Modern day

Jason stood outside his parents' house, feeling uncharacteristically nervous. They'd been endlessly supportive throughout his whole life, but his mum had expressed concern when he first told her he was dating Gideon, and now he was about drop the bombshell that he and Gideon were getting married.

He'd always thought that if he ever got engaged, he'd talk it through with his parents first – not because he needed their permission or approval, but because they'd always been close, and if he was ever planning on proposing to someone, he would want to share it with his parents first.

The thing was, he hadn't actually planned to propose to Gideon. But when he'd woken up that morning, after Gideon had taken a bomb for him, it had just felt right. He'd known that he would spend the rest of his life with this vampire, so why not take that next step as soon as possible?

He didn't regret it for a second, but he knew his parents would be . . . surprised – both because he and Gideon hadn't been together all that long, and because Jason was only nineteen.

Gideon had been younger than that the first time he'd been engaged to anyone, but that had been an arranged marriage back in the 1800s. Things were different now.

Taking his key from his pocket, Jason let himself in. He always let his parents know he was coming, and as soon as he stepped through the front door, his mum flung her arms around him.

She'd always been affectionate, but she seemed to have got more so since he left for Belle Morte. It wasn't surprisingly really. Not so long ago, Jason had lived at home, and even when he became a blood donor, it was only supposed to have been temporary. Watching their eldest kid leave home had still been hard on his parents, and that was when they'd expected him to eventually come back. Now he'd have to confess that he never would. Belle Morte had become his home, and he wasn't sure his parents fully realised that.

Well, they would soon.

"You said on the phone there was something you needed to talk to us about?" his dad said, busying himself making mugs of coffee for everyone.

"Are the others here?" Jason asked, looking around for his three siblings.

His mum shook her head. "Just us." Her expression faded. "Do you need them here? Is something wrong?"

"No, no, everything's fine, I just . . ." Jason gestured to the living room doorway. "Can we sit down?"

His parents followed him into the room and sat on the sofa together, holding each other's hands. Despite his reassurances, his mum's face was pinched with worry.

"Something's going on, isn't it?" she said.

"Well, yes . . ." Jason scratched his head. This was harder than he'd imagined. It didn't help that his parents had only met Gideon once, and that had been when a fanatical anti-vampire group had kidnapped Jason sister, Laura. Understandably, neither Gideon nor Jason's parents had been able to get to know each other that day. He was still practically a stranger to them.

"Whatever's going on, you can tell us," his dad said, leaning forward slightly.

"Okay." Jason took a deep breath. "It's about Gideon. We . . . um . . . well . . . we're getting married."

Silence.

His parents stared back at him, and he couldn't decide which of them looked more shocked.

"I . . . what?" his mum said at last.

"Married?" his dad echoed.

Jason nodded, twisting his hands in his lap. His stomach was a hard knot of anxiety.

"I don't . . . Gideon proposed?" his mum said.

"No. I did," Jason said.

She gaped at him. "But –"

Jason's dad squeezed his wife's hand and her words died off. For a long while, no one said anything.

"In the nicest possible way, are you sure you've thought this through?" he said to Jason.

Jason's heart sank. He'd expected them to be taken aback by the news, but they'd still support him . . . wouldn't they?

"Of course I have," he said.

"It's just . . ." His dad was trying to choose his words carefully. "You're only nineteen and you haven't even known him very long. How can you be sure you want to marry him?"

That was easy.

"Because he's the one. He's my everything," Jason said. "I love him."

"But you've only been seeing him for a few weeks," his mum said. She was agitated now, her hands opening and closing in twitchy movements.

Jason shrugged. "When you know, you know."

"It's not as simple as that," she argued.

"Sometimes it is. Mum, come on. Your parents got married after knowing each other for three days."

"Things were different back then," she said feebly.

"Things are different now."

"But . . . you're only nineteen. That's incredibly young to get married."

"We're not getting married right away."

"When then?"

"I don't know. This is all pretty new to me, and we haven't started planning anything yet." Jason swallowed hard, the weight of disappointment crushing him. "I thought you'd be excited."

"We are, of course we are," said his dad at once, reaching out to put a hand on Jason's knee. "We just want to be sure that you're not rushing into anything. Why do you want to get married so soon?"

"Why do you want us to wait?" Jason countered.

His dad didn't seem to know how to answer that.

"Look, I get why you're concerned. You don't know Gideon, and this must be a hell of a shock to you both, but I do know what I'm doing. I need you to trust me. I love Gideon with everything that I have and everything that I am, and I can't wait to share the rest of my life with him. I know you think I'm too young to make a commitment like this, and a lot of people would agree with you, but things really are different with vampires. Gideon is going to live forever, and I don't see the point in waiting until other people decide I've reached an appropriate age to commit to the man I love. What would we be waiting for anyway? We already live together. We don't want kids. We're ready for this. The only bigger commitment will be when I become a vampire, and I'm not ready for that yet."

"When you what?" his mum cried, sitting bolt upright.

Jason froze, his mind racing. He hadn't meant to drop that on them yet.

"Um . . . well, Gideon and I are going to spend the rest of our lives together, and the rest of his life is a hell of a lot longer than mine. One day, when I'm ready, he'll turn me into a vampire."

Tears glittered in his mum's eyes, and suddenly she couldn't look at him. His dad sat stiff and silent, staring down at the floor.

"Any more surprises you'd like to spring on us?" he said.

"No," Jason mumbled.

"Let me see if I've got this straight. You and Gideon are living together now, at the mansion. You won't be coming home again."

Jason shook his head.

"You're engaged, and, at some point, he is going to . . ."

"Turn me, yes. It's what I want."

"And you're sure about that?"

"More sure than I've ever been about anything." Jason leaned forward. "Dad, I'm sorry, I feel like I've done this all wrong, but I want you to be happy for me. Gideon is everything I've ever wanted – more than everything. There's nothing he wouldn't do for me. I really love him."

His dad slowly nodded, then took his mum's hand again. "Then we're happy for you, and we support you."

"Really?" Jason looked at his mum, who was still snuffling back tears. "Mum? Please don't cry."

"Sorry," she mumbled, blotting her eyes with her sleeve. "It's just . . . sometimes I still think of you as my baby, and now you're leaving home and getting married and eventually becoming a vampire and it's all happening so fast. I always hoped that you'd meet the right man one day, but I thought we'd at least have got to know him before you got engaged."

Jason winced. "Sorry. The time felt right, that's all. I didn't want to wait. And like I said, we're not necessarily getting married anytime soon, so there's plenty of time for you to get to know Gideon. Please give him a chance."

"Oh sweetheart. If he makes you this happy, then I know we'll love him too," his mum said.

The weight lifted from Jason's chest. "You're not mad at me?"

She shook her head, then jumped up and rushed to hug him. "My baby's getting married," she exclaimed, squeezing him until he almost couldn't breathe. The second she let him go, his dad pulled him into an equally tight hug.

"Stay for dinner," he said. "The others will be home in an hour or so, and then you can tell them your big news."

Jason grinned. "Sounds great."

His mum was excited now, he could see it in the shine of her eyes. Maybe she wasn't entirely over her shock, and maybe sometimes she'd still wonder if he was rushing into something, but all that mattered was that she supported him. They both did, just as they always had. The fact that she already had her phone in her hand suggested she was ready to start calling friends and other family members to tell them the news.

"Dad, wait," Jason said as his mum disappeared into the kitchen.

His dad paused.

"Obviously I can't wait for you guys and Gideon to get to know each other properly, but this might be hard on him, at least to begin with," Jason said.

His dad frowned. "In what way?"

"Before me, he hadn't been in a relationship in a very long time, and this whole getting engaged and meeting the parents thing is new to him. Sometimes he can be awkward around people, especially when he's in a situation he's not used to. And I don't think he's really considered that you'll be his father-in-law."

"Is that a problem?" His dad looked confused.

Jason lowered his voice. "Gideon and his dad . . . they didn't exactly have a good relationship. I've always had you guys to support me, but Gideon didn't have any of that. His dad . . . his dad was abusive, physically violent. It's taken him a long time to deal with that, and I know that you'll welcome him with open arms, but it might take him some time to adjust to all this. I don't want you to think he doesn't want to be here if he seems . . . nervous or awkward. He just needs time."

"I understand. You don't have to bring him round right away if you think he's not ready, and he doesn't have to properly meet the whole family at once if you think that would be too much for him. We can come visit him at Belle Morte if that would be easier for him?"

"I'll talk to him. Thanks, Dad." Jason hugged him again.

It wouldn't change the shadows of Gideon's past, the lingering scars of the abuse he'd suffered at his dad's hands, but Gideon had two new families now – the one at Belle Morte, and the one waiting here to meet him.

On Friday, we're going back to Ysanne's past. See you then :)