Sweet Surrender

Varian woke with the familiar scent of blood overwhelming his sense of smell and quickly but carefully untangled himself from Venerra, realizing that his nose had already bled. Touching beneath it, his fingers came back with the familiar red tinted black blood, and he studied his pillow. It was soaked in a pool of the spoiled blood, which had spilled over onto the bedding, most likely reaching through to the mattress.

Slipping off the bed, Varian caught himself, his bare feet sliding in something warm, wet, and sticky. Looking down he realized that he'd bled a lot more than he thought. Stepping back, his bare feet leaving bloody footprints, he ran into the bathroom, sliding with the blood, his stomach lurching. Collapsing to his knees, Varian threw up, but only half the sickening sludge actually made it into the toilet bowl.

The rest splattered the front of the bowl and floor, leaving black streaks and pools.

Breathing, Varian glanced up at the clock he kept on the bathroom sink to keep track of time in his shower. 7:45.

"Oh crap! We're late!" he exclaimed, shakily climbing to his feet and stumbling to the sink. He ducked his head, closing his eyes as his arms shook. He felt so light headed and weak, he wondered if this was how humans felt. Looking back into the mirror, Varian groaned. His nose and cheek were smeared with dried blood, and not surprisingly, more blood began to practically spew from his nose, splattering his shirt, the sink, which soon filled with the blood, and anything else in reach of the free flow.

Stepping back, Varian grabbed a towel and held it to his nose. Tissues and paper towel no longer worked. He could feel the warmth from his limbs retreating, his skin erupting in goosebumps, his already pale skin taking on a blueish tint.

Throwing the towel down, Varian stepped out of his clothes and into the shower. Since nothing he did stopped the flow, he might as well clean off what was on him. His shower lasted five minutes, but his nose bleed was still going strong. Grabbing another towel he tried stopping his nose with it, and grabbed new clothes, dressing quickly and going to wake Venerra.

But his bed was empty.

Fear struck his heart, and Varian stumbled out into the hall, calling out her name. She appeared from the kitchen, dressed, hair brushed, and with a spoon sticking out of her mouth. Sighing, he trudged into the kitchen and saw that she had also packed her own lunch.

"Good girl, Venerra." he said softly, grabbing his keys and her backpack. "We've gotta go now though, so finish your bowl."

Venerra sat down and shoveled the remainders of her cereal. And Varian couldn't feel prouder of her. When she finished he escorted her outside to the truck and they headed off for school, Venerra not saying a thing, her attitude glum and faded, and Varian struggling to think with his migraine, his stomach threatening to heave again, and the scent of blood still overwhelming his senses with the towel still pressed to his nose.

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Nathan arrived early to school, managing to sneak out of the house while his parents were still asleep. Eric had come home sometime last night from a business trip, and would most likely be waiting to talk to Nathan after school. Hopefully it would be another long day.

"Lonely... I'm so lonely... Ain't got nobody..."

He rolled his eyes as Justin strolled into his homeroom and sat on top of his desk, continuing with the song. "If you want to keep sitting there, I suggest shutting up." he said.

Justin stopped, glaring slightly. "You, sir, are no fun. Besides, I had to get out of homeroom. Andrea's being bitchy, as usual." he explained. Nathan snorted, shaking his head.

"You're both insane. Now get your ass off my desk."

"Oh, but you love my ass, Nate." Justin responded with a smile. Nathan laughed loudly for a second before ducking his head, trying to stifle his chuckling.

"... A straight guy making a gay joke. There are... So many things wrong with you."

"Hey, you agreed to be friends with me. But I gotta go so I'm not late. I'll tell you how Marine Biology goes during lunch!" Justin called over his shoulder, departing the room while singing the same song as earlier. Nathan shook his head again, sighing quietly as the guy beside him glanced over with a slightly disturbed expression.

Oh, it was too early to get questioning glances, he decided, ignoring the look and leaning back in his seat.

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Pulling into the parking lot, Varian sat in his truck and pulled the soaked towel away from his nose, waiting for any residual blood, and found none. Sighing, he sealed the towel in a plastic bag he found under his seat and and hid it. Getting out, he had to grab onto the truck as his knees gave way. Why did he have to be so weak?

Slowly he made his way away from his truck to the inside of the school. He wasn't too thrilled about being here, but if anything happened, school was the best place to find him should he die or anything.

Not bothering with a late pass, Varian slipped right on by to Marine Biology. Walking in, he was immediately met with stares and glares, many people no longer bothering to hide their conversations about him. Not having any energy, Varian trudged to his seat and plopped down next to Justin. Who immediately met him with a stare and said, "... If I say something will you yell at me again?"

"No." Varian said, barely having the energy to muster up that one word, let alone a scolding.

"Good. Because you sir, look like absolute Hell."

Varian slumped on his desk and rolled his eye to look at Justin, not wanting to turn his head. There was no response to that statement.

"... How long have you been like this?" Justin asked curiously.

Varian frowned, and leaned his pounding forehead on the desk. "Technically or actually?"

"... Actually."

Groaning, Varian sighed, ignoring the open talk and staring of the teacher. "I've been sick since about three days ago."

Justin nodded slightly, looking Varian over for a minute. "And yet you're still here. You are one determined guy."

"I'll have a better chance of being found here than at home since I haven't had any visitors besides-" Varian broke off, his stomach screaming at him, that bitter bile taste prickling at the back of his throat. "Crap!" he said to Justin quickly getting up out of his seat to heading for the door to get to the nearest bathroom.

But Miss Whikler blocked the door. "Have a seat Mr. Joll, I'm not allowing you to leave the classroom today."

"Please! I'm not feeling well!" Varian pleaded, trying to get past her.

"I'm afraid I can't let you go, not unless it's a dire emergency."

Justin looked at Varian from his seat and said, "Miss Whikler, He looks like he's gonna throw up. And I don't know about you, but when I see someone vomit, I vomit. So, unless you want a bunch of waterfalls of half-digested food..." he trailed off with a shrug.

She looked back and forth between Varian and Justin and nodded, stepping aside, and Varian bolted out through the door to the bathroom where he locked himself inside the nearest stall and threw up. After five minutes of nonstop hurling, he had nothing left. Getting up he managed to stumble his way to the sink. Rinsing out his mouth, he spat into the sink and headed for the classroom. He couldn't believe he was going back to class. But he owed an explanation to Justin.

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Justin gaped as he watched Varian re enter the classroom, sitting back in his seat. He really hoped whatever he had wasn't contagious...

He turned to stare at him for a minute before blinking. "I think you're insane. You should be at the nurse, AKA, not here. Why are you still here?" he asked. Nathan would definitely be hearing about this. Because if nothing else, Nathan at least gave a shit when someone wasn't feeling good.

"I have to ask you a question, that's why." Varian responded. Justin raised an eyebrow in curiosity. People didn't ask him questions too often.

"Uh-huh. And that would be...?"

"How's Nathan been?"

Well... And here he thought they were avoiding each other... Interesting... He'd have to speak with Nathan about that as well. He paused before answering, shrugging slightly. "He's been okay... Sort of quiet, I suppose. Made him laugh this morning with a gay joke..." he hesitated. He wasn't sure how Varian would react if he said he'd also told Nathan about his sickness...

Oh what the Hell.

"... And I may or may not have told him about you running out of the classroom yesterday..." he finished quickly.

"What's done is done." Varian responded gravely. It threw Justin off for a minute as he thought of a response.

"... I suppose. He seemed a little concerned..." He mumbled.

Varian made a half-hearted attempt at a laugh, making Justin frown slightly. "Thank you. For telling me. But I don't deserve his concern." he said softly.

"Are you kidding? You could be the biggest asshole in the world, and if he hears the word 'sick', he's concerned."

"Why? I haven't done anything to make him worry."

... There was something going on here and damn if he wasn't going to get to the bottom of it.

"Just the way he is. Don't ask me to understand what goes on in his head. That's beside the point. What's going on between you two anyway?" he asked. Varian probably wouldn't tell him, which meant he'd have to go harass other people... Whose names started with N and ended with Athan.

"... How do you mean?" Varian asked back hesitantly.

"You're always... Avoiding each other and shit. But at the same time he gets pissed whenever Andrea starts talking shit. It's weird." Justin said with a frown.

Varian's response was so quiet, Justin almost missed it among Miss Whiklers talking.

"I like him..."

He paused, eyes widening and a smile forming on his face. "I knew it was something like that! Holy shit... Have you told him?"

"I have... I begged him not to like me back."

Justin's smile dropped. No wonder Nathan was less peppy... Peppy... Not exactly a word he'd ever admit to using around Nathan. "... You're an idiot."

"... I know."

Justin stared for a minute before a small smirk made it's way onto his face, turning back to the front and staying silent for a moment. "... You know that I talk about the conversations between you and I at lunch, right?"

"I know."

Oh... He'd been expecting a different reaction... Either way. Justin opened his mouth to speak again before closing it, frowning. How the hell would Varian already know? Unless he didn't feel like making a whole surprised reaction.

"... You're basically half way across the Cafeteria. How would you know? Unless we talk louder than I thought..."

"You're actually pretty quiet, until you and Andrea start yelling at each other. And I'm not sure Nathan would like you to know." Varian responded.

"Nathan... Should've known..." Justin mumbled, "Either way, this conversation will be discussed."

"Don't... Don't hurt him. I've done enough damage." Varian said earnestly. Justin sighed.

"I'll say. You know he's probably going to like you out of spite now, right? Well, maybe not completely spite, but he'll say it's spite." Justin assured.

"Tell him I'll bite him if he does. I don't deserve that, even if it's just out of spite."

"Hm. Kinky. And why, exactly, would you not deserve that?" Justin asked. Nathan would probably kill him for asking all these questions, but he was curious and Nathan wasn't telling him shit.

"Because I haven't been able to let go of the past completely and I've pushed him away because of it."

Justin stared back for a moment before shaking his head. "If he likes you enough, then he'll be persistent as hell, no matter what you may have done."

"'If' has a lot of variables. He might be straight for all I know."

Justin snorted. "He's as straight as a rainbow. Only reason people see him as straight is because he doesn't openly express his sexuality."

"I figured. I've caught him staring at me, but I've never said anything. I thought he might get embarrassed."

Justin nodded slightly. "Yeah, openly hitting on people isn't his thing..."

"I hope he finds someone." Varian said gently, swallowing. Justin sighed before turning to him, glaring slightly.

"I'm going to be talking to him. During lunch. And I swear to God, if I find out he likes you, I will bitch slap you across the face, excuse my French." he threatened.

"What do you want me to do? Stride over to your table, pull him off of his seat and lay one on him in front of everyone?"

Justin paused, thinking the idea over. "No, that would get both of us hit. He hates PDA. Not a bad image though. But... Talk to him, or something. You don't exactly have to kiss the hell out of him."

"I told you, He isn't going to want to talk to me, and by then it might be too late." Varian said, then paused before bringing his hand up to brush his fingers under his nose. They came back with what looked like blood, making Justin frown as Varian got up and left the class.

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After spending the remainder of first period and all the way through fourth staving off his unannounced nose bleed, Varian was finally able to leave the bathroom after throwing up once again. Stumbling out of the bathroom, he paused, leaning against the wall, fighting off the sudden almost overwhelming wave of dizziness.

His skull should have shattered to pieces already by how badly it was throbbing. And he was cold. He felt absolutely freezing, shaking constantly now. But he had to make it through lunch. He had to. He was going to try to talk to Nathan. Therefore lunch was necessary.

Weaving his way through the crowded hall, Varian avoided touching people at all costs. If his senses were on haywire without contact, he could only imagine how badly it would feel if he was touched. Eventually he filed into the cafeteria, plunking down on his usual seat, his friends already waiting and staring at him.

"Why are you even here?" Evan asked, his gaze gentle and concerned.

Varian didn't even have the energy to reply. He felt almost completely spent. Instead, he just laid down on the table, rubbing at his temples.

"I think we should just leave him alone." Stan said touching Evan's shoulder.

"I agree, he looks so bad." Jecklynn commented softly.

And Varian sighed, thankful they weren't going to hound him with questions and accusations like Justin, but he'd owed it to Justin after standing up for him in Marine Biology. He would have barfed in the classroom, and then everyone would know something was seriously wrong with him. Closing his eyes, Varian tried to ease his rolling stomach and skull splitting headache to no avail. He wasn't sure how much longer he could stand it.

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Nathan glanced up at Justin from across the table, who was staring back intently. Finally he sighed, leaning back in his seat.

"You've been staring for the past five minutes. What do you want?"

"... How would you feel about Varian walking up and kissing the ever-living Hell out of you?" Justin blurted out, putting a hand on his chin. Nathan stared back with wide eyes before frowning.

"... What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you and Varian. You like each other, but you avoid each other." Justin stated obviously.

Nathan went silent, looking back down at the table and scratching something sticky off it with his fingernail. "We don't like each other."

"... But he said-"

"What ever he happened to say doesn't matter. If you like someone, you don't tell them not to like you back. Therefore, I think he's just tolerating me. He doesn't actually like me... And why the hell are we talking about this anyway?" Nathan whispered the last part as Andrea sat down with her food, a bit closer to him than yesterday.

"Because the two of you are really irritating. You're both the type of people that apparently don't usually do this."

"... What are we talking about?" Andrea asked curiously.

"Nathan's sex life." Justin responded quickly, earning a kick under the table as Nathan glared harshly. "Right, sorry- His lack of one."

"Go to Hell." Nathan mumbled as Andrea flushed, looking down at her food. Justin's head snapped up suddenly, looking over Nathan's shoulder.

"And there he goes again." Justin mumbled. Nathan turned to see Varian running out of the Cafeteria for the second time, frowning slightly before standing up.

"Nate? Where are you going?"

He turned back to Andrea, sighing quietly and ignoring her question before running after Varian.

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Once out of the cafeteria, Varian headed towards the front of the school. He couldn't do it. He'd tried, and he couldn't do it. He couldn't take it anymore. It felt so awful.

The sound of the cafeteria doors opening startled him and he leaned against the wall, closing his eyes and rubbing at his temples. Opening his eyes, he squinted through the glare of the lights to see Nathan.

Nathan looked him over. "First off- you look like shit. Generally when people look like shit, they don't go to school. Second- You told Justin about... Almost everything? Why Justin? I mean... He's Justin! That's not really the point right now, but for future reference... He's Justin."

"I owed him an explanation. He warded off Miss Whikler when I needed to leave and she wouldn't let me."

"Ah... Understandable. Just... Never mind. Whatever. You look like you're gonna be sick, so... Do you need a bathroom or something?"

Varian sighed and leaned his head back against the wall, closing his eyes and rubbing at his temples some more. "Not at the moment. I couldn't get there in time even if I did."

Nathan nodded slightly, crossing his arms over his chest and glancing back in the direction of the cafeteria.

"Go to them. You don't need to stay."

Nathan looked back at Varian. "I'd rather stay, if you don't mind. To make sure you don't fall over at least."

Varian looked back at Nathan. "I'd love it if you stayed. Do you have your cell phone?"

"Yeah, I always do."

Looking Nathan over, Varian tried to ingrain his image in his mind. If Nathan was the last thing he ever saw, he could die happy. Leaving everyone behind, just to be able to catch this one last glimpse...it was enough.

The tears started on their way down, and Varian ignored them. "Why'd you follow me?"

Nathan shrugged. "Justin said something about you being sick. I wanted to see how sick you were."

Varian turned away, avoiding Nathan's gaze. "The truth?"

Nathan stayed silent for a moment before responding. "My head hurts. And I want to know why I'm 'not allowed' to like you. The sick thing was only part of the reason."

Varian slowly turned to look back at Nathan, knowing he didn't have much time left. "Do you like me? Or am I just hearing things now too?"

"Well, I could be an ass and say that apparently I'm not allowed to like you, but... Yes, Varian. I think I like you." Nathan said quietly.

"I never said you weren't allowed to. I begged you not to." Varian said slightly defensive.

"... Which still doesn't make sense. Because, from my understanding, when you 'like' someone, you want them to like you back."

"Not being able to let go of the past is the reason why I begged you not to like me back. I couldn't live with myself if I hurt you the same way Grant hurt me. So I tried to stop it before it happened, when I realized how close we were becoming." Varian said gently.

"Grant, who is, as I understand it, a complete asshole, versus you, who is not an asshole. I can understand being a little afraid that it might happen again, but... I don't think you're the type of person to do that. To anyone." Nathan responded.

"Do you remember your promise to me? That'd you'd take care of Venerra if I wasn't able to?" Varian asked haltingly.

"... Yeah, I remember." Nathan said, frowning in uncertainty.

"...And the code...for the hospital?"

"... CNB."

Fishing in his pocket, Varian withdrew a folded scrap of paper and held it out to Nathan. "She gets out at 3:15, third door down the left hall past the office. Mrs. Kelly." he finished.

"... What's gonna happen to you if I have to get her?"

"I'll die." Varian said firmly, and then his vision tunneled, and turned black as he collapsed, not even feeling the impact jarring his skull, the little bit of blood left seeping out through his nose.

************************************************************************************************

Nathan froze for a minute before swearing, leaning down over Varian and trying to dig his cell phone out of his pocket. In his rush it took a little longer than it should have, but he managed and flipped it open, dialing 9-1-1.

"9-1-1, please state your emergency."

"U-um yeah, I need an ambulance, s-someone just collapsed."

"Can you tell us some specifics about the person?"

"... CNB?"

The woman on the other end was silent for a second before responding. "Thank you sir. Can you tell us where you are?"

After giving the school's location to the woman he hung up, sitting beside Varian. He didn't even know what to do; he'd never seen someone faint. To make matters worse he didn't even know if he was supposed to be doing anything, or if Varian was right and he had actually died.

Nathan shook his head, getting the last image out of his mind before deciding to just sit silently and wait. It was only a few minutes when he heard loud voices, as well as numerous footsteps as some people entered the hall with a stretcher, and behind them a small line of teachers.

"Were you the person who called?" one of the EMT's asked Nathan as the others lifted Varian onto the stretcher.

"... Yeah."

"How long has he been unconscious?"

Nathan thought for a minute before shrugging. "A little over five minutes."

The EMT nodded before walking away with the others, the teachers and Nathan watching them go around the corner before they left the school entirely.

One of the teachers put a hand on Nathan's shoulder, causing him to jump and look up to see Mr. Sample. "Why don't you go back to lunch?" he suggested.

Nathan nodded back briefly, standing shakily and making his way back to his table where Justin and Andrea were watching.

"What happened?" Justin asked curiously. Nathan sighed, resting his forehead in his hand.

"... I don't know."

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'Dr. Nhik, Dr. Nhik, we have a code: CNB, I repeat! Code: CNB'

Looking up from a pile of paper work, Dr. Nhik dropped his glasses and stood up. "Code: CNB? We haven't had one of those in ages." Frowning, he rushed out of his office down to the emergency drop off station, spotting Nurse Gale helping a stretcher come in.

The stretcher held a young male, around or past six feet who was pale, thin, and had blood trickling out of his nose.

"Status?" He asked, running along side the wheeling table to transport the boy to a critical observation room in the Changed Ward.

"Critical." Nurse Gale replied, wheeling the bed next to a stationary one. Several EMT's and nurses helped lift the boy onto the bed and immediately pulled his out shirt off, cutting his under shirt open to reveal an emaciated frame with a bluish tint to the skin.

IV's hooked up to both O negative blood, and saline solutions were inserted into the major veins on his arms, and the monitors were all hooked up as well.

"I want a blood sample from him before you start the IV's!" Dr. Nhik ordered, going over to the boy and lifting up his eye lids. Dull, dark ruddy brown eyes stared up at him without any response. Pulling his lips open he inspected the inside of his mouth, noting the needle-like fangs and good condition of the other teeth, all permanent.

"Does anyone know what happened?" he asked, hearing the heart monitor beeping regularly, but slowly. "Get some blood into him! We're losing him!" he snapped grabbing a blood drip and connecting it and reaching for another.

"We got a call during lunch at the local High School from a boy that reported someone collapsing. When they asked for specifics he said CNB."

"Can anyone tell me the name of the person who called?" Dr. Nhik asked, checking other vital signs.

"Some boy by the name of "Nathaniel Vogel"." An EMT said. "I asked him how long he was unconscious. He told me about five minutes. He was sitting with the patient."

"Did this boy come with a wallet?"

"Right here." Nurse Gale said, handing him the well worn leather wallet with paint finger prints staining it.

Flipping it open, he noted the ID. "Varian Joll, age 18, born 2/28/93. Dark brown hair, brown eyes with red tint. Six foot one. One hundred and eighty pounds."

Giving the wallet back, he looked up when the heart monitor began dropping. "Defibrillators STAT!" Dr. Nhik ordered taking them from a nurse, and charging them. "Clear!" Pushing then down over the boy's chest he saw the body jolt, and settle back down. Pulling them back he charged them once more. "Clear!" Repeating the process, he gave them back when the heart beat registered again after the body settled, the chest rising and falling weakly.

"Let's hook him up to an air pump and keep extra tabs and monitors on him." he said to everyone in general, and turned to Nurse Gale. "I want a full report on him, and the number of that Nathaniel kid. He knows something, and I need to know as much as I can about Varian."

"Right away," she said already heading out the door. And then paused, turning back to Dr. Nhik. "Why would a Changed vampire deny himself blood?"

"Maybe he didn't want to be Changed anymore...." Dr. Nhik responded, looking Varian over. "Or maybe there's more to this kid than we know."

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The rest of the day passed uneventfully as Nathan walked to his car quickly, reading over the slip of paper Varian had handed him while fiddling with his keys. He had fifteen minutes to get somewhere he'd never gone before to pick up a little girl.

Hopefully traffic wasn't too bad.

"Nathan! You're always in such a rush!" Justin said, coming up behind him to put a hand on his shoulder.

"Not right now Justin, this time I actually need to be somewhere."

"... Why?"

"Because," Nathan paused, opening his car door and turning to Justin, "I promised a certain asshole I'd go pick up a small person and watch her. And that small person get's out of school in..." Nathan glanced down at his cell phone, "About ten minutes."

"Oh... Alright. I'll talk to you later then." Justin said quietly, raising an eyebrow as Nathan slid into his seat and shut the door, starting the car.

He'd be lucky if he was on time.

The traffic wasn't as bad as he expected, and there were no cops out to ticket him whenever he sped. All in all, he made pretty good time, managing to reach the school a minute early.

Following Varian's directions, he stopped at the third door on the left, glancing in through a small window and looking around. He didn't happen to see Venerra, but then again he couldn't quite remember what she looked like either.

His question was answered when the class let out, causing him to back away as a sea of children ran out. His attention was caught as a girl stopped in front of him, undoubtedly Venerra. She looked up, taking his hand and attempting a smile. "I'll be good. I promised Varian."

Wow. She was half his age and taking it better. Though she probably had more warning than he did.

Nathan nodded to her, leading her out to the car. "Well, thank you. I appreciate it."

He felt the grip on his hand tighten, making him glance down to see Venerra leaning against him and crying silently. Sighing, he bent down to her height.

"Um... I have to go to work, so I'll bring you there with me, and after that... Would you be more comfortable in your house or mine?" he asked.

She starred back at him with wide green eyes, making him turn his head slightly. "I don't want to be alone. Don't make me go home."

Green... What did Varian say green was? ... Something negative...

"... No, I'd be with you. I promised Varian I would watch you until he got better. You're not gonna be alone. But I don't want to take you back to my house if you're not gonna be okay." he responded quietly.

Her eyes shifted to a sparkling gold. "You'll go home with me?"

"Yeah, I will. You don't have to worry."

The hug he received caught him off guard as he froze, feeling her hold onto his shirt and smile. "... Okay."

He patted her back lightly, sighing. "Okay... Well, come on. I'm late for work as it is... In the back you go."

She let go, skipping to the back seat, turning to smile at him before climbing in. Nathan caught the gap in her front teeth, making him smile for a minute before shaking his head and getting into the car himself, pulling away and heading for Millie's shop.

Work passed quickly. Millie had given them an odd look when they came in, but Venerra had gone over to her and any questions had been forgotten, allowing Nathan to slip easily into work. It was nearly dark when they locked the store up, Venerra climbing into the back seat once again as Nathan started the car and yawned.

Now, he just had to face Elle.

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A knock at his door drew Dr. Nhik from reading Varian's patient profile.

Setting it down, He got up and answered the door. Nurse Gale was standing there with a manila envelope, marked BLOOD TEST RESULTS.

"Here are the results you ordered from the blood sample from Varian."

Taking the envelope, Dr. Nhik set it down on his desk and looked back at Nurse Gale. "Thank you. Go home Gale, you've been here long enough. Your daughters need you."

"I will. Bye Dr. Nhik."

When the door clicking shut filled Dr. Nhik's senses, he went back to his desk and picked up the file. Pulling out the pictures of Varian, he rested his chin in his hand and gazed at them. There were pictures of him when he was as young as an infant to pictures taken of him in the hospital. But he looked the same, younger or older, he was the same. Gazing at them a little longer, he slid them back into his envelope, and picked up the blood test results.

Pulling the flap open, he removed the papers, looking at the physical image of the blood first. What he saw puzzled him beyond his knowledge. The blood they'd drawn from Varian was inky black with a red tint and was filled with tiny clots. It looked thick and sticky, and he assumed it smelled foul.

Flipping the page, he came face to face with the chart of levels of chemicals and substances in the blood.

Oxygen levels were startling low. "You were practically suffocating with every breath you took...." he whispered, looking at the CO2 levels. They were high, which was expected, since there was a depletion of oxygen. But the levels of zinc were almost nonexistent, while selenium was abnormally high, and the iron too was almost fatally low.

Dr. Nhik couldn't make sense of the toxicology. The report stated that he was suffering from mineral toxicity, but his physical state and health was both coinciding with this idea and clashing with it.

Sighing, he rubbed his face, trying and failing to make sense of Varian's blood report. Groaning, he set the report down and got up to leave his office, heading for Varian's room. Peeking inside he could see his outline behind the privacy curtain and the rest of his body that wasn't covered by it. Walking in, he stood at the bedside, watching Varian.

He was currently in a comatose state. Alive, but not responding. He was riding the edge between coma and death or life.

"But without knowing what's wrong with you, the only thing I can do is keep you stable. But I failed at that even didn't I?" Dr. Nhik whispered, brushing a stray curl from Varian's forehead away.

"Dr. Nhik? We need you in the Observation center."

Looking up towards the door, he saw a familiar nurse. A male nurse. His name was either Jessie or Jarren. He couldn't remember at the moment. "On my way." he said leaving the unconscious Varian to follow the nurse. But try as he might to get Varian out of his head, his thoughts kept returning to that Nathaniel kid. They needed to talk.

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Nathan had long since decided that his house would be best to take Venerra too. The only problem would be his parents. He hadn't called beforehand or given any warning that he was bringing a child home with him.

Hopefully they wouldn't react too badly.

Nathan ushered Venerra into the house before him, shutting the door and nearly jumping upon seeing Elle sitting in the living room, staring at the pair intently.

Venerra looked up with wide, sparkling blue eyes and smile, showing her missing teeth. "Are you Nathan's mommy?"

Elle seemed torn between hugging the small girl to death, and beating the living hell out of Nathan. Personally he hoped it would be the former of the two.

She frowned slightly, glancing over to Nathan curiously "Nathan... Something I should know about?" she asked. Nathan glared back.

"She's not mine, if that's what you're asking. A friend of mine is sick and I said I'd watch her." he mumbled. At that moment Venerra left his side, going over to Elle and taking her hand while looking at her with a sort of awed expression.

"You're really pretty. I never saw my mommy."

At that moment she dropped any further accusations, leaning over the arm of the chair and sighing as she patted Venerra's head lightly, if not slightly awkwardly. "... I'm sorry to hear that, sweetie. My name's Elle... What's yours?"

Nathan smiled slightly, crossing his arms over his chest. Maybe she wouldn't be too bad about this; and if Elle was good about it, Eric would be fine, since he followed nearly her every decision. This might not be as bad as he was expecting.

Venerra laughed and smiled wider. "My name's Venerra, and it's okay! I've got my brother Varian. He loves me."

Nathan caught Elle's glance toward him, ducking his head slightly and putting his hand on his hips as she nodded. "... Varian? That's an interesting name. I don't believe Nathan's mentioned it."

Venerra glanced down at her feet sheepishly before throwing an apologetic look to Nathan, who shrugged back in response. "He's... Odd. Don't really hang out with him too often." he mumbled. Elle stared back, raising an eyebrow.

"... Ah. Odd. Very well. How long will she be here?"

Nathan hesitated. He wasn't entirely sure what had happened to Varian in the first place, so he wasn't about to estimate a time of when he would actually be well enough to look after Venerra. "... We're not sure yet."

Venerra looked up at that, bright eyed once again. "Just until my brother get's better. He's sick." she explained. Elle smiled down at her.

"Well, let's hope he gets better soon."

Nathan nodded slightly in agreement, rolling his eyes as he walked into the kitchen. He knew that when Venerra went to bed Elle would most likely have a very in-depth conversation about Varian.

Fuck.

************************************************************************************************

"Any improvement to his physical state?" Dr. Nhik asked, looking the still Varian over. His skin wasn't as pale and sallow looking, and he noticed he'd lost some of the tan already.

Nurse Gale looked up from adjusting the cotton mesh blanket. "Our tests this morning indicate his vitals are stable but tipsy. Their health could plummet at any time. His complexion has had some significant changes, but he still looks very pale and withdrawn. There was also a minor gain in weight, but it is only equal to the volume of blood he's been given. Other than that, no other signs of improvement."

Sighing, Dr. Nhik picked up his clipboard and checked it. The boy that had called in Varian's collapse was named "Nathaniel Vogel".

"Can someone get me this "Nathaniel" kids number? I want to ask him some questions."

"It's right here." Nurse Gale said, maneuvering her pregnant bulk around the bed and giving him a slip of paper.

"Thanks." Dr. Nhik said, taking it and stepping out of the room through a door that led to a small balcony where he could call safely. Pulling out his cell phone, he dialed Nathaniel's number and listened for the ringing.

"Um... Hello?"

"Hello. Is this Nathaniel Vogel? My name is Dr. Nhik, I'm calling to ask some questions about Varian." Holding his breath, Dr. Nhik grabbed onto the railing, awaiting the response.

"... Oh! Oh, um yeah, I'm Nathan."

Smiling to himself, Dr. Nhik prepared his next line.

"Nathan then. Did Varian exhibit any signs of hunger? Like a stomach ache or dulled reflexes? Maybe even a headache or two?" Classic symptoms of hunger, Dr. Nhik thought, surely he would have noticed them.

"Uh... Headaches, sort of. There was only the one day I remember that he seemed pretty bad off. Besides today."

Frowning, Dr. Nhik tried to think about the answer Nathan had given. "Bad off? What other symptoms did he have? Or do you not know?"

"Um... I'm not entirely sure. He didn't really say much..." Nathan trailed off.

Pausing, Dr. Nhik could feel his frustration levels rising. "Do you know of anybody that he might have talked to? Maybe somebody that you talk to as well? A mutual friend perhaps...?" Dr. Nhik drummed his fingers on the railing, hoping Nathan had something useful to say.

"Um... I know he talks to my friend Justin, and my Aunt. I'm not sure if he says anything to his sister or not."

"Has your friend Justin told you about any strange behavior from Varian lately? Or your aunt? And I wasn't aware he had a sister. Is she in custody of a legal guardian right now?" Sister? When had he had a sister?

"Justin tells me about him during lunch since they have a class together. All he's said is that Varian was sick and ran out of class twice. My aunt and I... Aren't on best terms, so she never tells me anything. And um... I have his sister, actually."

"Sick? Hunger symptoms don't include sick symptoms. And he's run out of the classroom twice? And if you don't mind me asking, what's his sister's name?"

"Venerra. And yeah. Apparently Justin helped the second time since the teacher was being a bitch... Sorry, um... She was being rude."

Chuckling softly, Dr. Nhik thought of his reply. "I'm afraid the sick theory isn't sitting well with me. Can you tell me the specifics of the symptoms? And if not you, then perhaps his sister? If she's available."

"Um... She might be better... Hang on..."

Waiting patiently, Dr. Nhik could hear the transfer of the phone and Nathan speaking gently to somebody.

"Hello?" came a tentative voice, sweet and soft.

"Hello, you must be Venerra. My name is Dr. Nhik."

There was a pause and he could hear Venerra asking a question to Nathan who softly ushered her on. "Are you Varian's doctor?"

"Yes I am. I have so-" Dr. Nhik was cut off by Venerra's rushed question.

"Is he getting better? Can you fix it?"

Dr. Nhik had to pause and think over his reply. Venerra sounded young. "He's not getting better, no, but he isn't getting worse. We have him in the middle of the two, okay?"

He could her sniffling on the other line, but she still talked to him anyway, even though her voice sounded strained. "Okay." She whispered.

"I have some questions for you, can you help me by answering them?"

"Varian told me to never answer questions for a stranger, especially on the phone because they'll try and sell me something."

Laughing, Dr. Nhik smiled while replying. "Varian was a very smart brother. But I'm his doctor, not a stranger. And I'm not going to sell you stuff, I just have some questions to ask. Your answers will help me make him better."

There was some more muffled talking on the other line, but Venerra continued to talk to him. "Okay! What are the questions?"

"Was Varian sick, Venerra? Like with the flu?" Dr. Nhik asked. Certainly his own sister would know.

"Changed vampires don't get the flu. They aren't even supposed to get sick." Venerra's firm response confirmed his own thoughts. Changed vampires don't get sick. They're healthier as Changed than any other time in their lives. Which didn't make sense.

"Did you see your brother do anything else out of the ordinary then?"

"He took pain medicine once. He said he had a bad headache and the medicine would make it better."

Dr. Nhik paused. Headache. A migraine perhaps? But wouldn't his body heal it right away?

"Okay, that's useful. Anything else? Something that would confuse you about his behavior?"

There was a pause. "He almost dropped me. I slid off his knee and he caught me later than usual."

Dr. Nhik released his grip on the railing. His reflexes were bad? They usually dulled when hungry, but almost dropping her?

"Did you see him do something he never did? Maybe he tried to hide it from you because he didn't want you to be scared?" Dr. Nhik pressed. Surely there was more.

"He bled a lot. And I saw him throw up a couple times."

Dr. Nhik froze, the blood in his veins turning ice cold. "Where did he bleed from?"

"His nose. It was really bad. He wouldn't stop bleeding for hours at a time."

Nose bleeds? For hours? And throwing up? Changed vampires never did that. Never.

"Did you see what he threw up? Was it dark? And sticky looking?"

"Yeah! It was black almost. And had a red tint. And there were little sticky clumps in it too. His eyes changed color too. Does that help?"

Nearly dropping the phone, Dr. Nhik sat down, backing against the wall and thinking of his next thing to say. Venerra knew a lot. He couldn't imagine the things she'd seen.

"Yes. Thank you Venerra. Bye now." he said before shutting off his phone.

Slipping it back into his pocket, he got up and ran inside the hospital, bolting for Varian's room, not caring that he was moving too fast to look normal.

Bursting into the room, he saw several startled nurses look up from connecting a bag of Changed blood.

"Stop that IV NOW!" he yelled.

They stopped and set it back down in the tray they'd gotten it from.

"What's going on Dr. Nhik?" Nurse Gale asked.

"If you give him that blood he'll die. His body is rejecting itself. He's going through Rejection."

************************************************************************************************

Dr. Nhik had called during dinner, which had irritated Nathan slightly, but he eager to hear about Varian. Once Venerra had hung up, they resumed eating. Spaghetti, courtesy of Elle, who had dragged Eric out to do some food shopping as soon as he got home, complaining about having nothing to eat. Nathan poked his food around with his fork, not very hungry, but knowing he should probably eat. Glancing at Venerra, he cleared his throat softly, sitting up in his chair.

"So, what do you usually eat? I'll need to know to tell Mom to get it for you."

Venerra tilted her head, her hair falling into her face and glinting in the sunlight coming in through the windows, "Um... Whatever Varian can afford. We don't have a lot of money, so I'll eat just about anything." she said. Nathan stared back, nodding slightly.

".... I'll just tell her to get whatever then..." he mumbled. Elle would know what to buy; she had had a child. He hadn't. And for the life of himself he couldn't remember what it was like to be between the ages of five and eight.

She laughed, her eyes shifting to purple. "But if it helps, I like Macaroni and Cheese."

Nathan nodded more confidently, looking down at his plate and twirling some of the noodles onto his fork. "Thank you. Much better... Also, what time do you go to bed? And do you do anything before that?"

Venerra tilted her head again with a thoughtful expression. "I have to go to bed by eight. Varian says I need a lot more sleep than him because I'm growing and he's not. And I brush my teeth and change into pajamas."

"Alright. Pretty simple then. You'll be sleeping in the guest room, is that okay?"

She paused, looking down at the floor and nibbling on her bottom lip. "...Is it okay if I sleep with you? I don't want to be alone..." she said meekly. Nathan hesitated, looking at her for a minute before nodding quickly. "Yeah...That's fine. It's up to you. But I probably won't actually go to bed until about ten." he warned.

Looking up with a cheery, bright-eyed expression, she smiled. "Okay! I promise I'll be good."

"... Alright. That's good. Elle and Eric should be back soon, so then I guess you'll have to meet him." Nathan mumbled thoughtfully, looking down at his untouched plate, sighing before standing and taking it to the counter. Yet another thing Elle would undoubtedly pick on when they got back, he was sure. Venerra was silent for a moment before looking up, her eyes suddenly filled with curiosity.

"Is Eric your daddy?"

Nathan stared back for a second. "... Adoptive father, actually. According to Mom, my real dad died when I was really little." he responded quietly. He was unsure as to how truthful it was, honestly. She had a tendency to avoid the subject, and then give what sounded like practiced answers when it was breached.

"Oh..." Venerra said empathetically, "My daddy left too. I never saw him either."

Nathan smiled slightly, trying to understand how in the name of God Venerra's parents had decided to leave her. She really was adorable. "It sucks." he admitted.

"... When I'm sad, Varian takes me for a walk to see all the plants and animals around the farm. He always says he'd take me somewhere like the Zoo when he could."

"The Zoo's nice. Used to go a lot when I was younger, until Eric got his job. Monkeys scared the sh-- crap out of me... We'll have to see about that." He said. He wouldn't mind taking her to a zoo, but he wasn't sure if Varian would appreciate it, since he wasn't with her... Maybe he could convince Varian to go too...

Venerra smiled, practically radiating pure joy. "Really? I've never been to the Zoo before. Yay!" she exclaimed, bouncing up in down with excitement and joy. Nathan laughed, shaking his head.

"Calm down, there's still the Varian issue. I don't know how he'd feel if you went without him. He might not be too bad... We'll see. Do you want to go now, or wait until he's out of the hospital?"

She paused, turning a thoughtful expression toward him. "I think Varian would like to go. Especially if you went with us."

Nathan hesitated, smile faltering for barely a second before it remained stable. "... Then we'll wait."

************************************************************************************************

Shifting files and papers around on his desk, Dr. Nhik wracked his brain for anything else on Rejection besides the basics on the files. Thinking on it now, he wasn't coming up with much.

The Rejection theory just wasn't making much sense, but it fit a lot better than the sick theory. Sighing, he tossed the papers on his desk watching them scatter and got up walking towards Varian's room.

Pulling the curtain aside, he stepped in and closed it, listening intently. Glancing back at Varian, he silently made his way to the bed and looked down at him. His normal complexion was almost half way returned, but there was no improvement on his vitals and his heart beat was still very faint but there. The blood IV's weren't doing a whole lot, but there was some improvement.

He just didn't understand. Looking back at Varian, he smiled softly. He'd grown so much, and even though he was malnourished and emaciated, he still looked quite cute. Looking around, he fixed his gaze on the closed privacy curtain. He couldn't hear anyone even remotely close.

Turning back to Varian, he breathed in deeply and let his breath out slowly. Studying his face, Dr. Nhik focused on his lips. They weren't too full or thin. Was he really thinking what he was? And would it be wrong to do what he wanted?

Swallowing, he slowed his racing heart and gripped the bar above Varian's head. Bending down, he hovered above Varian, checking intently for any signs of wakefulness. Nothing.

Hesitating, he closed his eyes and pushed through the cloud of uncertainty and pressed his lips to Varian's.

They were soft and malleable and molded to his.

Instantly a bolt of heat shot through him, and he gripped the metal bars, forcing himself to break the kiss though his body yearned for more. Gasping, he stumbled backwards and panted, his legs shaking, his heart racing with the desperate want to kiss him again and again. It was the same. Nothing had changed. But shouldn't Varian have responded to the kiss? Had he truly moved on?

Shaking his head, Dr. Nhik grabbed his coat and wrapped it loosely around himself. He was going home. He couldn't be here, not now. He didn't want to be tempted to do more. Rushing out of the room he quickly left the hospital, signing out and bolting for his car. Plunking down onto the seat, he closed the door and leaned back, closing his eyes and breathing. Once his bearings were collected, he put his keys in the ignition and headed home. He needed his wife. She'd understand.