Everything Happens for a Reason By StormyNite Written in October 1999 She walked into the precinct and searched the room carefully. Her dark black hair looked wild and tangled, almost as if she hadn't cared about her appearance. Under closer examination, you could see the calculated intelligence behind dark eyes as she continued to scan the room closely. "Can I help you, Miss?" The desk officer, Carl Smith, asked softly as he admired her perfect form in the tight black dress that flowed elegantly to the floor. Her blood red lips fascinated him, as did the perfect porcelain skin that glowed under the fluorescent lights. It was probably all makeup anyway as tonight was Halloween and she was dressed for the occasion. They never had costumes like that when he was a kid. Well, at least not women who looked like that to fill them out. Her cleavage was impressive as he followed the low V in the neck past her breastline. She smiled and the power within her transformed her normal beauty into something more, causing Carl to gasp at the pleasure of it. She laughed, then turned and walked out the door. What she searched for was obviously not there. -------------- Natalie ran her fingers over the costume and let the soft velvet caress her fingertips. She smiled in response to the sensation. She sighed in resignation and placed the beautiful gown on the back of her chair. Maybe another Halloween she'd get to wear it. Just when Nick had finally asked her to the Annual Halloween Ball, she was called in to work. Damn! She threw her pencil across the room in frustration, then looked at the table filled with two victims. At least Nick hadn't been there when she called and left the message. It was her own fault. Anytime something strange in a homicide showed up, they shipped it to her. What was it to be this time? It was Halloween. She was sure it would be something bizarre. It always was. She pulled back the sheet to find a young teenage boy with his throat sliced. The blood covered the front of his shirt and was matted to the tissue around the wound turning dark as it aged under exposure to the air. She did a quick check to see if the wound was a mask for vampire bites or was exactly what it appeared to be. It was clean, with no ragged edges. Then she noticed the rope burns on the boy's wrists and realized he'd been tortured for some reason. Although it was a bit unusual, she didn't find it bizarre enough to have called her in from her first night off in 10 straight days. She sighed in frustration and flipped the sheet back over the boy's face and went to the second body. She unzipped the body bag and Nick's ravaged face greeted her. She screamed "No!" and tore open the rest of bag. He lay silently before her with a stake through his left shoulder, touching his heart. His own blood coated the white silk shirt over his abdomen as she noticed the gashes that laced his stomach open. Without thinking, she placed her hand over the wounds and grabbed the stake. The sucking sound of the tissue gripping the stake as it freed his chest made her ill. "Don't you leave me, Nick." She ran to the refrigerator and removed as many units of blood her arms could carry. Quickly, she ran back to his side, sliced open the small end of the bag and poured it slowly into his mouth. Trying to pump anything into his stomach was useless in his current state until his stomach repaired itself from the severity of the abdominal wounds. She only prayed it would be enough to start the process. She rummaged through her medical bag to find something she could use to set up an IV to run another unit directly into his veins. Tears filled her eyes as she worked, but there was no response. She checked the wound over his heart. It had not closed and seeped blood slowly. "Please, Nick, fight this. Don't leave me like this. We never had a chance." Tears rolled freely down her face as she pulled his cool hand to her soft cheek. "I love you, Nick!" She whispered as she kissed the cool palm of his hand. "How much do you love him, Doctor?" Janette's smooth sexy voice echoed across the cold room. "Janette?" Natalie started at the animal-like visage of the woman who had always been so meticulous in her appearance. "Tell me what to do. You can't honestly want him to die. I know you're angry with him for bringing you back, but you can't want him dead. Everything inside me tells me you still love him. Just tell me what to do. Tell me how to help him and I'll do whatever you want. I'll leave. I'll never see him again...anything. Just let me help him. I swear it....anything." Natalie beseeched the ancient vampiress as she fell to her knees before her. If it took her homage to save Nick, she would do that too. Janette pulled Natalie to her feet and stared into her tear- filled blue eyes. "You forget I know what is in his blood, Natalie. A part of him still loves me, but his heart has belonged to you since before time began. Everything happens for a reason. He risked his life for you tonight. LaCroix intended to collect his debt this night and Nick refused. They fought. I could feel his pain, his desire to keep you safe, and his regret when he couldn't. The Raven is a shambles. LaCroix is nursing his wounds as his anger builds. He blames you for all of this." Janette's eyes stared at Nick's lifeless form on the cold slab. "He will come to kill you and I have promised Nicholas to guard you with my life, so I ask you again. How much do you love him?" "He is the only one who has ever made me whole. He's the part of me that has been missing all my life. I love him with all that I am...all that I ever will be and into eternity. I will do whatever it takes for us to be together. Tell me how to help him." She pulled Nick's lifeless hand into hers as her eyes searched the woman before her for hope. Janette's eyes turned golden and her fangs dropped. "He would never bring you across, Natalie. He would let you die and walk into the sun to join you, but it would destroy us all. He will come back for no one but you. It is in his blood, his heart and his soul. That is why LaCroix fears you so much. " She pulled Natalie into her arms. "Swear to me that you will come back for me, for if you don't he will surely die. Swear it on your love for him!" "I swear it." Natalie said without hesitation and willingly offered her neck to the ancient vampiress. Without hesitation, Janette planted her fangs deep within Natalie's neck and drank. Each mouthful tasted of cinnamon and honey filled with a warmth that caressed her cold heart. Passion filled with love enveloped her until she felt safe, cocooned in something she never knew existed. Images of her past life, the pain, the heartbreak, and the loss of her loved ones and then Nick. Each thought of Nicholas brought great joy and happiness filled with such longing and need she thought she would cry. Underneath it all was an undying love based on faith that someday they could be together. She remembered the night at the Azure, all the hateful word, and all the tender words Nick whispered into her ears... and she trusted the man...not the beast. Natalie never doubted Nick's love except for Janette. The pain she felt when she saw them together, the fact that she knew Nick had come to her for sex and blood created a raw wound that leeched at her soul, but she loved him still. If he walked away tomorrow...if he chose to return to her side, Natalie would accept it because it would make him happy, but her heart would never change. She accepted it some time ago and only prayed Nick could somehow feel the same. Janette pushed the images back into her mind. The many nights of bliss she and Nicholas had spent together, the years of bloodlust, their bond, her need to feel treasured by someone and her rejection of Nick's love. She let her feel the doubts, the pain, and the need she felt for something more. She let her feel her love that she possessed for Robert, the anger and pain of his death, and her forgiveness of Nicholas for bringing her back instead of letting her die. His love was based on family now...nothing more. They were brother and sister and now master and child, but Nick's heart was only whole when he was with her, Natalie Lambert, coroner, mortal and friend. His body and soul longed to be with her, but his heart refused to condemn her to something he hated beyond all existence. She felt Natalie's heart begin to slow and fade, only then did she remove her fangs. Natalie collapsed in her arms. She stared at Nick's limp form on the table. The blood had kept him barely alive, but it would not make him return. He would be angry with her, but this too would pass as hers had in the past year. "You were meant to be together, Nicholas. It is in both of your blood. Never doubt it, treasure it beyond all that you possess." She sliced his wrist and placed it over Natalie's lips. The images of the past flashed through her mind as she drifted slowly out of consciousness. Janette had loved Nick the only way she'd known how, but it hadn't been enough for either of them. She had been his anchor over the centuries in keeping his sanity against LaCroix. Finally she understood the type of love between them now and how much Janette envied what Nick felt for her. Deep within her she wanted Janette to know they weren't enemies, but sisters in what they felt for Nick. Her love for Nick was not based on need, but trust and faith in something that could last an eternity. With her last conscious thought, she reached out to Nick. They would be together somewhere. Her heart told her that even though her mind fought it. A warm sticky fluid touched her lips as the light appeared. She could her someone calling her name and Richie stepped into the glowing warmth that surrounded her. She gasped when she recognized his sweet face. "Richie!" She walked toward him as he held out his hand and called to her once more, but something tugged at the back of her mind. She was forgetting something important. The sweet, salty tasty touched the back of her throat and images of the fight between Nick and LaCroix flashed instantly in her memory. She stopped. "Nick?" She screamed frantically and searched the bright light for him. "Tell me where you are? Nick?" She ran away from Richie toward the darkness that played on the edge of the light. Pain washed over her and she collapsed to her knees. He was fighting to save her, to keep LaCroix away from her because of what was between them. She could feel the anger, the hatred that seethed under the surface of the man as he fought to hang onto what humanity he'd managed to regain. He would die to save her, to give her a chance at the life he thought she wanted. He doubted her ability to love both the man and the beast and would never condemn her to his own living hell. The warmth enveloped her, wrapped her in a soft blanket of contentment when he thought about her. What he felt for her was his reason for living, his reason for fighting LaCroix, the reason for continuing his long fight back to humanity. "I will love you forever, Nick. All I want is for us to have a chance together. Give us a chance, Nick. Let me love you as you deserve to be loved." She felt his acceptance and need to be one with her as his blood began to flow freely down her throat. She swallowed and became one with him both body and soul and wanted more. Janette watched in fascination and felt Nicholas give into the sweet pull of the woman he loved beyond life. He moaned in pain, but didn't pull his wrist free from Natalie's delicate lips that sucked greedily of his blood. The power within Nicholas overwhelmed her and she felt him pass it on to his beloved Natalie. Once more his strength and love of life guided him as it was meant to be. Every event had a reason and this was no different. Tonight of all nights they were joined together as family and they became stronger for it. Tonight, on all hallows eve; they all would follow their hearts. Part 2 Nick screamed Natalie's name in pain and Janette pulled her free from his wrist. Natalie growled in anger and glared at the creature that dared separate them, then the hunger brought her to her knees. Raw, uncontrollable pain coursed through her veins as her body cried out for fulfillment as her golden eyes searched the room for the one thing that would ease the torment within her. Quickly, a bag of blood was shoved into her hands. She stared at it intently, then threw it across the room. Stumbling to her feet, she pulled herself to Nick's side. He moaned in agony and she felt it like her own. His body was calling out to hers as his mind fought the torture of denying himself what he craved most. Her fangs dropped and her eyes blazed crimson. "NO!" Janette pulled her back forcefully. "You will kill him." She shoved another blood bag into her hand and pierced the top with her fingernail. "Drink this...build your strength, so he can feed from you. It's his only chance." She shoved the bag towards Natalie's mouth. Logic failed her as her body cried out for unity with Nick, but her heart still controlled the woman. Her own words echoed inside her mind. "I will do anything...Just tell me what to do." Without hesitation, she poured the contents of the bag down her throat. The sweet taste soothed the hunger and she reached for the other bag in Janette's hand. This time she planted her fangs into the side of the bag and drained it with one swallow. Feeling under control now, she stalked to the refrigerator and tore the door off its hinges. She stared in awe at her own strength, then grabbed several more bags inside and drained them. After 6 bags, she returned to Nick's side. Pain washed through her and she knew it was his. She ran her fingertips slowly over his lips then replaced them with her own. She let her fangs drop and nicked the soft tissue of her tongue. The salty sweet taste of her own blood released the power within her. Plunging her tongue within the sweet recesses of his mouth, she let it bleed freely. He reacted immediately to her blood slowly trickling down the back of his throat. He reached out to her with what strength he had left, but it wasn't enough. His wounds were too severe and the pain coursing through his body for unity with her tortured him even further. Valiantly he struggled to draw her blood into his, but his body was too far gone. Blood tears streaked Natalie's face as she felt him struggle to stay with her. His pain was hers as well as the memory of why he'd fought so hard to keep her away from LaCroix. Quickly, she sliced her wrist and his with her sharp fangs and let their blood mingle. She pushed into the connection between them and let her love for him guide her. "It would appear, Doctor, you have changed somewhat." LaCroix's soft velvet voice oozed over the room. Natalie's heart lurched in her chest, as she now knew just what LaCroix was capable of. She turned to face him and Janette joined her side. Natalie kept her wrist wrapped around Nick's letting her power flow into his weakened body. Finally, she turned to meet the true enemy she'd never known existed until now. "It would appear that you have finally gotten what you wanted." She stared at him as the gold still tinged her eyes. She would not back down now. If she showed fear, she was dead and Nick would be his slave for all eternity. She took a deep breath and pushed into the warmth she felt coming from Nick. It filled her with such exquisite pleasure and hope; she almost wept with relief. He was getting stronger. Maybe together they could defeat him. Janette stepped between Natalie and LaCroix placing herself in the first line of fire of LaCroix's anger. She'd survived it before and her age would gain her much more resilience than Natalie's. Nicholas was getting stronger and they needed time. "You would defy me, my child." Gold tinted the blue irises of his eyes as he glared at Janette. "I am no longer your child, LaCroix. Nicholas is my master now and I will do what is necessary to protect him. You know that." Her haughty voice held conviction, but fear coursed through her veins and he felt it instantly. "Enough!" In the blink of an eye, he'd tossed Janette aside into the wall. She slid to the floor unconscious from the blow. His age gave him strength and his anger controlled the power within him. Natalie still did not move as she kept her arm bound to Nick's in an effort to heal him. LaCroix tore her wrist from Nick's with one hand and grabbed her throat with the other. "I claim what is rightfully mine. The fact that you are now one of my own will only make it sweeter. My revenge will be complete. He will be denied of your love as both mortal and vampire. He will finally know what it feels like to lose that part of yourself that means more to you than life itself. Finally, Nicholas will know what real Hell is like. He shall spend eternity knowing that his love destroyed you." She could feel his rage, the loneliness, and the anger he'd kept inside for centuries and knew that only her death would make it disappear. He'd lost the man somewhere along the line when he'd lost his heart and Nick was his reason for living. In killing her he would finally have the revenge he'd sought and the power over Nick he'd always wanted. Guilt was an incredible weapon and on Nick it would be lethal. She knew what was in Nick's blood and his heart. He'd finally found his humanity by learning to love once more. She wasn't ready to lose it all this quickly. "Then kill me and lose everything!" She hissed into his face. "Do the one thing that will guarantee that you will be alone for all eternity. If I die, he will walk into the sun and never look back. If that's what you want then do it!" Natalie turned her neck and offered it to him freely. He hesitated briefly, then jerked her neck to the side roughly. "Nice try, Doctor, but I always collect my debts." His fangs descended but a sharp pain stabbed him through the back. Glancing down he noticed the offending wooden chair leg protruding from his chest as his body flared in agony and he collapsed to his knees. He stared in disbelief at his weakened son, who even now stood in pain from their most recent battle. "It's over, LaCroix!" She is no longer mortal and our debt is null and void. "You got exactly what you wanted. Once again you've proven that the vampire is stronger than the man only it wasn't quite like you planned. You expected me to kill her and you'd be there to pick up the pieces. Not this time!" Nick grabbed LaCroix by the shirt collar and dragged him across the room and tossed him into the sunshine flooding the floor in the corner. Smoke plumed from his dark jacket, as the fire inside burned brightly. "This time, there is no regret, no guilt. Natalie and I are as we were meant to be...together." Nick knelt on the edge of the light as he watched his tormentor of 800 years begin to burn in the rays of the morning sun. A part of him wanted to save his master and the other wanted to watch him suffer for all the pain he'd inflicted over the centuries. Natalie stepped into the sun and pulled LaCroix's smoldering form out of the lethal rays. Nick stared in awe as she stepped back into the sunlight and knelt on the floor beside the ancient vampire still dying slowly from the stake within his heart. He stared at her standing in full sunlight, yet not burning. She watched the fear pass over his face and felt Nick's regret. She couldn't let him do this. She placed her foot on LaCroix's shoulder and grabbed the stake. A scream tore from the ancient vampire's lips as the tissue around his heart clung to the wooden shard that attempted to end his wicked life. As the sun kissed her auburn curls, they took on a life of their own. "You know owe both of us, LaCroix." She knelt closer and let the gold of her eyes flash red before him. "Know that I always collect MY debts also...and as you can see...I'm not as restricted as you." She stood, then handed the wooden stake to Nick who remained confused as he watched the love of his life stand in full sunlight without harm. "Our condition is physical, Nick. I don't believe in superstition and I have no regrets." She touched the bloodied stake in his hand. "I didn't want you to have any more than you already have." She stared at LaCroix on the floor struggling to his feet as his body healed rapidly. "Everything happens for a reason, Nick. Have faith in us and we will find the road we were meant to take." She offered her hand to him as she stood in the sunlight. Slowly he reached into the burning rays of the sun and grasped her outstretched fingers. When their fingers locked the pain of the sun disappeared and he walked into the sunlight. His lips found hers as he wrapped her lovingly into his embrace. Her arms surrounded him as her heart opened like a flower on a spring day. Great peace and joy overwhelmed them both and they bathed in the feeling of unity created between them. "Teach me to be whole again, Natalie. I want to love you for all eternity and live again." Blue eyes greeted his and she smiled. "Together we can do anything, my love. Our life has just begun!" Her lips found his once more and the healing began. The End Author's Note: If you enjoyed the story, why not read some more? Come join the fun and visit my Fiction page at: >http:www.plantnet.com/~nitewind/Fiction2.html Better yet go UNDERCOVER & enjoy the ride with my new novel! Available NOW in paperback, pdf & CD versions: See my webpage above! Or go direct to the sources at: >http://www.virtualbookworm.com/undercover >http://www.amazon.com Type in B.W. Starmer or UNDERCOVER >http://www.barnesandnoble.com Type in B.W. Starmer All comments to: ****StormyNite at: nitewind@plantnet.com**** ***The Truth is out there!*I just can't find it!*** **NNPacker*BlackHatWatcher*XFileTruthSeeker** *Andromedans*CroweFan*SorboDrooler*GWDFC*