AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Dick Wolf and NBC. I only own the plot.

Hours later, Erin sighed as she reviewed the information she had gleaned. Can't believe we finally have a lead on Montague, she mused. Intelligence had been after the vampire ever since the law had been in effect. To say that he wasn't happy with the newer status of humans would be an understatement. But usually there weren't any victims that they could talk to. They had really gotten lucky with Jay. Jay. There was…something about him….No! She was only thinking that because he had allowed her into his head, an act that was intimate no matter the reason for it. It didn't mean anything on his end and she'd do well to remember that. The human had been brutalized by a vampire and the last thing he needed was another vampire screwing with his head by saying that there were feelings involved. He needed time catch his breath, to begin the healing process and he wouldn't be able to do that if she said anything, so yeah, keeping her mouth shut about this one. All she was going to do was focus on the case, put the screws to Montague once they caught him, and she and Jay would go their separate ways. And why did that thought hurt more than it should have? It didn't make any sense. It wasn't like she really knew the guy or anything. No, he was just the guy she and her team had rescued from a factory. At his apartment, Will tossed and turned in his bed. He had gotten home a couple of hours ago and he couldn't get himself to relax. Can't sleep, he thought to himself. Not that he needed sleep as a vampire, but it did actually help him to recharge a bit. But right now he was too worried about Jay even though he had used the sage he had to hide his scent. Years ago, quite by accident, Patrick Halstead had discovered that a certain amount of sage tended to cancel out a human's natural scent and ever since, he and Will had stocked up on different variations of it. Yeah, he was okay with the sage blowing through the vents and sleeping in the next room, but he couldn't shut his mind off. His brother had been in a factory. He had been tortured and abused and he hadn't even noticed. How could he not realize what had happened to him? How could he fail him so badly? That's what killed him: that he hadn't been able to protect his younger brother. Dad would be so pissed, he thought to himself. The man had taught him better than this. And he would've known that something bad had happened to Jay. And besides that, what if whoever took him came looking for him? He had been in a factory and he had a feeling that the jag-off wouldn't let his little brother go so easily. And if the guy had learned anything about Jay, this would probably be the first place he looked. He had to protect him. But how? Where could he take him? Where would be safe? Maybe Dad's cabin in Wisconsin. Not a lot of people know about it and no one knows the land better than we do, he mused. Jay would be safe there. Yeah, that was a plan. In the morning, he'd discuss it with Jay, get his thought process on the whole thing. In the guest room, Jay was sleeping fitfully as images flitted through his head. Jay looked around as the vampires surrounded him. This isn't good, he thought to himself. Yeah he knew how to fight but he wasn't any match for them, he knew this. Jay moaned and turned on his side. He didn't want to see this again. He just wanted to sleep. However, the images kept coming. Jay struggled against the chains holding him. He had to get free. He couldn't let them hurt him. The vampire approaching him smirked and Jay had to fight the fear welling up within him. That expression didn't look good and it certainly didn't bode well for him. The vampire's smirk grew. He could smell the fear coming from the human and it was like an elixir. The vampire approached him, straddled him, and bit down, tearing the flesh. Jay let out a whimper. He didn't want to get caught. He had to get away. Hearing the whimper, Will immediately got out of bed and headed for the sound. Nightmare. Jay was having a nightmare. As a kid, his younger brother had always whimpered like that when he was having a nightmare and it was obvious that this hadn't changed. Jay whimpered again.

"Jay," Will stated. "Wake up. It's just a nightmare," he continued. For an answer, Jay merely let out another whimper and Will reached over to shake the younger man's shoulder. Almost instantly, he jerked away and the other man had to move fast to make sure his brother's head didn't hit the wall. "Jay, wake up!" he exclaimed. Jay jerked forward and Will quickly steadied him.

"Oh damn. Sorry," Jay apologized.

"You didn't do anything wrong," Will responded. "Do you want to talk about it?" he questioned and his brother shook his head as his eyes clouded. "Okay," he said. Yes they needed to talk about this eventually but he wasn't going to force it right now. Jay was still trying to come to grips with what happened and he wasn't going to press anything.

"I couldn't get away." The whispered sentence caused his older brother's eyes to flicker. "They had surrounded me before I knew what was happening." And that was what killed him: that he hadn't realized what was happening. Dad and Will had taught him better than that. How could he have let himself get taken? He's probably so disappointed in me, he thought to himself. And why not? He had barely even resisted when the vampires had grabbed him. Why hadn't he fought? He should've fought.

"Whatever you're thinking, Jay. Don't. You couldn't have done anything," Will stated.

"But I should've fought."

"No. You did everything you could, I know that."

"You sure?"

"Yes." At this, Jay nodded. Will had never lied to him when it came to this kind of thing before so it stood to reason that he was telling the truth now. He just-hated that he had brought all this trouble on him, simply because he had been kidnapped by a vampire.

"Will…what if he tries to get me again? I mean…the guy was nuts and from what I've gleaned about him while he was holding me, he liked the fact that he could control me and he doesn't seem like the type to just give that up," Jay worried.

"Yeah I know," Will replied. "I've been thinking about that too," he continued.

"Yeah?" Jay asked.

"Yeah. And I'm thinking…maybe you'd be safer up at Dad's cabin," Will answered. "Hardly anyone outside the family knows about it and we can easily stock up on supplies there," he added and Jay nodded. It made sense. Montague would still be after him and their best bet was getting him somewhere that the guy had no clue about.

"Who can we trust to take us there? Those cops?" Jay queried. The female one-Lindsay, he thought her name was-had been nice. She had been gentle with him when getting information. And she was pretty. Really pretty. Felt connected to her, he mused. But that probably didn't mean anything. After all, she had been inside his head, which always created a type of intimacy, even when two people didn't know each other. Yeah, that was probably all it was. Still..there was something about her that drew him to her. He couldn't explain it, but it was like she was calling to him. Of course, it was probably just the intimacy of her being in his head.

"You okay? You look funny," Will commented.

"Just weird feelings from when the cop-Lindsay-was in my head. It'll fade," Jay responded and his brother nodded in understanding.

"Did you-were those feelings there when-"

"No. Not after the initial invasion. He was hurting me and the pain canceled it out." Hearing this, Will had to bite back the snarl that threatened to escape. "Will don't go off half-cocked. Please?"

"I'll try my best not to. But I'm not letting this go. I'm getting a piece of Montague when they find him."

"Okay, fair enough." He still didn't want Will doing anything stupid, but he wasn't going to fight with him on it. He didn't have the energy for it. And besides, he knew where his older brother was coming from. He had apparently been worried and he couldn't really fault him for that. He was vulnerable and weak. Always had been. Hate being the weak link, he thought to himself. Why couldn't he have been born a vampire like Will?

"Rest for now and I'll call them later and ask them to take us to the cabin."
"Okay." Jay sighed and laid out on the bed, eyes clouding. He had to figure things out-like why he had been instantly attracted to the cop. It had to be because she had been in his head, right? It didn't mean anything. And yet…there was some about her that called to him. Maybe It's the effect of her being inside my head so soon after Montague. He'd occasionally make me desire him for his own sick pleasure, he mused. Not that he had mentioned this little tidbit to Will. He was already looking for vengeance for what the vampire had done to him and there was no need to push him over the edge about it. He just-he wanted to figure things out. He needed to figure out why he couldn't stop thinking about her. Gotta be cause she was in my head, right? he mused. Will's eyes clouded. What was his little brother thinking? He could usually read Jay like a book but ever since he had been found, he had been closing himself off. Not that he could really blame him as he had gone through hell and the vampire was sure his younger brother didn't really want to talk about it, but still…it worried him. And plus Montague was still out there. While all of this was going on, Montague was combing the streets of Chicago, trying to find Jay. Damn it! Those cops who had rescued him must've found a way to hide his scent! he fumed. Usually it was rather easy to track down humans, but it was like his pet's scent had completely disappeared, which meant that someone was hiding him. Looks like I have some more humans to kill, he mused. Only humans would hide other humans. Vampires were better than that. Oh sure there were some that pretended to be for "human rights" as he called them, but at the core, they were all predators and as such, they would turn in humans at the drop of a hat. After all, he would and it was only natural that lesser vampires would follow suit. The ringing of his cell phone jarred him from his reverie and he answered it, frowning when he noticed that his phone said "unknown number".

"I hope whoever you are, you have a good reason for calling me," he said in a warning tone. Yes, his number was out there for all vampires to use as up until a couple of years ago, it had been flashed up in lights with instructions to call him if any of his pets had escaped or had been stolen from him, but people didn't tend to use it that much as his pets soon learned not to be stupid enough to try to escape him.

"I'm a doctor at Chicago Med and I have Jay Halstead's address," a female voice reported. He grinned. Ah….this was interesting. And just served to prove his point about younger vampires. They all thought just as he did. The fact that this one was taking initiative was intriguing. But first, to make sure this all panned out.

"Really?" Montague asked. "And what makes you think he belongs to me?" he continued. Well, Jay did, but he was curious as to how this woman knew it.

"Please, I know you. Light brown hair, blue eyes…fit. You have a very distinctive type, Montague," the woman replied. I always looked up to him and wished I could've been part of his circle. Maybe this will get me noticed, she thought to herself.

"True enough," Montague conceded. "What's the address?" he queried and the woman rattled off the address.

"And if he's not there, he'll be at his brother's place," she stated and then proceeded to give him the other address. Really. Hiding humans and giving them rights. Stupidest thing the elders have ever done. They have no rights and every other vampire feels the same way, she fumed. Oh one might argue that she was breaching doctor/patient rules by giving out the human's address, but that was the point. It was a human! How were they going to keep them in line if they didn't know where they were? She did feel a little guilty for giving out Will's address, but he would understand once everything was taken care of.

"This is very much appreciated," Montague said. "Thank you, Doctor…"

"Bekker. Doctor Ava Bekker. And it was my pleasure." Montague smirked as he hung up and then called together his minions and told them about the information he had gotten.

"How can we be sure it's not a trap? After all, some vampire doctors have actually welcomed the new changes," one pointed out.

"Because I've heard of this doctor Bekker and from what I've seen, she's not a big supporter of the fact that humans now have rights," Montague replied. I'll have to see if I can meet up with her later and thank her properly, he mused. But first…retrieving the pet that he had lost. "Now then, let's go get my pet back." With that, he and the others headed out.