Disclaimer: Forever Knight and its characters belong to Sony/TriStar, I've just borrowed them for a bit with no copyright infringement intended. I'll give them back in a minute with no damage done, well, not much damage, anyway. Cait and Astrid, however, are mine, all mine. Rating: Probably PG-13. There is some very mild, and only occasional, language. No graphic sex but some conversations about sexual situations. Really, it's all very mild or I would have blushed while typing. This is a post-Last Knight story. A New Eternity By Saoirse Ní Ruairc Natalie slowly let out her breath in a deep sigh, another shift was finally over. A bad traffic pile up had caused her to work longer than normal tonight and she was tired. Lately, it seemed as if her hours at work were spent just marking time. No longer was there any thrill in deciphering a scientific puzzle, helping to unravel the how, why, and sometimes who, of death. Not that going home was any joy either. She slept because she knew that she should and she went through the motions of eating for the same reason. She kept her apartment neat and clean because it was in her nature to do so. She felt alone at work because she had closed herself off to any relationship except the strictly professional. And, at home, Sidney was her only companion, her only comfort. This was how it had been since that morning six weeks ago when she had woken, confused and alone, on the floor of Nick's loft. The first thing she had become aware of was that she was lying on the hard, bare floor. She didn't feel particularly hungry but a cup of tea would really be nice. Wait! If Nick had brought her across, she should be ravenous with first hunger. He must have stopped in time. Slowly, she sat up and opened her eyes. It was dark, but she could see that the sky was beginning to lighten outside of the loft's windows. The shutters weren't closed. Where was Nick? Why had he left her on the floor? Quickly she stood, and then she took a moment to marvel at how good she felt. She had expected to feel weak, she knew that she had lost a lot of blood. She remembered her thoughts drifting as Nick drank deeply and she had felt herself sliding towards unconsciousness. Her last thought had been that she would wake up as a vampire or, more probably, not wake up at all, given Nick's reluctance to curse her with his form of existence. But instead, she felt wonderful, strong and full of life. But why wasn't Nick here with her? Why weren't the windows shielded against the coming dawn? And why was she left on the floor without even a pillow under her head or a blanket thrown over her for comfort? She ran up the stairs but there was no sign of Nick, his bed had not been slept in, the covers were neat and freshly made. Nothing was out of place or even hinted at being recently used. Returning downstairs, she made herself a cup of tea and lit the gas logs in the fireplace, the mornings still had a chill to them even though it was early summer. Then she settled onto the sofa to think. When her teacup was empty, she still had no idea of what was going on, so, confused and worried, Natalie left the loft and drove back to her apartment. Arriving home, a hungry Sidney met her at the door, but there were no messages on her answering machine nor did she receive any calls or notes from Nick during the day. As soon as she finished work that night, she went back to the loft to find that it was completely empty. Everything was gone, it looked as though no one had ever lived there, much less lived there up until the night before. She quickly drove to the precinct station only to learn that Nick's resignation, effective immediately, had been found on the captain's desk on the same morning that she awoke in Nick's loft, still alive but all alone. So, that was that. He was gone without a good-bye, without any word at all, without even waiting for her to wake after the intimacy they had shared. Anger had flared briefly as she headed home but even anger had faded as she contemplated the colorless, joyless, empty future that she now saw before her. She thought of that night again, and of the six long, lonely weeks since, as the elevator rose to her floor. "What the hell!" Natalie muttered, under her breath, as she stepped out of the elevator. Down the hall she could see a pile of rags, or something, leaning up against her door. As she approached, she stopped, staring intently. Now that she was closer, she could see that it wasn't a pile of rags but a person, huddled up as if cold or in pain. How on earth had a homeless person managed to get inside of her security building? She started to back away but something, some sense of recognition, stopped her. That leather jacket and tangled mop of hair was ringing a bell in her memory. "Impossible!" she gasped, just as a face raised itself to stare at her with meltingly soft, dark brown eyes. A weak voice whispered, "Help me!" Shock held Natalie frozen for a heartbeat before she hurried to open her door and struggled to help the Spanish vampire to his feet and into her apartment. Although he was obviously doing his best to support himself, it took all of Natalie's strength to help him reach the couch. "Sorry… sorry. God, I'm so weak." He gasped as he sank down onto the couch. "Weak!" Natalie exclaimed with a slightly hysterical giggle. "You're supposed to be dead!" A small grin lit his face. "Nope, still just undead." It would be light soon. Natalie busied herself pulling down the shades, drawing the curtains and hanging quilts over the curtain rods just to be sure that no stray sunbeams would enter the room when the sun rose. She started to apologize for not having anything to offer her unexpected guest but Vachon had already fallen asleep. Natalie threw the afghan from the back of her couch over him and tiptoed out of the room. She quickly made herself a sandwich and took it to her bedroom. After finishing her meager meal, she readied herself for bed. The sky was starting to turn a pale lemon yellow as dawn approached but she decided to leave her bedroom window uncovered. The light might make falling asleep more difficult but, considering who, or should that be what, was sleeping in her living room, it seemed infinitely more safe. Natalie stretched and turned her head to look at the clock on her bedside table. Only 9:30a.m. Lately she seemed unable to sleep more than 3 or 4 hours at the most and yet she always woke refreshed and revitalized. It was while she was in the shower that she remembered her visitor of the previous night. As soon as she was dressed, she quietly went into the other room. There he was, sleeping as only a vampire could. Why on her couch? What was she, some sort of cosmic, vampire magnet? Or did she just have 'sucker' tattooed on her forehead? As soon as it was dark, she should throw him out. She didn't need the aggravation, she didn't want THEM back in her life. Oh, who was she kidding? She wouldn't throw him out, not only would she let him stay, she would probably do whatever she had to in order to help him. Why on earth did she care so much about them? She knew what they were capable of, even Nick. And this one drank human blood, still hunted for all she knew. From what Nick had told her, Vachon accepted what he was, more than that, he liked being a vampire. She stood there for several minutes, just watching him sleep. Nick had slept like this too, so pale, so still, so obviously not quite human. You had to watch carefully to even see them take a breath. At the same time, lying there, Vachon looked so young and innocent, almost angelic, except for the fact that he was absolutely filthy. There was even dirt and pieces of leaves and … and stuff in his hair. He had been scruffy when she had last seen him but not dirty. Lord, he looked like he had just crawled up out of the earth! Suddenly, horrifyingly, she realized that he must have done just that. She remembered Nick telling her that Tracy had buried him. Imagining what he must have gone through was just too disturbing this early in the morning, so turning away, she went into the kitchen. As Natalie ate her breakfast, she decided that she would have to get hold of some blood before Vachon woke, necessary for him, safer for her. She used to keep a bottle in the refrigerator for Nick but she had thrown that out after learning that Nick had left town. It had been cow anyway and surely wouldn't have still been good after six weeks. Tonight was her night off, so she wouldn't be able to obtain any from the lab. She'd have to think of some other way to provide for him until she returned to work tomorrow night. She should also buy some clean clothes for him to change into after he showered. He certainly couldn't stay in those dirty things he had on, not if he stayed in her home. After cleaning up her breakfast dishes, and with a plan now set in her mind, Natalie headed to the hospital to pay an old med school friend a 'visit'. Once there, she would find a way to slip some bags of blood into her oversized tote. Shortly after the sun slipped below the horizon, Vachon woke, stretched, and sat up, to find Natalie sitting across the room, watching him. As he swung his feet off of the couch, she got up and left the room, returning with a mug in her hand. "Here" she said, "you probably need this." "Thanks." He took a sip, his eyes widening with surprise. Human! "Where did you get this? I expected Nick's swill." "Don't ask! I'm feeling like a particularly ghoulish thief at the moment. You would have gotten Nick's if I still had any. Although, I suppose it would have been spoiled by now anyway." He didn't say anything but his eyebrows lifted in an obvious question. "Nick's gone, he's been gone for weeks. I don't want to talk about it. I want to hear about you. Nick told me that you had been attacked by Divia, staked and buried." "Divia, so that was the little monster's name." He paused for a moment, obviously reliving something terrible before he began to talk "I was heading back to the church after talking to Tracy, when I heard a child crying in an alley. I could feel that there was a vampire somewhere around, but for some reason I wasn't able to tell exactly where. I was afraid that the child had been attacked, maybe brought across and abandoned, so I went to see if I could help. So much for being a Good Samaritan! When I touched her, the little brat lashed out at me. I couldn't get away from her, she was too strong, and I guess I blacked out. After I came to, I made it back to the church but I wasn't healing. The pain was driving me insane and there were hallucinations of children killing and being killed. It was like being inside of a nightmare and not being able to wake up. I was sure I was dying and by the time Tracy came and tried to help me, I was past hope, I just wanted it all to stop. I begged her to stake me, to put me out of my misery but she didn't want to do it. She just stood there, holding the stake in front of herself, so I sort of took the decision out of her hands. I guess I forgot to tell her to leave the stake in my heart. Oops!" There was that grin again and, this time, Natalie found herself smiling back. As Vachon continued, the grin disappeared and his voice became quiet, his speech slowed. "It was cold, dark, I was still having terrible nightmares but I knew they weren't real and they seemed to be fading away, like a fog that you can see through in patches. Finally, I realized that I was still alive but it was quite a while before I could think straight, before I figured out that I was buried, before I could sense which way was up. I was so weak that I could only dig a few inches at a time but I finally made it to the surface. Lucky for me, Tracy must not have been able to dig down very deep. I discovered that I still had some money in my pocket, so I found a pay phone. I tried the Raven, Nick's place and Tracy's but I couldn't get through to any of them. Every number I tried, I just got an out-of-service message. There was a directory in the booth, so I looked up your number. I thought that Nick might be here and I didn't want to call the station looking for him. No one answered, I just got your machine, but at least it was in service. I stayed on my feet long enough to flag down a taxi and I gave the driver the address that the phone book listed for you." He laughed. "I must have scared the driver to death, looking like this. Dirty, I mean, and so weak that I must have looked drunk or stoned out of my mind. He demanded cash up front before he'd let me in the cab. Good thing I had enough. So, here I am. You said Nick's gone. Where? What about everyone else? What about Tracy?" Natalie had known that these questions would come but she dreaded answering them. "I don't know what happened to Nick, he just left, I guess. LaCroix closed down the Raven that same night, so I suppose they left together. Tracy… I'm so sorry, Tracy is dead. She was shot in the line of duty. She never regained consciousness." "When?" "Only about a week after you were buried. She didn't suffer, if that helps any." "She was so young, so full of life. She was the first mortal woman I'd ever had as a friend. I can't believe she's gone. I'll miss her." "I'm really sorry, you must have loved her very much." "Loved her? I guess I did, in a way. But not like you mean, I wasn't in love with her. Don't look so shocked, she wasn't in love with me either. Sure, we thought about it, we were attracted to each other. But it couldn't have worked out anyway, not as long as she was mortal, and she wouldn't have wanted to become one of us. She made that clear. Besides, even if she sometimes thought that she might love me, she never really trusted me. And, just before I was attacked, she told me that she believed that there was evil inside me and it frightened her, that's not love. You didn't think Nick was evil, did you? I liked her though, I enjoyed being with her, and I tried to protect her, be her friend. I should have been there, maybe I could have saved her." He paused for a moment and then continued. "Before Tracy came, I think I remember Urs being at the church. Do you know what happened to her? I didn't hurt her, did I?" "No, you didn't hurt her. Apparently, she went to Nick's place to get help for you. Nick spoke to her on the intercom but Divia must have attacked her in the elevator. She fought back but she didn't stand a chance. When the elevator opened, Urs was alone, dead on the floor. Nick and LaCroix believed that she was just too young to hold out against Divia's poison." "What happened to her? Who took care of her body?" "Nick asked me to take care of her. I wasn't sure what was right but I didn't want to just put her in the sunlight. I had her cremated and her ashes buried. I arranged for a simple brass plaque to be put on the grave. I'm afraid that I didn't know her last name, the plaque says, Urs Vachon, beloved daughter, and the date. I hope that's alright." "That's perfect, Natalie, thank you." Vachon fell silent, his head bowed. After several minutes, Natalie picked up the mug, which he had set aside, and placed it back in his hands. Natalie was headed home from work once again but unlike the weeks before Vachon came, she was eager to reach home. She had fallen into a pattern since he had come, a short sleep, chores during the day, work and then spending the remaining nighttime hours with Javier. He was still living at her apartment. With rest, he had recovered from the ordeal that he had endured before reaching her apartment. At least, he had recovered enough to walk and move around the apartment on his own. But he was still unable to function the way a vampire should. Although he didn't seem to be getting any worse, he was still much too weak. He certainly couldn't go outside, he couldn't fly or protect himself and he tired so easily. He had been very co-operative when Natalie had taken blood samples and a bone marrow sample, he never complained or objected as Nick sometimes had. Natalie had compared his samples to those she had taken from Nick and Screed, and after running numerous tests, she believed that she knew why he was so weak. If only she knew how to correct the problem. After arriving home and changing out of her work clothes, Natalie quickly prepared herself a meal. Javier had taken to joining her, with his mug, at the table while she ate. They talked about her day, of how he had passed his time at the apartment and a variety of subjects that each thought might interest the other. It was a peaceful, comfortable time and they both looked forward to it each night. Tonight, however, their conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door. Puzzled by who would be visiting at 3:30 in the morning., Natalie started towards the door. As her hand reached for the doorknob she was stopped by a wave of anxiety and she turned towards a startled looking Vachon. "Vampire?" She silently mouthed the word and he nodded, yes. Slowly she opened the door. "Yes?" she said to the stranger standing on her doormat. " Dr. Lambert?" The tall, attractive, pale blond woman with ice blue eyes spoke in a low, authoritative voice. "I'm here to see the Spaniard, may I come in?" It was a politely worded request but the woman stepped inside as she spoke, giving Natalie no opportunity to refuse. Vachon rose from his chair and calmly faced the newcomer. "Are you here to kill me, Enforcer?" Natalie was frozen in place, for a moment. How could this beautiful woman be one of the enforcers that Nick had warned her about? But, in the silence that fell after Vachon's question, she rushed over to stand in front of him, her arms slightly raised out from her sides as if to hide him, and her eyes flashing. "Oh no you won't" her voice was almost a growl, "not after all he's been through. I know he'll recover, he just needs a chance, he needs time." "Hush, Nat," Vachon whispered as he took hold of Natalie's shoulder and pulled her back beside him. "She doesn't understand," he explained to the enforcer. Turning to face Natalie he said, "I'm weak, unable to take care of myself, can't fly and can't hunt. If I was discovered and not able to escape or defend myself, I might be the cause of the community being exposed. I've been expecting one of them to show up." Kissing Natalie on the forehead, he spoke again, "You can do whatever you want to me but don't harm her. She's known about us for years and kept our secret. She's no danger to our kind." The enforcer's voice was stern as she spoke but her lips were oddly tight as if she was straining to keep them from turning up at the corners. "I am here to assess your situation. What ever I decide should be done with you, with you both, will be MY decision, not yours. Now, sit down, we'll talk like civilized creatures and you'll answer my questions." Vachon was led through his memories of Divia's attack, his condition after the attack and up to the present. Occasionally the enforcer stopped him to ask a question or make a comment, although she seemed to be aware of most of the facts already. When Vachon finished his story and fell silent, the piercing blue eyes turned their attention to Natalie. "Tell me, why did you take Vachon into your home? Why have you helped him, even stolen blood from the hospital for him? He isn't like DeBrabant, he feeds on human blood and he doesn't want to change, doesn't want to become mortal again. And now, to keep him fed, you're draining the bodies that are sent to you for examination. If you should be caught, how would you explain? Your career could be in danger, your life could be in danger should he turn against you. Why are you taking such risks for one of us, one of us who you barely knew before he showed up on your doorstep? Answer me, Dr. Lambert." "Please, call me Natalie." 'O.k., that was a really stupid thing to say', thought Natalie, but she needed to stall for a little extra time. How could she explain when she didn't know why herself? This time the battle with her lips was lost. Slowly the enforcer smiled and said, "Thank you, Natalie. You may call me Astrid. But, please, answer my question." Natalie didn't speak for a moment, then she looked directly into Astrid's eyes. "Because he needed me, needed my help and…and I needed him. I was lost until he came into my life, lost and alone." "What do you remember of that last night with DeBrabant, Natalie?" Slowly, Natalie began to tell her story, becoming stronger and more sure of herself as she went along. This was the first time that Vachon had heard what had happened that night and as Natalie spoke of how she had found herself alone the next morning, he gently took her hand in his. As she finished her story, she straightened up and squared her shoulders, but their hands remained clasped as if they both needed the contact. "Do you know what happened to Nick? Is he alive? Do you know where he is? Why did he leave me like that?" "We know a lot but we don't know everything, so I'm sorry, I can't answer all of your questions. But, yes, he's alive. He thought that he had killed you and he begged LaCroix to stake him so that he could be with you in death. LaCroix talked him out of throwing away his life, took him away from Toronto, and arranged for the loft to be cleared and for your body to be taken care of. But when the others came, as soon as it was dark again, you were gone. LaCroix and DeBrabant had already left town, they don't know that you survived. As of yet, we don't know where they have gone." "But why did they believe that I was dead? I thought that you guys knew that kind of thing, could hear even a faint heartbeat?" "Yes, we know whether there is still life, we always know, no matter how tenuously that life clings to this world. I have no idea how they could make such a mistake or how you did manage to survive. But let's get back to my current problem. What is wrong with this one and can he recover? I'm sure that you've been working on it, Natalie, have you found out anything?" "Well, actually, yes, I think so. I believe that Divia's poison damaged his bone marrow." "I'm sorry, I don't understand. What does that mean? Why would it affect him?" "O.k. Let me go back a little here. I've been working on vampire physiology for quite a while, both to try and help Nick and also to discover a cure when that lab rat caused the community, here in Toronto, to become so ill. You know about that, don't you?" Seeing Astrid's nod, she continued. "Well, in a normal mortal, the bone marrow produces new blood cells. From what I've been able to discover, when you are brought across, the function of your bone marrow is altered. It no longer produces blood cells, which is why you need to feed on the blood of others. You have to provide your bodies with a constant supply of fresh blood in order to live. Instead of blood cells, your bone marrow produces something completely different which, for lack of anything better, I call the V factor. I know, that's a really corny name, but it amused me and it's not like I could ever publish a paper on the subject. Anyway, these V factor cells attach themselves to all of the blood cells that are consumed. I believe that's what makes a vampire, what gives you all of your strengths and special abilities. It probably also causes your sensitivity to garlic and so on. If all of the V factor was destroyed, I believe it would kill you. Well, Javier's bone marrow is only producing damaged V factor, the cells are distorted and collapsed. Plus, he's only producing a small fraction of the V factor needed, he only has enough to attach to a very few of the blood cells that he's ingesting. I believe that is why he's so weak and unable to function properly. Even though he's still a vampire, still needs blood and still can't tolerate sunlight, his hearing and vision is no better, if as good, as mine, he doesn't have the strength to fly and he tires easily." "Can this condition be corrected?" " I hope so, no, I'm sure it can. You guys usually heal yourselves almost instantly, maybe, because of his damaged V factor, he just needs more time. The nightmares and pain that he was experiencing, faded after Divia's death, and the damage he sustained when he was staked has healed. It took a lot longer than it should have, but it did heal, so this damage may also eventually heal itself. I've been trying to think of a way to, sort of, kick-start his bone marrow, to speed up the process. I just need a little more time. Please, just a little more." "As long as he's here, he's cared for and there doesn't seem to be any immediate danger to the community, so you've got your time, within reason. Also, I'll arrange for a steady supply of blood to be delivered to you. You're running too big a risk, obtaining it on your own. If there's anything else I can help you with, let me know, I'll be checking back with you as often as I can." "Actually, there is one thing. I've had one idea, but since I haven't had access to another vampire, I haven't been able to test my theory. I was wondering, if he was able to feed on blood that already had healthy V factor attached to the cells, well, perhaps that would help." "Natalie!" Vachon yelped, "You can't ask an enforcer to let me do that!" "Apparently she can, I'm beginning to think that she would dare to do anything." Again a smile showed for a second. "But, it does seem to be an interesting theory. It might work. May we use your other room? A little privacy, you know." At Natalie's nod, Astrid led a visibly shaken Vachon from the room. After a short time, Astrid and Vachon emerged from the bedroom. Vachon quietly returned to the couch, but after a quick good-bye to Natalie, and a promise to return, Astrid left. As an uncomfortable silence stretched between them, Natalie began to believe that she was the biggest idiot ever. What on earth had she been thinking? She had just practically begged two vampires to have sex in her own bed, and now she was feeling…what was she feeling? Was this jealously? No! Absolutely not! She must just be uncomfortable, after all, she felt like a vampire pimp. She really shouldn't feel so awkward, she was just trying to help. "How was…I mean, how are you?" "You mean other than embarrassed? God, I was scared to death! I was so afraid I wouldn't be able to get my fangs to drop and she'd change her mind about giving me a chance. I was never so relieved in my life as I was when she just offered me her wrist." "I didn't know you guys ever suffered from performance anxiety." "Neither did I!" Suddenly the tension between them was gone and they laughed until Natalie could feel tears flowing down her cheeks. Astrid followed through with her promise. Fresh bottles were delivered regularly and she returned several times to let Javier feed on her blood. As the weeks past by, Natalie and Javier continued spending the hours, after Natalie returned from work, quietly at home. They passed the time talking about everything, watching movie videos, even playing board games and working jigsaw puzzles. Vachon was so open about his life and about being a vampire that Natalie felt she knew him better than she had ever known Nick. He never refused to answer her questions about his past, even if she did suspect him of cleaning up some of his stories in order to spare her the graphic details. He never voiced any regrets about becoming what he was but he did admit to regretting some of his choices, such as bringing Urs across. "Would you have rather killed her?" Natalie asked. "No, I couldn't have done that. I don't know why, she just got to me. I could have altered her memory, though. I could have made her forget about me, forget what happened. Maybe I could have planted the suggestion that she stand up for herself with men, not let herself be used. Or maybe that wouldn't have helped either. It's too late to change things now anyway. You can't beat yourself up over every mistake you make, that will just drive you crazy. Just let it go and try to do better next time, that's all anyone can do." "True." Natalie thought about some of the mistakes that she had made in her own life. He was right. You couldn't change the past, all you could do was learn from it and move on. "Natalie, we need to talk." Natalie had been making herself a salad when she suddenly felt Astrid behind her and heard her voice. She jumped, cutting her finger instead of the tomato. "Damn!" As blood welled up, she quickly held her hand under the faucet and then wrapped it in a paper towel to dry it off. "Let me see," then as Natalie took a step back, "for goodness sake! A drop of blood isn't going to make me lose control. Let me see." "It's fine," Natalie said as she held her finger out for inspection. "It isn't even bleeding anymore." "No, it's not bleeding, I don't even see a mark." "See, I told you it's fine. Javier is in the living room, if you want to talk, we should go in there and join him." Natalie didn't notice that Astrid didn't immediately follow her. Instead, the blond enforcer stood a moment, watching as Natalie walked away, then she nodded once before moving to join her. "It isn't working, is it?" asked Astrid after they settled themselves. "Not yet, but I'm sure…" "Nat, it's o.k.," said Javier as he gave her hand a squeeze. "No, it's not working. Your blood really gives me a boost. I feel a lot better for a while, but it doesn't last. As I feed on the mortal blood that you send, I gradually get weaker again." "I've been taking regular blood samples. Within hours, the blood cells, with your healthy V factor attached, start dying off and the human blood that he drinks takes its place. That seems to be normal, it's why you have to feed regularly, but he's still not producing normal V factor of his own to bond with the fresh blood cells, so he goes down hill again. But we can't give up yet, he's not getting any worse, he might even be slightly improved. Even after your blood is out of his system, he isn't quite as bad as he was when he first showed up here." Astrid was quick to give her assurance. "We're not giving up, not yet. I've had an idea. I've been to see an old friend of mine who may have a cure. Javier, I want you to go to California to give it a try." "No, I don't want to leave Nat. She's gotten me through this far, I trust her to help me." "Oh, Jav, I don't want you to leave either. I don't want to go back to the way things were before you came, but if there's a chance of a cure, you have to give it a try." Astrid raised her hand slightly to get their attention. "Actually, I was hoping that Natalie would go with you. Since you can't fly yourself, you'll have to travel on a plane. It would be safer, in your condition, if you didn't have to try and manage on your own and I'm not able to go right now. My friend thinks that a complete cure could take several weeks, Natalie, and I'm sure that Vachon would benefit from you being with him. Is there really anything holding you here? I think it might be good for you to make a break with the past and move on." "Leave Toronto? For good? I've never even thought about it. I guess there really isn't anything holding me here, not anymore. Nick's gone now and I don't have any family left here. The only family I have is my niece and she isn't in Toronto anymore. My sister-in-law remarried and she and my niece moved to England with her new husband. And even before Javier came, I realized that my job doesn't interest me anymore. What do you think, Jav?" "Well, even if we stay here and you find a cure, I'll have to move on eventually, we always do. I've lost my family, Urs and Screed, you know. I don't like to be alone, I don't even have the Inca chasing me anymore. Come with me, Nat. If you can put up with me, I'd like it if we could be family." "I'd like that too, but I don't know if I'm ready for such a drastic step yet. I don't even know if I want to be a vampire, although, I'm not as against it as I used to be." "Whoa! Hold up, Nat! You don't have to become a vampire to come with me. I didn't mean that and neither did Astrid. You didn't, did you?" "Of course not. Nobody wants you to do anything that you aren't sure about, Natalie. Look, you'll like my friend. Go out there, see if Vachon improves, take the time to relax and enjoy the weather. You won't have any responsibilities or worries, maybe you'll be able to do some thinking, decide what you want your future to be." "Natalie, if you decide that you want to come across, I'll do it for you when I'm well again. But if you don't, that's fine. I just want you to be happy. I don't want you to change because you think you have to or because you think that it's what I want. Let's just take things one day at the time. I want to be your friend, not your creator, your master. I learned with Urs that I shouldn't make that decision for someone else, someone who doesn't want to change. It just wouldn't work out well for either of us unless it was your decision. O.K.?" Natalie couldn't speak. She just smiled and held on to his hand, hoping not to embarrass herself by crying. Four days later, Natalie couldn't quite believe how fast things had happened. She had quit her job, taking her vacation time instead of giving the usual notice. Luckily, a new M.E. had recently been hired so she wasn't leaving them short handed. They had packed, taking only two suitcases and a carry-on, just what clothes and personal items that she would need for now and the clothes that she had bought for Javier since his reawakening. Sidney was coming too, traveling in his new under-seat carrier. She had refused to leave him behind and Javier had supported her decision. It amazed her how attached he had become to her cat. Nick had never been comfortable around Sidney, and although he had tried to hide it from her, she had known how he felt. She had thought, at the time, that it was a vampire thing but, apparently, not all of them felt that way. Astrid had suggested that she make the break from her old life as clean as possible, so the rest of her clothes and a few little things that she couldn't bear to part with, had been packed away and put in storage. Astrid would make sure they were sent on to her when she was ready for them. Notice had been given to the apartment management and Astrid had arranged for the apartment to be cleared out and the furnishings given to charity, after they were gone. So, here they were, on a plane headed west. A new passport was in her purse claiming that she was a U.S. citizen named Natalie Lamb. She had no idea as to how that had been arranged but she had learned not to question Astrid too closely about details. Javier's passport also claimed that he was a U.S. citizen, but he was still Javier Vachon. He had arrived in Toronto as J. D. Valdez and had managed to keep Javier Vachon out of the official spotlight, so he didn't need to change names, not this move anyway. Astrid, of course, had made all of their travel plans, so nothing would dare to go wrong. They had only gone as far as Chicago the first night. It had been decided that going all the way to San Diego, on a direct flight, would be too tiring for Javier. Plus, if anything had happened to delay their flight, they might have run the risk of being caught by the daylight. Customs, when they had landed in Chicago, had been a breeze since they were 'citizens'. They had been met, by a vampire of course, and taken to a luxurious hotel where adjoining rooms had been reserved in their names and Javier's 'special diet' was waiting in the mini-fridge. A disposable litter box, in the bathroom of Natalie's room, was ready for Sidney's use. Astrid might be more than a little pushy, even overpowering, but she was efficient and very thorough. The next night, they were picked up again and taken back to the airport. Their flight to San Diego was smooth and uneventful. When they arrived at the luggage claim area, they spotted a man, mortal this time, wearing a uniform and holding a sign marked Lamb/Vachon. Soon they were comfortably ensconced in a limo headed east, out of the city. Half an hour later, the limo pulled into a circular drive and stopped in front of a house, which was set well back from the road. A soft flutter of panic started to rise up in Natalie's throat and she firmly tightened the control over her emotions. A quick glance at Javier's face told her that he was nervous too. He took her hand to help her out of the car and their hands continued to cling to each other as they slowly climbed the steps up to the porch. Not much could be seen of the house, or yard, in the dark, but the property seemed to be spacious and the porch, with it's welcoming light, was friendly and warm. The house was two stories high and seemed to be built of stone. A overhang roof extended from the face of the house, providing shelter for the porch, which was furnished with three casual, country style rocking chairs and a couple of tables just waiting for a cool drink, or cup of tea, and perhaps a book to be placed on them. They were facing a paprika red front door, which was decorated with a grapevine wreath. Javier smiled at her but his voice shook as he spoke. "It will be all right, Nat. Everything will be fine." Then he raised his hand and knocked on the door. After only a few moments, the door opened. "Hi! You must be Natalie and Javier. Come in and make yourself at home." The woman who invited them into the house was a complete surprise, definitely not what Natalie expected. She was young, early 20's, and very pretty, with an almost translucent complexion, black hair, green eyes, and a beautiful smile. Her voice was attractively low with a slight, but lilting accent and she was dressed in a rib- knit turtleneck sweater with a long corduroy skirt. Seeing the woman's clothing reminded Natalie that, although the weather seemed quite mild to her, it was still fall, even in California. As Natalie watched the woman show the driver where to set the luggage, tip him and close the door, she became aware of something even more surprising. This woman was not a vampire ! She didn't know how she could be so sure, but she was. Turning once again to her guests, the young woman smiled. "My name is Caitlin, Caitlin Mulvaney, please call me Cait. The living room is this way, shall we sit down and get to know each other?" "Cait? I'm sorry but could I get my cat settled first?" asked Natalie as she raised the carrier in her hand. "Oh, of course. What was I thinking? Do you feel up to climbing the stairs to see your room now, Javier?" Cait asked as she picked up one of the suitcases and slung the strap of the carry-on over her shoulder, "Or would you rather wait for us down here?" "I'm fine, I can go up with you now. Let me help carry something, Nat." "How about you carry Sidney? If you're sure you're o.k." Natalie handed him the carrier, picked up the other suitcase and her purse and they followed Cait up the staircase and into a bedroom. "This is your room, Javier, I hope you'll be comfortable. This is the bathroom and it opens, on the other side, into Natalie's room. You won't mind sharing, will you?" "We'll be fine." Natalie said as she as she walked through one of the nicest bathrooms she had ever seen and into the room meant for her. "Oh, this is lovely!" The room she had entered had light, sage green walls, and an iron bed, covered with a sage, tan and dusty rose colored floral comforter. An antique dresser painted ivory, bedside tables and a rocking chair completed the room. "Astrid told me that you would have a cat with you, so I put a litter box and food and water bowls in the bathroom. He's welcome to have the run of the house. I have two dogs but they're friendly and gentle with cats." "Thanks, but I think I should close the hall door and let Sidney get used to it here first. He's had a rough couple of days." "Well then, I'll let you get settled. Come on downstairs as soon as you're ready." Before letting Sidney out of his crate, Natalie walked back into the other bedroom. "Would you rather I close your door to the bathroom and keep Sid on my side or should I close both of the hall doors and let him wander back and forth between our rooms?" "Close the hall doors and let him wander. I enjoy his company." After letting Sidney out of his crate and showing him where his bowls and the box were located, Natalie returned to Javier's room. "Are you alright? Are you ready to go down?" "I'm fine, just tired and I'm starting to get hungry. She's mortal, Nat. Why would Astrid send us to a mortal?" "I really don't know, she's certainly not what I was expecting at all. Let's go down and see if we can find out what's going on." "Oh, good! Here you are. Javier, sit, you must be tired and hungry." As soon as he was settled, Cait handed him a beautiful goblet with a clear stem and an amber bowl, filled with a dark red liquid. 'At least she knows what he is' thought Natalie. As she watched, he took a sip, paused and looked at the goblet with a puzzled expression, then eagerly drank again. "And here is a pot of tea and some cookies for us. Unless you would prefer something else?" "Tea and cookies will be wonderful, thank you." "Now, I imagine you have some questions, unless Astrid has already explained everything to you." "All Astrid told us was that she thought her old friend might have a cure for Javier. She didn't even tell us your name. You're quite a surprise, I guess we were expecting someone from the community." "I've been friends with Astrid for a long time. Our friendship has lasted because we trust each other and respect each other's secrets. She's always very discreet, but I think she may have carried it too far this time. Yes, we believe there is a cure. What she should have told you is that I am the cure." Natalie was stunned in to silence, leaving Javier to swallow quickly before he could speak. "What do you mean you're the cure? I don't understand." "My blood is your cure, it's what you're drinking now. I had that glass ready for your arrival, but from now on, you'll feed from me, at least twice a day, until Natalie tells us that you are cured." "Oh no, absolutely not! How could you agree to that? Astrid must be out of her mind! Not that this isn't wonderful," he said as he lifted the goblet. "Strange, but wonderful. I swear I feel stronger already. But why can't I feed like this, from a glass? There's no way I'll take any chance of harming, even killing, someone who's trying to help me. And I can guarantee that I won't be able to stop, not with this coming out of your veins." "Actually," Natalie added, "that wouldn't work either. You can't donate that much blood. The point of our coming here was to cure Javier, not to destroy you." "You need to feed from me for your emotional health. You're a vampire, you need to start feeling like one again if you're going to completely recover. No, please, sit back down. I'm explaining this badly. I'm afraid I don't have a lot of experience at explaining myself. I rarely trust anyone enough to share the secret of what I am, and I've never told strangers before, but Astrid assures me that you are both completely trustworthy. I've known her for a long time and I've never known her judgment to be wrong. Let me start over. You know, you both know, that I'm not a vampire. To you, Javier, I read as a normal mortal, right?" "Yes, except if this is your blood, normal isn't even remotely close." "And you, Natalie? What do you feel?" "Well, I've gotten pretty good at identifying vampires lately, and I'm sure you're not one. But, I do seem to feel that you're not a mortal either. I don't know what it is, but something seems different." "Very good! What you're feeling is absolutely correct, I am quite different. I'm not a vampire, but I am immortal, truly immortal. A vampire can die, can be killed, I can't. I'm a cailleach, a cailleach na gcearc. In modern Gaelic, that's the word for a hag or a witch, but long ago, when we were first created, it was what we were called. It didn't really translate, it just meant my kind." "You said 'we'. I can't believe there's a bunch of immortals, stronger than we are, running around and I've never heard of them." "For one thing, there's not a bunch. There are only five of us, one for each of the ancient regions of Ireland, and we all stayed in Ireland up until the last couple of centuries. For another thing, you're too young. We went into hiding when Christianity took hold in our country and that was what, a thousand years before you were born. Also, we're not more powerful than you. We're actually more like mortals. We can't control minds, we have normal hearing, vision and strength, and we eat food, although we wouldn't die without it. But we heal ourselves like vampires, actually, faster than they heal. And we don't die, not ever. So, I'm in no danger from you. You can't drink as fast as my body can replenish my blood. You can't drain me, much less kill me, but my blood will hopefully return you to health. A cailleach's blood is very special. While drinking it or injecting it won't turn a vampire, or a mortal, into a cailleach, it can have a powerful effect. It not only just makes you feel wonderful, it strengthens, heals. In a mortal it can also prevent disease, and ensure a relatively long life. Beyond it's healing properties, if a vampire drinks enough of our blood, over time, it can have other effects. Sunlight will still burn, still kill, but not as quickly. Garlic won't make you as sick and you'll probably be able to eat small amounts of food without any ill effect. You may start waking up well before the sun sets, you'll need less sleep in general, more like an older vampire. But don't think that our blood might be a cure for vampirism, it's not a disease so it can't be cured. It's our belief that the Goddess planned the existence of vampires. Also, I know you're a doctor, Natalie, but don't suggest the wide spread use of our blood to cure cancer or any of the other diseases that plague this world. I believe in the wisdom of nature, mortal creatures are supposed to die. They have to, in order to make room for new life. I accepted that even when I was still mortal, it just wasn't meant to be my fate. But, like most beings, I'm not always logical when my emotions are involved. I, on occasion, make an exception to my non-interference rule. Astrid is a friend, I owe her a favor, and she tells me that your illness, Javier, isn't natural. She tells me that you are worth saving and we believe that my blood's healing power will, in time, repair your bone marrow. It's worth a try, isn't it?" "Yes." Natalie said. "Yes, it's definitely worth a try." Before dawn, Javier took his first treatment, from Cait's wrist, at his insistence. Feeding from the neck could be so sensual, so intimate. For some reason, he wanted Natalie to know that he was feeding, nothing more. In the days that followed, the three of them spent the nighttime hours as Natalie and Javier had spent them in Toronto, watching movies, playing games and talking. They were getting to know each other, becoming friends. At dawn, they all slept. But after three or four hours, Natalie and Cait would wake to spend the day together. Natalie had fallen in love with the house that had been Cait's home for the last four years. It was so homey and comfortable, like Cait herself. The extensive yard was beautiful. There was a large patio in the back with a hot tub (so California), a great many trees, an area where Cait planted a vegetable garden each spring, herb beds and a detached building, which was Cait's studio. Cait had always worked with fibers, spinning, knitting and weaving. As she told Natalie, it had been a necessity for centuries but now her work was a well-loved hobby. She had added, with a laugh, that the equipment was a lot better now. Natalie still had trouble accepting that this vibrant young woman was actually close to 2500 years old. The studio, and its contents, fascinated Natalie. Her grandmother had taught her to knit when she was a child and now she had begun to take it up again. She was also learning to spin under Cait's patient tutelage. She hoped that she would be able to stay with Cait long enough to start weaving, too. Preparing and eating their meals was something else that she and Cait did together. Cait insisted on setting a beautiful table and making each meal an occasion. They timed their evening meal so that Javier could sit with them as he had done while living in Natalie's apartment. Natalie was surprised at how close they had all become in so short a time. She had been drawn to Cait from the first and now she felt as if she had discovered a long lost sister. One evening, when they had been together for a little over a week, they were enjoying just sitting around the fireplace, talking. Sidney was curled up in Javier's lap, his favorite place, and Cait's two corgis, Ciarán and Conner, were asleep on the hearthrug. The dogs' comical, friendly charm had won Sidney over, almost as quickly as it had Natalie and Javier. The peaceful scene was only slightly disturbed by Astrid's arrival. She was eager to find out how Vachon was doing. "Have you checked his blood lately, Natalie? Did the equipment I sent arrive?" "Yes, it arrived just fine, you thought of everything. And, yes, I've checked his blood. It's going to take a little time, but there is definite improvement. His V factor is still damaged but the distortion isn't nearly as severe and the amount that he is producing has increased dramatically. I'm really encouraged." "I feel a lot better, too. Not normal yet, but much stronger than I was." "Thank goodness! I'm so glad that this is working. And what about you, Natalie? How are you doing?" "Me? I'm fine. You were right about my coming here. I really like Cait and I'm having a wonderful time." "I haven't told her yet," Cait said, "I wanted to get to know her first and for her to get to know me. But I think that now, with you here, Astrid, the time is right." "Tell me what, Cait? What are you two talking about?" "Listen, Natalie," Astrid spoke quietly, directly to Natalie, "when I asked you to come here with Vachon, it was only partially for his sake. I could have just brought bottles of Cait's blood to Toronto, it would have worked the same. But I wanted you to meet Cait. More importantly, I wanted her to meet you." "Why? I don't understand." "It started when you told me about your last night with DeBrabant. Both he and LaCroix thought that you were dead. Now, they're not inexperienced fledglings, not by a long shot. How could they have made a mistake like that? My only answer was that they couldn't have. Therefore, you must have actually been dead. DeBrabant must have killed you, just as he thought he had. I know, I know, it didn't make sense to me either. But it did make me curious. I noticed that you had become very good at recognizing our kind, Vachon even commented about that once, and yet, you definitely weren't one of us. You seemed to be functioning, and functioning well, on very little sleep. Plus, there were several other little things that seemed odd and I gradually began to suspect that you might be a cailleach." Natalie and Javier both started to talk at once but Astrid quieted them with a movement of her hand. "I know, it's a little hard to believe." "More than a little." muttered Natalie, almost to herself. "At first, I thought that you must be one of Cait's four sisters. But I couldn't believe that you would sit by watch Vachon go down hill just to keep your identity secret. Not if you knew what you were. You seemed very close to him, you were protective of him, and, although, a cailleach rarely forms close relationships, when she does, she shares her secret. Even though the cailleacha don't go around trying to save the world, they do help those they care about. And while you didn't seem to believe that his condition would kill him, it was possible that, sooner or later, one of us might have. I just couldn't believe that you wouldn't help him if you knew that you carried a cure in your blood. So, I checked into your background. It was traceable, open to anyone who looked. You were born in Canada, but all of Cait's kind, all five, are Irish. I found your school records, all of the records of your life, which proved you were a normal person who was born, raised, educated and became an adult like every other mortal. All of that, plus the fact that Nick was apparently able to kill you, told me that you couldn't have been a cailleach before that last night with him. So I figured that you must have changed that night, after he left you for dead. The only way I could be sure, though, would have been to taste your blood. As Vachon now knows, once a vampire tastes cailleach blood, it can't ever be mistaken for anything else. However, it didn't seem likely that you would have willingly allowed me to taste you, and taking your blood, without your permission, could have been very dangerous for me if I was right about what you were. Then you cut your hand in front of me and it healed instantly, without even leaving a mark, and my suspicions seemed to be confirmed. I had already spoken to Cait about you, and about Vachon's condition so I decided to try to talk you into coming to California along with Vachon." "When Astrid told me of her suspicions, I couldn't believe she was right. There hasn't been a new cailleach created in over 2000 years, but I knew what you were as soon as you came to the door. You knew me too, you just didn't understand what you knew." "I'm sorry, what?" Natalie was so confused that she was having trouble taking in what Cait was saying. "What do you mean, I knew?" "Think back, Natalie. You knew that I wasn't a vampire but I didn't feel like a mortal to you either. Remember? We cailleach can recognize vampires, we get a sort of buzzing sensation in our head, almost the same as how they recognize each other. But while they only sense us as they would a mortal, we can sense our own kind. That's what you felt when we met." "Wait a minute." Javier said, breaking into the conversation. "I want to get back to something Astrid said. Why was it too dangerous for her to taste Natalie's blood?" "I'd better answer this, Astrid. I didn't tell you this at first, Jav, because you need my blood to heal and I didn't want to make you any more apprehensive than you already were. I wanted you to get to know me and trust me first. But the fact is, we have a gland that enables us to produce a poison, and we can release this poison into our bloodstream. This isn't an involuntary reaction, we control it completely. I suspect that our poison works on a vampire's system in a way similar to the poison that has weakened you, but it is many times more powerful. Our poison is harmless to mortals, should they be exposed to it, but even one taste is deadly to vampires and there is no cure, not even a chance of a cure. Unlike this weaker version that damaged you, our poison kills instantly, with the first drop you take. That, we believed, was our reason to exist, to protect our villages from over predation by you guys. No! Let me finish. We never tried to hunt you down and wipe all of you off the face of the earth or anything like that. At that time, vampires didn't have to worry about being found out as much as they do now. (Look how much things have changed even in your lifetime.) Each village was a little world of it's own, people didn't travel around so much and of course, communications between areas was almost non-existent. You could hunt freely and if your identity was discovered in one place, you could move 50 miles and start over again with almost no chance of being recognized. A lot of new vampires were being created, too. There hasn't been nearly as many people brought across in recent centuries as there were back then, you're all a lot more selective now. We were a small, island country, times were hard and our population was low. We were isolated and somewhat primitive, even for the times. We were a perfect hunting ground. We cailleach believe that we were just meant to keep your numbers under control, keep you from hunting our people to extinction. Perhaps there were so few of us, and only on our little island, because we were an experiment and nature didn't want to create another form of life that could get out of hand. In any case, times and situations change, you eventually formed your council and started being a lot more careful. As for us, we haven't felt any ill will against your kind for almost 1500 years. Not since the people we protected for centuries, the people who knew what we were and felt blessed to have us among them, converted to Christianity and turned against my kind and the old beliefs. It changes your whole outlook on the world, and the mortals in it, when the people you've loved and protected for generations, cross themselves and turn away at your approach, throw stones at you and curse you as a witch, as an evil creature. So, we went into hiding and left them to whatever fate was destined for them. Since then, we've lived quietly, alone with our animals, gardens and homes. We were always very domestic, even in our mortal lives. We are usually solitary creatures, we don't trust easily, but when we do have a friend, or a lover, we almost always choose a vampire. We feel closer to your kind now than we do to mortals, but we only reveal ourselves to those we trust completely and we never, never reveal ourselves to a mortal. Of course, a number of vampires know we exist even if they don't know us personally. The council members know we exist and the enforcers. We also make use of your financial people and those who arrange for paperwork when we move on and change identities, so they know of us too. All together, that's still not very many of you." "And you never kill now?" asked Javier, looking even more pale than usual. "I wouldn't go that far. If I crossed paths with a vampire who was killing for the love of cruelty instead of for food, for survival, one who was behaving irresponsibly, if there wasn't an enforcer around to take control the problem, I might decide to take care of it myself. I don't want your community exposed any more than you do. But don't forget that we can't just decide to go out and kill, a vampire has to attack us in order for us to kill them, they have to take our blood. We could seduce them, of course, but that seems too underhanded, too unethical. I, at least, prefer to let them seal their own fate by attacking me. And I would never, ever, kill someone who's in control and only trying to survive. After all, we believe you were originally created by nature, like everything was, like we were. Therefore, you must serve a purpose. Neither would I ever kill someone who knows what I am and trusts me. Of course, each of us make our own decisions, we don't have a council, like your kind do, to set down guidelines for our behavior. We don't have enforcers, what could anyone threaten us with? Our conscience is our only guide." "And since I'm not dead, I assume you don't stay poisonous permanently." "No, our blood starts neutralizing our poison almost immediately. It's all cleared out of our bloodstream within a short time and we can feel when it's gone, we know when it's safe. But, Natalie needs to learn control, she needs to learn how to trigger the poison so that she knows how not to trigger it. Astrid was afraid that you were becoming too close, that you might, eventually, decide to go further than friendship. She didn't want any accidents, for Natalie's sake as much as yours, apparently the council thinks quite highly of Natalie. As I said, it's not an involuntary reaction but she might trigger it without knowing what she was doing." "Oh, God!" Natalie whispered. "When can you teach me? Even the possibility that I might accidentally…." "We can start now, if you're ready. This is done better in private, though. We have some secrets that we don't share with even those we're close to. Let's leave Astrid and Javier to talk and we can go out to the studio." Natalie was kneeling in the garden, pulling up the weeds that dared to invade the neatly planted rows. The vegetables were already growing strong, reaching towards the warm spring sun. Since Natalie had spent her adult life living in a city apartment, she had never been able to have a garden. Now she found that she loved digging in the earth and coaxing new life from seeds that she had planted. Even Javier had enjoyed helping to prepare the ground for the spring planting. Of course, he had to wait until after sunset to join them, but they all enjoyed the evenings that they had spent working together. It was such a relief to see him so strong and healthy again. Natalie had declared him completely cured a couple of months ago and he had returned to his diet of bottled human blood. Cait and Natalie had both assured him that they were willing to keep him fed, but he had refused. He had insisted that they were his friends, more than that, his family, and he refused to treat them as if they were convenient food dispensers. And he was right about them being a family. They had grown as close as any family, closer than most families that Natalie had known. Even before Javier had completely recovered, they had all decided that they wanted to stay together. Natalie had worried about holding up her part, financially speaking. She had her modest savings to contribute, but Cait was very wealthy. It was a bit of a shock to find out that Javier was too. They both had laughed and told her that when you had been around for so many years, you would almost have to work at it, not to accumulate at least some wealth. Javier had also reminded her that he had been a conquistador when he had been brought across. "Did you imagine that I didn't take some of that New World gold for myself before I left? That was a decent sized fortune to start with and it's been added to for centuries." When she asked him why he had lived the way he had, in Toronto, if he was wealthy, he shrugged and told her that he had usually preferred to travel light, that he hadn't needed a lot of things. Both of their fortunes were being managed by one of the community financial experts, so, after a lot of discussion, they had arranged for their accounts to be pooled and Natalie's savings added to theirs. Monthly allowances were set up for each of them, for their personal use, and a separate account for the family expenses. Whenever they might need a larger amount, such as when they moved on and needed a new place to live, it would only be a phone call away. Natalie knew that Javier felt a little odd, living in such a nice house, and living so comfortably. But he accepted that she and Cait needed a real home, needed the trappings of a normal life, and he not only wanted them to be happy, but he was learning to enjoy it himself. They had also arranged for their money to be divided equally between them should they ever decide to separate. Natalie knew that they had done that in order to ensure her independence, if they weren't with her. Even though she knew it wasn't at all fair or equal, she accepted it as an indication of how much they cared for her. Astrid had visited them a couple of times since Natalie had learned of her new nature. After one of her visits, Natalie had commented to Cait that she had never expected an enforcer to be like Astrid, not after the way Nick had warned her about them. "I imagine Nick described them as vicious, mindless, creatures who enjoy nothing so much as killing their own kind. Well, at one time that wouldn't have been that far off the mark. But they've changed, evolved with the times, just as we all have. Now, they're similar to the mortal police. They do what they have to do in order to protect the community. And like mortal police, some do it for the power it gives them, some out of a sense of duty to their kind, some with cruelty and brutality, some with compassion. Astrid is one of the best. She'll kill efficiently and without mercy, if it's necessary, but she would rather find some other way to solve a problem, if it's at all possible. Still, the enforcers encourage their reputation for brutality because they need the community to fear them. Look at who they're trying to control! Astrid trusts us not to undermine that reputation. Never tell one of them that you have an enforcer as a friend." In her time with Cait, Natalie had learned a lot about herself and her kind, how they were born with the potential, but didn't become a cailleach until they died. In that first moment of death, their true nature was set free. Natalie had also remembered something about her background that she hadn't thought of in years. Three of her grandparents had been Irish immigrants, but she had no memories of them. By the time her parents had been killed in an accident, only her Russian grandmother had still been alive to raise her and Richard. Her grandmother had only spoken to them of her own people and culture, and their relationship had not been one that encouraged her to ask questions. Natalie had eventually pushed the memories of her other heritage to the back of her mind. She had discovered a number of things that she shared with Cait and the other four. They had all been healers in their mortal lives. The others had used their extensive knowledge of nature and herb lore to care for their villagers before they had become cailleacha, while Natalie had been a licensed M.D., even though she had specialized in forensic medicine. They were all women, each had been single in their mortal lives, and they had all been killed by vampires. There were only two shadows on the happiness that she had found in her new life. One, she could never have children. A cailleach couldn't reproduce, not even as a vampire could, by bringing someone across to create a new vampire. But Natalie had pretty much come to terms with not being a mother while she was still a mortal. Although it had still been a possibility then, it had been becoming less and less of a probability with each passing year and she now knew that she could still be happy and content, without experiencing motherhood. The second shadow was more of a threat to her recently found contentment. She loved her new family, both Cait and Javier, but she had finally admitted to herself that she had also fallen in love with Javier as a man. What made her sick with worry was that she suspected that Cait had also fallen in love with him. Of course, she didn't know how he felt. She knew that he cared for them both, loved them as his family, she knew that for sure. But, sometimes, when he held her hand, hugged her or kissed her on the cheek or forehead, she thought that she felt more than friendship or family feeling coming from him. Other times, she would see him laughing with Cait, watching Cait's face or putting his arm around her as they spoke, and there would be a look in his eyes that made her think that it was Cait he desired. She wasn't jealous, it wasn't that that gave her a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, it was the thought that if two of them paired off, the family might be torn apart. If she and Javier became a couple, she couldn't be happy knowing that Cait was hurt. She almost hoped that it was Cait he loved, she could live with that even though it would cause her pain. The important thing was to keep the family together. She couldn't bear losing this new life she had found. "Nat!" called Cait from the patio, "Lunch is ready." "Coming!" Natalie stood, gathered up the tools she had been using, and headed for the house. Cait was a terrific cook and, with her help, Natalie was improving, becoming more confident of her skills in the kitchen. Usually they worked in the kitchen together, but today Cait had gone in to prepare lunch after spending the morning in the garden, and Natalie had stayed outside to finish the weeding. Natalie couldn't believe how domestic she was becoming, cooking, gardening, knitting, spinning and weaving had all become favorite pastimes. Being here had changed the way she thought of herself, she was calmer, less driven and stressed than she had been when her career was her whole life. She didn't miss having a job at all, now she would much rather work around the house and yard, spend time in the studio, or relax with a book. She had become a vegetarian, like Cait. Causing death, animal or human, when it wasn't necessary for survival, seemed wrong, yet it no longer bothered her that Javier drank human blood. Of course, he could choose to drink animal blood, but he had to drink blood of some type to survive and human was what he had been fed when he first woke as a vampire. He no longer hunted though, and the bottled blood he drank, which he bought at the club in town that catered to the local community, came from blood bank rejects and other nonviolent sources. This provided the community with what they needed without inflating the missing person statistics or leaving dead bodies lying around, which might expose the secret of their existence. Javier had also changed in several ways since living with Natalie and Cait. She knew that he had never believed himself cursed or evil as Nick had. He liked being a vampire, but he laughed easier now, he enjoyed doing things with them, even things that he might once have considered silly and beneath him. He went shopping at the mall with them, after the sun went down, of course, and he enjoyed going to the movie theater occasionally. After objecting loudly when they first suggested it, he even enjoyed miniature golf at the local fun center, which stayed open until midnight on the weekends. He still usually wore jeans with dark colored shirts but the shirts were no longer always black. And when the weather was appropriate for heavier clothing, he usually wore one of the sweaters that Cait or Natalie had made for him instead of his leather jacket. Natalie and Cait both preferred his hair long, but he kept it well groomed now and often wore it back in a ponytail. He still favored the 5 o'clock shadow look, which Natalie secretly thought was very sexy. As she finished her lunch, Natalie realized that she had been so caught up with her own thoughts that she hadn't noticed that Cait was unusually quiet, too. "Cait? Is something wrong? You've been so quiet." "Wrong? Of course not. Well, that's not quite true. I've been thinking about something, worrying really. I had decided not to say anything, but now I'm afraid that keeping a problem like this buried might put a distance between us and I don't want that to happen. You and Javier, our being a family, is so important to me, I've been alone so much of my life and I don't want to lose what we have now. "I feel the same way, you know that." "I just think that if we talk about whatever is bothering us, and get it out in the open, we can deal with it. If we keep a problem bottled up inside, it will fester and become even worse." "That makes a lot of sense. So, what's worrying you? Let's talk about it and see if we can work it out." "This is hard for me to ask, but I really need to know. Natalie, what are your feelings towards Javier? Do you just feel friendship, or is he like a brother, or is there something more?" "Oh, wow! Of course there is friendship and I do think of him as family. I consider you family too, I mean we talked about this when we decided to pool our resources and stay together. But, if we're being honest, I have a confession to make, I just recently admitted to myself that I've fallen in love with him. It's been happening for quite a while, even before we came here, I guess I've just been in denial. I'm so sorry, I don't suppose that you wanted to hear that." "To tell the truth, it's what I expected to hear. The problem is, I feel the same way. But what can we do about it? You're both so important to me, I don't want to take any chance of breaking our family apart. But I don't want us to all be frustrated and unhappy either." "Exactly! I've been worrying about the same thing. But, you know, we could be worrying about this needlessly, he might just think of us both as sisters. If so, we could just take cold showers and commiserate with each other about our unrequited love and he wouldn't have to know that we were foolish enough to fall in love with him." "God, I can see us a hundred years from now," laughed Cait, "whining about how he's still resisting our combined charms. Of course, it's going to be hard to play the part of embittered old crones when we'll still look like this. Have you ever heard of embittered old babes?" " Excuse me! How can we have a meaningful talk and solve any problems, when we always end up giggling like twelve year olds? You are a terrible influence on my serious nature." Cait stuck her tongue out at Natalie before continuing. "O.k., seriously, I doubt he thinks of us as sisters. I've watched him with you, he definitely has stronger feelings than those of a brother. I'm speaking about our meaning of the term 'brother', family tends to have a different connotation to vampires. And, although I could be wrong, I think that he has feelings for me, too. More than that, I think it scares him to death. I think he's worried about how we might react to the idea of a different relationship or maybe he just doesn't want to choose between us. Haven't you noticed him when he suddenly finds that he's very close to one of us? I swear he's going to kiss me and then he swallows and turns away. Or he reaches out like he's going to brush a wisp of your hair back, catches himself, and pulls his hand away. He's been doing that kind of thing more and more often lately." "I hadn't thought about it, but I have seen him do things like that. Huh!" "I think he has feelings for us both and simply doesn't know what to do about it. He doesn't want to hurt either of us and he doesn't want to break up the family any more than we do. He's talked to me some about his child (was her name Urs?) and his friend, the carouche. I think that family is necessary to him and he doesn't want to screw this up." "I know. He didn't find out that Urs had died until after he had come to me for help, but I saw him when Screed was sick. Did you know that he went to get help for Screed during the daylight? And even though Jav was getting sick too, he stayed with his friend until he was gone and he buried Screed himself, he didn't just leave him in the sunlight." "No, I didn't know that, but it proves my point. I'm sure that he'd hide his feelings if he thought that it might cause problems between us." "So, what do we do, all stick our heads in the sand and try to ignore the way we feel? Or, maybe, toss a coin and winner gets the vampire? I don't know how you feel, but I would rather see the two of you happy than for all of us to be unhappy. I mean, of course I would feel loss on my part but I really don't think I would be jealous of you. What do you think?" "I think tossing a coin is beneath us. How about a game show thing? How about 'The Price is Vachon'?" "Javier Pursuit." "Who Wants To Do A Vampire?" "Enough, enough! Honestly, Cait, I don't think I knew what laughing was until I met you!" Natalie took several deep breaths to try and stop the giggles that were still trying to escape. "You know, we really can't solve this without talking to Jav. We don't know how he feels, not for sure, and even if we did, he has a choice in this too. We can't raffle him off or trade him back and forth like a pair of shoes that we both want." "Why not? No, wait, I'm not joking this time. Yes, we need to talk to him, find out how he feels. But, if we're right and he's in love with us both, why should he have to choose?" "Well, for one thing, I'm not the threesome type, that's just creepy." "True, me either. Besides we'd get laughing and not even a 500-year-old man's ego could take two women laughing at him at the same time. But why can't we share separately, you one night, me the next? You said that you wouldn't be jealous of me and I know I wouldn't be jealous of you, I'm too old to waste my energy being jealous of someone I love like a sister. Polygamy has worked for a long time and in lots of cultures, after all. We'd still have each other to do things with during the day, and when he's awake we would still do things all together, just like we have been. The difference would be that, when we are together, we wouldn't have to be so on guard. If one of us feels like giving him a kiss, do it, if he feels like patting one of us on the rear, fine, and when we go to bed, we each, every other night, get intimate time with him." "You know, a year ago, I would have been horrified to even consider anything like that, but now, I really think you might be on to something. Don't tell me that becoming immortal has totally destroyed my morals." "Of course not, but when you know that you have forever in front of you, you start thinking more in terms of your own conscience and values rather than what society thinks. We live too long to be bound by mortal conventions and society's ideas of proper behavior constantly change, anyway. We try not to do deliberate harm, but what could be the harm in three people, who love each other, being happy?" "We do still have to find out how Jav feels. We could have just made plans for someone who isn't interested, you know." "True, so how about we talk to him as soon as he wakes up? We need find out how he feels about us before we suggest our plan. We want to make sure he really loves us and isn't just taking advantage of the chance to have two women, incredibly gorgeous women, if I do say so myself. Or would you rather think about it a while?" "No, let's talk to him as soon as we can, before I come to my senses and chicken out. I would like to ask you a question though. You've had vampire lovers before, haven't you?" "Yes, but not as many as you might think, considering my age, you know. I've mostly been alone, but when I've had a lover, he's been a vampire. Well, except for once a long time ago and once was enough, it really didn't work out well at all. Vampires though, well, we have a lot in common, more than just long lives. We both have to hide what we are from mortal society, we have to move on before people notice that we don't age, although we do tend to stay in each place for longer than they do and they travel lighter. We get more attached to places and things than most of them do. Maybe we prefer to have relationships with them because they understand about not having normal lives, or maybe it's because people who have their own secrets are more trustworthy about keeping someone else's secrets. I suppose some of them might keep our secret, if they found out, just because they're afraid to piss off a cailleach. And some might just be looking for a steady food supply. But that would be a dangerous game for them to play; if they knew what we were, they'd also be aware of what we can do. Besides, we don't tell them what we are until we're pretty darn sure that we can trust them." "Well, at least you have some experience with them, I don't. At least, I don't have much. Nick was always so afraid of losing control and draining me that he wouldn't ever do anything but give me a quick kiss, and not even that very often. I guess he had a point though, since in the end, he did drain and kill me after only one really good kiss. And thank goodness he did or I wouldn't be what I am now." "You would have been sooner or later, it's your destiny." "True, but I'm glad it was sooner. I'd rather have this body for eternity than an old one! Wow! That sounds shallow." "Shallow or not, I completely agree and so would everyone else I've ever known. But I think you were about to ask me something more, weren't you? About vampire lovers?" " Yes, I was. The thing is, is that all we get out of making love with one of them, just a kiss and then fangs? I love Javier, but I don't know if that will be enough for me. Are they even capable of more?" "Sure they're capable, they can love as much as anyone, although a lot of them don't believe they can, and they're physically able to make love too. But the blood is the real thrill for them, so a lot of them tend to be like a mortal guy who doesn't want to take the time for foreplay, you know the type, someone who just wants to satisfy himself and doesn't care about his partner's needs. And you can kind of see their reasoning. If they're making love to another vampire, she wants blood just like they do, and if they're with a mortal, well, she's going to die anyway, so why bother. But they're not all like that, especially, not with a cailleach. And I don't think it will be a problem with Javier. He's very tactile, he likes to touch, to have contact, to hold. And I bet he has a lot of control too. You know, he would only feed from my wrist, when I was curing him, because he didn't want to upset you. And he turned down our offer to keep him fed because he didn't want to belittle our relationship as family. I've never known another vampire who turned down cailleach blood, not once they tasted it. I'll bet anything you like that he's a generous, caring, creative lover. But blood will be a part of it, he'll need that." "I understand that, just as long as blood isn't the only thing. Just one more thing, Astrid said that, once tasted, they could always recognize cailleach blood. What's so different about our blood? And did she mean that we all taste alike? If we do have a relationship with Jav, won't that bore him?" Cait burst out laughing, "Honey, I think that was three things, not one." Natalie laughed too, "Sorry, so I can't count. But do you know?" "Sure, I've had to listen to endless praise of cailleach blood, even poems. Honestly, during the renaissance, men could really go overboard! The truth is, all of us have blood that's alike in that it carries no memories or emotions like a mortal's blood does or even like their own blood does. They instantly notice that, of course." "Nick told me that a person's life is in their blood. He said that tasting a whole life, knowing everything, drinking it in, is a tremendous rush, compelling and addictive. He said that's why it's so hard to stop before taking it all. Don't they miss that in our blood?" "No, not at all, you saw Javier's reaction the first time he tasted my blood. Imagine it. They go through the centuries instantly knowing everything about their latest victim. It's a tremendous rush, but it fades fairly quickly, and they can't go back and taste that life again because they destroyed it. So, they go from one victim to the next until even the memory of all of those lives sort of run together and blur. These days, most of them survive on bottled blood anyway. It's safer for the community. But when the blood isn't fresh, the memories are faint, they don't get the thrill that they get from a living victim. So, here we are, no memories in our blood, just a fresh, clean, uplifting, vigorously alive taste. We're a mystery to them, they have to learn about us over time, just like mortals have to learn about each other. But that taste can be savored time after time after time. That's unique in their experience and irresistible. But even though our blood is alike, it's individual too. We all taste fresh and clean, but each in our own unique way. I've been told that I smell and taste like herbs in a sun kissed garden, when you bruise the leaves as you stroll by, thank you very much! If Javier tasted two glasses, filled with our blood, he would instantly be able to tell which of us donated each glass." "O.k., just one more question. Stop that! I mean it this time. What are we going to do all afternoon? My nerves are going to drive me nuts if we just sit around, waiting for him to wake up." "Me too! You know, we may be cailleacha but we're still women, let's go shopping." Natalie was in the kitchen drying and putting away the dishes, which Cait had washed earlier, when she felt Javier come up behind her, just an instant before his hands slid around her waist and started to tickle her ribs. "Stop that, stop that now!" She gasped out the words in between giggles. "Nope. Not 'til you ask me properly." Javier kept tickling her with one hand while he held on to Natalie, no matter how she twisted and turned, with the other. "You win, I give. Please stop, my darling, my love." "Better, but not quite good enough. Try again." "Please stop, love of my life, super hunk, stud muffin." "Finally, the recognition I deserve!" He turned Natalie around and captured her lips in a passionate kiss and then, sliding his lips down to her neck, drew just enough blood to gently lick a single drop with the tip of his tongue. "Sweet, just like the little strawberries that grow wild in a forest." "Umm, very nice." Natalie wrapped her arms around his neck and tipped her face up to offer him her lips again, but a minute later, she reluctantly pulled away. "Much as I'd rather spend the evening kissing you, I need to finish up in here and get changed. I have class tonight." "I'll help," said Javier as he picked a spatula and a set of measuring spoons out of the drainer and dried them. "Where do these go?" "Top drawer. Do you know where Cait is?" "She's outside, walking the dogs before you leave." "Good. Did she change clothes yet?" "I guess so, she looked good anyway. But then you both always look beautiful to me." "That earns you another kiss!" It was some time before they separated, each to choose another item from the drainer. "Well, that's finished. I'd better go up and get changed now. I don't want to be late." "Need my help with that, too?" "Nice try, but you're so much better at taking them off than you are at putting them on. Here comes Cait, annoy her a while." With a laugh, she kissed him on his jaw and started towards the stairs. When she was about half way up the staircase, Natalie heard Cait laugh and squeal, "Stop that, brat". Smiling to herself, she continued on to her room. It had been almost a year and a half since she had come home to find Javier huddled outside of her apartment door. She had been so unhappy, so lost, how different her life had become since then. She was so thankful that Javier had come to her for help and that Astrid had suggested she leave Toronto and come to California. She had found Cait, dearer to her than any mortal sister could be. And she had found love with Javier, a love that grew stronger, more satisfying, and more exciting, every day. The hours after Javier woke for the evening, which the three of them spent together, were filled with fun and laughter. And, when every other night drew to a close, she found paradise in Javier's arms. During the daylight hours, she and Cait worked together, laughed together, and did all those 'girl' things that you sometimes lose when you fall in love. She had tried so many new things, in the time since leaving Toronto, and learned so much. Early last summer, she had added one more new thing to her list. Deciding that she wanted to further embrace her Irish heritage, she had started taking a Gaelic language class. Although Cait was, of course, fluent, she attended the class too, to give Natalie moral support. Cait also insisted that she would be better able to help Natalie, between classes, if she knew what was being taught each week. She must have been right because Natalie was at the top of her class, due in part to the unfair advantage she had, living with a native speaker. On class night, Javier would fly to the vampire bar downtown where he would have a drink or two, and listen to the music until Cait and Natalie came to pick him. Sometimes, they all stayed for a drink and to dance awhile before heading back home. Like the Raven, there was a mixture of mortals and vampires at the Blue Moon. Even so, more than a few vampire eyebrows had been lifted at the appearance of the trio. Some might have tried to make trouble for the Spanish vampire and his two, seemingly mortal, wives. But a visit from an enforcer, who let it be known that the council had approved of the 'marriage' and that the women were under their 'protection', had stopped any trouble before it started. In time, although they were still a favorite topic of gossip and speculation, the local community had gotten used to them. Javier had been unable to go to the club for the past few weeks. The owner had moved on and the club had been closed while being remodeled for the new management. Now it had reopened and Natalie knew that Javier was eager to go and see what changes had been made. Class had been great and Natalie was excited and talkative as they drove to the Blue Moon. "I really think I'm starting to make a little sense of this crazy language! But it's a good thing I'm immortal, it'll probably take centuries for me to be able to hold a good conversation, much less be fluent. How on earth did you people come up with such a strange language?" "You're doing great, but if you think modern Gaelic is difficult, be glad that you're not trying to learn the pre-Gaelic language that I grew up with or even the Gaelic that followed. It's actually been simplified a lot over the years." "More difficult than a word spelled 'bhfuil' being pronounced 'will'? I don't believe it! Or how about 'chaoi' being pronounced 'he'? And those are short words! We had one tonight that was seventeen letters long!" "O.k., I see your point. But still, the spelling is what they've simplified most. Oh look, a parking place! We must be doing something right to find one right around the corner on a Friday night. I guess we're lucky that so many of the customers fly in." After parking and locking the car, they walked around the corner and found Javier waiting for them outside the door. "Hi, sweetheart! Why are you standing out here?" Cait asked as she slid her arm around him. "I just felt like an early night. Is the car close?" "It's just around the corner." Natalie told him. "But I thought you were looking forward to a night out. What's the club like? Did they make a lot of changes?" " It looks pretty good. Still sort of gothic, a lot of us seem to prefer that, but quieter, a little less edgy." "Aren't we going in? Nat and I would like to see it too." "Not tonight, love. I'd rather just spend the evening alone with my ladies. We can stop at that ice cream place you're both so crazy about on the way home, if you'd like. I know you love their sundaes. I just don't feel like hanging around the club all night. You don't really mind, do you?" "No, of course not, we're just surprised." Cait and Natalie looked at each other, behind their mate's back. Cait raised her eyebrows and Nat shrugged her shoulders in return but they both held their tongues as they returned to the car. As they settled into the car, Cait reached over the back of the seat to lightly stroke Vachon's cheek. "O.k. What's going on? Nat's right, you've been looking forward to the club re-opening, why the sudden desire to go home?" "Neither of you is going to let this go, are you? O.k., the truth is, I just didn't want Natalie to walk in there without any warning. I talked to the new owner tonight, it's LaCroix." "You're kidding! He's here? Did you tell him that I'm alive? Is Nick here too?" "No, I didn't mention you. Yes, Nick's here too." "How is he?" "Same old Nick. He didn't say anything about you. But then, he doesn't have any reason to, not as far as he knows, I didn't really know you back then. He went on and on about Tracy, though, how he should have saved her, brought her across. I tried to tell him that she never wanted to become one of us, but I don't know if he listened. He needs to let it go." "Well, I'm warned now, we ought to go back. Nick thinks I'm dead, that he killed me, he's probably feeling guilty about that, too, even though he's the one who chose not bring me across. Of course, we know that he couldn't have, that I was already becoming a cailleach, but he didn't know that. We've got to let him know that it's o.k., that I'm alive and well. We don't have to tell him exactly why I'm alive and well, I'll just tell him that I woke up the next morning and that's all I know. He may be puzzled about it, but, since I'll seem like a mortal to him, he'll just have to accept it. Come on, let's go." "Tonight? We're already in the car, let's wait until next week after your class." "Jav, what's wrong with you? We're here now, why wait a whole week?" "What's wrong with him, my dear sister," Cait drawled, "is that he's afraid you'll take one look at Nick, leave us, and run off into the night with your old flame." "Don't be ridiculous, Cait, why would he think that?" Natalie laughed at Cait's suggestion until she looked at Vachon's face. "Oh my God! Do really think that I'd leave you? For Nick? For anyone? Darling, that will never happen. I love you, we belong together. We all belong together. Surely you know how I feel." "I know, I really do know that you love me, but I also know that you loved Nick, for a long time, and couldn't do anything about it. That's changed, you're immortal now, you could be with him." "Yes, things have changed, I've changed. I've thought a lot about my feelings for Nick, since the night he left. I thought that I loved him, I really did, but I'm not so sure anymore. When I first met Nick, I was so lonely. I spent all of my time and energy on my career. The years went past, faster and faster, and, gradually, I became aware that life was passing me by. Most of my friends had gotten married, had children, and there I was, dedicated, successful, unhappy Natalie. And then I met Nick, and he was exciting and dangerous. I admired him for wanting to change and he offered me a challenge, scientifically and personally. We became friends but I wanted more, more than he was ever willing to give. Maybe I loved him or maybe I just wanted to be in love, I'm not sure anymore. I'm not sure how he felt about me either. Looking back, I know he thought of me as a friend. But was there more than that? I just don't know. He said he cared, but maybe he was stringing me along so that I would continue to search for the cure he wanted. I don't think he would have done that deliberately, he's too honorable for that, but he might not have even been aware of his real motive himself. For the whole five years that I knew him, he said that he couldn't make love to me because he was afraid that he couldn't stop before taking too much of my blood, he didn't want to bring me across, either. But he seemed to be willing to take the chance with at least a couple of other women. He said that he didn't care for them as much as he did me, but maybe he just didn't want to take the chance of being tied to me for eternity. But none of that matters anymore. Whether he loved me, whether I loved him, it just doesn't matter. I don't blame him for leaving anymore, and it would be nice if we could still be friends, but anything else is in the past, it's over and done with. This is now, and I'm very sure of my feelings for you. You are my present and my future, I love you with all my heart. Being your lover, your wife, and being a part of this family, has made me happier than I ever imagined I could be, happier than I ever could have been with Nick. So, if you don't want me to see him, say the word and we can leave now. And we don't have to come back next week, we don't have to come back at all. All I need, all I'll ever need, is to be with you, to love you and to know that you love me." "You know, he's not going to approve of the way we live." "Then it's a good thing we don't need his approval, because I love the way we live and I wouldn't change it for anyone or anything. He can accept it or not, his choice." There was silence in the car as Javier looked at Natalie. Then, slowly he leaned towards her, took her into his arms and kissed her, slowly, deeply. "I love you, Natalie, what did I ever do to deserve you, to deserve both of you?" "All you had to do was be yourself." "I'm ready now. Let's go back and let Nick know that you're alright." The End Send comments and bath towels marked His, Hers and Hers to… saoirseniruairc@hotmail.com