Disclaimer: I do not own Blood Ties or any of its characters. They are Tanya Huff's creations.

Characters thoughts in italics

Thanks to my beta, Lena!

Chapter 5

When Vicki awoke the next day, a freight train was chugging through her head. She slowly opened her eyes. As soon as light hit them, she slammed her eyelids shut. She had two choices. She could either lay like this for the rest of the day or get up and work through the pain. The private investigator chose the latter.

When she opened her eyes again, she realized she wasn't in her own bed but lying on Henry's leather sofa with a blanket over her. The blinds were closed but Henry had left on all the lights so she would be able to navigate around his apartment. She swung her legs to the floor. As she slowly rose to a sitting position, the throbbing pain in her head intensified. Cupping her head in her hands, she noticed her eyeglasses, a glass of water, two capsules of Advil and a note on the cocktail table. She put on her eyeglasses and took the note in her hand.

Dear Victoria,

I figured you would need this when you woke up. There is also some tomato juice in the refrigerator. I read somewhere that was good for a hangover as well. I hope you are in better spirits when I see you tonight.

Henry

She returned the note to the intricately designed table, threw the capsules in her mouth and chased them with some water.

I definitely am my father's daughter. When the going got tough, I hit the bottle. How could I be so weak? I was so angry last night. I even lashed out at Henry. I wasn't even angry at him. I was really angry with myself for letting my father get to me. Why did I let him get to me?

Her thoughts shifted to her last memory. Henry helping her to his car. I hope I didn't say or do anything else I might regret.

She slowly stood and made her way to the kitchen.

Henry awoke from his daily death. He selected a black dress shirt and dress pants to wear. When he opened his bedroom doors, Vicki was looking at the Toronto skyline.

"Evening, Vicki." He sat in a leather chair.

"Hi, Henry." She walked to the couch and sat down. "So on a scale of one to ten. How bad was I last night?"

The vampire rested his hand on his chin. "I would say a five."

"What happened after the car ride?"

Henry remained serious. "Once I got you to my apartment, you started doing a striptease."

Vicki looked mortified. "I must have been drunker than I thought."

Henry's thin lips curled into a smile. "Actually you just slept through the night."

Vicki threw a dirty look his way.

"How are you feeling?" Henry asked ignoring the look.

"Better than I felt this morning. That's for sure. Not that it's a great achievement, all things considered. Now I see why it took you three hundred years to get over your father issues. I thought confronting Stanley would make me feel better but it didn't."

"No one can twist the knife quite like one's family."

"I feel even angrier than before," she confessed.

"Anger can destroy you if it's not dealt with."

"It's obvious talking doesn't help."

"Maybe you should try writing a letter to your father then burning it."

"At this point I'm willing to try anything."

He smiled at her briefly before looking away. "I hate to cut our conversation short but I have to meet with my editor."

Henry went in the bedroom to get his leather jacket. They headed to the door.

"Thanks for being my sounding board."

"That's what's friends are for." Henry locked the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow after my letter burning."

"Want some company?"

Vicki smiled. "Thanks for offering but this is something I need to do alone."

"You don't always have to be the Rock of Gibraltar. It's okay to lean on someone from time to time."

"I'll keep that in mind."

They boarded the elevator and rode to the lobby.