A/N: Sorry it's been forever since I updated! I lost the plans I had for the next few chapters and had to write them up again and shift a few things around.

Laura wakes up to the late morning light and the scent of fresh linen. The pillow tickles against the side of her cheek as she turns over to get the sun out of her eyes. Laura can't remember the last time she slept in an actual bed, never mind one with clean sheets. She's utterly content to stay curled up right where she is.

The Egyptian cotton is soft and warm against her mostly bare skin. She'd stripped off her own clothes and changed in to an old t-shirt of Carmilla's before crashing in to bed the previous night. They'd arrived at Silas pretty late and Carmilla had parked up outside a ranch style house.

She'd led the human girl straight upstairs to the master bedroom and had left her there, promising to come straight back after she'd gone to see her mother. Laura had passed out from sheer exhaustion not long after Carmilla had left.

She should be more worried about waking up alone than she actually is, but the other side of the bed has clearly been slept in, and Laura just can't find it in herself to worry about anything when she's buried under a mound of blankets. Voices drift in from the street outside, and music is playing from somewhere within the house itself. It's something soft and classical, and oddly soothing.

Laura would quite happily sleep the day away, but her full bladder doesn't quite agree. Grumbling to herself, she slips out from under the covers and heads to the en suite that adjoins the master bedroom. The hardwood floor is cold under her bare feet, but stepping in to the bathroom is a different story. The marble tiles have underfloor heating.

Laura actually stands in the middle of the room for a good thirty seconds, just absorbing it all. After close to seven months living out of cars and camper vans, just having four walls around her and a roof over her head feels like a luxury.

A strangled moan actually escapes her lips as she turns on the shower and piping hot water starts pouring out from the fixture. She doesn't know how a little town like Silas still has power, but she's not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

She steps under the hot spray with her back to it, just standing there and letting the water wash away a multitude of sins. Time slips by her, and she's been in the shower a whole twenty minutes before she even starts washing her hair. The shampoo is something fruity and expensive, and it lathers in to a thick foam that will leave her hair softer than it has been in months.

The bathroom is full of steam by the time Laura shuts off the water and steps out of the shower stall. The towel hanging on the heated rack is almost big enough to wrap around Laura twice. It's soft and fluffy and so white that Laura actually worries about getting it dirty; despite the fact that she feels cleaner than she has in a long time.

"Hey Cutie, I thought you'd slipped down the drain in there." Carmilla greets her with a wise crack and a genuine smile. Like Laura, she's freshly showered and seems well rested.
"Sorry." Laura flushes. "I might have used all the hot water. God, sorry… I didn't think, it's probably rationed or something-" Her rambling is cut off as Carmilla rises gracefully from the bed and slinks over to the teenager, cupping her chin and kissing her almost senseless.
"Wow…"

"Don't worry about it, Cupcake. There's no rationing here. You can have whatever you'd like, whenever you want it." Carmilla's husky tone has a suggestive lilt to it, making Laura's blush deepen.
"How do you still have power and running water? Is it some kind of vampire magic?" Laura regrets the question the second it leaves her mouth, as Carmilla starts laughing at her.

"It's the magic of hydroelectricity, Cupcake." Carmilla chuckles, ignoring the wounded look on the younger girl's face. "Silas is an island, we're never short of water. Besides, our little town has always been ahead of the times. Silas isn't just off the map, it's off the grid. Completely self-sufficient... I'll give you the nickle tour after lunch. Help yourself to anything out of my closet, and come down when you're ready."

Carmilla presses a kiss to the side of Laura's mouth, before leaving the other girl raiding her wardrobe, and heading back downstairs to the brightly lit kitchen. The fluorescent lights buzz overhead as she steps up to the refrigerator and inspects its contents. It's been years since she's been back home, but the place is as immaculate and well maintained as if she'd just stepped out for an hour to go the store.

"I took the liberty of filling it." Carmilla jumps as her mother's crisp accent washes over her. She'd gone to see her the night before, when she'd first gotten back, but that had been a flying visit. Carmilla's skin had been crawling by the time she came home and climbed in to bed beside Laura.

"The pantry too. I'm sure your guest would appreciate something fresh for breakfast." The creature standing before Carmilla has been known by many names over the endless centuries she has walked the earth, but since founding the town of Silas she has come to be known as Mayor Lilith Morgan.

Despite not being actual blood relatives - at least not in the human sense - Lilith and Carmilla look a lot alike. The mayor looks like an older version of her daughter, with long dark hair that hangs around her shoulders in soft curls. They also share the same gaunt cheeks and chiseled jawline.

Lilith's eyes are soft and seemingly warm as they watch Carmilla from across the kitchen, but the younger vampire knows better. There is nothing soft and warm about Lilith Morgan. "Thank you, Maman." Carmilla keeps her own gaze trained on the floor. She's been free of all this for over two years. Coming back to Silas, back to mother, it's like a physical kick in the teeth. Nothing short of the apocalypse could have brought her back here.

"I'd like you and - Laura, is it? - to join Will and I for dinner tonight. That should give you plenty of time to show her around our." Despite living in America since long before the War of Independence, Lilith still speaks with a clipped British accent. It had served her well during the age when Britain had still been an Empire.
"Of course, Maman." Carmilla agrees. She doesn't dare argue.

"Hey Carm, I-" Laura walks in to the kitchen and spots Carmilla's mother standing beside her. "Oh. Hi. You must be Carmilla's mom. I'm Laura. Laura Hollis." The teenager steps forward, offering her hand out to the imposing older version of Carmilla. Lilith ignores her outstretched hand and embraces her with a motherly hug instead. Laura is surprised, but goes with it. She laps up the motherly act that Lilith Morgan has spent centuries perfecting.

"Laura, welcome! Carmilla has told me so much about you my dear." Lilith pulls back and examines the human girl. She has the cold, dead, eyes of a shark, but her radiant smile masks her scrutiny. She knows Laura wants to leave and find her friends.

Lilith also knows her daughter well enough to know she's already head over heels for the little human girl. The only way Carmilla will stay and - more importantly - do as she's told, is if Laura stays too. "Please, feel free to stay in our little town as long you need."

"Thank you, Mayor Morgan." Laura blushes. "That's very generous of you, but I… I won't be staying more than a few days. I have friends that I need to catch up with."
"Of course. And, please, call me Lilith." The mayor places her hand on Laura's shoulder, offering her a toothy smile. "I'll leave you two girls to it. Carmilla." She nods at her daughter and then walks out the door.

"That's the school over there, and behind it there's a ton of farmland… What?" Carmilla stops in the middle of her tour spiel as she realizes Laura isn't really listening, hasn't been for a while. "You with me Creampuff?"
"What? Yeah. Sorry." Laura brushes her hair back from her eyes, wearing an easy smile. "It's stupid. I just… this is the first time in months that I haven't had to look over my shoulder, or worry about being eaten."
"I dunno, play your cards right…" Carmilla grins, knocking her hip in to Laura's.

"Pervert." Laura scorns, playfully shoving at the other girl. "I mean it, Carm!"
"So do I." Carmilla wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her in closer and stealing a long, lingering kiss as Laura melts against her. The younger girl's grin reaches from ear to ear as she pulls back.
"I'm being serious. This place… It's amazing." Laura sighs and leans in to her as Carmilla drapes an arm over her shoulders. "I could live here. I could be happy. We could… I mean, if you wanted there to be a we. An us-"

"I want." Carmilla cuts her off before she can start rambling. Cupping Laura's cheeks in her hands, she makes sure to stare her down so that the message is clear. "I want you more than I have ever wanted anything, or anyone, else." The pads of her thumbs softly caress Laura's cheeks. Carmilla can't imagine losing her so soon; she only just found her.

"I'll come back." Laura promises, dashing Carmilla's hopes that she might just have given up on her wild goose chase of finding her friends. "Once I find the others. I'll bring them back here, and we can start fresh. We can finally stop running and start living. This place is everything we wanted. And more." Carmilla definitely falls in the 'and more' category.

"Sure. C'mon, let me show you the market." She links her hand in to Laura's and tugs her along towards the main part of town. They pass more people, and Laura can't quite ignore the way people quickly move out of their way. Just like she can't ignore the wary glances, or the hushed whispers; or the way these people address Carmilla like royalty. Literally.

"Countess Karnstein." A vendor standing by a fruit and veg stall actually bows at her. Carmilla nods stiffly, barely acknowledging him. It's been years since she's been back here. She's almost forgotten what it can be like.
"So you're kind of a big thing around here, huh?" Laura teases, unaware of just how uneasy all of the attention is making Carmilla feel.

"That's what happens when your family founds a town and runs it for two centuries." Carmilla shrugs, trying to play it down. "Hey, now that you've had the nickel tour, how about we head back to my place and I show you that heated pool?"
"I thought you'd never ask."

"I can't believe we're getting dressed up for dinner!" Laura laughs as she smooths her hands down over the ivory colored dress she's liberated from Carmilla's walk in closet. Carmilla herself is wearing a strapless little black dress that has Laura practically foaming at the mouth.

"Mother is very particular." Carmilla answers - almost with a sigh - as she stands behind Laura, running her hands up and down Laura's bare arms. "You look beautiful."
"Thanks, you don't look so bad yourself." Laura laughs. She twists on the spot, reaching back to kiss her.

"Am I interrupting something?" A voice sounds from behind them, making Laura jump. Carmilla barely bats an eyelid at the intrusion.
"I see your manners haven't improved, William." She rolls her eyes at her brother. "Laura, William. William, Laura."

"Charmed, I'm sure." Will moves with the grace of an ally cat as he saunters over to Laura, takes her hand in his and kisses the back of it. Despite the warmth in his smile, his eyes are cold and black. He reminds Laura of a shark.

"Nice to meet you." She does her best not to shudder as she drops her hand back down by her side. Carmilla moves in closer, placing a protective hand on Laura's hip. "Carm's told me a lot about you." And most of it was probably a lie.

"Oh, I very much doubt that." Will smirks, as though reading her thoughts. "I doubt Kitty's told you much of anything about Silas. Like why she hasn't been back in so long."
"William." Carmilla growls out each separate syllable. "You're walking a fine line-"

"My apologies." Will doesn't look all that sorry. "I'm just curious why you came back. Now I see." He flashes that toothy, shark-like, smile at Laura; making her even more uncomfortable. Carmilla bites back an actual growl. She expected her family to use Laura against her, she just didn't expect it to start so soon.

For decades she was free from this place. From this town and these people. Coming back with her tail between her legs was never going to be easy, but becoming so invested in her new human companion has made it that much harder. "Mother is waiting." With one last look over Laura, he turns and leaves.

Laura finally lets out the shiver she's been holding in since Carmilla's brother introduced himself. "Well, your brother seems like a douche." Carmilla snorts at the smaller girl's observation, tugging her in close and pressing her lips against her cheek.

"He is. My family are… complicated. You're safe here though, that's all that matters."
"This is only temporary." Laura reminds her.
"So you've said. Multiple times." Carmilla smiles sadly, knowing that a confrontation is coming.

Sooner or later, she's going to have to make the tiny teenager see sense. Silas is the only safe place left, and going in to the mountains after her friends is suicide. "Hey, how about we skip the family dinner? We can raid the fridge and climb in to bed." She suggests, putting off the showdown for a little while longer.

"Hmmm, I don't know. It seems like a waste to be wearing this dress for a 'quiet night in'. Laura giggles as Carmilla nips playfully at her neck, her hands running over her sides.
"Well…" The vampire's voice is husky at her ear. "You could always take it off."