Chapter 3: Short Lived Relief

Jane sat up, pulling the blanket around her as a chill ran up her spine, it was colder without the stranger to keep her warm. She saw her clothes folded neatly in a pile and began pulling them on, when she was finished dressing she stood up and looked around. Jane wasn't sure where she was and the few chinks of daylight that broke through allowed her to see stony walls with their damp drip marks and a cold cement floor. As she walked the felt something hanging gently graze the top of her head, she reached up gingerly and tugged the small cord, light filled the room from the small lamp and she was allowed to see better. Jane gulped slightly, her mouth dry, bullets littered the floor, there were bloodstains and she was in some sort of makeshift lab or medical room, she wasn't sure which.

He moved quickly through the fading darkness, he had to admit he was reluctant to leave the warmth of her body but he had to, he had to know who had survived the attack and who hadn't.

Jane walked around listening for any sound; this place scared her. She crossed the room to a wall covered in pictures and paperwork and gasped out loud at the sight of a familiar face. Jane hit the ground outside, glad to be out of that place and in the woods; she ran up the embankment to the road and saw her car a few feet away. Hadn't she gone off the road? She was certain she had swerved the car to avoid hitting something and had gone down into a ditch, she felt confused and felt the scratch on her forehead, it had been real, hadn't it?

Jane had never been so happy to be home, it comforted her and made her feel safe. She saw the red light flashing on her answer machine and pressed play as she began to peel her damp, dirty clothes off,

"Message one;"

"Jane where are you, pick up it's Kate, look I just wanted to thank you again for covering for me, I'll tell you all the gory details on Monday love ya "

"Message two;"

"Hello Jane dear, I'm at the airport, my flights been delayed so I wont be back until Tuesday morning, bloody weather here is detestable, well I look forward to seeing you soon bye "

Jane couldn't help shuddering as she heard Connors voice, so passionless, still she had to be grateful that he would be away longer. She stood in the shower and let the hot water course over her skin; she smiled as her cold skin prickled under the new heat of the water. She didn't realise how much she was aching until the hot water hit her, she couldn't help thinking about that night and the reason why her body ached. She put her hands on the cold tiled wall of the shower and closed her eyes. Her mind flashed back to the feel of his rough hands caressing her skin, his hot breath on her neck, the extreme pleasure he had given her that she had never known before.

He waited in the woods until night fell and then he moved through the city, he kept his hood up and his eyes alert, though he supposed he was safe. Surely news of his death had spread through the vampire community like wildfire? But he didn't feel relieved; he wondered how Michael was responding to the change? He wondered if Michael was even still alive, had Viktor killed him too?

Jane's weekend went to quickly and before she knew it she was standing back in her office in the maternity unit. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about Friday night and the stranger she'd spent it with, it had in fact consumed her mind for all of Saturday and Sunday.

' Morning' Kate said brightly as she bounced into the room

' Morning' Jane's reply lacked Kate's enthusiasm

' Well cheer up grumpy…oh my god what happened to your head?' for all her faults Kate was a good friend to Jane,

' I had a little accident Friday night when I was driving home, but I'm fine it's just a little scratch'

' Oh my god you should have called me, what happened Jane?' Kate gently pushed Jane's hair out of the way; Jane couldn't help being touched by the concern Kate was showing,

' A deer or something ran out in front of me, I swerved to miss it and I…erm... hit a small tree, fucking airbag didn't even deploy'

' A deer? Weird I didn't know there were deer in the woods near us?'

' Apparently there are'

' Oh god I'm so sorry Jane if I hadn't asked you to cover me this wouldn't have happened'

' Oh come on Kate n one saw this coming not even me'

' Are you sure you're ok, you seem different?'

' What do you mean different?'

' I mean…well –'

' Girls I need you're help in room 5 we've got major complications with a triplet birth in there' Dr Parker interrupted, well she was Megan to them, they both nodded and followed her out, Jane was glad of the distraction.

She was glad so many women chose to go into labour that day, it meant Kate had no time to question her anymore about Friday. She drove home that afternoon as it was beginning to get dark, Friday must have shaken her a little more than she realised because she couldn't explain the overwhelming relief when she finally got home. The relief was short lived,

"Hello darling" Jane froze as she heard his voice and silently groaned, why had she given him a key?

"Hello Colin " he smiled in that way she hated, she hated it mostly because she knew what he wanted,

" Did you miss me?" he was trying to sound seductive and failing miserably

" Of course" she said, lying through her teeth, she did what she usually did in this situation and zoned out thinking about what she had to get next time she went to the store as Colin clumsily tugged her clothes off. She lay back as Colin grunted and moaned away on top of her, his hands groped awkwardly and painfully at her breasts, she as usual felt nothing, except now she felt disappointment, she wanted it to be like it had been with the stranger. She was glad when Colin finished and rolled off of her giving her a peck on the cheek before he rolled onto his side, moments later his snoring filled the room. She rolled over, she had spent the weekend mulling over why there had been pictures of her old colleague Michael on the wall, had this man had something to do with Michael's disappearance? Had it simply been coincidence that the closest place to them had possibly been the lair of some psychotic murderer and the stranger had known nothing about Michael? Jane wasn't sure what to think anymore.

He reached the derelict building and climbed the ten flights of stairs until he reached the room he needed. He wondered if any of the others had thought to come here with him supposedly dead or if they had all scattered in fear. He hated not knowing what was happening or what had happened. He pulled the key from a pocket inside his coat and opened the door, the scent of blood and lycan filled the air and made him smile as he walked in and closed the door.