Claire knew that she was dying. At first it had hurt, when Jason had bitten her, but when she'd fallen it was like the pain had just…slipped away. She couldn't remember whether she cared anymore. She couldn't really remember anything much, only that it was over now. She didn't have to worry anymore. He was with her.

Claire couldn't remember who he was, or why this was a comfort, but that didn't matter. She was dying, after all. A little bit of her was scared, unsure about what to do next. People used to say that you had to 'hang on', or 'don't go towards the light' but there wasn't any light here, only velvety all-encompassing darkness. The last thing she remembered was the familiar feeling of a portal opening, and then she was slipping away, falling back into the darkness.

Even as she was falling, she felt a pang of loss, she didn't really know why anymore. For someone with a lot of experience with dying, Claire wasn't scared as much as she was…regretful. She regretted not having done everything that she'd wanted. She regretted not fighting harder, and she regretted not being able to say goodbye.

In a burst of perfect clarity, Claire remembered fragments of what happened. The expression on Myrnin's face of barely concealed madness as he tried to talk his way around Naomi. The way Jason had held onto her, murmuring his apologies even as his teeth had sank into her throat. She'd been a hostage, she remembered, for Myrnin's good behaviour. They hadn't anticipated the stress driving him over the edge, Claire thought wryly.

And he'd fought, for her. Naomi and Jason had retreated after Myrnin had snapped, and left Claire bleeding on the floor. After that there was nothing but darkness, and the knowledge that this was it- the Glass House couldn't save her now, there was no way for her to come back. She was a goner.

Once she'd remembered, it was like she had something to fight for. She had to keep remembering. Because holding onto the past is what allowed her to have a future, and as long as she was still thinking, she was still here. Still alive. That was a victory in itself, right? So…questions. Claire had always been good at answering questions.

What did they want?

Claire tried hard to think, but fogginess was clouding her mind, trying to take her back to the dark. They'd wanted….a machine. One of Myrnin's crazy inventions. Claire never found out what the machine was for, really, only that it had something to do with Frank. She couldn't remember whether Myrnin gave it to them or not, she was too busy trying to talk Jason out of eating her.

"Claire you have to run. I don't want to hurt you but…I can smell it...I'm so sorry Claire, I didn't mean it, but I had to…she told me to….I'm sorry."

"Jason, you don't have to do anything, okay? Listen to me. I can't run if you don't let go of me can I? So you have to let go. You're strong enough, Jason. You can do this."

"Claire….I just….I'm sorry."

And then his teeth had sunk into her throat and things had started to get…confusing. But remembering that was good. It meant that she was still here. But how much longer would she be able to do this for? Claire had no idea how much time had passed since she'd fallen, and Myrnin….Myrnin hadn't been stable, exactly. Claire didn't know whether he was even trying to save her.

And even though he might have killed her, Claire couldn't bring herself to blame Jason. She hoped that someone helped him, that when Amelie inevitably caught Naomi that she didn't punish Jason as well. It hurt, because he'd tried. He hadn't wanted to hurt her. And he'd saved her by taking the bite in the first place. Claire wouldn't forget that, and she hoped that her friends didn't either.

It was getting easier to remember now. Instead of falling it was like she was being lifted. Like someone was opening her eyes. She could hear whispering, but it was too far off to make proper words. It sounded desperate, and familiar, and like it was getting closer and stronger by the second.

"Claire. You have to come back, Claire. Remember?"

Myrnin. He was here, with her. But how? Unless Naomi had killed him too, but that wasn't very likely. Claire didn't want to think about the other way. Because in a toss-up between death and vampirism, she didn't really know which one to choose. Not that she particularly had a choice right now. At the Glass House, Myrnin had been able to keep her human by using the power of the house itself to resurrect her. Claire knew that here, there would be now choice. It was death or fangs.

She could see him now, faintly. Holding out his hand towards her. She knew this part. She'd been here before, in this terrible hurricane that seemed intent on dragging her back to the darkness. It would be easy to let go, or it had been last time. But now it was like there was a rope around her, holding her still, keeping her here. If I stay any longer, I'll go mad, she thought quietly. The noise was deafening, but silent at the same time; a never ending roar of everything in her ears. The lights seemed to whip past her, unfollowable, making outlines of things but never for long enough to figure out what they were. It was horrible, and she just wanted it to stop.

"Take my hand, Claire. Please. Everything will be as it was, just take my hand. I'll keep you safe."

She couldn't do it. She couldn't bring herself to accept the offer that Myrnin was giving her, not again. She knew the pain of coming back, and she couldn't shake the thought that maybe, just maybe, her time was up, and that it would be wrong to have any more. Claire squeezed her phantom eyes shut tightly, trying to block out the lights and the sound, resigning herself to her fate. For one awful moment, the noise got louder, and Claire felt a flutter of panic. Is this what dying is like? But then she couldn't think anymore, every part of her just wanted it to be over. I'm sorry, Shane. I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye. The sound howled at her, snatching her back to the dark, and then….it stopped.

Claire could feel her body now. Her real one. Her senses flooded back to her, filling her world again. She could smell blood, her own and…someone else's. She could feel arms around her and she could hear shouting…Shane?

Claire opened her eyes, and joined the world of the living, for the second time.

Okay, so I haven't updated in a really long time; sorry about that. I just didn't know whether people were still reading this, and I wasn't sure whether to continue. So please leave a review, so I know whether to keep writing or abandon this as a lost cause. Ta very muchly.