Recap: Stephanie awakes as a vampire. She drinks all the Tru Blood they have. Lester leaves to get more. Ramirez is creepy. Ranger gets some of Stephanie's blood on his hands, causing him to heal rapidly.

Stephanie

Ranger was staring at his hands. And I could see under the smears of blood that his cuts and bruises were fading. His breathing eased a tiny bit. I didn't understand, none of this made any sense. I'd only sort of believed vampires were real 24 hours ago, and had no idea at all a few days before that. How long had I been awake? Not long. Maybe 10 or 20 minutes. It had passed in a flash, but also felt like years. I suppose to a certain extent humans measure time by the beating of their heart. But mine wasn't beating. I could hear Ranger's so clearly, but my own chest was silent.

"Rex!" I said, suddenly remembering.

Ranger jumped a little. "What?"

"Rex. My hamster. He'll get lonely without me. And he needs to be fed."

Ranger stared at me for a moment. "Right. Hamster. If I make a trip to your apartment, anything else you want me to pick up?"

I looked at Ranger. I hadn't missed which pronoun he used. "How long until I can go home?" I was dreading the answer.

He looked uncomfortable. "You're not a prisoner. Not really. But I don't think you should leave right now. We don't really know that much about this. Just what I was able to glean from Jimmy Alpha after…after."

After I was kidnapped. After I was changed. After my life was turned upside-down in a way the Fresh Prince had never imagined.

I looked at myself. I was coated in sand, dirt, and blood. I looked like an extra in a zombie movie. Or, I supposed, the main character in a vampire flick.

"Clothes. Toiletries. Maybe some books or magazines, something to read?" If I was going to be stuck here I wasn't going to pass the time staring at the wall. "I don't suppose you get Netflix down here? I've been meaning to watch the new season of The Babysitters Club."

He laughed a little. Softly. Then he kissed me gently on the top of my head. "We don't have internet down here yet, but I have a guy, I'll see what I can do."

Lester

I ran to the local drug store like it was prom night and I needed condoms. Yes, I know exactly how fast that is. Luckily it was only a block away. I got lucky and they did carry Tru Blood, but I decided to grab some snacks for us human folk as well. We had gotten a hell of a workout today, and needed to refuel. While grabbing food I saw something that might come in useful. Grabbing my supplies, I headed back.

I entered the hallway quietly. Tank looked over at me. "No big changes, but I'm glad you're back." He glanced at the cell further down the hall. "Prisoner's getting restless."

That high-pitched voice was singing again. "And I'm coming from a brand new place,

I'm dealing quick, and I don't miss a lick, And I bet I don't leave no trace"

I cocked my head quizzically. Tank blew out a breath. "He's singing James Brown. Coldblooded. Bastard has a sick sense of humor."

I nodded, then walked to the room with Ranger and Stephanie. After a light knock, I opened the slot in the door and peeked in. Both were sitting on the ground, back to the wall. She was slumped against him, red streaks slipping slowly down her face. He had his arm around her and was humming a lullaby I recognized as one our Abula used to sing to us. He looked up and saw me. "Babe, are you ready for Lester to come in and bring more Tru Blood? Or do you want him to slip it through the door?"

She looked up as well. "Come in. I'm OK, I think. I mean, I'm not going to attack you, I'm anything but OK."

When I stepped inside I realized how badly the room had been wrecked in the moments after she woke up. The bed was askew with only a small space between it and the wall, where Ranger had been. The blanket had fallen onto the floor, and the lamp was on its side. Luckily there was almost nothing in the room to begin with. It had been intended as a holding cell, though the furniture was from the rooms across the hall meant for people that needed a safe place to stay.

Something shiny caught my eye near the disheveled blanket. I reached down and picked it up. It was a small cross necklace, silver on one side, but dirty and gooey on the other. I set the 6-pack down at their feet, and held it out. "Is this yours?" I asked, dropping it in her lap onto her hand.

I'm not sure exactly what happened next. There was a sizzling sound and she hissed angrily, jumping to her feet. Her face was a nightmare, her skin streaked with blood and two sharp teeth like a snake's fangs were suddenly sticking out.

"Shit. He didn't mean it. Dammit." Ranger tried to hold her back, but he seemed to be having no effect. She wasn't advancing on me, just hissing. But I've seen cobras look less threatening after stepping on their tails. "Get out of here Lester."

I didn't need to be told twice. If I hadn't been frozen in fear, he wouldn't have needed to tell me once. I skedaddled out the door, shutting it behind me as Ranger tried to talk the vampire down.

"Damn Cousin." I thought to myself. "What have you gotten yourself into?"