Subj: The Obsession of Maggie Evans XV
Date: 12/9/98 1:25:18 AM Central Standard Time
From: Beverly LaCroix

Deadly Love

The wolf released its deadly grip on the unwanted intruder as quickly as it had attacked. Sam Evans saw himself gazing into the face of corruption. The visage of Barnabas Collins was now in the vision of Sam Evans.

The wolf had smelled the blood of the human he had clamped his mighty jaws down on, and wanted the human. Then he felt the presence of the one who told him to stop this human from coming in this place. The One was very angry, but was commanding him to let go. The big wolf looked up into the eyes of this being, who was not an animal like he was, but yet not a human like the one he had in his might jaws a second ago. He didn't know why he had to obey the One with the fire eyes, but he knew did, and he let go, and ran back into the woods, passing his cousins, the dogs who looked wolves, but were not. They, too, were retreating. Once in the woods, he felt the buzzing in his brain again, and started the low howl as he was commanded to do. His cousins, and distant cousins
had joined his chorus again.

Looking down at Sam Evans, Barnabas fought back the urge to feed. The scent of his blood was strong. The fear was a living entity. He could feel his fangs pressing on his gums, he fought back the beast, and addressed the problem at hand.

"Mr. Evans! What on earth is going on here?" Barnabas asked.

"Barnabas, Mr. Evans was at the door, and as I answered it a wolf came running out of the forest, and had just attacked when you came in," Willie said with a tremor in his voice. His excitability almost made his stammer out the words. He had never seen anything like that. He knew it was Barnabas, but it was frightening. Everyday, he learned more about his master, and the hold he had over the people around him.

"Willie, take Mr. Evans upstairs or better yet back to the room by the kitchen, and help him get composed. Give him something to drink." Barnabas instructed Willie in a soft tone of voice.

"Pop!" a very weak Maggie said. Looking up, Barnabas saw her standing at the head of the stairs, and was very concerned. He went up the stairs at a very fast pace, and grabbed Maggie around the waist, just as she was falling.

"Darling, you should be in bed," Barnabas said, holding on to Maggie, and untangling the IV lines at the same time. "I -- I -- I-- I heard my father scream, Barnabas. Is he okay?" Maggie said tremulously.

"Yes, honey, he's fine. He got wet, and Willie is helping him dry off, and then I will allow him to visit you," Barnabas told her as he was carrying her back to the bedroom.

"You promise?" Maggie asked him.

"Of course, I do. Will it make you happy, mon cherie?" Barnabas asked her.

"Yes, it will. You won't leave me, will you?" Maggie asked, the desperate tone in her voice again.

Barnabas heard it, and said "Never." The answer reassured her. She grabbed at him when he laid her down in the bed, and wouldn't let go. He smiled at her, and told her, "I need to talk to your father. I'm sure he has been very worried about you," Barnabas told her.

"Barnabas, you won't hurt my father, will you?" Maggie asked him.

"Maggie, you need to get some rest. Where's Julia?" Barnabas asked.

"She had to get something for the IV. It's in one of the other rooms." Maggie said. Maggie pulled at Barnabas, and said "Promise me you won't hurt my father, please. Barnabas, please." Maggie was starting to get hysterical.

Barnabas looked at Maggie with his penetrating eyes, and said "Maggie, you told me you trusted me. Remember that?" Barnabas asked her. Maggie just looked at him as the memory flooded back to her. "Maggie, you trusted me to hold you at the very edge of Widow's Hill while I was making love to you. Do you remember that? You will answer me?" Barnabas said in the deadly tone that frightened Maggie.

"Yes, Barnabas, I remember." Maggie said.

"Remember this, I will protect you at all costs, even if that includes doing acts that you do not approve, and I will brook no interference from you, is that understood?" Barnabas asked her, this time his tone told her, no argument. She wouldn't answer him. Barnabas pulled Maggie to him, and held her close. "Oh, Maggie, you just don't know, do you," the vampire said to the distraught young woman. He could feel the thinness of her body as he held her to him, strengthening the resolve he had made earlier about Maggie. Calming her down was easy, because she was still weak. Barnabas chose this moment to tell her about the child she was carrying, and after hearing what he had to say, her reaction was startling, and he had to call Julia. When Julia entered the room, Barnabas had Maggie's wrists tightly in his grip, she was moving her head back and forth very violently, crying the word, no, no, no, over
and over again.

"I won't have a baby!" Maggie cried.

"Maggie, calm down," Barnabas said softly.

Barnabas was truly dumbfounded. Thinking the news would cheer Maggie up was why he had told her. She had seemed upset at seeing her father upset, and he thought telling her about the baby would make her happy. Maggie was beyond hearing him at this point. So distraught at this news, she didn't notice Julia walk into the room.

"Barnabas, is Maggie all right?" Julia asked taking in the scene before her.

"Does she look all right to you?" Barnabas shot back.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Julia asked quietly.

"Yes. You can get out of this room, and stop hovering over me. Take Barnabas with you, and when you see my father tell him I do not want to see him, now or never!" Maggie said very quietly. Her eyes never wavering as she talked she had been looking straight at Julia Hoffman.

"Maggie! Surely you don't mean that about your father," Julia said, not shocked at telling her to leave, but
truthfully shocked at telling Barnabas to leave.

"Why don't I? Because I can't think for myself, is that it? Because I'm some kind of raving lunatic chasing after a man that doesn't want me, who isn't really a man, but yet tells me I'm pregnant! What kind of lie is that you two have cooked up together?" Maggie said, as she pushed Barnabas away from her.

"Just get out of here!" Maggie screamed at Barnabas.

"Maggie, I need to fix your IV needles," Julia said in a professional voice.

"Why don't you just leave me alone, Dr. Hoffman!" Maggie said through clenched teeth.

"As you wish, Maggie. Barnabas, I will be downstairs instructing Willie to go to Collinwood to call an ambulance to have Maggie transported to Collinsport General," Julia replied, in a very professional tone of voice.

"Dr. Hoffman, I do not think that is necessary," Barnabas replied fastening his cold black eyes on Julia.

"Yes, Barnabas, it is necessary. Maggie needs to be under a doctor's care, and if not me, then Dr. Woodard. You can surely see that. I will not leave this house until I know Maggie is under the care of a physician. She is still very sick, and I would be remiss in my duties as a doctor to walk out of here at the request of an obviously delusional, and still very sick patient. Morally and ethically, I WILL NOT do that, Barnabas, " Julia replied still using a very professional tone.

"You are quite right, Dr. Hoffman. But you know as well as I that Maggie is not the usual patient, " Barnabas' tone had taken a dangerous edge to it.

Julia noticed red flickering in his eyes. Swallowing back the fear that was threatening to consume her, and allow her to give into the vampire, she said in a voice that was unfamiliar to her as of late, firm in her resolve not to leave Maggie unattended, the vision of the sick woman that Barnabas had brought into this house buried any fear of the vampire, "I will not give in on this Barnabas. I don't care what you do to me. Maggie is my first concern, and she should be yours."

"I think you have said enough, Dr. Hoffman," Barnabas replied.

"Stop it both of you!" Maggie cried.

They both looked at her silenced by her outcry. "Dr. Hoffman, go ahead and do what you have to do. And then, both of you just get out of here and leave me alone. You didn't mind leaving me alone before, why should it be any different now!" Maggie said, her anger growing, her voice was still weak, but the anger seemed to be strengthening her.

"Maggie, what about your father?" Julia asked.

"I don't want to see him now or ever. I thought I told you that already. Barnabas won't let him in here, will you, Barnabas?" Maggie asked very sarcastically.

"I will do whatever you wish, darling. If you want to see your father he is here waiting to see you. I just don't want to see you so upset," Barnabas said in a honeyed-voice.

"No, I do not want to see him," Maggie said weakly. Julia straightened the IV lines, and reinserted the needles, and made sure the flow was right, that done, she walked out of the room until Barnabas left the room.

After Julia left Barnabas walked over to the bed, and sat down to talk to Maggie. Maggie turned away from him.

"Maggie, look at me, " Barnabas said in a very gentle tone. Maggie complied. "What is it? Why are so upset about having a baby, dearest? I thought it would make you happy." Barnabas said in the soothing tones of a lover.

"Barnabas, since when did you care about what would make me happy. You let them take me to Canada away from you so you could be with Victoria Winters. That hasn't changed, has it?" Maggie asked him imploringly.

"Yes, my darling, it has changed. It changed after you left." Barnabas said.

"I don't understand, Barnabas. You don't love me. I know you don't. It didn't change after I left. Why didn't you come get me? It was horrible, Barnabas. You knew, you had to have known. Why did you let me suffer like that? I don't remember it all. I just remember being alone, away from you, knowing that you would never see me again. I couldn't feel our link anymore. That's when the real loneliness took over. I wanted to die, but I couldn't. I was so sick all the time. Now, I know why. How could a baby survive all that?" Maggie asked.

Barnabas had allowed her to talk without interrupting her, hoping she would forgive his lie about Victoria. But it wasn't a real lie. Anyway it didn't matter anymore. Maggie was going to have his child, and that was in itself something he never expected, but now it was so, and the mother of his child was very distressed, and that he would not have. Cupping her face in his hands, he kissed her on the lips very softly. She unwittingly responded to the gentleness of his touch.

"Maggie, will you marry me?" Barnabas asked softy, gently. Maggie was stunned. Never had she expected to hear the words Barnabas just spoke to her. She had only wanted to be with him. Her mind had been consumed by him, her body had betrayed her because him. Obsession was the word that had described the way she had felt about him. The numerous drawings that had been carefully filed away by her one afternoon while in Canada, had been of him. Every profile imaginable of the handsome Barnabas Collins could be found in the little box that had been left behind that awful night that death had waited to claim Maggie. Writing his name over and over had not helped ease the wanting for him either. Only the deadly little pills had given some relief only to become another addiction. And now there was a baby, and Maggie did not know what to do. She only knew she was not going to share Barnabas with anyone, she would end his existence before she would do that. That thought seemed to cheer her a little, but it didn't last, because she knew she would end her existence before she would live without him. Without Barnabas she was dead. A baby would take him from her just as surely as another lover. She willed the baby to die, and with that thought, she drifted off to sleep.

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