Author's note: This is a sort of conglomeration of half-formed themes, but given the deplorable paucity of fan fiction for this movie, I thought I'd offer it as my humble contribution anyway.

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Human Things

The strange thing about being a vampire is that the sex drive completely disappears. Contrary to the assumption of nearly a century of horror movie remakes, cheesy romance novels, and fetishism, being a vampire is decidedly unsexy.

Vampires still form relationships – and they can still end badly, as Chris and his wife prove – but more out of desire for companionship than anything else. Scientists link this to the lack of need for sexual reproduction, but whatever reason, Edward Dalton finds it oddly appropriate. What's dead has no business pretending to be alive.

So when he tells Audrey that she feels warm, he means nothing more that what he says. He's been cold as the grave for ten years, and she feels like a living thing. He wants to feel that way again. He's willing to risk his unlife for the chance. Audrey is beautiful, but he can only appreciate it in a purely aesthetic way. He has no poetic perceptions of her as his redemption.

Elvis described being cured like lightning jump starting his heart. Edward doesn't quite know how to describe it. It's like lightning, yes, but also like coming out of a trance or waking up from a dreamless sleep. It's like breaking through a barrier from nothingness into something. For Edward, it is also slow and agonizing. He imagines it's what being born feels like.

He barely has time to register the warmth returning to his body before his is submerged in cold water, hiding from his former brethren. In actuality, the water is probably only lukewarm, but to a newborn it is freezing. Audrey holds him as he tries to control his shivering, and the warmth of her hands now means something else entirely.

When the danger has passed for the moment and he is dry and dressed again, the first thing he does is go outside. The sun is harsh on his eyes at first, but slowly they adjust to the brightness. After ten years of darkness and shadows, the sunlight on his face is like ambrosia. Audrey takes his hand and he wants to thank her, but there isn't time, because night is coming and they have to move.

The next few days are a frenzy of movement. After rescuing Audrey and losing Frankie and escaping from the city, they drive east, taking turns napping in the back seat of Elvis's car. When Edward's turn comes he offers to forego it, but the others insist, and it is not until he lays down as best he can in the small space that he realizes how exhausted he is.

They find safe haven with a human resistance group in Texas. They are a disorganized bunch, but Audrey's natural leadership kicks in and whips them into shape fast enough. Soon they're recruiting from among the vampires, curing those who want it with a simple blood transfusion. He finally finds a quiet moment to thank Audrey for all that she has done for him, and she expresses her own reciprocated gratitude. Unexpectedly, the exchange ends in a kiss.

That kiss is not the last. On the contrary, it is merely the beginning.