The next time Andy saw Elijah was not by design. She was lingering in a crowd full of pretentious rich people, having just finished playing for whatever party this was.

A dedication thing, she thought? She honestly couldn't remember - all she knew was that the guy who hired her was hella rich and that he had paid her a helluva lot to play here. But, her shift was over, and the next group of musicians (a very, very good string quartet) were playing next.

So here she was. Playing the wallflower, and quietly accepting the compliments - both genuine and polite - of the people attending the party.

Andy decided to make her way to the corner of the room to wait for Mr. Blithe - the guy hosting the party - to give her his obligatory remarks and more importantly, her paycheck, before she left.

A familiar aching pain began to bloom behind her eyes, but she forcefully directed her attention to the beginnings strains of the string quartet instead of her rapidly blooming headache.

Andy felt a smile come to her lips as the violist came in with a familiar motif. She loved this piece. In fact, she considered listening to this and being able to play for a crowd worth the annoyance of being at this party.

Yes, she didn't fit in with the clearance section dress and cheap make-up, and yes, the derisive looks she was getting from some of the people in the crowd were beyond annoying, but she never passed up an opportunity to do what she loved.

Music, whether she was listening to it, writing it, or playing it was one of the few things that had consistently given her joy ever since she was a little girl.

She'd liked it when she started piano when she was a girl, but her love for it had grown when she realized that she could gain some respite from her Sight when she played.

And so she had played and practiced until she had become good at it. And then she practiced some more.

It was satisfying, to say the least, to have a skill that was because of her hard work and not because of some unfortunate curse of birth.

Andy wasn't a hot commodity in the music world. Not by any means. She was a good pianist, to be sure, but she was no world class musician. None of the people here would bother to remember her, but they would remember what she had played.

In a perfect world, this would be what she would dedicate her life to doing. Not hiding from…just about everything, really.

Andy stood against the wall as the last notes of the piece faded from the air, and a polite applause arose from the crowd.

"You played beautifully."

A sound that Andy refused to acknowledge came from her throat and snapped her head to the side to see Elijah, of all people, standing next to her.

"Holy shit, you need to wear a bell. You damn near gave me a heart attack."

She hadn't seen hide nor hair of the man for three days. He looked perfectly at ease in their opulent surroundings, what with his expensive suit and perfectly coiffed hair. She wondered what he was doing here?

"I play okay. That quartet, though. They were the ones worth listening to. I haven't heard that piece live in a long time…"

"The quartet was lovely, but I've had a love for the piano ever since it was invented."

The way he said that sounded like it was more than that of a mere admirer of the fine arts…

"You play?"

Elijah's lips twitched. "Frequently."

Wait. 'Ever since it was invented'

"Elijah, did you meet Bartolomeo Cristofori?!"

Andy's voice was probably a bit too loud for the setting, but she didn't care. She needed answers.

He nodded, looking profoundly amused while he did, but Andy didn't care. She was too distracted by the fact that Elijah had met the man who invented the piano.

That was so cool.

Andy looked Elijah dead in the eyes, because this was a matter of life or death, and spoke very gravely.

"I have so many questions."

"I have answers…"

Andy felt her expression light up.

"... if you join me for dinner."

"Deal."

He'd barely finished his sentence before she agreed. Yes, she should still be wary, and she was, but. Piano. It was important. She'd dine with the Devil himself if it meant that she could get a first hand account of the invention of the piano.

Besides, if Elijah hadn't done anything nefarious when she slept at his penthouse, so it wouldn't be stupid to join him for a meal? They had already shared a breakfast, so what harm was there in adding dinner to the list?

"I just need to talk to Mr. Blithe…"

She started scanning the crowd as she spoke, and she spotted him after a few moments. Mr. Blithe was actually making his way towards her.

Yay. She was so looking forward to this conversation.

Blithe cut into her and Elijah's conversation without so much as a by-your-leave, barely sparing the now stone-faced vampire a glance.

Which seemed. Unwise.

"Thank you for playing at my little party, Andromeda. I'll be sure to remember you in the future."

Andy didn't know it was possible for her ovaries to shrivel up and die at the sound of someone's voice, but Blithe was doing his best to make it happen. See, all of what he said very polite, but there was something about the way he said her name that she found…disconcerting.

And of course, there was also the way that his eyes lingered on her neckline. She couldn't forget that.

"I'd be willing to offer you a bonus, if you would be willing to stay after the party. For your…diligent efforts."

She barely held back a shudder at his words, and then paled when a vision broke through showing her exactly what would happen if she lingered after the party. Bruises blooming on her skin, teeth embedding themselves into her flesh, hands wandering to places that were not theirs to touch…

She nearly threw up, but instead forced a tremulous smile onto her face. "No thank you, sir, but thank you for the offer. I would just like my paycheque, if it's all the same to you."

Andy almost choked on her own words as the sensations of her Sight ghosted across her skin.

"I truly must insist, you were better than I could have hoped for."

Andy wanted to stab Blithe with the nearest sharp implement. It would do wonders for her continued mental stability. Truly.

That was when Elijah, blessed man that he was, interjected his way into the conversation with a tight smile.

"I'm terribly sorry, but Andromeda and I have a prior engagement to get to. If you could pay her before we leave?"

Andy was reasonably certain that Elijah had just compelled the disgusting man in front of her and completely certain that she didn't give a fuck about the infringement on another person's free will right now.

She had no doubt that Blithe had done plenty infringing on his own time.

Andy watched as Blithe mechanically handed her a cheque and then let herself be swept out of the suddenly stifling room. The cool air of the outside was a relief to her heated skin, and she realized, with a start, that she was holding onto Elijah's arm with a white knuckled grip.

She jolted back from him once she realized.

"I am so sorry."

"It's no matter."

Andy shook her head. "No - well, yes for hanging off of you - but, also for…that."

She rubbed her hands down her bare arms, trying to banish the lingering sensations from the breakthrough vision. This wasn't the first time she Seen something like that, but it never got any easier.

Elijah was silent for a moment, as he studied her with a too-knowing gaze, before speaking.

"Mr. Blithe will not be asking for your services again. Or anyone else's."

Andy was ashamed to admit that the none-too-subtle threat in that sentence made her relax a little, and then she remembered her vision and decided that Blithe deserved it.

"Good. Thank you."

But that was enough of that. They still had piano to talk about.

"You still owe me piano stories though."

Elijah accepted the subject change with his characteristic aplomb.

"That I do. Do you have any preferences for dinner?"

She thought for a moment, before settling on a little hole-in-the-wall Thai place about a ten minute walk from where they were.

It was probably several classes below what Elijah was used to, if his penthouse was any indication, but he didn't seem to mind.

They made it to the restaurant in short order, and it was when they walked in that Andy realized she was in a whole-ass formal dress. In a little Thai place with inexplicably delicious food.

…and yep, there it was. People were staring at her and the suited man beside her.

Andy resisted the urge to fidget or look down as Elijah spoke to the hostess.

"Are you alright?"

That was the second time that he'd surprised her in one day - she really needed to get a handle on that. There was no excuse for this time.

"People are staring."

"The eye is naturally attracted to beauty. I don't think they can help it."

She went to make some kind of joke about narcissistic tendencies, and then she realized that he was looking directly at her when he said that.

Oh. That was…definitely directed at her.

Andy stubbornly ignored the heat rushing to her cheeks, but she was still flattered. She hadn't been complimented like that before. She'd been hit on at work, and received sleazy remarks and dealt with catcalling, but the way Elijah said it, like it was a fact of the universe…it was damn smooth, actually.

It also certainly explained the appreciative glances that Elijah was getting as well.

The hostess led them to a table for two nestled by a window, before setting down the menus and vanishing off to parts unknown.

Elijah pulled out her chair, and pushed it in behind her as she sat down, before taking his seat across from her.

He looked just as comfortable in this comfortable restaurant as he had in that pretentious party. His surroundings had no impact on his self-assurance, a skill that Andy found rather admirable.

"I was in Italy around 1700 when I met Bartolomeo…"

She knew herself well enough to recognize the burgeoning embers of crush when she felt it, despite her lingering fears and paranoia about the ancient vampire across from her. But she knew that there was nothing she could do but ignore it until it passed. He wasn't - couldn't be - her mate, so the affection would just be temporary.

But that didn't mean that she couldn't live in the moment for once in her life, and just enjoy the good company, great food, and amazing stories about times long past.

And as it turned out, it was one of the best evenings she'd had in a long, long time.