Please... by Kristen Fife Just a little vignette. I KNOW I'm not the only one that wonders what was in the card Nick sent to Nat that got her over to the loft in "My Boyfriend is a Vampire." Some spoilers. Permission to archive on the fanfic site/s and on the FTP site. Usual disclaimers: I don't own Nat and the crew, just trying to "read between the lines". Sony Tristar gets the distinction of owning the characters. Darn. ==================================== Please... The guard returned to the front desk from the strange phone call he had received to check in on the Head Coroner’s office. As he approached the desk, he frowned. “Where did those come from?” He muttered to himself, puzzled. There, sitting on the desk, was a large bouquet of flowers. Daisies, roses, statum, tulips and greenery. As he approached, he noticed there was a card attached, addressed to Doctor Lambert. He picked up his phone and called down to the morgue. “Medical Examiner, Natalie Lambert speaking.” “Doctor Lambert, this is Stan upstairs at the front desk. You have a delivery.” “A delivery? At this time of night? What is it?” “It’s a big bouquet of flowers. I have no idea where they came from; I had to run to Doctor Laurent’s office and they were here when I got back.” “Okay, thanks. I’ll come get them in a bit.” Natalie hung up the phone, puzzled. She poked her head out the door and saw Grace stacking some files. ”Hey Grace, I’m going to run upstairs for a few minutes. Hold the fort down?” Grace had looked up. “Sure. Take your time.” Putting down the file she was holding, Natalie proceeded to the elevator to head up to the front lobby. It was almost her dinner hour, so the break was welcome. Who on earth would be sending her flowers, especially at midnight? Shrugging mentally, she walked off the elevator and down the long corridor. Stan turned when he heard her, then grinned at her. He picked up a large bunch of flowers, in one hand, and a greeting-card envelope in the other. “Here you are, Doctor Lambert.” His elderly face grinned back at her. “Must be a secret admirer.” Natalie chuckled. “Well, the way my life has been going, I wouldn’t mind a secret admirer, as long as he isn’t married or some kind of psychotic axe murderer!” She reached over for the flowers, settled them in the crook of her arm, then reached out for the card. As soon as she saw the writing, she knew who it was from. Nick. They hadn’t spoken for almost a week. She kept avoiding him and had switched her day off so that it wouldn’t coincide with his. Sighing, she smiled wanly at Stan. “Thanks, Stan. I know who they’re from.” She smelled the roses. Trust Nick to find a bouquet with some of her favorite flowers in them that smelled heavenly. Stan winked at her. “Not such a secret, huh?” She laughed. “No, it isn’t a secret. But I’ll go see what the card has to say before I decide if this is a token of admiration. Thanks, have a good night.” “You’re welcome, Doctor Lambert. You too.” She turned around to head back down to her office, her heart pounding. Since she had told Nick she had given up on him, she had been miserable, and had even been contemplating apologizing. She had over-reacted to the whole Maggie Dwyer situation, and was having some regrets. Especially after he kept trying to talk to her. She had seen the hurt and confusion in his eyes the last time she had seen him in the precinct, telling him that maybe there was nothing left to say. It was true that Nick wasn’t following the program she was trying to work out for him, damn it! It took two people trying to solve a problem like Nick’s vampirism. But, she had realized after her blow up at him that it wasn’t about Nick’s immortality. She was upset because of the huge chasm separating them. She had no doubts about her feelings for Nick, but he sent her such mixed signals about his feelings for her. And now, it seemed as if he wasn’t even serious about regaining his mortality anymore. If they didn’t have the scientific work to do, she was afraid, deep down inside, that she would lose Nick. She had reacted out of her fear and frustration. As she got to the lab, she shut the door and laid the flowers on her desk. With trembling hands, she opened the card. It was hand-written in Nick’s bold script. Occasioned by the unfortunate issue of a Friend’s Amour. “Alas! how oft does goodness would itself, And sweet affection prove the spring of woe!” O thou pale orb that silent shines While care-untroubled mortals sleep! Thou seest a wretch who inly pines. And wanders here to wail and weep! With woe I nightly vigils keep, Beneath thy wan, unwarming beam; And mourn, in lamentation deep, How life and love are all a dream! -The Lament, by Robert Burns My dearest Natalie, I have thought long and hard on what you said, and please know that I DO care. Please give me the chance to prove to you how important you are in my life, and let me make amends for taking you for granted. I swear to you, it will never happen again. Imploringly yours, Nick Tears welled up in her eyes as she read the verse again, and re-read Nick’s words. She glanced at her watch. It was slow, and she wanted to go see Nick. After changing out of her scrubs, she found Grace while she was getting ready to leave. “Grace, I have an errand to run over my lunch. I may be gone a while, page me if anything major happens.” “Sure thing. What was in the package?” Natalie smiled. “An apology from a friend. We had a misunderstanding. But it’ll be straightened out very soon.” She headed out the door into the cool spring night to go see Nick at the loft. ======================= Kristen Fife http://www.fkvoyage.com/fkfanfic/fife_kristen/ "I have a vampire by my side and I'm not afraid to use him!" -Tanya Huff