Dead in the Water

I managed to find my way to the room Amanda and Martin were in. I opened the door quietly and snuck in. Martin was still out of it and I saw Amanda curled up in the other bed sleeping peacefully. She had a smile on her face as if she was proud of what she had done.

I walked over to Martin's bed. I looked over at Amanda again and then back to Martin. If it was Pete laying here and me the human, would I do what my sister had done? The answer was yes. I may be upset at what Amanda has done but I really have no right to be. I would have done everything in my power for Pete if I was human.

"Martin, I know we don't get along but I know that my sister is really in love with you. Please wake up for her sake. Don't let her down. She needs you. Besides, you two belong together. I can't believe I just said that." I said as I was about to turn and walk away.

"I can't believe you said that too." Martin said as I turned back around at the sound of his voice. He had a cocky grin.

"Yeah, well, don't get used to my niceness." I said. "It only works for today." I smiled.

"Where am I?" Martin said grimacing as he tried to sit up.

"Easy there. You don't remember?" I asked.

"No. The last thing I remember is telling Amanda to run and getting the crap knocked out of me from Ian." Martin said not noticing Amanda in the other bed.

"Amanda! Is she ok?" Martin said trying to get out of the hospital bed.

"Hey, slow down before you pop a stitch." I said.

"It will heal. Where is she?" Martin said grabbing my arms as I tried to force him back down in the bed.

"She is right over there sleeping." I said pointing.

"She looks peaceful." Martin replied.

"She has been drained." I said,

"Did Ian get her?" Martin asked.

"No. You bit her arm and drank to heal yourself. Don't worry you did it unconciously. She forced you to drink." I said as I started to fill him in.

"She is so stupid for doing that. I am trying to help her. If I died she would live." Martin said letting something slip. He realized what he had said and closed his eyes.

"Martin, what are you talking about?" I asked. Martin opened his eyes and just looked at me.

"Martin, answer me. What do you mean that she would live?" I asked.

"Amanda is dying, or was dying." Martin said slinking back against his pillow.

"What? How can that happen?" I said angry but not at him.

"When she died and Erelin took her place, her slayer powers sort of stopped. It is complicated to explain." Martin said.

"Enlighten me and how come she never told me about this?" I asked.

"Amanda doesn't want anyone to know. Don't even tell Erelin." Martin warned. "Anyway, I was there as you know at the hospital the day she was attacked by Beckett. I kind of gave her a thought to fight. When she came to and seemed to get better she really wasn't. Her slayer powers went out of whack. They are slowly killing her." He explained.

"Haven't you noticed her fainting spells, slight injuries, headaches, losing her balance, etc..?" He asked.

"Well yeah but she always had an excuse." I said putting everything together. "Ok, so how do you fit in the equation?" I asked.

"Amanda had dreams of me only she didn't know it was me at the time. I had dreams of her. When I became a vampire, my mission was to find Amanda and protect her at all costs. My job is to will her my strength. I bit her and I slowly bite her every now and then to give her that boost she needs once we got together." Martin said looking at Amanda.

"So that is why for awhile she has been better and stronger is because of you! Well, except for her spell last night." I said. "Wait, so she knows you are doing this?" I asked.

"No. I can't tell her. I block it out of her mind when I bite her." Martin replied.

"What do you mean you can't tell her? Wait, you don't want her to know that she may lose you." I said figuring things out.

"I want her to live. If she finds out, she would be crushed and you could lose your sister." Martin said. "Please don't tell her." Martin begged.

"Amanda needs to know. I mean what do you want, for her to wake up one day and you be dead?" I responded.

"No, well, we can't tell her." That was all Martin could say.

"You really do love my sister for you to give up your life for her to live." I said touched.

"I have always loved your sister since the first day we met. Amanda is needed here." Martin replied. "With her making me drink her blood though, it puts us behind again. I can only keep her slayer powers in check for so long. If she was in a fight and her powers go out on her it could be fatal." Martin explained.

I looked at him and thought that maybe I didn't really hate him as much as I thought I did. He was giving up alot. This wasn't right.

"Martin, I promise I won't say anything." I said nodding my head. He nodded a thank you and at that point we both were at an understanding of where we stood with each other.

"So is everyone ok?" Martin asked changing the subject.

"Well, you want the short version or the long version?" I asked pulling up a chair.

"Hey, we're vampires and it is daylight. I think we've got time." He grinned itching for some news he can share with Amanda when she wakes