She struggled in his arms, striking his chest with small, angry fists.? "No!" she screamed again and again, her voice walking the thin, fine line between hysterical madness and white-hot fury.? "Let me go.? I need it!? LET ME GO!"? She bucked and fought against him, muscles bunching with outraged anger, adrenaline lending her far more strength than her tiny body should contain.

He bore her enraged blows with equanimity; even her rage-driven strength was hardly more than a mild annoyance to his supernaturally powerful muscles.? He made no move to stop her from hitting him, merely holding her, preventing her feet from touching the ground, not letting her get anywhere near the drugs that still remained in the baggie on the table.? She would get tired much sooner than he would, and she couldn't hurt him anyway.? "Shhh," he said softly.? "You don't need it.? You can't have it.? I won't give you up so soon."? She wouldn't hear him over her own ranting, but he just repeated it over and over, holding her with a gentle, unbreakable grip.

He was right; she did eventually wind down, slowly relaxing into his embrace as the rage turned into tears.? She collapsed against him, huge sobs wracking her slight frame as she poured out through her tears and wordless cries all the frustrations and disappointments and terrors that had driven her to buying and almost using in the first place.

Through it all, he held her against his chest, letting a quiet purr vibrate through him.? It really did relax people.? He never stopped murmuring softly and soothingly to her, telling her that it was okay, that he was there, he wouldn't let her hurt herself, that whatever had driven her to this point was over now.? He stroked her hair softly, rubbing his cheek against her head. Eventually, even the tears wound themselves down and she fell silent, except for the occasional hiccup and sniffle.? She was completely limp in his arms, exhausted to the point of having no strength left.

He carried her carefully into the living room, sat down on the couch with her, glancing around for Oscar, who he'd have expected to be all over her by this point. Oscar was hiding in the bedroom, though, underneath the bed, where he'd been since Daniel first came in.? He could smell the waves of unhappiness, of desperation that rolled off his mistress and it scared him.

Lelah raised her head and blinked in shock at finding herself on Daniel's lap.? She frowned and whispered, "Danny?? What are you doing here?"

"Saving you from yourself," he said softly.? "Do you know what you were doing?"

It all rushed back in ? the fight with Gideon, the hunger that was ever-present when she was with him, leaving the Inn to buy from her dealer in WestEnd. She nodded and looked away, shame riding every line and curve of her face and body.? "I know," she said in a soft voice.? She cast a longing look at the kitchen table, which was still covered with the pearls and works.

He took her chin with gentle, strong fingers and turned her face away from the temptation on the table, forcing her to look into his grey eyes.? "Why?" he asked simply.

She couldn't meet his eyes, so she stared at a point between them and shook her head a tiny bit.? "I don't know," she said softly, her voice full of wonder.? It was true; she hadn't the faintest idea what had possessed her to buy gear.? "I saw Gideon at the Inn after Mass.? We had a fight.? And I...left and went to Sato and bought them."

"You were upset because of your fight?"? As he spoke, he became aware that Leopard was growling softly in the back of his mind, and not the usual growl He let out whenever they were around Lelah.? This was a growl of warning, of hate.? His nostrils flared, sucking in a deep breath to determine what had set Leopard off.? Leech!? The dusty, snake smell of a Leech clung faintly to Lelah.? Had she been attacked?? Encountered one at the Inn?? The thing had touched her, otherwise she wouldn't smell of it like that.? "Lelah," he said firmly.? "Look at me."

She frowned and darted a brief look at him, meeting his eyes for a fraction of a second before looking away again, this time at a point above his left ear.? "What?? I didn't do any.? I spilled the first hit I cooked," she said petulantly, pouting that he'd interrupted her fix.

"Good," he growled softly.? "You've been clean all this time.? Why would you throw it all away now?"? He knew what heroin did to people, knew what she would have lost if she'd taken that hit.? Everything.

She bit her lower lip, tears swimming once more in those big, dark eyes.? "It's too much," she admitted softly.? "Everyone wants something from me and they won't shut up and leave me alone, and whenever I'm around him, The Need rolls me under and I just want it to be quiet for awhile."

"Whenever you're around...," he trailed off, then said sharply.? "Did he touch you?"

She darted a look at him again and nodded.? "He kissed me."

He sniffed again, face inches from hers.? The vampire smell was strongest around her lips.? Gideon was the leech.? She'd slept with a leech.? And she had no idea, he was sure of that.? Christ, as David would say.? He couldn't tell her.? Not now.? Not after she came so close to giving in to the addiction tonight.? Learning that she'd let a vampire f*ck her might send her right over the edge, break her mind.? "Did he hurt you?" he asked softly.? If the leech had hurt her, there was going to be a hunt tonight, and he knew a couple of people who would gladly join it.

Monday morning. Lelah was gone, off to the studios for the first day of filming. A big day for her, and one that he fervently hoped would go well. After last night's near-disaster, she could use a good day or two. Oscar was outside; he'd promised her that he would stay until the dog came back in. He used the time to search the house for more drug paraphernalia. He was pretty sure she didn't have any actual heroin left in her place, but needles were a different story. She undoubtedly had a cache of them stashed somewhere. He didn't feel the slightest guilt going through her things to find them. She needed it done, needed someone to take temptation away from her. After some dedicated searching, he found her needles and destroyed them all. She would probably be upset about it, he realized, but it was worth it.

Oscar came in from his squirrel-harassing expedition a few minutes later. He checked the dog's food and water, then left the carriage house, locking the door behind him. It was time to talk to David and/or Riley about this Sato, her dealer. They would be at the Gardens now, teaching their classes. A long walk from Lelah's place to WestEnd, but it would give him plenty of time to think. He'd meant what he said to her last night, about them both being damaged. He'd also meant what he said about feeling like there was still a chance for recovery. He felt good around her. It wasn't just the sex, which admittedly was brilliant, but the friendship, for lack of a better term. They were lovers now, yes, but they'd also become friends, and in a very short time. Two weeks, he'd known her and he was already reluctant to contemplate the idea of not seeing her as much as possible. Now that filming had begun, he knew that her free time was going to be drastically curtailed. Luckily, he had no particular obligations here in RhyDin. He was willing to steal away whatever moments they could have together.

When he reached WestEnd, he stopped the musing and daydreaming, focusing on the environment around him. This still wasn't a safe place, though the influence of the Gardens had toned down the danger to some degree in an area around itself. It wasn't a good idea to wander through this part of town with your head in the clouds. Someone might try to separate it from his body. Fortunately (for them), the criminal element was apparently sleeping in this morning, and he made it to Zen without incident. He paused to lay a hand on each of the Foo Dogs before going in. They were friends, too, in a way. They represented safety and stability to him; unfailingly protective and vigilant. Inside, he took a deep breath, tasting the scents in the air. Many familiar ones. Riley and David, of course. Mataya and Max. Fiora. The students he'd met since returning. Some were new to him. A couple of men, a couple of women?one who didn't smell quite human, but he wasn't sure what she was, either.

He went to the dance studio entrance and glanced inside. David was in there, and it looked like he was just finishing up teaching a class. Riley must be on the roof with her students; she often taught up there when the weather permitted, and it was nice out today. He waited in the studio entrance until David's students left, then went inside, smiling at David. ?Good morning, David,? he said.

?Hey Dan,? David replied, mildly surprised at the Leopard's sudden appearance, though his face showed nothing of it. Dan could smell it on him, anyway. ?What brings you here this morning? I thought you'd be at Lelah's longer.?

?Today's the first day of filming,? he answered. ?She's out at 21twelve, likely for the entire day and well into the night. How was your class??

?Right, the filming. I wonder when she's going to need Riley. Probably not for a while. Class was good. They're learning fast. It won't be much longer before they can start teaching classes of their own, or at least assisting me in it.?

He'd almost forgotten that Riley was going to be in Lelah's first movie here in RhyDin. It was a good thing he wasn't especially human; some people would have found it very awkward for their ex-lover to be working for their current one. He knew Riley wasn't terribly pleased about his relationship with Lelah, that she was kind of jealous of it, even though they couldn't be together in the same way they used to be. He also knew that she wasn't sure if Lelah was good enough for him. It was the protective side of her, worried that he was going to get hurt. He would probably have to talk to her about it sometime soon, if things kept going the way the were with Lelah. A serious relationship seemed to be on the horizon, approaching quickly. He was slightly nervous about that idea, but also definitely looking forward to it. ?David,? he said, dropping the chain of thought to focus on his reason for coming. ?When you were a Watchman, did you encounter a heroin dealer named Sato??

The change in subject was abrupt enough that David just stared at Daniel for a moment, one eyebrow rising in his trademark gesture. ?Uh, heroin dealers? Not many of them here in RhyDin. It's not a big drug of choice in this place. So much magic going around, mixed with high-tech designer drugs and all. I can only think of two heroin dealers around, and neither of them's called Sato. Why??

It was then that he realized he had no idea whether or not David knew of Lelah's addiction. He was silent for a moment, thinking about it. David was his brother, one of the two people he trusted most in this or any world. If anyone could be entrusted with this secret and keep it to himself, David could. Even with all of that, however, was it his place to reveal Lelah's secrets? She'd told him in confidence, trusted him not to hurt her with it. No, he decided, he couldn't tell David at this point. Not without her permission. ?I can't talk about it right now,? he said slowly. ?I haven't the right to do so.? He knew David would understand.

David grunted in response, then nodded. It sounded like Dan was protecting someone, and he could respect that. That didn't stop him from wondering immediately if it was Lelah. It sure as hell wasn't Riley, and who else did the other man know here? ?Well, one of 'em works in the Temple district?ironic, huh? The other's right here in WestEnd, not too far away. Across the street from Perp Miz, actually. Practically down the street. There's no drug laws here in RhyDin, you know, so he just stands out in the open, selling his bags of death.? There was disgust in David's voice; he had no love for drug dealers at all. Ten years as a cop had cemented that into unbreakable hardness. He'd seen what drugs did to people. Way too many times.

?I see.? Right near the church Lelah went to every Sunday. That had to be her dealer, her dragon, she'd called him. Well, he was no knight in armor?that was more David's style?but he was about to go confront a dragon. He asked David for both dealer's names, and as much of description as he could give, listening intently. ?Thank you, David. I appreciate it,? he said, when David finished. He clapped David on the shoulder and turned, striding quickly out of the studios and then out of the building.

David stood there for a moment, staring after him. There'd been a look on Dan's face...he didn't envy that drug dealer right now. He shrugged, went back to tidying up the room before the next class. He couldn't bring himself to feel bad for a filth-pusher, and he knew Dan could take care of himself. He'd see what Riley had to say about it later.