Disclaimer: I own nothing, as per usual

Feedback: Appreciated

AN: To anyone reading this in America, I apologise for being a bit ahead; I've tried to provide only the essential details of the episode necessary to understand what the characters are doing, but I warn you all that this will contain spoilers

New Blood, Old Soul

As intimidating as it was to learn that Dracula had overcome his kind's primary weakness, in a strange way, Merlin was glad that his associate's plans had taken such a crucial step forward. The vampire's other weaknesses might remain intact, and the serum's effectiveness might be limited, but so long as nobody had reason to believe he was anything other than a human, now that they had a working sample, they could continue to work on improving it, particularly with Dracula's wireless electrical transmission continuing to improve.

With Renfield having left Britain for some unspecified business abroad, Merlin was wondering how Dracula intended to handle most of the business that Renfield normally did for him, but personal issues like that were something that Dracula could worry about himself.

Merlin had to admit, he was actually impressed at seeing how things were going for his old acquaintance. Seeing a vampire walking in the sunlight was a slight surprise, but it was still interesting to hear him talk about the care of patients in hospitals, even if Merlin was still concerned about his continuing game with Lady Jayne; that anti-sunlight serum would only last for so long, after all…

Still, Lady Jayne was Dracula's problem and Dracula's alone; Merlin was only concerned about her actions insofar as they affected Lucy Westenra, and Merlin was going to make sure that she never had the chance to 'influence' Lucy away from her real friends.

He'd practically handed Morgana over to Morgause; even if Lady Jayne's attempts to influence Lucy were only an impulsive decision, he wasn't going to make that mistake again…


As she stood outside Lady Jayne's house, Lucy wondered what exactly she was doing here; she'd never even bothered to follow up on Lady Jayne's advice, after all…

Actually, now that she thought about it, her actions made little sense even to her. When she'd contemplated confronting Lady Jayne with the fact that Mina had told her she didn't feel that way about her- she was convinced of that based on her dreams, even if it sounded like a weak explanation when voiced out loud-, she had spent the last night hearing Lady Jayne dismissing Mina as a coward afraid of her own desires, but as much as she wanted to believe the older woman's words, she knew Mina too well to neatly pigeon-hole her in such a matter, and she just couldn't see herself wanting to hurt Mina just because she'd been hurt because of something Mina couldn't control…

"Miss Westenra?" a familiar voice said, prompting Lucy to turn around and smile at the sight of Doctor Michael Emrys walking up to her with a concerned expression. "Are you all right?"

"Just… a few bad dreams," Lucy said, shrugging slightly as she looked at the enigmatic doctor with a reassuring smile.

"Bad dreams?" Emrys repeated, looking at her with a sceptical smile. "And those dreams prompted you to come here?"

"You disapprove?" Lucy asked, looking at him inquiringly.

"I wonder at the wisdom in relying on anything this woman has to say about something as personal as your dreams," Emrys replied, returning her anxious stare with a pointed glare. "Unless I miss my guess, you and I have actually been talking for longer than you have been having conversations with Lady Jayne-"

"How do you know that?" Lucy asked, looking sharply at him, suddenly concerned that she was dealing with a disturbing stalker.

"I was curious to learn more about the people that my associate was spending time with; when you read the newspapers, it isn't that hard to find out where she's been and where you've been, and you never had an opportunity to interact before Grayson's debut," Emrys said, looking firmly at Lucy. "The point is that I wouldn't recommend relying on the advice of someone when you don't know their motives; someone like Lady Jayne always has an agenda."

"And you don't?" Lucy replied, looking pointedly at him.

"My agenda is simply to give you another perspective to listen to; while I would hope you would listen to me, I am not insisting that you do so," Doctor Emrys clarified. "Lady Jayne has her own reasons that I would not like to speculate on, but I doubt that they are done solely to benefit you; don't play into her hands so easily."

For a moment, Lucy looked uncertainly at Doctor Emrys for a moment, lost in thought as she contemplated his words, before she spoke again.

"My dreams…" she said, not entirely sure why she was saying this, but feeling none of the apprehension she'd felt about approaching Lady Jayne on this same topic as she spoke. "They were about… how a friend would react to something I said…"

"It was Miss Murray, wasn't it?" Doctor Emrys said.

"What-?" Lucy began, shocked at the ease with which he made that statement.

"I'm something of a student of human nature; it wasn't that hard to notice the attention you pay to her in particular when you're in a group," Emrys said, smiling at her with a casual grin. "You don't have to discuss it if you don't want to, I assure you; I just thought we'd get that out of the way."

"Oh," Lucy said, lost for anything else to say as she looked hesitantly at the strange doctor. "You… you aren't…?"

"Disgusted at the idea?" Doctor Emrys said, looking at her with a reassuring smile. "I may fail to see the appeal of such relationships myself, Miss Westenra, but that doesn't mean I condemn them; what two people get up to in their own time is of no concern to anyone but them, so long as everyone involved is happy."

His eyes narrowed as he looked more pointedly at Lucy. "Of course, if you had attempted to force unwanted attentions on Miss Murray, I would naturally take offense to that, but as it is, you have not, so I will not."

"They… aren't wanted?" Lucy said, looking at him in surprise, only just registering that the two of them had been walking away from Lady Jayne's house as they talked.

"For the same reason that I noticed the attention you paid to her, I noted that she doesn't reciprocate that interest," Emrys clarified, looking apologetically at her. "I am sorry, Miss Westenra; I know how it feels for love to be unreciprocated."

"Oh," Lucy said, falling into silence as she walked along with him for a few more moments before she looked more curiously at him once again, his calm acceptance giving her the nerve to ask another question. "I was told that those… urges… are natural?"

"Natural?" Doctor Emrys repeated, looking at her with a slight surprise that answered her question before he'd even started speaking. "I wouldn't say 'natural' in the sense that everyone has them, but if you're afraid that they mean you're some unnatural abomination, don't be; some people just aren't inclined towards the opposite gender while preferring the company of their own, and that's that."

"But… how can you be sure?" Lucy asked, looking uncertainly at him.

"Well, I wouldn't say I'm an expert on women or anything," Doctor Emrys replied with a smile, "but I can tell you that, when I worked for my friend, I also spent a great deal of time with his half-sister and his future wife- both of whom were as close as sisters to me- and neither of them ever expressed even the slightest hint that they felt that way about another woman. It happens, I grant you, but not every woman feels that way at some point, just as there are only some men who would… prefer the company of men… rather than all of them."

"Ah," Lucy said, looking back at Lady Jayne's house with a grim stare before she looked back at Doctor Emrys. "I suppose I must seem… foolish…"

"Not at all, Miss Westenra," Emrys said, still smiling reassuringly at her. "Inexperienced, perhaps, but never foolish; you are only foolish if you choose not to learn, rather than if you have simply not had the chance to learn so far."

Stuck for anything else to say to such a statement, Lucy leaned over and kissed Doctor Emrys on the cheek, smiling thankfully at him.

"Thank you for listening," she said, smiling warmly at him. "I…"

"You have no need to thank me, Miss Westerna," Doctor Emrys said, smiling back at her. "The pleasure of your company is enough."


As Lucy walked into her house as their walk concluded, leaving him to direct his attention back to the building where he was working on establishing his current practise, Merlin found his thoughts dominated by what he had just discovered.

Morgana's reincarnation liked women?

It had only been a theory when he originally came up with it, but after having it confirmed, Merlin still wasn't sure how he should feel about this turn of events.

He'd speculated that was the case for a while- after spending so much time seeing Arthur and Gwen do the 'staring wistfully at the person you can't be with' thing, it was hard to miss it later on- but thinking that you'd seen something and learning that you were right were two completely different things…

It wasn't as though Merlin was unfamiliar with the idea- you picked up a few things after living for over a millennia, including deciding to try anything at least once- but he'd never managed to get the appeal himself; the thought of Morgana being that way inclined naturally was a bit of a surprise.

Still, that wasn't something he should be worrying about right now; if he was going to get his practise off the ground and legitimise his presence here, he had patients to see.


As he walked away from the failed demonstration of Grayson's process, his meeting with the so-called 'Order of the Dragon' dominating his thoughts, Jonathan had no idea what to think.

Grayson had lied to him and manipulated him into ruining General Shaw's reputation, but even if the Order had appeared to be telling the truth, Grayson's example had reminded him that he had to be cautious when dealing with people. Everything that Browning had told him about the Order being willing to sacrifice their lives to ensure the completion of God's work sounded good, particularly his warnings about the Ottomans' interests in hoarding oil for a future war, but their dismissal of Grayson's efforts just felt a bit too… personal to him.

After all, if even a few of the men at the table had the resources that Browning possessed, surely, if they were truly concerned about the future of oil, they could secure the oil fields themselves and take action when Grayson's efforts had failed?

Even without his suspicions after that meeting, the 'attack' on the firm's factory had only reinforced Jonathan's idea; people were taking too extreme measures on too limited evidence for these 'assaults' against Grayson to be purely based around the belief that he was hindering the 'public good' or something like that. Personally, Jonathan doubted that police officer's claim that the device posed a health risk- surely if there was any danger, the workers closest to the machine would have been the ones poisoned first, rather than people in the general vicinity- but without any way of proving that theory one way or the other, he had only his own thoughts as basis for his theories…

His progress towards the hospital was suddenly halted when a slender but authoritative man stepped out of a nearby alley, a neatly-trimmed beard on a pale face over a dark blue suit.

"Mr Jonathan Harker?" the man said, looking firmly at him. "My name is Doctor Michael Emrys."

"Really?" Jonathan said, looking at him in surprise, taking a moment to confirm his partial recognition. "I've heard of you… aren't you an associate of Alexander Grayson?"

"We are old acquaintances, but we don't work together, if that's what you're asking; we just have… some old ties based on past experiences," Doctor Emrys said, shrugging briefly as he spoke before he looked more firmly at Jonathan. "I came here to warn you that the Order cannot be trusted, Mr Harker."

"And I should believe you?" Harker asked, looking pointedly at him; even if he had been having his own doubts, he wasn't going to accept whatever anyone had to tell him right now. "As I believe we just discussed, you were an associate of the man who used me-"

"Alexander Grayson lied about Shaw taking bribes, but that was only one issue; there are other things Shaw's done that are less publically damning but no less dangerous," Doctor Emrys said, looking firmly at Jonathan. "Grayson's actions were questionable, but his intentions are better in the long-term than Shaw's ever were."

Jonathan simply stared in silence at the doctor at that comment, until Emrys shook his head and sighed.

"I acknowledge that you have no reason to believe me over them, but consider that, for one thing, I approached you in the street and am merely talking with you in public rather than all-but-abducting you to discuss things somewhere where I have all the power," the doctor said, looking firmly at Jonathan. "This situation is morally questionable, but what you have to decide is whether you wish to side with the people who would commit mass murder to maintain their own hold on power and the man whose actions so far have only been committed to retaliate against those who would suppress his attempt to give power to the world."

"Mass murder?" Jonathan repeated, looking at Emrys in surprise. "But-"

"They told you that they serve God, I presume?" Emrys said, smiling grimly at him. "The name of God has been used to justify many atrocities over the course of history, but I've found that there are very few occasions where that has been an honest statement; the Order once burned down a man's house with his entire family in it after he objected to something they had done… and left him alive so that he could live with the guilt, grief and pain of what his actions had caused."

"What?" Jonathan said, staring at Emrys in horror.

Grayson might have misled him when tracking down evidence of Shaw's activities, but the raw emotion on Doctor Emrys's face as he told his story just couldn't be faked…

"I am no saint, Mr Harker, and Mr Grayson is far from perfect either, but we have never attacked anyone who has not attacked us first; the Order would kill anyone whose existence was inconvenient for them in their quest to maintain their power," Emrys said, looking resolutely at Jonathan. "If you feel that you can't continue to work with Grayson, then you're free to leave, but do not side with the Order; the consequences aren't worth it."

With that statement, Doctor Emrys turned around and walked down another street, leaving Jonathan staring thoughtfully after the other man.

He still didn't know what he was going to do with himself next, but the raw honesty of Doctor Michael Emrys's words had given him a lot to think about…


Sitting in his study that night, as he stared at the book in his hands without any real desire to take in what was written there, Merlin contemplated his recent actions.

He might have vowed not to get involved in Dracula's actions against the Order unless specifically asked, but when he'd witnessed the Order's men take Jonathan Harker in for a 'chat', he'd felt the need to step in; Camelot had fallen apart because people had listened to those who promised to deliver what they wanted rather than what they needed.

For all his ambition to rise above his station, Jonathan Harker was a good man with potential; he would not see that potential corrupted by the Order as Mordred's potential had been…

"I understood you were staying out of my affairs unless asked?" a familiar voice said. Glancing behind him, Merlin's eyes briefly widened in panic at the sight of Dracula standing in the door of the room, blood staining his shirt and lips, but he quickly pushed his fear aside; Dracula's tone was too regular for his purpose here to be malevolent.

"I take it you're referring to my meeting with Jonathan Harker?" Merlin asked, allowing Dracula to nod in confirmation before he continued. "My original statement still stands; I simply wished to ensure that Mr Harker did not make an impulsive decision that would go poorly for all concerned."

"I see," Dracula said, looking curious for a moment before he made up his mind. "In that case, I have another question."

"Ask away," Merlin replied with a brief nod.

"Can you…" Dracula began, looking hesitant for a moment until he finished his statement, a sudden sense of desperation in his eyes that seemed at odds with what he was, "…cure me?"

"Cure you?" Merlin repeated, looking puzzled for a moment until the vampire's meaning hit him. "Of… what you are, you mean?"

"Yes," Dracula said, nodding at him. "My associate has told me that it is not possible to do so through science, but I wondered if-"

"I can't help you," Merlin said, shaking his head as he looked apologetically at the vampire. "Believe me, if I could turn you back to your human self, I would, but there's the whole issue of your status as a vampire to take into account…"

"What do you mean?" Dracula asked, looking pointedly at Merlin, evidently wishing to learn what his vampire nature had to do with his request.

"One of the greatest and most dangerous powers of the Old Religion is the Power of Life and Death," Merlin explained; he wouldn't normally share this kind of information about his powers and limitations, but it was important that Dracula understand why he could do nothing. "With that power, life can be taken from one and given to another; it was used to conceive the life of King Arthur at the cost of his mother dying in childbirth, and I myself used it to save my mentor by killing his murderer… but unfortunately, since you aren't technically alive or dead, given that your heart has stopped but you're still walking and talking on your own, there's nothing I can do that would assist you with your desire."

"I see; I am neither one nor the other, and therefore not covered by the rules of this power you describe," Dracula said, staring grimly at Merlin for a moment. "And… you are certain that there is nothing else that you could do for me?"

"Nothing," Merlin said firmly.

It was a slight lie, but it was only a slight one; theoretically, Merlin knew that he could possibly help Dracula with his condition if he could rediscover the Cup of Life, considering its ability to heal an individual's mortal injuries without cost to another, but given its status as a holy relic and the vampires' vulnerability to such items, Merlin wouldn't be surprised if the vampire ended up dead as soon as he drank from it.

"Thank you," Dracula replied.

"For what?" Merlin asked.

"For giving me an honest answer," the vampire responded.

With that statement delivered, he turned around and walked out of the room, leaving Merlin staring silently after him.

He'd never really thought about the possibility of becoming normal himself- he had never once considered not using his magic throughout his time in Camelot, regardless of how many times he came close to being exposed, and after his magic had been briefly stripped from him by Morgana, he had vowed to never let something like that happen again-, but when he got down to it, his lifespan aside, he was still fundamentally human; how much worse would it be to want that humanity, and know it could never be yours…?