Half an hour later he heard the front door open and he left his office. Sarah walked in, laden down with bags, a young blond haired boy clinging to her legs. He appeared nervous until Craig emerged from the games room.
“Uncle Craig,” he called out as soon as he spotted him and ran into Craig’s outstretched arms.
Craig picked the youngster up and spun him around. “Welcome to my home, munchkin. Want to meet my friends?” The child shook his head and pouted, making Craig laugh. “Tough.”
“Uncle Craig?” Katie said as she followed him out of the room, her voice full of amusement. “Boy are we going to have a field day with that one.”
“Be nice,” Craig said. “Tommy, this is Katie.” Tommy looked her up and down, then held out his arms to her. She took hold of him, balanced him on her hip and carried him into the games room to introduce him to the others.
“He has a way with women,” JD said to Sarah as she walked up to him. “He’s going to be a player when he gets older if his mother doesn’t watch him.”
“I know. I’ll have to make sure he doesn’t spend much time with Jonathon.”
Craig took her bags from her. They were full of toys, changes of clothes etcetera. Travelling with a toddler was never easy. “He’ll be fine with us. Go have fun with JD.”
“Fun?” she asked, one eyebrow raised. “Since when has it been fun?”
“You wouldn’t keep coming back if you didn’t enjoy it.”
He was right so she didn’t argue.
JD didn’t take it easy on her, making her work just as hard as he would have done had she not brought Tommy with her. A few times he had to remind her to focus and he knew she was worrying that Tommy was alright, but he didn’t hold it against her. It was understandable and she was able to concentrate most of the time.
Once she had showered and changed she made her way to the games room, where she found the others, but no Tommy.
“Where is he?” she asked.
“Silvia confiscated him,” Katie said in a sulky voice.
“Good,” Sarah replied. “Children are very impressionable at that age so spending time with Jonathon would be bad for him.”
“I heard that,” Jonathon’s voice rang out.
“You were supposed to,” Sarah called over her shoulder as she left the room and went in search of Silvia. She found her in her suite, playing on the floor with Doc and Tommy.
“Having fun?” she asked.
“Yes,” Doc replied. Sarah smiled. She had been talking to the child.
“Is it that late already?” Silvia asked in shock. “I haven’t even started making dinner yet.”
“I’ll phone for pizza,” her husband said. “I’m sure the children won’t mind.”
Sarah took Tommy into the TV room and watched one of his favourite DVDs with him until food arrived. They cuddled up on the sofa together and both were asleep when JD and Craig went to inform them that the pizza had been delivered.
“She’s very good with him isn’t she,” JD said to Craig, keeping his voice low so as not to disturb them.
“Ever since Sally moved in she’s like his second mother. She and Alex wanted to have kids one day. When he died, I think she more or less gave up on ever having any of her own, so she does all she can to make sure Tommy is happy and has everything he needs.”
“Why has she given up on being a mother? She’s still young. There’s plenty of time to find the right person to be the father.”
“Finding someone good enough compared to Alex is going to be the issue.”
JD didn’t comment. “You’d better wake them both up,” he said then left the room.
Dinner was a noisy affair. JD was even quieter than usual, but nobody noticed. They were all too busy vying for Tommy’s attention.
Before leaving, Sarah thanked everyone for allowing her to bring Tommy with her and for looking after him. She was told to bring him back any time, but she wouldn’t unless she had to. While the evening had gone well, someone could easily have let something slip. She needed to keep her two lives separate and bringing Tommy with her had been a risk that she did not plan on repeating.
Take a two week break
A few weeks later, JD and Sarah were working out in the arena on a Saturday night. She had been stuck at work the previous evening so, at her request, JD postponed their session to the Saturday. Under the circumstances, he was happy to let her off, but she had insisted on making up the time and he wasn’t going to talk her out of it.
He was teaching her some dos and don’ts in regard to fighting vampires. As she attacked him, he stepped out of the way so that she went straight past him. He then grabbed her ponytail and pulled her off balance.
“Vampire’s don’t fight fair,” he said. “They’ll do anything they can to kill you before you kill them. You need to tie your hair up so that it isn’t in your way, but when you go out on a hunt, pin it down so it can’t be grabbed. Katie can show you how.”
“I could always cut it off.”
“Don’t you dare,” he said without thinking. He liked her hair and often wondered what it would be like to run his fingers through it.
“Vampires are fast, much faster than most humans,” he said quickly, hoping that she wouldn’t make an issue of what he had just said.
“Faster than you?” she asked.
“Some are, yes. Now let’s see how you handle speed. I’m going to attack. All you have to do is defend yourself. Don’t worry, if you fail to block I promise I will hold back.”
He then let himself loose on her. He reigned in his speed, but was relentless. She did well, blocking everything he threw at her, but she was losing ground, backing up with each step. Before long he had her pinned against the wall.
“Never let yourself get in this position,” he said. “Your sword arm is trapped and your neck is exposed. A vampire won’t hesitate to bite you if he gets the chance.”
He was suddenly overcome with a desire to kiss her neck which was so intense he couldn’t fight it. He moved in closer and just before he made contact with her skin the alarm rang out.
“There is a God,” he said to himself as he jumped back.
“I guess training is over,” Sarah said, but JD shook his head.
“Doc isn’t here. We don’t go out hunting when he’s absent. It isn’t worth the risk. Someone will call Sanctuary 7 and inform them.”
He looked up at the balcony in surprise when he heard the door bang open.
“Sanctuary 2 is under attack,” Craig called out as he ran into the room.
“Grab your gear,” JD said and Craig left to pass on the message.
“I thought you said you never go hunting when Doc is not here,” Sarah said.
“There is one exception. When a Sanctuary is under attack, every hunter will turn up to help them. I suggest you go home. The 5am session will definitely be cancelled and it will be very late before we return. There will be a lot of hunters going to 2 tonight and it’s not often that so many of us get together so we will stay there for a while once all of the vampires are dead.”
It was a dismissal and, from the look on her face, Sarah didn’t take too kindly to it, but before leaving the arena, she stopped and turned around. “Look after yourself out there.”
“I always do.” He watched her walk away, knowing that he had upset her. That had not been his intention, but he had wanted her to leave so she wouldn’t be around when he got back. He had almost lost his self-control and was angry at himself for doing so. Knowing he wouldn’t see her again until later the next morning meant one less thing for him to worry about.
They were the first team to arrive at Sanctuary 2 and the gate was closed when they got there. As he was a trainer, JD had been told the combination to every Sanctuary in the area. He quickly keyed it in and the gate swung open. Unless someone from inside closed it again, it would remain open for the other teams that were already on their way.
The fighting was fierce. Never before had he
seen so many vampires in one place. How they had found the location of the Sanctuary was something that would be investigated later.
Half of Sanctuary 2’s hunters were lying on the ground; dead or injured was not something he could afford to think about as he ran forward to assist those who were still fighting.
He made his way to their trainer and killed the vampire who was attacking him.
“Thanks JD,” the older man said as he gasped for breath.
“Is the Sanctuary still secure?” JD asked.
“They’re in the grounds, but haven’t managed to penetrate the house yet.”
“Then get your people inside. Leave this to us. Others are on their way.”
He nodded, knowing that his team were close to exhaustion. Those from 14 protected the hunters as they picked up their dead and injured and carried them into the safety of the building. Then they went to work killing every vampire in sight.
Anger still surged through JD and he let himself go cold. All emotion left him as he shut out everything except those around him and his task. He showed the vampires no mercy as he slaughtered them, inflicting as much pain on them as he could instead of going for the quickest kills.
He could see the rest of his team cutting their way through their enemies and made sure he kept well away from them. There was no danger that he would hurt any human if they got too close, his control was too good for that, but they were a distraction he did not want for the moment.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Katie cutting the arm off an older vampire as he tried to hit her with a metal pole, ducking underneath it so she could make contact with her sword. Scott was directly behind her and made the kill while the vampire was still focused on Katie, his sword sliding effortlessly into his body.
Jonathon and Craig were fighting with a couple of female vampires close by. One of the vampires was snarling, revealing her fangs, which were dripping with blood. The other had blood pouring from her abdomen, where a well-aimed slash with a sword had sliced her open, but she was ignoring it. Simon yelled out, “Duck,” an order which they both instantly obeyed, and his sword cut through the neck of one vampire, then the other. Two heads fell to the ground as the legs of their detached bodies crumpled.
The three young men grinned at each other before turning to face more attackers.
Two more teams arrived before the carnage was finished and those that got there later were disappointed to have missed the fun.
The toll for Sanctuary 2 was not good. Two dead and another was in surgery. Under the circumstances, nobody stayed to socialise with hunters from the other teams. They left those from 2 alone with their grief.
“What got into you tonight?” Craig asked JD as they walked back to the car. “You were vicious in a way I’ve never seen before. It was like you were possessed.”
“I don’t like Sanctuaries being attacked,” he said. In truth he had still been angry at himself for nearly kissing Sarah and had taken it out on the vampires.
The car ride home was silent. None of them had known those who had died well, but the loss of any hunter was a sad occasion.
They didn’t blame themselves. The hunters had been dead by the time they got there and their arrival had probably saved the rest of the hunters from 2, but they all knew what everyone in 2 was going through. Their trainer would take full responsibility and would hand in his resignation. JD hoped it would not be accepted.
Sarah greeted them when they arrived home.
“I thought I told you to leave,” JD said coldly.
“No, you suggested and I decided to ignore your suggestion. There is no way I would have been able to sleep until I knew you were all home safely.” Then she saw how defeated they all looked. “What happened?”
“Sanctuary 2 lost two, maybe three,” Craig said.
“Oh God. I am so sorry. What do you need me to do?”
Craig took her into his arms. “Just hold me,” he said and buried his face in her neck. JD had to look away.
Silvia arrived with drinks and handed them around, but Craig refused his.
“Come on,” Sarah said, took his hand and led him from the room.
“Lucky bastard,” Simon said once they were out of earshot. JD raised a questioning eyebrow at him. “I would give almost anything to not be alone tonight,” he explained. There were murmurs of agreement from around the room.
“Tonight was bad,” JD said. “Very bad. But you all fought well and saved lives. Concentrate on that and don’t dwell on the deaths. Try to get some sleep. Don’t get up in the morning.”
He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “It’s at times like this I wish alcohol was permitted in the Sanctuary.”
“I know a bar that will still be open,” Jonathon said, but JD shook his head.
“Not a good idea.” He stood up. “I’ll see you all at breakfast.” He spent some time in his office, then went to his room, but he had no illusions that he would sleep, knowing that Sarah would be sharing Craig’s bed.
The next morning he got up at his usual time and made his way to the arena. Just before 5 the door opened and Sarah walked in.
“What are you doing here?” she asked in surprise when she saw him.
“Waiting for you. How’s Craig?”
“Asleep. It took him a long time to drop off.”
“I’m not surprised.” He then braced himself for what he needed to say. “Thank you for staying with him last night. None of us wanted to be alone. You won’t hear me say this very often, so make the most of it. You were right and I was wrong. I should never have told you to go home.”
The smart-arse comment he had been expecting didn’t come. “How are you?” she asked instead.
“Tired,” he said. “I had to stay up last night writing a report on what happened. From what I could see, 2’s trainer did everything he could to keep his people alive and I just hope the powers that be realise that. He’s a good man and didn’t deserve to lose any of his team.”
“Go back to bed,” Sarah said, but JD shook his head.
“The best thing for me right now is to work this out of my system, so grab a sword and try to hit me.”
————————————-∞————————————-
The funeral took place the following Saturday. Sarah wasn’t permitted to attend as she was an outsider. Once she passed her assessment and qualified as a hunter she would be classed as one of them, but until then she had to accept her exclusion.
As soon as it was over, Craig went directly to Sarah’s house. He couldn’t face spending time with the others; he needed to get away. The hunter who had been injured could not be saved, so they had buried three people that day instead of two.
Since losing Alex, death affected him badly. Sarah was the only person to understand this so he stayed at her place for nearly a week before finally returning to the Sanctuary when ordered to by JD. He didn’t reprimand him for missing training, but he didn’t offer him sympathy either.
Sarah kept in daily contact with JD about Craig and between them they decided when it was time for him to return.
Life got back to normal. Sarah continued to improve on a weekly basis, Jonathon teased her about wanting to get him into bed whenever JD wasn’t around and Sarah continued to worry whenever everyone went out on a hunt.
A month or so passed and the deaths slowly left everyone’s minds. One Saturday morning, breakfast was almost over when Sarah’s phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID then grimaced. “Sorry, I have to get this,” she said and left the room.
“Hello Mary,” JD heard her say into the mouthpiece before she went out of hearing range. He looked at Craig. It was considered extremely bad manners to take calls during a meal so he was curious as to who it was.
“Mother-in-law,” Craig said. “She treats Sarah as though she and Alex were married and she’s a woman who it’s best not to cross.”
JD looked at his watch. “Should I assume that Sarah will be l
ate for training this morning then?”
“She’ll try not to be, but please don’t be mad at her if she is.”
“Alright,” JD said, but he made no promises.
Sarah was only five minutes late and was very apologetic, so JD decided not to punish her. Her attitude, however, was another thing. She seemed to lack concentration and was making mistakes that she hadn’t made since she had first started training with him.
He began to lose patience with her. “Do it again,” he ordered. “And you will keep doing it until you get it right.”
“No,” she snapped at him.
“Excuse me,” he said, shocked by her reaction. “Did you just say ‘no’?”
“I can’t live like this anymore. I’m fed up with having no control over my life.”
She threw her sword onto the ground and walked toward the door.
“Sarah,” he called to her. “If you walk out that door, I will take you back, but only once. Are you sure you really want to do this now?”
She didn’t reply. She unlocked the door and walked out, slamming it behind her.
“Shit,” JD said to himself, then put the weapons away.
Instead of getting changed, he went to his office. She would have to walk past it if she was leaving and he wanted to be there when she did.
He heard her approach and called her name. She had her bags packed and from the look of things she was taking all of her belongings home with her. She usually left a supply of clothes in her room, but the number of bags she had with her suggested she was leaving for good. It was worse than he had thought. He would have to handle this very carefully.
“Sarah.” She stopped walking, but didn’t turn around. “Before you decide whether to come back tomorrow or not, think about why you are doing this. Why did you ask to be trained and why, until now, do you keep coming back?”
Without saying a word, she resumed walking and left the Sanctuary. A few moments later Scott walked into JD’s office.
“Did I just see Sarah leave?” he asked. “Is training over already?”
“Apparently so.” Scott didn’t hear the warning tone in JD’s voice.
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