Doctor Bianchi’s Office- Observation Room
Lailah gave Levi I side glance at the mention that he kidnapped the young girl.
“Well you have a lot of explaining to do when she wakes up, don’t you?”
She said with a smile and thought of how Levi would explain himself to the girl. She looked similar to an angel who fell in love with a demon so he took her to his house to protect her. To any normal person that would seem insane.
Lailah watched as Levi turned and kissed her palm and closed his eyes. She felt terrible, she could not understand how Saffron could leave him and his father. She smiled softly at his words to her and embraced him as he embraced her. She thought of her own boy, while he was much younger than Levi when he passed, she had always thought that Levi would have been a role model or older brother figure in his life. Lailah smirked at Levi’s change in attitude and his word choice.
“I wonder if she has any family, or anyone close to her who might go looking for her.”
She thought out loud and turned as she heard people entering the room. She had a feeling one would be Doctor Bianchi but she did not know of the young lady. Lailah snickered at his words about the clubs and how Levi got the girl here. She gave him a friendly smile in return for his smile and nodded slightly at his mention of Detective Blaine’s daughter. She had met the Detective before, briefly if she remembered but she did remember him.
“Any friend of the Bianchi’s is a friend of mine.”
She said with a bright smile and turned her attention immediately on the girl as she awoke. Lailah hoped her reaction to being in a strange place wouldn’t be too bad, but she was wrong.
She watched as the whole scene played out with Phoebe and Levi, her hitting him, breaking her hand, breaking his nose. She honestly did not blame the girl, well Lailah felt bad for Levi but the girl was kidnapped and taken into a stranger’s home, this reaction was one that could be expected. She stood up as Jonathan came to look at the girl’s hand, giving him more room and a chair to sit if he wishes. She looked to Levi as he walked towards the door and asked her to go too. She smiled at the Doctor and the girl, Phoebe, before turning and leaving behind Levi.
Lailah watched as he greeted Detective Blaine’s daughter like they were siblings, which to them it probably seemed that way. She smiled at how easy going they were with each other and watched silently as Jonathan returned and they all spoke. This was a family matter, a close family matter for Lailah to know of later if the Bianchi’s chose to share it with her. She walked away as Levi and Phoebe began to talk. She caught up to Jonathan and lightly touched his arm.
“I’m afraid it’s my time to leave.”
She said softly and gave him a warm smile and gentle embrace. She decided to not speak of Saffron as she did not know how well Jonathan was taking her leave.
“I will see you and Levi at the ball.”
She said and walked away, out the door of the Bianchi manor and towards her home.
Samantha had just finished hunting when she went back to the manor. Blood had still remained on her lips and she quickly went to the house, hoping to be unseen. She had passed Lailah on her way in and tried her best to conceal her face so that she could quickly move to the washroom, unnoticed. When she arrived she looked in the mirror and washed off her face. She tried to be graceful and not a messy eater but there was only so much she could do. At least she hadn’t gotten any on her dress. This seemed like it could be something she was proud of. Luckily, she was getting much better with her mind control and could now drink from humans without killing them. She could easily make them forget memories. Putting memories in people’s heads was a different story. Sam remained looking in the mirror a moment longer. She hadn’t cared much about her appearance when she had been a human and now that she was a vampire, she didn’t have to do much because her beauty was so radiant already, but whenever she knew she’d see Levi–which was every day–she found herself worrying more and more on what she looked like. She brushed her hair out of her eyes with her fingers and let out a heavy sigh, knowing there wasn’t more she could do with herself.
She could hear voices coming from the Doctor’s office, so she made her way up, knowing Levi was there. Sam knocked before opening, knowing it would be rude to barge in, but had never taken much notice on whether they responded or not before she walked in. She walked into the observation and was so taken back, she stumbled a little, the most un-vampire like thing she’d ever done because it was so not graceful. “Oh, um, hello?” she said, somewhat questioningly to the woman who was speaking with Levi. This made her uneasy because the girl was very pretty. Too pretty for her liking. Sam was never one to play well with others. “Er, sorry,” she said, straightening up and turning to Levi in a professional manner. She would not be a flirtatious little girl in front of another woman. She would have to be mature. She worked here after all. “Can I get you anything…sir?” she said, the word “sir” feeling foreign to her mouth since she was referring to Levi. Someone she considered to be her closest friend.
Phoebe’s head whipped up to see Johnathon, her face turning a bright crimson as she wondered how much he had heard. Looking away hurriedly, she looked away to stare at her hand. With the ice-pack on her hand, she began to mull over with a worried expression on her face what the doctor had meant with that vivid statement. A maid then chose that moment to come in and smile at Phoebe, her hand outstretched to the woman. “Come. let me show you to your room.” Phoebe nodded reluctantly and stood, just in time for Sam to come in. Seeing the other maid, Phoebe smiled at her politely and was then led from the room.
Hearing Sam’s voice, Levi’s head whipped around as he leaped off his chair. Rushing towards Sam, he swept her up in her arms and spun her around as he did with Jo. There was something different in his eyes, however, when he looked at the maid. Adoration shone brightly on his face as he kept his hand’s on the girl’s waist. Pulling her close, he looked down at her with a wink. “Where have you been, Samantha?” Pulling back, he realized he had to be professional when in public. Sighing, he had to repress the urge to kiss her. He had yet to reveal his feelings to her, though it was pretty clear by his actions that he was besotted. Grabbing her hand, he raised it to his hand and placed a chaste kiss upon it. “Yes, there is. You must come help me figure out what to wear for this blasted wall.” What Levi really wanted was for Sam to help figure out how to undress him and make love. Stuffing that feeling down, he led the vampire from his father’s office to his room.
So many young people, coming and going. It was hard to imagine that it was a Doctor’s office and not Grand central station. What if there had been paying clients in the observation room, when all and sundry just swanned in like it was the palour. Johnathon took to his small corner, his desk at the back end of his office, and allowed Levi to look after Phoebe’s needs as well as the Maid, Sam who Levi obviously had a thing for. Setting down the paper, Johnathon rubbed his right temple, then watched how Levi was holding Sam. The way his hands took to her waist, and the shining in his eyes. It was then that the Doctor realized he was letting his gaze linger, and he buried himself behind a paper, to try and keep him distracted. He should be having another patient soon, and of course, all the young ones would need to keep themselves pre occupied.
The Ball. That’s it. Levi had mentioned that he needed to have help finding out what to wear, and more or less wanted Sam to go help him. What was he? Blind? A young man surely didn’t need help in getting dressed for such a society event as a ball. Johnathon kept peering over his paper, till finally the lad led Sam out of his office finally.
“I thought they would never leave.:” Johnathon finally said as the door closed, leaving just himself and Josephine behind. The Daughter of his good friend Reginald, was now stuck with the middle aged doctor. That can’t have been too much fun. Concerned for her, and thinking she might get upset to have been ditched, for Sam, Johnathon said;
“If your Father is too busy, I would be honored to escort you to your recital. I mean for your ballet. My thoughts are my son is going to be busy with this Ball, no doubt.” Johnathon looked on at Josephine in a fatherly way.
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Josephine glanced up from her book, her eyebrow quirked with interest as she watched the way Levi responded to Sam. She was beautiful, charming, and accessible as a woman. Jo found it easy to see why her friend was so besotted with her. She smiled knowingly as he worked his charm on her and led her to his bedroom. He was always such a charmer. Looking back to her book, she laughed silently to herself at the flirtatious doings of Levi.
Upon hearing the door close and the doctor speak, she looked up and closed the book in her lap. She gave him a gentle smile as she tried to make watching over her easier. Jo thought it must be trying for the doctor to be saddled with watching over a family friend while still running his business as a doctor. She would of course offer any assistance with patients, but only if asked. Jo never liked to get in the way of Johnathon, and he was quite adept at dealing with them himself.
The dancer smiled brightly and stood up as he offered to escort her to her audition. Stepping closer to his desk, she sat down in a chair in front of it on the edge of the seat. Placing both hands to her heart, she gushed with excitement. “Oh, that would mean the world to me…I’m so rather nervous about my audition and it would actually be my own pleasure to have you there to support me.” If she couldn’t have her father, the doctor was the next best thing. Tilting her head a bit, she was then surprised by his offer. “You aren’t too busy with patients? It isn’t until later this evening, so I can wait around here reading if you have further work to do.” Standing up again, she nodded her head once with a salute. “You shan’t even know I am here.” Giving him another girlish grin, she squeaked and clapped her hands before returning to her seat in the corner. Picking up her book, she resumed reading, but her foot tapped quietly with excitement.
“Then its settled then. Right after supper, we will take a carriage to your recital, where I am certain you will rise to the occasion and thrill all with your dancing technique.” The Doctor said, folding his newspaper, now finished with catching up on the day’s news and affairs. He often found that in the smallest of articles, there was always hints of misadventures and scandals that may well be attributed to the evil side of London Society, and it is for this reason, that he tries to keep one step ahead. In the back of his mind however, he was wondering how Reginald was getting on with Miss Vivian. It wasn’t lost upon him that they were not exactly the best of friends, in fact he was sure they hated the sight of each other. Having to work along side your most despised is a challenge. There was no doubt that on the Detective’s return to the Manor to fetch his daughter and tell Johnathon of their investigation, that the words may be colored, and if this was the case, it would be all the more entertaining. A smile crept to Johnathon’s face at the very thought of the new curse words that would fall from the lips of Miss Vivian. She did have such a pretty mouth.
Johnathon’s attentions returned to the young Josephine and he clapped his hands together, rubbing them. “I do have another patient this afternoon I am expecting, so either feel free to take a tour of the house, or enjoy that novel you are reading. I know you shan’t be a bother. Not after all that has happened this day. You my dear, are like the lark that sings its song upon the open window. Ah, look, I am starting to try and emulate the great Shakespeare himself with lyrical words. Pity I could not have been so witty with Mrs Bianchi.” He cast his gaze down a moment, taking stock of what he had lost. “They say…that whenever a door closes, in one’s life….a window does offer its light.” He looked sad, as though the guilt did weigh heavily upon him for Saffron’s departure without note or word.
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Josephine looked up to smile at Johnathon, her finger holding her spot in the book along the right side of the page. “Thank you for the vote of confidence. I do hope I can make father proud, as he has paid an exceptional amount towards my dancing lessons for quite some time now.” She watched him silently as he seemed distracted by his own thoughts. Flicking her eyes towards her book, she began to read once more. The tale of Frankenstein struck her as an odd tale of betrayal, rather than some sort of horror fiction. The poor monster just needed some guidance, and Dr. Frankenstein provided none. To Jo, that was the true reasoning behind the monster’s violent and deadly nature. With a soft sigh, she closed the book as it began to weigh on her mind too much for the moment. Glancing back towards the doctor, she wondered how much longer her father would be gone. It silently disturbed her that he would not be the one to watch her audition for the part she had wanted her whole life, but she was doing her best to understand that her father’s work needed his attention more. After all, he was trying to save lives, whereas she was just a ballet dancer.
She jumped a bit as he clapped her hands, and she placed a hand to her chest with a soft laugh “My goodness, that scared me…” Watching him closely, she smiled affectionately and batted her eyelashes accordingly as he compared her to a lark.“Why thank you, Dr. Bianchi. What a lovely sentiment.” As he then grew a bit despondent with his last statement, she wondered if she should offer some sort of comfort. Standing up slowly, she stepped over quietly with her book in hand. Reaching down with her free hand, Jo placed her hand on top of his and squeezed it encouragingly “I am sure that even though your wife left you, she is thinking of you and Levi constantly. From what I have seen in my brief moments with her, she seemed a bit lost. Perhaps she just needs to go on her own journey of self-enlightenment. I fully believe that such a thing can only bring you closer, not further apart.” Releasing her hand, she took a seat in front of his desk and nodded her head. “Absence makes the heart grow fonder, they say. I suppose that’s why I put up with my father’s…passion for work. The longer I am away, the more I cherish him.”
In an attempt to change the subject and return cheer to her father’s friend, she mused “Is Mrs. Peabody returning for her hysteria? I hear from some of my fellow dancers you have quite a talent…” Her smile was impish as she then looked away to innocently open her book. A smirk played on her lips as she pretended to read once more.
The Doctor offered Josephine a weak smile when she spoke of how Saffron must have been thinking of both himself and Levi before she left. To be completely honest, Johnathon would not have agreed, but he was too much of a gentleman to say such things, or make the young Jo feel bad for her attempt to lift his mood. She was young, and yet to know of life, love, marriage, responsibility and children. Marriage, though seen as fanciful and lovely, was in essence hard work, for though in the early days it is nothing but joy and peace with the other, soon the gloss of love wears off, and you one day wake up and stare at who lays beside you and wonder just who they are; how you came to be there.
Watching Josephine with his critical eye, he noted her lust and enthusiasm for life and love. Passion abound no doubt, and she would one day make a man very happy. Johnathon thought of her like the daughter he never had, though it was not his place to offer guidance and instruction on life, that was her Father’s job. All he could do, was be there. Show support like…an uncle. For a moment he realized how terribly alone he felt. Toying with his pipe, as his eyes seemed to rim with tears, and then he chuckled at Josephine’s suggestion that Mrs Peabody would be coming again soon for her “treatment”
“No, that is every other week, my Dear.” He sighed and then forced another smile. “Next client is a gentleman in fact. But he seems to suffer from terrible bouts of memory loss, so I fear he has forgotten his appointment, and is probably feeding pigeons in the park. Or harassing Nuns at the Cathedral, one or the other.”
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Josephine set the book aside when a maid came in to offer her a plate of cookies. Feeling like a young child, she smiled warmly and enjoyed the maternal attention. “Thank you, Miss. I was just thinking of how hungry I was.” The maid beamed with pleasure at the young woman’s manners and warm personality. Nodding her head, she set the plate on the edge of the desk closest to Jo and left the room. Picking one up, she took a dainty bite and closed her eyes slowly. “Mmh…these are simply delicious. You must have one, doctor.” Picking up the plate, she then offered one. Whether or not he took one, she then set it down to laugh “My goodness, how do you treat forgetfulness if they forget their own appointment?” Her eyes lit up with amusement and she leaned back in her seat. “You certainly have your work cut out for you. I suppose you will have to go look for him, won’t you?”
Placing her book on his desk, she noticed the emotions in his eyes. Restraining herself no more, she stood up and walked around the desk to lean over him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she gently pulled him in for a hug. Kissing his cheek as though he were her father, she smiled sweetly. “You truly are a remarkable man, doctor. I should count myself lucky if I find a man half as decent as you.” Shaking her head slightly, she pulled back to smile down at him. “I wouldn’t consider myself so fortunate to marry any man, though. I don’t think any man can accept both my passion for dance and my…uniqueness.” Jo was of course referring to the fact that she was half human and the certain gifts she had. She was afraid of being rejected, but also could not keep a secret from a loved one. Therefore, she resigned herself to the life of an “old maid”, focusing on dancing and then perhaps one day opening her own ballet studio. Withdrawing from him, she then paced around the desk slowly. “So, can I help in any way?”
Johnathon became rigid, like a stone statue when Josephine hugged him and kissed his cheek. She smelt so good, and the freshness of her skin, as she felt the soft lips touch his rugged stubble. The Doctor felt uneasy and then he pulled back in his chair, rising slowly. His face was riddled with confusion. She kept talking, babbling on like a cheerful brook, where the waters lapped and danced over the soft river stones. He didn’t want her to be quiet, but her enthusiasm in his melancholy had finally taken its toll on him. He did have a limit to his patience after all. Perhaps Levi could counter her with gay wit and banter, but Johnathon just didn’t have it in him. He felt dog tired, and he sighed, as he wordlessly went to reach for his hat and coat.
“I need…to go find my patient. The servants here will tend to your needs, and…Levi is here, somewhere. Forgive me, I will return in time for your recital.” he bowed quickly and then walked smartly out of the office before he let himself have an emotional breakdown. This would leave Josephine alone, as the Doctor passed Milly hurriedly, to get outside and breath the fresh air, that his lungs now craved.
(thread change – Park)
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