Day 2, 20:45, New York

"I'll have turkey ham, olives, salad and tomatoes," Rashel instructed the Subway employee who followed suite and piled her toasted sandwich with her choices. Quinn had already settled at a table because she had insisted that she started making use of her own money for herself.

The longer they lasted without having to dig through either of their accounts, the longer they could avoid attracting attention to themselves. It was highly likely that Hunter kept track of Quinn's accounts after all, since he'd been entitled to the Redfern inheritance and thus the money that had accumulated over the centuries. She hadn't asked him about that yet but she knew that it would come up sometime. Her own savings weren't even an option because she was already, most likely, a missing person. It would be like a red beacon for the authorities.

She added a chocolate chip cookie and water to her order and joined him in a corner of the fast-food outlet, away from the chattering cluster of students and an older couple who occupied the other side of the place. Their booth was tiny and she munched on her dinner in silence before Rashel's curiosity got the better of her.

"Could you actually eat solid food if you wanted to?"

He huffed a laugh but shook his head afterwards, "I don't need to eat. Made vampires can only survive on blood because our bodies are technically dead. Nutrients, oxygen and so on, it all comes in one package. It's the lamia that can digest. They blend in well with the human world because they function the same way"

"Right," she noted, "But did you ever have a favourite?"

"You say it like there was a variety to choose from in the 1600s. I was curious about a lot of things that came in the next centuries though."

"I'm sure frozen pizza was a shocker," she quipped and hid her smirk behind her sandwich. He just shook his head, keeping an eye on the people on the opposite side of the room. She focused on her meal for a bit, until the previous events came and nagged at her again. He hadn't spoken about it yet and now was as good a time as ever.

"Tell me about it. Your meeting," she demanded as she bit into the warm bread and licked away the mayonnaise that spilled onto her lips.

"We're going to Vegas. That's where she'll probably be. Marcus mentioned that she'd been spotted around some hotspots there in the last month. I think it's our best shot at getting to Daybreak," Quinn answered while chewing, "I figured it'll be easiest to take a flight from here. That will cut us down on a lot of extra travelling days"

Rashel dumped her sub on the table. She fixed him with a look that bordered on annoyed. "First off, I don't know who she is. Second, I meant some detail of the conversation, not just a destination. And we can't just fly there, Quinn. You know how risky it is. One look at our passports and the Council will know where we're headed by that evening. Not to mention the kind of things I'm carrying on me. We might as well spray it in capitals on the plane so they can arrange a greeting committee in Vegas"

He listened patiently but only gave her a grin as though to say, you have no clue what my masterful plan really is. "It's covered. Marcus is in the process of getting us new passports right now. They should be done in time for a flight tomorrow afternoon"

"That's insane," she interrupted angrily, "He doesn't even have legitimate photographs. There's no way some faked pictures are going to be accepted"

"He's done it a hundred times before. He'll manage," Quinn objected, "He's made me some before"

"Oh yes?" Rashel took another bite of her food and downed it with a swig of water, "I'm all ears for that story."

He just waved it off with a flick of his hand, "Problems with a gang of werewolves. Long story short, the alpha had a bunch set on my tracks. They tracked me down here while I was getting a job done for Hunter and I needed new passports to get to L.A. It was easier to settle things without those runts on my back. The guy regretted getting on my wrong side though," he finished with a grin, "Marcus has done a number of things for me in the past. Apart from his drug issues, he's intelligent to the point where he could hack the White House if he was asked. Two passports are no issue for him"

"Great," she brusquely wiped the crumbs from the tabletop, "And I'm just going to have to take your word for it. This isn't just running away – we're topping it off with illegal documents. It's not on my agenda to spend the next years in prison"

"It's safe," was all he said as reassurance and leaned back against the seat.

She stared out at the darkness outside that was alive with the flickers of car headlights and tinged in the yellow of the streetlamps. She had no clue where they were. Not in the inner city for sure but not out in the residential areas either. She was entirely reliant on the vampire opposite her for guidance tonight.

"What's so bad about taking a car again?"

He scoffed at the question and leaned forward to rest his elbows on the tabletop, "We'd be on the road for days. I'd rather save myself the time and find the lead before it disappears. Don't worry," he added, "I'll pay"

"Do you always carry your millions in your pocket around the country?" she jibed as she sipped from her bottle. He only smiled but didn't reply. She crumpled up the sandwich wrapper in her fist. "Alright, we'll fly. But I want to know everything. The target and what your witch told you. I'm not going without knowing what I'm dealing with"

He nodded his affirmation and then tilted his head in direction of the exit. She stood and dumped the trash as they left together. The night was relatively cool and soothed her shoulder, which was beginning to ache again from all the strain. Ignoring the light pain along with that in her leg, she took small bites out of her overly sweet cookie as they strolled down the dark sidewalk and Quinn finally explained.

"The witch is Thea Harman. She's an acquaintance I met once. Another Redfern introduced me. I heard rumours about her disappearing from her family and Circle some weeks back but since I don't concern myself with the witches I didn't follow it up. Marcus is very active when it comes to tracking his relatives' moves. It's a bit of an obsession. He's been monitoring their activity since he found out about his distant Harman roots. She's been seen most recently in Vegas, so that's where we're going"

"Why her?" Rashel wasn't catching on fully, "I heard Daybreak was started by witches but how are you sure that she knows about it? Or is even part of it? Or will give you any kind of information if she doesn't know you"

"I'll worry about that once I've found her. I picked her because she's exactly the type. She has the 'determined to change the world for the better' character. And according to Marcus there was talk about her having close connections with a human before she vanished. Apparently he also left the area around the same time she did. It's not concrete evidence but I think it comes pretty close"

"A human soulmate," Rashel whistled through her teeth, "So it's not just happening to the vampires"

"He knew some interesting things about that part too. Again, it's only rumour but a cousin of the Redferns has vanished since a couple of months as well. There was a report of him appearing in Vegas with a girl. He couldn't say if she was human or vampire but I've met the guy at gatherings and he never makes public appearances with either kind of girl. I'm willing to bet the soulmate principle is hitting the lamia too"

This was definitely news. Rashel had actually been concerned that they were the only ones around. Fayth's words came back to mind, about having friends from the Night and Day world who were soulmates. She regretted not asking her for specifics but now it was too late. They'd have to worm they way through this alone for the time being.

"It's ironic that these people are gravitating towards Vegas. There are a bunch of outposts there for Council members. The Lord of the Night World has a central control point somewhere there too" Quinn continued, "A lot of lamia stay around there in the summer to… enjoy the variety"

"That's disgusting," she growled. Her appetite had suddenly waned and she tossed the last piece of cookie into a side street. Some stray animal would be happy about it. "Even assuming that it's dangerous, it's the only lead we have. I know people around Vegas too so if it gets too crazy, we can disappear there for a while"

Now it was his turn to turn to her with slight annoyance. "Because the vampire hunter community will obviously be very pleased to have a vampire knock on their door and ask for asylum. That's not going to happen"

"I'd rather face them than have to ask Hunter Redfern for a bed and breakfast," she replied with the same haughtiness, "Don't think for a second that I'm playing some 'doped girl for the night' role in a vampire lair. If they'd even let you in, now that you're a wanted man"

"They probably wouldn't," he agreed and took a left. She followed his lead and glimpsed a main road through the clustered buildings up ahead. "I wonder if your people would"

"Probably not," she echoed, "I left the place at fifteen and mostly did my own thing anyway. I just hung around the group because they received info on Night World cases regularly. I could only go by newspaper articles and my own instincts. They were helpful and a good team but they weren't friends of mine. They don't owe me."

"You should learn to blackmail. It comes in handy," Quinn advised as they passed by the last couple of stores and stood on the open pavement. She decided not to argue with him about his methods and waited, tapping her hand against the thigh where her knife rested under the black jeans. Vehicles zoomed past in flashes and they kept walking in the hub of people that passed them here, part of the nightlife of the city.

"How do you know the guy anyway?" she questioned again as they rounded another corner and crossed the street at some lights. Quinn eyed two guys that accidentally shoved against his side in the crowd and she had to nudge his shoulder to regain his attention.

"Marcus?"

She nodded while briefly admiring a collection of outrageous costumes in the window of a party store filled with pulsing disco lights. They kept going, always straight ahead.

"Wrong place, right time," he said, leaning his head right back to look up at the starless night, "He had just moved to L.A. and didn't know his way around the clubs yet. He was sixteen, so that was around five years ago. He was in university around there but that night he visited the wrong place and stuck out like a sore thumb. I got him a drink and when he was spilling his life story, it was easy to convince him that we'd be beneficial for each other. It's a give and take. He gets me the right information when I want it and I supply him with enough to finance his cravings. That doesn't stop at me. By now, the guy doesn't need a job when he has a number of people feeding his accounts for the details he can get them."

"For such a smart guy he doesn't look much like one," Rashel remarked, watching the night around them merge into a colourful blur the further they got into the city centre, "Especially with the friends he keeps. Where do you even find somebody that…eccentric?"

"Zora?" Quinn guessed. He turned his dark eyes to watch her expression contort at the mention of the witch's name.

"I couldn't deal with someone like that," she exclaimed, redoing her ponytail that was coming loose, "I couldn't listen to her for more than five minutes"

"I figured when I found you outside. What did she do to you?" he asked.

Rashel found herself slowing down as he sprung the question on her. She didn't really want to tell him the details of the conversation just yet. She needed to have a think about them first. So she put on a blank face and kept her tone irritated as though she was genuinely ticked off about it, "Crept up to me like I was a statue in a museum and kept staring. I hate dealing with people crowding around me and ogling. Then she babbled some strange things that were completely disjointed and didn't make sense."

"He did say that she has a tendency to invade people's privacy," Quinn agreed, "But I don't think he notices much around his house"

"Wait. Where are we going?" Rashel stopped in front of a records store and leaned against the brick wall to allow others to pass by them, "I take it you have no idea either"

Quinn followed her example and braced his back against the rough surface. "This is New York. There are a million places to go. Any preferences?"

"Well it's about…" she sneaked a glance into the store, catching sight of a huge clock behind the cashier, "nine thirty so how about a place to rest? I'm not as much of a Wolverine at recovering as you are. We've been walking half the day."

"Recovering like a what?" he twisted his head to look at her.

"It's from a movie…" she quickly explained, wanting to bite her tongue at throwing in that lame reference, "Doesn't matter. Come on, let's get this over with and find a motel"

His grin was devilish this time. "Truly romantic, aren't you?"

Inwardly, she blushed at the comment but thankfully she was an expert at keeping her cool. So she just stepped forward, turning so she was exactly face to face with him. Her thigh barely brushed his but she was so near that she could see his pupils dilate over his equally dark iris as she came closer. She leaned her mouth near his ear and let her fingers thread through the hair at the back of his neck and whispered, "Maybe you can teach me"

"Tease," he murmured back and she backed away from her position with a laugh. She hefted her bag up higher on her shoulder and went on walking, hearing his soft footfalls catching up as he came after her.

She didn't recognize herself as somebody who was any good at romance or remotely talented at seduction but it was so much fun seeing the effect she had on Quinn. She must be doing something right. Every time they touched in a situation that wasn't necessarily to share direct thoughts or conspire about things that didn't need to be heard by people around them, she picked up subtle changes in his expression and body language. It was like he was in disbelief that she would make any kind of advances.

He caught up and she didn't look up to meet his eyes. He stayed a fraction closer now as they walked and after a period of silence he felt his hand slip under the strap of her duffel bag. She asked the question with her eyes as he threw her bag over his free shoulder but he shrugged and said quite casually, "Romance is overrated"

She had to smile at the contradiction to the generous gesture. Spontaneously, she added, "We'd be bad at it anyway"

"Heartless human being that you are," he agreed. She found that she loved his sarcasm. It looked like she'd found her match there.

"Add an overemotional vampire and you have a disaster"

He chuckled and she couldn't help but join in. His laugh was just as addictive as his gaze. She couldn't seem to stop herself from responding. Plus, it was a crazy picture they were painting of themselves and the impossible notion of it. She had more heart and conscience than she was willing to admit and the thought of him being dramatic, overemotional – it was plain hilarious.

"What do you know about romance?" he asked out of the blue with a glint in his eyes. Again, she didn't look at his face when she answered, not really out of shame but because she didn't want to watch his reaction to her inexperience.

"It only ever got as romantic as me threatening to castrate a guy who wanted to take me on a date"

"I can imagine that. Did he get the message?" He sounded intrigued by the idea.

"Yes," Rashel recalled the memory with a smirk. The guy had thought her earlier threats to be playing hard to get but at that he had finally backed off. He'd taken a classmate out instead a week later. "I never wanted to date. Guys my age can only be mature when it comes to sneaking into clubs or getting a driver's license. They also take up time. That doesn't work very well when I am out trying to kill as many parasi…vampires as possible"

"So I was your first?" Quinn asked and she almost choked at the implication. This time she had to fight the faint blush that crept up her neck and she prayed he wouldn't notice in the darkness.

"First for many things," she said, staring right ahead.

The vampire stayed silent after the confession and she bit her tongue, thinking she'd already given away too much. She had never been this honest with anybody, she realized. She hadn't kept anyone close enough to have deep conversations and as a rule always shut out any foster families she was thrown into. She wasn't overly antisocial; she just chose to spend her time with people who understood her obligations. Everything about herself she was now confessing to a vampire she knew for a couple of days. Zora's words came back to mind and she pressed her lips together.

The quiet between them lasted two whole blocks before Rashel needed a break from the tension. She gave Quinn a sign to wait and bolted into a little convenience store on a corner. A young woman, hair dyed black with a piercing in her nose and wearing so much black that she rivalled Rashel's outfit, sat behind the counter. She was sipping a beer but quickly hid it behind the rack of gum as she walked in.

"Can I help?" she chirped and threw in the effort of sitting up in her chair.

Rashel nodded, tossing a quick glance outside to see that Quinn was watching their interaction. She let out her breath and approached the woman. "I was wondering if you knew the nearest motel in walking distance"

"Oh. Sure," she pulled out a map from under the counter and flipped it open, "If you head out from here, there are a couple of options," She pointed them out to Rashel who made sure to memorize their locations in case one was already full. Then she also looked towards the window of the shop, gazing at Quinn who had turned to watch the bustle on the road, "You running away with handsome there?"

"Is that any of your business?" Rashel snapped back and earned herself a reproaching look from the woman. She leaned on the counter and gave Rashel a meek smile that was obviously meant to show that she wasn't trying to offend her.

"I'd just be careful. I did the same when I was crazy in love with my older boyfriend at sixteen. I ended up stranded in Kansas on my own. I'm just saying, make sure this is what you want and you're not making a mistake"

What was it with people giving her warnings today? It was like an evil omen was floating around over her head and kept sending out signals in form of advice from unexpected people. She'd made this decision three days ago and there was no going back now. As much as little doubts kept nagging at her, she knew that she wouldn't have made another choice. She needed to make a new start and she would do it with her soulmate.

"Thanks," she said and left the store, feeling frazzled by the warning.

Quinn fell into step with her as she stormed ahead, putting as much distance as possible between herself and the flood of warnings that this city was releasing her way. Paranoid people, that's all they were. Did she seriously look like she needed consolidation?

She led them through the endless maze of streets that only seemed to get fuller as they went even though it was getting later and later. Rashel tried to recall what day it was, whether it was a weekend, which would explain all these people out and about, but her sense of time was messed up. She'd find out in the motel.

"So are you absolutely sure you want to run away with me?" Quinn questioned from beside her, "Not scared that I might dump you in Kansas?"

"That thing about people's privacy, I think you've been copying Zora," Rashel taunted back, "Who said you were allowed to listen to my conversation?"

"That wasn't a conversation, that was a lecture. Do you know how hard it is to stop overhearing things when you've got good hearing?"

"No. I have normal ears that don't hear noises through glass windows while standing in the middle of a loud sidewalk. And if you tried to dump me, I'd tie you to the nearest tree and leave you there to starve" she pointed out.

"You could try. But I'm carrying the bag with the sharp tools" he quipped and she half-turned to roll her eyes at him.

"Give me a minute so I can concentrate on actually finding the street"

He smirked behind her but obeyed. She diverted her attention away from the conversation for a moment and instead searched the small side streets around them, reading the street names to make sure they were following the right route. She started watching people as they headed home, out or leaving for their late night jobs. She thought she spotted a face turning their way and staring for a moment but it was quickly concealed behind a hood and the person moved on. It was too far away to be sure in the dark.

She took a deep breath, tasting the car fumes on her tongue. She didn't like New York all that much yet. Maybe she was just too worn out to appreciate it. Her previous routine had been so simple, so repetitive. Stalk, stake, hide the corpse and go home. No problem. Now that they had been on the run three days in a row she was beginning to feel it wear on her. To top that, they were in a city that was bound to be an overload for the senses.

When the motel sign blinked at them in the night she was glad. She wanted to re-bandage her wounds and just sit and think. She wanted to be clear on what she wanted to do and how she wanted to sort out her current situation. She also wanted to digest the words she'd been given by two very different people today and think about whether to take them seriously or not. Which meant, she'd also have to speak with Quinn about it. The simple thought made her body tense. This wasn't something she was looking forward to.

She took initiative this time, wordlessly taking her bag from him and rifling through to find her wallet. The receptionist accepted the request for a room and her money without complaint and asked if she wanted breakfast thrown into the deal. She shook her head, took the key and set out to find their home for the night.

Quinn was already waiting at the designated door and took the key from her wordlessly. It was nicer than the previous one and the bed looked so incredibly inviting that Rashel wanted to fall right onto it. She didn't, just sat down on the floor to remove her boots and stretch out her body. She satisfying pop of her joints as she leaned her head on her outstretched knees had her feeling much better immediately.

She pulled the knife out of her pants and massaged the area where it had pressed against her leg the entire day. Then she rolled up the pant leg to expose her calf. She wrinkled her nose at the sight. The bandage was soaked red and had come loose from the top thanks to today's exertions.

"That doesn't smell good," Quinn announced from the other end of the room, where he had stowed their bags in the small closet provided for them. She'd already forgotten that he would smell the fresh bleeding. She braced herself for the sight.

"Doesn't feel that good either," she answered and peeled away the entire thing. It didn't look any better. The beast had torn into her meat, not just the top layers of skin. She'd been lucky that he hadn't carved out a whole chunk of her leg. Fact was, the wound was still sticky with blood and the more she moved it, the more it bled. She had no intentions of having it treated in a hospital but she also couldn't afford to put pressure on it. She'd have to strap it up and hope that the next twelve hours of rest would help somewhat.

"Maybe I should leave it open for the night," she added and turned to Quinn for his opinion. He had come closer and crouched down beside her to look at the damage.

"Maybe you need to see a doctor about it," he hinted.

"Forget that. I've got my shots covered and I can bandage it alone" She was about to pull herself up using the bed for support when Quinn suppressed her attempt with a firm hand on her unblemished shoulder. He fetched the first-aid kit they had nicked from the base and threw it over to her. Then he pulled a pillow away from the headboard of the bed and lay down, resting his chin on his arms, to watch her.

"There's another solution, you know," he remarked as she completed the procedure on her leg and checked her shoulder.

She pulled off her sweater, tossing it in the trashcan in the corner. It was the torn one and while some might deem it a fashion statement, she had no use for clothes that looked like she'd just been mugged. The gauze on her shoulder was still in place but also tinged in red. She exhaled loudly as she pulled it off and had to twist around to ensure that she wasn't ripping extra skin off.

"Plastic surgery?" she thought out loud. The disinfecting spray stung and she blinked away the resulting wetness in her eyes. She decided that she officially despised large, carnivorous animals of any kind. No wonder she'd never asked for a pet.

"Vampire blood"

Her hand stopped halfway to the roll of bandages and she turned to look at his face. He was quite close and their eyes were aligned when she straightened fully. He wasn't joking. His expression was serious and maybe a touch challenging as he gazed at her. It was an honest offer. She swallowed and felt her throat go dry.

"What's that going to do to me?"

"Nothing too extreme if I don't give you much. A couple of swallows will improve your senses for some time. A bit more will be enough to speed up the healing," he shrugged his shoulders where he lay and the corner of his mouth lifted, "If you want"

It was nothing like the first time where he'd been driven to force her into becoming a vampire. It wasn't necessary to help her survive tonight. It was purely her decision. She had to know though. She had to ask. "Why would you offer to give me that?"

He smiled beautifully and almost managed to look like an angel there in the white light of the lamp swinging overhead. "Because I'm not going to leave you behind. Not in Kansas or anywhere else. I keep my promises"

She had to swallow again. Something hot was growing in her chest and spreading through her body. Everyone was wrong. So completely wrong. How could he be dangerous for her when he would tell her things like this and want to help her recover? How could she doubt him over and over when he tried so hard to change for her? So what if he didn't constantly include her in his plan-making and kept information to himself until she probed him for it. They had barely started working together; they would figure it out in time. They had both preferred solitude for years. It was only normal that caring for and loving another person would take some practice.

She should be grateful that he even considered sharing his blood. She would have to put aside her prejudices to do this but she was willing to. She placed her trust in him. She'd said she trusted him with her life and she wasn't going to back out here. She was brave enough to try and it was obvious she wasn't going to be able to keep going if the wounds infected.

"What do I owe you for this?" she asked hesitantly, tilting her head loosen up her shoulder. She never stopped looking into his eyes. They held hers as he said, "I'm sure you'll find something at some point"

She took a deep breath and lifted herself off the floor to sit on the end of the bed. He moved aside and sat up so that his body faced her. He waited for her to take a few calming breaths, then he lifted his wrist to his mouth. She only glimpsed his canines lengthening to their maximum before they disappeared behind his arm. She stared unabashed at the spectacle in front of her and had to remind herself that this was what she wanted. Her sensei sprang to the forefront of her mind as she watched. His words of warning repeated themselves in her head. He would have killed her if he could see her now. He wouldn't have understood that she had never lost her honour; she was just searching for a new life.

This step suddenly seemed like a milestone in her overcoming her hate for vampires and everything they stood for. She would taste blood. Quinn's blood. Immortal blood. Mixed with that of that woman he had taken from today. It would be something entirely different from anything she had eaten and hopefully not as disgusting as it sounded in her mind.

The wet breaking of flesh under his teeth had her closing her eyes. She worked on keeping her nerves in check. It was safe, she told herself repeatedly, and it was what she wanted. She'd made the choice. Quinn cleared his throat beside her and she snapped to attention. His wrist was extended in front of him and she glanced at the rivulets of red running over them, at his calm face, then back again.

She let out the breath she'd been holding. Then she gripped the bleeding wrist and slowly, slowly leaned in. The scent filled her nose but before she could begin to identify it she was distracted by the taste. It was a taste, which completely caught her unprepared, it slammed into her and she couldn't control her reactions. She was hazily aware that she clawed deeper into his arm and latched onto the bloodstream like her life depended on it. Somewhere in her fuzzy head, she was embarrassed by the loss of restraint but she couldn't pull away.

There was no description; just that it wasn't metallic or heavy like human blood. The consistence was the same, hot fluid that ran down her throat, but the taste was unique. It was like it had developed a taste of its own that fit in neither of the human ranges of sweet, salty, sour or bitter. As she drank she could only think of incoherent thoughts like age, euphoria, invincibility, darkness and glory. Somehow the taste reminded her of all these things and raised emotions in her that she couldn't explain.

She'd barely swallowed two mouthfuls when something else happened. Bonding. It was the same kind of fireworks that had occurred when he'd first drank from her but this time it happened more smoothly like a phone connection had been disrupted and now returned in full clarity. It was as though they had never separated. They were intertwined in a way that went beyond physical or emotional and this time she wasn't overwhelmed. She was exhilarated to the point where she felt like she was flying.

Time wasn't important. Reality wasn't important. Nothing else mattered but that this continued.

Quinn obviously had more self-control than her in that moment because he tugged the source of her bliss away from her. Her hands gripped harder but of course in her daze she was no match against him when he was absolute in his decision. The world came back into focus and she blinked a couple of times to regain a sense of balance. She realized the reason for the strange alignment of the room was because she was flat on her back. The ceiling stared back at her and Quinn was righting himself beside her, wiping the self-inflicted bite clean.

She was breathing rapidly and it was because her heart was pulsing like crazy. She swallowed again just to relive the experience with the last drops on her tongue. So this was the feeling of drinking somebody else's blood. This was life. She felt entirely renewed. Or maybe that was just because everything was heightened. He hadn't promised too much when he'd said that she would have improved senses. It was incredible.

Quinn's head appeared in her vision and she could have sworn he'd never been more gorgeous. She could see him perfectly even as he blocked out the overhead light. He looked a little out of it as well but he was grinning, madly as always.

"Well?"

Rashel just blurted the first word that came to mind, "Amazing"

Quinn nodded knowingly. "You went a little overboard. But I guess that just means you'll be back on your feet by tomorrow"

"Perfect," she replied, still catching her breath, "How about you?"

He sat back on his knees and drew the shirt over his head. Rashel honestly didn't want to stare but with the more than a hundred percent eyesight she had right now, it was impossible not to. She was seeing muscles shift under the skin that she had never spotted before. The body may have been compact and not overly tall but it was trained. She needed a moment to catch on to the fact that the bullet holes had shrunk to harmless little scabs. It hadn't even taken him a day to recover from potentially severe injuries.

He didn't notice her as he inspected his stomach and decided, "Wood is going to scar but most of it should be gone tomorrow"

She raised her eyebrows, "I actually meant your wrist"

He shifted his attention to his arm and gave it a shake to get the feeling back into his fingers after her vice grip. "I'll live"

"You just wanted an excuse to take your shirt off," she said, feeling uncharacteristically bold with her words now that she had such a rush in her limbs.

He leaned down and braced himself on either side of her head. He was near enough for her to feel the energy from his body, bare skin inches away from hers. "Will you stab me if I say yes?"

"I don't have anything on me, Quinn," she murmured back.

"Good," he said and covered the rest of the distance to meet her lips with his.