"Shoot."
"How do you know him?"
"He turned us."
"That's impossible. The Exemplars destroy all his vampires... Oh my God! You're the couple responsible for stopping him!"
"How do you know about that?"
"The Exemplars requested our help when Victor went on his rampage. We had a common goal for once in history... do you know who that bitch with him is?"
Jackson dropped his head back on the sofa. "Oh yeah. That's Cassandra Davis. I turned her."
"A woman scorned, I take it?"
"More like crazy, needy bitch, really pissed off."
"Wow."
Sarah stood. "I better go get Connor."
Elisabeth said, "I made sure he was safe in the holding cell, and assured him he needn't worry."
"Thank you."
Jackson held Sarah's arm as she turned to leave. "Wait a minute. We need to talk about something first." The tears spilling over her lids when she faced him confirmed she knew what that 'something' was. Elisabeth and Jackson hugged her from either side and Jackson stroked her hair. "We can't protect him as a human. You know Victor will come after him at some point... Connor wants this. You will have eternity together."
The grief in her voice rested heavy on the trio. "I wanted more time like this. We haven't even had a honeymoon."
"He is not Peter Standish. Connor loves you and he always will."
"Will you get permission for me? I can't bear to leave him now."
"Of course. Given the extenuating circumstances, I believe we'll obtain approval without an audience. I'll make some phone calls, but we should get started as soon as possible, even before we're granted permission."
"Okay." Sarah trudged to the basement, shadowed with trepidation.
Jackson and Elisabeth sat on the sofa. He draped an arm around her. "Hell of a wedding gift."
She stared straight ahead. "That fucking bastard is going to get his someday."
He pulled back, stunned by her language, then chuckled, "We have found yet another commonality." He dropped a light kiss on her temple then sauntered to the bar. "You want port?"
"No, I need scotch."
"Yeah, me too."
They sat embraced on the sofa. Sarah and Connor returned after about an hour. Jackson poured them drinks. Handing Connor his, he asked, "You okay?"
"I don't know. I thought I wanted this, yet now that I don't have a choice, I'm not so sure."
"I understand. This isn't exactly the best way to go about turning, but in the end, I suspect you will find it to be the right decision."
"Do you really believe that?"
"Yes, I do… when you told me you planned to marry Sarah; my foremost concern was how difficult your death would be for her. I have seen her through some pretty nasty heartache, but honestly, I'm not confident she could survive losing you, and now she won't have to."