Warning! More Nick and Natalie fluff ahead! This is the next
installment of my Nick/Nat Romantic Rendezvous series.  Standard
disclaimers apply. They aren't mine, just making them happy for a
bit. Special thanks to my Beta Readers~ your help is greatly
appreciated ladies! Permission given to archive on the ftp site,
Mel's fkfanfic site, the fkfanfic2 site and the Nick/Natpack site.
All others just ask!

Precinct Picnic Perils
By KC Smith
October 2003

    Detective Nick Knight arrived just past sunset at the park that
hosted the annual city law enforcement employees' picnic, scanning
the crowd for his partner and friends. When he located his partner,
Detective Donald Schanke, he smiled and clapped him on the back in
greeting. "Hey, Schank!"
 Schanke turned around and grabbed Nick's hand. "Hey, Nick!" He
turned and looked around, hollering for his wife and daughter. "Myra!
Jenny! Nick's here!"
 A beautiful, petite, dark-haired woman walked over to them, smiling
in greeting. "Hello, Nick," Myra Schanke said, holding out her hand.
"It's good to finally meet you."
 Nick kissed the back of her hand and smiled at her. "The pleasure
is all mine, I assure you."
 Myra blushed, still smiling. "Jenny is around here somewhere. She
and Natalie took Amy to the playground."
 Schanke gave his partner an odd look, before opening the ice chest.
"Want a beer or something?" he asked Nick.
 "Yeah, sure," Nick said, scanning the crowded playground for signs
of Natalie and Amy. Instead, he spotted Natalie's brother Richard and
his wife Sara playing volleyball nearby. He accepted the beer from
his partner and sat down on the picnic table bench. "So how'd the
softball game go?" he asked.
 "It's been postponed until nine o'clock. Stonetree is trying to
find someone to replace Inspector Fiori as umpire," Schanke said,
taking a large swallow of his beer.
 Nick nodded soberly. "At least I'll get to see it now."
 "Millie?" Myra called. An older woman stopped and hugged her.
 "How are you, Myra? Don." She hugged Schanke and looked at Nick.
"You must be Detective Knight!" She put her hand out. "I'm Millicent
Stonetree. Everyone calls me Millie," she said, smiling.
 Nick accepted her hand, kissing the back. "A pleasure."
 Millie's smile broadened.
 "Millie, have you seen Natalie?" Myra asked her.
 Millie looked back at Myra. "She's with all of the other children
on the playground. Right now she's racing Jenny and Amy on the
swings, to see who can get the highest."
 Myra laughed. "That sounds like Natalie."
 Nick quirked an eyebrow at this. "I think I'll go and find them,"
he said, setting his beer on the table and heading in the direction
of the playground.
 Schanke laughed and winked at Myra and Millie. "'Just friends'.
Sure they are."

    Nick located the swing set and paused momentarily, grinning at
the sight before him. Natalie was in the middle swing with Amy and,
he assumed, Jenny on either side of her. They were laughing loudly
and moving their legs in a back and forth motion, trying to see who
could get the highest off of the ground. Natalie's hair was coming
out of the ponytail she'd placed it in, and her face was flushed.
 Nick altered his path so that he could approach from behind the
giggling girls. When he was behind Natalie, he reached out and caught
the swing she was in, bringing it to an abrupt halt and nearly
dislodging Natalie from the seat.
 Natalie screamed, startled, when her swing suddenly came to a stop
and she nearly fell out of it. She looked wildly behind her, and then
laughed when she saw who held her swing. "Nick! You scared ten years
off of my life!"
 Nick carefully released the swing and waited until Natalie had
stood, before kissing her cheek. "Sorry. I didn't mean to frighten
you," he grinned.
 Natalie shook her head, as the two girls that she'd been playing
with approached. She turned and smiled warmly at them. "Amy, you
remember Nick, don't you?"
 Amy nodded and smiled shyly. "Hi Nick."
 Nick smiled at her. "Hello Amy."
 Natalie gestured to the dark haired young lady beside Amy. "Nick,
this is Jenny Schanke. Jenny, this is Detective Nick Knight, your
dad's partner."
 Jenny stuck her hand out and shook Nick's hand. "Heya Nick! Glad to
meet you."
 Nick chuckled. "I'm glad to meet you, too."
 "Shall we head back over to the others?" Nat asked.
 The girls nodded and Nick and Natalie followed them towards the
picnic area, talking quietly.
 "I hear the game was postponed for a few hours," Nick said to
Natalie.
 Natalie nodded. "Yeah. With Inspector Fiori out of the mix, we need
a new umpire. Captain Stonetree is looking for someone to take his
place."
 Nick sighed and nodded. He took his beer from Schanke and perched
himself on the picnic table bench.

    Natalie sat beside Nick on the bench and reached for a celery
stick covered with peanut butter. "When's the game gonna start?" she
asked Schanke around a mouthful.
 "Stonetree just said that the first pitch will be thrown at exactly
nine fifteen," Schanke told her, as he took a hot dog from a plate on
the table and covered it with condiments. "Commissioner Garcia is
going to umpire."
 "That should work out good," Natalie replied. "From what I hear,
he's coached his daughter's softball league for six years, so he
should know the game pretty well."
 "Are you going to get all dirty again this year, Aunt Natalie?" Amy
asked.
 Nat grinned. "I'll try not to, but you never know." She had
finished her celery and was now putting her hair back into the
ponytail. When she was finished with that, she opened the ice chest
and pulled out a beer. She opened the cap and took a swig from the
bottle, before looking over towards where the volleyball game was
winding to a close. "Ritchie! How'd you do?" she called, as her
brother and sister-in-law headed in their direction.
 Richard looked at Natalie and sighed. "They beat us by two points,"
he answered, taking the beer from her hand and taking a long draught
from it before handing it back to her.
 "Gee, Rich, help yourself," Nat muttered sarcastically.
 Richard grinned at her. "Thanks, sis, I will." He reached for the
beer again and laughed when she pulled it away from him.
 "Get your own!" Nat said, rolling her eyes and laughing.
 Sara came over and handed Richard a beer, smiling at Nick. "Nick.
It's good to see you again."
 Nick nodded to her in greeting. "Sara. How have you been?"
 "Fine, thank you," Sara said, before turning her attention to Amy.
"Come on, let's get you cleaned up a bit before the game." She led
Amy away towards the bathrooms.
 "So, how's the detective business these days?" Richard asked Nick.
 "Busy," Nick replied. "Summer seems to bring out the worst in some
people."
 "I know what you mean. We've got more cases than we know what to do
with right now," Richard said, as he took a bite of hot dog.  "Hey,
Nat, didn't you bring your chili this year?"
 "It's in the thermal bag over by Myra," Nat replied, as she nibbled
at a piece of watermelon. "Better take your antacid first."
 "It's that hot?" Schanke asked. "I gotta try this!" He and Richard
put great dollops of chili onto their hot dogs and took large bites.
Schanke's eyes began to water and he waved his hands in front of his
face. "Hot! Hot! Hot!" he said, reaching for his beer and swallowing
it down quickly. He looked at Richard and shook his head in amazement.
 "It's not bad," Richard said to Nat, shrugging. "Definitely better
than last year's."
 Natalie shook her head and tried not to laugh.
 "Game time! Let's go everybody!" Someone called from the softball
field.
 Schanke stood and rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
"That's our cue!"

    Nick looked at the scoreboard and then at his watch. They were
already in the sixth inning, and the game had been going for less
than an hour. So far, neither team had scored a single point, though
Schanke and Natalie's team had come close once. Captain Stonetree's
team was up at bat, so Nick looked out towards center field where
Natalie stood with a glove in her hand and an intent expression on
her face. He smiled as he watched her.
 "This guy always hits them straight out. If Nat can catch the ball,
Stonetree's team will be out," Richard told Sara, Amy, Myra, Jenny
and Nick.
 There was a <crack> as the bat made contact with the ball and it
sailed straight out towards center field.
 Natalie watched as the ball soared up and she was running backwards
with her glove held high, when she collided hard with the chain link
fence and hit the ground. The ball landed on the other side of the
fence.
 Those cheering for Stonetree's team made a great racket as Sergeant
Meeks ran around the bases to score a home run. They failed to notice
that Natalie hadn't yet gotten up off of the ground.
 Schanke and the other members of his team rushed out to the field,
as other members of Captain Stonetree's team began to notice and rush
out there, as well. Captain Stonetree limped out towards the
commotion, yelling for people to get back and give them some room.
 Nick had bolted from his seat the minute he realized that Natalie
hadn't just gotten up and brushed herself off. He reached her before
anyone else, calling her name. Natalie was lying in a crumpled heap
in front of the fence, unconscious.
 The scent of fresh blood caused a momentary panic, as well as the
rising of the vampire, but Nick squashed it down and yelled for
somebody to call for an ambulance. He found that the back of her head
was cut and bleeding, so he pulled out his handkerchief and began
applying pressure to the wound.
 Natalie whimpered and began to stir. Nick gently placed a hand on
her shoulder. "Hush, Nat, lie still. Help is on the way."
 "What happened?" Natalie groaned, trying to roll onto her back.
 Nick carefully restrained Natalie from moving. "You hit the fence
pretty hard. Lie still until the paramedics get here."
 "Geez Nat, I'm so sorry!" Schanke said, as he knelt beside her.
"Where does it hurt?"
 "My head," Natalie murmured, trying to raise her hand to feel the
back of her head.
 The paramedics arrived and cleared everyone back, except for Nick,
who insisted on staying beside Natalie. One look at his face told
them not to argue the subject.
 The paramedics had looked Natalie over. After placing a brace
around her neck, they put her on a backboard and then lifted her onto
the stretcher. They told Nick they were taking her to St. Mike's, and
loaded her into the ambulance.
 Nick turned and looked at Richard. "I'll head over there now."
 Richard nodded. "We'll meet you there."
 Nick turned and strode away.
 "Does this mean the game's over?" asked one young rookie.
 Schanke glared at the kid. "Of course it means the game's over!"
 "The paramedics said it doesn't look serious, and I know Nat would
want you to finish the game," Richard told him. "Finish the game and
come over to the hospital. But you guys had better win, or Nat's
gonna be pissed!"
 Schanke laughed. "Okay. We'll be there shortly. You heard the man!
Let's finish this game!" he yelled to everyone else.

    Nick met Richard, Sara and Amy in the emergency center's waiting
room.
 "Any news yet?" Richard asked Nick.
 "A nurse just came out and told me that she's awake and alert. She
said it doesn't look serious, but they're going to do an x-ray to be
sure," Nick answered.
 "Better safe than sorry," Richard replied.
 Nick nodded in agreement. "Her head wound wasn't serious, either. I
didn't think so, because head wounds bleed a lot, but I wanted to be
certain."
"She'll be fine. This isn't the first time she's gotten hurt during
a game," Richard told Nick. "Her second year playing, she caught the
ball wrong with her right hand and got a hairline fracture in her
wrist. I have no idea why she didn't use her left hand, since it was
the one with the glove."
 A doctor came out and looked at them. "Are you here for Natalie
Lambert?"
 "Yes, we are," Richard said, as they stood and shook his hand. "I'm
her brother. This is my wife and daughter, and Natalie's boyfriend,
Nick."
 Nick blanched slightly at being referred to as Natalie's boyfriend,
but realized it was an accurate description, so he shrugged it off to
listen to the doctor.
 "I'm Doctor Wilson," he introduced himself. "Natalie will be fine.
She has a mild concussion, but there's no significant damage. She
also has some nasty bruises on her back and neck, but they'll heal
within a week or so. I can release her tonight if someone can stay
with her, otherwise she'll have to stay the night."
 "I can stay with her," Nick volunteered.
 Richard nodded his approval. "When can we see her?"
 "You can go back now, if you'd like. She just has to wait for her
release paperwork," the doctor replied. "She is in exam room twelve."
He said goodbye to them and turned to leave.
 "Shall we?" Richard asked, indicating the way in front of him.
 They all moved forward, Nick in the lead, and headed for Nat's room.




Precinct Picnic Perils 2/2
By KC Smith
October 2003

    Natalie was sitting in the chair beside the bed, dressed and
ready to go. "The doctor said I can go home as soon as the release
paperwork is done. Have you come to get me out of here?"
 Richard chuckled as he walked over and kissed his sister on the
forehead. "Yes, we've come to spring you. Nick has volunteered to
stay with you, otherwise you'd be spending the night."
 "You wouldn't let me come home with you?" Natalie asked him,
incredulously.
 Richard shook his head, still grinning. "Absolutely not. You're not
exactly the most friendly patient in the world."
 Sara gave her husband a reproving look as she hugged Natalie.
"Ignore him, Nat. Of course you could have come with us if you needed
to."
 Natalie smiled triumphantly at Richard. "At least <somebody> is on
my side."
 They all laughed as Amy hugged Natalie, and then Nick kneeled in
front of her and brushed her hair from her eyes and kissed her
softly. "How are you feeling?"
 "Not too bad, considering I tried to remove my head from my neck,"
Natalie replied, grinning. "I'm a little sore, but doing well. No
memory loss or anything serious."
 "I'm glad to hear it," Nick said, smiling.
 The nurse came into the room and handed Natalie some paperwork. "I
need you to sign here, here and here," she said, indicating the
proper lines, "and initial here and here." She turned to look at the
assembled group. "Who's going to be staying with her?"
 Nick stepped forward. "I am."
 The nurse nodded. "This explains about head injuries and what you
should do, and what warning signs to watch out for. If she exhibits
<any> of these, you need to bring her back here immediately."
 Nick looked over the paper as he nodded. "I understand, thank you."
 The nurse took the papers from Natalie and smiled at her. "I'll go
and bring a wheelchair for you."
 Natalie made a face at the idea of riding in a wheelchair, but
nodded in understanding.
 "I'll go and bring the car around," Nick told Natalie, kissing her
on the forehead. "See you in a minute."

    As he was leaving, he spotted the Schanke's and the Stonetree's
in the waiting area.
 "How is she?" Schanke asked Nick.
 "She's fine, Schank. I was just going to get the Caddy, since
they're releasing her now," Nick told them.
 Everyone sighed in relief at this news.
 "I'll be back in a minute," Nick said, heading out the doors
towards the parking area.
 When he returned a few minutes later, Natalie had been wheeled out
and was talking to the assembled group in the waiting area.
 "Ready to go?" Nick asked Natalie, as he joined them.
 "Yes! I hate hospitals!" Natalie told him, hugging everyone and
saying her 'goodbyes'.
 "And you're a doctor?" Richard joked, shaking his head.
 "I'm a <pathologist>," Natalie replied, her eyes sparkling with
mischief.
 Everyone chuckled and the nurse wheeled Natalie out to the Caddy.
She waited until Natalie was safely inside the car, before heading
back into the hospital.
 "I need to make two stops," Nick said, as he buckled his seatbelt.
"Feel up to it?"
 Natalie smiled and nodded. "Sure. Are we staying at your place, or
mine?"
 "Yours. That accounts for one of the stops I have to make. I have
to go home for some clean clothes and some 'supplies' for the day."
 "What's the other stop?" Natalie inquired.
 "The drugstore. I need to pick up a few things. Is that all right?"
 "Fine. I hate being cooped up as much as I hate hospitals," Nat
told him, grinning. "In fact, if you wanted to go out dancing, I'd
say 'let's go'!"
 Nick shook his head. "Uh-uh. You need to rest and recover from your
injury. We'll go dancing again another time."
 Natalie pretended to pout, as they pulled into an all night
drugstore just a block from the hospital. "Spoilsport."
 Nick grinned at her. "Staying here, or coming in? I'm only going to
be a couple of minutes."
 "I'll wait here," Nat replied.
 Nick kissed her cheek and climbed out of the car, heading into the
drugstore. True to his word, he was only gone a few minutes.
 "We'll stop at my place and then head over to yours," Nick told her.
 Natalie nodded and yawned. "Sounds good to me."
 Nick carefully caressed her hair with his palm, before starting the
Caddy and heading out of the parking lot towards his warehouse home.
"So, who won the game?" When there was no response, he glanced over
at Nat to see that she was sound asleep.

    "—We're here. Come on Natalie, wake up, Love," Nick's voice
called softly, invading the fog clouding Natalie's brain, and
bringing her to wakefulness.
 "Where are we?" Natalie asked, yawning and looking around her.
 "Your place. Let's get upstairs and get you settled for the day,"
Nick replied, gently tugging her hand and leading her from the car to
her apartment.
 Once they were upstairs, Nick placed his bag on a chair in the
living room. "Why don't you go and find something to eat?  I'll be
there in a minute," Nick suggested.
 Natalie nodded and yawned again, heading into the kitchen. She was
too tired to wonder what he was doing, as she poured herself a bowl
of cereal and sat at the small table to eat.
 When Nick came into the kitchen, Natalie was nearly finished with
her cereal. "I've prepared a bath for you and gotten everything ready
for you in the bedroom. Why don't you go and relax a bit? I'll clean
up in here and feed Sydney, and I'll keep an ear out for you."
 Natalie smiled. "That is so sweet of you! Thank you, Nick. You
really do spoil me, you know."
 Nick pulled her into his arms and kissed her. "It's because I love
you. Now go take your bath."
 Natalie went into the bathroom and noticed everything was prepared
for her. The tub was filled with warm water and bubbles, and was
emitting a wonderful scent; a large bath sheet was lying on the sink
next to the tub; and her pajamas were resting on the back of the
toilet. She undressed and slipped into the luxurious water, sighing
in content. She knew she couldn't stay in the tub long, or she'd risk
falling asleep, but she wanted to try and relax her sore muscles as
much as she possibly could. When she felt most of the tension had
left her body, she quickly washed and climbed out of the tub, drying
off with the large towel and then dressing in her pajamas. She
brushed out her hair, wincing when the brush touched the knot on the
back of her head, and then opened the bathroom door.
 Nick was waiting for her on the other side of the door. "I've got
your bed ready for you," he told her, taking her hand in his. He led
her into her bedroom and motioned for her to sit on the bed. Then he
handed her a glass of cold fruit juice and two ibuprophen tablets
from the nightstand.
 Natalie took the ibuprophen and drank down all of the juice, before
handing the glass back to Nick. "Thank you."
 Nick kissed her forehead. "You're welcome. Try to get some sleep
and I'll wake you in a few hours to check on you."
 Natalie nodded and snuggled down into her bed.
 Nick kissed Nat briefly on the lips and then went out of her room
and turned off the light. With the shutters and heavy curtains, her
room would remain dark throughout the day.

    After he was sure she was settled, Nick went out to the living
room and picked up his bag from the chair. He removed the two bottles
of blood he'd brought with him, and took them to the kitchen. He
placed one bottle into the refrigerator, and opened the other,
pouring himself a mug full before placing that one into the
refrigerator as well. He drank down his 'breakfast' quickly, rinsed
out his cup, and then picked up his bag again and headed for the
bathroom to shower and change into his pajamas.
 When he was finished showering and preparing for bed, Nick went
into Natalie's room to check on her. She was sleeping peacefully, and
her heart rate and breathing were normal, so he lay down beside her
and carefully wrapped his arms around her.
 He woke her up every two hours until after noon. He finally could
not stay awake any longer. Closing his eyes, he drifted to sleep and
dreamed about a life in the sunshine with the woman in his arms.
 When next he awoke, it was nearly sundown. He woke Natalie, to be
sure that she was all right.
 Natalie rubbed at her eyes and yawned. "What time is it?"
 "It's nearly sundown," Nick replied. "You can go back to sleep if
you'd like, I just needed to be sure that you were okay." He kissed
her lightly on the lips.
 "No, I need to get up," Nat said, sitting up and moaning in pain.
 "What's wrong?" Nick asked, concerned.
 "Just sore. I knew I would be, but I didn't realize it would be
this bad," Nat told him, carefully stretching.
 Nick nodded and climbed out of the bed. "I'll start you a hot bath
and then I'll go and find you something for breakfast."
 "Oh, Nick, you don't have to do that; I can manage," Nat protested.
 Nick walked around and helped Natalie to stand. "I want to do this.
Now, find yourself some clothes while I draw your bath." He kissed
her nose and went into the bathroom.
 When Natalie was safely ensconced in a warm bath, Nick went to make
her something for breakfast. Fortunately for him, Natalie had all of
the ingredients in her refrigerator to make her a decent omelet.
Smiling, he set to work.

    Natalie took a deep breath and inhaled the delicious scents
emanating from her kitchen. She definitely could smell coffee and
eggs, perhaps cheese and… onion? Smiling, she entered the kitchen and
was awestruck by the sight that greeted her.
 The table was set for two, with candles flickering in the center.
The lights were down low, and there were flowers on the counter and a
small vase with a single red rose between the candles on the table.
 "Your breakfast awaits, Milady," Nick said, pulling her chair out
for her.
 "Oh, Nick… I~ I'm speechless," Nat said, kissing his cheek before
taking her seat.
 "How was your bath?" Nick inquired, as he placed an omelet on each
plate and poured Natalie a glass of orange juice and a cup of coffee.
 "Wonderful. I feel quite a bit better," she replied and then took a
bite of her omelet. "This is great!"
 Nick sat across from her and opened his napkin up. "Thank you." He
stared hesitantly at the omelet on his plate, then took a deep breath
and placed a forkful into his mouth. Though he'd not put nearly as
much into his omelet as he had Natalie's, he still had a difficult
time chewing and swallowing it.
 Natalie watched him in surprise and smiled when he managed to keep
it down. "Well?" she asked.
 "Not too bad. Not great, but not bad, either," Nick said, smiling
at her.
 "It's definitely a step in the right direction," Natalie approved,
delving into her own breakfast.
 "I hope you liked the bath salts I put into your bath," Nick
commented.
 "I really did. Where did you get them?" Nat asked.
 "That's what I picked up at the drugstore last night. They're
supposed to help you relax, and soothe sore muscles."
 "Well, it worked!" Nat said, smiling.
 They chatted quietly as they finished eating their breakfast. Nick
managed to get nearly half of the omelet down before he had to stop
or risk being sick. He was pleased with the way it made Natalie
smile, so he determined that it was worth the discomfort.
 When they'd finished breakfast, they cleaned up their dishes, blew
out the candles and headed for the living room.
 "Would you like a massage?" Nick asked Natalie.
 Natalie raised an eyebrow. "Sure."
 "Would you prefer the sofa or your bed?" Nick asked.
 "Um, the sofa should be fine," Nat replied.
 "Okay then, lie down on your stomach and relax."
 Natalie obliged and sighed when Nick's strong, cool hands began to
massage her sore neck and shoulders.
 "Tell me if I'm hurting you at all," Nick said, as he moved his
hands smoothly across her back.
 "I will," Nat promised, closing her eyes and relaxing.
 Nick massaged Natalie's back, neck and shoulders, until he'd worked
out all of the kinks he felt in her muscles. He'd never realized how
wound up she got. "Did you find out who won the game last night?"
Nick asked, as he worked at a knot between her shoulders.
 "Stonetree's team. Williams hit a home run with bases loaded in the
last inning. That combined with Meeks' home run won them the game,"
Nat replied, sighing contentedly. "That's okay, though. We usually
win. It was their turn this year, and we'll get 'em next year."
 "That's the spirit," Nick replied, amused.
 When he'd finished with the massage, he leaned forward and kissed
Natalie's cheek. "How's that feel now?" he asked her.
 "Much better, thank you," Natalie answered. "That was even better
than when I used to soak in a Jacuzzi after work."
 "You used to soak in a Jacuzzi?" Nick asked, as Natalie sat up and
motioned for him to sit next to her.
 "Yeah. My job is kind of stressful on the muscles, particularly the
back and legs. Before I moved to this apartment, we had a gym with a
sauna and a hot tub in my old complex. I'd soak for about an hour
after each shift to help relax my muscles enough to sleep. That and
the fact that I'd work out three times a week, and use the sauna,
made a huge difference."
 Nick considered her words for a few moments and then smiled at her.
"I'm glad I could be of service."
 Natalie laid her head on his shoulder and sighed. "Do you know how
much I love you?" she asked. "You take such good care of me, and you
spoil me with all of the romantic things you do for me. Don't ever
leave, okay?"
 Nick could barely speak for the lump in his throat. He knew that
someday he may have no other choice but to leave her, but he refused
to think about that just now. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed
her deeply and then rubbed his nose lightly against hers. "I love
you, too," he told her, his eyes shining with the truth of it.
 "Just stay and hold me for awhile?" Nat asked.
 Nick nodded and kissed the top of her head, hugging her a little
closer to him.

~ The End
KC Smith
tigrlady2u@juno.com
Nick/Natpacker with dark tendencies.
"I've never met a chocolate I didn't like."