Date: Thu, 14 Oct 2004 10:21:10 -0700 (PDT) From: Author James <authorjames2002@yahoo.com> Subject: Return of a Real Dark Knight 30 Disclaimer: This story is fiction. There are two celebrities who will appear from time-to-time. The other characters are fictitious. Any similarities to persons living or dead are completely coincidental. In this story, I have continued the adventures of Batman, my Batman, which his story first began in "Tales of a Real Dark Knight" in the Boy Band section of this archive. It spanned 250 chapters. You will find many universes merging, as the above copyrights reveal. I hope you all enjoy this. Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Angel and all related characters created by Joss Whedon. Copyright 20th Century Fox. Batman, and all related characters created by Bob Kane. Copyright DC Comics and Warner Bros. X-MEN, and all related characters created by Stan Lee. Copyright Marvel Comics and 20th Century Fox. The Vampire Chronicles and all related characters created by Anne Rice. Copyright Anne O'Brien Rice. I don't know for sure if I will use all the above elements, but just in case, I have myself covered. I appreciate any feedback that you may want to give. I do hope that you enjoy it!!! Any emails you send, please tell me what chapter and story you are commenting on. Thanks. authorjames2002@yahoo.com I also have several online messenger services. If you want to chat with me in real time, email me and tell me the services you use and I will tell you my screen name. Chapter 30 Intimates Sarah listened to the noise going on downstairs, her father crying, her uncles and aunt comforting him. But she couldn't hear exactly what was going on. 'Where's my dad?' she asked, referring to Eric. But then her mind wandered to what she experienced this evening. She couldn't believe the world she was involved in. It seemed too radical from what she had always known. Vampires, demons, and Vampire Slayers, since when did they exist? What did it mean to be a Vampire Slayer? And Sarah drifted off to sleep. Sarah found herself on a rooftop looking out over the city. "Hello, Sarah," a voice said. It was the mysterious man in her dreams. "Did you miss me?" "Do you know what it means to be a Slayer?" "Of course. You're just like me." "What do you mean? I thought Slayers were only girls." "They are. But their power comes from forces beyond what you know, beyond what most Slayers know. You are just like me." "What are you?" The mysterious man stepped forward and revealed himself to be a vampire. Sarah immediately moved into a defensive stance. "Violence isn't necessary. Despite what you've been told, most vampires are not evil creatures bent on destroying humanity. All vampires have some ounce of humanity in them. We were all once humans to begin with." "What do you want with me? Why do you invade my dreams?" "It is easier to talk with you. Your parents would not understand. They wouldn't accept it. They would see it as a simple black and white issue." "Isn't it? You're a vampire. I'm a Vampire Slayer. I'm born to slay your kind." "I've been watching you for some time, Sarah. I've seen who you are inside. It is difficult for me to admit this, but I have deep feelings for you." "What?" Sarah responded incredulously. "It's true." Music began in the background and a haunting voice came from nowhere singing... I would die for you I would die for you I've been dying just to feel you by my side To know that you're mine This vampire moved closer to Sarah and wrapped his arm around her waist and they began to sway to the slow, dark music. Their eyes locked and she found herself captivated by him. I will cry for you I will cry for you I will wash away your pain with all my tears And drown your fear I will pray for you I will pray for you I will sell my soul for something pure and true Someone like you See your face every place that I walk in Hear your voice every time I am talking You will believe in me And I will never be ignored I will burn for you Feel pain for you I will twist the knife and bleed my aching heart I'll tear it apart I will lie for you Beg and steal for you I will crawl on hands and knees until you see You're just like me Violate all my love that I'm missing Throw away all the pain that I'm living You will believe in me And I can never be ignored I would die for you I would kill for you I will steal for you I'd do time for you I would wait for you I'd make room for you I'd sail ships for you To be close to you To be a part of you 'Cause I believe in you I believe in you I would die for you The vampire smiled at Sarah as their dance ended and he leaned in to taste from her neck... Sarah sat upright quickly. Her face flushed with the dream and her chest heaving with every breath she took. She got up and went into the bathroom where she washed her face. Then she went back to her bed and lay down. Sleep, however, eluded her. I entered the cave through the street entrance and walked up to the locker. As I opened the door I turned and saw Jessica coming down the ladder. "I thought I would find you here," she said as she reached the bottom and walked toward me. "What are you doing?" "I'm leaving." "You're leaving your children and your husband?" "I'm sure you know what happened. Why else would you come looking for me?" "Just the fact that you didn't return to your kids would make me come looking for you. For all anyone would know, you could be dead. But, yeah, I do know what's going on. I was sitting with Lance and he told me what happened." I nodded as I put the dirty suit into the case. "Have you ever had your heart torn out?" I turned to see Jessica. I expected her visage to have a sneer on it, a look of anger, but that isn't what I found. I saw a look of compassion and understanding. "I've had my heart torn out by so many people, Jessica, that I can't stand it. First, Justin did when Turic's spell was broken. Then, Aaron lied to me and I caught him sleeping with someone. And we can't forget the time I lost my memory. Christian was the one who hurt me then. Now this. I can at least be thankful that this didn't happen until ten years later. Had this happened long ago, I wouldn't be here." "And Sarah and Preston would have been food for the vampire that killed their mother. Have you thought about that?" "I know I should, and I do. But, God, Jess, when do I get time to think about me? I'm always busy thinking about other people, helping other people. Don't get me wrong, I love it. But it's when stuff like this happens, when people that I'm the closest to lets me down, that I see how little time I give to take care of me. "I'm probably sounding really selfish at the moment." "Eric, you don't sound selfish. But have you ever thought about what your life and your choices have done to Lance?" "Evidently I'm not good enough. He's out there screwing other guys. Who knows how long that's been going on?" "It's only happened once or twice before this." I turned to look at her. My emotions changed from being angry to being saddened. "He told you why, didn't he? Tell me, why did he do it?" "You should hear it from him." "I don't know if I can face him," I replied and the tears fell again. "How can I look at someone and know they made a conscious choice that would hurt me? How can I look at the one person whom I love the most in this world and trust that anything I ever felt was true?" I moved over to the chair and buried my face in my hands. My shoulders shook as the sobs wracked my body. I felt a hand on my shoulder and knew Jessica was there. "You have every right to be hurt. What he did was horrible to you. He even believes that. He doesn't know how he can face you, either. But you both need to talk to one another. You need to find out what motivated him to do it. As a psychologist, you would be the first person to tell a couple that one should understand why one partner cheated on the other no matter how painful it might be. It might alleviate the hurt. It would bring understanding. Regardless of what happens to the relationship, understanding something or knowing something is better than all the 'what-ifs' that come up. "He does love you. And he wants to work this out." "I do," Lance said. We both turned to see him standing at the base of the ladder. He looked so pitiful, so helpless standing there. "I'll leave you two alone," Jessica replied as she moved away from me. She walked up to the ladder, put her hand on Lance's shoulder, and then ascended leaving us alone in the darkened cave. "Eric," Lance said as he reached out toward me. He also moved toward me, but when I looked up, he stopped. "I'm so sorry." "Me, too," I muttered. "I'm sure you're wondering why I did what I did. Then again, you may not care and want me out of your life." "No," I said quickly turning toward him. "I love you, Lance. No matter what, I love you. It doesn't make the hurt any easier. In fact, it makes the hurt worse." Taking a deep breath, I asked, "Was it something I did?" Lance's face fell and I knew it was something that I had done, or something I didn't do. It was something I caused. "It wasn't exactly something you did. You seemed so busy with this," he said motioning to our surroundings, "and the Center. Not to mention the kids." "The kids aren't mine, Lance. They are ours." "I know. But now they are joining you in this," again he motioned around us, "and I wonder where I'm going to fit in all this. I felt so alone. It seemed as if you didn't have time for me, time for us. Sure, we would have a few hours after all the work was done at the Center and on the streets. But I don't want to be a part-time husband. And I don't want to have a part-time husband." "Are you asking me to quit being Batman? You knew going into this relationship that this was who I am." "I don't know if I'm asking you to quit. I don't know if it would even be fair to ask that of you. Maybe cutting down would be a good idea. You have this group now, this team that can do all this stuff. You don't have to be out there all alone all the time." "I wasn't always alone." "I know. And it was good because you weren't so stressed. I knew that I could have you stay home with me, and all would be safe. But as time went on, things changed. You didn't have help any more. Batgirl, Nightwing, Robin, they all did their own thing. And this city was left to your protection and yours alone. You didn't have a team to fall back on like the X-Men. "Now you do. They are young, but they have powers. Some might even argue they are more powerful than you. You don't have to do this alone. You don't have to fight alone. You can cut back and spend time with your family, spend time with your husband." "Lance, I never meant for you to feel left out. I never meant for you to feel as if you weren't part of this." "Eric, I could never be part of this. I don't have any special powers. I don't have any special abilities. I'm ordinary." "You were never ordinary in my eyes." Lance smiled at me. "I know what I did was wrong." "And I never meant to drive you to it. I wish I would have been more available. I wish you would have told me what you felt. We could have avoided this." "And I wish I would have forced you to listen instead of holding off because of your busy schedule." "We have to decide that we are going to make time for each other," I said as I stood up. "I don't know if I can trust you like I used to. I've lost faith in you. You betrayed my trust by what you did. We both could have done things differently. It's going to take time for us to work through this." "I will do what I can to earn your trust." The headache hit me again and I flew back from Lance. I landed against the keyboard of Oracle and clutched at my head. "Eric," he said as he saw me fly against the computer. He rushed over and grabbed me. To Be Continued... What's going on with Eric?