Wounds of the flesh heal in time. Wounds of the heart take a lot longer.

Vicki sat in front of her computer reading the headlines when the ringing of her cell broke into her concentration. Annoyed at the interruption, she snarled, "What?"

She heard the young pleasant voice say, "You're in a pretty mood. I bet seeing me will make you happy. Want to meet me at the bar?"

"Sorry, Charles. I can't."

"That's what you've said for the last three weeks. Are we or aren't we together?"

Vicki really liked Charles, a lot, and that's why she wasn't about to let her vampire near him again until he had enough time to recover from the last encounter. Charles' blood called to her vampire and Henry had warned her about the overpowering urge to feed too deeply and killing them.

Sighing Vicki said, "We are. I'll see you next week, promise."

"That's not good enough. Either come to the bar tonight or forget it. I'm not the type you can play with whenever you feel like it." Charles hit end call, and looked at his buddies. "See, I don't let her push me around. She'll come."

The guys had been ragging on him for weeks about the hottie he'd met and wanted him to put up or shut up. Giving in to their pressure he called and made his demand. Now he was sitting at the bar with his friends drinking heavily and taking their taunting. Finally he stood and said, "Well I guess I know where I stand in her life. No where. Let's find someplace else with better looking women."

Later that same night Vicki heard the sirens and identified both the sounds of police and fire rescue and shook her head as she noted the time. The bars had closed and the drunks were driving home. She wondered who hit what and went back to her reading.

A few nights later Henry looked down at his companion and watched his compulsion take effect. With eyes closed, chin tilted up and to the side, the neck was stretched inviting the bite that was about to come. Henry leaned in and took a deep breath savoring the scent of hot blood. He liked this part of being vampire, anticipating the taste of blood, waiting for just the right moment. Before the first bite, he felt the cell phone in his left hand pocket vibrate. Angry now, he took the bite and blood much faster than he would have liked. He waited long enough to give his companion the memory of a pleasant evening and a promise to call sometime before checking the text message from Vicki.

Henry approached the bridge with caution because the vampire within warned him that she was on the bridge with uncontrolled anger. He stood and watched as Vicki paced back and forth waving her arms, pounding on the railings and raging at injustice and the stupidity of men.

Vicki sensed the closeness of another vampire in her territory and attacked without thought.

Henry felt the clawed fingers wrap around his neck as his own hand instinctively wrapped around hers. Both squeezed and tore at tender flesh.

Henry's all black eyes and sharp fangs reflected in Vicki's all silver eyes. Breathing deeply they both knew with one unguarded move they would kill the other. The sire growled to its offspring and they relaxed their choking tearing grips on each others throat.

The black from Henry's eyes leached out as his fangs pulled back, "We don't want to do this, Vicki."

Vicki's gray green eyes and tentative smile agreed with him. "Count of three and let go."

He said, "One."

She said, "Two."

And together they said, "Three."

Their hands dropped away and Vicki stepped closer to lick the drops of blood from his throat as he licked the drops from hers. Quickly their wounds healed.

Henry held her loosely in his arms and waited for her to tell him what had happened and what she wanted from him.

"I found someone I cared about. He was funny, easy going, intelligent, and very very young. After the first time I fed from him I craved more and took more blood than I should have. He blood called to me all the time and I was afraid to see him too soon after the last time I fed from him. So when he told me to meet him at the bar, and because I take orders so well, I didn't go."

Breathing deeply, she stopped talking for a few minutes, pulled away from Henry's arms and placed her hands on the railing of the bridge to look out at the water tumbling over the rocks. "From what I learned later, he waited with his buddies drinking until he finally gave up and left. He was too drunk to drive but his buddies and the bar tender let him leave anyway. The local police officer that watched the bar was busy texting his girl and didn't see him leave."

Henry placed a comforting hand on her back as she continued. "It was near dawn and he was driving too fast. A herd of deer was in the road, he swerved, hit one deer and a second. From the pictures of accident it looks as though the impact drove a deer hoof threw his chest. He was dead at the scene."

Henry's hand moved slowly up and down her back as he whispered words of comfort. She accepted from him what she wouldn't accept from anyone else. The love they shared was stronger than their vampire instincts to keep a distance between them.

"What can I do?"

"What you always do best. Be here for me no matter what."

"Always. Anything else?"

"I need to get back in."

"Where?"

"I want to be on the force again. With all my advantages, I can do a superior job."

"What about our limitations? The biggest being daylight."

"Okay. You're right. But I'm working on it. I need the paperwork. References. I need you to help me with some minor adjustments to memories. I can do this. I know the job. I want to work here in my territory and even yours, if you'll let me."

"If you're sure."

"Yes. I'm sure. But I want to do it legally. I made an oath to 'protect and serve' and that's what I'm going to do."

"I thought you didn't like working the streets on a beat."

"Well that was then and this is now. I can work night shifts. I'll do the job keeping the streets safe and maybe keep idiots from killing themselves or others. Henry, I can do this without you, but it'll be easier and faster if you help. Plus, I've been bored out of my mind for the last several months."

"I'll help, if you let me play too. I was getting pretty good being your assistant."

"Henry this isn't a game and I don't intend to get into the freaky stuff again."

Henry started laughing and flashed his fangs, "Vicki, in case you hadn't noticed you and I are very freaky."

Vicki's eyes silvered and her fangs flashed back, "We're the good guys, Freaky. I'm counting on you being my partner. I work best when I have a partner."