Ughhh. I thought and opened my eyes. Once again I awoke to the familiar surroundings I thought I wouldn't have to see again. Yeah, you guessed it... a hospital room. Funny how things just seem to go downhill just when you think things couldn't possibly get any worse. The door to my room opened, and to my surprise, Steve stood there with a particularly satisfied grin on his face.

He was one of my old partners that had transferred to another state when things around here became too boring for him. He became a vampire hunter where the rules were a lot more relaxed, and we had gone on a few hair-raising adventures over the years.

“What canary did you eat?” I asked.

“Well Mr. Grumpy, I just saved your life and you're asking me why I'm happy?"

“All right, all right.” I chuckled. “Next time though, I get to save yours.”

Steve's face closed down, and his eyes went empty just like they did just before he killed something. There was a lot we have in common and that was one of them.

“There's something else you're not telling me. I am not ready to draw my weapon on you, Steve. Please stop pussyfooting around and tell me what's going on.”

“I think it's better if the doctor tells you.”

“Tells me what?”

“If you really want me to tell you, you'll have to promise not to kill the messenger.” He said.

“Fine, tell me.” I said.

Just then the doctor stepped into the room with a look on his face that I recognized. It was the look people get when they're about to tell you bad news. His name tag said Dr. Taylor.

“Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you had company. I'll come back later.”

Either he really didn't want to talk to me or it was really bad news. It was Steve who spoke first.

“I was just about to tell him, doc. I believe I'll let you have the honors now that you're here.”

Doctor Taylor seemed to pale a little at that. For some reason everyone wanted to avoid telling me what was going on.

“Come on, Doctor Taylor. Just tell me already.” I said, exasperated.

The doctor cleared his throat and spoke. “Well, Mr. Drake. Do you remember being brought in?”

That made me think. Well, the last thing I remember was being in an abandoned warehouse, trying to find a vampire to fill a court-ordered execution. I finally got the thing cornered, and in a failed attempt to get away, it pulled out several support beams. That caused the top floor office to come crashing down on top of us. Apparently, that was why I was here. Everything past that was a blank.

“No, I don't really remember. Why?” I asked in a no-nonsense tone that even I thought was derogatory.

“Well, it seems you had taken a significant amount of damage, especially in the lower back and spine areas. After a long consultation with the team here, we've decided it's too risky to operate.”

“Operate? What are you talking about, Doctor?” I asked.

“You mean, no one has told you?”

“Look, Doc. I'm sore and impatient as it is, so please tell me what's going on.”

“Mr. Drake, it pains me to be the one to inform you that your spine is irreparably broken and you'll never walk again.”

I felt the blood drain from my face and a moment later it returned with a sense of shock and anger. It must have shown on my face because both Doctor Taylor and Steve backed away from the bed.

“This has got to be a joke, right? Come on, I can't be crippled! I've got...”

How could I tell the doctor that I had mystical ties to a vampire and a were-cat family, or that stuff like this shouldn't happen to me?

“I've got... to get out of here. I have to get home.” So I can heal. I added in my head.

“You're not going anywhere, Mr. Drake. Everyone is surprised you even survived the ordeal. You have no feeling in your body below your rib cage and until you've adjusted to that fact, you're staying put.”

“You can't keep me here against my will.” I said. I was pretty sure that he wasn't convinced.

“No I can't, Mr. Drake. However, you can't even get out of bed on your own. Now if you convince yourself to rest for a few days, I'll sign you out personally. Agreed?”

The doctor said that like he knew I didn't have a choice in the matter. I suppose I didn't, really. I've had broken bones before; but, this was my first broken back. I didn't even know if the were-cats had enough mystical energy to lend me to try and heal it. This particular subject never came up in any discussions.

_______________

You have the option to defy the doctor and go home to try and deal with your injury immediately, or take his advice and listen to the medical professional. Which will you choose?

A) Stay and play it safe. B) Tell the doctor to shove it and go home.

Stay. I thought with a sigh. There's no guarantee that going home now will make any difference.

_______________

“Okay, doc. You win. I'll stay put.” I said. “Can I have more visitors?” I asked. Just because I couldn't go home to the family didn't mean that they couldn't come here to see me.

“There has been an unusual amount of people coming in and claiming to be your family.” The doctor said with an odd look. “Well, if you can keep the noise down, some of them can come in.”

I swear to God, no sooner had the words come out of the doctor's mouth than over a dozen people came into the room. Both Steve and Doctor Taylor stepped back away from the crowd of people. The doctor was just about to say that there were too many people in the room when Steve grabbed his arm and led him out into the hallway. If I didn't know better, I could swear that Steve wanted to leave as well.

Most of Mikki's actual family was here... her younger sister Natalie, her mother Gina, and her father Carl. The unrelated pack members were Ron, Bill, Charlie, Jillian, and Lisa. Even though Ron and Bill are Carl's bodyguards, it was still nice to see some friendly faces. My old sergeant on the police force was there as was his wife, Cathy.

Vivian was there as well. She was my ex-girlfriend's best friend and she had given up on her friend to take my side. She was completely human and was the sweetest thing that ever existed. She had stuck by me, even knowing what I did for a living. Speaking of which, Hal and Mark were right behind her and I nodded to them as Vivian took my free hand and had tears brimming in her eyes.

“David, I'm so sorry.” Vivian said and fought to hold her tears back. Of all the times she had seen me beat up and hurt, this was the first time my injuries had been this severe.

“Don't worry, Viv. I'm going to be fine.” I said with a smile. “I'll be back on my feet in no time.”

The lost and sympathetic looks on everyone's faces showed me what they thought of my words and I realized what I had just said and sighed. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean...”

“It's okay.” Vivian interrupted me and squeezed my hand. “It's okay.”

Almost everyone was in tears at this point, some were openly crying, and at least everyone was happy that I was still around. As for me, well, I would have to think about it.

Being as it was the middle of the day, I didn't really expect to see the rest of my friends. I would just have to wait until dark for them to come and visit. Daylight didn't seem to agree with them very much.

After a short visit, Vivian, Mark, Hal, my old sergeant and his wife left. The ones remaining had a relatively long discussion, with my predicament as the main topic, and everyone said the same thing. None of them had ever healed an injury like this or heard of a non-pack member ever having something like this healed.

Well, that was just great. I thought in exasperation. What the heck was I supposed to do with two useless legs? How was I supposed to raise the dead when I couldn't get to a graveyard while using a wheelchair?

Just after dark Jeanette showed up, and with a nod from me, everyone else cleared the room and left. She was dressed in a nifty blue shirt that was more lace than fabric, and it made her eyes seem like deep drowning pools of water. The pants she wore were made of some type of silk and seemed to flow down her body, hugging her legs like a lover.

She wore her long black hair completely straight except for the ends that were full of wavy curls that made you stare at them... but... for some reason, she didn't strike me as particularly beautiful tonight. Usually, I would have to catch my breath when she wore something sexy like that, and believe me she dressed to please all the time; but tonight, I seemed to be immune to her visual charms.

With that particular revelation, I realized with a start that I wasn't particularly attracted to her. For the first time in god knew how long, I was not a slave to my libido. Something must have passed over my face because Jeanette spoke with concern in her voice.

“My darling, I see a look in your eyes that I haven't seen in quite a while. What is it you are thinking?”

How do I tell the head of a family of vampires that she doesn’t control your sexual desires anymore? I asked myself. Do I tell a lie or tell the truth? It didn't take me long to decide. Truth. “I haven't had sex since the morning before the accident.”

Jeanette's eyes widened at that.

“My darling, are you sure? It has been three days. You've had to have sex once a day for several months now with no reprieve because of our bond.” Jeanette said. “Have you noticed any side effects?”

“I'm not sure what you mean by 'side effects'.”

“Has Natalie consumed more food during your stay here at the hospital?”

“Natalie was here earlier but didn't mention anything.” I asked, a little perturbed at the question, since I wasn't sure what she was talking about. What did Natalie's eating habits have to do with me?

“What about our little Nina?”

“I haven't spoken to Nina since the morning before... this happened.” I said and waved at the useless lumps of my legs under the blanket.

Jeanette turned towards the door. “Let us ask Nina if she has fed more than usual the last few days.”

“She hasn't.” I responded automatically, which surprised me, because I knew it was true. I knew it. I knew, deep down, that she was well fed and only with her regular feeding. Why did I know that?

It was then that I realized that Jeanette assumed that Natalie and Nina were somehow feeding me extra energy for some reason, which didn't make sense. I could only really feel Nina when she was near because of my abilities with raising the dead. Natalie was very much alive and the sister of my current girlfriend. We didn't have a bond like I did with Jeanette.

Jeanette opened the door to my room to call to Nina; but, Nina was waiting just outside the door. I knew she was already here because she had felt my ability touch her about her feeding schedule and had come to me as soon as she could. I felt her presence and her energy, which was like a cool wind that caressed my body in places that I couldn't describe. No, not those places. My seemingly stronger connection to her feels more like a comfy pillow that gets snuggled at night, or a security blanket that keeps out all the bad stuff, and not a sexual desire thing that could ruin the relationships I have already.

Nina stood in the doorway like an alabaster statue. Her long flowing red hair was curled to perfection, and her bright jade green eyes lit up with emotion. She was dressed in a plain white shirt and dress slacks, but she exuded an aura of untouchable beauty. Nina was just as beautiful as Jeanette and I knew that bothered Jeanette, mainly because she was jealous that Nina would swoop in and steal me from her.

Let me tell you, that was an interesting conversation to have in the middle of a restaurant with hundreds of witnesses. Not.

“You called, my love?”

Jeanette answered before I could speak. “I did not call you, Nina.”

“My apologies, Jeanette. I wasn't speaking to you.” Nina responded with a calm and cool voice.

Jeanette's face flashed almost pure rage for a moment, then blanked like it usually did before she spoke. “You forget your place. I am the head of the family. You are here at my invitation and I can revoke that at any time, removing my protection as well. You have sworn blood oaths to me, so do not make me regret buying you from your old master.” Jeanette said. “I believe he would enjoy having you back in his tender embrace."

Nina seemed completely unphased by the threat. “Only David could send me back. Anyone who tried to stand against him would be foolish indeed. Now, may I pass to attend to my love?"

I got one of those 'we are going to have a long talk' looks from Jeanette. By the glare in her eyes, this talk was going to be a really long one. What was up with Nina tonight? I asked myself. To my knowledge, she has never stood up to Jeanette like that, or to anyone else for that matter. I reached a hand out to her out of sheer reflex and she took my hand and gave it a small chaste kiss instead of shaking it like I had intended.

Nina moved to kneel at my bedside in a submissive gesture that she usually did for Jeanette and I asked her to stand at my bedside instead. It was kind of boggling my mind at the strange events that were going on around me and I couldn't make sense of them.

Jeanette gave me another look for an instant, one full of disdain this time. “My darling, you have not seen me for several days, not even in your dreams, and yet you reached for Nina the moment she entered the room."

I wasn't sure what I could say to that when Nina spoke again.

“It is not my place to answer, but with my love's permission, I shall.” She looked to me with the question in her eyes and I gave her the barest of nods, mainly because I wanted to hear what she had to say. It seemed that Nina and I would need to have a little talk after this.

“Not only am I a part of his retinue of women with Mikki and Natalie, I am also his servant. Devoted to him as much as he wills me to be in body, mind, and spirit. He is my love and he gains comfort and calmness from me whenever we are together.”

Jeanette waved her hands like she was erasing a chalkboard. “I already know all this, perhaps even better than you do. I simply wish to know why he didn't acknowledge me as well."

Boy, when she put it that way it did sound really bad, like I committed a serious social faux pas of some kind. I didn’t think this conversation was going to go anywhere that I wanted to be at the moment, so I tried to head off the argument very bluntly.

“To tell you the truth Jeanette, I haven’t raised the dead in almost seven days and my power more than me reached for Nina. You can tell if I’m lying. If I don’t use my powers on a regular basis, they build up and things can get messy. It was a gut reaction.”

I felt Nina stiffen beside me and her grip on my hand loosened. Apparently, she didn’t view my actions that way. I gripped her hand harder than was necessary and she eased back into her usual relaxed self. With that one simple gesture, I had made everything all better. Oh, boy.

“You do believe that; but, I detect some hint of lie in there as well.” Jeanette said with impunity.

Well, she could pout all she wants, because she was not getting any reassurances from me. Wait, did I just deny Jeanette comfort? I asked myself and I found it hard to believe that I didn’t stroke her ego to try to ease the tension in the room. I mentally shook my head, because that was not a great survival tactic to piss off a powerful vampire. Okay, damage control to the rescue.

“Jeanette, I’m sorry if I’ve offended some vampire ethic you have concerning ownership or whatever. I’ve had a really hard day and Nina calms and comforts me. No ulterior motives, no power struggles, just safety. I really need that right now.”

“Very well, my darling.” Jeanette almost spat at me. “I shall leave you to your... comfort.”

With that last parting shot Jeanette left. The feeling of relief flowed through me like a river and I couldn’t tell if it was from me or from Nina. I really had to find out why she yanked Jeanette’s chain like that. Later, though. Right now, I just wanted to be held. Natalie came into the room at that thought, almost as if she had heard me, then without asking them to, the two of them climbed onto my bed and cuddled me.

For some reason, I felt tears come to my eyes as my young lover and my security blanket held me under the fluorescent lighting. I looked at their faces and saw that Natalie was openly crying without trying to hide it. Nina looked on the verge of tears, even though vampires couldn't cry. I wasn't sure why, though. Was it relief that I wasn’t dead? Pain because I had made it but was paralyzed and couldn't walk?

I let out a sigh and held them close as I let them express themselves.