What Price Pleasure
Nightmare

BY: Cassy

Disclaimer: Just to piss Chessire off, I'm gonna continue with this storyline. *evil grin*

I wasn't entirely surprised to find Jean-Claude sitting in a chair next to my bed when I woke. Asher had told me that he wasn't on speaking terms with Anita. Damien had missed one of her knives when Jean had him disarm her before discussing my pregnancy with her. The Viking had taken a knife in the gut meant for Jean-Claude.

Asher had also told me that Jean had come over a few times and just sat, watching me sleep. Sounded a little creepy to me, but there really wasn't much I could do about it.

"Jean-Claude?" I said groggily. It was the first *I* had seen him since we'd learned that he'd sired a daughter on me.

He sat there, looking beautiful yet emotionless, like a fine marble statue. His honey-brown eyes glowed softly. "Kill it."

"What?" I shook my head, not understanding what he was talking about, my mind still fogged with sleep.

He snarled, baring fangs, and suddenly I was being pressed back against the bed, his beautiful and terrible visage just centimeters from my face. A knife was pressed hard against my abdomen. "I said kill it, you pathetic bitch...or I *will*!"

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Tamara woke with a start...to find Jean-Claude sitting beside her bed, beautiful and immobile. She screamed. "Asher!"

Jean never moved, although he seemed puzzled by her reaction to him. Asher entered the room to find his servant cowering away from the dark haired vamp, against the wall. "Ma rose, what is wrong?"

"He wants me to kill the baby!" Tam sobbed.

Jean-Claude's statement was one of shock. "What? Ma fleur! I would NEVER ask such a thing of you!" Her accusation had wounded him deeply.

Asher was quick to grasp what had happened. Sitting beside his servant, he gathered her into his arms, shushing her fears. "It was only a nightmare, Tamara...nothing more," he assured her. "Jean's only regret about this child is that its mother is not Anita."

"Ma fleur, please believe me. I wish only to protect our daughter," Jean-Claude soothed the frightened woman, extending one graceful hand towards her face, but stopping when she flinched away. "I will not hurt you, Tamara...and neither will Anita. I think that what bothers HER the most about this is that it is with you and not her that I am having this child...even though she too has protested not wanting children, secretly, she does. But she will never admit such to herself." He smiled sadly at his human servant's stubbornness.

"But...the dream...and you can enter dreams...," Tam trailed off, finally starting to calm down.

"Lillith must have learned of your pregnancy during the Council's visit here, cherie," Jean-Claude reasoned. "It would be like her to play with your mind in such a cruel fashion. She is very leery of the alliances we have formed here in the States, and may be seeking to weaken or divide Asher and myself, since we are the strongest of the allied masters...and of the same bloodline. She and Belle never have gotten along very well."

Asher did not agree with his friend's appraisal of the situation. "Non, mon ami...I do not believe this was the work of our Dark Queen, although I believe we were meant to think it so," he disputed. "Ma rose, can you remember anything about the dream that seemed wrong or out of place?"

Tamara rolled her eyes at him. "You mean other than Jean-Claude telling me to kill our baby or he *would*?" she stated sarcastically. Then thinking about it, she said, "Now that you mention it...in the dream, Jean's eyes were honey brown instead of midnight blue."

The two master vampires locked eyes above Tamara's head. In unison, they spoke a single name. "Belle."

"We will discuss this in a moment," Asher decided. "Go back to sleep now, ma rose d'acier. You are safe here. I will guard your dreams from further intrusions...rest."