"You look hot," Rhiannon said, smiling up at him. His black leather pants and black turtleneck with the leather jacket made him look dark and mysterious.

"Thanks," he said, smiling back. "Listen out for Kat, OK? She's not feeling very good tonight. I'm a little worried. I'll be home as soon as I can."

"Don't worry," Rhiannon said. "I'll take good care of her."

"I know you will. Love you," he said, kissing her cheek.

"I love you too, baby boy," she replied.

Nick and Brian walked in the front door without knocking. They both looked incredible. Brian smiled when he saw her.

"Hey," he said, looking down.

"Hey," she responded, smiling at him. "You look great."

"Thanks. I wish you could go with us," he said.

"I would, but I'm baby-sitting tonight. Kathleen.."

"Oh yeah. How is she?" he asked.

"Not too good," Rhiannon said, her smile fading.

"That sucks," Brian said.

"I'm going up to say goodnight to Kat," Nick said, running up the stairs, taking them two at a time. He barged into her room and jumped onto the bed.

"Hey Nicky," Kathleen said weakly. "Where are you off to so dressed up?"

"We've got that party thing tonight," he said, sitting beside her.

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that. You be good. Don't drink too much," she said, smiling.

"I won't. I'll come back later and we can play Playstation. If you're nice, I might even let you beat me on that stupid NASCAR game again," he laughed.

"The NASCAR game?" she said, confused. "Yeah..." Nick said, feeling a little strange. "The NASCAR game. Remember? You're Jeff Gordon. I'm DJ?"

"Oh... oh, yeah," she said, shaking her head. "Sorry. I'm not thinking to well today for some reason. I've had this headache all day. I just wish it would go away. It's getting worse."

"Did you tell Kevin?" Nick asked quietly.

"No. I didn't want to worry him. Rhiannon promised she'd come up with some of that wonder drug of hers after Kevin leaves."

Nick didn't know what to say. He knew she was really sick, and she was nearing the end. He felt his eyes begin to water, and he knew he would need to leave, or else he'd end up upsetting her. He leaned in and kissed her cheek.

"You know you're like a sister to me, don't you?" he asked quietly.

"Of course. And if I had a brother, I'd want him to be just like you," she said, smiling. "Nick, I know I'm dying. You don't have to act so weird."

"You know?" he asked, looking up at her.

"Yes. I've known since I left the hospital. I just didn't want Kevin to know that I knew. Am I making sense? It's hard for me to tell sometimes. I feel like my brain is working at half speed."

"Yeah, you're making sense," Nick said, the tears spilling over and down his cheeks.

"Hey, now! None of that," Kathleen said, wiping his cheeks. "You might run your mascara."

"I don't wear mascara," Nick said, trying to smile.

"Yeah sure. I thought all you weirdos wore mascara. Listen. I know it's gonna be hard when I'm gone. But you guys lived before me. You'll live after me. But I'll sure miss you. No matter where I go, I'll miss you."

Nick hugged her tightly and cried for a few minutes. When he was finished, he pulled back and wiped his face with his hands.

"Don't let Kevin know you were crying," she said. "It'll just upset him. Take care of him, Nick. He's going to need you."

"I promise," he said, moving off the bed. "Love you, Kat."

"Love you, Nicky Gene."

"Don't call me that," he said, smiling.

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

Kevin and the guys left, and Rhiannon settled back onto the couch with a glass of wine. She drank it quickly. For once, she wasn't worried about making herself sick. She heard the front door open, and she expected to see Kevin come back, having forgotten something. AJ entered the living room, looking sheepishly at her.

"Hi stranger," she said softly.

"Hey," he said, sitting on the couch beside her. She stared at him for a few minutes. He looked beautiful, as usual. He was dressed up and ready to go to the party.

"So... how was your vacation?" she asked.

"Good."

"Ok, let's cut through the bullshit. Tell me about her? Or is it a him?" Rhiannon said, staring directly into his brown eyes.

"It's a girl," AJ said quietly. "She's everything I've ever wanted in a woman. I love her."

Rhiannon nodded. "You know, you said the same thing about me at one time. I hope you realize what you've done."

AJ looked down at the floor. "Me too."

Rhiannon took a deep breath and sighed. "Why are you here?"

"I just wanted to... apologize... I guess."

"You guess?"

"I'm sorry I hurt you," he said. "I never meant to."

"Most people don't mean to hurt people when they do. It's a fact of life. The amount of misery in the world is constant, you know. Think about it and you'll understand what I'm saying. If one person gains happiness, it usually means somebody else in the world loses happiness."

"Rhiannon..."

"Stop, OK? There's nothing more for you to say to me. You've found your dream woman. You're sorry you hurt me. I made love with Brian. I'd say we've both said our peace, how about you?"

"You... had sex with Brian?" AJ said slowly.

"No. I made love with Brian. He made love to me. We screwed. He banged me. Several times, as a matter of fact," she spat, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "But that's neither here nor there, now is it? At least I'm smart enough to not make him into a vampire just because he got me off a few times."

"Stop it," he said, irritably.

"You started it," she said. "Now. Are you finished? Because I'm missing a rerun of Fantasy Island, and I'd really like to see what Mr. Rourke has in store for these losers tonight."

"See ya," AJ said bitterly, shaking his head.

As soon as he left, Rhiannon started to cry. She really did love him. God, why did she continue to fall in love? It was no use. She would never find a man who would never leave her, except Kevin. But Kevin... he loved Kathleen. But Kat was dying. Rhiannon laid back on the couch and thought... what should she do?? She could do the selfish thing... let Kathleen die, then move in on Kevin. But no. That would be very wrong. She loved Kevin so much, but not in that way. She could bring Brian over... No, not an option... Not even a CONSIDERATION. She should smack herself for even thinking it. Or... she could do the unselfish thing... Lay down her weary load... She was tired. Tired of everything. Tired of hurting. Tired of walking the earth alone. Ready to... Later.

"Rhiannon," Kathleen called, snapping Rhiannon out of her trance. She ran up the stairs to Kathleen's room, where she found her holding her head.

"Oh God, it hurts!" Kathleen moaned, rolling around on the bed. "Oh God, make it stop! Oh Rhiannon, make it go away. My head!!!! Oh my head!!!"

Rhiannon jumped onto the bed with Kathleen and held her close. Rhiannon closed her eyes and slowly made her way into Kathleen's mind, taking her pain. Rhiannon could feel the excruciating, stabbing pain enter her own head as it left Kathleen's. Kathleen gradually calmed down and stopped screaming. Rhiannon could feel Kathleen's life force weakening dramatically. She held the poor girl close, trying to decide what to do. Kathleen was dying. Something was wrong with her brain. Most likely, an aneurysm. Maybe a stroke. There was no way to know for sure. There was no way Kevin would make it home in time.

"Kathleen, listen to me," Rhiannon said. "Look at me. Can you hear me?"

"Yes," Kathleen whispered, her eyes getting weak.

"Kathleen, please let me bring you over. Kevin loves you so much. He'll die without you. Do you want to be with him forever?"

"Yes," Kathleen said, closing her eyes.

"NO! Don't close your eyes!" Rhiannon yelled, panicking. She couldn't lose her. "Kathleen, do you want this? Do you want me to make you into one of us? You have to say it, honey. Tell me what to do," Rhiannon cried.

"Please do it. I can't leave him," Kathleen weaker, growing weaker. Rhiannon nodded. She brushed Kathleen's hair out of the way and quickly pierced the skin of her neck. As she drained Kathleen, she could taste the bitter blood that flowed from her body. It was sick blood. The blood of death. She felt Kathleen's life leaving, and she stopped. Rhiannon them bit her own wrist savagely and held it over Kathleen's mouth.

"Drink from my body, Kathleen. Drink from me, and you can be with him for eternity," Rhiannon whispered, tears pouring from her eyes. She held her wrist to Kathleen's weak mouth, squeezing the blood in because Kathleen had lost most of her strength. "Swallow, honey. Swallow." As soon as Kathleen swallowed the first mouthful, she could feel her strength returning. She covered Rhiannon's wrist with her mouth and drank deeply. Rhiannon let her take more than she would normally have let one take. She could see the color returning to Kathleen's cheeks. Finally, she pulled her wrist from Kathleen and sat back, weak and exhausted. Kathleen blinked and looked around the room, seeing for the first time with vampiric eyes.

"Oh my God," Kathleen whispered. "Oh my God..."

Rhiannon lay shaking at the foot of the bed.

"Are you OK?" Kathleen asked, crawling down to Rhiannon.

"I'll be OK," Rhiannon said. "Just give me a little while."

"Thank you," Kathleen said. "Thank you so much."

"I couldn't let you die," Rhiannon whispered. "He loves you so much. I just couldn't let him hurt like I've hurt. You should never have to bury your one true love. I couldn't watch him go through that. He loves you, Kathleen. Please be good to him. Take care of him."

"I promise," Kathleen said, holding Rhiannon's hand. "But you'll be around to help me."

Rhiannon shook her head somberly. "No. I won't."

"What do you mean, you won't?"

"It's time for me to go," Rhiannon said, smiling sadly.

"Go?? Go where?" Kathleen exclaimed.

"I don't know. The next level, I guess. My next adventure."

"I'm afraid I don't understand," Kathleen said, shaking her head.

"Don't worry. It's not for you to understand right now," Rhiannon said. "Now. You rest up. You're going to be weak for awhile. I've got some stuff to take care of. Kevin will be home in awhile. Why don't you get a shower and fix up for him?"

Kathleen smiled. "You're right. I haven't been out of this bed in a few days. I'm probably starting to wreak. He's going to be so surprised. My gosh, does everything always look like this?"

"You'll get used to it."

"I can't believe I'm a... vampire," Kathleen said incredulously.

"Believe it, baby. You're a vampire... bona fide. At least you're not scared like the rest of us were. You know what to expect, in a way. You've been around it for so long."

"You're right. That's so strange. I'm not afraid at all!" Kathleen laughed. "It sure beats being 6 feet under!"

Rhiannon laughed. "I'll see you later."

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

Dear Kevin,

I hope you like the gift I left you. Please take care of her for the rest of forever. Don't disappoint me. I'm so sorry I have to leave like this. I couldn't tell you goodbye in person, because it would have been too painful for both of us. I guess I'm just selfish that way. This is something that I have to do. My last great adventure, if you will. I'm not scared. I'm actually pretty excited to see what happens next. Remember? We're earthbound, so I'll still be hanging around. I'm just moving to the next level. Controlling my own destiny, I guess. It's nobody's fault. I'm just tired of this existence. I'm ready to move on. I'll always be watching over you, in one way or another. If I can, I'll make my presence known from time to time. Remember that I'll always love you, baby boy.

Rhiannon Dear Brian,

You are so special to me. I know if the circumstances had been different, I would have loved you and we probably would have lived happily ever after in a sweet house with a white picket fence and 2.5 kids. I'm so sorry if I ever did anything to hurt you. Remember what I told you about those cool, crisp October days? I sure hope I come back as a breeze. I'll tell you what, you go out on the first crisp October day and go out into the woods where the leaves are turning red, yellow, and orange. If I do end up coming back as a breeze or something, I'll make sure I kiss your cheek. I'll always be with you. I do love you.

Rhiannon

Dear Alexander James,

There are so many things that I regret about our relationship. I don't even know where to start. I regret making you feel smothered. I regret chasing you away. I regret the things I said to you tonight. But the thing I regret the most is not being able to tell you goodbye in person. I love you, AJ. Probably as much, if not more, than anyone else in my life. Don't ever let anybody tell you you're not special. This is not your fault. It's a decision I made based on my entire life, and has very, very little to do with you. If I happen to come back as some sort of guardian, I'll watch out for you. I'll miss you.

Rhiannon

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

Rhiannon got into her car and drove. And drove. And drove. She drove for hours down the Florida highway, until she reached the beach of Anna Maria Island. It was a gorgeous place. Deserted for the most part. A few big houses, but nobody ever stayed there for some reason. She walked between the dunes and sat down at the edge of the water. The ocean was as calm as a lake, and the tiny waves lapped at her toes as she sat in the sand. She looked up and saw the sky lightening up. She took a deep breath of the salty air and smiled. Her heart fluttered with excitement. As the first streaks of color began to form in the sky, she began to get a little nervous. She hoped it wouldn't hurt too much, and that if it did, it wouldn't last very long. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. She slowed her breathing down, relaxing her body and her mind. Slowly, she put herself into a deep trance. As the sun crept up over the horizon, she didn't even notice. It was over in a matter of minutes. There was no wailing or crying. Just the serenity of a woman, moving onto the next phase of her existence...