"Hey baby," she said, pushing Nick away gently, "I was feeling a little weak after our.. .uh.. encounter, and Nick volunteered to give me a little something to tide me over until I could go out to hunt later."

"I'll bet he did," AJ muttered, sitting in the chair across from them.

"Well, I need to get a shower before the show," Nick said, rising and walking towards to door.

"Hmmmm I wonder why, Nick? Maybe because my girlfriend got you off?" AJ spat.

"AJ, don't blame him," Rhiannon said, going to him and kneeling in front of him. "It was my fault, not his. I had to take his blood, or I was afraid…"

"Afraid of what, Rhiannon? Afraid you'd DIE or something?" AJ said, his tone pure acid.

"Yes," she said softly.

The expression on AJ's face went from anger to shock, then fear. "You mean… you let me… Are you telling me I almost killed you?" he asked, horrified.

Rhiannon didn't respond. She looked away. AJ took her face in his hands gently and turned her back to him. He swallowed hard.

"Baby, why did you do that?" he asked. "Why? Oh my God, I hurt you, didn't I? I can't believe I hurt you." "I just wanted you to be happy," she whispered, trying to smile. "I know how much you enjoy… that… and I just wanted to make you happy. You were in such a terrible mood, and I wanted to do something for you. You know I'd do anything for you. I love you."

"I know you do. I love you, too. But don't ever put yourself in jeopardy for me. Let me worry about making myself happy. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you, baby. Don't you ever do anything like that again," AJ said, pulling her to him. She ran her hands over the silky soft skin of his shoulders and smiled. He smelled so good. He always smelled delicious.

"I love you so much, AJ," she said.

"I love you, too," he whispered. Nick quietly excused himself and closed the door.

****************************

"You're hiding something from me," Kevin whispered, lightly stroking Kathleen's naked shoulder.

"What?" she laughed.

"You heard me. You're hiding something from me," he repeated.

"Like what? Like a tattoo or something?" she joked.

"I'm serious, Kath. You're hiding something from me, and I know it. I can tell. You know, if I wanted to, I could read your mind and find out what it is," he said quietly.

"Why don't you?" she asked, closing her eyes.

"Because I'd rather you tell me yourself."

She sighed. She couldn't tell him. She just couldn't.

"No," she said softly.

"No?"

"I can't," she said. "I'm sorry."

"Why not, dammit?" he exploded. "I love you. You say you love me. There shouldn't be any secrets between us. Don't you know that? I don't keep things from you. You shouldn't keep things from me either. You know every secret I have."

She pressed her head a little harder on his shoulder and bit her lip. His outburst was unexpected. They were quiet for a long time before he spoke again.

"I'm sorry for yelling," he said. "I just want to share everything with you. Don't you realize I love you? There's nothing in the world you can't tell me, and it just hurts when you hide things from me."

"I'm dying," she blurted. Shit. That's not exactly how she wanted it to come out, but there it was, hanging over them like a dark cloud now.

"You're... dying?" he whispered. She nodded silently. He sucked in a deep breath and let it back out again. "What's wrong?"

"I have a blood disease. It's called thrombolytic angioanemia. It's makes my platelets attack the lining of my blood vessels, and they get really weak and break. It's really hard on my heart, and eventually, the muscles will begin to die."

"How long?" Kevin asked, his throat closing up with emotion.

"Six months, give or take," she said quietly.

"Oh my God," Kevin whispered, tears spilling over and rolling down onto his pillow. "Can't they do anything?"

"Transfusions," she answered, "and I could go into the hospital and get IV medication. It might prolong my life another few months, but in the long run, what I have is always fatal. I'm lucky to have made it this long. I've had it for nearly 10 years. Most people don't live more than 5 years after the initial diagnosis."

"Lucky? I don't see any of this as lucky, Kathleen," he said, pulling her in as close as he could. He kissed her head. She put her hand on his cheek and felt the tears.

"Kevin, don't cry," she said, wiping his tears away. "I've had a wonderful life. I've done almost everything I've ever wanted to do. I'm happy."

"That's crazy. How can I not cry? I've been waiting to love somebody like this my entire life, and now that I've found you, you're telling me you're going to die! It's not fair! I don't see how you can even think of telling me not to cry!" Kevin got up and pulled on his pants and shirt.

"Where are you going?" she asked, turning on the lamp on the bedside table.

"Out. I need to think."

"I love you," she whispered. He left without speaking.

*******************

Rhiannon sat on the balcony of their suite, her feet propped up on the railing. She was warm and happy from her earlier feeding. A sweet young girl... probably around 16 or 17... waiting to see Nick. Rhiannon laughed and shook her head. These girls were so funny. They lusted over the guys, yet they had no idea what they were really like. They screamed that they loved them, but how could you love someone if you didn't really know them? Rhiannon had seen it before. For some reason, she gravitated towards musicians. She had seen her share of "rock stars" come and go in her life. In the 90's, she had loved hanging out with the grunge rockers. Pearl Jam was a particular favorite. Their gritty, raw edge was just what she needed at the time. In the 80's, she had seen the arrival of the New Romantics... Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet... they were beautiful in their time. She loved the way they dressed... like modern day pirates with their flowing shirts. And they had great hair. The 70's were kind of a blur... disco, smiley faces, cocaine, Studio 54. She shook her head at the thought of the 70's. Such horrible clothes and bad, bad hair.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Kevin's entrance. He walked straight onto the balcony and took a chair beside her. He propped his feet up on the railing and sighed deeply. They sat quietly, staring out over the city for awhile.

"You knew, didn't you?" he asked, not looking at her.

"Yes. I did."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"It wasn't my place," she replied simply.

"But Rhiannon, you knew I was falling in love with her. Why didn't you warn me?"

"Would it have changed the outcome?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, turning to her. She reached for his hand, but didn't face him.

"Even if I had told you, you still would have fallen in love with her, and she would still be dying," she answered.

Kevin squeezed her hand a little tighter and looked back out into the night air.

"What am I going to do?" he asked quietly. "I can't live without her."

"Well," Rhiannon said, finally looking at him, "it appears you have two choices, then. You can love her while you have her, then be with her when she dies, or you can do something about it." Kevin knew exactly what she was talking about… he could bring Kathleen over…

"I can't do that to another person," Kevin said bitterly, looking down. "The guilt I felt when I made AJ was enough to last me a lifetime. I just can't."

Rhiannon nodded. "Ok, then. There you go. You've made your decision."

"If I did... you know... make her... would she be ok?"

"If you made her into what we are, she would be undead, Kevin. I don't know if you consider that ok. I know I don't. If you're asking if she would still have the disease, the answer is no. She wouldn't be in pain anymore."

"She's in pain?" Kevin asked. He tried to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat, but it was no use. The tears began to roll down his face.

"Yes," Rhiannon said, softly. "She's in pain a lot of the time. Her muscles ache, and her bones hurt. I can feel it myself when I'm around her. It's agonizing even for me to be near her sometimes."

"God, why didn't I know? Why can't I feel it?" Kevin sobbed.

"Because a lot of times, we see only what we want to see," she answered. "I can feel things that you can't. I can see things that you can't see, and I know things that you can never know."

"Can you see the future?" he asked, wiping his tears away. "Can you tell me what's going to happen?"

"I'm not psychic. I can't tell you for sure what will happen. I can only guess based on what I've seen happen in the past. Don't ask me to guess, please."

Kevin nodded and was quiet. She let go of his hand and sat up on the railing, locking her feet between the posts.

"I wonder if I could fly?" she pondered. "I wonder what it would be like? To float through the sky. Like a breeze or something."

"You're making me nervous. Please get your ass down."

"Kevin, you're silly," she said, smiling back at him. "I'm fine."

"Please," he said, grasping her arm. He clenched his teeth nervously and the muscles in his jaw contracted painfully as she climbed back onto the balcony.

"Have you seen AJ?" she asked quietly.

"No. Why? Did he not come back with you?"

"No. He said he was going to get a bite, then he'd be back. I was expecting him long before now. It'll be dawn in another hour our two."

"Don't worry about AJ. He's a big boy. He can take care of himself. Focus on me here, ok. I'm the one with the serious dilemma. Tell me what to do!"

"I don't see it that way, Kev," she said gently. "You know your choices. Don't ask me to tell you what to do, either. I'm not the one you need to be talking to about this, am I? This is something you and Kathleen need to decide for yourselves. I can't make the decision for you."

Kevin sighed, then kissed Rhiannon's hand. "You're right," he said, smiling sadly. "I'm sorry. I guess I should talk to her, shouldn't I?" Rhiannon nodded.

"Choose well, young Jedi," she said, smiling up at him as he walked back into the room. She heard him chuckle.

Rhiannon sat on the balcony until the first streaks of pink morning sunlight lit up the sky. Still no AJ… She was worried, but she knew she would have to go to sleep. She stripped off her clothing and climbed naked into bed. She knew Kevin wouldn't be coming back, so she wasn't worried. She drifted off into a fitful sleep.

AJ came in shortly after she drifted off, disgustingly full from gorging himself on three girls that night. His stomach hurt. He was grouchy. He needed Tums. He entered the bedroom quietly, not wanting to disturb her. He sat on the edge of the bed, watching her sleep. His heart ached of regret. She had the face of an angel, and a soul to match. He knew he didn't deserve her. He softly ran the back of his fingers over her cheek. He went into the bathroom and stripped off his clothes, then took a quick shower before going to bed. He crawled between the covers and pulled Rhiannon to him in a sweet embrace. He kissed her forehead and fell asleep.

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