Series 9/Chapter 10: A WHO DONE IT

A cold wind blew across the waves and over the small fishing village of Collinsport, Maine. This winter was one of the coldest on record and froze everything exposed to the elements. The streets were slick and  light posts around town were like glass ornaments from a Christmas tree, and at Collinsport Medical Center, the busy Emergency room filled with the cold and the infirm.

Just as blizzard fell over the town, the doors of the ER burst open. It was David and Siobhan who was in labor with their baby. She was sweating despite the immense cold, and needed all the help she could get.

"Sit here down right here!" A nurse said rushing over a wheelchair.

"Please help her! The baby isn't due until next month!" David said, his heart pounding in his ears.

"We'll take good care of her sir!" The nurse rattled on while David and Siobhan's interlocked hands slowly separated as she was wheeled off into a delivery room.

"I love you." Siobhan mouthed David got smaller and smaller and she was wheeled further and further down the hall.

"Sir, Please sit down, we'll let you go back in the room with her as soon as we get her ready to deliver." Another nurse said to a nervous David as she handed him a clipboard and paperwork to fill out.

Just as David scribbled his wife's information down on the papers, Sebastian and Serena had come down for a quick snack as they sat vigil near Andrew's bedside. As Sebastian turned from the vending machine with his drink, he slowly walked over to David who he was surprised to see.

"Mr. Collins?" David said, being as polite as possible as he was present when David's adopted son Christopher  died a few days before.

David looked up and gave an awkward smile.

"Hey Sebastian." David said extending his hand.

"What are you doing here?"

"My wife! She's gone into labor." David said, another nervous grin hiding the pain.

"Well congratulations!" Sebastian said as Serena walked over.

"It's one of those things, isn't it? You lose a child then gain a child. The circle of life." David said, his hurt still palpable.

"I want to say how sorry about about your son." Serena said, hiding the fact she was the reason he was killed in the first place.  Sebastian knowing this quickly got up from the seat next to David and interrupted before David would start asking questions.

"We both are, we'll leave you alone, I know you must have a lot going on." Sebastian said trying to make a quick leave.

"Why are you two here?" David asked.

Serena and Sebastian both looked at each other, how would they say that they were there with the man who now carried David's son's DNA. How could they come up with the words to explain themselves.

"Well..." Sebastian started.

"We were at the warehouse when Christopher was found. We...we're with the young man who was found there too." Serena said, laying it all out honestly.

David stood up. He had not known what happened to the other young man, Andrew. He was confused and a bit taken-aback.

"You're here with the other person?" David asked, the other two confirmed.

"His name is Andrew." Serena said softly.

For a moment, for a split second, David felt almost like Chris was alive too. Andrew had Chris' stem cells, his DNA in his body. Christopher's cells were alive and flowing too.

"I'd like to see him." David said, with a strange sounding voice almost as if he were going to see Christopher laying in the hospital bed.

Sebastian and Serena only looked at each other but did not deny David this request. They nodded and slowly walked over to a separate triage room where Andrew had been in that was just four rooms down from the entrance to the hall where Siobhan had been taken. They walked slowly and quietly and arrived to see Andrew slowly open his eyes again and look directly at David.

There was a silence and David smiled as he looked over at the young man who wasn't more than 28 years old, the same age as Chris.

Andrew continued to stare at David and as he did flashes came into his mind. It was David's face, it was David smiling. It was David in the foyer or Collinwood opening the door to him, it was David lighting the fire place, and handing him a drink. These were more memories that belonged to Christopher, and just before David turned around to leave Andrew spoke.

"Dad?"

David turned and looked at Andrew in shock. Serena and Sebastian too were locked in place with the surprise and confusion from what came out of Andrew's mouth.

Andrew felt strange but he couldn't fight the feeling he had deep inside. Andrew knew this wasn't his real father, he knew this man was technically a stranger, but there was no way around this new side of him, this new side that was completely evolved from Christopher's own mind.

"Mr. Collins!!! Come quick!!!" A nurse down the hall yelled for David to come to Siobhan's room.

David stuttered strangely and didn't know what to do. He stood in the doorway of Andrew's room and just stared at the young man looking back at him with this ghostly expression. No one knew what was happening in that small room.

David snapped out the strange trans quickly then excused himself to find his wife but staggered out of Andrew's room.

"I'm sorry, I have to go. I........." David said still confused. "I have to go." He said again leaving Sebastian and Serena in the room with Andrew who closed his eyes and fell back asleep.

Serena looked over at Sebastian and whispered softly: "What just happened?"

Andrew lay there confused and unsure, he turned away from Sebastian and Serena who stood at the foot of his bed, his eyes suddenly flashed a yellow glow before disappearing back into his warm brown natural color. The worry, however, remained on Andrew's face.

__

In the delivery room Siobhan was tossing and turning in her bed. She writhed and pulled on the sheets, screaming at the top of her lungs. She was sitting up with her legs up ready in the position for her baby to be born just as David walked in with the nurse. He rushed up to Siobhan and caressed her head, wiping the sweat away from her brow.


"He's coming. He's coming!" Siobhan said, her eyes filled with tears.

"He?" David asked with a grin. "How do you know it's a he?" He asked coyly.

Siobhan grimaced and growled a "I just do." right as the doctor came in.

"Alright Mr. and Mrs. Collins, are we ready for baby?" He said with a grin.

"Ready or not!" Siobhan said, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Mrs. Collins we're going to ask you to push now." The nurse said, her big blue eyes gazing down at Siobhan in the bed who nodded her head.

It seemed like it took a short quick time, but in reality, the baby's birth took three hours. Siobhan did all she could, she pushed, she screamed she yelled, she cried and David stood right by her side the whole time, holding her hand, kissing her head and loving on her the whole time. She was strong and she was powerful and just before the fourth hour of labor the baby was born.

"Well now!" The doctor said lifting the baby in the air for Siobhan to see. "You've got a boy here!"

"A boy!" David said, "I've got another son!"

"Let me hold him, let me hold him!" Siobhan said as the nurse with the big blue eyes passed the baby over to the mother.

The exhausted Siobhan kissed her baby on her bare chest. The little boy cuddles on her skin and looked up at her. His large eyes fixed on his mother's face then he began to cry.

"He's beautiful." The nurse said almost robotically.

"Ready dad?" The doctor said as he handed David scissors to cut the umbilical cord to which David smiled and snipped.

"Got a name yet?" The doctor asked.

"John. I want to name him John. John Collins." Siobhan answered.

"Well why don't I take baby John now wash him up and bring him back very shortly for mama's feeding? Ok?" The nurse said taking the baby with her.

Siobhan smiled and handed over her baby. The nurse took baby John and walked him down to the NIC-U where he would be washed and dressed and a photo of him would be taken. The nurse held the baby in her arms and lulled him to sleep with a sweet humming. She kissed his little head and put him down in a plastic bassinet marked with his name and as she passed a two-way mirror that allowed parents to look into the room with all the babies born that day, her reflection shot back not the face of the woman standing in the room but that of Angelique Bouchard, magically disguised as the nurse that helped deliver baby John.

"There, there baby John....don't cry." Angelique's voice said as the nurse. "I wont hurt you, no, no. That's not why I'm here. I have bigger plans for you and the Collins family. Much bigger plans." Then the nurse turned back to the two-way mirror but the real face reflected back, the cunning moon eyed glow of Angelique, smiling down at newborn John Collins.

****

The Collinsport Police station was old and smelled of dust and cigarette smoke that still lurked around the rafters from the 1960s. The walls were a limestone green and the windows were all encased in a grid that protected from people getting out---or was it from people getting in? The eight or nine uniformed police officers in the office were busily filling out paper work at their desks. There was a desk clerk at the front of the office nearest the door with a small fan on buzzing and buzzing pushing the stink of the old office away from his face. 

Then a woman walked in, chilled to the bone from the blizzard outside, and walked over to the clerk. She was beautiful. Her hair was dark and smooth and her eyes were like big brown pools of honey.

"I'm here to see Detective McGovern." She said to the clerk who looked up at her from his computer.

"Yeah? Who can I say is calling?" The clerk replied in a thick Boston accident as with bars of light crossing his face from the shades on the windows.

"Miss Devereaux. He's expecting me. I'm here to get my client out of jail with this bond." She said pulling out an envelope of money.

The clerk rolled his eyes, clearly hating his job, and buzzed Loomis McGovern's office. Loomis, who was recently promoted to Police Chief came out of his office and stood at the gate that separated the lobby from the actual area where the police officers were. He motioned for her to come to where he was.

"What can I do for you?" Loomis asked.

"For one you can get my client out of jail. Here." She said handing Loomis they money.

"Who's your client?" Loomis asked sarcastically.

"If you have more than one person back there that is expecting their lawyer I'll eat this money." Miss Devereaux said with a snarky tone joking on the small town's low crime rate--little did she know what town she was in.

"Well Miss..." Loomis said before being interrupted.

"My name is Quinn, ok? Look I don't have a lot of time. I came here to get my client out of jail and all the proper paperwork has been filed and is all set. You can call Judge Bennett if you want. But you're really starting to impede my on client's rights." Quinn answered. 

"Well, Miss Quinn Devereaux," Loomis said again attempting to buy time to keep Quinn's client locked up for as long as possible. "As soon as I sign off on his paperwork, he's yours." Loomis said, taking the envelope of money and handing it back to the clerk to process.

Two hours passed and Quinn was beginning to get more and more frustrated. She suddenly got up from her plush leather seat in the lobby and started walking over to the clerk when the front door opened and Alexandra Thorne walked in and cut her off. 

"I need to see Loomis. I need to see him right now!" She screamed at the Clerk as Quinn took a step back.

Loomis heard the commotion and quickly walked over.

"Alex? What's the matter?" Loomis asked grabbing her by both her forearms.

There was panic in her eyes. There was fear. There was an all out terror brewing inside of her. It had only been a few days since Chris had died but the trauma of his death and his kidnapping was still fresh in her mind and every waking moment she was tormented by his death. No matter how hard she tried to have a regular day, nothing seemed to fix it or at least calm the terrors. Nothing.

"I just need to see this man that did this to Chris. I need to talk to him and I need to know why! I need to know what he did and why he did it! Loomis, please!" Alex said, her voice clearly distressed.

"Alex you shouldn't have come down here. There's a blizzard and you're in no state to be out on the street driving. Where's your mom?" Loomis asked.

"I'm 25 years old. I'm not a child. I can do what I want." Alex said asserting herself while Quinn stood by listening. "Now are you going to let me see the man that killed Christopher or not?" 

"I'm not. Look, first of all it would be unethical for me to do that and second of all his lawyer is standing right be hind you." Loomis said as Alex turned to see Quinn.

"You're Jeffery Shaw's lawyer?" Alex asked Quinn who nodded yes. "How can you defend this man? He kinapped and killed my boyfriend!" Alex asked angrily. 

Quinn rolled her eyes slightly but said nothing but turned to Loomis and glared at him.

"I think its been long enough Chief McGovern. I want my client out now." Quinn scolded. 

"Out? Out? What is she talking about? Why is he going to be out?" Alex said as Jeffery began to make his way towards the front of the police station escorted by a police officer. 

"Finally." Quinn said under her breath. 

"Well, thank you for finally getting here." Jeffery said with an evil smirk to Quinn.

"I've been here for almost 3 hours." Quinn answered.

"You're Jeffery Shaw?" Alex asked.

"Who are you?" Jeffery asked turning to Alex who reached back with  her arm and swung it far across across Jeffery's face making a slap sound that echoed through the rafters of the old Collsinport police station.

"Alex! ALEX!" Loomis said as She lunged for Jeffery screaming at him.

"MURDERER! MURDERER!!!!" Alex screamed as Loomis and a police officer held her back.

"Let's go." Jeffery said as he massaged his face from Alex's slap. 

Quinn and Jeffery quickly got into her car and buckled up. She turned on the heater but kept the car in park.

"What the hell!" She screamed at him. "What am I going to do now? How am I going to get you off of this one?!" Quinn yelled at her client.

Jeffery never took his eyes off of the front door of the police station the whole time Quinn spoke to him. She continued to berate him about his lack of clarity and stupidity and how hard it was going to be for her to get him off murder charges. But Jeffery did say a word and continued to stare directly in front of him. 

"I can't promise you I can beat this charge!" Quinn yelled. "Jeffery. Jeffery! Are you listening?" She asked.

"All I want you to do is drive away from here and take me to my hotel." He growled as she sighed deeply. "Serena hasn't seen the last of me." He thought to himself. 

****

The Old House was dark. The lights in the drawing room were out. The candles burned slowly and were down to their last bits of wax that spilled and drizzled off their golden sticks and on to the carpeted floor. 

The wind from the blizzard caused the branches of the trees to scratch and slap the glass of the drawing room windows, suddenly a person dashed across in silhouette running towards the back of the room. 

Was it Carolyn? Was it Curtis? Was it Julia? The three of them roamed the house each looking for Barnabas, each with a weapon in hand ready to confront the man that had caused so much pain and sorrow. 

Carolyn angry and devastated from the book of transcendence she found. 

Curtis wanting to end Barnabas' control and manipulation of his mother Victoria.

And Julia, fueled by the notion deep in her gut that the Barnabas in this time was not the true Barnabas that she fell in love with. 

And for all of those things, they all unknowingly agreed. Barnabas had to die.

But where was he? 

The shadowy person slowly made their way down the final hallway that led to a back bedroom on the third floor of the mansion. The rooms in this area of the house had been set apart years ago for Barnabas and Josette but those plans and restorations never came to fruition for the obvious reasons of Josette's death and Barnabas' demise into the depths of the un-dead.

The person, cloaked in the shadows of The Old House, slowly turned the knob of the door to the room and pushed it open. The person walked in and saw a room dark and draped in midnight blue and purple. The person looked around and saw a coffin in the center of the room instead of a bed.

The coffin of Barnabas Collins. The person slowly made their way to the coffin and stood at it's side for what seemed like hours, the person put their hand on the coffin and thought about what was going to happen of what this moment really meant. But it had to be done. There was no turning back.

The person, still steeped in the darkness and shadows of The Old House slowly lifted the coffin of Barnabas Collins. And there he was deep in his slumber cold to the touch, his skin translucent and perfect. His eyes shut and pristine. 

All the years of evil and good, all the years of passion and power, and all the years of hurt and happiness all came down to this moment. The end was near. The closing of this chapter of the Collins family was finally coming to an end, there was no way around it. 

To find a cure for the cancer, the cancer needed to be cut out, and the cancer that plagued the Collins family was Barnabas himself. For all his good, for all his bad, he was the curse that continued to destroy the family that he said he loved but how often  he chose not to use that love for good. 

The person lifted their arms and stood over Barnabas' body then quickly plunged the steak deep into Barnabas' chest then twisted it so that it went so far in it came out the other side sticking his body to the inside of the coffin.

Then, like a gust of wind, the person: Carolyn, Curtis, or Julia, left the room leaving Barnabas alone in his coffin. His skin slowly turning to ask. His hair slowly turning to dust. This was death of the dead. This was the man from the depths of darkness slowly but surly disintegrate back into that crypt of darkness and shadows where no one could return. 

Barnabas was gasping, he was writing in his coffin but never once opened his eyes. His made a terrible gasping breaths like a fish searching for water, he was chocking, his eyes were bugging out from his skull, a side effect of a wooden stake plunging into the chest and piercing the heart of a man un-dead. 

Barnabas was slowly fading and with him the terrors and curses his name evoked on his whole family: Past. Present. And Future. 

There in his coffin of soft velvet and silks, there in his coffin of crafted fine oak, was the end of Barnabas Collins by the had of someone he knew, by the hand of someone he loved.

His body slowly began to wither away into dust and bone.

__

There is a moment where the paths of life and death cross. There is a moment where the living and the dead find there way to each other even if they never realize it. As someone dies, their spirit, like all energy leaves their bodies but does not leave this earth. They are with us always. Even if we don't always see them, they are there. This energy is infinite. And on the morning Barnabas died, his energy was present as if it had come from someone who had lived a normal un-cursed life. 

Just when all light in the room began to creep someone else pushed the great oak door of this room open and stepped in.

"Poor, poor Barnabas." the voice from this person said as they looked into the coffin where his body had withered like a dehydrated fruit. "It always seems I come exactly at the right moment, doesn't it? And here I am again." the voice said. 

The person slowly made their way around the coffin and shook their head. There was pity and a small bit of validation and cynical spite. 

As the person passed a large window, crowned with fine molding of the letters B and C a reflection gleamed in. It was Angelique Bouchard. She stood at the foot of Barnabas' coffin looking down on her former lover's dead body.

"You'll owe me Barnabas Collins. You'll owe me for ever and ever." Angelique said as she grabbed a hold of the stake that somebody struck with such hateful force into his chest then slowly put her hand down covering the gaping hole left by the stake. 

Her hand began to glow, there was a light the burned from deep inside her palm. It poured from her like water from a stream directly into Barnabas's body. 

It was like sunlight. It was like a warmth that came from the warmest of spring mornings, it flowed into Barnabas' body from Angelique's hand. Into his veins. Into his bones. Into his flesh. Into his heart. His body slowly regenerating back to how it was. 

Then silence again. 

Suddenly a giant gasp of air burst from the man in the coffin, his eyes flipped open and looked directly into the giant blue moon like eyes of the person who brought him back one more time. The one and only Angelique. 

"who............" Barnabas said, his voice raspy and chocked from lack of air. "who did ............this." he said, reaching for his chest where the giant hole from the stake once was.

"Oh, my love, welcome back." Angelique said with an eyebrow raised. Her hands slowly reaching for his face. She touched him.

Barnabas looked over at Angelique like he was seeing a ghost, and in a way he was. He had no idea She had come back from the beyond, and not only that but she had saved his life once again, this time reversed his death by staking. But who? Who could have done this?

Barnabas' mind was filled with anger and at the same time worry. Someone had come into the home he loved so much and had driven a stake deep into his chest hoping he would never see the light of the moon again.

"You?" Barnabas asked Angelique, his voice still struggling.

Angelique shook her head no. It wasn't she who stabbed Barnabas, but she knew who did. She knew everything, and she was about to use it to her advantage.

She grinned and helped him out of his coffin. She held his hand and kissed his cheek ans she lured him out of the bedroom where he was sleeping

"We have much to talk about." Angelique said as the two walked off into the shadows of the Old House together, and in hand, together.