Along came Reid

10. In-between

Jamie wasn't home. This was her first thought as her eyes opened to greet the engulfing darkness that swallowed her like her mound of comforters within her room at her stronghold. This however, wasn't her office home. Instead, Jamie realized she was in a room, laying on a real bed, with a real mattress, and real covers.

As comforting as it seemed to be, Jamie found little peace with her unfamiliar accommodations. She wasn't supposed to be here. Beyond the walls, the distinct cacophony of screechers rose from the street below. Judging by the volume and eerie chorus like unison, there probably were hundreds of them.

"Go back to sleep bean." a voice gently called from across the room.

"Reid?" Jamie asked, sitting up, drawing her knees into her chest. Her eyes squinted into the darkness, but could see nothing.

"I'm here."

"Where am I?" she asked. Unpleasant memories of fangs and blood surfaced in her thoughts and Jamie couldn't help the cold shiver that rattled her shoulders.

Vampire. Reid was a vampire...

"Somewhere safe. With all of the blood, I couldn't take you to the hideout, it wasn't safe."

Vampire. The word thundered within her mind with such clarity that Jamie could have sworn that it was spoken. Her fingers rose to lightly prod the bandage at her neck. The flesh beneath was still sore, but not as sore as the memories that terrorized her thoughts.

"You bit me." Jamie stated, her body going rigid. As inane as it sounded, Jamie felt too afraid to move. While Reid had never displayed any aggression towards her, the truth was, he was the same kind of creature as the one who forcibly bit her in the bedding boutique.

Across the room, Reid shifted in his seat with a rustle of his clothes. "Yeah, about that..." he began awkwardly. "I'm sorry. You were freaking out and your wound reopened; I just didn't know what else to do. It was the only way I could calm you down."

"How was biting me supposed to calm me down?" she asked quietly with restrained anger.

"I-uh, um..." Reid stalled as he searched for the right wording. "The thing is, vampires- we're kind of like vipers. We have a venom that is used to calm the people we bite."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" she asked sharply, her arms crossing tightly across her chest. Despite hugging herself, Jamie could not still the shake in her shoulders.

"Bean, I never wanted you to find out this way...I didn't expect any other vampires to be in the area."

"So it was all true." she whispered, putting her head down on her knees. "You really are a vampire."

A heavy silence engulfed the room. "Yeah bean. I am." Reid admitted softly.

Jamie's head gently shook from side to side, as if she were trying to expel the idea from her thoughts. "I thought you were joking, or crazy. Maybe both."

"That's my fault. I didn't sit you down to tell you seriously." he amended. "I guess I didn't know how to. Honestly bean, the whole befriending humans thing is new to me."

"Why did you befriend me? Did you just want me as a source of food? Was I just a meal to you?"

"No! Of course not!" he exclaimed defensively. "When I said I wanted a friend I meant it. I wanted to build trust and friendship between us-"

"A compliant meal then?" Jamie accused.

"No. Stop putting words into my mouth." he grumbled. "Did I have thoughts of feeding? Yeah, but that's not what I wanted from you. It was lonely in that museum Jamie. When you walked in I was happy to see a sentient being that wasn't brain dead."