another time, another place (vampire AU)

[asthenoseonyourface]

For a vampire, John Riley was young. He was also smart, psychotic, and easily bored.

He was also an alpha, which made him even more difficult to manage.

Jane sighed heavily as she watched him pace the office, marveling not for the first time at the fact that he never went into heat, or never seemed to. His bouts of "boredom" were fairly regular, making Jane wonder if he sublimated his sexual urges by feeding his already relentless mind until he eventually did something stupid like going on a killing spree. Granted, he stuck to the seedier demographic of the thin population of free humans, but it was still a pain when the police got involved. Most of them were made, and most of them looked down their noses at the "breeders."

Sharing a glance across the office with Jock, she managed a thin smile for her brother, who wasn't as pale as his twin, or as her. They were triplets, but John had turned Jock not long after he'd been turned himself. Jane had been the first, assaulted by a rogue alpha in an alley on her way to the courthouse, her brothers falling just a few months after in a misguided effort to avenge her death.

All in all, the result was a happy one...until they realized that John was an alpha. Then everything started falling apart.

Shamrock Investigations kept John busy, catering to humans and vampires alike, but the caseload was never enough for him. Even consulting with the police wasn't enough to occupy his preternaturally swift mind, and now his fits of violent mania were getting worse all the time.

If not for the chance meeting with a wayward omega female at the coffee shop downstairs, Jane was sure that, at some point, she might have to beat her brother to death with a silver sledgehammer.

She'd made an appointment for the omega, a disabled veteran named Randy Hughes, to show up at two o'clock to see how she got along with John at his worst. At best, she could forcibly keep him subdued, it was in her genetic make up. At worst, she ended up dead. She'd admitted that she wasn't a viable breeder, which wasn't much concern to Jane: John Riley fathering a child was a frightening thought.

"I'm hungry."

"You'll wait." Jane scolded.

John narrowed his eyes, grinding his teeth as he bared his fangs. "I'm hungry."

"You just want to go hunting. No. Sit your ass down, our two o'clock will be here shortly." she replied sharply.

"Ah, yes, my little omega babysitter...what, you thought I couldn't smell the pheremones all over you?! You can't trick me, Janie, it won't work."

Jane sighed, rubbing her hands over her features as Jock shot her a wry, humorless smile from across the room.

"Yeah," she muttered under her breath, knowing John could hear her, "that's the problem."

Comments

[coatandscarf]

The fact of the matter was, Randy was in a rather desperate situation. She hadn't gotten anything published since her return from Iraq, leaving her with only the small amounts of cases the Boston prosecution involved her in when it came to needing a medical expert in omegas. Financially, it just wasn't enough. When she'd run into Jane Riley at the coffeeshop, Randy had been floored. An alpha female, looking to hire an omega, not for breeding, but for babysitting? It was startling. She knew damn well that such requests didn't happen. It was why she'd had such a problem finding work to begin with: omegas were meant to breed. With her being a defective freak, no one wanted her. It was why she joined the service to begin with: she wanted to feel a part of something. They'd never let her fight, of course. Omegas were too prized for that. Not that it mattered, really. She'd been caught anyway, targeted because she was an omega amongst a unit of alphas. It was a miracle she'd made it out alive. Well, a miracle for anyone else. Randy was fairly miserable about the 'miracle' ever since.

But besides the financial reasons, the job intrigued her. Jane had warned her that her brother was a handful, and that was putting it mildly. Randy warned her that if her intent was to breed him that she would not be capable of the task. Jane had laughed at the thought, casting the thought aside and offering for her to come visit them again at two. Randy had agreed, and left even more confused than she had before.

Work would be nice. Very nice. But just what would babysitting this man entail? It was not uncommon for alphas to collar their omegas, to let the world know that they were taken. The only reason Randy was not regularly hit on was because of her defects, her reliance on a cane making her an outcast among other vampires. She didn't need a collar to keep others away: she was ignored outright. No matter how rare, defective omegas were not sought after. It was a hard transition to make, considering how she's always had a difficult time keeping alphas at bay before Iraq.

Sighing softly, Randy stood at the entranceway and rang the bell. She had few options, and she knew it. Right now, the mysterious John Riley had her life in his hands, and he didn't even know it.

[asthenoseonyourface]

The second the bell rang, John bolted for the door.

"JOHN!" Jane barked warningly.

"I'm. BORED!" John bellowed back, fleeing the office before Jane could protest further.

Jogging to the bottom of the stairs, John threw open the gate and promptly invaded the omega's personal space. She smelled...well, good. Really good. But John wasn't interested.

He gave her a cursory once-over, then narrowed his eyes at her. "You better not be boring." he warned gruffly.

[coatandscarf]

Randy was suddenly invaded by an alpha, the wave of his scent nearly overwhelming her. She spent a few moments just blinking up at him, her mind suddenly dealing with things that she hadn't dealt with in ages. Purely on instinct, she forced things to calm down, lowering her omega levels as well as his alpha ones until she could breathe again.

Capable of coherent thought once more, she looked him over. "Now that I can think again, I certainly hope I'm not. Besides, if you're bored, you need a better hobby than painting and piano playing. Although I would think both would take up loads of time, personally." With things 'calm' between them, Randy stood her ground, meeting his gaze dead on. It was not expected omega behavior, but she had no need for such social obligation anymore. Just one more thing to add to her 'social pariah' list. "You must be John. I'm Randy." She didn't extend her hand. That was one social cue that existed for a reason: omegas couldn't go touching alphas willy-nilly. Especially alphas that didn't even bother keeping their scents in check.

[asthenoseonyourface]

John swayed on his feet as he felt himself dragged down by a combination of biology and power, pheremones and psychic energy drawing everything in him to a screeching halt. It was like swimming through warm syrup or high on drugs (he could find a little help with enough cocaine to boost him or vicodin to slow him down), but eventually he found himself just stopping...and it was wonderful.

He blinked at her owlishly, his thoughts and body strangely calm before he narrowed his eyes at her. Annoyance was good. Annoyance boosted his heart rate and helped bring him at least partway out of the thrall she'd forced him into.

"Keep your bag of tricks to yourself, I'm not the mating kind." he snarled. Still, she kept talking...and that stopped him in a whole different way.

He stared at her for long, silent moments, then smiled, fangs flashing with wicked intent.

"Okay...you're not as stupid as some people I've met." he acquiesced, gesturing for her to take the lead up the stairs, moving to hold the gate door open for her.

[coatandscarf]

Randy couldn't hold back the sigh that came up at his words. "Trust me, neither am I. But at least I can control my scent," she informed him, continuing to stand her ground as she looked at him. Proceeding to go on about his hobbies, it seemed to get a reaction out of him, one she didn't expect.

His smile almost seemed... cruel.

If Randy hadn't met Jane already, she would have second thoughts about going inside the place. What the man's intent for her was, Randy did not know. But they weren't good. Then again, what did Randy care? It wasn't as if she had a hell of a lot to protect anymore. "I'll take that as a compliment," she replied, leaning on her cane to enter the building, gingerly making her way up the steps. All the while, she kept their levels forcibly down.

At the top of the stairs was a stark lobby, kept in pristine condition, with only one source of color: a beautiful Van Gogh painting. Randy hobbled over to it, standing before it briefly, her eyes looking it over carefully. "Yours?" She quipped, turning her head to look over her shoulder at him.

[asthenoseonyourface]

John stilled as she noticed the painting, the sight of it sparking his interest as it always did. He loved the visceral emotion of Van Gogh, and he wanted to be out of the omega's infernal grip.

"Forgery I did for an experiment." he replied, folding his arms. "My sister liked it, so I kept it. I was still human when I painted it."

[coatandscarf]

"It's excellent, and I'm not just talking about it's obvious similarity to Van Gogh. It's really very good." She watched him for a few moments, giving him a soft smile. She motioned toward the office, silently asking for permission to enter. When he led the way this time, she just smiled softly and followed.

Jane she expected to see, but the one that looked just like John, she was not expecting. Even more curious was the fact that he was not an alpha. Boy, that explained a lot about John. Looking over at Jane, she eased up on her calming, not wanting to affect her, too. "Sorry about that, Ms. Riley, your brother's aura was like running into a wall earlier, had to put a dampener on the situation." She looked over at the other man, unable to hide her curiosity in her expression. Turning to him, she extended her hand, knowing it was safe to do so. "Randy Hughes."

[asthenoseonyourface]

"Jock Riley." Jock introduced, offering a polite smile as he moved to shake Randy's hand warmly. "We're triplets, just in case Janie didn't mention it."

"I did, but only vaguely." Jane grinned, rising from her seat to greet Jane. "I'm sorry about John. He thinks instead of mating, so he's a little...overpowering."

"BORED!!" John suddenly bellowed, storming over to the piano at the back of the office and smashing the keys noisily.

[coatandscarf]

"Don't worry, it's not entirely his fault that he's overpowering. It's actually medical, so don't put all the blame on John there." Releasing Jock's hand, she motioned to John. "He's overcompensating for his twin. It's fairly rare for it to happen with alphas, which is why you probably never heard of it, but it's been known to happen to omega twins. Considering how rare omega twins are, well... it's not a well-known thing among the vampire populace." Randy looked between the two. "He turned you, didn't he? Was probably in your brain at the time, trying to keep you calm, keep things painless. Telepathy is the main cause for this sort of thing." Randy let out a soft smile, then shook her head. "I can fix it, if you like. Make you the proper alpha you're supposed to be. I can't say it will be painless though, but I can ease your way into proper levels so it's not sudden." At their expressions, she shrugged. "I'm a doctor. Apparently when my body decided to stop doing some things, it compensated in other ways. I have far more control over my abilities than most omegas, I find."

[asthenoseonyourface]

"If she comes near me, I'll kill her." John snarled viciously, pointing at Randy accusingly. "She already tried to subdue me once, I can't think with that omega crap in my system."

"John..." Jane sighed.

"No!! There's nothing wrong with me!!"

"Seriously? You've been borderline psychotic since the change, and look at Jock! Don't you want to help him?"

John fell silent, watching his brother for a long moment...and without Randy's influence he slowly grew calm and quiet, somber as he met Jock's gaze.

"Jake?"

Jock flashed him a small smile. "If she's right...could be nice, right? You, me, out on the prowl..."

John scoffed, but his mouth quirked at the corner with the ghost of a smile. It vanished as he slid a glance at Randy...an omega with strength, broken and clever and...interesting.

Finally he nodded. "Fine. Help my brother...but don't ever try to subdue me again. If I'm to slow to think properly, I can't do my job." He paused, turning to Jane with a huff.

"She's not completely stupid. She can stay...but don't let her treat Jock alone: another attempt at forced mating could wreck her power along with her body."

Jane blinked, shocked at John's commentary as he retired to his piano and began to play something with, a sweet, infinitely sad melody.

[coatandscarf]

Randy's sad smile was only caught by Jock, who was still standing before her. "He's right though... it would likely break me. Which is another reason I want to take this slow and ease you into it." She motioned for Jock to take a seat, and for John to come over. "I will need your assistance, Sir. I need you in his mind to do it. And... I apologize, but I'm afraid I will need to affect the three of you, unless you wish to get out of range, Ma'am. Single targets is not something I've been able to do since my youth." //Since my first forced mating.// Randy's eyes looked over at John, who had moved to sit near Jock.

"I do apologize for earlier, but I rather thought... well, the other choice was assaulting you, and I would much rather subdue you than assault you," she informed him with a slight smile. "May I have your agreement to do it again? I will be focused on Mr. Riley here," she remarked, motioning to Jock, "but with you telepathically linked, I'm afraid there will be some runoff."

[asthenoseonyourface]

"I'd have preferred a black eye." John groused, rolling his eyes as he found a chair and plopped rather unceremoniously down near her, scowling the whole time. "And don't call us 'sir' or 'ma'am,' don't be stupid. Because you're not."

"He...means we don't stand on formalities around here." Jane assured her hastily, staring at John as though she'd never seen him before. Not stupid...for him, that was as good as professing his eternal devotion, and he'd just met the woman. Badly.

Jock caught his sister's look, and was just as surprised, but wisely kept silent as he moved to perch on the edge of the nearest desk with a friendly smile.

"Go ahead and do whatever you want, Jane's nothing like John? But she's pretty mellow as a rule. Worst you could do is put her to sleep." he joked.

[coatandscarf]

Randy gave a soft smile, nodding in understanding. She couldn't deny she was relieved. If she was going to be claimed by a family of alphas, standing on formality would be, well, boring.

The reality of it was, Randy was more than a little scared. She knew she could do it, but activating an alpha's abilities for the first time came at significant risk to her. She just prayed he had enough control. She muted her own scent first, nearly to the point of nonexistence. Then she motioned for John to link with Jock. Shutting her eyes, she focused on what her skills were telling her.

It would be so much easier to fix if the man wasn't so emotional. It's not that he was hysterical, but compared to the calm presence of John Riley, Jock was practically a teenage girl.

She drew in a breath, and as she released it slowly, the twins felt their own levels go down. The link remained, and Randy clung to it, using it as her path into Jock's mind. That she practically had to mentally wrap herself around John in the process was something that they'd both have to live with. Once she saw where the connection was made, it was as simple as unclogging an unflipped switch. She withdrew as easily as she came, knowing Jock probably barely felt her presence at all. Slowly, she opened her eyes. "Okay. Alright. I'm going to start easing up now. If at any point, you feel uncomfortable, you need to tell me and I'll stop there." Carefully, she began to pull back, allowing the alphas to feel properly once more. Already, she could tell the change in Jock and John, the two almost even in their levels. It was a relief, knowing she hadn't been wrong.

[asthenoseonyourface]

It wasn't hard to link his thoughts with Jock's, it was as easy as breathing. Having his brother that close, that intimately tied was pleasant, steadying. He welcomed it...

...until the omega overpowered him completely.

She was supposed to be sublimating the urge to mate, to take, to own, but John felt the urge come over him in a new and otherwise totally unknown way. Everything in him went still and absolutely silent save for one thing, one single word, one lone instinct that pervaded every part of his mind and body. It wasn't raging lust, but certainty, possession, a focus bordering on obsession, a relief of the drive he fought so hard to control that let him relax and think, clear and easy and swift for the first time since his transformation.

Mine.

At some point, as Randy began to withdraw her influence, John's hand found its way to hers, circling her wrist possessively, but not roughly, and when he knew he was alone in his own head again, free of her influence, his fingers refused to release her. Instinct and primal drives returned, were sublimated, but that echo in his mind called like a lover, promising him a whole new plane of existence where there was no more struggle, no more fighting...just Randy, his thoughts, and eternity to entertain himself with the pitfalls of the ignorant.

Mine.

[coatandscarf]

Randy's heart was racing, and it was giving her a lightheaded feeling that she'd not quite felt since she was medicated for that experiment the military had put her through. But even this was different. During the experiment, she was uncertain, nervous, downright anxious. Right then, despite not feeling entirely in control, she felt steady, comfortable. It was quite the headrush.

She continued to gently withdraw her control over them, until their levels were as normal. Much to her relief, Jock's control was steady. But much to her disbelief, while John's levels were now normal, she seemed to feel him more. A slightly strangled gasp escaped her as she realized why, pulling her hand away from him, her eyes a bit wide as reality set in. People had always spoken about claiming omegas, showing them off like treasured pets, but it was rare for omegas to actually be claimed outright.

John was making it clear that she had just been claimed.

It took her time to wrap her head around it, her mouth slightly slackjawed as her mind raced. Still not quite knowing what to think, she looked over at Jock, falling back on her clinical eye, using it as a blanket to bury herself in. "H-how are you feeling, Jock?" She kept her own levels reined in, absolutely terrified what would happen if she let them lose just then.

[asthenoseonyourface]

"I feel...good." Jock agreed, taking a deep breath with a smile, new life in his eyes. And the smell of her...Jock could barely stand it, it was so good, but John was still staring at her like he'd never seen her before, and Jock had enough self control to keep himself from reacting.

John was still floored at the new clarity he had, just being near her. He was just as strong, just as focused...calmer, but not sedated by power or pheremones. He was liberated from all of that, his body was done hunting, done seeking out its mate, and so his mind could work unhindered at long last.

He reached out again, hand clamping around her wrist, firm but not rough. He wanted to hold on, didn't want to ever let go...just touching her made things clearer still...

"Harper. Collins. Thompson. Sanderson." John rattled off, glancing over at Jane. "Those are the names of the perps for the last three murders we investigated. I can probably solve the new robberies and finish background checks by breakfast tomorrow if she comes home with me."

[coatandscarf]

Normally vampires were cold to the touch, just as Jock had been when they shook hands. Right then, John was actually warm to her as he gripped her wrist.

Randy was trying to sort things out in her own mind, because where John had apparently achieved clarity, Randy had only gained confusion. She was supposed to be broken, unbreedable, unbondable. Yet here she was, experiencing the first stages of the bond. Was it possible?

She came back to the present midway through John's conversation, glancing over at Jane to see if this was typical behavior of him. Evidently it was not, from the look of surprise she had on her face. A glance at Jock told Randy the same thing, and that he was purposefully keeping his distance from her. She shut her eyes, about to mute herself entirely when the words out of John's mouth were for her to go home with him.

An audible gasp was all that escaped her as her mind forced herself into a shutdown, smothering any instinctual thing she was about to do. Her hand shivered in his grip, and her other hand tightened around her cane as she struggled to remain upright. That had been dangerous, very dangerous. Three alphas in the room and she nearly had burst then and there. A battle raged in her mind for a few minutes until finally she was back in control again, her eyes opening slowly.

"Apologies. I... was not expecting that." Her business-like persona was back in place, her levels very low. She was going to be starving later with the amount of control she was having to do today. "I suppose this means I'm, well, hired then." Which also meant she was claimed, if that was the case. It only made sense for them to do so, it would keep all other alphas away from her, something that wouldn't smell so sweet anymore because it belonged to someone else. She'd been claimed before, and released due to her problems, but this felt different. So very, very different. She wanted the mark, the collar, whatever it was that made her theirs. That made her his. It was a very strange desire for her, something she never thought she'd experience.

[asthenoseonyourface]

"You're not hired, you're..." John trailed off, unable to quite form the word because it didn't feel like...enough. Mine. She wasn't property, she was a person, and he knew the rules: people weren't property, not even omegas.

Mine.

He knew what was happening, wanted to stop it...didn't want it to stop. It wasn't madness or excitement, not like he'd always imagined or heard about, it was relief. His mind was free, his intellect unchecked and wild at last to work at his full potential, no longer bound by hormones and power running roughshod over him.

"You're part of this clan now, that's all." John finally muttered peevishly, finally shifting to hold her hand properly, then shifted to tug her closer to him. The closer she got, the greater that sense of relief. He wanted to burrow against her. He wanted to flay her open and crawl inside her. He wanted to fuse with every part of her until his body needed nothing else, and he could open his mind to the world, fill himself with knowledge and work himself to death, split at the seams with the wealth of wisdom and understanding that could happily choke the life from his already dead body.

[coatandscarf]

For the first time in a very long time, Randy didn't fight the tug. She didn't fight the other vampire as he pulled her closer to him. Instead, she wordlessly let herself get pulled, feeling the tension melt away as she was pulled to his side, the contact just as warm as the hand now holding hers. She also knew that much more contact and she wouldn't be able to control herself for much longer.

It wasn't that she was part of the clan, it's that she was part of him. She was as certain of it as she had been of anything else in her life. She'd studied these reactions from a medical standpoint for so long, it was surreal actually experiencing them.

"The term you're looking for is 'claimed'... and while I appreciate the fact that you don't want to use it, it's the reality of things. Besides, if you're the one to do it, I..." Randy found herself laughing softly in slight disbelief before continuing, "...I don't mind it." She never thought she'd want to be claimed. She also never thought it could happen so quickly. It was such a headrush, she never wanted it to end.

[asthenoseonyourface]

Claimed...yes, that was adequate until he found a better word. It was insufficient, but acceptable.

"You fellas...you're really okay?" Jane asked uncertainly, glancing between her brothers.

Jock nodded. "I really feel...good. Strong. I'd kinda like to go for a run or something, see how far this goes." He paused, clearing his throat with a glance at Randy. "And, uh...get some relief? Sorry, Randy, it's meant as a compliment: you smell really good."

John leaned over and pressed his face to the top of Randy's head, sighing blissfully as she filled his lungs.

"It's like Vicodin and cocaine put together." he murmured, resting his cheek against the top of her head. "I can finally think again..."

[coatandscarf]

Randy gave Jock an understanding smile. "I feared that might be the case, which is why I've lowered my levels for you. I'm not offended, and don't be embarrassed by it. It's perfectly normal."

When John leaned down to smell her hair, it was Randy's turn to be embarrassed. She was used to having an effect on alphas, but she wasn't used to being touched anymore; especially not like this. "You smell lovely, too," she informed him softly. If she were human, she'd sigh contently again him, but instead she just rested her head against his chest lightly. Absently though, she withdrew just a bit from him, raising her arms to pull back her hair from her neck, figuring the man would want to mark her.

[asthenoseonyourface]

John growled as she drew back, almost reaching for her again but then she was sweeping her hair to the side...and some part of him knew what she was doing, wanted to do it, craved it...

"No." he said, shaking his head and putting a hand on his shoulder to stop her. "I'm not biting you. I don't care if you're mine, which you are...I think...but your forced matings left you wounded. You need to heal before we can even think about...that."

[coatandscarf]

Randy's eyes went a bit wide, her mouth a bit ajar. "I... I wasn't implying..." She looked sideways at Jock and Jane, suddenly very uncomfortable before continuing. "I just figured you'd want me marked, since I doubt any of you have a collar. I'm not suggesting we... bond." Bonding was such an intimate thing, she wouldn't dare suggest he do that in front of his siblings. Not to mention she had no idea how she'd react to him trying to bond with her. The way she felt, she might just spring into heat then and there, which would definitely be disastrous with two other alphas in the room.

Her eyes looked at the other twins, as if asking if they wanted to mark her, before looking back at John hesitantly. It was extremely unorthodox to leave one's omega unmarked, especially when one had begun the claiming process. Randy didn't know what to make of his decision, if this was the final choice.

[asthenoseonyourface]

"Oh, for the love of..." He huffed, scowling darkly at her. He knew the custom, he didn't like the custom, it was against the rules and it rankled. Still, she put stock in it, and he could tell it left her uncomfortable, so he reached up to loop something over his head, then withdraw some sort of necklace from beneath his shirt.

"Here." he grumbled, draping the necklace over her head and settling it against her chest. On closer inspection, it was actually a St. Christopher medal.

"There, you're mine, happy?" he huffed impatiently.

"Sorry, we just...our family's never been very fond of the practice of omega ownership." Jane interjected hastily. "That's why I hired you instead of claiming you. Hence John's aversion to marking you." She paused, offering a small smile. "That is, however, just as good...at least in his head. John was confirmed under the name Christopher, it was a gift from our mum."

[coatandscarf]

Randy's eyes flickered up at him, biting her bottom lip softly as he set the necklace down around her neck, fixing it so it rested against her chest. When he declared her his though, it took all of Randy's control not release her control on her levels in sheer elation.

Somehow, she managed to simply nod.

As Jane spoke up, Randy turned to look at her. Her left hand came up, shaking slightly as her fingers curled around the charm. A blush rose on her cheeks, and her eyes flickered sideways at John. "If it works for you, it works for me." She wasn't just saying that, either. Some omegas just automatically submitted to whatever their alpha said. At that moment, Randy was so touched at the action that she was more than happy to agree with the choice. Good God, she was almost giddy at the prospect. She looked at them all and smiled warmly, the blush still obvious on her cheeks. "Thank you. You're all wonderful. Really, I... I couldn't have asked for a better clan to join. This is..." Her fingers rubbed the charm lightly. "...Thank you." There was nothing she could possibly say that could explain how much this meant to her. How she'd been so close to just giving up, thinking that her years would soon be drawing to a close by her own hand. To be claimed, to be wanted again, was more than she could ever ask for.

[asthenoseonyourface]

"We're more than a clan, we're a family." Jane assured her with a smile, warmed by Randy's gratitude and John's reaction to her. She knew that he had to find a mate eventually, it was biological...but to want someone? It gave her hope for him, hope she hadn't known since she was human.

"And you're not part of the clan, you're just mine." John grumbled, pulling Randy close again. "You're just mine. Don't wanna share."

"Not even with us?" Jock grinned.

"Not even. Mine."

[coatandscarf]

When he declared her his again, Randy instinctively stretched up to nuzzle her nose against the crook of his neck, drawing away bashfully. "Yes, very much yours, John." Oh yes, this would work just fine. The bonded omegas were right. You just knew when the alpha was right. The headrush, the energy, the giddiness of it all. You just knew.

He would take some getting used to, their introduction had proven that. But he seemed pleased with her presence now, that much was certain, be it because he felt it, too, or because she'd proven her worth to him. She liked to think it was the former, more so than the latter.

"Still, it's nice to be a part of a family again. Very nice, indeed." Her fingers curled around John's lightly as she looked at the other two, standing at John's side as if she'd always been there. "So, what do you guys do here? Ms. --- er, Jane, was saying you're a private investigation firm?"

[asthenoseonyourface]

Jane nodded. "More or less. We take all clients, vampire or human. I'm also licensed to practice law with the Massachusetts Bar, so I take the odd pro bono case now and again. Jock used to be a cop before we got into this."

"If you'd like," Jock offered as John grew impatient with Randy's place at his side and drew her back against his chest instead, so he could loom over her with his arms around her shoulders and occasionally press his nose against the top of her head, "you could practice here. There's a unit downstairs with room for a small medical office. I own the building, so you wouldn't have to pay rent."

[coatandscarf]

Randy couldn't even think about practicing medicine just then, not when the length of her alpha's body was pressed against her, held in place by his lengthy arms wrapped around her shoulders. She forced herself to listen to Jock's words, finding herself smiling. "That would be lovely, but please, allow me to pay some sort of rent. Granted, I haven't had a practice of my own for quite some time. I've been doing consulting work for trials as of late, when information is needed on omegas. My publishing..." She chuckled softly. "Well, I haven't gotten anything published in some time, I'm afraid. But I'm willing to contribute however I can."

[asthenoseonyourface]

"Call it a bonus for...being good for John." Jane quipped, smirking as John started sniffing the top of Randy's head more intently. "Dude, what are you doing?"

"Identifying pheremones." John murmured, burying his face securely against the top of Randy's head. "It's a fascinating cocktail..."

[coatandscarf]

Randy found herself blushing slightly, although a soft laugh escaped her. The hand not holding onto her cane reached up and back to run her fingers through his hair gently, fingertips scratching his scalp lightly in gentle reassurance. He didn't need to learn everything about her instantly. She wasn't going anywhere away from him anytime soon, that was certain.

"Trust me, he's good for me, too," came the soft comment. "I'm just, well, better at controlling myself apparently," she added with a slight giggle. Because she wanted nothing more than to release her omega levels from 'low' to 'high' and send them both into a fury. God, what he must be like when she could sense him properly again. He'd been a chaotic wall of force earlier. Now, he should be a proper wave of energy, as far as she could tell.

[asthenoseonyourface]

John made a noise as her hand slid through his hair, a soft huff of air against her head that rolled into a growl that vibrated low in his chest, rumbling against her back as his head tipped into her touch. He sniffed again, experimentally, and found no sign of telltale pheremones, not her natural scent but the call to mate.

She wasn't baiting him...but she was touching him and it felt just the same.

"We're leaving." John abruptly declared, shifting away from Randy and catching her hand to drag her towards the door.

"Hey, behave yourself!"

"That's what I'm trying to do!" John called over his shoulder. He needed something...coffee, maybe. Yes, coffee would be good...alone with Randy, but not too much alone.

Then again, alone had advantages. Alone meant she could touch him as she liked, that he could touch her...that he could have her...

[coatandscarf]

It was thrilling, the way he took her hand and declared that they were leaving. Randy was never the sort to get goosebumps - a human sensation, not a vampire one - but she certainly felt like she had some just then.

"I'll see you guys later," she remarked simply, giving them a smile before John tugged her out of the office. Her fingers curled around his, enjoying the rush his presence was bringing to her. "Coffee first? Or straight blood is fine. I'm going to need either if I want to avoid a crash later." She had a feeling she was going to be using her abilities even more later, and she'd used it plenty already.

[asthenoseonyourface]

"Straight blood, you need to be able to keep up with me." he ordered casually as he led her downstairs. As an afterthought, he shifted so she could walk ahead of him, then the second they were at floor level, drew her back against his chest again and pressed his face to her neck. He couldn't help it, she smelled really good...

"You need vampire blood, too." John declared. "My blood...to heal your injuries."

[coatandscarf]

Randy nodded, in complete agreement with his statement. It was always more pleasurable that way, anyway. As a born vampire, it was what she'd been raised on, her body unable to cope with any of the "human-infused tastes" until she'd been in her mid-twenties. She'd gotten used to coffee and some of the other meals the turned vampires were so fond of, but straight blood was still her preference in the end.

The soft sigh she released was one of pleasure as he pulled her against him once more. Her fingers came up to tangle in his curls lightly, savoring the touch. When he spoke again though, she tensed slightly. "I've tried that route. It's why I'm able to walk at all. I'm afraid to say that I might be as 'whole' as I will ever be," she admitted softly.

[asthenoseonyourface]

John snuffled against the top of her head, annoyed as he shifted to hold her against his side while walking beside her.

"Whoever told you that is an idiot." he informed her bluntly. "Goes double if you self-diagnosed. Just because you're not completely stupid doesn't mean you're smart. Proteins are a key element in healing, especially for us. There are studies that have determined that the pheremones produced by pair-bonded vampires can create protein bonds in the plasma that, when absorbed by the tissues through transfusion or consumption, can accelerate healing and increase cellular activity...do everything from regrowing lost limbs to heightening the senses, even producing psychic power due to more efficient brain activity."

[coatandscarf]

Randy chuckled softly. "I am fully aware of all of that, but John, we're not bonded. We've... started that process, yes, but unless you do plan on claiming me properly, none of that will go into effect. I mean, it would be interesting to see just how much an effect it would have at this stage, rather than the full one, but maybe that's just me and my desire to experiment with such things. Although I doubt that's the sort of material one looks to publish in a medical journal," she quipped, limping alongside him as they walked to the coffeeshop next door.

[asthenoseonyourface]

"...well I certainly will be claiming you properly if you keep talking like that."

There was a definitely darker note in his voice at that moment, hungry and heated and decidedly aroused by the idea of experimenting. Cataloging the progression of the bonding, gaining hard data as to the nature of said bonding, the physical benefits, the biology of it, the chemistry...

If she was trying to get him to drag her home and simply take her, it was sure as hell working.

[coatandscarf]

Randy arched a brow at him, trying to ignore the thrill his words sent through her. "What, experimenting and publishing? Are you a doctor, too?" He didn't have any of the telltale signs of being a doctor, and she was certain Jane would have told her that he was in their conversation earlier.

He held the door open for them and she slipped inside, ordering a straight O-neg for herself, then looking at him in careful consideration. "Make it two." He seemed an O-neg type: sustenance, rather than flavor. She just wanted it because it would soothe her nerves better than any of the other types just then.

[asthenoseonyourface]

John waved off her extra order. "Nothing for me, I don't eat when I'm working. Digestion slows me down." To Randy, he continued. "I'm not a doctor, but I might as well be. Most doctors I know are complete idiots...present company exempted."

[coatandscarf]

Randy looked at him curiously. He knew full well that for what they had in mind he would need all the blood he could get, as would she. That was the reason they were doing this, anyway. "Right. You do realize that as a vampire, you don't actually...?" The question trailed off and she shook her head. "Went to med school then? Just one, please." She took out her wallet to pay.