Chapter Two:

"What do you want me to do with her?" Josef yelled, tossing a glance to the back room in which Arianna was cleaning herself up.

"You need to take care of her." Mick replied softly, allowing Beth to slip her arm through his. "She doesn't know what's going on, and she's going to be like a child now that she's just been turned."

Josef sprawled backwards into a chair, resting his face in his hands. "I can't do this again, Mick. This is ridiculous. I'm getting too old for this! What if family comes looking for her, or-"

"Shut up, Josef." Mick snapped. "Stop being so paranoid. She's so young, all you need to do is take her out to feed tonight for an hour or so, and she'll sleep for upwards three or four days. Then she'll wake up, and be able to sustain herself. Okay?"

Josef sighed in exasperation. "It was that three to four day period of rest that killed Sara. I don't want that to happen to her…"

Mick could have punched Josef, he was so annoyed. "Josef, you don't hardly KNOW her! Just go on living the way you always did. You'll just have to get a bigger freezer…"

"But-"

Mick started away abruptly. "Deal with it, Josef. I'll be back tomorrow to make sure you didn't kill her."

"Mick, don't le-"

"See ya later, Josef." Mick ushered Beth out the door in front of him, slamming the door behind him.

Josef stared at the closed door for a few moments, before getting up and starting towards the back room. "Arianna?" There was no response, and he pushed the door open slowly. "Arianna? Are you okay?"

The female vampire came sprinting out of a side room, running full tilt into Josef's chest. "STOP!"

Josef glanced up to see several of the women he fed on regularly standing there, looking irritated. "Why does the snot-nosed BRAT get to be a vampire? Wouldn't more worldly women make better eternal company?"

Josef wrapped a protective arm around Arianna's shoulders without realizing it, temper rising. "What I do, and whom I chose is none of your concern. Leave, before I lose my temper."

The women turned sullenly, leaving. Josef pulled away from the vampire clinging to him in fright, bending so they were on the same level. "Are you alright?"

Arianna nodded slowly, blue eyes slightly unfocused. "Dizzy."

Josef smiled gently, guiding the young woman to the sitting room. "That's normal after you've just been turned. You shouldn't have been running around like that."

Arianna shrugged mulishly. "Sorry."

Josef ran a hand through his hair. "It's fine." A pause. "How are you feeling?"

Arianna gave him a clear 'are you retarded' look. "Dizzy." She repeated.

"Can you talk in more than just one word phrases?" Josef snapped, rounding on her suddenly.

Arianna shrugged. "Sure I can."

"Then kindly make some attempt to join conversations so I'm not just talking to myself." Josef sighed, starting towards his bedroom. "Come with me."

When Arianna didn't move, the vampire turned, holding out a hand. "Come on. I won't let you get hurt."

There was a moment of hesitation that COULD have turned incredibly awkward, before Arianna took hold of Josef's hand gently, allowing him to pull her to her feet. She trailed behind the elder vampire as he led her towards the bedroom, frowning. "You sleep…in beds?"

Josef laughed softly. "Merely there for aesthetic purposes." He responded, making his way to a back wall upon which there was a number pad. He punched in a four digit code, and the wall slid open. "THIS, my dear, is where I sleep."

Arianna wrinkled her nose in confusion. "A box?"

Josef nearly fell over at this, losing his composure for a moment. "WHAT?"

Arianna stared at the vampire, nonplussed. "It's a box…"

Josef frowned. "It's a FREEZER, dear one." He opened the lid and let the cool air wash over them in waves, giving a small approving nod at Arianna's small moan of rapture. "Feels good, doesn't it?"

"Yes…" Arianna frowned, turning away from the freezer to face Josef. "Why?"

Josef sighed, leading her from the room back into the main living area, sitting her down gently on a sofa. "Do you know where you are? Or who I am?"

"You're Josef Konstantin. And you're a vampire."

Josef shook his head in exasperation. "Yes, I know that. But do you know where you are? Do you know what you are?"

"I'm at your house, and that you've made me a vampire." Arianna frowned, looking somewhat confused. "Why?"

"I need to explain your nature to you, don't I?"

Arianna shook her head, glancing out the window. "Explain as we go. It's dark out, I'm hungry. Can we get something to eat?"

"Ah…"

"Drink." Arianna amended, frowning.

"I suppose…"

The shrill ringing of a phone cut the sleepy silence, waking Beth rather unceremoniously. Fumbling, she reached for Mick's phone, which lay on the table ringing shrilly, and answered it. "Hello?"

"You're not Mick." Josef's voice drifted through the earpiece, and Beth grinned.

"No, I'm not. He just went to bed. You want me to get him?"

There was a 'no!' from the other end, obviously directed at someone else, before, "If you would, that would be much appreciated."

"Will do. Hold on." Beth stood, making her way gingerly over towards where Mick slept, knocking gently on the lid of the freezer. "Mick?" There was no response, and she knocked harder. "Mick!"

There was movement, before a muffled, "Go away, Josef!"

"It's BETH, Mick. Get up!"

A pause, before the lid rose and Mick St. John emerged, shirtless and annoyed. "What?!"

Beth tore her eyes away from the vampire's body, raising her eyes to meet his own. "Josef wants to talk to you." She handed him the phone, hurrying out of the room.

"THANKS!" He called after her, before turning his attention to the earpiece. "Hello?"

"Mick? Is that you? I need your help."

Mick frowned in confusion. "You're asking me…to help you…"

"Don't make me repeat myself." Josef snapped, sounding exhausted. "She's all over the place."

"Where are you?" Mick sighed, getting out of the freezer and letting the lid slam shut as he pulled on a shirt.

"Outside your door. Hurry up."

"What the-" Mick hung up, hop-skipping to the door as he pulled on a pair of socks. Pulling it open, he frowned at Josef and Arianna. "What the hell?"

"She's the spitting image of YOU, Mick St. John!" Josef snapped, shoving her forward into the room before following.

Mick frowned, shutting the door. "I don't follow."

"She won't FEED!" He snapped, trailing off when he spotted her moving towards Beth with a very strange look in her eyes. "Arianna?"

"She wants to feed off BETH?" Mick blurted in confusion, backing into a table.

Josef crossed his arms in irritation. "So it would seem. Will you allow it?"

Mick gave him an incredulous glance, grabbing hold of Arianna before Beth could haul back and slap her. "Easy, Beth. She won't kill you." He turned to Josef. "I think Beth should decide that one…"

Beth rolled up her sleeve, holding it out. "I don't see a problem with it."

"Go ahead then, dear one." Josef watched lovingly as Arianna sank her fangs eagerly into Beth's offered wrist, causing the blonde to hiss in pain.

Not two seconds had passed when Arianna recoiled sharply, nearly smacking her head into the table behind her. Beth covered the bite marks with a cloth to stop the bleeding as Josef hurried forward, gently lifting Arianna's torso into his lap. The girl jerked spasmodically, retching as her blue eyes found Josef's hazel ones, filling with tears. Josef tightened his grip on Arianna's shoulders, struggling to keep the girl from hurting herself further as she thrashed about. "Oh god, Arianna, please just hang on. PLEASE!" Arianna gagged again and rolled onto her side abruptly, emptying the contents of her stomach onto the tile floor and forcing Mick and Beth back a couple of steps. "Please. Oh god, please don't die. Please. Please. Please…" Josef closed his eyes, rocking Arianna gently as the girl turned back onto her back, eyes closed and chest heaving.

"Josef? Josef, I…I love you…so much…" Arianna choked out, retching again as more spasms took over her body.

Josef shook his head, bracing himself against the floor as Arianna's thrashing increased. "I love you too. You can't. You can't die. No. No." Gagging violently, Arianna turned her head away from the brunette, movement stopping abruptly. "Arianna? Arianna, please don't do this! Arianna?!"

Beth frowned, watching the mourning elder vampire as she leaned towards Mick. "I thought he didn't love her…she was just a random girl."

Mick frowned. "Relationships between a sire and a fledgling can differ. Some hate each other, and some have a bond that turns to love very quickly, as it appears these two do."

"She's not dead…is she?"

"I don't know. All fledglings die before TRULY becoming a vampire. That's why they usually sleep for three or four days after feeding for the first time. I've never seen someone react that dramatically though."

Beth frowned. "Yes, I see that. But she's not going to DIE, is she?" She cast a concerned glance at Josef, who was cradling Arianna in his arms, rocking back and forth like a father who had lost his child. "I mean, look at him."

"I know, Beth." Mick frowned. "We'll just have to wait, and hope."