Mick was stunned into silence. It was almost too much for him to process. Josef was hoping that Lance would die, but that wasn't what Mick was shocked about. If anything, he agreed; allowing this virus to get rid of Lance saved both time and effort, and involved considerably less risk. One more person they would not have to be wary of.

What had quietened Mick was the idea of the virus itself. Already Josef was four hundred years old, but a century wasn't much in the life of a vampire. Before they'd known it, Josef would have fallen ill too. Mick couldn't help but wonder if his friend had even considered telling anyone. He supposed that Josef would rather have dealt with things himself; irritatingly, it was something he had always done.

The fleeting thought of losing Josef sent his vision spinning. He was a constant, a pillar of quiet confidence that always had the answers for even the most difficult of questions in life. Mick had always thought that Beth meant a lot to him, but now he saw that she was little more than a junction in his eternal existence. With Beth, he would have to make a decision, and face pain whatever the outcome. She would either die sooner or she would die later. And either way, he would have been at fault. But Josef wasn't going anywhere. They had been inseparable since the day he had been turned.

"What's the cure?"

"It doesn't matter what it consists of." Josef answered. "The point is, it works."

"Why can't we just mix up a batch for Lance then?" Mick countered, unsure if he wanted the answer.

"Because it involves a highly intricate and precise process that I do not understand."

"Well who made it?"

Josef sighed. Explaining this to Mick was more difficult than he had anticipated. He could see the pain splintering through the blue of Mick's eyes, the emotion that was threatening to spill over at the thought of being left alone, without Josef. But this was not the intention. If the worst came to the worst, he would have to make good on his promise and give Lance the cure he possessed. He had a century to find another guy to recreate the cure. Best case scenario involved the death of the eldest and most powerful Duvall, and a solution to a problem that had not yet reared it's ugly head.

Either way, they were just going to have to wait and see what came with the days ahead. For now, Sarah was alive, and they were going to stay in the area until Josef was sure that she was safe. If that took a month, then it took a month. He would see to it that people were watching over Beth too. Whatever the situation with Mick, they were still friends, of some variety.

A thought flitted quickly across his mind, and he considered asking Mick where exactly everyone stood, but dismissed it. There was a time and a place for these types of conversation. Now was not such a moment.

"A human, named Jacques Claremont. No, I didn't think it necessary to turn him, it was too much of a risk. I killed him instead." He looked up to see Mick's incredulous face staring back at him. "What? It's not like I planned for this to happen."

"It's rare for you to be without a back-up plan."

The softness of Mick's words made his worry ring clear in Josef's ears.

"I'm not going anywhere." He promised sincerely as he crossed the room. "There must be another Claremont hanging around somewhere."

"But-" Any protest was cut off as Josef kissed Mick hard on the lips, intent on distracting him.

"Please." He whispered against Mick's mouth, inhaling their breath as it mingled together. "Don't worry about me."

Instead of putting up a fight, Mick let Josef trail slowly across this jaw line and move down his neck. He inhaled sharply as Josef pressed his fangs lightly against the place where his pulse would have been, if he'd had one. It was still a sensitive spot. At the same time, Josef's hands were working swiftly at the buttons of their trousers, intent on removing them as fast as possible. With shaking fingers, Mick gently pulled them away. When Josef looked up, he saw desire in his friend's eyes, but also something else. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"No," growled Mick. "Let me."

A wave of arousal flooded Josef at the thought of Mick finally taking control. For too long he had been making all of the first moves, initiating everything and allowing Mick to trail along somewhat blindly in his wake. He arced his back as Mick's palm rubbed against his growing erection and for a moment Josef couldn't imagine being with anyone else. He was answered by another growl from Mick, low and feral in his throat.

"Lie there." He ordered, pointing to the sofa. Josef made an obvious attempt at reining in a wry smile as he considered the appropriateness of the leather and the off-white colour. Not only was Mick sexy, he was practical too.

Josef did what he was told, happy not to be the one calling the shots for once. He fluffed a cushion up and placed it behind his head, before holding his arms out in the expectation of some kind of embrace. Mick had other ideas. He shifted his weight atop the other man's body and, like a pro, popped open all of the buttons on Josef's shirt, replacing them with tiny kisses as he skittered down the well toned muscles of his partner's torso.

Mick let his tongue wander, revelling in the taste of Josef's skin, the scent of it. He wondered if he was even doing any of it right, but decided that this part was much like pleasing a woman. You couldn't go straight for the sensitive areas. There had to be foreplay; some kind of build-up. He seductively pulled the front of Josef's boxers down, glancing up briefly to make sure everything was okay. Considering Josef's eyes were closed, he supposed everything was going well. As if hearing Mick's thoughts, Josef opened his mouth and uttered two words.

"Keep going." He was beginning to breathe a little more heavily in what Mick guessed was anticipation, and without giving it another thought he took the head of Josef's penis into his mouth and started to lick.

He began at the top, making sure the tip was covered in his saliva before attending to the shaft. A small but insistent voice in the back of his head told him to massage Josef's testicles as he moved, and he tentatively reached a hand up, squeezing gently. Above him there was a moan of approval, and he found that Josef's fingers were winding tightly into his hair, anchoring the two of them together.

As he took Josef's penis into his mouth once more, he used his free hand to pump the length of the shaft as he moved slowly up and down. For a moment, an image of Beth walking in on the two of them now was almost laughable. He couldn't keep from sniggering though, and he was almost choked as Josef thrust himself into Mick's mouth from the sensations the vibrating had created.

"Christ, Mick, don't stop." He breathed, hands tightening further around the back of Mick's head. As a test he started humming, and within seconds the room was filled with staccato gasps and louder moans as Josef drew closer to orgasm with each variation in Mick's pitch. He felt the muscles around Josef's penis tighten, and for a terrifying moment Mick was unsure whether to let go and finish with his hand or continue on and allow Josef to come in his mouth.

Josef appeared to make the decision for him, his body convulsing as the orgasm swept through his muscles. Mick's mouth was filled with the white sticky fluid, and there was more of it than he expected. As Josef settled back down, he stood and moved over to the sink to rinse his mouth. He figured that no offence would be taken the first time.

He lay down next to Josef on the sofa, shifting comfortably into the embrace waiting for him. As Mick closed his eyes, he felt Josef's lips pressed affectionately against his forehead.

"Thank you."

Mick took comfort in the fact the words were meant for more than the favour he had just performed. He sighed contentedly in response, happy to just fall asleep where they were. Tomorrow may never come, as the saying went, but it was another day they had together.