Big News, Laurel.

[Samuel le Chevalier]

Samuel was fully capable of driving a car or even taking the public transportation system out to see his relations that lived outside of the city. But you know, it just wasn't his style. It Paris he'd always favored a light motorbike for navigating the city streets because it was just so convenient for him. Samuel liked how easily he could navigate traffic in the little vehicles and he especially loved the wind in his fair and how it cut his skin in the dead of winter. Now that he had an excuse to get out of the city periodically, however, Samuel had invested in something much better - a big, shiny black and chrome motorcycle that wasn't too bulky but just big enough that Samuel could roar confidently down the country roads at speeds irresponsible to any human rider. He wore a helmet, yeah, even if it was largely unnecessary but it kept the bugs out of his eyes. And when he roared down the long gravel driveway that led to Gideon's house and eventually made a hard, quick stop in front of the house and killed the engine the helmet had the added benefit of messing his hair up just right when Samuel whipped it off and tossed it at his bike. Besides, Sofia liked it... She said it was sexy. And Samuel always liked to please a pretty lady.

Digging his cigarette case and a lighter out of the pocket of his leather jacket, Samuel removed a cigarette and shielded it from the cool Fall wind while he lit it and took a long drag of the expensive tobacco. Immediately stuffing the case and lighter back away, Samuel took a puff and jogged up the stairs of the Knight's household porch. He saw no reason for knocking since he was, after all, the uncle around here and brother to the man of the house, and instead burst right into the abode with his cigarette hanging out the side of his mouth and his brown hair sticking up every which way.

"Gideooon! Obtenir votre âne lys blanc ici! Vite! Samuel hollered fiercely at his brother, commanding the man to get his lily-white ass down the stairs at once to see him. When nothing was heard back immediately Samuel raised a brow and walked toward the basement stairs, taking the cigarette out of his mouth to call down, "Arrêt de baiser ta femme et venir ici!" Yelling at your brother to stop fucking his wife and get upstairs was acceptable if the children didn't speak French, correct? Samuel's words dissolved to unintelligible French curses as he put the cigarette back in his mouth and smoked. Although Sofia would wretch it out of his hand and scream at him when she came up Samuel would just shrug and act indifferent as it was but he might as well get a few puffs in now.

[Laurel Andersen]

Laurel collapsed on the sofa, exhausted. She loved the Knight kids, she really did, but they just plain wore her out! Jacob, the older boy, had taken a liking to her immediately when she'd first come by to meet all three of Sofia's children (and her husband), and he was pretty helpful for a little kid, getting her water and asking if she needed to sit down and so on...as though she were the grandmother there, not Sofia. (Well, Sofia was Laurel's 11th great-grandmother only by marriage, and the kids' aunt by blood and mother by adoption. Laurel had no relation to the kids at all, and Sofia's husband Gideon was her 11th great-grandfather by blood. It was a very complicated family, really, and it hurt her head if she thought about it too much.) So Jacob wasn't really too much of a handful, but he talked like mad! Gideon had mentioned in passing that the 12-year-old didn't talk so readily to anybody but Sofia and, now, Laurel. Laurel supposed she just reminded the boy of his beloved aunt.

Noah was a quiet, bright little boy, and when he did speak it was usually a question that sounded random but was probably connected to his own meandering little boy train of thought. He was his little sister's favorite toy, though, and Ruth was the one who drove Laurel nearly mad with a haphazard mix of amusement, worry, and exhaustion. Ruth, thankfully, had finally worn her tiny little self down and had been deposited safely in bed. Jacob and Noah were sprawled across the living room floor sifting through a stack of comics and arguing about who would win in a fight, Spider-Man or Batman.

"Batman doesn't even have any powers," Jacob said in disgust. "He's just an old guy in fancy dress."

"Yes," Noah said seriously. (He said everything seriously. He was so solemn for a 9-year-old.) "But he's s-smart. Spider-Man c-can swing around on w-webs and stuff b-b-but he doesn't th-think like B-B-Batman does. Batman's s-smart."

Jacob rolled his eyes and went back to his comic. Laurel just smiled, remaining the silent spectator. Until, suddenly, someone burst into the house, most definitely uninvited!

Laurel bolted upright, her eyes wide, and angry French speech bellowed through the little house. She had taken French for four years in high school, but since leaving high school, she'd fallen off the foreign language wagon a little bit. She could still read signs and warning labels and things if they were in French, but she couldn't write it too well, could speak it worse, and couldn't understand a bit of it if some strange man was yelling it very fast and very fiercely.

"Stay here!" she hissed at the boys on the floor. Jacob looked up at her in confusion, but she barely noticed. She took the Little League bat she brought with her when she babysat (just in case) from its place behind the sofa and waddled as fast as she could into the hallway, bat in hand.

"Hold it, creep!" she barked at the Frenchman. He certainly looked like a creep, with his cigarette and leather jacket and scruffy hair. He looked like a thug. And he spoke French. A French thug. Laurel put on her angry face and shifted into swinging position, pregnant belly and all. "Get out of the house now, or you'll be looking at six years of softball to the face, got it?"

[Samuel le Chevalier]

Samuel listened but he didn't hear anything that sounded like Gideon having sex.

Good... Because Samuel didn't want to hear that anyway! How gross... But bad because the abominable snowman wasn't here.

"Merde..." He cursed, puffing on his cigarette and whirling around to see if anyone else was about then. The door was unlocked and all the lights on which must have meant someone was home in this big haunted house.... And whaddya know. As soon as Samuel turned around he found the babysitter. All long legs with a big pregnant belly and a baseball bat of her. He grinned sloppily with the cigarette hanging out of his mouth and took it in. Clearly, the woman was about ready to pop! And she was standing there holding a bat aloof like she was going to hit him with it. Like that would do anything to him.

"Hold it, creep!" Who, exactly, was she calling creep? Samuel removed the cigarette from his mouth and calmly took his cigarette case out, opening it up and putting the stick out in the little ash tray without even looking at it. He was much too busy watching the leggy child with a closed-mouth smirk all over his face. "Get out of the house now, or you'll be looking at six years of softball to the face, got it?"

"Cute," Samuel remarked thoughtfully and then suddenly laughed, making one of his loud, slightly-manic laughs that sounded like something a hyena would otherwise produce. Snapping the case shut, he replaced it in his jacket and grinned properly now, his accent coming out thick after shouting for his brother in French. "But I think it's more my house than yours... off! Bonsoir, champignon!"

Noah suddenly collided with Samuel's legs, darting out of the living room and right into his thighs. Samuel laughed and reached down to ruffle his hair, letting the boy hug him around the thighs. "Champignon" meant mushroom but Noah thought it sounded like "champion" so Samuel liked to call him by it.

"Uncle Sammy!! Lowrel, don't hurt my Uncle Sammy!"

"Awww, champignon, she's not gonna hurt me... I'm invincible, remember?" Samuel laughed, pretending to punch Noah under the chin. He looked at the babysitter and flashed her his classic, heart-melting grin. She wouldn't hit him. She was all talk... And baby, apparently.

[Laurel Andersen]

Laurel's heart was pounding in her chest. Strangely, with all the sudden excitement, she found herself wracking her brains trying to remember what Sofia had said about pregnant women and blood pressure. There had been something, she knew, she just couldn't... Oh, what was she thinking?! That wasn't the matter at hand here! The matter at hand was the creepy French intruder into her grandma's house! Oh, geez, if anything happened, Sofia would absolutely kill her...

Naturally, the French thug didn't appear to be too threatened by the pregnant young woman wielding a Little League slugger. He just calmly took care of his cigarette and...laughed. Laurel bristled. He was laughing at her! Okay, besides being very unsettling (he had a laugh like a revving chainsaw), it was pretty rude. Laurel still hadn't lowered the bat. She'd yet to have reason to. If he made even one off move, it was headed straight for his remarkably handsome nose.

"Cute. But I think it's more my house than yours... Ooff! Bonsoir, champignon!"

Noah had suddenly barrelled in from the living room and into the stranger's legs, hugging him around the thighs and begging Laurel not to hurt "Uncle Sammy". Gently lifting one blonde eyebrow, Laurel finally lowered the bat and gave the stranger a guarded look as he dealt with his excitable...nephew, then? Honestly, Laurel didn't make the connection from Uncle Sammy to Samuel to Gideon Knight's brother...her own great-times-many-uncle. She assumed the "uncle" was a relative term (no pun intended), they way she'd grown up calling close friends of her parents "aunt" or "uncle", or maybe Sofia had a brother. Gideon was a vampire; there was obviously no reason to think he'd have any family at all, so her ancestor was left entirely out of her mental equation.

"All right, fine," Laurel said grudgingly. She leaned over to lean the baseball bat against the wall, reflexively placing a hand over her stomach. It was just instinct these days whenever she moved a certain way, to hold her stomach like it was a basket of apples she was in danger of toppling over. "So, you mind identifying yourself, if you're going to be bursting into houses uninvited? Because I don't recall Sofia mentioning anyone living here than her, granddad, and the kids." She squinted slightly at the handsome Frenchman. "You look a little familiar... I can't put my finger on it."

[Samuel le Chevalier]

Ahhhh, Noah to the rescue. Such a brave little Knight. Samuel was grateful that the little thing decided to turn up now right when Samuel needed him to melt the heart of the fierce, pregnant babysitter. Like she could hurt him anyway...! But it was best to settle these things before they developed. Still, Samuel couldn't help but be the slightest bit offended - What was she doing throwing him out of his family house? She should have known by the handsome good looks that he was a Knight as it was.

"All right, fine." The babysitter said and put her bat down. Samuel chuckled and pet Noah on the head for helping him out. The boy loosened his grip so that Sam could step away from him and brush dust from the road off of his jeans since apparently he was going to have to be a gentleman now. Or something like that. Samuel knew just how to melt the hearts of girls like this, so young and foolish... Clearly, she'd had her heart melted at least once before! So it shouldn't be very hard.

"So you mind identifying yourself, if you're going to be bursting into houses uninvited? Because I don't recall Sofia mentioning anyone living here than her, granddad, and the kids. You look familiar... I can't put my finger on it."

The girl, "Lowrel" or something?, asked for Samuel's name and he chuckled again, completely glazing over the part where she mentioned "granddad." Whomever that referred to he didn't know... Maybe Sofia was calling Gideon her grandpa to explain matters around here, Samuel never knew. Having human babysitters wasn't something he'd had to deal with in the past. While Noah stood there behind his uncle like a protective force, ready to protect him from Laurel should she wield a bat again, Samuel stepped forward and made a deep, sweeping bow, the likes of which were very rarely seen these days outside of true royal circles.

"Enchante, mademoiselle... My name is Samuel le Chevalier. When I was born, however," Straightening himself, Samuel wore a perfectly kind, charming expression on his face with green eyes that sparkled much like Sofia's did at times. He extended a cool hand to take the human's warm soft one and bent again at the waist now to kiss her knuckles. "I was called Samuel Knight. You may have noticed the handsome Knight family resemblance... Such a pleasure to meet you. May I have the pleasure of your name?" Samuel finished, straightening again but not releasing her hand. He did not even straighten fully but remained ducked somewhat so that her head was above his own. Such a gentlemanly tactic... Behind him, Noah was watching and taking notes with big eyes.

[Laurel Andersen]

Laurel was hesitant to let her guard down completely, but she figured it was safe to put down the bat, at least. Standing so quickly like that had made her a little dizzy, anyway, she doubted she'd have the aim she did when she was 11. Thinking that way made her feel old, though, so she didn't dwell on it. She did give the man a closer look, though. He looked so damn familiar. Maybe he was Sofia's brother, and that's why he looked like she'd seen him before. He had a sort of Brad Pitt-ish look about him, so that might have been it, but maybe that was just the hair. She couldn't put her finger on it. At any rate, he didn't seem to be too threatening. He was kind of a big guy, the way Gideon (whom Laurel had met a few times, but rarely for long since she was mostly in the house when nobody but the kids were home) was kind of a big guy. He was handsome, definitely, with softly chiselled features and a wide, bright smile that Laurel was sure had probably gotten a lot of girls in the same mess she was in. There was another look about him that made her decide this was unlikely, though - a kind of soft, cool glow that she was beginning to recognize as belonging to a vampire. One couldn't always a vampire from a human, but she spotted the faint glint of fangs in his grin, and she was beginning to recognize that subtle but immensely attractive glow vampire's had more and more.

The man came forward and swan-dove into a plunging bow, taking her hand to give it a genteel kiss. Laurel couldn't help it. Her lips curled impulsively upward into an amused smile. Oh, he was funny... Did this actually work on people, she wondered? This old-fashioned gentleman thing? It was so anachronistic and charming, that it was a little disarming. Sweet, though. It made him easier to trust, which was probably the point.

"Enchante, mademoiselle... My name is Samuel le Chevalier. When I was born, however, I was called Samuel Knight. You may have noticed the handsome Knight family resemblance... Such a pleasure to meet you. May I have the pleasure of your name?"

Oh, dammit. Laurel could have kicked herself! Sammy... Uncle Sammy, Samuel Knight, this was Samuel Knight! She'd yet to actually meet Gideon's elder brother (although the age gap would hardly matter now, would it?), but she recalled Sofia mentioning the night they met that Samuel Knight was a vampire too, by some mad twist of fate. This was he, then? Yes, looking at him now, she could see the resemblance... It was tricky, seeing as he and his brother had such different coloring, mainly because Gideon had almost no coloring at all, but she could definitely see it. She saw the intense, deep-set eyes, green where his brother's were ground. They had the same mouth, full lips that weren't too feminine, and the same muscled build. They had the same high-cut cheekbones Laurel herself saw when she looked in the mirror, and the same masculine chin. Yes, this Samuel guy couldn't be anything but Gideon Knight's brother...her uncle. Funny though, that.

Laurel was grinning widely now. "Samuel Knight?" she said. It wasn't really a question. More of a reaffirmation. "Yes, I do see the resemblance... I haven't really spoken to your brother much, but I've seen him around. He looks a lot like you, just...you know. Kinda albino. You're the older one, right? By...what is it, three years?" She was working to bite back a giggle. All she could think of was Gideon's daughter's diary, and her childish crush on handsome Mr. Samuel... She could see how that could have developed. Oh, could she...

[Samuel le Chevalier]

Alright, she was warming up to him... She was smiling at any rate and that was better than trying to take his head off with a baseball bat. Sam was good that she was smiling too because this way he could impress Noah. Noah needed to know how to be a gentleman and a charmer, it would be good for him in the future... He could melt girls' hearts and never have to worry about his stutter.

Samuel kissed the lady's hand and straightened again to receive her name, still smiling as charmingly as ever. Had there been a physical embodiment of "Prince Charming" Samuel would probably look damn close to it when he tried. When he was in his element, of course - leather jacket and his motorcycle or charging into battle - it was quite a different story. But for now Samuel looked merely... kind. Safe. Handsome.

"Samuel Knight?' Well, the girl didn't seem surprised by his name so she must have heard of it. Samuel nodded with a smile and released her hand, glad that she'd heard of him! He did look like his brother. They were both quite handsome.

"He looks a lot like you, just... you know. Kinda albino." Samuel chuckled and put his hands into his pockets, assuming a more relaxed stance. Well, that was certainly true... Oh, poor Gideon! People always made that comment to them. But in the end it would seem that being albino had actually benefitted his brother by getting turned and also that very beautiful wife of his.

"You're the older one, right? By... what is it, three years?"

"Hmmm..." She looked like she was going to burst with laughter! Samuel smirked and looked a little suspicious though there was a smile on his lips. He watched her in a crooked fashion, eyeballing her for a sign of some mockery here. Why did she even know he was three years older? Had Sofia told her? Sofia seemed like one who could blab useless details sometimes... She was a woman after all.

"Just about, yes. You must be a very observant girl to have remembered that. Does our family entertain you...?"

Samuel asked because she looked on the verge of laughter! Jacob came around the corner then, looked at the scene, and shared a manly nod of recognition with Samuel. Jacob smiled a little though and walked in to stand next to Laurel.

"Uncle Samuel kills people in war." He noted with an obvious measure of pride and jealousy.

[Laurel Andersen]

Laurel was almost vibrating with giddiness. (Heh.) Samuel Knight, the Samuel Knight... It was like meeting a favorite author or something. Someone whom she knew only by name, someone she was only superficially familiar with. Anna Storey had spoken of him once or twice in her diary, and he was always spoken of well. He was kind, he was gentle, he was funny, he was never rude or condescending, and he was just handsome, handsome, handsome... Well, Laurel could imagine being 11 years old and having a crush on the man in front of her. Of course, she doubted he had a leather motrocycle jacket back in the 1700s, but she could just imagine him in tight breeches and a frock coat...

Okay, well, enough of that. She did wonder, though, did he know young Anna was his niece? That his brother had procreated and promptly split? Sure, Laurel knew now that Gideon hadn't even known about it, but still... Samuel may not have necessarily been aware of Gideon's ignorance in the matter. She was positively bursting to ask! It was all so fascinating... How often did people get to speak to people like this, their own ancestors, their own history... Not that Samuel seemed to know. Surely if Sofia had mentioned anything about Laurel, Samuel would have said something already. And, almost certainly, not bothered to ask her name. Gideon didn't know who she was either, why should his brother?

"Just about, yes. You must be a very observant girl to have remembered that. Does our family entertain you...?"

She smirked a little and shrugged one shoulder. "Oh, I don't know," she said with a little giggle. "Think about it... Wouldn't your family amuse you, if you were on the outside? You're all pretty damn amusing. In the best way, of course. But no, I was laughing because, I don't know if-"

"Uncle Samuel kills people in war."

Jacob had come into the hallway to greet his Uncle Sammy and interrupt. Laurel wasn't really bothered. Jacob was a good kid; she liked him very much. It seemed sometimes that by default, he didn't always get the attention that Noah and Ruth did, mainly because they were younger and there were two of them and one of Jacob. So, when Laurel was over, she tried to give Jacob a little more one-on-one time. "Soldier, huh?" she said, smiling down at Jacob. "Impressive." She looked back up at Samuel. "Sofia didn't tell you about the new babysitter, then?" she asked him with a wry, mischevious little smile.

[Samuel le Chevalier]

The young mother had a sweet giggle, didn't she? Samuel enjoyed its sound. It was endearing and made him smile quite honestly. She explained that they were very amusing and yes, that would likely be true even if they weren't vampires... Such a funny group of people. Well, that made sense then. Perhaps she just paid attention to everything Sofia said. The young wife was prone to gushing about her family, Samuel knew...

"But no, I was laughing ebcause, I don't know if-"

Unfortunately, Samuel never heard why she was laughing. Jacob appeared at that second and explained bluntly that Samuel "killed people." Laughing himself, Samuel greeted Jacob with the same manly nod and had it returned while Laurel looked at him and asked if Samuel was a soldier. He shook his head even while she explained that it was "impressive."

"Ma'am, I prefer the term 'commander.' But a soldier is always a soldier, I suppose."

Bowing his head slightly, Samuel showed humility to her, a beautiful woman, while she asked him if Sofia hadn't told her about the babysitter. Grinning a little, Samuel shook his head and admired her smile of mischief. When she smiled that way she looked terribly familiar. Almost reminded him of his own daughter, really. Straightening himself out, Samuel approached the young mother and took her elbow kindly, shooing the boys away with his hand.

"No, or if she has then I didn't pay attention. I don't usually listen to everything she says. A lot of it is just foolishness... Go on, boys, get out of here. A lady is carrying a child and has been standing for minutes now. What did I tell you about being gentlemen?"

Noah almost tripped over himself to get to the living room first after Samuel reminded them of their gentlemanly duties.

"I'll help! I'll help, Laurel!"

He scrambled to clear off a good, clean section of the couch even if it had been mostly cleaned in the first place. Samuel steered Laurel in despite what she might have wanted and showed her the place to sit, waiting patiently until she'd done so.

"Boys, you must always make sure a Lady has her seat and is comfortable. Jacob?"

Easing himself down onto the couch as well, Samuel held one of his own knees comfortably and looked at the older boy who shifted his weight and looked reluctant before finally asking,

"Would you like something to eat or drink, Miss Laurel?" In a rehearsed tone of reluctance.

[Laurel Andersen]

Maybe saying that one was amused by somebody's family wasn't exactly the greatest compliment in the world, but Laurel didn't mean it badly, and Samuel seemed to get that. After all, the Knight family was so very...twisted. Mommy and Daddy had an approximate age difference of about 270 years, fed regularly on human blood, and had what appeared to be a disgustingly active sex life. (Sofia, Laurel found, didn't come with a built-in filter.) Uncle Samuel was a vampire ex-soldier who'd been out of touch for a couple of centuries. The three adorable children were not, in fact, any one of their real children. It was all very strange, and Laurel... Well, Laurel loved it. She thought it was fascinating. And that was without putting her in the equation. Not that she was in the equation, of course. Maybe someday, but for now, she was just the babysitter.

"No, or if she has then I didn't pay attention. I don't usually listen to everything she says. A lot of it is just foolishness... Laurel frowned slightly. Well, that wasn't very nice, was it? Samuel didn't seem to think very highly of his sister-in-law... Maybe Laurel was biased, but she liked the strange, wild, slightly abrasive woman. Go on, boys, get out of here. A lady is carrying a child and has been standing for minutes now. What did I tell you about being gentlemen?"

Even though her face still reflected her disapproval of Samuel's comment about Sofia, she could help but smile as Noah nearly fell over himself trying to lead her into the living room, seating her comfortably on the sofa. Several times, she had to bite back a laugh. She really did love these children. They were sweet, and funny, and occasionally a bit strange. In the end, for as bizarre a family life as they were being raised in, Sofia and Gideon were doing something right, weren't they? And apparently Samuel had a hand in it as well. The boys seemed eager to prove themselves as "gentlemen", especially impressionable little Noah.

She wasn't really sure what she thought of this... It was cute, but it smacked slightly of...she wasn't sure. Something controlling. Repressive, even. Samuel was a military man, and probably used to dictating, and being dictated to. Laurel was raised by a couple of hippies, and she wasn't fond of either of those.

"Would you like something to eat or drink, Miss Laurel?"

Seated comfortably on the sofa, thanks to Gentleman Noah, Gentleman Jacob offered her a drink. Laurel just smiled fondly at the little boy and shook his head. "No thanks, Jacob," she said. "But hey, if you want to do me a favor?" Jacob nodded quickly. "Can you take your comics and your brother upstairs to tuck in? I'll be up in a few to say goodnight, all right?"

Jacob, ever the preteen, just rolled his eyes and murmured a yes. Catching a glance from his uncle, he added a "Yes, ma'am," and he was off, carting his brother upstairs. Laurel would go up soon, once they had their pajamas on and had snuggled into bed. In the meantime, Laurel looked over at Samuel. She wasn't sure what to say, what to tell him about herself and what not to... He wouldn't tell Gideon about her being his descendant, would he? If she swore him to secrecy? He didn't seem untrustworthy, but she didn't really know him at all.

"So, Gideon's brother?" she said conversationally, leaning back on the sofa. Oh, that felt good... Her back was killing her. "Funny, you both being changed into vampires... Coincidental, I mean. Hey, um..." Her lips twitched in a wry little smile; she no longer believed in coincidence - only fate. She thought wildly for a moment and finally settled on an idea. Maybe this would work... "Maybe you can help me with something? You see, I'm in a Vampire Studies class. I've been trying to find out a little more about...have you ever heard of the diary of Anna Storey? It was published in the early 1800s sometime. You and your brother grew up in the same village she did, but getting your brother to talk about Wydsbridge is like pulling teeth."