So my family and I are on spring break. We're spending a long weekend up in the hill country. Last night we got to our hotel room and there were alot of problems with it, which prompted this little fic. I hope you enjoy it! As always, don't forget to review telling me what you think!

"We don't have a choice, Nikola," Helen said in a matter of fact way. "I'm gross, tired, and just want a bed to sleep on for the night."

"But Helen, hotels are so dirty!" Nikola whined.

"Not all hotels," she countered.

"I don't think we're going to be finding any five star hotels in this hell hole."

It was true. They were miles away from a big city, out in the backwoods of Louisiana. They'd come here to capture a rare species of abnormal. It was suppose to be a relatively easy mission. Unfortunately their information had been inaccurate and the creature had alluded them. They'd spent all day in the swamps with no luck. They were both grungy, sore, and grumpy.

"Nobody asked you to tag along, Nikola. You volunteered, remember? I was perfectly capable of handling this one on my own."

"Trust me, Helen, it won't happen again," he grumbled.

He'd only wanted to spend some time with her away from the rest of her team. She was always so busy; they hardly ever got any time together just the two of them. Now that he was human again, he wanted to be with her as much as possible while he still could. He no longer had an eternity to put it off for, his days were numbered now. It made a man realize what was important in life. And for him, that was Helen Magnus.

"It's only one night Nikola, I think you'll survive."

He snorted. Didn't she know the things that went on in hotels? They were so filthy. He never used them, not unless it was an absolute emergency and even then he had a five star minimum requirement. They'd be lucky to find anything with one star in this town. He didn't even know what the name of it was, not that he cared. If he had any say in the matter, he'd never be visiting again. They'd already driven thirty minutes just to get here and there was no telling how far away the next town would be.

The town only boasted one small motel, not even a hotel, the Quick Stop Motel. Nikola cringed just at the sight of it. It was old and run down and he could only imagine the unsanitary condition of the inside.

Helen sighed as she pulled into the parking lot, which was surprisingly full. She wasn't exactly pleased with the situation either, but what other options did they have? She was too tired to keep driving, especially since there was no way to know if they'd find something better anytime soon, and she really didn't want to sleep in the car. Her body ached and all she wanted to do was take a shower and lay down.

"I'll go get us rooms," she told him before stepping out of the car.

The lobby was dimly lit and small. A young girl sat behind the desk, playing computer games and blowing bubbles with her gum. She didn't even look up as Helen came in.

"Excuse me, my friend and I are looking for rooms for the night," she said politely, trying to keep the irritation out of her voice.

"We're full," the girl informed her absently.

"What?" She couldn't believe it. Who would want to stay here if they weren't desperate? "Is there something going on?"

"Ya, there's a big festival goin on all weekend. You ain't gonna be able to find nothin fer miles. We're gettin the spillover from the next town over."

Well that explained it.

"You don't have anything left? Price isn't an issue," she assured her.

"Lemme check," the girl sighed.

She typed on her keyboard for a few seconds, smacking on her gum loudly. Helen had to fight to keep her face neutral. Kids these days had absolutely no manners.

"You're in luck, lady. We got one room left."

"We'll take it!"

She would have preferred not to have to share with Nikola, but one room was better than nothing at all. She'd just have to make do. She paid the girl and took the room keys gratefully. Back in the car, Nikola was still pouting. Between him and the girl she was rapidly losing her patience. Obviously this wasn't the greatest situation, but she was trying to make the best of it. He could at least to do the same.

"We got the last room," she informed him as she drove around to the back of the motel.

They were on the second floor, room 248. Thankfully she'd thought to pack an overnight bag, having learned decades ago that things rarely went according to plan and it was best to always to be prepared. Her first impression of the room was that it spelled like mildew, never a good sign. Flipping on the light she groaned, there was only one very small bed. It couldn't have at least been a king bed? Something big enough that if they had to share there would at least be plenty of room for the both of them. This bed looked more like a full size, capable of holding two people, but only just barely.

"Looks like we'll be bed buddies tonight, Helen," Nikola said, the faintest hint of cheerfulness finally starting to creep into his voice over the situation.

She kept reminding herself that it was only for one night. It wasn't like they'd never shared a bed before. They'd had their fair share of nights together, platonic and otherwise. But she really wasn't in a very tolerant mood at the moment and he hadn't exactly been pleasant to be around lately. After losing his vampire abilities he did alot of sulking about, more so than usual, and it got old quickly.

"I'm going to take a shower. I'm filthy."

"Well I know you are, Helen, but I rather like it when you get dirty," he quipped.

"Don't start, Nikola."

He just leered at her. It was going to be a long night and she could only imagine all the innuendos he'd get out of them sharing the bed. She'd be hearing about this for weeks. But at least he wasn't pouting anymore.

Moving to the bathroom, she fiddled with the knobs on the shower trying to get the water going. A very weak stream of water spluttered out of the shower head, the pipes groaning ominously in the walls. There wasn't any hot water either. But she was so dirty that she didn't care. All she wanted was to wash all the grunge off her body. She stood under the pathetic trickle of water, trying to get herself as clean as possible. There was no soap or shampoo for her to use so she could only rinse the grime out of her hair and off her skin. By the time she stepped out of the shower she was shivering from the cold. Of course, there was only one towel which was rough and scratchy as she dried off. When she tried to wrap it around herself so she could go back out into the room where her bag was she groaned. It was so small it didn't even wrap fully around her body, a good three inches of gap remained, and it was barely wide enough to cover the essential areas. She adjusted it so that it covered as much of her as possible, shifting it so that the gap was at her side, but even then Nikola would be privy to more than she wanted him to be. He was going to have a field day with this.

He was refusing to sit down or touch anything, afraid of all the germs sure to be crawling across every surface of this place. He was pacing, trying to work out how he'd sleep with the least amount of contact to the bed as possible. Now that he was human again he actually required sleep so staying up all night wasn't exactly an option, especially after the exhausting day they'd had. When Helen came out of the bathroom his jaw dropped. Her hair was still dripping and she was shivering, but the shocking thing was the tiny scrap of a towel (if you could even call it that) she held tightly around herself. It was doing a terrible job of covering her. He could feel himself growing hard looking at her like that. He shifted uncomfortably on his feet, not really sure what to do.

"Stop gawking, Nikola, and hand me my bag," she snapped, pointing to the small travel bag still by the door.

He grabbed the bag in question and took it over to her, trying to avert his eyes but not really succeeding. He just couldn't help it, she was just so beautiful. She snatched the bag away from his outstretch arm before turning on her heel and retreating back into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. He jumped at the sound and then chuckled. She was so cute when she was flustered.

Back in the bathroom, Helen riffled through her bag until she found a pair of underwear and her pajamas. She pulled on the soft cotton pants and donned the little tank top. They were very comfortable, but not something that she would have worn if she'd known she'd have company. The pants road low on her hips, revealing a nice strip of skin below her figure hugging tank top. Still chilled from her miserable shower, her nipples stood out through her thin top. This just kept getting better and better. Not seeing a blow dryer anywhere, she toweled her hair dry as best she could until it at least wasn't dripping anymore. She threw the offending towel on the ground by the tub, frustrated by this whole day.

He still hadn't touched anything when she came back out again. She knew he had a thing with germs, but he was being ridiculous. He couldn't pace all night, at least not now he was human again. He'd eventually settle down, but his anxiety wasn't helping her own.

"For god's sake, Nikola, stop that incessant pacing!" She snapped, going over to the bed.

He stopped, but then he was just standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. It was even worse than the pacing. He just stood there staring at her. She could feel his eyes racking over her body and it was doing things to her. It sent tingles across her skin and she could feel her nipples harden even more under his gaze. She cursed her body for betraying her.

She found the TV remote on the table by the bed and picked it up, hoping for a distraction. She pointed it towards the TV and pressed the on button, but nothing happened. She tried again with no result. Apparently nothing in this damn room worked properly. She cursed and threw the remote back down on to the night table. She sat down on the edge of the bed, head in her hands. She was so tired and so frustrated. Nothing about this day had gone like it was supposed to.

"Helen…" Nikola said softly, taking a step toward her.

"Don't," she warned.

He stopped, hand still outstretched toward her in concern.

"You should go shower. I refuse to share a bed with you like that," she told him absently, waving her hand in the direction of the bathroom.

"I didn't bring any other clothes," he admitted sheepishly.

She sighed, of course he hadn't.

"I don't care, I'm not sleeping beside someone that smells as bad you do. You can put your clothes over on the chair for tomorrow and just sleep in your boxers or something. But your filthy ass isn't getting in this bed until you've showered."

He nodded silently, moving towards the bathroom. She considered warning him about the temperature, but decided to just let him figure it out for himself. If she had to be miserable then so did he.

Nikola didn't mind the coldness of the shower. After seeing Helen in nothing but that tiny towel and then those still revealing pajamas, he needed something to help him cool off. He didn't think she realized just how sexy she was. If she did then she was just being cruel. He'd had the privilege of sharing her bed a few times over the years, but she was like a drug, he always wanted more.

Stepping out of the shower, he grabbed the discarded towel on the floor. He tried not to think about it as he dried himself off. If he did, he'd be in trouble. Not only was everything about this place filthy and it had been on the ground, but this towel had rubbed over Helen's naked body. He forced himself to keep his mind studiously blank and dried himself as quickly as possible. He pulled his boxers back on and gathered up the rest of his clothes before exiting the bathroom.

Helen was lying down, not having anything else to do. She was curled up on her side under the covers, her eyes shut even though he knew there was no way she was asleep already. He laid his clothes out across the back of the solitary chair in the room. He moved back over to the bed and just stood there looking down at it. His mind pictured the millions of tiny germs that small bed could contain. And he was supposed to sleep there? With no protection but his boxers? His bare skin would be touching that. He shuddered.

"Just get in bed, Nikola," Helen grumbled, not opening her eyes or moving in any way.

"Do you know the things that go on in hotel beds, Helen? Do you realize how filthy that thing probably is?"

"Yes, Nikola, I am aware of what typically happens in hotel beds, especially in a place like this," she sighed in exasperation. "But it's this or you stand there all night. So just shut up and get in."

She finally moved, her hand patting the bed behind her and then holding the covers open for him. He hesitated a moment longer before giving in. He really was exhausted and wouldn't be able to stay on his feet much longer. And how often did Helen invite him into her bed, even if it was only to sleep. There was no way he was missing out on this opportunity.

She felt him climb into the bed, the mattress sinking down on his side. He didn't lie down though, just sat there. She figured he didn't know exactly what to do. The bed was so small that there was no way they wouldn't be touching somehow any way that they slept. He was clearly trying to figure out what would be the most appropriate position to take. For all his innuendos and lewd comments, he really was a gentleman at heart and would never do anything to make her uncomfortable. She opened her eyes and rolled over to be on her back so that she could look over at him. He smiled sheepishly down at her and she couldn't help smiling back.

"Been awhile since we've done this, eh?" she said, trying to make him more comfortable.

"Do you remember all those nights you'd sneak me into your room after your father had gone to sleep?"

She laughed at the memory.

"Those are some of my fondest memories," he admitted quietly.

They had been so close back then. He had been her very best friend. They would stay up for hours talking about nothing and everything, eventually falling asleep in each other's arms. It had been purely platonic and friendly, the sexual stuff not coming until later. Everything had been simpler back then. They hadn't yet had all the years of pain and hardship to twist them into the cynical and guarded people they were today. She missed those days.

"Mine too, Niko," she told him honestly, using the little pet name she'd called him back then.

They smiled at each other for a minute. He reached over to stroke her cheek softly and she leaned into his touch. She took his hand in her own, twining their fingers together, and pulled it around her waist, forcing him down beside her. He settled behind her and she snuggled back into him enjoying the weight of his strong arm around her. He curled his body around her's, holding her closely to his chest. She hummed in contentment.

"Goodnight, Niko," she whispered, sleep pulling at her tired body.

"Night, ljubav," he whispered back.

The last thing she felt before slipping into the land of dreams was his lips on her neck.