Hi. This chapter is a little shorter than the others but it seemed like a good place to stop. I promise to make up for it with the next one. Enjoy!! (I hope).

The caves settled down as one by one the inhabitants gave into their weakness and exhaustion took over. Some of the guardians dozed as well, the days of being awake and the tension having overcome them. Quietly, Dr. Mark moved among his wards, doing what he could for them with the supplies he had.

The Legacy Precept was himself nodding off. He sat on the ground before Nick's bed, his head resting on his drawn up knees. Above him, he could hear the younger sleeping fitfully. Every once in a while the ex SEAL would cry out and move under the fur as if in the throes of a nightmare.

When it got too bad, Derek would get up and soothe the younger man. Each time shame burned on Nick's cheeks. He hated being this helpless and vulnerable. When he awake he could never remember the dreams themselves, yet a sense of suffocating prevailed.

For his part, Edmund found sleeping difficult because he couldn't find a position that didn't aggravate something. The skin over his stomach and chest was becoming tight from the emerging bruises and fire burned along his left side. Groaning despite his best efforts, Ed tried to sit up. Pain and nausea assailed him like a physical blow. Gasping and swallowing rapidly, the blond police officer was forced to lie back down. Even with his eyes closed he could feel the world swirly around drunkenly.

More bile rose. Unable to prevent it, Ed turned his head and vomited. Instantly, Jack was beside him. "Damn," Ed swore to himself as he felt someone whipping at his face with a damp cloth. The smell alone was enough to send Ed's stomach heaving but he managed to overpower the reflex.

"What happened?" he heard an unfamiliar voice ask.

"Don't know," jack replied. Ed could hear the fear and concern in his partner's voice, though he doubted anyone else could. "He just threw up."

Warm fingers touched his neck. Afraid, Ed forced his eyes open despite the spinning. A man with blond hair and brown eyes was examining him. Jack stood behind him but didn't seem to be threatened at all by the man so Ed allowed his eyes to slam shut again.

"My name's Mark Gideon, I'm a doctor," the man explained. "How do you feel?"

"Dizzy," was all Ed could manage before the nausea reared its ugly head again.

"What's going on?" Jack demanded.

"Between his cracked ribs and lose of blood, he's not oxygenating his blood properly, hence the dizziness. If I could do a blood transfusion he'd heal faster but they won't let me. When I've tried they hurt everyone involved, it's not worth the risk."

"So, what do we do?" Jackson Pogue asked. He really hated it here. He missed his little girl and even his ex-wife.

"All we can do is give him time. Is he allergic to any medications? Morphine?" Dr. Gideon asked. Ed shook his head 'no'. "Okay, well, I'm going to give you a low dosage of morphine, enough to lessen some of the pain but hopefully not enough to aggravate the spinning."

Carefully, the doctor drew up the drug into a syringe and injected it into Ed's nearest leg. Within minutes Ed could breathe better and the dizziness abated to the point that he could finally open his eyes. Relieved, he made as if to sit up but Jack laid a restraining hand on his shoulder. "Don't push it," he warned. "You'll need your strength for later."

"Is there going to be a later?" Ed asked as he tried to find a comfortable position.

Before Jack had a chance to answer a female vampire seemed to materialize in front of Nick's bed. Derek, seated beside him, fell sound asleep at a touch of her hand.

Jack started to scramble to his feet when he felt a hand grip his shoulder to keep him down. Angry, he glanced up to see who it was and found Dr. Mark who simply shook his head 'no'.

The woman bent over the sleeping Nick. Her death-like hands came up and disappeared among his blanket and clothes. Even where he sat, Jack heard the younger man moan. "Did you miss me?" she purred. Another moan.

A sound that made Jack's hair stand on end, the vampire had chuckled. She pulled the fur back while she pulled Nick's sweatshirt up to expose his chest. Slowly, seductively, she ran her tongue from his chest to his lower abdomen. Nick sat bolt upright, ignoring all his injuries and tried to dislodge his tormentor. Ignoring him, she continued, intent on her prize. Baring her fangs, she speared her ultimate goal again. His body going completely stiff, Nick choked out a scream as pain radiated from his groan yet again.

"Nancy," Marcus had appeared beside his sister. Disappointed, she hadn't had her fill yet, the female withdrew from Nick's bed and turned her attention to Marcus. "Leave him be, I have a surprise for you."

OOOOO

"They're beautiful," Nancy purred.

"They're brothers," Marcus said, smiling down at the two bound and gagged men lying on the floor of the cave. Off to his right was the bed Nick had used, the fire and the bath tub. "They thought they knew how to hunt vampires."

"Did they really?" An evil smile revealed Nancy's fangs. "It's so hard to choose."

Happily, Nancy stood over the two men and examined them. "Which is younger?" she asked.

The taller of the two had dark gray eyes, brown hair and a beautiful body. The shorter one had hazel eyes, blond hair and a hardened, muscular body. Both of them glared up at their captors. The smaller one appeared to be trying to get loose.

"Young Sam," Marcus replied indicating the taller man. "Dean is the older brother."

"Hmmm. How to choose." Nancy ran a finger over her teeth as she contemplated her prey. "Any preferences?"

"I like them tall," Marcus stated. Without waiting for a response, he descended on the struggling younger man.