A/N: Hello, hello! Lovely reviewers. Grins I have a five day weekend coming up and I think I'm going to Canada! Yay, I get to see 'Vahnney, my big brother.

Disclaimer: I own Angel, Taber, all forementioned characters, TECC, and the plot. Everything else belongs to Amelia Atwater-Rhodes as well as various and assorted other people. Oh right and obviously Ford owns the design of the 1964 Mustang Convertible.

I woke up I my own bed feeling over-heated and suffocating. Everything about the way we were sleeping was platonic. Far more so I was sure than Taber felt it ought to be but to me even just sleeping I the same bed crossed lines I'd drawn for myself long ago. We lay back to front and he had his arms loosely about my waist. I tried to wiggle out of his embrace but even in sleep his hold was much stronger than I would have thought. So I did what he'd done to wake me the day before: I bit.

"What was that for?" He complained in a sleep-filled voice.

"I'm stuck and I have to go to the bathroom so let go of me." Taber reluctantly removed his arms and I got up quickly. I went to the bathroom and slowly crept back in. I sat on the floor near the bed and carefully pushed my mind toward his wondering if our link went both ways. I was very suddenly observing his dream as though a spectator. Taber was lying comfortably back on his bed holding my hips as I rode him making soft tortured noises. I pulled away from the dream disgusted got up and decked him. He caught my hand as I was bringing it back again to hit him and he opened his eyes slowly.

"What's with the random acts of violence?"

"That's never going to happen." I declared seemingly at random. His brow furrowed.

"I think I'm only getting about half of this discussion. What are we talking about?"

"That." I gestured vaguely with my left hand. "Is never going to happen."

"Again with the sense I've missed something." He sat up still holding my wrist in a tight grip preventing me from getting away. "What are you going on about?"

"The dream you were just having." He laughed and grabbed my waist pulling me up onto the bed to rest on top of him.

"No? It could happen right now you know." He whispered in my ear.

"N-no you w-wouldn't."

"Wouldn't I?" He asked pulling back and looking at me.

"You're not like that you wouldn't do it." I said more trying to convince myself than Taber.

"You don't have the faintest idea of what I'm capable of, my beautiful." Taber said very seriously scanning my face and locking gazes with me.

'You'd like it very much.' A voice that was not his said in my mind. 'It's quite enjoyable after the initial pain. And he's a Vampire and that makes it all sorts of more fun.'

"Stop that!" I screamed.

"Stop what?" He asked innocently. "I could make you, you know. Order you to do it and you would but I can't. Not the first time when you don't have the slightest idea of what it's like... how nice it can be. So I won't, no not this time, but I could." He let go of me physically and mentally and I scrambled away from him quickly like he burned. I sat down on my table ignoring the chairs and swung my feet trying very hard not to think about what had just happened. One moment he was laying in bed still and the next he stood in front of me wearing only his customary soft black pants and his necklace. "Are you afraid of me?"

"No." He reached out to me and I flinched back involuntarily.

"You're afraid of me." He was smiling slightly like this was some small triumph to him. I decided peeking at his thought had not been a good idea and I wouldn't do it again. "Vampires don't dream by the way."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I wasn't dreaming." I caught his meaning and made to deck him again but he swatted away my blow like it was nothing. "I've told you before you cannot hit me unless I allow it the choices are mine."

"And I know that all to well." I said bitterly. "You're the Master you get to do as you like but I must do as you say." My voice was filled with contempt and I wanted so badly to hit him but I knew I could not. I looked down at my feet willing them to stop swinging and a couple minutes later I heard my door slam and looked up to see him gone. I let out a breath I hadn't noticed I'd been holding.

Later...

I sat at my desk feeling utterly bored I had been drawing but every time I abandoned my self to drawing the picture turned out to look disturbingly like Taber. I finally contented myself with throwing things around a bit.

"I'm sorry." Taber said from behind me. I snapped the top of the desk down hiding the drawings and spun around.

"What?" Taber's appearance was different than it had been earlier perhaps it was because he was now wearing a shirt or maybe the light but the way his eyes looked and his tone of voice seemed completely different from earlier.

"I'm sorry I wasn't feeling entirely myself earlier. I didn't- I-" He wavered between coming to me, touching me and backing away giving me my space. He finally settled for neutral ground. "I'm sorry."

"I think... I think I can believe you."

"I got you a present peace offering sort of."

"What is it?" I asked getting excited like a child and smiling at him.

"Well I've not actually got it here it's on it's way though. It's a silver '64 Ford mustang convertible." My mouth quite literally dropped open.

"You're kidding?"

"No."

"You're actually giving it to me?"

"Yep. With conditions though." I groaned mentally. How had I not seen that coming a mile off?

"What are they?"

"You have to get a driver's license. Nobody else drives it but you and don't even bloody well think of doing any stupid stunt like you pulled last night."

"Agreed."

"Good."

"Isn't it awfully expensive?"

"Not really." Taber replied shrugging.

"Seriously it's got to be like at least a quarter mil closer to half more like than not."

"Chunk of change." He said easily.

"You must have a lot of money."

"I'm a Vampire." Was his simple reply and indeed it did explain it. I got up grabbed his hand ad pulled him down to sit with me on the floor.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"The first one's free but the second one will cost you five dollars." He grinned to show he was joking. "Sure ask away."

"Even if it's sorta personal. I read some where that Vampires hate it hen you ask them about their history and-"

"I don't care. If you as me a question I'll give you the answer. The truth. No exceptions."

"Who changed you?"

"Ather." He smiled wryly. "Seems it's all she's good for; making fledges."

"Were you Changed in France?"

"No." When he didn't volunteer more info I decided to ask.

"Where then?"

"In a French colony in Canada. I was one of the first people there. Got to explore places no one ever explored before."

"I've been meaning to ask. There's a thing that puzzles me. What did Vampires do about feeding before there were so many people?"

"Fed off 'em but didn't kill 'em fed off animals but of course there weren't many Vamps. then so power didn't matter nearly so much. Fledges were routinely killed too so surviving fledge-dom was quite a task. Back then creating a childe isn't at all what it is now, what with all the power-games."

"What do you mean?"

"Back then making a childe, a fledge, was much like a real child you had to take care of it or it wouldn't survive. And killing it to begin was like as not saving it from dying-dead. Now making another Vampire isn't just murder once 's'murder, forever." Taber left off with the air of one who wasn't finished yet. We sat quiet for a while and he kept throwing glances at me see how I was taking what he'd said. "My first fledgling he was a good lad when he was alive. He would've been something like my great nephew. Tree fell on him and his rib cage was crushed he was going to die so I Changed him. Would've been fine, just fine with me to have some one to take care of a nice change of pace but as it ended up I had to destroy him." He looked away from me his gaze roving around my room and settling on his hand where he was absently playing with the strands of my pile carpet.

"Why?"

"Because he wasn't like I was." Taber shook his head sadly. "Human's hold about two liters of blood or quarts maybe it's quarts I can't remember exactly but the human stomach holds about the same so I could, if I wanted, drain people dry but I don't. Usually feed off two or three every night but I don't kill 'em not a single one never. Criminals I can kill but not regular people." He lapsed into silence again and looked up at me. "Go ahead. Tell me I should stop rambling and get to the point know you want to."

"Ok. Quit rambling and get to the point." He smiled briefly.

"See I was making a point. He was terrible. He'd drink off people just enough that he knew they'd die of it but he'd not drink 'em dry. Just after I made him he started doing that. I told him it was stupid that he wasn't aloud to do that. He couldn't see why not though. Couldn't see the big picture. Long term. He thought he should kill them just because he could. So when I tried to stop him the first time peaceably to show him the big picture he stuck a dagger in my spine just here." He placed two fingers at the nape of his neck.

"Ouch." I said in sympathy. He grinned.

"It didn't hurt much actually but it was bloody brilliant. Paralyzed me from the neck down so I couldn't scream for help or pull the dagger our nothing. Would've died it if I was human."

"How'd you get it out?"

"Human child. Little girl. Got into her thoughts and convinced her to walk across town and pull the dagger out. I brought her back home told her parents she'd been sleepwalking." He shrugged "I didn't get any grief for it apparently she actually was a sleepwalker." He sighed getting to the part of the story he didn't want to tell. "Then I went and found my nephew put the dagger in his heart twisted an destroyed him. He'd fed up real good and had started just killing people for the Hell of it as you might say and I might not have destroyed him except he deserved it for killing for the pleasure of killing. I burned him to get rid of his body. It's a responsibility Siete set on us if we kill each other we have to get rid of the evidence so no humans can get any ideas about a body that doesn't decompose or any thing. I dumped his ashes in a lake. Lake Superior I think it was. Haven't ever made another fledge don't want to have to do that again." He brushed his knuckles across my cheek. "Might change that soon though if I can find the right sort of person." He leaned over and kissed me on the cheek then he stood up and walked away. I couldn't hear him walking after he closed the door but I heard his pounding steps as he ascended the stairs.

A/N: Well I've just finished writing the last chapter in this story so as soon as my very busy Beta can check them I will have them posted. Before you ask yes I'm going to write a sequel. I'm holding a contest for a new story title! Requirements: Must be two to ten words, must contain some form of the word blood and it must be submitted before I post the last chapter of this story. Submissions may be sent in a review or by e-mail. The wining submission will become the title of the sequel ad they will receive the first two chapters a week before they go up.