Summary: A vacation at a grand resort becomes a battle with ghosts of present and past. The sixth story in my series.

Danger In The Thought

A Monster High fanfiction by Nova Caine

As you will notice, there are no suggested tracks for this story. I have no excuse for this other than the fact that I ran out of songs to use. So, my apologies if you were enjoying that.

On to the story!

"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."

-Albert Einstein

Prologue:

Silence.

Silence and darkness, that was all there was. Just an empty void, and yet a comfortable one. The bliss of being of being nowhere and knowing nothing was a lovely one. Alas, consciousness and awareness had to sink in, and the sound of someone calling dissolved the lovely heaven.

"Valentine? Valentine, are you awake, dear?"

Valentine's eyes adjusted to the light, and he tried to move. He stopped when soreness seized his ribs, and he groaned out in pain. His mother's cool hand touched his forehead, soothing him somewhat.

"I'm right here, my love," she said softly, helping him sit up. "I'll stay right here with you, don't worry."

His teeth were sticky and his mouth was dry, but that didn't stop him from trying to speak. "Where am I?" he croaked out quietly, leaning into his mother's shoulder lazily.

"You're at the hospital, dear," she explained, and the memories came flooding back. The unspeakable agony and fear, the fact that he'd screamed probably more than he ever had in his life that night. These thoughts scared him so much that he pressed his face into his mother's neck, wishing to return to his peaceful void. "There, there, darling," she whispered as she comforted him. "You're all right, now," she pulled away, stroking his cheek and giving him a reassuring smile. "Everything went smoothly, and you had a beautiful baby girl."

"The baby came too early," Valentine murmured, looking away. "I was only four months."

Vampira chewed on her lip, nodding understandingly. "I know. She's okay; though she needs to be in an incubator for…I don't even know how long. She's a sweet, sweet little thing- do you want her?"

Valentine looked up. "What?"

"Do you want the baby?"

He thought about this. Did he want something he'd resented ever since he saw that little pink cross on the pregnancy test? He'd felt absolutely no emotional attachment to that parasite, especially when she moved for the first time and scared the daylights out of him. Valentine didn't feel prepared, yet for some odd reason, the word 'no' was not uttered. He kept completely silent, and Vampira rubbed his back.

"I'll let you think about it. We can let aunt Sonata take care of her, you know,"

Valentine did not say a word. There was a pause, and Vampira kissed his cheek.

"I won't be long, you get some rest," and with that, she was gone.

He rolled over in the bed, sighing. Why did this happen? Jared had never gotten a proper punishment for what he did. A train ended his life, but the death had been quick and painless. He died before he could get what probably would've been a life sentence, and yet, by getting impregnated by him, Valentine felt as though he was the one serving the life sentence. His child, whether he chose to care for her or not, would be a constant reminder of what happened to him. It would be a life sentence for both of them, and it wasn't fair.

Something twitched inside Valentine, and he froze. He tried to tell himself it was just his imagination, that the baby was out and nothing could've moved. And yet, he felt it again.

"No," he slid his hand down to his stomach, keeping it there and feeling more movement. Something was definitely in there. "Oh, God, please, don't let there be another one!"

A spasm of pain flashed through him, and he cried out. It wasn't as bad as it was in the shower, but it was intense. He called out for help, for his mother, the doctor, a nurse, anyone. But nobody came to his aid. The pain persisted, and after an uncomfortable few more minutes he couldn't wait any longer.

Shaking violently, he checked to make he wasn't wearing any underwear, and with his last shred of dignity, he pushed. It was unbearably painful, but he managed to strain himself two more times before relief settled in him and his body relaxed.

Valentine until every nerve in his body calmed, and he sat up, still quivering. "M-mom?" he called out weakly, wanting assistance. "Where are you?"

She didn't come to him, and he turned his attention to the hot, slick mass underneath the paper gown he was wearing. He didn't want to look, but he did anyway. He pulled back the paper gown, looking between his legs and covering his mouth in shock.

It was a baby, another one. It didn't make sense, nothing made sense. Very gently, he poked the creature's back, jolting a little when he heard it squeak. Swallowing nervously, he mildly picked up the baby, but held it a short distance away from him. The infant squirmed in his hands, scrunched up its face pitifully and began to wail. Almost instantly, a sort of instinct took over and Valentine could do nothing but press his face against the child, umbilical cord and all.

"It's okay," he crooned breathlessly, patting its back. "I'm right here, don't cry." He still didn't know how this was possible, but he didn't care. He wiped the afterbirth off his face and held the baby close to his chest, rocking it. The baby had stopped crying and lay quietly, moving around a bit to get comfortable.

Valentine lay against the pillow, his eyes slipping shut as he stroked the baby's back. He took a moment to recover from the shock, and he pulled the baby away from him to get a better look. Panic struck him when a familiar, calloused hand clapped around his neck and began to choke him.

The baby was gone, and instead it was Jared. His grip tightened around Valentine's neck and he grinned manically.

"I WILL LIVE INSIDE YOU, FOREVER!" Jared's voice screamed, and Valentine shrieked in horror.

The feeling of the satin sheets of his own coffin's bedding and the squeaking of his ceiling fan brought Valentine back to reality. His mind was racing and his heart was pounding. He hated nightmares, for he knew that a bad enough one could possibly kill him in his sleep, and he was surprised this one didn't. He sat up, looking around the room and catching his breath. After he'd totally calmed and pinched himself to make sure he was awake, he got out of his coffin noiselessly.

It was four in the morning, so he crept quietly down the hall not to wake anyone. Slowly, he pushed the door to Anne Marie's room open and peeked inside. She was asleep in her own coffin, her ribs rising and falling with each breath. She was nine years old, now, and she'd lost some of her baby fat in her face, and this made her resemble Jared quite a bit. Nevertheless, Valentine walked in the room silently and gave Anne a kiss on the cheek, running his fingers through her hair while admiring her beauty.

Anne Marie's eyes opened, and Valentine brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. "Everything's all right, Annie," he reassured gently, smiling at her. "I was only checking on you."

She simply nodded, rubbing her eye and turning away. "Okay, Papa," she muttered sleepily. "And don't call me Annie."

Valentine chuckled, rubbing her shoulder and making his way back to bed.

She'd never become her father.

Right?

Chapter 1: The Happy Husband

"Where is the mustard?"

"Jackson is an idiot."

"Jackson is NOT an idiot. Dumbass."

"Mike loves Teresa."

These were the words carved on a brick wall in front of the shoe store. There were many more things written, but these were the ones that stood out to Deuce. He stared at the etchings blankly, letting out a sigh. He looked down at his six year old daughter, Dusa, watching her wipe her eyes and sniffle. She had a skirmish with her sister, Viper, and now she and her father had to stand outside the store so she could calm down.

"Why is Viper mean to me?" Dusa whimpered, wiping her nose on her sleeve. "Why does she hate me, daddy?"

"She doesn't hate you, honey," Deuce explained, stroking her hair. "She just likes being bossy. It's just a phase and she'll get over it," This was probably the third time he had to explain this to her. Viper and Dusa fought a lot, and though these fights almost never got physical, they were just loud. It would almost sound like the two girls were having a screaming competition. Yet no matter how long the fight lasted or what it was about, Dusa would always break down into a crying fit and Viper would tease her. But today was different, since this was the first time they'd fought in public and drawn the attention of all the shoppers to them. And now here Deuce was: standing outside of a fancy shoe store waiting for one of his daughters to stop crying.

Dusa rubbed her eye one last time, sniffing and looking up at her father through big eyes. "Can we go home, please?"

"We need to wait for your mother to finish shopping," Deuce explained, picking Dusa up. "Once she finds some shoes that she likes, she'll be right out."

Nodding, Dusa wrapped her little arms around her father's neck and nuzzled into his shoulder, whispering, "I wanted to just go shopping with you,"

Deuce chuckled, kissing her cheek. "I know, but you know your mom loves to shop."

At this moment, Cleo strode out of the store, carrying a cluster of shopping bags with little Viper trailing close behind. With a smirk, Cleo triumphantly held up the bags.

"I did it! I bought all the party shoes I need at the moment. Oh, Deuce, you have to see the diamond studded designer heels with the French lace! They're simply divine."

"That sounds great," Deuce nodded, trying to force a smile on his face. "Will they go with your new dress?"

"Oh, most definitely- here, could you carry this?" she handed Deuce two of the bags, using the free hand to grasp Viper's hand. Viper glared up at Dusa, and Dusa glared back.

"Stop it, you two," Deuce said sternly, watching as Viper crossed her arms and scowled.

They got into the car with all the bags, and of course Cleo handed the girls little toys to play with to keep them from fighting each other. When the children were distracted, Deuce began to drive and Cleo began to complain.

"Remind me never to take them again," she grumbled in a hushed tone. "My Ra, I don't think I've ever been so embarrassed in my unlife!"

Deuce clenched the steering wheel and zoned out as she went on and on. Since he'd been around her for so long, he was used to tuning out whenever she complained. However, a sharp yelp coming from the seat behind them yanked Deuce back into reality.

Cleo whipped around and demanded, "What happened, girls!?"

"Dusa's a stupidhead!" Viper screeched, slapping her sister in the face. "She hit me with her doll!"

"I DID NOT!" Dusa screeched back in a louder, more obnoxious voice. Her lips trembled, and soon she broke down into tears once again.

This was all Deuce could take, and it wasn't long before his rage boiled over and he screamed, "SHUT UP! SHUT, BOTH OF YOU!FOR THE LOVE OF ZEUS, CAN ALL OF YOU PLEASE JUST SHUT UP!?"

The entire car fell silent, and the girls did not quarrel again for the rest of the way home. Cleo just stared in shock, but said nothing. It wasn't until they'd arrived home and the girls went to go watch TV that Cleo said something regarding the incident.

"I can't believe you lost your temper like that!" Cleo remarked as she and Deuce snacked on cheese and olives while she went through the mail. "You've never snapped at them like that before."

Deuce, who felt ashamed about the way he'd acted, simply sighed. "It's just…they fight all the time! I really think we need to do something about that. It's just not right!"

"Don't be silly, dear," Cleo commented as she bit into a piece of cheese. "They'll work it out on their own. After all, that's what Nefera and I always did."

"Don't you and Nefera hate each other?" Deuce inquired. However, Cleo did not answer.

She was reading a letter she'd opened very intently as she cleaned her teeth with a toothpick. Finally, after a long silence, she stood up.

"How would you like to go on vacation?"

Deuce was baffled by this sudden notion. "What?"

"A vacation to Grand Island," Cleo continued, looking very pleased. "See, my brother, Ramses-"

"You have a brother!?"

Cleo chewed on her bottom lip. "Y-yes, well, I supposed I've never mentioned him. Ramses the second, my older brother, owns a vacationing spot known as Grand Island. And he's invited us to come! He says that we can bring any friends or family we wish, and that he'll pay for everything," she leaned into his face, batting her eyelashes. "So, wanna go, my love?"

Deuce thought about this. "Well, I guess that it would be nice to go somewhere,"

"Great!" She poured a glass of white wine and walked off, muttering excitedly to herself about the wonderful vacation they would all have.

Deuce sighed, pouring a glass of wine and looking out into their backyard.

Hello again!

So, here's my new story. It may seem a tad depressing, but I hope it got you hooked.

Now that you've read this, how do you feel about it so far? Do you think Valentine's nightmare has any significance? What do you think will be the outcome of this vacation (besides what the summary says)? Let me know in your review!

Until next time, fellow monsters! And Merry Christmas if you celebrate!