The Return of Nicholas Collins

Kelly leaned forward, resting her arms on the table, her face now curious. What are you going to do about him?

I haven't a clue, she said with a shrug of her shoulders. I don't know how I'm going to handle things when he comes back, Kel. She shoved her hands through her hair as tears pooled in her eyes. I've wanted him for so long and now that I've had him, had all my fantasies about what it would be like to make love with him blown away, I'm craving him.

Kelly reached over and held her hand. Then don't deny yourself this chance to be with him. Take every caress, every kiss, every word of tenderness that he may whisper, and make memories that you can hold in your heart.

They talked for a little longer and decided to call it a night when Sarah began to yawn. Rachel left first, taking her time outside the cafe, checking the area for anyone suspicious. She sent a message to Kelly that it appeared safe and that she would be near until her and Sarah left the area if they needed her.

After they pulled away, she started back toward her car through the dark alleyways she had used earlier in her effort to shake anyone that might have been tailing her. Not far from her car she heard a commotion coming from one of the dimly lit passageways and paused. She brought her breathing to a halt, slowed her heart rate down so low that it became non-existent and listened closely. Silence surrounded her and she shrugged her shoulders and moved on.

Before she had moved five feet a loud crash ripped through the darkness and Rachel froze in her tracks.

"Get away from me, you fucking pervert!"

Her blood turned stone cold as the shrill words echoed off the brick walls around her.

A heavy grunt filled the air then the angry sound of a male voice soon followed. "You'll pay for hitting me, bitch."

In quick session three sharp slaps came out of the shadowed blackness. Rachel burned with rage as old cruelties surfaced inside, spurring her into action.

With eyes made for living and surviving in the night she sped into the nearly pitch-black passageway. Her teeth all but ripped through her gums as they swiftly dropping into place for battle.

From the behind the man was built like monster compared to the teenage girl he held in front of him by the throat. He had to be at least three or four inches over Rachel's own height of six foot. Just by the shear size of him she guessed him to weigh close to two hundred and fifty pounds, and it all looked like solid muscle flexing beneath his white pullover shirt.

He drew a large beefy looking hand back to slap the girl once more. Rachel shot her hand out and wrapped it around his wrist, halting his forward motion. His grip on the girl released as Rachel spun him around to face her. Giving him a taste of his own medicine, she grabbed him by the throat and sank her claw like nails into his skin.

"Let's see how you like being slapped by someone a hell of a lot stronger than you," she growled. Before the man had a chance to blink, to utter a single word, she backhanded him across the left side of his face, slapped his right jaw with her open palm and then backhanded him once more, making contact with his left jawbone. She stopped just short of using enough force to break his bones, but she bet a couple of his teeth were now missing and swimming around in his belly.

His eyes bulged out as he screamed in pain and fear. His hands came up and tried to pry her fingers from his throat, but without success.

To show him just how bad he'd fucked up by hurting the girl, Rachel showed off her powers by lifting him off his feet. While his struggling body gave her immense pleasure, the memories that came back from her past to haunt her filled her with tremendous fury.

"You're not worth ruining my evening for," she hissed, then tossed him aside like someone's discarded rag doll into the brick wall, where he fell to the ground with a satisfying thump.

While dealing with the man, the young girl had backed herself into the deepest corner, shivering in fear and shock. Rachel moved forward slowly, reining in her anger so as not to frighten the child with her beastly features.

As she held her hand out to the girl the darkness could not hide from her sight the bruises already forming. Calmly and carefully she spoke, "Its all right child. I'm here to help you, not harm you."

Rachel took a deep breath and smelt the young girl's blood that ran from the corner of her mouth. It took all her concentration to keep the beast inside leashed. The adrenaline and rage sparked her need for blood, and she could very easily drain not only the attacker, but also the girl, to pacify the need.

That's where she ended up making her mistake.

Her mind and senses were all centered on trying not to attack the girl herself while getting her to accept her offer of help, which left her vulnerable.

Rachel opened herself to everything about the girl. The smell of her blood, the way it pounded through her veins in fright and the frantic beat of her heart. All of it she gathered inside herself and prepared to use it in compelling the girl to come to her.

Two feet in front of the teen she stopped, her hand still suspended between them. She started to speak when the girl shrank back and yelled, "LOOK OUT!"

Rachel spun around just as the first shot of the gun cracked the air and struck her right shoulder. The girl gave a blood curdling scream as two more shots were squeezed off rapidly, one tearing through the right side of Rachel's chest, the other missing, ricocheting off the wall behind her.

Vampires could take excessive amounts of pain compared to humans, but even vampires have limits. Two gun shot wounds pushed the edge of Rachel's limits. So much so that the first initial wave of pain was enough that she screamed and nearly fell to the pavement.

The beast inside took over. It fed off her pain. Turned it into the strength she needed to strike back at the attacker, which she did swiftly.

Power surged through her as she whirled on the ball of her foot and kicked out, knocking the gun from his hand. She spun once more and landed another kick dead center of his chest. The force of her kick so strong that it picked his massive body off his feet and sent him backward through the air to crash against the wall.

She was on him the instant his body crumbled to the ground. She hammered her fists into his ribs, his stomach and his face. Her hand dug into the ski mask that covered his head and jerked him to his feet. Her free arm circled around his waist and squeezed him tight, breaking his ribs as she pulled his body flush to hers.

She had her mouth open, ready to bite down on the attacker's neck to drain him, when the girl's cries of pain broke through the red haze of her rage.

Those cries were enough to reach the still to human part of Rachel's heart. Without a thought of replacing the much-needed blood that continued to gush from her wounds, she slammed the man's head into the wall, knocking him unconscious and rushed to the girl.

Her too skinny form lay on the ground. The sweet, youthful scent of blood, nearly over-whelming her as she knelt beside her and rolled her onto her back. The girl screamed in pain and Rachel gasped when she saw the crimson staining her ragged t-shirt. Not hesitating a second she ripped the thin cotton to find a single bullet wound in her left shoulder. Gently as possible she turned the girl onto her side and sighed with a small amount of relief when she found the exit wound.

In the far off distance her sensitive hearing picked up the sound of screaming police sirens coming toward them. She needed to get out of there and quickly. If they found her with all this blood on her, the two wounds in her body, they would send her to the hospital. She was in serious trouble but the medical world would end up killing her, instead of helping her.

What really bothered her though was she couldn't leave the girl behind either and get the medical attention she so very much needed. Too much was at risk. The possibility that the girl had seen to much in the dark alley was too great, and she couldn't take the chance on the girl telling someone exactly what she saw and having someone even slightly believe her begin to investigate.

Scooping her body into her arms, Rachel struggled as pain once again began to rack her body. She was losing too much blood and not replacing it quick enough to counteract and help herself begin the regenerating process.

Though her speed was diminished by her weakness, she sped to the car on foot. Her breathing was labored as she buckled the seatbelt around the girl. Her aching body was thankful when she finally got into the car and rested her head against the seat.

On the expressway she held onto the steering wheel with both hands, her knuckles white as she fought to stay conscious. Darkness hung at the edges of her vision. The road before her blurred more often then clear. Several times along the way she blacked out for merely seconds, but came to with a jerk when car horns sounded their ominous warnings.

The girl moaned beside her but Rachel dared not turn her head to check her. She was afraid that even that small movement would be the one to send her into an oblivion that nothing could jar her out of.

Though it was dangerous and could possibly lead the killer who was after Nicholas to Kelly's door, she couldn't afford to take a chance on zigzagging her way there. She took the most direct route that she knew to get there as quickly as possible.

Pulling onto John and Kelly's street, every muscle in her body shook with exhaustion. Her clothes were soaked in blood, her skin coated in sweat and clammy. Everything in her just wanted her to lay her head on the leather wrapped wheel in her hands and let go of reality, and slip away from the torture her body was in.

In the driveway she parked the car as far behind the house as she was capable, trying to make it invisible from the road. Shutting the engine off she lay her head on the wheel, tears on her cheek as she gathered all her mental strength and sent out a message to Kelly for help.

Her breath came in short gasps as she struggled to reach over and hold the girl's hand. Weakly she squeezed it, her voice barely audible as she said, "Soon it will be better. I promise." Then she went silent, the darkness that she had held at bay, at last over taking her as she passed out.

***

Nicholas drove down the street toward Rachel's house, feeling some of his tension lifting from his shoulders. He never thought that damn plane he had been on for the past five hours would ever land tonight. And he was damn glad no one had been in the car with him as he tried to navigate his way through traffic, they would have thought him insane the way he had growled at vehicles to move out of his way.

He turned into Rachel's driveway and frowned at how dark the interior of the house looked. His gut tightened as worry set in. Shoving the car into park, he pushed the door open and trotted to the front door. This wasn't right. There should have been some movement or something inside at two in the morning.

He placed his palm on the dark red painted door and held his breath. His mind shut out all outside distractions and turned inward, into the very center of the home. Nothing. Not a sound. Not a faint heartbeat. Nothing.

A car door slammed and he jerked to his right, finding a tall, slender built man stepping toward him. "She's not here."

Nicholas moved in a flash, slamming the man's body onto the hood of the car and leaned over him. "Where is she?" He growled, his hands wrapped in the material of the man's dress shirt.

The man's trim fingers circled around both of his wrists as he struggled to say, "Get a hold of yourself. Don't you recognize me from the wedding?"

Nicholas's eyes narrowed as he looked down into the man's pinched face.

"I was the groom."

Instantly Nicholas let him go and stood up, stepping back several paces to give him room to right himself from the hood of the car.

"Where is she? She promised me she wouldn't leave here till I got back." He paced back and forth then turned a hard stare onto the man in front of him. "Where in the hell is she?"

"She's at my home and she's been hurt, Nicholas." The man returned his gaze, never once looking away. "My name is John, and my wife, Kelly, sent me here because she remembered that Rachel had told her you would be back tonight."

"How badly was she hurt?"

John's face turned grim. "She had two gunshot wounds. One to the shoulder and one to her chest."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "That's bad, but one day's worth of sleep should cure that."

John leaned back against the car, massaging his the lump on the back of his head. "From what Kelly has told me about how vampires can regenerate during sleep, I would agree, but Rachel was extremely weak by the time she got to us late last night." He looked down at the ground, sliding his hands deep into his pants pockets before looking into Nicholas' eyes. "She hasn't woken up yet."

"Take me to her," he said, his stride hurried as he rounded the hood of the car.

Neither man spoke as John drove through the empty suburban streets. Nicholas' knee jerked anxiously, wishing that he knew his way around this town so he could use his speed to get to Rachel's side faster. Nervously he rolled up the sleeves to his blue dress shirt and unbuttoned several buttons down his chest. "Can't you go any faster?" He growled angrily.

John didn't bother to answer him, not that it would have matter anyway. No answer would have been good enough for him at this moment.

They finally pulled into the driveway of a white Cape Cod.

"Please tell me she's awake so that I can strangle her for breaking her promise?"

Worry crossed her face as she shook her head.

Fear unlike any that he'd ever known filled him. He reached out for her hand and said, "Please take me to her."

John and Kelly led him down the hallway and into the kitchen, where she opened the door to the pantry and stepped inside. With the door closed behind them, John bent down and worked his hands beneath the bottom shelf. "Did Sarah wake up while I was gone, Kelly?"

She reached out and caressed the back of his head with her fingers. "No, honey, I think she's exhausted from trying to cheer me up. I hate that she had to see me so upset, but Rachel has me incredibility worried."

The door clicked and moved backwards. John stood and put his arm around her waist. "Everything will be all right, honey, you'll see. She'll be up in no time harassing me worse than ever."

They walked down a short corridor and then stopped between two doors. Kelly turned to her right and opened the door with John following close behind. Taking a deep breath of musty air, Nicholas went in behind them and felt his heart jump into throat.

She looked so fragile, lying on the brass bed on top of a blue sapphire comforter. A light green, lace trimmed gown covered her body and her auburn hair lay slightly tangled against the pillow.

Nicholas sat on the side of the bed, his fingers trembling as he reached out to caress her soft cheek. He closed his eyes and his senses took over. Her heart was barely beating. Once every thirty seconds was about standard it seemed for a vampire, but her heart was beating even less than that. On closer inspection he could see that she was dehydrated, her lips dried and cracked, and in need of blood.

"When she arrived last night she couldn't stand on her own," Kelly said as she came to stand beside him. "She'd lost so much blood by the time she got here. I helped her as much as I could by packing the wound and forcing blood into her mouth, but she was so weak, and kept passing out, that she couldn't swallow and most of it spilled onto her chin."

"Have you done anything this evening?"

"I've tried to rouse her with drops of blood on her lips, that didn't' work. I tried cutting my own vein open for her and even that didn't bring her around." She looked over to John, "John even tried gloating her awake with his blood, but she didn't respond." Kelly chuckled softly. "She's going to be so pissed when she finds out that she missed an opportunity to get his blood."

Nicholas looked at her with his eyebrow raised.

"See, every time that she loses to him on poker night, she always tells him that she's going to get her due by drinking from him when she finally beats him."

Nicholas picked up Rachel's limp hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it tenderly. Why are you doing this to me, he thought, staring down at her lifeless form.

He used his mental powers and searched inside her mind, looking for a spark, anything that he could latch onto to give himself hope, but found nothing. You have to come back to me, Rachel, he said mentally. You can't leave me to live in this world alone. The only thing that has kept me going at times since we've been apart is knowing that you still existed. He sighed and stroked his hand over her hair, his anger at being so helpless boiling over. Rachel Williams, I refuse to let you slip away from me, his voice shouted at her mentally.

He jumped to his feet. His eyes locked on her face as his hands ripped his shirt open, buttons flying against the wall. "Leave us." He growled from the depths of his gut.

Kelly didn't move and he looked at her, his eyes burning red with anger and pain. "I said, leave us." His voice a deadly calm.

"Kelly, should we leave her alone with him?" John asked as he stepped up beside her.

For the longest time she stared into Nicholas' eyes, then nodded her head. "I think we can trust him not to hurt her, but if anything happens to her, I can guarantee there will be no hiding place for him on this earth."

Nicholas pulled his shirt from his body and let it slip from his fingers to the floor. Gently he scooped Rachel into his arms then sat down on the bed once more, his back resting against the brass rails of the headboard as he sat her boneless form in his lap.

Tears filled his eyes as he lifted her chin and placed a soft kiss to her dry lips. "I will not let you slip away from me," he whispered and stroked the pad of his thumb across her cheek. "You're not getting away from me that easily."

He closed his eyes and held her tighter. He thought of a world without Rachel in it and pain ripped through his heart, waking the beast within. There would be no reason to go on if she didn't exist. Even though she didn't know it, she was what kept him going night after night. The possibility that someday he would find her again, that he may have her in his life once more, kept him rising each twilight, hoping that it was time for them to be together once more.

With claws tipping his fingers, he dug the index nail deep into his chest over his heart. His head fell back against the rail as he stifled his cry of pain, ripping his skin wide open, blood oozing out to run down toward his belly.

His breath harsh, he shifted her in his arms and placed her lips over the gapping wound, rubbing them in his blood. He trembled as he forced all his will into her. Used all his mental abilities to compel her, begging her to come back to him.

He gasped suddenly as he felt her lips move against his chest. He held on to her, wishing he could just open himself and take her inside to heal. To let the love he never told her of, heal not only her body, but also all the past hurts that she carried with her.

Stronger and stronger she began to suckle from him. The deep pull of her lips sending heat and prickles of pleasure straight to his cock. She hardened him and filled him with a sense of life that no one but she had ever truly done.

As she moaned against him, he caressed the back of her head, chuckling quietly in the small windowless room as she became more and more animated in her feeding. She was coming back to him. He could feel it in her body as she pressed herself closer to him. He could hear it in the beat of her heart as it echoed inside his head. But most of all he could feel it in his own heart as her unguarded mind showed him exactly what her feelings were for him.