We got off the small bus in Barnes and reached Luigi's restaurant by the pond in a half an hour.

I took Aurora from Veronica the moment Lucas opened the door for me and we stepped inside, deaf to her protests that she would be happy to keep the baby a little longer so Lucas and I could eat in peace. It had been a long day and I hadn't seen my daughter properly yet; I missed her too much.

"Thank you, but I'll take it from here," I said, carrying her to our table, where her pram was already standing by the window.

She is the most perfect thing, I thought, bringing my face close to hers as I sat down, inhaling her particular baby scent, and letting her fist her tiny hands around the loose strands of my hair.

When my eyes fell on her clothes, I had to bring my free hand to my chest, willing away the sudden pang in my heart. The onesie with 'Daddy's little princess' printed over its pink fabric in large, flowing, glittery letters was new. I knew they all meant well, but sometimes it seemed that they did not understand how this all felt... how much, and how often I wished that Aurora's father could see her...

"Thank you, Veronica," I smiled at my friend, blinking away a couple of tears, not wanting to upset her with my reaction, as she approached us with a menu and a bottle of red wine.

Wow. This was the first time since I found out about my pregnancy that they let me drink anything with alcohol in it.

"It was Luigi's idea. And Lucas put it on her, as she still doesn't let anyone else touch her clothes or change her nappies." She said, rolling her eyes at Lucas, sitting opposite of me and Aurora, while he grinned contentedly.

Aurora, noticing her best friend's wide smile, gurgled something in response, and moved her little hands in his direction excitedly, making me roll my eyes too. They were quite a team.

Veronica laughed. "The three of you! You have no idea how amusing you are," she added, leaving us with the menus after she poured out the wine.

"Was that supposed to be a compliment?" I mumbled, bringing my glass of Chianti to my lips.

Gosh, that tastes good! I thought, closing my eyes, appreciating the notes of red fruits and dried herbs, and smoke and sunshine, all exploding in my mouth contemporaneously. It took him a while, but Luigi managed to fix some knowledge about his favourite wine in my memory.

"I didn't know you liked red wine this much," Lucas said, and as I opened my eyes I found him smiling at me.

"I didn't either," I shrugged, "it just feels like a lifetime since I had any."

I put my glass down and seeing that Aurora's eyes were closing and she was about to fall asleep in my arms, I moved her to her pram. Once she settled happily in her nest of blankets and soft toys, we ordered our dinner.

"I'm sorry for the onesie. Luigi made me put it on her." Lucas said suddenly after we had finished eating, and one of Luigi's waiters had carried our plates away.

He put his hand gently over mine, wrapped around the stem of my near empty glass set in front of me on the table, as I observed the pond spreading beyond the window through the thickening darkness, lost in thoughts.

Of course he noticed how it made you feel. He can read you like an open book, even better than Lia, my subconscious stated the obvious.

"I'm good," I said, turning to him with a smile, and accepting another half glass of wine. "They mean well."

Lucas nodded, then reached towards the pram and adjusted the blanket Aurora kicked off in her sleep. His affection for her was the most wonderful thing.

"Do you know anything about what's on your uncle's mind this time?" I finally pushed out the question which was haunting my thoughts since I had spoken to Stoker in the afternoon. He had yet another theory about me and my other world... It felt as if my life had become his favourite science experiment.

"No. What did he tell you?"

"Nothing much so far, just that he has a new theory and needs to talk to me. But he refused to tell me anything more, he needs to think it through a little better, he said." I shook my head, trying to shake off the unpleasant feeling those words carried.

"Don't worry, Samara..."

"I don't." I said, finishing my wine impatiently. As if it was that easy, not to worry. "It's just... his theories are never completely positive. Shall we go?"

Suddenly I wanted to be at home, in my bed. I didn't know if it was the effect of the two glasses of wine I wasn't accustomed to drinking any longer, or of the recollection of Stoker's words, but I was feeling sad, and lonely, and anxious. There were less than two months left before I would return to Bran, and I wanted everything to go smoothly. There was no time left for speculations, what ifs, and Stoker's crazy, spooky theories.

"Stop that, Samara."

"What?" I asked, standing up and gathering my things.

"Stressing yourself out. Again. You must be calm, at least for her." Lucas said, glancing at the little one sleeping in the pram which I was pushing towards the door carefully, trying to avoid hitting any of Luigi's tables, or the noisy, cheerful customers. "We're all coming with you to Bran, and everything will go well."

I nodded, trying for a smile. They all-- Lia, Stoker, Lucas and Nicole-- insisted on accompanying me to Bran for so long that I finally agreed. The plan was that they would come with me into the castle, and wait there, this side of the passage, while I would walk back with Vlad, unless he came up with some better idea since I had seen him last in my dreams.

The only better, acceptable solution for me, was finding a way for us to stay together. Wherever, here, or on his side of the passage. I needed the three of us to live as a family. The only person who might possibly help us with that was my old nurse, Katerina. A witch, according to Stoker, who has been missing since the day when I was sent back here. So, unless Vlad found her in the meantime, and she told him what to do to finally resolve our situation, I would need to walk back and find her myself.

It was high time Katerina explained what was really going on here, separating the reality from the old legend which concealed it like a veil, thickening with every passing century. And there was so much more I needed to know from her, like who I really was for instance, and why she had not told me anything before...

However, I still didn't know what to do with Aurora if I had to go back into Vlad's world. Take her in, through the time passage, or leave her with my friends for what would feel like minutes for her, but a whole year for me, hoping that all would go well and I'd be back...

I sighed, trying to banish the annoying, unsettling thoughts. I had no idea what would happen, how this all would go. Wouldn't it really be better to wait until she is bigger...

"Everything will be alright, Samara." Lucas said, wrapping his arm over my shoulders as I watched the sleeping baby silently while we waited by the door for Luigi, who was approaching us from the kitchen to say goodbye.

We walked home, along the dark pond, and down the deserted streets in silence. The house was dark and empty when we entered, Lia wasn't in yet.

"She will just stay at Uncle's again, I'm sure." Lucas said as if he could read my thoughts, while I picked Aurora up gently, before he would push the pram inside, over the three steps, waking her up, most likely.

"Shall I carry her in her room?" He asked once he moved the pram to the wall, out of the way, and locked the door, making the soft rattle of its stained glass panes spread through the silence and tenebrosity of the old house.

"No, thanks." I said, switching on the light and heading towards the staircase. "Is Nicole coming tonight?" I paused halfway up the stairs, when I noticed he wasn't following me up.

"Yes, later," Lucas said.

He vanished into the dark sitting room, to his books and television, to wait there for his girlfriend, a half-vampire with almost non existent sleeping routine like himself.

"Good, have fun you two." I smiled, continuing on my way towards my bedroom.

After switching on my night lamp and pulling the blanket off the bed with one hand, I laid Aurora in the middle of the mattress. Of course I was not going to let her sleep alone in her cot.

I ran to the nursery for her favourite blanket, then pushed my armchair to one side of the large bed, and a chair to the other, before I went to take a shower. I knew I was being paranoid, it wasn't like she would suddenly sit up and crawl off the bed, she could not even roll over yet. But still...

I showered and dried my hair in record time, then pulled my nightdress on, and not even bothering to pick up my used clothes off the bathroom's floor, rushed back into my room. Switching off the light I snuggled down next to her, my hand resting gently on one of her chubby little thighs and the moment I managed to expel all my irritating thoughts I fell asleep.

Less than two hours later I was awake again, startled back to consciousness by one of Aurora's hands landing on my face. Groaning, I pulled myself into a sitting position, exploring the carpet with the tips of my toes. Where are the silly slippers?

Aurora was beginning to stir in her sleep; I knew I had ten minutes maximum to get downstairs into the kitchen, warm up her milk and come back, before she would wake up the whole house with her crying.

Moving like a zombie, still not completely awake, I exited my room, and even before reaching the light switch in the corridor, I bumped into a dark form materializing in front of me suddenly.

"Could you stop appearing out of nowhere?" I whisper-shouted at Lucas, my heart pounding loudly. "You scared me!"

"Sorry," he muttered guiltily. "There, I heard her." He added, passing me a bottle of milk, warmed up to the perfect temperature. "Good night, Samara."

"Thanks Lucas, but... Nothing. Good night." There was no point in telling him that at least when he had Nicole around, he could stop thinking about Aurora.

She was just getting her voice ready to cry when I re-entered my bedroom.

"There you go. Your milk, vampire speed. So stop complaining, will you?" I said, smiling at her.

I reached the bed, sat on its edge and picked her up, guided by the faint street lights coming in from the lane behind the garden wall, realising that I had forgotten to draw the curtains. Letting her settle in the crook of my arm I put the bottle to her lips before her complaints would morph into crying.

She was sleeping again, back on the bed next to me, in less than fifteen minutes. But this time, unlike her, I could not go back to sleep.

I propped myself on the elbow and looked down at my baby girl sleeping peacefully, her arms raised above her head, hands closed in tiny fists. My heart swelled at seeing her like this, a picture of perfection. I wiped away a lone tear rolling down my cheek, wondering if every mother felt like this. She has only been in this world for about three months, but she has already changed me so much. She, just by being here for me, has given me so much... And despite all that, despite all the love she brought into your life, you're still thinking about leaving her here and going back to him... my subconscious hissed.

Oh no. Please don't. I thought as more tears escaped my eyes and I laid back down, burying my face in my pillow to muffle the sobs I could feel coming.

How could I ever leave her? But how could I not go back, knowing that Vlad would be waiting for me? If I went back without her, because taking her with me simply looked like a pointless risk, I would definitely be the worst mother in the world... But if I didn't go, I'd be the worst mother ever, too. Because she deserved her father as much as she deserved me.

Just as much as Vlad deserved her, and a chance at a new life, free of that ancient curse or whatever this all was. If there was even the tiniest possibility that I could give it to him, by finding my old nurse and begging her to help us, and didn't try because it wasn't convenient right now, then I would be the worst wife... And mother...

Sighing, I pushed the pillow under my head and ran my fingers through Aurora's feather soft red hair, looking dark auburn in the semi-darkness, then put my hand over one of hers and stared out of the window, where the blackness of the night started to dissolve gradually in the first, shy light of the new day.

What am I going to do? I mused, until the sleep finally took me.