Some Protector

When Damien next opened his eyes, it was light out. He slowly sat up and looked around him properly. He glanced at the door as the handle turned. The doctor from the previous night walked in and smiled. “Good morning. Are you feeling any better?” He asked as he closed the door behind him.

“Much better, thank you,” He said. His voice was stronger than it had been the night before, he realized with an inward sigh of relief. The doctor sensed this and smiled.

“As long as you’re sure you’re better,” The doctor said. Damien nodded.

"I'm positive," He said.

"Good. Oh, you have a visitor, should I send him in?" The doctor asked.

"Um, sure," Damien said, a little wary as to who it was. He looked down to see that he was in his Oilers jersey still. He looked up as the doctor left and none other than Andrew Cogliano himself walked it. His face lit up in surprise. Andrew smiled at him.

"Feeling better?" He asked. Damien nodded.

"Yeah, they said it was food poisoning. Really nasty. Hurt like hell," He said, to which both of them laughed.

“I can imagine. I had it myself once, and it was really bad,” Andrew said. “Oh, there’s a girl outside looking for you. She looks real worried,” He added.

“Jamie!” Damien exclaimed. “She’s the girl I’m staying with while I’m here,” He said.

“Should I go get her?” Andrew asked.

“I’d like to see her, very much,” Damien said. “So she doesn’t worry too much.”
Andrew nodded, and he went to get the girl. Moments later, Jamie came running in, and she threw her arms around his neck. “Oh my goodness! I was so worried about you!” She exclaimed.

“Sorry to have worried you, Jamie,” Damien said.

“Are you feeling better, Christian?” She asked.

“Much better, thank you,” He said.

“Good! The doctor said you’re recovering more quickly than he thought, and you should be able to go home soon!” Jamie said excitedly.

“I’m glad. I never really liked hospitals much,” Damien said, getting a laugh from the others.

||FF: Later that day...||

Damien sat next to Jamie in the back of her father’s SUV. They were on their way home. He had spoken to the doctor for a while before they left for Jamie’s house. When he got there, Jamie’s very worried mother nearly choked him with a huge hug. “Oh, we were so worried, Christian!” She exclaimed. Damien patted her lightly on the back.

“I’m sorry to have worried you,” He said.

“We made your room up for you. Come see!” She tugged lightly on his arm and pulled him up the stairs. He could hear Jamie behind him, waiting to judge his reaction to his room. Jamie’s mother opened the door and stepped aside to let Damien into the room. The walls were painted black, with streaks of silver through it. He looked around to the stereo hooked up by the closet door, the television across the room from the bed, and the laptop computer on the desk next to the window. A pillow top mattress covered in black sheets was on the bed, and the closet was filled with the clothes he had brought with him, as well as clothes it looked like the family had bought for him. The window was slightly ajar, allowing some of the cool early autumn air through. “Wow... It’s great!” He exclaimed, truly excited. Jamie and her mother laughed and clapped with joy.

“We’ll let you get settled in, then!” Jamie said, and they left, closing the door softly behind them. He sat on his bed, lying back onto the soft pillows. Much better than the bed back home, He thought. “Ann? Can you hear me?” He waited briefly before asking again. “Ann?” He waited for a while. How strange. It’s not like her to not answer. He was beginning to get a bit worried, but then Ann answered him at last.

“Damien? I’m sorry. I heard you a few minutes ago, but I was busy with other things. How are you doing? I heard from Nathaniel that you were ill. Are you better? Where are you now?” She asked.

“Nathaniel? Who is Nathaniel?”

“The healer vampire, the one from the hospital.”

“Oh! All right! He was so nice to me. He took very good care of me. I drank the blood of an ill rabbit in the woods. It hit me before the hockey game even started. I’m better now. I’m back at Jamie’s house."

“Good. How are things going there?”

“I’m not really sure. I just got back a few minutes ago.” He was interrupted by Jamie’s voice.

“Christian! Come on! We’re going to the zoo!” She called up to him. She opened the door a crack. “If you’re well enough to go, that is,” She added.

“I’m going to have to pass this time. I’m sorry,” He said.

“Oh, it’s fine! I’ll bring you back a souvenir!” She said.

“Sounds good! I’ll see you when you get back!” He said.

“Bye! I hope you feel better soon so you can come with us next time!” She said, and then closed the door behind her.

“Damien, you idiot! Why aren’t you going with her?” Ann was furious, Damien could tell just by hearing her voice.

“She’ll be fine. There are tons of people in the zoo. Besides, she’s with her family. Gabriel won’t attack unless she’s alone, and that means no strangers around, too,” Damien responded. He could still feel a slight twinge in his stomach whenever Gabriel was spoken about. He still wasn’t quite over what had happened to Chris. He sighed softly to himself and closed off his mind to Ann.

“Well! It seems we have a new plaything!” Damien heard the voice tickle the back of his mind. He felt a jolt in his stomach as he realized he recognized that voice.

“Gabriel. What do you want this time?” He asked harshly, the hatred evident in his voice.

“Why, to humiliate you, of course! What fun is it for me if I allow this one to go?” Gabriel’s taunting tone put Damien on edge. One of Gabriel’s talents was making people feel uneasy, as well as sensing their emotions. “Don’t you worry, dear Damien. Your precious little human is safe, at least for now,” Gabriel’s laughter flooded through his mind, even as it faded away. Jamie! He thought, and he jumped out of bed. He crashed to the floor, doubling over and gasping in pain. He must have done something to me! He’s trying to torment me! He saw white dots in front of his eyes, and he fell forward onto his face. He could feel consciousness slipping away from him. Jamie.....

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

His eyes flew open, and he saw a familiar male face floating above him. The man’s mouth moved, but no sound came out. He tried to reach out, to grab the man, but he found he couldn’t move. He tried to speak, but his mouth wouldn’t open. He thrashed, but something held him down tightly. His mouth finally worked, and he cried out, but a hand was placed firmly over his mouth and there was a soft voice in his ear. “Calm down! I won’t hurt you,” The voice said. The face was back in his view. It was Nathaniel, the vampire from the hospital.

“How...?” Damien managed to choke out.

“I could sense that something was wrong. I followed the feeling here, and I saw you unconscious on the ground. I figured something would seem wrong if I took you to the hospital, so I’ll tell them you were feeling sick again and called me,” Nathaniel explained, his bright eyes glancing at the door leading into the room. “Come now, you get back in bed,” Nathaniel hauled Damien up and placed him in bed. Damien could hear Jamie’s light footsteps on the stairs. She gasped when she saw Nathaniel there.

“Oh, no! Did something happen?” She asked.

“He started to feel sick again, so he called me. I came as fast as I could. He should be all right now,” Nathaniel said. Jamie stepped next to Damien’s bed and grabbed his hand.

“Your skin is so cold!” She exclaimed. “Oh! Here, I got you a keychain,” She pulled a giraffe shaped keychain out of her pocket and placed it next to his bed. “Since you couldn’t come with us,” She explained.

“Thank you, He said, smiling up at her. Worry filled her eyes, but he placed a hand on her cheek.

“I’ll be all right. Just a touch of sickness,” He said softly. Jamie started to cry, so Damien pulled her to him. “Shhh, don’t cry,” He whispered softly to her. He felt her softness against him, and he felt the overwhelming feeling of hunger. He could smell her blood, but he struggled against the growing need to feed off of her. Nathaniel could sense his inner struggle, but he couldn’t do anything to help, Damien knew. He pressed his lips to Jamie’s neck and tried to stop his fangs from sliding out. It was a losing battle, he could feel it. No... No! She’s your charge, you can’t-

“Damien.” The voice was Ann’s. “If you drink from her, it will bring you closer together. Remember what it did for you and Chris. It allowed you to see when he was in danger.” She was right, he knew. And he also knew that he would have to reveal himself eventually. So, why not now? Why not when he needed it most? He pressed in further, which caused her to cry out.

“Christian, you’re hurting me!” She exclaimed. He felt a pang of guilt, but he continued what he was doing. He reached out to her with his magic to cause her to fall asleep in his arms, and he used this same magic to prevent her parents from coming upstairs to see what was going on by freezing them using his time magic. He drank her blood then, drinking in its sweet warmth, allowing it to fill him. He drank until he was full, and he released her then. He placed her on his bed and sat in the chair by the desk, waiting.