(A/N): Finally, we come to the point that I had planned to happen in Precious, but didn't end up happening- and then everything since, fought to come out first. Leo was supposed to say he had a plan to go out with Jerremyah, and then this was meant to happen, but then... sandwiches. In this chapter, Leo learns something disturbing about how Danniel and Jo were turned- and why, and has to make some tough decisions.

Leo

After our long conversation, filled with heavy emotion on both sides, we put the history aside to focus on the now. On the matter at hand- Jerremyah's control issues.

"Right, so- Once you start feeding, you can't stop?" Jerremyah nodded, surprisingly solemnly.

"Yeah. I mean, that's always been an issue for me, but it's- it's worse. A lot worse. Before, I could... I could be... 'persuaded', to release my 'prey'. Grey taught Lis a method, where they... well, there were a few ways to go about it, so I'll just say... they used my self preservation instincts, in order to force me to prioritize my own well-being, over my... 'meal'." Hmm...

"But that doesn't work anymore?" He hesitated, and shrugged.

"Not as well as it used to. And, when we have tried- there were a few times, after Lis left, that Grey took me out- to try to get me out of my... 'funk', and get some fresh blood in me. It wasn't so bad at first, but every time we went out... I got harder and harder to control. I put an end to it, after I-" He cut himself off, looking vaguely sick. "I've lost control before, accidentally draining people dry, or getting too close, and having to turn them, rather than let them die." He was silent for a minute, so I took my chance to speak up.

"Like Danniel, and Jo." He nodded, but didn't look happy about it.

"Yes. I... honestly, I think..." He paused, and took a deep breath. "I think the only reason Danniel is alive, is because I binged on bagged blood for a few days before that. I... I thought it might help me stay in control, but... still, I almost drained him." He winced. "I was reckless- I shouldn't have tried to feed from a human at all, especially without someone to- it was a moronic, pathetic thought, that maybe- maybe, this time, after god knows how many, things might be different. But no." He 'binged' on blood for 'a few days' beforehand, and even so, he almost drained Danniel dry? God, clearly his issues were a lot worse than most- worse than mine, at the very least.

"And Jo?" He winced.

"Danniel needed blood to turn- human blood. I could've- should've- just gone back to Grey, or even Nuria, but... I- honestly, I didn't want them to know. To witness how I had failed- again. I knew if I brought her back and let Danniel feed from her... if he didn't bleed her dry, then I would, trying to stop him. I thought- I thought maybe if I just cut her- collected her blood in a cup, and kept my distance, I might- she might have a chance. But... well, you know how that turned out." So... the only reason Jo was a vampire... was because Jerremyah had been trying to feed Danniel? Oh, God. They could never, ever, find out.

"You can't tell them-" His eyebrows shot up. "It would put a strain on their relationship that I'm not sure they could ever recover from. If they found out that the only reason you approached Jo is because you needed blood for Danniel... not only would it break Danniel's heart, but Jo... well, you know how she feels about being turned- about you. I don't know how she would feel about it, but I'm guessing, not good." His eyebrows furrowed, and he lowered his head. I felt bad for mentioning it, but there wasn't much I could do to avoid it.

"And you would keep it from them?" I hesitated.

"...For now, at least. Our position is much too fragile as it is, for me to risk starting that sort of in-fighting." Jerremyah looked almost... impressed? No, that couldn't be right.

"A tough decision." Yes, it was. I just hoped they could see my reasoning, and didn't hate me too much for it when they inevitably found out. "A leader's decision." Um... not... not exactly.

"...no. Just a... 'the person that's here', decision." He tilted his head, watching me much more intently than I liked.

"If you say so." His lips twitched up, but not quite into a proper smile.

"I do. Anyway, that's all with humans- what about animals?" He grimaced.

"It's- I'm not as- if you cut a deer close by, I could keep myself in check, but if we get too close... and again, once I bite..." He trailed off. "Animal blood has less of a draw, but... I think my reluctance to hurt oth- humans, makes me a little less... animalistic." I didn't miss him amending his statement- he had almost said 'other humans', like he was one. Good to know that instinct didn't go away, even after multiple centuries. "With animals, I don't... well, you'll see. If... if I start going for you-" I cut him off.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I guess I should ask, ahead of time- does running work?" He winced, then shrugged.

"Don't know. Never had someone with a heartbeat and flowing blood, that also might be able to outrun me- at least for a little while. I've chased humans before- Jo, most recently- but they're easy to catch. Maybe, if you kept far enough ahead of me, for long enough, maybe I would lose interest... eventually." Maybe. Maybe wasn't good enough.

"I doubt it will matter. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure you'll only attack me after you're finished with the deer." He winced again, and shrugged.

"Unless you try and stick your hand in my mouth, then yes, most likely." Right. Well. That hadn't been part of the plan- well, okay, it hadn't been part of plan A, anyway.

"And I'm going to try to stop you from draining the deer- so, you attacking me is likely to happen where I can't really feasibly turn and run." He frowned, looking worried.

"Do you have an idea as to how-" I shrugged.

"I've got a few- with varying levels of damage to your person, involved in each." Weirdly enough, he seemed satisfied by this- mostly.

"Good. But..." He hesitated. "I've got a high pain threshold- very high. And I'm strong- much stronger than I should be, even for my age. I'm not just saying this to boast- I'm saying this so you don't underestimate me, and get yourself killed. I would appreciate it if you could lean towards, 'overkill'." He paused, studying me for a second. "If not for your own well-being, then for the sake of my mental health... and for Lisbet." Shit. I guess he hadn't quite been as convinced by my agreeing to kill him if needed, as I had hoped. I opened my mouth to speak, then stopped, closing it again. That way only lay a much deeper, longer conversation, I could already tell.

"We should get started. Don't worry, I'll do what I have to do- and I'll run towards the house, if it comes to that. Scream Lisbet's name the whole way back, if it pleases you." He nodded, rather gravely, even as the corner of his lips twitched up- I'm sure it would have garnered more of a smile, if he wasn't so anxious.

"Right, yes. Shall we?" He held out an arm, gesturing me forward, in front of him.

It didn't take us long to sniff out a herd of deer, and, just out of range, I pulled Jerremyah aside once more.

"You'll have to do the Influencing." I told him, and his eyebrows furrowed.

"What? Why? I know you've-" I cut him off.

"I don't want to- If I do it, I'm going to-" I hesitated. "...Get attached." He blinked, and his eyebrows started to rise, so I rushed to defend myself. "It's not- I'm not- I like animals, okay?!" If anything, he seemed even more amused by my flustered rambling.

"Alright, alright, I get it. I trust that you know your limits, so, I'll be the one to Influence the deer. Just... know ahead of time, that this probably isn't going to end well for them." I knew that already, but still, I swallowed thickly.

"Just do it." He nodded, and sped off.

I followed a short distance behind him, so I wouldn't scare off the deer before necessary, and I watched as Jerremyah used his vampire speed to make his way in front of one of the deer- one that looked healthy and strong, but not the strongest. It made sense- if he knew he was most likely going to kill the deer, it made sense not to remove the best options from the breeding community- but he needed a deer that was strong enough that it may be able to endure his attack. He bent down, so his eyes were level with the deer's eyes, and slipped into Sensory Alert- starting to Influence it.

As time caught up to our speed, the rest of the herd jolted upon seeing us, suddenly so close to them, and they began to flee. They gave us a wide berth, but still, I stepped a little closer to Jerremyah to make their escape a little easier on them. I was still at least ten feet away- I planned to move closer once he started feeding, but I figured that being too close when he was getting ready to bite, was probably pretty dangerous.

"Alright," He said, glancing back at me, and I nodded. "Here goes nothing." I heard him whisper, but before I could really react, he leaned forward, and bit into the side of the deer's neck.

Cautiously, I moved closer, but Jerremyah's only reaction was to reach out, and pull the animal closer to him. When I got only three feet away, I heard him start to growl, and he clutched his prey even closer.

"Jerremyah?" No response. "Jerremyah?" Still nothing- but I didn't expect there to be. I started to reach out to him, but, hearing his growl get stronger, I stopped. Instead, I put my hand on the deer's hindquarters- if it was going to die by his fangs, then maybe this would be the last kind touch it was going to encounter. I wished it luck, and after a second, I tried again.

"Jerremyah?" Again, nothing. This time, I ignored his growl getting louder, and placed a hand on his forearm- then yanked it back, as the smell of blood suddenly got a lot stronger. I looked down to see long, deep furrows in the deer's flank, leaking blood- furrows caused by his claws, claws that were coated in that very same blood. Uh oh. "Jerremyah, I don't know if you can hear me, but... I'm going to try something. Don't- well... try not to hate me for this, afterward."

And then, I moved around behind him, where his eyes couldn't track me, and implemented my first idea to get him to let go.

(A/N): Leo: 'I'll run towards the house- scream Lisbet's name the whole way, if it pleases you.'

Jerremyah: 'If we weren't talking about you running for your life so I don't rip your throat out, I might find that funny, but as it is- no, wait, it's still a little funny.'

So... Jerremyah only ever went after Jo, because he needed human blood to turn Danniel? Sucks to be them, I guess.