Laura divided her attention between the doctor and his questions and watching Darius in the shadowed part of the room. The idea that he's a vampire is absurd in the extreme. Aren't vampires supposed to be sexy alluring creatures that are brooding? Or perhaps giving off sex appeal? Or perhaps powerful figures that demand you to look at them?

Darius is none of that. True, she has felt his power, even when she was unconscious, but she just doesn't feel it now. The idea that he is a creature of the night, one of the undead, to her it's just laughable.

She catches a knowing glint in his eyes and suddenly the idea isn't so preposterous after all. The feeling of predator and prey has come back. Laura does her best to calm her heart down before the doctor notices that it has sped up.

After what seems like hours, but was less than twenty minutes the doctor asks her if she has any questions then, after he answers any he leaves. "You are a very lucky young lady, honestly, I don't know how you survived, let alone woke up from the induced coma. I wonder just how much of a miracle you'll accomplish?" With those words the doctor excuses himself from the room.

As Darius moves forward Laura can't help but feel her heart beat pick up.

"I gave you my word, Laura, I mean you no harm. I have no intentions of hurting you in any way."

"I don't understand, sir. Here I am, completely helpless before you. If you are, as you claim, a vampire, then why help me? Why not snack on me? I would have no way of defending myself against you."

Darius gives an inelegant snort. "I am not claiming any thing. I'm stating. I am a vampire. I've been around for a very long time, Laura. Much longer than many of my kind. Being the taker of a life is simple for my kind. I grew tired of that a long time ago. It isn't necessary to kill our food. The human body has more than what is necessary to sustain both themselves and one of us."

Seeing her look of horror and going over what he said he is quick to reassure her. "No! No, I have no intentions of taking your blood at all. There is something about you that calls to me." Darius smiles at her as gently as he knows how. "I don't mean sexually or as a predator either. There is something that is telling me to help you. So I did. Any further help I give you, however, will depend on whether or not you wish to receive it."

Darius looks at Laura and can tell that she is very confused and desperately trying to take in everything.

"I've given you one dosage of my blood. That allowed you to heal sufficiently to come out of the coma and breath on your own. The next dosage, if you wish it, will hopefully heal you enough to at least use your arms. It might still take some physical therapy, but you will regain some use. Further treatments will allow you to regain further use of your body. The more treatments the more you will be healed."

"Thank you, but there is nothing for nothing in this world. Even my foster parents that desperately wanted kids only took me in for the check they received monthly." Laura tries to keep the bitterness out of her voice but knows she failed when she watches Darius raise his eyebrow in inquiry.

"Are you so sure of that?"

"Yeah, I heard them talking one night. They had inquired about adopting me, but when they found out that they didn't meet certain criteria they couldn't adopt. They couldn't afford to have me without getting that state monthly check."

Darius gives her a sad smile. "No, Laura. I think you didn't understand the situation. Your foster mother came by to visit you one day while I was here. She was crying so hard. They love you deeply.

"She told me how they asked to adopt you and they fought the State for as long as they financially could, but the State refused to allow them to adopt you. They also told your parents that if they continued to fight them that you would be taken out of their home and sent elsewhere to live.

"It was only the threat of them taking you from them that they finally stopped fighting for the right to adopt you.

"Your foster mother, Phyllis, has your things. She left a card with a gift, the card has her new address. They would really like for you to visit them. 

"Should you accept my offer, I will personally take you to their home to help you reclaim your things and allow you time to visit them. Then, I will take you shopping and get you more things. She was embarrassed to tell me that they couldn't get you much of what the other kids nowadays had.

"At the very least I will get you a laptop and a phone. She said that you don't have much in the way of clothes, so I would like you to get more of those as well.

"That is of course, if you are willing to come with me, when you are discharged." Darius tells her soothingly. Hoping the enticement of things would work in his favor.

"That's all lovely, Darius, but like I said before, nothing for nothing in this life. What is it that you will be looking for in exchange for all the things you are promising? You said that you wouldn't take my blood and my body is hardly enticing. So what is it that you want in return?" This time Laura looks at Darius and holds his gaze until he answers her.

The silence is drawn out and painful. Darius finally breaks it by answering her question.

"I don't want any payment. Your schooling has already been dealt with. When they heard that you were in a life threatening accident they froze your grades. You were graduated the same as your fellow students. I'm sorry you missed walking for your graduation, but your diploma will be with your things."

"Yeah, right. Fine. What about my bike? Was that completely ruined? I had just gotten it for my birthday that day."

"I'm afraid that I am unaware about your bike. What I do know is that the driver of the car was arrested on DUI charges. Most likely the bike was taken into evidence for his trial."

"Drunk driving at seven in the morning?" Now Laura is incensed. What the hell was someone driving around drunk when kids are going to school?

"Yes, seems he started the night before and continued on. Wasn't paying attention to the time or how much he'd had. Had you died they would have added vehicular manslaughter to his list of crimes. Instead he'll have attempted vehicular manslaughter."

"You know who did it?" Laura demands. Tears falling down her face unchecked, unable to wipe them away. Just another reason to be angry at the man that made a choice that will forever affect her.

"I paid him a visit." Darius says cautiously.

"Does he even regret what he did, other than how it will affect him?" Laura chokes out in between her sobs.

Darius wipes her tears away. "He's suicidal. They have him on a strict watch. His wife left him, took the kids and disappeared. He lost his job and then almost killed you. He doesn't want to live any more."

Laura calms down at his words. There are worse things to happen to a person, she guesses. "How long was he married? How many kids does he have?"

"It doesn't matter now. It turns out his wife was angry, something happened and she completely lost it. She killed their three kids before killing herself. There is no doubt that she is the one to kill the kids and herself. She left a suicide note and the bodies were killed after he was already in jail."

"That poor man." Laura says softly. She can't imagine what he must be going through.

"Do you want me to give you more of my blood? Or do you want me to leave? I will do whatever you wish at this time." Darius tells her after nodding at her statement.

Laura looks at him with tears still in her eyes. "Please tell me, what will the cost to me be?"

Darius gives her a small smile. "Life is full of ups and downs. I have no idea what the end cost of your life will be. A wonderful future with a loving husband and kids, a miserable life with a man that treats you like shit? That I don't know. All I can say is, there will be no payment required for my blood or staying with me, for any help I give you. If you wish to help in some way that will be up to you and you alone."

Laura looks at the most outrageously dressed person she's ever met and tells him, that she accepts.

Darius brightens up like the noon day sun at her acceptance. He rushes over to the supply drawer there in the room and removes another syringe.

Laura can't hear what he's doing but sees him coming back with a blood filled syringe and watches as he injects it into her IV.

"It should start working as soon as it hits your body. It shouldn't be painful but just to be on the safe side, Look at me, Laura." Darius commands the girl. Once he captures her eyes he gives her an order to feel no pain from the healing of his blood.

Laura sighs and closes her eyes as she falls asleep.

Darius hadn't expected that reaction but shrugs his shoulders. Perhaps it's best if she does sleep through it.