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just2hands
[A text arrives for Anika in the early evening, after the sun has set.]
I thought you might like to know. I heard from Clara yesterday. She's doing very well. She's recovered fully from her ordeal and she's now saying she wants to be a doctor. I think she has fond memories of you.
I'm in town for a conference if you'd like coffee or something.
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I am so, so glad about Clara! Thank you for telling me, have been thinking of her a lot for some reason.
There is a wonderful bookstore/coffee shop on Crosby St, huge selection of books, wonderful coffee, lots of tables that are both in site and out of the way. They are open late tonight if you want to meet there in say, an hour? I'll send you the address. Unless you have someplace better in mind?
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Housing Works Bookstore Cafe
126 Crosby St, New York, NY
(212) 334-3324
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That sounds great, I'll meet you there in an hour.Gregorio D'Ambrosio checked the light outside and left his hotel soon after. The vampire was dressed in a pair of black slacks and a lightweight red knit sweater over a shirt and tie, with his long hair pulled back in a ponytail and his goatee as neatly trimmed as ever. It was an outfit he would wear around the hospital, but also one that didn't stand out too much from any of the other businessmen staying in that particular hotel. It wasn't far to the bookstore, even walking as he was, and he arrived there in plenty of time to look around.
He smiled when he noticed what the store's mission was. Well, well. It fit with what he knew of the young doctor, Anika Nuttal. Choosing a place whose profits went to a good cause, a cause which desperately needed the help. Walking past rows of books, he took a deep breath and sighed. He loved the smell of old books and brewing coffee, even if he couldn't have any of the latter. Bookstores, particularly old ones, were a guilty pleasure of his, a place to lose hours of his time wandering through, looking for hidden treasures. He chose a Sherlock Holmes novel and sat down in a corner of the cafe to read until Anika got there. Beside him sat two coffees, a largeish cookie that Gregorio really hadn't wanted, and a child's drawings. Featured prominently on one was a doctor who looked a bit like Anika.
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And that's when something on the table caught her eyes. "Oh!" Smiling, she sank into the chair opposite of Gregorio's, her hands going for the drawing on the table. Gloves sliding over the paper, Anika initially wasn't able to pick it up. Making a small noise of frustration, the doctor pulled one glove off, to better lift the drawing up closer to her face. "Clara did this? She's got some real talent, do you see this shading? It's really good!"
Pausing, Anika choked back a laugh. "Hello Dr. D'Ambrosio. How are you tonighht?"
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At the drawing, he just smiled. "They forwarded those to me at my lab in Germany and I just couldn't resist bringing them with me. Clara does have quite a bit of talent for such a young girl." He motioned to the drawings. "She left a note on the back of that other one you should read. She's very thankful for everything and she even says she wants to be a doctor some day, like the nice lady who always came in to check on her. I think she might have misspelled your name, but she is still young." He grinned, and just the barest tips of fangs showed.
He gestured to the papers. "There's another letter there, as well. This one isn't from Clara, it's from my brother, Danilo, head of our Council. I mentioned that your specialty was childhood diseases and I find your work to be, frankly, to be beyond reproach, and I think we may have an offer for you. I know you have your work here that you can't leave, and I would never ask that of you. But an expert in childhood diseases who knows about us? Let us say you would come in more handy than you may realize, especially since you can be about during the day without issue. So, if I were to steer some others and their families to you, from time to time, would you be interested? You would be well compensated, of course, and under our protection."
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Setting down the coffee cup, she picked up another one of the papers, reading it silently, quickly, and smiling at name. "Well, Nuttal is spelled with two - t's, but she got my first name correctly. At least the part of it I use in public." Setting down that paper as well, Ani began drawing off her second glove, leaving them both on the table near her. "And if she really wants to be a doctor, that would be wonderful!"
Dr D'Ambrosio began speaking once more as Ani settled back in the chair, listening intently. It was on the tip of her tongue to offer to offer to help those families he'd mentioned, simply out of responsibility; but she chose not to interrupt, waiting instead until he had finished talking to respond.
"I have no hesitation about helping you, you should know that. And please don't think I'm stalling; but I do have a few questions. But first of all, thank you for your recommendation, Dr. That is - that's high honor coming from you sir. Truly." Anika was touched, visibly touched by his comments regarding her ability, her work.
Ani lowered her voice. "If your brother is offering me this, will I ever to meet your brother? And you speak of your counsel and protecting me." Here she grew more serious. "How do I know that your counsel is on board with this?" And now Dr Nuttal finally stated out loud the secret that the vampire who had attacked her so long ago, had told her.
"Is Adrien still on your counsel, Dr D'Ambrosio? Will he be coming here as liaison for the counsel, or will you be the only one I go to with questions, or concerns? Will I have to deal with him again? What type of protection are you offering me? Protection from Adrien specifically, or others like him?" Her eyes were earnest, the memories of that night brought back vividly,
Ani continued the conversation. "And if I do decide yes, I will need someplace to collect research, to speak to the families, and patients. Especially if they are special needs patients as well. You know, families or patients that I can only see at certain times of the day." Delicately she lifted her coffee cup, took a sip.
Without her realizing it, Ani's questions had gone from generalized concerns to actually planning for the help she would give Gregorio and his brother.
"As you know, I have finally gone per diem the hospital, I would be happy to assist, of course. Would you be able to provide a place for these patients to be housed while I help them? Will I be able to" She suddenly broke off and laughed.
"So I guess you know what my answer is after all. The one thing that I absolutely do require? A small office near where my patients are located, in whatever building they will be housed, so that I have someplace to stay if the need becomes urgent. I can sleep in a chair in the corner, I've done it before. But if something is going on, I won't want to leave there and try to make my way back and forth. Compensate me for whatever you want, it's up to you. I trust your judgement and honor on that, Doctor. But if it's a dire situation, I won't leave them."
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Gregorio sighed heavily. "The reason for that being that for many of us who have families, like my brother Danilo, our children can be quite sickly when they're young. It's as if their immune systems don't develop properly, and they're constantly in and out of hospital care until they're through puberty and their vampiric side has mostly taken over. My youngest nephew, Salvatore, is dealing with that now. Keeping him healthy is a constant struggle." He shook his head. "The vampires on the Council might be at each other's throats...figuratively, if not literally, but most of us put that aside when it comes to the health and safety of our families. So, I can say with certainty, you won't be harmed, and it will be easy enough to find the funds to set up a specialized clinic with what you'll need to take care of the children and their families. Given my limited resources in the United States, it may also end up including a laboratory where I can work when I'm in the States."
He held up a hand. "But, one thing I will ask is that you join me at my Black Forest lab for a bit beforehand, so that I can explain some of the things you'll need to know about our condition in order to treat your patients. The younger ones will react as normal human children, but as they age, things change a bit and medical diagnosis becomes more difficult without giving away what we are." He smiled softly. "And yes, while you're there, I'd be very surprised if my brother Danilo and his family didn't drop in from Venice for a visit."
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"You know" Dr Nuttal paused. "It sounds like more of my time would be better spent over in Europe assisting you there. I am not saying that I would move there, but rather than to add upheaval to the current medical issues that these children are going through, wouldn't it simply be easier to create some central location if you haven't already, someplace that I could fly in and out of with research in hand?"
She was missing something. Something basic in his words, in what Dr D'Ambrosio had just told her. She was missing something, she knew it. Ani went silent, her hand stretching out to pick up the cookie he had bought her. Mmm, chocolate chip. Cookie. Food. Food.
FOOD. Gregorio had said nothing about curing these children, only helping them through their childhood sickness until they became stronger. Adults. And what did adult vampires eat?
"That popping in my ears, you did something didn't you? To keep people from overhearing us?" Her eyes were shrewd, her mind suddenly sharp and clear. "Then as no one else can hear us now, I need to be as honest as I can with you. Gregorio, I lived through the Vampire plague in Los Angeles a few years back. I made it out alive, but barely. With help. I was hunted and nearly killed more than once, by vampires."
Anika's eyes were steady, her face showing none of the fear that a survivor of a vampire attack might express in the close proximity of such a predator. In fact, if anything, she maintained a calm acceptance and trust of who he was. Of what he was, as well as how close he was to her.
"On the surface, what you are asking me is something that you know I would love to do, it's what I live for. It just so happens that both my passport and my shots are up to date. And my life's work is to help children." She lifted a hand, pausing that train of thought. "In this case, however; I am concerned that these children will then become adults who will hunt down and kill my family, my friends or neighbors, or me. And I feel I have a right to be concerned." However, she deliberately did not say no to his proposal. She wanted to say yes, and they both knew it. BUT.
Anika's eyes flicked down toward the papers on the table, the childlike drawing of a woman with dark hair and skin, in a white jacket (or doctors' lab coat, more likely).
"I do not want another Los Angeles, Gregorio, and I most certainly don't want the world to become a larger Los Angeles. And I cannot be party to a program that is using me, to then turn around and enslave or butcher the rest of my kind. So what exactly are you asking me to do?"
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He shook his head. "I'm not going to say we're innocent. We've manipulated things behind the scenes for centuries. We've made enemies. Many of those lost were killed by hunters, and a very dedicated group of hunters still remains intent on wiping out the rest of us." He sighed. "Hell, I even feel bad for de Moulins, despite how much of a pain in my ass he is determined to be. Locals around Moulins grew suspicious of them and killed his father as a witch. His two brothers, I'm told, were burned at the stake. His eldest sister, thankfully, was married abroad and was spared. But Adrien only barely escaped with his life and he's been a headache ever since."
Gregorio sighed. "My point is, there are very few of us. Though some of us have made others, the Council tries to discourage it unless the person who's being turned is joining one of the families. There are turned vampires who don't owe their allegiance to us, of course, and we try to keep them in check, but we heavily discourage making more of them. Our children are just that, our children. Born to us. And honestly, given it's a rarity for a pregnancy last full term without complications, it's a wonder there are as many of us as there are. You have no idea how fortunate Danilo's wife has been, having a son and then twins and not losing any of them. Yet. If I can manage to keep Salvatore alive."
Gregorio looked down at his hands. "As for our feeding behavior...I think we both know I'd be lying if I said I hadn't killed. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it. It is part of what I am now. But. I can say it would be a lot less stress in this modern world of forensics, if I could come up with some substitute for living blood for us to feed on, but I haven't had any luck." He shook his head and looked over at Anika. "In this way, I do sympathize with de Moulins, at least a little. Being able to feed from a select few people without hurting them would be ideal, but the minute the blood is removed from a person's veins and stored in another container, it becomes useless to us. And our bite is dangerous."
Gregorio sighed and ran a hand through his hair. The talk brought back his own failures. Centuries upon centuries of failed experiments, the goal stubbornly just out of reach. If they couldn't store the blood, couldn't feed from the same few people without danger, had to kill, then Gregorio wanted to cure the thirst instead. But that had, so far, been little more than a dream. "I suppose what I'm asking, Anika, is for you to help me keep them alive while I continue my research. Because I would very dearly love to find a way to cure the insatiable appetite that is the source of so many of our problems. But that has been...well, let's say it's been the work of a few lifetimes just to figure out how much I still don't know."