Pickle 6, Watermelon 14, Apple Pie 1
Author: Casey
Story: Nothing is Ever Easy universe, Pre-NIEE
Challenges: Pickle 6 (baby blues - My Treat: Vlad walks out), Watermelon 14 (you haven’t seen the last of me), Apple Pie 1 (home sweet home)
Toppings & Extras: Malt (Marina’s Truth or Dare: Vlad takes Sage and raises her after Edward dies. What happens?), Chopped Nuts, Hot Fudge, Brownie
Word Count: 5,090
Rating: PG-13 (warning: off-screen child abuse)
Summary: Sage is his daughter.
Notes: The first part is true to canon. Vlad coming back, however unintentional, is not. Combining two personal prompts from Marina into one story. Mainly takes place around the same time as Jakium’s brownie and about a year after Edward’s death. Still chugging along on the Pickle My Treat - this one gave me some fits and starts.
When Katherine insisted they go somewhere nice that evening, Vlad had a feeling things were about to go wrong. Part of what he liked about Katherine was that she was easy and didn’t dictate much, even if she was clingy when he was around. If that was changing, it was time to walk away.
Halfway through dinner, she dropped the shocker, beaming like an idiot. “I’m pregnant, Vlad, isn’t that wonderful?”
He stared at her. What in the name of the gods was he supposed to do with a child? Then his brain kicked in. This was Katherine, Miss Orphanage herself, who had gushed almost since the day they’d met about children and wanting one of her own. Almost as often as her professions of eternal love.
“Whose kid is it?” he asked and almost felt guilty at her hurt expression.
“Yours, Vlad,” she said, with big brown eyes. “I told you. There’s been no one else since you.”
Vlad eyed her. He’d known from day one that Katherine Weis was looking to put herself in a better situation. It was evident she enjoyed the children but running what amounted to her own business didn’t suit her. She wanted something easy and now she was grasping at any way possible to pin him down. He was just deciding to play along - the sex was good - when she opened her mouth again.
“I was thinking,” she said with a coy smile. “We should probably get married before the child comes.” She placed a hand on her stomach.
He stood, staring down at her coldly. “Nice try. I wouldn’t marry you even if I was certain the child is mine and that, certainly, is in doubt. In fact, you’re probably lying about being pregnant at all.” Vlad saw the devastation on her face and ignored it, spinning on his heel and stalking from the restaurant.
**
Although he traveled to Greensward frequently in the next years, he made sure to generally steer clear of the part of town where Katherine Weis lived. Almost four years later, he found himself in Greensward, waiting a few days before doing a hopefully large hiring and he stumbled upon the girl quite by accident. The quickest way to his meeting was through Katherine’s neighborhood and he headed that way with Bert and two others, talking business. What drew his attention was the sounds of a small child crying. It only took him a moment to place it was coming from a brown-haired toddler, who sat on a stoop next to a woman about Vlad’s age.
“All right, kiddo, deep breaths. I can’t help if you won’t let me look at it.”
The little girl, who was rubbing her eyes furiously with the back of one arm, clutched the other arm to her tightly. “Hurts, Angela,” she managed between sobs.
Vlad paused, not sure why he did even as his steps slowed. Perhaps something of the encounter reminded him of countless times with Ani. Angela reached out a hand and gently pulled the arm away and examined it, obviously wincing. “Did she put cold water on it? Or ice?”
The girl shook her head and Angela sighed and then looked up, meeting Vlad’s gaze seemingly by accident. Instantly, she glared. “Do you have a problem, sir?”
A little taken aback, Vlad shook his head. “No, I just...is she okay?” he asked, nodding at the little girl.
“I don’t believe that’s any of your concern,” Angela snapped.
Then the toddler looked up, still sniffling, and Vlad’s heart stopped. He found himself staring into familiar eyes - Ani’s eyes, Sorin’s eyes, his mother’s eyes. He stepped forward. “Who is she?”
Angela put a protective arm around the girl. “I don’t see how that’s possibly any of your business.”
He did some quick math. If Katherine had been telling the truth, then their child would be about three, just where he estimated this girl to be. And this was her neighborhood. “Is she, by any chance, Katherine Weis’ daughter?”
Angela’s eyes narrowed. “Who the hell are you?”
“I’m Vlad Opalin.”
She stared at him and the little girl used the distraction to pull her arm away and cradle it to her chest. When Angela said nothing, Vlad approached, crouching in front of the toddler. “Can I see your arm?” She hesitated, glancing at Angela who, to his surprise, nodded slightly. The girl offered her arm out. Vlad took it gently, examining the nasty burn sloppily running the course of her forearm. “What happened?” he asked softly.
“Got burned,” she said, eyeing him shyly.
“How?”
Again, she glanced at Angela.
“Are you telling the truth?” the woman asked. “Are you really Vladimir Opalin?”
“Yes.”
She studied him. “Then we need to talk. Are you busy?”
He glanced over his shoulder where the other three waited. “No, they can handle it.” He raised his voice. “Winston, you’re in charge. Get the agreement signed and I’ll see you back at the inn later, okay?”
“Sure thing, boss,” Winston said, tossing him a loose salute and corralling the other two off.
As soon as the three men had disappeared out of sight, Angela looked at the girl. “Tell him what happened, Sage.”
“I burned the soup.”
Vlad frowned, unable to immediately reconcile burned soup with the nasty looking injury on the girl’s arm. “How did…?”
“Mama said was to teach me not to.”
Vlad’s eyes went wide and he looked up at Angela. The woman now stood and took the girl’s free hand, pulling her to her feet. “Come on, Sage, let’s go get something on the burn and then you can play with my dolls for a while, okay?”
The little girl brightened and she bounded up the stairs ahead of them. Angela gestured for Vlad to follow and led him up to a small but well decorated flat on the second floor. “Have a seat. I’m just going to get Sage settled and then we can talk.”
He nodded, still dumbfounded, and sat down where he could see into the kitchen. Angela scooped the toddler up, plopped her in a chair and quickly spread some burn ointment over her arm. The little girl took it with a world weariness that no three-year-old should have but that Vlad was very familiar with. “All right, kid,” Angela said, “but remember, be careful with them.”
“Okay,” Sage said, hopping off the chair and scampering past Vlad - eyeing him all the while out of the corner of her eye - into what he assumed was Angela’s bedroom.
The woman appeared in the kitchen door and waved him in. “Until I know more, I’d rather she know as little as possible. There’s no point raising her hopes,” she said coldly. “Water?”
“Sure,” he said, carefully sitting in one of the chairs as she plunked a glass of water down in front of him and then sat down as well.
“You knew about her,” she said with all sorts of condemnation in her voice.
“No, well, yes, sort of. Katherine told me she was pregnant back at the beginning of her pregnancy, but I only even half believed she was pregnant and much less than half believed the kid could be mine.”
“Katherine has sworn since day one that Sage is yours. She insisted you’d come back to her.”
“To be honest, I’d all but forgotten. I never…did Katherine do that to Sage?”
“No doubt and it’s not the first time she’s done something like it, although it’s the worst that I know about.”
“Why haven’t you said anything or turned her in?” Vlad snapped, unable to help his anger even if he’d wanted to.
“What’s the point?” Angela shot back. “In case you’d somehow missed it, Katherine runs the only damn orphanage around.”
“There are other orphanages in Greensward.”
“And now there’s you.”
Vlad let out a breath. “I don’t know the first thing about raising a child. And there’s Katherine to deal with. I haven’t been here for three years.”
Angela waved away his concerns. “Katherine hates that little girl possibly more than she loves her, because she looks like you and your family. I knew she didn’t look like Katherine, but I’d never imagined how right she was until now.”
He frowned. “I’m not coming back to her. I’d take the girl, my daughter, and I’d take her away from Greensward.”
“Good,” she said, leaning back, “if you can provide a stable, loving home for her.”
He rubbed his face. His home wasn’t exactly the right environment for a child, even with Edward a year in the ground. He was unlikely to make a good father - he was self-aware enough to know that - but Ani would likely love having a child around and it would give her something to do. “I’m not a father. I’m a businessman,” he said. Even taking that new boy in, the one Ani was finishing up the guardianship paperwork for in Holly, was a business decision. He would be useful at work and possibly down the road.
“Should I call Sage back in here so you can take a nice long look at that burn?” Angela asked flatly. “I don’t see you denying she’s your daughter, so step up. I think you and I both know the abuse will only get worse as she gets older. And Katherine’s lifestyle outside of the business isn’t stable by any means.”
“I can’t just take her. I’ll need to go through the courts,” he said, glancing over his shoulder towards the bedroom.
“The choice is yours, but I think you need to think hard on what you’re condemning her to if you leave her here.”
Vlad stared at Angela. That was the kicker all right. If nothing else, he could provide an abuse-free house, even if it wouldn’t necessarily be traditional or overly loving. “I can do stable.”
“That’s better then what she’s got now.”
He nodded, suddenly decided. “We’ll go right now. A judge would be mad not to grant emergency custody even to me. Would you…?”
“If I need to take her for an interim, I’d be happy to,” Angela said.
A small voice spoke up from the doorway. “What’s goin’ on, Angela?”
The woman glanced at Vlad and raised an eyebrow.
He stood uncertainly and went to crouch in front of his daughter. “Sage, has your mama ever told you who your father is?”
She shook her head. “No, bu’ she says I look like him. She doesn’t like my eyes.”
“You do look a lot like him and you have the same eyes as his sister and brother.”
Her eyes widened a little. “How d’you know?”
“Because they’re my brother and sister.”
Now they went positively round, darting to Angela and back to him. “You’re my daddy?”
“Yes.”
“Why’d you come now? D’you know about Mama?” she asked, shrewd already at three.
“I do now and I want to take you home with me so that your mother can’t hurt you any more.”
She hesitated, glancing again at Angela, who, Vlad reflected, was probably the only responsible adult in her life. “I dunno if Mama will let me go,” she said finally.
“You let me worry about that, okay? It might take a couple days until I can get custody,” - at her confused look, he realized he’d have to elaborate - “until I can officially take you with me, so you’ll stay with Angela, okay?”
“’kay,” she said and smiled shyly.
**
Ani stared, flabbergasted, as her brother walked through the door, holding the hand of a wide-eyed little girl with very familiar features. Jakium lurked a step behind her, peering past her and glancing between Ani and his new employer, obviously not sure what was going on. “What…?” was the best Ani could manage.
“Ani, Jakium, this is Sage, my daughter.”
“Your what??” Ani burst and then felt instantly guilty as the little girl cringed, half hiding behind Vlad’s leg.
“My daughter. I didn’t know about her until after I reached Greensward. She’s going to live with us now.”
It was on the tip of Ani’s tongue to ask why when she saw the loosely tied bandage around the girl’s arm. She knelt down to Sage’s level. “What happened to your arm?”
“Got burned,” she said, peeking out at her and Jakium.
“Her mother’s been abusing her,” Vlad said shortly.
Ani didn’t get up, but glanced between her brother and the girl. “When was the last time she got a fresh bandage?”
“Angela did it last night ‘fore…‘fore I got picked up,” she said, sliding out from behind Vlad’s leg.
She offered the toddler her hand. “Then it’s past time to change it again. I’m Ani. Your, well, I guess your aunt, but you can just call me Ani, okay?”
Sage nodded, taking it.
“And that’s Jaks. He’s new here too, so you two can get used to the house and everything together, okay?”
“’kay,” she said and smiled shyly at the fourteen-year-old.
Jaks grinned back. “Nice to meet you, Sage.”
She clutched Ani’s hand more tightly. “You too,” she said quietly.
Ani glanced at Vlad again, not surprised to see her brother looking a bit shellshocked. Her brother exhibited hermit-like tendencies at the best of times. Having two children in the house seemed about ready to do him in already. “We’ll talk later, Vlad.”
He nodded and let Jaks take Sage’s bag. “Where is she going to sleep?” the boy asked.
“That’s a good question,” Ani said. There were plenty of bedrooms in the old house but most hadn’t been used more then perhaps a handful of times since before Vlad was born. The only clean ones were the master bedroom, which Vlad had taken over after Edward’s death, her room, the small old nurse’s room where they’d stashed Jakium and Vlad and Sorin’s childhood room, which Vlad had, thus far, demanded be left open.
“Why doesn’t she stay with me tonight?” Jaks suggested when her brother just looked about to bolt.
“What do you think, Sage? We’ll find you your own room tomorrow.”
She nodded and her injured arm twitched, thumb edging towards her mouth before she hastily dropped it. Ani, even from Vlad’s very short explanation, could only imagine what Sage’s mother might have done to try and stop a thumb-sucking habit.
**
Sage traced her fingers along the words on the page, wondering what they meant. She glanced up at Jakium’s back as the older boy worked on something at his desk. Their desk, she guessed, since no one had tried to make her move off the pallet on his floor, for which she was grateful. She bit her lip, wanting to ask him for help, but not quite daring. Although a month had passed since she’d moved in with him, Ani and her father, she was still afraid to ask for anything.
She knew it and her tendency to blend in to the background drove her aunt nuts, but it was better than being noticed. Vladimir was her father, but something about him made her nervous, just like the boyfriends always had. Ani didn’t, Ani felt like Angela and Jakium was…just nice. He was an Angela too.
Sage sighed quietly and returned her gaze to the book, but Jakium must have heard some bit of the movement because he looked up and smiled. “What are you reading, Sage?”
She frowned, not fully understanding the question. “I’m not readin’. Dunno how.”
“You strike me as a smart kid. Bet we could teach you.”
Instantly, she shook her head, scooting an inch or two further from him on his bed. “Uh uh, don’t wanna be a bother.”
“Sage, kid, you’re not and Ani would agree.” His forehead furrowed slightly. “Your dad’s a busy enough guy I wouldn’t ask him, but I’m sure he’d be proud of you.”
“You’re busy.”
“Not with anything that can’t wait.” The fourteen-year-old stood and flipped through the books on the shelves above his desk before coming over and sitting down next to her. “Let’s start with your alphabet. Do you know your letters?” He opened the book to a list of letters, shapes she recognized but didn’t know what they meant.
She searched the list though and carefully pointed at the S. “S for Sage,” she said proudly. Angela had taught her that one.
He grinned. “That’s right! Know any others?”
She touched the A. “A for Angela.” Then something occurred to her. “A for Ani too!”
“Yup. Good job.”
She glanced up at him and cautiously scooted closer so that their arms were touching. Thankfully, Jakium didn’t react but instead started to point out the other letters.
**
“I’ll go back to school if you let Sage go too,” Jakium said.
Ani frowned at the fifteen year old. “Jaks, Sage is barely four. Kids don’t usually go to school until the fall after their fifth birthday.”
“She already knows more than I did when I started. She can read simple books and knows had to add and subtract low numbers, let alone knowing them.”
She let out a breath. “I’m not sure Vlad will agree.”
She could tell the boy was barely biting back a scowl. “So just tell him. He’s not going to care. Sage needs to get to know kids her own age.”
“He’s still her father,” she said quietly, even if her brother had barely said ten words to Sage in a year. The local school does have a preschool for kids whose parents work. I might be able to get her into that for the rest of the year.” She then made a face at Jaks as the triumph lit in his eyes. “Off to work with you or you’ll be late,” she said, making a shooing motion. “Get going.”
He grinned and slipped by her into the kitchen. “See you after work, Sage.”
She peeked in in time to see her niece offer a wave and then return to her drawing, breakfast forgotten at her elbow. She studied the child, small for her four years, while the girl’s attention was elsewhere. Jakium was right. It would do her good to get out of this house more often than errands with Ani or to go play at the park with Jaks during his bits of spare time. She just wasn’t sure how to bring it up to Vlad or convince him.
It turned out to be easier than she expected. She caught Vlad after work that evening. “Vlad, I need to talk to you,” she said, glad to have caught him before his advisors or whatever he called them showed.
“Yes?” he asked, distracted.
“It’s about Sage.”
That got his attention at least. “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine, but I’ve been thinking it might be time to socialize her a bit more.”
“She’s only just four.”
Ani smiled slightly. “Just because we never left the house until we went to school doesn’t mean that Sage should. She’s scared to death of everyone but us, Vlad. We both know her mother did that to her. She needs time to adjust before she heads to school in the fall.”
His forehead creased. “She won’t turn five until next spring.”
“And she’s as smart as Sorin, so what’s your point?” she said, annoyance flaring. “She’ll be close enough in age that she’ll do fine.”
“Jakium put you up to this, didn’t he?”
“Does that matter?”
He frowned. “No, I suppose not. Very well. If you can figure out a way to do it, go right ahead.”
Ani beamed and gave him a hug, even if she knew he wouldn’t really appreciate it. “Thank you!” she said and bounced off, wondering how to break the news to Sage once she got her in. She doubted the girl would be a huge fan of the plan.
She was not disappointed. The morning of her first day of ‘school’ dawned bright and devoid of a small four-year-old. After a half hour of hard looking in all Sage’s usual places, she returned to the kitchen and froze in surprise. Sitting at the table, nice as you please, was Sage, poking at a piece of toast that Jakium must have made her. Both kids looked up at her and Sage smiled hesitantly even as she hunched slightly, still afraid she’d be yelled at or hit even after the year.
Ani decided it was best not to mention it at all. “You two about ready? It’s almost time for Sage and I to leave.”
“Can Jaks come with us to my school too?” Sage asked, suddenly sitting up. “It’s on the way to the warehouse!”
She smiled. “Of course.”
**
Sage slipped silently down the stairs on cat’s feet. The five-year-old strained her ears, able to hear voices and she followed them down to the kitchen. She crouched just outside the door, surprised to hear Sorin and Ani talking in low voices. As far as she had been able to tell before this, her aunt and uncle had barely said a dozen words to each other that weren’t greetings or basic communication since Sorin had moved back into the house.
“Vladimir is going down a dangerous path.”
“I’m not stupid, Sorin,” Ani said, sounding tired. “You’re right there with him.”
Sage really wanted a glass of water, but figured she could wait until they were done.
“And I promised him I would be. But you didn’t. Neither did Sage or Jakium.”
The girl risked peeking into the kitchen. Sorin had papers spread all over the kitchen table. Ani stood at the counter, back half to him, staring out the window.
“What do you want me to do about it?” she asked. “We’re less than perfect, but we’re their homes, especially Sage. Even after almost a year of school, she still barely talks to anyone but me and Jaks. Her mother did a lot of damage.”
“And Vladimir’s done almost as much in a more in direct fashion. I suspect, given some time, Sage would be perfectly normal if raised outside this household. We have never done normal and it is unfair of us to twist Sage into it.”
“That’s not fair, Sorin. I’ve done a good job with her.”
Her brother sighed. “That’s not what I meant to imply. Away from our influence, I have no doubt you would continue to do a great job with Sage and draw her out.” He stood, gently caught her elbow and turned her towards him. “You need to take the kids and leave. Now. Before it’s too late.”
Sage pulled her head back and pressed up against the wall. She knew she was less than normal but she didn’t want things to change again. Her father was distant and weird but she knew he would never purposely harm her and she liked Sorin and his quiet ways. He was like her. She liked to creep in where he was working and take up a small spot on his chosen table for her homework. He didn’t smile, but she just knew he liked her and having her around. So why did he want to send her away now?
Ani let out a breath. “I can’t leave, Sorin. You and Vlad need me.”
“Not as much as they do.”
“Jaks is an adult now.”
“Anica, you’re avoiding the point. What about Sage?”
There was silence long enough that Sage risked another peek. Sorin still held Ani’s arm and her aunt gripped the counter tightly enough her knuckles were white. “Don’t make me choose,” she whispered finally.
“I have to. What will happen to either of them, but especially Sage if this all goes down? This is no place for a child. I’d rather Jakium not be here either but he, at least, can take care of himself.”
“There has to be another way.”
Sorin let go of her and stepped back. “There might be,” he said after a moment. “Give me a couple of days.”
Ani nodded. “I’m going for a walk,” she said quietly and slipped out the door. Sage thought it was an awfully odd time to go for a walk, but then, the three adults in her life often made odd decisions like that.
“Do you need a glass of water, Sage?” Sorin said, turning to face the doorway.
She instinctively shied back before realizing it would do no good, so she crept out into the flickering light of the kitchen.
“How long were you listening?” he asked as he moved to pour her a glass.
“While,” she said softly, dropping her gaze to the ground and clasping her hands together.
“Sage,” he said gently, crouching down in front of her and offering the glass. “No one’s going to ever hit or hurt you again, okay? Even if your father, Anica or I aren’t around, Jakium will always make sure of that, okay?”
She nodded. “I know.” His tone made her feel brave enough to ask a question. “Why do you want to send me away?”
He let out a breath and sat back on his heels. “I don’t want to send you away, but it’s for your own safety. Your father and I are…not good people, Sage. We’re going to create a lot of trouble and it’s better for you if you’re not here in the middle of it.”
She frowned. “I like you.”
That got the closest to a smile out of him that she’d ever seen. “I like you too, kid. That’s not the point.”
“How can you be a bad person if you don’t hit and you’re nice to me and Ani and Jaks?”
“I notice you’re not including your father in that.”
She cringed, wondering if she’d said something wrong, but she was pretty sure he thought it was kind of funny, from his tone. “Father’s different,” she said, ducking her head, before something occurred to her. “You didn’t answer my question!” she said accusingly and then really hoped he was nice like Jakium, like she thought he was, since she didn’t speak to anyone else like that.
“No, I didn’t. It’s complicated, Sage, and while I’m sure you’d understand since you’re smart, it’s not necessary you do. Now, it’s late and you’ve got school in the morning.” He made a slight shooing motion. “Off to bed with you, kid.”
She nodded, hesitated and then hugged him, feeling somehow that Sorin just needed one. After a moment, he returned it and then gave her a gentle push towards the door. She obediently trotted that way, glancing back at the doorway to find that he’s settled into one of the kitchen chairs, grabbed a fresh paper and was writing furiously.
*
Jakium finished hitching the small wagon to the horse and turned to face the others. He didn’t feel fully comfortable with leaving. He felt he owed the family something, felt he owed Vladimir something for pulling him out of Holly. And running away before dawn with the man’s five-year-old daughter seemed like an awfully poor way of repaying the man, but Sorin and Ani had sat him down in the middle of the night, once they were sure it was a night when Vladimir wouldn’t come home, and had explained everything to him. There had been surprises for everyone, since Ani hadn’t even known where they were headed - or about Dean - until Sorin had explained it to both of them. He’d certainly gotten enough from his old guardian to know things were not right around this house and this had only served to confirm it.
He glanced at Ani, who held a half asleep Sage in her arms. It was the only time Jaks had ever seen the girl allow anyone to pick her up, so he knew she somehow had either sensed the gravity or knew more than he had before tonight, considering they’d only just woke her up.
Sorin hefted Sage’s bag into the wagon and then held out a slip of paper. “Directions to my in-laws. They’ve agreed to take you in and you’ll be safe there. Vladimir has no idea about them or Dean.” Then he turned to his sister. “Ani…”
“Don’t start with me, Sorin,” she said thickly, obviously on the edge of tears. “We’ve already had this argument. My fate lies with yours, whether you like it or not.”
He nodded slowly. “Then it’s time for you two to go. Vladimir won’t be back until late this afternoon. It will give you plenty of time to make tracks.”
“What if he comes after us?” Jakium asked.
“I’ll make sure he doesn’t. He’s not so far gone yet that he won’t see reason. He does love Sage in his own way and, I think, you as well.”
Sage shifted now and hugged Ani around the neck. “I’ll miss you,” she said quietly.
Ani forced a smile she obviously didn’t feel and wrapped her arms a little tighter around Sage’s small body. “I’ll miss you too, Sage. You take care of Jaks and your cousin for me, okay?”
Sage nodded and slid out of Ani’s grip before moving over and hugging Sorin. “I still like you,” she murmured, startling a half-laugh out of the man.
“I still like you too,” he said and smoothed down her hair before hefting her up and setting her on the small wagon seat beside where Jakium would sit. The teen had moved to hug Ani and now offered his hand to Sorin.
“Good luck, sir.”
“It’s Sorin,” the man corrected. “Take good care of the kids. Cedric and Anna aren’t getting any younger.”
“Always,” he said and then glanced between the two of them. “You should come too,” he said on impulse. “Why…”
Sorin and Ani exchanged a glance he couldn’t read, filled with all their years together and even those apart. “Don’t you worry about us, Jakium. We’ll take care of things on this end. You focus on your life.”
He nodded and climbed up beside Sage. “Hup,” he said, shaking the reins and the horse set off. Both of them tried to resist looking back, but turned before the last turn away from the house. Sorin had his arm around Ani as they stood watching the two kids move further away.
“We’re never gonna see them again,” Sage whispered at the same time that the same feeling condensed in Jakium’s stomach.
“Of course we are,” he said as confidently as he could.
She turned back around, expression doubtful, but she said nothing more as they headed south to yet another new life.
Story: Nothing is Ever Easy universe, Pre-NIEE
Challenges: Pickle 6 (baby blues - My Treat: Vlad walks out), Watermelon 14 (you haven’t seen the last of me), Apple Pie 1 (home sweet home)
Toppings & Extras: Malt (Marina’s Truth or Dare: Vlad takes Sage and raises her after Edward dies. What happens?), Chopped Nuts, Hot Fudge, Brownie
Word Count: 5,090
Rating: PG-13 (warning: off-screen child abuse)
Summary: Sage is his daughter.
Notes: The first part is true to canon. Vlad coming back, however unintentional, is not. Combining two personal prompts from Marina into one story. Mainly takes place around the same time as Jakium’s brownie and about a year after Edward’s death. Still chugging along on the Pickle My Treat - this one gave me some fits and starts.
When Katherine insisted they go somewhere nice that evening, Vlad had a feeling things were about to go wrong. Part of what he liked about Katherine was that she was easy and didn’t dictate much, even if she was clingy when he was around. If that was changing, it was time to walk away.
Halfway through dinner, she dropped the shocker, beaming like an idiot. “I’m pregnant, Vlad, isn’t that wonderful?”
He stared at her. What in the name of the gods was he supposed to do with a child? Then his brain kicked in. This was Katherine, Miss Orphanage herself, who had gushed almost since the day they’d met about children and wanting one of her own. Almost as often as her professions of eternal love.
“Whose kid is it?” he asked and almost felt guilty at her hurt expression.
“Yours, Vlad,” she said, with big brown eyes. “I told you. There’s been no one else since you.”
Vlad eyed her. He’d known from day one that Katherine Weis was looking to put herself in a better situation. It was evident she enjoyed the children but running what amounted to her own business didn’t suit her. She wanted something easy and now she was grasping at any way possible to pin him down. He was just deciding to play along - the sex was good - when she opened her mouth again.
“I was thinking,” she said with a coy smile. “We should probably get married before the child comes.” She placed a hand on her stomach.
He stood, staring down at her coldly. “Nice try. I wouldn’t marry you even if I was certain the child is mine and that, certainly, is in doubt. In fact, you’re probably lying about being pregnant at all.” Vlad saw the devastation on her face and ignored it, spinning on his heel and stalking from the restaurant.
**
Although he traveled to Greensward frequently in the next years, he made sure to generally steer clear of the part of town where Katherine Weis lived. Almost four years later, he found himself in Greensward, waiting a few days before doing a hopefully large hiring and he stumbled upon the girl quite by accident. The quickest way to his meeting was through Katherine’s neighborhood and he headed that way with Bert and two others, talking business. What drew his attention was the sounds of a small child crying. It only took him a moment to place it was coming from a brown-haired toddler, who sat on a stoop next to a woman about Vlad’s age.
“All right, kiddo, deep breaths. I can’t help if you won’t let me look at it.”
The little girl, who was rubbing her eyes furiously with the back of one arm, clutched the other arm to her tightly. “Hurts, Angela,” she managed between sobs.
Vlad paused, not sure why he did even as his steps slowed. Perhaps something of the encounter reminded him of countless times with Ani. Angela reached out a hand and gently pulled the arm away and examined it, obviously wincing. “Did she put cold water on it? Or ice?”
The girl shook her head and Angela sighed and then looked up, meeting Vlad’s gaze seemingly by accident. Instantly, she glared. “Do you have a problem, sir?”
A little taken aback, Vlad shook his head. “No, I just...is she okay?” he asked, nodding at the little girl.
“I don’t believe that’s any of your concern,” Angela snapped.
Then the toddler looked up, still sniffling, and Vlad’s heart stopped. He found himself staring into familiar eyes - Ani’s eyes, Sorin’s eyes, his mother’s eyes. He stepped forward. “Who is she?”
Angela put a protective arm around the girl. “I don’t see how that’s possibly any of your business.”
He did some quick math. If Katherine had been telling the truth, then their child would be about three, just where he estimated this girl to be. And this was her neighborhood. “Is she, by any chance, Katherine Weis’ daughter?”
Angela’s eyes narrowed. “Who the hell are you?”
“I’m Vlad Opalin.”
She stared at him and the little girl used the distraction to pull her arm away and cradle it to her chest. When Angela said nothing, Vlad approached, crouching in front of the toddler. “Can I see your arm?” She hesitated, glancing at Angela who, to his surprise, nodded slightly. The girl offered her arm out. Vlad took it gently, examining the nasty burn sloppily running the course of her forearm. “What happened?” he asked softly.
“Got burned,” she said, eyeing him shyly.
“How?”
Again, she glanced at Angela.
“Are you telling the truth?” the woman asked. “Are you really Vladimir Opalin?”
“Yes.”
She studied him. “Then we need to talk. Are you busy?”
He glanced over his shoulder where the other three waited. “No, they can handle it.” He raised his voice. “Winston, you’re in charge. Get the agreement signed and I’ll see you back at the inn later, okay?”
“Sure thing, boss,” Winston said, tossing him a loose salute and corralling the other two off.
As soon as the three men had disappeared out of sight, Angela looked at the girl. “Tell him what happened, Sage.”
“I burned the soup.”
Vlad frowned, unable to immediately reconcile burned soup with the nasty looking injury on the girl’s arm. “How did…?”
“Mama said was to teach me not to.”
Vlad’s eyes went wide and he looked up at Angela. The woman now stood and took the girl’s free hand, pulling her to her feet. “Come on, Sage, let’s go get something on the burn and then you can play with my dolls for a while, okay?”
The little girl brightened and she bounded up the stairs ahead of them. Angela gestured for Vlad to follow and led him up to a small but well decorated flat on the second floor. “Have a seat. I’m just going to get Sage settled and then we can talk.”
He nodded, still dumbfounded, and sat down where he could see into the kitchen. Angela scooped the toddler up, plopped her in a chair and quickly spread some burn ointment over her arm. The little girl took it with a world weariness that no three-year-old should have but that Vlad was very familiar with. “All right, kid,” Angela said, “but remember, be careful with them.”
“Okay,” Sage said, hopping off the chair and scampering past Vlad - eyeing him all the while out of the corner of her eye - into what he assumed was Angela’s bedroom.
The woman appeared in the kitchen door and waved him in. “Until I know more, I’d rather she know as little as possible. There’s no point raising her hopes,” she said coldly. “Water?”
“Sure,” he said, carefully sitting in one of the chairs as she plunked a glass of water down in front of him and then sat down as well.
“You knew about her,” she said with all sorts of condemnation in her voice.
“No, well, yes, sort of. Katherine told me she was pregnant back at the beginning of her pregnancy, but I only even half believed she was pregnant and much less than half believed the kid could be mine.”
“Katherine has sworn since day one that Sage is yours. She insisted you’d come back to her.”
“To be honest, I’d all but forgotten. I never…did Katherine do that to Sage?”
“No doubt and it’s not the first time she’s done something like it, although it’s the worst that I know about.”
“Why haven’t you said anything or turned her in?” Vlad snapped, unable to help his anger even if he’d wanted to.
“What’s the point?” Angela shot back. “In case you’d somehow missed it, Katherine runs the only damn orphanage around.”
“There are other orphanages in Greensward.”
“And now there’s you.”
Vlad let out a breath. “I don’t know the first thing about raising a child. And there’s Katherine to deal with. I haven’t been here for three years.”
Angela waved away his concerns. “Katherine hates that little girl possibly more than she loves her, because she looks like you and your family. I knew she didn’t look like Katherine, but I’d never imagined how right she was until now.”
He frowned. “I’m not coming back to her. I’d take the girl, my daughter, and I’d take her away from Greensward.”
“Good,” she said, leaning back, “if you can provide a stable, loving home for her.”
He rubbed his face. His home wasn’t exactly the right environment for a child, even with Edward a year in the ground. He was unlikely to make a good father - he was self-aware enough to know that - but Ani would likely love having a child around and it would give her something to do. “I’m not a father. I’m a businessman,” he said. Even taking that new boy in, the one Ani was finishing up the guardianship paperwork for in Holly, was a business decision. He would be useful at work and possibly down the road.
“Should I call Sage back in here so you can take a nice long look at that burn?” Angela asked flatly. “I don’t see you denying she’s your daughter, so step up. I think you and I both know the abuse will only get worse as she gets older. And Katherine’s lifestyle outside of the business isn’t stable by any means.”
“I can’t just take her. I’ll need to go through the courts,” he said, glancing over his shoulder towards the bedroom.
“The choice is yours, but I think you need to think hard on what you’re condemning her to if you leave her here.”
Vlad stared at Angela. That was the kicker all right. If nothing else, he could provide an abuse-free house, even if it wouldn’t necessarily be traditional or overly loving. “I can do stable.”
“That’s better then what she’s got now.”
He nodded, suddenly decided. “We’ll go right now. A judge would be mad not to grant emergency custody even to me. Would you…?”
“If I need to take her for an interim, I’d be happy to,” Angela said.
A small voice spoke up from the doorway. “What’s goin’ on, Angela?”
The woman glanced at Vlad and raised an eyebrow.
He stood uncertainly and went to crouch in front of his daughter. “Sage, has your mama ever told you who your father is?”
She shook her head. “No, bu’ she says I look like him. She doesn’t like my eyes.”
“You do look a lot like him and you have the same eyes as his sister and brother.”
Her eyes widened a little. “How d’you know?”
“Because they’re my brother and sister.”
Now they went positively round, darting to Angela and back to him. “You’re my daddy?”
“Yes.”
“Why’d you come now? D’you know about Mama?” she asked, shrewd already at three.
“I do now and I want to take you home with me so that your mother can’t hurt you any more.”
She hesitated, glancing again at Angela, who, Vlad reflected, was probably the only responsible adult in her life. “I dunno if Mama will let me go,” she said finally.
“You let me worry about that, okay? It might take a couple days until I can get custody,” - at her confused look, he realized he’d have to elaborate - “until I can officially take you with me, so you’ll stay with Angela, okay?”
“’kay,” she said and smiled shyly.
**
Ani stared, flabbergasted, as her brother walked through the door, holding the hand of a wide-eyed little girl with very familiar features. Jakium lurked a step behind her, peering past her and glancing between Ani and his new employer, obviously not sure what was going on. “What…?” was the best Ani could manage.
“Ani, Jakium, this is Sage, my daughter.”
“Your what??” Ani burst and then felt instantly guilty as the little girl cringed, half hiding behind Vlad’s leg.
“My daughter. I didn’t know about her until after I reached Greensward. She’s going to live with us now.”
It was on the tip of Ani’s tongue to ask why when she saw the loosely tied bandage around the girl’s arm. She knelt down to Sage’s level. “What happened to your arm?”
“Got burned,” she said, peeking out at her and Jakium.
“Her mother’s been abusing her,” Vlad said shortly.
Ani didn’t get up, but glanced between her brother and the girl. “When was the last time she got a fresh bandage?”
“Angela did it last night ‘fore…‘fore I got picked up,” she said, sliding out from behind Vlad’s leg.
She offered the toddler her hand. “Then it’s past time to change it again. I’m Ani. Your, well, I guess your aunt, but you can just call me Ani, okay?”
Sage nodded, taking it.
“And that’s Jaks. He’s new here too, so you two can get used to the house and everything together, okay?”
“’kay,” she said and smiled shyly at the fourteen-year-old.
Jaks grinned back. “Nice to meet you, Sage.”
She clutched Ani’s hand more tightly. “You too,” she said quietly.
Ani glanced at Vlad again, not surprised to see her brother looking a bit shellshocked. Her brother exhibited hermit-like tendencies at the best of times. Having two children in the house seemed about ready to do him in already. “We’ll talk later, Vlad.”
He nodded and let Jaks take Sage’s bag. “Where is she going to sleep?” the boy asked.
“That’s a good question,” Ani said. There were plenty of bedrooms in the old house but most hadn’t been used more then perhaps a handful of times since before Vlad was born. The only clean ones were the master bedroom, which Vlad had taken over after Edward’s death, her room, the small old nurse’s room where they’d stashed Jakium and Vlad and Sorin’s childhood room, which Vlad had, thus far, demanded be left open.
“Why doesn’t she stay with me tonight?” Jaks suggested when her brother just looked about to bolt.
“What do you think, Sage? We’ll find you your own room tomorrow.”
She nodded and her injured arm twitched, thumb edging towards her mouth before she hastily dropped it. Ani, even from Vlad’s very short explanation, could only imagine what Sage’s mother might have done to try and stop a thumb-sucking habit.
**
Sage traced her fingers along the words on the page, wondering what they meant. She glanced up at Jakium’s back as the older boy worked on something at his desk. Their desk, she guessed, since no one had tried to make her move off the pallet on his floor, for which she was grateful. She bit her lip, wanting to ask him for help, but not quite daring. Although a month had passed since she’d moved in with him, Ani and her father, she was still afraid to ask for anything.
She knew it and her tendency to blend in to the background drove her aunt nuts, but it was better than being noticed. Vladimir was her father, but something about him made her nervous, just like the boyfriends always had. Ani didn’t, Ani felt like Angela and Jakium was…just nice. He was an Angela too.
Sage sighed quietly and returned her gaze to the book, but Jakium must have heard some bit of the movement because he looked up and smiled. “What are you reading, Sage?”
She frowned, not fully understanding the question. “I’m not readin’. Dunno how.”
“You strike me as a smart kid. Bet we could teach you.”
Instantly, she shook her head, scooting an inch or two further from him on his bed. “Uh uh, don’t wanna be a bother.”
“Sage, kid, you’re not and Ani would agree.” His forehead furrowed slightly. “Your dad’s a busy enough guy I wouldn’t ask him, but I’m sure he’d be proud of you.”
“You’re busy.”
“Not with anything that can’t wait.” The fourteen-year-old stood and flipped through the books on the shelves above his desk before coming over and sitting down next to her. “Let’s start with your alphabet. Do you know your letters?” He opened the book to a list of letters, shapes she recognized but didn’t know what they meant.
She searched the list though and carefully pointed at the S. “S for Sage,” she said proudly. Angela had taught her that one.
He grinned. “That’s right! Know any others?”
She touched the A. “A for Angela.” Then something occurred to her. “A for Ani too!”
“Yup. Good job.”
She glanced up at him and cautiously scooted closer so that their arms were touching. Thankfully, Jakium didn’t react but instead started to point out the other letters.
**
“I’ll go back to school if you let Sage go too,” Jakium said.
Ani frowned at the fifteen year old. “Jaks, Sage is barely four. Kids don’t usually go to school until the fall after their fifth birthday.”
“She already knows more than I did when I started. She can read simple books and knows had to add and subtract low numbers, let alone knowing them.”
She let out a breath. “I’m not sure Vlad will agree.”
She could tell the boy was barely biting back a scowl. “So just tell him. He’s not going to care. Sage needs to get to know kids her own age.”
“He’s still her father,” she said quietly, even if her brother had barely said ten words to Sage in a year. The local school does have a preschool for kids whose parents work. I might be able to get her into that for the rest of the year.” She then made a face at Jaks as the triumph lit in his eyes. “Off to work with you or you’ll be late,” she said, making a shooing motion. “Get going.”
He grinned and slipped by her into the kitchen. “See you after work, Sage.”
She peeked in in time to see her niece offer a wave and then return to her drawing, breakfast forgotten at her elbow. She studied the child, small for her four years, while the girl’s attention was elsewhere. Jakium was right. It would do her good to get out of this house more often than errands with Ani or to go play at the park with Jaks during his bits of spare time. She just wasn’t sure how to bring it up to Vlad or convince him.
It turned out to be easier than she expected. She caught Vlad after work that evening. “Vlad, I need to talk to you,” she said, glad to have caught him before his advisors or whatever he called them showed.
“Yes?” he asked, distracted.
“It’s about Sage.”
That got his attention at least. “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine, but I’ve been thinking it might be time to socialize her a bit more.”
“She’s only just four.”
Ani smiled slightly. “Just because we never left the house until we went to school doesn’t mean that Sage should. She’s scared to death of everyone but us, Vlad. We both know her mother did that to her. She needs time to adjust before she heads to school in the fall.”
His forehead creased. “She won’t turn five until next spring.”
“And she’s as smart as Sorin, so what’s your point?” she said, annoyance flaring. “She’ll be close enough in age that she’ll do fine.”
“Jakium put you up to this, didn’t he?”
“Does that matter?”
He frowned. “No, I suppose not. Very well. If you can figure out a way to do it, go right ahead.”
Ani beamed and gave him a hug, even if she knew he wouldn’t really appreciate it. “Thank you!” she said and bounced off, wondering how to break the news to Sage once she got her in. She doubted the girl would be a huge fan of the plan.
She was not disappointed. The morning of her first day of ‘school’ dawned bright and devoid of a small four-year-old. After a half hour of hard looking in all Sage’s usual places, she returned to the kitchen and froze in surprise. Sitting at the table, nice as you please, was Sage, poking at a piece of toast that Jakium must have made her. Both kids looked up at her and Sage smiled hesitantly even as she hunched slightly, still afraid she’d be yelled at or hit even after the year.
Ani decided it was best not to mention it at all. “You two about ready? It’s almost time for Sage and I to leave.”
“Can Jaks come with us to my school too?” Sage asked, suddenly sitting up. “It’s on the way to the warehouse!”
She smiled. “Of course.”
**
Sage slipped silently down the stairs on cat’s feet. The five-year-old strained her ears, able to hear voices and she followed them down to the kitchen. She crouched just outside the door, surprised to hear Sorin and Ani talking in low voices. As far as she had been able to tell before this, her aunt and uncle had barely said a dozen words to each other that weren’t greetings or basic communication since Sorin had moved back into the house.
“Vladimir is going down a dangerous path.”
“I’m not stupid, Sorin,” Ani said, sounding tired. “You’re right there with him.”
Sage really wanted a glass of water, but figured she could wait until they were done.
“And I promised him I would be. But you didn’t. Neither did Sage or Jakium.”
The girl risked peeking into the kitchen. Sorin had papers spread all over the kitchen table. Ani stood at the counter, back half to him, staring out the window.
“What do you want me to do about it?” she asked. “We’re less than perfect, but we’re their homes, especially Sage. Even after almost a year of school, she still barely talks to anyone but me and Jaks. Her mother did a lot of damage.”
“And Vladimir’s done almost as much in a more in direct fashion. I suspect, given some time, Sage would be perfectly normal if raised outside this household. We have never done normal and it is unfair of us to twist Sage into it.”
“That’s not fair, Sorin. I’ve done a good job with her.”
Her brother sighed. “That’s not what I meant to imply. Away from our influence, I have no doubt you would continue to do a great job with Sage and draw her out.” He stood, gently caught her elbow and turned her towards him. “You need to take the kids and leave. Now. Before it’s too late.”
Sage pulled her head back and pressed up against the wall. She knew she was less than normal but she didn’t want things to change again. Her father was distant and weird but she knew he would never purposely harm her and she liked Sorin and his quiet ways. He was like her. She liked to creep in where he was working and take up a small spot on his chosen table for her homework. He didn’t smile, but she just knew he liked her and having her around. So why did he want to send her away now?
Ani let out a breath. “I can’t leave, Sorin. You and Vlad need me.”
“Not as much as they do.”
“Jaks is an adult now.”
“Anica, you’re avoiding the point. What about Sage?”
There was silence long enough that Sage risked another peek. Sorin still held Ani’s arm and her aunt gripped the counter tightly enough her knuckles were white. “Don’t make me choose,” she whispered finally.
“I have to. What will happen to either of them, but especially Sage if this all goes down? This is no place for a child. I’d rather Jakium not be here either but he, at least, can take care of himself.”
“There has to be another way.”
Sorin let go of her and stepped back. “There might be,” he said after a moment. “Give me a couple of days.”
Ani nodded. “I’m going for a walk,” she said quietly and slipped out the door. Sage thought it was an awfully odd time to go for a walk, but then, the three adults in her life often made odd decisions like that.
“Do you need a glass of water, Sage?” Sorin said, turning to face the doorway.
She instinctively shied back before realizing it would do no good, so she crept out into the flickering light of the kitchen.
“How long were you listening?” he asked as he moved to pour her a glass.
“While,” she said softly, dropping her gaze to the ground and clasping her hands together.
“Sage,” he said gently, crouching down in front of her and offering the glass. “No one’s going to ever hit or hurt you again, okay? Even if your father, Anica or I aren’t around, Jakium will always make sure of that, okay?”
She nodded. “I know.” His tone made her feel brave enough to ask a question. “Why do you want to send me away?”
He let out a breath and sat back on his heels. “I don’t want to send you away, but it’s for your own safety. Your father and I are…not good people, Sage. We’re going to create a lot of trouble and it’s better for you if you’re not here in the middle of it.”
She frowned. “I like you.”
That got the closest to a smile out of him that she’d ever seen. “I like you too, kid. That’s not the point.”
“How can you be a bad person if you don’t hit and you’re nice to me and Ani and Jaks?”
“I notice you’re not including your father in that.”
She cringed, wondering if she’d said something wrong, but she was pretty sure he thought it was kind of funny, from his tone. “Father’s different,” she said, ducking her head, before something occurred to her. “You didn’t answer my question!” she said accusingly and then really hoped he was nice like Jakium, like she thought he was, since she didn’t speak to anyone else like that.
“No, I didn’t. It’s complicated, Sage, and while I’m sure you’d understand since you’re smart, it’s not necessary you do. Now, it’s late and you’ve got school in the morning.” He made a slight shooing motion. “Off to bed with you, kid.”
She nodded, hesitated and then hugged him, feeling somehow that Sorin just needed one. After a moment, he returned it and then gave her a gentle push towards the door. She obediently trotted that way, glancing back at the doorway to find that he’s settled into one of the kitchen chairs, grabbed a fresh paper and was writing furiously.
*
Jakium finished hitching the small wagon to the horse and turned to face the others. He didn’t feel fully comfortable with leaving. He felt he owed the family something, felt he owed Vladimir something for pulling him out of Holly. And running away before dawn with the man’s five-year-old daughter seemed like an awfully poor way of repaying the man, but Sorin and Ani had sat him down in the middle of the night, once they were sure it was a night when Vladimir wouldn’t come home, and had explained everything to him. There had been surprises for everyone, since Ani hadn’t even known where they were headed - or about Dean - until Sorin had explained it to both of them. He’d certainly gotten enough from his old guardian to know things were not right around this house and this had only served to confirm it.
He glanced at Ani, who held a half asleep Sage in her arms. It was the only time Jaks had ever seen the girl allow anyone to pick her up, so he knew she somehow had either sensed the gravity or knew more than he had before tonight, considering they’d only just woke her up.
Sorin hefted Sage’s bag into the wagon and then held out a slip of paper. “Directions to my in-laws. They’ve agreed to take you in and you’ll be safe there. Vladimir has no idea about them or Dean.” Then he turned to his sister. “Ani…”
“Don’t start with me, Sorin,” she said thickly, obviously on the edge of tears. “We’ve already had this argument. My fate lies with yours, whether you like it or not.”
He nodded slowly. “Then it’s time for you two to go. Vladimir won’t be back until late this afternoon. It will give you plenty of time to make tracks.”
“What if he comes after us?” Jakium asked.
“I’ll make sure he doesn’t. He’s not so far gone yet that he won’t see reason. He does love Sage in his own way and, I think, you as well.”
Sage shifted now and hugged Ani around the neck. “I’ll miss you,” she said quietly.
Ani forced a smile she obviously didn’t feel and wrapped her arms a little tighter around Sage’s small body. “I’ll miss you too, Sage. You take care of Jaks and your cousin for me, okay?”
Sage nodded and slid out of Ani’s grip before moving over and hugging Sorin. “I still like you,” she murmured, startling a half-laugh out of the man.
“I still like you too,” he said and smoothed down her hair before hefting her up and setting her on the small wagon seat beside where Jakium would sit. The teen had moved to hug Ani and now offered his hand to Sorin.
“Good luck, sir.”
“It’s Sorin,” the man corrected. “Take good care of the kids. Cedric and Anna aren’t getting any younger.”
“Always,” he said and then glanced between the two of them. “You should come too,” he said on impulse. “Why…”
Sorin and Ani exchanged a glance he couldn’t read, filled with all their years together and even those apart. “Don’t you worry about us, Jakium. We’ll take care of things on this end. You focus on your life.”
He nodded and climbed up beside Sage. “Hup,” he said, shaking the reins and the horse set off. Both of them tried to resist looking back, but turned before the last turn away from the house. Sorin had his arm around Ani as they stood watching the two kids move further away.
“We’re never gonna see them again,” Sage whispered at the same time that the same feeling condensed in Jakium’s stomach.
“Of course we are,” he said as confidently as he could.
She turned back around, expression doubtful, but she said nothing more as they headed south to yet another new life.