Doc said no more until Sarah was undressed and a blood pack had been attached to an IV, which was then inserted in her arm. Since marrying Doc, Silvia had retrained as an anaesthetist and had the equipment ready. Doc gave Sarah an injection to knock her out. “Jonathon, Craig,” Doc called out. “Get him out of here. I can’t operate with him hovering over me.”
They grabbed an arm each and dragged JD from the room. He didn’t put up much resistance; Doc was right. Before they could get him through the door, however, he called out to Doc. “If you can’t save her, let me know. I will turn her.”
Doc shivered, but nodded his head. He had been informed which members of his Sanctuary had made the decision to be turned, should the need arise, and which hadn’t.
Craig and Jonathon unceremoniously threw JD into a chair in the lounge, then Jonathon went to get changed and clean his sword. He took Sarah’s sword with him.
Craig took another seat and watched JD carefully. He was physically shaking as he tried to control himself. He was covered in Sarah’s blood, but he didn’t care.
“Go and get changed,” Craig said. “Doc is going to be a while and I’m sure Sarah does not want to see you looking like that when she wakes up.”
‘If she wakes up,’ JD thought, but didn’t say it. Craig was as worried as he was. He did as suggested, throwing his soiled suit onto the floor.
He went into the shower, letting the hot water wash over him, but it failed to take away his pain. Despite the heat, he couldn’t get his shaking under control and a cry of anguish escaped his lips before he could stop it. It echoed around the house, making everyone except Doc pause what they were doing for a fraction of a second.
When he eventually managed to force himself to get out of the shower and get dressed, he looked at his sword, which was still in his scabbard. Knowing he needed something to do to keep him occupied, he set about cleaning both. It took a while, but eventually he got the job done to his satisfaction.
He returned his sword to the arena and noticed that Sarah’s was already in its usual place. He took a deep breath, then returned to the lounge. He desperately wanted to lock himself away somewhere, but it would be a bad idea.
Craig was in a chair, staring into space. He looked pale, which worried JD. He had no idea how Craig would cope if Sarah died so soon after losing his brother.
“Any news?” he asked, but Craig shook his head.
Natalie entered the room and handed them both cans of drink then quickly left. “I wish we had something stronger,” Craig said as he stared at the can without opening it.
“You can always go out,” JD said, but Craig wouldn’t. He wouldn’t leave the house until Doc had given an update.
“Where the hell did a vampire get hold of a gun?” Craig asked. It was a rhetorical question, but JD answered it anyway.
“Why wouldn’t one have a gun? If they had one before they got turned, becoming a vampire doesn’t stop you being able to use it. It’s something I should have expected and trained you for.”
Craig looked at JD sharply. “This is not your fault.”
“Of course it is.” JD didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t have the energy.
“Don’t do this to yourself,” Craig said. “You know I’m talking from experience. It will do you more harm than you realise.”
JD did not reply.
Christina walked in and Craig tensed. JD didn’t react. He had gone numb inside. Craig watched Christina move a seat opposite JD and sit down. Though she had stopped making obvious moves on JD, Craig still did not trust her.
Christina spoke to JD quietly, telling him that everything would be alright. She reached out to take his hand, then changed her mind. She continued to offer words of comfort and sympathy, but JD showed no sign of having heard them.
When she moved her hair out of the way and exposed her neck, Craig took his phone out of his pocket. When she told JD that blood would make him feel better, he intervened.
“Leave him alone Christina,” he said. “Now is really not a good time. For your own safety, I suggest you leave.”
Christina ignored him and continued to try to persuade JD to take her blood. Craig sent a quick text to Jonathon. ‘Come to the lounge and bring your sword. Bring mine as well.’
‘Why?’ came the reply.
‘We may have to take JD out.’
Jonathon didn’t respond, but Craig knew that, despite the danger, he would do as requested.
“You need calming down,” Christina continued. “Let me help you.”
Craig moved seat so he could watch JD. He was staring at the wall, his entire body tense. Craig glanced up at the door and saw that Jonathon had arrived, but he didn’t enter the room. He could hear what was going on, but made no attempt to interfere. The look on his face told Craig that he knew just how dangerous the situation was.
“Come on,” Christina coaxed. “Just a few drops will make you feel so much better. You can use me as a substitute for Sarah until she recovers. If she recovers that is. You may even enjoy me more than her.”
JD turned to look at her and Craig could see his face. The look in his eyes made him shiver. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret JD,” he said, but his words were pointless.
The next time Christina opened her mouth to speak, her words were cut off as JD launched himself at her, slamming her into the wall so hard a picture fell down, the frame smashing as it hit the floor.
He held her in place by her shoulders, then began to brush her neck with his teeth. Jonathon entered the room and handed Craig his sword. “JD,” he said. “Let her go.”
JD ignored him. Instead he addressed Christina in a seductive voice. “Is this what you want?” he asked as he continued to caress her flesh with his fangs.
“Yes,” she gasped.
“Unfortunately I don’t want or need blood right now, but I will make you a promise.” Craig and Jonathon looked at each other, unsure what was going on.
“The next time I take your blood,” JD continued in a husky voice, “I will take it from your neck.” Christina began to tremble in excitement. It had taken a long time, but finally she was getting what she wanted. “And I will take it all,” JD added.
It took a moment for Christina to realise what his words meant. Then she began to scream.
JD released her then walked out of the room. Jonathon followed. “Go outside,” he said. “You need fresh air.”
Knowing he was right, JD obeyed. Jonathon grabbed the keys for his car as he passed the bowl where they were kept, then followed him out.
Jonathon steered him toward the garage, opened the door by remote and unlocked his Ferrari. “Get in the car JD. You need to get away from here.” JD folded his arms and refused to step forward. “Just get in the damn car,” Jonathon said.
Still JD did not move. Jonathon began to get angry. It was the only thing that would overpower his fear. “Don’t make me fight you. We both know what will happen to me if I do and Doc is kind of busy right now.”
JD glared at him, then relented. “Alright, but I’m driving.”
Jonathon knew better than to argue. He threw over the keys and climbed into the passenger seat. JD drove sensibly, sticking to the speed limits and making no dangerous moves. He took Jonathon to the place he had taken Sarah after her assessment. Despite the dark, he was able to find his way to the lookout without any problems.
He sat down, leaned against a tree and took a deep breath. The journey had calmed him down, but the anger had been replaced by a feeling of dread. “Want to talk about it?” Jonathon asked as he took a seat beside him.
“What’s there to talk about? Right now Sarah is fighting for her life and there’s nothing I can do to help her.”
“She will make it. Have faith in Doc.”
JD turned toward his brother and his fragile self-control broke. The moon was full so Jonathon could see the tears in his eyes. “I can’t lose her Jonathon.”
Jonathon took him in his arms and held him tight. He hadn’t s
een JD cry since he had been very young and it felt strange seeing him so emotionally vulnerable. He didn’t relax his hold on him until he heard the sobbing stop.
JD pulled away. “Tell anyone about this and you’re a dead man,” he said, but his tone lacked conviction.
“You scared me earlier,” Jonathon said. “I really thought you were going to kill Christina.”
JD shook his head. “I was in complete control. I just wanted to scare her. I had no intention of killing her, at least not then. If Sarah does not make it, I may have to reassess.”
Jonathon wasn’t sure if he was serious or not and began to pray even harder that Doc could save Sarah. Not that he cared about what happened to Christina. He was worried that JD would lose it and become a danger to everyone.
The two brothers stayed where they were, talking together quietly. They were disturbed by Craig phoning Jonathon to see how JD was. There was still no news from Doc.
The first signs of morning could be seen in the distance by the time JD’s phone rang. It was Doc. JD’s hand was shaking when he answered.
“She’s going to be alright,” were the first words he heard Doc say. “I had to remove a kidney, but she can survive with just one. I managed to find the bullet and stop all of her internal bleeding. It may take a while, but she’s going to make a full recovery.”
JD’s voice was trembling as he thanked him. He hung up, then leaned back against the tree. He suddenly felt exhausted.
“Good news I take it,” Jonathon said. JD nodded his head. “Time to go home then.”
JD didn’t protest when Jonathon made him hand over the keys. He was in no condition to drive. When they arrived back at the Sanctuary he went straight to the medical unit, but it was empty.
“She’s been put in her old room,” Scott said. He had seen JD arrive and followed him. “Dad is exhausted and has gone to bed. Mom too. They said you’re allowed to visit her, but do not wake her up or join her in the bed.”
JD had no intention of disobeying Doc’s orders. He just needed to be with Sarah, to see for himself that she was alive.
A chair had been placed beside the bed, so he sat down and took her hand in his. She was pale, but was breathing steadily and he could see her strong heartbeat pulsing through the veins in her neck.
He stared at her for ages, watching her chest slowly rise and fall. Eventually he laid his head on the bed and closed his eyes.
He was woken by a hand running through his hair. “Hey,” Sarah said quietly as he opened his eyes.
“How do you feel?”
“I hurt whenever I try to move,” she said.
He laughed in relief. She really was alright. “Well you have been shot sweetheart.”
“And I need to pee.”
He leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Alright. I’ll let Doc know. Be right back.”
JD found Doc in his office and passed on Sarah’s message. He was given permission to carry her to the bathroom, but she had to be taken straight back to bed.
JD and Sarah talked for a while. He asked if she wanted breakfast, but the thought of food made her feel nauseous. After a while she fell asleep once more and JD left her alone. He was hungry and he needed blood.
Most people were in the dining room when he entered and gave him the third degree about how Sarah was. Eventually he was allowed to eat, but he found his appetite vanishing as soon as the food reached his stomach.
“I need blood,” he said and Christina held out her wrist.
“You overreacted yesterday and I understand the reasons why. I know you didn’t mean what you said.”
“On the contrary. I meant every single word.”
Christina stormed out of the room and Jonathon took JD to his office, where he supplied him with what he needed. Once his thirst had been quenched, JD returned to the room Sarah was in. She was still asleep, so, despite Doc’s orders, he laid down on the bed next to her and went to sleep, holding her hand.
————————————-∞————————————-
As Doc had predicted, Sarah made a complete recovery, though it was slow progress. The next day Doc allowed JD to move her back into their room, but he did have a list of instructions for them both. First was no training of any kind until they heard otherwise. Sarah was still on pain killers so didn’t argue.
Second was diet. She had to eat everything that Silvia gave her and nothing else. Again Sarah agreed; it was for her own good.
Third was work. Doc provided Craig with a certificate stating that she had been injured, but not how, and she wouldn’t be returning until he provided a signed release form. He might allow her to work from home for a while before she returned to the office, but that depended on her progress.
The fourth condition annoyed them both. “JD, you are to keep your hands off her for a few weeks.”
“How long exactly?”
“Until I say otherwise.”
“But−” JD started to protest, but Doc cut him off.
“No buts. Her recovery depends on it. Give her chance to heal.”
JD grumbled for a while, but eventually agreed. It did not go unnoticed that Sarah didn’t.
After a couple of weeks, JD allowed Sarah to watch some of the training sessions, though he wouldn’t let her get up at 5am. When he wasn’t around, she tried to persuade some of the others to start some light and easy training with her, but they all refused. Not only because Doc had spoken to them and ordered them not to, but also because JD had told them, in great detail, exactly what he would do to them if they disobeyed Doc’s instructions.
Stuck at home all day, Sarah soon got bored. She started spending a lot of time with Natalie and the more she got to know her, the more she liked her. Christina avoided her as much as possible, which Sarah was pleased about.
————————————-∞————————————-
One Friday night, JD phoned to say he was caught up at work and wouldn’t be home until very late. It had been a long time since Sarah had settled down to watch a film without JD being around. Usually he either joined them or she opted to forego movie night in order to train with him.
As she cuddled up to Craig, she noticed the look she was getting from Natalie and had to suppress a smile.
The next day, when she and Natalie were alone together, she decided to talk to her about it. “We need to discuss Craig.”
Natalie’s face dropped. “You want me to keep away from him.”
Sarah laughed. “On the contrary. I want to assure you that there is nothing between us other than friendship. Never has been and never will be. He is completely single and available.”
“And you are telling me this because?”
“He needs and deserves someone like you. You will be good for him.”
Natalie stared at her. “Are you giving me your permission to make a move on him?”
Sarah shook her head. “You don’t need my permission. I’m giving you my encouragement.”
Later that evening, Sarah and JD were in the lounge when Craig got home. “Can I borrow your office?” Sarah asked.
“Sure. Why?”
“I need to have words with Craig.”
“Anything I need to know about?”
“No.”
As soon as Craig returned from his room, having changed his clothes, Sarah grabbed him. “If you’re free, can I have a word in Jason’s office please?”
He followed her in and she sat in JD’s chair behind the desk. “You need to keep away from me.”
This had been the last thing he had been expecting to hear. “Why? I thought JD was okay with it.”
“He is, but Natalie isn’t.”
“Natalie?”
“Don’t play innocent. I’ve seen the way you two keep looking at each other. You need to stop paying me attention and focus on her. Start by taking her out on a date.”
“I really don’t think I need dating advice from you.”
�
�Apparently you do.”
Anger surged through Craig. “Stay out of my love life Sarah. I stay out of yours.”
Sarah didn’t react to his outburst. “Fair enough. All I’m saying is that if you try to put your arm around me when Natalie is nearby, I will shove you away. Don’t take it personally.”
Craig stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. JD watched him stomp up the stairs then entered his office.
“Problems?”
“Nothing for you to worry about. He’s just being a typical pig-headed male.”
————————————-∞————————————-
A few days later JD was once again working late so Sarah watched a film in the TV room without him. Christina had gone out somewhere and nobody seemed to miss her, not even her sister. Craig sat next to Sarah and put his arm around her, but she pushed him away.
He stared at her in surprise. “I didn’t think you were serious,” he said.
“Well I am,” she said. “Now go sit somewhere else.”
He looked like he was going to protest, so Jonathon intervened. “Craig, do as she says. She’s not yet fully recovered so leave her alone if that is what she wants.”
Craig reluctantly moved to a different seat and Jonathon took his place. “Do you have to sit so close?” Sarah asked him.
He grinned at her. “You need looking after sis.”
“That’s Jason’s job, now go away.”
The smile stayed on his face. “But he’s not here. Now what sort of brother would I be if I didn’t take care of you in his absence?”
“One that gets to keep every part of his anatomy?”
Jonathon laughed. “You’re in no condition to make threats and won’t be for a while. Now shut up so we can watch the film.”
“You’re as bad as your brother,” she mumbled. When he was looking the other way, she elbowed him hard in the ribs, then cried out as pain shot through her.
The smiled dropped off Jonathon’s face. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” she gasped.
“Seriously Sarah, do I need to go and get Doc?”
“No. I guess I’m just not as healed as I thought I was.”
Jonathon continued to look at her in concern. “I’ll make a deal with you. You let me fuss over you tonight and I won’t tell JD what just happened. Nor will any of the others.”
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