A/N: Okay, I'm an HUGE fan of Victoria-James pairing. This story is kinda old actually ('bout 2 months…) but my friend encouraged me to put this here and make even some more.. Why not?
1. Soprano
I sighed deeply and opened my eyes carefully. The room didn't stay still and the furniture's looked like one big pap with the floor. I felt sick. I heard how people around me spoke quickly to each other, too quickly for me to understand.
I couldn't feel my legs, I just saw people raising they're glasses and saying my name.
"To James!"
Then I fell on my knees and everything went black.
"…know anything?"
"Nothing."
Was someone speaking? Did I hear right? Was I even hearing anything?
"Let's make this clear?" Someone asked. "You have no idea what's wrong with him?"
The person, that the question was pointed to, shook his head, I think. I wasn't sure because my eyes were closed.
The same voice, that had asked the question, shrieked desperately.
"So you, the best doctors from California, don't know what is wrong with my son?"
"I'm sorry Mr. Brown", the other voice apologized.
"You should be!"
I was done with that loud screaming, I wanted to sleep. I tried to raise my hand up carefully, but it just stayed tightly on my side.
'Damn', I thought and opened my mouth lightly. Nothing still came out, no part of my body moved.
"I think he is awake..." Someone, who I hadn't heard before said. My desire to move was gone, because I stayed to listen the voice; the voice was quiet and high childish soprano rattle.
I couldn't think any reasonable image of it, when I heard people running towards me.
"Son, are you awake?" my father called me distressed.
I pressed my lips into tight line and tried to make some noise. It worked and I got a little sneer out of my lips. The voice sighed in relief.
"Let's give him some sleep?" The soprano voice suggested again and it felt like I had just woken up from a dream.
I tried to open my eyes slightly so that I could see who was speaking. It didn't work.
"Sounds good. We'll leave you alone to recover, Mr. Brown…"
But now I didn't want to sleep anymore. I wanted to know who the soprano belonged to. I tried to move again.
"Are you hurt somewhere?" the soprano asked worried. Slowly I nodded, so that I could hear more of her voice. At least until I could open my eyes. Slowly I heard some graceful steps coming to where I was laying.
"What if we would leave Dora to take care of him?" the first voice, that I had heard when I woke up, suggested.
'Yes!' I yelled in my mind and tried to open my eyes desperately.
"You don't even know what is wrong with him, and you're trying to take care of him?!" my father yelled.
There was tension in the room and that was my fathers fault. The doctors were clearly afraid that he was going to attack to someone, if they would argue.
"Mr. Brown," the soprano voice said very calmly. "With taking care we mean keeping an eye of him. We want to make sure that his condition won't be even worse. And if something happens I'm going to be right here to stop that from happening."
She explained so calmly that no one could have argued with him. My dad just sneered.
I heard when a doctor coughed.
"So we can trust him with you?" he asked.
"Of course", the soprano answered with a smile on her voice.
I heard steps that were going away.
"After you Mr. Brown", some doctor said. A while and the door was closed.
It was quiet a little while. I just heard light steps going around the room. She clearly moved some stuff to different sides of the room. I figured that out from the occasional stops. After a while she came back to me again.
I smelled an incredible smell. I wasn't sure if it came from her, I didn't even care. The smell was so stunning that I concentrated in that for a while. I heard how my heart fastened its speed.
"How are you feeling?" the soprano voice asked.
My voice was a little better so I could answer to that incredible voice.
"Just fine", part of it was true. The pain in my muscles felt so little when I just concentrated in her voice. The rosier smell came to my nose again.
"What is that smell?" I asked.
"What smell?" the soprano asked amazed.
I inhaled deeply.
"It smells like roses and its fresh smell..." I clarified to her and tried to open my eyes again.
The soprano laughed a little. It was a very beautiful and tender laugh.
"I guess that would be me", she admitted and sounded cheerful.
I felt how my mouth spread into a smile.
"Are you really a doctor?" I asked.
The soprano was quiet for a while as if she was afraid that something would be revealed.
"Why?" she asked and her voice was still even.
"Usually I don't like doctors at all..." I grimaced.
The soprano voice gave a laugh a bit relieved and I couldn't understand why.
"Well, everything must have their first time?" she asked but didn't wait for an answer.
I just felt how something cold touched lightly my forehead. I stirred a little.
"What was that?" I asked amazed.
"My hand", and then her hand was gone. "You don't have any fever."
I could only wonder how she could feel my foreheads temperature, which was really warm, with a really cold hand. Then I had to think why her hand was so cold.
I tried to open my eyes again and this time they did open. Right in front of me was something stunning. The soprano was sitting on the edge of my bed, leaning to me. At last I saw the face that I wanted to. She looked somehow a little spooky, although she was incredibly beautiful. She had a really delicate face, wide forehead and narrow chin. Her skin was so pale and her eyes were blood red. I had never seen that kind of eye colour. So no wonder that I winced a little when I looked her in her eyes. Around her face there were these lion like hair. They were like soft flames and accentuated her pale face. I sighed because of her stunning look. I felt myself like an idiot and turned my head away.
"Are you feeling well?" the soprano asked worried.
"I think I'm sick", I mumbled.
'Lovesick!' I added in my mind.
"I know that without asking", the soprano admitted. "Though no one knows why you fainted suddenly..." I felt her gaze.
I was so concentrated in everything else all the time, so that I didn't realize what brought me here, to her.
"Do you have even a hunch?" I asked as careless as possible.
In the corner of my eye I saw how she shook her head. For a while I thought how serious this was.
Unwillingly I turned my head back to her face.
"Is it possibly something serious?" I asked.
The soprano's eyes glinted.
"People are very concerned about you", she admitted. "Have you had any abnormal symptoms lately?"
I closed my eyes so that I could think clearly. So that her face couldn't have any effect on me. When I was sure about it I opened them again.
"Nothing", I answered simply. When I thought about it I hadn't been sick for a while. But the knowing that I had some serious decease made me a little scared.
When the soprano put her hand on my shoulder to calm me, all that fear disappeared. Only because of that amazing woman that I just met.
"No worries yet", she assured me. "But you're going to have to be in the hospital at least as long as we get you better. We always have to approach situations like this carefully."
As sick as it sounded, it was a good idea for me, if that was the key to her company. When I realised what I had just thought, I wanted to punch myself. Why was I thinking things like that after meeting her only a few moments ago?
~oOo~
"Are you sure that you're fine?"
"For the thousand time; yes!"
"Sure?"
"Father..."
We were alone with my father in my ward. He had moved a chair next to my bed and wanted to know more about my condition. And I knew as much as I knew yesterday about it.
My dad didn't seem to belong to the ward at all; he was wearing a blouse, a bowtie and long straight pants that wouldn't have stayed on him, if he wouldn't have had a belt. His bald was shining on the dim light that the oil-lamp gave. He looked like he came from a visit from the queen.
"Even the doctors aren't qualified nowadays", Father complained vehemently. "They have knowledge to share for a village, but no! They are too busy to do everything else..."
"Father", I reminded him meaningfully, although I knew that my words wouldn't have any affect to him. My father went quiet but only for five seconds, and during that five seconds his gaze went around the room and looked for something to complain for.
"Its narrow and messy for patients, and you should get better in here. I can't believe it..."
I just sighed roughly and laid my head down on the pillow; it was just so like my father. Trying to get everything perfect.
"How have they been treading you?" he asked.
I lifted my head.
"They all work very hard and they're nice, they do everything they can", I told what I thought and my father just shrugged.
I had to admit that the doctors could have been lazier if they wouldn't be so afraid of me telling my father.
"Doesn't that Dora take care of you the most?" he asked and I nodded. "Is she nice?"
"She's nice," I answered and didn't tell how nice I thought she was.
My father looked closely at my face like he could see right through me. A smile stayed on his face and that irritated me a lot. He figured out everything by just looking at my face.
"Nice huh..." he went on meaningfully.
I blushed a little.
"What are you trying to say?"
"Hmm..." my father mumbled, he raised his other eyebrow a little and made a big grin.
"You perverted old fart!" I exclaimed. "There's nothing going on between us!" I hissed, I was seriously angry.
My father turned to look over my head.
"Good morning, Dora!" my father greeted.
I fallowed my fathers gaze quickly and realized that he had cheated. I turned to look at him; my face was of course all red. He was just laughing.
"And I should be resting while you're in here", I mumbled and turned away from him.
"James, I was just kidding!" my father exclaimed with laughter still in his voice.
I rolled my eyes and sighed.
"I can handle the teasing but I really am tired... My feet are hurting", and with those words I changed my position a little and placed the pillow better under my head.
Father was quiet for a while, probably because he was worried.
"And it's no use for you to blame the doctors because of this", I added. "I don't think that they know any more about this disease than you and I do. So let them be, okay? They are doing the best they can..." though even I didn't think that was enough.
"Well they could at least give better medication", he mentioned a little silently.
I turned again this time to face him.
"Listen", I started. "I'm not dying yet. These people here, they can do their job".
Something flashed on my fathers face. Most likely fear. I wanted to tap his shoulder to encourage him, but I thought that it would have a reverse effect on him.
For a while it was dead silent again. I stared at my father who first time in a long time was quiet and just stared at the tip of his shoes.
'Because of me', I thought bitterly.
I rose a little from the bed to him, but at that moment the door opened. I cringed and lied back down. Father awoke and lifted his head to the door.
"Hello gentlemen, we have something to tell you", told a familiar voice. I turned the other way around so I could see who spoke.
"Hi, Charlie", I smirked to the man who I had learned to know while I was in the hospital.
He was a young man with skinny, pale face, big brown eyes and short mousy adjective hair. Charlie's hands were in the pockets of the white doctor's coat and he looked a little anxious.
"Yeah, hi", he greeted me and flashed me a smile that vanished right away.
"I have bad news", he said.
I felt how my forehead crinkled and I glanced at my father who was staring focused at Charlie.
I turned back to Charlie.
"Here have died twenty people today..." he explained and then looked quickly at my fathers face.
I shrugged my shoulders and gave a laugh.
"Well, it's hospital. Isn't it normal?"
Charlie grinned.
"Not this time", Charlie started; his forehead was crinkled from worry. "Every dead person got a sudden blood deficiency and..." he trailed off.
I was quiet for a minute.
"...blood deficiency...?" I asked.
Charlie nodded and hesitated.
"I shouldn't tell this but what the hell. Every body has two deep adjacent stings some part of the body. As crazy as it sounds I personally suspect... Oh, damn... Vampires."
I started to laugh immediately.
"This isn't funny!" Charlie shouted through my laughter.
But I still laughed; tears of laughter weren't far from my eyes.
"Oh, Charlie, Charlie..." I guffawed.
Charlie lifted his other eyebrow and crossed his hands.
"You should take this seriously. I don't want to scare you but one of the victims was a doctor, perfectly healthy doctor".
That did it and I was quiet.
"Who was the doctor?" I asked and felt how I went pale. What if it was Dora or someone else from the group that examined me?
"Some intern" Charlie said. "The other interns got a good first impression", he added ironically.
"Anyway, here is going to be strange investigators and a few police officers", after saying that he turned and headed for the door.
"I'll see you later, stay alive!" I said after him. Charlie waved his hand to show that he heared, and left the room.
I turned back to my father again; his gaze was stuck at the door where Charlie had just left.
"What do you think?" I asked.
Father just snorted.
"Vampires..." he grumbled and shook his head.
~oOo~
The days at the hospital started to be longer day by day and I started to feel weaker and weaker for some reason. It appeared as all day lasting tiredness and that I couldn't hold one little water glass without my hand starting to shake. I was also coughing a lot from time to time. Knowing that a shocking amount of patients had died to the sudden epidemic, didn't help my condition at all. Relatives started to transfer their relatives to other hospitals because of that kind of piece of news. I would have been lying if I said that I wasn't scared.
From time to time I felt a little lonely at the hospital. My father was running after his business all over America and my so called friends were scared to death of infection.
The only thing that kept me sane in the insanely white rooms was Dora. Dora, whose natural rosy scent made me see stars. I had even learned to separate her footsteps from anyone else's. Though that wasn't hard. Her steps were more graceful and delicate than anyone else's, almost impossible to hear. When I heard them, my eyes popped open and I saw her incredibly beautiful face, which seemed to be always tired.
I had started to notice that from her face and I wanted to help her, but she pulled some invisible shield in front of it; her own personal bubble.
Little by little I realised that my reaction to her was ridiculous. Getting to know her in such a short time made me like her so much. I didn't think that Dora felt the same way for me; I was just a patient who she had to take care of. The end.
Still I noticed that I was always staring at her and memorising her expressions. I think she was staring at me abashed but I think it was because I was always staring at her.
"Well, that's it for today", Dora said and stood up. She was sitting on a chair, which was dragged next to my bed.
She had a notepad in her hands, where she had a lot of notes because she had been asking me questions all day. Mostly about my life style.
I wanted to ask her to stay but it sounded stupid even in my own ears.
"Dora..." I said and grabbed her ice cold hand when she was turning to leave. She flinched and turned to me. She looked at me questioningly.
I swallowed hard, because that move was like a reflex, I didn't plan it at all.
"Thanks for enduring me", I got out of my mouth and made forced a grin on my face. I meant it.
Dora smiled and gave a laugh with her fascinating soprano voice.
"You're not the worst patient I have..." she said. "Although you're tired almost all the time and under medication so it's hard to say", she was teasing me.
I had to laugh out loud to that, a little weakly though, because she was kind of right. If I really would be more awake, no doubt I would be a real burden for her.
"Are you feeling any better?" Dora asked me.
I released her hand slowly and lay back down carefully.
"Telling the truth, I can't feel my legs", I just had to say it.
Dora smiled understandingly.
"Your painkillers are a little stronger than anyone else's, because–"
"– my father ordered."
I could finish that sentence too well. I was my fathers' only son, whose mother had died a long time ago. I was the only one he had.
Dora nodded her head and looked quickly at my feet.
"What have you been doing?" Dora asked from me like chatting. She pointed at my feet. "I've never seen so muscular feet."
I looked at my feet quickly.
"I like hunting. I've travelled with my father a lot. He does the business and I hunt", I kept a little brake and then started to speak a little too arrogantly. "I never leave a hunt unfinished."
Dora nodded like she knew exactly what I was talking about.
"I like hunting too", she mentioned and smiled.
I looked at her questioningly and looked at her feet quickly. Her nurse-dress went a little over the knees, but her legs that I could see weren't almost at all muscular let alone big or fat. Those weren't feet that you could run with in a severe ground.
"What do you hunt?" I asked.
Dora flinched and looked at me. She hesitated.
"Are feeling okay?" I asked her.
Dora fixed her face from a little scared back to calm.
"That's my line", she noted.
I would have asked my question again but right then I had to cough.
'Damn'I cursed and put my hand in front of my mouth. Something came up to my throat and I coughed it to my hand. I looked at my hand, and noticed that I had coughed blood.
Next I noticed Dora, who froze and stared at my hand. Her eyes were big and her breathing started to accelerate. She backed up to the door carefully her eyes still locked in my bloody hand.
"Dora..." I mumbled abashed. Was she afraid of blood? If she was, I could do nothing but wonder about her career.
Dora's back smashed against the wall and she slid along the wall to the ground. She put her hand to her eyes and breathed heavily. Her white skin went even whiter, if that was possible.
"Dora..." I said again and rose into sitting position. I put my feet over the bed and jumped up. I almost fell over instantly, because I had been too long in bed.
"Stay there!" Dora snarled. She actually snarled. I heard a weird hissing sound out of her mouth, like a wildcat.
I froze and I was only two feet away from her.
"Dora", I said for the third time. "I want to help you."
Now Dora, who was lying on the ground, gave a laugh with her shaking voice. She moved her other hand so that I could see her other eye. It was pitch black. I looked at it without believing my eyes and backed down a step.
"Go back to your bed", Dora said her voice shaking.
"What's going on?" I asked anxiously and took a step closer to her. Dora pressed her back against the wall and stopped breathing.
I was watching her amazed, maybe even a little scared. Dora got up, still not breathing, and leaned to the wall with her other hand. She stepped forward still leaning to the wall. She was going to the door.
"I'll go get help to you", that was the last thing she said, before rushing through the door. I was staring at the place she had just been standing.
"That was my line", was the only thing I could say to the empty room.
I didn't see Dora at all that day. After her sudden leaving she really had sent me help; Charlie, who lunged to my room with as horrified face as Dora had had when she had left. He had marched to my bed and opened my mouth roughly.
"This is not possible..." he had mumbled. "Your throat is all white."