A/N: It's nice to know people are following my little take on the Blood Ties universe! I'm so glad you're all enjoying…Hope this one doesn't disappoint. Oh yeah; and I don't own the rights to these characters or the premise for the show - I'm just taking them for a test drive.

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He caught her eye across the bar; he had been watching her for quite a while, and had decided it was time he made a move. The young, dark-haired woman smiled back at him, raising her glass in a sort of toast in his direction, before taking a sip. She felt drawn to him; something about him made him stand out to her, made her want to march right over there to him. Being the daring, confident girl she was she did just that.

She was caught in his obsidian gaze, mesmerised by the power that emanated from him like waves onto the shore.

"You will follow me."

She smiled, as if an order like this was the most natural thing in the world and, as instructed, she followed him to a fairly private corner of the club. He brushed her dark locks over her shoulder, his eyes trained on a spot on her neck. He applied a little pressure to indicate he wanted her to tilt her head and she complied. As he sank his fangs into her pale flesh she moaned softly.

Moments later, when he was finished with her, he drew the power up from within him as before, and whispered two words into her ear.

"Sleep. Forget."

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"Hello?" Vicki answered the phone, her voice betraying how tired she was. She had been working hard the past few weeks, taking full advantage of her newly improved sight. Because of this, though, she had needed quite a bit more shut-eye than usual, and this call at four in the morning was certainly unwelcome.

"I'm sorry for the disturbance. Am I speaking to Victoria Nelson?" A curt-sounding female voice came down the line.

"You are…" Vicki stretched, trying to wake herself up; a call at this time of the night from a person with that tone of voice asking that question was never a good sign.

"Ms. Nelson, I'm calling from the Schwarz-Reisman Emergency Centre at Mount Sinai Hospital." Vicki froze, wondering why the hell they'd be calling her – whatever the reason, it couldn't be good. "A young woman by the name of Coreen Fennel was admitted a few minutes ago, and you are listed as her emergency contact." The voice paused, allowing Vicki to absorb the information thus far.

"What happened?" Vicki allowed the part of her that was used to emergency situations, the trained, clear-headed, practised cop, to take over at this point; to do otherwise would mean she might just break down, and she knew she needed to keep calm until she knew what was wrong and what to do about it.

"She was brought in after collapsing in a club downtown. She's currently unconscious, so at this point we have no way of knowing what happened. All I can say is that she is in critical condition at the moment, and it would be wise for you to get here as soon as possible. We can then fill you in further."

"Ok, I understand. Thank you…"

She hurriedly got dressed, grabbed her handbag and left for the hospital. She would call Henry after she had seen Coreen; there was no time until then.

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Vicki rushed through the doors of the hospital and got directions to Coreen's room. A nurse waiting outside halted her.

"I'm sorry, but unless you're family I can't allow you in there."

"I'm Vicki Nelson, I'm her emergency contact."

The nurse nodded.

"I see. Has someone informed you of her condition?"

"No. What's wrong with her?"

"Well, we're not entirely sure as of yet. There were no visible wounds or bruising to indicate she was in an accident or altercation of any kind. She's presenting with severe anaemia-like symptoms, and when we tried to take a blood sample her blood pressure was extremely low. There was nothing in her system to indicate that drugs or alcohol were involved, although she did have a small amount of alcohol in her system. We stabilised her with a transfusion, but because she's been unconscious since she arrived the cause is still anyone's guess."

"I see...Can I see her?" The nurse stepped out of the way to allow Vicki through the door.

"Keep it calm, and make sure not to disturb the equipment. I'll bring you her belongings - we had to search them to get her information."

Vicki nodded as she passed the nurse, and moved quickly to Coreen's side. The gothette was deathly pale, and looked so fragile wearing the hospital gown and oxygen mask. Vicki noticed she was still receiving blood from a pack hanging above the bed, and there was a monitor recording her heart rate. She took her pale hand gently in her own.

"Oh, Coreen…"

"Excuse me, Ms. Nelson?" An old, gentle-looking doctor was halfway in the door, waiting for the ok to come in. Vicki stood, and straightened her clothes.

"That's me."

"Hi, my name is Dr. Newman. I'd just like to ask you a couple of questions about Miss Fennel." He raised a clipboard and took a pen from a clip along the side of it.

"Of course. Anything I can do to help."

The doctor smiled kindly.

"Does she have any serious allergies?"

"No, no, I don't think so…"

Dr. Newman jotted something down before continuing.

"Is she currently on any medication?"

"No."

"I see" More scribbling on the clipboard, "Do you know what Miss Fennel may have been doing earlier tonight?"

"No, she didn't say..."

The questions continued for a few minutes, and Vicki felt positively drained afterward.

When the doctor left, Vicki thought to call Henry - he would want to know what had happened, and she could do with his comforting presence.

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A/N: Hot off the press, guys! I'd love to know what you think of the premise. Any comments? Suggestions? I'd love to hear them!