Subj: Christmas at Collinwood
Date: 12/5/99 9:51:42 PM Central Standard Time
From: MsAnn

Late November, 1972

A figure loomed sight unseen over the Great House of Collinwood. He hadn't been there before. One of his human friends had challenged him to go out and see the world and that would tell him a great deal about humanity than a simple conversation or books would. Simple observation would be boring, so an experiment would be in order. This would be an interesting experiment, however, one that would produce some interesting results, he thought to himself.

In the drawing room of the Great Estate of Collinwood, Elizabeth Collins Stoddard sat sipping her glass of sherry. The events of the last few months had been overwhelming. The potential for tragedy that the return of Laura Collins had brought was destroyed, or so everyone had hoped. Several family secrets concerning Julia, Quentin, Roxanne, Cassandra, Willie and especially Barnabas and Laura had been revealed to her. But somehow, something still remained hidden. She had seen how everyone had reacted to her when confronted about Barnabas' vampirism. She knew something else had also happened in the past, but for some reason, no one seemed willing to share the truth with her about events in her own house nor could she find out anything on her own and that bothered her.

'Oh, but you will be finding out a whole lot about the "family,"' thought the figure. 'More than you would have ever thought you would, Lizzie dear. Tonight you will find out the truth about "cousin" Barnabas. And you, dear Barney will have to come to terms with another buried part of your past.'

At that moment, a brisk wind appeared out of nowhere, opening the glass window doors of the drawing room. With a shriek that would wake the dead, the Bat, a terrible creature from the bowels of Hell, appeared in the room. Only a few people living knew of the terrible omen the appearance of the Bat brought, but unfortunately Elizabeth Stoddard was not one of them. The Bat attacked with its usual fury and within minutes, Elizabeth lay dead in the drawing room.

Barnabas Collins left his wife Roxanne and son Jamie at the Old House to visit Elizabeth at Collinwood. Elizabeth had stopped by earlier in the day to leave a message for Barnabas saying that she needed his help in fixing the errors in the family history before she sent the revised version to the publisher later that month. Elizabeth had assured Roxanne that it wouldn't take long so Barnabas had no excuse to get out of decorating the Christmas tree for Jamie' first Christmas. Roxanne herself decided to use the opportunity to get in some extra Christmas shopping for Barnabas since he would be out of the house for a while.

Upon reaching the door to Collinwood, Barnabas felt a sense of doom descend upon him. Something was wrong. He knocked on the door repeatedly and was about to open it when Elizabeth suddenly appeared.

"Good evening, Barnabas. Sorry to keep you waiting. I was upstairs and didn't hear you knock at first. Come in," said Elizabeth pleasantly as she invited him inside.

"Thank you Elizabeth," said Barnabas as he walked in. Something about Elizabeth struck him as odd, but he couldn't identify what it was. He tried to dismiss the feeling as he followed Elizabeth into the drawing room.

"I'm glad you could make it, Barnabas. I had been planning on doing this for quite some time since all the new additions came. Now, since you're here, I can finally get this done."

"What can I help you with, Elizabeth?" The feeling began to reassert itself in Barnabas. Something was definitely wrong.

"As you know, I am going to update the family history and correct the errors in it that have been brought to my attention since the last edition was published. I feel it's only fair that the book devote some time to our relatives from England. Since you are the only one who has information on the English branch of the family, I want you to begin by telling me exactly what happened to your ancestor Barnabas Collins when he went to England back in 1796. And this time," said Elizabeth as she moved closer to Barnabas, "you will tell me the whole truth." With that said, Elizabeth swooped down and bit Barnabas who was helpless to do nothing but scream.

Barnabas sat there in shock, fear and pleasure as Elizabeth fed on him. He had known this feeling once before when it was Angelique who attacked him and almost killed him. Was the cycle to begin again?

Elizabeth stopped feeding and looked down at Barnabas. He stared up at her with an expression which mirrored his shock and sputtered out "How?"

"All that will come in due time. You haven't answered my question. What happened to the original Barnabas Collins?"

"You know what happened Elizabeth," said Barnabas, hoping desperately that Elizabeth would not know of all the powers she possessed over him. This was one subject he definitely did not want to go into with her.

"No, I don't. Tell me."

Barnabas swallowed once before replying. "He went to England, had a son named Bramwell and died in almost abscurity in 1855."

Elizabeth looked less than pleased at Barnabas' answer. It was obvious to her that Barnabas was trying fool her, despite the power she had over him. "That's not true, Barnabas. What happened."

"Please, Elizabeth!"

"No, Barnabas. I'm tired of being told half-truths by everyone. I am not some fragile person who cannot handle reality! Tell me!"

"The original Barnabas Collins did not go to England," Barnabas began with difficulty. "He died before he had the chance."

"What?! Then why do the records say he went to England and how did you get here?" asked a stunned Elizabeth.

"My father believed the truth was too horrible and shameful for future generations to know so he used some Collins revisionism to change what really happened so no one would know. That way future generations would look back upon that time with honor instead of shame."

"Your father?" asked Elizabeth incredulously.

"Yes" Barnabas took a deep breath before continuing his voice tight with what Elizabeth later recognized as self-loathing. "I am the original Barnabas Collins. And yes, Julia, Quentin, Cassandra, Willie and Roxanne already know that. So did Laura. When I knew Laura, she was my Uncle Jerimiah's wife.

"I met Cassandra when I was on a business trip to Martinique. At that time Cassandra was known as Angelique Bouchard and she was Josette's maid. Angelique and I had a secret relationship while I was courting Josette. Angelique had hoped to continue the relationship when she came to America, but when I refused, her jealousy began to drive her o commit acts which tore the family apart. When I found out what she was doing, I tried to kill her. I failed and she cursed me to be a vampire for all eternity, saying all that loved me would die. The Bat came and attacked me and a few days later I became a vampire.

"Shortly afterwards things began to fall apart. I believe Angelique may have had some second thoughts about what she did, but when I realized what she had done to me I was in a rage and I strangled her in the mausoleum. Shortly afterwards, Sarah, my Aunt Abigail, Josette and my mother all died because of my curse. It nearly drove me insane. I wanted to die. I begged my father to stake me, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Instead, he and Ben Stokes chained me in a coffin in a secret room in the mausoleum and told everyone that I had gone to England. I stayed in that coffin for 171 years until I was freed five years ago."

Barnabas' words had stunned Elizabeth to silence. Never in her wildest dreams did she expect that this was the truth about her distant cousin. Elizabeth felt deeply ashamed for the way she had forced Barnabas to vividly relive what must have been a horrifying chapter in his life. She waited a moment before she continued her interrigation. "How were you freed? Was it Willie Loomis?"

"Yes, he broke into the mausoleum to look for my mother's jewelry and set me free by accident."

"I see. So it was you who was responsible for all those attacks on women a few years ago?"

"No," replied Barnabas. "I admit I was responsible for the first set of attacks, but I am not responsible for all of them. Later, after I was cured, I tried my best to make up for what I had done by trying to protect everyone from the others who would destroy them."

"I'm glad to know that you have felt some remorse for your previous misdeeds. You have done a lot to help us all on many occasions, and I am grateful for that. Tell me, how did you break the curse and become human again?"

"Julia tried once to cure me, but my impatience ruined everything and the experiment failed. When Vicki and I got into that car accident a while back, I ended up in the care of Eric Lang. He figured out what I was and he convinced me to take part in his experiments in the hopes that he could cure me. If I had known what he had in mind from the start, I would never have agreed to take part in his experiment."

"What did Dr. Lang do that was so terrible?" asked Elizabeth, wondering just how much bad luck could one person have in his life.

"Eric Lang was a modern day Dr. Frankenstein. He and Jeff Clark robbed graves and put together an artificial man named Adam. Angelique's return as Cassandra and my desperation to stay human made me agree to his experiments and Adam was created.

"If there was one thing in my life that I wish I could go back and correct, it would be how I handled Adam. He didn't ask to come here and from the start I treated him as though he was less than human and that allowed Nicholas Blair to come in and try to influence him to come to the dark side. Julia and I were able to save him from that but in the process I may have condemned him to lonely existence without a mate. He ran off after Nicholas was summoned to Hell for the first time. Now, I have no idea where Adam is."

Unbeknownst to Barnabas, a second figure had crept to the doors of the drawing room and had been listening in on most of Barnabas and Elizabeth's conversation. He was as shocked as Elizabeth was at some of the things that had been said about Barnabas' behavior and regrets. He remembered the things Barnabas spoke of during the "experiment" as it was called, because he was there.

Looking back on the whole experience also made him realize that mistakes had been made and perhaps the man who was his "father" was not the monster he remembered him to be. Perhaps now, since they both have learned and matured, they could have something of a normal relationship. Adam had been thinking of this for a while now. Perhaps, this Christmas would bring a present that would bring them both happiness and closure for a sad time in both their lives.

Elizabeth looked down at Barnabas and smiled. Although she was horrified at what she had become, she was reveling in what her abilities allowed her to do. She had sensed the presence of another person outside the door from the beginning, but said nothing until now. Now was the time for another test of her new 'abilities.'

"Barnabas, I have a surprise for you. Do you want to know what it is?"

Barnabas stared blankly at Elizabeth. "Does it really matter? What could possibly be a surprise at this point?"

"Open the door and see."

Adam panicked at that point. How did Elizabeth know that anyone was outside the door? He had made sure that his entrance was as silent as possible. 'No matter,' he thought to himself. Now was the time for a quick exit. Unfortunately, when he tried to do so, Adam found that he was rooted to the spot where he stood, unable to move. He thought in awe, 'how is this possible?'

Barnabas got up and slowly walked to the drawing room doors. Upon opening them his eyes widened and he became visibly pale as he looked at an equally stunned Adam. He had changed since he had last seen him. The scars were now gone and Adam was dressed as an upper-class businessman.

"Adam! What are you doing here?"

"Hello, Barnabas," was all Adam managed to stumble out.

"Come in, Adam. We were just discussing you and I think you should be a part of this. Please sit down."

Both men moved absently into the drawing room and sat down on the sofa.

"Now that you're here Adam, why don't you tell us what you're doing here spying outside the door," commanded Elizabeth.

"I…came here," Adam began unsteadily, "to make peace with my past."

"Why? Has something happened to you, Adam?" queried Elizabeth.

"I got married. My wife asked me to come here for my own peace of mind. She said it wasn't healthy to keep on avoiding dealing with my past and holding on to old hatreds and anger."

"Your wife is a very wise woman. Was she responsible for your change in appearance as well? The last time we saw you, you were nothing more than an uncivilized vagrant who kidnapped Carolyn."

"Yes, she helped me," said Adam. "But why are you interested in me? How did you know I was here? What is this power you have over us?"

"I see you still have too much will power. I think it's time we changed that," said Elizabeth as she bent down and sank her fangs into Adam's neck.

Adam was almost overwhelmed at the feelings of pain and pleasure he was feeling. A great feeling of belonging and need transmitted itself into him. There was a new understanding of the great pain and loneliness Barnabas had felt, something he would not have thought possible.

Threatening to overwhelm it all was a great feeling of regret. Elizabeth's regrets about past choices, her husband, her long confinement in Collinwood, Barnabas' regrets about his family, Josette, Maggie, and Angelique. His own regrets over his involvement with Nicholas also surfacing after being long buried.

Elizabeth then rose and moved to stand in front of Barnabas and Adam. "Do you understand now?"

Almost desolately he replied, "Yes."

"Good. So tell us what you have been doing with yourself since you left us? You obviously have made a great improvement in yourself. You've now learned how to speak and act. Your scars are gone."

"I went to a plastic surgeon in Boston and he removed my scars. Then I went to night school and got a diploma. I met my wife there. She was one of the teachers. She was one of the most understanding people I had met, even when I told her what I was. She helped me become the person I am today. She and someone else helped me get into a local college and now I work for an investment company."

Barnabas, who had a sneaking suspicion of who "someone else" was, replied "You've done well, Adam. I'm proud of you."

Adam was momentarily stunned at this admission from Barnabas. He had never expected to ever hear such words come from Barnabas and be aimed at him. Although he didn't want to admit it, the fact that he had done something to make Barnabas proud of him brought him intense joy.

"I must agree with Barnabas. You have done well for yourself. I'm glad of that. However, now both of you serve me. We're going to find a hiding place for me to stay during the day and both of you will guard me."

"But what about our families? We just can't vanish without causing suspicion and you know as well as I do that if we go back, someone will figure out what has happened here tonight," stated Barnabas.

'Yeah, Lizzie, what are you going to do with your toys?' thought the figure. 'This is becoming very interesting. Now lets add a few new players.'

"You two will guard me. What you do to outwit your families is your concern. You know how to deal with them better than I do."

Elizabeth was interrupted at that moment by the opening of the front door. To Adam and Barnabas' relief, in came Julia and Roxanne. Elizabeth however was clearly irritated at the unexpected arrivals. This would definitely put a damper on her immediate plans for more interrigations of Adam and Barnabas.

"Oh, there you are-oh! I didn't know you had a guest," stated Roxanne cheerfully upon entering the drawing room.

"A guest? Who is it?" asked Julia as she entered the room. "Adam!" she exclaimed upon seeing him.

"Hello, Julia," said flatly.

Barnabas rose to greet his wife hoping desperately that she wouldn't do anything to upset Elizabeth. "Roxanne, this is Adam. Adam, this is my wife Roxanne."

"Nice to meet you, Adam," said Roxanne as she extended a hand out to Adam.

"Nice to meet you, Roxanne," said Adam as he accepted the proffered hand.

"Adam, when did you come back to town? Where have you been all this time?" asked Julia, somewhat suspiciously.

Roxanne noticed the lost/relieved look that Barnabas had on his face. Something was wrong with Barnabas; she had felt it when she got close to him. However, something connected with Elizabeth kept him from revealing what it was from her initial psychic probes of him. Elizabeth had changed as well. There was a power around her that Roxanne hadn't felt in nearly a year, one that she hoped she would never see again. Could the nightmare years of 1970-1971 be repeating themselves again? Roxanne decided she needed to remove Barnabas from the drawing room to further evaluate her hypothesis. "Barnabas, I need to speak to you for a moment about something for Jamie."

Barnabas, who was very grateful for the chance to get away from Elizabeth said "If you will excuse us for a moment, Elizabeth."

In the study, Roxanne turned to Barnabas and stated, "How long has this been going on? When did you come under Elizabeth's power?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I know Elizabeth has both you and Adam in her power. Don't deny it. I felt a disturbance the moment I stepped into the room. Elizabeth is a vampire, isn't she?" asked Roxanne.

Barnabas looked as though he'd been through Hell and back, but somehow formed the strength to answer, "Yes."

In the drawing room, Adam told Julia the details of his life as it stood at that point. To his surprise, Julia congratulated him on his success and marriage. This was another unexpected action. Adam had convinced himself that even if Barnabas accepted him, Julia certainly would not, considering their past together. Julia had always been the one who thought the worst of Adam even when Barnabas wouldn't.

Julia on the other hand found herself to be pleasantly surprised at the way Adam's life had turned out. She had half-expected Adam to end up as some homeless vagrant wandering from place to place but never really belonging anywhere and killing whomever got in his way. In some way, she theorized, Adam must have inherited the determination to survive and fit in with the current surroundings that Barnabas had displayed on numerous occasions when he found himself in a new time period.

Elizabeth then asked Adam, "Is your wife here with you in Collinsport. If she is, we must send for her and have her come up so we can meet her."

"She's at the Collinsport Inn."

"Good. If you two will tell me her name, I'll arrange to have her picked up at once."

Adam was amazed at how quickly Elizabeth could go from controlling to polite to keep up her spotless image. He wondered if it was this way with her all the time, or was a result of her vampirism. He quickly pulled himself out of his reverie to answer Elizabeth's question saying, "Her name is Katie Harridge-Collins and she is in Room 27."

"If you two will excuse me, I'll go and make a phone call." said Elizabeth pleasantly as she left the drawing room.

Upon Elizabeth's exit, Julia walked over to Adam and asked, "Adam, are you alright? You look a little tired and pale."

"I'm fine. It was just a long trip here."

Being a doctor, Julia didn't fully believe Adam's answer. She walked over to him and began to feel his forehead to see if he really did have a fever. Adam resisted her action saying he was fine and swatting her hands away, but the action moved his collar enough to give Julia a clear view of the fang marks on his neck. Experience helped her to hide her reaction of shock, but inwardly, Julia was very alarmed. Now Roxanne's sudden need to speak to Barnabas made sense. She must have felt the difference in Barnabas from the vampire's attack on Adam. This would require some delicate maneuvering on her part and Roxanne's to determine just whoever the vampire was and how to deal with him.

Barnabas and Roxanne chose that moment to make their reappearance in the drawing room. Upon inspection, Barnabas looked like Adam did, pale, tired and worried. Roxanne, on the other hand, had a look that told of anger tinged with fear. Julia knew that this was all the confirmation she needed that Roxanne knew what was going on. The only thing to do now was to determine just who the vampire was without upsetting everyone and turning Barnabas and Adam against everyone.

Elizabeth then reappeared and said that Katie would be along soon. Everyone sat down and chatted amicably until a knock on the door was heard.

"I'll get that," said Julia as she left to answer the door.

Outside the door, Quentin, Jon and Donna had returned from an afternoon trip to the movies and the Collinsport Ice Arena. He was a little tired and hoped that Julia would be up to a relaxing evening by the fire at the Abbey.

Julia opened the door and was visibly releaved that Quentin was there. "Oh, thank God it's you. I need to speak to you immediately."

Noticing the distress in Julia's face and voice, Quentin turned to Jon and Donna saying, "Kids, why don't you run upstairs and play with David for a while. I need to speak to your mother about something."

"Quentin, there's a vampire on the loose around here!" said Julia as soon as Jon and Donna had left.

"What? Do you have any idea who it is?" Quentin was not quite prepared for this type of revelation.

"No, but whomever it is has already attacked Adam and now both Barnabas and Adam are acting strange."

"This Adam, is he the man you told me you and Barnabas created?"

"Yes."

"And he came back? Why? I thought he hated all of you," said a confused Quentin.

"Well, apparently, Adam has gotten married and it was his wife who convinced him to come back and come to terms with his past," answered Julia. "But we don't have time to get into all of that now. We'd better go into the drawing room before they become suspicious. Come."

Quentin entered the drawing room with Julia and immediately introduced himself to Adam.

Five minutes later, there was another knock at the door. Elizabeth answered the door and this time it was Katie at the door. When she entered the drawing room, Barnabas, Julia and especially Quentin gasped in surprise as they looked at Katie. She was an exact replica of Daphne Harridge.

"Is something wrong?" asked a confused Katie.

"Oh, nothing is wrong. It's just that you look exactly like someone we once knew," Julia quickly offered.

"Really? Is she still around. I'd like to meet this person who looks like me. Perhaps were long lost cousins or something."

"Unfortunately, that won't be possible. She died two years ago."

"Oh. I am sorry to hear that. But I am happy that you would invite Adam and myself up here to share in your holiday celebration. I must say that I am surprised."

"Well don't be. This wouldn't be a proper Collins Christmas if we neglected to invite all the family and friends we could up here. I do hope that you and Adam will consider staying on the estate while you're visiting in Collinsport," offered Elizabeth.

"What do you think, Adam?" asked a still shocked Katie.

Elizabeth slipped Adam a discrete glance, which told him that it would be in his best interests to accept her offer, so he replied "It's fine with me."

"Good, then it's settled. I'll send someone to pick up your belongings at the inn and Mrs. Johnson will prepare your room. This is going to be such a wonderful Christmas this year."

Barnabas and Adam exchanged horrified glances as the light of truth began to slowly dawn on Julia. Could Elizabeth be the vampire?

The rest of the evening passed without incident as Katie and Adam told the family about their adventures before visiting the Collinses. Quentin and Julia promised them a tour of the Abbey while Roxanne promised to make horoscopes for both Adam and Katie as Christmas presents.

In order to avoid arousing suspicion among everyone, Elizabeth decided to allow Barnabas to leave and go home with Roxanne. She then offered Katie a nightcap laced with a sleeping potion to prevent her from interfering with her plans. After summoning Barnabas late that night, the three of them secured a coffin from the stash that Barnabas had collected over the years and placed it deep within the deserted East Wing.

"You two may go now and return to your wives, now. I don't need the bother of dealing with any suspicions they have," said Elizabeth as she approached her two servants. "Return to me at dusk."

With that, Barnabas and Adam turned to leave their mistress and return to their wives.

"Barnabas, do you have any idea who did this? Who changed Elizabeth into what she is?"

"I wish I knew, Adam. I really did. There have been no attacks, no new strangers, nothing. Once again, I thought all the danger was over only to find it just beginning again. I'm sorry that you got involved in all of this, but I am glad that you came back and that you forgave me for what I did."

"Thank you, Barnabas," said an emotional Adam. He was now very glad he had taken his wife's advice.

The following morning, both Barnabas and Adam were literally dead tired. Neither one had the strength to do much other than sleep throughout most of the day. It was then that Julia, Roxanne and Quentin meet to discuss the current crisis at Collinwood.

"There is a vampire loose around here. I saw the marks last night on Adam's neck."

"I know. It's Elizabeth. I found out last night when I used my powers on Barnabas. Apparently it happened after she left the Old House yesterday afternoon," said Roxanne.

"But why Elizabeth? She hadn't done anything to anyone?" asked Quentin.

"Does there ever need to be a reason? The important thing is to undo what Elizabeth has done before she turns Barnabas and Adam into vampires. That is one thing I do not want to deal with!"

"How do you propose we 'undo' Elizabeth's vampirism without making Barnabas and Adam into our enemies, Julia? I know what Barnabas is capable of and from what you've told me, I don't want to see what Adam is capable of," asked Quentin.

"We have three options: One is to offer Elizabeth the injections. I just perfected a new formula supplemented with curare and Barnabas' antibodies. If she accepts we may be able to have her well enough to stand the daylight by Christmas."

"And the second option?" asked Roxanne.

"We can go to Cassandra and ask her to help. She and Roger are returning from Boston this afternoon with the children. I think I don't have to remind you what the third option is. I would rather avoid that one if possible. The family would be devastated if Elizabeth were to die. She has done so much for everyone here that it's nearly impossible to imagine life without her around."

"I agree. I wouldn't want to be the one who stakes her either," Quentin stated simply. "Besides, how would we explain staking her to the authorities? They'd think us mad and lock us up inside Wyndcliffe if they didn't decide to send us to prison first."

"He has a good point, Julia," said Roxanne sadly. "We can't stake Elizabeth."

Julia took a deep breath before replying. "Well, then we just have to hope she will agree to the cure, or we may have to stake her anyway. We have no other choice."

With that said, Julia left to check on Adam and Barnabas. Katie was told that one of David's sharp-beaked finches (which Jon had once referred to as a vampire finch) had escaped and attacked Adam when he got spooked (a vast improvement over the other official story, in Julia's opinion) so she suspected nothing.

This outpouring of support touched the unseen figure. 'I thought these people would have tried to stake her. They seemed to have no problem killing others who were changed into vampires. Why not Lizzie. In the other universe no one had any problems with staking anyone. I guess it's that "good will towards men" that the humans value so much in this world. I wonder will Lizzie feel the same way.'

As expected, Cassandra, Roger and their family returned to Collinwood during the early afternoon. Julia quickly went to Cassandra and told her of the previous night's events. Cassandra was shocked at both major events of the evening, namely Adam's return and Elizabeth's vampirism. She couldn't decide which one disturbed her more. For the sake of her family and especially Roger, she decided to help Julia with Elizabeth.

Cassandra reminded Julia that neither one of her preferred plans would work if Elizabeth herself was unwilling to change before they headed to the drawing room to await Elizabeth's appearance. Julia had taken the precaution of heavily sedating both Barnabas and Adam before tying them to their beds and lining their rooms with crosses beforehand. Katie was then hypnotized to prevent her from becomming suspicious of current events and instructed to help keep Adam safe. It all went well, Adam would give her whatever explanation he wanted to about the happenings at Collinwood later. The alternative probably would make them all look mad to outsiders.

Sundown came to the Great House of Collinwood. Elizabeth rose with a great thirst for blood. Summoning Adam and Barnabas however, yielded an unexpected response, namely no reaction at all. Elizabeth summoned them again. Both men moved restlessly in their sleep, but otherwise made no move to go to Elizabeth. If they did make such a move, Julia had instructed Roxanne and Katie to give their husbands additional dosages of the sedative.

Elizabeth then traveled down to Adam's room only to be greeted with the sight of a large cross on the door. Unable to stand the sight of the cross, Elizabeth quickly fled to another area of the house to think. She quickly concluded that it would be useless to go to the Old House to see Barnabas because he probably was being guarded as well.

Irritated, Elizabeth made her way down to the drawing room to confront the only person she knew of who would dare to prevent her servants from coming to her--Julia Hoffman. Roxanne must have figured out something was wrong and told Julia. That was the only explanation Elizabeth could come up with to explain her servants' absences. Julia and Roxanne must be dealt with first, followed by Quentin and Katie and anyone else Julia and Roxanne may have conspired with. Katie's death would be regrettable since she was an innocent, but that was unavoidable. Her existence was first priority.

Elizabeth entered the drawing room to find Julia and Cassandra chatting away about some Christmas dribble. They both turned to her when she entered the room.

"Good evening Elizabeth," said Julia pleasantly.

"I'd appreciate it if we could cut the small talk and get to the point. What did you do to Barnabas and Adam?" barked Elizabeth.

"The question is what were you planning to do to them? Why did you attack them Elizabeth? Do you really want to destroy their lives? Do you want Jamie to grow up with a father who only can do things with him during the night? You could have come to us. We could have helped you. We still can help you. " stated Julia.

"How can you help me? My case is not the same as Barnabas'. There is no supernatural fire here to help me overcome this! Dr. Lang isn't around to conduct another one of his macabre experiments! So, really, Julia. How can you stand here and tell me you can do something to help me?"

'This ought to be interesting. How much of the truth are you willing to tell Elizabeth, Julie?' thought the figure. 'Surely you know that if it involves Barney-boy, Lizzie knows the truth by now.'

Julia became a little nervous at the mention of Dr. Lang. Just how much did she really know about the past? However now was not the time to debate that issue. She looked Elizabeth in the eye as she answered, "I have developed a formula to reverse the effects of the curse. I began working on it when I found out what happened to Barnabas. I believe it can be modified to help you to become human again."

"Why should I want to go back. I am doing just fine as I am."

"I have a reason," stated Cassandra. "Carolyn called earlier this afternoon. She said she and Tony are dropping off little Liz tomorrow before they leave for their conference. Lizzie is going to be here for the next week. I think it will be very difficult to explain to her and Tony why you can't come and see them during the day tomorrow when you told them two weeks ago that you would be here. Lizzie will be very disappointed when 'Grammy' can't come to her tea parties anymore. Can you stand there and tell me that that means nothing to you?"

Elizabeth was silenced at Cassandra's revelation. She had been thinking of only herself since she had been cursed. Thoughts of Carolyn or Lizzie hadn't come into her mind at all. Lizzie was her attempt to make up for all the things she hadn't been able to do with Carolyn when she was growing up. Not getting help seemed like betraying Carolyn again. That was something Elizabeth refused to do even if it meant giving up her own powers.

"Alright. What do you want me to do."

The figure was a little disappointed at Elizabeth's response. He had hoped for a little more blood and gore and angst for that matter. 'Humans are too sentimental,' he thought. 'On the other hand, I must be too since I stuck around to watch this thing unfold. But, this is the season for all that sentimentality crap so it's all right. I can go back to being my
normal annoying self later.'

Julia went over her plan to use the modified formula to cure Elizabeth and she agreed on the condition that if anything went wrong, she would not hesitate in killing her. Julia, who was used to such treatment from Barnabas, simply told Elizabeth that she had nothing to worry about and as long as she followed her directions, everything would be fine.

With the uneasy truce secured, Julia then went to Katie and Roxanne and gave them the all clear to allow Adam and Barnabas to wake up, but still ordered them to be kept under constant supervision. A spell from Cassandra made sure Katie thought nothing of the unusual favors that had been asked of her. Several obscene words, facial expressions and color changes later, Elizabeth was back to normal.

The figure looked down at the happy scene and smiled. Humans were capable of so many things in their little world that his people couldn't even begin to conceptualize. That was one reason that his people ordered him to watch the humans. Perhaps through them they could gain what they lost through evolution. 'I know what I'll do,' the figure thought to himself, 'I could join the family. If they can accept that clod Adam, then I should have no trouble at all! Perhaps I'll even bring along....' thought the figure with a smile. 'He owes me a favor anyway. We could be the long lost cousins from the French branch of the family.' The more he thought about it, the more the idea appealed to him as he disappeared in a flash of light.

The next day brought with it a sense that the troubles of the past two days was over and the household could return to the normalcy they had enjoyed previously. Both Barnabas and Adam were relieved that Elizabeth had been cured. Neither one wanted to be her servant for eternity no matter how pleasurable her vampire kisses were. Carolyn and Tony were told simply that Elizabeth had come down with a mild case of stomach flu the night before and was simply resting as per Julia's orders for the rest of the day.

The understanding between Barnabas and Adam continued after Elizabeth's cure and their relationship grew stronger as a result. Adam continued to be welcome in the family as Julia and Barnabas' adoptive 'son' and was offered a generous position in Barnabas' shipbuilding company as head accountant. Adam also became a good friend to young Jamie who took an instant liking to his new big brother. Roxanne was especially happy at the idea because Adam could become their instant babysitter whenever she wanted to be alone with Barnabas.

Carolyn and Tony's return was met with another joyous celebration. One look at Lizzie's face when she told Carolyn how much fun she'd had helped Elizabeth feel she had made the correct decision in becoming human again. The fact that Carolyn surprised everyone by announcing she was pregnant again was another reason for Elizabeth to be pleased about her decision.

With everyone in place the Collinwood, the Christmas celebration could officially get underway. Barnabas and Adam chopped down a Christmas tree from the woods and decorated it until Roxanne and Katie were pleased with the result (which was a long time later, to their dismay). Quentin hung lights around the house and prepared all the alcoholic beverages for everyone. Roger organized his yearly caroling group, which consisted of himself, Cassandra, Quentin, and Carolyn when she returned to bring merriment at the Collinsport Pops Christmas concert.

Barnabas had already volunteered to play the role of Scrooge in the annual Christmas play so he didn't sing. Mrs. Johnson cooked the dinner, which consisted of a turkey, ham, and various side dishes. To everyone's shock, the food was actually edible and tasted good. All in all, for the first time in many years, things went well for the Collinses during the holidays.

And what of the figure you may ask? Well, he did come back with his friend and introduced themselves as Cousin Jacques and Cousin Jean-Luc from the Canadian branch of the family. They had some very "interesting" adventures during their say at Collinwood. However, what happened is entirely another story.

The end