I mean, vampire. He could plan assaults and defenses."

Colin nodded. "That could prove most valuable." He smiled. "Alex and Willie were in the military. They're good at being the ones to assault and defend, but a military leader that can plan the assaults..."

"We need to explore that with Amasis," I said.

The weeks had begun to stretch on. Mitch was often coming over, giving Amasis lessons, especially with the computer. Sasha even came a few times when he could tear himself away from his restaurants. He even brought his son Alik over to spend time with Amir, they were young adult males. Sasha told us his son was marrying and he wanted to spend time with his son. But spending time with Amir was important, too. Sasha had three restaurants and was a busy man.

Even the best of us were showing signs of cabin fever. Colin rolled over one night before we drifted off to sleep and let out a grunt as he sat up. "I want to do something!"

I rolled over to face him and chuckled. "We just had sex, so it isn't that. What do you want to do?"

"I want to go out! To eat, to see a movie or even dance!" Colin said.

I nodded. "You want to leave Wentworth?"

"Yes!"

I shook my head and pulled his face down to mine. "You poor, poor man. You're looking for something to do?" I asked kissing him.

"Yes." He said pitifully. He thought about what and I saw the idea come in his mind. "Why don't we plan a test run for Amasis and Amir." He suggested. "Amir should do fine, but Amasis? We can see a show, he'd really like those 3D movies. We can take him to a local night club. Show him this small portion of the world."

I nodded smiling. "Sure. Why not?"

Colin smiled. "I'll make arrangements. I'll make us reservations at the Charleston Place Hotel. We'll stay a weekend! See a show and show Amasis a Southern version of nightlife."

I smiled at his new enthusiasm. "That sounds like a plan."

Colin grinned and even in the dark, which really was pitch black I could see it. "It is a plan. I'll plan and I'm excited about this plan!" He nodded. "I am planning."

He did plan something and we were all going. Wayne, Colin, and I were taking Amasis and Amir out on the town! Mom and Willie (Dad), Gabriella and Alex were going out with us, as well. Colin booked us suites for Wayne, Amir, Amasis and us.

The weekend arrived and the five of us rode into the city in our limousine. It wasn't a big deal for me, but it perked up Colin and Amasis was a little nervous about going out in public and fascinated by the city. We did a movie and Amasis and Amir wasn't ready for this. Putting those glasses on, they watched the screen and were reaching out to touch the characters!

Going out of the theater Amasis was...well. "Everything was like they were right there! The only thing missing were smells and wind!"

Colin nodded. "And I'm sure that too is coming. One day we'll not only see the actors, but we'll feel breezes, feel rain if it's there and smell the earth, flowers and all forms of smells, good and bad, to make it just all that more real."

Mom smiled as she gave back her glasses to be used again by other theatergoers. "One day, we'll feel like we're there." She said as she took Willie's arm as they walked with us.

We took them to a nightclub next. Amasis was not happy with the volume, but he liked the energy but didn't dare try dancing. He watched for now. Amir, however, loved it! He hit the dancefloor with a number of pretty young ladies that attracted him and consented to a dance. This wasn't a gay club, but Colin and I got out and danced together anyway. We did get a few surprised looks, but it was the South. We didn't care and we didn't stop. Colin was having a great time.

After all the excitement, we got in our suite just before sunrise exhausted.

Colin sighed and stretched. "I'm taking a shower." He grinned and turned to me. "Care to join me?"

I nodded as I saw him toss his jacket on the bed. "Sure. Start and I'll be in."

Colin nodded and headed to the bathroom.

I shook my head and picked up his jacket. I went to the closet and opened the door to put it away. That was when a man in a dark mask popped into my field of vision, aimed what looked like a gun and fired. I heard the near-silent sound made and felt a sting on my neck. I was going to shout, but whatever it was, everything went black.

An Old One