They say you'll never love another till you love yourself

[goesdown]

Who: Crowley and Martha
Where: The clinic
When: backdated to March 15th
Rating: PG13
Summary: Crowley goes to Martha to see if he can get himself a fix
The Story:

Upon re-entry, Crowley had been thankful that he'd kept the blood he'd had, using witchcraft to preserve it under a false bottom in a drawer, but times are tough for a demon in need of another hit and the blood's run low.

He has enough for maybe one more go and he's not entirely sure what the best source of blood is. He can ask friends here and there, call in favors, but at the end of the day he can't get it all from one place for any number of reasons. He's not trying to bleed anyone out here.

Amy or Clara would probably give him a little, but he's not certain that he should ask them first when they've got a clinic. If they've got any blood stored up... well, maybe he can offer his own blood in exchange.

He knocks on the door cautiously, a little disappointed to see that it's Martha. She's just a little too clever for his liking sometimes. She always thinks he's up to something.

"Do you have a moment?"

Comments

[selfrespecting]

To be fair, Martha thinks that Crowley's up to something because in most cases he is. She hasn't been keeping as close an eye on him as of late, having gotten used to his presence by now. The last time she saw him face-to-face had been when he'd dragged an injured Sam here during Tom's rampage.

Which had been a shock. Even if Crowley had done that simply so Sam owed him a favor, he'd still done it rather than leaving Sam to die. And Sam very well could have bled out without the proper care, so Martha's feeling a bit more open to the idea of Crowley as of late.

She still isn't expecting him to drop by. What use would a demon have of her clinic? It's out of the ordinary, which is enough to set off alarm bells. She'll hear him out, though.

Moving toward the front door, Martha places her hands on her hips and looks him over. No obvious signs of anything wrong, but he does seem a bit rough around the edges, like he hasn't had enough sleep. But do demons sleep?

"I do," she confirms. "What'd you need?"

[goesdown]

Oh, this was a bad idea. He can tell already, because she's looking at him funny--funnier than usual.

Martha's never trusted him and while he can respect a clever mind, he also knows that it can be dangerous. He really should have thought to go to someone dumber, but the dumbest person he can think of is Dean.

He moves into the room, not looking any more well-rested as he moves.

"Blood. I need human blood."

Maybe she'll assume it's for some sort of witchcraft and he sort of wonders if he shouldn't make her think that, make a quick escape and look elsewhere, but where else can he look short of asking his friends for direct donations.

[selfrespecting]

It's rather direct, and Martha stares at Crowley for a good few seconds, mouth slightly ajar before she snaps it shut and gets a hold of herself. It's not as if she hasn't heard this request before, but she wouldn't have expected it from Mr. Executive Demon here.

"Thought that was vampires that needed blood, not demons," she says warily. They've had some people donate, and the closet provides blood bags, though Martha's very uncertain about obtaining it that way.

That blood has to come from somewhere, and the fact that the way the closets work is still a big mystery means that she'd rather not take any risks.

Whether or not she helps him out largely depends on his reasons, though she also realizes he probably won't give her a straight answer.

[goesdown]

"Well, I'm not going to eat it!" He looks entirely scandalized, though it's really for show. It's not as if he hasn't consumed blood before. Who hasn't?

He takes a breath. "As you may or may not be aware of, I went home and came back. It was a very eventful year there. I... need the blood. It's like medication."

Self-medication, anyway, but he's not lying about needing it. There's itching just under his skin at the thought of it.

"And I would appreciate doctor-patient confidentiality on this, as well. I don't need the Winchesters prying into my health concerns."

[selfrespecting]

In need of blood? It still sounds plenty like vampirism to her, especially if he's being honest about needing it to survive.

What could have happened that he would now need the blood when he hadn't before, though? It's not like Martha knows all that much about demons, and she certainly hadn't realized that they could get sick. Anyone asking for blood is enough to make her wary, though, and so she's going to need some more information.

"Confidentiality goes without saying," Martha says firmly. There may be other ways in which they don't exactly follow the rule book at this clinic, but that's not something she's ever willing to compromise on, unless a patient is putting others in danger. Like Tom.

"So it was an eventful year. Meaning what, something happened to you, you contracted some demon illness and now you can't live without human blood?" It's awfully shady no matter what way she looks at it.

[goesdown]

Crowley purses his lips, trying for the best way to word his predicament so that he comes out in a positive, or at least sympathetic light.

"I was... attacked and nearly destroyed. I'm afraid it's played havoc with me and injecting human blood helps even everything out for me. It's, ah... a long term treatment, I'm afraid, but it's the best system I've got for balancing out everything."

Because the alternatives are that he lets someone cure him entirely or he stops feeling anything at all again. He's afraid of the former and he doesn't deserve the latter. He deserves this--the guilt and the pain and the joy, too.

It's invigorating and painful all at once and he can't live without it.

"Martha, please. I need it. I-I'm not well."

[selfrespecting]

Attacked and nearly destroyed? That sounds serious, and it would also explain why Crowley looks a bit like he's been hit by a bus.

Martha still finds it strange that human blood is the cure, but what does she really know about demons? Not much. If Crowley's here, then that must mean he's desperate.

He's definitely trying to garner sympathy from her. Martha raises an eyebrow. For most others, she'd at least feel a little bit bad for the person, but after the things she's heard about Crowley from the Winchesters, she doesn't have that much pity to hand out.

"... All right," she says finally. "There are people who donate blood from time to time to help vampires and the like, so I'll see if we can spare some. How much do you need?"

[goesdown]

"Less than a vampire would need for certain. A bag here and there. Maybe once a week or so? I'd rather get it through you than have to ask around and raise too many questions, but I would be more than happy to replace it with my own in turn. I don't see why my blood shouldn't be useful for all sorts of things and I'm not human, so it's not as if I'm carrying any myriad of diseases."

See? Crowley's a tit-for-tat sort of man and he's felt more than generous lately. If he can get his back scratched, he'll gladly return the favor.

"And I may not be much of a healer per se, but I can help you ward this place so that it will be impenetrable by any number threats, as well. I do know a lot of protective and preventative things that could be of great use to you."

[selfrespecting]

Always the businessman. It's not as if Martha would have expected anything in return, but if he's offering? She's not about to turn it down. The second part, at least. She doesn't know that she'd feel comfortable having demonic blood sitting around. Maybe it's perfectly safe, but then again, maybe it isn't.

She would rather not take the risk when she doesn't know what kind of effect it would have.

"I would appreciate the warding, definitely, thank you. A blood bag a week shouldn't be too hard to organize, though there might be times when it's not as readily available." Though in cases like that, Martha tends to donate some herself. She just has to be careful not to do so too often.

[goesdown]

"Thank you. If I have to, I can go elsewhere, but it's bound to start getting around if I go about asking my friends for their blood. Eventually someone won't be able to keep their mouth shut. I'd rather be cautious about this."

And then he already looking around at the shape of the place, mulling over wards and sigils and whatever else he can use to turn the infirmary into a veritable supernatural fortress against everything that they don't have among them.

"I assume I shouldn't ward against angels, demons, werewolves or vampires. Anything else I should avoid for the comfort of our friends?"

[selfrespecting]

Martha can very much understand why Crowley would try to keep this sort of thing to himself. It doesn't sound good no matter how he phrases it, but Martha's thinking is that if she's going to help out vampires, she can help out a demon as well.

She never pictured her life as a doctor being quite like this, but Martha's good at adapting.

"I think that's everything. Not sure what that leaves to ward against, honestly." If every "evil" thing can also be good or worth saving, then it does defeat some of the point of protecting an area.

Martha moves toward a large fridge in the back part of the clinic where there are a few blood bags kept in storage. While they can last up to six weeks before spoiling, Martha tries not to hold onto the blood bags for any longer than three. She grabs for one and returns to him with it. "Here."

[goesdown]

He eyes the blood bag and there's a feeling almost akin to thirst now that it's in his eyesight. Maybe coming to Martha hadn't been a mistake after all. It's almost a test of what sort of doctor she is and she certainly passes the moral questions with flying colors.

"Thank you."

He takes it carefully and tucks it under his jacket.

"I'll be back to set the wards tomorrow. I'll put them on the walls and ceiling and then repaint over them so that no one's the wiser."

[selfrespecting]

Martha can't deny that she feels uncertain as she watches him walk off with that blood bag in hand, but she'll keep an eye on this situation. He's got to go through her for the blood if he needs more, though, so it shouldn't be that difficult for her to do.

"That sounds good. Just take care that you don't prevent anyone from getting in if they need to." She realizes that's a tall order, but surely Crowley is an expert in this sort of thing. She'll find out rather quickly if he's deliberately kept someone out with his spellwork, at least.

Though she doubts that he would do that, seeing how he owes her a debt now. She'll keep his secret for now, seeing how it should prevent him from getting on her bad side.