I rubbed my eyes as I woke up, sighing from relaxation. This was my first morning home from the hospital, and I was already loving the feeling of my own bed. I still occasionally had headaches, but Peridot had been nice enough to help me stay on a regular medication schedule.
As I was getting up, I was pushed back down onto the bed by Peridot.
"No, no," she said. "I have breakfast for you. You're relaxing."
She placed the tray on my lap and smiled, proud that she was taking care of me. I smiled at her and took a bite of the toast she had gotten for me. It was apple butter toast. Quite the familiar meal.
"Did Turquoise cry last night?" I asked. "Because if she did, I didn't hear her."
"She did," Peridot answered. "But I took care of her for you."
"I don't doubt that you did," I said. "Thank you."
"You're very welcome," Peridot responded.
"Is she awake yet?" I asked.
"She's with Topaz," Peridot answered. "She was sad when she saw that you weren't awake earlier. She really wanted to stay, but Topaz said that she wanted to take her so she didn't disturb you."
"Disturb me?!" I exclaimed. "Bring my baby to me!"
Peridot walked out of the room and returned with Turquoise in her arms, who began to reach for me the moment she laid eyes on me. I took her from Peridot the moment I could, and I hugged her gently.
"Baby," I whispered. "Mama's here now."
Turquoise snuggled up in my arms, making a noise once she was comfortable. I ran my fingers through her hair to keep her happy, and she began to fall back asleep. I smiled. Now that she was happy, I was happy.
"Are you hungry, baby?" I asked.
At that, Turquoise gently tugged on my shirt. Hungry indeed. Peridot sat down on the bed with us while I fed the baby, who still seemed to be falling asleep as she ate. I had to hold back the urge to laugh as she dozed off. I heard Peridot stifling a few chuckles as well. She couldn't hide that. Finally, I decided that Turquoise wasn't going to be able to force herself to keep doing this, so I pulled her away and rocked her until she finally fell asleep. Peridot helped me pull my clothes back down to cover myself.
"She's so happy to be with you," she said.
"I'm happy that I'm with her," I responded.
"She didn't understand that you were gone," Peridot said. "You know I occasionally leave to visit her and make sure she's okay. She was always trying to find you, and you weren't there."
"Stop it," I replied. "You're gonna make me sad."
Peridot kissed my cheek quickly, smiling her sweet smile.
"I don't want you to be sad," she said. "Plus, you're here now, aren't you?"
"Yeah," I answered.
"So she's okay," Peridot said. "No need to be sad."
I ran my fingers through Turquoise's hair again and kept myself calm by listening to the rhythm of her breath. Peridot was looking around, and she focused on Topaz when she walked in.
"They know she's back," Topaz said.
"Wonderful," Peridot responded sarcastically. "She just got home from them nearly killing her. Can't they cut her some slack?"
"You're forgetting something," Topaz said. "They want her dead."
"They want her alive," Peridot corrected her. "They want to kill her."
"Then wouldn't this all be solved if we just killed her?" Topaz asked, raising an eyebrow.
I couldn't tell if she was being serious. I held Turquoise tightly.
"You're out of your mind," Peridot said. "We're protecting her."
"Not very well," Topaz replied.
Peridot was snarling now, clearly frustrated with Topaz's responses. I only held Turquoise closer.
"We're going to stop them," she growled. "We will. I will protect Lapis with my life." She said it with a bite.
"They're watching us," Topaz said. "They're waiting for her to be alone."
"Then I'm not leaving her alone," Peridot responded. "I'm going to protect her."
"Suit yourself," Topaz said. She left the room.
"...what was that about?" I asked.
"I'm not sure," Peridot answered. "She's been in a bit of a mood ever since you were bit. She's blaming herself for it because it was her siblings. Not only that, but she's also mad at herself for nearly losing control. If anything, she should be proud because she actually managed to stop herself."
"Exactly," I said, leaning back into the pillows. "I mean...I'm really proud of her. She should feel proud of herself."
"...how are you feeling?" Peridot asked, entwining her fingers with mine.
"...like I'm pregnant again," I answered.
With Peridot's excessive care, I was quickly back to feeling like myself. Peridot still insisted that she help me, which I didn't mind. I could handle a little protectiveness since I had only just recovered. Topaz seemed to be on constant watch, but I hadn't seen the vampires again. It was almost like they had disappeared.
"They're going to come back soon," Topaz always said whenever I asked. "We have to be ready and waiting."
The missing vampires still weren't showing up. At this point, Peridot was starting to get a bit more worried about them. She always grabbed the phone before I could just in case. The shutters were normally closed. Turquoise's crib was covered over the top with a blanket.
"Are you sure they're coming back?" I asked.
"I don't think they'd just stop," Peridot answered. "They have to be planning something."
At that moment, Turquoise had started making her little noises to get my attention. Peridot walked off to help Topaz search for the vampires, so I left to spend some time with our daughter.
At some point, Peridot had realized that she hadn't been giving our baby as much attention as she needed to, so she joined me that day and played with Turquoise. She was happy to be with her other mother. She even started crying when she had to leave again. Luckily, that night, Peridot said that it was alright for us to cuddle with the baby for a little bit.
The next day was when the vampires began to show up again. The mystery was over, that was for sure. Peridot and Topaz were watching even more vigilantly than before. I never found myself without Turquoise in my arms.
"Told you that wasn't going to last," Peridot had said as she walked up to a window. "They wouldn't just disappear after what they did." She then snarled at a vampire who had greeted her at the window.
I wanted so badly to return the favor to Peridot. Now that the vampires were here, she was up late nearly every night. Night three consisted of highly caffeinated coffee, which she despised, but she demanded she needed. I had tried to stay up with her, but the combination of the warm bed, the dark room, and her warmth, I couldn't keep myself awake for very long. I wished I could just somehow return the favor.
Among one of the more interesting of Peridot's sleepless nights had been night four. Without her usual sleep schedule and with the vampires running around taunting her and distracting her, one had managed to slip in right under her nose. I had awoken to its cold touch, and I let out an involuntarily—and quite bloodcurdling—scream. Peridot had gotten to the room first, Topaz following behind her. The vampire was gone. Completely gone.
Peridot spent the rest of that night in our room.
It was now night six. Peridot was barely surviving off of cups of coffee. Topaz was ever unchanging. She had no energy problems.
I was caressing Peridot's cheek while she drank what must have been her second cup of coffee that night. I could see the dark rings that had formed under her eyes. She needed sleep much more than I needed her vigilance. She didn't seem to believe me when I mentioned that, though. Her exhaustion, which was now taking a clear toll on her, did not seem to register in the reasoning part of her mind.
"Honey," I cooed. "You need to sleep. Please."
"No," Peridot responded through her teeth. "I can't let them get you. I'm not sleeping."
"I'm fine!" I exclaimed. "Look at me!" She turned toward me, eyebrows raised. "I'm fine, see?"
"No, you're not," Peridot replied.
Her fingers felt across my shoulders and onto the crook of my neck. I whimpered with the slight sting that came with her fingers coming into contact with the two holes, now scabbed over, from a vampire's fangs. A sigh came from Peridot's mouth.
"You're not okay."
I looked her in the eyes, but she didn't meet my gaze.
"You'll never be okay."
"That's not true." I fought back angry and exhausted tears by biting my lip.
"Who knows what that venom has done to your body," Peridot said. "It's capable of stopping your heart. It destroys your blood! It shuts down all of your important organs that keep you alive! It's powerful, Lapis!"
"But I survived!" I shouted. "I'm fine!"
"Well, who knows what aftereffects it has on you," Peridot said. "Maybe you can't even get pregnant anymore."
That made the tears well up. "I wasn't planning to have anymore," I growled, biting my lip harder than before. "...d-do you want to have another baby?!"
"I don't know," Peridot answered, oblivious to my tears. "I was just thinking if we ever were, that would have quite the effect, wouldn't it?"
Now my tears were coming out, accompanied by disgusting sobs. That finally got Peridot's attention.
"I want to have as much of a family as we want together," I said. "B-but I don't know if I would want to...but if I did..." I sobbed. "I-I...I would be so upset...I-I want us..."
My tears no longer let me speak. Peridot's only response was holding me close and rubbing my back. She knew she had taken the conversation a little too far. I was so exhausted. I could barely handle thinking of the conversation. Peridot kissed my cheek and whispered some comforting words to me. It was during that conversation that it began to rain out. I listened to the rain hitting the roof and the thunder booming from the clouds. If I could hear Topaz running around before, I had no chance of hearing her now. Her steps were so graceful and quiet that the thunder would overtake them much too easily. No wonder vampires were so dangerous to humans.
"I'm sorry," Peridot whispered. "I shouldn't have said that. That was...immature of me. You're right. You're alive, and you're here. That's all I should be thinking about with that situation. I need to protect you because you're still here. I shouldn't be focusing on that."
"It's okay," I responded. "You're worried about me, I know. I'm alright. I'm here with you. I'm safe with you."
"Yes, you are," Peridot said, holding me closer. "You're safest with me." She almost purred with satisfaction. I couldn't stifle my smile. "Is there anything you want me to do?" She leaned in toward my face. I felt my own face heating up rapidly.
"...sleep," I answered.
"Lapis," Peridot growled.
"You need to sleep!" I cried. "You're exhausted! All I want you to do is get some rest! It will be so good for you and your body! You need sleep!"
I didn't notice the tears were falling out again until Peridot began to wipe them away. I sniffled angrily, staring her right in the eyes.
"Perhaps I should," she said. "Would it make you happy?"
I wiped a tear away. "Very," I answered.
"I think you should sleep first," Peridot said. "You look and sound exhausted. You lay down, close your eyes, and get some rest."
"...first?" I asked.
"I'm a little buzzed from the coffee," Peridot answered. "I need some time to settle down and become tired enough to sleep."
"But you will go to sleep?" I asked.
"Yes," Peridot answered.
"You promise?" I asked.
"I promise," Peridot answered.
I turned over and fell asleep. I was too tired to keep thinking.
I awoke the next morning to Peridot's arms around me. I turned over to see her fast asleep. The rhythm of her breathing was slow and steady like she was sleeping deeply. She really had gone to sleep. As I pecked her lips, I realized why she was so irritated by the thought of falling asleep at a time like this. She made herself completely vulnerable and oblivious to her surroundings when she fell asleep. She was trying to protect me. She couldn't do that when she was in the realm of dreams, sleep, and dark oblivion. Part of me wished that I could protect her.