The little blonde girl was led by her foster parent to the door. Mrs. Lehmann spoke in German. "<Come along, Alexandra. It's time for your doctor's appointment again.>" The girl tugged at the middle-aged woman's hand. "<But Gerta, I don't want to go. It hurts.>" The door to the facility opened, the warm air that drifted out heating her freezing face. One of the lab's scientists stepped out to greet them. "Frau Lehmann... ALEX X." He smiled at the pair, drawing them inside with a motion from his hand. The girl pouted. "My name is Alexandra." The doctor got down on a knee to be on her level. "Of course, Alexandra. Now, will you be a good girl today?" Her icy blue eyes never met his as she nodded. Gerta began peeling off the girl's outer coat before placing it on a nearby chair. "<I must go, Alexandra, but I'll be back when you're done.>" She looked up to the woman pleadingly. "<Please, Gerta, stay with me.>" The doctor stood to his feet, his white lab coat trailing to his thighs. "I'm sorry, Alexandra, but what we do here is very secret." He looked at her seriously with his dark eyes. "You understand?" She nodded, and Mrs. Lehmann departed. "Now, come with me." He extended a hand to her. She placed her small hand in his and kept looking back at the doors as she was led to the examination room.

The door was closed, and the doctor donned a pair of surgical gloves. "Subject ALEX X, please remove your clothing and put on the gown." Alexandra fidgeted with her feet, mumbling. "Alexandra, please take off your clothes and put on the gown. I need to do a physical examination." The blonde girl nodded slowly and began to strip off her clothes under the unfaltering gaze of the scientist. She slid her arms into the light fabric, pulling her soft blonde locks over the back of the gown. "That's a good girl." The scientist walked over, sliding his hands under her slender arms to lay her down on the examination table. He put the ear tips of the stethoscope into his ears and slid the chest piece under her robe. The metal was cold. His thumb rubbed gently over her soft skin as he listened to her heart beat. Her heart beat faster at the unexpected touch. The doctor withdrew the scope and wrapped it back around his neck. He looked down at her. "Are you cold, Alexandra? You have goosebumps." She nodded, saying nothing. "Well, we can't have that. Let's warm you up, dear." He pulled off his rubber gloves, placing them at the foot of the table. He stooped over her, quickly rubbed his hands over her ivory arms to create friction. "Still cold?" His finger brushed back her blonde hair as his eyes drifted down. The doctor moved his bare hands over her legs, rubbing over her cold skin. Her blue eyes darted down to his hands, her heart racing fearfully. Her lids squinted shut, and everything went black.

There was an agonized scream. A teenaged Alexandra stood over a scientist who had been bound to a chair. His face was bloody. A cruel smile came to her face as she pressed the scalpel to his throat. "Doctor doesn't like his creations?" She shot a sadistic smirk toward her brother who stared coldly down the gun barrel pointed at the captive. "Make him pay, Xandra. Make him bleed for all they did to us." The girl slashed his throat, the young vampire gorging herself on the crimson fluid that came out. The blood trickled from her mouth. "I like your pain. I like your death. I'm not a good girl anymore..." A cackle broke from her red lips.

_____________

Alexandra gasped. She had fallen asleep at her office. The doctor panted and shook her head as if to purge herself from the terrible nightmare. There was a quiet knock on the door. She stood to her feet, smoothing down her clothes, and opened the door.

"Alexandra. Are you alright?" Jean stared into her ice blue eyes.

"Yes, Jean. Everything's fine."

The blonde man's brows knit. "Xandra, your nightmare called me. You're not alright. You're having the dreams again." He pulled her down onto the couch with him.

"Jean... I can't stop. The impulses. How do you do it? I'm trying. I saw Andres' cousin. I wanted to seduce him, bite him, make him feel agony. I wanted to drink in his death. I can't kill Andres' family. How do you do it, Jean? How do you fight what comes so naturally?"

Dr. Quentin brushed the hair from her face gently, his eyes riddled with pain, sympathizing with her struggle. "I wish I could say it was easy, Xandra. I have similar predatory instincts. You know more than most how much it has driven me insane. I have to control every aspect of my life." He referred to his obsessive-compulsive behaviour. "It makes relationships nearly impossible. Intimacy just invites the satiation of our animalistic desires. You should distance yourself. When you catch yourself looking at any of the Knightfalls as a potential meal, stop. Remember your love for Andres. He is a good man, worthy of your sacrifice."

Alexandra gave her clone a small smile before wrapping her arms around him. He squeezed her tightly. "I love you, Alexandra. And I will always be here to help you in anyway I can."