... so why is he in MY garage?

he's here. who wants him?

he looks at him for a long moment, head tilting slightly as he tries to figure it out. " hey ... " he starts gently, taking a step forward and reaching out to gently cup his face.

see? knew ya didn't hate it here. [ he smirks, reaching out and poking him. ] santa carla has it's charms. me bein' one of em.

" ... oh. " a thousand thoughts flood his mind all at once, but one thing comes before all of them. " ... does he hurt you? "

only saying what my track records prove, man. don't blame me. [ yeah ... definitely an ego problem. ]

Hey.

... BOO.

[ laughs - ] but it's so funny.

chrissy...?

— — FRANKIE. .

— — FRANKIE. .

— — FRANKIE. .

[ big fanged grin. ] hey.

[ holding her tightly against his chest. god, he missed her. ] thought you'd be used to it by now.

believe me, I'm not trying to hurt you. I'm trying to protect you. [ she can stay there as long as she likes. he's not letting go either. ]

... there were people after me. vampires. and they'd use you to get to me, and I wasn't gonna let that happen. so I split before they made any connections.

no ... not gonna happen. [ slow shake of his head. he steps back and looks her over for a moment. ] ... did anyone talk to you? strangers? anyone asking you about me while I was gone?

[ he's back again. ]

[ a small smile and a chuckle, shaking his head. ] well, at least she's consistent.