"Look, I don't know why you ran like that but I'm not going to hurt you Billy. What is it, what's got you bolting like that from me?" The hurt in Jason's voice cut Billy to the core, but he wouldn't allow whatever was changing him to let him hurt Jason. "Jason, please leave. I'm not worried about you hurting me; I'm worried about what I want to do to you. Now, please just go." Billy dug his hands into the pillow on his bed, as he hoped Jason left soon before he lost all control of himself.

Billy stood there letting the last few words he and Jason exchanged run around in his agile mind while he fought against the base instincts that told him to jump his best friend since the age of nine years old. He looked up at Jason finally, and spoke in a low growl.

"Jason, for the sake of our friendship and my sanity please leave me be for now. I'm losing my control and I'm not willing to destroy our friendship over what I can't control. Please, I don't ask much of you just this once please do this for me." Billy turned away from Jason and put his head in his hands to get a semblance of control before he did something he'd regret later. He ignored the silence that stretched between them as long as he could until he heard the click of the lock as Jason slipped out of his room and stood at the door to listen for any signs of distress or Billy needing help.

Billy went to the door and locked it from the inside and let his forehead rest against the cool wood before he said thank you in a rough voice and turned back to his bed to get himself under control. Jason whispered you're welcome bro' before he turned and left the Cranston house. He knew that Billy wouldn't beg anything of him lightly, so he took it to heart and adhered to his request. He didn't like it, nor did he want to go, but Billy had been spot on in reminding him that he rarely if ever asked anything of Jason.

Jason went home, but was restless as he worried about Billy. For his own peace of mind, he considered calling Billy later that night, but something stayed his hand. Instead he wandered around his basement until his mother called him up for a phone call. Jason didn't expect to hear from Billy, but he was glad to hear his voice on the other end, and was relieved that Billy sounded normal again. Jason took the handset and went into the den where he could speak privately. "I'm glad you called, I've been worried Billy."

Billy shifted the phone to the other ear and picked up his end of the conversation. "Thanks Jason, I've been worried about myself for the last month. I'd like to apologize for earlier. Now that I'm back to myself, I feel horrible for pushing you away like that. Can you forgive me?" Billy braced himself for a negative response, but was pleased when he heard Jason's voice as he was admonished for even apologizing.

Jason smiled before he answered, as Billy would apologize for anything if he thought he'd hurt Jason no matter whose fault it was. "Stop apologizing Billy. I'm glad you had enough control to push me away rather than let this thing control you. I trust you with my life, and that hasn't changed."

Billy swallowed before he answered; his voice rough with gratitude for his best friend. "I… I don't know what to say Jason, but thank you. I actually had a reason for calling, I was able to decipher some results of my testing, I had hoped you could come over and talk about it Jason. I'm … I'm scared Jason, and the results don't look promising."

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes Billy, don't worry too much. Ok?"

"I won't Jason; as long as you're here I'll be a little better. See you when you get here." Billy hung up and paced restlessly while he awaited Jason's arrival. Even though he was not in the best frame of mind, Billy smiled a bit when Jason entered the house and knocked on his door.

"Come in Jason" Billy said as he perched on his bed, ready to show Jason the results of his testing.

Jason came in and sat next to Billy, ready to hear his news, regardless of how bad it was. "So, what's the news doc?" Jason said as he looked at his old friend, ready to hear dire news from Billy.

Billy cleared his throat, his newly acquired fangs showing for a moment. "Well…the worst part is my new features may be permanent, and there doesn't seem to be a way to reverse the effects." Billy raised a hand to forestall anything Jason would have said, he wanted to get all of it out at once then perhaps let Jason run ideas past him.

"The other thing is… well, it seems that this, curse for lack of a better word is playing havoc on my physiology and my mind. Earlier when I lost it, I felt like I was going to jump you… in a well, sexual manner. I couldn't control myself and that's why I asked you to leave, I don't want to do anything that would endanger our friendship Jason, please know that. I've been looking into this part of the problem, and I think if I were… attached to someone the urges wouldn't be so bad, as I'd have an outlet for whatever it is that I'd need to work off."

Billy looked down at his bed and picked at it like he was trying to draw the courage to continue. He looked up at Jason and spoke very quietly, as he didn't want to utter the words but he'd thought about the best way to deal with this side of his problem. He looked around the room again before looking Jason in the eye and continuing to speak.

"I think this part of it can be controlled with some kind of bond to one person, someone I can be with should these urges happen again. There are several problems with that. I'm not in a relationship, I've never had intercourse, nor have I had the opportunity so, so even if I were to find someone to bond with I'd have no idea what I need to do. Lastly, I don't particularly care for the fairer sex, and there aren't a lot of guys to choose from. Jason please don't hate me, I can't help this… I can't control"…

Billy was cut off by Jason putting his hand over Billy's mouth to stop the stream of self recrimination that threatened to spill out if Billy had kept talking. "Bill, hush, and let me talk now ok? I'm going to move my hand but promise me not to speak until I'm done." Billy nodded solemnly and then blinked a bit to get his emotions back under control. He looked at Jason expectantly and remained silent as requested. Finally Jason spoke to him, and he was surprised by what his friend had to say.

"Bill, first don't apologize for who you are. I've suspected you weren't too interested in girls for a while so that's no big deal to me. I'm your friend and just because you are not interested in the ladies is no reason for me to hate you, trust me it would take a hell of a lot for me to even dislike you, let alone hate you.

Now as to your problem with the urges and such… don't think you have to push me away because of that, I'm not going to hit you, turn you away or do anything like that Bill." Jason saw that Billy was trying hard to control himself and not speak until Jason was done.

"If you trust me enough to come to me when it happens, I'd do anything for you Billy, do you understand me; I would do anything for you. I love you and nothing will change that. I know dealing with emotional things are harder for you than most people, so I wont linger on this too much longer. Bill Cranston, know that you can call on me for anything that is in my power to do for you. That includes helping you with this problem, and if need be, being bound to you to save you. I would do anything for you, never doubt that ok?"

Jason punctuated his last words with a gentle kiss to Billy's forehead, which broke the other man's resolve to take Jason's declaration in stride. Billy let out a sob, and tried to leave the room but he wasn't fast enough to escape Jason pulling him into a hug and calming him. "Its ok, I don't want you to get so upset, please don't get so worked up Bill please?" Billy only nodded as he didn't trust his voice to hold steady. Jason let him regain his composure and let him open up when he was ready. After some time Billy looked up at Jason and responded in a thick voice that wasn't steady.

"Thank you Jason, I admit I'm floored by your words. Emotions are so hard for me to deal with, so hard for me to even talk about yet you told me how you felt so easily. I wish I could that at times." Billy sighed and sat up and faced his friend before he continued speaking. "As for the rest, I don't know what to say Jason; I can't ask you to bind yourself to me, what if its something that has to be permanent? What if I infect you with whatever has changed me? All these unknown variables so much that can possibly go wrong with this Jason. What if I change even more, or become less human? What if I …"

Billy was once more silenced by Jason's hand over his mouth. "Billy, you're over-analyzing again. Just take this one day at a time, and we'll figure it out. I know you hate that, I know you hate not having a plan or a clear cut path but this isn't a clear cut situation ok. Now, just be quiet let's sit here and try to figure things out or at the very least lets take a walk, I'm getting a cramp in my leg from you sitting on my lap."

Billy slid off of Jason and stood up, a bit apprehensive of being alone with him after his declaration of love for him. It's not that he didn't trust Jason, he didn't trust himself. He gave Jason a grateful smile and extended his hand out once Jason was standing. "Let me show you something Jason, I think it will express what I can't put into words right now."

Jason took his hand and felt himself wrapped in a hug before they teleported out to a lush garden area that Jason didn't recognize as any place he knew in Angel Grove. "Where are we Bill?" Jason asked as he was led to a secluded ledge and prompted to sit down.

"We are in a botanical garden in Stone canyon. I came here a while ago when I needed to get away from everything. I found a secluded spot I could teleport to without being spotted. Now with the change to my powers, I don't need to tap into the Grid to teleport; I can just close my eyes and imagine myself there now. I realized it when you left and I wound up here subconsciously. This is where I come to think, to relax and to calm myself. The beauty here is something I can't put into words, but I hope it can convey what I would like to say in thanks Jason. This is one thing I've never shared with anyone, and I wish I could articulate what it means to me and why I'm sharing this with you." Billy looked around, for once unsure of his wording and worried that Jason would not understand his intent.

Jason smiled at Bill and tugged him over into a loose hug. He turned and spoke close to Billy's ear so as not to ruin the quiet peace of their surroundings. "I understand Bill, I get it. Thank you and you are welcome." Jason let a hand run through Billy's sandy locks in a friendly way before he turned back to enjoy the view. Billy smiled a little, and returned the affectionate gesture before he too took in the view of the moon over the garden they were enjoying. The two young men sat there for some time, before Bill noticed the time and sadly realized they should head back before either of them got into trouble for being out so late.

"As much as I hate to go, we should head home Jason. It's getting late and I don't want you to get into any trouble." Bill stood up and extended his hand out to Jason so they could go home.

"I left a note for mom, she knows I may stay over it would be ok with your dad. I'd like to do that if it's ok." Jason took Bill's hand and allowed himself to be teleported back to Billy's room. Bill was reluctant to let Jason go, but he did in order to thank him with a hug and a squeeze to his shoulders. "I'll go ask dad if you can stay over, I'm sure he'll be fine with it."

Jason nodded and sat down on Bill's bed until he returned. While Bill was gone he stretched out and read over the print outs of the tests Billy had done on himself. He was broken from his reading as the bed dipped from Billy joining him. "I guess I'm stable now, in terms of needing the Power to feed from, but I don't know if it would happen again. Maybe it was a freak occurrence from being unconscious so long, but I hope it doesn't happen again." Bill nudged Jason over a bit and stretched out along side his friend. Jason noticed the frequent yawns Billy gave in to while he had spoken and figured he wouldn't be awake for much longer. Jason nodded and moved the sheaf of papers over a bit so they wouldn't wind up out of order or worse, wedged underneath one of them if they happened to nod off. Jason knew Billy was showing signs of crashing soon, and he was edging towards sleep himself after the emotional day they'd had. He turned to see that Billy had succumbed to slumber already, so he nudged Billy until he got him over enough to sleep comfortably and closed his eyes to drift off. They could talk more in the morning. Jason was just glad that he'd left the door cracked open a bit. All he needed was Lance Cranston suspecting them of anything before it had a chance to happen.

"Good night Billy, hope you have pleasant dreams" Jason said as he flipped the lights off and lay on his back and let his mind drift off towards sleep and what he'd sworn to Billy earlier.