Disclaimer: The original Forever Knight characters were created by
James Parriott and Barry Cohen. No infringement is intended. This
story is purely for entertainment only. The characters of Chakotay and
Janeway not mine either but belong to Star Trek's TPTB over at UPN.
There is so much FK fan fiction out there that I'm sure the themes in
this story are not unique, but I had a good time writing it. 

Zero Sun

By: C.T. Brennan

( 1 of 18 ) 



"Nicholas Knight?" 

The voice was familiar to Nick.

"This is Detective Knight. Can I help you?"

" Nicholas? It's Max . . . Max Vanderwald. Do you remember?"

"Yes, I remember." Nick wondered just how much did Vanderwald
remember? "What can I do for you?"

"Can you come out to the house as soon as possible?" Max Vanderwald's
voice was shaking. 

"Mr. Vanderwald..." 

"Call me Max."

"Max, I can't just drop and drive up there. What's going on?"

There was a muffling sound before Max came back on. "I have some one
here who wants to talk to you. They are strapped down at the moment.
You know, as a safety precaution."

"I gather this is another person with an added extra personality like
last time ?"

"Nicholas, it's imperative you come right away. Please, I can't tell
you any more."

"Max... whose the person?"

The pause seemed eternal before Max spoke. "It's Alyssa de Brabant."

Nick dropped the phone when he heard his wife's name.

Five or six uniform cops in the area gave a strange look in his
direction, but they kept working. After all, Detective Knight was
known to be a strange one, so a little phone dropping was par for the
course.

-----------------------------------------------------

"Happy Anniversary, Natalie." Jonathan whispered.

"Anniversary? " Natalie struggled to place the date.

"I'm hurt you forgot already." He feigned a wounded look. "It's been
exactly 4 weeks since we first...we first... you know."

Natalie felt an embarrassing warmth spread across her face. "Gosh,
sorry John. I guess I lost track of the days since our first night
together." She brushed his arm. "It has been a wonderful 4 weeks
though", she whispered. 

Jonathan wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. Silently,
he began to line her neck with soft tender kisses. "Well it's
definitely easier to count the number of days instead of the number of
times we've made love."

She giggled. "I'd have to get my slide rule out to figure it all up."

He pushed away slightly. "Always the scientist aren't you? I bet you'd
actually use a slide rule instead of the computer too."

She let her hands drop to his waist as she began to pop the first
button on his Dockers Khaki slacks. "You're my boss. You of all people
should know how thorough I can be when I concentrate on a problem."
She let her hands drop to his waist as she began to pop the first
button on his Dockers slacks.

Jonathan laughed. "You're right. When you walked into my office for
your interview, it was your intense ability to focus that I noticed
first about you."

"Really? And all this time I thought you were staring at my legs." She
was struggling with the third button when her pager beep broke the
mood. "Damn." 

Who in the world still has my pager number?, she thought. 


Of course there was only one person... Nick. She couldn't remember the
last time they'd talked. The break up of Nick and Natalie still
reverberated around the police station. In fact, it was one of the
reasons she'd left. She became overwhelmed with all of the whispering
behind her back. Along with all the suddenly stopped conversations
whenever she walked up, it had been too much. Occasionally, Natalie
kept in touch with Nick so she could continue her work on the cure,
but her heart just was not in it anymore. 

"Why do you even still have that thing? You quit the Coroner's Office
at least 6 months ago." Jonathan broke the embrace and headed to the
kitchen. "I vote you toss it."

She reached for the phone. "I promised Captain Reese that I'd still be
'on call' until their new Coroner was up and running at full
strength." 

Nick hadn't paged her since she'd resigned. Why now? When he ended it,
she asked Nick to leave her alone and he had faithfully done so. Too
faithfully. She felt a sinking feeling as she realized she secretly
wanted the call to be a personal one. 

The phone rang once. "81 Kilo."

"Nick?" Of course it is you twit, Natalie thought.

"Nat... Thanks for calling me back so quickly."

She watched Jonathan refill their wine glasses. "What's wrong, Nick?" 

"It's Vanderwald. I'm on my way there and I'm a little concerned."

"A little?!" Her strong tone made Jonathan look over at her. "The last
time you were at Venderwald's, you were almost killed. Hell, the last
time you were there, you almost killed me."

"That's why I'm calling now. I'm not sure what it's all about, so if
Vanderwald calls you, do not come out here." His tone was all business
and this realization made her heart sink a little more.

"What if you have the same ... problem?" Jonathan handed her a glass
and she mouthed a 'thank you' back to him.

"Is he there?" Nick's asked with a voice slightly tinged with
bitterness. 

"Vanderwald?"

"You know who I mean, Nat." 


Nick had taken the break up pretty well. But, when he found out she
was seeing Jonathan, he couldn't help the jealousy he felt. 

"I know how exceptional your hearing is so I know you know damn well
whose here. And, frankly, it's none of your business Nick...not
anymore. Oh, and don't worry about Vanderwald calling here tonight,
I'm sure we'll be too busy to answer the phone!" 

She slammed the receiver down knocking it off its cradle. 

Bastard.

He was the one who wanted to move on. He was the one who wouldn't
commit to her. He was the one who couldn't even say he loved her.

"Bastard." It felt so good just to say it out loud.

Zero Sun

By: C.T. Brennan

( 2 of 18 ) 

Damn it... damn it... damn it! Nick pushed the 'end call' button then
threw the cell phone to the floor. She did what you wanted, you fool.
You told her she needed to get on with her life; that you couldn't
bear to watch her waste her life on an empty relationship with him. 

"Tell me that you don't love me, Nick." She had pleaded with eyes
filled with tears. "Tell me that and then I'll know it's time for me
to go. I'll know that I'm wasting my love on a dream. Just tell me..."

"Natalie, I can't say it." Nick only wished it was that easy. "And, I
can't let myself love you either. My love will only destroy you in the
end."

She wiped her tears but the stream still ran down her cheeks. "And you
think what you're doing now isn't destroying me? I've only loved one
person my entire life. I don't think I will ever be this close to
anyone again." 

Nick sadly replied. "You've only been alive 35 years. Trust me, you'll
find someone else to love."

She snorted. "That's right. I forgot you were the expert on these
things. My mere mortal life and mortal feelings are so
inconsequential." 

"That's not what I meant..."

She squared her eyes to meet his. "Okay, Nicholas de Brabant. You have
a deal. No more me, but I want no more of you either. No calls, no
letters, no contact. Deal?"

He hurt beyond the worst imaginable pain. "Deal."

At least he'd been right. It didn't take long for her to find someone
else. And why not? She was beautiful, bright, caring, funny...she was
a prize catch for any guy. Tonight, Jonathan Masters was certainly the
luckiest man alive. He was not only a brilliant micro-biologist, he
was quite wealthy and Canada's recent `Most Eligible Bachelor of the
Month.' 

When he'd read about the two of them in the Ontario Times society
column, he'd felt as though he'd been staked. As it sunk it that he'd
finally lost her, he then wished someone would stake him. One late
night, he even followed them one night to her apartment. When his
vampire hearing caught the sounds of their lovemaking, he knew she was
gone. 

If Natalie was so happy, then could he not forget her? 

"Because you're in love with her." Nick mumbled to himself as he
pulled into Vanderwald's drive way.

--------------------------------------

"Bastard?" Jonathan picked up the phone and replaced the receiver. "I
take it that was Nick?"

Natalie had never been able to tell Jonathan about Nick. It was not
like he was hiding Nick from him. Just the thought of Nick always made
her tear up and then the inevitable lump would fill her throat. She
could never explain how Nick was once a part of her life.

One night, Jonathan found her photo album, which outside of a hundred
different photos of Sydney, contained page after page of pictures of
Nick at various police functions. He had left it alone. Until now...

"It was Nick." She took a long guzzle from the wine glass. "You've
never asked about him and I deeply appreciate that, John."

He held her lightly with his arm across her shoulders. "I thought
you'd tell me when you were ready."

She took a deep breath. "Oddly enough, there's not much to tell. I met
him about 7 years ago when I had just started the night shift at the
M.E.'s office. Something about him was so attractive, but he didn't
have the slightest interest in me."

"That prove's it. The man must be a complete idiot." He interrupted. 

"I'm not sure who was the bigger idiot." she continued. "After about 3
years of lusting for him from a far, we finally had a date. It was a
great Valentines Day, but after that, it stopped. He shut himself off
from me."

Jonathan began to gently massage the tight muscles in her neck. "I
know some friends who are the same way. They find a woman they really
care for, but when they begin to develop deep feelings, they get
scared and run." He switched to her lower back and continued the rub.
" I hate to be a little selfish here Natalie, but I thank God every
day that Nick ran." 

"That does feel good." She murmured. " I`ve known Nick a long time,
but I still feel as though there's so much I never knew. I'm not even
sure if he ever really loved me. And, that's what hurts the most."

He gently turned her toward him. "I love you Natalie. I hope you'll
never feel unsure about that." He kissed her lightly on the lips and
Natalie leaned into him as the kiss deepened. Her last thought, before
lust completely took over, was that she hoped she would one day be
able to say "I love you" back to him.

end of 2

Zero Sun

By: C.T. Brennan

( 3 of 18 ) 

"Thank you for coming, Nicholas. I don't know how much longer I
could've restrained him." Max Vanderwald waved Nick into the study.
"He came to me after weeks of hearing disembodied voices. They grew
louder and louder until one voice stood out from the rest."

Nick saw a twenty-something man strapped to a table in the center of
the room. "I'm not sure what you think I can do to help."

Max shook his head. "This isn't the time to be coy. I know what you
are and I know you've been alive at least 700 years...that is if
Alyssa is correct on the dates."


Nick cringed at her name. Alyssa and he had shared a brief paranormal
experience at the Kessler house. It had made him realize how still
consumed with guilt he was over her death. He should've told her the
truth before they were married. But, he knew she would never have
loved him if she knew of the evil inside of him. Unlike Alyssa,
Natalie loved him along with the monster. Yet, he was certain that
eventually she would have been hurt by both in the long run.

"Nick?" Vanderwald's voice brought him back to the problem at hand.

"You're right. This isn't the time for games. I just needed to know
exactly what you did or didn't remember from the last time I was
here." Nick moved to stand over the man. "So what can I do?"

The man lurched forward and began to speak. Nick backed off at the
sight of his blood red eyes. "You are a fool, de Brabant. Just the
slight mention of your wife's name and you come running like a puppy."

Nick turned as Vanderwald collapsed into unconsciousness. It was a set
up. The beast had only pretended to bring him here. The only question
was why? "Want do you want?"

The man laughed. "You."

Nick didn't have the chance to scream as the demon slipped into his
body as easy as sliding on a pair of old slippers.

-----------------------------------------------------

Natalie crept from her bed so not to disturb Jonathan. It was four in
the morning. Even after six months of day work, her body still kicked
into graveyard-shift mode every once in a while. She paused to look
back before closing the door. Never in a million years would she have
thought of herself as a 'sleep with the boss' kind of girl. It was the
number one work taboo in Canada these days and here she was up to her
eyeballs in it.

Once she decided to leave police work, she turned to her next love in
medicine....research. The science journals were all ablaze with
articles about Dr. Masters and his Nobel Prize research in micro-
biology. On a whim, she'd called his office to inquire about job
openings. The secretary had been a total bitch on the phone, so she
drove over to give the woman a piece of her mind.

Had she known the encounter was going to lead to a job interview, she
would've at least worn make up. To her surprise, she not only got the
job, but she was now the lead project manager on the micro-cell
enhancement team. Jonathan Masters was also the lead project in her
social life as well.

Her team was made up of twelve people of which she was one of three
women. Jonathan and Natalie liked to believe their relationship was
well hidden from the others. But deep down, she realized everyone
probably knew she was boinking the boss.

She didn't really know how it happened. One day, about three weeks
after she'd started at the lab, she had this impulse to ask him to
lunch. After Nick, Natalie decided she was going to take a few more
chances in her life. If there was someone she wanted to get to know
better, she would go for it and make the first move. 

Jonathan said 'yes' to her lunch invitation and they had decided to
catch a quick hot dog along the bay. When they both saw the laser tag
pavilion set up, it was all they could do to keep from playing all
day. It was so nice to be around a guy who could have fun. They had
none of those serious good versus evil discussions. It was just fun to
have a normal friend again. 

By the time they had their first 'real' date, they'd been through
endless laser tag battles together. She soon realized she knew more
about him than she'd ever known about Nick. Ironically, the night when
she knew that they would finally make love, she seized up with fear.
It had been at least nine years since she'd been with a man. The
thought made her burst into tears. Nick had been right. She had wasted
a lot of time waiting for him to love her. 

Poor Jonathan must have thought she was a nut case. After all, they
were sitting on the couch kissing one minute and two minutes later,
she was in hysterics. It was a good thing he was such a considerate
man. He stayed with her all night as she cried and then apologized to
him and then cried again. Come morning, she was utterly embarrassed.
He had kissed her goodbye at her door and asked if they could do it
again the next night...only without the water works. She was amazed at
his understanding. The next night went much better and ever since, she
couldn't get enough of him. It was as if she was making up for lost
time. They did things in their love making she'd only dreamt of. She
surprised herself at the enthusiasm she brought to their bed.

Still, deep down she knew there was something missing. He was not
Nick. Not that she wanted him to be Nick. She wanted to love him for
himself, but Nick was still there...in the way of her happiness. 

end of 3

Zero Sun

By: C.T. Brennan

( 4 of 18 ) 

Nick woke up at the wheel of his Caddie. Where was he? The horn from
behind prompted him to step on the gas. Well, there was the Convention
Center, but how did he get here? The last thing he remembered...what
was the last thing he remembered?

He passed Jilly's and hit his right turn signal as he approached his
loft. He would sort this all out when he got home.

"Nick?" He turned to see Ms. Suzy. She was well known to the Toronto
police as a kind soul and someone who would always have a hot meal for
a hungry officer even if it was in the middle of a night shift.

"Hi, Ms. Suzy." He was light headed and stumbled slightly when he drew
near her.

Ms. Suzy buttoned her coat up to protect her from the chilly pre-dawn
breeze. "I don't know how to tell you this, but about an hour ago, I
heard the most awful screaming coming from your loft." 

Nick focused on the loft, but didn't hear a thing. "I'll check it out
Ms. Suzy. I'm sure I probably left the TV on or something. Thanks for
the warning."

"I can't watch out for you forever, Nick. You should think about
marrying that Coroner friend of yours? You'd make a cute couple."

Nick wished he could be with Natalie with all of his heart. "Why, I'm
still waiting on you to marry me, Ms. Suzy."

She smiled at him. "Why I am old enough to be your great grandmother."
Ms. Suzy chuckled to herself as she headed to her apartment across the
street.

Nick rode the elevator to his loft. Before his eyes could adjust to
the change in light, his senses already told him there was fresh blood
there. His fangs dropped uncontrollably at the scent. He turned right
and gasped. Tied to his fireplace mantle was the nude body of
Toronto's new Assistant Coroner, Samantha Hicks.

--------------------------------------------

Natalie dumped six tablespoons of grinds into the Mr. Coffee. She'd
been up all night and was paying for it. This was her third pot of
coffee. She may have to go home early if she didn't wake up soon. It
was becoming impossible to work with her DNA slices blurring because
of fatigue. 

"Dr. Lambert?" Tom spoke softly so not to interrupt the rest of the
lab. "There's an emergency phone call for you. Do you want to take
it?"

An emergency ... just what she needed in her sleep deprived state.
"Sure, Tom. Can you transfer it over to my office? Count to twenty
before you send it over to my office. I'll need time to get there."

The phone rang for its fifth time as she hit her office door. It just
goes to show that a brilliant engineer like Tom was incapable of doing
simple math like counting to twenty. 

"Dr. Lambert." She sputtered. 

"Natalie? It's Joe Reese. I hate to bother you but I really need you."

"Joe? It's been a long time. How's Sam Hicks working out ?"

"Mmm. Natalie. Samantha Hicks is dead."

Natalie had known Sam since Forensics training at the RCMP. There were
only two females in the academy so they'd formed a tight friendship
almost immediately. "Dead? How?"

She could hear voices in the background as Joe spoke. "That's why I
need you. I'm at Nick's loft. Can you come over right away?"

"Nick? What does Nick have to do with this?"

"Natalie, I know you two are no longer ... no longer involved, but I
need you."

"Okay, Cap. I'll be there in 15 minutes."

As Natalie gathered her old forensics kit, she'd already decided to
not tell Jonathan about this ... not just yet anyway.

She parked her Corsica beside the line of cop cars, she received nods
and welcome backs from most of the uniforms already on site.

It was an eery feeling riding the loft elevator again after all this
time. As she stepped out, she expected a flood of people. Instead,
there were just four; Joe Reese, Bob Thompkins from Internal Affairs,
Nick Knight, and the body of a brutally tortured Samantha Hicks.

"Aww, Sam. What did you get yourself into?" Natalie fought back tears
as she walked over to the fireplace. Someone had restrained Sam with
handcuffs and then hung her hands from nails embedded in the wood
surface. They appeared to have used a sharp implement, probably a
butcher knife or something, to slice her from the crotch
upwards....much in the manner of Jack the Ripper. She shivered as she
remembered she'd actually met the real Jack the Ripper, thanks to
Nick.

"So what do we have?" Natalie asked no one in particular.

Joe answered first. "T.O.D. is placed between 500am and 5:30am
according to a witness who heard screams from the loft. Detective
Knight returned home around 6:45am to find the deceased. We've brushed
the place over and preliminary results show no one in the apartment
other than Detective Knight."

Bob chimed in next. "We planned to take Detective Knight into custody,
only he has at least two witnesses who can verify that he was not here
during the time of the incident." She could tell by Bob's tone of
voice that he was irritated over that fact. "Dr. Lambert, we asked you
here as there is no one at the Coroner's office who would be
considered objective at this point."

Natalie shook her head not taking her eyes off of Sam. "I don't know
how objective I can be. I've know Sam for at least 10 years."

"I think what Bob means is that you are the only one not considered a
suspect in this case." Joe said it as gently as he could. "We'd be
grateful if you could take a look around and provide any input that
you can."

The professional side kicked in as Natalie pulled some specimen slides
from her bag. "I'll take a few samples and read over the reports, Joe,
but other than that, I'm afraid you'll need to request a coroner from
Division. I won't be much help."

"What ever you can do, Natalie, I'd really appreciate it." 

"One more thing, Cap. Could I have a minute or two alone with
Detective Knight?" She finally turned to face the group.

Bob and Joe exchanged a look but Nick sat completely expressionless.
"Sure, Natalie. We'll be down stairs."

"So, Nick..." She began as she saw the loft doors fall shut. "... what
is all of this?"

Nick looked up. " I don't know, Nat. I don't remember anything about
tonight." Red tears began to fill his eyes. "Did I kill her?"

His voice was pathetic and it melted her heart. "I don't think so,
Nick. There's too much blood for one thing. Given your blood lust, I
seriously doubt you could've done this and not fed off her too."

She looked over to see him silently sobbing. "Nick, What is the last
thing you remember?" 

She crossed the room and sat down beside him on the couch ... just
like they'd sat a thousand times before. He inhaled and began. "The
last thing I remember is talking to you on the phone."

She put a comforting hand on his knee.

"I was mad ... and jealous." He dropped his head to his chest. "You
can throw `bitter' in there too if you want."

Out of habit she reached up to stroke his wavy hair. "Is it possible
that ....." Her voice trailed off. It was too awful to even think
of...

"You mean, did the beast come forth and brutally kill your friend?"
Nick motioned towards the body. "I doubt it, I always remember who
I've ..." His words trailed off.

"Killed?" She answered for him then she reached for her bag and headed
out. "I'll let you know what I find out, okay?"

Natalie turned back to see the tears start anew in Nick's eyes. God
help him if she discovered he really did kill Samantha Hicks.

end 4

Zero Sun

By: C.T. Brennan

( 5 of 18 ) 

Nick watched as Sam's body was zipped up and ushered out by two shell
shocked Coroner's Assistants.

It was almost noon and no matter how emotionally traumatized he felt,
his vampire body was screaming for sleep.

"Nick? Do you want to come home and stay with me and Denise?" Reese
offered as he took another long look at his detective.

"No thanks, Cap. I'll be fine here."

Reese looked over at the fireplace. The blood was still pooled at its
base. "Are you sure? I can have some uniforms clean up a bit before
you get back."

Nick followed Reese's eyes to the blood. "I didn't really know her.
After Natalie..." his throat tightened. "...I pretty much avoided the
M.E.'s office all together. Who would do this to her?"

"More importantly, Nick. Who would do it and make it look like you
killed her?" Reese shook his head. "I'll hit the archives for all the
arrests you've made to see if anything stands out." He pulled the loft
door open. " And, Nick? Internal affairs has you on suspension with
pay until the criminal investigation is wrapped up."

It was what Nick expected and he said nothing as the door fell back in
place leaving him alone with his thoughts.

--------------------------

"Nothing." Natalie paged backwards as she re-read her initial Forensic
report on Sam's murder. There was not the slightest indication of
anyone other than Nick in the loft. She had to `doctor' Nick's DNA
tests to read mortal, but other than that her report was ready to be
modemed over to Reese. The knife had been one from Nick's kitchen. The
handcuffs were two spare sets from Nick's closet, and the nails
matched the kind Nick used to nail his art frames together. 

The phone rang causing her to jump slightly. "Lambert."

"It's me, Nat." Nick's voice sounded very tired. "Have you found
anything yet?"

She hated to lie. "Nothing yet, but I'm still waiting for some lab
results." All of her research showed Nick to be the killer. But, She
had no idea how he would take the news.


Nick sighed. "I called LaCroix. He's the only one I could think of who
would try to set me up, but he's in Paris. After all, he did set me up
once before, remember?"

Of course she remembered. The watch. She bought it supposedly as a
gift for him from a platonic friend. But in reality, she'd bought it
the morning she realized she was in falling in love with him. "It does
sound like him. Could there be anyone else from the community who
would do something like this?"

"Most of the community would like to see me staked, not in prison, so
I doubt one of them would go to all of this trouble."

"I guess the `I want to be mortal again' theme doesn't go over well
with a bunch of vampires." Natalie looked up to see Jonathan come into
her office. "Oops, I've got to go."

"Nat, help me, please. I need to know if I killed her."

She hung up without responding. There was nothing she could say to him
to make things better.

"I hear you're back on duty as Toronto's leading Coroner." He said as
he leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek. "I heard there
was a murder near Smith Street. Anyone I know?"

Natalie nodded. "No, but it was someone I knew... Sam Hicks."

John dropped his cavalier attitude. "Isn't that the girl who took your
place at the M.E.'s office?"

" I'd known her since Forensics School." Natalie paused at the memory.
"She was only 35 years old."

Lacking anything to say of comfort, he wrapped his arms around her.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. Let me know if I can help."

"Actually, there is something. Can I have a few weeks away from the
project? I want to find out why she was killed." Natalie felt tears
coming.

He held her just a little tighter. "Don't you mean `who' killed her?
Or was that call from the killer?"

"Please John, I can't talk about it. It's evidence..."

Zero Sun

By: C.T. Brennan

( 6 of 18 ) 

She shivered as she rapped on the beautifully carved door. 

"Yes?" Max Vanderwald didn't register surprise at finding Natalie on
his porch step. "It's Dr. Lambert, right?"

"Call me Natalie." He stepped aside and ushered her into the foyer. "I
imagine you already know why I'm here."

He shook his head. "Your friend, Nick, was here last night. I gather
there's a problem?"

She couldn't tell if he was being coy or if he really didn't know
about what happened to Nick. "I'd like to ask you a few questions.
What happened with Nick last night?"

Max offered her a drink and after she shook it off he began. "I asked
Nick to come by here. I had a patient who knew him. I thought Nick
could talk to him and help bring the evil to the surface. Then I could
exorcize it."

"Did it work?" She tried to see around Max into the room where he did
his `work'.

"Nothing happened." He cleared his throat. "After Nick left, my
patient was cured, but I don't know how or when it happened. It was
most remarkable."

Natalie remained calm. "Do you mean it's possible the demon jumped
into him like the last time, doctor?"

"That was one of my first thoughts, but I dismissed it." She stared at
him while waiting for him to continue. "But usually when a demon jumps
I can find a trace remainder in the prior host. In this case, the
patient did not have any residual spirit in his system. Ironically, I
think that my patient may actually have been crazy this time and not
possessed." He noticed her look and shrugged. "It does happen. I do
get crazies in here every once in a while, Natalie."

Natalie headed towards the door. "Dr. Vanderwald, did it ever occur to
you to warn Nick that there was a possibility a demon might have taken
over his soul?" She did not mask the anger in her voice. "I would've
thought a single phone call would have been prudent here."

Max lightly grabbed her arm. "If I called to warn him, how would I
know if it was him or the demon who answered? Better yet, Doctor
Lambert, what was the likelihood that a demon would possess a soulless
creature in the first place?"

"He has a soul Dr. Vanderwald." She yanked her arm free. "Why else
would he come here to help you in the first place? Now if you'd please
excuse me, I have to find him."

-------------------------------------------------

The answering machine woke Nick out of his coma-like sleep. "Nick,
pickup. It's Natalie. I know its early, but pick up." He stumbled
towards the phone but didn't answer in time. "Okay, I'll leave a
message. Meet me at the Zero Sun restaurant at 7:30pm. It's
important."

"Nat?" all he heard was a dial tone as he tried to catch her in time.

He took a quick shower, skipped the shave, and headed to the door just
as the final rays of day dipped below the horizon. It was no mystery
why Natalie wouldn't come to the loft to see him. She obviously didn't
trust him enough to be alone with him. 

Why would she pick such a public place though? He ran the puzzle over
several times during the drive to the Zero Sun. As he stepped down
into the restaurant entrance, the answer was more simple and more
painful than he thought.

"Nat, you look stunning." He said as he couldn't help but feel aroused
at the sight of her. She was dressed in an emerald green mini dress
which accented her shapely legs and rounded breasts. It was painfully
obvious she was here to meet someone else once she was done with him.

"Thanks, Nick. I've a Charity Auction tonight." He looked good to her
too. She liked the day old beard on him. It made him seem more mortal
somehow. It relieved her that he did seem so human and less
`possessed'. In her haste to leave Vanderwald, she forgotten to ask
exactly how to tell if Nick had a little extra evil roaming around in
there.

"Any luck on the case?" Nick noticed her immediate tension at the
question.

Natalie knew she'd never be able to lie to him so she took a deep
breath. "Nick, all evidence shows you to be the killer. I'm sorry."
She watched him closely for a reaction but nothing registered. "That's
what my report will say. They'll arrest and probably convict you for
Sam's death."

He let her words sink in as the restaurant seemed strangely quiet. "Do
you think I did it, Nat?"

"No, I don't. I think that LaCroix or someone rigged it somehow to
make it look like you did it." She lowered her voice even more.
"That's why I am telling you. It will give you time to ... take care
of things."

"You mean run?"

Her voice came out colder than she'd meant it to be. "Well, why not?
It's something you've been doing since the Dark Ages, why should this
time be different?"

Nick reached over and held her hand in his. "Is this about us or about
me?" He didn't get an answer. "I move on a lot, yes. But this time is
different. This time I want to be held responsible for what I've done.
I want to held accountable for the pain I've caused."

She smiled slightly at him. "Is this about you or us?" He seemed like
Nick. She couldn't detect a hint of anyone other than Nick in front of
her. Maybe there was no demon after all. It was just another crazy
like Vanderwald said. 

"This is a surprise. Will you be joining us Nick?" As Jonathan walked
over his eyes focused on Natalie's hand entwined in Nick's. 

Nick released her hand. He stood and pulled the chair out for
Jonathan."No, I'm not a big Sushi fan. Please, Jonathan, take my
place." 

"I already have, Nick." He said has he sat down across from Natalie. 

Nick felt the comment stab through him. "You may not believe this, but
I'm glad you've found Natalie. I've never seen her happier." He nodded
a goodbye to her and walked out as quickly as mortal speed would
allow.

"Was that necessary?" Natalie glared at him. "You know we were never
more than friends."

Jonathon waved to a waiter. "I'm sorry, Natalie. Something just bugs
me about that guy." He saw her expression. "And, no. It's not the ex-
boyfriend thing. I just can't put my finger on it. Something is not
normal about him."


Massive under statement? Your table is ready, She thought. "I'm with
you now, John." Natalie gently stroked the side of this arm.

Did she look happier? She sure didn't feel like breaking into glorious
song at the moment. There were still too many unanswered questions
regarding Nick and Sam Hicks.

Zero Sun

By: C.T. Brennan

( 7 of 18 ) 

Nick flew to the roof of the Klein & Masters Laboratories Complex.
Damn. Even the skylights were wired to the alarm system. He would have
to whammy his way past the security guard now. He hoped he could do
it. His whammy powers were running at about a sixty percent success
rate this decade.

Once past the guard he'd used his sense of smell to easily locate
Natalie's office. There was always something erotic about her scent to
him. He shook the thought away and stared back at Natalie's computer
screen. "What would she use for a password?" Nick typed a few
combinations of `John' and crapped out. So he went on to `Sydney' and
`Grace' with similar results.

"Have you tried `N-I-C-K'?"

Nick looked up to see Jonathon at the door. He was so deep in
concentration, he didn't hear him come in.

"I wonder what Natalie would think if she knew you were trying to
break into her computer?" Jonathan stepped in and closed the door. He
stood on his tip toes and yanked the power cord to the surveillance
camera mounted on the wall.

Damn. He had missed the camera too. Nick silently yelled at himself
for being so careless. "I imagine she'd be pretty ticked off, but I
also hope she'd understand."

"Understand? You think she'd understand that you were tampering with
her report to the police?" Jonathan took a step towards Nick. "Then
again, you cops tend to cover for each other, right?"

Nick stood. "I was just trying to get a sneak preview of the report. I
wasn't going to change a thing." He moved past Jonathan and headed to
the door. "Although I'm sure you'll delight in telling her I was
here."

"Actually, I don't plan on saying a word. I would rather keep this
between us." Jonathan put his hand out to hold the door shut.

Nick pondered for a brief second whether to break Jonathan's arm or
not . "What's the price of our new comradery?"

Jonathan flatly replied. "Simple. Stay away from her."

Nick reached for the knob. "I have."

John opened the door for him. "If I catch you with her again, I'll rip
your heart out."

"Not likely." Nick sputtered as he pushed his way past him.



----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------
Jonathan closed the door and took a seat behind Natalie's desk. 
"Let's see...." Jonathon felt anger rise after Natalie's computer
kicked to life once he keyed in N-I-C-K. "We're just friends my ass."
He muttered to the screen. Damn. The report was encrypted too

"Have you tried the Computer Help desk?" Natalie's eyes were furious
as she fought to keep her calm. "Maybe they can help you with your
password problem, John."

He flipped the monitor off. " I already guessed the password
correctly. I was just trying to figure out your file encryption code."
It was his turn to glare. " Since N-I-C-K is already taken, maybe I
should try K-N-I-G-H-T or better yet B-E-T-R-A-Y-A-L?"

Natalie stepped in and closed the door with a slam."Oh, that's lovely.
You violate my privacy and now I'm the bad guy here? Not to mention,
you're tampering with a police investigation."

He moved a way from her desk. "He was here."

"Who was here?"

"Your password namesake, you know, your friend who is was never a
boyfriend. I just caught him trying to break in to your computer." 


Natalie's eyebrows furled. "Nick was here? When?"

"He just left" He looked down the hallway. "Man, that guy can fly."

"You have no idea." Natalie said dryly.

"Well, you can bet he wasn't here to leave flowers on your keyboard."

Natalie flinched at the reminder of a another time and place. She
looked up. "John, I know you don't understand, but I have to ask you
to trust me. There's nothing between Nick and me."

She walked around the desk and clicked the monitor back on. The
encrypted file was still up. She typed 1-2-2-8 and the file opened up.



"1228?" He jockeyed for a better view of the file. "That's one I never
would've guessed, but at least it has nothing to do with Nick."
Natalie's face flashed a pained look. "Jeez Nat! Does everything here
have to do with him?!"

"John, I don't have time for this ... please I need to see something."
The file was scrolling forth at warp speed. "There."

"What?" He adjusted his angle in time to see the crime scene photos in
their fully glory. "Yuck. And you used to enjoy this job?"


"Well, the hours were a killer, but I felt like I was making a
difference in the world, you know?" She brushed her hair away from her
eyes. "Left handed! I knew it!"

"Whose left handed?"

"The killer. See the angle of entry and how the laceration sweeps
upward to the right? I must have been blind to miss it before!"

"So Nick's left handed?"


Natalie shot him a look. "No, he's right handed. And, it's nice to see
you already have him tried and convicted."

"So sue me." He pulled away. The photos were making him sick to his
stomach. "I mean, why else would he try to break in here?"

It was a good point, she realized. "I don't know unless he was trying
to get a lead on who really did it."

Natalie flicked the computer off. "I've got to find him, but first I
need to call Vanderwald."

"Vander -who?"


"Wald. Vanderwald. He's an exorcist."


"Just when I thought it couldn't get any weirder, you call in an
exorcist. What's next? A seance?"


Natalie panned a look. "Are you going to help me or just be sarcastic
the entire time?

"I'm coming." He flicked the lights off as they left. "You don't think
I'm going to leave you alone with 'password boy' , do you?"



----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------

----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------

Zero Sun

By: C.T. Brennan

( 8 of 18 ) 

Nick had some excess energy to burn off so he flew to the police
station. His car could wait until later.

Knight!" Reese barreled down the hall at him. "I thought I told you to
stay away."

"Cap, I just needed to see my call log for a minute."

Reese shifted uncomfortably "I'm afraid that everything has been
subpoenaed for evidence, Nick. I can't let you see it.". He was
obviously distressed about the ever building case against his most
productive detective. "Um, also Nick, I'm expecting Dr. Lambert's
preliminary report at any minute so I need to know where you'll be
over the next 24 hours."

"It's that bad?" Reese nodded 'yes' to his question. "Then you have to
help me. I don't have much time."


"Now Nick, you know that would be very improper. I just can't do it.

Nick pleaded. "I didn't kill her. At least I don't think I did."

Reese was puzzled. "Come again? You don't think you did it?"

"I don't remember a thing from last night after about 11pm. I just
need you to look at my call sheet and see who called me and where I
signed myself out to until 5:45am."

Reese didn't look convinced so Nick continued to try. "I don't need to
see the log, just write everything down. Send a cop with me or
whatever, but I don't have much time and I need to know the truth." 


"Wait here." Reese disappeared and Nick pretended to not notice the
stares from his fellow officers. I wonder what they know? He thought.

"Here." Reese slid some papers in to his hands. "You didn't get this
from me and I'll deny it if I'm ever asked how you got this
information."

"No one will know." Nick saw the papers where photocopies of his call
sheet. "Thanks for believing in me, Cap."

"I didn't say I believed you, but after all you've done to save my
ass, I figure this makes us even."

Nick paused on his way out to look at the call log. "Vanderwald?" 



----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------

----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------

"So how did you two meet?" Jonathon asked from the rear seat of
Natalie's car. They'd driven to just outside of Terra Brook to pick up
Max Vanderwald and now they were flying down the 401 back to Toronto.
Natalie would only tell him that Vanderwald may be a material witness
to Sam's murder but she refused to talk further. "I mean, there's
nothing about my Natalie I should know is there, Dr. Vanderwald ?"

Vanderwald glanced at Natalie as she drove. "I imagine one never
really knows anyone, Mr. Masters."

"That's not really the answer I was looking for..." John muttered to
himself. 

Vanderwald raised an eyebrow. " Be careful what you ask. You may not
like the answers."


"Okay, Nat. This guy is really creeping me out." He looked desperately
for a place for her to pull the car over. Priest or not, the guy was
getting ready to take it to the streets. Screw being delicate, he
wanted answers no matter what they were. "So Dr. Vanderwald, have you
ever performed an exorcism on any one I know?" 

Natalie gulped. "John, get off it. If you're worried about me then,
no, he has never exorcized me."

"It's true." Vanderwald nodded in agreement. "I met Dr. Lambert as a
part of a homicide investigation involving one of my patients. Quite
frankly, she was a pain in the butt. Plus, she almost got herself
hurt."

"Wait a minute, Max." Natalie merged her car onto the Henderson Street
exit. "If I recall I showed up just in the nick of time." 

"Nick of time." He chuckled at the pun. "Yes, how absolutely
delightful."

John snapped his fingers. "That's it! You exorcized Nick Knight. I
knew that guy was a monster!"

"John..." Nat pleaded and hoped he would just shut up.

"I knew I was right! He's some hideous monster whose head spins as he
spits out pea soup, right?"

Vanderwald was exasperated. "Yes, you're right he's a creature whose
evil is eternal." Vanderwald held up a hand to stop the protest
beginning to rise in Natalie. "But then, my son, so are you. We are
all children of darkness and we are all children of the light.
Nicholas walks in both worlds as do we all."

Jonathan felt a X-files moment coming on. "So you're saying we're all
like Nick, only I do it without the projectile vomiting?"

Natalie snorted as she tried to hold in a laugh. 

She drew a look from Vanderwald then he spoke. "How eloquently you put
it, Mr. Masters, but yes, I guess you could say you were accurate.
Evil resides in all of us. You just don't have the more overt form of
darkness within you. "


She pulled the car into the loft parking lot. "Max, why don't you give
me five minutes with Nick, then come up?"

Jonathan began to unbuckle his seat belt. "Now hold it Natalie. I'm
not letting you go in there alone." 

"John ..." She reached across the seat and took Jonathan's hand. "...
he won't hurt me."

Jonathan looked to Vanderwald for help. "Sorry, Mr. Masters, I have to
agree with Dr. Lambert. There's not a thing in the universe that could
force Nick Knight harm her."

He winced at Vanderwald's words. Nick Knight is more than a friend to
Natalie. He is a formidable opponent whose power, according to Max
Vanderwald at least, was almost Godly.

Zero Sun

By: C.T. Brennan

(9 of 18 ) 

"Nick?" Natalie called as she pulled open the loft door. " Nick? Are
you here?"

Nick appeared at the top of the stairs. "Natalie. How nice to see you
again."

It seemed like Nick so far. He's acting a little formal, but he looked
okay. "I was hoping to ask you some questions about Sam." She walked
past his kitchen and stopped.

"Sure, no problem." He closed the distance. "Can I get you a drink?"

She nodded. "Actually, I could use a cup of coffee. Thanks."

Nick headed to the kitchen and reached under the sink for the coffee.

"You know, I still think that's gross." Natalie again felt herself
drift back to the past.

"What? Coffee?" He asked with confusion. 


"No the fact that you keep it under the ....." Her words died off.

"Something wrong, Natalie?" Nick twisted the lid off the jar. He
turned and saw a flicker of panic on her face. "What is it?" 

He had used his left hand to open the coffee jar.

"It's nothing, Nick. You just reminded me of something about Sam's
murder." Stay calm, she told herself. After all, you can't assume the
guy is possessed just because he suffers a sudden bout with
ambidextrousness. 

"Oh ?" He brought the cup of coffee and placed it in her hands.

"I think the measurements on the crime diagram are all wrong. Can you
help me re-measure?"

Natalie tried to walk nonchalantly to the mantle. His mantle ... their
mantle. It was where they kissed the night he came home from the
hospital. He'd been shot in the head and had a hole the size of a beer
bottle in his skull to prove it. Their kiss had seemed to be a
beginning for them. Instead, it really marked the beginning of the
end. She turned back to him. "Do you mind grabbing that chair?"


He used the left hand to lift the chair.

"And also, could you bring my bag too, please?" She gulped.

Left hand again.

"Oh, and also the pen from the end table?" Her pitch grew higher with
anxiety.

Damn. Another left hand! 


"Natalie, I'm not juggler here!" He placed everything down in front of
her.

"Mmm...hold this here." She gave him the pen and pointed to a spot on
the mantle. He helped her onto the chair and held the pen up. 

Left hand .. .left hand ... and left hand! Was he Nick or was he the
demon? More importantly, where the hell was Vanderwald?!

The loft door opened as if on cue. 

"Vanderwald!" Nick's eyes turned red and his fangs immediately
dropped. "You knew!" The last was directed to Natalie. In a flash, he
grabbed her from the chair and held her tight against him. "You're one
nosey bitch, doctor. Curiosity killed the cat, you know."

"Let me talk to Nicholas." Vanderwald commanded from the corner as he
began to invoke Biblical authority over the room in Latin. 

Nick brought his fangs to her neck. "I will not go without taking you
with me. I've watched Brabant for centuries as he destroyed woman
after woman. You're the only way I can make him pay for the misery
he's caused."

"If you've been watching Nick, then you must know he destroyed me as
well." Natalie gasped. "Why punish me? I've done nothing to you." I
have to keep it talking, she thought.

She could feel the coolness of his mouth near her neck as he
whispered. "You've done everything, my dear, so don't play innocent.
Brabant suffered with the knowledge of his acts." Nick brushed her
neck drawing blood bringing a quiet whimper from her. "He tortured
himself over the consequences to his soul. But you made him believe he
could re-claim his life." He greedily licked the trail of blood from
her neck.

"Please stop." Her beg was but a whisper. "Maybe once he felt
happiness with me, but he has always been blind to everything other
than his own self-pity and anguish."

He lowered again and brought a fresh trail of blood from her neck.
"Ah, but you taught him to love. You taught him to think he was
actually redeemable. He began to think he deserved happiness and for
this I can never forgive you."

"You're wrong. Nick never loved me." She choked realizing again the
painful truth. "And the one glimmer of happiness he may have had, only
made him miserable." She felt faint and her knees began to buckle. "I
.. I made him miserable."

Her thoughts ran rapidly through her mind. No wonder he left me. I was
the very thing he could never be. The thing he could never have. Oh,
how painful those 7 years must have been. "I'm sorry Nick" she offered
up only to be reminded Nick was no longer in his body.

Vanderwald approached with cross in hand. "Step back foolish priest."
Nick's glare froze the poor man in his tracks. "Do you really think
that I care if she dies? I'm already dead so you have nothing to
threaten me with."

"God does not threaten. He does not even judge." Vanderwald took
another cautious step, but stopped when Nick lowered his fangs closer
to Natalie's neck. "You made the choices that condemned you to Hell,
who or whatever you are. I'm merely His instrument to make sure you
find your way back there."

"My God!" Jonathon slammed the stairs door open "What the hell is
he?!" Vanderwald held up a cautionary hand and he fell silent.

"John." Natalie whimpered. "Go....now."

Nick started to laugh....quietly at first then with belly shaking
gusto. "So this is the one Nick watched make love to you?"

"What?!" Natalie and Jonathan said in unison.

"Yes, you didn't know did you?" Nick lessened his grip on Natalie. "He
followed you both and watched the show." He traced a line down her
cheek with his finger. "You are apparently quite marvelous." He
whispered for her ears only.

"That's enough!" Jonathan charged towards them.


Easily...too easily Nick simply side stepped him and wrapped his hand
around Jonathan's chest. "You're on to something here, doctor." He
released them both with a push. "Nick is much more miserable with you
in the world ... especially when you are with this one." He waved a
hand in Jonathan's direction.

Vanderwald stepped in. "By the authority of God, leave this..." 

Nick interrupted. "Save your breath, priest. I'm going."


Nick's body slumped to the floor in an unconscious heap. 



----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------
Zero Sun 
By: C.T. Brennan

( 10 of 18 ) 

"Nick!" Natalie rushed to him. 

"Is he dead?" Jonathan asked aloud and quietly hoped at the same time.

Vanderwald bent to take a look. 

"Well?" Natalie asked after Vanderwald did a cursory exam.

"He's clean now. The demon actually kept his word and left."

Nick's eyes fluttered and finally opened. "Nat?'

He sat up and struggled to orient himself. 

"You did a 'Linda Blair' on us, Nick." Jonathan reached to help
Natalie back to her feet. "Ready?"

"I did a what?" Nick asked.

Natalie nodded at Vanderwald. "Max can fill you in, Nick." She placed
a hand on Vanderwald's arm. "Thanks Max."

"You're welcome." He glanced at Nick. "I'll take care of him."

Jonathan guided Natalie to the loft door. "Next thing you know you'll
tell me there really is a Santa Claus."

Nick watched them leave and let out a sigh.

"You remember it all don't you?" Vanderwald offered a hand and helped
Nick to his feet.

"Yes, I remember it." He cocked his head. "But why this time and not
the last time?"

In all of the hoopla, they had forgotten all about Sam Hicks.

Vanderwald scratched his head. "Hmmmm...good question. Maybe we are
missing the obvious here, Nicholas." He crossed the room to the mantle
and rubbed a hand across it. "Maybe you didn't kill the girl?"

"Why would I black out on the whole evening then?" Nick stared at the
crime scene dust still on the floor. "And if I didn't do it who did?"

---------

Natalie was grateful when John volunteered to drive. She was shaking
more now that her adrenalin level had dropped.


"Are you okay, Natalie?" He noticed her shaking hands. 

She nodded. "I'll be fine. It's just a little more action than I'm
used to these days." 

"And this is the type of day you used to have with Nick?"

Natalie paused to chose her words. "Things were a bit more complicated
in my Coroner days. I really don't miss the days like this one."

He stroked her thigh with his hand. "I bet seeing Nick all fangs and
eyes must've really upset you, huh? Now that the demon is gone, he'll
be back to his normal detective self."

For a brief second she debated telling him that Nick was a vampire
24/7, not just when being possessed. "It wasn't an easy thing to see,
John, but really, I'll be okay." She laid her head back against the
headrest and shut her eyes. This was getting uncomfortable for her.
She didn't like lying to him.

Jonathan pulled the car out on to Smith Ave. "Can you believe the sick
pervert actually followed us home and watched us?"

Truth be know, it did creep her out. She knew Nick was a little
jealous over her relationship, but to watch her and John have sex? "I
know I said that Nick and I were never more than friends and that's
the truth. I just never knew how hurt he was when I moved on." She
opened her eyes just as Jonathan pulled into McKenzie King Park.

He saw her expression and smiled. "I thought a little fresh air might
clear your head a little."

"No matter how weird the night was I don't know how much fresh air I
need at 4:00 in the morning." Natalie looked around for a place for
him to turn the car around. 

Instead, he parked at the end of the driveway near the picnic tables.
"Come on Natalie. After hearing it from Nick, I want to see for myself
just how marvelous you are."

Confusion flooded Natalie's face. "John?"

His laugh sent new chills down her spine. "Not quite." He pinned her
arms, and grabbed her face. "But technically John is in here too.....
and he sends his love.

Zero Sun

By: C.T. Brennan

( 11 of 18 ) 

"Captain Reese's office, please." Nick threw the cordless phone to
Vanderwald as the call was being transferred. "Max, tell Reese you
think Natalie's in danger and that they need to send a patrol car to
her place ... and you better tell them to send one to Master's house
too." 

Nick headed to the window and pulled it open. "I'll go check out the
lab."

Max looked at the phone. "And how will I reach you? You'll need my
help, you know." 

"Call me on my cell." He wrote the number down and then took flight.

Vanderwald shook his head out of cynicism. "A vampire with a cell
phone. It has to be one of the seven signs of the apocalypse."

Except for the night guard who underwent his second whammy of the
night, Nick found an empty lab. Max was the first to suspect the demon
might have jumped to Jonathan. It was very unusual for a demon to
voluntarily leave a body. Once Nick reminded Max that the best way to
punish him was to hurt Natalie, it all seemed to click in place. 

They still didn't know who killed Sam, but if they found Jonathan,
they were pretty sure they'd find the demon too. 

------

Natalie struggled against the demon. "So what bullshit reason do you
have this time? The 'John was too happy' excuse has been played."
Natalie's emotional roller coaster of a night had spawned a new sense
of bravado. "Or is this just a cheap thrill for you?"

Jonathan flashed a .38 handgun as he pulled her from the car."You have
a lot of spunk. I like that," he chuckled. " No wonder you have both
the live and the un-dead falling over themselves for you." He walked
her to the picnic table furthest from the street. "Have a seat." 

Natalie sat and straightened her shoulders defiantly. "So I give.
Where did you get the gun? I don't carry one and I know John doesn't
have one."

"Know him that well do you?" He began to tie her hands with a rope he
found in her trunk. She had left it there from when they'd bought
their Christmas tree months earlier. Jonathan smirked. "Then I guess
you know that he interviewed Sam Hicks the very morning that he
interviewed you?" He smiled at her reaction. "Ah, I see he never told
you. I wonder what other surprises I can dig up for you?"

She sat silently as he looped the rope around the table leg and tied
off the end. "Well?" she asked.

He backed up to admire his handy work. "Well what? Is this his gun or
is this just a cheap thrill?" He took a seat beside her. "The answer
is 'yes' to both. You see he bought the gun the day you cried so
pathetically on his shoulder about Nick." He began to stroke her thigh
as he had done in the car. "Call it a macho thing, but he wanted to
match fire power with Nick." With her safely secured, he put the gun
on the table. "Jonathan grabbed the gun tonight from his office, just
before you both jumped in the car to fetch that idiot priest."

Natalie gasped as he moved his hand higher. "Why me? Why John?" She
kept silent this time as he pushed her skirt up and reached for her
pantyhose. 

"As you may have surmised, I'm a vengeance kind of demon." He smiled
smugly at her as he pulled her hose down. "Brabant is my toy at the
moment. You gave me the idea." He began to rub her against her
underwear with his hands. "What would be the absolute worse thing I
could do to Nick?"

"Hurt me." She said it flatly. 

"You're right again, doc. At first I just wanted to pin a murder on
him. You know, and send him to prison with a few thousand mortals. In
order to survive he'd have to kill and feed. That's something I know
would've driven him back to the dark side. Then I stumbled along you."
He wrapped an arm around her waist and drew himself closer. "Plus I
get the added bonus of that cheap thrill you mentioned earlier."

Natalie whispered. "No matter what you do to me, he knows that I love
him. He knows I don't blame him for what you're going to do to me."

"Which one is it that you love again? Nick or this one?" He watched
her squirm. "It's okay Natalie, John knows you don't love him. He's
known for some time, the poor sap, but why don't you tell him
yourself?"

She watched as tears flooded his eyes. "John?"

"Natalie!" His voice came out in a sob. "I'm so sorry. I can't control
it! I can't fight him."

Tears began to rain down her cheeks too. "It's okay. I know you would
never hurt me."

"Natalie, I love you. Please forgive me." The demon took over. "So
touching. It almost brings a tear back to my eyes."

Natalie sputtered. "You are truly disgusting." Lost for anything to
say or do, she fell silent.

"This from someone whose dream it is to love a vampire? Inter-species
dating, now that's the disgusting thing here if you ask me." He
snorted. "That brings up an interesting question. Which one of these
two is better?"

"Better?"

"You know..." He made the international sign for sex with his hands.
"...better?"

Natalie rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't know."

"Oh, that's right. You never did boink the vampire. Let me guess, he
was afraid he'd drain you dry if he got too close, right?"

Natalie bit her lip. "I'm not playing your games any more."

"Interesting. I guess Nick never got over killing his wife during 'the
act' did he?" The demon's laugh was truly hideous. He watched her
closely as her body language gave away that he had revealed yet
another secret to her. "I'm just full of information you didn't know
aren't I? Are you sure you don't want to play some more? The things I
know..."

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" In a blink, Nick landed in front of them.

The demon grabbed the gun and dug it into Natalie's ribs. "Are you
ready to watch her die, Brabant?"

"This is about us. Leave her out of it." Nick held his hands up in a
gesture of surrender. "Are you okay, Nat?"

"To be honest, I've been better." She smiled. "But, its nothing we
haven't gotten through before, right?"

So like her to try to make me feel better, Nick thought. "We've had
some rough times haven't we?" He smiled back.

"Okay, you two are making me sick." The demon jabbed the gun harder
into her ribs eliciting a gasp from her. "We have company." He
motioned to the driveway as 4 or 5 patrol cars kicked up dust as they
pulled in. "Looks like you'll have to play this as a mortal, Nick."

Nick's blue eyes held flashes of red. "Mortal or vampire, I still plan
to kick your ass."

Jonathan-demon yelled towards the advancing cops. "Pull Knight back or
I'll shoot!"

Nick heard Captain Reese's voice from over his right shoulder. "Nick,
step back. We've got our man. Just step back now."

"Cap, I can handle this."

"No Nick. We found out that Masters knew Sam Hicks for quite some
time. It only makes sense he would try to frame you for her murder."

Nick was puzzled. "Sense? What kind of sense is that?"

Jonathon-demon started laughing. "Well of course, Nick, I'll admit it.
I did kill her. After all, it is accurate from a certain point of
view."

"John didn't kill her, you bastard!" Natalie mumbled into his ear.

He giggled quietly. "Know him that well do you?"

"No, I just know you that well." She hissed.

He pushed back slightly. "I imagine you do. But since you've been such
a good sport, I'm going to give you a going away present." He cocked
the gun with a sickening click and held it against her breast. "We'll
be seeing you around, doc."

With a blur of speed Nick pulled his gun and fired. The first bullet
caught Jonathan in the shoulder pushing him further away from Natalie.


The demon cackled. "You cheated Brabant. You used the vampire to win."
He aimed the gun back at Natalie. Nick answered by unloading his gun's
chamber into Jonathan's chest.

Zero Sun

By: C.T. Brennan

( 12 of 18 ) 

Reese grabbed Nick's arm "Enough! You got him." 

"I have to get to her!" Nick broke Reese's hold and rushed to Natalie.

Two uniformed officers began cutting the ropes free from her. "Nat?"
She was staring at Jonathan's bullet ridden body. 

"Nick?" 

He put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm here."

She turned her tear stained eyes to him. "Nick." She whispered. "If
you ever, ever come near me again, I will stake you myself. Do you
understand? "

Nick was shocked. "Yes," he said weakly.

"Good." She stood up and looked for Reese. "Can you get someone to
give me a ride home, Captain?"

Still ever klewless, Nick watched her walk away.


"He's trapped." 

Nick turned to see who spoke. "Max. I forgot you were here."

Vanderwald rubbed his forehead. "Yeah, I get that a lot . They teach
you in seminary to be unassuming."

"Whose trapped?" Nick quietly asked. 

"The demon. When the soul leaves the body, the demon has to go with it
or else it's trapped." Vanderwald shook his head. "It's a shame Mr.
Masters had to die, but it may have been the only way. He seemed like
a decent guy."

A light turned on in Nick's head. "Are saying you have to have a soul
in order to be possessed?"

"Of course. Evil is always attracted to good and what better place to
find it than in the divine in all of us?" Max patted Nick on the back.


Nick took a last look and began a slow walk to his Caddie which
Vanderwald had driven to the park. "That means..."

Vanderwald interrupted. "Yes that means you have a soul. If there's
any thing good to come out of all of this, it's that I finally
realized I misjudged you." He put an arm out to stop their walk.
"You're a great deal closer to restoring your humanity than you think,
my son."

Nick acknowledged sadly. "Even if you're right, I've lost the very
reason why I was trying to live."

Vanderwald followed Nick's eyes as they watched Natalie get into a
police car. How unusual this creature is, Vanderwald thought to
himself. "She's upset ... in shock probably. Give her time."

Nick reached for the Caddie door. "So exactly how much time does it
take to forgive someone who killed your lover?"

Max climbed into the passenger side of the car. "I see your point, but
then again, you seem to have a great deal time on your side."



----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------

----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------
Natalie watched in a daze as friends and colleagues brushed by her
mumbling condolences. The memorial service was awkward and thankfully
short. The newspapers had already tried and convicted Jonathan for
Sam's death. Once the story broke about the details of his death, it
was easy for the media to hang the murder on him too. The police gave
no official statement, but as usual, someone leaked that John had
known Sam months before her death. The tabloids were calling him the '
Coroner Killer'. 
"This is all my fault, John." She sobbed as she stoked the chestnut
casket. "I should come with a Surgeon General's warning, 'Date this
woman at your own risk. Loving her may lead to death, dismemberment,
demon possession and possibly un-death.'"

"Natalie?" It was Captain Reese. 

"Hi, Joe." It was the most she could muster at the moment. 

"I know this is a little inappropriate for me to be here, but Denise
and I just wanted to let you know we're here for you if you need
anything."

She thought about what a kind man Joe was and how naturally his
officer's followed his leadership. "Have you closed the case?"

"We think we pieced it together, Natalie, but this isn't really the
time or ..."

"This is the perfect time and place." Had she had any tears left, they
would be falling but her face remained dry. "John is here. You're
here. You can tell us both what great epiphany your department came up
with here."

"Doctor..." Joe stammered. 

"So now its doctor?"

"Natalie." He waited for her to interrupt again, and when she didn't,
he continued. "Off the record, we have a witness who places Masters at
the Coroners building the night of the murder."

She shook it off. "Impossible. He was with me." 

He continued. " We subpoenaed his personal and business files, and
apparently, he knew Sam Hicks for years. When we interviewed his
professional contacts, it was well known he was concerned about Nick."

"Concerned?"

Joe knew this was not going to be easy. "So concerned he asked a
friend to help him buy a handgun the same night Sam died." He watched
her closely. "Then he kidnaps and assaults you, Natalie. When this
many factors add up, we generally have ourselves a murderer."

Her face flushed in anger. "So you just completely ignore my forensic
report and chalk it up to a crime of passion?" People turned at the
growing sound of her voice. "This is utter bullshit, Cap, and you know
it."

This was not going well and Joe tried to find a way out of it all.
"Natalie, do you hate Nick so much that you'd want him to spend the
rest of the rest of his life in prison?"

She lowered her voice but the anger remained. "Are you so political
you'd want him to be acquitted so not to sully your image?" 

"Come on, Natalie. Do you really think Nick did it?" Joe tried to be
as gentle as he could. "If you honestly think he could do something
like this, I'll reopen the investigation and send it back to Internal
Affairs."

She sighed out of resignation. "No, I don't think he's the one who
killed her" Bitterness replaced the anger. "But, for the record, I
know Nick Knight is very capable of killing someone without
hesitation."

Natalie walked away before the words stopped echoing.

Zero Sun

By: C.T. Brennan

( 13 of 18 ) 

"How is she?" Nick silently approached Joe. 

"Nick? Do you have any idea how many department regulations you're
breaking just by being here?" Joe looked around to see if any media
were in the area. This was not what they needed to be in the papers
tomorrow. 

Nick pulled Joe behind a column in the chapel. "More than ten?"

"Jeez, Nick. A lot of people would have a problem with a cop being at
the memorial service of the person he blew away three days earlier."

Nick nodded at a passing mourner. "I don't care about those people.
Besides I've been hiding in the back of the chapel all morning. No one
saw me. I just wanted to make sure Natalie was going to be okay."

"She is pretty angry and bitter, Nick."

Nick hoped he had not hurt her beyond recovery. "That's to be
expected, I guess."

"To be completely honest, you're the one she is hates, Nick." Joe
shrugged his shoulders. "I think it would be best if you stayed away
from her. It'll give her time to sort things out."

Nick choked back the lump catching in his throat. "She told me to stay
away and I will, but I just need you to keep an eye on her. Will you
do that?"

The pain radiating forth from his favorite detective hit Joe deeply.
"Sure, Nick. We'll make sure she gets through all of this. 

((((((((((((((((((((()))))))))))))))))))))

"I can't believe this." Natalie checked the computer model for the
umpteenth time."The key is to enhance .... not remove the co-factors."

"Doctor?" Stan handled over a pallet of test tubes. "Here's the
samples you requested."

She looked down at the tray. The Klein and Lambert Laboratories labels
brought a sad smile. "Thanks, Stan.."

"Uh, Doctor Lambert? I just wanted to let you know that we're all
going to the Grotto after work. It's Anita's 30th birthday." Poor Stan
was uncomfortable talking to the boss, but since Jonathan's death, the
group had decided they needed to get Natalie out of the office more.
"And we'd really like you to come out with us."

Out. How long had it been? Natalie tried to count the days. It had
been four weeks since the funeral. When she found out John willed his
partnership in the laboratories to her, she'd tried to sell it back to
back to Bob Klein. But, Bob insisted she stay on to continue the work
John had dedicated his life to.

"I'll stop by the Grotto when I finish up here." She forced a smile,
but was she ready to face the world again? 

With a sigh, she turned back to the model of the Alzheimer's cell.
Over the years, the medical thought was to try remove the cells from
the patient. There was even a well known controversy over the
implantation of fetal tissue into the patients' brain matter in order
to promote the re-growth of normal cells. John's work, however,
revealed that the Alzheimer cells appear to provide a needed chemical
sequence to the surrounding normal brain tissue. If you removed the
infected DNA, the surrounding tissue collapses over time instead of
regenerates. 

Last night she'd been, cleaning up her mess of a desk. As she was
throwing out files, she stumbled across Nick's abandoned "cure" file.
It sparked an idea. Maybe she should try to enhance the chemical
sequences in the cells instead of removing them all together. Like
Nick's failed Litaviterene B experiment, she would try to mutate the
Alzheimer cells into something more than they were. Then they could
remain in the patients' tissue to provide the much needed chemical
sequences for the normal cell functions. 

"I guess you did do your part to help the world after all, Nick." She
muttered to herself then chuckled at the irony. With the new research
she planned to present, Alzheimers patients would stand a pretty good
chance to recover most, if not all, of their identities.

She pulled a sample tube from the pallet. "Now if I take the vampire
DNA sequence and enhance the chemical reaction instead of removeit,
what will happen?" 

She watched the monitor as the Vampire DNA did a cell biologist's
version of the hokey-pokey. You put a sequence in, you take a sequence
out, then you do the hokey-pokey and shake it all about. 

"Let's see." Natalie removed the sample, then picked up an untreated
sample from the pallet and slid both into her lab coat pocket. 

"Bob?" She rapped on the door as she opened it. As was his habit, Bob
had already left for the day. His office faced the west so a steady
stream of sunlight engulfed the room. His office window slid open with
a squeak. She placed the samples side by side on Bob's phonebook. 

"Let your fingers do the walking." She said as she held the book out
the window. The warm sun hit the samples easily. The untreated sample
began to hiss and burn almost immediately as it splattered all over
the book. The second sample lay calm, almost peaceful. "I did it," She
said in wonderment. "Well, I did say solving a puzzle had its own
rewards." 

Unceremoniously , she turned and slid the book with the samples into
Bob's trash can. "So much for the cure."

Natalie didn't pause as she left. Nick could rot for all she cared
about him and his precious cure. 

Zero Sun

By: C.T. Brennan

( 14 of 18 ) 

It was Remembrance day for the Toronto Metro Police. As she walked
through the once familiar doors, a feeling of dread hit as she knew
he'd be here too. With the exception of a totally random occurrence,
this was probably the only time she could expect to be in the same
room with him. 

Six months had passed since she threw away the cure into the bottom of
Bob's trash can. There had been a number of times when she'd almost
picked up the phone to tell him, but she always stopped herself. Sure,
she felt a little guilty denying the man his dream, but then the
picture of John's grotesquely shot up body reminded her of her
bitterness. The anger had long since passed. She'd began to look back
on her life much differently these days. Ever since Nick sat up on her
examining table, she slowly realized how much she'd lost to him. To
start with, her youth was lost on a man who she loved with all of her
being, but who could never love her back. She also lost friends;
Schanke, Cohen, Richard, Tracy, Sam and John ... and that was just the
short list. She'd made his life miserable, that was true. But, now she
saw how much her own misery was a direct result of knowing Nick
Knight. Yep, bitter about summed it all up for her.

"Natalie?" It was Joe Reese. "I didn't expect to see you here again." 

"Joe..." He was surprised when she gave him a hug. "I'm so sorry for
the things I said at the memorial service." She released the big teddy
bear of a man. "I was in a bad place for a long time. Can you forgive
me?"

Relief spread across him. "There's no apologies needed. It was a bad
time for us all." He walked with her into the auditorium and said
quietly, "Nick is here with Jenny Schanke." 

It was what she expected. "I guess I knew he'd be here." She stopped
walking. "Joe, Please don't tell him I was here. This is about Schanke
and Cohen and Tracy. I'm not here to see Nick."

Joe was oddly disappointed to see that she still held a grudge against
Nick. "I guess I can understand how you feel, but Natalie ... he was
just trying to save your life that day. He never meant to hurt you so
deeply."

How could she explain her feelings when she was just know getting a
handle on them herself ? "Believe it or not, Cap , this isn't just
about that day. It's about a lifetime."

Joe walked her to an empty seat and sat down beside her. Nick was up
front with the families of those who had lost their loved ones in the
line of duty. Family. When Schanke died, Nick lost more than a friend,
he had lost family. The guilt returned. She had the means to give him
a family again. With the cure, he could start over as a moral or
almost mortal anyway. His DNA would be altered but the vampire would
still there. However, He would be able to walk in the sun and try all
the foods from the past 800 years. Most importantly, he'd be able to
love again. But, did the world really need a depressed, angst ridden ,
half-mortal roaming the streets looking for Mrs. Goodbar? 

-----

Nick left the service as quickly as etiquette allowed. It was always a
tough day to handle, but it was made worse by forcing his vampire body
to up and around during mid-day. His body was screaming for sleep.
"Hold the door." He shouted as the elevator started to close. With a
flash of speed, he managed to make it in time.

Maybe it was the lack of sleep or maybe it was the crowded elevator,
he just hadn't noticed Natalie was one of the bodies crunched up in
the back. Soon there was some "breathing room" after almost everyone
got off at the next floor. 

"Small world, huh?" Natalie spoke first.

"Nat, my God, how are you?" He turned around and finally noticed her
behind him.

She didn't know what to say or even if she wanted to say anything at
all. "This is awkward isn't it?" Natalie tried not to noticed how
intently he was staring at her as she spoke. "Look, I'm not going to
pretend we're old friends trying to catch up. I just want to ride down
the last four floors and be gone. Can we do that?"

"Whatever you want, Nat." The words barely left his lips when the
elevator stopped with a jolt. It sent them both stumbling forward.

"What the hell?" They said almost in unison.

Zero Sun

By: C.T. Brennan

( 15 of 18 ) 

Nick reacted first by pulling the elevator phone out and calling for
help. "This is elevator 10 ... oh, okay." He said to the person on the
other end. "No, there's just two of us and we're fine. Thanks." He
shoved the phone back into its cradle and then stood in silence.

"And?" She didn't try to hide her irritation. 

Nick turned to her slightly confused. "And what?"

He was really so klewless at times. "Nick, you know damn well what."
When he didn't make a move to answer she spelled it out for him.
"What's going on with the elevator?"

"I thought you didn't want any conversation." She flushed in anger as
he sheepishly continued. "There's a hostage situation in holding so
they shut the elevator down. You know, it's so the bad guys don't move
to another floor."

She rubbed her temple as the headache forming there began to increase.
"I know what the S.O.P. is. I used to work here, remember? "

The whole conversation was getting to him. He was tired and hungry and
fed up with being the punching bag, frankly. He could not shelter his
sarcasm. "Oh yeah, that's right. You did work here a long time ago ...
Then you left and hooked up with some rich guy."

Natalie's headache was going to blow as she added her own offering to
the sarcastic table he laid. "Do I really need to point out that you
blew that rich guy's lungs out all over three picnic tables?" She
hoped the glare she gave would send him up in ashes. "Besides who are
you to pass judgment on the wealthy? You have more money in one
checking account than most Third World Countries State treasuries. "

The mood was growing uglier. "Do I have point out that I was only
trying to save your life, Nat? After all, It was almost your lungs
spread across King Park." Even to this day, the thought of her death
brought feelings of overwhelming sadness. 

She closed her eyes in an attempt to shut out the memory. "One bullet
... maybe even two, and we could've saved John's life. But no, you had
to play Dirty Harry and empty the entire gun into his chest. Did you
ever once think to aim for his legs or something, Nick?"

He shifted away from her. "You think I wanted to kill him? Please. I
have thousands of deaths to atone for, I didn't need another one added
to the list. Besides the one life which meant more to me than any
other, was yours. If you hate me the rest of your life Natalie
Lambert, I don't care ... just as long as you have a life to live."

Tears filled her eyes as she fought against emotion. "Live? You took
the only normal life I ever had away from me when you killed John. Now
all I have are days. Days I wake up. Days I go to work and days I
don't. Eventually there will come a time when I won't have a day left
in me. But you..." She jabbed a finger at him. "... you will still be
here. Young and good looking and full of crap! " She stopped as she
realized she'd lost control again. 

"Crap? My life is crap?" Nick was stunned more than anything by her
words. 

Natalie was just about spent. "Isn't it though, Nick? When was the
last time you let yourself feel anything? When was the time you
laughed or cried or loved ?" More tears were on the way. "You're just
like me. Just counting the days. Only your days are endless." Natalie
slammed her hand on the door. "Damn elevator!"

"Natalie," He said weakly as he rubbed his hand across the small of
her back. "Please stop. We have to stop this." He wrapped his arms
around her waist and buried his head in her hair. "The last time I
laughed was with you. And tears? I've cried every morning since you
left me. As for feelings? I feel things only too well." He turned her
towards him and looked into her eyes. "I live my days only because you
live yours. Knowing you are in this world is why I stay in mine. And
love? I began to love you from the first day we met. And I continue to
love you every minute of every hour of every day." He looked away. "
That is what makes my life far from being crap, Natalie Lambert ."

The elevator engine kicked in with impeccable timing. In a matter of
seconds, the elevator came to a stop, and he was gone. 

Natalie stared as the doors closed. She felt more alone than she'd
ever dreamed possible. "Well, I really screwed things up this time." 

(((())))

Nick clicked the TV remote over to 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire'.
"Okay Regis, give it your best shot." Damn. The doorbell ... just when
the appliance salesman was up to $64,000.00. He walked to the door and
hit the button without checking the monitor. "Come on! The answer is
Monet, you twit."

"Monet? I thought is was Greco." Natalie stepped out to see a
surprised Nick Knight.

"Nat. What?" He stepped aside quicky. "Come in, please. Can I take
your coat ? Get you a drink?"


"No. I'm fine." She walked to his couch and briefly glanced at the
mantle. Their mantle. "I have something to tell you and I'm not sure
how you're going to take it, Nick." She pulled a floppy diskette from
her purse and threw it at him. 

He caught the diskette one handed. "What's this?"

"The cure." She stated flatly. "I discovered it about 6 months ago. I
was finishing a project John started and I stumbled on to it."

"Six months ago?" He held the diskette gently as though it would turn
to dust if he pressed too hard. "Why tell me now?"

Natalie felt ashamed for not telling him sooner. "I started to think
about what you said in the elevator, you know, about you being in this
world because I exist in mine?" Nick nodded at his words. She
continued. "I may be living day to day in my life, but I've no right
to keep you from having more." 


"I don't want it." He walked over and put the diskette into her hand.
"Not like this."

"What?!" This wasn't the response she expected. The diskette held the
answer to his 800 year old search for a better life. 

He wasn't sure he understood completely his actions either. "In the
beginning, I wanted to be mortal so I could stop the monster inside.
Then as I began to fall in love with you, I wanted to be able to live
and love like a man again." He held his hand out and began to caress
her cheek tenderly. "Now I think that what I want, is be to whole. And
I can't be whole without you in my life, Nat." He put his hand on the
one that held the diskette. "I certainly can't accept the gift of
humanity when that gift was born from hate."

"Oh, Nick. I don't hate you." She held the diskette up. "This is from
years of caring and love. Keeping it from you was wrong. I did it out
of my own self pity and bitterness. Don't let my selfishness keep you
from your dream."

"Sorry, Nat. The cure was meant for both of us. I can't accept it
until it saves us both." He walked her to the loft door. "Thank you
for coming by. I know how hard it is for you to be near me."

Zero Sun

By: C.T. Brennan

( 16 of 18 ) 

Save us both? What did he mean? She pulled her car into her apartment
parking lot. Since she now owned half of the laboratories she was
really quite wealthy these days but for some reason she could not move
from her apartment. Too much of John was still here. 

Who does Nick even think he is? Superman? Here to save the world? Here
to get the girl? Well, not this girl. She was doing just fine, thank
you. She unlocked the door to her apartment. I have a nice home, and a
job that truly makes a difference in the world, she tried to convince
her inner self. So she was feeling the loneliness creep back into her
life. This city is full of lonely people. 

She picked up the photo of John from the bookshelf. "I did care for
you."

But no matter how hard he tried, and no matter how much he loved me, I
just couldn't love him back. Clarity struck once again. She had pulled
'a Nick' on him. John loved her deeply and yet she never could bring
herself to love him or to even tell him she loved him back. "I
couldn't let myself love you and I'm so sorry, John."

Nick made it pretty clear in their last two conversations that not
only did he love her, but had loved her for quite some time. Finally,
he had said it. And how did she respond? With anger and sarcasm. The
diskette was still in her purse. She took a last glance at the photo.
"I have to go and see if I can fix this collosal mistake I've made."

-----


Nick flipped the T.V. remote over to Star Trek 'Voyager'. "Come on
Chakotay, you coward. Grab Janeway and plant a big kiss on her
already! Stop sitting there like a big tree."

The doorbell rang again breaking the moment. "Well, I certainly know
who it's NOT this time." He muttered as he pulled the door open.

"Did he kiss her yet?" Out walked Natalie. Nick stood stunned for the
second time in less than an hour as Natalie continued to speak. "What
is with those two? The whole starship knows they love each other. Even
they know they love each other, so get it over with and kiss him
Janeway!" 

A few thoughts of the "pot calling the kettle black" ran through
Nick's mind, but he bit his tongue to keep the comment away. "It's
only been an hour and a half, Nat. What's going on?"

She turned her eyes from the TV. "Nick, I'm a little confused on how
to say what I need to say, so will you let me just say it and then you
can respond?"

"Of course, Nat." he said gently. "Let's sit down at least." He took
her hand and led her to the couch.

Natalie took a breath to ease her nerves. "I realized something about
myself today. I realized I treated John the same way you treated me
over the years. He loved me and I couldn't bring myself to love him
back. There was always something holding me back." She braced herself
mentally as she looked up and into his eyes. "It was you, Nick. You
were holding me back. I was putting forth a serious effort on my part
to erase you from my life too. There's just something about you or
better yet, there's some part of you that lives in me." She placed her
hand over her heart. "I can't explain it but you are always here. I
blamed you for taking John and my life away, but I never really had
him to begin with. He was never truly mine. I had a life that was
normal and happy but there was something missing." She raised her hand
and began to trace the line of his cheek with her hand. "Nick it isn't
enough for me to exist, I need to live." Slowly ever so slowly,
Natalie leaned into him. "And I can't live without you." Lightly she
kissed him then pulled back. "I love you." 

She stopped and it grew silent. Too silent for her liking as she began
to think it may have been a mistake coming over here. 

Wordlessly, Nick took her hands and stood up bringing her with him.
"Come with me." It was a classic Nick Knight stoic moment. She'd been
hoping for something more from him but this was one time she took the
hint not to speak. 

They walked to the window and he pushed the pane open. "Don't look
down," he said.

Her breath caught as suddenly she was in his arms and in flight over a
night time Toronto. It was a spectacular view. "Uhh..." She said as
she looked down. She thought she might get sick.

"I told you, don't look down." He whispered into her hair. "The first
time always makes you a little motion sick."

She drew herself closer to his chest and wrapped her arms tighter
around his neck. The buildings flew by at a dizzying speed which just
added to her discomfort. She closed her eyes and it did help her feel
better. A smile grew within as she heard a single beat from Nick's
chest. She would always be safe in his arms.

"You can open them now." She felt him land and she opened her eyes.

"Where are ..." The last word wasn't necessary as she recognized the
parking lot.

Nick led her across to the security guard station. "This poor guy has
been whammyed way too many times so I suggest you get us past, Nat."

Zero Sun

By: C.T. Brennan

( 17 of 18 ) 

They got into the building and up to her office without a problem.
"Nick, exactly how many times have you been here?"

He didn't answer but instead sat down behind her desk and looked back
at her. "It's my turn, okay?" He motioned her to the chair across the
desk. "I brought us here because I wanted to show you that you don't
just exist Natalie." He waved his hand at the room. "All of this is
yours. And with this you help people. And you've been helping people
unconditionally and without regard to who they are or what they've
done with their lives." He placed his hand on his heart in a mock her
gesture earlier. "You helped me to become more than I thought I would
ever be. We may never have made love, Natalie, but we've been intimate
for years. I pushed away because I thought that some how what we had
was not enough for you. I thought that somehow the physical act of sex
would make your life complete and whole." He closed his eyes to guard
against the pain. "When I watched you make love to him, I thought that
finally you would be happy and I could move on. Only now I hear you
never loved him. It makes me both sad and oddly happy at the same
time." He opened his eyes to see her silently crying. "You see,
selfishly, I'm happy to hear that you didn't love him. And to me that
seems to be a very wrong thing to feel, don't you think?" He didn't
give her time to answer. "I have so much in my life to be ashamed of
and to feel happy over this makes me feel the worst possible shame."
His eyes couldn't contain the tears any longer causing an overflow to
run red down his face. "Do you have the capacity to forgive me for all
those years I stubbornly refused to love you? For all those years of
pain I caused?" He stood and moved around the desk and lowered himself
to his knees in front of her. "Can you ever forgive me for taking so
much from you and in return giving you so little?"

Nick buried his head in her lap as the cathartic tears continued.
Natalie was shocked. The guilt this man stored must cause overwhelming
pain. She began to stroke the waves in his hair until she felt his
sobbing slow and eventually stop. Finally, he pulled away and looked
up at her with red stained eyes and face. She took his hands and stood
up bringing him with her. "Come with me." It was her turn to mock his
earlier actions.

Zero Sun

By: C.T. Brennan

( 18 of 18 ) 

They walked the dimly lit hall to her lab. She flicked the light on
and walked to her 

bio-materials safe and quickly opened it. She grabbed a test tube then
closed the safe door. 

"It would probably be better if you sat." She gently pushed him into a
chair then considered the liquid. Silently she calculated Nick's
weight and filled a syringe. "Don't look down." She said with a smile
as she leaned over and began to roll his shirt sleeve up.

"Nat?" She looked up then placed her fingers on his lips to quiet him.

"You'll probably feel light headed as the covalent bonds in your DNA
rearrange themselves, but don't worry. It should pass in about 2
minutes." Her focus returned to the syringe as she pierced his skin
and slowly pushed the plunger down. "You feeling okay, Nick?" He
looked at her and nodded 'yes'. 

She placed the syringe on the desk and returned to his side. Nick
groaned as the chemicals flooded his cells. Natalie prayed she was
right about the solution she had just pumped into his veins. Nick's
head rocked back and his eyes opened wide. There was a look of panic
on his face as the battle inside his cells continued on.

"I love you, Nat."

She squeezed his hands. "I know." She released one hand and placed it
on the base of his neck. "Guess what?"

"What?" He was growing a little worried. 

She pulled his other hand to his chest. "You have a heart beat, Mr.
Knight." 

It was true. He could feel his heart thundering in his chest. "What
does this mean?"

Natalie stood up. "It means I forgive you." 

He rose somewhat shakily to his feet. "Am I cured?"

"No, not cured. More like enhanced. I can't take the vampire
completely out of your system. I just modified it a bit."

"Modified?"

Natalie watched as color filled his face and hands from the newly
warmed blood in his system. "You should be able to eat and walk in the
sun and do most things mortal."

Still a bit shakey Nick said, "Why do I feel a 'but' coming ?"

She nodded. "BUT, you will probably sunburn easy and have an
occasional craving for a good cup of blood. To be honest, I'm not
really sure what all will go on with you."


"Most things mortal?" Nick wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled
her close. "How mortal?"

"I really don't know, Nick." Her own heart was thundering away because
of his touch. 

"Let's find out." He whispered as he leaned in and kissed her gently.
He pulled back slightly. "How was that?"

"Mortal. Very very mortal." She returned her lips to his and the kiss
deepened. * Her hands fell lower as though they had a mind of their
own. Their mouths parted as they each began the exploration of the
other. Nick's hands caressed her lower back. "Nat ..." He groaned as
her hands finally made their way to his crotch. His newly modified
manhood had grown rock hard and it was Natalie's turn to groan as she
felt him against her. "Now Nick."

It was one request this vampire had no problem in following. He lifted
her and placed her on the desk. His hands unbuttoned her jeans and he
pushed them down. He began to stroke her through her panties. She was
already drenched with moisture. Natalie rocked against the pleasant
pressure Nick's hand was making. She raised her head and traced a line
of kisses along his jaw to his neck. She freed her hands from around
his waist. His jeans buttons popped open and she was able to push them
free from his hips. Nick paused as he heard Natalie giggling. She
noticed the confusion on his face. "You're going commando tonight,
huh?" Nick grinned back. "I haven't had time to do my laundry so I
have been walking around a little more exposed lately. I didn't know
it would be a problem." 

"Oh it's no problem." Nick groaned loudly as Natalie lowered her hands
to him and began to massage his erection with her hand. "In fact, it's
rather convenient if you ask me."

Nick ripped her panties away. "Oops. I guess I still have the vampire
strength." He said apologetically.

"Let's just hope you have still have the vampire stamina." Natalie
said as she raised her hips and opened herself to him. 


Nick slowly slid himself into her and they both moaned as he filled
her. "You feel so good, Nat." He pushed forward and then slowly
retreated only to push onward again.

"I can feel everything." Natalie whispered roughly. The hair on his
thighs tickled pleasantly. There was an unexpected smoothness to his
hands. A soft, furry sensation began as his chest rocked against hers.
"Nick, I've never felt more alive." 

He paused a sweet second to see her. To truly see her this time. She
was his and he was hers ... forever. "Come with me." It wasn't a
command. At this point, it was merely a fact. Nick arched his back
driving himself still deeper into her. Natalie stifled a scream as she
felt the slightly uncomfortable but yet delightful fullness of him
against her. 

Faster he drove to her. She kept tempo with her hips as she too arched
to meet his thrust. Words melted away to communication more basic and
guttural. Nick began to shutter as he felt himself begin to orgasm. He
was only remotely aware of Natalie's own shaking as she too met him.
Together they peaked and together they pleasantly fell back to each
other. ****

Finally, she was able to lift herself to look up at him. "Mortal
enough for you?"


He smiled down. "Vampire enough for you?"

She sighed. "I definitely liked the stamina."

Nick began to kiss her neck. "If you can handle the man and the
vampire, then I'm yours forever."

Natalie whispered. "It's a deal." 

(end)

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