Page 6 (1/2)

Life Anew

Caleb and Katrina continued to spendthe evenings They attended an independent film debut don and went to one of the local Civil Wartelevision or talking into the night about a variety of topics, including history, travel, and their likes and dislikes Much to Caleb&039;s surprise, Katrina see evenings that they weren&039;t out on the town together

The two also shared satisfying intiether, and Caleb discovered how passionate Katrina could be Following those occasions, he usually fell asleep with her nestled alongside his body, though alaking alone the nextShe was quite stealthy, and he was never sure at exactly what ti his deadbolt locked with the key on the floor where she had slid it back underneath the door on her departure She certainly takes safety seriously, he ether and was pleased she see time with her was addictive, and he frequently found his daytiirlfriend No, we&039;re mates now, he corrected hie to him, hardly a conteirlfriend when referencing her in casual conversations with his coworkers

Another week passed quickly, and the Thanksgiving holiday was soon upon them As promised, Caleb ensured no "dead birds" were cooked at the apart, then prepared so a small pumpkin pie It was his mother&039;s recipe, which caused hi nearly two years ago Holidays hen hethe happiness that he and his mother enjoyed The hours passed as he alternated between cooking and re

Katrina arrived at his apartment promptly after sundown and happily watched him eat his ame played on the TV He finally convinced her to try some candied yams and a thin slice of the pumpkin pie he had baked, both of which she actually found quite tasty She appreciated the flavors of both and was very impressed that he kne to cook She was also drawn to the scent of his body and the blood that flowed inside of hiether on his couch to watch Casablanca on the classic filainst his chest as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to hiin to extend in anticipation Just as she considered requesting a "small snack" fro a coer than female vampires?"

Katrina conte question that nobody&039;s askedof the playing field that occurs e transform

"However," she added, "older vampires become more skillful with experience, just like humans do So an accohting would be naturally more accomplished than one who spent their life more sedately"

His eyes took on a spark of renewed interest "How has my mate spent her ti, "I&039;ve had a variety of experiences in my time as a va much of her history with him on that topic Suffice to say she had a reputation of sorts, including a number of her life&039;s experiences that were particularly violent and ht alarm him

"And how are your combat skills, Grasshopper?" he teased in a rinned at him with a playful look "Let&039;s say, I wouldn&039;t want to be the vampire who had to find out"

He s a Jedi master vampire then?" he whispered in a conspiratorial tone

"Sorry, no light saber," she replied ruefully

"Too bad"

"But I have fangs," she said hopefully as she turned to face his

His eyes widened noticeably as he suddenly found hi into her opendown through her two canine teeth It was a fierce visage for such a beautiful face "Very sharp and pointy-looking," he observed politely with a tentative smile

She closed her an slowly leaning towards hirinned back at her and leaned sloay She launched herself on top of him and pressed him into the couch cushions with her body Her soft lips pressed to his, and she drew the breath from him as she kissed hith of her body, combined with the sensual nature of her form, and it never failed both to surprise and arouse him

A short time later, he relented to her wish to partake in the "sh she drew only a minimal quantity of his blood, she relished every drop She was surprised by how easy it was to accept him into her life and equally amazed by how quickly he seeether on his couch that evening, one thing was for certain: both were quite at ease with each other, and they were growing closer day by day

It was her first Thanksgiving event in a long tiether, they both enjoyed the occasion thoroughly He only wished she were able to come over earlier in the day Maybe next year I could spend the entire day at her place, he , Caleb felt the upcoies and focus It wasn&039;t a ti, he knew fro to cons were there: aches, pains, slightly elevated temperature, and runny nose, all the indicators of one of humanity&039;s worst perpetuators of unhappiness, the coue Worse yet, he had evening plans with Katrina to attend a new exhibit at a local artforward to the event for a few days Of course, it seemed any excuse to be with her filled him with anticipation But his plans came to an abrupt halt as he sneezed and reached for the Kleenex His head was already in the throes of a throbbing headache "Crap," he e to leave ith his dean that he was ill At least he sounded as convincing as he felt It was his first sick call, so he anticipated no probleive his illness to Katrina and needed to cancel their plans Can vaet sick? he wondered for the first tiered into the bathrooe he had was outdated by ht the h Afterwards, he fell back into bed and felt around for the phone, hidden in the bedcovers following his earlier call

"Katrina?" he asked as soon as the other end of the line picked up

She listened for a moment and asked, "Caleb? It almost doesn&039;t sound like you Are you okay?"

He explained about the head cold, and she asked hi him promise to update her on his condition later in the day

By that afternoon, his presu h he didn&039;t bother to try to find his thermometer to take his teer, and he feltlost track of ti to rest His mind fluctuated between drea dreams filled with odd, bizarre scenarios and locations, some from his past and others from his present At one point, he dreae, and the phones kept ringing Jolting in bed, he realized he was ho incessantly

Caleb finally led in his bed sheets and tried to speak through chattering teeth He felt like he was freezing, and yet he could tell he was actually sweating

"H-h-hell-llo?" he staoodness you answered the phone I almost called 911! You didn&039;t call all afternoon, and I&039;ve been worried sick" She felt trapped and helpless all day while the sunshine held sway over her life But the sun was nearly set, and she fully intended to go to Caleb&039;s apartment to check on him in person

"How are you?" she asked with concern She determined that he sounded worse just by the sound of his raspy breathing and chattering teeth over the phone

"S-so-sorry," he stuttered pitifully "I-I l-lost t-track of t-ti for you Try to hold on just a little bit longer, my love"

"N-no D-don&039;t n-need you s-sick too," he insisted weakly

"I&039;," she insisted, and the line went dead

He barely recalled setting the phone down before he rapped in his sheet and co ceaselessly He felt exhausted h a half-conscious state

Katrinato avoid any traffic stops along the way as her Audi sped through the Atlanta city streets and highways The gate guard at the apartnized her i on his apartet to the door?" she called urgently through the locked door

She reached an immediate decision to have a spare key made to his apartment at the earliest opportunity just as a safety precaution She considered, of course, that she could easily force the door open in one swiftthe forced entry to the building maintenance people Still, she was prepared for that if he failed to answer in the next few seconds

She heard a shuffling sound on the other side of the door with her sensitive hearing, followed by the sound of Caleb&039;s pitiful voice, "K-Katrina?"

She sighed with relief and gently coaxed, "It&039;s ht that she heard hi teeth

"I can&039;t get sick," she whispered loudly enough for her voice to carry, but not enough for any neighbors to hear "Caleb Taylor, open this door immediately, or step away from it in two seconds!"

She heard the deadbolt click and didn&039;t bother waiting as she began opening the door fir sweep She was unprepared for what she sahen she slipped inside

He wore sweatpants and a T-shirt, and both were damp with sweat His features were very pale, and his hair was a tangled mess She immediately smelled the tell-tale scents of sickness, sweat, and staleness in the air

Her hands reached out for hiainst the wall, and she carried hierly in a reclined position

"Don&039;t worry I&039;ll take care of everything," she said soothingly, though as much to calm her own anxiety as to co to the touch His fever was dangerously high, and she imlanced at the expired date on the box of hed with resignation while shaking her head Typical e of the nineteen hundreds and recognized how potentially lethal the &039;flu could be It was easy to see that his body was in the throes of soan stuffing clean undergarments, socks, T-shirts, andpair of his sneakers and some of his toiletries, as well as his hair co him, she carried hian thrashing as the cool water penetrated and shocked his skin, but she fir to speak but his words were incoherent

Eventually, she was able to get his body teer He was unconscious, and she took care to ensure he didn&039;t slip into the water

She picked hi his body with a towel She slipped sorabbed his house keys and duffle bag, scooped him up in her arms, and proceeded to take him home with her

Fortunately, she didn&039;t run into any other occupants on her way down to the garage That would have been a very difficult sight to explain

Shestore on the way to her house to grab some flu-friendly foods, as well as some tissues and other items he would need They proceeded to her estate, and she was relieved at how htly

The tall, red-haired vampire laid him on her bed in the subterranean roo reently on the forehead Though she was concerned for his welfare and healing, a maternal part of her was pleased that he was there for her to care for He brought such a peaceful, important dimension to her life, which filled her with indescribable joy

She quickly located and unpacked sos left over from one of her many past career experiences, in this case a nurse&039;s aide Carrying the itehtstand next to the bed where he lay resting

She placed a hand on his forehead to check his tehtly feverish, which only confirhtstand and retrieved a s a vein in her left arm, she extracted a small quantity of her blood She released the blood into a small bottle of saline solution and shook the bottle to mix the contents, which turned to a reddish hue

She drew a quantity of the liquid back into the syringe and inserted it into one of the veins in Caleb&039;s left are into his system

"This is better than any antibiotics, my love," she murmured softly If he were impressed by what my saliva could do, he&039;ll be a hours were a two-fold process First, Caleb&039;s own iht off the virus by assistance from the antibodies in Katrina&039;s blood cells Once Caleb&039;s body was an attacking the limited quantity of Katrina&039;s cells, which prevented the transfor in his system

Katrina recollected st that still rose in her as she realized the choice hadn&039;t been her own Add to that, she was feeling selfish regarding Caleb She liked his human blood, craved his human blood It wasn&039;t as if that were his primary appeal, for she loved him for who he was But his blood was just pure ahtly caressed his forehead, and he stirred ever so slightly The next few hours involved the purging process for her blood cells, and he beca the symptoms of &039;flu Even under the best of circumstances, it&039;s a difficult process, she rand-sized bed and lay down alongside hihts to roam for what seemed like endless hours

Soan to stir His eyelids fluttered open, and his eyes tried to focus on his surroundings He was immediately disoriented A swift intake of breath was all he azing down into his eyes

He was startled for amomentarily confused "Katrina? Where am I?" he asked

She smiled down at him "You&039;re home - at my home, that is"

His body was sore and still somewhat achy, but he felt a world of iuished experience at his apart, and he didn&039;t have the saht before He tried to sit up, but her soft hand fell upon his chest and pressed hiently back onto the bed

"You need to rest," she cautioned him "You&039;re still not quite back to a healthy state"

He blushed slightly and said, "Um, I kind of need to -"

Her eyes widened, and she offered, "Oh, of course"

"Hey! I&039;m naked!" he exclai him

She smiled slyly at him and muttered, "Just how I like you And the bathroom is to your left"

He blushed furiously, so she turned her head while he pattered across the plush carpet into the nearby bathroo and re on the door knob to the bathroohtly, and the underwear disappeared inside as the door shut again Modest, she considered with aed the bed linens to a clean set of dark blue satin sheets She also replaced the white comforter with a dark blue one

Minutes later, an only faintly blushing Caleb pattered back to the bed and stopped just short of where Katrina perched in nearly the same spot as before

"Weren&039;t those white just a o?" he queried with a puzzled frown

She s the sheet aside as he slipped underneath it, and then she rolled the lightweight blue coed her with satisfaction, fully appreciative of her efforts to care for hientle sht"

He sazed down upon hirateful you were there forout my maternal instincts, it seems," she replied with a warm smile

The mention of that asn&039;t lost on hiht you said vampires were barren?"

"Vampires are, but I had two children before I became a vampire," she answered simply It was a somewhat painful memory for her and one she hadn&039;t mentioned to most of her previous partners

"And perhaps a husband?" he pressed

She nodded "It was a long tio and a topic I&039;m not quite ready to discuss, if that&039;s okay with you"

He easily detected her reluctance and merely nodded "I&039;ll be here when you&039;re ready," he offered as he reached out to grasp her right hand in his

The edges of hershe had said a few htly "Wait, ht? That see"

She paused, silently considering how to respond to hiht and noticed the syringe and reddish fluid on the nearby nightstand "Is that your" he ventured carefully

"Yes," she interrupted gently, "but you shouldn&039;t need any more of it now" She collected the items into her hand so swiftly that he wondered if they were ever there "There are strong healing properties to h to cause more permanent reactions to your system," she explained with a sober tone

Caleb felt a h him If he were a vampire, he wouldn&039;t need to worry about illness, and they would have lifetiether Aside froht for the reh the detriments to him

She watched his eyes and detected the momentary conflict reflected across his facial features I better change the subject quickly "Are you hungry?" she asked "You can probably e some soup and crackers, if you want"

The topic of food hadn&039;t occurred to hirowled She rolled her eyes at him and so prepare soe expanse of roo at the top of a sainst the wall

You&039;re just full of surprises, aren&039;t you? he wondered

He called in sick the following day, but did so grudgingly because the end of the semester was upon him, and it was a really inconvenient ti was for certain, he was very appreciative of Katrina&039;s attentions during his recovery

"And how is ht se of the bed dressed in pink cotton pajaht that she had the kind of smile men died for He considered that perhaps some actually had, in fact "Much better," he replied "Thanks, Kat"

She frowned "Did you just call me a cat?"

"What?" he countered with confusion "No, K-A-T You know, a nickname"

Her eyes stared directly into the pillow next to his head with a distant expression, as if fixed upon some other time or place

"I&039; It was meant as a term of endearment"

Her hand reached out to stroke the side of his face to still his momentary animation "My husband used to call me Cath," she said softly, almost too softly to be heard

His mind raced with this tidbit of inforently as his hand reached up to hold hers He recalled that the day before she hadn&039;t wanted to discuss her husband, so he had let the topic drop

Her eyes looked down into his sadly "We don&039;t talk about our huet what and ere then"

He hadn&039;t realized the significance of such infor very rare and special e tell someone our human name," she said

He started to ask her, but realized that she ht not want to tell hie yet "I understand," he replied somewhat sullenly and looked away from her to stare at the other side of the room

She frowned down at him and asked, "You don&039;t feel special?"

"Not so much, I suppose," he replied absently as he stared across the room "It&039;s okay, really I realize that I&039;ll have to earn a special place in your life over tiripped his chin and forced him to look back at her She stared back intently into his pale blue eyes and pressed her face to within a half inch of his "Don&039;t ever say that again," she ordered sternly

His eyes widened with surprise

"My name was Catherine," she stated quietly "My husband called me Cath"

She kissed him on the forehead and laid her soft face next to his

"Thank you," he replied softly "I&039;m honored to know that"

There was a pause as she held her face next to his, and her lips touched his ear "And you can call me Kat," she whispered She found his nickna been a fan of nicknames in her past At least, since Cath was last used, she ently kissed her theresensation it caused

"So better, I see," she rehtly for a few moments before she sat up and stared back down at hi as good as new," she assessed with a grin

"Then I hope tomorrow never comes," he muttered with sincerity

He felt as if he could lay there staring up at her beautiful face andbetter by that same afternoon, and he slipped into a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt He realized that he would be back at the college campus early the next day and considered all the preparations for the upco tended to during his brief absence by his peers, and he was pleased his division dean was such an understanding person when it came to personal illness

While Katrina did laundry and other activities, Caleb took the tih the house There were rooms he actually hadn&039;t seen before, and he felt a stroll would do hiood He smirked, as the term "stroll" was very appropriate Katrina&039;s house was a sprawling series of roo central hallways on both the first and second floors The notable exception was how her "lair" was laid out as a large single room, much like an open-architecture apartment where the areas were functionally separated without corresponding walls or partitions He wondered if all vampires preferred that style of layout

He made his way down the central hallway on the first floor and walked past the theater room, exercise room, and office study until he reached the end of the corridor He turned and walked into the small library lined with oak bookshelves packed with volumes of books A medium-sized ith closed wooden blinds and dark curtains separated the two sides of the room opposite the entrance where he stood

Beneath the as a finished oak table and reading chair But the most notable fixture stood in the ular display case containing a siular oak table only slightly larger than the display box it held

The sas suspended upon a felt-covered set of wooden blocks The blade appeared to be approxith and was ed on both sides and had a sth of the blade frouard to about six inches before the tip The hilt was of the sae rounded pommel set at its base The weapon appeared to be well-ly