Chapter Text
Daniel thought he had managed to screw up any chance of maintaining a healthy father-daughter relationship with Kate and Lenore after so long without contact and so many years of Daniel's absence as a father in their lives.
Not that what they had now could be called a healthy relationship—it could hardly be considered a relationship—but it was better than what they had before, the years of silence except for occasional phone calls on birthdays, and to know if they were okay or alive (in Daniel's case), the barbs.
Parkinson's benefit.
Daniel knew that his relationship with his daughters could never return to what it was, they had too much baggage and too many years of resentment to throw like water under the bridge.
But things weren't so bad.
His girls even made video calls for Daniel to talk to his grandchildren.
Of course, teenagers were much more attentive to their surroundings than people give them credit so their older grandchildren didn't want to know about Daniel.
Obviously, after years of listening to his parents talk about how Daniel had been a terrible father and an absent man of the house, there was no way the children would like him. Not to mention the very pleasant personality. Who doesn't like a bitter and sarcastic old man? Neither people his age liked people like that, nor can he stand it most days.
Daniel still had a chance to be a good grandfather to at least one of his grandchildren, not that he would give up on the others, but it was easier if they were receptive to the conversation in the first place.
It didn't take long for Kate and Lenore to stop including children in video calls with a single exception: Charlotte.
The little and sweet Charlotte, Kate's youngest daughter. Her 2-year-old granddaughter.
The little one seemed to have a temper as strong as her mother's, almost bad as Daniel's. Daniel did not know whether to laugh or grieve for the poor child or for his parents.
Lotte was really the only person who seemed happy to talk to Daniel.
"She loved having another grandfather. Even though Grandpa Jack, who was married to Grandma Alice, was a very nice grandfather."
That would be very difficult to overcome.
Daniel met Kate with Charlotte a few times.
He took them to the ice cream parlor that took the girls when he was a good father present, he was clean and present at home. There were few times.
Kate was sulking and with her arms crossed the whole time, in fact this gave Daniel a great sense of nostalgia. As Kate and Lenore grew older, that's how he remembered them, always sulking or angry or upset.
It was very bittersweet and he should have chosen a better place to see his daughter again.
Lotte looked like the complete opposite of her mother. She was excited and didn't know which flavor to choose.
Daniel missed the childish excitement.
Sometimes, Kate would take Lotte to Daniel's apartment for a few hours, of course Charlotte's older brother Sam would have to go too and keep an eye on it. If Daniel did not know how much he had damaged his daughters' childhoods with his vices, he would be offended.
But that didn't spoil the experience. Daniel would let Sam play whatever was the wave among the young people these days (Sam seemed less unhappy when she came to visit him) while little Lotte asked to watch My Little Poney. Daniel knew more about this drawing than would be healthy.
Of course, the pandemic had to kick in and make everything worse.
Calls decreased and so did video calls.
Kate or Lenore asked for Daniel's groceries to be delivered. No visits.
Lotte learned to make video calls so whenever Kate or Henry (Kate's husband) got distracted, she would make a call to her grandfather, sometimes even Sam joined.
Daniel was terribly lonely, he had gotten used to the visits and outings with the children so having no one with him was making him lonely.
And then he received the box with the tapes that he didn't remember until that moment.
Louis du PontDulac
A vampire.
He knew how to stir Daniel up.
It was irresistible.
It was insane.
It was nonsense.
But it was so tempting.
Screw Parkinson's or the pandemic.
Daniel hadn't felt so excited about something in a long time.
Daniel was going to travel to another country in the middle of a pandemic.
He called his editor, who was not at all thrilled by the possibility of Daniel's life being in danger, but he couldn't stop a stubborn old man like him.
He called his doctor who also couldn't stop a stubborn old man.
He called Lenore and Kate, they didn't answer so he left a message for them.
"I'm going to Dubai for work. I don't know when I'll be back.
I love you."
And a message to Sam and Lotte: "Hey kids, grandpa is going on a road trip for a while, but I want you to know that I love you very much and I hope you are okay and take good care of each other and your mom."
Daniel knew he would run the risk of not coming back, either because he got sick or because he became the most bland meal for a vampire.
So when he survived all those weeks, he was surprised.
Of course he wanted to come back, but he didn't expect that he would come back, especially that he would come back as a vampire.
Thanks to the small mercies, he was clean-shaven, it was enough to have that flabby belly and white hair. Pathetic.
He just didn't expect to come back with more than he thought.
Immortal and with memories of 12 years of crazy, addictive and chaotic love, nothing different from that phase that Daniel remembers living.
And a creator.
It wasn't enough that little Gremlin converted Daniel because of a stupid near-fatal slip, he had to have been the love of Daniel's life all those years and he had to want to get Daniel back to the U.S. after they had long days of talks and Daniel made it clear to the Gremlin that he could never resent it as he was attracted to Armand when he impersonated Rashid and his body and heart have not forgotten it.
How to resent the one you love more than anything in your life?
Now he was back in the U.S. with his lover/creator and was immortal, what could possibly go wrong?
A video call from Kate and Lenore and hundreds of messages and missed calls on her cell phone.
"Are you crazy? You're sick. We are in a pandemic. You're 70 years old. What were you thinking about going to the other side of the world without telling me or Lenore?!"
"Kate honey, I tried to talk to you"
"You left a fucking farewell message on a voicemail call! I had to find out about that because Charlotte wouldn't stop crying thinking you had died just like Skiper."
Daniel felt his dead heart stop. Oh damn. "Who was Skiper?"
"The old dog we had. But that's beside the point. She thought you had died, Sam thought you had died. Everyone thought that."
Lenore then said, "Even your asshole editor. Don't do that ever again dad."
Daniel thought he would never hear that word again.
He was thrilled, his eyes tingling with bloody tears that could barely be contained.
"Father, what...? Are you bleeding?!"
"Dad? Oh my God, Kate call 911."
Daniel quickly dried his eyes "It's nothing Kate and Lenore, I'll talk to you later. I love you dear."
Armand, who had been looking at him during the entire conversation from the armchair in which he was sitting, fiddling with the iPad, got up quickly and went to Daniel: "What's wrong, beloved? Are you feeling something? He wants me to call Fareed."
Daniel just laughed: "No, dear. I just... She called me dad."
Armand sighed in relief "But you're her father, how else should she call you?"
Daniel felt more tears flow. It was just what was missing, to become a crying vampire "I haven't heard them call me that in decades".
"Oh Daniel. You're getting emotional."
"I'm old, give me a discount."
"No, you look perfect. It always has been."
"You're the only one who thinks so. I love you."
Armand smiled, his orange eyes shining with happiness, "And I to you, my fascinating boy."
"I'm not a boy."
"You will always be," Armand whispered, kissing Daniel's lips.