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Who Wants To Live Forever?

Summary:

A tragic accident claims Mike's live. What will Henry and Vicky do as his body suddenly disappears? And who is to blame for it? *Sequel to Expectations*

Chapter 1: Chapter 1

Notes:

Title: Who wants to live forever
Author: BELOVEDbyWAR
Rating: PG-16
TV verse: Blood Ties
Disclaimer: Not mine, not making any money.
Wc: 2972
Sequel to: Expectations
AN.: Thanks to
luvinmike for beta-reading my stuff!

Chapter Text

Who wants to live forever? (Part I):

Of course, as life goes, nobody could have foreseen what would happen in the weeks to come. It all started with a slight feeling of wrongness and before Henry knew what hit him – in this case quite literary – everything changed.

***

It was a heart-breaking beautiful night. How sad that it should all end here…

The attack had come so swiftly, Henry didn’t even have time to raise a defensive hand before punches rained down upon him with no end in sight.

Now, his blood seeped out of the many deep cuts the other vampire had inflicted upon him.

Were it not for his mortal friends, he would have been able to meet his maker without much remorse, but knowing that his attacker’s first action would be to claim and afterward most possibly kill all that had been Henry’s, he knew he had to fight back.

It didn’t matter how he did it, he simply had to find a way to beat the older vampire.

“Come on, Fitzroy, is this territory really worth your life? If you vow to leave town tonight, I’ll let you live. How does that sound?”

“Never!”

“Oh, come now. Never is such a long time. Are you sure? Well then, I guess I have to kill you.”

No more than a second passed before he was attacked again. They bit, scratched, and hit each other with inhuman speed. At first Henry managed to avoid the other’s deadly fangs and bone-crushing blows, but soon his weakened state slowed him down too much and the black-haired vamp exploited it to the fullest.

Instead of granting a quick, merciful death, Hector – as the other vampire had introduced himself between blows - celebrated his triumph over the former territory holder by slowly, almost tauntingly, inflicting one painful wound after the other until Henry lay in a bloody pulp on the concrete, unable to move even an inch.

“Just so you know, I wouldn’t have let you leave anyway. So, goodbye little princeling! I’ll take care of your city and its citizens.”

But before the deathblow could be delivered, loud shots rang out in the night until the darker vamp crumbled into an unmoving heap.

“Sorry, but we don’t want another bloodsucker!” came the sarcastic remark from the tall blond detective as he stepped into view, followed by an angry PI.

After his little pity party, Mike had been curiously absent from Vicki’s - and thereby also Henry’s - life for the past few weeks. But when she mentioned their suspicion of another vampire in town attempting to take over the city, the blond had not hesitated for a second to hurry to the rescue.

Unfortunately, it looked as if they were already too late.

Concerned, Vicki knelt next to the fallen Henry to check on him. She had to stifle a horrified gasp as she realized the precarious state her partner was in.

“Lord, Henry. What did he do to you?” she whispered in shock.

Mike winced as he saw the deep gashes and mutilated limbs.

“Can he survive that?” he asked, while simultaneously, almost absentmindedly, changing the clip of his gun.

With tears in her eyes, Vicki looked up at him.

“I don’t know. He’s lost so much blood! If he doesn’t feed soon, it will be too late.” Saying this, Vicki pressed her wrist to Henry’s mouth, encouraging him to drink.

“Vic, don’-“

From behind them, the sound of the reviving vampire distracted the police officer’s attention from the feeding and he fired another two shots before he joined the woman on the ground.

“Vicki, we need to do something! My bullets won’t stop him forever! Vicki, are you listening?”

He shook her shoulder until she looked with glazed eyes from the weakly sucking Henry to Mike.

“Jesus, woman, stop! For heaven’s sake, leave a little blood for yourself!”

Alarmed, he tore her arm from the hungry mouth.

A pitiful keening noise distracted him. Seeing that Vicki was, though a bit sluggish, essentially fine, he crept closer to the barely conscious, wounded vampire. Very carefully, he lifted Henry’s head, supporting it with his hand.

“Fitzroy! Henry! Tell me. What can I do? I only have a couple of bullets left! Henry!”

The previously slightly opened eyes fluttered closed again while the smaller man fought to speak, but only a gurgling sound escaped his mouth before all life left his body.

The blood had not been enough. If Fitzroy didn’t make it - even if they managed to kill the other vamp – sooner or later another bloodsucker would come calling, and just as the undead brat had once said, he at least was the devil they knew and Mike had finally gotten used to the prince’s presence in their lives.

Making a decision, he stood once again and made his way to Fitzroy’s opponent. Taking a deep breath, he set his gun on the stranger’s neck and fired the remaining shots. He desperately hoped that from this close range the damage to the spine would be enough to sever the head, but unfortunately he only managed to open a quite sizable hole.

Frustrated, he let out a loud yell before taking the offender’s head and twisting it brutally, but still it wouldn’t come off. Signs of healing were already detectable and now there were no bullets left!

Mike frantically looked around, searching the area for anything he could use. Seeing that his plan wasn’t working he feared he had signed not one, but all their death certificates - not even including those of the innocent people that would fall victim to the other vampire’s thirst if he were to take over the city!

God, he had failed!

Apologetically, he looked to Vicki who watched his savage behavior with a grim face.

“It’s no use, I can’t kill him. Vicki – what can we try now?”

Vicki carefully rose and made her way to their foe. Once there she viciously kicked the mutilated neck until a satisfying crunch could be heard.

Exhausted but slightly pacified, she turned back to Mike. Their eyes met and he knew she was as clueless as he, which spoke of how dangerous their situation was. If only his undead majesty was not hurt, then he could easily rip the foreign bloodsucker’s head off in a heartbeat.

From the corner of his eye Mike saw movement. He must not have been the only one to have noticed because not a moment later Vicki stormed back to Fitzroy’s side. The wounded vampire was stirring and abruptly scooted backward, making Vicki stop in her tracks. Black, hungry eyes looked at her pleadingly and the small frame was heaving with laboring breaths.

“Vicki – stay - back!” he rasped.

But stubborn as their Vicki was, she ignored the warning and took another step forward.

Again, the bastard prince shuffled backward until she finally stopped.

“Vicki, PLEASE! I can’t – hold … the hunger - it’s too…”

Mike immediately understood. With an ice-cold shudder, he remembered that one night in a vacant church when he had seen Fitzroy in a similar condition. Now, just like then, the vampire was no longer able to uphold his human façade. But unlike then, he now managed to hold onto the threads of his remaining humanity.

Mike swallowed twice, knowing deep down what he had to do. He knew they didn’t have enough time to fetch anything useful. He knew they couldn’t call for help because, apart from Coreen, nobody knew, and the Goth would take too much time getting here. Throwing the vampire into the lake seemed a good solution for the moment – it at least would offer them time to escape and regroup, but who would guarantee them that the fiend wouldn’t follow them and finish the job? No, it had to be done now, when they still had the advantage of having gravely wounded him. But they needed Henry to finish him off.

Vicki had already given her blood. It hadn’t been enough. Still, Fitzroy already was conscious again. With luck, another transfusion would suffice.

Now it was Mike’s turn.

Slowly, but surely he stepped closer, knowing that fear would only trigger the vampire’s instinct. One last look at Vicki told him that she understood. She smiled encouragingly as he gave her his gun.

After that, nothing could be allowed to distract him from his mission.

Without hesitation, he captured the vampire’s gaze and closed the distance between them. When he reached the fallen figure he knelt down and undid the upper buttons of his shirt – he didn’t need another obvious scar, thank you very much!

Fitzroy froze at the image of a repeat performance from a few weeks ago. He could not believe this was happening.

“Detective, this… is not… the time!” he growled, shaking from the strain of holding himself back.

“What’s wrong, Fitzroy? Am I not pretty enough? If I remember correctly, last time you couldn’t get enough of me.”

“Celluci! - Be sure… what you… ask for! - I am not… sure… if I… will be… able… to stop. - I have…lost… too much… blood.”

“Fitzroy. Henry. I can’t stop this son of a bitch. We both know what will happen when he takes over the town and I don’t only mean Vicki. You can finish what I started. That is what you should be thinking about now!”

The unspoken ‘there is nothing for me here anyhow’ almost brought tears to the vampire’s eyes. And then he shook his head in rejection.

“Lord, do you really want me to beg?”

Henry remembered their last encounter and what he had prophesized then.

Next time I drink from you, you will beg for it!

He certainly had meant it under different circumstances and was now the sorrier that it had to happen like this, but he knew it was their only hope.

Defeated, he allowed his hunger to surface before latching onto the offered neck with all his strength.

A soft ‘ah’ was the only sound uttered.

After that, instinct took over completely.

Blood. He needed blood so desperately and his victim gave it freely. He held him tightly, cradled to his powerful body.

Ohhhhhh and it tasted so good! He grew stronger with each deep draw he took. But it still was not enough. He needed more!

Turning them around, he lay the now weakened body on the ground and lay atop it, relishing the acceptance and beautiful reactions he managed to coax from the tall man. Almost lovingly, he stroked the blond locks and let his fingers wander over strong muscles, feeling them contract and quiver beneath his touch. A deep groan only encouraged him further and after shifting his pelvis just so, he felt the human’s hardened sex press against his own.

This, coupled with the life-giving blood, allowed him for a short moment to forget the here and now. All he could do was rock against his partner’s undulating hips and give as good as he got.

Henry took swallow after deep swallow and he spun out of control until suddenly the body beneath him froze.

Too late, he realized the reaction was not a sign of impending release, but a warning.

Only then, the warning from Vicki registered. The next thing he knew, he was flying through the air to crash into a trashcan a few feet away.

Strengthened by the fresh blood, he quickly stood, but the sight that greeted him almost made his knees buckle.

There, standing in a bizarre tableau, was his challenger, bleeding profusely from the neck, holding an equally wounded human detective. Both males seemed barely able to stay on their feet, but as the human seemed to grow weaker by the second, the vampire was recovering swiftly.

Henry realized that they had to act now, or Hector would be soon recovered enough to fend them off.

Slowly, he felt for the dagger he suddenly remembered bringing as a precautionary measure, only to find its sheath empty.

“Now you’ve made me really angry! I will start with your little obnoxious pet here and drain him of his remaining lifeblood. Then, I will get to you and use you like the bitch you are as your lady friend watches. And I will save her for dessert! When I am done, she won’t even remember your name!”

He then lapped at Mike’s still bleeding wound, groaning as he tasted him.

“Yesssss! Oh, he is delicious!”

Helplessly, Henry could only watch. A frustrated growl escaped him, but the moment he moved closer his adversary threatened:

“Another step and I break his neck!”

Henry froze. What should he do? He searched the blond’s face, but the detective hung unresponsively in Hector’s grip, making the older vampire support his whole weight. Just then Vicki stepped next to Henry.

“Better that than being pawed by you!” she spat.

Hector chuckled.

“Ah, you like them spirited I see. Too bad I don’t have the time to enjoy this one more but don’t worry. I’ll relish your hot-blooded Amazon all the more for it!”

“In your dreams!” she snarled.

While the two had been verbally sparring, Henry noticed careful movements. Mike was not as out of it as he let on and hidden in his hand was Henry’s missing dagger. The cop must have taken it when he’d seen their attacker closing in. Was Vicki aware of it, too?

“All in good time, my dear! Now, where was I?”

Everything that followed happened as if in slow motion. Hector bowed his head, ready to bite Mike’s neck, but before he could do so, the human suddenly stood upright, turned 90 degrees, and slit his attacker’s throat before stabbing him for good measure in the heart while Vicki and Henry ran to help him.

But before they could reach him, something terrible happened.

Howling in pain and spitting blood everywhere, the other vampire struck out and hit the blond with a brutal blow. A sickening snap could be heard as the fist connected with Mike’s head milliseconds before the momentum catapulted Celluci backwards.

Seeing red, Henry gave his wrath free reign. With a movement faster than the eye could see, he was upon the other vampire, withdrawing the dagger from the villain’s black heart, and decapitating him in one smooth, but brutal blow.

Henry didn’t even wait for the head to hit the ground. Immediately, he joined Vicki who had rushed to her friend’s side.

However, it didn’t matter anymore. Before he reached them, Henry realized there was only one heartbeat, and the angle in which Mike’s head lay was sickeningly unnatural.

“Mike?” Vicki spoke, tears clearly audible in her voice.

“Mike!” she shook his shoulders.

“No, no, no, noooooooo! Mike!”

Crying silently, Henry watched Vicki cradle Mike’s lifeless body to her chest, rocking him like a little child, while she sobbed as reality dawned.

He slumped down behind her and took them both in his arms as he joined her in her sorrow. It not only hurt to see her pain, but he too felt like somebody had ripped out his own heart.

What he would give to take Mike’s place! Why had it happened now, when they were finally getting along? Now when he had found a kindred spirit in the hardheaded man! Without realizing it, Henry had fallen for the irritating Italian and now it was too late. Why, oh why?

“Henry, can’t you-“ she sobbed.

Sadly, he shook his head.

“He is dead. Once the heart stops, there is no coming back. I-I wish,” he couldn’t continue. It was so unfair! The body wasn’t even cold! Lord, to think that only minutes ago he had held him in his arms!

Together they mourned a lost friend and lover, crying for all the missed chances in the past and now impossible future, for the children never to be born, the family never continued, but most of all for the heroic, selfless and loyal spirit lost.

Eventually they called the police, but nothing was more difficult than giving up the body. If it had been anybody but Dr Mohadevan, they might not have been able to.

After that, the night felt endless. It seemed as if the whole department had been notified and every officer Vicki and Mike had ever known made an appearance. Both Kate and Dave were shocked speechless and even Crowley was seen skulking away, dabbing her eyes.

Finally, it took a hysterically sobbing Goth to free them from the never-ending questions.

Together the trio made its way to Henry’s condo, feeling frozen and empty until exhaustion mercifully allowed them at least a temporary reprieve from the horrors of the night.

Never before had Henry been so grateful that he wasn’t able to dream, as he was sure he would have been haunted by nightmares.

And when the sun was about to rise, Henry lay in his bed hugging himself as he thought about the man whose blood still run through his veins, silent tears still running down his cheeks even after he’d breathed his last breath for the night.

***

(Downtown, in the police morgue, shortly after dawn)

Taking a greedy breath, a formerly motionless chest began to rise and fall as if its owner had just ran a marathon, and sky blue eyes suddenly shot open. Irritated, their owner shoved the sheet covering his cold body aside and sat up. Rotating his neck, he stretched until he heard several vertebra pop back into place before he rose and looked around.

Where the hell was he?

And even more importantly, who?

***

tbc