AN: Special thanks to Ghostwriter for your support. Please read and review.

WARNING: THIS CHAPTER IS RATED MATURE. IT IS NOT SUITABLE FOR SOME READERS AND MAY BE CONSIDERED OFFENSIVE. THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS DESCRIPTIONS OF SEX AND SEXUALITY. DO NOT PROCEED IF YOU ARE UNDER THE AGE OF 18 OR MAY BE OFFENDED BY THIS MATERIAL.

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The night progressed rather boringly for Shea. With the samples in hand, Jack and Gabe seemed to be running them through every machine in the entire lab. She could only sit and watch as Gabe grew more frustrated. "They're all coming back the same," Jack said softly to his friend. Gabe knew this. His heart sank a little further each time they read the results. "Maybe it's where she just fed. It could be that those blood samples are throwing off hers…" he trailed off, digging through paperwork. "Gabe, these samples aren't showing anything. These results are the same results we'd get on the blood from an autopsy. There's nothing alive in them," Jack stated.

"Don't you think I see that? I'm not fucking blind!" Gabe replied forcefully. His anger was growing along with the sense of helplessness. Shea only looked at him helplessly. She'd figured it would come to something like this. To see Gabe now, she remembered why she'd hoped never to see him again. It was cruel, for him to go through all of this all over again. It hard been had enough for him when he thought her dead. Now, she knew he'd have to endure it again, only this time knowing she was out there somewhere. She hated herself in that moment. Shea hated that she'd ever let him get entangled in David's revenge scheme. The part of her that was still rational said that David would have never given up on his quest, but there were so many possibilities haunting her. What might have happened if she'd tried to face David on her own, if she'd warned the Emersons he was gunning for them. Anything.

Gabe turned and spoke to her, distracting Shea from her thoughts. "Do you think you can handle giving a larger sample?" he asked her. "I can handle any size of a sample. It's getting the blood that will be a problem. After a certain point, my veins will shrink down too much," Shea replied. Gabe nodded and started gathering the necessary supplies. This time, though, instead of the small specimen vials, he grabbed a few of the blood donor specimen bags to fill. He managed to get two bags full before the artery started running dry. "Dammit," he whispered, trying to maneuver the needle to keep the blood going. "If I have more blood, you can get more out of the vein." Jack overheard this and nodded, going over to the storage area to grab more bags. As he handed it to her, he froze. "Wait a second," he said. Pulling a hypodermic syringe from a shelf, he stabbed the bag and drew out a small sample. "What are you doing?" asked Gabe. "I'm drawing a sample before she drinks it to compare it to what you draw after she drinks it," Jack replied. "Good thinking," Gabe replied. Jack handed the bag to Shea, ripping open a corner for her, then recapped the syringe and labeled it. He did the same for the other five bags he'd brought. Shea grinned at his ingenuity. If she'd thought of that, she wouldn't have had to turn in order to pierce the bag with her fangs. If Jack had walked in on that, he'd have figured Gabe had just gotten caught up in some creepy alternate lifestyle.

Shea had finished the bag before the bag Gabe was using started to fill. Jack handed him a syringe. "Take a sample from the tube before she drinks the next, then do that after each bag. That might give us a more accurate reading." Gabe nodded and proceeded as Jack said. The process took more time than the earlier procedure had, but eventually, they finished and had each syringe labeled. Suddenly, Jack's watch started beeping. "Sorry, it's still set for when I had to get up for the early shift," he said. "What time is it?" Gabe asked in horror. "It's not daylight yet," Shea spoke up. "I can tell when daylight approaches." Gabe shook his head. "That's not what I'm worried about. When does the first shift get here?" he asked Jack. Jack looked down at his watch. "You've still got about an hour. Oh, shit," he exclaimed. "Supervisor on morning shift today. She always comes in early." Gabe looked around in frustration. He could only examine the samples here, and he certainly couldn't store them back in the blood bank. If they got mixed up, some unfortunate person would end up half-vampire in the morning. "What the hell are we supposed to do with these?" he asked Jack worriedly. Jack looked around, trying to think of a solution. He crossed over to the small employee fridge they had in there, and pulled out his lunch box. "I can't leave them in there!" Gabe exclaimed. Jack shook his head. Unzipping the bag, he pulled out the remaining cans of soda he had in there and set them aside. "Pack them in the dry ice in here, then take them home and keep them in your own fridge."

Gabe moved to get the dry ice. This could work. Packing up the specimens, he thanked Jack for his help and told him he'd see him the next night. He and Shea were almost at the elevators when they heard it ding. Pulling Shea into a small alcove against him, they managed to escape the eye of his supervisor. She went to the front desk and started going through some papers. Gabe panicked. The woman still had full view of the elevators, and the stairs were beyond the desk where she stood. Gabe and Shea stood there, hidden, for what seemed like hours. Soon, the rest of the shift would arrive and then it would be impossible to get out of there without being seen. Sliding his cell phone out of his pocket, Gabe sent a text to Jack, telling him of their precarious position. Only a minute or so later, Gabe heard a crash in the back room, followed by the running steps of the supervisor to see what had occurred. Gabe grinned. He didn't know what Jack had pulled, but it had worked. Pressing the button for the elevator, Gabe and Shea quickly made their exit.

When they finally emerged from the hospital, Gabe sent a text to Jack letting him know they were clear. Jack wrote back that Gabe owed him again, as he'd just engineered a spectacular crash from a stool into a loaded cart under the guise of changing a flickering light bulb. Gabe smirked and started up the bike.

Shea was surprised and confused when they stopped at an apartment building. "Where are we?" she asked him. "My place," Gabe replied. "You're staying with me." Shea looked at him angrily. "That's not a good idea," she said. "Good idea or not, you're stuck now. The sun's about to rise, and you won't make it back in time. Also, I find I prefer to keep an eye on you," he told her. Shea frowned, but he was right. She couldn't even fly right now; the sun would come up and strike her if she was high, but she couldn't fly low without risking being seen. Without a word, she followed Gabe up the stairs and inside.

Once inside, Gabe stored the blood in the fridge and led Shea into his bedroom. He pulled the blinds to the one small window, and threw an extra blanket on it for good measure. "I don't have any duct tape this time, but that should take care of any light," he told her. Flicking on a lamp beside his bed, Gabe yanked back the covers. Shea was starting to feel drowsy, but the sun had to be fully in the sky before she absolutely had to go to sleep. She could actually stay awake for up to an hour after she could no longer venture outside. Actually, she could technically stay awake the whole day, although it wasn't easy.

Shea watched in shock as Gabe kicked off his sneaker and pulled off his socks. He pulled both the scrub shirt and his own over his head, leaving his chest bare. Shea stared at him, surprised at the changes that time had brought. Then again, Gabe had actually aged, which was something she was unable to do. Gabe really was in the prime of his life. When he was a teenager, Gabe had been muscled and fit, but it was the muscular build of an athletic youth. Now, as Shea took in the defined muscles in his abs and chest, his large biceps, she saw what difference a few years could make. Fleetingly, she wondered what she would have looked like at his age. As Shea was lost in her thoughts, she didn't pay attention to Gabe pulling off the scrub pants or his belt. Her attention was caught on the changes in his body until he pulled her against him. His hands slid under the scrubs and pulled them off, leaving her in her regular clothing. "What are you doing?" Shea asked, startled when Gabe pressed her against his chest. "What I've wanted to for about eight years. What I thought I couldn't do ever again," Gabe replied, and kissed her. Shea wasn't prepared for this, either. Gabe mourned her, yes, but he'd also tried to move on with his life as best he could. He hadn't been celibate, and the experience showed. Whereas his kisses had before been soft but intense, this was powerful. Masterful. Shea knew that she was going to regret this. She was getting too close again, and this time, she might not be able to move on like before. But as Gabe continued to kiss her, her defenses wore down and were replaced by the heat his mouth was generating. She'd lost the cap a long while ago, and Gabe's hands were busy running through her black hair. Once, he had stroked it, his fingers running through it almost reverently. Now, his hand bunched into it, pulling it, drawing her head back so that he could kiss her more intensely.

Gabe's hands slid under her shirt and bra, and her breasts filled his hands. Nipping at her lower lip, Gabe grasped at her breasts roughly, and Shea gasped. Gabe pulled both the shirt and the bra over her head in one motion, and bent his head down. When his lips first drew the peak into his mouth, Shea's hands moved into his hair and she sighed. One hand pinching the other tip, Shea moaned as his teeth bit down gently. Gabe moved back up and kissed her again, his hands unfastening the fly of her pants. He started to back her up towards the bed, finally lifting her up and dropping her on top of it. Gabe hooked his fingers into the top of her jeans and panties, pulling the both down her body. He moved over her, Shea's legs coming to wrap around his waist. He could feel her through his jeans, and he almost lost all control right there. Instead, he returned his attention to her breasts. Shea gasped when Gabe moved lower, pressing kisses along her belly and on her thighs. Then, he lifted her legs over his shoulders and pressed his mouth to her. Shea's hips bucked up under the attention of his tongue, teeth, and fingers. Between the soft swipes of his tongue, the suction of his lips, and the nips of his teeth, it wasn't long before Shea was screaming as she went over the edge. With a grin, Gabe pulled away and stood, unfastening his pants and letting them drop to the floor. He moved on top of her yet again, and Shea reached down and took him in her hand, moving over his shaft. Gabe moaned and pumped softly into her hand. Soon, he drew her hand away and positioned himself between her spread thighs. His hands came up, gently pinning hers to the sheets above her head, as he thrust inside of her. Shea gasped with the feeling of it. The heavy thrust and drag, the movement of her hips against him, and Gabe again felt his control waning. He wrapped his arms around her waist and rolled, bringing her over top of him. Shea took a moment to adjust to this new position, and smiled. Her movements were slower than his, but a steady rhythm. Gabe watched her body moving over him, her breasts bouncing, the look of ecstasy on her face. His hand covered her belly and he pressed his thumb to her cleft, watching her jerk at the sensation. Before long, Shea was crying out her release again. Gabe, however, wasn't done yet. He pressed her down onto her belly, lifting her hips up. Shea raised herself up on her hands to turn and look at him behind her. Gabe's eyes didn't leave hers as he slowly sank in, his hips pressed against her soft bottom. His hands guided the movements of her hips, and their eyes soon closed in pleasure. Gabe's thrusts increased and intensified, and he leaned over her, bracing a hand on the bed for support. The headboard slammed against the wall with the intensity. Finally, Shea's hands reached behind her, squeezing his thigh as she came again, this time, with Gabe roaring his own orgasm.

Exhausted, Gabe slumped over Shea's back, before he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her down to the bed with him. Her back against his chest, one large hand grasping a full pale breast, they fell to sleep as the sun rose in the sky outside.