From: janwiles@juno.com
To: fkarchiver@fkfanfic.com
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 17:43:15 -0500
Subject: Gets 'Em Every Time (1/1)

After reading S. Clark's 'Encounter' this morning, I was inspired
to write this odd (for me) little story.  I'm frantically packing
for a 5-week road trip, but the silly thing would NOT let go of
me until I'd written it!  At any rate, this story is (with 
permission) dedicated to and inspired by S. Clark.

As usual, Janette and Schanke belong not to me, but to Sony and
Parriott.  Just having fun with them and will return them all nice
and clean.

This occurs after 'Close Call', but before any of the third season.

Gets 'Em Every Time
by Jan Wiles
janwiles@juno.com
*******************
Don Schanke hummed happily to himself as he walked to his car.  'Yep,'
he thought, 'I've done good this time!'  And so he had.  To have
gotten all his Christmas gifts in one go like this was a real coup
for a guy like him.  Usually, he had to make frantic rounds of his
friends, asking for suggestions.  This year, though, it was all pure
Schanke.

Up ahead, he could see that his path would take him past an alleyway.
Just as he noted that, he heard frantic scuffling noises coming from
the opening, and what sounded like muffled screams.  Without thought,
his gun was in his hand, and he dropped his packages and moved up to
take a look.

What he saw was a nightmare.  The street light was placed well enough
to illuminate the occupants of the alley.  The male figure had one hand
clamped over his victim's mouth, and the other hand stabbing some sort
of weapon into the weakly struggling form of the dying woman.  With a
shock of recognition, he realized it was Janette.

"Freeze right there, asshole!" Schanke roared.  The man whipped around
to face him, and Schanke stared in horror at the glowing eyes and fangs
of the vampire.  He fired one shot - useless - and then the grinning
fiend discarded his weapon and lunged at him.

Only to fall flat on his face.  Schanke could hardly believe his good
fortune, until he saw that the mortally injured Janette had managed to
grab his ankle.  He dropped his gun, picked up the wooden stake his
attacker had dropped, and drove it into the vampire's heart.  Almost
unable to think, he staggered over to Janette and dropped to his knees
beside her.  To his shock, he found her eyes glowing just as much as
her assailant's.

"A...good try...Mr. Schanke..." Janette whispered.  "I...appreciate...
the effort..."  Her voice trailed off.

"NO!  No, damn it!  Don't die on me, I'll get you to a hospital!"
Schanke was frantic.  He had no idea what you did with an injured
vampire.

Janette's eyes began to close.  "No hospital...for my kind..."

He examined her desperately, trying to think of any way to help her.
When his gaze fell on the blood still flowing from her chest wound,
the answer seemed obvious.  But did he dare?

'Oh, hell, I *can't* let her die!' he resolved.  He slipped one arm
under her shoulders and lifted her gently.  He raised her to a sitting
position and used his other hand to press her face to his neck.  "Try
not to kill me, hey?" he choked out.  He waited for a moment, then felt
her fangs pierce his throat.

A ecstatic lassitude flowed over Schanke.  'Man, this is like orgasm,
but it just keeps going...' he thought bemusedly.  He knew he should
be frightened, but couldn't summon the energy, even as he faded into
darkness.

****

To his considerable surprise, he did wake up.  He felt very weak, and
his neck was sore, but seemed otherwise pretty normal.  Crowd noises
off in the distance came into focus, and he concluded he was somewhere
in the back of the Raven.  He opened his eyes to the welcome sight of
Janette.

She smiled at him.  "How are you feeling, Mr. Schanke?"  In the past,
she had seemed to resent him or be irritated by him.  No trace of this
remained.

"Don," he croaked.  Clearing his throat, he tried again, "Call me Don."
After a moment's thought, he continued, "I feel kinda drained-" she
grinned at his inadvertent pun, "-but otherwise pretty good."

Janette twinkled at him.  "I shall call you Donald."  She offered him
a hand, and helped him to sit up.  "If you feel up to it, I have some
soup for you, and something else to drink.  You need to strengthen
your blood, after all!"

With a slightly trembling hand, he took the mug from her, and sipped.
It turned out to be a richly meaty broth, laden with hearty spices.
'No bouillon cubes for this lady!' he remarked to himself.  He had no
trouble finishing off the whole thing.  This was followed by brandy in
hot chocolate.

At last, replete, he looked at her expectantly.  "Okay.  Now what?"
He now remembered what had been blocked from his mind: that Janette,
Nick, and Lacroix were vampires.

Janette did not try to evade him.  "I am afraid, Donald, that for your
own safety you must now forget all this."  She stared hard into his
eyes.

He evaded her gaze for a moment, then caught her hand.  "Look, I know
the drill.  I see nothing, I know nothing, these aren't the droids 
you're looking for..."  She could not help laughing at this, and he
went on, "I promise I won't tell *anyone*, not Nick, or my priest, or
even Myra.  Please let me remember," he pleaded, at his most appealing.

Janette paused thoughtfully, then shrugged.  "Nicolas does it, why not
me?  Very well then.  But remember your promise, or we both, and all
we love, are endangered."  Her eyes were very serious.

Schanke swallowed hard.  "I'll remember."  He forced a smile.  "How
could I forget?"  He gallantly raised her hand to his lips and kissed
it.

Janette caught her breath in surprise and - something else?  Then she
smiled and kissed his hand in response.  "I too will not forget."


The end (for now)