The twinkling stars above in the night sky gave Corbin something to focus on as he shivered mildly from the cold breeze that occasionally passed by the pillared stoop just outside the front door of Allender Manor. For several minutes he had been sorting his thoughts, trying to fit Gideon and his unique condition into the newly redefined version of his reality. The sound of the door opening behind him interrupted his concentration and took his gaze from the stars to Gideon, who peeked out at him.

    "May I join you?" Gideon asked.

    "Sure," Corbin invited.

    Gideon made his way through the door, closing it behind him, all while keeping an intrigued stare on Corbin.

    "Forgive me for staring, but you do favor your mother so," Gideon explained.

    "You were very close to her weren't you?" Corbin responded through slightly chattering teeth.

    A fond expression took over Gideon's features before he answered. "Yes, and I knew your Pappa well too, but Emma and I enjoyed a very special bond."

    "Will you...tell me about them sometime?" Corbin asked wistfully.

    "Of course dear boy, in due time, when you have had the opportunity to properly settle back into this family of yours."

    Corbin turned back toward the sky, where the countless stars posed a question to him. "So, are there a lot of us out there, Vandarmensens?"

    Gideon sighed as he walked up beside Corbin and joined his stare at the night sky. "I am afraid time, as well as other factors, have taken their toll on our lineage and dwindled away the numbers of those who still embrace what their blood entitles them to. Legacies like what your mother left to you and your sisters are very scarce."

    Corbin absorbed everything Gideon said with a deeply personal interest, learning more and more about himself, and the family he'd discovered and readily embraced in just one day. The two enjoyed a quiet moment with their mutual gazes before Gideon confronted Corbin with a shared concern.

    "Your sisters tell me that you will be returning to Torrell early in the morning, and that you will be doing so alone, on a bus."

    "Yeah, I'll have to leave pretty early to catch my bus," Corbin confirmed.

    "Are you sure that going back there, and alone, is wise at the moment, considering we suspect foul play in your apparent abduction from this family?" 

    Corbin turned to Gideon with a haphazard grin that quickly faded. "To be honest, I'm sure of very little at the moment, but I have to go back to find out if my foster dad knows anything about all this. I feel that any search for answers should start with him."

    "I understand. I do hope you are not second guessing your heritage," Gideon pried.

    "Oh, no...of course not." Corbin referred to the manor with a glance at its entrance, then said,"I've never been so sure of anything in my life as I am about what I've found in this house."

    "Good," Gideon affirmed. "Still, I would be put at ease knowing that one of us was traveling at your side," he offered.

    "Thanks but, like I told them, the time alone will do me good I think, to help me put all this together," Corbin reasoned.

    "Ahh, as you wish," Gideon sighed in defeat, deciding not to press the matter any further. "Have you given any thought to the offer extended to you by your sisters, to come here and live with them?" he prodded.

    Corbin drew in a cold breath as his mind changed pace to deal with the proposal of his sisters, which Gideon's arrival had kept him from answering. He wrestled for a moment with his analytical thought process, then decided to be open with Gideon.

    "I want to Gideon, I really do but..."

    "But what dear boy?"

    "I don't won't to be a burden. I mean, I'll have to find a job first, then..."

    Gideon interrupted with a hearty chuckle, then he rested a hand on Corbin's shoulder as he motioned to the manor with his other hand. "A job? In case you have yet to realize it Corbin Allender, you have just inherited a fortune, and if it is earning your keep that troubles you, well, I am quite certain sure the girls will have plenty for their brother to do around here," he assured with another chuckle.

    Corbin smiled at Gideon's laugh and he held it a little longer at the thought of leaving the emptiness of Torrell so that he could come and finally realize what it means to be a part of a family; but then a doubtful shadow fell over his face that the night might have hidden from most people, but not from the acute vision of a vampire, to which the darkness was as transparent as daylight.

    "What is it Corbin, why the sudden, troubled look?" Gideon genuinely inquired, crossing his arms over his chest as he studied Corbin's disposition further.

    Corbin considered brushing away Gideon's concern with a glazed affirmation that all was well, but an annoying gremlin of a doubt had surfaced shortly after his sisters' offer to join them had been extended. He knew, based on everything he had experienced so far, that such a doubt was absurd, but he wanted to be reassured by someone like Gideon, someone he felt would confront his worries truthfully; so he decided to lay it out before him.

    "Gideon, you probably know my sisters better than anyone, right?"

    "Hmm, probably, yes. I have known each of them since birth," Gideon admitted.

    Corbin fidgeted a little before continuing, wondering if he should even bother with such a thought since inside, where it mattered, he felt sure of the truth; but having someone with Gideon's vantage point confirm what he believed would surely dissolve any and all doubts.

    "Do you...do you think they...really want me here?" he finally put forth to a patiently waiting Gideon.

    Gideon's features hardened with a deep inhale that his vampiric nature didn't require, but he used it to signal the seriousness of his change in demeanor. He wanted everything from his stance and tone, to the very words he chose, to convey the solidarity of his response to Corbin's insecurity so that it would be erased. Corbin, already with a contrite expression for asking such a thing, waited under the confident aura of Gideon's gaze until he composed his testimony and spoke.

    "My dear boy, let me assure you with the highest degree of certainty that your presence here now, and hopefully in the future should you accept the offer of your sisters, is the source of such a fervor within those girls as I have never witnessed.

    Why, when Gale called me to tell me of your return, the poor child could barely speak for the excitement in her voice, and don't be fooled for an instance by Shade's quiet reserve. Indeed I do know her better than most, so trust me when I say that she is brimming with jubilation; you just need to know how to read her, which will come in time.

    And Lydia, well I certainly do not have to tell you how she feels, not after observing the growing bond between the two of you. Do not think for a moment that she gives her affection lightly, without consideration. No,  she is much like her mother in that whomever she loves, she loves dearly." 

    Corbin was comforted by Gideon's words, but more so in the earnest intent behind them to convince him of the foolishness of his nagging doubt, which was squashed for good under the passionate weight of Gideon's tone. While Corbin breathed easier thanks to his newly validated resolve, Gideon took hold of him firmly by the shoulders.

    "Do you not wish to come here and be a part this family, your family?" Gideon asked soberly.

    "Yes, of course!" Corbin answered instantly, with his own enthusiasm shaping each syllable.

    Gideon smiled broadly as he squeezed Corbin's shoulders. "Good. Come now, do not deprive your sisters of any further joy by keeping your answer from them," he said, directing Corbin back inside the manor.

    The two went back to the living room where the Allender sisters were waiting for them. Gideon nudged Corbin with a smiling nod to announce his decision to accept the offer to come and live with his family within the walls of Allender Manor. When he did, Lydia sprang from the couch as Gale and Shade rose eagerly from their chairs and together they assaulted him with happy eyes over delighted smiles; then they consecrated his decision with hugs while Gideon stood back, watching the spectacle with a swelling wholeness inside his chest that stretched his cheeks into an unrestrained smile and pushed his memories of the love he carried for Emma into tears that embarked down his face for her children who were all together for the first time.

    The night waned quickly as a celebration of Corbin's return and Lydia was the first to succumb to its late hour. As he had done on countless nights before, Gideon scooped her up and carried her off to her bed, cherishing the experience as he knew she would soon outgrow it, just like Gale and Shade had many years earlier.

    Taking a cue from Lydia's exit, Corbin regretfully decided to retire as well since his morning departure was fast approaching. He waited for Gideon to return, then he bid everyone a good night which he looked forward to repeating night after night very soon. Gale reminded Gideon that his room in the basement was prepared for him, as it always was, then she and Shade put the manor at his disposal as they followed Corbin away from the living room to their own bedrooms.