A single candle flickered on the dresser near the door, but the rest of the room was in deep shadow. Eames slept cradled in Goren's arms, snuggled against his body. The room was silent except for the breathing of the partners in the bed.

Goren's breathing changed gradually as Eames slept on. A dull, throbbing pain burned in his chest, preventing him from taking a deep breath without making it worse, but it wasn't unbearable. Cautiously, he moved. Again, the pain wasn't any worse.

The first thing that caught his attention, the only thing that mattered to him, was the woman in his arms. Her head rested against his chest and one arm was draped over his body. He could see her face clearly, even in the dim light, and he was pleased that she appeared to be resting easily.

He looked past her, to the room beyond, which was entirely unfamiliar. He had no idea where they were, or how they'd ended up there. According to his memory, the last place they'd been was in Ethan's office, trying to mediate a dispute between Ethan and an irate customer concerning the customer's girlfriend. That was all he remembered.

He raised a hand to scratch his side, surprised to find a bandage over the spot that itched. He moved slowly away from Eames, placing a hand over his chest when his pain flared and finding a second bandage on his chest. Something had happened...something bad.

Eames moved in her sleep, rolling toward him as she tightened her arm over his belly. Many adjectives came to mind when he thought about his spunky partner, but clingy was not one of them. Something had her deeply unsettled.

Slowly and carefully, he eased himself to a sitting position. He leaned back against the headboard and rubbed his chest in an attempt to relieve the pain.

His slow movements and soft groan of pain were enough to waken Eames. "Bobby..." She sat up, fully awake, and touched his cheek. "Bobby, are you all right?"

"No...I don't think so," he answered, his voice hoarse from disuse. He coughed and winced, placing his hand over his chest.

Leaning his head back, he took several slow, careful breaths. As the pain eased, he relaxed and drew her back into his arms. "Where are we?" he asked.

"I'm not really sure exactly where we are. This is Ethan's mansion. I was unconscious when they brought us here."

A look of alarm passed over his face. "Wh-why?"

"They drugged me, so I couldn't call for an ambulance for you."

Alarm faded to confusion. "I...I don't understand."

"One of the people who lives here with Ethan is a healer. She saved your life. If I'd called an ambulance, you would have died."

His confusion did not abate. "What happened?"

As she explained what happened in Ethan's office, he searched his mind for any memories of the events she described. There were none. "So they brought us here," she concluded.

The pain continued to ease as he rubbed his cheek against her head. Slowly, she turned her head, bringing her face toward his and he kissed her.

She was overwhelmed by the impact of his kiss. His arm slid around her, pulling her closer against him. His head began to swim and his pain was lost in a fog of desire. All he wanted was her. He dipped his tongue into her mouth as his hands sought the hem of her nightshirt.

With great reluctance, she broke the kiss. What he wanted and what his body could handle at the moment were two different things. Gently, she grasped his hands and rested her head against his chest, unable to hold back her tears. She hadn't realized just how much she had missed him.

He tipped his head, trying to see her face, but she wouldn't let him. He touched her cheek, frowning at the moisture he found there. "Alex," he murmured, pressing his lips against her forehead. "What's wrong?"

He didn't know what had happened over the past few days, and her tears troubled him. He shifted his position, ignoring the flare of pain in his chest. Slowly, he trailed his lips along her face, tasting the salt of her tears, before resting his cheek against hers. "Baby," he murmured into her ear. "Talk to me."

In lieu of words, she turned her head and caught his mouth in another kiss, which she ended in a tender hug. He rubbed her back and smoothed his hand over her hair. He rubbed his side. "I took one in the chest?" he asked.

She nodded, and he closed his eyes to still his response to her hair, feathering lightly over his skin. She touched the bandage over the entrance wound, close to where her head rested against his chest. "This is where it went in," she said, moving her hand over his skin to the exit wound. "And this is where it came out."

Despite the distractions his body tossed out at him—the pain in his chest, the itch beneath the dressings and the desire that coursed through him—he realized that the bullet's path through his chest would have been erratic, the damage, lethal.

He touched the bandage on his chest, and she kissed his fingers, as if trying to assure herself that he was still there, alive and finally awake. "How...why..." His confusion was clearly evident in his voice. "Why am I alive?"

This was where it all got very tricky. Slowly, Eames sat up, away from him, drawing her legs in and crossing them as she sat, Indian-style, beside him on the large bed. She took his hand in hers and said, "I need you to be your usual, open-minded self, Bobby."

His expression was openly curious as he nodded. When she tried to meet his eyes, though, she found she could not look into them. The change she saw still caused a spear of raw pain to penetrate her heart. He tipped his head, trying to catch her eyes, confused when she would not let him. "What's wrong?" he asked, alarmed.

She waved her hand. "Give me a minute, and I'll explain everything."

Steadying herself, knowing she could not avoid his eyes indefinitely, she began her explanation.

Goren leaned against the headboard, struggling to process everything Eames had told him. Frowning, he remained silent as he stared off into the middle distance. Finally, he raised his hand and touched his throat. "So she saved me...by taking my blood...?"

Eames nodded. "And giving you hers, yes. It was actually the partial conversion into one of them that saved your life."

He arched an eyebrow and looked at her. "You mean...I'm a vampire?"

She laughed suddenly, fully aware of how ridiculous that sounded. "No," she assured him. "The conversion isn't complete, they tell me. But it's enough to let you heal like they do." She hesitated, carefully considering her next words. "They are offering you an opportunity, Bobby, to become one of them. A life without regret, without pain. All you have to do is say the word."

His head was spinning and he was beginning to feel nauseous. "Become...one of them?" he mused, giving it some thought. Then he cocked his head to the side, shifting his eyes toward her. "But...what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Alex, I have no desire to be anything without you."

"Even if it means you could live without being haunted by your past? They're offering you an eternity of pleasure with no pain."

His expression did not change. "There is no pleasure in my life without you," he said honestly. "My life doesn't need any improvement, as long as I have you."

She leaned forward and hugged him, swallowing a soft sob. She gently kissed the side of his neck, then nuzzled his ear. He closed his eyes, unconsciously tipping his head back. When her lips moved forward, caressing his throat, he gasped at the flood of sensations that assaulted him. Groaning, he sought her mouth, kissing her deeply. This time, she didn't have the will power to stop him.

He used every ounce of his remaining stamina to love her. Then he collapsed beside her. She snuggled against him. "Are you all right?" she whispered.

He nodded and softly grunted, unable to keep his eyes open. She kissed his jaw and gently rubbed his chest as he drifted to sleep.

As she watched him sleep, she reflected that he'd taken what she'd told him a lot better than she would have. But she wasn't really surprised. With a soft sigh, she closed her eyes and eventually, she also returned to sleep.

Eames set her book aside when Ethan and Summer entered the room, and she watched Summer walk directly to the table to prepare her herbal brew. Ethan smiled at her. "Hello, my dear."

"Hello, Ethan," she answered. After a brief hesitation, she said, "He was awake during the night."

Summer looked over her shoulder. "I have not been giving him large doses of sedating herbs. I am glad he is regaining his strength."

"I told him everything that's happened."

Ethan asked, "How did he respond?"

"Like he always does--with curiosity and interest. He is a lot more open-minded than I am. Where I would have thought he was pulling my leg or losing his mind, he accepted what I told him."

"Good for him," Summer replied.

Eames bit back a snippy retort. She still wasn't sure if she liked Summer or not. Ethan drew her attention back to him. "How did he seem to you?"

"He was in a lot of pain, Otherwise, he seemed okay, not any different from his normal self."

But I know he is different, she added in her mind. At least, he will be until his eyes go back to normal...unless he changes his mind and decides to convert...and become one of you...

She chased away those thoughts and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. When Goren shifted in his sleep, she reached over and stroked his cheek. He relaxed and she smiled. Ethan watched the interaction, which reinforced Summer's assertion that the two were close.

Without preamble, Summer called to Eames. "Alex?"

It was the first time the healer had addressed her by name, and Eames was surprised. "Yes?"

"I have a proposal for you."

Both wary and interested, Eames rose and approached Summer's work station. "What kind of proposal?"

Summer continued working as she explained, "I have been giving this a great deal of thought. I have no connection to your man beyond the blood I have exchanged with him. Were I to exploit that bond, I could make him my own, but I have no desire to do that. He is deeply attached to you, perhaps moreso than you realize. I can offer you the chance to make your bond with him...more than it is. An eternal bond, if you will."

Unable to mask her suspicion, Eames said, "Conversion?"

Summer laughed. "No, silly mortal. Of course, if you wish it, I am certain Ethan would gladly accommodate you. This is something very different, almost entirely emotional. It is difficult to make such a foreign concept understandable to you with mere words. You trust us with your lover's life. Extend that trust just a little further, and I can offer you the opportunity for a closer connection with him than you could ever possibly imagine. You will become of one heart with him, indivisible."

"How do you propose to do that?"

Summer considered her words carefully. "I have exchanged blood with him. Over time, the bond between us will fade. I have no emotional connection to him. I offer you the opportunity to exchange blood through me. The resulting bond between you will be unlike any you have ever known or could ever hope to forge."

Eames stepped back, repulsed. "What?"

It was unlike Summer to offer something like this and Ethan was surprised. Summer turned and made a noise as she looked at Eames. "Overcome ridiculous prejudice and hear me," Summer urged. "Blood is the fluid of life, infused with everything that makes us who we are. Few mortal cultures recognize the power of blood, but surely you know of the concept of blood brothers? What I offer is much more. When we take blood, it is usually from a lover. Our blood intermingles and then becomes one. When there are no further exchanges, the blood of the other is eventually purged from the system. However, when an emotional bond exists, such an exchange transforms that bond into something... incredible."

Eames studied her. "Who do you have this bond with?"

Summer slowly shook her head. "I have never been fortunate enough to find a man I loved enough to share my heart. You don't know how rare that kind of bond is."

"So...how do you know what happens?"

Summer regarded her with interest. "You are very cynical."

"It comes with the job."

"I do not need to see the sun to know that it shines, or feel the wind on my face to know that it blows. I do not need to feel love to know that it exists. I know what happens among my people, and I know this rare bond can exist between lovers. I have never known it to be broken. I don't know for certain how you feel about him, but I can tell you his feelings for you run very deep. His is a troubled soul, battered and world-weary. You are a light in the darkness of his life. He needs you, probably more than you will ever need him."

With difficulty, Eames hid her reaction to the truth in Summer's words. "And you know this how?"

"I have exchanged blood with him, and that has created a bond between us. What I know about him are things that he cannot hide—the pain of his past, for instance. It is powerful and overwhelms his attempts to hide it. He cannot hide his tormented soul, or his feelings toward you, which are just as strong. I sense that he never considered himself a soul worth saving, until you came along. Do not misinterpret your importance to him. If you abandon him, it will be the final straw in a lifetime of hardship. His life will shatter, irreparably. I know nothing of you, but I would hope for one of two things. If you return his deep affection for you, seriously consider what I offer. If you care nothing for him, then step away now. Let him go, so that he can relieve himself of the burdens of his life and become one of us. Give him a chance to live without pain, to let go of the ghosts that haunt his dreams and plague his waking thoughts. Let him know peace."

Eames considered Summer's words. Love him or leave him. "I do care," she admitted. "I care very much and I don't want to imagine my life if he was not part of it. I do not want to lose him."

She surprised herself with her admission, but every word of it was true. She could not let go of the mind-numbing grief that had engulfed her as her partner lay dying in her arms with a bullet in his chest that had been meant for Ethan. She looked toward the bed, studying him as he slept. Did she honestly love him enough to want what Summer described? Ethan and Summer had given them a second chance with one another, and she could not deny her heart. "How many exchanges would it take?"

"The bond forges during the first exchange. That is all that it would take. If you would like more, that is acceptable, but not required. Talk to Jeremy or Stephanie. They are the only ones I know in this area who share such a bond."

Eames looked toward Goren again. One heart... She felt her pulse quicken at the thought of sharing something more than what they already had. Could this bond possibly heal the damage done to them both by life? She almost accepted, unable to stop herself from wanting what Summer described. But to agree to it without his consent would be wrong. "I can't make this kind of decision without him."

Summer accepted her answer. "The opportunity will not exist for long. He will no longer need my intervention after another day or so."

Eames nodded. "I will discuss it with him."

She turned away from Summer to find Ethan waiting for her. "Lunch awaits," he said with a smile.

She returned to the bed and softly kissed Goren, then left the room with Ethan. As they walked toward the kitchen, Eames said, "Tell me what you think of Summer's offer."

Ethan was quiet for a moment. "I honestly don't know what to think. The bond of which she speaks is rare and profound. If Summer believes the foundation for something like that exists between you, I can assure you it is like nothing you will ever know in your life. It is not an offer she makes lightly."

"What made her offer it at all?"

"I do not know. Summer is not one who confides in others. All I can say for certain is that her offer is sincere."

Eames nodded. "I don't doubt that. I'll talk it over with Bobby."

She had already given him a lot to consider. While he seemed to reject Summer's offer to turn him into a denizen, she wondered what he would think of this one.