Upon opening the doors for business the next night and setting about waiting on the first customer of the night, Claire caught Finn watching her questioningly. “Yes?” she asked him as she smiled over at him from where she waited behind the bar and he had taken his usual seat at the end of it.

“I just…” Finn began, “did you really mean it when you said you’d help that man pay for medical school?”

Claire looked down for only a moment, though managed a smile, “why shouldn’t I? He’s been sweet to me” she stated quietly.

“Well, of course he’s been sweet. You’re beautiful” Finn stated, “but it’s still rather strange.”

Claire just shook her head, “thank you, and how so?”

“You barely know him and yet you’re offering to give him quite a large sum of money just because he said he had a need for it?” Finn pointed out warily.

Claire sighed slightly as she continued looking downwards, “we have more money than we really have any need for at all. So I may as well help out someone who doesn’t; while I can” she added more quietly.

Finn let out a shaky breath at that reminder before he couldn’t help moving from his seat to come join her behind the bar. He gently touched her shoulder; “I just worry that you may be letting him take advantage” he dared, though quietly as it was near impossible for him to offer much disagreement at all to one he had such a bond to.

“You worry that I’m letting a mortal take advantage of me?” Claire asked with a wry smile, “are you forgetting I can sense lies and emotions and intentions of any mortal I’ve ever met?” she gently reminded, “it would be extremely difficult to not know which of them I could trust, wouldn’t it?”

“So you believe he’s trustworthy then? Even though…” Finn didn’t finish as he just shook his head.

“Even though what?” Claire pressed, though continued smiling up at where Finn did tower eight inches taller than her, despite the facts of which of them was truly the stronger one.

“Just, every time you turned away, I saw the way his eyes moved over you” Finn stated softly.

Claire couldn’t help a small laugh, considering how much desire Finn himself held for her. “So, I shouldn’t trust him because he’s physically attracted to me?” she asked with a second small laugh.

“I just mean that he could have less than honorable intentions in trying to gain your trust, or your money” Finn attempted.

Another chuckle from Claire, “he never actually asked me for the money. And he protected that honor of mine before I started bringing you along. And if I never trusted any mortal who was attracted to me… that would leave out every single one of them, considering” she added in reference to the magnetism that no mortal could ever resist for long due to that powerful blood of hers.

Finn looked down then, considering he knew the truth of her words, “I guess I just worry about you” he admitted softly as he moved to place a gentle kiss upon her cool, pale cheek.

“Which is another reason why I bring you here with me every night” Claire smiled as she moved a hand up to curl her fingers in his hair affectionately.

“Another reason?” Finn grinned as he looked back into her emerald eyes, “what’s the first reason?” he teased as he covered her lips in a soft kiss.

“I suppose that’s a nice reason too” Claire chuckled back as the kiss ended.

“I could be full of reasons” Finn joked, his desire for her easily enflamed as well as bolstered by them being hidden behind the bar of a still quite empty tavern. He then gently kissed her neck as his hands boldly reached downward to begin hiking up her skirt.

Claire couldn’t help giggling as she felt his warm hands moving up over her cool thighs beneath the long skirts, “you do realize one of our five total customers could come through the door at any moment?”

“And that somehow turns me on even more” he growled playfully against her neck.

Claire couldn’t help another small giggle that turned to a gasp as his hands found their way beneath her undergarment too, “and if they do walk in on this, it may make it even more difficult to convince them that I’m a fine, upstanding businesswoman” she chuckled again, only to have the sound cut short as she felt his fingers beginning to move against her, trying to coax her into bringing her body to life at his touch.

“Good thing they can’t see behind the bar then” Finn teased further as he continued to caress her into waking up all those long dead nerve endings.

Claire couldn’t help the slight moan at his attentions as she gave in and allowed her body to heat and moisten at his touch. Finn just smiled against her neck at the feel of that wetness he had been attempting to coax out of her. In another moment, his fingers were moving inside her as well as against her, pushing her toward that pleasure he loved giving her so much.

Just as the slightest tremors began in reaction to Finn’s touch, the dreaded interruption of the sound of the door opening did cause them to quickly move apart, both looking rather flushed then. To make matters worse, it was of course Kristofer who was their first customer of the night.

“Evening?” he greeted them with an awkward smile, getting the immediate sense that he had interrupted something, even though all he had truly witnessed was them startling apart and looking down with more than a bit of their own awkwardness.

“Evening” Claire managed a greeting, hoarse though it was. Finn simply nodded to the other man, his own eyes averted as he shuffled toward his usual seat in silence.

Kristofer continued to look at them both skeptically as he took his usual seat. Claire hurried to turn to get him his drink of choice as his eyes moved between them both again, easily remembering how intimately they had been speaking with one another the previous night as well. Just as Kristofer began letting his mind form those two separate occurrences into a more valid suspicion, he noted Finn nervously lifting a hand to push a curl from his forehead.

“You’re hand’s bleeding” Kristofer immediately noted with worry. Finn immediately blushed redder and dropped his hand from sight.

“I cut myself on a glass earlier” Finn came up with the first excuse he could think of, “I’ll go attend to it” he added quickly as he rushed up the stairs to the water basin that had been placed there by the previous owner to allow certain of his employees to wash up between customers.

Claire looked nearly as mortified as Finn as she shakily slid Kristofer’s drink to him. Kristofer looked at her just as questioningly as he took the glass before speaking, “I should probably have a look at his hand. There seemed to be quite a bit of blood” he worried aloud.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine. But we can ask when he returns” she added quietly as she shook her head at the whole of the scenario. Considering she knew quite well that Finn was not remotely hurt and the blood was actually her own. The blood itself was simply a consequence of their earlier activity, considering that she only truly had one liquid within her body with which to perform any activities of that nature at all.

Upstairs Finn washed Claire’s blood from his hands, muttering slightly to himself through his still remaining blush. More than aware that letting Kristofer know what the actual source of the blood was and the reasons for it were sure to break the most important law held by his Kindred masters; Finn had to come up with some solution that would satisfy the good doctor as well as maintain the Masquerade for Claire.

With a deep breath, Finn reached for the small knife he kept in his pocket just in case he did need to handle any particularly volatile customers from night to night. He then took one more deep breath before taking the knife and slicing open his hand with a wince. Taking another moment to wash away his own blood then and return the knife to his pocket, he slowly made his way back down the stairs again.

“Are you all right?” Kristofer asked upon the other man’s return.

“Just a cut. I’ve had worse” Finn attempted an answer as he moved to reclaim his seat.

“Still, I should have a look at it” Kristofer replied with concern as he moved from his own seat, causing Claire’s face to crease with worry. Though as she looked over at Finn, he cast the slightest glance of reassurance before Kristofer was then next to him, reaching for his injured hand.

“See, just a cut” Finn repeated as he offered the hand to Kristofer. Claire then moved closer as well. Upon seeing the slice across his palm she couldn’t help a look of equal parts concern and surprise.

“I should probably wrap it up though,” Kristofer stated as he reached for his glass and dripped a bit of alcohol into the wound as Finn flinched a bit, “do you have an extra cloth?” he asked Claire as he set his drink upon the bar again.

“Um, sure” Claire offered as she reached for an unused cloth and offered it to him, despite knowing that Finn’s hand would most likely be completely healed by morning due to her blood running through his veins.

After attending to Finn’s injury, minor though it was, Kristofer returned to his seat and nervously smiled at his companions. His mind obviously was still preoccupied with their apparent closeness that he had just nearly witnessed on two separate occasions now.

“So, doctor, have you thought more about my offer?” Claire asked with a smile over at Kristofer after another long moment of silence.

Kristofer smiled nervously at the reminder, “believe me, I’ve always wanted to become a real doctor since I noticed I had a… gift for healing. But to let you do something like that for me?” he just shook his head.

Claire smiled again, “ok, so what can I do to make you feel more comfortable about me helping you out?”

Kristofer laughed awkwardly again, “I hadn’t really thought about it.”

“Then think about it now” Claire smiled sweetly.

Kristofer was quiet for another long moment. When he noticed those beautiful green eyes on him, awaiting his answer, he couldn’t help another awkward laugh, “honestly I can’t think of anything that would make me feel like I deserved such generosity.”

Claire sighed softly as she debated her next statement, “what if I told you I’d just like to help out however I can, while I still can. And providing the world with a kind, gentle soul who has the desire to help others; well, that seems like a pretty good way to help” she told him softly.

Kristofer narrowed his eyes slightly as he took in her entire statement and focused in on one part of it, “while you still can?” he asked worriedly.

Claire and Finn both looked at the floor in reaction to him latching onto that bit of her response, “it may sound silly, but I have reason to believe I may not…” she swallowed hard, “may not have a lot of time left” she added in a whisper.

Finn let out a sad shaky breath as Kristofer paled ever so slightly before managing to ask for more of a clarification than that, “meaning?”

“Like I said, it’s just…” Claire’s voice trailed off again, not sure how she would be able to explain the prophecy of a Malkavian seer to a mortal without breaking the Masquerade which she had already come dangerously close to doing with this particular mortal already.

“Are you sick or something, Claire? Because I may be able to help you, if that’s the case” Kristofer stated with further worry.

She attempted a reassuring smile, though wasn’t very successful, “it’s nothing like that…” she stated softly.

“Then what is it?” Kristofer pressed.

“Like I said, it’s silly” she attempted to dissuade him again.

“Saying you don’t have a lot of time left doesn’t exactly strike me as silly” he told her with a slight scolding tone.

“No, I mean” Claire paused a moment, “what I mean is that the reason I believe that is because of something I was told by a… a seer of sorts” she managed, hoping that she could just pass off the prophecy as having come from the mortal version of seers.

Upon hearing that particular confession, Kristofer couldn’t help casting a quick glance at where Finn still sat, looking more sad than anything else; such as appalled by the mention of another thing that would fall outside the accepted limits of the puritanical worldview shared by most of those who had come to the new world.

“So you spend time with girls who use herbs to heal, and seers?” Kristofer had to ask, though quietly.

“I know it’s not exactly widely accepted” Claire agreed as she wanted to look down, but had to watch his aura instead. Considering he had already made mention of his own tendencies toward unaccepted practices, she hoped that she could also trust him not to turn on her at the mention of another slightly pagan practice of admitting that seers were an actual reality in the world.

He cast one more wary glance at Finn before dropping his volume again, “it actually sounds a lot like the things I grew up around too” he allowed himself to admit.

“Your family’s pagan?” Claire asked as she looked up at him, watching that aura even closer and seeing nothing but joy and relief that she seemed to be just as accepting of such beliefs as the ones he had apparently grown up with.

Kristofer took a deep breath, “that’s not exactly a word any of us can use too freely though, is it?” he stated in a quieter whisper.

Claire followed his worried gaze to Finn then, “Finn knows about my past with such things too. Your secret is safe with both of us” she assured Kristofer with another smile.

Kristofer tried to hold back his own smile at her reassurance, but it soon faded as he remembered what conversation had even led them down this road, “so what did this seer tell you exactly?”

Claire braced herself to repeat any of that damning prophecy at all, “just that a very dark fate is most likely coming to me sooner rather than later” a sad sigh, “so I can’t help wanting to do all I can to try and make what time I have left count for something good. I mean, isn’t that all any of us can do?”