Chapter Twenty Two: Line

When I came round, I was lying on the sofa with my feet resting on the arm. I must have fainted. There was a brief moment of confusion as to why, and then one word filled my mind that explained everything: Vampire. Daniel was a vampire and I was in a vampire's house! But yet here I was; still breathing, still living and still with a cooling cup of blackcurrant tea on the table beside me. Nothing about this seemed to compute. Even the revelation of that word didn't answer all my questions and only served to kick up more.

I turned my head slowly and found him. He was on the far side of the room stood by the rear windows which ran from floor to ceiling. His eyes were averted and there was an expression of sadness on his face. I looked at him for a few seconds, marvelling just how incredibly still he was. I brought my feet off the arm and swivelled round into a sitting position. My breathing was surprisingly regular, as I weighed up how it felt to be the other side of the line and to know what the secret was.

I was numb. I couldn't deny that a part of me wanted to run screaming from the house, pack my things and drive to the furthest point of the continent. But a greater, more rational part was curious to know how I'd managed to spend the last nine months in the company of a vampire and was still not dead. So, I understood that the next words out of my mouth would be important. He'd acknowledged something so desperately private to me that I couldn't leave without knowing more. Not now, not after all I'd been though. I hesitantly lifted the tea to my lips, took a sip and returned it to the table. He still wasn't looking at me; his gaze was fixed on the floor a couple of feet from where I sat.

"I know you won't hurt me." I said, trying to be reassuring.

His eyes found mine. "I can't guarantee that I won't."

"But you haven't." I encouraged, sensing his despondency.

"There's always a chance that I will. I'm sort of new at this."

"Have you been a… vampire long?"

"Four years this September."

"And you're still learning how to be one?"

"No, I'm learning how to be this type of one."

"There are different types?"

He gave a wry smile. "Until this time last year, I didn't know there was any other type of vampire."

"And what you are is different?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"How?"

"Look, before we go any further, I need to know what your intentions are; because I can't allow the safety of my family to be compromised. I need to know whether you're staying or leaving. Sorry to give you an ultimatum, but I need to know which side of the line you want to be on. "

Regardless of what I chose here, I would always know that there were vampires living among us. So this was the trap: I couldn't ever go back. Choose to remain on his side of the line? I knew nothing about him.

"Can I ask one question?" I stood up and the furrow between his brows appeared again, he wasn't sure what I was doing.

"Yes."

"Is your name really Daniel Mitchell?"

"I was born Daniel James Mitchell, but I use another one now."

"And what's that?"

"I'm sorry. To protect my family that's a name I can only share when you've made the decision to… what're you doing?" His eyes stared at me in alarm as I walked over to him.

"I'm crossing the line. "

"Stephanie…" His voice was full of warning. "You can't just…"

"Can't just what?" I stopped about seven feet from him. "You asked me what my intention was, so I'm illustrating it. This is me crossing the line. I don't know whereabouts on the floor it is, but I must've crossed it by now, because I'm nearly at you."

"But I'm a vampire."

"And I'm a school teacher, but I'm sure we can work around my crazy obsession with the Medieval."

"This is not a joke." He was reproachful.

"I'm not joking." I planted my feet, let my hands hang by my sides and looked him squarely in the face. "I know you think that I don't know you well enough to make a decision; but let me ask this: Do you know me well enough to make a decision?"

"I know more about you, than you do about me."

"Really? From everything that you know; tell me how I react if you throw me into a difficult situation?"

He was silent for a few seconds. "I don't know." He admitted ruefully.

"I study, I work hard, I apply myself to the task and I see no reason to deviate from that right now. You're a vampire, I know that now. But I also know, that not once in the nine months that we've known each other, have you ever given me a reason to think that you would kill me. True, I've felt unsettled around you, but you thrill me more than scare me."

"You were subconsciously reacting to what I am. It was your instincts that were telling you to run."

"And I am running; to you." He looked in pain and a chill went through me. Maybe I'd said too much last Sunday and he'd given up on me. "Am I too late?" I asked anxiously.

"I didn't think you wanted me anymore."

I sighed. "I was wrong, I do want you. I was trying to protect myself because I couldn't deal with thinking that you were dead."

"To some people I am dead. I'm sorry about that night in your room. That was a really bad weekend." His voice was full of emotion and he scraped his fingers through his hair.

"Yes." I agreed. There was a moment's silence where we simply looked at each other.

"So even though you know nothing about me, you're crossing the line?"

"Even though you know nothing about me, yes; I'm crossing the line."

"Why?" He shook his head, incredulous.

I gave a shrug. "I'm twenty seven and nobody ever made me feel like you do."

"That really isn't…"

"A good basis for a relationship? Did I mention I work hard?" I fixed my gaze on him. "I want this and if I'm not mistaken, you said that you wanted the chance to love me. Well, here I am. I'm giving you that chance."

"For… For real?"

"For real." An invisible guard that Daniel had up slipped away and I didn't see a vampire, I saw only a man who wanted to be loved and one that I couldn't stay apart from any longer. I completed my walk over to him and as I did so, he held out his hands. I went to take them.

"I'm going to feel different. Hard."

"And cold." I said, I knew that already. He nodded. I took hold of his outstretched hands. They felt like the polished granite of my kitchen counters. But unlike those, where you could feel the edges of the crystals, his skin was flawlessly smooth.

"I'd really love to hold you." He whispered.

"I wish you could."

"I could do."

"I didn't think you were able to do that." I whispered back.

"I couldn't have held you before; you would've noticed that I was different. Now I can, but there are risks in you being so close."

"I'll chance it." I smiled and he did too, the thrill of it lit me up inside and I knew, for sure that I was where I was meant to be. I loved him. But he was still hesitant and I understood that more might be going on here than the fear that he might kill me. "You've not done this in a while, have you?"

"No and not as a vampire." He let go of my hands and took a step forward. His proximity made my heart race and he stepped back again. I guessed what the problem was. "Just give me a minute." He said and I took deep breaths to try and calm myself. He tried again, hesitantly reaching out to circle my waist with one arm and the other he placed around my shoulders. His arms closed around me and gently, as if I were a porcelain doll; he drew me to him and I placed my head against his chest. "I'm not hurting you am I?" His voiced sounded a little muffled from above my head.

"No. You can hold me a little tighter." He held me a little closer and I wriggled my right arm out and put it around his waist. I rested my left hand on his chest next to my face. We didn't speak. His arms held me securely and I ran my hand up and down his back. There was perfect silence and I revelled in how beautiful a simple embrace could be.

It was a little while before I realised what was missing. "I can't hear your heartbeat."

"I don't have a heartbeat." I gently pulled away from him to look up. "Vampire, remember?"

"How do you…?"

"Exist? I don't know. It's whatever the conversion process does."

My head was full of questions. "So is it true what I was reading, that vampires are immortal?"

"Yes."

"But you said you're 32?"

"I am, but I was changed at 28, so I'll stay like this forever." There was a look I couldn't read in his eyes. Just then my stomach gurgled and I blushed with embarrassment. Daniel stepped several paces away from me.

"What?" I asked anxiously. He looked uneasy and he ran his fingers through his hair. "What's the matter?" What've I done?

"This is where the difficulties lie, in the very simplest of things." He said. His face was now apologetic. "You blushed."

I raised my hand to my cheek; I could feel the heat in it. "Yes."

"What causes a blush?"

I whispered the word. "Blood?"

He nodded. "As I said, I'm new to this. It's a moment by moment struggle to keep my vampire side under control."

I covered my cheeks with my hands and realised with some gall that this wasn't going to be as easy as I'd thought it would be. My idea was just not to bleed around him. I didn't know that he'd have trouble with my blood while it was still in my body. I couldn't simply stop blushing. A pricking over my nose announced the onset of tears and I rubbed by eyebrows to hide my growing upset.

Suddenly he was back in front of me, gently pulling my hand away from my face and me back to him. "I'm sorry; this isn't going to be easy."

"How are you doing this?"

"I'm not breathing."

I gave a plaintive wail. "I have so much to learn."

"Well, how about I make that rumbly stomach of yours some breakfast and we can talk about things? I'll give you that full explanation you were after."

"That would be good." A thought occurred to me about what he might have for breakfast. "What about your breakfast?"

He smiled. "I've… eaten. Or rather, drunk."

"Oh, OK."

There was silence between us for a moment or two and then his eyes narrowed. "Aren't you going to ask what I've drunk? After all, I did say that I'm a different type of vampire."

"Um… Volunteer donations?" I conjured up an image of his own private blood bank.

He laughed. "No. We couldn't do this if I were still a traditional vampire. My eyes would be red for one thing and as you can see they're not." I looked up and lost myself in them.

"So why are they gold?"

"We drink animal blood, but not the blood of domestic cats. I want to tell you that right now." The memory of Lyra's mangled body came to mind and I pinched the bridge of my nose against the tears. Daniel stroked my hair. "I am so sorry about that." He said gently. "But we would never do such a thing. That was vindictiveness in the extreme."

"Do you know who did it?" I whispered.

"Yes, but now's not the time to explain that. You need some breakfast." He put his arm around me and we walked into the kitchen.

"So what animals do you?" I was unsure of how to describe it.

"Hunt. We use the phrase hunting. We hunt elk, deer, bears, mountain lions, that kind of thing. We need far more blood than you could ever get in a pet cat."

"Oh… And that makes you safe around me does it?" I sat down in chair at the kitchen table.

"Not really, I'll never be entirely safe. I will always want human blood and it's always a battle that will rage within me. You need to know that."

"OK. Even my blood?"

"Even your blood. Loving you doesn't make me immune to you. But the more time we spent together, the more I'll get used to you and become less sensitive to it."

"Really?"

"That's the theory. It's worked for the others."

"The others?" My heartbeat quickened again. "There are more vampires here?"

"Not right now, but yes; there are more of us."

"How many?"

"There are two more in the area right now, but the rest of my family is spread far and wide. Twelve of us are vampires."

"Twelve of us? You mean there are other things in your family besides vampires?"

He grinned. "Yeah, ever heard of humans?" I rolled my eyes at my stupidity. "Let me make you some breakfast."

I was sat at a big white table and Daniel brought over a bagel, bacon and some cream cheese.

"My favourite." I acknowledged.

"I know."

"So what else do you know about me?"

"Just the regular stuff; passport number, social security."

"What?"

He looked a little rueful. "Sorry, necessary things we need to know."

"Why?"

"In case of accidents."

I furrowed my brow. "Sorry, I don't follow?"

"It's in case I did anything to you, we need to make sure that nobody starts asking questions."

"Oh." I replied quietly. "'Cause death by vampire attack isn't something you want appearing on a death certificate, right?"

"No, but that's not the only reason. A vampire attack doesn't always end in outright death."

"Sometimes a new vampire gets created?" I finished.

"Yes."

"That's what happened to you?"

"Yes." He seemed suddenly far away and in great pain. I reached across the table and place my hand over his. He looked as if he were the one that was made of porcelain, not me.

"Tell me about it."

"Are you sure?" I nodded. "OK." He pushed the bagel towards me. "Eat."

I assembled it while he watched, coating both sides with cheese and layering the bacon on top. I sandwiched it together and took a bite.

"A bite is where all this started, on Madison's sixth birthday. I told you that Helen had organised a party that I wasn't invited to. I was angry and took myself off to the Filmore to see a band. As I went back to my apartment afterwards, I took a short cut. That wasn't one of my better decisions." His face darkened and I saw pain in it. "I ran into Diego."

"Diego?"

"That's the name of the vampire who created me. He's also the ring leader of the most depraved subsection of the San Francisco coven." The upset in him was almost tangible. "This?" He gestured to the room at large. "This is heaven and is the reason why I will fight with everything I am to protect this family; my family." I didn't doubt him for a second.

"Did Diego hurt you?" I offered quietly, all thoughts of eating now driven from my mind.

"Not as you understand the word. I can't feel physical pain. But for two and a half years I was the lowest of the low there. Not only did I get the shittiest jobs, but I was Diego's… plaything." He stared at the table, his fingers tracing a ring in the wood. "Diego and his group run dens that specialise in every kind of debauchery you could possibly imagine and more. Diego keeps a 'pet' – I was that pet. It was my role to… take part in what went on. Diego liked to watch..." I put my bagel down and reached across the table to cup his hand with mine. "Although they could never hurt me, vampires have perfect memories. We can recall everything in perfect detail from the moment we wake up as newborns. So all that stuff he made me do…" He tapped his head. "Is in here. I get to keep that, for eternity."

He slumped back in the chair and looked at me. "I was just a regular guy. I grew up in Menlo Park south of the city and I lived a pretty sheltered life. I wanted nothing more out of it than a decent job, a wife to love and hopefully children one day. I had all those things; for a while, and then it was all taken from me. Helen kicked me out of her and Madison's lives and Diego ripped me out of what was left. I'm damaged goods, so I won't take it personally, if you decide you'd rather not be around someone who has experienced the very worst of the vampire world."

"But you're not there anymore; you're here. Perhaps I can help you create some new memories, some nice ones."

"You've already given me some nice memories, one in particular." There was a sudden impish grin on his face. "My family are helping too. Being here is…. Well, like I said; heaven."

"So how come you're here and not still in San Francisco?"

"That tale starts with another bite. Speaking of bites, you need to eat that." He pointed to my barely-eaten bagel. "Can I make you some coffee?"

I nodded.

Daniel got up from the table and busied himself putting coffee on. As he opened cupboard doors, I saw stacks and stacks of crockery and cookware. This didn't look like a kitchen that a vampire would have, surely you didn't need serving dishes for blood? To be honest, I was rather surprised they had bagels. "So do other humans live here?" I asked

"Not all the time, they come and go like the rest of the family."

"So how big is your family? You said there are twelve vampires."

"There are currently seventeen of us. Well, seventeen we consider part of our family, even if some aren't active members." He looked at me. "It's complicated." He sighed. "Divorce is a messy business."

"You mean Helen and Madison?"

He shook his head. "No. I am hoping to find a way to include Madison in things. If anything should happen to Helen, I wouldn't want Madison to end up with Helen's family and neither would she. Helen and her father don't see eye to eye. Actually, they hate each other's guts."

"So to Helen and Madison and the rest of your family, you just disappeared?"

"Yes. I'm still listed as a missing person. If you check those lists and not the most wanted ones." He grinned as he brought over my coffee. "You'll find me."

I finished up my bagel. "You were going to tell me how you got here." I reminded him.

"Yes, the second life-changing bite, except this time I was the one giving it."

"What happened?"

"It was just an ordinary night, I was out hunting."

"By that hunting you mean…"

"Killing people, yes."

"How… how often did you…?"

"In the beginning it's every couple of days, but as you settle down, the interval extends and you can go indefinitely. But, for the most part, a vampire will hunt every couple of weeks."

"And you?"

"Things are different for me right now. Being around you means that I have to hunt more frequently, to minimise the possibility of…"

"Me being lunch?"

He smiled and raised his eyebrows. "Yeah." He gave an embarrassed laugh. "Talking about this with you is a little surreal. Are you OK with it?"

"I'm riveted, go on."

"So, I was hunting and I caught up with a girl in an alleyway. I knew right away there was something different. Her scent was not human, but not pure vampire either. She was fast, but not fast enough to outrun me. I caught her and bit her." He pulled a face. "She didn't taste nice at all." He laughed. "Repulsive. Anyway, she told me that she was a hybrid; half vampire and half human."

"Such things exist?"

"They do, but she's very rare; there are only a few in the world."

"How many's a few?"

"We're aware of five. Anyway, the Police disturbed me; they were doing a routine patrol, so I left her. Traditional vampires live very differently to the way we do here. This is a family, but the San Francisco community is a coven ruled by fear by a vampire called Carlo; although it's his wife Veronica who has the real power. You wouldn't be wrong in thinking that he was the Godfather and he controlled a mafia-like cell. He had his favourites like Diego, his minions and right at the bottom of the heap was me. I was the fetch and carry guy. I was at his beck and call night and day."

"Did you ever sleep?"

"Vampires don't sleep."

"What, ever?"

"No."

"You're awake all the time? So when you stayed with me you really did…"

"Lie awake watching you sleep, yes. It was lovely, some nice memories there."

"So you never sleep, OK." I added that to my database of knowledge about him.

He smiled and continued. "So if Carlo wanted something or someone at four in the morning, it was my job to get it or them. Carlo insisted on knowing everything, you didn't keep things from him; you learned very quickly that that wasn't in your best interests. So when I came across this odd girl, I told him. Carlo naturally wanted her, so I was despatched to hunt her down and bring her in. In the meantime, Carlo decided that he'd offer her as a gift to a visiting dignitary; someone who at the time was styling himself as the vampire king."

I scoffed. "The vampire king?"

He waved his hand in dismissal. "Don't go there, that was a whole other bucket of weird. Anyhow, I found her in a hotel and brought her in. What we didn't know was that this girl had a family that were searching for her. Vampire king turns up to claim his gift, just as vampire Dad turns up to rescue his daughter." Daniel's face softened. "On the way down to Carlo's she told me all about this family. Up until that point I was leading a miserable existence, convinced that I would never again have anything that I could call a normal life. She's a talented girl; she has the gift of allowing people to see her thoughts. She showed me this house, the people in it and something that I had not come across in the vampire world: Love." His voice was almost inaudible. "They loved and cared for each other. She'd been born into this family and she'd never known anything other than the love of parents, aunts, uncles and even grandparents. This family were vampires and yet they were living a very human existence. I changed my mind about taking her in and decided to help her get away. But Carlo turned up and she ended up in his clutches. As I said, her Dad and some of the family came to rescue her. I tried to do what I could, but in the middle of the rescue attempt I lost my head and her Dad fixed it back on, just like he did last week when that vampire in the forest ripped mine off again."

"You can put your head back on?"

"Yes." He laughed. I'll tell you about that part another time. They rescued her took me with them. I will be eternally grateful to her parents for taking me in. For giving me a home here; a family, clothes, some dignity, the confidence to start working again and also giving me hope, that one day, I might be able to see Madison again. They've given me everything and they require nothing of me in return. The pair of them are beyond generous." He closed his eyes

"They sound like nice people."

"They are. Could I introduce you to them?"

My breath caught in my throat. "They're the two that are here?"

"Yes, they're a couple of miles away right now, but they'll come over if I call. They'd love to meet you."

"But they're vampires, will I be safe?"

Daniel laughed. "You'll be much safer around them than you will me. Can I call them?"

I nodded. "OK." I was nervous and there was a fluttering in my stomach.

Daniel pulled out his phone and sent a text message. It was answered a few seconds later. "They're on their way. Shall we go through to the living room?"

I followed Daniel back through and as we did so I heard a car outside. Through a window I saw the distinctive sight of a Police cruiser pulling to a stop. I recognised the driver.

"Oh my God; Chief Swan!" My hand flew to my mouth as I realised that he had no idea what Daniel was and that this was a house full of vampires.

"It's OK;" Daniel said cheerfully, "It's just Charlie."

"But he doesn't know." I heard his feet on the steps outside and held my breath for the knock, but there wasn't one, he walked straight in.

"Morning Daniel."

"Morning Charlie."

Charlie looked at me. "Ah, you're here." He grinned. "You look a bit shocked."

"Were you looking for me?" I said overly-brightly.

He shook his head. "No, I've been summoned." He grinned at Daniel. "I wasn't destined to fish in peace this morning, got a text from Bella. She told me to come over right away, it's urgent apparently."

"Bella? Your daughter?" I queried.

"Yes, she lives here."

"Hi Dad."

The woman's voice behind me made me freeze, but Charlie and Daniel were smiling.

"Stephanie?" Daniel gestured behind me. Please may I introduce the vampires who saved my life? This is Edward and Bella Cullen."

I still didn't move, so Daniel guided me round to face them. As I did so my eyes shot wide open, as in front of me stood Anthony and Marie.

"Hello Stephanie." Said Anthony, or should I say Edward. "I'm sorry for the deception, it was necessary. But I'm glad we can finally meet properly. Welcome to our home." He stepped forward, held out his hand and I shook it. It was equally as hard and cold as Daniel's had been. "We've been doing our best to try and protect you and I sincerely apologise that we weren't better able to. We didn't know until recently just exactly what we were up against."

Bella stepped forward. "I'm sorry that my shield couldn't do what we hoped it would. I did my best, but it wasn't good enough. I'm so sorry."

My heart went out to her. "Thank you for doing what you could."

She smiled apologetically. "When we meet, us girls in the family tend to kiss one another. Do you mind?" She was a vampire, how could I refuse her? She leant forward and gave me a cold kiss on each cheek. She placed her hands on my arms. "I know it's a shock, it was for me when I discovered what Edward was. The best piece of advice I can give you, is to keep asking questions."

There was one question I wanted an answer to. "So your daughter Renesmee is the hybrid?"

"She is," smiled Bella.

"But she was running about in San Francisco last summer?"

"Yes."

"But she's twenty months old?"

There was a chuckle from Charlie and Daniel, Edward and Bella smiled.

"Where the hell do you start with Renesmee?" Charlie sighed.

"I think it might be easier if I show Stephanie our latest family picture." Edward walked off and returned a minute later with a framed photograph. He stood beside Bella and put his arm around her. "This is our daughter. Deception has once again been necessary, but hopefully, it will make a few things a little clearer." He turned the picture around and there, stood between Edward and Bella was…

"Ness?" I was stunned. "She's your daughter?"

"Yes, not my cousin," Edward explained. "Masen is my previous name, just as Daniel's previous name is Mitchell. Vanessa Masen is really Renesmee Cullen; but to everyone, she's just Ness."

"But she's eighteen?" I said, looking at the picture of her in her graduation gown stood between her parents.

"Actually, she's only seven," said Bella. "She was full grown at six years and four months. She won't change from now on."

My head was struggling to keep up.

"He's here." Edward suddenly said to Bella and she walked out to the kitchen. Edward looked at me. "I know there's a lot to take in, but Daniel will explain everything. Unfortunately, we have to go now. Charlie?" Edward turned to his father in law. "We need to introduce you to somebody. Actually, he's asked to be introduced to you." Bella walked back through from the kitchen, followed by a tall, slim guy with sparkling blue eyes and light brown hair.

"Dad?" She said. "This is Kael; he'd like to speak to you."

Kael? So this was Heather's father, the angel? I stared at him as Charlie walked forward and shook the angel's hand.

"Not a vampire then?" Replied Charlie.

"No." Replied Kael, his manner was friendly.

"Makes a change." Said Charlie good-humouredly. Charlie, Bella and Kael walked back into the kitchen. I became aware of Edward looking at me.

"I know you know." He said gently and I nodded that I did. "He's here to explain it. Bella and I will see you both later."

As Edward, followed the others, Daniel placed his hands on my upper arms.

"It's not just you who'll be getting a shock today." He said quietly. "The reason we didn't know exactly what we were dealing with is that Angels don't smell."

"What?" A bubble of laughter accidentally escaped through my lips.

Daniel looked amused. "It's funny now, but it's been driving us insane for months, how someone could get in and out of your life without us picking up any scent. Vampires mostly track by scent, but we had nothing to go on. Kael can also punch right through Bella's shield. She's powerless against him. But him realising that hurting you was potentially hurting his own daughter, brought everything to a stop."

"I'm glad."

He turned me to face him. "So, how are you doing with this?"

"I'm OK."

"Coping with it? You don't want to run off screaming yet?"

"No, although I do feel like I need to write this all down, to try and make a little more sense of it. So, Bella married a vampire?"

"Yes."

"Was she a vampire when she married Edward?"

"No."

"And they had a baby?"

"Yes."

"But Bella's a vampire now?"

"Yes, giving birth to Ness nearly killed Bella. It was the only way to save her."

"And Renesmee grew up really quickly?"

"Yes. Just call her Ness whichever side of the line you're on, she likes it like that. She only gets called Renesmee when she's done something wrong." Daniel snickered.

"And Charlie's her real grandfather?"

"Yes, that's why she's got his eyes. Does that explain things?"

"Yes. So where do you fit in?"

"I know I look older than them, but I consider Edward and Bella as my adoptive parents. Ness has adopted me as her big brother, so I consider her my sister." I was going to ask another question, but I gave a huge involuntary yawn as my sleepless night suddenly caught up with me. "I think you need to sleep before I tell you more."

"What time is it now?"

"It's coming up to 6am."

"I've been awake for twenty four hours. I should get some sleep. You won't disappear while I'm gone will you?"

"No, I'll come with you if you like."

"You will?"

"Yes, or you can sleep here. There's only me in the house, Edward and Bella have their own place. There are plenty of beds."

"For vampires who don't sleep?"

"Vampires want beds for things other than sleep." He said with a grin.

"So I could stay here?"

"Yes, pick a room." He gestured up the sweeping staircase.

"No, I'd better go back, shower and change."

"Give me your keys, I'll go over and get you a set of clothes while you're asleep if you like?"

"You would? OK then. Can I… sleep in your room?" I asked hesitantly.

"Sure."

I followed Daniel to the top of the three storey house and into a room that was dominated by a huge black wrought-iron bed. One entire wall was glass and commanded a stunning view of the forest outside. Daniel flicked a switch and blinds descended from the ceiling, darkening the room.

"When you're ready, there's a control box by the bed, just switch it to the right and they'll tilt closed. You won't know it's daylight out there. I'll go and get you some fresh clothes." I handed him my keys. "Perhaps, when you wake I can tell you a little more about me?"

"I'd like that. What will you do while I'm asleep?"

"After I've gotten your stuff, I'll go and hunt and then work for a while. I really do work on computer systems." He smiled. "I work freelance; writing software, designing databases, building websites, you name it, I do it. Sorry that it's not more glamorous, but when you've been through what I've been through; being able to do something constructive with your time is bliss."

"It sounds so normal."

"Believe me, normal is good. Anyway, you get some sleep, this place is beautifully quiet."

"OK."

With a little more confidence than his first try, Daniel folded me carefully into his arms and held me. I rested against him and decided that yes, in spite of everything that had happened over the last nine months, he had indeed been worth it.