Josh gets changed out of his scrubs and heads down the long corridor that leads to the basement. Earlier today he kissed Aidan in the middle of the hallway in front of many of their co-workers and now his head is swimming with other things he wants to do to the vampire. His human mind is still mostly aware, so he knows that these desires are primarily fueled by the wolf, but he enjoys their presence so he lets them run wild. He'll have to suppress them when he gets to the basement because Aidan will be waiting there to lock him up.

About halfway down the corridor, Josh feels a presence following behind him. He turns and senses a shift in the air, but no one is there. The hall smells strongly of the wolf, which shouldn't be all that strange because Josh has just walked down it; but, there is a different musk mixed in. He walks a little further but then has the sensation of being followed again. The entire situation is getting more than a little odd; so, after taking a brief moment to scan the hall again, Josh sprints to the cage as fast as he can.

It's been a long day and Aidan doesn't even know how he is still awake. After Josh kissed him he just about died of happiness. Now that they are out in the open he can start to be at least a little more intimate at work. It's not like he's going to just grab Josh and make out in the hall every day. He's just glad that he can give him a peck on the lips or a shoulder rub without everybody making confused looks and whispering behind their backs. Hearing the patter of hastened footsteps, Aidan watches intently as his companion turns the corner and comes to a quick stop a few feet away. "What's the matter?"

Josh is breathing heavily in distress. "I think there's somebody following me."

Aidan's face quickly turns serious. "Get in there," he motions to the cage. Josh knows this is the one time of the month that he could actually help; but after seeing the protective look in Aidan's eyes, he complies. The door clicks shut behind him, locking him in. Rounding the corner, Aidan inhales deeply through his nose and tries to detect the scent of whoever is following Josh.

Just as he gets a trace of a foul smelling wolf, Aidan is tackled to the floor. Josh hears the noise and rushes over to the door. Looking through the small window on the door, Josh can see a man sitting on top of Aidan hitting him repeatedly in the face with open hands and sending blood spatters up onto the walls.

"Hey!" Josh yells through the door and the man turns his head. Aidan seizes the brief opportunity and kicks the werewolf off of himself, catapulting the stranger into the wall. While the attacker is momentarily immobilized, Aidan moves as quickly as he can, which isn't all that fast right now, to pull the door open and let Josh out.

Once it is slightly ajar, Josh bursts through the cage door and grips the new man harshly by his t-shirt. Slamming the other man into the wall, Josh breathes in and identifies the attacker as a werewolf. A growl growing steadily in the back of his throat, Josh roars, spittle flying in the new wolf's face. The man looks frightened, smug, and confused at the same time. Josh's wolf and his rage are making him much stronger than this new antagonist.

"Josh," Aidan yells, only slightly gaining the man's attention. "Put him in the cage!" Josh grips the new wolf by the throat and flings him into the small room with all his strength. Aidan slams the door shut behind and the couple stares through the window at their strange attacker. The werewolf runs up to the door and searches for a handle. Upon finding no such object on his side of the door, he bangs against the metal and yells what must be profanity.

The pair back away from the door and Josh reaches out a hand to stroke the gashes on Aidan's face. Aidan flinches slightly at the pain; but, he reverts to his normally calm expression quickly. "Are you okay?"

"Josh," Aidan says in his normally nonchalant mannerism, "I'm fine. What about you? Where are you going to transform? You are not going in there with that." Aidan gestures to the door and makes a rather disgusted look.

"I don't really have much choice." Josh pauses, trying to weigh the pros and cons of what he is about to do over the intense pounding in his head that is telling him to mount Aidan and rip that other guy to shreds. He takes a deep breath and sighs, "I have to go to the forest." Aidan opens his mouth to protest, but Josh cuts him off. "Don't, Aidan. I don't have a choice and there isn't enough time for us to argue about this."

Aidan scowls as he watches Josh back away and run out of the hospital. Josh will regret his decision in the morning when he wakes up with a deer in his stomach. But, Aidan thinks to himself, he won't regret it nearly as much as this jackass. Aidan peers through the window again at the new werewolf. If it wasn't the full moon, Aidan would tear this guy to pieces. But, that will have to wait until tomorrow.

A sudden howl of agony derails Aidan's train of thought and he snaps back to the moment. The new wolf is beginning to transform inside the cage. This man's pain fuels Aidan's rage and fills him with satisfaction, but then he remembers Josh. He isn't sure exactly how fast Josh can run; but, even at vampire speed, the forest was a good ten minutes away.

Hopefully he made it to the forest in time.

A/N: Sorry about the sporadic updates. After this weekend my schedule should even out again and I'll get some longer chapters posted on weekends. Thanks to everyone who reads my story!

(p.s. If I do end up getting that far in their relationship, Josh and Aidan will probably just adopt a kid)