Blood to Blood

by The Emcee

Randy's been watching over John, but Kelly soon becomes a problem. In order to keep John safe, Randy must confront his blood sister and his past for one final showdown. Centon. Slash.

Title: For Love's Sake: A Blood to Blood story

Author: The Emcee

Pairing: Randy/John

Rating: T

Summary: Randy's been watching over John, but Kelly soon becomes a problem. In order to keep John safe, Randy must confront his blood sister and his past for one final showdown.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: This is a vampire and will contain slash. If you don't like any of those things, then don't read this. For those of you who do read, I hope you like it. Enjoy!

...

What's greater, Pebble or Pond?

What can be known? The Unknown.

My true self runs towards a Hill.

More! O More! visible.

Now I adore my life

With the Bird, the abiding Leaf,

With the Fish, the questing Snail,

And the Eye altering All;

And I dance with William Blake

For love, for Love's sake;

And everything comes to One,

As we dance one, dance on, dance on.

- Once More, the Round by Theodore Roethke

...

...

Present Day

...

He watched him from his perch outside of the window. Had he been from a weaker bloodline, Randy wouldn't have been able to cloak himself from the humans wandering about in the day light. However, he was the sixth blood child to one of the most powerful vampires in the world. And although Vince was long dead, felled by a Hunter's wicked blade, his bloodline was still acknowledged as the most powerful of all the five bloodlines. That meant, much to Randy's relief and gratitude, that no one could see him as he observed John.

Prior to being employed at the local library, John had worked at a sports shop, which is where Randy first met him. But the economy was hard on young college graduates, and John was laid off. Randy wasn't complaining though; he preferred the architectural layout of the quiet library compared to the hussle and bustle of the sports shop. Carefully, and with a vast amount of patience, John took the books off of the cart and placed them in their proper place on the shelf.

There was something about John that made him so addicting; his very presence was serene and comforting, and that was why Randy enjoyed being around him so much. He usually spent his free time watching John. On the occasions when Randy actually made himself known, they had gotten along like old friends, which helped quell the loneliness in his barely beating heart.

Hours passed by and the sun was in the early stages of bidding farewell to the world until the next morning. Jumping down from the tree, Randy manipulated his aura so that he was visible to the human eye. He made his way up the stone steps of the library and entered, knowing full well that the place closed in half an hour. Petty things such as store hours meant nothing to him since he could automatically go from place to place just by manipulating his aura, another gift given to him courtesy of Vince. However, he liked to walk and it would probably freak John out if he appeared suddenly beside him. John was sitting at the librarian's desk, checking recently returned books back into the library inventory. In his hands was a book about vampires. Ironic. When he heard Randy approach, John looked up and smiled, clearly pleased to see him.

"Hey, Randy. How have you been, man?" Randy allowed himself to smile as he leaned on the desk. Ever since he first became another dark son of Vince's, Randy had very little to smile about. John, however, always managed to make him smile.

"I've been good. I didn't know you worked here. I love coming to this library."

"Yeah. The other job didn't work out. But this one will! I love it here; it's peaceful and quiet. So, what can I help ya with?" Randy pointed to the book he was holding.

"Actually, I'd like to check that book out. A friend recommended it." John's smile widened and he laughed as he took Randy's library card and scanned it.

"Well, I never figured you'd read something like this, but whatever floats your boat. Tell me if you like it or not." John stamped the back of the book and handed it to Randy long with his card.

"Will do. Be careful on your way home. See ya." Randy took the book from John and started for the exit.

"I will. Be carefully yourself. Night." Randy smiled to himself as he walked down the library steps. If only John knew...

Once Randy was by himself, he disappeared from sight and arrived at his house. He had been lucky enough that his relationship with Vince had been a good one; his house and territory had been left to him in Vince's death statement, ensuring that Randy would always have a place to call home. After throwing the book onto his bed, Randy brought himself to Atlanta, one of the many cities he hunted in. Cities had larger crime rates, which made it easy to make a hunting trip appear more like a murder. Back when he had first been given Vince's immortal blood, he had tried to ignore what he was and what he would become. But time and reason knocked some sense into him and Randy no longer tried to deny what he was: a predator who fed on those too weak to survive. It may not have been pretty, but it was what it was and Randy was no longer foolish to pretend to be something he wasn't.

He was, however, foolish enough to bait a sleeping dragon.

Although he could have hunted in any city on the planet, he chose Atlanta for a reason. Atlanta was in Kelly's territory and he loved pissing her off. Kelly was his blood sister and had been around for over a century when Vince turned Randy. And she hated him as much as he hated her. Even though she had the power to kill him for hunting in her territory, Randy's love for angering her made his need for self-preservation drop.

Randy wandered down a dark alley, blending in perfectly with the night that had engulfed it. A teenager, one of many who dealt their illegal trades in the undesirable part of town, was leaning against the brick wall. He didn't notice Randy until it was too late and by then his fangs had pierced his neck. Blood, hot, sweet, and delicious, poured into Randy's mouth and he drank greedily. The teen in his arms didn't struggle, and even if he had, it wouldn't have made a difference. Vampires were far superior to humans in many ways and physical strength was one of them.

Pulling away, he let the deceased teenager fall from his arms. With a heavy thud, he hit the ground, but Randy paid no heed. He had long lost his love for humans. Those who didn't know about the existence of vampires and other such beings of power desperately fantasized about them. Those who did know hunted them down ruthlessly or gave themselves up as pigs for slaughter. Either way, Randy held little kindness for them. It wasn't because he hated them, though; humans were just like chickens or cattle. They were food and who felt anything for their food asides from apathy? There was little he actually cared about, but John was definitely someone who had earned Randy's empathy.

Stepping over the dead body, Randy contemplated wreaking further havoc in Kelly's city. The night was young and the city was only just starting to wake. However, he no longer wanted to be out in the public, so he brought himself home. Sitting on the bed, Randy picked up the book he had checked out and opened it. From the very start, his mind raced over the realities the book held about his kind...and his past.

...

1863

...

Randy sat down in the grass, not caring that his uniform was torn and stained. What would it matter when, in the end, he'd be hanged anyways? Deserting the Confederate Army was an automatic death sentence and he had been on the run for a few days. He had no food or water on him and what little sleep he managed to get was plagued by nightmares of gun shots and dead bodies. Sooner or later, he'd get caught; after all, his best friend was a colonel and he would have noticed Randy's absence right away.

Without realizing it, he drifted off to sleep. His only indication that he had fallen asleep was the fact that he had been jerked awake by strong, cold hands. Randy's pale, icy blue eyes opened at once and he tried to fight his assailant off to no avail. Whoever it was that had grabbed him was immensely strong and had no desire to let go.

"Relax, son. Just relax..."

The sentence wasn't spoken out loud; instead, it was more on the lines of a thought within his head, one that didn't belong to him. Seemingly of its own accord, his body stopped struggling and relaxed, going limp. He didn't even feel the sharp fangs pierce his neck. What he did feel was his blood being drained out of him. Never before had he felt such a sensation, but he had very little time to contemplate it. Darkness over powered him for a little while and when he awoke, there was a bleeding wrist being held to his mouth. Without thinking, and acting on pure instinct, his mouth latched onto the wrist. A hunger he had never experienced before overwhelmed him and he drank greedily.

He knew that, on some level, what he was doing was wrong, disgusting, and unnatural, and yet he didn't seem to care. Every word he had read from the bible, every word spoken by the preacher of damnation and evil were the very last things on his mind. Randy had no idea how long he had remained latched, only that it had been a few seconds, but he pulled away abruptly when a voice, foreign and feminine, suddenly spoke up, breaking the spell that had fallen upon him.

"Well, isn't he just a natural at this? Ya sure chose a good one, Vince."

"Kelly, how many times have I told you to keep your voice down?"

"Aw, I can't help myself. Not when ya picked such a cute one..."

Randy felt someone touch him and he lashed out, growling and jerking away from the touch. He heard someone hiss and he believed it to be Kelly, whoever she was.

"He's not very gentle, is he?" Randy's eyes opened and immediately he could tell that something was different. Everything around him seemed more clear, more defined, and bright, brighter than the night should have been.

"You were worse. At least he has some self-control, which is more than what I can say of you at the moment, Kelly." Randy turned to look at the two people standing in front of him. But they weren't people, they were something else, something not of this world. And whatever they were, they had turned him into one as well. He knew that before he could even give himself the chance to enter the realm of denial.

"I'm glad to see that you're finally awake. You've been out for hours." The male, a man shorter than Randy but with a strong and sturdy-looking body and grey hair, spoke to him. His voice was rough and raspy, but not unkind.

"Who are you?" Randy's own voice sounded harsh and foreign to his own ears. It unnerved him.

"Vince, first of my line and the strongest and purest of the five blood lines. And this is Kelly, your blood sister and the fourth of my Childer." Randy's eyes turned to Kelly and drank the sight of her in. Dressed in a pretty pink summer gown, she was the picture of perfection and beauty. Randy disliked her at once.

"What did you do to me?" Vince looked him in the eye as he spoke.

"You're no longer human, son. You're something greater, better. And I'm assuming that the hunger is beginning to take hold of you." Randy did indeed feel a thirst, a hunger the likes of which he had never felt before. Nodding, Randy tried to stand up on his own and found that his body was weaker than he had anticipated. Vince helped him up while Kelly scowled.

"I doubt that I was that weak when I was a newborn." Vince turned to her and so did Randy, his icy blues piercing her own blue eyes with a cool stare.

"No. You were much worse." Once Randy was able to stand on his own two feet without assistance, Vince brushed himself off and straightened himself out.

"There's a town not too far from here. We'll find refreshments there." Randy felt his stomach twist in a knot.

"What kind of refreshments?" Vince gave him a very small, slightly sad smile.

"You'll see soon enough, son."

...

Present Day

...

Randy had no idea that he had fallen asleep while he read the book. All that he knew was that he was suddenly jerked from his dreams, dreams that were made more of memories than fantasy, when he heard something break through his bedroom window. As he jerked up, the book fell onto the floor with a clatter. Glass lay all over his floor and some shards fell from the window itself. Scanning the room for any intruders, Randy stood up gingerly, cautiously, and looked to see what had been thrown through his window. It was the decapitated head of the teenager that he had fed from previously in the night. Craved into the dead flesh of the head were three simple words.

Know your place.

A warning from Kelly, one that Randy was going to ignore. She may be older than him, but that mattered little to him. Actually, her warning made him want to hunt on her territory once more, so that's exactly what he did. Only he chose two instead of his usual one. Randy really didn't need to feed that much, but when he wanted to anger another vampire, especially if it was Kelly, then he made sure to litter their territory with the remains of his feasting. Kelly was the only one of their kind that Randy had any real problem with. For the most part, he kept away from the others and they kept away from him. It was better to live and let live; when too many of them got together in the same place, bad things happened and their entire race couldn't afford to be detected by Hunters and eliminated completely.

After he was done, Randy returned to his territory and made his way to the library. It was five and John would be getting off work soon. He had memorized the man's routine and knew that he would be left alone to close the public building up, as usual. What better time to take him out to dinner, especially when Randy was still feeling daring and bold? The library came into view and Randy started walking faster, reveling in the feel of a light breeze brushing past him. That was why he oftentimes preferred walking, to feel the sensations that humans felt and took for granted every day. His heart may not beat as fast as theirs and his skin may have been cooler, but Randy was still a living being, one who didn't get to enjoy the simple pleasures of life more often.

Randy entered the library and allowed a small smile to cross his face when he spotted John sitting behind the check-out desk, looking over some papers. He made his way over to him, his boots making just enough noise to alert John that he was not alone. Sure enough, the young human looked up and saw him. John's eyes lit up and a big smile broke out across his face. Seeing such an expression almost melted Randy's cool heart and made him ache for a closer relationship with the other man.

"Randy! Long time no see." John laughed at his own bad joke. "Did you manage to read a few pages of the book you got yesterday?" Randy leaned on the wooden counter and smiled down at him.

"Yeah. It's pretty good. Definitely different from the other shit out there." John laughed and nodded.

"I know. That's why a lot of people check it out, I think. So, what are you up to?" Randy shrugged, appearing nonchalant. He was fairly confident that John would accept his proposal. The signs were there, all Randy had to do was act on them.

"I was in the neighborhood, I was hungry, and I happened to be walking past the library when I thought, 'hey, why don't I ask John if he'd like to go to dinner with me'. So, John, would you like to go to dinner with me?" Randy's pale, icy blues connected with John's bright clues and he knew the answer.

"Sure thing, man! Let me just finish up closing everything out and let me go tinkle and then we'll head on out." Randy smirked.

"Tinkle? Really, John?" John flashed him a grin, stood up, and made his way towards the doors and locked them.

"Don't be hatin', man." With that, he ran towards the restrooms, leaving Randy at the counter, his eyes following his every step.

Randy waited patiently, humming softly to pass the time. Two minutes passed. Then five. When almost ten minutes had passed by, Randy stopped humming and listened. Usually, the library had a few stragglers left behind when it came time to close and lock the place up, mostly high school and college students. But now that he took time and effort to listen, he realize that the library was too quiet, unnaturally so. There was no one else in the building, and when he listened even harder, Randy couldn't even hear John. Concern erupted within him, but Randy forced himself to remain cool and collected. With silent steps, Randy quickly made his way towards the bathroom. Gently pushing open the door, he peered inside and looked around. Everything looked normal aside from John's phone laying broken on the floor and two pairs of eyes. A note accompanied them.

You were warned. Now you will suffer.

Randy roared and turned away from the bathroom. He was going to murder Kelly if it was the last thing he'd do.

...

1954

...

Randy crouched between the boulders, being careful to mask his presence from the world. He had just discovered how to thoroughly use that power and he had been practicing every chance he got. After all, practice makes perfect and he was the fifth of the first, Vince's fifth Childer, blood of his blood, and there were powers that he had yet to discover and utilize. But why he had picked such a place, such hollow ground, was beyond him. Perhaps it was because Randy still saw part of himself as the foolish young man who had deserted the Confederate Army; perhaps he was just more in tuned with the spirits that still haunted the earth. Regardless of why, Devil's Den on the Gettysburg Battlefield was a popular place and many people came and went day to day. It was the perfect place to practice manipulating his aura and cloaking himself from the humans.

"Ya sure pick borin' places, Randy. Of course, I suppose that borin' people do borin' thangs." Randy closed his eyes and sighed. Kelly reveled in annoying him to no end and it had gotten worse when Vince died. It was obvious to them both, as well as to the rest of their kind, that Vince preferred Randy over Kelly and she never let him forget it, either. Time, jealousy, and hatred had turned the once beautiful girl into a hideous witch who destroyed whatever she touched.

"I dunno. You seem pretty boring to me. At least, that's what I've heard from all of the guys whose blood you sucked out." Kelly laughed, a haughty, obnoxious laugh, and jumped down from the boulder she stood upon. She was wearing a short, black skirt with a red polka-dot blouse and looked every bit like a normal human. But she wasn't normal or human.

"Darlin', blood isn't the only thing that I suck. I can promise you that." Randy closed his eyes and forced himself to relax. He wanted to hit her so bad. Before, when he was still human, he would never have dared to strike a woman. But that had been many years ago and Kelly wasn't any woman. She was Vince's fourth Childer, blood to his blood, and Randy figured that that alone exempted her from protection.

"Do you honestly have nothing better to do than annoy me, Kelly? You rarely visit me and when you do, it's to mercilessly taunt me." Randy crawled out from his wedge and stood up. He towered over her, but size didn't matter to their kind. Kelly was more than capable of beating him in a fight. She was older than him and had more experience with that kind of thing as opposed to Randy, who rarely contacted or was contacted by others of their bloodline or any other bloodline.

"Oh, I have plenty of important things to do, Randal. But I was in the neighborhood and I decided to stop by and grace you with my presence." Kelly smirked at him, an ugly expression that betrayed her outer beauty. On the inside though, she was nothing but a monstrosity, the completely opposite of her outward appearance.

"I think you're just a lonely old crone who has nothing important to do aside from bothering others who have more important things to do?" At that, Kelly seethed and Randy knew that he had hit a nerve. She hated it when people called her anything but beautiful. Her conceit and narcissism were known only to those whom she despised, and Randy just happened to be one of them.

"Do not test me, Randal. You may have been one of Vince's favorites, but you are not one of mine." Randy should have heeded her warning; he wasn't a fool, he knew better than to anger others who had more experience than he did, but he loved pissing Kelly off to no end and so that was what he did.

"It's not my fault that you haven't been tested yet. You're probably carrying a boat load of unhealthy diseases from sucking all of those men. I bet you've had a woman or too as well. Surprising, considering that you're so hideous and disgusting that you'd put Benedict Arnold to shame." Before Randy could blink, he was on his stomach, his cheek scraping against the hard boulders of Devil's Den. Kelly was sitting on his back, her nails clawing and grasping at his clothing like talons. They felt like talons that was for sure. She ripped his shirt open and shredded it to tatters, screaming and howling like an angry alley cat. Suddenly, she laughed, a haughty and humorless laugh, and stopped digging her nails into his bare back.

"You are such a bad boy. I told Vince that you were but he was convinced that he had finally done something right. But I know the truth. You're a coward who won't hurt me because I'm a woman. Well, that will be your down fall." Randy couldn't see what she was doing, but he could hear her. From somewhere on her person, Kelly retrieved something, a small bottle of something, and opened it up. He could hear her dipping her long fingers into it and that was when he could smell it. Whatever was in the bottle smelled like death, death and decay and old blood. It made his stomach twist and coil. And then, there was pain, a hot, searing pain, as Kelly dug into his back with one of her nails.

"You may be blood of my blood, Randal, but I have no love for you. Remember that and you might live a little longer." When she was done, Kelly stood up and wiped her hands on her skirt. Randy couldn't move or blink; the pain paralyzed him and burned into his skin. He knew that what she had done would leave a permanent scar until the end of his days.

"Our kind is not weak. You must fight to earn your place and to earn respect. Remember that or you won't live long enough to make an impression." Kelly left him there and Randy remained on the ground, writhing in pain.

Eventually, the pain subsided and Randy managed to bring himself home. After a very brief, very painful bath, Randy managed to see what Kelly had carved into his back. In dark purple ink, a color that reminded Randy of poison, was a carving of a dove with a knife in its back. Randy recognized the picture as Kelly's sigil. He only managed to see it for a few seconds before blood began to seep out of it. Before the night was over and done with, he'd have to hunt, but Randy swore to himself that he'd repay Kelly in kind, one way or another.

...

Present Day

...

Randy found them on the boundaries of his territory. His eyes were cold and shone with determination and anger. John was sitting on the ground, bound and silenced and looking frightened. But when he saw Randy, he began to squirm and talk, although the words were muffled by the duct tape that covered his mouth. Kelly looked beautiful as always and pride and triumph were apparent on her face. He stopped walking and stood a good twenty feet from them. The fear he could smell emanating from John made his heart clench, but he had to be strong.

"Howdy, Randy. Long time no see." Kelly's grin widened and she flipped her long blonde hair over her shoulder.

"Let John go, Kelly. This is between you and I. He's nothing." Kelly's grin turned to a smirk and she placed a condescending hand on John's head.

"Is he now, Randy? That's not what I've seen and I've had eyes on your for a while. I've been meaning to visit. But you decided to come and visit me instead, although not in the manner I had hoped." Randy narrowed his eyes.

"Don't mock me, Kelly. If you hurt him, I will go after you." Kelly laughed and crouched down beside John.

"I would never hurt such a handsome devil. Not there are other things I can do to him." Randy growled and stepped towards them. Kelly must have been anticipating his moves because she withdrew a knife from her belt and threw it at him. It cut his arm and Randy roared in pain and blood poured from his wound. Turning to look at the knife, Randy saw that it was a Hunter's knife, much like the one that had put an end to Vince. His attention was pulled away from the knife when he heard John gasp.

Turning back, Randy drank in the sight before him. Kelly had removed the tape from John's mouth and his mouth was open in a silent scream. John's body jerked as Kelly drank from him, taking in his life's blood and slowly killing him. Without a second thought, Randy ran as fast as he could towards them and tackled Kelly to the ground and away from John. She screeched like a banshee and thrashed at him, but Randy had the upper hand. He grabbed her by her hair and slammed her head against the ground, hard enough to stun her and make her lax beneath him. That was when he took his chance. He dragged her from the spot where they had landed and moved her to the knife she had thrown at him.

Removing it from the ground, Randy held it in his hand and felt the weight of it. It was heavy, filled with powers that he didn't understand. Growling, rage and hatred written on his face, Randy dug the blade into Kelly's chest, just above her breasts and began repaying her for the favor she had given him long ago. She screamed and fought and tried to get away, but she couldn't, not with Randy's weight on top of her and stopping her from escaping. Her body spasmed and contorted in pain as Randy drew a viper on her chest, leaving a permanent mark on her that would be even more prominent because of the blade he used. When he was finished, Kelly sagged in pain and exhaustion beneath him. Without saying a word, she tilted her neck and offered him the only truce that would bring an end to their feuding: her blood. Had it been anyone else, Randy wouldn't have taken it because it would give them control over them and their territory and their Childer, but Kelly needed to be put in her place, and what better way to do it? Randy drank from her and felt her blood enter his body.

Only John's moan of pain and the smell of death stopped Randy from draining her completely. Detaching himself from her, Randy looked at John before quickly making his way beside him. Kneeling beside the man he had come to love so deeply, Randy sighed heavily. Because Kelly had almost drained John of his life's blood, there were only two options for him: die or become one of them. Randy chewed on his lip for a moment before he stared into John's half lidded eyes.

"I'm so sorry, John. I wish there was another way." Randy cut open his wrist with his teeth and forced it to John's mouth. "Drink. Now."

Randy didn't know if it was because John trusted him or if he just didn't want to die, but he did as he was told. His mouth closed over the wound and began to drink from Randy. There was no pain, just the sensation of his blood leaving his body and entering another's, a weird sensation in and of itself. As John drank from him, Randy realized that John would be his first Childer, the first of his line. That thought made Randy feel less guilty about depriving John of his choice. When it was time, Randy pulled his wrist away from John's mouth and watched as John went from the brink of death to life, a new and different life than he had previously known.

"What...what did you do...to me...?" John managed to huff out as his body adjusted itself and changed into something that humans had feared for centuries. Randy sighed, not knowing if John was angry at him or not and afraid that he'd lost the only thing he had truly cared about since he himself had been filled with Vince's blood.

"I saved your life, John. You're mine now." Randy wasn't being arrogant, he was merely stating a fact. John managed to stand up on his own and he flinched away from Randy when he tried to help him.

"Don't touch me!" Randy sighed and let his hands fall to his sides. Nodding to himself, he looked into John's eyes and saw fear, resentment, and confusion staring back at him.

"I'm sorry, John." And with that, Randy left in the blink of an eye, leaving John to his anger and Kelly to her shame.

...

The End

...