"Vampire's Kiss"
An X-files Story
by Jennifer Lyon
Jenni10647@aol.com
JennyAnn@ix.netcom.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: The X-Files are the property of FOX network, Ten 
Thirteen Productions and Chris Carter. The remainder of this 
story is mine. 
Author's Note: This story is a sequel to my previous story 
"Promises to Keep," in which I introduce the character of Jason. 
Contact me if you need a copy of that story. Also note that this 
story will contain references to adult sexual activity, and assumes 
that a love/sexual relationship between Mulder and Scully exists. 
But this story is definitely PG-13 with some sugestive nature - 
use YOUR imagination!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------


Part One

     His eyes burned. Covering them with reddened hands, 
he twisted and turned in the white sheets of the bed. But there 
was no escape from the light, it flooded the room in waves of 
silent heat, piercing every inch of his skin, burrowing through the 
sheets and the hospital gown. He yearned for the blessed peace of 
darkness, the familiar shelter of the night. For his freedom and, 
above all else, for the blood.
     The red hunger crashed through him again and again. It 
was as much a part of him now as his skin and hair and bones. 
Never satisfied, it would ebb and tide within him, receding, then 
washing over him in waves of need so intense he couldn't even 
hear his own screams.  Sometimes they would feed him, just 
enough to keep him from dropping into the relative release of 
total unconsciousness, then draw the precious fluid back out of 
him drop by drop with their endless needles.
     He tried to fight, once managing to draw a few precious 
swallows from one of his human jailer's arms, but it had not been 
enough. They had flooded his cell with the angry light, increasing 
the intensity until his skin had blackened and his strength had 
seeped from him like water through a sieve.
     A choking bitter laugh escaped through his dry lips, they 
didn't even bother to tie him down anymore. Instead they left him 
to the punishing, pulsating light,  keeping him weak and 
controlled, but always alive. Always in torment. Centuries of 
clinging to life, and now he ached for the death that was denied.
     A small part of his mind was still awake enough to 
wonder what they were doing. Humans had hunted and killed his 
kind before, but these were deliberately keeping him alive. 
Feeding him blood, then draining it from him. Poking him and 
prodding him, wounding him, then watching silently as his 
nourishment-starved body began to heal itself.  What did they 
want?!
     The door opened and another of the white-clad men 
entered, a syringe in his hand, walking towards him with 
purposeful steps, shoes clattering on the tiled floor. He pulled 
himself up to a sitting position and bared his fangs in an empty 
gesture of defiance. As the needle pierced the raw skin of his 
arm, he leaned back and howled, the eerie sound echoing against 
the colorless walls, then fading back into empty silence. 
     "Let me die..."
                         - - - - -
     
     Jason jolted upright in his bed. The room was still and 
silent, the darkness complete. Not one ray of light penetrated his 
sanctum, not one sound broke into his rest. Nothing but the echo 
of a scream in his mind. He ran delicate fingers through strands of 
his blond hair, mind struggling to focus. Normally, he woke 
abruptly from the day's slumber, asleep one instant, fully awake 
the next. But this time, he felt drugged. Weak and trembling, his 
mind was fogged. 
     Jason stretched, then stumbled to his feet. Walking 
through the familiar darkness he found the bathroom and turned 
on the faucet, vigorously splashing cold water across his face, an 
old habit that hadn't faded over the long centuries since his death. 
It helped, though, and the coolness of the fluid drying on his skin 
brought with it the realization that the feeling of torpor wasn't his 
own. The sensation was already slipping away along with the 
voice that had cried into his mind. All it left were were feelings of 
familiarity and fear.
     Someone he knew - and the knowledge came in a 
sudden flash of certainty that it was another of his kind - 
someone was in trouble. All he could grasp was the weakness 
and the pain, and... Light. Jason winced as the other's panic 
stirred his own. He had been burned before, so badly that the 
memory made his stomach twist and cramp. 
     "Who...?" he sent out the mental call, demanding, 
reaching, searching for the feel of that touch in his mind. But it 
was gone. 
                         - - - - -

     Music pounded at his senses, the heavy beat sending 
reverberation through the very floor itself. Male and female 
voices wound through it, up and down the scale, twisting around 
each other in a musical caress. Below them, the murmur of 
conversation filled the air, along with the smell of sweating flesh 
and alcohol. Jason slipped quietly through the crowd, unerringly 
finding the one he was seeking.
     "Charlotta," he spoke into her ear, pressing himself 
between the bar stools, so that he was looking down at her. Her 
long, black hair was coiled up onto the top of her head, a few 
strands artfully loose along her neck and cheeks. She was 
covered in black silk, the dress hiding just enough of her figure to 
be tantalizing and revealing at once. 
     She smiled, almost purring as she gracefully turned to 
meet his eyes. "Jassson," she hissed, her blue eyes almost violet 
with the blood fever. "Come to join me in the hunt?"
     Damn, he cursed to himself silently. He needed answers, 
but she would not be sensible until she had fed. He had never 
understood why she let the need rise in her like this. She 
surrendered herself to it with abandon, glorying in the need 
almost as deeply as she did in the satisfaction. It was one of the 
reasons why they never would be more than friends and 
occasional companions. She had no more understanding for his 
desire to control his need than he did her delight in it.
     "Chara," he sighed, then gave in gracefully. "Yes, but 
we have to talk later."
     She grinned, the smile one of a predator, the fangs just 
barely visible behind her red lips. She was not far enough gone to 
fail to sense both the seriousness and the unspoken fear behind 
his carefully-controlled demeanor. But whatever it was could 
wait. Jason was always too intense, too focused, and she loved 
nothing more than a chance to push at his limits. 
     Stretching out a black silk-clad arm, she tapped his 
cheek. "Come, I had hesitated to take them both myself, but 
together it will be perfect." Wrapping a hand around his arm, she 
led him through the crowd.
     "Chara," he started to protest, but then clamped his 
mouth shut. He always ended up whining her name, and he knew 
from experience it was a waste of time. But he did not share the 
taste some vampires had for their own sex, he might feed from a 
man when there was need, but he refused to play the games 
Chara would insist upon. Let her have both of her prey, whatever 
she might have said, she could handle two men, or five, easily on 
her own.
     She laughed against his ear, clearly reading his 
expression. "Not this time, my dear." She pointed at a pair of 
girls giggling in a corner table. One was thin and blond, the other 
rounder and darker, both wearing the standard costume of 
college students, jeans and sweaters, feet encased in white socks 
and sneakers. 
     "They're too young," he murmured against the other 
vampire's neck.
     "Nonsense," she replied. "They know what they are 
looking for." And as though in confirmation, both girls turned to 
bestow welcoming smiles on a pair of men who reeked of sex and 
violence even from a distance. Jason knew the type - human 
predators who would use and damage the girls without thought.
     A growl deep in his throat, he pushed Chara towards the 
corner, settling between the young women and the men stalking 
them. The girls might loose a couple pints of blood tonight, but 
they would NOT be hurt. He would see to that.
                         - - - - -

     The girls were sleeping on the bed together, the blond 
one's head resting against her friend's naked chest. The puncture 
marks on their necks were already fading, by the time they awoke 
the next day, there would be nothing more than a couple small 
pinprick scars. Their memories would be cloudy, but pleasant, 
like waking up after an alcoholic binge. And they would attribute 
the tiredness to that same cause. Jason was satisfied, and from 
Chara's sleepy smile, he knew she was as well.
     Pulling Chara across the room, he spoke softly, but 
clearly. The girls would not awaken, but there was no reason to 
avoid simple caution. "We need to talk. Something is wrong."
     The blood-hunger sated, Chara stretched gracefully, 
enjoying one last rush of warmth through her veins, then nodded. 
"I know. At least three of our people have gone missing." She 
frowned, her still-extended fang catching at her full lower lip.
     "What?" Jason exclaimed. "Who?"
     "You'd know if you socialized more," Chara chided, 
with a slight twinkle in her eyes. Vampires were by nature 
solitary, but Jason was even more of a loner than most of his 
kind. The others sought each other regularly, for the 
companionship it was not safe to find among the humans. 
Sometimes just to talk, sometimes to share the hunt. 
     "Who!" he insisted again, not willing to take the bait. He 
was not about to argue his life-style with her. He was fine alone. 
A small voice in the depths of his mind added a question mark, 
but he locked it away with the ease of long-practice.
     "Gerain, Mark, and Louisa that I know of. There are 
rumors of more." She shook her head. "They are not dead, I can 
still feel Gerain sometimes." Her voice finally dropped into the 
first show of emotion. "He's hurt, Jason. Badly, but I cannot 
reach him, he is too faint."
     Jason's mouth tightened. "I heard him tonight. Just as I 
was waking up. A scream, and a sense of incredible weakness. 
And light. Too much light." The memory made him shiver.
     "I'm scared," Chara admitted. "Gerain was one of the 
oldest of us. He was much stronger. Some of the others have 
already fled the city, but this is my home." Her face darkened. "I 
won't run. Not again. But without knowing what we are 
fighting..." She spread her hands wide. "I don't know what to 
do."
     "Why didn't you tell me?" 
     "Why should I?" She was angry now, her eyes sparkling. 
"You've always disdained our company."
     "Not always," he reminded her. "Gerain was my friend. I 
may not like hunting and feeding parties, but I respected him, and 
I've always cared about you." His eyes caressed her face tenderly.
     "I'm sorry, Jason. I should have contacted you. But 
what could you do? Louisa and Mark were looking for Gerain 
when they disappeared." Now she was letting the fear show 
openly, trusting him with it.
     "What about the others, if we all work together..." Jason 
broke off, and returned Chara's rueful smile. Vampires might 
socialize to some extent, respect some basic rules of co-
existence, but more than two or three together always 
degenerated into a feeding frenzy or a territorial dispute. Which 
was one of the reasons Jason preferred his own company.
     "No one can decide what to do," Chara said. "Some 
have fled, others are trying to find what they can, others try to 
ignore the whole thing. Most went into hiding, especially after 
Mark and Louisa vanished. It's not as though we can go to the 
police."
     "No," Jason agreed. Then a sudden thought struck him 
and his mouth widened into a smile. "Not the police..."
                         - - - - -

     FBI Special Agent Dana Scully rubbed wearily at her 
bloodshot eyes, trying to focus on the road in front of her. Just 
around the corner and down the block, and she'd be home. 
Beside her, Fox Mulder stirred in his sleep, twisting in the 
cramped front seat of the car, and she gave him a quick glance 
before pulling the car up to the curb.
     They had just finished a long and demanding case, 
finally turning the suspect over to the local police that very 
afternoon. Scully was beginning to understand why Mulder hated 
the serial killer cases he was so good at solving. She felt 
emotionally wrung out, drained, and filthy. The images of the 
victims kept flashing in front of her eyes, the splattered blood and 
broken bones. The gaping, empty cavities where organs had once 
supported life. 
     And it was easier on her, since she dealt with the 
physical evidence. Mulder had to get into the mind of the killer, 
to reach into his world and understand him. And that connection 
with this kind of evil, it took a terrible toll on Mulder. She'd 
watched him with anxious eyes as he struggled with the case, 
focusing with an intensity that was nearly obsessive, wringing a 
profile out of himself that was terrifying in its exactness. He'd 
been right, far too right. And Scully had seen the flashes of mixed 
fear and amazement on the faces of the police and other agents 
involved.
     And now, they were left with the aftermath of too many 
nights without sleep, too many horrors witnessed, and the taste 
of evil in their mouths. But there was satisfaction, she thought 
grimly, turning off the engine, in the knowledge that one less 
killer would be stalking the streets tonight.
     "Mulder..." She tried to wake him gently, but he woke 
with a start, jerking in his seat.
     "Wwwhhaaat? Scully?" He focused his shadowed eyes 
on her face, mouth tightening at the deep-grooved lines etched 
into her face. 
     "We're at my place," she told him. "Come on, lets get 
inside."
     "I...uhn..." he nodded, accepting the implicit invitation. 
Normally they tried not to spend too many nights together in 
Washington. If their superiors found out that their relationship 
was not totally platonic, they could be separated. Neither wanted 
to take that risk. But tonight, she was right. He was in no shape 
to drive the rest of the way home. He wasn't even sure he could 
walk to her door.
     Easing himself out of the car, he stood up unsteadily. It 
was a still and quiet evening, the stars shining in a clear sky. 
Reaching into the back seat, he removed his bag, then shut the 
car door with a bang. Then hefting it over his shoulder, he 
followed Scully into her apartment.
     They both dropped their bags onto the bedroom floor, 
too tired to care where they fell. Scully let Mulder take the 
bathroom, too exhausted to bother. Instead she stripped in the 
still-dark bedroom, dropping her suit on the floor beside their 
bags. Pulling a nightshirt out from under the pillows, she yanked 
it over her head even as she walked towards the kitchen.
     Passing the bathroom door, she heard the toilet flush 
and water run in the sink. Somehow the sounds were comforting, 
it was reassuring to know her partner was here. All she wanted in 
the world right now was to curl up in bed in his arms. To sleep 
with her head pillowed against his shoulder, his strong arms 
wound around her.
     Bare feet silent on the tile, she went to the refrigerator 
and drew out a half-full bottle of wine. Popping the cork, she 
took a couple of deep gulps straight from the bottle. The sweet 
alcohol was smooth going down her throat, and spread a wave of 
warmth through her belly. With a sigh, she took another swallow.
     Mulder stepped up behind her, dressed only in his 
boxers. He had attempted to leave his suit in decent condition, 
draping it over the back of the bed frame, but it would probably 
need serious dry-cleaning after having been worn for two days 
and nights straight.
     He didn't bother to say a word, announcing his presence 
by pressing a soft kiss into her hair. She leaned back against him, 
sighing under her breath, as his arms closed around her. He took 
the bottle out of her hand and set it on the counter. She let it go 
willingly, and turned to press her face into his chest.
     Putting the exhaustion aside for a few minutes longer, 
he slipped a hand under her knees and swung her up into his 
arms. She snuggled close to him, wrapping her arms around his 
neck and burrowing a hand deep into the dark silk of his hair. He 
nuzzled the top of her head as he carried her into the bedroom, 
laying her gently onto the bed.
     She reached up to help him pull the covers down, 
wriggling as he brought them down underneath her, then back up 
over her legs. Smiling sleepily up at the shadow of his figure, she 
reached out to pull him closer. He hardly needed the 
encouragement and he slipped into the bed to join her, releasing a 
soft sigh of relief as his head hit the pillow.
     Scully rested her head against his chest, closed her eyes, 
and fell instantly to sleep. Mulder caressed her shoulders gently 
for a moment, then closed his own eyes. His last thought, as he 
joined her in slumber, was that neither of them was going to have 
trouble sleeping this night.
                    - - - - -

=====================================================================
======

From: jennyann@ix.netcom.com (Jennifer Lyon)
Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative
Subject: NEW:"Vampire's Kiss" 2/10
Date: 6 Jul 1995 23:16:06 GMT


-------------------------------------------------------------------
"Vampire's Kiss"
An X-files Story
by Jennifer Lyon
Jenni10647@aol.com
JennyAnn@ix.netcom.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Disclaimer: The X-Files are the property of FOX network, Ten 
Thirteen Productions and Chris Carter. The remainder of this 
story is mine.
Author's Note: This story is a sequel to my previous story 
"Promises to Keep," in which I introduce the character of Jason. 
Contact me if you need a copy of that story. Also note that this 
story will contain references to adult sexual activity, and assumes 
that a love/sexual relationship between Mulder and Scully exists. 
But this story is definitely PG-13 with some sugestive nature - 
use YOUR imagination!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
----
 Part Two


     Standing in the shadows by the bedroom door, Jason's 
cat-like eyes rested on the sleeping couple. The woman's flame-
haired head was nestled against the man's shoulder, his head 
settled on the pillows, dark hair in disarray above sleep-refined 
features.
     Moving as silently as a ghost, Jason glided forward until 
he was standing right beside them, eyes half-shuttered as he 
gazed down at them. He reached out a hand to brush the silken 
bangs off of the slumbering man's temples, then arrested it in mid-
air. The vampire's small, long-fingered hand hovered in the air for 
a moment, shaking with emotion, then stilled by a sudden act of 
will. 
     He drew his hand back, ignoring the sting in his eyes 
from tears that could no longer fall, and fought back the flood of 
emotion. He had kept his distance after his first meeting with 
these two humans, the reaction to the man who wore his lost 
love's face too strong to be ignored, too painful and confusing to 
be borne. So he had settled for watching from a safe distance, 
keeping his promise without endangering his heart. But now he 
had to break that wall, take the risk, for this time he needed their 
help.
     "Mulder, Dana..." he whispered, his voice an echo of the 
night. Again, louder, "Mulder, Dana..."
     Scully shifted in her sleep, turning her head, as though in 
response to his call, then settling down again.
     "Mulder, Dana..."
     This time Mulder reacted, tightening his grasp on the 
woman in his arms, even as his eyelids began to flutter and his 
breath quicken.
     "Mulder, Dana..."
     Mulder's eyes flew open and focused on the dark 
shadow leaning over the bed.
     "Scully!!" he cried out in warning, leaping to a half-
upright position.
     "Whhaa...?" she murmured, fighting to remain asleep, 
even as he pushed her to the side, instinctively trying to place 
himself between her and the unknown.
     "Wait," Jason started to speak again as Mulder reached 
for the lamp beside the bed and switched it on, sending a bright 
flare of light across the room.
     Jason shuddered and drew an arm across his eyes, 
backing away from the sudden glare. Mulder blinked, his body 
tensed. Then a sigh of relief crossed his lips as he recognized 
their intruder.
     "Jason?" The name was spoken with a mixture of 
disbelief, surprise and dawning joy.
     "Yes," Jason replied, dropping the shielding arm as his 
light-sensitive eyes readjusted. "I apologize for disturbing your 
sleep, but I need to talk to you." The man and the vampire 
studied each other for a moment, then Mulder nodded. 
     "It's been a while."
     "Yes, it has." Jason smiled. "I've been around."
     Mulder smiled in return. "I know." It was Jason's turn 
for a look of surprise, but the expression faded into one of self-
amused acceptance. 
     Awakened by the light and sound of voices, Scully 
rubbed her eyes, then looked up at the visitor. "Hello Jason," she 
said sleepily, a small part of her wondering why she was reacting 
so calmly to being wakened in the middle of the night, in her own 
bedroom, by a real-life vampire. Perhaps she was becoming 
inured to weirdness, more likely it was the instinctive trust she 
felt in Jason.
     "Hello Lady," he replied softly, making the title ring true 
in his oddly-archaic English. His piercing eyes took her in, the 
cloud of copper-hair, the wide blue eyes, the full, slightly open 
mouth, the skin showing in the vee of her thin cotton nightshirt, 
then he pulled back visibly, turning his eyes onto Mulder's face.
     Scully had felt those eyes on her, and a slight blush 
reddened her cheeks, even as she drew the covers up higher and 
settled back against the pillows beside Mulder. Mixed with the 
embarrassment was another feeling, one she wasn't sure she 
wanted to recognize.
     Mulder sat up fully, leaving space for Jason to sit down 
on the bed facing them. He had caught both the way Jason 
looked at Scully and her response to that look, causing his own 
emotions to break into a turmoil. A confusion that was not aided 
by the way Jason was staring at him.
     Jason accepted the implicit invitation and sat down on 
the edge of the bed. A flash of light caught his attention, and he 
automatically reached out to finger the shiny object resting in the 
hollow of Mulder's throat. A small gold locket on a thick gold 
chain, it brought back a flood of memories, the scent of lilacs in 
the dark, the taste of cherries on lips redder than the fruit, green-
tinged hazel eyes that could read his soul...
     Jason's hand began to shake, even as his fingers clasped 
onto the locket. Mulder's hand flew up to close upon Jason's, 
holding them both against his chest. Jason could feel Mulder's 
heartbeat below the warmth of his skin, Mulder could feel the 
cool porcelain of the vampire's skin next to his own.
     Jason stilled to a death-like silence as their eyes met and 
held. He could have been looking into Maria's eyes, the 
resemblance was as total in that instant as it had ever been, and 
the feelings it evoked were intense. The moment lasted no more 
than a second, then it was gone, Mulder releasing Jason's hand, 
Jason pulling his hand away and pressing it against his own chest 
as though he had burned.
     Mulder's pulse was racing in his veins, he felt like he 
could hear it pound in his temples. He took a ragged breath, 
carefully avoiding Scully's watching eyes, then framed the simple 
words precisely.
     "What's happened?"
     Jason's face settled into a calm mask, pale skin stretched 
tight over well-carved bones. "I need your help." He paused, not 
sure how to continue. Even asking was difficult, trying to explain 
was nearly impossible. Was this a mistake? Chara had thought so, 
even given the very little he had told her. 
     Scully and Mulder were both silent, letting Jason take 
his time. Both had some inkling of how difficult this was for the 
vampire, and both were willing to let him do it his own way.
     "I am not the only of my kind in this city. You knew 
about the mad one, but there are others more like me. Who live 
quietly among the humans. We don't need to kill to feed 
ourselves, so most don't." He smiled. "There are plenty of 
humans willing to trade a few ounces of blood for momentary 
pleasure. Some even become addicted to it, seek it out as a new 
kind of drug." Both Mulder and Scully felt a separate rush of 
understanding, each had had one experience with the vampire's 
bite, and the memory brought each a rush of tingling heat.
     Jason saw the reaction, his smile deepening, then 
resolving as he forced himself to continue. "We are not much of a 
community, most vampires are by nature solitary. But sometimes 
we need the company of others like ourselves. Others who 
understand the toll of the passing years, passing centuries."
     Scully saw the worry darkening Jason's pale features and 
she reached out instinctively to reassure him. He closed his hand 
on hers briefly, accepting the gesture, then released her. "Last 
night I sensed that another vampire, a friend, was in trouble. I'm 
less sociable than most, and hadn't talked to any of the others in 
almost two months. But after the sending from Gerain..." He 
shivered, his eyes filling with remembered pain. "I sought out 
another friend. She told me that Gerain, and two of the others 
have disappeared. A few of the remaining vampires have received 
similar sensations, calls for help that end as abruptly as they 
begin."
     "What did you feel," Mulder asked, his insistent 
curiosity engaged.
     Jason looked almost startled at the sound of his voice, 
then focused on it. "I heard the voice crying for help, very faint. I 
almost didn't recognize it. It came with an intense feeling of 
weakness, and then a burst of light." He shuddered openly. 
"Burning, burning light. Not...not enough to kill, just enough to 
hurt. Endless, endless torment." He pressed his hands to his eyes 
as though to shield them.
     Mulder grasped Jason's shoulder's steadying him. "Easy, 
easy. You can separate yourself from it." His voice was hypnotic, 
silken and persuasive. "You can see it without feeling it. Imagine 
that you are watching it on a TV screen, with the controls under 
your command. It is separate from you, you can see it, but cannot 
be hurt by it. It is under your control." He repeated himself, 
slowly - evenly.
     Jason slowly let his hands slip down, and he looked up 
into Mulder's face. He nodded slightly, his mouth opening and 
closing as though he had taken a breath, even though that was 
something he had not needed to do in centuries.
     "Good," Mulder urged. "Now try to rewind the tape to 
the beginning. Then let it go forward slowly."
     Jason tried to speak, but Mulder shook his head. "No, 
first just watch it through once."
     Jason nodded, his eyes turning inward, still braced 
against Mulder's hands. They sat like that silently for a moment, 
then Jason pulled himself upright.
     "Ready," he said slowly, drawing the syllables out.
     "Good," Mulder responded.  "Now try to tell us 
everything you remember as you see or experience it."
     "I'm asleep, its almost time to awaken." Jason's voice 
came from deep inside, his eyes still unfocused. "A voice calls out 
to me faintly, and I wake. It calls again, crying for help. 'Stop the 
pain. No more, let me sleep!' I reach for it, but it fades. I feel 
weak, so tired. I can barely move. But I'm fully awake now, and I 
make myself get up. My feet are so unsteady, I can barely walk. I 
get to the bathroom, run the water, bury my hands in it, then 
splash it on my face. Better, I'm feeling stronger. The weakness 
wasn't my own - it came from the other. I know now, it is 
another vampire. One who is hurting, afraid. 'Where?' I call out, 
but there is no response. I grasp onto the edge of the sink. 'Who, 
where?' I call out aloud. Suddenly I hear the scream again, it 
crashed into my mind. Light, light, burning light. I can't escape 
from it. My skin is sore, my eyes blind, I can't stop them..." 
     Jason faltered there, shivering, but Mulder urged him 
on. "Stop who, Jason?"
     "Stop them, the men in white. Stabbing, stabbing with 
needles..." Jason broke off and leapt to his feet.
     Scully moved to follow him, but Mulder held her back. 
They both watched Jason as he began to pace the room, trying to 
bring himself back under control. After several circuits of the 
bed, he stopped and turned to them.
     "He's in some kind of cell, but one that is all white. 
There is too much light, and men who stick him with needles. 
He's too tired to fight, too starved." Jason's eyes had turned 
bright red, and his fangs had extended enough to brush at his 
lower lip. "Hungry, so hungry..."
     He pulled back again, reaching out to grip the edge of 
the bedpost. The desire for blood became intense, the other's 
hunger rising within him. He could sense their heartbeats, smell 
their flesh. NO!
     "I've got to go..." He turned to flee the room.
     "No!" Mulder shouted, even as he and Scully both got 
up out of the bed. They met him by the door. Jason tried to push 
past them, but Mulder seized his arms.
     "You came to us for help, let us help!"
     "You don't understand," Jason squeezed out the words 
over the now-fully extended fangs.
     "We understand," Scully replied, grabbing his arm to 
make him look down at her. "If you need to feed, we'll take care 
of it, but right now you can't go out there alone. Its too 
dangerous. If what you sense is right," She almost couldn't 
believe the words coming out of her own mouth, but they FELT 
right. "If what you sense is right, then there are people out there 
preying on vampires. What if they take you next?"
     "Scully's right," Mulder agreed. "It's too dangerous. At 
least let us go with you."
     Jason struggled with the rising tide of hunger stimulated 
by his memory of the Gerain's need. He shouldn't need more 
blood, he had fed within the last few hours. But once awakened, 
the blood-hunger had a life of its own, and it was abetted by his 
own desires. Scully's nearness was tantalizing, he could smell her, 
sense the blood rushing beneath her clear, soft skin. And 
Mulder... Those emotions were ones he still didn't want to face. 
Never, never had he felt such desire for a man, and even though 
he realized that much of what he felt was actually for the man's 
ancestor, the beautiful Maria, it was difficult to separate the 
memories from the living breathing reality. Mulder was SO like 
her, from the demanding intelligence to the compassionate soul, 
the physical beauty and inner strength, the piercing changeable 
eyes, and above all, the intense curiosity. The need to *know.* 
How alike they were, and with all the things that had made him 
love her, extant in this man, how could he fail to love him too.
     Jason shook his head slightly, trying to focus through 
the red haze and the driving hunger.
     Mulder sensed some of the uncertainty and pressed his 
advantage. "I..." One look at Scully's determined features, and he 
forced the plural out, "WE...can feed you. Or we can go with you 
while you feed. But you are NOT going out there alone."
                         - - - - -

     Mulder and Scully each took Jason's hand and together 
led him back towards the rumpled bed. He went with them 
shaking, a mix of need and fear short-circuiting his ability to 
react. They half-pushed him onto the bed, then both paused, 
eyeing each other with uncertainty. Jason was in no condition to 
make the decision, they had to make it for him - but neither knew 
what to do. Feeding a vampire was not a daily occurrence, not 
even for the FBI's experts on the paranormal. Should they find 
someone else, feed him themselves, and if so, which one would?
     Mulder cleared his throat, then found himself grinning. 
"I wonder if there's an all-night pizza delivery place nearby?"
     "Mulder, this isn't the time to order pizza, we need to 
help Jason." Scully scolded, watching with worried eyes as Jason 
lay on the bed, his red eyes staring at the ceiling, his body 
trembling. 
     "I was thinking less of ordering a pizza, than of ordering 
a pizza-deliverer," he responded, as his grin widened. "We'll take 
a pint of blood with that pizza."
     "Mulder!!!" Scully threw him an annoyed glance, then 
sighed loudly. It actually wasn't such a hopeless idea. She didn't 
think Jason had enough control to go hunting in bars for a willing 
meal, so that left them with the responsibility. 'Don't fool 
yourself, Dana Scully. You *want* this.,' a very annoying inner 
voice chimed. 'Shut up!' she told it, even as she made the 
decision.
     "I'll feed him," she said, wishing her voice was steadier 
than it was.
     "Unh...No, Scully...I'll do it," Mulder's voice wasn't any 
calmer than hers, just deeper
     She met his eyes, about to start arguing, but the pained 
look on his face stopped her. As their eyes melded, they slid into 
one of their rare, extraordinary moments of total understanding. 
It suddenly occurred to her that however hard this was for her, it 
must be worse for Mulder. To feel such fascination, fear, and 
desire for Jason - Mulder had a hard time accepting his love for 
her, to have such deep emotions for the vampire - the very male 
vampire - must be a thousand times more difficult for him. And 
that didn't even touch the sense of betrayal of their own 
relationship. Mulder was deeply loyal, as was she, and they loved 
each other without bounds. Neither wanted to risk losing the 
other.
     Scully reached out to touch Mulder's hand. "It will be 
easier on us if we share this. He'll need less from each of us." 
     Mulder swallowed and nodded, closing his hand upon 
hers. "I love you, Dana," he growled hoarsely.
     "I love you too," she whispered back, rising up on her 
tip-toes to brush his mouth with a kiss. Then, still holding his 
hand, she clambered up onto the bed. Mulder followed her 
silently.
                         - - - - -

     Jason struggled valiantly with the hunger, his vision 
blurring, then focusing, feeling the waves of blood-thirst rise and 
fall within him. The sound of voices nearby barely impinged on 
his consciousness, his awareness too busy struggling with itself. 
He wouldn't take the one he still felt pledged to protect, however 
strong the desire, and he wouldn't take the woman. Not this way, 
not again. How very much he wanted to be with her while he was 
in control, when he could give her pleasure and romance, treat 
her like the Lady she was rather than a quick source of 
nourishment. 
     There was sudden movement, and his senses were 
flooded with the smell of human flesh and the tantalizing sense of 
the blood that flowed below it. He could feel the heat, almost 
taste the sweat on their skin. He put his hands up to ward them 
away, opened his mouth to warn them to leave, but the need 
washed over him again, and he was lost to it.
     With an inhuman cry, Jason reached for the nearest 
source of blood, pulling it down over him, then pushing it to the 
side. Controlled by pure instinct he reached for the head, cradling 
it in his small, but powerful hands, lunging for the hollow of the 
neck. The hunger pounding through his temples, he only barely 
noticed the cry of surprise near his ear, the soft feel of hair under 
his hands, the strong length of the body beneath him as he 
unerringly found the jugular vein and plunged his fully-extended 
fangs through the velvety layer of skin. Blood - it rushed into his 
mouth, hot and salty and thick, and he drew it in, letting it flood 
down his throat.
                         - - - - -

     Mulder had not quite known what to expect, but the 
sudden assault came as a surprise. He barely had time to gasp for 
breath before he found himself laying across the bed, Jason's 
weight pressing down on him. Hands closed around his head, 
pinioning it and turning it aside in the same motion, and then 
there was a sharp, stinging pain in his throat. And then 
pleasure...wave upon waves of ecstasy flowing outward from the 
pressure on his neck. 
     Uttering a ragged moan, he arched up against the source 
of that heat, seeking more of it. The hands holding his head 
relaxed, one moving to his shoulder to brace him, the other 
beginning to caress the opposite side of his face. Mulder drew in 
a ragged breath, and settled into the vampire's embrace.
                         - - - - -

     Scully watched anxiously for a while, wishing she had 
some notion of how quickly Jason was drawing blood, and how 
much. She reached out to intervene, then drew her hand back. 
She gritted her jaw and forced herself to wait. Just a little longer, 
just a little longer. Maybe Jason would know when to stop, 
maybe he only needed so much. But how was she supposed to 
know?
     Scully watched as Mulder shifted and groaned beneath 
Jason, his eyes shuttered, his mouth half-open. Against Jason's 
pallor, his skin looked darker than it was, but it was still too 
white. Too many months working inside a basement office, 
working at night, living almost like... like a vampire.
     "Enough," Scully never realized she spoke the word 
aloud as she threw herself forward to seize Jason and yank him 
backwards. Not expecting it, he went with her, his fangs slipping 
out of Mulder's throat. Then he growled and fought, turning to 
face her.
     Scully felt her stomach flip as his face came within an 
inch of hers, eyes glowing bright red, fangs distended and 
dripping, an angry scowl contorting his handsome features. 
Reaching for the depths of her determination, she took hold of 
his shoulders and pulled him down on top of her, falling 
backwards onto the bed. As she fell, she angled her head to the 
side in open invitation, stifling a scream as he responded in nearly 
mindless hunger, biting deeply into her.
     An instant of pain - then pleasure. Hot, insistent, 
demanding.
                         - - - - -

     "No!" Mulder cried out in dismay. It was gone, the 
source of the delight that had filled his senses, and he curled up 
into a ball of misery. His hand flew to the sensitive spot on his 
throat and held it, wishing for more, wanting resumption of that 
incredible ecstasy. Ignoring the wetness that came away on his 
hand, he forced himself upright, his mind still caught on the 
need...
     His eyes found Scully and Jason beside him, and the 
sight brought some flicker of awareness back. One part of him 
wanted to tear the vampire away from her, while another part 
wanted to take her away from the vampire. He wanted them 
both, and his slowly awakening consciousness staggered under 
the weight of that emotional recognition. Managing to climb to 
his knees, Mulder rocked himself, his arms wrapped tightly 
across his chest.
     Beneath Jason, Scully twisted and moaned, the sound 
finally stirring Mulder to act. Not bothering to care which he was 
trying to claim, perhaps both, he grabbed Jason and yanked him 
backwards. Scully cried out at the cessation of the euphoric 
sensations, reaching up blindly to drag Jason back to her. Mulder 
held on tightly to him also, placing Jason in the middle of a tug-
of-war.
     The vampire hissed angrily, throwing off both sets of 
hands easily, and moving away. Turning to face them, he started 
to attack, then hesitated. Mulder's face was haunted, but mostly 
aware, while Scully still had the look of a sleep-walker, her eyes 
heavy-lidded, her breath coming in short gasps. Both sat still, 
watching him anxiously, waiting for him to make the next move.
     Blood trickled across both their chests, and the sight and 
smell of it made Jason's fangs ache and saliva pool in his mouth. 
But he was sated enough to be able to control the hunger, and he 
shut it down firmly. This had to stop before he took too much. 
Holding to his resolve, he leaned towards Mulder.
     "Hold still," he commanded, as his mouth found the still-
bleeding holes on Mulder's neck. Mulder leaned into Jason, his 
head falling slightly to the side to allow better access. Jason felt 
the desire to draw more blood, but forced himself to seal the 
wounds off, settling for licking the already spilled blood from 
Mulder's skin. Then Jason pushed Mulder back against the 
pillows, making sure that his head came down gently. He pressed 
into his chest, telling him without words to stay put. 
     Scully had watched this through slowly widening blue 
eyes, and she willingly accepted Jason's attention, pulling her own 
hair out of the way as the vampire sought the leaking puncture 
marks on her throat. Every so gently, he closed them, tasted the 
trickle of blood on her skin, then lowered her down against her 
partner.
     Mulder's arms encircled her, and she nestled into the 
heat of his body with a sigh of contentment. Jason watched them 
for a moment, the red of his eyes beginning to fade. A slow smile 
inched its way across his lips as he watched them doze, the fangs 
retracting. His movements were sure and deathly quiet as he got 
off the bed and settled the blankets back around them. His 
instinctive sense for the approaching dawn told him he still had a 
few hours of the safety of the night. He decided that he owed 
them at least an hour of that time. Turning off the bedside lamp, 
he curled up along the end of the bed sideways and settled down 
to wait.
                         - - - - -

=====================================================================
======


From: jennyann@ix.netcom.com (Jennifer Lyon)
Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative
Subject: NEW:"Vampire's Kiss" 3/10
Date: 6 Jul 1995 23:17:41 GMT


-----------------------------------------------------------------------
----
"Vampire's Kiss"
An X-files Story
by Jennifer Lyon
Jenni10647@aol.com
JennyAnn@ix.netcom.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Disclaimer: The X-Files are the property of FOX network, Ten 
Thirteen Productions and Chris Carter. The remainder of this 
story is mine. 
Author's Note: This story is a sequel to my previous story 
"Promises to Keep," in which I introduce the character of Jason. 
Contact me if you need a copy of that story. Also note that this 
story will contain references to adult sexual activity, and assumes 
that a love/sexual relationship between Mulder and Scully exists. 
But this story is definitely PG-13 with some sugestive nature - 
use YOUR imagination!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
----
 Part Three

     Mulder stirred in his sleep. Just a flutter of ghosts across 
the edge of his awareness, but they pushed him towards 
consciousness. Shadows, memories, glimpsed and then gone, the 
images were fragmented and faint. He twisted, and felt something 
warm against him. Drawing it closer, he breathed in a warm and 
familiar scent, coconut shampoo and human sweat, combined 
with that indefinable, but unique flavor that was Dana. He 
tightened his arms and curled up around her, a soft sigh escaping 
his lips as he tried to regain his sleep, but the sound and 
movement had echoes.
     There was a shift in weight, following by the abruptly 
insistent sensation of being watched. Mulder mentally brushed it 
away, but it returned. He closed his eyes and simulated sleep for 
a moment, then gave up and lay back. His slowly opening eyes 
soon focused on the figure sitting over him.
     His sleep-clouded mind was slower than his eyesight, 
and one part of his awareness took the time to ask another why 
he wasn't worried by waking up to find a stranger staring at him. 
The answer came back sluggishly, but it was definite - because 
this wasn't a stranger.
     "Jason," he murmured, adjusting his position to ease the 
arm taking all of Scully's weight. He pulled out from under her, 
and sat up, rubbing the cramps out of the elbow. The memories 
of what had happened earlier flooded him, and he found himself 
grateful for the darkness. Mulder didn't blush easily, but he could 
feel his cheeks burning. 
     Jason watched him silently, easily recognizing that 
Mulder was feeling some embarrassment. But Jason couldn't find 
the words to reassure him, so he settled for saying nothing. He 
waited until he sensed that Mulder was fully awake, then said 
simply. "I wish I could let you sleep. But dawn is approaching 
soon," he eyed the large, thin-curtained windows with annoyance. 
As full as this night had been, it now seemed far too short.
     "Dawn?" Mulder understood quickly, and he sat up, 
rubbing the sleep from his eyes, then stretching his hands over his 
head. No time to deal with emotions now, something Mulder had 
to admit he was grateful for. Leaning over, he shook Scully 
gently. "Scully..."
     "Mulder..." she said, trying to push him away. But he 
insisted, and soon she was sitting up beside him, yawning.
     "We need to get Jason somewhere safe for the day," 
Mulder told her.
     "I will go home," Jason said. "No one knows where it is, 
except..." He frowned. "Except Chara and Gerain."
     Mulder seized on the familiar name. "He's the one who 
is missing, the one who is being held captive?"
     "Yes," Jason struggled with a mixture of emotions. "But 
he wouldn't tell them." His mouth thinned. "At least not 
willingly."
     Mulder shook his head. "Better not take the chance." He 
played out the floor plan of Scully's apartment in his head, but 
didn't like the result. Far too many windows, unless they stuck 
Jason in a closet it would be hard to protect him from the sun. 
"My apartment is probably best. Just the one window, and we 
can block it easily."
     Scully agreed. "I think that's best."
     Jason looked doubtful, but he couldn't think of another 
solution. Still... "We don't know for sure that I'm in any danger. 
Mark and Louisa were taken after they began actively looking for 
Gerain. It could be that they only wanted him, and they just got 
in the way."
     "Still, we shouldn't take the chance," Mulder insisted. 
"While you sleep, Scully and I can do some digging. We'll need 
to know where your friend lived and his full name - and those of 
Mark and Louisa too, if possible. We can at least file missing 
persons reports on them."
     Jason nodded. "That's what I wanted to ask you to do. I 
think they must have been taken during the day. It is difficult to 
overpower a vampire at night. It can be done, but not easily. 
During the day, they would have been much more vulnerable. I'm 
sure that they were taken by humans, if you can trace them by 
day, we'll have an advantage at night."
     Scully interrupted here. "We'll need more information 
about Gerain and the others. And we may need to talk to anyone 
who was close to them around the time they disappeared."
     "I'll do that!" Jason's voice rose nearly to a shout. At the 
sound of it, he visibly pulled back. When he spoke again, his 
voice was almost in a whisper. "It's not safe for you. I'll handle 
the nights, you handle the days." They could sense the plea in his 
voice, if not see it in his face.
     Mulder considered their options, weighing caution and 
fear against curiosity and duty. "Jason," he said carefully. "If we 
are going to do this, we need access to everything. Scully and I 
are trained investigators, experienced at picking up nuances in a 
witness' statement that you might miss. We may not be of much 
help, if you restrict our access to necessary information." Mulder 
grasped Jason's shoulder before Jason could begin to argue. "I 
know - I *know* - that it could be dangerous for us. I'm sure the 
others won't like the idea of us knowing who and what they are. 
But our job *is* risky - it comes with the territory. I doubt your 
vampires are any bit more dangerous than the 'human' serial killer 
we just caught." Mulder's voice was rich with irony. "In fact I'd 
bet they are a lot more 'human' than he ever was."
     "Mulder's right, Jason," Scully concurred. "You need 
our help, so let us help. We did well once working together. I 
think we will again."
     "You don't understand," Jason tried again, looking from 
one determined face to another. "I may not be able to protect 
you. Chara...maybe. If I claim BloodRight to you both, she'll 
probably respect that. So will some of the others. But there are 
always the few who don't respect anything except their own 
hunger, their own will. And I can't watch over you every minute 
of every night." He left unsaid his wish that he could, his desire to 
try regardless, and the fact that he'd given it a very good attempt 
quite recently. And he didn't doubt that Mulder easily read it all. 
Scully, maybe not, but Mulder was too perceptive. Just like 
Maria.
     Scully started to argue back, but Mulder interrupted her. 
"Look, we're wasting time. I suggest we go by Jason's to pick up 
overnight," he grinned and corrected himself, "overDAY stuff 
and then get to my place as quickly as possible. Let us see what 
we can find out during the day, then we can plan from there 
tomorrow night."
     Jason and Scully had to accept the wisdom of that 
suggestion, though both were tight-lipped and grim as they got 
out of the bed. Mulder and Scully dressed quickly, both of their 
minds racing. Jason waited in characteristic silence by the 
doorway until they were ready, then he led them out of the 
apartment and into the early morning dark.
     As she locked her door, Scully threw one last yearning 
glance towards her bedroom window. So much for a good night's 
sleep.
                         - - - - -

     In the soft light from the lamp, Jason's skin was like 
clear, white wax, shiny in its pallor. He lay breathless and silent, 
unmoving. Mulder sat on the edge of the couch beside the 
sleeping vampire and studied him closely. Thick blond hair fell in 
soft waves around a youthful face, marked by high cheekbones 
and pointed jaw. The mouth was red and full, the eyelashes thick 
and seemingly dark against the fair, unlined  skin. He was 
beautiful in a cold, but haunting way - eternal youth, eternal 
death. The spark that gave Jason life was hidden in the shuttered 
eyes.
     Mulder hesitantly reached out and stroked Jason's 
cheek, feeling the coolness of the skin beneath his fingertips. 
There had been heat the night before, but that was gone. No 
sooner had the dawn arrived, than Jason had fallen into this 
lifeless coma. Only the knowledge of what he was gave hope, to 
all intents and appearances he was dead. It seemed amazing that 
he could awaken from this state - but Mulder held onto that belief 
with all his strength.
     Scully was still at the office, trying to trace the missing 
vampires. They had lived on the edge of society, leaving only 
minimal records of their presence. Like shadows, they were 
visible mostly by their reflections, the human lives they had 
touched, however briefly. And those were minimal. The day had 
been filled mostly with frustration, more questions than answers. 
It was the night that held the resolution, Mulder knew. But the 
night could be deadly.
     Scully and Mulder had not talked much about what had 
happened. About feeding Jason. They had let it be by mutual, 
unspoken consent. Too many raw emotions that neither wanted 
to face. There was a job to do, they would do it and face the 
consequences later. Mulder sighed to himself as he sat in the dim 
lamplight; someday they were going to run out of 'laters.' What 
then?
     Lost in thought, Mulder hadn't realized he was still 
caressing Jason's face with his hand until that hand was seized in 
a powerful grip. "Uhhn," Mulder's eyes flew downwards to find 
Jason's gray eyes open and intent upon him. 
     "You're awake," Mulder said lamely, again grateful that 
the dimness of the light hid the blush rising below his skin.
     "Yes," Jason replied simply, still holding Mulder's 
fingers trapped between his own hand and his cheek. Jason took 
his turn to study Mulder, noting the shadows under the gleaming 
hazel eyes and along the jaw. Mulder's straight dark hair was 
tousled, bangs falling in several directions across his temples, a 
few strands nearly standing on end. Releasing Mulder's hand, 
Jason reached up to finger one of those strands then push it into 
place ever so gently.
     Mulder nearly shook with the contact, then drew away. 
Covering the reaction with a cough, he stood up. "Scully is at the 
office. We should join her as soon as you are ready."
     Jason nodded, sliding to his feet with agility. Several 
inches shorter than the six-foot-tall agent, the vampire was forced 
to look upwards to meet Mulder's eyes. "I'll be ready soon."
                         - - - - -

     Jason had indeed been quick in washing and changing 
clothes, and they were soon on their way to FBI headquarters. 
Along the way, Mulder filled Jason in on the events of the day. 
Searches of the missing vampires' homes had revealed little, and 
their human neighbors had little to offer. The general consensus 
was that Gerain was a true gentleman, if a little weird. Louisa's 
neighbors simply settled for 'strange.' Mark's didn't even know his 
name.
     Basically they had disappeared without a trace, and 
there was almost no one to care. Mulder had seen something of 
himself in their life-style. If it wasn't for Scully - he'd have been 
the same. So it angered him that they could simply be taken 
without question. But not without retribution; Mulder was not 
going to let it go. Neither was Scully, nor Jason.
     The vampire was grim throughout the drive to the 
Hoover Building, and he eyed the sprawling monstrosity with 
distaste as Mulder pulled the car into the underground garage. 
They exited the car in silence, falling into step together with 
graceful ease, Mulder's longer stride letting him pull slightly 
ahead. Jason was willing to let him lead, following the taller, 
darker human with alert eyes and a watchful air.
     Even at night, the FBI building's main floor was brightly 
lit and active. The two men, vampire and human, waded through 
the commotion, people instinctively pulling out of their way. 
Mulder pushed through to the desk, brusquely requesting a guest 
pass for Jason, who donned it without a word. One pair of agents 
moved to intercept Mulder, sneering smiles on their faces.
     "What's new Spooky?" one challenged. "Seen any more 
little green men lately?"
     Mulder eyed the pair with ill-concealed annoyance. They 
were not Washington regulars. He'd run across them on an X-
Files case a couple years ago, and he'd quite hoped to never see 
them again. 
     Not perceptive enough to read the cold irritation on 
Mulder's face, they both chuckled at him. Jason didn't quite 
understand what was happening, but he could feel Mulder's 
emotions flare, anger and frustration barely masking the knife-
edge of pain, and he reacted with instinctive protectiveness. He 
stepped up to Mulder's side and glared at the two interlopers. 
Neither would ever be able to say exactly what happened, even if 
they had been willing to try to explain. Both suddenly felt their 
insides crawl with fear, causing them to abruptly turn on their 
heels and flee the room. 
     Mulder watched them leave with some astonishment. 
Then he turned to look down at Jason with a mix of amusement 
and suspicion. "What did you do?" he whispered.
     Jason merely smiled, barely revealing the tips of his 
fangs. 
                         - - - - -

     Scully lifted weary eyes from the computer screen at the 
sound of the door opening. Taking off her glasses, she stood up 
to meet Mulder and Jason in the middle of the room.
     "Hey Scully," Mulder said, shrugging off his suitcoat 
and dropping it over his chair. Easing himself into it, he asked, 
"Found anything new?"
     "No," Scully said, even as she exchanged a smile of 
welcome with Jason. He bowed his head to her, his eyes 
managing to caress her from a distance. She felt an electric shock 
race across her nerves, but managed to still her reaction. Turning 
her attention back to Mulder, she spoke calmly. "Nothing 
definite."
     She then explained for Jason's benefit. "I have been 
trying to get a line on who might have taken Gerain and the 
others. From your description it has to be someone with access to 
what sounds like a hospital or clinic." She perched herself on the 
edge of the desk between the two men, Mulder sprawled in his 
chair, Jason leaning against a file cabinet, both sets of eyes intent 
on her face.
     "Again, we're only guessing from what you sensed the 
other night, and from your exposure to the sun a few months 
ago. Exposure to direct sunlight is deadly for you, stimulates 
some kind of chemical reaction that burns into your skin like acid. 
Also, during the day, even when you are protected from the sun 
itself,  you fall into a death-like coma. Its possible they may have 
found a way to control that reaction, using light." She shook her 
head, none of this quite made sense. Every time she went over 
the vampiric condition in her head, she got more confused. There 
had to be a physical cause, she just couldn't put her finger on it. 
She would love to get a blood sample from Jason, but knew 
without asking that he'd balk at that kind of intrusion. He was too 
proud to accept being a subject of experimentation, and she didn't 
want to hurt him in any way. Still, if only...
     Noting that she seemed to have gotten lost in thought, 
Mulder took over. "Jason, do you think its possible that being 
subjected to certain wavelengths of light, within the spectrum of 
sunlight might have that kind of effect on you?" Without letting 
Jason answer, Mulder plunged ahead, his excitement growing as 
he let his imagination roam free. "It could be that some 
wavelengths of light cause the burning, and others are responsible 
for the hibernation. If someone figured out how to tune 
fluorescent lamps in such a way to weaken a vampire without 
killing him..."
     "It's possible," Jason interjected. "But, how would they 
find out? They'd need to do some experimenting." He paused as 
the same thought struck them all. Jason forced himself to say it. 
"They have been experimenting."
     "I'd guess so," Scully agreed, looking at Jason with 
concern. "Maybe they stumbled on the first vampire by accident? 
I don't know." She rubbed her eyes wearily. "But when they 
realized what they had, they decided to find some more test 
subjects. After all, if they can figure out what causes vampirism, 
they could have their hands on a potential fountain of youth. 
Eternal life."
     "Eternal death," Jason countered with some bitterness. 
Both agents stared at him with wide eyes. He smiled wryly. "I 
made my peace with this a long, long time ago," he explained. "It 
wasn't my choice, but I've learned to live with it. And it has its 
good side. I've lived to see things I never would have dreamed 
possible when I was alive." He paced across the room. "Still, 
there is a price to be paid. Never to see the dawn, to feel the 
warmth of the sun on your face." His voice fell almost to a 
whisper. "And the hunger - the endless, driving hunger."
     "Jason?" Scully made the name into a question, and he 
read it instantly. "No, no, Lady. I'm fine." Both Scully and 
Mulder felt a mixture of relief and disappointment, both thrust 
the reaction aside fiercely.
     "Anyway," Scully got back to her feet and walked 
around the desk behind Mulder to look at the computer screen. "I 
made a list of all companies and government facilities in the 
Washington D.C. area that could support this kind of 
experimentation. They would need self-contained rooms to keep 
the vampires in, and a biological research laboratory - all 
assuming they are trying to figure out what vampirism is. But this 
could be a false trail."
     "I think it's a safe bet, Scully." Mulder insisted. "You did 
say, Jason, that Gerain was subjected to injections."
     "Yes," Jason replied. "And they took blood from him 
with needles." He frowned, joining them at the computer. "I 
know that passing the blood is necessary to convert someone. 
Traditionally, the vampire takes blood, then passes it back to the 
human. Then the human must go through a mortal death, after 
which he becomes a vampire himself. It doesn't take in all cases, 
some are rejected and simply die."
     "That would fit with the cause being some kind of 
blood-borne biological agent," Scully mused. "Perhaps a virus of 
some kind, that causes alterations on the host's body chemistry. 
By ensuring the continued existence of its host - eternal life - it 
keeps itself alive."
     "Quite an adaptation," Mulder said.
     "Yes," Scully answered, warming to her subject. "I'd 
guess a retrovirus, and one that feeds on red blood cells 
somehow." She nibbled at her lower lip, eyes focused in 
concentration. "But I don't see how a retrovirus could live in 
RBC's. Mature red blood cells don't have DNA or even nuclei in 
humans. Perhaps the virus-infected cells, white blood cells 
perhaps, like macrophages, take up and digest the red blood cells. 
A need for hemoglobin perhaps, or for the oxygen or iron that 
hemoglobin carries."
     "That's all fine and well, Scully," Mulder interrupted, 
"But it doesn't bring us any closer to knowing who our vampire-
nappers are."
     Jason had been staring at the list of names on the 
monitor intently, his mouth tightening with increasing frustration. 
"It could be any of them, or none." He gestured widely, 
surprising Mulder and Scully with the outburst. "This isn't getting 
us anywhere!"
     "I know," Mulder said soothingly. "But it gives us a 
place to start. What we need now is more information. A way of 
narrowing down the possibilities. I think we need to talk to the 
missing vampire's friends. Anyone they might have told 
something to. Someone who might have seen or heard something 
that could give us a clue to the kidnapper's identity."
     "I'll do that," Jason insisted, heading for the door. 
     Scully grabbed his arm as he attempted to pass by her. 
"It's not safe for you alone. We're coming with you."
     "No!" Jason glared at her. "It's less safe for you. I can 
take care of myself at night."
     "No one's invulnerable," Mulder argued, getting to his 
feet, unashamed of using his height in an argument. "If they know 
enough to capture and hold at least three vampires, maybe more, 
they may know enough to be able to overpower you even at 
night. You'll stand a better chance if we're with you."
     Jason shook his head. "Maybe so, but I'm more 
concerned about you. If they can overpower me, then you two 
don't stand a chance. Besides, there are the other vampires to 
think about also. Even if we could handle the kidnappers, and I 
hope we can, I can't guarantee your safety with the others. Some 
will accept my protection of you, but others may not. And some 
do still kill for blood, especially when they feel threatened. Your 
knowledge of them might be just enough excuse."
     "We'll just have to take that chance," Mulder insisted. 
He refused to let Jason go off alone, and he couldn't hide the 
intensity of his curiosity. There was a whole subculture out there 
he knew nothing about. A society of vampires here in 
Washington. It was fascinating!
     Scully knew her partner well enough to recognize the 
sparkle in his eyes. When he got a hold of something like this, he 
could be worse than a dog with a new bone. He would sink his 
teeth in and never let go. And she had to admit she felt some of 
the same excitement, even though she took Jason's warning very 
seriously. Having had time to think about it, she was a little 
frightened of the other vampires. Jason she trusted absolutely, but 
she had seen him come close to losing control. If he could do so, 
despite the depth of his caring for both her and Mulder, then 
what might the others be capable of? That fear warred with her 
worry over Jason's safety. There was no easy answer, but she 
hadn't become a federal agent by being meek. Her friend was in 
danger, it was time to act.
     Shoving the fear down, she reached out to touch Jason's 
arm. "I know it will be dangerous. We both do. But we can't 
stand by and watch you get hurt or worse without helping. We 
care about you, and I know that if the situation was reversed, you 
wouldn't let either of us go alone. Our best chance of surviving 
this, and helping your friends, is to work together."
     Jason wanted desperately to insist that they let him do 
this alone, but Scully's words had struck home. He still didn't like 
it, but she had a point. He stared at her, his face drawn tight with 
emotion.
     "Jason," she ran her fingers across his cheek. "We don't 
want to lose you. As long as we stay together, we'll be as safe as 
anyone can be. There are no guarantees in life. And we've both 
risked our lives for strangers as part of our job. How can we not 
do so for you?"
     Jason finally nodded, not able to speak. Scully smiled at 
his wordless acceptance, then turned to meet Mulder's diamond 
eyes. He met her gaze squarely, sending waves of understanding 
and support through the invisible contact between them. Still 
holding onto Jason, Scully reached out her other hand to Mulder. 
He grasped it tightly, stepping closer. Scully held onto them both 
for a long, charged moment, then let go of them simultaneously.
     "Let's go," she said, walking over to put on her coat. 
Jason helped her into it while Mulder donned his. They filed out 
of the office, Mulder locking the door behind them.
                         - - - - - 

     Jason led the way into the crowded nightclub, Mulder 
and Scully close behind. Chara was sitting in her favorite corner 
of the bar, this time sleek and satisfied, her olive skin glowing 
with the heat of the recently-taken blood. Her smile was 
tantalizing as she saw Jason, slowly arching herself upwards on 
the seat to greet him. 
     "Hello Chara," he said, disentangling himself from her 
embrace. "Is there a place we can talk in private?"
     "Sure love," she said, her features narrowing. "I have a 
booth in the back. You found something?"
     "I'm not sure," he admitted, taking her arm. "Come on." 
He turned to angle his head at Mulder and Scully, not needing to 
see Chara's face to know she was following his eyes. He suddenly 
*SAW* them through her eyes, and found nothing lost in the 
vision. Or in the heat of her sudden desire.  Mulder was tall and 
graceful in the rumpled remnants of his dark suit, Scully small 
and proud in her blue dress. Her hair glowed like flame, his eyes 
were sparkling and alert. And Jason could remember the way 
they both smelled and the way they both felt, causing the hunger 
to rise again within him.
     His eyes contained a fierce warning as he looked back 
down at Chara, but she responded with a bubbly laugh. 
"Interesting..." she whispered, her eyes glittering, her red lips 
drawn back from glistening white teeth.
     He gave her another stern look, and steered her through 
the crowd.
                         - - - - -

=====================================================================
======

From: jennyann@ix.netcom.com (Jennifer Lyon)
Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative
Subject: NEW:"Vampire's Kiss" 4/10
Date: 6 Jul 1995 23:19:15 GMT


-----------------------------------------------------------------------
----
"Vampire's Kiss"
An X-files Story
by Jennifer Lyon
Jenni10647@aol.com
JennyAnn@ix.netcom.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Disclaimer: The X-Files are the property of FOX network, Ten 
Thirteen Productions and Chris Carter. The remainder of this 
story is mine. 
Author's Note: This story is a sequel to my previous story 
"Promises to Keep," in which I introduce the character of Jason. 
Contact me if you need a copy of that story. Also note that this 
story will contain references to adult sexual activity, and assumes 
that a love/sexual relationship between Mulder and Scully exists. 
But this story is definitely PG-13 with some sugestive nature - 
use YOUR imagination!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
----
 Part Four

     In a few minutes all four were seated in a sheltered 
booth, a dark curtain shielding them from the chaos of the club. 
Even the pounding of the music seemed distant, while the only 
light came from a pair of lanterns on the wall above their heads.
     Jason steeled himself for the conversation ahead, stalling 
the inevitable with introductions. "Charlotta, this is Dana and 
Mulder." He deliberately left out Mulder's first name, the man's 
distaste for it was apparent. Personally, Jason liked it very much, 
it was simple and strong.
     Mulder nodded, Scully smiled. Charlotta drew her eyes 
over each of them slowly, inch by inch, not bothering to hide her 
appraisal. "Very nice, Jason, VERY nice. I do hope this means 
you are going to share." The tip of one fang brushed her lower lip 
as she licked her lips suggestively.
     Jason sighed, appreciative of both Mulder's ability to 
contain all emotions behind that calmly handsome facade, and 
Scully's inborn poise. Only someone who knew Mulder well 
would see the mix of amusement and interest in those green-
tinged eyes, or the amusement in the tilt of Dana's fiery head.
     "No, Charlotta. This is serious," he said, glaring at her. 
She grinned unabashedly and replied. "I am always serious about 
feeding."
     "NO!" Jason stated, his voice clipped and cold. "I claim 
BloodRight, Charlotta. Formally and fully. They are mine." Even 
Jason was astonished by the amount of possessiveness in his 
voice, but he let Chara have the full force of his determination. 
Baring his fangs he repeated. "They are mine by BloodRight, I 
will not tolerate any interference with them."
     Chara studied him for a moment, then looked over at 
Mulder and Scully who were still watching silently. She mimed a 
look of intense disappointment, then leaned over to brush Jason's 
cheek with a kiss. "As you wish, Jase." She smiled with growing 
amusement. "I must admit your taste has improved 
immeasurably. Didn't think you *liked* men."
     "I don't!" Jason blurted out. Then he felt a rush of 
embarrassment and uncertainty. He had never liked men, never. 
But Mulder was different... All three shot him looks of surprise, 
and he suddenly realized he had spoken the thought aloud. 
     "Ahh..." He quickly decided to handle the situation by 
ignoring it, and changed the subject. "We're here to talk about 
Gerain, Charlotta. Mulder and Scully are helping me investigate. 
We need to know about his last days, and anything Mark or 
Louisa might have told you before they disappeared."
     Chara threw him a quick glance, as she took that 
information in. If he trusted them that fully, then there was more 
going on between these two mortals and the other vampire than 
she had even realized. For the first time she took his assertion of 
BloodRight seriously. Just who were these two?
     Scully spoke for the first time, her voice soft and 
throaty. "We interviewed their neighbors, but no one had seen or 
heard anything unusual. Their homes look untouched, and there 
are no unidentified bodies in Washington morgues that match 
their descriptions. We also came up empty-handed at the 
hospitals and clinics." She smiled. "I somehow doubt that one of 
you would pass unnoticed in a hospital."
     "Who are you?" Charlotta interrupted, her blue eyes 
bright with suspicion. 
     This time it was Mulder who responded, leaning 
towards her. "Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, 
Federal Bureau of Investigation, at your service, Ma'am," he 
drawled.
     "Federal... Dammit Jason, what have you done!" 
Charlotta hissed, drawing back in her seat. 
     "It's OK, Chara," Jason tried to soothe, but she was not 
willing to be soothed. Baring her fangs at them, she glared at 
them. "I should kill them now. How could you involve the FBI? 
How could you tell them about us? Do you know what the 
government might do to us?"   
     "It seems to me that the government may already doing 
things to you - or at least to your missing friends." Dana pointed 
out with apparent calm, though all of her companions could 
easily read the tension in her body. "You need our help to find 
and free them. We can operate during the day, and we have 
resources you don't."
     Charlotta simply hissed again, her fangs now fully 
protruding. Jason felt her preparing to attack, and his fear forced 
his hand. In a blink of an eye, his hand shot across the table to 
Mulder's chest. Closing his hand around the gold locket that 
rested against Mulder's skin just below the opening of his 
partially unbuttoned white shirt, his tie having been abandoned in 
the car.
     "This is why, Chara." he pulled it forward, forcing 
Mulder to lean forward onto the table, the chain tugging at the 
back of his neck.
     She almost ignored it, until the glint of light off the gold 
caught her eyes and she focused on the familiar object. Her eyes 
widened in shock. "Maria's locket. You gave *him* Maria's 
locket. I don't..." For the first time she really truly looked at 
Mulder, and her lips parted in what would have been a gasp of 
astonishment if she had been bothering to pretend to breathe. 
"My God, is he...?"
     "I think so," Jason replied. Then he asserted with more 
confidence, "I know so." 
     "Well, well... no wonder you wanted him." Chara's 
anger lessened slightly. "How did you find him?"
     "By accident," Jason smiled at the memory. "They were 
investigating a series of deaths, caused by a maddened old-one 
who had invaded my territory.  He attacked me, and they saved 
me from death by sunlight. Somehow, Mulder figured out what I 
was."
     "Well, she always was perceptive." Chara responded, 
eyeing Mulder with more respect.
     "She?" Mulder closed his hand over Jason's around the 
locket. His curiosity was spilling over, he felt like a thousand 
questions were about to burst through him.  "Who is the woman 
in the locket? Is she this Maria? What does she have to do with 
me?"
     Chara broke out laughing. "He's got her curiosity too."
     Jason gave her a rueful look, and released the locket. 
Leaning back in his seat, the blond vampire  closed his eyes and 
tried to find the right words. 
     Scully saw the encroaching pain on his face, and she put 
her hand on Mulder's hand, trying to restrain him. But her partner 
needed answers, and wasn't about to let it go.
     "Jason," Mulder insisted.
     "She, Maria, was a woman who lived a long, long time 
ago. Nearly one hundred fifty years ago. I knew her, Charlotta 
did as well."
     Charlotta nodded. "Lady Maria Victoria Elizabeth 
Covington-Keans. She was married to the heir of an elderly 
Duke. We met her at one of London's interminable society balls."
     "She was unique," Jason took over, his face taking on a 
serene quality at the memory. "As graceful as an angel, more 
beautiful that Helen of Troy, and a mind that could rival the 
scholars of the age. She could be demure as befitted her station, 
but underneath was so much life. I've never met anyone more 
alive."
     "What happened?" Scully couldn't help being fascinated. 
She and Mulder had both studied the face in the locket, and had 
imagined what the woman might have been like. She wanted to 
know more.
     "I spent some time with her in the gardens that night. 
We talked and talked, about everything. I didn't see her for a 
while, then we met again at another ball. It was like fate. We felt 
- destined for each other. In time we became lovers. Her husband 
had no interest in her except as a broodmare to produce an heir." 
Jason's face tightened. "She hadn't known that being with a man 
could provide pleasure rather than pain. I taught her how to love. 
Sex is possible for us, more so when we are young, though it is 
usually abandoned in favor of the blood. And in time the physical 
ability wanes as well. At least we cannot father children, which 
meant our liaison was safe, though I doubt her husband would 
have cared too much where the heir came from as long as she 
produced a healthy boy."
     His audience was silent, Chara lost in her own 
memories, Mulder and Scully intent on Jason's every word. "One 
night," his voice almost broke. "One night I found her in bed, 
unwell. She told me that her husband had forced her to have sex 
repeatedly. She was bleeding, hurt. I got Chara immediately, to 
provide what medical care she could. And in time it became 
evident she was pregnant." The sorrow in Jason's voice pounded 
at all of their senses. "It was never a healthy pregnancy, Maria 
faded inch by inch. As her belly swelled, she grew weaker. She 
was sick constantly, and took to her bed. Chara and I spent night 
after night tending her, only to watch her slip away. And then she 
went into labor." He shuddered.
     "We could only watch from the shadows of the garden, 
and listen. Listen to her scream. It went on and on and on, I felt 
like I was dying with her. Then finally, just as dawn was about to 
force us to take cover, her cries were replaced with that of the 
child. It was louder than she had been, lusty and vibrant, full of 
the life it had stolen from Maria.
     "I went to her the next night, alone. She was dying and 
we both knew it. I begged her to let me help her, to convert her. I 
promised her we'd be together forever, but she refused. Instead, 
she kept asking me to care for her child. She wanted me to 
promise to protect him, but I couldn't stand the sight of the child 
that had killed her. But she wouldn't give up, and she was dying. 
I loved her so much,  how could I refuse her anything? So I 
promised, and she died. Just smiled and closed her eyes and was 
gone." Tears pooled in the corners of Scully's eyes and Mulder's 
face was carved in stone.
     "I..." Jason shook his head, his eyes bright with unshed 
tears. "I have never hated anyone as much as I hated that child in 
that instant. It must have sensed its mother's death, maybe, for it 
started crying. I went over and looked at it, even reached out to 
touch it. I wanted to wring its neck, to crush its skull." his hands 
clenched into tight fists on the table. "But I kept hearing HER 
voice pleading with me to protect her baby, I couldn't kill it. But I 
couldn't stay with it either. So I fled. I ran and ran and ran. Spent 
years traveling throughout the world. I finally ended up in 
America."
     Silence descended upon the four sitting in the booth, the 
sounds of the chaotic nightclub seeming to recede into the 
distance. After a long uncomfortable moment, Mulder broke the 
calm. "But why me? Why give me her locket?"
     "When I first saw you," Jason answered wryly, "It was 
like looking into the past. You are the image of her; you could be 
her twin."
     "Not her twin, but her descendant," Scully said 
thoughtfully. She turned her shimmering blue eyes on Jason, 
"Maria's child. That's what you called Mulder when you first 
woke up in his apartment. You called him 'Maria's child.'"
     Jason nodded. 
     "How can you be sure?" Mulder asked staring down at 
the face inside the locket critically. "Sure we both have dark hair 
and hazel eyes, but so do a lot of people. We're not that much 
alike."
     "Yes, you are." Charlotta responded. "I didn't know her 
as well as Jason did, but I spent enough time with her to see the 
resemblance. It's uncanny. You are a male version of Maria, and 
not just in coloring. You have her features, the same bone 
structure, the same mouth, the same build. She was tall and thin 
like you. And you even move like her. But it is the blood that 
tells." She looked at Jason.
     "There's no doubt, Mulder, you are a descendant of 
hers. I could taste her in your blood. I was sure that night in the 
street."
     "You saved my life before you tasted my blood," 
Mulder replied. "Why?"
     "Because you reminded me of her, because you needed 
the help. You were chasing a vampire gone mad - there was no 
way you could have survived without my help. And I needed to 
know if you were who I thought you were."
     "And you're certain that I am?"
     "Yes."
     "So you protected and helped Mulder and me because 
of your promise to Maria." Scully said.
     "Yes." Again Jason settled for the simple answer.
     "This is all very fascinating," Charlotta interrupted 
before Mulder could speak again. "I cared about Maria, too, 
Jason. But they are still federal agents. Protecting this one is 
well-enough, but it is still dangerous to involve them with us. For 
both them and for us."
     "I know," Jason answered. "And I wouldn't have if there 
was any other choice. But we *need* help, Chara. We've lost 
three that we know of, including our eldest. And there is some 
indication that there may have been others, too."
     "What!?" Chara leaned forward, eyes flashing.
     "Do you think that they could hold three of us without 
some knowledge of us?" Jason asked her. "Scully thinks that they 
are experimenting on them, and my contact with Gerain supports 
that. They were able to weaken him somehow, using light. " He 
shivered. 
     "Yessss," Chara replied. "I have felt it too. But that only 
makes it more dangerous to involve them." She gestured sharply 
at Mulder and Scully. "Spreading the knowledge of our existence 
can be fatal Jason. If you wish to form your own blood-circle, 
fine. But you have no right to expose the rest of us!"
     "We are here to help," Mulder interrupted, fixing her 
with a piercing stare. "You cannot fight this alone. These people 
operate in the daylight, and they obviously have resources. Scully 
and I are trained and experienced to handle this. You are not."
     "We can take care of our own," Chara retorted angrily. 
"Don't think that locket protects you. *I* made no promise to 
your ancestor. It is only out of respect for Jason that I have not 
yet torn your throat out. Her eyes glittered dangerously. "I may 
yet."
     "No!" Jason insisted. "They are claimed by BloodRight, 
you know the rules."
     "BloodRight must be sworn in front of another vampire. 
Who was your witness? I have seen no evidence that you have 
even tasted their blood." Chara argued.
     Exchanging glances, Mulder and Scully both reached 
out to pull their collars back, exposing the small, twin marks on 
their throats. Chara eyed them both, then smiled mockingly.
     "Without a witness to the swearing it still does not 
hold." She replied, though her eyes traveled over both throats 
with unconcealed hunger.
     "Then you act as witness," Mulder said, meeting her 
eyes without fear.
     "Mulder..." Jason started to speak, then closed his eyes 
for a moment. "You do not have to do this. I told you both to let 
me handle this."
     "Jason," Scully responded, leaving her hand in the 
hollow of her neck. "You need our help, and I think Chara knows 
that too." Scully withstood the lovely vampire's glare with calm 
composure. "We are no threat to you, Charlotta. You have 
committed no crime, and our duty is to protect all the citizens of 
this country, regardless of their...peculiarities. Jason assures us 
you do not kill to feed, and we are willing to accept his word. 
The question now isn't us or you, it is the three who are missing. 
Every moment we spend arguing here is a moment wasted 
towards rescuing them. Your enemies are out there, not here."
     Mulder and Jason both nodded, Chara frowned. There 
was logic in the woman's words, she had to admit. But Chara was 
still furious with Jason for involving strangers, human strangers, 
so deeply into their lives. "What you say makes sense, Dana." 
Chara's sibilant pronunciation of Dana's name charged it with 
erotic meaning. "But even if I let you pass, the others may not. 
Without proper ritual, the BloodRight claim will not hold up. 
You know that Jason."
     Jason nodded, then looked from Dana's face to 
Mulder's. "I do not like to ask you to do this, but it might save 
your lives."
     "What do we have to do?" Mulder asked.
     "I have to take blood from you in front of Chara as 
witness."
     "That's not difficult," Scully replied. "How do you want 
to do this?"
     "Your wrists will be fine." Jason felt a mixture of 
emotions, the most powerful being renewed disappointment. Why 
could he never get a chance to do this with them properly?
     Mulder and Scully eyed each other again, then each 
extended an arm across the table. Three pairs of eyes intent on 
him, Jason picked up Scully's hand first. Pressing a respectful kiss 
into her palm, he bit as gently as he could into the veins on her 
exposed wrist. She gasped and fell back into her seat, her eyelids 
drooping. Mulder moved to support her, but it was over in an 
instant. Jason closed the wound over with an expert flick of his 
tongue, and released her.
     "You okay, Scully?" Mulder whispered into her ear.
     "Yes, I'm fine," she stuttered. Blinking, she drew her 
hand back and held it against her chest. Then she pulled herself to 
an upright position, trying to regain her equilibrium. Chara's 
amused gaze was not helpful.
     "Mulder?" Jason's voice drew Mulder's attention back 
from his partner, and he took a deep breath as he extended his 
arm back across the table. This time Jason was even quicker, 
leaving Mulder to experience a flash of pain and a jolt of 
pleasure, and then a sudden emptiness. He, too, was quick to 
snatch the hand back, his breath coming in short gasps. He could 
feel Scully's eyes on him, and he turned to flash a grin at her in 
reassurance.
     "Satisfied?" Jason said to Chara, his voice thin and flat. 
She shrugged, her eyes lit with enjoyment. "Not really, but it will 
do. BloodRight sworn and witnessed by the ancient rule. So 
done, so shall be."
     "Good," Jason said coldly. He could attempt to cover 
his emotions, but it was like putting a thin blanket over a roaring 
fire. It seemed to do no more than smolder. Surely they could 
read all him easily, sense the desire that ran through him in hot 
streams of pulsing need.
     However, both Mulder and Scully were too caught up in 
their own thoughts to notice the roughness in his voice. And 
Mulder was well-trained to conceal his own feelings. He turned 
back to the reason they had come here in the first place.
     "Chara, we need you to tell us all you know about 
Gerain right before he disappeared. Did he seem worried or 
upset? Did he notice whether he was being watched? Did 
anything unusual happen?"
     Chara leaned back in her chair and considered the 
questions. She had mixed feelings about all this, but she WAS 
worried about her missing friends. And that concern found it easy 
to take the fore-front in her mind once her attention was focused 
on it.
     "No, I didn't notice anything wrong. But I didn't see him 
every night. Once a week, sometimes less often. I last saw him 
about three days before he disappeared. He was the same as 
ever." She grinned. "Hungry, but always the gentleman." She 
frowned, pursing her full lips together. "I didn't even know he 
was gone for over a week. I went to see him actually, but he was 
not home. I checked around and no one had seen him. And then I 
found that his prot‚g‚ was missing too."
     "Prot‚g‚!" Jason interrupted. "Who?"
     "Some young girl." Chara explained with another 
amused smile touching the edges of her mouth. "Gerain always 
did like them young. And this one was a beauty." Her voice grew 
more serious. "Though I think he was really serious this time. He 
even talked of converting her."
     "Converting her?" Scully drew in a deep breath. "How 
did she feel about it?"
     Chara shrugged. "Don't know. Only met her twice, 
briefly. But she seemed to be quite capable of deciding for 
herself. Older than her years, that one. But then, I've never 
understood this new practice of treating teenage girls as children. 
I was married and bearing my first child by the time I was sixteen. 
And a woman was considered a disgrace if she was not married 
by eighteen or nineteen. But that was a long time ago."
     Mulder found it hard to restrain the questions that rose 
unbidden to his mind. Just thinking about how much Chara and 
Jason must have seen over their long lives, the amount of history 
they contained - it tantalized  and fascinated him. But now was 
not the time for it. Instead he asked quietly, "Do you remember 
her name?"     
     "I'm not sure, Cynthia, maybe, or Sandy...No, it was 
Cynthia." Chara replied.
     "And her last name?"
     Chara shrugged. No.
     "Why didn't you tell me," Jason asked with annoyance.
     "It didn't seem important. She probably just went back 
to her life after he was gone." She looked from one face to 
another. "You don't think she had anything to do with this?"
     It was Mulder's turn to shrug. "Don't know, but it would 
be good to find out what happened to her. Do you know anyone 
who might know more about her?"
     Chara looked thoughtful for a moment. "Andreas, 
maybe, or Florence." Jason grimaced. Chara smiled. "You may 
want to approach them without your companions. I doubt 
Florence would have my self-control."
     "We'll see," Jason said tersely. "Is there anything else 
you remember, Chara?"
     "No not really." 
     "What about Mark and Louisa?" Scully asked. "Did they 
tell you anything?"
     "Not much." Chara sighed. Despite her misgivings, she 
honestly did want to help. But if she had known something, she 
would have acted on it already. "Louisa said something about a 
lead. That they thought they had an idea why he was taken. But 
she was mysterious about it, she always was melodramatic."
     Jason grimaced. That was an understatement. Without 
the hindsight of knowing that she had been taken as well, Jason 
might have thought she was making it up. A picture of the 
voluptuous vampire formed in his mind. As different from Chara 
as night and day, it had always amazed him that the two managed 
to get along as well as they did. As well as any two female 
vampire hunting neighboring territories ever would.
     Chara thought for a while, then shook her head. "I'm 
sorry I can't tell you more. But there was nothing. No warning 
that I could see." Her mouth grew tight. "But you are not the 
only one who has *heard* him, Jason. Find him soon, he's hurting 
bad. Gerain may have been... Gerain. But he helped me more 
than once." Her resolve strengthened, and the fierceness of her 
anger turned her face into an ivory mask, the skin stretched 
taught around sapphire eyes. "Find them and destroy them, Jason. 
Or tell me, and I will do it if you don't have the stomach for it."
     "We'll take care of it," Scully was the one who replied, 
her stomach doing somersaults as she truly realized for the first 
time just how dangerous the lovely, delicate vampire might be.
     "You do that," Chara answered, sliding out of her seat. 
Pausing as she pushed the curtain aside to leave, she gave one 
final warning. "Be careful Jason."
     Then she was gone.
                         - - - - -

     The laboratory was strangely silent in the night, even 
with the constant hum of the freezers and the buzz of the 
centrifuge. Those sounds were background to the man sitting 
hunched over the lab bench, never penetrating his awareness. His 
mind was focused solely on the blood samples spinning in the 
centrifuge. When the machine came to a stop, he opened the lid 
and withdrew them. transferring the supernatant to a waiting set 
of empty tubes. Lifting the pipetteman, he stabbed at a yellow tip, 
then pipetted in the oligo-dT magnetic particles, adding them to 
each of the cleared samples, one-by-one. He then flicked the 
tubes with his forefinger to fully suspend the minuscule brown 
particles.
     Setting the small digital timer, he removed the gloves 
and stood up to stretch out the sore muscles of his back. He was 
getting close, he could feel it. The excitement and the worry 
drove him harder than he had ever been driven in his work 
before. He knew he was close to isolating the agent responsible 
for this disease called vampirism, and when he had that, then he 
was on the road to a cure.
     Walking over to the sink, he automatically watched his 
hands in smooth, routine motions, his mind miles away. Or more 
exactly, down the hall with his daughter. She had been so 
beautiful, so full of life, until that creature had entered her life. 
No, he told himself, not creature - just a sick human being. The 
only way he could cope with this was by applying the science to 
which he had devoted his life, and someday that science would 
find a way to save his daughter from the disease that ate at her 
mind and body.
     The last few months had been more painful than 
anything he could have dreamed of. To watch her fade into a 
blood-thirsty creature, sleeping like the dead during the day, 
screaming for blood in the night. But he had found a way to keep 
her from hurting herself or others, using fine-tuned lights to keep 
her confined to the hospital bed until he found a cure. Next he 
had taken the man who had infected her, and then two other 
diseased souls as well. The price they paid for spreading their 
infection would be to help him save his daughter from their 
sickness.
     He didn't much like the people he had had to turn to for 
assistance, but he had been desperate. His university lab had been 
devoted to other work, and his grants were thin. To spend so 
much time on personal research - there was no way he could have 
afforded it without help. And to pay others to work as well 
would have been impossible. The research assistants they had 
found for him were not men he would have chosen on his own, 
but they were necessary extra hands. Certainly he knew they 
wanted the understanding of this disease for purposes different 
from his own, but it didn't matter to him anymore. All that 
mattered was the driving need to find the causal agent and then a 
cure. What the men in black suits did with it after his daughter 
was restored to herself was not his concern.
     <BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP> The timer sounded 
insistently, reminding him of work to be done. Pulling the gloves 
back on, he picked up the tubes and sat them into the magnetic 
stand. Soon the particles were pulled to the side of the small 
plastic tubes, and he could begin to wash them. Not much longer 
and he'd have more of the mRNA template to work with for the 
cDNA library construction. His primers and probes were 
prepared, already he had a line on the invading viral sequences. 
Soon, he'd have more, though it would never be soon enough.
     Picking up the P1000, he lost himself in the work.
                    - - - - -