3 (Day 1) Night

"Yoanna?" Getting no reply to her knock, Ella opened the door to the apartment and glanced around the expansive living room area for the Vampire. "Damn," she whistled quietly as she took in the wicked array of guns and knives on the table. For most people it would have been a lot but from her own experience with what she liked as well as what Sinn usually carried, Ella could tell Sinn had been travelling much lighter than usual. She bit down on the spike of fear that closed her throat off at the thought that Sinn had awoken and done something. "Yoanna?!"

"In the bedroom, Ella."

Ella paused in the doorway at the sight that greeted her. Since Yoanna had arrived in town she hadn't seen her anything less than impeccably dressed in the finest of clothes so it was something of a shock to see her naked.

Her pale beauty was on full display as she knelt behind an equally naked Sinn on the bed, the other woman's head and shoulders resting in her lap as she used a thick white towel to gently dry Sinn's hair. With Sinn's dark hair and Yoanna being so pale they made a beautiful yin and yang contrast as Yoanna leant closer and her longer hair brushed and mingled with Sinn's as though even that part of Yoanna was determined to touch her too.

It was so intimate a moment with them being naked… But… there was a gentleness to it, an innocence as Yoanna simply cared for Sinn's wellbeing.

Looking up from her study of Sinn's beautiful face, Yoanna's hands stilled their motion as she took in the frown creasing Ella's delicate features. "You seem troubled, Ella." She looked at the bed, seeing it as Ella must have. She was an ancient creature, nudity had never bothered her no matter what the trend of the current age she was passing through. Sometimes though she forgot that the people around her had different ideas on what was normal. Even though the current trend was more liberated when it came to accepting and celebrating all the different genders and sexualities it could still be pretty closed-minded at times, almost prudish when it came to nakedness and even something as perfectly natural as breastfeeding.

Ella worried at her bottom lip with her teeth. "Usually when Sinn is still it's because she is about to cause pain. Even with the stillness though there's a part I can feel… like looking at a raging storm though glass. Now, like this… she looks… calm. I always wanted her to be able to experience true calm. But I can't feel anything else from her…"

"You almost wish the anger back just to know she's okay," Yoanna sighed in agreement. Putting aside the towel, she stroked her left hand down Sinn's arm and watched closely as her pale skin moved over Sinn's tanned. Her colour was coming back, making the contrast between them more startling.

"Yeah," Ella smiled at the Vampires understanding. "She does look really peaceful though." Her eyes jumped to Yoanna's in shock as she saw Sinn's fingers flutter slightly and twined with Yoanna's as they brushed across them. She thought maybe it was just a trick of the light or that the move had been Yoanna's but she could see the delight in the Vampire's eyes. "She…?"

"Yes, she's starting to respond a little more now. Not much but… each bit is hope. We need to get her moved soon though so she can wake up in peace. Did they find where she's been staying?"

"They did. Eric and Nathan checked it out. Nathan is one of our Werewolf guards but Eric is our head of security. He's human but he's military trained and has got more experience with tracking. Eric said it's not very secure up there, the ground was too dry to see if anyone had been there recently and even Nathan couldn't tell by scent with there being so many paths and cabins around. Eric said he wouldn't be willing to risk anyone's safety up there as it's too exposed to guard." He'd also expressed his reluctance to put anyone in the line of fire given Sinn's track record and the fact that Marcus was locked up because of her. "I could stay there with her though. I would be more than happy to."

"No. That is out of the question, Ella."

"But, Sinn knows me, she wouldn't hurt me."

"Normally I'm sure she wouldn't but, Ella, if she wakes up confused she could hurt you without even realising what she's doing. Even if you weren't pregnant with a miracle I would not be willing to risk that. And if her Mentor is lurking around I am sure he must know who you are and he would nothing more than to get his hands on you and the baby."

"We need to think of something quickly. The sun will be up soon, Yoanna. You will have no choice but to rest when that happens. You can't have her with you for the same reason that you don't want me with her… if she wakes before you and gets violent or just wakes up pissed off as usual she would kill you. Putting her in a cell would be secure but that would have her pissed off in seconds no matter what. The only option is for me to keep an eye on her. Here at the mansion though where no one can get in. I swear I will be careful around her and I'm not constrained by sleep if she wakes during the day."

It made sense but that didn't mean that Yoanna wasn't worried. She could see the determination in Ella's eyes though and had the feeling that one way or another, she would find a way to be near to Sinn should she awaken so it might as well be at the mansion where there was no threat from Sinn's Mentor and the guards; human and Werewolf could be on standby if she needed help calming or restraining Sinn.

She knew Ella's reputation as a Hunter, before she had fallen for Marcus she could have given Sinn a run for her money in the skills and ferocity department, probably still could. But despite her skills she was at a disadvantage right then with being so heavily pregnant. And it wasn't just any normal baby either. Vampires were generally considered sterile even after a couple of years of being turned but Ella and Marcus had managed to beat the odds despite Marcus having seen over two hundred years as a Vampire.

"Very well," she sighed. "Use these rooms though, they are more private and as she rents places to stay anyway, there is probably no great ties to any one place for her. That could be enough to keep her off balance when she wakes up so you can get through to her. You must take care around her though, Ella, promise me? The last time she had just a taste of my blood she woke up from a coma in the hospital and snapped the arm of a nurse in her confusion. Tie her down if need be but do not trust that you will be safe just because she has never hurt you before."

Ella's eyes widened as she looked at Sinn. She had always known that the other woman was dangerous but she had, strangely considering she was usually pointing weapons at herself and people she loved, never thought of her as a threat to them. "I'll be careful," she promised. "Is there anything I'll need to do when she wakes or will she just be okay once she realises where she is?"

"If only it was as simple as that," Yoanna chuckled as she gently stroked a dark strand of hair back from Sinn's face. "But… somehow you will need to persuade her to drink this." Slicing the palm of her left hand with one of Sinn's small daggers she had acquired from her jacket, Yoanna carefully filled a small bottle with her blood and sealed her wound. "It should help with healing her mind as well as any lingering damage to her body." She'd never been able to follow up with as much blood as was needed that first time, if she had, Yoanna was certain that there would have been no scars upon her body at all but she had been forced to leave before she could find out where they had taken her and she hadn't be able to find her no matter how many times she had driven around that town as her Mentor had even managed to keep her name out of the papers after the accident.

Yoanna was determined to keep a close eye on her Sinn from now on though.