I parked the bike at the far end of the car park and was surprised to find there weren’t that many cars around. I guess being a Monday night had something to do with it, but didn’t think the supernatural were put off drinking because of that.

As I went towards the front entrance, movement in the shadows at the back by the bins stopped me. Using a couple of trucks parked to the side, I crept closer and was rewarded with the murmur of young voices.

“So Tash and Sydney will go in first and if he is in there, they’ll let us know. If he’s not, they’ll stay for one drink before leaving and we’ll just have to keep trying until he comes back.” The male voice commanded the others.

Leaving my hiding place I found a group of six that were nothing more than a bunch of kids from the Academy.

“What if he doesn’t come back Rick?” A girl asked.

“We’ll give it a week and work it out from there Sydney.” Rick decided.

One of the girls had blonde hair and caught the faint bit of light from the window of the staff room above them as she went to move down the side of the wall. Of all places to talk about a plan of attack, it probably wasn’t the smartest location to do so.

The second I stepped out in front of her, she clearly had no idea I was so close due to the way she squealed and practically fell backwards to her friends. All of them jumped, a gasp leaving the majority of them as the familiar frenzy of loading weapons echoed around them.

“I’m not a demon you idiots.” I greeted coldly, and one of the girls at the back of the group turned on a torch, shining it into my eyes. “What are you trying to do? Blind me into submission?”

“Who are you, why are you here?” Rick demanded, and the boy stepped forward. Literally boy. He was mess of arms and legs, towering over all the others including me. He was thin and lanky, not at all as intimidating as his voice would have me believe.

“I ask the questions kid.” I hated when Zane called me kid, or anyone really yet I did like the feeling I got talking down to this guy. No wonder he did it. “What are you lot doing out here?”

“None of your business!” He retorted.

Someone has a little attitude problem. “What are you, like ten?”

“We’re sixteen! Well I am, Tony is still fifteen!” One of the girls that I think was Sydney snapped and all her friends turned to glare at her.

“Oh, sorry!” I mocked, “but that doesn’t answer my question. Why are you here or I’ll have you all back at the Academy in front of Huntington before you can even think of a lie to tell me.”

“We’re hunting a vampire okay?” The other guy, Tony huffed.

“You’re like twelve, even in a group you shouldn’t be out on your own like this!” The attitude I was throwing back at him wasn’t being taken well. Both guys moved closer together, standing at full height as they seemed to puff out their chests in an effort to intimidate me. Idiots. I was almost hoping they would do something so I’d have an excuse for putting them in their place.

“Whatever. We have shit to do!” Rick went to push past me, and I instantly tripped him up.

“Sorry, I bet a vampire couldn’t do that!” Now I was just being a bitch.

“What’s your problem? We’re on a mission!” Tony stepped forward to defend his friend.

“My problem is I just found a bunch of kids hanging at the back of a notorious demon bar talking about hunting a vampire! Do you want to die?” I yelled, unable to help feel a little protective. They really were just kids. They were tempting fate right now and once they left the academy they'd be given a first class lesson in the realities of our world even if they were so eager to hunt vampires now.

“We already were, it’s why we’re here!” The one I think was Tash admitted. She looked even younger than the others and I just pitied them. Darius made this neutral ground, but sometimes even the most skilled demons couldn’t resist such an easy prey and they shouldn't ask for trouble either.

“What?” That got my attention.

“We came last night. It was Max’s birthday and we heard about this place from one of the guys who graduated last year. We thought it would be fun, but when we went to leave, our friend Amy was separated and she ended up being fed off by this vamp that was bothering her all night.” There was so much in that story I could comment on, but the fact was a vampire attacked a student kept my sarcasm quiet.

Mum and Dad hadn’t mentioned any student attacks, and neither did Logan which was weird. Then again I was used to being kept in the dark about certain things so this was probably something else they didn't want me know about. Maybe that was what their staff meeting was about?

Darius probably would have killed the vamp if he knew about it so they were here for nothing and as much as I'd hate to burst their little revenge bubble, told them so. “Why isn’t the campus on lock down and if Darius knew about it, your attacker is already going to be dust.”

“No one knows. We told everyone she has a stomach virus and kept it quiet so we didn’t get into trouble and-“ Rick shuts his mouth the same time the tickle on the back of my neck warns me of a vampire close by.

“What is going on out here?” I smile hearing Darius, not missing the confusion on the other two girls faces and turning, he instantly grins. “You’re a sight for sore eyes Hunter! What is this? How to become a juvenile delinquent 101?”

“Please, if I was behind this, I’d be having a drink with you already. Kids meet Darius and yes he's a vampire so don't do anything to piss him off." The fear in their young eyes made me cringe. "But seriously, they're saying their friend was attacked last night on the way back to campus. You know anything?”

The silence behind me is deafening and I look to make sure they’re all still there. Clearly they haven’t been around many vampires, and considering they’re slayers, their reaction isn’t one I’d rate to highly. Considering Darius could probably smell their fear, they were doing a terrible job of keeping up the image of a group of bad ass slayer students out to hunt a vampire.

“Straight to business as usual. Sorry Hunter, I got nothing. Why don’t you all come in rather than hanging out by the dumpsters?” He suggests and with a nod, I signal for the others to follow me in.

They literally drag their feet, whispering amongst themselves over the unexpected change in events. Ignoring the occasional dirty look from Rick, the other two introduce themselves. The twin girls, Sally and Deborah are even more uncomfortable about going into the bar than the other four and I have a feeling some peer pressure got them involves. Glaring at Rick, he seems to be the one running the show and I wonder if he knew exactly how much danger he had put himself and his friends in tonight.

I set them up in a corner booth and Darius brings over a jug of soft drink. That was more for my benefit as even the stale stench of beer in the bar has my stomach churning again. A few curious eyes watch us, but for the most part the small crowd doesn’t worry me. A couple of the vampires are as regular to see in here as the light fixtures and the way the demons keep to themselves at the bar or in the other booths are a clear sign they don't want any trouble. 

In the middle of the room an older Hunter with maybe his son judging by the resemblance between the pair give us all the once over so at least if anything does happen, I have some kind of backup.

"How you been Hunter? You've been M.I.A lately and word is you're living up to that Bunting name." Darius passes me a jug of cola and we head back towards the kids.

"Honestly, I've been better. But, I'm alive and plenty to be thankful for."

"That doesn't sound like you talking. I don't think I've even heard you swear once!" He laughs.

"Gotta keep it PG around the kiddies!" I say loud enough for them all to hear, which earns a couple of eye rolls and an angry sigh from Rick.

Darius takes a seat at the end of the table will I make the others huddle together so I can fit into the booth with them. Sally keeps giving me a strange look; not a bad one, more like a morbid fascination when you see a dead demon for the first time. The group manages to get out the story of what happened with minimal argument and Darius thinks hard once they're done, trying to remember if he had served the vampire they described to him.

“I’m sorry, I’ll keep an eye out from now on though. Your guy might have just been passing through.” He sighs, clearly worried. If this got out, it could be bad for his unspoken understanding with the academy and other patrons might think he was going soft on punishment for those who disobey his laws.

Twenty minutes go by with general chitchat. Now the serious part is over, the students take the chance to talk to a vampire as an actual vampire. The few teaching staff that have fangs wouldn't be willing to answer some of things they're asking, and Darius takes it all quite well. In fact he gets so comfortable having a chat to them, it then turns into a bit of roasting on my behalf. Apparently me acting like an adult right now is unusual, so he tells them about my own antics and all the times I used to sneak out here.

"Then she lets out this horrible scream sound, like an angry werewolf or a pissed off Siren. Actually almost like a Banshee when you kill it and then she actually flies off the bar after this poor son of a bitch. I'm going to kill you! She yelled, and you know what? In all the years I've known this kid, I've never been scared of her until that point!" He laughs, and Rick and Tony look at me with a fresh fear in their eyes. "It took two vamps, a slayer and a couple other hunters to hold her back. Then she puked and passed out!'

"Well, I think you all heard enough!" I glare at Darius, not believing he chose that story to tell.

"It was priceless! If I'm having  bad day I still think about that to make me laugh!" Darius admits and I punch his arm, not holding back. "Ow! Bitch!"

"Please, you're lucky I don't go Banshee on your ass right now after sharing that story!"

It's then the twins stop their whispers to one another and Deborah pipes up. "You're Elise, as in Elise Bunting aren't you?"

"Yeah that's me," I shift uncomfortably in my seat and Darius gives me a funny look. "Right, time to go!"

"No, not yet! You're like, legendary among the Hunters. All Mr Bunting gets asked about when he's on lunch room duty is you!" Sally gushes, her cheeks going a little pink.

The group gets excited, more so when Darius said he'd answer their questions as I am bombarded with a round of my own. They want to know what I’ve been doing lately, why I am back at the Academy, what my favorite gun is and of course they ask about that night.

“Enough.” I groan, ignoring the bulk of their questions. "We're going. Now."

Getting up, they reluctantly do the same and I start to usher them towards the door until Darius stops me.

“Why were you here if you didn’t come with them?” He asks quietly, looking at them cautiously.

“Just wanting to tap into the vampire grapevine.” I joke.

“You seem to do that a lot for a Hunter. Didn’t you ask about vamp fangs last time?” He is serious and I think he could actually be a little spooked after finding out about the student attack.

“Yeah. That seems like a lifetime ago now. Have you heard that Dracula is back?”

His face goes pale, well paler for a vampire, and he swallows nervously. “Vlad, the actual vampire from way back when that a Van Helsing killed?”

“That’s the one. If you hear anything, or know something about any big vampy plans, could you give me a heads up? I know they’re planning something, but haven’t got much of an idea yet.” It’s a long shot, but Darius is a vampire I trust.

“Elise, if that guy is back and you’re thinking of getting involved. Don’t. Trust me on this if nothing else.”

A flicker of fear blooms in the pit of my stomach. “Sounds like good advice.”

The doors open and my little group fall over each other to get out of the woman’s way. Even I stop to stare, as I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone so beautiful before. My mind screams demon and again I've never seen anything like her before. She looks like she belongs on the cover of a magazine, or in a museum for an example of what beauty is. Her golden hair falls in soft waves over her shoulders and as we make eye contact, hers turn completely black before flicking back a rather unnatural blue.

Whatever kind of demon she is, she has to be bad. The pretty ones are usually the worse and as quickly as she enters, Darius seems to snap out of his serious phase.

“Katya!” He greets, instantly going over to embrace her. I almost feel like I should be covering the student’s eyes, as they seem skip all kind of foreplay and go straight to the main course.

The break up a few seconds later, practically glowing as the woman speaks in something I think in Russian. “Privet moya lyubov!”

“My love, meet Elise.” Darius introduces us, and a perfectly manicured hand is extended in my direction.

“Charmed, Hunter. I hear many things of you.” She offers me a smile, and I notice the way Darius is completely awestruck by her.

"All good I hope?"

She only smirks and Darius kisses her hand to get her attention back. “Head on out back, I’ll be with you in a minute.” 

I'm impressed Darius actually seems to have a girlfriend, or is at least showing affection to a woman in public. I didn't think he actually had relationships and if they were together I was certain she wasn't a threat to me or the kids.

“That was, interesting.” I laugh as she heads over to the bar.

“She’s amazing. It’s been decades since I’ve felt anything close to what I feel for her.”

"That's great, I'm really happy for you! How did you meet?" She didn't look the type to come here.

"I helped her change her flat tyre when I went into the city about three months ago now. Between us, I think it could be a more permanent arrangement." He blushes, acting like boy and not a who knows how old vampire.

“Look at you Darius! My little vampire is growing up! Dating, gosh what’s next?” He looks at me unimpressed before blushing slightly. “I mean this in the nicest way possible, but what is she?”

The students all listen in now and I think tonight has been more eye opening for them than anything they could even learn at school.

“She is a Matryoshan.” He boasts.

“In English?” I have no idea what he just said.

“Really Hunter, I thought you’d know?” Darius smirks and I roll my eyes.

“You’re a vamp, and do you have any idea how many demons are out there?” Looking at the students, they all nod. Even if you're a dedicated student it's impossible to remember all the things out there and not just the more common ones, but the extinct like Alfie and that squidy fish thing we saw in the tunnels. I think Drew is the only person I know who seems to remember even a quarter of what we're told about.

“You know Babushka dolls? She is like that. One body, so many more hidden inside.” He winks. “That one is nothing compared to when there are four and-“

“Right. Well, on that note, I have a G-rated tour group I need to get back. Good seeing you again Darius!” We hug and I’m back to acting like some kind responsible adult, having to take the naughty children home.

The second we step outside the group seems to have missed the fact I had no idea what Darius was talking about with his girlfriend and ask me a bunch of questions about what kind of demon she is and what he meant by there being four of her.

Distracted and trying to make them actually walk, I don’t sense or see Alfie until I’m being hoisted into the air only to be then placed in front of a furious looking Logan. The kids scream, bunching together like a flock of sheep and it’s a good thing I’m not actually under attack because they’d be dead and I’d be on my own; probably dead too.

“Since when do you two work together?” I shoot Alfie a look and even he looks pissed at me. Great.

“What were you thinking? You’re here to stay off the radar and you end up at this bar of all places and,” Logan pauses, looking at the students that are now trying to sneak past, completely terrified of Alfie. “Who are they?”

Clearly they’re all keen on the theory every man for himself. No wonder their friend was attacked. How she wasn’t killed was beyond me. Actually, that was a little strange now that I really think about it.

“Well, imagine this. You’re all asleep, I get up and see people sneaking off campus and decide to follow them and-“ I start to lie, and the doofus leader doesn’t roll with my story. I can't help feel a little hurt after all I thought we had all been bonding back there.

“We were already here planning our attack when she stopped us!” He declared, like they actually had some kind of chance of finding and then killing the vamp who attacked their friend. Did he really not understand anything Darius or I had just told him?

“That kind of ego will get you killed. What if you kill a wolf and his pack come around looking for revenge? You gonna jump up and say you did it for bragging rights?” I snap.

“You’re just pissy cause this guy is telling you off!” He snaps back.

“I hope you like confinement because once we get back, I’m telling Huntington everything.  You wont be able to walk down the hall without Frank following you on the security cameras!”

I’m arguing with a fifteen year old. Not my proudest moment.

“What the hell is going on?” Logan yells and we all stop to look at him.

“She stopped us from doing something stupid.” Tash steps up and glares at their leader. “Can we please go back the Academy now?”

Logan looks at me and I shrug, knowing I’m probably in for a lecture once it's just us, or worse when we’re back with my parents.

He says nothing and Alfie takes the lead after inspecting each of the teens. Logan walks at the back with me and every now and then Alfie looks over at us to make sure we’re still following.

“This isn’t over.” Logan mumbles as I go to hold his hand, yet doesn't stop me.

“Yes, Sir!” I answer sarcastically.

He doesn't think it’s funny.

-x-

 We walk each of the students to their room and I'm more curious about the location of this Amy. I heard the group retelling of what happened, but not hers. Considering she was the one actually attacked, I'd like to hear her story. As we stop at the final room with Sydney, I follow her in and ignore the groan from Logan.

"Which room is Amy in?" I ask curiously, looking around her room which is covered in band posters. I also notice the guitar in the corner of the room and as she catches me looking at it, she shifts uncomfortably.

"Um, why?"

"Just wondering. Want to make sure she is okay. I know what it feels like to bitten." I admit hesitantly.

"Oh, um, S thirty four. Were you really bitten?" She asks with to much interest.

"Yeah, twice."

She gasps and I shrug before walking out with Logan behind me. "What are you doing?"

"A kid got attacked on the way back from the bar last night. They haven't told anyone and what if she needs a doctor or worse, what if they didn't realise he tried to change her?" I start walking a little faster, my heart sinking with that thought.

"I'm sure if that was the case, we would have heard about it by now." Logan tries to reassure me and Alfie over takes us on guard as he senses my fear. 

"Alfie help."

"Okay pal." I tell him, keeping my eyes on the room numbers as we go down the hall.

I nearly go past it  and quickly stop, knocking rather insistently until the door unlocks and a small red head girl peers out at us fearfully. "Yes?"

"I'm Elise, can I come in?" Really I want to knock down the door, but don't think that will go down well.

"Who are you?" Amy croaks, struggling to keep her eyes open.

"Elise. I'm here to help." I glance at Logan, not liking the frown on his face.

She steps back and we go in, leaving Alfie to keep an eye out for us. The bathroom light is on, but otherwise the room is blacked out and as I turn on the lamp, I kind of wish I hadn't. Her skin is almost grey, completely void of colour and the bandage she has her arm is stained red. Clearly who ever did it sucks at first aid. Her eyes are sunken back into her skull as she sits on the bed I'm not sure if she did it on purpose or if she just fell.

"Amy, we know what happened. Can I see the bite?" Somehow I keep my voice steady, though inside I'm close to breaking out into hysteria.

She doesn't move, and gently taking her hand I move her arm and start to undo the bandages.  Logan hovers over me and we both cringe seeing the mess on her forearm. I know they didn't want to get into trouble, but this is really bad. She needs a doctor. The wound itself is void of any distinct bite marks, it's more like something tore away a hunk of her flesh.

"Was it a vampire Amy?" Her eyes are glazed over as she struggles to look at me.

"I don't know." She admits weakly.

"Your friends think it was. This doesn't look like a normal bite they'd do." It could also explain why she wasn't drained.

"It looks like a werewolf bite." Logan moves in closer, turning her arm side to side as he inspects it closer. "But it's not a full moon. If it was it would have turned into a scar by now and started to fade until the next full moon. They can't, well they don't normally go around biting people unless it's to infect them."

"Either way, she's lost a lot of blood. We need to get her some help." Logan agrees and I put her good arm over my shoulders and let her lean against me as I get her to stand. "We're going to get you some help Amy."

She says nothing, a faint groan heard instead. 

"Here, let me." Logan instead picks her up and I fold her wounded arm carefully over her stomach, throwing the bandages in the bin. She looks even more fragile in his arms and she doesn't look fifteen. In some ways she reminds me of Sam being so tiny and my heart breaks thinking about her future. All my hatred for this life returns; setting the young up to die in an endless battle of good versus evil. Sure they're trip away from the Academy was stupid, but how many times had I done it? I was no better than them so how lucky was I to never have run into trouble? 

I open the door for Logan and Alfie is there instantly, his tongue flicking out over Amy curiously. "Back up Alfie, let Logan through."

He obeys and I follow behind them, so distracted with my own thoughts I don't notice Rick coming until Logan tells him to piss off. "Don't even think of stopping us!"

I move around Logan, glaring at Rick. "See how sick she is? She'd be dead in the morning and then what will you all do?"

"She's fine, leave her in her room. She just needs to sleep it off. We're Slayers, our bodies heal from this kind of stuff quickly!" He actually argues with me and instantly I shove him backwards against the wall. My forearm is pressing harder than necessary as I hold him there, tempted to beat him up in hopes of knocking some sense into him.

"Heal yes, but she still lost a lot of blood and you're just starting out. You have no endurance against this kind of thing! You're not invincible! None of are. Look at her!" I scream, and Logan doesn't hang around, focusing on saving one student rather than two.

He only makes a gurgling sound in response as he tries to shove me away. I'm not even blocking myself correctly. If he could think clearly and not give into his panic, he would know to use his legs to kick me or to do something else with hands rather than try to push me off him. Alfie is right behind me, primed to strike.

"Elise! Put the kid down!" Frank calls out and Alfie instantly moves to hiss at the security guard. "Calm down Alfie!"

His words mean nothing to the snake.

"Do not talk back to me again," I threaten, "If she does die, it's on you."

I let him go and he starts gasping for air as if it's his first breath, holding his throat like he wanted to make sure it was still there. The second he opens his mouth, the look on his face and the way he is glaring at me says enough. He really is stupid and I don't hold back when I send my fist into his jaw.

He falls back against the wall with a thud, and looking at Alfie, he looks ready to rip Rick apart, "It's okay Alfie. Frank's right, calm down."

 Frank drops down beside Rick and I realise I actually knocked him out. "Elise, this isn't going to go down well with Huntington!"

"Maybe it will when she see's the state of the girl Logan just took the infirmary."  With that I carry on my way with Alfie right behind me.

By the time we get there Logan is just walking out and I don't need to ask the obvious. "They think she's going to be okay. Good thing you decided to check on her."

"Those stupid kids!" I snap, and Alfie nudges my back gently.

"They got unlucky, but they should have told someone about Amy. We've all made bad decisions!" He looks at me expectantly and I only glare at him.

"What you implying?"

"Why did you run off again?" Crossing his arms, he returns my death stare and I had hoped to skip all of this.

"I told you I-"

"The truth Elise." He warned.

"I was going to go see Darius. That's all!"

"So even if with V's little bounty hanging over your head, you decide to go to a well known demon bar to speak to a vampire?" I really don't like his tone. "And yet you're mad at those kids who didn't know better for pretty much putting themselves in the same kind of danger that you should know better about?"

"When you put it like that, of course it's going to sound bad! But I wasn't in any danger there, it's a safe place. Darius isn't-"

"Isn't what? He's a vampire. His kind are wanting you dead right now. How loyal is he, really? And you weren't in any danger? You so sure about that? What if what ever attacked Amy was still around?" He lectured.

"What ever, Dad!" I rolled my eyes, knowing I was on a sinking ship.

"Really? That's all you got?" Amusement played over his features for a second, altering the general pissed off demeanor. But only for a second. He knew he had won this round.

Alfie nodded, looking between us as he weighed in on the argument too.

"Traitor." I whispered at him.

"Miss Bunting!" Ms Huntington's shrill screech made me shudder and slowly we all turned around to see her marching over. Better than that, my parents were with her too.

"Hello!" I waved casually, ignoring how angry she looked.

"Hello? All you have to say for yourself is hello?" She roared.

"I thought that would be polite." 

"Polite? You my girl, have some explaining to do!"

Rick appeared from behind my Dad, daring to smirk despite the movement making him flinch as the bruise from my hit was already starting to discolour his face.

"Me? What about him?" Pointing at Rick, he ducked back behind Dad.

"He wasn't the one caught assaulting a student. We only leave this place open as a refuge for people who keep the peace! If you want to abuse that priviledge Miss Bunting-"

"You're serious right now aren't you?" I cut her off, not believing what I was hearing.

"Elise, even if someone smart mouths you, you can't react in violence!" Dad started to lecture.

"That dick head nearly got his friend killed. Did he tell you about them going off campus last night and getting Amy attacked? Did he tell you what I caught them doing outside of Darius's bar or that he actually had the balls to tell us to leave Amy in her room rather than take her to the doctor?" I didn't hold back, telling them everything and the first thing that came out of my mothers mouth had me groaning in frustration.

"You left the campus?"

"Really Mum?" I snapped.

"He should be thankful she only punched him." Logan defended and once again Alfie teamed up with him, nodding in agreement.

"In that case, I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions. Rick, you are being placed on suspension. You are to go only to your classes and will otherwise be confined to your room until further notice." 

"You don't believe her do you?" He protested.

"That starts now. Frank, please escort Mr Dyall to the infirmary to be checked out and then he is to return straight to his room. Tomorrow we will deal with the others involved." Ms Huntington sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose before looking at me. "Welcome back Elise."

"Oh so now it's welcome back and Elise, not Miss Bunting?" I snap, unimpressed.

"It's been a very long day, hearing one of my students was being beaten up in the hall was not how I wanted it to end."

"How about we call it a night?" Mum quickly spoke up, and after a mumbled goodbye Logan and I followed Alfie and my parents back to their house.

"You okay?" Logan whispered.

"What? After everyone presuming the worst about me, again? Yeah I'm fine. Good thing I'm thick skinned." We crossed the oval in silence and as we went down the path to their house, I stopped. "What do you think attacked her?"

 "No idea." Logan put his arm over my shoulders and pulled me close as we kept walking.

"It wasn't vampire. I think thats why Darius didn't know the guy. You're right about the werewolves, they wouldn't do it unless it as a full moon as I doubt human teeth could take a chunk out like that." I thought about Darius's girlfriend and as everyone went to bed, I stayed up and searched for her species on the network.

Surprisingly, they were counted as vegetarian with a plant based diet and were a peaceful race that often paired up with light fae. What one was doing with a vampire was beyond me, but love works in mysterious ways.

"You still up?" Logan appeared in the doorway, yawning loudly as he came over.

"Yeah." I sighed, yawning in response. Alfie didn't move as Logan stepped over him to sit beside me on the lounge.

"What's that?"

"Darius has himself a girlfriend. Just curious." I closed the page.

"You thought she might be the attacker?"

"For a second, but they're not a threatening race." I put my phone down and instead curled up beside him. "What chance do those kids have of surviving to your age?"

"It's fifty fifty really. We were like them once, remember? Training is only get more intense this year and you know they make sure everyone is ready when they leave. I've heard of some being made to repeat the last year if they didn't think they were going to make it." Logan yawned again and looking at the wall clock, it was gone midnight now.

We went quiet and when I thought he must be nearly asleep, I softly spoke again. "I'm glad you're here."

I don't know if he heard me and it didn't really matter. Pulling the blanket up over us, I soon felt the weight of Alfie's head on my legs and feeling completely at peace I finally went to sleep too.