Sarah returned home midmorning from her errands and immediately proceeded to put everything away that she’d purchased. It had been a good day. She’d even found a few casual outfits and some sleepwear. The sweatpants and tee shirts were getting monotonous although similar pairings seemed to be the style of choice for Nick and many of the other residents of Alex’s house and she hadn’t felt too out of fashion wearing them. While perusing the racks of clothes, she’d even been able to forget her situation and feel normal again for a time. That had meant more to her than anything she could possibly buy.

The trip to town had taken her longer than she’d wanted however and she couldn’t blame it on her too particular clothing tastes. She had ended up lingering in the grocery store for what seemed like forever simply because she couldn’t resist the wonderful aromas filling the air within it. Scents she’d never noticed before or perhaps hadn’t had senses keen enough to discern before. It was overwhelming and Sarah had tried explaining it all the way home. It had to be the third bite that caused it. Tess and Monica had mentioned that once she was bitten a few times, she’d be more drawn to certain foods simply because of their smell or appearance. She’d assumed they were mocking her. She reminded herself to ask Nick about it.

Sarah suddenly realized she missed him and after putting the rest of her food in the fridge, she snuck off to his room to let him know she was back. The poor thing had spent most of the morning keeping guard outside her door. She knew he had probably lost sleep worrying about her the entire time she was gone as well. Surprisingly the door to his room was partially ajar and it opened wide at her touch. She discovered he wasn’t only not in his bed but the sheets were half pulled off of it and anything once sitting by the bedside now lay strewn across the floor. It looked like he'd either left it fast…or been dragged from it.

For some reason, Sarah recalled instantly what Alex had told her about punishing Nick for her revealing his secret regarding Angela and she ran down the hall, through the living room to the back of the house instinctively. That was the only place where there was a window that was not painted over, but instead allowed full view of the backyard. The opening was quite large, being at least six feet across and maybe four or five feet high. It was usually hidden away behind a heavy Roman blind, but today it was uncovered. Today there was a purpose for it being so.

Alex and three large men close in age were gathered around it. Alex far back from the glass and the sunlight while the others stood within it proving to Sarah they were human. She almost dreaded seeing what they were observing so intently outside. She came up closer to witness for herself and at first she saw nothing. Just a large fenced in yard with clumps of tall grasses and several overgrown thorn bushes dotting its perimeter. Shadows still existed at the interior since the sun had not fully risen above the house yet. It was in these shadows she saw what she most feared--Nick cowering beneath the barely sheltering branches of a lone pine tree. There was no other refuge for him in the yard and with the way the sun was moving, very shortly it would be shining right where he stood. Panic squeezed at her heart as she realized this was exactly what the vampire leader had wanted for him.

Alex turned, sensing her realization of the situation and Sarah glared at him as he smiled smugly. She felt the anger boil in the pit of her stomach. She couldn’t stop it and she lunged for the vampire, plunging her hands into his chest and swearing at him over and over again.

"But I didn’t say anything!" she cried out desperately as one of the men pulled her away from her target kicking and screaming. "I didn’t say anything!" Her voice broke, becoming sobs.

Alex laughed, a reckless gleam in his dark brown eyes. Her outburst proved he’d found her weakness. "Doesn’t matter," he offered offhandedly. "You would have."

Sarah struggled free and attempted to wrench away a blanket one of the men held in his hands. She recognized it as the one off of Nick’s bed and presumed it was the same one they’d covered him with to get him outside in the first place. The thought made her tug even harder on it, but the man simply used it like a rubber band to jerk her back to him. Knowing time was running out, she was finally forced to surrender her hold of it and bolted for the door. All three of the humans were right behind her, intent on preventing her from doing so.

"Let her go," Alex ordered. "Even if she gets to Nick, what can she do for him now?"

Sarah didn’t pause and was off the porch and into the yard in an instant, the light blinding her temporarily. She’d been getting too used to the artificial lighting inside the house or it was her new tendencies coming to the forefront again making her more sensitive to it. The sunlight was even closer to the base of the pine than it looked from inside, less than a foot from the trunk and she took note of it.

Sarah circled the tree and went straight into his arms. Nick hugged her tight, seeming to disbelieve she was even there at all. His face buried itself in her hair and the relief coursed through her as she held him. For some reason she had the assumption if she could reach him, it would make everything all right, but things were far from that. He still was a prisoner of the shadows. There was nowhere he could go and she could feel his heart beating rampantly in his chest in fear of it. After another precious moment of closeness, they pulled apart reluctantly.

"What happened?"

"I don’t know what’s going on. One minute I’m in bed, the next I’m being dragged out here."

"Alex has some humans with him. They’re the ones who brought you here. I tried to get the blanket away from one of them but he wouldn’t give it up." Her eyes wandered to his shoulder where a scorch mark could be seen in the cloth of his shirt and she reached out and delicately touched it. He cringed slightly. "You’re hurt already?"

"Just a small taste of what I’m looking at if I don’t get out of here soon." Nick was taking it lightly but she knew it hurt him immensely. Vampires burnt up almost instantly in direct sunlight. Even a little bit was enough to scar them for life. Or rather eternity.

Sarah scanned the yard, striving to find a tarp, a covering of any kind that would offer him some protection, but there was nothing. Nick recognized what she was searching for.

"Alex left no possibilities. I’ve been out here for a while. I’ve looked. I’ve searched. Believe me, that’s all I’ve had to do besides watch that sun climb higher and higher. It seems like it’s closing in even faster now."

Her gaze followed his and it did seem to be gaining on them, the intense light eating away at the shadows below the big evergreen like a hungry monster. Sarah glimpsed Alex’s form standing just inside the house smiling down upon them with morbid fascination. She was not about to let him win. She began brainstorming in desperation.

"There’s a raincoat in the back of your truck. I saw it when I went out this morning. If I could get back in the house and get the keys..."

"Forget it. Alex would never allow it."

"What if I break one of the windows?"

"They’re all reinforced tempered glass. You couldn’t shatter them with a sledgehammer."

"Nick, its worth a try," she pleaded. They could see the sunlight creeping closer and closer. It was just on the other side of the tree trunk and they were beginning to feel the heat of it. Abruptly some of the brilliance began filtering down through the branches targeting Nick. Sarah was just able to push him out of its path in time. He leaned back against the tree heavily in relief, catching his breath. His look silenced her.

"Maybe this would be the right moment for me to say goodbye," he stated, his voice so soft it nearly caught in his throat.

"No! I won’t have it. I’m not losing you." Stunned by her words and the vehemence behind them, Sarah’s eyes met Nick’s wondering if he’d caught the meaning in them. Oh yeah, he did. Every single syllable. She’d revealed far too much and she tore her eyes away as if nothing happened. She surveyed the yard again looking for an idea. Anything! Suddenly she turned to him almost unable to hide her excitement.

"Did you play a lot of football back in high school?"

Nick stared at her completely confused. "A little," he replied slowly. "Why?"

"Because you are about to compete in the Super Bowl of your life."

Nick looked even more lost now. "What?"

"I’m going to be your protection from the sun. Do you think you can carry me?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"I’ll do the best I can to cover you. Your job is to just keep your head down and imagine you’re a quarterback for the NY Giants charging through the defensive line of the opposing team."

"Tampa Bay," he corrected.

"What?"

"I’d rather play for Tampa Bay."

"Whatever," she smiled amused by how he seemed to be able to make light of just about any situation. Even one that was life or death. "Just don’t drop me."

"I’ll try to remember that," Nick responded impatiently.

"Wait, we have to find something to cover your head. I’d suggest using your shirt but at this point, you can’t afford to lose one single layer of protection, no matter how little. Here," she offered as she quickly unbuttoned her blouse and handed it to him, "wrap this around your head, face and neck just leaving enough room for you to look through." Nick wordlessly did as instructed seeming to be in awe of her resourcefulness. All Sarah knew was that she felt very strange and very exposed standing before him in her bra, but ignored it. She had more important concerns ahead of her.

"Do you think Alex locked us out?" she wondered aloud, suddenly thinking of the minor detail that she had ignored up to this point.

"Guess we’ll find out. Climb aboard," Nick suggested as he leaned over slightly. She gave a little jump and he lifted her onto his back drawing her legs under his arms piggyback style. She quickly realized it would do no good if his arms were sticking out and told him to let go. She locked her thighs just above his hips and circled her arms around his shoulders while pressing against him, attempting to cover as much skin area as possible with her body.

"Umm...you can lighten up around the middle a little," he turned to look at her over his shoulder through the folds of material.

"I don’t want to slide off."

"We won’t be going anywhere if I can’t breathe."

"Oh, sorry," she smiled sheepishly and loosened her hold a bit.

"Wow, are your legs strong," he commented, still feeling them snug about his midsection. "You could probably crack walnuts with your thighs like the girl in the Bond movie." Nick seemed much too intrigued by the idea.

"And vampire’s ribs," she purred near his ear. "Now just shut up and move!"

The sun was just reaching them when with head down and rushing like a linebacker, Nick made a mad dash to the house. Sarah tried valiantly to make sure she was sheltering him, but it was tough with the constant movement and she knew he had been wounded in the side and arm and probably several other places, but kept moving regardless. He had to.

They made it to the safety of the porch, but only barely and Nick collapsed beneath her on the stairs. Sarah looped her arms under his, dragging him to the back door and pulled him inside so he could lie on the cool tile floor within. She kneeled beside him and gently unwrapped the cloth from about his head and shrugged the blouse back over her own shoulders. At least it had protected him somewhat and she didn’t find a single burn on those areas. She couldn’t say the same for the rest of him. His shirt was held together by nothing more than threads in a few places where the sun had touched it briefly. It was scorched through in others. He was so weak, he could barely speak much less move and she prayed he'd be okay. She sensed Alex approaching them and though she was wary, she wouldn’t so much as look at him.

"Good work," he praised coldly. "Angela would be proud. Or not," he reconsidered abruptly. "After all, it is a vampire you just saved, no matter how badly you’d like to believe different." Sarah tuned it out, giving no response and soon he left. Probably due to boredom. It wasn’t any fun for him if she didn’t react. She let out a long, hard sigh of relief, her shoulders relaxing slightly. The only thing she was allowing herself to focus on at the moment was Nick.

Perspiration beaded heavily upon his face. He looked feverish and when she pressed the back of her hand to his cheek, it felt as if he were burning up. This really wasn’t good. She hated to move him, but knew she'd feel safer if they were in his room behind a locked door. She draped his arm over her shoulders attempting to support his weight against her. Without Nick’s assistance, it was impossible and she was forced to let him slip to the floor once more and she followed him. What was she going to do? She couldn’t leave him there.

Sarah thought she caught some movement at the other end of the kitchen out of the corner of her eye. She’d sensed for awhile that they were being watched. She rose up and swiftly moved across the room catching only a glimpse of someone stealing down one of the hallways.

"Wait!" she called in a low voice not wanting to wake every vamp in the house. This hall was darker and narrower than the one where her room was located. She didn’t feel the safest pursuing a vampire down it, but she was desperate and she cautiously entered anyway. "Please wait," she pleaded barely above a whisper trying to peer into the dimness. Suddenly two pale blue eyes appeared before her. She stifled the scream that rose in her throat. The memory of them were far too close to her still. Sarah didn’t wait for him to say anything. She simply began talking.

"Brian, I need help. You know Nick’s in bad shape. I caught you watching us. Please, just help me get him to his room. That’s all I’ll ask."

"I can’t get involved, Sarah," he explained softly. There was no emotion there and it was rather disturbing considering how much he’d shown the times he’d been with her before.

"Please Brian. I know you’re not happy with the way things turned out. I don’t know who you’re angrier with--Nick for keeping me from you or me for allowing him to. You and I both know you did much more than take my blood those times you came to me. If Nick had realized that, he would have killed you. But I didn’t tell him. And I won’t tell him because I know why you did it. You saw Leah in me and it made you care regardless of my being a slayer. I know you still care, Brian. Please, if not for Nick and the friendship you have, if not for any other reason, do this for me?"

He paused several tense moments as if studying her and she knew he was reading her thoughts. Looking for the lies, but she had nothing to hide. Everything she’d told him was the truth. Suddenly, wordlessly, he moved past her in the direction of the kitchen and Sarah could only follow in silence, being far too thankful to risk saying anything more that might change his mind. Between the two of them, they managed to balance Nick’s weight a little more evenly and were able to coax him down the hall and into his room. They were just able to get his body to the bed and lay him upon it before both their strengths were lost. Brian walked away right after as Sarah instantly took her place at Nick’s side. Before she could express her gratitude, he was already leaving them.

"Thank you," she called out over her shoulder unsure if he’d even hear it. She saw him stop at the door, and focus upon her momentarily. "In a way, I’m sorry I can’t be her for you, Brian," she added softly. There was hurt and reluctant acceptance in the look that followed the words, then it was gone, disguised as effortlessly as a shadow that exists but leaves no trace behind.

Sarah turned her attention back to Nick and went to work carefully removing his shirt. She dampened a washcloth from the bathroom and returned to press it against the places where his skin was singed. He flinched from the sudden pressure letting her know he hadn’t given into the unconsciousness completely and she tried to be as gentle as she could. It almost looked like he'd been burnt by fire or chemicals instead of something as ordinary as light from the sun. The fresh wounds were raw and ghastly and she hated that Alex had made him endure this for her. But as bad as the burns were, it was the way the sun depleted his energy that really concerned her and she didn’t dare leave him. She wasn’t sure what she would do if Nick’s condition did take a turn for the worse. She’d spent most of her life learning how to defeat and exterminate vampires. Never once had she been called upon to save the life of one.

Sarah sat for a long time at Nick’s bedside feeling very helpless. She took care of him the best she could. Stroking his hair or face and trying to soothe when he reacted to the pain. It was all she could do at the moment. She recalled what he had said about how if he was able to feed, it accelerated the healing process and she pushed back her disgust and retrieved one of the bags of donor blood from the fridge, tore it open and pressed it to his lips. Once he recognized what it was, Nick was forcing her hand closer and drinking greedily. So much so, it made Sarah a bit wary, but she knew it was necessary for him to recover and she went and got another and did the same with it. She couldn’t say she would have ever done this for anyone else. Certainly not for a vampire. Obviously there’d been more truth in Alex’s words than she’d dare realize. She did care about Nick. She more than cared. He was growing to mean so much to her, she couldn’t imagine life here or anywhere else without him and that scared her in more ways than feeding him had.

When his breathing became smoother and it seemed he was resting more peacefully, she lied down beside him, the small bed being barely wide enough to allow it. Her hand moved down his arm that was lodged between them and she laced her fingers with his tightly. The fingers of her other hand trailed over his chest and stomach for awhile, leisurely drawing invisible patterns over his body in gentle strokes then coming to rest against the side of his neck. She wasn’t sure if the motive behind her action had been simply to comfort Nick or soothe her own shaky nerves. The contact allowed her to know him more intimately than she ever had before. The exact smoothness and texture and warmth of his skin. She’d never touched a vampire before. Strangely she’d always just assumed they would be cold. It seemed just one more way in which she’d been wrong about him. There seemed to be so many of late.

She thought of the softness of his lips and remembered their touch. She could almost feel the caress of his hands. She remembered his infectious smile, his laughter, the sweet heady tension between them and she felt her heart race just a little faster in fear of having those things taken from her.

"Don’t leave me, Nick," she whispered. "You’re the only friend I’ve got in this place." She pressed a tender kiss to his shoulder and nestled her face against it finally letting sleep overwhelm her as well. In Sarah’s dreams, Nick responded, slowly turning to her as he now sensed her thoughts as clearly as his own. He took in the beauty of her contented form clinging to his and firmed his hand more securely within hers before surrendering to unconsciousness once more.