Sarah heard the doorknob turn and though she didn’t show it, she was instantly aware. She was certain she hadn’t been asleep long and it was probably nearing dusk, giving her a pretty good idea of who was invading their space and her hand moved between the mattresses, grasping what she sensed she'd need. Slowly she rose up in the bed keeping her face away from the person, hearing his steps, knowing exactly how far into the room he was.

"How did you get in?"

"It’s my home. Don’t you think I would have keys to all the rooms in my own house?"

She heard him continue to approach. "Come one step closer, Alex and I’ll kill you, so help me God," she threatened not yet addressing him directly.

"Brave words from someone with so much to lose," he taunted. Sarah finally turned her icy stare upon him. There was so much hate and rage built up in her, she was ready to explode and the leader saw the fire of it burning hotly within her. "Ouch!" he commented. "Okay, I get it. You're giving me the look to kill. It’s understandable. Besides, I’ve seen worse. Actually I only came to find out how lover was doing."

Alex knew that was her weakness. "He's going to be fine," she bit out challengingly. "He'll soon be well enough to kick your scrawny ass."

"Nick wouldn’t even consider it," he stated unflinchingly, losing all humor once more. "You're forgetting one thing, Sarah. I have his loyalty. I will always have that. No matter how close you become, no matter what promises you make him or what you’re able to offer, I will always own him. He was mine long before you ever came into the picture and he'll be mine long after you're gone. Don’t even think of making him choose. You'll lose."

That was it! She couldn’t take it anymore. Her hand gripped the smooth wooden handle of the butcher knife she'd purchased that day and she came running at Alex full speed with it. She took him down to the floor quickly and for the first time ever saw fear briefly flash across his face. It gave her the confidence she needed. She thrust the blade at him and his hand wrapped about hers just barely being able to keep it from slicing into his chest. She wanted to slaughter him like an animal. She’d never wanted a kill so much in her life and right now, her slayer strength backed by her fury was nearly enough to do it. The tip of the blade was just piercing his shirt when she was suddenly whisked away from him and Alex scrambled to his feet. Sarah was shocked to see it was Nick who'd pulled them apart and who now stood in-between them, arms extended in each of their directions.

"Enough!" he shouted. "That’s enough!" His attention turned to the vampire leader. "Alex, leave now. Please." The elder vampire, still in shock and breathing hard from her attack upon him, did as Nick requested, not even questioning his right to ask it as Sarah assumed he would. The moment Alex was gone and the door closed, Nick turned to her. It was easy to see from the pale exhaustion in his eyes, he was still weak and the energy he'd just expended hadn’t helped. Unhesitating she dropped the knife and went over to wrap her arm around him, letting him lean upon her heavily as they made it back to the bed.

"Why Nick? Why after what he did to you didn’t you let me take him? Why?"

"Because he's right. I owe him. I wouldn’t have made anything of myself if it hadn’t been for him. I'd probably be in a deeper mess than I am. Alex let me escape all that. He saw what I could be. I can’t thank him enough for it."

"But Nick," she struggled trying to understand, "if I hadn’t come home when I did, he'd have let you bake out there this morning. And yet you still feel this way?"

"It was a setup. He knew you would be home soon. Just in time to do something about the situation. And he knew you would do something about it and save the day. He was testing you. He needed to see how deeply your loyalty ran to me, to all of us."

"And if for some reason I wouldn’t have returned when I did, would he have left you out there?"

The catch in his voice gave her the answer before she ever heard the words. "It’s just a good thing you did."

"So I passed?"

"Well apart from a few minutes ago when you tried to stake him," he smiled, "yeah, I think you did. He wanted to see that. To see how far you'd go."

"I know he’s your mentor, Nick. I know you feel a gratitude towards him, but I don’t. I don’t trust him. He’s evil, pure and simple. Everything about him is evil. And he just spreads it wherever he goes. He doesn’t deserve to live."

"It could be worse with him gone. Think of it, Sarah. If you would have staked him, do you really believe that would have been the end of it for us? Do you really think there wouldn’t be another vampire who would step right up to take his place? Perhaps one who’s more evil than Alex? Right now, its obvious he still wishes for my loyalty. He can’t seem to let go. We wouldn’t have that advantage with his successor."

"I still don’t see the advantage we have here. For God’s sake, he tried to kill you!"

"Alex is reluctant to take the life of one he’s brought across. He sees it as a personal failure on his part, but he won’t stand for betrayal either. If he truly wanted us dead, he would have succeeded by now. There’s a reason he’s keeping us around. I don’t know what it is yet, but I’m sure we’ll find out soon."

She grew abruptly quiet. Her eyes wandered over Nick realizing the burns, apart from a rare few, were nearly all healed. The ones that were left reminded her far too much of how vulnerable he really was. "I thought you were going to die out there, Nick. I'd have done anything to prevent that. Whatever it took."

He studied her meaningfully. "I know you would. And now, unfortunately, so does Alex."

"Which means he may do something like this again," she realized bitterly.

"Probably."

"I can’t bear to hear anymore of this! This is insane! Completely utterly insane," she exclaimed, standing up to pace before him. "If we leave, we lose. If we stay, we lose. There's no way of winning!"

"It’s not winning, Sarah. It’s simply surviving. It’s simply waking up and giving thanks you made it to another day," Nick explained, the sense of regret clear in his tone.

"I don’t know how long I can do that."

"You’ve been doing it all your life. You just weren’t aware of it because you thought you were invincible. All slayers did. Now you’ve realized you’re not. You’re not any less strong for the knowledge. It can be your strength."

"No," she disagreed softly. "You’re my strength, Nick. What just happened with Alex proved it to me. I never would have dared take him on by myself before. But after what he tried to do to you today…there was no way I couldn’t fight back. There simply was no fear any longer."

The beginnings of a smile began to curl the edges of his mouth. "I think I know what you mean. This morning when he mentioned you’d be staying with him in his room, my blood ran cold. I couldn’t even think straight. I just knew I wanted to tear him apart. I’ve never felt that way towards him before."

"If he would have ordered it, there’s really nothing you could have done, is there?"

"It would be foolish for me to challenge someone like Alex. He could destroy me twice over without breaking a sweat," Nick admitted quietly.

"I know," she acknowledged, reaching out to stroke his shoulder reassuringly.

"But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have tried." Sarah felt her insides melt upon hearing the words as his eyes met hers. It was the sweetest, most wonderful thing any man had ever said to her and she had no doubt about its sincerity.

"Nick, you’re too much," she smiled, joining him on the bed once more and wrapping her arm around his shoulders to hug him to her briefly. It sounded funny, but a lot less awkward than the three more meaningful little words that almost came out.

"No, I’m crazy," he stated drawing closer. "I’m crazy for even thinking of doing something like that. A week ago, I never would have."

"Until I came along?" Her smile grew.

"Until you came along," he repeated taking her hands warmly into his. "You have no idea how much I care about you, Sarah. You’ve saved my life--twice. I’d do anything for you. Anything to keep you safe."

She reached up to brush her fingers through his soft blond hair letting it sift between them. She was so close to tears, she was afraid to look down for fear they would break free and start streaming down her cheeks. She could barely believe the words but she wanted to. So much she wanted to.

The entire morning replayed before her minds eye. In all the excitement, she hadn’t even had a chance to appreciate that Nick was alive and well and she longed to change that. He was so close, her senses were exhilarated by the scent of him. She found herself wanting to kiss him so hard, so passionately it took his breath away. He read it in her and also sensed her trepidation after he had frightened her away from making the first move last time. He appeared to wish to make it up to her and he kissed her as if it had never happened. As if he was never going to let her go and her body and mind took in the affection, drinking it in and letting it wash over her until she was intoxicated by it and everything else simply fell away. The kisses were slow and tender at first then Nick deepened them with quiet assurance. His lips began moving against hers in a way that sent flames leaping through her and when he let her know a taste of him, it was almost enough to drive Sarah over the edge. She tore her mouth away from his and lingered to embrace him closely after, her hand moving back and forth over his back gently.

"I should go," she said reluctantly, knowing it was probably best to put some space between them before things got more complicated. "Let you get some more sleep till sundown. Are you going to be okay?" He nodded, smiling at her concern. He was doing more than okay if that kiss was any sign. It had taken everything in her to draw away from it. Her body hated her for doing so. It had grown to love the feel of Nick’s warmth against it and to deprive her of that indulgence was almost painful.

"You’re not going back to your room, are you?" he asked uneasily.

She smiled. "Only to get a blanket or two. You keep the bed. You need it more than I do. I’ll nap on the sofa for a bit." It seemed to calm his anxieties a lot to hear it.