Alone By StormyNite 1997 All rights reserved by Barbara Starmer aka: StormyNite Part 1 Natalie took Jonathan's hand and pulled him once again away from the rack of clothes that fascinated him in the corner. Every time she turned around he would disappear. She would always find him rummaging through the dark capes flowing gracefully off the hanger on the far side of the store. "What's with you Jonathan? I thought when Dad and I agreed to let you pick out our costumes for the Halloween Gala, you would look at all the costumes. After all, this is the first year they have opened it to the entire family. Don't you want to get something unusual and neat?" Nat squatted down in front of her son and made him look into her eyes before she continued. "You know, honey, that Dad will get upset with the Count Dracula costume for him and I don't think he would take to the idea of me going as Elvira either. Besides, we have to go as a matched family. It's part of the theme this year. They don't make any really good Dracula costumes for adults, let alone kids. They all have that 'dark cape, plastic fang' look." Nat watched the emotions play across Jonathan's face as she spoke. She wasn't getting through to him. That much was obvious. Jonathan touched his mother's face sweetly and smiled that "you know you love me anyway, Mom" look before he spoke. "I want to be vampire, Mommy....like Daddy and you. I want Daddy see that I be good vampire like him and Uncle Daniel. That I pretty vampire like Daddy and it's okay. I want Daddy know Jonathan being vampire is okay." Natalie stared in awe at her small son. Jonathan had sensed their fears about his powers, and as usual Jonathan was trying to make everything alright. As Jonathan grew, his special gifts became more obvious to everyone around him. Not only did he bring an inner peace to everyone he met, but his vampire traits were starting to emerge at a faster pace, yet his mortal side still allowed him the pleasures of food and sunlight. So far, Natalie could not determine if Jonathan's vampire traits were going to override his mortal traits. There were just to many unknowns. She sighed and pulled the small bundle into her arms and gave in. "Okay, little man! Count Dracula and Elvira it is, but that means I'm going to have to make your outfit to match your dad's. I'm sure he's got some stuff in the loft storage...." Nat nodded toward the cape Jonathan had constantly come back to "....that are a whole lot more authentic than that!" She smiled and scooped her son up into her arms. "And no plastic fangs, right?" Nat waited for her son to agree. "Dad's are much better Mom, and yours are pretty." Jonathan reached into his own mouth and felt his incisors briefly and then frowned. "Okay, Okay! You can have fake ones, but the good kind alright?" A smile beamed across his face and then he hugged his mother around the neck. When he was finished, he squirmed to be put down. Natalie placed her son on the floor, offered him a hand, and strolled happily out the door into the last fading light of dusk heading for home and Nick. ------------------ The young dark haired woman sat quietly in the car watching across the street, as the petite auburn haired woman and a blonde bundle of energy walked hand in hand out of the costume store. Shock registered on her face as she watched the child intently pulling his mother down the sidewalk causing her to stumble in her haste. The young woman turned to her accomplice sitting next to her in the car. "You didn't tell me there was a kid! Jacob never mentioned anything about a kid!" Anger flashed in her green eyes as she berated the rugged, unkempt specimen of a man sitting in the seat beside her. "So, there's a kid. What's the big deal? Just makes it easier and sweeter. Jacob will be thrilled and I can't wait to get my hands into that red hair. I think there's going to be some extra bennies in this one....yup....I like it already." His tongue slowly escaped his mouth revealing rotted teeth and stagnant breath as he slowly licked his lips in delight. His hands absentmindedly rubbed his inner thigh causing his eyes to glow with anticipation. Revulsion overwhelmed Karen as she watched the piece of filth beside her stare out the window. What had her brother gotten her into? She watched the young woman start the car and drive off. Seconds later Darrell started their engine and they followed. ------------------ Several hours later, Nick walked into the precinct carrying a box of old clothes that Tracy had requested the day before. Who else would you ask if you wanted authentic Civil War clothing, but someone who lived through it? Natalie, Nick, and Jonathan spent the better part of the early evening hours going through old trunks stored at the loft. They searched for a look that both Nick and Jonathan would be happy with as well as Civil War clothing for Trace and Daniel. "Is this what I think it is, Nick?" Tracy feasted her eyes on the box in Nick's arms as he unceremoniously dumped it on her desk. "If you mean old, dirty, tacky, unkempt uniforms dating back to a time I would soon forget. The answer is yes. Just make sure when you get finished with them, you burn them. I'm amazed I kept them considering how I felt at the time. It's the packrat syndrome. I guess I should take the time and clear out all the warehouses full of junk that I possess, sell them and start a college fund for Jonathan." Nick smiled and resigned himself to watching Trace 'ooh' and 'ahh' over the costumes in the box. "These are perfect, Nick. Thanks so much. Have you and Nat decided what you are going as yet....or should I say has Jonathan decided what you are all going as?" Trace snickered as she remember how easily Nick had been suckered into letting Jonathan make the choice. All Jonathan had to do was roll those eyes and pucker up just a little and Nick was putty in his hands. "You don't want to know, Trace. Trust me!" Captain Reese walked up to their desks with a frown on his face. "What's up, Cap?" They said in unison. Reese stared at the two before him shaking his head in disbelief. Who would have believed Nick and Tracy would have turned out to be the best team in all of Metro? They were so different, yet they had matured together to make the best set of detectives he had ever met. "I got a call from South. They have a bomber set up in a building over on 5th. They are evacuating the neighborhood, but the guy claims to be an old boyfriend of yours, Trace. I want you two to get over there and see if maybe you can talk him out of this before anybody gets hurt. Miller and Trent are already on their way. Mays and Colton will be there in about a half hour as well. If this guy sets it off, it will probably take out a whole city block." "We're on it, Cap." Nick and Trace grabbed their coats and headed for the car. Reese watched them closely as they left still wondering how he got so lucky in putting them together. ---------------- Nick and Tracy pulled in behind the police barricade and flashed badges at the uniforms as they made their way to the command post set up at the mobile police van. "Fill us in, Martin." Nick reached to shake the sargent's hand as he spoke. "The guy claims to be Leonard VanMerk. He's rigged the entire 5 story building with C4 explosives tied to a central detonator, which according to our visuals...." He pointed to the overpowered optics lens in the hands of a policeman on top of the building next to them. "....VanMerk has in his hands at all times." "Did he say what he wants?" Tracy shoved her hands in her pockets nervously while Nick listened to her heart rate increase. "He said he's gonna blow up this entire block if he doesn't get 1 million dollars delivered to him by you, Detective Vetter...personally. We've had our negotiating team on the phone with him. It's no dice. He says you, 1 million in cash by midnight or he pushes the button." Sgt. Martin Clark waited for an explanation as did Nick. Tracy eyed the building and then her partner while Nick waited patiently for her to fill him in. Her nervousness increased as did her fidgeting, but the answers didn't appear to be forthcoming as the silence between them grew. "Okay, Trace! Out with it...this is not the time for secrets. If you know this guy, then fill us in." Nick grabbed Tracy's hands when she started to put them back in her coat pocket for the 5th time in 2 minutes, then made her look at him. "Answers, Trace. We need them in this century not the next." Tracy sighed with regret as she stared at the building. "Leo and I used to date back in the academy days. That was before he found out that he was losing his eyesight. It kept him from finishing the academy or becoming a cop. He wanted more than a casual relationship and I didn't. It ended very badly. Leo was drummed out of the academy and blamed me for not sticking with him when he got booted. He was a nice guy and I probably could have used my dad's pull to get him extenuating circumstances, but I didn't want to do it. It didn't seem ethical to me, and I didn't want everyone wanting favors because I was the commissioner's daughter. I had a hard enough time as it was. Besides, I was afraid Leo would read more into it than was there. He was an intense guy. He took everything personally. I wasn't ready for that. At least not with him anyway, but I felt guilty when he was drummed out. He went to work for some techno group in the States. He wrote me every week telling me everything about the States, his job, and how much fun it was going to be when I came to live with him. He just kept on writing, and I never returned any of the letters. Three months after he moved, he started calling along with the letters and then showing up weekends at my apartment. I moved 3 times and he still followed me. I had to get a restraining order, and finally after a full year he stopped. No more letters, visits or midnight calls. I thought he finally realized it was over." Trace stared at the building again with regret etched into her young face. "I guess not!" "You got something that looks like we could put a million in cash into, Martin?" Nick stepped into the back of the mobile base as the sargent followed him. They returned carrying a large duffel stuffed with paper. "Get him on the horn and tell him I'm bringing it in." Nick reached for the phone. "No, Nick! He said I had to bring it." Tracy stepped in front of Nick as he brought the phone to his ear. "I have to do this Nick, not you or people will die." Tracy searched Nick's face for understanding and found acceptance edged with fear. She took the duffel from his hand and turned to face Daniel. Part 2 Daniel stared at Tracy and then Nick. He had been listening intently as he approached. "You can't do this, Trace. He's gonna kill you out of spite....or worse." Daniel grabbed both her arms and made her face him. Worry and fear crawled along his spine and found its way to his eyes. "I have to do this, Daniel. If this is Leo's form of revenge, then it's better with just me than the whole city block. I can handle Leo. Besides, the fact that he wants the money tells me he's got an escape plan. There were a lot of things in life Leo was, but being stupid was not one of them." Tracy pulled gently away from Daniel and waited for him to understand. "It's my job Daniel and this time you're just going to have to accept that I have to do this by myself." "Trace, I don't....." Tracy leaned over a kissed him softly to silence his objections. "I'll be back. You just make sure you're waiting. Okay?" Daniel looked to Nick for support and found worry in his eyes, but acceptance and respect as well. Maybe that's why Nick and Tracy were so good together. Then again, Nick wasn't in love with her either. "If this was Nat, you wouldn't agree to this." Daniel almost yelled at Nick. He needed someone to take his frustration out on and Nick was the closest at hand. Nick grabbed Daniel shoulder stopping him as Tracy walked toward the building carrying the duffel. "We'll be with her Daniel. As soon as she goes inside, you take the back and I'll take the front. She won't be alone in this! We're just the back up this time." Daniel and Nick watched Trace disappear into the window and took off. The sargent contacted the sentry staff by radio and put them on hold while Tracy, Nick and Daniel proceeded to do their job. ------------- Tracy walked slowly up the steps to the 3rd floor where the observation squad said Leo was located. Try as she may, she couldn't think of anything that might be insightful to disarm Leo. She would just have to play it by ear and hope for the best. As she climbed the steps, images of the shoot out in the locker room flashed through her mind. Then a sense of peace overcame her fears, because she knew Nick and Daniel would be with her. Through all the protests about doing it herself, she knew her partner....and Daniel. They were backing her up just like she would them. That much she knew, as surely as the sun would rise in the morning. With a deep breath she opened the door and stepped in. Leo sat in the far corner watching the activity out of the window, yet keeping out of the line of fire for the swat team. He knew the drill. If offered a good shot....take it and make it clean. He turned as soon as the door began to open, with his finger on the trigger to the detonator. An evil smile crossed his lips as Tracy's blonde head passed through the door. "Well, Trace. I'm so glad you could make it to the party." Leo laughed whole heartedly at his own little joke. "I see you brought the usual duffel full of paper for appearance's sake." He motioned to the duffel in her left hand. "Hello, Leo. I see you haven't changed much. Same one sided sick humor that you always had." Tracy dropped the bag to the floor and walked directly in front of Leo and the window. "Let's cut to the chase here Leo. I'm standing in front so they aren't going to take any shots at you while I'm here. So why don't you tell me what you really want." Trace stood her ground, placed both hands on her hips so Leo could clearly see her gun in the shoulder holster and waited. "Very nice, Trace. 9mm.....Must be that blonde partner of yours rubbing off on you. Used to be you only carried a 38. Things change, and I hear you got a new boyfriend, too. Guess that means poor Leo is history." Leo walked around her, staying clear of the window, and eyed her appreciatively. "You let him have any yet, or are you playing with him like you did me?" "My private life is none of your business Leo....not now.....or then." Leo rushed her and body slammed her hard against the wall. "Wrong again, Trace....you're all mine....or you're dead." He reached over and pushed the trigger on the detonator and smiled. "Since I know neither your partner or that so called boyfriend would let you go into this alone, I rigged a little surprise for everyone. So In 2 minutes we all go boom....that blonde partner of yours, your boyfriend, you and the whole city block. You see, I never wanted the money in the first place. I just wanted you dead, just like I have been for the past 8 years. Now you are all going to join me." Leo pressed Trace against the wall and tried smashing his lips into hers. When his lips crushed hers, Tracy brought her knee hard to his groin and followed with a downward stomp to his arch. Leo buckled in pain and Tracy finished with a full shoulder body block into his doubled over form. Leo crashed into the wall behind him. Quickly Trace grabbed the chair he had been sitting on and brought it down hard over his head. Leo collapsed unconscious to the floor. "Nick!!!!!!! Daniel!!!!!!!" Trace rushed to the door screaming louder. "He triggered the bomb!!!!! Get out of here!" Trace ran full tilt down the stairwell. Daniel crashed through the door on the second floor as she reached the landing. "We've got less than a minute before this place is history." Trace grabbed Daniel's hand and they headed down the enclosed stairwell. "There's no time, Trace!" Daniel pulled Tracy through the first floor doorway and headed for the nearest window. Nick crashed through the window only seconds before they reached it. "It's going to blow Nick and I don't know if I can fly both of...." Daniel felt the blast before he heard it. Nick grabbed Trace and flung them both out the window covering her body with his. Daniel followed them by inches. The blast projected them hard toward the nearest building followed by intense heat, flame and debris. Nick saw the nearby building approach and turned to take the full blow, but it left Tracy open to the projectile debris and the flames following them out of the window. "Cover her front Daniel!!" Nick screamed above the shattering noise as the building continued to explode floor by floor. Daniel recognized the problem and risks and flung his body on top of Tracy as the three of them hit the wall at full force. Nick absorbed most of the blow and felt the world start to spin into darkness. Using what strength he had left, he pulled Trace on top of him as they tumbled toward the ground. Seconds later the ground claimed all three of them with no mercy. Due to only minor injuries, Daniel was the first to awaken. He scrambled quickly to Tracy and Nick's side. He felt for a pulse on Trace and found a thready, erratic heartbeat when she moaned at his touch. He then checked Nick. He had taken the brunt of the explosion, but his metabolism had the best chance of survival. Nick knew that when the building started to erupt. Daniel's vampire skills still required work and he knew his chances flying with Tracy were minimal at best, let alone controlling it. Nick moaned softly as Daniel turned him over. His arm was broken and probably all his ribs, but Daniel had seen him recover from worse, so he turned his attention back to Tracy. Daniel checked her pulse again and felt nothing. Panic stricken, he immediately started CPR. "Come on Trace! Don't do this to me." Daniel continued alternating between her heart and lungs screaming for a help as he continued. Tears escaped his eyes while he fought for her life. "Come on Trace!!! Don't you die on me and leave me alone again....not now....not since we've come so far....please, Trace....fight for us....come on!" Nick awoke to Daniel's plea as the grief and fear radiating from his young friend was almost palpable. As quickly as possible, Nick joined Daniel at Tracy's side. With a multitude of broken bones healing slowly, his progress was slow. "It's okay, Daniel. Let me help." Nick quickly took over the heart compression as "Daniel scooted over and continued the mouth to mouth. They were losing her and Nick could feel it. Her life force was draining away. He made a decision and his fangs dropped. Daniel stared in awe as he watched Nick's fangs drop and his eyes glow with an inhuman desire for blood....then he knew....Tracy was dying. "NO!!" Daniel screamed. Quickly Nick grabbed Daniel's wrist, sliced it with his fangs then calmly tried to soothe Daniel with his voice. "You have to be calm now, Daniel. Tracy needs you now. Listen to me....everything will be all right. You have to remain calm or you can't help her." Daniel stared at Nick and then his own bleeding wrist in shock. He didn't understand, but he trusted Nick. "Tell me what to do, Nick?" "Give her your blood, Daniel....quickly. She's losing the fight." Daniel placed his bleeding wrist over her mouth and let the blood flow down her throat. Nick held her head up, so she wouldn't choke. As Daniel's blood flowed into her mouth, his eyes began to change and glow in the shadows of the fires coming from the buildings. His need to possess her overwhelmed him as his fangs dropped and he felt himself drawn to her now throbbing neck. Lost to Tracy's heartbeat echoing in his ears, Daniel was filled with a raw need that threatened to encompass his whole soul. Nick jerked Daniel away from Tracy's neck and wrapped his arms around him as he struggled to complete the blood circle. Hunger and desire coursed through Daniel's veins as he struggled against Nick's hold. "Enough, Daniel! You have to get control now. She's alive!" Nick fighting his own beast with the fresh blood and his need for it to heal his battered body, growled into Daniel's ear. Tracy began to cough and moan as she slowly began the road to consciousness. Nick held Daniel tightly until his breathing became normal and both men claimed victory over their beasts. "I'm okay now, Nick." Daniel turned to Nick to show him the proof but Nick had released him on instinct and faith before their eyes met. Daniel moved back to Tracy as her eyes fluttered open, grasped her cool hand into his, and rubbed it gently. "Daniel?" The word came out as a whisper through her parched lips. "I....would never leave you a....." a single tear escaped her eye as Daniel silenced her with a kiss. When he released her lips, he wiped the tear away gently. Nick watched the young couple before him and sighed in relief when the paramedics rounded the corner wheeling a stretcher. The paramedics pushed Daniel away as they began triage and checked vitals. Finishing, they loaded Trace onto the stretcher letting Daniel grab one outstretched hand. The warmth was returning to her skin as well as her color when her heart rate increased. She smiled and pulled Daniel's lips back to hers. When she released them, panic clutched her heart. "Where's Nick?" Tracy finally realized she hadn't seen her partner only Daniel. She tried to rise off the stretcher, but was held by the safety straps and Daniel's strong arms. "I'm right here, Trace!" With his good arm, Nick pushed the paramedic away for a moment and grabbed Tracy's other hand. "You can't get rid of me that easy." His steel blue eyes met hers and she finally relaxed. She smiled, released Daniel's hand and reached up to touch Nick's face to assure herself he was real. Nick grasped her hand gently, leaned over and kissed her forehead. "You get some rest, Trace. I'll do the paperwork tonight." He smiled brightly and she laughed. "It's about time, partner. Maybe if this other arm is broken, you'll get stuck with it for 6 weeks. If that's the case, I'll know there is such a thing as....justice." She smiled weakly when the paramedics began pushing the gurney toward the ambulance breaking her grasp on Nick's hand. He smiled and blew her a kiss as they wheeled her away. Daniel grabbed her outstretched hand again and walked beside her until they reached the ambulance. She made the paramedics stop once more. Pushing the young paramedic aside with her good hand, she made them clear a path where she could see Nick and she called out to him once again. "Nick!" Nick turned to her soft voice, audible only to him from that distance, and smiled when he met her eyes. "Thanks for being there." The words were softly whispered in the breeze between them. A wide smile crossed his face as he mouthed the words. "You're welcome, partner!" Relief washed over him as well as the realization that all their potential futures were in the hands of fate. Part 3 ------------- Natalie stood over her third body of the evening as Jill brought in the last samples from the DNA testing facility. Nat had just started to cover up the body when she felt the explosion and heat so intensely she had to grab the table for support. Pain screamed across their link and then darkness. Jill ran across the room to steady her as her face became white and her breathing hesitated. "Natalie! What is it?" Jill tried to steady her boss and help her to the chair. "Nick! Oh, my God, Nick!" The words were almost a whisper as she tried to catch her breath, then pain engulfed her once again and something else. She knew Nick was alive and her breathing eased along with her fear. "Natalie, come on girl. I'm calling an ambulance. You look like death. What happened." Jill reached for the phone on Nat's desk and started to dial. "No, Jill it's okay. I'm fine, really. Just a little anxiety attack. I get them every once in awhile." Nat touched Jill's arm and let her eyes express her thanks for the concern. "Really, I'm okay." Jill, skeptical at first, finally relaxed as she noticed Natalie's color returning to normal. "You need to get that checked, Nat. You had me really scared. I thought you were having a coronary or something." Both women smiled. "Really, I'm fine, Jill. I'm finished for tonight, anyway. If you could take Mr. Harrigan there back to the cold room, we both can get out of here. "Done! See you tomorrow, okay?" Nat nodded and waved her off as she flipped open the log book in front of her. Nat stared at the numbers letting herself reach out to Nick. He had control of the pain but something else vibrated and sizzled through their connection. Natalie pushed into the feeling the way Nick had taught her. Fear washed through her, gripping her heart tighter than any pain or thoughts of losing him. It surrounded her very soul and crushed her while taking her breath away with each beat of her heart. Tears began to run down her face unchecked, yet she pushed into it. Nick needed her. She reached out to him with calm, patience and all the love that she possessed until she felt relief flood through her senses. The fear was still there only diminished by their connection, yet still a viable entity in itself which puzzled her even more. -------------- It was almost dawn and Natalie paced the floor of the loft in front of the main window, silently praying for Nick's return. He was hurt but okay, but the fear she felt earlier flooded their link periodically and he fought to control it. Nick called from the precinct to fill her in on the details, then she checked with the hospital about Tracy. Severe concussion, multiple lacerations, a punctured lung along with a broken arm completed the list of injuries on Detective Vetter. She would be fine. The head nurse, Ellen Framton ,explained to Natalie over the phone. Normally Ellen wouldn't have mentioned Tracy's condition, but she knew the two women were friends and could feel the tension in Nat's voice. Daniel was with Trace, so there was nothing left to do but let her rest and recuperate. She watched the caddy turn the corner and slip into the garage. She could feel Nick's exhaustion and anxiety. He didn't take the lift but ran up the stairs. Nat ran into his open arms as soon as he cleared the door. She rested her head in his chest when he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. She melted into his embrace and breathed in the scent that was only Nick. She could feel the tension within him and sought only to ease it when she pulled slightly away to meet his eyes. Desire and need burned like flames in his blue eyes as his lips found hers. A moan escaped her throat when he broke the kiss and pulled her even harder up against him running his hands through her hair. Then silently he buried his face in the mass of auburn curls that were his light in the darkness. He let his hands roam her body while he sought to touch every inch, every curve, every nuance that was his beloved Natalie...and he still couldn't get enough. His lips sought hers again while his hands continued to explore, treasure and caress. She opened up to him like a flower. Their tongues dueled for supremacy as their passion increased. He released her long enough to catch her breath, then showered kisses down her neck finally coming back to worship her lips once more. Gently biting her lower lip and sucking it into his mouth a soft moan escaped his throat as he spoke. "Make love to me, Natalie...here in the sunlight of a new day. I need to know you are a part of me that will last forever, that we are one not two, but...." Natalie silenced him with a kiss and pulled him into the sunlight flooding the room in front of the fireplace. Nick's need sang to her in a wave of heat when she released his lips and kissed down his throat to his chest. She pulled his torn shirt away while she kissed, nipped, and licked her way across his nipples. She undid his tight jeans as she sucked his nipple into her wet mouth, eliciting a gasp of sheer pleasure. Treating the other nipple the same, she freed him from his boxers and ran her hands softly down his tight hips. He pulled her lips back to his as his hands ripped her blouse open in one smooth motion and his fingers found her already hard buds seeking release from their bondage. Willing to oblige, he fondled her breasts and freed them. Each hand teased a mound into even a harder state. His lips trailed fiery kisses down her neck and he let himself go to the feel of her hands on his bare ass and thighs while she pulled and caressed him. Her blood called to him as it rushed through the vein at the base of her neck and she offered it to him freely. She moaned in need when he unzipped her pants and pushed them and her lace panties over her hips in one swift motion. Quickly he pulled her bare skin next to his in the sunlight that cascaded across the room. The lovers embraced in the promise of a new day. Nick licked and sucked his way to her breasts. Her hands wove a magic spell around him, making him ache with a need that only she could fulfill as she ground her mound into his stiff shaft. Each time they made love was even sweeter than the last until he gave into his need for her and planted his fangs into her neck. With the first drop of her blood, he felt her pull sharply on his cock making him harder and more desperate to be one with her. She stroked him with her hand and with her blood, and still he could not get enough. He released her neck and let his golden eyes meet hers. He held her face between his hands with a desperate plea on his lips. "Help me, Nat! I can't get enough of you. I can't get...." She touched his lips to silence him, then slid her fingertips slowly down his chest on to his thighs and finally his hard shaft before she dropped to her knees. She let her lips worship each spot her fingers touched. Her hands traced long light strokes around his shaft, followed by her tongue. "Please, Nat!" Nick begged as she caressed him in soft, light strokes arousing him more. Finally she sucked his hard shaft deep within her mouth and retreated again. He leaned back against the hearth while her warmth surrounded him. He grabbed her auburn curls shining fire in the morning sun and pushed into her hot mouth again and again, creating more tension and need than he thought possible. She was his light in the morning, the sun that he could not tolerate for longer than an hour, his heart, and his love for all eternity. She filled him with such hope and joy he thought he would explode with happiness....and still he needed more. With each stroke she caressed him with her tongue and sucked hard until he was deep within her throat. She squeezed his balls to extend the pleasure until his breathing came in gasps. His body sought release at a fevered pitch and still she continued to push him over the edge. Through ragged breaths, he managed to speak, "Not like this, Nat. I need to be inside you." He pulled her up to him, dragging her naked breasts across his chest until her swollen lips met his once again. Stepping out of his jeans at his ankles, he placed a foot on her pants pooled at her feet, then lifted her out of them. Gently he laid her on the rug in front of the fireplace. His body followed hers and he sheathed his shaft between her willing thighs. The warmth that she always created around him welcomed him home as he pushed deep within her. The sun shining through the window kissed her hair and face while Nick watched Nat bask in the glory of his love. With each stroke, he brought them closer to release and to the fulfillment they both needed. A soft sheen of perspiration touched Nat's upper lip as Nick's hard cock sought her very core. He lowered his head and licked it off her lip tasting the salt for the very first time. His tongue then plunged into her mouth and matched each stroke of his cock while they rode their passion to the limits. Finding that spot that demanded satisfaction, Natalie met him stroke for stroke until her body screamed for release. Her golden eyes met his briefly when he released her lips and finally urged her to bury her fangs into the sweet nectar flowing through his neck. Her body began to contract with the first taste of his blood while the love he possessed for her drove her to a higher plane of pleasure. As his blood flowed into her mouth the power, passion, and fear of being without her engulfed her in both pain and pleasure, driving her to complete what they both needed. Letting himself go to the feeling of her body contracting around him, he pumped harder into her. With each stroke, he rode her orgasm drawing her love inside him. When she released his throat he gave into his own need and pushed deep within her. "Nick?" Her voice broke when she spoke his name filled with yet another need that only he could fulfill. She offered him her neck. With each stroke he wanted more until his body had reached his limits. As he pumped his seed within her thighs, he sank his fangs into her beautiful neck and drank of the one thing that made him whole. When he released her neck, he licked the wounds until they healed and let his blue eyes finally meet hers. With his shaft still buried within her, he balanced his weight above her on one elbow. Gently he pulled the auburn fire out of her face in order to see her lovely features bathed in the new light of day. How long had he waited to make love to her in the sun, to watch the warmth that she created around her positively glow in the sunlight, to watch the sunlight dance in her hair and eyes? She watched him intently as he caressed her gently. She relaxed under his touch and let the images from his blood answer all her questions. She reached up to gently touch his face and then his lips. He captured her hand and kissed the palm softly....and she finally understood. "You're not alone anymore, Nick. We said forever...nothing can ever keep us apart....not life, nor death as long as we have faith." Gently she rubbed her thumb over his lips and waited. "...and neither is Daniel. We are ALL family now." His kissed her thumb, then pushed all her hair away from her face, and smiled that boyish smile she loved so much. "I have faith, Natalie, in our love and in us, but sometimes the thought of being without you for any period of time scares me. Watching Daniel tonight reminded me just how unpredictable life is, and how unfair." Nat smiled and pulled his lips back to hers. When she released them, he quickly flipped them over until she was laying on top of him. He raised one eye quizzically. "Don't you have something to tell me?" He smiled and played with a curl dangling over her shoulder causing her to blush deeply. "Well, I....I....." She let her eyes meet his. "I'm pregnant, Nick. I know we didn't talk about this, and I should have taken precautions, and I don't know how you feel being a father again, and it's really bad timing, and...." Nick pulled her lips back to his, kissing her passionately, then smiled devoutly when he released her. "I love the idea of being a father again," He pulled her lips once more to his only to stop short of kissing her as he teased. ".....besides I think Jonathan would love a little sister. Don't you?" Natalie squealed with delight and wiggled her hips on his semi hard shaft. "It's a girl....a little girl! You're sure?" She waited breathlessly. He laughed and then kissed her soundly. "Trust me....I'm sure." Part 4 ----------- Daniel sat quietly at Trace's side watching the sun filter through the window and shine on the monitors hooked up to her as she slept. After several thousand tests, catscans, EKG's and every other test they could possibly think of, they gave Trace something to make her rest. She moaned softly when she rolled on her broken ribs, but she was going to be alright. The Captain had called her parents to let them know about the explosion and assure them she was fine. They would arrive sometime later tonight. Daniel slowly went to the window and closed the blinds thinking she would rest better if the light wasn't shining in her eyes. "Don't, Daniel." Trace whispered softly causing him to immediately rush to her side. He grasped her good hand gently as he bathed in the knowledge that she would survive. "I need to feel the sun on my face and let the world surround me. It will help me understand what I feel from you." Daniel leaned over and kissed her swollen lips. He sat down carefully beside her on the bed and tried to find the words he'd sought all night as he waited. "Trace, I need to explain what I did and why. I know we hadn't talked about...." Trace squeezed his hand as he held it causing him to finally look at her. "I love you too, Daniel, and if the power of my blood would have saved your life then I would not have hesitated either. At least I understand more about you than I did before, and I'm not scared anymore....but you have to know what I'm capable of. " A single tear escaped her tired blue eyes and ran slowly down her face, then she forced herself to continue. "I've tried telling you this so many times I can't count, but every time I just lost my nerve. I thought that if you knew that I was a murderer you wouldn't...." Daniel leaned over and pulled her into his arms gently, trying not to hurt her anymore than she was already doing do herself. "I know you loved Vachon, Trace. I know things didn't work out between you because he was a vampire, but you didn't kill him." "No! Daniel, you're wrong." Trace sobbed and gave into the grief she had carried for so long over Vachon. All the lost chances gone. All those sweet times they would never have a chance to experience....gone forever. She relived their last minutes together in her mind, those final good-byes, and gave into the despair and grief that she'd never allowed herself since that night. Daniel just let her cry . He held her close and rubbed her back to ease the pain and sorrow. Maybe now they had a chance. He didn't need to know all the details. The fact that she grieved over him still told him that the wound was deep. Finally getting control of herself, she pulled away slightly afraid of what he would think when he knew the truth. "I put a stake through his heart, Daniel. He was in such pain from Divia's poison that flowed in his blood. He begged me for release. At first I said I couldn't and then I turned and he lunged onto it as I held it in my hand. If I had removed it quickly he would have survived, but I didn't....I didn't." She whispered in anguish. Tracy began to cry again openly and Daniel pulled her back into his arms. "I just couldn't. There was such peace in his face when the pain went away. I just couldn't let him suffer anymore. How could I have done that to someone I love? How could I let him suffer when I had the power to end it?" Trace pulled away from Daniel, laid back down on the bed and closed her eyes in regret. "I never told him I loved him until the end when I buried him down by the lake with his friend Screed. I couldn't, there were too many obstacles to overcome. I could feel the evil within him and I couldn't deal with it, so I ran until the end.....Then it was to late." Trace opened her eyes when she finished and let her bloodshot eyes merge with Daniel's. "I don't regret what I did, Daniel, except not telling him how I felt. I should have been honest with him, with my fears and my dreams, but I couldn't. I couldn't admit to myself, let alone him that I was afraid to let him love me totally because of the evil I felt. I just couldn't separate the evil from the good. I couldn't accept that both existed in all of us, and I guess I was afraid that if our relationship went any further that the evil within him would bring out the evil within me. I couldn't live with it." Trace turned and stared out the window as the sadness washed over her. "In the end, it was his goodness and fear for what he might do that drove him to me....I couldn't let him suffer." She was far away now in the past reliving it again. "I loved him, but not enough to die for him. I judged him unfairly. He loved me enough to trust me to do the right thing." She smiled and turned back to Daniel. "He always said that I was like Nick. I always tried to do the right thing, and he always wondered what the right thing was. In the end he did, and I miss him still. Maybe I always will." She sighed heavily and wiped the tears that escaped her eyes repeatedly. Trying not to look at him, she waited for Daniel to be disgusted with what she had done. Lifting her head gently with his fingertips, Daniel smiled as he met her bloodshot eyes. "You didn't do anything to be ashamed of, Trace. You were afraid of the same things we all are afraid of....the evil within all of us, but you loved him in spite of his faults. In the end you loved him enough to let him go. To be afraid of the vampire and the evil that we possess just proves you're sane. Vampire or mortal, good and evil exists together. Natalie taught me that. She said that when I could accept that, I had a chance at controlling the beast within me. That I would have a chance of being part of someone instead of at war with myself. She was right." Daniel let his fingertips trace Tracy's face lightly before he continued. "Last night when I watched Nick roll his body in front of the wall to protect you from the impact instead of giving into the rage he felt at that madman, I knew he had conquered his beast. That's why he and Natalie are one. When I threw myself on top of you to protect you from all the debris, I realized that you were more important to me than life itself. When your heart stopped beating, I felt the cold loneliness of the last 90 years crush me like a stake impaled in my heart. Then Nick was there. I knew for the first time in my life that I wasn't alone anymore, that I loved you and we were all part of a family. That no matter what happened, good or bad, we would be in it together." He smiled sheepishly with a little boy grin. "I guess what I'm trying to say Detective Vetter is that no matter what you do now, or what you have done in the past, will ever make me change my mind on how I feel about you. I only hope you feel the same about me now that I let you have a glimpse at my beast." Tracy smiled in relief and then leaned forward to kiss Daniel softly on the lips. When she released them, she pulled him into her embrace as best she could with a cast on one arm and broken ribs. "Beast or man, good or evil, I intend to love them all. This time no one will be alone in their struggle, neither you nor I.....deal?" She released him long enough to find his lips again. "Deal!" Daniel mumbled in acceptance and gave into her caress. ------------- At the museum: Theressa sat at the desk as the tall dark haired man walked into the room. As usual, she was lost in the translation and didn't notice his entrance. Gregg Walker was on loan from the States. He had a Ph.D. in French Historical Languages and was well known for his expertise in the field of Ancient French Linguistics. His 35 year old lithe frame did not give credence to the old saying that "only the old dusty stuffy types studied ancient history." Gregg was ambitious, full of life and extremely handsome. He spent his off hours playing racquetball and chasing women. Although he normally preferred blondes, he found himself extremely attracted to Theressa. He had spent the last two weeks trying to get her to go out with him to no avail. Rumor had it she was dating an older man and there were problems. Problems were Gregg's forte'. He loved women on the rebound, especially those that had come from older men. His sleek form and energy usually put all their doubts to rest, as well as their sexual appetites. Of course, he never stayed long enough in one place, so permanent attachments were never intended. He had managed to stay single all these years with very few entanglements. As he stared at her dark curls framing her face while she worked, he couldn't help but think maybe it was time for a change. He could get to like Toronto with the right incentive. "Must be enthralling!" Gregg sounded off from the doorway as he stood watching her. Theressa snapped the pencil at the sound of his voice and almost jumped out of her chair. Each night that she worked, she had become more tense, edgy to the point of fingernails on a blackboard. It had been weeks since she'd seen Lucien. She'd called the Raven with no luck and even Nick didn't know where he'd run off to. After the ordeal with Yenshi, he had disappeared from her life. She'd called, left messages, even visited his private chambers at the Raven....all to no avail. It was as if Lucien LaCroix had vanished into thin air. Nick assured her he was well and that he'd done this before when things got out of control. Was that what she was....his lack of control? In any case, all the doubts she'd had about their relationship were amplified, which led to recrimination and self doubt. If he would just call and tell her he was okay or that he was thinking about their relationship. The silence only encouraged her uncertainty. "Didn't mean to scare you, Theressa." Gregg walked slowly into the room as her dark eyes met his. He was a handsome man, she would give him that. He had a way about him that made you like him from the first minute you met. Theressa suspected he'd cultivated the technique to an art form over the years. You didn't manage to stay single as long as Gregg had without learning what turned women on and off, but she could overlook all that because he was also talented. She admired talented people. It wasn't the pretty face that attracted her, but the mind. "Oh, sorry, Gregg. I've just been a little edgy lately and my answer to that is more work. They don't seem to go well together." Theressa picked up the pieces of her broken pencil and tossed them in the trash with a sigh. "That's the second one tonight. I'm going to have to go to #2 regular pencils instead of these automatic jobs or my entire salary will go to museum property replacement. She smiled and forced a laugh as she turned her attention back to him. Gregg admired her tenacity and her ability to hide her personal problems. Aside from her edginess and the rumors from her boss, you would never know Theressa had a care in her life. She was incredibly talented in the ancient French language which intrigued Gregg, as well as the fact that she was quite beautiful. Apparently this older man was something special, because she hadn't given into any of his special charms. Odd, he'd never seen this guy and even more odd was the fact that Theressa chose to work nights instead of days. He had been here 3 days before he even ran into her. He had to admit, he'd never met anyone quite like her before. She should have been married with lots of little kids running after her. She was beautiful, talented, easygoing,, hardworkering, loved children and incredibly articulate. All the things Gregg admired in a woman. So having no luck getting information about her from Theressa herself, he approached the museum curator. The blonde child that he'd seen her with was her nephew, not her son. The beautiful auburn haired woman was her sister, and Theressa had been married once ending very badly with her husband's death. She was seeing an older gentlemen who was a friend of her brother-in-law's and sister. That was all the curator could tell him. That in itself had taken him over 3 years to glean. He patted Gregg on the shoulder in commiseration when he gave him the details. "She's a tight lipped one, Gregg....not the usual chatty airhead. You have to pay attention and virtually drag the information out of her, but she's worth the chase." The older gentlemen winked and smiled conspiratorially. Gregg walked over to her desk and sat down on the corner picking up her notes on the manuscript as he sat. He glanced at her scribbling and then handed them back to her sheepishly. "Well, you want to decipher those hen scratches for me or do I have to take a course in ‘pencil hieroglyphics by Theressa’ before we proceed further." She chuckled and took the notepad back. "I suppose I could fill you in just a little." Back to business as usual, Theressa started to go over her notes. She handed Gregg the manuscript and pointed to the page in question. When she finished, she sat and waited for his comments. "I'm impressed, Theressa. I would have never thought to reverse the word order. What made you think of it?" Admiration and intrigue flashed in his eyes. "I have a friend who spent a great deal of time studying the 15 Century French culture. He claimed that the aristocrats felt themselves superior. So, they would change subtle little things to prove they were better than the commoner. When I realized this manuscript was written by one of the high born, I began looking for those changes and sure enough they were there." She smiled as she thought of the night Lucien had gone over the little "tedious intricacies of the aristocratic snobbery" as he put it. It was the first time he'd let his guard down and she'd gotten a glimpse of the man beneath the general. It brought a smile to her face that warmed the entire room. It didn't go unnoticed. "He must be a very special friend to elicit that kind of reaction." Gregg handed her back the manuscript and waited as Theressa blushed. He had been right. Theressa couldn't stop the blush that came to her cheeks. That didn't happen very often, but she'd found herself slipping off into the past more frequently since LaCroix had disappeared. "Yes, Gregg he's a very special friend." She stood up and started for the coffee pot on the sideboard. "He wouldn't happen to be that same special friend that's making you so edgy lately would he?" Theressa calmly filled her mug and then reached for a styrofoam cup by the pot for Gregg. She filled it, carried them both back to her desk, and handed him one without answering. "Well?" She was so infuriating when it came to information. No one had ever been able to resist his charm this long. It was becoming embarrassing. "Well, Gregg....my personal life is just that....personal." She took sip from her mug and then glanced into his determined eyes as the last several weeks of self doubt and loneliness caught up with her. Maybe she should get on with her mortal life. Maybe Lucien was doing her a favor and that's why he was staying away. Maybe falling in love with a 2000 year old vampire was not her destiny. Maybe...." He could read doubt in her eyes as she spoke. "You need to talk about it, Theressa. I'm a good listener....really!" He touched her arm lightly letting the human connection of warmth and caring spread through his fingertips to her. Something she'd missed in her life. Theressa stared as his hand on her arm but did not remove it. When her eyes met his, a great sadness washed over her face. "It's very complicated, Gregg, and I doubt very much you'd be interested." Gregg let his hand touch her chin and bring her lovely eyes back to his. "He's hurt you ,Theressa, and that not only makes me interested but angry. No one as beautiful and kind as you deserves anything but love and attention. As far as I can see, he's not giving you that. Go to dinner with me and let me give you the attention you deserve?" The seriousness in his face made him even more handsome than before. "Gregg, I'm not sure that's the answer to any of...." "Are you in love with him, Theressa?" Gregg pulled her hand into his tenderly and waited. "My feelings aren't the problem, Gregg, and I'm not sure...." Theressa felt only the slightest breeze, yet the change in the room was almost visible. Immediately she searched the darkness that followed. She pulled her hand from his to watch Lucien lean against the doorframe casually. His blue eyes were flecked with gold while anger radiated from his body. Gregg followed her eyes to the door. A feeling of overwhelming fear permeated his body when his eyes met cold blue ice in the form of a man standing in the doorway. Gregg quickly removed himself from the corner of the desk. Not sure of why or when he did it, Gregg placed himself between LaCroix and Theressa in a futile attempt to protect her from the evil that he felt. Part 5 ------------ Darrell parked their dark sedan outside the loft and casually went to the doorway and pressed the buzzer. He and Karen had watched the caddy leave earlier that evening and the Taurus sedan left some 15 minutes later with Natalie driving. Darrell wasn't sure the child was with her because it was so dark, but he'd not seen anyone arrive to babysit, so he was pretty sure the building was vacant. They had tried to buy blueprints of the building and found the original architect's design available at the courthouse, but the renovations were never placed on file. So aside from the basic design of the warehouse, they were at a loss. It required a personal look to determine accessibility. Karen kept a close eye on the street as Darrel took a look around. He returned shaking his head and mumbling. "What is it, Darrell?" Karen glared at him. "Damn place is like Fort Knox!" He slammed his hand against the wall in frustration. "If we had a helicopter or grappling hooks we might get access through the roof or the skylight, but not from down here. He's got state of the art security on this level, so I have no reason to believe he's got anything less inside. This is not the place. We're going to have to figure something else out. Let's go!" Darrell headed for the car with Karen only a few steps behind. The camera on the entry buzzer finally shut down as Karen moved clear of the field of view. -------------- LaCroix's deathlike stillness unnerved Gregg as he stared at the dark blond man dressed completely in black leaning against the doorframe. Anger flashed from the man's eyes and Gregg knew instantly that this was Theressa's special friend. This man was not at all what he expected. Somehow he expected a much older man in far worse physical condition. The man before him was tall, lean, aristocratic boned, impeccably dressed with obvious wealth....and he virtually oozed virility along with something else. He created an aura about him that radiated evil throughout the room. Gregg wasn't sure if he imagined it or if his unexpected appearance just seemed sinister to him. Maybe he was reading more into the man than actually existed, but Gregg was well aware of banked anger when he saw it. He would not let this man take it out on Theressa. Without thinking, he took one step toward LaCroix only to find him standing directly in front of him. For an instant he could have sworn he saw gold flecks in the ice blue of his eyes, yet he couldn't remember seeing him move. Gregg shook his head in disbelief. LaCroix smiled at Gregg's confusion, allowing the smirk to control the rest of his facial features while his power radiated through his voice. "Bravery is greatly overrated in this century young fool.....especially when there is so much to lose." LaCroix raised one finger toward Gregg's neck in slow motion letting, the fear that he felt from the young man increase his enjoyment and prolong his destiny. He elongated his nail as it neared Gregg's throat, but found his hand trapped in Theressa's delicate fingers before he touched the skin. "Enough, Lucien!" Theressa pulled LaCroix's hand down and away from Gregg. Anger flashed in her brown eyes, forcing him to turn his attention to her. LaCroix stared at his hand in hers and once again hid the frustration in his inability to sense her when she was near. Banking his own anger behind his stoic facade, he gently turned her hand over and kissed the back of it. "As you wish, young one." His voice was barely an audible whisper that washed over her body and soul. As his cool lips caressed the back of her hand, pleasure wrapped itself into a pleasant ball in the pit of her stomach. His voice bathed her with unspoken desire and promise and she surrendered to it if only for the moment. If Gregg hadn't been standing there, she would have probably thrown herself into his arms, but it would have been a mistake and she well knew it. She watched Lucien's eyes carefully and saw jealousy and more, yet it was the anger that scared her into action. Not for herself, but for Gregg. She knew what Lucien was capable of if pushed, and Gregg was just stupidly macho enough to think he could take LaCroix on. Men....they were all alike. When he released her hand, LaCroix focused his attention back to Gregg who prepared to defend Theressa if necessary. Theressa stepped between them and placed her hands on Lucien's chest and glared daggers into him. Coupled with her knowledge of the man behind the beast, her hands were a stronger barricade than any wall known to man. He would never harm her and Theressa knew it. No matter the anger or provocation, his feelings for her would prevent him from giving into his beast. She knew it and so did he. Yet it was pain she saw in his eyes when they met hers. She'd hurt him unknowingly and she gasped in regret. With her hands still on his chest, she turned slightly to bid Gregg goodbye. "I'll see you later, Gregg. I'll take a raincheck on the dinner....for now." She smiled apologetically. "Theressa, you're sure you're okay with him?" Gregg hesitated to leave, unsure if he could really do anything against this man if he wanted to. Theressa stared into Lucien's cool blue eyes as she spoke. "I'm fine, Gregg. Lucien's bark is worse than his bite! I should know." She smiled brightly causing LaCroix to finally laugh and wrap his fingers around her delicate hands that still held him in place. "Yes....Gregg....is it? My bark IS much worse than my bite and I do promise not to bite her more than once unless she offers to reciprocate." He let flecks of gold touch his eyes as he rubbed her hands gently between his fingers. "Well, if you're sure, Theressa?" "I'm sure, Gregg. Lucien and I are old friends." Theressa turned to Gregg as he headed for the door unwillingly. "Gregg?" Gregg turned in hopes she'd ask him to stay out of feelings for him, but saw only kindness in her eyes....nothing more. "Thanks for caring. I'll see you tomorrow. Okay?" She smiled brightly but never once tried to remove her hands from the man in black that held them gently on his chest. "Tomorrow....right." Gregg walked through the door and out into the museum knowing he'd lost the war without engaging in battle. LaCroix watched her intently when she said goodbye and stretched out with his senses. Relief flooded through their light connection along with indecision and doubt. He was pleased to note she did not pull away from him when she spoke, but the words "for now" caused him pain. Pain he had not known in centuries, pain until several weeks ago he thought would never again cross his cold heart. Yet here it was again in its raw state imprinting its mark, her mark, on him for eternity. He should have stayed away. He knew when he left that it was better for everyone that he disappear, but that part of him that she touched just refused to walk away. To walk in her warmth for even a brief period of time would be worth the risk and the pain for eternity. It had taken him weeks to accept that in himself, only to return and find her the object of desire of a mere mortal. Anger poured from his soul as he watched the young man obviously come on to Theressa. Rage engulfed him to the point of almost losing control when the young upstart had the audacity to challenge him. Then pain crushed him like an anvil when she left the door open. He shook himself inwardly and pulled away from her at the thought. Theressa watched the myriad of emotions play across his face before he blocked them away from her and retreated behind his infamous wall of calm. What was going on in that 2000 year old mind of his. Why had he stayed away for weeks and then returned like a jealous lover. A spark of hope enveloped her when she realized he had been jealous. Jealous as any other mortal man might have been in a similar situation. No matter how much he proclaimed the vampire in control, the man still existed. He had returned. As sure as she was standing here, she was certain that was not his intention when he left several weeks ago. So there was hope after all, and that would have to be enough for now. She watched him walk over to the window and look out over the city of Toronto. "Do you want to explain that little tirade to me, Lucien? Or better yet why you never bothered to say goodbye before you left....or is that your usual way of dumping the women you become involved with?" Theressa let the pain and anger of the last few weeks edge her voice knowing full well he could feel it. Never once taking his eyes off the skyline, he let her anger wash over him before he spoke. "I wasn't aware, young one, that my behavior either good or bad was any of your concern." He turned cold blue eyes back to hers and let the evil within him have brief control. "As far as most of the women I've been involved with over the years, goodbyes were seldom heard by the dead," He snorted with arrogance "....and I have killed men for less than your little friend's paltry excuse of a challenge. In fact, I still may if I become bored." He let his fangs drop and the gold in his eyes turn red with his anger. She should have been afraid, but somehow she wasn't. Nothing about Lucien terrified her......this was a part of him. If they were ever to have a chance together then she had to accept it, but his threats angered her beyond reasonable control. Mesmerized by the anger he saw and felt from her, he watched her march straight to a position directly in front of him. With her full weight behind it, she slapped him hard on the face leaving a red handprint on his white skin. Anger raged through her and she gave into it knowing full well that his matched hers, yet she was unafraid. "That was for threatening Gregg!" She stepped closer and grabbed his coat lapels and pulled his face down to hers. "And this is for threatening me!" She leaned over and bit his lower lip drawing blood and a feral growl from his chest. As her teeth broke the skin and his blood flowed freely onto her lip, she pulled away slightly and licked it slowly off with her tongue in small sensual circles. A low growl emanated deep within his chest as he pulled her hard into his embrace and ground his lips to hers. His fangs nicked her lips and tongue while his tongue plundered her mouth with desire and passion. His hands pulled her hard against him while he caressed and memorized every inch of her body. The tiny drops of blood from her lips and tongue burned into his mind and body and he wanted more. She kissed him back with careless abandon, slid her tongue across his fangs causing it to bleed freely, and let him suck her very soul into his. Her body screamed with desire and pure carnal lust. Without thinking he found himself on top of her on the large sofa in the corner. She ripped open his shirt and splayed her hands across his cool skin while his tongue continued to plunder her mouth. A soft moan escaped her lips when his hands tore open her blouse and found her breasts. Aching with desire, they became hard beneath his expert hands as he continued to lick and suck his way down her neck. The small amount of blood that he tasted on her lips only beckoned to him for more. Her heart pumped her life's blood like a syren call driving him into the sea of oblivion. The wound on his lip was almost healed when she pulled his face back to hers and bit it again. She sucked his blood into her mouth greedily and he gave into her desire finally letting down part of the wall between them. She could feel his despair and loneliness. His self doubt and finally his decision to return for better or worse. The pain that her words and action had caused along with the doubt that created the anger, all rushed into her mind finally giving her a glimpse of his reality via their blood connection. When his body cried out in need of hers, she released his lip and offered him her neck. "I trust you, Lucien. If this is the only way, then love me!" Lost to the feel of her, he planted his fangs into her throat and drank. Her blood was the warmth of sunshine, the flowers in bloom in the spring dancing in the wind, those things had not graced his presence in centuries. Her past and it's pain overwhelmed him, while her love mushroomed into a peace that engulfed and cradled his inner soul causing him to scream in despair as it began to slip away. It was only then did he realize he was losing her. He jerked himself free from her throat and she collapsed in his arms. Part 6 ----------- He was with her in a sea of warmth and love and then he was gone. She screamed in agony at the void and loneliness left in place of his love. She fought, but her body did not seem to respond. She didn't want to die, but she didn't want to live without him either. He needed her warmth as she needed his love and they were adrift in a sea of desire and pleasure that only the two of them could satisfy......and she wanted more. She wanted more of the man that he let her feel, more of the passion he kept so well hidden, and if giving him her blood was the only way it was a small price to pay. She would not turn back now. She awoke to the tiny beeping of the monitors in the hospital room. It was nearing dawn as she looked at the sleeping head resting gently on her hand. He hadn't left her to die or brought her across and the thought pleased her. She glanced at the window and then turned back to find him staring intently at her. "You need to leave, Lucien. It's almost dawn." Concern for him edged her voice. He gently placed her hand in his. "I had to make certain...." He stopped and then removed himself from her side and walked toward the window. He let the distance between them add indifference to his voice. "I did little to explain your current state except you'd fallen.." He glanced at the bandage on her upper arm. "I placed as clean a cut as I could under the circumstances and ...." "Lucien.....What I felt, what we shared was different than before. You let me in, didn't you?" She waited for him to answer. He stared out the window. "It's almost dawn, young one. The doctors said your blood loss was not severe and you should be released this afternoon. Unfortunately, I think you will have to convince them you are not suicidal. It is a shame I won't be here to listen to your excuses or justifications. It would be interesting." He raised one eyebrow in mock skepticism. "Very interesting." "You're not going to answer the question are you?" He walked slowly to her bedside, lifted her hand to his lips, kissed it gently, smiled and then disappeared. ------------ At the lake: The sun would not set for another hour while Tracy sat quietly watching the waves lap up on the shore. She'd been here most of the day. She'd told Vachon about Nick, Natalie, Jonathan and finally Daniel. She needed the time alone with him to come full circle with her life. It was time to move on and put Vachon behind her, but she couldn't do that without saying goodbye. It was something she had to do alone, so she'd spent hours going over every little detail. When it came to Daniel she took a deep breath and bared her soul. "I love him, Vachon. Not the same as I loved you but I love him with my whole heart and I'm going to give myself to him....tonight. I don't want to make the same mistake I made with you. I want him to know just how much he means to me, and that I'll be there for him no matter what happens. I wasn't there for you the way I should have been and it hurts when I think about it. I know now that what I did was right and that you cared for me in the only way you could....but I should have told you how I felt. Maybe it would have been enough to get us through it. We will never know now." Tracy laid a single white rose over the spot where Vachon rested and a single tear slid silently down her cheek into the soil. The sun was setting softly on the horizon. "Well, it's time for us both to move on now but I can still share myself with you as we should have years ago." Tracy pulled a knife from her jacket and sliced her wrist. She let the blood flow freely and held it over his grave. The blood dripped from her arm into the soil and disappeared quickly below the surface. "I give you my love, Vachon as I wanted to then but was to scared to take a chance. I've grown a great deal and I hope you will somehow know that. Maybe if we'd met under different circumstances or a different time we would have had a chance. A part of me will always love you and miss you. I shall never forget you or what you've taught me. Sleep well, my love. I hope you've found the peace you deserve." She picked a handful of the bloody soil and let it float through her fingers back to the ground. "May your next life be easier and filled with the love you deserve." She rose and walked back up the hill to her car. --------------- The hunger burned into his mind and body creating distortions in everything within his view. It burned with a pain screaming for fulfillment that only blood would assuage. He'd experienced it before many years ago and finally gave into the desire as he listened to the mortal coming down the path. The heartbeat of he young man throbbed into his very soul, controlling every motion driven by only one desire. Life at its fullest was his for the taking as he lunged out of the darkness. With the first taste of the blood on his lips, the energy of the young man's life flowed into his veins, and he drank deeper forgetting all else but his own survival. Without thinking he tore deeper into his throat to gain access faster. He fed and ripped into tender flesh until the man before him was nothing but an empty shell to be discarded in the search for another. Wiping the blood off his lips he rose and took to the air in need of still more. ---------------- Natalie knelt by the body taking samples of the tissue that was left dangling from the tortured neck of the young victim. Although the tissue was bloody, the rest of the body lacked any blood. His neck was broken and the body drained all less than 3 hours before. It was a first kill and Natalie recognized the signs almost immediately. The question was who and why so close to the lake. Someone had gotten careless with a fledgling and the whole community could pay, just when they were starting to make headway into the mortal world. Nick walked up behind her when the fresh blood assailed his senses making him stop and regroup before he pushed on. Fighting his own beast, he took a deep breath and concentrated on the task at hand. The tension in Natalie's shoulders and her sharp words to Everett about the evidence bags told him of the problem long before he knelt down beside her. Gently he touched her knee while she sat beside the body attempting to look like she was evaluating the evidence. "Nat?" Nick's soft voice caressed her tense nerves as his hand on her knee gave her the strength she needed. Worried blue eyes turned to meet his. She whispered, "It's a first kill Nick." She quickly checked around her to see if there were unwanted ears before she continued. "His throat's been virtually ripped out and he's completely drained and to make matters worse....I know who he is." She glanced back at the body again and finally pulled off her gloves. Everett returned with the black body bag and stood quietly waiting for instructions. He watched Dr. Lambert speak with Detective Knight and wondered just what was being said in such hushed tones. Had to be something personal, after all, they were married. As Everett approached, she let her voice return to normal in an effort to keep suspicion at it's lowest. Nick helped her up as she motioned for Everett to bag up the body. "Go ahead, Everett. I'm done for now. I'll meet you back at the morgue." "Okay, Dr. Lambert." He smiled at Natalie and then Nick. "Nice to see you again, Detective Knight." "You too, Everett." Nick grabbed Natalie's arm and escorted her away from the crowd as Reese stepped out of his car and approached. "Well, people, what is it this time that I'm going to have to come up with to keep a lid on the hysteria down by the waterfront?" Reese stared at Nick and Nat together. "He's a male, approximately early-to-mid 30's, good shape, no unusual problems. He was apparently jogging around the lake from his attire. His TOD is about 3-4 hours according to body temperature. He has a broken neck done by one quick motion, and his throat is torn wide open. Who ever did this was incredibly strong and viscous in the attack. I didn't see any sign of a struggle, so I would bet the assailant broke his neck from behind and killed him prior to any struggle. I can't imagine a man of his size and stature not putting up a fight otherwise. I won't know for sure until I get the body back to the lab." Reese stared at Everett as he bagged the body up. "Not much blood for someone having their throat ripped out." Reese looked to Natalie to confirm his observation. "You're right, Captain. The body has very little blood left in it." Natalie didn't speculate or expound but just waited. "You think they killed him somewhere else, and dumped the body here? Any chance of that?" Reese needed answers that would help squelch the rapid fear that would escalate if another body was found down here. They had just got the public back to using the park since the rape cases last year. They didn't need more panic by the local residents crying wolf in the dark over every little noise. They just didn't have the manpower for that anymore. "It's always a possibility, Cap. I didn't see any tire marks, but that doesn't mean someone couldn't have carried the body in I suppose. That might account for the lack of blood at the scene." Natalie was walking a fine line and she knew it. Her conscience was beginning to waver with all the problems and bodies. After all, she was an employee of the province and a physician, but Nick or LaCroix always took care of the renegades. Justice was always served, but there were times when she had doubts. "Knight, you ask around to see if anyone saw anything." "Right, Captain!" "Any idea who he is?" Reese questioned. "I've seen him before, Captain. He works at the museum with my sister. He's on loan from the States working on a manuscript dating back to the 15th century. I think his name's Gregg Walker. I won't swear to it, but I think we should call Theressa and the museum curator and have them ID him tonight." "Great, another murder in connection to the museum. That's just what I need. The next thing I'm going to be hearing is that a vampire did it! I want a lid on this people...now....and get me some believable answers!" Reese stormed off back to the car. "I'm out of here. Trace will be here in a few minutes and can handle the crowd, I'm going to check with the community for newcomers." Nick leaned over, kissed Nat's forehead and smiled. "I'll get the answers....don't worry." Nat glanced back at Gregg being loaded in the coroner's wagon with regret. "I hope so, Nick. I really hope so." He squeezed her hand and took off towards the caddy. ------------ An hour later Natalie pulled the sheet off Gregg's face in front of Theressa. She gasped and shoved her fist into her mouth to stop the scream from tearing from her throat. "No! No!! Oh, my God it can't be." Natalie quickly covered him back up and Theressa grabbed the sheet pulling it past his neck to look at his throat. Recognition and horror gripped her heart when she locked eyes with her sister. "A vampire did this?" Natalie pried the sheet from her sister's fingers and covered the body back up. "I can't say for sure ,Theressa, but if I'm guessing ....yes." "But why rip his throat out. I thought they didn't have to....." Theressa turned back to Gregg's lifeless body on the cold slab before her. "They don't, Theressa, but this was done in a frenzy filled with anger and frustration. It has all the signs of a first kill or one that just enjoys giving into their anger. One that...." Natalie stared at her sister as the color drained completely from her face. Natalie rushed to her side. "Theressa, are you okay?" Theressa began to stare at Gregg's body covered up as she replayed the words Lucien had spoken only the night before. "I have killed men for less paltry excuses than your little friend's challenge. In fact I still may if I become bored." Anger, Lucien was incredibly angry and on the edge of control. Was it possible? Of course it was possible. Hadn't he told her that over and over again. He was a killer. It's what he was." Tears ran unchecked down her face as a sob tore from her throat. "I killed him, Tasha! It was me!" Natalie wrapped her arms around her sister. "No, Theressa you didn't do this. There is no way you...." Theressa pushed away from her sister. "You DON'T understand. It was Lucien. He was angry with Gregg for coming on to me. He virtually told me he was going to kill him and I thought he was just acting jealous, but he wasn't. Gregg challenged him and we ALL know how well that goes over, but I didn't think he would really....." Natalie walked up to her sister, grabbed her shoulder and shook her hard. "Stop, Theressa! There are a lot of things Lucien LaCroix is, and a lot of things that he would not have qualms about doing....but this is not one of them." Natalie took a breath to see if she was listening. "What are you saying, Tasha? That Lucien is not capable of this" she pointed to Gregg's cold body beside her ".....atrocity?" Her eyes questioned her sisters sanity. Natalie shook her head. "No! He's perfectly capable of committing much worse things than this, Theressa....and has....in the past, but LaCroix, first and far most…is not stupid. There is no way he would threaten Gregg and kill him where the body would be found. If he killed Gregg, there would be no evidence. Second of all, even in a fit of rage, of which I've seen him with Nick, he would not be this messy. I would stake my reputation on this....LaCroix did not do this!" Natalie waited for acceptance. Theressa was still not convinced. He's capable, Tasha, and maybe I never realized just how much that bothers me. I have to talk to him. I have to hear it from his own lips." She wiped the tears from her face and walked out the door. Part 7 ------------- Alma walked in carrying Jonathan in her arms only seconds after Theressa left. Jonathan carried a bag full of candy in one arm and a stuffed bat in the other. As soon as he spotted his mother, he squirmed out of Alma's arms and ran straight for Nat. Natalie scooped her son up and headed straight for her office and away from the silent corpse lying on the table. Alma smiled while she watched the blonde bundle of energy attack his mother. She admired Nat's quick response in an effort to protect her son from the death she worked with everyday. Realizing her mistake, Alma chastised herself for not thinking about it before she entered. The more Alma was around Natalie, the more she admired her. She was everything she'd wanted to be in her mortal life and never attained. "What's up, little man?" Natalie tried holding on to her son while he wiggled and giggled in her arms. "I've decided to go as a bat, Mommy! I can have wings and everything and you and Daddy can have cool wings, too." Jonathan proudly displayed his stuffed bat's black, fuzzy wings. Natalie laughed and then cast a knowing glance at Alma. "She's been working on you about the vampire costumes, hasn't she?" Natalie sat down at her desk and placed her son on her lap. Carefully she eyed the fuzzy creature as if really considering the possibility before she responded to him. "Well, Jonathan, I think being a fuzzy bat might be fun but you already made your dad agree to go as Count Dracula. You know how he is about making last minute changes and I don't know if I can get three costumes done in 2 weeks. You wouldn't get to wear those cool fangs dad had made for you either." Natalie waited for the logic to sink in. Jonathan looked seriously at his mother then back at his stuffed bat with regret. "Well....I really wanna wear fangs. Okay, but I can keep BB, can't I?" He looked hopefully at his mother. "BB?" Jonathan shook his stuffed bat in front of his mother's face. Understanding finally hit her and she laughed. "Black Bat! Of course, Jonathan." Jonathan smiled and hugged his mom. "Ice cream?" He looked at her hopefully. "On the way home, young man....okay?" He nodded his head in agreement as she placed him on the floor. Nat reached for her coat on the peg behind her when she stood. Alma stood quietly watching and marveled at Natalie's tactics. She'd tried all night to convince Jonathan that bats weren't cool for adults and she finally realized her mistake. She'd used what she thought was 3 year old logic. She'd forgotten, Jonathan was not the typical 3 year old. Natalie had used the logic and common sense of an adult and Jonathan agreed. Natalie finished putting her coat on and turned to watch Alma continue staring at her son. "Alma, is everything okay? You look kind of strange." Alma finally shook off the disbelief and smiled. "No, everything's fine. I just forgot who I had been dealing with all night. I should have known that logic was the answer." She smiled sheepishly, " I never had any kids, so this is kind of new to me." Natalie touched the young vampire's arm in understanding. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'm at a loss most of the time too. In case Nick didn't tell you thanks, let me tell you how much I appreciate you filling in on such short notice." "No problem, Natalie. You know we all love taking care of Jonathan, but you should know there was someone by the loft right after you left. It was a woman and a man. They rang the buzzer but when the camera scanned them, I didn't recognize them. They weren't in Nick database, so I didn't answer. I hope that's okay. I know how careful you and Nick are, so I didn't want to take any chances." She waited for approval from the woman she admired. "Thanks, Alma. It was probably nothing but someone lost, but Nick and I appreciate you being cautious. There's just so much we don't....." "I know Nat....and it's not like you guys have had an easy time of it. I just thought you'd want to know and maybe have Nick check them out." "We will!" Natalie scooped Jonathan up in her arms and whirled him in a circle eliciting a wild giggle from her son. "Okay, young man....ice cream awaits." Nat turned out the lights and Alma was gone before the door was closed. ------------ Theressa slammed the door to the Raven loudly and stomped back to LaCroix's private chambers. She could hear a violin's soft melody echoing through the near-empty room, as she spied the bartender cleaning up the last vestiges of the nights fun. LaCroix finished the last strains of the melody when Theressa slammed the inner door to his private chambers. With excessive calm, he rose and placed the rebec back into its case before he turned to face her. After Nick's brief visit earlier, he needed the calm and peace of the rebec under his fingers. A smile crossed his lips when he placed it back in the velvet lining that had been it's home for over 6 centuries. It was the one thing in his life, aside from Nicholas, that he'd refuse to let go of under any circumstances. He snapped the latch and let Theressa's anger and doubt wash over him. Her anger normally increased his enjoyment of their confrontations, but the doubt somehow dampened that feeling today and he found it disconcerting. Ice blue eyes met angry brown ones as she stepped into the pool of light cast from the lamp on the table beside his bed. "Tell, me you didn't do it, Lucien!" Her voice cracked with the strain of not yelling at his impenetrable calm. "Tell me that you didn't become bored and let that beast of yours indulge in meaningless slaughter!" Her chest heaved with restraint from not screaming while her fists clenched in tight balls at her side as she waited. Without so much as a blink, he was in front of her analyzing each breath that she took and the doubt in her eyes. Then he smiled slightly and returned slowly to sit in the black leather chair seated next to the bed. "I am pleased, young one that at least you have the foresight to recognize that the vampire within me is alive and well. I was beginning to think you had lost sight of the inevitable. That you were certain that the man was stronger than the beast, but I see from the doubt in your eyes..... I was mistaken. I presume you are referring to that pathetic creature that was in the museum the other evening." He waited for her to respond but she remained silent. Her tenacity even surpassed Nicholas' if that were possible. It was a test of wills, and a part of a game which he wasn't really sure he wanted to win. Finally, she relinquished, walked to his side and knelt down on the floor before him never once releasing his eyes from hers. "Tell me you had nothing to do with Gregg's death and I'll believe you." She barely whispered then placed her hands on his knees. He watched the pain in her eyes and felt the doubt in her mind battle her heart. It would be better for them both if he simply admitted to the deed and pushed her away....but he could not. Her pain and lack of trust bothered him more than he cared to admit. It would be so easy just to walk away as he had several weeks ago, but a part of him needed her. Odd that he would recognize that now when for centuries his feelings had been long dead. Silently, he cursed himself for letting it happen. "You already know the answer, Theressa. You alone have decided what the beast is capable of and how much you can live with. What you choose to believe or disbelieve comes from within YOU..... not me. I am what I am and will not change." He rose from the chair and stood silently at the window next to it. He watched the light of the dawn tease the eastern skyline with the colors of another new day that would be lost to him. He closed the heavy drapes with regret, yet never turned to meet her eyes that stared fixedly on his back. "Go home, young one. Go back to your safe little world and sleep the sleep of the blissfully ignorant. Go back to the world where vampires are a myth and only man is the killer that stalks the night. Then you will have the answers that you seek." "Lucien?" "Get out, Theressa! Leave me as I was meant to be!" Anger raged in his voice yet he would not look at her. She gasped at the pain that sizzled through their connection. "Lucien, I...." "This is not a request! Leave!" He turned to finally face her with gold flecks edging the blue in his eyes. Anger and pain, like an electric current, shot through the air between them until he chose to control it once more. Finally he turned his back to her again in dismissal. "This isn't finished, Lucien!" Theressa turned before the tears slipped from her eyes and she ran out the door. "Yes it is, young one. Yes it is!" He spoke to the closing door and his now empty room. ----------- Jonathan ran just a few feet in front of his mother when they entered the parking lot. Natalie smiled at her son's antics while he waved his stuffed bat in the air pretending it could fly. Officer Eileen Monroe was outside smoking a cigarette and waved from the doorway of the precinct. As Jonathan tossed his bat into the air, big beefy hands grabbed him around the waist and hoisted him into the air to catch it. Assuming only the best from everyone he met, Jonathan giggled when he caught his stuffed toy in it's downward flight....then Natalie screamed. "Jonathan!" Terror gripper Natalie's heart when she watched the man toss her son in the air. She was by their side without thinking. A 9mm greeted her when she stopped in front of them. "Please! Don't hurt him. He's only a child." The gun pointed toward Jonathan's tiny little head and Natalie froze in horror. A gun was jammed into her spine as a distinctly female voice commanded from behind. "Get into the car or we kill the kid....understand, Mrs. Knight?" The horrible creature in front of her shoved the gun hard against Jonathan's temple and cocked the pistol. "I....I understand. I'll do anything you say, just don't hurt my son." The woman grabbed Natalie's arm and pulled her toward the dark sedan behind them. "Natalie!" Eileen Monroe screamed across the parking lot while she drew her gun. The man holding Jonathan tossed him in the backseat of the car, turned and fired at the officer baring down on him, and then jumped behind the wheel. Nick walked into the precinct, tossed his coat on the rack behind his desk, and sat down with a frown on his face. "That's not a very promising look, partner. I take it no one in the darker section of town has seen anyone new?" Tracy eyed Nick while he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Nothing! Everyone swears they have been on good behavior and there are no new faces on the street. Of course, that doesn't mean anything yet if it's a fledging. Without guidance we could have a blood bath for the next few days. The community is alerted now, surely something or someone will show up." Officer Monroe stumbled into the precinct with blood running down the side of her head. "Eileen!" Tracy screamed when she saw her. Nick and Tracy grabbed the young uniformed officer before she slid to the floor. "Nick! It's Natalie and Jonathan....a man and woman...." Eileen struggled to stay conscious. "....forced them into a car in the parking lot." She stopped to gasp a breath before she continued. "I tried to stop him but he had a gun on Jonathan and then he hit...." "It's okay, Eileen." Tracy pressed tissue from the nearest desk to her bleeding head. "Somebody call a paramedic!" Tracy looked to her partner to find him already gone. Part 8 Nick took to the air as soon as his feet hit the parking lot. Cars were already being dispatched. He reached out to Natalie while he flew. She and Jonathan were terrified until Nick touched Nat through their connection. Jonathan watched his mother and the lady with the gun in the seat beside them while the car sped through the dark streets. He could sense his mother's fear and crawled onto her lap more for her comfort than his own. He knew instantly when his father touched his mom. He could see it in her eyes and feel her breathing slow. He looked into her eyes for assurance and Natalie smiled back, then she pulled him close for protection and whispered into his ear. "Reach out with me Jonathan. We have to tell daddy where we are." Natalie concentrated on the street signs as they sped by. Jonathan's peace and blood bond passed through her while he touched her face gently. Together they let their fear go and placed their faith in Nick. Nick could see the street signs through Natalie's eyes and feel their heartbeats joined in unison as they reached out to them. Within minutes he positioned himself in the middle of the street seconds before they rounded the corner. Planting both feet, he aimed his 9mm point blank at the windshield reaching out to Nat and Jonathan with the message, 'get down'. The windshield shattered and the black sedan swerved hard into a parked car sending the screech of metal against metal howling through the night air. Karen watched Natalie throw Jonathan and herself onto the floorboard only seconds before the windshield shattered into a million pieces. The realization that Natalie knew in advance hit Karen when the glass sprayed and imbedded fine pieces into her unprotected skin. "He's crazy!" Darrell screamed while he fought for control of the car and swerved into another parked car. Anger overwhelmed him as he turned and pointed the car back at Nick who prepared to fire again into the dark sedan. Nick fired into the vehicle catching Darrell in the shoulder with a 9mm slug that ripped through his skin like tissue paper. Darrell screamed in agony and pulled the car directly into Nick. The impact sent him hurdling into the air across the alley into a pile of wood crates. Karen leaned across the seat and grabbed the wheel. "You killed him... you stupid bastard!" She screamed while she tried to steer the vehicle from behind the seat with no control of the gas. "You idiot!" Darrell pulled himself up straight and grabbed the wheel from her with an angry glare on his face. Karen sat back into the seat with a sigh of relief. She grabbed the cloth in the bag and the chloroform at her feet. Natalie's defiant eyes met her's while she pulled Jonathan closer. "You told him...somehow you told him." Karen pointed the gun at Jonathan and then handed the chloroform rag to her. "Him first, and then you or you're both dead!" Natalie held the rag to Jonathan's nose until he slumped into her arms and then placed it over her own. --------------- Dazed from the impact Nick pulled himself up slowly. A burning pain wrenched through his side and his thigh. He looked down to find a wood slate from one of the crates protruding out of his side, and another from his thigh. Reaching down he yanked them out, screaming in frustration and pain. Catching his breath, he reached out to Natalie and Jonathan through their link....but they were gone. "No!!!!!" He sank to his knees in despair. -------------- Nick paced as he flipped through the mug books looking for Darrell's face. Periodically he would stop and reach out to Natalie with no luck. She wasn't dead he could feel that, but unconscious and so was Jonathan. What did that mean? Were they hurt or drugged? The knot in the pit of his stomach grew with each passing minute. Tracy watched Nick pace with a limp. He hadn't changed, so the blood from the wound in his side and thigh smeared his clothes disgustingly. He looked in dire need of medical attention. When asked, he'd brushed them off. "They're only minor. I'm fine! Just keep looking." The entire city of Toronto was on alert, road blocks had been set with Natalie and Jonathan's pictures faxed to every officer on patrol....yet no luck. Tracy had been pulling Nick's old files and possibles. The list was overwhelming. When you had been a cop as long as Nick, you managed to make a number of enemies. It looked hopeless and Nick was coming unglued. Reese was going ballistic and the sun was about to rise. She would never get Nick out of her before he french fried. Daniel approached Tracy's desk as Nick threw a mug book on the desk and picked up another. He'd tried using the computer but couldn't sit still long enough, so he opted for the books. They were much better than the computer generated pictures anyway. Tracy eyed the window and the coming dawn and Daniel immediately understood. "Nick? Any luck?" Daniel grabbed his arm to make him stop pacing. Nick's eyes met Daniel's filled with frustration and anger. He returned to pacing and flipping the pages without answering. Daniel grabbed his arm and whispered into his ear. "Look Nick, you getting toasted isn't going to help Nat or Jonathan. We need to get you out of here." Daniel made Nick look at the window pouring sunlight across his desk. "I'm not going anywhere, Daniel, until I find that piece of slime. I have seen him before." Nick slammed the book in his hands. "He's in here. I just have to find him and I can't do that at home." "Okay, Nick, but let's just run you home with the books so you can change and get something to eat. I know how you are when you haven't been fed." Daniel gave Nick a knowing smile and then surveyed the room with his eyes before he spoke. "We don't need any more accidents, if you catch my drift." Nick looked at Daniel as if he were crazy, and then at himself. He was a mess. It was no wonder everyone was giving him a wide berth. He shook his head in agreement. Daniel, Tracy, and Nick all grabbed a pile of books and headed for the door. -------- Nick was in the shower when the phone rang and Daniel picked it up. Tracy watched and listened to no avail. When Daniel hung up the phone, he ran to the entrance video monitor and pushed replay. He scanned back to 7:45pm....and there she was. In the background was a man. He froze it as Nick walked down the stairs in clean jeans and a dark blue silk shirt. "Nick, look at this!" Daniel was excited. Nick was beside him instantly staring at the screen. He hit replay, then turned up the volume to listen. Her face splashed across the screen and Nick froze before he zoomed in. She was familiar, and the voice of the man he'd heard earlier that evening echoed through his audio speakers. "Damn place is like Fort Knox!" Nick zoomed in on the background image and the man's face became larger and clearer. It was him. Nick crushed the remote in his hands without thinking. "It's him!" Nick looked at the crumbled plastic in his hands and pitched it violently across the room. He went into the closet where the central video control was stored and flipped a switch. Within seconds, he had a still photo of the man on the screen. He returned and handed it to Daniel. "I knew all the money I spent on this equipment would eventually pay off. Take this down to the precinct, have Ingrid scan it in, and run a computer match on him." Daniel grabbed the picture and headed for the door. "I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything." He waved goodbye to Tracy and hit the stairs. Nick eyed Tracy sitting on the couch. "You planning on staying, or are you heading back to the precinct?" "Depends on you, partner. If you're planning on returning, then I think you need a driver. If not, then I'm here because I know you Nick Knight!" She stood and placed both hands over her chest in defiance of anything he could possibly come up with to make her leave. "Okay, Trace! I'm going to eat something to keep from becoming a bloodsucking night creature, and then you can drive me in. I just love the view from the trunk. I think we can find a couple of rooms at the station that I can block out the sun with no problem....Deal?" She smiled, then walked over to hug him. When she let go, she ran her hands down the soft material in his shirt. "I always loved that shirt on you. I always wanted to touch it, but was afraid to ask." She looked embarrassed when she stepped away. Nick smiled. "It's Nat's favorite. She likes to wear it to sleep in sometimes when I'm gone. She said it makes her feel closer to me. I just thought if I wore it I would...." He ran his hands down the front of the shirt and saw Natalie's hands. The fear he'd fought all night overwhelmed him, only to be replaced by loneliness and pain. He fought back with anger and gave into it. He needed to be strong and anger was the key. Tracy watched him closely as the emotions played across his face. He was so good at hiding everything but his emotions for Natalie and Jonathan. He told her that after 800 years, he had to have learned something. He claimed you became immune to so much after a point in time. Tracy never believed that. She'd watched him sacrifice everything for people he didn't even know. Those were not the actions of someone who didn't care. When his eyes meet hers, they were filled with anger and determination. Good....it would make him stronger. Nick walked to the fridge, grabbed a bottle of cow's blood from the shelf, pulled the cork out with his teeth and drank it in 2 swallows. He let the blood heal his body, but not his soul. Only Natalie and God could do that. He drained the second bottle, leaned back against the cabinet to rest his head, and tried to connect with Natalie again. He could not reach her but the tiny bond between himself and his daughter was there. He smiled because he knew they would wake soon, and then there would be a chance. "Want to share?" Tracy said lightly as she watched the smile cross his lips. "Natalie's pregnant, Trace. I'm going to be a father again....and my daughter just touched me. They're alive, but Nat's unconscious. Drugs I think, but Natalie will be awake soon. We need to go." Nick sat the bottle in the sink and headed for the door. Part 9 ------------ Nick set up shop for the day in the interrogation room which had no windows. Fifteen minutes after he arrived, they had a match on Darrell. "He's Darrell Hopper, Nick. He's got a rap sheet as long as your arm, but he was most recently a cell mate of Jacob Teelwood. Does that ring a bell?" Daniel laid Darrell's rap sheet in front of Nick. "Jacob Teelwood? Wasn't he the guy that I sent up 3 years ago, that claimed he should be released from prison because his wife was dying of cancer?" Nick leaned over, typed in the name on the computer screen, and waited for Jacob to come up. "Good memory, but then we know where that comes from. You sent him up for rape and murder on 3 counts. He was the guy you testified in court against because he claimed you set him up. There were 4 eye witnesses to the last murder and 2 for the rape. One turned state's evidence to buy his way out, but the guy was a 3 time loser. The judge gave him 3 back to back life sentences and he thought the crown should just forgive and forget because his wife was dying. Incredible! You think he convinced his cellmate to get revenge?" Daniel watched Nick play with the computer a little more. All of a sudden, Karen Morrison's picture popped on screen with a local address and car info which caused Daniel to sit down beside him. "She's his sister....Jacob Teelwood. Let's check it out and put an APB out on both of them." Nick reached for the phone. -------------- The fog was like a warm blanket that surrounded and cuddled her in a peaceful sleep that could last forever. In the back of her mind she knew that there was something that she should remember....something that was important....something that required her attention. So, she pushed through the warmth because it was important. The light shining through the window was so bright that she had to shield her eyes to stop the throbbing in her head. When her mind finally cleared, she remembered. "Jonathan!" Natalie whispered hoarsely through her dry throat. "Jonathan? Where are you, baby?" She struggled to her feet and looked around the room. She spied the small bundle lying on the floor beside the door and rushed to his side. "Come on, Jonathan. Fight your way out of the fog. Come back to Mommy, Jonathan." Natalie cuddled him in her arms and pushed beautiful, blond locks out of his eyes. He began to moan softly and she encouraged him by rubbing his arms and legs to stimulate his circulation. Finally small, blue eyes opened to his mother's smiling face. Relief washed over Natalie and she hugged him fiercely. He rubbed his eyes and then fought his way to a standing position....a little shaky but standing non-the-less. With that accomplished, his head cleared and he beamed a smile at his mother. Finally, he leaned over and hugged her. "Oh, Jonathan, are you all right?" He nodded yes, and touched his mother's face passing along the peace and warmth he always shared with his touch. Natalie clasped his small hand on her cheek and smiled. "Some day you're going to have to teach me how to do that." They surveyed the room to find it held only a small sink, one cot, and a toilet in the corner. The light shown from a window high up near the ceiling and the door was bolted from the outside. There were no tools, utentils, sheets, clothing or stray objects that could be used as weapons. The room was stripped all the way down to the toilet paper. "Let's see what we can see outside the window, okay, Jonathan?" Jonathan smiled with approval and looked up at the window perplexed. Natalie saw the distressed look on his face, leaned over, and lifted him up onto her shoulders. "Now, young man, here is your chance. You stand on my shoulders and tell me what you see, okay?" Jonathan stood on his mother's shoulders but still could not reach the sill ledge. "Not tall enough, Mom." Natalie pulled the bed under the window and they tried again...still not tall enough....if only she'd master the art of levitation. Nick said it was like willing it done, more than flying. Either her vampire traits weren't strong enough yet, or her concentration was lacking. In either case, she still couldn't fly, but maybe.... "Jonathan, I want you to concentrate sweetheart. Concentrate on seeing out the window. Think about being lighter, so you can see out the window." She lifted Jonathan on her shoulders once again. "Concentrate, Jonathan, you can lift yourself up to the window if you concentrate." She felt his weight lift off her shoulders. She looked up to see her son hovering over her head in front of the window. He looked down at her and giggled. When he did, he began to lose altitude. "Concentrate, Jonathan. You can fly like daddy. Now go up there and tell me what you see." Natalie pointed at the small window not big enough for even child to fit through. "I see trees, Mommy....lots of trees....water, big blue water pond and Bambi." "Okay, Jonathan, you can come down now." Jonathan slowly returned to the floor and his mother scooped him into her arms. "That was wonderful, sweetheart. Daddy will be proud of you. Now you think you can help me call daddy? I think we are pretty far away, and I'm going to need help. Okay?" They both sat down on the floor and Jonathan placed his hand over his mother's heart, then one on her stomach. "Sissy can help call daddy, too, can't she, Mom?" Natalie stared at her son. "You know I'm pregnant." He beamed with pride. "I'm going to be a big brother....a good big brother." Natalie laughed as he puffed his little chest out. "Yes, you are, Jonathan. Yes, you are!" They sat down to concentrate on their connection with Nick. -------------- Nick paced the floor in the interrogation room as he waited for word on Karen Morrison. Tracy stepped into the room with a frown on her face. "We found her car, Nick. They picked it up about an hour outside of Toronto. They are going through it now, nothing so far except blood on the front seat. You must have winged him." "The windshield was blown...." Nick stopped in mid-sentence when he felt Nat and Jonathan reach out to him. He gripped the chair back and pushed into their link. He could see the trees and the lake just as Jonathan saw them, but nothing more. They didn't know where they were, but they were all right. Relief flooded through him with their connection complete. Tracy touched his arm and stood silently at his side watching him concentrate and then relax. When his eyes came back into focus, he was startled to find his partner holding his arm in front of him. "They're okay?" She asked hopefully. He shook his head to regain his balance and sever the connection. "They're okay, but scared and locked in a room somewhere in the woods. As soon as it's dark, I'll follow their heartbeats through our blood link." "You can do that?" Tracy asked incredulously. Nick shook his head. "As long as they are not too far away from me. I have my limits." He smiled sheepishly. -------- It was almost sunset. Natalie awoke from the light sleep that overcame her. Jonathan awoke instantly with the slamming of an outer door. They both listened while the key was inserted into the lock. Darrell waltzed into the room with his left arm in a sling and a gun in the other. His blood stained clothes and foul breath were nothing compared to the rotted teeth he displayed so proudly through his wicked smile. He motioned for them to go into the other room. Natalie picked up her son and walked through the door. A short, petite brunette sat in the chair beside the television. Natalie surveyed the room quickly looking for an escape route. This part of the house seemed like a normal hunting cabin. There was nothing out of the ordinary to draw attention to it nestled in the woods by the lake. Without a doubt, the room they were held in was specially designed for prisoners. The brunette walked slowly over to the refrigerator, pulled out a glass of milk, and a glass of orange juice. She handed the milk to Jonathan and the OJ to Nat. They both accepted it thankfully and drank it down. "Enough!" Darrell grabbed Natalie's arm and pulled her toward the rumpled blood stained bed on the other side of the room. Natalie easily pulled her arm free from his slimy touch and was greeted with a hard slap with the gun upside her face. The blow staggered her and she fell to the floor. "Mommy!" Jonathan screamed and lunged at the man attacking his mother. Karen caught him in mid-stride. "Not now, little one. This is something you don't want to see." She started for the door in disgust. Darrell straddled Natalie on the floor, then turned and shot the light above the door as Karen reached for the knob. "The brat stays!" He leaned over, back handed Natalie again with the gun barrel, and then ripped her blouse open exposing her lace bra beneath. "You're insane, Darrell! There is no way I'm going to let this kid watch his mother get raped." Karen's defiant eyes met Darrell's. "Then I kill him now!" He aimed the gun at Jonathan. Natalie's head cleared to see him aim the pistol at her son. She pushed upward with her torso and dislodged him. The shot went wild as Darrell turned his attention back to the woman who was now no longer beneath him. He met the golden eyes of a demon. Natalie grabbed him by the shirt collar and tossed him across the room like a rag doll. Darrell hit with such speed, he crashed through the wall into the separate room that held them prisoner earlier. Karen pulled her gun and started to fire at the golden eyed creature only to find her no longer in front of her, but behind her. She released her hold on the child for only a second, and he kicked her in the knee with such force she crashed to the floor in agony. Natalie grabbed the gun from her hand and stuffed it in her pants. "Run, Jonathan! Mommy's right behind you. Jonathan sped to the door as Darrell lumbered through the opening in the wall and fired. Natalie threw herself over her son to protect him as they crashed through the door into the yard. Jonathan screamed when he felt the pain engulf his mother. Fire and pain tore through her as the bullet traveled through her thigh, tearing muscle and tissue in the process. In spite of it, Nat picked up her son and ran for the trees. Almost to the clearing, hampered by her leg, Natalie saw Darrell take aim once again in their direction. She heard the hammer on the pistol fall like an anvil on metal. She pushed them both to the ground in one swift motion. The bullet creased the side of her skull causing the blood to flow heavily down her face. Once again, she picked up Jonathan and ran. No longer able to see her assailant, she plunged her son and herself deeper into the woods when the shot rang out. Totally expecting it to rip through her flesh, she stumbled to the ground covering her son one more time. When nothing happened, she tried again to rise but to no avail. She weakly pulled herself off her son as the blood flow from her leg and head began to take it's toll. "You have to fly, Jonathan. Fly to daddy and get help. You can do it. Just like this afternoon." Natalie saw the fear in her son's eyes as the tears began to form. "Can't leave Mommy! Jonathan help Mommy!" Jonathan placed his hands on his mother's face to bring her inner peace as he always had. "That's right, Jonathan, you can help mommy, but you have to fly. You fly high above the trees and reach out to daddy. Daddy's looking for us. He'll find you. That's the only way you can help mommy. Do this for me, Jonathan." "Jonathan find daddy for mommy!" Jonathan reluctantly let go of his mother, lifted gently into the air, and reached out to his father. The pain and the darkness began to overcome her and her heart reached out to her husband "find him, Nick....find our son. I love you both," and she was gone. Part 10 --------- It was almost dusk and Nick paced the floor furiously in the interrogation room. Something was happening, he could feel it. He was like a caged animal most of the day. Daniel hid a flask of blood for emergencies in his desk and gave it to Nick when his eyes began to glow for the second time in an hour. "Nick, you have got to calm down. Natalie will lead you to them. Just be patient...." Pain ripped through Nick's body causing him to sink to the floor. "Natalie?" His eyes began to glow in spite of the blood. He lurched to his feet when he felt fear cascade through his wife and son. Without thinking, he burst out of the room toward the parking lot while the sun still hovered on the horizon. Confusion, loss, and pain raged through his body when he reached out to Natalie....then it was gone. "No!!!!!!" Nick screamed in horror as the link went dead and he collapsed to the ground. Hatred engulfed him and he gave into the rage letting his eyes glow and his fangs drop. He rose slowly. Tracy and Daniel were at the head of the group coming out of the precinct door. Quickly she grabbed Nick and buried his head in her shoulder to hide his eyes from the rest of the force. "No!" Nick pushed away from her and started to leap into the air. Daniel tackled him to the ground while the entire precinct stood dumbfounded. Daniel straddled him while Nick pushed upward against him. "No, Nick! Not like this. You have to get control. The whole precinct is watching. It won't do Natalie any good if...." "Natalie's gone!" Nick choked the words out and then let the grief overwhelm him. "I can't feel her anymore....I can't the baby....I don't know.....she's...." Blood tears filled his eyes with banked anger simmering behind them. Their link was gone and it could mean only one thing. Daniel knew it and so did Nick. "What about Jonathan, Nick? Can you feel Jonathan?" Daniel's words brought Nick back from the darkness he was slipping into. Jonathan....his son still needed him. Nick reached out and felt for their connection. It was slight, but overridden by the fear he felt from his young son. Daniel watched Nick concentrate. Finally he removed himself as Nick's blue eyes returned. "He's alive and frightened. I can't trace him by his heartbeat because he so scared." Nick took the hand Daniel offered and stood. "I've got to find him. I've got to find, Nat." "Nick!" Sgt. Ellis ran up to his side. "They have her. They picked up Teelwood's sister about an hour north of Toronto. She's a bloody mess but not talking. They're bringing her in by chopper. She should be here in about 10 minutes. We'll find them, Nick. Even if we have to use unauthorized means to get the information. We'll find them!" Ellis gave Nick the thumbs up sign as he turned to leave. ------------ Ten minutes later the uniformed policeman shoved Karen Morrison into the chair behind the microphone in the interrogation room. Tracy and Daniel sat down on each side of her while Nick watched behind the glass. Reese stood beside him afraid of what he might do if left alone. You could feel the anger radiating from Nick while he stood silently watching through the glass. Reese marveled at his control and wondered just how long it took Nick to develop that talent. He'd seen Nick angry....and that was risky. "Tell me, Karen! Just exactly where are Natalie and Jonathan. Give us a location and there's a possibility that the crown will lighten your sentence." Tracy spoke much calmer than she felt. She wanted to strangle the woman to get the answers. "I haven't the foggiest idea what you are talking about, Detective. I don't know any Natalie or Jonathan. I want a lawyer and I want one now." Her arrogant facade was starting to crack as she watched Tracy eye the mirror behind her. Knight must be behind the window. She didn't want to face him. She couldn't, not after what Darrell had tried to do. Karen turned and stared into the mirror. Nick was gone before Reese could stop him. He was in the interrogation room standing before her without a sound. Reese shook his head in disbelief. How the Hell did he do that? Tracy and Daniel didn't seem surprised, but the look of terror on Karen Morrison's face was enough to spur him into action. Controlling the anger, Nick sat down across from her and projected his heartbeat to hers when he spoke. "Tell me, Karen! Tell me just exactly where Natalie and Jonathan are." His voice echoed into her mind and heart. She wanted to respond, but her mind rebelled until he commanded it....forcing her to reply. "They are...." "Nick!" Sgt. Ellis busted into the room. "They've found Jonathan!" Nick lunged out of the chair causing it to crash on the floor in his haste to get to his son. "He's in the parking lot. One of the night people found him wandering in the lot near your car." Ellis tried to keep up with Nick running to the back of the building. Bursting through the door, Nick saw Jonathan in the arms of one of the female officers crying into her shoulder. "Jonathan!" Nick called to him across the lot as he ran. Jonathan lifted his head at the sound of his father's voice and screamed. "Daddy!" Nick wrapped his son in his arms and held on, when a tiny blond head buried his face into his shoulder and wept uncontrollably. Nick fought his own tears of relief while others watched the tender scene between them. Tears streamed down Tracy's face as she watched, while Daniel held her for support. "They'll be alright, Trace." He kissed the side of her head when she started crying openly for Nick. Jonathan sniffled and finally stopped crying. "It's okay, Jonathan. You're safe now." Nick ran his hands across his son's tear streaked face trying to wipe the tears away. "Mommy's hurt. Daddy must help mommy....in the woods." Jonathan pointed north with his small hand. "Can you show me, Jonathan?" Nick said a silent prayer. "Jonathan fly, Daddy! I show you. We fly to mommy." Nick looked at his son and the crowd milling around. "We're going to have to take the chopper, Jonathan." Nick pointed to the helicopter sitting on the pad near the precinct. Nick placed Jonathan on his hip and ran to the chopper. Daniel and Tracy were only a few steps behind. "Not without us, partner." Tracy climbed in the back of the jet ranger followed closely by Daniel. The chopper lifted off only seconds later with Nick on the headset to the station and the pilot heading them north. ----------- James walked through the woods every night that he'd camped here. He loved this place. It was his 'center of tranquility', as Ellen had put it. He had always loved the night and after Ellen's death, he found himself drawn to the lake. Tonight was no different than the rest until he heard the gunshot carried on the wind. Nearing the grove of pine trees on the north end of the lake, he heard a moan. Listening carefully, he followed the sound into the clearing. A small form lay silent on the ground awash in the moonlight. The light danced off her hair creating the illusion of fireflies in the dark. He touched it in amazement. Rolling her over, he discovered the blood flowing freely from the wound on her head and a deep hole in her thigh. Quickly James fashioned a tourniquet out of his belt and ripped his sleeves for bandages. They were alone, except for the cabin owned by the late Eric Morrison, and that was several miles away. Making a quick decision, James wrapped the woman in his coat and headed for his campsite nearby. ---------------- Just as Jonathan pointed out the grove of trees near the lake, Reese radioed with Karen's confession. It wasn't good news, but Nick needed to be prepared. "Nick, she claims she shot Darrell after he started to rape Natalie. She also claimed Darrell shot Natalie, but she escaped into the woods with Jonathan. The cabin was Karen's late husbands and located at...." Nick cut Reese off. "We're here, Captain. I'll let you know." Nick and Jonathan bailed out of the chopper before the blades stopped turning. Jonathan pointed east and they took off leaving Daniel and Tracy to check the cabin. The closer to the clearing they came, the stronger Natalie's scent. They stopped at the edge of the clearing. "Over there!" Jonathan pointed toward the small group of pines on the north side of the clearing. Nick reached out with his mind and could feel nothing. Fresh blood assailed his senses.....it was Natalie's. Placing Jonathan on the ground, Nick knelt in the soft bed of nettles and touched the wet fluid beneath his knees. Bringing it to his lips, he tasted. Natalie's fear, pain and love screamed through his soul...and then darkness. A cry of agony tore from Nick's lips leaving only hollow grief as his companion. Part 11 James finished bandaging her head and watched the slow methodical rise of her chest while she rested. The wound to her leg was clean with apparently no shattered bones, only torn muscle and tissue when the bullet passed through her thigh. She was healing at an incredible rate and he couldn't help but marvel at her body's reaction to trauma. He had been a physician for almost 20 years and in that time he'd never seen anyone heal that quickly. If only Ellen would have had her metabolism. James shook his head to clear the image of his dead wife. James stripped all the blood soaked clothes from Natalie's body and placed her in one of Ellen's short nightgowns. He was glad he'd made the decision to bring her home after looking at her wounds at the campsite. He noticed the ring on her left hand when the diamond sparkled in the lamplight. Whoever she was, she obviously possessed wealth as well as beauty. James removed the ring and placed it in the bedstand next to her and turned back to caress the soft auburn hair that had beckoned to him since he'd brought her home. Running his fingers through the thick tresses, he noticed a necklace tangled in the back of her hair. Carefully he undid the clasp and worked it free. It was a silver locket encrusted with tiny diamonds around the edge. Curiosity got the better of him and he opened the keepsake. In one side was a picture of a small blonde child being held in the arms of tall handsome blue eyed man in front of a lake. They were obviously father and son from the resemblance. The other side was engraved ‘'Love Forever! Nick.' James snapped the locket closed and placed it along side the ring in the bedstand. She would be missed, that much was certain, but without any ID he would have to wait for her to regain consciousness. He would make a trip into town tomorrow if Nance would stop by and keep an eye on his guest. Maybe the sheriff would be able to shed some light on her identity. Living out in the remote areas of Canada had it's advantages, but there were some civilized necessities missing in his life. He had one phone, one car, electricity only by generator, and the nearest house was 15 miles. The closest town was 30 miles away and James liked it that way, but today it was a problem. Since giving up his practice to take care of his ailing wife before she died, he'd been remiss in replenishing his medical supplies. If his mysterious houseguest was to recover fully, he would need a few things. James sat back in the chair to rest and keep a close eye on his patient. Some time near midnight, she began to moan softly. Not having anything stronger than aspirin in the house for pain, he reached for the bottle of brandy he'd brought in earlier. He lifted her head and placed a glass to her lips. Forcing a little of the liquid down her throat, she began to gasp and choke slightly coming fully awake. It was not the desired nor expected effect James had anticipated. Beautiful blue eyes met his while her hand pulled the glass away from her mouth. "Who are you?" The words were raspy and dry on her lips. Natalie stared around the room and then back to the man in front of her. His tall stature and light beard did nothing to camouflage his soft manner and genuine warmth. "I'm Dr. James Keiner and you are in my home.....and who might I ask are you?" He smiled and offered her the brandy once more. Natalie accepted the glass and stared at the brown liquid for a moment and searched. The fear and uncertainty written on her face did more to answer his question than her words. "I....I don't know." She downed the brandy in one swallow and let it burn down the back of her throat bringing no familiarity with the action. Fear gripped her and she ripped the sheets off her legs. She stared at the bandage on her thigh and then at James. "What happened to me? Why can't I remember who I...." She touched her head to find a bandage there and the questions continued to mount. James calmly clasped her wrists in his and brought them gently back to her side in an effort to calm her. "It's okay. You were shot and apparently one of the bullets creased your skull. You must have a slight case of amnesia. It's not uncommon in a wound like yours. You have a concussion but you should be fine. Why don't you lie back and rest. Your memory will come back in time. You just need a little time to recuperate....that's all." He handed her another glass of brandy and pulled the covers back over her injured leg. There was something about what he said that made sense, so she took the glass, drank down the brandy, and tried to relax. Within minutes the warming effect of the alcohol calmed her enough to sleep. ----------------- Tracy felt the agony that engulfed Nick like it was her own. It could mean only one thing and dread consumed her while she ran to her partner kneeling on the ground. Jonathan stood beside Nick as the grief tore from his father's lips. He wrapped his tiny arms around Nick's neck in an effort to stop his pain and sadness. "It's okay, Daddy. Mommy is okay! Jonathan is okay!" Jonathan held on to his father as they both wept. Nick held onto his tiny son and let his tears flow freely in the dark. They reached out to each other and found strength in their bond together. Not giving into the grief was the hardest thing Nick had ever done in his life, but he needed to be strong now more than ever. His son's words of childlike hope in the face of their loss did more for Nick than all the vampire traits he'd ever possessed. He pulled Jonathan's face into his hands and gave thanks for the miracle of his son. Tears streamed down Jonathan's cheeks and Nick wiped them away gently with his thumbs. Then Jonathan took his tiny fingers, caressed his father's face, and wiped his blood tears away into the night. "You're right, Jonathan." Nick spoke softly. "We're all going to be okay." He rose off the bed of pine nettles and picked up his son. Tracy stood behind him quietly and watched, knowing full well that if Nick could not feel Natalie or the baby....they were gone. Her heart went out to him as she realized they all had to be strong now, for Nick and for Jonathan. Nick met Tracy's eyes with strength and determination. "Trace....have them bring in the dogs and search the entire area. Natalie's blood is all over this place. They should be able to find her in a couple of hours. I'm taking Jonathan home. I don't want him here when...." "I'll call you when I know something." She ran her hands through Jonathan's hair then touched Nick's arm in understanding. Finally she cast her eyes toward the area behind them with hesitancy. When she looked back, they were gone. ------------------- Theressa paced the floor of the loft and waited. Daniel had called and filled her in as much as possible. Natalie couldn't be dead. She would know it....but Daniel didn't give her much hope. The fact that Jonathan had shown up by himself and led them all to the cabin was a good sign. She had to keep that in mind as she fought the fear growing in her gut. Jonathan and Nick would need her. She let her mind drift to her first night at the loft and marveled at how close Nick and Natalie were. Until that night, she had never witnessed true love. Tasha and Nick were soulmates bound to each other in blood and love for all eternity. The nights she and Tasha spent talking made her realize just how much she wanted a relationship like that. How did you cope with losing someone who was a part of you? Someone that was your other half in everything you did. What could she do to help Nick? The lift kicked on and rose slowly while she waited silently, praying for a miracle. Nick stepped out of the lift carrying Jonathan in his arms asleep. The pain in his eyes told Theressa the answer before she asked. Tears slipped from her eyes as she stared at her brother-in-law and nephew. They were alone now. Grief tore from her throat and she shoved her fist into her mouth to try and control the emotions flooding through her. She'd lost a sister, but they'd lost a part of them that made them whole. Nick walked over and wrapped his arm around her pulling her into his embrace. Theressa sobbed into his shoulder and he comforted her instead of the other way around. Small fingers ran through her hair and she rose from Nick's shoulder to meet Jonathan's sleepy blue eyes. "Don't cry, Aunt Theressa. We're not alone. You're not alone anymore." He ran his small hands over her wet cheeks and the love that he always carried became a part of her. Theressa clasped his little hand in hers and then kissed the palm before she forced herself to smile. "You're right, Jonathan. We are all family and we will get through this together. Just like you and your dad always did with mom." "Mommy will be okay, Aunt Theressa. I still feel sissy." Jonathan beamed at Theressa and then his father. Nick stood him on the floor and squatted down in front of him. "Jonathan, you knew about your sister?" Jonathan nodded the affirmative, leaned over to hug his dad, and then whispered into his ear. "I be good big brother....honest, Dad." He kissed Nick's cheek and stood back. "I'm sleepy, Dad. I go to bed now." "Okay, Jonathan. You run up and put your pj's on and brush your teeth. I'll be up in a minute." Nick smiled. Jonathan walked over to Theressa and held his arms up to her. She leaned down and he kissed her softly on the cheek. "Night, Aunt Theressa." Wasting no time, he dashed up the stairs. Nick followed his young son with his eyes and prayed he was right. Prayed that Jonathan's gift was more than the peace and love he brought with his touch. In his heart he could feel nothing. A darkness, that if he let it, would consume him and drag him back into the pits of Hell. He couldn't give in to it. He wouldn't not as long as his son lived. Jonathan was a part of Natalie and himself created in love. He had to have faith in the promise that he and Nat made to each other....Not life nor death would ever keep them apart. They were one in spirit and soul and nothing could ever change that....nothing. Theressa watched Nick closely. "Nick?" She touched his arm gently. "Let me make you something to eat." Nick brought himself back to the present. "Thanks, Theressa but no. I'm not hungry." His sad confused eyes met hers. "I need some time to ....." "They haven't found her body yet, Nick. As long as they don't find a body, there's hope. You have to believe that." "Jonathan believes, but I can't feel her, Theressa...or the baby. Our connection is gone. There's only one thing...." A great sadness surrounded him and he pushed it back with determination. "There's a big hole filled with darkness where her warmth used to be, but I won't give up hope....not in this lifetime anyway." Nick let his eyes trail up the staircase listening to the water running in the bathroom. "We're not alone. Natalie is with us even in the dark. We will find her....Jonathan and I together." Nick turned back to his sister-in-law and kissed her cheek gently. "Stay with us, Theressa, in case I get a call." "I'll be here, Nick whenever you need me." She placed a brave smile on her lips. "Thanks!" Nick walked silently up the stairs to be with his son. Admiration and respect followed him up the steps until he closed the door causing Theressa to rediscover her own strength. Nick never ceased to amaze her. A vampire with faith, hope and love....no correction....a man with faith in something stronger himself. That was what she would force herself to remember, then she felt the brush of the wind against her skin. She turned to face Lucien. Part 12 --------------------- Nance burst into the bedroom completely out of breath and stared at her brother fast asleep in the chair. In his bed was a beautiful, auburn-haired woman, who from the looks of her, was about mid 30's. Nance stared at her briefly noticing the resemblance to her late sister-in-law immediately. The hair, the stature...the woman before her could have been the late Ellen Keiner's sister. This was not good for James. Nance briefly went to her brother's side and touched his shoulder gently to wake him. Sad green eyes met hers as he tried to clear the sleep from his mind. He stared at her briefly trying to remember who and where he was. Then he turned and looked at the woman asleep on the bed beside him. Finally it all fell into place and he returned his attention to his sister. "Are you okay, James?" Nance was concerned as she watcher her brother struggle with reality. "I'm fine, Nance. Thanks for coming at this unholy hour. What time is it anyway?" He looked at his wrist to find his watch missing. "It's a little after 2 AM. What happened to her, and who is she?" Nance nodded at Natalie on the bed. "I found her injured down by the lake over by Morrison's cabin. I heard gunshots and found her about half hour later. I did what I could for her at the campsite and decided to bring her here. She's going to need some stuff I don't have anymore. As far as who she is, I haven't a clue. She was awake briefly and terrified when she couldn't remember anything. One of the bullets grazed her skull. She has a concussion and amnesia. It's probably only temporary. She heals really quickly but we need to keep her quiet. I need you to watch her for me while I go into town and get some supplies and talk with the sheriff. Maybe he's heard something or at least he could call the authorities over there to check out the Morrison's cabin." James stared at the woman sleeping on the bed almost mesmerized by her. Nance watched her brother's reactions when he spoke about the petite woman on the bed. His eyes continually went back to her. It worried her, just as his reclusive behavior had in the past 3 years. Maybe this was the answer. Maybe this woman would bring James back into the world of the living from which he retired after his wife's death. "No problem, James. You go get the stuff you need and talk with Andy. I'll keep a close eye on her while you're gone. You got Diet Coke in the fridge I presume?" Nance took off her jacket and tossed it on the back of the chair. "Yes, little sister. There's Diet Coke in the fridge just for you. You know I don't drink that stuff." James grabbed his medical bag sitting on the dresser and headed for the door. "I'll be back just as soon as I get Larry out of bed for the supplies and drop these samples off at the hospital. I want to make sure there's nothing else going on but the bullet wounds. Andy should be up by then and I can get him to work on finding out who she is. In the meantime, if she wakes up, just give her some more brandy and try to get her to rest. Maybe she'll remember something if she gets enough sleep." He waved goodbye as he began to open the door and stopped to look at the woman on the bed one more time. "She reminds you of Ellen doesn't she?" His eyes met his sister's briefly with a look of regret, then he closed the door. ---------------- The slight kiss of the wind on her cheek made her heart race and her breath catch. It was Lucien. Somehow, she knew he would come. At least she'd hoped he would. Nick needed his father now, and as much as Lucien denied his human side, when it came to Nicholas there was never a doubt. Of course Lucien would never admit that he did anything out of love. He would say it's a father's duty to be there for his son. He'd told her that on several occasions. She turned to find him silently staring up the staircase at Jonathan's room. Dressed totally in black, his white skin had a luminescent quality in the moonlight streaming across the room from the windows. Never letting his eyes leave the door, his soft melodious voice caressed her when he spoke. "They should not be left alone now." It was a simple statement but it meant so much more to Theressa. "They aren't alone, Lucien." She walked slowly to his side and rested her head gently on his arm. "None of us are alone anymore. We are family. We trust, depend, and take care of each other whenever we need it. That's what families do. They are there for each other....no matter what." Ice blue eyes turned to meet hers. "There are things, young one, that are not meant for others. Things your young mind could not accept or live with. Things that are not meant to be shared....or remembered." His eyes returned to the staircase again. "Things so painful, that being alone is the only constant in your life that you can be sure of. We all seek someone to erase the loneliness that darkens our soul, but in the end, age, disease or death claims them and we are left alone again. That is why WE seek relationships with our own kind." A great sadness touched his face when his eyes returned to hers. "No, Lucien." Her words barely a whisper. "You didn't come here tonight because Nick needs to be with his own kind. You came because you love your son, and maybe, I hope. . .a little because of me. Those aren't vampire traits you are describing. They aren't things you do and feel because of what you are. They are human traits and like it or not....you have them. You came because you love your son and you didn't want him alone in pain. You may not agree with everything he does or says, but you love him." LaCroix walked away from the stairs and stared out the window for what seemed like hours, but in reality was only minutes. "You are seeing what you want to see, Theressa. I came because Nicholas needs support from his own kind and someone to show him the other alternatives. He has a tendency to see only what he wants to see. That has always been a weakness in him that I've never been able to cure." He glanced again at the closed door at the top of the stairwell. Theressa laughed at the classic, stoic face in front of her trying to mask reality. Her laughter brought his attention back to her instead of his blood link with his son. "I'm glad you find this whole thing amusing, young one but I fail...." "Nice try, Lucien, and maybe if it were anyone but me you might have pulled it off." She walked over and stood directly in front of him with determined eyes and her hands on her hips in defiance. "Oh, you're a vampire all right, but you're also a man....a father.....and a lover. Don't you see? You can be all those things just as Nick has learned. There's nothing wrong in being any of those things as long as you accept the bad with the good, or in your case the good with the bad. You spent so many years being evil that you've forgotten all the benefits of being good. You've convinced yourself that the good, the man, doesn't exist anymore......I'm here to tell you Lucien LaCroix, you are wrong. You're hiding, from yourself, from Nick, and from me." Theressa walked closer and stopped only inches from him before she whispered the words he needed to hear. "I know you didn't kill Gregg, Lucien, but the woman needs to hear the man say it. I need to hear the man admit that he cares enough about me to worry about what I think. I need to know that the man can have control when he wants to. That he wants control because I need him.... and because his son needs him." She stood face to face with both man and vampire and waited. Her words cut to the meat of everything that had happened in the last 800 years. Who was in control? It had never been a conscious decision on his part. He was what he was and he accepted it....only maybe he hadn't. That's why the attraction to Nicholas in the first place. Nicholas reminded him of his humanity and so did the beautiful creature before him. Was this what he wanted after all? Was that why he played down and sabotaged Nicholas' attempts to become mortal again, because he himself couldn't find the courage to seek it himself? Was he really that weak after all? For the first time in his life, self doubt touched his heart and he knew the answer. "I didn't kill your friend Gregg, Theressa. The thought did cross my mind, but..." She silenced him with a soft kiss. "I know, Lucien. I never thought you did. I just needed to hear you say it. I needed...." The phone rang and dread clutched her heart. Fear laced her eyes as she met his. He touched her cheek softly and wiped the tear away that had slipped out without her knowing. She answered the phone on the third ring. LaCroix felt Nick at the top of the stairs without looking up, but the pain that coursed through his son overwhelmed him until their eyes finally met. "Yes, I understand......I'll tell him, Trace. You let me know as soon as you know anything.....I'll try.....It won't be easy.....okay!" Theressa hung up the phone and turned to face Nick, clutching the handrail at the top of the stairs. The pain in his eyes tore at her heart and a slight sob escaped her lips. Nick bent the handrail when she sobbed , then was at her side pulling her into his embrace. "Tell me, Theressa.....I have to know!" Part 13 "They didn't find the body, Nick. The dogs have gone over a five mile radius of the clearing...nothing...they found nothing but more blood several miles down the road from the clearing at a campsite. Trace said the campfire was cold and the blood was old. They just assumed it was Natalie's, but until they get it to the lab they won't know for sure. The day shift is coming in to expand the search, but it's a large area, a popular camp site, and there's a lot of animal activity. They don't hold much hope." Nick pushed her out to arms length with hope written on his face. "They didn't find the body?" She shook her head. He released her, grabbed his coat on the back of the chair where he'd left it earlier and headed for the lift. "Nick, where are you going? You can't go! It's almost dawn!" Theressa ran after him, following him to the lift door. "I'm going down to the precinct. You stay with Jonathan. I'm going to have a few more words with our Mrs. Morrison and wait for the day shift report." Nick stared at LaCroix who now stood silently behind Theressa. "Thank you for coming." A silent acceptance between the two men was finally reached. "It's almost dawn. Stay with Theressa and Jonathan for the day." Nick forced a smile at Theressa. "For some reason, she feels safer with you around," then Nick's eyes met his father's "....and....so do I." As Nick hit the down button, a faint smile graced LaCroix's face. --------------------- The woman stirred slightly when Nance tried covering her up better. She'd kicked the covers off her injured leg when the pain caused her to twitch in her sleep. It was near dawn and Nance hoped James would take his time in town. James needed to be around people more. This isolation and living in the past was having an effect on him. Maybe this woman was a blessing in disguise. Maybe it would make him want to come back to the world of the living. The woman on the bed moaned softly as she came slowly awake. Natalie awoke to the pain throbbing in her thigh and a bad headache. She touched her head and tried to bring the room into focus. Where was she? What happened to her leg? Yes, she was shot....now she remembered. There was a man, a doctor....and she couldn't remember her own name. It was there, she knew it was but the more she tried the further away it slipped. Panic and frustration gripped her. She closed her eyes and held her head in frustration. She took several deep breaths and finally opened her eyes to a tiny blonde sitting in the chair beside her, smiling and watching her closely. "I take it that your headache isn't much better?" Nance reached over, poured another glass of brandy, and offered it to Natalie. "James said to give you this until he got back with something stronger. I'm Nance Keiner, James' sister. I live down the road. Do you remember anything yet?" Nance smiled warmly and pulled the covers back over Natalie's injured leg and tried to tuck her in. "No, please don't." Natalie stopped Nance from tucking the covers back under her leg. "I'm very warm and I need to visit the little girls room, if you could point it out to me." Nance smiled. "Sure, no problem. Let me help you up and get you there. "James would skin me alive if I let you fall while I was playing nurse." She offered Nat her hand and helped her stand. Slowly they made it to the bathroom and Nance closed the door after she was safely sitting on the stool. "You just call me when you re ready to get back up." Natalie managed to wiggle out of her underwear, do her chores and stand with very little problem. She took a quick look under the bandage at her thigh and thought it looked pretty good and was healing nicely. She managed to limp to the mirror. She stared at the image in the glass and tried to remember. Who was she? Why was she shot? She quickly washed her face, rinsed her mouth with the mouthwash in the cabinet, and tried to smooth some of the tangles out of her hair. She checked under the bandage on her head, finding a 2 inch gash that seemed to be healing quite well in spite of the fact that there were no stitches in it. Strange, she hadn't required stitches, and even stranger that she would know it required any in the first place. Natalie tried a little weight on her leg and it seemed to hold her fairly well, with only minimal pain when she lifted it. Enough was enough....she had to get out of the room and find something familiar to help her remember. She limped into the bedroom. Nance rushed to her side and offer a friendly arm. Natalie smiled and accepted her generosity, feeling a little foolish under the circumstances. Once she returned to the bed, she sat down gingerly, taking extra care with her sore leg, but being up and around seemed to have helped her headache. It was only a dull throb now. She scanned the room looking for clothes and found none. "Do you know what your brother did with my clothes?" "He probably put them in the wash if there was blood on them. Hang on and I'll go check." Nance disappeared and then returned minutes later carrying slacks and a sweater. "I was right. Mr. Neat washed them for you. Only I think your slacks need a repair job. Why don't I get you a pair of jeans that I keep over here. We're about the same size. At least they won't have a hole in them until we can find you something else to wear." "That would be great, Nance. Thanks....and thanks for all your help. I wish I could be....." "Don't worry about it. Your memory will come back and everything will be fine." Nance hurried out of the room and returned with a pair of jeans. She helped Natalie put them on over her bandaged thigh. "Maybe some fresh air by the lake will help. I found your shoes in the laundry room near the sink. Why don't I put them on for you and we take a little jaunt outside." She immediately squatted down and placed Natalie's shoes on her feet. Natalie limped slowly out of the bedroom with the aid of Nance's steady arm into the main part of the cabin. The fire was laid neatly burning in the corner. The furniture was neat and clean with afghans laying over every piece of furniture you could sit on. They were all handmade and beautiful. The morning sun was shining through the picture window over the couch offering a majestic view of the lake as a hawk circled low on the horizon. It was the picture of serenity and Natalie couldn't help but sigh with pleasure when the warmth of the sun touched her face. "It's lovely!" Natalie limped over to the mantle and looked at the pictures spread across the top. They were all pictures of a petite redhead with massive curly hair similar to Nat's. Several of the pictures had the tall dark gentleman, James Keiner, whom Natalie had met earlier. She immediately noticed the similarities between the woman and herself. Although they would not pass for twins, the likeness was enough to think they were sisters. Nat turned questioning eyes to Nance. "She is your brother's wife?" She picked one of the pictures off the mantel and looked closer. "Yes, that's Ellen. She made all the afghans you see. She was an artist of sorts around here. Everyone came for miles to get some of her handiwork." Nance walked over and ran her hand over the ornate orange and brown nature scene that lay across the couch. "She was incredibly talented. We all miss her a great deal." A great sadness was in her voice while she spoke and continued to caress the afghan before her. "What happened to her? She's appears very young. Was it an accident?" Natalie assumed she was dead, not just missing from the young woman's reaction and tone. "She died of Leukemia 3 years ago." Nance brought herself back to the present. "James gave up his practice in town and moved out here to their cabin to care for her until she died. This was her favorite place. She wanted to die here, so James obliged her. She was only 32 years old. She and James had been married for 5 years when she was diagnosed. He adored her and took care of her until the end. They were inseparable." Nance walked over and took the picture from Natalie's hand and lovingly stared at the warm brown eyes shining back at her. "James hasn't been the same since. Sometimes he slips back into the past. He sort of buries himself out here away from everyone and everything." She placed the photograph back on the mantel. "I think a part of him died with her. I worry about him more than I can say." Natalie smiled and touched the young woman's arm gently in friendship. "It will take time, but he will survive." Natalie looked out the window and then smiled. "Didn't you promise me a walk to the lake?" Nance shook off the melancholy and offered Natalie her arm again. The two women walked slowly out to the dock and sat comfortably on the bench James had made for Ellen's enjoyment. They just sat quietly for awhile enjoying the fish jumping periodically and the hawk hunting for breakfast. Suddenly, through the glare on the lake, Natalie saw a man and boy walk from the shore and climb on top of the rocks jutting out into the lake. She guessed them to be only about a quarter of a mile away. She smiled at the scene before her. The small child climbed up into his father's lap and they sat quietly watching the hawk circle and swoop down to catch the fish in his lethal claws. "Who are they?" Natalie nodded toward the man and the boy on the rock before her. "Who are you talking about?" Nance followed Natalie's gaze to the rock in front of her, finding it empty. Natalie stared at her companion shortly and then turned back to the man and boy on the rock. "Don't you see them?" "See who?" Nance stood and walked to the dock's edge. "The man and the little boy sitting on the rock over there." Natalie pointed to the rock jutting out into the lake. "He's about 3 or 4 and sitting in his father's lap. You don't see them?" Natalie stood and limped next to Nance never taking her eyes off the man and his son. "I don't see anyone." Nance turned sympathetic eyes to Natalie. "It must be your head wound. I had better get you back inside." Natalie grabbed Nance's arm in frustration and made her turn back around to look at the rock. "You honestly don't see them?" Something strange was going on. Nance turned to look at the vacant rock once more to humor the petite woman before her, but saw nothing. Natalie turned to watch the man and boy fade into the sunlight and disappear. She rubbed her eyes, then looked again and they were gone. "I think you need some more rest." Nance offered her arm to Natalie once again. More confused than ever, Natalie accepted it and returned to the cabin and to bed. ------------------- Several hours later, James walked back into the cabin. He found Nance puttering in the kitchen fixing a late lunch. "How's our patient?" He walked over and snatched a biscuit off the tray that she had just removed from the oven. "She's sleeping again. I took her out to the lake for some fresh air and she started seeing things, so I made her go back to bed for awhile. She's been asleep since about 10 this morning. How'd you do?" "Some good, some bad....I got the stuff I needed and dropped the samples off at the hospital. They weren't to busy so Janie said she'd get the results back to me as soon as possible...maybe early this evening. I couldn't find Andy. He's on a week long fishing trip according to Marge, so I didn't get any help there. I left word at the paper for anybody knowing anything to contact me. I guess, I'll just have to wait for Andy to get back, or maybe I'll take a trip back over to Morrison's cabin." Nance dropped the pan on the stove and stared at him. "Are you nuts? You're not going back over there if there's been a shooting. You're a doctor, not a peace officer. You will just wait for Andy to get back. It's his job to do that sort of thing and besides, Morrison's cabin isn't even in his jurisdiction. He'll call someone else. Until then you have a lovely houseguest that needs your help. I'm going to finish the pie and stew and then split. After all I don't live here you know." A loud scream echoed through the cabin, cutting her lecture short. --------------- "No!!!!! Don't go!!!!!! No!!!!!" Agony swept through her as the image began to fade. She knew them...they were important to her but they were going. Why wouldn't they stay. Natalie woke up sitting in the bed drenched in sweat with tears pouring down her face. James and Nance burst into the room. James was the first to reach her side. "It's okay. Just relax. It's just a dream." He tried to get her to lie back down. "No!" She stared at Nance again. "It was them. The man and the boy. The same ones I saw at the lake. They are important. I have to remember...I have to remember...."Natalie clutched her head as it began to throb, gave into the frustration, and wept. Part 14a -------------------- Trace pulled the caddy into the garage just shortly after 2 PM. Nick popped the trunk as soon as the garage door slide silently into place, blocking out the sun. He and Tracy had spent the better part of the morning grilling Karen Morrison on all the particulars about Darrell and her brother Jacob. After several hours, they final gave up. She didn't know anything more. Jacob had conned Darrell into exacting revenge as payment for a debt. Karen went along with the plan because she needed the money Jacob promised her. When Darrell wanted to rape Nat in front of Jonathan, she lost it. Her own son and husband had been in an accident several years ago and she'd amassed a great deal of debt. Her son died in spite of the treatment for his injuries and her husband only 2 months later. She was alone, penniless and in major debt. She was desperate but there was something about Jonathan that made her protective. She couldn't give them an explanation, only that it was there. Tracy and Nick both understood Jonathan's affect. Nick and Tracy stepped off the lift to find the entire house asleep. Theressa was sleeping on the couch where she could hear Jonathan. LaCroix was obviously in the spare bedroom. Nick pulled the blanket that had slipped off Theressa onto the floor and then went straight to the fridge. "I better go, Nick. Daniel will be waiting downstairs. Try to get some sleep and I'll call you tonight." Tracy whispered softly trying not to awaken Theressa. Nick popped the cork on the bottle in his hand and waved goodbye to Tracy as she headed for the door. She stopped as she neared the door and turned back to her partner one more time. "Nick, we'll find her. The fact that we haven't found a body means there's a chance...." "I know, Trace and I haven't given up hope. Nat says without hope there's no faith....and I have faith, Trace. It's just hard when I can't feel her." His sad eyes met hers. "Get some sleep, Nick. I'll pick you up at 6 tonight." She smiled sadly, not knowing what else to say. He was her partner, her friend and her confidant. If she could take his pain away she would, but how did you fill the shoes of someone irreplaceable. The best she could do was be there when he needed it. She looked at Theressa sleeping and knew at least Nick was not alone. ------------------ Nance served up the stew and biscuits as James tried to get his houseguest to open up. She'd calmed down with the valium, but he was a little hesitant to give her to much until the hospital called with her lab results. He didn't want to cause any more problems than they already had. "Well, I feel a little awkward not knowing what to call you. Why don't we pick out a name for you. Maybe something will sound familiar." James looked at Natalie hopefully. "How about Sarah?" Nance piped in quickly. "You look like a Sarah or maybe Amanda?" "I don't think so." Nat shook her head. "Those don't feel right." James watched her shake her head and the way the light bounced off her hair. She reminded him so much of Ellen that he reached out and pulled the hair gently from her face. Natalie's confused blue eyes met his gentle brown ones and she saw pain. "Why don't I call you Ellen?" He whispered as he let the silky auburn tresses float through his fingers. "I....I don't think that's a good idea, Dr. Keiner." Natalie could sense his sadness and although she didn't want to hurt him, she didn't want to further this fantasy about his dead wife. "That was your wife's name and I don't feel comfortable with it. Too many painful memories for you and I...." "Nonsense! You remind me so much of her and it would please me immensely to be able to call you by her name. I'm sure Ellen would be pleased with you using her name even if only for a little while. Who knows, maybe that is your real name?" He picked up his fork and started to spear a piece of meat in the stew before him. "It's settled. You are officially Ellen until we find out otherwise." Natalie turned a worried face to Nance sitting across from her. Nance stared at her brother in disbelief while he ate, and then returned the fear and worry that she saw in Natalie's face. Nance set about cleaning up the dishes, declining Natalie's help. After all she was a guest and injured. She should sit, relax and prop that leg up. James agreed and helped Nat out to the front porch swing. She and James sat and chatted companionably while watching the night come alive. Natalie sighed in relief as the sun set on the horizon and the creatures of the night became alive once more with the light of the darkness in their voices. She was a night person, she knew that much. Only when the sun set did she fully realize that she was at last comfortable. What did that mean? ---------------- The phone rang as Nance finished putting up the last pan. "Hello, Keiner residence." "Hi, Nance! It's Janie at Mercy Hospital. I got those lab results done a few minutes ago for James. He should know that there's something really strange going on in that woman's blood. She's got some unusual cells that we can't identify here. We had to send them off. From what I can tell, she's not on drugs, alcohol or anything else. Her electrolytes are fantastic and her hemoglobin count is really quite good for someone who has just been shot twice. With the exception of those unusual cells, I can't see anything out of the ordinary with her blood except maybe that she's pregnant." Janie waited for a reaction. "Did you say she's pregnant, Janie?" Nance needed confirmation. "Looks like about 6 -8 weeks. It's hard to tell because the baby has that same unusual cell combination that she does. She could be further or a little less, it's hard to tell but she's definitely pregnant. I thought James would want to know." "Thanks, Janie. I'll tell him." Nance hung up the phone as guilt assailed her. Here she had been secretly hoping this woman would be Ellen's replacement and apparently so had James...now this. There had to be more that James wasn't telling her, so she went into the bedroom. Slowly, she started searching the clothes she'd brought in from the laundry that Natalie wasn't wearing. Then she proceeded to search the drawers until she reached the nightstand. There, in the top drawer, was the 4 carat diamond ring and heart necklace encrusted with diamonds. Nance pulled the ring out and held it to the light. The diamonds were first mark, clear, princess cut diamonds in a lovely scalloped band. When the light hit the diamonds, the fire within bounced off the opposite wall. This was not the ring of a woman in need. She glanced inside the band to note the inscription that read: 'My love through all eternity! Nick.' She then picked up the locket and admired the filigree work on the outside and the tiny diamonds embedded in the outer surface. When she opened the locket the picture of a blonde man holding his 3 year old son made her gasp in recognition. It was a picture of the man and child that Natalie had described in her dream and again at the lake. They weren't dreams, they were her memories returning. Nance glanced at the inscription 'Love Forever! Nick' and she snapped it closed quickly. -------------------- "Nance!!!!" James screamed through the open door. Nance threw the necklace and ring back into the drawer and ran to the front door. James sat by the young woman doubled over in pain in the swing on the porch. "Come on now, Ellen. It will be alright. I'll give you something for the pain. I'll make it all go away. You'll see." James crooned and rubbed his fingers gently down her back as she clutched her abdomen in pain. Agony tore through Natalie as her abdomen cramped and convulsed. Her body burned and a hunger engulfed her to the point of raw need. She needed something, her body was demanding to be fed by.... "Nick!!!!!" Natalie screamed as the second cramp doubled her over and sent her to her knees on the floor. Part 14b Her memories flooded back as her child cried out for her father's blood. She would lose the baby without him, that much she knew. She had to contact Nick....Pain tore through her abdomen again and she collapsed into James' arms remembering everything that had happened in the past several days. Fear for her unborn daughter's life forced her to stay conscious, moaning Nick's name between waves of pain. Her energy was waning but she reached out to him through their link. He had to feel her need....his daughter's need. James swiftly picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. He grabbed his doctors bag and started filling the syringes methodically, while Nance tried to calm Natalie writhing in pain. "You need to calm down now, Ellen. I will take all the pain away." James told her over his shoulder as he continued to fill the needles. "It will be alright. You just try to relax and breath deeply." Nance tried to soothe the woman as she cradled her stomach and rocked back and forth on the bed before her. James was at her side with the syringe trying to force her to lie down so he could administer the drug. Her strength was incredible as she shoved him away. "Don't!" Natalie gasped between spasms. "I don't need that. I'm losing my baby. I need Nick!!!!!" Another wave of pain raged through her with a burning need causing her eyes to glow faintly. Undaunted, James came back to her side with the syringe. "It's going to be okay, Ellen. I won't let the pain continue. I'll take the pain away because I love you...." "NO!!!!!" Natalie screamed. "I'm not Ellen. I'm not your wife. I'm Nick's wife and this is his baby. I need...." Hot flames coursed through her body now as her lower abdomen began to contract and she began to sweat blood. "Nick....Nick.....Nick...." His name echoed off her lips as the image of his blue eyes swam in front of her. ---------------- Nick came fully awake instantly when he heard Nat's voice. Pain assaulted him as he stumbled out of bed in the clothes he'd fallen asleep in earlier. "Natalie!" He screamed her name when he collapsed to his knees with the second contraction. He managed to make it to the railing and used it for support when the pure agony and need in his wife washed through him. LaCroix was beside him at the top of the stairs pulling him to his feet. "Concentrate, Nicholas. Push into the pain and you can find her." Determined ice blue eyes glared at his son. "Do you understand me? Use the pain and control it for both of you. It's your guide to her." Nick caught his breath and let the next wave of pain course through his body without a fight. He held onto it, cradled it into his soul and pushed back into their link with a power he didn't know he possessed. LaCroix held him steady as Nick traveled the line of pain to his wife while his physical body stood at the top of the stairs. "Daddy!" Jonathan screamed when he burst through his bedroom door. He could feel his mother's and sisters pain through his father. Jonathan watched his grandfather hold his dad in place and give him strength through sheer will. "Daddy?" Jonathan whispered the second time to bring his father back. Nick's golden eyes opened to LaCroix's when Jonathan spoke softly. LaCroix's, eyes flecked with gold, stared back at his son and then he released him. Nick stepped back engulfed in a strength that he was certain had come from LaCroix. A power possessed him that he could not explain, but he did not question it under the circumstances. Natalie needed him now. There would be time for answers later. "Daddy, sissy is sick." Jonathan's simple words spurred him into action. Nick knelt quickly down to his son and pulled the small bundle into his arms and stood. He handed Jonathan to LaCroix, "Take care of him until I get back" and then he shot straight up through the skylight disappearing into the night. --------------- Each contraction was harder than the last as the burning need for blood coursed through her, followed by pain and fear. Tears streamed from her eyes as Natalie silently prayed for her unborn child. James regrouped and grabbed another syringe in an effort to administer relief to the woman before him. "Help me, Nance!" James yelled at his sister who stood mesmerized by the woman in front of her. Blood poured from her pores and her eyes glowed yellow as she screamed in pain before them. What was this woman? Coming out of her stupor, Nance helped hold Natalie to the bed as James readied the needle. "It'll be alright, Ellen. It won't ever hurt you again. It will all be gone now. I promised you, didn't I?" Nance stared at her brother and then glanced at the syringe in his hand. He couldn't have, he wouldn't. She screamed and lunged for the lethal needle in his hands. The door burst open with Nick in full vampire mode. Without hesitation he grabbed the syringe from the man's hand, crushed it, and tossed him hard against the opposite wall. The collision of his head against the wall knocked him cold. Nick turned to the woman beside his wife prepared to destroy her if necessary. "No, Nick!" Nat gasped. "She saved me. They both saved me." Her last words were barely a whisper. Nick sat down on the bed beside her, pulled his wife into his arms, and offered her his neck. Almost beyond rational thought, Natalie sank her teeth into her husband's neck and drank. With the first taste of his blood ,the urge to feed intensified. She sucked hard as he held her head against his throat. His need to be with her, his love for her and their unborn child flooded her senses and the burning pain within her mind and body began to ease. She started to break the connection when he pulled her back to him offering her everything that he possessed. The pain, the worry, the loss of their connection, his fear of living without her filled her with anguish and heartache. She released his neck. "Oh, Nick I would never leave you....not ever." Tears poured from her eyes as his lips found hers. Relief flooded through him when his lips touched hers. He plunged his tongue into her mouth with a burning need for human contact, while he pulled her body hard up against him. He ran his fingers through her hair in desperation as their tongues dueled in a passion of need. He wanted her under his skin, in his blood, a part of him for all eternity. He couldn't get her close enough. His body screamed in need of hers. "Natalie, my sweet Natalie. I thought I'd lost you. When I couldn't feel you, I thought you were...." He brought his lips back to hers and then released them to trail kisses down her throat as her blood beckoned to him. Without hesitation, she offered her throat to him to complete the circle. With tender care he sank his teeth within her throat and pulled her sweet nectar into him for all eternity. She held him close and ran fingers through his silky hair, letting him feel her love and his daughter. They were once again whole, bringing tears to her eyes when he released her neck. The look of love in his eyes as he wiped her tears away said everything she needed to hear. ------------ No sooner had Nick released her, Nance had ran to her brother's side. He was unconscious but breathing normally. She watched the man and woman in fascination before her. She watched as the woman she'd spent the day with sank fangs into the man's neck and drank his blood. The warmth and love she felt between them washed over her like bright sunshine. The pain and contractions the woman had experienced earlier seemed to stop with the first drop of his blood. When she stopped and their lips met, Nance was certain that the devotion and love these two shared was the answer to everything she'd sought all her life. No matter what or who they were, the power in their relationship was the ultimate emotion. She envied them. They would never be alone....not in this lifetime or the next. James began to moan softly. Nick heard the man begin to moan and came back to the present. Helping Natalie off the bed, they approached Nance and James on the floor. Nick could detect no fear from the woman as they approached and he offered her his hand. Her eyes locked with his when she accepted his hand and he helped her to stand. "What are you?" She whispered in awe. "Something you need to forget. Something that in time maybe everyone can accept, but for now you must sleep and forget." His voice became hypnotic with the command the second time until she slumped into his arms fast asleep. Nick carried her to the bed and laid her down gently. Nat sat down beside James and checked his vital signs. Her heart went out to him for all the pain and grief that engulfed his soul. Nick knelt down beside her. "What is it, Nat?" He could feel the sorrow and despair she felt for this man. "He's so alone, Nick. His wife was the center of his world. He couldn't live with all her pain, so he killed her because he loved her. His heart is breaking and the guilt he feels is destroying his mind. His faith is gone and so is his hope of ever being with her again." A single tear escaped her eye when she met Nick's gaze. He wiped it away gently and kissed her softly. "No one who has ever been loved is ever alone. You taught me that. Maybe I can help him remember what it important." As James came slowly awake, Nick locked onto his heartbeat. Somewhere between that state of fully awake and partial sleep, Nick tried to give James Keiner back his life. Part 15 ---------------- As soon as his father passed through the skylight, Jonathan started to work on his grandfather. Jonathan could feel his father's fear and unusual emotions flowing through LaCroix. It was more than any 3 year old could handle. Jonathan touched his grandfather's cheek lightly to bring him back. LaCroix stared at the empty skylight where his son disappeared, then came back to the present when Jonathan's calm swept through him. This child of light possessed such magic that even he could feel the peace that the child created around him. "Jonathan can fly now, Grandfather. I help mommy and sissy. Daddy needs Jonathan and Grandfather." Theressa stood silently, watching Lucien help Nick through the pain. When Nick disappeared through the skylight, she joined them at the top of the stairs. Gently she touched his arm. "He's right, Lucien. If things don't go well with Tasha, Nick will need both you....and Jonathan. He will need his family." He reached over and lightly traced his finger down her face with acceptance in his eyes, then both he and Jonathan disappeared. ------------------ Nick laid James carefully on the bed beside his sister, letting the suggestion of slumber overtake them. He then offered his hand to his wife and pulled her to her feet and into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her and let her warmth and love surround him as he breathed in the scent that was only his beloved Natalie's. When his lips touched hers, he let his hand have free roam of her body, creating such need and relief that a moan escaped his throat when he broke the kiss. The feel of his hard body next to hers made her want more and she pulled his lips back to hers. She let her hands run through his hair and her tongue plunder his mouth in abandon, then she reached into his memories through their bond. She let his love and need of her create a safe haven that they both could share. Each strand of fear was replaced with the warmth and caring of a true family, and she searched for Jonathan in his memories....but found nothing. She stiffened and broke the kiss. "Nick....Jonathan is he...." Nick felt her tense and reluctantly released her lips as the familiar vibration of LaCroix and his son sizzled through him. He knew before she asked, because all his thoughts had been of her not their son when he entered the house. "Jonathan is fine. I think you will find him in the next room." Nick motioned to the door beside them. Natalie dashed through the door to see her tiny son wrapped in LaCroix's arms. She knelt down on the floor an opened her arms to him. "Mommy!" Jonathan squealed as he struggled with his grandfather's hold. When his feet hit the floor, he ran to his mother and wrapped his arms around her neck, smothering her in kisses. Peace and happiness enveloped her as she held on to her tiny son and returned his kisses with fervor. "Mommy and sissy okay? Jonathan find daddy, but you gone." Jonathan sat down on his mother's lap and placed a small hand on Natalie's abdomen and looked hopeful. "I know you okay cause sissy and I are one." Natalie showered kisses on his blond head and held his hand to her abdomen as she spoke. "I'm fine, Jonathan, and so is your sister. A nice man helped me while I was hurt and I couldn't remember, but your sister reminded me how much I love you and daddy, how we are one family, and I remembered...Then daddy found me." She looked at Nick and then LaCroix standing aloof in the corner. "We are all one family now and that makes us okay." Natalie stood slowly, picked up her small son and walked into her husband's waiting arms. "I guess I have to remember for both the baby and myself in order for our link to work. Do you think that means I'm becoming more vampire or you're becoming more mortal?" Nick leaned over kissed her lips softly and then the top of Jonathan's blond head. "I don't know, Nat, but apparently Jonathan doesn't have that limitation." Nick ruffled his son's hair eliciting a giggle. "I wonder how many other hidden talents he has?" Jonathan reached for his father and smiled when his dad covered his small hand with his and placed it on his cheek. "Go home now?" He asked innocently. "Good idea!" Nick and Nat said in unison. -------------------- 1 week later on Halloween night: Tracy ran to the door as the bell rang the second time. It was Daniel, and she was late again. She opened the door to Daniel standing impatiently in the hall. "Hi, Daniel! You gotta help me here." Tracy leaned over and kissed his lips quickly. "I can't get this sash right." She handed it to him helplessly. "Could you tie it for me?" Daniel smiled, took the sash from her hand, and shook his head. "I would much rather have seen you in a hoop skirt." He chuckled as he wrapped the sash the second time around her thin waist. "I would have loved looking at your legs under that skirt every time you sat down. I can't believe you opted for uniform pants?" "Right....just what I needed. I can just hear all the comments at the precinct about bloomers and my legs. As if I don't get enough grief being a woman homicide cop." She snorted in disgust. Daniel finished with the sash and stepped back to view his handi-work. "Well, at least go stuff your hair under your hat if you plan on looking like a man." Daniel brushed a stray hair out of her eyes and smiled warmly. "Oh, Damn!" Tracy grabbed the offending hair and headed for the bathroom one more time as the doorbell rang again. "Can you get that Daniel? It's more trick or treaters. The candy bowl is on the counter." She retreated to the mirror for one more fix-it job. Daniel grabbed the candy bowl and answered the door mumbling to himself about women. "Trace!" Daniel yelled over his shoulder. "You had better come here!" Tracy finished sticking her unruly blonde hair under the cap just as she came around the corner. Staring in shock, she pulled her hat off and let it tumble to the floor unnoticed. "It can't be! It's not possible" The words had barely left her lips when she fainted. Both men caught her before she hit the floor. Each one held a side and laid her gently on the floor. Warm brown eyes that had seen centuries of life and death met Daniel's. "You must be Daniel?" The dark long haired Spaniard extended his hand in friendship across Tracy's prone body. "I'm Javier Vachon!" ------------------ Theressa rinsed the last of the dishes and sat them in the strainer to dry. Natalie was upstairs putting on the finishing touches to her costume. She'd spent most of the week working on Jonathan's fuzzy bat outfit for trick or treating, and his cape for the gala tonight. Nick and Jonathan had returned only minutes before from canvassing the neighborhood for candy. They both positively glowed when they returned with bags filled with goodies enough for ten. Nick and Natalie had opened the garage and decorated the lift with Halloween cheer, enough to entice even the meekest of trick or treaters. The kids were coming from blocks around to ride the 'spook lift' to Jonathan's house. The buzzer rang and Theressa listened to the lift engage. Drying her hands, she grabbed the candy bowl on the table and prepared for more ghosts and goblins. When the lift stopped, she opened the door and out stepped Lucien. He stood before her in tight black jeans, a black shirt, black leather jacket and cowboy boots. Theressa stared in amazement at the new look. The tight jeans fit his thighs snuggly accenting his tight derriere, while the soft leather in the jacket virtually begged for her fingertips to touch it. Unable to restrain herself, she gave into her desires and ran her hands up the soft leather on his muscled chest, allowing the smooth sensual texture of the fabric to excite her. She set the bowl on the side table and stepped closer. She traced her left hand down his flat stomach to his thigh and then back to his tight ass, feeling the animal lust between them ignite into a burning flame. Pulling her hard against him, his lips sought hers when someone cleared their throat behind them. LaCroix's ice blue eyes, filled with irritation, glanced up to see who had dared interrupt. Unexpected admiration filled his face while he stared at Natalie standing before him. Theressa watched Lucien in confusion as blatant lust crossed his face, causing her to turn. Natalie stood before them in a long, black, silk gown split to mid-thigh. Her white creamy legs where encased in black gossamer nylons finishing in 3 inch, black, spike heels. The front of the gown was cut into a low v. It revealed creamy white breasts dusted with gold powder that danced in the lights as they struggled to free themselves. The dress fell off the shoulder into long, black sleeves that finished in black triangular edges that caressed the backs of her hands as she moved. Long, sculptured, fake nails peeked out from under the silk cloth revealing blood red nail polish. The back of the gown was cut in a deep v below the waist, held together at the shoulder line by black lace cords braided with gold thread. She wore straight, black hair that swung free to the waist and accentuated her hips as she moved. Her eyelids where painted with kohl, while her lips looked wet with blood red lipstick, accenting the gold dust that appeared luminescent on her neck, breast and cheeks. The effect was stunning and Theressa stared in awe. "A bit much, isn't it?" Natalie spoke matter of factly, unsure if she'd gone to far. "It's...It's gorgeous, Tasha! You're gorgeous. Has Nick seen it yet?" Theressa continued to eye her sister with envy. LaCroix stepped forward and lifted Natalie's hand to his lips. Gently he kissed the back of her hand in admiration, never letting his eyes leave hers. "Yes, my dear doctor, you are a vision to behold." He released her hand grudgingly. "It would appear Nicholas has his work cut out for him this evening. I fear you may not leave this place untouched this evening." Nat smiled nervously and removed her hand, still able to feel his cool lips on the back of her hand. Strangely enough, the idea that LaCroix found her attractive pleased her. Who would have thought 5 years ago she would have cared what he thought, let alone find herself flattered...but she did. The wind brushed against her cheek as Nick whispered beside her. "A fear not unfounded, my love. You are a sight to behold beckoning me not to leave home." Natalie melted into his embrace willingly as his lips found hers. His hands claimed free reign of her body. She responded with the fire in her blood that he always ignited, and plunged her tongue into his mouth with abandon. She felt his hard thigh press against her and she needed more. She felt the familiar ache of her fangs drop and her desire to be with him intensify into pure carnal lust. He wrapped his tongue around her fang and dragged it slowly across the sharp tip. With the first drop of his blood, a low growl emanated from his chest with need. Warmth, love, desire, all caressed her through his blood and his body. "Enough of that!" Theressa stamped her foot in frustration. "You will never get out of here at this rate." Nick broke the kiss reluctantly, licking his lips as he retreated trying to control his own beast. He stepped away from his wife and the velvet cape that he wore floated around him with warmth and comfort. The black tux he wore beneath did nothing to camouflage the man within. Natalie watched the cape flow effortlessly in the lights as the velvet ripples added power and strength to the man before her. The red satin lining caressed his muscular thigh like a lover and gave comfort to him as he moved. The cape became a living part of the man, one that exuded power, life, and more. Never before had Natalie felt the vampire as she did tonight, yet the evil was gone. It was the part of him that he had finally come to accept and it made him whole. She smiled at the change within him. She had taken pieces from that cape earlier in the week for Jonathan. She watched Nick touch it with reverence and disgust as he warred with his emotions. Someplace, sometime, he would tell her the story of the cape. Maybe then she would understand him fully, but she hoped not. "Well, let me see the rest of it?" Natalie quipped with mirth in her eyes. Nick turned for her approval and received a lascivious smile for his efforts when she licked her lips in appreciation. "Well?" Finally understanding what she sought, he smiled in return. "Ah, my lady wishes to see my protégé." Nick wrapped the cape around him with a flourish, then opened it full wide with a dramatic flare letting the light glare off the red satin with a power of it's own. "I present my son....Sir Jonathan!" The cape fell to Nick's side and Jonathan appeared beside him in a miniature tux and cape of his own. Jonathan raised his cape like his father, then released it to float and envelope him like a living breathing entity. The power inside the child was only enhanced by the gift within the cape, creating an even greater light than before. LaCroix appeared without thinking before his son. His eyes focused on the man he'd become. In 8 centuries, Nicholas had never worn the cape he'd given him. Now, on this night of All Hallows Eve, his son had finally accepted his gift. LaCroix touched the cloak in reverence and part of it responded to his touch. "From father to son throughout the end of time....a gift to the man I was meant to be....to the man that I always was. Thank you, LaCroix." Acceptance and gratitude was written on Nick's face. Natalie walked to her husband's side when he raised his arm to envelope her within the cloak and his love. Nick bent down to pick up his son with pride. Jonathan flashed his fake fangs at his father, causing them all to laugh. "We'd better get going or we'll miss the party." When they reached the lift, Nick stared at LaCroix and chuckled. "By the way LaCroix...I like the new look....and I love the car." LaCroix glanced at his boots, dropped his keys, then regained his calm facade long enough to glare back at his son. Nick's joy at his father's discomfort couldn't be contained any longer. "If I were you Theressa, I wouldn't let him drive though. I doubt he's got a license and I wouldn't trust anyone who's last vehicle was a chariot." Nick chuckled and he hit the down button. Theressa bent to pick the keys up off the floor. She read the label on the keys in disbelief. "You bought a Jaguar?" She stared at him filled with more hope than she'd felt in a lifetime. "It's black, of course?" She smiled as she eyed him closely. With his stoic face back in place, he calmly held out his hand for the keys before he responded. "Naturally, young one." He placed the keys in his pocket and straighten his leather jacket as if it were rumpled. "That....was never an option...at least not in this lifetime!" The End Author's Note: If you enjoyed the story, why not read some more? Come join the fun and visit my Fiction page at: >http:www.plantnet.com/~nitewind/Fiction2.html Better yet go UNDERCOVER & enjoy the ride with my new novel! Available NOW in paperback, pdf & CD versions: See my webpage above! Or go direct to the sources at: >http://www.virtualbookworm.com/undercover >http://www.amazon.com Type in B.W. Starmer or UNDERCOVER >http://www.barnesandnoble.com Type in B.W. Starmer All comments to: ****StormyNite at: nitewind@plantnet.com**** ***The Truth is out there!*I just can't find it!*** **NNPacker*BlackHatWatcher*XFileTruthSeeker** *Andromedans*CroweFan*SorboDrooler*GWDFC*