Anti-Venom

Loading the ford isn't hard. They only have the one bag between them; which they toss onto the back seat, and then get into the car themselves. Andy has left them a debit card in the sun visor on the drivers side, and a blood supply in the back for Patrick as well.

"Are you ready?" Patrick asks as he starts the car, to which Gwen shudders a little. He tells her not to worry, and that everything will be fine; and then reverses off of the driveway, and begins the drive.

"You okay?" Patrick asks as they make their way out of the city, and onto the I94. Gwen just nods silently, and looks out of the window at the world passing by. She knows what conversation is coming up, she can already tell, they haven't had it yet and now they're going to be driving solid for a day, so it's bound to come up.

"So, can we talk about why you turned to prostitution?" That's the question she's been waiting for.

"What about it?" She asks Patrick in return.

"Well," He starts, "You dropped out of high school, and became a prostitute. I know you sold your virginity. I'm not going to lie that really pissed me off, mainly because I wanted that but oh well. Other than that though, it was a really stupid idea. Why?"

"Because I was alone and I needed the money." She shrugs. "My family left me with debts, and nobody else was going to help me with that. You had the money but you were nowhere. Andy had the money but he was nowhere. I had to fend for myself."

Patrick doesn't reply, he feels guilty really, because deep down he knows that he really could have done more to help her. She was right, all the people who should have been there for her weren't there at all.

There is no more talk between them for a while now. However they do hold hands as Patrick drives. The temperature of his skin is so cold, it's something that Gwen really doesn't think she'll be able to come to terms with. When they slept together for the first time last night, all she could focus on was how cold he was. Yes it was great sex, and it was sex that actually meant something; but he was freezing.

"Why?" Gwen asks suddenly. "My eighteenth birthday is in 2 days. Why now, why not when I'm like, I don't know 35 or something?"

"Because Brendon and his brother both saw Andy's death not so long ago. He's going to be killed by Ryan in about 5 or 6 years time. Our son, our immortal hunter needs to be at least 4 years old by that point."

"He'll be a child, I won't put him at risk that young." Gwen argues.

"He'll be immortal, half vampire, with the hunter gene. He's going to mature and grow extremely quickly. Around about four years to every human year so times that by four and he'll actually be sixteen."

"What?" Gwen asks, "that makes no sense he-"

"It will do." Patrick smiles. "Hey do me a favour and get me a pack of blood from the supply back there, I need some."

Gwen nods and unclups her seatbelt. She turns and reaches to get one of the blood bags out of the supply Andy has given them, and then hands it over to Patrick, who drinks from it with ease; but makes a somewhat disgusted face after he's finished.

"What?" Gwen asks.

"Deer blood." Patrick replies, "not nice. I guess I'm just going to have to adjust."

He holds onto the steering wheel with both hands again now, and tries to shake off the after taste of what he's just had, but it isnt going away at all.

"What blood did you have at Andy's?" Gwen asks.

"Usually Spencer's." He replies. It's an answer that has Gwen stunned. "It's how I survive sunlight."

"So how will you survive sunlight now?" Gwen asks, honestly concerned as to whether Patrick should be driving or not if he's going to suddenly face trouble from the sunlight.

"To be honest I don't know how long drinking his blood has effect." Patrick answers her question. "So for all I know it could be another decade before the sun becomes an issue for me."

They fall into a comfortable silence now, and just focus on the road ahead of them for a few hours before Patrick pulls into a service stop so that Gwen can get food. To her surprise though, the others do not pull into the services with them, they just carry on.

"Andy wants to get there before us to talk to the minister we're renting the houses from." Patrick tells her. "They'll go straight through, whereas we are stopping overnight."

"We're stopping now?" Gwen asks, surprised as they have only gotten as far as Indianapolis.

"No we're just eating now, then we've got another four or so hours, and that'll be it for the day." Patrick explains, and pulls into a parking space. Gwen gets out of the car first, and watches as Patrick reaches round to grab another pouch from the blood supply before he too gets out of the car, and locks it behind him.

The services they have stopped at has a picture perfect diner. Black and white floor that resembles a chess board, metallic tables surrounded by red vinyl seating, a classic jukebox against one of the walls. Along the right hand side of the diner runs a bar style counter, with red vinyl bar stools. The walls are adorned with vinyl records, and pictures of celebrities from yesteryear such as Ellis Presley, Marylin Monroe, and Buddy Holly. Behind the counter the kitchen is in full view, and on the wall that separates the kitchen from the diner.... which seems pointless as it's all of 3 feet wide; is a framed photo of JFK hanging proudly. The smell of coffee and of greasy food adds to the ambience of the place, and just to top it all off; Johnny B Goode is playing softly over the speaker system.

"Wow, quite a place you picked to stop at." Gwen tells Patrick as they walk through the diner to take a seat in one of the booths in the centre.

"You impressed?" Patrick asks. "I didn't count on it being quite like this I just saw the word diner and pulled in."

Gwen smiles and takes a menu out of the little menu holder that sits at the inner end of the table.

"Vanilla shake, chicken combo basket and regular fries." Patrick seems to read Gwen's mind, much to her surprise. "What? I just know you is all."

"Okay, what about you?" She asks.

"I can't eat human food. I can drink but I can't eat." Patrick replies. "Well I can I guess but it all tastes like shit and makes me feel sick."

"Don't want that happening." Gwen smiles, and then looks up as a somewhat cheerful waitress comes over to take their order, which Patrick gives, and so not to make it awkward for Gwen, he orders himself something.... not that he's going to eat it.

"Is that everything?" The waitress asks, her smile never fading.

"Uh yeah, where's the bathrooms?" Patrick asks.

"Over there hunny." The smiley waitress replies, and then waltzes off.

"Well she was bubbly." Patrick has a quiet little laugh.

"Not to mention totally fake." Gwen laughs along.

"Hmm, maybe she knows what I am." Patrick teases, and then gets up and heads off to the bathroom.

"You want my advice sweetheart?" The same waitress suddenly calls out across the diner to Gwen, who looks over at her completely stunned.

"Who me?" She asks.

"Nobody else in here right this second." The waitress replies. "Rick's a good guy, he'll protect you with everything he has in him. Trust me all he's ever done is think about you. Stick with him, don't ever question anything he tells you, or suggests doing. Trust me it's all in your own interest."

Gwen nods in acknowledgment, and relaxes back into the seat now.

"Just saw the sign diner and pulled in, yeah right." She giggles a little to herself, and is then rejoined by Patrick, who is looking a little more refreshed than when he went in there.

"I won't drink blood in public." He explains to Gwen, who just smiles, and reaches over the table to take his hand. "So, you feeling okay? I know everything's all happened a bit too suddenly and too fast."

"Oh now you ask if I'm okay." Gwen laughs. "You know, you uproot me, tell me all sorts of things exist and I'm some sort of key, and I'm going to have a baby and wow you're the angel Gabriel."

Patrick can't help but to laugh at the statement there.

"Here you go." The waitress announces as she brings their drinks over, vanilla milkshake for Gwen, complete with one refill, and a coffee for Patrick. "I put a little something extra in it for you hunny, from Spencer."

Patrick looks at her and she smiles even more before she heads off back to the counter.

"You just randomly chose this place huh?" Gwen laughs, and Patrick lowers his head a little before shrugging.

"Okay so I may have been here a few times before and that may be Spencer's mom but oh well who cares?" He speaks with a cheek to his tone.

"That's Spencer's mom?" Gwen asks.

"Yep." He replies, and watches as the waitress waves when Gwen turns to look at her.

"Is she..."

"No." Patrick cuts her question off. "Her mother was though. It skipped a generation, like it normally does. Sometimes is doesnt, but it's supposed to."

"What about Brendon's family are they-"

"Kicked the poor boy and his brother out and left them for dead." The waitress butts in as she places the food down on the table now. "Brendon and Matthew come from an extremely religious family. When they started having visions, their parents sought help and tried to have them exorcised. Of course the boys just ran away. They got caught up by their parents who said they were taking them to see someone so they could all get advice on how to live with the visions. They drove out from Vegas, all the way to here, made out they had to pull over to check the engine. The two boys got out of the car, and watched as their parents drove off."

"Seriously?" Gwen asks, in complete shock as to the cruelty of it.

"Yeah." Patrick nods. "Joe and Andy found them as they were driving through. Brought them here. They met Spencer, and they all got along, and they couldn't be separated."

"But they're so young now it-"

"I let Spencer go with Andy and Joe because I knew that's where he needed to be." The waitress tells them. "He's been so much better since he went with them. He's getting stronger, too strong for me to handle. Joe and Andy though, they can handle him."

"Do you wanna eat this?" Patrick asks Spencer's mother as he indicate his food. She gives him a sly smile and takes the fries from Patrick.

"So how is my boy?" Spencer's mom asks.

"He's good." Patrick replies. "He froze the entire of Chicago the other night. Took a lot out of him though."

"Is he still collapsing after doing big things like that?" Is the next question asked.

"Yeah, but he'll be able to handle it eventually." Patrick tells her. "Right now he's working with Joe to strengthen an ability to do what they've decided to call locking in. It's basically rendering a person or being completely paralysed with the inability to communicate except to who Spencer chooses they can communicate to and with. He's done it to me a few times, he's getting better at it. He usually practices when, well, you know."

"A great defence mechanism I suppose." Spencer's mother smiles, "And one I should think is going to be greatly needed."

"Yeah." Sighs Patrick, "Especially if any of what Brendon's seen happens."

"What's Brendon seen?" Gwen cuts in and asks. Patrick and Spencer's mom just look at each other, and rather than answer, Spencer's mom gets up and tells the two they'd better hurry along seeing as they've all finished now.

So with absolutely no need to pay the bill, Patrick and Gwen get up and go back out to the car, to get back on the road, not stopping again until they reach the motel they are staying in for the night.

It's dark now, but the motel is brightly lit and has under cover parking, meaning the ford will be safe for the night. Patrick grabs a few pouches from the blood supply and stashed them in his jacket before he goes into the office to get their room key, and then leads Gwen up the flight of steps and along to their room. For a motel it isn't bad. There are two double beds, a nightstand between them with a phone on, a desk opposite he beds, upon which sits a television. There's an ensuite bathroom, which is always a good thing and the shower is the first thing that both Patrick and Gwen make use of. When they're done they simply towel themselves dry and curl up in bed together.