Multi-Fandom One Shots

Back From The Dead Again (Julia Hoffman)

Days had passed since the incident had ended. Collinwood was gone, burnt to the ground. And after all that work put into rebuilding it. The family, Elizabeth, her daughter, and your younger brother David came to live with you. You didn't own a mansion, but every member of the family were entitled to a set amount of money to become available when they came of age. You were considered poor, but the mansion sucked up most of your family's money. There was plenty for food and personal luxuries.

So four people were crammed into a five room home. This was fine. And the cannery's insurance was being collected. Elizabeth went to work with you and the two of you raised the family to good standing. The town loved you all again, after all.

Your father was gone. You thought on that often. He'd simply left with a large portion of money. He could've stuck around and kept milking the family money cow through David, but the day after Barnabas' great ball, he'd just left. It stumped you.

Thinking on Barnabas, you weren't quite sure where he'd disappeared off to. With Victoria. You really, really didn't want to know what they were doing now that they were immortal. Lost in thought, you were pleased for the distraction of someone knocking on your house's door.

You went to answer it, officially the lady of the house, and found a familiar yet oddly pale redhead on the other side. You gaped in awe before surging forward, wrapping your arms around Julia. "Dr. Hoffman," you greeted her eagerly, if formally. David was somewhere in the house, not being nannied. "Where have you been? I've been worried sick. David's-"

You were cut off by Julia pushing inside, just as the overcast sky began to shift. You absent-mindedly shut the door, following.

"The house caught on fire- Where have you been?" you demanded, awash with concern. You grabbed her arm and she stopped pacing. You frowned at her, staring insistently. Like that would make her spill all her secrets.

The psychiatrist looked about the house. She'd been there before, of course, but something was different, subtle changes made to accommodate new guests. Her dark eyes jerked over to you, staring with startling focus and piercing. You stepped back reflexively. She leaned forward, eyes filling with emotion, desperation now. "Don't be afraid," she requested in an airier voice than you were used to. But it left the demand to be listened to nonetheless. She moved the arm in your grasp to to hold your own, stepping closer. Dark eyes ran through you, boring straight into what lied beyond. "Don't be afraid...." Quieter now, her voice drew you in, echoing around your brain. It didn't get any louder, but that didn't make it any less intense, or all-encompassing.

"Jul..." You brain was mush as she stepped closer, bringing her other arm around your back.

Her hand slid up your spine, nails skimming in a way that sent goosebumps all over you. "That's me," she confirmed, fisting your hair and pulling you back to expose your throat. You were calm, but the reactions she was pulling from you had sent your carotid into a marathon. She stared at the flexing, pulsing bit of flesh. "Just me." She leaned forward, unable to draw her attention away. She'd fed and fed and fed, but she was simply starving. Maybe she didn't want your blood. She pressed her lips to the sensitive skin, raking her flat teeth to draw a gasp from you. It sent a very different desire through her like a bolt of straight energy. So, the first desire was for your blood. Good.

The pain hadn't even registered before it was taken over by mind-silencing euphoria. Your eyes tipped back and you became puddy in her grip as she drank, and drank, and... dra..nk... The world faded to nothing around you and you couldn't bring yourself to mind.

"Back with me now." It was like you were in her office all over again, her office now reduced to cinders.

Your eyes didn't resist as they fell open. Julia stood before you, easily supporting you with one arm around your waist, your hair now free. "What..." you started, heaving despite the clarity back in your mind, "...the Hell, Jules."

She smirked at you, her free hand wiping the thick, crimson fluid from around her lips. She even cleared her chin. Every time she brought her thumb back to be cleaned by her tongue, her dark eyes continued to pierce your soul, reaching the heart of your feelings for her, in the heart of your heart. It send your knees a surge of weakness, dampening the apex of your thighs. She hummed like she knew, her smirk never failing. Oh, she was infinitely more cocky with immortality. You were doomed. "I have so many things to show you, darling." Her arm brought you closer to her, pressing your bodies close together. "And it's only the beginning of eternity." Her wide lips were definitely contorted out of pure glee. She didn't look much like a predator now, just your lovely Jules.

You stood under your own power, frowning in concern. "So... where you've been is... dead."

The smirk returned and she breezed away, confident in your abilities to support yourself. "At the bottom of the ocean, but not the point." With a wave, she dismissed the topic. "David's here? Elizabeth and Carolyn, too, then." She wrinkled her nose as if she smelt something foul. "Roger," she growled out. She'd made it plainly obvious how little she liked their father. She blamed him for most of David's problems.

"No," you finally answered, wandering into the kitchen for a towel to staunch the blood.

She eyed you eagerly, insistently. "He's gone?" She sounded far too pleased.

You had had your own elation, before David had a chance to react. "Yes, David's taken it quite hard."

Her eyes shut as she realized.

You poured a glass of bourbon, Julia's favorite, before downing it. "But we all saw mom so he'd decidedly better."

Bloodied lips turned up at the prospect. "Really?" she breathed, eager to hear the story.