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Medlab was quiet that night, there was only one occupant in what appeared to be a coma in one of the beds. He was so enormous that he barely fit the bed, not fat just… huge. His vitals were very slow but completely regular, it was almost as if he were in hibernation. Franklin was using the time to catch up on the latest xenobiology journal.
When he looked up from his reading the bed was empty. The huge occupant of the bed was eyeing the blood reserve, trying to make sense of the coding. Franklin cleared his throat and the man jumped. “Can I help you with something?” he asked the patient. “I was looking for something to eat” he said a bit weakly. “Oh, that’s an easy one. There are a few easily digestible items in the other refrigerator, suitable for most species. Not to be rude but, you are human right? I’m just checking because…” Franklin was being discreet. The man may have looked human but his physiology indicated something else. “I know…” the huge man sighed, “not quite following human norms, right?” Franklin nodded. “Then you understand that some foods that are harmless to one species can be toxic to another” he explained thinking that even though this man appeared to be human, with physiology like that he probably wasn’t.
The man appeared to choose his words carefully. “Doctor, I’m from Earth and have lived there a very long time. As to what I am…” his face was neutral, “I guess you could say that I’m a haemovore”
“Haemovore… like a vampire?” he shook his head thinking that the man must be delirious, “there’s no such thing” he said gently. “Yet here I am and I’m…” he winced and clutched his abdomen, “Not well” he gritted out. “Come on, let me help you into bed” Franklin said doing his best to support the huge… vampire? “What happened?” he asked with genuine curiosity. “Centauri blood. I didn’t think about how it would affect me. The worst indigestion I’ve ever had.” He winced again. “Doctor I think I’m going to…” and the man vomited. When he finished he looked hugely relieved.
“Better?” Franklin asked and the man smiled weakly and nodded. “Doctor, I hate to be a pest but…” he asked hesitantly. “Nope. If your physiology is even close to human norm, you should give it a rest for a bit. Normally I would suggest just water or broth but in your case, just some water for now. Think you can handle it?” “I can remain sane with only water for a short time” he answered, “but I heal faster if I have blood.”
Franklin stood regarding the huge man, trying to decide if he was joking or not. He was docile at the moment but if he became agitated he would be a handful. He tried to remember the myths about vampires when one of the orderlies came in to gets some supplies and froze for a moment. He turned to the huge man and his eyes were dilated. “Are you okay… Daddy?” and then he blushed. The man closed his eyes and said “I’m fine son, thank you for asking”. “All right, if you need me for anything… Daddy…” the orderly said and then blushed furiously before leaving.
“What just happened?” Franklin said in complete confusion. “Pheromones” the huge man said and sighed, “Mine are pretty powerful”. “How come I’m not affected?” Franklin asked in confusion. The huge man shrugged “You will be shortly, maybe not to the same degree but you will be affected”.
The monitors registered a drop in body temperature, alarming Franklin. “I need to get you warmed up” he said with urgency. “No Doctor you need to believe me. I will recover very quickly once I ingest human blood” came the tired response. “Are you going to kill me for it if I don’t give it to you?” Franklin asked sarcastically.
There was a very long pause before the man said “Doctor, I have never killed anyone for their blood and I don’t intend to start. Why don’t you believe me? You see aliens all the time that have extremely different biological requirements. Why is it so hard to believe that I’m what I claim to be?”
Franklin thought about it. “It’s because what you claim to be is a myth. There is no such thing as a…” “Centauri? Minbari? pak’ma’ra?” the man interrupted, “Or how about the Gaim? Space faring Insects? Just a short time ago a place like this station would have been thought to be impossible, let alone all of the different races. Vorlons? They are embedded in our mythology as angels but they are real. Why can’t something like me be real? You’ve already said I’m not quite human”
Everything was said in a weary tone that made Franklin consider the argument and his curiosity got the better of him. “All right, a small amount. 30 milliliters?” There was a chuckle, “Think in terms of water, would you give someone who was dehydrated that amount and expect to see results?” “I see your point, how about one unit?” There was a wry smile “This reminds me of what happened when I met one of my husbands. It’s a start although four or five would be better”
The man tried to sit up but looked queasy and sank back groaning. “This is worse than the worst hangover I ever had” he said miserably. “If you don’t mind me asking, who was the Centauri?” Franklin asked as he prepped one unit of human blood with a bit of trepidation. “Someone named Mollari, we were playing poker and he lost” the man replied making a face. Franklin laughed “No wonder you feel so ill! It’s a wonder you aren’t pickled from the amount of alcohol that man drinks! He cheats you know” he may not believe the patient but he liked him. There was answering grin. “How do you think I won?” the man said slyly.
He brought a unit of blood over to the man and handed it to him. “Cold…” he said and made a face. “I can warm it to body temperature; will that make it more palatable?” The man nodded. “I’m sorry, I really don’t mean to be a difficult patient. I haven’t felt like this for a very, very long time” he said.
“Really? How long would that be?”
“A little over two and a half centuries”
“You appear quite well preserved for your age”
“Thank you, I admit to being vain about my appearance.” Franklin handed him the unit of warmed blood and the man opened his mouth. Franklin gasped as he saw the teeth change shape right before the man bit into the unit and drained it in less than a second. He fell back to the bed with a sigh “Better” he said as Franklin watched the monitors. His vitals improved almost immediately as did his color. “May I have another one please?” he asked before muttering “This is just like with Mark”
Franklin handed him two more units which he drained just as rapidly before laying back with a smile and falling asleep. The readings and his coloring improved dramatically. “Huh. I guess they aren’t a myth” he said disposing of the empty units and returning to his desk. He was in the middle of a boring article about the reproductive cycle of the Gaim when a thought struck. “If vampires are real, what else is?” he murmured.