Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2021 20:31:25 -0500
From: Richard McQueen <mcqueen.richarderic@gmail.com>
Subject: Blueblood, Chapter 21 Lilly Palmer

Story: Blueblood

Chapter 21 Lilly Palmer

Author: Eric McQueen (mcqueen.richarderic@gmail.com)

Adult Readers, Sexual Situations, Sex

Freedom of expression is precious. To do that Nifty needs help. Your
donation is greatly desired. Give to http://donate.nifty.org/ or this story
ends and all the others! That would be a crime!

Lilly Palmer

When Matt and I separated from our hug. I saw him change. He was not this
angry young guy, who really wasn't young and mad at the world. He wasn't
over what happened to him, but he had given another person a truth he had
hidden for so long. He practically changed physically as face relaxed.

"I'll say it again," I said gently. "Not one thing you told me about was
your fault," I said again making sure he was looking at me. "Do you know
that?"

Matt nodded a little.

I shook his shoulders gently. "You need to say it. I want you to know it
wasn't your fault and believe it." I urged gently. "If you can't, we may
have to talk about it some more. Can you say it?"

Matt had a look that told me he wasn't ready to do that. "I can't."

I smiled at him. "We can talk about it."

Matt grinned. "You're a shrink?"

I looked surprised at him. "What? No way." I shook my head.

Matt looked puzzled. "You've lived a long time?" He reasoned.

"Wrong again," I said. "I'm only thirty."

"Thirty!?" Matt balked.

I nodded. "The year after twenty-nine?" I then gave a shrug. "Well, in
about a month I'll be thirty-one. Does that help?"

He smiled. "You're just a kid!"

I shrugged. "I am just living." I tapped him on the chest. "I want you to
do the same. Live. Tell me, how'd you find Edwin?"

Matt smiled. "Sarah."

"Sarah?"

He nodded. "I was hunting for my next blood source. I happened on Sarah."
He shrugged. "She spoke to me!"

"That's what you're supposed to do when we meet someone."

"She knew I was a vampire, and I knew she was..." Matt explained. "This was
over fifteen years ago. She knew Edwin and said I should meet others like
us."

"You'd never seen another vampire?"

He shrugged. "The other ones...that come out of the mines." He
nodded. "They didn't talk." He frowned. "There was another one back...I'm
not sure how long ago, but his name was Jeffery. He was a bad, bad guy. He
was with some others...they were like...some gang or something. They roamed
together. I met him, though." He chuckled as he scratched an ear. "I think
they were in a gang before."

"Are they still around?" I asked.

"No." Matt shook his head. "They were killed."

"Sarah got you to meet Edwin and the others." I nodded. "That's good. You
weren't alone."

"I guess." Matt nodded. "Sarah kept coming by here and well, we became
friends...sort of."

"What about the vampire that turned you?"

Matt smirked. "I killed him." He smiled at the idea of killing that
vampire. "I was hustling and he...well, he offered to pay me." Matt
smiled. "I thought he looked strange, but...I needed the money. I thought
he was just kinky, but he bit me." He frowned. "I remember I had this
raging stiffy, but I knew he was doing more. I never did a trick without
protection..." he smiled, "...and I don't mean condoms. I had a knife. I
slit his throat." He laughed. "I worried about getting the clap or venereal
disease...I never thought I get this."

I nodded. "Taking the serum isn't a cure, but you can have a life again."

"But it hurts." He grimaced. "I'm not big on pain."

"Unfortunately, the serum restarts your heart. It has to hurt."

"I probably will take it." Matt said softly. "I just need...to prepare
myself." He looked at where he lived. "I'd offer you something, but I don't
drink anything but blood. I don't have anything to offer." He
chuckled. "Basically, I live in a hole."

I smiled. "We're going to change that."

There was a little hope in his eyes.


I remained with Matt until almost sunrise when he had to go down for
safety.

"Will we see you tomorrow? You don't need to worry, but we only have enough
people to do the serum for one at a time. We can handle about five now. The
vampires taking the serum must be watched. The next day, we begin again
with a new one. They move upstairs the following night." I held my hand out
to him. "I think you should get to know us. We often go on patrol, but you
can come by and observe what we do? You will be safe downstairs if you stay
after sunrise."

Matt nodded taking my hand but pulled me into a hug again. "I'll be there."
He let me go and was about to turn away. He stopped and looked at
me. "Thank you, Devon." He said and went to the door and opened it to show
stairs down and retreated from the horizon as it began to get brighter.


I drove back to Thornwood. Getting things ready for Colin to return, I got
our bed ready, and the things needed for a bath. I grinned as I heard our
door open and the heavy sigh I knew before I turned around.

"What a night!" Colin said.

I smiled as I came over to him. "Busy?"

He frowned. "No, it was way worse." He slumped in a chair. "Nothing." He
looked at me and smiled. "How was your night?"

I smiled. "It was...very interesting."

"Interesting? Did he talk to you?" Colin asked and then he chuckled. "Why
did I ask you that? Of course, he did." He grinned. "Well? What did he
say?"

"Matt's not a bad guy." I smiled. "He's very smart and a survivor."

Colin sat forward and rose. "Matt, is it?" He chuckled and he walked to
me. "A new friend?"

I nodded as he wrapped his arms around me. "I think so."

Colin nodded. "He wasn't...uncooperative?" He kissed me. "Anything you can
share?" He smiled. "Or would I be breaching doctor-patient privilege?"

I laughed. "I'm not a doctor, but he did tell me..." I thought about what
Matt had said, "...some heavy things. No, I think he should tell you what
that was. I can say, it's not a wonder he doesn't trust people."

"He trusts you." Colin was confident when he said that. "I knew if anyone
could get through to him; you could. I trusted you when we met and that was
before you were turned. Now, it's almost...impossible to resist. Everyone
we've dealt with, you had something to say that helped."

"Not everyone."

"Oh? You helped Alex, Willie, Amanda, and even Gabriella." Colin said.

"You helped with Willie and Gabriella."

"Willie I helped because you knew what I should say. You helped Gabriella,
then afterward you helped her. Alex you keep calm as we dealt with
him. Amanda was helped, again afterward and got through when no one else
could." Colin said. "You have a gift."

"I just listen."

"You do more than that." Colin smiled kissing me.

I felt his hands moving over me trying to bring me closer. I loved this
man.


We woke again and got something to eat. We were again in touch with Stan
who gave us the next town. Sarah was on her next injection and was now
staying upstairs. She looked much better. There was another vampire
beginning the serum.

"We've been lucky so far," Colin said before we went on patrol. "All the
vampires we've found have been wild. What if we find one of those
borderline vampires? Where do we put them? Are we going to capture them?"

"There is a place where we can put them," Edwin said as he was going with
us on patrol. "I doubt they can be convinced to change. If that's the case
we might be able to convince, what do we do?"

"We have those vampires in the United States," I said. "They are
transferred to a secure location."

Edwin frowned. "You have the means to do that. You're working with the
FBI. We have no such connections."

"You need a plan. Something you do with those that are borderline." Colin
said and sighed. "Our positions are clear. We don't want to kill but must
occasionally. We have to come up with guidelines. It's still ongoing."

"There is the Royal Protection Office, but I don't know if they are aware
of vampires," Edwin said grimly.

I shook my head. "So, no MI6 or Torchwood?" I grinned.

Edwin's eyebrows rose. "Who?"

I chuckled. "That's what they want you to say. No confirmation they exist."

Colin rolled his eyes again but put his arm around my shoulder. "Devon
watches too much TV. He keeps looking for the real James Bond and Jack
Harkness."

You could see that Edwin had no idea what we were talking about.

"Oh, come on!" I said in disbelief. "BBC? Popular movies or shows? You do
watch TV now, don't you?"

"I must have missed it." Edwin grinned with a shrug.

"You have some catching up to do," I said and looked at Colin. "A young
Sean Connery or John Barrowman might tempt me."

Edwin had a look that said he really had no idea what we were talking
about. "Okay."

I needed to catch Edwin up with pop culture.


We found out the vampires were not our only problem. We traveled south this
time to the town of Harrogate.


"I'll feel better when we have more locals on a team," Shelly said. "They'd
know this area better than we do."

I nodded. "Well, Sarah supposedly can sniff them out." I thought about Matt
and wondered what he could add. I hope he'd come by Thornwood soon.

Alex sat forward. "Stop." He said softly as if talking louder would scare
off...whatever.

Shelly did slow down and stop.

"I smell one," Alex said. "It's close."

We did cruise a little and saw a woman running. I mean, she was running,
dressed for that and not a vampire. She was in shape, and it was late. A
run after work? Was she a target? I thought and shook my head. Of course,
she was, she was alone and in shape. We were cutting through a more urban
part. They usually stuck to the outskirts. Vampires usually didn't come
into town unless forced to because they couldn't find available
targets. This was a more densely populated area. I saw the shadow of
someone following the woman.

"We need to get her to safety!" I said pointing at the runner.

Shelly looked at me. "And what do we say? There's a vampire after you, run
and hide!?"

"Just pull over!" Alex said urgently.

Shelly pulled right in the path of the woman, blocking her run. Getting
out, she pulled the dart gun out. "You're in danger," Shelly said urgently
to the running woman. I could only imagine what the runner thought seeing
this leather pants wearing woman blocking her path. Shelly was brave, tough
and she was pretty, but not exactly the touchy-feely kind of person. She
had perfected the hard look she needed to do her job.

The woman stopped surprised. "What?"

"She couldn't be more clear," Alex said. "You're in danger."

The woman took out a small...something and held it out. "I'm ready. This is
pepper spray." She said and pulled out a wand looking thing and extended
it. She held it up like she would use it on us.

"We're not the danger," I said. "Why are you running this late and alone?"

"Why is that your business? This time is the best for me." The woman
said. "There are times I can't sleep, and this helps."

"You know there are things out in the area that can harm you?" I asked her.

"The only danger right now is you." The woman said poising the spray to let
whoever came at her first have the spray in the face.

Alex turned sensing where the vampire was. "It's hiding." He said
frustrated. "It can sense us!" He walked toward some buildings. There was a
pathway between the building as he looked into the darkness.

"Stay away!" The woman said firmly. "Don't come any closer."

Shelly had enough. "Look, lady. We're not the threat, but if you don't
listen, you'll find out what is."

"It's trapped," Alex said softly. "It's getting a little panicked."

"What are you talking about?" The female runner asked. "What's trapped?"

The vampire knew there was no way out, so it ran out. Alex pointed his sun
gun at the approaching figure causing the vampire to shriek and shrink away
in pain. It was female this time. Again, hygiene was not a big priority
with the wild vampires. Covered in layers of dirt and grime, the vampire
had stringy hair and a tattered dress on. She hissed, showing her fangs.

"That's the threat!" Shelly said to the woman runner.

The woman's eyes grew seeing the vampire for herself. Shelly aimed the gun
and fired at the vampire hitting her leg on her upper right thigh with the
dart. The vampire shrieked as she went down in pain. This was the first
female wild vampire we'd faced and Alex had his knife out but...the idea of
killing her was more difficult for him.

"What is that?" The woman asked as her eyes grew more.

Shelly frowned as she walked over to Alex. "What do you think?" She took
the knife from Alex. "She's a vampire." She looked at Alex. "She's not
human." She said to Alex. "Just because she's female, you can't do this?"
Taking the knife, she looked at the female vampire. "Can you talk?" She
asked the vampire whose sole answer was a hiss. "Fine." She reached down,
pushed the head back on the vampire and slashed the throat; black ooze came
out of the cut.

The female runner was looking horrified at everything she was seeing.

"Are you new here?" Shelly asked the runner.

"We moved here about two years ago." The runner replied shakily.

"And no one told you not to go out at night alone?" Shelly asked.

The runner just looked in disbelief as she watched the vampire slump and
die. "I was warned...but I didn't believe..." she pointed at the
vampire. "I thought it couldn't...the threat would have been human. I came
out prepared." She again showed her pepper spray and defense wand.

I walked over closer to her and said calmly. "I don't know if the pepper
spray would help. I've not known a vampire to be stopped by pepper spray."

The woman shook her head. "I thought...the elderly lady next door said...I
just thought she was being ridiculous."

I nodded. "Perhaps you should listen to someone that has lived here a
while. They may know more than you do."

The woman again was shaking her head. "But this is impossible! They don't
exist!"

Shelly looked up giving the knife back to Alex. "So, what is this? You saw
the fangs when it hissed. That was a vampire. There are a few here." She
waved back at the corpse of the vampire. "You saw. What else could it be?"

"You killed it." The woman was rationalizing in her mind.

Shelly nodded. "Who would have killed you, if we hadn't come by. Now, we
should give you a ride home."

The runner pointed. "But what about...that?"

"It'll be ash by morning." Shelly shrugged. "There could be others out. You
need to go home and lock your doors and windows."

"You're Americans?" The runner asked.

I nodded. "Yes, and?"

The woman was done. She got in the SUV and gave us directions to her home
and didn't have much to say. We waited for her to get in the house, and we
left after we heard the lock being turned.

I sighed. "I almost wish the body of the vampires didn't become ash so
quickly."

"Why?" Shelly asked.

"A vampire discovered in the urban area, seen by police or others might
bring more attention and people like the woman tonight would pay more
attention," I said.

"But maybe bring unwanted attention to the ones we're trying to get on the
serum." Alex pointed out. "People might kill those that aren't even
vampires thinking they could be. People get scared and panic."

I nodded. "I suppose."

Shelly looked at Alex. "You need to not worry about the gender of the
vampire. That was a killer; plain and simple. Just because she'd female
should have nothing to do with it."

Alex nodded and smiled. "That's why we have you, Shelly!"


We got back to Thornwood just after sunrise. I was told that Matt had
stayed downstairs, so I went down. I was afraid he'd be out for the day but
protected from the sun. He was up talking with Sarah who looked more
human. She had some color back in her skin. Matt looked back at me and
smiled.

"Sorry, we were patrolling last night," I said to Matt.

Matt nodded. "You told me you did that." He pointed at Sarah. "We were just
talking."

I grinned as I sat in an available chair. "There's not a lot of room down
here."

Matt laughed. "It's better than my hole." He pointed to a cot they had put
down here for him. "This is the closest I've had to a bed in a long time."

"Devon?" I heard Colin call from upstairs.

"We're awake," I said. "Come on down."

Colin came down the stairs and nodded at Sarah and Matt. "Edward told me
you were down here." He said to me and smiled at Sarah. "You look much
better now that you're on the serum." He looked at Matt. "It's good to see
you, Matthew."

Sarah smiled. "I ate for the first time yesterday. It was absolutely
wonderful."

"We need people to help," I said to them. "We need more patrols."

Sarah nodded. "I'll help when I'm able." She smiled as a young man came
from the bedroom. "How is he?" She looked at me and Colin. "Oh, this is my
gorgeous grandson, Evan." She waved to us. "Evan, this is Colin and
Devon. They're the ones that are helping us."

Again, the sight of seeing her grandson, who looked the same age as she did
was what hit me first. I held my hand out to him. He was in his
mid-twenties with light brown hair and green eyes, but his shade of green
was much lighter than Colin's.

"He's fine." He pointed to the bedroom. "It's great to meet you." Evan
greeted, shaking our hands. "I couldn't believe it until I saw Nana's
results." He waved at his grandmother.

Colin looked at the room. "We need to make more room down here." He
smiled. "Or find somewhere else to put people."

Matt grinned. "I don't mind sharing." He waved toward the bedroom. "I don't
think I will wake him up."

"And we're limited on staff to administer the serum." I pointed out. "And
they move upstairs after the first night."

Colin gave a shrugging nod. "I suppose." Then he put his arm around
me. "Let's grab a bite to eat and go upstairs."

I grinned at Matt and Sarah. "He's always hungry."

Matt smiled. "And not for blood!"

I patted Matt on the arm. "And you need downtime." I hugged him. "We'll be
down again later."

Sarah nodded and also hugged Matt. "He's right. I'm going back to
bed...upstairs." She smiled. "Rest well, Matt." She yawned. "The sunrise
this morning was amazing. Just wait until you can see one again."


As we were eating...or rather, I ate but watched Colin eat a huge
breakfast. I hadn't developed the appetite he had. I smiled as George came
with Burke and joined us at the table.

"Hello, guys." Colin greeted happily.

"George," I began. "I have a question. Is there a difference in the venom?"

George looked puzzled and I saw his eyebrows come together. "Not
really. The vampire biting has changed the venom. Why?"

"The vampire that bites a person doesn't make a vampire wild and another
enables his victim to keep his humanity?" I asked. "Matt didn't have the
urgency need for blood when I saw him after he woke up. Gabriella was being
more protective but said how powerful the desire was. Is there a
difference?"

George shook his head. "I haven't found that out."

"We stopped a woman from being bitten by a wild vampire tonight," I
said. "Matt was bitten by a vampire that wasn't wild, but able to seduce
Matt," I said thoughtfully. "I know that over time a vampire can go wild,
but...I was wondering if the wild vampire's venom is different."

George sat back a little. "I don't know. I can only test the venom after a
vampire is made and that's always a vampire that's more human."

"You've never gotten venom from a wild vampire?" I asked.

He shook his head. "I haven't tried. They've all been killed as soon as we
find them."

"Sarah kept her humanity because she had a family she felt she had to go
back to," I said. "But Matt...he had such a horrible childhood but managed
to keep his humanity. The vampire tonight was dressed in clothes that were
relatively recent. Tattered, but not much. She was a vampire that turned
and wild. I just wondered if there was a difference."

George nodded as he thought. "There could be." He chuckled. "I've never
milked venom from a wild vampire. I suppose it would be the same as a
snake." He shrugged. "We'll put it on the shopping list."

"How can we do that?" Colin asked. "A victim of a wild vampire may not be
cooperative and a dead vampire...How do we do that?"

"We'll have to carry a sample container." I shrugged.

"But venom doesn't last long outside a body," Colin said looking to George
for confirmation.

George nodded. "It doesn't." He sighed. "It will have to be a victim."

I frowned. "A victim that's already bitten? That's a shame."

"But more likely," Burke said. "All the victims I've encountered were
bitten by a vampire that wasn't wild."

"Or...!" I said as I thought of it. "We capture one and bring it back here!
If it needs to be alive, we have to catch one and bring them back."

"Great," Colin said not happy at all. "Now we'll need a way of catching one
and bring it back!?"

I nodded. "To study, yes."

Colin looked at George. "Do you have the equipment here?"

"No." George shook his head. "I can get it here, but no, I don't."

"We need to get the equipment," I said. "And make a safe place to house the
vampire."

"And then what?" Burke asked. "We can't keep it as a pet."

"We can see if it can be reasoned with," I suggested.

George sighed. "I'll talk with Edwin."


As we got to our room, Colin grabbed me, spinning me around. He pressed me
against the door kissing me hungrily. It was nice, but I chuckled.

"Okay," I said smiling. "That was because of what exactly?"

"I married a very smart man!" Colin said grinning.

I chuckled. "I know you were married once, but..."

Colin rolled his eyes. "I mean you, dummy."

I grinned. "First you say I'm very smart and now you call me a dummy. That
doesn't make sense."

Colin nodded smiling. "Yes, it does." He said as his lips traveled over me
as he made a path up from my neck back to my lips. "You came up with a plan
to test the wild vampire's venom. George has studied vampires for decades!
I don't know that it occurred to him there might be something in the wild
vampire's venom." Then he gave me a sad smile. "But that comment after I
said you were smart was dumb."

I pulled Colin closer. "I guess I'm lucky you were the one to bite
me. You're very smart."

Colin smiled. "You know I love you, right?"

I smiled. "Yeah? Care to show me?"

He grinned and unbuttoned his shirt. "Who else would I let play with this?"
He showed his chest hair.

I laughed as my hands were just drawn to his chest. I loved the tickling my
fingers got as I ran them across his chest. "That's very good, but not what
I had in mind."

"What did you have in mind?"

I led him to the shower, and we cleaned up quickly. We spent the next
couple of hours proving our love for each other. At last, when what little
energy we had left was spent and we were gasping for air after our very
active loving. I pulled him into a tender kiss.

"That's what I had in mind." I smiled running my hand through his head of
hair. "You proved you do love me. You know I love you."

"You proved that, too." Colin smiled. "We'll do it again...after a few
hours' sleep."

We got up after a good sleep. Now we faced some new challenges. How do we
catch a wild vampire? I thought about how we could keep one and what sort
of containment we would need. A cage? That would be the best way. Keeping
one in back of a van would be dangerous and it would try repeatedly to
escape. We were protected to a degree against the vampires, but Shelly and
Chuck didn't need the risk it could bite even accidentally in the vampire's
attempt to get away. The Disflavor didn't make them incapable of being
turned. Colin, George, Burke, Alex, Willie, and I thought we should catch
it. Gabriella objected to being left out, but Alex absolutely refused to
even consider that. I had never seen him so determined and unbending. Even,
and I'm quoting him. "I don't give a damn that you can or can't do it. I'm
not saying it's because you're a woman. You're someone I love more than
life. Leave me, if you want to, but you are not coming!" Gabriella smiled
at him and let the issue drop. Equal rights weren't the issue here. Love
was. We were two teams in different parts of the same town. We finally
decided that Gabriella could drive the vehicle with a cage in the back. She
could drive to a location but stay in the truck with the door locked. And
she was to stay...in...the...truck. The way he said to do that, I would
stay in the truck. I saw Colin smile at what he saw and heard from Alex.

Edwin told us there was a cellar in the barn where the horses we kept. It
was used for storage. Doing a quick study, we found it could be sealed to
shield any sun from getting it. We weren't having a guest come and
stay. This was going to be an animal. We had Edward call around to several
places. He was very creative. I guess working for Edwin had made him get
creative. Making up stories for Edwin must be an ongoing thing. We finally
got one of those cages of re-enforced steel. A rhinoceros couldn't break
through. It was big enough. Edward said something about big game hunting in
an area of Africa he had gotten permission to hunt. Edward promised he
would be bringing the "animal" by airplane here and would have to prove he
could bring it back. The cage was available, and we would send someone
there to pick it up.

We continued to have vampires come in daily to start the serum.

Matt saw me a few days later and made a request. He sat wringing his hands
as he began. "I want to do the serum, but..."

I waited for the but...then after a while. I smiled at him. "Tell me," I
said softly.

"I want you to do it," Matt said finally. It was so quiet, I almost missed
it.

"It will still hurt, Matt," I said hoping he didn't think I could do
anything about that.

Matt nodded. "I know. Sarah told me it was like giving birth again." He
chuckled. "Like I can relate to that." He looked at me. "I'm not really
scared about being hurt, but..." he looked sheepish, "...I trust you."

I smiled. "Say it. It will hurt."

Matt looked frightened, and his voice even cracked when he said it. "It
will hurt."

I nodded. "We can do it tonight," I said. "We'll do it right in this room."
I touched his arm. "I'm good with injections...but I'd like George to give
you the first injection. It's in the heart and I prefer he does that. I'll
be right there." I had seen it happen, so I addressed it
immediately. "Things with a person being taken care of...become
confused. Doctors or nurses giving care often become the focus of a
patient's attention. I want Colin there with me."

"Okay."

"It's to enforce the fact that I'm committed to someone else," I said
smiling. "You might get attached. It's call transference. It happens. What
I need you to know and see, is I'm married...happily...to Colin."

Matt smiled. "I won't hit on you. I swear."

I smiled. "The key thing to do here is talk about it."

Matt chuckled. "And you say you're not a shrink."

"I'm not," I said. "I was a medic in the Air Force. It happens...even with
the straight ones." I smiled. "We can be friends. We can become good
friends, but I believe in being honest. I'm just stating what is expected
and what will happen." I smiled. "Okay?"

Matt nodded. "Okay."


I told Colin.

"You want me to what?" Colin asked trying to understand.

"I need you there with me when I give the serum," I said. "Well, George
will give the first injection, but I want you there afterward." I nodded at
the expression he was giving as he tried to understand. "He doesn't trust
anyone. He does trust me. I've been totally honest with him. Feelings
happen with a caregiver. I told him we were married and that these feelings
can happen. I've seen it before."

"Okay." Colin nodded. "I'll be there."

I nodded. "Perhaps the two of you can become friends," I suggested. "He can
use another friend."


Now there were two vampires getting the serum. Matt had it done and would
be staying on the cot. It was a nice cot. It was another, but a smaller
bed. George was there preparing Matt and inserted the needle in Matt's
chest. The pain came. Both Colin and I stayed right by his side. After the
first night, Matt woke up and sat up, rubbing his chest.

"That really hurt," Matt said sadly.

I sat by him in a chair and took his hand. "I know," I said with
empathy. "We all do." I waved at Colin. "Everyone of us that is a vampire
know it will hurt, but don't think about how much it hurt. Think about what
you'll get when you have the disc inserted. You'll have freedom and the
pain will stop."

Colin smiled at me and then leaned in toward Matt. "We wouldn't do this if
it weren't something we all believe in. You get a life back."

I nodded. "Now, we need to pick a room."

"A room?" Matt asked. He chuckled. "A room." He smiled. "Almost like a real
person."

I nodded. "You are a real person. You always were. Now you have some
choices."

Matt's eyes grew a little. "Wow." He commented amazed. "There's no hunger."

Colin nodded. "Feel here." He took Matt's hand and put Matt's fingers to
his throat. "You have a pulse."

Now Matt's eyes grew even more.


Edwin's house was filling up. Sarah was getting the disc inserted. She
looked so much more human. Her eyes glistened and the humor was back. We
found Matt a room...and I admit, we chose it on purpose. It was on the
opposite wing. I worried about him becoming dependent on me. I wasn't that
important, but he might take it the wrong way. The first sunrise came, and
we stood with Matt as he saw it and had the same reaction everyone did.

The day he got the disc inserted Colin came to me. I was in the media
room. Edwin had never had a television before, now Edwin had the big
screen, DVD player and a new library of videos. He was watching Doctor Who!
We started with the original Doctor Who and was up to the 70s with Tom
Baker.

"This is so fake." Edwin groused eating some popcorn we popped to watch
these shows.

"Of course, it is," I said. "This was the 1970s! He was the fourth
doctor. Wait until we get to the eleventh doctor..."

"How many doctors are there?"

I chuckled. "I'm not telling. You have to watch them yourself."

Matt threw popcorn at us. "Be quiet! Some of us don't care if it's
fake. It's a good story!"

Colin came to me and tapped me on the shoulder. Looking at him, he did the
finger asking me to come with him. Getting up I followed him into the hall.

"That's therapy?" Colin asked smiling.

"It's cultural!" I defended. "They will be out in the world now. If someone
mentions the Tardis or any of the Doctors, they'll know. I haven't even
started with the 007 movies. If someone mentions Q or M, they will know
they are more than letters in the alphabet."

Colin chuckled. "Okay, okay." He waved me down. "I get it."

"Don't even get me started on credit cards and ATMs." I smiled. "...and
bank accounts."

Colin brought me into a hug. "You're doing some great things with them,
Devon." He said kissing me. "But how about taking this weekend off?"

I could tell he was planning something. "I suppose I could."

Colin nodded. "We've worked since we arrived." He smiled. "This weekend, it
will just be you and me."

I bounced. "No vampires?"

Colin looked surprised. "We are vampires."

"You know what I mean."

"No vampires." Colin chuckled. "You need to pack for a nice few days. We'll
leave Friday morning and return Sunday night."

"That sounds interesting." I smiled, kissing him. I walked back into the
media room. "Who's up for Sean Connery?" I asked them.


I packed a couple of nice suits along with my casual clothes. I told Matt
and all the others there that Colin was taking me away for the
weekend. Matt looked a little concerned but was resolved to getting along
fine.

Colin and I loaded up an SUV, which I was glad not to be driving. Colin
headed South. I wasn't surprised we arrived in London, but when we pulled
into a hotel. I had no idea where it was, but we checked in and when the
bellman escorted us to this suite. I grinned to myself. The St. James was
very...posh? It was a hotel of quiet elegance, not a party hotel. When we
came in the lobby the piano music that played quietly told you to keep it
down. We checked in and went to our suite with the terrace that you could
see some of downtown. There was the living area in the suite with its nice
furniture and bedroom, but the feature here was the terrace. A quiet area
you could sit outside.

Unpacking, Colin, and I didn't go anywhere. He stretched out on the bed
smiling at me, patting the empty space before him.

"This is just about you..." he said as I lay next to him and kissed
me. "...and me." He began kissing me a little deeper, gently becoming more
intense and hungry. "I love you, Devon. You're the most important person in
my life."

I knew that he made me feel that way every day, but hearing it said...so
sincere...this was more than just foreplay. He meant it.

"I love you, Colin. We'll never be parted."

We made love often. We played sexual games, but this night was all about
love. It was slow but just as intense as it could be. We were panting and
trying to suck in air as we finished this session. Colin enjoyed our time
afterward, touching and just caressing me as I did him.  We had
reservations I was told, so we got up, dressed in nice suits and went
downstairs to the restaurant. Again, this was a quiet venue. The diners
here spoke in quiet tones to one another. No children. I didn't mind
children, but sometimes their behavior was a little rambunctious. The
ambiance just made you calm. I had been taught manners by my mother and she
showed me what utensils were used when. No one looked at us strangely as we
sat. No one cared that we were a couple of two men. They were busy with
whomever they were with.  The dinner was fabulous, but I wondered if Colin
had enough.

He looked up at me and chuckled. "We're not done." He said simply knowing
why I was looking at him concerned.

I nodded. "It's Friday night." I shrugged. "We have until Sunday. I know
there's more."

After dinner, he and I began walking through the streets of London. We were
near Buckingham Palace, but we headed in the other direction. No hurry, but
I had a feeling I was being guided. We walked across the Thames, and he
then looked at the huge Ferris wheel. He grinned at me as his eyebrows
wiggled. We walked up to the London Eye. That is what the Ferris wheel is
called. He walked to a man that was confirming people on the London Eye.

"Wentworth," Colin said to the man. "We have a private capsule reserved."

I smiled. A private capsule? He had this planned!!

"Yes, sir. We have everything ready." The man nodded and did what he
needed. "You have priority."

Entering this capsule...and that's what it was! A capsule, round and very
nice and a lot of windows. That's what it was for, to see all of London!
What I didn't expect was the table in the middle. There was a bottle of
Champagne chilling in an ice bucket, there were chocolates and Champagne
Truffles. A man waited dressed in a red vest and white shirt and bowtie as
he waved us in. He had the white folded towel over his arm. There was also
a dish of something. I looked closer. "Caviar?" I asked Colin who was
grinning even more.

"Beluga Caviar." Colin corrected. "With sour cream."

I laughed at what he'd done. It was...nice!

"I know I'm a third wheel." The man with the red vest said. "Regulations
and all that. I have to be, but I'll look away." He smiled as he covered
his eyes.

"We won't be having sex, I promise." Colin chuckled.

The man chuckled. "You'd be surprised at the number of people who have!"

"We would want more than an hour if we did have sex," Colin said.

"I prefer less of an audience," I said as Colin wrapped his arm around
me. "Are people allowed to have sex on this?"

The man looked at me with the...you have to ask that...look. "I got a card
from a woman that claims she conceived on the Eye." He smiled. "I promise
to be as invisible as possible."

"You don't mind that we're two men?" I asked.

He chuckled. "I've seen it all...the typical male and female, male and
male, female and female and even those May/December romances. There's one
sticks in my mind."

"Why?" Colin asked.

"Well, she was the December, and he was the May." He said. "She was in her
seventies; he was in his twenties." He shrugged. "I say...whatever makes
you happy."

Colin nodded. "Then get off the capsule."

"Except that." The man pointed and smiled.

I shook my head. "You have caviar on hand?"

The man looked shocked. "Oh, hell no. This is a Cupid Capsule, but he made
it better." He pointed at Colin. "He promised good compensation if I signed
for the caviar. Which I did." He waved to the caviar. "You must be pretty
special to him. If I had someone like him treat me this well, I'd marry
him...and I'm not gay!" He chuckled.

We began to move.

"I'll be..." the man pointed to the other side of the capsule, "...over
here. Not looking....or listening...or whatever." He grinned and turned
away.

I smiled at Colin. "I do feel like I'm special with you."

"That's because you are," Colin said. "I feel special when I'm with you."
He kissed me and walked us to the Champagne. He poured a glass and handed
it to me and took one himself. He raised his glass. "To a long, long life
where we both feel special because we're together." I clinked his glass
against mine.

"I'll drink to that." I smiled.


We, of course, ate what Colin had done so much to have there. The Truffles,
the chocolate and especially the caviar. We stood together as all of London
was before us as lights seemed to cast a spell on us. Colin had his arms
around me as looked over the city together. The other problems we had were
going to have to be handled by someone else tonight. This was just for
Colin and me.

We consumed chocolate and Truffles. We pretty well got all the caviar
consumed. Colin did a lot of it, but he loved food and had a big
appetite. We strolled back to the hotel, not caring if anyone else was
around as we walked with arms around each other. There were even a few
smiles I saw. Not the look, isn't it funny? They're gay smiles but isn't
that sweet smiles. London would be special to me from now on.

Once in our suite, I was backing him to the bed as I pulled his jacket off
and loosening his tie. "Thank you, Colin."

He smiled. "You had a good time?"

"The best night we've had in a while," I said. "The guy on the capsule was
right. I must be special." I said unbuttoning his shirt. "Now, I'm going to
make you know how special you make me feel," I said running my hands up his
chest. I kissed him in that consuming attempt to devour the man if I could
and he gave back as much as I gave.

It was a glorious night!


The next morning, I woke up and realized we didn't have to be anywhere. I
smiled to myself, loving the feel of Colin's body pressed against me. All
was right with the world! Colin's arm was draped over me as usual. I never
liked so much as a Teddy Bear in bed as a child, but I couldn't imagine not
having Colin with me.

"Good morning." I heard behind me and felt him move.

I rolled over to face him. "It is a great morning." I smiled kissing
him. "What do you want to do today?"

Colin looked surprised. "You don't have something you want to do?"

I chuckled. "Colin, you have to have something you want to do. This
shouldn't be all about what I want."

Colin frowned. "Well, no...but I'm not the planner. I enjoy being with
you. I don't care what we do as long as we do it together." He
smiled. "I've been to London..."

"On business," I said quickly. "There's Buckingham Palace, The Tower of
London...there are many parks! The leaves are changing, it's beautiful!"

Colin smiled and rolled over on top of me. "What I was going to say was,
I've been to London, but I never saw London. I was so caught up in getting
Wentworth Manor back and making the money to do that..." he waved at the
outside. "It never occurred to me to get on that London Eye. I never even
thought about going to Harrods'." He smiled at me. "I love you, Devon. What
I love the most is your enthusiasm about...everything!"

I smiled back. "It's just my immaturity."

Colin's head backed up a little. "Are you nuts!? Honey, you wake up every
morning with a smile! Because you wake up with a smile, I have a smile,
too! You see everything so positively. We should all be so immature. You
love me. I know that. But you love me so...completely. With every fiber in
your being, you love me. I see it and feel it. I've been alive for hundreds
of years, but until I met you I hadn't lived! I can't wait to see what you
think up next. I mean what I say, you are the most important human being I
know or even heard of. You're kind and caring. I would have dismissed Matt,
but not you. You not only made friends with him but got him to tell you
things he told no one else." Colin stressed. "And I don't think it has a
thing to do with any gifts you may have gotten because you're a vampire,
you were this way before. Most of the time, I forget you are a vampire!
There are times I forget I am. That's because of you!"

I looked at him like he was not seeing things correctly. "I haven't done a
thing. George came up with the formula, you came up with the funds..."

"No!" Colin said quickly raising his finger. "No, he and I were pretty
much...dead inside. George would still be in Manhattan hiding from
everyone. He would never accept the FBI and he never would have come here
to England. I was afraid I was a monster, but you were never scared of
me. Knowing what I was, you didn't run away." He propped on an elbow as he
smiled looking at me. "I don't care what we do as long as we do it
together." He sighed happily. "Even if that something...is nothing. Now, do
you see how important you are to me?"

I looked at the emerald eyes. "I know what I want right now."

All the lovemaking had been...very nice, but this time...I hope the room
was soundproof. He and I were a little noisy. There were some loud grunts
and occasional shouts. It was indeed a great morning.


After we cleaned up and got dressed, it was lunchtime. We had the whole
day! We did walk around London with no agenda, and we made our way to Kent,
the southern part of London. There we found Tom Bell. Not a man, but a
where. Fish and chips! By reputation, theirs was the best, so we went in
and got some. I wasn't disappointed. It was good! The seasons were changing
and one of the changes was fog. As the evening came on, in rolled fog. I've
seen fog, but this? The air was cold, and the fog was thick. I dreaded what
problems drivers were having. Like Charleston, the cold in London was
damp. It ate through our jackets and sweaters. We should have known we
might encounter one of us. We were having a good time, but we didn't see
that many people out. They had more sense than to be out on a night like
this. Colin and I weren't lost, but it was difficult to know where we were,
so we had to get closer to the street signs to know where we were.

"We're heading the right way," Colin said now that we saw the sign. He
suddenly looked up as he sensed something, but not with his eyes or ears.

It just when he got the look, I sensed it, too. A vampire. I froze. Colin
was looking around and concentrating on where he was sensing.

"We can feel you there," I said calmly. "As I know you can sense us. We're
the same as you."

"No, you're not." A woman's voice said from in the fog. "I sense you are
vampires, but you're not like me." Someone came closer and I could see the
image of someone. "Why is that?"

"We're under treatment," Colin said, but he was defensive. "What we are is
a condition. It's not a curse."

"Condition?" The young woman repeated finding it hard to believe. "I've
never heard of a condition. We're vampires."

Colin frowned. "Well, there is a condition." He was getting testy. "I hate
this cloak and dagger stuff." He said firmly. "I know that trust is hard
for us, but can you get closer so we can see you?"

"You took a risk by even speaking to us," I added touching Colin's
arm. "You might see us, but why not come a little closer so we can see
you?" What I was surprised about this vampire was her accent. From all the
time I'd been in England, the various accents I'd gotten used to. She had a
definite accent that spoke of the United States. "You sound American or
Canadian."

She chuckled. "So do you." She came closer and we could see a woman in her
early twenties. Her hair was a dark blonde and she was pretty. The other
thing about her, she was clean. She was personally as well as her
clothes. "American as I hear a Southern accent."

I nodded. "Because we are Southern. We're both from Charleston, South
Carolina. Where are you from?"

"Akron, Ohio." She said.

I smiled. "A Yankee." I didn't feel threatened by her at all. She was a
vampire, but no threat. Her eyes lacked the moisture, and her complexion
was pale like all vampires. "What's your name?"

"Lilly." She said. "Really, Lillian, but everyone calls me Lilly."

Now Colin was relaxed. "My name is Colin Wentworth." He put his hand on my
shoulder. "This is my husband, Devon Wentworth."

I was so used to operating on the defensive about being gay. I am delighted
when we tell people, and they have no reaction at all. I have a feeling
that was because we lived in the Bible Belt, we would often get the bad
reactions. They didn't like gays much and God forbid a gay vampire! We were
an exclusive club.

"How did a nice girl from Akron, Ohio become a vampire in London?" Colin
asked.

She laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Paul." She replied. "He was my
boyfriend."

"You said was...he's not anymore because...he's dead? Or..." I asked.

She shook her head. "He's a vampire now, too." She frowned a little
bitter. "It was him that got me turned into this."

"I'm sorry," I said. "He was the one that bit you?"

She nodded. "I was his second victim that night."

"That is a good thing," Colin said. "His first victim didn't survive, did
he?"

"I didn't know about the first victim at first, but..." she shook her
head. "Paul was always a dreamer. He had this romantic notion that we'd
be...this vampire couple in love forever."

"How'd he get you?" I asked.

"We had gone to this party, and he disappeared," She began. "It was morning
before I went back to his flat...alone." She said that last part
angrily. "I didn't know what had happened to him." She waved her arms in
frustration. "When he did show up the next night...I was angry but glad to
see him. I knew he looked strange, but...there was no warning. He hugged me
and then...bit me."

"I'm sorry that happened to you," I said. "How did he think becoming a
vampire would be a good thing?"

"He fell for the movies and TV!" She explained. "He thought we'd have these
magic powers and all that shit." She laughed again angrily. "Needless to
say, we're not that romantic vampire couple. We're not even a couple."

"How do you know he's alive?" Colin asked.

"I see him around," Lilly answered. "His bubble has burst and he's a little
angry. He tries to get me back, but I'm sort of pissed at him, know what I
mean?"

I smiled and nodded. "I can understand why."

She nodded. "So, what is this treatment you do?"

We explained about the venom and serum.

She shook her head. "A venom?" She repeated. She looked at us and waved
helplessly. "I have to believe it because here you are, and you don't feel
like other vampires."

Colin nodded. "Because we aren't."

"How long ago were you turned?" I asked.

"Five months ago," Lilly said.

"Have you killed?" Colin asked.

Lilly looked guilty. "A dog once, a few cats and rats." She shivered when
she said rats. "Rats are disgusting, but it does the trick." She looked at
us doubtfully. "Do I have to do something to get this treatment?"

I nodded. "You have to come to us."

"To Charleston!?" She asked as if we'd said the moon, but for a vampire, a
trip like that would be like going to the moon.

I laughed and shook my head. "Not that far, but it is about three or so
hours' drive...north." I could see she was relaxing. "Have you heard of
Thornwood?"

She shook her head.

"There are more vampires in the world," Colin said. "There is a group now
up in Yorkshire. Do you have a way of getting there?"

She looked more helpless. "I can't see how. I don't even know where
Yorkshire is...I know there are a lot of mines up there."

I nodded approaching her. "It's okay," I assured. "We can get you there,
but it won't be tonight...or even tomorrow night."

"We're here in England for a reason. Helping others like us is that
reason." Colin said. "The thing is...you'll have to trust us."

I nodded. "You took the first step by speaking to us. Your next step was to
reveal yourself. What happens next is you have to come with us."

Now she looked even more doubtful. "If I do...can I ever go home?"

I smiled. "To Ohio?"

"I was attending NYU." She smiled. "But I'd like to get out of
London. Anywhere will be a welcome change."

"If nothing else, if you take the treatment, you'll have a future to decide
on." I smiled. "We go back to Thornwood tomorrow. We can come back."

"During the day?" Lilly asked.

I nodded. "We can bring you to Thornwood at night. We have somewhere you
can stay in the day."

The idea of being somewhere else during the day was frightening to her, but
the thought that she could leave this horrible life behind was more
tempting.

"What's your full name?" I asked.

"Lillian Palmer." She said.

"Alright, Lilly Palmer," I said. "We'll be back here in a week," I
said. "Or unless you prefer another location."

"A week? Seven days?"

I nodded. "We might bring some others. There is a group of humans that work
with us. My mother is one such human with us. She's very nice." I waved at
Colin. "His daughter is a vampire. They can help you."

She nodded. "Okay. Seven days." She looked at her watch. "It's nine thirty
now. Same time?"

I nodded. "We'll be here. Is there anyone you want to include?"

She shook her head. "I just want out." She said pitifully and again, if she
had tears, they would be falling.

Colin smiled. "We'll get you out. I promise."

She nodded. "A week." She said as she backed up. "You promised." And she
disappeared into the fog.

Colin sighed. "So much for our vampire free weekend."

I put my arms around him. "She found us; we didn't go looking for one." I
grinned. "Now we have another movie!" I said happily.

Colin chuckled but rolled his eyes. "Oh?"

"You remember the movie American Werewolf in London?"

Colin thought. "I can't say I do."

"We've got to get you up on current events," I said kissing him. "Now we
have American Vampires in London! I'll find the werewolf movie when we get
back to Thornwood. I'm sure it's available on demand."

Colin chuckled again and said weakly. "Yea for me." Then he smiled. "And
when Edwin or Matt comes to New York we can have British Vampires in
Manhattan?"

I smiled. "Now you're getting it!" I looked where we were. "Are you going
to be able to find this again?"

Colin nodded. "I'll remember."

We got back to the hotel and had a quiet night...well, mostly. He and I did
let out a few loud grunts as we made love, but nothing too loud. We got up,
had our breakfast and were on our way back to Thornwood at twelve.

We came into the house where no one was there to greets us. Not that they
knew when we were coming back. We got our luggage back in our room and
looked for someone...anyone. The media room was empty, as was the
library. Going down to the underground room, we found that room was
empty. Finally, when we were going down a hall on the first floor we saw
Willie.

"Willie!" Colin greeted. "Where is everyone?"

Willie smiled at us. "Well, the vampire last night is now upstairs on the
west wing." Then he smiled bigger. "The others are with our new guest."

"New guest?" I asked.

Willie nodded and jutted his head. "Out in the barn's underground."

"You caught a wild vampire!?" Colin asked.

Willie nodded. "We did. Come on, I'll take you to see it."

I had not been to the barn before...why would I?

Willie led me to a door that had the stone steps that led down.

Here we saw where they had all gone. In a cage of steel was a creature that
was only human in that it looked vaguely human. His hair was dirty and had
stringy hair. Again, the hair on a vampire will grow and he never had
gotten a haircut. Not a big man, about my size. The hair was dark, but the
color could be from the grime. He was dirty from head to toe and the
clothes he wore was so tattered and torn, he might as well have nothing
on. This vampire was truly wild. He turned as Willie, Colin and I came down
and hissed, but shied away from the cage's edge. His fangs, however, were
in great shape which he showed as he hissed. Then I was hit by the
smell. Now I got that musky, musty smell Gabriella had described. Chuck and
Shelly were a good many feet away from the cage. Burke, Alex, Edwin, Matt,
and George were closest to the cage. Gabriella was standing behind Alex.

"...I'll try this," George said as he put a dart in a gun.

Looking at the vampire, he already had two darts in his back.

George shook his head and fired, hitting the vampire in its back again. The
vampire shrieked and tried to get the dart. Then I saw the other darts on
the cage floor.

Alex looked up and saw us and grinned. "Welcome to the freak show!" He
waved at the vampire.

"We go away a couple of days and this is what we come back to?" Colin asked
shaking his head. "Shouldn't he be still asleep?"

George nodded. "He was asleep, but the sun's going down. I need him knocked
out to get any blood. He fights too hard to get any."

I looked at this vampire as I walked closer to it. "If he just woke up,
he's hungry."

George had been setting up a lab down here, but it wasn't all clean like
his lab in Manhattan. George nodded and waved to several clear bags of
blood he had ready for him on a counter. "He slaps away the bags and tries
to get free."

I nodded, looking at what remained of his clothes...he had been a miner. No
telling how long ago he was turned, I could see his clothing and knew it
had been a while. "He may not know what the bags are or what's in them," I
said going over to one of the bags. "Is there something..." I looked around
this barn storage area. "Is there a shovel or something?"

Edwin nodded. "Yeah, I'll get it." He came back with a shovel. It had been
used and was dirty, but I hoped it would do the trick. I opened a port on
the bag and let the blood spill out on it. Then I raised the bag with the
shovel to the vampire who now was looking very interested as his nose
twitched smelling the blood.

"It's blood," I said to the vampire. "That's what you want right now."

Vampires were stupid, but this one wasn't very bright either. It grabbed
the bag and instead of just lifting it and sucking out the blood, it bit
the bag. He got some of the blood, but mostly it spilled on the ground. I
took another bag. "This is what you need to do," I said to the vampire who
looked at me curiously. I opened the port and like I was going to let it
drip in my mouth, I showed him how it came out. Then I held it out to him.

"Devon! Get back!!" Colin shouted seeing I was too close for Colin to not
worry and about to charge after me to rescue.

I held my hand up to stop Colin. "I'm okay. He just needs to know how to
get it." I held the bag closer. The vampire watched as I came nearer. "Take
the blood." The vampire's response was to grab the bag greedily and held it
up as I did and let the blood pour into his throat. I backed away a little,
grabbed by Colin and moved farther away faster. He hugged me to him. "I'm
okay, Colin. He couldn't hurt me. I'm already a vampire."

Colin shook his head. "He can hurt you! He could have ripped your arm
off!!"

I pulled Colin into the hug again and patted him on the back as he was
assessing whether I was still intact. "I'm okay, Colin. He didn't touch
me." I hugged him again. "But I noticed something just now."

"What!?" Colin asked trying to calm down.

"There is something operating here. He saw what I did and repeated it. He
learned." I pointed out. I looked at the vampire. "Whether he's a nice guy
or not, he was human."

"So, you want to try and tame him!?" Colin balked.

I frowned at Colin. "I'd like to know that if an innocent person was
bitten. Can he be reached and saved?" I turned to Shelly. "That woman that
was running that night, she was going to attacked by a vampire like him!
Wild!" I waved at the vampire.

Shelly frowned. "She was a bit paranoid to me."

"Four people jump from an SUV at night, isn't paranoid," I said. "She was
protecting herself. It was a normal reaction. Would she be condemned if she
had been bitten?" I turned to George. "Have you ever given the serum to one
like this?" I waved at the vampire. "Have you gotten a wild vampire back?"

George looked puzzled but shook his head. "They usually don't survive."

I nodded. "Let's test his blood. If we can get the venom, we test it." I
smiled at George. "You should be able to tell if there's something in his
blood we don't have."

George nodded. "I was planning to find out." He grinned. "Are you sure you
don't want to be a doctor? Or at least a scientist?"

I grinned at George. "No thanks. You're it. Who else do we need?"

George chuckled. "I can use the help." He looked at the vampire as it
slumped a little. "Oh, now the tranquilizer's is working. Having the blood
in him must be helping."

We all turned as the vampire finished the bag and was slowly collapsing.

"Won't the tranquilizers have an effect on the serum?" I asked.

George nodded. "It will register, but it won't affect the results that
much." He walked closer to the vampire. George smiled. "I'll get the venom
from his bloodstream. We should get the venom from him if we can." He
looked at me. "Care to help me?"

"How are you going to do that?" Burke asked but had a feeling what we were
going to do.

"In order to get snake's venom, we get a jar, and the process involves
sinking the fangs in a special jar with a covering to bite into and force
the venom out." George said. "That means...we go in, put the jar under his
fangs and sink the fangs in the jar."

"No!" Colin objected, shaking his head. "No way are you doing that." He
said to me and George.

George frowned at Colin. "It needs to be done. To see if there's a
difference, I need his and someone else's venom without the serum." He
looked at all of us. "One of the new vampires coming for the serum can give
that sample. We'll compare." He looked at the now sleeping vampire. "The
problem is...we need to have the means to store it once we've got it. Even
then, it won't last long. I need my high-powered microscope ready when we
do it. It's on the way."

Burke came beside Colin. "I don't like this." He said to Colin.

Colin shook his head. "Neither do I." He looked at me. "That means sticking
your hand in his mouth." He pointed to the vampire.

I nodded. "I'll be careful." I looked at George. "We'll wear gloves!"

"Gloves that he can easily bite through." Colin pointed out. "There has to
be another way."

George sighed. "I try and come up with something. I need to wait for the
microscope so we can't do it now. I need a blood sample. I can do simple
observations for now with a simple microscope." He went over to bench he
had some of those clear test tubes with the stopper on top to keep
specimens sterile. He picked a few up and a large syringe. "I need access
to his neck. I'm not concerned with sterilizing the site. Just watch him."
He said to me and the others around him. He reached in through the bars and
rolled the vampire over. Clearing the vampire's neck from the hair and
getting access, he stuck the needle in the neck and withdrew some of the
black ooze and put the ooze in the container. George held up the
tube. "I'll start with this."

"This is dangerous," Colin said to me.

"If I had been bitten by one of these...which I'm not sure Brett wasn't
going that way. Would you give up on me?" I asked. "Maybe if we find
something out about their venom, we may help." I turned to George
again. "Have we given the serum to one of these?"

"We never thought to," George said shrugging. "They weren't seen as a
victim. As I said, they always die first."

I nodded. I looked at the vampire. "This one won't." I looked at
Colin. "You see we have to, right?"

Colin still looked upset about it and said to me. "I do, but I don't want
you hurt."

George frowned as he put his arm around my shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll be
careful." He almost growled.