LisaN and I were paired for the Reader / Writer Challenge 128, and Lisa gave me not just one idea to work with, but three. The idea we ultimately selected was one about Josef and Sarah and what would happen if Sleeping Beauty slumbered no longer.
This was a challenge for couple of reasons, foremost of which was keeping the muse on track. I started with Lisa's idea then merrily went off into left field. Doing one of these
, I started over and came up with the story below, which is a far better, albeit sadder 
one than the first and a lot closer to the outline Lisa gave me.For Lisa
who encouraged me when the muse pouted. An End of Dreams
‘To die, to sleep. To sleep, perchance to dream. Ay, there's the rub! For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, when we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must give us pause.’ Hamlet, Act III, Scene I
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‘I’m ready.’
Her words, his voice.
Drawn by her lover’s presence, she rises from oblivion’s depths to welcome him.
The danger has passed. My love is safe.
A gentle kiss, a tender caress.
Memories return, of loving and being loved. In his embrace, she feels.
Her lover’s words grow somber now; remorse and despair have crept into his heart.
Hope has died.
‘Forgive me, my love.’
As he steals away, oblivion summons her back into its dark, insensate embrace. Always she’d surrendered, knowing he’d return, and with him, her dreams.
Without hope, he would never return. Without him, her dreams would die, as would she.
Charles, don’t leave me!
Oblivion beckons. This time, there is no surrender.
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Long Island Expressway
The leaden sky mirrored Josef’s mood; the attempts on his life and the subsequent trip to New York had drained him, leaving him ill-tempered and on edge. Under the best of circumstances, visiting Sarah left him conflicted; she was the chance at eternal happiness taken against his better judgment. Seeing her lying there, forever young and beautiful, reminded him of the dream they once shared, then lost, all because he’d failed her. He swore he’d never fail her again.
But he had. Bad enough Whitley had tracked him down and nearly killed him, but having Martan actually find Sarah had shaken Josef badly. If Mick hadn’t been there……
Josef mentally shuddered. Without his friend’s help, Martan might have succeeded in killing Josef, but then what? He’d report back to Whitley that not only was the monster dead, but he’d found his long lost daughter as well. Seeing what had happened to his only child, the vengeful reprobate would likely have exposed them all, destroying Sarah in the process. This near catastrophe made Josef realize it was time to do something he should have done years ago - deal with John Whitley once and for all.
As Josef left Manhattan, many of the places he and Sarah had once frequented passed before him; Broadway with all its theaters, the museums and shops where they’d spent time getting to know each other, then falling in love. Once the limo emerged from the tunnel on the other side of the Hudson River, Josef breathed a sigh of relief; New York was Sarah’s home, not his. The marquee lights might have dazzled her gorgeous green eyes, but for him, they couldn’t hide the signs of decay nor conceal the specters of unfulfilled dreams. In truth, there was no place on earth a vampire could ever call home.
The drive through Queens allowed the ancient vampire time for a rare moment of introspection. The man he was today was forged from centuries of past experiences, and Charles Fitzgerald had contributed some of the harshest lessons to the mix. Fool that he was, Charles died the very night Sarah did and from the ashes of his mistakes, Josef Kostan was born. Yet every time Josef returned to New York to visit Sarah, decades-old guilt tugged at the remnants of his soul. Getting back to LA was the only way he could silence the echoes of Charles’ regrets and longing for the human woman he once dared to love.
I knew loving Sarah was dangerous for us both and I did my damnedest to discourage her from being turned. I was afraid for her, but never in a million years did I think her turning would fail. What would have happened if I hadn’t been so god damned afraid and turned her sooner? Would it have made any difference?
That was a question that had plagued Josef for years, one for which he still had no answer. Now, watching his closest friend dance around the human love of his life, he’d encouraged Mick to not make the same mistake. Sadly, when Mick finally got up the courage to take that first step, Beth’s own fears held her back, something Josef felt partially responsible for.
Seeing what happened to Sarah would freak anybody out, human or vampire. Still, if Beth’s going to have any kind of relationship with Mick, she’s got to go in with her eyes wide open. Loving a vampire means more than giving him your heart. Your body, blood and soul are part of the deal as well.
As the limo approached the airport, Josef took a call and his momentary shock rapidly dissolved into panic. Ordering the driver to return to the city, Josef placed a call to his closest friend. Cutting off a drowsy complaint, Josef told the PI to catch the next flight to New York. For everything Mick had done for him in the past, Josef would need him now more than ever before.
His Sleeping Beauty had awakened and was now missing.
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The Streets of New York
Alive !!!
Arms outstretched, Sarah Whitley twirled in place on the rooftop of a brownstone not unlike the one in which she’d slept while the city around her hummed with activity. The streets below were vibrant with people, their collective heartbeats thrumming an enticing rhythm, making the scent of their blood all the more tempting. Nature’s darkness warred with mankind’s illuminations for dominance of the nighttime sky creating an ever-changing visual delight. The sights and sounds of the city she loved so much nearly overwhelmed her heightened senses, but it was of no matter.
The city was alive and so was she.
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301 Waverly Place
The limo had barely stopped when Josef flew out of the car and up the stairs to the townhouse that had been Sarah’s home for the last half century.
It should have been ours….
Josef mentally chided himself; this was no time to be burdened by Charles’ regrets for dreams turned nightmares. Recriminations could come later, but for now, he had to focus on finding Sarah.
Seeing the expression on Josef’s face, the guard wordlessly stepped aside to let the ancient vampire enter. Inside, Josef found Jonas Weatherly, the doctor entrusted with Sarah’s care. Weatherly glanced up momentarily, then turned his attention back to his human patient laying on the bed that had once been Sarah’s. A bag of blood hung nearby, providing a transfusion to the unconscious woman.
“Jonas?” The word was more a command than question.
The doctor temporarily ceased his ministrations; as an old and trusted friend, Weatherly knew better than to keep Josef waiting.
“Polly called me shortly after you left, saying that ‘her patient’ seemed restless. When I arrived, I found her on the floor, nearly drained but alive, with no sign of Sarah. From what I can gather, Sarah must have awakened and her caretaker was the first human she encountered and her first meal.”
Josef scoffed. “What do you mean restless? Sarah hasn’t moved in over fifty years.”
Jonas peered closely at his friend. “Polly never told you?”
“Jonas, so help me, if you don’t start giving me answers…”
“Take it easy. Polly once commented that every time you’d visit, she’d sense a subtle change in Sarah. When you’d leave, Sarah would return to her normal state.”
Josef was incredulous. “And you never thought to tell me this?”
“Honestly, I didn’t give it much credence. Polly is human and her senses are limited compared to ours. Besides, the EEG never indicated any noticeable change in Sarah’s brain activity. Not until now, anyway.”
Jonas directed his friend’s attention toward one of the monitors. “Watch as I replay the data captured over the last few days, from just before your arrival until a little while ago. As you can see, there’s no discernable activity prior to your visit. When you arrive, there is a minute change which stays fairly steady. For reasons I can’t fathom, the activity spikes a bit, then drops off again, but not to pre-visit levels.”
Josef watched as the data flew before him, his gut clenching as he understood. “Martan is the reason for the spike.”
“Sorry?”
Josef relayed how Sarah’s father had hired a mercenary to track him down and kill him. “When Martan failed to torch me in LA, he followed some friends of mine here to New York. Bastard broke into Sarah’s bedchamber like some Rambo wannabe, staked me and would have killed me if it hadn’t been for Mick.”
“Fortunate for you to have such a friend.” Jonas turned back to the monitor. “If nothing else, these data indicate that Sarah has been more aware than I ever thought possible. She seemed to respond not only to your presence, but to the danger you were in. If she was aware of all of that, she must also be aware that the danger to you no longer exists. So why does her brain activity stay high?”
Charles, don’t leave me!
He thought he’d imagined it. He had to have imagined it. When he told Sarah goodbye, Josef thought he had heard her plead for him to stay.
“Josef?”
“Ah…I don’t know. Just how aware do you think she was? I mean, could she hear everything that was said in the room?”
“I can’t say for sure, but it’s possible. Why?”
Polly’s feeble voice provided the answer. “Sarah… looking for you.….”
The exertion proved too much for the human woman and once again, Polly lost consciousness. Josef tried to rouse her before the doctor pulled him away.
“Josef, unless you want that woman’s life to end, leave her alone! It’s a miracle that she survived Sarah’s attack in the first place.”
“But why would Sarah attack her? If Sarah’s been as aware as you think, surely she must have realized Polly wasn’t a threat.”
“Sarah’s a fledgling, Josef, one with urgent needs, primal ones. Without her sire to guide and control her….”
“She’ll become feral! Shit! I can’t wait for Mick, I’ve got to find Sarah now!”
“Any idea where she would go?”
“Maybe. With John Whitley finding and nearly destroying me, I knew I had to deal with him permanently. Before I left, I asked Sarah’s forgiveness for killing her father.”
“Did you kill him?”
“No. Believe me, there’s nothing more I want to do than to rip that bastard’s unfeeling heart from his body for all the pain he caused Sarah. But I learned a long time ago that anger makes you careless. Killing Whitley is supposed to remove a threat to our community, not create one. So, taking a page from the old man’s book, I hired a mercenary who will wait for the right moment to take Whitley out.”
“But Sarah doesn’t know that. She thinks you’re on your way to kill her father now.”
“Which tells me where she’s going. Jonas, stay here. I have to get to Whitley before Sarah does.”
“What if she gets there first?”
“She’ll destroy him - literally. That man made his daughter’s life hell once he found out she was involved with me. A human Sarah might forgive and forget…”
“But not a vampire one.”
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The Streets of New York
Even in the dead of night, the city teemed with life.
Sarah had used her vampiric skills to her advantage staying almost invisible as she moved about the city. As she neared her final destination, she’d come down from the rooftops to walk among the humans that now inhabited the city she loved so deeply. She wanted to see and feel as they did. Besides, she would soon need to feed again.
Long before the night Sarah was turned, Charles had explained what the experience was like both during and after the fact. At the time, she wondered if he did so to enlighten or discourage her. She remembered the solemn expression on her lover’s face as he described how even in a consensual turning, many humans struggled as they felt their life slipping away. In his mind, non-consensual turnings were tantamount to rape, something he found particularly repugnant. Sarah recalled wondering then how Charles had met his fate, but something in his eyes told her the answer to the question she dared not ask.
His eyes never leaving hers, Charles described how as Death approached, the sire would feed his blood to the human, freeing it from Death’s cold embrace. Rising as a vampire, a fledgling would be incredibly strong and fast, with heightened senses, and would need to feed frequently until adjusted to their new condition. Once she awakened, Sarah’s need to slake her maddening thirst was overwhelming, and the poor woman who greeted Sarah had satisfied that need.
In a way, the fledgling regretted her action; the woman was somehow familiar, and clearly not a threat. When the woman drew near, the scent of her blood triggered an involuntary reaction on Sarah’s part. As she transformed, the joy on her victim’s face dissolved into terror, intensifying the fledgling’s bloodlust. At first, her prey struggled, then submitted as fangs penetrated flesh, giving Sarah a feeling of dominance and power unlike any she had ever experienced.
Ah, but the blood, the warm, sweet blood that coursed down her throat and through her veins was the most intense, sensuous experience of her life, dispelling any misgivings she might have had. Besides, wasn’t feeding from humans a part of being a vampire?
Walking along Tenth Avenue, Sarah marveled at all the changes to her beautiful city. The landscape of Manhattan had changed, seeming a bit more crowded than she remembered. Some of the buildings were familiar, while others she remembered had been replaced by larger, less aesthetically pleasing ones. The cars that filled the streets were terribly small with some defying description. The windows of the various shops were filled with all manner of things, some of which baffled her. Even the boutiques were filled with clothes that seemed incredibly immodest and if she could, would have blushed to be seen wearing in public.
Her mores didn’t seem to be the norm, though. As she moved along the sidewalks, she noticed people wearing an incredible variety of clothing, some quite revealing. Most seemed to favor some form of blue jeans with undershirts of all colors, many with vulgar images emblazoned on them. She had seen some blue jeans for sale in one of the boutiques, ripped and uneven in color. Who would want to buy such a thing? The price, though, had to be a misprint. Seventy-five dollars for something clearly second hand and ill used? Sarah could understand that clothing prices would have increased over the last half century, but not for something like that.
As odd as she found contemporary apparel, hers was apparently as odd to the people around her. Once she’d awakened, she’d put on her best dress so that when she found Charles, he’d be pleased at her appearance. Somehow, though, her attire was drawing not only stares, but comments as well, some of them quite rude.
‘Maybe she’s a cast member from a Broadway play.’
‘Hey honey, isn’t that June Cleaver….no, wait, Marion Cunningham, maybe.’
‘Hey sugar, this is my territory…..get your dolled up ass out of here.’
As she approached the Metropolitan Opera House, memories of being with Charles, listening to Mozart’s ‘The Marriage of Figaro’ or ‘Cosi fan Tutte’, brought a smile to her face. Here, at least, was something from her past that couldn’t have changed.
But it had.
The old building she’d remembered was gone, although its modern replacement was breathtaking. The interior of the building was visible through huge, arched windows. Mosaic images could be seen on either side, with a magnificent chandeliers in the center. In front of the building was a fountain, spraying water far into the air. But the water on her face wasn’t from the fountain; her tears were for herself and for the city that had grown into something she barely recognized.
No wonder Charles had despaired; in the half century she’d been frozen in time, he’d outgrown her. She was an anachronism, a reminder of a time and place that no longer existed. Sarah felt an intense, burning anger; if her father hadn’t interfered, she wouldn’t have had to run away that night. Her turning, her failed turning, had been rushed and it was all her father’s fault.
An older gentleman approached her. “Are you alright, miss? Are you lost?”
Brushing the tears from her face, Sarah smiled meekly. “Yes…it appears I am. I’m trying to get to Park Avenue and I’ve apparently made a wrong turn.”
“Ah, that you have, although Park Avenue isn’t that far from here. Cutting through Central Park is the quickest way, but I’d not advise it at this time of night, certainly not to a refined young lady such as yourself. There are things that lurk in the Park, even during the day. At night…well, let’s just say you wouldn’t want to encounter them. Perhaps I should call you a cab?”
“I’ve lost my purse as well. Perhaps if you would walk me to the edge of the Park, then give me directions, I’ll find my way.”
The gentleman agreed, and within a few minutes, they’d arrived at their destination. It didn’t take much for Sarah to convince him to escort her through to the other side. Once deep within the park, Sarah stopped and looked around.
“Miss, why have you stopped? We’re only halfway through and frankly, I regret my decision to bring you through here. It really isn’t safe.”
Sarah turned to face the man, her eyes silver orbs in the darkness. “No, it isn’t. But you were right about one thing; there really are things you wouldn’t want to encounter in the Park, and I’m one of them.”
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The Streets of New York
‘Can’t take your call, leave a message.’
Josef slammed the phone shut, swearing under his breath as he did so. If Mick's phone was off, he must already be in the air.
For all the good it will do me. By the time he lands and gets out of the airport, I’ll hopefully have found Sarah and brought her home. Then what? I can’t stay in New York forever. The only thing I can do is bring her back to LA once she’s adjusted. Then …..
Blaring horns interrupted Josef’s thoughts. Traffic had come to a standstill and Sarah had nearly a two hour lead on him. If she was heading to her father’s place, she could already be there by now. If it wasn’t a threat to the community’s security, he’d be just as happy to have her dispense with the old bastard. But if she was feral….God, not even Whitley deserved that kind of death.
Josef told his driver he’d cover the rest of the distance on foot, but to follow with the car. One way or another, when this was all over, he was going to need it.
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Central Park
Sarah was almost home now and calmer now that she’d fed again. The thrill of the second kill was even more incredible than the first! The blood of prey paralyzed by their own terror was just so sweet, intensifying her desire for more. She wondered why Charles had never told her about this aspect of feeding. From what she could recall, he fed from humans, willing ones, but then left them alive. Why he’d choose to do deny himself the pleasure of draining a human dry was beyond her.
After dumping her chivalrous escort’s body in a pond, Sarah exited the Park and made her way up East 61st Street. It hadn’t been a surprise to learn that her father lived in the same Park Avenue apartment she’d fled more than fifty years ago. John Whitley, if nothing else, was a creature of habit, one with rigid rules and a narrow vision of life. She remembered the day they moved to Park Avenue, a day her father had noted that he’d ‘arrived’. At the time, she hadn’t understood, but it didn’t take long to learn that once John Whitley wanted something, he got it, and once obtained, he never let it go.
Her father had married into money and used his wife’s social standing to further his success. For most of her childhood, Sarah saw her father only briefly and as he wanted to be seen; a kind, loving father and husband who cherished his family. In hindsight, she realized her mother had shielded her from her father’s darker side. Once Sarah fell in love with Charles Fitzgerald, she found her father could be as monstrous as he accused Charles of being, especially when he learned his wife had been complicit in their affair. She could still hear their argument when he’d learned of his wife’s duplicity.
‘How dare you be a party to this deception! You know my wishes. Sarah is to keep away from that mongrel.’
‘John, let her go. She loves Charles….’
‘Loves him? She’s too young to know anything of love! She’ll stay away from him or by God….’
‘You’ll what, John? Lock her in her room like Rapunzel? Sarah’s twenty-one. Legally, you can’t stop her.’
‘Legalities be damned! She’s my daughter and I’ll stop her for her own good. Fitzgerald isn’t the kind of man she should even be seen with, let alone marry.’
‘Why? Because his family is unknown or because he won’t further your advancement?’
‘No. Because he’s dangerous. I can feel it.’
‘Perhaps because he’s not afraid of you? John, listen to me. Times have changed. Sarah is a bright, vibrant young woman who won’t be married off to someone she doesn’t love.’
‘Like you were?’
‘Yes! That’s why I know if you persist in keeping her from the man she loves, you’ll lose your daughter, and you’ll never get her back.’
Her father hadn’t listened to reason, storming off to his bedroom, one he didn’t share with his wife. That’s when Sarah realized she had to run away with Charles before her father could prevent it. She knew Charles was reluctant to turn her, but the time had finally arrived. She had to make him see that she wasn’t afraid, that she wanted to spend eternity with him. That night, Sarah packed her bag, and waited for her parents to fall asleep. Creeping into her mother’s room, she kissed the older woman gently without waking her, then left her diary on the nightstand. Once her mother read it, she’d know that her daughter had found the happiness that she’d been denied.
Arriving at the Park Avenue apartment building, Sarah noticed a doorman was stationed at the entrance to keep what her father described as ‘riff-raff’ out of the building. She might be able to talk her way past him, but that was a chance she didn’t want to take. Circling around to the side of the building, there was a locked service entrance, one she would use when she’d slip away to see Charles. Smiling to herself, Sarah withdrew a key from her pocket, knowing the odds of it still fitting were slight. Surprisingly, the key fit. While much of her beloved city had changed, this little piece of it hadn't. Sarah smiled to herself as she climbed the back stairway; before the morning’s light, she would find her beloved Charles and together they would make John Whitley pay for the pain he had caused them both.
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Park Avenue
Josef picked up Sarah’s scent as soon as he neared Whitley’s apartment building, leading him right to the service entrance they’d both used while she still lived here. Her scent was strong here telling him he was only minutes behind her. Racing up the stairwell, Josef didn’t need Sarah’s scent to know where she was going.
Home. No, this was never home. This was where she was imprisoned, where she escaped from her unhappiness. She left here for you, for the lifetime of love you promised her.
The door to Whitley’s apartment was ajar. Opening it carefully, Josef could see the body of a male nurse lying on the floor, his head at an unnatural angle.
Not good. Not good at all. Sarah could have knocked this guy out easily, but she chose to kill him. What the hell has she done to her father?
His question was soon answered. Following Sarah’s voice, Josef silently made his way toward Whitley’s bedroom. There, he found Sarah sitting on her father’s bed, holding his body close to her own, rocking him gently as the old man sobbed uncontrollably.
“Sarah, my Sarah….all these years, I thought you dead. Where have you been, child?”
“Not far from here, Father, not far at all.”
“The monster held you captive, then, and you finally escaped him?”
“I did escape the monster, Father, but it was you, not Charles. Charles was to take me as his eternal bride, something you tried to prevent.”
Something in his daughter’s voice worried the old man. Pulling away, he looked closely at her face. “I tried to protect you, child, from making a hideous mistake. I knew the man was dangerous. If I had only known then what he was, I’d have destroyed him myself. Another has now accomplished that task for me.”
“No, Father, you failed there as well. Charles lives, don’t you my love?”
Josef emerged from the shadows, his eyes riveted on the face of his beloved. To see her awake was a joy he’d despaired of. To see the madness in her eyes, though, broke his heart.
Holding out his hand, Josef pleaded. “Sarah, you don’t want your father’s blood on your hands. The stench of death surrounds him; let nature take its course. Please, come home with me.”
“Ah, but I do want his blood, and not just because he tried to keep me from you. He made my mother’s life miserable from the day he married her until the day she died. For that and all his other sins, he must pay.”
The old man trembled. “No! I loved your mother and her death broke my heart, just as yours once had.”
Sarah leapt to her feet flinging her father back onto the bed. “Liar! You didn’t love her at all! You used her just like you were going to use me. She provided a means to success you’d never have achieved otherwise. Marrying me off to the son of some blue blooded associate would have served you well, even if it made me miserable.”
“No, Sarah….I would never have you marry against your will!”
Sarah mimicked her mother’s voice “’Would you lock her in her room like Rapunzel, John?’ I heard you arguing that night, with Mother doing her best to make you see reason. But you wouldn’t have any of it. That’s why I ran off that night. I had to find Charles before you could stop us.”
“And what has he done to you? He’s taken my beautiful, innocent child and made her into a monster like himself.”
“No, Father, if you see me a monster, you see only a reflection of yourself.”
“No!! Fitzgerald is responsible for what you’ve become!! For that crime, he will die tonight.”
Whitley drew a revolver from beneath his pillow and pointed it at Josef. “I know what kills your kind, monster! You’ve escaped fire and stake, but you’ll not escape silver.”
As the gun fired, Josef easily moved out of the way. Sarah, however, feared for her lover and ran to where he’d been standing. The bullets found their target, just not the one intended.
“Sarah!!” Josef caught his lover before she hit the ground. “Sarah! Can you hear me? Sarah!!”
At the sound of his voice, her eyelids fluttered open. “Charles…I had to find you….I couldn’t.…let you…. leave me again. I knew…you’d never…..come back.”
“No!! I was coming back! I was going to take you home with me to LA….I was going to find a way…”
“Charles, tell me….tell me you still love me.”
“Sarah, I never stopped loving you!” Josef kissed his dying lover, determined to save her. “I’ve got to get you out of here. I’ve got a friend, a doctor that can help you.”
Josef pulled out his phone, and instructed his driver to meet him by the service entrance. Gathering Sarah in his arms, Josef stood, only to hear the click of the revolver again.
“You’re not going anywhere, monster!”
“For the love of God, Whitley, your daughter is dying! I can help her, but you’ve got to let us leave.”
“How dare you speak of God!! My daughter died a long time ago. It’s time to let monster you made her die as well.”
“Sarah’s not a monster!! You’re her father!! How can you do this to her?”
“I’m setting her free, and when she dies, you’ll be next.”
Whitley raised the gun again, his hand shaking with the effort. Josef fled the room, holding Sarah close, confident that Whitley couldn’t hit him.
He needn’t have worried; the shot never came. Glancing back into the room, Josef saw that Whitley had fallen back against the pillow, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling, blood trickling from his lips. The gun lay next to him on the bed, now free of his feeble grasp. The old man had died as he had lived – angry and hate-filled.
Josef kissed the top of Sarah’s head. “Stay with me, Sarah! I’m taking you home and I swear, I’ll never leave you again.”
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301 Waverly Place – a few hours later
Only days after he’d left, Mick found himself back at the townhouse that held so many secrets about a man he loved and thought he knew. As soon as he landed, Mick connected with his friend and from the sound of Josef’s voice, the PI knew he’d arrived too late.
Jonas Weatherly greeted Mick, introducing himself as an old friend and Sarah’s physician. As much as he could, Jonas relayed the events of the last few hours, then led Mick to Sarah’s bedchamber. There he left the young vampire, hoping he could console their mutual friend, having failed to do so himself.
Knocking gently, Mick opened the door, finding the room dark, save for flickering candlelight. The medical equipment and all of the other furniture had been removed; Sarah alone remained, lying upon her bed, as beautiful as ever. The oily aroma surrounding her, though, told Mick that Sarah’s bed would soon serve a grim purpose.
Josef stood nearby, holding Sarah’s hand in his. The sorrow and shame surrounding his friend nearly overwhelmed Mick. He’d never seen Josef like this before, completely and utterly devastated. The man he knew had always been solid, never letting anything or anyone get to him. What Mick was seeing now was neither the cocky businessman nor the powerful head of the LA vampire community. The Josef before him was simply a broken-hearted man, one who had lost a woman he loved not once, but twice in his lifetime.
Mick’s silent presence was a welcome balm to wounds Josef knew would never fully heal. His friend would stand there, a silent confessor, simply because he knew that’s what Josef needed. Somehow, Mick always seemed to know what Josef needed.
“When I turned Sarah and she didn’t come back to me, I thought God was punishing me for all my very real sins. I could accept that. What I couldn’t understand or accept was why God was punishing her as well. Sarah’s only sin was falling in love with the wrong man. Why should she be trapped in some vampiric Purgatory just for loving me?”
Josef stroked Sarah’s cheek with his free hand. “Remember I told you that I’d been made a vampire just so I could live long enough to meet Sarah? I know now that she was trapped in limbo as a test of my love. She never stopped loving me, Mick. She lived for those few precious days I could spare her. Her fear of losing my love brought her back to life.”
“You never stopped loving her, either.”
“No, but I nearly let my fear of what she could do to me, to all of us, become more important than my love for her. I was going to bring her back to LA, so that I could keep her safe, at least that’s what I told myself. What I was really doing was keeping us safe. I couldn’t take a chance that Whitley or anyone else could find her, and through her, find us. She knew, Mick. Somehow, she knew something was wrong. She awakened so that she could find me and make it all right again.”
Josef raised Sarah’s fingers to his lips before laying her hand down. The flicker of candlelight against a golden glint wasn’t lost on the PI. Josef lost more than a woman he loved this night; he’d lost his wife as well.
“I brought Sarah home as quickly as I could, but I lost too much time arguing with Whitley and fighting the god damned traffic. God, I hate this city! By the time I got her home, Jonas did what he could, but the silver had poisoned her beyond recovery. For the second and last time, Sarah died in my arms.”
“Josef…”
Josef spun on is friend. “Don’t tell me it’s not my fault!! I knew better than to get involved with a human, but once I did, I let my fears keep me from being what Sarah wanted most, a man who would love her for all eternity. I loved her, but it took her desperation to get me to try and turn her. If I hadn’t been so damned afraid and tried sooner, maybe she’d still be with me today.”
Mick just stood there, a priest to the penitent. Only his wasn’t the forgiveness Josef was seeking.
“We were supposed to get married, ya know? Leave New York and start over somewhere new. Then, when I was sure she was ready, I was going to turn her. When she came to me that night, afraid her father might stop us, I let her talk me into turning her first. She said we could be married later when we got away from her father. Neither of us ever thought it would take so long.”
Josef raised Sarah’s fingers to his lips once again, kissing the golden band. “Before she died, I put her wedding ring on her finger and told her she never lost my love and never would. After so many failures, I finally got something right.” Josef lowered Sarah’s hand, then kissed her softly on the lips. “Good-bye, my love. Forgive me.”
Josef took a flickering candle from the nightstand. For a long moment, he stood there, tears streaming down his face, his hand shaking as he willed himself to do what he knew he must. Before he could, Josef felt a strong hand on his shoulder, with another taking the candle from his own.
“No man should have to do this to the woman he loves.”
Soon, all that remained of Sarah were her ashes, and the voice of Charles Fitzgerald was silenced forever.
And poor Josef, losing her twice. 
We didn't want to make anyone cry, but Sarah's story is indeed a sad one. When LisaN gave me the outline of the story, which focused on Sarah waking, then wandering the streets of New York, one of the things she worried about was what happened to her. The only maddening mention we have of her after 'Sleeping Beauty' is the dedication of the Sarah Whitley Memorial Stadium, key word being memorial. Lisa was worried about having Josef go through the agony of destroying his feral fledgling, so we came up with the idea of having her death at the hands of her father, then having her father die as well.
Yeah, this ending ties up so many loose ends with both Sarah's death and her father's. Even if she hadn't gone feral, I'm not entirely sure how she would have reacted to the man Charles became. Josef is just a bit more bohemian than she remembers Charles being.