Old Wounds

Characters: Maggie Evans, Roxanne Drew

Timelines: 1970

Summary: Theirs was an unexpected connection. But what that connection really meant wasn't readily evident.


"Find him?" she asked. "I didn't find him—he found me."

"That seems right, " said Maggie, her voice almost a whisper. "He found me too."

Roxanne nodded and leaned close, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Where? I was at Collinwood when it happened."

"I was in town. I was at work and he walked in just before closing. He was so pleasant that night. But then he invaded my dreams, and then my home, and then…"

"That is his way. He was so charming and different from everyone else. But he kept creeping deeper and deeper into my life and I thought I couldn't live without him. Still, I had this faint inkling that it was all just…"

"Wrong," said Maggie. Her eyes shot up towards Roxanne's and the other woman noticed tear trails from the corners of her eyes. "Through it all part of me still knew that it was wrong!"

"And that may be why you lived. Your mind was clouded but it wasn't by anything so insidious as love," she said, her mouth slipping into a scowl with the last word. Her hand wiped the tears from her eyes and she let out small sigh. "I've learned to accept what happened to me."

"How nice for you." Maggie's eyes broke from Roxanne's and glanced to the floor. She squirmed against the wall. "I had forgotten what he had done to me until I met you."

"That is the irony of it all, isn't it?" The hand on Maggie's shoulder slipped closer to her neck and a stray finger flicked the bandage. "I can comfort myself by saying that I am what he made me but that's no consolation for you."

"It's not, " said Maggie. "You don't have to do this"

Roxanne shook her head. Her hand moved to cup Maggie's chin and shift her gaze back to her. "You know that's not true: I need something from you and you, despite it all, will feel compelled to give it to me. But there will be no illusions between us. It's the least I owe you. We have so much in common."

"Do we really?"

Maggie closed her eyes and fell against the wall. It didn't surprise her to feel Roxanne's arm wrap around her or to feel her fingers rip off the bandage. Her breath danced against her neck and Maggie let out a gasp as her fangs slipped in the wound. Her arm drifted up until the hand latch onto Roxanne's hip. There they held each other until Maggie slipped into unconsciousness.