Takes place after Guy Talk chapter 19, Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting

It was sunny and hot in L.A. – more than usual for June. Josef sat outside a café under an umbrella checking market prices while waiting for Sandrina. She was meeting a client about providing floral arrangements. Josef's building was close so they were going to have a drink before he went to work. When he glanced up and saw her turn the corner half a block away, he knew right away that something was wrong. Her eyes were glassy and she walked slowly, without purpose.

Josef stood and raised a hand for the waiter who was at his elbow immediately. "Ice water, a bowl of ice and towels. I'll be right back." Josef had to stop himself from using vamp speed but he moved at the fastest possible human speed. Sandy didn't seem aware of him until he was at her side. She smiled vaguely with recognition but said nothing. "I've got you," Josef told her. "It's all right now." Josef got her quickly to the café. The waiter hovered in the door with a tray. "A quiet corner inside, please," Josef requested. The interior was dim and cold. L.A. knows air conditioning. There was an afternoon lull and the place was as empty as it ever got.

"Shall I call 911?" the waiter asked anxiously.

"No need. She's sensitive to the sun but she'll be fine," Josef said with a calm he didn't feel. "Give us a few minutes." The waiter withdrew. Josef got Sandrina seated then pulled off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. He tied ice in a towel and laid it around Sandy's neck. He placed her wrists in the ice bowl. Vampire circulation was sluggish compared to human but cooling the pulse points helped a little to counteract the effects of sun and heat. Josef shielded Sandrina from view as he held the ice to her neck with one hand and pressed his other wrist to her mouth. "Drink, Sandy, as much as you need." She stopped sucking after a minute and sat back, looking better. Her eyes focused on him and she smiled a real smile this time. He held the glass to her lips as she sipped ice water.

"A little more." Josef offered his wrist again. After that she finished the water and Josef could tell the crisis was over. The waiter came back. "Are you sure I can't call a doctor?" he asked.

"No, I'm all right now." Sandy answered for herself this time which reassured the waiter. Meanwhile, Josef had made a call. He gave the waiter a large bill. "My car will be out front in a few minutes. If you could let us know ..."

"Certainly." The waiter moved off. Josef glanced around: Towels and melting ice but no telltale blood. By the time he got his jacket on the waiter announced his limo had arrived. The café had an awning almost to the curb and Benny had the door open. Only a few feet of sun and they were inside again.

"Home, Benny," Josef told his driver, and then he opened the hidden private fridge and handed Sandrina a bag of blood.

"At this point you probably need it more than I do," she told him.

"One soda, two straws," Josef replied. He inserted two tubes into ports in the bag. They finished the blood as they pulled up to the house. They could have waited until they got home to their freshies but Josef's bagged blood was always fresh even though he didn't use it often. And he had wanted to feed with Sandy, not separately later from freshies.

Inside, they went to the master suite where Josef asked, "How about a long soak in a cold bath?"

"Yes, please," Sandrina agreed.

Josef started the whirlpool filling and added ice cubes. "For fun," he explained. "They can end up in unexpected places." They undressed and relaxed into the frigid bubbling water. Sandrina leaned back against Josef's chest. He put his arms around her and asked quietly, "What happened?"

Sandrina sounded embarrassed. "I didn't get up early enough to feed before the appointment."

"That's what bagged blood is for. Drink it on the go in an emergency."

"I didn't think it was an emergency."

"Where was your hat?" Sandrina had a number of attractive hats she usually wore or at least carried if she was likely to be in the sun for long.

"I forgot it."

"You should always have one in your car."

"Yes, I should."

"Why were you walking?"

"I parked my Porsche in the garage under your building. I didn't realize it was that far, and it was cooler when I walked to the appointment."

"You could have cabbed or called me to pick you up."

"You're right."

"I was ... worried."

"I know. I'm sorry. I didn't thank you for saving me. I'm not a very good vampire."

"You're an excellent vampire. You just weren't careful today. And why are you being so meek? Don't you feel well, yet?"

"I'm fine. I made mistakes and you had to rescue me."

"Yes, but you're taking the fun out of scolding you."

"Apparently even though I'm grateful I can't let you enjoy it."

"And apparently I'll let you get away with it because I'm glad you're okay."

"Today may not seem like it but I can take care of myself."

"I know you survived 200 years on your own."

"I can do what is necessary if I have to."

"I'm sure you can." Josef wasn't sure but it didn't seem like a time to disagree.

"I've done some things that might surprise you."

"Tell me about the worst thing you've ever done." Josef wasn't expecting the crime of the century. He was interested in learning what Sandrina considered bad behavior. So he was shocked when she said softly, "I killed my fledgling."

"I didn't know you were a sire."

"Technically I'm not. I was teaching in Paris in 1922. I had a few freshies, although they weren't called that then. One was a young man trying to be an artist. He made extra money feeding vampires. He hinted to me once that he was interested in being turned. I told him that I would probably never sire a vampire. He didn't mention it again. I went to his rooms one evening. He was slicing bread and cheese for his supper. There was an accident and he cut my arm. He apologized. I didn't realize then that it was planned and that in the confusion he took some of my blood before the cut healed. I left and he went to a waiting bath, slit his wrists and drank my blood before he died."

Sandrina paused. "You're snarling," she told Josef. It was true. Josef's fangs were out and a low growl trickled from his throat. "Go on," he said, sounding not at all like the charming, sociable Josef the world usually saw.

"He moved immediately," Sandrina continued, "But he stayed in Paris. I saw him by chance a few weeks later. I suspected what had happened although it seemed impossible. I confronted him and he admitted it. He made the mistake of not being afraid of me. I wasn't his idea of a dangerous vampire. One night I followed him as he walked alone along the embankment by the Seine. I shot him through the heart with a silver-tipped arrow. He was incapacitated and newly turned and he died quickly. I pulled out the arrow and put him in the river."

Josef was looking at her with amazement. "I didn't think you were a dangerous vampire, either."

"How do you feel now?"

"Besides turned on?"

"Yes, we can assume that's your default reaction. What else?"

"I know you survived very well without me but I've wondered if you could defend yourself. I'm glad to know you can."

"I was very angry. Later I thought I should have handled it differently."

"It had to be done. He stole your blood to sire himself! That can't be allowed. You did the right thing and I only wish I had seen it."

"You've seen me angry. A little angry. Remember that fight a few weeks ago?"

"That was talk. I didn't get the impression you would be physically violent. Not fatally anyway. Hey, are you sure he was dead? A silver arrow to the heart should do it but you pulled it out. What if he recovered in the river or found someone to feed from?"

Silence for a moment. "Actually, I broke his neck before putting him in the river," Sandrina admitted. "And I made sure the spinal cord was severed because a broken neck can heal."

"No bonfire on the bank of the Seine?" Josef asked. "Did you forget the matches?"

"Don't be silly. That would have been overkill."

"You're certainly thorough," Josef said admiringly.

"You really are pleased to know this about me, aren't you?"

"Pleased, surprised, proud." Josef smiled. "But I won't be turning my back on you when we practice archery."