Greetings dear readers and welcome to this year's LMI Valentine's Day fic. This is shorter than normal, as I was challenged that I couldn't get it in under a certain length. Well, I was able to Makokam my usual style, and present this as short but sweet. :-D

There WILL be a fic coming at some point that will explain how Owen and Abby reached their current position in the vampire hierarchy, as well as how their abilities are now somewhat different. (In Eternally Bonded, the coming attractions gave some clues. :-D)

I lieu of a V-Day card, I'll take reviews. :-)

And awayyyy we go. :-)

February 14th, 1994

A chill wind swept through Billings, Montana. Flurries drifted through the air and settled on cars that were parked around the Shrine Auditorium on Broadwater Street. The night's entertainment was getting underway, so most people had already entered the building.

Thus, nobody noticed a pair of shadows streaking through the sky and then slowly descended to the ground.

The flight was rather disorienting for Abby, as she had been wearing a blindfold for the last five minutes or so and had been holding Owen's hand for the final leg of the flight. She was glad when she felt her barefeet touch the snow again.

"We're almost there." Owen said as he released her hand from his. She heard him rustling in a bag and then felt him lift one of her feet up.

"What're you doing?" Abby asked in a curious tone. "You're being very clandestine."

"You'll find out in a minute. I promise." Owen said with a conspiratorial tone to his voice. He brushed the snow from her foot and slid it into a boot. Abby could feel that it was one of the boots she wore when they went somewhere public in winter and her disdain for footwear would be noticed. He repeated the process with her other foot and then she felt him tug off the blindfold.

"Ok. You've got to promise to keep your eyes closed."

"I promise." Abby sighed. A memory of eleven years prior flashed through her mind. "You're not going to cut your thumb open again are you?"

"Noooooo" Owen said sarcastically. He realized he was truly never going to live down his first attempt at impressing her. He took her hand in his again and she could feel him leading her across an open area and towards a building. Abby's senses could pick up hints now. She smelled popcorn, nachos, hot dogs and beer. She could hear music being played loudly from close by.

"Are we at a concert?"

"The warm-up act should be finished now." Owen said. She heard him hand some tickets to an usher and he led her through a turn-style. She heard the usher ask if he was taking his 'little girlfriend' out. Owen laughed in reply that he was. Abby suppressed a laugh as she realized the man surely had no idea how deep and intimate their relationship was. A few minutes later, Owen had led them to their seats.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen…!" A voice from the speakers intoned as the main act was apparently about to be introduced.

"You can open your eyes now." Owen said. Abby complied and looked around. The venue seemed pretty full. She noted the crowd seemed fairly diverse. About the only thing she found outstanding was that many seemed to be wearing jackets that proclaimed allegiance to the German soccer team for that summer's World Cup, and her ears picked up that many in the crowd seemed to speak German. She knew that Montana had a large German population, but still couldn't figure out what that had to do with Owen being so mysterious. Then, her curiosity was settled by the announcer.

"The Shrine Auditorium is proud to present in concert…DAVID HASSELHOFF!" The German speakers in the crowd went absolutely wild. Abby's jaw dropped with shock and she turned to her husband.

"Owen!" She was able to stammer over the din as the opening theme song for Baywatch began to play.

"Happy Card and Candy Day, Abby." Owen said with a smile and gave her a quick kiss. On stage, David Hasselhoff emerged and began to sing the theme song that was being played. Abby grabbed Owen had pulled him into a passionate kiss. She released him and then turned her full attention to the stage as the crowd began to scream with joy in both English and German. Owen smiled inwardly that his gift was a hit. He then felt a hearty clap -that nearly pitched him over into the next row of seats- on his shoulder. He turned around and saw a tall, very muscular young man with blonde hair and blue eyes smiling at him. The man pointed to Abby and smiled at Owen, giving him a thumbs-up sign. He'd obviously seen her kiss him.

"Das ist wunderbar? Ja?" The blonde giant said with a smile.

"Uh…yeah." Owen said back with a polite smile. He mentally pondered whether he should include German on the list of courses he and Abby took via correspondence.

As intermission approached, Owen stepped into the men's room. Of course, he didn't need to use the toilet, but he did want to splash some water on his face and just get away from the extremely enthusiastic (Owen never would have guessed there were THAT many Hasselhoff fans in the greater Billings area) crowd for a few minutes. As he stepped into the –surprisingly- empty washroom he saw a man pulling a woman close. Owen was about to do an immediate about face, figuring he'd interrupted a moment of passion when he realized the woman seemed…entranced. Then, fangs sprouted from the man's mouth. Owen sighed and then loudly spoke.

"Let her go."

The vampire turned to him and locked his eyes on him. "Go away." The inflection was clear. This idiot was trying to glamour him. Of course, one vampire could never glamour another.

"No." Owen said simply and bared his own fangs.

The larger vampire sneered at him. "Well, find your own meal kid. This one is mine."

Owen took a determined step forward and spoke with quiet authority. "Take a look at me first. I strongly suggest you do." The adult vampire sneered but looked. All of a sudden, the sneer vanished from his face and a look of concern replaced it as he recognized the Vampire King of Montana. Now it was Owen's turn to sneer.

"That's right. You know who I am, don't you? You're in Montana, you know." The other vampire opened his mouth to speak, but was silenced by Owen's hand. "Wait." He commanded. He then turned to the girl who'd clearly been glamoured. Owen looked into her eyes and spoke with quiet inflection, as he asserted his will upon hers. "Go, get yourself something to eat or drink, then go right back to your seat. Nothing happened in here." Owen quietly commanded her, ensuring she'd have no memory of what happened in here. He placed ten dollars in the girl's hand. "It's my treat. Enjoy the rest of the concert. Now go." He said with a tone of command. The girl mindlessly left the men's room. Owen activated the manual lock behind her and turned to the other vampire, who bowed. "And now...for you." Owen said gravely.

"Your majesty…" He began apologetically. Owen cut him off.

"You're in Montana. You know the laws here that the Queen and I enforce. Where are you from?"

"Boise, Idaho…Area 3" The humbled vampire replied.

"What made you think you could come into this state and feed in a public place like that?"

"I beg forgiveness." The vampire said meekly. Owen rubbed his chin as if in thought, a gesture he'd seen his grandfather do so often. He'd already reached a decision. Due to his timely -and opportune- intervention, no harm had been done to the girl. If he pursued the matter further here, it would disrupt his and Abby's evening out...and Owen was not about to wreck the good time Abby was clearly having over some disrespectful stranger. As his grandfather had wisely counselled him -sometime you got more obedience by showing leniency.

"If you leave now, as in this instant, I'll pursue this matter no further aside from telling your sheriff to make sure she keeps Area 3 aware that the Queen and I don't tolerate such acts. Now go." Owen said, unlocking the door. The vampire vanished in a blur.

Owen sighed and resumed the activity he came into the men's room for to begin with. In the nine years he and Abby had been the Vampire King and Queen of Montana, they'd set and personally enforced (the vampire population here was so miniscule they didn't need sheriffs as their peers did) three inviolate laws. No humans were to be permanently harmed by vampires in Montana. No vampire was allowed to drain any human in the state. And they were to NEVER feed in public places. Out-of-state vampires were welcome to pass through, or to stay a while if they wished -IF they behaved…But it was clear that feeding from humans in public or fatally was forbidden. They were welcome to visit blood banks or prey on animals, but it was clear that causing permanent harm to a human or feeding in a place where they could be caught was a dire offense. Thus, as soon as Owen saw what was happening, he realized that the vampire had to be visitor. (As well, the vampire population in Montana was small enough that he and Abby knew everyone by name and face and he didn't know this one.) On top of that, vampires who chose to live in the state under the laws he and Abby set were ones who were like them -they wanted to just live out eternity in peace and not have anyone bother them. As a result, their laws were adhered to without any real complaint by the permanent vampire population (all ten of them).

Owen and Abby lived a peaceful life…and they didn't allow others to disrupt it. Owen grinned as he realized the other vampire was lucky it wasn't Abby who discovered him. For disrupting the concert she was enraptured with, the Idahoan would've been –literally- tied into a pretzel and shipped to the Magister. Making a mental note to call the sheriff of Area 3 in Idaho, when they got back home; Owen dried his face with a paper towel and exited, deciding he was going to check the souvenir stands before returning to his seat.

Much later that night, Abby stepped into the shower back at the Alfredson ranch house and held the curtain back so Owen could join her after locking the door (they didn't want either Johnny –soon to be ten years old- or Grandpa Oscar walking in on them). Owen stepped in and closed the curtain. He took Abby into his arms and pulled her under the spray as they kissed.

"I had a wonderful time tonight, Owen. Thank you." Abby said.

"I'm glad. It was 'wunderbar' wasn't it?" Owen said as Abby giggled.

"Germans really do love him, don't they?" She laughed.

"Apparently" Owen said as he ran his hands through Abby's wet hair. He grinned as he thought of the two CD's of Hasselhoff's 'Greatest Hits' that he'd purchased from the vendors. He planned to give them to Abby on her birthday the following month. He nibbled on Abby's ear and began to kiss down her neck, eliciting small moans from her.

"Where'd you get the idea for tonight?" Abby asked as she rubbed her bare toes along Owen's leg.

"Last summer, when you agreed to run into Cold Creek and we could do it in the park."

"We do that almost every time we go into town."

"We'd never run naked there and back before."

"You really liked that?" Abby laughed. She recalled a time when Owen was shy. But now he seemed to enjoy such thrills.

"Didn't you?"

"Of course" Abby giggled as she recalled the rush of air over their bodies as they ran at full speed.

"Well, I liked it so much I decided I wanted to do something for you that you'd enjoy as much."

"Oh? Well, now you've upped the ante and I'm going to have to find something to top that for next time." Abby laughed.

"I can't wait." Owen said with a smile as he kissed her again and pressed her nude body close to his own as the steam began to rise in the tub.