Long road home (Robert)

[Anneliese Kunze]

It had been almost ten years since she'd set foot here in LA, but there were good reasons for that. Now, however, all she wished to do was settle down somewhere and get her life setup somewhere more consistent. For years they moved from place to place, never really anchoring in one place for far too long. Pushing a stroller through the shopping mall, Anne laughed as her youngest made sounds with his voice as he was just starting to discover them. He cooed happily as he sucked on his fingers, smiling bright at all the passing people. He was a truly adorable sight as well, fat rosey cheeks, blonde messy hair, and a giant grin on his face as he was usually a happy baby.

The other child was with a sitter, of her own choice as well. Due to spending so much time with their nanny, they grew just as attached to her as they had their own mother. Strolling up to a bench, Anne moved to sit for a moment, tired from all the shopping. There were bags everywhere, hanging from the stroller. Taking out her phone, she turned the thing to face her so she could watch her child as well as handle business. 'Clear on all fronts. Looking quiet on our end.' she read, a message sent from a team of her hunters who were currently sweeping the surrounding area for any sort of threat that may have followed her.

Quickly typing out a short handed reply, she smiled at her son as she made silly faces at him. It was getting sort of late, she knew that, but for some reason she lingered here. There was real danger around here the later it got, danger that had a name. While she didn't expext him to harm her, Anne wasn't truly sure what he would do if he saw her. She didn't exactly make her move back here a secret, this time there were no orders put in place to conceal herself. She was tired of running, tired of the endless struggle, and simply wished for a place to lay her head.

"You're going to kill me with those cute cheeks of yours. Yes you are, such a sweet little boy." she cooed at him, watching as he grasped her finger in his fat little hands.

[Robert Alexander Lovelace]

Robert wasn't trying to stalk Anne by any stretch of the imagination. He was more worried about her than anything else, with things as unstable as they were in L.A. it was not a good time for her to come back. He wouldn't be the only one to recognize her and Diana, who was already on edge, was likely to not handle the news that his old ex sire had come back to town with two children in tow. She'd be safer if she was in another city. It also didn't help that she came with her own team of hunters. It did not generally mean she could be trusted.

All of this went through his head as he watched her from a distance. Slipping up to her silently he began to make enough noise deliberately so she would see him well before what she might consider a danger zone. One could never be too careful around a mother, and given how ferociously she had fought to keep her fledgelings, he didn't doubt it applied moreso to flesh and blood. He got close enough to be heard and nodded, "I heard you were in town, Annie." he said in his usual gentle tones. His deep voice having the gravelly edge of years to it. He never could keep his emotions out of his voice.

He was dressed in black dress shoes, black slacks, and a blood red dress shirt with a long black leather trench coat. His hair was the same long scruffy look he usually wore. It was ironic how much she had affected him. He was still hoping he impressed her. It bothered him but he hid it as he placed one hand in his pocket and the other rested at his side, revealing his Rolex watch. "Its not a good time to be here, Annie. Things are unsettled between the coven and the werewolves." he said quietly, glancing down at the child in the stroller he smiled, his eyes crinkling up in the corners, "He has your hair." He looked up at her and exhaled, "I'll do my best to protect you." he said gruffly, feeling like he was intruding.

[Anneliese Kunze]

His voice sent a chill down her spine, one that she had yet to decide wether or not it was good or bad. She missed him, of course, but at the same time he was dangerous now. She couldn't control him if he really wanted to kill her, one on one anyway, right now he was standing in a kill zone if either of them wanted exposure. Sitting up slowly, she took her finger back from the child who blinked, wondering where his "toy" had gone. There were a thousand things she wanted to say, most of them tried to come out all at once, but all she could manage in response was a simple wave and a 'hi'. Hi? That was the best she could after all of this time?

"Yeah, sorry for the lack of advance warning, it was kind of a spur of the moment thing.." she said softly. Her blue/grey eyes probed him for a moment, trying to figure out what he was feeling. Whatever it was she knew it couldn't be good, though she hoped that some portion of it was. She hoped that by now he could look back on the fond things as well as the harsh lessons she taught him, the terrible things she had done. Though for now she settled for her's and Connor's lives. Reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, she bite her lip nervously. She felt under dressed now, having had no time she left in a pair of jeans and a hoodie.

"I know, that is partially why I am here." she said, sighing. With him in conflict it was hard to glean one thing from his mind without it changing so quickly. His thoughts were almost too confusing to follow as they were, a vampires mind moved so much faster. "If things go south, we're here to keep both sides from getting out of control.." she admitted, at least now she was being entirely honest with him. No more half truths, no more lies, and she would even show him her thoughts if she thought it would help.

Anne seemed even more baffled yet when he offered her protection. "After all that I have done to you, you would still help us? Why?" she asked. She didn't survive this long without some suspicion. She wanted to believe that he had somehow forgiven her or at least started to move past their history. "I wouldn't blame you if you wiped us out, to be entirely honest.." she said, looking down at Conner.

"It's just.. I finally get it. I finally understand what it's like to feel, to love, I just.. I'm so sorry.." she said, shedding a tear for the first time in ten years.

[Robert Alexander Lovelace]

"I will do my best to see it does not spill over one way or the other. I do have a few cards to play yet." he said quietly as he watched her. She was nervous and uncertain. He rather liked that for once she wasn't acting like an arrogant shrew. She had taught him never to be unprepared and to always work from multiple angles, "There is an ancient vampire named Lidija. She is quite insane and from all accounts is playing a similar game to what you did. Maybe you could be of assistance in dealing with her, seeings as you left a path of destruction in your wake the last time you were here." It was as much a warning as anything else. He didn't want anything biting him in the ass with Anne as it so often did.

He exhaled and looked at a point on the floor as he collected his thoughts, "My family's life has just settled down. Merry is married to the police chief and they have a child together. She moved on from Connor thank goodness." he had worried she wouldn't and had toyed with the idea of helping her cope but she had made the journey herself and was better for it. "You have children, Anne. Do you think I am the monster you were? I never kill children and try my best to weed out the local pedophile population." he was almost insulted that she would think he was that petty and vindictive, "If you can't see that then you never really knew me at all."

Her last comment about being wiped out and shook his head, "Killing you would not bring back my dead wife or Connor. I am not the man she married and we would not recognize each other if it did. I have rose colored memories of her because she died but they are not realistic. And she would not approve of the things I've done." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in thought, "Perhaps you do. That remains to be seen however. Your sorrow does not change the past although it is nice to know you feel something for another being that isn't based in your own wants and desires of the moment." He didn't look at her, he was uncertain of her situation and it would do no good to feel something for a woman who was possibly married. Then there was Diana to consider. Diana had her own share of problems but she cared for people besides herself. A step up from Anne in his mind.