Armand looked uncertain, and then looked to Lestat for support.  Lestat nodded at this silent request and spoke up for the first time since Daniel had arrived.  
      “Daniel,” he said, “come here to me.” 
     Always when Lestat told Daniel to do something, Daniel usually obeyed without question.  But this time, something was terribly wrong.  He was beginning to become very concerned. 
     “Why?” he asked Lestat. 
     “Just come here,” Lestat ordered, “I'll show you everything you need to know.” 
     Daniel walked over to Lestat and sat down next to him.  “What do I need to do?” he asked. 
     “Just open your mind to me,” Lestat said, “And I'll do the rest.” 

     Although he was extremely nervous about this, Daniel was satisfied with Lestat's response, and he opened his mind to Lestat.  Lestat then proceeded to mentally inform Daniel of everything that had happened over the past few days. After a few minutes, Lestat terminated the mental contact. 

     Daniel looked up at Armand, completely stunned.  “She's here?” he asked, “In  New Orleans?  Right now?” 
     Armand nodded grimly, “I've seen her, and as Lestat showed you, he's seen her too....” Armand looked askance at Lestat, “....among other things.” 
     Lestat merely shrugged at this announcement, but Daniel turned to glare at him. 
     “Lestat, we will talk about that later,” he said, “but now, what am I going to do about her?  I haven't seen her for such a long time.”  He felt the tears come into his eyes.  Damn, but he hated being such a sap.  “I'm outta here,” he said, and he exited the room. 

     Daniel found his way to the courtyard and collapsed on a bench.  The sobs threatened, but didn't come.  He was full of wonder at the mere thought of her being so close to him after all of this time.  He couldn't believe it....she was HERE!  He wondered if he should see her at least once.  It had been such a long time—over twenty years.  Imagine that.  He pictured her as Lestat had seen her. She looked no different than she did when they were together.  In fact, she looked exactly the same.  This puzzled Daniel to no end.  How come she hadn't aged?  He then remembered what Lestat had shown him after he, damn him, had drank from her.  The wounds had closed as if she were....no, that was not it. Lestat had said that she had eaten a cheeseburger and fries with great gusto. That's my Jamie, he thought with a slight laugh, making a pig of herself in a fine dining room. 

     Suddenly he felt an urge that he hadn't felt in a long time, he wanted a cheeseburger and fries.  He heard a laugh come from behind him and a voice spoke, “Daniel, you would be sick if you did that.”  Louis. 
     Daniel turned around on the bench and looked at the beautiful, green-eyed one.  He pointed to the space beside him.  “Please,” he offered.  Louis sat down beside him and merely looked at him.  “They knew that you would need to talk to someone, and I got volunteered,” he said with a chuckle. 

     Daniel smiled at him, and said, “Louis, you would probably be only one I could talk to right about now.  Do you realize that I have the chance to see her again, and try to make things right?  It's not that I merely want to see her and talk to her—which I do, believe me—but it's that I have to see her.  I have to try to explain, and to make things right.  Can you imagine the guilt and sorrow I've had to live with for these past years?” 

     Louis looked at him with total sympathy.  “Daniel, of course I can.  I've lived with guilt for over 200 years, remember?”  He grinned at Daniel, who laughed delightedly.  Louis continued, “I lived with the guilt every day that my mother and sister were alive.  I wanted to show myself to them , but I knew if I did, I would make matters much, much worse for them.  I wanted their last memories of me to be happy ones, not memories of their son/brother as the demon-thing that I was, and am now.” 

     He paused, and Daniel said, “But you saw them right?  Even from afar?” When Louis nodded, he said, “Well, I haven't even done that.  I had to make it a complete break, because she knew me too well.  If I had left the slightest clue that I was still alive, she would have searched for me until the end.”  He paused, and at Louis' nod he went on, “I couldn't let her waste her life looking for me.  I loved her too much for that.” 

     Louis watched Daniel as he stood up to pace around the bench.  Daniel continued, “But do you want to know what really makes me upset?” 
Louis asked, “What is that, Daniel?  That she has moved on with her life?  But isn't that what you wanted?” 

     Daniel was surprised by Louis' insight, but he knew he shouldn't have been. 
Louis was very perceptive, and he had totally hit the mark.  Daniel answered, “Yes, I am upset that she moved on with her own life, and, yes, that was what I wanted,” he paused, before going on, “that was until I saw the image in Lestat's mind of she and him.  For one second, I wanted to kill him.  He was putting his hands all over my girl.” 

     Louis laughed delightedly.  “I am so glad that you still love her like that.  And honestly, I think that you definitely should go and see her.  It will do you both good in the long run.” 

     As they began to walk back into the flat, Daniel stopped suddenly.  Louis looked at him with a knowing smile.  “You want to see her tonight, do you not?” 
     Daniel nodded and said, “It's still early enough...dawn isn't for hours yet.” 

     Twenty minutes later, Daniel was standing outside of Jamie's window.  She was as beautiful as he remembered.  He knew that he could spend the rest of the night watching her, but she suddenly quickly sat up.  She looked towards the window—towards him. 

     And he began to do just that.  His touch was so soft I could barely feel it, but yet it sent shivers up and down my spine.  He removed my blouse, and his hands skimmed along the edges of my breasts.  I moaned softly. I watched as he pulled my shorts off.  He stroked his fingers up my legs, just stopping short of the notch between my legs.  I moaned with frustration.  He shushed me by saying, “We have plenty of time, my love.” 

     And then he began to rain kisses upon my face.  He dropped kisses on each one of my eyes.  He kissed along the side of my jaw.  He also planted soft butterfly kisses along the sides of my mouth, but he wouldn't kiss me directly. He ran his tongue along my ear, sending shivers up and down my spine.  All the time he was kissing me, his hand was driving me to distraction.  I felt his hands on my neck, my arms, and along my stomach.  He would stop just short of touching my breasts. 

     Finally, he kissed me.  It was a long, soft, drugging kiss.  I opened my mouth and felt his tongue go inside my mouth.  He might be taking charge tonight, but I was going to show him that I was letting him take charge.  I slid my tongue into his mouth, forcing his back.  Our tongues warred with each other, his pushing mine back into my mouth, and vice versa. I captured his tongue with my lips and sucked on it, and he would run his tongue along the inside of my mouth. 

     He broke off the kiss and left me.  I groaned with frustration, before feeling his weight on the bed again.  I opened my eyes and smiled at him.  He had removed his clothes and rejoined me.  I closed my eyes again and lost myself in the sensations.  I felt him brush the tops of my breasts with his lips. He traced circle around the tips of my breasts with his finger, but he wouldn't touch them.  I vowed that I would get even with him, and I told him as much.  He softly laughed at that. 

     I felt him straddle me, and as he did so, I felt the evidence of his arousal. He was magnificent.  He leaned over and finally kissed my nipples.  I arched into his touch, and he opened his mouth onto them.  His tongue lapped at it with the flat part of his tongue.  He suckled one nipple while his hand plucked at my other one.  He didn't leave any part of me untouched.  He touched and he stroked until I thought I was going to go out of my mind. 

     Finally his mouth left my breasts, and I felt his tongue going southwards.  He swirled his tongue around my navel, and I laughed a little.  I was ticklish there. He knew it too because I felt his smile against my skin.  He kissed his way down to notch between my thighs.  He parted my thighs with his hand, and touched me. My back arched high off of the bed.  His index finger played with the hard little nubbin of my desire.  I sobbed with delight, and then I gasped harshly when I felt his tongue touch me there.  He licked and probed until I was almost insensate with feeling.  Suddenly my muscles tightened, and then I burst into shards of pleasure. 

     As I was coming down from that wonderful high, I suddenly felt his mouth on mine.  He kissed me deeply, and I felt him in between my thighs, poised and ready.  I lifted my hips in welcome, and he drove into me.  In my mouth, his tongue was mimicking the actions of his lower body.  I tore my mouth away from him and moaned in a low voice.  He forced me back to his mouth, but this time I was the aggressor.  My tongue went into his mouth, and then I surprised him by flipping him onto his back. 

     I smiled down at my lover, and then proceeded to set the tone.  I rode him fast, which drove him crazy, and I rode him slow, which caused him to growl in pleasure.  His hands were on my breasts, kneading them roughly.  I reached back behind me and stroked and cupped him.  His hips shot up, sending spirals of pleasure through me, and it just about lifted us both off of the bed.  I suppose he had had enough, because all of a sudden, I found myself on my back again.  “Let's finish it,” I groaned.  He began to roughly move inside me, and I felt the pressure building up in me.  Finally, I came with a force that nearly rendered me unconscious.  I heard him groan as he reached his pleasure's peak. I felt him spill into me, which caused me to explode again.  I sobbed as I reached for him.