Okay, I'm going to start right off and tell you that this story is... quirky. Yes, 'quirky,' that's my adjective and I'm sticking with it! (g) This story has been festering in the back of my mind for awhile now, I set off to write a pro-woman story that was both entertaining and light hearted, I hope I accomplished that. The new character, Becka is a direct result of all the teens on the DP list's influence over me, so if you don't like her... blame the teeny-boppin' Thugs! Special thanks to my two glorious betas Ren and Shana, who really do make me a better writer. I don't own Forever Knight, I have high hopes TPTB will give it to me as a token of their esteem, but until then, no copyright infringement is intended. Permission to archive granted to Mel and to any Dark Perk, anyone else please ask first. Enjoy! Bigger Than Life and Twice as Mean! (1/7) By: Cousin Mary (Jenkins) 5-99 Tracy looked down at the teenage girl sleeping on her bed. Becka O'Brian, at least that was the name on her student ID. Dressed in a pair of jean overalls and a bright yellow tee shirt, with short, curly red hair and a sprinkling of freckles across her nose, she looked very young, Tracy'd put her at -maybe- 14, 15 tops. She looked sweet, innocent. Not at all the kind of kid you'd expect to get into any real trouble. But this one had. Tracy shuddered slightly as she remembered the glowing eyes and extended fangs. She unconsciously rubbed her arm, where those fangs had sunk, if only for a moment. "Oh the fun I have," Tracy sighed wryly, throwing some clothes off the chair next to the bed and sitting down to watch the girl sleep. Tracy didn't have a clue what she was going to do when her house guest woke up again. "Though, this time," She cast a wry look down at the stack of bottles on the floor, "I'm at least better prepared." Her thoughts drifted back to earlier that night... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tracy was driving home from work, just singing along, off-key, with her stereo, when something caught her attention. Common sense told her to keep driving, it was 3 in the morning in a particularly bad section of town, after all, and she wasn't quite sure what she'd seen. A movement, someone or something rushing down the alley away from the street. Not really enough to warrant stopping, but something about it had just hit her as odd. "Ah hell," She whispered, knowing it would drive her crazy all night if she didn't figure out what she'd seen. Everyone always said curiosity was her best, and worst, personality trait, and Tracy herself would be the first to agree. So with one last mumbled curse, Tracy pulled a U-turn, parked near the curb and, grabbing her flashlight, climbed out to investigate. At first she didn't see anything, then the beam landed on Becka. She looked dead, or at least unconscious. Thinking the girl was the victim of a mugging, Tracy quickly shone her light around and, seeing no one else in the alley, quickly rushed to her side. She noticed the fang marks immediately. "Damn," She winced at the two jagged tears in the side of the teen's throat. Her headlights driving by must have scared whoever had done this away. She reached down and pressed her fingers to the untouched side of the girl's throat, no pulse. Tracy sat back on her haunches, what should she do now? Normally she would just call the station and the coroner to report this, but then again, this was obviously a vampire attack. Should she, well, try and cover it up? Wistfully she wished Vachon were in town, unfortunately her friendly neighborhood bloodsucker was off touring with a band along the west coast for the next three weeks. (Though he had sent her a lovely postcard, a picture of a sun filled beach "wish you were here." The guy was just plain weird sometimes. That's probably why she liked him so much.) Tracy stared at the girl's body for a minute, trying to figure out what to do, when suddenly... she moved. "What the-?!" Tracy jumped up and stumbled back a few feet. Her flashlight clattered to the ground, sounding thunderous in the still night. She'd definitely seen the girl's hand twitch. Of course, that could have been just aftereffects of a violent death, as a homicide detective she knew body's sometimes -did- move. But then again, this wasn't just any body. This was a vampire's victim. The body moved again, this time she lolled her head to one side and emitted a small moan. "It could still be perfectly normal," Tracy mumbled, backing out of the alley, keeping her eyes on the body. Almost without thinking about it, she popped her trunk and pulled out the two bottles she kept hidden under her spare tire, right next to the flares and first aid kit. She kept the bottles for an emergency, and though she'd always thought Vachon would be the one to get them, as she walked back to the girl's side and watched her slowly open yellow tinted eyes, somehow, she didn't think Vachon would mind sharing. "Wha- what happened?" The girl whispered in a small, terrified voice. Tracy's heart melted, "You were attacked, but you're going to be okay, I'm here." She put a comforting hand on the girl's small shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm a police officer." Suddenly, the girl jerked and pressed herself hard against the alley wall and, turning her head, grazed Tracy's arm with her new fangs. Though startled, Tracy had half been expecting that, and quickly snatched her hand back before the girl could grab it. If anything, the teen was more frightened of what she'd done than Tracy was. "What's happening? Why'd I-?" She began crying, drawing her knees up to her chest and rocking slightly. "It hurts, make it stop, hurts so bad, please make it stop." Tracy's eyes widened, half of her wanted to hug the girl and promise everything would be okay, but stopping her instincts from taking over, Tracy hastily uncorked a bottle and held it near the girl's nose. "Here, drink this, it'll make you feel better." The teen gave her a confused look, then 'first hunger' seemed to kick in full gear, because she snatched the bottle and quickly drained it. "More." Tracy handed her the second bottle, fearing that it wouldn't be enough. But her worries were for naught, halfway through the second bottle, the girl sighed happily and looked up at Tracy with sleepy eyes. Her eyes were still yellow, but on closer inspection, Tracy realized that that was her natural color. Not the vampire's green-gold, but more of a light golden brown, kind of like old coins, Tracy thought. Slightly unnerved, Tracy smiled hesitantly back, "Feel better?" The girl nodded sleepily, "Better." Then, the new fledgling vampire yawned, asked Tracy to take her home and promptly fell fast asleep. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tracy shook her head, turning her thoughts back to the present. Well, she hadn't taken Becka home, at least not to her own. She could hardly return a fledgling vamp to an unsuspecting suburban home! At a loss to what else to do, Tracy had made one quick stop at the Church, cleaning out Vachon's stockpile, and then brought her home with her. Carrying her to and from the car, and then up the two flights of stairs to her apartment hadn't been easy, but luckily Becka was a bit on the small side and she had been able to manage it. Tracy shook her head again, this time in disbelief. Standing she checked the window again, making sure that absolutely no sunlight would get in once the rapidly approaching dawn broke. She looked back at Becka, who was still soundly sleeping in the middle of her bed. It was going to be a long day. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Feedback appreciated at anteros@juno.com *Disclaimers in part one. Bigger Than Life and Twice as Mean! (2/7) By: Cousin Mary (Jenkins) Tracy spent the day on the couch watching The Price is Right reruns on the Gameshow Network. Well, it's not like she would have been able to sleep knowing the vampire in her bed could wake up any minute and decide on a little snack, i.e. her! Perhaps not surprisingly, Becka had slept through the entire day, waking only once the sun had set. Still, by the time that rolled around, Tracy was practically the walking dead herself, only the sweet alchemy of Buckstar's espresso mocha latte was keeping her among the vertically upright. She called into work and told them that she was sick. Judging >from the desk sergeant's abundant sympathy, she must have sounded it. When Becka padded barefoot into the living room, in a pair of shorts she'd stolen from her dresser Tracy noted wryly, she didn't seem particularly upset or even surprised. "You really a cop?" The teen asked cheerfully. Then, without warning, her freckled face contorted in a look of pain, "Ow, ow, ow." She clutched at her jaw. It took a second, but then Tracy realized what was happening, "Aw, my little girl is teething," She giggled a little hysterically and darted into the kitchen to fetch another bottle from the fridge. When 'the beast' was once again taken care of, Becka flopped down on the couch and looked up at a nervous Tracy with tear filled eyes. "What's going on?" Tracy ran her hand through her hair and sat down next to the girl. Not too close though. "It's a long story." She sighed, again wishing she knew how to get a hold of Vachon. Becka looked at her, her face filled with absolute trust. "What happened? The last thing I remember is some guy dragging me into an alley near Blockbuster's, then..." She looked a bit confused, "Then you were there, helping me." Tracy felt such a surge of protectiveness towards this girl, it scared her. She'd worked as a youth camp counselor every summer through high school and college and her every instinct was to help Becka in whatever way she could. Of course, Tracy thought, this wasn't an abusive parent or pushy boyfriend, this was something she'd never dealt with before. How did she even begin to support and encourage a troubled teen of the undead sort? "Well," Tracy began uneasily, taking the girl's hand in hers, mindful of the half empty bottle cradled in her lap, "Let's start at the beginning huh? My name is Tracy Vetter, I'm a cop, but more importantly, I'm your friend." Becka offered her a trembling smile back, "I'm Becka O'Brian, and I'm dead aren't I?" Tracy started, and tried not to let any fear or panic show up on her face, "Why do you say that?" She asked cautiously. "Well," Becka drew a slow breath, "That guy in the alley bit me, I felt myself die! Then I woke up and drank," She looked down at the bottle in her lap. "Bloodwine," Tracy finished for her, nodding slightly. "And you aren't -exactly- dead. You're," A quirky smile touched her lips and she twitched her nose, trying to put the girl at ease, "Living impaired." Becka stared at her for a second, then giggled. "Living impaired?" "Yep," Tracy smiled reassuredly. "And there's nothing wrong with that, some of my best friends are living impaired!" "But you aren't," Becka's lower lip trembled, she looked like she was going to burst into tears, "Are you?" Tracy shook her head slowly, "No." Becka sat there a moment, as if trying to absorb that, then asked, "But you're going to help me, right?" Even though some part of Tracy knew that's what she'd practically been promising the girl since the moment she woke up, Tracy still felt a momentary twinge of panic at her question. How the hell was she supposed to help her? What? Should she put her in a basket and leave her on the Raven's front step? Tracy looked at Becka again, she still looked so innocent sitting there, despite the bottle of AB negative in her lap. No, she couldn't just send her off to fend for herself in that den of the undead, the Raven. After all, from what she'd heard from Vachon, most vampires were killers, monsters, people he repeatedly warned her to stay as far away from as possible. How could she turn Becka over to them? They might kill her, or worse, Tracy thought, make her into one of them. "Yes!" Tracy blurted out suddenly, with a vehemence that surprised them both, "Yes," She repeated a bit more subdued, "I'm going to help you." Becka smiled shakily at her, "Then I know I'll be okay." >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> As it turns out, Becka was a runaway. Tracy had been a little surprised by that fact, Becka certainly didn't have that 'hard as nails' look that most of the street kids she met projected. When Becka told her she'd only been on the street a few days, Tracy knew that had to be true. Becka had spent her first 14 years in a loving family in the suburbs, white picket fence and everything. Then last year, both her parents and her older brother had been killed by a drunk driver. Shortly after that, Becka had started making the circuit among relatives that at best didn't want another mouth to feed and at worst, actively resented her. She'd finally settled in with her kind, elderly Uncle Murray, but last month he'd passed away, and since she hadn't wanted to go back to the 'family circuit' she'd stayed in her uncle's apartment by herself until the landlord had threatened to call social services on her. The first night she spent at the bus station, pretending to wait for someone. Then, the second night, another kid had told her about the shelter on Donaldson, she spent the next night there. She'd just been going back for another night when the vampire had caught her. As Tracy listened she felt a great deal of sympathy for Becka. Part of her realized that since she didn't really have any family that was going to report her missing, her job had just gotten a lot easier. However, the fact that Becka had spent the last year of her life bouncing around >from one uncaring household to another made Tracy's blood boil. Why wouldn't anyone be thrilled to have a kid like Becka live with them? Tracy decided then and there that she was going to be there for her. She didn't know quite how she was going to accomplish it, but she was going to do her damnedest. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>. "So how do you know so much about vampires anyway?" Becka interrupted Tracy's lectures on the 'Facts of Vampirism.' Tracy paused, "Um, well, I sorta know a couple." At Becka's curious look she added, "A guy named Vachon." Becka smiled, a knowing teenage smile, "Oh, your boyfriend?" Much to Tracy's embarrassment, she felt herself go beet red. Becka's eyes widened and she quickly took a gulp from the bottle now resting on the coffee table. Tracy made a mental note to try and not blush in the near future. "So?" Becka grinned hugely, her eyes dancing with possibilities. Tracy tried not to grin back, but failed. Becka was very young and sweet, it was hard not to settle back and just act like a kid with her. It was a bit too comfortable, Tracy knew she was having trouble remembering that this girl was now a vampire, would -always- be a vampire. They had some very serious topics to cover before the night was out. Of course she didn't want to scare or depress the teen, but at the same time Tracy knew instinctively that it was important for both of their sakes that Becka understand what she was. Tracy looked up at the teen again, who was still eagerly waiting for her to tell her about Vachon. She sighed and told her, "He's a friend." "Just a friend?" Her freckled face fell. "A friend with a really great butt," Tracy smirked, and Becka started to giggle. Tracy just smiled, so maybe she wasn't the world's strictest teacher, but she'd get Becka to understand, they had plenty of time after all. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>. Feedback appreciated at anteros@juno.com *Disclaimers in part one. Bigger Than Life and Twice as Mean! (3/7) By: Cousin Mary (Jenkins) The next night Tracy was at work trying to force herself to plow through the mountain of paperwork Nick had left her before taking his vacation. Rumor had it her partner was burned out and spending his much needed time off back east with some family no one had known he had, there was even some talk of Europe. Tracy had tried to get some info on her partner from Nat Lambert, but the coroner either didn't know, or at least wasn't talking. Tracy sighed as she filled in the last form of her third report of the night. She'd left Becka at the apartment, after making the teen swear she wouldn't leave. She hadn't seemed to mind, more than happy to be left alone with Tracy's cable TV, CD collection, PC and other assorted goodies. Tracy, on the other hand, was getting anxious. She was growing pretty fond of the kid already, and wanted to make sure her second night as a vamp went as smoothly as the first. As she sat at her desk, Tracy's mind once again drifted to vampires. The sad fact was that most of her knowledge about vampires either came >from Vachon, Bela Lugosi or Emily Weiss, not really the most reliable sources all things considered. Even Vachon, her resident fanged expert on the subject, hadn't given her that many cold, hard facts on the matter. Of course, it'd probably never occurred to him that she'd one day be trying to teach the facts of unlife to a fledgling, Tracy thought with a smirk. "Tracy?" Tracy looked up at the sound of her name, it was Nat. "Huh? Hi Nat." She smiled. "Hi yourself," The coroner shot her a questioning grin, "Where were you just now? I had to say your name three times before I was so much a blip on the radar." "Sorry, just day dreaming I guess," Tracy blushed. "Must be some dream," Nat smiled knowingly. "What's his name?" "Alas, nothing as interesting as that," Tracy sighed dramatically, "Pity me Nat, the only men in my life are Reese, Dad and my absent partner." "Well, I'm two up on you," Nat smiled, "I have Ben & Jerry too." "Oh please, not the 'all the good men are married or gay' speech again," The Desk Sergeant, yelled across the room at them, "And Vetter, you have a call on line two." "Do you mind, Doug?" Nat yelled back, dropping a file on Tracy's desk and turning a mock-glare on the sergeant, "This is a private male-bashing thank-you very much!" Tracy laughed as the pair got into it and picked up the call, "Vetter." "Tracy?" "Becka?" All her amusement at her coworkers' antics evaporated and ice cold dread took its place. Her mind was instantly filled with visions of Enforcers beating down the door, drained pizza boys, and dozens of other possible disasters, "What's wrong?" "Nothin'," The teen sighed, "I'm just bored." "Oh." Tracy blinked. She knew Becka was a smart kid, she was an honor student at her school. Tracy's got the impression that the kid was practically Doogie Howser when it came to computers too. Why wasn't she busy hackin' the Pentagon or something? "Um, why don't you look up some," Tracy glance around to make sure no one was listening, but other than Nat and Doug, who were still bickering, no one was around, "Vampire stuff on the net?" She said the 'V' word in a whisper, but Becka heard her. "There's an idea," The teen said, a touch of annoyance in her voice, "If you didn't have your system password encrypted." Despite herself, Tracy smiled, she was no slouch in the computer department either. Secretly she was pleased Becka hadn't been able to crack her system, even though it was obvious she'd tried. "My password is 'explanation point, Sparky-27'," she whispered into the receiver, "Have fun." "Great!" Becka was already booting up the PC again, "You'll be home soon?" "Couple more hours," Tracy glanced at her watch. "'Kay! See ya soon!" Tracy looked at the receiver in her hand for a second and smiled, her phone line would probably be busy the rest of the night. "Who called?" Nat walked up, after throwing one last dirty look Doug's way. "Huh?" Tracy's mind went blank a moment, "Um, one of my sorority sister's kid, my god daughter Becka, she's staying with me for awhile." "Oh? How old is she?" Nat asked, genuinely curious. "15," Tracy said, not sure how much she should tell her. Obviously not the vampire part, but it looked like Becka was going to be a big part of her life for at least the next couple weeks, if not longer. Suddenly Tracy realized she was going to need a background story for her. She made a mental note to stop by a snitch she knew about some fake paperwork. School records, new name, everything. "Tracy? You in there?" Nat waved her hand in front of the blonde's face. "Oops, sorry," Tracy smiled wryly, "I guess Nick's rubbed off on me." "As long as you don't do that while driving," Nat joked, "As I was saying, before you took that unscheduled trip to la-la land, you want to go out for coffee on your break?" "Yeah," Tracy smiled, "I think we both know I need it." >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Later that night, Tracy slipped her key into her door and opened it, "Becka? I'm home." Tracy smiled to herself, it sort of gave her a warm feeling to know someone was waiting for her. Growing up, her father had usually been at the office, and her mom had usually been passed out in bed when she got home, the fact that Becka actually missed her company enough to call her at work meant a lot to her. "Becka?" Tracy called out again when the teen failed to answer. She was here right? Tracy pulled off her leather duster and draped it over the kitchen table, moving into the living room. Then she saw her, she was still in front of the computer, headphone's on her curly head and happily bopping around as she surfed through the U of Toronto's Online Library. Tracy chuckled, she hadn't even noticed she'd come in. "Becka!" She yelled, still no response, even standing ten feet away Tracy could still make out Korn's latest hit blaring from headphones. "Becka!!!" Tracy sang out, waving her arms above her head and jumping up and down, "Yoohoo! Hey! Red!" Finally the teen looked up and smiled, "Oh hi Tracy! Is it two already?" She took of the headphones and the room was suddenly thumping loudly with 'Freak on a Leash.' Tracy walked over and flipped of the stereo, "Loud enough?" Becka looked a bit sheepish, "It's a good song..." "I know," Tracy grinned, "That's why I bought the CD." "Oh right," Becka smiled, obviously she wasn't used to a 'grown-up' liking the same sort of music as her. Uncle Murray had been a dear, but anything newer than Billy Holly had tended to give him a headache. "Find anything interesting?" Tracy crouched down next to her chair and peered at the screen. "Lots!" Becka grinned, being a vampire was an adventure for her still. It didn't seem to frighten her at all, in her own words, 'it was way cool.' "I've been trying some of it out too!" "Trying it out?" Tracy frowned slightly. "Yeah!" Becka gushed, missing the blonde's apprehension completely. "Like, I -can- see my reflection in a mirror, but the garlic salt in the cupboard really does make me cringe!" "I could have told you that," Tracy smiled, "Vachon once crossed the street to avoid walking by a hot dog stand that had garlic in the sauerkraut." The teen giggled before going on, "I can't really fly, but I did sorta hover." "You did?" Tracy's eyes widened, hoping that since the curtains were now open, none of her neighbors had happened to look over. "Well, only for like three seconds," She admitted, "But it's a start!" "It sure is," Tracy nodded, "Anything else?" "Well, the stuff about bats and wolves is completely bogus, just like you said," She looked a bit disappointed at that, "But the stuff about Masters, Fledglings and all that is kinda neat." "Keep in mind we don't really know which, if any of that stuff is true," Tracy warned, even as she leaned in to read a paragraph that had caught her eye. "Oh, one more thing," For the first time that night Becka actually sounded a bit troubled. "What?" Tracy turned her head to find Becka's face mere inches from hers. "We're out of blood," Becka said quietly, her eyes gleaming in the glow of the monitor, or maybe it wasn't the PC... >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Feedback appreciated at anteros@juno.com *Disclaimers in part one. Bigger Than Life and Twice as Mean! (4/7) By: Cousin Mary (Jenkins) Tracy froze. She had no idea if she was in danger or not. She watched as Becka slowly drew a breath, moving almost imperceptibly closer to her neck as she did. Tracy's heart leapt into her throat, was this the end then? As a cop she'd been threatened, nearly had her heart cut out, shot at countless times and even almost had her head sawed off by a psychotic collector. Was she really going to meet her end to a fledgling with the munchies who probably didn't even know what she was doing? Suddenly Tracy shook herself, no, she'd never been the passive victim before and she wasn't going to start now! "Hey," Tracy grinned a bit to brightly and tweaked Becka on the end of the nose, "We'll just have to go out and buy some more then huh?" Becka started, her eyes filled with horror as she realized what she'd been about to do. But Tracy just stood and breezed away, as if it was no big deal. A bit lost, Becka stood and asked, "Wh-where do we get more? Like a blood bank or something?" Tracy laughed, "What, you think we walk up and just say 'Hi, we'd like to make a withdrawl?'" "I dunno," Becka ran a hand nervously through her curls, still a little preoccupied with what had almost happened, "Where then?" "The Raven," Tracy said simply, scooping her coat and car keys off the table, "Come on, we'll go right now." "Um, okay," Becka slipped on her shoes and followed her friend out. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The Raven was like it always was, loud, smoky and dark. She knew from CERK that the creepy owner was out of town for awhile, the guest DJ said Paris, so she didn't have him to worry about. With the black clad goth kids and the smell of alcohol and sweat in the air just like always, it was almost comforting to Tracy's jangled nerves. The car ride over had been very tense and silent, she knew Becka was trying to come to terms with one of her new urges, and Tracy had decided it would probably best if she let her think things through on her own. She'd come to the right conclusion in the end, she hoped. "Well," Tracy forced a calm smile for Becka's sake as they entered the club, "Here we are." Becka looked around wide-eyed, "I've never been in a nightclub before, wow." "Yeah well, you weren't missing much," Tracy cracked as a guy dressed in a leather thong with pierced everything walked by. "Anyway, see that bar over there?" Becka nodded. "Go over to the guy with the long black hair and ask how much a case of the house special is," Tracy told her, then handed her a fifty, "Then buy as many as this will get you." "Wait!" Becka's eyes went wide with panic, "By myself?!" Tracy grimaced, "Yeah, you're going to have to." Becka's eyes closed for a sec, "Oh yeah, 'cause the," Her voice dropped to a whisper, "Enforcers, right?" Tracy almost smiled at how much Becka sounded like her, Vachon always made fun of how she whispered certain words, and now she had Becka doing the same thing. "That's right, go on, it'll be okay." She said soothingly, patting the teen on the arm and gently turning her towards the bar. "I'll go wait in the car, it's probably better if they don't see me here with you once you make your order." Becka nodded bravely and though her hands were trembling, started towards the bar. Tracy watched her for a second before heading back outside. She hoped to god everything would be okay. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Becka squared her shoulders and marched straight to the bar, and one of the bartenders gave her a quick look and asked to see her ID. She almost panicked then, before the dark hared man Tracy had pointed to earlier motioned his mortal co-worker to let him handle this one. Becka tried to relax, but her brain seemed to have decided to take a little nap instead of working. For the life of her she couldn't think of what to say! "Um, er, I need," Becka mumbled, her eyes on the shiny wood of the bar rather than vampire waiting impatiently for her to spit out what she wanted. The vamp sighed, "A drink?" He placed a wine glass on the bar in front of her, though Becka's nose told her instantly that it wasn't just wine. "Um, a case actually," Becka finally looked up at him, setting her jaw the same way Tracy did when she meant business, "I don't want to stay in here very long." He raised an eyebrow, "You don't?" Becka's eyes widened, oh god, she thought, I've insulted him! "Um," Her mind raced to come up with something plausible, "Well, it's not that I don't -want- to," She told him, "I just can't." "Why not?" He asked her point blank. Becka became aware of several other vampires watching and listening in on their conversation, oh crap. Her mind quickly churned through several possible answers to his question before she blurted out, "Because my master won't let me!" There was a beat of silence, the bartender looked surprised, almost as surprised as Becka was. Where'd she come up with that? She had an idea of what a master was to a vampire, but only a vague one. These in the Raven were actually the first vampires she'd seen since she'd come across. She'd woken up with the strange feeling or knowledge that her master had been on his way out of town when he'd bit her, and she knew he hadn't meant to and probably didn't even know that she was still among the living, undead, whatever. So technically, making-up a fake master shouldn't be too big a deal. "So your master," The bartender asked, "He is very fierce?" "She," Becka corrected, for some reason Tracy's face popped into her head. Sure she wasn't her master, but she was close, and she -did- care about her. "She's great, very focused, in control. And..." Becka searched for a word to describe Tracy's confidence and inner strength, something that would convey the patience and common sense her friend had shown her, "She has a serenity, sorta thing going for her." The vampire actually looked impressed. Becka had no idea she'd just described qualities usually present in only the most ancient of their kind. "And your master, she is here, in Toronto?" "Uh, yep," Becka nodded, getting a little worried that this man and the others listening in would want to meet her. To dissuade them she added, "She's got a cruel streak too." She watched the bartender nod, as if that was to be expected, "Big as life and twice as mean!" Becka chirped. The dark vampire looked a little worried, then went to the back to fetch her a case, on the house. Becka grinned, that hadn't been too bad at all! As she left the bar she didn't notice that the room was practically humming with conversations. Rumors were flying, apparently there was a new Master vamp in town, probably older than even Lacroix they said. Most were curious, a few were afraid, but a select few were... suspicious. From behind a shadowy pillar Urs emerged then, a thoughtful look on her cherubic face. She'd watched the young fledgling with some interest, the teen's fumbling insecurities striking a chord with her. But unlike the others, who were now busily discussing who this new master vampire could be, Urs had seen Becka's companion when she'd first entered the Raven. Tracy Vetter, her master's mortal girlfriend. What she was doing with a fledgling vampire was beyond her, but she was going to find out. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Feedback appreciated at anteros@juno.com *Disclaimers in part one. Bigger Than Life and Twice as Mean! (5/7) By: Cousin Mary (Jenkins) Later that night, Tracy and Becka were sitting on the roof of their apartment building watching wispy, half-formed clouds dart across the sky. Becka was sipping her dinner out of a Big Gulp cup, one with a lid, so neither she nor Tracy really had to think about what she was drinking. Tracy had her own Big Gulp, though hers was filled with Cherry Coke. "Tracy?" Becka looked over at her friend, her protector and teacher, stretched out on a bedspread on her back looking up at the stars up above. "Yeah?" Tracy rolled to her side and looked at her. They'd been up here for hours, talking about everything and nothing. From what being a vampire -really- meant, to which guy on Dawson's Creek was the cutest. It was nice, a little surreal, but nice, she thought. "I think I'm beginning to love you," Becka confessed, then her eyes went wide, "Not in that Ellen/Anne Heche sorta way though!" "I'm too old for you anyway," Tracy chuckled, then closed her eyes, smiled and laid back down, "I always wanted a sister too." "Sister," Becka repeated the word as if testing it out. It apparently met with her approval because she sighed happily and stretched out next to Tracy, "Can you see the Big Dipper?" >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The next night Tracy was at work, again wondering what her young ward was up to. 'I wonder if Batman ever had this problem?' Tracy thought with a smile as she forced herself to put the receiver down and not to call and check on the kid again. Something had overcome her before she'd left for work and... she'd left Becka her credit card. Well, they'd been checking old book dealers via the web and telephone before work, and by now they were both starting to get a feel for what was authentic and what was purely fiction, so she wasn't too worried that Becka would get conned into buying something by Bram Stoker, and the card only had a $500 dollar limit so she couldn't do -too- much damage. At least, that was what she kept telling herself, truthfully she was scared stiff that she was going to come home to a life sized N'Sync cardboard cut out and a Pokemon throw rug. "So what do you think?" Nat came twirling into the precinct and plopped herself down at her absent partner's desk, "Is it me?" Tracy looked up at her friend and blinked, "Huh?" A low wolf whistle sounded from across the room, "Hey Lambert, lookin' good!" It was Doug the desk sergeant of course, "Hot date tonight?" He asked. Suddenly Tracy realized that Nat was not dressed in her usual scrubs or sweats, no, Nat Lambert looked like she was out on the prowl! "Wow!" Tracy grinned, "You do look great Nat, what's the occasion?" "Oh, no reason," Nat looked down at the desk and toyed with a paper clip for a moment, "It was just a 'I-saw-this-dress-and-had-to-have-it' kinda thing." "So..." Tracy glanced up at Doug, the usually brash officer sounded down right shy! "So," Doug looked up at Nat, "You don't have anything planned for after your shift?" Tracy almost choked on her coffee when Nat looked up and, with a half-smile, said, "Not a thing." Tracy looked from one to the other, at that moment she finally realized why Nat wasn't more put out by Nick's disappearing act. Whoa, she really -had- to pay more attention to the talk around the water cooler! She'd had no idea! "Uh, maybe we could, uh." Doug was actually stammering! Loud, obnoxious Doug Baxter couldn't get the words out to ask Nat out on a date! Tracy sat back in awe, this was -so- much better than 'As the World Turns.' Suddenly the precinct door slammed open and Becka came running in. "Tracy?!" The teen quickly strode though one of the open doorway and spotted her, probably more due to her new heightened senses than anything as mundane as luck. Tracy climbed to her feet. "Becka? You all right? How'd you get here?" "8th Street bus," The teen shrugged. "I needed to talk to you," She looked quickly at Nat and Doug. "This is your god daughter?" Nat asked Tracy. Doug frowned slightly and stalked back over to his desk in the front of the station, to sulk do doubt. "Yeah," Tracy nodded, not knowing what else to do, "Nat, this is Becka, my godchild. Becka this is my friend and coworker Natalie Lambert." The two smiled at each other, but since the teen looked incredibly anxious to talk to Tracy alone, Nat excused herself and went to bother Doug some more. But before she left, she shot Tracy a questioning look. The blonde just shook her head and shrugged that she had no idea. Tracy led Becka into one of the observation rooms and locked the door. She took a deep breath, then turned and faced the teen, "You came out here all by yourself? Do you know how dangerous that is? I mean, you're just a kid! What were you thinking?!" Becka seemed taken aback, "I, I don't know, it wasn't a big deal, I did it all the time before." "That's no excuse!" Tracy told her. She thought about all those good-for-nothings that had 'looked after' Becka for the past year, letting a young girl roam around Toronto in the middle of the night?! "You're Uncle Murray let you take a bus by yourself at midnight?" Tracy towered over the teen, and for once she let Becka know it, daring her to lie to her. Quickly Becka shook her head, "No, but the others never cared." Suddenly the girl's eyes filled with tears and she threw herself into Tracy's arms. "Oh, I'm sorry I made you mad, I'll never do it again! I promise!" Tracy sighed and patted her on the back, "There, there, it's okay." She laughed and clucked her under the chin, "Hey, actually this something we have in common, you know how many times I've gotten in trouble for running off by myself and doing something dangerous?" Becka shook her head, "Lots," Tracy continued, "Even as a grown up. Heck, even as a cop!" She smiled, "It's okay, really. I was just worried about you is all." Becka gave her a watery smile, wiped away a few tears and stepped back. "Oh god, look what I did to your shirt!" Tracy glanced down, the shoulder of her beige blouse was completely soaked with red tinged tears, "It's okay, I have a blazer out there, I'll just put it back on, no one will notice." She assured her with a smile. "So, what'd you come down here for anyway?" Becka's smile disappeared, "We have a problem." "What?" Tracy asked. "They're looking for you." Becka's lower lip began to tremble, she looked like she was going to start crying again at any minute. "Who?" Tracy frowned, whatever it was it seemed to have Becka more than a little on edge. "The vampires." She whispered, then she threw herself back into Tracy's arms and started bawling again. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Feedback appreciated at anteros@juno.com *Disclaimers in part one. Bigger Than Life and Twice as Mean! (6/7) By: Cousin Mary (Jenkins) "What?" Tracy's voice was calm, controlled. When Becka pulled back and looked at her, the blonde looked a bit curious, but not nearly as panicked as Becka herself felt. If it hadn't been for the thundering beat of Tracy's heart and the faint smell of fear in the air, Becka might even had fallen for it. As it was, she took comfort in the strength her friend was projecting, even if it wasn't completely truthful. Tracy was a brave person, strong enough to deal with what she was going to tell her. And Becka knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, that no matter how bad things got, Tracy wouldn't abandon her or send her away. "I was in that bookstore on 12th-" "The occult one?" Tracy cut in, they'd visited the shop earlier that week, great place, tons of vampire books. "Yeah," Becka nodded, "Anyway, I was just reading in the magazine section, Backstreet Boys are on the cover of YM and..." She trailed off with a quick shake of her head and a nervous laugh, "But that's not important I guess. At any rate, I was reading and these two big, huge vamps came in, all menacing and practically oozing creepiness. They came up to me right away and started asking me about my master and-" "Wait," Tracy cut her off, frowning, "Your master? I thought he was long gone. You said-" "Yeah, I know," Becka looked a bit sheepish, "Uh, they don't want him... they want you." "What?!" Tracy yelped, "What do you mean, 'they want me'?" Eyes locked on the floor, Becka quickly explained what had happened at the Raven and then later at the bookstore. When she'd finally finished she looked up at Tracy through her bangs, "I'm sorry Tracy, I didn't mean any harm." Tracy stood there in shock for a moment. She couldn't believe this was happening, and she couldn't even begin to think of a way out of it. She opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it. She turned, walked to the table in the middle of the interrogation room and sat down. She closed her eyes and took one long breath after another. "Tracy?" Becka asked, taking a hesitant step towards her, "Are-are you okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine." Tracy answered, looking at the teen with a shaky smile. "So... they want to meet me do they? Well, I'm sure we'll be able to come up with something..." "Uh, I maybe already did," Becka set her small backpack on the table next to Tracy and pulled out an old book, "This is a copy of the Abarat, apparently a really important vamp-type book." The teen explained. Tracy accepted the book and started flipping through the pages, reading a few passages, "It's a little odd." She commented, "The sentences don't quite work..." "It a bad translation," Becka grimaced, "The original is in Sandscript apparently, but this weird Creole soundin' one was what the shop had." "Hmm," Tracy started reading a passage about a cure for vampirism, but since it involved sunlight, wood and holy objects she decided the 'cure' was probably actually a list of ways to destroy a vampire. Not very useful to them. "Interesting, but how is this going to help us with our current dilemma?" "Well," The teen flipped through the pages and pointed to a bad wood block print, "See that?" Tracy peered at the picture, from the stylized moon in the sky, Tracy decided it was probably night. On one side of the image there was a group of black clad goons with fangs, obviously vampires. On the other was a rather happy looking character drawn with his heel behind his head, his eyebrows arched and a funny, almost mocking look on his crudely drawn face, and though he lacked the fangs of the vampires, there was something odd about him. "Looks like a weird yoga position... is that a monkey?" "Um, maybe," Becka squinted at the images, "But what I meant was the cup there." "Oh yeah," Tracy nodded, spotting the blue cup the monkey-type thing was clutching, "Looks like leaves of some kind drawn on the side." "Exactly!" Becka smiled in triumph. "Care to share with the class Becka?" The corner of Tracy's mouth quirked up. "Oh, right," Becka smiled sheepishly, "Well, the book is full of folk tales mostly. I skimmed a lot, but one tells of these people who followed big time harmony of nature stuff. They practiced major self-restraint, breath, muscle, even heart beat control was taught almost like a sport, anyway, these guys," Becka pointed at the picture of the vampires, "Showed up and these folks were able convince them that the whole village was already vampires so the baddies left them alone." Tracy blinked, "You want me to fool these vampires into thinking -I'm- a vampire? Are you nuts? Even if it were possible, I haven't had that kind of training! I can't slow my heart beat or 'make skin cold to touch.'" She read from the text in her hand. "But you don't need to know how!" Becka explained, "The whole town couldn't do that stuff, especially the old and real young, that's what they used the tea for!" "Tea?" "Yeah, this special tea made from secret herbs," Becka beamed, "They'll make you seem like an ancient vampire to them, and it only lasts one night!" Tracy was fascinated by what Becka was telling her, but then shook her head, "Yeah, but 'secret herbs'? Come on Beck, where are we going to get that kind of stuff, or even find out which herbs to use? "Chinatown!" Becka pulled a baggie from her pocket, "I stopped by Ling-Su's on the way over, best herbalist in town!" Tracy took the bag and opened it, examining and sniffing the contents. The herbs were varied, some deep purple leaves, others were brown and lumpy, a few red twigs; over all they looked like potpourri and smelled like the cedar balls she kept in her sock drawer. She gave Becka a skeptical look, "Ling-Su? Where'd you meet him? And what makes you think he's so reliable?" "Uncle Murray swore by his ginseng tea," Becka told her with authority, "Plus when I showed him the list," She pointed towards barely legible words Tracy had failed to notice set along the base of the picture, "He knew right away what to do." Tracy blinked, "I guess hiding from vampires is a cross-cultural goal." Becka nodded, "He said the herbs are used in an ancient brew to scare away demons, but that people rarely used it anymore and..." She trailed off and looked at the floor. "What?" Tracy asked suspiciously. "They, um, never drink it, they...uh," If Becka could have blushed, she would have, "Use it in an enema." Tracy gasped, then began to giggle, "They what?" "But you have to brew it and drink it," Becka looked up at her, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to another, "I think it'll work." Tracy eyed the baggie skeptically, "I'll probably get warts or something." She grumbled, but gathered the book, bag and Becka and headed towards the door. "Come on, I'll book off and we can go read up on this some more." Becka grinned, wiping the last remnants of her tears away. Everything was going to work out, Tracy would see to that. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Later that night, Tracy was pulling into the bookstore's parking lot, feeling decidedly woozy. She and Becka had brewed the tea, Tracy had drank it, and they had headed immediately over to the bookstore. Whether it was just in her head or what, Tracy was definitely beginning to feel some effects. As soon as the car was in park, Tracy rested her head on the steering wheel and shut her eyes against the slow pounding headache that was starting just behind her eyes. "Tracy? You okay?" Becka asked worriedly, putting her small hand on her friend's shoulder. "Just peachy," Tracy said, though since her forehead was still pressed against the molded plastic of her steering wheel, her words lacked some credibility. "It's workin' ya know," The teen told her, "I can feel it." "Really?" Tracy raised her head and looked into Becka's tense face, "All I feel is nauseous." Tracy added with a sigh, popping her door and climbing out. Becka quickly followed her across the lot and to the small shop's front door. She guessed she shouldn't have been that surprised to see another vampire at Renfield Books, after all, it -was- one of the only all night book stores in Toronto. She frowned slightly, realizing that this was all her fault, "You sure you want to go through with this Tracy? I mean, you don't have to... what are they going to do to me anyway, right?" She shot Tracy a shaky smile. Tracy paused with her hand on the door, in her time as a cop she'd seen a lot of horrible things. She knew first hand the appalling things one person could do to another and she didn't even want to -think- about what a race of killers could come up with. She tried to smile at Becka, hoping the teen would see the fear in her eyes, fear for herself and for her friend, "Nah, I'll do it. Piece of cake, it'll be fun." >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Feedback appreciated at anteros@juno.com *Disclaimers in part one. Bigger Than Life and Twice as Mean! (7/7) By: Cousin Mary (Jenkins) Taking a deep breath, Tracy yanked open the door and strode inside, Becka following meekly (and hopefully fledgling-like) behind her. After a quick visual survey of the premises they discovered that other than the clerk, who's sunburned nose and cheeks proclaimed him 'mortal,' there was no one else around. "Great," Tracy grumbled, "I get all drugged up on enema tea for nothing." "What do we do now?" Becka asked worriedly. "We wait," Tracy shrugged, and gave the teen a carefree smile, "Maybe they'll come back." "'Kay," Becka smiled back and trotted off towards the magazine rack at the other end of the store. Tracy glanced at her watch, "Give it an hour." She mumbled. After all, they might as well wait to see if the vamps showed, it wasn't like she was in any condition to drive right now anyway. Her stomach was doing cartwheels and everything seemed to be a bit darker than it probably really was inside the quiet shop. Tracy wandered back to the crime drama section to see if the new John Grisham novel was in yet. As it turned out, they didn't have a long wait. With a suddenness that made Tracy wonder if the clerk had them on speed dial, two scary looking vampires marched into the store, and straight to the cubbyhole Tracy was curled up reading in. And Tracy -knew- they were vampires. Sure she'd always had a sixth sense about that kind of thing before, Lord knows she'd scared Vachon more than once by picking vamps out of a crowd, but this time it was different, this wasn't the faint 'feeling' she usually got in the pit of her stomach when she suspected someone of being living impaired, no, this was straight and pure recognition, she could just look at them and -knew- it, almost like she could tell an apple from an aardvark just by looking. Tracy drew a sharp breath when she saw them barreling down on her, out of the corner of her eye she could see Becka dropping her Teen Life magazine and taking a quick step behind the rack. These guys scared her. Hell, they scared Tracy too. But she was going to handle this, she had too. Squaring her shoulders, Tracy glared at the approaching vampires... who, surprisingly, stopped dead in their tracks. Keeping her own surprise hidden, Tracy watched through narrowed eyes as the two male vampires looked nervously at one another and seemed to hesitate. Instantly Tracy realized that they couldn't tell she was mortal, and judging from how cowed they seemed in her presence, not only did she 'feel' like a vampire to them, she must have felt like an old and powerful one! On that assumption, Tracy decided to turn this to her advantage. Throwing her legs over the arm of her chair, she set down her book and with an air of bored annoyance asked, "Can I help you?" Both vampires seemed taken aback, one audibly swallowed. "Uh... welcome to Toronto, uh, ma'am." Tracy yawned hugely, "I'm hardly new to this town, just because I haven't made myself a party to its petty hierarchy does not mean I have not been present." She gave them a lofty look, sinking deeply into the overstuffed armchair as she stretched her long legs in almost a cat stretch. "I've heard from my Becka that you were looking for me," Her eyes narrowed dangerously, "Why on Earth would you do that?" By now the vampires were completely submissive, if they'd had tails, they would have been between their legs. "Uh..., we meant no harm milady, we, uh-" Tracy settled herself comfortably, as if the two vampires were of absolutely no matter what-so-ever to her. Since a small child her parents had taken her to meet one great dame of the Toronto elite after another, she knew all too well the attitude of a prima donna. As her parents had climbed the societal ladder themselves, going from police officer and wife, to lawyer and social butterfly and finally to prominent politician and jaded socialite, Tracy had learned a thing or two about the better-than-thou attitude of the rich and powerful, and she put that knowledge to good use now. Crossing her legs she lounged, her posture showing she held her audience in utter disrespect, while her eyes held the promise of retribution if they dared bother her further. "Well, now you have met me." She said loftily. Tracy stiffened imperceptibly as she sensed yet another vampire enter the building, the last thing she needed, she felt her stomach roll. She had to hurry this up, she turned her eyes again on the males before her, "Is there something else you wanted?" Her tone telling them that there had better not be. "No!" One vamp yelped, while the other edged backwards. "We, uh, will just be going now. Sorry to bother you ma'am." "Very well then." Tracy waved her hand at them, signaling that they could leave, "Oh, and boys?" The vamps were practically trembling with fear now, they looked at Tracy's impassive face expectantly, wanting nothing more than to get the hell out of there. "There -is- a reason I'm not well known in this town," Tracy's eyes told them that they were clearly not worthy of an explanation, "And I would like to keep it that way." Her eyes narrowed in a thinly veiled threat. "Of-of course, mistress, uh ma'am," The vampires nodded and practically tripped over each other in their hurry to leave her presence. As soon as the two vamps had scurried out of the store, Becka ran squealing to Tracy's side. "You did it! You fooled them!" Tracy gave her a shaky smile, "I sure did." Then she remembered feeling another vampire enter the store and went pale. Her head snapped up and she looked around, there in the corner stood Urs, looking on with a mixture of confusion and alarm. "Oh god." Tracy's stomach decided to stop rolling and just contract into a tight point. She leapt out the chair and rushed down the hall marked 'rest rooms.' Several minutes later, those 'secret herbs' well on their way towards joining the sea, Tracy emerged from the ladies' room only to find Urs and Becka sitting in an uncomfortable silence, apparently waiting for her. Tracy gave Urs a questioning look, she hardly knew the blonde vampiress, but was sure the former dance hall girl had to know she was mortal. What was she going to do? "Uh, hi Urs." She gave the blonde a friendly, but anxious smile. "Tracy?" Urs looked from her master's girlfriend to the nervous fledgling openly gapping at her, then back at Tracy, "What the -hell- is going on here?" >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Hours later, Urs and Tracy sat on the couch in Tracy's apartment, each with a coffee mug in hand (though the contents of those cups were a tad different.) "That's, gee, that's something," Urs shook her head in disbelief when Tracy finished up her story. Becka had fallen asleep over an hour ago, worn out from all the excitement as well as the rising sun. Tracy and Urs had carried her to bed and tucked her in before going back to their conversation in the living room. "Yeah," Tracy nodded, "I didn't know what else to do but take her in myself. I couldn't get a hold of Vachon and it's not like my little black book of the undead is particularly full." Tracy smiled wryly. "You should have called me," Urs said, surprising herself as well as Tracy. "Uh, maybe I should have," Tracy agreed, ignoring the fact that she didn't know Urs's last name, much less her phone number. "I suppose I could have left her at the Raven too, but..." She looked back at the closed bedroom door. "But then you would have had to give her up," Urs patted Tracy's hand and looked at her with sympathetic eyes. "Not to mention they would probably just screw her up," Urs added wistfully, "She seems like a sweet kid, you're doing a good job with her." "Thanks," Tracy smiled her appreciation at her words, "But I don't know if I can do enough for her ya know? I mean, it's not like I can help her learn to fly, or whammy someone or..." She trailed off lamely, looking anywhere but at Urs as she added, "Or fight her hunger." Urs sat up a little straighter, a thoughtful look on her face. Killing had always been an extremely sore point with her. Vachon had always brushed her concerns aside, saying 'we kill to live,' but Urs herself had never been so sure. One of the reasons she admired Nick so much was his refusal to kill, and she herself had avoided taking a life since the advent of bottled blood-wine. "Uh... maybe I can help?" She looked at Tracy with pleading, unsure eyes, "Teach Becka, and you know, help you?" Tracy's eyes snapped back to Urs, and for the first time actually -saw- her. She saw that killing was wrong in Urs's eyes too, and she also saw the vampiress's need to be there for someone. 'Responsibility might be a good thing for Urs,' Tracy thought suddenly. Silently she went through everything she knew about the vampiress from both Vachon and Screed, which all together wasn't that much, but she'd also spent the last five hours with her, and knew somehow that Urs wasn't just offering her assistance in taking care of Becka, but also her friendship. Tracy smiled then, "You know Urs? I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." She held her hand out for Urs, who immediately took and shook it. "Yeah," Urs smiled timidly back, "I think so too." >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Well that's it, hope everyone liked it! Feedback is truly appreciated at anteros@juno.com