"Hey," he said softly, placing his hand on her cheek. "How's Nick?"

"Sick. And whiny. Why did I let you volunteer me for this job?"

"You did it because you love..." he stopped, and his smile faded a little. "You did it because you're a sweet person and I knew you'd help me out."

"You're right," Kathleen said, smiling. She kissed his hand. "Both parts."

Kevin smiled again. "I love it when you smile," he said softly. "You're so beautiful when you smile."

"Can I gag now? Vomit, maybe?" AJ muttered from the other side of the bed. He threw the covers off and walked into the bathroom to brush his teeth. He didn't even try to hide his "morning wood" from Kathleen. She looked away, embarrassed.

"AJ has no shame. Or modesty," Kevin said, laughing.

"Obviously," Kathleen said, shaking her head.

Rhiannon sat up and rubbed her eyes. She glanced down at her arm, noticing the stinging pain. It was sunburned. Badly. Not nearly as bad as Kevin had been when Kathleen returned him from his self-imposed exile, but it was painful nonethless.

"What's up with that?" Kevin asked, pointing at her arm.

"Sunburn," Rhiannon said, climbing out of bed.

"You went into the sun?"

"Yeah."

"You trying to kill yourself?" he asked, tossing the covers back and following her into the bathroom.

"Oh great. Are we gonna have a convention in here while I shower?" AJ asked, standing in the middle of the bathroom naked.

"No, Mr. Grump," Rhiannon said, looking into the mirror. Her face was red and stung a little too. "Actually I was thinking of joining you in the shower, but if you're gonna be an asshole, I won't."

"Well why didn't you say so?" AJ said, smiling. "Kevin? Care to join us too?"

"No thanks. Pervert. I don't find you attractive, AJ. Believe it or not, there are people out there who don't worship you," Kevin said, snarling.

"Get out!" AJ yelled, pushing Kevin toward the door.

"No. Not til Rhiannon tells me why she went into the sun," Kevin yelled, pushing AJ back.

"Kevin, settle down. I can go out into the sun a little if I want to. Normally it doesn't hurt as long as I only stay out for a few minutes. I guess I just overdid it this morning," Rhiannon said, pushing past both of them to get to her suitcase. Kevin and AJ followed to see what she was going to do. She took out a tiny green bottle and put a few drops on her finger. She rubbed it into her skin and the redness disappeared before their eyes.

"Now that's some cool shit," AJ muttered.

"AJ... you're naked," Rhiannon said, laughing.

"Yeah? So?"

"Kathleen, do you mind seeing AJ naked?" Rhiannon asked, still laughing.

"I'm not looking," Kathleen said, covering her eyes.

"Oh come on. We've all seen naked men," AJ said, placing his hands on his narrow hips. "Aren't all naked men pretty much equal?"

"NO!" Rhiannon, Kevin, and Kathleen said in unison.

"Some of us are more equal than others," Kevin said, snickering.

"Oh, so now YOU'RE saying I have a small dick?" AJ spat.

"No. I'm not saying anything about YOUR dick. In fact, I'd prefer it if we didn't even speak of your genitals ever again," Kevin laughed.

"And you don't have a small penis," Rhiannon said, wrapping her arms around AJ's neck. "It's actually kinda on the big side."

"Hmmm... And if you keep talkin' like that, it'll get even bigger," AJ growled.

"Ok, now I'm gonna gag," Kevin groaned. "Take it somewhere else, you two."

Rhiannon pushed AJ into the bathroom and turned on the shower.

"I don't care what Kevin says. I like you naked," Rhiannon said, looking lustily into AJ's eyes. He grinned.

"Well at least somebody likes me naked."

"Uh huh. Oh hell yeah," Rhiannon laughed, then kissed him. He put his hands on her hips and ground his growing erection against her pelvis.

"You're beautiful. Did you know that?" he whispered, kissing down the side of her face to her neck.

"I'm glad you think so," she muttered, loving the feel of his lips on her skin. The bathroom was starting to steam up, and the mirror was fogging over.

"I really shouldn't do this before a show. You know that, right?" he said softly, still kissing her neck.

"I know. You need all your energy. Don't you?"

"Yep. Pent up sexual aggression is very useful on stage," he said, kissing down to her collar bone.

"Wouldn't want to waste a drop of your sexual aggression," she purred, running her hands down his sides, then between his legs. He groaned as she grasped his erection in her hand.

"You're killing me," he moaned, resting his forehead against her shoulder. He closed his eyes as she began to stroke him.

"You're gonna be extra pent up tonight," she said, smiling. He looked up at her, his brow furrowing. She kissed his nose and turned to leave.

"Oh no ya don't," he said, grabbing her arm. She pulled away and walked back into the living room, where Nick was just waking up, and Kevin and Kathleen were trying to figure out what to do for him. AJ followed Rhiannon, whining.

"You can't leave me like this," AJ said. He sounded like a wounded animal.

"God, AJ! Show some class. And not as much frickin' skin. Good lord. You're turning into an exhibitionist!" Kevin said, disgustedly.

Kathleen turned her head, embarrassed beyond words. Nick just laughed and shook his head.

"It's her fault!" AJ said, pointing and accusing finger at Rhiannon. "She teased me up, then left me hanging. Well, not hanging exactly. More like... um..."

"Pointing?" Nick offered.

"Yeah. Pointing. Thanks Nicky," AJ said, placing his hands on his hips and making no attempt to cover his nudity.

"Good things come to those who wait," Rhiannon said, laughing.

"Yeah, well... you just better hope I'm still in the mood after the show," AJ muttered, turning to go back into the bathroom.

"Somehow I don't think that'll be a problem," Kevin laughed.

"OHHHHHH I feel so bad," Nick moaned, falling back down onto the couch.

"I'm going to fix you," Rhiannon said, shaking her head. "Stop whining."

"How are you gonna fix me?" he whined.

"You'll see. But this is just a temporary fix, ok? It's pretty short lived, and I can't do it again til tomorrow night," she warned.

"Ok. But what are you gonna do?" Nick asked, sitting up. His voice sounded terribly squeaky and gravelly.

"Give me a few minutes, ok?"

"Ok."

"Kathleen, can you run down to the snack machine and get Nick a coke?" Kevin asked.

"Why me?" Kathleen asked. "Your legs aren't broken."

"It's still daylight," Kevin said, smiling quietly.

"Oh. Sorry," she replied, shrugging. As soon as she left the room, Kevin turned to Rhiannon.

"Ok. Tell me why you were in the sun. Do you want to get incinerated?

What the hell has come over you?" Kevin asked, grabbing Rhiannon's shoulders roughly.

"Let go of me," she growled. "Don't you ever grab me like that again. I just looked out the window, ok? I am allowed to do that from time to fucking time. I just like to see the sun rise every now and then. Is that alright with you? I just overdid it this morning. Most of the time, there's no problem with it. Give it 100 years or so and you can probably watch a sunrise too. Chill out."

Kevin stared into her angry eyes for a few moments, then hugged her tightly.

"I just don't want anything to happen to you," he whispered. "I don't know what I'd do if you were gone. I'd be lost without you. Don't you know that? You're my best friend, Rhiannon. You're the only person who understands me completely. Don't you ever leave me. Don't even think about it."

Rhiannon considered his words before she spoke. "No. I don't understand you completely. You're a very complex person, Kevin Richardson. Beautiful beyond words. But very complex. Yes, it's true that I can see every thought that runs through your head if I want, but I'll never understand some of them. Kathleen might... one day."

"She's wonderful. I love her. But she could never replace you," Kevin said quietly. "You made me... you're like... I don't know... another mother to me. I wanna be with you forever."

"Kevin, I know you think the two of us will always be together, but I've been around for a long time. I know how it works. One day, you'll find someone to replace me in your heart. Just like AJ will. Especially AJ. I know nothing lasts forever. Well, except us. Vampires last forever. But I'm not naive enough to think you'll stick with me for eternity. You'll leave. I accept that fact. I'm ok with it."

"Never," Kevin said simply, shaking his head. Rhiannon stood on her tiptoes and kissed Kevin's forehead, then smiled. She knew... even if he didn't want to admit it.

Kathleen returned with a few Cokes in her hands. She looked around at the faces in the room.

"Why so serious?" she asked, concerned.

"Nothing," Kevin said, walking over and taking the Cokes from her. He threw one to Nick, but his reflexes were off because of the Tylenol with codiene that Kathleen had given him earlier, and the coke fell to the floor.

"Give that one to AJ," Nick mumbled.

"Here," Kevin said, carefully placing a can in Nick's hand. "You got it?"

"Yes, smartass," Nick said, smirking.

"Ok, time to work my mojo," Rhiannon said, giggling. She went into the bedroom and returned with the small green bottle of oils and herbs.

"Ok, Nicky... I'm going to use two drops on you. Two drops is all you need and all your body can take. Don't EVER, and I mean EVER use this stuff unless I give it to you. It's got some side effects on mortals that can be undesirable if you don't know what you're doing."

"Like what?" Nick asked, a little nervous.

"Increased libido. Aggression. As if that combination weren't bad enough, it can also make you eat like a pig, and you can't control your impulses. So... don't use it unless I give it to you."

Nick nodded. Rhiannon grabbed his hand and turned it palm up.

"Ok, this might sting a little," she said, baring her fangs. Nick got a frightened look on his face, but Rhiannon was quicker than he was. She sank her fangs into his wrist gently, just breaking the skin enough to draw a little blood to the surface.

"Oh that's unsanitary," Nick said, cringing.

"No it's not. My mouth is perfectly clean," Rhiannon said, laughing. She took out the dropper and dropped one tiny drop of the potion into the wound. Within seconds, it had healed completely. "That's for the fever and pain. Now open up your mouth and tilt your head back."

Nick reluctantly obeyed and Rhiannon dropped another tiny drop into the back of his throat. He sat up and coughed once, then got a surprised look on his face.

"Hey! It doesn't hurt anymore," he said, smiling. His voice sounded normal. Actually, better than normal.

"That's right. Because your throat is healed. Your vocal cords, too. But it's only temporary. It'll last about 5 or 6 hours, then you'll feel like shit again," Rhiannon told him.

"Whoo! I feel great! I could climb mountains! I could... I could..."

"You could get a move on," Kevin said, punching Nick's shoulder. "You're gonna be late for sound check."

Nick hugged Rhiannon and ran into the bathroom.

"EWWWWW!!!! AJ's spankin' his monkey!" Nick screamed.

"Well what the hell did you expect me to do? Go out on stage with a fucking hard-on or blue balls?" AJ yelled back. "Unlike some people, I don't think it's cool to go out in front of 14 year old girls with wood."

"Yeah, but coming out in front of all of us naked with a hard-on is ok, huh?" Kevin said, rolling his eyes.

"But you guys are my friends. You have to love me no matter what I do," AJ said, laughing.

"Whatever," Kevin muttered.

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