Heaven Can Wait--a Forever Knight story By April French Author's Note Behold, my first ever songfic! So be gentle. This story takes place just after the events in "Let No Man Tear Asunder." It's the worst FK story I've come up with yet, but... eh. Rose-tint my world. The song is "Heaven Can Wait," by Meatloaf. Yes, another Meatloaf song. I do enjoy Meatloaf... ;-) Praise, criticism, comments and kudos will be rewarded with tasty Dutch courage. Nasty flames will be given into the tender mercy of careless moving guys. This story will be archived at my site, http://www.geocities.com/runeshard/fkficindex.html with all the others. Permission to archive given to FKFIC, FKFIC2 and the FTP site. Everyone else my first bribe me with battered black notebooks. ~~~ Heaven Can Wait (1/3) It had been a long time since Nick had laid down on his living room floor and stared at the ceiling. It was far from relaxing. In fact, it was damned uncomfortable. But for some reason, the floor was a good place to think. He put a hand behind his head, took a deep breath and exhaled slowly through his nose. If he lay very still, he could still feel his body trembling. That was for certain. But whether from fear, or relief, he wasn't sure. Natalie... He had almost lost her. Heaven can wait And a band of angels Wrapped up in my heart Will take me through The lonely night Through the cold of the day He could *feel* her now, a thin translucent silver cord that inextricably bound them. It wasn't a strong connection, but it was there. He would have to tell her. But... Nick rolled over onto his stomach. He cushioned his chin on his crossed arms and stared blankly at his motorcycle. His thoughts drifted to the four letters sitting on his kitchen table. One to Captain Reese, one to Tracy, one to Natalie, and one to LaCroix. He hoped they would understand. And I know, I know Heaven can wait And all the gods Come down here just To sing for me And the melody's Gonna make me fly Without pain Without fear And he hoped LaCroix would agree. Nick felt fairly certain that he would. {He'll just be so thrilled that I've gotten my 'priorities' straight.} Natalie was safe now. And Nick meant to keep it that way. Give me all of your dreams and Let me go along on the way Give me all of your prayers to sing And I'll turn the night Into the skylight of day He got up from the floor, dusted off his clothes. He'd not bothered to change when he got home from work this morning. Nick showered and changed, and called in sick to work. He scooped up three of the four letters on his way out the door. *** Natalie pushed open the door of the elevator. "Nick?" she called, a little worried. It wasn't like him to call in sick, unless something was very, very wrong. As she had ridden up the lift, Natalie had prepared herself for the sight of Nick chugging from a green bottle or sulking in front of his TV. But he wasn't even there. She set her black doctor's bag on the kitchen table and fiddled nervously with the handles. {He was in such a good mood last night.} They had talked briefly in the morgue, joked and almost flirted. She'd come to expect sudden mood swings from Nick, so maybe this was one of them. Then she saw the white corner of paper sticking out from under her bag. She pulled it free. Her name was written on the front of the envelope in Nick's precise copperplate handwriting. Natalie took a deep breath. To my dear Natalie, I had hoped this time would never come. But it has, and there is nothing I can do to prevent it. Toronto is becoming too... claustrophobic. I have to move on. I've sent in my resignation, and a good-bye letter to Tracy. But I can't leave you with just a piece of paper. I won't be back to the loft for a few days, but I promise, I will not leave without seeing you again, and saying goodbye. Love, ~~Nick Love, Nick. He'd given her a few cards, but he'd never signed them 'Love,' before. Heaven Can Wait (2/3) I've got a taste of Paradise I'm never gonna let it slip away I've got a taste of Paradise That's all I really need to make me stay Just like a child again... *** Natalie sank dejectedly into her desk. Two days. It had been two days, and still no Nick. Reese was fuming. 'Boiling with outrage' just didn't seem to cover it. Weary, she laid her head on the child metal desktop, and without looking up, her hand snaked instinctively to the locked drawer where she kept her notebook. Without looking up, she unlocked the drawer and reached inside. Then she looked up. "What the...?" Resting on the battered black notebook that contained several years' worth of research on Nick was another envelope. Natalie-- Bring the notebook to the loft tomorrow night. --N. That was the sum total of his message. *** Heaven can wait And all I got is time Until the end of time I won't look back, I won't look back Let the altar shine Nick looked up from his book. LaCroix was leaning in the doorway, watching him thoughtfully. "I'm very grateful," Nick said quietly, lowering his eyes. "I wasn't sure if you would agree." "How could I not? I'll admit, vanity is not one of my major vices, but that letter of yours was so outrageous, I would have to be made of stone not to be moved." He waited, but Nick refused to rise to his baiting. LaCroix shrugged. "Do you think *she* will accept your proposal?" "I love Natalie because she makes me feel mortal, not because she is mortal." "There are, I suspect, other reasons. And you're sidestepping the question." I know that I've been released But I don't know to where Nobody's gonna tell me now And I don't really care "I love her, LaCroix, not what she is." "I seem to remember trying to explain that to you. Once upon a time... But fairy tales are exquisitely tragic things. They are the dearest things to our hearts, our tragedies." LaCroix came and stood beside the guest bed. "I think that you... know that better than most." No no no I've got a taste of Paradise That's all I really need to make me stay I've got a taste of Paradise If I'd had it any sooner, you know You know I never would have run away >From my home "Where will you go?" "To where it began." "Paris?" "Wales." "I'll give you a month or two of privacy. That should be enough time." "Yes." Nick paused. "I'll need your help." "I'll be there." "Thank you." Nick closed his book. "It's been three days. I should go." LaCroix disappeared, then returned after a moment with a crystal wine glass full of dark red liquid. "What's this?" "A little Dutch courage." Nick drank it and stood. It was time. *** The loft was empty. Not just empty of Nick, but of nearly everything. All of Nick's belongings, his piano, his paintings, his motorcycle and the undead cactus, were all gone. Even the ornate wooden mantelpiece over the fire had been removed. All that was left was one couch in front of the cold fireplace. Natalie sat down on it heavily. Since her knee had gone into remission, there was no longer any persistent need to massage it, but Natalie stretched her leg out on the couch anyway. It was from force of habit, she tried to tell herself. But that wasn't cutting it. She was trying to take her mind of a certain blond detective. {He left town, I know he did.} Well, hadn't he said he'd be gone for a few days? {But Nick promised to come back. Why hasn't he come back?} A whoosh of air startled Natalie out of her worrying. Nick smiled. "Did you really think I'd leave without saying goodbye?" "You almost did, once." "That was a long time ago." "Nick. That was a few months ago." "I wasn't thinking clearly, then." He raised an eyebrow. "Did you bring the notebook?" "It's in my bag." Natalie paused. "I suppose you want it for whoever you find to continue the work." Nick didn't smile, but his eyes crinkled strangely at the corners. "Not exactly." With one swift, graceful motion, Nick knelt down beside the couch. He laid his cool, strong hands on her bad knee and began prodding and kneading the muscles. Natalie stifled a sigh. "How's my favorite body part doing?" It took a moment for that to register. "My knee? It's fine. I told you, spontaneous remission." Nick dropped his eyes and concentrated a little too hard on his massaging. "Or was it?" she asked flatly. "Not, er... Not exactly," Nick mumbled. "Nick," Natalie began warningly. Then she stopped. "Christ," she muttered. Nick winced slightly. "Talk about holistic medicine--Nick! What have you done?" "Easy," Nick soothed. "I healed a very minor wound. It's nothing serious. Calm down; you're not turning into a vampire." Was that relief Nick read on her face? Or disappointment? Maybe he had a shot at this after all. "So I guess... this is goodbye." "I guess so." Nick paused. "But it doesn't have to be." "What do you mean?" "Come with me." "Excuse me?" "Come with me," Nick repeated patiently. He touched Natalie's cheek, but she barely seemed to notice. "I'm going out to Wales tomorrow night and I don't want to go alone." "Why me?" Natalie persisted. Nick's cobalt blue eyes softened. "You got the letter. And you'll never know how much I care for you. Or how much I love you." Natalie tried to speak, to answer him. Instead, she burst out crying. Nick wrapped his arms around her and she hid her face in his shirt. She was ruining the silk, but he didn't seem to care. "I'm sorry," she croaked. "I feel like--such a--fool..." "Ssh. It's okay." Nick stroked her hair softly. "It's been a nasty week." He kissed her curls. Then he pulled back a bit, took Natalie's head in his hands, and gave her the sweetest, most tender kiss she had ever received. And then, that sweet tender kiss exploded. Heaven Can Wait (3/3) I know that I've been released And I don't know to where Nobody's gonna tell me now And I don't really care Nick's blood was beginning to leap and boil, and his muscles tensed in anticipation of pushing Natalie away--but the beast was not rabid. The vampire within him wasn't ramming against the bars of its cage, but instead was waiting patiently for Nick's command. It had never done that before. He broke off the kiss and buried his nose in Natalie's hair, breathing in her scent. Rich spicy wine and dark chocolate... For a vampire, Nick's sense of smell was terrible, but he had no problems recognizing Natalie's scent. Or his own. He was quite certain that, underneath the wine and chocolate, he could smell wood smoke, oranges and sumac. Nick's own unique odor. *That* explained it, Nick realized, as the proverbial light bulb clicked on. He had given Natalie his blood. She wasn't his fledgling, but she was a part of him now. And that was the answer, so appalling and yet so simple. That and the Dutch courage. Nick slid down and began pressing kisses to Natalie's throat. "Nick," she gasped, "don't..." "It's all right..." In his extreme arousal, Nick's fangs had dropped. He dragged the points very delicately over the flawless skin, barely leaving a mark. Nick let his head fall onto Natalie's shoulder. She reached up and threaded her fingers through his loose blond curls. "I love you, too," she managed to whisper. "Come with me, please, Nat." "But... LaCroix--" "He won't bother us," Nick promised her. He didn't say precisely *why* the old Roman was willing to leave them alone; there was time enough to explain that. Time enough for everything. Heaven can wait And all I've got is time Until the end of time "The research--" "I don't care about the research. Natalie, listen to me. We can always go back to the research. But if I say goodbye tonight, I won't always have you. *Please.*" Natalie searched his face, his eyes. Then any opposition she might have thought up simply for argument's sake melted away. "Yes," she said simply. Nick let out a burst of breath he hadn't known he'd been holding, and hugged Natalie tight to his chest. She felt her hair dampen. "You're crying." "So are you," he pointed out, nuzzling her temple. Natalie pulled away slightly from his embrace. Nick cocked his head questioningly. "But Nick, your mortality--" Nick smiled, and he silenced her with a kiss. "It can wait, my love. It can wait." I won't look back I won't look back Let the altar shine Heaven can wait Heaven can wait I won't look back I won't look back Let the altar shine Let the altar shine... ~Finis--March 26th, 2003~ April French daomir_darkfell@yahoo.com ===== ~Forever Knight: The Sons of Lilith~ http://www.geocities.com/runeshard/fkficindex.html ~The Corvina~ http://www.geocities.com/runeshard/index.html "And we shall exist by amusing ourselves, by dreaming of monstrous loves and fantastic universes, by complaining and quarreling with the pretenses of the world..." --"The Flash of Lightning" by Arthur Rimbaud\