Richard's POV

We walked together, my arm around her waist, and her leaning into my side as we looked for the garage attached to Gabriel's home. "You know, it's going to take too long to drive to where we need to go." She mentioned quietly. Her mind still trying to absorb all that had happened with Xavier.

Nodding in agreement, I pulled her close and squeezed her. "I agree. But the fact remains that we both need a change or two of clothing, and I don't know about you, but I could really go for a big chili burger right now. The kind that's so good it drips chili and grease down onto your hand." I grinned at her as we walked down a dark hall that led to a single door.

Aria blushed and looked down at the plain brown carpet. "Uh... I am going to have to feed soon too, Richard. Um... My way. It has been a long time since I did."

As we stopped in front of the door, I raised her chin with my fingertips so that she'd look at me. "Considering what I am now, would there be enough life-force in my blood still?" A shy smile crossed her face and a slight blush showed me she was still a bit embarrassed about feeding. She nodded as I placed my hand on the knob and opened the door to a pristine sixteen car garage.

Someone had left the lights on when they were all told to run, by Gabriel. You name the type of vehicle, it was there. "Looks like Gabriel had a thing for cars..." Her words trailed off into silence as her eyes and mine landed on a huge silver SUV. Checking the walls, I noticed there was a key rack set up so that each set of keys was labeled to the type and color of the vehicles.

Letting her slip out of my arms, I went and grabbed up the set of keys while she punched the button in the front wall to open up the garage.

Trying the keys in the lock, the silver SUV opened up for us. As we climbed in, I returned us to our previous conversation. "Why do you get so embarrassed about feeding, Aria?"

After we put on the seat belts, she began to explain. Her eyes downcast the whole time. "The clear colored fangs are a temporary type of filtering system if my usual....tube is not completely built up yet. It is...if anything... Well, now that my perspectives have changed about the life here, it seems almost...barbaric." I turned in my seat to face her better.

"Show me?" I asked.

Lifting her right arm toward me, she made a fist and pointed it downward. I watched as the molecules in her wrist began to shift and pull apart as an iridescent, sharp-tipped tube pushed through her skin and into the open. I could see right through it. It was long, about six inches. It reminded me of the needles used when doctors did a spinal tap on me years ago. The tube was beautiful though. Beautiful and dangerous if the sharp slanted tip was any indication. "Aria, it's beautiful. Why does it seem so barbaric to you?" I watched her closely, and she finally raised her eyes to mine.

"One wrong move when I am using it, and it can accidentally kill the one I am feeding on... I have no wish to harm anyone. It didn't matter when I first came here, but it does now. Not because I have all these emotions, but because I can see how truly unique each and every one of you are, how precious, and rare. As life forms, each of you is special in your own right. Being in this body of Annie, I have learned that I too am just as special and rare. That I have a right to life, as you do. This is why I fight Xavier on this merging. If I have to do it to survive, it will only be done on my terms. Not his. But I cannot stand by and let him hurt others." Tears ran from the corners of her eyes, and I pulled her to me, wrapping my arms around her form.

Confronting Xavier must have been like her confronting her old self. No wonder why she was so shaken earlier. Thanks to her short rant, I know it for sure now. "You still need to feed though, right? If so, take from me all that you need. Either way, you do it, I trust you not to cause me unnecessary pain."

Raising the tube to my neck she whispered. "Just try not to move." Very carefully, she slid the tube into my skin. It was sharper than any needle I've ever known, so it pierced the skin with frightening ease. She closed soft brown eyes and a smile crossed her lips as she seemed to breathe a bit easier. After about ten minutes of this, Aria quickly removed the tube and placed her fingers over the wound to stop the tiny amount of blood. I was more interested in watching the tube retract under her skin.

"See?" I grinned at her, as I pulled back. "Nothing to be embarrassed about at all. Except now, you gotta help me find a good burger joint, your man is starving. You ready to go?" She smiled and nodded her head so I turned the key in the ignition switch and started backing us out of the garage.

Later we got off the interstate freeway because we saw exactly the kind of place we needed to go to. A local shopping mall.

Aria shocked me when she showed me a credit card that had belonged to Gabriel while we paid for her new clothes. "How did you get this?" I looked at her wide-eyed with disbelief.

She looked at me with a saucy little grin. "Never doubt it... I have my ways..." She broke down and laughed. "No, seriously. I found it on the floor in the bathroom." Somehow I got the feeling there was more to it, but I let it go for now.

Walking arm in arm while carrying our bags, we crossed the parking lot to the big silver SUV. Opening up the back, we see down the bags, pulling out two huge sports equipment bags. Quickly we stuffed them with the clothes and other items we bought. Turning to face her, I shrugged and smiled slowly. "Other than wearing the bags on my back, I'm about as ready to do this as you are."

~~~~~Flashback~~~~~

As I stuffed my face with a chili burger, Aria started our conversation. "I just think that we should join up with Gabriel and the others to make sure nobody does anything dumb." Nodding, I wiped the excess chili off of my chin with a paper napkin while I tried to finish chewing the heavenly burger, so I could answer her.

"Alright, we'll go. But you know this can turn into one huge clusterfuck due to all the testosterone involved." I took another bite of the burger as she laughed.

"What?" I asked her playfully.

Reaching across the table she raised a finger and wiped up a big dribble of chili off my chin. Taking the finger back, she placed it in her mouth closing her lips around it. Her eyes widened with surprise as she removed her clean finger from her mouth. "Oh my God! This stuff is really good!" She ran to the counter and bought herself a chili burger. Bringing it back with a smile on her face, she ate her burger with relish. Like it was God's ambrosia.

~~~~End Flashback~~~

Aria's POV

Richard attached the two bags on his back as we stood outside by the silver SUV. "Ready now?"

He gulped hard and nodded. Slowly I spread out my molecules, kinda like a safety blanket, and wrapped myself around him from head to toe. Gently, I pushed two tendrils of my molecules through his skull to his auditory receptors so he could hear me talk, and I could hear him. Cloaking us both with invisibility, I changed my gravitational pull, and we were rising up into the air. Keeping my molecular structure like filmy cloth so he could breathe despite what speed I may fly at.

Using my core energy, we took off from the state of Maine to Arkansas. We made it there in record time. Less than two hours.

As I pulled my molecules back together again, after releasing Richard, he turned and looked at me with wide brown eyes, and a boyish grin. "We gotta do that again soon, babe. That was fun!"