Surgery....by Jeannie Jeannie came running down the hall to aide her friend, but when she saw what Nay and Nick were trying to do she put out a comforting hand and touched NightAngel's shoulder. NightAngel stopped struggling. Jeannie said, "Let them help you. It has to come out. You know they care about you and want to stop your pain. Nick wrapped his arms around NightAngel from the back and pulled her to his chest. Feeling the sudden coolness against the length of her suprised the tortured Vampire and she relaxed against him. She let her friend's comforting hand calm her and Nick's tight hold give her security. Nay reached out and started the little surgery, quickly and with as little damamge as possible to the vampire's hand. For all her teasing she could see this creature was in agony. With a little probing and digging the splinter was freed. NightAngel gasped with relief. In spite of the fact that the splinter was gone, her hand was still an angry swollen mass. Nick turned her toward him and bared his neck...."Drink from me. My blood will heal you. NightAngel's eyes glowed red and her fangs elongated. She prepared to strike.... As she sank her fangs into his willing flesh she heard Elise shout..."NO!!"............. NightAngel felt the older vampire's blood fill her as no other ever had and her body arched against his. Elise clamped a hand on NightAngel's shoulder and tried to seperate the two. Jeannie put that comforting hand on hers and shook her head. "Let Nick, help her." "Come on my friend," Give them a few minutes. Reluctantly Elise allowed herself to be drawn away and the rest followed. NightAngel drew back and licked the wounds on Nick's neck and they closed. He smiled at her, his eyes amber. He caressed her face with his fingers. "Come let's go to my room. It's my turn and I don't want us to be disturbed....... " ******* Recovery Room.... by Teri Elise watched with a painful envy eating at her. Jeannie's hand still rested companionably on her arm, lightly restraining her from interefering. She could understand the need for NightAngel to feed so she could heal but Elise ground her teeth in frustration, trying not to watch what was obviously an intimate moment between the two vampires. But for Nick to want to go off alone to his room with NightAngel?? How *could* he do that right in front of her? Suddenly Teri's voice called out from the third door on the left. "Hey, guys ...er....y'all!" She corrected herself quickly in deference to Nay and Elise's southern preferences. "I could use some help in here! Elise??" She poked her head back out the door to make sure somebody was out there to hear her. "Elise! I need to know where you and Nick were when you got thwapped." The Castle listmom #2 wasn't quite sure what she was interrupting, but she could feel the tension from where she stood. Jeannie was standing with an unhappy-looking Elise not far from Nick and NightAngel. "Erm....sorry guys, but you would not *believe* how many cameras she's got in here!! They're all well labeled, but I need to know the general vicinity before I can pick which tape to look at." She expected Elise to try to avoid answering again, like she had before, since telling would mean exposing her favorite quiet hiding place, so she was surprised when the Southern Belle seemed to leap at the chance to get away from Jeannie. She almost sprinted toward the Security room, slowing only long enough to grab Nick by the hand and drag him along behind her and away from NightAngel's lingering touch. "Did you find the one with GersGal on it?" asked Nick, ever the detective. "Yes, it's still in that camera there, since it just happened a few minutes ago, but look....." She hit instant playback, and the little monitor connected to that particular cam skipped back to the moment in question. "See, there's GersGal. And....right ........here. There's where she got thwapped." Teri was good at narrating the obvious as the tape rolled. "It's too dark," she continued. "Evidently GersGal was so upset that you'd been hurt that she didn't bother to be careful at all. Not only was she alone, but she didn't stay where it was well-lighted. There in the shadows, I can't see anything more than movement and a darker shape. No way to identify anybody." "And no additional klews to go on," Nick finished with more of a statement than a question. "No, not that I can see. From that tape I can't even tell for sure that it *is* El Thwapitan. I'm hoping the one with you two is clearer." She looked back at the blond detective and Elise hopefully, waiting for an answer. "Where is GersGal now?" evaded Elise, fidgeting under Teri's expectant gaze. As the castlemom had figured, Elise was none too eager to answer the question, but Nick's sense of justice and the need to catch an evil villain should prevail here! "I don't know exactly, it looks like she's heading toward the VaqWing for some reason," Teri sighed and answered Elise. "Since I redirected the cam to playback what had just happened, I lost her on the monitors. I'll call Tab and have her keep an eye out for her. As furious as she is, she may be heading for Tab's arsenal of weapons! Hey, Nay??" she called out to the others who hadn't come in yet. "Nay???" She poked her head back outside to discover NightAngel standing by herself where Nick and Elise had left her. She was looking decidedly better but she was still fussing with the rapidly healing wound on her hand. "Where'd everybody go?" queried Teri. "Hmmm?" NightAngel looked up from her hand, seemimg a little distracted still, probably from the intimate encounter she'd just had. "Ohh, Jeannie just left. She seemed awfully upset about something when Elise grabbed Nick again..... I think she muttered something about going to find GersGal before somebody gets seriously hurt." "You let her go ALONE????" demanded Teri. What was everybody thinking?? "We CAN'T just keep wandering around out there aimlessly waiting for somebody else to become a target!!" NightAngel looked properly chastised, even though she really didn't believe she had done anything wrong. "Nay, we're going to have to....." Teri broke off, looking around the room in bewilderment. "Now, where's NAY?????" No one had an answer. Teri was seriously starting to boil. "Damn! We have to make some sort of an announcement to let the Castle Residents know it's not safe to be wandering the halls alone right now. Abra......ABRA!!!!!" "Hn?" "ABRA!!!!" The techno-genius pried her eyes away from her video game at the sound of Teri's exclamation. "That thing has a pause button doesn't it?" Abra nodded reluctantly. "Use it! I need you for a moment. Please." She added that as an afterthought as Abra gave a long-suffering sigh and complied. There was no arguing with this castlemom when she was on a rampage. Abra would do just about anything to keep her from dragging out that blasted VaqBox again. "I need you to activate the Castle intercom and warn everybody about what's going on here. Tell everybody to stay in their rooms or travel in pairs, and stay where it's well-lit and in clear shot of the security cams. You have a cell phone here don't you?" As Abra nodded and indicated its whereabouts, Teri continued. "I'll call Tab directly since GersGal seems to be heading her way.....and now possibly Jeannie too." She thought to herself that it might not be a bad idea to call Vachon while she was at it. If he was in the Castle he might be able to help them find this Mad Thwapper, whoever it was. "And Nay...."she shook her head in disgust. "I can't believe she just wandered off again! Sheesh. Well, she knows what's going on. I guess she thinks she can take care of herself." "Or else she thinks she's immune?" offered NightAngel. "Do you suppose she knows who it is and she's thinks she's safe?" "Wait," interjected Nick. "Are you suggesting Nay may be in on this?" He rubbed that huge lump on the back of his head. It was still very sensitive, and since offering his own neck to NightAngel, he was feeling the need for some healing sustenance himself. Soon. "I'm not suggesting anything," replied NightAngel reasonably. "But at this point isn't everybody a suspect?" Before anyone could respond there was a loud THWAP and another pained squeal eminating from the speakers in the Security cam room. The Mad Thwapper had struck yet again. ************ NightAngel's Mistake - by NightAngel NightAngel heard that familiar squeal and her heart threw an extra thump in fear. "Oh no!" She took off after the sound as Teri yelled. "Not alone, NightAngel!" Ignoring Teri's warning, she navigated the hallways at vampire speed, and found the Mad Thwapper's latest victim. "Oh no, Jeannie!" Jeannie stood rubbing her backside lightly, blushing beet red. "I can't believe they actually *hit* me!" Jeannie, being the sensible, yet highly sensitive member of the Knighties bit back tears of rage and humiliation. "I was looking for Gersgal since she had stormed off and - I got thwapped! I've never been thwapped before!" NightAngel tried her hardest not to snicker at her poor friend, they both had managed to avoid the listmommy's vengeful rubber polo mallet (among other things). And now it was on the loose being used randomly on anyone deserving or not. Jeannie needed her support. "I can't believe you went off by yourself, luv. Teri had just mentioned that we needed to go in pairs to avoid this." "But, you went alone." NightAngel looked around and sighed to herself. "I had Nick right behind me. We took off after hearing the thwap. I don't know where he's at." /This is Definitely a case of do as I say, not as I do./ she thought to herself sheepishly. Just then, something near the wall caught NightAngel's eye. "Jeannie, can I have a tissue?" "Sure. What is that?" Jeannie handed her a clean tissue and leaned over to look at the klew as the vampire picked it up, wrapped it in the tissue, and placed it in her pocket. "A klew! I have to show this to Teri first though. This is just too obvious to be real!" Jeannie could see NightAngel had that "I'm not telling" look on her face and let it go. When NightAngel kept a secret.. She kept a secret. Jeannie continued, "I didn't hear about not going alone, though. I had left after Elise had taken Nick into the control room." Jeannie wiped at her eyes using her sleeve, then reached into her pocket and pulled out another tissue for herself. "Did you see who it was?" /Maybe some good will come of her getting thwapped, Jeannie's good with details./ Just then, NightAngel heard faint footsteps and a rapid mortal heartbeat coming up a hallway to their left. Could it be the thwapper returning for a second round? She felt her eyes glow gold, then tint to red as the footfalls grew louder, faster and closer. NightAngel shushed her friend and backed her into a corner, shielding the frail mortal body with her own. As the source of the footsteps came out into the open area and passed by, the newest castle vampire lunged and caught hold from the rear. "EEEEEEE!" A shriek of anger, surprise and fear pierced the castle walls. NightAngel held the struggling form from behind. "Let me go, now!" The fear subsided and the shrill voice returned to it's normal level. "Let me go, you bloodsucking bag of bones, or I'm going to stake you myself!" NightAngel paled at the thought of more wood, but held on tight. "Let her go, NightAngel." Jeannie had slipped around and now faced the struggling figure from the front. She relaxed her hold on the writhing body and was now face to face with a *very* angry Elise. "Oops." "Oops?!" Elise began to rant at the walls and both Jeannie and NightAngel could see that she'd been crying. Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks tearstained. "You nearly gave me a heart attack, and crushed me, and all you can say is 'oops'?!" This was totally out of character for Elise and NightAngel backed away, for fear of a much larger stake being forced into her body. That splinter had hurt pretty bad earlier, she couldn't imagine a much larger version being introduced. "Elise, what's wrong?" Jeannie pulled a tissue from her pocket and handed it to her. "You've been crying, and rushing down the hallway alone in the midst of this mess-" "It's all *your* fault, NightAngel! He wouldn't feed from me tonight because he said I'm too weak!" Elise's eyes threw wooden daggers at the vampire. "You reminded him about how pale I've been and that he'd been taking too much! And now he's gone looking for someone else!" There had been a flash of hope in Jeannie's eyes at Elise's words and suddenly, NightAngel knew why Jeannie had left in the first place. She never got to spend time with Nick. At least not without someone else taking him from her! Using the blood link that had been established with her feeding, she asked Nick to meet her there in a few minutes. "You know I'm right, hon. He's been feeding from you almost exclusively. You are ashen and cool to the touch. A couple of the mortal castle residents said that you haven't eaten much lately." Elise looked away without comment. "Have you decided what you want to do with your life yet? This path you are taking will lead one of two directions: to death or unlife. You need to eat and rest for the next few weeks before you can let Nick take from you. You are not immortal. He can kill you by accident." Knowing Elise couldn't stand to let Nick go for more than a few minutes, she had to keep them separate for a time. He still needed to feed to heal and replace the blood he had donated previously. Thinking that it was too soon for the thwapper to strike again, NightAngel forced Elise into a compulsion. "Return to your rooms for the night and rest. Sleep, heal and forget your anger...." She started down the hallway alone as Nick arrived. "Nicola? Where have you been? You were right behind me when I headed for Jeannie!" "I headed toward the Vaq wing to find Gersgal. She's been on a rampage since she was thwapped and I heard she was looking for weapons." Nick snorted. "She's not in the right frame of mind right now, considering that Abra has a ton of weapons right in her rooms. She's safe now, Tab's with her." Nick noticed the unhappy look on Jeannie's face and the dazed Elise heading off into the darkness and groaned. "NightAngel... What did you do?" "Well, she needed the sleep and I thought-" "She was that upset, over my refusal?" He listened to the fading footsteps as one of his mortal loves ascended the stairs to the rooms. "She threatened to stake me because I told you she was weakened... And I kinda thought she was the thwapper." If a vampire could blush, NightAngel would have been giving off enough heat to warm the room at her mistake. "Yeah. She waited until Elise had passed by and grabbed her. She was furious!" Jeannie's tears had stopped and she was nearly herself again, except that sore spot where she was thwapped. Suddenly Nick's headache worsened and he swayed on his feet. "Women" he swayed and Jeannie threw his arm over her shoulder to steady him. "Nick," Jeannie actually blushed. "If you're careful... I... could feed you a little. You really don't look so good." He groaned and glared at NightAngel. "No more of these antics. I look after my Knighties and you just left one to wander off unprotected. If she gets thwapped again-" The glow of fierce hunger tinted his eyes and NightAngel shrunk back. Her six years of immortality didn't come close to his near 800 years. Pissing off Nick was not high on her list of things to do that day. "I'm going! I'm going!" NightAngel turned to Jeannie. "Are you sure about this? You've never fed one of us before." She was truly worried about her friend. The first time a vampire fed from a 'donor' was intense; it formed a bond that only seemed to strengthen over time and use. "I think so." She caressed Nick's stubbled cheek. He hadn't shaved yet today. "Now, go after Elise before she gets herself into trouble. And you better hope that whammy of yours holds, if not, she's going to be quite angry." Nick settled his arm more comfortably over Jeannie's shoulder and they started back to his rooms. She took off down the hallway at a mortal's pace after Elise. Although she had captured her by mistake thinking she was the thwapper, NightAngel was still hunting for the one responsible. She would find them, whoever they were. ******** by Castlebrat Meanwhile..... Still chuckling from its last strike, the dark figure continued haunting the hallways of the castle. Suddenly it heard footsteps coming toward it. Quickly the figure darted deeper into the shadows. From where it was hiding the figure had a perfect view of the hallway. Patiently it waited to see who the poor misguided soul was that thought they would be safe walking in the castle halls alone. It wasn't long until the newest intended victim passed by where the unseen presence lurked. Slowly the myterious shadow closed in on its new victim. THWAP!!!! Mommie Nay spun around but she was too slow, the thwapper was gone, and only the echo of a "BWAHAHAHA" was left of the attack. ******** by Jeannie Nick watched NightAngel stalk off down the hall, then turned and gazed back into Jeannie's adoring eyes. "Are you *sure*??" he asked carefully. "Oh, yes," she nodded. Jeannie looked at Nick and held out her hand. "Let's take care of you. Come, I think we should go to my room." Nick looked back the way Elise had gone. He didn't want to hurt her, yet he did need to feed. He knew he needed to give her time to recuperate. She still wasn't sure of being brought across and he didn't want to be forced to do it just to keep her "alive" and with him. Quite possibly against her will. He'd never forgive himself if he lost her. He hoped she would someday understand. He reached out and took Jeannie's hand and allowed her to lead him to her room. Once inside the room Jeannie closed, barred the door and reached for a remote to close and shutter the windows. She also secretly activated a security alarm. She wasn't about to let anyone swipe Nick this time. She led the blond Knight to a comfortable chair and pushed him down into it. He sank back into it, gratefully. He seemed a bit stunned. Jeannie stepped close and pulled him against her and he wrapped his arms about her and buried his face against her warm body. She stroked his hair and held him until he relaxed. Gently disengaging herself she went behind a dressing screen and changed into a long flowing black lace gown. She did her long black hair up upon her head, leaving her tanned neck exposed. As she moved back into the room Nick seemed to snap out of his trance and looked up appreciatively at her efforts to make him comfortable. She reached out her hands to take his and pulled him to his feet. She moved close touching his face with her soft gentle hands. He looked down at her, his face flooded with gentle emotion he could see her desire. "I don't know what to do," he said, softly. Her desire surprised and pleased him. Jeannie reached up and kissed him gently and took one of his hands and placed it on her face. She turned her face to kiss his palm. Nick ran his fingers over her face and down her neck. Her blood was calling to him and he was so hungry but he wanted to make this enjoyable for Jeannie too. He took her face in both his hands and drew her close kissing her gently at first. Then his kisses became more passionate. After a few minutes Jeannie broke off reluctantly. "Nick feed first," she implored him. "Then you will have energy to thank me later." She smiled impishly. He drew back, his hand passed gently over her neck and chest. Her soft skin was like velvet. His eyes began to glow a soft amber and his fangs sparkled against his lower lip. He slipped his hands up the side of her neck and his fingers rested behind her ears. "I will be gentle," he said. He felt her body tremble more with desire than with fear. She closed her eyes and waited has he turned her head to the side. The pain of his fangs was quick and he struck firmly. Jeannie gasped with pain and then a pleasure so intense she cried out. Nick slipped one of his arms around her body drawing her against his hard lean body as he drank the warm blood. He was overwhelmed with her love for him. Her arms slipped around his neck and she buried her fingers in his hair holding him closer. His life experiences flashed before her and she felt buffeted by emotions, good and bad. Yet she could see the shining light which was his goodness and it drew her away from the darker memories to the happy passionate times of his life. Nick finally drew back having drawn enough substance to make him feel strong with out hurting his willing donor. He gently licked the twin wounds and let them heal. Jeannie sagged against him. Not so much because of loss of blood but because of the overwhelming pleasure of sharing so much of him. He set her upon her feet again and pulled the pins from her hair letting it fall in beautiful soft cascades over her neck and shoulders. He pressed his nose against it and breathed in the gentle scent of peaches. He bent and picked her up and carried her to her bed. Her lips pressed tiny kisses into the side of his neck and jaw. He placed her in the bed, climbed in with her. He knew the sun was rising. He spooned himself against her laying his cheek against hers and they fell into a deep peaceful sleep.... ******** to be continued....