Emily: "What happened tonight?"
Tristan: "I went to look into this group of vampires to see just how much of a threat they are. I think I got my answer. That fucker Peterson shot me up with some sort of vampire drug. It was a nightmare."
Emily: "James and I saw him earlier when we were looking for you."
Tristan: "I really hope one of you staked that son of a bitch."
Emily: "James staked his hand. Next time I think he'll be aiming for his heart."
Tristan: "Good."

Emily: "Why did you go after Jacob?"

Emily continued washing away the blood from Tristan's arm while his eyes went distant. There still seemed to be an undercurrent of irritation, though she didn't feel that she was in any sort of danger from him.

Tristan: "All I could think was that he was going to hurt you and I had to stop him."
Emily: "Why do you think he'd hurt me?"
Tristan: "We're talking about the same Jacob, right? Tall, goofy looking kid, clearly cuts his own hair while blindfolded?"
Emily: "He's a little strange, yes, but I don't think he'd ever deliberately hurt anyone."

Emily rinsed out the washcloth she'd been using on Tristan, watching as the water turned from clear to red before eventually running clear once more. She consciously avoided mentioning the near-attack the night of the wedding.

Tristan: "Emily, the guy locked me up in an abandoned warehouse elevator shaft like it was nothing. He kept me there for hours just so he could see what would happen."
Emily: "Maybe it was a good thing. That drug Peterson gave you seems like it made you go a little insane."
Tristan: "Not just a little, and maybe it was a good thing in the end. That's not my point though. He wasn't concerned about anyone's safety when he did it; he just wanted to satisfy his own curiosity. I'd hate to think of him being curious about you."
Emily: "He didn't hurt you, though. Not that it justifies locking you up."

Tristan: "He did hit me pretty fucking hard out in the parking lot. Right in the face, too."
Emily: "Was that before or after you beat him over the head with a piece of scrap wood?"
Tristan: "God..."
Emily: "You left him to die, Tristan. Right now I'm not really one hundred percent sure I can trust you."
Tristan: "I know, and it's good you don't completely trust me. I don't trust me. I'm so sorry."
Emily: "I'm not the one you need to be apologizing to."

Tristan: "I know that, too, but I still owe you an apology. I wish I could say that it all was from the drug, but obviously there has to be something horrible inside of me like that or it wouldn't have happened -- I'd have just ended up passed out on a couch somewhere."
Emily: "It's not like you go around randomly attacking people you don't like. If you did, you'd probably be hanging around with assholes like Peterson. I still think you're fundamentally a good man, which is the only reason why I didn't come here to drive a stake through your heart or open up all the blinds. Though I would have if I needed to."
Tristan: "Oddly, I find that comforting."

Emily: "I'm finished with your arm now, but you really need to get the rest of you washed up. You should probably just jump in the shower. Do you want me to bring you any clothes?"
Tristan: "Actually I keep pajamas in the linen closet, so I'm good."
Emily: "I'm going to call James and Mary and let them know what's going on. I know James was really worried about you."
Tristan: "With good reason."

Emily stepped out of the bathroom and closed the door behind her, trying not to drift off where she stood while she quickly phoned her two friends. She'd been startled when Markus answered the phone, explaining that Mary hadn't returned yet. He said there'd been a message on the machine letting her know that 'everything was fine.' The call to James was briefer still -- just a few sleep-muddled words of gratitude.

After hanging up, Emily did her best to keep herself occupied without being inappropriately nosy. She quickly scanned the titles in his bookcase, noting with interest the wide range in subjects. There were countless volumes of nonfiction covering everything from mythology to physics and cooking. These shared shelves with what looked like old bookkeeping journals and fiction by the likes of Tolkien and Stephen King and the collected poems of W.B. Yeats.

She'd just been reaching for a ragged looking hand-bound journal when she heard the door from the bathroom opening.

Tristan: "Find anything interesting?"
Emily: "You have a much better selection than James. Are you feeling any better?"
Tristan: "Yes and no, actually. The shower helped clear my head, so now I just keep replaying tonight over and over again."
Emily: "Maybe it would help to talk about it a bit."

Tristan: "I felt like I was outside my head watching myself do these completely ghastly things. After the initial wave of euphoria wore off I was just consumed by this uncontrolled rage. I've never felt anything like that in my life, Emily. It was downright terrifying."
Emily: "I can imagine."

Tristan: "I don't think you can. This was something very basic driving me, something that transcended rationality. I know you've been dealing with a very justified rage, but as far as I know you haven't acted on it."
Emily: "No, I guess I haven't."
Tristan: "The very worst part was when I thought it was over. I'd lain on that filthy floor for hours feeling wretched over the things I'd said to this kid, but the second he unlocked that gate it was as if some sort of monster inside me took over again. I heard myself telling all these lies, I felt myself pick up the scrap wood from the back of the truck, but I couldn't stop any of it happening. I do know that if I hadn't been in so much pain at the time I most likely would have killed him outright. I cannot believe I'm capable of doing something like that to anyone."
Emily: "Well right now Markus is taking care of him, so he's at least in good hands."

There was a moment's silence as Tristan dropped his gaze to the floor. Emily waited patiently and did her best not to fall asleep where she stood.

Tristan: "Not that it's really any of my business, but are you two… hmm."
Emily: "Are we…?"
Tristan: "Seeing one another."
Emily: "I don't think I'm quite Markus's type."
Tristan: "I don't mean Markus."
Emily: "Who, me and Jacob? You're kidding, right?"

Tristan: "I'm beginning to feel like the punch line in a really bad joke."
Emily: "I have no idea where you'd get an idea like that, but no. It's nothing like that. He needs a friend and we get along reasonably well. I think. Actually I'm not sure he's very aware of my existence."
Tristan: "He knows you exist."
Emily: "Well, that's something at least."

Emily stifled a yawn.

Tristan: "You look like you're about to fall over where you're standing, why don't you sit down?"
Emily: "Probably not a bad idea. You don't look so awake yourself."
Tristan: "I don't really feel too awake, either, but I'm not sure I'll be able to sleep at all after all of this."
Emily: "I know how that goes."

Tristan: "So how long have you been up?"
Emily: "Since… I'm not sure. I woke up on Friday morning, so not too long."
Tristan: "Thirty-six hours is a very long time to be awake."
Emily: "I've been up longer."

Tristan: "That doesn't change the fact that it's a long time to go without sleeping. Maybe you should think about heading home pretty soon."
Emily: "Are you still trying to get rid of me?"
Tristan: "Actually I'd rather you stayed here. I wouldn't want you falling asleep at the wheel and wrecking your car. Not to mention the fact that I don't think I particularly want to be alone right now. I can sleep in the guest room, I just want to know there's someone else here."
Emily: "And how will Deanna feel when she finds out I've been sleeping in your bed?"

There was a pause as Tristan sat next to her on the bed before laying back.

Tristan: "I broke things off with Deanna last night."
Emily: "Again? How many times have you two broken up now?"
Tristan: "Three. I'm not going to let the two of us be 'on' again. I can't keep pretending anymore, it's not good for anyone."
Emily: "What made you decide now was the right time?"
Tristan: "James sort of showed me how stupid I've been lately. I might not have agreed with everything he had to say, but he was pretty dead-on with the rest of it. Too bad he can't apply any of his bluntness to his own life."
Emily: "It's always easier when you're on the outside looking in, trust me. So is that why you wanted to see me earlier?"
Tristan: "Indirectly, but we don't have to talk about that right now."

Emily: "Now's as good a time as ever."
Tristan: "I guess I just wanted to say that I understand that you're not ready for a relationship right now, and may never be. I want to apologize for the entire situation -- I shouldn't have been so forward, especially considering everything you've gone through recently. I'm sorry I was so harsh."
Emily: "Harsh isn't always a bad thing."
Tristan: "Trust me, I know. I need you to know that I'll always be here for you as a friend no matter what. But I think I've already messed that up before I even had a chance to tell you. Now I just want to beg your forgiveness."
Emily: "I think what you did tonight was disgusting and horrific, but also think it was completely out of your control. I'm still really confused about how I feel about all of it, but you have my forgiveness. Was that it? You were going to drive all the way to my house to tell me we could be friends?"

Tristan: "Well originally I was also going to tell you that I've been completely in love you for a very long time, I find you amazing and inspiring, and I think we would be really good for each other. I wasn't really sure how you'd react to hearing that after what I did to Jacob, so I left it at the friendship thing."

Emily blinked heavily and wondered if she'd drifted off without realizing it.

Emily: "I'm sorry, I think I fell asleep for a second and had a really wacky dream."
Tristan: "You looked relatively awake to me. The last thing I want is for you to pressure you into anything, it's just important to me that you to know how I feel."

Once again Emily found herself wondering if she were really awake. Her mind struggled against exhaustion and confusion, searching for what felt like ages for the right words before finally giving up.

Emily: "Everything I go to say sounds completely idiotic."
Tristan: "Honestly you don't have to say anything at all, I don't expect you to."
Emily: "I can't not say anything. Sitting around not doing anything hasn't done anything good for me at all. I can't let you go on thinking that I'm not completely in love with you, and have been for a lot longer than I want to admit. I want us to be together, I just wish I knew how to tell you."
Tristan: "I think you just did."

Emily: "We're pretty stupid, aren't we?"
Tristan: "I'm afraid we really are."
Emily: "So what do we do now?"
Tristan: "I vote we stop acting so stupid, for one."
Emily: "That's a very good idea."

Emily smiled as she reached out and took Tristan's hand in her own as the two of them sat together in silence. Outside she could just hear the sounds of normal daytime activities - birds singing loudly in the trees, a dog barking in the distance, someone mowing their lawn - but here in this room the rest of the world seemed to fade away. It occurred to her that it had always been that way when she was with him. While so much had changed, this had remained constant.

After only a few minutes she realized that Tristan had fallen asleep, his breathing slow and even. Without a word she covered him with a quilt before making her way to the guest room to attempt to get a few hours of sleep herself.