When David woke, he was alone, as he'd known he would be. He ducked and made his way down the tunnel to the exit. Before he stepped out into the night though, he paused. He could hear Megan there, her breathing, her heartbeat, the little scuffs of her feet as she shifted while she waited. But there was somebody else with her. He hesitated, wondering what had happened, but he couldn't do anything else but trust her, and so he stepped out of the tunnel and straightened.

Megan was standing there, as he had expected, and at her side... his heart caught in his throat as he realized it was his mother.

"Mom?"

She peered at him, and he realized she could probably barely see him in the dark. He stepped closer, taking off his hat.

"David. It really is you!" And then she flung herself at him and hugged him. He hugged her back, hardly able to believe she was here. But after a long moment she pulled away. "You're cold," she said, quietly. "So... It's true then, you're a... a..."

"A vampire, yes," he said with a sigh. "It was what I had to do."

"And you're the one, that they talk about, that saves people?"

He nodded. "Yes."

She smiled. "Then I guess I can still be proud of my son. I'm so glad to see you. I could hardly bear it when I thought you had died. I've missed you so much." And she stepped in and hugged him again.

He hugged her back. He found that tears were gathering in his eyes. "I've missed you too, Mom." Then he let go and stepped back again. "But why did you come out here? It's incredibly dangerous, you know that."

She shrugged. "I had to come. I had to see you. I couldn't just send you a message, when I knew you were so near. And your friend," she smiled at Megan, "Assured me that so long as we were here, on this spot, when the sun went down, that we would be safe."

He gave Megan a wry glance. "I suppose I have to thank you. Though you worried me for a bit there." He turned back to his mother. "Tell me then... tell me everything that happened since I left. How is everyone?"

She seated herself on a rock, and as he and Megan both followed suit, she proceeded to fill him in on the lives of his siblings, neighbors, and friends. "That Alek got exiled not long ago," she said at one point, "So he's likely dead by now, and good riddance."

David laughed. "No, actually he's very much alive. I happened to be near here on the night he was exiled. I escorted him safely to Wind City, where he probably still is."

His mother shook her head in amazement. "If it had been me, son, I'd have been tempted to just leave him to the vampires."

David shrugged. "He's a human being. Whatever else he might deserve, he doesn't deserve that. Nobody does."

She leaned over and hugged him again. "I'm proud of you. It seems you've grown up better than I'd ever hoped. Even if..." she trailed off.

"Even if I'm an undead, blood-sucking fiend?" he said wryly. "It's not quite like that, but it does have its down side. But really... it beats being a lay-about of no ambition, which is what I was before. Maybe if I had it all to do over, I'd chose to stay with you, at home, and stay human, but... maybe not. I'm doing something important. Something that somebody needs to do."

David stopped and his head snapped up as he suddenly sensed something else out in the night. "Oh no... Damn it! Why couldn't tonight, for once, be one of those nights when I can't find any of the gods-be-damned vampires to save my life?!"

His mother's eyes went wide, and Megan's pulse started racing, though she managed to look calm. David stood, and set his hat back on his head. Then he drew his sword.

"Vampires? Here?" asked Megan.

David nodded. "Stay close to me if you can, but not if it means coming near one of them. They're often more bark than bite, and tonight... tonight I'll merely drive them off if I can, but... there are at least three or four of them, maybe more, so they may not go easily."

He stood and waited, tense, more nervous than he'd ever been, even in his very first fight. He glanced behind him at his mother.

"Is there anything we can do?" she said.

He shook his head. "No. There's nothing anybody human can do. That's why I have to be what I am."