Broken Soul

Dannie awoke to the sound of knocking on her door. She stretched her arms and sat up and said, "Come in." Erick, still in cat form, was curled up next to her and also awake. The door opened and Leighton walked in as Erick hopped off the bed and ran out. "Hello, love," he greeted with a polite grin.

"Hi," she replied, surprised to see him up. "The sun's rising. Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"I should, yes," he answered and sat down on the chair beside her bed. "But I can't. I have quite a bit to do today so I must skip sleeping. I'm leaving for the day and need a little blood before I depart."

"Where are you going?" she wondered.

"Into the city," he replied. "For business."

"Does this business happen to involve...us?"

He smiled comfortingly. "No, love. It has nothing to do with you or Evan or anyone else here. I promise. Now I'm afraid I must steal some of your blood. Are you feeling up to it?"

"I am."

The smile on his face grew. "Good."

"But..."

Leighton listened. "Yes?"

"I can't help feeling a little...suspicious about all this. After what you said before about how you didn't care about us, I just want to know for sure that I can trust you. It's only fair since I'm giving you my blood to keep you alive and it would be a waste it you used your time to do any of us harm."

"You simply want to know if you can trust me?"

She nodded. "I do."

"Of course you can," he swore. "I promise you, as long as you're under my roof, you are safe."

"Why did you say that to me then? That you didn't care?"

He laughed softly and then said, "I'm a vampire, love. We intimidate. It's just in our nature. And maybe it was a bit true when I said it. But after thinking about it, I could see I was wrong."

Dannie's face lit up. "So, you do care about us?"

"Always did, darling." He moved to the edge of the bed and added, "Always will."

"Before we do this, can you do one more thing for me?" she asked.

"What is it?"

"I just feel like I barely know you," she confessed.

"Do you want to know my life story?" he joked and she laughed. "It would take months to tell."

"Just tell me one thing you never told anyone else," she insisted. "Something no one else knows."

"Alright," he replied and thought it over, searching his mind for his deepest hidden secrets. "I became a vampire centuries ago to save my family's life. I never want this. I was turned and even after I agreed and followed through with it, Dusk murdered them anyway. And so I decided to leave the Dawne and the Midnite was born. The only reason I'm still on this earth is to keep him from hurting innocents like you and Evan. I had to pretend I didn't care about you because I honestly didn't want to. I don't always succeed and have seen so many others die. If anything happened to you, I would have failed again..."

"I'm sorry, Leighton," Dannie whispered and rested her hand on his shoulder. "I had no idea..."

"No one does," he reminded her. "Time hasn't quite healed the wounds yet. I just want this war to end."

They sat in silence until he said, "What about you? Do you have a secret?"

Dannie slightly smiled as she thought of one. "I do. But it's not tragic like that."

"Tell me," he insisted.

"When you first did this, I thought you were going to have to kiss me," she admitted. "Because that's what Evan does to hypnotize his donors."

This amused him. "Were you disappointed that I didn't?"

"Actually no, I was relieved."

He slowly moved closer to her neck and she heard him laugh quietly in her ear. "Well, I never."

"No," she giggled, "it's just that... I've never been kissed before."

Leighton had to look her in the eyes for this. "You're serious?"

"Yep."

"How has such a lovely lady like yourself never been kissed?"

"You're making it sound like a bad thing. I don't think it is."

"Well, no, it isn't," he agreed. "Just surprising."

"I've dated and stuff but never thought any of them deserved my first kiss, you know?" She realized how selfish that sounded but couldn't help it.

"A girl's first kiss can be a very special thing," Leighton declared. "Sometimes magical. And it takes a lot of strength to save it for someone who has earned it."

"So you don't think I'm pathetic?" she teased.

"No. There's nothing wrong with waiting for the right time." He eyed her neck impatiently. "Now if you don't mind, I really must eat and run."

She let him hypnotize her and then feed from her. Everything was going fine until he lifted his head up and had trouble focusing. "Leighton?" Dannie asked, her neck still bleeding from the bite marks. "Are you all right?"

"I feel weak..." he uttered and crawled over the bed to get out and ended up falling onto the floor.

"Oh my god, what's wrong?" Dannie followed him and tried to lift him back up onto the mattress but he was too heavy to move. He started screaming and the veins in his face and neck were turning black and his skin was changing from pale white to dark gray. Black fluid drained from his mouth and it trickled onto the wooden floor beneath him. His horrible shrieks stabbed Dannie's ears and she wanted to help him. She dashed out of the room and screamed into the hallway, "Help! Somebody help us! Evan! Erick! Somebody!"

Seconds later, Erick, now in human form, rushed into the room and saw Leighton twitching and screaming on the floor.

"What's wrong with him?" Dannie asked him.

"Close the curtains tight and keep him out of the sun," Erick ordered and knelt beside him to check his body temperature. He was boiling hot instead of ice cold. "I think he's been poisoned."

"What??" Dannie shut all the drapes and made sure that no ray of light would enter the room. "Who would poison him?"

Erick had a guess but didn't say since he didn't want to waste time explaining. "At this temperature, he could combust. He needs to stay cold."

They took Leighton to Dannie's bathroom and let cold water run all over him in the tub. By now, Leighton was quiet and on the verge of passing out. Dannie sat beside him and held his burning hand in hers. He looked at her warily. His eyes were no longer glowing and were turning gray. His blond hair was now brittle and fading. "Leighton, I'm so sorry," she apologized, feeling guilty for this. "I don't know what happened. Is there any way I can help you?"

With little strength he shook his head no. He was too weak to speak.

"Please don't give up," she begged, feeling herself get choked up. "Leighton, stay with me..." Somehow he was able to hold on. She rarely left his side all day.

* * * * *

At around sunset, Leighton was put into his bed and Dannie lingered in his room with Erick. "Do you have any idea who could've done this?" she asked and gazed sadly at Leighton's unconscious body.

"I think it was October."

"Are you sure? I thought she left."

"No, she was hiding in the forest. She killed a slayer and she probably used his blood to poison Leighton."

Dannie was in utter shock. "Why?"

"I don't know."

Resting her head in her hands, Dannie sat in silence as she tried not to break down. If any of this ended up being her fault, she knew the guilt would never subside.

"When Leighton wakes up again, he'll need fresh blood," Erick informed her. "We'll have to get Amanda."

"Because my blood was tainted..." Dannie dropped her hands and her gaze remained looking down. Erick knelt in front of her and held her hands. "You didn't know that," he reminded her. "This wasn't your fault."

"It's just..." she said, nearly sobbing, "he trusted me. And I didn't trust him. It should have been the other way around. If he hadn't trusted me, he would have gotten blood from someone else and he'd be okay..."

Erick pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her to comfort her. "I just want to do the right thing," she said and laid her head on his shoulder. "I keep trying but I can't seem to help in the right way..."

"Danielle," Erick said with a gentle voice, "in all my years, I have never seen a person with more noble intentions. You never meant to harm anyone. You're not responsible."

Dannie let his words sink in. She didn't reply and simply gazed at Erick, then over at Leighton again as she tried to convince herself it wasn't her fault. After several minutes, she said, "I'd better wake up Evan." She stood up from her chair and Erick watched her walk out of the room.