Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Moonlight, anything that occurs in this fanfic from the show, or any of its characters. Believe me, if I did…I'd be a Jason Alexandwich right now. I do, however, own this plot and any characters I decide to throw in. Yayz!

AN: Well, thanks to yet another freak snowstorm beating Ontario to a pulp, I had several afternoons to devote to this chapter and, thanks to the fairly light workload this semester…I have no homework to worry about. So here it is…enjoy!

A deathly silence filled the room. Scott immediately pulled out two fully automatic handguns and pointed one at Mick and the other at Rory.

"I suppose I should thank you for disposing of him for me." He gestured toward the pile of ashes on the ground. "Saves me quite a bit of work."

Mick could smell that the guns were filled with silver ammunition. He froze, before putting Beth carefully on the ground and moving slowly in front of her. Dante was leaning heavily on Rory now, and staring at his best friend with confusion clearly etched in his features. Scott smiled.

"You shouldn't be so surprised, Seth." Scott grinned evilly; giving his head a shake to shake some of his stray blonde locks out of his eyes. Even as he did so, his guns remained expertly trained on the two vampires. "One of us had to continue your grandfather's work…and you obviously weren't going to."

Dante just stared at Scott. A realization hit him like a ton of bricks.

"It was YOU!" He said, his anger sapping him of what energy remained in his weakened body. "You were the one that tried to kill Rory!"

"I was doing you a favour, Seth. You had no idea what you were getting into…you still don't have a clue. What the hell are you even doing with these…these…Night Stalkers anyway!" Scott spat, shooting Rory a look of pure contempt. "Didn't grandfather teach you anything?"

"First of all, it's Dante, not Seth. Secondly…he was wrong. Wrong about everything. Vamps aren't the evil, cruel, murderous creatures they're made out to be. The hunters are the real murderers!" Dante spat furiously. "Most vampires are civilized, respectable people. People that don't deserve to die-"

"You're WRONG!" Scott cut in, looking at Dante with fury blazing in his eyes. "Vampires are monsters. Bloodthirsty, disgusting animals that should be exterminated like every other dangerous creature on earth! They're a disgrace. They're all born killers!"

"No, they're not!" Dante exclaimed, getting angrier. He would have charged Scott if he could have moved. But, it his condition, he couldn't have moved even two steps on his own. He was glued to Rory's side, resting all of his weight on her. But with her own injuries, Rory would surely become too weak to support him soon enough.

Scott just glared at Dante. "Why don't you tell that to the Night Stalker scum that killed my family?! I watched them die at the hands of those bloodthirsty monsters! My mother…my father…my little sister…all of them. Killed at the hands of those…those BLOODSUCKERS!" As he said this, he brandished the guns he had pointed at Mick and Rory, his piercing gaze never leaving Dante.

"Grandfather was the only one who ever believed my story about the Night Stalkers that killed my family. He took me in and raised me as his own. He taught me how to hunt them down and kill them…taught me how to avenge my family! And I won't disappoint him…not like you did. You were his biggest failure in life…because you were weak!"

Dante scoffed. "I always hated the old man anyway. I'd choose the vamps over him any day. The only reason I stayed with him as long as I did was because I had no other options. I never believed a word he said."

Scott looked at him. After a moment, he suddenly looked at Rory and pulled the trigger of the gun he had pointed at her.

Dante, seeing what Scott was going to do a split-second before Scott had pulled the trigger, used the last remnants of his strength to manoeuvre himself in front of Rory, pushing her backward onto the ground as he absorbed the three silver bullets that flew his way.

"DANTE!!!" Rory screamed, tears in her eyes, as Dante let out an agonized yelp and fell onto the floor. Beth let out a terrified scream. Mick yelled. Dante fell face-first on top of Rory. She quickly sat up, flipped Dante over, and looked into his pale, swollen face. He let out a groan.

"Pity." Scott said, shaking his head. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to kill you tonight. But that's what you get for becoming involved with the Night Stalkers."

Hearing a growl coming from behind him, Scott quickly turned to face Mick, who was preparing to charge him.

"That would be a mistake, Night Stalker." Scott said calmly, still pointing the gun in his left hand at Mick. Scott was so preoccupied in his preparation to shoot Mick that he didn't notice Rory, who had stopped crying. She had vamped out, stood up, and begun to charge him at super speed. He heard her growl just behind him and, with a terrified look, turned to see her coming at him incredibly fast. He didn't even have time to aim the gun in his hand at her before she tackled him to the ground.

All self-control had left Rory the moment Scott had shot Dante. She was being led by rage now. Pure, blind rage. Everything around her had melted into oblivion…she had lost all sense of time and space. Her sights were zeroed in on Scott. He was a threat that had to be eliminated. He was the enemy. He had hurt someone she loved. She needed to get revenge. He had to pay.

As soon as she had tackled him to the ground, Rory wasted no time in sinking her fangs into his neck. His heart beat like a drum in her ears. She was exhilarated by his fear…the rush of adrenaline making its way through his body. In her weakened state, the taste of fresh, warm, coppery blood in her mouth was the most glorious thing she had ever tasted. As she drank, she felt her strength returning. The wound that went straight through her body from her abdomen and out her back healed as she drank. She'd drank her fill in about a minute. Then, led by the fury that rose up in her, she tore his throat out, allowing the rest of the blood in his body to drain out. She felt a strange sense of joy as she watched him flail on the floor in front of her…

Mick and Beth watched as Rory fiercely tackled Scott to the ground and began to drink. When Rory had finally drank enough and tore Scott's throat out, Beth flinched, but didn't look away. She knew he deserved this. She knew it was Rory's right to punish him. But she had never watched a vampire rip someone apart like that. As long as she had known Mick and Rory, they had been kind and gentle. This was a whole new side to vampires, a side she had never seen…a side that frightened her slightly.

Rory continued to watch as the last breath left Scott, as he stopped flailing on the ground and, quite suddenly, lay deathly still. Then she remembered that Dante was injured and quickly ran back over to him. Beth and Mick were already there.

Rory though that, on at least some level she should be sorry for what she'd done to Scott. She should be ashamed. But she couldn't bring herself to feel that way. He had gotten what he deserved…

Rory knelt down beside Dante's head, gently lifting the upper half of his body into her lap. Her featured had returned to their normal human state. His eyes were closed, but his heart was still beating. Faintly.

"Dante?" Rory asked, tears beginning to form once more in her eyes. For a moment she was met with no reply. For a moment, Rory was terrified. Then, a soft, barely audible groan escaped Dante as his eyes flickered open.

"Hey," He said weakly. His breathing was shallow. Tears began falling freely down Rory's cheeks. He swallowed hard and gave her a weak smile. "Don't cry, baby. If anyone should be crying here, it should be me. I'm the one that got shot, remember?" He said. Rory laughed through the tears. Even at a time like this, he still had a sense of humour. Then she turned suddenly serious.

"Dante…we have to get you to a hospital." She turned to Mick, who was crouched down on the ground to her left. "Mick, I need your phone."

Mick locked eyes with her and silently handed her his phone, even though, deep down, he knew that there was no way the paramedics would be able to get there in time.

Rory took the phone and tore the sleeves off the shirt she was wearing. She also tore off the section of cloth that covered her abdomen, so only her chest was covered. She balled up the fabric and placed a wad over each of the bullet holes on his stomach. The bullets had flown clean through his body, and lay on the ground several feet away from him. He was bleeding out badly.

"Here, you need to put pressure on these." She said, shooting Mick and Beth a look. They nodded and pressed down on the wads of cloth, earning a painful hiss from Dante.

Once Rory was sure Dante was being taken care of, she began dialling numbers on the phone. She was startled, however, when Dante weakly reached a hand up and placed it on the phone.

"Rory…" he began, taking a deep, shuddering breath, "don't bother. I'm not gonna last much longer anyway…"

"Don't you dare talk like that!" Rory said fiercely, her icy eyes, filled with unshed tears, boring into his nearly emerald green ones. All the lively lustre had gone out of them, yet another sign that Dante was indeed on death's doorstep. "You're going to make it. You're going to be just fine. Don't you dare even think otherwise!"

Dante took another shuddering breath. "Rory…I'm a first-year med student. I've done my research. In cases like these, there's nothing that can be done. I'm sorry…sorry I couldn't be with you longer. Sorry you have to watch me die like this. But the truth is…" He breathed heavily. "I'm as good as dead. You have to let me go. I want you to move on with your life…don't spend eternity mourning me, okay? And don't cry, you know I hate to watch you cry…I don't want the last thing I see to be you crying."

Rory couldn't help it. Tears spilled from her eyes and down her face. He fell silent, his breathing becoming even more laboured. He weakly reached a hand up toward her face, and she took it and placed it gently to her cheek. She closed her eyes and lost herself in her memories. There were so many of them together. Their first date, when they'd first kissed in the pouring rain…the first time they'd made love…countless kisses and warm embraces…talking about everything and anything late into the night…moonlit walks on warm summer nights along LA beaches…but one stuck out vividly in he memory. One from several months ago…

Rory stood silently in the doorway of their bedroom, a cup of blood in her hands, watching him and smiling to herself. He was sitting on the bed, his back to the door, completely unaware that she was there. He was playing his acoustic guitar, the one she'd gotten him for his birthday, and singing the song "Waiting on the World to Change". She loved the sound of his voice. He could easily have been a professional musician. As he finished the song, she finally spoke.

"You know, you could end up waiting an eternity."

He whipped his head around to look at her and blushed. He quickly laid the guitar in its case on the floor and smiled at her. His auburn, chin-length, slightly curly hair fell into his face as he whirled around. She smiled at his embarrassment and entered the room, placing her glass on a bedside table and sitting don in his lap. He looked into her eyes meaningfully, suddenly taking on a rather serious expression.

"As long as I get to spend it waiting with you."

Rory felt her heart melt for a moment…before it occurred to her what he'd just said.

"Seth…" She began, her tone clearly suggesting that she didn't want to have this conversation.

"Rory, we need to have this conversation sooner or later. We need to make this decision."

"No we don't…because it's not happening. I won't do that to you." Rory said, giving him a look that said clearly that the discussion was to end right then and there. But it didn't.

"Rory…it's not the horrible curse that you constantly make it out to be…"

"Oh really?" She asked, her voice tinged with anger. "Do you have any idea what it's like, waking up every morning afraid to look at your own reflection, because you don't want to see yourself for the monster you are? Do you have any idea what I'd give to be a normal human being? To be able to grow old with you? To be able to give you children? To be able to die? Do you have any idea what it's like, thinking about the future and seeing an endless, meaningless black hole, knowing that one day everyone you've ever cared about will be dead, and you'll never be able to join them? Do you know what that's like? I never want you to know what that's like…I never want to put you through that. I will not be responsible for cursing you!"

"Rory…it's not a curse if you ask for it." He said, looking at her with intense sincerity, begging her to know that he was serious. "You don't have to endure eternity alone."

"Seth…you have no idea what you're asking for. And I won't let you make a mistake you'll end up regretting for the rest of eternity." Rory said, standing up and walking to the window on the other side of the room.

"Damn it Rory! It's my decision to make…and I want this!" He said, also jumping to his feet and walking over to stand behind her.

"Well, Seth, the decision to turn you is my decision to make. And I won't do it. I made up my mind long ago. So you're just going to have to accept this and move on." She said forcefully, turning around to face him. They stood staring at each other for a moment before he finally relented. Neither of them wanted to argue over this.

"I'm sorry Rory…"he said, pulling her into is arms and kissing the top of her head. "I just hate to think what things will be like for you when I'm gone. I don't want you to end up losing it after I'm gone."

"I know, Seth. But I've still got many years with you yet. I want you to have a long, normal life…I want you to be able to grow old, to die…to really live. Immortality makes life pointless. I want your life to have meaning…and I'd rather watch you grow old and die than force you to live out eternity miserably."

"I wouldn't be miserable as long as I was with you…"

"Seth…please don't make this hard for me. I've made my decision. It's what's best for both of us."

"Alright." He said quietly, although Rory could sense that he was not completely convinced.

Rory was brought back to the present by the occurrence of a sudden thought. Dante may have been beyond all medical help, but she could still save him. She opened her eyes and looked at his pale face. His heart was slower than ever. She'd never wanted to have to do this. She'd never thought she would even consider it. But she'd also thought that they'd have decades together, thought that he'd live a long life before he died and was finally gone. She never thought she'd have to face the prospect of losing him so soon…

"Mick." She said. Hearing his name, Mick's eyes jerked to her face. She gave him and intense stare. "If I were to turn him…would he live?"

Mick looked at her, an expression of pity on his face. The truth was…with all the blood he'd lost already, the fact that he was so weak going into it, there was a good chance he wouldn't survive the turning process.

"Rory…there's a hell of a lot that could go wrong with a turning under the best of circumstances…with all the blood Dante's lost, and the fact that he's so weak, a turning would be extremely risky to attempt."

"But there's a chance, right?!" Rory asked, urgency filling her voice. "Tell me there's a chance he'd survive it!"

"There's a very slight chance…" Mick said, looking away. He couldn't stand to see the intense pain in her eyes. He knew that Dante surviving a turning under the present circumstances would be nothing short of miraculous.

Rory looked down at Dante, listening as his heart just barely beat. His breathing was extremely shallow…so shallow that it was nearly inaudible.

"Dante…" Rory said, giving him a shake. He struggled to open his eyes. "I could try to turn you…just tell me it's okay. Just tell me you won't regret it. Just tell me you won't hate me afterward."

Dante struggled to speak. His breathing was laboured. He was so far gone that, by now, all he could manage was an inaudible whisper.

"It's okay." He whispered. Rory looked him in the eye and nodded. She began to cry. She pulled his frail body into her arms and allowed the change to overcome her. She looked into his eyes with her white ones. She saw no fear in his.

"I love you, Dante." She whispered, tears streaming down her face.

"I love you too Rory." Came his nearly inaudible reply.

Mick stood up, picking Beth up off the ground, and carried her to a spot a short distance away, meaning to give Rory and Dante some privacy. He knew that a turning was an intimate experience…which was what made rape turnings all the more heinous.

Rory hesitated for only a moment longer before sinking her fangs into Dante's neck and draining him of what little blood he had left. This didn't take long, as he had lost so much blood already.

As Rory's fangs pierces Dante's skin, she felt the grip of his arms wrapped around her shoulders tighten. Then, as she drank, se felt his grip slacken, until finally he had gone completely limp. Then, allowing his upper body to slip down into her lap, Rory tore open her own wrist and allowed the blood to drip into Dante's mouth and run down his throat. After allowing a generous amount to flow into Dante's mouth, Rory licked her wound of excess blood and allowed it to close.

Rory, Mick, and Beth waited with bated breath as Dante lay there, limp and unmoving. Several minutes passed. Still, Dante had not awoken. After about five minutes, Rory began to worry. After about ten, she was panicked.

Finally, after thirteen agonizing minutes of waiting, Rory watched in awe as Dante's wounds began to heal. The cuts and bruises on his torso began to disappear, and the bullet holes began to close. The swelling in his face subsided, and the cuts ad bruises disappeared. His wrists, that had been cut by his bindings and had bled profusely, healed immediately. He looked as though he had never been injured at all, let along just suffered severe trauma and brutal beatings. Even scars he had had before that night disappeared without even a trace.

Suddenly, after he had healed completely, Dante's eyes flew open and he drew in a sharp, gasping breath, as though he had been deprived of oxygen and had suddenly found he had the ability to breathe. He sat up quickly.

Dante looked around him. He saw everything so clearly…so vividly. As a human, he had had perfect 20/20 vision. Yet perfect human vision couldn't even begin to compare with that of a vampire. Everything was sharper, more defined. Colours jumped out at him, brilliant colours that had seemed so dull before. He could hear everything…could hear the numerous rats throughout the building, could hear the soft wind blow outside, could hear a single heartbeat nearby…that of Beth. He could smell the mildew that hung heavy in the air, could smell the stench of silver from the guards' weapons, along with a sweet, coppery smell…a smell that made him realize that he was hungry…hungrier than he'd ever been in his entire life. He looked at Beth. Her heartbeat was ringing in his ears…begging him to drink. He stared hungrily at her.

Mick saw the look in Dante's eyes as he stared at Beth and immediately moved in front of her. He still had a look of awe plastered to his face…He had not expected Dante to survive the turning. By all rights, Dante should be dead.

Dante realized that he was staring at Beth, who was practically a sister to him, as though she were and appetizer. He quickly regained control of himself, shaking his head as he looked over at Rory. He was slightly worried that he might lose control of himself and try to go after Beth.

"Hey." He said simply, looking at Rory intently.

Rory couldn't bring herself to reply. She just flung herself onto him, tears pouring down her face. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, taking in her scent, and the feel of her skin. His heightened sense of touch astonished him. She felt so amazing…

Mick and Beth watched the scene unfold. After a moment, Mick picked up his phone, which had been discarded on the floor. He had a few calls to make. His first was to the Cleaner. They had, after all, made quite a mess of the place and needed a cleanup job. The second was to Josef, explaining what had happened and asking him to come and meet them.

"Oh, and Josef?"

"Yeah Mick?" Josef replied.

"Make sure you bring some blood with you. We've got a hungry fledgling here."

"Will do, Mick." Josef answered before the line went dead.

AN: Alright…I've been working on this chapter for a while…among other things. Thanks to several snow days, I've had quite a bit of time to work on this chapter lately. Depending on how I decide to finish the story, there will only be one or two more chapters. So…I will now shamelessly beg for your input. Shall I begin a sequel, or shall I just end this and leave it where it is? Thanks so much…you're all such wonderful readers.

Love always, Cat.