Series 6/Chapter 4: A FAMILIAR ANXIETY

COLLINSPORT 1920

It was late morning and Claudia was in the kitchen with baby Elizabeth feeding her a healthy fruit breakfast. Claudia had grown very fond of the baby over the last month and a half that she had been her new governess. They were distantly related and Claudia could feel the connection when Little Elizabeth looked at with those bright eyes and big smile lighting up any room she was in. 

As the baby played with her food, Vickie waked in dressed in her 1920's out fit, a mid-length blue dress with her hair straightened and slick. Pearls dangled from her neck all the way down to her waste. In her hands another darling baby that belonged to Caleb and Kat from 2016.

"Has he a name?" Claudia asked as she noticed the two walk in from behind.

"No, not yet. I'm not sure if I should name him." Vickie said as she sat him in a sold wood high-chair.

Claudia looked over at the boy who was now mashing his own banana in his high-chair with his hands. He had big blue eyes that seemed to look right through her, his olive skin was perfect and soft. He was beautiful.

"Everyone deserves a strong name. Even if it's just for a while." Claudia said noting that perhaps Caleb and Kat already had a name picked out for him in 2016, and anything they'd pick could be temporary.

"What do you think he looks like?" Vickie said smiling as she played with the baby boy and his food.

"Canan. I think we should call him Canan." Claudia said with a smile.

"Canan Collins..." Vickie replayed. "That's lovely. Does it have a meaning?"

"It means beloved, something we've all wanted, something we've all desired to be to someone else: " Claudia responded.

Vickie smiled and looked at the baby boy, then turned her attention to the little baby girl sitting across from her. Baby Elizabeth, who in 25 years would become her mother. Vickie was overcome with emotion at looking at her mother in her most innocent form. Knowing what she knew now, Vickie would never have done all the things she did. 

"I can't believe what I'm looking at." Vickie said as she walked over to baby Elizabeth after acknowledging Claudia's name choice . "All the years Elizabeth and I were together and I didn't even know she was my mother. Such a waist of time. I could have become so much closer to her had I know."

"Then why don't you stay Victoria. You can get close to your mother another way and watch her grow. You can help me be here and raise her and at least try and fix the things that went wrong in her life. From an outside perspective." Claudia said.

"But don't you see? One of her biggest things that went wrong was me, my conception...whatever we do here can alter the future; I never thought of that before we came. This whole situation was a mistake." Vickie said noting that her own existence could become null if she altered anything Elizabeth did throughout her life. 

Claudia digressed and sat back down with baby Elizabeth to feed her when in walked Catherine Collins, the lady of the house.

"Good morning! I can't believe how late I slept. It's almost 10:30...oh!  Hello!" The beautiful Catherine said noting Vickie and baby Canan in the room.

"Mrs. Collins, this is my mother Victoria, and my baby. This is my son Canan. I hope you don't mind, they arrived earlier then expected late last night and I put them up in the guest quarters in the south/east wing." Claudia said as reciting the story they all devised as a cover.

"Of course not! Welcome Victoria, its so nice to finally have you here. Claudia has told us so much about you and the baby. Oh....He's just such an angel! And what an interesting name. Canan." Catherine said with a wide smile. "Tell me, how was your trip?" 

"It went well, thank you for asking." A nervous Victoria said sitting down and turning back around to feed baby Canan.

"Busy morning in the kitchen, isn't it! Good morning ladies." Catherine's dashing husband Jamison said as he walked into the kitchen for his morning tea.

"Oh darling! Good morning, this is..." Catherine said before being interrupted by Jamison.

"Victoria and Claudia's son, yes, yes, I overheard as I was walking in. How do you do, Victoria?" Jamison said extending his hand.

"How do you do?" Victoria responded, still nervous they'd some how be discovered. 

"Victoria and the baby had a lovely trip to Collinsport, I for one am just very happy to have more people in this big house. It's such a beautiful property and now there's so much more life in it, don't you think Jamie?" The glowing Catherine said as she handed Jamison his tea.

"Yes, I do. Tell me, Mrs....?" He asked Vickie.

"Uhhh, Winters. Victoria Winters." Vickie responded.

"Winters? That's odd, that's not what Claudia said your last name was." Catherine interjected.

"It's her maiden name, she goes by that now that she's widowed." Claudia covered.

"Well, Mrs. Winters, how is that you came to Collinsport? We didn't hear you come up the drive last night. I usually wake quiet easily but not last night. Not a sound." Jamison suddenly questioned.

"Well we..." Vickie stammered as she looked over at Claudia.

They both felt a the adrenaline quickly rise, they hadn't expected any of the Collins members to ask such detailed questions, time travel isn't something on the daily agenda in 1920s Collinsport.

"Darling, it does't really matter, if anything I'm just glad you didn't wake up. He's such a sour puss when he's been up too late, you know how big boys can be. Come on now, Jamie you'll be late. I have the driver just out front waiting for you to get to the office, come on, come on!" Catherine said ushering Jamison out of the kitchen leaving Vickie and Claudia to take a deep sigh of relief. 

Out by the front entrance, Catherine gathered Jamison's large black jacket and placed it around his shoulders. She then went around him and dusted off the shoulders and tightened his bow tie.

"Smashing." She said of her handsome husband.

"Something seems off, don't you think?" Jamison asked Catherine.

"Off? What do you mean?" She questioned.

"Claudia's mother and that boy. She just told us about them a week ago, and out of no where they arrive, and in the middle of the night no less. Doesn't that strike you as odd?" Jamison questioned.

"Well I don't know. I haven't exactly read up on the speed of which one travels now at days, now darling, besides what does it matter? Claudia now has her own family here and we can feel comfortable that our baby will have a governess who feels more at home. And we have plenty of room." Catherine said as she kissed her husband on the lips. "Now, go on, go on, the office awaits!" She followed up with Jamison as he smiled at his wife who dashed back into the kitchen.

As Jamison made his way through the front foyer he passed the portrait of Barnabas Collins that clung to the wall as it always had. A strange chill sprung up his spine, like an icy wind from the arctic curling up inch by inch and bone by bone.

 He instantly turned to the painting that hung on the wall and stared at the face looking back at him. The face of his ancestral cousin Barnabas Collins. This feeling made Jamison extremely uneasy. There was suddenly something very strange in the air but he couldn't quite pin point it.

The hairs on the back of his neck lifted, Jamison shuttered as if to knock the strange vibe he was getting from the painting on the wall from his body. What ever he was sensing he could not pin point, but the threat of something great, something very big was afoot. He could feel it in his veins.

The familiar Collinwood fog crept over the front steps and the feeling of instant dread continued to wash all over Jamison.  He took another deep breath and wrapped his jacket around his shoulders a little tighter right before leaving the house and off to Collins Fishing Industries.

****

COLLINSPORT PRESENT TIME

At the Blue Whale, David met his son Caleb for an afternoon drink to unwind after a long morning. They kept to themselves in a corner booth and sipped on some local brewed ale. Caleb seemed jittery and nervous, and kept staring at the clock above David's head as if he were counting the seconds until they would be home again. After his ordeal with Victoria brain washing him, Caleb's nerves were constantly on edge.

"Take it easy son, just take it easy." David said as  he took a drink.

"I just feel the longer we're out here the less I know about whats happening with the baby. What if Barnabas comes back? I want to be there as soon as he does." Caleb answered.

"Son, we don't know if Barnabas is coming back. From what Joseph told us, if he actually did dip into some time vortex, anything can happen. We just don't know." David explained.

"But he has to come back Dad, he has to. If he doesn't come back then that means our baby wont come back. I don't know how Kat will go on without the baby. We've got to find a way. I'll do anything." Caleb replied.

"You know  how I feel about this kind of stuff. Dabbling in anything supernatural has gotten our family in some very deep waters. Whatever you have in mind, think again. I don't want you or Kat getting close to that." David ordered.

"So you just want us to sit back and do nothing? Dad, that doesn't sound like you. You would do anything to get to the bottom of situations like this, I know you would. What's going on?" David said taking a sip of his ale.

"All I want is for us to have some kind of normalcy. All throughout my childhood and adolescence, there was always something...some kind of attack or danger or whatever, and to be honest it had a lot to do with Barnabas. Caleb, I don't trust him. And I hope he never comes back." David said out right. 

"If he doesn't come back, then our  baby doesn't come back. Your grandchild--is that what you want to?" David questioned.

"Son, that's a risk I unfortunately am willing to take." David said in a huff as drank his ale.

"Well I don't think we're willing to take that risk. I'll do anything to find my kid, anything. If I have to go to Seaview House where Vickie was staying and try and re-create this time vortex I'll do it. I'll do anything." Caleb exclaimed.

"You're not listening to me at all." David said frustratingly.

"I'm listening, and frankly I can't believe what I'm hearing. What if this was you? Would you just leave me out there not know where I was? This is your flesh and blood we're talking about here Dad." Caleb reiterated.

"The dangers that Barnabas brings with him are beyond your comprehension. Trust me, from you haven't seen what Barnabas is capable. What he did to Vickie and our friend Maggie...God! What he did to me? I can't trust him! You shouldn't either. None of us should. This is what you need to understand." David said trying to keep his voice down in the bar.

"All of that was in the past---" Caleb responded as David interrupted

"Enough! Listen, son, I love you. You can do what you want. But I'm just going to warn you, whatever you get involved in, whatever happens count me out. I won't help you. " David said as he got up from the table leaving his drink half empty and his son in shock.

Caleb got up quickly too and followed his father out side of the bar as he walked back to his car. 

"Wait! Dad! Stop!" Caleb called as David turned around. "What's going on with you?" the son questioned.

David looked at Caleb, his son was standing there pleading with him to have some kind of empathy for the situation he was going through. His child was missing and in another dimension, but David couldn't feel anything. He was just blank and void, cold and hollow; and harboring the secret message Barnabas sent in the book, a message that could put the family at ease if they knew Barnabas had reached out.

"Look, I think it's better if we just let this go. We don't even know if Barnabas and Vickie made it to where ever they were going. If you just let it go, so many doors will open Son. You can start anew with Kat...you can!" David said in an oddly.

"You want us to just forget that we have a son somewhere out there? Dad we can't do that!" Caleb said, closing his jacket around his tight body as the autumn wind swam by rustling the leaves around their feet. 

"Just remember what I said, will you? Leave all the supernatural stuff out of your lives. Or else..." David said cryptically as he got into his car closed the door and drove off back to Collinwood leaving a shocked Caleb on the side of the street just out side of The Blue Whale. 

Caleb grabbed his phone and quickly dialed a number and sent a message:

"We need to talk. Now." The message read. 

****

As the day wore on, the members of the Collins family tried to live their daily lives as normal as they could as they awaited for news from Barnabas. Alex and Carolyn for their parts, took the day to relax with each other and take time to be together in town shopping.

They walked along the quaint streets of Collinsport, Carolyn dressed elegantly in a full length black coat and Alex in a peach pea-coat and matching peach beret. They laughed and giggled, allowing all the nightmarish moments of the past few months to fade away like the morning fog drifting further and further into the distance.

As the mother daughter duo window shopped in the town square, the felt like they were the only two women in the world. Mother and daughter, reconnecting it was a lovely moment for both, and as they entered a shop just off Main Street, it would become clear that that was all just a fantasy.

Following close behind was the stranger in town who broke into the old house. He had seen Carolyn and Alexandra leave that afternoon, and they sparked an interest in him. Especially the beautiful Alexandra.

The stranger followed most of the day, easily mixing in with the regular town's people, with this chiseled good looks and thick head of dark hair. He was sure to keep an eye on the Collins women all the while keeping a safe distance, but as they got to Main street and went into the latest shop, he wanted to get closer. He wanted to see just how close he could get. He wanted to be able to feel their energy and sense their life force, so he entered the shop just seconds after they did.

Carolyn and Alex were too busy enjoying their day together to even notice the shop girl much less the stranger following them. As they bounced around the various wracks of fine clothes and teased each other to buy silly top after silly top, the stranger was able to get close enough to actually say a few words, it was a risk he was taking, to open himself up to them so soon, but it was a risk he was willing to take just to hear Alex's voice for the very first time.

"Turquoise is not your color mother, I don't care what anyone tells you!" Alex laughed as she vetoed Carolyn's choice of blouse.

"Oh fine! But if you think anyone will take you seriously in florescent green, you're kidding yourself." Carolyn joked back.

"I think it looks quite nice on you." The stranger responded as he pretended to browse on a men's clothing wrack directly across from Alex and Carolyn.

Alex turned to her mother surprised at the stranger's take on the shirt and blushed.

"Thank you. But really it's  not something I would ware....well...ware out of the house at least." Alex joked.

"I can't imagine anything looking bad on you at all." the stranger said as he walked over to Alexandra. "I apologize, I don't mean to be so forward, I just feel like I haven't spoken a word to anyone in days. I'm new to town, so..." he added.

"Oh! Well, welcome to Collinsport. Where are you from?" Carolyn interjected walking close to Alex as the stranger also got close.

"Berlin. I worked there for many many years, and someone told me that there was a wonderful town I needed to visit, a town that was quite interesting. Historical too. I'm very interested in history and the back stories of towns like this. Anyway, Collinsport, seems just perfect for that sort of thing." The stranger responded.

"Berlin, but you don't have an accent. You sound American." Carolyn questioned.

"Mother." Alex said, embarrassed that her mother was giving a strange man the third degree.

"No,  no, she's right. I'm American, yes, but as I said I was in Berlin working. Have you two ladies lived in here all your lives?" The stranger asked, even though he was somewhat aware of who he was talking to.

"I was born and raised here, my daughter, Alexandra, was born in England. We just returned about a year ago. There was a death in the family." Carolyn explained.

"I'm very sorry to hear that. Who died?" The stranger continued.

"My husband, Jack. He was back in town on business and ....well, he passed on." Carolyn said skipping over the "whole turned into a vampire by a witch detail".

"Well, I am very sorry for your loss." The stranger said, grabbing Carolyn by the hand and kissing it. "I should be off. It was very nice to meet you both. I should hope this ins't our last interaction. He added.

"Surly." Carolyn said in a sort of daze.

Carolyn felt a bit stranger after he kissed her hand. There was something about the stranger's eyes that she felt was familiar. There was something about his smile, like she had seen it before. Was he someone that she had met, was he someone she had seen before somewhere. She couldn't tell for sure, but there familiarity was strong, it was bubbling up in her.

As he walked towards the door of the shop, Carolyn leaned into the clothing isle and called out to him.

"What did you say your name was?" Carolyn asked right before the stranger turned.

"I didn't. Nicholas. My name is Nicholas Blair." he said just before walking out the door.

Carolyn stood in the shop stiff as a board. Her eyes seemed to gloss over. That name, why did it make her feel this way? Why did is give her such anxiety so suddenly. Were had she heard that name before?

"Mother? Mother, are you ok?" What is is?" Alex said noting her mother's quick change in demeanor after Nicholas said his name.

"That man. There's something about that him. You haven't seen him before have you? I mean, does he seem familiar to you at all?" Carolyn asked in a confused state.

"Not at all, no. Do you recognize him?" Alex said, strumming through the wrack of clothes.

"I ....I don't know." Carolyn said in a whisper, still feeling a strange sensation from her interaction with Nicholas.

Across the street, Nicholas turned back and looked at the store, he lit a cigarette and smiled and evil grin. The smoke from the cigarette swirled around him and billowed into the chilly autumn air and disappeared after each puff. Now he knew exactly what he was meant to do back in Collinsport.

"Alexandra. How exquisite." Nicholas whispered to himself. "She will do just fine, just fine indeed." Nicholas added as he puffed away in the chill of the Collinsport air and continued to walk down Main street and dispersing into the distance.