"I thought you were dead! It was on the news, I heard it from my sources, and you haven't called me in years!"
They were at her apartment drinking coffee. He was sitting on her couch and she was pacing her living room.
"Well, you thought wrong." She gave him an incredulous look. He just shrugged and drank his coffee.
"I'm sorry about Whistler. I knew he was like a father to you and that you two were very close," she told him. He stared at her. She held his gaze and surprisingly he looked down. She could tell he still mourned over the old man's death. There was pain in his gaze.
She walked over to him and sat down on the couch beside him. She put a comforting hand on his shoulder. He felt uncomfortable so he shrugged it off. She got the hint and scooted away from him. She leaned back against the couch.
"Whatever. I'm sorry I brought it up. What actually happened over the years? I would like to be brought up to date."
Blade began to tell her about Damaskinos, the Bloodpack, Jared Nomak, Drake, Abby, King, and the Daystar virus. He relaxed a little bit because this was a subject he was more comfortable talking about.
"So what happened between you and Nyssa?" Karen asked slyly. Blade looked at her surprised.
"What do you mean?" Blade wondered how the hell did she know.
"Anyone could tell by the way you said her name that you two were involved." Her theory was correct and he knew it. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out. You loved her," she stated simply.
"Well, yes I had feelings for her. She was like me somehow. She understood the Thirst. She was born a vampire. Somehow she got under my skin," he said sadly. Karen rubbed his back assuring. This time he didn't shrug her off.
"For some weird reason, I thought I was going to be jealous," Blade gave her a look, "but I wasn't. She broke your icy barrier. She taught you how to feel. To open up to somebody."
"She didn't have to come around to teach me to feel. I learned that when you came along." He softly caressed her cheek. They looked at each other longingly. The tension was building up between. Karen broke that tension by leaning over and brushing her lips with his. He cradled her head in his hands and kissed her back.