Chapter One Hundred Fifty-three

Yawning, Bryn trudged down the stairs to get Katerina a bottle. The baby had awakened early, while it was still daylight, and was having trouble going back to sleep. While Anton rocked her and tried to shush her (so she wouldn't wake Max as well), Bryn tried not to trip over Petunia as the dog danced around her feet. She was dead-tired and bleary-eyed, her eyes barely focusing on the path before her. "If she does this again, I'm putting Nyquil in her bottle."

Meanwhile, Anton continued to rock Kat. Normally he was able to shush his daughter easily, but it sounded like Kat was wide awake and intending for everyone else to be at this moment. "I knew I shouldn't have bragged to Nathaniel about how you were sleeping through the day," he mumbled.

Bryn almost smiled at that. Grabbing a clean bottle out of the dishwasher, she filled it with water and then reached for the formula mix. "She better be hungry, because that diaper is dry."

Anton patted Kat's butt as he took a seat at the counter. "Although sometimes I wonder if we should not waste time and pour the formula directly into the diaper. She'll be asleep for an hour or two and then crying again because her diaper will be wet."

Shaking up the bottle, Bryn handed it to him. "Yeah, but just think of the fit she'd throw if we did that." Heading for the front door, she said, "I'm going to let Petunia out."

Half asleep himself, Anton said 'okay' as he held the nipple to Kat's mouth. It wasn't until he heard the lock of the door click that his mind jumpstarted. He bolted to his feet, eyes wide in panic. "Bryn! No!"

Confused by his yell, she turned back to look at him just as the sunlight streamed over her feet. Petunia snuck out the cracked door, just before Bryn quickly closed it. Surprised by her actions, she stared down at her feet, expecting to suddenly burst in to flames.

Anton rushed to her side, instinctively grabbing her and pulling her back deeper into the kitchen. "Are you okay?" he asked as he looked her over carefully, searching for burns. "Are you in pain anywhere?"

She shook her head, tears threatening as she realized how stupid she'd been. Bending down, she touched her foot. It was warm, as usual, and completely unmarred. Not even a speck of discoloration to show what had happened. "I'm fine."

Anton didn't let go of her hand. Instead he guided her back to a chair and passed Kat to her. Then he knelt and started to closely look at her feet, running his hands over them. There wasn't even a lingering warmth of the sun's rays on them, let alone burns. "Bryn," he said slowly. "I think you're like Max."

"But, I was only in the sun for a second. Maybe it wasn't long enough?"

"Remember when I was burnt, Bryn? It doesn't take that long." Standing back up, he looked at her with his head cocked. "You didn't even realize you were standing in the sun until I yelled, did you?"

She shook her head. "I didn't even think about it. I just wanted to let the dog out so she'd stop stepping on my feet."

"You should have felt discomfort the moment the door started opening." He stood up. "We need to test this to make sure, Bryn. If you're not harmed by sunlight..." his voice trailed off, a note of wistful jealousy in it.

"You want me to do it again?"

"Oddly enough, no. I don't really want you to." Anton reached out to stroke her shoulder. "We need to know, but we don't have to do it today."

He sounded...almost disappointed, and she couldn't help feeling a pang of guilt. "If it's true...it's not fair."

Anton reached out to gently stroke her hair. "Unlife is just as unfair as life, my dear. If nothing else, I'll be able to live it vicariously through you." He gave her a small smile. "You'll still be able to paint in real sunlight."

"No I won't. Nothing changes, Anton. If you can't be in sunlight, neither can I. I don't want anything you can't share with me."

Anton looked down at Kat. "What about our children and sharing it with them, Bryn? It's not fair to deprive them of something because I can't experience it."

She frowned. "We don't even know if it's true yet."

"Then do we find out? Do *you* want to find out?"

She wanted to tell him no, that even finding out was unfair to him. But she found herself nodding instead. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to know. I mean, just in case."

Anton nodded as well. He noticed during their conversation that Kat had fallen back asleep. "Let's put her back to bed, Bryn, so she'll be safe." There were also a few things that he needed to gather, just in case they were wrong.

"Okay." She stood up, her heart pounding as they headed for the stairs. Kat had drained more than half of her bottle, and didn't seem to be interested in the rest. Carrying her to her room, Bryn handed the bottle over to Anton and held the baby out so he could give her a kiss.

Anton kissed Kat on her forehead. "Sleep well, little kitten." He then kissed Bryn on the head as well. "Let me get a few things we'll need, my dear. I'll meet you down here in a few minutes."

Settling Kat down in her crib, Bryn tried to think of what he might be getting. And then she knew--some first aid supplies. In case she got burnt. Shivering lightly, she stroked Kat's belly before heading to the hall and then down the stairs. When Anton returned, she was sitting on the bottom step, waiting for him.

Anton was carrying a thick blanket, as well as the first aid kit and several bags of blood. He also had a yardstick in his hand to push the door closed if need be. "Well, Bryn, are you ready for this?"

She wasn't, but she nodded anyway. Pushing herself to her feet, she reached out for his hand as they headed towards the door. "Where will you be?"

Anton picked up the blanket, making sure it draped over his feet. "I'll be right here," he said, positioning himself next to the door with the yardstick in hand. "I'll be protected from the light, and will be able to shut the door without being exposed." He took a deep breath. "Are you ready for this, Bryn?"

"You keep asking me that," she said, absently. Reaching for the door handle, she took a deep breath and tried to smile for him. "Here goes nothing." With that, she opened the door.

He pressed back against the wall instinctively, trying to find a darker corner to cower in. And Anton listened tensely, waiting for that first gasp of pain that would send him into action, pushing the door shut and throwing the blanket over Bryn to protect her.

Squinting in the light, she put a hand up to shield her eyes from the sun. It was warm out, and the front step was toasty beneath her feet. Staying close to the door, she watched her skin closely, her senses heightened on alert for any sign of pain. And she didn't feel a bit of it.

The moment the door was shut, he was at her side. "Bryn," he said, not daring to believe his eyes. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Looking at her, it was impossible to see any signs of even a tan on her skin.

She smiled brightly at him, forgetting to screen her reaction. "I'm fine. It felt wonderful!"

He smiled, scooping her up into his arms. "That's wonderful, my dear." But still, his reaction was tinged with a bit of sadness. No fair, a selfish part of his soul cried. No fair that she was able to enjoy the light while he had to skulk in the darkness.

She hugged him tightly, closing her eyes at the despair in his voice. "We should go back to bed. It's still early."

He pressed his lips to her forehead. "Okay, my dear." Anton lowered her to the ground, but he didn't let go of her hand. "I am very happy for you, my dear," he said. And despite his jealousy, he meant it.

She wanted to tell him she was, too...but she wasn't so sure anymore. Deciding to leave the comment be, she took his hand and led him back upstairs. "Let's just go back to bed."

Anton nodded, silently following her down the hall and to their bedroom. But when they reached their bed, he sat down and pulled her into his lap. He pressed his lips to her forehead. "It's like I can feel the heat of the sunlight on you," he whispered. They hadn't considered testing Kat yet, and the thought that Bryn may be immune as well hadn't crossed his mind. "Everyone is going to be amazed when they hear, Bryn."

She winced at that. "We don't need to tell anyone, Anton. It would only cause hurt feelings, and I don't want that."

"Shouldn't we at least tell the family, Bryn? So they don't panic if they see you outside at high noon?"

"Anton, I'm not going outside. Please, let's just drop it. It's over."

"No, it's not. Listen to me." He gently stroked her hair. "This is a good thing, my jealousy aside. This means that you can go outside with Max, and maybe with Kat. One of their parents will be able to go to school with them, to the park, shopping... we don't have to deprive them of daylight because both of us are vulnerable."

"But I don't like it. It's not fair to you at all. After all of this crap you've gone through, I don't want to take another thing away from you."

"Bryn, you're not taking anything away from me." He continued to comb his fingers through her hair. "This was already taken from me over nine hundred years ago. Yes, there is a part of me that is jealous, but that same part was jealous when you were human. It doesn't matter. This is an incredible gift given to you that should not be wasted."

She settled her head on his shoulder, taking a deep breath. "I still don't think we should tell anyone yet."

Sensing that he wasn't going to win the fight yet, Anton decided to back down. "Okay," he said. "We won't tell anyone right away. Let's get some sleep."

She wrapped her arms tightly around him, wishing he could understand. It felt like she was slapping him in the face by bragging about it.

Anton continued to stroke her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I love you so much, my dear," he said. "And whether or not you use this gift, I am glad that you have it."

"I'm glad I have you," she said, softly.

Anton wasn't certain which woke him up. The sound of the phone ringing, or the sound of the large delivery truck's engine pulling up in front of his home. He picked up the phone, barely conscious, and grunted a 'hello' into it.

"Sorry to disturb you, Anton," came Alex's voice. "There's a delivery truck pulling up to your house. Apparently Bryn's mother's stuff is on it. Jess, Walter, and Seth will be over in a bit to have it unloaded."

"Okay." Hanging up the phone, he let out a long yawn. "Would have been nice for her to warn us ahead of time," Anton mumbled.

Still pressed tightly to his side, Bryn groaned as she stretched and resettled against him. It took a moment for her to digest his words. "Who?"

"Your mother." He lifted a hand to wave it in the general direction of the window, face still buried in the pillow. "Apparently she's having everything delivered now before the house is completed."

She blinked an eye open. "She doesn't even know we're building a house, Anton." Which, of course, meant that her mother expected them to store the stuff for her. [God, I can't believe I'm related to these people.] "Who was on the phone? What did they say?"

"Your mother has apparently decided we are a storage facility." Anton sat up and stretched, sleep fleeing from him. "Alex called. The truck you hear outside has your mother's things. He said Walter, Jess, and Seth will be over to see that it's taken care of."

"What are you sitting up for? You're taking my warmth." She tugged the covers up to her chin, trying to tuck herself in. "If they're gonna do it, we don't need to get up."

"True." Plus he couldn't since it was early afternoon and the sun was still high in the sky. So Anton laid down again and snuggled close to Bryn. Even with the sound of the engine, he felt himself drifting back to sleep. Or he was until he heard a loud banging on the front door.

"God damn it!" This time Bryn sat up, eyelids heavy as she glared in the direction of the noise. "What is so damned difficult about putting a bunch of boxes in the garage?" Stumbling over to the hallway, she was about to yell down to the front door, but she realized the kids were still asleep...quite miraculously. Then she was going to tell Anton to go answer it, but she was already out of bed. Grumbling the whole way, she descended the stairs and stopped in front of the door. "Use the side door to the garage. You've got the keys!" she called out, assuming it was one of the werewolves. "Excuse me, Ma'am?" a strange voice hollered back. "We've got a delivery scheduled for...uh...Sabrina Rudenko?" Annoyed, she unlocked the door and swung it open. "It's Sabryn, not Sabrina." The driver's eyes widened at the sight of the woman who was only wearing a wedding ring. "Sorry, ma'am," he said apologetically, averting his eyes and suddenly looking very interested in his clip board. "But we have a delivery of furniture and boxed personal belongings from a Bernadette Pruitt for you."

She gasped, turning beet-red, and scurrying behind the door when she realized what she'd done. After Kat's midmorning crying, and her fitful sleep from the whole sunlight revelation, she hadn't been thinking at all. Cringing, she peeked her head out, and managed to spit out the words, "Someone will be right over to help you," before quickly slamming the door once more. After flipping the lock, she ran upstairs, pounced on the bed, and immediately buried herself deeply under the covers.

He heard her running up the stair and sat up. At first Anton was about to call her back, until he remembered that she didn't have to worry about being burnt by the sun. But maybe they were wrong, and now she was instinctively burrowing for darkness. "Bryn?" he asked starting to pull back the covers so he could see how bad her burns were. "Where does it hurt?"

She snatched the covers back, mumbling, "My psyche."

Anton frowned, trying to peel the blanket further. And blinked when she tore it from his hands. "What happened, Bryn?"

Groaning, she scooted closer to his side, as if just the mere proximity of his body would shelter her from prying eyes. "I just flashed the entire neighborhood."

"What?" Anton blinked, not sure he had heard her properly.

Finally letting him see her face, she muttered, "You heard me. I just flashed my tits...and more...at the entire neighborhood! The delivery guy knows I'm shaved!"

He couldn't help it. A chuckle welled up from deep inside of him. Something in her words touched off his laughter at the mental image as he crossed his arms and rested his forehead on them.

Glaring at him, she smacked him hard on the belly before ducking under the covers again. "Jerk!"

He knew he deserved that. "I'm sorry, Bryn" he said, managing to put on a serious expression. "I didn't mean to laugh. Just the mental image got to me."

Her words muffled by the blankets, she said, "Wait until you get the mental image from Alex's point of view. He was walking towards our house at the time."

"Really?" Anton shifted his jaw thoughtfully. "Okay, that makes two people I need to blind."

After a pause, she pulled back the blankets. "Go do it while I get dressed."

"Yes, ma'am." Anton rolled into a sitting position and started to get out of the bed.

She couldn't help laughing. "The stupid delivery guy wouldn't even look at me. I'm not that chubby, am I?"

Anton grinned at her over her shoulder. "He was probably afraid that he'd be awestruck at your beauty, and then repeatedly struck by your irate and irrationally jealous husband."

She watched him continue to walk to the door. "Get your cute little butt back here and warm me up. If you go out there looking like that, I'll be the one blinding people."

Still smiling, Anton turned around and walked back to the bed. "Of course you know, my dear. I may not have to do anything to Alex at all. I have a feeling that Jess and Walter will do it for us," he said as he slid underneath the blankets and put an arm around her waist.

"If he tells them. He may be too blinded by my beauty to say a word." Scooting tighter against him, she sighed as the redness began draining from her cheeks. "I can't believe I did that. I even opened the door in daylight, when I said I wouldn't. And damn it, now that we're wide awake, Kat is sleeping...well, like a baby."

"Bryn, it's a habit that's going to be hard to break for you. But one, fortunately, without painful consequences." He gently ran a finger over her cheek, tracing her jaw. "And I think of a few ways to make us sleepy, if you don't mind."

"Oh really? I'm intrigued. Just what do you have in mind, sugar?"

"Well, it's not exactly a full formed plan," Anton admitted. "But it starts something like this." He leaned forward and kissed her lightly at first, and then harder, tugging on her lower lip lightly.

"Mmm." Purring against his mouth, she slid her hand down his back to grab his ass and pull him closer. She was giddy when he slid his weight on top of her and smothered her soft curves with his hard plains. Opening her leg, she slid one thigh up to wrap around his waist and settled her ankle on his ass.

Anton caressed the dip of her waist as he settled heavily on her. Maybe it was the vamp