***-Of Fires & Love-***

**-Summary-:** After the fire that took her boyfriend's life, Claire Danvers has never been the same. She has nightmares that make the disaster seem like it was happening all over again. And after her best friend, Eve, was killed by the vampires for trying to help save Shane, her only other living housemate left, Michael Glass, was also going through the same heartbreak Claire was. Can the two take comfort from each other and move on? Or will they drift apart forever?

A/n: Yes, I know the summary sucks but I'm sure if you guys give this story a chance, you'll like it. Or at least... that's what I'm hoping will happen, anyway. Usually, I'm all into the whole Claire and Shane pairing but lately.. I've been reading stuff with her and Michael, so I wanted to make a story with them as a couple in it. :) Anyway, I hope you guys like the story. And if anyone would like to help me write it? I would gladly take the help. I like writing with other people, so if you want to help me, just say so in a review and I'll get back to you. :)

Chapter One:

*Memories of the Past*

~Claire~

"I love you." He whispered into her ear that night. They where laying in her bedroom and on her bed, cuddled up against each other, fingers intertwined together. 'They fit perfectly.' She thought to herself. The thought brought a smile to her face. Seeming to notice this, he gave her a questioning look and tilted his head slightly to the side, looking at her.

"Why are you smiling?" He asked her, gently. His lips were giving her small kisses all over her face and when they reached the corner of her own mouth, her breathing became just a little faster and her heart rate sped up. She was almost positive he could hear it. That thought gave her insides a small twinge of pleasure and she became warm all over.

She shook her head at him and proceeded into smiling more. "Just thinking." She murmured.

"About?" Shane asked, smiling back at her and running his fingers slowly through her hair.

Shane wasn't really a man of words but when he was? He said the sweetest things to her when they had moments like this alone. She cherished these moments with him. Especially after the long days of trying to keep Morganville from falling apart or from trying to stay alive. That thought made her think of the time when she was killed by Magnus. She shivered at the memory. Thinking about it was like going through it all over again. She still had nightmares about it.

"Claire?" Shane asked again. This time, however, he sounded a little bit worried for her.

She blinked.

"Sorry." She whispered to him. Then she continued by saying: "I was just thinking about us and how you make me feel when I'm with you." Saying this last part quickly, she hid her face against his chest, trying to hide the blush that was probably brighter than a tomato now. At this point? She wished she hadn't said it but then again... she knew she would have regretted it later if she hadn't.

"Hey," Shane whispered, putting his finger under her chin and making her lift her head back up so she was looking straight into his eyes. "Say that again and this time, I want you looking at me when you do." He was positively grinning now.

And of course, this made her blush even more than she already was. Which, by the way? Was embarrassing. However, she didn't really mind Shane seeing her blush now. In fact, she didn't mind him seeing her as how she really was at all. Before getting too carried away with her thoughts this time, Claire shook her head and distantly remembered what Shane had asked her to do for him. This time, she did as he asked and looked straight into his eyes when she said it.

"I was thinking of us and how you make me feel." She whispered, looking into his eyes.

"And how do I make you feel?" He asked, whispering the question back to her. The moment was so intimate that her whole body was shaking. Not from the cold but from how much she realized she loved him and just... wanted him. She wanted him so desperately.

"You make me feel like this," she said quietly before bending down and kissing him. Hard and fast. She gently nibbled on his bottom lip with her teeth and he moaned. He actually moaned. Because of her. The thought made her heart beat even faster and she moaned quietly right along with him. The feelings that where going through her body was amazing. She felt like she was on a cloud. A beautiful white, fluffy cloud that she never wanted to come off of.

She felt warm all over. And she never wanted those feelings to go away.

When they pulled apart from each other, she let out a disappointing sigh. It quickly faded, though, when she saw the happy, dazed look in her boyfriend's eyes and on his face.

"Just for the record?" Shane whispered, breathing hard and fast. "You make me feel the same way." He finished, kissing her gently on the lips again. This time, the kiss was slower and sweeter. Much, much sweeter. His lips felt like soft velvet against hers and she loved it.

She gave him her full and best grin. One that she felt came straight from the bottom of her heart. One that she saved just for him.'I never want this moment to end.' She thought quietly to herself. She snuggled up against his chest, resting her chin on it gently. Having the feel of his fingers against her skin and in her hair made her feel safe. Protected.

Her eyes began to slowly close shut and she desperately tried keeping them open but it was useless. When she heard him chuckle quietly, she looked up at him, feeling sleepy and warm all over.

"Sleep." He whispered quietly into her ear.

She didn't want to. In no way did she want to close her eyes, letting this moment pass. However, when he started to gently rub her back with his big, strong hands she decided to give in and close her eyes...

*Claire*

Claire dreaded waking up. Waking up meant no more Shane. She whimpered. Waking up felt like a slap in the face. She blinked, looking around. For a moment, she didn't know where she was but then she remembered. The night before, her and Michael had spent it talking. Just talking. About anything. And everything. They talked about the fire. And Eve's death. They talked about how the two things made them feel on the inside. And strangely? Talking about things like that with him made her feel... better. Not good, but better.

"Morning, sleepy head," a voice said from behind the couch. She turned her body so that she was looking right into... speak of the devil, Michael Glass's eyes. She didn't know why but for some reason, she started to blush and that made her want to hide her face against the side of the couch so he couldn't see it. Suddenly feeling self conscious about herself, Claire desperately tried finding something to do.

She settled for fiddling with the game controller that was laying on the arm of the couch. It also gave her an excuse why she couldn't look at him just now. Even though she wasn't looking right at him, she could feel him staring at the back of her head and that made her nervous.

Claire couldn't explain exactly how she was feeling on the inside right now and that scared her. Big time. Even though Eve was... dead, she still felt like she was betraying her best friend by falling for her lover. She also felt like she was betraying Shane. Shane, who had hated vampires with a fiery passion but tried to hide it. Just for her because he had known that his desires to kill vampires upset her.

A tear slid down her cheek and again, she hid her face from him. She tried to hide her flinch when she felt the other end of the couch sink in a little bit as he sat down beside her.

"Hey," he whispered and moved closer to her. When she felt the tip of his finger under her chin, she gasped at how it felt to her. What happened to the "big brother, little sister" relationship that they had started developing when Shane and Eve where still alive? "What's the matter?" His voice was filled with worry and... love? For her.

It took her a moment before she could even answer him without bursting into a fit of tears and sorrow. As if he was able to sense her sadness, which probably wasn't very hard to sense in the first place, his arms slowly wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to him he started to whisper soothing words into her ear. Ones that made her feel a little better and after a moment, she was able to tell him what was bothering her.

"I miss them, Michael and... I feel like I'm betraying both of them by-" She cut herself off and hid her face against his chest, hoping that he wouldn't make her finish her sentence. However, her hopes where stamped down when he moved back a little so that he could look at her face.

"By what?" He asked, tilting his head to the side in a questioning kind of way. One that told her he wanted to hear what she was just about to say a moment ago.

Finally, she took a deep breath and tried to put on a brave face, showing him that she wasn't scared, which in fact, she was. She was so terrified of finally telling him her fears that it made her bones and the rest of her feel ice cold and numb.

"By having feelings for you." She whispered. For a moment, it felt good to finally have it there out in the open but when she opened her eyes to look at her face, her heart sank.

"Claire... I don't know if I can-" Instead of finishing his sentence he quickly got up off the couch and raced to the door, outside into the warm afternoon heat of Morganville.

'Well.' She thought. 'I can already tell what kind of daythis is going to be.'Taking in a few more deep, calming breaths, Claire made herself get up and venture up the stairs so she could take a quick shower. She couldn't stay in this house much longer without going crazy. She felt like she had been cooped up in it for weeks.

So, she was going to go to the only other place that she knew would distract her from everything else going on here. She was going to see Myrnin. Maybe he would have something crazy for her to do at the lab that would keep her and her brain, occupied for a little while.

***-A/n-:*** It took me FOREVER to get this one chapter finished. I guess that's what happens when you're talking to your best friend, Dev and are trying to type at the same time, lol. Thanks a lot, Devin. You have officially distracted me from trying to entertain others with my crappy writing skills. (: Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. There should be more soon. I hope. And like I said earlier before I started writing this? I would greatly appreciate the help, so if anyone wants to help me write this I would seriously love you forever. :) I will also make sure that whoever ends up helping me with this gets the other half of the credit for writing this story with me. Also? PLEASE leave reviews for me. I love getting those, lol. But who doesn't when they write something? And this is becoming WAY too long, so I'm going to shut up now and HOPE that you guys leave me some reviews. Those are like candy for me, haha.

Thanks guys. :)