Abigail woke them up a few hours later, irritation laced into her features as she stood over the pair. She liked King, and she liked Vanya, and she didn't mind that they were friends, but anyone could tell that they both wanted more. Even Zoe saw it, hell; even Hedges noticed something was up. Abigail knew that she couldn't stop them if they decided that they wanted to do something about their connection but it didn't mean she had to be happy about it. It could very well put the team in danger, and that was something that Abigail would have no part in, nor put up with.

"Abby? What's up?" Vanya asked her as she yawned, stretching in, but not leaving, King's embrace.

"I need you two up, it's important; I think I've figured out what's going on." And with that she left the room, her air of 'touch me and die' in full force.

Vanya groaned, knowing that her day was going to be hell, and started to roll out of bed. King's arm tightened around her waist and he pulled her back into his chest.

"Don't go, warm." Was his grunted plea that made her giggle lightly to herself as she settled back against him, if only for a moment or two.

"We have to get up now, King."

"No." he growled against her shoulder, and she bit back the groan that had risen its way towards her throat.

"King…" she ground out as a warning, sounding very much like a disapproving school teacher and it was King's turn to bite back a groan as he thought about that particular scenario just a moment too long.

He rolled away from her to avoid any possible embarrassment on his part and she fell backwards into the bed at his sudden absence. She looked over at him, her sleepy eyes barely open, and he grinned at her, tugging her, blankets and all, towards his side of the bed. She grinned up at him as he leaned down to her height, his hands on either side of her head.

"Good morning, kitten."

A soft, contented sigh escaped her lips before she could halt its progress.

"Good morning, King."

He dropped a kiss to her forehead and helped her out of bed.

"What does Abigail want?" he questioned her as she stretched. He didn't really care, but he had to distract himself from the way she was twisting around, attempting to loosen her muscles.

"Dunno, just said that she had figured out what was going on, so let's see what's up."

He nodded, following her out of her room and down the hallway towards Abigail's office. She leaned against the doorframe and knocked.

"Hey Abby, you needed us?" she asked and Abigail took a sip of her coffee, waving them in. The earthy aroma of her drink just caused King's stomach to rumble and make him realize that it had been hours since he'd last had anything to eat.

"Yeah, I think I have an idea of what's going on with Danica and her cronies."

"What are they up to?" Vanya asked all traces of sleep gone from her voice now. She was pure business. King smiled softly to himself at just how quickly Vanya's moods could change; he liked that about her, that she was predictably unpredictable. His stomach growled low again and he attempted to valiantly ignore it.

Vanya didn't look at him but handed him Abby's cup of coffee. The most experienced Nightstalker gasped in an outraged fashion, but kept silent as King drained her mug and handed it back to Vanya with a smile of thanks. Abby grumbled under her breath something that sounded suspiciously like 'bitch' but Vanya ignored her and instead kept her attention on the computer screen.

"Did you hack into this database?" she questioned, sounding impressed.

Abby shook her head, coloring slightly.

"No, I had Hedges do it for me."

Vanya favored her friend with a teasing smile and looked over her shoulder once to wink at King.

"Exactly what did you have to do to get him to do it?"

It was no secret that Hedges thought Abigail Whistler the sexiest woman on the planet, and it was also no secret that she did not return the sentiment.

"Nothing! I asked him."

Vanya chose not to respond as King didn't even attempt to stifle his laughter at the obviously uncomfortable Abby. She narrowed her hazel eyes at him and scrolled down the page on the computer.

"These are police reports for the past couple of months. All of these are stolen items."

Vanya quirked an eyebrow.

"You think that Danica and her legion of the undead are using their powers and fangs for a little five-finger discount?"

Abby glared up at the redhead, who merely shrugged, looking nonplussed as King watched from the back of the room.

"That's exactly what I think."

"But why?" King spoke up and Abby sighed as she looked over at him.

"I'm not entirely sure, all I know is that these items are all very expensive, and came from a range of places, from homes to art galleries."

Vanya rubbed her chin in thought as her own stomach started to ache softly from hunger. She couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten a decent meal. She firmly pushed that thought away and settled on the task at hand.

"Is there anything tying the items together?"

Abby shrugged.

"There doesn't seem to be, some things are painting, vases, sculpture. It's all art, but other than that, nothing."

"What do a group of vampires need with priceless art?"

"I don't know, but I'm uncomfortable with the fact that they've stolen so much and from such different places."

"We need to get in and see these things, are there pictures in with the police report?" Vanya leaned over the computer but Abby shook her head.

"Nope, already looked, they must not enter those into the computer."

Vanya sighed dejectedly.

"Think you could get me an address?"

Abby chewed on the side of her thumbnail as she nodded.

"Sure."

"Good, you hungry?"

The brunette shook her head negatively, "No, I'm okay."

Vanya nodded, "Okay then, c'mon King, let's get breakfast, I'm freaking starved!"

King managed a strained smile and followed her out of the room towards the kitchen. Vanya didn't bother to flip on the lights as she padded silently, and barefoot, around the hideout. She had lived here for years with her makeshift family and knew it better than her own mind.

King followed behind her, just as silent, and headed immediately for the fridge as Vanya flipped on the lights to the kitchen.

"Eggs okay?" he asked her gently and she smiled, appreciative of the fact that he had asked.

"Yeah, eggs sound good, should I make toast and hash browns?" she asked him, sensing that he was upset, but knowing better than to ask him about it just yet.

"Please," he nodded as he headed over to the coffee pot and lifted it up, looking down at the last dredges of the coffee that Abby had made.

"She drank the whole damn pot." He sounded outraged which made Vanya giggle.

"I'll make a fresh one." She soothed.

"Thanks."

They each set to their separate tasks around the kitchen, neither talking, both finding the domestic sounds of making breakfast very soothing. Vanya started the coffee and then began chopping up the potatoes to start frying as King cracked the eggs and scrambled them up.

Just a few minutes later and they stood side by side at the stove, cooking their food, their arms bumping occasionally and their bodies so close that the heat radiated off them both to warm the other. If Vanya's eyes seemed to focus more on his chest than on the pan full of potatoes before her, she chalked it up to not having had sex in going on two years, and not on the fact that she loved the man. No, she was not going to think about it, she could be professional.

She could.

As long as she made him wear a shirt from now on.

"You gonna tell me what's got you so quiet?" Vanya finally asked as she stepped away from the stove long enough to pop a couple slices of bread into the toaster.

"I don't want you to go looking for Danica."

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose out of the slightest of frustration.

"I know that you're afraid of her King, and I know that you hate her, but I still have to do my job. If she and that demented brother of hers are up to something, then we need to know about it and the sooner the better."

He shrugged as she stepped back beside him, stirring the potatoes and seasoning them as he continued to cook the eggs.

"I know, but I don't like it. I don't like the idea of her anywhere near you."

Vanya willed her heart to stop its conga dance inside her chest. King was a friend and nothing more.

"I know, I don't like the idea of having to be near her, but one of us has to go in to scope out the damage being done."

He stirred the eggs thoughtfully for a moment as Vanya turned the heat off the potatoes and retrieved the toast, popping two more slices in the toaster and reaching for the butter.

"I want to do it."

"King, I think that I'm perfectly capable of buttering toast," she teased him.

"No, I mean, I want to go in after Danica."

The butter knife clattered to the counter in what seemed a deafening roar to Vanya's ears. She spun to look at the man that she loved but could never have with wide eyes.

"What?"

"I want to do it," King reiterated as he started to pile two plates high with the eggs and hash browns. He frowned down at the plates and then snapped his fingers as a thought struck him. He turned to the refrigerator and opened the door.

"King, Danica will know you're there the second you walk in."

He shrugged as he dug through the contents of their fridge before huffing dejectedly and returning with a carton of orange juice.

"Three men in this house and no bacon, it's a travesty," he muttered to himself as Vanya continued to look blankly scandalized.

"King, this is serious, it's dangerous for you to go in."

"Not any more dangerous than it is for you, or Whistler." He retorted as he poured her a glass of juice and picked up the butter knife from the counter, placing it gently back in her hand just as the toaster popped.

She gaped at him as he retrieved the newest slices of toast and set them in front of her to be buttered before heading over to the coffee pot and pouring them both large mugs. Two sugars for her and milk for him, stirring the cups simultaneously with ease, having done it so often now that it was odd for him to stir just one cup.

"King," Vanya sighed heavily as all the plates, cups, and food were placed on the table, along with the silverware and the pair sat down to breakfast. They sat across from each other at the table, King staring Vanya down even as he ate.

"What?" she asked him and he at least had the decency to swallow his bite of toast before answering.

"You know that I'm right. Let me do this, I want to do this, I deserve the chance."

She bit into her own toast and chewed slowly, stalling for time as she attempted to think of a good reason that it should be she or Abby going instead of him. She couldn't. This meant that he was right; how annoying.

"Okay, you can come."

He scoffed.

"I want to…"

"And you will," she cut him off, "we'll do it together."

He seemed satisfied with that answer and dug into his breakfast with new gusto. Vanya just smiled and snuck glances at him every chance she got.

"Abby, got an address for me?" Vanya asked a little over an hour and a half later; the dishes had been washed and put away, she had managed to snag a shower with hot water and get dressed, King wasn't far behind her, she could hear his footsteps.

"Yeah, I got Danica's last known address, well, Hedges got it for me," she amended, "we can scope it out tonight, look for weak spots."

"Okay," Vanya nodded as she sensed King step up behind her. She opened her mouth to say something more when she noticed the slightly slack-jawed look on Abby's face.

"What?" she asked, turning to look over her shoulder in the direction Abby was fixed and being met with a dripping wet King, nothing more than a towel wrapped around his waist. She couldn't stop her jaw from dropping in a very odd and unladylike way. King was drying his hair with a second towel, the first slipping dangerously low on his hips, showing off his glyph tattoo.

"Something you needed King?" Vanya managed, her voice sounding higher-pitched and strangled even to her own ears, but if he noticed it, he didn't comment.

"Yeah, my shaving kit, you seen it?" he asked her a bit gruffly as he finished toweling off his hair.

"Uh, under the sink."

He nodded, smiled, and turned around to head back to the bathroom. Once he was out of earshot Abby started to laugh and Vanya turned to look at her, seeming confused.

"What's so funny?"

Abby just laughed harder, clutching her sides as she tried not to tumble right off her chair.

"You should have seen your face!" she howled.

Vanya blushed and pushed her friend good-naturedly.

"Oh shut up!"

Can I just say that I am terribly sorry for leaving this story for so long, you guys, really, hopefully someone out there is still reading and will review for me, please?

~Andrew's Slinky