"Mulder, where is the next shift?"
"Next shift?"
"Yah, you know, the people who switch off with us at least every twelve hours during a stakeout. Where are they?"
"Well, um, I, um..."
"You didn't tell them we were waiting for a vampire, did you?" Scully asked, a threatening note creeping into her voice.
"Well, they asked who I thought..." Scully groaned and leaned back against the wall, overjoyed at the prospect of a 24-hour workday.
"I'm asking for overtime." She muttered.
"Shh." Mulder whispered, eyes focused suddenly on the door across the hall.
"What?"
"I heard something." He said, stealthily creeping towards the entry. Scully followed, gun out.
"Wait here." Mulder whispered as he peeked around the doorframe and scuttled across the hall. Scully stood slowly, prepared to back up her partner. Mulder flattened next to the doorway of the blood storage closet and drew out his gun. The door creaked open, revealing the muted darkness of a room lit only in moonlight.
A curiously harmless looking dirty blond backed out of the room, arms full of liquid life. As he turned to leave, Mulder's gun hovered inches from his heart.
"FBI. Put the blood down and keep your hands where I can see them." The man looked unwilling to part with his ill-gotten gain, until Scully stepped out of the shadows with her gun in plain sight.
"Hi! My name is Brandon, what's yours?" The man asked; scowl lightening considerably at the sight of Scully. Mulder's eyebrow rose, but his gun remained steady.
"Do as he says!" Scully commanded, ignoring the man's obvious appraisal.
"Okay." The perp said agreeably, lowering the blood slowly to the floor.
Hands free of their burden, the man started to rise and leapt. He seemed to fly down the hall at Scully, emerald eyes glowing unnaturally. Mulder reflexively shot twice and Scully managed to pull off a shot of her own before being overtaken. They didn't faze him. Brandon snatched the gun from Scully's hand and crushed it like a beer can. She backed away, trying to pull her aqua eyes from the perp's green ones and not succeeding.
"Scully!" Mulder cried, charging towards them. He pulled out his vial of Holy Water as he ran.
Brandon seemed to sense the threat. Yanking Scully to him, he spun to look at Mulder, one pale hand wrapped around Scully's throat. Mulder froze, vial at the ready.
"Drop it." The perp snarled, revealing a pair of perfectly pointed fangs.
"I could still use it. It wouldn't hurt her at all." Mulder threatened.
"But I would." He answered simply, dropping the crumpled gun with a thud to the floor. Mulder set the vial down gently.
"Okay, now let her go." Mulder cajoled, using his best negotiator's voice.
"Back up." The man commanded. Mulder moved slowly backwards, eyes only for his partner who, even now, was struggling to escape. Brandon didn't seem to notice her frantic kicks and punches, grip never loosening from around her throat.
Mulder backed into a small nurse's office made almost entirely of glass. The perp and Scully followed him to the doorway, and Brandon slammed the heavy door shut with a bang, compressing the doorknob in the process.
"No!" Mulder cried, throwing himself desperately against the door to no avail. Brandon grinned at him from the hall, enjoying the fish-tank view.
Mulder realized that the door was impenetrable and turned towards them. Scully's ashen face greeted him, her terrified eyes wide and moist. Brandon finally released her throat, spinning her around to look at him. Her pulse under his fingertips had been maddening, and now he was hungry.
She backed away, pressing into the cold glass behind her. Mulder joined her at the glass, only centimeters of liquid sand separating them. Scully was like a deer in the headlights; she couldn't move, eyes frozen in the vampire's gaze. Brandon strode towards her, a look of supreme control flitting over his face.
"Run, Scully! Run!" Mulder's muffled voice vibrated the glass. She couldn't move. Brandon pushed her red locks gently back, uncovering her pale, unspoiled neck. Her pulse beat visibly just below the surface, its song alluring. He opened his mouth; hot, moist breath causing goose bumps to flow in a wave across her body. His two sharp fangs pricked against her skin, and then he was in.
Her body stiffened, pressing her palms against the glass. The pain faded, and she melted towards him, legs crumpling. Backing away from the window, Brandon wrapped his arms around her, lowered her gently to the floor, and continued feeding. Mulder looked on in shock, fingertips pressed against the foggy outline of her handprint, and watched as the only person he cared for was slowly consumed in front of him.
Scully blinked, her eyes focusing on Mulder's anguished face, and Mulder knew. Even through the pain, she held on, waiting for him to rescue her. He tore his eyes from the scene, glancing around the room. That would do. Grabbing the desk chair, he swung it with all the power his muscles could produce. The shatterproof glass spider-webbed and plopped to the floor.
Leaping through the empty space, Mulder skidded to a stop inches away from them. Brandon hadn't moved. He knew that as long as he held her throat between his teeth, Mulder dared not interfere. He stopped feeding, but remained hunched over her body.
"Let her go." Mulder said, kneeling to the floor. "Let her go and take me." He finished, palms open and pleading. Scully's silent eyes opened wide in horror, aching to rescind his offer.
Brandon deliberated for a moment, mentally comparing the petite woman in front of him with Mulder's lanky mass. Her blood tasted funny, soured somehow. He longed for fresh, unadulterated sustenance, and now he had it. Without the strain of suppressing his prey's struggle, he could fully enjoy his meal. Brandon smiled, crimson droplets oozing from his fangs. He rose from Scully's body, stepping around her limp form, and stood over Mulder.
Mulder took one last look at Scully's pleading blue eyes and bared his throat. The vampire lowered hungrily, and, just as his copper tinged breath brushed Mulder's neck, he heard a whisper.
"Please." Mulder said, and Brandon waited for the man to plead for his life. "Please, don't make her watch." He asked, hazel eyes begging for acceptance. Brandon glanced back at the woman, her eyes open and tear-filled. He nodded.
Leaping to his feet, he snatched Mulder up and threw him over his shoulder. He ran, leaving the blood, and Scully, behind.