A/N: Disclaimer in Chapter 1.

Someone asked me how to avoid someone copying and changing sections of a fic…

What I do is include certain words and phrases in my chapters/story that won't mean anything to anyone else at a glance but will mean something to me. It could be a family joke or a subtle reference to a TV/Radio show/book that you enjoy. This way you can tell what is yours and what isn't if you believe someone has copied it because they won't think to change these parts, as it won't stand out as needing to be changed.

I hope this helps.

Chapter 2: Tent

"You are going home." Vlad glared at her, then thought over what he said and corrected himself. "Back to the school."

Erin shook her head, she wasn't going back there. "I'm safer with you."

"You're not safer with me." Vlad told her fiercely, he was in control now but he didn't know for how much longer.

Erin tipped her head, pretending to weigh her options, "Three bloodthirsty vampires or one breather slash soy blood thirsty vampire. I know which I'm going to pick."

"They could help defend you against me." He told her his arms across his chest, he just wanted her safe, and it was all he'd ever wanted.

She gave a small shrug, "They think I'm a half fang, why would they bother?"

She had him there. "Its still safer for you."

Erin didn't believe that for a moment, without his protection she was a sitting duck. They'd already tried to kill her. Besides Vlad could only bite her being a breather, if she was a half fang there were more ways to suffer if he really grew angry.

"He can come back at any moment." Vlad told her seriously, he feared it happening around Erin again.

He knew this was pointless, he couldn't win an argument against her she was so stubborn…just like him. That's why he'd ignored her instead of answering her when he'd left in the first place.

"You're the one in control." She told him firmly, she believed that. If Vlad wasn't in control then he wouldn't have run away. He didn't believe her at all, he looked away from her. "And what do you know about being outdoors? Apart from staying out of the sunlight." She'd been brought up with survival training being a slayer she doubted Vlad would even know how to light a fire.

"I've camped…" He defended; Erin raised an eyebrow, "Once…" He told her but Erin didn't stop looking sceptical, "Indoors." He squinted at her as she laughed. He felt an irritation at the back of his head as he watched her laugh. He shook it away and began to chuckle with her.

"For someone who's camped before you didn't bring anything with you." Anything she meant by spare clothes, food, rope, compass and most importantly a tent.

"I didn't think it through." He admitted quietly, he'd just ran. It was better if he just ran away for everyone involved

"I know." She pulled out a flask from her bag and threw it to him. He caught it easily. He gave her a questioning look. "Soy blood." She answered.

Vlad immediately began to drink it, drinking it eased his thirst and the temptation to bite anyone. Erin was intrigued as she watched him, whenever he actually drank blood it was the only time she ever remembered he was a vampire. Vlad saw her watching him and gave her a questioning look; Erin shook her head and turned away rummaging through her bag for a lamp.

She moved the top layer, quickly hiding it from Vlad's view rapidly. She couldn't leave her slaying equipment in the school just in case the others found it. She trusted Vlad not to hurt her even if he didn't.

She found a wind up camping lantern, tucked in one of the corners of her rucksack (some things she'd never unpacked from it in the first place) and lit it immediately. The entire area automatically illuminated and Vlad winced at the sudden change in lighting conditions.

Erin leaned over the bag and grabbed the tent from its small roll and began to pull out the canvas.

Vlad grabbed her arms, pulled her to his height and spun her around, a little too forcefully as she winced at his fierce grip on her biceps. She thought he'd seen her slayers kit, she closed her eyes preparing for his anger. He looked down realising he'd scared her; he loosened his grip on her, apologising with his eyes. "You can't turn your back on me." He told her seriously.

He didn't trust himself at all not to attack her when she wasn't looking.

"I trust you Vlad." She told him, she trusted him completely.

"You *can't* trust me Erin." He spoke passionately, looking into her eyes. "Promise me you won't turn your back on me."

"Vlad…"

"Promise me Erin!"

Erin opened her mouth to protest but she could see how much this meant to him. "I promise." She spoke softly. Vlad closed his eyes, happy she'd agreed.

"You'll need to get food." He could survive on just the soy blood, but Erin couldn't just survive on the water she'd brought.

"I'll get some…when its daylight." She always could see through him, she wasn't daft enough to give him a chance to run away from her to 'protect' her; she'd go when she knew he wouldn't be able to move.

He sulked slightly making her smile.

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Erin looked up at the sky, it would be dawn soon. She'd spent the better part of the night tracking him down. Vlad couldn't be caught outside in the sunlight and there wasn't much shade from the leafless trees, it was winter.

Erin grabbed the small tent and continued to unpack it, this time constantly facing Vlad. Vlad looked at her in complete confusion.

"You said you'd set up a tent before?" It was going to be hard in the dark but it needed to be done.

"Renfield did it last time," He admitted, "And it was more of a marquee than an actual tent for camping." He'd wanted to do it himself but his father hadn't allowed him to even touch the material.

Ryan had been banned from helping after what he'd done last time. She didn't want a repeat of the airbed incident.

"I'll show you." She promised him. She thought if she distracted him long enough he would forget about fighting with himself and take his mind off what was happening, concentrating on the task instead.

Erin gave a small shiver. "You okay?" He panicked, placing a hand on her forehead – she couldn't be ill, she couldn't be defenceless in anyway around him at the moment.

"Just cold." She smiled up at him; Vlad pulled his hand back knowing that his cool skin wouldn't help her feeling in anyway. "I'll be fine when we get the tent up."

She realised then she was still wearing his jacket, she shrugged out of the oversized jacket and handed it to him. Vlad hadn't noticed that she was wearing it, it had suited her in a strange way. He took it from her smiling slightly.

Vlad pointed to the ground behind him, "I'll light a fire." He offered, if it would serve as some sort of warmth for her.

Erin kissed his cheek instinctively at his thoughtfulness before blushing furiously at his startled look. It proved what she knew; the Vlad she knew was in control.

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"Why don't you use your powers?" She asked him softly after a few more moments of him trying to light the fire the breather way.

"Because every time I do I can feel him clawing to get out." He told her frankly, before turning back to trying to light the fire once more. Using his powers meant deliberately accessing something that drew from his evil nature.

Erin smiled softly taking the stones from his hands, within a few moments the fire was blazing away. Vlad stared at her. She gave him a small shrug. "My mum and dad used to give me and Ryan survival training." She'd had it drummed into her every weekend for the past so many years she could do it in her sleep.

The warmth from the flames overcame her and she relished it. She closed her eyes briefly before Vlad clicked his fingers. His panicked gaze told her she should be careful what she did around him at the moment.

Erin grabbed his hand stopping him from slipping into a dark mood. She pulled him across the grass towards the tent.

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Erin lay out the green canvas and the white inner lining on the ground, the light was limited but she knew how to do this. Her parents had made her and Ryan race to see who could put up the fastest tent when she was younger after all it created a new space that vampires couldn't enter.

She'd found a large enough spot; still close enough to the fire but far enough not for any sparks or embers to reach the tent. The grass was flat and there was very little mud. They were far enough from any of the trees should a branch fall down onto the tent.

Vlad grasped the tent poles and stared at them, he'd worked out he had to slot them together but he didn't have a clue what to do now. "Feed them through the loops on the outer and inner lining."

He looked slightly confused and she smiled, he was used to teaching her she realised. Vlad was used to his culture and had taught her all about it, now he was the student as she taught him how to perform a breather task.

Erin gently took the poles from him and demonstrated how to do it. He smiled and nodded slowly, quickly taking over.

"Its tricky." She admitted quietly to him, "But you'll get used to it." If he was to survive during the day he needed to know how to do this.

"What happened to the instructions?" He asked. So far he hadn't thought about her blood once in the last half an hour.

Her eyes watered slightly as memories were brought to the front of her mind. "Ryan lost them." Vlad nodded slowly, hating the fact he'd brought up old memories. She swiped at her eyes before looking back at the tent. "You need to lift it up now."

Together they lifted the poles and placed them through the small link at the bottom to hold the shape of the tent.

Vlad lifted up one of the guide ropes and inspected it. "That needs to be pegged to the ground." She told him, "It helps keep the tent stable and secure."

Vlad grabbed one of the tent pegs; he lowered himself to the ground and held the peg in position. Erin saw what he was doing and ran over to him. She placed her hands over his and pulled is back taking a few steps backwards.

His face was near her neck, he inhaled instinctively. She smelled fantastic, so much for not thinking about her blood. Erin hadn't noticed luckily, this is why he had to deal with this on his own.

"Here." She told him. Vlad's gaze and thoughts snapped back to her. Vlad took over and she gently hit the peg into place. "Try for a metre from the tent." She stood and Vlad immediately missed her warmth. She grabbed the guide ropes adjusting the sliders until the rope was taut.

"Is this the only tent?" He asked, dreading her answer as he worked on the opposite rope.

"Yeah." She admitted, she didn't own another one.

She saw the conflict and fear on his face. She walked over to the man she cared about. She gently took his hand. "You'll be fine." She assured him.

"Erin…" He'd run away for a reason.

"I'll wear my spray." She told him, "You won't be able to smell me." He hated that she had to hide part of herself from him. He didn't know where she'd gotten the spray from but he didn't care, it had protected her so far and that's what mattered.

"You're nearly out of that." He reminded her.

"But you're the one in control."

He had to say it, the question that had been burning at the back of his mind. "For how long?"

"As soon as you feel him, I'll go outside during the day." She compromised.

He raised an eyebrow, that would only solve half of the problem. "And at night?"

She shrugged, looking over his shoulder, "Then we'll deal with it, we won't run from it."

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Erin climbed through the small gap, unrolling the sleeping bags before climbing back out. Erin grabbed the two rucksacks and threw them inside the small interior. Erin crawled inside, moving to one side and stared at him, waiting for him to enter.

Vlad rolled his eyes, and stared back at her. He really didn't think this as a good idea anyway.

"Erin…" He began slowly.

Erin had expected this; there was no other shelter so unless he preferred the sunlight… "I don't mind sharing." She told him, she glanced back at the horizon seeing the faint signs of dawn approaching.

"I can't come in yet." He replied, resisting tapping his foot.

Erin furrowed her brow before understanding took in, she hadn't invited him in. "Oh…come on in." Vlad nodded in thanks, "Do I have to do this all the time?" She asked as he crawled through the zip door, Erin zipped it up tightly, locking out the breaking dawn.

"No." Technically he'd been invited in once so he should be able to enter whenever he wanted to no matter how many times the tent was set up or taken down.

"Where are we going anyway?" She asked him quietly once he was inside. Vlad shrugged, he honestly didn't know where he was going. He could feel a pull at the back of his mind but he didn't know where it was leading him or even what it meant.

He glanced around the inside; he'd never been inside a tent before. He'd been outside of one but never on the inside. It wasn't a large tent but it was big enough for the both of them, he knew it could grow cold in there. He grabbed the rucksack.

"Turn around." She told him, and he did as he was asked. As quick as she could she slipped into her tracksuit bottoms, sleeping in jeans was a nightmare. She slipped into her sleeping bag, "You can look." She told him. Vlad turned around slowly smiling at seeing her completely dressed.

Erin reached into her bag and pulled out her stasis spray, she quickly sprayed her pulse points. Vlad gave her a grateful nod; it would help him a lot if she wore that.

Vlad looked at the bag Erin had packed for him, he smiled. She'd thought of everything he needed – clothes, sleeping bag, soy blood, towels etc. He didn't bother to get changed just kicked off his shoes and slipped inside the sleeping bag. The zip caught and Erin helped him with it, she'd forgotten that sleeping bag always had the dodgy zipper.

"How long are we going to be gone?" She asked him quietly, while she wanted to be with him she was terrified of his family searching for them.

He didn't bother to dispute her wording (we), he knew better than to argue.

"Until I've sorted this thing out." He spoke softly, looking across to her repeating what he said earlier.

Erin lay down, snuggling further into her sleeping bag and nodded, before closing her eyes. She was used to sleeping in the daylight now after living with them and she'd been awake for 24 hours already. She'd rather not have to defend herself, if she needed to, against Vlad while she was half asleep.

Vlad watched her with a small smile on his face, he was the one in control at the moment and he hoped it stayed that way.

He winced at the sudden headache that formed, feeling it pounding at his skull…

…as the pull at the back of his mind intensified threefold.

TBC

A/N: Please let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading.