Had a friend of mine ask me today if I had a thing for Marko, after she read through these stories. Reply - I've got a thing for all the boys. Oh, also, there's some bad language and sex talk in this chapter. Pretty much like all of them...

"You boys should be ashamed of yourselves! Talking to small children at night, luring them away from their parents...that's exactly the sort of behavior that gets you arrested! What on earth were you thinking? Really! Sam, your grandfather is very upset with you...I mean, he may not say it. But I'm pretty sure you will not be getting that stuffed jackalope he promised you for Christmas..." Lucy Emerson angrily lectured all three of them while she struggled to shift her father's jeep into the right gear. With all of the missing persons cases skyrocketing as of late, locals were much quicker to report anyone acting suspicious. Since Sam and the Frogs had come off as if they were attempting to kidnap the little boy they'd been interrogating, it hadn't taken much to get them dragged to a police station for a severe lecture from an over-worked cop.

Edgar and Alan had remained silent throughout the affair, stoically refusing to tell anyone of their noble quest to vanquish the vampires in Santa Carla. Sam had practically burst into tears when he told the cop his mother's phone number.

"...And I know you wouldn't harm a small child, since you're generally very good boys, but just imagine what it looked like...you didn't even fill up the gas tank...chores...I'm going to call your parents, Edgar. Alan. I'm very upset right now..." Sam was only listening to bits and snatches of Lucy's lecture now, because he'd suddenly been struck by a very strange thought. The kid had actually been holding out on them. Almost been prepared to tell them something...so...were there bikers on the boardwalk again? Was one of them Michael?

"Hey...Sam..." Edgar whispered into Sam's ear, nudging him.

"...Ed, now is not the time..."

"I think maybe that kid knew something..."

Alan pressed in on the opposite side of Sam, and he realized how uncomfortable the middle seat was right at that moment. Why didn't he pick the front seat beside his mom?

"Guys, we've got to figure out what that kid knew!" Alan whispered.

"Will you both stop it? We can talk about this later! We're already-" Sam unintentionally started to hiss louder, drawing Lucy's attention. She glared at them in the rear-view mirror.

"If you think for a second that this is over, it's not! Edgar. Alan. I'm calling your parents tonight. As for you, Sam, you've got a lot of housework to do tomorrow."

Sam groaned, letting his head fall back. Why the hell did he even consider letting the Frogs visit for the summer? Maybe poor choices of friends ran in the family. At least if Mike was still alive out there somewhere, he might not be going through the same kind of bullshit.

They'd returned to the sunken hotel not long after Marko's outburst. Dawn would arrive soon, and none of them wanted to be caught in the daylight. If they were all dust, a second resurrection wasn't likely to happen. Even if one of them did survive, and organized another bonfire dinner...the human resources in Santa Carla weren't inexhaustible. Sooner or later they'd run out of food if they routinely gorged themselves as much as they had tonight.

As much as Marko and Paul remarked on the joys of nude sleeping, Dwayne wasn't too keen on the idea. So they didn't immediately retire for the night. First they saw to gathering some clothes. Marko was reluctantly forced to set his jacket aside and wear a spare, so he could wash the dirtied one later. There were at least three patches he was going to have to replace.

The oil barrels in the lobby were burning cheerfully when Paul strolled around the fountain tugging and shifting at his coat. Every so often he'd pause and scratch at a corner on his shoulder, or just under a sleeve cuff.

"Shit man, it's all musty now. Marko, couldn't you have kept the pigeons from crapping on my stuff?" He griped, though there wasn't any real irritation in his tone. Honestly, he was just trying to make a verbal point for the nude sleeping idea. Dwayne, David, and Michael weren't buying it though, so they remained silent.

"Guess you'll just have to deal with it, Paulie," Marko shrugged, smirking over at his pack-mate as he tenderly stroked the head of one of said birds. How a vicious killer like him could show any affection for cuddly animal friends, none of them could understand.

Michael smirked at them both, letting the expression shift into a frown when Paul glanced over at him. He busied himself with properly stitching the button back onto his jeans. He probably should have taken them off to do it, but he really didn't want to be half-naked, and he didn't have a spare sitting around to wear in the meantime. Craning down on the mattress of the mildewy lobby bed, he wondered if perhaps he should add an extra button for security. Or two.

David reclined in his 'throne', stretching his head from side-to-side. He missed the chatter between Paul and Marko. Maybe it could keep the little guy from interrupting him during sex with smartass remarks. David's lips twitched into a quick frown...when he wondered if...then again...Paul was just going to make it worse...was he going to have to make a new cave rule? Necktie on one of the oil barrels means 'stay out or shut your fucking mouth'? No...that wouldn't work. He didn't own a necktie.

Before he could let the idea get to him, David felt a slight shiver run down his spine, as a familiar voice pressed into his mind. A voice he hadn't shared thoughts with in over a year. Dwayne.

"Michael didn't have his first kill when we were dusted. Max is gone. Explain." Dwayne wasn't the sort to leave anything unspoken.

"He was overcome with passion, rushed into my arms when you were fried on the stereo, and demanded I screw his halfie brains out. Max tried to interrupt us, so Michael ripped his head off. Then he drank my blood while I finger-fucked him. It was the stuff Danielle Steele novels are made of. A modern day Gone With the Wind," David drawled back, smirking over at Dwayne when the raven-haired vampire gave him a look of disgust combined with disbelief. He wasn't buying it.

"...Okay, maybe I took a little poetic license there, but it pretty much all happened. More or less," David shrugged. Before Dwayne could ask any more questions, David rose to head towards bed. Just in time, too. The skyline was becoming exceedingly bright outside...

Paul couldn't stop snickering. He'd been listening in on David's story, and really wanted to believe it word for word. But something told him little Mikey probably wasn't as easy as he made it sound. Clearly the guy had a stick up his ass, and probably didn't want anything else up there with it.

Even as they flew after Marko and David towards their new sleeping quarters, Paul continued down that line of thought. He privately wondered if he'd get to try the brunette out for a spin one of these days when he suddenly got a very sharp look from David.

"What? I didn't say anything!" Paul protested aloud, hovering upwards to latch his feet onto their resting perch.

"You were thinking it though," David hissed ominously. Even in the darkness of the cave, there was no mistaking the glowing aura of menace in his eyes.

Paul held out his hands in front of his face, his hair hanging down behind him, "David, I promise...I'm not gonna do anything!"

"Yeah, don't try it Paulie..." Marko nestled beside him and shoved his shoulder.

"I've tried it. Lost a finger once. Davey's a little pissy when it comes to his bottom bitch over there..."

"I'M NOT HIS BITCH!" Michael shouted, glaring at them from below. He hadn't yet begun to rise to join them for the night. But he knew who Marko was referring to.

"Michael, get up here," David summoned him with a wag of his finger. Michael pointedly turned his face away, ignoring him, and making as if he was going to leave the room. Maybe he's just go sleep near Star (safely out of her attack range), just to show he could. She was better company than them, anyway.

"Michael..." David warned.

"...asshole..." Michael thought viciously, when he reluctantly joined them after all. There was no telling what kind of example David would make of him with the newly-risen members of the pack back in the cave to watch. It probably wouldn't be very pleasant.

"Isn't that cute," Paul cooed in Marko and Dwayne's minds. They both smirked back at him.

"Better than the shit he'd pull with Star," Dwayne replied, yawning and stretching as the curtains of sleep began to close around him.

"You're in for a treat tomorrow. Mikey did something much worse to her..." Marko added gleefully. As if to illustrate his point, a distressed roar echoed through the cave. The call of a beast that did not want to go to sleep.

Michael looked towards the source of the sound, furrowing his eyebrows guiltily. He privately wondered if he should have brought another meal home for her.

"Michael. Go to sleep..." David growled, wrapping his arms around Michael's torso. The younger vampire sighed and closed his eyes. He hated how comfortable this position had become. Too comfortable.

"We'll take care of it tomorrow," David yawned and smirked.

"Oh, can I watch?" Paul called out.