Chapter 14: Preliminary Flight Check and Growing Pains

Elaine turned slowly around, looking with fresh eyes at the place that had been her home for more than 40 years. She shuddered as the memories came flooding back, vividly contrasted now with the promise of the future that the Doctor had offered her. She realized that emotional numbness was the only reason she had been able to remain there after her escape – that, and the fact that she really had no other place to go. Thus, she had continued with her art as an automaton while in an emotional daze, unable to come to terms with the reality of her dark past.

“To me, this place is cold and lifeless; oppressing, and dark.” Dawson nodded towards the two rooms in the back of the vault, where Elaine had been imprisoned and countless children had been maimed and murdered. “I really couldn’t understand how you were able to remain here with all those memories swirling around you. I knew it wasn’t healthy for you, even though you seemed comfortable with it. That was part of the reason why I ascribed an impenetrable darkness to your character, and was apprehensive about allowing you access to the children at first.”

Elaine added another block of white marble to the small but growing pile in the center of the vault. “Doctor, you have no idea! I felt as though this was the life I deserved – that staying with him and subjecting myself to his sadism was a just reward for my unforgivable mistakes and all the unhappiness I caused my father. I don’t expect you to understand, but a part of me still feels that way. Nothing against you, but if it weren’t for your children, I probably never would have come to you. It is this singular aspect of my character that frightens me, and still makes me apprehensive about my possible negative effect on your family and your lives. I am genuinely worried that my presence in your home will attract undue attention to you all and expose you to danger. I couldn’t bear that. I don’t want you to become another of my mistakes.”

“Believe me, it’s no mistake. My mistake was in misjudging you so quickly. Admittedly, it was so soon after our encounter with the Other One, that I had a well-earned prejudice against London’s vampires,” he smiled at her, “but I have also lived with Eli, which should have at least given me pause for doubt.”

She laughed good-naturedly, “You should have seen your face when you saw me for the first time! It was a look that I have seen many times before, but never enhanced by the powerful feelings of a father protecting his children. You actually almost frightened me for a moment.”

“Well, you certainly frightened me. I just can’t get used to those eyes, even when Eli is behind them. Those wings, on the other hand; I can’t get used to them either, but only because they are so beautiful. They are one of the things that define Eli for me and make her who she is. I’ve thought that they were beautiful since the first time I saw them, and yours are simply magnificent!”

“Why Doctor! Is that a compliment? Maybe you’re not such a nerd after all.”

“I call them as I see them. I actually envy you both. It was a childhood dream of mine to fly unaided; sort of a Superman fantasy.”

“Well, there’s no moon tonight and there’s plenty of darkness left before dawn. Why don’t you and I take a spin?”

“I…I couldn’t possibly! I’m half again your weight!”

Elaine sighed impatiently, “How long have you lived with a vampire? You should have a better idea of our strength limitations than any other human. Let’s do this.” She started for the stairs.

“I don’t think so, Elaine. I…”

“What’s the matter Doctor? Ah! It’s the clothing problem, isn’t it! No worries! You can keep yours on. I don’t mind.”

He stood there with his mouth open, saying nothing.

She smiled at him. “And, just to appease your sensibilities, I’ll keep my pants on. Is that acceptable?”

She unbuttoned her shirt, turned toward the stairs, and tossed it on the bed. “Let’s go.”

“Elaine, Eli’s immodesty is one thing, yours is quite another. She’s just a child, you’re…not.” he stammered.

“What am I, Doctor? A grown, sexually mature woman? I’m a nothing, just like Eli so erroneously thinks she is. Your ‘Other One’ took everything from me. Everything! My sexual identity was taken from me over and over again for over 40 years. There’s nothing left to take. And you have it backwards. Eli is not immodest at all. She’s quite modest. Modesty is unpretentiousness. Eli is so unpretentious that it never occurs to her that her naked body would either repel or attract anyone close to her. How much more modest can you be than that?”

“But…”

“Come on Doctor, you’re among friends here. Let me do this for you. Unless you’re afraid of heights. But how could a little boy who dreams of flying be afraid of heights?” She took him by the hand and led him, reluctantly, outside.

"We’ll make this a short one. I don’t want you getting cold – or airsick.” Dawson stepped back as she unfurled her wings, shook them out, and raised her arms over her head, “You can close your mouth now, Doctor.” She said, amused. “Now, put your arms around my neck and hold your elbows tightly in your hands. The moment you feel your feet leave the ground, wrap your legs tightly around my waist and lock your feet together. I’d really hate to drop you.” She turned and waited patiently until he nodded, then leaned forward slightly and launched herself gracefully and smoothly into the air. Dawson gasped as she cleared the top of the hill and the cemetery dropped rapidly beneath them. She stayed low, not more than 200 feet above the ground, but for Dawson it was exhilarating, just like in his dreams as a boy. Finally, she dropped down suddenly over a wide, and at the moment at least, deserted stretch of road, and glided not more than five feet above the pavement at what seemed to him to be a speed far in excess of the posted limit. He smiled at the thought. This, too, had been one of his recurring dreams as a child; indeed it gave him a queer sense of déjà vu. But even in his exhilaration, he couldn’t shake his impressions of her stunning beauty; the totality of it, the perfect integration of everything she was, body and soul, and how uncomfortable it made him feel. He knew that was the real reason he hadn’t wanted to fly with her; to be physically close to her. Not her nakedness, but her beauty; two distinctly different things to him. He would have been just as reluctant to fly with her if she had been fully clothed. He was conflicted; his memories of his beautiful wife and child filled him with guilt. He was responsible for their deaths. The finality of it all was hard to reconcile with the feelings that being close to her reawakened.

As quickly as it began, it ended. Elaine rose up off the street, banked to the right flapped her wings and descended quickly back into the cemetery; finally dropping silently and gracefully in front of the tomb. Dawson dropped to the ground, a bit wobbly. Elaine’s wings quickly retracted and she turned and looked at him, questioningly.

Impulsively, he took her hands in his. “Elaine, I don’t know what to say. That was … exhilarating!” he leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. “Not bad for an elderly lady.”

“I’m only 26,” she said, smiling.

“But I’m only 10.”

===

Dawson’s car pulled into the driveway. The ride home had been pleasantly conversationless. “We’ll put all your art supplies in the garage for now. I’m afraid you’ll have to move your collection of marble and hardwood yourself, as I don’t own a forklift. I’m amazed this old car could carry it all. I’ll have the back of the garage converted into a studio for you until we can think of something else. I’ve already ordered the windows for Mary’s old room. It’ll be yours once they’re installed. I’ve also…”

“Stop please! You’ve done more than you need to do merely by allowing me to stay with you, at least for a while. You’re making me feel uncomfortable again.” She began to unload her supplies into the garage.

“I’m sorry; its just that Eli’s enthusiasm is somewhat contagious. She actually has a list of things she wants me to do for you, and it gets longer every day.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll talk to her today. This has got to stop.”

“Don’t be too hard on her; I enjoy doing things for you. You fit perfectly into our lives.”

“What a nice thing to say!” she looked up at him. His expression was hard to read.

“I’ll go wake Eli. She can help you move the heavier pieces.” Dawson headed toward the house.

“Really, Doctor, don’t wake her up. I can manage just fine. And Doctor? Thank you again. I’ll not soon forget what you’ve done for me. You can count on it!” her voice sounded almost as hard as it had when he first looked into her golden eyes in the vault.

==

Dinner that Sunday night was a bit different than usual. Eli and Elaine sat next to each other with a bag each, while Oskar and Papa had roast beef and Yorkshire Pudding. “Well, all we need is a photographer and we have our Christmas family portrait right here,” Elaine said, a touch of sarcasm in her voice.

Oskar laughed, “But who would we send it to?”

I’m not sure, Oskar. Elaine? Any friends that we don’t know about?”

“Doctor, you know exactly as many living vampires as I do, fortunately for all of us, I think.”

“Papa, tell us about flying with Elaine. She told me all about it. Was it fun, or were you scared?”

“Yes.” He smiled at her. “Yes to both questions.”

“Well, it was definitely fun for me,” Elaine said. “And I saw a side to your Papa that I hadn’t seen before.” Dawson looked a little uncomfortable.

“What, Elaine? Tell us!” Eli leaned across the table, flashing a grin at Papa.

“I discovered what a cute little boy your Papa was.” She smiled gently at him.

“What do you mean?”

“Did you know he wanted to be Superman when he was Henry’s age?”

“Really, Papa?”

“Not quite, Eli. I just wanted to fly like him, not be a superhero.” He took her hand. “You remember that night in Karlstad when you first showed me your wings? I’m ashamed to say that, in the brief moment before I thought about how hard your life must have been, I envied you for those wings. A part of me that I hadn’t thought about for many many years wished he could be you just long enough to try out those beautiful wings. And when I finally lived a part of your life that day in your apartment, and realized the terrible price you had paid for them, I was ashamed of myself. But Eli, I can’t help it. They’re still beautiful and mysterious to me. Not as beautiful and mysterious as you, but a close second.”

Eli sat in his lap and put her arms around him.

“And now look at me.” He said, enthusiastically, “I’m surrounded by beautiful wings! Who could ask for anything more!”

“Wait a minute! I don’t have any wings.” Oskar pouted.

“No Oskar, but you have a pair at your disposal any time of the night.”

“Only if he doesn’t beat me at scrabble. And you do too, now Papa. You have Elaine’s wings.”

Elaine looked at him with an amused smile on her face. “What do you say, Doctor? Ready for a longer flight? The night is young!”

He laughed, “Don’t tempt me! But I’ve got too much work to do tonight. A big shipment is arriving at the lab tomorrow and I have to confirm the current inventory.” He sighed with relief as he saw she wasn’t going to press the issue. At least not this time, he thought to himself. Time to change the subject.

“We do have a more important issue to discuss, however. It concerns how we are going to explain Elaine’s presence to the neighbors.”

“We could say she’s my aunt from Sweden,” Eli volunteered. “who’s got the same disease that I have.”

“That might work, except she doesn’t speak Swedish.” He thought a minute. “Perhaps your older sister who was also adopted as a child and brought to England. Some relationship with you would be practically a necessity, in order to explain the fact that you both have the same extremely rare condition.”

“I would be honored to be your big sister, Eli.” She looked at Oskar, “That would make you my little brother, too. How do you feel about that?”

“But you’re already my big sister.” Oskar said, timidly. “I…I felt that way that first night when we talked to each other the very first time. You listened to me and made me feel safe, and you didn’t really know us yet. And you’re funny. I like that.”

“And I like your honesty and straightforwardness, Oskar. When you first read me and unassumingly let me read you, I saw how sweet and gentle you were—mostly. If I had a little brother, I would want him to be just like you.”

Oskar blushed, but she had made him feel so good, he couldn’t hide his smile.

“Then it’s settled! We’ll go with that story. Elaine, I’ll leave it to you to come up with a credible backstory. Since we just met you, we can believably claim to be ignorant of the details. And we can say you’re staying here because you wanted to be closer to your only sister, and you’re helping me in the lab; that last part is true, by the way. I expect you to help us out as best you can, despite your philosophical differences with our methods; this is a family enterprise, largely funded by Eli herself. Does that sound reasonable to you?”

“Of course! Eli’s future is inextricably tied to my own – and Oskar’s too for that matter.”

====

The bell rang. Eli ran to the door and let Jack and Henry in, “Come on in! I’ve got someone I want you to meet.”

“Yeah, we know. Your older sister.” Jack said, “I just wanted you to know she passed the ‘Mom’ test last night.”

“What do you mean?”

“Mom likes her, a lot. She can be pretty tough sometimes, especially since your sister is someone that is going to be around you a lot. Mom really likes you, so she’s kind of ‘motherly.’ She’s taken an interest in your welfare, like it or not.”

Eli grinned, “I kind of like it.” She turned to Henry, “Elaine’s the one who made that sculpture in my room.”

Henry stopped suddenly, “She won’t…say anything about me, will she?”

“Of course not, Henry. She wouldn’t!” she headed for the kitchen.

“Elaine, I want you to meet Jack and Henry Shaw, our good friends.”

“Hello boys. I met your mom last night. I’m Elaine Bell, Eli’s sister,” Elaine said as she shook their hands. “Eli and Oskar have had nothing but good things to say about you both.” She smiled at them. A few more niceties and the kids all headed for the pool.

Elaine and Dawson relaxed on the patio, watching them swim. “This must be really hard for Eli, behaving like a normal child.”

“She IS a normal child.” Dawson said, a bit defensively.

“No, she most definitely is not, outward appearances notwithstanding. No one who has been through what she endured at her changing, let alone 200 plus years of fending for herself, and dealing with sexual deviates to survive, could possibly be undamaged. Remember she also has a sexual identity problem.”

“You’re right of course, but I would like to think that her obvious unique inner strength plus exposing her to love and stability can mitigate the damage. She truly enjoys the interaction with the boys, and seems to be determined to ‘belong’ to humanity again. You know how competitive she is; yet she restrains herself, because having good friends is even more important to her.”

“Be careful, Doctor, you tend to overlook the negatives in Eli’s life. Love is sometimes blind – especially yours.” She smiled at him.

“Well, I now have you to keep me on track.” He smiled back.

“Not to be a wet blanket, but there are other issues that concern me also. Are you sure you want them to be so visible in the neighborhood? In two or three years at the most, everyone will begin to notice that they’re not aging. Especially Jack and Henry, then his mother, then the neighbors, then, inevitably, the tabloids, largely because of Eli’s sunsuit, and all the attention it attracts already. It could really escalate if the story attracts the attention of anyone versed in the science of arrested aging or development. They could be in real danger. It could jeopardize everything you’ve worked for.”

“I can’t just keep them in a cave for the twenty or thirty years it might take me to come up with a cure. They’re just children. They deserve a life.” Dawson protested.

“But they’re both children with a past! Actually, Oskar is the bigger danger to you. You could spend years in jail if he’s ever discovered. And even twenty or thirty years might not be enough time as far as Eli’s past is concerned. You have to wait until the families of all Eli’s recent victims have died. Then, and only then could you survive the publicity. And even then you’re in danger. You’re in danger because they’re immortal. Believe me, if anyone even suspects that they’re immortal, you will be in grave danger. More danger I suspect than if they found out Eli was a vampire. Some will be after you for the secret; others because in their eyes your children, and probably you yourself, are evil, spawned from evil and an offense against God. Until you are able to perfect and make available your ‘vaccine’ against aging, you and the children could be in mortal danger. It would lessen considerably once the world was saturated with ‘immortals.’”

“The longer Oskar remains undiscovered, the less likely it will be that he ever will be found. In five years, no one will believe he’s Oskar, no matter how much he looks like the pictures. They will think he’s too young. And no one’s ever seen Eli but us. And of course the neighbors. And vampires are considered by virtually everyone to be a fable; a fairy tale. No one would believe it. There is also no way that she can be linked to any crimes.” Dawson was becoming a bit agitated.

“Really? You don’t think fingerprints have been taken at any of the crime scenes where Eli’s victims have been discovered? And I’m sure other evidence exists also. She’s a 12-year-old child, not a Professor Moriarty. And, thanks to all their exposure in the neighborhood, there will be no shortage of witnesses to the fact that Oskar doesn’t age either.”

“You make some valid points, but the bottom line is, mankind owes Eli and even Oskar a chance at happiness, and I’m not going to postpone it because of some people’s propensity to haul out the pitchforks and torches.” He saw Eli glance in their direction, a worried look on her face and quickly lowered his voice. “I repeat, I won’t make them live in a cave because there’s a chance that they might be discovered.”

“Don’t’ you see that the odds are against you? Sooner or later, some minor accident will reveal Eli’s rapid healing powers to others. Her strength is even more likely to be revealed; in fact, it already has been revealed to Jack and Henry at least once, and certainly to Seth. Who’s to say that one or all of them in time, couldn’t put two and two together? She’s just a child, limited by a child’s lack of foresight and planning and sense of caution. And she’s spontaneous and wears her heart on her sleeve. It’s just a matter of time before she makes a mistake, and allowing her virtually unlimited access to the public makes it all the more likely that it will be sooner rather than later.” She said heatedly.

“Enough!” Dawson realized that she was only being logical. He had thought of most of these things himself, but for some reason had let them slip away the happier the children became. He was hooked on their love and their appreciation for everything he had done for them. It was part of his atonement for his past he realized. Of course she was right, but he couldn’t bring himself to change anything at this point.

“I’m sorry, Doctor. I didn’t mean to upset you, but I’m truly frightened for them. I’m becoming quite fond of them myself.” She sounded sad to the point of melancholy.

“No, you’re right, Elaine. You’re right about almost everything you’ve said.” He put his head in his hands. “Maybe if we had a talk with Eli, we could ‘tone her down’ a bit, but she’s not going to like it, and in fact, may be incapable of doing it. And that’s just one small aspect of the problem.”

Eli hesitated a moment, then climbed out of the pool, slowly walked over and sat down beside him. “What do you want me to do, Papa? I’ll do anything for you.”

And there’s the crux of his problem, he realized. She really would do anything for him and that put the onus on him to make sure he gets it right. “Eli, all I can ask of you is that you be careful and think before you do anything that could expose your abilities to others. It’s of paramount importance that you keep this foremost in your mind at all times.”

“I’m sorry Papa. I know I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I know it’s my fault that Detective Ellstrom died. If I hadn’t flown out over the crowd, he never would have been fired and probably wouldn’t have found the apartment.”

“Eli, he would have found us anyway. You changed the path that he took, but the conclusion was inevitable; it was the kind of man he was. His future was already written when you rescued Oskar and he made it his goal to get you at any cost.”

“Eli, are you coming?” Jack yelled from the diving board.

“Go ahead Eli! We’ll talk later. You’ve done nothing wrong; don’t worry.” He kissed her on the cheek. She sprinted for the pool and cannonballed in, splashing Jack, who slipped off the board and landed flat on his back in the water.

“I’ll get you for that!” he started after her, and, to his great surprise, caught her quickly. He tickled her mercilessly and dunked her, figuring that he wasn’t going to get a chance at her again any time soon. She usually outran him easily.

“Swim, Eli, swim!” Henry yelled.

Oskar yelled at him, “Jack you can’t do that! That’s my job!” He jumped in and together they tickled her until they had her splashing and screaming as she tried to get away.

“Take it easy, you two. I think she’s had enough. Let her go before someone gets hurt.” Dawson yelled at them.

Eli scrambled out of the pool and calmly walked up to Papa with a smug smile on her face, “How’d I do?”

Elaine roared with laughter. “Doctor, did you ever feel like you’ve bitten off more than you can chew? You’d better thank your stars that she’s on your side, or she’d have you running in circles.”

“I don’t know what you mean, Elaine.” She said innocently. She turned to Papa, “I’m still going to get the last penny though,” she grinned at him, turned, and headed back to the pool.

“I stand corrected, Doctor. I think she is fully capable of controlling herself, if there’s enough incentive. And I think you’ve given it to her. She really wants to please you; it’s one of the only ways she can show you how much you mean to her. I suspect that you haven’t asked enough of her in the past.”

“I haven’t needed to. She seems to have an instinct for figuring out what I expect of her.”

“She’s had a lot of practice over the last 220 years figuring out what men want of her.” Elaine said, soberly. “Believe me, I know how it works. You’re just lucky it hasn’t manifested itself in darker ways. Ways that were a part of her life for longer than we’ve been alive.”

“It could never happen.” Dawson said with conviction. “For that to happen, she would have to doubt my love for her. Has she told you about the egg?”

“What egg? No I guess she hasn’t.”

Dawson proceeded to fill her in on everything; the egg’s history, how she came by it, and why she gave it up, despite his protests. “She decisively gave up the only material thing she had attached any value to, because she didn’t want to lose me, or at least what I symbolized to her; her concept of a real family. She had Oskar already. What was her great need at that point; that she felt she had to do this? I think she’s trying to replace the family she so brutally lost so many years ago. Her sense of herself depends on it.”

“Do you think, then, that her love for you is contrived? That it is a selfish love?”

“Not at all. I’m sure it’s real. And you’d better watch your step. I think she has plans for your future too.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t think she wants a sister, Elaine. She wants a mother.”

Her voice was suddenly dark and cold. “Really! What an interesting idea! But you’re way too young for me. And we’re not even of the same species. Aren’t there laws against beastiality?”

Dawson was startled; then he felt the rage building as his face turned red. “Your pessimism I can deal with, but there’s no excuse for your self-loathing! How can you understand and forgive Eli for the thousands of innocent people she has killed to survive, and not forgive yourself for a single mistake that cost you 40 years of your life? Are you going to let this man control your life even after he’s nothing but a pile of ash? You’re better than that! Can’t you see it? Even two twelve-year-old children can see it.” He paused, “And believe me, I see it too. I told you that you fit into this family perfectly. I don’t make such statements lightly. And because of that you’re causing problems for me personally that I certainly don’t expect you to understand at this point. Keep these awful thoughts to yourself! You’ll get no support for them here! The Spanish Inquisition ended a long time ago. There are no curses; no inevitable descent into the darkness; no infinite atonement for imaginary sins against an imaginary God! Your Hell is self-imposed. Get over it!” He stood up quickly and headed for the door.

“Doctor! Please sit down.” She pleaded.

He hesitated a moment, then sat.

“I’m afraid I’m not a 12-year-old child. I don’t have the immunity to despair and hopelessness that children have. 40 years is a long time; not as long as 200 years, but long enough. Please! Give me a little time to adjust. I’m sorry if I hurt you in any way. I have the bad habit of speaking before I think. For 40 years that’s one of the few luxuries I indulged in. I meant nothing personal by it.”

“Elaine, you would be cured in an instant if you could see yourself the way Eli and Oskar see you. Or even the way I see you for that matter. In your own words, ‘You’re among friends here.’ We’re not fooled by your ridiculous self-flagellation. And I personally am not going to sit still while you make light of and insult our affection for you.”

He saw Eli’s anxious look out of the corner of his eye. He shook his head at her and waved her off.

“I’m sorry Doctor. I’ve never had anyone so vehemently defend my honor before. Believe me; I’m not used to it. Henceforth I’ll try to live up to your expectations,” she said sarcastically. She leaned back in her chair. “I mean it,” she said gently. “If only for Eli. And by the way, she has you wrapped around her little finger. You’re cursed! You’re on an inevitable descent into total self-sacrifice.” She squeezed his hand, and headed for the door, “Would you like something to drink? I certainly would.” She flashed him a mischievous grin as she saw the look on his face.

As soon as she went inside, Eli hopped out of the pool, plopped down beside him and took his hand. “Papa, why are you and Elaine always fighting? Are you angry with each other?”

“Absolutely not, Eli. It’s just growing pains. With Elaine, fighting is a method of working out honest differences. And we still have a lot of those. It’s all good; don’t worry. She’s worth it, don’t you think?” he smiled at her.

“Yes, Papa, I know she is.” She gave him a knowing look, not dissimilar to the look of the cat that just swallowed the canary. He smiled as he remembered that look when she spun around in front of him that night in Karlstad, after he saw her beautiful wings for the first time. What a plotter she is! He knew it would be dangerous to underestimate her. Thank God she’s only 12.