And, now I give you a chapter over a third longer than the last one...and the longest chapter for this story ever! Wooh! We're back in Alyson POV and I don't really have anything else to say. Enjoy!


I couldn't believe what I had just done. When had I become such a tease? Had hanging out with Heidi finally caught up with me? It must have, or maybe it was how Sulpicia always threw around intimate subjects. I knew for a fact that her relationship with Aro was nearly entirely kept to the bedroom. She didn't give him anymore respect than she did Caius. I knew more than a human of my physical age would, but I'd never been with anyone. All of the men in Volterra had been too afraid of angering Aro should I complain, not that I had found any of them particularly attractive, I had never seen any compassion in any of them.

I had appreciated the look on his face, that stunned, openmouthed stare. He was beautiful, had a beautiful body, and seemed totally insecure about himself.

It was cute actually, how he seemed to anticipate me running away from him. I thought about Fred as I washed out my shirt, draping it over a towel rack to dry. I wanted him, badly, for some reason I couldn't understand. In the far corners of my memory, I tried to remember what Charles had said about the first time he met Makenna. I could only remember that it had been an instant attraction and that less than a week later, they had lain together. I'd never done anything like that before. But now, I wanted to.

Fred simply captivated me. He hadn't known me, hadn't known my objection to killing humans, but since it was against his nature, he had forced me away from the well meaning keeper of the peace. I hadn't seen such compassion from anyone I hadn't been trained my Chelsea to care about unconditionally. And really, who knew, maybe Aro had asked her to ensure that I didn't feel attracted to any of the male Volturi.

I turned the water to as hot as it would go and began the tedious task of washing the drying blood out of my long hair. By the time I was done in the shower, my skin had been heated to nearly human levels and I smelled like Fred's shower gel. I nearly died...again...when I put on his shirt over my lace bra.

It smelled like him, and I liked it.

I had spent so long as a precious daughter, a valued pet, that it felt strange to want something for myself, to not think about what anyone else wanted. That was of course if he wanted me.

He seemed to be stunningly unaware of how handsome he was, and I would know. I had spent most of my life surrounded by beautiful vampires. It was his vulnerability that seemed to draw me to him.

He kept blood in a refrigerator, which meant he probably didn't kill humans. I felt like we could bond over that, while I had killed, I had never fed with the intention of killing my meal. I would often leave the human just on the edge of no return, and knew that they were most often killed despite my kindness. It was a double edged sword, and I was more than glad I was done with that time of my life. I wanted Fred to teach me how to stomach the cold blood. But, that required him to actually like me, or want me.

When I walked back into his living room, barefoot, my hair dripping water on the floor, the look on Fred's face told me he was more than wanting for me. And he was still shirtless. I looked him over again, examining the smooth skin that was tightly stretched across muscles most human men would kill for. I watched attentively as the muscles in his arms twitched as he fought against his instinct.

I think the sight of me wearing his shirt and a tiny pair of shorts pushed him over the edge.

I suddenly found myself pressed up against the wall his masculine scent surrounding me. He held my hands above my head and his mouth hovered above my throat, "Why are you teasing me like this? Do you get off on getting men's hopes up and crushing them?"

Okay...not what I had expected him to say, but by no means was this attitude something I couldn't fix. His voice was husky, he wanted me, but his head was still trying to stay in control. I'd given up on thinking. It was too difficult to sort out everything if I thought about it too much. I just needed to make him feel it. I smiled at him, sweetly and his eyes narrowed. "I'm not playing with you, Fred. I like you. I have no intentions of crushing you." I lowered my eyes, hoping the sign of submission would calm him. "Why is it so hard for you to believe that I could want you?"

He let me go and stepped back, distrust in his eyes. I took a step forward for everyone he took back, "You couldn't want me. I don't look right, I'm too tall, too gawky. I look like a stork." He said softly when I forced him to run the back of his knees into his sofa.

I forced him to sit down and settled myself on his lap, facing him, my arms on either side of his head so I could use the force to keep him down. "Fred, you might have been like that as human, but as a vampire, you are breathtaking." Every word I spoke was the truth, and the dominance he was displaying made me want him even more.

His eyes darkened, but he didn't push me off. He could have, easily, but he didn't. Instead, he flipped us both in a sudden motion that stunned me for a moment. He was smiling, and I loved the expression. It suited him more than his trademark scowl did. "I wouldn't know. My power normally keeps people at bay, they don't generally look too hard at me."

"Well I can't take my eyes off of you." I heard myself saying.

His blonde eyebrows raised, "Really, little bird? Why is that?"

I trailed a hand up his chest, "Let me show you." I pressed against him with my hand gently, trying to get him to realize I wanted up. He got the hint and stood up, pulling me by my hand with him. I slid my hand into his and led him to his bathroom. I stood us in front of the mirror. "Look at yourself." I kept my voice soft, but commanding, hoping to emulate the tone Athenadora was best at.

He wouldn't. He kept his eyes on the counter top. I almost smiled, he was stubborn. But I was more determined. He could never accept the fact that I was attracted to him if he wouldn't accept himself. I hopped up onto the tall counter to give myself a height boost, hoping that eventually he would look at the mirror. If he did, it would mean that I had gotten my point across.

I started with the hand I still held, turning it over and tracing my fingers across the lines on his palm, "You have strong hands." I commented, kissing the palm of his hand before moving my exploration up his arm. He was standing perfectly still, not breathing, not blinking, and I was very aware that if he lost control, I wouldn't be able to fight him off. He was younger than I was, and built like a jungle cat, all strength in a sleek form.

The skin I touched trembled as I brushed up both of his arms. He growled at me when I moved to his collarbone and pulled him closer, "Hush." I admonished softly, "Just relax. I want to look at you."

His shoulders were broad, and I loved how masculine they made him. He wasn't like Alec, all little and effeminate, he was a person who's every pore screamed that he was a badass and not to mess with him. I could see underneath the harsh exterior though, and I loved it.

I could feel him trying to push me away with his gift, but I only felt the urge to sneeze. "Fred. Stop trying to push me away. It's not going to work. There is nothing ugly or disgusting about you. Look at the mirror."

He obeyed, and I moved my hands up to his face. His jaw was clenched, but I let my fingers skate up his face and across his nose. The lines of his face were incredibly masculine, straight and beautiful. He must have looked strange as a child with such bone structure. As a human, he would have grown into his face and height, looking like sin after a while, but when he had become a vampire, what would have taken years took only three days.

"Why is this so important to you?" He asked softly.

"Because, Fred, you helped me. I would have killed that man, and the Volturi would have found me. I owe you my life. It's my turn to help you now." I said, tracing his lips with a finger. "You're young, but you should realize by now that you are beautiful."

He quirked a small smile, "Men aren't beautiful."

I leaned forward, smiling at him, "Alright, handsome then. Breathtakingly handsome, and you're a good person too."

He growled, grabbing me by the hips and pulling me forward on the counter to rest flush against him, one of my thighs on either side of his body, "That cop thought I was a rapist. How do you know I'm a good person?" He said in a low, threatening voice.

I giggled, "Fred, I'm pretty sure it's not rape if the woman is willing."

He kissed me, and it was nothing like I'd been told my first kiss would be. It was animalistic, hard, fast, and I loved every second of it. I was up against the wall of his living room just outside the door suddenly, and I'm pretty sure he cracked the plaster when he threw me up against it. "How do you know just what to say?" He asked, his face vulnerable for the first time, standing with my legs around his waist.

I kissed him gently, "I think...that I've been waiting for you a long time. My whole life, actually, not just in that alley. I feel like I know you. Do you feel it too?"

He nodded, brushing his hand against my face, "I think I do. You are so beautiful. This just doesn't seem real."

"It is." I whispered, kissing him softly.

He shook his head at me, "Why do you keep kissing me?"

I kissed him again just to rile him up even farther, "Fred, I like kissing you."

He grinned, "I like kissing you too. It just seems surreal. I mean we just met, but it feels so incredibly natural."

I unhooked my ankles and let my feet fall to the floor when Fred released my hips from his grip. I wrapped my arms around his waist and settled my head against his chest, "I know. I'm Alyson Marissa Brandon and I'm a vampire." I said candidly.

He laughed, and I could feel the sound rumble through his chest. "You sound like we're at an AA meeting."

I giggled and spun away from him, grabbing his hand and pulling him back to his sofa. "Not Alcoholics Anonymous, Fred, Vampire Anonymous. Come on, it's share time. I want to know everything about you." I said, resting against him, but staying where I could still watch his handsome face.

He sighed, but smiled. "Only if you go first."

I shrugged, "Naturally. I have to warn you, there's not much to tell."

"I want to know everything I can." He said eagerly and I saw a small child in him that loved to learn. He was going to be my sexy little uber nerd. "Where were you born?"

I sighed heavily, "I don't know. Mississippi I think, but I don't know. I was born around 1920. I don't remember my human life, and I don't have a birth certificate. For all I know, I could be twelve." Fred looked alarmed by that and I couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled from me, "Don't worry about it, really. I'm quite sure I was at least sixteen when I became a vampire, maybe older. I've been told my mother looks quite young as well."

"You know who your parents were?"

"No, just my mother. She's a vampire too. Alice Cullen." I said, trying to picture her in my head.

"And she can't tell you how old you are?" Fred asked, squeezing my hand.

"We've never met. She can't remember her human life either. I'm not sure she even knew she had a daughter until three weeks ago." I said quietly, "But the people who found me, after I was turned in the thirties, they were great. Charles and Makenna, they had to teach me everything. I didn't know how to speak when they found me."

"Sounds like you'd be better off not remembering." Fred commented.

I nodded, rolling my eyes, "Yes, probably, but I still want to know. My parents would never let me go looking for information. They thought I'd be better off not knowing, but I just...something in me really wants to remember. I want to know who my real father is. I mean, maybe I just go find Charles and Makenna again and forget everything that happened with the Volturi, but I want to go back farther. It wouldn't work anyway. I've changed too much. I'm not their little girl anymore." I looked up at him, "What about your family.

He winced like I had slapped him, "Do we have to talk about me already?"

I nodded, "Yes, I told you I would go first. I didn't say you wouldn't have to talk when I was done."

He kissed me, "Fine then. I was born April fifth in nineteen eighty five to Donna and Jason Sanders here in Vancouver. I have a little sister, Casey, her birthday was last week, and we have three half siblings. My parents divorced when I was ten."

"That must have been hard."

"It was. I was convinced it was my fault for a really long time."

I tried to imagine Charles and Makenna falling apart and realized that I would feel just as guilty as he did about his parents. "How old is your sister?" He seemed to love her.

He smiled fondly at some memory, "She just turned twelve. She had a big party with all of her friends there. She likes blue now."

I nodded in understanding, "You went to her party, didn't you?"

If he had been human, he would have been blushing, "I couldn't last year, I was too young to control myself, but I really wanted to be there this year, even if she didn't see me. Even when I wasn't home, if I was at Stanford or out in the middle of nowhere doing research, I always went home for her birthday. I could always tell that it meant so much to her. She had the hardest time fitting in with our stepfather and step siblings. I never saw them much, but Casey was my best friend when I was human. I watched her at her party, and she kept looking at the door like she was waiting on me."

I touched his face, making him look back at me, "Fred, why didn't you go inside? You obviously have impeccable control. You would have been fine."

He scoffed, "Alyson, how would I have explained dropping off the face of the planet? I flunked out of Stanford because I was being turned into a vampire by a red headed freak? I can't tell my mom that! I know I hurt them by being turned. They've spent the last two years not knowing if I'm still alive. The others I could care less about, my stepfather Pete, my step siblings: Abby, Jack and Grace, but I loved Mom and Casey."

I growled, "That's exactly why you have to go back. Fred, you have a chance to spend at least a few years with your family. I can't. I don't have a family I can go home to."

He looked miffed, "What would I say to them?"

I kissed him again, trying to focus him, "Blame it all on me. Tell them you had to help me. It's the truth. You still have time, Fred."

"Only if we go and find your mother. It's logical. We visit my family, we visit your family. You deserve to get to know her." Fred said, cupping my face in one of his hands.

I felt so much better than I had before. I had Fred now, and we had a plan. "It's a good thing we don't sleep, isn't it?"

He smiled and laughed at me, "Yes, little bird, it is. I'm still not convinced that I'm attractive though."

I giggled and rolled on top of him, "Do you need more convincing?"

He moaned into our kiss, "Mmm, definitely."


You know when you're writing and you can almost hear the characters talking through you? Yeah, well Alyson really wanted to rip Fred's pants off, but then I remembered my non M rated promise so I had to rein her in. I hope you liked the chemistry between the two of them and would love to hear what you guys think...

Should I let Alyson get her wish and make things a little steamy?

Just a thought... ;)

-Jenn