A/N: I just want to give a special thanks to Yellowfur again for giving me a really nice shout-out in her FOB fanfic "This Ain't A Scene, It's A Fanfic". And thank everyone who gave me a great review!

Reinforcements

Pete woke with a strangled cry, crashing into the doors of his closet-bed so hard they flew open. He looked around in abject terror, expecting to see William's face somewhere. But he was still safe in the warehouse with his friends, hidden away from his enemies. Breathing a sigh of relief, Pete climbed out of bed and stretched out.

"You OK?" asked Tanith, coming into the room.

"Just a nightmare," replied Pete wearily. "I thought it was real for a minute."

"Want to talk about it?" Tanith asked gently. Pete shook his head and Tanith mercifully dropped the subject. "I've noticed you have a workout room. Want to spar with me?"

Pete looked up in surprise, then smiled. "If you think you can handle me."

Tanith laughed. "I've trained for years with professionals. I can handle an angsty vampire." Now it was Pete's turn to laugh. They went into the training room and Tanith immediately took a fighting stance.

"Not gonna stretch first?" asked Pete.

"We're vampires; I don't think it makes a difference anymore," Tanith replied. Pete shrugged and took a stance. Tanith feinted right and struck him hard in the side when he lunged. They sparred for more than an hour, inflicting real injuries on each other that healed quickly. Finally Pete seized Tanith from behind, twisting her arm behind her while he locked the other arm around her throat.

"Holler 'uncle'," he said with a grin.

"Nope," Tanith grunted, scorpion-kicking him and knocking him back. She was on him in an instant, pinning him down by his throat and making a pounding motion over his heart. "You're dead. I win." Pete grinned as Tanith backed off him and helped him up. "You're very good, Pete. A little sporadic, if I want to be critical, but very good."

"Thanks," said Pete, panting, as they both were. "You're awesome. I've never seen anyone kick like that."

"A move my mother taught me," Tanith said proudly, cradling the arm Pete had twisted. When he looked at it in concern, she explained, "Just a spiral fracture, it'll heal in a second. We should do this again sometime."

"Definitely," Pete agreed. "Right now, though, I just want breakfast."

Tanith nodded and they went into the kitchen. Pete set about making his blood substitute, offering some to Tanith, who agreed to try.

"Human blood is really the best for you," she said conversationally. "But animal blood is a good substitute. You can buy pig's and cow's at a butcher shop. Your powers won't reach their potential without human blood, though."

"I won't bite anyone," said Pete with finality.

"I didn't say you had to," replied Tanith. "Try a blood bank, or a hospital. They always have a few packs to spare, no matter how much they advertise that they don't. I'll get you a few later, if you want. My personal favorite is B-negative." She regarded him thoughtfully over the rim of the glass he had handed her. "How did this happen to you anyway?"

Pete looked up at her, then down into the blender with a sigh. "I was getting some stuff from a food store. Me and the guys…we were on our way out of the city. It was a beautiful, peaceful night, and I was watching the stars instead of my back. Just when I thought things were going to be all right, someone grabbed me from behind and sank his fangs into my neck. I fought and yelled, but even if there was someone around to hear me no one would have helped. I couldn't stand soon and had to kneel on the cement while he held me. When he finally let go and I looked behind me I saw the Baron - William. I was dying, I knew it; I couldn't even fight to break free of him. He was smiling at me in a way I didn't like. He said something; I couldn't hear him. My ears were ringing. He held my head and I saw that his wrist was bleeding. I tried to fight, but he forced me to drink his blood. He watched me die, standing over me the whole time without a word. When it was finished and I realized what he had done to me, I threw a punch at him and ran for it. I didn't know what to do; I was so afraid and angry and confused. I finally found Patrick in the streets and he saw what had happened. He and Joe and Andy had been looking for me 'cus I had been gone for hours. We came back here to try to figure out what to do next. William's been after me ever since." He sighed and pushed a hand through his messy hair.

Tanith nodded sympathetically. "Yes, Billy's always been a stubborn bastard. I'm sorry for what happened to you."

"Thanks, I- Billy?" repeated Pete with a snicker. Tanith grinned.

"I always called him that when I wanted to annoy him," she said. "That, or just Bill. He hates familiarity, so of course I used it often." She took a sip from the glass and rolled it around in her mouth with a thoughtful expression. Finally she swallowed with a nod, remarking, "Not bad."

Pete drank his share while watching Tanith. He couldn't figure her out at all. She had built her existence on that trait. "Stop me if this is a bad subject, but what about Brendon?"

Tanith looked up at Pete curiously. "What about him?"

"Well, have you talked to him since you left?"

Tanith smiled sadly. "I'd really like to, but if he knows that I'm here then William could find out too easily. I need the element of surprise on my side for now. I can use that to get his blood for the cure, which I should do before too long. I want to see Brendon again. I wonder if he moved on when I left."

"I don't think so," said Pete. "Granted, we're not exactly swapping stories over tea and cookies, but I haven't seen him with a girl that he wasn't going to bite." Tanith smiled.

"I trust your judgment," she said. "And his fidelity."

"You really do love him, don't you," said Pete quietly.

"Yes, I do. I understand it might be hard for you to think of Brendon as anything other than an adversary, but I truly love him with all my dead, black heart. I know him in a different way than you do. I know him as the one who held me close and let me cry blood tears all over his fancy suit. I know him as the one who held my hand and walked with me when I couldn't sleep. I know him as the one who loved me for who I am and not what he wanted me to be. I know him as the one who helped me escape."

Pete nodded thoughtfully. "I guess I understand. Makes me glad that I didn't kill him."

"Yes, I appreciate that too," laughed Tanith.

"You know, he carries a picture of you," commented Pete. "I knocked his derby off once; there's a picture of you in the band on the inside."

"Really?" Tanith's eyes lit up and she smiled warmly. "Thanks, Pete. I needed to hear that."

"Please tell me we're not getting all 'warm and fuzzy' in here," came Andy's voice, followed by Andy himself. Joe and Patrick joined the group soon.

"Just talking," replied Pete.

Tanith stood up and went to the refrigerator. "Do you guys like scrambled eggs? I'll make some."

"Oh, you don't have to," said Patrick.

"You're putting me up – or rather, putting up with me – for a few nights," Tanith said with a smile. "It's the least I can do." The guys laughed and agreed that scrambled eggs sounded good. Tanith did more than that – she scrambled eggs with potatoes, onions, peppers, and sausage. The result was a flavorful and filling meal.

"My dad taught me to cook eggs," Tanith said when asked. "Grandma taught me to bake, and Mom taught me everything else."

"You're a good learner," said Joe through a mouthful of eggs.

"Thanks." Tanith smiled. "You guys have a phone? I should call my friend, the Wolf-Man. He could be a big help, and I need his venom before the end of the month and it loses its potency."

"Sure, over there," said Andy, vaguely indicating the coffee table. Tanith fished the phone out from under a stack of newspapers and punched in a number. After a while, someone finally picked up on the other end.

"Émile, c'est Tanith! Ça va?" Tanith said into the phone. The guys looked over at her in surprise.

"A French werewolf," said Andy dully.

"Sure, why not," replied Patrick, shaking his head.

"Écoutez, j'ai besoin d'une faveur s'il te plait," Tanith said.

"Anyone have any idea what she's saying?" asked Joe.

"She's asking Émile for a favor," said Pete. Now the guys looked at him in surprise.

"Since when do you speak French?" Andy demanded.

"I don't," answered Pete. "I'm just guessing."

"Ah Émile, merci beaucoup! Á bientôt!" Tanith said brightly before hanging up the phone. "Good news: Émile will be here by tomorrow at the latest. The full moon, when his venom is at its strongest, is tomorrow night, so I'll get it then."

"Um…how, exactly?" asked Andy.

"Ever seen someone milk venom from a rattlesnake? It's kinda like that," said Tanith. The guys decided they'd rather not ask questions. "In the meantime, I'm going out to get William's blood. Anyone have a syringe?"

"There's a medi-kit over there," said Patrick, pointing. With a word of thanks, Tanith went to inspect the kit. From her triumphant "Ah-ha!", the band assumed that she had found what she needed.

"I'll be back in about half an hour," she called, heading for the door.

"And if you're not?" asked Pete.

"Just wait longer!"

"Do you want us to come-"

The door slammed.

"Hah, she dumped you," Joe teased.

"Hey, don't make fun of her like that," said Pete. "She really loves Brendon. She wouldn't betray him."

Tanith walked down the dark streets with her hands ready to grab a stake or her gun from her belt, eyes searching for hide or hair of William. She spotted him soon enough, indulging himself with a pretty, busty girl slightly older than Tanith herself. While he was thus distracted, Tanith slipped up behind him and jabbed the syringe into his neck, swiftly filling it with blood. William teleported out of her grasp, but not quickly enough; Tanith had what she wanted. The girl William had been feeding on had crumpled to the ground, and Tanith knelt to check her. She was unconscious but still alive and with enough blood in her body to stay that way. Satisfied, Tanith straightened and squared her shoulders.

"Who in the hell are you?" William demanded furiously. "How dare you draw my blood!"

"You gave it to me willingly enough the last time," Tanith commented casually. She turned around smiling a grim, twisted mockery of a smile. "Hello lover."

William stared at her in shock. "Tanith? But how? I thought you were dead."

"Oh, but I am dead, Billy," she said venomously. "You killed me five years ago. Don't you remember? You, like a spoiled child, played with me until you grew bored and then threw me aside. You pretended to care for me until you lost interest. You ground my heart under your heel just to watch me writhe." Her eyes flashed fire as she glared at him. "I hate you so," she hissed.

William looked at her, a sad puppy look. "I thought you loved me," he said softly.

Tanith's lip curled back in a sneer. "I did love you. Then I found out that you murdered my parents."

"What?" William stared at her, bewildered. "Tanith, I swear I never-"

"But I know you did," snapped Tanith, cutting him off. "I know! I saw the summoning ritual. I saw my parents' items as the focus. You are the only one in that house powerful enough to summon and control a vengeance demon!"

"Who says that it was under control?" William countered. Tanith opened her mouth to retort, then stopped.

"What do you mean?" she demanded coldly.

"Tanith, yes, I knew about the vengeance demon," said William gently, entreating her to believe him. "But I swear it was not I who summoned it. The one who did was destroyed by it because he wasn't powerful enough to control it. And that was many years ago, before I'd ever met you."

"Liar!" Tanith hissed, but there was uncertainty in her eyes.

"I swear I did not destroy your family," insisted William. "Hate me if you must, but do it honestly. I loved you, Tanith. I still love you. When I lost connection with you, I was devastated. I knew that I had lost the best thing to ever happen in my unlife. Seeing you here, now, alive before me…I can't express how I feel. Please believe me, Tanith. Please come back to me." He reached out to her, his eyes entreating and sad. Tanith's gaze melted. She reached out to him, moving forward slowly.

"I'm sorry, Billy," she whispered, tears glistening red in her eyes. "I'm sorry I accused you. I'm sorry I left you. I'm sorry I attacked you." She was in his arms now, leaning against him as he held her close.

"Oh Tanith-" William said, but his next words were lost in a scream of angry pain as Tanith drove a stake into him just below his belt.

"But I'm not sorry about that," she smirked, watching William double over in pain with grim satisfaction.

William gasped for breath as he straightened, glaring at Tanith. "If that had been permanent, I would have been very upset!"

"Use it or lose it," Tanith taunted. "Bye now!" She was gone in the blink of an eye, leaving William alone in the street. By and by he recovered himself, gazing down the dark street after Tanith, though she was long gone. A dark smile spread slowly across his features.

"Clever, Tanith," he remarked softly. "Clever indeed. I had forgotten your strength. I will not make that mistake again."