This Mortal Coil
By Piper Sargasso
(Disclaimers, etc. in Chapter One.)
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Chapter Seven
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Warmth surrounded me.
Strange, that I'd been a vampire for such a short time, and yet the presence of warmth was already as foreign and welcome as sunlight. It seemed a forbidden thing, too wonderful and too pure for our kind.
The source of that warmth, all soft curves and gentle breathing, smiled down at me. "Good morning," she said with a twist of her mouth.
I smiled back and pulled her under the covers with me until we both lay down, facing each other. "Good morning." The drapes were pulled back, silvery moonlight spilling into the room.
She leaned in to press a gentle kiss on my lips. "What was that for?" I teased.
"I feel wonderful today," she said in response. "I think I might even be able to walk around the house. Claudius said he wouldn't mind, and I feel like my muscles have turned to jelly."
I couldn't describe the relief I felt. Instead, I returned her kiss with a little more fire than she expected, I think. She gasped in surprise against my mouth, then melded her body against mine. God, how natural it felt. She got bolder, letting her hands explore my arms, my torso, my thighs. Her touch wandered to the front of my pants and pulled back suddenly with wide eyes.
"Is it…always like that?"
I laughed and explained that, yes, like all my muscles now, "it" is always hard. She seemed fascinated. I was beyond amused.
Amusement turned to arousal in an instant when she wrapped her hand around said muscle. "God, Scully." She climbed on top of me, kissing me, her caresses alternating from shy to sure, but always tender.
"I need you," she said. I captured her mouth with my own, exploring, tasting. We rolled over together, leaving me on top. I pulled away from the kiss to look at her. She was so beautiful. Her breath caught in a stuttered rhythm and I imagined what I must look like to her – my eyes dragging over her face, glowing, at once hungry and enchanted.
She wrapped trembling legs around my waist; I smoothed a hand over her hot, flushed cheek. "Will you…?" She broke off, seeming unsure of how to put the question. In the end, she pulled the front of her nightgown down and bared her neck to me. "Please," she whispered, and pulled my head down to the exposed skin.
I was lightheaded, dizzy from the pure want I felt. But she couldn't stand another large blood loss so soon; it would put her back in the hospital. I decided on a compromise. I kissed her neck and she gasped from the contact. "Not yet," I whispered against her skin, and continued kissing across to her throat and the tops of her breasts, stopping only long enough to pull her panties and nightgown off.
We made slow love for what felt like forever. Never had I experienced anything so sweet and pure; until that moment, I didn't think such a thing was possible. But it was, for us.
As she neared climax, I nipped at her neck. Her nails scratched at mine, bringing me closer to her delicate skin in a desperate, silent plea. I sank my teeth into her while we met one another's thrusts and she cried out, arching against me violently. The world swam in unadulterated ecstasy, narrowing the universe down to just her and me and the almost painful pleasure we fed off each other. It was exquisite.
It tapered off, leaving us breathless and clinging to one another.
"I love you, Mulder," she said with aching sweetness against my neck. "Always." She burrowed her face between my shoulder and neck. A tear fell down my face, unnoticed by her. For the second time, I proved vampires could cry.
We lay there, content to do nothing more than absorb each other for as long as possible. Neither of us spoke – what was there to say? I felt like my heart would explode from happiness. There is no feeling in the world that can compare to the fluttering ecstasy one feels when he finds out the only person he wants to spend the rest of his time with feels the same.
The rest of my time was considerable. I refused to think about what that meant for Scully and I. Not now, when it was so easy to pretend eternity with her was possible. I traced invisible lines on her face. She closed her eyes against the fluttering of my fingers, a small smile playing across her lips. We kissed, slow and lazy, as if we had all the time in the world. Her heart raced and I was painfully reminded of the small amount of blood I had just taken in, like a tease for a starving man.
I pulled back. She looked hurt. "What's wrong?"
"Scully" was swimming in a vision of arteries and pulsing blood, the rhythm of a heartbeat. My veins ached for her; my teeth tingled for her throat. I needed more, and she couldn't give it. "I have to go," I said, and left the warmth of our bed. "I'm sorry."
She frowned, but seemed to understand. "Hey," she called out softly. I turned from the window I planned to exit to look at her. "Come back soon?"
I smiled. "I'll never be gone long." Satisfied, she smiled back and settled against the pillows. When I jumped from the window, the picture of her red hair splayed against the cream of the pillowcases and the small smile on her face went with me.
Nothing could ever hurt us again, I decided, as long as we stuck together.
~*~
I found Claudius on the veranda near Scully's window speaking to one of his house staff -- all mortals who keep to their own business despite the oddness of their employer and his guests. "Mulder," he nodded in greeting. "Thank you, Jasmine. That will be all." The dismissed woman left without comment, leaving us alone. "Off to feed?" Claudius asked. I nodded. I wanted this to be a quick trip out and get back to Scully as soon as possible.
Claudius joined me. We visited a crack house not far from his home, and fed on the drugged and disillusioned until we were stuffed. Death would've been kinder, I thought as I let the last dazed body drop to the filthy mattress I found him on. Lost souls. I pushed the strange thought away and sought out Claudius.
I found him in another part of the house, embracing a small woman with such poise, such grace as he drank from her. I was reminded of the beauty and grace Julian possessed, and was almost jealous. My new body still felt a little awkward, like putting on someone else's skin. This is what a vampire should be, I thought as I watched.
When he was finished, we left the dirty, condemned building with its dirty, condemned inhabitants. The foyer in Claudius' home never looked brighter or more welcoming. I started toward the steps when Claudius put out an arm to stop me.
"Wait. Something is not right."
I stood dead still and listened. A heartbeat, and it was growing slower by the second. It filled me with a horrible sense of déjà vu. We sprinted up the stairs, knowing that it was Scully's heartbeat once again. Horrified that I couldn't hear it anymore.
Claudius broke in the door to her sitting room just as it started – the thrum. "God, no," he said, and I knew. Before we even made it into her room and saw Liliana's blood pouring down Scully's throat, I knew. She was receiving the Blood. She was being changed.
A howl tore from my lungs and I leapt for Liliana. Claudius got there first. He struck her, leaving four deep scratch marks on her perfect face, and drove her out of the window. The open window. My God. What had I been thinking? His own body followed Liliana's and I was left alone with Scully.
She lay still as death. This was worse than déjà vu; this was a nightmare.
"Scully?" I nudged her, knowing she wouldn't move. The horrible thrumming grew quieter. Helplessness overcame me, and I lifted her limp upper body into an embrace. "I never wanted this for you," I whispered into her hair.
Claudius cleared his throat. "Liliana is gone." He stepped over to the bedside. "Mulder, you must make a decision. If you finish the Transformation, she will live but as a vampire. If you choose to let her go – she may die. That would be preferable to the possibility that she might become a Halfling. The choice is yours."
Would an interruption in the Transformation for the second time be too much for her body? Could she die? I'd do anything to prevent her from becoming one of the creatures Maeve spoke of. But could I let her die?
I love you, Mulder.
No, I couldn't let her die. Wiping away tears, I looked to Claudius for help. He nodded. "You must do it quickly, while there is time."
I needed nothing more for encouragement. I ripped open the artery in my wrist and brought it to her white lips, urging the Blood to pour in faster. She latched onto the gash like a newborn, suckling deeply, and the thrumming filled my ears once again. It was sweet music. I couldn't bring myself to think of consequences, not while I was surrounded in a cocoon of red, pleasure wrapping around me as I gave and she took. Nothing in the world could be better than this, I imagined, than me giving life to her.
When I became too weak, I pulled away, severing our connection. She sat up on the bed, invigorated and full of life. Her eyes burned a steady blue, and her skin already took on a vampire's pale perfection. She never looked more beautiful to me, this living breathing creature.
She was one of us now. And damned.
~End Chapter Seven~