“Eldrik, she’s looking better!” Johanna whispered excitedly.

The vampire returned her joyful smile with a sober frown. The girl lay sleeping; her skin had regained its color and the swelling in her throat had gone down.

“At least one of the remedies must be working,” Eldrik said impassively.

The girl coughed and slowly opened her eyes. She looked up at Johanna, then at Eldrik.

“You... you're the doctor, aren't you?” she asked hesitantly.

“Yes, he is,” Johanna answered after a moment of silence.

“He looks kind of scary.”

Johanna burst out laughing, drawing a confused look from Eldrik.

“Trust me, he's a lot more scared of me than I am of him,” Johanna told the girl, giving Eldrik a cheeky grin.

“How old are you, Mr. Doctor?” the girl asked curiously. “You have white hair, but... you don't look old.”

“Well, uh...” Eldrik fumbled, “I'm, uh... thirty-two.” He chuckled and added, “but I feel about two-hundred.”

“I need to go tell your family how you're doing,” Johanna said as she got up. “You just make sure you get enough sleep and keep taking your medicine.”

“I will!” the girl promised.

“I'll see if I can't stop by the Lady's orchard and bring back some peaches,” Johanna said with a wink as she stepped outside.

*   *   *

Johanna lay beside Eldrik, watching the moon's light creep around the edges of the leather curtain hanging over the window.

“Can you see it now?” she asked softly.

“What?” Eldrik asked blankly.

“The way forward,” Johanna replied, “the path to redemption.”

Eldrik paused, then laughed softly. “I guess I’m getting used to being ‘good’.”

Johanna smiled and laid her head on his shoulder.

“I owe you so much,” he said quietly, “for believing in me, for never giving up on me… for forgiving me.”

Johanna felt a bloody tear hit her face. She put her arm around Eldrik and held him tight.

“Look, Eldrik, this... this wasn't just for you.”

“What do you mean?”

“I just wanted a real friend, someone to share eternity with, someone I respected. When you came along, I… that’s part of why I held out on you.”

“That actually makes me feel better,” Eldrik said, relief in his voice, “knowing that it’s not entirely one-sided.”

Johanna smiled, falling asleep with her head on his shoulder.

*   *   *

“I haven’t coughed for two days now! Can’t I go home?”

The girl was up and about, looking healthy though a little cross at that moment.

“I just wanted to make sure that you're well,” Eldrik explained. “I don't want you spreading that cough to your family.”

“Alright,” the girl sighed.

Eldrik smiled and added brightly, “but I think you should be perfectly fine now.”

The girl beamed up at him, then turned to Johanna.

“Come on,” Johanna said with a smile, “I'll take you home.”

The girl turned to Eldrik and waved. “Thank you so much, Mr. Doctor! Can I come visit you again, even if I'm not sick?”

“Uh…” Johanna began, glancing at Eldrik.

“I’m quite busy,” Eldrik replied, summoning a warm smile and kneeling to the girl’s level, “but I sometimes visit the graveyard with the Gravedigger. Look for me there. Also,“ he gave the girl a serious look, “don’t tell anyone about my complexion, or my hair, or my teeth, okay. I’m very shy about my appearance.” He raised his finger sternly. “Don't tell anyone. Promise?”

“I promise,” the girl said solemnly.

Eldrik smiled and stood up.

“Thanks again, Mr. Doctor!” the girl called as she followed Johanna out the door.

Johanna paused to look back at Eldrik.

“Mr. Doctor,” she chuckled. “Suits you.”

Eldrik watched as she led the girl down the hill, past the graveyard and on towards Varvaros.

“Thank you, Johanna,” he whispered.

*   *   *

“She didn’t tell them about your appearance,” Johanna said as she pulled off her boots, “but she did tell them how kind you were and how your medicine cured her.”

“You don't need to patronize me,” Eldrik said, stretched out on his straw bed.

Johanna dropped her coat on the floor and sat down beside him. The hut was dark, the east-facing window letting in only faint reflections of light from the sun setting in the west.

“You’re becoming more like the Eldrik I knew,” Johanna said softly, studying his face in the half-light, “despite the white hair, the white skin… when I look at you now I recognize you.”

Eldrik chuckled dryly. “Really? The Eldrik you knew was innocent, naive, idealistic to a fault. And he never drank the blood of innocent children.”

“He never saved a girl’s life.”

Eldrik was silent.

“I’m still worried,” he said eventually.

“About what?”

“What happens when the bucket of blood runs out?” he asked, turning to look at her. “How are you going to explain that you need more  blood? People will start thinking you're a vampire. What if that girl tells people what I look like and they start wondering? What if more sick people come to see me and word gets out that…”

Johanna lay down and wrapped her arms around him.

“Whatever happens,” she said firmly, “I’ll be here to help you and protect you. I’m the Gravedigger, people respect me. Maybe we can finally show the world that not all vampires are evil.”

Eldrik let out a long sigh. “I’m still worried but… thank you.”

Johanna let go of him and lay back.

“Do you ever take that coat off?” she asked suddenly. “You seem to always be wearing it. You sleep in your boots, your coat, even your gloves are still on.”

“A habit I’ve developed from sleeping in the wilderness,” Eldrik replied. “when the whole world wants to put a stake through your heart, you can never be too prepared.”

“Well now you live in my house,” Johanna said authoritatively, “and my house is safe, so you can relax.”

Eldrik sighed and reluctantly got up, pulling off his gloves, boots and coat and dropping them in a pile beside Johanna's boots. He lay down again and glanced at Johanna.

“You do realize that your bed is free now, right?”

“Oh, yeah, um...” Johanna stammered, sitting up hurriedly.

“Not that I mind,” Eldrik added with a shrug, “but you'd be more comfortable. Up to you.”

“Eldrik...” Johanna began, then broke off.

Eldrik waited for a response. To his surprise, Johanna pulled her dress up over her head and tossed it on the floor. She sat next to him, completely naked, while Eldrik stared at her in bemusement. There was a long awkward silence.

“You know how I said I wanted a friend to spend eternity with,” Johanna began falteringly. She sighed in agitation and added, “look, I'm not saying we're not just friends or we can't be just friends, but... after everything we've been through... I feel this is a reward for both of us. But only if you feel that way too. It's not like I really, you know, love you. Of course I respect you, but...”

She broke off as Eldrik burst out laughing. Usually his laughter would be cynical or sarcastic, punctuating a wry observation on the grim nature of existence. But this laughter was one of the warmest and most genuine things she had ever heard from him.

“What the hell, I've done far stupider things, and following your advice seems to work out pretty well so go ahead, ravish me or whatever you intend to do.”

Johanna's face flushed with embarrassment and they both laughed.

“Get that shirt off then,” Johanna giggled.

Eldrik pulled off his shirt and lay back as Johanna crawled over on all fours. She could barely see him in the darkness so she laid her hands on his face, feeling the contours of his jaw and cheeks, tracing her thumbs over his lips. She slid her hand behind his head and leaned down, pressing her lips to his, feeling a sense of thrill at how deathly cold they were against her warm ones. Eldrik wrapped an arm around her waist and laid his other hand on the side of her face as they kissed. Breaking the kiss, Johanna ran her hand down the side of his torso, her sense of touch her only guide in the darkness.

“Forget about everything else,” she whispered as she reached down and began unfastening his belt, “forget about all your fears, forget about the past and the future. Just focus on this night. This moment.”