A/N: slight M-rating for the end of this chapter

He purposefully had not asked how this all worked. He had been dying of curiosity, but he knew that Jean was far more apprehensive about the whole thing than he was, so Lucien had done his best to keep his thoughts to himself about it.

How did one get turned into a vampire? That certainly wasn't a question he ever intended to ask himself ever in all his life. But here they were. He obviously knew that the mythological perceptions of how to turn someone into a vampire were wrong. He had been bit by Jean many, many times with absolutely no problem whatsoever. And as far as Lucien could tell, bloodletting was not involved either.

But the morning of the event, when Jean and Lucien were in the house by themselves—Mattie having gone to Melbourne to visit her parents for a whole week—she finally told him what would be involved. She wanted to give him the day to prepare himself for it.

"It isn't a complicated process, really. But it may be painful," she said. "All it really takes is for you to drink some of my blood. I thought we could do it in the surgery. We could use a syringe to take my blood and then put it in a beaker or even a teacup, if you like."

Lucien nearly asked if his drinking her blood was really necessary or if they could inject it from her into him with the syringe. Medically speaking, that wasn't the best idea. And he had a vague sense that having his stomach receive her blood from him swallowing it down might be important. And he'd have to get used to drinking blood, after all. He'd be doing it for the rest of eternity.

That, of course, brought up more questions. Jean had been feeding off him for months now. Would they both have to go hunting from now on? That seemed to be the only option. And quite a shame, actually. It was more dangerous and far less convenient. But the tradeoff was very much worth it. He decided not to bring it up today. They could deal with it after he was turned.

They settled into the surgery at teatime. Lucien had spent the day finishing any work that he had lingering, and Jean took care of some chores. He would need at least a day or two to adjust, she assured him. And she would have to focus her time on teaching him all that he would need to know of his powers.

"It will hurt," she told him, sipping her tea where she sat with him at his desk. "I honestly don't remember how much it hurt or for how long. But I remember that turning is not a pleasant affair. I think Christopher turned me at about this time of day, and by the time morning came, I was just fine. I don't know what difference it might make that you're a man and much bigger than me and much older than I was when I was turned. It might not make any difference at all," she realized, frowning.

"Would you like to call the council? Frank did say that you're welcome to contact them with any questions."

She shook her head. "No, I have the phone number if we need it, but Frank read my thoughts and knew how I planned to do things, and he said it would be alright."

Lucien reached out and took her hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. "If I'm unconscious or anything, if you're nervous or frightened about any part of it, you call the council. I don't want you alone and worried."

Jean squeezed his hand back and gave him a soft smile. "You can change your mind, Lucien. I'm not the only one who has reason to be nervous."

But he shook his head. "I'm not nervous in the least. Any apprehension I have is only for the unknown. For the questions we don't have answers to. And all that will come in time. I am quite certain of this, Jean. You'll turn me and we will get to have our immortality together. All that's happened to us so far, this is all a prelude to the real beginning of our life."

She blinked back tears and went back to her tea. She didn't say anything in response. But Lucien knew she agreed.

And then they made their start. Lucien got a sterile syringe and extracted a good volume of Jean's blood, withdrawing it from the plump vein in the crook of her elbow. He went to bandage it for her, but she stopped him. Instead, Jean licked her index finger and swiped a bit of her saliva on the tiny pinprick of blood. The coagulation enzymes did their work.

"Your turn," she said.

Lucien disposed of the needle and emptied the syringe into his used teacup. He brought it to the exam table. Jean had told him it would hurt, and he did not want to thrash around and make a mess in the bedroom, so this seemed the best place. "Right," he announced. He saluted her with his teacup. "Bottoms up." Lucien tipped back the cup into his mouth and swallowed it all in one go.

The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth, but he did not gag. It was highly strange to taste blood that was not his own. Lucien had experienced that flavor in his mouth far too many times. But Jean's blood was altogether different. Maybe that was because it was vampire blood. Or maybe it was because it was just someone else's blood. Either way, it was odd and unfamiliar but not exactly unpleasant. That was certainly for the best, since he'd have to get used to the taste.

Lucien lay back on the exam table. Jean was right there beside him. She unbuttoned his shirt and removed his tie, helping make sure he was comfortable. Her hands stroked his cheeks and ran through his hair in a very soothing fashion. It was almost enough to lull him to sleep.

But then the pain began.

It started in his belly. He wasn't sure how to describe it. It was the worst abdominal cramps imaginable but also felt shockingly similar to when he'd been stabbed. Only he was being stabbed from the inside.

His face grew very hot and ached, particularly his mouth. In the back of his mind, he realized that his body was changing and growing fangs. And then the headache took over. Searing pain so blinding that he thought he must have cried out in agony. That was the last thing he remembered before he passed out.

Lucien woke up in exactly the same place. He had no idea how long he had been unconscious, but he knew he'd been out cold. Before he opened his eyes, he took mental stock of himself. He was lying down, he knew. He was no longer in pain. That was good. He felt a little odd, but that was probably because he could tell he'd sweated through his clothes and his body had since cooled down, leaving him in the vaguely damp fabric. But he otherwise felt fine. At least he thought he did.

Slowly, he blinked his eyes open. He was in the surgery. It was dimmer. The sun had gone down, ridding the room of the natural light from the window. That was as far as he got in his review.

"Oh thank god!"

He turned his head to see Jean standing there looking extremely upset indeed. With a little effort, Lucien pushed himself into a seated position and swung his legs off the exam table so he was sitting up on the edge of it. "How long has it been?" he asked. His voice was raspy from disuse. Or perhaps from overuse. He may have been shouting out while he was unconscious.

"It's nearly midnight. You were thrashing and moaning and shouting for about three hours, and you've been quiet for the last four," she told him.

"Have you been there the whole time?"

She nodded. "I haven't moved an inch. I couldn't leave you alone. How do you feel?"

"Fine, I think," he answered. He looked at Jean and realized that he was seeing her differently. Sharper. Good lord, his vision had improved! Before this, he had been growing slightly more nearsighted and would have needed glasses sometime soon. But now, he had perfect vampire vision.

Jean was watching him and she looked terribly concerned. As far as Lucien was concerned, there was nothing else to be concerned about.

He stood up, feeling stronger and pain-free in every single one of his joints. Lucien reached out for Jean. "Come here, my darling."

She rushed into his arms and he held her tight, kissing her hair.

"Everything's alright now, Jeanie. Everything will be just fine."

Jean sighed against him, finally relaxing and growing more and more satisfied with how things had gone. "I'm so glad," she said, muffled against him.

He pulled back. "Shall we give things a test?"

She laughed, "Yes, I think we'd better. First thing, open your mouth and puff out some air, and concentrate on your teeth. Top front teeth, specifically," she instructed.

Lucien had never really concentrated on his top front teeth before, but he did as Jean said. And the strangest sensation overcame him. It was as though his whole upper jaw shifted, somehow. It was rather startling.

Jean laughed again and held up the back of one of his metal surgery trays. Lucien saw his reflection quite clearly.

"Bloody hell!" he shouted. He had fangs! And talking while they were extended was quite strange indeed.

"You'll get used to them," she assured him. "And you just do the same thing to make them retract."

He did so and felt somewhat relieved to have his mouth back to normal.

"You could try testing your speed and strength," she suggested. Her eyes sparkled with mirth.

Lucien grinned. He was starting to feel quite giddy. He could see so clearly. His body felt better than it had in twenty years. Why not give it a try?

Before he knew it, he was practically flying through the house. He felt like he was doing a light jog, but he could tell he was sprinting faster than he'd ever managed before in his life. He went up and down the stairs and around the parlor and through his bedroom and around the kitchen and dining room before stopping back in the surgery in front of Jean.

"How was that?" he asked.

She was laughing again. "You were gone all of six seconds."

A beaming smile broke out on his face. "What else can I do? Should I see if I can shapeshift?"

But Jean shook her head. "No, you'll need the moonlight before you can try that. And we'll wait another day or so before you try out reading minds. Might be best to call Alice and have her help, since she's the one who's been teaching me how to shield and such. You'll need to practice that. And you won't be able to read me. At least, I don't think. Can you read me?"

"I haven't a clue where to start with that, Jean. I don't think I can. Nothing in my mind feels any different."

"Well that's good. If you could read my mind, it would mean we aren't soulmates," she pointed out.

"Oh don't be silly, of course we are," he insisted.

Jean smiled again at that. "Why don't we go outside and get you in the moonlight. I could use a bit of it myself, actually."

Lucien certainly liked the sound of that. He took Jean's hand and they walked together out into the garden. The moon was high in the sky. A full moon, in fact. "Did you know it was a full moon tonight?"

"Yes," she answered. "I wanted to have you turned at the full moon. That's what Christopher did for me. I don't know if it makes a difference or not, but I thought it best."

As soon as they reached the middle of the lawn, Lucien immediately felt the moon's effect. He felt a tingle through his body. Jean's description all those months ago was apt. Like opening the icebox on a hot day. Refreshing. Calming, actually. Soothing.

He turned and closed his eyes, facing that full moon, feeling its power absorb into his body. It was a magical feeling. Beautiful and somehow intimate, particularly with Jean standing there beside him to share in the moment.

Suddenly, Lucien got an idea. He unbuttoned the rest of his shirt where it had been half-open for his turn. He unrolled his sleeves so he could take his arms out of them. He untucked his shirttails to finish the buttons and let the shirt fall off his shoulders and flutter onto the lawn. He then toed off his shoes and bent over to remove his socks. It felt nice to have his bare feet in the grass.

"What are you doing?" she asked, noticing him finally.

He did not answer her question. He turned to Jean and gathered her in his arms. "I love you, Jean."

She gazed up at him, pale eyes shining in the moonlight. "I love you, too," she responded.

Lucien bent his head to capture her lips. Their kiss began sensual and slow, but the ardor increased between them quickly. Soon teeth and tongues joined the mix. Lucien let his hands roam Jean's body and start to undress her. She got her hands on his belt buckle before he knew it.

He laid her down in the grass and they helped each other remove the last vestiges of clothing until they were completely bare. Lucien covered her with his body and trailed wet kisses over every bit of her skin that he could reach with his mouth and caressing all the parts he could reach with his hands.

Jean moaned softly at his attentions, and her little noises were highly arousing, as always. "Please," she whined.

Her prompting weakened his resolve. He wanted to make love to her slowly and deeply in the moonlight, but he could not wait any longer. With one brush of his cock against her, he could feel that she was wet and ready for him. He pushed inside her with one smooth thrust.

They both cried out at the sensation. Lucien barely paused before he began to move. Jean's hands were all over him. One was behind his neck, pulling him down kiss her. The other moved over his waist and back to his bum where her fingernails dug in to urge him deeper inside her. She lifted her knees to change their angle slightly, and they both shuddered.

Perhaps it was the turn, or perhaps it was the moonlight. Perhaps it was just being a vampire with another vampire. Perhaps it was because he was a vampire making love to his soulmate. Whatever it was, Lucien felt a madness descend upon him. The most beautiful insanity ever conceived. All that existed was Jean, Jean and her body, Jean and her love. The pleasure he felt here between her thighs was the most exquisite thing he had ever experienced. Would ever experience.

He had to pull away from her kiss to gulp for air. Jean shattered around him, trembling and pulsating. Lucien was nearly undone, but he urged himself to last. He pressed his face to her neck, needing to be as close as possible to her as she writhed beneath him and gave those high-pitched gasps of pleasure. He panted hard and carried on, hardly knowing what he was doing but knowing he could only continue, could only prolong this pleasure for them both.

Lucien bit down as he came hard. His mouth filled with sweet, glorious nectar, and his whole body was consumed with rolling waves of pleasure. And at last, he stilled. He rolled off Jean and onto his back in the grass as he tried to catch his breath.

Jean joined him within a mere moment, cuddling up to him and holding him close. "I've never made love in a full moon before."

"I think we should do it every month until the end of time," he rasped, still trying to regain his heartrate.

She gave a breathy laugh at that. But then she quieted.

He felt her shift, and he looked up to find her propping herself up to look at him quite seriously. "Jean?" he asked.

"This curse has been upon me for over a hundred years, Lucien," she said. "And continuing to live every day was all I could do. I could help and I could care for people, as best as I could. And that was enough. But always this has been a curse. Now, here, knowing that we can be together for all eternity…obviously it won't always be perfect, but…the curse feels almost like a blessing now."

Lucien pulled her back into his arms and kissed her. "That's exactly what it is, my darling. It's a blessing to allow you and I to be together until the end of time. And I shall hold you in my arms forever. I shall love you until the sun burns out in the sky."

They kissed again, holding each other tight. And that was how it began. Their forever.