It's been a while, huh? Got bored, had time, felt like writing, remembered this existed, and thought it was sad that I never continued. To anyone for whom this story is no longer relevant: sorry for the four-years-later spam. To everyone else: thanks for coming back!

Disclaimer: It may have been four years, but I still don't own Dark Shadows.

Barnabas sat in silence inside Julia's office, Victoria seated next to him. Her hands rested comfortingly on his, as if to tell him that everything would be okay. And honestly, the more he thought about it, the more assured he became of this fact. Sure, Dr. Hoffman now knew he was a vampire; and yes, it was doubtless that she was currently ripping into Elizabeth for her secrecy. However, he told himself, if it were up to him, the entire household would know of his true nature. What good did it do to hide such a secret from his own flesh and blood? It was better that they know. Still, if Elizabeth was kind enough to allow him residence despite his nature in what was now her home, then he figured that he must respect her wishes. It was the least he could do.

At last, he stood up. "Where are you going?" asked Victoria.

Barnabas opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, the sound of knocking rang through the house. Afraid that Angie may have returned, Barnabas moved to find the nearest window through which he could catch a glimpse of the visitor.

Cautiously, he lifted the curtain of a dusty side window, afraid to move too quickly, lest he give away his position. When he was finally able to peer out, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Who is it?" Victoria asked, moving to stand behind him.

"Fortunately, I have not the faintest idea." At this, he moved aside, allowing Victoria to view the stranger. He was a short man of average build, with thinning dark hair and a gray suit. In his hand was a stack of papers. Impatiently, he checked his watch before again pounding on the door.

As soon as Victoria set eyes on him, her jaw dropped, letting out an audible gasp. The curtain fell from her hand, covering the glass, but she did not move. It was as if she had turned to stone. "Victoria?" Barnabas asked. "My dear, what is wrong? What curse has befallen you?"

It was another few seconds before she could speak. Barnabas silently noted that those few seconds felt longer than the two centuries he had spent in solitude. Eventually, though, she woke from her reverie with a slight shake of her head. "He found me." Her voice was blank, emotionless. "I don't know how, but he found me."

"Who?" Barnabas asked, his resentment for this unnamed stranger growing. "Who dares disturb you?"

"His name is Dr. Mason," Victoria intoned. "He's the head of the asylum."

"Alright, alright! Keep your pants on!" Willie yelled from the front room as he staggered to the door. "Who the hell are you?" he asked upon answering.

"Charming," quipped the man outside. "My name is Dr. Mason, and I run the Collinsport Asylum just outside of town. Not long ago, one of our patients went missing, a Ms. Maggie Evans."

"Never heard of her," Willie interjected, allowing his apparent boredom to flow through every syllable.

"Are you sure?" Dr. Mason asked again. "It is possible that she is using a false name. I have a picture here."

He handed Willie one of the papers he was holding. Now, Willie clearly recognized the face of the woman he knew as Victoria Winters. But he also knew that mentioning anything that might separate Barnabas from Victoria would undoubtedly go against his master's wishes. With this in mind, he simply said, "Never seen her." However, the waver in his resolve had betrayed him.

Dr. Mason raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Oh no? Tell me, mister …?"

"Willie."

"Alright then. Tell me, Willie, might I come in? I've had a long morning and could use a nice cup of coffee, or perhaps… something stronger?" He knew the type of man Willie was just by looking at him. Or maybe he could just smell the alcohol on his breath. Either way, Mason knew that this would at least catch Willie's attention.

For a moment, Willie considered giving in to his weakness. Yet, the pull to obey Barnabas's will was stronger. "Nah, I really can't do that."

"Fine." Any hint of charm in Mason's voice was gone as if a switch had been flipped. "But if you do see her, please don't hesitate to call. Believe me, all I want is Maggie's safe return."

"Will do." With that, Willie shut the door as Mason returned to his vehicle and drove away.

Immediately, Barnabas and Victoria entered the front room, along with Elizabeth and Julia, who had also apparently been eavesdropping on the conversation.

"Let me see that paper," Elizabeth commanded.

"Oh, I don't really think that's a good idea," Willie protested, but Elizabeth was too fast. Before he could react, she grabbed the paper out of his hand and studied the picture.

"Well, well, well," she began. Victoria braced herself for a scolding, but for the moment, Elizabeth simply seemed surprised. "It looks like Barnabas isn't the only one keeping secrets around here."

"I knew she was a liar," Julia commented. "I could tell the minute I saw her."

Finally, it was Barnabas's turn to weigh in on the situation. "That is enough." His words were calm, yet forceful. "Victoria has proven to be a skilled and attentive governess thus far, has she not?" It took little thought for Elizabeth to nod in agreement. "Then why should her past have any bearing on the present? Madam, you were kind enough to welcome me into your home, even upon learning of my accursed nature. You agreed that my current use to the family was worth more than the admittedly regrettable events of my past. Why should not the same hold true for Victoria?"

Elizabeth considered this. On the one hand, she did find it concerning that Victoria had apparently escaped from an asylum shortly before becoming a caretaker to the Collins children. On the other hand, Victoria certainly had proven herself to be a valuable asset so far. Her arrival with Barnabas had brought them fortunes that they hadn't even known existed. Not to mention the fact that David had already grown attached to her. If she was good at her job, what did it matter if she came from an asylum? Surely, this was proof that she had at the very least been rehabilitated, if not cured of whatever it was that had afflicted her.

"You can't be serious," Julia said, noticing the sympathetic look on Elizabeth's face. "So now not only are we going to be living with a vampire, but now we have to deal with someone who may or may not be criminally insane? You do realize that she's the one taking care of the kids, right?"

"That's enough, Julia," Elizabeth answered dismissively. "I'm surprised at you. Isn't this your area of expertise? Surely, you're capable of making your own assessment of Ms. Winters."

Dr. Hoffman faltered. It was obvious that she hadn't even considered this. "Yes. I suppose. But what if-"

"What if what?" Elizabeth interrupted her. "Like I said to you before, just be fascinated. I can take care of the rest."

"Excuse me." For the first time, Victoria herself spoke up. "But I feel as though I should have some say in this."

Elizabeth looked surprised but gestured for her to continue. Now, Victoria latched once again to Barnabas's hand, her only support. As always when she did this, he failed to hide the smile that teased at his lips. Victoria continued. "It's true that I ran away from the asylum. But I can promise you that I am perfectly fine. I saw things as a child. My parents sent me there in the hopes that they could 'fix' me. I've been in that asylum ever since, just wasting away. When Barnabas found me, I had all but given up. But being here has given me hope again. You've all been so kind to me, and I promise that if you allow me to stay, I will do whatever I can to repay the favor."

After several moments, Elizabeth was the first to speak. "And did it work?" she asked. "Do you still see things?"

Victoria hesitated. She knew that she couldn't tell them about the entity that had been guiding her through everything so far. David was perhaps the only person who would actually believe her story anyway. Now, she glanced over at Barnabas, as if to ask what he thought she should do. He locked eyes with her reassuringly, and then, in a way that would have been imperceptible to anyone except her, he ever so slightly shook his head. She knew what she had to do.

"No. No, not anymore. I haven't seen anything like that in years."

Although suspicious of her obvious uncertainty, this answer seemed to be enough to satisfy both Elizabeth and Julia for the time being, as they both left the room upon various utterances of words like "good" and "okay."

Victoria's grip on Barnabas's hand became tighter. He looked at her now with worry. He had only just awoken in this strange world, and he had had the absolute fortune to find his dear Josette all but reincarnated. He would be damned if he were to let anything happen to her now, having just found her. He wanted to tell her that it would be alright. However, with everything lurking in this town—Dr. Mason, Angelique, and whatever else that was hiding in the shadows—he wasn't sure how true this would be. So eventually he settled on, "My dear, I can promise you that as long as I am alive, no harm shall come to you. This I swear."

"I know," Victoria answered, and Barnabas couldn't tell if she believed him or not. "I know."

Hi again! I hope you liked it! Your responses will likely determine if I should continue or not, so please let me know what you think if you have a minute. Thanks for reading!