19: The Other One

warning: sometimes the blasted pose doesn't match the written part

"Who are you? Who are you really?" Marge asked suspiciouslly.

"I could ask you the same question. You bear a striking resemblance to someone I know." Gus said as he heard her heart rate increase.

"Someone you know?" she clarified. "And whom might that be?"

"A friend that promised me she'd work on a certain gift she has." he said and watched as her eyes dilated in fear.

"You're the other one, aren't you?" she remarked breathlessly.

"Other one?" Gus decided to play it dumb.

"Don't play games with me. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"Oh? And just what might that be?"

"You're the bad one." she said and tried to make a break for the door.

He calmly reached out one arm and easily caught her. "Now, now, now, my dear Ms. Hudson, none of that."

"Get your hands off me!" she yelled, getting the attention of the other bar patrons.

Gus quickly released her and let her run out the door. He felt confident he'd be able to find her again. All he need do would be to merely follow her scent. He waited patiently for about five minutes before calmly striding out the door after his quarry.

As expected, her still-fresh scent was easy to pick up. He hummed another merry tune similar to the one he'd hummed this morning as he sped off in the direction of what he could only assume was her house.

To his utter delight, he found her trail ended with a car in a ditch. Doesn't the woman understand you shouldn't drink and drive? he thought as he gleefully reached into the car to gently lift her out of it.

He decided to take her to an old abandoned mill at the mouth of the river. Once there, he'd debate the woman's fate. He wondered if Gabriella's mother possessed the same ability as her daughter. He had high hopes she did given his complete lack of being able to read her. People with mental abilities were always harder.

He sat her down in the small, dilapidated room the old mill still possessed and waited for her to wake up. Then the questioning could begin that would eventually decide her fate.

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"Wait, Nate." Gabriella suddenly exclaimed before his answering groan.

"Why?" he complained as his hand left the button of her shorts. He knew the answer. He knew they'd gone as far as she was ready for, but still he hoped to encourage her further. When he looked down into her mildly-panicked eyes, however, he knew the chances of that happening were slim to none.

Suddenly Gabriella felt embarrassed and immature. After all, she'd practically asked for this. Then to stop him now seemed cruel and harsh. She wanted to curl up into a little ball and hide from her embarrassment. "Sorry." she whispered as she attempted to do just that, but Nate wouldn't let her.

"No, Gabriella, don't feel like that. We just got a little out of control is all " He chuckled a little to lighten the mood. "It's incredibly easy to do. The hard part is making yourself stop." He finally just gave up and let Gabby curl up into the ball she so desperately needed to do, but he maintained his hold on her as she did.

"But I feel terrible. Yet I can't bring myself to get back to that place I was a moment ago."

Raging desire and heartfelt compassion waged war inside of Nate as he lightly rubbed Gabriella's back in an effort to reassure her that she hadn't done anything wrong. She'd only pushed his limits to very near their breaking point. Oh, how he longed to pick right back up where they left off! The very idea of her here in his bed was enough to push him over the edge should he decide to let it, but then when he took in her actual state of mind, he knew he'd taken things as far as she was ready to go.

He fought back the urge to groan in frustration and instead curled himself up behind the ball she'd turned herself into, refusing to let her push him away. His face in her hair made things worse, but he stubbornly refused to back away. He knew that if he did then the feelings of inadequacy flowing through Gabriella right now would cement and take root.

They lay like that for a few hours before Nate heard Gabby's stomach rumbling. He inwardly chided himself for forgetting the fact that she had to eat. He hadn't food in the house for her either. She's asleep as well. But if I let her continue to sleep now then by the time she wakes up, everywhere will have closed.

"Gabriella, wake up." he said as he moved his head to lean over her and kiss her cheek. She only stirred, the trials of the day having taken much out of her. He smiled down at her as he watched her sleep, but he knew shouldn't let her stay asleep no matter how lovely she looked. "Gabriella, you have to wake up or you'll be starving later because I have no food for you. Let's go out to eat and we can go to the store tomorrow."

Gabriella could feel Nate's stubble graze her cheek as Morpheus tried to reclaim her. Eat? I want to sleep.

Nathaniel answered her thoughts, "You can sleep later, my love, but you have to eat now or you'll be hungry later. Wake up."

Gabriella groaned in protest as she tried in vain to brush him off of her. "I'm tired." she growled.

Nate chuckled at her attempt at sounding fierce. "I can see that, but you have to get up!"

"No." Gabby said stubbornly and rolled over.

Nathaniel got off the bed and walked around to her side of it.

Gabriella rolled back onto her back, thinking he'd given up on trying to get her out of bed. I am dog tired, she thought.

Suddenly, she felt Nate's arms under her, and she heard him tell her he was picking her up as he did it.

Nate merely smiled at her irritated protest.

"Put me down." she demanded, yet she lazily rested her head on his shoulder.

"Are you going to get up and go eat dinner?"

"I told you I'm tired." she said as she thought forlornly about the still-warm sheets.

"Sleep later, eat now." he said as he placed her upon her feet.

When she didn't move, he threatened her by saying he'd just carry her the entire way to the restaurant, but she finally gave in and admitted she did need to eat now. "Good girl." he teased.

As they walked into the living room, they heard a small beeping noise coming from one of the couch cushions.

"My phone must've fallen out of my pocket when you were giving me the 'tour' earlier." she said and blushed prettily. She walked over to pick it up and missed Nate's grin in the process. "I have a message." she said with a note of concern in her voice and features. She put the phone to her ear to listen as Nate went to fetch his car keys.

Gabriella gasped as she heard her mother's frightened voice on the message saying that she'd met a vampire at the bar and she was afraid he was after her. No!

Nathaniel rushed over to Gabriella and took the phone from her to listen to the message again. Marge said she was headed to Gabby's house, but since she couldn't find her there, she was going to try and find her car. She didn't know where Nate's house was, and she assumed that's where Gabriella was.

"Let me try and call her back." Gabby said and Nate handed her back the phone. "She's not answering." Gabriella said in a shaky voice. "Nate, what if..."

"Don't." he warned her before she could finish her statement. "Let's go see if we can find her. It might not be what you're thinking."

The two of them got in Nate's car and raced through the streets of Appaloosa Plains. They couldn't find any trace of Marge anywhere.

Nate got out of the car at the local bar where he suspected Marge met her 'other vampire' and could smell Gus. He hopped back into the car and sped off in the direction that the scent went.

"Nate! Pull over! It's Mom's car!" Gabriella said suddenly with hope in her voice.

Her hopes quickly got dashed as the two of them got out of the car and found Marge's car ominously empty.

"Nate, I'm positive this is Mom's car..." she started.

"It is." he interrupted her. "You were right after all. August was here too."

Gabriella froze solid in her tracks and stared a blank hole into Nate. Gus and Mom? What would Gus want with... oh no.

 "Where are they?" Gabby asked Nathaniel, trying to stem her rising panic.

"He went in the direction of the river. I've got to follow it there." he answered as all the reasons Gus would want Marge ran through his head.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Gabby broke up his thoughts.

"And what are you planning on doing when we get to wherever he is?" Nate turned and asked her. He knew that if he showed up with Gabriella the first thing Gus would try would be a trade. Of course he knew Gus knew it wouldn't work, but Nate didn't want Gabby to hear the offer.

Gabriella knew what he was doing, and it irritated her. Why must you always feel like you have to protect me?

"Because I do." he nearly snapped, aggravated at the situation beyond his control. "I'm taking you home, then I'll find where August is holing up. He wouldn't have left such a clear trail if he didn't wish to be found."

"I want to come with you, and you know it. That's my mother!" Gabby fought a losing battle with the panic that set in.

Nate walked up to her and ran his fingers through her hair in an effort to calm her.

Why are we standing here?! she thought agitatedly.

"Gabby, calm down. He won't hurt her."

"He was going to hurt me."

"He won't damage his best bargaining chip." Nate said soothingly. In reality, he knew that wasn't quite true. He knew that August would certainly harm Marge if she didn't prove useful after all, or simply harm her in a way to get back at the two of them. Nate guessed that he hadn't yet, and that proved he had a plan for her. He worried it had much to do with the family gift.

"Nate, dawn is coming. You need me with you." Gabby stubbornly tried to convince him to let her go with him.

"I'm taking you home and you're going to stay home. It's the safest place for you. I have to be able to think and I can't do that if I'm constantly worried about you."

I won't stay there, Gabriella thought to him, and Nate realized his first argument of the day was going to have to be with the woman he loved.

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I did something different with the pics in this one. Was it so strange that you the reader could tell right off the bat? Or was it really not all that different? I was playing around with some effects to make things not look so bland. I may have overdone the first one.