Okay, I got such a big response to the birthday story, that I decided to arc it into a Halloween piece. There will be one more chapter after this one, and I'll try to get it out on the 31st. This chapter is mostly Stephanie learning about her new situation. I'll get more into the guys next chapter… (Who wouldn't want one of the Merry Men to sink their, ahem, teeth into them?)

As usual, any characters you recognize belong to JE. All mistakes are mine.

Ranger spent the rest of the weekend teaching me how to adapt to my new life. I have to admit that I was a little spooked by the thought of drinking blood. I mean, what if I start draining people dry? Wait a minute, I could make this work for me. There was a tap at the door to my new office, and Ranger poked his head in. "You ready to go, Babe?"

I wrote down another name. "Almost."

He walked into the office. "What are you doing, Babe?"

"Making a list."

He raised an eyebrow. "Of?"

I blew out a breath. "Well, I figured that it would take some time to get used to this whole being a vampire thing, so I'm making a list of people it wouldn't break my heart to drain. Really, it's for my peace of mind more than anything else."

He almost smiled as he snatched the paper off my desk. "You're going to start with the Dickhead?"

I nodded. My ex-husband Dickie would make a perfect first attempt. "I figured I would be doing the whole city of Trenton a favor with that one."

His smile got a little wider. "Joyce Barnhardt?"

"I was thinking of crossing her off the list. Can you get STD's from drinking someone's blood?"

He chuckled. "Babe." Babe can mean a lot of things, but in this instance, I'm going to take it to mean no. "Grandma Bella?"

"She's got that 'eye' thing. She may even be able to defend herself."

He put the list back on my desk. "Come on, Babe. We're going to the bonds office, then I'll show you how it's done."

We went to the garage and Ranger helped me into the Cayenne. A few minutes later, we were parked in front of the bonds office. Lula was practically bouncing on the couch. "Girl, I been trying to call you ever since the party. I guess you been busy with Batman here."

I blushed and Ranger kissed my cheek. He looked at Connie. "He in?" he said with a nod to Vinnie's door. At Connie's nod, he left my side and walked into the office.

As soon as the door was closed, Connie and Lula both rushed me. Lula fanned herself. "Girl, we need ALL the details!"

Connie hugged me. "Is he really the Wizard?"

I rested my head on Lula's shoulder. "Yes, he's magic, and no, I'm not giving details." Being this close to Lula's neck, my fangs started to grow. I jumped away from Lula and slapped my hand over my mouth. All I needed was for them to see my fangs. I could just picture Lula freaking out. This would be a hundred times worse than Ziggy Glitch. He wasn't even a real vampire. Connie would be on the phone the second I walked out the door. I really don't want to have to kill her. I just kept my hand over my mouth and shook my head no.

Lula harrumphed. "Fine, be that way. Just figured you'd want to share with your best friend, is all."

I was saved by Ranger coming out of Vinnie's office. He grabbed his files and mine off the desk, nodded to Connie and Lula, and escorted me out the door. Once we were in the car, I turned to him and showed him my teeth. "What am I supposed to do about this?"

He gave me a quick kiss and put the files in my lap. "Babe, you need to learn control. It takes more than a weekend." Ugh. Ranger is the master of control, and I'm the queen of reckless abandon. Still, I can learn to do this. "Now, who are your skips?"

I picked the first file up off my lap so that I could see who our latest contestants were. "Carol Cantrell held up the Godiva store at the Quakerbridge Mall. I guess she needed to top the Frito truck episode." I put that file down and picked up the next. "Norville Thompson. We should do this one. Kinda like a stroll down memory lane." Hopefully, it wouldn't end like the first time we got him. It took a week to get all the eggshells out of my hair.

Ranger gave me an almost smile. "Let's do this."

Thompson's pickup started the same way it always does. There was a lot of cursing, then he started throwing food at us. The remarkable thing was that time seemed to slow to a crawl. The block of Velveeta he threw at me seemed to almost float lazily towards me, and I was able to sidestep it with ease. By the time he ran out of food, we were at his sides. Once Ranger had him on the ground, I looked down at myself. I was clean! No wonder Ranger always managed to stay clean every time I stood next to him while I was being pelted with garbage. I squealed and did a happy dance. This was turning into a great day.

I was glad to see that Ranger was amused by the happy dance. He held Thompson's arm out to me. "Go ahead and take a sip. Take it from the bend in his elbow."

I was suddenly nervous again. "Are you sure I won't take too much?"

"Babe, all you'll want is a sip. The only time you'll want to take more is when you want to change someone."

I looked at him. "So you wanted?" I pointed at myself.

He held his hand out to me. "From the moment I met you." When he put it like that, my insides turned to mush. I took his hand and knelt next to him. He held Thompson's arm for me. As I got closer to the bend in his elbow, I could feel my fangs slide into place. I hesitated an inch from his skin. Ranger gave me some encouragement. "I'm right here with you, Babe. I promise it'll be ok." With that, I closed the distance. I could feel my fangs slide into his skin.

His blood exploded into my mouth. I could feel his entire life in that small sip. All of his emotions were mine to examine. Joy, sorrow, anger, and everything in between sang through my head. Ranger was right, though. One mouthful was all I wanted. I pulled back, letting my fangs slide out of his arm. I rocked back on my heels and shook my head to clear it. "Whoa."

I looked at Ranger again and he was giving me his full 200 Watt smile. "Proud of you, Babe."

We got Norville to the station without any trouble. By the time we unloaded him from the car, the marks at his elbow were gone, and he had forgotten the entire incident. Eddie was standing at the desk when we came in. "You got Thompson and you're still clean?" he looked shocked. "Who are you and what did you do with the real Stephanie?" I gave him my favorite Italian hand gesture and he laughed as the desk sergeant handed me my body receipt.

It was my night to pick a movie, so Carlos and I were curled on the couch watching Dracula: Dead and Loving It. I think this is now my second favorite movie of all time. Leslie Nielsen is almost as funny as Bill Murray. Carlos kissed the top of my head and said, "You did good today."

I flipped myself over so that we were face to face. My smile was stretched from ear to ear. "I did?"

He kissed me. "I knew you could do it, Babe."

He always knew how to make me feel like I could fly. I decided to try to get some more information before I jumped him. "So, how often will I need to drink?"

"Since this is new for you, you'll probably need to do it every day. Once you learn control, you can go about a week between feedings."

Okay, I can handle that. "What about the garlic thing?"

He chuckled. "No such thing."

"Will crosses and Holy Water burn me?"

He kissed the tip of my nose. "No, Babe. That's just a myth."

"What if I have to drink from Mooner. Will I get high?"

He laughed. "No, Babe. It's not the nutrients that matter. It's more that the blood holds emotions. I'm not quite sure how that works, but when you drink, that's what you're absorbing. That's why it only takes a sip."

I could live with that, although I was a little bummed about not getting the contact high. "Is that why the sex was so mind blowing this weekend?"

He shifted us so that I was straddling him. His eyes had darkened to black. "I told you that I would ruin you for other men."

I could feel his hard length through his sweatpants and my yoga pants. I rolled my hips a little and laid down on his chest. The heat in his eyes was turning me on. "You did that before I knew you were a vampire."

This time his wolf grin had fangs. I shivered. "Babe."

(} {)

The next day was my lunch date with Mary Lou. We had a standing date once a month to catch up on what's going on with our lives and all the latest Burg gossip. I was a little nervous, but Carlos assured me that I'd be fine. "Just remember, Babe, you don't need to eat as much as you're used to. A salad would be best, but trust your own judgment." A salad? Doesn't he know me by now?

Mary Lou was already at Pino's when I walked in the door. I turned my head away when we hugged. I didn't need a repeat of the Lula incident. ML was practically bouncing with excitement. "Your Birthday party has been the talk of the Burg. You can't avoid your mother forever. My mom overheard her telling Angie Morelli that if you didn't hang out with those thugs, you wouldn't have burned the VFW down."

"That wasn't my fault!" I moaned as she laughed. The waitress came over and we ordered meatball subs and cokes. I figured I'd be okay if I only ate half. We lost track of time as we sat and talked about everything and everyone. I was feeling so hungry that I ate my whole sub without thinking about it. It didn't even dawn on me that I wasn't really hungry for food. I was telling her about my relationship with Carlos, without giving her too many details, when my sub decided to make a return performance. I raced to the bathroom in time to literally lose my lunch.

I cleaned up and walked back to the table. Mary Lou looked concerned, but didn't say anything. We left soon after that. As soon as I got back to Rangeman, Carlos took me out to catch a skip. I felt better once I took a sip.

We were lying in bed later on that evening when my mother called. I know Mary Lou was right, I can't avoid her forever. Taking a deep breath for courage, I answered. "Hi, mom."

My mom yelled so loud that I'm sure the guys in the control room on five could hear her when she said, "Stephanie Michelle Plum, are you PREGNANT?"