A/N this is what I like to call a "yay" or "nay" chapter. I know a lot of people probably won't be happy with it, so I'm going to put it up to a vote for whether or not I should change it. Bear in mind, I don't usually write with a plan, I just sorta see what happens. And if it happens badly, I'd like for everyone to tell me so. So, anyone who reads this, please tell me if you think it needs to be changed, for whatever reason. I'd just hate to see so many people turn away in disgust and never look at it again.

October 30, Halloween Night, Day 31

Nothing feels the same anymore. Ever since that night, on our first mission together, when I saw her the way I did...I can't see Seras as just my Master. I know it's disgusting, sick even, but seeing her tear those monsters apart, the presence I felt from her...it brought out something in me that has no right to even be there in the first place. She's starting worry about me, and worse yet, she notices that I'm avoiding her. My performance is down, and if this keeps up Sir Hellsing will probably see it. I need to get over this before my next mission; I can't afford to be distracted like this. I can't let any shame come to my Master on account of me.

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"Damn it!" Jake cursed as the target slinked closer. His grouping was down to 6", and none of his shots hit the heart.

His shoulders slumped. He had hoped at least that he'd be able to do better here. Close combat had gone from his favorite part of the day to a dreaded chore. It meant being, well, close to her, and that had become an increasingly awkward experience. He tried to show the same fervor he had before, but he always turned to stone whenever their bodies met, trying as hard as he could not to think of how warm she was, or imagine the softness of her skin. And when his face hit the mat (which occurred more often than usual), he would remember how powerful she was. The longer they trained, the more Jake began to realize that he wasn't fooling anybody. It was only a matter of time before his next mission, where far more than his own embarrassment was at stake.

Jake found himself unconsciously stroking the right side of his neck, where she had turned him those 32 days ago. His mind went back to that night; the moonlight shining on Seras' face like an angel of mercy, her beautiful, red eyes looking up at him, her soft voice whispering in his ear, her arms wrapped around him, her moist, warm lips upon his neck...

He jerked his hand away as if it had burned him. He had to be stronger than this. These feelings would only get in his way of his being a good fledgling. He couldn't possibly do her proud if he was sidetracked by pointless feelings of childish infatuation. It was like having a crush on his teacher. It had to be ignored if he was to accomplish anything.

Jake raised the gun suddenly and fired five shots into the next target. It crept back to him: five shots to the chest; two in the heart. 5". Better, but he was far from satisfied. He had to get himself back up to what he was before. No, even better than that. Tomorrow, he would not allow himself to hold back in close combat training. In fact, he planned to throw her for the first time. He would get over his sudden distaste for blood. In the next mission, he would take the initiative without hesitation, even try to kill at least one vampire himself, without aid.

He switched the magazine and clinked it closed. Besides, he thought, whenever she sees me improve, she's happy, and that's how she deserves to be.

He fired another round of shots, but stopped when one of them made a wet noise.

"Your aim is atrocious." said Alucard, conversationally. He stood directly in front of the target Jake had been shooting at, blood seeping from the bullet wound in his chest. Alucard took no notice of it.

"I'd say I was sorry," he said irritably, "But it'd be lie."

"Such a sore temper...and here I was about to give you some good news."

Jake turned his glance back to his gun as he reloaded. "And just what qualifies as 'good news' to you?"

Alucard gave a smirk so devious that it was all Jake could do not to blast it off of his face. "Walter wishes to show you your 'gifts.'"

"You mean he's finished the weapons?" he asked, trying to hide his elation.

"Yes. His workshop is upstairs. See for yourself, fledgling."

He hated how Alucard made "fledgling" sound like a racial slur. He made a note to add another reason to get better: to piss off his new "nemesis."

"Oh, and by the way," added Alucard, his voice dripping with cruelty, "After Walter is finished with you, you will meet in the forest outside the mansion, to the east."

Jake scoffed. "Like hell I will."

"Sir Integra Hellsing's orders." teased Alucard. "And bring your new toys with you."

As if his day wasn't bad enough already.

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Seras walked down to the shooting range, hoping to find Jake. Instead, she found Mick taking one of his late-night practice shots. It didn't take long for him to notice her.

"Well, if it isn't the queen of the night herself!" he took off his large earphones, and smiled.

"Hi, Mick." Seras sighed. Mick might've been a total smartass, but he was one of the few humans at Hellsing that she considered a friend, mostly because he wasn't intimidated by what she was. She had asked him why once, but he'd just shrugged and said "we work for the scariest woman on earth, why be afraid of each other?" and left it at that.

"You look about as happy as an eight-year old cancer patient." he said.

"Have you seen Jake today?"

"The kid? Yeah, he was just leaving when I got here.

"Did he say where he was going?"

Mick shrugged. "Didn't get a chance to talk to him, but to be honest, he wasn't lookin' rose-colored himself. I don't mean to pry, love, but what's the deal with you two?"

She looked over to the target beside where Mick was, which, she assumed, Jake had been practicing on. Still stuck at 5".

"I wish I knew..." she sighed.

Mick set the pistol down on the tray in front of the booth. "Listen, love, it's a nice night, care to go for walk?"

"Sure." She said, with a slight smile.

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Walter's workshop was a mercenary's paradise. Chains of bullets of every caliber hung off the walls like windowless curtains, and everything from pistols to grenade launchers sat on display shelves, as well as a few Jake couldn't make heads or tails of. But what attracted his attention wasn't what was on the walls, but on the worktable in front of him.

With all the gentlemanly charm that Jake had known him for, Walter began describing the works of art before him.

"Your sidearm will be a Desert Eagle .45 caliber. I've modified the bullets as well as increased the magazine capacity to 9 rounds, and of course, switched standard powder to magnum."

He gestured over to what appeared to be a small minigun barrel.

"Your primary arm, however, will be the M405 Diamondback. Furnished from scaled-down .50 caliber normally mounted on a helicopter, it is loaded via a specially designed, waterproof chain unreeled from a protected coil on a backpack. The bullets are sharp-tipped silver, but that's almost unnecessary when you're holding a weapon that can cut down a redwood tree."

Jake's mouth stood agape. "I don't know what to say."

"Good," said Walter with a knowing smile, "because I'm not finished yet."

Jake was actually a little nervous about that. Having one huge gun was enough; was he going to keep on going until he had enough firepower decimate a third-world country?

We went over to the one of the shelves and pulled two strange arm straps of off them.

"I had heard from Seras Victoria that you have a propensity for close combat. I decided to integrate this into your arsenal. Here, try these on, and be mindful of the front of them."

He rolled up his sleeves and put them on, not fully understanding.

"Now, flick your wrists downward, and twist."

He did so, and two 18" blades popped out of the straps, he jumped in surprise.

"Whoa! You weren't kidding..."

"They are made of silver melted from a cross at the Sistine Chapel, hand-hammered with blade width of only a few atoms."

He would have to be extremely careful with these. He rolled his sleeves back over them, asking himself the likelihood of Alucard knowing precisely what weapons Walter had made. Jake reasoned that if he himself knew, than so did Alucard.

"You're a genius, Walter." said Jake with a slightly forced smile. Alucard was waiting for him in the woods, and he needed to stay sharp. If Alucard was actually telling him to bring firearms of this time, and of this payload, he didn't want to think about what he had waiting for him.

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"And he hasn't been the same ever since." Finished Seras. She felt a little foolish, confiding her insecurities on Mick like this, most of which she was sure he wouldn't understand, but he listened well, and that was all she really needed. "I don't know if he'll ever go back to what he used to be...and I'm already missing that."

Clouds were beginning to gather around the grayish-black sky. The wind was electric, and made the hairs on Seras' arms and neck prickle. They leaned against the iron gate surrounding the mansion, Seras staring up into the moon, which was just barely peering through a wispy hole.

Mick took in a long sigh, shook his head, and, to Seras' surprise, chuckled.

"What's so funny?" she asked, her face beginning to darken.

Mick lit up a cigarette. "You got yourself a pair 'a eyes that can see in pitch black, but I swear you're as blind as a bat."

"What?" Seras blinked.

Mick put on his signature cocksure grin. "Let me do the math for ya, love. This kid was in a rock band, on a tour, no less, am I right?

"Yes..." said Seras, confused.

"And you turned him, meaning he's got to be a virgin, right?"

"Yes."

"Let me tell you something about being in a rock band on a tour, love. Think of it like being a soldier. Everywhere you go, bullets are flyin' at ya left and right, and there's only one way to make sure one doesn't land on you: don't fight and keep your head down, right? Now imagine the bullets are women, and you got a pretty good idea for how it is for a guy in a rock band."

"But what does this have to do with anything?"

"What I'm trying to say is, that the kid's scared of women. Or at least, ones he likes. I've seen his type before. To him, a vampire, ghoul, or other such monster ain't nowhere near as scary as a woman he's attracted to..."

"Wait, your saying the reason he's so timid around me is because he's..."

"Put simply, you're shootin' bullets at him, and now he's keeping his head down. Look, love, I dunno how the whole 'master-fledgling' thing is supposed to work, if this is some kinda cardinal sin among vamps are something, but the signs are as plain as day. He gets flustered when you get too close, freezes like nitrogen whenever you touch him, can't keep his mind in his work when you're around...I don't mean to be an ass, but do I got to spell it out for ya?"

Seras opened her mouth to say something, but she realized she couldn't. What she had puzzled over for the last three days Mick had figured out in a few minutes. What could she do? It was obviously affecting his performance, his ability to keep a clear head, but what worried Seras most was that their friendship was getting nipped in the bud. He would never be as relaxed, as trusting, or even as happy around her as was before.

"What am I supposed to do now?" she asked to no one in particular. Mick answered anyway.

"Well, the way I see it, you've got three choices. One, you can wait for him to tell you what he's feeling, which I doubt is gonna happen anytime soon. Two, you can confront him yourself, and see what comes of it. And three, you can just leave the issue alone in hopes that he gets over it himself."

The wind picked up. The sky rumbled like the gut of a hungry beast.

"Storm's comin', love." warned Mick. "We'd best get inside."

"Go ahead, Mick," said Seras, as though already miles away. "I need to be alone for a while."

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A/N Bear in mind, that if I decide to live up to this pairing, I plan to do so extremely carefully. Otherwise, it's going to get really crappy really quickly. What I need from you guys is to tell me if it's already there. So please, Read, Review, and VOTE!