Subj: The Homecoming--Chapter 3
Date: 4/1/02 2:28:12 PM Central Daylight Time
From: Peggy Boone

Barnabas was worried. He was joining Adam in his concern about Nicholas returning. He'd made a decision. If Nicholas did return and Adam happened to get killed, he was going to force Willie to destroy him, so when he again possessed the vampire curse, he would not harm anyone else. Barnabas wondered how Julia and Willie would manage after he was gone.

At the Old House, all that was on Julia's mind was Barnabas. He meant alot to her. She couldn't ever remember loving anyone else like she did Barnabas. She knew something was bothering him. She had gone to Elliot's two days earlier to see Barnabas and it seemed like his thoughts were a million miles away. She knew that he was too private of a person to tell her if something was bothering him. As she sat with her thoughts, it finally dawned on her what was bothering him. She remembered going to see Barnabas after he and Adam went to Elliot's. She recalled the conversation she and Barnabas had in the kitchen when he told her that he thought Nicholas had been trying to get control of Adam. Then, she realized what was on his mind. She remembered the recorded message that Eric Lang made after he made Adam. She knew that he was afraid what would happen to him if Adam was killed. She didn't know of the plans Barnabas had made for himself.

Those at Collinwood didn't know that Barnabas was not planning on being around very much longer. None of them knew what he and Adam had seen in the basement at Adam's. The only ones that knew that Adam was still around was Barnabas, Julia, Elliot, Willie and Amy. Ever since she had seen Adam at Elliot's, Amy wondered where he had come from. She couldn't ask anyone about him, because she had promised Julia that she had seen him. She could hardly wait until Barnabas went back
to the Old House and she could go there to visit him. She had really missed him. She thought that when she went to see him, she would tell him about the secret that she had been keeping since she had been at Collinwood.

Barnabas was lounging on the couch at Elliot's when there was a knock on the door. He got up and answered it. He was surprized to see Willie standing in the hall. He stepped aside and Willie walked in.

"Is there something wrong at the Old House?"

"No. I just wanted to come and see you."

"Sit down, I want to talk to you."

"What's wrong?"

"Adam and I saw Nicholas Blair in the mirror in the basement at Adam's. We think he is trying to come back for Adam. If Adam gets killed, I will again be a vampire."

"What do you want me to do?"

"If it happens, I want you to take a stake and drive it into my heart."

He saw Willie's face lose all color.

"I can't do it. Please don't make me do it."

"Promise me you'll do it."

Willie got up from the chair he had been sitting in.

"Where are you going?"

"Back to the Old House."

As Willie drove back to the Old House, he thought about what Barnabas told him and what he had asked him to do. He drove to the Blue Whale. He needed time to think. He knew that he never would be able to do what Barnabas had asked him to do. The conversation he and Barnabas had upset him. As he sat at a table with a drink in his hand, all that he was able to think about was Barnabas and the request he had made. He didn't think that Julia knew what was on Barnabas' mind. She didn't know if he should tell her. He didn't want to worry her. He knew how she felt about Barnabas.

Barnabas wondered if Willie would do what he told him to do when and if the time came. He didn't know how he would ever be able to say good-bye to Julia. He didn't want to ever hurt her and he was afraid he would if things changed.

When Adam looked at Barnabas as he sat in a chair across from him, he didn't think that Barnabas even knew that he was there. Elliot walked into the living roon and he saw the two of them sitting silently. Elliot put his hand on Adam's shoulder. When he turned in his chair to face him, he led him into the kitchen.

"What's wrong, Adam?"

"I don't know."

When the two of them went back into the living room, Barnabas was gone.

Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis Production