Hannibal woke up laying on the couch in the living room. He turned and saw that it was still dark out meaning he hadn't slept long. He pushed himself up and winced when his shoulder ached. He looked down at the bandage and saw that it was clean and he hadn't bled anymore which was good. He stood up and looked around the room. He sighed and wished that Shaughn's little house didn't remind him so much of Annie Wilkes' house in 'Misery'. He walked down the short hall and into the kitchen his socked feet making barely any sound on the wood floors. He walked into the kitchen and found Shaughn sitting at the kitchen table her feet resting on one chair sipping coffee and staring at the wall. He walked past her to the kitchen counter and found a mug with a bottle of scotch beside it in front of the coffee machine. He poured some of the amber liquid in the mug then some coffee. He walked over to the table and sat beside her. She turned and looked at him.

"So, what kicked your ass and improved your face?" she asked smirking.

"Oh, so you like the beaten down look, then?" Hannibal said turning so she could see the bruises and cuts.

"It suits you perfectly."

"Thanks. I thought I would try something new," Hannibal sipped the coffee and sat back in the chair. He looked down at the table, "They bought back Dracula like you said they would."

"Oh, you mean when I said they would bring back the first and Whistler said it was a hoax, there was no such thing as the legend claimed?"

"I remember that conversation. I was in the room, you know."

"Surprised you remember anything from then. You were so out of your freakin mind still hooked to that bitch."

"I remember enough. And you were right. They brought him back and were going to use him. Us and Blade stopped him. And now Blade is MIA and Abby is trying to regroup everyone."

"How many people did you lose?"

"A lot. But we took out a lot of vampires too. It was awesome. You should have been there."

Shaughn nodded but didn't say anything. She sipped her coffee and thought back to the day two years ago when she had walked out of the Nightstalker camp angry at her father and sister for not believing her. She had spent most of her time since then studying the legends hoping that she would be able to prove to them that Dracula was real. She had also spent time training and had wanted many times to go back and be a fighter like everyone else in her family. She knew however, that being a fighter wasn't who she was. She had found that out the same night she had found Hannibal King and stopped Whistler from killing him.

"You and I both know that I would have screwed it up," she answered.

"Nah, you can kick ass. In fact you kicked my ass," Hannibal said.

"You were out of your mind hooked on Danica."

Hannibal watched as Shaughn pushed herself away from the table and walked to the sink. He heard her place her mug in the metal sink and just sat there thinking back two years. Shaughn had saved him from Danica and had held him every night as he had slowly healed from the hold that the vampire bitch had over him. Shaughn and he had formed something strong and he would always remember the first night he was lucid enough to tell her how much she meant to him. Too bad that when it came time to prove what he had said he had let her walk away and out of his life. He turned when she walked behind his chair and he reached out and took her hand. She stopped and didn't look at him.

"I was wrong and made a mistake, angel," he said using the nickname he had given her long ago, "I should have gone after you."

"It doesn't matter now, King. We are both leading separate lives," she said turning to look at him.

"I miss you."

"You are still sleeping on the couch."

Shaughn went to pull away but Hannibal held on to her hand strong. It bought back those memories of when she couldn't leave him alone at night because he refused to let go of her. She turned and looked into his eyes. She saw how much he needed someone that night and knew that there was more going on inside of him then she had realized. She let him pull her closer to him and his arms wrapped around her and he held her tight burying his face against the soft wool of her sweater. She raked her hands through his hair and waited.

"Danica threatened to bite me again and watch as the hunger took over. Then she said she would bring Zoe in the room and watch as I drained her dry. You know what I was thinking when she said that?"

"That you made a huge mistake stopping me from going after her and chopping her head off?"

Hannibal smiled and pulled away. He looked up at Shaughn, "No, that if that happened this time you wouldn't be there to help me find the strength to move on. I wouldn't have my angel with me."

Shaughn shook her head and went to pull away. Hannibal stood up and pulled her against him. He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her neck. She felt herself leaning towards him more. She ran her hand down his bare chest and wanted so much to turn back time and go back two years and never walk away. Instead she pushed him away and raked a hand through her brown hair.

"Hannibal, you can't just say some pretty words and expect me to forgive you," she said looking into his brown eyes and hated the emotion she saw there. It brought her back to when they had been happy and how little of that happiness they had had before Whistler had crashed it.

"What did you want me to do, angel? I didn't know where you had gone."

"Funny, Abby found me no problem."

"She's freakin Abby, I am pretty sure she could find where they buried Hoffa."

"You let me walk away, King. You stood there and watched as I packed my things and didn't say one word. All you had to say was you needed me and I would have stayed. I would have shut my mouth and took whatever hell my father would have put me through to be there with you. But you didn't say anything. You stayed silent and that told me everything I ever needed to know."

"Angel-."

"Don't call me that ever again."

"Shaughn, Hannibal, I'm scared," Zoe said causing both of them to jump. The little girl had entered the kitchen quietly not making a sound. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and didn't want to admit it but she was scared. She had had nightmares of Drake getting her and losing her mother.

"Come on, Zoe what to you need?" Hannibal asked walking over to her and kneeling down in front of her.

"I want... I want you to read to me," she whispered.

"What do you want us to read? I got tons of books, come on let's pick one," Shaughn said wiping away her tears and walking over to Zoe. She held out her hand and waited. Zoe took her hand and Shaughn started to lead her out of the kitchen. Zoe stopped and looked back at Hannibal.

"Are you coming? No one does the voices like you," she said holding out her other hand.

"Of course, Princess Zoe, whatever you ask."

Hannibal walked over to them and took Zoe's hand. He looked at Shaughn but she didn't look at him. She led them down the hall to a spare room. She pushed open the door and Zoe sucked in a breath. There were bookshelves against every wall and they were stuffed with books. Hannibal was not really surprised. He remembered that when she had left her things had consisted of twenty books, two pairs of jeans and three shirts. He let go of Zoe's hand and let her run off to choose a book. He leaned in the doorway and turned to look at Shaughn.

"I would ask how you afford this but I am scared your answer will be that you have a rich husband," he said.

"Nope. Just run the county library," she said softly.

"Really?"

"Yep. Oh, and I am also involved with the local sheriff. He's a great guy."

"Please tell me you're lying," he watched as Shaughn turned and walked into the room and over to Zoe, "Dammit, Shaughn tell me you're lying." She still didn't answer him and he sighed. This did not look good for him and his chances.


A/N: Hey, so this is a story I wrote like 3 years ago. I was never going to publish it but I was editing it the other night (mostly because I couldn't think of any ideas for my other stories) and thought maybe I should publish it. I mean, it's finished and I think it is one of my better stories (I have a True Blood/Twilight one that I wonder why I ever wrote it it is so bad) so I thought I would share it with you. So here it is. Hope you guys enjoy it. And for everyone who loves my other series, fear not, I am working on them and writing away. Have a great weekend. :D