Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Moonlight, anything that occurs in this fanfic from the show, or any of its characters. I do, however, own this plot. Yayz!
AN: Okay, so I'm doing my best to try to work in some investigating, seeing as how most, if not all, of what I've produced so far is pure fluff. I also feel that I am not holding true to some of the characters (I'm a perfectionist, what can I say?) So some personalities might change slightly. Anyway, without further ado, enjoy!
Rory arrived back at Mick's apartment sometime around six in the morning. She had arrived back at the hospital to find that Beth had come through the surgery just fine, which was an immense relief to Rory. She had apologized over and over again to Beth, who kept insisting that it wasn't her fault, but Rory could not stop blaming herself.
An hour after Rory had arrived found Beth telling Rory everything about what had happened with Mick. At first, Beth had been hesitant to talk to Rory about such private matters, as she had only known Rory less than 24 hours, but Beth later found that Rory was just one of those trustworthy people that one couldn't help but trust. Rory sat patiently and listened, barely interrupting as Beth told the story. After Beth had finished telling her story, Rory glanced at the clock and realized that it was already quarter to six in the morning. She realized that the sun was already coming up and that she had to get back to Mick's place, because he was probably wondering where she was. She also realized quite suddenly and, to her immense fright, that she felt the same unquenchable, almost painful thirst that had overtaken her this morning. She had tried all night to fight it back, to tell herself she didn't need it. Now, she realized, she had to get back to Mick's, and fast, because she felt the frightening urge to bite anyone in the vicinity. She could feel her fangs begin to elongate. Beth saw what was happening and understood that Rory needed to get back to Mick's apartment and feed as soon as possible, and so she urged Rory to leave. Saying a hasty goodbye to Beth and promising to drop in sometime later that day, Rory left, heading back to Mick's apartment at top speed, thanking God that she didn't run into any passing people on the way.
Rory was thoroughly exhausted and starved to the point of desperation when, around six a.m., she knocked frantically on the door to Mick's apartment. Mick, who had apparently been waiting up for her, answered the door, stepping aside to let her in. Rory collapsed on the sofa, tossing her bag on the floor at her feet. Mick caught a glance at her face and, seeing her clouded over eyes and exposed fangs, knew immediately that she was famished, desperately in need of blood. He mentally kicked himself for having let her run off, for thinking that she would run off anyway and that he couldn't stop her, for not going out and looking for her. He had been so wrapped up in what was happening with Beth, as well as his own emotional response at his shared kiss with Beth, that he had forgotten that Rory, as a newly turned vampire, needed to feed more often than he did, because she needed to replenish the blood supply that had been lost when she had turned. Before she and Beth had left, he had diligently made sure she fed every two to three hours, but after Beth had been attacked, all thought of Rory's needs had left him, as he thought only of Beth. He hated himself for letting his personal feelings get in the way of his obligations as Rory's mentor. Her sire had skipped out on her, and he was the next best thing. He was all she had now to help her adjust to the change, and although he was not her sire and didn't share the same connection with her as her sire did, he was obligated as an older vampire to show her how to survive, to teach her the rules and boundaries, to help her to come to terms. It was his job to be a surrogate sire. He had failed her up to this point, and he hated himself for it. He resolved to be a better mentor from here on in, to focus solely on helping her through the transition from mortal to vamp. He would not fail her again.
He hurried over to his hidden blood cooler, took out a blood bag and, without even bothering to pour it into a glass, he rushed over to where Rory sat on the couch and handed it to her. He watched as she hungrily drank it down, finishing the entire bag in less than five minutes. He handed her another one, and she drank it down almost as fast. After that one was finished, he handed her a third one. She looked at him questioningly and he said, "You need to make up for the feedings you missed during the time you were out." He watched her down the last bag and watched as her face returned to normal, her fangs receding and her eyes returning to their normal, clear blue-green colour.
Rory felt much better after feeding, and when she had finished, she realized for the first time that Mick had positioned himself in a chair across from her, watching her. Rory could tell from his expression that they were about to have a serious conversation. Mick let out a breath before speaking.
"When we had our talk yesterday about vampirism, there were a few things I left out. A few things I forgot to mention. I had meant to finish out conversation and clear things up when you and Beth got back, but clearly things didn't exactly work out as I had planned. And then-" he paused for a minute, "then you ran off. I should have followed you, but I didn't. I figured that you would run off sooner or later, regardless of how closely I watched you. I figured you'd come back when you were ready. I was so wrapped up in my own worries about what was happening with Beth that I wasn't thinking clearly, and I forgot how necessary it was for me to keep an eye on you." He looked down at the floor, clearly ashamed. Without looking up at her, he said, "In your hunger, you could have attacked someone. You could have killed someone. And it would have been on me. It's my responsibility to make sure you know when to eat, before you get to the point where you're desperate enough to attack anything that moves. I don't ever want you to have to know what it feels like to kill a person. I let my own emotions cloud my sense of judgment, and in doing so I failed in my duties as your mentor. I failed you. But I won't let it happen again." He finished, finally looking up at her.
"Mick…" Rory began, feeling guilty. She had been the cause of everything that had happened tonight, had allowed it all to happen. "It was my own fault I ran off, my own fault I didn't come back and feed. The truth is, I did feel the hunger…all evening. I only realized how truly profound it was at the hospital, when it started to hurt, and I began to feel as though I wanted to bite anyone close. I…" She paused. "I could hear everybody's heartbeat. I was trying to ignore the hunger, hoping maybe it would go away. I guess part of me is still in denial. I guess maybe part of me hoped that if I didn't feed, I'd realize that maybe I didn't need it, and everything would go back to normal." She sighed. "But I guess that's never going to happen."
"Unfortunately not." Mick said, with a pitying smile. His heart went out to her. He knew exactly what she meant. He'd been where she was before. He knew the feeling of wanting to just ignore it and hope it would go away. But it wouldn't. He'd had to come to terms with it, and so would Rory. They were both silent for a while, each lost in their own thoughts, before Mick finally continued.
"There are some things you need to know now, things I forgot to mention earlier. Firstly, for the next week or so, you're going to have to feed more than you would normally have to. On average, vamps need about a pint of blood a day, but because you're a newly turned vamp, you're going to need about two to three pints per day. This is because your body is trying to replenish the blood supply you lost when you were turned." He paused for a minute before saying, "That's why you were starving when you got back. Normally, you wouldn't be so hungry after such a short period of time, but because you need to replenish your blood supply, your body craves more blood. Secondly, there's something you need to know. When a vamp is sired, there's a bond created between the sire and whoever they've turned." Mick saw that Rory was about to protest, but he continued anyway. "Even though you may not want for the connection to be there, it's there regardless. After I was turned, I didn't want there to be any connection between my sire and myself. But there was." He fell silent, debating whether or not to share any more details. He decided against it and continued. "Normally, the sire is the one who is supposed to teach a newly turned vamp the rules and the ins and outs of vampirism, and to control them. Because your sire is Missing In Action, however, I'm taking over the responsibility. Although the bond between you and I isn't quite the same, I can still, for all intents and purposes, be a surrogate in place of him. You were extremely lucky that you were brought to me immediately after being turned." Mick said, once more falling silent.
"Why?" Rory asked, almost fearing what the answer would be. "What happens to vampires without their sires?"
After a pause, Mick answered. "They turn feral. They go on their instincts and nothing else. They know no rules or boundaries. They kill often, repeatedly, and without conscience. They have no idea how to co-exist in a world with humans and other vamps. In the end, they have to be destroyed, for everyone's safety."
Once again, silence filled the room. Finally, Mick looked over at Rory to see that she looked severely exhausted. Looking at the clock, he realized that it was already seven o'clock in the morning. He realized how tired he was as well, and decided that it was time for both him and Rory to go to sleep.
"There's one other thing we never discussed." Mick said, getting up and motioning for Rory to do the same. Wearily, she followed him.
"And what might that be?" Rory asked.
"Sleeping arrangements." Mick said, reaching the top of the stairs.
"You don't mean to tell me that we actually sleep in coffins, do you?" Rory asked disbelievingly.
"No, of course not." Mick said and, leading her into the bedroom where Rory had awoken this morning. Rory was startled to find that Mick had changed the room around while she had been gone. In place of a bed, there now stood what looked like a giant horizontal refrigerator on legs. "We sleep in freezers." Seeing the look of utter bewilderment on Rory's face, Mick couldn't help but smile, despite everything that had happened up until now.
"You're joking, right?" Rory asked, hoping that he would tell her that it was just a joke. She had already had to take in so much that day, she wasn't sure if she could handle any more surprises.
"Nope." Mick replied simply. Still smiling, he explained the purpose of the freezer. "I won't go into specifics, but it has to do with regulating the body temperature while you sleep. It keeps you from going into a fever with hunger, and become delirious, while you sleep. It keeps you from needing to keep getting up to feed. I keep an extra one lying around in case mine breaks down, so you can use it for now." He turned to leave when he stopped suddenly and turned around. "Oh, and I forgot to mention. You're supposed to sleep naked." Rory shot Mick a shocked look. Mick just laughed. "I don't make the rules, I just teach them. You're supposed to sleep naked so the cold can penetrate your body completely. It's the only way your body can rest itself properly. You can try sleeping in your clothes if you want, be my guest. But you'll find it's better to just sleep naked. 'Night." Mick said, chuckling to himself under his breath and closing the door behind him.
Rory sighed, stared at the closed door for a moment after Mick had left and, trusting his better judgment, stripped down completely and climbed into the freezer. No sooner had she laid down and closed the door when she felt the cold penetrating her body. She felt her body relax completely and, feeling completely at ease, allowed her mind to drift off into the blissful blackness that was enveloping her. Within minutes of closing her eyes, she was fast asleep.
In his own room, Mick waited and listened for about ten minutes to make sure that Rory was asleep. He couldn't hear her moving around anywhere so, giving in to his own exhaustion, he took off all of his clothes and climbed into his own freezer. Unlike Rory, however, he remained awake for a long while thinking about everything. He regretted his actions toward Beth. It had hurt like hell to break her heart, but he knew that, for her own safety, he'd had no choice. He would have to content himself with the mere thought of her, and with the thought that he was protecting her. After an hour or so, he finally drifted off to sleep, succumbing to the utter exhaustion caused by the day's events.
AN: Yeah, I know…not a whole lot of progress made with this chapter. But bear with me. Oh, and thanks to a reader who caught my mistake, I've corrected chapter four. I meant to say that they had to fix Beth's carotid artery, which is the other main artery in the neck, not her aorta, which is in the chest. Looks like I need to brush up on my anatomy. Anyway, thanks for continuing to read, and I promise, my next chapter will be much more action-oriented. Hope you enjoyed this one anyway. And please continue to read and review…your reviews inspire me!
Luvz, Cat.