A/N: Okay, I know this story is rated M, but no worries about that yet, nothing happens until Coreen pops back up...if or when she pops back up.
Groaning softly as he started to run in the direction Coreen had been walking in, Henry cursed loudly, ignoring the stares he was getting from people he passed. If he didn't find her, he wouldn't have to wait for Vicki or Mike to kill him, he'd just stand outside until the sun rose. He had only turned away for half a minute, and she certainly hadn't been walking very fast in the high-heeled boots she had been wearing, so it was impossible that she had disappeared on her own. How could he have lost her...
"Coreen," he bellowed every so often, pausing to ask people if they had seen her as he ran. No one had, though, and he reached the corner she had been standing on, immediately catching a glimpse of something glittering on the ground. Crouching down, he scooped up a necklace, wincing as his hand closed around the cross pendant hanging from the chain. He had given that to Coreen only a few months before, when she had turned twenty. She hadn't removed it since. Something had to be wrong, for it to be off her neck. Either it had been torn off, or she had left it there, like a clue...
Tucking the necklace into his pocket, he looked around, starting to walk again. Hopefully, she hadn't gone far. Hearing her cellphone ring again, he answered it, unable to help giving a small sigh of relief when he heard Mike's voice. They were actually quite good friends, now that they had stopped fighting over Vicki. "Mike...I need you and Vicki to meet me outside the Peach Pit...Coreen's gone," he said quickly. "She was walking ahead of me so it wouldn't be too obvious I was looking after her, I turned away to answer her phone for her, and when I turned back, she was gone...No, there's no way she could've gotten that far on her own." Pausing, he listened for a few minutes, then continued. "Her necklace was on the ground, the one I gave her on her birthday...Alright, I'll wait here." Hanging up the phone quickly, he paced back and forth in front of the empty restaurant. Hopefully the others would be there soon, and they could get to searching.
After awhile, he hurried towards a black car pulling up to the curb, yanking the back door open and climbing inside. Shutting the door before Mike pulled away from the curb, he sighed a bit, shoving his hand back into his pocket, the feel of Coreen's necklace reassuring him somehow. "I let whoever it was take her," he murmured, closing his eyes and resting his head on the back of the seat. "I should never have turned away. If I hadn't, she'd be right here now."
Vicki reached back, taking his hand and squeezing it gently. "She'll be fine, Henry. She's a fighter. There's no way she'd go down without screaming bloody murder first and making the guy regret it."
Lifting his head up, Henry opened his eyes, a pained look filling them. "I hope you're right," he said simply, looking away after a moment. "If we lose her..." Pulling his hand free, he ran it through his hair, shoving the dark curls out of his face. "It'll be my fault. I'm the one who let her walk off alone like that."
Turning his head slightly to look at Henry, Mike frowned deeply, shaking his head at him. "We're not going to lose her. Like Vick said, she's a fighter. She left that necklace for you, she'll leave other things to help us find her, and to let us know she's alright." Popping open the console between the front seats, he pulled out a scarf, tossing it into Henry's lap. "That's hers, she left it behind at the precinct a few days ago when she needed me to check on something, never got around to giving it back to her."
Immediately burying his face in it, Henry began to sniff it, shocked at how used to Coreen's scent he had gotten, and how much he seemed to need it for life...or the semblance of life he had...to be normal. Inhaling the rich mix of jasmine, caramel and woodsmoke that always lingered around the woman who had somehow become his closest friend, he felt a very faint smile crossing his lips. "Thank you," he whispered, neither knowing nor caring if Mike or Vicki heard him.
(A/N: Anyone else notice in the Necrodrome episode, Henry asks Mike if he's okay after he gets Diesel off of 'im? I thought that was sweet. They're actually starting to become friends.)
The car went silent then as Mike drove to Henry's apartment building, parking in front. They all climbed out then, Mike forced to guide Henry, as the vampire still had his nose buried in the scarf, his eyes shut tight. "Misses his girlfriend," he said hurriedly to the man working at the counter. "She went out of town to go see her family today, hasn't decided when she's coming back yet." The man just nodded understandingly, giving the back of Henry's head a sympathetic smile, and Mike and Vicki hurried Henry up the stairwell to the top floor.
"Keys," Vicki chanted under her breath, digging in Henry's pockets. Glancing up, she heard him murmur something about his jacket, and she slipped her hand into the pocket, pulling out two keys. One was obviously to his car, the second she used to unlock the door, stepping aside as Mike pushed Henry inside. Stepping inside after them, she shut the door, watching as the two men manuvered over to the sofa. As Henry dropped onto it, Mike walked over to the answering machine, seeing the light blinking, and Vicki moved into the kitchen to make coffee. Grabbing three cups from the cupboard, she gave a large jump, dropping one of the cups as Mike checked the messages and loud, terrified screaming immediately filled the apartment.
In between the screams, they could hear sobbing, and then a voice, making Henry's head snap up when he realised it was Coreen. "Henry," she was screaming, her tear-filled voice making his lifeless heart ache somehow. "Henry, help me, please! Hen-..." The voice cut off as Mike hurriedly shut off the machine.
Henry looked between the two of them then, a pained look on his face as both of them descended on him, wrapping their arms around his shoulders. "We have to find her," he said simply, closing his eyes and tipping his head forward. "Is it wrong that I already miss her? I miss her laugh, her scent, her stupid jokes..." Still with his eyes closed, he just sat there, missing the looks Mike and Vicki were sending each other behind his head. Both of them were beginning to realise what both Henry and Coreen seemed to be missing, that Henry could possibly be falling for Coreen. If they couldn't find her, it could end up very badly...
(A/N: Okay, another thing I noticed while watching Blood Ties online...god, I love Lifetime...didn't Henry look annoyed during the incubus episode after Coreen said she wanted to search the gardener? Okay, this chapter's done, I believe. Please review more?)
