SquidgeWorld Archive

Declan shuts the apartment door behind him, checking to make sure it's locked before going down the outside stairs back to his car. Heading back to the office, he drops his jacket over his chair and grabs a file off the top of the stack on his desk.

"Declan, I thought I told you to take your partner home and keep him there." Captain Harada says from his office.

Declan snickers despite himself. "Don't worry Captain, I think Sean's not going to be going anywhere for a while." Blatantly ignoring the paperwork on their desks, Gaines and Edwards eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Declan, get in here." Harada orders. "Shut the door behind you," he says, dropping in his desk chair. "Now, tell me what's going on."

"We had just gotten back to Sean's apartment, I had asked him if he wanted to to find a different place to stay while my apartment's being fixed when there was a knock at the door. Harrison opened it, brought his guest in, and . . ." Declan's voice trails off as Harada unlocks a desk drawer using a key around his neck and pulls out a photo which he shows Declan.

"Declan, is this Harrison's guest?" He asks, returning the photo back to the file, locking the drawer, and putting the key back around his neck.

"Yes sir." Declan says. Harada waves his detective to a seat. "Declan, I had a couple people talk to me about you before you transferred from Chicago. This goes no further than this office. What do you know about vampires?" He asks quietly.

Declan sighs, slapping his head. "Of course." he mutters. "Harrison is a vampire, sir?"

"Yes, he's a Sylum Hunter named Drift. The other man is Tim McGee, a NCIS agent based in DC. . . and Drift's Mate. Hopefully, Drift will be in a better mood when he returns to work Monday." Harada sighs.

Declan snickers. "I hope so too, sir." He says, standing up. "Anything else, sir?"

"Get back to work, Declan. You were the one stupid enough to come back to the office." He snorts for Gaines and Edwards benefit as he sees them hiding behind files. "Gentlemen, if those files are so interesting, I have a whole room of them you can go through."

Declan snickers as he settles back down at his desk. "Hey Declan, want to go out after we get done?" Edwards asks, poking Gaines in the side with an elbow. "Maybe we can get Declan to spill the beans on Harrison's guest."

"Nope, my lips are sealed." Declan says, "mostly because I still gotta live with the guy for at least another two weeks until they quit fucking around and finish fixing my apartment."

"What's the deal with that anyway?"

"Some idiot set fire to his apartment." Declan says, "the apartment was destroyed, there was water and smoke damage to other apartments in the same building, but the fire inspectors found a lot of code violations. Every building has to pass inspection before people can move back in, and the building owners are dragging their feet on it."

"They paying to put you up until you can get back in?"

"Hell no," Declan says, "Last I heard the tenant board is about ready to sue to make them fix everything. We've already got a case in the housing court to stop paying rent until we can get back in our apartments. That's the only thing that may make the company actually hurry up and fix everything."

"Isn't there an apartment open in Harrison's complex?" Harada asks from the door to his office. "Finish up the files you're looking at and go home guys, they're still be here in the morning."

"Yes sir," the three detectives say in unison. "You need a place to crash for the night?" Edwards asks the other detective.

~ ~ ~

"Nope, I'm going to silently crawl in the apartment around midnight" Declan says as he finishes reading the last file, initialing where needed, then closing the file and slapping it overhanded into the out box. "Right now I'm going to go past my apartment to check the mail, see if there's any word on when I can get home, then go out to eat."

Declan sits behind the wheel of his car a second before pulling out of the station, heading for his apartment complex.

"Oh hello Mr. Declan," the security guard at the gate says. "Guess you heard the news."

"No, the company finally stopped dragging their heels and started work?"

"Nope, they've decided that it would be too much money. They're going to break the leases, tear down the buildings, and make them into condos." He says. "The company was going to send out notices today, you should have one in your mail."

"Hell," Declan says, pulling into his parking space and walking into his building's lobby. He opens his mailbox, finding the notice in his mailbox. Sighing, he opens his cell phone and calls the office. "Captain, it's Declan. Can I have next week off? The company's decided that fixing everything would cost too much money, they're tearing the buildings down and building condos. I've got till the end of the month to leave."

"What about your lease?" Captain Harada asks, rubbing a hand over his head as Gaines and Edwards look over at him. "You going to need any help packing and moving?"

"Yeah, once I find a place to live. You said that there's an open apartment at Harrison's complex?"

"Yeah, I'm sure your partner will be glad to give you a reference if you need one. So will I." Harada says, rooting in his desk. "I can give you and Harrison the next week off, you both have to use up some vacation time before you lose it. Gaines and Edwards can give you a hand after work. With all of us, it shouldn't take too long to get you moved."

"Thanks, Captain." Declan says, closing his cell phone, putting it back in his pocket, and heading back to his car.

"Gentlemen, that was Declan. The company that owns his apartment complex has decided rather than fix everything, they're breaking the leases and converting the buildings to condos. I'm giving him the next week off to find a new place and start packing, and volunteered you two to help him move."

"Yes sir," the two say in unison, following him out of the office.

Declan gets back behind the wheel, heading back to Drift's apartment complex. He parks and heads for the management office, smiling at the woman behind the desk.

"Can I help you, Mr. Declan?" She smiles at the man who'd been spending the month with Mr. Harrison.

"Yeah, I've got until the end of the month to move because my apartment building is going condo." Declan smiles at her, turning on his charm. "I heard you got an open apartment?"

"Actually, one opened up in your building just today." She says, smiling as she opens a file and pulls out paperwork. "It's the same layout and size as Mr. Harrison's unit, in fact it's directly below him." She stands up. "The unit needs some work, but I can show it to you right now."

Declan smiles as he follows her outside, past the pool and into the apartment. "The apartment is going to need new carpeting and paint, it should be ready by the end of the month." she says, smiling at Declan prowls through the apartment, already imagining his belongings placed just so. "We require two referrals, I'm sure that Mr. Harrison wouldn't mind giving one?"

"Probably not, if only to get me out from under his feet." Declan smirks, "Our Captain already said that he'd give me one if I needed it. How big of a storage unit does the apartment have? I'll have to store my furniture until the apartment's ready."

An hour later, Declan signs the last form on the apartment and sighs, rubbing his eyes as his stomach loudly proclaims it needs feeding now. Leaving the management office, he walks down the street to one of his favorite restaurants. He smiles at the waitress as she brings him dinner, watching the sun set over the water as he eats. Looking at his watch an hour later, he figures he's given his partner enough time and tosses his napkin on the table, heading back to the apartment.

He's nearly there when somebody drags him off the street. The last thing he feels is a sharp pain in his neck as everything goes black.

~ ~ ~

Declan wakes up an hour or so later, finding himself alone in the alley. Getting unsteadily to his feet, he leans against a building and begins checking his pockets to see what was taken. "Oh hell no." he mumbles, finding his watch and wallet still in place. He looks up at the sky, it had been nearly eleven when he was attacked, it's nearly six in the morning.

"Declan, what . . . Where the hell have you been?" Captain Harada says from the sidewalk. "We've been looking for you for hours."

"Captain, don't come any closer, I was grabbed and dragged into an alley last night I think I may have been turned." Declan says, backing away from the older man.

"Are you sure?" He asks in shock.

"God I hope not, but I've still got my watch and wallet. I was out for hours, I felt something at my neck just before I blacked out, and . . ." Declan's face falls as he frantically holds his wrist. "I can't feel a pulse."

"Declan, calm down." Harada orders the younger man. "Give me your wrist." He says firmly, staring the younger man down. Declan takes a deep breath as a shudder wracks his body, sliding down the wall until his head is buried in his arms. Captain Harada walks over, bending down and pressing two fingers against his detective's neck.. His face settles into a hard mask when he realizes the younger man isn't breathing.

"I'm right, aren't I? I'm a vampire." Declan says, starting to sound hysterical.

"Declan, get hold of yourself." Harada orders. "Get in my car, I'll get you to Drift's apartment." Declan shakily gets to his feet.

Declan looks around as he follows the captain out of the alleyway. "Captain, this isn't where I was attacked." he says. "I was at the restaurant a couple blocks up from the apartment. I was grabbed off the street when I had passed the taco stand."

"Good, that will give us a place to start." Harada says, picking up his cell phone. "Gaines, I found Declan. He says he was attacked near the restaurant we had the Christmas party at. Grab Edwards and check out the alley by the taco stand, he said that's where he was grabbed. I'm going to have him checked out and take him back to Harrison's apartment to get his story."

"Harrison, open up." Harada orders, pounding on the door when they arrive at the apartment twenty-five minutes later. The door opens and Drift looks at them, his eyes growing hard as he hears only one heartbeat. "Drift, Declan's been attacked and turned." He says calmly, pushing into the apartment, Declan held by an elbow. "He's going to need blood." he says as Declan's eyes start glowing and he fangs up. McGee already has a glass of blood ready, shoving it in the new vampire's hands and telling him to drink.

Declan holds the glass in his hands, shuddering as the smell of blood floods his senses. He closes his eyes, shoving the glass away. Two firm hands press the glass back into his hands and Drift orders him to drink, using the same tone of voice he used when Declan had gotten hit by a stray bullet during a shootout and he'd ordered the other man to stay awake while he held pressure on the wound. Declan shudders again and drains the glass, finding it replaced with a new one as soon as the first one is emptied.

"I hate it when you use that tone of voice on me, partner." he mumbles under his breath. Drift smiles as he hears his partner complaining.

"Get used to it, Declan. I think you've just found yourself a Sire. Not to mention one who's a Pissed off Hunter because his partner was attacked and turned without his consent." Harada smirks. McGee busies himself with drawing water for a bath as Drift and the human fuss over the new vampire.

"Thank you Tim," Drift kisses McGee's temple. "I'm sure this isn't what you were expecting to happen today."

"Drift, who is he?" McGee asks, turning around and burying his face in Drift's chest.

"John Declan, he's my partner. He's the man who was here when you arrived, he's been staying here while his apartment's being worked on. From what the Captain said, he was walking home from a restaurant a couple blocks away when he was attacked."

"Drift, do you see what I . . ." McGee's voice trails off as he looks at the two men in the other room. Drift follows his gaze and blinks, Declan and the Captain? But the way Harada is fussing over the new vampire is unmistakable, the fussing a worried mate does when his partner is injured.

~ ~ ~

"Hell, I'm going to have to call my family and let them know what happened." Declan mumbles, eyes drooping like a five year vainly trying to stay awake as the effects of the hot water, blood, and Drift and the Captain's soothing presence relax muscles he hadn't even know were tense. Drift smirks as he pushes his new Childe towards the bed.

"You can call them later." Harada soothes him, pulling the covers over his detective's shoulders as the younger man loses his fight with sleep. "Right now, I don't know if the Island will handle two pissed off hunters and your new Sire. Hell, forget the Island, I don't think my blood pressure could handle two pissed off Hunters and your new Sire."

"Captain?" Drift asks in a quiet, deadly voice that lets everybody know he's got the thinnest hold on his temper. "How did Declan find out. . ."

"Your clan leader called me when Declan first transferred out here from Chicago. He's one of Tallikut's chosen, the descendant of a Hunter's family. His 'uncle' John is one of Tallikut's hunters, arranged for his 'nephew' to work with the clan leader, figuring the younger man would eventually be turned and join the clan. You've met his 'uncle' Eric, their last name is Brooks and he goes by the name of . . ."

"Blade." Drift finishes, the Captain nods. "Hell," He says, running a hand over his hair, "I'd better call him. He can tell his brother."

"Don't forget Nico." The captain says, heading for the door. "I've got to check on Edwards and Gaines, see if they found anything where Declan says he was grabbed. But, I have to say, congratulations. . . It's a boy. Oh, before I forget, the company that owns Declan's apartment building has decided that fixing everything would be too expensive, they're breaking all the leases, tearing down the buildings, and building condos. I gave the two of you the next week off so he could find a new place to live and pack his stuff. Let me know if you're both going to need more time off."

"Who do we call first, Blade or Nick?" McGee asks, handing his mate a glass of blood. "Drink, you're going to need your strength today." He tells the older vampire.

"We'd better call Nick first, he'll need to know and he can help calm Blade down." Drift sighs, picking up the phone and calling his clan leader.

"Stokes," the voice on the other end of the line says.

"Nick, it's Drift, we have a problem here."

"What is it, Drift?" Nick asks, dropping onto the couch as he takes the glass of blood Warrick hands him. Warrick, Gil, and Greg, who are spending the day with the two vampires look up at Nick's worried tone.

"My partner was attacked and turned last night without his consent." Drift says on the other end of the line. "He's one of Tallikut's chosen, and he's Blade's 'nephew'."

"Shit, the last thing we need is Blade calling for a hunt." Nick sighs. "How is he?"

"I've got some blood in him and he's asleep right now." Drift says, walking to the door of the guest room and watching Declan sleep. "The only good thing is that I think he's found his mate already. Our Captain was fussing over him like Warrick fusses over you."

"Have you told him yet?"

"No, I wanted to tell you first so you knew what was going on and could help me calm him down." Drift says dryly. "I have the feeling that Blade and his brother are going to be hopping the first flight out."

"I'm afraid you're right," Nick sighs. "Let me call the Manor and tell Thomas to send one of the planes to New York for him."

"Thanks Nick." Drift hangs up and dials a new number.

"Brooks," a familiar voice says.

"Blade, it's Drift. I've got bad news."

"My nephew?" Blade asks in a deadly calm voice, as Danny, Mac, Aiden, Hannibal, and Flack look up from what they were doing.

"Declan was attacked and turned without consent last night walking back to the apartment after eating out." Drift says. "Our Captain found him this morning and brought him back to our apartment."

"Excuse me, our apartment?" Blade asks dryly, dropping into a seat as Aiden comes over to him, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"There was a fire in one of the buildings of Declan's apartment complex. The fire inspector found a lot of violations and ordered everybody to leave their apartments until they were fixed. He's been staying with me for a couple of weeks now. I called Nick, he's sending one of the jets to New York for you. You can call your brother on the way. I only ask that you don't torture my captain too much, he's already complained that his blood pressure won't handle two pissed off Hunters, and me. And before you complain, I think that he's Declan's mate, he was fussing over him earlier."

"Okay, for that reason I'll try to behave. I can't say anything about John and Charlie, though."

~ ~ ~

Blade hangs up, closes his eyes, and sighs, leaning against his mate's touch.

"Father?" Hannibal asks from his spot across the room.

"John was attacked and turned last night. Nick's sending a plane here so I can head to Hawaii." Blade says, "the only good thing about all this is that Drift has adopted him," Blade smiles at his own adopted Childe, "and he thinks that Declan found his mate."

"Hopefully not the psycho that turned him?" Aiden says dryly.

"Their captain." he smiles up at his mate before dialing his brother's number. "Charlie, John, one of you pick up the phone. Johnny was attacked last night." He orders when he gets the answering machine.

"Who's Drift?" Flack, Aiden, Danny, and Mac ask Hannibal.

"Drift is a Sylum Hunter, he's currently living in Hawaii working as a police detective. John Declan, Blade and his brother's 'nephew' "Hannibal makes exclamation points in the air, "is his partner. He transferred out there about a year ago.

Meanwhile, Charlie and John look up from their respective spots in front of the computer and the couch when the answering machine comes on. His brother's words has John lunging for the phone, hitting the speaker button..

"Eric?"

"Good, you're there. I wasn't sure. Johnny was attacked and turned without his consent last night. Drift has adopted him."

"Thank god for that at least. What happened?"

"According to Drift he was grabbed on the way home from a local restaurant." Blade growls. "Nick's sending the plane for me, do I need to pick you two up on the way?"

John looks over at his mate, talking on another line to their Clan Leader. He nods vigorously, even though Frasier can't see him on the other end of the phone line, and hangs up. "Frasier has given his permission for us to go." Charlie says, "and he's put a plane at our disposal, we'll contact you when we get in the air."

"I do have some good news though, Drift thinks Johnny's found his mate."

"Oh really," John purrs, wrapping an arm around his mate before pushing him towards the bedroom to pack a suitcase. "Who?"

"Their captain. Drift says he's been fussing over John nonstop since he found him." Blade says in amusement.

"Does this mean I get to give him the 'treat our boy right or I'll hurt you' lecture?" Charlie smirks over his shoulder. "Never thought I'd be glad to be between identities." He mutters, "but at least we're able to drop everything and take off without having to answer too many questions."

"Hannibal just told me that plane has landed, I've got to go pack a bag," He rolls his eyes when he sees Aiden pulling two bags from their bedroom, dropping them in a pile followed seconds later by Danny, Mac, and Hannibal. "You guys are not coming with me." he says, hanging the phone up.

"Yes we are," Hannibal says smugly, "Donny had to run to his apartment, he'll meet us at the airport. Nick already called the Chief of police, he doesn't want you going by yourself, and Aiden, no offense Aiden, doesn't have the training or strength to drag your ass out of trouble in case something happens. And before you ask, yes that's a direct quote from Nick. Quit grumbling, it could be worse, it could be Van Helsing and his mate coming along."

An hour later the jet is taking off. "Hannibal, can you tell us more about Declan?" Mac asks the amused vampire who's watching Aiden try to calm down her growling mate.

"John's about Danny's age, he's descended from Blade and John's sister. He used to be a detective in Chicago until he transferred to Hawaii about a year ago." Hannibal turns to the computer and pulls up a file, showing them pictures of the people they're going to be meeting in Hawaii. "Frasier, Tallikut's Clan Leader, had taken him under his wing, they'd always expected him to eventually be turned and join the clan as a Hunter under his uncle. Now, as Drift's Childe, Declan's going to be joining Sylum, swearing loyalty to both clans."

"You can do that?" Mac asks.

"Yeah, Tallikut has a hunter named Peter Parker. . ."

"Spider-man?" Danny smirks. Hannibal rolls his eyes.

"Peter's one of Bruce's kids, he joined Tallikut but still swears loyalty to Sylum. Wait until we get a formal clan gathering, he'll probably be there."

~ ~ ~

Back at Drift's apartment, Captain Harada dons gloves and goes through Declan's clothes looking for clues. He pulls the folded paperwork from his pocket, read it and smirks at Drift.

"Looks like you're getting a new downstairs neighbor."

"I didn't even know there was an open apartment in this building." Drift says, reading over his shoulder. "I'll check the office and see when he can move in."

"Let me know if they need a reference, I told him I'd give him one the other night when he called for the week off."

"He doesn't realize he's been missing for two days yet, does he?" McGee asks, calmly folding the clothes after they've been searched and putting them in bags to take back to the office. "I wish Abby was here right now to look at this stuff. No disrespect to your lab techs, but Abby can work miracles."

Drift shudders. "Don't wish that on me, I've only met Abby a few times, but the precinct would not survive her, Edwards, and Gaines."

A knock on the door has everybody looking up. Drift walks over and looks through the peephole, smiling for the first time since he found out that his partner was missing when he opens it for the female uniformed officer.

"How's Declan?" Is the first thing she asks, torn between taking the evidence back to the lab and checking to make sure the detective really is safe and sound.

"He's good," Drift smiles, "He's had a bath, something to eat, and he's sleeping now. From what he said, he was dragged into an alley coming back here the other night and woke up in the alley this morning. How did you find him, Captain?" Drift asks him.

"Purely by accident. I had stopped to get a cup of coffee before heading into the office." Harada says, "I heard something in the alley and went to investigate."

"Captain Harada, how far is the alley you found him from the precinct? I'm wondering if he might not have been trying to make his way there?" McGee asks.

"Good thinking, it's about two miles from the office. And about five miles from the hospital, he might have been trying to get to either place. Unless he remembers what happened, we may never know."

"Declan doesn't know what happened sir?"

"The last thing he remembers is being grabbed and pulled into the alley. From what he said when I found him, he thinks this is Friday, not Sunday. I gave him a quick look over in the car, I can't see any signs of a concussion though he was complaining of a headache. I offered to take him to the emergency room so they could look him over, but you know Declan. . ."

"It's Sunday?" Declan asks from the doorway, wearing boxer shorts and a robe he'd hurriedly grabbed when he heard a female voice in the other room.

"Yeah, you've been missing for since Thursday night." Drift tells his new Childe. "The Captain called me Friday morning when you didn't show up at the office, and we started looking for you when the security guards said you didn't return Thursday night. I thought you might have found a place to crash overnight, but the Captain, Edwards, and Gaines said you had planned on coming back around Midnight."

Drift smiles as he hears footsteps coming up the outside stairs just before somebody starts pounding on the door. "Declan, you might want to get that." he says, hearing eight sets of footsteps but only two heartbeats. Declan gives him a 'what the hell are you up to, partner' look before walking to the door, being pulled into two sets of arms the minute the door is opened.

'So that's Blade' Captain Harada says, watching his uniformed officer leave with the evidence while his detective is passed from one person to another, including some he has no idea who they are, and neither does Declan from his blank looks.

'That had so better be my nephew's mate' Blade thinks, growling slightly. 'Drift better not have anybody here looking at my boy's ass'. Aiden, who almost seems to be reading his mind, reaches over and smacks her mate. "Behave," she orders him with an amused smirk. "You sound like you're about ready to threaten your daughter's boyfriend before they leave for their first date."