Yes this is the prequel to Reverberating Footsteps but you don't necessarily have to read them in any order. This was requested by AllieMcD and so here it is! It took a while to write, lol, mostly written in spare time but I finally finished it. Anyway, thanks for reading and please review! Hopefully I will update Reverberating Footsteps soon!

Disclaimer: READ MY GENERAL ONE. But yeah, don't own it. Sorry. Nope. Nada.

Onward!

Welcome to the Undead

Prequel to Reverberating Footsteps

Silver bullets wouldn't kill a vampire, but it hurt like hell and was generally kind of like a poison to their system. Blood coated Mick's back and side from where the bullets had torn through him chaotically, the red liquid so tempting even though he knew he couldn't drink his own, dead blood. It would taste awful and wouldn't do him any good, as the blood that generally coated his veins wasn't living, wasn't alive like he needed it to be. After finishing off the criminal that had done this to him, the guy he'd been tracking because of a string of robberies someone had come to him about, he stalked out of the building, hunger throbbing loudly in his ears. He could barely stand it, could barely maneuver his legs enough to keep moving forward. He just had to make it back to his apartment without giving into his hunger. There was plenty of blood waiting for him there.

Except there was a fog beginning to overtake his mind. The vampire within him, the side of himself he generally hated with a throbbing passion, was breaking free, taking over, and he just kept begging for a few more minutes, pleading with his human half to please hold out until he could make it back to his apartment. Everything would be fine if he could just make it home. Or possibly to Josef's, but they were both about equal distance from here so it probably didn't matter.

There didn't seem to be any people in the immediate area at this time of night, for which he was grateful. He didn't need that kind of temptation, not when his hunger was so great at the moment. He wasn't sure he would be able to fight it off for much longer, let alone if there was actually someone around to tempt him with their sweet, precious blood, the blood that his hunger was starving for…

No. He had to push those thoughts away. He couldn't give into them, couldn't let himself feed. He just had to keep going, just a little longer, and he would be able to make it home. Vampires moved quickly, after all, and he would be able to make it to the apartment in only a few short moments. Then he would find relief in the blood he kept in his refrigerator. He salivated just thinking about it as he felt his own, cold, dead blood race down his back as though dully seeping out of a corpse. His hunger roared up again and he shoved it back down, telling himself it would only take but a few small moments to get home in. Not that long at all, if he thought about it, but to his vampire hunger, it felt like an eternity of living hell.

Feed… his vampire side said to him, and he had to admit that the thought of feeding was rather tempting, but he could wait a little longer. Not that much further, after all.

Why couldn't he have figured out sooner that the guy was armed and dangerous? That he had a freakin' gun with silver bullets? Why silver? Because he'd stolen them from an antique shop that he'd robbed a few nights prior. That was just great. Why couldn't he have fit the pieces together sooner? Surely, if he stole the damn bullets in the first place, he had to have a gun to put them in? Sure, the guy was dead, but Mick hadn't fed. The alcohol he'd smelled throughout that room in the building had been enough to alert him that the guy had been beyond drunk, probably near alcohol poisoning, and blood like that certainly wasn't any good to a vampire. It wouldn't last long, as it was mostly liquid and not blood. Plus, it was mostly alcohol, which vampires couldn't taste or digest.

Just a little further… he thought to himself, struggling to urge himself onward. Just a little further and he would be in his apartment with his blood. Not much further…He just had to keep going, keep pushing himself…

But then someone exited a building and moved toward a black car that was parked along the side of the road. A cell phone was clasped in the person's hands, but they were already hanging up from their call, dropping the phone into their pocket. The scent of sweet blood echoed through Mick and before he knew what was happening, a red shield darkened over his mind, his hunger taking control of his vampire half.

For the next several minutes, all he knew was his hunger and the taste of fresh, warm, raw blood entering his mouth as he tore a gaping hole into someone's flesh, drinking for all that he was worth. His wounds closed easily and the lingering sting of the silver in the bullets dissipated, leaving him feeling mostly warm due to the blood. As he came back to himself, he found himself staring down at a gasping form, who was staring at him with dark, dim green eyes, quickly glazing over in death. For a moment, all he could do was stare, because he had done this. He had vowed to never feed off of a live person, to never rob someone of their life, and yet here he was, leaning over someone who lay gasping and dying.

And what was that? Mick swallowed down the warm blood in his mouth and looked at the person's paling face. Dark specks of blood rested on pale lips and for a moment, Mick wondered if they were just the guy's blood due to the cut along the man's throat…the cut Mick had made for his own drinking needs. He felt sickened at the thought but it was true and it had happened. Then he sniffed the air and no, that wasn't the guy's blood. It was his, from where he'd been bleeding due to the bullets, and as the guy's eyes rolled into the back of his head in death, Mick released a low curse.

He had killed a man…and cursed him into live as part of the living dead. Undead vampire. He had sworn to never turn anyone, to never darken their soul with this horrid life, and yet here he was, doing it now to this person. Logic said that he should just kill the guy now, rip out his throat or something so he wouldn't become one of the undead, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He had already robbed the guy unfairly of his human life, and he couldn't do the same to his vampire life as well. Guilt consumed him, raw and just, and he sat heavily next to the body, glaring down at the ground.

Why couldn't he have just waited a little longer? A few more minutes and he would have been at his apartment, free to drink as much as he wanted without consequence. But no, he'd gone and killed a man, and he couldn't forgive himself. He'd never turned anyone before, never killed anyone like this, and he didn't know what to do.

Josef, he thought, frowning. Josef will know what to do.

Josef Kostan was his best friend, and one of the oldest vampires he knew. He was around four-hundred-years-old. He would certainly know what to do, right?

Making up his mind, Mick grabbed hold of the body, which was still warm despite the loss of blood, and darted down the street as fast as his vampire legs could carry him.

Mick put the bloody person down on the floor of Josef's back room while the elder vampire watched him silently, his brown eyes bright and a brow raised delicately in question. "Why, hello, Mick," he said in a drawl, "such a pleasure to see you too. Nice of you to stop by. Oh, I'm fine, and how are you?"

"I turned someone," Mick blurted, wishing he could wash away the fact from reality, but he couldn't. He'd brought someone into this life and he needed to know what to do about it. Surely Josef had turned someone, right? He was old, after all, even by vampire standards, or at least Mick thought so.

"I see," Josef said thoughtfully, giving into a small pause. "Well, congratulations, Mick, it's a boy! Happy sire-hood now awaits you."

"This isn't funny, Josef," Mick snapped. "I turned him! What do I do?"

"You know what you do. You're his sire, so you look after him. Teach him our ways, or the Cleaner will come after both you and him." Josef shrugged. "You know the rules, Mick."

"But how do I be a sire?"

Josef sighed heavily. "Sometimes I forget how young you are." He shook his head. "I'll help you…for now. Just to get you started, but then you're on your own, otherwise he'll never listen to anyone. Understand?"

Mick nodded quickly. He just wanted to know what to do. He and his sire, which had been his previous wife, hadn't had a good relationship. He'd floundered at first, but thankfully had managed to get through things with Josef's help, which was partly what had created their strong friendship. He wanted to be a good sire, but he'd prayed he'd never sire anyone. Since he'd gone and brought someone into this life, he wanted to make this as easy as possible for them. He owed them that much, after all, since he'd taken away their life. Guilt gnawed at him but he shoved it aside for now. He could deal with that later - right now, this was what was important.

"How long ago did you kill him?" Josef asked casually, as though it were the most natural question to ask anyone. Mick flinched and went quiet for a moment, before he sighed.

"About twenty minutes ago," he said finally.

Josef nodded. "So he should be waking anytime now. He's going to be confused, and probably sore. Everything is going to be bright and loud at first, if you recall."

Mick remembered when he'd woken as a vampire that first time. He remembered that very clearly, so he nodded.

"Well, be ready for that. You're going to have to calm him. Yes, you - don't argue." Josef shook his head at him and he snapped his mouth shut, at least for the time being. "You're his sire and you need to establish that. Otherwise he'll never learn to listen to anyone. You guys can stay here for a while, and I'll help you as much as I can, but ultimately it's going to have to be you doing everything. You're his sire. Got it?"

Mick nodded slowly, still trying to wrap his head around everything.

"Good. He's going to have a lot of questions, so you're going to have to answer them."

Mick nodded again.

"Alright." Josef sighed. "He should be waking soon…I'm going to run down and get some blood, because he's sure to be hungry. Don't let him leave the room if he wakes before I get back." With that, he swiftly left the room without another word, causing Mick to sigh as he glanced back down at the person he'd killed, the person he'd turned and cursed with this life.

How could you do this to someone? his mind growled at him. Shaking his head, he sat next to the guy on the floor, watching him. It startled him when the guy suddenly sat up, gasping, his eyes flashing to that dark vampire red briefly before they settled back into a somewhat dark green color. "W-What the…?" the guy murmured, looking around as though in confusion. His hands came up to his neck, feeling around, which made Mick feel all the more guilty because the guy had been aware of what was happening to him when Mick had been feeding. The green eyes landed on Mick and for a moment, there was silence. Then the guy lunged at him, pulling a knife free from his left boot. Mick flinched and jumped away as he grabbed the man's wrist, stopping him.

"Stop," he said.

"You…! What the hell did you do to me?" The guy glared at him hatefully. "You're a vampire."

Mick paused because most people didn't believe that it was a vampire, even if they saw it with their own eyes. But then again, most people didn't have a damn knife tucked away in their boot and reach for it when they first woke up. "I am," Mick confirmed. "And I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to…attack you. I was just…hurt and…you came out, so…"

"So you thought you'd do the vampire thing and attack me? Why not kill me?" The guy paused for a moment and Mick glared at the ground guiltily. "You did, didn't you? You fucking turned me!"

Mick could only nod slowly. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't cut it! You turned me into a damn monster!" The guy flew at him again, knife ready to slice through the flesh of Mick's neck. Mick jumped out of the way and the guy followed through, rounding on him so quickly that Mick was momentarily caught off guard. Then he shoved the guy away from him, tearing the knife free from his grasp. The man was good, yes, and he had new vampire strength, but he was weak. He hadn't yet fed, and Mick had years on him as a vampire, years of being used to the advantages of this new strength.

"Okay, you two, knock it off," came Josef's voice as his friend entered the room, holding out two bags full of blood. The new vampire instantly turned, his eyes darkening at the scent of the sweet blood. "Here you go. Play nice, newbie." Josef handed the guy the blood and the man growled at him.

"I'm not eating that," he snapped, even though it was clear on his face and by his protruding new fangs that he was hungry. Starved, even. Mick knew what this felt like, and he knew what it was like to try and fight it. He also remembered the pain he'd felt upon waking, yet this guy seemed to be doing just fine. Either it was different for him, or he was accustomed to pain. Mick wasn't sure what to think about either option.

"You must," Josef said. "Better to feed now, where you're contained, than to feed out on the streets on some poor victim, right?" His gaze slid toward Mick, who glared angrily at the ground. How could he have let himself lose control like that? That was a stupid mistake and he'd taken someone's life. That was murder. Sure, the guy had come back as a vampire, but that wasn't any better. He'd not only robbed this guy of his human life, he'd cursed him for eternity.

"No. I'm not eating that." The guy shook his head stubbornly. "No way in hell."

"Would you rather feed on a live person?" Josef asked, and Mick wondered what he was getting at. "That can be arranged, but since you're a new vampire, you will most likely wind up killing them on the first feed. You're going to have to have fresh blood soon, but this will weaken the hunger enough that you don't kill anyone. Or would you rather kill?"

The man narrowed his eyes into dangerous slits. "I'm not a killer," he declared, but it almost sounded like he was trying to convince himself of that as well. Mick frowned at him.

"Neither are we," Josef said before he looked at Mick. "We occasionally have accidents, yes, but that's why we're here now. To help you through this."

"I don't want to get through this."

Josef shrugged. "Too bad. You're in this life now, so you need to learn how to live with it. Or be dead with it, however you wish to look at it." His gaze slid toward Mick. "Sire, talk to your fledgling."

"I'm not a damn-" the guy started, but was cut off as Mick began to speak.

"I'm sorry I turned you," Mick said, "but we're here now and we have to deal with it. You need to feed." He narrowed his eyes at the guy, willing his mind to reach out and edge toward him so that he might be able to influence him to eat. He had seen it done before, but had never had a great relationship with his own sire. Maybe he could be the kind of sire he'd never had.

The guy frowned at him momentarily and lifted the blood, opening it. Then he paused. "But I don't want to," he said stubbornly, almost pouting. Mick kept his eyes narrowed and the guy finally sighed and began sipping at the blood. After two sips, he began swallowing it down quickly, like a wild animal. Once that bag was finished, Josef tossed him the second bag and he quickly downed that too. Young vampires had quite the appetite.

"I think he's ready," Mick murmured to Josef, even though he didn't like this at all.

Josef nodded. "I'll be right back. Don't let him go anywhere." Then he left the room again, leaving Mick alone with the guy he'd turned.

The guy was currently wiping blood from his mouth.

"So…what's your name?" Mick asked, realizing he hadn't heard it yet.

The man frowned at him.

"I'm Mick," he said, hoping to coax him into talking as well. "Mick St. John. I'm a Private Investigator here in LA."

The guy hesitated, probably getting used to the feeling of the new blood rushing through him. "I'm Dean…" He took a breath. "Dean Winchester."

"Nice to meet you, though I wish it could have been under different circumstances," Mick said. "You seem to be taking this well…it was rather painful and uneasy for me, when I was turned."

The guy, Dean, shrugged slowly. "At first I thought it was just a hangover," he admitted sheepishly. "Or…from a hunt or-"

"Hunt?" Mick piped up.

Dean snapped his mouth shut and shook his head. Mick would have prodded for more information but it seemed that the guy didn't want to talk about it, so he didn't push it.

"You still seem to be taking this well," Mick said again.

"I guess."

"Does it hurt?"

"Yeah."

"You don't act like it."

"Let's just say I'm used to pain. It's not that big of a deal," Dean said, waving a hand at him, meaning for him to let the subject go.

Mick wanted to question him more about it but decided against it. Josef entered the room then with a woman, one of his freshies, Mick knew. A freshie was someone who willingly let themselves be fed upon. It was like pleasure to them. Mick didn't quite understand it but he didn't question it.

Besides, he liked a good freshie every once in a while as well.

Dean eyed the woman who was smiling at him. "Um…who's that?" he asked, looking at Mick as though for answers.

Perhaps this sire thing wouldn't be so hard after all. "A freshie…you can feed off of her."

"What? No!"

"She doesn't mind," Josef said before he smiled at the girl, "do you, Angie?"

Angie shook her head, smirking. "No, I don't mind at all. Go ahead." She moved toward Dean and held out her wrist.

"Just don't take a lot," Josef said. "That's why we gave you the blood beforehand."

Dean sighed. "Do I have to?"

"You know you do," Mick said. "You can feel it."

Thankfully, Dean seemed to give into his hunger because he grabbed hold of Angie's wrist and bit down, drawing blood. He drank heavily for a moment before he pulled himself back and Josef put a clean towel against Angie's dripping wrist. Angie smiled at him and Josef led her out of the room.

"…Did I take too much?" Dean asked guiltily. Mick knew the feeling.

"No," Josef said. He nudged Mick in the shoulder.

"You did good," Mick added.

Night one of being a vampire had officially begun.

"We're staying here to sleep," Mick told the new vampire. There was plenty of room for them, as he well knew. Josef was rich and had an entire freezer unit in one room. The whole room was like an ice box, which felt nice, he had to admit. He wasn't sure why exactly they had to sleep where it was freezing, but he didn't question it.

"We sleep?" Dean sounded serious.

Mick frowned. "Yes. We sleep."

"…At night?"

"Whenever." He shrugged. "I thought you knew about vampires, since you seemed to believe in them right away?"

Dean shrugged. "I don't know a lot. Haven't run into one in a while."

"You have before?" Josef questioned, raising a brow as he re-entered the room, the girl nowhere in sight.

Dean was quiet and didn't say anything on the matter, only sat on the floor and refused to speak. A rock tune blared through the room and Mick frowned as he watched Dean pull his phone from his pocket and stare at it.

"Who is it?" Josef asked.

"Why should I tell you?" Dean snapped, glaring at him. "It's none of your damn business." He went to answer the phone but Mick shook his head, speaking before he could.

"You might want to wait on that, for a bit."

"Why?" Dean asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Just…until you get used to being a vampire. And your family is going to notice that you're not aging…"

A look crossed Dean's face as he stared down at his phone. "Dad will kill me."

"Huh?"

"He'll kill me…he's a hunter."

"…A vampire hunter?" Mick inquired. Was that how Dean knew of vampires?

"Among other things, yeah…so am I."

Josef smirked. "Well, the vampire hunter has become a vampire. This has been an interesting night, I must say."

Dean glared at him. "Why the hell are you here, anyway? Who are you? You know what, I'm done with this. I'm out of here. Thanks for killing me." He stood and swiftly moved toward the door, his shoulder hunched. Mick frowned after him for a moment as he left the room and then Josef narrowed his eyes at him.

"What?" Mick asked stupidly.

"You're his sire, stop him. You have to get him under control."

"…Right now?"

"Yes!"

Mick sighed and hurried after Dean, quickly exiting the room. He found Dean down the hallway, nearing the elevator. "Hey, wait up," he said, and was relieved when Dean stopped to glare at him.

"Leave me alone," he snapped. "I'm out of here."

"Where are you going to go? You don't know what to do when you need to sleep. And where are you going to get blood? You don't know much about being a vampire, and you're going to need to know these things before you start wandering around on your own," Mick tried to reason with him.

Dean glared at him some more. "I'll figure it out on my own, thanks. Been doing it my whole life." With that, he turned away and pressed a button on the elevator. Mick's ears could hear it coming up the shaft. By the way Dean's expression tensed as though in pain from the raw sound, he could hear it too.

"You're still getting used to things," Mick told him. "Why don't you stick around for a few days and then you can leave if you want? Just a few days, until you know what's happening and what to do about it."

Dean narrowed his eyes at him and for a long moment, there was nothing but silence. "Fine," he finally muttered, "but don't think I'm happy about this. And don't try to boss me around. You're nothing but the idiot vampire who killed me." With that, he turned and started walking back the way they'd come, back toward the room Josef was waiting in.

Meanwhile, the guilt continued to claw angrily at Mick for what he'd done. If he could take it back, he would, but he couldn't. Hopefully he could smooth things over with Dean in the next few days, though.

Halfway back to the room, Dean stopped and rubbed at his head. "My head is on fire," he murmured with a frown, as though confused by the onslaught of pain.

"Your body is just getting used to things," Mick told him. "Your new senses are kicking in."

"I don't think I like the sound of that," Dean muttered as he continued walking back toward the room. Mick followed after him.

"Is he sleeping?" Josef asked as Mick entered his office, which was just off of the room they'd put Dean in for the night. Mick nodded and sighed, sitting down on one of the chairs in the room.

"Yeah…he complained about sleeping on ice but went to sleep fairly quickly."

Josef nodded. "That's good." He paused. "His dad…the vampire hunter…"

"What about him?" Mick asked, frowning.

"Maybe it would be best if Dean were to not contact him? Vampire hunters are rarely lenient, even to their own children."

Mick paused. "Dean's a hunter and he doesn't seem like that." Dean had accepted things pretty well, even though he still seemed hostile and angry at the whole ordeal.

Josef shrugged. "I still think it would be best if he didn't contact his father."

"It's his family."

"Did you contact yours?" Josef asked, raising a brow.

Mick narrowed his eyes. "That's different. Most of them were dead."

"But you still didn't talk to the living ones."

"You know why."

Josef shrugged. "Maybe it's the same with him, yeah? You should still talk to him about it."

Mick sighed and rubbed at his temples. "Maybe…" he conceded slowly.

He'd already taken the guy away from his human life…was he really going to take him away from all contact with his family, as well? He didn't like the sound of that.

The first morning Dean woke as a vampire, he wasn't sure what the hell was going on. His mind was all fuzzy, his head hurt, and it was far too bright. The room he was in was full of ice, practically everywhere, and despite the fact that it should have felt horrible and he should have been a popsicle by now, it actually felt rather nice. It made him sleepy. Yawning, he sat up and glared at the light in the room. It wasn't much, just a small bulb attached to the ceiling as though almost as a last minute thought. Dean wanted to…wait, that was what he was doing. He smashed the light as he jumped up, feeling freed by his new vampire jumping abilities. He could get used to this, he decided.

Wait, what was he saying? He was a vampire! A monster! Dad would kill him if he found him like this! Literally kill him! Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing, though…he was a monster, after all, a supernatural creature, and all things supernatural were bad, right? They all deserved to die…right? Sure, he knew that. He knew he probably needed to be killed as soon as possible…but damn it, he didn't want to die.

Every part of his being fought against it, fought against the thought of dying, which was rather ironic since, technically, he was already dead. He could feel how still his heart was in his chest, how cold his veins felt even though, not even twelve hours before, he'd been living and breathing and had felt warm despite the cool night air. Things had been going so well…he'd taken care of the ghost and had been heading back toward his car…

His eyes went wide suddenly. "Oh no." He ran toward the door and threw it open, stopping when he saw Mick and Josef standing in the room, talking. They stopped and faced him and for a moment, it was quiet. Clearing his throat, Dean broke the silence. "Where's my car?"

"Your…what?" Mick asked.

"My car," Dean said slowly. "C-A-R. Car. My baby. The precious Impala, you nimrod! You know, the thing I was walking to when you jumped me!" Maybe he was being a little rude and violent in his shouting, but he couldn't help it. His mind was fogged still from his vampire deep sleep and his need for his car, for that last bit of his human normalcy, was echoing through him so strongly.

"He's probably just hungry," Josef offered, frowning at Mick who seemed frozen by Dean's words.

"I didn't mean to-" Mick started, and then shook his head. "I'm sure it's still where you left it. And you should probably eat. You get moody when you don't."

"I'll be moody if I want!" Dean snapped, which, in hindsight, probably wasn't such a great argument. But damn it, he didn't care.

Josef sighed. "I'll find the car. You feed the guy before he destroys my office with his moodiness." He left the room quickly, which, Dean noticed, he did a lot. He shifted his gaze toward Mick. Mick's dark eyes narrowed at him and Dean felt something like a veil drape heavily over his mind, clouding his thoughts.

"Come on," Mick said simply, leading him out of the room. A part of Dean wanted to argue, but that veil was shielding his angry thoughts and all he could do was follow after him. What the hell was up with that? He wondered. "Josef has a stash in the kitchen."

"Yeah and no one finds it a bit strange that there's refrigerated blood? Not just a little?" Dean snarked.

Mick frowned at him and narrowed his eyes. That veil strengthened and grew and Dean stared at him momentarily. "You will not speak to me so rudely, do you understand? I am your sire and you'd better show me a little damn respect. I didn't mean to fucking turn you, okay? I feel guilty enough about it, so if you could stop being a jerk about everything, that'd be great."

Dean wanted to respond, but his mind shut down on him and suddenly he couldn't remember why he'd been so rude in the first place. So he just nodded simply, hanging his head low in a slight version of shame, and followed Mick silently out of the room and toward the elevator.

A moment later, they were stepping out of the elevator and into a kitchen. Mostly, it looked just like a dining area for parties or groups of people, with a giant table and a vending machine off to the side. The vending machine in question was stamped with a paper that read 'Out of Order'. Mick strolled toward it and jabbed at one of the buttons covered by the sign and Dean frowned at him, wondering if he indeed saw that it was out of order. But that haze was still over his mind and so he didn't seem to think it worth mentioning. Sure enough, a small tube of blood popped out of the machine and Mick tossed it toward him. Dean caught it without thinking and immediately opened it, tilting his head back so he didn't lose or waste a drop of the sweet tasting, fine liquid. It no longer made him feel sickened when he smelled it, or when he tasted it in his mouth. Now it was like the finest cheeseburger or pie or alcohol he'd ever had, and it was just so wonderful.

Another tube was tossed at him and he emptied that one as well, that haze of dark hunger still drilling through his mind. Once it started to clear, he felt that he no longer was so angry or worried. Maybe his hunger really did make him moody. Hmm. He'd have to keep that in mind, he decided.

"Better?" Mick drawled. "Or do you need more?" He got ready to jab the button again.

"No. I'm good. You?" Why wasn't Mick having any?

"I'm not hungry. Once you get used to it, you learn you don't have to feed all the time. It's good to have some blood when you wake up, but I've had some already. It keeps your strength up just like a hearty breakfast."

Dean shook his head and suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. "So…I take it I can't, um…leave?" He shifted somewhat nervously, wondering where that thought had come from. For some reason, it was floating through his mind, but he didn't necessarily think it was his doing. Was he picking up on what Mick was thinking, or something? How was that possible? He frowned in confusion, that veil still clouding any thoughts of anger he might have for the elder vampire.

It still felt strange to think of himself as a vampire. Well, better get used to it, he thought with a grimace and a sigh. You're part of the undead…something supernatural. Something to be hunted.

Mick hesitated in answering him. "It's your choice, but you should stick around for a while, until you get a grip on things. Then you can leave if you want, but…"

"You don't want me to contact my family." It was suddenly simple to Dean, that haze in his mind. It was Mick's reluctance to broach a certain topic, and he couldn't for the life of him figure out how he even knew that. New vampire instincts, maybe?

Mick flinched. "Josef doesn't think it's a good idea, but…for a while, you can. But after some time, they are going to start wondering why you haven't aged."

Dean nodded slowly. That made sense. And with his father…He shifted uneasily.

"You can still talk to them…but after a while…they're going to start to wonder."

"Well…then…I guess I can't talk to them at all." Dean shrugged.

"Why not? Just 'cause Josef suggested it doesn't mean you have to-"

"It's my choice," Dean cut in with a heavy sigh, his decision weighing on his still heart. It was strange, feeling so cold and warmed by another's blood. It was strange to feel the total lack of thud-thud his heart usually made rhythmically. "My dad…he's a hunter…"

"Vampire hunter."

"Among other things…" Dean shook his head slowly. "It doesn't matter. If he finds out what I am, he'll kill me."

A flicker of doubt clouded Dean's mind. It took him a moment to realize it was Mick's doubt, not his. "But you're his son," Mick said slowly.

"That doesn't matter. I'm an undead monster and he'll kill me if he finds out. No, better to just…not contact him again. Besides, it's not like he'd care." Dean laughed bitterly, a little surprise this much bitterness was hidden within him. "He's so busy with the hunt that he wouldn't care if his son just decided to go missing. He'll forget all about me soon enough. And Sammy…" Dean pursed his lips, a stab of pain shooting through him at the thought of his little brother.

"Sammy?" Mick asked in confusion, unfamiliar with the name.

"My kid brother." He wasn't sure why he was telling this to Mick. Maybe it was because the guy was his sire or something? He honestly didn't know. "Sam. Sammy. He's in college, full ride. He wouldn't care if I went missing either." Another somewhat bitter laugh. "Hell, it's not like we've talked or anything. He won't answer my calls, doesn't call me back…I'm not a part of his life anymore. And other than him and Dad there's no one…except maybe Bobby…but it's not like I'm his kid, and Sammy was always his favorite, so why would he care?" Bitterness seeped through him. He'd never really felt like this before. Was this new vampire emotions or something? "So, yeah…I'll just cut off contact. They'll forget about me eventually."

Why wouldn't they? Everyone had left him anyway.

"Dean…they're your family. They won't just forget about you," Mick tried to reason, frowning deeply.

Dean shrugged. "Doesn't matter. They're gonna have to 'cause I'm not contacting them. Not while I'm…like this. They'd kill me as soon as look at me if they knew what I was."

Mick shook his head but didn't say anything, for which Dean was somewhat grateful. He wasn't in the mood to have a damn heart-to-heart talk, and he figured he never would be.

"Josef should be back soon with your car," Mick told him, and yeah, that did cheer Dean up a little. The Impala was the only member of his family that had never willingly left him, had never abandoned him. It was always there for him, was Dean's home. He felt soothed just at the thought of the black car.

"I guess."

"Uh…if you're going to try and hide from your family…" Mick started slowly. "Maybe you shouldn't drive that car. It's kind of noticeable."

Dean stared. Blinked a few times. Then exploded. "Are you crazy?" he snapped, glaring, any veil that had been holding back his anger now long gone at the thought of him being without his beloved car. "That's my fucking car and she's staying with me!"

Oh yeah. Mick had definitely crossed a line. Because biting Dean, draining him and killing him…sure. Turning him into a vampire…not fun, but okay. Suggest he not ride his car?

Blasphemy!

Mick had to let Dean cool down after mentioning that maybe he shouldn't ride around in his car. How was he to know that the mere thought of hiding away the car would anger Dean so badly? Shaking his head, he looked up when the newly turned vampire entered the room from the side room, where he'd been pacing to cool himself down. "Better?" Mick asked, raising a delicate brow in question.

Dean narrowed his eyes. "I'm not getting rid of the car. No way. That car is my fucking home."

Mick blinked at him, feeling a wave of red anger float through him. He wasn't used to this, this strange bond he now had with this new vampire, and he wasn't used to being able to feel other people's emotions. He would have to get things under control and learn how to block this eventually, he knew. After all, how well could two people live - even as part of the undead - without being able to hide their emotions from others? Had he been leaking into Dean as well, earlier? Was that how Dean knew some of what he was thinking? He was going to have to ask Josef about this later, he decided.

"I apologize," Mick said, "I didn't mean to offend you. I just meant that since you seemed to keen on hiding, it would be best to drive a different vehicle. It's very noticeable. I'm not saying you have to get rid of it or anything, just…maybe put it in storage for a while."

Dean kept his eyes narrowed and hard, but Mick could feel, through this strange new bond between sire and fledgling, that his stubbornness was beginning to give. "I'll think about it," Dean finally grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

His cell phone, held in his pocket, started ringing again. Dean pulled it out and looked at who was calling. Something crossed over his face and Mick could tell he was struggling to keep calm and not answer. "Go ahead," Mick said with a nod. "Answer it."

Dean swallowed thickly and turned the sound down on his phone before he pocketed it again, taking in a deep, unneeded breath. "No," he sighed, "that will just…make it harder. I can't…"

Mick sighed, wishing he could take all of this back and somehow save this person from this life, but he couldn't. He couldn't change what had happened, couldn't take back the life he'd stolen, couldn't take away this curse of the undead.

"It's always…gonna be like this, isn't it?" Dean asked slowly. "There's no cure. It's just…forever."

"I'm sorry."

Dean shrugged. "Well, I guess I'd better get used to it, huh?"

"Welcome to the undead."

Yep there it is, how Mick turned Dean ;) Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading and please review! I live off reviews...you wouldn't want me to die, right? Sniffles. Anyway, thanks again!

~Muffy the Dough Slayer~