That night

Thierry and Leigh emerged from their room and Leigh went to the car while Thierry checked out. In just a few minutes they were on their way to the airport and his private jet. Nobody stopped them, or even recognized the lady sitting beside the handsome man. Finally, within half an hour, they were soaring through the clouds. "You know I need to get a message to Cat somehow and tell her that I'm okay. She knows about you anyway and I would hate for her to mourn me for nothing."

"We'll see what we can do the minute we get home to Las Vegas," said Thierry, understanding completely, he knew how it felt to miss friends and to have them mourn you as dead. They sat back and relaxed then for the rest of the trip. All too soon they landed at the Las Vegas airport.

They exited the plane to find a limo and Nilsson waiting for them. Nilsson hadn't changed over the years Leigh noticed he still had his long brown hair and dark eyes. "Welcome home," said Nilsson to Thierry and Leigh, holding the door of the limo open for them to enter. The whole house had been prepared for their arrival home and they all knew about Leigh and what had happened. Thierry tended to keep his people informed.

"Thank you Nilsson," Thierry responded.

They entered the limo and Nilsson closed the door behind them. The ride to the mansion was short, but to Leigh it seemed to take forever. She was afraid things had changed dramatically from what she remembered and that she would know nobody. Nilsson finally turned in the drive of Thierry's mansion and Leigh looked around as best she could out the car window. The black roses in the stained glass were still there along with the original brickwork. The outside hadn't changed much over the years, Leigh decided.

The car finally sat down on the driveway and Thierry got out first and then helped Leigh out. Leigh looked around some more as she and Thierry walked up the drive. As they neared the door, it opened and out stepped somebody, Leigh recognized instantly.

"Lupe," Leigh said as she sprinted towards her friend.

The two friends hugged for they had not seen each other in 75 years. "I was afraid you would not remember me," Lupe, told Leigh.

"How could I ever forget one of my dearest friends?" Leigh asked her.

Lupe shrugged, not knowing the answer to that one and they entered the house together, with Thierry following close behind.

~~~Thierry and Leigh~~~

Thierry and her; had a quiet dinner together in the dining room. Leigh was again getting used to the splendor that Thierry lived in, but she still worried about her friend Cat, who would be absolutely heartbroken, that her best friend was dead. She had to find a way to get a message to her, without anybody else finding out. Leigh picked at her food not really hungry. Considering she was now a vampire she didn't really need to eat regular food, but she still loved to when she wasn't worried. Thierry noticed her distress and slowly took her hand in his own, "I know you are worried about Cat, but I might have a solution."

"What?" asked Leigh eagerly.

"I'll send a messenger and he will be given instruction that he is to give the message to no one except to Cat," said Thierry. "And you will tell your friend to burn the message after she reads it, that way there is no evidence that there ever was a message."

Leigh nodded and went to compose a message right away.

~~~Thierry and Leigh~~~

The next day a messenger knocked on the door of Cat's house. A woman in her 50's opened the door. The man looked her over and realized that this must be the mother. "Yes, how may I help?"

"I'm looking for a Cat Popitrani," said the man. "I have a message for her."

"I'm her mother I'll give it to her," said the woman.

"I have my orders ma'am and they are to put it only in the hands of your daughter," said the man, politely.

The women nodded and then called her daughter's name, "Cat, you have a visitor."

Cat came down the stairs slowly and the man could see she had been crying. Cat wiped tears away as she approached the door. The man handed her an envelope and whispered in her ear, Cat nodded her face not changing expressions. She thanked the man and then headed upstairs to read the letter in the privacy of her room. She ripped the letter open slowly and unfolded it.

Dear Cat,

"I am writing you to let you know that I did not die in that fatal car accident, no matter what you might of heard, but before I go on you must swear to yourself that you will never reveal what I am about to tell you." The letter seemed to pause then continued, "Thierry saved me and turned me into a vampire. It was the only way to save my life for I was badly injured when Ridge ran me off the rode. I am now living happily at Thierry's Las Vegas mansion and am happier then I have ever been before. Do not fret for me my dear and true friend I am happy in this life and my only regret is that it had to be done this way and that I am causing my mom so much grief. I will miss you, but I hope to hear from you soon."

Your friend now and always,

Leigh

P.S. Burn this letter after you read it and; leave no evidence that I am alive and well.

Cat read the letter again and again then she almost laughed at the absurdity of it. Her friend was alive, only thing was she could tell no one. Cat slowly ripped the letter into as many pieces as she could manage then put them in a drawer until she could burn them.

Cat practically whooped for joy as she thought of Leigh living the good life in Las Vegas. Her friend was alive, her friend was alive, she just kept repeating to herself. Cat quickly penned a reply and mailed it to the address on the envelope, leaving the name space blank. Those at the Las Vegas mansion would know who it was for.

~~~Thierry and Leigh~~~

A few days later at the Las Vegas mansion

A letter arrived with no name on the envelope, only with the address and return address. Nilsson delivered it to Leigh right away, because that had been the arrangement. Leigh ripped it open and unfolded the letter.

Dear Leigh,

I am glad to hear that you are okay, although at first I was shocked to hear that you were not dead, then overjoyed. I hope you are doing well and I hope I hear from you soon. I'm sorry this had to happen to you Leigh, but I am glad you are happy. I have some of your CD's that I told your mother you said I could have if anything should ever happen to you and I am sending them to you, as well as your CD player and a few other things.

Your friend now and always,

Cat

Thierry came and sat down beside her as she finished her letter. Leigh folded it carefully and put it away. "A letter from Cat?" inquired Thierry.

"Yes," said Leigh, happily. "She said, she is sending me a few things like some of my CD's and my CD player and I don't know what else." Her CD player was an ancient piece of equipment that she had gotten one year for her birthday. They didn't really make them anymore in fact they had stopped about 50 years ago.

"CD's I didn't even know they still made them," said Thierry, remembering.

"They really don't," said Leigh. "I got mine from my father, because he knew I was interested in antiques and hey, if it works it's just as good as some of the systems they have today."

"What ever happened to you father," inquired Thierry, quietly.

"He left when I was only 10, because he and mom got in an argument. He never came back," said Leigh, quietly, sadly.

Thierry gently put his arm around her and hugged her close to him. Leigh put her head on his shoulder and they cuddled like that for over an hour. Leigh smiled up at him sadly and he kissed her forehead, gently. Leigh was taking to being a vampire very well and Thierry was amazed at how well she took to it. She didn't like sucking blood out of people, but as long as he was always there to supervise she didn't seem to mind as much.

I love you Thierry, I think I always have every since I was Hana of the Three Rivers, said Leigh.

I love you to, ever since the first time I met you as Hana of the Three Rivers, said Thierry.

I know there was some kind of weird attraction between us, wasn't there? You know it's strange, but I have all of Hannah's memories, as well as those in my past lives and I get the impression that, it was destiny that brought us together. Or fate or whatever you want to call it, said Leigh.

Yes, I guess it was destiny and I am glad it brought us together, because I don't think I could have survived all these years, all those centuries without you, said Thierry.

Oh, Thierry you are so sweet. Why you are so good to me I don't know, I don't deserve it I'm sure, but all I do know is that I love you more then anything and we are going to have centuries together to love and discover new things. I will never leave you that I swear, right here and now, said Leigh.

A silent tear ran down Thierry's cheek as she finished her little speech. And he was again grateful that she was his and that she loved him as much as he loved her. He kissed her then and for awhile no more words, telepathic or otherwise were spoken.

~~~Thierry and Leigh~~~

Over the next few days Leigh explored the mansion and discovered a lot had changed, but a lot had stayed the same to. She spent a lot of time with Thierry also, making love and talking about any number of things. One day a few weeks after Leigh got there, Thierry came into her room.

"What can I do for you," Leigh asked Thierry, as she looked up from the book she was reading. Even though they had most books on disk now, she didn't have a computer, so she had to buy the paper copy, although they were more expensive then the disks themselves. Oh, they had computers around the house, but she didn't want to use somebody else's.

Leigh noticed that over the last couple of weeks that some of the eternal sadness that had been in Thierry's eyes seemed to have disappeared and she was glad that she had helped to do that. Thierry handed her a small package and Leigh took it from him slowly. She opened it and inside was a bracelet. It was made of diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, and ruby's all set in gold. "Thierry, it's beautiful," said Leigh, gasping at the breathtaking sight.

"I'm glad you like it," said Thierry, smiling at her reaction. Leigh kissed him then and pulled him into the bed beside her. Thierry didn't resist and Leigh, to show him, her appreciation made love to him. "Well, maybe I ought to give you presents everyday if this is how you are going to react to them," said Thierry, half seriously, two hours later.

"Oh, Thierry you've given me so much already. You gave me a new life when I was dying, you have shared your life, your home and your bed with me and now you have given me this beautiful bracelet," said Leigh, with feeling.

"I would do anything for you Leigh, even pour out my blood right here and now if it would save your life," said Thierry, softly.

"I know you would and that is one of the reasons why I love you, because you are so real and honest and good and would do anything for me, while other guys I dated couldn't care less if something happened to me," said Leigh, also softly.

"Well then, they are all fools and frauds," said Thierry. "For any guy who couldn't see that you were someone special." Leigh kissed him again and for awhile nothing more was said.

~~~Thierry and Leigh~~~

Over the next few months Leigh blended well into a house full of vampires, the only difference seemed to be that she was Thierry's soulmate so that others treated her with more respect then they did each other. Leigh hadn't left the house in over two months and that was only to make sure that no one was looking for her. Of course, without her birthmark they probably wouldn't recognize her. Thierry had even gone as far as to have papers made up to state that her name was Leigh Descouedres and they had actually gotten legally married. Leigh remembered that day well.

~~~Thierry and Leigh~~~

Flashback

It had started a month and a half ago. . . Leigh had been listening to the news.

"When we come back, we will tell you about a murder that happened in Castle Rock just two weeks ago," said the newswoman.

Three minutes later the woman returned.

"Just two weeks ago, a young teenage girl was supposedly murdered, but is that fact or fiction . . .? 5 minutes later when the report was over, Leigh went to find Thierry a worried frown on her brow. As she walked she was so deep in thought that she bumped right into somebody. "Sorry, she muttered and then looked up. It was Thierry. "Oh Thierry I was just looking for you," said Leigh. "We have a problem and a serious one at that."

"What?"

"Apparently we didn't get away as clean as we thought. I just saw a; newscast . . ." Leigh finished telling him the problem 5 minutes later.

"Oh dear," Thierry muttered, after she finished. "I need a few days to check my sources maybe it isn't as bad as the news report led us to believe." A few days later Thierry came into their room and sat down on the bed beside her. "It is worse then we were led to believe."

"How so?" asked Leigh, putting down the book she was reading.

"Well there's this guy that works for the FBI and he's one of those that refuses to believe what can't be proved scientifically. And he happened to hear about your supposed murder and these types are like blood hounds once they get into it. He'll never give up until he can prove or disprove his theory."

"Terrific one of those," said Leigh, sarcastically.

"Marry me," said Thierry, suddenly out of the blue.

"What does that have to do with our problem?" asked Leigh, although secretly she was thrilled at the prospect.

"For one thing it will change your last name and maybe without your birthmark nobody will recognize you. It will also help me fend off the bloodhounds. Not to mention the most important reason of all I love you and want to marry you. Plus, I was going to ask you soon anyway."

Leigh turned away from Thierry slowly not wanting him to see her expression, after a moment she turned back again. "Yes," said Leigh softly. "I will marry you, but not because of the bloodhounds or the people looking for me, but because I love you," said Leigh.

Thierry practically whooped for joy then hugged and kissed her. A few days later they; were, married in a small, private ceremony with only Nilsson and Lupe as witnesses. A few days after that somebody knocked on the door of Thierry's house. "What can I do for you?" asked Thierry as he opened the door himself.

"I am looking for this girl," said the man, handing Thierry a picture of Leigh. "Have you seen her?"

"Wasn't she supposedly killed in a car accident a few weeks ago?" asked Thierry.

"She was supposed to be, but I found evidence that seems to prove otherwise," said the man.

"Oh?" asked Thierry calmly, while trying to use mind control on him, but the man's mind was too strong for Thierry to influence him. "No I have not," said Thierry, finally, handing the picture back to him. Just then Leigh came into the den and the man looked at her and then at the picture. She looked almost like the picture.

"What is your name young lady?" inquired the man.

"Leigh Descouedres," she said calmly, but inside she was shaking in fear. She brushed the hair out of her face. The guy looked at her cheek, but saw no birthmark.

"We just married a few days ago," Thierry interrupted, politely. Finally, the guy got up to leave, "Uh just out of curiosity what led you to Las Vegas all the way from Castle Rock?" asked Thierry.

"There was a guy that said he saw you around town. He knew your name and then I just found out where you lived. I thought there might be a connection, but I guess not," said the guy getting up and leaving them then.

Thierry escorted the man to the door and as the man got in his car and drove away, Thierry read the man's thoughts. Boy is that guy weird. . . The girl sure does look like the girl that was in the accident, could be her twin, except no birthmark. . . She even has the same first name. . . I wonder. . . Naw, there is no way she could have gotten rid of her birthmark it has to be a different girl. . . Finally Thierry could hear no more for the guy was out of range.

Thierry closed the door and sat down on the sofa in the living room, breathing hard. He could hardly believe they had gotten away with it, but they had and that was all that mattered. Leigh came and sat beside him kissing him on the lips.

End Flashback

~~~Thierry and Leigh~~~

That night

Leigh and Thierry made love and all seemed right with the universe, as they lay in each other's arms, naked to the world. Leigh snored softly and Thierry just watched her. He knew he would always regret having to turn her into a vampire, but there had been no other choice at the time. It just irked him sometimes that if she was killed now; he would mourn forever, because she would not come back to life. But he swore to himself that he was going to do his best to protect her even if it killed him. Finally, Thierry lay down beside her and was asleep within seconds, cuddled beside Leigh. This was not the end, but only the beginning . . .

The End