IIII

"This isn't exactly my idea of a second date," Vlad remarked dryly.

They where currently trespassing in an old and crumbling manor, were illegal experiments were allegedly being conducted. The house was closed off, but there was reason to believe the root of the problem was vampiric in nature.

They'd entered from a back entrance and were carefully making their way down a dark and dusty passage.

Integra flicked her torch to his face. "Shouldn't there have been a first date to constitute a second?" she asked him. Her partner was currently eating as if undisturbed by the musty smell and darkness.

Vlad paused to swallow before he replied, "Well I took you out for coffee."

"That wasn't a date," Integra rebutted. "And what are you eating?" she asked annoyed.

"A hotdog of course," He replied with a smirk.

"Couldn't you finish that before we entered the castle?" she asked slightly exasperated, "And really a hotdog...of all things to put in one's mouth..."

"I have something you can put in your mouth," Vlad teased.

Integra shone her flashlight before her, away from his leering face. "Why does everything have to be sexual with you?" she asked.

"Sexual? Aren't we getting ahead of ourselves?" Vlad asked bemused.

"You're incorrigible," Integra muttered.

Vlad chuckled besides her, "Says the woman who came to accost me in my own home, when I was vulnerable."

Integra scoffed, "You vulnerable?"

"Only with you of course," he replied near her ear, his breath tickling the skin behind her neck.

His words hung between them and because Integra didn't like the flutter in her chest they produced, she continued walking instead.

"Why do you do that?" Vlad asked her curious, after a beat.

"Do what?" she asked, feigning innocence.

"Clam up whenever emotions are being discussed."

Integra frowned, glad for the semi-darkness shrouding them. She didn't think of herself as cold, but there was no denying the fact that she was somewhat emotionally crippled. Even when she first dated Smith, she hadn't been like other girls. It was more out of curiosity and a desire to rebel against the decorum expected of her. And when she decided to end things, she hadn't felt sad only relieved. As if some weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

And since then, she'd resolved herself to concentrating on being the next head of her family and saw no desire of engaging in another relationship. She'd practically pledged a life of abstinence. And two months ago, there had been no indication that she might go back on her self imposed vow.

That is until she met Vlad, who infuriated and spurned her in equal measures. She didn't understand him, but couldn't relinquish the feeling that they were kindred spirits. She'd known him for a short time, yet he was already privy to her most hidden and secret emotions. He knew her rage, her dry humour and her ambition. Yet rather than be repulsed he seemed only to be more drawn to her.

He was a contradiction, an abnormally of sorts. His nature though disguised to be flirtatious and charming was far more cunning and calculative. She sensed a sinister aura about him, but this didn't hinder her attraction. Was she so dysfunctional as to be attracted to someone dangerous and unpredictable?

"Integra?" he prodded and she realised she'd been lost in her thoughts.

"Emotions can be one's biggest weakness," she answered slowly. She expected him to disagree with her, but he surprised her once more.

"I couldn't agree more."

She glanced in his direction, but everything was obscured by darkness so she couldn't make out his face. What goes on in that head of yours? She wondered.

"Stop," Vlad said suddenly grasping her arm.

Integra paused, but before she could question him he spoke, "There's something here."

"Something?" Integra scanned the area with her flashlight, finding only moulding tapestry and dust covered statues. Then she felt it, a cold shiver down her spine as if someone had walked over her grave. She freed her hand from Vlad's hold and grabbed her gun.

"The passage splits in two ways further down," Vlad said.

"I'll take the right," Integra informed him.

"Then left it is," her partner quipped.

They split up and Integra treaded careful down her passage, her flashlight somewhat dimmed as not to give herself away. Even knowing that vampires were lurking about didn't seem to unravel her. She felt an eerie calm and something else she couldn't quite describe. Missions on Hellsing duty often tasked her as an overseer than an actual participant. She only ever went in as a last resort or if unforeseen danger permitted her too.

This was different. She was right in the middle of the action and with no Com-link to call for back up, she was her only defence. She didn't mind it.

"Aren't we far away from home?" a voice purred behind her.

Integra swore under her breath and spun around, firing a shot in the direction she'd heard the voice.

"Not even close," a voice mocked now behind her.

"Do you intend to play hide and seek, monster?" she asked, turning back around.

"If I were to play such a childish game, wouldn't you be IT?" he taunted. "After all, you're the one at the disadvantage."

It was true of course, but Integra refused to let it unnerve her. "I'm the hunter that makes you the hunted." She said casually.

She was trying to pick up on any sounds so as to help her locate the vampire. But he was using the shadows to his advantage and as if it wasn't bad enough her flashlight suddenly went out, taking with it the last vestige of any light she had to her advantage.

She cursed under her breath as she used one had to rattle it back to life but to no avail.

"From the sounds of it, it looks as if shrouding yourself wasn't part of your plan?"

"No, it wasn't," she admitted. "But that changes nothing, I don't need to see you in order to put a bullet in your head."

She heard a laugh to her left. "My my, how confidant we are," he mused.

"But you forget," suddenly he was right behind her, cold fingers wrapped around her neck. "You're reflexes are still very much human."

The urge to struggle was there, but Integra knew to do so would only use up her strength and shift more power to his advantage. So instead of trying to grab his fingers, she twisted her arm and pressed her gun to his side. "It would seem amnesia is in the air," she managed between her constricting air passages before pulling the trigger, "You've forgotten about my gun."

The hands around her, renounced their hold as the vampire was sent curtailing backwards. Integra held her bruised neck with one hand, the other still holding the raised gun. Unfortunately she couldn't make out where he'd crashed too.

"Silver bullets, aren't you just the smart one," the vampire spat. "But no matter your gun, you still can't see me!"

He grabbed her arms, slamming them to her sides. Integra swallowed a curse as he nearly dislocated her shoulder.

"I owe you one, you know," he said conversely. "You killed my brother."

"Your brother?" Integra asked trying to wiggle her arms free from the vice like grip he had them in.

"Does the name Jan Valentine ring any bells?"

"Maybe," Integra began. "But you can't fault me for not keeping a register of all the undead vermin I kill."

"You bit-"

"You will not believe what I found," a voice boomed merrily from down the passage, just as light flooded the area around them.

Integra had to blink to adjust to the light. From over the vampire's shoulder she could see Vlad, he stood there grinning like an idiot.

"Turns out the main switch had been pulled down," he continued, "Can you believe we were walking around the pitch darkness for nothing?"

He folded his arms over his chest. "Ah what a pickle you've found yourself in, Integra," he remarked casually.

She glared daggers at him, her arms nearly numb from the restricted blood flow. The vampire, a tall pale man with blonde hair and glasses, relinquished his hold by shoving her to the side. He turned to Vlad.

"You!" he hissed darkly.

"Yes, I found the main switch no need to thank me so passionately," he said lightly.

"Thank you?" the vampire gritted ou. "You bastard, I should tear your legs and chop them into tiny pieces!"

Vlad's eyes widened before he leaned over to ask, "How tiny?"

"Bastard!" the vampire cried before he leapt forward.

It was all a blur to Integra, who had recovered her footing and stood watching. The vampire stood, a gun poised before Vlad's head. She was surprised the force hadn't knocked him over.

"Do you intend to shot me or count to three first?" Vlad asked, seemingly unfazed by the position he found himself in.

"Pretty cocky for a man who is about to die," the vampire hissed.

Integra debated with herself. If she shot him, there was a chance the bullet would pierce right through and straight to Vlad. She could kill him. But if she did nothing he'd surely die from the shot to the head aimed at him. Wouldn't he rather die from her bullet than some vampire?

"This coming from a man who is already dead?" Vlad asked. "Surely you see the irony in that."

She couldn't risk it. Not just because it was Vlad, because had it been a soldier from Hellsing she wouldn't have done it either.

"The only irony I see is the fact that the very woman you are trying to protect hunts the very thing you fear the most," the vampire spat out. "The very thing you-"

She heard the sound of gunshots, watched as the vampire was turned into a sieve before her eyes.

"Villains," Vlad began as he pushed the convulsing figure off of him, "Biggest flaw is their inability to resist a good rant. Could've finished me off before I cocked my guns if he hadn't taken the time to have a little chat."

He walked slowly towards her. "Are you okay?" he asked when he reached her.

"You didn't finish him off," Integra said around her sore throat.

"I knew I'd forgotten something!" he exclaimed with a grin.

"Very careless indeed," the vampire hissed, materialising feet behind Integra.

Integra swung around, eyes wide as they starred at the end of the barrel. This is it. She thought. I'm going to die in some dingy abandoned building. She could hear Vlad swear under his breath.

"I wouldn't take another step if I was you, Romeo," the vampire warned.

She could imagine more dignified ways of dying rather than being killed by a vampire wearing a white suit, who uses cheesy lines like that. It would be an insult to her paternal name. Integra thought as she kept her eyes glued to the gun.

"I detest that play," Vlad commented calmly. Then again he wasn't the one who had a gun pointed at him. Integra thought.

"Really?" the vampire asked. "And here I thought you of all people could relate to it."

Integra frowned, the more she heard the vampire speak the more it felt as if the two knew each other.

"Integra?" Vlad began, though he didn't even glance in her direction.

"Yes?"

"How fast can you turn?" he asked her.

"Don't be stupid, it's inconceivable that she'd be able to turn fast enough to dodge the bullet." The vampire said with a smirk.

"I agree, she can't," Vlad concurred. "But I'm a different matter all together... TURN!"

She barely had time to move, before she found herself being pushed to the side as the gun went off. She heard at least four shots, one of them sounded like it came from one of Vlad's guns. There was the stench of gun powder, a haze around them followed by silence.

Cautiously she picked herself up, hands grazed from the floor. Looking up, she found Vlad standing before her, his back still turned away from her. The vampire having become ash on the floor.

"I thought you were kidding," Integra said. "That time you said you could outrun a bullet. I thought you were kidding."

She stood up, brushing her hair back, "Who are you?" she asked bewildered.

"I'm just a bird of Hermes," he replied softly.

Integra frowned. "What?" she asked confused.

He turned around and that's when she saw the blood. Her eyes widened and she strode to his side, grabbing his arms as it looked as if he was about to kneel over.

"You idiot!" she berated him as she caught him under his arm before he stumbled to the ground.

Vlad grinned, which in his current condition was quite remarkable, "You aren't much of a lady, Integra," he teased her."You don't call the man that just saved your life an idiot."

"It would have caught my arm," she hissed as she tried to move forward with his added weight.

"You don't know that for sure," Vlad said calmly.

She stared at the crimson liquid seeping through his white shirt and spreading over his middle. She wasn't a doctor, but she'd seen enough injuries to know his was severe if not fatal.

"We need to get you to the hospital," she said using one hand to try and locate her mobile. Damn this coat and its million pockets! She thought.

"No!" Vlad blurted, his right arm that had been hanging limply on his side suddenly clutching her coat.

"What?" she asked startled by his outburst and the fierce look he was giving her.

"No hospitals," he gritted out, his grip slackened as he inhaled sharply obviously in pain.

"Are you mad?" Integra demanded. "You're bleeding to death, you need emergency medical care!"

He was panting, sweat matting his thick hair to his pale face. He looked on the verge of collapsing.

"No, no hospitals," he repeated in between shaky breaths, eyes closed.

"You'll die!"

"I won't," he said slowly opening his eyes, "Trust me."

Integra was conflicted. He'd just taken a bullet for her, did she not owe him for that? But his eyes, they stared at her, begging her to trust him.

"Okay, where to then?" she asked, praying she wouldn't regret this.

Vlad gave her a tired grin, "Back to my place," he rasped. "Though when I'd imagined saying this to you, I'd envisioned under different circumstances."

"You're bleeding half to death and you still have energy to be lecherous?" she said in disbelieve, "What am I going to do with you."

"Nothing, you're stuck with me now," he said softly.

Her breath caught in her throat as he held her gaze under his heavy lidded eyes. His eyes were dark, almost black pools. Integra fancied she saw a flicker of red fire in them. He leant forward, his hand almost touching her face, before it fell to his side a hiss erupting from his mouth.

Integra tightened her hold on him, pausing in their wobbly walk and snapping out of her daze. "Are you okay?" she asked, hating how concerned she sounded.

"My attempt to kiss you failed miserably," he admitted warily.

"What happened to waiting for me to beg you?" she asked him with sarcasm.

Vlad cocked a wary eyebrow. "Did you not see me getting shot?" he asked her dryly, "A dying man has no time to be chivalrous."

She frowned. "I thought you said you weren't going to die," she reminded him.

"I'm not," he said. "But that doesn't mean I can't use it to my advantage."

Had he not been so deathly pale, leaning heavily on her she might have smacked him on the arm. Instead Integra rolled her eyes and continued their walk. A part of her relieved he was able to banter with her. A dying man didn't make quips and passes, right?

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. His eyes were closed, jaws clenched as if channelling all his energy into moving forward. Even now, there was a stubborn air about his actions.

"Don't die," she told him.

He peered at her though one eye, a lazy smile on his face. "Is that an order, Miss Wingates?"He asked.

"You bloody well believe it." She gritted out.

/

"On the couch," Vlad said once they'd made it to his apartment. They had run into no one in the building and Integra wondered if Vlad had chosen it because it was so deserted.

"Wouldn't the bed be better?" she asked him as she helped him ease into the couch.

"Of course not," He gritted out, lying on his back. "I don't want any blood on the sheets."

She rolled her eyes, "Blood on your sheets is the least of your concerns." Integra glanced around the room, "Where do you keep your medical kit?" she asked.

Vlad who was breathing far too deeply for her liking, lifted his hand. "Bathroom cabinet," he said. "And the Bourbon is somewhere on the table," he added before she could ask.

Integra nodded and walked to the bathroom, she located the medical kit and then headed for the kitchen. Most of the bottles were empty but there was some that were still half full, she grabbed one of them and returned to Vlad.

His eyes were closed as if in slumber.

"You need to remove the bullet," he said.

"I know," Integra said as she rolled up her sleeves. She sat on her knees before him and opened the medical kit. She located a small scalpel underneath wads of bandage rolls.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Any more ready and I'm bound to be dead," he quipped.

Ignoring him, she rolled up his shirt careful not to agitate the wound on his side. The skin looked as if it had gone through a shredder. What kind of bullet tore into flesh like this? She wondered as she sat with the bottle of alcohol open and over his wound. Fortunately it wasn't very deep even with the bullet wedged in the skin tissue.

"Integra," Vlad hissed as if to urge her into action.

She didn't need any further prompting and carefully tipped the contents over the wound. Vlad didn't even flinch, she figured he was numb from pain by now. That or he was delirious.

She worked quickly, deftly, using the scalpel to scoop out the bullet. Silver? She frowned as she sat it aside.

"Integra?"

"Hmm?"

She was searching for some thread and a needle to close up the wound. She was no Walter, but she did know how to stitch up a nasty wound.

"That's enough," Vlad said, a hand on her wrist, halting her.

"What?" she asked, "You have a gaping hole on your side."

Vlad sat up slowly, ignoring her protests that he was still bleeding. He stared at her for a long time before he spoke.

"Integra," he began, bloodied hands cupping her face.

Integra couldn't move, she sat motionless, eyes wide as she returned his stare.

"I have not been completely honest with you."