"Playing With Fire Pt. 7"
Author: Rebecca Bradstreet
Rated: PG-13
Archive: Sure.
Summary: John and Becca talk.
Warning: Darkness, and death.
Disclaimer/Notes:  This is a Profiler/Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Crossover.  I don't own John Grant, Bailey Malone, or any other Profiler character.  I don't own Rudolph Storr, Jean-Claude or any other Anitaverse character.  I do own Rebecca Belinda "Becca" Drake.  After all she is just a dragon version of me.  I've included the end of Part Six at the beginning of this part inside <<>>.  I use // for thoughts, and ** as emphasis.  This isn't beta'd so all mistakes are my own.  ;)
 

"Playing With Fire Pt. 7"
Rebecca Bradstreet (c) 2002

St Louis
Hospital
John's Room
Saturday Feb 24, 2001

<<"Oh, John," Becca whispered, squeezing his hand tight in hers.  She started to cry, and she felt so foolish doing it.  It wasn't her loss; her sense of guilt she was being overwhelmed with.  Becca was crying for John's loss because she felt it was something that deserved tears.>>

"Becca?"  He said her name with concern.  John reached towards her tears; she held onto his hand with both of hers.  Drake took one hand from his to wipe at her tears.

"It's all right -- I'm all right.  I..."  Becca didn't know what to say, "I'm sorry," seemed inadequate, "I love you," beside the point, and "I understand," would be a lie.  She'd hatched from an egg, been given a sketch of what she was, and left to raise herself.  What Becca decided to say was, "John...just...just because you couldn't save her...doesn't mean you can't control your powers.  It doesn't mean you couldn't then.  It just means you couldn't save her."

It wasn't what he'd anticipated.  John had expected, "I'm sorry," or, "I love you."  "It just means you couldn't save her," wasn't what he'd imagined.  John looked at her -- *really* looked at her.  He looked past the tears, and the control she'd slapped over them.  Becca loved him.  She didn't want to see him hurt.  But, she'd rather hurt him herself than let someone else do it.  The tension her shoulders had been knotted with when she came in hadn't been from the case, or her guilt about his getting hurt, it'd been fear of this moment.  Becca knew he had powers he was denying, and she was going to make him face them even if it meant he'd never speak to her again.

"You think I could control them even then?"  John couldn't help asking the question with a doubtful grin.  Becca had more faith in him than he had in himself.

"You *have* some control.  You've worked with Sam, and Rachel without interfering with their powers.  You've been making do with your natural control.  It was okay when you weren't hunting preternatural monsters.  You need training to safely chase them," she answered him with a tired smile.

"And I get this training where?"  He asked.

"Actually?  I'm not sure.  I don't know how much of what you have for power.  Sam and Rachel are psychics.  Detective Tammie Reynolds is a witch.  Anita Blake is a necromancer.  You need someone with psychic *and* magical abilities who can help you figure out just what your abilities are," Becca grinned uncertainly.

"Where is Merlin when we need him?"  John smiled at her warmly.

"Actually..."  She looked thoughtful.

"Becca..."  He gave her a wary look.

"I don't know where Nimue entombed him, but he was a superb generalist," Becca smiled, leaned in, and kissed him.

 "You can't teach me?"  John asked regretfully as her face hovered over his.

"Sorry, love, I've told you I'm just a dragon."  The tension and worry were gone from her replaced with mischief and her deep love of him.

"Stay for dinner?"  John grinned up at her good humor.

"Gee, stay and share hospital food with you, or go back to the hotel and have real food with Bailey?  Decisions, decisions," Becca laughed before kissing him again, and fishing her cell phone out of her pocket.

"You'll stay for awhile?"  He checked, watching her call Malone.

"If it's okay with Bailey I'll stay and tuck you in," she meant it.  It was there in her eyes.

Hotel
Hallway

 "Eggroll?"  Malone held one out to Becca with a smile.  Bailey was waiting by the door to John's room.  Drake couldn't tell just how long he'd been waiting.  He managed to make it seem as if he'd only been there a moment.  Becca suspected he'd been there for sometime.

"Bailey.  Reynolds safely on her plane to Atlanta?"  She grinned, moving to take the eggroll out of his hands.

"Safely in flight.  Thought you might want some *real* food after your hospital food," Malone remarked, watching Becca devour the eggroll.

"And you thought you might make sure everything went all right," she added.

"You're both agents of mine, and friends of mine.  If you kill each other I'm out two good agents, and two good friends," Bailey tried to keep his tone light, but Becca caught the real concern in it.

"It's okay Bailey.  John and I are good.  I'll find someone to give him some *serious* training, and you'll have more preternatural talent on the VCTF than you'll know what to do with," Drake smirked.

"I'm sure I'll be able to think of something to do with it," Malone assured her.

"Did you have to give up any vital organs to get Reynolds on the plane?"  Becca asked, opening the door to John's room.

"Nothing vital.  You and John are good?"  Bailey checked.  Becca squeezed his arm and nodded.

"We're good, Bailey, really good."  She glowed.  Malone shook his head smiling.

"Go to bed Becca.  Reynolds and George will have something for us tomorrow," Bailey pushed her into John's room.  Drake stood in the doorway.

"That's what I was planning on doing before you distracted me with Chinese.  Bailey, thank you...for everything," Becca smiled at him ruefully.  Malone shook his head some more.

"Thank me when we catch this thing, Becca, when we catch this thing," Bailey headed for his room.

"Sure, when we catch this thing," she whispered as she closed the door.

Hotel
John's Room
Sunday Feb 25, 2001

"Keep this up and I *am* going to shoot you," Becca grumped from the depths of her pillow.  Drake had no doubt the presence at the edge of her awareness was Jean-Claude.

"Temper, temper, ma flammeche.  I just wanted to be sure your return trip to the warehouse went...all right," he sat on the bed, and turned on the light next to it.

"My return trip to the warehouse?"  Becca repeated, struggling to wake up and sit up.  Jean-Claude watched her fight with the sheets before helping her.

"Yes, you were supposed to make a return trip to the warehouse yesterday," he spoke to her like she was a *very* dull child.

"Yeah, I made the trip.  I couldn't see the damn ritual remains.  Dolph, and Bailey have supposedly sent Detective Reynolds to Atlanta to work up the ritual with the VCTF's computer expert," Becca explained, blinking sleepily at Jean-Claude, and trying to get her hair behind her ears.

"Supposedly?"  He asked as he reached out, and tucked her hair behind her ears.

"Well, I wasn't in on the negotiations.  I was busy talking to John.  The thing that nearly killed him at the warehouse, it was a spell set to attack psychics and witches.  Seems John has some powers he didn't mention before we went to the warehouse," though Becca's words were harsh there was something else in them.

"These powers slipped his mind?"  Jean-Claude's cynical tone bit at her.

"He had his reasons, which are none of your business.  It's just raw power anyway.  John needs training," Becca sighed, and leaned her head against Jean-Claude's shoulder.

"I am sure you will find him an excellent teacher, Becca," he made her look at him, and smiled.

"When I have the time to hunt up a teacher.  Let's not forget the homicidal maniac I'm supposed to be catching," she snorted.

"Oh we can't forget the homicidal maniac," Jean-Claude laughed, and Becca wished she could bottle his laugh.

"Hopefully Reynolds and George will be able to model the ritual, and put together a list of possible sources of it.  If they're successful do you have some contacts that can check out the possible sources?"  Drake looked at him speculatively.

"Ma flammeche, I am the Master of St Louis of course I have contacts.  The FBI should leave dealing with them to me," Jean-Claude didn't think she should meet his contacts as a cop.  He didn't think she should meet them period.

"It would be best for both your sources, and the FBI right?  They won't want to talk to an agent, and they *really* won't want to talk to one that's a cranky lovesick dragon," Becca shook her head, and flopped back onto the bed.

"Another time my contacts won't be as wary of you.  Now...it is all right to leave talking to them to me, Becca," he gave her hand a quick reassuring squeeze.

"If George sends the fax through today will you be at the Circus?"  She asked as she settled back into her pillow.

"Have I not been there when you've looked for me?"  Jean-Claude smiled, stood, and pulled the sheets up under her chin.

"Yeah, you've been there.  Thank you Jean-Claude," Becca smiled, snuggling into her pillow, and closing her eyes.

"You're welcome, Becca," he whispered, leaving her to her dreams.

 Cafe

"Fax?"  Drake asked over her pancakes.

"A preliminary one," Malone answered, handing it to her.

Becca only meant to glance at it, but once she started she had to read it all the way through, "Damn!  The fool was trying to summon a salamander."

"Summon a salamander?"  Bailey repeated, looking at her.

"Elemental creature of fire identified by Paracelus in the 15th or 16th century I forget which.  Anyway, our perp was trying to summon a salamander, but he messed it up somehow," Becca scowled at the fax trying to decide where the perp went wrong.

"Paracelus?"  Malone questioned, taking a sip of his coffee.

"He was a doctor, and an alchemist.  Being a damn fine physician kept him from being burned for doing alchemy.  I'm not sure if our perp summoned something else, or?"  Drake trailed off as an "or" occurred to her.

"Or?"  Bailey pushed for the idea he could see forming in Becca's head.

"Or he partially summoned it, and merged himself with it.  Bailey, our monster may be part salamander and part human.  It...he maybe stuck because he didn't succeeding in summoning all of the salamander leaving him unable to completely merge with it.  He maybe killing to try and bring the rest of the salamander over, or he might be killing to try and fill in what he's missing with the power from the kills.  I hope Reynolds and George can do more to figure out how our perp botched the ritual," Drake was so excited about the case her forgotten breakfast was getting cold.

"You should finish your breakfast.  It's the most important meal of the day," Malone grinned at her enthusiasm.

"Bailey, if we can sort out how he messed up the ritual we can stop him.  We don't need to find out where it came from, or how he got his hands on it.  All we need to know is *exactly* what he did for magic to be able to counter it.  Oh, we need to figure out where the ritual came from, and how he got his hands on it for court.  But to stop him from killing the way he has been...that *just* requires figuring out his magic," Becca picked at her breakfast a bit for Malone.

"I'm glad you think we might get him in front of a judge," Bailey smiled amused.

"In front of a judge?  If we can figure out just what he's done, undo it, and catch him...after that we might get him in front of a judge," Drake snorted.

"You said he tried to summon a salamander.  We'll figure out what he's done, and catch him," Malone nodded to her firmly.  Becca laughed, and dug into her breakfast.

Headquarters of the Regional Preternatural Investigation Team

"Fax from Atlanta?"  Dolph asked as Bailey stepped into his office.

"Preliminary one.  Came to the hotel this morning.  Becca's had a look at it.  She says the perp was trying to summon a salamander.  Says the killer maybe part salamander part human," Malone explained, handing a copy of the fax to Storr.

"Salamander?"  Dolph questioned, looking at Bailey.

"Becca says a salamander is a fire elemental, and the killer has been burning the victims," Malone reminded Storr.

"Drake say how we catch it?"  Dolph asked warily.

"Becca says all we have to do is figure out exactly what the perp did for magic, and counter it.  She says we can bust him," Bailey smiled reassuringly.

"Sure," Dolph still sounded skeptical.

"Reynolds, and Fraley are still going over the ritual.  This is only a preliminary fax.  Becca stayed at the hotel to wait for a more detailed one.  When Reynolds and Fraley send her a more detailed one she'll have a better idea of how we bust the perp.  I thought I'd bring the preliminary fax by, and let you know what she thought of it," Malone said defensively.

"Thanks," Storr said, sounding tired, but grateful.

"You're welcome," Bailey patted Dolph on the shoulder, and left him with his copy of the fax.

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