Blood Rites

"Yes, Jen?"

"Didn't you say something about your kind healing fast?" She asked him, never taking her eyes off of Decebel. It was then that Sally noticef Jen had placed her hand around Decebel's wrist of the hand that he was propping himself up on the table with. It looked like a flirtatious gesture unless you were seeing it from Sally's view and could see that Jen's other hand was wrapped around the butter knife next to her plate.

Fane cleared his voice, unsure of where Jen was going with this. "Yes, that is correct, we do heal a lot faster than-" Before Fane could finish what he was saying, Jen interrupted.

"Okay thanks, that's all I needed."

Jen moved faster than Sally had ever seen her move, but it was like everything was happening in slow motion. Jen raised the knife as her grip around Decebel's hand tightened. At the same time, Sally and Jacque yelled, "Decebel, run!" Decebel realized what was happening and moved quicker than the eye could see grabbing Jen's wrist before the knife could make contact with his flesh.

To Decebel's credit, he didn't give any indication that a knife had just nearly been stabbed into his hand. His golden eyes were glowing and Sally thought she could see flames in them. "Jen, you might want to, um, go sit by Jacque, or ru-ru-run. I'm just saying," Sally stuttered.

Jen's gaze never wavered from Decebel's. The whole table sat frozen, waiting for his reaction. Decebel slowly pulled the knife from her hand, he smiled slowly, showing Jen that his canines had lengthened. "You're running out of checks, Jennifer."

"Depends on whose checkbook you're looking at, now doesn't it, Decebel?" Jen matched his cold sarcasm.

Before they could continue their sparring, Dr. Steele walked up to Vasile and asked to speak with him in private, so naturally the whole table got up and followed them.

They ended up back once again in the family waiting area. Jacque was beginning to think that no other families came to this floor because they were the only ones ever using this room.

"Vasile, when I said privately, I meant just you," Dr. Steele told him.

"I understand, Dr. Steele, but everyone in this room will know what you have told me in a matter of hours."

"More like minutes," Sally added.

"Good call," Jen said, going to bump fists with Sally. But she stopped just short, remembering that she was supposed to be mad at her. Sally just rolled her eyes.

"Fine," Dr. Steele said, giving up on trying to persuade him otherwise. "I got Jennifer's blood results back."

The whole room seemed to hold their breath. Jen stepped forward slowly, forgetting about the IV attached to her, and had Sally not caught it, would have fallen on Jen's head. Jen never even noticed.

"What were my results?" Jen asked apprehensively.

Sally and Jacque both stepped up on either side of Jen in a show of silent support.

"Jennifer, do you know anything about your genealogy?" Dr. Steele asked her.

Jen just looked at her blankly. Sally nudged her. "Jen, she wants to know if you know about your ancestors?" Still no answer.

This time Jacque tried. "Jen? Your lineage, descent, forebears, pedigree-"

"I got it, Jacque," Jen cut her off.

"If you mean, do I know of any non-human blood in my family, then the answer is no," she told Dr. Steele.

"I'm not sure if it is a were-gene or not. Since Jacque is not full blooded I need more of her blood to compare it to Jennifer's. I will come by her room later tonight to get her after the lab techs have gone home. I don't want anyone to ask questions."

Chapter 19

"Um, Sally?" Jacque said absently as they sat on the bed in the hospital room she had been sleeping in.

"Yep."

"While Jen is taking a shower, why don't you tell me exactly what happened between you two."

"What makes you think something happened?" Sally asked, sounding utterly guilty.

"Really Sally? You were singing at the top of your lungs 'Meet Virginia' with Jen chasing you, IV pole and all." Jacque lifted an eyebrow at her. "You still want to go with that answer?"

"Okay, fine, you win. She's mad at me because I was teasing her." Jacque waited for Sally to continue, she didn't.

"She's mad because you were teasing her, that's it, nothing else?" Sally shook her head and continued to look guilty. "So if I go in there and start singing 'Meet Virginia' she won't come out here and throttle you?" Jacque made as if to get up off the bed and go towards the bathroom.

"WAIT! Ok, you win, Jen is mad because I was teasing her because she'savirgin." Sally said the last part so fast that Jacque nearly missed it, nearly.

"Jen's a what?" Jacque asked in complete shock.

"Mother of pearl! Did you guys think I was a slut and just hanging out with you two wall flowers in my spare time, ya know, in between tricks and what not? Why is everyone so surprised I'M A FREAKING VIRGIN? If you are so interested let me just throw out my reason and you can swallow it or choke on it okay?" She continued before they could answer. "I actually think sex is supposed to be for that one special person, and not just 'hey I love you let's do it'. I mean the one you decide to take on for life." Jen stood in the open bathroom door, wrapped in a towel.

"Are you saying you're going to wait to have sex until you're married?" Sally asked in complete shock.

"Geeze, Sally, is it really that hard to fathom? I know I joke about it a lot. I like to joke about it to see the shock on people's faces. But personally, my forever man is the only one getting a piece of all this hotness."

Jacque had just developed a newfound respect for her perverted friend. "Okay, three things. First, I'm totally digging what you're saying. I get it and I think it's great. Second, don't change. Because out of us three only you could get away with the things you say and we desperately need the comic relief. And last, I'm dying to point this out technically, Jen. You couldn't be a freaking virgin, it's an oxymoron."

"Good one, Vern." Sally bumped Jacques fist.

"I know, right?" Jacque smiled. "We learned from the best, Sal."

"You two hussies better not forget it, either," Jen growled at them.

"Are you done being mad at me?" Sally asked.