Sorry for the delay… here you go…

¤ ¤ ¤

He snuck up on her while she was working on her laptop. Her headphones were on and she was so focused that she didn't even know he was there until her chair was spun around and King's eyes were boring into her. He leaned forward and kissed her.

She pulled off her headphones and pushed him away. "King!"

He stopped kissing her but stayed leaning on the chair, trapping her arms on the armrests.

"I'm gonna keep coming after you until you let me in, Whistler."

"King, we can't… I can't…" But her resolve weakened as he leaned in and kissed her neck, along her collarbone. "King," she said weakly. "Sto-"

He nipped her collarbone then smiled as she tensed up with a tiny gasp. "Liar," he mocked.

"King it's too dangerous. What if something happens? What if we get into this and one of us goes down? I can't…"

"You think too much, Whistler…" he whispered against her neck, a bit muffled.

"It's complicated."

He pulled back. "It's never complicated, Abby. You either do or you don't," he said angrily. "You take risks with your life every night! Why can't you take a risk on this?" He paced back and forth in front of her. "Abby, you frustrated me to no end!"

She stood up, now angry. "I frustrate you? I frustrate you? You were the one who wouldn't take advantage of the situation when I was all for it!"

"You! I wouldn't take advantage of you!"

They stood toe to toe, faces inches apart.

"Maybe if you told me how you really felt instead of hiding behind your sarcasm and your stupid jokes then it wouldn't be so hard to open up! Maybe if you weren't such a manwhore and open for anyone and everyone to fuck, I'd be more likely to trust you!" She yelled.

"Fine!" he yelled back. He wanted to shake her. He grabbed her by the arms, feeling her biceps tense up. "I love you, Abby. I fucking love you, okay? Are you happy? There's my heart. I just ripped it out and tossed it at your feet. What are you going to do with it?"

She broke his grip easily, pulled him towards her and kissed him hard, her hands tangled in his hair.

¤ ¤ ¤

"Oh my god."

"Thank you…" She could hear the smirk in his voice.

She hit him in the chest lightly. "Don't ruin it, smart ass…"

He kissed her bare shoulder. "Sorry, old habits die hard."

She shifted on the floor, suddenly feeling shy.

"Don't Abby," he said softly, reading her mind. "Don't hide from me…"

She turned and met his eyes. "I'm scared."

He wrapped his arms around her and held on tightly. He didn't have an answer.

¤ ¤ ¤

Abby threw a leg over the motorcycle and revved it up. She sped out of the garage and headed towards downtown. As she neared the Starbucks, her anxiety grew, just like it always did before meeting her father.

She barely knew him. She'd found him when she turned seventeen, when she'd found out she was adopted, that her mother had died in childbirth and her father had been a bastard that didn't take care of his mistakes. She'd been really angry at first, unable to contact him. Then, after her roommate had been attacked by a guy who had bitten her, actually bitten her, she'd decided that she'd find him. And maybe the rumours were true, maybe there were vampires and her biological father, Whistler, was actually a vampire hunter.

So, she'd found him, convinced him to train her after a few months of fighting and yelling back and forth, and the rest, as they say, was history…

She climbed off the bike and went inside. She ordered a tea and sat down at their usual table by the window. Minutes later, her father joined her.

"Abby." He clasped her hand tightly.

She tightened her grip. "Hi Daddy." As always, she bit back tears. "What's new?"

"Same shit, different day," he replied tiredly.

She let go and rummaged through her bag. "Sommerfield's been working on this new way of getting Blade his serum. She's made an oral injection." She passed a small case over to him. "No more hassles with needles…"

He opened it up and pulled one out. "Hmm, some doc you've got there."

"There's a month's supply there. That's all she could make without it expiring.

He chuckled. "Blade'll hate it. It's perfect." He put it down beside him and pulled papers from his jacket. "Here's the new stats. They don't look pretty."

She scanned them quickly then put them in her bag. "Thanks."

He settled back. "So how's things?" he asked awkwardly.

She smiled gently. Whistler was always trying to be the real dad. "They're good. How's Blade?"

He relaxed again. It was easier to talk about Blade. "Still stubborn as shit."

"Tell me a story." This is how it always ended. She'd say 'tell me a story' and he'd tell her a tale of Blade's latest adventures.

"Well, we were downtown by the harbour…"

She relaxed and sat back, sipping her tea. She could escape real life here, she could get away, feel safe, pretend it was just a story a father was telling his daughter…

"…and they supposedly caught it on camera…"

She snapped back with a jolt. "What? What d'you mean?"

"The familiar said they caught it on camera…"

"You guys need to come to the Hive. It's not safe for you anymore."

"We're fine, Abby. We've been through tougher."

"Not with bringing in humans…"

He patted her hand. "We'll be fine." He stood up, picking up his jacket and the briefcase. "See you next week." He dipped and kissed her on the temple. "Love you," he said gruffly then disappeared out into the crowd.

"Love you too," she replied, then bowed her head and the tea, her shoulders shaking. "Oh Daddy."

¤ ¤ ¤

King was waiting at the door to the garage when she got home. He hustled her straight to her room, stripped them both down to their underwear and crawled into bed with her. He held her tightly as she shook, rocking her back and forth, whispering random comfort to her. He didn't know how or why her father affected her so badly but he hated it. If he could make it better, he would have but there was nothing. She had to have contact with him. She wanted it. He closed his eyes and hugged her tighter.

"My father's going to die," she whispered.

"What?"

She turned to him, her eyes full of unshed tears. "I could see it in his eyes. He knows he's going to die."

¤ ¤ ¤

Abby walked into the Hive after a long hunt. All she wanted was a shower and her bed. She walked into the main office and found Sommerfield and King together, whispering. They stopped as soon as she entered. "What? What happened?"

They stared at her.

King reached for her. "Abby…"

She flinched away and her eyes stung. "It's my dad, isn't it?"

"Abby…"

"He's dead, isn't he?"

Sommerfield reached towards her. "Come here, Abby. Come here."

She almost fell into the blind doctor's arms, tears bursting. "It's not fair!"

"I know honey, I know." Sommerfield groped for King's hand and pulled him towards them. His hand came in contact with hers and she clutched it.

"But Abby…" he whispered.

She calmed down. There was something else. "What?"
"We gotta go save Blade. The FBI's got him and I'm betting the vamps are on their way…"

She pulled herself together. "Okay, let's go."

Sommerfield frowned. "I smell blood. Abby, you're bleeding."

"I'll fix up on my way. Let's go."

¤ ¤ ¤

Well, I dunno whether to write about during the film or not… any suggestions? Thanks, reviews are appreciated!