Author's Note:

Well...here's the next chapter! I hope you like it!

Summary: Gabrielle meets someone who seems to have an extreme attraction to her and he's only know her for a few hours! What happens when she goes back to the Doctor's home...will she be able to sneak back in or will he catch her?

Chapter Fifteen: Shell-Shocked

Monday May 7th '07, 10:15 p.m.

Gabrielle pulled up to Rose Red and the valet came to open her door. Gabrielle stepped out of her car and glared slightly at the valet.

"Harm my baby and I'll bite you..." She threatened as she barred her teeth.

Gabrielle had been a vampire for Halloween, and she had bought the perfect set of fangs. They looked real and they were convincing enough to scare the valet, which puzzled Gabrielle because he looked truly terrified. She quickly dismissed it and went to the door. When she got there she pulled out her money and smiled as she handed it to the bouncer. He waved off the money saying that women get in free before eleven. Gabrielle put her money back into her coat and entered the club.

The club was very dark. There were lots of flashing lights, but the music was very enjoyable. It had a nice beat to it, and Gabrielle thought that it was perfect to get lost in. When she entered a few people turned around to look at her. Gabrielle noticed she was getting many different kinds of looks as she walked further into the club. Some people looked at her with curiosity, some with lust, and others with a wish to control. Some even glared at her in anger.

Gabrielle found, and walked up to the bar. As she got closer she saw a woman with blond hair sitting there looking into the crowd. The woman spotted her and smiled, waving for her to come and sit next to her. Gabrielle recognized the woman as Tanya, the person who had told her about this club.

"Hey girl! I'm so glad to see you here." Tanya said hugging Gabrielle.

"Yeah, thanks for telling me about this place." Gabrielle said as she sat down, "I really needed to get away."

"Heh, this is nothing. The club really gets jump'n after eleven." Tanya said then added a warning, "Be careful though. Like I told you the other week there are people who take their Vampirism seriously...so i suggest you take those plastic fangs out."

"Heh, didn't take you long to notice." Gabrielle said as she took out her fangs and put them in a box, which went into her pocket.

"The Scare Crow fangs are great for holloween but here they could get you hurt."

"How could they get me hurt?"

"Because they're not real. Those who have real fangs could think you are mocking them, and that would be very bad for you."

"I see,...Thank you for the warning."

"You're welcome." Tanya said as she put down her glass, "Here, give me your coat, I'll put it behind the bar."

"Don't you have to work here in order to do that?" Gabrielle asked as she stood to take off her coat.

"I do work here." Tanya answered, "I'm the bartender Tuesdays through Thursdays."

"Wow, ok...Thank you."

"No problem. Just stay put ok? Don't go off into the crowd without me."

"ok"

Tanya left and Gabrielle sat back down and watched the crowd. As she scanned the crowd she saw someone staring at her out of the corner of her eye. She met his gaze a gave a small smile. The man smiled back in return and looked thoroughly pleased. As he walked back into the crowd Gabrielle was sure she was going to meet up with him again tonight whether she wanted to or not. Though she had to admit it didn't bother her. He was rather handsome and she wasn't afraid of him. She supposed she was being cocky 'cause she didn't know any of these people, and she had no idea what they could do but she didn't care. Gabrielle straightened up and watched the crowd again.

"Ok, are you ready to dance?" Tanya said startling Gabrielle

Gabrielle jumped and turned to face Tanya saying, "Dear God you scared me!"

"Sorry, c'mon lets go dance..."

"Alright."

Gabrielle followed Tanya into the crowd. They found a spot near the center of the dance floor and started to dance. Gabrielle let the music fill her and she got lost in it. She saw someone come up behind Tanya and start dancing with her and smiled as the woman practically melted in his arms. Tanya obviously hadn't had the company of a male in a long time.

Four or five songs later Gabrielle got thirsty. She told Tanya and went back up to the bar to get a bottle of water. She sat at the bar and relaxed during the next song. When she was done she turned back to the bar and was putting the bottle on the bar when she sensed someone come up behind her.

"Why do you drink something so bland?"

Gabrielle turned around to see the man she had made eye contact with earlier standing right in front of her.

"Because I like it."

"That may be so but there are other drinks that have no taste if that is what you are looking for. Why do you chose water over those that could have a more satisfying result?"

"Because water keeps me hydrated." Gabrielle said as she stood up, "Can I help you? Or shall we continue this little game of twenty questions?"

When Gabrielle stood she found herself a mere three to four inches from the man. She saw him lean in ever so slightly and 'take in her scent', even though he was trying to be subtle about it. She was glad she had decided to wear her body oil instead of her perfume. It was much less intense than her perfumes and had a sweet smell, but wasn't fruity. She found when the man had leaned toward her she could smell a hint of musk cologne. It reminded her of something or someone but she couldn't put her finger on what or who it was.

Gabrielle didn't wait for an aswer. She turned and started walking towards the crowd. In the middle of her second step she felt a strong hand catch her arm. She looked back to see the man smiling at her. Gabrielle looked from his hand holding her arm back to his face meeting his gaze with an intensity she didn't know she had.

"You shouldn't leave a person before they answer your question."

"It was retoricle. I don't want an answer. Now will you please let go of my arm? I have a friend waiting for me back on the dance floor."

"Tanya could care less about where you are right now."

Gabrielle's eyes went wide and back to normal so fast the man never noticed. She renched her arm out of the man's grasp and he took a step forward.

"The man with Tanya is John, her fiance. They have been seperated for quite some time and right now they care only about each other."

"Ok..." Gabrielle said as she took a step back.

The step she took was useless as the man closed the space between them and wrapped an arm around her waist. Gabrielle had to wrap an arm around his kneck to keep from falling. The man made a move to kiss her but stopped an inch from her face, never breaking eye contact.

"What is it that you want from me exactly, mr?" Gabrielle asked softly.

The man smiled and said, "My name is Victor, and all I ask for is the opertunity to dance with you."

"That's it?...That's all you want?"

"Yes."

"Well why didn't you just come up and ask when you saw me earlier?"

"Because I wanted to make sure Tanya and John saw each other first...It's a long and boring story." Victor said letting go of Gabrielle.

"Alright, well then lets go."

Gabrielle flashed a smile and walked towards the crowd. Victor just stood there, Gabrielle's moodswing catching him off guard. She turned back toward him as she entered the crowd.

"Well? Aren't you coming? You're the one who asked for the dance."

Gabrielle continued deeper into the crowd when she saw that he was following. She found Tanya and her fiance without a problem, and didn't try to get the woman's attention when she saw the two of them lip-locked. She just chuckled to herself and started dancing, waiting for this Victor person to find her. She was spinning slowly with her eyes closed as said Victor came through the crowd, and had her eyes been open she might have seen how the people infront of him stepped out of his way allowing him to pass with no interference.

Gabrielle jumped slightly when he came up behind her and wrapped and arm around her waist. They danced in perfect time with the music. She only broke his hold on her a couple of times to pull off a few moves she knew would catch his attention, making sure to never really break their contact. She didn't even notice the people watching them.

When a slow song came one Victor turned Gabrielle to face him and she put her arms around his neck. Gabrielle looked into his eyes and found that not only were they a beautiful and hypnotizing shade of green but they were also filled with desire. She smiled at him and layed her head on his chest (seeings how he was a good five inches taller than she was). Hearing his heart beating nearly a mile a minute was both pleasing and interesting.

'Why am I having such an effect on him?' Gabrielle thought to herself 'After all...I am new here and he's probably danced with like every woman in the room.'

The next song was a fast one, and Gabrielle turned around so her back was to him once again. She saw that Tanya was dancing with her man the same way and they made eye contact. They both smiled at each other and when Tanya saw who Gabrielle was dancing with her smile widened and she winked at her.

This left Gabrielle confused but paid no attention to it, she was sure she would get an explanation later. She kept dancing and was pleasantly surprised when Victor followed her as she slowly, and in time with the beat, went down to the floor and came back up. She made eye contact with Tanya again and gave her a mischevious smile, which Tanya returned.

They danced for a couple more hours. They went to the bar and Gabrielle looked at her cell to see what time it was. Her eyes nearly bulged out of her head when her cell showed 1:17 am.

"What is it?" Victor asked.

"I can't believe how fast the time flew by! It's after one in the morning!"

"Do you have somewhere to be in the morning?"

"Well...not exactly. I'm not sure what I'm doing tomorrow...well today I guess. The person I'm staying with at the moment was showing me around France during my stay. I have no idea where they are gonna take me...if they're gonna take me anywhere." Gabrielle said being careful not to say whether this person was male or female.

She kinda liked Victor...well at least she liked his dancing...she didn't want him to lose interest in her.

"Will this person be mad 'cause ur out so late?" Victor asked his eyes losing some of their sparkle.

"No I don't think they'll be mad...maybe just worried...I left the house angry and confused, and I didn't tell them where I was going."

"Ah...ok." Victor's eyes sparkled again, "would you like to talk about any of it?"

"Not really...It's something that I have to get through on my own, but thank you for the offer." She smiled and then frowned saying, "But I probably should go, I've never left like that before. I wouldn't want them to get too worried."

Gabrielle say the light in his eyes go out and felt bad. But she liked the club and would definately be back again and decided to tell him this.

"I'll be back though, that I can promise you. This club is great!"

His eyes flickered.

"Really?"

"Really really...that is unless you don't want me to come back..." Gabrielle said and she gave a playful smile.

"Of course I would like you to come back. Tonight I've had the most...fun...I've had in months"

Gabrielle felt her heart skip as Victor took one of her hands in his and kissed the back of it lightly.

"I'm almost always here so stop in anytime you need to escape from the real world."

As he said this Victor spun Gabrielle around so her back was to him. The spin moved her hair from the left side of he neck leaving it exposed. Gabrielle felt him kiss her neck lightly and nip with fangs she hadn't noticed before. He kissed her neck one more time before he spun her back around.

"Thank you. Do you know where Tanya put my coat?" Gabrielle asked tilting her head to the right exposing more of her neck.

She watched as Victor's eyes stayed focused on her neck as he said, "Yes. Wait here a minute, I'll get it for you."

He left and quickly walked away, but it seemed like he was forcing himself too. Part of Gabrielle liked this...and part of her was warning her to be careful. She remembered how Tanya had said that there were people who had real fangs and she wondered if Victor's were real. They had to be. The instructions on her fangs said they would break if she bit anything with them.

Victor came back with her coat in hand and she smiled as he held it open and helped her into it. She fixed her hair and searched her pocket for her valet ticket. When she found it she pulled it out of her pocket.

"Until next time" Victor said and he kissed her hand again.

Gabrielle nodded and smiled. She felt his resistance to let her hand go as she turned and walked away.

'What the hell about me has him so filled with desire?' Gabrielle thought as she exited the club and handed the valet her ticket, 'I'm not extraordinary. What does he see in me?'

Gabrielle thanked the valet, still lost in her own thoughts, and got into her car. As she drove away she noticed something. It was something that she had felt and thought when he had payed so much attention to her neck, and what she noticed both startled and scared her.

When Victor had kissed and bit her neck...she had immagined it was someone else, she had wished it was someone else...

Gabrielle pulled into the driveway, her eyes were wide with more things she had come to realize on her way 'home' and she wasn't quite sure how to handle them yet. She parked and shut the car off, not even caring that she was supposed to be sneaking back into the house. She opened the front door, thankful that the doctor didn't lock his front door, and walked into a dark living room. After closing the door she took off her boots and coat, carrying them blindly down the hall. She may not have been trying to sneak in but her heels were really loud on the hardwood floor and she didn't want to wake the doctor if he was sleeping.

When she found the stairs she held tight to the railing and carefully and slowly made her way up the stairs. Her calf muscles were sore from all the dancing and going up stairs wasn't helping. When she made it to the top she smiled a little. The upstairs curtains were open and the moonlight was streaming through, lighting her path through the upstairs living room just enough so she wouldn't fall over furniture. She had just reached the hallway when the light came on behind her.

"Good evening Gabrielle." said the Doctor.

Gabrielle turned around to see him standing by the fireplace.

"Hello Doctor." she said wondering how he had turned on the lights when the only two switches were right at the top od the stairs and right next to her in the hall.

As he walked towards her, her question was answered. There was a remote in his right hand. His left hand was in his pocket. That small little detail made her a little nervous but her harpy was at her hip so she wasn't defenseless. The Doctor's face may have been set in a stern expression but his eyes betrayed him. Gabrielle saw fear and concern, but amongst that there was a slice of relief. He stopped about fifteen feet in front of her leaning against the chair next to him.

"I got ur note."

"I know."

"And how would you know that." his voice had a hint of venom in it, like he was testing her.

"Because, you wouldn't be up if you hadn't gotten it, and quite simply..." Gabrielle said as she turned on the hall light, "it's no longer on my door."

"Just because I'm up doesn't mean I was up waiting for you. How do you know I wouldn't just go to bed after I got your note?"

The Doctor took a step toward Gabrielle as he said this.

"Because that's not ur style Doctor." she said as she took her own step towards him, detitermined to show no fear, "Whenever you dropped me off at the hotel, and even when you dropped me off at the gym, you waited till you had seen me enter the building before you left. I don't think you would go to bed after reading a note that said I had gone out but not told you where I was going."

Dr. Lecter had to admit,...she noticed more than he thought she had.

"And besides," she continued, "Who sits in the dark at one in the morning and is able to stay awake?"

This time it was Gabrielle who was testing the Doctor. She knew what she had said was at least somewhat rude and 'Dr. Lecter' didn't stand for rudeness. His reaction would serve as a type of indicator for her.

"A person could take that question to be an insult Gabrielle, which would be rude."

'Ding ding ding! We have a winner!' Gabrielle thought to herself, and was actually trying to hold back a chuckle to her own comment.

It wasn't hard to supress it as he took a couple more steps towards her as he asked, "Where did you go?"

Although there was a hint of casual and concern in his voice Gabrielle wasn't fooled. She knew it was another test.

"I went out to release some energy and clear my mind so I could think straight."

"I got that from the note. Now I'm asking where you went to get this 'fresh air' of yours."

Gabrielle was a little confused because his tone had darkened. Did she fail the test? No she couldn't have, he had taken another step forward which ment he was still interested in getting information from her.

"Why does it matter, Doctor?"

Gabrielle asked a little sharply taking another step herself. She knew this was his 'game' but she was determined not to lose.

"Because I'm interested in where a seventeen year old girl could possibly run off to in the middle of the night."

"I went to the field where we have our picknicks and meditated." Gabrielle lied knowing right away that it was not only a bad lie but a very bad idea to lie to him, because he walked towards her nearly closing the gap.

There was more venom in his voice as he said, "Lieing isn't very becoming of you Gabrielle. Not to mention it is very rude."

Dr. Lecter could smell a hint of calogne coming from Gabrielle, knowing obviously that it wasn't her's. He also knew it was nothing serious because the smell would have been MUCH stronger and more musky. This ment she hadn't done anything too irrashional. This filled him with a sence of relief.

"Try again Gabrielle."

"Not until you answer my question."

"Ladies first."

"Exactly, answer my question then I'll answer yours."

Gabrielle could feel the instinct to fight rising up inside her. She was ready for what ever he threw at her.

Dr. Lecter calmed himself. He could feel her ready to fight and that wasn't necissarily what he wanted...at least not in this minute.

"I was worried. You seemed upset by something when you left dinner."

"The day had caused me a lot off stress" Gabrielle said still not letting her guard down, "Did you note believe my note when i wrote that I wasn't running?"

"I wanted to but I wasn't absolutely sure, to be honest with you."

This sentence caught Gabrielle off guard and she took a few steps back. "What?"

"Well, the detective layed some pretty serious stuff on you."

Gabrielle saw something in his eye and knew that wasn't the reason.

"Now now Doctor, lieing isn't very becoming of you. Not to mention its very rude." Gabrielle said using his own words against him.

The Doctor chuckled and retorted, "Then I guess we're even."

"Good," Gabrielle said as she nodded her head, "Then goodnight Doctor."

Gabrielle turned her back to him and started to walk down the hall, instantly feeling like that was another bad idea. Within seconds she felt his strong hands on her shoulders, spinning her around and then pinning her to the wall.

"You didn't answer my question Gabrielle."

His tone made her heart race.

"You didn't answer my question either so I guess we're even."

Gabrielle tried to move but he had her securely against the wall. They stood there staring at each other, their faces mear inches apart. Gabrielle shifted her coat and her boots in her hands, then without warning the Doctor grabbed them from her and threw them down the hall towards her room.

"Answer my question Gabrielle." The Doctor demanded.

He saw something flash quickly in her eye and wondered if he had finnaly scared her or if she believed he was Dr. Lecter. What he didn't know was that she had already come to the conclusion that he was infact Dr. Hannibal Lecter before she had even gotten to the club.

"Which one Doctor?" Gabrielle asked, "The question you had asked earlier or the question thats in your eyes right now?"

This time it was Dr. Lecter's turn to be thrown off guard and his grip on her loosened ever-so-slightly. Gabrielle chuckled and turned her eyes away from him.

"If you must know, I went to Rose Red tonight." Gabrielle said and she looked back into his eyes, "And before you go yelling at me Doctor, yes I know about the people there and their real, denist given, fangs. I'm seventeen, not stupid."

"Gabrielle..." the Doctor started, but Gabrielle interupted.

"I'm aware of the risk that goes with entering that club, and I wasn't bitten," Gabrielle lifted her hair of her neck to show him, "I was nipped at but not bitten, and it wasn't in a mean or angry way either. It was the farthest thing from it. Now will you calm down?"

Dr. Lecter became confused as her eyes softened and he saw that same something in her eyes that he had seen flash in her eyes earlier. He let go of her looking at her curiously as she straightened up.

"May I ask why you ar looking at me like that Gabrielle?"

She shook her head, smiled lightly, and said, "You worry too much about me Doctor Lecter."

And with that she turned on her heel and walked down the hall picking up her coat and boots and heading to her room. She turned head as she opened her door to see him still staring at her.

She chuckled again and said, "Like I said earlier Doctor Lecter. (She made sure to say his real name so it would sink in.) I'm seventeen, not stupid. I've been getting intuitive hints for awhile, (she left out the other feeling she had been having) the Detective's questions and insiuations just put them in the right order...Good night."

With that Gabrielle entered her room and closed her door, leaving a shell-shocked Dr. Lecter standing in the hallway staring at her door.

So?! What did you think!? Please review!

theshepardslamb