Finally! The last section of this was the hold up... still not completely happy with it, but I might come back and redo it... I dunno. I'm just elated that I finished something for once!

The Disaster

True to his promise, Drake went out almost every night to feed. Of course, he couldn't guarantee that he would find an act of violence to break up, so he had to improvise. At least, that's what he told himself every time he pulled an innocent woman into an alley and took her, sometimes not even bothering to deaden her senses, only keeping her from screaming in fear and pain. It was almost like a drug, the taste of innocent blood, and the Count never even considered the consequences of his newfound addiction.

He was always careful to keep well away from the house he shared with Tina, which was already well into the country so he could transform into his bat form without being seen. However, he failed to keep away from the alley that they met in, which was right on her way home from the magazine that bought her photographs. Dracula waited in the shadows of the alley, watching the passing pedestrians, biding his time until he found one he wanted. He'd come to consider it almost his alley, he used it so often; but then, so many suitable victims used it. A woman with dark hair, dark as his own, caught his attention; she would be the one tonight.

"Come to me," he whispered, his eyes shooting through with red, taking control of the woman easily. She turned sharply and made her way into the alley, a look of terror in her dark eyes. Drake chuckled darkly and, winding his hand through her hair, wrenched her head back sharply and bit, enjoying the power in her blood and the taste of it washing over his lips.

"Drake, stop! You'll kill her!" a voice almost yelled from beside him, tugging on his shoulder. Tina. He knew her voice, could never forget it, but he'd already gone too deep into the darkness to do anything other than pull his arm free and move a few steps away. He listened to the dark haired woman's frenzied heart slow to a stop, and then simply let her body drop to the ground. He turned to Tina, eyes narrowing as he heard her gasp. The Count wiped off his mouth, thinking that the blood dripping from it was what had caused her shock, but he paused when he felt that his cheeks had become smooth. His hair was a little longer in the front as well, and he had more energy than before; he'd become younger.

"Well… That was unexpected," he whispered to himself, walking past her towards the street.

"Drake…" Tina whispered, a sob welling in her throat, making him pause and look back. She'd begun to cry silently, breaking through the darkness that had gotten hold of his heart once more. "I've never been afraid of you, Drake… But you're terrifying me now. I'm losing you… Please, don't leave me." His eyes moved from her to the corpse he'd left. Before, it'd almost seemed like a work of art to him, her beauty and terror frozen for all time. But now it sickened him, sending him to his knees.

"What have I done? I… I can't stop it… Ever since I drank from you, I can't seem to get enough of blood pure as yours… I'm like some sort of junkie and that's my own personal brand of heroin." He started to sob, tears of his own falling to the ground as the internal struggle he'd won before started all over again. He jerked away slightly as he felt her hand on his shoulder, then calmed to her touch.

"I'll help you… Don't worry; we'll get through this together."

Drake huddled in a corner, trembling slightly with restraint. It had been a week since he'd started his self imposed detox, with Tina giving him blood he'd stolen from a blood bank to keep him from ageing. As with a mortal going through withdrawal, the process was far from pleasant, but Tina stayed with him as much as possible.

His head lifted as the door opened to let Tina through with groceries for herself. His senses sharpened suddenly; he could hear the beating of her heart as perfectly as if he had a stethoscope against her chest, could hear her breathing, the rustling of her clothes; every bit of her. He fought the predator in him, to keep himself under control, but it already had taken hold of him.

He stood with an ethereal grace and stalked towards her. In his state, Dracula could hardly tell her from any other human who would cross his path: fresh meat. Tina looked up to see him coming towards her, and quickly backed herself against the door to keep him from leaving, pulling out a cross. Drake gasped softly, falling to his knees weakly. The cross had sapped his strength, but not his will. "Put it down, my love," he whispered, his eyes turning crimson as he stood once more. Her mind was easier to gain access to than before, but since she'd been bitten, she was his completely if he wished it. He held his hand out for her, watching her throw the cross in a corner and move to him, her hand sliding into his. He turned her around in his arms, one hand sliding over her stomach slowly, possessively, while the other moved across her body to pull her chin aside, baring her throat. He leaned in slowly, taking in her scent, savoring his conquest, but made the mistake of looking up for a moment.

They'd ended up in front of a mirror, and while he showed no reflection, he could see her face all to well. The panicked, pleading look in her eyes brought him back to his senses and made him let her go. Tina stumbled a little as he let go of her mind, turning around to look at him. "It'll be over soon. You'll get better, I know it," she whispered, kissing him gently and moving to put away the groceries. He simply watched her, moving back into his corner to wait it out.

Two years. Drake smiled to himself as he watched the sun rise from the balcony outside their bedroom. It had been two years since he'd first met Tina, first began to change. Of course, the last six months had been less than pleasant, but he had finally broken himself of the addiction. He had wondered at first why it was so much harder this time than when he'd first gotten to New York, to get used to not taking the blood of the innocent. Before it had been a necessity, to hide himself from the authorities. But this time, he was doing it for Tina, and the beast within him didn't want to give up control for what it considered just another meal.

"Happy Anniversary," Tina whispered from behind him, kissing his shoulder gently. Drake's smile widened as he turned to kiss her full on, surprising her for once with passion. Careful not to accidentally hurt her, he backed her up against the frame of the door that led back into their bedroom, one hand grasping her waist, while the other rested lightly against her throat.

"You are not leaving that bed until you can hardly walk…" he whispered as he kissed over her throat and collar bone, listening her giggling turn to a gasp as his lips moved lower, over the sensitive skin of her breast, his lips soon joined by one of his hands.

As he picked her up and carried her back to the bed, he watched her; took in the look of anticipation on her face, the slight tremors that crossed her face every time he gave her thighs a gentle squeeze. Gentleness wasn't something he'd been used to before, but then, he hadn't made a practice of sleeping with humans, either. Compared to him, she was so fragile, he was afraid of crushing her if he touched her when he started to lose control. It had only bothered her once, but when he explained his fear, she was flattered she had made him lose his grip on his tremendous strength. Likewise, he was always careful not to let his mouth close to her, especially after the past few months. He took the opportunity instead to watch her melt under his touch. Drake soon realized that watching Tina was as intoxicating for him as her blood had been, that he could never get enough of seeing her so blissfully happy.

The feeling was as potent as it had ever been, making him think to the future for the first time in his life. He'd always looked at what he had wanted the outcome to be, but never at how he would get there; not the specifics, at any rate. A serious flaw of his, one that he'd never faced before, but he hoped would soon be conquered by something actually going as planned. Drake smiled down at Tina as he laid her down, kissing across her stomach slowly. He would be with her for the rest of her life, of that he was certain, and he would love her for the rest of his.

Panic. Not something he was accustomed to feeling, but Drake couldn't help it as he paced around the waiting room at the hospital. It had been a perfect day; he'd taken Tina into Central Park, by the fountain, had a picnic set up for them. He'd intended to propose to her there, but it had turned into a disaster.

He moved to the door as the doctor who had taken Tina's case came out, crossing his arms over his chest to hide the fact that his hands were trembling.

"How is she?" he asked, struggling to keep his voice level.

"Not well. She had a severe allergic reaction to a bee sting. You didn't know she was allergic?" the doctor explained, looking up from his clipboard for a moment as Drake shook his head.

"No… It never came up… I never thought to ask about it." The Count turned away, banishing any thoughts that it was somehow his fault from his head. He wouldn't have had any way to prevent it, even if he had known; neither of them had noticed the insect until it was too late. "Can I see her?"

"I wouldn't recommend it. She's still very unstable; I wouldn't want her condition to worsen from overexertion. I'll let you know when you can go in," the doctor said, patting Drake on the shoulder and walking back towards the ICU, where Tina was.

Of course, he wouldn't sit quietly and wait as she was dieing… He'd sworn that he would let her life run its course, but he also wasn't ready to lose her. He wouldn't lose her, not if he could help it. Drake slipped into a janitor's closet, turning into a fine white mist and began to move through the air duct into Tina's room, making sure that the door was shut and blinds pulled before solidifying.

The sight of her attached to all the machines, a tube in her throat to help her breathe, all of it made him feel helpless; a first in his long life. He gently sat next to her, running his fingers through her hair.

"Don't leave me… Not yet… I'm not ready to lose you…" he whispered, bending to kiss her forehead. He smiled a little as he saw she'd opened her eyes, though they were still a little bit bleary from the medication she'd been given. He grasped her hand, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill down his cheeks, his shoulders shaking a little. "Please… Let me save you… I can't go back to being alone…"

He stood quickly as her eyes rolled back a little and her heart rate began picking up. Drake quickly cut his wrist and held it to her lips, begging her to drink. She'd gotten maybe a mouthful before the alarms began going off on her equipment; the sound of running and shouting from the medical staff forced him to shrink into his rat form and hide under her bed. As the sounds of the team working to keep her alive filled the air, he kept hoping that she'd swallowed some of his blood. If she'd gotten some, she would become like him… but if not, he would lose her. If she did die, he had no doubt that he would lose the shreds of humanity he'd regained.

For the first time in centuries, the Count prayed; prayed to any deity that would listen to not take her from him, to let him keep her.