Some Like It Blood-Red	  I have enjoyed reading all the DS fiction on
this list and one of them gave me an idea, halfway through company law
revision for finals! Inspiration hits at the weirdest times! :)Thanks are
due to Catalina Dudka for the idea and to my friend and fellow Dueser,
Audrey, for letting me try out my madcap ideas on her. TYK, kawan!
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Alliance. Just borrowing and will
return them in perfectly good condition. All typos and errors are my own.
All comments and criticisms are welcome at llyjhly@ccn4.nott.ac.uk Some
Like It Blood-Red---------------------- "Not the Red, Benny." Ray shook
his head at the mountie. "Not the red?" Fraser paused in the act of
buckling his belt. "Why not, Ray?" "Because it's not a formal dinner,
Benny." Ray replied with a sardonic lift of his eyebrow. "Besides, it
makes you look too pale." "It does?" Fraser scrutinised his reflection in
the mirror. It was true. The red serge jacket did make him look pale. "The
brown uniform, then?" Ray rolled his eyes dramatically. "Fraser, don't you
own anything else besides your uniforms?" "Yes, but..." "No buts. Face it,
Benny, you are a *vampire*. You suck people's blood, you kill..." "Not
intentionally, Ray." Fraser protested quickly. "Ah yes. Only when you
forget your preternatural strength, of course." "There's no need to be
sarcastic, Ray." "Oh, was I being sarcastic? No, don't answer that. Just
go and change. Oh, and lose the hat, Mountie. Even if you don't kill your
victims, I don't think the RCMP will appreciate having reports of people
being attacked by a rabid mountie." "That's true, Ray. However, to be
rabid, I would have to be infected by the rabies virus 'Lyssavirus
Rhubdoviridae'. And in my condition at the moment, I don't think..."
"Don't think, Fraser. Just go...and...change." Ray sighed. "I'm thirsty,
and you know I get irritated when I don't get to feed." He bared his teeth
for one terrifying moment, his tongue licking his tiny, sharp fangs. "I
wonder what wolf blood tastes like..." A low growl answered him as
Diefenbaker bared *his* own sharp teeth at Ray, as if daring him to try.
"Keep your fur on, Dief. I was just kidding." Ray laughed, slipping dark
glasses over his brilliant green eyes. It had been a month since he and
Fraser had been transformed into the beings they were now. One month of
learning to survive as fledgling vampires. Fraser still had his qualms
about killing his victims, though he insisted that they only hunted down
criminals. Give the man a chance and he would be thanking him kindly for
their blood! Ray allowed himself a little smile. Since developing his
'long- term allergy' to the sunlight, he had been transferred to the night
shift. Whether or not a night shift for detectives existed, he did not
care. What mattered was that he was on it! The one good thing to come out
of his 'condition' was that he had finally managed to close every one of
his long outstanding 41 unsolved cases. Somehow, the perpetrators had a
strange tendency to turn up in alleys, either dead, or delirious, claiming
that they had been attacked by a vampire. Vampires in Chicago? Who would
believe them?! "I'm ready,Ray." Fraser spoke from behind him, making him
jump. "You should try to make some noise when you walk, you know." he
complained irritatedly, though he noted with approval that his friend was
dressed more casually. "Sorry, Ray." The brilliant blue eyes that looked
into his were anything but sorry. If he did not know better, he could have
sworn that Fraser was laughing at him! "Right." Ray rubbed his hands
together eagerly, grinning widely as they stepped out of the apartment
block into the cold night. "Tonight, we have a choice of fresh bank
robbers, rapists or murderers. Or, we could be lazy and break into the
blood bank for a quick frozen takeaway!" he laughed uncontrollably at his
own joke. Fraser simply cast him a despairing look and shook his head.
"That's so silly, Ray." THE END...? Hsu-Lyn Yap llyjhly@ccn4.nott.ac.uk