Stefan took Meredith's hand. There was the same soft flash of light. And then Meredith stepped back saying, "Thanks."
Stefan's low response was, "Thank you, Meredith." Meredith's blue dress was at least in one piece, Matt observed.
Bonnie - whose dress had been slashed into starlight-colored ribbons - was raising a hand. "Me, too, please!"
Stefan took her hand, and it happened all over again. "Thank you, Stefan! Oooh! I feel so much better! I hated itching!"
"Thank you, Bonnie. I hated to think I was dying alone."
"Other vampires, take care of yourselves!" Elena said, as if she had a clipboard and were checking items off. "And, Stefan, please - " She held out her hands to him.
He knelt in front of her, kissed both her hands, then enshrouded them in the soft white light.
"But I'd still like a bath..." said Bonnie pleadingly, as the new vampire - the tall fit one - and Damon had each sparked a moonlight glow around themselves.
Mrs. Flowers spoke up. "There are four working bathtubs in that house: in Stefan's room, in my room, in the rooms on either side of Stefan's. Be my guest. I'll put some bath salts in each right now." And then she added, holding her arms out to the whole ragged, bleeding, dirty bunch of them: "My house is yours, my dears."
There was a chorus of passionate "thank yous."
"I'll arrange a rota. For feeding Stefan, I mean. If you girls are willing," Elena added quickly, looking at Bonnie and Meredith. "He doesn't need much, just a little every hour until morning."
Elena still seemed very shy of Matt. Matt was very shy of her. But he stepped forward, empty hands held up to show that he was harmless. "Is it a rule that it's only girls? Because I've got blood, too, and I'm healthy as a horse."
Stefan quickly looked at him. "No rule about only girls. But you don't have to - "
"I want to help you."
"Okay, then. Thank you, Matt."
The proper response seemed to be "Thank you, Stefan," but Matt couldn't think of anything until, "Thanks for taking care of Elena."
Stefan smiled. "Thank Damon for that. He and the others all helped me - and each other."
"We Also Walk Dogs - at least Sage does," Damon said slyly.
"Oh - that reminds me. I should use that de-parasiting trick on my two friends. Saber! Talon! Heel!" He added a whistle that Matt could never have imitated.
In any case, Matt was operating in a dream. A huge dog, almost as big as a pony, seemingly, and a falcon came out of the darkness.
"Now," the fit vampire said, and once again the soft light shone.
And then: "There. If you don't mind; I prefer to sleep out-of-doors with my friends. I am grateful for all your kindnesses, Madame, and my name is Sage. The hawk is Talon; the dog, Saber."
Elena said, "Dibs on Stefan's bath for Stefan and me, and Mrs. Flowers's bath for the girls. You boys can work things out on your own."
"I," Mrs. Flowers said gravely, "will be in the kitchen, making sandwiches." She turned to go.
That was when Shinichi arose from the earth above them.
Or rather when his face arose. It was clearly an illusion, but a terrifying and marvelous one. Shinichi actually seemed to be there, a giant, perhaps supporting the world on his shoulders. The black part of his hair blended in with the night, but the scarlet tips made a flaming halo around his face. Having come from a land that was dominated by a giant red sun, night and day, it was an odd sight.
Shinichi's eyes were red as well, like two small moons in the sky, and they focused on the group by Mrs. Flowers's house.
"Hello," he said. "What, you look so surprised? You shouldn't be. I really couldn't let you come back without popping up to say 'hello.' After all, it's been a long time - for some of you," the giant face said, grinning. "Also, of course, to share in the festivities - we've saved little Stefan, and, my, we even fought an oversized chicken to do it."
"I'd like to see you take Bloddeuwedd on, one on one, and get a secret key out of her nest, at the same time," Bonnie began indignantly, but stopped when Meredith squeezed her arm.
Sage, meanwhile was murmuring something about what his own "oversized chicken," Talon, would do if Shinichi were brave enough to show up in person.
Shinichi ignored all this. "Oh, yes, and the mental calisthenics you had to go through. Truly formidable. Well, never again will we mistake you for blunder-headed idiots who never really asked why my sister would give you any clues in the first place, much less clues that Outsiders could understand. I mean" - he leered - "why not just go and swallow the key in the first place, hmm?"
"You're bluffing," Meredith said flatly. "You underestimated us, plain and simple."
"Maybe," said Shinichi. "Or maybe it was something else entirely."
"You lost," said Damon. "I realize that may be an entirely new concept for you, but it's true. Elena has gained much more control over her Powers."
"But will they work here?" Shinichi smiled eerily. "Or will they suddenly disappear in the light of a pale yellow sun? Or in the depths of true darkness?"
"Don't let him bait you, Madame," Sage shouted. "Your Powers come from a place he cannot enter!"
"Oh, yes, and the renegade. The Rebel's rebel son. I wonder...what are you calling yourself this time? Cage? Rage? I wonder what these children will think when they learn who you really are?"
"It won't matter who he is," Bonnie cried. "We know that. We know that he's a vampire, but that he can be gentle and kind and he's saved us over and over again." She shut her eyes, but held her ground against the gale of Shinichi's laughter.