Ch 11
A/N: Thanks everybody for reading, I had a lot of fun with this, and hope you enjoyed it. This is the end of this little adventure, hopefully my muse will bring me more!
Dedicated to Christie-thanks!
Shaking his hand like he was trying to get rid of a fistful of snakes, Mike jerked away from Henry and Vicki, both still asleep and jumped up off the sofa. "Dr. Sagara? What's going on? Coreen?" The frown on his forehead deepened, and the cop took over, "OK, I want answers and I want them now."
Bettie raised to her full height and said, "Detective, you will not take that tone with me. You, Vicki and Henry were placed under a spell by a deranged witch. It was an accident, but the consequences were that the three of you fell into a deep sleep. You were holding Henry's hand because you were the last one to fall asleep and you were trying to lower him to the sofa when the spell affected you."
Coreen leaned around Mike making a thumbs up gesture to Bettie, mouthing 'good story' then jerked upright when he turned to look at her.
"Fine. Then shouldn't they be waking up now?" Henry jerked awake, making Mike jump and point, "That's just not right."
"Bettie? What are you do-" The question died on his tongue as his face lit up. "Never mind." The vampire stood and looked at the detective, grinning from ear to ear, placed a hand lovingly on Mike's arm, asked, "How are you feeling Michael?"
Mike looked at him with both bewilderment and trepidation, "I'm……fine. A little sore." Sliding his arm away, "Thank you for asking."
"Good." The grin just wouldn't quit, "I'm so glad there were no ……side effects of the spell."
"Hey, why does he remember and I don't?"
"I have no idea, detective, perhaps it's the vampire DNA. Or the fact that he was hit second by the spell. Vicki should wake up next."
As if it were her cue, Vicki took a deep breath and sat up, "What the hell?!" Looking around, rubbing her eyes, she said, "What happe-" Then turned a lovely shade of red, "Never mind." Standing up, she walked to Bettie, and breaking her rule about the no hugging, hugged the older woman, whispering in her ear, "thank you."
"You're welcome, dear. But you know, a spell like that doesn't work unless the person struck has some feelings for the other person."
"What!" Vicki shook her head. "No, that's not true. It was just a spell." Even Vicki didn't believe herself, and the look Bettie was giving her finally shut her up. "Fine. You're right. It wasn't just the spell."
"What wasn't just the spell?" Mike's voice held a note of panic in it.
Henry turned to face the detective. "Listen to me, Michael. It was a sleeping spell." The timbre of his voice had changed, eyes turned black and he continued, "You will remember only a feeling of peace, knowing all is well, and in the future, we will be cordial and respectful of each other." He hesitated, leaning forward, speaking softly, "and if something else develops, so be it."
"Henry!" Vicki bit out his name.
"What?" His look was disingenuous, "It could happen."
Vicki just shook her head. "Fine."
Henry released Mike from the compulsion with, "When I release you, you will realize you are very tired, go home, and go to sleep. Tomorrow morning you will be fine, get up and go to work as if nothing as happened." His eyes returned to their normal color and Mike yawned.
"God, it's been a long day. I'm going home, hit the shower and grab some sleep. Coreen, Dr. Sagara, do you need a ride?"
"No, thanks, Mike, I have my car." Coreen looked at Bettie, "and I can get Bettie home, but you can walk us out."
"Okay. Ready?" He looked like he wanted to say something, but couldn't remember what it was, and said goodnight to everyone, leaving with a puzzled look on his face.
When the door had closed and Henry had locked it, he raced to Vicki, facing her. "So, how are you feeling?" He picked up her wrist and sniffed at the blood lying just beneath the surface.
"Fine. Uh. Thank you for asking. You?"
"Fine. I thought you might be a little ….sore."
She pulled her hand away, "I'm fine. Just tired. All that sleeping apparently didn't help much."
"I saw the look on your face earlier." They stood staring at each other, both remembering what had happened. Vicki felt the red creeping up into her face, her heart beat fluttering a little faster. "Are you all right?" Henry stepped closer, "Your heart is racing."
"I'm fine. I'm just trying to sort through some things."
"Such as?"
"I remember it all, Henry, from the second I regained consciousness. I was in love with you to the point where I thought of nothing else, there was no me."
"And I suppose that's the most terrible thing you can imagine." He looked so sad, she reached up and touched his face with the back of her fingers.
"No. It's not. The most terrible thing I could imagine is you not being in my life."
"Vicki, it wasn't the spell, you know. I do love you."
"More than you love Mike?" His head jerked up just in time to see the grin on her face hide itself. Reaching for her hand, he kissed her fingers, then her palm.
"Spell or no spell, I will always love you more." He put her index finger in his mouth and sucked, then removed it and held her palm to his nose. "The smell of me on you, in you, is more intoxicating than anything else. It's as it should be, Vicki. I belong to you, just as you belong to me. You know that now, don't you?
"Henry, I have so many issues, so many 'things' rattling around in my head, I can't imagine I'd be good for you. You've said more than once that I'm detrimental to your health."
"True." She looked at him like she'd expected him to disagree. "But, I never feel more alive than when I'm with you, death threats and all. You make my blood sing." His fangs showed themselves and he scraped them across her palm. She felt her knees weaken and tried to pull her hand away. He wouldn't let her. "No. Not this time. There is no spell to use as an excuse but I'm still not letting go." He pulled her face to his, stopping their lips from meeting, but just barely. "We've seen what we can be, Vicki, what we should be."
His voice was a whisper against her mouth, lower lip almost brushing hers, "Say yes."
He stood still, waiting for her to exhale, waiting for one word. He'd wait as long as he had to.
One breath, one word, left her mouth, "Yes."
