"Hmmm?"

"Wake up, baby."

"Kevin?" Kathleen said, opening sleepy eyes.

"We need to talk."

"OK," she said, sitting up. "What time is it?"

"I don't know. That's not important. Kath, you know I love you, right?"

"Of course."

"What are we going to do, baby? What do you want...." he asked, pushing her hair out of her face. She could see the pain in his eyes. She knew what he was alluding to, but she couldn't ask him to do it. His description of the torture he put himself through when he made AJ into a vampire was fresh in her mind, and she would never ask him to do the same for her. He had a guilty conscience, and it was too much to ask. She loved him too much to put him through that. She smiled gently and placed her hand on his cheek.

"We're going to enjoy each other. For the rest of my life. However long that might be. We're going to live life to the fullest until... Well, let's just leave it at that, OK?" she said, smiling.

Kevin nodded, feeling his eyes beginning to water. She had made the decision for him. It wasn't exactly what he had in mind, but, ultimately, it was her decision. He laid beside her and held her against his chest. She ran her hand over the smooth expanse of flesh up to his shoulder. She kissed his jawline tenderly and ran her fingers through his long, dark hair. He sighed and closed his eyes. He loved her more than words could say.

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

Rhiannon was awakened early one morning to the sound of pounding on the bedroom door. She glanced around as she sat up. AJ was snoring softly. Kevin was gone. She got out of bed and pulled on a robe.

"RHIANNON!" Kevin yelled through the locked door. "RHIANNON! OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!"

She ran to the door and flung it open wide. "What?" she said, startled by Kevin's shouting.

"Come quick!" he yelled, grabbing her hand. He pulled her down the hall faster than any human could have ever run and into Kathleen's room. Kathleen was lying on the bed, doubled over in pain, and crying uncontrollably.

"Rhiannon, you have to help her," Kevin said frantically. "I can't stand seeing her like this. Please do something!"

"Ok, ok. Calm down," Rhiannon said, sitting on the bed beside Kathleen. "Kath, look at me. No, don't close your eyes, baby. Look at ME. That's it. Shhhhh... stop crying. I know it hurts. I can feel the pain. I know. I know." Rhiannon stroked Kathleen's hair, for a few moments, then placed her hand over the girl's heart. Rhiannon closed her eyes, trying her best to get into Kathleen's mind. It was very difficult when she didn't have her full attention, but gradually, she was able to put a charm on her, and Kathleen's wails became sobs, then sniffles, then stopped completely. Rhiannon kept her hand on Kathleen's body while she turned to Kevin. "Kevin, go get the green bottle out of my suitcase please."

Kevin ran down the hall and returned a few seconds later with the bottle. Rhiannon put two drops on Kathleen's tongue, then gently inserted her fangs into the girl's wrist and put another drop there. Within a few seconds, Kathleen was sleeping soundly. Rhiannon turned to Kevin.

"Kevin, she's really sick, honey. You need to get her to a hospital. This isn't going to take long to wear off, and she's going to be in pain again. You don't have enough strength to hold her under a charm all the time, and it's too draining for me to do it that long. I don't think I could stand the pain of being this close to her either. The pain is awful. She needs drugs."

Kevin nodded, then glanced out the window. It was almost dawn. "What do we do? It'll be daylight soon."

"Call Brian. He'll take care of her."

"Ok," Kevin said quietly. He went to the phone and called Brian. Rhiannon didn't remove her hand from Kathleen's heart until Brian came to get her. As soon as she removed it, Kathleen winced, and moaned in her sleep.

"What's goin' on?" Brian asked, sleepy eyed and wild haired.

"Brian, you've got to take Kath to the hospital, ok. She's really sick. I'll write down what you need to tell them. They'll know what to do from there. Just... take care of her, ok?" Kevin said, kissing Kathleen's forehead.

"Alright," Brian said, looking very worried. "Help me get her downstairs, ok?"

Kevin picked up Kathleen as Rhiannon called the front desk to order a limo for Brian. A few minutes later, Kevin returned to the room. Rhiannon was sitting on the bed, hugging her knees and rocking back and forth. Kevin sat beside her and let out a long sigh.

"I'm scared," he said quietly.

"I know."

"Hold me," he said, "hold me like you used to when I first came to live with you."

Rhiannon laid back on the bed, embracing Kevin. He rested his head on her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her waist. She ran her fingers through his hair, then kissed the top of his head.

"Kevin," she said softly, "you know she doesn't have much longer, don't you?"

"I can't think about it," he said. "I don't want to think about living without her."

"I know, baby. But you have to prepare yourself. I know there's no real way to do it, but try."

"I don't wanna talk about this anymore," he said, not wanting her to hear the tears in his voice.

"Ok. Just... never mind." They fell asleep together, Kevin wrapped in Rhiannon's loving embrace.

AJ woke up and reached for Rhiannon. His hand groped the sheets on her side of the bed, and he sat up, startled. He climbed out of bed and walked into the living room of the suite. No Rhiannon. He could see sunlight peeking though the tiny crack in the curtains, and he wisely avoided it. He walked down the hall to Kathleen and Kevin's room and let himself in with his passkey. He stood in the doorway of the bedroom, his eyes narrowing into angry slits as he watched the two of them sleep...

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

"So what are we doing tonight?" Rhiannon asked, flopping down on the couch. The tour was over, and they had been home for a week. Rhiannon was missing the excitement of the road and being around the others. She wanted to go out and tear up the town. Or maybe tear up AJ... He hadn't touched her sexually in over a week, and she was getting a little concerned. It was very unlike him to be so cold.

"I thought we'd just watch a movie or something," AJ said.

"I was thinking more along the lines of the 'or something'," Rhiannon laughed, lying down in his lap and looking up into his beautiful face.

"Later," he said, not smiling.

"OK," she said, more than a little disappointed. AJ grabbed the remote control from her hand and turned on the television. He flipped through the channels absentmindedly. Nothing on.

"OK," he snapped, "this sucks." He flipped off the t.v. and threw the remote control against the wall. Batteries flew everywhere.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked quietly, sitting up. "You've had a bug up your ass for the past two weeks. You wanna tell me what the problem is, or do I have to guess?"

AJ sighed disgustedly and got up off the couch. He started to walk out of the room, but Rhiannon caught his arm. He wrenched it away from her and walked out, leaving her sitting on the couch alone. No, she thought. This was not how it was going to be. She loved him, but he was not going to act like this with her. She got up to follow him, finding him lying on the couch in the parlor.

"OK, I'm not asking you to tell me what's wrong. I'm TELLING you that you WILL tell me what your problem is. This is ridiculous, Alexander James. You're acting like a spoiled two year old."

"He's always touching you!" AJ yelled. "Why does he always have to fucking touch you?"

"WHO?" Rhiannon yelled back. It was the first time she had ever raised her voice around him, and it startled him. He looked up at her, wide-eyed. "Tell me. Who is always touching me?" she asked, her tone of voice much more reasonable this time.

"Forget it," he said, shaking his head and closing his eyes.

"No. I won't forget it, AJ. I love you. But I can't live like this. I'm tired of walking on eggshells around you. You've pissed off Brian, which I thought was nearly impossible to do. You've hurt Nick's feelings. And lest we forget, the infamous Punch Heard Round the World backstage. I know Kevin hasn't forgotten it. I think the only person still speaking to you besides me is Howie."

AJ's eyes flared at the mention of Kevin's name. Rhiannon picked up on it.

"Ah ha... Kevin... So he's the culprit," she said, narrowing her eyes. "AJ, Kevin is my best friend. We're very close. You knew we were close when you and I got involved."

"But I'm supposed to be your best friend," AJ said quietly.

Rhiannon stared at him for a moment. "Why are you jealous of him?" she asked softly.

AJ's eyebrows rose involuntarily, and he looked away from her. "I think you know why," he said.

"No. Tell me. Amuse me," she said, rolling her eyes. "You know, I don't always enjoy having to read people's minds to see what they're thinking."

"I think you're in love with him," AJ said, turning back to face her.

Rhiannon snorted. "You what? You've got to be kidding me. I am not and I repeat NOT in love with Kevin. Yes, I love him, of course. I made him. He's like, I don't know... a child to me."

"I think he reminds you of..." AJ started, but was unable to complete the statement. Rhiannon closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"You think he reminds me of Ethan," she said quietly. AJ stared at her silently. "Well, you're right. He does remind me of Ethan in some ways. But Ethan is dead, AJ. He left me here on earth... alone. The love I felt for Ethan will always be with me, but Kevin isn't Ethan. Kevin is Kevin. I love Kevin for who he is, and for no other reason. I'm sorry if you can't see that. I love you. I'm in love with you, AJ." She reached out to stroke his cheek, but he flinched.

"Don't touch me," he said. "Not right now. I... I need to be alone for awhile. I need to clear my head. Being with you is driving me insane. I've never been jealous of anybody in my life, especially not one of my best friends. I just can't do this right now."

Rhiannon nodded. "Alright then," she whispered. "When will you be home?"

"I don't know," he said, looking down. "I... just need to get away for awhile."

"Where will you go?"

"I'm not sure," he said, rising from the sofa. "I'll let you know when I get there."

"AJ...please be careful," she said softly, looking down, so he couldn't see the tears rolling down her cheeks. He didn't answer her. He walked to the front door and paused, then walked out. She heard his car start, then saw the headlights as he pulled out of the driveway. She walked to the front door and pressed her hand against it. Another love had just walked out of her life... and, just like the others before him, she knew he wasn't coming back.

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