'Fortunately' For You By KC Smith April 2002 Standard Disclaimers: The characters from Forever Knight do not belong to me, but to James Parriott and Sony/TriStar. No copyright infringement is intended in any way. All original characters belong to me. Permission is given to archive on Mel's www.fkfanfic.com site, the fkfanfic2 site, the FTP site and, for the adult stories, the JADFE archives. All others please ask before archiving or linking any stories to your website. Questions, comments and critiques can be sent to: tigrlady2u@juno.com This is the first story in a series I call Nick and Nat Romance Rendezvous'. Each story is slowly leading up to a finale (which will probably be adult!), so be patient! It begins shortly after 'Only the Lonely' and, like so many of my stories, takes an alternate route in the Forever Knight universe. Enjoy! Nick walked up to Grace's desk and smiled at her. "Hi, Grace. Is Natalie in?" Grace looked up at the handsome homicide detective and returned his smile. "Nope. She just went out on a call. Can I give her a message?" Nick shook his head. "Actually, I came here to see you. I need to ask a big favor from you. It's a surprise for Natalie, so I need your word that you won't say anything to her about it." Grace's smile turned conspiratorial. "Oh, I promise." She said, crossing her heart and holding up her right hand in oath. Nick winced slightly when Grace made a cross over her heart, but chuckled at her upraised hand. "Good. Here's what I need from you..." A few nights later, Nick was sitting at his desk looking over an autopsy report on their latest case, when his cell phone rang. He retrieved it from his jacket pocket. "Yeah. Knight." "Nick? It's Grace. You know that favor you asked me for? Well... she just placed an order." Nick grinned. "Great, Grace. What'd she order?" "The usual, including an extra box of cookies." Grace told him, with a satisfied smile. Nick chuckled. "Now, don't let her share them with anyone. Do you remember what I told you?" Grace laughed. "How could I forget? I'll take care of it. You just plan on swinging by in about an hour." "I will. Thanks again, Grace, for all your help." Nick told her. "My pleasure, Nick." Grace said, before hanging up the phone. "What was that all about?" Nick's partner, Don Schanke asked. "Just planning a little surprise for Nat. That's all." Nick said, grinning. Don raised an eyebrow. "That's all, huh? With you, that's enough." Nick just laughed and turned back to his report. Dr. Natalie Lambert went to the front of the Coroner's Building and took the bag of food from the delivery boy. After she paid him and gave him a generous tip, she turned back towards her office, when another delivery person showed up carrying a huge bouquet of flowers in a beautiful vase. "Is there a Dr. Natalie Lambert here?" The guy asked. Natalie looked surprised, as she set her bag back on the counter. "Yes, that would be me." He smiled. "Perfect timing. If you'll sign here." He handed her the flowers and indicated a space on his clipboard. Natalie held the vase in the crook of her left arm, as she signed the clipboard. Then she turned towards her purse, setting the flowers beside her bag of food. "If you'll wait one second..." The man held up his hand. "No, Ma'am. The tip has been taken care of. Have a good night." Nat smiled. "Thank you; you, too." She turned back around and placed the bag of food in her left arm, before picking up her purse and slinging it over her right shoulder. Then she picked up the vase and carried it down towards her office. Grace looked up from the microscope when Natalie entered. She saw the large bouquet of wildflowers and smiled. "Well... I thought you just ordered dinner." Natalie returned her smile, as she set her load down on her desk. "So did I." Grace moved over to inspect the bouquet. "Is there a card?" Natalie looked into the center of the arrangement and pulled out a small white card. She opened it and her smile grew, as she read the words written on it. "They're from Nick." She told Grace, handing her friend the card. "Beautiful flowers for a beautiful lady. Love, Nick." Grace read aloud. "Looks like the good detective has finally come to his senses." Natalie shook her head. "We're just friends, Grace." Nat told her. "Mmhmm. And I'm the Queen." Grace retorted, as she accepted a plate full of Chinese food from Natalie. She grabbed an extra chair and pulled it up to the front of Natalie's desk. Natalie chuckled. "You're impossible." She dished herself a plate and then sat down at her desk. They chatted comfortably through their meal, and when they were finished, Grace cleaned up. Then she turned and headed for the door. "I'll go see if those lab results are finished." "Wait! Don't you want to see what your fortune is?" Nat asked. "Oh, I couldn't eat another bite! Maybe later." Grace told her, heading out the door. Natalie just smiled and opened her box of fortune cookies. She broke open the first cookie and ate it, before reading the fortune. "Something special is about to happen in your life, Natalie." She read out loud. Looking startled, she cracked open another and immediately read the small paper from inside. "You are one of the most beautiful women I've ever known, Natalie." Natalie wasn't sure what to make of this whole thing, so she opened another cookie. "Natalie, your eyes are like the sky on a cloudless summer day. I could look into them forever." More curious than ever, now, Natalie began breaking open and discarding cookies, and just reading the messages. "Your hair is the softest silk and your lips are like the finest wine, Natalie." "I long to see your skin as it glows in the sunlight, Natalie." "I'm fortunate to have you in my life, Natalie." And on, and on, they went. All of them sweet, wonderful endearments, just for her. Natalie looked up from the pile of cookie crumbs and the message she was reading when she heard the door open. She smiled when she saw Nick's smiling face. "Don't most people eat those after they open them?" He asked her, indicating the mess on her desk. Natalie laughed. "Yeah, usually. I've just never gotten any quite like this before." Nick held his palm out. In it, lay a fortune cookie. Natalie raised her eyebrows. "So, it *was* you..." She said, as she took the cookie from him and broke it open. She read the message: "Come for a drive with me, Natalie?" Laughing, she set the message on her desk. "I'd love to." Nick walked around her desk and pulled her into his arms. He kissed her lightly on the lips, before releasing her. "I'll help you clean this up, first." They made quick work of the disaster area on her desk, and then Nick waited for her to gather her things and sign out for the night. Then he led her to the Caddy and helped her into the passenger seat. Once he climbed into the driver's seat, he started the car and pushed the button to lower the top on the Caddy. "It's a beautiful night out, and there's a full moon." He said, by way of explanation. Natalie smiled at him. "Where are we going? It's still very early." Nick glanced at his watch. Only 12:15 a.m. "How about a drive into the country?" Natalie nodded and settled in, as Nick reached over and turned on a soft rock station and pulled out into the warm night air. * * * End KC Smith Nick/Natpacker with Dark tendencies. "I've never met a chocolate I didn't like."