Lovers of the Night

By: Ari

He was hungry. Unlike the others, he only feed once or twice a week, while they ate at least once a night. He liked letting the Hunger build, until when he finally fed, it was totally and utterly pure ecstasy. Tonight, he was searching for his meal. He liked to play with them. He found one, and followed them for a while, then took them, and depending on his mood, it could take a few seconds or a few days until he finally allowed himself his rewards. He was nice looking and he knew it. Tonight he was dressed simply in jeans, a t-shirt and a leather jacket, and of course, his signature sunglasses. He had felt restless, so he decided to take a walk, perhaps even spot something to eat. The night air was frigid and refreshing. He inhaled deeply and thought about another time he was doing the same thing...but that was over 50 years ago, and ever since that same winter night his life would never be the same......

"Brrr, it is cold as hell out here" Ari muttered as she walked home. She was troubled because her and her best friend had just gotten into a huge fight over something stupid, and she ran out of the house before she ended up saying something should live to regret. The only thing that she was regretting now, was the fact that her car was in the shop, and her parents were out of town, so she had to walk three blocks just to get home. Not to mention it was late, and very cold, and she was alone. She lived in a good neighborhood, but there were still weirdo’s out there. Her parents had left for another trip, this time to Italy. They were always leaving her behind and flying off to anywhere on a whim. But that didn’t matter to her. She liked having the house to herself. But not tonight. She wished that her parents were home for a change, but she didn’t know why. She just had this really bad feeling.....

***About a block away...***

Aj turned his head sharply. "Whoa, what was that", he wondered. He had just had this really weird feeling, that he needed to get up and go. He stood up from his place on the pier and started walking. He didn't know why, he just felt that he needed to get up and move. He started to enter more of a residential area, and his cell phone rang. "Hello. Yeah D, I’m fine...just needed to get some air. No, I don't know when I will get back. Whenever I walk in the door. See ya." He flipped the phone shut and shook his head. They were always checkin up on him, making sure he didn’t screw up some how. He started thinking back to when he was still human, it was so long ago it seemed...Then he spotted someone walking in front of him. She was probably about 50 feet away, but he had already caught her scent, and pieces of her thoughts. "What was a nice girl like her walking alone at this time of the night. Doesn't she realize how dangerous it is..." he wondered...allowing himself a small grin. He decided to follow her for a bit, and see where she was going. Who knows...he may even catch up with her, offer himself as an escort...to see that she reaches her destination safely. He almost burst out laughing at the mere thought of it. He was hungry...so it was time to play a game.......

He started to walk faster, to close in on her. He knew that she would not hear him come up behind her, she was too involved with her inner thoughts. He was practically on top of her when he called out, "Excuse me, Miss?"

She shrieked and practically jumped out of her skin at the sound of his voice, "What in the hell is the matter with you! Sneaking up behind people and scaring people half to death!" She whirled around to fully face her "attacker".

She wished that she could disappear into the shadows. He was gorgeous! He was exactly her height, short hair, she couldn’t tell the color though, there was almost no light where they were standing, sensual lips, surround by a goatee, and sunglasses covering his eyes. As should stood there staring, he kind of tipped the sunglasses down so that she could see gorgeous chocolate brown eyes.

"I was just wondering, if you could tell me where exactly I am at. I’m new to the area, and have sort of gotten myself lost", he said, breaking the silence. "I didn't mean to scare you. But you seemed to be in your own little world. I called out a couple of times, but you didn't hear me" he finished with a sexy grin.

"Where do you live", she asked, trying to recover.

"Over on Apple Blossom. It is the third one on the right"

"Oh, the old Jeffery place. I know where that is. It is not too far from me. I can take you there if you want," she said, wondering what had gotten into her. Here it was, quarter till midnight, and she was offering to walk some strange guy home, that she hasn't even known for five minutes, and that was completely out of her way.

"That would be great" he said, giving her another one of his melting smiles. I'm sorry, I didn't even introduce myself. I’m Aj."

"I’m Ari. It's nice to meet you Aj."

"Ari...that’s an interesting name. I don't think I have heard that one too often"

"How long have you been in town?"

"Not too long. Only about a day or two."

They chit-chatted until they reached his home.

"I had almost forgotten how big this place is. Do you live here by yourself?"

"Yes, at least for right now I am. Would you like to come in for a minute, at least to warm yourself up?"

"Well, I should really get home, but I guess I could for a few minutes anyway", she responded, smiling.

"Would you like something to drink? Coffee? Soda? Something Else?"

"Coffee would be wonderful right now."

While he went in the kitchen, she walked around, checking everything out. She hadn't been in this house since her friend Jess left. It was really bare...only a few pieces of scattered furniture proved that anyone lived here.

"Feel free to check out the rest of the place if you want" he hollered from the other room "Ok, thanks" she hollered back, making her way up stairs.

He smiled to himself as he heard her climbing the stairs. Things were working out pretty good. He hadn't expected her to offer to actually walk him home, that was a bit of an added bonus. And she was playing right into his hands.....

AJ pulled back before he drained her completely. He had never hated himself more than he did right now. He licked his lips and felt for her pulse. It was there, weak, but still there none the less. He pulled the covers over her and got up and took a shower. He got out, got dressed and checked on her one more time. She was still unconscious, but she would be ok. He went downstairs, grabbed his keys and headed over to Nick's house, where the rest of the guys had gathered for the night. He drove well over the speed limit, with the windows down, trying to think of what exactly he was going to do about this whole situation. He needed to talk to Kevin.

Brian had walked into the kitchen to grab something to drink when someone let themself in.

"Hey Boner, we were wondering what happened to ya. Where ya been?"

"Out. Where's Kevin?"

"He's in the other room with the rest of the guys. Why?"

Aj didn't answer his question. He pushed by him and walked into the entertainment room where the Howie and Julie were busy making out, Nick was fussing cause Tasha was beating him at one of his video games, and Kevin and Lara were in a deep heated discussion about something. Lori was the only one that even noticed he walked in the room.

"Hey Aj, we were wondering if you were going to pop in tonight. Where have you been?"

"Why does everyone always wanna know where I've been and what I've been doing. Well let me tell you. It's none of your alls damned business"

"Aj, chill it man, she just asked a question" Brian said, walking back in the room.

"Whatever," Aj walked over to Kevin and Lara. "Hey Kev, I hate to interrupt this love chat, but I need to talk with you, like NOW"

"Um, ok...I'll be right back Lara"

"Ok sweety" she responded pulling him back down for a kiss. Aj practically had to drag Kevin up the stairs.

"Sheesh, what’s his problem" Nick asked, never taking his eyes away from the TV screen.

"Who knows. Maybe he just didn't get any tonight...it could be anything" Tasha answered.

**Upstairs**

"Ok, now what is it. You've been out all night, stride in here and damn near bite everyone's head off. What’s up?"

" Look, I don't wanna tell either of you, but you are the only one I think that can help me. Ok? I met this girl tonight, and it is really weird, cause I feel like I know her already, and I'm even starting to care for her...and frankly its scaring the shit out of me"

"Oh really...lol...this is so rich Aj...if the rest of the guys knew about.."

"They are not going to know, cause I’m not going to tell them and neither are you"

"We will see..but anyway, where is she now?"

"Um, sorta passed out back at my place"

"Oh really...how did you manage that. Why didn't you just finish her off and save yourself the trouble of all of this"

"Because I can't. I couldn't stop myself from feeding on her cause I haven't eaten in almost a week, so I left her home while I came to see what you thought about all of this. But I can't just kill her..."

"Aj, this makes no sense. What is so special about her hmm?"

"That’s just it! I don't know! I have only known her for about the past two hours, but I felt like I have known her all of my life before I had even learned her name! And you are telling ME that this makes no sense? I've been racking my brain for the past two hours trying to figure this out!"

"Well, you have to calm down before you do anything. Lets go to your place and see this girl that you can't take care of"

"Ok, whatever. You can just follow me. But if you breath one word of this to the rest of them, I will kill you myself. Comprende?"

"Ok, I'll be right behind you. Let me just tell Lara goodbye"

"Whatever. See you there, just let yourself in" and with that, Aj left the room in a turmoil of thoughts and feelings. The only thing that he was sure of at this moment, was that no harm what so ever would be brought upon Ari, or whoever tried, would die trying.

Ari woke up feeling weaker then she ever had in her entire life. "Where in the hell am I" she thought, taking in the huge bedroom, and everything. Then it all came rushing back at her. "What is wrong with me! I just had sex with someone I had just met, and I’m still here!" and then, "Where is Aj" she fell back against the heaps of pillows, relishing the wonderful floating feeling, and silently cursing herself for being so careless...When she thought she heard voices in the hallway. One of them sounded like Aj, but who was with him? She pulled the covers up higher to cover herself a little better, she tried to sit back up and look for her clothes, but she was too weak. Perhaps if she went back to sleep, a little nap would help her to feel a little better...

"She is in here" Aj whispered, not wanting to wake her. He had sensed that had woken up for a few seconds when he walked in the door, but he was not ready to face her awake just yet.

"What is her name?"

"Ari"

"And how did you two find each other again?"

"I told you. I was out, and we kind of ran into each other. I was going to keep her and play with her, like I normally do, but I couldn't. It is too weird to put into words." Aj sat down on the bed, and started to caress her cheek, pushed back a stray hair from across her face and kissed her forehead. He looked back up at Kevin. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Well, first of all, I would take her to the hospital, and get her a transfusion. She looks like she should be ok, but that much blood loss is definatly not good for her. And afterwards, you know the rules about humans and vampires. We are not supposed to get involved with others outside of our race. The only thing that we could do...."

"Don't even think about it" Aj cut him off in a harsh whisper. "I could never do that to her"

"But, there may not be a choice. It will come down to either bringing her over...or completely forgetting about her, or just killing her. And you know it" Kevin was getting worried. He had never seen Aj like this before, and it was really starting to freak him out. "Well, lets get her to the hospital. You get her dressed, and I will warm up the jeep ok? I'll drive you guys"

Aj back up at him, "Thanks Kev. You have know idea how much all this means to me..."

***Later at the hospital***

"Mr. McLean?"

Aj stood up and walked over to the doctor, "Yes? Is she going to be ok?"

"She needed a major blood transfusion, but other than that, she will be fine. "

"Can I go in and see her yet doc?"

"Sure. She is just starting to wake up, so she doesn’t have her bearings yet. Try and keep her calm. I told her where she is and what happened. Have you heard any news from her parents yet?"

"No. I've tried calling them and have left messages everywhere for them."

"Well, go on in and see her. It will be good for her to see a familiar face"

"Thanks doc." Aj walked passed the doctor, and into Ari's hospital room. She looked so tiny in the hospital robe, with all of the wires and tubes attached to her. He walked over to her bed and pulled up a chair. He held her hand and stroked the side of her face. She turned to face him........

Ari's eyes met Aj's, and she smiled at him.

"I didn't know whether to hope that you would come or not"

"Why wouldn't I babe?" He smiled back at her, relieved that she didn't scream or even seem to remember anything about how she got there.

"I don't know...I just didn't think that you would come"

He kissed her on her forehead "Anyway, how are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling ok, still kinda weak. Did the doctor say what exactly happened?"

"Uh, no he didn't really. Just that you had lost a lot of blood somehow"

"That's weird," she thought to herself, feeling that she had to remember something...but didn't what exactly that something was. Then there was a knock on the door, startling both of them.

"Sorry guys, I just wanted to check on you, see how are you are doing"

Aj turned back to Ari. "Ari, this is Kevin, a friend of mine, he drove us here"

She smiled at Kevin, "Thank you. I was wondering who was with him when I woke up the first time. I could hear your voices downstairs...but then I guess I passed out again" she finished sheepishly.

"That’s ok, anything for a friend of a friend"

"Babe, are you hungry or anything? Can I get you anything?" Aj asked her.

"I’m ok...but if you could ask the doctor when I could go home again, I would like that."

"Sure babe. I'll be right back." He threw Kevin a look that clearly said 'don’t touch her' and left the room. "So Kevin, how long have you and Aj known each other?"

"Um, for a majority of our lives, we've always been friends" Kevin now understood why Aj felt so connected to her. There was this 'hey, don't I know you' feeling, and he couldn't put his finger on it...she reminded him of someone he knew, but from a different time..."Oh shit!" he thought..."It couldn't be...but I should have noticed it from the beginning...and Aj definatly should have...but how?"

"Ari?"

"Yes Kev?"

"Why don't you try and get some sleep. I will go find Aj and send him back in here, I uh, just remembered something I had to tell him and its really important. It was nice meeting you and I hope you get to go home soon..." He leaned over to give her a hug, "Take care of yourself and Aj...See ya later"

"Same to you...See ya"

Kevin left the room, almost in a run, nearly knocking over an orderly. He saw Aj talking to the doctor, trying to convince him to let Ari home. "Well, I at least want her to stay overnight so we can keep an eye on her, but she can go home in the morning if there are no complications."

"Thanks Doc, I will tell her" Aj turned and saw Kevin coming down the hall.

"What is it man? Is she ok?"

"She is fine....but I need to talk to you...and you probably won't believe it, cause I don't think I do"

"Kev, what are you babbling about?

"Aj, I want you to think back...ok? Remember when I first met Lara? That far back ok?"

"Um, ok, but I think you have finally lost it"

"No I haven’t, shut up and listen....remember her friend? The one that you had grown..attatched to? Anything coming to you yet?"

Aj stared at Kevin, while everything he was saying processed in his head, and then all of the blood drained from his face..."Oh my God, it can't be her.....can it?

"Aj, I know its weird, but it would explain why we have this feeling about her, I felt it after you left and we started talking. There is no other plausible explanation. I bet if we brought Lara here, she would say the same thing"

"What Kevin, that some girl that died hundreds of years ago has been brought back, and has pushed her way back in my life?"

"Aj lower you voice...lets get out of here for a while, Ari was getting tired, so I told her to get some sleep and that you would be back later...and we can track down Lara and see what she thinks"

"I don't want to bring her into this. I want as few as people involved in this as possible..."

"Aj, she will be able to help more than I can. We also need to know if Ari knows she is someone else, or if she remembers nothing...please, let me call her and get her to meet us down here..."

"Whatever, you will do it anyway, whether I want you to or not. I’m going back up to be with Ari" At that, Aj turned on his heel and went back up to Ari's room, where he found her sleeping soundly. He stared at her, analyzing everything, comparing her with his memories...how could he have not realized it before. She looked exactly the same as she did the first time he met her....

***Flashback***

The first time they had met, was at a huge Beltane ball, held by Lara Dominick's family in honor of her 18th birthday. She had invited them all to come. Alexander was walking through the garden. He needed to get away from all of those people, it was making him edgy. She was sitting on the steps of the gazebo, leaning against the doorway, staring at the stars...and he fell in love with her that first moment. Her face was pale in the silvery moonlight, her long brown hair falling softly over her shoulders, not bound up tightly like every other girls that were there, her silver ball gown made her look like a angel fallen from heaven. He let out a long breath as his heart cinched in his chest. Alexander started to walk towards her.

"Hello there.." She jumped at the sound of his voice, and turned towards him. "I didn't mean to startle you...but you looked so peaceful and beautiful...."

"I came out here to get away from all of them...Lara knows I don't like these parties...but she always drags me to them. Those people are all so fake. They put on an act, trying to please everyone else but themselves. I don't and I am who I am. Most people think me strange for it and don't speak to me anyway. So I escaped out here for a bit. What are you doing out here?" she asked him.

Her eyes were green. That was the first thing he noticed when she turned to face him. And there were rings of brown on the inside of them. He had never seen anything like them before, and could stare at them, at her forever.

"The same reason. I had to get away. I’m Alexander, what is your name?"

"Elizabeth, but my friends call me Ellie."

They sat out in the gazebo talking for a while, when Ellie started to shiver. "Lets go back in, you are practically frozen" Alexander said laughing.

" I really don't want to, but Lara will worry when she realizes I’m not in there."

They walked back in the house, where the ball was still going strong. Lara ran up to them almost as soon as they stepped in the room.

"I was wondering where you were! You gave me a horrible scare"

"Calm down Lara, I just went for a walk outside"

"What about you Alex? We were wondering where you had gotten off to also" Kevin said, coming up behind Lara. There was no doubt that those two were in love, but Alexander was curious what they were going to do about it...He didn't know if Kevin had told her his little secret or not yet..

"I had taken a walk to get some air, and I ran into Ellie and we were just sitting out there talking. That’s all" he finished, throwing Kevin a glance.

Kevin shrugged it off and pulled Lara back out on the dance floor. It was about then Alexander started to feel the Hunger starting to build. Ellie was standing by him, and asked if he wanted to dance, and he accepted. They were perfectly in time with each other, and danced perfectly, not missing a single beat. Alex should have known better, he should have left right then and there, but he couldn't bring himself to leave her side. He was afraid that if he left her, he would never find her again. He finally regained control over himself, excused himself, and ran out into the night...cursing himself for what he was.

Ellie stood in the middle of the dance floor staring at the path that Alex had ran off from. Then she bust through the crowd tears streaming down her face. Lara and Kevin saw what happened, and took off after her. Ellie ran outside, and did not stop. She just kept running, she didn’t know why, but she just felt that she had to get away, from the pain and everything else...

***Meanwhile***

Alex pulled away from the whore that he had found. She was almost dead, he didn't know why he just didn't finish the poor fool off, she was better off dead then living the way she was now. He shrugged and walked away from her. His thoughts kept trailing back to Ellie. He hadn’t meant to run away, but if he hadn’t, it would have been her instead of the whore, and he did not want to hurt her. Even though they had only known each other for a few hours, he loved her. And he felt that she loved him in return, or at least she did before he left her. Maybe they were better off that way, what kind of life could they have together. She was too sweet to live in his dark world....

"Alex, is that you? What in the hell happened to you?" Brian called out after him

Aj muttered a curse then turned back to the two that had found him. "What do you two want?"

"We came to find out why you ran off like that" Nickolas answered back.

"Why in the hell did you think I did?" Aj shouted, baring his teeth.

"Calm down, sheesh, we were just worried. Plus, you really upset Ellie. She took off after you did, and I don't think that anyone knows where she went off to...

Brian was cut off by a shriek that cut through the night's silence Aj paled and gasped, "Shit, what have I done" and took off running towards the sound.

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

"ELLIE!!!! WHERE ARE YOU!?!" Alex was screaming, she was in trouble and he knew it...he felt for her presence, and still could not pin point where she was..He was running up and down every alley way and street calling out for her, when he heard a very weak voice, "Alex?" he turned towards her voice, and collapsed.

"Oh my God," he whispered, and crawled over to where she layed. "What happened? Who did this to you?"

"Alex, I'm scared" she whimpered.

She was laying in a pool of silvery silk, but also in a puddle of her own blood. She had been stabbed five times, and what little money she had on her was gone. She had been stabbed over $5, and Alex was blaming himself.

"Oh my god, what have I done to you" he whispered again

"You didn't do anything, just answer me one thing, why did you leave me.." she asked, her voice growing weaker by the moment.

"Honey, there is nowhere near enough time for me to explain, I didn't want to, but I had to, and it is my fault, because..."

She pressed two fingers on his lips, and he shut up.

"All I want you to know, is that I love you with every fiber of my being, and I always will...even though we have only known each other for this one night, I do..." he could barely hear her as she finished talking, "I love you too" he whispered, and kissed her, and his lips never left hers until she died in his arms, with the one she loved.......

When Ari woke up again, it was night time. The room was dark and she was alone. She sat up and switched on the light above her bed, and found a note laying on her lap.

" Ari,
I’m sorry I am not here when you wake up. There was something that I needed to tend to, and if it is not too late, I will come in and see you...The doctor told me that you can come home tomorrow, so I will see you tomorrow morning at the very latest.
With all my love,
Aj"

"I wonder what it was that he had to do?" she pondered. Even though it was like 2 in the morning, she was wide awake and could not get back to sleep, so she turned on the Tv and tried to find something decent to watch. Half way through a cheesy talk show, she heard a light knock on the door.

"Come in"

" Hi there." Ari did not know this woman that was walking into her room. She was about average height, with shoulder length brown hair and piercing blue eyes. Ari stared at her while she crossed the room and sat in the chair that was beside her bed.

"You are probably trying to figure out who I am aren't you..." the woman asked. "I'm Lara, Kevin's girlfriend. I figured that you would probably like a little company since Aj is away" she said smiling.

"Oh ok" Ari smiled back at her.

"How are you feeling kiddo?"

"Ok I guess, still kinda weak, but other than that, ready to go home...hospitals always did freak me out"

"I know how you feel, they always made me feel queasy too." Lara could not believe that is was really her. She could sense it as soon as she walked in the room. She wondered how in the world Aj had overlooked it. She looked exactly the same as she did the first time, and her manner was the same as well.

"So Lara, how long have you known Kevin and Aj?"

"I've known them for ages" she answered, allowing herself a small smile. Aj never really did get over what happened to Ellie, even though he hadn't said much about it for the past century or two. She always knew that he would never forget about her, but apparently he had fallen for Ari so much like the way he fell for Ellie, that his emotions were running high and must have missed it.

*****

Aj rolled over, reaching for her, when he didn't find her, he opened his eyes and sighed. He had been dreaming again. He left her at the hospital long enough for him to feed and come home to get some rest. He didn't like the idea of leaving her, but he needed to sleep. He had not rested in almost three days, and its was beginning to wear him out. He climbed out of bed, and took a shower and threw some clothes on. He looked at the clock beside his bed. 4 a.m. it displayed. He shrugged and jumped in his car and headed for the hospital

He was being followed. There was no doubt of it. He just wondered who was stupid enough to try and follow him. Aj turned down a different street and tried to lose whoever it was. He didn't want to lead whoever it was to the hospital, because he didn't want this creep to find out about Ari. All he need now was something else to worry about. He turned onto the freeway ramp at the last minute and speed up. He cursed as he saw the black jeep pull onto the ramp a few cars behind him. Oh well, it wasn't like he had to worry about getting hurt in a car crash. He sped up, he was pushing over 100 mph now. But the jeep just kept coming. He grabbed his cell phone and punched in Kevin's number while trying not to hit any other cars..

**Back in the hospital**

Lara and Ari were still there talking about anything that came up. Ari liked her, and it seemed like they had been friends forever. They were still talking when Kevin bust in the room. Ari's eyes flew open in surprise and Lara jumped to her feet.

"God Kevin, don't scare us like that...sheesh...what is the matter?" Lara asked.

"I don't have time to explain." He walked over to Ari and started messing with the machines, shutting them down and unhooking her from them.

"Kevin, hold up! What are you doing..." Ari started before Kevin interrupted her.

"Lara? Can you get Ari here some decent clothes, something she can walk out of here in? And like quickly. Ari, please don't argue, Aj just called me, and I’m trying to help the both of you out here."

Ari shut her mouth and let Kevin pull the IV out. Lara walked back in with an armful of clothes and helped her get dressed. When they tried to stand her up, Ari almost instantly crumpled to the floor.

"Shit, I can't walk, I’m still to weak.." she muttered. Kevin hurried out of the room and almost instantly came back with a wheelchair. They put her in it and made for the exit. They were lucky and didn't run into a single nurse on their way out. They then piled into Kevin's car and sped off.

"Ok Kevin, now please tell me what the hell is going on!" Ari demanded. "You took me from the hospital, I wasn't supposed to leave until tomorrow, and are acting like we are being chased by the mob! What is the problem!?!"

Lara and Kevin quickly shared a look, and an unspoken message.

"Will someone PLEASE tell me what is going on?

Kevin shook his head. "Aj will tell you...when he gets home. Try not to worry about it ok? Kevin reached out with the power of his mind, and the next minute, Ari slumped over unconscious in the back seat.

Aj pulled sharply in front of a huge semi, still trying to lose his pursuers. He had been trying to lose them for over half an hour now and his already frayed nerves were completely shot. If he found out who in the hell it was that was risking their lives just to follow him, they would die a slow terrible death. He decided to try something different. He saw another exit ramp and at the last possible moment cut across four lanes of traffic and took the exit at an impossible 90 degree turn. He looked in his rear view mirror and breathed a small sigh of relief as he saw his followers keep on going. He sped off taking some back roads to get his bearings and try to head on home. He hoped that Kevin had gotten Ari out of the hospital ok. Aj was not taking any chances. He did not know who was following him or why, and he did not want them to find out about Ari. He left his car in parked on the wharf and decided to make the rest of the trip on foot. If they saw his car in his drive way, the whole trying to lose them thing would have been a waste. He was only about 15 minutes from Kevin's place. He kept to the darker side streets just in case there was anyone out.

"So Kevvy..are you going to tell me what is going on? Or are you going to knock me out like you did poor Ari" Lara purred as she ran her nails up and down Kevin's thigh. They had just gotten home and had laid Ari upstairs.

"Honey, if I knew, I would tell you. Aj called me earlier saying that somebody was following him, too close for comfort, and to get Ari out of the hospital and bring her here. He was going to meet us here after he was sure that he lost them"

"But Kevvy, who would be following him? I mean, no one knows we are here, we all keep low profiles, well except for your guy's careers, but our personal lives are very private. Your managers don't even know you own property here.."

She was silenced by the sound of the back door swinging open and slamming back shut. She and Kevin were on their feet in an instant and on their way in the kitchen.

"Aj, haven't you ever heard of using a front door? Or even like knocking?"

"No, sorry. Where is she?"

"Don't worry man, she is fine. She is upstairs in your usual room. She is sleeping. Now what is going on?!?"

"I don't know! I was on my way over to the hospital and this black Volvo kept behind me for like forever, so I tried some odd ways and stuff, and it kept up. So I freaked and we ended up in this major goose chase and I finally lost them, and I ditched my car over on the wharf. That is all I know man." Aj stopped talking and ran a hand through his hair. He was still tired and this chase was the last thing that he needed. " Well, thanks again Kev, I owe you one again. I’m going to head on up to check on her ok?"

"No problem. Try and get some sleep. You look like shit"

"Thanks alot."

"Go to bed now"

"Yeah Yeah Yeah, I guess I will see you all tomorrow..." Aj looked back at Kevin "Thanks again"

Aj made his way upstairs. He stood in the doorway of their room staring at her. She was sprawled out on the bed, a slender foot sticking out from underneath the comforter. He chuckled to himself and pulled off his shirt and jeans and slid into bed next to her.

Ari woke up to a strong pair of arms wrapped tightly around her waste. She smiled and snuggled closer to the man that held her. He nuzzled her hair in response

"Good morning"

"Mmm, good morning to you too babe" he murmured, still half asleep.

Ari looked around the room, realizing that she was not familiar with the room. "Um honey?"

"Yeah babe?"

"Where are we?"

"Huh?" He sat up and remember what Kevin told him. "We are at Kevin's house."

"Ok, and what are we doing here?" She asked, her memory coming back to her full strength. "And why did we leave the hospital? And where were you last night? And...?"

He pressed a finger to her lips, and she stopped her interrogation. "I will tell you later..but first I have something better in mind" he said with a devilish grin...

"Can't I take a shower first? I couldn't take any the two days I was in the hospital and I am probably rank.."

"I know I was meaning to say something to you about that.." he ducked as a pillow went flying in his direction.

"Ha ha..funny. You are just going to have to wait..cause I am taking a shower and you are just going to have to wait."

She walked in the bathroom and turned on the water so it could start to heat up. She took a good look at herself in the mirror. She was really pale, but she attributed that to her illness, her hair was all messed up from having slept all night, but her eyes were as bright as emeralds shining from the pallor of her face. She shrugged and stepped in the shower. The hot water felt so good on her tired body. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the shower wall. When she straightened back up and opened her eyes Aj was standing in front of her, wearing nothing but his sexy smile. She laughed and pulled him down for a kiss.

" You just couldn't wait could you..." she said laughing.

" You know I couldn't he said, kneeling down so he could grab one of her nipples with his teeth, biting it softly, then kissing away the pain. He transferred his attention to her other breast and then stood back up and captured her lips in another breath taking kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her up and impaled her aching body with his more than ready erection. They both moaned as they became one, thrusting and moving together until their release came at the same moment. They bathed each other and took turns drying each other off, got dressed and headed downstairs to see what Kevin and Lara were doing.

When they walked in the living room, Lara and Kevin were snuggled up together on the couch watching Tv.

"Aww, isn't that sweet." Aj said, jumping on the couch in between them.

"McLean, if you don't get up,..."

"Yeah yeah yeah" He said. Ari went and sat down on the loveseat opposite the couch. Aj plopped down beside her and she leaned back against his chest. They all kind of lounged around for the day, watched Tv and stuff. Later in the evening, Kevin and Lara drove into town to get some dinner and left Aj and Ari watching Tv.

"Hey honey?"

"Yes babe?"

"Are you going to tell me what has been going on, or are we just going to pretend like everything is normal and yesterday didn't happen?" She sat up and turned to face him. He sighed and looked in her eyes. He didn't want to have to tell her, but he knew that he had to.

"Well, in order for you to understand everything, and that is what you want to do, I would have to tell you a lot of things, and you probably won't believe most of them."

"Try me. I love you, and I want to be a part of your life, and I can not do that if you are always hiding things from me."

"Well, for one thing, and I know it is going to sound crazy or stupid or whatever, and I don't know how to be subtle about it, but I am a .." he paused, took a deep breath, " a vampyre."

She looked at him for a minute, and said, "Come on Aj, it is not time to be funny. What is going on!"

Aj grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her forward. "You think this is me trying to be funny?" he demanded, and his whole face changed. His eyes had a harsh red light in them and his canines lengthened. Ari gasped and tried to pull back, but Aj held her tight.

"Do you know hard it has been on me the past few days? You will never know, or at least I hope you never do. You ended up in the hospital because of me. I couldn't help myself, I hadn't feed in almost a week, and you were laying there...I didn't want to, but I could not stop.." All anger was gone from his face. his eyes and teeth were normal again, and he was sobbing. Ari just kinda sat there, trying to absorb all that he was saying. Once he started to pour his heart out, he couldn't stop. "I have loved you since the first time I saw you, when you were sitting in the gazebo that night, my life felt complete, and since that night, I have never been complete with out you"

Ari had finally broke from her trance, "Gazebo? Aj, what are you talking about?"

" All of these years with out you, and knowing that we were supposed to be together, and then NOT being together, it has been enough to drive me damned near mad. And when I found you in the alley later that night, if I could have traded places with you, I would have, but you left me. And then to find you again, Ellie, after all this time, you have no idea..."

"AJ!!! SNAP OUT OF IT!! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?!?!" Ari demanded.

He finally stopped talking, and looked up at her, tears still streaming down his face. Ari took her hand and wiped the tears from his face, and kissed him gently. His eyes flew open in surprise and he kissed her back, the kiss becoming more wild and more unbreakable as the continued. After a while they stopped, and were breathing very heavily...

"Aj, I did not understand most of what you just told me, with exception of the parts where you said you loved me, and that we are supposed to be together. I have felt those same feelings since I first met you the other day."

"But.." She pressed her finger to his lips and silenced him.

"And the part about you being a...being a vampyre, I believe. But it does not change my feelings for you. How long have you been like this?" He sort of looked away from her.

"Um, about five centuries now."

"And I though my parents were going to flip over the three year age difference" she cracked. He looked up at her sharply. "Sorry, I guess not the time for jokes. What about Kevin and Lara? Do they know?"

"They should, they are vampyres too."

"Whoa, ok...and how come you can go out in the sunlight? Isn't that supposed to kill vampyres?"

"It does normally, but as long as I wear this," he brought his right hand up and pulled off a silver ring studded with moonstones, "I can go out in the daytime. For some reason, moonstones protect us from the sunlight, so as long as we wear them, we wont fry in the light"

"Oh ok."

"Anything else you wanna know?" he grinned sheepishly

"What were you talking about earlier, the gazebo and the alley way? You completely lost me there."

Aj wiped the grin off of his face and stood up from the loveseat and sort of paced back and forth a little bit.

"I guess I can better explain that

then even Aj here" announced a voice from the doorway. Lara walked over to wear Aj had been sitting and sat down.

"I guess that means you told her huh Aj."

"I had to, you know that. She had to know what I am and then we could go from there." Lara nodded in agreement.

"Why don't you go in the kitchen and help Kevvy with dinner and I will take care of this part."

When Aj left the room, Lara looked at Ari, and smiled. "Men. They have the worst ways of trying to tell people things.." she said laughing.

"Lara, what in the world was Aj talking about?"

Lara told her everything. About the fact that they had been best friends when Lara was still alive, and the ball and everything. After she finished telling her story, Lara looked back up at her. "Well, are you feeling ok? Your life has kind of been turned upside down today. Your boyfriend is a vampyre, and your soulmate, you found out that you have been reincarnated, and lots of other stuff. Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I think I am ok, it is a lot of stuff to take in though...sheesh.."

Aj and Kevin then walked in to announce that dinner was ready when the front door slammed open.

"Oh shit" Aj muttered under his breath, reaching for Ari instinctively.

"Guys, you are getting worse than Aj! Don't you think you could at least knock before breaking down the damned door?" Lara fussed as Nick, Howie, and Brian let themselves in, followed by their girls.

"What, Kev! I'm hurt, you throwing a party and not inviting us?" Nick said with a smirk.

"And who might this little lady be?" asked Howie, picking up Ari's hand and kissing it, ignoring Aj's dirty look and Julie's.

"None of your business D, we were just leaving. Come on honey."

"But Aj, it is rude not to introduce your guests" whined Nick.

Ari looked at the crowd that was spread out in Kevin and Lara's living room. The guy that Aj had called D had settled himself down in the recliner in the corner, and the girl with the wavy brown hair and brown eyes had settled down in his lap. The tall blond guy was leaned up against the wall and the girl with darker brown hair and emerald green eyes was leaned against his chest. The other guy who hadn't spoken yet was seated on the couch next to Lara. He was blond with baby blue eyes, like the other one, but shorter. The girl sitting on the other side of him had a mass of dark red hair and brown eyes. It was weird she thought, they are all supermodel gorgeous, she felt way out of place in this room. Aj was still standing behind her, his hands possessively on her shoulders. She reached up and gave his hand a small squeeze, and Aj sighed.

"Ari, this is Nick and Tasha," he gestured over to the couple leaned against the wall, " Howie and Julie", the couple in the recliner, " And Brian and Lori. Everybody, this is Ari, and we are now going." Ari nodded in agreement but then Kevin started to speak, "Aj, I'm sorry, but you can't leave. For all we know, whoever it was could still be out there waiting to spot you. They could even know where we are right now. It is too dangerous for you and for all of us."

"Kev, you can't be serious, anyway, I need to get Ari home. Her parents may have gotten home.."

"No deal Aj. Im sorry, but you both will have to stay here for a while." Kevin turned to Ari, "Im sorry for all of this, perhaps you can go home soon, but not now." Ari nodded mutely and looked at Aj. He was really pissed off, at whom though, she couldn't tell.

"Well thank you for telling me this now Kevin." Aj said through his teeth, his eyes intent on Kevin. "We are going upstairs for the night."

"But Aj, we haven't seen you guys for a while, and we have just met Ari, why not stay down with the gang for a while, have a little fun" Tasha purred from her spot with Nick.

"No thanks. Night everyone" And he practically dragged Ari up the stairs to their room.

Kaley was really pissed. Her people had really screwed up this time. She had them on the trail of some of the most notorious vampyre's she had known, and they lost them. Kayley had been hunting vampyres all of her life, her very long life.

She was born back in the 1800's, her mother was human, her father wasn't. He had been one of the worst kinds of vampires. He had raped her mother, then feed on her, leaving her for dead. What the vampyre didn't know,. was that her mother survived, and Kaley was born nine months later.

Her mother abandoned her when she was young, because Kayley wasn't like other kids. She had inherited some of her father's powers. She was never sick, and whenever she hurt herself, she healed within a day or two, after she turned 15, she didn't age as fast. Here she was now, almost two hundred years old, and didn't look a day over 20.

She had all of the best aspects of being a vampyre with out the bad. The daylight didn't bother her, and she did not have a craving for blood. After her mother abandoned her, with a note about what she was and how she came into being, Kayley started using her powers for the good of humanity. Almost every vampyre in the world had heard of her and feared her, but the thing was that none of them had a clue what she looked like or anything. They never saw her until it was too late. She was the head of the most notorious vampyre hunter's connections. Even her co-workers feared her. But that didn't phase her.

She had also been one of the original vampyre hunters, a lot of the newer generation ones inherited their positions from their predecessors. But right now, they didn't mean shit to her. She had them trailing Aj McLean, and they lost him. She had not been on THOSE guy's trail for awhile. News on them would pop up about once a decade, they would play a little bit of cat and mouse, and then they would go underground again. She could not believe what they had been doing of late. They had actually gotten up enough nerve to sing, and were well known around the world. That was practically suicide in her book. When she had first heard about the "Backstreet Boys" as they were called now, she laughed until she had tears in her eyes. She had even gone to one of their concerts. It was such a hoot to her. If only all of the little "teeny boppers" had only knew. But right now, she was only thinking of how to punish her losers, her employees.

"Look Kevin, I have GOT to get out of this house! It has almost been a week since either of us have walked out of here, and at the very least Ari and I need to get some of our things from home!" AJ yelled at Kevin.

All ten of them had been stuck with each other for a week now, and things were starting to get really bad. They were all literally about to kill each other.

"Ok ok ok," Kevin sighed, he didn't like it, but if he didn't let them all have a little bit of freedom from the rest, it would not be a good scene. " I want everyone back here by dawn at the very latest." He especially knew that they all needed to feed, and not from the bags stolen from the local blood bank. He was even feeling the strain.

They all left the house within minutes. Aj called a cab since his car was still on the wharf, unless someone had towed it. He and Ari snuggled up in the backseat of the cab.

"Babe, I am really sorry for pulling you into this. If I had known that things would have turned out this way, I would have never..."

"Don't even say it Alexander James. Or I will slug you right now. I do not regret anything. Yes, it has been hard on us all these past few days but we survived. And now I have found you, I am not letting you go." she silenced any of his protests by covering his mouth with hers.

The driver pulled up the driveway and let them out. They walked in the door, relishing in the silence. The past couple of days had been hell. There was never a moment of silence. Nick and Tasha played video games almost 24/7, and between the noise of the games and them two arguing it would be enough to drive a saint crazy. Then there was Howie and his stereo. It had been horrible.

"Hey babe?"

"Yes?"

" I hate to have to ask this, but will you be ok if I left you here for about 15 minutes, half an hour at the most. I gotta, you know. If I don't feed, it will be dangerous for me to be around you." He wouldn't quite meet her eyes when he was talking to her.

"I will be fine. Go ahead. I will be right here waiting for you when you get back." She pulled him down for a kiss, and then he left.

Ari went upstairs and threw some of her clothes in a suitcase so she would be ready to head back to Kevin's when ever Aj was. She plopped down on the couch and turned on the Tv. About 15 minutes after she had settled down watching some movie on lifetime when there was a knock at the front door. Figuring it was Aj being stupid she got up and answered it.

The last thing she remembered was someone putting a sweet smelling cloth over mouth and nose, and her world went black.

Aj walked back in the house about 5 minutes later. He walked upstairs quietly, hoping to catch Ari in the shower or something. He smiled at the thought of it. He loved her so much, he couldn't even think of the time before they had met. He looked all over the house and couldn't find her, and he was getting scared. He walked by the answering machine in the hallway and saw the message light was blinking. He pressed play and a husky feminine voice filled the silence of the house.

"Alexander...tag, you're it."

Ari groaned and tried to open her eyes. She felt terrible. Her head was throbbing and her tongue was stuck to the roof of her mouth like glue. She finally managed to open her eyes and looked around her. Waking up in unfamiliar places was becoming way to habitual for her tastes. She was in a small room with no windows, or anything else for that matter. She was laying on the cold floor, but there was no where else to sit or lay. There was a tray with some food and a glass of water which she eagerly drank, trying to moisten her parched throat. She looked around again, and then just sat back against the wall to wait. There was nothing else that she could do for now...

Aj stormed into Kevin's house, hollering, trying to find out if anyone had gotten back. He made is way into the living room where Lara, Brian, Lori and Howie were sitting. They had all really separated earlier. The ones that were back were staring at him while he was screaming at them. Lara scrambled up. "Aj! Calm down, you are not making any sense, stop screaming and tell us what is wrong. And where is Ari?"

"That is what is wrong. SHE has Ari, and she knows where I live obviously! They may even be on their way here now!" Aj was still yelling, but it was more intelligible now. "It must have been HER henchmen following me the other day. We have to find the others and tell them what is going on, and we have to find out where she has taken Ari, why she has taken her, and we have to get her back!"

Lara and the other three paled visibly while Aj was going on.

Brian swallowed hard, "Well, it is 4:30 now, and Kevin said to be back by dawn, so the rest of them should be trailing in here anytime now."

True to Brian's words, everyone had gotten back within the next half an hour. After they had all gotten back, they looked to Aj for what was going on. He took a deep breath. "Kayley has found us, and she has Ari".

Not long after Ari had woken up, she heard a key turn in the lock of her door. She tried to cower in the corner that she was sitting in, but it wasn't going to help anything. A tall guy with platinum blond hair was walking in her "room" and motioning for the two people behind him to grab her. She didn't put up a fight, still being a little hung over from the drug that they had been giving her. They took her through an endless corridor and into a room resembling an office. A medium height girl was standing with her back turned towards Ari. The girl had long blond hair with a slight curl to it. The people that had brought her here plopped her in a chair and left the room.

"So you are Alexander's little girly I hear" the girl murmured. She turned around so that she could see the girl that had caught Aj's eye.

"And who might you be" Ari demanded "You kidnapped me. You drugged me and are holding me here against my will, and for what reason?" She was pissed. Ari had had it. Her entire world had changed over the course of the past two weeks, and this was her breaking point. This...this...person had enough guts or whatever she wanted to call it to frigging kidnap her, and Ari was not going to stand for it. She may still be half out of it from the drugs, but she was going to fight as much as she could.

"I was trying to save you you little idiot" the blond girl hissed.

"And what were you trying to save me from pray tell?"

"You probably don't even have a clue do you, you people never do, until it is too late"

"What are you talking about? Dammit, what are you trying to save me from. There is nothing that I can possibly think of..."

"I was trying to save you from the vampyres you little idiot. Yeah, that is right vampyres. ..."

"Oh hell, is that all? Of course I knew about that...." THAT caught the blond girl's attention.

"What!?! You knew? And you were still there? In their midst? You are really stupider than I thought...." "No I am not, and I have no damned reason to tell you why. I am leaving..." With that, Ari stood up, and walked to the door of the "office". It was a brave try, but the girl came up behind her and spun her around so that they were face to face.

"You are not leaving here until I am damned good and ready to let you go. I have plans for you..."

Ari gasped as the girl threw her across the room and into the wall. "Who in the hell are you?!? And what do you want with me! I have not done anything and neither have the guys, or at least not to my knowledge. I am of no help to you!" Ari screamed at her.

"Who I am is not important to you, but I am Kayley, now you have a name to hate. And you will find out how I need you later. But first, where are they now? Aj's place was easy enough to find, but the others are another matter, so spill it!" Kayley started to walk back over to where Ari was standing against the wall. "You can go to hell" Ari spit in her face, each word dripping with ice. "I will not tell you anything. And there is nothing that you can say or do that will make me talk."

Kayley broke out in a grin that made chills run down Ari's back.."Oh, but little girl, you are soo wrong...."

"Oh shit" Kevin breathed....he knew it was a matter of time before she turned up again, but he didn't think it have been so soon, or so obvious that it was her. "Aj, are you sure it was Kayley? I mean it could have been someone else...."

"It was her" Aj said, cutting him off. "Id know that voice anywhere, and it was her, and she has my girl. Who knows why exactly she has her, or what she will do with her, I do not want to even imagine, but I have GOT to get her back." By now, Aj had tears rolling down his face. None of them had ever seen him like this, except the night the Ellie had been killed, but even then, he was no where near as upset as he was now.

"Well, first of all, we know that Kayley knows where Aj was living, and she may know that we are here now, or she will after she somehow gets it from Ari." Kevin said, trying to get some control over the situation. "So right now, we have to worry about finding another hiding place in the meantime. Aj, don’t say anything" he said, as he saw Aj's mouth open in an attempt to protest." We will find her, but we need to get out of here before they come here looking for us..."

Ari moaned as her head continued to throb. She was still tasting blood from her split lip. Her face felt lumpy and she ached all over. Kayley and a couple of her cohorts had literally beaten the shit out of her in an attempt to make her talk, her nose was still bleeding too. But she hadn't broken, yet. She didn't know how much longer she could stand it. Hopefully the guys had had enough sense to get out of there, but she help a hope in her innermost heart that they would find her...

She heard voices outside of the door and moaned when it started to open again. She squinted her eyes at the sudden bright light and saw that Kayley was standing there, with her apes behind her. "How are you feeling...cause you don't look so good" she chuckled. "Since you wouldn't talk of your own free will, I have a sure fire way of making you talk. It is not as fun for me, but it works." She grinned as one of the guys handed her a needle. "A little sodium pheno will do the trick" she murmured, giving the needle a few test squirts. Ari tried to get up and fight her, but the guys just grabbed her and held her in place. She screamed as the needle entered her skin....

Aj stared at the moon. He was standing on the balcony with his arms folded on the rail. He didn't know what to do. There had been no word from Kayley or Ari in over a week now, and it had been the longest week he had ever experienced. He did not know where to even begin searching for her at. They had all moved from Kevin's place that very night and were staying in a different hotel every night. Every night, Aj returned to his house, to check and see if Kayley or Ari had tried to reach him. He did not care if Kayley caught him, he just wanted to be sure that Ari was safe. He heard footsteps behind him, but didn't bother to turn around. "What do you want Bri" he asked softly, his voice dead.

"I just came to see where you were. That’s all" Brian said, his voice equally soft. "We will find her Bone, it will just take some time. " But Brian didn't know if they ever would find her. Kayley was good at making people disappear he thought wryly. He gave Aj’s shoulder a squeeze and left him there.

Kayley was still in a bad mood. They had just missed their chance. As soon as the sodium pheno. started to work, Ari had answered everything. As soon as they had gotten Kevin's address out of her, Kayley had sent a group of scouts out to check the place out, and to attempt to capture the guys. But apparently, they had just left the place.

The only good thing that had come out of this whole thing was that Kayley still had Ari. She had been forming a plan all week,, and was ready to begin to carry it out. She gathered up her best men and sent two of them to go and get Ari from her room. After a few minutes, they returned, carrying her. She had been unconscious for almost two days now. Kayley had lost her temper with her again and had beaten the shit out of her. Kayley looked around the room, " Are you all ready?" they nodded their heads. "Then lets go".

Aj walked back into his bedroom, and layed across the bed. After a few moments, he rolled over and dialed the number to his house.. After a few rings, the answering machine clicked on. He punched in his code and listened to his messages. He had one new message. He listened and his blood drained from his face.

"If you want your little girl back, meet me here, midnight. If you don't show up, I can’t promise you will ever see her again...."

Aj ran and got the rest of the guys and told them what was going on. "Aj, you are not going alone. You have no idea how many of her goons she has there to back her up. It is too dangerous even if we all go. It is like a death trap!" Julie gasped. They all agreed with her. It was decided that they would all go, but in groups, so that if one person got caught, others could get away.

Kayley positioned herself hidden in the shadows of the living room. Ari was sprawled out on the couch, her hair falling over her face, covering her bruises. Kayley's best operative, Jeff was sitting in the chair next to the couch. Her people were positioned all over the property and within the house. As soon as Aj or one of the others even breathed on the property, she would know it. It was going to end tonight, she just knew it. She was not taking any chances. She froze when she heard Krista's voice come through her earpiece. "Boss, their here..."

Aj crept through the yard, knowing he was being watched. He didn't like this situation, but he was going to get Ari away from these creeps even if it meant his life. He walked up to the front door and let himself in. He put his hands up in the air and walked in the living room, where he saw Jeff and Ari. Jeff looked at his watch.

"It is about time. We were wondering if you were going to show up or not" he smirked. "You knew I was coming. Don't give me that shit" Aj growled. "I just want to get her out of here. She hasn't done anything to you. And I am here now, you have no need of her. Just let me get her home." "She is a little bitch do you know that?"

Aj allowed himself a small grin. Then out of the corner of his eyes, he saw movement. "Look, I don't want this to get nasty," He said, turning around, catching a glimpse of Kayley as she rushed from the room. He heard the commotion going on outside and figured the rest of them were out there, giving him a distraction. He didn't know how many other people were in the house, but he knew there were more then the three of them in the living room. Then Aj saw his chance. He ran faster then Jeff could follow, popping up behind him and hit him aside the head, hard enough to knock him out. Aj grabbed Ari, who still hadn't moved and ran out of the house, screaming to the rest of the guys and girls that he had her and took off. He took some back ways, and made sure that he had not been followed. After about half an hour, he felt it was safe enough to meet at their chosen destination point. Plus, he needed to take care of Ari. She had not stirred since he arrived at his house. He knew she was alive, but unconscious. He wired a car that was parked on the street and took off.

Kayley paced back and forth in her office. They had been ambushed. She had run outside to help her employees, and when the Boys had left, she ran back inside to see Jeff knocked out on the floor and Aj and Ari missing. But, *she smiled* the trip had not been for nothing...

They had all met up at the rendezvous except for Nick, Tasha and Lori. Aj layed Ari out on his bed and washed the blood from her face. He had almost burst out crying when they had finally gotten there and he had a chance to check her over. Her hair was matted with blood, and her face was a mass of bruises and blood from her stubbornness. Aj had washed her up and put some clean clothes on her and sat with her. He had no idea how long she had been out or what he could do for her. He was lost. He layed his head on her shoulder and cried.

The rest of them were in the main room, waiting for Tasha, Lori an Nick to show up. A few minutes later, the door slammed open and Lori and Tasha bust in, tears streaming down their faces... "SHE HAS NICK!" they screamed.

Nick groaned as he woke up. He looked around and realized that he was in a cell, and was chained to the wall. He started to scream and curse and yank on the chains. After a while, he realized that it was not doing him any good anyway and stopped. All he could do was sit there and wait.

"Oh Lord" Lara breathed. "What else can go wrong..." Brian was trying to calm down Lori, and Kevin was taking care of Tasha. Aj had simply shook his head when they had come running in and had left the room to go back up and be with Ari.

He had been thinking about what to do. He knew there was a slim chance of Ari actually waking up and being 100% ok. It almost killed him just to admit that even to himself.

There was only two things that he could really do for her now. Either end her suffering, or to bring her over. He walked back downstairs after a while and motioned for Lara to come over to him. "What is it Aj? Has her conditioned changed? Or..."

"No, it hasn't changed at all. I wanted to ask your opinion on this, cause you knew her best, before and now. If she even wakes up, and I don't think she will, she will never be like she was before. And I do not want her to have to suffer."

"Aj, what are you getting at hun?" "I am asking you. What do you think that Ari would rather want, to end her suffering completely, or to have me bring her over...." he asked her quietly.

Nick turned his head towards the sound of footsteps. He still couldn't see anyone, but he knew that someone was coming...

"Oh Aj..." Lara looked up at him, and wiped the tears from his eyes. "She would understand either way. It is up to you. If you bring her over, and she doesn’t want that life, she can change it. But if you put her at rest...you cant change that. "

"I know, but everything that she has been through has been my fault..." "Aj, this is not your fault. Blame this on that bitch Kayley. She is the one that did this Ari and you know it. Your self pity is not what Ari needs right now..."Lara said firmly.

"But.."

"No buts. You know what has to be done, and I would do it now, before anything else happens. "

Nick stared at the shadow that was getting closer. He heard a husky chuckle, and then..."Well well well, Mr. Carter, it is nice to finally make a face to face acquaintance with you...."

Aj headed back up stairs and Lara let out a long breath. She walked back over to where the rest of them were sitting.

Kevin looked at her.. "Well, what is going on?"

"He is going to bring her over."

Aj walked into his bedroom and looked down at Ari. She looked so peaceful, just like she was sleeping. He sat down on the bed next to her and gathered her up in his arms. He kissed her lips softly, and whispered, "I am so sorry baby. I hope you can forgive me, and that I am doing the right thing."

He sighed and nuzzled her neck for a moment, before positioning himself and sank his teeth into her neck. He felt her body jerk and heard a moan come from deep within her. He closed his eyes and drank deep. There was no turning back now. After a few moments, he withdrew, and tore at his wrist with his teeth. He put his bleeding wrist to her mouth and let some of his blood drizzle down her throat. After a few seconds her eyes flew open and she looked around the room wildly. "Hun, calm down, you have to drink this or we will be in serious trouble" He murmured. She needed no coaxing. She grabbed his wrist and drank from him eagerly. After a few minutes Aj pulled away from her. She tried to grab his wrist and pull him back but he was firm with her. He stood up and wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. He looked at Ari. She was looking all around the room, then she looked up at him. "Honey, what is going on?"

"Kayley. It is a pleasure to meet you too" Nick said sarcastically.

She walked into the light so he could see her entirely. She was pretty, there was no doubt to it, but right now, she disgusted him. And her thought of him were mutual. "What do you want with me. Torture? Why not just kill me and get it over with, cause you are going to do it anyway" he sneered.

"Nah. I haven't had anything to play with in sometime....and you are soo cute...." she giggled, which was not a good sign. She took the end of her whip and caressed the side of Nick's face with it. Then, without warning, she flipped it over, and brought it across his bare chest hard.

"How are you feeling babe?" Aj asked

"Um, ok....but I feel...strange...."

"Honey, that is to be expected. What is the last thing that you remember...?"

"Um..." she thought back, trying to remember. "That bitch Kayley hit me" she gasped, her face flushed with anger. "You wait till I get my hands on her..."Ari jumped to her feet and would have gone out the door if Aj had not grabbed her and pulled her back.

"Don't worry about her just for a minute" he said, laughing. Now he knew what Jeff meant when he called her a bitch. She had a temper on her that he did not know about. "We have something else to discuss." He took a breath and calmed himself down. "Honey, you have been in a coma for at least the past day, perhaps even longer. Kayley had called me.." He filled her in on the events of the evening. "But like I said, you have been out since I got you back...I’m sorry honey, but even if you had woken up from your coma, you would have been a vegetable for the rest of your life. I did the only thing I could do.." his voice trailed off.

"You mean, you made me a vampyre?" she whispered.

"It was a choice between this or death. I was hoping that I had made the right decision for you, especially since it is not my choice to be making in the first place. I hope you will forgive me" he finished, standing up and looking away from her.

Ari breathed in sharply. "Alexander James McLean!" She stood up next to him and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at her. "What are you talking about forgiving you. I could deck you for even thinking that I would be upset. I would rather live this life, as a vampyre with you at my side, then being dead. I don't know how I can thank you for saving my life."

"Well, I can think of a few ways.." he chuckled, back to his old self with Ari at his side. She laughed and pulled him down for a kiss.

Nick screamed as Kayley brought the whip down across his chest again. She laughed as he screamed, but for some reason, it tore at her heart.

Kayley dropped her whip and left the room very disturbed. "What is wrong with me!" she thought to herself. "He is no better then any other parasite that I have killed. So why am I developing a conscious now..."

Everyone looked up at them when they came downstairs and Ari suddenly felt scared. What if Aj wasn't supposed to change her or something...what if ...? But those thoughts were dashed from her mind when they all smiled at her. Everyone stood up, gave her a hug, said how glad that she was better, sort of "welcome to the family" kinda feeling.

"So what are we going to do about Nick? she asked after everyone settled back down. "We are not sure yet" Brian answered. "All we know that she has him alive somewhere. For what reason I do not know. But she will keep him alive for a while, probably to torture him for a while. She has been after us for a long time."

"For how long? I mean it couldn't have been that long"

"Um, for at least the past couple of hundred years" Brian said with a sheepish grin

"So she is a vampyre. Why is she after you guys?"

"Well, she is not a vampyre. She is half human, half vampyre." Tasha filled Ari in on Kayley's history. "But as to why she has been after us exclusively, I do not know."

While everyone was talking, Ari started to feel uncomfortable. She didn't know why, but she felt like she needed to get out of there. When she started to fidget, Julie looked at her. "Are you ok?"

"I'm not sure...I feel weird..."Ari started

"Oh! I’m sorry babe. Hey guys, we will be back in a little bit. And don't worry, we will be careful" Aj said, seeing Kevin about to lecture them about being careful. He ushered Ari outside and they started walking into town.

"What’s wrong with me?"

"Nothing babe" he laughed. "You just need to feed. That is all. When you get fidgety and uncomfortable, it is just like the beginnings of the bloodlust. Nothing to worry about"

"So now I have to...you know.." She looked up at him.

"Yes honey, you have to probably every night at least for now, you are still changing, and as you get older, you won’t need to feed as much."

"Kayley?" Jeff knocked softly on the door and let himself in.

"Yes?"

"There is someone here to see you. You know I don't usually let people in here...but he said it was very important..."

"Who is it?" she sighed

"I don't know, he wouldn't tell me his name, but he said he said you would recognize this" he said, handing her something wrapped in a black velvet cloth. She took it and unwrapped it. She gasped when she pulled out the knife studded with various gems, made of pure silver.

"Tell him I will be right there." she demanded thrusting the dagger and cloth at him. 'Dammit, what does he want now' she thought as she checked her appearance in the mirror and walked out of the room.

"Honey, you have to stop now. You don't have to kill him. You have had enough, but its up to you." Aj told her, pulling her off of the man that had been walking through the park alone. Ari looked down at him then back up at Aj.

"I feel much better, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be."

"See, nothing to worry about. You're a natural" he said, taking a finger and wiped away the drop of blood that stained the corner of her mouth. "What do you want? And I thought I told you to stop coming here." Kayley said in way of greeting to the tall man staring out of the window.

"I heard you almost had Alex. I came to offer my assistance since you were closer then you had been before." he said, not turning around.

"Well, we have lost them again, and I do not even want your help." she said bluntly. She did not mention the fact that one of the boys were in the very same building right then, because if he knew, she would never get rid of him.

"Well, I’m here, and I’m not leaving. I will see that Alex pays for the grief he put my family through and me through. You can do what you want with the rest of them, but he is mine." The man finally turned around. "You are looking better then ever Kayley"

"Can it Richie. I don't want to hear your bullshit tonight."

"I told you not to call me Richie."

"I told you not to come here anymore." she retorted, glaring at him. "The only reason I haven't staked your ass is because you saved mine once, but Im going to forget about that incidence if you don't stop tracking me down and wasting my time."

"Tsk tsk tsk. I told you we could work together, vampyres are willing to trust another vampyre rather than a half-breed"

"I am NOT going to have a partnership with you. Forget about it. Just because we are after the same creatures, does not make us bosom buddies. I’m leaving now. I have other business to tend to. You let yourself in, so you can show yourself the way out." she turned on her heel and started to leave the room when Richard grabbed her shoulder.

"Wait..." She whirled around and slugged him in the stomach, knowing that it wouldn’t hurt him that bad, but it would teach him not to grab her.

"Leave now...before I change my mind" she growled and left the room.

Ari felt better then she had ever felt before. With the new blood singing through her veins, she felt like she could conquer the world. Her and Aj were walking along the shoreline admiring the way the moon danced on the waves. They found a spot and plopped down on the cool sand and held each other close.

"I thought I would never be able to do this again after Kayley took you. You have no idea how worried I was about what could happen. I’m sorry I was not there to protect you."

"Honey, if you had been there, she would have gotten to us either way. And none of that matters anyway. We are together now and that is all that matters." she said simply.

"I know, and I never plan to let you go, I hope you know that" he chuckled. He reached back in his pocket and drew out a small box. "Ari, I love you and I always have, since the very beginning. There is no way, in heaven or in hell, that I will ever stop loving you. Will you be mine for all eternity?" he whispered in her ear, opening the small box and drawing out a silver ring, studded with diamonds and moonstones. Ari felt her eyes tear up and felt one slide down her cheek.

"Oh Aj..of course I will!" she turned around and kissed him gently. He wiped away her tears and slid the ring in her left ring finger. He smiled down at her and kissed her again, until they pulled away breathless.

Richard stalked through the streets in an extremely bad mood. Kayley was hiding something from him and he knew it. His spy that worked with her didn't have a clue either, so he had no choice but to leave for now. How could she have let them slip through her fingers? If only he had come a day sooner, he would have had his revenge on Alexander. He muttered a foul oath and kicked at a pebble on the sidewalk. He looked to his right and saw a couple intertwined on the shoreline. He grinned and headed for them. He was hungry and in his bad mood, he needed a little bit of a challenge.

Ari giggled as Aj rolled on top of her capturing her mouth with his own. Then Aj was pulled off of her. She blinked, trying to make out the shadowy figure. Aj was instantly on his feet hissing at his attacker. When he turned to fully face the shadow, the attacker took a step back and hissed "You!"

"What is your problem sir...and explain quickly because you are about to pay dearly for your rudeness" Aj spat.

"YOU!" the shadow screamed "YOU ARE GOING TO PAY FOR THE GRIEF YOU HAVE PUT MY FAMILY AND I THROUGH!" he dived at Aj but Aj moved quickly to the side. The two wrestled and swung at each other and after a few minutes the attacker had Aj by his hair and a dagger at his neck.

"Leave here now girl!" he hissed at Ari. But when she stood up and grabbed something from her back pocket he heard a soft niche of a switchblade his eyes widened in surprise.

"No, I think you need to unhand him and you leave" she said dangerously. Aj couldn't help but smile. She brandished the blade and the moonlight glinted off of the blade and flashed across her face.

"Ellie!" the attacker gasped. What in the hell was going on he wondered. She was dead, yet she stood here in front of him!

"LET GO OF HIM!" she spat stepping closer to him. Aj sensed the attacker's falter and took advantage of it, moving swiftly and twisted himself around so that the attacker was on his knees, the dagger now it his throat.

"Who are you! And what are you doing here" Aj demanded quietly, each word dripping with ice.

"Ellie! Is that you? How can this be? You are dead!" the man raved. Ari knelt down in front of the stranger and stared him in the face. "Who are you?" she whispered, her eyes still hard and cold. "And stop calling me Ellie. That is not my name..."

"How is it that you are here! You are dead! And this bastard behind me took you from me! I was there when they pulled you from the alley! I saw you buried!"

"I am only going to ask you one more time! Who are you! and how do you know these things" she screamed.

"Ellie, do you not recognize your own father?"

"What in the hell are you talking about? My father? That is bullshit! My father is in Europe! So knock it off and tell me who you are and what you think you were about to do to my man!?" Ari screamed.

"Ellie, stop this! If you tell this...this monster to let me up we can figure out what in the hell is going on"

"Why should I? So you can attack me again?" Aj sneered.

"I am NOT Ellie! Ellie is dead!"

"Hold up! Ok, if you let me go I will not touch you"

"Yeah right...like I’m going to fall for that."

"Aj" Ari whispered..."Let him go"

Aj looked over at her in surprise but he removed his hold on Richard.

"Now explain yourself." Ari said quietly staring at Richard.

"What do you want me to explain? I am at just as much a loss that you are. Who are you?"

"I am Ari. Let's start with Ellie. First of all, if you are Ellie's father, you left me...I mean you left her when she was young. You abandoned her. And now, over 200 some years later, you come here, attack me and Aj, trying to kill him, blaming him for Ellie's death and all of this other shit. So for one thing, what in the hell are you doing here? How did you find us, or Aj at least."

"Well, I AM Elizabeth's father. Why I left has nothing to do with this, but I was there when they found her body. They said she had been robbed and stabbed, but I never believed it. I knew what Alex here and his goons where. I figured they had something to do with it. But as for why I’m here, I got a lead from Kayley and followed her here, especially when I heard she found their trail. At Ellie's funeral I vowed to avenge my daughter's death and send these bastards to the depths of hell where they belong. I also tracked down some not so evil vampyres and persuaded them to bring me over so that I could live long enough and be able to fight them on their own level when the time came. Now you answer me. How do you even know about Ellie if you say that you are not her. How about explaining that?" Richard looked from Ari, to Aj and back to Ari. She sighed and told him about her connection with Ellie.

*****

"Dammit! How could he find me, I had hoped someone would have staked his ass by now" Kayley muttered to herself while she paced back and forth. She felt like a juggler with too many balls in the air. Richard was in town, sticking his nose where it didn't belong. She had lost any trail of the boys, and then there was Nick. She didn't know what to think about him. 'Oh well' she thought' might as well go down there and see how he was doing.

She walked downstairs and gave a slight nod to the guard that was standing watch just in case. She let herself in and at the sound of the opening door, Nick looked up. "Oh. Your back" he sneered.

She shrugged her shoulders and walked over to him. He was filthy. His hair was all matted and there was dirt and dried blood that streaked his face. She wrinkled her nose in distaste.

"Well? What will it be this time. The whip again? perhaps your goons would like to beat the shit out of me some more...or you could always.."

"Do you ever shut up?" she interrupted slapping him lightly across the face. She ignored the tingles that passed through her at the mere contact of skin and grabbed him by his hair.

"Where are your buddies now? Hmm? Do you think they are going to come look for ya? Or have they run off with their tales between their legs. Where were you supposed to meet, Nickolas?"

"I’m not telling you anything" he spat. But the strange thing was, he wanted to tell her. He figured it was just because he was hungry and frankly, he was scared of what would happen to him, but still, he felt that he just wanted to pour his heart out to her.

*****

"This is way too fucked up" Richard muttered.

"You think you are telling us something new?" Ari shot back

They stood there and glared at each other. Aj held back his laughter because even though they were not blood related in this life, they looked exactly the same and seemed to be just as stubborn.

"Anyway, I hate to break it to you both, but we have to be going." Aj said, before they got arguing again.

"Ok babe, let’s go. Wait. How will we know that he won’t follow us and tell Kayley about where we are?"

While she had been talking, Aj had gathered up his speed and strength then rushed at Richard and knocked him out cold with a blow to the side of his head.

"Oh" she said. "I guess that works"

Then they headed off to regroup with the others.

It's about time you decide to show up!" Kevin was on his feet and in the hallway as soon as heard the front door open. "Where in the hell have you been? You have been gone for over 5 hours! We didn’t know if something had happened to you or anything! Well? What is your excuse?" he screamed in Aj's face.

"We were fucking attacked ok? Ellie's father Richard came up on us and tried to kill me, and then...Oh hell, I’m not even going to go into that right now, but if you don't get the hell outta my face and off of my back..." Aj snarled.

"Aj! Stop it! Calm down" Ari said, grabbing his shoulder and pulled him back before he could pull back and hit Kevin.

"You too Kevin Scott!" Lara's voice rang from behind them. Ari raised her eyes towards her and they shared a silent message and nodded. Lara grabbed Kevin's arm and dragged him into the living room while Ari pulled Aj upstairs.

"Men" Ari muttered as she pulled him

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" shot Aj.

"Nothing. come on. You are filthy and you are going to get in the shower and calm your ass down. The last thing we need right now is fighting between one another. I never knew you had such a temper."

"Temper? Excuse me...who was about to gut someone with a switchblade earlier? And by the way, where in the hell did you get that?"

Ari laughed and shoved him in their room. "None of your business. You won't always be around to save me, so I need to fend for myself too."

He raised an eyebrow at her while she walked in the bathroom to turn on the water so the tub would fill up.

"Come on...get in there. You are filthy and I don't want you tracking dirt all over the place."

"Like you are any cleaner right this second." he retorted, glancing at her. They were both covered in dirt from their scuffle with Richard earlier.

"That is not the point.."

"Oh yes it is" he walked over to her and started to pull off her clothes and she started to do the same to him but he picked her up and plopped her in the tub.

"Alexander James McLean! Get your ass in this tub now!" She demanded, and when he turned around to walk out of the room, she splashed a huge wave of water at him. He whirled around and there was only the sound of dripping water.

"Lady, you are going to pay for that" he said with a glint in his eye.

She laughed as he took a step towards her.

*****

Richard regained consciousness slowly. He could not believe everything that happened that night. He shook his head and stood up. It was nearly dawn, and he needed to get to Kayley.

*****

"Are you going to tell me where your buddies are hiding or not?!?" Kayley screamed, losing her temper and her control of the situation.

"Never" Nick spat.

"Fine then. You will just stay in here and rot."

She turned on her heel and slammed the door. Nick stared at the door for a moment then looked away. He was starving. If only he could get these damned chains off of his wrists...

*****

About an hour later, after a huge water fight that left the bathroom soaked, and some great sex, Ari and Aj tumbled into bed, falling asleep in each other's arms.

"Dammit! Why does he always have to be so damned irresponsible? I knew I shouldn't have let them go out in the first place..." Kevin fussed as he paced back and forth. He had been ranting and raving since Aj and Ari got back. Lara had just sat back and let him go for a while, figuring he'd get tired and eventually calm down, but it was not happening and she was tired of listening to him.

"Kevin! If you do not calm down and shut up...I don't know WHAT I’m going to do!" Lara pounced from the couch, actually jumping on Kevin, who was so surprised by her outburst, fell backwards with her on top of him. His hit the floor and Lara grabbed his face.

"Kevvy, I know you are stressed right now, we all are, but wearing a tread in the floor and ranting like a lunatic is not going to help in anyway. So please knock it off!" she demanded, leaning so that their noses were almost touching and her eyes filled his line of sight. Kevin layed there, still in shock, because usually Lara just took everything in stride, and never ever got upset, and she had just knocked his ass down. He stared his emerald green eyes into her sapphire blue ones, and pulled her lips down to meet his own.

*****

Aj smiled as he woke up, finding Ari in his arms. He squeezed her a little tighter and moved a little closer to her, chuckling when she moaned in protest of being disturbed. He nuzzled her hair and planted a kiss on the back of her neck.

"Good morning sweetheart" he murmured in her ear, and she mumbled back something that he couldn't quite make out. He smiled again, this one more evil then the one before. He carefully detached from her, trying to move her as little as possible. She moaned again and rolled over, still never waking up. He walked downstairs to find the place dark and empty. He walked in the kitchen and got himself a glass of ice water. He quietly walked back upstairs and into his room. Ari still had not moved since he left. He chuckled and kneeled down beside the bed. He lifted the comforter off of her slowly, lifted the glass and started to slowly pour the ice water down her back. Her eyes flew open and she jumped out of bed shrieking. Aj couldn’t help but bust out laughing. She stood there and glared at him, with small rivets of water trailing down her face.

"I told you I would get you back for last night" he tried to stop laughing, but it wasn't working too well. Ari still hadn’t moved, and was still glaring at him. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, bending his head down for a kiss. After a few minutes he pulled away, laughing at still seeing some shock in her eyes from her awakening.

"I'm sorry babe, I just couldn't resist.." he began

"Yeah, yeah yeah, I'll remember that next time" she answered, looking adorable wearing nothing but one of his shirts. He chuckled again as she went over to the dresser and pulled on some dry clothes. They walked downstairs, amazed that everyone else was still asleep. The walked in the living room, where Aj plopped on the end of the couch, only to be startled by a yelp of pain.

"Hey! Watch it!" Aj squinted in the darkness and reached for the lamp. The room was flooded with light, and also strewn with clothes. Aj bent over and picked up a lacy bra eyeing it...and the mound on the couch. He flung the bra over his shoulder, shrugging. He grinned evily again and walked over to the couch. He looked up to see Ari standing in the doorway looking at him strange. He put his finger to his lips, motioning for her to be quiet. The mound had not moved or made a sound since Aj had first sat down. He looked back up at Ari, grinned then dove on the couch. He wasn't there for very long, because as soon as he had made contact, the blankets came to life flying up and knocking Aj on the floor, and Kevin stood up naked, looking around the room wildly.

"What in the hell?" he started, then saw Aj on the floor laughing his ass off.

"McLean.." he growled..

"Sorry Kevin. Don't ask me what has gotten into him. At least he didn't wake you up with freezing water" said Ari, who was still leaning in the doorway. Kevin looked from Ari, to AJ, back to Ari and then laughed.

"Um, Kevvy, don't you think you should cover up a bit" came a soft voice from the couch. All three of them stared as Lara pushed the covers off of her head, and sat up, clutching it to her chest. She sat there with a goofy smile on her face as Kevin looked down at himself, just now realizing his state of dress. He blushed a little and sat down next to Lara, grabbing some of the covers.

*****

Kayley knew she was dreaming, but that didn't stop the dream from seeming any less real.

"Kayley? where are you love? I can't find you! Answer me please!"

"I’m right here" She smiled as HE walked over to her and smiled down at her.

"There you are..." he whispered and brought his face down for a kiss. She reveled in it, kissing and possessing him as much as he was her. His kisses trailed down to her throat, where he planted a kiss and then started to sink his fangs in.

But then he was stopping.

He stepped back and looked at the stake protruding from his chest...He looked up at her, and at her outstretched hands."

Perhaps it is better this way.."Nick whispered and her heart broke as he burst into ashes...Kayley sat up and screamed.

Nick had been left down there for almost a week now. Kayley hadn’t even been back since about three days ago. He was starving, he had never been this long without blood, and he was going insane. But he wouldn’t be down there much longer. He had shut his body down, conserving his energy and regaining some strength. He hoped his plan would work. He called on all of his strength at once and yanked on the chains, and to his great relief, they broke from the wall. He fell to the floor gasping, trying not to scream in delight. He stood up and surveyed the room, seeing if anything could be used as a weapon. To his disadvantage, there was nothing. All he had was the chains still attached to his wrists, and himself, but they would have to do. He crouched behind the door, waiting. It was only a matter of time before someone came down to check on him.

Kayley threw back her covers in disgust. Every time she shut her eyes, Nick was invading her dreams, and it always ended the same, one of them getting killed. She looked over at the small clock on her nightstand and sighed. There was no way she was going back to sleep tonight. She needed to get out and do some damage. Who knows..maybe she could pick up the boys trail. She threw on a pair of jeans and her favorite black shirt, and her black boots, slipped her dagger in her boot and headed downstairs to see what everyone else was doing.

Nick was rewarded a little while later. Jeff had come down to taunt him like he usually did. Nick smiled an evil smile and as soon as Jeff stepped into the middle of the room, Nick slammed the door behind him. Jeff whirled around, his eyes bulging from his head in surprise. "How did you.." he never finished his question. Nick pounced on him, and tore into his neck, letting the blood gush down his throat. He was a little disappointed that Jeff hadn’t put up much of a fight. Fear added that extra spice to the blood, but it didn’t matter that much. What did matter that Nick was almost back to full strength. He stood up, wiped his mouth on his tattered sleeve. He muttered a curse when he remembered that he had slammed the door behind Jeff, and you couldn’t open the door from the inside. He groped Jeff's corpse for keys or something that could be of use, but there was nothing. Once again, all he could do is wait. They would notice that Jeffy hadn’t shown up in a while and they would come looking for him.

"What do you mean he went down there! I left specific orders that NO ONE was to go down there" Kayley screamed as her employees cowarded. "What part of that did you not understand!?"

"He had been going down there every other day, just to see how weak he was getting and stuff" offered one of them.

"That is no excuse! I’m going down there to get him and I want to see you ALL working. I want the others found and now! I don’t care how you find them, just do it! I want results!" raged Kayley, turning on her heel, and heading down to the cells.

Kayley kicked the door open and sighed at the sight of Jeff's body chained in Nick's place.

"Where are you, I know you are still in here, so you might as well show yourself" and to her surprise, he actually came into her line of vision.

"Why didn't you leave. You got out of your chains, killed one of my better men and are still here. I would have thought you would have had enough sense to get outta here, especially when you knew I was going to come down here anyway."

"That is the whole point. You left me down here to die, and I’m not running from you the rest of my life. I want to end this and end this now" he answered in a deadly whisper.

"Ok guys, we have GOT to find out where her hideout is" Brian said. They were all in the living room, once again, trying to form a plan.

"And we gotta save Nick" whispered Tasha, who sat between Lori and Julie. Kevin and Howie shared a look, and Aj voiced it aloud.

"Tasha honey, Nick may not be alive now. It depends on whatever whim takes her. She could have done him in the night she caught him" Tasha let a tear slide down her face but then angrily wiped it away.

"But how can we find out where she is?" asked Lori, squeezing Tasha's hand.

"I know someone who knows where she is"

Everyone looked to Ari, who was perched on the back of the loveseat. Ari looked over at Aj. "Richard knows where she is. We find him, we find Kayley."

"I have to agree with you on that" Kayley answered. She immediately crouched down in anticipation of attack. While she talked to him her mind was frantically thinking of different strategies. They stood there and stared at each other, waiting for the other one to make the first move.

"That is right!" said Aj, jumping off of the couch. "How else could he know that we were here, they use to work together! He would know where to find her, but the question is, how do we find him?"

"That is the part I’m not sure about" Ari answered with a sheepish grin

"It shouldn’t be too hard, all we have to do is case out the local hangouts and someone is bound to have seen him" said Julie excitedly

"Uh...there is a problem with that. Kayley probably has lookouts everywhere, waiting to catch a glimpse of any of us. Then it will only be a matter of time until she found us again." Lara pointed out.

"But one of us being caught is probably the only way to find out what happened to Nick" Howie said.

"True, but if we find Richard, then we will find Kayley, and unless Nick is still alive, we will still never know what happened to him." Brian answered.

"The only way that Richard will tell us where Kayley is, is if he thinks that he has one of us as a prisoner. Him and Kayley are too buddy buddy for him to turn her over to us." said Aj, tossing a look over to Ari.

"So who is it going to be?" asked Lori, looking around the room.

"There is only one person who can do it. There would be no other reason for any of US to track him down, without arousing his suspicions" Kevin said softly, staring at the floor. He then raised his eyes up to Ari. She sighed and rolled her eyes heavenward.

"I guess it is settled then." she said simply, staring at the rest of them. "I’m the only one who would go around searching for him, his little girl looking for her daddy" she tacked on sarcastically. "Plus, I’m new, and nobody would recognize me, and I only remember seeing Kayley and her personal escorts, and I could spot them out in the crowd. And none of them would expect to see me. But how will you guys know where to find me when I eventually make it to Kayley?"

"Since you are AJ's, I mean, since Aj brought you over, you two share a mind link. Even if you were on the other side of the world, you two can tell where the other one is" answered Tasha.

Ari pondered that for minute, and a puzzled look came across her face. "If that is true, then how come you can't link to Nick?" "Because we were both vampyres when we met." Tasha answered.

"Nick, Howie and I were already brought over when we first met. I brought over Brian, and Lara, and Howie brought over Aj and Julie. Brian brought over Lori here." Kevin said before Ari could ask her next question.

"Oh ok." She stood up, and started pacing, the plan racing through her mind, looking for any possible complications and such.

"When should I start looking. Tonight? or wait until tomorrow?"

"We have to start tonight. The sooner we can get this over with, the better" Lara said softly.

"Well, you guys make me a list of places to check out, and I’m going to run upstairs and get some more suitable clothes on. What should I wear to joint like that? I mean..."

"Come on babe, I'll help you figure something out. Hey Lara, would you mind if we raid your closet? Since she doesn’t really have anything here" Aj asked, taking Ari by the elbow and led her upstairs.

"First of all, you need something that you can get around easy in" he mumbled, already lost in Lara's closet. Ari sat on the bed, still contemplating what she was about to do. Aj eventually immerged, with a pair of black leather pants, a black halter top and some boots.

"Aj hun, I am not wearing that. That thing screams 'look at me'"

Aj grinned. "Wait until you walk in there."

'Ok, I am not waiting any longer' Kaley thought to herself, she wanted to end it, and end it quickly. The longer it lasted, the bigger the chance that he could get to her before she could get to him. She lunged at him, pulling up the stake that she had concealed behind her back.

Nick moved away with plenty of time, he had seen the almost imperceptible movement in her left leg that showed her direction. He whirled around, trying to grab her arms and pull them behind her back, but she pulled away and they wrestled.

Howie let out a low whistle as Ari walked down the stairs. Aj had won, and she pulled on the outfit, protesting the entire time. He had just stood there with this big goofy grin on his face. The black outfit made her skin appear even paler then what is already was, if that was possible, and her hair was loose, falling down her back in a dark curly mass. She felt like a slut, but also pretty damn good. She stuck her tongue out a Howie and walked over to her spot on the loveseat.

"Well, I guess I am as ready as I will ever be. Where am I going"

Kayley let out an "ommf" as Nick kicked her legs out from underneath her and sent her sprawling on her stomach. Nick took advantage of her being down and fell on her back, keeping her pinned down. He grit his teeth and grabbed her hair, winding it around his fist. She kicked and bucked, trying to knock him off, and get up, but let out a small shriek when he yanked her head back with such force, she was surprised that her head was still attached to her neck.

Kayley moaned as Nick jerked her head back again, surprised that her head was still attached to her neck. She couldn't believe that after killing so many parasites, and surviving over two hundred years, she was defeated, by one of them.

"Finish it" she mumbled, hanging her head in defeat.

Nick smiled, sitting on the small of her back, waiting to see if she any more tricks up her sleeve.

"Aww...what’s wrong Kayley, don’t like someone having control over you? Over your very life" he said softly, trailing his finger up her spine softly, then back down. "How would you like it if I took you off somewhere, chained you to a wall, and left you starving for over a week, with a lil beating now and then"

"Fuck off Carter" she hissed, crying out in pain when he yanked her hair again.

"You will remain submissive" he demanded. He then leaned over so she could feel his breath on the back of neck. He licked at the tip of her earlobe, chuckled softly when she shivered. He slipped his hand beneath the back of her shirt and lightly caressed her back.

"You have to admit Kayley, isn't this kind of torture" he said, sliding his free hand from her back to her left breast and squeezed it hard " better then having a whip stung across your chest" he finished, nipping at her earlobe, causing her to gasp again.

"Are you sure that you haven’t seen him" Ari asked the bartender a final time. She sighed when he shook his head.

"Well, thanks anyway" She threw down a couple of bills for her drink and made her way to the door. Half way there, a hand snaked out and grabbed her arm, pulling her into one of the rooms off of the dance floor and bar.

Ari whirled around, and pulled away from the hand.

"Why are you looking for Richard?" the voice asked

"I don't have to explain myself to you. Who are YOU and why did you grab me like that? And why do you need to know my business anyway?" Ari demanded, trying to make out the figure, but even with her eyes, she couldn’t quite make it out.

"Why are you looking for Richard?" the voice asked again. "I know where he is, and I’m not just telling anyone, and from the look of you, you have haven’t found anything on him at all. So who are you and I may take you to him." Ari stood there staring at the figure, and sighed. "I’m looking for him because he is my father, or at least that is what he told me the other day. Why I want to find him though, is really not relevant, and no, I’m not looking for him so I can kill him" she finished.

The figure stood there for a moment, not moving. Then it turned around, and whispered, "follow me"

"If you are going to kill me, you had better get it over with, cause if I get up, you are going to wish you had killed me" Kayley spat through clenched teeth, trying hard not to moan from Nick's attentions. He was still squeezing her breast, pinching her nipple every once in a while. And she could also tell how much HE was enjoying this, she could feel his erection pushing against her ass. She had never felt so helpless in her life and she hated it.

"No you don't, you are loving every minute of this, just as much as I am. Don't you think I would know about your dreams?"

Kayley's jaw dropped and her eyes flew open. "But...how" she stuttered

"Because" he whispered, nuzzling her neck "they have been my dreams too"

"How much further is it" Ari asked. The figure had not spoken to her since they left the club, and they were now walking down an alleyway. Ari was not stupid, she was well aware of her surroundings, and was listening and looking for anything that could even seem like a trap.

They continued to walk for another fifteen minutes when the figure stopped. It turned around and pointed at a shabby door. "If you go in there, it will lead you to Richard."

The figure started to leave. "Thank you...can I ask who you are?" Ari called after it.

"Who or what I am is not important right now dear." the figure turned around, and came back until it was standing directly in front of Ari. For the first time, Ari could make out it's features. It was a young woman, and didn't look any older than herself. She gasped when she realized that the woman, was not human, or anything near it. It was nothing but an image. It smiled at her, and reached to caress the side of her face. Then it began to speak, even though it's mouth did not move. "Go in there and find Richard. And please be careful. He will indeed take you to Kayley, and he will not hurt you himself. It is her that you should truly beware of. Please be careful, and always expect the unexpected. Nothing is ever what is seems." It smiled sadly at her, and then faded away. Ari stood rooted to the spot, her mind racing over these recent events. She mentally shook herself , walked over to the door, and let herself in.

"I still say that one of us should have followed her" Aj complained, pacing the living room.

"J, if any of THEM spotted any of US following her, her cover would have been blown, and then we would all have been in danger. She will be fine. Plus, we don't know exactly where she is right now anyway. You said yourself that she has not said anything. She is probably busy concentrating on the task at hand. But your worrying will do nothing for her or for us" Lori said logically.

"But"

"No buts. We can't do anything until she finds Kayley anyway, it is just a matter of time" said Howie, ending the argument before it really started

"What we really need to be doing is figure out what we are going to do when Ari actually finds Kayley." pointed out Julie. " I mean, we can't just barge in and try and get to them like that, they out number us like five to one"

"It would still be better then sitting here doing nothing" Aj snapped.

"Come on Kayley, I want you to admit how much you are enjoying this, because I know you are. I can feel it, but you are denying yourself. Just admit it, and give in to me" he whispered. He untwisted her hair from around his fist, and rolled her over onto her back. She glared up at him, not speaking.

"Why don't you just give in for a change, am I that awful a person? I have not bothered you nearly as bad as you have to me and my friends. There is something between us, whether you want to admit it or not. And if there wasn't anything, you would have killed me a long time ago." He stared into her deep brown eyes, just as she was to his gorgeous blue ones. Then, to both of their surprise, a tear slid out of the corner of Kayley's eye.

Ari looked at her surroundings. It was like all of the other clubs that she had been to, but you could literally feel the evil undercurrent. She glanced around, trying to spot Richard in the crowd, but to no avail. She walked over to the bar, ignoring the catcalls and whistles.

"Hey you!' she called over to the bartender, her voice barely carrying over the loud music. The guy turned and gave her a look over.

"Something I can do for you baby?" he asked, not even covering the fact that he was undressing her with his eyes.

"Yeah, first of all, you can stop looking at me like I’m a piece of meat. Second, you can tell me where Richard is." The guy looked her in the face, startled. "I..uh...don't know a Richard"

"Yes you do and stop bullshitting me cause I’m not in the mood. Now either go get him or tell me where he’s at before I lose my temper" she said dangerously. She glared at him until he mumbled something and walked away. She let out a deep breath that she didn't realize that she had been holding. Minutes crawled by, and when she was about to go and find the bartender, he reappeared from the back room.

"Come on, if you want to see him. And this had better be good. He doesn’t like people stopping by unannounced"

"Whatever, just take me to him."

Nick reached forward and wiped away her tear, caressing her cheek. Kayley still hadn't spoken a word.

"Why do you have to be so difficult" he whispered, bringing his lips down to meet hers. She froze when they met, and tried to turn her face away, but he held her fast and pried her mouth open with his tongue, and caressed her tongue with his. Time seemed to stand still for both of them, and Kayley eventually return his kiss, until they pulled away breathless.

Ari followed the guy down a seemingly endless hallway until they finally reached the end, where they stopped.

"This is his. Let yourself in, but I’m warning you again, he is not happy to see you, whoever you are."

Ari put her hand on the knob and looked over her shoulder. "I have to disagree with you there" she said, and let herself in. Richard was staring out of a window, looking down on the city when she walked in.

"What do you want" he said, not bothering to turn around and see who it was.

"What, can't you be a little nicer? I mean after all, we do share a past" she said sarcastically, seating herself on the couch against the wall, laying back and crossed her legs, staring at his back.

He whirled around at the sound of her voice. "El...er...Ari! What are you doing here? How did you find me?" he demanded

"Tsk tsk tsk, that is some way to greet a guest" she pouted. "I needed to get away from Aj and all of them for a while, they were cramping my style" she explained, shrugging her shoulders.

"Oh really" he raised an eyebrow at her

"Yes" she said, pulling out a nail file and worked at her nails. "Aj was hanging all over me like a lost puppy. It was cute for a while, but it got old fast. And you are the only other..you know...that I actually knew around here, so I thought Id stop by and see what is up. Do you know how hard you are to track down?"

"Of course I do. You don't always want everyone knowing where you are, I take no risks." he said, looking her over. She was like a completely different person compared to the last time they had met. He wasn't sure that he bought her story entirely, but she was here, and a plan was already forming in his mind.

"Now see, that wasn't so bad" he whispered, lightly kissing her chin as he spoke.

"We can't do this" she whispered, speaking finally. "It would never work, there are too many differences, plus if we shared dreams, you know how they all ended, and I don't think I could lose you." She reached up and caressed the side of his face.

"I'm not going anywhere, and right now, neither are you" he said softly, ripping off her shirt and hurled it across the room.

"We can't...do this...here...or now" she gasped as he pulled off her bra and licked at her nipple. He was making it really hard to protest

"But, we are" he said, blowing softly where he had licked.

"They may come down here looking for me" she said, trying to push him away "and we have to get you out of here, because when they find Jeff, they will really have a reason to be after you"

"I don't care" he said simply, sliding a hand down her pants, caressing her. "And from the sound of it" he pointed out, kissing the hallow of her neck, feeling the vibration of her moan, "you don't either" He looked up and grinned wickedly in her face.

"Look, Nick...we can continue this, but not here...I’m serious, we have got to get you out of here, and then we can do whatever you want..." she said, reaching down and rubbed her nails against the bulge in his pants

"Well, if you put it that way.." he said hoarsly

"Come on...we have to get up to my room so I can grab some things and we can go. I know a secret way that I only use for emergencies.." she fell silent as she heard voices coming from the other side of the door

"Would you like a drink?" Richard offered

"Hmm...Oh I guess so" she said, trying to sound non-cholant about it, even though her heart was racing. "Just a shot of rum please..." Richard smiled as he turned around, fixing her drink and lacing it with something. He turned back around and handed it to her

"Thanks" she said, sipping it. She could taste something added in her drink and had an urge to throw the glass at him, she forced herself to finish the rest of the drink., downing the rest in one swallow. Almost immediately, she felt lightheaded and weak.

"Are you ok over there?" Richard asked, trying to act concerned.

"Yeah, I fine, just need.. to get...some fresh air" Ari mumbled, trying to make it over to the window before collapsing. She made her way over there, then her legs gave way and she crumpled to the floor.

"Quick! Over there!" Kayley hissed, shoving Nick towards the far side of the room. She groped the wall, looking for the button, and found it. "Come on...hurry up before they open the door!" She shoved him through the door, and pulled it shut behind her.

"Shit" he breathed...as soon as Kayley had shut the secret door behind them, they heard the main door swing open, and the gasps of horror of finding Jeff's body. Nick winced at the sound of it.

"What?" Kayley asked

"Nothing, I feel bad for that..but I couldn’t help myself, even though he deserved it, I still feel bad" he said shrugging his shoulders. He looked over at her. "Um...I think we had better go get you some clothes" he said with a small chuckle. She was standing there with her pants unzipped, and nothing from the waist up. Not to mention, they were both covered in dirt and were bleeding in some places from their scuffle.

She looked down at herself and shrugged, "Come on, lets go so we can get out of here. The sooner the better"

Richard chuckled as he threw Ari over his shoulder and walked out to his car. He left a note for Dean, in case he came looking for him. He layed her out on the backseat and stepped back to stare at her. Even though it wasn't his actual daughter, he could still make out similar features, he pushed back a curl from her face. He sighed and shut the door, climbed in the drivers seat and drove off to Kayley's place.

"He has her" Aj whispered, looking out the window. He didn't know how he knew, but he felt it. He just wished that she could be there with him, in his arms, instead of out there, risking her neck for them.

"What do you mean she isn’t here" Richard hissed at the woman. "I need to speak with her immediately!"

"She isn't here, we don't have any idea where she is, she disappeared earlier and all hell has broke loose. I don't have time to spell it out for you. You need to leave"

"Like hell" he muttered and made his way up to Kayley's office. He kicked open the door, and almost dropped Ari.

Kayley and Nick stared at the intruder, in too much shock to move.

"RICHARD! GOD DAMMIT, I HAVE TOLD YOU REPEATIDLY TO STOP DOING THAT" she shouted. Richard kicked the door closed behind him and plopped Ari's listless body into a nearby chair.

"What is HE doing here" Richard shot back at her, eyeing Nick

"I was just thinking that myself" Nick said, "And why, may I ask, do you have her? he gestured towards Ari.

Richard completely ignored him, all of his attention focused on Kayley. "Explain yourself" he growled

"I do not have to explain myself to you" she hissed. "Get out of here now. You have no idea what is going on, just leave. Wait...why in the hell do you have her? I thought she would have been dead by now"

"I know. She would have been if Alex hadn't gotten her back." he spat

"He..." her voice trailed off

"Yes" "But why? I figured he would...never mind, I don’t have time to talk to you. Just leave. Get out now!" she demanded, taking a dangerous step towards him"

She woke up to shouting. She wished whoever it was would shut up, her head was throbbing. She just wanted to curl up and go back to sleep. But they didn't stop. She tried to pry her eyes open, and when she finally succeeded, she was blinded by the overhead light. She sat up slowly, eyeing the room. Across from her, she recognized the dark haired girl and her fairhaired companion. Beside her was a dark haired guy, and he was yelling. Then everything came back to her, the drink, everything. Nick was alive. And with Kayley. She narrowed her eyes and looked at them. No one was paying any attention to her. They sure did seem buddy buddy. She couldn’t quite make out what they were screaming at each other. She reached out with her mind, trying to feel for Aj.

"Aj?" He heard her voice in his mind and nearly cried out with joy at the sound of it

"Oh God babe, I've been soo worried about you. Where are you? Are you ok? Did he hurt you?" He asked, and in reply all he got was her mental laughter.

"I’m fine, just got one bad ass headache. I’m in Kayley's office, but don’t come here, its not safe. I don't know what's going on, but its not safe. And Aj, Nick is here, and fine. But there is something weird between him and Kayley. They are standing here screaming at Richard."

"Ok babe, try and get Nick's attention."

"I cant, he is too involved in their argument."

"Try and reach out to him like you did me. you should be able to since you are so close"

"Ok" She concentrated, staring over at Nick.

"Nick?"

"What in the hell?"

"Hey, don't draw any attention to me, just keep arguing with Richard and keep him occupied"

"Ari? How in the hell....oh...Aj must have brought you over. What in the fuck is going on?"

"I dont know. A lot has happened since you were captured. I would ask what is up with you and her, but there is no time for it now. We have just got to get the hell out of here. If you can take Rich, I can take Kayley, she has it coming to her and I cant wait to kick her ass..."

"Hold on, you will do no such thing. She is no threat to us anymore. But we have to do something about Richard."

"Whatever...but you had better have a good explanation as to why you are protecting her when this is over. I can tackle Rich from behind, having the element of surprise, and as long as you get your ass over to help me, we should be able to tie him down or something..."

"Ok, go for it. You make your move and I will follow"

Ari waited a moment, making sure Richard's attention was focused on the two in front of him and jumped, knocking him to the floor. Nick flew across the desk and pinned him down. Richard didn't put up too much a fight, knowing he was outnumbered. They bound him up and set him aside. Nick squatted down to gag him while Ari and Kayley stared at each other, and Ari's surprise, the other woman looked away.

"Look, I’m sorry for what happened before, but I can't change the past. If I could, I would." Kayley whispered, staring out the window.

"Whatever, let's just get out of here PLEASE" Ari said, not giving her an inch.

"But where do we go? I mean, I don’t know where the other's are" Nick started

"I do. This whole thing was planned. Or at least everything before I woke up was as planned. It is just a long story" Ari sighed.

"Aj?" she thought

"Still here babe, what's going on."

"Well, everything is under control. Richard is out of commission and Nick and Kayley are standing here pumping me for answers. I just want to go home" She answered with a mental sigh

"Nick and Kay...wait...I don’t wanna know just yet."

"Where do you wanna meet?"

"Um, I don’t care...just start walking and we will find each other"

"Sounds good to me"

An hour later, she was curled up in Aj's arms, and she never wanted it to end. Everyone was filling each other in on everything that had happened.

"Sheesh, this whole thing seems like it was just a bad dream" Nick said after everyone had finished.

"You're telling me" Ari shot back, glaring over at Kayley. Ari knew that she was no longer a threat to them, but she was not ready to forgive her of her treatment. Aj gently squeezed her elbow, signaling for her to shut up before her started. Ari sort of gave a mental shrug and Aj chuckled.

"I can see that my little kitten still needs to be declawed" he murmured in her ear, nibbling on the lobe

"Nah" she whispered, leaning back in his embrace and pulled the blanket that they shared up to her neck. He chuckled and began to massage her breasts beneath the blanket. She held back a moan as he pinched her nipple. 'Two can play this game' she thought to herself as she shifted herself so that her arms were free. She flicked her nails at his knee, and began to drag them from his knee, up a little, back to his knee, up a little farther, back down, until she had reached the bulge in his pants. She lightly scraped at his erection, and then, fondled him, squeezing him gently. This time she chuckled at his sharp intake of breath. She smiled at Lara, who had glanced over at them, hearing them whisper. She gave Ari a goofy 'I know what you are doing' look, which Ari returned with an innocent look.

"Like you and Kevvy there never do anything like this" she shot silently. At least Lara had the grace to blush

"Yeah, but not when everyone else is in the room" Lara replied

"Hey, but I didn't start it. I’m just finishing it" Ari shot back, sticking her tongue out at her. Lara bust out laughing, causing everyone to stare at her.

"Um, Lara?" Kevin began with a strange look on his face.

"It's nothing Kev, just a little private conversation" she giggled.

"Speaking of private, lets get out of here" Aj whispered in Ari's ear. She nodded her head in agreement, and they took their leave from the gang.

"So where are we heading" Ari asked Aj as they flew down the highway.

"You'll see" he said, giving her leg a squeeze.

"I don't care, as long as it is with you" she said, intertwining his fingers with her own.

The End

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