Tempus Redux

Swooosh!

Bang!

The impact of whatever hitting the walls rattled the old bunker, and Ezra Standish put a cover over his glass, protecting its contents from the dust crumbling off the ceiling. Chris Larabee, his blond lover and partner, looked up from the paper he was reading, cocking one eyebrow.

"He's been training for over three hours. Don't you think he'd be exhausted by now?"

Ezra chuckled slightly. "Whom do you mean? JD or Nicholas?"

Chris sighed and shook his head, returning his attention back to the paper.

Booom!

"Put something over my glass, too, will you?" he asked absentmindedly, before the small dust cloud hovering in front of his nose made him sneeze explosively.

"Good idea," Ezra remarked wryly, covering his lover's glass with a small saucer.

They were sitting in the living room of an old bunker Luther, the manager of the most famous vampire night club of Salt Lake City, "The Grotto", and Ezra's friend, called his home, waiting for the rest of their friends to show up. JD Dunne, youngest member of the CSI team Chris supervised, which was part of The Branch, hacker and young warlock, had moved in with his trainer Nicholas Reed.

The Brit was a very powerful warlock and had agreed to take over JD's training so the young man wouldn't accidentally blow up the city. Which no one had problems believing, especially since they had seen JD's powers awake when he had unintentionally turned a suspect into a smear on the wall in the blink of an eye. It had left the young, untrained warlock deeply exhausted and on the brink of death, showing everybody how dangerous this could become -- JD could become -- even if not intending to.

Luther's home, being an old bunker, had turned out to be the perfect training ground. Subterranean and utterly private, nobody would come and ask curious questions, and the two warlocks couldn't destroy any 'vital' parts of the city while working out in the gym. The other team members visited regularly, trying to cheer their youngest up.

The only difficulty that had appeared so far wasn't exactly one and it didn’t even concern JD himself. Vin Tanner the wolf seemed to have a crush on Nicholas. Vin Tanner the human had simply admired the slender form and whistled through his teeth once, being rewarded with a dark look from his lover, but that had been that. Unfortunately the wolf in him seemed to think otherwise.

Ezra smiled, thinking about one or two occasions when the wolf in his friend had made him act strangely toward the warlock. Thank goodness Nicholas hadn't realized it so far, never having seen Vin in his lupine shape. Which would most certainly change. Once a month there was a full moon and no way around a complete bodily change.

Yep, Ezra mused, things seemed to get very interesting around here.

"Hi guys."

Luther's voice pulled Ezra out of his thoughts. The black vampire threw his jacket over a chair and fetched himself a drink.

Wooooosh!

"Makin' progress, huh?" Luther remarked, letting himself sink down on the couch.

"Yep," Chris replied when the door of the gym opened and a very drowsy looking warlock appeared.

"About done?" Luther asked, as Nick turned toward the fridge to get himself a drink as well.

"Having a break. Say, Luther," the Brit asked, taking in the contents of the refrigerator. "Have anything stronger than 0 positive?"

"Sure. Upper left corner."

The warlock frowned, taking out a small container filled with a suspiciously looking red liquid.

"That's blood as well."

"Sure is. But it's AB negative."

Luther grinned at the burning look that the remark earned him. He was fully aware of the fact that Nicholas Reed's look could literally burn him into a neat pile of ashes if he wanted to.

"I know why I detest sharing an abode with a vampire," Ezra heard Nicholas mutter when the warlock fetched two glasses of water and returned to the gym, and couldn't help chuckle. He liked the British officer and he was glad things seemed to work out for his friends.

"So, what have you two planned for tonight?" Luther asked conversationally.

Ezra shrugged. "Chris is on duty tonight, so I'm driving him to the Clarion Tower. I was planning on dropping by some of my other establishment. My presence was requested at the StarDome later on."

Luther chuckled. "Have fun. I'm doing the job interviews tonight. Since Ronnie quit and moved to LA, we're sorely lacking someone for the back bar."

Standish nodded. He was aware of the fact. Chris emptied his drink, folded his paper and started to rise.

"Gotta go, Ez."

Luther nodded at them and the two vampires left.

Whoooom!

Well, maybe he should be early at the club tonight, too, he thought as a fine layer of dust adorned his unprotected drink.

* * *

It was JD's first week back on the job. After three weeks of personal time, mixed with vacation and overtime, Nick had declared that he was as much in control of his powers as he should be to resume work. Since JD had also grown restless and itchy, the older warlock had agreed to let him come back. Work and training were now side by side. Nick would coach him on his free days, his off time, and whenever JD thought he needed help.

Dunne had also insisted he move back to his own apartment and home. He didn’t want to look like he depended on Luther and he would come back for the training sessions in the bunker. Reed had reluctantly agreed and Luther had offered his hospitality again; he didn’t mind JD staying. It wasn’t as if JD was home much anyway. But he had moved out nevertheless. He felt better this way.

"Okay, guys, assignments!" Chris called as he stepped into the briefing room. "Vin, Josiah. I've a 480 for you. Sarah Smith, eight years old, out playing after dusk. No witnesses. Body was found by a pedestrian."

Vin took the file and flipped through it. 480; Hit and run.

"Buck, this one's for you. Missing Person. Reported in yesterday. Tracy Williams. The husband called to let us know she didn't arrive at her parent's home and no one has seen her since she left. Her car has been found at the airport," Chris went on, tossing his friend the file. "I'm taking over the Moss Bank jumper. Nathan's busy helping out at the morgue because of the flu going round. It's why we also have backlog from other departments to consider. JD, if you're up to it, I'd like you to assist wherever you can. Dawson's team has been wiped by the bug. Five of six are down, including Dawson."

"I saw him when I came in," Josiah interrupted. "Man looked like hell."

"He shouldn't even be in," Chris sighed. "Well, anyway, since we're the most resistant team so far, we have the dubious honor of playing fire fighters for the rest."

"Oh fun," Buck muttered. "Piles. I can see them now."

JD shrugged. "I'm cool. I'll call Mira downstairs and get myself the assignment codes. I can handle it."

"Thanks, JD." Chris smiled. "Everyone else, you have you assignments. Let's get it moving, people!"

* * *

A week later JD regretted his words. Yes, he was back to work. Yes, he could handle it, but things kept piling up around him. In heaps. Heaps that threatened to make the table bend under the weight and break. Things that were all labeled as 'top priority' or 'very important' or 'within the next 24 hours'. If he knew how, he would have cloned himself. There had to be a magic spell or something to duplicate himself. Something!

Sighing, he dug under the heap of loose paper and retrieved his data disks, shoving them into the drive with more force than necessary. A thermos of coffee sat on one corner of the heaped table; empty. Diet coke cans littered the floor, together with fast food and candy wrappers, half eaten Chinese or pizza. His inbox was overflowing and his answering machine was full of further demands.

And there was no relief in sight. Dawson's team had two of the sick return, but the last healthy member had called in sick in turn. A serial rapist was on the lose, killing his mostly male victims always the same way, and it made people snappy. Buck and Josiah were working on the case, making no real headway. Normally The Branch only did the unexplained or weird cases, but with so many people not at work, they were doing whatever came their way.

The printer spewed forth another finished report and JD put it into the outbox, which was by now consisting of three different boxes.

His own training had to stand back, way back, behind work. Nick wasn't happy, but they put in time whenever JD found it. Mostly it was mediation or balancing his energy levels. It was a miracle he had time for anything but work anyway.

"Hey, JD!"

Buck's sudden arrival spooked the young hacker and he gave a little gasp of surprise. "Buck! Sheesh! Give a man some warning, okay?"

"Sorry. Say, do you have my stuff ready?"

JD blinked. Stuff. Buck's stuff. "The Fanelli case?"

Earl Fanelli had killed his wife and left her out in the desert, where he had hoped her body would never be found. Two hikers had stumbled over the decomposing body and Nathan and Chris had worked together to convict the man. The court date was in ... two days?

"JD, I've to go to court tomorrow!" Buck told him with exasperation coloring his voice. "I need the files by tonight!"

"I'm doing my best here, Buck!" JD snapped. "Do you know how much work I have to do here?"

"We all have, kid. This was a priority request! Three days ago!"

Three days? JD stared at his friend in shock. Three days?!

"Fuck," he whispered softly.

"I need those files, JD!" Buck insisted.

"Yeah... ah.. you'll have them. Promise. Really," he stammered, already searching through his hard drive and the cluttered desk.

He hadn't even started with the work on Buck's compilation, the one he needed to present in court. Shit! And Buck needed it in - JD glanced at the wall clock - four hours.

Christ!

He wouldn't be able to do it in four hours. He needed more time! Panic started to spread though him.

Goddamnit!

Someone walked by the partially open door and JD automatically looked up, seeing Chris. His supervisor looked positively relaxed and at ease with himself. Larabee gave him a nod and a brief smile.

Sure. Right. Man needed hardly any sleep at all nowadays. Perks of being a vampire. He could work cases 24/7. JD had to sleep some time, and he did it mostly in his office. He had a little bed shoved behind the filing cabinets and while his machine worked on search projects, Dunne caught an hour or two, then brought his protesting system back up again with a lot of coffee. Nick had remarked on the unhealthy conduct of his life already, but right now he ignored the warlock as much as possible. The little sessions they had were strenuous and required his full concentration, something he was hardly able to give lately. He was failing on all fronts.

"Wish I had your time," he muttered and shot Chris's back a dark look.

Larabee wasn't to blame for all of this. Not at all, and JD knew it. His boss was just as hip deep in work as everyone, and Ezra was helping out by now as well, taking over filing work. The older vampire was quite adept at the bureaucratic side of life. He was managing his estates and businesses, so he had to have more than a rudimentary knowledge of things. But it was still not enough. So much work, so little time.

Turning back to his work, he sighed and dove into the impossible: getting Buck's files and reports ready in a third of the time he would usually need to make it a presentable collection and presentation in court.

His beeper went off and when he checked the number he groaned. Travis.

Oh great.

Another demand.

*

Chris strode into the office, feeling better than he had in days. The lunch treat from Ezra had something to do with it and Larabee knew that he was radiating sex pheromones en masse. Whoever had a fine enough nose to smell it, they would. Oh well, it had relaxed him from the grueling work hours lately and Ezra's promise to drop by later and see if he couldn't do something about the piles in everyone's inboxes sounded like the best news he had had all day.

Getting himself a cup of coffee, he closed the door behind him, settled down in his chair and switched on his computer. He logged in and wasn't surprised to find over 200 messages waiting for him. That was, by now, normal. Dawson was still down and not expected to return for another three days. The day shift teams were turning to Larabee, the night shift supervisor, and while he had worked out an understanding with one of his day time colleagues that he would be temporary supervisor, Chris was still a wanted man.

He grinned as he recalled a friend’s teasing remarks that being a CSI was the laziest job in the world. Collect dust in a bag, take some pics, do some vial shaking. Chris was a scientist and not a cop, that was true, but he hardly had a calm job. Approximately 70% of his team’s time was spent processing crime scenes, packaging and transporting evidence, attending and photographing autopsies,  and attending briefings and conferences with the police agencies requesting assistance. The remaining time was spent preparing investigative reports, testifying in court, receiving continuing education, instructing classes and maintaining equipment in a state of readiness.

Oh yes. Boring. Lots of free time. And with the latest work load, all their instructor jobs had been cancelled.

Okay, no time like the present. He had to go through the junk mail first, remove it, then see what was high priority and do that.

The door to his office was opened and Vin stuck his head in. "There you are! Chris, what the hell are you doing here? You're running late as it is!"

Larabee blinked. "Late? Vin, what are you talking about?"

"Don't tell me you forgot the swipe you had scheduled for guys from Lark Pharmacy!"

The Lark case. Yes, he knew about it. A dead body found in the dumpster behind the pharmacy store, which had turned out to be the eighteen-year-old trainee by the name of Emma Francesco. She had been pregnant, first month, as Nathan had found out, and apparently been killed by strangulation. Chris had asked all male employees to be there this evening for a mouth swipe. It was voluntary, but whoever refused was immediately a suspect.

"Vin, that isn't for another two hours..."

Chris's eyes fell on his desk clock and he froze. Impossible!

"Chris, it's eight p.m. by now. You've been in the office for almost three hours already!" Tanner shook his head. "What have you been doing? Sleeping?"

"No, I..."

I just walked in here, switched on my computer, was about to do my mail, Chris heard himself say mentally. He looked at the cup of coffee, still full, and when he touched the ceramic, he felt it was cold. What the...? He couldn't remember being in here for such a long time - not touching his beverage. A glance at the email inbox showed him that he hadn't even done his planned mails.

"Larabee, come on!" Vin urged and grabbed his arm. "We need to go. Now."

Chris let himself get pushed out of his office, still puzzled. He pushed the whole strange thing into the back of his mind as Vin drove them to Lark's Pharmacy, but it still nagged at him.

* * *

JD looked up blearily from the computer and felt a faint grin form on his lips.

You're the man, JD, he cheered himself on. You did it. You managed the impossible. Here is Buck's court stuff. Cool.

And he had no idea how he had done it. The clock showed ten minutes to spare and he quickly stuffed everything into a manila folder.

Rubbing his burning eyes, JD exited the computer room and dumped the whole thing on Wilmington's desk. Buck looked up.

"Hey, you made it," he grinned. "Thanks, JD."

"Call me the Magic Man," Dunne joked, wriggling his fingers.

"Y'know, you had me worried there for a minute. I thought you'd have to scrounge it all together from the bottom." Buck looked at his watch. "Okay, gotta run. Thanks again!"

I had to scrounge it all from the bottom, JD thought wearily. And now I have to find out how many other people I need to apologize to and see how to do the dozens of priority requests. Shit, I wish Jameson was here. They should call him back from his vacation!

Barry Jameson was JD's counterpart from the dayshift and about ten years his senior. He and his wife had flown to Hawaii.

The traitor, Dunne growled to himself as he returned to his humble abode. Getting a can of coke from the small fridge he called his own, he settled down again. Scanning over the long To Do list, he tried not to panic again. Two more urgent requests to get the files back to the respective departments. A third reminder from someone upstairs that he still hadn't delivered what he had promised should be done by the day before yesterday. Some mails from chat friends, asking where he had disappeared off to.

I'm in the twilight zone, guys, he sighed. Trapped in a small, dark room, filled with computers and stuff. Working my butt off because we're being decimated by the common flu. Feeling under appreciated, underpaid and high on caffeine.

Welcome to my life.

* * *

Luther looked over the credentials of his latest applicant for the job of bartender/barkeep of the back bar. The back bar was in a far corner of the club, shut off from the main dance floor, and the clientele seeking out the pure privacy of this dark area were special. Not only vampires, but other supernaturals as well. Ronnie had been the perfect choice for the barkeeper of that particular field of customer service. He had been built like a wrestler, had a semi-magical background, which meant he could work up some impressive but still harmless fireworks, and he had been a man.

The applicant was the complete opposite. Small, slender, with short, very reddish brown hair, and lively green eyes. And it was a woman.

Luther was far from prejudiced; he liked women, no doubt about it. Women weren’t the weaker sex; nope. And if they were vampires or witches or werewolves or had any other powers, he wouldn’t have thought twice about employing them in the Grotto. Harriet was a very capable waitress and all of the other female employees had a supernatural background of some kind.

Karen Chapman had none of these attributes. She looked like a very nice girl, but that was about it.

“Ms. Chapman,” he said slowly. “You know what kind of job you’re applying for?”

She gave him a sweet smile. “Perfectly well. I’m applying for the position of barkeeper in The Grotto, a famous nightclub, which is frequented by vampires and other supernaturals, as well as humans, most of who know the other clientele. Before you ask, yes, I’ve met vampires before.”

Luther raised an eyebrow. “Very good, Ms. Chapman. Now, I employ my people by their qualification to handle not only the job they want to do here, but also the people they serve.”

“Of course. I understand completely.” Karen radiated an aura of calm acceptance and competence, something Luther found quite unsettling coming from a twenty-three year old girl.

“So, have you ever handled a drunken vampire?”

“I haven’t had the opportunity, no, but I assure you I will be able to. I have worked in bars before, as you can see from my references.”

Another raised eyebrow. “Ms. Chapman, I am a vampire and I severely doubt you could handle me when I’m drunk,” Luther told her, brutally honest.

Karen’s eyes swiped the bar and settled on the solitary vampire sitting at the far end of the main bar, already into his second bottle of whiskey.

“Give me a chance to prove myself, then decide,” she told the taller vampire and promptly walked behind the bar and toward the severely drunk man.

Luther groaned. He knew the client. His name was Zeke. He was a notorious patron, someone who loved to substitute blood for alcohol, drinking himself into oblivion. Luther more often than not had Ben or someone else throw him out.

“’Nother one o’ those,” Zeke slurred and gestured with the by now nearly empty bottle.

“I don’t think so, sir,” Karen answered politely, a smile on her face and in her voice. “I think you had quite enough.”

“Gimme another drink, girlie!” Zeke bellowed. “I’m a payin’ customer here!”

“And quite a drunk one. You had enough. Or do you want me to call security.”

“Y’re not’n charge here, missy. Now gimme a drink.”

“No.”

Luther poised himself to intervene. With his speed he could be between Karen Chapman and Zeke in a flash.

Zeke’s own vampire reflexes were still quite fast, even with the state of inebriation he was in, and he grabbed the smaller woman by one wrist.

“Y’ don’t know yer place!” he hissed.

Karen didn’t so much as wince at the bruising grip. Her free hand simply grabbed the thick wrist of her much taller opponent and… squeezed. Zeke suddenly howled. His grip opened and he released Karen, holding his hand.

“Bitch!” he yelled and lunged at her, stumbling over his chair.

Karen did something Luther could later only call the Vulcan Death Grip. The drunk vampire whimpered, not even screaming, and his knees started to buckle. By now one of the security guys had come over.

“Trouble?” he asked casually, sizing Karen up.

She smiled at him. “Not if you remove the gentlemen from the bar and escort him outside, thank you very much.” She let go of Zeke. “Have a nice day.”

Luther stepped forward and looked down at the woman. “Interesting technique.”

“If you grow up in a backwater town full of rowdy boys and men, you gotta learn how to move and defend yourself pretty fast. Now, do I have the job?”

He laughed. “Persistent.”

“I need this job to pay my rent and to live. You know I’m good, I know I’m good, so what’s the problem?”

Luther grinned. “All right, we’ll set up a trial period, Ms. Chapman. Six weeks. After that, I’ll tell you if you’re hired part time or not.”

“Good. And call me KC. Everyone does.”

Luther stretched out one hand. “Welcome to The Grotto, KC.”

She shook it.

* * *

Buck returned from his shopping spree, whistling to himself. He felt good. His last case had gone smoothly; no fuss at all. Tonight he'd start another one. He had used his daytime before work to hunt through the small streets and alleys off the main tourist shopping highways, and he had found what he had wanted. The perfect gift for Vin's birthday. He grinned. His partner would be surprised, and he was sure he'd love it.

"Hey, JD!" he called as he discovered their resident computer genius.

JD was hurrying from his office to the outside color laser printer, scowling as the machine only spit out one piece of paper.

"Ah hell!" the younger man cursed. "He promised to repair it!"

"Problems?"

"You can say that. Potter from Resources told me he'd get me a new laser printer and all he did was shuffle around old models. We ended up with one from two years ago! It's slow, it's old, it's not good enough!"

Buck shrugged. "Ask him again."

JD glared at him. "I did, Buck. All I got was a bored 'you're on the list'. Damnit! Look at the print! It's horrible!"

JD held up the piece of paper and Buck understood his friend's problems. The smear on the paper went all from the top to the bottom. It was a gray, thick line that obscured the rest of the print.

"You honestly want to tell me that Chris likes his court files or his reports printed like that?"

"Well, he has his own little printer."

"Which is an old model as well, should have been replaced months ago, and he's using the office printer, like all of us." JD ran a hand through his already unruly hair. "I asked for new equipment several times, but it gets lost somewhere along the lines. And with this epidemic and so many people on vacation, they're just as undermanned as we are."

Buck patted his shoulder. "Well, then we have to live with it." Then he grinned. "Oh, I gotta show you what I bought for Vin's birthday!"

JD looked suddenly thunderstruck. "Vin's birthday?"

"Yeah. It's next week." Buck dug into his shopping bag and pulled out the small box. "Here."

Dunne looked a bit confused, even flustered, but he still looked at the gift and smiled with Buck.

"He'll kill you but he'll like it, I bet," he commented.

"Yep." Buck stuffed it back into shopping bag. The grin was forever etched into his face. "I'll go and check my mails, then let's see what Chris has for me tonight."

Whistling happily, he walked to his desk.

 

JD looked after his friend, feeling anger and envy in one. Buck had a life outside these holy walls. He went shopping, for crying out loud! While JD did his best to make everything work, to get everything filed, printed and sorted. He did overtime, but made sure Chris didn't catch a whiff of it or he'd be out of this office in a flash. And now Buck rubbed it under his nose that there was actually a world outside the Clarion Tower!

Shit. JD glared at the old printer and returned to his office. Somehow, he hadn't really made a dent into the piles. Double shit. Then there was Vin's birthday. He remembered something about a party, about wanting to shop for a gift, too. He still had time, but the last time he had thought about it, it had still been a month away. Now it was only a week.

"Damn," he whispered.

The phone rang and he shot it a wary look. After the fifth ring he picked it up and immediately wished he hadn't.

"I'm almost done, sir," he lied as Travis barked at him where the reports from the last ten cases were since they hadn't made an appearance on his desk yet. "Uh... yeah... tomorrow morning. Yes, sir."

He hung up and sank back in his chair, closing his eyes. Six of the case files were already done and he could send them out as a peace offering, but the rest...

"I can do it," JD murmured.

Buck's jovial greeting of Josiah and Nathan set his teeth on edge. Clenching his jaw, JD resolutely tuned out the voices outside and went to work.

He needed time. Time he didn't have.

Rubbing his aching head, the young agent did what he could to deliver what he had promised.

* * *

Chris looked up from his study of bone fragments that had been found in the basement of an old building when the door opened.

"Well, Agent Wilmington. How nice of you to grace us with your presence," he greeted his oldest friend.

Buck frowned. "Uh, Chris... what...?"

"Where were you, Buck? Everyone was there but you."

Wilmington opened his mouth, then closed it again. "I... I just dropped off the gift I bought for Vin's birthday in my locker and then came straight here... I mean, I came to your office, but you were gone, so I thought you might be in the labs..."

"Good thought. You are still late. I gave your case to Josiah." Chris straightened. "Vin had no idea where you were. He told me you left before him early today. Then Nathan and Josiah mentioned that they saw you as you walked into the locker room, but you weren’t there either. I was close to putting an APB out on you!"

"But... but..." Buck stuttered, then looked at his wrist watch. "Holy! It's already 3 a.m.!"

Chris gave his friend a worried look as the other man sat heavily down in a chair. "Buck?"

"I came in at seven, Chris, honestly! Talked to JD, let him bitch about Potter from Resources because of the printer problem. Showed him Vin's gift. Met Josiah and Nathan, then went to the lockers. Uh... and came back to the briefing room right away, but there was no one there." Dark eyes stared at Larabee in utter confusion. "Chris, I didn't leave the building! Honestly. I was in at seven. Look at the computer registration logs from tonight!"

Chris lowered the looking glass and then placed it on the table. He frowned deeply. "You had a blackout?"

"I... I don't know. I mean, sheesh! I lost eight hours!"

Larabee switched off the lamp and walked to his friend. "Buck, this is serious!"

"Don't'cha think I know it? What's going on with me?" Panic crept in Wilmington's voice.

"Maybe you should let Nathan have a look at you..."

Buck rubbed his forehead. "Damn. I didn't have a blackout, Chris! I walked out of the office, into the locker room, back again... and I lost eight hours somewhere in between!" The panic rose.

"Nathan it is. Come on." Chris gave him a little shove.

Buck followed him, pale and frightened looking, shoulders hunched. As they made their way down to the pathology department, Chris couldn't help but remember his own loss of time, almost three hours, from not so long ago.

* * *

"Physically you're fine, Buck." Nathan looked up from the results of the tests he had run on Buck for the last two hours.

"Physically?" Wilmington echoed, looking miserable and like he wanted to be anywhere but here. And he did.

"There are no indications that something is wrong with you, Buck. No brain tumors, no blood clots, no drugs in your system," Jackson elaborated. "I did the whole test sequence and you're fit as a fiddle."

"But?" Chris queried.

"It might be psychological," Nathan added reluctantly. "Stress can cause blackouts."

"Oh come on, Nate!" Buck protested. "We had worse than what we're currently experiencing. I'm not stressed!"

Nathan shrugged. "It is a possibility. Still, eight hours are a long time, even if it is psychological. And someone should have found you in the locker room."

Chris nodded, chewing thoughtfully on his lower lip. "So what else?"

"I don't know. It's the first incident of this kind I've heard of, actually." The doctor looked questioningly at Chris.

Larabee pinched the bridge of his nose. "Something similar happened to me," he finally confessed.

"What?!" Buck exclaimed. "When?"

"A few days ago. I came in, and suddenly three hours had gone by without me noticing. I can't remember if I did something within those three hours or not. I didn't do my email, though. The coffee was untouched and cold."

Nathan frowned but didn't say anything.

"Vin came in and reminded me I was late for a swipe I had asked for. It was... disturbing, but I actually thought it was stress," Chris added, sighing.

"Three hours, yes," Nathan agreed, "but you're not human anymore, Chris. Stress doesn't affect you like humans. You're a vampire and you're a lot more resilient in that way. You need hardly any sleep and your body deals differently with such under-pressure-input."

"So... what caused it?"

"I wish I knew," Nathan murmured. "I wish I knew..."

* * *

He could do this.

No problem.

Actually, it was very easy -- if you knew how. JD thought he knew the how part of the whole endeavor. He had done it often enough.

Under supervision, a small voice whispered.

Yeah, well, he was an adult. Legally. And he had mastered magic by a degree by now.

Barely, the voice sneered.

Oh, shut up!

JD concentrated on the fork lying on the table. Not very heavy, easy to manipulate... he had done heavier levitation already.

In the training room, the obnoxious voice reminded him.

But it worked! he snarled.

Except that the hard plastic, football-sized object had gone off like a rocket, bounced off the ceiling and had nearly smacked him over the head. So much for that. Not to mention almost clipping Nick's shoulder in the process. Thank god the older man was rather adept at whipping up shields.

JD sighed. Levitation was supposed to be so easy. Here he was, apprentice warlock, able to access magical energy fields to a degree, and he couldn't manage a decent levitation. Softballs, yeah. Easy. As long as he didn't lose his concentration -- which happened with sickening regularity. But softballs didn't leave major bruises. Assorted small stuff with a high density did.

He rubbed a fading bruise on his left shoulder. That had hurt. Nick had just told him to balance himself better, that it was all a matter of the mind. That was why Reed insisted on the meditation, on learning how to center. Right. His mind was balanced, for crying out loud!

Not if you take a look at the magical outcome, the annoying voice told him, almost laughing.

Oh, shut up!

A snicker followed.

Great. He was talking to himself and his other self was laughing at him! Next step was basket case. He simply had to train, Nick told him again and again. There was no rushing magic. If rushed, it lashed back, and JD knew backlashes intimately. They hurt like hell and were definitely in the No Fun category of magic. He had trained for barely six weeks now and Nick had repeated again and again that he was doing just fine.

JD sighed. Not in his opinion. He was failing all over the scale. Not only wasn't he doing his job properly, having to shuffle assignments and reports, with no idea how he should manage it all, he was also getting even more work by the day. Yes, so far he had, as if by magic he thought dryly, always delivered what was needed. But how long could he still keep up the pace?

Well, now he had a whole weekend to unwind. No work for two days. It was time to practice on his magic. And he was failing.

He could do magic. Small amounts. Little energy manipulations. So he could do this levitation! There!

JD gathered the magic around him, concentrating on the fork. He didn't need a lot of magic and he had learned to siphon what was inside of him, to actually lever just enough of it at an object to make it float. And seconds later the magic would tear free of his control and strike out. It sucked. Badly. He was really good at some other stuff, but levitation? Hopeless!

No one was home at the moment. Luther was at the Grotto, Nick had had to make an appearance at the military base now and then. He was a Lieutenant Commander; his life didn't revolve around being a warlock 24/7. Training had been rescheduled for later.

Due to the sickening amount of boredom culminating - and no chance to go into the office and get some work done because Chris had told him in no uncertain terms that if he so much as peeked in, he would be suspended for a week -- JD had gone to Luther’s place with the intention to train. The vampire had given him a spare key just for that reason, as well as an offer to return in case he felt he needed to get out of his place.

Nick told you not to train it alone.

He glared at the little voice as he walked into the kitchen to make himself a sandwich.

I can do it! This isn't a new or dangerous manipulation!

Anger seeped into his mind balance and the fork quivered. Oooops.....

JD reamed in the anger and inhaled deeply, then exhaled. Calm. Inner balance. Reach out..... feel the magic... guide it.....

The fork rose off the table.

He allowed himself a grin.

See? Works!

We'll see, the voice answered.

The fork levitated in front of him, perfectly balanced, and JD felt pride blossom inside of him. Hah!

He tilted his hand a bit, the fork copying the motion and rolling around once. Perfect! He let it rise, almost laughing at how easy it was.

And then he felt the magic ripple.

Oh no, you don't! he thought angrily, smoothing it out, keeping it steady.

But it rippled again and JD frowned. He felt something at the edge of his perception and fear lanced through him as he realized what it was. The scatter. Oh darn! That one came very close in its form to levitating, though it was much more violent. Nick was still trying to figure out why he always slipped from one to the other, but without success.

And then the scatter got out of control. JD gasped as the magic snapped free. The fork quivered for a second, then shot off like fired from a bow. But it wasn't the only piece of cutlery. JD gave a cry of alarm and ducked as three knives followed on its heel. They had been laying on the counter, completely out of his line of sight or his magical concentration. There was a loud, metal tearing sound and JD whirled around, almost losing his physical balance as the first signs of backlash made themselves known. It was another downside to magic. Whenever he overdid it, his body not only complained, it screamed. This time the backlash was mediocre, but it was still hurting.

When he saw the result, JD forgot the pain.

"Shit! I'm dead," he whispered.

A soft 'mrow!' could be heard and he looked around to discover Bagheera, his familiar, carefully poking her head into the kitchen. The black cat looked at the accident scene, then at him.

"Mowow?"

"It was a freaking accident, okay?"

"Mrow!"

Man, he was so dead.

"Man, I'm so dead...."

Bagheera made a little snorting noise of affirmation. He looked at the accident scene.

The fork and the three knives stuck in the kitchen wall. The concrete kitchen wall. One knife was buried almost up to half the hilt, another looked...melted?... and the fork.... JD swallowed, feeling so sick. It had been driven into the wall handle first!

Choose your grave, because you are going to die, the inner voice sing-songed.

When Luther came home and saw the mess..... He groaned silently.

He was still a guest here, at least most of the time. He couldn't practice at home, so Luther had told him and Nick they could come over to practice here. Nick had also been invited to actually stay, so he wouldn't have to pay for a hotel. The bunker was large enough to house twenty people comfortably, so two or three could lose sight of each other easily. And JD had to confess he liked it here.

The hacker walked over to the strange sight and carefully touched the metal. It was completely cool to the touch, but it was also stuck tight. He could try removing it with magic, but he better not, he thought. Whatever he tried, it would most likely result in even worse.....

He sat down heavily on his chair, staring at the cutlery. It looked like modern art..... A small smile stole over his features, then was wiped by the thought of Luther. And Nick. He had practiced outside the lab. Without supervision. And he knew he was not supposed to. Luther would have his head because of his disfigured kitchen; Nick because he had gone against the rules.

Damn, damn, damn!!!

JD glared at the cutlery.

It glared back.

It had to happen to him.

Why me? he wailed silently

You didn't listen, the little voice mocked.

He ignored it, though that was hard to do. But it was right. He hadn't listened. Story of his life.

So not looking forward to it, he sighed silently.

Bagheera jumped up and demanded her backrub as her human continued staring at the wall. JD almost automatically reached for the familiar and began to scratch her head.

Well, he'd pay for the damage, JD vowed. No chance he'd let Luther come up with the cash for the repairs. No chance in hell he'd let Nick use magic on it either. JD had done it, he would pay for it.

Stupid stunt, he ranted on in his mind, the little voice happily joining in. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

And just the JD thing to do.

Major bummer.

* * *

Lt. Commander Nicholas Reed, Royal Navy, currently stationed in the US of A, walked into the bunker, Luther's home, mentally going through his schedule for the rest of the week. Mostly bureaucratics, one flight to San Francisco for a meeting, and a weekend in Vegas because of another meeting. Not too bad. What was bad was the fact that he only had time to pack and then had to leave again. Not what he had planned on doing, since he was still teaching JD how to get control of his powers, but he couldn't simply weasel out of it. He was a high ranking officer. He had duties.

JD's grueling work schedule had made training almost impossible and he had been looking forward to working with his student this weekend. So much for that. He really needed to put his foot down with Chris to get JD more off time than he had. The CSI teams were by now better manned and almost back to their old strength. Larabee's team was handling less and less other cases, so within the next few days Nick expected things to change. JD had to continue his training.

Stepping into the living room, he discovered JD playing with his laptop. Bagheera lay curled up on the couch chair and now looked up as he entered. Large, green eyes tracked his movement and she sat up, stretching briefly. Nick had gotten to know the young but powerful warlock pretty well by now, so it wasn't all that hard to see that something had happened. If Bagheera's suddenly attentive behavior was any indicator, it was something serious.

"Hello, JD," he greeted the younger man.

JD looked up. "Uh, hi, Nick," he answered. "Back already?"

"The freeway wasn't clogged."

JD fidgeted. "Uh.... Nick... I...." He inhaled deeply. "I practiced a bit this morning and..... one kinda got out of control....."

Nick quickly glanced about the living room. Everything was in its place and there was no indication that anything was broken. All looked normal.

"Which one?" he asked calmly.

JD looked up, then evaded his eyes. "Levitation," he mumbled.

Okay, so levitation had never been JD's forte. It would change in time and with a lot more concentrated work, but right now, he was rather unable to levitate anything for any time. No one was born a master.

"What happened?"

JD winced a bit.

Nick couldn't think of anything really serious happening that would bring his anger down on the young CSI. JD was his apprentice of sorts, and as a student, he made mistakes. Some bigger and more stupid than others, but that was the good part of being an apprentice: you could mess up. And if he had practiced in the training room...

Something clicked.

JD seemed to read the dawning realization in his eyes because he hunched his shoulders and chewed on his lower lip.

"Where?" Nick only asked.

"Kitchen."

The kitchen?!

Nick blinked. Okay..... kitchen.... Whatever.

"Okay, what exactly happened?"

A sigh and JD shrugged uncomfortably. "I think you better look at it yourself," he mumbled. "Kinda hard to explain."

Nick walked toward the kitchen, a small curl of dread in his stomach. He was expecting everything, from a burned out toaster to collateral damage to the whole inventory. As he stepped into the small kitchen, he felt his spirits lift as he discovered that there were no major holes anywhere, nothing smelled burned and all was where it was supposed to be.

All but....

Nick blinked, perplexed. Bloody hell! His gray eyes fixed on the kitchen wall where four pieces of cutlery stuck, a beacon of magic gone wrong. JD had shuffled in behind him, now ducking as Nick looked at him in surprise.

"What did you do?" he heard himself ask, still too stunned to think clearly.

"I kinda tried to float a fork....."

Fork. Yes, there was a fork in the wall. Handle first. The force alone necessary to push a handle into a metal wall was incredible. The fork had positively fused with the wall after it had slid in. The magical field around it had probably disturbed the molecular structure of the wall, which had settled back after the contact of one object with another.

And the knives.

"And three knives," Nick commented.

"Uh, no. They came after the levitation went completely off and turned into a scatter..... I think they got caught in the energy outpour." JD raised his eyes again, wincing at Nick's expression. He looked like he wanted to sink into the floor. "I know I shouldn't have done it. I know you told me often enough, but I didn't think it to be such a biggie. I didn't think it would fuse! It should have bounced off and all.... I...." He stumbled and fell silent. "Sorry, Nick," he mumbled. "Was stupid. I know."

"Yes, it was stupid. And how do we explain that to Luther?"

JD moaned softly. "He's gonna kill me."

"Probably." Nick looked at the artful display of magic gone haywire and chuckled. "You know, it wouldn't make such a bad cup holder. Or to hang up the dish towels....." he mused.

"You wouldn't!"

Nick gave the impression of taking it into serious consideration. "Why not? Luther likes modern art. He might just keep it."

"Nick!"

The Brit chuckled, then grew serious again. "Next time, take it to the training room, JD. It's not just because I want the furniture in one piece, it's also for your own safety. Furniture can be replaced. A human life, your life, cannot."

JD sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, I know. I'm really sorry, Nick. Really. Won't happen ever again."

"Cutlery in the wall or practicing outside the training room?" Nick teased.

The computer expert looked up, took in his amused expression, and a slight smile stole over his lips. "Cutlery's safe from me," he said lightly.

Nick smiled, then nodded. "Alright. I hope so for your sake. Listen, I'm only here to pack some things. I was ordered to a week-long representation in San Francisco."

JD shrugged. "No problem. I won't try anything outside the training room. JD word of honor."

"Mrow!" Bagheera could be heard.

"Yeah, well, and I got a watcher," JD joked weakly.

"Mwow!"

Nick grinned. "Good. If you have any problems, feel strange... you know the drill. Call me. I'll have the cell with me wherever I go."

"Thanks, Nick."

Reed smiled, then headed for his room.

It left JD alone in the kitchen. With the cutlery still in the wall. A reminder of his incompetence.

* * *

Luther came home early from the Grotto. Early in the morning. The night club closed at six, he had locked it up, had let Martin drive him to the bunker because of an early sunrise, and now he was home at just before eight. Sunday morning, eight a.m., complete silence. He hadn't expected anything else. Nick had called last night, told him he had to leave for San Francisco, and not to tear JD's head off because of a cutlery incident in the kitchen that had involved magic. Or was that a magical incident that involved cutlery?

He hadn't asked.

The warlock's reassurance that the bunker was still standing and not in need of serious repairs had been enough. Cutlery stuck in the wall was the least of his worries.

Walking into the living room, Luther frowned as his sensitive nose picked up the smell of alcohol. Not much. Not like someone had liberally doused the carpet in it, but enough to know that some of the strong stuff had been taken out of the cabinet and consumed.

He found JD not much later. Sprawled in a chair, a mostly full bottle of very potent spirits next to him, playing with an empty shot glass. As Luther entered, the younger man looked up, then lowered his gaze once more.

"Hey, JD."

"'lo."

Okay, bad. A not very talkative JD was always bad.

"Nick called me last night before he left. He told me what happened."

"He would," came the mumbled reply. "So go ahead. Have a look, have a fit."

Luther frowned, but he walked into the kitchen and looked around.

He blinked.

Okay..... that looked ... strange. It hadn't been here the last time he had set foot in the kitchen.

Nick had given him a brief run-down of the 'accident', telling him that four pieces of cutlery were now stuck in the wall. Not to worry, Reed would take care of it later in. He just hadn't had time and he wanted to leave it as a little reminder for his young apprentice.

The vampire walked over to the kitchen wall and studied it.  Three knives and a fork were deeply embedded in it, one knife looking very bent, one had a partially molten look and the fork was sticking out of the wall with the handle buried in it. He tilted his head in thought. Interesting. An interesting display of uncontrolled magical power.

Leaving the kitchen again, he gazed at the morose warlock-in-training.

"Just say it and be over with it," JD growled.

"Say what?" he asked.

"That it was a foolish stunt, that I have no control of my powers, that I'm failing all over the place! It was just a simple little energy manipulation! Nothing should have gone wrong!" JD's voice rose with every sentence. He forced himself to calm down, biting his lower lip. "Uh, Luther... I'm going to pay for the damage done to the kitchen, okay? Nick said he'll remove them, but if you know someone, call. I'll take over the bill."

Luther smiled briefly. "No hurry. It looks kinda... neo-art."

JD looked at him, eyes slightly glassy. "Neo-art? Sure. 'Kay. Whatever."

Luther walked over to him, removing the bottle. JD hadn't drunk enough to be actually in a stupor. Heck, from the smell and the state of the bottle, he suspected a maximum of two, maybe three, shots. Nothing bad. He wasn't really drunk. Just lightly intoxicated.

"You just discovered what you are, JD," Luther said calmly, prying the glass from unresisting hands. "Everyone has to learn to deal with what is new. It took me years to really learn what it means to be a vampire. First you put a safety harness on it, then you start experimenting. And you're not a failure."

JD snorted and glared at the hapless carpet. "Right."

"You're a very talented young man, JD. You work for the CSI, The Branch no less. You wouldn't be on Chris's team if you weren't good at what you do. As for the magic thing... you just discovered those abilities. Do you know how long Nick worked on his until he was where he is today? No? Well, guess how old he is."

"Forty?"

"Try my age."

JD blinked. "Uh."

"Yes, uh. And he told me he always has to train, take the edge off it, channel the energy."

"Oh. Well.... I wish it would get a move on and work," JD muttered. "Got enough problems without that. Stupid magic. Stupid brain. Stupid me."

Okay, different rail track. The train had changed directions, Luther noted.

"Always get into trouble, whatever I do," the younger man went on. "And when I don't, I attract it anyway. I'm trying here, right? I got a job. An important job. I earn big bucks. But it's never enough!" He pushed himself out of the chair and started to sway. "Hell..."

"Too much, hm?"

"I'm not drunk!"

Luther grabbed one elbow and JD staggered against him. "Sure. But you're intoxicated. Let's get you to bed."

"Sounds great."

"Uh-huh."

It wasn't hard to drag the warlock to bed. Vampire strength. Always helpful. He deposited JD on the guest bed where he sat, staring at the floor once more.

"Why is it never enough?"

JD blinked at the taller man. "huh?"

"You said it's never enough. By whose standards? Your own? Someone else's?"

"Working on your doctorate in psychology, Luther?" Dunne asked, voice acid.

"No, helping a friend."

The vampire sat down beside JD, waiting.

"When I was a kid, I was too geeky," the younger man finally whispered. "Got into trouble because I was bored at school, bored by homework, bored by my teachers. No one wanted to be friends with the brainy kid, so I didn't have anyone after school or even a friend in school. Missed lots of classes. Fell in with the wrong crowd. Got into crime. Hacked into everything. Computers were my friends. Got busted, but they never got me for real. I was underage. Saw my share of therapists and counselors."

He threaded his fingers through his dark bangs, sighing. Luther watched silently.

"The last time I was arrested, I was given a choice, actually. I knew I was good, Chris knew I had talent. Chris wanted my help for a case. Said the charges would be dropped if I helped. So I did. I thought I could weasel out. Didn't help. Ended up in the academy and crime fighting."

He jumped up with a snort and started pacing, steps a bit unsteady but not overly drunken and staggering.

"Wasn't tough enough for the street. Failed. No luck with my love life. Failure, too. Fran broke up with me just yesterday. Told me there was nothing between us. Tumbles are fine, but no commitment, right? I tumble in my life. Just great!"

Luther watched the agitation spike, then falter. JD's breathing was harsher, but not alarming. The younger man turned to look at him, seeking answers.

"I don't have the answers," the vampire only said.

"No one has," JD murmured. "All I get are theories and facts. Never answers. Biology classes tell you about sex, Nick tells me about magic, the chat rooms tell me what life could be like."

He scrubbed a hand over his face.

"Damn. I'm really messed up, hm? Apprentice warlock with a criminal record working for a law enforcement agency. My boss is a vampire, two of my colleagues are werewolves, and I can't even float a damn fork!"

Luther still only watched.

"I can't get a girl. When I get one, tell her about my work, she goes 'oh!' at first, then realizes I'm not some die hard cop, just a lab tech. I got a gun and all I use is my computer! I can't even tell her about you guys, my other life!" JD exploded once more.

"If the girl comes from the right background, yes."

"So I should narrow my hunting ground down to the Grotto, hm?" Dunne growled sarcastically.

Luther smiled. "There are other places, but it might be a start. Some of the ladies there have mentioned their interest in you once or twice."

It got him a narrow-eyed look. Luther's smile widened.

"I'm the bartender. We get told a lot of stuff."

"Huh. Right. So you wanna set me up with someone?"

A shrug. "If you tell me yes, then I will."

"With a girl?"

Another shrug.

"What if I'm not into her?"

"Then you all you have to do is say 'no'."

"What if I'm into a man?" JD asked, voice quiet, eyes intense.

Luther studied the young features. "You'd have no problem finding a partner either."

JD approached him, stopping in front of the taller man. He looked at Luther's face, then reached out with one hand, touching the piercing. "Did that hurt?" he asked softly. "Always been wondering about vampires and piercings, y'know," he went on, not giving the older man a chance to answer. "You heal so fast... why pierce yourselves?"

"Why do people get tattoos?" Luther asked back.

The hand dropped to rest lightly on the hard muscled chest, resting there, a warm weight. Fingers massaged little circles.

"Why do people do anything? Do you have any other piercings? Tattoos?" JD whispered, hand sliding over the firm chest to the stomach and to his waist band. "Or just this one?"

"Kid, are you coming on to me?"

Dunne chuckled. "I'm not a kid. I'm twenty-six."

The hand locked around a belt loop and pulled. Luther let himself get pulled forward. JD slid his free hand underneath the t-shirt, encountering naked skin. Then the warlock's mouth fastened on the vampire's and Luther answered the kiss, not even thinking about wrong or right. JD wasn't drunk; he knew what he was doing. He was radiating pheromones that could blind someone's senses.

And then his tongue was gliding against Luther's.

"Not there," Dunne breathed as they separated.

His hand slid higher, pushing up the shirt. He encountered a nipple.

"Not there either."

Luther looked at him, taking in the lust-filled gaze, smelling the aroused state, feeling JD's hands on his body. He would be lying if he told anyone that he wasn't in lust. That he didn't want this man.

"Be careful with who you flirt, JD," the vampire told him, still not making any moves to disentangle himself.

"Why? You gonna hurt me?" JD looked up seductively.

"No. Have you done this before?" he asked softly.

"Yeah. Don't worry. Not a virgin."

Luther smiled, but there was still reluctance. JD was reacting out of the stress he felt. Not always a good start, but the younger man was truly an adult. It was his decision.

JD grinned, deciding it was time for some serious interactions. He reached up, fisted Luther's shirt and brought him down for a kiss. A hard, brutal, searing kiss. The kiss escalated and moments later, both men ended on the bed with JD perched on top of Luther, their tongues still swimming together, completely undisturbed by the sudden shift in locale.

They finally parted and gasping for breath, JD wheezed out, "Need you. Now."

Who was Luther to disobey?

 

"JD?"

"Hm?"

"She's watching."

A chuckle, then a sloppy, wet kiss. "She's a voyeur at heart, Luther. Gets it from her mother."

"How do you know Shawn watches?" Luther asked, amusement floating in his voice as his lips trailed a path down south.

JD's breathing hitched as a particularly sensitive spot was touched and nibbled at. "Oh, I dunno. Shawn strikes me as the voyeuristic type? Oh, yes... there... yah!"

The vampire grabbed the bucking hips and forced them back down, chuckling. Very sensitive spot. Kissing it one last time, he continued to his prize, delighting in the soft noises JD made.

 

Sitting on the dresser, a small, black cat watched. She finally curled up, ears pricked to each moan, cry or gasp, and her tail twitched.

* * *

He woke slowly. To a feeling of... of... warmth and content. JD blinked his eyes open and memories leaked back into his sleep-fogged mind as he took in the large bedroom, the king-sized bed with its blood red covers, the silky feeling of the sheet...

The silky feeling of chocolate skin underneath his fingers. Strong muscles bunching as he skipped over them. Soft rumbles from deep within the smooth column of throat and neck. The lack of piercings he found as he let his lips travel across the expanse of chest and abdomen.

JD turned and squinted at the bedside clock, finding that it wasn't even all that late. Just after noon.

And he was alone in bed. Luther's bed. Damn, how had they ended up here? He was quite clear about where they had started this little interaction. The guest room... and now they were here. Luther had said something about a larger bed. Hm, yes, this was really larger, and considering their activities, it had been better.

Sitting up, feeling his body protest, he had to smile nevertheless. The protests, the gentle abuse of parts that hadn't seen much action lately, reminded him even more of what had happened last night. Well, this morning. Just a few hours ago. And he felt wonderful; more relaxed than in days.

Someone stepped into the bedroom and JD gave Luther the same smile, receiving one in return.

"Awake?" the vampire asked.

"Reasonably."

"Feeling up for breakfast?"

"Wouldn't that be lunch?" JD teased.

Luther grinned. "Let's settle on 'up for food?'."

"I'm up for a lot of things."

The pierced eyebrow rose and Dunne's smile widened. He slid out of bed, letting the cover slip away, revealing him in his full glory. Closing the distance between them, he hooked his fingers in his lover's waistband again, pulling him flush against him.

The kiss came next.

"Have to be somewhere?" JD whispered as he nibbled at the lower lip.

"Already there," came the growl as two strong hands cupped his butt, pulling him higher.

JD gasped with the delicious friction of denim against naked skin.

"Good," he groaned, clutching at the dark shirt, almost humping the leg now wedged between his.

"Sure you don't need some food before you burn out?"

"I'm a warlock, Luther. We don't suffer from burnouts that easily. Got all the energy I need to keep going and going..."

"You're not the Energizer Bunny, JD," Luther chuckled.

"Oh really?"

"Well, for one... no fluffy tail..."

JD laughed out loud. "You checked?"

"Quite thoroughly. Last night. Then again... might need to check again."

"Yeah... thoroughly... deeply..." The rest was lost in a muffled groan as Luther's mouth descended on him again.

*

It was late afternoon, but the sun was still high in the sky. Underneath the earth, the bunker sat in cool darkness, the only light coming from artificial sources. In the bedroom, only a dim glow outlined the two bodies.

"What is this?" JD asked softly.

Luther looked at the younger man, taking in the thoughtful expression in the dark eyes as nimble fingers drew patterns on his skin in the afterglow.

"I'd say it's lust," he answered calmly.

"Uh huh. Definitely lust. Lots of it. A lust thing."

"A very good lust thing."

JD nodded. "Uh huh. Not a love thing, though."

"No."

Luther felt no regrets at that. He fell both ways, always had. As a vampire, the lines between men and women blurred. Vampires were a bit more liberal about those things. Most supernaturals were. Humans sometimes made a very big deal out of bisexuality. Or homosexuality.

JD was technically still human. Very much so. No supernatural like werewolves or vampires. He could do magic, but that was about it. It was still a lot. But he was human, he had been with women and men, and now he had sought out a vampire.

Luther understood the lust thing. Very well. He hadn't had a love thing all that often in the last forty-odd years. Just the satisfaction of cravings. Male cravings. Just like in the last twelve hours, where he and JD had gone about satisfying a lot of cravings. He smiled.

"No, not a love thing," he said calmly. "But I like the lust. Very much."

JD smiled. "Good. Me too."

And it was so much easier. No bouts of jealousy, no heart-wrenching confessions, no pining.

"Good sex, too," Dunne went on.

"You can say that."

"No regrets?"

Luther chuckled. "I should ask you that."

JD smiled. "Never regrets. No strings attached." He pushed himself up on one elbow and looked at his lover. He lowered his head and kissed him. "You have to leave?" he asked.

"Yes. Want to come along?"

JD flopped back and stretched languidly. "Nah. I think I'll take a nap, then check my mails, do some stuff. Later?"

Luther chuckled. "Definitely later," he promised as he got up.

The younger man watched him disappear in the shower, taking in each graceful movement. Yeah... later. Looking forward to later.

* * *

For the next three days, Chris's team investigated two more hit and runs, a child abuse case with murder, three robberies and two missing persons. Buck had to do another court appearance, Josiah was asked to one as well, and Nathan was up to his eyebrows in autopsies. The lab techs were complaining about work piling up by now.

JD could only smile humorlessly. They thought this was stress? They should do his job for a day.

Visiting Luther after work had become a given. He would drop by the Grotto, leave with his new lover, spend a wonderful time with him in bed, and go to work the next evening in a much better mood. At least for a while.

 

JD woke with a start and his eyes fell on the bedside clock.

"Ah hell!" he exclaimed and struggled out of the satiny sheets.

It was eight p.m. and he was supposed to pick up Josiah at 8.30. Sanchez's car had broken down earlier this week and since then the psychologist had hitched a ride with JD. He'd never make it in time.

Groaning, Dunne fled into the bathroom and tried not to cut himself up while shaving in a hurry. As he ran out, he was met by a dark wall of immovable muscle.

"Whoa!" Luther chuckled. "You're in a hurry."

"I'm late!" JD cried, grabbing his clothes. "What happened to the freaking alarm?!"

The vampire shrugged, leisurely pulling on his robe. "Maybe we forgot to set it."

It earned him a glare as the younger man struggled into his jeans and t-shirt. "Great! I'm late to pick up Josiah, late for work, and there is a meeting at 9.30!" JD grabbed a comb and hectically tried to tame his hair.

"JD, calm down," Luther tried to soothe his new lover. "They'll understand."

"Understand what?" JD hissed. "Want me to tell them that I overslept because my vampire lover drilled me through the mattress?"

Luther shrugged. "Why not? It's the truth."

Dunne glared more, threw the comb onto the dresser and hurried toward the elevator. Nervous energy whirled all around him, his adrenaline level shooting sky high as the elevator had to be called. He cursed softly, glancing over his shoulder at Luther, who was watching him with an indulgent smile.

Damn him! The man had no worries and all the time in the world to get to work!

He cursed again and got into the elevator car, the doors closing after him.

 

Luther walked back into the bedroom and chuckled to himself. JD was a little energizer bunny most of the time, even in bed, and lately he had been rather demanding. Like last night. It had been hot, intense, and Luther had been impressed by the younger man's stamina.

The vampire grabbed some clothes and walked into the bathroom. He really didn't have to hurry today. It was his weekly day off.

When he left the shower twenty minutes later, fully dressed, he saw the answering machine light blinking. Someone had called him while he was getting dressed.

"Luther, this is Harriet," a female voice could be heard from the recording. And she sounded worried. "Are you okay? I mean, we haven't heard from you in the last twenty-four hours and I was wondering when you’ll come in tonight... Call me?"

Tonight? Harriet knew it was his time off. And what was that about not having seen him for the last twenty-four hours?

By chance, Luther looked at the clock. It was seven p.m.

The next day.

* * *

Vin whistled to himself as he walked into the lab section, carrying the evidence bag. It was a collection of clothes from the victim they had found in a park. The man had been unconscious, apparently robbed, with bloody marks all over his body. His fingernails showed no tissue or blood from his assailant. Vin had turned over the examination of the still unconscious man to Nathan. The victim was a John Doe and running his fingerprints through the computer hadn't brought up any criminal record they could find. The hospital had found drugs in his system, but no entry wounds from a needle anywhere.

Oh well.

Passing by the other labs, he was nearly bowled over JD. The younger man's face held a dark expression and his hair was in disarray, as if he had run his hands through it repeatedly.

"Whoa, JD, watch it!"

JD just muttered something, clutching a stack of print outs tightly and brushing by Tanner.

"Well, hello to you too," Vin said, eyebrows raised.

JD had been rather... snappy lately. He was barely seen outside his little computer room, always locked in the semi-dark, surrounded by humming equipment and air that smelled of ozone. He was working like crazy, filling in for whoever needed him for whatever. No one saw him outside work, though 'off work' wasn't really happening right now. Even Chris put in daytime hours, even if only at the Clarion.

With a sigh, Vin closed the door of the lab behind him and snapped on his gloves. He was wearing the standard lab coat already. Tanner spread out the clothes on the table and set to work.

 

Straightening from the intense examination two hours later, Vin cricked his neck. Man, as much as he loved his job, sometimes he wanted to exchange all the lab hours for some more field work. But even that left him with muscle knots when the crime scene was a small, cluttered room where you were looking for the proverbial needle. Or blood drop.

Packing up the clothes in the plastic bag again, Vin sealed them in. He took his notes and went over them once more, then grabbed the collection of smaller evidence bags, each filled with fibers or dried blood samples he had picked off the clothes. He left the lab and dropped the evidence bags off with Joel. The lab tech gave him a weird look, but since he didn't say anything, Vin just ignored him.

Stepping into the elevator he rode up to the team office's floor. As the doors opened, Tanner stopped dead in his tracks.

"What the..." he muttered and started to move, drawn over to the large windows like on a leash. "No way..."

His eyes flew to the small, plastic clock sitting on Josiah's desk, which was the closest by.

It was 11 a.m.

Then he noticed the date.

The 23rd.

"Holy shit..." he rasped and fell against the window pane. "What the fuck is going on here?"

With shaking hands, Vin dug his cell phone out and speed dialed.

"Buck?" he whispered as the call was picked up. He winced as he heard the loud shout from the other end. "I'm at the office," he answered shakily as questions rained down on him. "I... I don't know, Buck. What is going on?" he asked in a lost sounding voice.

* * *

"Two days?!"

Vin had to sit down and he nearly would have missed the chair if it hadn't been for Chris quickly maneuvering the piece of furniture into place. Vin ran a shaky hand through his short hair.

"Two... days... But... how?"

"We don't know," Larabee answered.

"You just disappeared," Buck told him, voice as shaky as Vin felt. "You had logged in, you were last seen going into the lab section, and then... nothing. I tried to call your cell phone and got nothing but... static. We tried locating it, we tried the beeper.. no results."

The taller man took his lover's hands and interlaced their fingers as he crouched down in front of him.

"What do you remember, Vin?"

"I... I went downstairs to the lab, did the routine on the French case, left the lab and dropped off the findings. Then I came back up to the office and.. it was broad daylight. Two days later." Vin inhaled deeply and shook his head. "I don't understand it. What is going on here?"

"I wish I knew. Whatever it is, it's getting worse," Chris growled. "I lost three hours, Buck eight, you lost days! And where the heck were we at that time?"

"The security cameras," Buck murmured.

"What?"

"We have cameras in the hallways, right? They might be able to tell us something..."

Larabee nodded briskly. "Do it. Get Josiah to help you."

Buck squeezed his lover's hands. "You okay?" he queried.

"No," Vin answered honestly. "I lost two days of my life! We lost two days. I can't even begin to imagine what it was like for you..."

Buck looked suddenly pained, as did Chris. "Later," Wilmington whispered.

They would talk about it, but not right now. They had a puzzle to solve and the sooner the better.

* * *

Josiah frowned as he replayed one particular sequence of the surveillance video again and again.

"Impossible," the psychologist murmured.

He paused the tape, then looked at the second monitor where another freeze frame was shown. Screen one had Vin going into the lab frozen in time. It showed the 21st, time: 10.23 p.m. The second had him coming out. One the 23rd, at 10.15 a.m. All the other tapes in between hadn't had Vin in them. He hadn't left the lab! For two days!

"Yeah, impossible," Buck muttered. "And it's even more impossible that ten different people used the lab in that time and no one ran into him!"

"Something's going on here," Josiah said thoughtfully. "But what?"

"Welcome to the club, my friend. Your guess is as good as mine."

* * *

Buck found Vin in the break room, on the couch, sitting with his fingers curled around a mug of coffee.

"Hey," he called softly.

Vin looked up and smiled dimly. "Hey."

"Nate give you a once-over?"

He nodded. "Nothing physically wrong with me and it's not stress either."

Buck sank down on the couch beside his lover. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired. Seeing that I missed two days, I guess that's normal."

Wilmington touched one knee and felt the tremors course through the muscles. He gently pried the almost empty mug from Vin's unresisting hands and placed it onto the table. He then pulled the smaller man close. Vin relaxed against him, eyes closing.

"You must have been so worried," Tanner murmured.

"You have no idea." Buck gently stroked his hand over the short, dark hair. "You were suddenly gone. No one had heard or seen hide or hair of you. I... was frantic."

Vin wrapped his arms around the other man and held on. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Not your fault. I have no idea what's going on here, but it's not you." Buck dropped a kiss on his head. "I'm just glad you're back, love. I don’t know what I'd do if you were... gone." He choked on the last word.

Vin straightened and suddenly Buck found himself with a lap full of Tanner. Vin bent forward and kissed him gently but with his own demands. Wilmington willingly answered them, arms wrapped around the slender but muscular form.

"I love you, Buck."

Buck smiled softly and held him close. "Love you, Vin," he echoed the vow.

There was so much more they wanted to say, but somehow it was redundant. Buck felt the shivers going through his lover's body and he knew Vin felt the same tremors in him. The last two days had been a living hell and without Chris and Ezra, as well as the four cats populating their home, it would have been unbearable. Chris had grounded him, had told him that they would find Vin. Ezra had used contacts Buck would never have thought the man possessed, and even though they hadn't turned up anything on the missing geologist, Wilmington had been grateful.

Vin was back – whatever had happened to him.

They just sat together, foreheads touching, arms wrapped around the other.

* * *

Nick was glad his superiors had finally decided he could go back to Salt Lake. Somehow  he had gotten an itchy feeling, as if something was going on down here, something was terribly wrong with his mentee. The warlock knew that JD had finally gotten a grip of the basics, and, if he kept up his training schedules, should be able to manage at least some of them. Okay, so he could have called, had actually thought about it, but the closer he came to his destination the more the uneasiness grew. It was more than a simple feeling now, more than a hunch. Reed realized something was really wrong.

The moment he entered the Clarion Tower he felt it: a more than subtle shifting in the magical structure of the building. Someone had worked magic here, big time. Reed frowned, watching the people walking past him closely. Nobody seemed to mind. Strange. He continued to walk to the office, intending to speak to JD, when something at the periphery of his vision caught his attention.

"Nick? Since when are you back in town?"

Chris Larabee smiled at him as he closed the distance.

"Chris. Just arr ... uh-oh."

"Uh-oh?"

Looking at Larabee, the warlock was certain now that whatever had happened here, it had something to do with JD. He hadn't shown his mentee how to actually see the paths his magic was going yet, to actually watch it and observe it. Magic surrounded everything, especially living beings, and for those with trained eyes, it was visible like a halo, glittering in several different colors. The aura surrounding Chris Larabee was damaged, sporting a gray hole and was still leaking energy. Not much, not enough to make the vampire weak, and for what Reed could see, the hole was actually in the process of repairing itself. But damage had been done.

"Nick?" Chris queried.

The warlock noticed the vampire was looking at him, frowning deeply now.

"Something's going on here. It was calling me back. What's wrong?" the Navy officer demanded.

Chris hesitated, meeting the inquiring, steely gray eyes. Finally he nodded.

"Let's discuss that in my office."

"Sure."

They were just about to enter the room when Buck appeared, grinning.

"Hey, Nick. Back from duty?" Wilmington greeted the warlock.

Reed just glanced at him, taking in the grayness of his aura, the dim colors. Same here, damage done, bigger than with the vampire, in the process of regenerating, but even weaker.

"Nick. Nice to see you."

Vin. Uh-oh, bad karma, very bad. The werewolf's aura appeared almost silvery gray, occasional colors swirling in it. Looked like a thunderstorm sky. Nicholas would place a bet the werewolf was still feeling lousy on a subconscious level.

"You three, office," was all he said, gesturing at Chris's office.

Chris nodded at his two friends to follow the 'order' and then closed the door after them. "Nick?" he asked.

"Okay, guys, spill it. What happened to you three?"

"Uhm ..."

"Well..."

"How could you tell?" Chris interrupted his stammering friends.

"C'mon, whom do you think you're talking to here? Big warlock, certified and all?" Nick spread his arms wide. "You were magically attacked, all of you, and the traces are still visible. You," he pointed at Vin, "about two days ago, I dare say. And don't you tell me you're feeling fine. I won't buy it. More tired than usual, headache maybe, craving for sweet or high caloric food?"

Vin looked a little sheepish, and Buck snorted.

"That's his normal behavior, Nick. Man can eat three burgers, with fries and salad, and half a dozen sundaes, WITH caramel topping AND whipped cream, and still be hungry."

"Yeah, but he's right with the tired part. And you've slept more than usual, too, Buck, not to mention your - ah, disinterest. Which I didn't mind, I know," Vin waved at his lover. "Wasn't actually into it myself."

"Getting better now?" Nick asked, making notes mentally.

"Yep."

"But we weren't attacked, " Chris cut in. "At least not that I could tell of."

"What happened here exactly?"

"Well," Buck cleared his throat, "things were a little strenuous the last few weeks, flu wave and all. We had lots to do, and somehow," he shrugged, "I seem to have lost a little time."

"Little?" Chris exploded. "Eight hours. And Vin lost two days!"

Buck chewed his lower lip. "Yeah..."

The vampire watched Reed stoically take in the information, face an unreadable mask.

"Who was the last person you met, saw or talked to before losing the time?" he asked calmly.

Chris frowned thoughtfully.

"JD," Buck muttered, a similar frown marring his forehead.

"Yes, JD. Well, I saw him in his office when I came in the day I lost three hours. We didn't actually talk," Larabee remembered.

Chris looked at Vin, and the werewolf simply nodded.

"Shit!!"

The heated outburst from the normally reserved warlock made Chris start. Reed paced through the room, swearing profoundly, running a hand through his dark hair.

"Bloody hell, this is all my fault. Never should've left him alone ... knew the boy is talented, but didn't expect that ... Bugger!"

"Nick, what the hell are you talking about, man? And stop pacing, you're making me dizzy." Vin grabbed the agitated warlock and directed him to a chair.

"Well?" Chris waited. If JD was in any trouble ...

"Well, this is quite simple, and highly difficult at the same time. You were all under the influence of lots of stress, right? And JD was as well, I assume?"

Chris nodded.

"But he managed the unmanageable, delivered his work on time, came through with reports and stuff? He did the impossible?"

Another nod.

"Like magic, hm?" Nick laughed humorlessly. "Well, it was... From your symptoms, I'd say JD 'borrowed' time. From you."

"Borrowed?" Buck blurted.

"Yes, but not giving it back."

Vin shook his head, rubbing his neck.

"This is crazy," Buck murmured. "Totally crazy. Nick, how could... I mean, JD? No way!"

Reed smiled again. "How does this work, right? Well, here's the short version. Every living entity has living time. You best view it as a source of energy. You Chris, as a vampire, have a larger source than the average human being, but you have to pay for it by not being able to tolerate the sun or by being, uhm, allergic to certain substances like Hawthorne. Your sustenance is part of that. Blood is perceived as the essence of life in many cultures, both ancient and modern. Well, a warlock is, due to his powers, able to extract that energy and use it for himself, or pass it on to another being. The person delivering that energy will notice losing time without remembering, like a black out. People not affected will notice said person is missing, for minutes or even years. The dangerous thing is, a warlock can extricate a person's entire lifetime, of course wiping out the person's existence in the process."

The three men were staring at the warlock. Buck had closed his eyes in disbelief, shaking his head. Chris's expression was grim.

“Where are the people who lose time?” he wanted to know. “I mean, Vin disappeared for two whole days and came back out of the same room he entered… Whoever walked in there in that time didn’t see him.”

Nick pinched the bridge of his nose. “Temporal physics and magic is a complicated field of study. It could take days to just explain the rudimentary basics. In simple words, the person affected shifts from one plane of reality to the other. It’s like a slide show. Vin’s frame of existence was pushed somewhere else for the time JD extracted. When Vin’s reality and yours realigned, he shifted back.”

Buck shook his head. “Sounds like science fiction to me.”

“I wish it were,” Reed replied darkly.

"What happens to the warlock pulling that time?" Vin asked quietly.

"He either uses the time, passes it on, or stores it, like a battery. If he stores it, " Nicholas looked mighty uncomfortable for Chris's taste now, "if he doesn't use it up, the 'battery' will reach its limits sooner or later. If he keeps sucking... " Uncomfortable turned into frightened all of a sudden as the warlock stopped.

"Then what?" Larabee demanded.

"Then JD might be in lethal danger. And all those around him, too."

Chris swallowed, hard, exchanging looks with his suddenly pale friends.

“He needs to get rid of the energy he unconsciously pulls, but he can’t control it. He needs someone to do it for him. It’s a dangerous process,” the warlock went on. “Pulling too much at a time might kill him, going too slow would give him the chance to replace the lost amount.”

“How does he know to do it anyway?” Larabee demanded. “He isn’t fully trained.”

“No, he isn’t, but witches and other magically talented beings mostly work on instinct. JD did it all his life. His hunches, for instance, his computer work. He was doing magic, but never noticed it. The same goes for this now.” Nick shook his head. “I can only guess what started it. For one, the work load. Stress builds up, stress hormones are released into the body, adrenaline rushes happen. The magical energy inside JD builds up, reacts with the energy that is all around us, and seeks an outlet. Since JD doesn’t consciously control the flow of this energy or even feel what he is truly doing, a vicious circle starts.”

Nick made a little twirling gesture with his hand.

“He pulls magic, it starts to accumulate inside him, seeking an outlet. He is stressed out by his job, his private life and training. The stress hormone fires up his body. Energy rhythms are interrupted, restarted, rerouted, and everywhere along these routes, the magic energy waits. He subconsciously uses it, pulling time and more energy.”

“And it starts again,” Chris murmured.

“Exactly.We have to find him before it’s too late, Chris."

He didn't have to say it twice.

* * *

It didn't take a genius to add one and one.

The first clue was the smell. Ezra couldn't ignore the pheromones dancing around his long-time friend and he smiled to himself. Luther had had an intense day. Very intense from the looks of it. Watching the younger vampire move around the bar, checking glasses and bottle stocks, he grinned more.

Good for him.

Lately, Luther had had some of them. Pheromones were always a dead giveaway and apparently his protégée had found a new partner. Ezra didn't care who it was. Luther was a grown vampire.

But then came the second clue.

The smell.

With the pheromones, a smell had imprinted itself on Luther. As stated before, it had been intense. Not just a quickie. And probably not just today for the first time. Yep, a relationship. Definitely. Serious? Ezra contemplated it. Well, maybe. Good for Luther. The latest encounter must have happened not long ago since the smell was still so strong.

Ezra sipped at his wine, going through his daily mail in a secluded corner of the nightclub, which was still an hour away from opening. The last clue was given to him when JD walked into the Grotto, carrying his laptop. Dunne fairly reeked of it. There was a brief exchange of looks between Luther and JD, and the coin dropped. Loudly.

Ah hell! Ezra groaned. Please, no...

 

"How long?"

Luther looked up from his papers and at his friend as Ezra sat down in the chair across the office desk. "Come again?"

"You and JD."

Luther frowned. "I'd love to say 'none of your business', but you'd make it yours, right?" At Ezra's silence he added with a sigh, "A month."

Eyebrows rose. "Serious?"

"Casual," was the answer. "And yes, we both know it. Takes the edge off."

"Off what?" came the neutral question, green eyes digging deeper.

"Off the frustration, the feeling of being caged in. Ezra, the kid deals with a lot right now and he expects nothing but what I give him. He needs some distraction, but he also needs it from someone who knows him."

"So that's you?"

"Apparently."

"His girlfriends?"

"All dumped him."

The two vampires regarded each other silently. "Maybe it's for the kick? Sleeping with a vampire? Why not Harriet?" Ezra finally asked.

Luther smiled. "I don't know. I look better?" The smile disappeared. "And I doubt it's the vampire he wants. He wants a warm body, someone to satisfy his needs and for once not judge him. Ezra, he is lonely. He is a warlock who thinks he'll never get a hang of his powers. No girl he meets can know about it; and he won't tell them either. Okay, granted, he could find a witch or a female vampire in here, but he didn't go there. He went to me."

Ezra contemplated his fingers. "It's a dangerous game you play. If you hurt him, you'll pay for it."

"Is that a threat?"

"A fact, Luther. He has five team mates who won't let you hurt him."

"And you?"

"I won't let anyone hurt either of you." Calm eyes met Luther's. "I just hope neither you nor JD see more in this than there is."

"I'm not looking, Ezra. He isn't the one. This'll last as long as it does. If it's over, it is. No regrets, no scenes, no hissy fits. I won't hurt him."

"I found out, Luther. The others might as well. Chris probably will. The pheromones are a dead giveaway."

"I know. I can handle him."

Standish quirked a little smile. "Sure." He rose. "Just be careful."

 

The moment Ezra stepped out of the office he all but collided with a warm, breathing body. JD. Obviously on his way to visiting Luther. And from the looks of his friend he wasn't in a too good shape. JD just took a short glance at Ezra's face and the vampire thought he could almost hear the shutters drop. Shoot. JD knew what he had just discussed with the other vampire.

"Ezra."

"JD ... "

Before Standish could say another thing JD sucked in a sharp breath and turned.

"JD, please, don't."

"Don't what? Be only human? Live? Need someone once in a while?"

"JD ... "

"Don't 'JD' me here, Ezra. Hell, I don't know why you think you have anything to say in that matter, you're not my goddamn father here. AND if you wanted to know about it, why didn't you come to me in the first place? But no, you had to talk to Luther, jumping to conclusions, right? No, don't!" JD shrugged Ezra's hand off, getting more agitated by the minute. "Just leave me alone, will ya?"

"JD, all I wanted is to be sure that the both of you knew what you're doing. Wanted to make sure that ... "

"Luther's not taking any advantage of the innocent kid, right? Hell, what if I had taken advantage of HIM? Ever thought of that?! I am no fucking kid any more! I am 27 fucking years old! Old enough to drive, old enough to drink myself into oblivion if I feel like it, old enough to decide with whom I sleep and in what way. So leave me the hell alone!"

Ezra reached out again, trying to hold the young man back, trying to talk to him, reach him, whatever. He grabbed the warlock's upper arm, seeing JD being whirled around by his own momentum.

"I said leave me the hell alone!" JD hissed.

 

JD felt the strange sensation he had had constantly inside of him in the last few weeks rise to the forefront. "I'm leaving!" he snapped and turned to go.

"JD," Ezra sighed and reached for his young friend. "Please. Calm down..."

JD glared at him. "Don't try it, Standish! Just shut the fuck up!"

The feeling intensified, like a spray of sand all over his skin, inside and out, and he whirled around. JD gasped.

No one.

There was no one. Not a single soul.

Turning around to Ezra, JD cried out in shock.

Ezra was gone. As was everyone who had been behind him.

Everyone was simply gone. The Grotto was deserted.

The feeling was by no a hundredfold of what it had been all day and the panic attack could no longer be suppressed. Stumbling through the night club, each step echoing hollowly in the cavernous room so deserted of any living soul, JD felt himself beginning to shake. His breathing came in sudden pants.

Then he turned on his heels and ran.

* * *

Nathan steered his Sedan down the lively main street, then turned left off into a less populated side street. Looking for a parking lot. He found one fairly easily and smiled to himself. He'd make it in time to meet Josiah outside the Grotto where they had decided to go for a beer or two. With friendly CSI rates, the club was one of the favored places of their team. It helped to know the owner, who just happened to be the lover of his supervisor and friend.

Jackson had just locked the car when he heard a noise, like garbage cans crashing to the pavement, then someone running. He was nearly bowled over by a figure suddenly running around the corner.

"Hey! Watch it!" he yelled, then did a double take. "JD?"

Wide, dark eyes stared at him from out of a pale face. Bangs of long hair hung wildly in his face and JD gave a soft whimper, stumbling away from Nathan.

"No..." he moaned. "No, no, no. They're gone."

"JD?"

"They're gone!" he almost shrieked. "Killed them. All of them!"

"JD?" Nathan repeated, voice soft but showing confusion. "What's wrong, kid? What happened?" His hand touched JD's jacket and the younger man flinched away.

"Don't touch me! Just... don't touch me!"

"Calm down, okay? Tell me what happened?"

Nathan wasn't happy about Dunne's condition. JD was shaking by now, like a leaf. His eyes were unnaturally wide and there were silent tears streaming down hollow cheeks. JD's back collided with the wall and he whimpered more. Arms came around his stomach and he hugged himself, curling up.

"No, no, no...." He repeated over and over. "Gone. Killed them. Can't you feel it? Hurts. Everywhere. Whole body."

Nathan crouched down before the clearly shocky CSI. "JD," he tried again and reached out.

The moment his hand touched one cold wrist, JD's head snapped up. His eyes held a wild, animalistic expression.

"I said no!" he screamed, voice rising to a high-pitched shriek.

Jackson made shushing noise, trying desperately to calm his friend. What had happened? Had JD taken some kind of drug? But the hacker was completely off drugs, Jackson knew. JD suddenly collapsed against him, sobbing, as if all fight had left him. Nathan wrapped an arm around his young friend, just holding him.

The ringing of the cell phone interrupted the almost peaceful minute. Cursing silently, he dug it out and answered.

“Jackson. Yeah… sure, he’s here… what? Chris, listen, JD’s extremely upset about something and…. Yes… we’re outside the Grotto…”

JD suddenly pushed free, giving the doctor a hard shove. Nathan tumbled against the wall.

“JD, what….!”

“I’m nowhere!” JD cried. “Leave me alone!”

“JD!”

“No!”

The last word was like a thunderstrike.

Nathan had no description for what he felt next. It was way too fast, way too powerful, and it plunged him into whiteness from one moment to the next.

The world ceased to exist.

* * *

Nicholas Reed stiffened and his gray eyes widened. For a moment he appeared to be frozen in time, his angular features highlighted by the passing cars. He didn’t even seem to breathe. Chris, who had been calling Nathan over the cell phone, shot the other man a worried look.

They had called everyone to inform them about JD. If they saw him, they were contact Chris.

“Buck…. The Grotto…,” Nick said slowly, voice almost inflectionless. “Speed up.”

Wilmington didn’t even ask. He switched on the red-and-blue lights and put the pedal to the metal.

Chris redialed Nathan’s number since the connection had suddenly been broken. All he got was a female voice telling him that the cell phone in question could currently not be reached.

“What happened?” he snapped at the warlock.

“Temporal magic spike,” was the answer, Nick’s eyes fixed on the street without even seeing it. “A big one. A very big one. As if JD released all the stored time at once.”

“Ah shit,” Vin whispered.

And it had happened outside the Grotto, Chris thought, a feeling of foreboding settling in his stomach. With shaky fingers he dialed Ezra’s number.

All he got was static.

* * *

Pain.

Agony.

Ezra groaned as he felt the searing pain set in his stomach, making his entire being cramp with the hunger, the need for sustenance.

Blood thirst.

Like he hadn't fed in weeks. Like he had had a long walk in the midday sun. West Indian midday sun.

The vampire reached out for the next steady object which happened to be the wall of the Grotto, and pulled himself to his feet. His sensitive hearing picked up occasional moans and groans like the ones he must have given himself. Not having a single clue of whatever had been going on he decided to concentrate on the most pressing matters: food. Blood for all the vampires currently being in the bar with him. He knew the fridge held enough.

Ezra sighed in relief after he had almost inhaled two shakes which had taken the edge off of the mind numbing hunger, glad he now would be able to think clearly again, able to find out what had happened to black out the entire clientele of the Grotto.

"Ezra?"

The shaky voice belonged to Luther, who was clinging to his blood drink like a drowning man. Like every single vampire in the club, he was ravenous and many had even eyed the human patrons for a while until an already fed vampire had pushed shakes into their hands. The situation was slowly calming down.

"You okay?" Standish asked automatically.

"Yeah, yeah. Getting there at least. What happened?"

"I have no idea."

Ezra picked up the phone and dialed.

"Larabee! And this better be important," he heard his lover bark into the phone.

"I'd say it is. "

"Ezra?!"

The obvious relief in Chris's voice made Ezra frown even more deeply. "Chris, you okay?"

"Me?? Ezra, I've never been happier to hear your voice. You're still in the Grotto, right?"

"Yeah, but ..."

"Stay there. We'll be there in a few."

"Who's we?" he asked, confused.

The humming of a disconnected line was the only answer Ezra got at the moment, and he stared at the phone in his hands, shrugging. Oh well, enough time for another shake and to take care of matters here.

* * *

Ezra saw Chris all but rush into the bar about twenty minutes later, accompanied by Vin and Nicholas Reed. If his lover had been in the Branch's HQ he must have broken every existing traffic law to make it in such a short time.

"Chris, I ..."

He didn't get any further because he suddenly found himself being pulled close against his lover's chest, his lips claimed in a fervent kiss.  Only the obvious need for oxygen seemed to make Chris pull back, but he didn't break contact, eyes raking over his body as if checking him. In detail.

"Chris, if we weren't already an item I'd be seriously worried by now. What's going on here?" Ezra sputtered, confusion mounting.

"I didn't know if I'd see you again. Ever."

"What?!"

The exclamation was echoed by Luther, who was by now back to his old self and had joined his boss and sire.

"You've been missing for 72 hours."

"I hate to repeat myself, but I feel the urgent need to do so. WHAT???"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Reed calmly asked. He had watched the reunion with a gentle smile on his lips, but his eyes were serious.

"I was talking to JD, about a - personal matter."

"How was he?"

"Uhm - he didn't take it too well, to say the least. He seemed to be a little over the edge."

Ezra sighed at Chris's cocked eyebrow.

"Okay, he kinda freaked out."

"Hm, that explains it." The warlock nodded and gave Ezra a closer look.

"It does?" Ezra got more confused with the minute.

Nick smiled, but it was grim. “From your aura, I’ve to say you suffered quite a lot of time loss.”

“How much?” Larabee wanted to know.

“If JD hadn’t released the time he had stored… I’m not sure,” Nick answered carefully. “Maybe forever?”

The blond vampire paled, which made his face a ghastly white mask. “What?” he breathed, a tremor racing through him.

Ezra tightened his hold unconsciously.

The warlock rubbed his eyes. “JD returned the time he took from his victims, but not all of it. Everyone was still away between a few hours and days. Vampires suffered the most from the theft of time. Almost all of them were gone for a few days.”

“What is going on here?” Standish interrupted more forcefully.

"Ezra, remember me and Buck and Vin losing time?"  Chris asked, still refusing to let him go. His hands drew soothing patterns on Standish's back. More to calm Chris than Ezra himself, the older vampire mused. But hey, it was nice.

"It was JD," Chris went on. "Warlock thing of sorts, he took the time from us. Did the same with you, with the entire clientele here in the Grotto. Ran into Nathan when he panicked, thought he'd killed all of you."

"Dear lord!" the older vampire breathed. "How are they?"

"Both at the hospital right now. JD released all the stolen time and Nathan was right in the middle of the blast. He's going to be fine and will be released today. As for JD... " Vin shrugged.

"JD took a large amount of energy in one, too much for his system to handle," Nick explained. "The energy, well, kind of discharged itself from his system in a flash, but it didn't return to its source immediately - or entirely. That's why you all stayed lost for the time you did."

Ezra tried to wrap his mind around the facts that had been presented to him.

“If JD returned the time taken, why did we still lose seventy-two hours?”

Nick grimaced. “Because Nathan was in the blast’s path. He absorbed what came from him. It didn’t do him any damage and I need to run some tests to find out just what happened, but he will be fine.”

"How's JD?" Luther's voice cut in. He had been very silent so far.

Reed took a deep breath.  "Bad, Luther. He's like a car battery that was completely discharged. Sometimes it'll work again properly, but sometimes ... "

"It won't," Chris supplied softly.

"Which hospital?" Luther wanted to know, deliberately ignoring Ezra's glance.

Chris told him and the vampire grabbed his jacket. Before heading out Ezra called him.

"Wait."

Luther looked at his mentor and frowned. "What? Another lecture?"

"No. We'll come with you."

Nobody but Chris noticed the brief hesitation in the dark skinned vampire before he gave a short nod.

“What about the people still here?” Vin asked, gesturing at the milling vampires, humans and witches.

Ezra caught the eyes of one of them, a young witch he knew, and she came over. Her gray eyes swept over the group, her face set in a grim expression.

“You know what happened?” Standish asked softly.

She nodded. “Temporary magic. I’m not sure where it originated from, but it took from us.” She met Nick’s eyes and her brows rose. The warlock had been recognized.

“Not me,” he told her immediately, smiling humorlessly. “Can you handle the explanations?”

She nodded. “Sure. Was it a rogue?”

“No,” Nick replied. “An accident.”

The witch silently searched his face and apparently found something to satisfy her. She nodded again.

“Thanks, Brenna,” Ezra told her. “I appreciate it.”

“No problem.”

They filed out of the by now empty nightclub and walked to their respective cars. Chris hadn't let go of Ezra, and if he had to, he still had a hand on his back or arm. He never broke contact. Standing next to Chris's car, Ezra waited for his lover to unlock the door.

 

Chris hadn't been completely oblivious to the subliminal messages going back and forth between Luther and Ezra. He had been around those two long enough to know that there were more ways than one for vampires to communicate. Ezra being Luther's surrogate sire, it was even more pronounced. Well, no time like the present to ask.

"Ezra? Care to tell what this all about?" Chris whispered into his lover's ear, giving the lobe a brief nibble. He felt Ezra stiffen in his arms a little, before the smaller vampire relaxed again.

"They're lovers."

He almost pulled away completely, but he still kept physical contact. Somehow it was important not to lose touch of the smaller man. Something paranoid inside him insisted that if Chris let go of Ezra, he would vanish again.

"What?!" he now exclaimed. "JD and Luther?! That son of... "

Ezra's expression stopped him. "Don't go there, Chris. I have already and it didn't do any good. Actually, it brought on this whole fiasco at the Grotto."

"Come again?"

"That's what we were... talking about when JD freaked out. Listen, Chris, none of us seemed to notice, but he needed someone. Luther was there for him when we weren't. And he provided him with something no one of us could have done. He was his anchor, the one to hold him, let him lean on him, allow him to be himself. Luther had no demands, no expectations. JD could be JD. Not the warlock, no the CSI agent, not the computer whiz. Just himself."

Chris shook his head. "No need for him to fuck him!" he said harshly.

"Chris," Ezra scolded him softly. "What they did... it's none of our business. We have to be there for JD now. He needs us. Friends, not colleagues. Not a boss or a teacher. Luther was never anything but a friend. So they happened to go to bed as well. It was JD's decision. Luther didn't force him." Ezra gave a little shrug. "And we should discuss this later. I want to go to the hospital now."

Larabee inhaled deeply. "Yeah. You're right. Okay." He rubbed a hand over his face. "Damn."

"Should I drive?" the older vampire offered.

"No. No, I can handle it." Chris smiled wanly. "Let's go."

* * *

Nathan gazed at the young, unresponsive man in the hospital bed. JD had been in a coma for four days now and nothing the doctors had tried had yielded any results. According to Nick it was a self-induced coma, a way for the young warlock to handle what had happened to him, to his friends, to the world. The last thing JD had seen had been the empty nightclub, believing he had killed everyone.

Not good.

Trauma.

Nathan sighed and went over the chart again. For the umpteenth time. No changes, for the better or worse. Well, it were the only good news.

From a medical point of view nothing could be done for him anymore. It was all up to the patient. JD had to decide whether to come back or not. Reed had explained that JD could even choose if he listened to the outside world or not. If he was listening, there was no indication.

The whole team, Luther, Ezra and Nick took turns sitting with the unconscious man, talking, touching, doing everything in their limited power to explain to JD that it was okay to choose life. He was welcome back among them; he hadn't killed anyone or anything.

The door opened and Jackson turned, smiling slightly as he discovered Luther coming into the private room.

"Anything?" the vampire asked.

"No. Same as yesterday."

Luther nodded and looked at the pale face, the closed eyes, the IV lines snaking into the limp body. "I'll sit with him a while," he said softly.

Nathan nodded. He had to meet with Nick in an hour. The warlock still wanted to run some tests with him, find out what kind of influence the temporal blast had had.

 Closing the door as he left, Jackson wondered if JD would ever make a decision to come back or go forever.

* * *

Chris lay on the couch, one arm flung over his head, the TV on. He wasn't watching it, though. Ezra walked into the living room and smiled faintly at the sight.

"You asleep?" he asked softly.

Chris blinked his eyes open and grimaced. "Wish I would be." He sat up.

The older vampire took up the vacated space, then wrapped an arm around his lover and pulled him to lay on his lap. Chris sighed and sank down, taking the comfort. Chris started to play with his hair, running his fingers through the soft strands. His other hand rested on his lover's chest, stroking it soothingly. Larabee closed his eyes, relaxing more. No words were needed.

Chris suddenly caught the caressing hand and interlaced their fingers, holding it in place over his heart. Ezra let him, enjoying the simple contact. He wished he could reassure Chris that everything was going to be okay, but he had no such knowledge. JD was still critical from a magical point of view, and even though Nathan was okay, there was the lingering fear that he might suffer negative consequences from the blast. So far, Nick hadn’t told them anything about negative side effects.

“Wish he had said something,” Larabee murmured softly. “I thought I was his friend, not just his boss. He could have talked to me, outside the office. To each and every one of us.”

“You are. But you’re both,” Ezra replied, squeezing the hand in his grasp. “And JD thought admitting this weakness would lessen the image you all had of him.”

Chris sighed. “God, he is so wrong. So terribly wrong…”

The bell announcing a visitor at the door startled both men and Chris rose with a sigh. They weren’t expecting anyone. When he opened the door, he was more than just a bit startled to see who it was.

"Sir?"

Orrin Travis smiled briefly at him. "Hello, Chris. I hope I'm not disturbing you?"

"Uh, no. Please come in."

Travis walked into the large ground floor apartment and if he was surprised to see Ezra, clad in leisurely clothes, he didn't show it.

"Can I get you a beer or something?" Chris offered.

"Yes, thank you. After these latest events, I need it. I'm off the strong stuff. Thanks to you guys."

Ezra chuckled. "Go ahead, blame the poor vampires, Orrin."

Travis snorted and accepted the beer. "With what has been happening to this team lately, I have a tendency to shove the blame your way, Ezra."

Standish grimaced. "It wasn't my fault."

"I know. It's just that the weirdness started when I brought you in."

"The weirdness was always there," Chris interrupted. "Ezra just had an explanation for it. Without him, this team might not be here today."

"I know that. How is young Mr. Dunne?"

"Still at the hospital, still in a coma. Buck is with him today. No changes so far."

Travis sighed and played with the beer bottle. "I hope he comes out of this okay. Mr. Reed told me what had happened. Chris, how dangerous is JD?"

Chris bristled. "No more than me, or Ezra, or Vin and Buck. He is a warlock in training, sir. Accidents happen. I wasn’t any better in the first few weeks of my new existence."

Orrin met the hard and unyielding hazel gaze. “I see. What about Dr. Jackson?”

“Well, Nick tested him quite thoroughly. Physically, he is fine.”

“But?” Travis pressed on.

“Nick can’t be completely sure and it sounded very metaphysical to me…. but JD didn’t return all the stolen time. He siphoned it through Nathan and some of it stuck to him. Nick said it’s like chunks glued to Nathan’s aura. He could try to remove them, but he might damage Nathan’s living time energy in the process, so he won’t risk it.”

“What kind of consequences does this have?” Orrin asked quietly.

“According to Nick, and he said he isn’t an expert in temporal magic, Nathan will have a lot less worries in the near future,” Chris said slowly. “He won’t get sick, he won’t grow older… he’s living on time taken from vampires and until it’s used up, he won’t touch his own living time.”

Travis looked at him, eyebrows rising. “Translation?”

“Nathan has accumulated probably about 30 years of vampire time,” Ezra explained. “Prolonging his natural lifespan.”

Travis emptied his beer and shook his head. “Now I wish I had something stronger,” he muttered. “What is it with this team?”

Chris just sighed and shrugged. “I have no idea, sir.”

Travis played with the beer bottle. “So, how are you doing?”

“Sir?”

The older man looked at Chris, then at Ezra, smiling slightly. “You were gone for quite a while, my friend. Chris was ready to scale the walls in the office, everyone’s lives miserable, including mine.”

Chris cleared his throat, looking suddenly embarrassed. “I was worried,” he muttered.

“Yes, I know.” Travis’s eyes were smiling as Ezra stepped closer to his lover, touching the small of his back in a brief, reassuring gesture.

The older vampire met the eyes of his long-time friend and saw the knowledge there. Travis knew. He knew all about them. No surprise there, actually. He had figured Travis to catch on to it sooner or later. Given the events of the last years… well, it wasn’t much of a revelation.

“Well, gentlemen, I’ll see myself out and leave you to your personal time.” Now there was a twinkle in the light eyes. “Enjoy.”

Ezra grinned widely as Travis walked toward the door.

“He knows,” Chris simply said.

“Yep. Never thought otherwise.”

“Oh.”

Standish wrapped his arms around the slender waist and pulled Chris close, catching a little kiss. “You heard the man,” he murmured seductively. “Enjoy your personal time.”

“Yeah. And he’s my boss. I better listen to him.”

“Exactly.”

And Chris lost himself in the next kiss, the warm touch, the hard, compact body against his. Nothing outside their world existed for now. Reality just had to take a break.

* * *

The little black cat was pacing back and forth on the dresser, making even Luther nervous. Bagheera meowed to herself as she paced. Now and then she stopped, sat down, washed herself, then jumped off to pace around some more. The moment Luther had walked into JD's place to pick up the little familiar, he had found himself with an armful of anxious kitty. He had taken Bagheera with him, trying to soothe the distraught cat, but so far, only aggressive snuggling had helped. For a while. Then Bagheera had wriggled away and resumed being a nervous familiar.

There was nothing much Luther could do for either the young warlock or the cat. JD had to come out of his self-induced coma himself, and Luther and all the others could do was sit and talk to him. Luther had spent a lot time at the hospital after dusk, but there had been no signs that JD was hearing him. Or feeling his hand close around Dunne's.

Suddenly Bagheera gave a little yowl and bounded over to him, meowing and wailing at him. It was the moment the cell phone rang.

"Yeah?"

Five minutes later he was on his way to the hospital.

* * *

It was twenty-four hours after JD had finally woken and the whole team, as well as Nicholas Reed, had come to the Grotto, following a request from Luther. Now, sitting with their drinks in a private corner of the club, long before opening hours, no one had any idea what was going on. Except maybe Chris and Ezra, who knew what kind of relationship was between the dark-skinned vampire and their young warlock.

"JD's being released tomorrow," Luther told them, which was no real news. "Since he can't stay alone, something none of us would risk anyway, he'll be rooming in with me again. Nick and I can keep an eye on him."

Everyone nodded. No objections.

"But before you all converge on him with good advice or criticism, or start mother-henning him, I'd like to say a piece or two." Luther leaned back against the wall separating the private area from the main dance floor. "I consider JD a good friend. The two of us have always been open with one another, something I think he lacks with you guys. I know he is your friend, too, but how many of you know him? How many of you know JD? I'm not talking about the hot-shot computer hacker; or the hyper, bouncy friend and colleague; or the warlock-in-training. I'm talking about the young man hidden underneath all those layers, the one who's trying to fulfill all your expectations and then some. The boy hidden behind technical gear, computer talk and fast food wrappers."

Luther looked around and met their eyes.

"Has any of you ever stopped and thought about what he has been doing for you? When Chris got sick and you were all rallying to function normally, you might have noticed how hard JD worked on doing your work, keep the team from lacking."

Buck nodded. "Yeah. He was doing all our paperwork and helped Vin with the Personnel and Accounting stuff."

"And in the last weeks? Did any one of you ever stop and ask yourself how JD managed the impossible?" Luther pressed on. "How he worked 24/7, suffered through all the demands to have everything on time? How he did the job of four people and had time to sleep, though he did that only when there was nothing else to do. Did any single one of you ever look at the kid? Really look?"

No answer.

"You all just asked, demanded and expected. And JD, insecure as he is, tried to meet all demands," Luther pushed his point home. "He was the colleague who did all the accumulating paperwork; he was the friend who helped out; he was the good sport who shrugged off yet another blown relationship."

"Fran dumped him?" Buck blurted. "But... he never said anything," he added weakly.

"Because he didn't want it out in the open how much he had failed again!" Luther told him sharply. "He takes your 'good advice' and criticism to heart, guys! He wants to be a perfect agent because he thinks he owes it to you, Chris. You got him out of prison and somewhere deep inside he is afraid he'll end up right where he was back then if he screws up. And now there's the pressure of being a warlock. He tries to be perfect in that area as well, but he knows he'll never be, because he can never reach a point where he stops training and that's it. He can't consciously decide to stop; the magic would simply take over and destroy him."

"Vicious circle," Ezra said softly. "The need to be perfect, seeing he can't ever be, creating his own painful world of stress and pedestals he can never reach, and so on."

Luther nodded. "Everyone is demanding something or other of him, whether consciously or unconsciously. Chris is his boss, you all are his colleagues who have seen him work the impossible, expecting him to do it again and again, and Nick is his teacher. No one is without expectations, be they even oh-so small."

"Except you?" Vin asked, meeting the dark gaze.

"I don't want anything from him but what he offers freely."

Luther met the scowl on Chris's face openly.

"I listen to him, I give him a chance to lean on, to hold and be held. Whatever he wants."

Josiah's blue eyes narrowed all of a sudden and he looked thoughtful. But he didn't say anything. He saw Chris and Ezra’s reaction, though. His boss looked at Standish, a questioning expression in his eyes, but Ezra simply shook his head. Whatever Chris had silently asked, Ezra had decided that they shouldn't bring it up. It told Josiah one thing nevertheless: they knew something. If he interpreted it correctly, though, the result was quite surprising.

"I'm not scolding him," Nick said softly. "I won't accuse him of anything either. I know what he's going through, Luther. It's what happens to every warlock, even me, even today. He lost control."

"But you're going in with expectations."

"I have to," was the calm answer. "He has to learn how to work his powers, how to control them. I have to continue his training, now more than ever."

"He knows that, but he's afraid of failure."

"We all are, Luther," Josiah rumbled. "Ever day. On the job, at home, in your free time. It's a normal, human reaction."

"But JD's afraid to be human," Ezra added. "He only sees his weaknesses, never his strong points."

"Guess we need to work on that, hm?" Vin sighed.

"All of us, including JD."

* * *

The welcome home party was held at the bunker because it was JD's home for the time he needed to completely heal. Party banners had been hung up, mixed food for the vampires and humans invited were displayed on the table, including soft drinks and alcoholic beverages. JD stopped as he walked out of the elevator, eyes going wide.

"Guys..." he asked shakily.

Buck squeezed his shoulder. "Welcome back, buddy. We missed you."

"Ah... thanks... Wow…" He was clearly dumbstruck.

Drinks were dispersed, food was collected on plates or just held in hands, and JD drifted with the others, a warm curl in his stomach.

Oh wow, he thought over and over again. For me. A welcome home party for me. Wow…

 

The party progressed in a relaxed atmosphere, with watching a movie, playing games, having food fights -- Vin and Buck at least -- and just having a good time. Luther watched JD closely and when the younger man started to work himself to the fringe of the group he moved on an intercept course.

Wrapping his arm around the solitary figure, Luther felt Dunne stiffen.

"It's okay," he whispered, tightening his hold. "All's okay."

"No," JD murmured softly. "Nothing's okay."

"It will be." Luther gently kissed the pale neck.

JD allowed himself to sink into the safety net that was Luther, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, he discovered that a pair of green eyes was watching them; him. He stiffened again.

"It's okay," Luther repeated.

Ezra gave them a brief nod and a half-smile, then joined the others.

"We should go back, JD. Others might come and look," Luther rumbled into one ear, kissing the side of his neck again.

"Yeah. Thanks for the party." JD smiled slightly. "It was a nice idea."

"It was Buck's."

"Oh."

The vampire smiled, then pushed the younger man back toward the main room.

 

From where Buck sat they could hear a harrumph of a throat being cleared. Everybody looked at their chemist.

“Guys, I, uhm, there is something I’d really like to, well, kinda announce to everybody.”

“Hear, hear,” Josiah murmured. This day had been full of surprises, so what else could possibly happen?

Vin looked at his lover, a slight knot forming in his stomach as he noticed the way Buck was looking at him: serious, expectantly – AND he was stuttering – uh-oh …

“Uhm, due to the fact that Vin missed his birthday because of,  uhm, unexpected circumstances, I’d like to … aw hell!”

Vin watched with growing shock as his lover came to stand in front of him – and sank down on one knee!

Oh no … he wouldn’t … would he? Please, god, no! Not here, not now!

“Vin, we’ve been through a lot together. We shared a lot in the past, we share a lot in the present, and I’d really like to share the rest of my life with you.”

Buck produced a little velvet box.

He really would …? Vin thought frantically. No, no, no….

Buck looked up, straight into Vin’s eyes, clearing his throat again.

The world started to move in slow motion. Buck opened the box.

“Vincent Michael Tanner, I love you more than my own life and I hereby ask you to become my legally wedded husband. Will you marry me?”

Vin stared at the box and felt a momentary sliver of relief. No golden rings. Silver ones. With a black, Celtic ornament. A token of the love Buck was feeling for him.

But the relief was really just momentary, because the panic was back full force once again. Then something else hit him. Something Buck had said as well.

Wait a minute … marry???

He had done it. Buck had really done it.  Asked him to marry him…

In front of the whole team, Ezra and Nick?! Was the man out of his mind?

“Vin?”

Legally wedded husband …

“Vin?”

Shoot …

“Vin??”

Tanner blinked once, twice, tried his best to return to reality, the reality he knew, as twisted and bizarre it might appear to other people. A pair of worried blue eyes looked into his, and he realized Buck was waiting for an answer.

His lover was serious with this.

Ah hell.

And then there were the others. Chris was smiling faintly but not giving any help there. Same as Ezra, who was leaning against the wall next to his lover, shoulders touching. Josiah was grinning like he had won the lottery, Nathan was trying to keep a neutral façade, and Nick was simply smiling. Luther and JD had joined them again just a second before Buck had launched this underhanded sneak attack and if Vin wasn’t completely off, they were standing a lot closer together than friends should. Then again, it might be the utter panic in him making Tanner see things.

“Uhm, Buck, I’m flattered, uhm … I don’t know what to say … “ he stammered.

“How about yes or no?” Buck grinned hopefully.

Shoot…

‘Wedding’ was the keyword. Legally together. Betrothed. Husband and husband. Nothing different from what they were right now; equals partners in a relationship that was meant to be forever. But.. wedding? Vin cringed. Wedding meant a church and a priest and… and… oh gawd! Panic time!

“Buck, you know I love you, too,” he finally stuttered. “I mean you know that, right? And I’d really … I mean … “ Vin’s voice drifted off, looking into huge blue puppy eyes.

Buck’s expression was one of open love, hope, need and… a promise. The same promise he had made so many years back when they had finally gotten together, when they had become more than just colleagues.

He loved that man. He truly did. There would never be anyone else.

Oh what the hell …

“Yes,” Vin whispered.

A broad happy smile split Buck’s face and he tenderly took Vin’s left hand, carefully placing one ring on his finger – and a gentle sweet kiss on his lips as he rose from his knees. Somehow Vin must have put the other ring on Buck’s hand, while returning the kiss; he had no idea. Mind whirling, trying to wrap itself around the fact that he now was ‘a married man’, he didn’t spare his surroundings a lot of attention.

He didn’t see Josiah raise his glass in a toast, clinking it with Nathan’s and then Nick’s. He didn’t see Chris slip an arm around Ezra and press a gentle kiss to the smaller vampire’s forehead. He didn’t see JD smile broadly, happily, or Luther squeezing the young warlock’s shoulder.

“You know,“ Buck whispered lowly, “I don’t think we actually need the ‘legally wedded’ part here. Except if you insist on it, that is.”

“Not necessarily. Really. This is more than enough.” And it was. It was so much more. He could skip the whole ceremonial thing.

Buck smiled again, stepping back without losing contact with Vin; he still held his hands.

“This ring represents my love for you, Vin Tanner. Hereby I take you to be my not so lawfully wedded life mate, as my friend and love, beside me and apart from me, in laughter and in tears, in conflict and tranquility, asking that you be no other than yourself, loving what I know of you, trusting what I do not know yet, in all the ways that life may find us. I vow to share the rest of my life with you, be there for you, respect you and love you with all of my heart and soul, in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad times, come hell or high water, till death shall us part.”

Vin looked at his love, the man who had just, here, in public, in front of all their friends, declared his love for him and his intention to be with him forever. Come hell or high water.

“Whoa… “ was all he whispered softly.

* * *

Nick approached his apprentice, smiling as JD looked up.

“Hey,” Dunne greeted him warily.

They had yet to really talk about what had happened and Nick had given him time to get back to his life before he actually broached the subject.

“Hey. Enjoying yourself?”

JD smiled. “Yeah. It’s great of the guys to do this… after everything, I mean.”

Nick sat down on the other chair, acutely aware of a pair of dark vampire eyes watching him. Luther wouldn’t let anyone hurt JD right now. Reed had no intention of doing so.

“It was an accident,” the warlock said calmly.

“I stole time, Nick. I… I nearly killed everyone in the Grotto.”

“You didn’t and that is what matters. Magic is a fickle thing. You have to learn to control it, to balance it, to keep a rein on it. Always. You’ll never stop learning, JD. Never. I have the same problems as you, just on a higher scale. No one is without them.”

JD chewed on his lower lip. “But I shouldn’t even have been able to do what I did,” he said desperately.

“You are a warlock, JD. Not just a witch. Warlocks have a whole set of different energy levels to access and you did so unconsciously.”

The hacker inhaled shakily. “I just wish I’d never have discovered what I am.”

“Then you might be dead now,” Reed told him bluntly. “Or you could have wiped out this city. JD, the power is inside you. It will come out because the magic is closely linked to your emotions and your mind. Training will give you control of it.”

“You’d still teach me?” he asked with a small voice.

Nick was stunned. “Of course!” he told him.

“Even after that?”

“Even after that and I’ll still be around after the next outburst,” he added with a fine smile. “I know what happened when I trained. JD, it’s normal that accidents happen. I blame myself for what happened as well. If I hadn’t been out of town, none of it would have happened.”

“Nick, you have a life, duty…” JD argued.

“As do you. And you have to find a balance between them all. Wreaking havoc on your body won’t do you any good, or any of the others,” Nick drove his point home. “You aren’t superman.”

“No, I’m not,” Dunne mumbled.

“What you are is more than anyone could ask for,” the older warlock added gently. “Be yourself.”

“But who am I?”

“You are John Darien Dunne.”

Brown eyes met gray ones, searching for the ultimate answer, his identity, and finding only this one statement.

“Be yourself,” Nick advised. “No one wants any more of you.”

With that he rose, smiled at Luther, and joined Josiah at the bar.

* * *

Vin was still impressed with his lover's seriousness about their relationship when they finally decided to call it a night and go home. The others had joked a little but congratulated the 'newlyweds' nevertheless. Entering their bed room Vin turned and cupped Bucks face between his hands, placing a long sweet kiss on his lover's lips. Buck's arms came up, wrapping around his waist, pulling him closer as the taller man responded in kind.

"Why?" Vin whispered.

"Why what?"

"Not that I don't appreciate it. I do, very much. But why that commitment? Why now?"

"Isn’t it obvious? Because I love you," Buck declared, a warm smile on his lips.

"You did so two years ago, three years ago. So why now?"

Buck rested his forehead against Vin's, not letting go of his face.

"I bought the rings a week before you disappeared. I just wanted the rings for us, nothing more. But then you were gone, and nobody had seen you... you had just disappeared. That was when it occurred to me, in all its clarity, so to speak. I discovered I couldn't live without you. I felt lost and alone, not knowing what had happened to you, or if I would see you ever again. That was when I swore to myself that should I get you back I'd never let you go again. The rings just were the perfect expression of it. I love you, Vin, and that's what it's all about."

Vin gazed at the man he loved, listening to the words, feeling strangely warm, touched…

"Did it occur to you I might have said 'no'?" he asked softly.

"Well, you didn't."

"Yeah. But what if?"

Buck chuckled. "Sure I thought about it. But even then I knew you'd understand what I wanted to say with them. "

"Buck?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

"Anytime."

"Buck?"

"Hm?"

"Do we consider ourselves newlyweds?"

"Uhm - yeah."

"Oh?"

"Oh."

Buck's hands had started to slowly slip under Vin's shirt, caressing the bare skin of his stomach, and Vin shivered under the sensation of his lover's fingertips. A pair of lips nibbled along his neck, and Vin simply leaned into the hard body of his lover, breath hitching as Buck hit a very sensitive spot.

"So, does that mean this is our honeymoon?" Vin sighed, tilting his head back to give Buck's lips better access.

"Uhm-hm. Do you like the idea?" was the husky inquiry.

"Yeah ... "

"Good. Suitcases are packed already, we're flying tomorrow."

"We do?" Vin managed.

"Yeah." Buck removed Vin's shirt with a fluid motion. "San Francisco. One week."

He pushed a little until Vin felt the edge of their bed against his legs. He wrapped his arms more tightly around his lover and let himself fall back, taking Buck with him. Buck landed on top of Vin and took the opportunity to kiss him senseless, stroking every inch of exposed skin, paying special attention to the erect nubs of his very sensitive nipples until Vin was breathing hard and almost writhing underneath him.

Buck slid down the younger man’s body, pleasuring Vin with hands and tongue and teeth, kissing, nipping and teething his way down the flat stomach toward certain southern areas. Vin’s hips twitched in reaction toward his lover’s actions, until he simply took Buck’s hand and placed it on his hardness in a wordless plea.

Wilmington smiled and gave in, slowly unbuttoning the pants – with his teeth. Vin gasped as he felt his manhood being finally released from the confinements of the pants, which Buck made quick work of, sliding them down and tossing them aside. He now worked himself slowly up, spreading Vin’s legs further the more he closed the distance to his destination – only to ignore Vin’s moans and pants, caressing the soft skin of his lover’s flanks and stomach, knowing exactly where to tease and where to stroke harder to cause maximum pleasure, until Vin would have none of it any longer. He grabbed the taller man’s shirt and pulled Buck close into a searing kiss, pressing his body against his lover’s, panting heavily.

“You’re way overdressed here, Wilmington… “ he growled.

“Take care of it…“

“As you wish…“

The ripping sound of fabric torn apart could be heard, the soft protest being stilled by a hungry mouth. Vin closed his fingers around Buck, hissing and arching as their arousals met.

“Buck… now… “ he demanded.

“Anything you wish for, love … “

“Wanna feel you now …”

Buck didn’t need any further invitation as he slid deeper between Vin’s legs, claiming him all over again, finally swallowing their cries of passion as Vin’s last barriers of self control were washed away by the tidal wave of completion, taking his lover with him.

* * *

It was a slow early afternoon at the Grotto and the back bar hadn’t been opened yet. KC was wiping down the counter of the main bar, taking stack of the bottles and glasses, checking the fridge, and waiting for the big rush. A group of men walking in caught her attention and she smiled as she let her eyes run over them.

“Hey,” one of them greeted her. “You must be new here.”

“Pretty much. I guess you haven’t been here lately,” she replied with a smile.

“Nope, been busy. Job and all. My name’s Vin Tanner.”

“KC. Can I get you anything to drink?”

“Two sodas, one beer, one Diet Coke, two shakes. Thanks.”

With the beverages on a small tray, Tanner walked over to one of the tables the group had occupied.

“Forget it, KC, he’s taken,” Luther suddenly rumbled in her ear.

“Oh?”

“Yes. Seven years. Pretty tight.”

“Married?”

“Just recently.”

“Ah. Which one?”

Luther gave her a stunned look, apparently surprised that she wasn’t asking about a woman. He nodded at a tall, dark-haired man Tanner now sat down next to.

“Buck Wilmington.”

“Cute,” she commented, giving Wilmington an appreciative look. “Cute couple.”

Luther chuckled.

“Who’s the hunk over there?”

The vampire almost laughed out loud. “That ‘hunk’, Ms. Chapman, is your boss and the owner of this establishment. Ezra Standish.”

“Well, nothing against it. He’s still a hunk. Not bad on the eyes.” Karen grinned and openly studied the green-eyed man.

“Vampire,” Luther added.

“I’m not prejudiced.”

“And taken. See the blond next to him? You got no chance.”

She sighed and shook her head. “The good ones are always taken.”

“And gay?” Luther grinned.

“Nah. Just taken. No chance, hm? Too bad.”

“Josiah’s free, as far as I know.”

“Who is he?”

Luther pointed out a broad-shouldered, tall man who could have been KC’s father. She grimaced.

“Luther, please. So not my type.” Then her eyes fell on another one. “How about that one? The guy with the dark hair?”

“JD Dunne. He’s still in the game.” Luther looked thoughtful. “Hm, you might like him. If you’re into computer nerds.”

“Like I said, I’m not prejudiced.”

JD rose from the table, as if he had knew they were talking about him, and came over to the bar.

“Hey, Luther,” he greeted the vampire warmly, then leaned over and Luther all too willingly gave him a little kiss.

KC’s eyebrows rose. “Still in the game?” she quoted, not shy about JD being there and hearing it.

“Yep,” the dark-skinned man answered. “JD, meet Karen Chapman. My new barkeep for the back bar. KC, this is JD Dunne.”

“Uh, hi,” JD said and smiled at her.

KC gave him a warm smile of her own. “Nice to meet you, JD.” She stretched out her hand and he shook it.

“I’ve gotta take care of some business backstage,” Luther said and moved toward the office. “See you later.”

JD blinked, briefly looked at the vampire, then nodded. “Sure. Errr... right.” He turned back to KC. “So… you are new here?”

“Yep. Student worker.”

“Oh? What are you studying?”

“Economics and New Languages.”

JD looked impressed. “Wow.”

“Yeah, well… not so hot when you have to cram all those books and texts into your brain at 3 a.m., living off coffee and wondering how you’re going to write that paper, get your assignments and done and then play substitute teacher.” KC shrugged. “And since I’m all out of money, I decided to do something good for my bank account and get myself a decently paying job.”

“So you hired on with Luther?”

“Yep. Pays the rent.”

JD settled down on the chair and KC automatically placed a Diet Coke in front of him.

“So, what do you do for a living?” she asked.

“Oh, I work for the CSI. Computer stuff.” JD shrugged.

“Cool. I tried myself at that and found I’ve no head for it. I’m much better at languages.”

“Which ones?”

“Spanish, German, Italian. Tried myself in Greek and Russian, but I had to drop it. I can read some, speak some.”

“Wow.” He sounded truly impressed. “So, what do you plan to do when you’re done?”

 

Over by the table, Buck elbowed his lover and pointed at JD, who hadn’t returned from his trip to the bar.

“Will you look at that?”

Vin smiled. “That’s KC. Luther hired her.”

Ezra nodded. “He told me. According to him, she’s quite competent.”

“Paranormal?” Josiah wanted to know.

“No. But she knows about us and others.”

“And JD seems to be quite taken by her. Good for him. He needs to get out more,” Buck grinned.

The six men watched the first steps of their young warlock as he and KC chatted at the bar, with the new bartender sometimes going back and forth between the few patrons asking for a drink. JD seemed to be in no hurry to return to the table and quite comfortable where he was.

“Very good for him,” Ezra whispered so softly that only Chris could hear him.

His lover nodded and turned away, giving his friend some privacy. After some more watching, the rest did the same.

Three hours later the group called it a night. Buck and Vin had left already for their ‘honeymoon’ and the others were tired as it was. JD remained behind, just waving at them. The way he was glued to the bar, everyone had his own theory about why he stayed.

* * *

"You know," Chris wrapped a slender leg around his lover's hips, "Buck had a real good idea there."

"No."

"What? You think it wasn't a good idea to ask Vin to marry him?"

"Didn't say that." Ezra snuggled a little closer, placing a soft kiss on his lips.

"So you think it wasn't a good idea from Vin to accept?" Chris murmured.

"Didn't say that either."

"Then what DID you say?"

"That it shouldn't give you any ideas."

"Who? Me??"

"Yes, you, Larabee."

"Who said so?"

"I do. Know you well enough."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning it shouldn't give you any ideas."

"So you wouldn't?"

"Wouldn't what?"

"Say yes?"

"No."

"So you would?"

"No."

 "Now I'm wounded."

"Why?"

"You don't love me."

"Right. I usually sleep with guys I don't love."

"You do?"

"No. Stop that."

"What?"

"Picking on me."

"I don't."

"You do. Now shut up, Larabee."

"Does that mean you only sleep with guys you love?"

"Yes."

"Ezra?"

"Hm?"

"Does that mean you love me?"

"You know that."

"Ezra?"

"Hm?"

"I love you."

"Love you, too, Chris."

"Ezra?"

"Hm?"

"Will you marry me?"

"Just zip it, okay?"

"Ezra ...?"

"What?"

"I just exposed my heart to you here, and all you have to say is ...

"Okay, okay, I say yes. Satisfied now?"

"Ez ...uhmph..."

Ezra claimed the runaway mouth with his own, shutting Chris up.

"Chris?" he murmured when they separated again.

"Hmmm?"

"Are you going to buy me a wedding band?"

"Sure."

"Chris?"

"Yeah?"

"Honeymoon?"

"Whatever you want, sweetheart."

"Honeybunch?"

"Yes, babe?"

"I'd like Las Vegas."

"Of course."

"Chris?"

"Hm?"

"The Honeymoon Suite?"

"Ezra?"

"Yes, cuddlekins?"

"Do you own the hotel?"

"Of course."

The End