Desire Bound

by Hellz Blaze

Something is causing people to die within three days and there is nothing that the medical profession can do to stop it. Can the crew figure out what is going on and stop it before it claims one of their own? Find out... Totally not mine. For entertainment purposes only. Definite ADULT themes near the end.

Prologue

He was running. He didn't know where or how he was going to get away, he just knew that he had to. He was going to die, he was sure of that now, he needed some sort of release but knew that he wasn't going to get it in what little time he had left.

His lungs burned with exertion but he had only run a few blocks. The pounding of his heart was so loud in his ears that the only other sound her could hear was his own gasping breaths

You can't get away Charles... it is only a matter of time... Your deepest darkest desire and your death will be mine.

"NO!" He screamed at the voice only he could hear. Darting down the first alley he came to he vaguely registered a voice calling out to him. He stumbled on something and landed hard against the brick wall next to the dumpster. He struggled to get back up but knew he couldn't.

"Charles!" a woman's voice called to him. "Hang on! Help is on the way!"

The blood rushing in his ears was like listening to the roaring waves. He knew in that moment he was going to die. ~Was this how Sara felt when I found her?~ he wondered.

"Charles! Hold on!"

He opened blurry eyes to see her reaching out to touch him. "NO!" he screamed "Don't touch me!" He tried to back away but it was too late, her hand closed over his forearm and a wave of something passed from him to her. He had touched Sara when he found her and had felt it too.

"I'm sorry," he gasped, "Deepest desire... unfulfilled... death..."

"Charles?! What?! No! Hold on! Help is coming!" she sounded slightly frantic now.

"I am sorry... Miss Nelson..." he gasped once more and then laid still.

Introductions

~Two days ago~

"Look Vic, I thought that we could use your help on this one. People are dying of something that no medical examiner has been able to identify."

"So you thought that it was something supernatural and decided to come to me. I thought that you didn't want to get involved in anymore of this hinky stuff Mike."

Mike Celluci sighed. No he didn't want to get involved in any more hinky supernatural cases that Vicki investigated, but this one was just too baffling even for the T.O. police. "Look Vic, even Crowley has okayed this. Please just look at the file?"

"Ooh, Crowley okayed it… it must be good then." Vicki took the file from Mike and began going over the notes. Three people had died all within the same area but three days apart. There was no visual trauma to the bodies and Rajani's reports all showed that their hearts had just exploded in their chests. There was also indication that they had been running from whatever had killed them. Other than that there was no other indications linking the three found dead.

"The last one was a day ago. A Sara Marten, a student at the University in town. Her boyfriend Charles Bateman had found the body. He said that he had seen her moments before and she had been running an extremely high fever. He tried to get her to go to the hospital when she screamed and then took off running. He found her body about 30 minutes later."

"And you aren't looking at the boyfriend for this one?" Vicki inquired.

"No. They were in the Café on campus there are at least a dozen witnesses that place him there at the time of her death," Mike replied, "Vic, we need your help on this one. The department is footing your bill on this one too."

"Really?"

"Just as an added incentive," he smiled knowingly at her.

There was a knock at Vicki's office door and Coreen, Vicki's assistant popped her head in. "Hey Vicki, we have a client out here, says his name is Charles Bateman?"

Mike and Vicki shared a look at this turn of events. "Show him in Coreen."

Charles Bateman was nothing to write home about, clean pressed but rather nondescript. Dark brown hair, in a short style cut, polo shirt and khakis and sneakers. He looked like every other student in town. The only difference was that he was visibly vibrating with some sort of nervous tension.

"Miss Nelson. Thank you for seeing me. I need your help!" he stammered and glanced in Coreen's direction. The tension in his arms increased, before Coreen stepped out of the office again, Vicki would fill her in later she was sure of it.

"How can I help Mr. Bateman? Please sit down," Vicki indicated the only other chair across from her desk that Mike wasn't already occupying.

Charles nodded to the detective and sat down. The tension in his medium frame lessening. "Miss Nelson, I need you to find out what has happened to me. Let me explain."

Vicki nodded for him to continue.

"When I found Sara's body I did what every normal human would do, I touched her to see if she was still alive. When I did make contact with her, there was some thing, some sort of energy that transferred from her to me," he said with a shaky breath, "and now, whenever I desire or want something I have to hold back on doing it. It is getting harder and harder to control! I need your help Miss Nelson. I think what ever killed Sara is now going to kill me."

Vicki and Mike looked at each other. Mike wanted to ask why he didn't tell the police this feeling, but he knew that they wouldn't have believed him if he had, so he wisely stayed silent for once.

"Tell me Mr. Bateman…" Vicki began.

"Charles, please. Mr. Bateman is my father."

"Alright, Charles, what do you mean by controlling what you want or desire?"

Charles swallowed roughly and cast a quick look at the door to her office. "Well… you know how when you see something or hear something and you have a minute reaction to wanting it. Most people have hundreds of those every day and common sense and politeness prevents us from actually acting out those wants and desires. It started out as small things, like wanting a something to eat that you knew wasn't good for you, or a good mark on a test just because you handed it in on time. The thing is… those wants and desires are becoming more and more pronounced and it is getting harder to control the urges to carry them out. Just then, when I came into your office. I had to control the urge to kiss your assistant for no good reason save that she was doing a little pouty face that was begging to be kissed!"

Vicki stared at Charles in shock. "Alright Charles I am going to need you to tell me everything that you and Sara were up to for the last few weeks before her death. Mike, I am sorry but it looks like dinner will have to wait. I will see what I can come up with and get back to you."

Mike nodded and rose from his seat. "Sure Vic, I will hold you to that."

Vicki smiled and watched him walk out of her office before turning her attention back to her new client.

Henry's Touch

It was after dark when Vicki finally looked up from the files scattered about her desk of all three previous deaths and the new file that she had started on Charles Bateman, her client. They had precious little time. If what killed the others was now going to kill Charles, they only had just under twenty four hours to figure it out. Pulling her glasses off she tossed them on top of the papers on her desk and massaged the bridge of her nose. The headache from reading for too long was starting to set in.

She felt him rather than hearing. He didn't appear in a small breeze like normally, but had come in on cat's feet… or rather vampire feet. "Hey Henry."

"Good evening Vicki," he said smoothly, knowing better than to ask how she knew he was standing in her doorway. She had been doing that more and more lately, just instinctively knowing when he was near by. "Bad day?"

She hmmed in affirmative, the headache moving now to her temples. Henry dropped off his jacket on the chair in front of her desk and came to stand behind her. "Let me help," he murmured before placing his hands on her shoulders and began to knead the muscles there. She let out a soft groan as he manipulated the tense muscles in her neck and shoulders that she didn't know were tense. The feeling was wonderful. Henry skilfully worked out the knots in her shoulders and neck before sliding his fingers into her hair and massaging her scalp. Turning into a big pile of relaxed goo under Henry's hands was sounding like a fabulous idea the more he rubbed all the aching spots on her head. He slid his fingers once more through her hair and began rubbing lazy circles at her temples. Letting her head fall back against his stomach as he relieved her of her headache she sighed.

Henry loathed to pull her out of her relaxed state but he knew that she would be more pissed at him if he didn't at least attempt to get her back on track. "New case?" he asked softly.

Vicki was too relaxed to pull her entire mind back on the task before her. 'His hands should be outlawed.' She thought to herself. "Yep, Mike dropped it off too. Then the witness came in on his own to hire me to help him figure out what was going on." She said in a relaxed tone. She could feel Henry's taunt stomach under her head and his skilful fingers in her hair. "Said that some sort of energy was transferred to him when he touched the last person that died. I have Coreen looking up anything that to do with possessions and curse transfers at the library while I try to figure out how they are all connected."

Henry smiled at the picture that she presented, head resting on his stomach, his hands rubbing lazy circles at her temples, her eyes closed in bliss. It was wonderful that she trusted him like this. That she gave him these moments to hang onto in hopes that one day that there would be more. His smile turned down slightly as her hands reached up to his to still them. But to his surprise she didn't pull them away, she used them as leverage to pull him down to wrap his arms around her shoulders in a comforting embrace. Leaning her head back just a little she placed a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you," she whispered before releasing his hands and leaning back over her desk.

His heart gave a funny little flutter at the sheer softness that she just showed him. He knew better than to comment on it otherwise all the hard work that he had done to get inside those walls she had built around her heart would go back up stronger than ever. "You are welcome," he responded in kind. "How can I help with the case?"

Vicki smiled at him, "You think that you could go over the files and see if you see anything that I might have missed? I have been at this for hours…" her stomach decided to let her know how unhappy it was with her that she had missed dinner. She blushed faintly, and Henry smiled at her. She shrugged and then picked up the phone to order in.

"They were all at the scenes of the other deaths."

Vicki looked up from the box of Almond Soo Gai she was eating from and swallowed, "What?"

Henry flipped the files over and slid them across the desk at her as she stabbed her chopsticks into the box and set it down. "Right there, in the witness list. They were all present at the scenes. They weren't the first ones on scene but they were there. Only Charles was the first on scene, but you know how crowds can get over a dead body, they all crowd around. I wouldn't be surprised if they came into contact with the body before the cops came there. If Charles says is true, then the energy transferred to them through contact of some sort." Henry said with conviction.

"Damn, why didn't I see this before?! I knew I kept you around for a reason Henry," she smirked at him.

"Oh and here I thought that you just kept me around to be your own personal blood hound."

Vicki smirked again, it was so easy to ruffle his feathers some days. "Oh no, that isn't the ONLY reason I keep you around Henry."

Henry's eyebrow twitched up in response to that loaded answer. "Pray tell me Vicki, why else do you keep me around?" he practically purred at her.

Vicki leaned forward over her desk, stretching out her neck just a little accentuating the long column of her throat. She decided to be lenient with him today as he had helped her get rid of that brewing migraine. "Wouldn't you like to know…" she whispered lowly, she cut him off before he was going to respond with a "you will just have to stick around to find out."

Henry growled low in his throat, "Does that imply that you will tell me?"

Vicki smiled sweetly, "Possibly. Now! Back to the case! What do you think of the whole energy transfer thing?"

He groaned in his head. She knew how to build him up and then dash all his hopes all in the span of minutes only to give him just a little bit of hope back again so that he would come back to it.

Moving On

Henry had left an hour before dawn suggesting that she get at least a few hours sleep. She had resisted at first, but he reminded her that even the best detectives needed sleep. Vicki awoke with a slight smile about 4 hours later and touched her cheek where he had kissed her goodnight.

Crawling out of bed she made her way over to the bathroom and turned on the water in the shower. Stripping out of her sleepwear she stepped into the steam and let the soothing hot water remove the last traces of her aching muscles that had locked up over night. She thought about the case and how Charles had said that he had to control the desires that sprang to mind. Vicki wondered if that is what the problem was, that all your desires were kept under lock and key because of today's societal views you had to curb those desires for fear of persecution.

Shuddering at the thought of some of the murders she and Mike had put behind bars unleashing their desires on the city's population. 'No don't think about that Vic. Think about something better…' she coaxed her thoughts to more pleasurable desires. 'Wonder what desires Henry would unleash.' Granted there was the whole beast unleashing his desires for blood and death, but Henry would be more apt for desire and passion in the throws of sexual prowess. Vicki shivered deliciously at the thought of Henry acting out some of his desires with her. 'Back to the case Vic. Back to the case.'

Vicki sighed as she shut the water off and got ready for her day of more detecting. Her mind wandered only briefly to the blue folder stashed in a hidden cubby in the light desk before making her way to the office to see what Coreen had found out.

They were still no closer to figuring out exactly what was going on a few hours later. Sure Coreen had come up with a list of curses and daemons that would cause such havoc, but the list was still a very long one. Everyone, Charles, Mike, Coreen and Vicki were all pouring over the printouts that Coreen had given to everyone. It was still a couple hours until nightfall, then Henry would be able to add his expertise to the mix, hopefully finding something that the others had missed.

"Charles," Vicki began after tossing the sheaf of papers she was holding onto her desk. "You had said that you had to hold back on your desires. Did you ever give in to one?"

Charles looked up from his stack. He looked worse off today than he had the day before. His skin was clammy, his eyes couldn't focus for too long and his cheeks looked sunken in. Vicki and Coreen thought that he looked like Death warmed over. "Once or twice. They were small enough ones that it didn't seem too bad to do."

"Like what? And how did you feel during and or after them?"

"Well, when it first started, I would want stuff like sweets, I don't normally eat a lot of sweets but the occasional one I have. I found that I was eating more of them than normal so I stopped. When I stopped I was in pain for doing so. Nothing major just a minor ache. But if I gave in I instantly felt better. I realized then that something was wrong. If I continued to eat sweets I would balloon out and thought that it was just a matter of will power. The craving switched from sweets to caffeine. Same thing. If I satisfied the craving I was fine, if I denied it the ache was there if a little bit stronger now that I think about it."

Vicki nodded sagely, "So satisfy the desire the easier it is. Deny it you pay for it. And the more you deny those desires the worse it gets."

Coreen chose that moment to come into the office, her hair was only pinned back from her face today, rather subdued than normal, the black velvet top and flowing black skirt was a very down-played version of what the gothette usually wore. Charles took one look at Coreen and stiffened. His hands gripped the sides of the chair with such force that Vicki thought that he would pull the heavy wooden arms right from the frame. "I have to go!" Charles exclaimed before bolting from his chair and out the front door.

"SHIT!" Vicki exclaimed, before she and Mike took off after him.

Once Vicki and Mike hit the sidewalk out front of her building they took off in opposite directions. Vicki heard Charles scream in denial down the street from her and she called to Mike who turned around and began heading in their direction.

Vicki followed Charles into the alley that he had darted down. "Charles! Hang on! Help is on the way!" She called out making out his form in the pre dusk gloom that shrouded the alley.

She neared his crumpled form against the dumpster. He was breathing hard and sweating profusely. "Charles! Hang on!" He swung his fevered vision to focus on her for a moment as she reached out to help him up.

"NO!" he screamed again, "Don't touch me!"

Her hand closed on his forearm before she could stop herself and felt an energy travel down his arm and up into hers.

He sucked in a breath and looked at her. "I'm sorry! Deepest… desire… unfulfilled… death…"

"Charles!" She shook her head and tried to help him sit up, "What?! No! Hold on! Help is coming!" She heard Mike's heavy strides coming down the alley at a steady run.

"I am sorry… Miss Nelson…" Charles gasped once more and then was still.

"Charles! NO! MIKE! Call 911!" She hollered as she checked for his pulse, but found none. Reaching up she gently closed Charles' eyes and stood up. Mike watched the scene as he called in the death.

"We will get him to Rajani as soon as possible and she can tell us if it was the same thing that killed the others," Mike said softly as he hung up.

Vicki nodded and turned to him. "We have 3 days Mike."

"What?"

"Whatever Charles had, it has moved on, we have to find out what it is and stop it before this time 3 days from now," Vicki said in all seriousness.

The alley was beginning to light up with the flashing lights of the cop cars and the coroner's van when Mike looked at her hard. "Ok, do you know who it moved on to before he died?"

Vicki nodded and looked back at Charles' body as the medical examiner's team came down the alley with a gurney. "Yeah, I know who." She said quietly. Turning to look at him square in the eye, the look she gave him made his blood run cold. "Me. It moved on to me."

Surprising Rage

Vicki had called the office and told Coreen that Charles had died. The gothette was understandably upset and Vicki told her to call Henry and tell him to grab something to eat before coming to the office. They would be up late doing more research, she also told her to place an order for take out for the remaining three of them and that she and Mike would be back as soon as they were done at the station.

Once finished with the reports and statements at the station, leaving out that they believed it was some sort of curse or something that had killed Charles, they headed down to the morgue to talk to Rajani.

"Hi Vicki, Mike. I just finished with Mr. Bateman here," Rajani said as she was removing her gloves when they walked in.

"Same cause of death Doc?" Mike asked in his cop looking for answers voice.

"Appears so. His heart literally exploded in his chest, though I can't tell you why. I have a feeling that you know more than I will ever be able to put in a report," Rajani looked at them both knowingly.

Vicki nodded and stepped up to Charles cloth draped body and ran her fingers over his temple. "It was a daemon, feeding on pent up desires and the pain that it causes to not fulfill those desires/wants. It moves from body to body after it kills" She looked down at Charles' face and shook her head sadly, "I am sorry," she whispered and then turned away.

"Do we know who the next person is?" Rajani asked frankly. Vicki turned back to the woman she considered a good friend and locked her eyes with the docs. The short sharp intake of breath from the doc was all Vicki needed to hear. She nodded once and started on her way out.

"Thanks for the Intel Rajani. Come on Mike, we have a daemon to identify and kill," she stated before walking out the door.

"Mike," Rajani said as he turned to leave, causing him to turn back to look at her. "I don't have to tell you to do ~whatever~ it takes to keep her off my table do I?"

Mike gave the doc a small sardonic smile. "Whatever it takes Doc. Whatever it takes." With another small nod Detective Celluci made his way out of the morgue and out to his car to drive Vicki back to her office.

When they got back to the office Coreen was laying out the take-out on the coffee table in Vicki's office, and Henry was watching the city from the window. Mike pulled off his jacket and tossed it on the coat rack before flopping heavily on the couch and grabbing up a box of Chinese.

"Vicki…" Henry went to offer is condolences when she stopped him with a look. He had never seen her that angry before. He looked at Coreen first who just stared at Vicki as she disappeared into the back room, then at the Detective on the couch. Even though Mike didn't like the man, he knew that Fitzroy had never seen this side to Vicki and didn't know how to deal with her. 'Whatever it takes,' he reminded himself, and one thing that he could do was at least try to be civil with the un-dead man that was Vicki's private eye partner.

"Don't try Fitzroy. Just let her play this out for the moment, if you get in her way now, she will not take it kindly," Mike stated as he stabbed half heartedly at the food he held. The door opened and Vicki remerged dressed in a sport tank top, soft black pants with a white running stripe down the side and her hands encased in a set of boxing gloves that were not her normal ones. These encircled her wrists and the backs of her hands only looping around her thumb and the bottom knuckles of her fingers. Her hair was pulled up in a high and tight ponytail and her feet were bare. She swung her eyes over everyone for a moment dismissing them from her concentration before turning to the heavy boxing bag in the corner of her large office and proceeding to beat the crap out of the bag. Channelling all of her anger, her hate, her pain at the unfairness and the cruelty of the daemons that are in the world she pounded on the bag with kicks and punches until her arms were sore, her legs weak and her breathing laboured. Thinking just when she was about to stop, a thought welled up in her mind that was not her own. You have 3 days to live pretty one. I will enjoy your desire and your death all the more. Such vibrancy, no wonder there are others that want you. But you are mine, mine to torture and do with as I wish.

With a scream that shocked everyone in the office Vicki delivered one last roundhouse kick to the battered punching bag snapping its chains from the ceiling and making it fly into the wall behind her desk.

Coreen simply stared at the bag in its slumped position on the floor. She had never seen Vicki this angry before. This was not like her. There had to be something more than Charles Bateman's death.

Mike blinked owlishly at Vicki, he had seen her this angry before, but never in a million years did he think that she would be strong enough to break chains!

Henry stared wide eyed at Vicki's back. Her frame heaved at the deep breaths that she was taking, he was keeping a tight control over his concern for her and his arousal at the power she presented. A human mortal with such power to snap chains as if they were made of nothing but sugar aroused him in more ways than he could imagine. And all of that power was natural, no supernatural aspect to it at all, no spells, no possession, simply Vicki.

Vicki breathed deeply and tried to calm her mind. It was a daemon, she was sure of it now. Once she was sure enough that her legs would hold her if she moved Vicki grabbed the towel that she had put on the light table and used it to mop her face and neck before slinging it over her shoulders and turning to the people she considered friends and family. Mike already knew why she was so angry, but Henry and Coreen needed to know. She smirked at the expressions on their faces as she snatched a box of lemon chicken and rice off the table and broke the chop sticks in two.

"So, it is a daemon, Charles died the same way as the others, and it passed on to me," she stated with such a calm voice that it shocked them all. Coreen was the first to pipe up but what she said was not exactly what Vicki thought that she would hear.

"How the hell did you just snap quarter inch chains like spun sugar?!" Coreen squeaked in awe at her employer.

Vicki looked at Coreen and laughed long and loud, letting the tension in her frame melt away. "I was angry Coreen," Vicki smiled at the young Goth, "I will not be Fate's Bitch and I will not let this Daemon take me without a fight."

Mike and Henry looked at each other at the uncharacteristic Vicki Nelson before them. Henry was the one to bite the bullet so to speak. "Vicki… Are you ok?"

"Sure Henry, I have exactly three days to figure out what this thing is and destroy it before my heart explodes in my chest, why wouldn't I be fine?" she said flippantly.

Henry moved in front of her in the blink of an eye and gripped her shoulders. "Vicki, this is no joking matter! We don't even know what this thing is yet and it has its sights set on you!"

Vicki looked into Henry's storming blue eyes. She wanted very much to reach out and comfort him, but she held back. Her chest ached with the feeling. 'This must be what Charles was referring to.' Vicki decided to make a compromise with her desire and her head. She smoothed her hands down his chest in a comforting manner, "This is how I cope Henry. You should know that by now." The ache in her chest lessened a bit but didn't entirely go away.

Henry frowned, "Yes. I do know. Doesn't mean I have to like it." He smoothed his hands from her shoulders and down her arms relaxing her and lessening the ache even more. Vicki nodded and then turned to the others.

"Let's get started on finding this daemon!" Vicki commanded firmly and everyone grabbed a book and some food to try identify the thing that was preying on people's desires.

Increasing Intensity

They had narrowed down the list considerably over the course of the next few hours. But they were still not remotely close to knowing what the daemon was or how to stop it. Vicki had sent Mike home first, then Henry before turning to talk to Coreen.

"Coreen, I want you to do something for me," she started once she saw Henry get into his Jag down the street.

"Sure Vic. Anything," Coreen stated.

Vicki moved over to the light table and pressed the moulding on the end of the table in three places at once and a small panel opened up. Sliding open the door she retrieved the single blue folder that was in the space, she flipped open the folder and scribbled Henry's name on the top of one set of pages and Mike's name on the other set. She then removed a pair of 2 inch red stiletto pumps from the back of the closet in her office and put them next to the coat rack. Handing Coreen the file she grasped the girls wrist lightly so that her entire focus was on what Vicki was about to say.

"Coreen, IF and ~only~ if you see that those red pumps go missing from where I have just put them you give Henry and Mike copies of that folder. Do not read it yourself just get them together and give them copies to read, there are 2 sets in that folder. This is important Coreen. ONLY if those pumps are missing are you to do this. If we defeat this daemon before hand then you are to give me back this file, otherwise… Do you understand?" Vicki asked with such seriousness Coreen had little doubt that this was of the utmost importance.

"I promise Vicki," Coreen stated and put the file in her satchel.

"Good now go home, get some rest and we will start fresh later when Mike gets off work and Henry is up from his nap," Vicki said kindly.

"Kay, night Vicki," the perky gothette grabbed her stuff and took a look once more at the red pumps at the coat rack at the door before closing and locking the office door behind her. Vicki sighed and ran her hands thru her hair. She decided to grab a shower and then sleep for 8 hour straight. That was the only desire that she had at the moment and this was one that she wasn't going to deny.

After towelling off her wet hair after her shower, Vicki slipped into some comfortable sleep wear and glanced at the clock. It was nearly 8 am, she figured 7 to 8 hours would be enough, setting her alarm she crawled under the cool sheets and promptly fell asleep.

Vicki awoke to her shoulder being shaken roughly. She mumbled a few death threats and tried to burrow deeper under the covers.

"Vicki! Get up! You have been asleep for 10 hours already!"

Vicki sat bolt upright, "TEN hours?! Damn! I thought that I was only going to sleep 8!" She felt the tug of wanting to go back to bed for a few more hours and ruthlessly denied it. The ache in her chest was more pronounced this time, but she ignored it. She looked at Coreen who had shifted to sit at the end of her bed. "Thank you for waking me Coreen," she said as she flung the covers back and headed into the bathroom for a shower and change.

"At least this time you didn't point a gun at me," Coreen smirked.

Vicki popped her head back around the corner and smiled at her. "I put it in the drawer this time."

"Gee that is a comforting thought!" Coreen stuck her tongue out at the now closed bathroom door. Hearing the water turn on she smoothed out the covers for Vicki and sat back on the bed to make sure that she actually did come out of the shower. She knew that Vicki was starting to give into the desires that she was having. After trying to wake her for the last 15 minutes was sure proof that Vicki had at least unconsciously wanted more than her normal 6 hours of sleep. For her to admit to wanting only 8 was a big thing. The only time Vicki Nelson ever got eight hours sleep was when she was drugged or in the hospital.

The water in the bathroom shut off and Coreen heard the curtain being drawn back. "I will meet you in the office Vicki!" she called thru the door. "Mike is bringing dinner over soon and Henry will be here in under an hour as well."

"Ok Coreen! Be out in a bit," the voice behind the door replied.

Once Coreen left Vicki came out of the bathroom wrapped in a silk robe that she always hung on the door of the bathroom but never wore. It was purple satin and felt like whispers on her skin as she moved. She knew that she had given into another desire, but it was more of a damned if you do damned if you don't kind of scenario. The desires were becoming more and more pronounced now and she could tell that the process was stepping up the pace. Vicki rummaged in her closet for something to wear as she thought about the whole mess. Figuring that it was either because of the daemon brands on her wrists or the actual torment of the daemon controlling her desires that the pace had been stepped up she decided to give in to the little desires trying to bide her time. She knew exactly what Charles had meant with those last words that he spoke before he died. They needed to find out how to stop the thing before it came down to the blue folder now in Coreen's possession.

Vicki paused in front of the floor length mirror beside her closet door and cursed under her breath. Her thoughts had drifted and the clothes that she picked out were not her usual fair. Tight dark denim jeans encased her long legs as if they were moulded to her, the secret was in the fabric, the added spandex fibres allowed the flexibility she needed but without the tight stiffness of an all denim jean. The top that she was wearing, she forgot that she even had. The fitted crimson silk top encased her arms from the elbow up, coming to a low "V" between her breasts before giving in to an Empire waist that accentuated her breasts and flared at the bottom to give a wispy look to it. Her medallion hung nestled between her breasts giving someone a reason to focus on the area. Her hair fell in soft waves around her face and she could detect a hint of the jasmine perfume she had stashed in the top dresser drawer.

"Crap," Vicki sighed before resigning herself to telling the others that things had been accelerated. Exiting her private quarters she went thru the door into her office. Mike, Henry and Coreen were already all there and looked up at her in surprise. Vicki glared pointedly at each one in turn. "Not. ONE. Word. Understood?"

She got three nods in response and looked at Mike. He had changed from his normal work attire and was wearing a simple tan polo over faded blue jeans, he looked damn fine with soft sandy blond hair and blue eyes that took in her appearance appreciatively. He knew that she didn't dress up often, so this was a treat for him. Vicki groaned in her head as she felt the desire to go over to him and give him a proper hello. She could feel the heat rising to her face as she felt the stirrings of something that she had to deny. Swinging her eyes from Mike she settled on Henry's form. Big mistake. The long sleeve grey T-shirt encased strong arms and defined chest as thought it was painted on. The comfortable dark blue jeans sat just right on his hips and straight down his legs. Henry's eyes were also sparkling with amusement at her apparent discomfort but he was too much of a gentleman to mention it. And it was that sparkle in his eye and the quirk of his lips that almost was her undoing. Vicki felt heat pooling in areas that she didn't want it to be pooling right then and there. Vicki watched in fascination as the sparkle in Henry's eyes turned from amusement to lust. He could tell that she was hot and bothered.

Vicki groaned and forcefully throttled the desire building within her for the two men in the room with her. Turning away she focused on Coreen who had a knowing smirk on her face. Seeing the young gothette it helped Vicki to focus her thoughts as the desire and the ache that denying that desire crashed together making her breathless. "It is getting worse, faster than I thought that it would…" Vicki hissed as the ache grew worse and she rubbed at the spot in her chest above her heart. "Give me some research to go over and my dinner please so that I can not think about this ache in my chest."

"Vicki…" came two concerned voices behind her.

"No Henry, Mike. I will be fine. Let's just concentrate on finding out how to stop this daemon," Vicki asked as she sank into her chair behind her desk and focused on the heavy tome in front of her and kept her eyes steadily on the pages before her, lest she look up and catch sight of either of the two handsome men in her office and want to jump them all over again.

The Blue Folder

"I think that I got something!" Coreen exclaimed a few hours later hefting a large and old tome onto the light table and opening it to the right page. Vicki, Mike and Henry all came over to look at the book, Vicki in the middle and Mike and Henry on either side. "Here," she pointed, "There is a daemon called Abalam that cannot actually take shape but moves from body to body causing them to act out their desires delighting in the torment it causes when those desires are denied."

Vicki sucked in a sharp breath at that point, her hands gripping the side of the table hard.

"Wait there is more!" Coreen exclaimed. "It can be trapped between bodies if there is no one close by to transfer to. See here," she pointed to a paragraph that Vicki was having a hard time concentrating on when she realized just how close Mike was on her left and Henry was on her right. Both had no indication of the turmoil that she was going thru at that instant. "If there is no body close by, then it has to search out for its next victim, it cannot survive on its own for long. It is more parasitic in nature than some of the other daemons we have fought in the past. The cool thing is it has to move on when one of two things happens, either the victim dies or their greatest desire is fulfilled."

"How do we trap it?" Henry asked as he wondered what Vicki's greatest and deepest desire was.

Vicki could practically hear the wheels turning in Henry's and Mike's heads as they tried to figure out what her desire would be and how they would be able to grant it, because they both knew that Vicki dying was not an option at all.

Hearing to Coreen's explanation of the things that they would need to trap the daemon but not really listening, Vicki decided to step back from the whole thing for a bit before she did something that she truly regretted right then. Slipping from between the two men she wandered over to stare out the window at the world around them. Rubbing absently at the ache in her chest she decided that tomorrow night she would give in. It all depended on how the two men in her life would react to the situation that they all were forced into.

So lost in her thoughts she failed to sense either of the men that she was thinking about come up on either side of her and wait patiently for her to acknowledge their presence. She felt the need to comfort them as well as take comfort from their presence surrounding her. Reaching out she slid her hand into Henry's and tugged him closer so that she could wrap an arm around his narrow waist as he wound his around hers, at the same time as she leaned over and rested her head on Mike's shoulder and twining the fingers of her other hand with his over her shoulders. Just this once for this moment in time if it never happened again, she felt safe enough to let the men in her life be close and protect her from the world as they had always wanted to. Vicki knew that they had both put aside their differences in favour of keeping her safe and well and away from the clutches of some daemon that they couldn't even get a hold of to beat up. She laughed lightly at the thought and when they questioned her about it she simply shook her head. Sighing once more she slipped from their embrace and moved back over to the desk with the heavy tome.

"How long will it take to get everything ready?" Vicki asked Coreen. She didn't need to know the particulars this time. It was time to trust her friends and family.

Coreen looked at Vicki and instantly understood, "We will be ready tomorrow night after sunset."

Vicki nodded, "Good. We will meet here after sunset then. Let's all go get some rest. We have a daemon to kill on the morrow."

They all picked up their belongings and started to head off. Coreen was the first to leave, knowing that a few of the things that they needed that she could pick up on the way home as the shops that dealt with that sort of thing were open late anyways. Mike was the next to leave and Vicki walked him to the door.

"Vic," he began and she simply shook her head at him.

"I know Mike. I wanted to thank you for putting your animosity towards Henry aside for this," she murmured taking a hold of his arm in a strong grip.

Mike smirked, over the last few days with his concern for Vicki the first and foremost thoughts in his mind, he didn't have time to dislike Henry, and as they worked together he had a grudging respect for the concern and caring that he showed and felt for Vicki. If she was the only thing that they had in common then he could live with that… for her. "He still has that superior than thou complex that I hate, but I will admit that Fitzroy is an ok guy. And if he ever holds that I against me then I will personally knock his block off."

Vicki knew that Henry could hear everything that they said and simply smiled. "Thank you Mike," she whispered before giving into the small desire that was building in her. She kissed him like she had when they were an item on the force. Hot, passionate and purely primal the kiss only lasted mere moments.

They both broke away a little more flushed and Mike looked squarely in her eyes. "Whatever it takes Vicki. I will not stand by and let you die. Whatever it takes ok?"

Vicki didn't trust her voice at that moment. She hated talking about feelings and crap like that, but dealing with this daemon made her realize just how much she kept bottled up inside and how much it hurt the ones around her. She nodded and kissed him lightly again conveying her understanding before he slipped out the door and headed home.

Turning from the door she made her way back into her office and stood just inside watching Henry staring out the window like she had earlier. He was brooding, she could tell in his stance that he was thinking of the daemon and everything that had happened in the last few days, his arms were crossed over his chest and that little pucker between his brows was furrowed when he was concentrating hard. Normally she would go to her desk and make some quip about his Lord of the Night complex or something like that but today she didn't. Today she surprised herself and Henry as she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist hugging him from behind as she pressed against his strong back and rested her head on his shoulder.

Henry sucked in a sharp breath as she pressed against him. The scent of jasmine and her natural perfume invaded his senses and he closed his eyes as he savoured it. He made a move to turn around and she held him still. "No. Please… just let me hold you for a change." He acquiesced and rested his hands over hers much like she had his after he had massaged the headache away. His skin tingled as she nuzzled the soft curls at the nape of his neck and breathed lightly over the skin of his neck. She was stirring feelings in him that he always fought so hard to control, the beast wanted to turn in her arms and make her his, but the man that loved her let her hold him as she wanted to.

"Vicki, we will beat this. You know we will," Henry stated with conviction.

Releasing him enough so that he could turn in her arms and loop his around her waist. She smiled softly at him, "Whatever it takes Henry?"

He raised a hand and threaded it through her hair, "Yes Victoria. Whatever it takes." He kissed her then, long and deep and it made both of their toes curl. They parted after a little while and simply breathed while looking at each other. "I have to go," Henry murmured loathing to leave her side, "it is almost Dawn."

Vicki nodded. "I understand. Sleep well Henry. We will beat this, I know it! I will see you tomorrow."

Henry nodded once and kissed her again before grabbing his jacket and exiting her office. Vicki watched from her window as his form made its way down the street to his car. Once the sleek Jag was out of sight, Vicki locked up and went into her private quarters. Rummaging in her closet once more she hung a black garment bag on the hook just to the left of the door. The outfit in it she hadn't worn in a long time, but she knew it still fit. 'Tomorrow you blasted daemon. Tomorrow you die.' She thought to herself before setting her alarm and crawling under the covers of her bed and allowing sleep to take her over.

"Do you think that you have everything?" Mike groused as he juggled the box in his arms as Coreen fished out the key to the office from her oversized handbag.

"White candles, salt, sage, rose hips and milk thistle. The kettle, and the amulets, blessed rain water and matches. Yep I think that I have everything. Aha!" Coreen removed the set of keys that she was looking for from the depths of the bag and unlocked the door and held it open for Mike.

Crossing over to the desk Mike deposited the box on her desk. "So remind me how this goes again."

"Well, we create a binding circle with the salt and then use the sage as an added barrier, the rose hips and milk thistle goes into the Kettle to be burned as a lure for the daemon, the amulets are to protect us from him trying to transfer to us forcing him to go into the circle. Then the rain water is to banish and cleanse him," Coreen said as she gathered up the tome with all the important information on Abalam.

Henry arrived a few moments later. "You get everything you need Coreen?"

"Yep. Now we just need Vicki… wait… she should have already been here," Coreen looked worried and then opened the door to the office to look for her and then into her private quarters calling all the while for her. Coreen came rushing back out and looked at the floor beside the coat rack. The shoes were missing. "Shit! The shoes are gone!"

Mike and Henry looked at Coreen. "What shoes Coreen?" Mike asked in his cop voice.

Coreen went back over to her bag to rummage through it again. "They were a pair of red stilettos, she told me that if they went missing then I was to give you something… I know I put it in here…"

Mike's eyes widened. He knew those shoes. "Coreen… when you went into Vicki's room, did you happen to see a black garment bag anywhere?"

Coreen paused just as she closed her hand around the file in her bag. "Yeah… it was open and on the bed."

"Oh no…" Mike groaned and sank into the nearest chair.

Henry looked at Mike hard. "Detective, you know what was in that bag don't you?"

"Yes Fitzroy I do. The last time that Vicki wore that outfit we were on a stake out in some pretty seedy parts of the town. Vicki was undercover and to make a long story short, we caught the guy very easily. Just let your self imagine Vicki on the job to catch a killer in a pair of 2 inch red stilettos and you can imagine what the outfit was. I won't tell you because seeing is believing. She swore that she would never wear that outfit again. Fitzroy… Henry… we have to find her. Soon."

Coreen opened the folder she was holding and pulled out the pages marked for Henry and handed them to him before doing the same for Mike. "Vicki told me that if those shoes went missing before we defeated the daemon that I was to get you two together and give you these pages. She made me swear not to read them and to get them to you as soon as I could."

Henry and Mike looked at Coreen and then back to the pages in their hands before beginning to read.

"You can't be serious?!" Mike exploded tossing down the pages before him on the table before getting up to pace. "Vicki didn't write that! She couldn't have!"

Coreen looked over at Henry as he stared intently at the papers in his hand. "Mike I am sorry, Vicki gave it to me out of a hidden cubby in the light desk. It was her who wrote it. You know that," Coreen pleaded with him as he paced.

"I might know it but I don't have to like it!" Mike growled before stopping in front of Henry and looking down at the man before him. The vampire simply looked up into Mike's eyes slowly, not betraying anything that he was feeling. "Henry so help me God, if you hurt her after this I will stake you myself and leave you on top of the tallest building in the city to burn do you understand me?!"

Surprise flashed across Henry's blue eyes before they narrowed suspiciously, "Are you saying what I think that you are saying Michael?"

Mike stared hard and long at Henry, his blue eyes matching wits with the vampire's cool blues, "What I am saying Fitzroy, is whatever it takes to keep Vicki alive and kicking daemon ass from here till the end of time I will do. Even if I have to concede to you with regards to what she wrote in that … that…"

Coreen piped up, "What?! What did she write?"

Both men looked at her with a look that conveyed an 'I'm not going to tell you' look. Coreen pouted. "Can't blame a girl for trying."

Mike and Henry looked back at each other once more. Henry took a deep breath in. "I swear to you Michael Celluci if I ever hurt Vicki intentionally after this gift that she is bestowing upon me, I will gladly offer you the stake myself."

Mike searched Henry's face and could find no deception there. "I am still not going to be nice to you blood breath," he growled with less malice and more teasing than normal.

"I wouldn't have it any other way constable," Henry smirked and turned to Coreen and handed her a key off the ring he pulled from his pocket. "You and Mike go to my apt and set up there. I will go and find Vicki and meet you there."

Coreen nodded and grabbed her jacket. Mike stopped Henry with a hand on the arm, "You will find her at the Metro club downtown." He nodded to the pages he had tossed down earlier. "She likes the DJ there."

Henry nodded once, grabbing up the pages that were written for him he slipped them into the inner pocket of his jacket and disappeared out into the night.

Mike sighed and turned to Coreen as he grabbed up his own pages and stuffed them into his pants pocket after he had folded them a few times. "Come on Coreen, let's go get set up so that we can defeat this daemon once and for all."

They gathered the items that they needed, locked up and headed over to Henry's condo.

Red Shoes

Henry made his way down the street to the club that Mike had mentioned. The building itself was 3 stories tall and there was a simple tasteful neon sign over top of the door. Metro was one of those clubs that liked to cater to different music lovers. The first floor was the R&B heart throbbing music that was prevalent in today's clubs, all sex talk and beats. The second floor was what they called the 'oldies' room, from stuff mixed from the 70's through the 90's. The third floor was the request room, the DJ there played everything and anything that was requested. Henry had no idea which floor Vicki would be on, and he was concerned that with the press of bodies in the club that night that he would have a hard time finding her.

Slipping in to the club as the bouncer waved him by, he sent out his senses to find Vicki's unique presence. He snagged on her scent as it had wound thru the lower level and the second level and finally to the third. The third level was tastefully, but dimly lit, the reflections from the mirror ball over the professional dance floor added to the theme of the request. His eyes searched out for Vicki in what he imagined what she was wearing. The DJ started to spin a high quality recording of Santana's Black Magic Woman just as the crowd parted revealing the woman he was looking for.

Nothing prepared him for the sight before him. There stood Vicki in the centre of the floor, the crowd around her, as she began to sway to the music as if it was flowing through her. His imagination of her outfit did little justice to the figure before him. Her hair was pulled back in a shark clip allowing its length to spill out from the back and over her shoulders. A few wisps curling around to frame her face, as she swayed. Her make-up was smoky, kohl smudged artfully around her eyes, a light rouge graced her high cheek bones and her lips were painted a glossy crimson. Straight silver earrings hung from her ears that he had never noticed were actually pierced and the silver cross choker encircled her neck like a lovers touch. Henry could see that she wore two red cuffs at her wrists to cover her marks that trailed a little bit of flowing red fabric that wisped every time that she swayed her arms to the music.

The dress she wore was something that Henry never imagined Vicki would wear. No wonder they had caught the man that they were looking for the last time that she wore that dress. A silver cat's claw clasp was the only thing keeping the sensuous red dress on her right shoulder as it came cutting across her breast and dipping low to her left hip leaving her other arm and side exposed. The only thing covering her left breast was a fancy red and black lace bikini top. Henry could see the flesh coloured strap holding the cup securely over her shoulder. The dress continued down over her right hip and cut diagonally extremely high on her thigh and dipped low to a point on her left side. There was a hint of a bottom to match the top bikini as she swayed to the music. And to top it all off there was the 2 inch red stiletto heels that Coreen had mentioned.

Henry groaned loudly at the picture that she presented, she was sex personified, and she was waiting for him to find her. He simply stood at the edge of the dance floor with the rest of the crowd as Vicki began to dance to the music. Her steps choreographed like a professional dancer as she shimmied on the spot to the beat, her arms enticingly liquid in their movements, legs directing feet in the steps, her eyes closed in bliss. As the singer began, she began to work the floor. Hopeful men wanting to dance with the amazing creature on the dance floor were teased and then turned away one after another. Vicki was alone on the floor once more before the next verse of the song and Henry made his way out onto the dance floor. He hadn't danced in ages, not feeling the need to, but with Vicki, he would dance with her show the wannabes just who she was going home with that night.

Henry slid up behind her and ran a hand over her hip and across her stomach. "Henry…" she moaned as they began to dance. He twirled her quickly in the steps his body seemed to know instinctively and pulled her tightly to him when she was facing him, she could feel his arousal pressed against her thigh as the singer sang the lines "Got your spell on me baby." She opened her eyes to reveal them slightly fever bright and wanting as they locked with Henry's lustful blues. They continued to dance until the end of the song, parting and coming together so professionally that it left the crowd in awe. As the song played the last few bars, Henry dipped Vicki so low her shoulders brushed the floor as they held that pose. The crowd erupted into applause as he pulled her upright once more. They both were breathing heavy at the exertions of the dance and their eyes were still locked together.

"I knew that you would come for me," she whispered as he pulled her close.

Henry smiled devilishly at her, "You did, did you?" He delighted in having her in his arms as they moved off the dance floor, his smile slid into a concerned frown as he felt the temperature of her skin beneath his fingers. It was not a normal flush from dancing, it was a much higher temperature. "Vicki, you are burning up," he said in a concerned voice.

Vicki nodded. "I know. Henry, we have to hurry."

Henry gathered her close and swiftly made their way outside. The cool night air on her overheated flesh caused Vicki to moan and clutch tighter to Henry's side. "Mike and Coreen are setting up at my place," he informed her after he deposited her gently into the passenger's seat of his Jag, "Hang on a little while longer Vicki, I swear to you we will beat this thing!"

She could only nod before closing her eyes and slipping into a light fever induced doze as Henry sped off to his condo.

Switching Hands

Coreen and Mike looked up as Henry helped Vicki in through his front door. Mike instantly went to her other side to shore her up.

Coreen simply stared, "Wow. No wonder you said that you had to see it to believe it!"

Henry and Mike simply looked at each other before Henry let Mike take her weight and directed her into the bedroom and master bath.

"Coreen, is everything set?" Henry asked the young gothette as he watched Mike take Vicki into his bedroom with barely concealed concern mixed in with a deep desire.

Coreen stood up from her seat on his couch and came up in front of him. "Yep just a couple last things. Here," she held up a small rune stone on a leather cord. "Put this on and don't take it off until the daemon is gone." Henry took the talisman and slid it over his head to rest with the other medals that he normally wore. "That will prevent the daemon from trying to enter your body if you are the one closest to Vicki at the time." Coreen fingered the talisman around her neck, "Mike has one too. We just need to finish with the salt at the door to prevent Abalam from escaping before we get rid of him."

Henry nodded and smiled at Coreen. "You've thought of everything haven't you?"

Coreen smiled at the praise, she knew that Mike was getting Vicki ready for what ever it was that needed to be done. She had figured out that whatever was on those pages in that blue folder was actually her deepest darkest desire. The perky Goth looked at the resident Vampire with something akin to mischievous glee. "So… you gonna tell me what Vicki's deepest desire is? I mean I can gather that it involves you and Mike some how, but give a girl some answers! Please?"

Henry shook his head, sending her a look with a raised eyebrow. "You just don't give up do you Coreen? What Vicki wrote is between her and Mike and me. I highly doubt that she would be impressed with either of us sharing everything with you… especially without her express consent."

"Are you going to turn her?! Is that it? I can only imagine. Gee why do all the cool things happen to Vicki?" Coreen babbled on not really expecting Henry to answer. She gathered up the container of salt and joined the two lines along the threshold from edge to edge. The salt was to prevent the daemon from escaping out into the night.

Henry smirked at the girl as she finished puttering about to complete the preparations for the capture and banishment of the daemon. "Coreen, I will tell you one thing though…" Coreen stopped still and looked at him expectantly. "When the daemon enters the circle try to keep him there as long as possible, I am sure that Vicki would appreciate seeing the thing being sent to Hell."

Coreen nodded with a smile just as Mike exited the bedroom, his sleeves had been rolled up to the elbows and the rune tablet stood out in stark contrast to the white button down. He nodded to Henry who made his way over to the doors and stopped beside him. They looked at each other long and hard, coming to an understanding without words.

"Swear it again Fitzroy," Mike spoke lowly needing one last verbal reassurance before he would allow this to happen.

Henry gripped Mike's bicep companionably, "I swear, I will hand you the stake myself if it happens." Mike's lips twitched to a small smile and Henry could see the concern in his eyes. "I could… so you don't hear?" he offered softly.

Mike's eyes widened slightly but shook his head no. "Its ok, just try to keep it down would you? Oh and one last thing, do not go near the backs of her knees unless you want a kick in the head." Mike smirked.

Henry smiled lightly, "Thank you Mike. I will remember that." Henry nodded to Coreen before slipping into the bedroom.

Mike manoeuvred Vicki into the bedroom and sat her on the bed before pulling off her shoes and placing them under the chair near the door.

"Mike?" Vicki's voice questioned in a controlled fashion.

"Yeah Vic, I am here," he replied before simply scooping her up and taking her into the bathroom where a filled tub waited for her. He set her down on her slightly unsteady legs and took a hold of her shoulders as she looked at him expectantly.

"You read it?" She asked, and at his nod she sighed. "I am so sorry, Mike." Her eyes began to well up a little, but she refused to let the tears fall.

Mike smiled at her softly and wiped a stray tear away from her cheek. "Hey, hey now Vic. None of that. It is ok. I understand."

"You do?" she asked in a watery voice. Mike nodded as he undid the clasp of her dress and let the silk material pool on the floor at her feet.

"Yeah Vic I do. I still love you…"

"And I love you too!"

"But it is his turn, I can see that. I might not like him, but he cares about you a lot Vic. And he will be able to protect you…" he heard her sharp intake of breath and placed a finger over her lips before she could say anything as he walked around her and undid the clasp holding the bikini top on and slid it off her shoulders. "Not that you need protecting of course, but to give you back up when you need it. Like I used to." He helped her slide the bottoms off before taking off the necklace and earrings setting them on the counter and removing the clasp in her hair before pinning the honeyed locks up at the top of her head. Mike guided her to the tub and helped her keep her balance as she stepped into the warm water and sank down into its depth. Mike grabbed up a washcloth and spread some of the body wash on to it before gently washing her body with loving and gentle caresses.

"You still give me back up too you know," Vicki sighed, her eyes still fever bright but held a certainty there that made Mike fall in love with her in the first place.

"Yes Vic, and you will always have that, but the time for us to be something more than best friends is over, it's Fitz… Henry's turn and I have accepted that." He gently washed the make-up off her face revealing her true natural beauty once more. Pulling her up from the tub he wrapped a soft fluffy towel around her body and dried her off before slipping her purple satin robe over her shoulders.

Pressing the release in the tub to drain the water Mike took Vicki back out into the bedroom and sat her down on the edge of the bed and sat in behind her. Removing the clip from her hair he brushed it until it fell in soft waves around her head. Taking the clip and the hairbrush back to the bathroom he looked at the picture that Vicki presented. Freshly washed, clad in only her robe, soft hair flowing around her. His heart didn't break like he thought that it would, knowing that it wasn't him that she was waiting to press her back against the covers. Her hands knotted themselves in the soft fabric of her robe, her skin was beginning to burn up and there wasn't much time left, they would kill the daemon tormenting her or she would die. In Henry's bed. There were worse places to die, but she hoped that it wouldn't be tonight that she met her maker.

Running his hand through her hair he cupped her chin and tilted her head up to meet his eyes. "Vicki, I told Henry this and now I am going to tell you. Whatever it takes to keep you safe I will do. If this…" he indicated Henry's opulent bedroom with a wave of his hand "is what it takes to keep you alive. I will do it. But keep in mind that if Henry Fitzroy ~EVER~ hurts you intentionally I will kill him myself. You got that?"

Vicki smiled lovingly at Mike and threaded her fingers through his on her cheek, "I got it. Thanks Mike."

"You are welcome Vic," he murmured and leaned down and kissed her. It was their final good-bye to the life they once had as lovers. Now it was just best friends who had been through and done everything together left in their wake. The kiss was soft and tender and spoke volumes of the depth of feeling that they had for each other. They were still strong together and that was all that needed to be said. They pulled back mutually and smiled at each other.

Nodding once, Mike went to the bedroom doors and slipped through them with naught a backwards glance. Mike and Henry stared at each other in silent communication understanding what went on behind those closed doors and how it had come to this.

"Swear it again Fitzroy," Mike spoke lowly, begging one last reassurance that he was doing the right thing by giving up his fight with Henry for Vicki. He knew that he had her love, that would have to be enough.

Mike felt the cool fingers of Henry's hand close around his bicep, a stark contrast to Vicki's fevered skin. "I swear, I will hand you the stake myself if it happens." Mike twitched his lips into a small smile thought about what was going to happen behind the doors behind him. He was surprised when Henry offered to vamp him so that he wouldn't hear what they both knew would happen.

Mike understood the offer and refused it, but couldn't miss up a small jab in teasing anyways. "It is ok. Just keep it down will you?" He then decided to let Henry in on a little secret that he had the misfortune of finding out the hard way. Oh and one last thing, do not go near the backs of her knees unless you want a kick in the head."

Henry thanked him and then slipped into the bedroom and closed the door. Mike looked over at Coreen who was watching the whole interaction with interest. "Not one word from you missy!" he admonished lightly.

"Who me?!" Coreen smirked innocently before he sprawled in the chair across from her and contemplated the chess board in front of him as he tried to go back to the game that they were in the middle of before Henry and Vicki came back.

Triumphant

Henry closed the doors to his bedroom with a soft click. Vicki was sitting on the edge of the bed when he came in, her eyes swung up to meet his and she felt her already fevered skin flush all the more. Her desire for him intensified and she saw him take in a deep breath as the scent of her arousal reached his sensitive nostrils.

"Vicki…" he moaned softly as the enormity of the situation assailed his mind. Vicki smiled seductively at him and stood up from her perch on his bed. The right shoulder of her robe slipped down exposing her skin to him. She let the soft fabric pool at her elbow as she made her way over to him and stopped but a breadth away.

"You read what I left you?" she whispered huskily as she trailed her hand up his arm from wrist to shoulder.

"Yes, I did." Henry replied as the shivers of her touch skittered across his nerves.

Vicki smiled and drew abstract patterns on his chest while his hands came up to grip her waist. "I wrote that just after meeting you. After I stayed with you that day when you were injured." They both remembered that day that they had fought the demon in the skate park. Henry marvelled at the insight that she was giving him.

He trailed his hands over her back and up into her hair and over the exposed skin of her shoulder. "That long ago?" he asked skittering his fingertips over her collarbone. "Why didn't you tell me sooner? Why now?"

Vicki sighed and let the other side of the robe fall down so that it now pooled at both elbows but still covered her breasts. "Because I was afraid then, and I know now how foolish it was to be afraid. You would not treat me as some conquest. I know that now. And I plan to make it up to you for your patience and sticking by me through everything that we have gone through." Vicki looked deep into Henry's blue eyes and kissed him like he had when they were trying to capture Emmanuel.

Henry growled low in his throat and pulled her close in a crushing embrace. Her fingers wormed her way under his shirt and fanned out across his lower back enjoying the feel of his skin beneath her hands. Breaking only briefly in their kiss, Henry impatiently yanked the shirt up and over his head as Vicki placed hot kisses over his chest as nimble fingers undid his belt and pants. Sliding the pants over his defined hips she let the material drop and pool at his ankles, leaving him clad in a pair of red silk boxers. He pulled her close again while stepping out of the jeans and manoeuvred her back against the edge of the bed. "Vicki…" he whispered against her lips. "Please tell me that this isn't because of the daemon. I don't think my heart could handle it if it was."

Vicki could feel the tremors in his strong frame. As powerful and strong as he was, he was still a young, slightly insecure man hoping against hope not to have his heart broken again by a woman he loved. And she knew that he loved her, he didn't have to say the exact words for her to know it in her heart and in her head. Vicki threaded her fingers through his hair and held him fast so that he couldn't look away. "Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset, bastard son of Henry the Eighth, no daemon can make me feel the way I feel for you. He might intensify my desires to be with you, but he can not make me feel anything that I don't already feel."

Hope bloomed in his eyes, "And how do you feel about me Vicki?" he murmured.

Vicki smiled at him with such warmth that made his heart flutter in his chest, "Why, I love you Henry, My bastard Vampire Prince." The smile that he graced her with was like a warm summer rain on her soul. "Make love to me Henry, make me yours, and get rid of this daemon so that we can get Mike and Coreen out of here so I can truly make it up to you!"

"As my Lady commands," He brought his lips to hers and grasped the ties on her robe as she hooked her fingers into the waist band of his boxers. They took a moment to simply appreciate each other's nude body before they stepped together and groaned in unison as flesh met flesh with no barriers between. Henry wished that they could make their first time last, but he knew that there would be more times where they could continue at a slow pace and simply indulge in their bodies. Henry pressed Vicki down and onto the bed and allowed her to scoot back so that she was lying in the centre of his massive bed, her head on the pillows and her hair fanned out around her. He growled playfully and slowly crawled up her body, making sure to press sensually against her body as he made his way up her body to capture her lips in a kiss.

Vicki hissed in pleasure as their bodies finally aligned and Henry pressed his weight above her. He encompassed her senses, his heat, his scent, his taste, his touch. The desire sang through her veins and for an instant she forgot herself and tried to repress it. The pain she felt was so intense that she pulled away from Henry's lips and arched her neck in pain before she let go of her control and gave it to Henry.

He looked at her with concern but when she nodded and turned her neck to the side offering him her neck, he understood that she was giving up her control to him. Trust was indeed very stimulating as he settled between her thighs. He began kissing down her jaw and neck, pausing only briefly to lap at the spot in her neck where he would normally feed from and over her collarbone. Vicki caressed the muscles in his arms and back with wandering hands, one foot slid sensuously over his calf and thigh as he feasted on her skin.

The small rolling of his hips against hers were maddeningly teasing and pushed her desire for him higher. Soon she couldn't take it any more, with him lapping at the place above her breast where her heart was beating wildly and his teasing thrusts she needed more. Gasping she grabbed a handful of his curls at his neck and pulled him up to her lips. "Henry… I want you… please…" she groaned huskily against his lips.

Henry kissed her tongue and all as he slid into her warmth, his tongue mimicking the act his lower body was soon to perform. She was so tight and so hot it took all of his control not to let go right then and there. It was as if two halves of the same whole clicked together as he entered her in one continuous thrust.

Vicki felt as though he was splitting her in two. He felt so big and heavy as he entered her it was sheer heaven. The voice she had heard when the daemon had transferred to her from Charles screamed in denial as she gave into her deepest desire; to be with Henry, for him to love her and to feed from her at the pinnacle of her orgasm. Vicki shifted one leg over Henry's hip affording him just that added extra depth that they both appreciated with deep groans. They took only a moment to pause and kiss languidly, pulling back from the brink only slightly before Henry rolled his hips.

He groaned in answer to her low moan as she tightened around him lovingly. "Vicki… Oh God Vicki…" he murmured against the column of her throat as he nuzzled the spot just behind her ear causing her to shudder uncontrollably, "I have never felt like this before… never. I love you Victoria… my life, my love is yours to do with as you wish."

The words so softly uttered in her ear were almost too much for her to handle, they caused her heart to swell in love for the man above her encased in her body so willingly. "Henry…" she groaned as he began to move in earnest, her body rising to meet his thrusts she could tell he was holding back some and threaded her fingers through his hair with one hand and twined their fingers together on the other. "Harder Henry…" she demanded, "I won't break. Don't hold back please!"

He growled and let the animal within him rise to the surface, sliding his arm under the leg on his hip he shifted it up over his shoulder opening her wider for him to claim. He was close, and so was she he could tell, he smiled wickedly as his eyes bled to black and his fangs extended. Vicki could not tear her eyes away from him, no matter how many times she saw him fully vamped it never failed to thrill her. "You are so beautiful…" she gasped. "I… Henry… OH GOD Yess!"

He leaned over her throat and placing a reverent kiss on the juncture of her pulse point he sank his fangs in just as she began the first convulsions of her orgasm. The feelings that coursed through Vicki were more intensely erotic than she had ever experienced before when Henry had fed from her. Without thinking she bit down on the juncture of his neck, not hard enough to draw blood but enough to at least bruise darkly. The taste of her blood in the throws of passion that he so often spoke of was intoxicating. It filled him with warmth that he had never before known, but when Vicki bit his own sensitive neck the pain/pleasure it caused sent him over the edge as well, spilling himself into her welcoming and convulsing body.

Three voices cried out, two in passion and one in pure denial. The black energy swiftly bled from Vicki's body, it attempted to enter Henry, but the rune stone prevented entrance. Abalam sensed two other beings in the apartment and fled through the doors of the bedroom to attempt to transfer to a new host. The daemon slammed into the protective walls around the two in the living room before it sensed a lure. Once it stepped inside the circle the shield went up with as much force as slamming a door. The daemon thrashed against it's cage attempting to break free, but to no avail.

Mike and Coreen looked at each other and then back to the thrashing daemon. "Well, that worked," Mike quipped and hoped that Henry and Vicki would come out soon.

Back in the bedroom, Henry lapped gently at the 4 new puncture marks on Vicki's neck, using his saliva to heal the holes as they panted heavily as the aftershocks coursed through their systems. Henry released Vicki's leg from his shoulder and she slid it sensually down his side as she fought to control the rapid beating of her heart. Henry placed once last kiss on her neck before trailing his lips over her jaw and captured her lips in a kiss. Vicki squeezed Henry with her internal muscles once before he slid luxuriously from her body. She moaned at the loss of him inside her but knew that he would have stayed had there been a choice. They could hear the thrashing of the daemon outside the door and wanted to dispatch the evil thing so that they could get back to more pleasing activities. Slipping on respective robes, Henry gathered Vicki into his arms and kissed her tenderly. "I love you Vicki," he said with such certainty that she could do nothing but take his words to heart.

She fingered the bruise she herself had made, the deep purple a contrast against his pale skin and she smiled wickedly as he moaned at her touch. "I love you Henry," she said with such ease that it only surprised her momentarily, "Now let's go kick some daemon ass!"

He smirked at her and threading an arm around her waist they opened the door and headed out. There was no need for words as they all grabbed up a vial of blessed rain water and stood at the four compass points outside the circle. As one they said, "We banish thee Abalam from this plane of existence, no more shall you cause pain and torment here." They then all four tossed the rain water at the daemon, he screamed in anger once more as the vials broke over him and he was sucked back down to Hell.

They all stood there for a moment, before Coreen grabbed 4 brooms and dust pans. They all helped to sweep up the evidence of the banishment ritual placing the salt and herbs in a bag that Coreen would take out side the city to the country to expose to the sun and then burn. Once all traces of the ritual were cleaned up Coreen asked Mike to drive her home, for once not commenting on the large hickey forming on Henry's neck, nor the new healing puncture marks on Vicki's. They all knew that the perky gothette would grill Vicki about what went on later, but for now she was exhausted and just wanted to sleep.

Mike grabbed his jacket and hugged Vicki. "Well I have a report to write up. Crowley's not gonna like this one I am sure," he shrugged, "Call you later Vic?"

Vicki smiled, "Yeah you can buy me Chinese for subjecting me to a desire daemon."

Mike laughed and shook his head. "Alright Vic. Good night. Fitzroy." He nodded and headed out the door.

Henry inclined his head. "Detective."

Vicki smiled and closed the door behind Mike and Coreen and locking it. Placing her forehead on the cool wood of the door she sighed. "I am so glad that is over with," she muttered, "How long until sunrise Henry?"

Henry smiled wickedly and turned her from the door. "A few hours yet," he replied and leaned in and captured her lips in a kiss. "Why what did you have in mind?"

Vicki laughed brightly, it was a sound that was unfettered by control that Henry instantly loved and vowed to try to coax from her more often. "Well my Lord of Lechery, why don't you take me back to bed and find out?"

Henry leered at her seductively, "As my Lady commands." He bowed low before sweeping her up in his arms and heading back to the bedroom. Her bright laughter floated out of the bedroom as the doors clicked softly closed behind them.

The End.

Blue Folder – Mike

Mike looked at the page that Coreen handed him, his name scribbled in Vicki's quick scrawl so that Coreen wouldn't focus on the words actually written neatly on the page. Taking a deep breath he focused on the words on the page.

Dear Mike,

I have started this letter so many times I can't even begin to tell you how hard this is for me. You know that I don't do the whole 'feelings' thing, well... that is unless it is anger or injustice or desire. You always said that it always had to be my way, but there were many times when I wanted it to be yours.

I am sorry for a lot of things in my life, Mike, and the way that I treated you when I found out that I couldn't be on the force anymore unless I wanted to be behind a desk was one of those things. So for that I apologize.

You are my best friend Mike and at one time you were also my lover. We have been through a lot together and after meeting Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset, Bastard son of Henry the VIII turned Vampire, I just know that we will be through a lot more.

The thing is... we can't go through them being lovers anymore. Mike I love you, I do, but it is not the same love as it once was. We have grown to something more, we have been bouncing this back and forth for so long now... I think that it is time we just come to realize that we don't have that same spark anymore for us to be lovers.

I am sorry.

I know that you are probably thinking that all of this has something to do with Henry, and you would be right. I can't explain it and I don't think that you want me to, but I have growing feelings for him. Feelings that even tho I might not express I do want to explore.

I hope that you understand all this and can still be my friend. I think that a part of me would die if you couldn't be in my life because of this.

You will always be my friend Mike and I love you dearly.

Always,

Vicki

Mike took a breath. He read it and in his mind he knew it to be true but his heart couldn't give up without at least one last outburst.

"You can't be serious?!"

Blue Folder – Henry

Henry took the pages Coreen pulled out of a dark blue folder from the depths of her bag; she was getting as bad as Vicki with carrying it around with everything in it. The main difference was that Vicki could find anything that she wanted instantly, whereas Coreen still had to hunt.

Henry looked at the page with his name scrawled in fast script at the top and the neatness of the writing below. Intrigued he read further.

Dear Henry,

I have only just met you and you have turned my world upside down. First you tell me that things that are normally reserved for sci-fi and myths are real and then top it all off you yourself are one of those myths, a vampire. A Vampire DUKE no less. Son of Henry the VIII.

What frightened me more than knowing that everything that we thought was make believe was real was how well I was able to accept it. To accept you as you are as a whole.

You are quick to remind me of the beast within you that you keep tightly reined in you sometimes forget the man that you are. I think that is why we mesh so well together, because I need to be reminded a little bit of the beast in my life as you need to be reminded of the man in yours.

I am drawn to you so inexplicably that I have to fight every time that you are near not to just fall into your waiting arms. It is true that your vamp powers of persuasion don't work on me, but they don't have to. You don't have to make me feel things for you Henry because I already do.

I know that you and Mike do not always get along, but he is my friend and one time lover. He knows things about me that no one else knows, and although you two butt heads quite often, you are both something that I need in my life to keep me grounded.

Being marked for death by demon really kinda puts things into perspective for you. And what it has shown me is that days wasted holding back from the things that you want are pointless. Why be miserable when you could glimpse something so wondrous and make it yours for a while. What I am trying to say Henry is... I want you. The Man, the Vampire, the Duke, the Graphic Novelist. I want all of you.

I have this sense that you will know what this means for me and not take it lightly. I hope to see how you and I can mesh even more if you are willing to try.

Always,

Vicki

Henry could only continue to stare at the page before him in shock. Not that he would show it to the other two people in the room, but Vicki was offering a gift to him that he never hoped to ever touch let alone have the opportunity to experience. He vaguely registered Celluci's rant about how Vicki couldn't have written it but didn't pay much attention. When the mortal stopped in front of him, Henry slowly raised his eyes to meet the Detective's. What came out of the man's mouth was nothing short of something that would have done perfectly in the Twilight Zone.

"Henry so help me God, if you hurt her after this I will stake you myself and leave you on top of the tallest building in the city to burn do you understand me?!"

He needed to be sure though for his own sanity. "Are you saying what I think that you are saying Michael?"

The emotions flickering across Mike's eyes were as clear as day to the vampire. Pain, regret, acceptance and a small amount of pride.

"What I am saying Fitzroy, is whatever it takes to keep Vicki alive and kicking daemon ass from here till the end of time I will do. Even if I have to concede to you with regards to what she wrote in that…"

Henry understood far too well. His adversary for Vicki's affections was conceding, not by defeat, but by the wishes of the woman herself. Henry understood then that Michael Celluci would always be in Vicki's life and have her affections, but as a strong best friend than a lover. A job Henry was more than willing to fulfill.

He had to give the detective some reassurance so he simply stated. "I swear to you Michael Celluci if I ever hurt Vicki intentionally after this gift that she is bestowing upon me, I will gladly offer you the stake myself."

At Mike's nod of approval, Henry knew that things would be alright.