~*~Creative Title is Creative *facepalm*
So, while the source of my inspiration is obvious, I didn't actually write this during a thunderstorm, oh no. The thunderstorm happened afterwards. Pretty cool.
And I'm sure this concept has already been abused to death, but hey, that's never stopped me before!
And there's a lot of stupid implications about Worth's life as a kid in Australia, because it's a stupid idea that will not leave my head. It's a rabid little plotbunny that may one day evolve into an actual fic. Who knows?
Musical Muse: Greed Day
Warnings: Bad words, duh.
Disclaimer: I'm not Tessa Stone, to whom I wish the best of luck, and hope whatever shit is happening in her life goes away, for her sake and for the fans.

~*~Thunderstorm~*~

Worth was used to being woken up in unusual –usually unpleasant –ways. Cops beating down his door, screaming patients who woke to find themselves in his office without anyone there, Hanna and his dead friends clamoring for his help…to say he was used to it was an understatement.

But today, it was just a run-of-the-mill thunderstorm that woke him…a rather severe one, but that really wasn't too far out of the ordinary for this time of year.

Lightning lit the sky. Worth laid still and counted under his breath until thunder crashed, shaking his tiny apartment. It was close. Half awake, he faintly remembered lying counting in a different bed, in a different country, in a different life…smelling the desert soak in the rain, wondering about the critters getting wet, anticipation about the life that always flourishes after the storm, praying there would be puddles in the morning…

Worth sat up straight on a ratty mattress on the floor of his room. The room smelled moldy, and he imagined water seeping into his office below him, drowning the cockroaches. This wasn't Australia; not dusty and bright like he remembered, but too grimy and gloomy. So different. When he really stopped to think about it, it was no wonder that Conrad hated it here.

Well…Connie. Now there was a thought. This was the first storm of the year (and a hellava doozie too) and the first since his turning into a vampire. And for a member of the nocturnal society –of which Worth was a card-carrying member –there was nothing more annoying as fuck than being woken up at what was considered three in the morning by a thunderstorm.

He must be pissed. Worth grinned and reached for his shitty little cell phone. Since they were both likely awake, Worth saw no reason why he couldn't call and annoy the silly little fag.

As the phone rang, Worth lit a cigarette and stared out the window at the downpour. Rain was bad for business. Gang-bangers and prostitutes –his "normal" clientele –didn't like doing their business in the rain. They would stay indoors and beat each other up, and who came to the doctor's with just a bruise? Worth smirked as he thought of some people who would: Connie, Connie's mother, hypochondriacs…

Why was it taking the fag so long to answer?

And of course, rain meant that certain people couldn't leave their apartments and do stupid things because their partners couldn't handle being wet. Alleluia. Dealing with Hanna was both a blessing and a curse. He brought in the unusual types of people that paid big, but sometimes dealing with all that was a bit much.

Was Connie ignoring him? He must be stupider than Worth thought if he thought that would work. "God damnit ya stupid piss pick up yer fuckin phone." Worth growled in annoyance.

"…W-worth?"

That was not his cell phone talking to him. That couldn't be his cell phone, because it was still ringing in his ear. And the voice came from somewhere in the room with him. What the fuck...?

Worth silenced the machine and looked around his room, even though he knew it was stupid; it was bright in here, despite the rain, and there was no faggot sitting in the rickety wooden chair heaped with his clothes or resting on the grimy mattress next to him. So where the fuck was the noise coming from…

Worth looked up, and told himself that he wasn't surprised when he saw two beady little eyes staring at him from the farthest corner. No, he was not surprised when lightning illuminated the room and shown him that batty boy had flown across town in the rain to lodge himself in the moldering corner of his room. Nope, not at all.

"What the fuck are you doin?" Worth snapped as he pushed himself to his feet. The cold and damp of the room hit him with a shiver, and he regretted wearing just his boxers and wife-beater to bed. But he wasn't expecting a storm and fucking company, damnit! He stumbled forward regardless, using the cigarette clenched in his hand to illustrate his point. "Of all the stupid things to do and the places to go, what the fuck are ya doin 'ere?"

Worth stopped his rant when he finally got close enough to Conrad to see his little batty face. The expression in those red eyes was one that he had seen far too often in his youth. An animal, frightened out of its mind, trembling, uncomfortable, scared. He flinched at every bolt of lightning and every clap of thunder, waiting for what his instincts told him was an attack about to happen. No matter how much humanity Conrad had managed to hang on to, he lost it all when he transformed and went flying in the rain. Pure animalistic terror was all he knew now. It was a wonder he had even remembered Worth's name, and how to get to his clinic.

Worth moved slowly now, trying not to spook him. Animals had attacked him before when he had just been trying to help them, and the extra bonus of Conrad being a vampire made him extra cautious. He stubbed his cig out as he pulled his chair around, knocking questionably clean clothes to the floor. Moving the chair into position under the bat, Worth took a moment to observe his friend's predicament.

Conrad was large for a bat, and red. Not the ginger red of the flying foxes back home, but blood red, except for the patch of black on top. Worth wondered again why some things, like hair and glasses for fucks sake survived the change into bat form. That was the kind of magic that just didn't make sense. He was soaking wet, and trembling, and was watching him the way that scared creatures did, like they weren't sure you were going to hurt them more or help out. Logic and instinct deemed the former, but some animals were willing to trust. Worth hoped Conrad was one of them.

Worth slowly climbed onto the chair and, even more slowly, straightened his spine so that he was almost face to face with Conrad. The little bat stared back at him. Worth waited, listening to the storm raging behind him, knowing that this was something he couldn't rush. That could mean losing a finger or two.

Before he was even considering moving, Conrad flinched at some thunder, and seemed to snap out of whatever fearful fit had taken over him. Worth waited while a little sanity crept back into his blinking gaze. He stared at Worth, and actually seemed to recognize him now. He didn't stop trembling though, and Worth had a feeling that it wasn't just the cold and wet that made him shake. "W-worth?" he squeaked, and his voice was high with fear, not just littler vocal cords.

Worth carefully kept his face blank and his voice even. "Heya Connie watcha doin up there?" he asked as he carefully stretched a hand forward. Just because he was talking again didn't mean Worth trusted him to behave himself. This was Conrad after all; who knew what he would do when he was freaked out?

Conrad was blinking at him, panting high and light. "I…I g-got s-s-scared." He whispered out. Worth nodded encouragingly as he brought his hand level to Conrad's little form, but kept his distance. "I-i-it-it was loud and-and scary and all I could think was about g-g-getting away a-a-a-and…" Conrad broke off with a gasp that sounded suspiciously like a sob when Worth's (comparatively) large hand closed around him. Worth hadn't really listened to his stumbling words, and instead had focused his efforts in bringing his hand closer to Conrad while he was distracted. Worth hesitated, his hand loose around Conrad's pudgy body, as he waited for the vampire's next move.

Conrad tensed, a terrified shudder passing through his body before it went limp. He closed his eyes in what looked like defeat. It didn't really matter; now Worth could proceed knowing that Connie wasn't going to freak out at him. Worth lifted his other and carefully uncurled Conrad's claws from the pipe he was hanging onto. Conrad continued to be compliant as Worth stepped down from the chair, bringing his arms in close to he could really examine him. The trembling hadn't completely stopped, and he was absolutely soaked. Worth felt each shuddering breath, and guessed that if he had a pulse, it would be racing.

Worth carefully cradled Conrad close to his chest with one hand as he reached down, searching for something clean-ish to wrap him in. His hand touched a t-shirt, and he used it to wrap and rub at Conrad as he made his way back to his mattress.

Conrad seemed to fall into a trance –it was either that or some sort of shock –as Worth dried him. That was either a good thing or bad. He was lying loose in Worth's hands, his eyes half shutting. He still jumped at every clap of thunder, but at least he wasn't shivering.

"So," Worth said conversationally, as though there was nothing weird about drying a bat at 3:30 in the afternoon, "ya decided to come see yer dear darlin doctor in the middle of a thunderstorm. Interestin choice." A normal Conrad reaction would be to deny any implication that he had come for Worth, and a jab at his questionable medical occupation. Conbat just made a small nose and nosed into his hand when he brought it up to test the dryness of his fur. Worth rolled his eyes and examined his work. Conrad was definitely dry, and a bit rumpled, but still had a fearful look to his eye and a tenseness in his body that wouldn't go away. Worth was now officially out of ideas.

"So watcher plan now?" he growled as he reached for another cigarette. Conrad didn't move or answer, just sat in his lap staring at him like he should know the answer. Worth shrugged and decided that if Conrad wasn't in the objecting mood, then he might as well push his luck. He scooped up the little ball of fluff and placed it on his pillow, reclining next to him as he continued to smoke. It was unavoidable, really, that Conrad would have to stay here. He couldn't fly back through the storm, and didn't seem to be in the right shape for walking. Besides, he had risked life and wing to get here. He might as well stay.

Worth finished his cigarette and put it out, falling back into bed with a groan. Damn he was tired. Early "morning" animal taming really took it out of you. Worth rolled onto his side, facing away from Conrad, and closed his eyes. He was already ignoring the thunder and lightning, and forgetting about the bat behind him and not thinking about what waking up would bring.

A loud clash of thunder shook him from the state of almost asleep he had just slipped into, and the set of claws latching into his shoulder blade added to the growing unpleasantness. Worth reached a hand around and grabbed Conrad, not being nearly as gentle this time. "Wha' the fuck's yer problem?" he snapped. He watched as Conrad squirmed against the cage of his fingers, not looking at him. Not looking at anything really; his eyes were clamped tightly shut.

Worth loosened his grip, dropping the bat on his bed. He watched with interest as Conrad scrambled across his bed sheets to where his neck met his chest. He didn't move, didn't even breathe, as Conrad scrunched himself into a little ball and rested his big-eared head against his throat. Worth brought his hand up again, lightly covering the still-slightly-shaking body. Conrad made a content noise and finally relaxed entirely.

Well…fuck. Worth closed his eyes, unable to do anything more other than wondering if Conrad might take a bite out of him in his sleep.

~*~ Second part comes up later. Please review!