Something Inside

All previous disclaimers apply.
A/N: So this is the end. I’ll add an epilogue of sorts of the future of our two vampires if there’s enough interest in one, but otherwise, this is where it ends. I would like to say thank you to everyone for sticking with this story nearly a year in the making. A special thanks for all the reviews it has received. I really appreciate it and I hope you have enjoyed reading! Thanks ever so, T.H.


It wasn’t raining. Taylor frowned up at the bright blue sky. It should have been raining. It didn’t seem right that the rest of the world wasn’t mourning when her heart, and the hearts of the people surrounding her, was breaking so. The funeral, held the day before, had been more of a memorial service for all those who remembered Chad, all those who had helped put up posters, all those who had worried themselves sick for months. They had all gathered together at the basketball court that Chad had loved so, placed flowers on the pavement, and spoken their favorite memories of Chad aloud. They had laughed more than they had cried, a testament to just how long it had been, and had played his favorite songs. When it was all over, they had all gone their separate ways feeling more calm and peaceful than they had in months. This plot dedication was just for Taylor, her parents, and Jason and Kelsi. They were the ones who had known Chad the best and they were most likely the only ones who would visit it in the future. It was only symbolic and they all knew it. There was no body. They couldn’t be sure that Chad was even dead. But, they knew in their hearts that he would never do this to them if he were still alive.

Unlike the memorial the previous day there was no happiness now as they stood around the stone they had finally decided to put up. It was so simple. More simple than it should have been. Taylor couldn’t help the tears that blinded her vision as she turned away from it. There should have been so much more to his life. Instead it was just all on his stone. His name, the date of his birth, the year of his -it was still hard to even think it- death, and three simple words that could not have been truer. Gone too soon. Yes, Chad had been taken from them too soon. The fact that he was gone was made harder by the fact that they just didn’t know what had happened. She turned to look at Jason and Kelsi, holding each other tightly as they looked down at the stone. She wasn’t surprised to see that it was Jason who had the tears rolling down his face and Kelsi who was comforting him. Jason had been blaming himself for what happened for nearly a year.

He still didn’t remember clearly what had happened that night. About the only thing that was clear about that night was that Jason Cross was the last person to see Chad. They had been playing basketball with the guys. They’d been having a good time. The game was over and they were all packing up. Jason had taken a couple of shots just as the others were leaving the court and he had a vague recollection that, when he turned, a man with brown hair had been talking to Chad. Jason wasn’t sure if Chad had collapsed or if the man had hit him. All he knew was that when Chad had hit the ground he had tried to get to him. He had woken up half an hour later on his way to the hospital in an ambulance after a passerby had seen him on the pavement and hadn’t been able to wake him up. They’d had to put nine stitches in the cut in his hairline and he’d spent the night under observation.

Three days later, a detective had come to inform them that Chad’s blood and the jacket he’d been wearing were found at a burnt out warehouse the arson unit had been investigating. The jacket, he explained gently, had been covered in blood resting in a large dried pool. He’d been compassionate and understanding of their grief when he’d told them that there was too much blood on the floor for Chad to have survived. But, they still didn’t have a body. After watching Taylor collapse in her parents’ arms and Jason and Kelsi holding onto each other to keep themselves on their feet, his tender heart had made him cry out without thinking that he wouldn’t rest until he either found Chad for them or could at least bring his body home to them. Caleb McPhee had become a common sight in Taylor’s apartment in the next year. He was there when the department had closed the case, but neither she nor any of their friends were ready to admit that Chad was really gone. He was there when they finally had. Taylor almost smiled when she felt a hand slip into hers, linking their fingers, and a strong arm wrap around her. She dropped her head to his shoulder.

“Are you okay, baby?” Caleb asked quietly, placing a gentle kiss to her neck. It had taken six months for her to realize that he’d stayed around helping for her. It had taken another month after that for her to get frustrated enough with him that she’d finally asked when he was going to ask her out. They’d been together since. She often considered him Chad’s final gift to her. She’d never told Caleb, but she’d been expecting him. Just before Chad had left to play basketball that night he had pulled her aside and smiled as he leaned against the doorframe.

“What?”

“He’ll have dark hair, Tay, and blue eyes. I’m not sure why you’ll need him but it’ll make you sad before he makes you happy. Happier than you’ve ever been in your life.”

“You’re sure about this?”

And he’d given her that look. That ‘who do you think you’re talking to here’ look that he’d perfected as a young man, leaned in to kiss her cheek, and disappeared down the stair well after Jason. She could be happy now, that her final memory of Chad was one where they were both grinning and happy.

“I’m fine, Cal,” she whispered, pressing her lips gently to his jaw to return the kiss he had given her, “It’s just…a sad day, you know?”

“Yeah, I know,” he rocked her a little. She sighed and leaned further into him, releasing his hand so that he could wrap both arms around her.

“I wish you could have met him. He was…I mean, he had his faults, but he was the best friend I’ve ever had. He was my brother. I miss him.”

Caleb just continued to hold her. He didn’t need to say anything. They’d had this conversation before.

It was hours later when she was back in her apartment, sipping a mug of sweet, hot tea, that she wished her parents had decided to stay with the after all. It was lonely, knowing that they were in town, but weren’t in the apartment with her. She’d offered Chad’s old room, but had understood when they had said that they just didn’t feel right, especially when it still looked exactly as Chad had left it. She leaned against the doorway. It had been over a year since Chad had been in this room, in this apartment. Maybe it was time that she cleaned out his room, sent his stuff back home to be put in their parents’ attic. She walked into the room she had avoided like the plague and sat down on the bed, looking around. There wasn’t much of him here now, she mused. When she hadn’t been able to go in before it was because it felt like intruding. Now that she had accepted he wasn’t coming back it just felt a little sad, a little depressing. Her eye landed on a picture she herself had taken one night soon after Chad had started dating Ryan. They were on the basketball court just after one of the pickup games. She’d shouted at them to pretend like they liked each other and they’d wrapped arms around each other’s waists and ginned at each other. It had been Chad’s favorite picture.

She thought she’d gotten over it, but Ryan was still a sore spot, she mused as she turned the picture over. After Chad had disappeared Ryan had given up on him right away. She hadn’t seen him even once when they were still looking for Chad. She had spoken on the phone with him. He had been so crass, so cold, when he said that Chad was gone and he needed to be able to move on. Gabriella, Troy, and Sharpay had been at the memorial the night before and Sharpay had tried to tell Taylor that it was because Ryan was still hurting so much over losing Chad that he was acting the way he was, but there had been something in her voice, something in her eyes, a regret, a lie, that let Taylor know she wasn’t telling the truth, that she didn’t believe a word she was saying. And since there was no reason to be angry at Chad any longer, she chose to stay mad at Ryan. She knew it probably wasn’t fair, but she would most likely stay mad at Ryan for the rest of her life.

She looked around again one last time and decided she really didn’t want to deal with it right now. Tomorrow. She’d deal with it all tomorrow when she wasn’t feeling so raw. Tonight…she wanted to get a little bit drunk and then make love with Caleb when he got off of his late shift. Maybe when they were through and laying in the afterglow she’d ask him if he wanted to move in with her. He was practically living in the apartment anyway. Why not make it official? She knew she loved him and that he loved her. There was no reason not to live together. It would be better to pack up Chad’s things when Caleb was with her anyway. She moved into the kitchen and pulled the mostly full bottle of whiskey out of the cupboard above the stove and poured a healthy amount into her tea mug.

“Drinking alone, Tay?”

She screamed, dropping her mug in the process, and spun around, a hand set to her heart. At first she didn’t see anything in the darkened living room, but as her eyes adjusted she saw that someone was sitting on the couch, lounging on the couch, more like. His arms were spread across the back, his legs were crossed. She observed him from the bottom up. His shoes were expensive, Italian if she wasn’t mistaken. They were worn with jeans she was sure cost more than her entire wardrobe and a dress shirt a deep wine color opened three buttons. When she saw that man’s face she froze. It was the face she had been hoping and praying to see for months and he was smiling. She went with her first instinct and threw herself into his arms when he stood and opened them to her.

“Chad!” She sobbed into his neck, “Chad, you’re alive!”

“In a manner of speaking,” he chuckled softly.

“You’re alive!” She suddenly pulled back and slapped him with all her might, “Do you know what the hell you’ve put us all through this past year? Where the hell have you been? I need to call Mom and Pop and Jason and Kelsi!”

“Taylor, no.” Chad held her in a grip that was gentle as a feather and strong as steel, “No one else can know.”

“What the hell do you mean no one else can know?” She squealed, trying to pull back so that she could slap him again.

“Taylor, it wouldn’t be safe. I just couldn’t go one more night without you knowing that I’m still here. In one form or another. It took me forever to convince them that you could keep the secret. If anyone else knows about it…let’s just say it could be very dangerous. It’s dangerous enough for you to know.” He swallowed hard and his eyes closed for a moment. When he opened them to look at her again, tears filled her eyes at the anguish in his voice, “Maybe I shouldn’t have come at all. Maybe they were right and it’s better to just let everyone think I’m dead. Maybe I should just disappear again. It would be safer for you.”

“No!” She gasped, when a lightning strike of despair ran through her, “Chad, no!”
She gasped when she truly looked at him for the first time. He was pale, more pale than he should have been, but he didn’t seem sickly at all. And his eyes! He released her arms as she reached up to frame his face with her hands. His eyes that had always been a beautiful chocolate brown were now a brilliant ice blue. She could see other differences now that she was looking. His features were sharper that they had been before. His hair, bound back, was smoother and longer than it had ever been. She could see the explosion of it around his neck and shoulders. At least it’s volume hadn’t changed, she mused. At least that one thing was still the same. She ran a hand over his face, down his neck and rested it against his chest, trying hard no to cry at the coolness of his skin, the way she couldn’t feel a heartbeat through the fabric of his shirt.

“What…what happened to you?” she asked quietly, thinking she already knew the answer but never daring to say it aloud. It was impossible. It was insane. It just didn’t make any sense. Not that much was making sense right now. How had Chad even gotten in? She knew all the doors were locked and they were on the seventh floor. She closed her eyes against her thoughts, hoping it would stop her brain from thinking the impossible, but no such luck. Her thoughts were still going there. She took an unsteady breath and looked at him again, waiting for him to answer her question.

“Something that had to happen in order to save my life,” he answered just as quietly, “It’s not something I chose, but no one could stop it. Not even Ryan, though he did everything he could.”

“Ryan?” She couldn’t stop the automatic stiffening of her shoulders and the chill that entered her voice.

“Don’t do that, Tay. None of this was his fault. It took me a while to see it, too, but I won’t let you believe the worst of him when he…he did all he could, okay?” His posture suddenly changed, and the tone of his voice. He looked down at her and smiled at little, taking a step back from her and sticking one hand in his pocket, “I’m going to be going away for a while. I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone. I just, before I go, needed to let you know that I’m still here.”

“No!” She threw herself back in his arms, knowing that it was futile. If he really wanted to go there was nothing that she would ever be able to do to keep him, but she’d rather have him there despite how strange he was to her now than to have him gone for so long again. No matter how he had changed, he was still her Chad and having him gone was like having a part of herself gone, “No, you can’t go!”

“Hey!” He dropped a gentle kiss to her head, “It’s not forever. I promise. I swear. I’m just going to do some travelling. I’ll call, and write, and I’ll be back before you know it, okay? I needed to let you know and this is the first time I’ve really trusted myself to come and tell you. Sorry the timing is so lousy.”

“Yeah, well. Your timing’s always been lousy.” She sniffled and tried not to smile when he took her chin and angled her face gently so that he could wipe the tears away, “I’ll be here when you get back.

“Counting on it,” he smiled and pulled her back into his arms. It was like hugging a brick wall. She nearly giggled, but held onto him as tight as she could despite the fact, “I know it’s going to be hard not telling anyone, but I really need you to do this, Taylor, okay?”

She huffed and nodded. She wasn’t going to win this one. It was his turn anyway. He seemed to know what he was thinking and smiled and kissed her forehead.

“I really do love you, Chad.”

“Love you, too, Tay. Caleb ever hurts you just give me a call. I can take him out in a second. Really.”

“I believe you,” she muttered, then started, “How do you know about Caleb?”

He threw his head back and laughed and it was a little dark, a little sinister. It reminded her beyond a shadow of a doubt that even though he was still the Chad she knew and loved he was also something else now. Something more and something more than she would ever really have the capacity to understand. She had a sudden thought that sent a little chill down her back. She lived in the sun. Chad now lived in the dark, under the moon, a being of the night. But, that didn’t make him evil like others thought, she decided, watching the laughter in his eyes as he continued to chuckle. No, he could never be evil. He was now what she had always seen in Ryan, Sharpay, Troy and Gabriella. And, even if he didn’t know it yet, he was going to be happier in their world than he’d ever been in hers. She loved him enough to understand it and enough to let him go. She grinned up at him, stood on her toes to kiss his cheek, and pushed away from him.

“Don’t answer that. Just get out of here, vampire boy.”

He froze for a moment, then grinned, heading for the window, “I knew you were smart, Tay. Talk to you soon. Love you.”

She forced herself not to scream and run for the window when he jumped out of it and walked calmly over. He waved up at her from the sidewalk seven stories down, his grin still evident despite the distance and began to walk away.

“I love you, too,” she whispered and turned around, her brow furrowing, “Damn it!”

Now she was going to have to clean up the spiked tea all over her kitchen floor. She walked over, sighed down at the mess, and grabbed the whiskey bottle. She sighed at the mess one more time and took a deep drink of the alcohol before setting it back on the counter and grabbing a rag.


“Are you all packed, sweetheart?” Troy murmured softly as he wrapped his arm around Sharpay’s waist and kissed the back of her neck lavishly.

“Mmm,” she groaned lightly in ascent and leaned back into him, “When do we have to be at the airport again?”

“Not for another hour. We’re taking the redeye out to Chicago. The hotel’s already booked and the private jet has been booked for tomorrow night.”

“I do love the private jet,” Sharpay giggled when he began kissing her neck.

“And we do love to spoil you,” Gabriella was suddenly at her front and leaning in to ravish her mouth thoroughly. Sharpay accepted the kiss with a sigh and melted into the arms of her lovers. She gasped, allowing Gabriella to deepen the kiss, as Troy’s hand worked its way from her waist to cover her breast and massage it firmly. She was only vaguely aware that her lovers were backing her up to the bed before they all tumbled onto it. She laughed along with them as they began to strip themselves of their clothing.

“Do you really have time for that?” Ryan asked sardonically, an eyebrow raised as he passed their open door.

“There’s always time for this,” Sharpay moaned as Gabriella began to work kisses down her flat stomach. Ryan rolled his eyes and turned away. He was so glad that he would not be sharing a home with his sister and her lovers any longer. He wouldn’t stay away as long as he had in the past, but he was not going to miss walking in on them as they had no shame and no modesty and when they wanted each other it didn’t matter where they were or who was watching. And, he mused, voyeurism was not one of the traits in his personality.

“We’ll see you at the airport!” Troy called just as Ryan reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Not waiting for a later flight if you’re late!” Ryan called back.

When a moan answered him he rolled his eyes again and walked out the front door. The limousine driver was kind enough to take the bags he was carrying and he shut the door firmly behind him as he explained that the others would have to be picked up after he had been dropped off at the airport. For a moment he sensed the driver’s annoyance and he assured him quietly that he would be paid double for his trouble. After that the driver’s thoughts lightened considerably and he happily took the heavy bags to the limousine. Ryan took one last look up at the house that he had lived in for the nearly two years. It had seen him through so much. He had never really been as attached to a place as he was to this lovely brownstone. But, it wasn’t as if he was leaving it forever. They would be back after he had shone Chad all of the wonders he wanted him to be able to see. Chad would never want to be far from Taylor and, when she was gone, her children and her children’s children, and he only ever wanted to be where Chad was. He smiled up at the house, set a hand to the brick, still warm from the sun’s warmth and reminded himself to thank Troy for signing it over to them again. When he turned to look back at the limousine he felt his heart melt to see Chad leaning against the elaborate vehicle.

“They at it again?”he asked, pretending to study his nails.

“Surprised?” Ryan sighed.

“Not at all.” Chad looked up, smiled, and opened his arms to Ryan.

Ryan made sure the driver wasn’t looking and practically flew into Chad’s arms he was moving so fast. Chad held him close and tight and they took a moment to breathe in each other’s scents before fitting their mouths together in a firm, deep kiss.

“Everything go alright with Taylor?” Ryan asked as they got into the limo and the driver shut the door behind them.

“Fine,” Chad smiled when he sat up against the door, pulling his feet onto the long seat and Ryan settled in between his legs, his back to Chad’s chest. He wrapped one arm around Ryan’s shoulders and the other around his waist, wanting him as close as possible, “More than fine. They went great. She’s already figured it out. She won’t tell anyone. Or if she does, she’ll only tell Caleb. That’s alright, isn’t it?”

“Just fine,” Ryan smiled, “If the Council ever asks we’ll say we’ve taken the family as our protectorate. Believe it or not, it’s a fairly common practice. Even vampire need links to the modern, human world.”

“Is that what I would have been?” Chad asked, nuzzling Ryan’s hair, “Your protectorate?”

“To the Council at least,” Ryan agreed.

“Speaking of the Council,” Chad kissed the spot just below Ryan’s ear that made him sigh, “Paris and Martha will meet us in London?”

“Yes,” Ryan and agreed, “And Aziza and Hirotaro would like to see us when we move on to Africa. Helen and Nakoma would like to show us around Greece. Sadik wants us to visit him in Turkey. It’s amazing the liking they’ve taken to you, lover. I would be willing to bet that before you’re one hundred they ask you to take Tristan’s place on the Council.”

Chad stiffened at the mention of Tristan’s name but relaxed automatically, “What would you think of that?” he asked uncertainly.

“I think you should do whatever makes you happy, Chad. Just because I have no interest in joining the Council does not mean that you wouldn’t enjoy it. But, you’ll have a while before they ask you, in any case.”

They slipped into a comfortable silence as the ride to the airport continued, each thinking their own thoughts. Chad was going over his conversation with Taylor, smiling at it and the fact that he already knew that Caleb was going to be perfect for her and one day she would tell him that her best friend was not, in fact, dead, but a vampire and would live forever. He had already glimpsed that he and Ryan would always be a part of Taylor’s life and a part of her family’s line. They would tell stories of the men who only came out at night and protected them and loved them and never seemed to age. It was going to wonderful. He marveled at how much stronger his glimpses were now that he was a vampire and how focused they could be when he wanted them to be.

Ryan followed Chad’s thoughts for only a moment before they trailed off. First going to the Council, then going to that horrible night when he had thought he had lost Chad forever. Even after Sadik had completed Chad’s transformation, there had been no guarantee that he hadn’t lost Chad forever. When Chad had asked him what he had done, Ryan’s mind had gone white. He didn’t really remember what had happened after that, only that he had gotten to his feet and he had run. He had run as far and as fast as he could, trying to outrun the shame of what he had allowed to happen to Chad, the anger he felt at himself for not being stronger and at Tristan for making Chad’s transformation the only way he could live even after he knew that it was the only thing Chad didn’t want, and the pain of Chad’s rejection. He’d run until the sun was rising and had fully intended to just let it wash over him, but Martha and Paris had been following him the whole time and they pulled him into a basement and held him down until the urge to sleep had been too much for any of them to resist and they had fallen into dreams until the sun was down again.

That next night Martha had held him and rocked him gently as he mourned over Chad. Just before the sun had risen again Troy had found them. He had looked at the pitiful sight Ryan made and rolled his eyes and scoffed.

“You’re such a drama queen, Ryan,” He’d sounded bored, “You never think do you? If you had stuck around you would have been there when Helen explained everything to Chad and you would have been there to see him fall apart when he realized what he’d said. The both of you!” Here Troy had thrown up his hands in a rare show of annoyance, “I swear, you’re both going to have to learn to think before you talk and talk to each other before you act! Do you know how many of your problems could be solved just by keeping your cool with each other?”

“Chad still wants me?” Ryan had ventured quietly, not daring to believe it.

“Of course he does,” Troy had rolled his eyes, “I convinced him to wait with Shar and Gabi and the others because I wasn’t sure how long it was going to take me to find you and he refuses to drink before he can see you! I didn’t want him to be any more tempted or in any more pain than he already is.”

“He hasn’t had a drink yet?” Ryan had gasped and jumped to his feet.

“Not one drop,” Troy had affirmed, “He refuses until he can see you with his own eyes and make sure you’re alright.”

“But, he’s newly changed! It must be torture for him!”

“Yep,” Troy had agreed, “But, he’s showing remarkable self control. He wouldn’t even take the blood when Gabi held the goblet right under his nose. He’s even got Dimah impressed. Helen and Nakoma think he’s a dear, their words not mine, Aziza finds him charming, Hirtotaro thinks he’s fascinating, and Sadik says he’s a great, intelligent conversationalist. I don’t think you’ll ever have to worry about the Council siding with anyone but you and Chad in any debate you might have with another vampire.”

Ryan hadn’t really heard him at all, “I have to get back to Chad!”

“Not tonight!” Paris had grabbed him and Troy had shut the door again, “The sun’s almost up. Run as fast and hard as you can to get back to him tomorrow night, but we’ll be staying here to sleep, Ryan.”

Luckily the sun had come up just then and put a stop to any conversation before Ryan could argue and annoy them all further. When he had gotten back to Chad they had fallen together like two men denied seeing each other for three centuries rather than three days. The women had sighed, finding their reunion utterly romantic as they stumbled over apologies to each other in between hungry, desperate kisses. Over the next year Ryan had taught Chad how to control himself, how to take enough blood to satisfy his thirst without taking life. Chad hadn’t yet slipped and he still had so many human friends that Ryan thought he probably never would. He had decided just three weeks ago that he wanted to take Chad to see all of the amazing places he had been in his long life and Chad had agreed completely. His only stipulation was that he be allowed to contact Taylor before they went. He finally trusted his own control and she was the most important human in the world to him. Troy had told him that as long as he didn’t tell her outright what they were that all would be fine and so Ryan had let him go, knowing that he needed to do it alone.

“Mmm, Chad…” Ryan moaned when he felt Chad’s lips on his neck and the hand that was resting on his waist dip further down to rub him firmly through his pants, “We’re not alone…”

“So?” Chad asked, nipping at Ryan’s neck, “He can watch if he wants. I haven’t been with you since…” Chad paused to consider and Ryan laughed.

“Since just after sundown! You’re insatiable. I swear, we’re going to be just as bad as Shar, Gabi, and Troy.”

“I have no problem with that,” Chad growled and licked a gentle path up the shell of Ryan’s ear as he rubbed more insistently.

“Nor would I under normal circumstances,” Ryan groaned, “But, we’re at the airport now. I promise, you can have your wicked way with me at the hotel when we land in Chicago. Fair enough?”

“It’ll do,” Chad sighed in disappointment as their door was opened.

They waited in line like everyone else and ignored the glares and mutters that were sent their way when people saw their linked hands and again when they stood by the large windows watching planes take off and Chad held Ryan in his arms. The mutters stopped being aimed at them and were aimed at Sharpay, Troy and Gabriella as soon as the very obvious triad made their appearance. Chad and Ryan simply smiled at the way Troy doted on his girls and the way his girls adored him and each other and turned back to the window.

“No regrets, my love?” Ryan whispered after a time.

“None,” Chad answered without delay, “I love you, Ryan.”

“I love you, too,” Ryan turned his head to fit his mouth to Chad’s for a brief, loving kiss.

“Flight 2739 to Chicago now boarding.” Came the announcement and they broke their kiss.

“Ready?” Chad asked, picking up their small carry on bags in one hand and taking Ryan’s hand in his other.

“Of course,” Ryan answered.

“Do you really think the three of us could do that in an airplane toilet?” Ryan rolled his eyes at Chad when they heard Sharpay whisper excitedly. Chad just gave him a long suffering look and sigh. And they both began to laugh.