A/N: So I realized that it's been exactly one month since I posted Chapter 1. Hooray! Anyways, I decided to post a second chapter tonight. I am pretty busy, so I won't usually post more than one chapter per week, but it's a special occasion because of my story's anniversary and the fact that Season 2 starts today! Sorry if the sex scene is awkward, but I find them strange to write. Also, I hate Rebecca (no offense to people who like her) so I'm sorry if I paint her negatively. Enjoy! (and don't forget to review : ] )

It's been a few days since Josh had made the promise to kiss Aidan in public. So far, nothing has happened, but Aidan knows it will… eventually. His shift ended before Josh's today, so he ran home and left the car at the hospital for him. Sure, it's quite the jog, but at vampire speed through the woods to avoid the public eye and to take a shortcut, he can make it home in under a half an hour. Besides, it's better to make sure that Josh doesn't have to catch the bus.

About halfway home, Aidan begins to notice someone following him. He is a bit concerned, but he decides that if a vampire is actually on his tail, he would rather face them in familiar territory, so he continues to run.

Just about a block from the house, Aidan turns down an alley and stops. Through his sense of hearing, Aidan can tell the vampire is quickly approaching. She turns the corner and he quickly grabs her by the throat. Realizing who it is, he releases her. "Rebecca? Why are you following me?"

"Are you rough with all the girls, or is it just me?" she laughs. She ignores his confusion and a stressed look wears heavily on her face. "Can we talk?"

Aidan looks around tentatively and brings her into a more secluded corner of the alley. Once they have found a seat on a small pile of crates, Aidan, quietly angered, asks again, "What do you want, Rebecca?"

"Just, try to remember for a second that you care about me. I want to get away from Bishop."

"You want to get away from Bishop? Just like that?" He can't believe she is acting so innocent while just weeks ago she was flying high on live blood and dreaming of killing her family.

"It's not just him. Bishop is just the tip of a pile of nasty, blood-lusty garbage."

"Oh, because the last I remember you were having the time of your life tearing through innocent people."

"I thought it made me strong; invincible… I'm the weakest thing on earth. And the, uh, rush- the fantasy of how I kill- when I kill, it's gone. It's like I snapped out of twilight sleep and now I can hear people whimper see the fear in their eyes. I hate who I am; who I've become. I just want it to stop."

Aidan knows this is at least partially his fault, he killed her. Of course, Bishop is the one who turned her. No matter how you look at it though, it certainly is no fault of hers. "It's not your fault you didn't choose-"

"No… I didn't. But everything I've done since I turned…" She trails off, clearly upset and not able to cope. "But I could stop. You stopped."

"I don't know…" It's true. Aidan has stopped… mostly. But, Rebecca doesn't have anywhere near the experience or age that he has; and, if he couldn't keep himself from killing her, he's pretty sure she won't be able to stop at all.

"But you could help me." She almost pleads, desperately crying out for help that he isn't sure he can give; help that he isn't even sure will do anything.

"I don't know…" Now he his mind forces him to think of Josh. Their relationship is just beginning, and it may be the one thing that can truly help him stay on the straight and narrow. If he goes off and tries to help Rebecca he could jeopardize everything. He could lose Josh forever, and he can't even stand the thought of that.

"You wanted to help me," she declares. Scoffing lightly at his lack of enthusiasm, she begins again, "Doesn't better late than never count for anything anymore?" She needs help if she's going to make it without killing anyone else. But, Aidan is old enough to be able to set his priorities clearly; and, right now, Josh is his top priority.

"I'm sorry, Rebecca, I really am. But… I just can't help you." She looks appalled, and he is deeply sorry that he can't help her. She is his responsibility. It's his fault that she is this way. But, again, he can't risk what he's making with Josh, even if it tears him apart inside knowing that a monster walks the streets, killing in his name.

"Well," she ends the silence abruptly, "Aren't you just the picture of morality. You screw a girl, you kill her, and when she comes back from the grave, you won't even help her stop killing people."

"Rebecca, I'm not -"

She stands and cuts him off angrily, "Save it for your mutt, asshole. We're done. I'm going back to Bishop and the others. At least they understand family. They support each other. You won't even help your own kind. You're disgusting."

Aidan is breathing heavily because he knows Rebecca will kill again; but, he's glad that he can still focus on his and Josh's relationship. Does that make him guilty of refusing to accept responsibility for the blood that will be on his hands because of her? At the end of the alley, she stops and looks over her shoulder. At first she has a distinct look of fear, but her expression quickly hardens into anger and she saunters away.

Aidan takes some time to just sit there and compose himself. At first he is just gasping for air and praying for forgiveness for the monster he helped to create, but he knows that Sally would be all over him if he walked into that house with anything but a casual expression on his face.

After a few minutes he goes to the house, taking deep breaths and giving a forced relaxedness to his gait. He takes out his keys and opens the door. Luckily Sally doesn't appear to be here, so he walks inside and breathes a large sigh of relief, dropping his calm façade from his face and the coat from his shoulders. He falls onto that dingy orange couch that he loved for so many reasons and tried to keep himself from bursting with grief and remorse for his failure to stop Rebecca.

He has about three hours before Josh is going to be home and in that amount of time he's going to have to try his hardest to keep from doing something major. The grief makes him crave blood. It's his body's way of trying to make him stronger. There is only one bag of blood in the freezer and he fears that giving in to his cravings may make them even more intense. Drinking live would not bode well for his burgeoning relationship, and he knows that. So, all he can do is curl up in the fetal position and rock himself back and forth while he waits for his anchor to get home. He decides then and there that they shouldn't have any more dissimilar shifts; at least for a while.

After about an hour of wallowing, Sally mists in and goes on some tirade about how Danny and Bridget's relationship is growing and it's grossing her out. Aidan doesn't really listen, but after about the first ten minutes of her monologue, Sally inquires as to his opinion. "Are you even listening? What the hell is up with you? You look all depressed."

Aidan can feel the urges to drink growing and he knows that it is Sally breaking his concentration. "Sally, I know your life sucks right now, but I really don't have the will power to sit here and listen to you, so I'm going to tune you out. You can stay or you can leave - I'm hoping you'll leave - but I'm not listening." He figures he's going to regret his tone here shortly, but it just sort of came out.

Sally goes to say something, but since Aidan clearly isn't going to listen, she just huffs and dissipates from the room. Aidan can already feel the urges going back to their suppressed state, but he knows he won't be able to fully control them until Josh gets home, so he tries his best to fall asleep and pass the agonizing time.

Josh throws the door open and drops his stuff at the entrance. "Honey, I'm home…" he says with little enthusiasm. He is drained from his day at work and he just wants to go to bed. When no response comes to his sarcastic announcement, Josh gets a little worried. "Aidan? Are you home?"

Aidan comes to on the couch and lifts himself from his curled position. He feels an almost immediate relief from the urges to drink. They are quickly replaced, however, with an urge to jump Josh.

"Hey, sweetie. Why are you lying on the couch?" Josh is confused not only by his roommate's location, but also by the indescribable look on his face. "Is something wrong?"

Aidan practically leaps up from the couch and drags Josh into him, kissing and groping passionately. Josh pushes away, clearly shocked by the sudden intrusion into his space. "Well, hello there, Mr. Handsy. What are you doing?"

"I need you… to touch me. I'm having… blood cravings." Aidan barely managed to get the words out between the intense bursts of lust coursing through his veins and intruding into his consciousness.

"Okay, Aidan," Josh says calmly. He knows he's Jewish, but he's pretty sure he deserves sainthood for this. "Let's go upstairs and we'll…" He leaves the rest to the imagination and pulls Aidan along up the stairs to his room.

Their hands search over each other and their lips stay fully locked from the moment they reach the top of the stairs. They haven't been pushing the sex topic lately, and even though they've been sleeping in the same bed since they did it the first time, they haven't done anything more than make out and sleep naked for the last few days.

Aidan throws them down on the bed and his hands move as quickly as possible to remove every article of clothing from their bodies. Soon they are in full contact and Josh can feel both of their erections rubbing harshly against skin. Josh knows that the sexual release will sharply diminish Aidan's urges, so he breaks the kiss and slides down Aidan's body so that his mouth aligns with Aidan's cock. He begins to suck and Aidan has to grip the sheets to keep himself from bruising Josh with his intense convulsions that coincide with the pleasurable feelings being aroused. When Josh feels that Aidan is about to come, he removes his mouth and uses his hand to finish it off. As the viscous white fluid is released, Aidan's convulsions drastically increase and then suddenly drop off, pulling him back down from his frenzied state into a strange euphoria.

After a moment, the euphoria passed and Aidan realized this had been a very one-sided escapade. Breathing heavily, he looks down at his lover and says, "Thanks. Now, I think I owe you." Aidan goes to pull Josh up onto him, but Josh reaches over and grabs some Kleenex from the nightstand.

"Wipe yourself off first. If I have to put up with your vamp-urges, you have to put up with my OCD." Aidan dutifully wipes down his torso and tosses the tissues into the small trash can beside the nightstand. Then he pulls Josh's naked body up onto his own and begins to kiss him softly.

When Josh feels just about ready to yell at Aidan, he gets turned around on top of his companion. Aidan reaches his hand around Josh and grips his dick. His other hand reaches up to Josh's chest and massages his nipples while Aidan's mouth licks and nips playfully at Josh's tender neck. After a few moments in this blissful position, Josh muscles tighten in his orgasm.

Josh relaxes back into Aidan. Knowing it will please him, Aidan grabs a few tissues and wipes Josh off before pulling the covers over the both of them and kissing softly at his lover's neck again.

The two are entirely relaxed as they lay there. It's the perfect relationship. Everything that they need - a release, a companion, a stable bond, a soft shoulder - they have in each other. Aidan's needed this for a long time, and he needs it much more apparently than Josh. But, Josh needs the bond, the friendship that's more than that, to feel normal.

And in the end, what's more chaotically irrational and subtly soothing than love?