"Katie, out for a midnight snack?" The oldest twin stopped in her tracks as she walked out of the hospital and found Sophia waiting for her. She was perched against one of the metal railings, her arms crossed over her chest and a predatory smile on her lips. Katie wasn't in the mood for her games, so she pointedly ignored her; intending to walk right past her. "Oh, wait, you're probably still full from Emily… She tastes good doesn't she?" Katie's own blood ran cold as she froze on the spot.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, freak!" Her words would probably have held more conviction if her voice hadn't been shaking. In fact her entire body was trembling as Sophia pushed herself up off the railing and slowly made her way over to her, stopping when their faces were only inches apart.
"You know it didn't take me long to figure out. I know I didn't go munching on Emily last night, and for once it wasn't Naomi…so that leaves you."
"I didn't…" Katie felt tears welling up in her eyes as she shook her head, trying to forget about the sweet taste of her sister's blood flowing over her lips. She had fucked up, she knew that, but Emily was better than her. She was a good person and she was willing to forgive Katie for what she had done to her. Sophia on the other hand was grinning like the cat that got the fucking cream.

Now Sophia had something over her; something big. She was on probation with the Vampire Council as it was and if anybody found out what she had done to Emily then there would be a stake with her name on it. She had to get a grip, whimpering in front of the older vampire wasn't going to win her any respect. Holding her head up high and channelling her inner bitch, which was rarely buried very deep, she looked her straight in the eye as she repeated herself. "I didn't do anything to Emily. Ask her yourself! She's awake."
"And no doubt backing up your story. That doesn't mean Markus and the others are going to buy it though."
"What do you want, Sophia?" She snapped, cutting right to the chase. If she had wanted to turn Katie in then she would have done it already, proof or no proof. She had a claim on Emily that was publicly known to the vampires and hunters alike, she was well within her right to kill any vampire who even looked wrong at the youngest twin; her sister included.

"Emily." Sophia answered honestly. Her expression actually held a tinge of sadness as she took a step back from the older twin. "I just want Emily. The hunters and the council can keep their little fucking treaty and Markus can keep his throne…I just want her. And you're going to help me."
"Not a fucking chance-" Katie started, but her objections were cut off as Sophia clamped a hand around her throat. Strictly speaking she didn't need to breathe, but old habits died hard and she felt like she was choking; Not to mention the feeling of someone crushing the bones in her neck was still painful, whether she needed to breathe or not.
"Our motives might be different Katie, but we both want the same thing." She growled in her face before releasing her and taking a step back. "I know why you attacked Emily. You didn't want to hurt her, you wanted to change her."

"I didn't want to lose her." Katie sighed as she rubbed at her neck, the bruises on her skin already disappearing from having so much fresh blood in her system. "I don't want to lose her."
"You don't have to." Sophia purred as she circled her. "You don't have to do anything Katie. When the time comes, just do nothing. Let me turn Emily and you'll never have to worry about losing her."
"She doesn't want this." Katie felt conflicted. The night before she had been angry and upset, their eighteenth birthday was looming over them and it was a painful reminder that Katie would not get to grow old with her sister. She had been blinded by that grief and by her hunger, but she understood Emily's reluctance to be turned. They were hunters' kids. They had grown up learning to kill the very kind of monster that Katie had become. In a way Katie had been lucky, because she'd been turned without warning. She hadn't spent fifteen years waiting for it. She could only imagine what that was like, waiting for death to come and stake its claim. Emily simply never talked about it.

Katie had never been interested in the vampire hunting stuff. She'd gone along with training with Emily, but as she'd grown older and started to have a choice in the matter she'd started making excuses for missing training sessions with their dad. Emily had thrown herself in to becoming a hunter, in to learning everything her parents and her Uncle Sam had to teach her. She'd never had a choice though. From the night that Sophia had marked her, her fate had been sealed. "I can't do this to her-"
"You don't have to do anything." Sophia insisted. "Emily's fighting it now, but once she's turned, once she feels the rush of someone else's blood coursing through her veins…well, she'll thank me when it's over. She'll thank us both."
"I'm not so sure she will."

Sometime during the night, Emily rolled over in the narrow hospital bed she was lying in and as her eyes fluttered open they adjusted to the darkness and found Naomi sitting in a chair beside her bed. Her chin was resting on her hand as she stared at a spot on the wall. "Are you mad at me?" Emily questioned, her voice was hoarse from sleeping. The blonde turned to look at her, her eyes softening as they landed on her. They'd argued about Emily hiding what Katie had done, but Naomi understood why she was protecting her. She was her family, her blood. Naomi had been a sister herself, albeit over a century ago, but she still remembered what it was like to want to protect her kin.

"Of course not." She sighed as she shifted to face her, managing a small smile.
"So why are you all the way over there?" Emily shifted back on the bed and Naomi took the hint. Her smile reached her eyes as she slipped out of the chair and climbed under the covers with her. The bed was small and narrow, so Emily ended up practically lying on top of her as Naomi settled down and wrapped her arms around the smaller girl. She felt soft and warm, pressed right up against the vampire, and most importantly she felt alive. Naomi could feel Emily's heart beating steadily through her chest, a small reassurance that she was going to be ok.

"They're letting me out tomorrow." Emily mumbled, already half asleep with her head resting on Naomi's chest. "I don't think I want to go home though. I can't share a room with Katie, not after-"
"I'll sort it." Naomi reassured the younger girl as she rubbed her hand in slow soothing circles against her back. "I'm sort of homeless right now, but I'll figure something out." She had some savings in the bank and it was about time she tried to be independent again. She had spent thirty years leaning on Gina as a crutch to stop her going back to her own ways; but denying herself human blood completely had landed her in the mess that was currently her life. She would carry on trying for the middle ground, feeding from humans but only when she needed to and she would try to do without either Gina or Sophia to support her. She had spent her entire life as a vampire depending on one or the other. It was time for her to stand on her own two feet if she wanted to be there for Emily.

"Are you asking me to move in with you?" Emily chuckled as she lifted her head up to look the other girl in the eye, a teasing smile playing on her lips.
"I guess." Naomi tried to sound blasé about it, but she felt her own lips tugging up in to a grin at the thought of living with Emily; the thought of being able to hold her every night while she slept, keeping her safe from all of the monsters out in the world; human and otherwise. "What kind of place would we have?" She finally caved as Emily's eyes lit up with excitement.

"I wouldn't care." Emily shrugged as she lay her head back down on Naomi's chest. "It'd be ours though."
"Your parents are definitely going to kill me." Naomi sighed, though she was still smiling as Emily wrapped an arm around her waist.
"I won't let them." She promised. She knew her parents would doubt her story about a random vampire attacking her, but she couldn't turn Katie in. Regardless of what they thought about Naomi, they couldn't do anything to her without a complaint from Emily; and she would never try to blame her for something she hadn't done. "I'll talk to Dad. If we can get him back on side he'll talk Mum round." It was easier said than done, but Emily would do what she could to get her parents to see exactly what she saw in Naomi. After all, she was a vampire, but she wasn't a monster. As much as Emily had hated the vampire who had marked her as a child, even at a young age she had understood that not all vampires were monsters. Vampires like her Uncle Sam, ones that didn't hurt humans, deserved the protection that the treaty gave them.

They spent the rest of the night curled up together under the covers of the tiny hospital bed, until Emily finally drifted off to sleep again and Naomi slipped out from under her. Part of her didn't want to leave Emily's side, but she had things to do and the thought of Rob or Jenna Fitch catching her in Emily's hospital bed was less than appealing. She needed to catch up with Cook too, and ensure she had a cast iron alibi for the night Katie had attacked Emily. It would do little to persuade Emily's parents, but it could spare her in the eyes of Markus and the council. Sharing a sire could only give Naomi so much leeway with the leader of the Council and she had used most of it by asking for Katie's life. She shook her head as she slipped on her jacket, the oldest twin was going to be the death of her sister if she wasn't careful.

Emily had been a little disappointed to wake up alone in her bed, but she didn't have long to dwell on it as her doctor turned up to give her a once over before she could be discharged. After checking the stitches on her neck he stared at the results of her blood tests, his lips little more than a thin line as he pursed them over what he was seeing. "I'm a little concerned about these levels in your blood-"
"It's a supplement; I must have been taking the wrong dose. I'll stop taking it." Emily cut the doctor off as she spotted Sophia hovering by the door.
"Everything ok?" Sophia quizzed as the doctor left, her brow furrowing as she picked up the chart at the end of Emily's bed.
"Fine." She snapped, snatching the chart out of her hands. "They just found pretty high levels of vitamin C in my blood. I've been taking these chewy tablet things that JJ gave me, but apparently too much vitamin C can stop the body absorbing iron. I'm borderline anaemic."
"Not really surprising seeing as you recently lost three pints of blood…are we going to talk about that by the way? About what Katie did to you?"

"I don't know what you're-"
"Yeah, save your breath, Emily. Katie and I had this conversation last night. I know she did this to you, and seeing as I have a claim on you, I have the right to kill her for it-"
"No! You can't! She didn't mean to!" Emily replied firmly, leaving no room for argument. "If you touch her I swear I'll…" She trailed off, not really sure how to finish the threat. Panic was welling up inside of her and she couldn't think straight. She had been so worried about what her parents and the council would think that she hadn't even considered Sophia.

"Relax. If I wanted Katie dead I'd have done it last night. I've actually come to help." She took a seat on the end of Emily's bed and patted the spot beside her, inviting the human girl to join her. Emily stood her ground for a few moments, but curiosity got the better of her and she eventually slumped down on to the bed, sitting as far away from Sophia as she could get.
"Help how?" She was suspicious of what kind of help the vampire could offer her; but she was pretty certain of her motivation and just what Sophia's idea of help could cost her.
"Katie's on probation with the council as it is. If anyone finds out what she did, they'd kill her. No questions about it."
"But she didn't do anything." Emily repeated her story like a broken record. As if saying it enough times would make it the truth.

"Of course she didn't." Sophia chuckled softly, though her expression quickly turned serious as she handed over a photograph of a portly middle aged man with a receding hairline. Emily had never seen him before in her life. "He did. His name is Harry Marshall, and he's the vampire who's going to take the blame for attacking you…exonerating poor Naomi and keeping anyone from questioning Katie."
"But they'll kill him!" Emily objected. She might have been a vampire hunter, but they had the treaty for a reason, to protect those vampires who followed the rules and didn't harm humans.
"Please Emily, give me some credit. I do know you. He's killed at least a dozen teenage girls since the treaty came in to effect. He deserved to die more than Katie."

It made Emily sick to her stomach to admit it, but Sophia was right. She did know how Emily's mind worked and she'd chosen someone to take the fall for Katie; someone who deserved it. "And what's it going to cost me? To have you accuse him of attacking me?" She clenched her jaw and held her chin up high as her eyes burned in to Sophia's. She knew what the deal would be before Sophia's lips even parted to answer; Emily's life in exchange for Katie's.
"Nothing." Sophia caught her off guard and she was once again struggling to think straight. "I've already taken care of Marshall, the council just need you to confirm he was the one who attacked you; to make it a lawful killing."
"W-why?" Emily shook her head, unable to comprehend why Sophia would give up that kind of leverage just a day before Emily was due to turn eighteen; the age where she could be lawfully turned.

She shrugged at her before bringing her hand up to caress Emily's cheek. The younger girl stiffened, but she didn't pull away. "Call it a show of goodwill? I want you to realise how much you mean to me Emily. I want to make you happy, and correct me if I'm wrong, but keeping your sister safe is part of making you happy." She brushed the pad of her thumb over her cheek, catching a stray tear that had fallen from her eye.
"Living makes me happy-" Emily was barely holding it together and the unexpected act of kindness was threatening to tear her apart. Sophia had been getting under her skin for weeks and the anger that she had used as a shield against her for so long was slowly slipping away. She was dangerously exposed as Sophia leant in close, her lips brushing against the smaller girl's as she whispered in a seductive purr.
"Oh Emily, being human isn't living; it's simply existing. Let me show you what living really is-"

"Unless you want me to show you what dying is really like, I'd take your hands off my daughter!" Jenna Fitch growled from the door, like a lioness protecting one of her cubs. Her accent was thicker than usual with the anger that was coursing through her. Sophia chuckled in response. She wasn't really fazed by the threat, but she pulled back anyway.
"Really Jenna? Is that any way to say thank you?"
"And why would I thank a thing like you?" She snarled at the vampire that was standing between her and her daughter. Jenna had never been a supporter of a treaty with the vampires. She tolerated Samuel for her husband, and she would love Katie until the day she died, but she would not lose another child to their kind.

"Well because of me little Emily here can sleep soundly, knowing that I've taken care of the vampire that attacked her."
"Naomi-"
"No, mum…it was another vampire. He came out of nowhere when I was walking to Naomi's." Sophia's lips curled up in to a smug grin as Emily went along with her plan to frame Marshall. The man was a lowlife who attracted too much of the wrong kind of attention for his own good. He had almost drained one of Sophia's workers dry at her club, and that had been more than enough reason to fit him up for Emily's attack. She had been happy to rip him apart.

Jenna stared between the two of them, wearing the same dubious expression she would wear whenever the twins tried to lie to her. Eventually she gave in a little with a curt nod.
"Well, that is good news. If this Marshall did attack Emily, then I'm sure he got what was coming to him; as will any vampire that tries to hurt one of my babies."

Taking the hint, Sophia got to her feet, giving Emily one last lingering look as she headed to the door. "Markus will need to hear from you that Marshall was responsible."
"Ok." Emily nodded, a little surprised that the vampire was giving up so easily and leaving after her mother's warning. She should have known better.
"Oh, and happy birthday for tomorrow…though I'm sure I'll be seeing you." If looks could kill, then between the two Fitch women Sophia would have been a smouldering pile of ash on the carpet. Miraculously she left the hospital room in one piece though, leaving a heavy silence in the room behind her.
"Emily, that woman-"
"Please mum. Just don't." Emily sighed as she gingerly pressed at the dressing on her neck. She'd had to have stitches to repair the damage done by her sister's frantic attack and she was worried that it would result in yet another scar. "I know how you feel about her, but she really did help. She took out Marshall to protect me."

"At what cost?" Jenna crossed her arms over her chest as she scrutinised her youngest daughter. Emily had asked herself the same thing. She had after all inherited her own cynicism from her mother and she wasn't quite sure that Sophia had acted completely selflessly. Emily was in her debt and a day would come when Sophia would try to call it in. With her eighteen birthday only a day away, Emily was pretty certain that the vampire would try to cash in on that debt sooner rather than later.

A/N: Sorry it's taken me ages to update again. This chapter was mostly just filler to deal with Emily's attack, the next few chapters should be a bit more action packed and I'm generally hoping they'll write themselves! As ever thanks for sticking with this story and I hope to have chapter 36 up a lot sooner.