"I'm a little concerned about timing," I said to Tara as we walked. "Now that we're all on board with it, I'm sure Megan and Phoebe are eager to get things going sooner rather than later? But I'd like to be confident first that we won't have any problems to deal with while both of us are recovering from that."

It was a little after ten o'clock, Friday night. We were heading to our club, but we'd taken a lot of detours and a sort of scenic route. We weren't exactly doing a patrol, but I did like to get out and walk around at night. Old habits probably, after three decades patrolling downtown Toronto I had a thing for walking city streets at night.

Tara shrugged, "We haven't had any problems here lately, not for the last couple years. All the local vamps keep the fuck out of our way. And the only humans we've crossed here are all dead."

I clarified, "It's the Toronto situation I'm thinking about. After almost four years of silence, suddenly Jessica's emailing and calling and begging us to come back? I don't want to suddenly find ourselves dealing with that mess while we're both weak and looking after a pair of baby vamps."

"Yeah," she sighed. "I remember that first year with you. You spent a lot of time in bed at the start. And you weren't as bold or confident."

I grimaced again, "I felt pretty weak, and I got tired so fast? Like just an hour doing stuff around the apartment would wear me out. It was really strange and unsettling, after three decades of being kick-ass strong and everything."

Before she could get too worried or start having second thoughts I added, "I don't think it'll be like that now. We're both way stronger than I was back then. Isabelle didn't get that bad when she turned me. And remember Reuben wasn't that bad when he turned Zach. He only missed a month or so of work right? We're both a lot stronger than him. I'm sure we'll be fine."

We turned off Broadway onto Hargrave Street as we continued our not-patrol.

Tara responded "I'm not going to change my mind or anything so don't worry about that. I agree though, we'll want to be sure there's no looming threats or problems if we're both going to be out of commission for a while."

After a pause she asked, "How will we handle the two of them? Like in terms of training and educating them? Will they be staying with us?"

I nodded, "Yeah. We have the guest room, we'll put them both in there. I'm sure they won't mind sharing a room, or a bed. Assuming Meg's not going to change too drastically, we can probably just treat it like she's on sick leave or vacation or something? We'll get someone to cover her shifts until she's ready to get back to work. When we're sure she's ready for it, Meg can just return to her regular life. More or less."

"I think Phoebe's old self will just disappear, like you and me," I added. "And I assume she'll eventually move in with Meg? Remember Zach was fairly independent by the time Reuben was fully recovered, which was about four months? We'll see how it goes with Meg and Phoebe."

Tara looked thoughtful as she said, "So we can assume we'll have them staying with us for a couple months? Maybe four months I guess. We'll need to make arrangements so we know there'll be enough food."

"Right," I nodded. "That'll be part of their training, they'll need to learn to hunt and feed without getting caught. Until they can do that, they're more or less stuck with us."

My girlfriend suggested, "We'll probably need to have our humans visiting more often then. Like instead of a pair of them each week, maybe we'll want two pairs each week? To feed both of us, and both our turns?"

I agreed, "We should probably pick up a few more of them too. It's not healthy for them to feed us too often, right?"

With a smile I added, "I bet Vanessa would be on board for that."

Tara nodded, "Maybe. If she comes back again, we should probably have a conversation with her about it before either of us start with the auras. She should have the opportunity to make a decision with a clear head."

"Yeah, good point cutie."

After that our conversation tapered off and we both wound up walking in silence for a while. We passed the arena and turned onto Portage, then made our way back to Main.

Then we finally started heading over to the club together. It was a nice walk, a good little not-patrol. We still didn't know this city as well as the one where we both grew up, but I knew we'd gradually learn it inside-out if we kept walking around like that.

As usual we used the staff entrance to get in the club. Neither of us were really dressed for clubbing and we didn't want a fuss at the front doors. We weren't exactly dressed for patrol either, but somewhere in between. We passed the office and the staff room and kitchen, then emerged into the club and we headed straight for the bar first.

Reuben was there tonight, and when he saw us coming he flashed us a smile then started preparing a couple glasses of blood.

He set the glasses down in front of us and commented, "I was starting to think you two weren't going to come by tonight."

I picked up my glass as I asked, "Did you miss us?"

He laughed, "Not a bit. But you have someone waiting to see you, and I think she'd have missed you."

"Who? And where?" Tara asked as she picked up her drink.

Reuben gestured towards the stairs as he replied, "Your police lady, she's been waiting since about nine."

Me and Tara exchanged a glance. Neither of us were surprised by that news.

"Thanks Reuben," she said, then my girlfriend led the way as we headed up to the second level.

Sure enough Vanessa was there, waiting for us at our usual table. She had a large fruity cocktail in front of her, it was about half-empty. She wasn't dressed for clubbing, but she wasn't slumming it either. She had a pair of heels on her feet, dark slacks, and a pretty blouse with a deep neckline. Her hair and make-up were done up nicely.

She looked anxious or uneasy, but as soon as she saw us she seemed to relax slightly. She looked almost relieved as she smiled at us.

"Hello Vanessa," Tara greeted her as we settled into our seats.

"Hello," the policewoman replied. "I was worried you weren't going to come tonight."

Tara raised an eyebrow and asked, "Were you? Why's that?"

She hesitated, "Could we please do this somewhere private? Your office maybe?"

"Perhaps later," I answered. After a sip of my blood I told her, "Tell us what's on your mind."

The brunette picked up her glass and had a gulp of her cocktail then asked, "Are you two really vampires? It seems impossible, but..."

Tara responded with a question, "What makes you ask that?"

I knew my girlfriend wasn't using her feeding aura, and neither was I. Like we agreed out on our not-patrol, this was a conversation we had to have while the cop was clear-headed. She needed to be given the opportunity to make her decision without any influence from the two of us.

For now I stayed quiet and just enjoyed my drink as I observed. I was ready to speak up if necessary, but I was confident my girlfriend had the situation under control.

Vanessa hesitated again before she replied with a blush, "The last two times I've been here, I've found a bandage in an intimate location the following morning. And I've had dreams... At least I think they're dreams, of you two biting me."

"Yet you keep coming back," Tara commented. "That makes it seem like you must really enjoy whatever's going on here."

The brunette's cheeks grew brighter and she had another gulp of her drink before admitting, "I do enjoy it. If you are biting me it uh... It feels really good."

Tara glanced at me then looked back at the policewoman and responded, "Samantha and I really are vampires, and we really have been biting you. That's why you've found those bandages on your inner thighs, because that's where we've bitten you, to drink some of your blood."

A mix of emotions played over the woman's face. Fear, excitement, worry, anticipation. She drained the last of her cocktail then in a slightly anxious voice asked, "Are you going to do it again tonight?"

I finally spoke up, "No. We've already taken about two pints from you in the last two weeks Vanessa. It's not safe or healthy for you to keep feeding us every week. There's a reason they don't let people donate blood that often. You need time to recover."

She paled slightly as my words sank in. I honestly wasn't sure what troubled her more, the knowledge that Tara and I drank two pints of her blood or the realization that we weren't going to feed from her tonight after all.

"I started taking iron supplements last week," she suddenly announced. "I've been eating more red meat, iron rich foods. I'm drinking plenty of liquids. I'm staying healthy and hydrated."

Tara and I exchanged another glance, then my girlfriend asked her "That makes it sound like you want to go on feeding us. Is that true Vanessa?"

The police woman gulped but nodded, "Yes, I do."

I smiled, "All right. But not tonight, it's only been a week since last time. You need at least another two weeks to recover properly. We don't want you getting sick."

She looked frustrated and anxious as my words sank in. She whispered, "Two weeks? But..."

For a moment I thought she was going to try and argue or bargain or something. Instead she just looked disappointed as she stared down at the table.

After draining the blood from my glass I suggested, "Why don't you give us your contact info? Personal phone number, email, that sort of thing? That way we can reach you when it's time."

Tara added, "Of course you're welcome to keep visiting our club in the meantime Vanessa. Sam and I are usually here Fridays and Saturdays."

The woman looked back and forth between us, then she gave us her number, email, and even her social media accounts.

I smiled slightly as I noted it all down on my phone.

The three of us were quiet for a bit, and Tara drained the last of her glass as well. It felt a little awkward with Vanessa sitting there staring at the table with a dejected look on her face.

After a minute or two I told her, "Keep looking after yourself, ok? Iron supplements, healthy food, and stay hydrated. Those are all good choices. I'm sure in your line of work, you keep yourself fit anyways. We'll contact you when it's time, and I promise it'll be worth the wait."

That seemed to cheer her up, she smiled "Ok. Yes, I'll keep up with the supplements and everything."

"Good girl," I said with a smile. "Now why don't you run along, and we'll be in touch."

Vanessa nodded as she got to her feet, "You two have a good night."

Tara and I watched as she made her way to the stairs, she moved around the dance floor and headed for the doors.

"Told you she'd be on board," I said as I grinned at my girlfriend. "It shouldn't be hard to pick up a couple more. We can even ask our current group if they have any friends who might like to get involved."

"Yeah," Tara agreed. "Maybe we should have asked Vanessa that."

I shrugged, "Next time. Give her a couple weeks, I'm sure she'll be dying to come see us. We can ask if she wants to bring a friend."

"Now we just have to pick a date I suppose, for Meg and Phoebe?" Tara asked. "And decide what to do about the Toronto situation, like if we're going to just ignore Jessica. Or tell her we're busy for a few months and maybe we'll be in touch in the new year."

"Yeah," I sighed. I really wasn't sure what to think about all that. I definitely wasn't interested in getting involved in that mess, but if Jess actually came up with the five million I'd certainly put some thought into it.

There was something else in Toronto I'd been meaning to look into lately, and I made myself a mental note to do that this week.

For now, I slipped an arm around my cute girlfriend and the two of us relaxed as we enjoyed the music and ambience of our club.

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