A/N: I actually had a MAJOR blonde moment while writing this in which I didn't even think about the fact Collinwood burned to the ground at the end, buuuuut I didn't actually realize it until I was halfway done. D: So I am fully aware of the problem, but I couldn't really change it by that point, and I love this story so much that I don't really care! :D I hope you enjoy it anyways!

A woman pulled herself onto a Collinsport dock, gasping for air as she finally surfaced after God knows how long. Her newly developed claws made deep scratches in the wood as she dragged herself out of the water. She coughed, creating a small puddle from the water leaving her lungs. A fisherman working overtime saw her and ran over to help her. "Hey lady, you okay?" She looked up at him and he couldn't believe his eyes. She looked like she was already dead. "You look like you need a doctor. I can give you a ride if you need it."

The woman looked back down and her orange hair, darker than usual from being so wet, fell in front of her face. "I...I don't need a doctor. I'm just...really thirsty."

"Thirsty? I can get you some water if you want."

"So...thirsty." She looked up again and her lips had twisted into a smirk, revealing a pair of razor sharp fangs. She pounced on the man and pinned him to the ground, successfully knocking the air out of him. Her eyes were wild and she was licking her lips as she stared down at him. Her claws dug into his arms as she held them down. "I think you'll do nicely." Before the man could utter a word in response, or even attempt to scream, she sunk her fangs into the flesh of his neck and drank every drop of blood that came through the wounds, draining the man dry within seconds.

She stood up after and licked her bloodied fingers as well as her lips. It wasn't enough. She still was not yet satisfied. She needed more, more of that delicious liquid life.

Overcome by a thirst, an uncontrollable hunger unlike any she had ever felt before, she scouted the small town for more. She spotted a couple coming out of a late movie and pulled them both away into a nearby alley. She sat them both against the wall and put her finger to her lips, signaling for them to be silent. Confused and scared, they obeyed. She crawled up closer to the woman and licked her neck, then bit down hard. Soon after, the woman fell over, limp and lifeless. Then she turned to the man and put her finger to her lips again. His breathing was heavy, his heartbeat a loud drumming in both of their ears, until a few moments later, it was halted forever.

Still she was not satisfied. Still she craved more of that sweet, crimson drug. Victim after victim, her death toll ran high, until at last her hunger was sated.

Once finished, she wandered through the darkness to the only place she could think of, the one place she could call home. She entered without even knocking and walked up the stairs and down the hallways until she reached her room. She shut the door behind her and plopped down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. What had happened? The last little while was just one big blur. She remembered hooking herself up to the usual iv of Barnabas's blood, laying down with a magazine, and then nothing. Clearly her self-treatments had worked, but that still didn't explain anything.

"No use worrying about it now," she thought. "Maybe I can ask someone in the morning if they know anything."

The next morning, she closed her curtains as soon as the sun began to peek over the horizon. Later, after she heard others begin to move about the house, she rolled out of bed, changed clothes, threw on her sunglasses, and left for breakfast as usual. Upon entering the dining room, she noticed Roger was missing, and every eye in the room was on her. Barnabas, especially, seemed even paler than usual, and dropped his fork upon seeing her. "Doctor Hoffman? What," he cleared his throat, trying to sound calmer, "what are you doing here?"

Julia walked through the awkward silence and took her usual seat before answering. "I'm home. Is that a problem?"

Elizabeth was clearly glaring at her, looking highly annoyed. "Where were you? We needed you yesterday, badly, or rather, David did."

"I got an urgent call from Windcliff. They said they needed my help with some new patient."

"We pay you and house you and even pay to keep up with the absurd amount of alcohol you drink, and you can't even be here the one time we really need you, all because they needed a little help?"

"Like I said, it was urgent. I couldn't say no. Besides, how was I supposed to know Roger was going to pick that day to leave?"

Elizabeth stayed silent after that, trying to avoid a big argument. Barnabas, however, soon broke the silence again. "Doctor Hoffman, may I please speak with you in private for a moment?"

Julia looked over at him, slightly confused, but nodded anyways. "Yeah, sure." She stood up and followed him into a nearby room, far enough to be out of earshot of everyone else.

Barnabas roughly pinned her up against a wall and eyed her angrily. His voice was a low growl as he snarled at her. "What in God's name are you doing coming back here? I already killed you once, and I will not hesitate even slightly to do it again."

Julia's blood ran cold and her eyes were again just as they were the last time they met: glistening with fear. "Wh-what are you talking about? You never-" She paused as suddenly everything came flooding back. He had caught her with her iv and, in his rage, killed her on the spot. Now he had her again, but she had an advantage she didn't before. She was every bit as immortal as he was. Realizing this, her fear faded into a smirk. "Right. Now I remember. Luckily I had already gotten enough to transform myself."

"You loathsome woman. You deserve this curse far more than I."

"Call it what you like, sweetie. I get to stay young and beautiful, for which I will pay any price." Julia pushed Barnabas off of her and slowly walked towards him. "You said it yourself. You killed me once, and I will never forgive you for that. It just sucks for you that I didn't stay dead."

With every step the doctor took towards him, Barnabas took a step back, surprised by her forcefulness and the intensity in her gaze. "You know Elizabeth will not continue to allow your residence here once I tell her."

"You know, she wouldn't, but here's the thing. If you tell her that, you'd have to confess to my murder. What would she say if she knew you killed me in cold blood?"

Barnabas finally backed into a wall and raised his hands in surprise. "She will understand perfectly once I explain what you were doing and why you are now the same horrible monster that I am."

"Let me put this in blunter terms, Barnabas." Julia pressed herself up against the old vampire, held his hands affectionately by his sides, and put her face so close to his their noses nearly touched. "You tell Liz to kick me out, and no one else in this house besides you will see the sun the next morning. Understand me?"

Barnabas swallowed hard and nodded his head, unable to speak.

"Good. Don't tell anyone about that either, or I'll do it then too." Julia's lips curved into a smirk as she released his hands and pulled away. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get back to breakfast." Without another word, she headed for the door, blowing a kiss and winking just before leaving.

Barnabas was frozen for a few more moments as he tried to process what had just happened. Julia, who had been timid and submissive in the face of his rage before, was now much more confident and downright psychotic. He knew he should be worried, yet somehow he found himself intrigued by her transformation instead. Clearly some of the old Julia Hoffman still remained since she was just as she was the first time until she remembered the events of their last meeting, but how much? He couldn't help but wonder. He also knew that, while being a vampire gave her the freedom to literally drink to her unbeating little heart's content without fear of health repercussions, it also meant alcohol would have less of an effect and would wear off much quicker. The same went for those pills he always saw her take. Perhaps it would get her to stop, and a completely sober Julia was one he had yet to ever meet.