Chapter Eleven

"Diana, where did vampires come from?" Rebecca asked while practicing her arm movements. "I mean the very first one."

"Nobody really knows, but there are theories," the gray-haired Watcher said. "The Watcher's Council believes that demons walked the Earth for untold eons. When the humans appeared the demons died out, but not before infecting a few humans. The humans were bitten and then those humans bit other humans. They fed to survive. Mixed their blood with humans to make more of their kind."

"When - when you say demons . . . do you mean vampires, or . . ."

"Vampires are considered to be demons, yes. They walk and talk and remember their life but they're not human. But I didn't mean just vampires. There are other things out there. Werewolves, incubi, succubae, zombies . . . Things that you've probably never even heard of." Diana's voice suddenly softened. "That's why I train you so hard. I know what you might have to face one day. So remember when I'm hard on you I'm doing it for a good reason."

Rebecca was so shocked that she messed up one of her moves and had to redo the whole set. Could it be that Diana cared for her?

"Um . . . Okay. Um . . . I found three vampires last night. They didn't look local."

"Oh? Yes?" Diana got out a pen and a journal. "Vampires?"

"Killed 'em." What did Diana want, a blow-by-blow explanation? "Wasn't that hard."

"What did they want?"

"Um . . . To eat me? Just a shot in the dark. I don't think they knew who I am."

"What did you do with them?"

"Buried them. I didn't know what else to do."

Why couldn't they have just gone poof? It would've been so much simpler that way.

"No, that's fine." She looked at Rebecca suspiciously. "But you seem to be fine. You didn't get hurt at all?"

Rebecca rolled her eyes. Either Diana was extremely British or she was actually disappointed that Rebecca was okay.

"I'm fine. I was a little sore this morning, but I'm okay. It wouldn't kill you to be happy. I promise no one has ever gotten hurt by smiling too much."

Rebecca went back to work until Diana told her it was okay to stop.

"I need you to help me with something tonight."

"Sure, what?"

"I'm getting a shipment of books tonight at nine o'clock. I could do it by myself, but it will go faster if you come with me."

"Well, I was planning to go to a football game, but if it's really important . . ."

"It is. It's more occult books. We may need them one day."

That was how Rebecca found herself near a cargo-holding warehouse in Richmond, VA, at a little after nine p.m. on a Friday night. Hopefully everything went smoothly because she was supposed to be home by eleven. Her dad still thought she was going to a football game with her friends.

Diana had picked a cargo-hold because there were always trucks of shipments coming and going and no one was going to notice one more truck, especially one that only carried books. Rebecca was with her in a van she'd rented - for the space in the back. Rebecca was sure that she was only there for the strength and speed she could provide. Diana was using her.

She felt as her phone vibrated against her hip. When she took it out of her jeans she noticed Diana rolled her eyes. Rebecca smiled sheepishly before answering.

"Yes?"

"Becca?" Bonnie's worried voice came over the line. "Where are you?"

"Um . . ." Damn. "Helping a friend move some things. Why?"

"I've just had this bad feeling all day and when you didn't show up at the game I . . . freaked out. I'm . . . sorry."

"No, don't be." Rebecca smiled at the concern Bonnie was expressing, but internally she was beginning to worry herself; Bonnie's feelings were usually scary-accurate.

"What are you doing?"

"A favor for a friend. Like I told you." Rebecca sighed. "Look, Bonnie, why don't you come over tomorrow morning and I'll show you I'm completely okay. Okay?"

Bonnie chuckled and agreed.

"Kay, I really need to go but I'll see ya tomorrow."

With that, the conversation ended only for Diana to start a new one.

"The Council said to expect thieves. These books are priceless. There is knowledge in them that the bad guys would love to get their hands on. Prophecies and things like that."

"Human thieves?" Rebecca asked, not really caring about the books.

"Mm-mm. Demonic. Vampires. They're muscle for hire."

"So they'll be stealing the books for someone else." Then Rebecca groaned. "This is why you wanted me to come, isn't it?"

"Yes," she said simply.

"Why didn't you just tell me? I still would've helped you." Only she would've been more prepared.

"I'm telling you now. Someone made a play for the books in England. A lot of dead bodies were left behind. A lot of human bodies."

So whoever wanted them was pretty serious about it. Maybe she should pay attention after all.

"So, you said . . . prophecies. About what?"

"Different things; some of the books have information about you. Not you specifically, but the Slayer."

The conversation was cut short when Rebecca noticed the big semi-truck pulling a long, empty trailer; it was the first one that hadn't been carrying anything. This was probably what they'd been waiting for. The truck stopped near a loading station and the vehicle's lights cut off. Two people - vampires? She couldn't tell from this far away - came out of the loading area; two came out of the truck.

"All four of them are stone-cold killers," Diana said.

Rebecca glared at her Watcher. "Are these books really worth dying for?"

Are they worth becoming a vampire for? She asked herself. She might still have vampire blood in her system.

"We need those books, Rebecca," Diana said sternly.

"Fine. Stay here. If things go south, get out of here."

Rebecca was almost out of the van when Diana grabbed her arm. Diana had a leather bag that she handed to her.

"Those are four problems; this is a bag full of solutions."

Stakes. Rebecca grabbed the bag and went to hide behind a big metal container. The vampires were headed to another container, only this one was being lifted by a forklift. That meant there were other humans here.

Of course there were. Now not only did she have to make sure she got what Diana wanted, but she also had to not let people get a good look at her while she was fighting.

Rebecca could already tell this was not going to end well; the vampires were fast and before she could even warn the operator of the forklift, he was dead. Blood was just pouring down the guy's shirt - his jugular had been ripped open and it hadn't been with the intent to feed.

Rebecca stopped in her tracks and swallowed back the bile that wanted to make its way up her throat. That had been uncalled for and brutal and -

She sensed movement to her left and she moved just in time to miss a blow from a vampire. It would've hit her in the head, and now her shock and disgust had turned to anger.

Unlike the last fight, she didn't waste time with trading blows; she just staked the vampire and moved on. Two of the vampires were still working on getting the container so she only had to worry about the one she was fighting now. She'd worry about the other two later. The one she was fighting ended up throwing her against the corner of the container and it dug into her back.

She took a deep breath while she got used to the pain. Tears stung her eyes and made her vision blurry, but no, she couldn't cry, not right now. It would get her killed.

She grabbed the vampire that had thrown her by the head and twisted until she heard a snap. Okay, that worked . . . Until it healed, anyway. She staked him just for good measure.

She had two more to go and one of them deserved serious pain for killing the guy on the forklift. She would have to put her wrath away, though, because that wasn't important; surviving was. Then she and Diana were going to have a big discussion about what was and wasn't worth dying over. A load of books was not.

Another forklift operator was killed - a vampire ripped his head clean off. The bile rose in her throat again, but she knew she had to fight through it.

She ran toward the forklift that had the hopefully precious cargo on it and heard as the onsite security system began to siren loudly. That meant she had only seven minutes before the police responded; that meant the two vampires did too. If she could just keep them occupied long enough . . . Yeah, the cargo would end up in police custody but it was better than it disappearing forever.

Then the onsite security team showed up and they had guns. Needless to say, Rebecca stayed hidden while there were shots being fired. Hopefully enough bullets were landing to seriously weaken the vampires or to make them retreat.

Within a few minutes Rebecca was back in the van with Diana. Diana had come for her as soon as the gunshots had started.

"Did you get them?" Rebecca asked weakly. Rebecca was in serious pain so whatever they'd meant to get Diana better have gotten it.

"We're getting them now." Diana gave her a once over. "You've lost a lot of blood."

Rebecca cried out when her back hit the seat and they resituated her.

"We'll get you to a hospital soon."

"No," Rebecca almost shouted. "That would freak my dad out and then I'd have to explain why I was here and I can't lie to him. Just get me home."

Diana looked like she was completely against that idea, but she didn't disagree out loud.

"Take me home," she said as firmly as she could manage.

Rebecca waited semi-patiently for Diana to get whatever it was that Diana thought she needed. Rebecca experimented with her shoulder but stopped very quickly when pain skyrocketed through it. While Diana was helping load the big box of books - was that really all that was in there? - Rebecca had the presence of mind to call Damon. She didn't really want to have this conversation with him, but she needed to so . . .

"Hello?"

"Hey. I need your help. I was doing a favor for a friend and it went horribly wrong. I hurt my shoulder, bad . . . And I can't go to the hospital. If you think you can handle the blood I'd really appreciate if you could come over. I'm not home yet, but I will be soon."

And she'd seen two people get killed tonight in cold blood. The first had had his throat ripped out. Had the man died instantly or had he panicked and tried to stop the blood flow? The second man's death had been quick but just as traumatizing.

"Rebecca, listen to me," Damon's voice called her back and then she realized that she was hyperventilating and he could probably hear it even over the phone. There was an edge to his voice that she hadn't heard from vampire Damon: Concern. He was . . . still capable of it.

"I'm listening."

"How much blood have you lost?" At least he seemed to know she wouldn't have called for this if it hadn't been important.

"I don't know. Diana said a lot. And I can't move my shoulder. I don't think it's broken, though." She'd been able to move it fine when she'd had adrenaline rushing through her.

"Okay. Number one: calm down. Freaking out is not going to help you. Try to breathe normally, match it to whoever you're with. You need to calm your heartbeat or you're going to bleed out faster."

Rebecca listened to his voice and since he sounded calm it helped soothe her. It couldn't be too bad if Damon could be this calm about it. She couldn't be in that much trouble if he was being rational about it.

"You'll be there when I get home. Right?" Because, really, that was the point to this conversation, wasn't it?

"Yes, I'll be there. I'll need to find something to eat before I see you like that. Then later you and I need to talk about you needlessly putting your life at risk." The last part was said lightly, but she could tell he was serious. "I didn't wait 145 years just to lose you again after I found you."

Damon did as he'd said he was going to do. He'd fed before going to Rebecca's house. He'd gone to Caroline's house. She'd just gotten home from a football game; she'd still been in her cheerleading uniform. He had drank enough to make her pass out and he'd considered draining her just to be on the safe side, but her mother was the Sheriff and she wouldn't have stopped until she'd found Caroline's killer.

But here he was, now in Rebecca's room waiting for her to return. What had she been doing that had caused her to be hurt? Who had the friend been and what was the favor? What had been so important that Rebecca had been willing to risk her life for it?

Human life - Rebecca's life - was fragile. It could end in a second; Damon could lose Rebecca in an instant. He'd spent so much time not caring about anything other than getting back to Rebecca that he hadn't really thought about what would happen once he found her. Rebecca was a Slayer; he'd learned over the years that most girls who were chosen didn't make it past the twenty-five year mark. He'd already seen how dangerous her life could be and he knew she got hurt easier now only because all of this was new to her, but what if, one day, something worse happened and he wasn't there?

He finally heard the front door open - Thank God, I was beginning to brood, he thought - and Rebecca came to her room quickly.

The vampire in him wanted to emerge and his teeth ached with the desire to plunge into her soft flesh, but he kept it in check. It had been smart to feed before coming here. He'd have had a way harder time controlling himself if he hadn't. As it was, his canines began to elongate but he breathed through it and got control again. He'd been able to control his bloodlust for a long time, but since he was a vampire and she was bleeding badly, his body reacted on instinct.

Rebecca was just standing there, dazed. She was pale; her usually tan skin had almost no color. From shock or blood loss he wasn't sure. What he was sure of, however, was that if she didn't sit down soon, she was going to topple over. So he helped her to the bed.

"I cut my shoulder on this metal container . . . thing," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "It hurts to move it."

He could tell her mind was getting ready to shut down so he had to act fast. He knew how much blood a person could lose before they became unresponsive and Rebecca was close to that point.

"Do you trust me?" he asked firmly enough for her to pay attention. "Do you trust me enough to let me remove your necklace?"

She bit her lip and contemplated. Then she said 'yes' hesitantly. He could tell it meant she wasn't sure she should trust him, but she was giving him a chance for him to prove she could. It was more than what most people gave him.

He removed the vervain-filled cross necklace that Sheila Bennett had given her and placed it on her bedside table, all the while reminding himself who he was with and that he shouldn't take advantage.

"Okay, I'm gonna take off your shirt now." He was being clinical about it, not that she was too aware of what was going on around her. He helped her get the shirt off because he didn't want her to try to move her shoulder too much. Just because Rebecca didn't think it was broken didn't mean it wasn't.

At the sight of the blood still leaking from her wound he had to turn his head away and imagine he was anywhere but there. Because he wanted it. Why hadn't Rebecca just gone to the hospital? She shouldn't have called him, that was for sure.

She trusts you, a voice that sounded a lot like his own only . . . not filled his head. She believes in you.

Well, that's just stupid, he answered back. I'm a vampire.

Then he realized he was having a conversation with himself in his head and focused on what he should have been focusing on in the first place. Rebecca. He needed to make sure she hadn't damaged her shoulder too badly, but to do that he needed to be able to move it.

"Okay, Becca -" she smiled softly at the shortening of her name "- Look at me. I have to move your shoulder but I promise you won't feel any pain, okay?"

She nodded but even now her breathing was becoming fast and shallow; she was beginning to hyperventilate.

"Hey -" he began to use his compulsion "- Becca, you're okay. You're going to go to sleep and you're not going to feel anything of what I'm about to do."

"I'm not going to feel anything of what you're about to do," she agreed mechanically.

Her eyes closed and she went limp in his arms. He placed her on the bed the way he needed her and then went to work on her. He made sure the compulsion took first and he felt a sharp jolt of relief when he saw it did. This wouldn't hurt her.

These sudden waves of emotions were annoying and hard to keep up with . . . But he could deal with it. If it meant being able to be close to Rebecca, being someone she could rely on . . . he would deal with it.

Damon did his best to stop the blood flow but unless he wanted to stitch her up, which he didn't, there was no way to humanly do it.

"Becca, you're going to wake up now," he whispered into her ear, "but you're still not going to feel any pain."

Well, actually, the pain was still there but her brain wasn't registering it - the beauty of compulsion.

Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at him, confused. "Damon?"

"Hm?"

"I feel as though I should be in a lot of pain."

A small huff of laughter made its way out of his mouth. She felt as though she should be in pain? Was that because she remembered what had happened or because her mind was trying to fight off the compulsion? Could Slayers do that?

Damon bit his wrist and held it to her mouth. "I can't stop the blood, you need to drink."

She didn't hesitate this time, he noticed. And he wasn't compelling her now. She knew he was trying to help her and she accepted it without thinking. He vaguely wondered if someone could get addicted to vampire blood. He'd given her blood four times - twice in the past; twice in the present. But she didn't seem addicted; she was the one who let go of his arm first when she thought she'd had enough.

"Thank you."

"You okay?"

She nodded and he watched as she happily moved her shoulder until she realized she was shirtless, clad only in her bra. Her nose scrunched up, she closed her eyes, bit her lip and her cheeks turned pink. At least there was color now. Her arms crossed over her chest to cover herself and she groaned a little.

Dare he think it but she was adorable when she was embarrassed. He'd missed her so much and he'd forgotten how shy she could be.

"I, uh, seem to be having a bit of a clothing issue. Um . . ." She stood up unsteadily. "I'm gonna go take a shower and then we can talk."

She picked up her bloody shirt and muttered, "Guess I should just burn this. It's all ruined."

Then she got her bed sheets together and he realized she was removing anything and everything that could tempt him to lose control. Which was ridiculous because didn't she know she was tempting all by herself? He didn't need to see or smell her blood to want it, just like he didn't need to see her to want her.

"You are still going to be here, right?" she asked uncertainly. "I mean, if you have to go, I understand."

"Go take your shower." She didn't move; she just looked at him, into his eyes, waiting for an answer. "Yes, I'll be here."

Stubborn girl, he thought fondly.

After Rebecca put the sheets in the washer she got into a steaming hot shower and tried to make her head stop hurting. No, there was no physical ache but she needed a good mental tidy. The two men she'd seen get killed kept running through her mind; she couldn't un-see what she'd seen. It would be forever etched into her memory. Usually she could just block painful memories, but this wasn't just painful; these were traumatizing.

While thinking about the two men she watched her own blood, now pink with the water, go down the drain. Her tears mixed with the water coming from the showerhead and she knew she was going to start sobbing if she wasn't careful. Then she realized she didn't care if she was going to cry because she felt like crying. She needed to cry to feel better, to get it off her chest. But she wanted to be held when she cried so she held on for a few more minutes.

Also it would kind of be a test to see if vampire Damon would even know how to handle her when she was like this. Would he hold her like he had when he'd been human? Or would he flee from her because she was falling apart?

When she was clean and hopefully free of the blood smell she got out and put on a t-shirt and shorts. She noticed that her reflection was almost unrecognizable. The bathroom mirror showed her someone that couldn't have been Rebecca Stone. This girl's skin was pale and unhealthy looking. This girl's eyes were dull and almost lifeless instead of the usually sparkling emerald.

She'd lost a part of herself that night, a part she would never be able to get back. She'd seen two people brutally murdered. She began to hyperventilate again so she brushed her teeth just to give herself something to do. She was putting off the inevitable. Only when there was absolutely nothing left for her to do did she return to her bedroom. She took a deep breath before she opened her bedroom door.

Damon was standing on the other side of the room near the window and Chelsea's crib, and that stupid crow was at her windowsill; it took her mind off the problem at hand.

"Friend of yours?" she asked.

Damon shrugged. "Whenever that bird's around I'm usually not that far behind."

"Hm." That explained why it had been following her around. "Okay. So, uh . . . Here's the thing. I saw something tonight and it really bothered me. So much so that I'm about to have a real sob-fest and I'm giving you an out right now if you don't want to see that. But if you think you can handle a crying girl, I'd love for you to stay."

Damon sat on the bed and opened his arms for her to fall into.

"I dimly recall how to handle you when you cry. Come here."

Rebecca wondered if he was being serious and felt a few brief seconds of relief when she realized he was. He was staying. Her somewhat calm façade slipped and her face contorted with pain. But she was in his arms and the ache was dulled by the simple fact that he was there. He still felt the same, his embrace was still soothing. That, at least, hadn't changed.

She'd half expected him to make a snarky comment and then disappear into the night; she was glad that wasn't the case. She needed this and she knew she couldn't really give him anything back, not right now, but she needed the quiet comfort he could provide, that he knew how to give.

Rebecca was almost silent when she cried. She'd had too much practice riding her pain from her dad - not that he really cared, anyway - to not be able to control the extent of her breakdowns. Only this time she had someone who was trying to help her by just being there. He didn't say anything, just like he hadn't the first time when he'd been human. Though Rebecca noticed he'd held himself stiffly for the first few minutes; he wasn't used to comforting people . . . It wasn't normal for him anymore.

Damon got the gist of the story even though she knew she was babbling on and on; he probably wanted to tell her to shut the hell up, actually. When she got to the part about the two murders she slowed down so he would understand why she was upset.

Damon didn't say anything; he just listened and she was grateful. She knew the two people who had been killed were probably just two more bodies to him, and she didn't want any sarcasm directed her way about this. She couldn't handle it. Human life wasn't a joke to her; human life was what she was supposed to protect and she hadn't that night. Two people were dead and she knew she couldn't have done anything differently but it still hurt her.

Damon stayed with Rebecca even after she fell asleep. He listened to make sure her dad or aunt didn't come near the room; the last thing he needed was to get her in trouble. She had enough problems as it was.

He remembered the first time he'd seen someone killed when he'd been in the war. He hadn't freaked out but he had shed a few tears over it. He hadn't known the person but it had still upset him to see it up close and personal like that. He'd been a soldier and he now realized that she was one too. Different battle, different war with the same concept.

He knew from experience that the first few deaths were the hardest. It wouldn't affect her as much later, but he was going to try his hardest not to let her lose that innocence. Normal people didn't grow numb to things like that; not that Rebecca was normal by any standards.

Rebecca had said something about her Watcher and a shipment of books and he wondered what exactly was so important about them that Rebecca had gotten hurt for them. And who did that Watcher chick think she was anyway, throwing Rebecca into the fray like that? Rebecca wasn't immortal; she couldn't just get hurt over and over and live through it. Rebecca was lucky she'd only been sliced in the shoulder. Granted, the wound had reached to the bone and was bad. A few inches lower and she may have punctured a lung, and she wouldn't have gotten to him in time. And he would've waited 145 years for nothing. He would've lost it if he lost her, especially now after finally having her with him again.

Rebecca snuggled into his side and he studied her face as she nuzzled against his chest. God, he'd been reduced to a cuddle monkey or whatever teenage girls called it now. Rebecca looked peaceful, at least, but that was because she hadn't put her necklace back on and he was controlling what she saw.

No, he wasn't making her have sexy dreams, though he was sorely tempted to try. But, excuse the pun, he didn't want to mind-fuck with her. She might try and kick his ass in the morning. Something told him Rebecca could do a better job than Caroline Forbes.

Right now Rebecca was relaxing at the top of the Falls at the get-together place the high school students used. It was sunny but not too hot. Around seventy-five degrees. Nothing could reach her there, not with him controlling her dream.

He ran his fingers through her hair and let himself be happy and stress free. Even though other people couldn't see it, still waters ran deep. He'd always felt things deeply, which was why he'd worked so hard to shut his humanity out.

Contrary to popular belief, he hadn't always been a dick; he'd had to work at it. It was second nature to him now. Except, apparently, when it came to Rebecca. Though he wasn't exactly perfectly nice - he was still sarcastic and all that - but he wasn't itching to snap her neck either.

Okay, so, I know the demon explanation is NOT how the show explains how vampires were created, but like Diana said, there are plenty of theories and that was one of many. And then the comforting scene at the end . . . I just think that at this stage it would not be normal for Damon to be comfortable with comforting people, even her, because it's been a long time in between times that he's done it. It's not easy for him. It's one of the things he's going to have to work on. LOL. One of many. Anyway, this is it for this chapter.

Love you guys!