AUTHOR'S NOTES: Okay, I lied. There ended up being two chapters left.
I liked writing this chapter because I got to show how damaged Shawn was, but in traditional Shawn style, he still tries to hide it.
Chapter 17- Hanging By a Thread
"No… no Madds, I don't know anything yet. Detective Lassiter said he would let us know as soon as he heard something… yeah, okay. I'll tell him. Bye." Henry hung up the phone and resisted the urge to slam it down. Instead, simply stuffed it into his pocket with a grunt of frustration. They'd found a restaurant that was nearby where his son was held, and were expecting news at any time. It was nerve wracking and the former detective was having trouble keeping his cool. Sighing, he looked at the others sitting at the table with him.
Gus had been silent since dragging him away from the building Shawn was being held in. The young man had been extremely mature and calm about the whole situation, but was beginning to break down at the prospect of never seeing his best friend again.
Juliet wasn't fairing any better. She'd been trying to hide the moisture building up in her eyes and Henry didn't miss the subtle looks to and caresses of her stomach. His son had come very close to killing her, but had remembered who she was at the last moment. Henry had felt so helpless, but he did hope it was his training that had kept his son sane enough to snap out of his rage. As much as he didn't acknowledge it, he knew how determined his son could be when he really cared about something.
Henry briefly remembered his son had shown him just how dangerous being a vampire could be. He'd done it by pretending to attack him, as a warning not to mess with things he didn't understand. After seeing his son in the power station, how insane and out of control he was... he realized Shawn had been going easy on him.
Beth, after comforting Juliet as much as she could, had gone home to change. She would be coming back later though. Henry was glad she could at least be there as a friend, and someone who knew a little of what Juliet was going through.
"What did she say?" Juliet asked, bringing his attention back to the problem at hand.
"She's upset and wants to come here, but I don't think she should … not till we know for sure−" Henry stopped himself before he could say 'If Shawn is going to die.'
Speaking up for the first time in hours, Gus' voice was filled with hatred. "Those bastards deserve what they get."
Henry couldn't disagree, but part of him felt bad that a bunch of kids, who could have shown so much promise fell on the wrong side of the law, and ended up paying for it dearly. Unfortunately his son had to pay for it as well. "Well Guster, if St. John was right, they'll get what's coming to them."
Mick had explained to them what was going to happen, and was frank about what would happen if they failed, which is why he'd been silently praying that his son would make it. He had to make it. Henry looked at Juliet again. He has to make it for my grandchild.
Gus' cell phone rang, he picked it up and gave it a puzzled look. "It's Mick…" He pressed talk, "Burton Guster."
"Gus, it's Mick. Shawn made it, and he wants to see you guys."
Ten Minutes Earlier:
The observation room was silent as the vampires witnessed the impossible. Just as they were sure the cleaners were going to rush in the room and stop Shawn before he could hurt the freshie, the psychic's hands slipped into the woman's restraints and he ripped them open. There was another heart stopping moment when he grabbed her again, but it was only to tell her not to run, which each of them knew would trigger his instinct to kill.
As Shawn fell to his side, they were already hurrying out the door. Carlton, Mick, Morgan, Pierre and Josef ran down the hallway towards the chamber door, passing Adam along the way.
"What−" Adam was surprised at the commotion. Apparently he hadn't had any idea what had been going on. Mick figured he was probably still too shaken up by the experience of witnessing his friends hauled away kicking and screaming to what he could only guess would be their immanent deaths.
"Out of the way!" Carlton barreled through the narrow hallway, made narrower by Adam's 6"4 inch frame, towards the door to the chamber. Adam quickly moved to let the group pass, and he slowly followed them, unsure if he was even welcome to go along.
The freshie woman was standing outside the door, talking to one of the male cleaners. She was obviously shaken up, but fortunately for her, she was still alive. The cleaner stopped them as they arrived.
"You can't go in." His face remained stoic, but his eyes passed over the five other vampires nervously.
"Like hell," Carlton roughly pushed the cleaner out of the way and went in. Any retribution on the cleaner's part was halted by a glare from Josef. He was one of the oldest vampires in town, and a very powerful and respected man. It wasn't smart to mess with him, and the cleaner knew it.
Inside, the head cleaner Hester was watching Shawn from the corner of the room. When they entered, she didn't seem at all surprised. On the contrary she almost seemed to be expecting them. Mick stopped and looked at her and she nodded in Shawn's direction, giving the go ahead.
Mick saw Shawn was still on the floor, shaking with sobs, unaware of anyone else in the room. Vampires were very emotional creatures by nature, he could almost feel his heart break for Shawn and couldn't imagine the mental anguish he was going through. Shawn's internal battle was still obviously in progress, but the fact that Shawn hadn't killed the woman was a step in the right direction. Fighting one's instincts wasn't easy, but he was trying damn hard.
Carlton hesitated for a moment, unsure whether he should touch Shawn, but in his case compassion won out and the detective crouched, touching his sire's shoulder. "Spencer…"
They all jumped as Shawn's hand shot out and grabbed Carlton's for support. The detective's eyes widened in surprise and looked down at their joined hands. Besides the random offer of a hug, or dramatic psychic displays, he'd never personally seen Shawn reach out for physical comfort before. Setting his jaw, he squeezed Shawn's hand back.
Red rimmed hazel eyes stared up at him. "I− I didn't…" Shawn hiccuped out before turning his head away from them, his pride was obviously injured by crying in front of a bunch of guys.
"You didn't what?" Mick asked.
"I didn't kill her?" It was more of a question.
Carlton smirked and raised his head to glance at the others, who were looking just as relieved. The rage had apparently broken if he was having trouble remembering things. It would clear up later, but right afterwards, things were usually hazy. It's what he'd been trying to do for Shawn before the test, but in true Shawn fashion, he'd brought himself out of it at the last possible moment.
"No, you didn't Spencer." Carlton used their connected hands to pull Shawn into a sitting position.
Blinking away the tears, Shawn's head swiveled to take in everyone else in the room. "Despereaux? Morgan?" He turned his gaze to the floor and shook his head, letting go of Carlton's hand to grip his head. "Stupid. They wouldn't be here. You're dreaming again." Shawn chastised himself. He cradled his head and rocked, as if trying to will himself out of a painful nightmare.
"Damn it." Carlton cursed knowing what he had to do. He grew out a claw, digging it into his own palm and watched Shawn's shocked reaction.
Shawn slowly removed his hand from his head and looked at it in disbelief. Morgan joined the pair on the floor and sat cross legged across from Shawn. "We're really here, and you really did it!" He exclaimed happily, before turning to Hester. "He did do it, right?"
She approached with a scrutinizing gaze. "He passed the test, yes. He still needs work though."
"What are you talking about?" Carlton stood, confronting her angrily, wondering what more they could possibly want Shawn to do.
The cleaner had enough. She had more important things to do than deal with Carlton's denial. "Listen detective,"
Carlton stepped forward, pointing a finger at her chest, "No, you listen! I've known this man for eight years." Carlton stated stubbornly. "He'll be fine."
She smirked in amusement and snapped her fingers. The group watched as a male cleaner brought her a blood bag. She waved it in the air a few feet away from Shawn, and he was up in an instant, ripping it out of her hands and growling savagely.
The more experienced vampires were expecting it, but the display made Carlton and Morgan move back warily.
"You've known the man for eight years." She looked on with a neutral expression while watching Shawn consume the blood. "Not the animal inside him." When Carlton stayed silent, realizing she was right, her neutral mask fell away, and her eyes showed some compassion. "You've barely touched the surface of your own monster, how can you expect to deal with someone else's?" With that, she turned and walked out of the room, still having two other problems to deal with that night.
Mick sighed heavily and looked at Josef. "Can you take him? Pierre has Adam, and I can't with Beth around."
Josef opened his mouth to object, most likely to complain about a feral vampire cramping his style, when Carlton interrupted. "Whoa wait a minute! Take him?" The detective gaped. After all that, if Shawn didn't go back to Santa Barbara with them, his partner was going to kill him for sure.
"The cleaner may be an insensitive, man hating, ball buster… but she's right." Josef admitted. "Shawn needs to recover, and he can't do it around humans."
"I can hear you, you know." They all turned and saw Shawn, still sitting on the floor, with the empty blood bag in his lap.
Pierre, knowing Shawn better than Josef and Mick, tried to explain. "Shawn, you do really know it would be for the best. We can't have you out there with the potential to…"
"I'll go."
Everyone paused. Being this was Shawn, none of them expected it to be that easy to get him to go along with things. It was one more smack in their faces that Shawn was not the same guy anymore.
"Spencer," Carlton's brow furrowed. "Are you sure?"
Shawn nodded slowly, "I wanna see Jules… and Gus first." He looked at himself. He was still covered in blood, smelly, dirty and still in the clothes he'd been in a week before. "I think I need a bath."
Mick snorted and grabbed Josef. "I'll see what we can do." He motioned with his head for the other vampire to follow him, "Detective, I'll call the others, you get him cleaned up." At Carlton's nod, they turned and left the room. Adam, who had been standing in the door, moved out of the way so they could get through.
The movement caused Shawn's head to jerk in his direction. "What… is he doing here?" Shawn hissed through clenched teeth.
Carlton looked and gave Adam a stern look. "Adam, out."
The large man shifted unsurely on his feet. "Could I say something to him?"
Before either Carlton or Morgan could react, Shawn was already on his feet, heading straight for Adam. Pierre reacted and grabbed Shawn around the middle and held him fast. "You son of a bitch!" Shawn kicked and tried to get away, but Pierre's grip was like steel. "Get the hell away from me!"
Grunting with the effort of holding the struggling mad vampire, Pierre called to Carlton, "Detective, could you manage to get your brother out of the room?"
Curling his lip in disgust at the term, Carlton realized Pierre was surprisingly one of the vampires who subscribed to the "vampiric family" way of thinking. Mick said there were some vampires who did think of their fellow fledglings etc. as actual family, and the detective was mildly surprised someone like Pierre would be one of them.
"Detective!" Pierre widened his eyes as he tightened his hold on Shawn, and Carlton snapped out of it. Morgan went to help Pierre with Shawn.
"I'll help keep an eye on him. Go." Morgan pointed as he went to assist.
Carlton nodded and reached up, grabbing Adam by the back of the collar before hauling him out of the room.
Adam stumbled as he was unceremoniously pushed through the doorway. Carlton slammed the door shut behind them, but they could still hear Shawn's angry shouts and the others' attempts to calm him.
"What the hell do you think you were doing?" Carlton growled out while continuing to push him down the hallway, out of earshot of the others.
Frowning, Adam turned around and planted his feet, which stopped any and all pushing. "I was just going to apologize."
"You of all people should know what you just put that man through. Do you think hearing an 'I'm sorry' will matter one bit to him?"
Carlton saw many emotions flit across Adam's face before his eyes slowly turned white in anger. "Yeah I know… I know because I went through it too, in case you forgot." Carlton had actually forgotten, and briefly felt bad he had. "I had to watch my best friend get murdered in front of me, by him." Adam pointed back towards the room with Shawn. "I had to watch my other friends, the only people I had in the world, turn into monsters that treated me like shit. I had to clear bodies and secretly feed them to your friend so he wouldn't die."
Carlton's eyes widened in surprise, "At the station you told us they let you feed him the bodies."
Shaking his head, Adam explained. "They had me dispose of the three men they killed in the power station. I always waited till they were asleep, and let him have the rest if I could. God forgive me, I desecrated dead bodies, but it was the only way." Adam cleared his throat and sniffed, "Carlos caught me one time, but he kept his mouth shut. I think he was scared too, but he ended up being just like them in the end. I figured if I could explain to Shawn what really happened, he wouldn't hate me so much, you know?"
"Why would you tell us they told you to do it?" Carlton asked, puzzled by the whole situation.
Adam snorted mirthfully. "I thought I'd be in more trouble. I didn't know how close you were. I thought he just worked for you and I didn't want to be guilty of any more crimes."
He didn't know how, but Carlton could tell that Adam was telling the truth. Great, the connection must be starting. Scowling, but no longer pushing the young man, he pointed for him to continue down the hallway. Adam rolled his eyes but complied.
Once they were in a lobby area, Carlton motioned for Adam to sit. He knew that Adam would have a very long road ahead, just like he did. "I can't promise anything, but I'll tell Spencer what you did for him. It's the best I can do."
Adam nodded, "Okay man. Thanks."
"Don't thank me. Ever." Carlton spat. "Spencer may forgive you eventually. The guy forgave someone who strapped his mother to a bomb." Adam blanched at the statement. "But me? I'm not so forgiving. You may not have intended for it to happen, but you helped destroy a good man, and remember… if we hadn't caught you, you probably never would have come forward. Sure you feel bad about it, but that doesn't change the fact you ruined a lot of lives with your inaction." Adam hung his head, ashamed. "You're a criminal, and you deserve to be burned just as much as your friends."
Leaving Adam to his guilt, Carlton stormed back down the hallway. He had to get to his partner before she showed up wanting to see Shawn. There were things she needed to know, and he didn't want her hearing them from anyone else.
Shawn was sitting on a chair with his head bowed, carving things into the wood beneath him with a claw when Juliet came in. Looking up, he gave her the best grin he could. It hurt him to see the fear in her eyes as she approached, and the primal urge that shot through him when he caught her scent terrified him. She was his and the predatory part of him knew it too. For a moment he wondered how in the hell they'd chance letting her come in alone, but then he also smelled Carlton was right outside the door. Just to be safe though, he decided to stop her advance. "Don't come any closer Jules… please." He held up his hands.
The pleading in his voice must have gotten through to her, because she stopped. "Shawn, are you okay?"
He shook his head. "No, I'm not. I'm not okay."
"But they said you passed the test…" Carlton had told her that he wasn't able to come back to her for a while, but it hurt her that Shawn had agreed with it. She was determined to hear it from his own mouth.
"I'm still dangerous. I kinda have to re-learn to control… this." Shawn pointed to himself.
Juliet's eyes started to tear up. "You look like you're doing okay."
He had been given time to clean up, and Shawn figured he looked pretty normal now, but if his battered psyche were to physically manifest as wounds, he knew it would be a hell of a lot worse than he had been. His head would probably be missing, his arm and maybe a huge hole in his chest where his heart used to be. It felt like it had broken beyond repair.
When Shawn didn't say anything, Juliet tried another tactic. "I heard about Carlos and Zack." Shawn growled at the sound of their names, and regretted it because it caused Juliet to back up and Carlton to peek in.
"Everything okay?" Even through the blinding fear coming from two of his fledglings, and nervous jitters and sadness coming from another, he could sense the concern Carlton was feeling, and the annoyance of having to stand there listening to them.
Juliet nodded at her partner's question, pursing her lips. Shawn rubbed his face, trying to calm down. Things set him off so quickly, and he wondered how long it would take for that to change. The reason it was so hard for vampires who'd gone feral to come back, was once you gave in and let the animal loose, REALLY let it loose, it was hard to get it back in its cage. It became easier to kill, and easier to give into instinct.
Still having his head buried, he replied, "They're going to be executed soon." He admitted before adding, "Jules, I'm scared." He'd felt the death of Ben, it was the most horrible thing he'd ever experienced despite the fact that he'd wanted Ben dead more than anything at that point. It was almost like each one had a thread tied taunt to his mind, and vibrated with whatever they were feeling strongly at the time, and when that thread was cut... It wasn't just the pain he was worried about, it was ending up like Aaron, if he wasn't already, as the Cleaner had accused.
When Shawn looked up again, Juliet had come closer once more. "Jules no, you gotta stay back." She didn't listen, she inched closer and he had to close his eyes again and grip the chair. Don't hurt her. Don't hurt her. Don't hurt her. Don't hurt her. Don't hurt her. He repeated over and over until he felt her hand grab his chin to raise it, and her lips brush across his own lightly.
His growl this time had nothing to do with anger, it was pure passion for the woman in front of him. Shawn grabbed Juliet a little roughly and gave her a long deep kiss, breathing in her scent. It comforted him like nothing else could.
The sound of Carlton clearing his throat interrupted them. They both looked up as Gus and Henry came into view. Juliet moved away from him, but his hand quickly shot out and gripped her wrist. "No…" His voice came out a low rumble.
Juliet gasped in surprise, but must have realized it was a knee jerk reaction. She gently took his hand off her wrist and kissed it. "I love you Shawn. I'm not going to leave you."
Shawn frowned, realizing what he'd done and looked ashamed. "Sorry Jules."
"It's okay, I'll see you soon." Juliet gave him a smile, and turned around and left, to give him, his father, and his best friend privacy.
His father was the first to speak. "Looking better kid."
Snorting, Shawn put a hand in his hair and vainly relished the feeling of not having dried, sticky blood on it anymore. It had taken a lot of scrubbing to get it all off. "At least I'm looking normal." He didn't have any other clothes however and had to change back into the dirty ones until Mick could get him some from his apartment in town.
"Look Shawn, uh, Lassie said that you had to stay here for a while, in town I mean." Gus tentatively stated. Hoping it wasn't true.
"Yeah buddy. I do."
Gus's brow wrinkled and he started sniffing, looking as if he were about to cry. "I need you to know, I'm sorry for what I said."
Shawn's brow furrowed, wondering what he was talking about but his brain seemed to realize it needed to look for something because a moment later, he remembered Gus' words about wanting his friend back. The fight seemed so small compared to everything that had happened since, but it seemed important to Gus that he apologize.
"It's okay. I know you didn't mean it buddy." Gus nodded and a huge weight seemed to lift from his friend's shoulders.
Tentatively coming closer, Gus asked, "Why do I all of a sudden feel like Robert DeNiro in Deer Hunter?" He then raised his fist for a bump.
Shawn's brow furrowed, wondering why Gus was making movie references at a time like this, then he figured it out. It was his friend's own test, to see if he was still himself. By the concerned looks on their faces, he took a lot longer to answer than he should have, but with a small smile, Shawn said, "That makes me Christopher Walken, which is oddly fitting because I was shot in the head." Then he leaned forward and returned the bump.
Gus smiled, but didn't see Shawn's claws had grown and he was digging them into the chair to stop himself from getting up. Something was happening to stir up Zack and Carlos. Sweat broke out on his brow. He was starting to feel overwhelmed, and he still had his dad to talk to. You can get through this.
Henry turned to the younger man and chastised him, "Pull yourself together Gus." He had no room to talk though. Shawn knew his dad enough to know he was upset and emotional too. Not to mention he could smell it coming off him.
"Hey."
"Hey."
Henry rubbed his head, "Your mother wanted me to tell you she loves you, and she wishes she could be here for you."
Shawn didn't have time for the normal dance around his father's inability to say anything endearing to him. "Dad, I'm pretty sure we can skip this part. I'll talk to mom when I see her. Is there anything you wanted to tell me?"
Frowning, Henry seemed to be trying to find the words. Just as Shawn was about to give up, and tell him to get out, his father said, "I'm proud of you."
Shawn stared at his father, he'd been expecting at most some kind of 'missed you' or something. Maybe even an 'I love you kid' if he was really lucky, but not that. Gus and Carlton must have had the same thoughts, because the detective was peeking around the corner with a raised eyebrow and Gus was looking back and forth between Shawn and Henry with wide eyes.
"I−" Shawn started, he tried to focus but he was starting to hear screaming coming from down the hallway, it was Zack, but he wasn't going to let it ruin the moment. "Thanks dad."
They shared a look of mutual respect and Henry moved to give him a hug, before Shawn unexpectedly pitched forward with a cry of pain. "Gahhh!"
Fangs out, Shawn gripped his head. It felt like an anvil had landed on it.
Henry moved to help before he was stopped from behind by Carlton. "Go get Mick and Josef, the bastards didn't tell us they were getting Zack and Carlos ready."
The men nodded and with a sympathetic backward glance they went to go find the other vampires.
Shawn panted, trying to block out the pain and focus on what he was actually feeling himself. He looked up at Carlton, "It's time isn't it?"
"Yeah Spencer. It's time."
"YOU SONS OF BITCHES CAN'T DO THIS TO US!" Zack screamed at the top of his lungs. He fought back, bit, scratched, and snarled but to no avail. The vampires around him were a lot stronger.
Carlos in contrast, was more in shock and didn't say anything as they wrapped chains around his wrists and clamped the collar around his neck. As the larger manacle closed around it, he wondered if this is what Shawn felt when they'd done the same to him. He thought about his mom, who he hadn't seen for five years and wondered if she would wonder about him. At least she'd never know what he'd done... what he'd turned into.
"GET YOUR HANDS OFF!" Zack was pulling backwards, then he caught sight of Adam, being walked behind them by a blond haired man. "You traitor! You're gonna get yours you mother fu−" A fist came out of nowhere and smashed him in the face, silencing his ranting and most likely breaking his jaw.
Adam looked at Pierre who was wiping blood off his knuckles. "First lesson," Pierre put his handkerchief away. "Physical violence isn't always the best way, but it is sure the fastest. Oh, and do remind me to apologize to Shawn for that, but I'm sure he'd understand."
The larger man nodded, and his wide eyes moved from Pierre to Carlos. Their gazes locked for a moment before he was pulled away, roughly. Carlos wondered if Adam was going to watch.
Minutes later, they were being secured to metal poles. Zack started coming around again, Carlos winced at the audible crack of his friend's jaw snapping back into place, and briefly wondered what it would have been like to be able to live forever.
He saw three women approach, one was holding what Carlos could only guess were flame throwers.
Hester stepped forward, sauntering up and stopping inches out of their reach. "Zachary Tremere and Carlos Soto..." He was surprised they hadn't called him Eugene, but realized someone must have omitted that information, most likely Adam. "You are a danger to our existence and a threat to our kind. The sentence, is death." She turned around and walked away as the other woman raised the flame thrower. "Do you have any last words?"
Zack was yelling again, but Carlos had stopped listening. He was trying to remember the good times they'd had. The food fights, the happiness after a successful score and the splurge afterwards. They'd done some terrible things and he realized he didn't hold a grudge towards Adam for doing what was right. For doing what he'd wanted to, but couldn't.
Bowing his head in acceptance, Carlos said his last words, "Adam, don't make our mistakes man. I'm sorry." When the fire finally hit him, he felt the burning pain for only a moment before the chains, formerly around his appendages clinked to the floor as his body turned to a heavy ash, falling amongst the silver rings and settling to the ground next to Zack's.
It took all that Mick, Morgan, and Josef had to hold Shawn down when it happened. One minute Shawn was breathing hard, but talking to them, the next he was screaming. They regretted not chaining him, but at the time, they had agreed he'd had enough of chains for at least one lifetime.
The only mercy Shawn seemed to be getting was that the cleaners had decided to kill both Zack and Carlos at the same time, so he wouldn't have to go through it twice. Shawn's yells of agony turned into a loud vampiric screech as the links were severed, leaving two more holes in his consciousness where someone should have been.
Carlton wanted to help, but he'd be affected too, and opted to scoot the chair to the wall and ride out the weirdness he'd feel at his vampire sibling's death.
It only took a minute for Shawn's struggles to subside and his body to go limp. Realizing he'd passed out, Morgan rose and went to see how Carlton was doing. The detective was slumped in the chair looking surly as ever. "You okay buddy?"
"I'm fine.. Don't worry about it."
Morgan nodded in understanding and frowned as a troubling thought hit him. "Dude, doesn't this freak you out? What if that happens to us? What if we make someone and they die?"
Carlton swallowed hard. The only person he'd ever planned on turning was Marlowe, and if she died... he didn't know if he'd be able to survive it, let alone stay sane. God, she gets out next week. In all the mess with Shawn, he'd almost forgotten.
"I don't know Grimes." He finally answered the spy's question. "We can only hope we're tough enough to get through it if it comes to that."
"Tough as him you mean?" Morgan moved his head in Shawn's direction. The psychic was just starting to come around with a very Shawn like, loud, complaining groan.
Carlton smiled sarcastically, "Oh yeah. As tough as him."
Morgan shook his head with a scoff at Carlton's stubbornness and went to go back to helping.
The detective watched as they gave Shawn some blood and he did his best to assure them he was fine, but knowing the psychic, as soon as they were gone he'd break down and deal in his own way. As it was, Shawn had a very long road ahead of him in LA, and Carlton had a huge mess to clean up when they got back to Santa Barbara.
The fallout from everything was going to be staggering. Buzz knew about vampires now and would have to keep their secret. The Chief would be in some hot water for letting the murderer of the people in the mall "escape" but he'd heard Josef mention something about pulling some strings to get her off, since they couldn't arrest dead people, and she'd done the right thing. He'd have to be there for O'Hara too, since Shawn would be stuck in LA with Josef until he got a hold of himself.
Things were sure going to be different, but hopefully they'd all get through it intact... eventually.
END NOTES: I didn't realize it would end up being so long but I had a lot of stuff going on in the story that I had to wrap up before the epilogue. I really wanted to save Carlos, he wasn't so bad and honestly, he was the one I'd planned on saving from the beginning, but Adam grew on me. LOL get it? He's tall... *clear's throat* Anyway I'm sad he had to die, but it was more of a cautionary tale. There are consequences to everything for vampires.