Looming darkness all around, footsteps fall without a sound. Spirits cry out in the night, the children shake with youthful fright. And still the parents smile and say, "The sun will shine again someday..."

The words danced through Drake's mind as he glided down the halls of MSI once again. He still felt slightly apprehensive about his presence there; the very people that had hated him and tracked him were now his allies against the forces of Dark.

He gave a slight shake of his head, still amazed that it took centuries for them to realize that his kind was not the enemy. Humans could be so stubbornly blind.

His black jacket billowed out before him as he turned a corner sharply and walked down the overly polished marble halls. He came to the door marked so plainly as Investigations and didn't bother to knock, but simply walked in. What were they going to do after all? Tell him to go back out and knock? Hardly...But then, considering who he was dealing with most times, the moronic Chief Martin Cook, it honestly wouldn't surprise him.

Gliding in as if he was just another member of MSI, Drake glanced around at the bodies busy at work, heads bent over their desks, working in a fury while their minds raced with thoughts. He took in a deep breath, refreshing. There were no evil intentions bouncing around this room. Only good thoughts, beautiful symphonies of cases to be solved, to rid the world of one more dark shadow.

His eyes dancing with triumph once again as he reminded himself what a victory it was to walk in here without his hands bound by some ancient magic, he looked around, searching, seeking. For a brief moment, he wondered if Raelin would be there. Still, his heart ached when she crossed her mind, the true love that he was forced to let go for the greater good of the world.

Though the alliance now allowed the union of DreamWalkers, Humans, and even Avatars, her position with MSI and his position within DreamWalkers United made it far too difficult for them to be together.

Sighing, though hardly noticeable, he looked more dilligently for someone to take this current bit of information off of his hands. All he needed was someone adequately capable of relaying a message to Antony, that the hoard of vampires on the southern coast were on the move, closer into town, and then he would be off. No harm done...

"I don't want to hear excuses just get it done!" Raelin barked at the poor soul through the doorway she was now walking through. She'd had a terrible night again, barely any sleep and had almost considered drowning herself in her shower this morning. Her heels clicked with irritation on the marble floor as she walked quickly though the halls, her favorite coffee mug clenched tightly in one hand, her gun holstered around her hip, a newspaper tucked under her arm and a pen tied up in a halfhearted bun on the top of her head.

Today as every day she wore black dress pants and a white oxford with two buttons open at the neck. The jacket she paired with it matched flawlessly with her pants and her shoes, as usual were shining. Dark circles hovered under her eyes, no matter that she had desperatly tried to cover them with makeup this morning, she simply did not feel the need or desire to hear Marcus or Danae lecture her about her sleeping habits (or lack thereof at this point).

"Good morning Miss Lorcan!" some bubbly secretary deemed fit to greet her, Raelin shot them a glare and continued on her way. That one must be new. Raelin hated mornings, she hated afternoons and she hated nights. The only time of day she liked were evening and dawn, sunrises and sunsets always gave her giddy feelings of hope and beauty and thanks to her constant nightmares she'd seen quite a few of each.

As Raelin weaved her way through MSI she heard some women whispering about a handsome gentleman that had passed moments before. Instinctivly Raelin knew they were discussing Drake and she couldn't help it if her heart melted just a little when she thought of him and a silly grin graced her face for all of a few seconds before it vanished again.

Professional, she had to remain professional, even though what she really wanted to do was throw herself at him and make love to him right in the middle of MSI. Though the thought was appealing, she must remain professional.

Suddenly, as she turned another corner she saw him, well the back of him at least. She tried her best to put all the feelings she had for him into this one first smile, like she did every time she saw him, giving him a smile that screamed that she loved him and that she always would. "Good morning Drake!" she greeted him. "What brings you to MSI this morning?" she asked genially as she darted around him to head to her office which was down this last hallway.

As he searched for someone worthy of relaying his message, it hit him, a staggering sensation that caused him to close his eyes and take it all in.

Just like always, when she walked into a room, a hall, a building on the same block, Drake could feel her presence, that aura that she hid deep inside, the part of her that let that smile break through, the laugh, the toss of her hair that only he had seen. He took a deep breath as memories rushed within his mind, her face flashing in countless poses, before a thousand backgrounds, and each one causing him to long for her...as much as he would let himself.

When she entered the room, he could hear her measured steps and feel the gaze from her eyes that fell upon his back. He turned to greet her, awestruck once again by her beauty, natural and free, so much that she needn't try at all.

"Good morning Drake!" she said, a smile spreading across her face, causing his own lips to curve, just slightly in response. "What brings you to MSI this morning?"

Oh, how he wanted to say that she was the reason, and while she was always an alterior motive for walking into MSI, she was not his sole purpose for lingering this morning.

"Raelin..." he spoke her name, his voice soft as he regarded her with a soft smile, the shocking blue of his eyes hidden behind the lightly tinted glasses that he always wore. His eyes drifted over her, taking in the sight of her once more, if only briefly, and discreetly so as to keep things cordial between them. "Beautiful, as always," he said, an aside in a tone hardly noticed as he launched once more into his reason for being there. "I've a lead, on the nest of vampires down by the south shore. I wished to speak to Antony, but I've been told he's away. Would I be imposing if I spoke to you about it?"

Forever the gentleman, he waited, hands held in countenance behind his back.

Raelin's smile faded on it's own accord, not that she wasn't pleased to see him but because she hadn't been able to properly smile for a long time.

"Of course, let me get to my office so I can write it down, I'll have to show it to Marcus, he'll be thrilled I'm sure," she muttered with an eye roll as she tstrode past him and unlocked her office with one of the many rings on her keychain. The door was giving her trouble again this morning so she jammed her shoulder into it and staggered as it popped open, almost dropping her coffee.

"Ugh, I thought I cleaned this place yesterday..." she muttered as she looked around at the stacks of paperwork, the overflowing filing cabinets and the trashbin that was full of crumpled paper. "I need better cleaning habits at work, my house is spotless, my office? No way!" she shrugged as she plopped down her newspaper and coffee mug. She fished around one of her drawers for a moment before taking out a pad of paper. Without hesitating she took the pen out of her hair, letting it drop with a soft rustle and the scent of her strawberry shampoo drifting around her.

"Okay Vampires by the South Shore...what about them?" she asked as she looked up at him.

He followed, watching her every move. Drake could handle quite easily being around Raelin; it had become a way of life for him once upon a time. Now, still, there were some things that never failed to stop him in his tracks.

And as her hair fell around her shoulders, free from the pen that had held them so unsurely, he was reminded of one of them. The smell attacked his senses and for a moment, he just stared, thankful that he had shut the door after entering her office.

"Okay Vampires by the South Shore...what about them?"

Ah, of course. Back to business, the vampires. "They're on the move. No longer holed up in some vacant structure there. They've made plans to come into the city. I thought you'd want to stop them at the pass and block passage into Dementia."

Now that she had something to think about besides him Raelin's hand flew over the paper as she took down rapid notes. "Yes, that would be best, I think there are a few of the other invesigators that have been working on some related vampire cases as well, so I'll let them tag along, safety in numbers and all that." she scribbled that down and looked back at Drake.

"A few nights ago there was a vampire attack on the edge of town, we thought it might have been a scout since there was another attack a few nights before that in an area farther away, but now that we have this we can certainly go to work, will one of yours be attending with us?" she asked curiously as she looked back down at her desk to find the paperwork for the first attack.

A soft smile crept into his features as he watched her jot down the notes with a feverish passion. Forever the investigator, and one of the best. Any that Antony Piers held in high regard could only be the elite of MSI. Drake could still recall the day she announced her new job...It had been the day he knew that they wouuld fall to ruin. He had tried to prolong, avoid, but in the end...it was always goodbye.

"A few nights ago there was a vampire attack on the edge of town, we thought it might have been a scout since there was another attack a few nights before that in an area farther away, but now that we have this we can certainly go to work, will one of yours be attending with us?"

Walking to her desk, he leaned back against it, facing her as he watched her search for something. "You know...A filing system is an amazing timesaver," he said, his tone teasing as he reached up, out of habit, and brushed away a lock of hair that fell into her eyes. Withdrawing his hand as if it was nothing out of the ordinary, he gave a slight nod in response to her inquiry. "Yes, of course. One of mine will be in attendance if needed. They can always subdue the vampires, after all, by way of overpowering their senses. Do you need anything elsethat I can provide?"

Drake was fully aware of th loose wording of his question, and the amusemen dancing in his eyes proved it. Did their separation mean that he could no longer taunt her like he did before? He certainly hoped not...

Raelin blushed a deep scarlet as his fingers brushed against her hair and his question echoed through her mind.

Do you need anything else that I can provide?"

She could almost feel her muscles tense as she prepared to pounce on him but a sudden stack of papers falling behind her made her jump in her seat and she turned with an embarassed frustration to straighten them. "Uh! No! I mean, No thank you!! I'm quite alright, you know...best of the best!" she gave a silly little giggle and continued to gather her papers. Oh she HATED it when he did that, she wished it was easy for her to laugh along and pretend that things were only slightly different but it wasn't.

"Um, so...what have you been up to lately besides spying on vampire covens?" She didn't want their meeting to end, she wanted to sit here and just stay by his side till dust and spiderwebs covered the room. Okay so that was overdramatic and a little cheesy, give a girl a break.

"Uh! No! I mean, No thank you!! I'm quite alright, you know...best of the best!"

He couldn't help but chuckle as he watchd her, though a part of it did pain him. Drake wished it were easier on her, on all of them, but even now the tension in the room battled for dominance against the old familiarity between them. "Good to hear then..."

"Um, so...what have you been up to lately besides spying on vampire covens?"

Shaking his head, Drake picked up a sheet on her desk and lookd at it, not caring in the least for privacy or MSI policy. What did it matter? Chances are he had seen and heard it all anyway, through one thought or another. "Well, you know...The same always. Attempting the mold these newly found DreamWalkers into what they're meant to be, while doing whatever I can to uphold my standings here with your boss."

Drake laid the paper aside and looked at her once more, his eyes, hidden behind the glasses, meeting hers. "And what's been occupying your time these days, Raelin?"

A deep pain lanced through Raelin's chest but you couldn't tell by the smile she gave Drake. "Oh nothing much, reading mostly, and dinner here and there with Danae and Marcus...and cleaning house, but I mean it's just me so there's not much to clean up..." she took a breath for a moment. "I was thinking about getting a pet or something...maybe a plant...something to come home too!" she gave a noncommital shrug as if it didn't matter either way if she came home to a cat or a cactus.

"I heard...uh...that you and Alika are getting along well..." terrible choice of words really. "I'm really glad you found someone..." the words came out on a shaky breath but she said it and she did so without sobbing all over her paperwork and besides she was exceedinly happy that he had found happiness with someone else, she was only sad that it couldn't have been her. As if to protect herself from anything physical she pushed her chair away and turned towards another filing cabinet.

"I was thinking about getting a pet or something...maybe a plant...something to come home too!"

Drake let loose a quiet chuckle as he looked back at her. "I'd suggest a plant...considering anything that caused a mess within your immaculat apartment would surely incur that wrath that we all know and love." A teasing, yet somehow equally charming smile lingered on his lips as he watched her.

"I heard...uh...that you and Alika are getting along well...I'm really glad you found someone..."

His smile promptly faded as he heard her words. He had opened his mouth to respond, to give some statement of gratitiude, but he found her running yet again. He couldn't blame her, knowing how hard it must be, particularly when he and Alika appeared together at MSI. Sighing, Drake moved soundlessly up behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders. He made no fuss about it, but touched her easily. Leaning forward, he placed a chaste kiss to her temple. "Thank you..." he whispered as he stood so close to her. "I wish you the same happiness, Raelin."

IT was the honest truth. She still held a piece of his heart, whether she knew it or not. She always would, and forever, he would love her, even if it was an impossible union now. He wished her happiness, though he knew no one would ever be good enough. She deserved the world...but it wasn't a world he could give to her now.

Raelin closed her eyes as he kissed her temple and took in a deep, quivering breath. "Thank you..." she murmured as she turned away from him again. The weight of his hands felt so heavy, like the shadow on her heart. She didn't feel like talking anymore, in fact she felt like crawling under her desk and sobbing for an hour then going to the breakroom and devouring a whole tub of ice cream before she headed out and killed a whole coven of vampires. Violence always made her feel better.

"So what kind of plant should I get? Probably something that doesn't require alot of attention, a cactus maybe...or maybe I'll just get a rock...a pet rock, that would be acceptable right?" she tried to smile but it faded quickly. She wished it wasn't so damned awkward when they were together, she wished she could move on and find someone else instead of agonizing day and night that she wasn't good enough for anyone. Marcus was right, she was in love with her job and was having a torrid love affair with her coffee mug, her pen and her gun.

Drake balled his hands into fists as she turned away, his hands no longer holding her shoulders. She had always been a quick one...Lowering his hands to his sides, he looked at her again, the brightness of his eyes fading as he saw the smile fade once again.

He had caused that smile, once upon a time, and now, all he seemed to do when he was around her was take it away. Drake wanted to say that he wished it were different, that he wished something could be done, but what difference would it make? They had a love that would last forever, but it could not compete with the battle of darkness and light that threatened the world. He could almost justify it, saying that the greats before them had let their love be the fall of a kingdom, but Raelin was far too noble and responsible for that. In the end, so was he.

"So what kind of plant should I get? Probably something that doesn't require alot of attention, a cactus maybe...or maybe I'll just get a rock...a pet rock, that would be acceptable right?"

"Get a cat..." he said finally, nodding as he said it. "They're graceful, elegant...For the most part, clean, and easily trained. Watchful, protective, and moody from time to time. It sounds like your sort of animal."

All that he said, he did so with the utmost fondness. And smiled as he finished to let her know that.

Raelin couldn't help the chuckle that fell from her lips at his observation. "Yes, I'll get a nice cat, a black one and name him Louis after Louis Armstrong!" she nodded with affirmation. "Or I dunno, maybe I'll name him Midnight, or Dawn...or something very different like Butterfly...then again if I named a male cat Butterfly he might kill me in my sleep and eat out my liver..." she observed with a dark chuckle.

She opened the drawer and rooted for the paperwork she was looking for. "Oh yes! I was going to tell you, that other vampire we'd been chasing, another team brought her in, she'll be used at some point for training I think, if the rookies get to her..." she shrugged. "But I wanted to let you know, I think one of your members got injured when we tried to get her the first time. Well it doesn't matter because she's off the street and at MSI, so all's well that end's well, at least no one was killed this time around."

"Then again if I named a male cat Butterfly he might kill me in my sleep and eat out my liver..."

He waved his hand toward her, as if she were on exhibit. "Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the prime specimen of one who possesses an overactive imagination..." Drake grinned briefly, his look turning serious as she went back to the true topic at hand. Vampires.

It should have seemed cruel, to let that vampire serve as target practice for the up and coming Mendecants, but after the horrors he had seen exacted by the nightwalkers, he couldn't feel the least bit of compassion.

"But I wanted to let you know, I think one of your members got injured when we tried to get her the first time. Well it doesn't matter because she's off the street and at MSI, so all's well that end's well, at least no one was killed this time around."

Drake gave a solemn nod, committing it all to memory sos that he could report it to the others waiting back at Castle Reve for the news and their orders. "Yes...One was injured, but he has since healed. It's good to know that she's off the streets, and I'm sure he'll wish to have a part in this final extraction."

Raelin shook her head. "I'm sure he will, it's all about the healing process at least that's why my shrink says..." she shrugged. Raelin was ordered by Anthony to get councelling once a week after a particuarly hazardous assignment and so far Raelin was going, but it wasn't doing much good, but it was free and gave Rae time to rant about other things in her life that were trivial but made it seem like she was opening up.

"So, anything else? Marcus will be in soon and we have a case we need to close today or I'm going to loose my temper..." she looked around for the case file and rooted around in another piles till she found it. "Here it is!" she said with satisfaction as she slammed it down in front of her. She reached for her coffee cup and sipped the black liquid slowly.

"I'm sure he will, it's all about the healing process at least that's why my shrink says..."

He gave a slight chuckle, a soft sound from deep within him that nearly seemed to vibrate the air around them as he nodded in response. "Ah, of course...An eye for an eye. I do miss the days of the Quran...Hammurabi's Code...Whatever you wish to call it. It was a simpler time, then..."

Once again, he shook his head. Drake was immortal, clearly, and while humans were often afforded the luxury of forgetting, he was not. Drake could recall every dream he ever made come true, every person he touched, every eye he gazed into, and every heart he saw with his inner eyes. A DreamWalker never forgot, and so, he always remembered the days of old, when streams ran free with clear, cool water, and people lived in peace and harmony. Ah, but Morpheo had changed all that...Damn Pandora's Box.

"So, anything else? Marcus will be in soon and we have a case we need to close today or I'm going to loose my temper..."

With a sigh, he stood and stepped back toward the door, realizing all too clearly that he had overstayed his welcome. "No...No, that was all."

The mention of Marcus, though he knew that the vampire and Raelin had nothing more than a work relationship and some sort of camaraderie, he couldn't help but feel envious, though DreamWalkers' should have been beyond that. Drake had been human once; those feelings still lingered, particularly when it came to Marcus Trellan, the investigator who spent all of his days and nights with the woman who sttill held his heart.

"Tell Marcus I said hello...or goodbye. Whichever you prefer." He gave a slight nod to Raelin, the only seemingly appropriate gesture for an adieu. "If you need me, don't hesitate."

"If you need me, don't hesitate."

She wanted to tell him that she wouldn't. But that was the problem these days, she hadn't asked for help in ages, in fact her partner had pretty much been forced on her in the beginning. She didn't want to lie but she had to tell him something. "I won't..." she smiled a little but it fell just as fast. She didn't want to push him away but it was a defense system that had long been instilled before she had even met him. He'd been the only person who'd been able to bypass it, but even now...

"Have a good day!" she added with a false cheeriness to make herself feel better. When he was gone she'd let herself cry for a few minutes before she put herself back into her work. After all that was her one true love these days...work.

"I won't..."

As he watched her speak the words, Drake knew she was lying. He could feel it as the tone rushed into his ears, He shut his eyes for just a moment. Had it really come to this? She had once trusted him, believed him...And now, he had become just another person for her to hide from.

Opening his eyes, he stared at her, the look intent, his eyes fixed on her, hardly able to believe the mock cheeriness that followed. "Have a good day!" she said and he just shook his head.

Drake wanted to let it go, to just walk away and let her go on with her charade, but like always, he couldn't just do that.

"Raelin...Is this how it's going to be? I had hoped, falsely it would seem, that we could have some sort of friendship that wasn't based on another of your barricades."

He should have walked away but he didn't. It would figure that the time she really wanted him to leave he would stay, bastard.

"Drake..." When would he realize that it wasn't easy for her to face him like this? She had foolishly assumed that if they couldn't have each other they wouldn't have anyone, but then one day she had come into to see him locked in a passionate embrace with Alika, her world, in a sense had shattered.

"It's not that I don't want to be friends, but it's really hard to face you because I-," her voice shook and though her head was still down she could feel as if his gaze were penetatrating right through her soul to see the little part of her ranting and raving and defacing pictures of Alika.

"I'm jealous." she finally stated. "It's not fair to you or to me, so I try not to let it affect my relationship with you but apparently it is and I'm at a loss as how to fix it alright?" she snapped, anger replacing sadness. Anger at her embarassing confesion, anger that she had been stupid enough to think that something as romantic as a chivalrous love could exist, Drake was a man for christs's sake she shouldn't have expected him to become a fucking saint. So most of her anger was directed at herself for mentally forcing Drake into a position he really didn't fit and then anger that she had the audacity to be jealous now that he'd found someone to be happy with while she wallowed in self misery and personal hate.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you like that, I didn't have the best night last night," she muttered as she reached for her coffee cup and drank more of the scalding black liquid. She sat there for a moment, in her chair berating herself for saying something so stupid before she moved on to more of the paperwork that littered her desk.

*Aw don't worry Drake, she's pissy now but once she get's some loving she'll be fine XD*

That exasperated sigh he could nearly feel her holding back as she spoke her name almost made him wish that he had walked out when she averted her eyes from him. An eternal life, and still, he had not learned to follow the simple way out.

"It's not fair to you or to me, so I try not to let it affect my relationship with you but apparently it is and I'm at a loss as how to fix it alright?" she said, and he sighed, leaning back against the door, his arms crossed over her chest.

"It was never my intention, to make you jealous, Raelin..." he began, his tone soft, contrasting sharply with the cold, crisp feel of her words. "Alika is...Well, she's..."

Drake paused, unsure of how to go on without hurting Raelin worse, without dragging her further down. Alika was something he had never dared to imagine before. She was immortal; he would never have to watch her fade from his life, so he hoped. Raelin was precious to him, fragile in her mortality, and beautiful in her fragility...And forbidden, now more than ever. He was no longer the enemy, no longer the hunted, and still, fate and destiny saw to give them no reprieve.

"You've stolen a piece of my heart and it will be forever yours, Raelin...But even I cannot fight against the natural forces of life. If there were any other way..."

Oh, but what did it matter? What could he say to make her feel any better? He heard her apology, and nodded just barely in return. As she moved to her work, dismissing him once again, he gave another nod, of acceptance. She was done with him, so it would seem.

Drake made his exit, his hands swinging slowly at his sides as he glided out of MSI with the intent of getting far away, at least for as long as time would allow. Their encounters always seemed to end the same; he wouldn't make them more frequent than necessary...


EOT


(Ah, no worries, it's rather amusing.)