Seeing things with new eyes...

Quinn woke up smiling and noticed two immediate things...
The still form of Jessica laying next to him, and his own heartbeat. He simply laid next to her for a little while, thinking on his dream and what it might have meant. He had a lot to think on. While he let his mind wander, he got an idea and smiled. He slipped from the bed and checked the clock. There were still a few hours before she would wake up so he got out his pads and pencils and sat down in the chair that he kept positioned to face her.


He smiled as he finished the quick sketch. He had come up with some ideas as he drew her sleeping form..setting the drawing aside, he began a new one. As the image formed in his mind and on the paper, he made some choices and knew that he would need to have a talk with Jessica about the future...


He would use the dream as a warning..he would not let the dark visions come to pass. He laid out the sketches on the table and glanced at the clock. She would wake soon. He walked into the bathroom and started the water to grab a quick shower...

I felt the sun setting and my body responding as sparks of life filled me. Sounds, smells, and the feeling of the down comforter filled my senses as I grasped at the spot beside me. Empty. The sounds of running water filled my ears and I sat up and looked around. He was in the shower. I smiled softly and stood from the bed thinking to sneak in the shower with him, but something caught my eye. On the table near the wall, there were two sketches. I picked them up and looked them over with a smile and realized they were me, sleeping. Well, dead. He was an amazing artist, I ran a finger over the outline and continued to stare at his work with awe.

He felt her awaken as the water cascaded over him. That was interesting...he could feel her so much now...or maybe he was simply more aware of it now...


As he finished his shower and wrapped a towel around himself, he peeked through the cracked door and saw that she was looking at the sketches. He smiled and decided to move forward with his plan...

I smelled the fresh scent of his body wash and him, mixed together it was one of the most amazing smells to hit my nose. I turned my head to look at him with a smile. "You're an amazing artist." I set the picture down and walked over to him, wrapping my arms around his neck in a hug. "Good...evening."

"You're an amazing artist...Good evening."

Quinn smiled as he felt her arms wrap around him.

"You are a very patient subject for me to work with."

He kissed the top of her head and smiled again...

"Go ahead and grab your shower, Love. I have a few calls to make, then I am going to want to sit down and have a talk with you about some things..."

I smiled and shook my head, "Well when you're dead, you're really patient." I kissed his lips and heard his words. What could we possibly have to talk about now? Was something wrong again? Was it Bill? Me? I nodded slowly and narrowed my eyes, stepping back.

"Uh, okay then. I'll...be right out."

I ran the water and peeled my clothes away, racking my brain with what was on his mind. I came up with nothing, I thought things were fine. When he said "we have to talk" I always freaked out. Rinsing my hair off, I closed my eyes and remembered the dream I had last night. It was mainly memories of my time at the beach with my family, the thought of my father before he began drinking made my smile vanish. Pushing those thoughts away I stepped out and wrapped a towel around my body and wrung my hair out, walking to the mirror, I could hear him talking in the next room and just listened.

As he heard the water start, he smiled and moved over to the VidChat interface that Vincent had dropped off. He opened the screen and keyed in the EEE board room, watching as the office in Shreveport came into view. The board was going over some of the daily details. They paused when the screen on their end flickered to life. A young looking vampire stood and looked to the monitor, smiling...

"This is an unexpected surprise, Mr. Quinn. How can the board be of service?"

"I just wanted to let the board know a few things. I do not want to take too much of the Board's time, so I will simply keep this brief. You will be taking on a more active role in things. All current activities are laid out and simply can be followed through with. I am going to be taking the next week off from all EEE activities. My cell will be off and I will be unavailable through this venue as well. In an emergency, you can reach Vincent at my estate in Bon Temps. This is not a request, simply a courtesy call. This is going to happen. I will be in touch in a week."

"Of course, Mr. Quinn. We will take appropriate steps to balance the meetings out among the board. We hope everything is alright and we all wish you well, Mr. Quinn."

Quinn nodded to the image on the screen and closed the conversation. He closed the screen and smiled. Now everything was in place for his plans...now he just needed to wait for her to finish her shower...

I brushed out my hair and listened to him speaking, someone with the board I think I heard him say right. Setting the brush down slowly as my head tilted I heard him say,

"I am going to be taking the next week off from all EEE activities. My cell will be off and I will be unavailable through this venue as well. In an emergency, you can reach Vincent at my estate in Bon Temps. This is not a request, simply a courtesy call. This is going to happen. I will be in touch in a week."

Something was wrong. He never did that, like ever. I opened the door in my towel, with damp hair hanging down on my shoulders and stepped into the room. "Quinn...I uh....well I wasn't tryin' to listen in or nothin' but...I heard you say...I mean.." Walking over to face him as he sat in the chair. "What happened? Something wrong?"

"Quinn...I uh....well I wasn't tryin' to listen in or nothin' but...I heard you say...I mean..What happened? Something wrong?"

He chuckled.

"Nothing is wrong, My Love. I just decided that we have not been spending enough time without distractions. With all the recent events, we have not had much time together, just to spend on us. I intend to remedy this fact."

He took her in his arms and smiled, kissing her softly...

"From now on, I am making time for US first. Everything else is secondary..."

My eyes widened and I thought I was dreaming. "Wait...what?" I chuckled and he kissed me and added that everything to us was secondary...that we came first. "I...wow. Are you sure nothings wrong? I mean, you...you're busy, I get that. Am I dreaming?" I shook my head and sighed, "Don't get me wrong, this is great news I just don't understand what brought it all on?"

"Wait...what?...I...wow. Are you sure nothings wrong? I mean, you...you're busy, I get that. Am I dreaming? Don't get me wrong, this is great news I just don't understand what brought it all on?"

He chuckled as she spoke...

"No you are not dreaming, I have just been thinking about things, and do not want to lose sight of what is truly important. I don't want anything else to get in the way of that. You and I have chosen to make a life together and that, in my eyes, is the most important thing..."

He kissed her again, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close...

I smiled and knew he was being genuine and sincere. I liked this realization he had, whatever the cause I was happy for it. As he held me close I buried my face into his chest and inhaled with closed eyes. "A whole week of having you to myself, a girl could get used to this you know." I grinned and looked up at him with my chin on his chest.

Licking my lips I smiled bigger, "Should we stay in towels all night?"

"A whole week of having you to myself, a girl could get used to this you know. Should we stay in towels all night?"

He stepped away for a moment, locking the doors, and returned, pulling away her towel and dropping his own. He scooped her up into his arms, grinning. He kissed her and carried her back to the bed...

"Why bother with towels? We might as well enjoy the night..."

He kissed her again as he laid her down on the bed, then joined her, curling close, tracing gentle fingers over her body, caressing each curve and kissing here and there as his fingers explored...

I smiled when he locked the doors, the look in his eyes as he approached me and pulled away my towel looking at me with hunger in his eyes, I bit my bottom lip and felt him lift me off of my feet. My back met the bed and his deep voice in my ear sent a shiver down my spine to my very core. His lips found mine again and I smiled against his lips while his fingers did their dance along my bare skin. I looked into his eyes and ran my hands across his back "How'd I get so lucky?" He never answered, instead he claimed my lips with passion, kissing me deeply and making my head swim. It was hard to get a grip on my bearings as he continued to tease my body, causing heat in my loins. If this was any indication of the week to come, I'd gladly never leave this room. And tonight...I wouldn't.