Laura gasped.

It couldn't be. It could not be.

She turned and almost dropped her laptop.

"No," she whispered, "I saw you die."

Danny bared her teeth in a chilling smile. Laura began to shake uncontrollably. This wasn't right. Danny was dead. Like, dead dead. Died in her arms, felt the air leave her body, nail in the coffin SO SUPER DEAD. And while the tall, red haired woman staring at her with the creepy smile certainly looked like Danny, there was something troubling about her. The look in her eye held something monstrous, something incredibly dangerous, nothing at all like the courageous, bright, and loyal woman that had once been Laura's TA. And who she had fantasized about kissing as she worked on her English homework.

Danny's grinned widened. "Welcome back."

Laura felt wild. She felt like crying, screaming, running for dear life. But she was rooted to the spot as Danny sauntered toward her.

"Don't look so scared, sweetheart. I'm not going to hurt you."

Laura cringed at the pet name. Danny had never called her anything like that; it was always Carmilla's game to call her such endearments.

"You're not Danny," Laura said, as firmly as her trembling would allow. The red haired woman was almost upon her, towering over her.

"I suppose that's true in a way. The Danny you knew is dead. Her sense of righteousness, her loyalty to her friends, her pure and innocent love for you, that's all gone. Those things died with her. But I've held on to her rage and hate and regret. All good tools."

The new Danny was now right in front of her, leaning over, her braid grazing Laura's shoulder. Laura felt a hand, cold and surprisingly soft, wrap around the back of her neck and draw her forward. Danny dipped her head and Laura saw the flash of a grin before she was pulled into a deep kiss.

She was breathless when Danny finally released her. She couldn't suppress the heat rising in her body. The kiss had felt uncomfortably familiar, but she and Danny had never kissed before. It reminded her of the early days of her relationship with Carmilla, the first fervent touches they had shared...

Danny was a vampire. There was no other explanation. Someone, something, had turned her after her death. Laura was suddenly very aware of her neck.

"What do you want?" she mumbled, annoyed at her own timidity.

"Nothing now," Danny drawled, straightening up, "I just wanted to say hello."

"Is that how all vampires say hi, or just the freshly resurrected?"

Danny grinned at her, "Very good. I knew you would figure it out." She turned her back and growled, "Now go back to hole you crawled out of before I change my mind."

Laura all but dove to the trapdoor and pried it open while still juggling her laptop and charger. She climbed back into the darkness, the door closing with a bang behind her, and she rushed down the narrow path. She didn't stop until she was back at their home base in the library, her sleeping bag sprawled open on the floor. She sank into it and for the first time in weeks, Laura started to cry.